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The Last Crystal Unicorn | Epilogue | Life in the Crystal Palace was slowly starting to get back to normal. The fact that supporters of Sombra had slipped through the cracks had left everypony with a feeling of unease, but it seemed to be wearing off now. For the most part.
It still meant that the guards were more jumpy than usual. They shone their lights up and down the hallways three times before moving forward. They jumped at every little noise, and always traveled in pairs.
And yet, somehow, they still managed to miss the two shadowy figures that passed above them.
Black restrained his usual snicker as he slipped in behind his employer. "Come on," he said through his silent laugh. "Just let me ice one of them. Pretty please with a sugarcube on top?"
"Be silent. We're here."
"Here" happened to be an evidence room that held a few details from the previous week's incident. Ruby's cauldron, her spellbooks, and her notes. But there was one thing in particular that interested him.
"Yes," the enigmatic stallion uttered as he knocked away the glass dome covering his prize. He picked up the broken crystal, examined it a moment, then sighed.
"Everything's still in order, but one..."
He lit up his horn. A knife flew out from his cloak and, in one motion, cut his front leg. Seemingly unaffected by the pain, he held out the wounded appendage, letting his blood fall on the crystals.
The shards leapt to life instantly. They seemed to jump together, fusing back into the magnificent crystals they had been. They shook, glowing red and formed a sphere. The sphere began to levitate, as though it was being brought to life.
A pitch darker than night formed in the center, slowly growing as a body formed inside of it. Soon, two red eyes and a fangs began to appear from the darkness. What looked like armor began to form over the slowly materializing form.
Sombra was being reborn.
"No, no... we'll have none of that!"
His horn lit up again, shooting a beam of white magic to the black orb floating above him and Black. The darkness soon faded from the sphere and was replaced by a blinding light, encircling the newly reborn dictator. It looked as though he was screaming, but no sound came from Sombra's mouth as he was completely engulfed in light. In a few moments, the light began to blind Black and his superior, until it finally dissipated.
Opening his eyes slowly, Black looked down at where the crystals were. "Huh?" He cocked his brow, expecting to see the dark stallion Sombra. "Who's this guy?"
A white alicorn stallion, with long golden-brown mane and golden tipped hooves lay on the ground. His cutie mark was that of a sword, made of what looked to be light. He opened his eyes, revealing crystal-blue eyes. The stallion got up slowly, but his legs started to give way. He gasped as he fell, but he was caught in a white aura of magic.
"Do not strain yourself, for you have only just returned to your senses."
With his ears perking and his eyes widening, the stallion looked to the mysterious pony. His breathing started to hasten as he looked away from the pony who was holding him in his magic.
The enigmatic pony started to trot slowly to the stallion he was holding, reaching out a hoof that caressed his cheek. "I will not harm you... please do not fear me, my son."
"Woah woah!" Black butted into the conversation. His jaw agape, looking from his employer to the white stallion. "Son? Sombra's your son?! That's--" Before he could utter another word, Black felt a sharp pain to his muzzle and landed on his haunches. "Ow! What was that for?!"
Retracting his hoof, the unknown pony snarled at Black. "His name is not Sombra!" He then turned back to the stallion he was holding. "Please tell me you remember your true name..."
The stallion was placed back on his hooves, his brow furrowing as he frowned. "Yes, I do... Father." He nodded and closed his eyes, opening them sharply as he looked up to his father's eyes. "My name is Sol."
"Yes... yes!" The mysterious stallion reached for Sol, holding him close as he chuckled. "Thank the Creator you have returned to me."
"But..." Sol looked back to his wings, lifting them slowly before snapping them back down again. "I do not deserve this, all that I have done... my sins have--"
"A sin is pardoned by penance, and I have sinned by not being there for you in your hour of need..." The stallion sighed, looking away from his son.
Shaking his head, Sol's expression started to sour as he formed a scowl on his face. "No... there is one other who must pay."
"No. If she gets in the way..." he swallowed. "Well... we'll have no choice. But you aren't to touch her until it becomes necessary."
"But..."
"No, my child. Listen to me." The sound of hoof steps was heard outside the room the three stallions were in. Sol, Black looked to the other stallion who unfurled his wings. "Now, come on, we must escape." With that, they flew off and exited the castle.
Once they were high in the air, Sol cleared his voice and turned to his father. "What now, Father?"
The stallion next to Sol narrowed his eyes as the sun was beginning to rise in the distance. "We have much work to do... but there is still one more pony we must find for our cause...." |
Follow the Melody | pre | A few hours later, the bell rang again indicating the end of class. Before anypony could get out, Cheerilee gave one last announcement. "Have fun everyone and don't forget that tomorrow is Nightmare Night!"
Is it that time already? I better get a costume ready for tomorrow night, and I know just the perfect costume. All I need to do now is learn some magic at Twilight's and get a costume from Rarity.
As I packed my things to leave, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo came up to my desk. "Wanna hang out with us, Lyle?" Scootaloo asked.
I would have said yes, but I had things that needed to be done. "Sorry girls, but I gotta get my costume ready for Nightmare Night. Maybe next time."
They all nodded understandably, and we said our goodbyes. As I was about to leave, Cheerilee stopped me. "Lyle, a word please?"
I walked back inside. "Yes, Miss Cheerilee? Am I trouble?" I could think of a couple reasons.
To my surprise, she shook her head. "No, you're not in trouble." I gave a sigh of relief. "Lyle, how are you adjusting to this school? Are there any problems?"
"Uh, no. Everything's fine, I guess." Well, that's kind of random. Why is she asking me this?
Cheerilee put a hoof to her chin while humming in thought. "Lyle, you seem to be a very smart colt. Smarter than you should be for your age." I hope so. I wouldn't be in college if I weren't. "It's not that there's anything wrong with being smart. It just means you're 'special'."
Special, huh? I could practically see the air quotes around that word. The next few minutes were about Cheerilee's observation of my behavior in class. I didn't pay attention much. I nodded my head to the conversation as if I was listening. At the end of this, she would probably expect me to apologize for dozing off in class.
"... so do you see how special you are?"
"Mmhmm, yeah," I automatically responded.
"That's wonderful, Lyle!" I didn't know why she was so happy. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't that important.
"Okay, so are we done here, Miss Cheerilee?"
"Oh, yes, you may leave now. Sorry for keeping you here."
I began trotting out the door again. "Bye, Miss Cheerilee." I waved back to the mare, which she happily returned. If I had stayed long enough, I would've noticed her pull out a piece of paper to write a letter.
I wandered around aimlessly trying to find Rarity's boutique and Twilight's library. I didn't find either place, but I was able to find Lyra at one of the market stands buying some grocery.
I walked up to her. "Hi Lyra."
She turned away from the vendor after purchasing some leafy vegetables. "Oh, hi Lyle. How was school?"
"It was great. Do you know where I can find somepony to make me a costume for Nightmare Night as well as Twilight's library?"
"Hmm, Rarity's boutique is just around the corner from here, and I think Twilight's library is in the opposite direction. Oh, and since you're going to get a costume, here are some bits to pay for it." She handed me a couple of bits, which I placed into my saddlebag. I kept a mental note to repay Lyra for those bits as soon as I can get them, meaning I had to hunt for a job.
"Thanks Lyra. I'll see you later." With that, I ran into the direction of Rarity's boutique. It wasn't long until I came upon Carousel Boutique. I entered the building, a light jingle coming from the bell attached to the door, signaling the resident of my arrival.
A white unicorn with a pristine indigo mane came trotting down the stairs towards the entrance. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique." Of course, I recognized the pony as Rarity. When she got a look at me she said, "Hello, my name is Rarity and how may I help you today?"
"Hello Miss Rarity. My name's Lyle. Excuse me, but can you make me a costume for Nightmare Night?"
She nodded. "Why yes of course, deary. What is it you would like me to make?"
"I just need a black business suit, a red tie, and a white spandex mask if that's possible. The mask has to be a fabric where I can still breathe and see through."
She gave me a quizzical look. "That is certainly an odd request for a costume, but nevertheless I will make it to the best of my ability," she said with a smile.
"Okay, how much do I owe you?"
She told me the price, and I felt disheartened at hearing the cost. "I'm sorry, Miss Rarity, but I'm kind of short a few bits."
"It's alright dear. I'll still make your costume. Consider it a discount from me, no charge at all."
Wow, she really is the Element of Generosity. "Thank you, Miss Rarity."
"Please, darling, call me Rarity. Now let's get you measured."
She spent the next half hour levitating a measuring tape around me, scrutinizing at every little detail of my body while making mental notes of my sizes. When that was all done, she led me back to the entrance.
"I'll have your costume finished in no time, so stop by tomorrow to pick it up."
"Thanks again for doing this on such short notice. You really are a great seamstress if you could get it done that quickly," I said.
She tittered at the compliment. "Oh, it's nothing. I just love doing what I do best."
"Well, I still say it's impressive. I'll see you later, Rarity. It was nice meeting you."
"It was a delight to meet you too, Lyle."
We waved goodbye as we parted. My next stop was Twilight's library. I walked towards the large tree house in the distance. Seeing the tree house in person was a whole new experience compared to looking at it from a screen. I was dwarfed by the size of the tree that was as big as a house. When I knocked on the door of the library, a small purple dragon with green spikes opened the door.
"Hi. You do realize this is a library, right?" he asked.
Oh right. Forgot about that. "Oh yeah... "
"Come on in," he said, holding the door for me, "so are you here to check out a book?"
I nodded. "Yes, I am."
He led me inside the library where hundreds of books lined the walls of the tree house. "My name's Spike by the way, what's yours?"
"You can call me Lyle," I replied.
"So what kind of book are you looking for?"
I scanned the titles of the books in front of me. "I'm looking for books on basic magic, levitation, and illusions. Any books on them will do."
He climbed up a ladder and began picking out books. "I take it you're into reading about magic?"
"Yep." Who wouldn't be interested in magic, especially if it's real?
"You remind me of my friend, Twilight. She's the librarian of this place. I'm just the assistant." He came back down the ladder with three books in his arms.
"Thanks, I promise I'll bring them back later. You can put them in my saddlebag." As I made my way out of the library, I gave a wave to the purple dragon. "It was nice meeting you Spike. See you later."
The sun had already begun to give the sky an orange glow by the time I left the library. With all my tasks done for the day, I headed back towards Lyra and Bon Bon's home, eager to start learning magic.
~~~~~~~
As soon as the door to the library closed, Twilight walked downstairs as Spike was sweeping the floor. "Who was that, Spike?"
He stopped sweeping to answer. "He's a unicorn I haven't seen before. His name's Lyle. He kinda looks a lot like Lyra."
"Oh?" Twilight said with a curious look on her face. "What did he come here for?"
He gave her a piece of paper listing the books checked out. "He checked out some books on magic."
She scanned the list of books. "What kind of magic? Nothing dangerous, I hope?"
"I think he said wanted a book on levitation and amuse-sions, or something," he said, scratching the back of his head.
"Illusions, Spike," she corrected.
"Yeah, that. You know, he reminds me of another unicorn who studies too hard," he joked.
Twilight just huffed at this. Though something was strange with the books Lyle requested. Normally, unicorns as young as Lyle don't read books as advanced as the ones he checked out. First, he lives alone without his parents, and now he's reading about advanced magic spells? Okay, maybe the reading part isn't that strange, she thought, memories of herself reading in the library coming to her mind. But what would he need them for? Lyle was a peculiar colt.
A claw waving in her face shook her out of her thoughts. "Twilight, you okay?"
"I'm fine, Spike. I was just thinking."
Spike hopped onto Twilight's back. "Thinking about what?"
She shook her head. "It's nothing important."
"Well, can we go to Pinkie's party now? It's going to start soon."
"Right, sorry about that," she apologized. "Let's go." With Spike on her back, Twilight walked towards the location of Pinkie's party, the little colt still on her mind. Maybe I should ask him when I see him. |
Follow the Melody | Party Time! | By the time the sun had set, I finally arrived at Lyra and Bon Bon's house. For some reason, I didn't see the lights on inside. I guess Lyra and Bon Bon aren't home yet.
Once again using my mouth, I opened the door to the house. I hoped this wouldn't be an everyday thing, using my mouth to hold things. When I took a step inside the house, the door slammed shut behind me, shrouding everything in absolute darkness. That was until the lights turned on and about a dozen ponies appeared from their hidings spots, shouting "SURPRISE!"
I had nearly forgotten that Pinkie was going to throw me a surprise party, and if I was still wearing pants, I would have soiled them by now. Thankfully, there weren't any messes that needed to be cleaned. The surprise made me jump a good two feet back into the closed door as I let out a yelp. My heart skipped a beat as I was caught off guard, and I was now clinging to my chest, trying to slow my fast-beating heart.
The crazy pink mare, the one and only physics-defying Pinkie Pie, was now in front of my face, just a hair away. "Hey! Were you surprised? Hmm? Were ya? Were ya? Huh? Huh?"
Pinkie obviously didn't know the concept of personal space since she was so close to my face that I could practically smell the baked goods she indulged in. It smelled kind of nice actually, like walking into a bakery. Seeing how she worked in a bakery and how her life revolved around sweets, I could see why she smelled the way she did.
With Pinkie being at a distance that was too close for comfort for me, I took a step away from her, a blush on my face. "Yeah, I was surprised alright. Thanks for almost giving me a heart attack."
"You're welcome!" she replied, oblivious to the sarcasm dripping from my voice. I rolled my eyes.
"Hi! You must be Lyle! My name is Pinkie Pie but you can just call me Pinkie and this is your..." She paused for dramatic effect. "Welcome-to-Ponyville party!" The only word I got from Pinkie's greeting was "Hi." The rest was a blur since she was talking so fast. She was pretty much a ticking time bomb of energy ready to cause a nuclear explosion of confetti.
Looking around, I saw that the whole room was decorated. Tables were set up, covered in an assortment of treats and a punch bowl. Streamers and confetti were strewn all around. Party music filled the room, coming from a phonograph that was placed at the corner of the room. Above us was a large banner saying, "Welcome to Ponyville!" I noticed Lyra and Bon Bon standing next to the treats giving me a wave with their hooves. I waved back with a grin. I had a feeling Lyra knew this was going to happen. They weren't the only ponies I noticed in the room.
I recognized the trio of fillies as they galloped up to me, and if they hadn't slowed down, I would have thought they were going tackle me to the ground. They all beamed at me. "Hi Lyle!"
I gave a friendly smile back. "Hey there, girls. What are you all doing here?"
"Pinkie invited us to come," said Sweetie Belle.
"She said that there was going to be a party for you," added Scootaloo.
"So she invited us, mah sis, and her friends to the party," finished Apple Bloom.
It was then I noticed the rest of the stars of the show, minus Twilight, in the room. When they took notice of me, the ones who I hadn't met yet introduced themselves.
The first to introduce herself was the orange earth pony wearing a light brown stetson hat. "Hiya sugarcube! Ah'm Applejack, apple farmer of Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom here told me ya like our apples," she said with a grin.
"I don't just like them. I love them!" I exclaimed. Talking to her made me think about the apples I ate for lunch. Also, her name made me start thinking about the cereal. I wonder if the Apple family have their own cereal brand? If they did have their own cereal, it would have been hilarious if it was named after her.
"Well, come on by Sweet Apple Acres any time ya want ta try some of our apples."
"I'll be sure to stop by." I turned to the next pony, a familiar cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane.
"Hi, I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria," she boasted as she hovered in the air with a prideful look on her face.
"I'm sure you are," I said while rolling my eyes when she wasn't looking. "It's nice to meet you. Maybe you can show me a Sonic Rainboom later."
"You've heard of the Sonic Rainboom?" she asked gleefully.
"Uh, yeah, I have. I mean, who hasn't heard of it?" I lied, trying to correct my mistake.
She kept her prideful smirk. "Well, I'll be glad to show it to you some other time, squirt." She ruffled my mane. I grumbled under my breath. I'm not a squirt...
Finally, I met the last pony of the girls and the most shy of them all. The yellow pegasus with light pink mane was trying to make herself unnoticeable by hiding behind Rarity. I made my way over to them and planned my approach to Fluttershy.
"Hello Rarity. It's nice to see you here."
She turned away from the timid pegasus she was chatting with. "Hello again Lyle. I've already started on your costume, and I just want to let you know that your costume will be finished soon."
"Alright then. Again, thank you for making my costume."
"It's no problem at all, darling. It was my pleasure."
"So who's your friend, Rarity?" I motioned towards Fluttershy, who was now trying to make herself as small as possible.
Using her magic, Rarity pushed the timid pegasus in front of her. I could tell she wanted to run away at that point, but instead, she hid behind her long mane. With a little coaxing from Rarity, Fluttershy finally spoke up. "My name is Fluttershy..." she whispered.
I didn't have to listen closely since I knew what her name was. "Well, hi Fluttershy. My name's Lyle," I said quietly, trying not to startle or scare her. From the surprised look on Rarity's face, she probably wasn't expecting me to be able to hear the barely audible introduction.
"Fluttershy's a really nice name," I complimented. I tried to get her to come out of her shell a little bit at a time. Fluttershy peeked out from her mane and gave a small squeak in what I assumed was a "Thank you." Confound these ponies, they drive me to hnnnnng. Seeing how I wasn't going to be able to coax her out of her shell completely, I said, "It was really nice meeting you, Fluttershy. And it was great to see you again too, Rarity."
The door opened, revealing the remaining party guests. The party just wouldn't be complete without Twilight and Spike. I greeted the two of them as they came through the door: "Hey Spike. Hi Twilight. Welcome to the party."
"Hi Lyle. Are you having fun so far?" Twilight asked.
I smiled. "I'm having a great time."
"All of Pinkie's parties are awesome! I wouldn't miss out on any of them," said Spike.
While the older mares got together and talked, I headed towards the table filled with sweets. The first thing I tried as soon as I got to the table was one of Pinkie's famous cupcakes. It was a vanilla cupcake with light green frosting and a white stripe swirling around the green. The moment I took my first bite, my mouth was filled with an orgasmic sensation. Oh my god... Best. Fucking. Cupcake. Ever. The cupcake was an explosion of sweetness on taste buds. The cupcake was so good that I shoved the whole thing in my mouth in an instant.
After finishing the delectable treats, I joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders in their merriment. They all looked at me with smiles on their faces.
"Lyle, we've got a surprise for ya!" exclaimed Apple Bloom.
"A surprise?" I wondered what it was.
My vision was cut off by a pair of orange hooves coming from behind me. "You'll see soon enough," said Scootaloo. "Just hold out your hooves." I sat down and did as I was told. I heard some shuffling. My ears swivel towards the source of the sound; the unfamiliar sensation of my ears moving was still unsettling like the rest of my new body. Something warm and soft was placed on my outstretched hooves.
"You can look now," said the voice that was unmistakably Sweetie Belle's.
Scootaloo lifted her hooves, giving me a look at what was the so called "surprise." I looked down at my hooves and looked at the object resting in my hooves. It was a simple, red scarf. Stitched at one end was the Cutie Mark Crusaders' emblem, a filly wearing a cape on a blue background. Honestly, I was expecting a cape, but the scarf looked pretty good too. No doubt there was a grin on my face. "Wow, thanks."
"You are now officially a fellow member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders," said Sweetie Belle. "I would have made you a cape, but I kinda ran out of fabric and made you a scarf instead." All three of them cheered for me as I was now part of their clique.
Pinkie bounced over towards us. "Alright, now who wants to play some games?" We all nodded.
It's probably going to be games for kids. Hey, maybe it won't be so bad?
~~~~~~~
Twilight and Spike met up with the other girls. They were all talking about the new unicorn colt, but at the moment her mind was elsewhere. She wanted to find out more about Lyle, but if she asked him directly, it would seem overly suspicious.
As these thoughts clouded her mind, the orange cowpony spoke up. "What's the matter, Twi? Ya seem ta be spacin' out there."
She turned her attention to the mare and tried to push her thoughts aside. "Oh, everything's alright. It's just..." She couldn't lie to her friends. Maybe I can ask what they think about him. "What do you think of Lyle?"
Applejack raised a brow. "What do Ah think of him? Well, he seems like a pretty nice colt. Why do ya ask?"
"It's nothing really. It's just... Don't you think there's something 'off' about him?" There was another confused look from Applejack. "Look, let me explain. Two nights ago, Lyra found him at her doorstep, covered in cuts after running out of the Everfree Forest. He has no idea how he got there, and he says that he's been living on his own without parents even though he's so young. He looks almost exactly like Lyra, and even their names are similar too! Now tell me, doesn't this seem a little off to you?"
Applejack tapped her chin with a hoof. "Twilight, Ah think yer just overthinkin' it. Though, he sounds like a runaway foal who got lost in the forest. Him looking like Lyra and having almost the same name as her are just coincidence. Lighten up, sugarcube. He probably had a rough time. Take it easy on him will ya?"
Twilight let out a sigh. What if Applejack's right? Maybe I am overthinking it? What if he's just a lost runaway colt? Though... there are still some things that don't add up. When she saw the colt playing with the three fillies, a warm smile was brought to her face. Maybe I'll ask him some other time. I should just do what Applejack said and relax a bit.
~~~~~~~
"Let's start off with a classic - Pin the Tail on the Pony!" Pinkie shouted. She dragged me and the fillies to a wall with a drawing of a pony attached to it. Looking closely, the pony in the picture looked like...
Me... Wasn't expecting that.
A piece of cloth was suddenly wrapped around my eyes, blinding me, and what I assumed was the pin holding the tail was put in my mouth. Thankfully, I wasn't holding the pin by its sharp point.
"Ready, Lyle?"
"Sure, let me jus--"
I was cut off as I was spun around and around. After coming to a halt, I tried to keep my balance on my hooves, which was strangely difficult even though I had four legs, all the while trying not to throw up. Even with the blindfold on, it felt like the room was spinning.
I heard Apple Bloom's voice to my left. "Come on, Lyle! You can do it! Just move forward."
I lifted one hoof, only to fall down. Everything I learned about walking disappeared. I shakily stood up and started the walking process again. My hooves were wobbly, and when I felt like I was about to fall, I put my weight in the opposite direction, causing me to veer the other way.
"Go left!"
"No, go right!"
"Turn the other way! It's behind ya now!"
"You're going the wrong way!"
I heard everyone's voice shouting and giving me directions, adding more to my confusion. I ran in one direction when I began to fall, then another direction to correct my balance. I was zigzagging all over the place, moving like I was drunk. At this point, I had zero sense of balance and direction and was blindly listening to everyone.
"It's in front of you now!" Sweetie Belle shouted. I stopped as soon as I heard Sweetie Belle's voice. It was about time I ended this game.
If the poster was just in front of me, then all I had to do was head straight ahead. I adjusted the grip on the pin between my teeth, and composed myself so that the room wasn't spinning so much. Ok, just make a quick run forward, and this will be all over. I took a deep breath before charging forward.
*Thump*
Unfortunately, my goal was closer than I thought. It was a big mistake to run forward as I just rammed my head into the wall. I dropped the pin upon smashing my head into the wall and began to lose my balance once again. To keep myself from falling again, I sat on my rump - another big mistake. The pricking sensation on my bottom was enough to tell me what had happened. A loud yelp escaped my lips before I leapt and smacked my face against the wall again.
Pinkie, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom let out painful hiss as they watched me and all my grace, or lack of it.
"Ooh, that's gotta sting," Pinkie said," but you should see how close you got!"
I lifted my blindfold and looked up to see the poster hanging in front of me. You gotta be kidding me. I looked behind me to see another tail right next to my own. Really?!
~~~~~~~
Pinkie, the Crusaders, and I were now standing around a large basin filled with water and apples. An adhesive bandage was now on my butt. Embarrassing? Yes, it was. At least we were going to play something that had less sharp objects involved.
The little incident with the previous party game didn't keep her from smiling. "Okay, on the count of three, we all reach for an apple."
I looked down at the basin, eying the plump, red apple closest to me. I just had to dunk my head in and pull it out. It was a simple game. What could possibly wrong?
"One. Two. Three!"
We dunked our heads into the water, fishing for the red fruit. The first to pull out was Apple Bloom, followed by Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. I had a little more trouble with mine. I bit down on the apple and tried pulling, but it wouldn't budge any further. Even using my hooves to push against the basin, I still couldn't get it out. I wasn't planning on giving up. There was no way I was going to let this apple win.
I thrashed and splashed in the water. While this was going on, everyone else watched me.
"Why's he havin' so much trouble?" asked Apple Bloom.
Pinkie giggled. "He must have found one of the surprises I put in there."
"Surprises?" asked Scootaloo.
"Yep! It makes the game more fun!"
They stared at me as I kept tugging on the apple, my upper half now in the water. "He's taking an awful long time," said Sweetie Belle.
Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. "I thought he would have given up by now."
I started feeling lightheaded. I was running out of oxygen. I could feel the air in my lungs trying to escape. However, I could also feel the apple giving away. With a final tug, I fell backwards as the apple finally came loose. I sucked in air greedily, glad to finally breathe again.
In my field of vision, I can see Pinkie's face in front of me. "Wow, I can't believe you did it! It's not an apple, but you still did great!"
I turned my head toward the apple I had been pulling, except it wasn't an apple. It was a tennis ball... attached to a coiled spring. I had nearly drowned myself... for a tennis ball. Are you serious? After all that and it wasn't even an apple!
I brushed a wet strand of hair out of my face before turning to Pinkie. "Make those coils longer."
~~~~~~~
As the night grew late, the party lost most of its vitality. Almost everyone was exhausted from partying. I had spent the rest of the party not playing Pinkie's games; it was best for my health. The fillies were falling asleep, their eyelids drooping with tiredness. All the other ponies, with the exception of me, Lyra, and Bon Bon, left the party after cleaning up.
With everything cleaned up, we retired for the night, exhausted and ready to sleep. After I had brushed my teeth, Lyra showed me to a room across the bathroom. The room was the same size as Lyra's room. The walls were painted blue, and a single window stood out on one side of the walls. There was a small bed in the room, and other than that, the room was mostly bare except for a few boxes containing what appeared to be photo albums and other junk. Off to one side of the room was a small closet filled with more boxes which I assumed once cluttered the former storage room.
"How do you like your room, Lyle? It's not much but it's the best Bon Bon and I could do."
I walked into the room, absorbing every detail. "I love it. It's more than I would've asked for. I could've just, you know, sleep on the couch."
"Don't be silly, Lyle. It wasn't any trouble at all. Besides, if you're going to be staying with us for the time being, I can't let you sleep on the couch while you're our guest."
I now had a place to stay, and I didn't even have to pay rent. Here comes the guilt. "Lyra, if there's anything you ever need help with, let me know. It's the least I can do after all you've done for me," I said with sincerity.
She smiled as she mussed my mane. "Aww, you're quite the gentlecolt. Thank you Lyle." She then went to her room to sleep after saying a quick "Good night" while I was left in my new room. So many things had happened in just two days, but I knew that tomorrow was going to be even better. It's about time the ponies got to know a pony named Slender. I dropped my saddlebag onto the ground, turned off the lights, and made my way into bed. My eyes grew heavier until I could no longer keep them open before drifting off to sleep, as I dreamed about the exciting things tomorrow would bring. |
Follow the Melody | The Princess and the Foal | Morning light stirred me from from sleep. I sat up, letting out a yawn and a smack of my lips. Realizing what day it was, I couldn't help but smile. On most mornings, I'm usually reluctant to get out of the comfort of my bed, but today was special. I had a lot on my plate today, and if this was going to be my first Nightmare Night, I wanted it to be the best.
I flung the covers off me and leapt out of bed. As I was about to leave the room, I stopped in my tracks. I turned towards my bed, revealing a mess of my recent awakening, the covers hanging off the bed and onto the floor.
There's no need to be a slob while I'm a house guest. They are kind enough to let me stay here after all, I reminded myself. Once the bed was neatly tidied, I headed out to do my morning routine and get some breakfast.
A heavenly smell assaulted my nose as I walked into the kitchen. Lyra was making some eggs and toast. She levitated two plates to the table, each carrying an omelet, as well as two glasses of orange juice. I hopped onto one of the chairs, my mouth watering at the spread in front of me. "Wow, Lyra! This looks great!"
She gave a quick "Thank you" at my compliment and began to dig in. I followed her example and started on my own omelet. As we ate, Lyra and I struck up a conversation. "So Lyle, have anything planned for today?"
Using my hooves to hold utensils this time, I cut my food into smaller pieces before eating it. "Yep, I've got a lot planned for today," I said between bites. "I need to go pick up my costume from Rarity later, and then I'm going to read a few books. What about you and Bon Bon?"
"Well, Bon Bon is pretty busy at the moment making tons of candy for Nightmare Night. I'm going to be helping out with decorating Ponyville for the celebration."
"Cool."
I shoveled the rest of my food into my mouth and washed it down with orange juice. I may not have good table manners, but when I'm hungry, I eat like no tomorrow. With my breakfast finished, I hopped onto a stool by the kitchen sink and washed my plate. I found it a lot easier to hold things if I didn't think about it.
When I looked at the clock, it was still rather early. Rarity wouldn't be finished with my costume until hours from now, so I made the best use of my time and went up to my room to learn magic. I took out the first book from my saddlebag and dove into my study. Two minutes in and I was already engrossed in my reading. Levitation, transmogrification, and even growing moustaches - the spells I read about ranged from simple to complex, some of them being ridiculous. I was like a little kid reading a comic book, only replace the comic book with a textbook of sorts on magic.
When I felt I had read enough of the basics, I chose to learn levitation first. I wanted to have something equivalent to the feeling of having hands once again. How hard can this be?
I started with something easy - a pencil. I stared at it, trying to feel something. The books didn't go into much detail about what magic was supposed to feel like. Five minutes of staring intensely at the pencil in front of me produced zero results; the damn thing didn't even budge! I moved my face closer. Come on! Move, dammit! Closing the distance had no effect on it. It sat in front of me, almost mockingly.
I tried all sorts of things to lift the pencil with magic -- meditating, random chanting, and at one point, complimenting it. Hey, it didn't hurt to try. Even after making myself look like an idiot, I still couldn't make levitate the stupid pencil. I let out an angry snort, which was much stranger now that I was an equine. I just want something equivalent to having hands. Is that too much to ask for?
My frustration at my unsuccessful attempts came out as a heavy sigh. I read the books, and they made sense to an extent. It would have helped if I knew what I was supposed to feel when using magic. But no, I was born as a normal human with no unicorn magic. I looked at the pencil once more; it hadn't moved anywhere since I took it out. If I was human again, I could easily pick it up. I imagined myself holding it, as if I had hands again, but a tugging sensation on my horn broke my thoughts.
I reached up at my horn, but nothing was out of the ordinary, or at least what was considered "ordinary" in this world. What the hell was that? I looked at the pencil again. I wonder...
I imagined a hand holding a pencil again. The tugging feeling returned, and the pencil was encased in a shimmering yellow glow. Holy shit! I'm doing it! Now to gently lift it...
The moment I thought about lifting the pencil, it shot up faster than I anticipated, impaling itself into the ceiling. I stared at the ceiling with the pencil lodged in it. I'm going to have to fix that later, but at least I can finally start somewhere with magic.
I got out another pencil and tried to do the same thing again, remembering the feeling in my horn from before. Unlike the first time, I decided to take things slowly. The pencil was wrapped in golden glow and wobbled a bit before leaving the ground. It hovered an inch above the ground shakily. My focus was all on the pencil in front of me, trying to keep it afloat. But when I tried to move it to the side, it flew out the open window, followed by a yelp.
I hastily ran to the window and dared a peek outside. I let out a sigh of relief, glad to see that the mare, who I almost impaled, was unharmed. I couldn't say much about the banner she was holding though. There was a hole on Nightmare Moon's face on the banner, and I found the pencil stuck into a tree. I closed the window and innocently whistled as I backed away from it like it never happened.
The next few tries ended just as well as the first, though on the bright side I was improving. At one point, I tried to lift a bunch of pencils, only to nearly kill myself when they all came towards my location with the sharp end pointed towards me. Luckily, they all missed me, creating a nearly perfect outline of my body in the wall. I added plaster and maybe a Wonderbolts poster to the list of things I needed to buy to cover up the damage. I had no idea why I used sharpened pencils.
Once I was satisfied that I wasn't going to kill someone with my levitation spell, I tried to lift myself up like how I saw Pumpkin Cake fly in the show. Thankfully, I didn't send myself into the ceiling. I had to give Pumpkin Cake a lot of credit. It was really difficult to lift myself one inch off the ground. I guess that was a good thing. There was less of a chance of hurting myself or anyone. Though, the fact that a baby unicorn was able to pull it off made me feel a little jealous.
After a while, I began to feel weary from practicing magic, so I decided to take a small break and look out the window to see what the town was up to. Ponies all around were decorating the buildings with ornaments that matched the Nightmare Moon theme. Some of the colts and fillies were already showing off their costumes and running around excitedly. It was like Halloween back at home - the costumes, the candy, and the decorations. The only thing missing was the tricks. Seeing how the sun wasn't at its highest peak yet, I started my next magic lesson: illusions.
From the first few pages, I could tell it was going to be a long morning. The illusion spells were far more complex than the levitation spells I had learned earlier, though I think I got the gist of it. It was like... like making a costume. I change how I look on the outside, but I would still be the same human-turned-colt on the inside. However, with my small body, casting an illusion spell to make me look like pony version of Slenderman was difficult. I had to change everything with my appearance. I couldn't keep my concentration constantly focused on how I looked. It was just taxing on my mind.
Instead, I opted for a simpler solution. I read somewhere in one of the books that enchanting an item was a lot easier than casting the spell every time, since the enchanted item would do most of the work. I couldn't work on the illusion until I got the costume from Rarity, so I moved on to teleportation, and wow, was it difficult. I had to read up on the theories behind the teleportation spell and object displacement. Most of what I read went against everything I knew about physics, but then again, it was magic.
After checking the book once more, I set it down and got ready for the spell. Okay, I just have to remember that feeling again. I felt the familiar tingling of magic building up and intensifying in my horn before I let it out in a flash of light. There was a pulling sensation and then nothing, and by nothing, I meant I couldn't feel the floor under me. In fact, once I took notice of where I was, I found myself in the air just outside my window with nothing to hold me up. By the time I noticed, it was too late. Gravity took over, and soon my face became acquainted with the ground.
Hello, ground. Something tells me you and I are going to get to know each other really well in the next few hours.
My next attempts at teleporting resulted in painful landings and a few apologies here and there to some ponies. No surprise there. In the span of a few hours, I managed to teleport myself onto someone's rose garden, the roof, and much to my embarrassment, someone's bathroom while a mare was taking a bath. In my defense, ponies were naked most of the time, so I didn't see why it would be any different. But still, I got called a pervert and chased out of the house as I spewed apologies and dodged various household objects. But after the twentieth or so time and some newly acquired sores, I think I got it down so that I could teleport within a general area.
Checking the time, it was now midafternoon, showing that quite some time had passed while I was learning magic. I figured that now was probably a good time to pick up my costume from Rarity and headed out the door towards her shop. The time of the event was nearing as more ponies got stands and games ready. Foals were already in costume, talking about exciting plans for the night and all the sweet treats that were to come. I hastened my pace. I couldn't wait for my first Nightmare Night in Equestria.
When I got to the boutique, I saw it was decorated like the rest of Ponyville with the dark color scheme of Nightmare Night. The pony mannequins displayed in the window were also dressed up for the event. I walked into the boutique, ringing the bell on top of the door and signaling my arrival. Rarity came downstairs saying in a singsong voice, "Coming!" She was dressed like a vampire pony with false fangs and a dark cloak. The look really suited her. She smiled when she saw me.
"Oh Lyle, you've arrived just in time! I just finished making your costume."
She levitated a bag of clothes towards me which I took with my hooves. Inside, everything was accounted for: the white mask, the black suit, and the red tie. A grin crept its way onto my face. I now had everything I needed for my plan. "Thanks Rarity! I'll be sure to show you how I look in it tonight. I think you did a really great job with the costume."
She just gave a chuckle at my compliments. "Oh Lyle, you really do know how to flatter a mare. You'll make quite the gentlecolt someday."
With everything I needed acquired, I could now put my plan into motion. "Sorry to cut out meeting short Rarity, but I got a lot to do before Nightmare Night. Bye!"
I ran out the door with the bag in my mouth, eager to get started on enchanting my costume. However, in all my excitement, I accidentally collided with a familiar light yellow pegasus. She was a little dazed after I crashed into her, but her face immediately changed into fear when she saw me and gave a quiet "Eep!" She hid behind her long pink mane, trying to make herself as small as possible.
These ponies are just way too cute, I thought. I realized I made her drop all the animal feed she was carrying when I bumped into her. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Fluttershy. I wasn't really watching where I was going," I apologized.
Fluttershy was still trying to avoid eye contact while shuffling her hooves as she gave an inaudible squeak. I had to make it up to her, and what better way to get her to come out of her shell than by helping her? "Are these your bags? Let me help you with those. It's the least I can do."
The bags of feed were encased in a golden glow. As I focused on the bags, they began to inch their way of the ground. This would be great practice before I got ready for tonight. I was glad I got some practice from before; otherwise, the bags of feed I was carrying might have rocketed to the moon.
Fluttershy looked up from the ground with a surprise look on her face, though she still retained her shy approach. "O-oh, you don't have to do that, Lyle. It's fine. I can carry these by myself," she said, barely above a whisper.
"Sorry, Fluttershy, but I can't take no for an answer. It was my fault for bumping into you, and besides, I can't just let a pretty mare like you carry these heavy bags by yourself."
There was a hint of red on her cheeks, probably because of my comment. Then again, I wasn't a full grown stallion, so her blush wasn't that deep. "T-thank you, Lyle."
"No problem. Just tell me where you want these dropped off."
She led the way to her cottage as I levitated my bag and her bags of animal feed. It was quite a long walk since her cottage was at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Why a shy mare like her was living near such a dangerous place, I would never know. We reached the cottage, and I was starting to feel light headed from using magic the entire time we walked.
Animals of all kinds were everywhere around her cottage. Some of these animals were really random considering the type of environment they usually live in. I saw a seal and an otter in the yard around her house. I can understand the small woodland creatures, but where the did these other animals come from? Seriously, I haven't seen any large body of water, and that stream near Fluttershy's cottage seems pretty shallow.
We reached her door with her bags in tow. "You can set those down anywhere, and thank you for doing this." She wasn't talking in a whisper anymore, but it wasn't that much louder. At least it was a step up in our friendship. It was a baby step, but a step nonetheless.
"No problem, Fluttershy." I dropped the bag by the animals' food bowls. I checked the clock in her house, reminding me that I still had some work to do. "It was nice bumping into you, but I gotta get going. Happy Nightmare Night!" I saw her wince for a brief moment at the mention of Nightmare Night. Hope she gets over her fear soon. She's going to miss tonight's fun.
I hurried back to Lyra's house. Though this time, I didn't carry my bag with magic and instead held it in my mouth. Nightmare Night would begin in a few hours. Lyra and Bon Bon weren't home yet, so I went upstairs to try on my new costume.
After I slipping into my Slendermane costume, I took a look at myself in the bathroom. In the mirror, I saw a small colt. His head was white with no facial features and a horn jutting out from his head. I was glad that Rarity accounted for the horn on my head. It would have probably ripped a hole in the costume. The mask was perfect; it hid my features and was easy to see and breathe through. Although the face in front of me was void of emotions, I knew I was smiling underneath. The black suit was very well made with the sleeves stopping at the fetlocks of my front hooves and the coattails hanging over my rear. The red tie completed the suit as it stood out from the monotonous colors of my costume.
There was just one thing left to do to complete the transformation. I went back into my room, took the mask off, and laid it on my bed. I spent the next hour or two rereading one of the books again on magical illusions and enchantments. Although I would be able to activate the illusion with the mask on, the illusion spell cast on the object would only last depending on the unicorn's magical strength. I tried visualizing a pony version of Slenderman. A gold stream flowed from my horn onto the mask. The glow around the mask shimmered and shook like water.
Taking the manifestation of magic in its raw form and putting it into an object was difficult. The closest thing I could use to explain what magic felt like was trying to carry a gallon of water in my bare hands, if I still had them anyway. It was intangible, according to the book, with no definite shape. As I tried to enchant the mask, magic would spill out, causing me to redo the process all over again. It was a tedious process. So after multiple tries weaving an enchantment and illusion spell on the white mask, I was left exhausted and drained of magic, but I think the spell was set. With the amount of work I put into learning magic, it had better been worth it. The mask looked the same as it was before, except it had a spell attached to it. Being a novice at using magic, I knew that the illusion spell would wear off after an hour or so. With the spell's short duration, I decided I would hold off on wearing the mask until the event started, since the spell only activated when the object was worn.
I took off my costume and set it aside until the night came. Until then, I took a nap on my bed after a tiring day.
~~~~~~~
I woke up groggily, and judging by how dark the room was, it was about time I got ready for Nightmare Night. I put on the black suit and red tie and pulled the plain white mask over my face. The effect of the illusion spell was immediate. There was a tingling sensation all over me. My legs turned pale white as they elongated. My tail vanished as it faded into nothingness. My small body became larger and slimmer. The illusion spell also affected my clothes as they grew along with my body. The horn that was once on top of my head also vanished, leaving my head bare. In a few seconds, the spell was complete. I was probably as tall as Celestia herself now. Black tentacles, misty in appearance, sprouted from my back. The tentacles moved on their own, lazily waving about. I made it so that I could control a few of the tentacles with my mind, but they couldn't really grab anything, which was why I learned the levitation spell. Glancing back at my flank, I saw a cutie mark of a drawn circle crossed out.
This is gonna be the best Nightmare Night ever, I thought to myself. I levitated my saddlebag onto my back. Although it was a little small, I was able to still carry it without feeling any discomfort. I stuffed some pieces of paper, a roll of tape, and a pencil into the saddlebag.
I could hear Bon Bon downstairs handing out candy to the little colts and fillies. I didn't want to spoil the surprise just yet, so I decided to try my hoof at teleporting again. While teleportation normally enveloped the user in a bright light, my illusion spell made it so that I was swallowed by the darkness of my shadow. I had some fun playing around with the spell. It was pretty sweet if you ask me. I then reappeared behind a tree in some bushes, rematerializing from a dark abyss.
Now I just need to make it to the Nightmare Moon's statue without being seen, and I could put my plan into action. Making multiple teleportations behind trees and bushes, I was able to make it to the edge of the forest without being seen. After a bit of walking, I made it to the statue of Nightmare Moon. No one was around, making it perfect to set my plan into motion. I took out some paper and hastily wrote messages on them.
I stuck a piece of paper on the statue of Nightmare Moon and the other pieces of paper on the trees following the path back to town. I hid behind some trees some distance away from the statue but close enough to see what was going on. And now I wait...
I didn't have to wait long. A group of small colts and fillies had just arrived, led by the rhyming zebra. I also noticed some of the ponies within the group. Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie were there. Twilight was dressed as Star Swirl the Bearded and Spike was, ironically, dressed as a dragon. Pinkie was dressed as a giant chicken. Huh, so either ponies aren't original in costume ideas or I'm in the episode with Princess Luna. While Zecora was telling the story about Nightmare Moon and the ponies were screaming around, Pipsqueak smacked into the statue where my note was.
He picked up the note that fell on his face. "Did anypony leave this note behind?" Most of the ponies have stopped screaming by now to hear what Pipsqueak had to say. They all shook their heads. "It says 'Don't look or he takes you...' What do you think it means?"
The group of ponies had confused looks on their faces. Twilight had gotten a hold of the note and was scrutinizing it. "I'm not sure who wrote this, but it must just be a prank by somepony to scare us." Just as she said this, one of the fillies screamed out loud.
Everyone turned towards the startled filly. "What's wrong?" asked Twilight.
The filly dressed as a ladybug was pointing towards a thick section of the forest. "I t-thought I s-saw something over there."
The next pony to scream was Scootaloo, who was dressed as a werewolf. "Twilight, I think I saw somepony over there!" She pointed towards another side of the clearing. There was nothing there, of course, since I had teleported.
I was having a little too much fun scaring the daylights out of the ponies. While everyone was focused on the spot I was previously at before teleporting, I teleported behind one of fillies, left behind another note, and teleported into another spot in the forest.
When the filly dressed as an astronaut noticed the note, she hesitantly picked it up and read it out loud. "'Always watches no eyes'? Hey this looks like a picture of a pony's head." The picture revealed a drawing of a pony's head. However, it was lacking eyes and void of any emotions.
This time I ran around the clearing before teleporting to the other side. The movements in the bushes made them stick closer together. "I say we drop our candy for Nightmare Moon and get out of her as soon as possible. What do you say?" Pinkie asked. Everyone agreed, anxious to leave already. So as they hastily made their way out of the forest, I made sure to leave some more notes on the floor in the path in front of them.
Twilight picked up each note as they passed by them. One read "CAN'T RUN" and another read "FOLLOWS" with a picture of tall, faceless pony dressed in black.
Before they could exit the forest, I decided to make my appearance. I teleported in front of the path with all the cool special effects. I towered all the colts, fillies, mares, and the baby dragon. Their faces were shocked with fear, their screams caught in their throats. I made my way to Twilight, who was gaping at me, and using one of my tentacle and my levitation spell, I lifted her head to face mine. "Happy Nightmare Night... Twilight Sparkle." I let out a maniacal laughter and faded into the darkness that came with my teleportation. I was a little out of character, but the reaction I got out of it was totally worth it.
Everypony in the group shrieked and galloped towards town as if they were chased by demons. I, on the other hoof, was laughing behind some trees back in the forest. "Oh god! That was hilarious! Oh, that was just too funny. I should probably check back on them later and clear the whole thing up." I wasn't completely heartless. In my fit of laughter, I didn't notice the patch of blue flowers underneath my hooves.
As I looked back at the sky, I saw a dark chariot fly overhead towards Ponyville with lightning flashing in the sky. So, the Princess of the Night arrives. I guess I'm in that episode after all. It was at the statue of Nightmare Moon that I noticed a dark blue alicorn, sitting glumly with a piece of candy in front of her and her back facing toward me. I went up to comfort her. I didn't want to stick with the Slendermane approach since this princess could probably pulverize me to smithereens. Instead, I took slow steps, making sure not to make any sudden movements.
As I closed the distance, one of her ears swiveled in my direction. I froze in my tracks. She turned her head towards me, her eyes widening as soon as they fell on me before narrowing. "WHO ART THOU? AND WHY HAVE THOU COME TO US?" she shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice. My ears flattened at the deafening volume. Oh noble Dragonborn. Teach me the shouts of your dragon language.
I straightened my tie after being subjected to the force of the shout. I figured now was okay to break out of character. "You look a little sad, Princess. What's wrong?" I said in a calm and deeper voice, doing my best to mask my young voice. I'd rather have a calm princess than an angry one.
"THOU ART NOT SCARED OF US? THE OTHER PONIES HAVE SHOWN NOTHING BUT FEAR TOWARDS US!" Again with the shouting.
"No, I'm not scared. Why should I? You seem nice. But, I must ask that you talk in a quieter volume." My ears couldn't take much more of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
"We apologize, strange one," she said at a more tolerable volume, "but we have to ask, who art thou?"
"I want to keep my identity secret for tonight, but you may call me Slendermane."
"Slendermane... that is an unusual name, no offense. How does thou have tentacles if thou art an earth pony?" Driven by curiosity, she tried to poke one of the tentacles, only to have her hoof go through it like smoke. "An illusion?"
"It's just a little something I put together," I said. "But back to you, Princess, why are you here all alone?"
She looked down and sighed. "The other ponies fear us, keeping us from making peace, though it's understandable. We really were once a mean and despicable creature. It's really difficult... to make new friends."
A sad princess? Well, looks like I'm going to have to change that. "Difficult? Ha ha. Why look here, making new friends is as easy as taking your first step."
"Put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking cross the floor .
Put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door."
I was really getting into the song as I sung. I pranced around the clearing, trying to cheer Princess Luna up. It sure must have looked weird to see Slendermane dancing around and singing. All the while I was dancing, Princess Luna gave me a puzzled expression at my actions as she watched me with a tilted head.
"Put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking cross the floor.
Put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door.
If you want to change your direction,
If your time of life is in reach,
Well don't be the rule be the exception.
A good way to start is your speech.
Put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking cross the floor.
Put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door."
Luna finally got into the song and was singing along with me.
"If we want to change the reflection
We see in the mirror each morn,
Thou mean that it's just our election
To vote for a chance to be reborn."
At this point, Luna was dancing with me as we sung along to the song.
"You put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you are walking cross the floor.
You put one hoof in front of the other
And soon you are walking out the door!"
Our song came to an end, and we started laughing together as if we had been good friends for a long time. Luna wrapped her hooves around me in a hug, and I was once again blushing under my mask. It was a good thing my mask hid my crimson face from the Princess. When she broke the hug, she was smiling at me. "Thou have been so kind us. We would like to get to know the stallion under the mask better," she said with a mischievous smile.
I gulped under my mask. Remember Lyle. They're ponies. Even if this is immortal alicorn. You know in this moonlight, she looks kind of-- No! Stop it! As I was fighting with myself, the blue alicorn got closer to me and brought her hooves around my neck where my mask ended. I tried to get away but her magic held me in place. I thought my secret was going to be blown, but a confused look crept onto her face. Her hooves kept fiddling with my mask, but it didn't come off.
"Why can't we take off thy mask? Is it stuck onto thy head? Do you not wish for anypony to see thy face?"
Now it was my turn to be confused. I didn't make it so that my mask couldn't come off. I reached my hooves around my mask and gave it a little tug, but it didn't budge from my head, as if there was super glue attaching the mask to my face. I started to freak out a little.
"Why won't my mask come off?!" I shouted as I pulled at the fabric. I clawed the fabric, trying to tear it off, but it was useless. It was fixed onto my head. Come off, dammit!
"Art thou well?" asked Princess Luna.
I stopped pulling my mask, realizing how useless it was. I had to find help. "Sorry, Princess, but I gotta go. Maybe we'll meet each other next time you come to visit Ponyville." I teleported out of the forest like a shadow fading out, startling the alicorn princess. The last look I saw on Princess Luna's face was of disappointment as I left. I would have stayed and comforted her when she was lonely, but having a mask stuck onto my face for reasons unknown took some priority.
I made my way back to Ponyville, causing many ponies to flee in terror at my appearance. I guess word got out quicker than I thought. Ponies were panicking at the sight of me. Little colts and fillies were screaming. The older ponies were wrecking everything as they tried to get away from me. I know I look scary, but isn't this a bit of an overreaction?
I noticed Applejack in a scarecrow costume and went up to her, hoping she would help me. However, as I got closer, she backed further away from me, fear stricken on her face. Before I could say anything, a bolt of magic whizzed by my face. Turning around, I saw Twilight staring angrily at me. This is not good. She fired off some more magic shots at me, which I luckily dodged. I guess dodging pencils finally paid off.
Twilight glared daggers at me as she aimed her horn. "Don't you dare hurt my friends!" she yelled.
I tried to resolve this situation quickly. "Twilight, it's me, Ly--" One of the shots hit me, momentarily dazing me. But that was enough time for the cowpony to buck me in the head like a sledgehammer. Before I blacked out, one thought came to my mind. Shit...
~~~~~~~
When I came to, I was tied up in Twilight's library. Ropes bounded my legs, keeping me from moving. Before I could get up, a voice spoke up in a threatening tone.
"Don't move."
I turned towards the source of the voice and found the mares in front of me, who I recognized were Pinkie, Applejack, and Twilight. None of them looked too happy, well except Pinkie. She seemed chipper, as usual, and knowing her, she probably wanted to throw a party for me.
"Who are you? No, what are you?" Twilight asked in a tone not at all friendly.
I can still fix this, I just gotta explain. "It's me, Lyle." They didn't look too convinced.
"Lyle? He's a lil' colt, not whatever you are!" replied Applejack.
"I'm not lying! It's really me, Lyle!" I pleaded, wiggling in my binding.
"Don't be silly! Of course, you're not Lyle. Lyle is an itty bitty colt, and you're a super tall, spooky, faceless pony thing," said Pinkie, smiling.
"Aw, come on! It was just a prank. I didn't actually hurt anypony."
"We still can't really trust you after what you did," Twilight said while pointing at me.
These mares were having a hard time believing me. Dammit, I shouldn't have gone too far with that prank. They'll probably have me locked up or something for being the terror of Ponyville. I can see the headlines: 'Slendermane finally caught! Sentenced to life in prison.' Yeah, that'll be great...
As I was losing hope in the mares who saw me as a monster, which technically I was since I was dressed as Slendermane, a certain blue alicorn appeared at the door of the library.
"Princess Luna!" all three mares shouted. I could only stare at my one hope of clearing everything up.
When she saw me tied up on the floor, she frowned. "RELEASE HIM!" The Royal Canterlot Voice shook Twilight's tree, causing all of us , except me, to cover our ears.
The ropes around my legs loosened, and I was finally able to stand up. The three mares backed up away from me, a little nervous at what I would do.
Princess Luna walked up to me before turning to everyone in the room. "He is no threat. He is actually a nice pony with a kind heart. Although he would not say who he really is, he calls himself, Slendermane." Everyone relaxed a little at hearing their Princess assure them that I wasn't going to hurt them, but that didn't stop them from being a little pissed at me.
"Listen to her. It's really me, Lyle! I used some magic to make myself look like this and to pull off that prank, except now I can't take off my mask!"
Twilight trotted up to me and began poking and prodding me as she scrutinized my costume. "Lyle, how do you even know how to do this kind of magic? Illusions and teleportation are really advanced and complex spells."
"I read the books I checked out, Twilight. All it took was a lot of practice and figuring out how it works. But back to more important matters at hoof, I can't take off the mask I enchanted!"
She put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm, did anything happen since the time you wore your mask?"
Let's see... I put the mask on and then scared everyone. What else happened? I met Princess Luna then created panic in Ponyville. But what could have caused this? Ugh, I guess this is what I deserve for pranking everyone. It almost feels like a bad... joke. Oh...
My face met my hoof as the realization sunk in. "Hey Twilight... Know where I can get a cure for poison joke?"
From there, she knew what to do. Twilight explained that I could be cured by getting a bath with some herbs from Zecora. Applejack went to Mayor Mare to tell her about the situation. Pinkie began eating all her candy and being... well, Pinkie. The town settled down soon after. Twilight came back with Zecora and a bag of herbs. I soaked in Twilight's bathtub filled with warm water and herbs with my clothes still on, although I think Rarity wouldn't mind with the situation I had to go through. Thankfully, I was able to slide the mask off my face, bringing my illusion to an end.
Upon seeing my face, Princess Luna gasped. "Thou art a colt?! We thought thou were a stallion!"
I awkwardly scratched my head. "Heh, funny story... Would you believe that I'm really an adult?" Luna didn't look like she was going to believe me anytime soon. But before she headed out the door, I had to say one last thing. "Princess Luna, it was really nice meeting you. I really think you can make friends if you just try, and if you'll let me, can I be your friend?"
She smiled warmly. "Thou art already a dear friend, young Lyle. Our time here was rather enjoyable."
"You know, the night is still young. Maybe you should try making new friends now?"
"We would be glad to."
~~~~~~~
The rest of Nightmare Night continued, ponies taking part in the festivities of the night again. They no longer feared Princess Luna as Nightmare Moon after seeing Slendermane for the first time. They even took a liking to her now that she was trying to be friendly. Though, the little colts and fillies still asked Luna to scare them as Nightmare Moon for the enjoyment of being scared. After I apologized for the umpteenth time to the girls, they eventually forgave me and all was right again, sort of. I was a little sore that my costume was ruined, and I didn't get a single piece of candy, but I guess I deserved that too.
I went back to Lyra's house with my soaked costume in my saddlebag. When I got inside, I noticed that Lyra dressed as a mummy and talking to Bon Bon about her night while eating candy.
"Hey Lyle, how was your night?" asked Lyra.
"It was... interesting," I plainly said.
"Oh? Like what?"
I gave a heavy sigh. "I'll tell you later, maybe. I'm pretty tired."
"Well, okay. Goodnight, Lyle."
I went up to my room. I tossed my saddlebag on the ground and crawled into bed. With every that happened today, it was no surprise I would be tired - learning magic, scaring the living daylights out of every pony, being shot at with magic, and being bucked in the head. Wow, what a day. But hey, at least Princess Luna got a happy ending to this night. I turned off the lights and shut my eyes, giving in to the comfort of sleep. |
Follow the Melody | The Bees | I woke up to the throbbing pain in my head. Being bucked in the head by an apple farmer like Applejack does that to you. I probably lost a few brain cells from that kick. Looking at the window, I saw that the sun was high up, meaning I woke up pretty late in the day. I sat up on my bed, gingerly touching the back of my head where I had been kicked. I winced at the sharp pain as my hoof made contact. There was a small bump on my head but nothing an ice pack couldn't fix.
I kicked off the covers and lazily made my way to the door. I passed by my saddlebag still filled with all my stuff from last night, including my soaked costume. Ick, I should probably get that washed soon, but not now. I trotted downstairs, hoping to find an ice pack and maybe some pain relievers, if ponies had any.
When I walked into the kitchen, neither Lyra nor Bon Bon was around, leaving me alone in the house. I noticed a note on the fridge.
Lyle,
Went to the park to earn some bits. Bon Bon left to work at her store. In the meantime, stay OUT of trouble. If you decide to go out, be sure to be back before dark.
Lyra
After I had finished reading the note, I planned out today's agenda. So I have the whole day to myself. I still have to find a way to pay back Lyra. But how? I thought about how I would go spending my day as I grabbed myself an apple from the fridge to eat. I found an ice pack and filled it with ice from the freezer and held the pack to the tender bump on my head. I didn't find out where the medicine was kept, but after holding the ice pack on the tender spot for a while, the pain had dulled considerably. Once the pain had been treated, I emptied the ice pack and put it away. I decided I would look around town to kill some time, and with that I headed out the door.
The decorations from Nightmare Night were taken down, and ponies around were minding their own business. There were ponies pulling carts. Some stopped to chat, while others trotted toward their destination. Things were pretty normal around here, for a world inhabited by ponies that is.
I wandered around town hall and around the market. There were stands setup selling fruits and vegetables of all kinds. I saw a mare and a stallion yelling and arguing as they haggled over the price of cherries. The mare was winning. Looking around, I saw a store that sold quills and sofas. I thought it was pretty random for a store to sell the two things of no relevance to each other, but hey, what did I know about ponies or business?
Next to a store selling gems and jewelry, I found Bon Bon's candy store. How did I know it was Bon Bon's? The three pieces of candy on the store's sign, similar to Bon Bon's cutie mark, might have had something to do with it. I stopped by the candy store and said hello to Bon Bon, who was behind a counter. "Hiya Bon Bon. Is this your candy store?" I asked.
"Sure is!" she replied, grinning. There was an assortment of candy in the store. There was candy corn, chocolate, bonbons (why am I not surprised?), and other types of candy. While I was perusing the sugary goods, reminding me that I never got a single piece of candy during Nightmare Night after the 'incident', Bon Bon noticed me practically drooling at the sight of the treats.
She chuckled at this. "Lyle, would you like some samples? I made these myself."
I broke my gaze from the sweets to look at her. "Of course I would like some! You made all these?"
"Yep! Let me just get you a bag." She grabbed a white paper bag and began pouring a variety of candy inside it. She gave me the bag, which I gladly took with my mouth; having spent yesterday constantly using magic to do all kinds of crazy things, I held off using any magic spell until I recovered from it.
"Tanksh, Ron Ron ," I said with the bag in my mouth. She gave a wave as I left the store.
I walked toward a park bench with my bag full of goodies and sat down, savoring each piece of candy as I popped them into my mouth with relish. The sweetness of the bonbons overwhelmed my taste buds - the sweet, creamy chocolate melting in my mouth. I let myself drown in the sea of chocolaty goodness and delight. As I sat there eating my treat, I couldn't help but let my mind wander, always drifting toward the subject of home.
Home. I wonder what's happening back at home. I thought about being human again and watching My Little Pony. Out of curiosity, I did what Lyra did in the show and sat like I did when I was human. It was uncomfortable since my equine body was not used to such a position. It felt strange that the way I had been sitting for most of my life was now unsuitable to my new body. How can Lyra sit like this? My back is killing me!
Most of the ponies who walked by didn't even notice the green unicorn colt sitting like a human, but some of them did a double take when they walked pass me. I got looks of surprise from some of them, probably because they thought I was Lyra or something since she was the only pony who ever sat like this, at least according to my knowledge of the show. When watching everyone's reactions lost its entertainment value, I decided it was time to take another look around Ponyville.
I still needed a way to find bits, and I doubted ponies would hire colts my age. While looking around, I noticed a building with a music note on the sign of the store. I was practically ecstatic at seeing the music store. Music was a hobby and passion of mine. I mainly played guitar back at home, but I also learned to play all sorts of instruments in my younger years.
I cantered into the store where I saw different instruments on display. Acoustic guitars hung on one side of the room. Violins, violas, and cellos lined another side of the room. There were drums of different sizes in the center of the store. In the back of the room, I saw a dark brown stallion with jet black hair. He seemed about middle aged, and his cutie mark was two sixteenth notes linked together. Behind him were more instruments such as a trumpet, a flute, and a clarinet. I noticed that this store didn't have many electronic instruments.
While looking around, the stallion spoke up. "Need something, kid?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm just looking around. How much does this acoustic guitar cost?" I pointed at one of the guitars hanging.
"That? 150 bits," he said.
Damn. That is a lot, and I don't have a single bit on me. But I really want that guitar. I guess I'll have to earn the bits to payback Lyra AND to pay for a guitar. I turned my attention back to the stallion. "Alright, that's all I wanted to know, thank you." With that new information in mind, I left the store but not before giving that guitar one more glance.
I had to find some way to earn some bits. It seemed like my problems were becoming more related to money now. I had to think of an idea that'll earn me some cash. Lemonade stand? No, that'll take me forever. Selling cookies? I don't even know how to bake. I could always sell a kidney, but I'm not that desperate yet. God dammit! What the hell can I do to get some bits around here?!
While I was lost in my thoughts, three fillies riding a scooter-pulled wagon skidded to a stop in front of me. "Hiya Lyle! Wanna come with us to our clubhouse? It's at my farm. Now that yer a Cutie Mark Crusader, you gotta see it," said Apple Bloom.
Since I'm not doing anything, I might as well. "Sure, Apple Bloom. So, uh, I just ride in the wagon?"
"Yep! With Scootaloo driving, we'll get there in no time," replied Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo held a prideful grin at the remark.
I hopped into the wagon between Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They didn't have a spare helmet, so out of the four of us, I would be the only one who would most likely get seriously injured in an accident. We sped through Ponyville, nearly colliding with one or two ponies as Scootaloo drove us to Apple Bloom's farm. The wagon was cramped with my addition to the vehicle. The other two didn't really seem to mind, it was too close for comfort for me. Apple Bloom sat behind me, while Sweetie Belle sat in front. During the ride to Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom clung to me from behind, both hooves wrapped around me. With me being between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, I had to sit in an awkward position where I sat like I would when I was human. Also, sitting on my tail didn't make it any more comfortable for me. I hope we get there soon. My legs are falling asleep.
Fortunately, we got to Sweet Apple Acres without any accidents. Going deeper into the apple orchards, we finally came upon a clearing with the clubhouse in sight. It looked just like it did in the show. It was a shade of red with windows, a door, and a ramp leading up to it. For a clubhouse, it looked pretty amazing, especially since it was refurbished by a couple of kids.
When we got to the clubhouse, we hopped off the vehicle and went up into the clubhouse. The walls were yellow and decorated with drawings made by the fillies. Pink drapes decorated the windows and a single lantern hung in the center of the room. They also had a table with papers listing ideas for cutie marks; most of them were crossed out. If it weren't for how girly the whole clubhouse looked, I totally would have wanted this as a kid.
"Ah think we should welcome our very first new member since we formed this club. What do ya'll say?" Apple Bloom spoke up. The other two agreed with a nod and they all clopped their hooves together, welcoming me to the club.
"Well gee, thanks girls. I'm really glad you let me join your club," I said.
"No problem! Hey, maybe now we'll get our cutie marks faster with you around," replied Scootaloo.
"Yeah! Now that there are four of us, we're sure to find our cutie marks faster," added Sweetie Belle.
I didn't know how that was going to make them get their cutie marks faster, but I just nodded anyway.
"Great! Now that that's outta the way, let's come up with some ideas for cutie marks," said Apple Bloom.
Hmm, maybe they can help me out? They could try to find their cutie marks while I finally get my hooves on some bits. Their talents were pretty obvious, but I couldn't tell them. They had to figure it out on their own. But before I could voice out an idea, Apple Bloom spoke up first.
"Ah got it! Cutie Mark Crusaders Bee Exterminators!"
"Bee exterminators?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah! We get rid of the bees that are bothering ponies in Ponyville. We don't have to hurt them. Just move their bee hive somewhere else."
I did not like the sound of the idea, but the others seemed excited about the idea. "YEAH! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BEE EXTERMINATORS!" all three shouted at ear-piercing volumes. Yep, I'm gonna go deaf by the end of the day.
~~~~~~~
We stood in front of a red barn door. We all wore helmets on our heads and had pillows strapped to our bodies. I knew this wasn't going to keep the bees from stringing us, but I hadn't seen any bee hives around Ponyville. I had nothing to worry about, or so I thought.
It turned out our first stop was the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. Apparently, there was a bee hive in there. So how did we remove the bee hive, you ask? With a really long stick.
We entered the barn. A long wooden pole was held in our mouths. From the end of the stick furthest from the bee hive was Sweetie Belle, followed by Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and finally me at the front.
"I'm having second thoughts on this," I said with the pole in my mouth.
"Don't be such a baby," Scootaloo replied. She jerked her head forward, sending the pole lurching toward the hive and giving it a quick jab.
Unfortunately, it took only a bit of poking and prodding for some very unhappy bees to fly out and come at us with a vengeance. "AAH!" we all screamed. We immediately dropped the stick and got the hell out of there as the swarm of bees gave chase. We ran as fast as our little legs could carry us to Apple Bloom's house while screaming at the top of our lungs.
The three fillies ran through the door and shut it behind them, holding the door shut. However, they soon realized that someone was missing, that particular someone being me.
"Hey where's Lyle?" asked Scootaloo. It was then that they heard my furious knocking and screaming at the door.
"AH! OW! APPLE BLOOM! OW! SWEETIE BELLE! OW, FU-- SCOOTALOO! OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR!" I shouted. The buzzing swarm stung madly at me, the pillows and helmet doing nothing to protect me from the painful stinging.
From the other side of the door, the girls hesitated opening the door, in fear of letting the bees in and being stung themselves. But after a few moments, the pounding and screaming stopped. Following the silence was a knock. Rat tat-tat tat tap.
The girls slowly opened the door. Standing before them was a unicorn colt covered in red swollen marks. It was obvious that I did not look happy.
Apple Bloom winced when she looked at me. "Oh... you don't look so good."
"You think?" I replied sarcastically.
"Um... Ah'm gonna go get some ice. You... just rest on the couch."
As I looked around Apple Bloom's home, I saw a green couch, worn out by time, sitting in the living. Pictures of the Apple family hung on the walls, revealing little Applejack and little Macintosh and baby Apple Bloom. They looked so adorable when they were little. There was an unlit fireplace in the living room. The place had a rustic appeal, giving it a cozy, homely feeling. I took a seat on the couch and took off my gear, while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stood next to me, looking sorry for what had happened. The swollen areas even got to the part of my body that was covered with pillows. I guessed some of the bees managed to get under the pillow and sting me there.
When Apple Bloom got back, she was holding an ice pack in her mouth, and Granny Smite followed behind her with some tweezers in her mouth. "Why ain't ya a poor thing," said Granny Smith at the sight of me. "Don't ya worry, sonny. We'll have them stingers out in no time!"
Removing the stingers was pretty annoying. Each pluck of the stinger was accompanied by a small yelp or a grunt of pain from me. But after a few minutes, she was able to get every one of them out. I took the ice pack from Apple Bloom and held it to... well, every part of my body since I was stung all over. I changed the ice pack's location every two or three minutes.
"We're sorry, Lyle. We didn't mean for this ta happen," said Apple Bloom.
"Yeah, we're sorry. We didn't mean for you to get hurt," added Scootaloo.
"If it weren't for us, you wouldn't have gotten stung so much," followed Sweetie Belle.
I just couldn't stay mad at the three fillies before me, with their sad puppy-dog eyes. These fillies just melted my heart. Is there such thing as being too adorable? I smiled to show them that I didn't hold anything against them, or at least, I think I was smiling. It's kind of hard to smile when most of your face is swollen. "I forgive all of you. But next time, let's do something doesn't involve bees, okay?" They all gave a nod and a smile at my response.
Applejack and Big Macintosh came through the door after tending the apple orchard. "Whoa! What in tarnation happened here?" asked Applejack as soon as she saw me.
"Oh me? I was just having the time of my life getting stung by bees and all. You know..." I said sarcastically.
"Heh, well serves ya right for scarin' all of Ponyville yesterday with that costume."
Scootaloo jerked her head towards me. "That was you?!"
"Yeah... I didn't mean for it to get out of hoof the way it did. Sorry if I scared you, and Applejack, I said I was sorry! Seriously, even Rainbow Dash isn't apologizing for scaring everypony with a lightning cloud."
"Well at least she didn't cause massive panic in Ponyville."
She had a point. There was a lot of property damage that came with the screaming and fleeing in terror. But it wasn't my fault that ponies overreacted. On the bright side, every pony's fear turned away from Luna and towards me as Slendermane.
Looking at the clock, I decided I better get going. "It's getting pretty dark. I think I'm gonna head on back to Lyra's house." I got up from the couch and began making my way toward the door.
Scootaloo caught up to me and trotted by my side. "Hey Lyle. Let me give you a ride back. It's the least I could do after today."
I was still sore all over. One ride back home couldn't hurt. "Sure."
We sped toward Lyra's house. After saying goodbye to Scootaloo, I walked inside. Lyra and Bon Bon were making dinner, which was some kind of pasta with hay and herbs. She heard me come through the front door. "Welcome back, Lyle. How was your day?"
"Oh, it was... interesting..."
When Lyra and Bon Bon looked up from the dishes they were preparing, they were surprised by my still slightly swollen appearance. "Lyle, what happened?" asked Bon Bon.
I shrugged. "I got a little acquainted with some bees today."
"Oh no! Are you alright?" asked Lyra as she checked on me.
"Yeah, I'm alright now. Apple Bloom and Granny Smith helped me out."
After reassuring them that I was okay, we finally ate. At dinner, I explained how I ended up being stung by bees and how the Cutie Mark Crusaders were trying to get their cutie marks. When dinner was finished, I trotted to my room, still sore all over, and read one of Twilight's books while lying in bed. I have a feeling that I'm going to be best friends with pain by the time I find a way home. |
Follow the Melody | Gender Confusion | You know, when you suddenly get sent to another world, you'd think your life would be a lot more interesting. Sure, it was at first. I thought that my life would be more exciting and filled with adventures when I came to Equestria, like fighting off long forgotten evils or going on wacky adventures with the Equestria's saviors, but nope. Instead, I went back to school and spent my free time reading about magic and other stuff. I felt like fate ripped me off. Not much happens between the show's episodes as it turned out. The life of a pony wasn't that much different from that of a human. Kids are still kids; ponies, like humans, still have to work to eat; and tax collectors still collect taxes. The only thing different was the diet, the use of "somepony" instead of "somebody", the new pony limbs, and of course, the presence of magic. Other than that, things weren't much different here.
I strolled through the streets of Ponyville. My mind kept going back to my last night as a human. There were so many questions. How did I get here? Why was I here? So many questions, yet I had none of the answers. Bits and pieces of my last night on Earth started coming back. The last thing I remembered was coming back home and going into my room. Everything after that was hazy. I kept drawing a blank whenever I tried to think about what happened between then and when I woke up in the Everfree Forest.
I was too preoccupied by my thoughts to notice the filly trotting next to me. She held a pink flyer of two ponies, one bigger than the other. "Howdy Lyle! How're ya doing?" she asked with the flyer in her mouth.
Her voice broke me from my thoughts, startling me a bit. I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, nothing much, Apple Bloom. I guess I'm just waiting for the plot to unfold," I said casually.
She scrunched her nose, clueless to what I was talking about. "The what now?"
I shook my head. "It's nothing." Though I said it was nothing, that didn't stop her from giving me a suspicious look. Thankfully, I saw Sweetie Belle. "Hey, isn't that Sweetie Belle?" I asked, changing the subject.
Apple Bloom turned her head in the direction I was looking. "Yeah, it is her! I wonder why she looks so sad."
I began trotting in Sweetie Belle's direction. "Then, I guess it's up to us to cheer her up, right?"
She smiled and nodded. "Mhmm!" She ran ahead of me to cheer up Sweetie Belle. I chuckled at her enthusiasm to help her friend. Sweet kid. If only she could figure out what her cutie mark was...
Sweetie Belle walked with her head held low, her eyes looking down at the ground in front of her. She stopped in front of Apple Bloom, who now sported a happy grin. Apple Bloom set the flyer down. "How's the sleep over at Rarity's going?" she asked Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and grimaced. She then gave her best Rarity impression, which I had to admit was pretty good, complete with a pompous trot. "Why it's smashing!" She walked away, the scowl on her face returning.
Apple Bloom raised a brow. "Huh?"
The upset filly went up to a statue and sat on the pedestal. "I just wish we could do something special together that didn't include me goofing anything up."
Apple Bloom frowned at her failed attempt to cheer up Sweetie Belle. She was clearly concerned about her friend. I gave her a small cough to grab her attention and nodded my head at the flyer she put down. She seemed to get the idea judging by the huge smile she gave me. She picked up the flyer with her mouth and galloped towards Sweetie Belle. "The Sisterhooves Social! Applejack and I do it every year. You and Rarity can compete against other sister teams in all these neat events."
At the mention of the idea, Sweetie Belle lightened up. "That sounds like the perfect way for us to hang out! Rarity will think it's an excellent idea."
No, she won't, I thought.
The two fillies turned their attention toward me, their smiles dampening at the sight of me. What's up with them? Apple Bloom stepped forward. "Sorry Lyle, but the Sisterhooves Social is for sisters, and well, you're not exactly a filly." It didn't take a genius to figure that out.
"But other than that, if you were a filly, then I guess you and your sister, Lyra, could join Sisterhooves Social," added Sweetie Belle.
I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be able to join the girls in the Sisterhooves Social, but I didn't let it show. Instead, I laughed at what Sweetie Belle just said. "It's okay. I'm fine with that, but Lyra and I aren't sisters." The two fillies apparently weren't expecting my reaction or my comment about Lyra and me.
"You and Lyra ain't siblings?" asked the confused Apple Bloom.
"So are you two like cousins?" Sweetie Belle asked.
I shook my head. "Nope, we're not even related."
Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin and made the most adorable thoughtful expression. "If you and Lyra ain't kin, then why are ya living together then? Where's yer family?"
Uh oh. This question again. "Uh... I don't have a family anymore, and the reason why I'm living with Lyra is because I kinda got lost one day and ended up in Ponyville where I met her. She and Bon Bon thought it was a great idea for me to stay with them for the time being, but I think I'm just going to live with them until I find a place of my own." I hope earning the bits to buy a house isn't going to take long. I don't want to wait until I'm older to move out. The sooner I move out, the sooner I could be less of a burden to them.
It was too late to realize what I had said by the time I noticed the pitiful looks I was getting from the two fillies. Aw dammit, not again.
"That's... that's so sad..." Sweetie Belle looked like she was on the verge of tears, and looking back at Apple Bloom, I could see some tears hanging at the corner of her eyes.
Fix this Lyle before the waterworks happen. Fix it!
I waved my hooves frantically. "Nononono, please don't cry! I'm fine! Really! I'm used to living on my own. It's no big deal, honest!" Unfortunately, what I said I had the unintended effect I was trying to avoid. They came up to me and cried, trying to nuzzle me while at the same time getting my coat wet with their tears. Thankfully, there was no one around to see this. Their tear-streaked faces pulled at my heartstrings.
My heart can't take much more of this. I tried to cheer them up before I got a heart attack from their adorableness. "Come on, girls. Cheer up! There's no reason for you two to be sad about me. After all, I'm not crying, and I'm the one going through this."
Apple Bloom looked up from my right shoulder, which she was using to wipe her tears. "B-but it's just... not having a family is..." THOSE EYES!
I shushed her with a hoof. "I'm fine. Now wipe those tears. Come on, let's see those smiles," I said with a big smile of my own. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at me with small smiles on their faces. The two got off my tear-soaked shoulders and wiped their eyes with their hooves. "Alright, you two have fun at the social, and no more crying, you hear me?" The Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded. "See you later, girls."
"Bye, Lyle," they said.
I walked back home. Lyra and Bon Bon weren't home yet, so I went up to my room and closed the door behind me. I rubbed my temples and let out a heavy sigh. I felt a headache growing as I was reminded of my stressful situation, and explaining to the girls why I was living with Lyra and Bon Bon didn't make it any better.
I brought out one of Twilight's books, the one on illusions. I flipped to a page, going over the steps for casting a more complex illusion. It was about time I tried my hooves at something a little harder. The sooner I looked older, the better. Though, as I was reading, I reminded of the reason for doing this. It was just another cover-up to become something I wasn't. I was using another illusion to hide the fact that I was a little colt while hiding the truth that I was an adult human. There was another shot of pain from my headache - the pang of guilt. I stuffed it down the deepest recess of my mind before turning my attention back to what I was doing.
Okay, so I just have to keep the image I want to look as in my head while casting the spell. Let's see... Warning, side effects may include: drowsiness, nausea, itching, blah blah blah... Ah, here we go!
I set the book down in front of me and closed my eyes as I prepared the spell. A light, prickling sensation covered the top of my forehead where my horn was. I clenched my eyes shut as the pressure built on my horn. I tried to visualize myself older, but the guilty thoughts crept back to my mind.
It's not lying. I'm just trying to look my age, that's all. Besides, I'm already lying by being a colt, and it's not like I chose to be a colt. The pressure in my horn increased.
I'll come clean to everyone as soon as I figure everything out. What would Lyra say if she found out? I shuddered at the thought as my mind shifted to the unicorn taking care of me. I didn't want to think about how she would react. I imagined her being very concerned at my mental state or very angry that I had lied to her. Either way, it didn't look good for me.
I was so distracted by my thoughts of Lyra that I almost forgot about the magic charging in my horn. By the time I realized it, it was too late. With a bright flash from my horn, everything turned white. I felt all the pent up magic flow out of my horn like a geyser. A tingling feeling covered my body. I didn't have enough time to scream or yell in panic as it was over in an instant. By the time my vision came back, I was seeing stars. I held my hooves over my eyes.
"Ugh, I am not doing that again," said a girl's voice. My ears shot up as I looked around the room for whoever said that.
"Is anyone here?" I asked, but there was a girl's voice instead of my own.
I cleared my throat. "H-hello?" The same voice answered again, which was the only answer I needed to figure out what happened. "Is that my voice? Is that my voice?!"
My hooves reached up to my face, feeling my muzzle and my throat. I needed a mirror. I ran, or rather stumbled, into the bathroom, taking a good look at myself in the mirror. It was not the result I had in mind...
I looked about the same age as I was before I cast the spell. But then I noticed some minor changes to my body... My eyelashes were longer. My muzzle was smaller. My body looked slimmer than before. For a second, I thought I was looking at a picture of Lyra of when she was a foal, but that was not the case. I raised a hoof, and so did the filly in the mirror. I slapped myself in the face, a painful reminder that hooves weren't as soft as hands. I blinked twice at the filly who stood in the reflection. As realization sunk in, I gave a loud high-pitched scream.
"AAAAAAHHH!" I scrambled away from the mirror.
With my mind confused and screaming in panic, I thought freaking out was the best thing to do in my situation. "Oh no! Oh nonono! This can't be happening!" In the midst of my panicking, I slowly looked down to confirm something. When I looked between my legs, I noticed a certain part of me missing and replaced with something... new... With a clear view of my new anatomy, I felt the heat rising to my cheeks, burning them as they took on a scarlet hue. I looked away and closed my legs. What the fuck happened?!
I fell onto my haunches and shook my head. "It's just an illusion. It's just an illusion. It better be an illusion." Illusion or not, the fact that I now looked like a filly was distressing.
I rushed back to my room, picking up the book I was reading from. I hastily turned the pages to the spell. I facehoofed at what I was seeing. With the amount of magic I put into the spell, there was no exact time for how long I was going to be stuck like this, but I'd say a couple days, maybe... So, here I was stuck as a filly, adding on to the problem of being stuck in Equestria and transforming from a human to a unicorn, a young colt no less. Oh, I almost forgot to add being a huge liar to the list.
I spent the next few minutes banging my head against the floorboards of my room. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" I shouted after each thump of my skull making contact with the floor. I took a deep breath. "Okay, calm down. I have to calm down. I just need to wait it out. Yeah, that's it! I just gotta wait it out!" I didn't realize I was talking to myself like a certain purple unicorn, but at least I had a legitimate reason for being stressed out. I hopped onto my bed and lied there. "I just have to go without seeing anyone for a while until the spell wears out, and everything will be just fine."
"Lyle, you here? I'm home!" called Lyra.
Oh great... I forgot she and Bon Bon lived here. I didn't want to see her at the moment with the way I was now, but that didn't stop Lyra from poking her head through my door. "Hey Lyle, what's goin--" She stopped mid-sentence, staring at me. The door was left wide open, giving her a full view of me. She slowly trotted in, still keeping her eyes on me.
I didn't get up from my bed. Instead, I stared at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with her. "Hey Lyra. What's up?" I said. I still couldn't get used to my new voice.
Lyra gawked at me, taking in all the changes that came with being transformed into a filly. "Why... No, how are you a filly?!"
I turned my head towards her, giving her a deadpan expression. "Magic... Magic happened." She was obviously still confused. "I'll explain later. Just leave me alone for a while..." Without a word, she nodded and headed back downstairs. It must have been weird for her to see someone that looked like a younger version of herself, more so for me.
I lied on my bed for quite a while, just thinking about things, like what I would do if I was stuck like this or how my friends were going to treat me or all the events that led up to this moment. I couldn't imagine living the rest of my life looking like a filly or a mare, even if it was an illusion. I gagged at the thought of a stallion or colt hitting on me, a thought I locked away in my mind, never to see the light of day again. By the time it was dusk, Lyra called me down for supper.
She knocked on my door. "Lyle? Are you okay to come down for dinner?"
I rolled off my bed and opened the door, revealing Lyra. She stood there with a worried expression on her face. I nodded listlessly. "Uh huh."
We trotted downstairs and into the dining room wordlessly. Bon Bon sat at the table, a look of shock on her face when she saw me, though she didn't say anything. I sat down and began eating the soup in front of me. Dinner went on in awkward silence with the occasional sounds of slurping. Thankfully, Lyra shattered the silence and was the only one brave enough to address the elephant in the room. She put down her spoon and looked at me. "Lyle, care to explain what happened?"
I stopped eating and set my spoon down. "Not really..." I withered under her gaze as she shot me a look demanding answers. I wasn't going to get out of an explanation for this one. "Alright, fine. Long story short, something went wrong with a spell I was trying to learn, but don't worry! This is just an illusion."
The air in the room was thick with tension until Bon Bon spoke up. "So, how long are you a filly?"
I scratched the back of my head. "Oh, it'll wear off in few days." Hopefully...
Lyra let out a sigh I didn't know she had been holding. "Well that's good. It would have been really bad if you were stuck that way forever."
"Don't jinx it," I replied curtly.
Seeing my irritable expression, Lyra looked around the room trying to find some way to get my mind off the situation. All of a sudden, her ears perked up and she began to smile. "Lyle, I have an idea that will cheer you up."
I stared at my soup as I absently stirred it with my spoon. "What?"
She left the table and returned with a flyer floating next to her. "You and I could join the Sisterhooves Social!"
I eyed the flyer and then at her. Is she serious?
"Even though you and I aren't sisters, we can join the events since we practically look related," she said.
Now that I was a filly, I could show up at the social and hang out with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "Uh, sure, I guess that sounds okay."
Lyra beamed at me. "Great! Now we just need to give you a filly's name."
"Wait, what?" I have to change my name too?
"Well, we can't keep calling you 'Lyle' now that you're a filly. We have to come up with a new name for you."
Oh, that makes sense. I'd probably die from embarrassment if anyone else found out about this. So names, huh? Amanda, Julie, Lauren? No wait, I need pony names. Maybe Minty Green? Nah, something else that doesn't sound a brand of breath mints. What else is there? I tapped my chin with a hoof. I looked around the room for ideas for a good name. My eyes stopped at Lyra's cutie mark. Hmm, maybe something with music?
A name finally hit me. "What about Melody?" I asked.
"Hmm, Melody sounds nice. What do you think Bon Bon?" Lyra turned to the earth pony mare.
Bon Bon shrugged her shoulders. "The name is okay, but are you really going to do this?" she asked.
"Sure we are! It'll cheer up poor Lyle, I mean Melody, here after all she's been through," she winked, giving me a nudge.
Bon Bon gave a sigh. "Well, okay. You two do what you want."
After cleaning up after dinner, we all went to our rooms. I didn't know what Bon Bon was doing, probably sleeping or doing whatever she did in her free time, but from my room, I could hear the sound of Lyra practicing her lyre. Each string she strummed created the most wondrous sound that rang in my ears. As I lied in bed, my mind wandered to the guitar I saw in the shop the other day. I really missed playing music, and I didn't even have my phone or my computer with me to listen to my songs. My eyes grew heavier each minute. The last thing I heard before sleeping was Lyra's lyre, humming its little tune.
~~~~~~~
Today was the day of the Sisterhooves Social. Colorful tents were propped up, and mares and fillies were taking part in all sorts of events of the fair, from pie eating contests to apple bobbing. In the center of the fair, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh stood on a raised platform, ready to announce the big race.
"Now, the event you've all been waiting fer! The Sister Soci-- The Socialhoof-- Oh, dabnabbit, you know, the big race!" announced the green, old mare.
Lyra and I lined up at the starting the line. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as we got ready. Although I wanted to go to the Sisterhooves Social and watch Sweetie Belle and Rarity race, I was still uncomfortable looking like a filly. It would be really embarrassing if the illusion wore off in the middle of the race in front of every single mare and filly at the social. Beside us were the other competitors. Of course, I recognized a particular pair.
As we lined up, Sweetie Belle noticed me and Lyra. I turned my head to the side away from her, hoping she wouldn't recognize me. "Hi Lyra! I didn't know you had a sister." From the corner of my eyes, Applejack also looked just as surprised when she saw me.
"This is my sister, Melody. Say hi, Melody," Lyra said, nudging me with her nose.
I gave an awkward smile. "Uh... hiya." There's no way they would believe that I'm her sister.
Sweetie Belle went up to me and held out a hoof. "Hi Melody! My name's Sweetie Belle." I took her hoof and shook it. I can't believe she bought it...
"Howdy there," greeted Applejack. "Ah'm Applejack. Lyra never told us she had a sister."
I scratched the back of my head, giving a nervous chuckle. "Uh, yeah, it's because I still live with, uh, Mom and Dad, and I'm here to visit her in Ponyville."
Thankfully, I didn't have to answer any more questions as the race was about to start. We all got in our positions.
"Good luck. Hope you two win," I said to Sweetie Belle.
"Thanks, you too!" She beamed.
"On your marks... get set... Gooooo!" shouted Granny Smith as she poked her eye on the megaphone. Ouch, that had to hurt.
Lyra and I wasted no time as we ran ahead of the others. Taking a glance back, I noticed Rarity jump into the mud pit with a grimace on her face just before Sweetie Belle turned around to check up on Applejack. I smiled at this and continued on with the race. Lyra and I got through all the events quickly since I told her some of the strategies of winning each event. It helped to watch the show. By the time we got to the finish line, we had won in a record breaking time, followed by Sweetie Belle and "Applejack".
Shortly after, Sweetie Belle finally figured out the switcheroo Applejack and Rarity did during the race. Apple Bloom came up running up to the three of them to congratulate Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Lyra and I decided to show up to show some good sportsmanship, or sportsponyship, if that made any sense.
"That was a great race, you two. We had lots of fun didn't we, Melody?" asked Lyra.
I nodded. "Yep! I had a great time."
We laughed and talked about the race, how funny it was to see Rarity act so "uncouth", and Rarity's plan to win her sister back. Needless to say, it was a blast. Like everyone else, Rarity asked the question about Lyra's sudden appearance of a sister. "Lyra, I didn't know you had a sister. When did this happen?"
Before Lyra could even respond, I started glowing golden yellow, the same color as my magic. Oh no, not now! The tingling sensation returned, followed by a bright flash. All the girls that were there shielded their eyes from the bright flash, and like the first time I cast the spell, it was over. When they looked back at where I was, their eyes nearly bulged out and their jaws dropped down. The only exception to this was Lyra, who seemed relieved at the sight of me.
"LYLE?!" they shouted.
I looked over myself, glad to be male once again, then back at the ponies who shouted, shock and confusion plastered on their faces. Lyra stood with them, smiling at their reactions just like I was doing. I nervously laughed. "Heh heh, surprise?" It didn't take long for the barrage of questions to hit me.
"You were Melody?"
"How'd ya do that?"
"That was cool! Do that again!"
With some help from Lyra, I was able to calm everyone down. I retold the tale of my magical mishap yesterday and how Lyra suggested the idea of the joining the social. I, of course, left out the reasons for wanting to change how I looked, simply stating that I wanted to learn more. I didn't need anyone prying into my business, after all. After answering as many questions as I possibly could, I asked, "So, have you girls learned anything today?"
Rarity and Sweetie Belle glanced at each other, both their mouths shifting into a smile, before Rarity turned towards me. "Yes, Lyle. Yes, I have."
"Me too," added Sweetie Belle.
There was a heartfelt moment between Rarity and Sweetie Belle as they nuzzled each other, followed by all of us laughing when Rarity mentioned going to the spa. We all went home after the day's events. By now, Spike was probably writing a letter to Princess Celestia about Rarity and Sweetie Belle's lesson on friendship. At this time, Lyra and I were walking home just talking about stuff.
"Lyra, today was so much fun. Thank you for, you know, everything."
"It's no problem, Lyle," she replied.
"Well, thanks again for trying to cheer me up."
She gave a titter which I had grown to love. "That's what friends do."
I felt both happy and a bit sad when she said "friends". I quickly shook my head. Where did that come from? Am I really falling for her? I've only been in Equestria for about a week, and I'm still not sure if there's a way back home yet. Maybe it's gotta be the spell messing with my hormones. Yeah, that's got to be it.
The rest of the walk went by in peaceful silence. By the time I got back to the house, I went to my room, taking out a pencil and a parchment. I began to write.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I've learned an important lesson on the magic of friendship. I realize how precious the bond between friends really is. After seeing your student's friends, Applejack and Rarity, laughing and playing with their sisters during the Sisterhooves Social, I see now that sisters aren't just siblings. No, they're more than that. They're best friends. Siblings will have their ups and downs, that much is inevitable, but no force will be strong enough to tear them apart. They will continue on being the best of friends. The magic of friendship cannot be described with these words for it is much greater than that.
From,
Anonymous
After checking over the letter with a satisfied smile, I rolled the parchment up and tied it with a blue ribbon I found in the closet of stored boxes. I planned on sending an anonymous report on friendship every now and then. It was kind of a way to keep track of my adventures here in Equestria. Now with the letter held in my mouth, I teleported outside my window before gravity sent me falling down to the earth. Thankfully, a bush cushioned my fall, though it wasn't exactly comfortable with a branch poking my back. I gotta work on that as well as my landing.
Stumbling out of the bush, I ran to Twilight's home just outside her window. I made sure I wasn't seen from the window as I stuck close to the wall. Looking inside, I saw Spike shelving some books and Twilight reading and taking notes. Looking at the note in my mouth and the book in front of Twilight, I tried to teleport my letter in front of her book. My aim was a little off. Instead of teleporting the letter on top of the page she was reading, it popped up above her head before landing on the unsuspecting mare. Startled by the sudden appearance of a scroll, she looked around the room before glaring at Spike.
"Spike, what was that for?!" she yelled.
Said purple dragon was still on a ladder, precariously balancing a stack of books in his arms. However, he fell and dropped all the books on the floor when his name was called. "What was what for?" he asked, rubbing his head. I made sure to stick to the shadows outside her house to avoid being seen but close enough to the window to see what's going on.
She lifted the scroll in front of Spike. "You didn't just throw this at me?"
Spike shook his head. "No, I didn't."
She cast a questioning glance at Spike before turning to the scroll. She unrolled the piece of paper and began reading it. I saw her smile when she started reading the letter, but that smile gradually faded as she took on a more confused look.
Twilight put a hoof to chin. I watched her nose scrunch and her brows furrow as she stared the scroll, as if she could find some hidden answer by scrutinizing between the lines. She gave a sigh and levitated the blue-ribboned scroll to Spike, who quickly let out a breath of green fire. The parchment was magically incinerated, and the wispy remains of the letter flew out of the window I was looking from, heading towards Canterlot.
With my letter now sent, I ran back to Lyra's house and teleported to my window, just barely getting in, without Lyra even noticing I was gone. Dinner went on as usual with me, Lyra, and Bon Bon as we ate another vegetarian meal, no surprise there. I still missed the taste of meat and all the dishes with it, but since the ponies here didn't eat meat and the cows were sentient, I didn't have much of a choice.
With dinner finished, we all hung around at the table, talking about how our day went. My day turned out better than expected, despite being turned into a filly by an illusion spell gone wrong. It was getting late. We all headed towards our rooms and got ready for bed. The whole day as well as yesterday was, in summary, unbelievably crazy. Getting turned into a filly isn't something that happens every day to a guy. I flopped onto my bed, exhausted. While lying in my bed, I thought out loud.
"Fate, or whoever is messing with my life, the next time you decide to give me an adventure, leave my fucking genitals out of it. Please?" I was soon out like a light.
~~~~~~~
Soon after Spike sent the mysterious friendship report to Princess Celestia, Twilight was racking her brain over the letter. Although Twilight continued from where she left off in her reading, her mind was still on the scroll and the mysterious sender, like a riddle that needed to be solved. Who sent that letter to me? Judging from the letter, this pony seems to know Applejack, Rarity, and for some reason, me. Apparently, he knows about my friendship reports, which was probably why he sent the letter to me and Spike. I wonder who it could be. |
Follow the Melody | The Art of Failing | The school bell rang. All the colts and fillies filed out of the room, glad that class was finally over. It was the usual routine. I began packing my things when the Crusaders came up to me.
"Hurry up, Lyle! You're so slow!" Scootaloo remarked. "We've got crusading to do!"
"Alright, alright," I said. "Why are we in such a hurry? It's not like we'll get a cutie mark in crusading fast."
"Hey, you'll never know until we try. Now get your flank moving!"
I rolled my eyes. Kids... At least they're ambitious, I'll give them that. I pulled my saddlebag on. As we were about to leave, Cheerilee came up to me.
"Lyle, can you stay behind for a moment?"
I looked up at her with a questioning glance before looking at the girls to see if they knew what she wanted. I hoped their crusading didn't rope me into some sort of trouble. All I got were shrugs from the three of them. What does Cheerilee want with me then?
"Sure...?" I replied, still confused to what was going on.
Cheerilee turned to the Crusaders. "It won't take long, girls. I just need to talk to Lyle about something."
"He ain't in trouble, is he?" asked Apple Bloom.
"No, he isn't. Could you please wait outside for a few minutes?"
The girls nodded and began walking out of the class but not before casting one more glance at me. Now it was just me and Cheerilee. I'm not in trouble? Then why does she want to talk to me? I thought I was going to have a teacher conference for sleeping in class and not paying attention. But apparently, that wasn't the case.
"What do you want to see me for, Miss Cheerilee?" I asked.
As if her actions weren't puzzling enough, she gave me a smile. "Some important ponies are coming to school tomorrow to give you a test."
Test? "What test?" I was pretty sure I would remember something like that.
"You know, the one to see what you've learned already. We talked about it a couple days ago."
Days ago? I don't remember talking abou-- oh... Right... I really should have paid more attention when Cheerilee was talking. Apparently, I was going to get tested. Oh joy...
"Right... but can you run it by me again on what it's about and why I'm taking it?"
"Well, you're bored in class, aren't you?" she asked. "You seem to doze off a lot during class. I know you're a smart young colt, so I suggest that you take the assessment, just to see where you're at in learning. All you do is answer some questions and talk to some important ponies. It's nothing to worry about. Just try your best to answer."
"Okay, so what happens after that?"
She put a hoof to her chin. "Well, if you do really well, you might go to a special school in Canterlot for smart colts and fillies."
I blinked a couple times as I stared at her incredulously. I must have heard her wrong. "I'm sorry, but did you say Canterlot?"
She nodded. "Yes. The schools in Canterlot are very nice. Some of them teach gifted ponies."
I forced my lips to contort into a smile. "That's... great, I guess."
"I know, isn't it wonderful?"
Not exactly.
Many things came to mind as I thought about my options, most of them I found unfavorable. If I went to Canterlot, I would be leaving all my friends, even Lyra. I would miss out on all the exciting adventures. I dreaded the upcoming assessment the more I thought about what would happen. Going to some private school in Canterlot was going to put a dent in my plans. Sure, going to a school for gifted ponies was nice and all... but I was already in college, so that didn't matter to me. Whether it's going to a public school or a private school, the fact still remained that I was stuck as a foal. At least if I stayed, I would still have my friends. Then, there's keeping the adult thing low profile...
"I think I've kept you here long enough," she continued. "Be sure to stay after class tomorrow and do your best. Okay, Lyle?"
I began making my way towards the door, casting a downward glance at the floor. "Okay, Miss Cheerilee..."
"Goodbye, Lyle." She waved goodbye before going back to grading everyone's papers.
Once I was outside and the door was closed, I let out a heavy sigh. Great, how am I going to get out of this one?
There was a thump, a rustling of leaves, and a voice crying "Ow" in a nearby bush, close to the school's window. I took a peek over it and found an orange, yellow, and white heap of sprawled limbs. I should have guessed it was Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle.
I cleared my throat. "Ahem!"
Immediately, three adorable pairs of eyes were on me. They looked as if they were caught with one hand, or in this case hoof, in the cookie jar. The girls scrambled back on their hooves, trying to look as casual as possible despite being caught snooping around.
"H-hey, Lyle. What's up?" Scootaloo nonchalantly replied.
Yep, completely suspicious. "What's up? Why don't you girls tell me 'what's up'? Because eavesdropping by the window while I talked to Miss Cheerilee is totally not suspicious." They dropped their façade, now wilting under my gaze. I let out a heavy sigh. I wasn't mad at them. I was just stressed out from what Cheerilee told me. "What are you three still doing here? I thought you'd be crusading by now."
Apple Bloom stepped in front. "Well, we were... but then, um..."
"Please, don't go!" Sweetie Belle blurted before having an orange and a yellow hoof placed over her mouth.
I raised a brow. "Go?"
They looked at each other, as if unsure what to say. Apple Bloom was the first to gather enough courage to say the thing on their minds. "We kinda heard ya in there with Miss Cheerilee... We don't want ya ta go to that fancy school in Canterlot."
"Yeah! You're a Cutie Mark Crusader! You're going to miss a lot of crusading when you're in Canterlot," added Scootaloo.
Oh, so that's what they were worried about. By now, their eyes were starting to water. My heart melted in their gaze. I had to cheer them up before I started crying too. "Who said I was going? I'm not going to leave my friends just to go to some private school."
Sweetie Belle wiped her eyes with a hoof. "Y-you're not?"
I gave a warm smile. "Of course I'm not! I'm staying here in Ponyville."
"But what about the meeting with those important ponies tomorrow?" asked Apple Bloom. "What if they send ya ta Canterlot?"
"I think I can convince them not to," I said with a smirk.
They all looked at me with a quizzical expression on their faces. "How?"
~~~~~~~
I stayed behind as all the foals left the classroom. The Cutie Mark Crusaders waved goodbye but not before giving a few words of encouragement. As they walked out, four ponies wearing ties and suits came in. The four unicorns from Canterlot looked strangely familiar. I think I remembered seeing them from the episode showing how Twilight got her cutie mark, though they looked older and now had a few more wrinkles since Twilight's exam.
The blue stallion with the combed, white mane levitated a clipboard in front of his face. "Lyle Hartston?"
"Yes sir?" I replied.
"Please take a seat. We will begin the test," he said, his voice boring and monotonous, probably from rehearsing the line a thousand times. Would it kill you to smile?
I grabbed a seat at the front of the classroom. A pencil, an answer sheet, and an exam booklet were placed on my desk. The first part of the assessment was math, about fifty questions on logic, arithmetic, and basic operations. The test was going to be a cinch for someone with a college level education, if I had planned on passing that is...
He watched the clock as the second hand ticked away. "You may begin... now."
I began scribbling furiously on my answer sheet with the pencil in my magical grip; all the while, the stallion oversaw my testing and looked at the clock every few minutes. Oh, I am going to have fun with this, I thought to myself. For each question, I added another bubble to the answer sheet and wrote "42" as the new answer for each letter, and for each question, I didn't mark just one bubble. Oh no, that would be too easy. I marked all of them instead. The entire time I was smiling like a madman.
Ten minutes later, I was done. I set my pencil down, feeling pretty proud of my work. Piece of cake. If I still had hands, they would probably be cramping right now. I'm so glad I'm a unicorn. The stallion took my answer sheet and glanced at it. Confusion was written all over his face the moment he saw my answers. He looked at me questioningly, to which I responded with a cheerful smile. He merely shook his head and returned to his cold disposition.
The next test was given by a yellow mare with pale pink mane. "This next test will be on Equestrian history. We will begin in one minute."
That one minute went by excruciatingly slow as we waited in silence. I tapped my hoof as I waited. "So... how was your day?" It couldn't hurt to make small talk. It was better to make some sort of conversation than to sit quietly next to someone.
She looked at me with an apathetic expression. "Okay," she replied tersely.
We still had about thirty seconds to go before I start, and her short answer did nothing to ease the tension of the atmosphere. My attempt at small talk only made the silence more awkward.
"You may begin now."
I began my test, filling in each bubble without much thought into it. Failing that was guaranteed, but I wanted to have fun and made my sheet look like a smiley face. These ponies could use some cheering up, and what better way to cheer them up than with a smile? Like the first proctor, I watched as she scrunched her nose when she collected my test. There's no way a private school is going to accept me.
It was break now. Cheerilee served some coffee for the examiners, and of course, I didn't get any because I was "too young" to drink coffee. I used this time to go to the restroom, but before walking back into the classroom, I decided to listen in on what the older ponies were discussing with one ear against the door.
"He did that on his test?" asked the first proctor's voice.
"I can't be sure if it was intentional or not, but his underperformance shows that he acts more immature than he should for his age," said a female voice, the examiner of the history portion of the test.
"I think the best course of action would be to put him in a younger class so he can improve his performance. Of course, this is just my opinion based on the results so far," said another voice, probably belonging to the other stallion in the room.
I took a step back from the door and stood there with my mouth gaping. They're holding me back? No wait, they're sending me back a grade?! No, no, no! I just don't want to go to Canterlot! Crap! Looks like I'm going to have to try now.
"Hmmm, but his test results aren't consistent with his school work," said another mare. "It might be the stress of testing that may be affecting him. I suggest we have Miss Cheerilee nearby him to create a more comforting environment and see how he does in the next few tests." There were murmurs of agreement all around.
I walked back inside and took my seat, acting like I didn't just eavesdrop on them. The next examiner, a gray stallion with a black mane, passed out the next portion of the assessment: writing.
You can do this. You can't fail now or it's pony kindergarten. I looked towards Cheerilee, who was standing in front of me. She smiled at me, alleviating some of the stress. I put on a forced grin. Right, I just have to try my best.
I turned my attention back to my test and looked at the first question. Circle the correct word choice. The dog lied/lay on the floor. Lied or lay? Dammit, why didn't I pay more attention on this back in school? I'll just go with 'lay'. That sounds right. Next question: He bought apples from the pony, who/whom he bumped into earlier. Who he bumped into? Whom he bumped into? Who cares?! What's the difference between the two?! I spent more time on some of the questions than I should have on the writing portion of the test, but I was sure I made up for it by answering all the easy questions quickly.
"Please put your pencil down. The writing portion is now over," said the stallion.
I did as I was told and let the proctor collect my test. I sighed. Phew. Almost didn't finish there. I could feel the fatigue weighing down on me after a few hours into the assessment. Fortunately, it was almost over. Everyone in the room left all of a sudden, leaving me alone with the fourth Canterlot examiner. The final examiner was a beige mare with straight brown mane. She didn't pass out any paper or anything. Instead, she walked up to my desk with a clipboard.
"Hello, Lyle. My name's Apple Polish. How are you today?"
Wow, the first pony to finally make a conversation and the first to actually give a name? What's up with the change in attitude? "Er... fine, I guess. Maybe a little tired."
She scribbled something down on her clipboard. "Lyle, I'm just going to ask you a couple questions to see how you're doing in school, alright?"
I nodded slowly. "Alright...?"
"So, how are you doing in school? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I guess." She wrote something in her clipboard again.
"What do you think of your teacher, Miss Cheerilee?"
"Well, I think she's a great teacher." Again, she goes back to her clipboard. What the hell is she writing on there?
"Are you bored in class? Do you feel that the work is too easy or too hard?"
"Yes--I mean, no! I mean... it's alright." This time she spent much longer writing in her stupid clipboard than the other times. She flipped through some pages.
"From what I've read, you've just moved to Ponyville. Are you making friends?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Any bullies?" she asked.
Hmm, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? Nah, better not make this any more complicated than it already is. "Nope."
"Any problems at home?"
"Nope, no problems at home."
"Good, good. What about your parents? Where are they?"
After my little interview with Twilight, I finally got my story down. "They... passed away," I lied, doing my best to put on a pout.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized, putting a placating hoof on my shoulder.
"It's fine. Things happen unexpectedly." Like being sent to a cartoon world or being turned into a pony or being turned into a kid.
She withdrew her hoof and picked up her clipboard again. "Miss Heartstrings is taking care of you now, right?"
As much as I hated to admit it, that was true - me, a grown man, being cared for by someone my age. It wasn't like I wanted it to happen. It just did. I silently nodded.
"How do you feel about the living with her? Do you ever feel uncomfortable at home?"
Well, there was the time Lyra licked me... I shook my head. "No, she's nicest pony I've ever met. She's kind and caring and selfless." I thought about my first night in Equestria. She just took me in her home, let me sleep in her bed, and fed me. If it weren't for her, I would have probably caught a cold or worse in that storm. "Sometimes I feel like I'm getting more than what I deserve..."
The mare abruptly stopped writing. "Oh? Why is that?"
I bit my tongue, too late to undo what I said. "Oh, uh, it's nothing." Oh how I wanted to bash my head on my desk right now. Dammit, why did I say that?!
"Lyle, is there something wrong? Something on your mind? You can always talk to me or Miss Cheerilee if you're having problems at home or outside of school." No, I can't because you wouldn't understand if I told you!
"N-nothing's wrong," I stammered, unaware that I was tapping my hoof nervously on the floor. She nodded as she wrote furiously on her clipboard. Seriously, what is she writing? I barely said anything! "Um, Miss Polish, what are you writing?"
She looked up from her clipboard. "Hmm? Oh, it's just my notes."
I craned my neck to get a better look at what she's writing. "Can I see?"
She pulled the clipboard away before I could take a glimpse of it. "Sorry, Lyle, but this is for me. Besides, you wouldn't be interested. It's boring grown-up stuff and filled with things you wouldn't understand."
I crossed my hooves and huffed at being treated like a little kid again. "I am a grown-up..." I mumbled under my breath.
She brought out some pieces of paper and placed them on my desk face down. "Okay, Lyle. I'm going to show you some pictures and you tell me what you see in them, okay?"
She stood behind me and lifted the first piece of paper, revealing a black splotch of ink. A Rorschach test? Okay... "I see a butterfly or a moth."
She jotted something down. And onto the clipboard it goes. She flipped the next paper. "And this one?"
I tilted my head at the picture. It's hard to say what something looks like when it doesn't really look like anything. "Uh, I see a crab, I think. Either that or two dancers doing a pelvic thrust." She gave me a strange look. What? You asked.
This went on for a while: look at an inkblot, say what it looks like, and then what I say goes on the clipboard. Real difficult, right? I had no idea how this test worked, so I just said whatever came to mind when I saw the inkblots, like two poodles eskimo kissing or two hippos with huge badonkadonks. Yeah... there was no other way to describe those inkblots; it was probably the closest I could think of to describe the pictures. After about eight or so inkblots, we were done. She packed up the inkblot sketches. "Okay, Lyle. We're just going to do one last test."
Finally, I inwardly groaned.
She put some sheets of paper on my desk. "You're doing great so far. All I need you to do is a little more writing for me, and then you'll be done. Please try to answer the question however you feel is best. Okay?"
I nodded, trying to stifle a groan. Great, more writing? Might as well get this over with.
I looked at the essay prompt: Ponies often have to make hard decisions. Write about a time when you have had to make a hard decision and what you gained from it.
I re-read the prompt again. Huh, well that's... coincidental. It was like this essay prompt was written for me. There were so many things I could talk about. I could have talked about lying to my friends like being human or being an adult. But I couldn't say any of that, not without blowing my secret anyway. I didn't want to get too personal with my essay, so I had to find something else to talk about. Shit, there are a million things I could talk about, but I can't say most of them without revealing anything. What else can I talk about?
About twenty minutes had gone by and I still hadn't written anything yet. I stared at the blank piece of paper in front of me as I tapped my pencil on it. I have to write something! Anything! Come on, think! Think, think, think! Wait a minute, that's it!
I picked up my pencil and frantically wrote down my thoughts onto the paper. Going to a private school sounds like a big opportunity, but I wouldn't want to go if it means leaving all my friends behind. There are some things that are more important than a good education. To me, friends are worth more than all the bits in the world. Friends are always there for you, for both good times and bad times. I wouldn't give up my friends for anything, and I wouldn't have realized it sooner if it weren't for my best friends -- Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle...
Minutes flew by, and before I knew it, it was over. "Time's up. Please put your pencil down."
I dropped my pencil from my magical grip, letting it fall onto my desk. I wrote a little less than two pages, a small concern to me. I just hoped the quality of my work would make up for its short length.
"Well, that's the end of the test, Lyle. Thank you for taking the time to take this test. I hope you have a great future."
I shook her hoof. "Yeah... it was, um, nice meeting you too."
"Goodbye, Lyle, and good luck," she said as she joined the other Canterlot ponies as they left.
Cheerilee returned short after. "Well, how was it, Lyle?"
I scratched the back of my head. "It was... okay." By "okay", I mean I have no clue whether or not I'm being sent back a grade or going to a different school.
"That's good to hear."
"So when do I get to see how I did today?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Oh, the results are for your paren-- I mean, for Lyra to read. You wouldn't want to read it; it's for grown-ups, you know, the boring, complicated stuff." Figures.
"Alright then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school, Miss Cheerilee. Bye."
"Bye, Lyle," she said as she waved goodbye.
After leaving school, I could still feel the apprehension in me, like a tightly coiled spring ready to burst. The anticipation was just killing me. Who knows when the results would arrive? Any day now, some letter in the mail was going to tell me whether I did horribly bad or horribly good. All I wanted was to let things stay the same. How am I going to tell the girls the news? Sorry I got sent back a couple grades, or sorry I got sent to another school? Ugh, why did school have to make my life more complicated than it already is?
I came across a pebble and kicked it. The only thing I could do now was wait. Unfortunately, that was the hardest part.
~~~~~~~
A few weeks had gone by until I finally heard something in the form of a knock on my door. "Lyle, are you busy?"
I put my book down. Aw, I was just getting to the good part on Illusions and You. "No, come in."
Lyra opened the door and hovering beside her wrapped in the golden glow of her magic was a letter. Uh oh. At first, I thought some unpleasant news regarding my education reached Lyra, but that didn't explain the smile on her face. "Congratulations, Lyle! You did so well on your test that you got into a good school in Canterlot for gifted ponies."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, it says here you were very creative and very good at writing. Now you'll get to learn more new things at this private school for smart foals. Isn't it great?"
"No!" I shouted. Lyra's ears folded back, wincing at my sudden outburst. I took a deep breath. "I mean, no. It's not great. It's terrible." I cradled my head in my hooves.
"W-what do you mean, Lyle?"
A heavy sigh escaped my lips. "I don't want to go to a new school."
She trotted over to me and sat down beside me. "Why? What's the matter, Lyle?" she asked as she stroked my mane.
"I don't want to go because it'll mean leaving you and all my friends behind." I felt something warm and soft wrap around me. I found myself being hugged by Lyra as she comforted me. My head rested on her chest, the hairs of her fur coat tickling my nose. It felt nice to sit like this with Lyra - her holding me against her.
She continued to hold me and stroked my back. "It's alright, Lyle. Everything is going to be fine." Although she was calming me down like a mother does to an upset child, I didn't mind it, so I let her do it just this once; like I said before, it felt nice. She nuzzled my face. "No one is making you go."
My eyes widened at the sudden revelation. I broke the hug. "Wait, you mean I don't have to go?"
She shook her head. "No, you don't have to if you don't want to. What gave you the idea that you were being forced to go?" Three adorable little fillies...
I was at a loss for words. "B-but... What?!" I worried about that for nothing?! I found a mint-colored hoof waving in front of my face. Apparently, I had been staring blankly for who knows how long while I was mentally chastising myself.
"Hello? Equestria to Lyle, you there?"
I shook my head. "Y-yeah. Sorry, what were you saying?"
She giggled, bringing a small smile to my face. "Dinner's ready, by the way."
"Sure, I'll be down in just a sec."
She left my room and went downstairs. I did the first thing that came to my mind. I walked over to the thickest book I could find and proceeded to bash my head with it. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Of course, I could have chosen not to go! God dammit, I spent all that time worrying for nothing! Well, I'm glad I'm going to make three certain fillies very happy. I wondered how that was going to turn out
~~~~~~~
"REALLY?!" Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo shouted as they glomped me, cutting off the oxygen from entering my lungs.
"Yes, yes, you're all very happy, but would you please do me a tiny favor and let me go before I pass out?" I gasped.
Scootaloo fluttered her wings excitedly. "But that's great! You're staying!"
I filled my lungs with precious air before giving a smirk. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
Apple Bloom hooked a hoof around my neck. "Yeah, you get ta stay in Ponyville!"
"Mhmm, Cutie Mark Crusaders stick together!" added Sweetie Belle.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, YEAH!" they all cheered, much to my ears' displeasure at being so close to the commotion. Note to self: buy ear plugs.
The bell rang, grabbing our attention. We rushed back into class, with me nearly running into Cheerilee on the way in.
"Sorry, Miss Cheerilee!" I apologized.
"Don't run inside, Lyle," she scolded. "What's got you so excited today?"
After taking the assessment, I realized I could pay a little more attention in class. Wouldn't want to miss out on anything important, you know? Gotta start acting the way I looked. "Oh, I'm just eager to learn today. I'm ready for your lessons, Miss Cheerilee!" I beamed. Yep, going for straight B's instead.
She gave me a warm smile. "I'm sure you are." |
A Nightmare Come To Life | pre | "You use gold as money!?" The thought of having so much gold on his person was offset by the reminder that Greeks, Romans, and civilizations across history had used gold as currency. What he found odd about these is they were perfectly round, featureless coins. There was a rim surrounding each coin, recessed slightly in the middle for some reason.
From his history class in school, Joseph knew that the Greeks and Romans for example would heat lumps of silver, gold, and other precious metal and bang them into rough circles. Then, a person with a hammer with a recessed/mirrored design of what was to be printed on the coin would strike the hammer, imprinting the design onto the coin. The hammer was about 4-5 feet long because having hot metal splash onto you from hitting it was less than desirable.
"We mine it, then unicorns make coins out of it. Are you unfamiliar with this type of currency?"
"No no no, I know what gold is I just never seen such perfectly round coins like this." He levitated one of the coins out to scrutinize it. "From the history of my planet, ancient civilizations would hand make coins with hammers, but that process would leave small tags of metal left on the coins, then people would shave tiny slivers off and resell them to make a good, but illegal living."
Luna's eyebrow raised at that, but she let it pass.
"Wait, did you say you got me a house!?"
Luna gave a brief nod. "You..." She began to speak but stalled herself, trying to find the right words. "We, My sister and I, don't know if you'll be able to get back home." A solemn, uncomfortable silence permeated the room before Luna continued. "I see it only fitting that you be provided with a residence of your own for the duration of your say." Luna punctuated that sentence with a warm smile, trying to put Joe at ease.
"You're forgetting one thing, though. People gon' flip shit when they see me like this." He gestured with a hoof up and down his figure.
"Yes, I do have a disguise for you; an enchanted ring that you would put on your horn. The magic would make you into a unicorn, and magically bind your wings to your sides until you remove it. The ring uses a perception spell of sorts to make your figure feel as though it's smaller than it actually is to those that might, say, bump into you. The only downside is it uses the colours of one's coat, mane, and cutie mark to factor into the outward appearance."
"How is that bad?"
"Ponies with rather darker colours are rare, but not entirely unheard of. If you're lucky people might not notice, but expect stares until the populace gets used to you."
"Wait, populace as in the whole entire city!?" Joseph said, aghast. "Am I supposed to parade around saying "Hey everybody, even though I have dark colours I am definitely NOT Nightmare Moon!"
Luna stifled a giggle with her hoof. "No, what I meant to say was those you come across and interact with on a daily basis. Now, about the house." Luna magicked a map out of fucking nowhere, much to Joseph's amazement, and unfurled it to reveal an outline of a section of the city and its buildings. She used a hoof to point to the top right section of the map.
"Your new house is in the northern district." Her hoof trailed down a long path that went diagonally across the page and ended at the bottom left of the map. "And the castle is here." You need only walk straight down the road until it ends, turn right, and your house will be number fifty-seven. It has letters on the door so you won't get confused."
"So there's not going to be any fountains or roundabouts or intersections that would make me confused as to which path to take."
Luna shook her head. "No, follow the road directly north until it ends. Turn right, and look for number fifty-seven with the numbers on the door. And now for your disguise." The map was magicked away and a ring took its place.
The ring was unlike one made for a finger; the gold band had different coloured jewels inlaid into it. The inside of the ring tapered slightly, presumably to fit with the contours of horns.
"This isn't going to hurt, is it?"
"Not in the slightest. Although you might feel an odd sensation wash over you, but that will be momentary."
Joseph took the ring from Luna's aura with his own, imagining plucking it out of another hand with his thumb and index finger, thus picking it up in his own aura. If this was how he levitated objects, how would these creatures that don't know about hands levitate objects? Do they just simply imagine the objects floating? He shrugged it off and slid the ring over and down his horn.
To his expectation, a cold rippling chill, akin to someone having walked over your grave, washed over him. He audibly shuddered at the strange feeling. He looked back up at Luna, and from the same position he was in he felt a change in his depth perception.
Luna said the ring would use a perception spell to somehow make the physique of the wearer smaller, and that somehow affected Joe, too. He knew he wasn't this small, but he felt a good head smaller than the princess.
"Would you like a mirror?" Luna asked.
Brushing off Luna's question, Joe began looking up and down himself; extending his various appendages and looking them over. A heavy shade of blue had replaced the ink-black coat. He reached behind with a hoof and pulled his tail around, revealing a tail the same shade of purple as what could be loosely called the ink-stain that was on his ass. Luna did say the spell would use the existing colour palette to recolour his coat and whatnot. That said, his thighs were void of any picture.
"Don't I get a picture on my butt? What happened to it anyway?" The ring also appeared to make his voice somewhat normal, instead of the eerily echo-y resonant sound of the villainess.
"It defeats the purpose of a disguise if one can be identified by the cutie mark. While grown ponies that don't have cutie marks aren't entirely unheard of, they're few and far between. To be safe, I suggest making up a cover story to explain why you're without one."
Joseph did a double-take at Luna when she mentioned cutie marks. "I don't even know what they are to begin with. I was never told that much. What do you expect me to say? 'I'm a grown man that doesn't have a cutie mark'?" After those words left his mouth, it struck him those words came across rather sarcastically, but that wasn't his intention.
Luna chuckled for the Nth time that morning. "You also might want to choose your words carefully when referring to yourself. Some might not give it a second thought, but saying it often enough might lead to problems."
By reflex, Joseph's newly acquired ears flattened against the side of his head. Remembering his new form and what he had lost, Luna's words were like a hot branding iron on his chest.
Luna realised the unintentional effect her words had when she saw Joseph look away, saddened.
"I... Apologize if what I said offended, but I was just--"
"No no, it's fine," Joe interrupted. "I knew what you mean, but I've been here for all of a day or two, so things about what happened are going to be rather sore and sensitive. Now that I have everything you intended to give me--"
And then some, snarked Nightmare Moon, referring to Luna's previous comment.
'Shut it.'
"--what happens now?"
Luna opened the bedroom door. "Now you get to explore Canterlot. Just try not to get lost. Allow me to show you to the main door, you should be able to take things into your own hooves from there in getting to your house."
Joseph groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'm never going to get used to the whole hands/hooves thing." With his new bags, money, and disguise, Joseph begrudgingly left the warm bed and walked out the door, followed by Luna. He hung a right and began walking down the door before he heard Luna call out from a distance.
"Wrong way!"
He felt silly for not following her to begin with, given he should have followed her, not knowing his way around.
Bags on his back, Joe followed the alicorn through the veritable maze of corridors and passages that made up the castle. Had he not had Luna to guide him, and had she not noticed he wasn't walking with her, he'd've surely gotten lost in this labyrinthe.
Eventually the duo exited through a door into a rather large foyer that had a rather large staircase that flared out at the base but narrowed towards the top, but not by much. An elaborate chandelier hung in the middle of the room, ornately decorated with what appeared to be gold, and the chandelier itself had dozens upon dozens of candles in fixtures. Joseph hadn't seen any instances of electricity in the castle, or anywhere else yet for that matter, so he figured that these bizarre equine creatures used magic to replace the function and practicality of electricity.
Luna and Joe stopped before the door, and Luna enveloped it in her aura, pushing it outwards to let the sunshine through, giving Joseph a look outside.
Beyond the castle grounds themself, aside the main street that went north that Luna pointed out, the rest of the town looked like something from Europe. Buildings and houses close together with a few narrow alleys here and there. There were bigger streets that branched off of the main road, and it looked like they held most of the businesses. The buildings themselves were clustered together on blocks with the alleys as convenient shortcuts between some of the bigger streets.
"Do you feel secure enough to take things into your own hooves from here on out, Joseph?"
He looked back and up to the princess. "So... What happens now, exactly?"
"You have another chance to live what was cruelly taken from you," Luna said stoically, a sense of pride in what she spoke.
'Poetic justice, how quaint,' Joseph thought to himself. Luna was right, he had been given a new opportunity to live another life, but that was part of the problem too. It wasn't his life. He figured he should get the most out of today and see how it went, so he bid farewell to the princess.
Just before he left, Luna explained that she would visit him in his dreams, as was part of her special talent. It wasn't just limited to raising the moon, but inclusive of guarding the populace from the denizens of the night, both in dream and in the real world. Luna explained that when she's in the 'Dreamscape', as she called it, it's like walking down a corridor with doors, only the doors are portals to dreams. Each dream portal gives off a different colour depending on the dream. Soft pink for the more... erotic dreams, black for nightmares, green for happy dreams, and so on like that. The concept seemed simple enough, but the main concern is whether or not Luna would be able to find Joseph's dream portal, given he's not of this world.
Both agreed that they'd wait to see what would happen, if anything would happen, so Joe finally departed the castle grounds and began walking down the main road from the castle.
Left to his own devices and thoughts, well, mostly considering the parasite living in his mind, he wandered down the street glancing at all the passing stores. The signs were rather simplistic, reminding him of the wooden signs that hung from poles that jutted out from the front of a store which had a sign hanging from it indicating--for the most part--what the store sold.
He saw a sign with a mixture of cakes, muffins, and pastries, another with three apples on it, a sofa, then another with a bottle of ink and feather quill.
'These guys don't appear to have heard of a pencil or pen,' he thought to himself. Inadvertently, little miss parasite heard him.
While I've not heard of either of those items, our civilization uses ink and quill.
'Kinda archaic, but things look like they could do with a touch of artificiality.'
Getting no reply, Joseph continued on down the street, passing innumerable stores on the way. While walking towards a fountain that acted as an intersection of sorts between two streets, each bisecting the other. What drew his attention was a lone stallion with a cart full of apples, hollering at passersby if they'd care to buy a bunch of apples. Curiosity got the better of Joe, so he went up to the cart.
"Hello there ma'am! Care to buy a sack of the most delicious apples you'll ever eat?"
Joseph looked over the cart, seeing the slanted table typical of vendors like this. The cart itself looked bigger than just the display table, as if the rest of the boxy construction held more apples than what was shown. He also noticed neatly folded and stacked sacks behind the vendor, presumably for the apples.
"What kind of apples are we talking about?"
"Red Delicious!" beamed the vendor. "This variety has softer skin and juicier flesh, making them great for the older folk whom have a hard time chewing, and those that generally like softer flesh fruits." The vendors gaze turned to Joe's flank. "Pardon me, but you're a grown mare, why don't you have a cutie mark?"
A shit-eating grin came across Joseph's face, deciding he could have some fun with this guy. "Why are you looking at my ass?" he said with seriousness.
The unicorn stallion froze, almost choking on his words. "P-pardon!? I meant no offense, miss..."
'I'm never going to get used to feminine pronouns,' Joe thought.
"...but I was just making an observation! It's not uncommon for mares and stallions to converse over one anothers cutie marks!"
The vendor was getting flustered, much to Joseph's amusement. "It seems to me that it's rather perverse thing to do in the presence of a mare." He cringed at that last word. 'Yeah, never getting used to that.'
"L-Look," stammered the merchant. "I can give you a discount if that makes you feel better!"
Joe perked up. "In that case, how much do I owe you?"
The look of disbelief at Joseph's transition from accusatory to chipper demeanour found its way across the merchant's face. "E-eight bits, miss...?"
Joseph forgot to figure out a name! Dark coat and mane, reincarnation of a villainess whom tried to take over with eternal night by obscuring the sun...'
"Eclipse," Joe stated.
"Here, Eclipse, eight bits and for a sack of delicious apples this side of Equestria!"
Joe floated out the small bag of coins and counted out eight, floating them into the pouch that hung at the side of the merchant, levitating the sack of apples and splitting the apples between the two saddle-bags so the weight wouldn't pull on the bags, making them uncomfortable while walking, keeping one apple out to eat.
"Oh, by the way, do you know of any cafe's around here? I'm new to town and don't really know the locals too well." He punctuated that sentence with a sly wink.
"I just sold you apples at a discount, why do you want to eat at a cafe?"
"Like I said, I'm new. People who frequent cafe's are more likely to know the lay of the land."
"Uhhh, three blocks down then hang a left. Wait, did you say people?"
'Oh, shit!' "And with that, I bid you adieu good sir." Joseph turned tail with the apple floating in his aura, and took a bite out of it, leaving a thoroughly confused merchant and his apple cart behind as he went around the fountain and continued to follow the street north.
Nightmare Moon's voice echoed through his head. Keep slipping up and acting the way you are, and you'll get found out.
He shrugged that off, figuring it's just nerves getting to him from being in this strange land. 'Do you know your way around town?'
Nightmare Moon scoffed. In retrospect, I possessed Luna for all of twenty minutes before Celestia banished Luna and I to the moon after our battle. Upon my return, I had free reign for all of five hours before the Elements stripped me away from Luna. Next thing I know, I wake up a prisoner in my own body, being piloted by you. The inbetween was spent in total isolation on a floating rock.
'Sucks to be you,' Joseph chuckled.
I can assure you the feeling is mutual, came the reply.
Joseph walked down the street the three blocks the vendor said to travel until he came to an intersection. He turned left as directed, and continued walking until he came to a crossroads that had four businesses on the corners, busily catering to its patrons.
On one corner sat half a dozen tables and chairs, presumably the cafe that he wanted. His gaze turned and anchored on the second sight to his right, opposite the cafe.
The building had its four large doors that doubled as windows wide open, allowing the cool breeze to dissipate some of the ambient mid-morning heat. Inside, a counter stretched the length of the floor with seats spanning the length of the counter, save a small cut-out where ponies could walk in and out. The thing that delighted him was seeing the dozens of bottles behind the counter, all different colours, shapes, and there were even what appeared to be beer taps!
'Oh fuck yes, a BAR!' With a grin that stretched from ear to ear, he jovially walked inside and up to one of the individuals behind the bar.
"Hey there ma'am," said the barstallion. "What can I getcha?"
"Waddaya got?"
The stallion seemed pleasantly taken aback by the response.
"We got cider mostly, made from apples all over the land," he said, running a hoof over the myriad of taps and nozzles. "All the way from Appleoosa, Neighvarro, and Fillydelphia, with some of the better cider made by hoof from Sweet Apple Acres! Then there's the harder stuff in the bottles. Granny Smith's Apple Moonshine of varying strengths. One shot from most will put you on your flank."
As good as the stronger stuff sounded, Joe opted for one of the weaker strength liqueurs and a cider chaser. After paying the ludicrous price of fourteen bits; six for the mug of Neighvarro and eight for the shot, he knocked the shot, much to the bartenders amazement, and took a generous swig of cider to wash the bitter taste of the liquor away. The liquor tasted almost exactly like white rum; sweet, tangy, with the tangy taste of green apples.
"Say, what's the harder stuff made out of?"
"Green apples mostly. They're often too bitter to eat by themselves, but they make for some amazing hard liquor. The juicier apples like those Red Delicious in your saddle bags make for some sweeter and more flavourable cider." An air of realization came over the stallion. "Say, you're not from around here, are you? Most ponies already know this. Where are you from? Can't say I've seen you around here, and I would recognise those coat and mane colours if you had been here before."
"I just got here, actually," Joseph said, taking another mouthful of the now half-empty mug.
"Where're you from, Manehattan?"
'Oh dear god, more bad puns...' Joseph groaned inwardly at that name. "Sure, Manehattan. Nice place. It was nice to grow up in the city." Not half a second after that sentence left his mouth, his gut dropped. 'Oh shit, I was thinking of the city I grew up in back on Earth! I don't even know if this place has any cities like where I'm from! Moonie?'
No reply.
"Yeah, the city is pretty good, but I prefer the country to a certain extent. I can take a train ride to Ponyville any time I want, and Canterlot is a good balance in my opinion."
'Oh thank god he didn't notice...'
"So why don't you have your cutie mark yet?"
Joseph rolled his eyes. "Why do stallions keep staring at my ass."
The bartender just humourously chuckled at the comment. "Ma'am, it's nothing personal by any means. A cutie mark denotes the special talent of the individual. As you can see, mine is a martini glass." He raised his rear up high enough to show Joseph the picture adorning his thigh. "I got it when I discovered that my calling was serving people drinks, and mixing them too."
"Ookay...? I guess I haven't found what I'm good at just yet. I used to work in an office before I-" Joe had to stop talking for a second before he accidentally let slip that he was stabbed. He cleared his throat as a guise before speaking. "Sorry, before I decided a change in scenery would help."
He polished off the rest of his cider to quell the anxious feeling from having almost slipped up, and bought another one.
"This stuff is great, by the way!"
"Glad you think so, miss...?"
"Eclipse."
"Glad you think so, Eclipse, I aim to make my patrons happy."
Joseph began drinking the second mug with gusto before the barstallion spoke up.
"Woah there, with the hard stuff and the other mug in you, you might not be able to walk straight soon."
"What are you... Woah..." Turns out the stallion was right. After putting the mug down on the counter to hear him talk, the delightful hazy euphoria washed over him. Getting drunk back on Earth wasn't exactly Joe's thing, he'd keep within his limits so to not turn into that person. Usually four beers or four doubles would do the trick, and he'd cut himself off after six so he didn't wake up with a hangover the following morning.
Currently Joe felt like he chugged all six beers at once the way he felt the liquor hit his system.
The bartender just smirked. "Told ya."
An idea popped into Joe's head, but he wasn't sure of whether or not it was one of those questions that would be better left unsaid or not. Oh well, only one way to find out.
"Hey, mr barschtallion," he slurred, his tongue not keeping up with the thought process causing him to trip over his own words. "What would you do if that Mightnare Moon walked in here and wanted a drink?"
The question didn't quite catch him off guard, as much as his reaction to it indicated it wasn't something he got asked very often, and seemed rather intrigued by.
"Interesting question. Well since she got dealt with the other day after she returned, if she were still around I'd probably buy her one on the house."
A voice called out from the other side of the bar.
"Hey, why does that twat get a free drink but I have to pay for mine!?"
"Because you're always trying to get free drinks, Crimson," the bartender screeched back, making Joseph wince slightly at the volume. "That, or you're buying them for random mares trying to take them home! Besides, she's technically royalty, and first drink to royalty is generally on the house. So keep your muzzle shut, and I'm keeping an eye on this one too."
"Stupid bitch should stay on the moon, plenty that would agree..." He went back to sullenly drinking his cider.
Ignoring the comment, Joe turned his head back to look at the bartender. "What was that all about?"
The stallion looked over at Crimson with an air of caution. "He goes around a lot of bars trying to pick up mares. Just watch yourself around him and you'll be fine."
That 'Crimson' is right, Nightmare Moon said. Many a pony would be quick to riot if they found out who you are.
"Oh shyaddup," Joseph said aloud before realising he should have said that to Nightmare and not to the stallion serving him drinks.
"Woah there missy, I was just trying to look out for you!"
"Uh, sorry, I was just... Talking to myself."
"...Yourself?" The bartender asked, confused.
"It's complicated. Anyway, I needed to buy some food for my new house. Know of any shops around here?"
"Go back out the door and take the street left from the one you came up, alternatively just go out the door and follow the street left of the cafe across the road. You've had more than you should, are you alright to walk home?"
"I'm not as think as you drunk I am," Joe snapped. "Wait..."
The stallion just giggled. "If you say so. Just be sure to drink plenty of water when you get home so you don't get hungover."
Joe polished off the last of the mug of cider, slamming it down on the counter following a thoroughly satisfied "AAHHHH!" He got down off the stool and left through the front door.
His vision wasn't swimming as if he'd had a dozen drinks, but he'd had enough to drink for the booze to impair his thoughts and judgement, explaining why he kept tripping over his words. Before he left the door however, he heard the bartender tell the stallion that piped up; "You stay right there." That followed an annoyed sigh from the pegasus, but he couldn't figure out why.
Joseph managed to find his way to the store just fine, and the liquor hadn't affected him as much as he thought it had, at least in the walking aspect. Talking to the people here should be interesting, though. However, it dawned on him that he had deviated from going to the house to the point where his inebriation caused him to lose track of where he was.
The store wasn't unlike one from Earth. Baskets of vegetables and fruits sat out the front, flanked either side of the main entrance. The price boards is what struck Joseph as odd. The carrot bin had a picture of two carrots, an equals sign, then three yellow circles, presumably the price. If that's the case, two carrots cost three bits, five tomatoes cost, four bits, then the apples and oranges cost two bits for three each.
He went into the store, but didn't get his two front hooves inside before getting accosted by someone.
"Hello!" beamed a cheerful voice. "I'm Daisy, are you after anything in particular today?" Her nostrils flared as if inhaling something, but Joe just shrugged it off.
Because of how tipsy he was, it took him longer than he'd have liked for those words to completely register in his head, and to formulate a response.
"I'm... new here. Moving in today and I need some food." Joseph's subconscious was screaming at him to get some delicious bacon.
"Well you've come to the right place, nothing but the freshest fruit and vegetables this side of Canterlot!"
Something inside Joseph snapped at hearing 'nothing but fruit and vegetables'. No more bacon and eggs, no more BLT's!
"HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE BACON!?!?" he screamed, inadvertently discovering the power his voice inherited from Luna or Nightmare Moon. After that outburst, the whole store went quiet enough that he was pretty sure he heard something rustle a few aisles over.
"Pardon me, miss, but we don't have, what was it? Bacon? We do have plenty of dairy however, milk, cheese, eggs, and fish too. Earth ponies and pegasi usually have fish because it has nutrients that plant based foods can't provide."
He sighed and pinched his brow with a hoof, then immediately wondered how he did that. "I'll take half a dozen eggs, some fish, cheese, and some milk in that case. While you get that--I have no idea where you keep it--I'll get some... vegetables."
Joseph picked up one of the baskets and began loading foodstuffs into it. Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, and enough fruits and veggies for about a week or so. He also picked up a loaf of bread, salt and pepper, and a few other condiments he recognised.
With the basket loaded with a healthy amount of food--in every sense of the word, he put the basket on the checkout next to the other things he asked the mare for. The fish wrapped up in plastic then paper, held together with tape so it wouldn't unravel, a bottle of what looked to be two litres of milk, and the familiar carton of a dozen eggs.
"Carrots... Lettuce..." Daisy went about adding everything up with a paper and quill, doing a few of the number calculations in her head. "Ok, everything comes to forty-five bits!"
"You're kidding!? I paid just under half that for a few drinks at a bar down the street!"
She snickered. "I know, I could smell the cider on you when you walked in."
Joe rolled his eyes. He shouldn't have been surprised, liquor prices were always expensive on Earth. A box of beer would cost $20 for a dozen bottles, but a bar would charge $6 a bottle. In retrospect, one would go to a bar to meet other people and have a good time with friends, so the extra price is paying for the hospitality the bar provides while you're there.
He fished out the bit bag from his bags, and counted out forty-five bits and gave them to Daisy.
"You'll need a separate bag to carry the bread and eggs home, they'll get crushed with everything else in the saddle bags."
Daisy went about putting the fruits and veggies into two paper bags, with the bread and eggs in a separate bag.
Joe opened the flaps of his bags and managed to comfortably put the foodstuffs on top of the apples without bruising them, leaving just enough space on the buckle to close the flaps so nothing would fall out. He held the third bag in his aura.
"Have a good day!" Daisy beamed. "Good luck with your new house and everything!"
By now, the worst of the liquor had worn off, which meant that Joe wasn't tripping over his words and tongue. However, his body's processing of the alien alcoholic beverage meant that the hazy euphoria remained, still inhibiting his judgement and motor skills to an extent.
Upon exiting the store, his mind lost the directions Luna had given him to get to his house. Did he take a right from the main road? Or was it a left... Directions always get confusing when trying to remember them in reverse. Worst of all, he found he needed the toilet.
Unsure of his current geographical location, he consulted Nightmare.
'Oi, where do I go? I need to pee! Stupid booze and it's diuretic effects...'
Go straight ahead from whence you came, turn right, follow the street then turn right again, then turn left at the end of the street. You'll be back on the main road at that point. You're lucky alcohol doesn't affect me you incompetent fool.
'Hey, I'm not incontinent! At least I won't be unless I get home. Wait..." He shrugged off the misheard word, and, with eyes peeled and thinking harder than he should have, he followed Nightmare's directions back to the main road he strayed from.
Back on track, he followed the road as per Luna's original instructions to the end of the street, then turned in the correct direction to find the house Luna graciously procured for him. To his surprise, the housing reminded him of treeace-style housing from Earth.
Probably to save space, the houses--arguably flats--were basically fused together at the wall, allowing no space to walk between, to form one continuous row of houses.
He walked along the street, perusing the house numbers.
"Thirty-eight, forty, forty-two," right up to, "fifty-four, fifty-six, fifty-eight... Hey, where's fifty-seven?"
Other side of the street. These are even numbers.
'...Shut up, I'm drunk.'
Joseph went up to the front door, but stopped dead in utter confusion when he saw the door handle, and something amiss. He stared at it for a good minute, trying to figure out why it didn't have a lock on it. The door still had a handle, presumably for earth ponies and pegasi.
"How do I..."
Magic is literally the key, you oaf. Doors won't open unless the sensor gem inside the handle itself recognises the magical signature of the owner.
'What about public places?'
Those places don't have sensors. It's mostly for security where it's needed. The castle where you woke up was experimenting with the implementation of these works of artificiality before Luna and I were banished.
Joseph pondered the more practical aspect of security. Locks can be picked, electronics can be hacked and overridden, so a device that recognises the energy signature unique to that particular individual would have massive benefits to locks from Earth. He enveloped the handle with his aura, whereupon the aura itself visually got sucked into the handle, presumably to get sampled.
"Uuhhhh... Did the door eat my magic?"
Try it again.
For the second time, Joe mentally pictured a hand on the door handle, pushing down on it. His aura, in turn, enveloped the handle and the door opened with a click.
'What about those normal and feathered bastards? They don't have magic like I do.'
Yes and no. Earth ponies and pegasi do have magic, it's what gives them strength and flight respectively, but they don't have magic to the extent to manipulate objects like unicorns can.
He nudged the door open and walked inside. It looked rather bare; the hallway had nothing indicative of anyone living here; picture frames on the walls, umbrella stand by the door, hat/coat stand too. Off to the right, the hall gave way to a kitchen with a round table sitting in the middle of it. The counter itself spanned the length of the wall, had a sink, oven, and cupboards top and bottom.
"Bathroom!" Joe exclaimed in realization. He ran down to the end of the hall, throwing open every door he could find until he found the glistening white porcelain... bowl?
It didn't look like the conventional toilet from Earth. Well, it did, but more reminiscent of the squat variety from Asia, recessed into the floor. It was wider than the Asiatic kind, but other than that it was a normal squat toilet.
Joseph looked at it in disbelief and screamed, "OH COME ON!"
Just sit on it you fool.
Joseph really didn't have much of a choice at this point, so he stumbled over to the foreign toilet and sat down on it, letting his muscles relax to do their job. He let out the typical sign of relief before standing back up and walking out the bathroom door, relaxed, but still quite drunk.
"I need a drink..."
But you already--
"Don't even start with me or I'll think dirty thoughts that you'll be forced to see," Joseph said, cutting off Nightmare Moon's possible snide remark to his intoxication.
He made his way back to the kitchen and had to rifle through the cupboards to find a drinking glass, and when he did he turned on the tap and had several glasses full of water.
"Now, I need ta sleep the rest of this off." 'Luna said she'd visit me in my dreams, but I don't see how that would work.'
I was once bonded with Luna, I gave her the power she needed to overthrow Celestia, but Celestia turned to the Elements. Point is we are on equal grounds with Luna in terms of magic since you and she are the same entity in different bodies. You will be able to perform the same spells she does to the fullest extent when you learn how to, Nightmare Moon told Joe, whom was already climbing the stairs to find a bed.
'Why are you telling me this?' He yawned as he said that, pushing open a door and finding what appeared to be a delightfully plush bed.
Because sooner or later Joseph, there will come a time you will need to use the powers you possess. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 05| Dreams | It was a weird feeling, an indescribable sensation that would best be comparable to someone being unsure if they were awake or asleep. Imagine being awake, but this feeling would instill an overwhelming sense of doubt in your mind that you weren't sure whether you were awake or still sleeping.
Joseph could only feel his eyes opening, but something felt wrong, like he couldn't control what he was doing. He could feel his influence asserting itself, but something kept holding him back, almost like there was a barrier keeping him from doing as he pleased. Something needed to give if he wanted to regain control. Even though he had no motor control, Joseph was still able to see and feel and hear through the eyes and ears of whomever he was possessing.
He was standing behind something, what looked like to be one of those over-sized backdrops to a chair of some description. He could suddenly feel himself walking, but not of his own volition. He rounded the corner from whatever he was standing behind, coming to a stop as his voice spoke, thickly archaic in accent but speaking relatively modern English.
"Not another step," the voice said. He could feel his lips moving, but it wasn't him speaking. The eyes glanced at an alabaster figure walking slowly towards him, purpose and challenge written across her face. From the peripheral vision, he could see a rather small staircase leading down to the floor, and there was a small bridge of sorts off to the left. He could feel his hosts eyes narrow with anger and rage as the voice spoke again.
"Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?"
He felt movement again, and this time he found himself walking to stand on the small bridge connecting two platforms. Why there was such a small and trivial decoration adorning two small masses was beyond him. Standing with an overly assertive, aggressive stance looking head-on to the regal white mare still walking towards him in a confrontational manner, he spoke again.
"There can only be one Princess in Equestria! And that Princess," he felt himself bursting through that final barrier keeping him from the control of his body, front legs raising high above his head then slamming down on the guardrail that spanned the small bridge, shattering it into oblivion. ", will be ME!!!"
Shadows leaked out from underneath, pooling and growing all around his feet as he felt their presence snake their way back up his legs. He felt them run up the wall behind him too, cracking it and the window above his head. Stone and glass burst inwards like someone threw a ball through a window, the stone and glass bouncing off him and landing at his feet.
An enormous amount of power surged throughout his body, wings spreading as he felt himself take control of his host. Raising his front legs, he hovered in the air as his magic began to raise the celestial body that roamed across the night sky. Ethereal beams of dark, black energy radiated outward as it covered the sun, their power getting bestowed upon him like an unnatural gift. He felt several beams hit his body, more shadows spreading like thick black oil over him. With each passing moment, his influence grew stronger and stronger over the host.
The shadows coalesced into a ball, swirling around him as he floated mid-air, magical energy permeating every pore of his body, feeling the same essence push the host's conscious mind to the back of its own mind. With the transformation completed, the shadows dissipated and he felt himself gain full control.
"Ahahaha, ahahahaha, AHAHAHAHAHAA!!!" he cackled villainously, each breath bringing more insidious volume.
He could feel a massive buildup of energy in the top of his head, and he let it loose skyward. The electric-blue beam connected with the ceiling of the room he was in, and he dragged the beam in an arc across the ceiling. Chunks of stone weighing tons fell, peppering the floor with dull, thunderous thuds. With a flap of his wings, he jumped down off the bridge and began walking through the cloud of dust kicked up by the magic partially vaporising the rock and puffing up from hitting the ground.
He stepped forward with determined purpose and broke through the dust-cloud to stand before the figure that looked at him piteously. She took flight to avoid a falling hunk of stone, and he saw the opportunity to release another bolt of energy. He missed his target, hitting the roof again but this time opening a gaping hole on the roof from which the moon shone through. He could feel the raw power gained from the moonlight emanating throughout his body. Joseph felt almost unstoppable.
Celestia landed on the floor, folding her wings after having narrowly avoided the bolt of energy. They stared at each other before Celestia broke the silence.
"Luna, I will not fight you! You must lower the moon, it is your duty!"
"Luna?" he replied humourously. Huffing a small chuckle, he replied: "I am... Nightmare Moon! I have but one royal duty now; to destroy you!!!"
His legs widened in stance to hold more ground as he shot another beam at Celestia's footing. She took flight again, the beam hitting the floor beneath her and burrowed underneath as it created a crater, chunks of the floor flying outward. His gaze turned upward as his opponent escaped out of the hole through which the moon was shining.
"And where do you think you're going?" he stated condescendingly. His wings unfurled as his legs bent under him, jumping and flapping the feathery appendages to carry him higher and higher. Celestia paused mid-flight, silhouetting herself against the moon as he fired beam after beam at her.
Celestia ducked and dived, avoiding every shot. Each discharge of magic hit something else; a wall, a sculpture, a tower, and whatever else got in his way. Through a display of combat aerobatics, he closed the distance of his target, weaving through each destroyed monument as it threatened to hit him as it fell. His prey found itself in a wide open area.
Noticing the wide arc in which Celestia was travelling, he timed his shot just right so his beam connected with her torso at just the right moment. He heard a satisfying shriek, a pained wail as his target fell out of the sky and fell through one of the dozens of holes created in the roof they flew out of.
He threw his head back in victory, cackling to himself at his accomplishment. He flew a brief lap around the castle to survey the damage done before something caught his eye. A ball of pulsing white and polychromatic light rose from the building with Celestia in the middle of it as she stared him down.
He summoned all the power he could gather from the moon, the dark forces permeating right to the core of his host, his eyes radiating a pure white light from the sheer amount of energy as he readied himself for his strongest attack yet. Celestia and himself fired their respective beams at the same time. Joseph could feel his attack momentarily gain ground on Celestia's, but in a panic he felt his magic falter. Worry overtook being drunk with magic and power as the multi-coloured beam inched closer and closer.
"NNNNnnnooooooooo!!!!", he screamed as Celestia's magic connected with the horn atop his head. He could feel his body de-materialize and rocket skyward. The last sensation he felt was almost like getting flattened by a steamroller as his vision locked in place, cursed to stare down at the blue and green orb with a black canvas dotted by pinpricks of white light as its backdrop.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Joseph sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily. He fell back onto his bed with a soft thunk, arms splayed out to the sides as they hung off the edges of the bed.
"Fuck, I was actually scared I wasn't dreaming there for a second."
He took a moment to flick the crusty crap from the corners of his eyes and glanced over to his nightstand to look at the time. Eight-thirty in the morning on Friday.
Being a Friday meant he had a later start at work, giving himself enough time to fix himself a proper breakfast instead of the thrice-a-week, grab-and-go at the diner down the road from his apartment and finish off the papers he brought home last night. Joseph lived in a more rural part of the city. The outlying suburbs let its residents get away from the hustle and bustle of the much noisier city, and starting work at eight-thirty meant Joseph had to get up earlier than normal to ready himself, then drive to work. He usually only had enough time to get up, shower, have a coffee that was being brewed while he showered, put on fresh clothes, and hop out the door with his bag and coffee in hand, speeding towards the city after he stopped off to get breakfast at the aforementioned diner.
He put his slice of bread in the toaster wells and plunged the lever and went to the fridge to pull out two eggs, a jar of chunky tomato relish, and some streaky bacon. Bacon and poached eggs on toast with relish was divine, it gave him the mental and physical energy he needed to do his best at work. If he had gotten his usual from the diner, he'd normally be scratching his head for those extra few minutes trying to figure out the problem from lack of proper nutrition because of the greasy diner food.
Joseph got out his foodstuffs and closed the fridge. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw the ethereal tail from the Nightmare Moon that was in his dreams pull itself out of sight from the door frame.
He shook it out of his head. "Probably hallucinating from the dream," he said aloud to reassure himself.
He pulled out a bottle of white vinegar and butter from the pantry and two small frying pans from the cupboard next to the stove, each big enough for their respective purposes. He turned two elements on, half filling one pan with water and adding the other half with vinegar and a teaspoon of salt.
When he finished pouring in the vinegar, the water rippled and an image of the helmeted Nightmare Moon appeared. Joe stared in disbelief at the static, transparent image in the water. He blinked his eyes and shook his head to see if it was real or not, and by the time he looked back there was nothing but the heated bubbles in the water floating to the top.
Today was supposed to be good; start at midday and leaving at five. Every other week would consist of getting an eighth of an ounce with a bunch of soda and snacks to last the weekend, while the other weeks would be whisky, takeouts, and gaming. Being single had its perks, usually meaning he had more time to himself, but that didn't stop him from bringing home some company from time to time.
He carried on making breakfast, and while that cooked he pulled the unfinished papers out from his satchel he brought home last night from the office and got a pen from his desk. Plating up his meal with a knife and fork, Joe sat down at the table to complete the papers. Almost as if on cue, he absentmindedly heard the clip clop of hooves approaching him from behind, getting louder as they approached him.
Joseph turned around expecting to see the creature from his dream, but saw nothing. 'Great, I'm going insane. First I'm dreaming about horses, now I'm having auditory and visual hallucinations about them too.'
With his mood becoming increasingly bitter about the causes of these noises and things he's seeing, he polished off both his breakfast and papers, putting them back in their folder and into his bag, followed with a shower and clean clothes.
Keys in hand, Joseph left the apartment and made his way to the street where his car sat. It then dawned on him. How did he get home last night?
The last thing he remembered was leaving the office and going to the Turkish restaurant, Abrakebabra, to get his dinner. As he got in the drivers seat, he sat there for a minute thinking hard about he got home. Between leaving with his takeout kebab and waking up, he had zero recollections about what transpired.
"I hope I don't have demons or anything inside me..." he nonchalantly said as he started the car up. In doing so, he looked through the rear-view mirror at the road behind him to see if there were any oncoming cars he'd need to avoid hitting as he pulled out. Only one car drove past, a black Lamborghini with a number plate that made Joseph do a double-take as it sped past.
'IAMNMM'
"Oh piss off!" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes as he angrily threw the gear stick into reverse. He backed up far enough so he had enough space to drive forward and out of his parking space. With an aggravated huff, he began driving towards the city and his job.
He was on the motorway when the same Lamborghini passed him. Again. And again. Multiple times, in fact. It got to the point where Joseph was getting rather fed up at wondering how the same car can keep passing him multiple times on the same stretch of road when there wasn't any off ramps for a good distance for it to turn off. That said, the driver would need to be driving extremely fast to keep up with the flow of traffic on the road.
Angered frustration began building in the form of tension in his muscles. He began to depress
the gas pedal harder, shifting into a higher gear to speed up to change lanes into the one the black car kept driving down. Several minutes passed without seeing the car, and a small amount of tension began to alleviate itself. It didn't last long as the car appeared at his left. It honked several times at him, slowing down enough to pull into the same lane behind Joseph.
He kept looking at the car the whole time, not paying enough attention to the movement of his hands. They slowly pulled the wheel to the left as he began to inadvertently change lanes into the one he changed from ten minutes ago.
He should have been paying attention.
A large food truck carrying deliveries for various eating establishments collided with his car. The front of the truck hit the rear left bumper, and that's all it took for his car to become perpendicular to the front of the truck as it kept driving down the road. Panic set in, and Joseph began frantically yelling at the driver to stop what he was doing. Pounding the horn didn't do any good, it was almost as if the driver either didn't care or didn't notice his predicament as they continued down the motorway.
Joseph then heard the same evil cackling from his dreams as it drowned out every other noise. His head darted around trying to locate the source of the noise. Not even the sound of the metal grinding on metal could be heard over the cackling.
He caught sight of the source. Nightmare Moon was flying in circles around his car, taunting him. She stopped at a hover in the middle of the road. She bared her teeth, so big and fearsome were they that even the teeth of the Goliath Tigerfish looked as tame as butter knives by comparison. Nightmare Moon's jaw widened to an impossible size as she charged at Joseph as he stared with abstract fear into the black abyss of her mouth, the last thing he saw before throwing his hands up as a defense.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
For the second time, Joseph sat bolt upright in bed, the last action he performed in his dream duplicating itself as he accidentally threw himself off the bed and onto the floor.
Hey lay there as the startling realization dawned on him; he was still stuck in this god-forsaken world in this stupid girly body sporting wings and a horn.
"Uuggghhhhhh..." he piteously moaned, dragging himself up to lean with his back against the bed with the covers tangled around his limbs..
Nightmare? asked Nightmare Moon, still apparently aware of him.
"Oh shut up, that was you poking around my head," Joseph replied aloud, not caring if anyone heard since he was in his own house. He glanced right to the clock on the nightstand, seeing it to be three-twenty-five in the afternoon, about two hours after he initially went to sleep after arriving at the house. "Cause me to have nightmares again and I'll start thinking of sexy mare plot which you'll be forced to look at."
You wouldn't dare... Nightmare Moon seethed.
With a devious grin, Joseph got to all fours and walked over to the window and pulled the curtain to one side, looking out on the street below as various ponies walked by.
He spotted a mare with a grey coat and a charcoal black mane sporting a treble clef cutie mark. As she walked, Joseph stared at her rear end and began picturing what colour lingerie she would look good in. "You know," he began. "The softer purple of her cutie mark would look great contrasted against the same shade of purple and soft pink striped socks with dark purple panti--"
STOP! bellowed Nightmare Moon from within Joe's head. I am the night! I should not have to put up with a pretentious human mortal fanticizi--
"So are you going to stop giving me nightmares?" he interrupted, still visualizing the scantily clad legs and booty. "That's another thing. How did I go from one dream to another? I felt like I was in your body and mine at the same time."
I do not know, but I theorize that because there are two of us in one mind at the same time, it could mean that our memories would either get replaced, deleted, written over, or merge together. But most likely you were experiencing my past as a dream.
"Well, I don't want to forget about my life from Earth. I'm getting a snack and going to see Luna about it. Be on your best behaviour or I'll start thinking about stallions too," Joseph victoriously replied.
Even though he couldn't see her, he was positive that Nightmare Moon would have been positively fuming with rage as his default victory. Joe headed downstairs and out the front door after grabbing an apple which he levitated in his aura, taking periodic bites out of it. Luckily enough he still remembered the way to the castle. Nightmare Moon's comment about forgetting memories lingered in his head, and Joseph became increasingly uneasy about what else he was beginning to forget, what was already forgotten, or what was already lost. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 06| This too, shall pass | It was Luna's intention to seek out Joseph's thoughts while asleep. The ability to inconspicuously traverse the Dreamscape came in extremely handy for tasks such as this, and the purpose of this particular "Dream Walk", as Luna aptly named it, meant to discover anything that could be considered nefarious towards the nation, as the case with the new arrival.
While Celestia and Luna gave him the benefit of the doubt in his actions at having been thrust into the unfamiliar world, that did not excuse the need for further investigation. While the subject had control over their dreams, they had to be aware of themself dreaming to be able to gain control of what manifests in the dream.
The sudden appearance of the Princess of the Night could easily be chalked down to the subconscious recreating her.
The dream realm was like a massive ethereal corridor with portals to dreams all around. The individual portals wrapped around Luna as she walked through the veritable tube. She simply needed to think of somepony, or a portal within her view, and that particular one would pluck itself out of the ethereal sky and present itself in front of her.
Her task was made more complicated by the fact that she was looking for a portal whose owner had two minds in the same head. After the face, she didn't know what to think of; Joseph, Nightmare Moon, or the physical body they both inhabited. Given not too many ponies knew what Nightmare Moon looked like outside of her armour, Luna ventured that very few would take her seriously without it.
She kept an eye out for any portals that seemed to be... out of place? All of the others were easy enough to locate because they each had one mind and she hadn't had too much experience with this kind of thing before.
It became apparent after some thought that the solution had been masquerading around as the problem all along. While she couldn't figure out a method of selection for Joseph's dream portal, her magic would allow her to dispel all portals that had one mind in them, which would leave any other portals that had conflicting personalities.
She once used it to find Discord's portal before he got turned to stone. Given his mind is no different than his title as the God of Chaos, Luna tried and found it to work.
However, she did not like what she saw. Never again could Luna look at chocolate milk and candy floss without the overwhelming urge to purge her stomach contents.
Luna charged her horn with magic, readying the spell.
One by one the portals got switched off like light bulbs out of of existence. They'd be back by the time Luna returned to the real world, either that or she could 'turn them back on', but given the former the latter seemed pointless.
Out of the myriad of dreams, only a few discernable ones remained. Luna passed one in particular, and she knew all too well who it belonged to. She pushed the thought out of her mind and shuddered at what would be going through his head.
She called the remaining half dozen or so portals in a circle around her, and one by one she put her head through each. The first belonged to the peculiar pink mare whom she met beforehoof, after the Elements purged Nightmare Moon from her. While her magic wasn't near as strong as Celestia's since it was mostly stripped along with the Nightmare and essentially resided in Joseph, it would return to her in all due time. That said, Dreamwalking is relatively simple and doesn't require too much effort.
The second portal housed a peculiar sight; a blue pony with scraggly silvery-white hair, barking. "Oohhhkay," Luna awkwardly stated before turning herself to the third portal.
She put her hoof on it, but got quite the surprise. It refused to let her in. Not only that, but it gave her quite the literal shock. Luna tried pressing harder but the shocks got all the more intense. Eventually she was forced to pull her hoof away before the shocks got too bad. She got as close as she could, peering through the portal to the best of her ability.
She could see her dark alter-ego talking to a strange bipedal creature. He looked rather agitated as Nightmare exchanged words with him. Luna kept watching the conversation.
Joseph cupped his face in his hands as Nightmare sat next to him, but Luna couldn't figure out what those strange appendages were. They looked like claws, but more fleshy and flexible. They looked almost like tiny little penises on the end of hooves, and that perplexed Luna to no end.
She couldn't read the human like a normal pony in terms of body language, and thus had no idea whether or not he could be sad, happy, conflicted...
Luna focused her magic on the portal, thinking because it was a new creature she was dealing with that it would require a different method to get into Joseph's dream. Luna let the spell drift from her horn to the portal, but unlike the physical contact that shocked her, the spell didn't agree with the portal.
Instead, it got violently rejected. So much so that it sent her flying away as lightning arced to Luna from the portal. An apparition of Nightmare Moon manifested itself in front of Luna but she could still see the other version of the Nightmare talking to Joe.
You're not taking this one away from me. He's mine, it said before dissolving, leaving a shocked and stunned Luna staring wide-eyed at the portal.
"I must tell Celestia!" Luna exclaimed.
She closed her eyes in concentration and furrowed her brow, readying her magic to take her back to the real world. Ponies that don't know they're dreaming get woken up by external means, namely something that goes bump in the night so it's no big deal. Dreamweavers, like Luna and a select few special ponies, have the innate ability to interact with dreams and they usually had to will themselves awake. That essentially meant forcing themselves to wake up, although having someone else wake them up would work the same.
Luna sat bolt-upright in bed with a sharply inhaled gasp, immediately letting it heave as her chest rose and fell with panicked breaths.
You see, Joseph, The Fates have chosen you for a reason, The Nightmare began.
'What, those three old bags? How did they 'choose' me, then?' he queried. 'I'm pretty sure this happening with me in your body wasn't an arbitrary decision.'
Nightmare Moon had spent the duration of the walk from when they left the house trying to explain why Joseph had ended up in this land. Her supposedly convincing argument was doing little to persuade him.
'You see, I'm aware of people like you. You spin elaborate tales and try to convince me to do your deeds since you are rather incapable of doing so given your current predicament,' Joseph said, irritation creeping up in the tone of his voice. 'You would do wise not to underestimate me just because you don't know anything of my species.'
Hmm, Nightmare smirked. We shall see about that.
'Just what do you mean by that?' he asked. Several seconds of silence ensued without a response. 'Uh, hello? You still up there?' He tapped a hoof to the side of his head but still got no response.
"Oi, you still there?" Joseph asked aloud.
Another's voice sounded, thickly accented. "I didn't realise I was supposed to go anywhere."
Joseph's head snapped to his left and he saw a rather well-built, alabaster unicorn wearing what could be described as a waistcoat by human standards, with a monocle propped on his right eye, sitting outside at a cafe table while sipping a cup of tea that floated in his aura.
Looking down a bit further, he noticed the stallions cutie mark consisted of a moustache with an overlying monocle. Joseph pondered why someone with a picture of a moustache on their thigh wouldn't have one growing.
"I must say, you seem to be quite the character. It's not often I see a mare with dark purple mane and equally darker blue coat, but... it is rather surreal to see a grown mare without a cutie mark, if I'm to be honest, my dear."
"Hey, y'all best not be hittin on me," Joseph retorted. "I've had enough of that and I've not been here two days."
"Madame, I'm merely suggesting I could help your cutie mark appear," the stallion replied with condescending sincerity.
Joseph turned in place to face the stallion with a slightly confused look. "I thought they appear when you ponies find the thing that yo.." Joseph cut himself off, mentally chastising himself for not completely thinking that through.
He had caught wind of an explanation that a cutie mark is a pony's special talent, effectually representing either the job or profession they're best suited at... doing.
"Oh you dirty bastard!" Joseph exclaimed.
Instantly, a rather wide grin appeared on the stallion's face. Indicative of what Joseph would have called a 'shit-eating' grin, he leered at the pony and cursed himself for walking right into that one. Joe's interesting choice of wording garnered the attention of several passer-by's, whom seemed to snicker at the monocle-wearing pony's expression.
Utilizing the moment, Joseph plucked the teapot from the table and held it aloft in his aura. "It looks like you enjoy your tea, don't you?" he began.
"My my, the lady seems to have considered my offer! She's pouring me another cup of tea to prove it!" He laughed at his own joke, but the moment was short-lived.
Joe didn't pour another cup, no, he had other plans in mind for it. He levitated the teapot over the head of the stallion and turned it upside down. The lid to the pot fell off and hit the unnamed stallion on the horn before clattering back to the table. The tea stained the alabaster-white coat, turning the top half of him a light brown. The basket holding the tea leaves slid out as the leaves landed with wet plops atop his head.
Joseph watched as the basket caught on the horn of the tea-soaked individual, spinning a few times before settling. The unicorn didn't do anything; he was stunned from disbelief at having his imported Jasmine tea emptied over him.
Holding his head high, Joseph put the teapot back on the table and replaced the lid and turned back in the direction of the castle while several ponies were trying to hide their snickers and giggles from adding insult to injury to the tea-stained pony.
"You would do wise to check yourself next time, or it won't be tea I'll be dumping on you." Ignoring the expressions of shock and awe from the bystanders, he continued his walk towards the palace to meet with Luna.
It took Joseph all of twenty minutes to make his way back to the palace entrance after the incident with the tea, feeling delightfully smug. He was greeted by a pair of stoic guards, akin to the British Royal Guards that stand guard, unmoving, outside the gates of Buckingham Palace.
"Halt," one of them commanded. "Please provide either a summons letter, invitation, or state your business at the palace."
"I have business with Princess Luna. Tell her that Eclipse is here."
The guard teleported away, gone for all of thirty seconds before re-appearing. "She says to make your way up. Have a nice day."
Joseph passed the gates and began to head up the stairs to the main entrance. When he was heading for the exit before he had Luna to guide him, now he had no idea where he was headed.
The main entrance had a massive foyer and the staircase at the end of the room opposite the door tapered towards the top and spread out quite a bit where it met the floor. At the top was a walkway that spread along the walls back towards the main entrance, doors lining its entirety. The ground floor had doors too, but there were two arched doorways that didn't have any actual doors. Instead, they were corridors that lead down a certain length before turning sharply right if you walked down the left hand corridor for example.
All in all the layout reminded him of the Calvert Mansion from Point Lookout to a degree.
"Uuhhh..." he uttered to nobody in particular. In hindsight, he should have been paying attention to the route Luna took with him to make sure he knew the right way.
He guessed the two corridors would have been for any servants to hurry from one part of the castle to the other had they not the ability to teleport. "Goddamn it!" he swore under his breath, figuring he'd pick and choose a random door until he found someone that could take him where he needed to go.
Joe went up the stairs and turned right, using his magic to open the first door. All that greeted him was another corridor with a left-hand bend, but he could hear hoofsteps coming down the hall. Several seconds later a unicorn mare strode around the corner. The first thing that came to Joseph's mind was the rather disappointingly modest maids outfit.
The second thing that crossed his mind was why he was thinking such things. 'They're animals,' he reasoned. Then the weight of that statement hit him. 'You're an animal...' He mentally sighed.
He wanted to ask Nightmare a question, but getting annoyed at her alarmingly long absence he tapped a hoof on the side of his head. The maid must have seen him do this.
"Are you ok there, Miss?" she asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, thanks." Joe searched for an excuse to explain why he hit the side of his head with his hoof, but couldn't come up with anything, so he sidestepped the issue. "Could you please take me to Princess Luna's office? I'm due to meet with her."
"But of course, ma'am," the maid said with a courteous bow. She cantered down the hall towards Joseph as she tucked the feather duster behind her and out of sight. Joe figured she put it in a pocket, but when she came out the door and took a left, Joe could see no pockets, leaving him wondering where she put it exactly.
"Right this way," the maid chimed. Joe followed her to the end of the balcony and in turn the door at the end. With Joe in tow, the maid took him through a nigh endless expanse of corridors, while Joseph thought to himself that he'd've surely gotten lost had he simply wandered around searching for his destination.
Eventually they stopped at a seemingly inconspicuous door in the middle of a hallway that looked like every other hallway they had come down to get here.
"How the hay do the Princesses find their way around this place, or anyone else for that matter?"
"They teleport," the maid said. "Or you just got to know your way around."
"So I take it you know this place rather well?"
With a slight giggle in her voice, the maid knocked on the door and disappeared in a flash of blinding light as sparkles cascaded down from where she once stood.
"Cheeky bitch," Joe muttered. "Freaking sparkles," he added, swatting at the sparkles in the air as they slowly sank to the carpet and disappeared. "I swear, this place is right out of a kids cartoon show."
A resounding click came from the door as it creaked open. He gazed upon the ever so beaut- 'Why why WHY!?' he mentally chastised. 'You dump tea over a guy's head but raise an eyebrow at a maid, and think her outfit could have been shorter?'
"Ugh..." he groaned as the door swung open completely.
"Something the matter, Joseph?"
"I am getting some weird feelings as of late."
"Presumably because of the body swap?" Luna quizzed. "Or is it hormonal, given that you are a mare?"
"Excuse me?" Joe asked, raising a curious eyebrow at the last part of the Princesses' question.
"Please, we have no need for formalities in this instance."
"Right. Anyway, I dumped tea over a guy's head and found myself raising an eyebrow at one of the maids, mentally complaining her outfit was too long--if I'm to be blunt, pardon me otherwise. It's like I'm a lesbian trapped in a man's body."
Luna cracked a slight smile. "Or are you a man trapped in a lesbian's body?"
Joseph chuckle-snorted. "You do realize that I am essentially you?"
Luna's smile disappeared. Quickly. Very quickly. She hurriedly regained her composure and made an attempt at wiping the growing blush from her face. "Come in, I have much to discuss with you."
Joseph walked into the room, noting a desk with two bookcases on the left and right walls, opposite both ends of the desk, while the desk itself contained several parchment scrolls and quills sitting in containers of their own next to a little bottle of ink. On the floor were two cushions.
Joe felt like he was back in the principal's office at school from the layout.
"Please, sit down." There was a pregnant moment of silence before Luna continued. "If you care to say why you're back here so soon, then I'll address my concerns about you."
With a sigh, Joseph began to recount his dream. "Well, after I left here, I went to get food for the house and I got sidetracked and wound up at a cider bar."
Luna giggle-snorted at that. "Pardon, that was unbecoming of a Princess. Continue."
"Anyway... Given I wasn't familiar with the strength of your guys' alcoholic beverages, I went home--loosely speaking of course--to sleep it off. That's where things got interesting." Joe saw Luna raise an eyebrow with intrigue and lean closer. "I had a dream. It was... about you."
"Me? Pray tell, what did it involve?" Joe was quiet for a good while, then Luna saw his ears flatten against the side of his head, indicating he was either sad or remorseful about something.
Joe, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure how to properly phrase his dream. Did he tell Luna it was about her banishment, that he experienced it first hand? Or did he ease into it by asking what happened?
"If I may ask, Princess, how long were you banished for?"
"If it is of relevance, then I will say nigh a millenium, a thousand years if you will." Joe's expression didn't change, leaving Luna wondering what it is he had to say. "Joseph, why hesitate?"
"I don't know, your highness. I'm new here, obviously, and thus I don't know how you'd react to certain things I say. To address why I'm here by way of answer, I'm hesitant to find out what happened if I told you that I dreamed of what happened between you and Celestia, specifically the period between you transforming into Nightmare Moon and getting sent to the moon."
"Hmm, that is interesting. How did you experience it?"
"Well, first hand if that's what you're looking for, although I felt myself play the part of Nightmare. It was all too real, I felt and heard everything. It was when you made your introduction and declaration of intentions that you transformed. When I say I was the Nightmare--and I mean this literally in this case--I felt myself take over you, making you do all those things."
Joe looked up at Luna cautiously, seeing her eyes narrow at him, not with ill intent, but rather carefully studying him. "This has the potential to be problematic. You have the abilities of the Nightmare in body, but your thoughts are still intact from your previous life."
Joseph gave a 'Yeah, right.' huff through his nostrils.
"Excuse me? Was it something I said?"
"Well, there was a second part to it. After I, or you--oh I don't know anymore, I woke up in my own bed back home, on Earth. I got up, and went about my daily routine. I was on my way to work, but Nightmare kept popping up. I thought it was just hallucinations from such a vivid dream from the first part of it, but then my car crashed and I woke up back in this body," Joe finished as he gestured with a hoof over his feminine body.
"Car? What is a 'car'?"
Joe deadpanned. "Is that all you got from that? Focus, please."
"Oh, but of course. I just wish to know what it is to fully understand your story."
"Imagine a cart being pulled by a horse, or pony in your case. Except that pony doesn't have legs, just another set of wheels to replace his legs."
"It sounds horrifying, what accident would have caused that?" quirked Luna.
"That's not the point. Anyway, imagine that it lives off a diet of liquid which gives it energy to move forward."
"Seems simple enough, but please continue."
"My question is; am I losing my mind if I am having these realistic dreams of your past?"
Luna paused in thought, looking off to the side as if contemplating a reply or thinking about something else in relation to Joseph's question. That's what it would have looked like to Joe, but the fact of the matter was Luna was taking into consideration what she had seen in the Dreamscape with Joseph's dream.
"It does present a problem. Given that there's two minds in one body, it could be that you both are vying for control. One wins while the other gets locked away in the mind."
"OK, now the good news," Joe said with a hint of growing agitation.
"It is possible for you to come out on top, and that's already very likely since you're the more dominant one; you're the one in control."
'Lady, you have no idea,' Joe said to himself. He often found that his somewhat opportune sense or dirty humour had a hard time leaving him.
"However, you mustn't be swayed by whatever Nightmare says to you."
"Eh," Joe shrugged nonchalantly. "You can't corrupt what is already so."
Immediately, Luna stood up and assumed an aggressive stance, her horn glowing. "Art thou really Joseph, or just the Nightmare parading around claiming to be him?"
"Woah woah woah! That didn't sound like how you thought it did, I swear!"
"Prove it," the alicorn seethed.
"Well, on Earth, I had a motto; Everyone has two sides; one they want to show, and one they want to hide. I say that because you shouldn't take anyone at face value, being that they could already be corrupt."
"That doesn't help your case!" Luna boomed,
"I've got your evil alter inside me, that's what I mean!" Joseph returned in equal volume. "I've already lost my home, friends, my fucking body--of all things, and I didn't have any family! What else have I got to lose!? This, your highness," Joseph said, his voice dripping venom, "IS. ON. YOU! Had you not been corrupted, I wouldn't be here! I would have died with dignity at saving a life on Earth!"
Joseph took a moment to collect his breath as Luna dropped the magical charge in her horn as she tentatively sat down, still on guard. "It's called a Nightmare for a reason. The more innocent something is, the more satisfying it is to corrupt. The ponies of your populace live in a state of ignorant bliss, it would be extremely easy for an outside force to corrupt someone else like it did to you."
Luna's demeanour softened somewhat while she absorbed his sudden--but not completely unjustified--outburst.
"It pains me to admit that you are correct on the terms of being unaware of danger, but they aren't totally and utterly ignorant about it. They have enough common sense not to go wandering in the Everfree Forest. Such a place harbours creatures that would tear a pony to ribbons."
"Just remind me not to go there without supervision, then," Joseph joked in an attempt to lighten the air of tension lingering like a fog in the room.
It was at that point a soft knock came from the door as it immediately clicked open.
'Well that was rude,' he thought.
"Sister, have you a moment?" The door was opened more, revealing the radiant white alicorn standing in the hall.
"Joseph, do you mind?"
"Oh of course not, Princess," he said as he lamely sat upon his cushion. Both Princesses looked at him expectantly for some reason. "What?" Celestia stepped to the side with a hoof holding the door open. "Oh..." He got up and left the room, leaving the two mares alone for the moment.
"Just wait outside."
As soon as Joseph left, the door got shut fast enough that he felt a draft rush over his rear and creep up his spine. "OK, that was odd..."
Meanwhile in Luna's office, Celestia turned to Luna. "Did you discern whether or not his presence is an issue?"
"Nay, Sister. His presence is not, but that is a non-issue. The matter lies with the mind the Nightmare and Joseph inhabit. Nightmare and Joseph are vying for control of the body, that's my concern."
"What I still don't understand is; after The Elements purged Nightmare from you, how he got brought here, a body created, and Nightmare still lives on in consciousness."
Luna nodded in agreement. "Tis on everypony's minds. But the fact of the matter, Sister, is that he possess the abilities of Nightmare, of which he is only partially aware. He possesses foal-level levitation magic currently, but it would go without saying that we need to keep a close eye on him."
"He deserves the benefit of the doubt," Celestia said calmly. "But it would behoove you to watch him, Luna." She finished on a stern note, driving home the point to her sister.
The two shared an understanding, silent, moment before Celestia turned to leave wordlessly, opening the door to reveal Joseph sitting on his haunches outside the doorway. The alabaster goddess looked down at him with a welcoming smile before she teleported away.
Joseph cocked his head in confusion and looked through the door to Luna. "Why did she take two steps out the door when she could have teleported to begin with?"
Half an hour later, Joseph had left Luna's office and made his way through the streets back to the house. He thought he'd take his time, though. It was late afternoon, and the air had that deliciously crisp scent as it permeated his nostrils.
On Earth, he'd often take time in the evening to walk down to the store to get a few snacks and some soda to enjoy on the following day off. It was one of his creature comforts; eating a load of junkfood and enjoying a few computer games or watching TV.
It was said that an ancient Persian poet dictated the fable of a King, whom challenged wise men to make him a ring that made him happy when he was sad, and sad when he was happy. The King was presented with a ring engraved with the phrase 'This too, shall pass'.
Joseph wondered how long this would keep up, if this whole thing will pass. Parading around as an alien with another alien inside his head. Joe knew he couldn't go back to whence he came, for it was his death that brought him here to begin with. Even if such a method could be found, it would be pointless trying to return to a dead body which had an extremely high probability to be buried six feet under by now.
People can overcome an innumerable amount of hardship. He remembered watching a medical documentary where a man got shot and the bullet ricocheted off of the bones in his chest cavity, succeeding in nicking the vast majority of his organs. Miraculously, he survived thanks to the help of the medical professionals, whom spent their time tirelessly stitching up every cut and wound the bullet caused.
Other instances were of people being born blind and learned to use echolocation like bats. Other people lost their arms but continued their career as a graphical design artist by using their feet to draw and move the rulers around.
That left him wondering: 'How long would it take me to overcome this happenstance?'
The answer was easy. He couldn't fully overcome such a jarring experience. He went from tall, fleshy human with opposable thumbs to a lady-horse, infamous for wanting to block out the sun and create eternal night. With his new gender and body, as well as appendages and abilities that would exist strictly in fantasy and books about wizards and dragons. It was all too much for his mind to process.
When people lose brain functions from trauma, the brain itself will literally rewire the neurons in the brain to reroute the information and provide the same functions it lost. It's like a road gets destroyed beyond repair, so you build a new road to the same destination, around the damage. It would take a huge amount of time, but it's possible.
This brain, however, was not his.
His human mind was discovering parts of its host's brain that it never knew existed, controlling functions that were right out of a fantasy novel. Joseph could perform the functions it provided to a degree; he knew they were there, but accommodating them is akin to trying to stuff two-thousands words of an essay onto a page big enough for only a thousand. Parts are going to need to be erased, and it's the ones that have already been involuntarily scrubbed that he was worrying about.
He came upon a little cafe that didn't appear to have many ponies at it. Even though Joseph was rather introverted on Earth, well, in general, he did enjoy hanging out with his small group of friends working on projects and going out with them. It's times like this that a nearly empty cafe on a delightfully chill late-afternoon was utter bliss. He always liked his alone time; it gave him that moment of clarity that everyone needed, and this chance to have something to eat and drink while reflect on his situation and how he could make the best of it.
Upon entering the establishment, he noticed it wasn't entirely unlike a diner from back home. There was even a plate pass between the front counter with the kitchen in back. It gave Joseph a modicum of comfort and he smiled weakly. Muffins and cakes sat on stands, covered by the half-globe fly nets, and pastries sat in a cabinet. Behind the counter he saw the oh-so-familiar coffee pot with filter coffee brewing which made him feel right at home. And there was even a young couple sitting in one of the booths doting on each other like he saw in 80's-themed movies where the teens would hang out at Milk Bars.
While he was smiling, it was an uneasy one because he was still upset about being in this strange place.
"Hey hon," greeted the mare attending the counter. "Coffee's fresh, and we got some delicious, home-style hay-fries."
Joseph always found the term, 'Home-Style' to be tossed around quite a bit. In the end, curiosity got the better of him and he did a quick search on the internet to settle any confusion he might have had.
He found it's typically used as a term to describe something made or produced by a specific person, place or region, referring to the unique way something is produced. Because of marketing, brands marked as such lose the meaning behind putting that label on their product. He often found that small scale cafes had more weight behind it. Since the product wasn't exactly mass-produced, it had that much more care put into it.
"Oh yeah, how do you make them?" Joseph inquired.
"Sorry there, it's our secret," the mare replied with a sly wink.
"Come now, I'm new here--been in town for the good part of a couple days. Food for thought?"
"Tell ya what, I'll give you a free sample to taste, and if you can guess right then I'll give you a free meal. How's that for first time customer service?"
"Delightful," he replied with a comedically eloquent tone and a wave of his hoof. The mare behind the counter shared in his humour, and he glanced at the nametag on the mare's apron. It read 'Muffin Top. She must be the baker of the cakes and sweets by the sounds of it. He didn't know why exactly, but this place seemed full of connotative names. Morning Glory, now Muffin Top? What's next, Twatty Flowers?
"Hey, Taka, taster of the hay fries please."
"Taka?" Joe quizzed, then thinking to himself: 'It begins...' "What does that mean?"
Muffin Top shrugged. "I've been asking him that for years. It's one of those exotic names; he's not from around here. Won't let people see his cutie mark either, oddly enough."
Joe craned his neck to look through the gap in the wall, namely the pass, to see into the back. He saw a dirt-orange stallion with a black mane and a white muzzle with a scar across his left eye, using magic to levitate over a dozen things; including dishes, plates, cutlery, and several food items. Joe saw Taka, whom he presumed to be the chef, place a small plate on the pass with a napkin on it.
Muffin Top took the coffee pot by the handle in her mouth after putting a mug on the counter, pouring Joe a nice cup of Joe.
He picked it up with his magic and took a precursory sip. His eyes widened like saucers.
"Like it eh?"
"It's delicious!" he exclaimed taking another sip. "It tastes rather... I unno, Christmas-y?"
Muffin Top gave him a peculiar look. "What's Christmas?"
"Uuhhh..." He tried to think of an excuse. "An annual holiday from my country. Celebrated as a joyous occasion. We'd sit around an open fire with our families, sing, tell stories..." His voice trailed off as the nostalgia about his family hit him.
Joseph was barely out of his teens. One day, him and his parents went to the Bahamas for an exotic holiday. They all had an unforgettable time; an entire week of just the three of them. They went jet skiing, yachting, ate at four and five star restaurants, and went reef diving. It was that underwater excursion at weeks end two days before they were due to leave that turned everything upside down. Joe's mother got cut on some coral, and his father got stung by a weird jellyfish, of which professionals weren't able to identify in any catalogue they had.
The symptoms of the sting were greatly bizarre, as was the cut on his mothers calf.
They were hospitalized on the island under quarantine, not allowed to leave. Medical and bio-hazard chemical and animal professionals and experts were called in from all over the world to try identify, and source whatever toxic substance had got into the systems of his parents. Joe's father tried to describe the jellyfish, saying it was largely a blackish-grey with red and purple tentacle stingers. The coral, as his mother said, was black, but it had a distinctive emerald-green sheen to it.
Dive teams--equipped with the necessary safety equipment--were tasked with finding the jellyfish and coral.
Meanwhile, the condition of Joe's parents worsened.
His father had aggressive fits periodically, and he needed to be put into a more secure room and sedated whenever he had an outburst. The most notable change was the eyes of both parents. Joe's father's eye's sclera turned green while the iris turned red. His mother had a similar effect; except the sclera and iris of her eyes turned different shades of green, but she had delusional ramblings instead of her spouse's outbursts. The one thing they did have in common was a rampant, and extremely puzzling case of frostbite, gangrene, and a rather mild case of Necrotising Faciitis that the doctors found was the easiest thing to explain to Joe, and although Joe's dad didn't get the NF, his mum did.
Gangrene is where the skin rots, turns black and falls off, similar to how mountain climber's feet go black if they get frostbite. Necrotising Fasciitis, however, is an extremely debilitating disease. When it gets into your blood, it will literally eat your flesh, turning it to liquid. The only cure is to cut, and keep cutting to remove the infected flesh.
Doctors took blood samples from them both, and then Joe's worst fears were coming true. The toxins from the jellyfish and coral were destroying them and their DNA at the cellular level. Eventually there wouldn't be enough tissue, muscle, and things of that nature. It would all just break down, not entirely similar to how biodegradable plastics work, the doctors told Joseph--by way of answer.
It got so bad that they both were put in the ICU ward in specialized rooms normally reserved for cancer patients going through harsh chemotherapy. The rooms were sterile, literally no bacteria could get in or out. They were designed that way because the radiation that destroys cancer cells also does a number on the body's immune system.
If they could keep germs out, they could keep a never-before seen exotic illness, in.
Joe's mum's legs and arms got the worst of it. They had become almost entirely black, and lumps of flesh had fallen off as well as doctors trying and failing to cut away the infected tissue. There were a couple places on her arms and legs where you could see right through.
His mother was the first to go: the NF had eaten away enough of her tissue. It had been a long, gruelling three weeks at the hospital, and by this point he had spent a month away from home. The staff were understanding enough to let Joseph sleep in an adjacent room, and he only left to go back to the hotel to get some of his stuff, shower, things like that. A week later, his father passed away. The black from the comparable case of frostbite--the doctors never did find out what it was, it was as a comparable case--had crawled its way up his dad's entire right arm, half of his left leg, and only just the foot of his right leg.
Doctors never could figure out why something akin to frostbite and NF had afflicted these people. The jellyfish was never recovered, and several samples of coral were retrieved for analysis. None of the samples indicated the levels of toxicity in the case of Joseph's mum and dad.
Doctors put them in medically-induced comas at week two. The pain from everything had gotten too much, bordering on inhumane. It hurt Joseph beyond words to see them like that. The doctors needed his consent to do it, and he gained an extra half hours sleep on top of the hour or so he was already getting at night knowing they weren't suffering through all that pain, that they could at least rest easily enough.
Because of the nature of the affliction, the bodies weren't allowed to leave the country for fear of the disease or cause, spreading. Instead, scientists collected all necessary samples they needed before the bodies were incinerated to completely destroy the rest of the disease so it had no chance of spreading. All collected samples were in lockdown, inaccessible to all except those studying to discover what it was that killed these two people.
Five weeks ago, the three of them left on a holiday as a family. Only Joseph returned, three suitcases in tow.
"Excuse me, are you going to try the hay fries?"
"Huh?"
"You were talking about your 'holiday' then just trailed off as you stirred the sugar into your coffee. I gave you the fries but it's been several minutes since you touched them. Are you alright?" she asked with a concerned tone and raise of her eyebrow.
"Yeah, sorry. Was just thinking about my parents. You know how it is, thinking about all the good times we shared."
"Ah, I understand. Just remember; free meal if you can guess the secret!" After Muffin Top finished her sentence, she went to the other end of the counter to top up a pegasi's cup from the coffee pot.
Joe took the bowl of fries placed upon the napkin on the plate--complete with ramekins of red and white sauces he assumed to be tomato sauce and aioli--to a booth across from the doting couple. He always thought that the napkin between the plate and bowl was there for customers to use to wipe their hands on after finishing. No, it was there to stop the bowl sliding around on the plate: the bonus was you could wipe your hands and dab your mouth of the sauces that collected.
Even though he didn't get an answer out of the mare as to why the coffee tasted Christmas-y, he relished in the delicious flavour as he pulled a fry from the bowl. He put it in his mouth too carefully sample its flavours on his palette. Biting it in half, he thought about the smooth, yet bold flavour.
"No, you are~" cooed the mare adjacent to him, playfully swatting at her partner.
Joe just rolled his eyes and went back to his fries. It had to be the oil they were cooled in; the fries didn't have any special flavour themselves apart from the oddly coloured salt. He collected enough to taste it, and gave a small chuckle. Lightly spiced salt. Most likely paprika and chillies.
"Oh my parents are going to love you," returned the stallion sitting opposite the mare.
Joe heaved an exasperated sigh.
Loneliness was a complicated thing. He liked having a coffee and reading the newspaper alone, walking alone, those moments gave him time to set his mind free, to think, and some privacy to scratch his balls if he so desired [but the latter has been thrown out the window].
But when he saw a mother with her child, or a friend laughing with their friends, a girl or guy with lovers showing public displays of affection, it dawned on him at that moment, that even though being alone had its moments of clarity and blissful silence...
He didn't want to be lonely.
The impact of the situation as a whole caught up to Joseph. The death of his parents six and a half years ago, his death, being reincarnated as an arguably evil magical princess horse. His throat hurt, he could barely swallow from all the repressed feelings beginning to creep up on him as the flood barrier for his tear ducts opened.
Joseph did the only thing he could do in a situation like this, and something that everybody needs to get out of their system from a build-up of emotions.
His lay his head on the table, and he cried silently, tears streaming down his face and collecting on the table as he carelessly ate and drank. On the bright side, he would be coming back for the fries and coffee.
In his mind, Nightmare has watched the events of his memory play out like a slideshow in front of her.
"Good, good," she uttered to herself. "It's only a matter of time."
Meanwhile, in Celestia's private office, she stared into a pool of water shining with her magic. A viewing portal designed to see whomever she chooses.
She only saw Joseph take a bite out of the hay fry, then his head hitting the table. Through the viewing portal, she could hear the muffled sobs of the distraught human-turned-pony.
Having had enough, the glow of her horn dissipated, turning off the magical water, only to return a moment later as it levitated a parchment and quill.
Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student, she began.
You are aware of the happening of Nightmare Moon reborn into a body of her own controlled by the thoughts of the human. We have a task for you and your pink friend... |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 07| New Worlds and New Friends | Readers be like: "Wow, an update so soon!? The last chapter took two months!"
Yeah yeah, I had more free time on my hands lately and my writers block wasn't as bad this time around.
I'm putting this quote box here because knighty should hurry up and add a module that lets people add authors notes to the top and bottom of chapters. People might want to split relevant information between top and bottom.
In Ponyville, Twilight was going about her evening routine when she heard Spike belch from upstairs.
"What did I tell you about eating too much ice cream?" she scolded.
"It wasn't me!" Spike exclaimed as he hopped down the stairs holding a scroll in his claw. "Well it was, but the Princess sent a letter!"
Without any modicum of courtesy, Twilight plucked the letter from Spike's claw and unfurled it.
Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student.
You are aware of the happening of Nightmare Moon reborn into a body of her own controlled by the thoughts of a male human.
As I did with you, I'll be sending him to Ponyville so you can introduce him to your friends. I have faith that you can cheer him up as he has had a rough time trying to adjust as of late. He will fill you in on the details of his being tomorrow morning when he arrives.
Having Pinkie Pie throw him a welcoming party so he feels more welcome would be splendid, as I know how much fun you had at your welcoming party. I believe this will help lighten his mood enough to have a good time and to better adjust himself to his new life.
Yours, Princess Celestia.
"What did the Princess want, Twilight?"
"You remember the Nightmare Moon incident back at the castle a couple days ago after the Elements purged her from Luna?"
"How could I forget? Something happened and Nightmare Moon saved herself."
"Not quite. I'll know more when she gets here."
Spike shot Twilight a horrified look. "What!? Nightmare Moon! Here!?"
"For some reason, Celestia kept referring to her as a 'he', and Celestia has no reason to lie to me. I'm going to do as she asks after talking to him or her or whatever it is called."
Spike waved Twilight off as he strode towards the kitchen. "I'm getting a snack before bed, want anything?"
"No thank you, Spike."
Twilight rolled up the parchment that the princess had sent her, teleporting it away. She normally sent them to a desk drawer upstairs in her room for safe keeping until she decided it was time to throw them away. She then carried on with her reading as Spike walked back up the stairs with a glass of milk in one claw and a few cookies in the other.
He would usually heat them with his dragon fire to the point where the cookies would become soft and the chocolate would melt partially, where they would become a deliciously warm treat washed down by a glass of milk.
Twilight had tried searching more on the Elements of Harmony in Golden Oaks Library, but even the oldest tomes and books in stock had failed to produce anything worthwhile.
Twilight glanced over the remaining two and a half pages in the last book she had found to have anything pertaining to the Elements, but the vagueness of the information had her conclude that it wouldn't be any more helpful. Given the lateness of the evening, she decided to resume looking tomorrow when Nightmare Moon would show up to inform Twilight of the happenstance surrounding her.
Twilight, instead of staying up late like she normally would, decided an early bed would be in order. After the return of Nightmare Moon, she'd been reading up on the lore surrounding the Nightmare, Luna, Celestia, and the Elements since she got back from the castle. Frustrated with the lack of findings, she decided to sleep.
All she managed to piece together from the myriad of books was that The Nightmare was a high-class demonic entity banished to Tartarus. Over time, its name was forgotten to the land of the living. Nopony knew it's real name, only calling it by what the demon induced. As legend goes, when creature and pony alike dies, they go to either Tartarus or Heaven.
Twilight was thinking that demons have to come from somewhere, right? So what happens when ponies come face-to-face with their own demons? She shuddered at the thought. That would be the one question that nopony would want to answer.
When growing up, someone once told Twilight the definition of Tartarus: The last day you are alive, the pony you became will meet the pony you would have become.
The more she thought about it, Twilight realised that Luna wanted the populace to admire her night, believing herself to be shunned by Celestia's day. Luna refused to acknowledge that it was this hatred and nagging anger growing within that lead her to be possessed by the Nightmare.
As weird as it might have seemed to Twilight, according to one book about the supernatural, demons from the bowels of Tartarus needed permission to enter a host's body, garnering full control of the body and transforming it into an ugly version of their dark side: a twisted representation of themselves, what the host would look like with all their anger, hatred, and other negative emotions brought forth.
Such is what happened to Luna. The elegant Princess of the Night wanted her beautiful night to be noticed so badly, that she let the Nightmare possess her, believing that it could give Luna what she wanted.
But instead, Nightmare perverted her desires. Nightmare wanted to raise the moon and keep it there, and Luna was locked away in her own mind, screaming internally at Nightmare that perpetual night would likely freeze everything. Anything that required sunlight to live would eventually perish.
Luna got what she wanted, but in a way she never wanted it.
The following morning, Twilight was making her way downstairs all bleary-eyed. She barely got to the bottom when she got interrupted by a knock from the front door. Not wanting to be bothered with the journey across the room to open it, she simply used her magic to lazily swing open the door.
Standing in the doorway was none other than Princess Celestia.
"P-Princess!" Twilight stammered, hurrying over to the door to properly greet the monarch, as she did with a courteous bow. "I thought you were sending Nightmare Moon, not escorting her!"
Celestia stifled a slight giggle at Twilight's antics. After all these years, Twilight still behaved so formally around Celestia. While Twilight did it out of respect, it became a bit of a comical act for Celestia, having repeatedly told her student that such formalities aren't needed from student to teacher.
"While I did imply that I would send Nightmare Moon here, I thought it better to escort her myself instead of with the Royal Guard. It would save for any hoof-pointing if somepony were to catch her and remove the disguise." She stepped into the library, revealing an average-looking, dark-blue mare with an equally dark purple mane.
"Is that her?"
"Him," Joseph deadpanned. "I trust the pronoun issue won't be too much of a problem?"
Twilight seemed taken aback at his response, but Celestia spoke softly between them before Twilight could say anything more. "Luna has acquired a place for him to stay in Canterlot. As I said in my letter, I want you to introduce him to your friends."
Twilight smiled at the prospect of befriending both Nightmare Moon and an alien from another world. She had just gained five new friends, with whom she managed to defeat an evil villain, only to have the same villian reborn by a means unknown. The unicorn gestured with a hoof for Joseph to come inside.
"Spike is making breakfast. You can go help yourself if you like."
"Oohhh, free food is the best food!" Joseph exclaimed with mild glee as he walked past the two mares and through to the kitchen. Twilight just rolled her eyes.
"By the way Princess, while the books here are great, they don't shed enough light on Nightmare Moon or the Elements. When you come to retrieve her later, can I come back with you to the castle to get a few books from the Canterlot Library?" Twilight pleadingly asked.
"Which books do you require? I can have them sent to you."
"Books on demonology and obituaries from the time period any demon of significant status came up. They would be quite old. What I did manage to find is the Nightmare is a demon from Tartarus. According to the book, when ponies die they either go to Heaven or Tartarus. If a demon were to break free of its prison, it can inhabit a host body. I'm thinking if there's records that go back far enough, I could find references to different kinds of demons in a book, and possibly death records that might connect the Nightmare to a pony that died a long time ago."
Celestia's gaze grew more concerned at Twilight's request, but she didn't drop her cheerful expression.
Books about demons and other dark entities did exist, but a lot of the populace was mostly unaware of what lurked in the shadows, and thus the books went largely unnoticed in the Canterlot Library. Sure there were the real creatures such as manticores and parasprites, but Celestia had been around long enough and had seen many things to know that demons such as Nightmare Moon were all too real, and that everypony else brushed off as old wives tales to be told to scare the little colts and fillies during Nightmare Night.
Evil mages that practiced voodoo and other dark magic, whom stood over black, bubbling cauldrons were a popular genre of books, but the history of them was much more sordid than that.
Knowing that keeping possibly helpful information to herself would indeed leave teeth marks on her backside, she relented. "I will try to find you the obituaries and cross reference them with the time period of demons popping up, as per your request, although the death records will be rather difficult to find, as the written language in which they were written at the time could very well be hard to read due to the style and dialect used to transcribe them."
Twilight smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Princess. If we can find something to help... him... then he could live a normal life amongst us."
"Of course he will, that is part of the reason why I brought him here. Now, I must return to Canterlot to begin Day Court before I am missed. Have a good day, Twilight." The Princess gave Twilight an affectionate nuzzle, of which she returned, before leaving the way she came as she was pulled in the direction of Canterlot on the cart pulled by the Royal Guard.
Twilight closed the door and went to join Joseph in the kitchen. Entering, she saw Joseph sitting at the table taking bites out of a slice of toast that had an egg topped with hollandaise sauce.
"I gotta admit," Joseph began with a mouthful of toast and egg. "Your dragon friend makes a bang-up breakfast. In fact, I was just telling him that I only got stuff this good when I worked on the coast at a couple beachside cafes before I settled at my office job before I came here."
Spike had put Twilight's breakfast on the table with his own, and neatly stacked the pots and pans in the sink for later cleaning. "Who's your friend here, Twilight? And when is Nightmare Moon getting here?"
To which Joseph replied with haste: "Shh, don't tell him," he snickered to Twilight. "By the way, call me Eclipse. Sorry for not saying anything earlier." he said to Spike, with Twilight catching his chosen name as well.
Twilight took the hint in Joseph's remark at not wanting Spike to immediately realise he had just served Nightmare Moon eggs on toast, and her mouth cracked a small grin. She couldn't do that to her faithful assistant.
"Didn't the Princess' letter say she would be here this morning?"
"Yes, Spike, it did."
"No, let him figure it out!" Joseph exclaimed.
"Figure what out? You two aren't pranking me are you?" Spike had sat down at the table by this stage, looking between Twilight and Eclipse with a thoroughly confused expression. Thirty seconds later, his eyes fixed upon Joseph. It took a moment, but his eyes widened with realisation.
"You... her... here... " He struggled to find the right words as the colour drained from his face when he let the full gravity of the situation sink in.
"Calm down Spike, she's not going to hurt us or anypony else."
"Gobble gobble," Joseph retorted with a smirk. "Wait why did I say that?"
"Not helping," Twilight deadpanned.
"Don't worry dude, I'm not going to do anything to you. If I was really out to get you, I could have come and gone before Twilight got to the kitchen. Besides, you made me an amazing breakfast and I'm eating it and not you. That should account for something, right?" Joseph's demeanour relaxed slightly as he finished his sentence with a reassuring look toward Spike.
Spike was still dumbfounded, managing to give a hesitant nod towards the individual in front of him-but he eventually spat out a few words. "I hope you know what you're doing, Twi. If the rest of the town finds out about this there'll be a big panic."
"His name is Joseph, and I'm hoping to properly introduce him/her to the rest of my friends, then if somepony figures out he is Nightmare Moon for whatever reason, they can vouch that she/he/it isn't going to do any harm, having gotten to know the real person," Twilight replied.
"Objection!" Joseph comically bellowed, much to the bemusement of Twilight and Spike, drawing their attention with looks of shock and an understandable modicum of fear. "That's pronounist!"
Joseph had an idea that the ponies harboured some semblance of fear towards Nightmare Moon, but he didn't know they would react that way to him raising his voice.
Twilight looked as though she was about to have an aneurysm from Joseph's trivial technicality. She mustered enough self control to ignore the smug, thoroughly amused look upon Joseph's face, turning to look at Spike.
"Can you go and find Rainbow Dash and tell her to get the others and come back to the library please, Spike?"
Spike took a few moments to let the presence of Nightmare Moon sink in, and considering Joseph hadn't done the dragon any harm, managed to wipe the grin off his face from Twilight's reaction to Joseph's outburst. But, he lacked the self-control to keep himself from vibrating on the spot as he picked up his fork and started eating his breakfast in a failed attempt to hide his laughter from the obviously unamused Twilight. He only nodded in response to Twilight's question.
Rolling her eyes, Twilight got down from the table. "I'll eat when you two are through joking about this. I'll go prepare a room for our... guest, since you're going to be here for a few days at least."
Joseph and Spike watched as Twilight strode out the door believing her dignity relatively intact. The moment they heard the volume of her hoofsteps dissipate, both snorted and stifled their laughter as best they could.
Joseph extended a hoof towards Spike, and the dragon bumped his fist against it
"Is she always that easy to get one over on?" Joe managed to finally ask, taking deep breaths.
"S-sometimes," Spike answered. "She knows me well enough to know how I joke with her, but it usually only lasts as long as there's something fresh to joke about."
The two finished off their respective breakfasts, and without getting up from his seat at the table, Joseph levitated his plate over to the sink and rinsed it off. "You know, where I'm from, magic like this is nothing but myth and fantasy. I never thought I would actually be using it, not in a million years. If someone told me I would be, I would have called a mental hospital and have them admitted. It's absolutely amazing I don't have to get out of my seat to clean off my plate. Hey, if we had this kind of magic where I'm from then people would not need to move at all. On my world, magic consists of deception; sleight of hand, pulling rabbits out of hats-things like that. It's purely mind games, strictly speaking."
Twilight's presence was made known by the sound of her hoofsteps as she came back from upstairs. Spike huffed, and a puff of green flame flew over Twilight's breakfast to heat it up a bit, then he got down from the table and went over to the sink to clean up.
"Duuuuuuddde," Joe said with surprise and disbelief. "I wish I could breath fire! And do other magic stuff..."
"What do you wish you could breathe fire for?" Twilight asked when she walked in.
"Eclipse was just telling me that she'd never used magic before that, where she's from, it's just deceptive tricks." said Spike.
'Might as well get used to the mistaken gender ambiguation while I'm here...'
Twilight gasped, beaming a massive grin in Joe's direction. "You don't know how to use magic!?"
"I can do this." Joseph used his magic to pick up his half finished glass of juice from the table. He drank the rest of it and levitated the empty glass over to the sink.
"Impressive!" Twilight beamed. "How did you manage to do that from somepony who hasn't used magic before?"
"Well... I just imagined me picking it up with my hands is all."
Twilight magicked a scroll and quill out of nowhere, jotting down a couple things. "What else can you do?"
"That's about it really. I can only pick up one or two things at a time."
"Only two? Not three, four, or five?"
"I only have two hands!"
"Well magic lets you pick up multiple things. Like this." In a show-off display of her magic, pots, pans, plates, glasses, and Spike's knife and fork on the bench where Spike was cleaning the dishes levitated up off the counter, hovering in a byzantium aura. "See! Try imagining more hands, I guess."
"Maybe later. So what's next on the list?"
"I'm glad you asked!" The scroll on which Twilight jotted the note about Joseph's use of magic disappeared with a flash as another replaced it. Joe's eyes widened at how much bigger it was compared to the last, and his jaw hit the proverbial floor as the bottom of the scroll hit the literal floor. Through the transparency of the parchment, he saw single lines of writing with boxes on the left of them. "I'll show you to your room, then while Spike's out getting my friends, I'll try to teach you a bit of magic."
"Works for me. Why is that so long?" Joe asked, pointing a hoof at the floating scroll with a hint of trepidation.
"What, my checklist?"
'Oh no, she's one of those people...'
"It keeps me organized."
"Major OCD, dude..."
"No, it's CDO. The letters are in order that way. This is a library after all," Twilight indifferently replied before she rolled the scroll back up and poofed it away. "Now follow me and I'll show you to the room."
Twilight exited the kitchen as Joseph began to get down from the table. He turned to Spike. "Dude, run while you can."
Twilight showed Joseph around the library, taking him to his room first. It wasn't much, just a small guest room with a bed against the left wall and a two-drawer chest of drawers, the top of which sat flush with the mattress and doubled as a nightstand. Aside from those two things and the window above the set of drawers, it was pretty average.
She lead him back down the hall, pointing out the bathroom, shower room, and any other amenities he might need for his brief stay. What took Joseph by surprise was the sheer amount of books Twilight had in her own bedroom: a platform with a bed at one end and Spike's basket at the other, shelves on both sides of the windows. Each end of the platform was stocked with books. When asked how she got up and down there every morning and night, Twilight said she simply teleported.
Joe rolled his eyes at something he should have realised by now, but he was still in disbelief about teleportation.
The foyer that lay spread before Twilight's bed-platform as Joseph aptly named it, had a desk sitting under a window with an ink pot and a candlestick next to it. The rest of the walls were lined with books. The only other thing in the room was the stairs that lead into the main library below and the corridor they both just came down from.
Spike had left after Joe satirically warned him about Twilight's OCD to fetch the other five ponies, whom Joseph saw when he woke up at the battered old castle a few days ago. They made their way back downstairs and saw Spike walk in the front door.
"Find everypony yet?" Twilight asked.
"I found Rainbow Dash and told her to round up the other four and bring them here. If there's anypony that can do it fast, it's her."
"Should I take off the disguise?" Joseph asked, although clearly unsure whether or not it would be a good idea. "I won't have any of the armour on like the regular Nightmare Moon did so I won't look nearly as bad."
"Not downstairs, but that might be better done upstairs so nopony walking by will see an evil demon in their town's library. No offense."
"None taken..."
The three of them went back into the kitchen and Twilight took out three bottles from the fridge, setting one down in front of Joe as she magically popped the tops on all three.
"I'll take this upstairs and read my comic while I wait for the others," Spike declared before he hopped down off the table, bottle in claw.
"So I guess that leaves you and me, sparkle-butt. By the way," Joseph began as he took a large mouthful from the bottle. "What is this? It tastes like apples I know, but as for what it is?"
Twilight growled at Joseph, shooting him a poisonous glare. "Apple Cider."
"Isn't that alcoholic?"
"This stuff isn't, which is why I let Spike have some." She was bound to have said something else in return, regarding Joseph's remark about her cutie mark before a knock came at the door. Much to Twilight's disappointment, she didn't get the chance to teach him any magic just yet.
"Just open it!" a voice bellowed from the other side. "She knows we're coming!"
The door to the library burst open, and a blue blur streaked through the library and into the middle of the kitchen, hovering above its three occupants. Revealed to be the pegasus that was wearing the red lightning bolt necklace from back in the castle, Joseph looked her up and down to see if she'd recognise him. She didn't bat an eye at him, fortunately.
"Is she new?" Rainbow asked. Twilight nodded. "Does Pinkie know about her yet? You don't want to keep a new pony in town from her. I'm Rainbow Dash by the way," she said turning to Joseph. "Fastest flier in all of Equestria!" Her statement was punctuated by flying a couple laps around the kitchen, sending napkins flying and pots and pans that hung above the oven clattering.
At that stage four others walked into the room. "Eclipse," Twilight began. "This is Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack." Joseph recognized them all from the castle, minus the necklaces. The pink one rocketed forward, getting more involved in Joseph's personal space than he felt comfortable with.
Then again, being trapped in the body of a demonic horse didn't exactly have any personal space or boundaries to begin with.
"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name? Is it something super dark and creepy? What about something fun and cheery? Nah, that doesn't seem right. Where are you from?" She gasped, inexplicably pulling Joseph closer by the scruff of the chest. "Has Twilight been hiding you from me!? I bet she was scared that I would throw you a bigger welcoming party than hers!"
"Pinkie!" Twilight barked. "This is very important!" Pinkie and Rainbow asides, the other three fixed a curious gaze upon Joseph. "You all remember Nightmare Moon from the castle?" They all nodded. "Let us go upstairs for this."
Twilight lead the way. Once they were all upstairs, she turned to look at them as Joseph sat to her right in the middle of the room. "Well, to begin with, this here is Eclipse. Princess Celestia sent her here and she's going to be staying with me for a few days, and I thought we could all show her around the town. She just arrived in Equestria a few days ago."
Joseph just silently huffed to himself at the misused pronoun. Granted he didn't like it, but he wasn't going to outright fault the ponies. It's not like they're doing it on purpose. Anyone else would make the same assumption first glance. For the purposes of his visit, in every sense of the word, he'd need to just tolerate the effeminate pronouns.
"Where ya from sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
"You can tell them now."
"Tell us what, darling?" Rarity said. "Rainbow Dash said you called us all here to discuss Nightmare Moon."
Joe looked to Twilight, whom nodded, letting him know it'll be OK to take the disguise off. He reached up towards his horn to slide the ring conjuring his disguise off. With baited breath, he felt it slide over the spiral grooves of his horn, the image of his disguise flickering the higher up it went. The girls began to go wide-eyed when they caught glimpses of who was underneath.
The ring hit the floor with a plink, and Joseph stared down at the floor while everyone stared at him. There wasn't any immediate reaction. It seemed as though everyone's breathing had hitched. Given the surprise, it was understandable.
"Ni-n-n-n-m-m-m-m..." Fluttershy mumbled, her eyes rolling back in her head as she slumped to the floor.
"Fluttershy!" exclaimed Rarity, using her magic to bring over a pillow from Twilight's bed and put it under Fluttershy's head as Rarity looking her over.
"Ya see what she did to Fluttershy!?"
"Applejack, she fainted," Twilight calmly stated. "It wasn't Joseph's fault."
"Twilight," Rainbow Dash said in a sharp, hushed manner. "What is she doing here!?"
"Wait, say who now?" Applejack quizzed.
"I am not who you think I am. I am not from around here either," Joe said, carefully looking up at the mares.
"Y'all better start explaining yourself!" Applejack declared.
With a heavy breath and looking up from time to time, Joseph recounted his tale of what brought him here, to the best of his ability. From the office to the alley, saving the woman and getting killed as a result. That would be the epitome of cruel irony Joseph thought. The part that still had everyone confused was how he actually got there, and none of the other five--or four, as the case may be--could make heads or tails of it, despite all of them having different ideas.
It was speculated that Nightmare's enchanted armour wasn't, as Joseph and Twilight agreed, 'calibrated' correctly. The armour was only instructed to "find someone else" to make its host, and it did just that. Nightmare didn't specify anyone in particular, from any point in space-time or any planet, whether they be dead, dying, or still alive and kicking.
As far as Nightmare was concerned, the spell had served it's purpose, but at the cost of locking herself away in her own body. He briefly explained that the Nightmare was still present in his mind and that he could talk to her, adding that she seemed to be inactive at the moment, which had him mildly concerned.
It did help shed a small amount of light upon the situation, everyone having contributed towards solving the issue. But the remaining issue was that Nightmare was inside his head, and Twilight got out the same scroll and quill from before, noting all the theories and ideas that were mentioned.
"So, uh, y'all are a he instead of a she?" Applejack ventured.
"She's a she-he!" Pinkie giggled. "What about a he-she? A he-she-she-he?"
"Pinkie, please! Now's not the time!" Rarity scolded the hyperactive mare.
"Yes. I am a human male trapped in the body of a female horse. The biology is messing me up something fierce. My mind is telling me I'm male and to do guy things, but I don't really have any means or capabilities to do so. Not to mention the equipment..."
Joseph tapped the side of his head. "I don't know if this brain is mine either, but I'm guessing it's not. A human brain doesn't have the neural links, connections and the maps in the to be able to flap wings and use magic." Joseph punctuated the point by giving the feathery appendages a solid flap which blew Twilight's scroll from her magical grasp, much to her bemusement, but it earned him a chuckle from Rainbow Dash. He also demonstrated his magical abilities--or lack thereof--by bringing the other pillow from Twilight's bed over and putting it underneath the other to further support Fluttershy.
She must have been a light sleeper, because that movement of her head stirred her from having fainted. Her eyes blinked open, and the first thing she saw was Rarity looking down at her with a smile, glad that she was awake.
"Are you ok there, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy weakly nodded, carefully eyeing up Joseph as she slinked in the opposite direction.
"I gotta show you how to use those things better," Rainbow chuckled, floating over to Joseph to look over the pair of black wings. "They're not just to annoy Twilight, you know."
"Hey!"
Joseph smirked. "But you would need to consider what would happen if others saw Nightmare Moon galavanting around a quaint little town during the middle of the day. They'd think I'm trying to eat you if you're teaching me to fly while I'm chasing you to keep up."
Rainbow sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, yeah... What about at night? Everypony's normally asleep then."
"Could work. Although if someone woke up, we would have the same problem."
"Can I interrupt here?" Rarity said. "I understand why you wanted to show us this, Twilight, but what are you going to do about her--I mean him!"
"Well... I was kinda hoping all of you could show him around. You know, get 'Eclipse' better acquainted with the town so if something happened to the disguise, on purpose or by accident, then the townsponies won't think ill of who they would assume to be Nightmare Moon. Granted they would be scared at first, but the means to the end is to get them to see Joseph for his character, and not who he is in body."
"'I suppose it's a good idea. Although somepony might let something slip at some point, and then the rumours would spread like wildfire."
Twilight levitated the ring off the ground and slid it back onto Joseph's elongated horn. Although longer than a regular unicorn horn, the disguise fooled the onlooker into seeing a smaller one, as he went from tall dark and scary to the size of the six mares present. From the girls' perspective, he was no longer imposing over them like a foreboding shadow.
"Pinkie's party would be a great place to start," Rainbow said. "When I first got here she had one set up in under an hour. The Cakes' whole place was filled with balloons, streamers, gifts, and other ponies! Beats me how she did it."
"Shhh, it's a secret!" Pinkie replied, her intention to whisper it into Dash's ear but within earshot of everyone.
"Uhm, how long have the six of you known each other?" Joseph queried. "You seem to be rather closely knit."
All six mares exchanged glances for a moment before Rainbow spoke up again. "Well, Fluttershy and I have known each other since flight school. She moved to Ponyville after getting her cutie mark and started taking care of everypony's pets. I knew Applejack from her selling apples to everypony in town, Pinkie Pie throwing parties and inviting literally everypony, and I didn't really know Rarity up until now, but she makes dresses and other clothes. We've known each other in passing, but only just the other day did we become friends because of Twilight." Rainbow paused, looking Joseph up and down once more. "Oh, Nightmare Night is in a couple weeks, too! You would be super awesome if you went without your disguise to scare everypony!"
Rainbow finished her sentence and flew over to Twilight, wrapping her front hooves around the purple mare's neck in an appreciative hug. "Group hug for Twilight bringing us all together!" Pinkie Pie declared.
Everyone ran over to Twilight to join in on the wrapping of appendages around one another's bodies. Joseph stayed in his spot, awkwardly observing the spectacle. He let out a heavy sigh through his nostrils, reminiscing all the times he had shared hugs with his parents, family, friends...
How wonderful it would be to feel them in his grasp yet again, how happy he would be to see them alive once more, even for a minute. He never did get to say his proper goodbyes to his mum and dad before they passed, which only added insult to injury watching these friends hug one another. Just one minute was all he needed, one minute to say he loved them one more time. Then, he could live better knowing he had at least said his final goodbyes to the two people most important in his life.
"Never take the people in your life for granted," his mother once told him. "You never know when they might be gone." He knew it first hand all too well. He did stay in the hospital for the good part of five weeks staying by their side as their conditions worsened.
Throughout that whole ordeal, he felt completely numb, void of any emotion. The bags under his eyes were becoming more and more prominent from his lack of sleep, and not getting enough added to how shitty he was feeling overall. All he could do, seeing his parents' condition worsen throughout the weeks was just sit at their side, or outside the quarantine area and wish they get better. Not being able to do anything to help speed their recovery in any way made Joseph felt utterly useless. Had his parents gotten better, it would have warmed their hearts to know that he stayed by their sides as long as he did, and at the end of the day that's all that really mattered.
"Darling, you look positively upset," Rarity said.
Joseph looked up at the six girls staring at him. Fluttershy looked positively sheepish, like Joseph was a wolf about to eat her. "I... I know you're Nightmare Moon and all... But...We're not going to leave you out of this."
"You died," Rarity added. "You deserve a nice big hug."
"I-if you want to, that is..." Fluttershy concluded.
To Joseph, a hug sounded fucking fantastic. He weakly meandered up to the group, placing his front hooves around Rarity and Twilight, who in turn pulled him closer, giving Joseph the tightest, most comforting hug he had felt in years. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 08| Interlude 1: Joseph Merrick | For Joseph, American college had been a rather interesting experience thus far.
He finished school in the UK, the remaining funds having been provided by his parents' insurance after their vacation incident, paid in advance to cover any costs so any other caregivers wouldn't have to fork out anything.
The kids at his old school were certainly kind enough to him after they heard what happened to his parents, and even though he knew they were all feeling sorry for what had happened, it didn't do much to quell the hurt he had been feeling.
Mr. and Ms. Merrick had taught their son enough responsibility to take care of himself, but there came a time where foster care had become an option for him.
He knew of the system and how it helped, but he seemed split whether or not he should go into it, given the sketchy results. He proved the representatives that spoke to him about foster care that he had the fortitude to take care of himself, but, given his youth, simply taking care of himself was not an option. Or at least in the government's eyes.
It was explained that when he turned eighteen that he had the free will to drop out of the system if he absolutely wanted to, but until the insurance money was released he had no way to support himself. In retrospect, he had to agree.
For the next two and a half years he stayed with a woman in her late thirties.
They both had their differences and hard times. When Joseph first arrived; she showed him around the house and the neighbourhood, took him out to dinner on the first, and was just there for him when he needed a shoulder to lean on when he felt down.
She respected Joseph's privacy, figuring that he needed his own personal space. One day she took Joseph aside and wanted to talk to him about his parents, thinking it would be good for him to get it off his chest so it's not being bottled up where it would fester.
It hurt, reliving the events through story. During the chat, he joked and said he should write it down and print out copies to hand out so he wouldn't have to recount his story every time someone asked.
When he turned eighteen, that's where he had to make a hard choice.
He could've stayed with the foster mother for as long as he wanted, and serious thought was put into that decision. She had taken him in during a time of mourning and done the next best thing a surrogate mother could.
However, it was his eventual decision to travel abroad and finish studying in America, and to fulfil a desire to travel. Now would have been as good of a time as any. He loved books, and often spent time cooped up in his room reading adventure and fantasy novels. It was a mode of escape from the real world for a period of time, helping him to calm down and readjust to life after his parents took a second, unexpected vacation to the pearly gates.
Literature was his chosen field, and from all his reading he had grown an affinity for mythology from the fantasy books he read.Thus, he wanted to have an emphasis on myth and legend in his literature studies, although nothing beat an awesome adventure book from time to time.
He gave his foster mother a big farewell hug, leaving her with a handsome cheque to both say thank you, and Joseph cheekily added: "To replace all the food I ate."
He had to put much thought into the house and its possessions, what to do with them. He opted to sell the house for a bonus few hundred thousand pounds, but when he chose a new place to stay he'd bring items he wanted to keep, to America.
He first chose his father's armchair. That thing wasn't going to collect dust in a storage locker or be drawn on by some snot-nosed kids after their parents bought it. No way in high hell that was happening. Something of his mother's was a bit of a difficult decision. She had her jewellery, but was more attached to the family portraits than anything.
Joseph had talked to the doctors at the hospital where his parents were cremated about taking their ashes back with him, but they explained that while they burned the ashes to keep the unknown diseases from spreading, there could still be a chance of contamination if some of the disease cells somehow survived.
He thought of having their ashes compressed and made into diamonds, which he'd then put into a pendant to wear around his neck so he'd never be without them. Something else he saw while watching a documentary about Viking Swords was that they often used the ashes of deceased relatives in the forging of their blades. It was thought that adding in ashes of family members empowered the blade with the strength of their beloved.
The fact of the matter, as was explained on the TV, was that the ashes helped remove impurities from the steel used and adding a toughness to the blade. But that didn't take away from the sentimental value by any means.
The doctor he spoke to thought the rings would have been a lovely idea, but couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he mentioned forging knives with the ashes, adding that if any trace of the virus were present in the ashes, anyone that was cut with the blade had the chance to catch whatever afflicted his parents.
The doctor's comment reminded Joseph of video games, but he didn't mention this part to the doctor. He thought of blades, swords, and other weapons that had "poison damage". Having a blade right out of a videogame that closely mimicked its digital counterpart in what it accomplished would be every nerd's wet dream.
He sold the vast majority of their possessions; the television, furniture, kitchen appliances etc etc. He was almost tempted to say to the buyers of the house that they could have everything inside for a little extra cash once he took what he wanted.
He put everything he thought he'd need for his new place, keeping his bed, computer, every single family photo, his fathers' armchair, his parent's wedding rings and mother's engagement ring were a must have (but he kept those on him), into a shipping container that he'd send for when he found a suitable place to settle down in. He was fortunate enough that the doctors removed their rings early on, so they were willing to release them to Joseph having been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected first just to be on the safe side.
The crate with all his belongings would take weeks to get across the ocean on a boat, so for about a month he was living out of a suitcase in a small apartment in a dodgy part of town while he searched for a house and a school to go to.
He had the finances to last several years, but he knew those would run out sooner or later if he didn't get a job for the security if something happened to the insurance money.
When he finally managed to settle down into his new, two-bedroom terrace house, he started looking for a school to enroll in and for a flatmate. The logic being the flatmate could help cook, clean, and pay a little bit of board to cover the expenses. A bit of friendly company was nice now and then, and it was his first roommate that introduce Joseph to his group of friends.
At Joe's discretion, his flatmate invited his friends around one day just to have a few drinks and chat after work, and Joseph kept to himself while they were over. Joe went to the kitchen to refill his water bottle at one point after it ran out, and everyone that was sitting in the lounge saw him, and wanted to chat. One thing lead to another and they managed to squeeze his story from him. Afterwards, it was unanimous that Joe spend more time with them instead of holed up on his computer. That wasn't going to do him any good, but spending time with people, would.
Joe started working at a beach-side cafe on one or two days during the weekends while studying where he could. He wasn't quite sure where he wanted to go in the long run with studying literature, but for the time being he had a job, was educating himself, and had begun to forge new relationships in friends.
But this particular job was a bit of a nightmare for him. The sous chef there had a bit of a grumpy demeanour, often aggravated when the cafe would get slammed with orders during the lunch period on the weekends, and sundays were the worst in that respect. Once, he even caught the sous chef doing crack in the back room where they stored all the food. The thing is, the back room had a garage door to access for deliveries and they would leave it half open during the day for the ease of getting food, and as a sort of a break room for smoke breaks. Had the garage door been opened any more, any passing customer would have seen the chef snorting the nasty stuff.
He told the manager who was also the head chef, but what seriously scared Joe was his reply: "You should have asked him where mine was.". He saw the humour in it, but that didn't excuse the fact that the boss essentially condoned the use of Class A Narcotics. Eventually the stress from having to deal with a coked-up, perpetually angry chef took its toll on Joe and he had to leave. Joe even made the comparison of Gordon Ramsay high on methamphetamine-it was that bad.
It took the good part of a year, but he eventually found another place to work at: also a beach side cafe. These guys were much more sociable and easier to get along with, and he enjoyed it there until the place was forcibly shut down because the owner was using profits from the business and investing it into more drugs.
Joseph elected to forego jobs until he had the time and dedication to invest in them when he wasn't studying. And to find a place that he was certain wasn't involved in any illegal trade.
He didn't mind weed though, but that was as far as he was willing to go.
But on this particular day at school, things were taking a turn for the worse.
Through a means that he never found out, news of his parents death managed to leak into the school. He really only told the Dean and a couple professors, and he guessed that someone either overheard them talking about it or told other students, but he still wasn't sure.
It didn't take him too long to make enemies, specifically bullies. They always seemed to have it in for the new kid for some reason.
Yes, he was in his early twenties and dealing with bullies at school.
By nature, Joe was a nice guy. A pacifist, some would call him. Didn't hurt anyone, never picked any fights, and preferred brains over brawn any day. He tried nipping the situation in the bud by telling the Dean about the bully, but it didn't go any further than having them both called into the office where the Dean stressed what would happen to the bully if he kept knocking Joe about, figuratively speaking.
But that was about as far as it went, and unfortunately the bullying didn't stop there.
He didn't know how, or why, but Michael, as Joseph aptly nicknamed the bully, had him cornered against a locker in an empty hall and was threatening him.
"Awww, what you gonna do? Go running home to your mommy and daddy?" he teased. "Oh, wait, you don't have any! You're such a nerd for choosing books over sports." The insult was punctuated by Mr. Asshat laughing at his own cruel joke.
"You know," Joseph began. "I'm writing an essay that correlates playing sports like football and so on with the decline of brain cells and brain damage. You should read it some time, you'd like it."
That comment must have struck a chord within Mr. Asshat, because the next thing Joseph saw was stars. Struck by Asshat's fist, he fell to the ground in a daze.
Joe took a moment to shake the stars out of his vision as he picked himself up and brushed himself off, ready to ignore Mr. Asshat and get on with his day. He wasn't about to pick a fight with someone that could out punch him.
As soon as Joe got up, he saw the bully rear back with his fist and thrust his fist at Joseph's face. He ducked out of the way just in time to hear a sickening crack on the metal of the locker behind him, followed by a howl of pain.
"M-my hand! My hand is broken!" exclaimed Mr. Asshat as he bent over, cradling his hand.
"Your own fault, num-nutz. I'm sure you've heard of the adage 'You are what you eat'? That would explain why you're the biggest dick around. Now leave me alone, I've got class. Oh yeah, go see the nurse and get some ice on that. You're going to need a cast."
Joe walked away while Asshat was still writhing in pain about his hand. He found it very amusing how some people would act all high and mighty then wimp out when something happens to them. He went to the nearest mens room to check the damage on his face, and other than what would become a black eye and a small cut just under his eye from where Asshat's thumbnail had caught him, he'd be alright.
Joseph was half an hour into his next class when someone knocked on the door. The professor was handed a note, and just simply told Joe to go to the Deans office. Figuring it was what happened forty-five minutes ago, he'd be in and out in five minutes when he explained what happened. But he was new here, and the Dean would likely give the students that have been there the longest more credibility because he 'knew' them longer.
So for insurance, he made a pit stop at his locker and took out the half a bag of weed he managed to procure from his room mate, hiding the joint he already rolled inside his pen by unscrewing it and removing the ink, screwing it back together. Joe then stuffed the baggie through the slits in his attacker's locker.
He knocked on the frosted glass pane of the door leading into the Dean's office. "Come in," was the response.
He entered, seeing Mr. Asshat sitting in one of the seats with arm in a sling and ice on his hand. Joe sat down in the vacant chair.
"Joseph Merrick," the Dean greeted. "Care to tell me why Michael claims you broke his hand?"
That question caught Joe off guard. He had to do a double take. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Why have I got another student, in my office, claiming that you broke their hand? This kind of thing is grounds for expulsion, and I'd hate to have to do that. You're a smart kid Joseph, you've got a bright future ahead of you."
"I didn't break his hand. He hit me, as you can see by the cut on my face and the bruise. I just ducked out the way before he had the chance to turn my jaw into powdered bone, and he broke his hand by punching the wall."
The Dean's gaze turned to Michael. "You told me that Joseph broke your hand by twisting it."
"He did! He must have been reading about something that told him how to do it, because the next thing I know is he's bumping into me every chance he gets, then today I find my wallet missing, and I figured that Joe lifted it from my back pocket after he bumped into me. He twisted my arm and told me to fuck off when I asked for it back!"
The Dean's head mechanically turned to look at Joseph.
"Think about what he said for a second. His hand is broken but he said I twisted his arm."
"Now he's trying to nitpick at what I say to discredit me!"
"Look at this," Joe said, gesturing up and down himself with a hand. "He's got fifty pounds on me. How could I get the jump on Michael when he plays sports and thus could easily overpower someone like me? Lets think about this for a moment. How many times have I been in trouble here, strictly speaking?"
The Dean shrugged as he tried to recall. "Nothing that comes to mind. Either you're good at hiding what you get up to"-he said with a slight smirk-"or you just aren't one for trouble."
"Ok, now how many times has Michael been in trouble?"
Joseph could tell by the look on the Dean's face that he struck a chord within him.
"Actually, there's been a few incidents over the years where you've been in here for starting fights, Michael. But I've swept them under the rug for the sake of your football scholarship. If what Joseph is getting at is true, then you're trying to place blame elsewhere to save your own bacon. So tell me, what really happened?
Joe looked on at the sight of the Dean giving Michael the third degree. He felt rather satisfied with himself, seeing Michael look down and away, clutching at his hand as the ice dripped from the sling and onto his lap, drip by drip as deafening silence filled the room, wondering what Michael would say.
"Consider yourself suspended until further notice. This is going on record, as is all the other times you've been in trouble." Michael looked up at the Dean fearfully. "Oh yes, I might have swept them under the rug but I still kept a record of what happened in your file. Go back to the nurses office and wait for the ambulance. I'll be phoning home when I'm done talking to Joseph."
A grim spread onto Joe's face. Since Michael has a bung hand, he's probably have to get one of the professors to help him clear the locker, that or the Dean would help. Either way, Joe wouldn't need to mention the baggie he put in Mike's locker. Having it found by other means only adds further insurance to Joe's wanting to get rid of him.
Defeatedly, Michael got up from the chair, head hung as he used his good hand to open the door, letting it swing closed of its own accord. It hung slightly ajar, but nothing else said was of any importance from this point forward so the Dean didn't bother to completely close it.
"Sorry about that, Joseph. It seems I was playing favourites."
"That's something I've never understood: it's just an extracurricular activity. Like the chess club, how the art department sometimes paints murals on the school walls. Why does football and sports get glorified while the others are left in the shadows?"
The Dean just heaved a slight chuckle. "I don't even know. You should be able to finish class if you hurry back."
"See you later, then." Joe gave the Dean a curt, farewell wave as he left the office and turned down the hallway to go back to class. He was glad that making the Dean actually evaluate things rather than just did what he normally did, saved his ass.
Joseph made his way back to class to catch the last fifteen minutes of the lecture. They were covering Greek Gods; researching the Gods themselves, their home, the Titans etc. The titans were a curious bunch by themselves. The students were asked to name what gods they could. A lot of them said Zeus, King of Olympus and God of Thunder. Joseph said Chronos was the God of Time, but someone piped up that Chronos, Atlas, and so forth were Titans. Joseph remarked they were Proto-Gods, they they spawned several of the Gods of Olympus before they turned and cast the Titans out, ruling Olympus for themselves.
The professor asked a question that caught everyone off guard: "How do you kill a Greek God?"
Joseph wasn't much of a video game nerd, but he did remember one particular series of games. "A blade either dipped in, or forged in ichor," was his answer.
The professor only smirked. "And you know this how? Books with that kind of information are few and far between; rare to find. You won't find much information on how to kill gods in a college textbook."
"If there's anything I like to do, it's read. I remember playing a game where the player's blades were forged in ichor, thus is why they could kill any creature--or monster--he encountered. Be it sirens, harpies, revenants, and so on. Rather, I read it in the game's guidebook."
The professor gestured swept an open palm across the room, saying: "For those that don't know what ichor is, could you please explain what it is?"
"Ichor is the golden, ethereal blood of the gods. Also in medical terminology, a blood-like discharge. But"--Joseph stated before the professor could continue--"the real question is how would a mortal kill a god? Sure, god-made weapons can do the trick, but universal methods aside what other options are there?"
"Good question. Anyone care to answer?"
One fellow a few chairs down looked to be contemplating something given the look on his face. "So, if the blood of the gods can be used against them as a whole, maybe they can be taken out with methods pertaining to their individuality?"
"An equally good answer; both right and wrong at the same time." The professor then pulled out an old, leather bound book wrapped with a string of leather to hold it together. He unwound the strip while Joe looked on with intrigue, the rest of the students mumbling over the strange book. Using a bookmark, the professor opened it to a specific page. "The God of Thunder shan't be slain but by the wood of a tree struck by one of his bolts, or by a knife carved from a finger of frozen thunder," he read.
One student spoke over the others. "So Big Daddy Zeus zaps a tree and you stab him with it, so what the hell is a 'finger of frozen thunder'?"
"In mythology," the professor began, "there were specific gem, rocks, and minerals used for certain purposes. Some were used in summoning rituals, while others were used as warding against demons etc. But, as people found out, when lightning struck sand it fused the particles together in the shape of the bolt. Fulgurite is extremely brittle, but it's relatively common to get these days. A lot of Crystal shops use it to make cheap necklaces and to sell as a novelty item.
"After a lightning storm, the fulgurite formed could be at least a foot long in size and up to a couple inches thick. Given the brittle nature of the stone, it was often deliberately broken up into several smaller pieces and given to family and friends by those that found the hunks of the stuff. It was seen as a blessing from the gods themselves, and thus having a piece of the divine magic--lightning--in their homes believed to bring good luck."
Before the class itself left for lunch break, the professor gave them an assignment: "To research any methods of killing Greek Gods."
Joseph had a good head start. All he needed to do was play through his games again and cross reference any weapons mentioned against real-world historical data to see if it had any basis, or if it was just a contrivance.
With a smirk on his face, Joe headed to the school's library to begin his research. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 09| The Fallen | Ambiguous title is ambiguous! Try to figure out what it means.
Picks up where Chapter Seven left off.
All seven of them; Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Joseph, made their way back down into the main foyer of the library so Twilight could see her five friends off.
Since Pinkie Pie found out about Joseph, he had at most an hour--as Rainbow Dash had said it had taken her an hour or thereabouts to put together Twilight's party the other day--before he was surrounded by a horde of technicolour horses. They would likely want to ask him more questions than he felt comfortable with, even the dreaded: why he hasn't gotten his 'cutie mark'.
Joe came down behind everyone, and when they all got to the front door he noticed Pinkie had gone missing. She couldn't have double-backed, Joe would have seen her.
"Hey, where did little miss 'I-mainline-caffeine', go?" he asked.
"I beg your pardon?" Rarity gawked upon hearing Joseph.
Sure enough, when they all looked around, Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen.
"Countdown has started, dude," Rainbow said, hovering off and slightly above Joseph's right. "You have not even an hour before Pinkie Pie has everything set up back at her place then finds you for the party! Trust me, Pinkie will find you."
"I don't know whether to be excited or terrified," he replied.
"We should get you cleaned up so you're presentable for the party," Rarity said.
"What? I had a shower before I came here. You guys have weird showers by the way."
"Pish posh, you need to be properly groomed!" Rarity enunciated her point by using a hoof to make her mane bounce a couple times. "Even you could look this fabulous!"
Joseph's muzzle wrinkled at the implication. "You do realize while I may be a girl in body I'm still a guy in mind, right? Ain't nobody groomin' me like I'm some sort of ani-- goddamn it..." He winced, rolling his eyes in frustration and brought a hoof up to rub at his temple, thinking how much of a pain it will be to watch his words.
"I-it's really not all bad..." Fluttershy said. "I go to the spa with Rarity every so often. It's nice and relaxing."
"With all ya've been through, y'all could do with a back rub!" beamed Applejack. "I don't like that place as much as muh brother, but sure as sugar the ponies that work there sure can get the knots out of muh legs and back after a hard day of buckin' the apple trees."
'When was the last time I had a massage anyway?' Given the emasculating aspect of being groomed, the thought of a massage did have him intrigued, but it did leave him wondering if there was a word along the lines of 'emasculate' to describe his feeling of being less of a human given his circumstance.
"Aloe and Lotus would simply adore a chance to work with coat colours as rare as yours," Rarity added.
Integrity and self respect aside, he figured he didn't have anything else left to lose. Joe grumbled, rolling his eyes as he said: "Fine. What does it involve, exactly?"
"Rarity usually gets her 'usual' treatment," Fluttershy answered for Rarity. "Hooficure, horn filing, then a sauna followed by a mud bath while we talk about what happened during the week."
'Holy hell, does she really go there that often?' The corner of Joseph's nose twitched. "Oh goodie," he sarcastically deadpanned.
"See! I knew you'd think so." Rarity chimed.
Joe mentally face-palmed. He thought he heard a snicker, although he didn't think it was from any of the five around him. "Lead the way, then."
"I-I'll just be going, then. See you girls later."
"Nonsense, Fluttershy! So we might be a couple days early, but it this is an opportune moment for us to converse with our new friend here."
"O-okay..."
"I'll see y'all later, Ah've got to catch up on some buckin'."
"I've got some more studying to do when the Princess sends me some books," Twilight added.
"Yeah, and I've got weather stuff to do!" Rainbow announced.
Minus Twilight, they all filed their way out of the door to the library. Hidden behind her long, flowing mane that fell in front of her face, Fluttershy idly pawed at the ground with a hoof as Rarity said her goodbyes while Joseph waited for them to be gone. Once Applejack and Rainbow Dash were out of sight, he followed behind Rarity and Fluttershy while they talked with each other on the way to the spa.
On the walk, Joe tried to avoid direct eye contact with anyone else, but he couldn't help but look up whenever he thought he heard someone whisper. His paranoia kept getting the better of him, eyes looking around to see if anyone was looking in his direction. A few times he was met with sideways glances, horrified stares, snickers and giggles, as well as a few hooves pointed in his direction. Even some of the little colts and fillies were staring. Whether it be at his lack of a cutie mark or just... Him.
He felt like the new kid at school all over again.
Thrust into this completely alien world, everything was assaulting his senses in a manner not entirely similar to starting a new school.
They didn't know about him or how he got here, but the ones that actually said anything said a cheerful hello in passing. Part of him was happy that they were being polite and friendly, but another part was wanting to slink back into his comfort zone.
Or whatever remained of it.
"Darling, you're too quiet," Rarity said suddenly, knocking Joseph from his stupor.
"Wha-huh?"
"Are you ok?"
He shrugged. "I dunno... Saving my thoughts for the spa, I guess?"
"Ah, don't want to spoil everything just yet, I see," she said with a wink.
It took the good part of ten minutes at a slow pace before the trio came to a tall, two-storied building. It was painted largely with Fuchsia and Cream colours and filigree-style decorations around the door, semi-circular windows jutted out slightly in a manner indicative of a display window adorned either side of the main entrance. The style of the windows did have a certain aesthetic appeal to them that a plain old flat building didn't. When his flatemate's friend, whom worked at a department store told him that was the purpose of the windows, it would explain why display windows in some stores had that curved style of glass: to give off a "look at me" vibe, and adding a certain emphasis to its display. Given it's a spa, Joe would probably come out looking that way.
They stepped in the door, and immediately two mares zipped out from some saloon-style doors that lead into the back. The rest of the front foyer had several vases of decorative plants adorning the room, and the front desk had a bell on the counter. Aside from the hues of blue and pink with some seats opposite the front desk and a little side table with some magazines decorating the main reception area, there wasn't much else to the room.
"Welcome, Miss Rarity and Fluttershy!" one of them spoke.
"I see you've bought a guest this time!" the other finished.
Joe stared at the pair before him. They looked like photo negatives of each other. One was blue with a pink mane, and one was pink with a blue mane. Both had the same cutie mark, but it didn't help much to distinguish between the two. While their coat and mane colours were reversed-literally the only way to tell them apart, it dawned on Joe that he would still likely get them mixed up. Were they identical or fraternal twins?
"I'm Aloe!"
"I'm Lotus!"
"I don't even... How do I tell you apart?"
"Simple!" the pink-coat, blue-maned one said. "I'm Aloe."
"I'm Lotus," the blue-coat, pink maned mare finished.
"So... A lotus is a flower. By association, flowers can be pink, but you're not," Joe said, pointing at Lotus. "Your sister is pink, like a flower, but her name is Aloe. Gotcha. Totally not confusing."
"Would you like the usual, Miss Rarity?" Lotus said, turning to Rarity.
"Oh, please! Also," Rarity added, out of earshot of Joseph and Fluttershy, "there seems to be a rash of some kind on my back that seems to be aching as of late. You wouldn't happen to have any cream for something like that would you?"
"I'll take a look for you in a moment," Lotus said in reply just as quiet while Aloe still talked.
Aloe turned to look at Joseph. "Don't worry, miss...?"
"Eclipse."
"Eclipse," Aloe repeated. "Don't worry, you're in good hooves. Shall we get started with a horn filing for the lovely ladies..."
'Must... refrain... from... stabbing...' he told himself upon being called a lady.
"...followed by a hooficure?"
The mention of a horn filing this time around made Joe remember the ring keeping his disguise in place, and it dawned on him that getting his horn filed could cause problems. "Uh, Rarity, a moment?"
"Hmm, what is it? You go along and get started with the hooficure, Fluttershy. Eclipse and I won't be a moment." Fluttershy and the twins went into the back through the saloon doors. Rarity turned back to Joe. "Yes?"
Joe loudly cleared his throat.
"What do you need to tell me?"
He first made sure nobody else was in the room, and to clue her in, used a hoof to tap at the ring on the base of his horn, making his disguise flicker once to wordlessly convey his concern.
"Oh!" Rarity exclaimed with wide eyes.
"See, I don't know if they are going to be able to feel Nightmare Moon through the disguise, or if getting their mitts over me would make it fail somehow."
Rarity put a hoof to her chin in thought and looked him up and down. She tapped the tip of Joe's horn, but nothing happened, then she nudged his right front leg. Nothing about his disguise faltered. To his bemusement, Rarity walked up to his side and draped a leg over his upper back and trailed it down.
"Don't worry, Darling, you feel like a normal pony to me. So long as nothing happens to the ring itself you should be fine."
Joseph sighed, then Rarity lead him through the doors into the back.
The first thing Joseph noticed was the scent of sandalwood incense wafting through the air. The spa had an atmosphere of relaxation with dim lights and soft music playing in the background. He looked around and saw several ponies lost in the experience of pampered care.
"If you could give us a moment," Aloe said as she smiled and trotted off to tend to a customer.
Joseph nodded in awe of the spa interior as he spoke. "You weren't exaggerating about this place."
He looked around, noticing the lush potted plants and tasteful artwork on the walls. Every part of the spacious room had a personal care station custom suited for some form of personalized care or another. From the mud baths to the massage tables, the whole room made a clear statement that you would leave this place feeling like a new pony.
Aloe came back over to Joe and Rarity when she saw them enter. "Let's join Ms. Fluttershy. She insisted on waiting for you two."
The spa pony lead Rarity and Joe over to three padded tables, one of which Fluttershy was already laying down in. Laid on her side, the butter-yellow pegasus had her hooves slotted in a giant foam... thing. It looked like the slotted pieces of hard foam that nail technicians used on women's fingers to keep the nail polish from splashing back on the rest of the finger, and to hold them apart to allow ample time to dry.
The tables were mounted on a pole and a base to steady them, and a handle of some description jutted out from the pole. There was a small section of the table that was hinged to the bigger part, two semi-circles of metal attached the top to bottom. It looked as though it was designed to fold up for the ponies to have an easier time sitting up. Aloe used a hoof to press the levers on both tables and they dropped several inches. She also adjusted the headboards to a thirty degree angle.
"Hop on and lay back." Joseph tentatively did as he was told. "Let's begin with a horn filing while your friend has her hooves done," Aloe announced.
"Uh..." Aloe turned to look at Joe. "Can... Can I skip the horn filing?"
"But Ms. Eclipse, it's necessary to remove any excess keratin and bone that have built up. Too much dander build up and it dampens a unicorn's ability to cast magic correctly."
"See, I'm from out of town, and where I'm from, that was usually done by my mother or father, or myself if I had to. I've not had anyone else do it before, so it's a bit of a no-no spot."
Aloe's eyes widened at what she had nearly gotten herself into. "Oh, my apologies! I completely understand!" Aloe lowered the head board, if it could be called that, and went to get one of the large, cuffed foam boards like Fluttershy was using. "Lets just skip to the hooficure then."
Aloe held the piece of foam upright, and Joseph took the hint to put his hooves in the cut-outs, and laid on his side.
As if on queue, a familiar voice made itself known in his head. Well well well, looks like somepony is enjoying themselves.
"Hey, where the hell have you been?" Joseph asked in contempt towards Nightmare on reflex. Only when several sets of eyes turned his way, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Aloe's included, did he realize his mistake. "Uh, I, uhh... Where have you been all my life?" He tried to save himself, but Aloe just raised an eyebrow at his failed attempt. The spa pony simply turned back to her station and picked up a large file.
You'll like this part. I promise.
'With you in my head, gone the last 24 hours--or thereabouts, it leaves me wondering what you have been up to, so I don't trust you on that.'
Aloe came back over to Joseph, and he caught a glimpse of the file. It looked like a bastard file: a tapered slab of metal with crosshatched, diagonal etchings. He remembered using one to sharpen a spear point when he went spearfishing. Finesse in end results was like trying to practice calligraphy by giving markers to five year olds: the result was always a giant mess, but the idea was to get the basic shape.
She ran the face of the file up and down the bottom of the nail of his front right hoof. He felt the uncomfortable vibrations right up his leg, and the corner of his nose curled to reflect his situation.
"Are you alright?" Aloe asked.
Don't mind me, I'm just watching the pretty boy get a hooficure, Nightmare antagonized.
Nightmare knew that Aloe couldn't hear her by any means. She only said it for the entertaining value of Joseph's reaction.
"It's like dragging sandpaper over my fingernails."
"Excuse me?"
"I... Nevermind." He heaved a sigh and let Aloe do her job.
Nightmare didn't say anything more after that, she just watched through Joseph's eyes as the spa pony went about her job. A few minutes later, a noise like scratching nails down a chalkboard, the so-called "Chalkboard Effect", came from Joseph's hoof making him wince.
"Oh dear, it looks like you've got a pebble stuck in there. Let me get it out." Aloe turned her back to Joe and began picking through her... tools? They looked like farm tools to him.
'Women,' Joe mused. 'Always the same. Even in different universes or dimensions. Gotta have a crap-load of things that men never understand, claiming that each one serves a different purpose. You've been in my head, look through my memories at the stuff sold in stores.'
Aloe turned around with a bladed, hooked instrument. While on holiday, he saw a local using one to craft wooden spoons and axe handles from branches. It looked like a regular knife by comparison, but the bladed portion was bent around a curve, used for carving out the bowl of the spoon and curving the axe handle.
The local also said that spoons were just bowls on the end of sticks. Joe was pretty sure his brain shut down after that. He just couldn't look at spoons the same way again.
He shuffled in his place, clearly worried about what the tool was going to be used for.
"Don't worry, Eclipse, I'm just going to remove the pebble. We offer shoe fittings if you'd be interested. It stops stones and things from getting into the nail and causing problems." She put the blade of the tool just forward of where the pebble was, and pulled on it, gouging out a small, shallow channel that lead to the pebble for the ease of access in removal. She put the hook-knife back and returned with a pair of needle-nose tweezers. They looked like pliers above anything.
Carefully, she grasped the pebble and pulled it free, but Joseph grimaced in pain as it came free.
"Sonnova bitch!" he exclaimed through gritted teeth.
"Sorry, it looked like it was closer to the nerve than I thought. Don't worry, I can fill in the hole with a paste that mimics hoof nail until the nail itself grows back out." Aloe put the head of the tube right in the hole and bit down, squeezing the paste into the hole, which she then scraped off the excess with the flat portion of the file's head. "That'll set in a few minutes, but for now lets continue with the others."
Joe glanced up to see Rarity laying on her back, an expression of what looked to be bliss plastered across her face as her hooves and horn got filed by an employee. "How are you finding the treatment?" she asked.
"I don't know how you women put up with this. I usually just took care of what needed to be done. I don't see much point in going over the top about it."
"You're a mare now, and mares always look their best."
"Yeah, that's half the damned problem."
"Darling, language!" Rarity chided. "Must you always be so... blunt?"
To which Joseph replied in Rarity's direction, voice laced with contempt: "When you get stabbed and thrown into a land of technicolour horses in a different body, I wouldn't blame you if you swore until you passed out from lack of oxygen." He snickered at the last part of his comment. "Speaking of, I don't know how Pinkie manages to keep talking so much."
"It's Pinkie Pie, we just let her be."
To get more comfortable, Joseph tried shifting his position. But during Aloe's filing, a piece of skin on the sensitive, fleshy portion of his hoof, snagged on the file and pinched against the nail. He grimaced and said: "Ok, you know what, could we please stop?"
He pulled a hoof from its slot in the foam and began to push the foam itself free from his other legs. It fell to the floor as Aloe reeled back, letting him do so.
"Are you alright? Something I did?"
Awww, does the pretty pony not like pampering? Nightmare antagonized yet again.
"I hope they have duct tape here, because I'm gonna tape that muzzle shut if you don't zip it."
"Joseph!" Rarity exclaimed, her mouth agape. "I, I mean Eclipse," she corrected. "There is no need to speak to the staff like that!"
He was too caught up in telling Nightmare Moon to shut her trap that he yet again forgot that he spoke out loud. "S-sorry..." His ears flattened against his head as Fluttershy, Rarity, Aloe, Lotus, and some ponies a couple tables down, heard him. "I just... I can't be here, I gotta... go."
Head hung, he quickly made his way through the swinging doors and out the front door to avoid as much awkwardness as possible, but that was an inevitability when you had drawn unwanted attention to yourself, then take your leave as all eyes follow you like lasers tracking targets.
Joseph got out the door and turned right immediately out of the door. He saw an alley go down beside the spa and made his way to the rear of the building, presumably safe in the alley. Unlike extremely dodgy and dirty alleys he often passed in the streets on Earth, this alley looked as though it was used more as a thoroughfare between streets rather than a dumping ground for hookers and dead bodies.
"Are you trying to get me in trouble?" he accosted to Nightmare. "Why can't you mind your own business and let me suffer in peace on this stupid planet?!"
Whether or not you like it, Joseph, I'm stuck here with you. You're going to try and make the best of it, and I'm doing the same thing, although with more limitations in what I can do and where I can go.
"Enlighten me. What have you been doing then?"
Tell me, you remember your parent's names, don't you?
"Course I do they're, C--" He tried to complete the sentence, who his mum and dad were. But it was like looking at a piece of paper having erased a word you just wrote. He couldn't remember the names of his parents no matter how hard he tried. "They're C... and P..." every time he tried to recite their names, he always ended on a random letter. "What the hell did you do to me?"
Simple. A mind is like a palace. Filled with rooms and doors. As you grow older, new doors open up for newer memories to fill. When you learn something, it goes in a room. Now, what happens when one of these doors closes? Although if I close the wrong door while in here I could potentially do myself harm.
"Oh you little douchebag! You've been making me forget things!"
I looked through enough of your memories to discern what a 'douchebag' is, and I can say on good authority that one of those gets more use than you do, Nightmare seethed. You would do to be careful in how you talk to me.
"You've just got cabin fever, don't you? It's my mind too, I can also do things to you as well."
Try me, Nightmare said challengingly.
He thought back to the little chat with Twilight and himself discussing Nightmare, how they thought she was a demon.
Joe remembered ways that cultures from Earth had different belief systems, associating different deities and other beings that lived in their own versions of a heaven and hell. There were even special rituals that used different symbols. Some were to let good luck into the house, and others were to keep evil out, trap it, make wishes, summon various creatures, and so on.
Such was the purpose of a Devil's Trap: a five pointed star sitting inside a circle, with a rune in each segment. Once a demon was inside, they couldn't escape it and were rendered powerless so long as the outer circle was intact. The moment it broke by whatever cause, they could get out.
Joseph sat on his haunches and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, focusing on finding Nightmare within his mind. A few moments later, he found himself standing as his human self in his mind, Nightmare standing a couple meters away from him.
A mischievous grin on his face, he pulled a piece of chalk out of his pocket. "Aren't imaginations wonderful? I can think of anything while here and it becomes real. Well, not as real as something from the physical world, but, still." He let go of the chalk and it hovered in mid air.
Everyone wished the final product of something they envisioned would come out exactly as they intended. Take drawing. Joe tried his hand at drawing when in school, but it just never caught on. He had all these wonderful pictures in mind he wanted to draw, but his lack of an artistic ability meant he couldn't get his idea onto paper.
Until now.
Because without that limitation, anything created in his mind would come out exactly as he wanted it. From memory, Joseph began with a circle of a wide girth drawn around Nightmare while she just stared at him and rolled her eyes. Next he drew five straight lines that touched the circle, forming a five pointed star within. In each section of the circle, he drew five runes.
When completed, he took a step back and smugly crossed his arms. "Try getting out of that, Madam Smokey."
Nightmare only gave an irritated "tschk" and casually strolled out of the Devil's Trap, much to the surprise of Joseph. "That won't work against me," she said amusedly.
"But... Twilight said that--"
"What made you think that Twilight, above everypony else--myself especially, would know what I am? I only got banished to Tartarus, I'm not from there. There's one thing that Twilight's book got wrong."
"I'll bite. What, are you, and what did the book get wrong?"
Nightmare strode closer to Joseph, her muzzle millimeters from his ear as she whispered: "Demon's don't need permission to take over a host body. I, on the other hand, did."
Then it dawned on him. When reading up on the occult and the supernatural, he would often find reports online of possession. Cases like the Amityville house or the Borley Rectory were popular. Whether it be ghost or demon, Nightmare was right. Given demons and ghosts were, in a word, dicks, they didn't need permission. They would remain in control of the host until such time as they were exorcised by whatever means.
"You already know, just think, Joseph."
"You can't be a demon of any kind because the Devil's Trap didn't work on you." Nightmare nodded. "You create nightmares." He realized a small tidbit of information. "Did Luna have something to do with you possessing her, because she could enter the Dreamscape?"
Nightmare gave Joseph a sly smile. "Maybe... Although I wouldn't have had to if my brother hadn't locked me out of the dream world after I got banished to Tartarus."
Brother? Dream world? There was only one being that Joseph knew of that had domain over the dream world.
"Your brother..." Joseph had a moment of disbelief at this. "Is--" He barely got the word out of his mouth when he felt himself shake.
"Hey!" A voice echoed through out his mind. "Are you alright?"
Joseph felt himself get pulled from his confrontation with Nightmare Moon, gasping a deep breath as his eyes fluttered open.
He was still in the alley behind the spa, although someone had found him.
"What's the matter, do you need to go to the hospital?"
"What? No. I just... Fell asleep." He looked up at the pony that had found him. He had a white muzzle that looked like he had dunked his face in milk. The rest of his coat was earthen-brown in colour, which lead down to black-furred legs at the knee. On his head was a hat not unlike Applejack's, although there was no cut-out in the brim. Around his barrel was a simple vest with a breast pocket, the chain of a pocket watch hanging from it.
"Ugh, what're you doing here?" Joseph asked as he got to his hooves, using the stranger's leg for support after he offered it.
"Rather than stick to the streets, I often use alleys to go from one place to another because it saves a lot of time. I was passing through here when I found you."
"Using alleys on a regular basis is hella creepy, dude."
"So is falling asleep in them."
"On the contrary, I was hearing voices and stopped in behind here to chat with them so I wouldn't look like a complete muppet to passer by's," Joe said indifferently,
The stranger's expression contorted into one of concern and confusion when he heard Joseph say 'muppet', and mention hearing voices. "What's a muppet? Some kind of toy? And are you sure you're alright, don't need to go to the hospital? Or... Broadhoof, for that matter?"
'...Damn it.' He cursed himself for using Earth colloquialisms. "I say it in the sense of being an idiot, really. What's Broadhoof anyway?"
"Right..." he said with insecurity, mentally shrugging off the issue of the mare's mental stability, refusing to go near it with a ten-foot, bleach-soaked, barge pole. "Well, now I know you're safe I can go do my shopping," he added abruptly. "Name's Cesar, by the way. What's yours?"
No, not like the salad, Nightmare chided. The first thing that flashed through Joseph's mind when he heard the stallion's name was a Cesar Salad, and Nightmare had told him off for it.
'I've told you what'll happen if you keep annoying me like that. Don't make me think of butts like last time.' He heard Nightmare audibly growl with anger in his head, but she didn't say anything further.
"Eclipse," he said after a moment.
"Well then, Eclipse, have a good day and do try to be careful." He punctuated his farewell with a polite, yet curt tip of his hat and exited the alley.
Shaking off the tired sensation from being asleep the last few minutes, Joseph exited the alley and looked left then right to try and spot Cesar, but for some odd reason he seemed to have disappeared quite quickly.
When he looked to his left again, standing muzzle-to-muzzle with Joe was none other than Pinkie Pie.
"Gyah!" he screamed, staggering back and bumping the wall behind him, causing him to fall on his side.
Looking down at him, Pinkie just giggle-snorted. "It's just me, silly!"
"Yeah, remind me to check your arm, or... leg, for track marks."
"What for? Tracks are for walking or running! Oh yeah, party's ready!" the hyperactive mare declared.
Joseph felt a sense of dread wash over him. "Balls..."
Meanwhile, in Golden Oaks Library...
It had been about half an hour after everyone left that Celestia sent Twilight the books she requested: death records and obituaries, and a book titled "Gods and Demons: A reference to all things Tartarus and Heaven ". It wasn't nearly as old as the several tomes containing the aforementioned records, but they, however, were a compilation of old, leather-bound books with yellowing pages that jutted out at varying angles, bulging with various thicknesses
Having unrestricted access to all books in Canterlot; ones that are off limits to the public, forbidden, not in circulation--but could be requested, and even ones that nobody knew existed, meant Celestia had a wealth of knowledge unsurpassable.
Twilight looked up at the pile of records as tall as she was and picked out the oldest one, bringing the reference book closer and flicking it open to the 'Demon' section, using the index to find the oldest ones.
It wasn't as much of a daunting process as Twilight thought by looking at the records stacked as high as she was tall. She got through half the first set of records in half an hour by cross referencing dates ponies had died with the approximations of dates that any demons had popped up. She couldn't read half the names since they were written in a style unreadable; like a foals' scrawl, but she could tell it was more put together than the latter. The dates seemed to be consistent: a number followed by an image of the sun for the Nth day in that month, a number with a crescent moon for the month, then the year was a fifty-fifty image of the sun and moon.
She simply used her magic to copy the writing as best she could by using carbon paper between the pages of the records and her notes to try and decipher for later.
The style of writing looked to be ancient, Twilight guessed. Possibly older than Celestia. By the time Twilight had finished cross-checking names and dates against the demons from the book, none of the demons she had written down next to the names and dates of the deceased ponies matched the capabilities of what Nightmare could do. They were all just your generic, run-of-the-mill demons who got sent to Tartarus.
She put the first set of notes off to the side and began on the second set of records, although this one looked slightly more neater and put together than the last.
By now, Pinkie would have found Joseph for his party. Twilight chuckled to herself, thinking of what he could be possibly going through, remembering when she accidentally poured the hot sauce into her drink instead of the clearer, more aromatic and stronger-tasting liquid she originally intended.
A further half hour later and more cross referencing of demons that didn't match up to Nightmare Moon, as well as the demon section of the reference book, Twilight bookmarked the page of the record book she was in the middle of, she turned to the front half of the book to read up on some of the deities for a change of pace. Her hoof slid up and down the index until she saw something that caught her eye. The index was written alphabetically, listing all kinds of deities and angelic beings.
Not surprisingly, she found "Alicorns" under the "A" section. She wanted to see if it had anything about either Celestia or Luna, but was disappointed when the book only said how they were created.
A pegasus and unicorn of immeasurable power would reproduce, and the excess magic had potential to manifest in both wings and horns of the offspring. So powerful was the magic that it even affected their lifespan. The unicorn and pegasus parent would certainly outlive a normal pony of their own race, given their magical potential, and the same was even more true for an alicorn.
It was still possible for alicorns to reproduce, but with an ordinary unicorn, pegasi, or earth pony, there was an equal, one-in-four chance of what the child would be. The child would possess only a fraction of the alicorn parent's power depending on their race, but that would innately increase the magical affinity of whatever race the pony was born into by comparison to somepony else of the same race. However, if two alicorns reproduced, an alicorn was almost certain to be the product, and the magical capabilities in the offspring would grow a fraction, but the process would take infinitely long to surpass any godly level.
The alicorn would still have wondrous power that any ordinary pony would lust after. Some tribes across the world saw alicorns as abominations: cross-breeding between unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies was seen as very taboo and more often than not the tribes would believe they needed to keep their bloodlines and lineage "pure". Quite often, two tribe leaders would often try to reconcile differences with one another through forming alliances, to helping each other where needed.
One case, studied over five centuries ago, found a leader of a unicorn tribe and the leader of a tribe of sky-dwelling pegasi in constant argument with one another for contrived reasons. Each tribe's most respected elders suggested that if the two tribes were to get along, then a marriage between the leaders would need to be planned.
Begrudgingly, they went through with it, uniting the tribes for a brief period. Together they had a baby colt. The baby was supposed to mean they could get along, but the offspring was born deformed: with wings and a horn. So disappointed were the parents that they cut off the wings and horn and exiled the stallion when he came of age. Whatever happened to him beyond that is unknown. Whether he be alive or dead, even to this day is unclear. He has wandered for so long that he eventually became a wandering traveler, forever hiding the scars on his body.
For Twilight, she was appalled that somepony would do that to their own child. She felt the urge to hug Celestia and be thankful that her mentor hadn't suffered the same fate. Twilight knew about alicorns from books, but from the ones she did read growing up, none of them actually mentioned how they were created to begin with.
Twilight flicked back to the index. Like the demon section, anything under each letter was written from the earliest documented date, forward. When the tip of her hoof got halfway down the 'S' section under 'Gods', she saw the word 'Sleep'.
'What gods have the ability to control sleep?' she thought, flipping through the pages until she came to the section that piqued her curiosity.
The God of Sleep, Twilight began reading, gave every creature under creation the ability to sleep soundly. Together with his wife, The Goddess of Relaxation, they had four children. The eldest created the Dreamscape: an ethereal realm within the minds of creatures big and small to dream of things. Next in line was The God of True Dreams, who patrolled and kept dreams as they were supposed to be.
Things went well for the four of them until The Goddess of Relaxation fell pregnant for the third and fourth time, bearing two more sons. The third was the God of Illusory Dreams, and he created dreams where creatures saw what they wanted to.
Twilight saw the next entry in the book, and it sent chills down her spine. Her breath and heart rate quickened, sweating from her discovery. Her hoof trembled as she moved it across the words as she read on, but only four words stuck out at her.
The God of Nightmares. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 10| Party Time | From upstairs, Spike heard a massive crash emanate from the main foyer of the library. He looked up away from his comic, his gaze pointed towards the top of the stairwell.
"Twilight?" he called. "Did another pile of books fall over?"
On hearing no sound nor a reply from Twilight, feeling concerned that something crashed on top of her, Spike got out of his basket, placing the comic face down on his blanket to keep his place as he made his way downstairs.
With a sigh of relief, he saw that no swaying tower of books had fallen over like what had happened innumerable times in the past. On the other hand, there was a tower of stacked books he saw stacked next to Twilight's reading desk. Even though it was face down, one of the books had fallen forward off the stand to the floor: the book Twilight was using to cross-reference demons. Spike picked the book up to try and see what Twilight was looking at last, but as he turned it over the weight of the pages caused them to sag back into the middle of the book, losing the page Twilight was on.
He grumbled at that before he looked over at the front door, seeing a white pegasus stallion with a darker shade of blue for a mane looking over the door from top to bottom. The top and bottom had separated from each other, and the top half bent back on its hinges further than they should. The bottom swung free, though.
"That mare must've been in a hurry," he said casually. "Bent the hinges out of shape. They're gonna need to be replaced," he added.
"Hey, did you see which way Twilight went?"
"Muttered something about a cup of coffee and the spa." The pegasus poked a hoof at the bent hinges. "She must be strong to bend hinges like that; running out a door like a stampeding buffalo."
He dropped the book and ran over to the door and shut the bottom half of it and reached over from outside to lock it from the inside. Next, he told the stallion to step back as he blew a small gust of green fire onto the two bent hinges, turning them red hot as he forced the top door closed. He heated up the metal of the hinges enough for them to be malleable, and shutting the door would ensure they would return to their original shape and would be cool upon his return.
The lock fixed into the door was unique in the way it functioned: it was a normal keyhole, but it had two bolts. One bolt locked the top portion of the door to the frame while the second slid into the bottom half of the door. Even though he locked the bottom from the inside, he would just need to unlock the top and reach over to unlock the bottom. Had he not, then the bottom would swing open.
Spike locked the door as a whole and turned in the direction of the spa and began to run after Twilight.
Twilight was weaving in and out of streets. She had accidentally hit one of the vegetable carts, sending its contents of cabbages spilling onto the dirt as the proprietor of the stand, an earth pony with a green coat, an off-yellow mane, and a cutie mark of a golden circle with a square taken out of it, exclaimed; "My cabbages!"
"Sorry!" Twilight shouted with sincerity over her shoulder, galloping as fast as she could towards the Day Spa. A trip that would normally take five minutes at a canter, ten minutes if you took your time, now took less than a minute as she galloped under the sun as its radiant heat poured down upon the panting mare.
She barged in through the front door and then continued her charge through the swinging, saloon-style doors that lead into the back, standing breathless and sweating in place as over a dozen pairs of eyes stared at her.
"Twilight?" Rarity asked, looking up from the table on which the unicorn was getting massaged, the concern in her voice apparent at how ragged her friend looked. "What happened, are you alright?"
"Joe..." she panted. "Eclipse... Where..."
"She"--Rarity enunciated--"left a while ago, dear. What's all the fuss about?"
"Where did she go? You didn't think to go after him--I mean her--so we don't lose her? It's kind of important since, you know..."
"S-sorry, Twilight..." Fluttershy added, hiding her saddened expression at potentially having let Twilight down behind her mane.
"Why don't you join us, Twilight? You look like you could use a hooficure!"
Twilight groaned in frustration and anger with Joseph on his own, loud enough for all present patrons to hear. Without further explanation, she turned tail and ran the opposite direction, back the way she came. She anxiously trotted on the spot upon exiting the spa, looking left and right to try and see if she might miraculously spot Joseph.
She saw a few ponies walking their way up and down the street and saw a brown, earth-pony stallion with a white muzzle. He sported a hat akin to Applejack's without the cutout, and a vest with a chain hanging out of his pocket. Twilight assumed it to have a watch on the other end. In his mouth he carried a large bag filled with groceries.
"Excuse me?" Twilight hollered as she cantered up to him, the stallion stopping to look at her. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a dark blue mare with an equally dark purple mane exit the spa, or at all by any chance?"
He stopped to put the bag down when Twilight got close. "I didn't see her leave the spa," he answered, "but I did find her sleeping in the alley behind the building."
'Why would he be sleeping?' Twilight asked herself. "Did you see what way she went?"
The stallion shook his head. "Sorry, but after I made sure she was alright I went to finish my shopping."
Twilight looked over her shoulder at the alley. "Thanks for your help." The stallion tipped his hat to her before picking up his shopping, then Twilight went over to the alley.
She stopped just before it, looking it up and down. 'Why did Joseph leave, then sleep behind the alley?' she asked herself rhetorically. Her gaze gravitated towards the entrance of the alley, spying several squares of multicoloured paper on the ground and on the side of the building. Twilight used her magic to levitate these, pulling them closer to her eyes to scrutinize.
'Confetti...' Twilight mused, rolling her eyes. 'Pinkie Pie must have found Joseph and taken him to the party she put together. Would explain why he left the spa but not why he was in the alley. Maybe he tried to hide from Pinkie?' Twilight cracked a smile at the last of her thought.
Peace of mind settled momentarily, but Twilight's mind jarred her back to the reality of the situation.
They had it all wrong. Nightmare wasn't a demon at all, but a god, matter-of-factly. Twilight began walking towards Sugarcube corner. The run to the spa definitely winded her, so she adopted a slower pace for the moment. It let Twilight figure out what to say next when she found Joseph, but it didn't quell the growing, nagging questions pulling at her.
Why or how would a god turn evil? What did it want with Luna? Normally entities associated with godly or angelic being had the notion of white, ethereal energy around them. So why did the God of Nightmares have black, smokey... Evilness? It didn't make any sense to the bookworm.
She would need more books to study.
"Come on, hurry up, silly!" Pinkie chided in her gleeful manner. "Party is waiting on you!"
"Oh, yippee..." Joe sarcastically replied. "I'm not much of a people person--"
"No, we're ponies!"
"--so I want to try and get to know everyone before I get their presence shoved down my throat. You know, it's a thing called personal space."
Pinkie kept bouncing--or hopping, whatever Joe called it. He followed the highly caffeinated pony. His eyes inextricably followed the pony, somehow placing herself into every area of his vision.
With Pinkie perpetually getting within his line of sight, bouncing all over the place, he couldn't help but notice how well toned her legs were. He guessed it was from all the hopping around. His eyes began to wander north...
Would you stop it? Nightmare angrily drawled. It's bad enough I'm in here, but being forced to watch your perversions is another thing altogether.
'Look, I can't help it, alright?' Joe replied in exasperation. 'You wandered off before. Why don't you do that again and give us both some space? Or at least what constitutes the next thing since I'm in your head... Just let me know what you're doing.'
Fine... she agreed with contemptuous unease.
With a roll of his eyes and looking ahead, Joseph couldn't see Pinkie. He stopped on the spot, his head swiveling in all directions to try and locate the mare. 'What in the...? Did she pull one of her vanishing tricks again?'
"Over here!" Pinkie shouted, her voice somehow echoing off every available surface to find its intended target.
"Gyah!" Joe exclaimed when the boom of Pinkie's voice hit him. He went to rub his now-hurting ears.
Joseph looked over to the building Pinkie was exuberantly waving from as she ducked back inside, his jaw hitting the ground. It looked like any other building he had seen so far, but instead of thatched roofing this place looked as though it had had giant cookies as tiles for the roof. White frosting replaced the frame of the roof, and red-and-white candy cane-esque posts held up the awning of the front door, chocolate-coloured and carved support beams helped keep everything aloft.
He wandered up to the candy cane posts and leaned closer to sniff at them. "I hope these aren't actually peppermint..." He looked around cautiously, seeing if anyone was looking his way, and took a quick lick of the post. He quickly spat out the taste and wiped a forehoof over his muzzle. "Bleh. Nope, just regular old paint," he said bitterly.
Joseph turned back to the front door of the store, using a hoof to cautiously nudge it open, a crack of sunlight piercing the veil of black inside. He finished opening the door with a slight squeak, the sunlight streaming in and only illuminating what appeared to be a display cabinet with a cash register at the end of the room.
"What in the hell? I saw her duck in here..." Joe absentmindedly said to himself as he walked in. Two seconds after he finished his sentence, the lights flicked on and an innumerable amount of technicolour pastel creatures jumped out from hiding in places that shouldn't've been physically possible for them to get into as they collectively shouted: "Surprise!"
From the sudden scare, Joseph stumbled backwards far enough to trip over the doorframe and fall, down the two steps that he came up moments before. Pinkie came rushing out the door as Rainbow followed behind her, each with concerned looks on their face.
"Uh, you alright dude?" Rainbow tentatively and sincerely asked.
"If you... ever... scare me like that again..." Joseph began, not finishing his sentence, his point threateningly ambiguous. He got up off the ground and dusted himself of the dirt that collected as Rainbow set herself down on the ground, closing the distance between herself and Joseph.
"Dude, are you alright?" Rainbow asked again, but this time with emphasised concern. "You took a bit of a fall there."
Joseph replied in a harsh whisper. "I almost had a heart attack from the fright of you all shouting 'surprise'! Although I suppose it wouldn't be like a bad thing..." he added retroactively. Joe gave an appreciative nod towards Rainbow, thankful for how concerned she was being. "Yeah... I should be fine. I hope. Even if I did they're bound to find out about, well, me."
"Heh, yeah... Didn't think about that."
Joseph took a few breaths to calm himself. He went back up to the door as everyone parted to let him in, and he gazed at the inside of the store.
Thick, chocolate-shaped wooden support beams carved into the shape of the aforementioned bars lined the room. The walls themselves had small, short, round tables in front that were each adorned with balloons tied to the feet of the tables to hide the drab colour of the wall behind as cupcakes, drinks, crepes, and a wide variety of treats sat atop them.
The glass display cabinet he saw was empty of whatever it normally contained, but hanging from the rafters were streamers, ribbons, all the while confetti inexplicably coated every surface. However that happened, it would be a nightmare to clean up.
To his left, a small table sat up against the wall. Stacked with over a dozen boxes of varying sizes, wrapped in as many colours as those at the party, each donned with a ribbon tied into a bow that held the wrapping securely in place. He looked to his right to see a much more spacious room, at the end of which was a giant cake at least as half as big as he was.
"So, waddaya think?" Pinkie gleefully asked as she bounced into Joseph's sight.
"So much cake..."
"Well this is the bakery owned by Mr. and Mrs. Cake! I live here and help make all the sweet treats for all of Ponyville for the parties I throw!"
Pinkie went over to a table and snatched up a cupcake, opening her mouth and shoving the entire thing in and seemingly swallowing it whole, much to the horror and bemusement of Joseph.
"I think I'm gonna either develop diabetes or get have an actual heart attack by the time I'm done here..." he said in awe, eyeing up all the tantalisingly delectable treats. Figuring he should at least try and enjoy himself while here to make it look like he was having a good time, he levitated one of the cupcakes over.
This one was iced with blue icing, little tufts of whipped cream holding a rainbow-coloured strip of candy, depicting an arching rainbow in the sky. He took a tentative bite from it, and the flavour was unexpectedly delicious. The icing was the perfect balance between sweetness and flavour, the lightly whipped cream complimenting the light, fluffy texture of the sponge. The rainbow candy was the final kicker. The sugar washed over his tongue as Joseph tasted each individual flavoured color.
He turned to look at Pinkie, his face contorting into one of utter disbelief at how delicious the cupcake was. He still had a mouthful, not wanting to swallow something this good.
"Sweet Mary mother of..." Joe began, stuffing the treat in his mouth to try and take as big of a bite as he could. "You made these?" he asked with all due incredulity and bulging cheeks.
"Yeah, kinda, sorta, not really... The Cakes did most of the work with the baking while I decorated the place! Do you like it? Oh puh-lease tell me you like it!" The hyperactive mare darted forward to gaze at Joe. With her muzzle covered in cream, icing, and crumbs, Pinkie's eyes were inches away from his, the only thing keeping them separated being their touching noses.
He swallowed what he could before giving a sincere answer. "Best cupcake I have ever had!"
"Thanks! Rainbow helped me make them. Let me show you around!" Pinkie declared as she grabbed Joseph's leg, pulling him in the direction of a table of colts and fillies. One was a white unicorn that had a similar mane style as Rarity, but she seemed to be staring off into space as though she was jaded, all the while she idly picked at a cupcake while she rested her head on her hoof. Another was a small colt about three-quarters the size of the white one. He too was white, but had spotted brown patches all over him, most notably his left eye. The third, a yellow earth pony with a cherry-red mane with a darker pink bow that tied her hair up behind her head.
"These cute little guys are from Ponyville Elementary," Pinkie said as she gestured to each of them in turn. "Eclipse, this is: Sweetie Belle; Rarity's sister, Pipsqueak, and Apple Bloom; sister to Applejack!"
"'Allo 'Allo!" Pipsqueak said, giving a welcome salute. He spoke with a British accent, much to Joseph's amazement.
"Dude, how are you speaking with a British accent?"
"I'm from Trottingham!" he declared.
"You mean like Nottingham?"
"No ma'am, Trottingham, Norh-West of Ponyville ma'am! What's British anyway? Is that where you're from?"
"As a matter of fact, yes it is!" Joseph said half truthfully.
"Ah've never heard of that place," Apple Bloom asked with a raised eyebrow. "Where is it, then?" She took a bite of her cupcake as she stared at Joseph waiting for an answer, all the while Sweetie Belle kept picking at her cupcake and putting the larger chunks in her mouth and disregarding smaller ones.
Joe's eyes kept darting to Sweetie. She was at a party, but he couldn't figure out why she wasn't being more sociable like the rest of the ponies around him.
"Well, aren't you a smart filly," Joe said condescendingly, tousling her hair with a hoof. "But I'm not going to lie to you." He nodded at Sweetie Belle. "What's eating her?"
"No, she's eating the cupcake, silly!"
Joseph, Apple Bloom, and Pipsqueak shot an errant look at Pinkie, Joe turning back to the conversation at hand.
"Ah'm not sure. Been a bit mopey for a couple weeks after she went missin' one day."
Joe levitated another cupcake over and sat down with the three school kids, intrigued by Apple Bloom's statement. "What happened?" he asked, taking a generous bite from the treat.
"Well, after school let out for the day, we all went home. Sweetie didn't go back to the boutique where she lives with Rarity, so Rarity came to the farm looking for her. Figured we'd be studyin' or something," she finished with a giggle and a smirk.
"I remember!" Pip interjected. "Rarity told Miss Cherilee Sweetie didn't come home, and told the ones that stayed after school to keep an eye out for her!" Applebloom nodded in confirmation at this as Joseph listened on. "We don't know where she was, but a couple hours later she wandered out of the Everfree Forest near Fluttershy's cottage."
"Rarity was in the middle of asking Fluttershy if she had seen Sweetie, and then she walked into the front yard of the cottage as Rarity was leaving. She didn't tell us where she went or why, but we got her back," Apple Bloom finished with a grateful smile aimed at Sweetie.
Joe raised an eyebrow at how indifferent Sweetie was being, not even saying anything. "So where'd you go when you disappeared?"
"The forest," she answered abruptly.
Joe pressed on. "Ok, do you remember what you did in the forrest?"
"I don't remember what I had for breakfast today," Sweetie deadpanned.
If she still remembers where she went, try asking her that, Nightmare said.
'Lets try that, then.' "Could you take me where you went to?"
Sweetie stopped shoving chunks from the now-destroyed cupcake into her mouth, eyes darting to Joseph as she stared wide-eyed for several seconds. She didn't move, but after a moment she finally spoke.
"I can take you there!" she beamed, hopping down from the table.
Joe gave a smug grin at Apple Bloom. "Did you think to ask that?"
"No..." she replied sheepishly.
Neither did you, Nightmare seethed, Joe just laughing inwardly. "Can Ah come with ya?"
"No," Sweetie said forcefully. "I mean... Heh, I need to get some fresh air. You and Pip have fun while I show Eclipse, alright?"
"Alright..." Apple Bloom replied dejectedly as Joseph finished off his cupcake.
Joe looked around for Pinkie, but she seemed to have gone somewhere else. "Where's Pinkie?" he asked. He turned to look in the other direction.
"Here I am!" Pinkie declared, appearing out of nowhere on cue.
Joe stammered on the spot. "Freaking... How do you keep doing that?
"Doing what? You wanted me, so here I am, silly!"
Joe remembered what Rarity said to him at the spa. 'It's Pinkie Pie, we just let her be.' Rather than give himself a headache trying to figure it out, he let it slide. "Sweetie Belle is going to show me something. I'll be back soon, alright? Keep the party running."
"Okie dokie loki!"
"Hey dude," Rainbow spoke up as she saw him turning to leave with the little filly. "I'm going to come with you. If something happens, Twilight is going to want to know about it so she can tell Celestia."
"You sure you don't want to stay for the party? I shouldn't be more than twenty minutes or so."
"I wasn't asking," Rainbow replied with a stern gaze. "Somepony's gotta keep an eye on you where they can. That goes for you too, Sweetie Belle."
With a frustrated huff, Sweetie lead the way out the doors and down the street.
Joseph followed the small filly as the streets got wider, eventually leading to the outskirts of town where a few smaller cottages dotted the treelines. They followed one of the dirt paths to just before a cottage and Sweetie detoured off to the right, taking them to the treeline as Joseph stopped before the looming forest, looking back-and-up at Rainbow with uncertainty.
"What are you waiting for?" she called back, jumping into the underbrush and disappearing. Her voice sounded from the bushes as she spoke. "Come on, it's a surprise!"
With a raised eyebrow, they both followed the sound of the rustling bushes as they stepped into the foliage. Joseph had a hard time parting the thick brush to allow himself to get through, whereas Rainbow flew up higher to avoid a lot of the foliage. But, using his magic, he managed to part the bushes enough like he would have done with his hands to get through.
The sound of Sweetie's rustling grew increasingly distant as Joe called out to her. "Hey, wait up!" He tried to hurry, but his next step was poorly timed. His hoof clipped a branch that had fallen on the ground and fell face first over it. With a grunt and moan, he rolled onto his side and went to pick himself up.
Sunlight streamed in through the canopy of the trees, a stray beam of light hit him in the face as the trees swayed in the wind. He was about to pick himself up when he swore he saw something dart from one tree to another, a black mass silhouetted against whatever sunlight made it through.
His head darted around to try and see what it was. "Hello?" he called. "Anyone there?" It was a bit of a silly thing to say, but it was force of habit out of anything.
From somewhere, he heard a strange hissing. He looked up and around all the gnarled trees, trying to discern the source of the noise. Out of all the dark trees, two blue glowing orbs stuck out at him. He blinked to make sure they were real, and a moment later they blinked back at him.
In the blink of an eye, he was met with a black figure jumping on him. His vision filled with a green haze as he felt his strength get drained from him as he passed out. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 11| Mother Dearest | Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Joseph had woken with hangovers and headaches in the past, but nothing could prepare him for this pain screaming throughout his head. He began to regain consciousness, although the jackhammer pounding away at his skull wasn't doing him any favours. He tried moving his limbs, but to no avail. The thing that struck him as odd was his complete lack of ability to move at all, save his head and neck. He pulled and tugged at his muscles, but he couldn't move anything below his neck. It was like he was buried up to his neck in concrete.
"Ughh..." he moaned from his aching everything. "What happened?" He opened his eyes, but there was nothing to be seen. The area was shrouded in a veil of the blackest ink. He rolled his neck to relieve the stress which earned him a couple pops of the vertebrae, like cracking knuckles.
He took a moment to try and assess his situation. 'So I'm god-only-knows-where, in a room more black that a burnt pot of onions, with a leaky pipe that's beginning to piss me off...'
For every drip that fell, his equine ears twitched in annoyance. 'Hey, Nightmare, you up there?'
He waited several seconds, but there was no reply.
'Yoohoo, anyone up there? I could really use your help right about now.'
Still nothing.
'Answer me you living cloud of soot! What are you doing in my head, having an imaginary Siesta?'
He tried waiting several minutes for a reply, or at least something in return, but ultimately nothing came.
With nothing else to do, he could only begrudgingly accept his position for as long as he could before a thought occurred to him. Joseph closed his eyes--which was redundant, yes, but eliminating certain senses heightens others. He tried his best to ignore the headache, which wasn't easy due to a lack of water or food to abate it.
He took a deep, calming breath, letting his ears do the work for him. He figured that since he was a magical creature with magic, and not knowing how long he would be here, thought it a better and more constructive use of his time to try and figure out a way he could use magic, if at all.
He recalled Twilight saying she would teach him magic, but ultimately never got the chance to. And now was just as good a time as any. But... He had no idea how to even begin! He grumbled in frustration at this and just elected to listen.
Apart from the constant dripping, Joseph heard a squelchy noise come from somewhere off to his left. He turned his head in the direction to give it more attention. Several seconds later he heard a more drawn out squelch. His brow furrowed in concentration and his ears pivoted towards the source in full concentration.
Squelch.
Squuueeelllcchhh.
The second instance of the noise sounded like whatever was making the noise, was... moving?
'If the first few times were footsteps being planted, then maybe the last was one being lifted?'
Squuueeelllcchhh.
"Who's there?" he commanded. "I can hear you!"
Having been found out, there were several more unabated squelchy steps before the figure hidden by the inky veil, disregarding any sense of stealth or surprise it thought it had, stopped in front of Joseph.
He could feel its terrifying presence in front of him, then in that moment felt an unnervingly cold breath of air exhaled from a nose hit him across his muzzle, causing him to turn his face in repulsion.
He felt something touch his forehead, at the base of his horn, and the jackhammer inside his head went into overdrive.
Thousands of thoughts and countless precious memories; all flooded through his mind like a thousand movie reels playing at once. He screamed in pain, eyes involuntarily opening and widening to reflect his pain where movement failed. He felt his face contort in ways he didn't think possible out of the pain radiating throughout his head.
Then, in the instant the touch against his forehead left, he passed out yet again, head slumped forward.
Joseph wasn't sure how much more time had passed before he woke up this time around. But, unlike last time, his eyes opened to light. Hazy green was all he could see at the moment.
At some point, his head had rolled off to the side while passed out, and he felt a trail of moisture running down his cheek and neck. Joseph tried to pick his head up, but his neck muscles had temporarily become too weak from being in one position for an unknown amount of time to properly support anything, and his head immediately dropped in the opposite direction. This position, however, yielded a hazy black figure silhouetted against more green.
Each being stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. His eyes began to clear momentarily and the figure before him slowly became more apparent.
Its horn, a twisted, crooked root, sprouted from the forehead. Sitting atop its head, poking out of the oily, grey-and-turquoise mane was what could be described as a fin that resembled a crown, with four lit, light-producing nodes that were illuminating the room. Its skin, if it could be called that, was not reminiscent of anything he'd met in his three days on this world.
It bore a striking resemblance of reptilian skin, although more solid and not pliable. There were sections of it that nestled neatly together like puzzle pieces. The neck had the appearance of armoured plating; downward pointing plates overlapping each other. It looked to be an amalgam of tree-like appendages, the basic shape of an equine in Joseph's previous encounters, with hairless skin that seemed to interlock like plate armour or insect shells would.
Its face seemed regal, like that of Luna or Celestia, but gone was the calm visage; instead being replaced by the kindest of threatening stares that would make the most strong-willed of people think twice about crossing. It stared at Joseph some more, and Joseph stared at it until it spoke two words; two words emphasised with genuine confusion and puzzlement about him.
"Who are you?" The voice sounded arguably like someone was speaking through a voice box filtered by a vacuum cleaner. "You taste..." It smacked its lips together as if to sample a morsel of food. "...familiar, somehow."
"Gyuh?" Joseph dumbly muttered, his new head still trying to sort itself out.
Joseph managed to elevate his head slightly to see what this thing was pointing at. The colour which filled his vision was found to be a gel-like, gelatinous substance coating every available surface like honeycomb in a hive. Only instead of hexagonal combs in which honey was stored, pods, or chrysalis' -like that of a monarch butterfly-were pasted to a wall by the same gloop they were made of. In each pod there was a pony, with over a dozen in the little room.
Joseph recognised one of them the second he laid eyes on it.
"Sweetie Belle!" he exclaimed. His eyes shot to the creature. "What did you do to her!?"
"She is fine," it said dismissively. "But you... You have the body of a normal alicorn pony, but yet you have two souls! One is very much dark and powerful, but the other is nothing unlike I've seen since I've been alive. The body of one of those ponies but with two souls claiming home: one dark and very powerful, and one I've never experienced before. You're the most interesting thing I have ever seen. Or rather, the most delicious I've snacked upon."
"Ugh, do I even want to know?"
"We eat memories and emotions mostly," it said apathetically. "They give us our energy, but we also eat regular food to sustain ourselves."
"What are you talking about?" Joseph asked in confusion. "You look like a twisted deformity born of a tree and one of those ridiculous ponies. What's your name? Harold? Do you have a friend whom you call Bob?"
The creature gave a fierce hiss and snarl, striking Joseph across the muzzle with one of its forelimbs, earning him a short gash across the corner of his mouth. "I am not someone you can talk to contemptuously! I am a Queen; you shall address me in such a manner!" The self-proclaimed "Queen" magically grasped Joseph's horn and yanked it back to stare into his eyes from above as she looked down on him. "Now tell me," she seethed, "who exactly are you?"
Wincing from the grasp against his horn and cut on his muzzle, Joseph had no choice but to answer. "Just when I got used to everything it got flipped upside down. So now I'd like to take a minute, so just sit right there. Let me tell you how I became a girl and an evil mare."
"Enough games!" she roared. Joseph's eyes widened with genuine fear.
He wisely decided to play it safe for now.
"I honestly don't know how to answer that!" Joseph pleaded. "One minute I was walking down the street, the next thing I know I'm waking up in the body that belongs to someone these 'ponies' are calling 'Nightmare Moon'!"
The queen released Joe's horn and turned her back to him, sitting down and looking over one of its legs like a manicurist would a hand. "Ah yes. I've heard the legends surrounding her. I'm not as old as I appear, at least not old enough to have been around when Nightmare Moon tried staking a claim to Equestria." She looked over her shoulder and spoke with genuine curiosity. "But that doesn't explain why I sense two entities inside your head."
"I have no idea either," Joe relented. "What happened was I was helping a woman in distress when the man that was attacking her, turned on me after I pulled her away from him. He caught me with his knife, bing bang boom, here I am."
The queen just gave a contemplative "Hmmm". "You share the same mind I'm assuming?" Joseph nodded, then the queen just started laughing cynically at Joseph's expense. "Nightmare used ancient magic..."
"I know it was a spell, but I don't see how old it was making any difference."
"It's simple. Nightmare used a spell to bring you here from your world. She was dying and needed a soul to power the vessel she was possessing. Or at least recharge hers..."
"Yeah, I've already established that with Twilight. What are you getting at?"
"Just... Putting it out in the open." Her expression suddenly become dour as she turned and marched back at Joseph. "You still haven't answered my other question: why are your memories so familiar to me?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" Joseph exclaimed defensively. "Apparently you're the memory expert, so you should know!" he seethed.
"Nga 'eveng..." the queen replied exasperatedly. "You're like a hatched drone making noise; don't know what to do."
Joseph rolled his eyes in response and said, "Well when you get ripped from your world then I think I can do as much complaining as damn well please!" He paused and gave the queen a cheeky grin. "I can't move, my leg is cramping, I'm hung--mmmhpph!" The queen picked up a glob of the green gel in her magic and slathered it over his mouth, letting a sigh of relief wash over her.
"Pardon me for not introducing myself. I am Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings. This room is, how shall I say, a sort of temporary holding cell. Your friend over there has not been harmed, rather she is in an induced coma. You might be wondering about the Sweetie that captured you for me." Chrysalis went over to Sweetie's pod so she could look between it and Joseph.
"Simply put; we can shape-shift. Sometimes physical, sometimes an illusion. What you saw was one of my drones impersonating this filly. Capture a pony, replace them with a drone. Feed off the pony until it's an empty shell then put it into a conversion pod. When all that's done, I pull my operative drone, leaving the pony to disappear. Well, they've been missing for weeks but it's more a case of muddying details to throw the ponies off my trail." Chrysalis demonstrated this shape-shifting ability by enveloping her form in green fire. When it died down, in her place was an exact copy of Sweetie Belle.
Joseph just regarded Chrysalis with an evil glower. They both knew that if Joseph got out, he would repeat everything that Chrysalis was telling him to Celestia, Luna, and Twilight, but she had a contingency plan for that.
"Oh and don't worry about the second entity in your head," she began to say in Sweetie's voice before shifting back to her initial form. "They were being troublesome while I was poking around so I locked them away somewhere in your head. They will be freed when you leave. In other words, when I let you go. Although 'finding' each other might prove difficult."
Chrysalis' horn lit up with an oily aura and the sludge smeared across Joseph's mouth simply dripped away to the floor, the splat not easy to ignore. "And why are you telling me this? You should know that--"
"--every villain's plans fail or get turned against them when they reveal themselves to their rival, loosely speaking in this instance."
"How did you..."
Chrysalis tapped her horn with her hoof, if gnarled branches shaped into hooves could be called that. "Memory and emotions, remember? If you've seen it I can find it. From the disproportionate amount of aptly named, 'motion pictures' your brain has recorded, anyone with sufficient magic to traverse memories will find everything."
A sly smirk spread across Joseph's face. "So... What else did you find, hmm?"
The corner of Chrysalis' nose curled in disgust and she turned to leave. "I will be back shortly. My consorts need attending to, and my drones need feeding."
As she turned to leave, the glow of the bioluminescent bulbs adorning the fin-crown dimmed slightly, and when she rounded the corner of the entrance to the so-called prison they switched off completely, leaving the male mare alone in darkness. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 12| With Fire! | Joseph woke to the chirping of birds in the early morning and the smell of pancakes wafting through his nose. Sunlight peeked through the curtains of the guestroom of Golden Oaks as his eyes weakly opened to see the room doused in ambient golden light.
He picked up his head and cracked an eye to glance at his surroundings. He glanced down at the bedsheets which covered him, seeing what could have been construed as his human body, but moving his legs to curl up to get warm quickly dashed the hopes about having dreams, and heaved an exasperated sigh with the following disappointment. He'd already spent nearly a week in this land but he was still having trouble adjusting to his surroundings.
Joseph spied a glass next to a pitcher of water on his nightstand and leisurely levitated the jug as if he was holding the handle to pour a liberal measure of water. He wondered what would happen to people's waistlines on Earth if they had these kinds of capabilities.
He got half way through drinking the glass before a knock came from the door.
"Who is it?" he asked, voice raspy from a still slightly parched throat.
"Twilight," came the strangely sullen reply. "Spike's making breakfast. Come down when you're ready and we'll eat."
Joseph didn't get out a response before Twilight walked off. 'What was that about?'
He finished the glass of water and poured another, eagerly downing that one too. His head fell back to the pillow with a satisfied sigh and he looked down at the bedspread covering him.
Joseph threw the blanket off to get up, and was startled to see Nightmare Moon's black fur instead of the blue from his disguise. He became confused, wondering where the disguise ring could be. He looked to the night stand, but it wasn't on there. He pulled out the drawer of the nightstand to look inside, but that only yielded a toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, a hair brush, and what looked to be a bastard file that reminded Joseph of his trip to the spa.
Figuring they were items given to Joseph for making himself presentable, he decided to forego doing that, instead closing the drawer and getting out of bed, stretching and popping various joints to limber up.
He wondered why the brush was there, given the current ethereal state of his mane and tail as opposed to the arguably 'normal' hair version. He had to admit it was cool, and at the same time, calming to watch. Joe gave one last cursory glance around the small room to see if the disguise ring had fallen off and onto the floor, or was somewhere he couldn't immediately see a moment ago, but alas, no ring.
He exited the room with questions on his mind and made his way downstairs.
He saw Twilight and Spike sitting at the table silently eating breakfast, only briefly looking up at Joseph when he reached the bottom of the stairs before returning to their meals. The 'dings' of their knives and forks against each other as well as on the plates only added to the ambient uneasiness.
"Everything alright?" Joseph asked sincerely. "I kinda woke up without the disguise and don't know where the ring is," he finished sheepily.
Twilight closed her eyes in concentration as her horn lit up. A few seconds passed as the magical whizzing gave way to a loud pop as a ring materialised in mid-air and deposited on the table with a 'clink'.
Joseph walked over to the table with a smile and picked it up. "Where was it?"
Twilight just gave an indifferent shrug. "I tagged it with a spell in case you might lose it. Wherever it might be, I can simply recall it back."
"Still doesn't answer my question."
"I don't know where it was," Twilight replied with the slightest hint of annoyance, Joseph taken aback by this. "The locator spell is designed to recall objects if one were to lose them; not to find out where they precisely were."
"Ok," Joseph said immediately after Twilight finished, "what's got you in a sour mood? And why aren't you surprised to see me like this?" Joseph gestured up and down his black form with a hoof.
"Do you really not remember?" Twilight genuinely asked.
"Remember what?" Joseph questioned.
"What you did at the party."
"Can we not have an ambiguous back-and-forth right now, please."
"You turned the place upside down, and ate the entire cake!" Twilight abruptly exclaimed.
There was a moment of tense silence as Joseph let that sink in. "Uhm, that part where you said 'I ate the entire cake'... Do I even want to know? And elaborate with the bakery part, too."
"When you got back with Rainbow and Sweetie from the edge of the Everfree, you walked right back into Sugarcube Corner, took one look at everything that was laid out, then without any inhibitions, flipped tables, pulled decorations down, destroyed the pinata and other games, and everything else Pinkie and the Cakes helped plan, then you turned your focus to the entire five-tier cake that was supposed to have been for everypony, and ate it!" Joseph's head lowered to look at his stomach, then back up to Twilight with disbelief. "Even Pinkie was shocked!"
"I take it I'm in trouble?" he asked sheepishly.
"We're trying to paint you in a good light, Joseph, so that when Nightmare Moon gets brought into the public light--and that's going to happen at some point, we just don't know when or how--ponies won't have too many reasons to not like you! This sort of thing takes time and patience to do, and one wayward bad act and one twitchy mob is all it takes for them to grab their torches and pitchforks!
"If you do this again, nevermind that you did it the first time, you undermine our efforts to help you and put yourself in jeopardy. None of us want Celestia's hoof to be forced into doing something unnecessary to appease the public's erroneously placed panic."
Twilight finished her mini-rant, letting silence permeate the air. Joseph stood before the table, looking at Twilight in confusion. He didn't remember doing any of that. The last thing he remembered was talking to the colts and fillies at the party, then waking up this morning.
"I don't know what you want me to say. Take it with a grain of salt if you must, but I honestly don't remember any of it. What happened after that?" Maybe it would shed some light on how he got from there to here.
Twilight let out a frustrated sigh and massaged the sides of her head, thinking about her reply. "You casually strolled through town until you came back here, where you proceeded to take an hour long shower, and then you got into bed and slept until I knocked this morning."
'So why don't I remember any of it?' "Any theories as to why I'm drawing blanks here?"
"Not unless Nightmare Moon is somehow involved with making you lose your memories."
The corner of Joseph's nose turned up with a snarl. Twilight noticed this with a surprised look. "Something wrong?" she asked.
"Kind of. A while ago I was antagonising Nightmare Moon and she sorta made me forget the names of my parents from Earth."
Twilight's jaw hung agape. "If she's responsible for this lapse, then we need to figure something out-and fast!" she declared.
The drake, who'd been patiently sitting off to the side and eating his meal while they filled in Joe's memory lapse, subtly cleared his throat before asking; "Want some breakfast?" Thankfully, this small interruption broke the tension in the air.
"That would be great," Joe replied with a relieved smile.
"Great! How do you like your pancakes?"
'Normally with bacon...' he mentally grumbled. "However you two were having them will be fine."
Spike nodded in conformation and turned to the stove to plate up the meal as Joe and Twilight continued talking.
"So I apparently ate a giant cake. Big deal. It's not like there's going to be any kind of apocalypse due to a lack of giant cakes. Sorry about ruining everything else, though."
"There's going to be a what?!" a voice screamed out of nowhere. A certain pink mare galloped into the kitchen, standing with an abrupt halt in the doorframe, panting as if she'd run a marathon. "Oh, hiya Josey!" Pinkie sing-songed upon seeing Joe.
"Never call me 'Josey' again," he deadpanned. "And I said there is not going to be an apocalypse because of a lack of cakes, so you've nothing to worry about. Besides, what's the worse that would happen?" Spike brought Joe's plate around to his place and set it down in front of him. He picked up the knife and fork laid out and began to eat.
Pinkie scoffed dismissively at Joseph's statement. "Of course nothing bad is going to happen; there's always going to be plenty of ingredients! It's not like we would have to eat each other," she snickered, unnerving Joseph a bit.
"See, even Pinkie agrees!" Joseph facetiously punctuated Pinkie's point by stuffing his mouth with a heap of pancakes. He chewed his mouthful, watching Twilight's amusedly disgusted expression with a smug grin. Joe swallowed the mouthful with a resigned sigh, the delicious pancakes settling. "Yi'know, you still haven't answered my question of why I woke up without the disguise."
"I'm not sure either," Twilight honestly admitted. "You could have taken it off while having a shower and simply lost it, then gone to bed without it on. I don't think it matters, though."
"Well at least you tagged it with your spell. I'd hate to be cooped up here all day without a disguise."
He went to look up to Pinkie to ask her a question, but became extremely confused from the lack of her presence. "What in the... Where did she come from and where did she go?"
"Rarity told me it's just how Pinkie behaves. I'll try find out how she does it later."
"Oh yeah!" Twilight's mention of finding things out reminded Joseph of an offer of Twilight's. "You said you were going to teach me magic, didn't you?"
"Oh, uhmm..." Twilight clopped her hooves together awkwardly before turning to Spike, who was in the middle of drying the plates. "Spike, what's my morning schedule like?"
"Twilight, today is supposed to be your day off. You know what Celestia said; make some friends! She also meant to have fun too," he added with a smirk.
Joseph kept looking at Twilight with a grin as she grumbled. "Fine," she conceded.
Joe gave an appreciative nod. "Thank you. Hopefully I can learn some cool stuff."
"So," Twilight added bracingly. "Any thoughts on what you would like to learn first?"
He tapped a hoof to chin contemplatively before a thought occured. "Actually, help me understand something." He took off the disguise to let Nightmare Moon's body show and used one of his forelegs to bring the ethereal mane around. "'Splain this; I'm genuinely curious as to how hair floats."
Twilight gave a little snigger before answering. "Magic. What you're holding there is pure magic." Joseph looked at it with disbelief, much to Twilight's amusement. "To elaborate: alicorns like Celestia and Luna, and now yourself, often have enough magic stored within them to replace their normal mane and tails. Think of it as an extension and manifestation of their capabilities. Mostly it's for a display of status and magical strength."
"Pardon?"
"Magic is all around us. It's an invisible, yet at the same time, measurable substance. Comparatively speaking, because ethereal tails and manes are made of tangible magic, they float in the invisible, omnipresent pool of magic that unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies draw upon to cast spells of varying degrees."
Joseph considered this for a moment before asking, "So I'm assuming there's a way to make it normal?"
Twilight gave a confirmative 'mmhmm'. "But, with that comes one fundamental tool any unicorn needs to grasp the concept of: externalising internal visualisations."
"Like how I told you I manage to levitate things?" he ventured.
"Precisely! Rarity, as an example, is a dressmaker and clothing designer. She has fine tuned her magic and related spells so she can perform both many and miniscular tasks with extreme degrees of accuracy. This practice through practical application tends to be more effective at strengthening one's magical ability."
"Back to the hair, if you could," Joe reminded her.
"Oh, uhm, right. It's best to learn magic meditatively. Try closing your eyes and visualise yourself standing static, with your mane and tail being the focus. Imagine it shrinking back into you, and at the same time being replaced by normal hair."
Joseph steeled himself in his chair, closing his eyes and taking calming breaths.
Inside his head, he formed a mental picture of what he currently looked like, complete with flowing mane and tail.
As if his visualisation was a movie being played out in front of him, the mane and tail both began to shrink into his head and neck, and base of his spine respectively.
Next, locks of silky blue hair began growing to replace its ethereal counterpart.
Content with himself, Joseph's eyes remained closed in the uncertainty that it didn't work.
Twilight watched on as this transpired, but to her, Joseph didn't open his eyes when it was done. "Open your eyes," she coaxed.
Instead, Joseph used both front legs to pat down his head. His eyes shot open when he felt regular hair and not the ever-moving cloud that was. He gasped, pulling at the hair in disbelief.
"I can't believe... Magic, i-it's..."
Twilight was using a hoof to try and hide the giggling at Joseph's bewildered, aghast expression. "It's what?" she asked, pressing him for the answer.
"I don't know how to explain it. It's surreal, I just can't believe something like this is real and measureable." His expression became sombre as he began to reminisce. "When I was growing up, I used to watch cartoons and movies on tv about superheroes performing superhuman feats of bravery." He paused to pick up the fork with his magic, twirling it like he would with fingers and admiring the motions of the floating piece of cutlery. "Now that I actually have powers I could only have dreamed of... In a way, it's humbling."
Part of him still wanted to wake up to discover this had all been a bad dream, and the other part wanted to believe it for all its worth. Yet, despite the latter and being in this land for close to a week, he was still having difficulty processing, well... everything.
He'd witnessed teleportation and other feats of magic, but to actually accomplish something you've only seen done is a different experience altogether.
His thoughts were full of potential spells and tricks he thought about casting to see what would happen, though his concern for unforeseen consequences held him back. 'In due time.'
"In most cases, you have to will things to happen," Twilight began. "You need to put physical and mental effort into the spell you're casting. Try not to overexert yourself though."
Twilight didn't seem to say that last sentence with much conviction so Joseph didn't think she was being too serious about it. Having these capabilities and not knowing how to use them meant he had to ask, just to be careful. "What happens if I do that? Do I just get really tired?"
"Well... Yes and no. Sometimes it's as simple as passing out, and other cases have seen unicorns in comas for days, even weeks in rare cases."
"How do I avoid over-exerting myself then?"
"Like you would with exercise; take it easy. Don't do anything you don't know how to do, nor should you try anything you have doubts about. Baby steps, if you will."
"Ugh!" Joseph sighed melodramatically and mockingly brought a hoof to his forehead. "I am a creature of night and nightmares, and I am being told to take baby steps!" he playfully whined.
Twilight bit her lip and gave a short snort of laughter.
"But in all seriousness, I'll try not to." Joseph added.
"Good," Twilight happily said.
"So when you mentioned I have to will something, can you explain that a bit more?"
"Sure! Take pyromancy for example. A dangerous talent to have, but thankfully it's rare and the ones that do have it are on the Mage Council, but that's a digression for another day. Their magic is exciting matter. You command them to move, and if you give them enough energy they'll spontaneously combust."
"Show me," he said, the grin of his inner pyromantic showing.
"They're mages for a reason, Joseph. It's all high-level magic that I haven't learned to do. I only know the theory, and it's too dangerous to try in an uncontrolled environment, like a treehouse library."
"So when you said I need to put physical and mental effort into a spell, is that like exercising for an hour, difficulty of the spell pending?"
"Now you're getting it!" Twilight beamed. "Some pyromancy spells can be compared to running a marathon in a day, simpler spells like levitation are the equivalent of performing daily tasks like cooking, and that's become second nature in the majority of ponies."
"Where does teleporting fit into that equation? I've seen others do that quite a bit."
"There are some ponies more intrinsically inclined towards magic; meaning they can draw on more magical energy to supplement their own lack of, at the same time giving extra power to their spells. Teleportation would be complicated for you, so I'll reserve that for a different lesson. So, what did you want to try next?" Twilight asked. By now Spike had finished clearing the table and the dishes, and was sitting at the table watching the exchange between her and Joseph.
"Do spells also work on voice comm--" Halfway through his sentence, a short, sharp rap on the library's front door was heard.
"Disguise, now!" Twilight commanded in a hushed bark so their visitor wouldn't hear them, bolting up to get the door before it opened.
Not wanting to be found as-is, Joseph fumbled with the ring in his magic, but it kept cutting in and out for some reason. He tried using his front hooves, but that proved worse.
Joe heard Twilight greet the visitor. "Good morning, Cherilee! Here for this weeks lesson materials?" He couldn't hear the reply, but knew from Twilight's volume she was stalling this 'Cheerilee's' entrance.
"I've got a guest right now," she added, "just let me quickly check if they're decent."
She trotted back over to the kitchen door and peered around the door, only to catch Spike leaning over the table with the ring in his claw with Joseph's head tilted forward, about to place the ring on.
"What?" Joseph asked on seeing Twilight's expression. It was both confused and amused. "You never seen a baby dragon put a ring on a grown man's horn before?"
Only when he noticed Twilight's double-take did he realize his faux-pas. He didn't get to dig a deeper hole before Twilight pulled the ring from Spike's grip and put it on Joe's horn for him, Joe letting her do so without objection. His form shifted and Twilight visibly relaxed.
"I've got the local schoolteacher picking up some books for her class this week. Don't cause any trouble," Twilight said sternly, giving Joseph enough of a stare to tell him to keep the disguise in check.
"Come on in for a moment while I get the books," she politely chimed upon walking back out into the main area. "I'll be right back." Twilight hung a right out of the kitchen and went upstairs.
Curiosity got the better of Joseph, and against his better judgement, he went to poke his head out to see who it was exactly. His eyes were greeted with a burgundy mare, whom had a cotton candy coloured, pink-and-white mane.
"Oh, hello!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Who might you be?"
"Uh, hi..." Joseph replied demurely. Before Joseph could reply with the name matched to his disguise, and not his human one or the one of whose body he was in, Cherilee's eyes drifted to his flank.
"You alright, there?" he asked somewhat harshly, noticing the line of sight in her eyes, Cherilee taken aback by this. "Sorry," he quickly added. "I'm new here, so when people take notice of, well, that, it gets a bit irritating."
Cherilee smiled warmly at his apology. "It's alright. I apologise for staring. I was just caught by surprise is all." Just then, Twilight came down the stairs with a stack of books enveloped in her magic.
"Here you are!" Twilight declared. "Was there anything else?"
"Nothing that comes to mind, but I'll let you know." Twilight helped Cherilee pack the books into her bags, and she turned to leave after a grateful nod.
Joseph saw Twilight's eyes dart between him and the departing mare before she stuck a hoof out in front of her and called back for the teacher. "Hold on!"
Cherilee stopped mid-step and turned her head around. "Yes?"
"This might sound strange, but why doesn't Eclipse here"--she nodded at Joseph--"join you?" Cherilee's eyebrow raised with curiosity at the question. "Heh, let me explain. She's from a the far south of Equestria, and came to town earlier in the week. Being from a completely different culture, I thought that maybe she'd like to join in the lesson and help you out you for the day, Think of it both as a student and teacher's aide."
Cherilee took a moment to think of how helpful it would be to have an extra set of hooves to help out. The class could learn something about a different culture too!
"That sounds great!" she happily exclaimed.
Twilight and Cherilee both turned to Joseph with questioning looks.
"Nu-uh, no way!" he exclaimed. "I had my rough patches at school, and I wouldn't like to be an onlooker to it for six hours; especially amongst kids!"
"Please?" Twilight begged. "They're having lessons on history and magic today!"
'As much as I hate to admit it, magic lessons at an arguably professional school does sound like a good idea.' "Ok, ok,"--Twilight's expression lit up but Joseph cut her off before she could say anything more--"but, a couple conditions first."
"Deal!" Twilight said almost immediately.
He wasn't sure why Twilight would agree without hearing the terms first, but he listed them just to be clear. "I get at the very least an hour for lunch, and the freedom to leave if I want to. Can't say I fancy being in school with noisy children all day."
"Do you not like children?" Cherilee asked.
"Not really, to be honest. I've never liked the idea of actually having them."
The two mares in front of him were smiling regardless, then Cherilee took the opportunity to speak first.
"I can wait for you to get ready if you like? I've got time to spare before I'm due at the school."
"Sure. Saves Twilight taking me there." Joseph got up from the table and began to walk upstairs.
Half way up, Twilight joined him. "Please, try not to mention anything about Nightmare Moon, or give too much away about your real self," she pleaded. "If you must, try to make what you say sound like it happened inside of Equestria, alright?"
"So you want me to be purposefully ambiguous and allude them, hoping they fill in the gaps?"
"Exactly!"
"Sure, I can do that." Joseph often did just this when on Earth, and it proved rather effective in buying some extra time to finish either school or work projects; things he should've done earlier. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to know where my money is, would you?"
"I put your things in your saddlebag and put that in the chest under your bed."
"Huh... Don't know why I didn't check under there for the ring."
Twilight just gave a short giggle at that, opening the guest room door to let Joseph in as she followed after him. Joseph crouched down slightly to look under the bed. He saw the chest and pulled it out.
Sure enough, the things Luna gave him were there. He emptied out everything, save the money pouch, and began to don the bag.
"Why do you need the bag if you're just carrying money?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't have clothes, let alone pockets." 'Ugh, I feel naked just thinking about it like that.'
"Just do this," Twilight began. She took the pouch from Joseph, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared with a poof.
"Hey!" he protested. "What'd you do with my money!?"
She poofed it back and gave it back to him with a smile. "I just put it in my pocket."
"It disappeared! What could that possibly mean?" he demanded.
"Well, I'm correctly assuming you know what pockets on clothing are, so just try imagine putting it into one. Like how you said you managed to use basic levitation."
Joe stared intently at the pouch. He pictured his hand sliding his wallet into his back pocket, and when he did that, the pouched vanished in a puff.
He stumbled back a few steps in surprise. "What just happened!?"
"I might have confused the distinction between the kinds of pockets. There's pockets on clothes, and then there's the Hammerspace Pocket. If you want the technical term, that is."
He thought of himself pulling the wallet out of his pocket and opening it, and sure enough the money popped back into existence. 'What else can I do just by thinking about it?'
Twilight reminded him about Cherilee, so he put the money back in his 'pocket' and went back downstairs to her. They both said goodbye, Cherilee leading the way over to the schoolhouse.
Cherilee tried asking him where he was from, but Joseph respectfully turned them down to avoid repeating himself to Cherilee and the students if they asked the same question. He said to wait until during class, and if she had a question for him, or one that the class asked, he could answer it for her and the class.
The duo approached a red, barn-like building adorned with hearts and filigree patterns, with a few steps that lead up to it like Sugarcube Corner. It had a bell tower offset on the right side of the building's roof, complete with wind compass on top. From what Joseph could see, the back yard of the school was fenced off and held the typical equipment found in a little kid's playground.
Cherilee went first up the steps to unlock the door, pushing it open and entering, letting Joseph follow. He entered and looked around inside. In front of him was Cherilee's desk, and facing away from it were several small desks. On the left and right of the room were short bookcases, three shelves high. Various teaching implements and other items were scattered on the top.
Behind the desk was a chalkboard, and to the left and right of that were two doors with frosted windows.
"We've got about ten minutes before the students show up. My office and the belfry are to your right"--she indicated to the door to the right of the chalkboard--"and the restroom is the other door," Cherilee said. "I'll show you to my office, and you can wait in there. I want it to be a surprise for the colts and fillies," she finished with a smile.
Inside the office, Cherilee's desk was to the direct left inside the door on the inside wall with sufficient space to walk behind. There were two cushions in front that Joseph assumed were for sitting on.
Cherilee went behind the desk, opened a drawer and pulled out a ring of keys, opening a box on the wall behind her. She turned a knob and flicked a switch, then closed it, turning back to Joseph. "I set the bell to ring in ten minutes to let everypony know school is about to start.
"I need to write up a brief plan for the lesson, so would you mind?" Cherilee nodded at the bookcase, indicating to Joe to peruse the small collection until she could introduce him.
"Sure can!"
"I'll knock on the wall when you can come out." She gave a thankful sigh and went out into the main room, closing the door behind her.
"Good morning, class!" Cherilee announced when the entirety of those to show up had taken their seats. "I have a special guest here today for you!" The room became a sea of hushed murmurs among the students. "Now now, quiet down! She's not from around here, so I want you to all be nice, understood?" She sneakily knocked against the wall with her hoof.
"Yes Miss Cherilee," the entire room chorused at once.
A few seconds later, Joseph walked out, all eyes glued to him in wonder. He sat next to Cherilee's desk so they were eye level with one another. When scanning the room, he saw three familiar faces: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Pipsqueak; the ones he talked to at his party. Yet for some odd reason, Sweetie didn't look at him in the same manner the others were.
"I want you to all meet Eclipse," she announced. "Part of the history lesson I have planned for today involves a few different cultures and creatures, so I thought it would be a good idea if she came and told us about her culture, as well as helping me a bit. Any questions?"
A mauve filly stuck her hoof up. "Yes, Diamond Tiara?"
"Why doesn't she have her cutie mark?" came the haughtily-asked question. It didn't phase Joseph though.
"Don't be rude," Cherilee chastised. She then turned to Joseph. "Why don't you tell us where you're from?"
While reading books in the room he was in when first coming here, he was groaning at all the bad horse puns and scarily eerie coincidences with the names. Maretropolis? Manehattan? Canterlot? Joe made up the name of a country using one from Earth, and turning it into a bad pun.
"Neigh... Zealand?" he tried. Cherilee gave him a curious glance at that name.
A grey-coloured filly was the next to raise her hoof. Joe nodded at her to answer. "Where is that, exactly?"
'Well, if New Zealand is south-east of Australia...' "It's a bit south-east of Tartarus," he replied. He saw a few of the ponies look at each other in disbelief.
A cream-coloured filly stuck her hoof up this time. "You've been to Tartarith!?" she incredulously asked. At this point, all eyes were glued to Joseph, having piqued all their curiosity. "What'h it like?"
"Really hot, although the place I stayed had a great big waterpark nearby."
Four hooves shot up.
"Hold old are you?"
"Why is your coat and mane so dark?"
"Is there really a waterpark in Tartarus? I want to go there!"
"One; it's rude to ask a mare her age. Two; you can't just go around asking why someone's coat is dark!" he joked. However, the joke seemed to be lost on them and they just looked at him confused. "And yes, there is."
"Why did you trash Sugarcube Corner?" Sweetie asked.
All heads present turned to look at Sweetie, then to Joseph. All their eyes were wide, save for a select few whom were there when it happened.
'I don't care what you're doing upstairs there, Nightmare, but I could really use some help right about now!' Everyone was still staring at Joe, whom was trying to bide his time until Nightmare could fill in the missing details. He couldn't remember, but surely she might?
"I, uhm..." 'Answer me you gaseous bitch!' "Saw a rat?"
Nice save. Not.
'Where the hell have you been!?'
I've been trying to dig my way out of the enchantment Chrysalis put on me, and in turn, you! Nightmare seethed. Listen, I'm trying to break it but it's on a loop. No matter what I do, the spell matrix always refreshes itself to counter me. It wasn't you that trashed the party, it was a chan--
"Ah don't know about you," Apple Bloom said, garnering Joseph's attention after a brief period of blankly staring into space. At least that's what everyone perceived, "but if a rat gets into something then Fluttershy tells it to behave."
'...What?' he thought in response to that question. "How long was I out there?"
"A good fifteen seconds," Cherilee said. "Are you alright? Does that happen often?"
Suddenly, the idea bulb went off in Joseph's head. "It happens once in a while. Sometimes if I'm new to a place then I'll just black out and autopilot takes over. So, to answer your question, Sweetie, I did, but like I said, nervousness overtook control and I had a blackout. I'll stop by the bakery later and offer to pay for the damages."
The rest of the Q&A went without too much problem, and the morning's magic lesson dabbled mostly in levitation for the unicorns. Being an earth pony, Cherilee didn't have too much inside knowledge, but with Joseph being a unicorn (at least outward in appearance), she called on him a few times to help explain how levitation worked.
Sure enough, it helped out the unicorns slightly, having a fresh perspective towards the topic. While that was being done, Cherilee told the class they could catch up on any outstanding work from yesterday. Anyone else was welcome to read a book or be constructive, so long as it was relevant to the lesson to some degree.
When the bell chimed for the mid-morning break, Cherilee dismissed the class so they could have a short, twenty minute break before the history lesson that lead up to lunch.
"Would you mind just keeping an eye on them?" Cherilee asked sweetly. "They can get a bit rowdy. It's only for twenty minutes while I organise the history lesson."
"Sure thing, teach," Joseph said, garnering a surprised look from Cherilee upon hearing him call her that.
He went out the back door that had the playground laid out before it, and sat on the steps to oversee the going-ons.
Over by the sandbox, four fillies were crowded around Diamond Tiara. Joe kept an eye on them, unsure if the crowd was sinister or inquisitive. Some minutes later saw her hold up a purple framed mirror with sparkly little jewels.
Curious as to whether it would be a cheaply made plastic mirror or something else to the playground where it could get broken, he cantered over to the group to see what was going on.
On approach, Diamond Tiara looked up at him. The rest of her 'friends' noticed her looking above them and followed suit, taken by surprise at him having snuck up on them.
"What do you want?" Diamond Tiara asked arrogantly.
"I was just seeing why you brought an arguably expensive mirror to the playground. It can get broken, you know."
She flipped her hair with an annoyed "Hmph!" "My daddy bought it for me, and I was just showing it to my friends here, right, girls?"
"Yeah!"
"Diamond Tiara always has the latest in fashion and makeup!" a second added.
'Oh, so she's one of those kind of schoolkids...' "Here," he began, taking the handle of the mirror with his magic, "why don't you let me take it inside so you don't break it by accident?"
"Uh oh," another friend added. "Better do what she says, Diamond. Your daddy would be upset if that happened."
Glowering at Joseph, Diamond Tiara relinquished her grip on the mirror. "Fine." She turned away in a huff, and her friends followed like sheep after her.
With the mirror, he strolled back to the schoolhouse, inspecting the jewel-encrusted item. Crafted of what could have been purple wood polished to a shining finish to bring out the beautiful grains, the frame and handle had a pattern of different coloured stones. Whether the stones were precious or not, Joseph didn't know, but something like this could easily cost hundreds, potentially thousands of dollars on Earth if they were.
He looked at himself in the mirror, but something being reflected in it caught his attention. Something black, sitting with the other kids around a bucket of water. His head turned to see what it was, but he only saw Sweetie Belle sitting with a few of her classmates around said bucket.
He became concerned at what it could be, and picked up the pace back into the school.
Cherilee came out of the back room as he entered the room. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Y-you're not too far off! Here take this," he said, thrusting the mirror at Cherilee. "Look through it at the kids with your back against the window and tell me what you see."
"Where did you get this?" Cherilee asked upon having the mirror forced on her.
"I took it off of Diamond Tiara because I didn't want her to break it, but can you please just look!?"
"Ok, ok," she conceded. With her back towards the wall and sitting on her haunches, Cherilee pointed the reflective surface at the playground, scanning it.
"Well?" Joseph pressured.
"I... don't see anything?"
"Look for Sweetie Belle." He rolled his eyes at the mistake of not mentioning her to do so a moment ago.
"Uhmmm... It looks like it's just her. Why, is something wrong?"
Not understanding why she wasn't seeing what he was, Joseph sat next to her and angled the mirror enough so they were both looking through it while pointed at Sweetie. "How can you not see anything?!" he exclaimed.
"Eclipse, calm down! What's the matter?"
"It's black, eyes like blue orbs of water. Kinda looks like a tree gave birth to a pony."
On hearing this, Cheerilee's head whipped around to stare at Joseph, fear written across her face. "H-hold on a moment," she stammered, heading into her office and returning with one of the books she got from Twilight this morning.
She opened it up and turned to a bookmarked page, one among a few. She stopped when she found a roughly drawn sketch of something that closely resembled Sweetie seen from the mirror.
"That's it, but what is it, exactly."
"Go get Twilight. Tell her to send a message to Princess Celestia saying that changelings are in Ponyville. I'll keep the students occupied, and an eye on Sweetie if you're so sure it's her."
'Why can't she see what I can?' "Yeah, okay, sure."
"Do try to be calm about it. Last thing we want to do is to alert any others."
"What!?" Twilight screamed when Joseph told her what happened.
He had run back to the library and told Twilight what had happened with Nightmare, the mirror, Sweetie, and Cherilee.
"I don't know why she couldn't see her either! I could see it through the reflection in the mirror, though."
"We need to alert the guards, the Princesses!" Twilight began to visibly panic, running over to one of the shelves and pulling various books off. "Oh no no no, I gave the book I had on changelings to Time Turner! Cherilee has the history book that has brief detail about them."
"Hold your horses, Twilight! Listen, we have changelings on Earth, and if the lore is anything to go off, there are countermeasures!"
"Well!?" Twilight demanded. "Spike, take a letter, now!" The dragon scrambled to grab a quill and parchment "So, how do we defeat them?" |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 13| Interlude 2: Ichor | Morning Glory strode with purpose down one of the many halls and passageways throughout Canterlot Castle.
He got an order from the higher-up that Princess Luna needed seeing to, so he began his practiced march through the one route in the maze of corridors that lead to her bedchambers.
He steeled his resolve and cleared his throat before knocking.
The door cracked ajar and a soft voice spoke from within. "Who is it?"
"Princess Luna? Her Majesty sent me to check on you." The door opened wider so Luna could talk to the guard properly.
"Why has my sister sent you to check on me when she knows perfectly well not to disturb me when I'm working? Let alone on a break."
The double doors on the opposite side of the room that lead outside were wide open, letting the cool night air waft in, brushing up against the curtains. Princess Luna sat outside on the dais of her tower, enjoying a cup of tea, and looking over the kingdom below.
Morning Glory noted several manilla folders sitting in a neat pile in one tray on the left of her desk, one open with its contents fanned out, a quill and ink, and a few more folders sitting in a tray on the right of the desk.
"I do apologise, Your Highness, but Celestia received word that there has been sightings of changelings in Ponyville. She believes there's a connection between you and the Nightmare Moon incarnate that was here a few days ago; a matter I'm privy to." Princess Luna's head whipped around to stare at the guard with reserved disbelief. "That's why I'm here: the changelings may have gotten you and Nightmare Moon confused for whatever reason, thus the need to check on your safety."
The Lunar Princess let the news sink in for the moment before replying calmly. "While I appreciate the concern, I can defend myself against changelings if necessary. You may take your leave, if you please," she added with a small sense of annoyance in her voice.
"If you wish." The guard dipped low in a respectful bow and turned to leave.
"Oh, Guard Glory," Luna called back to him halfway to the door. "I must thank you for this tea you recommended," she said with a smile. "It has the perfect balance of aroma and flavour..." She took a small, quick sip. "...but may I ask you to request one of the maids to bring up another batch, but with some sugar this time?"
"Thank you, and I shall. Would you like me to take this empty pot to the kitchen?"
"No need; the maid can take it with her when she delivers the next pot."
Morning Glory gave an understanding nod before retreating out the door and down to the kitchen. Once there, he relayed the Princess' desire to one of the staff, who promptly set up the tray and went to boil water to steep the tea leaves in.
Once out of sight, he lifted his wing and took a small vial of clear, thin liquid out, holding it in his wings to begin with to pop the cork in the vial, then using his mouth to pour it over the half dozen or so sugar cubes laid out on an ornate napkin. The sugar soaked it up right away, not melting, nor did the silk napkin underneath dampen.
'Changeling nectar...' he darkly thought to himself. 'Sustenance for us, mild hallucinogen and sleep inducer for ponies.' Once done, he deliberately tossed the vial over his shoulder, where it fractured into small shards on the floor.
As the brewer came back with the pot of steaming tea, Morning Glory turned to leave. He pretended not to notice, and stepped on one of the shards, giving an audible grunt of pain.
"Are you alright?" the brewer called over to him.
"Th-there's glass on the floor!" he declared, inspecting the 'cut' on his hoof, which was, in reality, an illusion.
"Glass!?" came the incredulous reply.
"Yes, Sweet Leaf, glass!" He stuck his hoof out to show a line of crimson snake down the softer tissue of the hoof. "Would you be so kind as to clean it up while I go see to the cut on my hoof?"
"Of course! My apologies! I will find out who it was that broke the cup and reprimand them for not cleaning it earlier."
"Good," Morning Glory replied slightly contemptuously. When Sweet Leaf darted off to fetch a dustpan and broom, with a flash of green fire, the guard turned into a chocolate-brown unicorn mare complete with maid outfit. Not a second too soon, Sweet Leaf returned with the appropriate tool to clean the shards.
"Oh, excuse me, Cocoa," she said on seeing her colleague, "I need to clean this glass somepony broke. Would you please take the tray of tea and sugar over there to Princess Luna's quarters?"
"It will be my pleasure."
Two hours later, Morning Glory took flight and flew in the opposite direction from Canterlot Castle in the early hours of the morning. Disguised as a thestral guard instead of solar, he headed towards a seemingly inconspicuous mountain range. When he was a suitable distance away from the massive city, he shifted into his default changeling form.
He approached a small, winding valley, with many rocky overhangs. He flew as close as he could to the north end and began flying down the center of the valley, known to the hive as The Granite Passage, for the sheer abundance of the hard rock.
Because of the caverns running through the hills, the entrance to the hive was subject to change to confuse anyone looking for it. Changelings though, through antennae on the top of their heads, are able to detect the main entrance when they get close enough, .
He felt a sensation pull him towards a face in one of the cliffs, and flew straight into it. He passed through a magically generated illusion barrier with ease, settling down on the other side.
"I trust you were successful in acquiring what I asked for?"
Morning Glory parted a section of his carapace, levitating out a vial that was substantially bigger than the one that held the nectar, only this one held a more viscous liquid.
"Perfect," Chrysalis hummed in satisfaction.
"I don't understand why you have me fetching this, when you can easily draw what you need from one of the captives."
"It is not as simple as that. The spell requires four, very specific ingredients. Each acts as a catalyst to the one preceding it. It's better you don't know what it is I'm making." Chrysalis sent the vial to her private quarters with a flash of sickly green fire. "As a reward, and because you like living up to your namesake, you may choose one of the female consorts to do with as you please."
Morning Glory's face lit up, a grin plastered across his face. "Thank you, My Queen."
'That out of the way, I need to seek out Woola for the task I have in mind for her...' |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 14| Subjugation | At the behest of Twilight, Spike began writing Joseph's dictations about changelings on the parchment.
"Their magic, disguises, or whatever you want to call them, don't work on mirrors," Joseph began. "They rely on you to be looking at them with your own eyes. When they feed, they leave a rash or mark on the back or neck."
"But you said that Cherilee couldn't see the changeling that you claimed to be Sweetie Belle through the mirror," Twilight pointed out.
"That's what I don't understand either. It shouldn't work, but it is. I could see it, but Cherilee couldn't. Unless they've done something that affects how you see them through a mirror."
Twilight blinked a few times and then her expression lit up. "You mentioned that Chrysalis cast a spell on you that Nightmare Moon is trying to break."
"What's your point?" Joseph questioned.
"I don't know what Chrysalis did or what Nightmare's doing, but maybe Nightmare has worked out a way or done something to you that inhibits that part of the spell. So, assuming their disguises are either illusory or perceptive magic--"
"--Or shapeshifting," Joseph Interrupted. Twilight shot him an odd look at this.
"Why would they have shape shifting too?"
"Well that's it, I don't know. Because we don't have anything that could be construed as magic on Earth to the degree of, well, all of this, changelings in Earth lore used shapeshifting, but that only works with direct eye contact as I stated. That's why mirrors give them away. I could be wrong to assume that their shape shifting ability translates to illusory magic. Best we'd best keep both options open," Joseph said, imploring Twilight to do the same.
"You getting all this, Spike?" Twilight asked.
"Shape shifting... Illusion magic... Mark on back or neck..." he idly stated. "Got it!"
"What's next? We need to gather as much intelligence as quickly as possible and send a report to the princess!" the mare demanded, becoming increasingly frantic.
"How do you guys kill them?" Joseph asked. "If there's more than one way, we need to consider them all."
Twilight's expression became one of abstract horror. "What!?" she exclaimed. "I only wanted to know how to defeat them, not kill them!"
"Twilight, this is the kind of thing you'll need to torch, that way you know they won't get back up."
"There's got to be another way!" she pleaded. "I couldn't even think of killing something!"
"Two things. One, changelings are a dime a dozen. The Queens can spawn new ones as often as she wants, provided she's got enough... food... to sustain however many she's got. Two, instead of killing the changelings, go for the Queen. If you torch her, then all the drones she's spawned will die too. They're intrinsically connected to her."
"Is there anything else you're leaving out?" Twilight deadpanned.
"Yes and no. Regarding the fire thing, that's the only way to kill them. They can take a beating like nothing you've ever seen, but ultimately they'll get right back up. They also have lots of agility and are stronger than you; but only marginally."
"Spike?" she asked, turning to look down at the drake and his dictations.
"Agility... Strength..." he repeated. He looked up at Joseph. "What do you mean by 'marginally'?"
Joe rubbed his chin contemplatively as he struggled to think of a definitive answer. "Well, Twilight could overpower one smaller than her I think, but not equal or bigger. Same rings true for Celestia, although you can hold your own against it. You'll still lose, though."
"There's no constant?" Twilight asked.
"I haven't exactly been in a fight with one to find out," he said dryly.
The feather of the quill darted all around the air as Spike wrote. He then cleared his throat to read back what he had written for accuracy's sake.
"Illusion magic and/or shapeshifting to create various disguises. Changeling forms falter when viewed in a mirror. Enhanced agility and strength, values indeterminable."
Joseph took the parchment to read the dictation. "Oh, forgot something," he noticed. He then took the quill to add some more detail. "Invulnerability... Kill it with fire, or silver knife if shapeshifter..." he wrote with a mutter, Twilight craning her head over the top of the scroll to read what was being written. "There you go," he said, giving the scroll to Twilight. "Anything else you need to add?"
The mare's eyes scanned the addition. "I don't want to kill anything!" she declared with a scowl. "What would Princess Celestia think of me if she received a scroll like this!?"
"That you were doing as much research research as you could to counter a possible threat," Joseph said.
Twilight opened her mouth to object, but closed it. 'Damn it, he's right.' "Fine. But only because I don't want to disappoint the Princess," she admitted.
"See what I meant?" Spike joked to Joseph.
"See what?" Twilight wondered.
Joseph grinned. "When I was having breakfast with Spike the other day before you came down, he was telling me how obsessed you are with your studies."
She simply shoved the scroll and quill at Spike. "Dear Princess Celestia," the mare seethed towards the dragon. Spike looked down to the scroll with justified fear of Twilight as he began to take down this dictation.
"At approximately eleven-thirty this morning, Joseph alerted me to a sighting of changelings in Ponyville. Nightmare Moon told him that Chrysalis is also involved somehow, and that she cast some variation of a memory spell on him. Included with this letter is what Joseph knows of his world's lore on changelings. Please assess and advise."
Twilight stood behind Spike to read the dictation as it was being written. Her eyes widened when she comprehended the first word Joseph wrote, having momentarily forgotten it to object about the 'kill it with fire'. "Invulnerability!?" she exclaimed. "That means they're impossible to defeat!"
"Twilight, don't keep saying 'defeat'. You know perfectly well that books are sound sources of information, and if the ones I read on Earth said to kill it with fire, there must be a good reason."
"And what reason is that?"
"Arguably because it was tried and true."
Twilight took a deep breath to calm down. "Send the letter, Spike."
He rolled it up and incinerated it with a puff of fire, the ashes exiting through one of the opened windows.
"Oohhh," Joseph exclaimed with awe. "Teach me how to do that? While I'm here we might as well finish teaching me magic."
Twilight conceded with a sigh and a pinch of her brow, walking over to a sofa that sat adjacent to the base of the stairs. She relaxed on it and spoke. "That spell is reasonably simple. It's a matter of giving a small amount of magic from one to the other. In Spike's case, Celestia gave him some of her magic, and took some of his dragonfire when he hatched. That's how they can send letters back and forth."
That moment saw Spike belch up a cloud of soot which coalesced into a scroll. "The side effect of the spell is because it's dragon fire, that happens." Twilight unfurled the scroll to read it as she finished her sentence. "If I gave you some of my magic through your horn, then the scroll would appear at the tip of my horn like what happens with Celestia."
Her eyes scanned the writing on the page as she frowned. "Celestia left Canterlot this morning to go to Saddle Arabia for a diplomatic meeting and won't be back until this evening."
"A city, country, or however you want to look at it, is at stake and she wants to finish her meetings?" Joseph asked rhetorically. "Seems a bit negligent on her behalf. And why doesn't Celestia just send messages straight to you instead of using Spike?"
"I'm just her student. Celestia told me to send her reports to her every now and then, and hatching a dragon egg was my entrance exam to get into her school. Anyway, want me to teach you the spell?" Twilight asked, changing the topic.
"Hold on, if you need me to give you my magic, wouldn't that be like Nightmare Moon giving you dark magic? That could have the potential to make you as malevolent."
"Hmmm... You might be right," she admitted, "so let's not chance it. I can still give you mine, though; that much is safe. Now lean forward."
Joseph did as he was instructed and Twilight lit her horn. He felt a warm, tingly sensation waft over his head as Twilight gave Joseph a dose of her magic.
"Now try sending something by thinking about it."
Joe used some parchment Spike gave him, writing down 'Testing', underlining it a few times. He then rolled it up and bound it with a small piece of ribbon.
Within his mind's eye, he imagined walking down an endless street, the piece of Twilight's magic being a lone house with a mailbox. He opened the imaginary mail box and put the scroll in, when in reality it immediately burst into purple smoke and flew out the nearest window.
Not a moment later, it came flying back in the same window, the smoke coalescing back into a scroll as Twilight grabbed it with her magic before it could hit the floor.
"How did you find that?" she asked, opening the scroll to see how intact it and the message would be after this first time sending.
"If it's anything like delivering actual mail, then Celestia must have a veritable post office inside her head."
The image of her mentor with a post office inside her head made Twilight giggle, but she quickly composed herself and turned her attention back to the matter at hand.
"Well", Twilight began, "unless I can find Time Turner to get the book about changelings off of him or he returns it, and since the history book with what little it has on changelings won't be much help to us after the fact, how about we all go and get some lunch?"
The trio began to make their way towards the hustle and bustle in the middle of Ponyville. The various market stalls and shops made up the main street, selling anything from curios to clothes, and even a store that specialized in strictly sofas and quills.
'I don't know why he'd want to limit his clientele when the vast majority of other shops sell a wider range of things,' Joseph thought with bewilderment.
Along the street were a few quaint, brunch-style cafes to choose from.
Twilight took Joseph to one that had faux, flat-top mushrooms for tables, and piles of hay atop which other ponies sat. 'Dried grass as seats? I'm gonna be scratching and picking hay from my ass for a while,' he thought with disdain.
He proceeded to sit upon one of the piles of hay, grumbling and shifting to try and get comfortable.
"Something the matter?" Twilight asked upon hearing Joseph's grumble.
"Doesn't sitting on dried grass get uncomfortable?" he said with an air of annoyance.
"Why would it? Curl your tail underneath you and sit on that," she replied as she did so herself. "The hay is there for a bit of cushioning against the ground."
Joseph looked back at the length of hair protruding from his spine. Fortunately for him, he managed to swish it, indicating that faculty was intact and at the same time clearing pieces of straw that stuck to him.
'Twilight's right; sitting on my tail is substantially more comfortable.' It was in that brief moment the weight of his sentence caught up with him. 'There's something I never thought I'd say...'
A presence to his left made itself known. "Excuse me, Miss, are you ready to order?"
"Uhh..." He looked to Twilight. "Where's the menu?"
"Oh, sorry. Haute, could you bring my friend here a menu? She's new to town."
"But of course," he replied, going over to what looked like a magazine rack, returning with a menu. "I shall see to some other customers while you make a choice."
"Thank you," Joseph replied, turning his attention to the menu.
For a cafe's standard, it's fairly straight forward. Sandwiches-toasted or not, a few deep-fried items, and some slices and cakes that were on display inside. On the flip side was a drinks menu. Milkshakes, tea, coffee, juices, and so on.
"Daffodil and Daisy sandwich?" he said quizzically.
"My favourite!" Twilight replied. "Are you going to get one too?" She looked at Joseph, hoping he would make the same choice as her.
He shrugged indifferently. "Eh, why not. Already had hay fries, so flowers can't be much different."
"Don't you like flowers?" Spike asked.
"Humans aren't really geared towards eating flowers. Some can be downright poisonous. I'm sure there's things humans can eat that ponies can't and vice versa."
"Really? You've got to tell me as much as you can!" Twilight gasped with realisation. "You and I could co-author a book about humans! This is going to be so much fun!"
Haute Cuisine trotted back over the table and asked; "Are you ready to order?"
"Two Daffodil and Daisy sandwiches please!"
"And some gems too, please!" Spike added.
'Gems?'
"To drink?" he pressed.
Joseph flipped the menu and quickly scanned the drinks selection. "Chocolate milkshake, please."
Haute looked between Spike and Twilight.
"We'll be fine," she said.
"I'll be back with everything when it's ready," he declared, taking the menu and putting it back as he entered the cafe to ring everything up.
A few tables off to Joseph's left, he heard a crash--the sound of glass shattering, followed by a shrill, crying wail.
"Button!" a voice chastised. "I told you not to play that at the table!"
He looked over, seeing a dark brown colt wiping his eyes, and a tan and cream coloured mare with a scarily angry look on her face. On their table was what looked like a Gameboy or a Nintendo. On the ground next to them, a broken, glass milkshake cup on the ground with its contents rapidly spreading out.
A few minutes later, Haute returned with a tray balanced on his back. "Here you go", he said, setting the contents on the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to clean up that colt's drink."
"One moment," Joseph said, magicking his bit bag out of his dimensional pocket and taking a few bits out. He gave them to Haute. "Don't say anything, but give him another. In the metal cups if you've got them," he said with a small grin.
Haute caught it, smiling in return and giving him a wink. "My lips are sealed."
Joseph magicked the big bag back into his pocket. Turning to Twilight, he saw her perplexed look.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm... not sure what to say, honestly. No offense, but you didn't strike me as somepony that would do that."
"Watch it," he cautioned.
"What I mean is, you've been rather, how do I say, crass, since I've known you."
"Have you ever dropped an ice cream and cried about it when you were little?"
"Well yes but--"
"Is that hole you've dug deep enough for you to crawl into yet?" he replied irately. "I was just trying to be nice but you've gone and soured the moment."
"Sorry..." Twilight replied, her ears flattening against her head. She picked up and took a bite of her sandwich, half-heartedly chewing on it and looking away from Joseph.
All the while, Spike watched everything unfold with indifference, happily crunching away on his gems.
"Is that rock candy or something?" Joseph asked through a mouthful of his sandwich.
Spike shook head head and swallowed his mouthful before responding. "Nah, they're proper gems."
"You've got to be kidding me..." he replied, eyes widening with mild shock. "You're literally eating precious stones!"
"Yup," he nonchalantly replied.
"Geezus... Your poop would probably be considered a valuable trading commodity on Earth," Joseph added with a giggle.
"Why's that?" Twilight genuinely inquired.
Joseph caught sight of Haute Cuisine come out of the cafe with the milkshake, this time in the metal cup. He smiled, watching Button's face light up as Haute whispered something to the mother-and-son duo. The little colt happily drank his new, cold drink, as his mother watched on. Yet, for some reason, she seemed rather angry still.
"Thanks, mom!" he beamed, proceeding to slurp furiously at the drink.
'I don't know what the waiter said, but he seems to think his mum got him a new one.' It was then Joseph saw her close her eyes and take a slow, deep inhale, like she was sampling something?
'Ok, that's weird...' He turned back to Twilight, shrugging it off and returning to Spike's question. "Well, literally no living being on Earth should have any sort of capability to digest things like rock or gems, least they lacerate your insides. By the way, who're those two?" he asked, pointing over to Button and his mum.
"That's Milano Mash, she works at Ponyville Day Care centre. Why?"
"Just curious is all." He picked up his glass to take a drink of the milkshake as Milano and Button walked behind him to leave the cafe's outdoor seating area.
It wasn't until Milano passed by that he saw a black haze followed by a brown one, lazily reflected against the glass and its contents. He did a double take, eyes wide and frantic, trying to catch another reflection. Alas, he couldn't; they were too far away.
Joseph thumped his chest to try and clear the lump of thickened milk from his throat.
"Woah there, you alright?" Spike asked, bits of multicoloured rock coating his teeth.
"Y-yeah," he replied. "Just thought I saw something is all."
Twilight's look became one of concern. She leaned in closer to talk to Joseph, Spike doing the same, although more for eavesdropping purposes. "Was it another changeling?"
"I don't know. Button and Milano walked behind me, and I saw their reflection in the glass."
"...Okay?" Twilight said, slightly confused.
"What colour are they?"
"Brown and a heavy cream?"
"Not brown and black?" he replied.
The mare's eyes widened as she stopped chewing the remainder of her mouthful. "What?!" she said with a hushed bark. "She works at the daycare centre! If she really is a ch... If she really is one, then there's no telling what Chrysalis is doing with the little colts and fillies!"
Twilight began to visibly panic. "This is bad, very very bad!"
"Hakuna your tatas, Twilight, I don't know if she is or isn't; could have simply been a trick of the light or any other number of factors."
This seemed to calm her slightly, although not by much, and her faculties only just processed what Joseph said. "What was that first thing you said?"
"Hakuna Matata?" he lied. "It's something from when I was a kid. It means no worries."
She hung her head and rubbed the back of her neck with both hooves to try and relieve some of the building stress. "I just wanted to get outside for some fresh air and a meal..."
The rest of the day passed without incident. Each finished their meal, Twilight picked up some groceries from the market, some new volumes for a few book series, as well as several large rolls of parchment, alongside a few rollers that the paper gets rolled around, and a bigger bottle of ink used to refill the bottles.
When they got back to the library, Twilight unpacked everything and offered to teach Joseph some more magical theory, emphasizing that practicing it in anything less than a controlled environment could result in disastrous results.
Joseph tried getting her to teach him how to teleport, but Twilight argued that a miscalculated teleport is likely to end up embedded in, or sticking out of whatever object you teleported into. She added with finality that it only works if you know where you've already been, or you're consciously aware of your immediate surroundings.
That dashed Joseph's hopes and dreams of having the one ability he'd always wanted, but sensibly decided that Twilight was right.
It wasn't until after Princess Luna had already risen the moon, with Celestia setting the sun, that the latter sent Twilight a letter.
The moment the scroll appeared, Twilight tore into it and hastily scanned the written words. "The Princess said that she's arrived back at the castle, and wants to see us urgently." She read on, aloud this time. "'The letter will incinerate itself shortly after you receive it, after which you have thirty seconds take hold of Joseph to both be teleported here, post haste.' Uh oh, this sounds really important," Twilight said, mild anxiety setting in.
"I hope she's not crabby after having to deal with diplomacy all day," Joseph replied uneasily. It was then the letter decided to set itself alight, disappearing with a 'fwoosh'.
Twilight rushed to Joseph and hooked her right foreleg around his left. "Don't let go," she commanded.
"Don't worry sweetie, I would never let go of you," he replied sardonically, a grin plastered across his face, Twilight giving him a downright poisonous stare in return.
In that instant, they disappeared with flash of golden magic, leaving Spike alone in the library.
"Ice cream and comics here I come," he gleefully said to nobody in particular before gallivanting off upstairs.
Joseph and Twilight popped into existence in Celestia's throne room. It was barren, save for a single guard, standing motionless to the left of the throne.
"I-- "The moment Joseph got his footing on the floor, he was overcome with dizziness.
"Oh holy shit, was that teleporting?" Not having experienced it before, being instantaneously moved from one place to another didn't go over too well for him. It was like crossing several time zones all at once while flying in a plane. The dizziness caught up with him, and he was hit with a wave of nausea.
"Can someone get me a bucket, I think I'm go--" Before Joseph could finish his sentence, he dry-wretched, hacking up a storm.
Even though nothing came up, Celestia saw he needed a moment to right himself. "Guard, would you see that Eclipse has a moment to recover from the spell while I speak with Twilight, please?"
"Of course, Your Highness," he replied, turning in Joseph's direction, making a beeline to him. "If you'll follow me, I can take you to get some water while the Princess has a private word with her student."
"Uh, yeah, lead the way." Joseph wiped a little bit of spittle from the corner of his mouth that escaped from dry heaving, and followed the guard to the massive double doors that stood at the entrance of the throne room.
The guard parted the tall doors just enough to let Joseph out first before he followed suit. Once closed, Celestia turned to Twilight.
"Twilight," she began, her voice firm, "did you tell him what, or rather who, Nightmare Moon is?"
Twilight's heart rate picked up at the question. "N-no, not yet," she stammered. "I-I don't know how I would break it to him."
"Very well. It is your decision if you do or don't. I don't know if it would matter to him since he can talk to Nightmare whenever he wants, but I do thank you for telling me when you had a moment."
Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Sorry for not telling you earlier. When I found out that Nightmare Moon was the God of Nightmares, I ran to find Joseph; to make sure he, or rather Nightmare, wasn't up to anything."
"Now, on to this Chrysalis business. What do you know of the situation?"
"Everything I know, Joseph told me. Could we please wait until he gets back so we're all on the same page, and not repeating everything?"
"Of course, Twilight," Celestia said, smiling warmly, putting Twilight's worry at ease.
It was a few minutes later that Joseph returned, looking much better, and not like his lunch was going to say hello.
"I do apologise for the sudden teleportation" Celestia greeted. "That must have been your first time."
"I never want to teleport ever again," he stated resolutely. "Twilight, forget I ever asked you to teach me that. Now, I assume this has all got to do with the changelings?" The guard that accompanied Joe to the kitchen went back over to his post, unflinching.
"I've never had any problems with any changelings in centuries," the solar diarch said. "Why is it they've suddenly decided to go after you?" she queried.
"I don't know that they're after me specifically," he said pointedly, "just that when I mentioned them to Twilight and Cheerilee, they were flipping more shit than an episode of Mythbusters."
"...Pardon me?" Celestia asked with a cock of her head.
Joseph sighed, pinching his brow and muttering; "I need to try and stop making Earth reference jokes. Anyway, I only saw one; Sweetie Belle. When I was at the schoolhouse, Nightmare told me Chrysalis did something to my head, and Nightmare Moon is trying to destroy the enchantment."
"May I try something?" Celestia asked. "It's a simple diagnostic spell. If something's amiss, then I should be able to pick it up with this spell. All it involves is using my magic to 'scan' you, but I should only need to use it on your head."
"It's not going to make me throw up?" Joseph asked, recalling the side effect of the teleportation.
Celestia just chuckled. "Not at all."
"Sure, I guess," he replied uneasily.
"Step forward if you please."
Joseph trotted up to the base of Celestia's throne, leaving Twilight behind. Celestia's horn lit up, her eyes closed, and his vision glossed over with a yellowish hue as the glow encompassed his whole head.
"Try not to move," she said as the spell began its work. It wasn't until Celestia began scanning for abnormalities within his brain that Joseph felt a searing jolt of pain assault his head.
Joseph let out a shriek of intense pain, reeling back and falling down the stairs. "Ow, ow ow ow fucking ow!" he bellowed. "What the hell was that!? It felt like someone jabbing a hot poker through me!"
His gaze turned to the guard as Twilight ran to his aid as he rubbed his temple. "And you're not rushing over to help me up, why?"
"My duties lay with the Princess!" the guard declared.
"Well not helping someone up after they've fallen down the stairs is being an asshole!" Joseph spat.
"I agree," Celestia added, turning to look at the guard. "I think I might have skipped the 'be courteous' part of his training. I shall fix that as soon as I can."
The guard gulped, a bead of sweat rolling down his brow.
"Ugh, what happened anyway?"
"It appears to me that Chrysalis has completely erased events from your memory. Essentially, she used her magic to invade your brain and extract the memory itself, and my magic was like a cart's wheel hitting a hole in the road."
"Nightmare Moon is already responsible for making me forget the names of my parents," Joseph began, his voice getting louder as he finished by shouting; "now this!?"
The guard took a step forward as a warning to lower the arguably threatening tone, but Celestia placed a wing over his back, giving him a stern glare that told him to stay put. "You were saying?"
"I am literally losing my mind!" Celestia was unmoved by his loud tone. "I've got two... things, trying to wipe memories from my head." Joseph took several steps forward to better look the diarch in the eyes.
The guard wanted to intervene, and quite understandably so, but Celestia had nothing to fear from Joseph.
He looked her dead in the eyes and said; "How long until I am no longer myself, but a darkened version that Nightmare wants to use as her tool?" He took one more tenacious step. "I came here through a magical accident after dying. How many times has something like this happened?" he half asked, half demanded.
Celestia blinked and swallowed.
'Aahhhh,' he thought, a victorious smile forming on his face, 'so this has happened before...'
"I-I don't know," she admitted. "You're the first that's been brought to my attention." Celestia cleared her throat and steeled herself against Joseph's accusatory glance.
Twilight stood in her place, listening to everything.
"Then you must know what happens, right?"
"I am unsure of what happens, thus I do not know how to reverse, or stop the process. Do you know what else Nightmare has done?"
"See, the thing that you need to ask yourself is, when something begins to erase your memory," Joseph began, "is how am I supposed to remember what she's erasing unless I know what it is that has been erased? It defeats the purpose!" He stared at the alabaster mare before him, awaiting an answer, yet none came.
"Yes, I... understand how that would be a problem. But moving on, how have you been finding it in Ponyville?"
Joseph backed down a bit, easing tension in the room. "Bit of an out-of-the-blue question, but other than being kidnapped and my head being messed with by three people now; fine. Why?"
Celestia's gaze turned to Twilight. "I apologise, but Joseph will need to come back to Canterlot until further notice so my sister and I can keep a closer eye on him."
"All this getting moved around is getting on my nerves. Since it seems I'm the one everyone is after, why not I just skip town entirely, hmm?" he said contemptuously.
"Your complaint is justifiable, but I couldn't ask you to do that. It puts you at risk, and that I can't let happen."
"And if I stick around with changelings hounding me, it puts everyone at risk!" he retorted. "The best bet is to run as far away as possible. If all they want is me, then they'll get out of your hair."
Celestia let out a disgruntled sigh. "That is suicidal," she said calmly. "I cannot, and will not let you do that!"
"You have two options," Joseph began, interrupting any further objections. "One: You put up necessary countermeasures for the changelings. That means mirrors, and lots of them. Screen anyone you suspect, or have reason to. I would suggest testing everyone with a hot poker, but that's not exactly realistic," he said, disguising a mirthful smile.
"Two: I am going back to my house, to do whatever it is I want. Either of those two options leaves you shit-out-of-luck with no potential to lord over me, which you shouldn't be doing; period." He took pause to let the words sink in, Celestia abstaining from any further objections. "I'm going to leave now. Don't worry about showing me the door; I already know the way out."
He turned to leave, leaving a bemused Celestia and Twilight in his wake.
"Joseph, wait!" Twilight called, Joseph halfway out the door. He stopped mid-step, turning to look at Twilight. "Will you be alright? You don't need me or one of my friends to keep you company at all?" she asked worriedly.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't know if they'd get replaced on their way over or not, so I'm just going to take the risk being by myself for now." Despite being angry, annoyed, and depressed at everything that's been happening lately, especially with his head, Joseph gave Twilight a half-hearted, yet sincere smile before exiting the castle, stepping into the cool, crisp, night air.
He took a deep inhale of the invigorating aroma and gathered his thoughts. He left the main castle grounds and began walking down the main promenade with all the shops, looking for a store that sold lamps.
It wasn't long until he spied a pole jutting out from a terraced shop, from which hung a sign with an ordinary-looking, hand-held glass lamp.
'Looks like this is the right place.' He noticed an orange glow coming from behind the display case in the store's front window, indicating someone was here. He used his magic to open the door, striking a bell hanging from the door's frame.
"Hello and welcome to Little Lamplight's Lamps!" the unicorn shopkeeper greeted. "Looking for a lamp are we?" he asked in jest.
Sensing the sarcasm, Joseph replied; "No, I'm looking for sofas and quills. Got any?"
The unicorn gave a wide smile. "Sorry ma'am, but what we do have is a wide variety of lamps, big and small, wicks to match each size, and all the fuel you could ask for!"
'Perfect.' "What's your smallest, and biggest?"
The shopkeeper looked around the store with a hum of thought, pulling over a rather small, and one extremely large lamp. "The small one holds a few ounces of fuel, good for as many hours. The big one holds a couple litres. That's for large rooms, and lasts upwards of two days. The fuel comes in short, round glass containers which are housed within the base."
'Too small and too big. Although...' "Do you have something that has about ten to twelve ounces, or roughly three-hundred millilitres?"
"Sure do. Those will last you through the night."
"Great, then I'll take two of the 'standard' lanterns, and half a dozen glass fuel containers, and enough fuel for each. And whatever it is you use to light them."
The unicorn put everything together, including a short enough spool of wick rope that could be cut to length for each lamp.
It wasn't until after he put everything in a couple of bags that Joseph realised his bag, and a few of his belongings were still at Twilight's. 'Heh, I can just write her and let her know when I get back to my place.'
"I said that'll be eighty-five bits," the shopkeeper said.
"Oh, uh..." Joseph mustn't have realised he zoned out for a moment. He pulled out his bit bag, counting the coins. "...Eighty?" Joseph said uneasily. It wasn't until he finished counting that he realised he was a few coins short.
With a curious expression, the unicorn picked up a jeweler's eyeglass from behind the counter, one of the coins, and started examining it up close. "Where did you get these? They're freshly minted. Not often you come by them in this quantity. Usually the princesses will give minted coins to banks to distribute."
A few seconds later after he finished that sentence, the unicorn's eyes widened at Joseph. "Did you get these from the princesses?" he asked with all due seriousness.
"Yeah, why?"
"Oh, no reason. I wasn't aware that you had ties with them is all. Anyway, I can excuse a few bits because of the fresh mint of these coins." He floated over the two big, brown bags. "Have a good night!"
"You too!" Joseph replied before heading back out the door, each bag in his magical grasp.
It was just like carrying bags of groceries, yet Joseph still didn't fully understand how using corporeal magic physically tires him, outside of Twilight's explanation from earlier.
The nightlife of Canterlot had begun to crop up, with a lot of the day shops having been closed by now. A few streets over on either side of him, he heard the low 'untz' of loud music playing. Just like on Earth, mares and stallions dressed in their nightly going-out clothes began popping up on the streets. For creatures that more or less were naked throughout their day, he never thought that wearing the same style of clothes would make the view any more revealing for him, yet quite a lot of the clothing was drawing his attention.
'Typical,' Joseph mused with slight annoyance. Shrugging it off and doing his best to ignore the outfits, he found the way back to the house Luna gifted him with with little to no difficulty, only needing to stop a few times to make sure he was still on the right street.
Once inside, he sensibly decided to lock his door to try and safeguard against whatever might come poking around his head. Again.
Being tired from the day's events, he decided an early sleep was in order. Trotting up the stairs to the bedroom, lit by nothing else other than ambient light coming in through the windows, he discovered the bedsheets were in the exact same position from his first night here. He let out a small giggle at this before flopping onto the mattress, pulling the covers up to his chin before drifting off to sleep. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 15| Joseph: King of Dreams | Once more, Joseph found himself dreaming. This time he was freely roaming around the subconsciousness he and Nightmare shared. Like before, he was thankfully his human self. Normally it was the endless black abyss in which they normally conversed, but this time he stood in the middle of a seemingly endless corridor of doors.
"How did I get here? What is this place?" With his curiosity piqued, he tried to open one of the doors. It freely swung open, and what lay within made his gut drop and heart skip a beat.
These doors were his memories.
This particular memory was of his bedridden parents, lying in the sealed-off and sterilised ICU ward after their encounter with the... unusual sea life.
Joseph could see his younger self pressed up against the glass across the room, heartbroken, tears freely flowing from his eyes. He looked from his smaller self to his parents on their respective beds, and the doctors wearing hazmat suits trying to figure out what was going on; what had caused this mysterious disease.
As he looked at his parent's faces, he couldn't remember their names to save his life. He knew them, he recognised their faces, and it pained him to no end that Nightmare had made him forget their names.
Wiping a stray tear from his eye, he closed the door, slumping against it. He struggled trying not to completely break down. With several, ragged deep breaths and two twin rivers of tears, he regained his composure, wiped the salty residue from his face, and went to the next door.
There was something strange about this door, he noticed.
He went to reach for the handle, but it didn't have one. It was a simple, flat piece of wood. He looked up and down, seeing various doors with and without handles. 'Is this one of the memories Nightmare made me forget?' He went up to this door, placing his hands up against it and running them down, trying to discern if there was something invisible on the door. Alas, there wasn't. No invisible raised bumps or anything like that. Joseph could always try kicking the door down, couldn't he?
He took a few steps back, rearing his right leg to try and kick the door down. With all the force he could muster, Joseph drove his foot at the spot where the handle would have been. It connected, sending out an excruciatingly painful jarr shooting up his leg. The pain kept on travelling, finding its way into his head. Trying to kick down a door to one of his memories translated into an ungodly headache, one that he'd be sure to feel when he woke.
"Ugh, maybe I didn't hit it hard enough..." Getting back up and dusting himself off, he tried conjuring something that'd help him break it down. "Lets try this... Rock gauntlet!" he declared. In that instant, a stony red glove appeared on his right hand. He flexed the two fingers of the gauntlet, each with two fingers inside, save the thumb.
"God I hope this works..." He took a few steps back, cocking his arm, readying a fist. He thought that with the extra momentum in conjunction with the punch, it'd be enough to break down the door. His blow connected, yet he got the same result as before. A bolt of pain radiated from his hand, finding its way up to his head, and the stone fist crumbled to the ground where it simply dissolved into nothingness. All Joseph could do is clutch his head and wait for the pain to subside.
"Note to self: don't punch doors to memories... Or kick them for that matter..."
He waited for the pain to go away before he got up, where he rubbed his temples to try and quell the rest of the headache.
From his position, he saw that all down one half of the corridor, there were doors that had missing handles, and ones that had their handles. He turned to look up the opposite end, seeing that those doors were seemingly untouched. 'This must be the middle, then; where Nightmare got up to. So what did Chrysalis do to me and her?'
Joseph began to walk down the half of the corridor that had missing handles. The further down he went, the more doors he saw with missing handles, some that were tinted green, and as he continued, he noted that nasty-looking globules of green stuff had begun to show up.
'I've heard of a dirty mind before but this is just ridiculous.' Some of it was on the handles of the doors, some was along the top or hanging from corners, splattering to the ground.
'If Nightmare sealed the doors to my memories, what'd Chrysalis do?' Further down, he spied a completely blank space where a door should have been, no doubt the missing memory that Chrysalis stole. He gave a snarl at this before continuing. The further he went, the green tinted doors and gelatinous substance became more abundant.
Whatever Chrysalis did, he was nearing the source of it.
He picked up the pace, breaking into a run. The awesome thing about dreaming, Joseph found, was that he didn't get tired while running, yet for some weird reason trying to kick in a door translated to real pain. It took Joseph longer to figure out than it should've that he could manipulate his own dreams and create whatever he wanted. With a thought, Joseph stopped in place, threw his hands forward to grab at the air, intent on 'pulling' the end of the corridor into view.
'Please let this work...' The doors rushed by at an incredible speed, and he was left with one door, completely encased in the green goo. This one was the worst of them all, and that left Joseph thinking this is where Chrysalis put her spell. The rest of the doors were worse off than the ones he'd passed, but this particular door took the cake.
He reached out for the handle, although not before willing a thick glove on his hand. 'Too bad I can't think that green crap away...' he thought with disdain.
The door refused to budge, but he felt it give a little if he put more force into it. While he did feel a small modicum of pain from trying to force it open, he was sure this one would open if coaxed enough. He threw his shoulder at the door to try and open it, but in doing so realised that doing that entirely negated the point of having summoned the glove. "Goddamnit..." he said, brushing off the green goo with a grumble. Fortunately it wouldn't carry over into the real world when he woke up, though this didn't make it any more pleasant for the time being.
Every time he slammed into the door, the Flubber-esque goo encasing it would pull it back, almost like a viscous, rubbery glue.
"Chainsaw!" he declared. One popped into existence at his feet, and he picked up the tool with a wider-than-necessary grin. "Door-stop too, perhaps?" The rubber wedge poofed into existence at the base of the door.
He pushed the door open as much as he could, jamming the rubber stopper in the gap of the door and the floor, giving him enough room to cut away at the green substance.
Joseph's grin spread like a wildfire across his face as he revved the chainsaw, testing the blade with the trigger. Finding it to be in perfect working order--'Oh, of course; it's a dream, silly me.'--he set about cutting away the 'glue'.
It was like cutting through foam rubber; pieces of goo flew everywhere and got all over the front of his pants and shirt.
Eventually, the seal on the door was cut through, and he managed enough strength to open the door.
The door opened with some difficulty, globules of green dripping onto the floor at his feet. Once open, he stepped through, greeted by the sight of a diseased ball of green energy, and Nightmare sitting before it. From her horn shot a beam of some kind. It hit the ball of energy, reflected off, and hit the floor next to her. Nightmare gave a short hiss at this, thankful she wasn't struck by her own spell.
As she turned to glance at the floor where the beam struck, she looked up to Joseph standing in the doorway.
"I see you had no trouble finding me," she stated. "Although how you got through the door is beyond me."
"Well, instead of following the yellow brick road, I followed the slime-covered doors," he quipped. "Also, I can will chainsaws into existence. How cool is that? Anyway, what've we got here?" he asked, gesturing to the glowing orb.
"Chrysalis' spell you imbecile," Nightmare retorted. "What else do you think it could be?"
"Uhm... St Elmo's Fire? Never mind. Anyway, now that I'm here, what've you been doing to it?"
"Observe." Nightmare proceeded to fire another beam at it, and instead of bouncing back off, it connected, and the two energies gave off sparks and smoke. She dissipated the beam, turning back to Joseph.
"Her spell is... How do I explain it to a mortal... It's self-repairing. Every time I try to find a point to get in and unravel it, it 'learns' what I'm doing and forces me out of it. My last attempt rebounded off because I tried brute strength instead of a more calculated approach as I demonstrated."
"I'll pretend I know what you're talking about for the time being. How do we, uuhhh, destroy it?" he ventured.
"Given I can't find a weakness in the spell I can exploit..." She paused to consider her next sentence. "Since it's self repairing, we'd need to destroy it completely. Unfortunately, since you pilot my body-and in turn my magic, I'm limited in my capabilities within here."
Joseph smiled a wide grin, willing a slingshot and some steel, ball-bearing ammo in his hand.
"A slingshot?" Nightmare asked with incredulity. "You're going to take down a spell matrix created by a being that's easily a millennium old with a slingshot!?"
"Oh, by no means do I expect to, I just want to see what happens," he replied with a grin of his inner child. He took aim, letting the twenty-millimetre ball bearing sail down range where it hit the orb of magic. It pinged off, whizzing past his head.
"Alas, you have solved the problem!" Nightmare said sarcastically, giving Joseph a flat, bemused look. "Do you really think you can destroy that with a foal's toy? You'd need something more substantiated than rubber and steel balls."
"Steel, you say?" Closing his eyes, he imagined a certain suit of armour. When his eyes opened, he found a gargantuan, seven-foot tall, steel-armoured suit standing before him.
"And what might this be?" Nightmare asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
Joseph's grin grew exponentially. He walked up to the rear of the suit, gave the wheel mounted on its back a sharp turn to the right, and it opened up before him. He got inside as it sealed itself around him with a hiss and a clank. He turned back to Nightmare, looking through the visor and saying; "Power Armour."
Nightmare's horn glowed, enveloping the suit in an aura. "This construct has no magic." The glow dissipated from the suit. "How could it be considered 'power' armour without the use of enchantments? My soldiers--back in the day--wore enchanted helmets and peytrals that enhanced their capabilities. That would be the 'power' aspect of it."
"It's called 'power armour', because if you have a problem, put a guy in one of these point him at it and consider it gone."
Nightmare sat on her haunches to watch Joseph with a rather amused expression. He slowly walked up to the green mass with each thunderous step, reaching his right hand forward to grab at it.
His hand got violently rejected, causing him to stagger back a couple steps in the heavy suit.
"Humans," Nightmare mused. "Are they always this stupid and entertaining?"
To which Joseph replied; "Yeah, pretty much. You would've had fun on the internet." He turned his focus back to the spell, balling a steel-clad fist. With the extra force behind his punch thanks to the armour, he struck with substantially more impact than when he tried kicking the door to his memory.
The spell gave off a radiating pulse of energy with enough force to throw him well away from it. He landed and skidded to a stop at Nightmare's side, smoking with green energies.
"Ooouuucch..." he replied through a strained voice.
Nightmare simply grinned at his misfortune. "Let me help you," she said, levitating both Joseph and the suit so they're vertical.
"Ugh, why are you helping me?" It was rather peculiar that Nightmare is trying to undermine Joseph's mentality on varying levels, yet here she was helping him upright.
"Am I not allowed to?" she asked.
"Well let's see. You made Luna evil, got her banished for a thousand years-and by extension yourself too, and somehow I of all people ended up in your body through a spell you created-slash-cast. I'm entitled to know your motivations, least I think of more butts," he countered. Not caring for a rebuttal, Joseph began making his way back to the floating spell.
"I'm trying to help you get rid of Chrysalis' spell. She affected your memory, but not mine. I saw everything that happened; I remember it but you don't. I can't help you if I'm stuck here."
"She erased, what? A twelve hour block of my memory or something like that? What does that matter compared to what you've been doing?" Ignoring any further comments from Nightmare, Joseph struck at the spell again but was thrown back in an arc, green smoke billowing off of him. Once more, Nightmare righted him.
"You're insane for trying the same thing twice," she said amusedly.
"On the contrary, I'd go so far as to say insanity is trying time and time again with the knowledge nothing will change. So no, I'm not insane. You, on the other hand, strike me as insane. And what was that last thing you said?
"I'm trying to help you get rid of Chrysalis' spell?"
"After that."
"You're insane?"
"In the middle."
"I'm stuck here?"
"There we go." Joseph turned to regard Nightmare, folding his arms in contemplation. He made the helmet of the armour disappear so he could converse with her directly. "So this spell is keeping you confined to this portion of my head?"
"What does that have to do wi--"
"--Just answer the question."
"Yes, I suppose it is." I don't like where this is going, she thought.
"How is it negatively affecting me? Aside from having a memory forcibly extracted, that is."
Nightmare heaved an annoyed sigh before replying as calmly as she could through growing nervousness at this train of thought. "She has a front row seat to your ocular devices like I do, as well as the ability to peruse your memories on a whim. That said, she has to consciously activate her end of the spell to gain access to our head to be able to do anything, though."
"Then explain why I should help you get rid of that," Joseph stated, pointing to the spell over his shoulder with his thumb. "With you where I can keep tabs on you, then you A, don't have to worry about being tortured through bombardments of gluteus maximus mental imagery; B, can't fuck up my memories or head anymore. If you want my help, you're not doing a very good job of convincing me to help you when you've done nothing but bone me over this entire time."
He sat down on a chair that materialised out of thin air, folding his arms and legs with anticipated victory as he awaited Nightmare's response.
Joseph could tell through Nightmare's despondent look that she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Having no convincing rebuttal to make him release her from this portion of their shared mind, or rather the mind that Joseph dominated with her piggybacking, she let out a defeated grumble and her shoulders slumped as she let out a nasally sigh.
Joseph's gave a victorious smirk at this before speaking. "Are you familiar with something called a Faraday Cage?"
"I am unaware of what they are myself. Enlighten me," Nightmare said with exasperation.
"It's a fine mesh, earthed cage often made from brass designed to block electrostatic and electromagnetic influences."
"From your description, I'd compare this 'cage' to a magical inhibitor ring that are designed to nullify a unicorn's magic. Does that help?"
Joseph stood up and the chair disappeared. "Sure, why not, that works too. I'm taking a shot in the dark here with this, but..." He stood next to Nightmare and closed his eyes with concentration, trying to form the cage around the spell. If his hunch was right, a horn would be a conduit through which magic would be cast by thought. Since that's how he used magic, maybe casting it used electrical impulses within the brain?
A wire-meshed ball supported by a metal rod grounded in the 'ground' appeared around the ball of energy, with Nightmare turning to look at the goop-encrusted door through which Joseph entered. To her amazement, a solid portion of the goo dissipated as the spell weakened, but not all of it. Turning back to the energy ball, tendrils snaked from the corporeal mass as they tried to push their way out of the cage. When the tendrils made contact with the sphere, only a tiny bit of Chrysalis' magic got through and dripped off.
"I must say, I never expected a human to outsmart someone like me or Chrysalis. Credit where credit is due," Nightmare admitted somewhat bitterly. She cast a beam of magic which hit the cage, but she didn't do anything to destroy it. Instead, she scanned the imaginary construct while humming with thought.
"It's... effective," she replied uneasily.
"I sense a 'but' coming," Joseph said.
"It won't hold forever. You've dampened her spell, but Chrysalis will sense what you've done when she tries invading our mind again. It's only a matter of time before she gets through. I give it about three-to-five days if she has no immediate plans to come in, two-to-three if she finds out tomorrow."
He shrugged at this. "Eh, then I can just do it again. Delay her another two-to-three days."
"Even then, I don't know if she'll strengthen the spell to where your little cage can't contain it, and that's what I'm betting on."
Joseph's eyes narrowed to glaring pinpricks and turned to look down at Nightmare Moon with malintent, who was sitting on her haunches to his left. Her expression became confused at this action. " Oh yeah, I forgot something," he said.
"Oh? What might that be?" she said with a curious raise of her eyebrow.
With that, the right hand of the suit of armour curled up into a fist as Joseph turned to face Nightmare, and in that same motion threw the fist into the bottom of her jaw. It connected, sending her flying in the same manner as touching Chrysalis' spell did to him.
She landed with a thud a distance away, and immediately her eyes darted to the human advancing on her with the thunderous steps of the armour as she scrambled to her hooves, standing her ground and firing a beam of energy at him. It connected, hitting Joseph in the chest and staggering him, yet the weight of the suit helped him stand his ground. He extended the same hand he used to throttle the evil mare, catching the beam in his palm so he didn't have it holding him back as much.
He began to walk forward to her, Nightmare putting more power into her spell. Even through what she could muster with her limited magical abilities, it only held off Joseph long enough so she could erect a forcefield around her by the time the metal-clad human accosted the ebony mare.
He pounded on the shield with his fists, every anger-fueled blow connecting with the dome of energy. Nightmare could only pour enough of her magic into her spell before it began to wane as cracks started to appear.
Joseph took a step back as he cocked his arm. He swung the combined weight of the suit and his body into the uppercut, and it shattered the dome like glass. He grabbed at Nightmare's throat on the upswing, lifting her high as the shards of magic dissipated around her.
"You ever, ever, fuck with my memories like you have been again," Joseph sneered, squeezing tighter, "every time I come say hi to you, you'll wish it was only ass I will be thinking of!" His words dripped with all deserved viciousness as he choked Nightmare, looking into her eyes to emphasize his seriousness.
"And to make sure you don't do anything more, a little insurance." A flash of white around Nightmare's neck took her by surprise, but she couldn't see nor feel what it was with the vice-like grip cutting off her airway.
Joseph dropped her on the ground unceremoniously. Nightmare's hoof found its way to her throat as she rubbed it in an attempt to quell the pain, and to coax air through. She gave raspy coughs, her eyes partially bloodshot from the lack of oxygen. It was then the hoof massaging feeling back into her neck nudged the construct Joseph created.
"W-what is this?" she said through a strained voice. It was a solid ring of shiny steel Joseph willed around her neck. She coughed more as she tried to discern what it was exactly.
"A collar," he simply replied, making the suit of armour disappear. "You know, to keep you in check."
"You put a collar on me!?" she choked out. "ME!?"
"Unless you want me to think of an engraved word to put on it, I'd suggest you replace the memories you locked me out of."
Nightmare Moon glared daggers at Joseph. Angry wouldn't suffice to describe her situation, no, she was absolutely livid! "Why do you want me to do that?" she demanded.
"Strike one," Joseph taunted. "I'll take it off when you do what I want, or I drop the cage and keep you here to deal with the spell; where I know you won't be of any trouble."
"What happens when I 'strike out'?" Nightmare asked tentatively.
"You're on the right road to find out," he threatened with an icy tone. "You sure you want to know?"
"Then you're not going to like what I have to say next: I can't."
"You fucking what?" Joseph replied aghast, eyes widening with horror at Nightmare's statement.
"When I lock out a memory, that's the door that gives direct access. It's like creating a cypher and encrypting the key to the cypher. Without the key, it's impossible to open. I saw no reason to create one, either."
"So let me get this straight; not only have you shut me out of my memories of things near and dear to my previous life, you've gone and essentially thrown the key away?"
Nightmare shuffled nervously, pawing at the collar. "If you want to look at it that way, then yes."
"You just struck out," Joseph said flatly. More for show than practicality, he snapped his fingers and another pulse of white light emanated from the collar and Faraday Cage.
In that instance, a heavy chain appeared that tied Nightmare and the collar to the cage. "What did you do?!" Nightmare demanded. Her anger toward Joseph was made worse through his smug grin.
"You've given me every reason not to trust you. While I don't want two drama queens poking through my head, I'm going to try and keep you both under wraps for as long as I can. This way you can't do any more damage and will be forced to stay here. Now," he said, changing the topic, "I don't know if it's been five minutes or five hours, and quite frankly I don't care, but I'm going to wake up. Try not to go anywhere, mmkay?"
With that, Joseph disappeared with a pop, leaving the once proud and evil mare humiliated by being bound with a chain and collar.
Fortunately for her, nobody else would be around to see it. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 16| Hind's Blood | As Joseph woke to find himself sleeping on his stomach, he blinked his eyes and instinctively reached out with his 'arm' to paw at the bedside table, half expecting to find his mobile phone to check the time.
Instead of his hand like he'd hoped, Joseph's hoof felt over the table in the vain attempt to find his phone. It took several long seconds for his mind to register he wasn't in his own bed in his own home, that he was still trapped on this alien world.
"God-freaking-damn it," he angrily swore, using both his forehooves to push himself up from the tangle of sheets to glance around the room. As his eyes began to adjust to the darkness, he saw a contrasting, darker lump sitting against the wall opposite his bed; where he had put the bag of lanterns he bought.
In his zombie-like state from having just woken, he had to put a bit more comprehensive thought behind his basic-level telekinetic manipulation to open the bag and pull out just one of the lamps, a corked and full fuel bottle, wick, and a box of matches, all one by one. He had to be careful not to drop and break them.
He carefully set the fuel on the even surface of the bedside table followed by the lamp, pulling the cork from the fuel and pulling a length of wick from the spool. He managed to feed all but half an inch of the wick into the bottle after a few failed attempts given the lack of proper light, then fiddled with the lamp itself to try and locate the little hatch to the base where the bottle slid into.
He rotated the lamp until he saw the tell-tale little knob, then he upturned the bottle to soak the little bit of the wick he left sticking out of the bottle. He pulled it out so there was about three-quarters of an inch to light and put it into the base, closing the tiny door.
In his stupor, Joseph realised he forgot to ask how they actually work, and how to light one. In retrospect, the shopkeeper never told him how they work. He'd seen other ponies use them, and in turn foolishly thought they'd be easy to figure out by default, since, you know, they're lamps. Oh how wrong he was. The false assumption made him rotate the lamp to try and figure out how to light it once the fuel container was snugly inside.
'How do I...' Joseph absentmindedly wondered, continuing to look at the lamp for several more puzzled moments. Getting it in there was the easy part, but how did you light it?
Ugh, Nightmare groaned, this is painful for me to watch. Twist the vent on the top all the way open. Take the bottle out, light the wick, then put it back in. When it's burning sufficiently, you can open or close the vent to adjust the brightness of the flame accordingly, or to completely snuff the flame to turn it off.
"Heh, thanks. I knew that..." he sheepishly replied. Nobody was around that Joseph was aware of, so it wouldn't matter if he was talking to Nightmare Moon out loud.
He did as Nightmare instructed, and soon enough there was a bright, yellow-and-orange flame flickering away in the glass casing of the lamp.
"So how's everything working out in there right now?" Joseph half-asked, half taunted with a grin Nightmare couldn't see. He couldn't see her either, but that doesn't mean she wasn't rubbing at the chain and collar with disdain, as was his assumption.
The 'cage' has dampened enough of Chrysalis' influence to let me freely speak with you, Nightmare began. The door through which you came in was sealed by her magic to try and deter you, and at the same time keeping me where I was. Or am, rather, she bitterly corrected.
Joseph got up and grabbed the lamp with his magic to lift it up and around the room to let the light shine across the entire interior. It revealed the barest of amenities not unlike those of the guestroom of Golden Oaks, yet more spread out and with a few key differences. Namely, the addition of an armoire opposite the foot of the bed and a wardrobe set into the wall next to that.
He got to the door and opened it, the light from the lamp illuminating the immediate area around Joseph, yet cast the barest of flames to the end of the hall to his right, leaving only flickering, dancing shadows.
'Houses are so much different at night than during the day...' he mused. He'd only been here a grand total of two nights before Celestia shipped him off to Ponyville. He could navigate the house with relative ease during the day, but at night, it's a whole other story.
The hardest part in finding the kitchen was the mild disorientation from a combination of being half asleep, the glare of the lamp next to him, and the darkness in general. Even so, all he needed to do was go downstairs and hang a left at the bottom of the stairs. It didn't have any doors, so it'd take a special kind of stupid to miss an entire room.
Joseph treated himself to a glass of water and put the glass on the counter to use again at a later time, then made an attempt to find the bathroom. He had to open more doors than he'd like before he stumbled across the Asian-esque toilet set into the floor. They were easier to clean then the toilets on Earth. All you needed to do was scrub the bowl with a brush then clean the floor. The bowl acted like a drain!
He was glad there wasn't any cause to worry about stray drops from standing up over a western toilet like how he used to as his human self, but that revelation was a double-edged sword, putting it mildly.
He made a grab for the bog-roll, and tore off a length to wipe, then made his way back down to the kitchen to fetch another glass of water.
Didn't you just ha-- Nightmare began.
Joseph barked; "Shut it!" He set the lamp down in the middle of the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. He slumped over the table defeatedly, resting his head in the crook of his foreleg and stared at the dancing, flickering lamp flame.
"What's the time anyway?" he grumbled.
Early morning, some time after three.
"There isn't a clock in this place; how could you possibly know?"
You'd know to if you paid any mind to your senses.
"...Senses?"
Or in other words, the latent abilities I--and now you--have.
"Teach me how to magic," Joseph asked mirthlessly.
It takes decades to learn how to properly learn, channel, and use alicorn magic, Nightmare said with contempt. Seriously, how would a human in their early twenties ever hope to control magic of a being that's thousands of years old is beyond me.
"Feh, just thought I'd try asking. Anyway, what's there to do at this time? I doubt I'm going to get back to sleep with Flubber everywhere inside my head."
Nightmare contemplated the question with a short 'hmmm'. The nightlife could have started to make their way back to their respective houses. Who knows, you might find a pliable stallion, she added with a small giggle, Joseph internally glaring at her.
"If the people on Earth are anything to go by, there wouldn't be any savoury people out at this time of night, so no thank you. Oh well," Joseph heaved with a sigh, "might as well see if there's something interesting happening."
He got up off the table, kicking in the chair behind him as he made his way to the front door, guided by the lamp. "Is money going to be an issue?" he asked upon realising he spent the last of his money on all the lamps and fuel.
Not unless you plan on buying something, Nightmare answered.
With a shrug indicative of saying 'oh well', Joseph snuffed the lamp and put it on the table just inside the door, making sure there were a couple matches to re-light it when he returned.
He exited the house, locked the door behind him, and peered out into the night. Per Nightmare Moon's statement, he saw a few ponies in groups of varying sizes-or simply by themselves-walking up and down the dimly lit street. As few street lamps as there were, it allowed the soft white glow of the moon to cast itself down on the street, both light sources giving contrasting shades of light up and down the street.
As he walked down the steps that lead up to his house, he glanced down the street to his right and saw a tired-looking pegasus stallion with a wing draped over a unicorn mare who was stumbling around as the stallion tried to keep her from falling over, walking down the street.
"I l-*hic*-luuuurrrve you, Scarecrow," she drunkenly cooed, slobbering him with a kiss, much to Scarecrow's bemusement.
"Every Celestia-damned week you do this!" he angrily replied. "Go to the clubs. Get drunk with your mare friends and dance until the morning. And here I am hauling your drunk plot home when I've got to go to work in four hours!"
"Mmmmm," she replied with a sloppy smile, "you're cute when you're mad at me..."
"Oh yeah? Well I'm about to turn into a great big fukin' teddy bear at this rate!"
She gasped loudly, her eyes widening as Joseph watched on with amusement, trying to refrain from laughing as they turned up a set of stairs to a house, presumably theirs. Scarecrow fished his keys from under a wing and unlocked the door to the house as the mare loudly exclaimed; "Really!? That means we get to cuddle all night long! You're so thoughtful!"
"Ugh..." Scarecrow grumbled as he literally dragged his marefriend inside. "Sometimes I wish I'd gone out with that flower mare from college..." The door closed behind the couple, Joseph struggling to keep his lungs from bursting.
"Is it--" Joseph had to take a breath to calm down as he wiped a stray bead of mirth from his eye. "Is it always like this?" he asked Nightmare.
I've never really been the kind to partake in social outings as she does, so I would not know. Although, before I possessed Luna there was often grand feasts with copious amounts of wine. That should count.
"Whatever... Let's just go and find more drunk people and their irate partners hauling them home. That was funny."
During his trip towards the boulevard in town filled with clubs, bars, restaurants and so on, the closer Joseph got, the more intense the vibrations became. His ears were assaulted by the cacophony of music reverberating from the clubs. It left him wondering how they were still standing, least the vibrations crumbled and wore away the construction of the buildings.
The amount of ponies still out at this time of night was staggering and, as Joseph aptly noticed, so were they.
Groups of ponies were congregating outside clubs as the cue of ponies outside each club wanting to get in dwindled as the night went on. There weren't more than a dozen in line at any one club. Other groups exited clubs screaming and bellowing about how awesome it was while stumbling over one another. That was the bouncer's cue to let in the next lot of scantily clad mares and their guy friends whom had the 'gettin' lucky tonight' look plastered all over their faces.
The clubs themselves had unique motifs and signs. One club, the Peppermint Hippo, boasted; "The finest dancers this side of Equestria!". The half dozen or so clubs, mixed with several more late-night restaurants, bars, amongst other, more adult themed entertainment venues dotting the street, also had their own motifs and themes. Each made Joseph balk with varying degrees of 'what the fuck?' while walking the footpath. Sandwich boards posted outside each place listed specials for the restaurants and bars while also showcasing guest appearances for clubs.
Towards the end of the street stood a club that had darker colours similar to that of his coat and mane, or rather, Nightmare Moon's. Mixed in were electric blues, vibrant purples, and the dash of white to accent and bring out the darker colours.
The sign denoting the name of the club read; "The Midnight Sun", which intrigued him. On the pavement stood an earth pony bouncer with an open sandwich board with "Special guest tonight! Nightmare Moon!" scrawled on it. His eyes went wide with shock at seeing this.
Relax, Nightmare began, it'll be somepony dressed up in a costume. Ponies will see the sign and think THE Nightmare Moon will show up, which will yield a higher turnover for the establishment. They're trying to capitalise on my return last week.
That turned Joseph's boiling worry down to a simmer and he turned his attention to the guard. What made him stick out like a sore thumb was the... unusual... outfit.
Atop his head sat a headband with a fake unicorn horn, while his sides had folded, also fake, wings strapped to them. His coat showed signs of having been dyed or painted black, as Joseph could see little splotches of his lighter blue coat that were missed. "Bit of a lazy paintjob..." Joseph mused to nobody in particular.
The bouncer's face just furthered the notion that the outfit was bad; there was a permanent scowl etched on his face.
His predicament amused Joseph quite a bit.
"Hold it," the bouncer said. "Aren't you a bit old to have no cutie mark?"
Joseph was taken aback at the rudeness of the question. "Excuuuuse me!" he retorted largely in jest, although his intent was to fluster the stallion.
The bouncer thickly swallowed. "Look, I didn't mean nothing by it," he defended, "it's just... I can't let you in without one. It's a policy we can't let any minors in until they get their marks. Even then we still have age restrictions."
Joseph simply raised his eyebrow questioningly at the cardboard-clad stallion, still hung on the question.
The bouncer just rolled his eyes in frustration. "Fine!" he conceded. "Go on ahead, it's my last shift here anyway... I still get paid either way," he finished with a mutter.
As Joseph victoriously opened the door, a brain-cell destroying, concussive sound wave of music blasted him through the entrance, causing him to stumble back with surprise.
The bouncer failed to stifle a laugh at the expense of the mare before him, saying; "Aw man, that made my night!"
Joseph straightened himself out with a shake, glaring at the guard. "Why's it that loud anyway?"
"It's the DJ tonight," he replied. "Calls herself DJ-Pon3... Something like that. I don't care, I'm clock watching until I get off at this point."
With an indifferent shrug, Joseph made his way inside to see this imposter Nightmare Moon. Would they be as badly dressed as the bouncer, or have a more convincing costume?
The music was nothing but the repeating eletronic untz untz untz. Given how ludicrously loud it is, he doubted he'd be able to hear Nightmare Moon talk to him inside his head.
The dance floor was packed like a can of sardines. It was a sea of writhing limbs, shaking heads, and general nonsensical dance moves. He scanned the mass of ponies through the flickering lights and colours the crowd was getting bathed in from equipment overhead, looking for the stage.
He spotted it in the far corner from where he stood. It wasn't very tall. The bench with all the mixing boards and record players sat flush with the top of the heads of the crowd, making it hard to see. In fact, he probably wouldn't have spotted it if it wasn't for the DJ behind it.
Two shades of electric blue ran through her mane as her dazzling alabaster coat flashed in time with each of the strobe colours. The thick, black-rimmed, purple-windowed glasses sat on her nose as she pumped her hoof, head banging, all the while flicking buttons and turning knobs.
The music stopped with an abrupt screech, making a lot of ponies wince and turn their heads in the DJ's direction.
"Alright everypony!" she declared through a microphone. "How're we all doing tonight!?" Her question was met with uproarious cheer and thunderous hoof stomps of approval. "Awesome! Hey listen, I gotta take a quick break so I can go check on our special guest so I'll be back in about ten minutes. In the meantime, I'll put on a short mix for you guys!"
The music returned with a vengeance and Joseph swore he could feel his brain cells dying from how loud it was. His eyes followed the DJ through a door off to the left of the bench, and he began to make a beeline to said door. Getting through the crowd was hard enough; Joseph felt like he too was dancing with how much effort he was putting into squeezing by everyone.
Eventually, he managed to get to the door. On it was a sign saying 'Employees Only'. He stole a quick glance around and, to his expectation, everyone was too busy dancing to pay him any mind. Even the bartenders across the other side of the room had their hands full with several lines of ponies twelve-deep.
He opened the door and quickly slipped inside, closing it behind him. The roar of the club dulled noticeably once he was inside. 'How is that possible?' he asked Nightmare, trying to see if she could hear him.
Sound inhibitors, she replied. Spells designed to dampen noise.
'Clever...' The hall before him had a door to his left labeled 'Restroom' and one at the end saying 'Equipment Storage' before it bent around to the right. Joseph tentatively trotted up to the corner and peered around. He saw four more doors; two on the opposite wall saying 'Changing Rooms', one at the far end of the hall which said 'Employee Break Room', and one more directly opposite the first two. He couldn't read what that door had on it from his current position though.
From the far end hall Joseph heard; "Is Nightmare Moon ready? She's due on shortly." The door opened and he saw the DJ walk out as he pulled his head out of view. There was a knock at the second changing room, a pause, another knock, then the door opened.
He then heard the DJ say; "Where is she?"
Another voice said; "What are you talking about?" Joseph heard the first door to the changing room open, then the second pony swore. "Shit! Why aren't they here? They're supposed to be here!" the masculine voice exclaimed.
Joseph assumed they were talking about the pony that was supposed to be posing as Nightmare Moon. "We have five minutes, what're we going to do!?"
"I could do it?" the DJ ventured. "I mean, the mix I put on lasts longer than I said it'd take before Nightmare was supposed to get on stage, so I doubt anypony would be looking at the clock to time how long it takes."
"Don't take this the wrong way, Vinyl, but you literally don't measure up to Nightmare's stature! She's as tall as Celestia!"
"Well, what else are we going to do!?" Vinyl countered.
The stallion gave a defeated sigh. "Fine, do it. Ugh, I need another drink..." He went back into the break room, shutting the door behind him.
Joseph heard Vinyl say under her breath; "Score!" before entering the changing room.
Ok, here's what you're going to do, Nightmare Moon piped up once both ponies were out of view. Go into the restroom behind you and wait for her to exit, all dressed up. Then, take off the disguise ring and pocket it. Follow her out onto the stage after she makes the big announcement. We're going to give them the biggest surprise of the night and none of them will suspect it's the real, well, me...
'I don't even know how to DJ! I just wanted to see the imposter!' he countered.
Look, trust me on this. do what I say and you'll be fine.
A devious grin spread across Joseph's face as he slipped into the restroom to hide.
Twenty minutes and one flushed toilet later, Joseph emerged from the restroom after he heard the door to the club open and close.
After all, he couldn't miss it when the music blasted into the hallway when it was opened.
Joseph took Nightmare's cue and waited by the door for Vinyl to make the declaration of Nightmare Moon's arrival while she was disguised as her. He was wondering what she'd look like. If the bouncer was any indication, it would probably be a piss-poor job. Then again, Vinyl's glee at being able to dress up as Nightmare suggested to him that the costume would be a bit more convincing.
"Fillies and gentlecolts!" Vinyl began once she silenced the music to speak into the microphone. "It is I, Nightmare Moon!"
When compared to Vinyl asking the crowd how their night was going, their response seemed to be a bit lackluster from what Joseph could tell. They still stomped and cheered, though.
Ok, now's your cue.
With that, Joseph threw open the door to the club, making sure it slammed on the wall. All eyes turned to him.
The entire crowd gasped in unison upon seeing Nightmare's form standing in the doorway.
Now, listen carefully and say what I say. You'll stick out like a mare in heat if you don't.
You've got to be kidding with that analogy! But yeah, fine, I see what you mean.
"How dare thee impersonate thine own Princess of Nightmares!" His gaze turned up toward Vinyl, who was looking at him with abject horror and shock, much like the rest of the crowd.
He stoically walked up to the platform as Vinyl, in her well made costume, took a few cowering steps backward. Her mane was dyed a deep blue, as was her tail. It was slicked back and came down on the right side of her neck. Her once white coat was either dyed or painted black--Joseph couldn't tell which--and the crescent moon cutie mark adorned her rear. Overall, it was certainly more thought out than the bouncer's.
"Sorry I'm late," Joseph said quietly towards Vinyl with a wink. "I was using the restroom." That seemed to deflate Vinyl's shock a little bit. "Just play along!" he said with a smile.
"Well why didn't you say something? And that's one hell of a costume! Where'd you get it? You even got the mane and tail right!"
"Doest thou wish to be sent to the moon for impersonating Us!?" he boomed, adding another wink.
Vinyl took the hint and cracked a smile. "Princess! Of course not; I only wished to join you on stage!"
"Thou art forgiven," he said with a joking sneer. He stole a glance at the crowd. Some were murmuring to each other, not sure what to make of this.
"I give you," Vinyl said with the slightest hint of unease, "Nightmare Moon!"
The club didn't say anything. You could have heard a pin drop.
"Epic costume!" one mare called out above everyone. That one statement earned a deafening roar of approval that rivaled the volume of the music.
Joseph sighed internally, thankful they bought the 'costume'.
"Now, I know it's a bit early, but I thought I'd kick everything off with a Nightmare Night themed song about Nightmare Moon! How does that sound, everypony?"
As if it was the only thing they could do, the crowd once more roared and stamped with gusto.
"Oh, I almost forgot!"
With that, Vinyl raised her right hoof which had some kind of remote attached to it, and pressed a button. A hiss and jets of dry ice smoke erupted from the stage as it began to raise. The two end sections of the stage extended on pistons, rotating to point speakers at the crowd as the stage kept raising. When it stopped, Joseph looked it over. The stage now resembled some kind of robot on legs with speakers as arms!
"Did you do this?!" he asked with incredulity.
"Yup!" she beamed. "Took me almost a year of designing and building, but I'm happy with it!"
Vinyl brought up a record and put it down on one of the turntables with a spin to show off, flicking switches and turning knobs as the techno beat blasted out into the room. Blue lights emanated from the speaker-arms with the beat, wafting harmlessly over the crowd.
Joseph watched with all due excitement as the music began playing.
"Welcome fillies and gentlecolts there's no reason to scream, your Lunar Princess is back she's walking up on the scene..."
Nightmare Moon managed to speak to him just before the music got too loud. Just do what Vinyl does and you'll fit right in. Also, don't do anything to make a fool of yourself!
Joseph was never the kind to go out to a nightclub, often electing to spend his nights watching movies or playing video games. His intention tonight was to see the imposter, and now here he was standing before a building packed with ponies cheering him on. It filled him with a strong sense of pride and as the night dragged on he found himself enjoying the show, finally able to come out of his shell and have a good time.
Two hours into the dual performance of Joseph and Vinyl, the club had dwindled in size to half of what it was when Joseph arrived. By this stage, everybody had begun to make their way home in the early hours of the morning.
It wasn't until the last of the music had finished playing when Vinyl stopped it to make another announcement.
"Alright everypony, closin' time! Time to skedaddle home; it's almost sunrise!" That was met with a chorused "Aawwwww" from the crowd. "Now now, I've got to clean up and sleep myself, and I'm assuming Nightmare here needs to have her beauty rest too! I'll put on a final track, though. Last call for drinks too! Thirty minutes until close!" She turned towards Joseph. "Alright, come with me into the break room and lets talk."
Joseph followed Vinyl through the 'Employees Only' door, down the hall, and through the door to the end. They entered and the same stallion from before was sitting on one of the sofas while drinking a cup of coffee.
"Hey, Vinyl, how did the..." His sentence was cut short when he turned to look up to her, noticing Nightmare Moon standing at least two heads taller than Vinyl. "...show... go..." He stopped drinking his coffee, his jaw almost unhinging as it hit the floor from the spectacle of the ebony mare before him.
"Oh, it went great," she casually replied. "The mare I hired to play Nightmare Moon was in the restroom when we were checking the changing room, but it worked out even better! After I went out all dressed up, she barged in and literally stole the show! It couldn't have been more perfect!" she blurted.
"Well, uhh, heh," he began uneasily, "I'm glad everything worked out for the better?"
"Damn right it did, Neon!"
"Where did she even get that kind of a costume? And why isn't she wearing the one we provided? It looks way too real to be something like what you're wearing."
Both Vinyl and Neon looked at Joseph. "What?" he said. Internally he was thinking; 'Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit...'
"Where'd you get the costume?" Vinyl asked.
"Oh! Uhm, can you give me a minute to change back?"
"Uhhh, sure," she replied.
Joseph left the break room and went to the restroom, both to use it and replace the ring on his horn. He returned not two minutes later as his disguised self.
"Better," he stated when he walked back in. "The costume, right. It's a little ring I put on my horn. I figured that since Nightmare Night is on the way, I'd get something that makes a costume as real as can be, and not the cheap knockoff the bouncer was wearing," he said with a giggle. "And before you ask, no, I don't have a cutie mark yet. Please don't ask why." Vinyl laughed as Neon cracked a wide grin when Joseph mentioned the bouncer. "What's so funny?"
Neon said; "Well it was his last shift here. I had to let him go after he kept letting in too many minors." He glanced down at Joseph's rear. "Speaking of which, you'd be classified as a minor too without one. How old are you, exactly?"
"How old are you?" Joseph countered.
"Thirty-five. Vinyl's twenty-eight. We co-own this club together. I manage it and she hires the performance, or plays herself."
"I'm twenty-four," he replied.
Neon just arched an eyebrow at him. "You're lucky. Anyway, back to business. Let me pay you for tonight, alright?"
'I came here to see an imposter, now I'm getting paid for banging my head for two hours? Sweet.' "Heh, I won't stop you."
He magicked a bag of bits from thin air and levitated it over to Joseph. He took the cloth bag with his magic, opening it up to see how much was inside. The condition of the bits left something to be desired in comparison to the ones Luna gifted him, but money was money.
"Hundred and fifty bits," Neon stated. "Standard fare for a performance here."
"Geezus," Joseph exclaimed, "you guys must rake it in!"
"We're the two best DJs this side of Equestria, of course we do!" Vinyl said proudly.
"Anyway, I'd better get home and sleep. Had a Nightmare that woke me up before, so I'm due to catch up."
"Listen, before you go, I've got another gig in Ponyville for the town's Nightmare Night festival. It would be wicked if you could come and do a repeat performance!" Vinyl practically pleaded.
Joseph didn't need to give it much though. "Sure, I don't see why not. I'll probably be there anyway because I've already been invited ahead of time."
"Score!"
"Also, bring your music robot... thing... It's too cool not to bring! I'm sure you could decorate it for the occasion."
"Oh, I already plan on it! I'll see you later..." Vinyl trailed off as she went to bid Joseph farewell using his name, but it occurred that they weren't introduced yet!
"Eclipse," Joseph finished.
"Eclipse, right," Vinyl said. "Is it just Eclipse?"
"Pretty much. Kinda like Madonna."
"What's a 'Madonna'?" Neon asked.
"Singer from where I'm from, but that's a digression for another day. Anyway, I'll catch you at the festival, Vinyl!"
"Have fun, Eclipse!"
Joseph exited the building with more ease than he did entering. Outside, the streets were quite bare, save for one or two he saw opening up their stores on his way home.
It wasn't until he began walking down the street his house was on that a golden-yellow blur shot past him like a bullet, knocking him to one side of the street, which was then followed by a black blur thundering past him, seemingly chasing what shot past him a moment ago.
"The fuck was that? Did you catch what it was, Nightmare?"
Whatever it was, was too fast. So no.
Shrugging it off, Joseph made his way inside and back up to his bed to catch up on a few hours of sleep.
After all, how bad could it possibly be? |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 17| Interlude 3: I don't want what she had... | Celestia woke before she was due to raise the sun, intent on spending the time raising the sun and lowering the moon with Luna, as the regal sisters had so come to enjoy over the last week since Luna's return.
This morning, however, Luna was late in arriving to the dais overlooking the kingdom. Celestia decided to give it another two minutes to allow Luna a moment if she was indeed late for any reason.
She looked out over Canterlot laid out beneath her, yet her focus was on the door behind her. She expected it to click open and Luna to stroll through at any moment, but when the two minutes were up and another three had passed, Celestia's curiosity had been piqued.
Why was Luna running five minutes late? She had been on time every day up until now. Celestia decided it could wait no more and began lowering the moon to make way for the sun. Once the morning sun had risen, Celestia's spell would keep the sun in motion throughout the day as it passed over the land, only needing to be set once the spell's power waned.
She began to walk to Luna's bedchambers, her brow furrowed with concern.
Celestia's walk there took her past some Solar Guards, and Luna's Night Guard as well; the stygian soldiers having been reinstated since Luna's return. Both sets of guard politely greeted the Diarch with a courteous "Princess", accompanied by a short bow in her presence. Of course, she replied with a smile as warm as the rising sun, adding; "Good morning".
Normally doors that needed guarding, such as the ones to areas off-limits to the staff and general public, had a guard assigned to patrol the corridors to deter any would-be intruders. Whenever the castle played host to any important individuals, such as ambassadors, dignitaries, and nobles visiting from other countries, Celestia insisted two guards be stationed outside their door for security and protection. If one guard needed to leave for any reason, his comrade couldn't leave until the other returned, or a replacement was sent.
This remained true for the Princesses. Two Thestral guards stood stoically outside Luna's door, guarding it with pride and renewed purpose at having their beloved Princess back.
"Has my sister left her room at all this morning?" she asked, looking towards the Thestral on her right.
"No, Your Highness," he replied. "I've not heard anything. Although, she must've been awake to lower the moon." It was a fair guess on his behalf. He may not have seen Luna leave the room, but she could have teleported.
'I can't bear to tell them it was I that lowered the moon on account of her absence,' Celestia thought to herself. "If I may enter? I would like to check on her."
"Of course, Your Highness." They both gave Celestia a wide berth as she opened the door with her magic, closing it once she was inside.
Almost instantly, her eyes fell upon the bed, complete with a still-asleep Luna. She gave a small giggle, then bent down to pull the sheets up to Luna's neck.
"Take your time, Sister, I'll wait for you at breakfast," she said softly. However, it was just enough to stir Luna.
"T-Tia?"
"Somepony must be sleepy," she jested.
Luna's mouth transformed into a stupid-happy grin. "I love you..." she gleefully said, lowering her head to the pillow, shuffling around to get cosy. She relaxed, comfy with her position. It took but a moment for Luna to drop back off, falling asleep with the smile plastered from one ear to the other.
Celestia exited the bedroom, closing the door with a soft click. "Looks like she went back to sleep after lowering the moon," she confidently lied to the guards. They gave a curt, understanding nod at that, not saying anything in response. "When she wakes up, let her know I'll be in the dining hall, waiting on her for breakfast."
"Of course, Your Highness." Nothing further was said, Celestia giving a smile and a grateful hum in lieu of actually saying 'thank you'.
Twenty minutes later, Celestia sat at the head of the grand dining table the castle used to play host to various functions. The room itself was ludicrously oversized for a dining hall, but the purpose in that was to give the guests present room to congregate in groups to talk about similar interests and so forth away from the table itself.
Celestia didn't really have a designated area that she ate breakfast in, so she often elected to have breakfast here. Sometimes, when Celestia felt like it, she would have breakfast brought to her room if she fancied breakfast in bed. It had certainly proved beneficial to use the dining hall before, though. Several times she had discussions with various nobles and dignitaries over breakfast and lunch, and used the table space to sprawl their papers and presentations on.
"Princess Celestia, your breakfast is ready," spoke one of the castle maids as she wheeled over a cart adorned with a large silver platter, covered with a lid to keep anything off of the food underneath.
"Ah, thank you, Sweet Leaf. I trust you made some of your well known tea?" Celestia asked hopefully.
"Oh, but of course!" Sweet Leaf happily exclaimed as she lifted the lid off the stainless steel plate.
On it lay two waffles, one with a square of butter and one with a dollop of cream and a thinly sliced strawberry, a small, two-ounce jug of maple syrup, and a sliced banana. Not what the common pony would expect a princess to eat, but the simplest breakfasts were often the tastiest. Off to the side was a steaming pot of tea, teacup, and some sugarcubes with small tongs.
"Perfect," Celestia said contentedly.
"You're welcome, your highness."
"You can just call me Celestia," she said with a smile. "I like to think of the castle staff as friends, but the newer members are so worried about offending me by not addressing me in a formal manner," Celestia finished with a small chuckle.
"Of course, prin- er, I mean Celestia," Sweet Leaf corrected. "Do you know where Luna is? Her breakfast is beginning to go cold."
Celestia wasn't quite sure what came over Luna to miss lowering the moon and thus cause her to sleep in. She found it mildly worrying, but wouldn't tell anyone lest they start spreading rumours. "She decided to sleep in after lowering the moon. I'll take it up to her when I'm done here." It would give her another opportunity to check up on Luna too.
"Alright then, Celestia." Sweet Leaf had to smile at that. It felt rather scandalous to be addressing the princess so informally!
She wheeled the cart back into the kitchen, bringing out Luna's breakfast and leaving it next to Celestia with the lid still on so it would keep the heat slightly longer.
It didn't take more than ten minutes for Celestia to finish eating. She levitated the tray off the cart and began to walk up to Luna's room. By the time she arrived, the meal had cooled only slightly, but Celestia used her magic to heat it so Luna would have a hot meal. Luna's breakfast was the same as what Celestia had, only with blueberries mixed in with the waffle batter.
With a smile to the guards, she softly knocked on the door, inching it ajar. "Luna, are you awake?" There was no response. "I brought you breakfast."
The tray was hastily yanked out of her magical grasp by Luna's own. A split second later, she heard the sound of the tray crashing on the other side of the room, its contents scattering everywhere.
"Luna? Are you alright? What was that fo-" The door was suddenly thrown open, Celestia being accosted by an extremely angry-looking Lunar Goddess. Luna used her magic to pin Celestia against the wall just on the inside of the door. The Thestral guards looked on with shock and mouths hung agape at the spectacle that had befallen them, unsure what to do. Their training didn't cover what to do when one princess attacked another!
"You! Luna seethed venomously. "You sent me to the moon for a thousand years! Do you have any idea what it was like!?"
"Luna, I-"
Luna's put more strength behind her magic as the aura went from Celestia's chest to the base of her neck.
"A thousand years!" she echoed. "What did you think I was going to do for a thousand years!? Do you know what happens to ponies who get left all by their lonesome? They go insane!"
The guards began to step forward to intervene, but Celestia just waved them off with a hoof out of Luna's view as Luna kept her deadly glare on Celestia. "A thousand years of loneliness... Dust... And..." Luna's aura blinked out as her face slowly transformed from one of rage, to one of sorrow. Celestia slumped forward, heart pounding, planting all four hooves on the ground as Luna fell forward, burying her head in Celestia's chest. "Can..." she began weakly, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Could you ever forgive me?" she asked, looking up to her sister.
"Luna? What's the matter? Are you alright?"
"I'm so sorry," she blubbered, "for all the trouble I caused all those years ago..."
"Shh shh shh," Celestia cooed softly, stroking Luna's mane. "It is I that should be apologising to you, dearest Sister. Had I given you the attention that you deserved, I wouldn't have had to-" Celestia was cut off by more incoherent babbling and sniffles.
Tears matted Luna's fur to her face as she sobbed profusely into Celestia's chest, staining her fur with the salty liquid. It mattered not; Celestia could always take a bath. Luna was upset, nay, distraught about something, and Celestia would do her best to fix it.
"Why don't I bring you some more breakfast and we can talk about it, hmm?" she suggested, trying to lighten the mood. "It's your favourite too! Blueberry waffles!"
"Y-yes p-please..." she weakly said.
Celestia turned to face the guard on the door's right, clicking her tongue and tossing her head to indicate to him to go to the kitchen and fetch another tray of food. He quickly scarpered off, not wanting to disappoint the princess. She turned to the other guard and said; "See if you can delay my session of court for a while. Say an urgent matter has come up if anypony asks."
"Right away, your highness." He turned and began legging it towards the throne room.
In the meantime, all Celestia could do was hold and comfort Luna, hoping she wouldn't have another angry outburst. It was extremely peculiar--and worrying to say the least--how Luna went from angry and violent to sad within the span of about two seconds. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 18| Is it hot in here or is it just me? | Heat.
Not the kind when you burn yourself on a hot skillet, but rather the kind when the sun outside is hot enough to cause sweltering temperatures within Joseph's bedroom.
Drenched from how much he was sweating, Joseph peeled himself away from his sweat-soaked linen prison as he groggily woke. Sitting up, he looked out the window at the sky, seeing nothing but the sun casting it's ungodly hot rays into his room.
Sighing in defeat from the temperature, Joseph flopped back down onto the bed spread-eagled as he groaned; "Hooooot...."
Tis the season, Nightmare Moon greeted, although with an undertone Joseph couldn't quite place.
"It was fine yesterday, so how did it go from pleasant to 'I'M STANDING ON THE FRICKIN' SUN GET ME OUT OF HERE' in less than 24 hours?"
Celestia controls the sun. Blame her if you must.
"Yeah, well... I've got better things to worry about," Joseph said, eventually electing to roll out of bed. First thing's first: he needed a shower.
A cold one.
Badly.
Despite that, he headed down into the kitchen to see if the food he bought earlier in the week was still there. He opened the fridge to peer inside, and what greeted him was... less than ideal. The tomatoes had gotten frostbite, while some of the other fruits and veggies--cucumber, lettuce, carrots etc--had all begun to grow mould in some shape or another.
The spots of what was there could still be removed and the rest eaten. That would mean Joseph would need to eat almost a week's worth of food in a day, which would be unlikely. Not the case if he had a big enough appetite from the hunger-inducing herb he wished he had.
Even the fish looked like it had it. He picked up the fruit etc to throw in the bin, and when he picked up the fish, the paper slid off it. The fish's oils had leaked out of it. Ew.
Right... Shower now, food later. Hopefully he wouldn't get carted off to Ponyville anytime soon, so he thought he'd try getting another weeks worth and then attempt to make it the problem of whomever pulls him away from the house for any extended period of time. At least it was worth a shot.
Once in the bathroom he turned on the water to test it with his... hoof... before getting in to make sure he didn't have a repeat performance with the scalding water. The temperature cool enough for the hot day, but not uncomfortably cold, Joseph got in and began to slowly turn the temperature down to really cool himself off. Spending a few minutes just sitting on the floor of the cubicle while letting the cold water cascade over him really did wonders for his mood, and the temperature.
Sufficiently woken up, yet with no food or coffee, Joseph decided to get some breakfast at a cafe then do his food run. He didn't bother towelling off, instead letting the cold water cling to his coat to keep him cool for as long as possible. Well, at least until the bloody heat dried him off.
It didn't last long.
Five minutes after he stepped out the door, the water dried, leaving his coat slightly frizzled. Had he bothered to dry off, the hair of his coat would've been normal. Oh well, at least he enjoyed five minutes of chill in the heat, even if he got a remark from a passing stallion about 'sexy wet-mane'.
In retrospect, it would be funny to see their reactions on telling those that would hit on Joseph that he wasn't who he appeared to be. At least in gender.
Nonetheless, Joseph needed to find some place to eat. His stomach was expressing its disapproval from the lack of food.
In his journey into the middle of Canterlot Town Square, where he suspected a lot of the businesses would be, he couldn't help but notice there were a lot of couples lingering about. Some were openly snogging each other, others were enjoying a romantic morning together, then there were others that were being playful with each other: hip-checking and flicking each other with their tails with no concern for their surroundings. He couldn't figure out why, so minus his curiously raised eyebrow, he continued on with his day.
'What is all this about?' he asked Nightmare.
Couples enjoying each other's company, perhaps?
'Looks like they're enjoying each other's company a bit too much.'
You're one to talk. Your memories have provided me with more than enough authority to say that you'd covertly watch couples. Especially on that thing you call a 'computer'.
Nightmare got him there. She knew he was blushing, but both of them wisely decided to not say anything more on the topic.
Further down the road, a quaint little coffee shop caught his eye, and the storefront menu said they had sandwiches and the like for sale. Perfect breakfast food.
The business at the beginning of the day was steady; about a third of the tables had single ponies or couples sitting at them enjoying their morning while they either read the paper over a cuppa, or were getting a bite to eat before they were due to start work.
The glass food-display cabinet had a myriad of sandwiches in them. Sadly, none of them had any meat. That meant no bacon and egg sandwiches, or satay chicken, much to Joseph's annoyance. He eyed a sauteed onion sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and various other fillings. Figuring it would suffice in lieu of chicken, he elected to buy it and a strong cup of coffee.
"See something you like?" asked the chocolate-brown cashier.
"Uh, yeah," Joseph began, still waking up. "That sandwich"--he pointed a hoof at the one he wanted in the cabinet--"and a coffee strong enough to wake me up."
The cashier raised an intrigued eyebrow at him. "Strong enough to wake you up, eh?" he said with a chuckle, giving Joseph's tired form a quick glance up and down. "Alright, it's your funeral. One Death Coffee coming up."
The first half of the cashier's sentence made Joseph crack a small grin. The second half made his eyebrow raise. Nonetheless, he paid for the sandwich and drink and went to find a table. A few bites of his breakfast later, the steaming cup was brought over to him. He eyed it with all deserved tentative curiosity, wondering what would happen. Death Coffee? He hadn't heard of that before, and even the barista that made it had a look on his face.
Barring how hot it was, he blew off some of the radiant heat and took a sip. Wasn't too bad, but could do with some sugar.
He ate and drank in silence, a forlorn expression painted all across his face. It had taken a while for the magnitude of his situation to sink in, but there was another aspect Joseph hadn't considered: how much longer would he be stuck here? For the rest of his life? How long do these ponies live for anyway? Do they have the same lifespan as humans? That'd be something he'd need to ask Twilight.
His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill, sharp buzzing off to his right, followed by a pop and sizzle. He turned to look, seeing a tan stallion with a slightly scruffy brown mane with what looked like an eight inch rod of melted steel.
"What's that thing?" Joseph asked.
"It's a..." The stallion began, pausing mid sentence to pick up another rod. "...part of a project I'm working on. Photonic resonance barrier."
"Uh huh," Joseph nodded, "I'll just pretend I'll know what that means."
He looked over at Joseph, noticing his expression, his own immediately softening into sympathy from the stressed-addled one from the frustration of the work. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You seem a little..." His eyes carefully traced Joseph up and down, seemingly studying him. "...lost, I want to say?"
"You have no idea," Joseph replied through an exhale, taking another sip of the coffee. When was this stuff supposed to kick in anyway?
The stallion put all his bits and bobs in a satchel under his chair, bringing it over to Joseph's table, much to his chagrin. He put the bag underneath the seat opposite Joe and sat down to join him.
"Is it you who's lost, or have you lost someone?"
The question, coming from a complete alien and stranger, made Joseph shift uncomfortably in his seat, eyes looking down at the half-eaten sandwich. He simply didn't answer, opting to ignore the stranger.
The stallion, having no sense of personal space, continued to pester Joseph. "I want to say parents, maybe?"
"Do you actually mind?" Joseph snapped, careful not to disturb the peace of the cafe with an outburst. The stallion was somewhat taken aback by this. After all, he was just trying to be friendly.
"Alright," he conceded, "I'll go. Before I do, if it's any consolation, there's no force in the universe that can keep loved ones separated. Everyone find ways of reuniting with each other. Trust me, I know this all too well." And without another word, he grabbed his bag and left.
Joseph dwelled on the thought a little bit more. In a way, it was slightly comforting to know the stallion sincerely meant what he said, to know he'd experienced bereavement too. To console someone you hardly knew over the loss of a loved one is an act of kindness, and Joseph hoped his mum and dad were better off than he was.
"How was the coffee?" the cashier asked. Joseph had stacked his plates and brought them up to the front, rather than having someone come and collect them.
"I don't feel any different. Still tired, I guess."
The chocolate-brown stallion shot him a confused look. "Nopony has had one of those and not been wired before! It's got four times the caffeine a normal cup has! Why has it not done anything to you?"
"Heck if I know. With that in mind, if you ever run into someone named 'Pinkie Pie', under no circumstances are you to give her any of this."
"...Why?" he tentatively asked.
"She's as wired as anyone will ever be. Period."
"Well, uh, thanks. I guess?"
"Anyway, thanks and have a good day," he finished, dropping a few bits in the tip jar on his way out. It was always polite to tip. If there was a tip jar on the front counter, he was sure to place a few bucks in it. Most people didn't realise that 'tip' is an acronym meaning 'To Insure Promptness'. At least, that's what he thought.
The breakfast helped to give him a bit of energy for the day, although maybe it was a mistake ordering a hot drink instead of something cold, like an iced coffee. Would they still use the Death Coffee in those?
The next place on his trip was the market where he bought his first load of groceries that ended up going the way of the dodo. It took him a while going down a few of the streets until he found the one that he remembered. He let out a grateful sigh, thankful he didn't have to aimlessly wander around for any longer.
When he walked in through the sliding doors, he was greeted by the same mare whom he spoke to on his first visit.
"Oh, hello!" she greeted. "How are we today? Handling heat well?"
"Yesterday was fine," he replied. "I don't know how it became so frickin' hot all of a sudden. I hate summer."
The mare's blank stare suggested to Joseph that something she said went right over his head. Outside of her asking how he was handling the temperature, what else could she have meant?
He went around the aisles collecting largely the same things, in addition to a few extras: bread, milk, eggs etc. He even found some kind of spread for toast that looked similar to Nutella from Earth. He bought that too, figuring he could cook something delicious with it.
"Word of advice," the cashier began, "don't let any of the stallions get to you. They tend to get a bit frisky."
"Oh trust me, I dumped the contents of a teapot in addition to the sodden tea leaves over someone's head because they tried hitting on me. Said they'd make my cutie mark, them."
She stifled a cute giggle behind her hoof, glancing at Joseph with an all too knowing smile. "In any case, I hope the rest of your day is... enjoyable."
With an errant roll of his eyes, and abstaining from saying anything else, Joseph paid for his selection and left. He didn't know what it was, but the conversation with the cashier didn't sit quite right with him. He knew that Nightmare Moon knows what's going on, but she was the kind of person--or pony rather-- that, once you spent enough time around, could accurately discern whether or not they were going to tell you what they meant. In most cases, it would be for their amusement and/or to keep antagonising the target of the joke, all in good fun of course.
It took a bit of effort, but Joseph managed to magik his shopping bags off to his pocket. Unlike his bit bag, the shopping bags were a lot more sizeable, and thus trickier to magic away.
'I don't understand why, when I went to the bar the other week, the alcohol hit me, but today, the coffee didn't do anything,' he said to Nightmare. Figuring he didn't have anything else he needed to buy or get done in town, he began making his way back home. 'I know you can't suppress the effects of caffeine since you've no control over my bodily functions as opposed to whatever you're doing inside my head.'
There are some things my--Nightmare corrected--body metabolises faster than others. Alcohol is not one of them, yet caffeine is.
'...That's stupid.'
Be that as it may, you'll just have to learn to cope without any energy supplements, Nightmare Moon finished.
Again Joseph rolled his eyes, although with disdain this time as opposed to annoyance.
He didn't manage to get a minute down the road towards home when a passing stallion, walking in the opposite direction, brushed his tail over Joseph's hindquarters. He jumped, caught completely off guard by the sudden contact. He turned to see who it was.
"Hey there gorgeous, how about you and I--" The stallion caught sight of Joseph's downright poisonous stare, almost visibly shaken by it.
"Do that again and I'll make you regret it," he seethed.
"Alright, alright," the stallion relented. "Sheesh, mares..."
Joseph let the passing comment slide. How many had tried hitting on him since he got here? It's not something he'd care to think about, let alone keep tabs on. With a scowl, he kept walking towards home, although electing to take the remainder of the journey through a side street. That way there would be less stallions to bother him, and while he had the right idea, it only partially helped his problem. While only two more made advances, it was less than what would have happened had he taken the more crowded route home.
It was a simple matter of staring deadly stares at the unwanted attention before continuing on with his day.
To his surprise, he saw Vinyl coming down the road towards him! She beamed a smile at Joseph, pushing her glasses down the bridge of her nose slightly to double check it was, in fact, him. "Eclipse!" she cheerily greeted before nudging the glasses back up to their original position. Joseph managed to catch a brief look at her eyes, and oh wow those eyes. A soft magenta colour, he found those eyes to be rather alluring, oddly enough. "What are you doing out today?"
"Eh, shopping," he replied.
"Well alright! Sorry to cut things short, but I'm in a hurry to get to the club to set things up for tonight. I'll see you at the Nightmare Night party in Ponyville soon!"
She cantered on past Joseph with a friendly wave. He smiled contentedly at the memory of their performance last night, which made him look forward to the aforementioned party.
Part of him wondered why he was hesitant towards the stallions, yet Vinyl seemed to captivate him. He didn't understand why he didn't experience this on stage with Vinyl. He tried reasoning that they're miniature horses, so he shouldn't be finding any of them even remotely attractive!
He couldn't help but imagine those eyes rolling over and looking into his own, her mussed-up hair and the bedsheets--he mentally snapped himself out of the provocative thought. It wasn't right!
At the same time, Nightmare Moon was sniggering under her breath. 'Go suck a fat one!' he inwardly shouted.
You are in a better position to do that than I.
'I am not, under any circumstances, putting one of those anywhere near my mouth!
You say mou--
'Or anywhere else for that matter!' he quickly amended.
Would you rather the thought of the two of you caressing each other's folds with your divine tongues, then, hmm? Nightmare Moon salaciously taunted.
That made Joseph stop in his tracks, crimson painting his cheeks. Good thing he wasn't put in a stallion's body. Not even the baggiest of pants--if there were such a thing as pants in this world--would have hidden the result.
He kept walking home, too embarrassed to say another word, and kept his gaze firmly affixed on the ground beneath him.
Fortunately, there wasn't any other run-ins with any more stallions, or mares for that matter, which was a good thing for Joseph. Had someone else tried being forward, he'd've likely punched them. Though it was more fortunate on their behalf than Joseph's that he didn't have to inflict bodily harm at any more unwanted attention out of frustration at the frequency of it happening.
Joe got home safe and sound, and on closing the door behind him, exhaled a breath he didn't realise he was holding. He went into the kitchen to put away his purchases, but getting them out of his pocket proved a bit more challenging. By way of comparison, it was like trying to thread a sausage through the eye of a needle.
With much difficulty and coaxing from Nightmare Moon suggesting various ways he could accomplish the task, like holding your stool for too long and finally getting home to use the bathroom, the paper bags shredded themselves and the contents scattered everywhere like confetti at one of Pinkie's Parties.
He grumbled with anger at that, forcing himself to pick everything up from both the table and floor as he put them away. He just had to worry about washing off the items that weren't wrapped with plastic, namely the vegetables.
"How could this day get any worse..." he mumbled.
If I might interject on a completely unrelated topic? Nightmare Moon cheekily ventured.
'Oh here we go...' "What?" he seethed.
One minute later...
"I hate you, and this planet so fucking much right now." |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 19| Mage's Horn | One week later, the day before Nightmare Night...
The Water Supply Network for Canterlot is a well maintained system, getting their water from mountain glaciers and pumping it in from surrounding underground springs.
Every two months for about a week, the treatment plant has to carefully monitor supply and demand.
After all, when half the population is perpetually hot for that week, there's going to be a lot of demand for cold water.
Sitting at one of the distribution terminals, Glacier Sparkles, a maintenance mare for the distribution plant, was being as attentive as ever. As she scrolled through the live feed, she noticed a particular street of Canterlot among the upper middle class that was using more water than the surrounding neighbourhood.
"Hey, Gleaming, come check this out," she called to her co-worker, Gleaming Springs.
"What is it?" he answered back, trotting over to her side.
"One of the houses along this street"--she pointed at the street's name on the monitor--"has an increased drain on the cold water. I can't pinpoint which one though."
Gleaming carefully eyed the monitor. "Hmmm... What do you think it could be?" he asked.
"Given the 'season', I'm sure you can guess what."
"What about any other causes?" Gleaming replied with the slightest hint of annoyance. He was trying to be professional! "Leaky taps, faulty readouts et cetera..."
"Uh, heh, right..." Glacier replied somewhat sheepishly. She turned back to the monitor and scrolled through some more information being displayed. "Uhm, well it's not a leaky tap; that would only be a negligible increase." She eyed the data for about half a minute more, considering the options. "It could be a faulty readout, but until we send somepony to check the metres on the houses, we can only speculate."
"Well thanks for volunteering," he remarked with a condescending pat of his hoof on her shoulder. "Why don't you go check out all the houses on the street while I keep an eye on things here, hmm?"
"But..." Glacier balked in disbelief. She was at a loss as to how Gleaming interpreted her statement as volunteering to solve the problem.
"Look at it like this: you can take your lunch break too! Now go take one of the charts so you can record the levels at each house. If it's a faulty reading and not somepony using the cold water copiously, then we'll need to recalibrate some of the equipment."
"I've always worked inside the plant!" the mare protested.
"Well looks like you've got a field assignment. Now scram!"
"You can't do this to me!"
"Of course I can; I'm your supervisor!"
With the sun beating down on her, Glacier Sparkles began the task of knocking on each and every door on the street to find the house in question.
"I'm with Canterlot Water Distribution. We're experiencing a large drain of water in this region and I've been sent to locate and assess the cause," she'd explain.
She went by each house recording and comparing the readout from the terminal to the house's water metre. Everything was reading normal so far. Even though the readouts were slightly above average when compared to other months, that much was understandable.
It wasn't until she got to house number fifty-seven that Glacier ran into a bit of a problem.
Knocking at the door, she was answered by a rather angry and loud; "What?!" bellowing down from upstairs. Taken aback by the response, she prepared to recite her spiel. She heard what sounded like someone talking to themselves from the other side of the door.
"What do you mean I can't go out there like this? It's just water!" Several seconds passed before she heard a dawning; "Oh!", followed by; "Hold on a second..."
The sounds of hoofsteps going back upstairs then down again, then a moment later the door opened up to reveal a dark-blue, blank flank mare with a purple mane and tail. She was completely sodden with water, mane plastered to her neck and head.
After hearing her introduction, Joseph gave her a bit of a blank stare. "Sorry, but I don't know where the metre is. Kind of new here."
"Oh, no problem, it's usually out the back or front. I didn't notice it coming up the steps, so would you mind if I come in to have a look out the back for it?"
"Uh, yeah I guess..." He opened the door wider to let Gleaming in and closed it behind her. He followed her out to the back of the house.
He'd never been out the back yet, oddly enough. It was just big enough to fit a barbeque, table and chairs, and a clothes line. Gleaming looked up and down for the metre, her eyes settling on a non-descript box attached to the house. She used her magic to pop off the cover and look at the numbers inside. She jotted down a few numbers as Joseph watched on, and eventually she raised a curious eyebrow towards him.
"What?" he asked tentatively.
"I think I might have found the problem."
"...Ok?" Joseph said, confused.
"Either this unit is faulty, there's something wrong with the equipment at the plant, or you've been using more than your fair share of the cold water."
Not unlike being caught red-handed, Joseph's gut sank. She just knew, going off of how wet she was, and why.
Trying, and almost failing to keep herself from laughing, yet remaining professional about the situation, Gleaming explained; "Look, I can tell my supervisor that the unit was faulty and I managed to fix it. If you can return the favour and not live in the shower for the rest of the week, then we're even. Kay? That way it saves both of us the embarrassment, me more so for telling my boss what really happened."
As stiff as a board, screaming obscenities in his head, Joseph simply nodded and swallowed thickly.
"I'll see myself out." Before she left, she paused and spoke. "Can I give you some advice?" Joseph blinked, too mortified to say anything. "I don't mean to be rude, but from one mare to another, just water doesn't cut it. You need some shampoo too. Musk is radiating off of you like freshly cooked bread."
With Nightmare Moon laughing at his situation, Gleaming calmly put the panel back, picked up her things, and left, but not before seductively trailing her tail across his muzzle. Joseph was still rooted in place when he heard the door close, and only then did he let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. Eyes as wide as saucers, he was having trouble processing what happened. That, and all he could smell was crisp petrichor.
As smugly as she could, dismissing what happened for the most part, Nightmare Moon said; Do you want to continue practicing the teleportation spell? Or do you want to use shampoo this time?
"Uhm, is there even shampoo?"
Are you serious? Nightmare replied with no attempt to disguise her contempt. You've been spending ninety-five percent of your time during the day in there.
"Oh go shove a cactus up your arse, it was just a passing thought. For all I know there could have been some lying around before I got here."
Not likely.
With his shower located at the back of the house, Joseph got the bright idea to check the windows of neighbouring houses. He craned his head over the left hand fence to try and see if there was anything sitting on the sill of the upper-left hand window, where his shower was located, but there was nothing. The right hand window, however, yielded different results. He saw two bottles, although he couldn't tell what they were.
Are you sure you don't want to keep practicing with the bread first? Nightmare asked.
"Continually teleporting bread doesn't do it any favours. I need to go out at some point, and I don't want to be... unintentionally inviting."
Have it your way. Just remember what I told you: visualise reaching out and taking it. The more concentration you put into it, the more effective it'll be. Magic is a conduit with which unicorns interact with the physical world.
He focused on the left hand bottle, closing his eyes and letting his horn glow dark blue. He visualised reaching out and taking the bottle off a shelf. Teleporting was a rather finicky thing; there's just so many variables that could go wrong. Nightmare Moon told him about the vast reserves of magic her body holds, so channeling that to do something specific has proven to be rather difficult.
Practicing on the bread seemed to help, as the bottle suddenly materialised before his face. Startled slightly, his magic cut out and the bottle dropped. With a thoroughly pleased grin on his face, he picked up the bottle and discovered it to be almost what he was after: two-in-one shampoo and conditioner. Joseph figured it'd do, so he went back up to his shower to expunge the unwanted odour from his person.
You didn't strike me as a thief, Nightmare stated with a sense of genuine surprise.
Joseph just shrugged indifferently. "I don't care; I got what I wanted and nobody got hurt. Besides, I need it. Whoever this belonged to probably knows how to handle walking through town in this state better than I do."
From being stuck in the house most of the week with only a few books to pass the time, he needed to get out of the house and get some more food. And shampoo.
Believing himself to be sufficiently cleansed of any unwanted odours, Joseph was heading down the stairs when a knock came at the front door.
'This had better not be water-related...' Joseph mused with agitation.
On opening the door, there stood a regal, white unicorn guard, a depiction of Celestia's sun emblazoned onto the crest of his armour. "Are you..." He magicks a scroll and looks it over. "...Eclipse?"
"Who wants to know?"
"I have a Royal Summons here for you." Magicking one scroll away, he poofs another into existence and levitates it over to Joseph.
He couldn't help but notice the fine silk ribbon keeping the scroll shut, sealed with a wax seal. "Is this like a subpoena or something?"
"Ex...cuse me?"
"...Don't worry. So, am I in trouble or something?"
"Miss, if that were the case, I'd be personally escorting you to Her Highness. No, a Summons is a personal request by Princess Celestia if she wishes to speak with somepony. In this case, you."
Joseph broke the wax seal and unfurled the scroll, glancing the brief message over. Sure enough, it bore a simple message requesting 'Eclipse's' presence at the palace at 'her' earliest convenience.
"Well, I'm not doing anything, so I might as well go." His gaze turned from the scroll to the guard, noticing him still standing at the doorstep. "Can I help you?"
The guard shook his head, as if bringing himself out of a daydream. "I could show you there if you like?"
"I know the way, but thanks anyway." Joseph couldn't help but wonder what the guard was still doing there. "...I still stink, don't I?"
Somewhat flustered, the guard took a short, curt bow, and said; "If you can find your own way, then I'll see myself off." He quickly turned tail and cantered away.
'Time for yet another goddamn shower...'
Forty-five minutes later, Joseph found himself walking up to the steps of the palace, and atop the stairs leading up to the massive doors stood two guards: an earth pony on the right, and a pegasus on the left. Both bore the same exact armour the unicorn did, except one stallion was grey and the other, white. They both held spears in their left and right hooves respectively.
"Pass?" the earth pony said in a monotoned, commanding voice.
"Don't mind if I do." Being cheeky, and choosing to interpret their question as a statement, Joseph boldly strode up the stairs. The guards were quick to cross their spears to prevent any further advancement.
"For citizens, entry to the palace is only by written decree of the princess," the pegasus declared.
Joseph magicked his scroll out and held it in front of the earth pony with a smug grin. 'I'd like to see you do that, you pretentious twat.'
"Proceed." The guards parted their spears, the pegasus pushing open the door with his hind leg.
It was relatively easy for Joseph to find his way to the throne room, stopping once to ask a maid if he was on the right path. He couldn't help but think if the maid's outfits were for either practicality or aesthetic appeal. Either way he wasn't complaining.
Confused as to why a summons would be needed, he strode into the throne room. Princess Celestia sat atop her throne, with Luna sitting off to her left. Why Luna didn't have her own throne he didn't know. Probably due to the fact she essentially got released from jail the other week, and the masons hadn't the time to make one. Once the doors shut behind him, save for the one guard he remembered from a previous encounter, it was just the three of them.
"Welcome! How have you been finding everything these last couple weeks?"
'All this for a social call?' "Uhm, fine, I guess. Despite my... unique... circumstances, never better," Joseph replied dryly.
"Is everything alright?" she asked with concern. "Nopony has heard from you the last week so it behooved me to check up on you."
"Two things. One: I think we both know the answer to that. Two: you wanted to check up on me, but you made not only me, but one of your guards do all the legwork?"
"A princess out walking through Canterlot without a contingent of guards is certainly to turn heads, and attract the intention of ponies with ill intent, and those whom can be a bit over-zealous about seeing a princess."
"And yet you see nothing wrong with Nightmare Moon, AKA myself, using a disguise no less, parade around town?" Celestia blinked, lacking an immediate response. "Get your own disguise; it's that simple!"
"One does not simply take an unannounced leave of absence from the castle without informing those needed about her whereabouts," Luna piped up.
"All that tells me is you two don't get out often, do you?"
Celestia awkwardly shifted in her seat. Crickets.
"Are you sure nothing is wrong? You seem rather agitated by how you're speaking to us."
Joseph rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, I've just spent a week holed up in my house running the shower because I reek!"
"Yes, well, you've got nopony to blame, barring Nightmare Moon."
"Nope, just you two."
Joseph got what he was after: shocked glances from both princess. Having the opportunity to talk extensively with Nightmare Moon the last several days, he was ready to give them an ear full.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well, primarily you," Joseph said, pointing at Celestia, sitting on his haunches.
"Are you accusing me of your happening?"
"All three of you. Eighty-five-percent you, five percent Nightmare Moon, and the rest lay on Luna's shoulders."
"You would do wise to watch your tone with my sister," Luna challenged.
"Oh, but I'm just getting started! I'll just cut it back to the bare bones." He turned to Celestia. "Why did you send Luna to the moon?"
"Is this a trick question?"
"No, it's a simple one."
"My sister attempted to usurp the throne by way of transforming into Nightmare Moon."
"Now, elaborate on that," Joseph replied with a wide grin.
Celestia cocked an eyebrow. "Something tells me you already know the answer to these questions, and are only asking me them only because you want me to say them."
"Here's what fucks me off about you, princess. I talked at length with Nightmare Moon about everything. Everything! She was there long before either you or Luna realised. Now, here's my understanding of things."
Joseph continued. "Luna wanted her opportunity for the populace to notice what she had to offer at night. She was upset that everyone slept through her night while they enjoyed what you had to offer. Luna's resentment was born of the bitterness that grew because nobody couldn't truly appreciate how beautiful the night could be in comparison to your day. Can you honestly blame her for wanting to keep the moon up for a little longer so everyone could admire what they'd otherwise sleep through?"
"In hindsight, no."
"So why wouldn't you let her?"
"The cycle of day and night was and is a strictly maintained cycle."
"That's just telling Luna that you care less about her than you do your own ideals! You did next to nothing to help with Luna's depression," he said with a stomp of his hoof.
"I love my sister; I would never deliberately do something like that!"
"Deliberately," Joseph echoed. "Yet, you did. Things got worse, and worse, and worse. She only ever wanted one thing: to experience what you do on a daily basis. You forced her hand; how else was Luna supposed to make ponies notice? The shadow you cast from keeping the sun out kept her in the dark, and in turn, you cast yours over her."
"It would be wise if you chose your next words very carefully," Celestia sneered.
"It makes sense that your sun tattoo is on your ass. It covers fuckin' everything!"
"How dare you!" Celestia snapped. "I had nothing but good will in calling you here, but now you're making unfounded accusations at me?"
"The complete and utter opposite of 'unfounded'. It's largely because of your own negligence that Luna did what she did." He turned to Luna. "You're not out of the line of fire yet." He turned back to Celestia. "There were multiple ways that you could have handled it, yet you let the situation devolve enough so she would ask for help from a being as evil as Nightmare Moon? How bad do you think her mental state must have been?
"And now look at her! You broke her heart; she turned evil; you banished her for a thousand years, and I'd wager that a good portion of people still don't know she's back. Luna even has a widely celebrated holiday to remind her of the mistakes she's made!
"There's two sides to everyone: one they want to show, and one they want to hide. You've demonstrated your ineptitude towards your sister, thus showing you care less about what others hold dear to them than you do yourself. Luna's got nothing to hide, she only wanted to show everyone what she could do. That makes her better than you.
"And you!" He turned to Luna. "Instead of going bat shit crazy, you could have just left. Get up and go. People don't realise how much they appreciate something until it's gone. If you had left, Celestia would have realised her mistake. Stay away, let it sink in to her how how much of a cunt Celestia was!"
"Stay your tongue, or I'll have you arrested for treason!" Celestia snarled.
"Treason?!" Joseph asked with humoured incredulity. "Firstly, if someone's a cunt, you call them a cunt! Secondly, I have no loyalty to either of you, and the two of you hold no sovereignty over me, either! Arresting me for treason is like giving a jam sandwich to a drowning rabbit. Are you that much of a muppet to do so?"
Celestia's horn flashed for a moment and the door burst open. "Guards, take him! Any final words?" she asked as the guards surrounded Joseph to take him to the dungeon.
"Going to detain me for freedom of speech?" Joseph quirked.
"Come on ma'am, that's enough."
"Bangers and Mash."
The guard looked at Joseph with confusion. "Ma'am?"
"Bubbles and Squeak."
"Excuse me?"
"Smoked Eel Pie."
"Miss..." the guard cautioned.
"Haggis!"
"That is it! Come with us!" the guards roared before dragging Joseph out of the throne room, kicking and screaming.
He turned back to shout in Celestia's direction; "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, here they are standing in a row! Small ones big ones, some as big as your ass!"
That... was... brilliant, Nightmare Moon awarded.
Joseph caused quite the stir while being carried off to the dungeon. Celestia followed behind, making reassurances that everything will be fine.
Celestia stood at the end of the concrete corridor (of which has a dozen cells; six on one side with the others opposite), watching as the guards effectively threw Joseph into a cell.
Joseph fell to the floor with an 'oof', grunting in discomfort as he righted himself into a sitting position as the door slammed shut behind him. Next came hoofsteps, Celestia walking tentatively up to Joseph's cell.
"So I guess you are," Joseph remarked.
"Never before have I seen such blatant disrespect for royalty."
"Hey, sunny buns, respect is earned, not freely given. Like I said; after my chat with Nightmare, that made me lose all respect for you. Now you've essentially done to me what you did to Luna."
"The cell is enchanted too, so forget about using magic. Your level of magic is no hope in getting out of there. And so long as you're in there, Chrysalis is going to have to go through me to get to you. At that stage I would have thwarted what she's planning."
Joseph leaned forward and draped his forelegs over the middle vertical, wrought-iron bar of the cell door. "That's the beauty of it," he began with a victorious grin, "she's going to have to go. Through. You," he finished, jabbing his right hoof at Celestia with enunciation. "With you out of the picture, Luna will get her chance in the spotlight, and you will have weakened Chrysalis enough for me to deal with. You're such a team player."
Celestia disregarded Joseph furthermore. She turned to the same guard, of whom was originally in the throne room when Joseph got there. "I'm posting you outside the door." She gestured with a nod of her head at the door at the end of the hall. "I'll be back down tomorrow to let hi-her, out."
"Understood, your majesty."
With the cell empty not a moment later, Joseph reclined onto the wall-mounted, fold-down cot, folding his forehooves behind his head and crossing his legs. He grinned. 'I certainly don't have the magic, but Nightmare does.' he mused to himself. 'Hey, Moonie, how's Chrysalis' spell doing?'
If what you're asking is if she's come or gone, I am unable to tell.
'Alright good, now here's the deal. Now that we've bought some time where Chrysalis can't get us, you're going to help me sort out a few things and get out of here by the time Celestia gets back, so here's what we're going to do...'
Quite a ways off from Canterlot, in one of the many valleys gouged into a mountainside, a lone, aqua-blue unicorn strode, struggling somewhat and pulling a cart in her wake.
"Trixie has made a wrong turn," she grumbled.
The cart's wheels clattered and jarred against the rocky ground. Luckily, the contents of the cart were kept secure. From walking for over a day in such rocky terrain, it had marred Trixie's hooves, the tips of her hooves beginning to split and chip.
"Trixie should have gotten new shoes too."
Trixie stopped for a moment, unharnessed the wagon, and went to a box attached to the cart between the wooden arms. She pulled out a map and compass, took a seat, and began to get her bearings.
"Trixie is... another half day's walk north from Ponyville." As she was putting the map and compass away, a baseball-sized rock rolled down one of the steep inclines of where she'd walked, catching her attention. Her head spun on a pivot to watch the rock roll away harmlessly in another direction. Somepony had knocked it loose.
"Who goes there?!" she screamed.
A pony peaked his head over one of the boulders, cocking its head at Trixie. He leaped into the air and glided down to the mare. He was donned in royal guard armour, putting Trixie's nerves at ease.
"Morning Glory. I'm with the Canterlot Royal Guard."
"Trixie is not lost!" Trixie immediately defended. "Trixie still has time to get to Ponyville by tomorrow for her performance!" she finished proudly.
"Tomorrow? Miss, that's today!" Morning Glory lied.
"What?!"
"Twilight Sparkle, the organiser for the event, said you were running late, so she sent two guards to search you out to hurry you back to Ponyville for your scheduled performance!"
Trixie balked. "It's a half a day's walk from here; I'll never make it on time!"
Morning Glory just shook his head. "If you get in your cart, I'll hook myself and my partner up, I can fly us there in two hours." He put the edge of his hoof in his mouth, giving a sharp, piercing whistle that echoed throughout the valley. Several moments later, a grey spec could be seen flying in the distance. "Make yourself comfortable, my partner is on his way."
"Trixie is thankful for your assistance!"
"The pleasure is all mine. I've got a feeling that the show you'll put on will be remembered for years to come."
Trixie proudly bounced her hair with a hoof. "You must have heard of Trixie, then," she said with a smug grin.
"Oh, of course I've heard of you! Your talent for illusion reminds me of my mother!"
"Are you calling Trixie old?"
"I meant no offense. You two just have similar talents, that's why you reminded me of her."
The other pegasus guard landed on the ground with a thud, the metal of his shoes clinking on the gravel as he walked to strap himself in next to Glory. "Let's go. By the time we get there, you'll have plenty of time to set up before everything kicks off properly," he said.
Trixie was quick to climb into the back of the cart, locking the door behind her.
Morning Glory and his partner were thankful that the cart only had one window. It was attached to the door to the cart on the opposite end from which Glory and co. were tied to. The duo snickered and gave one another a brohoof.
They took off, gliding in a smooth arc that ended with them facing away from Ponyville, careful to not make Trixie suspicious that they were going in the opposite direction.
Half an hour into their flight, a lone changeling joined the flight, flying in sync with Glory and partner. A wreathe of green fire encompassed them both, revealing their natural, chitinous forms underneath, showing the newcomer they were friendly.
After a moment, Morning Glory said, making sure Trixie couldn't eavesdrop; "Fly ahead to Chrysalis and let her know we have Trixie secured, then continue to help with the plans for tomorrow."
The changeling gave a salute and sped off in front of the wagon without uttering a single word.
"Do you know what Chrysalis is planning? All of the orders I've been getting don't make any sense."
"I'm just an errand boy," Morning Glory replied. "Between that, and messing around with Drone Ex-B, I've been having too much fun to care. Everything will make sense tomorrow."
Two hours later, the now undisguised changelings flew the cart into the entrance of the hive, settling down just inside.
There, already waiting, was Chrysalis.
"Trixie Lulamoon, as promised, your highness," Glory stated.
"Ex-B has been restless. See to her."
Morning Glory beamed. "Right away, your majesty." He hurried off into the bowels of the mountain.
Chrysalis glared at the other changeling for a moment until he got the hint, scarpering off into the hive. She shapeshifted, then walked around to the door of the carriage and knocked.
It opened and Trixie poked her head out. "Princess Celestia!" she gaped. "Forgive Trixie, she had no idea you would be in Ponyville!"
"Come, I'll show you there."
Trixie climbed out of the cart, but became apprehensive when she saw she was standing in the entrance of a large cave.
"Princess? What are we doing in a cave?"
Chrysalis thought up a clever lie. "A cave that takes you into Ponyville. Short cut. As I am a princess, it's so I'm not seen coming and going in most instances. Have you been to Ponyville before?"
"N-no..."
"It's alright, you can trust me. I'll have a guard pick up your cart and bring it with him."
Trixie looked around in the entrance. "Where did the other two go?"
"They were only sent to search for you. Another shall be along momentarily. Keep up, we don't want you getting lost, now would we?"
As Chrysalis lead Trixie deeper into the cave, it became dark enough that Trixie's light spell only illuminated a few feet or so in front of her.
If anyone was in the surrounding valley, or mountain for that matter, all would have heard the shrill, ear-shattering shriek pierce the tranquil silence for miles around. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 20| The Final Ingredient | 3pm the following day...
Celestia strode through the dampened stone corridors underneath Canterlot, accompanied by a Solar guard leading the way. She knew her castle like the back of her hoof, although the guard was a precautionary measure. Celestia knew how to handle herself if the need were to arise, but the less-than-model citizens that resided within these halls wouldn't hesitate at an opportunity to maim a lonesome princess if given the chance. With a guard by her side, the prisoners only gave sneering glances or shouted vulgarities in her direction.
Arriving at her destination, Celestia turned to face the occupant of this particular cell. The guard stood off to her left with a ring of various keys floating in his magic.
Joseph was reclined on the fold-down cot in the room, hooves crossed behind his head. His pose suggested he was resting rather comfortably on the mattress. "Well if it isn't God Almighty herself," Joseph taunted.
Ignoring his attempt to get a raise out of her, Celestia wordlessly motioned to the guard with a nod of her head to open the cell door.
"Woah woah, hold up there," Joseph began, sitting up. "You planning on letting me out?"
"That is the idea, yes," Celestia said.
He smirked. "Little Celly scared that Chrysalis might actually go through you to get me?" Joseph taunted, his smirk widening. "You're only letting me out to save your own ass; you're just scared of her as much as anyone else is."
Dismissing Joseph again, Celestia said; "I shall be releasing you conditionally."
"Under what pretence?"
The corner of her nose curled as she suppressed a desire to mouth off at him in the same manner befitting of someone so contemptuous. "You would do well to remember whose company you are in."
"Is that it? You expect me to kowtow to you?"
"You fail to understand that I can keep you here for as long as I see fit. Outside of a hoof-ful of ponies, nopony else knows you're here."
Joseph's eyes flickered as if deciding to tell her something he did but otherwise shouldn't have. His smirk vanished at Celestia's statement, but returned just as quickly for what he had in mind.
The keys clinked as they came into contact with the cold steel of the cell door at the behest of Celestia, but once again, Joseph stopped the guard.
"Do you wish to remain in here?" Celestia queried, somewhat agitated by his stalling. "Twilight wrote me saying she's expecting you at the Nightmare Night festival in Ponyville this evening. Would you disappoint her?"
"Oh, by no means do I intend on staying here longer than necessary. I'm just savouring this moment."
"Pray tell... why?"
"Well... I can see you're a bit agitated... Annoyed... Uptight... At what I couldn't care less, but something you said yesterday when you put me in here made me think." Celestia simply raised a curious eyebrow. "You said: "Your level of magic is no hope in getting out of there", which is quite true, I certainly couldn't, but Nightmare Moon has the capabilities." Celestia visibly stiffened, looking down her muzzle through narrowed eyes at Joseph. "You said I'm free to go, right?"
"...Yes," she said with an air of caution.
"Then I bid you farewell. I'm off to a festival!" And with that, Joseph's horn charged with magic, and in a brilliant white flash, he disappeared, leaving lingering particles of magic that glittered in mid air which soon dissipated.
Celestia just stood, dumbfounded, bemused, and thoroughly angry, staring at where Joseph once laid.
2pm, Ponyville, an hour prior...
Twilight Sparkle was walking through the streets of Ponyville, excitedly taking in all the festivities the town had to offer. A lot of the stores had put up 'spooky' decorations; jack-o-lanterns, fake spiderwebs, and tomb stones to name but a few.
Rarity had offered to help make Twilight a costume for the night, but she'd respectfully turned it down. Twilight had her own vision of how she wanted her costume to look, and seeing some of the costumes Rarity had made earlier dissuaded Twilight from the offer.
Rarity had been prettying up otherwise scary costumes. A werewolf costume with groomed and conditioned fur, and a mummy with sparkling wrappings. Twilight couldn't help but wonder why she was doing that. After all, it was a night meant for freaks and ghouls, not sparkly mummies that could've passed themselves off as walking disco balls.
She had her own costume ready to put together back at the treehouse, but she just needed some help sewing a few things together. Put off from Rarity's help for fearing she'd embellish it unnecessarily, Twilight opted to recruit Fluttershy's uncanny sewing abilities to finish the outfit.
On her way home from having gone shopping for some treats for any trick-or-treaters, she offloaded the candy to Spike to carry. Rather predictably, he'd not so covertly opened one of the bags and was snacking on it when he thought Twilight wasn't looking.
For some of the store owners, they closed their shops a little earlier than normal to set up stalls selling Nightmare Night themed trinkets and snacks where the bigger crowd would be gathered tonight: Town Square.
Twilight was too busy drinking in all the sights that she didn't notice when she bumped into an oncoming pony!
"Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed, but on looking at the pony in question, quickly saw it was Applejack.
"Twilight!" Applejack beamed. "Checkin' out the festivities are ya?"
"Mmhmm! Everything looks amazing." Her gaze turned to the cart the farm pony was hauling. "What are all the barrels for?"
"They're for the festival. Settin' up some fun games for all the colts and fillies!" Applejack said, continuing to walk through town as Twilight followed. "Pumpkin tossin', spider throwin', and apple bobbin', which is what the barrels are for."
"Pumpkin tossing? Wouldn't that be a waste of food?"
"Naw, these pumpkins are old. We scrape up what we can and feed 'em to the pigs. No wasted vegetables here!"
"Technically, Applejack, pumpkins are a fruit..."
"Say what now?"
"Pumpkins, tomatoes, anything with seeds inside of it is a fruit."
"Uh huh..." Having arrived at her chosen destination for the evening, Applejack gruffly unhitched the cart. "Well, Ah've got work to do. Catapults to set up, barrels to fill..." Going off the mare's current attitude, Twilight wasn't sure if Applejack was being discreetly callous, or if there was a lot of weight in the cart she was hauling.
"Alright then, Applejack, I'll go finish my costume. I'll see you soon!" As Applejack got to work, Twilight and Spike set off towards the library.
As they passed back through Town Square, they saw the main stage being set up, something the town assembled when a show was going to be put on. Keeping an eye out for Mayor Mare, Twilight spied her over by the stage looking through a scroll.
"Mayor Mare!" she called out. The mare in question glanced up from her scroll through the top of her glasses, her expression lightening up.
"Twilight Sparkle! What can I help you with?"
"I was... just wondering if you had a spare list of the performances tonight. I just want to plan my time between each one so I can see them all," she said, although a bit sheepishly.
"I don't have a spare copy, sorry, but I can tell you there's only two scheduled performances: Trixie Lulamoon the magician, and music for the festivities by Vinyl Scratch." The mayor ran the tip of her hoof a bit down the list. "Trixie should be here in a few hours, and Vinyl is on her way back with some more of her equipment. Ah, there she is!" Over Twilight's shoulder, Mayor Mare caught sight of Vinyl pulling a cart with the remainder of her equipment loaded in the tray.
"Thank you, Mayor."
"Have a spooky nightmare night!"
Twilight made her way over to Vinyl to ask; "Excuse me, I was just wondering what time you'll be playing tonight..."
"Oh hey there! I just need to connect these speakers with the rest of the stuff, make sure everything else is properly connected, run a couple tests with the sound and speakers, than I should be ready to go in... about an hour or so?"
"Thanks, I'll be back once I've got my costume organised."
"That reminds me, I've got somepony joining me later! I tell ya, she blew the club away I was at in Canterlot the other week!"
"Then I should really get my costume finished so I can be back on time to catch the two of you. By the way, who is it?"
"It's a secret," Vinyl said with a wink.
Twilight just grinned, bade Vinyl farewell, located Spike--who ran off to check out a couple of the stalls--and made her way back to the library to finish her costume. She had everything she needed, so she just needed to take it over to Fluttershy's so she could help fix it up in time. Spike already made his costume, so it was just a matter of putting it on, something Twilight could help with later.
By the time Twilight was finished at Fluttershy's, they had just enough time to get home and put everything on. Arriving home, the two of them went into the kitchen, Twilight for a drink and Spike so he could offload the candy onto the counter. He hurried out the kitchen and headed upstairs, much to Twilight's confusion.
"You're supposed to put the candy in a bowl, not on the counter, Spike!"
"Bathroom!" he called back down, shutting the door behind him.
Twilight went upstairs to her room to change, but stopped when she stood in the doorway. Her bedroom window was wide open, the closet door ajar, and something was moving around in it.
"Did you put your costume in my closet, Spike?" she asked, gaze flicking between the open window and the closet.
Suddenly, the rustling stopped. "Spike..." Twilight said cautiously.
"This isn't funny." All of a sudden, the closet doors slammed shut, startling her.
"What are you doing in there, Spike?!" She took hold of the handles with her magic, yanking them open. Just clothes hanging on hangers and a couple boxes of miscellaneous items.
But what caught her eye was half of the hangars were pushed forward from the back of the closet.
Something was hiding behind the clothes.
Having finished up his 'business', Spike went downstairs to keep an eye on the door for trick-or-treaters, taking the opportunity to put on his costume. And helping himself to more candy, of course. A couple minutes later, he heard something fall over in Twilight's room, so he hurried up to her.
"Twilight, are you ok? I heard something fall!"
"I'm--uhn!--fine, Spike! This... costume--" something smashes "--is just a bit difficult--oof!-- to put on!"
More shuffling, the sound of whatever broke being put into the rubbish bin, something slamming shut, and then Twilight opened the door. She stood proud--although a little flustered--adorned in a blue robe with moons and stars patterned all over, and hat that also had bells around its edges.
"Uh... Are you supposed to be that one creepy grandpa from Ponyville Retirement Village?" Spike ventured.
"I'm Starswirl the Bearded!" she dryly shot back. "Did you read that book I gave you about obscure unicorn history?"
"Isn't it a bit early to go walking through Ponyville wearing a costume? It's almost three. Everything should be set up by four at the earliest. Why not just wait for a bit?"
"Not a chance, Spike, I want to make sure I can see and do everything. Now, let me help you into your costume so we don't miss anything." She was half way through helping Spike into his costume when a flick of something in the middle of the room out of the corner of Spike's eye caught his attention.
He nudged Twilight with an elbow, saying; "What's that?" Two sets of eyes narrowed at it, trying to figure out what it was, and in that instant, a field of magic materialised with a thunderous crack. As the magical field dissolved, it unceremoniously deposited its target in the middle of the room with a thud, and an "oof" from the one in question.
Joseph took a moment to right himself, supporting his head as he stood up to try and deal with the wave of nausea coursing through him. With a lurch of his stomach, Joseph clambered for the stairs and ran for the toilet, ignoring Twilight and Spike's confused and alarmed stares.
"Joseph?!" she exclaimed, hurrying after him with Spike running after the two of them. They both stopped as they both found Joseph with his head buried in the ceramic bowl, depositing his breakfast of porridge and toast into the once white basin.
"How did you... What did you... Huh?" Twilight balked.
"I'm never going to get used to that..." Joseph said groggily, pulling off a length of toilet paper to clean what caught around his mouth.
Twilight looked at Joseph, her expression a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Mostly disbelief. "How... How did you manage to teleport?"
"Ugh... I didn't. I had Moonie do it for me."
"You had Nightmare Moon cast a spell for you!?" she hissed "That's dangerous!"
"Where else is she gonna send me? Back to Earth? Oh no, please don't send me home!" He punctuated his sarcasm with a roll of his eyes, then promptly flushed the loo. "I need some food after that. And a drink. Got anything good?"
"First you're telling me exactly how you ended up here!"
"Can you go get me some food while Twilight gives me the third degree?" Joseph asked, craning his neck to look at the drake behind Twilight. He nodded his head and fled down the stairs. Despite Twilight's scathing glare, Joseph recounted the last week, leading up to the last twenty-four hours or so. "Well lets see... I've been reeking for a week; kept getting hit on; then Celestia 'summoned' me; called her a cunt; got arrested after the fact; got tossed in jail overnight, and while I was on the inside, I asked Nightmare Moon to teleport me here after Celestia said I was free to go, just so I could wipe that smarmy little grin off her face."
"You can't talk to Celestia like that!" Twilight exclaimed, the corner of her eye beginning to twitch in exasperation of having to deal with Joseph. "Won't she be looking for you?"
"Twilight, understand that she said I was free to go. I told her not to open the cell so I could stick it to her after I teleported out. Just me being an asshole. What's she gonna do if she finds me? Send me to the moon? Pfft. Anyway, since I'm here, I should get cleaned up for the festival tonight." With all that out of the way, he finally gave Twilight enough attention to see what she was wearing. He squinted at the outfit, trying to figure out what she was supposed to be. "...Merlin?"
"Ugh!" Her frustration was punctuated by glowering at Joseph. After all, having somebody teleport into your house will tend to leave a sour taste in your mouth. Especially if that someone was Nightmare Moon incarnate.
In that moment, Spike came back up the stairs with two apples and a banana in one hand, and a glass of milk in the other. Joseph grinned a bit at seeing the fruit, but Twilight was less than reluctant to let Spike past, so Joseph just levitated it through the door. He just sat on the floor, looking at Twilight, who was still behaving like a mother would.
"So... You gonna move or what? Neither you nor I want to miss out on this, do we?"
Twilight trotted back down the stairs with a huff, leaving Joseph and Spike snickering in her wake.
"Girls, am I right?" Joseph said with a grin. That just made Spike giggle harder. "What?" he inquired.
"Uhm, dude..."
"What?" Spike bit his lip to keep from laughing too loud. "What!?" Joseph demanded. And then it dawned on him. "Oh... OH! Shut up!" Spike couldn't help but laugh on his way downstairs.
An hour or so later, after Twilight had an opportunity to calm herself down properly and readjust her costume, and after Joseph properly cleaned up and ate, the trio made their way into Ponyville a little after four.
"So what's the haps around here tonight?" Joseph said to break the silence during their walk into town.
"Ex...cuse me? Twilight asked in confusion.
"I think he wants to know what's going on tonight," Spike amended.
"Us guys understand each other." Joseph gave Spike a grin as if to say 'yeah bro', which he returned.
"...Right. There's two performances tonight: a magic show in a few hours by one Trixie Lulamoon, and Vinyl Scratch is going to be playing some music. She's a musician."
"Oh, I know who she is. Ran into her in a club in Canterlot. She's cool."
Twilight's eyes widened as her brain put together the pieces that Vinyl told her a couple hours ago. "Wait... You DJ'd with her at a club in Canterlot?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"She said she was expecting a guest to show up tonight. That wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"
"I don't remember. I was too busy up on stage with Vinyl mixing music and the crowd roaring," he said with a grin.
Twilight growled in annoyance towards Joseph, giving him a scathing glare before sighing in resignation. "Let's... Let's just get to the stage so we can see Vinyl perform," Twilight finished with an exasperated sigh.
Joseph, Twilight, and Spike arrived at the main stage in due time, on which Vinyl had her stereo equipment setup. Another pony, a lighter blue unicorn stallion, stood next to her over the mixing board, and each had one half of the cups of the headphones, twisting them to fit over their ears while they rocked their hooves with indecisiveness at whatever they were listening to.
Joseph saw Vinyl suddenly perk up and tugged her hoof down as if to say "Aw yes!", and then the other pony high-fived them. Or... whatever these ponies did.
'What do you call high-fiving here?'
Nightmare rolled her eyes internally. Hoof bump, I suppose, or whatever those kids call it these days.
'Foreign customs are about as funny as they are weird.'
Joseph watched as Vinyl's eyes scanned out over the crowd, and she pushed her glasses down the bridge of her nose to look over the top at them more clearly, trying to spy someone in particular. Eventually she spied Joseph, or as she knew him, Eclipse. She smiled broadly and frantically gestured while mouthing "come here!" to him. He eventually saw what she was doing and double checked around him to make sure she wasn't gesturing to someone next to him.
Joseph grinned widely at Twilight as he made his way over to the stage, and up the stairs on the left. Joseph kept looking sideways at Twilight, giving her a sense of unease. She'd mentioned she knew about his exploits at the club, although not all of them, so messing with her was a bit of fun. Joseph made his way back through the crowd, noticing Rarity and Rainbow Dash walking up from behind Twilight to her.
As Joseph turned away from Vinyl, she put her headphones on, flicked a few more switches and twiddled a few more knobs, then took the headphones off to hang around her neck. When he turned back, he gestured for her to come over to the four of them. Rarity and Rainbow watched with baited anticipation.
"Hey everypony!" Vinyl said as she cantered over. "Eclipse and I have one heck of a show planned in a little bit!"
"So tell me, Vinyl, what exactly did you two do in the club in Canterlot?" Twilight queried.
"All I can say is wow! I hired somepony to dress up as Nightmare Moon--" Twilight visibly stiffened and her eyes glued themselves to Vinyls words henceforth "--but she showed up late. It wasn't until I went out on stage dressed up as Nightmare Moon in the outfit I supplied that Eclipse here literally stole the show with her costume of her! I tell ya, it looked so real!"
All eyes were drawn to Joseph after that, and he just smugly huffed a breath onto a hoof and mockingly polished it against his chest. "Yeah, I know a thing or two..."
"Well," Vinyl said excitedly, "can you show us what else you can do?"
"Yeah! Ba-bawk! Show us!" Pinkie inexplicably appeared next to Joseph, her uncannily accurate chicken's crow startling him.
"Where the hell did you come from?!" Joseph exclaimed, jumping back a step.
"My mom, silly!"
"Just..." He sighed in exasperation and looked Pinkie up and down. "What are you supposed to be? A giant cock?"
"No, I'm a chicken. Ba-kawk!" She lept up and drill-pecked at Joseph's mane, and he responded by furiously batting the mare out of his personal space.
"What the hell?!"
Pinkie planted all four hooves back on the ground, the twisty end of several pieces of candy in her 'beak'. "You had these in your mane!"
"No, Pinkie, I didn't, I can tell you that for a fact." He turned to Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow, all while Vinyl was stifling a laugh behind a hoof. "Is she always like this?"
"I've lived in Ponyville most of my life, and I still don't know how Pinkie does what she does," Rarity said admittedly, giving Pinkie a confused glance as she scarfed the candy.
"Yeah," Rainbow added, "she's weird like that."
"That is not..." Joseph looked around for the aforementioned mare, but she had already run off to who-knows-where. "...natural?" he finished awkwardly.
"Look at it like this, dear: don't think about it too hard," Rarity amended, trying to make Joseph more at ease with a soft pat on the back.
"Anyway," Vinyl piped up, "I'll start my show at five when most of the ponies will have started to explore the festival a bit more. That shouldn't take until a little after five, so come back before then so you can put on your costume, alright?" she directed at Joseph.
"Sounds good to me."
"Awesome! See you fillies in half an hour."
As Vinyl made her way back to the stage, Rarity turned to Twilight and asked; "You wouldn't have happened to see Sweetie Belle and her friends around, have you?"
Before she could get two words out, Rainbow said; "I saw them hauling a cart towards Sweet Apple Acres."
"She could at least tell me what she's doing! She's been behaving rather strangely recently..." Rarity groaned with frustration and concern. "I can't look after her and put on my outfit at the same time!"
"I still haven't put mine on yet either!" Rainbow added.
"Well, what are you supposed to be going as then?"
"Shhh, it's a secret," Pinkie's voice said. Despite three heads looking every which way, she was nowhere to be found.
"She's probably the most scary person here," Joseph said, his voice taking on a frightened edge.
"Twilight," Rarity practically begged, "Would you mind making sure she's not in any trouble for me, please?"
Joseph could just tell that Twilight was torn between wanting to make sure her friend's sister is alright, and wanting to peruse everything the stalls and games had to offer.
"I got time to kill, I'll go. Just point me in the right direction," Joseph said.
She glanced around and stuck her hoof down a large street ponies were beginning to file out from, some dressed up while others weren't. "Head west to the school and take the road south, you should get there soon enough. I just need to know she's alright, so after you do that come by my boutique and let me know."
"Alright, see you in a bit." With a curt nod of goodbye, Joseph began to follow Rarity's directions. He headed down the main street, trying not to get lost as he made his way to the school. He hadn't seen it before, but he doubted a school would be hard to miss. Rarity's directions were a bit off, as when Joseph reached the outskirts of town, he came to a small river a hundred or so metres away from the edge of town, but no school. He asked a pony at random where it was, and they pointed out across the river and down some three hundred metres.
"It looks like a barn and has a belfry," they said.
"Cheers," Joseph replied, continuing on his path. The school itself was quaint and out of the way of a lot of the town's traffic, so he began following the dirt road towards the farm, hoping he'd conveniently run into the three fillies. As he was coming up to the main entrance to the farm, he thankfully saw the fillies sitting on the ground fiddling with a bunch of dowel rods sharpened at one end, three rolls of tape, and a cart loaded with fireworks sitting behind them.
"Nuh uh, it goes like this!" Scootaloo exclaimed, taking one of the dowel rods, holding a firework against it, wrapping it with tape, and plunging the sharpened end into the dirt.
Joseph cringed as he saw this. The firework was only loosely attached and fell off when Scootaloo stabbed the rod into the ground.
"Awww," she groaned. "Why won't it stay on?"
"You're not wrapping it tight enough is why," Joseph said, catching the three of them off guard. They spun around to look at him as he walked up to them.
"I know you, you're that mare from school the other week!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"
"I volunteered, at the behest of Rarity, to come see if you three were alright. Glad I did, 'cause it looks like you're liable to blow yourselves to kingdom come. Are you trying to set up a fireworks display?"
"Yeah, but it ain't going so well as you can see..." Apple Bloom said with a wave of her hoof over the pitiful attempt at a fireworks display.
"Shoot!" Sweetie Belle immediately exclaimed, drawing the attention of the other three, tossing dowel rods and tape to the ground.
"Can't get them to stick apparently. Here, let me show you." Joseph took one of the rockets, a rod, and one of the three rolls of tape. He held the rod parallel with the firework, firmly wrapping it in tape all up and down the body, leaving the fuse exposed, then sinking the sharpened end into the ground. "That's how you do it. Just hold it tight and be liberal with the tape. Don't half-ass it and expect it to work."
Wide-eyed, and looking like they had just re-discovered the wheel, they each grabbed a rocket, a rod, tape, and easily replicated what Joseph showed them. He supposed someone just needed to show them how to properly do it.
"Cool!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"We'll have these done in no time!" Scootaloo added.
"Do you just plan on sticking them into the ground to let them off?"
"Uh huh..." Sweetie Belle added nonchalantly, making up her third rocket.
"I got an idea for you. If you've got the time, build a frame that holds all of them in tubes, in rows and columns. That way none of them will fall over."
"Neat idea!" Scootaloo beamed.
Hold on a moment, Nightmare Moon interjected. Joseph's mention of the frame caused her to recall a memory of what he called a 'television'.
Upon hearing what she had to say, the idea bulb went off in Joseph's head. 'Do you want to use it against Chrysalis? Wouldn't that be considered overkill?'
She's going to show up with an army of her changelings. Call it crowd control.
Grinning widely, much to the confusion of the crusaders, Joseph said; "Scratch that, here's a different idea. Still make the frame to hold the rockets, but mount it on the cart. Then you can adjust the angle so the whole town can see the display!" It was the truth, but at the same time it wasn't. He was feeling slightly conflicted at having these little fillies build such a thing, but if worse came to worse...
'Are you sure Chrysalis is going to show up tonight?'
Changelings are highly proficient at disguises. Costumes are an integral part of this festival, so she could likely waltz through town like you will be in ten minutes and nobody will be the wiser. Everyone will be in town, so what better place to initiate her plans in a place where she can keep everyone corralled?
'I still don't get why she'd come to this place. As much of a backwater town as this is, it doesn't make much sense.'
Taking care of threats such as you and the Elements is a priority.
'You've thought about this way too much, haven't you?'
When you've been on the moon for a thousand years there's not much else to do.
'You need to get out more.'
Easier said than done, she replied irately.
"Now I need to go tell Rarity the three of you are fine and making a fireworks display," Joseph said candidly.
"I'll see you in town later when we're done here!" Scootaloo said as Joseph turned to walk back to town.
Halfway there, he could see a couple spotlights waving their radiant beams from what he could only assume to be the main stage. The hustle and bustle had picked up a lot during the trip to the farm, but if Earth was anything to go by, people had a tendency to show up closer to the time to events which would result in the huge influx. He had a hard time and a half making his way to the stage over the cacophony of noise the crowd was making, and the music Vinyl had begun playing to pass the time. When she finally caught sight of him, she locked eyes with Joseph and mouthed "go around the back," with the flick of her head to the curtain.
"Alright everypony," she hollered into the microphone. "My special guest has arrived, so if you'll excuse me momentarily while I go see to her, we'll be right out!"
Joseph quickly went up the stairs to backstage as Vinyl put on some music to mollify the agitated crowd. Not two seconds later, she came through the curtain. "Where've you been?" she asked impatiently.
"Had to take care of something. I'm here now."
"Great, just put your disguise on and then we can do a repeat performance from the club."
"Repeat? Why not something new?"
"You try writing new songs each time you hold a show!"
"Ok, ok," Joseph acquiesced. "You do your thing and I'll do mine."
Joseph watched as Vinyl took a much needed calming breath and stepped towards the curtain. "Just be ready for their reactions." She smirked. "After all, it's not everyday somepony like Nightmare Moon is seen DJ-ing," she said flippantly, making her way back through the curtain and to the microphone.
"Alright everypony," Vinyl began as Joseph took off the disguise, "for tonight only, I give you the Mare in the Moon herself, Nightmare Moon!"
As Joseph walked through the curtain, Nightmare Moon said; If you want to stay true to my likeness, do and say what I tell you to make it as authentic as possible.
Much like the club in Canterlot, Joseph was greeted with a mixture of shocked gasps, worried murmurs, and general unease in the crowd as everyone whispered to each other. He noticed Vinyl awkwardly rub the back of her neck, not exactly getting the uproarious greeting she had hoped for.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie jumped up from the back of the crowd and screamed; "It's Nightmare Moon! She's gonna eat us all!"
The hush-hush murmurs of the crowd became louder, more panicked screams as the ponies began backing away from Joseph and the stage as the whole crowd began to reel in alarm at Pinkie's statement.
"Quiet!" Joseph bellowed at Nightmare Moon's suggestion, the crowd doing so out of fear, awkwardly shuffling around as they tried to locate their loved ones. "Pinkie, you're a giant cock. I have no interest in eating you, or any of you for that matter," he indicated with a wave of a foreleg over the crowd. "And besides," he continued, "if it really was Nightmare Moon, don't you think she would have tried doing something stupid by now?"
Joseph saw that the crowd was taken aback by what he said, looking to each other with confusion, almost like they expected Nightmare Moon to pull a fast one over them.
"No, I am someone Vinyl hired in Canterlot to DJ for her at a club, and asked me here tonight." It wasn't really the truth. Joseph was praying on the notion that Vinyl had hired someone to DJ originally, deceiving her into thinking it was the same person, and thus reinforcing to Vinyl and the crowd that it was just a costume. Vinyl seemed to relax a bit, as did the crowd. Speaking of the pony Vinyl originally hired, if she didn't arrive for whatever reason, what did ever happen to her? Lucky for Joseph, Vinyl wasn't attentive enough to realise that.
Joseph watched as Pinkie took her sweet time processing the information. "Oh, it's you! Hi Josie!"
He scowled at being called Josie, having already told Pinkie off for that. He turned his attention to Vinyl, nodding to tell her to ready the music and turned to address the crowd.
'Can you amplify my voice like a microphone?' Joseph asked Nightmare.
An easy spell. I'll cast it through you like the teleport, then just tell me when to turn it off, as it were.
"We've selected some appropriate music to kick this night off," Joseph said, his voice carrying over the crowd magnificently, as if Nightmare Moon herself were addressing her subjects in a slightly condescending manner. "Miss Scratch, if you could..."
She put on a display by flipping a few records out from underneath the turntable and slamming them onto the table. With Joseph grinning widely, Vinyl brought up her forehoof, on which was a button attached to a bracelet with an antenna.
As the first beat dropped, the entire stage gave a hiss as dry ice smoke began to pour and waft out from the gaps in Vinyl's setup. As the tempo picked up, so did the transformation of the soundstage, gears and mechanisms whirring in time with the music. The platform on which Joseph and Vinyl stood raised up from the floor on two pistons, connected to two panels magically weighted to the floor. Once raised fully, it descended on an angle to hang over the crowd, the serendipity clearly showing on all faces.
Minus the two speakers at either end of the main stage, the ends of the sound stage tilted down on an axis as two speakers began radiating hues of colourful, harmless beams of energy as they drifted over and dissipated when they hit the crowd.
"Alright everypony," Vinyl shouted into the microphone over the music, let's get this party started! she finished in tandem with Joseph, their voices carried above the music as the crown finally got into the spirit of the festivities, instead of letting the shock of the uncannily eerie look-alike of Nightmare Moon get to them.
For the good part of two hours, everyone began to enjoy the music and the festivities.
Towards the end of the performance, the full weight of the night's atmosphere began to set in on the entire town. Fatigue in Joseph and Vinyl's muscles finally made itself present. After the current song ended, Joseph waved his hoof over his neck, telling Vinyl to stop for a while. She pulled up the needles from the records and turned the volume down on everything.
"Alright everypony, now that all of you have had your fill of entertainment, Nightmare Moon and I are going to take an opportunity to check out what you guys have got going on tonight!" The crowd cheered in unanimous approval. "We'll start back up a little bit after the magic show further down the track, so make sure you're all back before then!" With the volume turned down, there was no residual feedback from the speakers as Vinyl cut the connection to the speakers and microphone with the flip of a few switches. She thumped the button mounted on her foreleg, and the soundstage returned to its original state before wheeling itself back behind the curtain to make room for Trixie's performance.
The crowd began to dissipate as Joseph and Vinyl made their way behind the curtain.
"Wicked performance yet again!" Vinyl beamed as she and Joseph hoof-bumped.
"You know it!"
"I'm gonna go have some fun for a while, so I'll see you back here in an hour for the magic show. After that finishes, we get to go on again!"
"We'll see what happens," Joseph said, discreetly indicating that he might change his mind.
Vinyl bade him farewell to go and enjoy the next couple hours on her own. With nobody else around that he could see, Joseph slipped the disguise back on. He went down the stairs and around the side, hoping nobody saw him put on the ring. He glanced both ways to confirm this and merged with the crowd on the street.
He made a brief stop at the Apples' stand to pick up a toffee apple; having done his share of traveling before, he knew that walking along the streets with a snack or drink in hand helped tourists to blend in better with the locals.
He saw Pinkie zipping back and forth across the streets. She was taking the likeness of her costume too far by pecking at random places along the road. She was a strange one, that's for sure, and Joseph found himself watching to see how long she'd carry on with the charade. He continued to follow Pinkie down one of the back alley streets. He had a time and a half keeping up with her; by the time he had entered the alley, she was already on the other side! And when he got to the exit of the street, he saw her hopping off into another alley!
How is she so fast? Joseph wondered as he followed the pink pony. It was peculiar to say the least, but then again so was he.
Finally arriving at the end of that alley, Joseph saw Pinkie on the opposite end of the street, walking into Sugarcube Corner. Something about this seemed off to Joseph; what could Pinkie want in a bakery that couldn't possibly be for sale in the festival? He decided to wait outside to ask her, but by the time Joseph finished his apple Pinkie still hadn't come out of the building.
As he debated saying "eh, fuck it" and going back to the festival, a weird slurping noise caught his attention. Rounding the corner, he saw the shadowy lump of one pony sitting on its haunches above another. The second pony was laying on their side, gasping with shallow, spasmodic breaths.
Joseph pressed himself against the wall and cautiously snuck up behind the two ponies, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. The assailant was levitating something resembling an erlenmeyer flask and deposited something liquid into it. This close to the figure, Joseph was able to make out a blackened, sectioned carapace glinting with streaks of moonlight.
A gasp from the injured pony drew Joseph's attention away from the Changeling. He must have spotted Joseph approaching, because he was flailing his hooves in a vain attempt to call for help. The Changeling quickly took note of its unwanted visitor and hissed angrily, a thin, viscous liquid smearing both of its hooves.
Panicking, Joseph backpedaled away from the insectoid creature, but the Changeling didn't leap at him or attack. Instead, it hastily grabbed the strange bottle, swapped its disguise for a black pegasus, and immediately took to the sky. Soon it had disappeared into the night without a trace.
It took a moment for Joseph's nerves to calm down, but once they did, he instantly looked back to the stallion. He had several puncture wounds in his neck, and a thick, heavy gauge syringe lay off to the side, still half full. Beside him were the tattered remains of an oddly familiar hat and vest. The stallion's eyes were wide with shock, his neck coated in rivulets of crimson as the wounds continued to bled.
"H-hel-he," he gurgled pitifully. Hearing his voice finally jogged Joseph's memory; this was the same stallion who'd found him passed out in an alleyway his first week in Equestria.
Joseph quickly ran to the opposite end of the alley to grab the help of anyone walking by. "HEL--" he began to shout, but was abruptly cut off by a massive thunderclap and a lightning bolt obscuring his vision. The sudden shock to him, only made worse by his already pounding heart, made him nearly leap out of his skin.
Craning his head skyward, he saw a pegasus bursting into a fit of laugher and rolling around a thundercloud.
"You should have seen your face!" the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash guffawed.
Between abstract confusion, bewilderment, and shock, Joseph's eyes narrowed like poisoned daggers at Rainbow.
"What the hell!?" he shouted.
"Calm down dude, it's only a prank!"
"Fuck off and get Twilight, someone's dying back in there!" he screamed, pointing down the alley.
That seemed to get Rainbow's attention. "What!?"
Joseph was seething mad at this point. "Go and get her before I kick you so hard you'll get there faster than flying!"
Ditching her cloud, Rainbow disappeared in the blink of an eye. Joseph magically grabbed a "Happy Nightmare Night!" banner hanging over one of the doors and ran back to the end of the alley to staunch the stallion's bleeding neck.
"C'mon, stay with me!" Joseph encouraged. He pressed the cloth over the five or so weeping holes, holding it there while trying not to crush the stallion's windpipe.
Without his hat and vest, Joseph caught sight of something completely unexpected. A foul scar with stretches of skin bridging a nub of bone sat where his horn would be, and on his upper back, missing patches of fur gave way to what looked like concave areas of skin that had been cut and burned.
He balked, saying to Nightmare; 'Did you know about this?!'
Only through mythos. I thought he was just a story.
'Most people thought you were a story too, yet here you both are!'
Ten seconds went by before Twilight materialised at the end of the alley. "What happened? Rainbow to--" she gasped heavily at seeing the wounded stallion.
"Hospital, now!" Joseph bellowed. Twilight stood, wide-eyed at the sight before her. "What are you doing!? Quit gawking and--" Joseph was cut off as Twilight charged her magic and teleported the dying pony away, leaving him stunned as the weight of the last two minutes came crashing around him. Just what was that changeling thinking, and why was it using a syringe to... He shook that thought out of his head, trying to regain his composure and slow the heart hammering away within his chest.
Even so, he thought it might be safer to put the needle in his 'pocket' so nobody else has any... unfortunate accidents with it. It could also double as evidence if the need for it were to arise.
Thoughts of the stallion and why his horn and wings were removed plagued Joseph's mind as he tried to calm himself, taking his time to walk up and down the streets on the long way back to Town Square. By the time he got back to the main stage, the initial shock had worn off, but worry and concern still littered his mind. He needed a drink to calm his nerves.
A solid portion of the vendors were within arms reach, so Joseph went to find someone that looked like they had something a bit on the strong side. He spied Big Macintosh with several barrels next to him, one of which was on a table with a tap protruding out the bottom. He watched as the massive red stallion took a wooden mug and filled it to the brim.
'Oohhh, is that cider?!' he thought to himself. He took his place fourth in line behind three others. He watched as the stallion served each of them a drink. One of the patrons put three coins on the table, and Big Mac swept them into a sack hanging off the table's edge. The next two put five bits on the table, and Big Mac wordlessly filled their mugs from a different barrel. Joseph, intrigued, wondered what the difference between paying three bits and five bits could be.
When Joseph got up to the stand, he put eight bits on the table. Big Mac raised a questioning eyebrow while Joseph stood, staring, seeing if he could figure it out. Mac wordlessly filled up a mug from the barrel off to his side, but the second he poured from a barrel in the middle of the stack behind him, then put both on the table.
Joseph levitated both mugs up, took a tentative sip from the first, and nodded with approval. The second mug, however, proved to be what Joseph was after. He let out a long, drawn out sigh of relief as the strength of the drink danced on his tongue. He swallowed with what could only be the look of someone stuck in a desert and only just found water. He raised the latter mug in a 'thank you' gesture to the red stallion, who nodded in kind, before Joseph turned his attention to the crowd until he spotted Twilight. Waving his hoof to her, she caught sight and cantered over to Joseph.
"Here, I got you a drink," Joseph said as he thrust the almost untouched mug of cider to Twilight while downing his own. He figured a little selective disinformation wouldn't hurt her, but he didn't want to tell her what he was drinking.
Both to Joseph's amusement and surprise, Twilight resigned to taking the mug and downing half of it, visibly relaxing considering recent events. "Thanks," she said, wiping a fetlock over her mouth to clear any lingering cider.
"So," Joseph began, looking down to Twilight, "mind telling me what the deal is with that other fella?"
She took another swig of her drink. "Huh? Oh, uhm, the doctors said they needed to run some tests first. Other than severe blood loss, with some transfusions he should recover."
Joseph's brow furrowed in anger. To avoid making a scene, he gently, yet firmly, lead the purple mare to the opening of an alley. "Twilight, I've been in this weird-ass place for over a month, and at every turn people have been jerking me around. Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, Celestia... I've got zero fucking idea what the hell is going on half the time, and now this shit?" He magicked the still half-full syringe and waved it in front of Twilight's face.
"Perhaps I should have elaborated," he continued. "What. The fuck. Happened? His wings and horn were cut off, and by the looks of it were cauterised afterwards. And most importantly, why the hell would anyone want--of all people--his blood?"
"Whatever happened to him, happened hundreds of years ago!" she defended. "I wouldn't even know where to begin to research!"
"Woah woah woah, he's how old!?" Joseph balked. He could see the 'uh oh' look on Twilight's face as she only just realised her faux-pas.
"Look," she acquiesced, "I'm not going to deny you what you just saw. All I can tell you is it happened a long time ago. We need to wait until the doctors are finished treating him so we can ask him questions. Alright?" Twilight sighed with exhaustion.
She did make a point, so, despite his elevated anger, Joseph decided to give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being. Not really the ideal situation, but something like that isn't likely to be forgotten, so it's easy enough to bring it up later on in the night or tomorrow morning. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 21| Green Dawn | "Look," Joseph said, glaring at Twilight, "you and I are going to have a nice, long talk about all this shit later."
Terminating the conversation, he turned to look up at the stage and saw a lighter blue unicorn mare levitating a big duffel bag and talking to Vinyl. He couldn't make out their conversation, but he must have caught the tail end of it, because the blue mare departed through the backstage curtain while Vinyl made a beeline for the toffee apples. He looked to Twilight, who seemed to be fixated by something over by the stage.
"See someone you like?" Joseph teased to alleviate the tension in the air from before, playfully nudging Twilight.
"Wha? N-no, I just..." She looked left and right before going over to the stage. "I just needed to ask Trixie what time she will be performing so I can get in some time at the other games." Looking at Joseph, she added, although in a slightly snide manner; "I've been too busy carting dying ponies off to the hospital to have any fun." Her rear right hoof kicked up the back of her cape. "And after the fact, my costume has gotten all out of place!"
The corner of Joseph's mouth curled at Twilight's discomfort as she made a vain attempt to fix the costume. "Alright, Merlin," he said as he followed Twilight over to Trixie, "what's your plans for now?"
"You called me that before. Who is this Merlin?"
"A wizard from Earth, I guess."
Twilight's expression lit up and she beamed a massive smile. "You had wizards back where you're from?! Was he like Starswirl?"
"What? No! Wizards and witches are completely fictitious on Earth, Twilight! And who the hell is Starswirl?"
Twilight didn't answer, rather electing to grumble in annoyance at Joseph and brush him off as she spoke to Trixie. Joseph overheard Trixie say she'll be ready in about half an hour, at which point Twilight trotted back around to Joseph with a bit more pep in her step.
"Right, first a game or two, some snacks, then we go see Trixie's performance."
"What about Spike?" Joseph asked, looking around the immediate area.
"He doesn't get a lot of time off, so I decided to let him do whatever he wants this evening. He'll join us when Trixie's show starts. She did say the show will be something that nopony will forget, and since this is my first Nightmare Night away from home, I'm really looking forward to it!"
"Well good luck with that," Joseph replied dismissively. "You go do your thing, and I'm gonna try and find Vinyl. She knows how to have fun, so I'm hoping I can have some fun with her too."
"Just... don't get into any trouble, alright?" Twilight said, looking up to him pleadingly.
"I've got some freaky she-demon... thingy... that wants my ass for reasons I don't know. I can only say I'll try, but if trouble finds me, it ain't my fault, comprende?"
"Fine, fine..." She turned to walk over to Applejack's apple bobbing barrels, and Joseph went in the other direction to find Vinyl.
After a few minutes of searching he found her talking to a charcoal-grey mare with a considerably darker, charcoal-black mane and tail. The mare caught sight of Joseph and seemed a bit surprised, raising a forehoof as if to move backwards. Vinyl saw her expression flick off to the side and followed it out of curiosity.
"Oh hey there!" Vinyl beamed as Joseph approached. She turned back to her friend. "Octy, this is the mare I was telling you about!"
Joseph couldn't help but notice how she looked at him up and down; the corner of her nose curled with what could be construed as contempt or disdain. "Charmed," she said succinctly, turning away from Joseph, effectively giving him the cold shoulder.
"Why don't you show her your wicked Nightmare Moon costume?!" Vinyl cheerily suggested.
"I left it over at the stage," he lied. "Didn't want to lose or damage it."
"Eclipse, wasn't it?" 'Octy' interjected forthright. "Vinyl told me about your performance in Canterlot."
"She did, did she?"
"Yes, and something about that night has been troubling me."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Joseph and Vinyl shared confused looks as Octavia examined the nail of her hoof disinterestedly as an excuse to keep from looking at him.
"Well, it's just that Vinyl was supposed to supply the costume, right?"
"...Yeah?"
"If you didn't wear it, where did you get yours from?"
Joseph's gut dropped momentarily, but he managed to think up an excuse quickly. "Well, after Vinyl made the arrangements, I decided to surprise her and everyone else by sourcing my own costume."
It was bothering Joseph how rude this mare was being, so he decided to cut her down to size. "I'm sorry, Vinyl hasn't mentioned you at all. What was your name?" Success. 'Octy's' gaze harshly narrowed on Vinyl, whose ears folded back on her head sheepishly.
"I," Octy began matter-of-factly, "am Octavia Melody, cellist for the Canterlot Orchestra. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a rather important show I need to practice for." Without another word, she abruptly turned tail and left down one of the streets.
Joseph watched in disbelief before Vinyl sighed deeply off to his right. "Sorry about that. She isn't normally like this."
"She really needs to loosen up," Joseph said.
"Yeah, although it depends in which sense you're talking about," Vinyl replied, which made Joseph giggle-snort and grin widely.
They both stared at each other in awkward silence for a moment as the rest of the crowd walked by the two obliviously. "Soooo..." Vinyl began. "How have you been liking everything so far?"
"Well, this is my first time at this thing, so I kinda thought you might know what's fun around here."
"Even though I live in Ponyville with Octavia, I'm not here most of the time since I do a lot of gigs in Canterlot. I only sleep in my own bed three or four times a week. Sorry," she finished.
"It's fine, I guess."
"I'm just about to go back to the house to get some more music, but I'll be back in time for the magic show. See you then?"
"Most of the kids should be largely in bed or asleep, so see if you can't find something a bit more... bombastic, eh?" Joseph suggested with a sly grin.
"I'll definitely try," Vinyl replied in kind. "Although that's the problem, too."
"Eh, so long as I can't hear any crying I don't particularly care."
"You don't like kids?" Vinyl asked.
Joseph snorted. "Not by a long shot. Like, don't get me wrong, I know how to handle myself around kids, I just don't want any."
"I s'pose they're not for everypony. Anyway, I should be back in a bit."
"Alright, see you soon," he replied. Joseph made his way back into the conglomeration of ponies beginning to crowd around the main stage, getting the best seat they could find, readying themselves for the show.
Since it was a magic show, a lot of the parents had their kids either perched on their back, riding on their shoulders, or for the colts and fillies that had wings, were hovering just above their parent's heads. No doubt for some of them this would be the end of the night before they went to bed, getting up in the morning and likely binge eating their bags of diabetes from tonight.
Since he was on his own, Joseph decided to find himself a seat amongst the still-growing crowd. His loneliness didn't last too long though, and soon after he took his seat a familiar drake walked up next to him.
"Hey," Spike said with a nudge. Joseph looked down to him. "Have you seen Twilight around?"
"She went off on her own about an hour or so ago. Give her ten minutes and she'll probably find us." Much to Joseph's bewilderment, Spike unzipped the front of his costume slightly and pulled out a handful of wrapped candies. "Dude, did you stuff yourself with candy? Like, literally?! Can I have some?"
Spike giggled around a mouthful of candy. "Mmhmm!" He swallowed. "Means I don't have to walk around with a big bag."
"That's actually kind of smart. Although, won't it collect in your feet?"
"Nah, the elastic stitched into the costume makes sure it doesn't slip where it doesn't need to go."
Meanwhile on stage, the sight of Trixie levitating a long box attached to a set of wheels on stage caught Joseph and Spike's attention. "Oh, it's going to be one of those magic shows."
"Well yeah, what else did you expect?" Spike asked matter-of-factly.
"...You know what, I wasn't completely sure what to expect. Could've just been my expectation towards magic given how magically inclined everyone here is. I already know how this trick works anyway."
By now, there was quite the turnout for Trixie's show, which meant Spike and Joseph were sandwiched next to each other with nary any room to move.
"Spike!" a voice called out over the crowd. "Where are you?"
"Let me get on your back," Spike said to Joseph. Much to his annoyance, Spike immediately started climbing on his back rather than wait for the answer. "I'm over here!" Spike shouted back while waving his hand.
Joseph turned to Spike and said in annoyance; "Instead of asking if you can climb on my back and doing it without a response, let it be known that I could have lifted you above everyone!"
"Uh, heh, sorry about that..."
"Let me demonstrate." Joseph then proceeded to levitate Spike, turn him upside down and shake the drake, making his hidden stash of candy scatter around them.
"Hey!" Spike protested. "Put me down!"
"If you insist." Joseph then cut the magic he was using to levitate Spike upside down, and he hit the ground and rolled on his back. Joseph then proceeded to pick up several pieces of wrapped candy. The remainder became a feast for a few fillies and colts as they made a grab for what they could before legging it.
"What'd you do that for?" Spike asked angrily, rubbing the back of his head. "If you wanted some you could've just asked."
Joseph smirked at the dragon. "Making a point. And I did, but you didn't say anything, so I took some anyway."
As Spike went to open his mouth, Twilight managed to find her way through the crowd to them. "There you are!" she said, heaving a breath of exhaustion, sitting down on the other side of Spike so he was in the middle of them.
"How'd your evening go," Joseph said through a lemon-flavoured hard candy.
"Fine, fine... Managed to get in a few games, ate some snacks, then I wanted to find you two to watch the show with. And now here we are!"
Joseph carefully regarded Twilight for a while. She seemed rather tense and anxious about something, but Joseph couldn't put his finger, or... hoof on it. She was probably out of breath from playing the games and frustrated she kept missing.
The box rested on the centre-back portion of the stage, and off to the side sat Trixie's duffle bag. The din of the crowd dulled into hushed murmurs as Trixie stood, looking down at and over the crowd, waiting for them to quiet down.
"Welcome, fillies and gentlecolts!" she shouted, rearing on her hind legs and kicking out her forelegs, "to the most unforgettable magic show of your life!" The crowd roared with approval, all pumped up, ready and waiting. "I've got quite the finale planned to end your night with a bang, so I'll begin with some other tricks first. Could I please have a volunteer?"
"Pick me!" someone shouted, jumping up and down in the middle of the crowd. Their voice was rather deep and had a slow drawl to it.
"You there!" Trixie proclaimed, pointing at him. "Come up here with me." The thinner young stallion had an off-gold coloured coat with an aquamarine mane and tail, as well as light yellow freckles. He made his way up the stairs, accidentally catching his hoof on the top one and stumbling the rest of the way onto stage. "What's your name?" she asked.
"S-Snails," he said nervously.
"Hey, Twilight," Joseph asked, nudging Twilight as he spied the colt's cutie mark.
"I'm trying to watch the show!" she spat.
Ignoring her, Joseph asked; "How much foresight do these ponies have to have in order to name their kid after their cutie mark? It makes no sense."
Twilight countered as fast as she could. "Nobody understands how cutie marks work. They randomly appear whenever somebody gains and/or realises their special talent."
It behooved Joseph not to make any further remarks about the little guy, so he turned his attention back to the show. Trixie's horn lit up and, from Joseph's perspective, the left half of the box opened up.
"Snails, if you wouldn't mind helping me into the box?" He held his hoof out for Trixie to use as support while she climbed into the box.
Joseph felt a nudge in the rib cage from Spike. "Have you seen this trick before?"
"Only on TV. Watch this. I'll give you a run-down of what she'll do before she does it." As the box closed, Joseph whispered to Spike; "There's two people in there. Trixie, and another up the front."
As Snails closed the lid, two hind legs slid out the bottom end. "How could there be two ponies in there if Trixie's coat colour is the same as the legs?" Spike asked.
"Dyes, magic, something. I dunno, whatever they did." Joseph watched as Trixie levitated over a wood saw from her bag of goodies and handed it to Snails.
"Now, you shall saw the middle of the box in half!"
"Miss Trixie, you're in there, won't that hurt?" Snails asked as he eyed the rather large saw up and down.
"It's a magic show! Of course it won't."
Joseph hadn't been to any live magic shows before, so something like this was definitely fun and refreshing to watch. Snails then proceeded to saw through the box in the indicated position. After a few tense minutes of sawing, some strained effort on Snail's behalf, the teeth of the saw finally breached the bottom of the box, at which point Trixie levitated over two pieces of wood, placing them where the saw cut through.
"When you saw through the box, you're separating the two people from one another. Then the 'head' tells the 'feet' to move," Joseph continued, keeping his eyes on stage but his ears focused on Joseph.
"Behold," Trixie declared, "I am still able to control my disembodied hooves!" As the hooves 'moved of their own accord', the crowd 'Oooo'ed and 'Ahhh'ed in wonderment.
"Now what happens?" Spike asked. Twilight was too busy watching the show to pay any attention to either of them.
"I've already told you how most of the trick works, but I'm not sure how everything gets put back together. That's the part I'm actually keen to see."
After the crowd finished gawking at the spectacle, Trixie used her magic to put both halves of the box back together and seal it with some kind of spell so it was a seamless box once more. As the flash of magic cleared, Snails helped her out of the box.
When all four hooves were firmly planted on stage, Trixie said; "And to disprove any nay-sayers in the crowd..." She used her magic to flip open both halves of the box, levitating it up and over the crowd so everyone could see inside.
Spike looked to Joseph, an eyebrow raised challengingly. "Explain that," he said with a smug grin.
"Whoever was in there got teleported out during the flash of her magic when she fixed the box." That wiped the grin off Spike's face pretty quickly.
"Thank you, Snails, you can return to the crowd, and as a reward, I will be calling upon you later."
"Thank you Miss Trixie!" Snails jovially said as he made his way back to his original place in the crowd.
For the next hour, Trixie put on various acts with increased flair and drama as the night went on. From the sawn in half trick, to pulling a rather angry rabbit out of a hat, to Rainbow Dash being trussed and tied on stage after her big mouth got her into trouble for heckling. Joseph could figure out most of the tricks Trixie demonstrated by watching closely and ignoring the intentional misdirection.
As the fireworks and sparkles settled down from the majestic display of her latest tricks, Trixie strode through the smoke to address the crowd, her cape fluttering behind her.
"I see many fantastic and wonderful costumes here tonight! But what is a magic show without changing the appearance of your very costumes?" The crowd hummed with curious delight at this. "Snails, could you join me on stage once more, please?"
"But I don't have a costume on..." he said dejectedly.
"Come, I shall give you one!" She stuck out her hoof as the costume-less stallion made his way on stage one last time. Levitating out a book with a few bookmarks in it from the duffel bag, she handed it to Snails. "This is a book full of creatures of myth. Open it to a random page and I shall give you a very life-like costume!"
Morbidly intrigued, Joseph watched as Snails opened the book to one of the bookmarks towards the front of the book. Joseph almost wanted to tell Snails not to do that, because now he'd played into her hands. Or hooves. The idea was to never do what you think the magician expected of you.
"Oh, that one?" Trixie asked curiously, arching an eyebrow. Snails feverently nodded his head. "Well then, it shall be so!" Trixie's horn lit up and she blasted him with a ray of green magic. It kicked up a cloud of smoke, likely to hide the person that either changed into a costume, or replaced Snails.
When the smoke cleared, the crowd was a mixture of shocked expressions, awe, and curiosity. While he still had the same overall body shape, Trixie's spell donned him with dark chitin, the colour of his coat shimmering on it in the moonlight above. Looking back, Snails saw a pair of gossamer wings between the shoulderblades of his forehooves. He pulled a lock of his mane down to look at it proper, seeing that the turquoise colour had been tainted with a heavy, oily green.
Joseph's suspicions were immediately raised. Keeping his eye on the spectacle in front of the crowd, he said to Twilight; "What the hell just happened?!"
"Trixie is a magician that specialises in illusory charms; don't worry about it."
"She just turned him into a changeling-esque version of himself," Joseph spat through gritted teeth. "Pardon me if I seem rather pensive about it!"
"Would you calm down? It's just a magic show! The spell will wear off soon enough."
Having been constantly hounded by changelings, Trixie's spell understandably put Joseph on edge. Tense and anxious, he begrudgingly continued to watch the performance, though not without keeping his guard up should something happen.
"Who knows what creature Snails here represents?" Trixie asked, holding up the book she had him pick from. Being this far back in the crowd, he couldn't quite make out the title. Maybe a book on the beings of Equestria? Myths and legends, perhaps? With an excited gasp, Twilight's hoof shot up.
Amidst dozens of others, Trixie pointed towards someone in the back. "You there, pink one!"
"A super icky gross changeling!" the extremely exuberant, high-pitched voice called out over everyone.
Joseph rolled his eyes, and he couldn't help but force a small smile. 'Yup, definitely Pinkie.'
"...Yes, correct," Trixie replied, almost indignantly. "Is there anyone else that would like to come up on stage and partake in the show?"
Over a dozen hooves shot up in the air. Joseph's gaze darted all around the place, heightened attention scanning the ponies who volunteered. 'If Trixie just used her magic to turn that colt into a pseudo-changeling version of himself, then Chrysalis has gotta be around here somewhere, right?'
Clearly, Nightmare replied dryly. Try getting away from the stage.
Joseph quickly nudged Twilight to tell her he needed to go to the bathroom. Twilight, raptly looking at the display, only nodded and gave a weak "Uh huh" in response. He grumbled and tried parting the sea of ponies to try and get away from Trixie.
"You there!" Trixie called out. Like being a deer caught in the headlights, thinking she was calling after him, Joseph snapped to Trixie's voice. "We have another volunteer!" Fortunately Trixie was looking elsewhere in the crowd. By now three ponies were on stage; Sweetie Belle, Mayor Mare, and Octavia, which Joseph found weird. Didn't she go off somewhere else earlier? What's she doing back here?
"I need one more!" Trixie hollered.
'Almost there...' Joseph said to himself, hoping that Trixie wouldn't see him.
"Dark mare, way in the back! Why don't you come forward?"
Screaming internally, just a few more rows of ponies to go through before freedom, Trixie just had to notice him. 'What am I going to do?'
No doubt Chrysalis has a plan to oust you; she's been in your head and knows exactly who you are. I'm trying to figure something out. If you don't go to Trixie, Chrysalis will spring her trap to capture you. Best to play along to keep casualties at a minimum.
Joseph began to begrudgingly make his way toward the stage, glancing carefully at Trixie all the while as he said to Nightmare irately; 'You wanna talk casualties? You were going to freeze everything with your eternal night! Everyone would have starved from not being able to grow anything, and the ponies themselves would have frozen to death!
I never wanted to kill anyone, she retorted. There just so happens to be ancient magic to remedy those problems.
'Of-fucking-course there is,' Joseph replied, rolling his eyes. Of course there would be. He made his way to the stage and went up the stairs to join Trixie and the others.
"Behold, the final trick! You'll all be talking about it for generations to come!" Trixie positively screamed, kicking up and exuberantly rearing her forehooves. She shot a beam of energy at Octavia, and the magic engulfed her. When it cleared, sure enough, there stood a pseudo-changeling variant of herself. The only thing that confused Joseph was that Snails and Octavia didn't seem to be acting that much differently. Octavia still held her nose up high, like she thought she was better than everyone else.
Another beam hit Sweetie, then Mayor Mare. The whole crowd was electric, stomping their hooves with excitement and approval as they watched Trixie mystify them with her magic.
Snails, Octavia Melody, Mayor Mare, and Sweetie belle, stood on the stage while the crowd looked on in amazement, loud yet wondrous murmurs from one pony to another echoing around.
'Got anything, yet?' Joseph asked Nightmare. He felt uneasy as he watched Trixie surveying the crowd with pride, a devious smirk etched from one ear to the other that would make the Joker proud. The crowd didn't pay any mind to it. They most likely thought of it as part of the act.
Chrysalis is unpredictable, Nightmare said. I can't do anything for you or to her unless she makes her move. As it were, the ball is in her court now.
"You've all heard the legends of Nightmare Moon, to whom this festival is dedicated to," Trixie boomed once the crowd's enthusiasm died down. "Several weeks ago saw her return from lunar exile. You all would have experienced the night that was supposed to be the day. But did you know... she still lives?" Trixie trailed off with a manner of mysticism in her voice. Ponies in the crowd murmured in confusion about how she was defeated, and the proof of Princess Luna's return was testament to that.
"Impossible!" a stallion shouted.
"Ah-hah, that's where you're wrong! You were all witness to her but a few hours ago. Are you all really that blind?"
"That couldn't have been Nightmare Moon!" another protested.
"Oh, but it was! She wears a disguise to walk among you." A good portion of the crowd noticeably stiffened at the thought. "How would you all like to see Nightmare Moon for yourselves? Not just someone whom you think is another in disguise." Trixie stood to the left of the stage, and the four 'changelings' stood off to the right, blocking the stairway and leaving Joseph in plain view of the crowd. He didn't try to escape; doing so would only prove Trixie's point. He needed to keep the status quo in his favour, but the scales were tipping in Trixie's favour every passing second.
"Behold, Nightmare Moon!" After that declaration, several ponies began snickering at the sight, but Trixie kept up her visage. "Laugh all you want, but this mare is wearing a disguise."
"It's Nightmare Night, that's the entire point!" someone else called out.
Joseph caught Trixie's deadly glare as she began to make his way over to him. For some disturbing reason, she put her hoof around him as if they were buddies.
"You see, Nightmare Moon and I have been plotting a takeover of Equestria." Everyone promptly froze. "For I am not who you think I am, either." Deafening silence permeated the air. Without warning, Trixie blasted the base of Joseph's horn. The magic cracked and destroyed the ring, and it fell to the stage floor in three pieces.
Immediately Joseph's mare form blinked away, replaced by none other than Nightmare Moon herself.
Mutters rang out from the crowd.
"This can't be..."
"I-impossible!"
Nightmare Moon's known history wasn't doing Joseph any favours to say the least. Try as he might, he couldn't think up a valid, substantial reason to explain how he looked to everyone else. As far as Twilight and her friends went, it was highly doubtful the six of them could quell the panic of an entire town.
Trixie used the opportunity to remove her leg from around Joseph, taking centre stage. "You're all fools!" she bellowed over the crowd.
Trixie cackled malevolently as a pillar of toxic green flames shot up around her. The crowd wasted no time and bolted in the exact opposite direction from Trixie, scrambling over one another to get to safety. Seconds later, the green fire dissipated into wisps, all while Joseph looked on, too scared to move.
A being as tall and as lean in stature as Celestia floated in mid-air. Gossamer wings kept her aloft as she looked out over the scattering crowd with malintent etched right across her face.
"Nobody leaves!" she roared. The four changeling ponies on the stage took flight over the crowd, each landing with a thud in the middle of a major street to drive the terrified ponies back to the stage like cattle.
"I told all of you that you shall remember this night, and remember it you shall!"
She's distracted, do something!
Before Joseph could respond, a cupcake hit Chrysalis square on the right side of her face. "Have a cupcake!" an extremely angry, yet peppy voice shouted. Chrysalis' head snapped to look at Pinkie as the rest of Twilight's friends surrounded her, save for Fluttershy.
"You'll never get away with this!" Rainbow shouted, making 'come hither' gestures with what could otherwise be construed as balled fists as icing and sponge sleuced off of Chrysalis' face.
"Oh, but I already have!" she said, condescension lacing her every word, flicking away the remainder of the treat with magic. She glanced up as if to indicate to the four mares to look behind them. Three burly male stallions boxed in the mares from behind, making escape an unlikely event.
"When Twi gets here with the Elements, you'll be finished!" Applejack challenged.
"Oh? You mean..." She put the nail of her hoof in her mouth and gave a sharp, shrill whistle. "...this Twilight?" The aforementioned mare trotted calmly up to Chrysalis' side, sitting down with a knowing smirk of her own. A small puff of green fire flickered, and in the same spot sat a changeling version of Twilight.
"Good heavens!" Rarity exclaimed.
"What the hay did you do with Twilight!?" Applejack demanded.
Another cupcake splattered across Chrysalis' face.
"Stop throwing cupcakes at her, Pinkie, it'll make her mad!" Rarity chided.
"I'm not throwing cupcakes at her, I'm assaulting her with cupcakes!"
"Enough!" Chrysalis boomed.
Joseph's attention went from her to the crowd, and he could see everyone being corralled back toward the stage. Dozens and dozens of other ponies dropped their disguises, revealing either changeling variants of the pony that once was, or a normal changeling.
"As I was saying before," Chrysalis said, addressing the frantic crowd. "The mare you saw before was none other than the one and only Nightmare Moon, masquerading amongst you all as a combined effort with yours truly." Joseph received his share of seething hatred stares.
'What the fuck am I supposed to do!?' he screamed at Nightmare.
Run, was her only reply.
'I didn't run when that other lady needed my help, and I'm not going to run away when these people need my help!'
You are outnumbered, out-matched, and out-skilled in every possible manner you can possibly imagine.
"Is it true, sugarcube?" Applejack's voice caught Joseph's attention in the middle of his inner conversation. She continued in a hushed voice so only he could hear. "Tell me y'all didn't do this after we took ya in?"
"Applejack, for all we know Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis were in it from the very beginning!" Rainbow said pointedly.
Joseph just looked back at the four ponies before him; Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack each had expressions that begged him to say it wasn't so, while Rainbow was justifiably cautious. There was only one thing to say.
"I'm here because I died. I tried to make the best of it. Have I given you any reason not to trust me?"
It wasn't just what Joseph said, it was how he said it. His doleful expression carried the sincerity of his words. Even Rainbow seemed to relax.
"Alright, Sugarcube. I believe you."
Another cupcake whizzed past and nailed Chrysalis right on the muzzle. She immediately stiffened, her magic wiping the cupcake to the ground once more, and looking down her nose towards the pink mare.
"Pinkie!" Rarity exclaimed.
Chrysalis gave a short, shrill whistle as one of the stallions-turned-changelings shoved Pinkie Pie forward. "Let me show you what will happen to you, and the rest of your precious town if you do not want to end up like Pinkie Pie."
She promptly levitated Pinkie in her aura, holding her high above the crowd. "Let this serve as a warning to anybody that tries anything against me!" Chrysalis fired a beam of energy at Pinkie. It hit its mark in the middle of her back as Pinkie began screaming.
That spell... Nightmare Moon said in realisation. It's a transmutation spell!
'How the fuck is that going to do me any good?!' Joseph demanded.
It means I know how to reverse it!
Chrysalis sustained the beam on Pinkie as long as she could. Pinkie dropped to the ground in a heap as ponies quickly parted around her. She weakly pulled herself up, but not before stumbling as she did so. When 'Pinkie' gained her footing, she hissed at the ponies immediately in front of her, then leapt into the air to hover above them all.
"Is there anypony that dare step forward?" Chrysalis challenged. As expected, she received no challengers. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "While I am the artifex behind what you see before you, Nightmare Moon is not without deserved credit. It is by her design that I was able to create more improved changelings."
On that queue, more changelings began filing out of the streets towards the crowd, who were quickly sandwiched between a veritable wall of chitin and the stage. Changelings with bulbous, pulsating torsos stood sentinel at the entrance of each street to cut off any would-be escapees. Tall, lanky changelings, standing as tall as Chrysalis on her hind legs strode in walking on theirs. The bulk of their frame caused them to hunch forward as their narrow, claw-like appendages dragged trenches into the dirt while walking. They were neither hands or hooves with claws, rather it looked like the bones of their forehooves extended out through the bottom of their hooves. Easily as tall as three ponies, the sheer intimidation of them had the ponies as far back as they could to avoid getting chunks of hamburger ripped from them.
"Recognise these creatures?" Chrysalis asked Joseph with a condescending raise of her eyebrow.
His wide-eyed, aghast expression silently confirmed Chrysalis' rhetorical question. Apparently Chrysalis' spell had allowed her to also rifle through his memories, as was evident by the creatures she'd recreated from his memory. Seeing them in a virtual setting on a computer or TV screen was one thing, but being in such a close proximity with them instilled an entirely new level of fear in Joseph. All he had to go up against Chrysalis was some crude bombs he'd made, and he didn't even know if she knew about them.
"Do you know where I keep my armies?" Chrysalis teased.
"...Up your sleevies?" Joseph replied with the slightest of smirks.
"Hidden in plain sight!" she retorted with an irritated snarl. "Having shapeshifting magic is invaluable for creating vast armies; there is no better satisfaction than imagining the look on the opposition's face when they realise their ranks have been compromised." Chrysalis turned her gaze to the thoroughly petrified crowd and fired a beam at random, hitting one of the ponies.
'The longer it takes you to create a work around to her spell, the more people get turned!' Joseph shouted at Nightmare.
This is an extremely delicate spell! Nightmare replied rather irately. If I can't tune my counter-spell to reverse this one specific spell, not everything will end up where it's supposed to.
A scream rang out from the crowd, followed by an anguished, childlike cry of "Mom!" A blackened form lifted itself from amidst the crowd, flittering on its newly acquired wings over to the stage, and deposited itself on the platform without nary a sound.
Joseph regarded the new changeling thanks to its familiar colours, then his gaze was drawn to the voice that cried out. The all too recognisable, dark-brown colt wearing a helicopter beanie looked on, tears welling up and creating rivulets down his face.
"Give my mom back!" he shouted.
"Oh, what's this? A little foal challenging me?" Chrysalis nonchalantly plucked the little guy out of the crowd and levitated him up to her, holding him so he was at eye level. "And why would I do that?"
"She's my mom!" He bravely tried to take a swing at Chrysalis, but fell just short of what would've been tantamount to a boop on the muzzle.
"I can sense how much you care for her," Chrysalis said with a wretched grin. "No, I'm not going to give her back. A mother's love for her kin is among the most powerful of emotions I am able to harvest." She leered at the colt. "And it's thanks to you and many others that enabled this level of subjugation to take place." She levitated him back to his place in the crowd, but didn't bother actually letting him down; she just cut her magic and he unceremoniously fell to the ground.
"Everyone should have a mum to go home to..." Joseph said through clenched teeth, his anger rising. How dare she do that to an innocent child! He knew all too well the hurt that that colt must be experiencing. Joseph looked to him amongst the crowd, momentarily unable to remember the colt's name. He sat on his haunches, head and shoulders sagging as tears slipped from his eyes to the dirt below.
Joseph snarled at Chrysalis. "You're going to burn! I will see to it myself."
Chrysalis just cantered over to Joseph. "We're both in this together, remember?"
"You've fucked with this town; you've kidnapped people--possibly killed them, too; and now you're transforming these innocent people into your disgusting changelings? But above all, there's one thing you should never, ever piss off."
"Oh? Enlighten me," Chrysalis said flippantly.
"A human," Joseph said with a determination that made Chrysalis do a double take. Conveying a quick request to Nightmare, Joseph's horn lit up, which earned a confused stare from Chrysalis.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"The thing about bad guys is..." Joseph looked skyward for a moment. "...they never look up."
Chrysalis stiffened. Cautiously, she looked above her. A glass oil lamp bottle with a burning piece of cloth tied around its neck floated above her, waiting to be dropped upon her head.
To Joseph's confusion, she just laughed. "Oh, you think something like that will do me harm? It's not often I say this, but that is adorable! Woola!"
A blur shot past Joseph, knocking him off to the side, causing him to drop the molotov. When he righted himself, he saw a six-legged changeling standing next to Chrysalis, clutching the bomb in its maw, the cloth since extinguished. The creature made a show of crushing the bottle with its powerful jaw, which Joseph found a bit emasculating.
The changeling, however, didn't know what the bottle's contents were, and donned a rather disgusted expression as it spat the foul liquid as best it could.
"It's going to take a lot more than that to defeat me," Chrysalis said pointedly. "Now, Woola, show our friend here what you're made of."
'Uh oh...' The changeling stampeded past Joseph at lightning speed, knocking his legs out from under him again. It ran a circuit through the terrified crowd of townsfolk, knocking them over and trampling over them before running Joseph's way again. Its head connected with his abdomen, knocking him into the stage curtain where he hit something on the other side. He was caught off guard by what it was until he saw through a slit in the curtains: Vinyl's soundstage. He heard more wails and cries from the crowd as the changeling dubbed Woola continued to harass them.
Joseph held his head up, clutching his temple with a hoof in a vain attempt to make the disorientation cease. Woola ran up the stage once more, and stopped to give Joseph a jaunty taunt before racing off.
Use your magic and pry up the board at the top of the stairs, Nightmare said.
Woola ran over the stage as Chrysalis looked on and cackled at the mayhem she was creating. Joseph seized the opportunity and mustered as much concentration as he could, focusing on a plank of wood he assumed was near the top of the stairs. He heard some strained creaking coming from the nails holding the board to the floor studs, followed by Woola's pounding steps as it literally ran circles around and through the crowd.
But when those speedy steps made contact with the stairs, he didn't hear anything for a few precious seconds. A loud crash from somewhere off to the stage's left caught Joseph's attention, and he looked over to its source. One of the buildings now had a rather sizeable hole in it, and in addition, a pair of chitinous legs hung outside, twitching erratically.
Chrysalis narrowed her gaze at Joseph's victorious smirk. "There's more where that came from. In due time, though."
With that beast out the way, he could confidently stand up without worrying about being knocked over like a set of bowling pins, though he kept himself as close to the stage curtain as he could.
The crowd of ponies looked on in confusion at the spectacle. Having been told Nightmare Moon was against them, it was certainly turned their perspective of Joseph upside down.
'I got an idea,' Joseph said to Nightmare Moon. 'How much magic can you spare?'
Why, what are you... Nightmare began, only to cut herself off when Joseph mentally relayed his idea to her. Oh that is good, that is really good. One problem, though.
'There always fucking is,' Joseph said in exasperation.
It'll need a pilot. With my magic flowing through it, you'll be able to control it.
'Well, it can't be too hard, can it?
"Princess Celestia will get here soon!" a hopeful voice called out from the crowd.
"Hah! You think your precious princesses will help? Gaze to the city of Canterlot atop the mountain in the distance and you shall see for yourself!" Chrysalis announced.
Curious as to what she could mean, Joseph and the townsponies looked to the mountainside city, barely visible thanks to the nighttime sky, although illuminated enough by the moonlight above.
"You all see my augmented Changelings standing in the streets? The more rotund ones, if you will," Chrysalis clarified. "Engineered to be on the more... explosive side of things."
In that moment, a green haze erupted from the spires jutting above the city, followed by a massive explosion. Joseph's jaw hung agape at the sight as the crowd wailed in abject shock, then Chrysalis spoke again.
"Keeping your princesses occupied with cleaning up collateral damage in their capitol ensures that their attention is kept elsewhere, and not on myself."
Having demonstrated her ability to wantonly destroy, Joseph needed to act quickly to ensure she do no more damage. "It's time to put this bitch down for good," he muttered to himself. 'Is the spell ready?'
Get behind the machine and feed the spell directly into the mixing board.
With Chrysalis distracted from gloating about the destruction in Canterlot, he slipped behind the stage curtain and hopped up behind Vinyl's soundstage. He lowered his horn down to the control panel and forced the magic into every crack and crevice he could. Almost immediately, the machine began spluttering and coughing dry ice smoke as the spell took hold. It shakily rose, and Joseph saw the curtain being jerked open to reveal a confused Chrysalis, whose expression suddenly turned to one of momentary fear at the sight.
Vinyl's sound stage stood substantially taller than Chrysalis, its speakers turned and trained on her, motes of purple and black energy contaminating the dry ice smoke and wafting over the stage. Chrysalis backed up several steps without falling off the stage as the machine reached its full height on the pistons supporting its weight, Joseph looking down on Chrysalis from his position.
The metal plates attached to the pistons gave an almighty stomp each, shaking the stage and unnerving Chrysalis. Joseph turned dials, flipped switches, and put records in their place, resulting in a look of consternation from the queen before him.
The machine, full of Nightmare Moon's dark magic, drew looks from everybody. The speakers turned and trained on Chrysalis as Joseph raised his right hoof high above the air, a dramatic motion as he readied to press that one button.
"Lets drop this beat!" His hoof slammed the button, and two conical beams of magic shot from the speakers where Chrysalis stood, blasting holes in the stage. She barely managed to jump up in the air, carried by her wings as the beams singed the tip of her rear left hoof. Joseph looked up to her, refocusing the speakers on her and firing again. Her agility allowed her to quickly dodge out of the way with more warning this time.
She flew higher, dipping into a dive as she flew straight for Joseph, dive-bombing on his position. He ducked out of the way, although he felt his horn make contact against the underside of Chrysalis' carapace. She spun around in mid air behind him with the grace of a dancer, making another attempt to tackle Joseph. He barely managed to look behind him before his head snapped back as Chrysalis made contact with him, her forehooves wrapping around his barrel and dragging Joseph up and over the mixing board, tumbling down to the stage where he fell into the holes he created with a clatter amongst the wood.
Without him behind the soundstage, it stood tall, ceasing any movement, the speakers emitting an ominous hum.
"You try anything again..." Chrysalis began, standing above Joseph, only to levitate the terrified brown colt whom objected about his mum, onto the stage and in front of him. "I'll turn him."
The brief defeat Joseph experienced dissuaded any rebuttal as Chrysalis carelessly tossed the colt back into the crowd.
"Threatening little kids? That's low, real low. I won't let you!" He tried getting out from under Chrysalis, but she just slammed her hoof into his bruised abdomen, no thanks to Woola's headbutt and Chrysalis' tackle. Wincing in pain, he clutched at his side as Chrysalis stepped off him.
She then leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You have a choice. If you assist me in my takeover of Equestria, I'll see to it you receive joint rulership. No force in the land could possible stop us. You have the abilities of a god, and yet you squander them. Secondly, if you oppose me, you will inevitably die as a result of your misguided heroism."
Chrysalis stepped off Joseph to allow him to get up. It was her way of saying she expected he help her, but at the same time keeping her guard up should he try anything else.
Joseph staggered to his feet, determination written across his face. "I died once saving someone. If it meant these people--" he swung a hoof over the crowd "--lived, I would be more than happy to take you down with me. I never asked for this to happen. It was Nightmare Moon who did this to me. I just want to be at peace knowing what I've done is for the better."
"Spare me your sanctimony," Chrysalis said with a roll of her eyes.
"It's not about sanctimony. It's altruism." Joseph lunged at Chrysalis, but her superior agility allowed her to dodge out the way. He landed with a thud on top of a pile of splintered wood blasted from the stage, groaning as Chrysalis wordlessly mocked him by laughing under her breath.
"You humans are weak. There's only one thing for you to do if you value your piteous life."
Joseph spied a decently sized, stake-like piece of wood as Chrysalis placed her hoof on him, increasing her pressure on his bruised and battered torso. Joseph grimaced in pain as he tried to summon enough concentration to levitate the piece of wood.
"It's time for you to yield. The next thing you say will determine whether or not you live or die."
Joseph had had enough. The anger against Chrysalis building in his gut gave him the momentary strength he needed. He grasped the stake in his aura and thrusted it upward, driving it through the bottom of her jaw into the roof of her mouth, effectively pinning her mouth shut.
"Shut. The fuck. Up!"
Chrysalis staggered back several steps, her own aura slowly taking hold of the stake, and pulling it out. Coated in green ooze which Joseph assumed to be her own blood, she tossed it to the side.Much to Joseph's abject horror, the gaping hole on the bottom of Chrysalis' mandible began to close, flesh and muscle stitching itself back together aided by her magic.
"You've dug your grave," Chrysalis began, spitting leftover viscera in Joseph's general direction. "Now lay in it!"
"Kind of makes me wonder where I'm buried on Earth, if at all..." he said nonchalantly.
"You insufferable being!" Chrysalis roared. She charged at Joseph, her forehooves wrapping around his neck. She flung the both of them into the crowd as the mass of ponies scrambled to part around the duo. Dazed, Joseph looked up to Chrysalis as she reared her head high, charging her horn, readying a blast of magic.
'No! Not like this!' Joseph mentally screamed. He brought his forehooves in front of his face, hoping, praying, that just somehow he would survive.
Eyes clenched shut, teeth grinding against each other in trepidation, all he could do was wait, helpless under Chrysalis to do anything else.
Despite closed eyes, Joseph still managed to catch the flash of Chrysalis spell. roared in pain, and Joseph felt a weight lift off his torso. Still in shock, he waited what felt like an eternity before cautiously opening an eye.
The front wall of the stage had caved inwards, crushed by Chrysalis' smoldering body. The blast from Vinyl's mech had destroyed half the stage's platform, and Chrysalis' contact with it made it look as though someone took a backhoe to a pile of wood and carved out a section.
RUN! Nightmare Moon reiterated. While she's distracted!
Joseph's attention was stolen by Chrysalis' pure, unadulterated expression of rage and anger as she stumbled from underneath the stage, shrugging off the splinters of wood, ephemeral magic stitching closed any open wounds in her cracked chitin. He almost felt like voiding himself at the sight.
Joseph hurriedly scrambled to his hooves, making the best of Chrysalis' predicament to try and get as far away from her as possible.
"Stop him!" she roared as Joseph began running through the crowd as they parted with screams around him. Changelings dove from above and made valiant attempts to tackle him from every angle they could.
As he ran forward, Joseph saw changelings running at him. He managed to dodge two advancing changelings before one landed on his flanks from above. "Get off!" he wailed, bucking like a bull at a rodeo, inadvertently catching another two changelings square in the jaw.
Joseph felt something sharp catch on his back, and he screamed in pain. Looking back, he saw the changeling biting into his skin. Joseph quickly bucked it off and continued running, making for one of the streets that led further into the town. As he neared his destination, he saw one of the pulsating changelings blocking his way. It gurgled, as if it was taunting him. 'You'll never get past me!' it seemed to say.
But, Joseph had had enough of Chrysalis' shit. Using his lean stature and longer-than-average legs, he leapt over the changeling, a rear hoof catching the changeling's horn as he landed on the other side with all the grace of a brick.
He looked back, seeing the changeling writhing and flailing in place as even more changelings gave chase. Before the changelings could enter the street, the one thrashing about suddenly exploded. Dozens of changelings got caught in the explosion of gore and viscera, and they too were disarticulated from the force.
Joseph didn't stay to see how many dared follow him. He ducked and weaved down the streets, not caring where he was going, so long as it took him away from the bedlam in town square. As he rounded another corner, something caught on one of his forehooves, sending him tumbling ass over head into the dirt, rolling to a stop up against the side of a random building.
Hastily picking himself up, Joseph caught sight of a few changelings flying overhead. He wasted no time in finding the nearest door and rushing inside.
'What do I do!?' he asked Nightmare, panicking.
We need to get into the Everfree, Nightmare replied.
'And what the fuck happened back there!?' Joseph demanded.
Which part? Nightmare Moon asked wryly.
'The part where Chrysalis' spell didn't do diddly-fuckin'-squat to me!'
Sometimes the will to survive can be a... powerful force unto itself.
'I got zero fucking patience for your ambiguous bullshit!
Sometimes ponies get their cutie marks defending themselves in dire situations. Including-but not limited to-combat magic, and particle barriers.
'What!? Are you telling me I made a goddamn shield!?'
Precisely.
'That would've been the best feeling ever if I didn't feel like I was going to piss myself...' he finished in an exasperated sigh.
I wouldn't count on being able to do it again any time soon.
None of the changelings had come knocking on the door, so Joseph decided to peek out of the window. Another one of those six-legged changelings zoomed past the window, and he ducked back behind the wall, hoping the creature didn't see him.
'How am I going to get out of here?'
Twilight's library is the next block over. If you get there I can telepo--
'No! I don't want to puke everywhere again!'
Using just my magic on us both is taxing, which is why it hasn't been the smoothest experience. Twilight, however, is bound to have some kind of spellbook, magical charm, or at the very least something that would allow me to supplement the spell to get us to the old castle.
Joseph had an idea that the castle Nightmare spoke of was the one he saw in a dream a while ago. He decided against asking about it, a trivial matter at this point, and instead turned his attention to getting to Twilight's library.
He took several deep breaths to calm his palpitating heart. When Joseph could think more coherently, he kept himself pressed against the wall and looked outside the window. After a few minutes of nothing, he decided it would be safe to at least poke his head out the door and look up and down the street.
Determining that the street was empty, he carefully exited the building, making sure to shut the door behind him as he did so. If any changelings spotted an open door they once saw closed, it would tip them off to his position.
Go left down the street, take another left, and keep going, Nightmare Moon said. You'll see the library sooner rather than later.
Following Nightmare's directions, Joseph made it to the library without any changelings spotting him. Glancing at the building, he quickly spotted one of the curtains being pulled aside as Spike's face peeked out the window. He was better off staying hidden, so Joseph wasn't sure why he was looking out the window. Regardless, Joseph took the opportunity to toss a pebble across the way, taking a few attempts to actually hit the pane of glass. The pebble cracked the glass, which caught Spike's attention. He threw the curtain aside to see what it was, and his eyes caught sight of Joseph vying for his attention.
Spike's eyes widened when he saw Joseph.
Joseph made an effort of trying to mime to Spike to open the door. It took a few goes, but Spike eventually got the message and Joseph was relieved to see the library's door creek ajar.
One last cursory glance to make sure the area was clear, and Joseph hauled ass towards the door, silently flinging it open with his magic. Once inside Joseph closed the door as silently as he could before facing Spike. "Dude, rule one in an invasion. Never look out of windows. Especially if things are making them crack!"
"But you were trying to get me to notice you!" Spike defended.
"Granted, but it's still a stupid thing to do. How did you manage to get back here anyway?"
"I'm small, so I hid and managed to make my way back here. Where's Twilight? Is she OK?"
'Awww, piss...' "I would have thought she teleported back here by now?"
"That's what worries me! She should be back here by now..."
Joseph couldn't bring himself to tell spike what happened to Twilight. By the looks of it, Spike had already got out of there before Twilight made her 'big reveal'.
"Look, she can take care of herself. She's good at magic, right?" Spike nodded stiffly. "I'm sure she can handle herself."
"What do we do until then?"
"We can't stay here. It's only a matter of time before those bug-eyed freaks find us in here."
"What about Fluttershy's cottage?" Spike suggested.
"What about her?"
"She told me that she normally spends Nightmare Night at home, so she's bound to be there. And her house is away from town, so it's likely she hasn't been found."
"Her house is on the edge of the Everfree, isn't it?"
"Yeah, why?"
"That doesn't matter right now. We need to get you there, and out of here."
"What if Twilight comes back and we're not here?"
Joseph considered that for a moment. "We'll leave a note for her, how about that?"
"What if the changelings find it?"
'Oh for fucks sake...' "Is there anything we can d--" Joseph had a realisation. In trying to learn how to send messages to one another, Twilight gave him the tiniest portion of her magic. It allowed for messages to be instantly sent from one to another. What he didn't know is if Changeling Twilight was actually the real Twilight, or if the real Twilight was somewhere else. Eventually he thought up an idea to settle Spike's nerves.
"I can send her a message. Like Celestia does with you, basically."
"Cool!" Spike beamed. He ran over to a nearby desk and pulled out a quill and parchment.
"Twilight..." he began. "Gone to Fluttershy's cottage. Please stay safe. Spike and Joseph." He rolled it up and handed it to Joseph.
Joseph took the scroll and poofed it away. In reality, he just put it in his hammerspace pocket. He wasn't prepared to take the risk of alerting Chrysalis to his whereabouts. Spike looked very relieved, and it weighed on Joseph to have to lie to Spike about her.
Ask if the dragon can find a book or charm, or something, Nightmare Moon reminded him.
"Spike, I need your help with something."
"What is it?"
"Nightmare Moon can teleport us to Fluttershy's cottage safely, but because she'll essentially be teleporting the three of us--"
"Three?" he said, slightly confused.
"I'm two people in one body, remember? She has to expend twice as much energy to teleport me and her, which is why my breakfast ended up in the toilet earlier. She needs something to supplement the spell; a book, charm, whatever."
"Celestia took the Elements back to Canterlot after... well, you know... Oh! I think there might be something. Keep watch up here while I go down to the basement." Spike dashed off into the hall while Joseph kept an ear out in the main foyer. He heard a few noises, but couldn't quite make anything of them, and wasn't prepared to take the chance of looking out of windows anymore.
"Got it!" Spike called from in the hallway, running back in with a dusty-looking book.
"Keep it down!" Joseph reminded the drake. He levitated the book from Spike's hand and looked it over. "The heck is this?"
Exactly what I was hoping she had, Nightmare Moon interjected.
Spike, on the other hand, didn't hear what Nightmare Moon said, and added; "It's the book Twilight used to read to learn new spells. Just be careful with it, Celestia took it out of the Canterlot Archives to give to Twilight."
Essentially, it tells you how to weave certain spells a bit differently.
'Shouldn't you already know this sort of thing?'
I can weave teleportation spells for individual people, collectively, but given we share the same body, weaving one spell to take three individuals in two bodies isn't going to be enough. I need to find a way for you to piggyback on the spell, since I'm the one casting it. Now find the section about teleportation magics.
The book didn't have an index by itself, or numbered pages for that matter, but fortunately for Joseph, Twilight had taken it upon herself to make an index listing the chapters, and the pages they were on, as well as taking the time to number each page.
He found the spell Nightmare Moon wanted on page four-one-six, so he let her cast it.
Hopefully he didn't puke all over Fluttershy's house. |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 22| The 23rd Psalm | Down the path from Fluttershy's cottage, a short-sounding thrum and a flash of light signaled Joseph's successful teleportation.
From past experience, he readied himself to void his stomach, but when the sensation failed to arrive, he sighed in relief and looked around for Spike.
"Did the spell help?" Spike asked from behind Joseph. He was looking back at Ponyville, deep in thought.
Joseph walked up beside him. "I think the better question is; how're you holding up?"
Spike didn't answer. He balled his fists and took a determined breath, steeling himself and walked past Joseph and up the path to the cottage. Joseph used his magic to grab at Spike's arm before he could get too far ahead.
"Let go!" Spike snapped, yanking his arm free of the aura. He turned to glare at Joseph through an enraged expression with heavy, nasally breaths.
'Well, I guess that answers that question...' Joseph thought. "Look, we're in more shit than tub girl and we need to figure out a plan, alright?"
"No, it's not alright!" A stray tear leaked from the corner of Spike's eyes as they misted over. "She... Chrysalis, she..." His eyes clenched shut, trying to stem the flow.
Joseph walked up to Spike, sat on his haunches, and pulled him into a hug. Quiet sobs wracked Spike's body as he tried to keep his composure, but he eventually acquiesced and hugged Joseph back.
"I know what it's like to lose someone you care about," Joseph said, looking Spike in the eyes. "And it's alright to have a good cry about it; that's how we know we care. But... the worst thing is not being able to do anything." Joseph paused to consider how he watched his parents die in the hospital. The feeling of utter uselessness and lost hope had left him physically and mentally drained for a long time. "I'll get her back, don't worry."
"H-how?" Spike sniffled and rubbed the back of his hand across his nose.
'Well if that isn't the question of the day,' Joseph thought before turning his attention to Nightmare Moon. 'What kind of magic did you say Chrysalis was using?'
Biology orientated transmutation, she replied. She's using her magic for forcefully transform ponies into her changelings.
'What about the rest of them? The ones that she didn't do... that... to.'
My knowledge of Chrysalis' magic is limited. I know what she does, but not how she does it. That's why we need to get to the castle in the Everfree. There's ancient tomes there that'll likely have information on her.
'You really enjoy skipping around the point, don't you?'
Without missing a beat, Nightmare answered; Do you know why Chrysalis takes her captives back to her hive? To me, it seems a likely reason get them out of her way and into a place where she can keep an eye on them.
'Let's just drop Spike off and get to the castle,' Joseph amended before turning his attention back to Spike. "Nightmare said that Twilight could either be at the hive, or that that changeling could still be her. Now come on, let's get you inside."
"What're we doing here anyway?"
"We need to make sure Fluttershy is safe."
Good luck explaining to Fluttershy what has transpired, Nightmare said. You know how she is; she'll likely have an aneurysm.
The duo made their way up to the cottage's door, wherein Joseph rapped a hoof on it.
"Go away, no visitors on Nightmare Night!" bellowed a voice from within.
"Fluttershy, it's Joseph," he said dryly. Several seconds passed but he got no reply. He banged on the door louder.
"Nopony's home!"
"I can hear you!" he replied with equal vigour.
This time it was Spike's turn to bang on the door, although with both fists, and rather frantically. "Fluttershy, we need your help! Something happened in Ponyville!"
Joseph clenched his teeth and glared down at Spike, but he didn't seem to notice. "Lesson number one in how to not be subtle as fuck..." he said under his breath
The door creaked open. The inside was pitch black, as if Fluttershy had extinguished every light source. The longer Joseph stared at the open crack, there was one thing that came apparent.
Shadows don't have fur. Do they?
When the door opened fully, Joseph craned his head to look up at the bear standing before him. The massive creature gave him a disapproving look with crossed arms.
Joseph took a cautious step back, swallowed a lump in his throat, and said; "Can I get through? I need to talk to Fluttershy."
The bear shook his head, then clasped his hands together and put them on the left side of his face, tilting his head as he did so.
"She's... sleeping?"
The bear nodded.
"She couldn't have been if she heard me knock!"
He snarled in reply, strongly suggesting that Joseph leave.
"Look, something happened in town and we need to come in!"
The door moved open another couple inches, and an eye half covered by a pink mane peeked around the door.
"I-is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked meekly.
"If Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary could step aside, that would be great."
"Come on Barry, let him in. Joseph won't hurt us."
'Barry' scratched his head and pointed a claw at Joseph, making some confused growling sounds.
"Not right now. I'll tell you later." He then stepped to his left, out of the way of Joseph and Spike to let them in. Once they were in, he followed suit and closed the door behind him.
"Sorry about Barry, he can get a little over-protective at times."
"When your bodyguard is two-and-a-half metres tall and can rip large chunks of hamburger from your torso with his claws, I don't doubt that he keeps those types at bay." As Joseph stepped inside, he was overwhelmed by the multitude of animals that were scattered around the place. Barry exempt, there were birds, rabbits, mice, a few jackalopes, squirrels, ducks and ducklings amongst others and, much to Joseph's confusion, a rather pissed-off looking white bunny sat on Fluttershy's back. The rabbit seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
And then the smell hit. Joseph recoiled slightly, nostrils flaring as the offensive odour did battle with the cilia in his nose. How could nobody else notice it? Regardless, he'd just have to do his best to ignore it for the time being.
"Y-you said something happened in town?" Fluttershy asked, bringing the conversation back to the original point.
'Damn it, how do I break this to her?' Joseph looked down to Spike who, in turn, looked up to him with the same expression. "Uhm... Ponyville." He thickly swallowed. "Ponyville got attacked."
Fluttershy gasped and pulled a hoof over her mouth. "I-is everypony alright?"
"No," he wanted to say. "I hate to beat around the bush, and this is something that's as difficult for me to say as it is for you to hear, so I'll be candid: Changelings have been replacing people in town and now their leader has staged a coup."
Fluttershy's mouth hung agape as her eyes seemingly stared past Joseph and into infinity. She was as stiff as a board, unmoving as she struggled to process the information. Several animals were watching the conversation, and more joined the crowd to see what was going on.
"Look, I need you to keep an eye on Spike while I find a way to get rid of Chrysalis." Fluttershy blinked in confusion. "Their leader," Joseph amended. Her mouth formed a small "o" and turned to look up at Barry, whose arms were crossed and looking down at both ponies with a neutral, stoic expression.
"No," Spike interrupted. "She took Twilight, I'm going with you!"
"Not a chance. You can breathe fire, so if any changelings come snooping you can turn them into charcoal briquettes. And with Mr. Claws McNope over there, the two of you can do some damage."
"Chrysalis has an army! Do you really think a baby dragon and a bear can hold them off!?" Spike exclaimed through a vexed glare.
"The fact that Chrysalis hasn't even been here tells me that she either doesn't know about Fluttershy's cottage, or doesn't care. What's one timid mare going to do against her?" Joseph shot back. "That's only a last resort, if it ever came to that. No offense by the way..."
"N-none taken..." Fluttershy replied, idly pawing at the ground.
"The longer I spend here, the more I'm putting the both of you at risk." Joseph didn't know if she had gotten her use out of her mysterious spell, or still wanted to use it to keep tabs on him.
"W-what are you going to do?" Fluttershy asked, looking up to Joseph through moistened eyes. "If Twilight and the rest of us can't use the Elements on her..."
"I... I don't know." Joseph was just one person; he couldn't do enough damage to Chrysalis and her army. He needed her alone. "But I will fix this. She knows I'm going to come back, so I need to change the status quo somehow. Nightmare Moon said there's something at the castle in the forest that would help."
A loud, shrill whistle from somewhere among the animals drew the confused stares of those present. The white rabbit that was on Fluttershy's back was impatiently tapping a foot on the floor, his arms crossed and staring down Fluttershy.
"Angel Bunny? What is it?" He proceeded to hop high enough to land on Fluttershy's head, where he started being vocal with the other animals, squeaking away and making wild gestures with his paws.
He suddenly pulled out a little wooden sword that looked like it was made from chopsticks, from where Joseph couldn't figure out, and thrust it forward with a squeak of finality.
All animals present dove back into their little houses with some running off into the kitchen. When they came back, they all brandished various forms of cutlery--forks, spoons, ladles and spatulas--as well as other items they could hold.
"Angel Bunny! You are not going outside!" Fluttershy angrily chastised before clearing her throat and speaking calmer. "I understand you want to help protect me, but like Joseph said; we're safer here. Now put that thing away, please?"
Angel threw his paws up in the air in frustration.
"I'm sorry, Angel, but I can't let you do that. I don't know what I'd do if any of you got hurt..." She looked to the ground dejectedly, and Joseph saw the animals slump in defeat. "Now would everyone else be so kind is to put the cutlery back where you got it?"
'Can she actually talk to the animals?' Joseph asked Nightmare.
Her talent means she's good with animals, so she'd be able to talk with them on some level. You were speaking to the bear just before, weren't you?
"I gotta say, I admire the balls on your bunny," Joseph said out loud. Angel folded his arms in pride and gave a nod to Fluttershy. "Even though they're probably the size of peas." Angel gave a squeaky huff and hopped out of the room, then Joseph turned to Fluttershy. "You just need to lay low and stay out of sight. Keep Spike with you, too."
"Uhm, okay..."
"They'll find us eventually," Spike said pointedly.
"Which means there is still time. I'll get Twilight back, I promise."
"I... Okay. I'll stay here and keep Fluttershy safe," he said reluctantly.
The more time you spend reassuring them, the less we'll have to stop Chrysalis, Nightmare said.
"Look, I need to hurry up."
Spike nodded. "Alright. Just be careful."
Joseph looked up to Barry. He nodded stoically, wordlessly telling Joseph he'd also keep an eye on things. Joseph heaved a breath to calm his heart and anxiety, then turned for the door.
"Uhm, wait a moment..." Fluttershy said meekly. Joseph turned his head to look at her and she continued. "How will I know when everything is alright?"
He looked around the room at the various birds, and the idea bulb went off in his head. "Send one or two of your birds out in the morning. Until they say it's safe outside, I can only hope nothing finds you." Joseph cracked open the door to see if there were any changelings, but it was rather quiet all the way out here.
Looking back over toward town, he sincerely hoped he could find a way to put Chrysalis down before she could cause anymore damage. Nightmare Moon could only muster so much magic to craft her spell to reverse Chrysalis', and he still had a few of his molotovs.
He had no idea if these changelings were vulnerable to fire like he hoped, but right now, that was all he had to go on. If not, then they can still cause some serious damage. That is to say he could throw competently, and hit his targets.
With five bombs left and hundreds upon hundreds of Changelings, that would require skill he didn't have. And lamp oil.
Joseph began walking down the dirt path from Fluttershy's cottage. 'How do I get to the castle from here?'
Keep heading south-east into the forest. You can't miss it.
'How do I know you're stearing me straight? In every sense of the word.'
Joseph stood before the dense thicket leading into the Everfree. He could already feel the shadows within weigh down on him.
I want to deal with Chrysalis just as much as you do, Nightmare said.
'I'm going to go out on a limb and say that your reasons are not the same as mine.' Joseph breathed a relaxing sigh through his nose, boldly entering the oppressive forest.
As he tentatively strode through the looming shadows, his thoughts went back to something Chrysalis said earlier.
"You have the abilities of a god..."
Half an hour had passed with neither Nightmare or Joseph saying a word to one another. He knew she had an ulterior motive for helping him, but he knew it would be a wasted effort to try and get her to talk. Nightmare Moon could easily peruse through his head to find out what she needed to know about him, and while she could do anything she wanted in there, the risk of doing so outweighed what result she'd otherwise get.
The more he thought about it, there was one thing that didn't sit straight with Joseph. How did he get where he is now? Not walking around a forest in the middle of the night, but... here, in every sense of the word. How did he wind up on this planet in the first place? What happened to his body on Earth? And why does Chrysalis have such a hard-on for him?
Breaking the blissful internal silence, Joseph asked; 'Am I still going in the right direction?'
Yes, you are. Nightmare said.
'And what did Chrysalis mean back there?'
Which part?
'Oh, y'know, the part where Chrysalis said I have the abilities of a god. Care to shed some light on that?'
No need to get snippy about it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did you miss the part where I got kidnapped from my home and tossed into this stupid body, thrown into the midst of something that makes exactly zero sense to me, and not to mention how I lost the very thing that made me a man!?"
Sometimes shouting felt good.
Really good.
"You owe me some serious answers," he finished irately.
Alright, I'll give you that much, Nightmare said, dejected. Chrysalis is right, I am a god. Of what, you already know.
"Fat lot of good that does me right now. Anyway, how much longer to the castle?"
About another hour's walk if you keep on track.
"So that means we've got time."
Do you expect me to tell you my life's story while we walk?
"No, just answers to the questions I'm going to ask." A twig broke somewhere off to Joseph's right, and his head snapped to face the sound as he froze in place.
I suggest you keep your voice down if you don't want to get eaten by manticores.
'If I was still on Earth I'd call bullshit on the manticores, but since I've got a horn, wings, something I never thought I'd get, and magic is a thing, I'm not remotely surprised anymore.'
You will be when one stings you. Death by manticore venom is not pretty.
More rustling caught Joseph's attention again and caused his heart rate to increase. 'Part of me wants to stay and find out what that is since I'm genuinely curious, and the other wants to book it in the other direction so I don't have to.'
To do so is a deathwish.
Just then a rabbit hopped out of the bushes, bounding over to Joseph. Only, this rabbit wore a tiny little general's cap with a small wooden sword strapped to his waist with a piece of string.
"Angel?!" Joseph said. "Was that you following us?" Angel curtly nodded, pointing back and forth between him and Joseph. "What do you want?" He pointed back toward Ponyville, squeaking something incomprehensible.
Joseph just gawked at the rabbit as he played his game of charades. "Dude, I don't know what you're trying to get at!"
Angel pulled his ears down over one side of his face, adopting a more fragile posture.
"Fluttershy?" Joseph guessed. Angel nodded, hopping closer to jump onto Joseph's back. "Woah there, what do you think you're doing?" He plopped himself between Joseph's shoulders and folded his arms and legs. "Oh, nu-uh, you ain't coming with me!"
Angel whapped Joseph over the back of his head, pointing towards town again and going off at Joseph. Joseph, meanwhile, could only stare at the rabbit with bemusement and annoyance as the bunny continued his tirade and charade.
'What's he saying?' Joseph asked Nightmare.
I can't understand him anymore than you can, she said.
"Just... hold the phone for a second," Joseph pleaded. Angel stopped what he was doing and looked at Joseph, his impenitent glare unmoving. "Just bear with me and nod or shake your head at my questions. First question: You want to help Fluttershy?" Angel nodded and proceeded to wrap his arms around himself tightly. "Alright, you're trying to keep her safe. Next question: Going off of what you did in the cottage, you think we need more help." He nodded again, raising his paws high and slowly widening them in an arch. "A lot of it, apparently.
"And where do you think we're going to get that help?" Joseph asked pointedly, arching a challenging eyebrow.
Angel turned around toward the depths of the forest, opening his arms wide and gesturing forward, rotating himself left and right, as if scanning the trees. He seems to think that the creatures of the Everfree would help, Nightmare translated. Personally, I don't see why they would. They don't like the ponies any more than the ponies like the creatures.
The rabbit then hopped off Joseph's back and ran back into the bush he came from. Angel was gone for all of five seconds before a hushed "Ow!" came from the same direction. Out hopped Angel, and a larger shape moved through the bushes behind him. He heard some annoyed grumbling following a white hoof with a remote strapped to it stepping from the bush.
Vinyl emerged rubbing one of her ears against the side of her head, glaring down at Angel, then turned her gaze towards Joseph, her eyes narrowing in an accusing stare.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Joseph said angrily.
"I was in my house getting some music for after Trixie's, or should I say Chrysalis' magic show, when the mayhem broke out. After than I hoofed it in the opposite direction to get away and ended up running into the forest. After a while I was found by Fluttershy's rabbit, so I thought he could lead me back to her place."
Joseph noticed the remote for the soundstage still on Vinyl's leg and asked; "What have you still got that on for?"
Vinyl brought it up to her face and used her magic to press a few of the buttons. "Well for one thing I made it so I'm not just going to leave it in the middle of the woods. Secondly, it went nuts for some reason a while back; started shaking, then it shut itself off."
'What do you think happened?' Joseph asked Nightmare.
That remote controls the music platform. When we fed the magic into it, the surge would have overloaded the remote.
"It's dead," Joseph said.
"What!?"
"Yeah, about that... I kinda fed Nightmare's magic into your platform and the surge overloaded the remote."
Vinyl stiffened in place, cautiously regarding the tall mare before her through narrowed eyes. "What do you mean, 'Nightmare's magic'? Isn't this just a disguise?"
'Apparently she wasn't around for the big reveal' "Yeah, about that..."
The mare just stood, transfixed in place as the gears in her head began grinding. Her jaw dropped in realisation, horror washing across as she stumbled backwards. "Y-y-you're real!" Vinyl blurted.
"It's a long story." Joseph explained as Vinyl plastered herself against a tree. "If you think I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would have done it one of the other times we were in the same room? Y'know, benefit of the doubt and all that good stuff."
Vinyl reluctantly lowered herself to the forest floor and cast a wary look Joseph's way. "Fine," she acquiesced, "I'll hear you out. Where are you going, anyway?"
"To the castle somewhere in the forest to stop bug brain back there. C'mon, either tag along or don't; it doesn't really matter to me either way." Joseph glanced to Angel. "Same goes for you too. I need to put her down before things go from bad to a complete shit-show." He returned to walking in the direction of the castle.
Vinyl looked at Angel and shrugged indifferently. "Better than town right now, that's for sure," she said before walking after Joseph. Angel hopped onto Vinyl's back for the ride.
"So, where to begin..." Joseph said
~~~***~~~
Joseph recounted his tale for the next forty-five minutes as they walked. He saved some time by skimping on some of the detail, namely the parts he felt embarrassed or ashamed to mention. Vinyl listened as they ventured further into the forest, stopping now and then to ask a brief question.
Eventually they found themselves in a fog covered clearing. Up ahead sat two wooden posts in the ground, and as they got closer, noticed a rope and board bridge spanning to the other side of the ravine. On the other side was the faint, hazy silhouette of a large building, blocked by the thick fog. It was gently coaxed along by a barely noticeable breeze, a crisp chill permeating the ambience and accentuating the entire creepy factor.
We're here, Nightmare said.
A short, shrill whistle caught the attention of Joseph and Vinyl. They turned and saw Angel standing back at the tree line. He pointed back into the forest and made a determined squeak, still adamant about gathering the creatures.
Joseph rolled his eyes in frustration and said to Angel; "Do you expect me to play diplomat to a bunch of wild animals? We'll get mauled!" The bunny continued to berate Joseph through words unknown, and eventually Joseph's impatience got the better of him. Ignoring Angel, he gave the rabbit the cold shoulder and turned back towards the bridge, contemplating the old wooden bridge.
Angel, meanwhile, threw his paws up in the air with frustration, and wailed with anger towards Joseph. He then hopped back into the forest, leaving Vinyl with Joseph.
"What are we even doing here?" Vinyl asked.
"I," he corrected, "need to find some kind of magic that'll help me get rid of Chrysalis."
"I can help," Vinyl said hopefully.
Joseph snorted derisively. "How?"
"I know my talent is music, but I'm also good with other things."
Joseph looked over the bridge before him and smiled. "You can start by testing the bridge." His smile transformed into a shit-eating grin, but Vinyl paid him no heed.
"Well, if it was good for Twilight and the rest of them, it's good for me," she said shakily.
A careful hoofstep told her the wood, while old, was still sturdy. She made it across easily enough and turned to Joseph, smiling smugly.
"If I can do it, surely Nightmare Moon can too!" Vinyl taunted, calling back from across the other side.
Joseph scowled at her and tested the bridge with a hoof. When he began to cross, his wings flared so that, if he fell, he could at least try and glide to safety. Or fall to his death and have every bone in his body broken against the cliff face on the way down.
Fortunately neither situation came to pass as Joseph let out a relieved breath he didn't realise he was holding.
"Can't fly?" Vinyl said with an edge to her tone.
"I've never flown before," Joseph retorted. "Humans aren't designed to fly, so I've kept myself grounded."
"What happens when they do?"
"What am I gonna do, flap my arms and hope it works? If I jumped out of a plane and did that, I'd just wind up as pizza on the tarmac."
"What's a plane?"
"Just ssshhhhh, please," Joseph said with exasperation. "I know you want to help, but I'm trying hard not to completely lose it right now."
Vinyl's demeanor softened and she turned to face the destroyed ruins of the castle alongside Joseph. The main foyer of the castle had been completely destroyed; there was almost nothing left of the walls, and the remains of the roof lay as piles of rubble around the room. The massive wooden doors that were the entrance were both ajar at different angles. Slightly open doors in the middle of the night were always something to be cautious of; one does not simply walk into an old castle without considering the possibility of getting jumped.
Joseph pulled one of the slabs of wood open further, the hinges screeching like rusted nails down a chalkboard. He grimaced, and when the noise had stopped and the door was open, he looked around inside, Vinyl craning her neck to try looking over his shoulder.
"Do you know what it is you're looking for?" Vinyl asked, one of Joseph's eyes twitching with a modicum of annoyance at the question.
Much of the castle is in ruin, Nightmare interjected to Joseph. However, some of the lower levels will have survived. There's a vault under the castle that we need to get to.
"Nightmare says there's a big room with lots of treasure in it," Joseph mocked.
"Oohhhh!" Vinyl joyously sing-songed.
"Don't you just love the idea of plundering ancient treasure vaults?" Joseph asked rhetorically. 'So, where do we begin?'
As you're probably aware, Nightmare said sarcastically, old castles often have mazes of secret tunnels around. There are two leading off from the old throne room, so that's where we need to start.
Joseph grinned as wide as the Cheshire Cat. "Which way to the throne room?" |
A Nightmare Come To Life | 23| The Millenial Vault | As Joseph walked through the rubble-strewn foyer, he couldn't help but notice Vinyl's expression, betwixt amazement and childlike wonder. He took it as a hint and began to look around the place more. Stone-carved pillars that once stood sentinel holding up the masonry were now shattered and flung all around the place like discarded toothpicks, and arched windows bore panes of half-broken coloured glass, their former designs unrecognisable.
Some ways in was a pedestal with a giant stone orb, and four smaller arms attached to a ring that rotated between the platform and spheroid. As Joseph got closer, he felt faint traces of magic emanating from the spheres. It wasn't just any magic, something about it made him feel agitated and on edge. Situated in the middle of the room, he gave it the widest possible berth and walked around it. The anxiousness weakened the further away he got from it.
You felt it too, didn't you? Nightmare said.
'It was almost as though it was... repelling me.'
It originally housed the Elements. It still has trace amounts of residual magic left in it. The Elements themselves are, in a way, designed to repel dark energy and black magic, so you're feeling what I would have felt.
'What I wouldn't have given for anti-theft technology like that on Earth.'
"This place is so cool!" Vinyl chorused as she and Joseph approached a large double door at the end of the foyer.
Joseph opened one side to a large corridor with doors lining it up and down. Shadows grew thicker as it was long, so he looked to the walls inside of the door for wall-mounted torches. Empty holsters adorned the wall for quite a way, but, through the darkness, he spied one further down, barely lit by the ambient moonlight from behind. He levitated it over without actually having to venture into the inky abyss, smiling with satisfaction when it got to him. "Got a light?" Joseph joked to Vinyl. He was about to ask Nightmare to light the torch for him, but the tip of Vinyl's horn beaded with magic and the torch burst to life with a vibrant flame.
"How did you do that?" Joseph asked in surprise.
"It's a spell I learned when building my now-ruined soundstage." Vinyl took a moment to justifiably glare at Joseph. "It was helpful soldering components together," she amended.
It is possible to fix that machine, Nightmare said. All I'd need to do is take out the magic we put in it, while she fixes any necessary physical damage.
"I'll tell you how to fix it if you tell me how to do that."
Vinyl carefully regarded Joseph as they walked down the hall. "As much as I want to not believe you for being deceitful in the beginning, there's just... something about you that I can't shake."
"Deceitful?" Joseph said with a snort. "Did you honestly expect me to be open and honest about everything from the beginning? I can picture it now: 'Hi, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Joseph Merrick, and I'm a hairless ape from a planet called Earth.' Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"
"I guess you have a point," Vinyl meekly said. "Anyway, it's a spell you need to know how to cast properly. It's on the same vein of pyromancy, but doesn't require as much magic or effort. Concentrate your aura in the tip of your horn and focus it on an object!"
Nightmare told Joseph the throne room is in the east of the castle, so he and Vinyl took a right hand turn at the end of the wider corridor. "I'm beginning to think this place is just as much of a maze as the tunnels," Joseph commented.
Might I take a brief moment to address your companion? Nightmare asked.
'What for?'
There is something I need to tell her about where we're headed.
Joseph thought about it as they took the next left. 'You have fifteen seconds,' he acquiesced. 'But, I'm going to tell her first so you don't freak her out.' "Hey, Nightmare wants to have a word with you."
That certainly piqued Vinyl's curiosity. Her gaze spun to Joseph as she rubbed one of her ears. "I'm sorry, it sounds like you said; 'Nightmare Moon wants to talk to me'?!" she exclaimed, aghast.
'Alright, you're move. Remember, fifteen seconds and no funny business.' Joseph cleared his throat in preparation for Nightmare's takeover.
"Oh how it feels good to speak freely once more," she cooed unnervingly. "When we get to the throne room, you'll need to use your magic to scan the walls for resonant frequencies. Several of the doors were designed to use unicorn magic so only they and the princesses could open them. You just need to tune your magic accordingly."
"I, uhm... Okay, I guess..."
Joseph felt Nightmare's presence slip back into his head, but the experience of his mouth moving without his control felt beyond weird. He flexed his jaw to ensure he had command of his mouth. He couldn't help but wonder if that's how Nightmare Moon felt.
"Why can't you do it, though?" Vinyl asked.
"Part of her being trapped in my head means she can't use her magic to its fullest extent. If I tried to, it'll likely end up badly. Y'know, non-magic user plus a lot of power and not knowing how to use it equals a very bad time. That, and she's trying to pool what magic she can manage into trying to reverse the damage Chrysalis' magic has done."
Vinyl blinked and shook her head in relief. "I'm glad I don't have an evil entity in my head."
"Technically speaking, I'm in her head, I just have control of her motor functions. Her fault, though." Joseph finished by inwardly blowing a raspberry at Nightmare. They went through the door at the end of the corridor into the room beyond, even more broken glass windows still in their frames and all over the floor. Under the windows on their right lay a stone bench with the tattered remains of what Joseph thought to be pillows. To the left were three doors; one on the immediate left, another in the middle of the room, and lastly, one at the far end.
At Nightmare's direction, Joseph went to the middle door and opened it, this way leading to a large room at the end. Joseph levitated the torch into the room, the light barely illuminating the massive space. Only through a soft orange glow were he and Vinyl able to make out the confines of the room.
Books. Lots of books. Some were on the floor and the tables lining the middle of the room and weathered beyond recognition, and others lay opened next to completely melted candles, over a millennium of dust and rot covering them. Joseph pulled a book at random from a shelf and opened it with awe, Vinyl's expression matching his as she leaned over his shoulder. While still in better condition, legibility was at it's minimum. It was like trying to read ink that had only partially dried and was then smudged. Then, Joseph felt a presence tug at him from off to his right. He turned his head to a seemingly random bookshelf, eyeing it with curiosity and trepidation.
He fixed his gaze upon it, putting the book on a table and walking to the shelf as Vinyl followed out of confusion.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I felt... something from over there. Not like being watched, but like something's there."
It's one of the secret passages I mentioned; they can have magical signatures. Try having your friend open it. It'll be good practice, Nightmare said.
"Now's your chance to open a secret door," Joseph teased. Vinyl's expression, along with her horn, lit up, encompassing the entire set of shelves, books and all. Several resonant thrums echoed throughout the library they stood in, until finally, Vinyl had that 'Eureka!' moment. She closed her eyes to focus, and two seconds later the door began to grind open. It stalled halfway, rumbling to a halt by an unforeseen jam. Joseph tentatively stepped forward to poke his head around the corner.
He gasped in shock at what was causing the jam and stepped back as his heart rate spiked.
"What is it?" Vinyl asked, also stepping forward. Joseph looked down to Vinyl, only to discover a colour paler than white from her expression. A skeleton, turned to face down the dark passage, had its hindquarters crushed by the opening mechanism. The tattered remains of what could be called clothes had caught in the slide rails and dragged it in. The skull bore no horn, nor any extra bones that would have otherwise suggested wings.
"He must have gotten stuck down here..."
"Poor guy," Vinyl lamented.
As Joseph stood at the entrance to the passage, he began to sense something from deeper within. "Do you feel that?"
Vinyl's horn lit up and a glowing pinprick of magic beaded, floating down the hall. A thin veil of magic radiated from it, washing over the masonry. Joseph looked on, perplexed, waiting to see what she did. "Hah! The exit to the throne room is at the other end!"
Astounded, Joseph said; "How could you possibly know that!?"
"Different magical signatures~" Vinyl sing-songed. "I'd venture that each door has varying signatures to help the castle unicorns themselves know where they are so they didn't get lost."
"And what the hell was that light show?"
"Spell I learned while building my soundstage. Designed to scan systems and find anomalies. Anyway, it's a little ways down, and there's a couple passages leading off, so just keep going straight."
The light of the torch had shrunk to half of what it was before, a dim orange glow being cast in the pitch black. Eventually, Joseph and Vinyl stopped before a stone wall at the end of the passage. The section of wall lit up with her magic, and eventually, slid open.
The door opened to the throne room as expected, and to their right lay two large, stone chairs atop a platform. Old banners of blue and gold, mouldy and decrepit from time, adorned the various pillars, and some looked to have been burnt from the bottom up. Puzzling enough, a broken, tiny stone bridge connected the two platforms on which the royal seats were situated, a massive crack running up the back wall. As far as the rest of the decor went, there were niches evenly spaced up and down the walls either side, unlit and cobweb-infested torches on their mounts.
Joseph stepped further into the room, lighting the torches either side of him, then levitating his torch around the room to light the rest, casting the room in a bright orange glow. He turned to face the thrones as Vinyl began looking for another door.
"Did Nightmare tell you where the other door is?"
"She know's it's around here somewhere, but she wasn't able to get Luna to spill the beans to where it is, let alone open it."
Both of you have the means to find it, Nightmare quipped in annoyance.
"Use your scan... thingy... to find it again," Joseph said.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not picking up on any more signatures for the doors. Could be that, since this is a vault, it's going to be well hidden."
Joseph walked about the room and took a closer look at the walls and ceiling while Vinyl did her own thing. The throne room seemed to be in better condition than the entrance did, although not by much. Holes in the roof ruled out anything hidden in the ceiling; the wall through which Vinyl and Joseph entered also ruled out that side of the wall; the broken window above the cracked wall leading outside suggested nothing too, so that left two choices, discounting the entrance to the throne room: the wall directly opposite the way they came, or the floor.
"Scan the wall over there," Joseph said, pointing to the left side of the room. Vinyl's horn lit and a beam of magic washed over the wall from top to bottom and side to side.
"Nothing over here."
A smirk appeared on Joseph's face as he pointed to each wall. "We came from over there. Outside is behind that wall and the roof is pretty munted. You just scanned that wall and the doors to this room are wide open. What option does that leave us with?"
"How can there be anymore places to look, then?" she said rather disappointedly.
Vinyl craned her head towards the roof, her eyes looking over everything Joseph noted. In that moment, both to confuse Vinyl and drive home his point, he promptly lay on his back on the floor and folded his front legs behind his head. As Joseph guessed, she looked down to him with absurdity.
"Why are you laying on the floor?" Joseph looked to her with an arched eyebrow. In that instant, Vinyl clicked to what she said. "The floor!"
"Exactly!" Joseph exclaimed, promptly getting back up. "Try to find a void under the floor instead of a signature. Should be easier. I think."
"Well, let's look at it like this: It's a vault hidden by the princesses over a thousand years ago. Maybe over by the thrones?"
"Hmm," Joseph mused. "Keep it close at hand. Since it was a diarchy, Celestia and Luna would have been in here in split shifts, so-to-speak. Nobody could have entered or exited without them seeing or knowing."
I like the way you think... Nightmare Moon crooned.
"Makes sense," Vinyl said, cantering her way over to the seats. She checked both sides and between the set of steps leading up to either throne, coming up empty handed both times.
Walking closer as Vinyl was doing this, Joseph stepped between the set of stairs to join her, looking over the block of stone too. He ran his hoof over the face of the stone, feeling for something. "Got something pointy and thin?"
"You used too, apparently..."
Joseph froze.
His head, very slowly, gravitated to glare down at Vinyl through Nightmare Moon's evil gaze.
Vinyl was having none of it.
She was too busy holding both hooves over her muzzle, trying and failing to stifle the laugh that was making her red in the face.
Joseph swore he heard Nightmare laugh, also.
Eventually, Vinyl's joke got the better of Joseph and he deflated, laughing alongside her. "I gotta admire you for having the stones to make that joke," Joseph said lightheartedly. Despite everything, he appreciated a good-natured joke. He extended a hoof to Vinyl and she met him in the middle with hers.
"Hey, I'm just glad you didn't send me to the moon!" Vinyl said, wiping some mirth from her eyes. "Wait... Can you do that?"
Yes, Nightmare said.
"No," Joseph said a split second later. He didn't want to give Vinyl cause for concern.
"Whew! Anyway... " She magicked something that resembled a leather pricking tool and passed it to Joseph. "Just be careful with it, please."
"If we make it out of this, I'll buy you a new one."
"...New?" Vinyl said with confusion.
Joseph then put the point on one end of the stone and pressed firmly, dragging it along the block higher up while keeping the tool straight. Half way down the block, the tip caught in something. "Put your hoof here. "Joseph grabbed Vinyl's leg and put it on the spot where the tip caught. Wanting to confirm his theory, he did the same thing from the opposite end. The tool caught in the same vertical spot. "Take your hoof off, I think I found it."
Vinyl backed off as Joseph dug the tip of the tool into the stone and started dragging up with force. Over a millenia of crusted stone and dirt was lifted from the crack between the two blocks.
"Right under their feet..." Vinyl idly murmured with realisation in her tone. "So how do we open it?"
"Magic, presumably," Joseph said nonchalantly. "Have a go at it and see if you can't do something." Vinyl's horn lit and focused her magic on the stone for several seconds.
"Yeah... No way I'm getting in there. While it doesn't have a signature like the other doors to keep it from being found, the enchantment to keep it locked hasn't worn away, even after all these years."
"There's always another way in."
"Not in this case. My scan picked up that the entrance drops to a passage that runs the length of the throne room. There's another door at the end and the room itself is..." Vinyl turned in the direction of the throne room's entrance. "Further down that end, almost right under the corridor that leads to the main door."
"Then we make another door: right above the vault. Can you tell how far down the room is?"
Vinyl stood just forward of the royal seats, lit her horn and furrowed her brow in concentration, and then stomped a rear hoof on the stone. "There's four feet of stone between us and the passage." She sighed. "So, what now? We can't get into the vault!"
Joseph pinched his brow in thought and said; 'Nightmare? Any ideas?'
Only one. The entrance is likely still keyed to Luna and Celestia's magical signature. Since I once possessed Luna, I should be able to trick it into opening.
"Here goes..." Joseph encompassed the stone blocks with his magic and told Nightmare to do her thing. Several seconds passed in silence as Vinyl watched on with intrigue, at which point a low grumbling noise could be heard. It grew louder, and the stones split apart with a sudden crack and shower of dust that made Joseph and Vinyl cough. Blinking a couple times, Joseph watched as the stone slowly split apart, revealing an inky pit below.
Both Vinyl and he approached tentatively, peering into the abyss. "You first," Joseph said.
"How do we know it's not booby trapped?" Vinyl asked.
"I'd wager that, considering Celestia's arrogance, she wouldn't put any wards in place because she was too confident in her ability to keep everyone out."
"You'd think that nobody would notice the sound of the vault opening," Vinyl said pointedly.
"Stone lasts for eternity, time doesn't do it any favours." Joseph took point and flared his wings, standing on the edge of the hole.
"I thought you didn't know how to fly?"
"Don't need to; all I can hope is that I glide. I'm not going to jump all the way down there and risk a broken leg. Besides, there aren't any stairs!" Just before he jumped, Joseph levitated over two torches from their respective niches and dropped them in the hole. Sure enough, they landed a little ways down. "You're not going to make it down on your own. I'll carry you."
Vinyl walked forward and looked deeper into the hole. Without warning, Joseph grabbed Vinyl around her barrel as she squeaked in surprise, flapped his wings once and then let gravity carry him down.
"Hey, that wasn't so bad," Vinyl said once she had her hooves on the ground.
"Are you saying that for your sake, or as a vote of confidence in me?"
"...Both?" Vinyl promptly picked up a torch and peered around the nondescript walls. The torches were bright enough to shed enough light for them both to see all the way to the end of the passage.
They walked in silence until they came to a featureless door carved out of a single block of stone. Vinyl did her thing where she lit her horn and stomped a hoof, then said; "It's just on the other side of this."
"What the heck are you doing when you stomp, anyway."
"When you hit something, it makes a noise. I can use my magic and find out how far that sound carries. Contrary to what ponies may think, my special talent isn't just music, it's sound in general."
"Alright, so how do we open this door?" As if on queue, the slab began to descend with a jarring shudder. Caught off guard, Joseph and Vinyl stiffened in place as stone ground on stone. Eventually, it slid to a halt with a loud thunk. "I don't like how that happened without an explanation."
"We're the first ones to enter this room in over a thousand years..." Vinyl said rather distantly, ignoring Joseph's concern.
Joseph swallowed thickly and began to walk forward, tentatively entering the room's second story balcony. Two staircases flanking his left and right, spread out like you were looking out over a room from the top of a grand staircase. The room itself was laid out like a large half-circle with desks and tables in the middle, and through the light of the torches, he saw scores upon scores of books lining the bookshelf that spanned almost the entirety of the back wall. Both Joseph and Vinyl lit the sconces that lined the wall with the descent of the stairs as they went down.
"A thousand years..." Vinyl said again, her voice carrying throughout the vault.
Joseph eyed the various artifacts situated on the top of the bookcase with a few on the tables in the middle of the room, then turned left to look at the small space directly beneath the balcony from which they entered. A large, decorated desk made from heavy wood faced directly opposite the books and artifacts, several stacked parchments, quills, and a long-since-dried pot of ink on top.
"What is is we're looking for exactly?" Vinyl questioned.
Some of the books and artifacts on the shelves will aid us, Nightmare said.
As Joseph went over to the desk, he said; "Let's check the desk first. Maybe Celestia or Luna kept a record of what's in here." Pulling open a drawer, he saw stacks of paper bound with string like a hinge and wrapped in what looked like a leather envelope, wrapped again with string to keep everything from falling out. Joseph took the smallest of the five out of the drawer and opened it.
Entry 741 of the Celestial Calendar 021.
The attacker from two nights ago was apprehended and put in the castle dungeon. I still don't know why it chose me of all ponies to assault, but I fear there is more to consider. Celestia was quick to deal with the situation by keeping the details out of the public eye, but the guards that came to my aid were of great service. She swore them to secrecy, with the threat of high treason no less. Princess Luna, for reasons that are beyond me, wasn't told a word that I was assaulted. Why Celestia insists on keeping things secret defeats the pur--
The rest of the sentence was cut off by a straight, sharp line that ran across the rest of the page, almost as though it was snatched from under the writer as they were in the middle of the entry.
"Who do you think wrote that?" Vinyl asked from over Joseph's shoulder.
"Geezus!" Joseph exclaimed, startled by the sudden appearance of the mare. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to read that. Flip back another page and see what else they wrote."
Entry 740 of the Celestial Calendar 021.
I was attacked in my study last night by a creature I'd never seen before. I was working at my desk by candle light when I was struck. Had I not seen the flames of my candle flicker from the door being opened, I would have surely been killed. The blow only gave me a mild concussion, thankfully. I managed to buck it away from me, and it landed against the bookshelf. The contents of said shelves came crashing down around it, the noise startling it.
I didn't get a good look at the creature, but it's eyes were otherworldly. Pools of swirling blue and turquoise stared me down in the darkness, unnerving me to no end. Those eyes were all I saw at the time. I couldn't discern any other details, unfortunately, but that will change when Celestia calls upon me tomorrow.
"So we know it was the same person that wrote the other one," Joseph said pointedly.
"What were they writing about?"
"Consider everything that's happened? Changelings. What gets me is these journal entries are in an envelope with Celestia's category lists. Looks like she thought someone might find them." Joseph fanned the other pages out on the desk from right to left to get a better look at them. 'Can you give me the slightest hint as to what we're looking for?' he asked Nightmare Moon. 'If we came all the way out here for nothing...'
I only knew of this vault. I assumed it's where Celestia kept spellbooks she deemed illegal and things of that nature. Turns out I was right, but now you need to start looking for what's going to help us. Mage spells, sigils, any artifact that will give us an edge against Chrysalis.
"You're being about as useful as a nun's cunt right now!" Joseph screamed, much to the shock of Vinyl. She stammered back a little and tripped backwards over the corner of a protruding stone.
"Shit, sorry," Joseph said apologetically, using his magic to right Vinyl. "Nightmare Moon isn't being very helpful right now."
"Yeah, I thought as much."
Joseph and Vinyl peered over the pieces of paper for several moments, both of them in awe. Spells for memory manipulation, mind control, high-level pyromancy, and even charms that forced others to tell the truth, among other dark magic were all indexed in the vault.
"Complete invisibility, necromancy, osmosis," Joseph rattled on. "Just being around all this stuff is making me increasingly uneasy the more I think about it."
"Yeah, you're telling me," Vinyl said.
"Anyway, that last one seems helpful."
It doesn't work how you think. That spell has you absorb the magic of another pony. The last time anyone did that, they ended up insane and in tartarus. Celestia only kept these books so she could reverse damage by anyone that managed to perform the magic. Look for the pyromancy if you're so sure Chrysalis is vulnerable to fire, now you know about those spells.
"Well that's not a bad idea, actually. Right, pyromancy..." Joseph muttered, flicking back through the pages. He found three pages listed with pyromancy spell books, then he levitated the pages out in front of them, using the reference in the column to find their location. He pulled the first book from the top of each page and took them back to the table. "Can you read spell books?" he asked Vinyl.
"Sure I can. These kinds of books are on a whole other level, though. Ones this ancient were made by ponies who were experimenting with avenues of magic, so they were highly skilled ponies. Let me see now..." Vinyl opened the book gingerly, idly letting the pages fall as her eyes briefly scanned the pages, looking for anything of interest. Halfway through, she fully opened the tome and pointed to a sigil that, while not ornately decorated like the rest of them have been, was simple in its design. "Try this one," she said, tapping her hoof on the page.
His eyes scanned the parchment. "Shooting fire... from my horn..." Joseph said, dumbfounded. The page showed a relatively simple-looking sigil decorated with a few strange symbols and scrawled lines of writing dotted around it.
"That one's easy, at least for what Nightmare Moon can do."
"I am not Nightmare Moon!" Joseph reminded Vinyl. He slumped back into the desk chair, shoving the spellbook away without any regard. "It's because of her that I'm here in the first place!" he shouted. "And we're burning time with our thumbs up our asses while she could have killed everyone by now! And you expect me to be able to shoot fucking fire from my horn like a baby could do it!?"
To punctuate his dripping sarcasm, Joseph rolled his head and casually pointed his horn toward a wooden-looking statue sitting on a pedestal. Following the instructions on the page, Joseph funneled his magic into his horn and, to the surprise and shock of him and Vinyl, a narrow cone of fire erupted from the tip. The statue was promptly vaporized by the heat, leaving behind a pile of ash and scorched masonry.
"Or... Y'know... It could be that easy?" he said, gawking at the smouldering walls. The rising anger from before quickly vanished, replaced by the shock of what he actually did.
"Remind me to not make you angry again. Sorry about that... Look, if this idea helps, maybe since we're here, we could find a book that'll help you get back!" she said reassuringly
Joseph suddenly sat forward in the chair, beaming a grim. "That's it!" He pulled the book forward, rummaging around the index listings. "Nightmare Moon used a spell book from Twilight's library to augment her teleportation spell. If the spells in here are as powerful as I've been lead to believe, then there's got to be something we can use to get back to Ponyville in no time flat!"
"What about what Nightmare Moon kept telling you about finding something that'll help with Chrysalis?"
"Dude, I just shot fire from my head! Changeling's hate fire! That just solved all our problems!"
"What about the teleportation spell?"
Joseph ran the tip of his hoof down the page until he found what he was looking for. He levitated over two tomes from the shelves over to the desk. Giving one to Vinyl, he said; "Take one and look for a group teleportation spell."
Both of them did just that, several tense minutes passing by as each set of eyes hurriedly scanned the pages.
"Here!" Vinyl almost screamed, leaping up from her seat with more enthusiasm than was necessary, much to her embarrassment. Joseph chuckled as she awkwardly coughed behind a hoof. Looking more intently at the page, she continued. "One sigil works on small groups, charges easily and quickly and, awwwww..."
The disheartened way Vinyl said that concerned Joseph, but she continued on before he could say anything. "Made to be used outside."
"Are you kidding me?" Joseph exclaimed. "We just go back outside!"
"...True. I was kind of hoping we could do one here and now to avoid going back outside."
"We can either walk and waste more time, or run to try and avoid wasting more time."
Vinyl dropped her stance and pawed at the ground with a hoof. "Running into a fight alongside Nightmare Moon? I'm terrified and thrilled at the same time!"
If you go charging into a battle armed with only a simple pyromancy spell, you will die, Nightmare Moon interrupted.
'Don't you worry, I've got a plan.'
And what would that be?
'Call her out. Make her a deal that if she faces off one-on-one with me, the winner decides the fate of the loser. Thing is, I plan on taking her down with me.'
Do you honestly expect that to work? Nightmare asked.
'Chrysalis likes audiences. She wouldn't turn down an opportunity to prove her prowess in front of a crowd.
Before we go, there is something we need. The glass case at the top of the middle section that has the blue gemstone in it. I need it to finish my spell.
"Gimmie a sec here," Joseph said to Vinyl. He looked over the cases and spied the gem, which he quickly levitated out from its case.
This gem is one of many that are able to store magic, like what you'd call a battery. If you touch it to your horn, I can absorb the stored magic and use it as a catalyst for my spell. Without something to bolster the spell matrix, Chrysalis could dispel it with ease.
'You understand if something like this is setting off warning signs for me, right?'
"What's this for?" Vinyl said.
Joseph got an idea. "Try scanning this and tell me what it is." He passed the gem over to Vinyl to let her scrutinise it.
Vinyl's eyes slowly widened, but Joseph wasn't able to tell if it was the good or bad kind. "Oh wow," Vinyl finally said, though the evenness to her tone didn't help Joseph's cause. "It's some kind of... I don't really know how to put it. The gem is a protective housing for an energy source. A big one. Very big, in fact."
I wasn't lying when I told you it was like a battery, Nightmare said scornfully.
"Here's the thing," Joseph truthfully began. "Nightmare Moon's spell requires the energy in that gem so Chrysalis can't counter it. She wants to absorb it."
"Absorb it!?" Vinyl's shock was enough to tell Joseph doing so would be a bad idea. "This thing has more magical potential than the vast majority of unicorns I know, myself included!"
"Probably 'cause they all spend their time drinking and partying like you do," Joseph said with a sly grin.
"Aww come on!" Vinyl protested. "That's not fair..."
"Hey, you made a joke about my emasculation. Now we're even. Regardless, is it safe to let Nightmare use the magic?"
"I mean..." She turned the gem over a few more times, trying to decide on an answer. "She could just put her spell in here and it'd do the same job. I think. It's only energy storage, so you'll need to find a way to cast it."
"Riddle me this. If you cast a spell through this thing, what will happen?"
"It doesn't work like that. I can use the gem to cast a spell, but it's a case of being directionally applied." VInyl cleared her throat. "Just to get this straight; Nightmare Moon has been constructing a spell matrix to reverse Chrysalis' magic? Specifically, the damage done to Oc--" she cut herself off.
"Yeah. And so much more," Joseph added sympathetically. "Don't worry, I'll get your friend back. I promise. It's understandable to care about your friends, and if we can get this to work, we can take Chrysalis down. Let me have a quick word with Nightmare, then we'll get out of here." He took the gem back and turned away from Vinyl for a moment.
'I don't trust you with this. For all I know, magic like this could very well be why I'm here. I'm going to bring this to my horn, but you're only to put your spell inside it.'
You are in no position to bargain!
'And you are in no position to make demands when you're entirely reliant on me for the survival of both you and the entire town, and potentially the rest of this country, world, whatever. We'll get things done, but we'll do it my way. Once we see this through to the end, then I'll start trusting you a bit more.'
You're ready to martyr Chrysalis at the cost of your own life!
'I just call that pragmatism. Don't try any funny business...' Joseph raised the gem up to the tip of his horn and let Nightmare do her thing. He felt the magic pass into the gem, confirming that Nightmare Moon did as she was told.
How do you expect to cast the spell? she asked disdainfully.
'Oh, I don't need to...' "Hey," Joseph called to Vinyl. "Grab whatever we need and let's get out of here. We have a bug to squash." |
Roll for Initiative | pre | Big Mac nodded at him. "Ayup. Don't ya normally deliver mail?"
"Usually," he admitted as he sank into a spot beside the curved table. "I like delivering things. Getting things where they need to be is what I do."
Spike slapped down a new piece of paper. "It's time to craft your character. In this game, you assume the identity of another pony, who will go on amazing adventures, right wrongs, and, with hope and perseverance, become a hero!"
Parcel stomped the ground in approval. "That sounds fun. Can I be a delivery pony?"
Spike blinked. "You already are one of those."
"But..." He frowned a little with thought. "But I'm not a delivery pony here."
"That's true." Spike nodded as he got to scratching on the paper with his quill. "How about a scout? That means you'll be good at getting to places, even dangerous places, without being stopped. You know how to sneak around big nasty monsters, so your packages are always on time!"
His face brightened at the idea. "That sounds amazing! Parcel Post, ultimate deliverer!"
"Nope." Big Mac shook his head firmly. "Gotta make up a new name."
"Oh, hmm..." He tapped at his chin with a hoof before bringing it down on the table. "I will be Postage Due!"
Spike chuckled softly. "Nice." He wrote down the name and pulled out a new stand and slip of paper. He drew Parcel Post with a ninja-like set of clothing. "Here we are, Postage Due, nothing can stop him from reaching his assigned goal. Speaking of that, he's just about to make a fateful stop. He crests the hill and sees his target below. Two figures are just rousing in the morning, a dragon scholar of some kind--" He nudged his own figure. "--and a warrior unicorn." He nudged Big Mac's figure. "Those are the two you've been searching for. You have something for them."
Postage approached, darting from bush to tree to rock, keeping from obvious sight. Just as his quarries (distant rolling sound) pass him without noticing him, he springs forward! "Delivery!" He presents the box he was entrusted with. "I trust you are..." He paused to inspect the address on the package. "Garbunkle and Sir McBiggun?"
The warrior stepped forward. "Ayup. Where's the package from?"
Postage Due flipped the box to face the address towards them. It was from a place called Chadwick.
"Mah home," gasped out Sir McBiggun.
Spike tilted his head. "I didn't plan that, but that works."
Garbunkle held out a hand towards Postage. "Well, you've arrived safely. Let's see what's inside."
Postage tipped his hat and turned away. "There are many more packages that have to reach even more dangerous places. Good luck in your travels."
Parcel stood up from the table. "Gee, thanks! That was a blast."
Spike blinked dumbly. "Wait, what? You just started."
"And I got to make an exciting delivery. This game's fun! Thanks for inviting me." He was already trotting for the door, waving as he went.
"Um, bye?" Spike and Big Mac waved at him until he was gone, the door closing behind him.
Big Mac gave a shrug. "Well, that was interestin'. So what's in the package?"
Spike popped open one of the pizza boxes. "Snacks, for one." They shared a chuckle as they both took a slice and got to chomping a moment. Spike gobbled down the last of his slice and wiped his hands clean. "Alright, so we open the package curiously..."
McBiggun sliced neatly along the side of the box, allowing it to open freely. Inside was a great horned helmet. McBiggun gasped as he lifted it up in his magic. "This belongs t' mah father. Why is it here?"
Garbunkle reached into the box past where the helmet was and finds a letter. "It seems Chadwick has come under attack! Your father... fought bravely to the last." Garbunkle lowered his head in a moment of silence that was echoed by his grieved companion. "They say the helmet is yours, by inheritance."
McBiggun placed the helmet on his own head. "Ah'll never put on another! What attacked them?"
Garbunkle squinted as he turned the parchment over. "They mention something about some kind of terrible sea creature that had awesome magic."
"Sea creature?" McBiggun shook his head. "But Chadwick ain't on no beach."
"I did mention magic." Garbunkle folded the letter and tucked it away. "This foul creature could be the same that we're already looking for."
"The wizard?!"
"Indeed! A sea wizard!"
"Swizard?"
Big Mac and Spike chuckled at the silly name before Spike waved it away. "Okay okay, so we know we have to stop this bad wizard! He can't go around attacking good Spiketopia settlements."
"Spiketopia?" Big Mac tilted his head a little.
"Oh, that's just the name of the country." Spike shrugged softly. "Like Equestria."
"That'd be like callin' it 'Celestia' instead."
"We already have one of those." Spike stuck out his tongue. "So! Filled with grim determination, our heroes set off."
They had a place to go to, at least. Sir McBiggun knew where his home was, and there could be hints there as to the origin, identity, or current location of their aquatic nemesis could be. Every step was fueled with the need to make right this wrong and protect the sanctity of their nation, and hopefully save Princess Schmarity.
Big Mac grabbed a slice of pizza. "Does Garbunkle know where Schmarity is?"
"Alas, neigh." Spike thrust one finger up. "He knew that destiny would guide him too her if he traveled to that inn and searched for a peculiar unicorn."
Big Mac tilted his head. "Huh, guess ah big burly unicorn's a bit weird."
"The best kind." Spike smiled at Big Mac. "We are just what Spiketopia needs to save the day." He brought down his finger in a fist of action. "We will do all that we must to restore peace."
Big Mac smiled at that. "And save Schmarity."
"Oh, uh, and that..." He rubbed behind his head, cheeks pinked lightly. "Our brave heroes hike through the wilderness, only spying a scrap of civilization on the third day. The small town before them was a welcome sight. They saw something that would help, a wagon! There were several in plain view in what may have been a wagon stall or something like that. There were big fuzzy beasts tied up nearby, perhaps the things used to haul the wagons around."
"Ah head down into tha city." Big Mac pointed at Spike. "Ah'll ask polite like if we can have a wagon and what fer."
Spike plinked a d20 towards Big Mac. "Go ahead, you'll need a ten or better."
Those weren't awful odds, but they weren't assured. Big Mac got a sudden idea. "Ah'll ask if there's anythin' that need bringin' our way, so they get somethin' out of it."
"Good idea." Spike gave an approving nod. "Now you just need a five."
With confidence, Big Mac sent the die tumbling. 12. "Oh yeah..."
"Nice. You approach the mare that stands by the carts and explain your need and offer to her. She spits out a straw she was chewing on."
"Well, reckon we could work somethin' out, for a knight and all. We're havin' big trouble with bandits lately anyway, so if you kin get our goods to Chadwick while you're at it, you'll be doin' us a favor. Ah got family there, they'll take the wagon when ya get there, ya hear?"
Sir McBiggun raised a hoof to his chest. "Ayup. We'll get it there, ah promise. If we see any bandits, we'll teach 'em a lesson fer harassing good ponies."
"See that ya do." She walks to a rickety looking wagon. "Now it ain't that I don't trust ya, but we already lost some wagons, so I'm a little shy about it."
McBiggun looked it up and down. "It'll do, but we'll need somethin' to pull it."
The mare gave a sharp whistle and clopped the ground twice quickly. Two of the great beasts lumbered from their pen to stand before her obediently. "These two great lovable beasts will get you where yer going. Treat them right, and they'll do the same. Abuse 'em any, and they'll leave you high and dry and come back t' me. They're raised to be good pullers, not abused slaves."
Garbunkle saluted at the mare. "Don't you worry. We wouldn't dream of abusing an animal."
"Nope." McBiggun nodded in agreement. "Nice to meet ya." He held out a hoof towards one of the large creature.
It leaned in and sniffed with enough force to ruffle his fur before a huge tongue emerged and licked him from the hoof right up to the shoulder.
"Aw, he likes you already." The mare smiled happily at how well they had gotten along. "Feed's in the cart already, just let me fetch the goods I want hauled." She trotted off into her house.
Big Mac pointed to the big beast figure next to his own. "How fast are they?"
"Not that fast, but they don't slow down for anything, and they're really durable. They can walk for most of the day before they need any breaks, so they'll get us where we want to go faster than if we just walked ourselves."
Big Mac nodded at that. "Sounds helpful. Onwards! We got a castle to save."
"Castle?"
Big Mac nodded. "Chadwick is a castle, like a fortress with a town in it."
"Ohhhh." Spike was not planning on that, but saw no reason to deny the idea. "Awesome." |
Roll for Initiative | 7 - End Episode 3 -Chadwick Bound | With their somewhat run-down, but functional, wagon, the heroes set off in the direction of the fortress of Chadwick.
"Castle."
Spike lifted his shoulders. "But if it has a town in it, isn't it more of a fortress?"
"Still it's name. Chadwick Castle." He gave a sure nod, eyes closed.
"Alrighty." Spike made a little note for later. "To Chadwick Castle!"
While the two brave warriors... waited on their cart, Garbunkle tried to make small talk with his companion, "So, this is your home to--castle?"
McBiggun nodded, the wind blowing softly through his mane. "Ayup. Ah was raised t' help protect it... And... maybe ah failed."
Garbunkle frowned at the serious tones. "If this foul wizard is as powerful as he seems, perhaps there is little you could have done, even if you were there. Your being away gives you an opportunity."
"Like what?"
Garbunkle lifted his shoulders. "It means you can track the fiend down, and exact revenge." He clenched a fist and shook it in the air. "It means we, together, can learn what makes this wizard tick and take him down, forever, saving countless other ponies' lives instead of dying trying to stop him at Chadwick."
"Ya might have a point there." McBiggun sat up a bit in his seat. "Ya know magic, right?"
"Certainly." Garbunkle nodded as he clutched his staff and laid it across his lap. "It is my profession."
"Don't suppose ya could teach me a thin' or two?"
"Your talents lie clearly more in the physical department, my friend. What makes you want to learn magic?"
He shrugged. "Well, ah am a unicorn, right?"
"So why not before now?" Garbunkle's brow rose with inquiry.
"Jus' never needed it... Maybe against an evil wizard, might be time." He gave a firm nod. "Can't hurt t' have tricks."
"I'm glad you used that word. Learning magic as a whole takes years of dedication."
Spike snickered softly. "I got to see Twilight trying. Trust me, even with her, it isn't a fast thing."
Big Mac nodded as he shuffled in his seat. Grabbing another slice of pizza, he asked, "So kin ah learn somethin'? Ah mean, ah don't need t' learn everythin' all at once." He chomped into his slice with a great bite, sighing softly before he swallowed and went for the next.
Garbunkle waved his staff at his friend, the end of it starting to glow softly. "We can start with the basics! Any unicorn worth their salt should know how to make light. For your kind, it comes almost naturally. Almost. You must learn how to start using that horn on your head, besides for swinging that sword. Still, since you know how to use it for that, making it glow shouldn't be that hard."
"Ah'm ready." McBiggun clopped a hoof down on the cart they were riding.
So their lesson began. Garbunkle likened McBiggun's horn to his own magic staff and they practiced getting him to make it glow as a way to pass time.
"Say." Big Mac leaned in towards Spike. "Do ya know how to do that? Ah mean, with Twilight?"
Spike lifted his shoulders. "In theory? I don't have a horn myself, but I heard some of her lessons, and her repeating them as she studied for tests. She wasn't quiet about that back then, and sometimes not even now, but she's gotten better."
Big Mac got a big dopey smile. "So, if ah got a horn, ya'd be able to show me how t' use it?"
Spike let his head fall to the side a little before it snapped back upright. "I could try. I mean, if you asked, I would." He smiled a little. "What are friends for? But... you don't have a horn."
"Nope." Big Mac deflated a little before tapping his hooves together.
"Why do you wanna be one, anyway? A unicorn, I mean."
"Oh, uh, I don't!" Big Mac glanced around furtively before grabbing another slice of pizza.
"Dude, it's alright. I'm not trying to make fun of you or anything, but why a unicorn?" Spike held up a placating hand. "Just curious."
"It's... not a unicorn... specific like?" He didn't even look as if he was sure of his own words. "Ah jus' wanna be... important, and helpful. Ah wanna be a hero, not jus' a worker." He pointed further into the castle. "Twilight's a nice pony, but what does she do?"
"She reads a lot?" Spike lifted his shoulders softly. "Then she saves the world when they ask her to, then she mostly goes back to reading if there isn't a friendship crisis that needs her."
"And what kinda 'crisis' do ah fix?" Big Mac leaned in. "Even mah sister, who ain't no unicorn, gets ta save the day. Apple Bloom just... She's so proud of Applejack. Ah know she's not tryin' ta be mean t' me, but it ain't hard to see how big she gets every time she hears somethin' 'bout the adventures Applejack's done got herself inta."
Spike sank his head onto a propped up hand. "You're telling me? Half the 'adventures' I go on with Twilight, I feel like I'm just there for comic relief, and holding stuff they don't feel like carrying. Tell me how fair that is! Twilight could pick up everything I could, twice, with less effort than me, and there I am, still hauling the load."
He waved his free hand over the table and figures. "At least, here, we're the stars of the adventure, and no one can take that from us." Spike hopped upright. "Speaking of that! It would be a bit boring if our heroes got to Chadwick without any problems at all."
Big Mac's ears pricked. "What happens?"
It was late evening, the sun barely a hint in the sky overhead. They were just putting the finishing touches on their camp when new light spilled over them. It was no single light, but more of a... cloud of light! All sorts of different colors as it washed over the campsite.
Sir McBiggun drew his blade and looked around in alarm. "What's going on?!"
"It's a migration of Will o' wisps!" explained Garbunkle even as he dived for cover behind a rock.
Big Mac tapped at his chin with a hoof. "Huh, bet Fluttershy could fix this real fast."
"But she isn't here," noted Spike with a shake of his head. "We are, so we have to deal with it."
"Well... then..." He considered what Fluttershy might try to do, then thought of Pinkie Pie, who had defeated an entire colorful hoard once before. He pressed his hooves together, smiling. "Ah know what I do."
Sir McBiggun sat down in the middle of the rushing color storm and cleared his mind. There was a rattle of dice in the distance that signified he had... succeeded at creating light at the end of his horn, flickering but present. He began to sway and bob softly. The whirling mass of lights parted around him, motes that matched his light starting to circle him.
McBiggun stood up and started to walk away from the camp, leading the way with his horn as he went. With the movement of some of the flow, others began to move with them.
"Clever." Spike hiked a thumb. "They like to stick together, so if you get some of them following you, you divert the migration." He clapped his hands together. "With your quick thinking, the camp and wagon are spared the wrath of a bajillion will o' wisps!"
Big Mac nodded with a satisfied grin. "Ah come back once they're on their way n' show off mah light t' Garbunkle.
Spike rolled a die over towards Big Mac. Without having to say a thing, Big Mac scooped up the die and let it fly.
McBiggun returned to camp with a satisfied smile, proud of his accomplishment. "Look! Ah learned what ya taught nice and fast."
The strain of holding the light for so long, coupled with his desire to show off different colors, came together in a rainbow of sparks before McBiggun's horn went dark. "Oh..."
Garbunkle hopped up onto the rock he had been hiding on before. "A good show, friend McBiggun. You have to practice more, but that is the way these things work." He shrugged softly. "For your first real go at it, a very good job. You should have seen how things went the first time I tried to get my staff to light up properly."
McBiggun rubbed at his mildly sore horn as he sat down near Garbunkle. "Yeah? What happened?"
"Quite simple, I set the poor thing ablaze." Garbunkle chuckled softly as he waved his non-scorched staff around. "It was my practice staff, of course, long before I got this one. Light may seem like a simple trick, but it is still a flow of magic, ready to do what you wish, or go out of control with its own will."
"Ah'll practice." McBiggun nodded firmly at Garbunkle. "Thanks fer showin' me th' trick."
With the immediate danger put aside, our heroes bed down for the night so that they would be ready for more adventure the next day!
Big Mac rose from his seat. "Sounds like a good spot t' take a break."
"Yeah, good call." He plucked up the remains of the pizza, holding cardboard high as he hopped from his seat. "Help me clean up?"
"Ayup." Big Mac started gathering things and putting them away alongside Spike, returning the room to order. "So, what'll happen at Chadwick?"
Spike made two finger guns at Big Mac. "We'll find out when we get there and not a moment before then. What's the fun in knowing ahead of time?"
"Oh, yeah... Ah was... just wondering..." He squirmed in place, shuffling from hoof to hoof restlessly.
"Yeah?" Spike tossed the last bit of trash away. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, y'see... Ah was... hopin' maybe... we could save McBiggun's pa?" Big Mac's ears fell. "Ah ain't got much chance, you know... in the real world."
Spike cringed, "O-oh, sorry! I didn't mean..." He had killed Big Mac's fictional father without a second thought. His teeth showed in a grimace. "I've been such a doofus."
"Nope." Big Mac set a big hoof on Spike's shoulder. "It happens, part of life. Jus' wanna chance to... do somethin', ya know?"
"Yeah..." Spike perked up. "Well, we have to get to Chadwick first before we even know for sure what's going on there."
"Ayup." Big Mac nodded firmly. "We'll get there, deliver what we promised, then check in at the castle." His expression turned from eagerness to curiosity. "Ah mean, ah ain't the only one who wants ta do things. Maybe Princess Schmarity's around."
Spike glanced left and right. "I... doubt she'd be there, but that would be a happy coincidence, right? We probably have way more adventures ahead of us before we track her down."
"But we'll do it." He stood up. "We're together, fer the long haul."
Spike's arms swayed forwards and backwards. "For the... long haul..." He reached out his right hand. "Together?"
Big Mac met the hand with a hoof, bumping it against Spike. "Together. Adventurers against evil and dark."
Spike hopped up and gave his larger friend a hug, a brief embrace before dropping to the ground. "I'll see you next time, alright? We have ponies to save!"
"Maybe even a dragon?"
Spike blinked. "Oh, yeah... I guess maybe?"
"Well, why not." He pointed down at Spike. "Some of them are right nice people, and if they need savin', why shouldn't we help 'em just like anyone else?"
Spike flashed a big grin. "Or griffon, or even a diamond dog. If there's someone in need of our heroic effort, we're ready to do our part."
"Ayup." Big Mac nodded firmly. "Take care, Spike." He turned for the door and walked away in no particular hurry.
Spike gathered up his book and bag of dice. "Good session" |
Roll for Initiative | 8 - Start Episode 4 - Resupplying | Twilight looked under her desk before peering around a shelf. She even tried seeing if there was anything in one of her chandeliers. With a grunt, she landed on the ground and shook her head. "Spike!"
Spike came hurrying in. "Yeah? What's wrong?"
"Where did the backup paper go?" She waved her hoof towards each spot she had searched. "I can't find it, and the normal supply is all out."
Spike cringed faintly. The backup paper had transformed into character sheets and drawings for his game. "Yeah, huh, weird..."
"Less strange and more annoying." She sat on her haunches. "Could you stop by town and pick up some more paper." With a magical pop, a bag of bits appeared hovering beside her. "I have to head to Canterlot for a sudden diplomatic meeting--" Her barrel expanded as she drew in a deep breath. "--with a country I'd never heard of outside of a few mentions in a book before."
Spike jogged up to her side and gave her heaving ribs a soft patting. "It'll be alright. You have this under control."
The breath escaped from her in a gust. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Spike." She wrapped a wing around him and drew him close. "If you need any help, the girls will be here. This one's for princesses only."
He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms at her despite still being wrapped in a warm wing. "I don't think I'll need help to get some paper."
"I meant in general, my #1 assistant." She smooched the top of his head and rose to her hooves. "I should get going. I leave the castle in your capable claws."
"I won't let you down!" He snapped into attention as he said it, giving a sharp salute as Twilight spread her wings and launched off towards Canterlot and her royal duties. He turned away and swept his gaze over the castle. "Got the place to myself." He dismissively waved in the direction where Twilight had gone without turning. "As if they'd want a dragon around for 'important pony business', whatever." He chuckled as he moved for the front door, imagining Twilight sweating it out.
Emerging into the light of day, he set his sights below and got to jogging down into town. "I'll get some paper, and hopefully..." He craned his neck around as he went, hoping to see a splash of red as he went. That isn't to say that there wasn't red to be had. Ponies came in many colors, several of them red or close to it.
In fact, just one of those was waving at him. "Hey, Cheerilee!" He returned the wave she had given. "How's it going?"
"Did I just see Twilight take off?" She glanced in the direction of Canterlot. "Will she be long?"
"Why? You sound worried." He cocked a brow at the teaching pony.
"What, me, worried?" She gave a little nervous laugh. "No, no... it's just that she promised... Just tell me if she plans to be right back?"
Spike quickly realized what had happened. "Oh, um, she got a sudden royal call."
Cheerilee deflated, sinking to her haunches. "I suppose you can't do much about that..."
"What was she supposed to do?"
Cheerilee waved towards the schoolhouse. "She was supposed to be a substitute today for me."
Spike looked back and forth between the sad Cheerilee and the schoolhouse. There weren't a lot of ponies that could make room in their own busy lives, where as he just had to get some paper... "Say... what if I did that?" How hard could teaching a bunch of foals be? Heck, he knew some of them quite well and they were friends. The more he thought about it, the more fun it sounded. "Yeah, I can keep an eye on them."
Cheerilee put a hoof around him and pulled him tight to her body, squeezing him. "Thank you! Do you know math?"
Spike blinked softly from within the fur of her front. "Yeah? I am Twilight's assistant! #1! You pick up a few things around her."
She released him, bobbing her head. "Good. We were just going to go over right angles today, so be sure to spend a little time with that. Outside of that, it's your classroom, for today. Keep it interesting and educational." She was clopping her hooves together. "Ohhh, you have no idea how happy you've made me, Spike. Thank you!" She smooched his cheek and trotted away with a joyful smile.
Spike's smile was more satisfied. "Another mare, saved by Spike." He gave a firm nod, pleased with himself. "Huh, now I need paper even more than before." He hurried to Quills and Sofas. With a little hop, he grabbed the handle of the door and swung inside with the momentum of the jump, landing inside dexterously. He bowed for his audience.
"Welcome to Quills and Sofas," greeted Davenport with a smile for the small dragon. "How are you today, Spike?" He set aside a case that likely had a quill in it. "Does Twilight need more quills?"
"Not today." Spike righted himself and stepped up towards the counter. "Actually, I need paper, lots of it."
"Not my specialty, but let me see what I have." He ducked his head under the counter and Spike could hear him rooting around. "Why do I even have this?" A pen flew out into the room. "No, out of date." A vial of ink sailed and bounced off the wall, thankfully remaining intact. "Here we are." He came back up, a collection of paper in his snout. "I knew I had some saved. Twilight gearing up for some writing?" He set it down where Spike could reach.
Spike pulled the collection of paper from the counter into his hands and looked them over. They had a little dust, but seemed serviceable. "Yeah, but me too. I'm gonna teach the foals over at the school today."
His ears went up. "Really? Well, you keep that paper then, consider it a donation to the children."
"Thanks!" He did not kiss Davenport, even if kissing seemed to be the way of thanks that day. "I should get going. They aren't gonna teach themselves!"
They exchanged waves as he dashed out the door, heading straight for the school. "Right angles," he spoke to himself as he went. How did right angles work again? He slowed his approach as he realized that wasn't a thing he had gone over very well. "I'll... think of something. I just have to keep it educational and fun."
He scampered into the room and felt dozens of eyes focus on him instantly. His approach slowed as he raised a hand at all the foals. "Oh, uh, hey everypony!"
Apple Bloom peered at Spike curiously, one ear lifted. "What're you doin' here, Spike? Are ya joinin' school?"
Sweetie Belle bobbed her head. "That's fantastic! You can sit next to us if you want!"
Diamond Tiara snorted at the two of them. "Don't be stupid. He's a dragon."
Spike hopped up onto the stool that was behind Cheerilee's desk, slapping down the collection of paper he had gotten. "Diamond Tiara is correct. I am not joining you, and I am a dragon. No, today, I am your teacher!" He stood tall and proud, waiting for accolades to rain upon him.
Silver Spoon burst into titters, and most of the class joined her. "You can't be a teacher. What do you even know? Are you going to show us how to kiss up to royalty?"
Spike's cheeks warmed at the insinuation. "What? No!" He stomped his foot down on the stool, which slid out from under him and sent him toppling to the ground. The laughing only grew worse. He scrambled upright and flipped the stool where it should be. "Ahem! Silence!" They were not quieting. "Hey!" The room refused to be stilled.
He drew in a deep breath and lit up the room in a plume of green flames that washed over the heads of the suddenly quiet foals. "As I was saying... I know what we'll be doing today, and it'll be fun too!" He hopped back up on the stool and spread out the papers a little. "Does everypony have something to write on?"
Most of the foals indicated their notebooks, some holding it up in mouth or magic.
Spike nodded. "Very good. Today we're going to play a game." That got their attention. They leaned forward. "A very special game." They leaned a little more. "A game of adventure and danger!" He wriggled his fingers as he spoke. "In order to prevail, you will need teamwork, dedication, and maybe to know a thing or two." He tapped his head lightly.
Snips hung his head. "Guess we're out huh?"
Snails raised a hoof instead of agreeing. "What kinda game is it?"
Spike strike a hopefully heroic pose, one foot up on the desk, a fist raised towards the heavens. "Today we will be delving into the mysterious world of Ogres--" He swept his hand across the audience. "--and Oubliettes!"
Pipsqueak suddenly perked up. "Core! Ah've played that game once or twice I have! It's great loads of fun!" He clip-clopped his hooves excitedly. "I don't mean to be picky or nothing but how's that learnin' though?"
Murmurs from around the classroom echoed the sentiment, wondering what that game or any other had to do with whatever lesson they should have been learning that day. Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "Does it matter? We get a day off with Spike." She smiled at him, eyes half-lidded. "Go on, our little lizard foalsitter. It sounds better than a boring lecture at least."
"Uh, thanks?" He fished out a quill from within the desk. "Let's split up into groups of four and I'll help everyone get their characters created, then we'll all play together, as a class. I'll be the storyteller, weaving your destiny and deciding your ultimate fate!" He brought down a fist in a determined pump. "It'll be fun!"
The next hour was spent preparing. He bounced from table to table, helping the foals get their characters in order. He didn't have his book with him to double check things, but didn't feel that was too important. He transformed those colts and fillies into proud warriors, wizards, rogues, and more.
Apple Bloom held up her sheet to her friends. "See? Ah'm an alchemist!"
Sweetie Belle nodded appreciatively. "I will sing tales of your amazing mixtures."
Scootaloo clopped a hoof down on her sheet. "You'll need a potion to keep up with me!"
The trio burst into amiable laughter as the groups began to break up, everyone returning to their seats. Spike gestured low. "Alright, alright, you all have a character?"
Sheets were lifted into the air, but one had no numbers or words, just a picture. Snips was holding a piece of paper with nothing but a drawing of a symbol Spike couldn't make out. It was surprisingly ornate for something Snips had made. "Uh, what is that?" He pointed at the unknown mark.
Snips looked over at it and back to Spike. "That's the, uh, holy thingie. My grandad told me about it. It, uh, was kinda important, in my family." His head sunk a little. "Did I do it wrong?"
Spike tilted his head a little, considering that.
While he thought on it, Diamond narrowed her eyes at Snips. "We all made these." She held up her sheet. "How did you get that distracted? I swear, even by your dismally low standards, this is amazing."
Spike held up a hand. "Hold up a moment, we can work with this. Snails, you are now a priest." He waved at the symbol. "And that is your faith's icon. Did your grandad tell you about it?"
Snips lifted up in his seat. "Are you sure you wanna know? No one ever wanted to hear about it before..."
Spike thrust a single finger up. "One, it's now part of my world, so I need to know about it. Two--" He raised a second finger "--, we are here to learn, and learning about your family's past sure sounds educational to me. So, yes, please, tell us." |
Roll for Initiative | 9 - A Snippet of History | Spike invited Snips to the front of the class, and soon the colt stood in front of everyone, shaking a little.
Realizing his new pupil was nervous, Spike gave him a gentle patting on his back. "Go on. We all want to hear it, and you already know it."
"O-okay, so..." He lifted his drawing into the air. "A long time ago, Ponyville wasn't the same place at all. Princess, um, Celestia was kinda busy doing other stuff, so we were on our own."
The class watched and listened, eager to learn the story, or at least see how Snips would foul up.
It was a dark and brooding night. Branches clawed at the window of what would one day be rebuilt into the town hall. It was barely a one story building back then.
The door swung open with a bang and a mare rushed in. "They're coming!" she shouted as loud as she could, stirring the pony that had been sleeping out of his bed and right onto the floor.
"W-wha? Who's coming?" He stood up. He was my great grandpa! He was already grabbing his helmet.
"I-I didn't mean to!"
"Calm down and tell me what's going on." My granddad rushed over and shook the mare a little. "I'll keep you safe, just tell me where I need to be!"
She pointed out into the dark just as lightning flashed. A hulking form could be seen for just an instant. It looked huge and awful. Now, most ponies woulda just ran away, but not my grandad! He told the mare to sit tight and grabbed his sword with his magic. "I'll handle this."
He stalked out, helmet on and sword floating at his side.
Problem was, he couldn't see the big thing he just saw a moment ago. It was dark, and it wasn't making a sound. "Come on out!" he shouted for it as he spun around, trying to find it.
"Aren't you a brave stallion?" came a female voice, whispering in his ear. He froze, unsure what to do. "With manners at that. Good. Why are you here?"
"I'm here to protect my neighbors!" He squinted into the dark, trying to see a clue of who he was speaking to. Though her voice sounded like she was practically right on top of him, he couldn't see a thing, or feel it. He could just hear it.
"There are many dangerous things that think ponies are quite delicious."
He spun towards where he thought the voice was coming from. "Are you one of them?!"
"I was tempted." The voice came from behind him, always moving with not a hint of how it was moving. "Perhaps you will feed me a different way."
"A different way." My great grandpa snorted angrily. "Why would I want to feed you at all?"
"I can fight you, or fight for you." Her voice curled around him like a snake. "I can help you protect those neighbors of yours. Think on it. For now, something to remember me by."
That's when he passed out. He woke up the next day--"
Apple Bloom was waving a hoof wildly in the air. "Jus' like that? He done just passed out?"
Snips nodded. "Uh huh, just like that." A spectral set of scissors appeared over his head. "Snip!" They shut tight. "He was out like a light."
"The next day he was found by the other Ponyville ponies. They woke him up, but once he sat up, they started staring at him like he had a second head. He didn't have a second head, thankfully. What if his foals got second heads? I might have a second head! Actually that would be kinda cool..." Snips was tapping at his chin, imagining if he had twice the chins to tap upon.
Spike leaned forward a little. "And then?"
"Oh, right, so then..."
He asked them what was wrong, and they started pointing at him, right at his chest. So he looks down and sees this! The same picture I drew, right over his chest like he got a second cutie mark in a really wierd spot.
That's when he heard her, a whisper in his ear, "Give me one place at every meal, and you may call me when times are at their darkest."
Now, he wasn't any expert or anything, but he figured he didn't want any trouble from creepy dark monsters. So when he had breakfast, he set out two places instead of one, and left the other alone. It just sat there, steaming quietly until it got cold, but he left it alone and went out to work. When he came back to get lunch, it was gone. The plate was perfectly clean like he had washed it, so he put lunch on it and ate his own.
It was gone by dinner.
He was good about it and kept right on feeding that thing day after day, even when other ponies told him he was just wasting time and money.
In the end, he was glad he did. When something too terrible came to Ponyville for them to fight off, he could ask his friend, the one on his chest, and it'd scare them away. Imagine seeing a full-grown hydra galloping with wide eyes away from town. That's what would happen so long as granpa was on watch.
They say she, the shadow thing, promised to keep following him, even after he, uh, moved on. She'd follow his foals, and his foals foals, so long as we set a place for her.
Snips reached up and pulled the paper from the air. "And that's the story."
Spike gave an owlish blink. "Wow. That was not the story I was expecting, but that's kinda cool."
Snails tilted his head. "Is that why you bring so much food to lunch?"
Snips glanced about as he returned to his seat. "Y-yeah, that's... why..."
Littlepip giggled. "Maybe he also likes eatin'. Nothin' wrong with that!"
The class joined in the laughter for a moment before Spike could get them to quiet down. "Alright alright, everyone's ready now. Let's begin! You've all been gathered together for a specific purpose."
Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "Are we students? I mean, we are, but in the game?"
"Not quite."
The brave young adventurers were assembled in a great courtyard. Above them, on a balcony, stood Princess Schmarity.
Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "My sister's a princess? That makes me a princess too, right!?"
Spike took a half-step back, his hands rising quickly. "What? No! This isn't Rarity."
Sweetie arched a brow at Spike as a little smile spread on her face. "I'm not stupid, Spike. I wave at my sister."
Spike let out a soft sigh and tried to get back in the story.
The Princess nodded down at her little sister, but her attention quickly swept out over the entire crowd. "Good adventurers, I have called you all here today because our nation has need of your diverse talents and skills. The diamond dogs have declared war." She waves away that matter. "We are dealing with that the traditional way, but while our forces are occupied, there are other troubles ahoof. It seems some young foal has gone where they shouldn't and awakened a slumbering evil!"
Snails the monk slowly blinked. "Oops."
All the other adventurers turned to look at Snails.
Emerald Choker grabbed her longest stick and poked the servant she was riding on the back of with it. "Kindly slap him for me, hmm?"
"Yes, ma'am" He trot swiftly up to the monk and gave him a light bonk on the head. "As you requested, mistress."
"Very good."
Schmarity put a hoof to her face. "Be that as it may, it's just as well that you are part of the team that will undo this damage." She drew the hoof away to point into the distance. "It's the creepy old house up on the hill. You simply can't miss it. I really should have had that demolished ages ago, but there was always something distracting me, you know how it is."
Flash Dash thrust a hoof forward. "Everyone, to my wagon! I'll get us there in no time at all!"
Apple Bloom looked over at Scootaloo. "Flash Dash? You have a wagon?"
Scootaloo shrugged. "What's wrong with Flash Dash? Besides, I thought a wagon would work better." She waved a hoof over the classroom. "There's a ton of us. I can't fit all that on a scooter!"
Soft murmurs of agreement came from most of the classroom.
The team loaded up into the wagon with some squeezing and Flash Dash soared there with it trailing behind her. As they approached, a disturbance became clearly visible below. It was almost like a party, but there were no ponies there, at least no normal ponies.
It was a bash, a real banging party, of monsters! A monster bash! Mummified mares danced alongside wereponies. A vampony laughed from a balcony, pointing down at where a lagoon beast was lurking in the dirty pool. They were having a grand time of things.
Apple Bloom thrust up a hoof. "Ah know. I'll throw down one of mah sticky bombs on 'em, get 'em while they're all together an' stuff."
Spike pointed at her with two hands. "A valid tactic, but you can only throw so far. You're 30 feet up in the air, and the house is about a hundred feet away. How far will you be throwing the bomb?"
AB sank into her chair with a frown before she dug out a pencil and started working through it. "Ah know ah can figure this one out..."
Diamond Tiara gave a cocky smile. "While she's figuring that out, I'll use my 'Announcement of Authority'. That goes way long enough. Ahem!" She adjusted her voice to the even snobbier tones of Emerald Choker, "Citizens! Your festivities have been deemed illegal. Please disperse immediately!" Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "It's also deemed icky, but I won't tell them that."
Some of the other foals giggled at her side comment as Spike smiled. "Alright! So you shout down at them to break up the party. The werepony's claws suddenly retract as she gives an emphatic 'aw'. She sulks away, looking like a perfectly normal pony. Hey, you recognize her! It seems the candlestick maker was actually a werepony, go figure. She's a nice enough mare."
AB perked up and clopped a hoof down on her paper. "About a hundred and four feet!"
Spike nodded. "Very good." Silently, he congratulated himself, he got to talk about a right triangle. "How did you figure that out?"
"Oh, well that's easy!" She turned to the class. "Remember what Miss Cheerilee said? It was just another of them right triangle things." She moved her hooves, tracing an invisible triangle. "And we already knew two sides, so the third was just some math."
Twist bobbed her head quickly. "The thquareth! I remember that!"
Apple Bloom nudged Scootaloo. "Fly us in closer, not like they don't see us anyway."
"Roger!"
"As you swoop in to approach, the vampony stallion spreads his arms wide as they become wings and he raises quickly towards you as a half-bat, half-pony monstrosity, screeching in anger!" Spike spread his own arms and flapped them with a fierce face of mock fury.
AB made a throwing motion with her right hoof. "I throw the bomb ah had ready!"
Spike made a parabolic motion, following the theoretical thrown weapon. "It flies in a nice curve. The vampony swerves to avoid it, but it slaps up against a wing! A single flap and it gets on the other wing and binds them together. He gives a little squeak before he begins to fall to the ground." He waggled his brows. "He was coming at you for about three seconds, going roughly fifty miles per hour average. How far did he fall?"
Featherweight waved a hoof wildly. "That's a trick question. We're not even thirty feet up anymore. He couldn't have gotten very high, maybe ten feet?"
Spike congratulated Featherweight on his speedy analysis, pleased with the way the game was going. |
Roll for Initiative | 10 - End Episode 4 - Educational Adventure | The party of foals pressed into the monstrous gathering. Snails proved to be a zen monk, floating with crossed hooves among the enemies and nimbly dodging every attack that came his way. Those that dared to try to get past him were tripped by a hoof extended just far enough.
Twist was bouncing around, flinging confection at every available mouth. Even better, some of the monsters were mollified by the treats, rubbing their bellies and ceasing their battle.
The entire class was showing off their abilities when a fresh set of hooves were heard. "I'm just checking in, Spike." It was Cheerilee, smiling, or at least she was until she stepped around the corner and saw half the class in heroic poses. "What's... going on?"
The students dropped into their seats almost instantly, trying their best to look innocent. Spike waved a few fingers at Cheerilee. "Hey! They're doing great." He turned to Apple Bloom. "Tell Cheerilee about the math we've done today."
Apple Bloom blinked, startled at first before she recovered. "O-oh, right! Spike made me figure out how far away ah was every time I wanted to throw one of mah bombs." She pulled up her sheet, backside presented with all her work figuring out various right angles. "See?"
Cheerilee approached swiftly and leaned in to look at the scratch work. "Mmm, very nice. What is this about bombs?"
Pipsqueak hopped up onto his desk suddenly, small enough that it didn't immediately tip over. "Cor, we're havin' a grand adventure is what we are! We're all working together like t' save the day."
"I... see." Cheerilee raised a brow at Spike,
Spike squirmed under the judging gaze of the teaching mare, wondering if he had gotten himself in trouble.
She circled him, joining him at the front of the class. "I'm afraid this little adventure is over." The class gave out a collective aww of disappointment. She waved a hoof. "But that's only because a new one needs your attention more urgently." She grabbed a book of geography from her desk in her teeth and set it down on top of it. "Because in order to secure peace, you need to find the dazzling jewels of Tiki-stat." She waved her hooves in a wobbly way, emphasizing their mystical nature. "Spike will take it from here. As it turns out, they're hidden in the capitals of the nations of the world. Will you find them all in time? Mmm, I look forward to hearing the report."
Spike caught the not-so-subtle wink given in his direction and perked up. He returned it with equal lack of covertness. "Right! The dazzling jewels! Without those, the country may be lost entirely! To say nothing of the damage caused to the world." He spread his claws wide. "We'd better get on that. What's the closest capital?"
As the class worked to figure that out, Cheerilee trotted from the classroom, apparently satisfied.
Spike took the class on a romp around the world, starting in Equestria and visiting other places and meeting exotic people. They bartered with griffons, armwrestled dragons, and had tea with Saddle Arabians on their quest to assemble all the jewels. Spike knew it was a thinly disguised lesson on capitals and nations, but it was fun to run, and the class seemed to enjoy their explorations.
Snips shook his head. "I don't run." All the other foals had fled from the huge sand worm that was rushing to eat them all up. "I ask for her help."
Spike paused a moment before he remembered who 'her' was. "Oh, yeah! Alright, so you bow your head and pray to your monstrous ally. Just as the worm is about to gobble you up, coming down a dune towards you, it hesitates. It thrashes around as if looking around for something, but it can't find it. Panicked and as frightened as a worm can be, it tunnels into the ground and is soon gone entirely."
The crowd erupted into cheers, their adventure forward opened.
Snails leaned over towards his friend. "So, is that real like real real or, um, real like Trixie?"
Snips flipped his ears back. "They say it's real..."
Spike continued the adventure as they went off to the land of Turkey, ruled over by turkeys, of course. He browsed the book Cheerilee had left for him, pulling out random facts to spice things up as they went along, making them part of the obstacles that stood in their path.
Scooteloo thrust out a hoof. "We're half way!" Her excited gesture was met with several other hooves, the class united behind the cause of winning the game. Their cheering was interrupted not by Spike, but the bell ringing loud and clear.
They had failed to complete the adventure in time for the schoool day's end.
The cheering wilted out rapidly. Diamond Tiara fixed Spike with her stare. "Just because some stupid bell tells us doesn't mean we have to. I think we're all having a good time, so, Spike, if you please." She made a dismissive gesture. "Emerald Choker would appreciate your continuing of our journeys."
The rest of the class was quick to pick up the idea, joining in a cheering mass encouraging Spike to keep going. Scootaloo hopped up to her hooves. "I'll do a super fast run around town and tell our folks we're at school, it's not like they'll mind us being here of all places." She was practically out the door before anyone could blink.
Spike let out a little nervous laugh, wringing his fingers. "Well, uh, wow. I didn't think you were having that much fun. Alright..." He cleared his throat. "So you approach the court of the gobblers..."
The game pressed on several hours past the official end of the schoolday, but they got all the jewels and bound them together, saving Princess Schmarity and the world as a whole. With tired cheers, they wandered off in a great mass of foals, some even carrying those that had nodded off in a group of homebound fillies and colts.
Spike was left alone in the darkened room. He let out a little breath. "That went on longer than I expected." But had he enjoyed it? He smiled a little and nodded. "Not sure I'm cut out to be a teacher full time, but that was fun." He spoke to himself, none others around, or so he thought. As he turned for the door he spotted Cheerilee sitting there, watching him. "Oh, hey! Uh, we went a little over time."
Cheerilee nodded as she walked closer. "I saw the cloud of happy little foals outside. We can't play games every day, or most days, but I hope some learning happened, hmm?"
Spike hefted up the heavy book Cheerilee had left. "They visited every known country! I made sure to use facts from the book to spice things up. I'm pretty sure they ate it up."
Cheerilee gave a small nod. "I was just coming to see how much mess was left for cleaning up tomorrow." Her eyes swept the room. "A fairly average day, on that front." She spied a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up. "Is this... part of it?" She turned it over for Spike to see. It was Twist's character sheet with a big drawing of a candycane on it. "They really did have a good time, thank you."
"So, hey, what is it you had to run off to anyway?" Spike slipped the geography book back where Cheerilee had originally gotten it from. "Was it some super important teacher business."
Cheerilee's eyes half-closed. "Yes, the 'super important' part of not going insane. I just wanted a day off. I had arranged it with Twilight and thought it was a done deal, and, well, you know what happened. I kept getting worried about them, hence my return... You did great though." She wandered the classroom, picking up the larger, obvious, bits of debris and tossing them towards the trashcan with whips of her neck. "I had a nice day, and it sounds like they did too. Everyone had a day off."
"And they learned things!" He thrust a finger in the air as he said it. "Don't forget that."
Cheerilee smiled gently. "I'm not sure how much of that they'll retain, but thank you for trying." She came back around from her trash collecting tour and leaned in, giving Spike a smooch on the top of the head. "You really are a #1 assistant."
Spike went a deep red. That was a term of affection normally saved for Twilight, but... "Um, thanks..."
"Go on. This schoolhouse is my problem. You're off duty." She waved him away with her forehooves, sitting down while she did so.
Spike saluted briskly, hopped down from the stool he had occupied for much of the day, and started for the door. "Good evening, Miss Cheerilee. Glad you had fun."
"Thanks to you." Her smile was the last thing he saw before he was out into the evening air.
He jogged home, eager to get off his feet and relax a little from a busy day. He was not expecting Big Mac to be inside the castle, seated beside their usual table. "B-Big Mac? What're you doing here?"
He tilted his head at Spike. "Ah know Twilight's not around, so ah thought today's a game night. Was ah wrong?"
"I thought we met when all the girls were out. At least Twilight and Applejack?" He shrugged helplessly. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting here. I was helping with the foals down at the school. He hiked a thumb. "I ran a game for them practically all day!"
"Oh." Big Mac tapped his cheek twice. "Well, if yer tired, how about..." He glanced left and right conspiratorially. "How about ah try a game? You kin just be the player this time."
Spike blinked at the idea. "You'd... do that? I mean, there's a lot of talking involved."
"Ah don't say what ah don't mean." He thumped his chest with a hoof. "Besides, if yer invitin' me, then it's alright, so do ya want me to run somethin'?"
Spike bounced up into a chair with a smile. "I would be delighted." He wanted to see what his friend would do with the mantle of Oubliette Overseer. "Am I making a new character?"
"Nah." He waved a hoof. "Nothin' wrong with Garbuncle." He cleared his throat, it was time for his first game as the one that wove the story. |
Roll for Initiative | 11 - Start Episode 5 - Ayup | Big Mac reached for the rulebook and drew it closer, but he didn't open it. "Alright then. So..."
Garbuncle rose from his sleep to find a familiar pony standing over him, the mail delivery/scout pony. "Package for you, sir."
"Huh, alright." He reached for the box and set it down. The box was quite long and narrow. He held up his staff to it and saw it was a rough match.
Spike hiked a brow at Big Mac. "You know, just giving me stuff isn't very--"
"--Are ya openin' it?"
Spike clicked two claws together before he nodded. "Alright, let's see what's in there."
Garbuncle waved his staff at the box and its bindings fell free. Liberated, he pulled off the top and pulled out... a second box? A small card was attached to the dark oak box. He picked up the card and leaned in for a look.
Salutations, Garbuncle,
We hope your adventures have gone well. We miss you back at wizard school and thought we'd send you a little gift. This will help keep your staff nice and dry when you camp in damp places, or if you have to carry it in places that don't allow magic staves, you can do it in style.
Your Friends,
Garbuncle smiled at the mess of signatures from his old classmates and some of his teachers. "Aw, thanks guys." He opened the inner box and saw there was a spot just right for his staff to rest in. "Huh, wow. It really is a staff carrying case... I never thought of that before, but that's cool." Just to give it the final test, he put the staff in the hollow spot that looked like it was made just for his staff.
Big Mac looked like a cat that caught the canary, grinning triumphantly.
Spike tilted his head at him. "Maybe I'm a little out of it from today, but why are you looking like that."
"Nothin'."
"That doesn't look like a nothing..." Spike's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait a second! I open the carrying case back up!"
"It's empty." Big Mac gave a little nod.
Spike put a claw to his head. "Dang it..." A smile creeped on his face. "Wow, good one. I really did not see that coming. So, uh... no staff, hmm..." He frowned with thought. "I should have suspected something when my 'old friends' knew exactly what staff I was using. Who would do such a thing? I check the case and the box it came in for clues."
Sir McBiggun made a sleepy noise before he stirred, waking and sitting up. "Mornin'."
Garbuncle waved a distracted hand. "Heya." He turned the shipping box upside down and gave it a good shake, producing a single card that fluttered to the ground. On the card was a picture of a multi-legged sea monster. "The sea creature! It's an octopus! Or is it a squid?" Garbuncle tilted the card one way and the other as if a different angle might reveal something.
McBiggun reached over and nudged the card over.
"Oh, right, the back." Garbuncle put a hand to his head before looking at what was revealed. "Enjoy your gift, signed the squid wizard." He frowned sharply. "That does answer that... squid wizard... I've been stolen from by a squid, a squid wizard. A squizzard took my staff!"
McBiggun snickered softly. "Squizzard."
"Yeah, wait, heh, that was pretty good." Garbuncle throws the mailing box aside. "Well, we have to get my staff back, or some other staff. There's nothing for it. Maybe there'll be a replacement we can get where we're headed." He hiked a thumb at their wagon. "Nowhere to go but onwards!"
"Ayup." He hopped up onto the front of the wagon easily and sat down. "Ready t'go?"
Garbuncle climbed up and swung himself around into the seat beside McBiggun. "We won't find answers here." With a casual toss, he sent the carrying case, empty as it was, into the back of the cart. "Maybe someone'll recognize the magic used and we can track it down if nothing else."
With a crack of the reins, their cart started forward under the powerful motions of their loyal beasts. As they rolled forward, McBiggun glanced at his companion. "Sorry."
"Huh, what for?" Garbuncle cocked a brow and crossed his arms. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Nope. Still sorry. Ah wouldn't be happy none if someone done took mah sword away." He reached back to pat his blade. "We'll get it back."
Garbuncle rest a hand on his friend's side. "Thanks. Together, no stupid squizzard's gonna keep us down!"
They shared a chuckle at the demeaning nickname they had settled on, guiding their wagon across the grassy plains.
Spike tilted his head. "Are we gonna, you know, get to the good stuff?"
"Mmm?"
Spike rolled a hand. "I mean, I know we have to travel, but we don't have to focus on that part."
Big Mac shook his head. "It takes a while. The journey's part of the adventure." He thrust a hoof forward. "Bold explorers, rollin' across new land!"
"Well, sure..." He tapped at his sheet. "We're going from one town to another inside Spiketopia, this isn't exactly strange new lands, just, you know, travel? They don't have trains like we do, but it isn't much more than that."
Big Mac tapped his chin quietly a moment. "What, should we just... skip it?" He sounded disappointed at the idea.
Spike considered with a soft mmm before he raised a hand, finger extended. "We're not so much as skipping as just focusing on the parts where we aren't sure what we'll do. I mean, we know what direction we're going and the cart is going straight, so there's not much choice there, right?"
"Ayup." He frowned a moment before nodding. "Guess ya got a point there. Still, ya don't like the idea none? It's kinda romantic, bein' on yer own, with no civilization 'round in sight."
"I mean, sure, it's kinda cool to think about, but there's... not a lot to do in the moment, unless we're gonna describe the plants we roll past. I mean, this is why people started playing games in the first place, to distract them from what could be a boring part."
"Spike?" They hadn't heard her arrive, but they heard Twilight's call.
Big Mac jumped in place. "She's back early!"
"Yup!" squeaked out Spike in a reversal of roles. They quickly gathered up their gaming supplies and barely had enough time to squirrel them away before Twilight trotted into the room.
She smiled on seeing them standing awkwardly beside a bookcase. "There you you are, and I see you have a friend over, that's nice. Hello, Big Mac."
"Howdy." He raised a hoof to tip a hat he wasn't wearing. "Uh, how'd it go?"
Spike nodded quickly. "I thought it was going to be longer than that? Did something go wrong?"
"Exactly the opposite." Twilight hopped up into the chair Big Mac had been using. "Things went so smoothly, we got it all done in a flash. I don't suppose you made enough dinner for me to grab some leftovers?" She raised a brow at Spike. "If it has gems, I'll pass, but thanks."
"Oh, actually..." Thinking about it made his belly rumble and he pinkened. "I was so busy today, I forgot all about that."
Big Mac and Twilight both looked at him quizzically and he put a hand behind his head chuckling nervously. "I didn't expect to get roped into teaching a class of foals. I mean, I'm not--"
Twilight leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. "You taught, Spike? How did it go?" Her enthusiastic expression suddenly crumbled. "Wait, this wasn't for... Cheerilee... was it?" She sagged in the chair. "Ohhh, she is going to be so angry at me, and she has every right to be."
Spike put out his hands flat, palms towards Twilight. "Hold on there. I took care of it. The kids had such a good time, we ended up going over the usual school end just to finish the lesson. That's why I didn't really have time for food today."
Big Mac nodded from the door that he had quietly sauntered over to while they talked. "Bye." He waved lightly before making himself scarce.
Twilight swiveled an ear at the departing red stallion. "Spike, does he have... a crush on me?"
Spike burst into a sudden cough. "W-what?!"
"Oh, I dunno. It just seems every time I come home, he runs off. I was just... wondering if maybe he felt too awkward to talk to me." She smiled gently. "Is that it?"
Spike snickered softly at the mental image of it. "I mean, maybe? I don't think so though. He just likes our nights, and they're kinda over when you come home."
Twilight tilted her head a little. "If you don't mind me asking, why is that?" She trotted towards the kitchen. "Seeing as it's my fault, this time I'll make dinner."
Spike followed after her. "You don't have to do that." Not that Twilight was bad at cooking, but she wasn't terribly good at it either. There was a reason he was often the chef of the house. "I mean, I appreciate it..."
"I insist. Now, why do things stop when I get home?" She started pulling things out of the fridge with her glowing horn. "I want to be a positive influence on your life, Spike."
Spike hiked a brow at that. "Did you read that somewhere?" He took her sudden silence as a 'yes'. "It's just a guy thing."
She burst into giggles. "Ohhhh, a guy's night. I can understand that. A little testosterone to counterbalance your daily dose of girl cooties you get from me." She got the oven going, peering at the flame under the pot. "Well I think it's lovely, and a little cute. You two are good ponies, and my knowing you're with Big Mac is... reassuring in a way. He isn't known for getting into trouble very often."
"Well, yeah. I mean, he could." Spike crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, watching Twilight work at getting some water boiling. "It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for, they say."
Twilight rolled her eyes mightily. "So I should really be concerned about Fluttershy then? I'm pretty sure the both of them are perfectly fine." She dropped a good bit of dry spaghetti into the boiling water. "So, how did you manage to hold a classroom enthralled so deeply they didn't go home when it was time?" She perked an ear towards Spike. "When I was a filly, there were only a few students that might consider doing something like that."
"And you were one of them." Spike wasn't there to see her in grade school, but it came at no surprise to think of her being the one asking for the class to continue.
Twilight pinkened. "Only once or twice..." She cleared her throat as she stirred the cooking food. "But that doesn't answer the question. Were you teaching things, or just playing games?"
"Both," he reported with a pleased smile. "I led them across the world. They explored the pyramids of Anugypt, the exotic courts of Turkey, stopped by to share tea with the queen of United Bridle Islands..."
Twilight's tail gave a soft twitch as she lifted her stirring spoon to try a strand. It was too hot and she stuck out her mildly burned tongue before trying again with slightly more success. "Almost. Sounds like quite an adventure. I still need to apologize to Cheerilee, even if she did find an excellent substitute for her substitute." She laughed at her own wordplay as she bid the fridge open and started getting supplies for a quick and easy topping to their food. "Want some rubies?"
"I'm feeling emerald today, thanks."
"Got it." She put down a red-filled shaker and grabbed up a green one, setting it on the dining room table with her magic. "See, and you thought I'd burn down the kitchen. Have some faith, Spike." |
Roll for Initiative | 12 - Start Episode 6 - Chadwick | Spike rubbed his hands together as he looked around the room. Everything was just as he wanted it. He had a plate of snacks, scattered dice, the character sheets and figures, including his secret one. He chuckled softly as he gazed on it, holding it such that the drawing did not face the camera. "He'll love it." He tucked the figure away, lest the surprise be ruined.
Twilight had gone off at the behest of the map, leaving him to enjoy a game night. "And no substitute hijinks this time." He put his hands on his hips. Not that he hadn't enjoyed running a game for a dozen or so foals, but still, it was tiring. He turned his eyes to a window where the sun was just setting. "And... it's game time!" He did a little dance in place just before a knock came from the front door.
"Coming!" he shouted, short legs pumping furiously to close the distance. He jumped for the door, grabbed the handle and hopped away, revealing a smiling Big Mac behind it. "Hey! Everything's all ready for our guy's night."
"Ayup." Big Mac strode in and kicked the door shut behind him. "Evenin'." He looked left and right conspiratorially. "She gone?"
"All clear." He gave a thumbs up to emphasize.
Big Mac rose up on two legs and so their dance began, welcoming the festivities to come.
Chuckling, Spike made his way into the game room. "Alright alright, so, last we left off, we were just getting to Chadwick, right?"
"Ayup." He tilted his head as he hopped up onto his seat. "Reckon they'll know 'bout the squizzard?"
"Well, they were attacked by it, so they'll know something, right?" Spike took his place and clapped his hands together. "Let's find out!"
Garbuncle and Sir McBiggun rolled up the steep incline towards the Keep of Chadwick. Flags flew with the national crest on display. "Halt, who goes there!" came a cry from atop the ramparts just above the road that led into the keep proper. "Identify yourself and your business."
McBiggun frowned. "Now that ain't how we normally welcome guests, and ah ain't even a guest."
"McBiggun?" The gate guard leaned over the side to get a better look. "Sir! Welcome home! Just give us a moment. Raise the gate! Raise it now!"
The sounds of activity rose from behind the gate before it shuddered and began to rise, dust falling from it with its slow ascent. The moment it was high enough to permit a pony through, one slipped beneath it and hurried towards the wagon. "Sir! I mean, m'lord." He bowed before McBiggun.
McBiggun's frown deepened at the display. "Ah ain't a lord yet. Tell us what happened?" He hopped down off the card and waved at it. "We got supplies that need bringin' to their rightful owner."
Garbuncle hopped clear, allowing the cart to be led away.
"Sir, your father's been taken by the Squid Wizard, likely to be added to his skeleton armies!"
McBiggun blinked. "Skeleton armies?"
"Oh, yes, quite fearsome beasts." The pony bobbed his head fiercely. "Worst part is they take our fallen and make more of them. It's a losing battle! With your father's, uh... inavailability, that makes you the Lord, m'lord."
Garbuncle clapped his claws together. "A necromantic squizzard? Does this get any worse?"
Lord McBiggun clopped a hoof down. "Be that as it may, until we know for sure, ah'll stick with Sir McBiggun. Now, where did that varmint go runnin' off ta? We'll show 'em a thin' or two and get pa back!"
"W-well before we get carried away, we should celebrate your return." He leaned in towards McBiggun. "If not for your sake, it will be a great boost for everyone else to know that the ruling family isn't entirely absent. A lift in harsh times is sometimes essential to keep things running smoothly."
Sir McBiggun stepped towards the gates. "Alright then, fer their sake." He tapped his chin as he went. "Say, do we have a magic staff mah friend could use? He's a mighty fine wizard himself."
The returning heroes were welcomed with hopeful faces and muted cheers. There was clearly a cloud of discouragement over the keep, though the sight of one of their ruling family was perking them up. As news began to spread, more and more ponies began to crowd around, excitedly asking what Sir McBiggun would do to save them.
McBiggun lifted a hoof for silence. "Ah mean to find that Squid Wizard. We're gonna teach him a lesson or three, get my father back, and that'll be that." He brought down the hoof for emphasis as if slamming last page shut on a book. "Any questions?"
As it turned out, there were many questions. The crowd was a chaotic mess of ponies trying to get in their few words among the crowd. The pony that hed led them that far waved his forehooves widely. "Order, order! We will be having a banquet tonight to celebrate the return of Sir McBiggun. We will have time there to discuss our plans for the future."
Though the crowd muttered softly in disappointment, they dispersed as they were bid to do. A new pony, a mare, rushed up to Garbuncle. "Sir, you needed a staff? Come with me, please. We'll have one fitted for you."
Garbuncle blinked at that. "Custom made? Well, uh, thanks." He went off with the mare, waving back at McBiggun. "See you at the banquet!"
McBiggun had his own problems to deal with. He started with getting a tally of how many soldiers were left. He ordered them to be assembled, but only about twenty ponies stood in two even lines at the end of it. "Well, where's the rest?"
One of the ponies coughed into a hoof softly. "Um, we're all here, M'lord."
McBiggun said something unfit for reproduction as he turned away a moment. Over his shoulder, he spoke, "Things may look bad, and they are." He turned back to them. "That jus' makes it more important that we stick by our duties. People are countin' on us." He thrust a hoof towards a passing common mare. "If we don't do our parts, she could be hurt, or killed, or even worse than that. You know how terrible our foe is. We haveta stand strong." He clapped his hooves together on the ground, staking a firm stance. "For Chadwick!"
"For Chadwick!" roared the crowd in unison, all giving sharp salutes at their commanding officer.
The one that had spoke before leaned forward a little. "Your orders, Sir?"
"Fer now, keep a sharp eye. Ya see somethin', ya give a mighty shout. Never investigate alone. We can't afford to lose more good ponies."
Sounds of agreement rippled through the crowd before they began dispersing back to their various posts to keep an eye on the keep and protect it from further attack.
McBiggun turned and marched for the central part of the keep. "Ah want a full accountin' ah what happened durin' the last attack," he commanded, but there was no reply from the quiet halls. Everyone was busy preparing for the banquet, or standing guard, with little in the middle. With a great sigh he walked to the dining hall. He looked left and right to the chairs at the end of the great table that sat there. Normally those were the places for his mother and father. "Ah'll rescue you, jus' wait." He went to his father's chair and tapped it with a hoof. "This is still yers." Circling the table, he hopped up into his mother's chair and sank into position.
Spike tilted his head. "I didn't say anything about your mom."
Big Mac blinked, then put a hoof to his face. "Ah just, shoot. Guess ah'm used to that. Well, uh, if we can rescue one parent, ah'll call it good." He tapped at the table with a hoof. "Ah'm surprised. Ah thought ya wanted to 'skip to the good stuff'. We ain't doin' nothin' very flashy."
"Oh, don't you worry." Spike grinned widely. "This isn't nothing. So, later that evening..."
The dining hall was filled with ponies, mostly those of the aristocracy, though the one remaining captain of the guard was present, as well as a few ponies dressed so well they were likely merchants. Most eyes were on Sir McBiggun, raising their goblets in toast after toast. Spirits were high and they spoke grandly of McBiggun's plans to rescue their lost Lord.
"We can't afford to send the guard with you," admitted the captain of the guard, his ears down. "If I could, I would go with you, Sir. I would gladly throw myself into battle if it means His Lordship could be returned to us, safely!"
"Yer loyalty and bravery is not bein' questioned none, ah promise." Sir McBiggun dipped his head at the captain. "You keep the ponies here safe. Me and mah..." That's when he noticed that Garbuncle was not there. "Hey, where's Garbuncle?"
Confused faces looked left and right. One pony lifted her shoulders. "I haven't seen the dragon since he was at your side."
The doors to the dining hall burst open, admitting the pony that had originally updated them on the going ons. "He's in jail, just as you should be, Traitor!" He leveled a hoof at Sir Mcbiggun.
McBiggun sprang to his feet. "What's the meanin' of this?!"
"Is it not obvious? The mewling whelp of our dear Lord runs away from home, only to return just as his, much superior, father is laid low?" He circled the table slowly, his eyes not on McBiggun's, but instead sweeping over the table. He was speaking to everyone else. "A mighty convenient turn of things for one to ascend in power without the troublesome wait."
McBiggun growled with fury. "You better take that back! Ah would never hurt mah father!"
"So you claim! Is it then coincidence that the enemy knew precisely when to attack." He reared up behind the captain's chair, leaning over him. "Is it just chance that they knew what direction to approach from? I posit not! Someone told them. Someone with the most to gain by what has happened." He slowly turned, finally meeting McBiggun's eyes. "Very 'noble' of you, refusing the title of Lord, or is that just a ruse to make your inevitable taking of the throne seem more just?"
Big Mac jumped at Spike, knocking him from his chair. "Ah didn't hurt my father none and you know it! Take it back!"
"Woah woah woah," squeaked Spike in a panic. "It's just a game, just a game, I promise." He warded his face in case of any attacks incoming, shivering with fear.
Big Mac realized what he was doing and slumped back on his haunches. "Oh... Ah... sorry..."
Spike gathered himself back to his feet. "It's, uh, cool man. Do you need a break? I didn't mean to get you this worked up."
Big Mac took a slow and deep breath. "Yeah, a drink. Sorry again." He rose and strode off for the kitchen to get that refreshment.
When he returned, Spike had retaken his seat. The dragon gave a friendly wave at him. "Feeling better?" Big Mac nodded. "Good. Really, sorry, didn't mean to push a, uh, button. Say, uh, so... how did..."
"Ain't the time," cut off Big Mac as he hopped up into his seat. "So, where were we?"
"Right, so..."
The mood of the crowd was becoming quite dark. Most didn't want to believe those words, but they rang too true. Reflections of their own darkest wishes and ambitions, what if it were true? Could they just assume they were nothing but a lie?
The captain hopped down from his chair. "Sir McBiggun, will you... willingly enter arrest while we properly investigate this and put this terrible idea to rest?"
Sir McBiggun didn't want to hurt any of the ponies present, or the keep he loved. He dipped his head low. "Ya know ah didn't do it."
He was led away to the dungeons, where a familiar face sat there waiting for him. It was Garbuncle. They escorted Sir McBiggun to the same cell and released him inside.
It seemed our heroes would have to break out of jail or otherwise win their freedom. |
Roll for Initiative | A Discordant Interlude | Big Mac had left with a satisfied smile. He wanted to know what would happen next.
So did Spike. He softly mumbled to himself as he finished cleaning up their mess. He had time to think about it. Failing that, he would have to wing it, which was something he was surprisingly capable of despite the lack of wings.
He snorted softly at the self-deprecating humor. Everything was clean and put away properly. It was time for sleep. Twilight had not yet returned, but that happened sometimes. It wasn't like he was some little foal that needed to be tucked in at night!
Not that it wasn't nice when it happened...
He curled up for sleep with a little chuff. Besides, he ended up being the one tucking her in at least as often. Their relationship was complicated.
Spike cocked a brow. "Uh... I'm talkin' about a real game."
Discord wistfully sighed. "Oh, you mean like trapping best friend ponies in hedge mazes and turning them against each other. Those were the days."
It would prove to be quite a long evening. As opposed to many new players, Discord proved to be actively disruptive to the game. Still, they stuck it out, and things turned around as the evening went on. In no time at all, he was playing his archer, Captain Wuzz, like a pro.
He even gave Spike a convenient out for the jail, being a roguish type that could stage their great escape and get them back on their feet, or hooves in one of their cases.
This was, of course, ignoring the fact that they weren't seated around a table anymore! They were actually casting spells, slashing at the squizzard's minions, and dodging incoming arrows, for real! They were having such a good time of it, they didn't even notice the arrival of two new players.
Spike turned away from his last defeated foe to be face to face with a rainbow-maned rogue or ranger and a very pink performer. "Oh, uh, hey?"
Pinkie bounced up and down in place, the feather on her foppish hat bouncing around. "We wanna join!"
Rainbow nodded. "You didn't tell us you were doing cool stuff while we were gone." She leaned in close. "So how do I get a sword like that?" She motioned subtly towards the great chopping device Big Mac was currently using.
Discord popped up between them as if he had been there the whole time. "Girls, girls, girls. If you want to be part of 'guy's night', then you have to play the part."
Pinkie tilted her head and spoke with a falsely deepened tone. "I am ready to be part of guy's night!"
Rainbow crossed her hooves. "Anything a guy can do, I can do better. Just sign me up already!"
Big Mac wandered over, his enemies defeated. He peered at the two new mares present, but said nothing. His doubt was clear enough without words to muddle things.
Discord cleared his throat. "I am Captain Wuzz, an archer. I am traveling with..." He looked to Spike expectantly.
"Oh! I'm Garbuncle." He lifted his staff. "I am a wizard of some renown, and I am traveling with Sir McBiggun." He waved his staff at Big Mac. "We are trying to defeat the evil squid wizard--" his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "We call him the squizzard." He and Big Mac both chuckled at the name even as Discord's eyes rolled free of his skull. "And who might you two be?"
Pinkie put a hoof to her chest. "Hello Garbuncle. I am Pinkamena, of the Pies. I am a traveling minstrel." She pulled a lute out of nowhere and gave it a strum with a hoof. "Your journey has obviously been long and difficult, and I am here to join the party! I will lift your spirits, because that's what I do."
Rainbow snorted through the mask covering her snout. "I'm uh... Commander Easyglider!"
Spike peered at Rainbow. "You're dressed kinda funny for a military commander."
Rainbow thrust a hoof at Big Mac. "Like he looks like a 'sir' to you? Besides, I didn't pick what I'm wearing, it just kinda... happened." She turned to Discord. "Your fault, I'm presuming."
He giggled girlishly. "Guilty as charged. What, you don't like your new outfit? You're the one that charged into our world."
Rainbow waved a hoof over herself. "It's, you know, kinda cool, but what is it? Anypony got a mirror?"
Pinkie produced a small hand mirror from nowhere in particular and held it in her mane in front Rainbow, dangling at the end of her mane. "Here you are, Commander."
Rainbow turned left and right, looking herself over. "Hmmm, nah, this isn't Easyglider material. Call me... Shadow Shade!" She gave a firm nod. "Yeah, a real sneaky type that can get in and get things done before they even knew what hit them." She looked past the mirror to the mare attached to it. "Uh, did that hurt?" She reached forward and tapped at Pinkie's new ear accessories, A set of two studs on either side and a long hoop on her left ear.
Pinkie turned the mirror around to see herself. "Ooo, fancy!" She raised an ear up to examine either ear. "Doesn't hurt at all." She tapped the hoop. "I can feel it though!"
Spike rolled a hand. "Shadow... shade? Aren't you just kinda repeating yourself there?"
Rainbow stuck out her tongue in defiance. "Dark Rainbow then!" She tapped the medallion she wore as part of her shirt and belt. "Rainbows are still part of the theme. How is that 'Garbuncle'?"
Discord threw his arms wide, literally. They spun around like boomerangs and came back to gather everyone up into a group hug. "The party is assembled! Now, shall we continue?"
A soft cough came from what felt like an extreme distance. They all turned to see a faded Twilight, looking at them oddly. "Oh, don't stop on... my account. Just be sure you clean all of this when you're done." She turned and trotted past their game area, never actually entering it. "Goodnight, Spike."
"Goodnight!" Spike waved at her retreating form. "Huh, she coulda joined, not like one more woulda broke anything."
Pinkie shrugged. "Maybe she's all tired from the amazing time we had today. Who knew the yaks had so much to show?!"
"You had to remind me." Rainbow sat on her haunches and crossed her arms over one another. "Are you talking about their piles of snow, or maybe their 'rustic' village, or perhaps you're referring to their many stomps and shouts?"
Pinkie looked around. "So what was up with all those boney ponies you were fighting? Do they work for that squid wizard you were talking about?"
"Ayup." Big Mac nodded his head firmly.
Spike wriggled his fingers ominously. "He raises them from beyond death, torturing their poor souls to do his bidding. They are as much a victim as the rest of us, but the only peace they can know is a return to oblivion."
Rainbow tilted her head at Spike. "That was possibly the most badass thing you have ever said." She hopped up to all four hooves. "Alright, so let's find this squiddard and--"
"Squizzard," corrected Spike.
"Right, that guy. Let's find him and teach him a lesson or three." She clopped her forehooves menacingly.
Spike tapped his staff on the ground, a sparkling strike sounding. "Thank you both for joining our cause. Sir Mcbiggun, what do you think of them?"
Big Mac raised a hoof to tap at his chin which managed to be both furry and stubbly at once. "Ayup."
"Captain Wuzz?" He looked to Discord.
He shrugged. "I'm the o-- oops! I mean..." He cleared his throat. "It would be good to have other stalwart fellows at our side."
Pinkie pointed at herself. "I'm not a fellow. I'm a fell-ah. I mean, a mare." She stuck out her tongue in a raspberry. "You know what I mean."
Discord rolled a hand at Pinkie. "That can be fixed." Without waiting for a yes or a no, both Pinkie and Rainbow were suddenly larger and bulkier.
Rainbow blinked slowly. "Did..." He stopped on hearing his own voice. "Discord! Not cool!"
Pinkie shrugged softly. "If we're playing pretend, I don't see the harm in it." He bounced up and down in place. "Not like I'm not me just 'cause I'm a stallion!" She hopped beside Spike and threw a leg over him, hugging him. "Next town we get to, we're gonna pick up a pair of pretty mares!"
Spike went a dark hue almost instantly. "Um..."
Rainbow didn't stop looking at Discord. "Put us back! I'm a mare, and a fine one at that. You're breaking perfection here." She tapped at the ground with her right forehoof.
"Oh, why can't you loosen up like your friend here." Discord was suddenly at Pinkie's other side, hugging the new stallion. "He looks ready to experience this new world in a new form."
Rainbow pointed at Spike accusingly. "He's basically the same thing and you aren't giving him a hard time!"
Spike pulled at his robes defensively. "What? I'm super mature and refined." He stood as tall as he could manage. "Look at my masculine beard." He stroked the magnificent growth with a cocky smile. "I'm also a wizard!"
"Yeah, you have more hair than normal, I get that." Rainbow shook his head as she approached. "But that's basically all you have. I mean, physically. Your magic doesn't count." He reached out and tapped Spike on the chest. "Why don't you make him into a her? That'd be fair."
Knowing his time was limited, Spike shook his head at Discord. "No no no, wait. Let's just... cool our heels on this. You two are tired after a long and eventful day." He smiled hopefully. "Let's just call this game over, but we can, you know, hash out the details for next time and get right into things."
Suddenly they were all back to normal. Rainbow and Pinkie were given their mare forms back. Spike lost his amazing facial hair, and Big Mac was no longer a unicorn.
Rainbow nudged Big Mac gently. "You do know Applejack saw that, right?"
Big Mac went stiff from top to bottom. "A...yup?" He walked for the door awkwardly, his limbs refusing to work properly. "B-bye..."
Pinkie stuck out her tongue. "AJ needs to get over that. Like, really girl, this is a new age! And if a pony has silly fantasies about being something else, it isn't a crime or anything." She put a hoof on her chest. "I was looking forward to pretending to be a guy for a little while."
"Pass," stated Rainbow with half-lidded eyes.
Discord patted Spike on the head. "Let me know which way they decide and when the next game is." Without waiting for a reply, he folded in on himself in half, then again and again until there was nothing left.
Spike peered at the spot that once held Discord. "I'm not sure I'll get used to that... So, uh... Hey." He wriggled a few fingers at either of the girls left over. "You really wanna join us?"
Pinkie bobbed her head quickly. "It looked super amazing fun! Ooo, do I get song magic? Tell me I get song magic!" She leaned in on Spike, her face only inches from his. "Sign me up and let me at 'em!"
Spike rubbed behind his head. "Uh, yeah, no reason to not have song magic."
Pinkie squealed with joy and began pronking away, singing a song of her future lyrical spells.
Rainbow remained. "So you're going to tell him to keep me a mare, right?" She hiked a brow at him. "I ain't playing if that's a requirement. Sheesh, I expect better of you, Spike."
Spike blinked at that. "What did I do?"
She rolled a hoof. "I'm not blind. You want a 'guy's' night, and I'm just cramping the vibe or whatever. You know I'm plenty cool as I am, right?"
Spike gave an emphatic thumbs up. "Rainbow, you're just fine the way you are, or should I say 'Dark Rainbow', mysterious and discreet operative of the shadows?"
Rainbow's smile returned gently. "We'll see about that discreet part." She rose up and held out a hoof towards him. "Just be sure to tell Discord, and I'll be back for next time, alright?"
Spike met her hoof with a balled fist. "You got it! Goodnight, Rainbow."
"See ya later, Spike." With a powerful flap, she took off into the evening. |
Roll for Initiative | 14 - Interlude - Apple Business | Big Mac crept up to his house, hoping against hope that he could get past the dangerous hurdles that could be in his way. He slipped along the wall of the house, trying to be flat and silent as his bulk allowed. His hoof came down in a watering can, sending him and it flying as he stumbled to the ground and the can bounced away. Had anyone noticed? He hoped not.
He got himself back to his hooves but remained low to the ground, inching up to the door before he even dared to properly stand. He glanced left and right before letting out a little breath. Maybe he was being ridiculous. Maybe there was nothing to worry about at all.
He reached forward and opened the door as quickly as he could. The inside was dark, entirely dark. He took a step forward and the floor creaked beneath his heavy hoof. He wrenched the hoof back and swallowed before he tried again, stretching out to reach another, hopefully more secure, board. It did not oblige him.
"You kin stop that." A lantern flared into life, casting shadows across his sister, looking at him sternly. "Close the door behind you."
He swallowed audibly. "Ah kin--"
"Close the door." She gestured at a small cushion. "Sit."
He nodded slowly and turned to the door, properly latching it shut. With all the somberness due a pony marching to their execution, he stepped up to the cusion and sank his to his haunches on it, looking to his sister quietly.
Applejack tapped her hooves together a moment, saying nothing before she sat up. "It's mah fault, ain't it?"
"What is?"
She waved towards Ponyville. "Ya see me gallavantin' around with the element of magic, the prettiest mare in town, and the most sharply dressed. Ah shouldn't be so surprised none that you might just forget what makes earth ponies so great."
Big Mac shrank back. "It ain't that," he mumbled under his breath.
Applejack pointed at herself. "What about me, huh? Ah'm just as much a hero as the rest of them. If yer lookin' fer a hero to copy, why ain't ah one of 'em?" She leaned forward in her chair. "We were raised to be proud Apples." She thumped her chest. "Apples to the core! You remember how the song goes."
"Ayup..." He had a thousand thoughts, and no words. He shuffled faintly, hoping the storm would pass.
She slid from the chair, approaching Big Mac in slow steps. "You do realize yer a fine slab of stallion, right?"
Big Mac's ears shot up as he glanced around. How did they arrive at that?
"It's true. Ya don't see it none, but ah can see the mares lookin' after you when ya pass." She sat down in front of him. "Yer blind to how amazin' ya are. Other ponies ain't. Whatever happened ta Cheerilee? Ya two made a right cute couple."
Big Mac felt an intense blush coming on. "She was nice..." Nice did not mean it worked. He shuffled on his cushion.
"Nice?" She circled around him slowly. "Fer a while ya seemed like a mighty fine pair indeed. Ah thought we'd be invitin' her ta family functions." She leaned in suddenly. "Did she do wrong by ya? Ya afraid to tell me? Well don't be! Ah'm yer sister. Ah'll straighten this out."
Big Mac raised a forehoof behind his head. "Nope."
She cocked a brow. She was especially good at the motion. "Nope she didn't do nothin' or nope ya ain't tellin'?"
"Look... It just..." He lowered his hoof back down. "She didn't do anythin' wrong. She's a good mare, just not... my mare."
Applejack sank to her haunches heavily. "Yer gonna find some pretty unicorn and hook up wit' her, ain't ya...?" She heaved a sigh, deep and long.
Big Mac's eyes opened wide. "Ah ain't done nothin' like that, not that it's any of yer business."
"Fine, that's... yer business ah suppose, but you. Yer an Apple." She prodded him in the center of his chest. "Ya got it all through and through. We're tough, strong, and hardworkin'. Ya should be proud of that!"
He rose up, towering over his sister even if he felt cowed by her presence. "Ah'm proud."
"Easy t' say." She shook her head slowly. "What would Apple Bloom think? She's already got a unicorn for a mentor! Now her brother's busy puttin' on fake horns!" She reached with a hoof to touch one of his. "Ya got big hooves. Big, powerful hooves. They're from yer pa, ya know."
Big Mac shrank back at that, falling to his haunches. "Ah... ain't forgot..."
"And what would he say?" She had him fixed in a deadly glare.
"I... don't know." He shrank before her withering look. "It's jus' a game... Ah..."
"What kinda game was that anyway? Ya were jumpin' around like a bunch of ninnies with Discord! How is that a good idea any day of any week?"
He looked away from Applejack, not wanting to feel the burn of her stern expression. "He jus' joined today... We been playin' long before he got there..."
"Uh huh..." She circled even as he kept looking away. "Big Mac... You know ah care about ya, right?"
"Yup..."
She set her hooves on his shoulders. "We're siblings, and mighty tight ones, ah hope. Ah want the best fer ya. Ya know that, right?"
"Yup..."
"So why're ya so eager to run away from what ya are?" She sank to her haunches, her arms stretched upwards as she looked at his cheek, his eyes still turned away. "We ain't broken, Big Mac. There ain't a dang thing wrong with being what we are."
Big mac met her eyes. "What would ya say if, fer 'xample, a unicorn wanted wings?"
"I'd say that unicorn was crazy." She rolled her eyes at the notion. "Why?"
He poked her in the chest as she had done. "Ya didn't make no fun of Rarity when she tried it."
Applejack's jaw tensed. "That was... different... She was tryin' to support a friend."
Big Mac pointed a big hoof at himself. "And ah'm bein' a friend t' Spike. He likes the game, and ah'm havin' fun too. Ain't no one bein' hurt by playing pretend."
She turned away. "Ah saw a very real horn on yer head. How's that pretend? So, ya like magic?" She looked over her shoulder. "Ya like grabbin' things without yer hooves? Wish ya could just--" She turned back around and reared up, wobbling her hooves like a wizard casting a spell. "--cast a spell and make the apples harvest themselves without workin' fer it!?"
"Ah ain't doin' that!" He stomped a hoof down, clopping it against the hardwood floor. "An' you know it!"
Applejack's withers rose in a powerful bristle. "Jus' cause you can't, not because you don't want to!"
Small hoofsteps had both their eyes turning to see a drowsy Apple Bloom coming down the stairs. Applejack closer her mouth and sat down, waiting.
Apple Bloom walked right between them towards the sink and poured herself a glass of water. She drank it slowly right there, her hooves holding up the glass as she interrupted the argument dead without much effort.
Big Mac looked between his little sister and his older one, fidgeting in place but unsure what else he could do.
Apple Bloom set the glass down and turned for the stairs. "Ya two can go back t' fussin' if ya want," she said as she began climbing. "Me n' Granny can hear ya, just so ya know."
Applejack's cheeks darkened. "Ah ain't sayin' nothing ah'm afraid of ya hearing!"
Apple Bloom turned around to meet Applejack's defensive stance. "If Twilight bothers ya teachin' me, ah wonder how much Zecora gets under yer pelt." She didn't wait for an answer, turning right back around to ascend the stairs.
Applejack sank to her haunches, the wind in her sails blown out for a moment. "Consarnit... Ah ain't even mad at her." She looked back to Big Mac. "Look, enough. Ponies in this house need their sleep."
"Ayup." He rose and strode past her for the same stairs Apple Bloom had just ascended.
Applejack dashed in front of him. "Don't you disrespect me! Look, ah'm the breadwinner of this here house and all ah ask is to be..." She trailed off, seeing Big Mac was looking elsewhere. "Ah'll make this simple then. Ah don't want to see you hangin' around Spike no more." She clopped a hoof on the ground and turned away, going up the stairs first.
Big Mac watched her go before he shook his head. "Ya ain't the boss." As if he would be countermanded by his little sister. Grumbling, he went to his room and crashed onto his bed. Why was she getting in the way of his good time? He wasn't hurting anyone! Sleep was slow coming, but he eventually surrendered to its siren call. He had work to do in the morning, and he didn't plan to skip on it, no matter how much his sister implied he wanted to.
He was an Apple. An Apple to the core. |
Roll for Initiative | 15 - Start Episode 7 - Gender Identity | Pinkie pronked, as was her nature. She bounded from step to step in a manner of motion unlike most other ponies, but it suited her well, and she was pleased to make her way along.
"Do you really think he's there?" asked Rainbow Dash who flew alongside her in a boring straight line. "I mean, they're friends and all, but he isn't there most of the time."
"We won't know until we try." Pinkie nodded softly, eyes closed and not even watching where she was going exactly. She knew the way.
Rainbow flew in a little closer to her friend. "So, if he is there, do you think he'll talk?"
"He always talks." Pinkie rolled her eyes despite them being closed. "Silly."
"Right right, but will he talk about what we want to talk about?"
Pinkie opened her eyes just in time to see Fluttershy's cottage coming into view. "I hope so. How else am I going to find out how my song magic will work if he doesn't give a clue? I mean I know how music magic should work! That doe--"
"--Yeah yeah, music magic." Rainbow shook her head and snorted softly. She came in for a light landing, walking alongside Pinkie instead. "Why'd he have to, you know, change me?"
Pinkie swiveled an ear towards Rainbow. "That's one of his 'things', you know? Everypony was changed! You saw Big Mac's horn. He was having fun with it. So you got a horn too, what's the big deal?"
Rainbow tilted her head as she walked. "Wha? He didn't give me one of those." She stuck out her tongue. "Not that I need a horn. Unicorns can keep it! I have all the magic I need right here." She spread her wings wide in a proud display. "Now if he wanted to try out a griffon, that might be different. I wouldn't mind seeing what that's like. Twilight was stingy with her magic on that." She stuck out her tongue at the memory.
Pinkie bounced up towards Fluttershy's door. "If you had magic, you could make yourself a griffon." She came down perfectly on the welcome mat and raised a hoof, knocking lightly. "Fluttershy! Are you home?"
"Coming," came a melodic voice from within before the door opened to reveal a yellow snout. "Hello Pinkie--" Her eyes moved to spy Rainbow beside her. "Rainbow. How can I help?"
Rainbow stepped forward with a cocky grin. "Wouldn't suppose Discord is visiting right now, would he?"
Fluttershy shook her head in the negative. "Afraid not. Did you need him for something?"
Pinkie bobbed her head energetically. "Uh huh. We wanted to talk about the game!"
"Game?"
"The one you saw." Pinkie pointed towards Twilight's Castle. "Spike and Big Mac were playing too and having a super fun time and I wanted to join and they said alright but I was hoping to talk to Discord and work some things out before the next session!" She took a deep breath to counter her sudden speech without punctuation. "And we couldn't think of a better place to look than here. You two hang out all the time, right?"
Rainbow lifted into the air and crossed her forelegs. "Right, so do you know where to find him?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "He just shows up when he wants to. I've been meaning to ask him about where he lives. I should visit some time." She raised a hoof to her chin before it slid back to the ground. "Sorry, girls. What was that game? It looked... violent."
Rainbow brought her hooves together, rubbing them with thoughts of that violence. Pinkie tilted her head. "Well, I guess kinda, but it's more about playing pretend. You get to be somepony you aren't for a while and just have fun and adventure!"
Fluttershy blinked slowly. "But... we already go on adventures. They're... a little scary at times."
Pinkie waved away the idea of fear. "Being scared is just a funny kind of laughing. That's why when you're scared, you smile, see?" She put on a terrified expression, lips peeled back in an almost-smile. "See?" she said, her words muffled by her awkwardly forced lips.
Rainbow nudged Pinkie aside. "Yeah, well, we're just looking for Discord. How do you reach him when you want to?"
"Well, if I wanted..." She frowned a moment in thought before she sat down on her haunches. "Discord? Are you there?"
A hole unfolded over her head and a head poked free with mismatched horns. "Yes, my dear?" His head span in place in defiance of any body that should be attached to it. "Oh, you have guests."
Pinkie waved excitedly at Discord. "Heya! We were hoping we could talk about the next game."
He slipped through, the hole sealing up behind him as he considered both of the girls. "You caught me at a bad time, but how about this. I'll come visit your places later for a little one-on-one chit-chat. How's about that?"
Pinkie cheered, easily mollified. Rainbow looked less thrilled. "What keeps you busy?"
He snapped his fingers and a second Discord appeared with glasses and a notebook. "Well, you see, he has many important dates with equally important people." The clone flipped open the book. "Why, just today--"
Rainbow held up a hoof suddenly. "No, that's alright. You know where I'll be?"
"I'm sure I can figure it out. With a secretary like this, how can I get confused." He smiled at his double, who returned the gesture, then vanished between one frame of life and the next like a bad editing job. "Well, I'll see you both later, ta-ta." He turned to Fluttershy. "Did you need anything?"
She shook her head. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry if I interrupted anything."
"As if you could interrupt me," he said in a fond tone. "You just give a call any time you need me." He dove forward into her mane, drawing a surprised yelp from Fluttershy, but he was gone.
Fluttershy shook her head a little. "Well, there you go. I hope everything works out." She took a step back, already reaching for her door.
Pinkie shoved a hoof forward to stop it from closing. "Wait! Why don't you join us?"
"O-oh, thank you, but I don't think that's my kind of game..." She smiled gently. "Have fun though." She closed the door once Pinkie allowed her, leaving her and Rainbow outside.
Rainbow shrugged. "Guess we wait for Discord to have time for us." She lifted into the air. "I'll see you later, right?"
"Righto!" Pinkie saluted before hopping up. She came down facing Ponyville and began her pronking gait back towards civilization. As free as she seemed to be, she had plenty of chores that needed her attention. She bounced back to the bakery and got to making delicious treats for the ponies of Ponyville. She prepared sheets of cookies and trays of muffins when she wasn't selling them at the front counter with a big smile.
Mrs. Cake came in from the front, smiling at Pinkie. "I'll take over the counter if you could run a delivery for me, dear."
"Of course." Pinkie bounced up and came down without her apron, which floated down to a perfectly folded pile on its own. "Give me the 5 Ws! Or, I guess, a few Ws is probably enough."
Misses Cake blinked at that before she reached back with a snout and pulled free a clipboard. She set it down in front of Pinkie. "Here's the order. Get it baked up and delivered as soon as possible."
Pinkie grabbed the board with her athletic mane and held it up with a calculating peer. "I'll have this ready in two shakes of, well, my tail." She gigglesnorted as she retreated into the kitchen and got to cooking. They wanted a big cake, and she wouldn't let them down! Under her trained hooves, she made the batter rise, decorated it with frosting, mmm, and wrote across its top in a joyful message. "Happy Birthday, Cheerilee," it read, which was a bit funny, since it wasn't Cheerilee's birthday. Pinkie would know! She had that written down and indexed for party planning.
Why was someone asking for a birthday cake? Maybe just for fun! What was wrong with that? Pinkie couldn't think of any good reasons not to enjoy a birthday cake any given day, birthday or not. She boxed up the baked good and sprang from the store with it on her back. As much as she wanted to pronk, doing so with a cake onboard had proven to be dangerous at times.
She pulled out the clipboard from her mane with the tip of that very same pink fluff. The address was not one she immediately recognized. She knew the street, but not the number. "The mystery is deepening!" She wanted to know what was going on, so she hastened her step to find some answers.
What she found was a rundown little house that barely qualified for the term. It looked like nopony had lived there for years. "Huh, maybe that's why I didn't remember the address..." But why would someone living in such a place ask for a birthday cake for someone who wasn't having a birthday? Curiosity blooming, she approached the front door, hanging off the hinges as it was, and knocked on it. "Cake delivery!"
"You got the goods?" came a seedy male voice from within the darkness.
Pinkie bobbed her head. "If you have the payment."
A pouch slid out through the crack left by the broken door. Pinkie snatched it up with a hoof and jingled it. Yep. "Sounds good, here you go." She set the cake's box down and slid it forward into the darkness.
There was a moment of quiet. "You're not even going to ask?"
Pinkie tilted her head. "Ask what?"
"Why some suspicious stranger is buying a cake in an abandoned house?"
"I figured you were going to throw a housewarming party to cheer up the place." Pinkie nodded, happy with her logic. "Am I invited?" She suddenly smiled. "Wait, are you a new pony?!"
"That I am not." Discord's head poked out into the light. "You are a very silly pony."
"Whenever I can help it. Hi Discord!" She waved a hoof energetically. "I didn't know you like that flavor of cake."
"Happens to be one of my favorites, actually." He smiled at her even as he drew back into the darkness. "Now, dare you step forward, would-be adventurer?"
"Ooooo!" Pinkie hopped forward a step. "I dare!" She opened the door carefully to avoid it falling completely off and soon stepped forward into the gloomy interior of the building. She couldn't see very well, but was giggling despite it. It was like a haunted house, scary fun instead of 'oh no I am being eaten!' scary. "I was hoping to talk about song magic."
"Well, of course. You are a bard, after all. Performance is your power." She could hear Discord speaking, but not see him anywhere. It was like he was just a floating voice beside her ears. "That is why you have an instrument."
Pinkie felt a tickle all over and felt the clothes of her game character suddenly on her, jewelry included. She reached and found her stringed instrument. "So I make magic music with this?"
"The music is in you, dear adventurer." The voice traveled around her. "Your voice can weave magic, but the instrument is a focus. With it, your spells can reach further and more powerfully. Take care of it, and it will take care of you."
Pinkie broke into giggles, dancing from left to right hoof. "Alrighty! I can do this." She suddenly sprang up onto her hindlegs and strummed her lute-like instrument softly. "If I hadn't gotten into party planning, being a performer would be... maybe #2 or 3? So how do I cast a spell?"
"Aren't we a curious one? Simply sing what you wish to happen."
Pinkie's grin only grew wider. "You know, I was wrong about you. You're a good pony." She bobbed her head. "A little tricky at times, but who isn't." She stuck out her tongue and tickled at the strings. "We're going to make beautiful music together." |
Roll for Initiative | 16 - Colorful Shadows | Discord's voice spoke softly from nowhere at all, sounding as if he were but a step or two away, if there were steps to be had. Rainbow could hear him despite soaring through the sky. "You know, your friend have been ever so kind to rub every little trouble I've had in my face until I caught on. It's time to return the favor."
Rainbow swiveled her ears around, but couldn't pinpoint the exact origin of Discord's voice. "What, like I'm supposed to be happy to be suddenly zapped into a stallion?"
"Oh, not that. That's just a symptom." Suddenly Rainbow was laying in a couch that zipped along her original path. Discord appeared in a doctor's garb, adjusting his new glasses. "Everything a stallion can do, a mare can do better, do I have that right?"
Rainbow jumped into the air, lashing out her back hooves and knocking the sofa away to crash to the ground below. "It's so true. Don't get me wrong, I got plenty of stallion friends and they're good ponies, but they aren't mares."
"I should hope not." He leaned closer to her, still 'standing' despite keeping pace with her energetic flight. "Ponykind would be in serious trouble if that were the case. Your team, what was it, the vunderdolts?"
"Wonderbolts!" corrected Rainbow with an angry snort. "What about them?"
"They aren't just mares, are they?" He cocked a brow, his glasses lifting with the gesture as if attached to his face.
"Well, no." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "But let's do the rundown. One of the only members given the boot in recent history? That was a stallion." She banked to the left, skimming a few clouds on the way. "Then we have Soarin, nice guy, really, sweet as Pinkie's Pies, uck, but is he the best flyer? Not by far. Then there's Silver Zoom, also a nice pony, but deathly afraid of the same crowd we perform for, barely says a word out in the open. We have stallions, sure, but as good as the mares?" She leaned in towards Discord who had kept up with her with distressing ease. "You tell me."
"I see..." He scribbled nonsense in a pad that hadn't been there moments before. "And those adoring eyes you used to level at him?"
Rainbow came to a sudden halt, hovering in the sky. "One, I wasn't a wonderbolt yet and he was. Two, he's a good flyer, just not the best. Three, I was being a fangirl, so shut up!" She stomped, or at least made a stomping motion. The empty air made a poor platform for the attempt. "What's it to you, anyway? I just wanna be what I am, a mare. I don't care if I'm a sneaky mare or even an egghead mare or maybe a big bruiser mare, but a mare." She thrust a hoof at Discord. "That isn't too hard, right?"
Discord lifted his shoulders. "And if a stallion wanted to be as great as a mare, what would he have to do?"
Rainbow squinted at him. "Go beg Twilight or someone to make him a mare?"
"Come now, surely it's not entirely a matter of biology." He tapped his pen against his pad. "I should imagine that, with the right training, you could get a stallion on the right path." He leaned forward a little, but was above Rainbow suddenly, leaning downwards. "For instance, even if you didn't like it, you were obviously the most awesome stallion, for at least a moment."
Rainbow reached up to ward away the chaotic being above her, succeeding in shooing him back to floating beside her. "I can't argue that. As if I could somehow avoid being awesome, whatever I was." She raised her brows together. "Seriously though, what's with you and stallions?" A smirk touched her lips. "Afraid of a mare's company? Think we're not 'up' for your 'macho' game?"
Discord sat up from the couch he was laying across. "Wait a second, when did I become the patient?!" He floated over it and the couch faded away in a shower of sparkles. "Now see here--"
"--Tree."
Discord turned just in time for a tree to get right in the way of his trajectory. He wrapped around several branches in a display that would have looked painful on any other creature on the planet. "Hey, no fair!"
Rainbow shook her head slowly as she ascended towards her house. "Nutter..." She landed gently just in front of her home and trotted inside, ready to chillax after a long day's work. She settled down and grabbed the newest Daring Do book from her shelf to get cozy with. She was just at the best part, or so she had decided. Daring Do was creeping down a dark corridor. There were mad cultists chanting in the next room up ahead. If they heard her, she was toast!
The diagram of Daring Do suddenly turned to look at Rainbow. "We weren't done," she said sternly.
Rainbow squeaked and threw the book across the room in surprise. It flumped to the ground and all was still. "What the..." She rose to her hooves and approached carefully. "Whatever you are, I'm ready for ya!" There was no reply, so she carefully brushed open the book with a hoof.
Inside, there was Daring Do, glaring at her. "That was rude." She had her forelegs crossed and was seated up on her haunches. "We were talking and you just run away?"
"Discord?" Rainbow hiked a brow. "Why are you pretending to be Daring Do?" She leaned in a little, tail swaying. "It's a better look, but it's not 'you', ya know?"
Discord, as Daring Do, rolled her eyes. "Unlike you, some of us aren't bound by strict gender roles. I'm not afraid to see things from the other side."
Rainbow scowled at that. "I'm not afraid of anything! It's just stupid!" She moved to slap the book shut, but it barely got halfway closed when a hoof caught the paper.
The drawing of Daring Do stepped free of her book, becoming the full size on her idol pegasus adventurer, though she still looked drawn, just in three dimensions. "That's quite enough of that. So, here I am, improved, you would say?" She smiled at Rainbow Dash and spread her wings. "Not only a mare, but a pegasus. I've gotten the full package!"
Rainbow rolled a hoof before bringing it to her head. "You still think like a stallion, because you are one." She suddenly frowned. "I'm pretty sure you are one, and kindly don't prove it either way."
"Your loss." Discord as Daring Do stepped towards Rainbow. "Did you know this was based on a spell Twilight loves to pieces?"
Rainbow's brows raised together. "Really? Figures that egghead would like a spell that puts you in a book." She prodded the artistic rendition of one of her heroes. "I'll play your stupid game, but I want to be a mare, that shouldn't even be something I have to argue."
Her painted eyes rolled as she turned away. "I suppose not. I still think you're being harsh on the other half of ponykind, but maybe it's not up to me to decide."
"It isn't," Rainbow flatly agreed.
Discord looked over her shoulder at Rainbow. "Just meant you'll be the only mare in the team. At least we can trust Pinkie won't make any unwarranted moves, like getting drunk and 'getting some mares', mmm?"
Rainbow stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Pinkie can do whatever she wants, but if she creeps on me, she'll learn to not make the mistake more than once." She leveled a hoof at the feminine Discord. "What about you? Is this just a cheap chance to chase fantasy tail, or are we gonna kick some rumps around like I saw you guys doing the first time?"
"Why would I do that?" She unfolded, falling to several flat planes of paper from which Discord emerged. "I can already have whatever I want."
Rainbow rolled a hoof at him. "I'm already way over that. You can have whatever you want, but as soon as it becomes whoever you want, it gets trickier, and it isn't fun playing with yourself." He quirked a brow at her. "You know what I mean."
"Fine fine, we have an agreement. You will remain just as much a mare as your mother made you." He nodded lightly. "You're still a sneaky sort, mmm?"
"Oh yeah, I'm down for that." She bobbed her head quickly. "But when do I get my big sword?"
"I offered you one of those, that's why we're here," he noted with a deadpan.
Rainbow laughed in a dry, unamused, tone. "Har har, very funny. I want something big and deadly!"
He shook his head lightly. "A sword like Big Mac's would not serve a stealthy character. You need--"
"--I need you to pay attention more and stop assuming things." She trotted over to her bookshelf and looked over the spines before pulling free another Daring Do classic. "See, right here." She flipped it open with her wings until she came across the desired page. "Daring Do jumped backwards just in time as a massive blade came down where she had been standing. Wielding it was an exotic guardian of the night, loyal of the lost Order of the Eclipse. She was narrow and lithe, as if every movement was calculated, but the sword she wielded was larger than herself. The contrast was startling, but Daring Do barely had time to appreciate it before she was forced to jump away from the next cruel slice."
Discord clapped his mismatched hands together. "And you want to be like that, a delicate dancer with a blade that looks ready to cut mountains in half?"
"Yes!" shouted Rainbow, bouncing in place. "Yes, that, yes, please? Hook a sister up!"
Discord put his hands on his hips. "What's the fun in having everything you want out of the gate? You will, within the world, want that sword, but you don't have it. Maybe that's why you've joined this party."
Rainbow tilted her head a little. "Huh, are you saying that stupid Squid Wizard guy went and took my awesome sword?" She lifted into the air and clopped her hooves. "Then we'll just pummel him and take it back!"
"Now that's more the spirit." Discord quirked a smile. "Allow me to say, it's been a real treat getting this settled, even if we didn't see eye-to-eye."
"We still don't." Rainbow smirked softly. "But yeah, see you at the game?" She waggled her brows suddenly. "I'm a bit surprised you aren't trying to talk Fluttershy into this."
He crossed his arms at the idea. "It wouldn't be fun to her. Adventure is a thing she'd rather avoid if the option's open, and I'm not trying to force her, darling that she is. She faces enough adventure just being who she is, and that's more than enough for her." He nudged Rainbow with an elbow. "Not like us, right?"
Rainbow snorted loudly. "On this, I'll agree. We'll meet at Twilight's next time Spike calls a game and we'll kick some bad guys around for fun. Even if I don't have my awesome sword of awesome, I can get a replacement for now, right?"
"You'll have to take that up with the guy in charge, which isn't me for a change!"
Rainbow tilted her head. "How does that work, exactly, if you're the one making all the things we fight and stuff?"
"Easy." Discord looked quite pleased with himself. "I talk to him and he will quite happily ramble about his plans. When I feel the need, I can even pull directly from his scaly little head on the fly. It's not like he guards it well."
Rainbow blinked slowly. "Wait, you can do that?"
"I try not to make a habit of it." He shook a hand. "Life gets terribly boring when you know what everyone else is thinking. Wouldn't recommend it. 0/10." |
Roll for Initiative | 17 - Guys' Night | "Whatcha doin'?" asked Pinkie, leaning in from behind over Spike's shoulder as he stirred some batter in the castle's kitchen.
He jumped with surprise, the whisk falling against the side of the smooth blue bowl. "Ah! Oh, hey Pinkie. I was just making a little special something for later."
Pinkie sniffed softly, leaning in over Spike to examine the batter. "A little cinnamon wouldn't go wrong. So I was just wondering, when are we gonna play that new game?"
Spike looked over his shoulder as he picked up his lost whisk and got back to beating the solution into shape. "The next time the girls leave on one of their many little adventures."
She tilted her head at that. "But, then how do we get to play?"
Spike tensed as the logic struck him. "I didn't even think of that." He set the bowl down and moved for the fridge. "I guess we need a different schedule than we've been using. I mean, we didn't expect this." He pulled the fridge open and retrieved a few glass containers from its chilly interior. His was mildly frowning with thought on the idea.
"We could do it... Once a week?" Pinkie bounced in place. "Or is that too much? If you guys only played when we were all gone, that wasn't that often."
Spike worked the screwed tops of each off with little grunts of effort before adding some of each to his concoction. "I never really thought about it. It was kind of a special occasion."
Pinkie suddenly plopped down on her haunches. "Oh... They were special little parties, and here I am, butting in." She rubbed behind her fluffy head with a hoof. "Now I kinda feel bad."
Spike aborted his cooking a moment to put up his claws, the jars awkwardly balanced between his arms and his chest. "No no no! I mean, it's great that you two want to play. You're both friends, and now we have a more 'classic' number of players, so that's good." He turned to set the jars down on the counter. "I just have to think about it, ya know?"
"I know." She bobbed her head quickly as she sprang to her hooves. "I'll let you do that. You know where I live," she sang as she began to pronk away in the merry bounces that defined her.
Spike tapped his chin twice before he resumed mixing. The batter complete, he poured it out into a small baking tray, lining the bottom evenly. "Huh, maybe I should ask Big Mac..." He nodded with growing conviction and brought the tray over to the oven to begin baking. "Yeah, we should agree, together. I mean, it was our game first."
Big Mac sat behind a counter in Ponyville's small and familiar marketplace. He smiled at each pony that passed, occasionally loading one up with nice red apples from his collection of barrels and collecting bits for the farm. It was a duty that passed between Applejack and himself. Like most chores, he took it seriously. "Mornin'"
Bon Bon nodded at him as she walked towards him. "Nice day today, the pegasi are really doing a great job. I'm going to need some apples for a batch of candies I'm making, assuming you have some left."
Big Mac softly chuckled at the idea. "Ayup." He brought down a hoof on the barrel beside him with a dull thud and the lid popped off. He caught it as it bounced up and set it gently beside the barrel. The wood had the scent of the apples it was often close to.
"I'll take a baker's dozen." Bon Bon turned to present her saddlebag. "Say, did you ever try getting Apple Bloom to sell apples, now that she isn't so desperate?"
Big Mac raised an ear as he collected apples. He had heard the tale of Apple Bloom's overeager attempt to force the apples of their farm onto the ponies of the town. "Maybe." She had grown since then, considerably. Perhaps it was time to give her another try at the family business. She was an Apple, after all. "Here ya go." He filled Bon Bon's bags with the bounty. "Six bits."
Bon Bon produced a coin purse and set a five bit and a single bit coin in Big Mac's waiting hoof. "Thank you. I'll be sure to bring one of the candies by when they're ready." She trotted past, another satisfied customer.
The rapid pitter-patter of clawed feet drew Big Mac's attention to an approaching Spike, weaving around stalls towards him.
Spike waved eagerly as he vaulted over Davenport. "Heya Mac! You're just the stallion I wanted to talk to."
"Yup?" He pulled a large apple free of the still open barrel. "Apple?"
Spike waved a hand. "Nah, thanks, but I meant for the game."
Big Mac tensed a moment, his sister's words clear in his head. He shook it off before nodding just as quickly. "Ayup?"
"Well, uh, first..." Spike rocked on his feet, looking over his friend. "Are you alright with, you know, the girls joining in? There wasn't a lot of time to talk about it before. This is our game, I didn't forget." He gestured quickly between himself and Big Mac.
Big Mac was still a moment before a little smile spread on his lips. Spike cared about his opinions, that was nice. "Ayup." He glanced left and right, eyeing the other ponies in the market. They seemed to be mostly clear at the moment from prying ears. "Ah'm not used t'playin' with mares, but ah don't see no harm."
Spike thrust up his thumb claw powerfully. "Great! So, uh, about that. If they're in, we can't play when they aren't here, so, you know, we kinda need a new schedule." He rolled a hand in the air vaguely. "Pinkie suggested weekly, but that would be a lot more often than we had been doing."
Big Mac considered quietly, as was his nature. "How 'bout twice a moon?"
Spike quickly nodded in reply. "Sure, at the start and the middle, that could work. Let me check with the girls and Discord and see what they think about it." He thrust out a balled fist and was met with a hoof, the two in clear agreement. With that settled, he dashed off to find his other players.
Rainbow kicked an errant cloud from the otherwise clear day. "Thought you could sneak by me, huh?" The weather report said a clear day, and she wasn't the sort of pony to disappoint! Usually.
"Hey!" came a voice from far below.
Rainbow looked downward to see Spike waving up at her. She zipped down towards him in a sudden plummet, coming to a screeching halt right in front of his surprised face. That never got old. "Hey, Spike. What's up?"
Spike recovered from his powerful flinch. "Hey, Rainbow. We were just getting a new schedule for the game. We can't play with you girls if we only play when you're not here, right?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you guys would wait until we specifically weren't here."
Spike shrugged emphatically. "It was guys' night, whattaya want?"
"A big sword, mostly." Rainbow landed lightly with a big grin on her face. "So, what's the plan, oh 'Master of Oubliettes'?"
Spike's cheeks warmed a little. "We were thinking, you know, twice a moon? Start and middle."
Rainbow nodded quickly. "At night, right? That should be fine. I mean, unless there's a storm I gotta handle, we don't do a lot of work, or practice, at night, so I should be fine." She put a hoof on his smaller chest. "I'll be there. Hay, that means we play in a few days, right? Our first real game."
Spike turned to hunt the last two players he had to talk to. "Your first game at least. Me and Big Mac have been going a while."
"A game isn't real without me there," countered Rainbow before she darted back up into the sky with a trail of rainbow colors.
Pinkie was enjoying a cup of chocolate in loud and happy slurps as she laid out on a long chair, taking in the sun. She was, as Rainbow would describe, chillaxing.
"There you are!" Spike sprang from chair to chair, bouncing off a few other ponies that had been peacefully sleeping.
Pinkie's eyes and ears followed Spike as he came closer. "Heya, Spike. It feels like we were just talking."
Spike stopped a moment. "That's, uh, because we were. We have a schedule worked out, I mean, if it works for you and Discord."
Pinkie sat up quickly. "You have my attention! When do we start?" She swung around the cup of cocoa towards Spike. "Want some?"
Spike was about to refuse when its scent wafted past him. "Mmm, that actually smells pretty good."
"I know!" She thrust it against him until he took hold of it. "Try it!"
Spike took a small sip and let out an appreciative mmm. "Not bad at all. So, twice a moon." He held the cup back towards her. "Start and middle, at sundown."
Pinkie took the glass back and set it on the small table beside herself. "That should be okay dokey! I mean, unless I have to host a party or something like that, but if that happens--" She suddenly draped over Spike. "--you'll just have to go on... without me." She sniffed dramatically, tears glistening in her eyes.
Spike gently shoved the pink pony back into her sunbathing chair. "I bet you have them all planned out, so if you can tell us ahead of time, that'd be great. You know, so we're not waiting around hoping you'll show up suddenly."
"Roger dodger." Pinkie bobbed her head quickly. "Now that that's all taken care of..." She waved a hoof at a free chair adjacent to her own. "Wanna join me? The sun's all bright and shiny and perfect for enjoying."
While the sun on his scales was always a nice thing, Spike put up a hand. "I have to find Discord... however you do that. I don't suppose you know a good way to do that?"
Pinkie pointed off towards the Everfree. "Ask Fluttershy? They're closer than two peas in a pod. If she can't find him, nopony can!"
Spike bobbed his head. "Right, good idea. See you later!" He dashed away from the line of sunbathing ponies. He had a chaos god to find.
Fluttershy set the squirrel down gently on the sun-warmed grass. "All better."
The squirrel chittered appreciatively up at the larger pony that had cared for it.
"Oh, it's no problem at all." She smiled gently as she pat the small creature on the head. "Just be more careful in the future. You don't want to be hurt."
It bobbed its little head and darted off, its bushy tail the last thing Fluttershy saw as it vanished into the underbrush. She sighed with satisfaction, knowing another animal was helped at her hooves.
"Fluttershy!" came a sudden and loud cry, making her jump with surprise.
She came down facing Spike and put a hoof to her chest. "Hello Spike, oh my, you startled me. What can I do for you?"
Spike hurried across Fluttershy's lawn. "I'm glad you're here. Say, if someone wanted to find Discord, what's the best way to, you know, do that?"
"Oh? Is this about that little game you two play?" She smiled like a mother amused by the antics of her children. "That looked a little too, um, violent for me, but you sure seemed to be having a good time."
Spike fought against the blush that her words summoned. "Uh, yeah, it's great. We just have to reshedule a little and I have to tell Discord about it."
"Well, that's just the thing..." Fluttershy ran a hoof demurely over the grass in front of her. "He is usually the one that comes to me. I know how to get to his house though, but it's extra tricky if you don't fly."
A paw came down on Spike's shoulder from behind. He barely had time for a yelp of surprise when he was drawn out of reality. |
Roll for Initiative | 18 - Welcome to My Parlor | The unseen force thrust Spike onto a comfortable couch with brown cushions and purple trim. It was a perfectly nice couch, more the shame that it was also upside-down. Spike dug his claws into the fabric quickly, expecting to fall from the ceiling he had been placed, but it seemed the couch had its own gravity that held him to it.
"You look tense." Discord was there, stepping out of his kitchen and walking across the room, just barely dodging a spurt of lava from a small volcano. "I really should replace that, it's getting past its fun." He vanished and reappeared beside his detached arm, taking it back simply by virtue of assuming the correct position. "Now, I hear you've been searching for me. What's on your little mind?"
Spike tilted his head at Discord, who was upright while Spike was still facing the floor with his head. "Um, I don't suppose I could get to the floor without falling? I mean, no offense or anything, but this is a little..."
Discord rolled his eyes dramatically, spinning in full three sixties away from one another. "If you insist. Fluttershy approved of this one." He seized Spike at either of his sides and put him down on the more musical sofa that let out a piano note when his scaly bottom rested on it. "There you are, head up, just the way you like it."
Spike shuffled, finding any time he touched another cloth key on the piano, it let out a sound, and not always that of a piano. "That's kinda interesting... Oh, right, that's not what I'm here for. It's about the game."
"Mmm?" He leaned in. "The girls are ready to start whenever you are."
"Right, but we usually only play when they're not here."
"And?" Discord looked baffled at the problem.
"And... they can't be in two places at one time?"
Discord huffed. "That sounds more like a personal problem. They really should fix that."
Spike crossed his arms. "Yeah, but, you know, mares, right?"
"Tell me about it." Discord extended a claw towards Spike. "So what's the plan?"
"I got everypony to agree, twice a moon." He held up a finger. "At the start--" He extended a second. "And right in the middle. At sundown, as normal. Work for you?"
"Sounds dreadfully predictable." He had a sly look on his face. "Don't blame me if I spring a little... something on you all off the clock. Adventure doesn't wait until you're ready, after all."
Spike cocked a dubious brow, though was distracted as a singing tea bag drifted past. "Uh, how do you get anything done in here?"
Discord snatched the lively tea and stuffed it in a box that wasn't there a moment ago. "I thought I had put those away ages ago. Well, now that the 'business' is handled, welcome to my humble abode." He gestured grandly across the chaotic mess that was his house. "To think, you got to see it before Twilight."
Spike cracked a little smile at that. Beating Twilight to something was a little victory. "I wasn't racing her," he demurred. "Nice place though..." His eyes wandered to the stairs that lead nowhere at all and what seemed to be a jacket stand covered in popcorn. "Very... interesting."
"I try." He bowed a little before turning to regard his abode. "I think it's past time for a remodel. Can't have myself getting into any ruts, now can we?" He snapped a finger sharply, and the house became a castle, with long tables, hanging tapestries, and flickering candles. "There we are, now isn't this more suiting the occasion?"
Spike hopped up from the couch that had turned into a wooden bench. "Huh, this is actually pretty nice." He looked to the tapestries and saw that all showed different parts of Discord's life, from his time of tormenting Equestria to the current day. There was even one showing him speaking to Spike on the bench he just stood up from. "Freaky. Does it come with servants too?"
"Of course!" He clapped his hands in a light golf clap.
Immediately, a second Discord in maid's attire stepped out from around a corner. "You rang, sir?"
Spike blinked softly at the cross-dressed god. "Oh, uh..." He considered a moment. "I don't suppose you have a ruby flaked ice cream sundae?"
"I'll be right back with that." And off the maid capered.
Discord, the original, grinned at Spike. "All the amenities of an old-timey castle."
Spike rubbed his chin. "I'm not complaining, but did they have ice cream on demand back in the old days?"
Discord shrugged. "Why wouldn't they? If there isn't anything else, I'll send you back now."
"Sure thing." Spike gave an emphatic thumbs up. "It'll be in just a few days. Looking forward to it."
Discord thwipped Spike across his snout and he staggered back, bumping against the door to Twilight's castle.
He blinked, looking around to see that he had returned to Equestria. "Aw man," he kicked a small rock out of the way. "I didn't get that sundae." He oofed as a bright red bowl was shoved against his midsection. The ruby-encrusted dessert had arrived. "Well, nevermind..." He dipped a claw in and scooped out some of the cool treat before sampling it. "Mmm, Discord's not a bad chef."
Happy, he headed inside to fetch a proper spoon and enjoy himself.
Twilight made careful notes with a quill she couldn't see. Her eye was pressed to the viewpoint of a telescope. "Fascinating," she spoke to none but herself as she peered intently. "This star has been moving erratically for the last--"
"Twilight," came a new voice. Applejack approached the stargazing princess. "Ah need to talk to ya."
Twilight pulled away and sat up with surprised blinks. "Hello, Applejack. Is something wrong?"
Applejack nodded firmly as she sat on her haunches beside the cushion that Twilight had parked herself on. "It's about Spike an' Big Mac."
Twilight smiled gently. "They've been getting along quite well. It's nice for the both of them to have a--"
"--It ain't nice!" Applejack clopped a hoof on the ground. "He's filling mah brother with strange thoughts, and ah don't like it not one bit."
Twilight stood up and stepped off her cushion. "Strange thoughts? That's not the Spike I know. What are they doing that's so odd?"
Applejack frowned, stalking after Twilight. "'Course you don't find it funny at all, yer a unicorn."
Twilight went still a moment before turning to Applejack. "Because we are friends, I will give you a chance to explain what you mean by that."
Applejack put up her hooves quickly. "I'm not tryin' to talk ill of ya, Twi. Yer a friend, like ya said, but ya didn't even notice."
"Notice what, exactly?" She cocked a brow at her irate friend. "That Spike has a friend he trusts and can be himself with?"
"That's all well and good, but no." Applejack circled to be in front of Twilight. "When we came home, Big Mac wasn't himself. He had a big ole unicorn horn." She raised a hoof and tapped herself where a horn would be. "Right there, and he was usin' it too!"
Twilight shook her head. "So he was playing pretend. What's the harm in that?"
"And ya don't think a pony just 'pretendin'' ta be another kinda pony is a bit... odd?"
Twilight rolled a hoof at that. "I personally helped Rarity, a unicorn, get wings, like a pegasus. You've been a breezy. No, I don't think a little experimenting is going to hurt a pony. Is he acting oddly?"
"Yes!" Applejack huffed with growing indignance. "He doesn't show respect at all."
"Respect?" Twilight's brows went up together. "He's your brother, your older brother, may I point out? What respect isn't he showing?"
Applejack shrank back. "Well, yeah, maybe... But ah'm the one that--"
Twilight leveled a hoof at Applejack. "--Cut that thought right there. Do you think he doesn't know you've saved Equestria a dozen times?"
"So why isn't he listening to me!" Applejack fumed with a growl. "If he knows that, he should be payin' attention!"
"He loves you, Applejack." Twilight put a hoof gently on Applejack's shoulder. "He thinks the world of you."
"Then we shouldn't be fuedin'!"
"No, you shouldn't." Twilight drew her hoof back. "I don't think he wants to. You know, when I was in Princess Celestia's school, I had a few passing thoughts of my own." She chuckled softly at the thought. "I had Spike right there... Since I was forced to be his mother, well... I wondered..."
"Ya didn't..."
"I did." Twilight spread her wings wide. "I tried being a dragon. Not my preferred way of being, but I wasn't hurt by thinking about it, or even trying it. I'm still a unicorn, all these years later, aren't I?"
Applejack struggled to think of a more stereotypically unicorn than Twilight, but that nopony was quite the fit. "Ya never told yer parents, did ya?"
Twilight colored a little, her cheeks warming. "No... but I don't tell them a lot of things. They would have laughed at me, not yelled at me, not that I wanted either, so, no, I didn't tell them about my foalish experiments."
Applejack sank to her haunches. "What if he really does like unicorns more than earth ponies?"
Twilight shrugged. "They're both ponies. Is that so bad?" She cracked a sudden smirk. "Could be worse. He could decide he likes griffons."
Applejack paled at the thought. "Don't even joke!"
Twilight giggled, undisturbed by the humor. "My opinion is unchanged. If he isn't hurting anypony, and he's having fun, there's no reason to get in the way."
Applejack took a slow breath, then nodded slowly. "Alright, ah think I know what has to be done."
Twilight smiled radiantly. "You'll let him play?"
"Ah'll join him." Applejack nodded firmly. "Ah'll see exactly what he's up to for mahself. Maybe yer right, and it's nothin' and ah'm just bendin' myself in knots for nothin'. 'Sides, we're siblings, we should play a little, right?"
Twilight raised a hoof to her chin. "I'm not... entirely sure that's the best course of action."
"I'll ask him tonight." She spun away from Twilight. "We'll get this settled."
Twilight watched Applejack descend the stairs before shaking her head. "I'm going to warn Spike." Her astronomy entirely forgotten for the moment, she winked out of existence and appeared in front of Spike's door. She knocked gently. "Spike?"
The door opened quickly. "Hey, Twi," replied a sleepy-looking Spike. "What's up?"
Twilight smiled at Spike. "Sorry, I didn't wake you up, did I? I wanted to talk about your game."
Spike perked right up. "What about it?"
"You're not in trouble," she assured quickly. "It's about Applejack and Big Mac."
"Huh?" He tilted his head a little. "What about them?"
"Applejack is upset that Big Mac is pretending to be a unicorn. She's decided to join the game to see what it's all about. I thought you should have some pre-warning before she shows up. She's likely to be very guarded and suspicious."
Spike swallowed audibly as he worried his fingers together. "What should I do? Applejack can be a little... forceful."
Twilight shook her head. "Well, to start, this is your game, and this is your home. If she starts making things unenjoyable for the rest of the ponies there, you have every right to ask her to behave, or to leave. I will back you up on this."
Spike's expression brightened to a smile at the promise of support from Twilight. He hugged her suddenly, squeezing her dearly. "Thanks! I mean, she's, and I..."
Twilight wrapped a leg around Spike. "You've been my assistant countless times. I can return the favor here. This game is obviously very important to you. I think it's important to Big Mac too, and I don't want it being ruined. How did you get Discord involved, by the way? I never heard that part of the story."
Spike nervously laughed. "You can blame Fluttershy for that part, but it's alright. He's a good part of the game now, and he has as much fun as the rest of us." He stepped back and noddd. "Thanks, again. I hope I won't need your help, but knowing I have it is a big help."
"Anytime. Goodnight, Spike." |
Roll for Initiative | Start Episode 8 - Gather Your Party | Big Mac walked towards Twilight's Castle. It was game day. He should be excited and happy, he was sure, but the presence beside him dampened the enthusiasm. He glanced aside at his sister as she marched along with a mild frown on her face. "Ya don't have--"
"--Yes, ah do." She nodded. "Ah'm gonna see what this game's all about and put the whole thin' ta rest, one way or the other." Applejack met his furtive glance. "Don't you worry none. If this is just a silly game, ah'll play along." She put a hoof to her chest as she walked along. "Ah ain't here to be a wet blanket any."
Big Mac rolled his eyes doubtfully before they reached the door. He rose a hoof and knocked three times.
The door opened to reveal a figure that was not what he expected. Twilight stood there with a kind smile. "Welcome!"
Applejack tilted her head. "Yer in the game now?"
Twilight shook her head. "I'm just greeting ponies as they come." She stepped to the side and waved them in. "I hope you both have a pleasant time. I've prepared light snacks to enjoy before the game starts properly."
Big Mac moved past with a little smile. "Mighty kind of ya."
Applejack looked more confused. "Don't Spike do most of the cookin' 'round here?"
"He does." Twilight led them to a table with small sandwiches, nachos, and other snacks and drinks. "But I decided to let today be his day, so I did it. Besides, I can cook just as well."
"She just doesn't, usually," came Spike's voice as he poked his head into the room. "Heya! Enjoy the snacks, not everyone's here yet. Thanks again, Twi. That was really nice of you."
Twilight dipped her head towards Spike. "Have a good time. You know where I am if you need me." They shared a look before she vanished in a faint shower of sparkles.
Spike approached Applejack with a cautious smile. "So, uh, since you're the only one without a character, we could get that out of the way beforehoof."
Applejack hiked a brow. "A character? Ah got plenty ah character."
Spike glanced towards Big Mac, who was very carefully examining the food selection and not taking part in that conversation. "Not that kind of character." He put on his best big smile. "Everypony has one. I'm playing Garbuncle, the wizard." He fished out his figure. "You saw me."
"About that." She raised a hoof to point at the little figure. "How do ya cast spells without a horn?"
Spike shrugged softly. "What, you think unicorns invented magic? They may have the market dominated these days, but they aren't the only ones in that game. Garbuncle channels his magic through a staff. Big Mac is playing a stalwart warrior, working to protect his people."
Applejack hiked a brow. "Mighty respectable. Does he do magic too?"
Spike shrugged. "Not really? I mean, unless you count holding his sword? Anyway, we need to make who you are." He clapped his hands together. "There are tons of options. You could be a warrior, a wizard, maybe a performer, or a diplomat?"
Applejack sank to her haunches as she reached out for a little sandwich and popped it in her mouth. "Ah'm pretty happy the way I am."
"Alright, well..." He tapped his chin. "I guess that makes you a warrior. You're strong, unshakeable, and ready to leap into danger to save your friends."
Applejack smiled at the description. "Reckon that sounds fairly accurate."
"But what kind of warrior? You can be anything you want!" He threw his arms wide to encompass the possibilities. "You could be a dragon, or a griffon, or maybe a breezy? Whatever you want to be."
Appplejack reached out and prodded Spike in the chest with a hoof. "Didn't ah just say ah'm pretty happy the way ah am?"
"Right." He tapped his right foot lightly. "So, earth pony warrior. You wear a stetson and have a red ribbon on your tail."
"Now yer gettin' it." Applejack looked pleased indeed as she helped herself to a cup of red drink. "That ain't a problem, right?"
"No! No..." He rubbed behind his head. "Just never had somepony play themselves before. No rule against it, I guess."
The room suddenly went dark. A shaft of light came down on the door as dramatic music swelled. "Announcing," called a familiar voice. "--Discord!" Cheering and applauding sounded from nowhere as the lord of chaos faded into being, bowing and waving to his unseen adoring fans as roses were tossed at his feet. "Thank you, Thank you. You're all too kind."
Spike wriggled a few claws at his unpredictable friend. "Hey, Discord, grab a snack. I was just getting Applejack's character sorted."
He was suddenly beside her. "Ooo, you're joining us, dear Applejack? To what we do owe this pleasure?"
Her frown returned. "Ah'm just watchin' out fer mah kin."
"Hmm, yes, and what have you settled on playing?" He had his hands under his chin and batted his lashes at Applejack. "Don't keep me waiting. No, wait, let me guess. You're playing a mare, strong, probably has a hat, and a ribbon in her tail isn't out of the question."
Applejack's expression only darkened. "Ah'm 'playing' me, alright?"
"That's boring. Why don't we play more you?"
"More... me?"
Spike hiked a brow. "Can you do that?"
"Whyever not?" Discord clapped his hands. "No normal earth pony, but the paragon of earth ponies. The strongest, most durable, best farming earth pony we ever saw. Animals go weak in their little knees at the sight of this, the true reflection of all that makes an earth pony what it is."
It was patently ridiculous, but Applejack felt a little smile quirking at the edges of her lips. "That... sounds kinda nice..."
Discord nudged Spike with an elbow. "Well, you're the one in charge. Whattaya say? I can have her suited up in no time at all."
Spike lifted his shoulders. "If she isn't gonna solve everything by giving it a hard look, I guess it's alright." He thrust out a thumbs up before waving the same hand at the table of snacks. "Help yourself to some pre-game nibbles, courtesy of Twilight."
He popped up beside the table. "Twilight was the chef of the day? Well, then I just have to try some." He started putting one of each thing on a plate he wasn't holding before.
The door opened without a knock, admitting a streak of rainbows to land in front of Spike, Rainbow grinning wide. "Hey." She turned to Applejack. "Decided to join us, huh? You aiming for a big sword too?"
Applejack lifted a hoof. "Ah got mah weapons right here. Reckon ah don't need no weapons on top of these."
Rainbow's brows rose in unison. "If it was anypony else, I'd laugh, but I know you take your hooves seriously. Seriously, cool to have you with us. What are you playing?"
"Me."
Rainbow tilted her head. "Just... you?" When Applejack nodded, she crossed her hooves. "Why does she get to not be harassed about playing something different? I bet you didn't even ask her about playing a stallion."
Applejack blinked at that. "Say what now?"
Discord popped in beside Applejack. "That's because Spike got to her before I did and he didn't bring it up."
Spike looked up from his own bit of hard candy. "What? Oh, I mean, Applejack was pretty insistent on being herself, so I didn't even ask about stallion or mare. I mean, do you want to be a stallion?"
Applejack went red, with fury or embarrassment was difficult to say. "No! Thank you. Ah'm fine just the way ah am."
"Are ponies partying without me?" Pinkie pronked through the open door, her tail knocking it closed behind herself. "It isn't a real party without the head party planner around." With an extended tongue, she bounced towards the meeting. "Oh, hey AJ! I didn't know you were playing."
Applejack nodded to Pinkie. "Jus' checkin' it out."
Pinkie threw an arm over Applejack, drawing her in tight. "Well, prepare to have a great time! We're gonna save the day and look good doing it."
Discord dropped his plate of half-eaten snacks, though it vanished before it hit the floor. "If everyone's ready, we can start the adventure?"
Big Mac nodded. "Ayup."
Pinkie, Spike, and Rainbow looked eager to start, all smiling with anticipation. Applejack did not share the enthusiasm, looking more like a colt about to be given a shot but trying to be brave about it. With a snap that echoed against walls that weren't there anymore, the party was dumped around a campfire. Suddenly, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow vanished.
Spike blinked at that. "What the? Where'd they go?"
"We haven't met them yet." Discord shrugged.
"We met Pinkamena and, uh, what did Rainbow go as?"
"Dark Rainbow."
"Yeah, that." Spike bobbed his bearded face. "We met them in the last fight. We just haven't finished introductions."
Suddenly Rainbow Dash and Pinkie re-appeared. With her full gypsy attire on, Pinkie looked quite happy. "Whew! Wherever Discord puts a pony not playing, that was funny."
Rainbow cocked a brow as she spoke through her mask, "You probably want to get Applejack, she'll get really angry if you keep her in there."
"Ayup."
With a snap of his fingers, Applejack was drawn from whatever holding place she had been.
Spike nodded and gestured out into the distance. "Applejack is just arriving, a little late to the last fight, but coming with the others."
Applejack was suddenly half a football field away. She shouted something with clear annoyance and started to hike towards the group.
Big Mac cleared his throat softly. "Um... hello."
Pinkie bobbed her head at Big Mac. "Good day, Sir McBiggun! I'm overjoyed to have caught up with you."
He raised a brow at that. "Ya were lookin fer me?"
"Why else would I be here?" She waved a pink hoof at Rainbow, then onwards to the distant Applejack. "My compatriots and I followed after you when you left the keep, hoping to join your efforts, for the good of the country." She leaned in close. "It's the right thing to do, and looked fun too."
Spike raised his staff into the air. "It is good to have companions on this journey. I am Garbuncle. This is Sir McBiggun, whom you seem to already know, and Captain Wuzz."
Rainbow suddenly sputtered before falling back on her haunches. "Captain... Wuzz?" She keeled over to the side as she began to laugh in an uproar. "That is the best name... ever!"
Discord snorted indignantly as he crossed his arms over one another. "It was my mother's dying wish."
Rainbow blinked, tears leaking from her eyes. "Wait, what?"
"The name."
"Oh..." Rainbow looked a little guilty. "Well, uh, I'm Dark Rainbow."
Pinkie put a hoof to her chest. "And I am Pinkamena! I coulda sworn I said that before actually." She shrugged softly. "Never too many times to make friends."
"Ah'm Applejack," announced Applejack as she reached easy talking distance. "Now remind me what we're doin' out in the middle of nowhere?"
Pinkie thrust a hoof up. "We're chasing the big mean Squizzard who's being mean to the whole country and kidnapped Princess Schmarity!"
Applejack cocked a brow. "Princess Schmarity, huh?"
Spike pinkened at the tone Applejack was using. "It's a common name in Spiketopia."
"Uh huh." She offered a hoof towards Spike. "Well, nice to meet you, uh, Garbuncle was it?"
He met it with a balled fist. "The honor is mine, Lady Applejack." He cleared his throat softly and shifting his tone. "But before our heroes could settle in for the evening, a chill wind blew over the hills. A low whispering howl joined it. They were not to have peace, not that night."
Discord took the cue clearly enough as the temperature sunk and eerie howls echoes over the hills.
Rainbow bobbed her head. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's find whatever's making that noise and teach it a lesson." |
Roll for Initiative | 20 - Howling Good Time | The group set off towards the shadowed hills, unsure of what awaited them. Pinkie bounced beside Garbuncle. "Seeing as I'm a bard, which is kinda short for storyteller, have I heard something about this?"
Spike considered that a moment. "Well, I suppose that's not impossible. Roll for it."
A great twenty-sided die appeared in the air before them and tumbled to the ground. Pinkie giggled with anticipation as it bounced around before slowly coming to a halt. "Lucky thirteen!" she cried, pouncing the great playing piece. "Does that mean I know something?"
She didn't even notice Discord's finger detachedly giving her a poke on the noggin. "Oh! I do know something!" She hopped free of the die as it faded away. "That sounds like the creepy wailing of a chernabog, a creepy thing straight out of Hades!"
Applejack hiked a brow. "Ya mean it done broke outta there?"
Pinkie shook her head. "Nope, lives there. It can get real big and nasty and loves being a big meanie face to 'surface dwellers'. That's us."
Big Mac drew his blade free. "Ah'll protect ya."
Spike lifted his staff high, magic sparking from the tip. "I'd better put a defensive spell on us. Hades creatures can be quite tricky, and we don't want them in our minds."
Rainbow clapped her hooves together. "Yeah, you do that, then we pummel it into next tuesday. We don't need to make friends with some Hades reject."
Pinkie stuck out her tongue even as Spike's magic washed over her. "Don't rule it out, maybe it's just making noise because it's lonely."
Applejack nudged her hat back. "'Fraid ah'm with Rainbow on this one. Ain't too likely a creepy Hades howler wants to make friendly like."
Pinkie blew a raspberry at the very notion. "The last thing from Hades I had a good time with."
Spike blinked before it came to him. "Oh, right, the guard dog?"
"Exactamundo. He's a real sweetie if you treat him right." Pinkie pronked forward towards the hills. "We just need to have open minds and give the poor thing a chance." She peeked over her shoulder. "Didn't you learn anything from Zecora?"
Applejack shrugged as she went along. "Not ta walk right through a bunch of poison joke like it ain't nothin'?"
Big Mac smiled, but did not share the source of his amusement even as he chuckled softly. Spike pointed with his staff to a form rising from behind the next hill. "Look!" All eyes were on it as a great horned bipedal figure rose, wings spreading magnificently to the left and right before a loud snap made them all wince.
The figure deflated with low rumbling.
Rainbow blinked softly. "What the? Hold on, I'm gonna see what's going on." She zipped away from the group in a streak of colors, arriving before the grumbling form of the demonic figure. No longer was it large and towering, but kinda small and aged. "Uh, you alright?"
The aged demon looked up at Rainbow and grunted. "Just threw something. Give me a moment and I'll be ready to dispense true and proper horror! You just be patient." It rubbed at its sore back with a clawed hand, grumbling as it paced in a small circle, attempting to coax its old form into cooperation.
Rainbow snorted softly through her cloth mask. "So, uh, you're that 'chernawhatsit'?"
"Chernabog!" boomed the figure, inflating to half again his size. He would have towered over Rainbow, had she been on the ground. "Master of torment and fear!"
"Yeah yeah. I'm terrified. So... what's up?"
"I've been informed that some very naughty surface dwellers would be passing by in need of a good bout of terror and torment." He flexed his arms, trying to show off muscles that had long past their prime. "One of them is a small dragon of advanced years, and his companion is a large brute of a unicorn."
Rainbow pointed with half-lidded eyes. "You mean those two?"
Big Mac and Spike were arriving with the others, looking ready for a fight, except Pinkie. She was pronking directly for Chernabog. "Hey! How's it going?"
"Pinkie," he said in a tone both familiar and irritated. "You remember what I told you?"
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't try to sneak into Hades, sheesh. I was just bringing back Cerbie. How is he?"
"He has worms, but we're taking care of that." Chernabog sighed gently before fixing his eyes on his main targets, his eyes glowing a baleful red. "Now then, you two are the ones in need of a lesson!"
Big Mac stepped forward, sword at the ready. "Try yer best, but we got a country t' save."
Spike planted his staff in the ground. "Yeah, what he said. We aren't scared of an old demon anyway."
Applejack glanced between the geriatric demon-spawn and her brother. "Uh huh, so, mind tellin' us what they did done to earn 'fear and torment'?"
Chernabog began to swell and grow, expanding out to truly inspiring size without a repeat of the first time's incident. "They are guilty of pride, wrath, and lust! Three cardinal sins, worthy of at least as many lifetimes of torment!" He clapped great hands together. "And I hear dragons live for a very long time."
Discord snorted out a half-laugh. "Please, do regale us with how these two have ever managed to accomplish lust. I'm sure the kiddos want to know."
"I'm not a kid," hotly defended Spike even as he looked nervously at the towering demonic form.
"Who said I was talking about you?" Discord offered no other explanation.
"Is it not obvious?" He directed a massive claw at Spike, hovering it just inches from his face. "He does not ride out with pure thoughts. He adores the princess in most unwholesome ways, like the little brat he is."
Spike went the deepest reds. "I just..."
Big Mac stepped to the side, putting himself between Spike and that huge claw as he shoved Spike back. "Don't you make funna my friend. If he likes Rarity, so what? That ain't a crime any."
Rainbow snickered suddenly. "Don't you mean 'Schmarity'?"
The claw remained as it was, now pointing at Big Mac. "You are a betrayer of your kin, having impure thoughts towards one that is unfit for your line."
Applejack perked right up. "Say what now? Whattaya mean by that?"
Pinkie hopped up on Big Mac, using him as a soapbox. "Hold on there! You're outdated. None of those things are even sins anymore."
Chernabog drew his claw back a little, a perplexed look on his face. "What are sins do not casually change!"
Pinkie shook her head with confidence. "Nuh uh, they sure do. It's a new age!" She reared up on hind legs and threw her arms wide. "So long as it's between two adults that want to be there, there's nothing wrong about it, so there."
Chernabog's face creased into a new scowl. "This is unacceptable! The world decays around me! Very well, then we shall move on to a more clear of sin, wrath! They both take arms and are ready to fight, to kill. They are guilty and there is no excuse for this. Tell me not that ponies accept thugs and murderers among them."
Applejack slid up besides Big Mac. "What'd he mean by that?"
"Uh, just game stuff," he mumbled out, not meeting her eyes.
Spike shook his staff at the big demon, hoping it would hide the tremble in his arms. "I-I haven't killed anypony. I've broken skeletons before, but they're already dead. You can't 'murder' them."
Rainbow flew up beside the face of the great, aged, demon. "Say, so, who told you to go after those two anyway?"
"That is none of your affair, mortal." He swatted at her casually, but she darted around the slow swings.
"Aw, c'mon. Wait, let me guess. He had eight arms, and he was good with magic."
"Maybe," agreed the demon in a pouty tone. "What about him?"
Discord lifted his shoulders. "Guy's a great big bag of cardinal sins, if you ask me. He even has sloth down, making you do his dirty work for him."
"I am Chernabog! I do no--" His angry outburst was suddenly interrupted with heaving coughs. The elderly demon shrank back to a little over a pony in size as he struggled to regain his composure. "Dang it all."
Spike pointed into the distance. "You should make sure nothing bad happens in Hades. We have a squizzard to teach a lesson to, and a country to save."
Pinkie hopped down from Big Mac and bounced over to pat Chernabog on the back. "That sounds really bad. You should get some nice warm tea."
"I do not need to be coddled! I am a demon, timeless and horrifying!"
"I'm completely terrified," assured Pinkie in a joyful tone. "But it's mostly for you. C'mon. Cerbie would be so sad if anything happened to you." She threw a leg over Chernabog and turned him back towards Hades. "I'll keep an eye on those two for you, promise."
Rainbow lowered on slow wings, descending to land on the ground lightly. "So we aren't pummeling him?"
Chernabog snorted, sulfurous smoke billowing from his nostrils.
Pinkie hugged him close. "I'll keep an extra close eye on her. Now get home. I bet everyone's missing you right now." She released him as he began trudging back towards his home. "Have a safe trip!"
Spike rubbed behind his head. "I'm not complaining that you handled that, but that was not how I expected it to go."
Pinkie twirled in place to face Spike. "A good surprise or a bad one?"
"I'll vote for good." He gave a powerful thumbs up before he clapped his hands together. "With him out of the way, we can set up proper camp for the evening."
"And so they did that," said Discord in a bored tone. With a snap of his fingers, the sun peeked over the horizon.
Spike peered at the sun. "Huh, well, hope everyone enjoyed their sleep!"
Applejack lifted her shoulders. "Don't expect no real sleep 'till we get back to the farmhouse. Ah'm ready to go."
They resumed their trek, free of any great demon lords. It seemed like a fine day for travel, until the clattering of bones made it clear they were not alone.
"Ambush!" called Rainbow, pointing at where skeletons began bouncing free from hiding places, still as flat as the day Spike painted them into being. "Now we're talking!" She darted for one as she drew a small dagger on the way, slicing a skeleton cleanly in half as she flew past it.
Discord drew out his bow and began peppering the advancing enemies , one arrow landing in the skull of one just as a ball of fire impacted with the same, sending it into pieces. "Nice shot."
Applejack backed away, unsure of what was going on until she bumped into something with her rump. A glance over her shoulder showed it to be a large skeletal pony, bringing its mace up high in its mouth. She yelped and did as startled ponies did, lashing out her powerful hind legs.
The skeleton exploded into pieces, fragments of the paper that made it up fluttering to the ground all around her. "Huh, that weren't so bad. Hold on, I'll help!" She waded into the battle them, fighting alongside the others.
Pinkie pulled free her lute as she hopped over a skeleton. "It's time for a bone-chilling good time!" she announced. With a strum of her hooves over the strings, she began to play a lively melody. "Show them what they're missing."
The rest of the party felt new power filling them. With the power of music, the skeletons fell before them. Big Mac cleaved three in half with a grunt, looking around for others. "Are we clear?"
Rainbow came down on the last one with her dagger, cutting it in half from the top down. "Clear."
Spike frowned as he shouldered his staff. "We'd better watch out. The Squizzard surely knows his standard skeletal soldiers are no match for us. It will only grow more fierce from here." |
Roll for Initiative | 21 - Where Villains Hide | As the group pressed on, they could feel the cloying presence of some terrible force waiting to pounce upon them.
Applejack raised a brow at Spike. "Do ya have to announce that as we walk?"
Spike lifted his shoulders softly. "That's my job."
"Yup," stoically agreed Big Mac.
Rainbow clopped her hooves softly. "Let them come. We'll just pound them into next week when they do."
Pinkie pronked along playfully, entirely unperturbed by any powerful evil vibes. "It just means we're headed the right way."
Discord nodded at that. "Excellent point, my pink friend." He raised a hand over his eyes, peering at a copse of trees. "Why, my sharpened senses detect a little awry over thataway."
Rainbow was gone in a flash, streaking towards the small collection of trees, ready for action. The others could only begin to give chase as she crashed into the foliage and emerged into a suddenly dark place. The Squizzard directed his star-capped wand at the incoming pegasus despite being a flat piece of paper on a stand. "The first to the harvest," He cried and magic swirled out over Rainbow.
She fell to the ground, petrified. The squizzard laughed joyfully at his victory before turning an eye at a tied-up unicorn. "You may as well give up, Princess Schmarity. Your would-be rescuers are hopelessly outmatched."
"Never!" retorted Princess Schmarity, turning up her snout. "You can keep on dreaming, you foul squizzard. The brave Garbuncle and Sir McBiggun will be here soon."
As if it were a cue, the rest of the team burst into the small clearing. Spike blinked at the presence of Princess Schmarity. "Huh, there she is! C'mon, we have to rescue her!"
Applejack pointed at the stoned Rainbow Dash. "Shouldn't we do somethin' 'bout that?"
Pinkie slid forward on her knees, her lute already held at the ready. "Don't worry, I learned some rock music that'll do just the trick!" Even as she began to play the lute as no lute was designed to be played, Big Mac charged at the squizzard with his sword high.
"Release my father!" he bellowed as he went.
Applejack frowned softly. "Father?"
Discord nudged her gently. "He's protecting his family. That's an earth-pony thing to do, mmm?"
"Y-yeah, reckon so." Applejack looked shaken, her confidence gone for the moment.
Just before Big Mac could plunge his sword into the squid, a new token slid in the way, batting his sword aside with great paws. It was a childishly drawn bugbear, roaring in defiance. The squizzard laughed with joy as he hopped back a step. "Meet my newest minion. You won't find him as easy as those skeletons. One little sting and that'll be the end of you!"
"--and that is why you have to rock!" sang Pinkie, strumming a power chord on her poor instrument. Rainbow's statue exploded in lines of power, releasing the pegasus from within.
"Thanks," Rainbow quickly offered before zipping over towards the bugbear. "Not you, again. I know how to deal with you this time!" She dived at the flat representation of the bugbear just as Big Mac sliced at its open side. The fight was on.
Princess Schmarity gave a soft little laugh at the whole thing. "Your plans, darling, don't seem to be shaping up, do they?"
The squizzard hissed at her. "I have more contingencies, don't you worry! Soldiers, attack!"
Skeletons began emerging from all sides, a mixture of melee and archers. The archers began firing their bows at the heroes without delay.
Discord huffed at it all. "Arrows are my thing. Prepare to be outclassed by Captain Wuzz!" He had his bow out in a flash and began taking down skeletal archers as he jumped and dived around the arrows coming in the other direction.
Spike waved his staff at the fiercely battling bugbear. "Why don't you just chill out?" Brilliant blue magic fired at the bugbear, encasing its stinging bottom in a thick layer of ice and frost. "Get 'em! I'll get Princess Schmarity." He ducked under a sudden sword swing and dashed away from the skeleton, his eyes on the real prize.
Rainbow boxed the head of the bugbear with her hooves. "Not so tough now, are ya? Big Mac, ya ready?"
Big Mac raised his great sword high, prompting Rainbow to flit out of the way in time for him to bring it crashing down, cutting the paper in half. The bugbear was defeated. "Good work, but that's Sir McBiggun."
"Yeah yeah, nice job." She bobbed her head before an arrow thudded against her side like a stiff play dart. "Ow, hey!" She glared at the archer it had come from. "Let's clear the field of these losers." She and Big Mac began plowing through the skeletal masses in unison.
Applejack shook herself free of her funk as a skeleton bopped her on the noggin with a sword. "Oh yeah, hey, someone should help Spike." She saw the others were fairly well collected together, with Pinkie singing a serenade of victory. Applejack lashed out a hoof, knocking the head clear off the one that had bonked her and charged in a thunder of hooves towards Spike.
Spike was caught in a duel with the squizzard, his staff's power clashing against the squizzard's wand's energy. "Give up, you foul thing. I will return peace to Spiketopia!" With a grunt of effort, his beam started to inch closer to the squizzard.
He growled, clacking his beak as his beam reinvigorated, pushing back Spike's. "Never! I will become the ruler of this land, and all others while I'm at it! Surrender and I may suffer you to live."
The point where their power clashed waved back and forth to the tune of the pitched battle going on around them. Both were sweating from the effort of trying to overpower the other. It seemed neither could muster the effort needed to overcome the other.
Applejack came crashing in, jumping at the squizzard with all four hooves out. With a holler of battle, she knocked the poor squizzard flat on his back. His beam of magic flew out into the sky futilely, and Spike's struck true. The squizzard squealed and thrashed as his paper suddenly burnt away, rapidly leaving nothing behind.
The skeletal warriors suddenly went limp, then fell over, each sheet of paper flopping to the ground.
The battle had ended.
Princess Schmarity wriggled in her bindings. "Good show, noble heroes, but if you wouldn't mind releasing me. I'm sure I must look positively a mess right now, but we'll come to that when we get there."
Spike approached the princess, arms shaking a little. "Oh, sure, of course." He glanced back at the others who all looked pleased with themselves. "I... didn't think we'd be able to rescue you today."
"But you have, brave Garbuncle, and I'm ever so grateful." Princess Schmarity batted her lashes at Spike, making his heart flutter at the site.
He slashed her ropes with a swipe of his claws, freeing her. She stretched luxuriously. "You have no idea how long I've waited to do that, darlings. Now there's a little matter of rewards." She stepped towards Spike. "You've been through much to rescue me. It's only fair."
Spike felt his mouth go dry and he stammered, trying to say something chivalrous. Something witty? Anything! Nothing escaped him.
Applejack walked up beside Big Mac with a soft chuckle. "Look at him, so nervous. Poor boy wouldn't know what to do if she ever did return his feelings."
Big Mac shook his head. "Still ain't found our father."
Applejack flinched at that. "About that... it ain't our, you know, real father, right? I mean, you know... You... know, right?"
Big Mac deflated a little. "Ah know... Ah can rescue him here. Let me have that."
Applejack raised a hoof and set it on Big Mac's shoulder. "Ah wouldn't take that way. Let's rescue him."
He smiled thinly at his sister and reached out a hoof, hugging her close.
Schmarity leaned in and smooched the top of Spike's head, leaving a big lipstick imprint behind. "My hero!"
Spike staggered back. "M-my honor, m'lady," he finally got out before waving at all the others. "They helped! I couldn't have done it without them."
Rainbow trotted towards the rescued princess. "Wow, you really do look just like Rarity..."
Princess Schmarity smiled coyly. "I should hope I do, darling."
Pinkie gasped dramatically. "Wait a second..."
"It's true." Prin... Rarity tittered. "Discord asked if I could play the part for the big finale and I couldn't say no. It obviously meant a lot to Spike."
Spike fell back another step. It was the real Rarity?! That meant... she knew... He keeled over.
Discord nudged Pinkie. "You owe me two bits."
Pinkie huffed and dug it out. "I thought he'd take it."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "If you knew, why were you gasping?"
"Dramatic effect?" Pinkie shrugged.
Big Mac strode up towards his fallen friend. "That were a mean surprise."
Rarity waved it off. "It was harmless. He's just overjoyed. Besides, there's no harm in an adorable little game like this. Not my kind of thing, but if I can help out my little Spikey-Wikey, why shouldn't I?"
Big Mac clopped the ground with a powerful hoof. "Nope."
Rarity cocked a brow. "I'm afraid, darling, you'll need to be more specific than that. What, precisely, are you taking umbrage with?"
Big Mac pointed to the downed form of Spike. "That were a private thing. Discord shouldn't a gone tellin', and you shouldn't be takin' advantage. You know he likes ya plenty. A lot. A whole lot." He sat down so he could spread his forehooves wide for emphasis.
Rainbow looked left and right. "That isn't the end of the adventure, right? I didn't get my huge sword."
Applejack nudged Rainbow. "And Big Mac didn't get t' rescue his pa none, so, no, ah reckon it ain't."
"Good thing!" cried Pinkie. "I like being the life of the party." She strummed her lute lightly. "Being a bard is super fun."
Rarity came closer to Big Mac to speak in a softer tone. "I didn't mean any harm, I assure you. This seemed like a delightful little surprise to brighten his day, not darken it, dear."
Big Mac shook his head resolutely. Applejack looked between him and Rarity. "Look, if he's in charge, ah reckon the game's off fer now. Let's let him recover."
Discord shrugged emphatically as the illusion fell apart, leaving them in Twilight's castle once more. "I suppose. You all know when the next session is, hmm?" His eyes fixed on Applejack. "Speaking of that! Are you going to be joining us on a more permanent basis?"
Applejack raised a hoof to rub behind her head. "Well, it wouldn't seem right ta not help mah brother rescue our father. Ah can at least stick around 'till then."
"Splendid!" He swat her on the side. "We'll be glad to have you. I told you it was a fun game."
Big Mac squirmed on his hooves. "Um... ayup..."
"Yer welcome," finished Applejack, offering a hug which was accepted, the two siblings at peace for the time.
Rarity stepped towards Discord with a little frown. "I was expecting more, shall we say, joy at my appearance. I fear this little stunt has caused some... discord, as it were." She looked him up and down. "Was that your intention, dear?"
"What, me?!" He put his hands at his chest. "As if I'd consider such a thing." A halo popped into being above his head as he struck an innocent expression. "You were the belle of the ball, I will say. I thoroughly enjoyed your performance."
"Well, thank you." Rarity glanced over at Spike. "But I do truly hope it didn't hurt dear Spike. That was not my intent." Her horn glowed as she lifted Spike and set him gently in a chair instead of being flopped across the floor. "When he awakens, please do inform him that I do not hold his whimsies against him. Let this be the most tawdry a thought a stallion should ever have towards me." She rolled her eyes and made for the exit, joining the others that were heading home. |
Roll for Initiative | Start Episode 9 - My Game, My Rules | Spike grumbled softly to himself as he ate his cereal.
"Still mad?" asked Twilight, seated across from him at the small table and looking at him with concern. "I understand that... wasn't what you had in mind."
"No, it wasn't." Spike jabbed the milky mess with his spoon, but it didn't have the courtesy to argue the treatment. "Almost none of it was. It wasn't my game!"
Twilight lowered her left ear a little. "This happened to me once before."
Spike jerked at the news. "W-what? You ran O&O before?"
Twilight bobbed her head quickly. "Oh, yes. I used to love it quite dearly." She smiled as she stood up, her empty plate lifting from the table under her quiet magic. "I tried to run a game, and it went well enough, at first."
He abandoned his cereal in favor of following Twilight towards the sink. "What happened?"
"Lyra got... ideas... Looking back at it, I can laugh, but at the time, I was furious. She stole the show, took the reins away from me without even trying, then looked confused when I was upset about it." She set her plate down in the sink and took a slow breath. "I'm not mad, not anymore, but I remember I used to be."
Spike nodded thoughtfully as he stood beside Twilight. "Well, she didn't invite your coltfriend over when you weren't expecting it, I hope?"
Twilight pinkened at the idea. "You know better than that."
Spike kept his thoughts of the idea of Twilight suddenly getting a coltfriend to himself. "Can you even imagine it?"
Twilight glanced aside at Spike before turning towards him. "There have been a pony or two in my time that I... might have had some interest in... Having one of them turn up suddenly to return my thoughts without preparation?" Her eyes went skywards. "I'd probably freak out." She tensely laughed with memories of her last episodes. "Lucky me, that never happened..."
Spike raised a brow. "You almost sound disappointed."
Twilight turned away from him fast enough to whip him in the face with her tail. "Of course not! Anyway, I am sorry." She peered over her shoulder at him with a softening expression. "That wasn't... right. I'll talk to Discord next time I see him."
Spike waved the idea away as he ambled back towards the table. "As if he'd listen to whatever you said. I mean, thanks, I guess, but I doubt a stern talking to is going to make all the difference unless Fluttershy's the one doing it."
Twilight hopped up, placing her forehooves on the table and leaning in towards Spike. "Have you tried asking her? Fluttershy, I mean. She might be willing to lend a hoof when it comes to correcting Discord."
"Huh..." Spike frowned a little as he took a spoonful of his soggy cereal. "Maybe... I didn't think of that. That's not a bad idea."
"I have a few." She dropped back to the floor. "I have to get started with my day; royal duties and all that. I trust you're alright?"
"Yeah." He gave an emphatic thumbs up. "I appreciate, you know, all this. Thanks."
Twilight paused in her retreat. She turned back around and trotted up to Spike, wrapping a leg around him and hugging gently. "You're more than worth it, Spike." She left swiftly after that.
Spike was left sitting there, warmed in the cheeks. It was nice to be reminded. "Yeah..." He had business of his own. He dumped out his ruined breakfast and quickly cleaned the mess he made before patting himself clean and scampering for the door.
"All set." Applejack nodded towards a cart full of apple-baskets, each of them brimming with fresh apples. "Let's walk back together."
Big Mac nodded, already under the harness of the wagon. When he took the first heavy step, the wagon lurched into motion and began to follow him. "Ayup."
"We got things to discuss..."
Big Mac glanced aside at her, but it was only an instant before he looked forward at the barn they were to get to eventually.
"Ah still don't fully... support what yer doin'..." She looked away and back. "But maybe ah was bein' jus' a little hasty..." She stepped closer to his side as they both walked ahead slowly. "Yer playin' a unicorn an' all, an' ah can't say I 'get' that fully, but yer an earth-pony's unicorn." She bumped up against him. "Yer a warrior, big and strong."
Big Mac smiled faintly, a hint of a curl on his lips. "Yup."
"And yer even fightin' ta protect yer kin." She bumped him again. "Ah can't... say that's a bad thing." They walked together in companionable silence for a time, the barn coming closer with their steps. "Say, how did you get involved in this anyway?"
Big Mac turned an ear at Applejack as he drew the wagon towards the barn door that Applejack had opened just in time for him to enter. "Well... Spike done had a game to try, and ah didn't see no harm in it."
"Discord wasn't in it from the start then?" She closed the door behind him and the wagon and moved to start hefting up the baskets and set them with others, ready to be sold and used. "The way he was actin', figured he was the one that started the whole darn thing."
"Nope." Big Mac shook free of the harness and circled around to help with moving the individual baskets. "Only his second game."
Applejack froze a moment. "Huh. He takes to it natural 'nough. Guess he would, gettin' ta break all the rules and not be yelled at fer it." She bumped a basket into position. "Nothin' wrong with that, ah guess. If'n he can have fun and be part of somethin' others find enjoyable, good for 'em, right?"
"Yup." Big Mac wiped his forehooves off one another. "All done."
"Yup," replied Applejack with a smile. "Sorry, by the way, you know, for the... mean things I mighta said earlier..."
Big Mac threw a leg over Applejack and squeezed her tight. "Forgiven."
Applejack leaned into the hug a moment. "Shoot, ain't like yer doin' nothin' that bad." She trotted away. "Marryin' a unicorn, pfft, as if."
Big Mac colored silently, watching her go.
"You want what?" Lyra tilted her head slightly. "I mean, I'm not against the idea or anything..."
"Then you'll do it?!" Pinkie bounced in place. "I have one right here." She pulled out her new lute and came down on her haunches, the lute up and across her front. "I'm ready!"
Lyra smiled gently. "I can see that. First thing is, I'm a unicorn." She pointed up at her horn. "Which means I might not be the best teacher for--"
Pinkie huffed and crossed her hooves behind her lute. "Are you saying earth-ponies can't play an instrument?"
"No! No no no! Celestia no." Lyra shook her head violently. "I just mean that an earth-pony is a better teacher for an earth-pony. The way I'd teach you would be all about how to hold it right in your horn, which you aren't going to do. I know just the pony!"
Pinkie brightened at the news. "Who?" She stood up, slinging her instrument. "If you're suggesting them, they must be good."
"The best," easily agreed Lyra. "It's always a pleasure when I get to play with her. She can craft wonderful pieces. It's like she was born with her instrument. The way they move together..." She sighed out gently. "Yeah, she's good. Don't let a single pony tell you an earth-pony can't rock a string instrument, because she is and does and I even get a little jealous sometimes thinking about her." She burst into airy giggles, not sounding very jealous or upset. "Best part, she lives here in town!"
Pinkie began to clap her hooves together in eager little clops. "Fantastic! Who is this wonder-mare?"
Lyra pointed off. "Her name is Octavia Melody."
Pinkie felt the color drain from her. She had met Octavia before... "Oh..."
Lyra blinked at the response. "What's wrong? She really is the best." She reached out a hoof towards the stricken Pinkie. "I'll introduce you, don't worry about it."
Pinkie shook her head quickly. "We, uh... met... I... might have, just a little..." She sat and brought up her hooves close together. "Just maybe crashed one of her performances?"
Lyra's right ear quirked to the side. "How bad was it?"
Pinkie nervously laughed as she rubbed her hooves together. "Well, you see, it was my first Galloping Gala..."
"You crashed her Galloping Gala?!" Lyra almost fell back over herself in shock. "That's one of the biggest gigs we can get!"
Pinkie sank bonelessly to the floor with a sad whimper.
Lyra raised a hoof to her face. "Alright, alright, we can work with this. We just have to put a good spin on it, yeah!" She clopped her hooves together. "You've considered how rude you were and you want to learn just how hard it is to play an instrument like her, so you know just how bad you were being. It's, you know, a punishment so you can see things from her side."
Pinkie peeked up from beneath her hooves. "You think that'll work?"
Lyra shrugged softly. "Couldn't say for sure, but it's worth a shot. At the very least, another chance to say you're sorry. You are sorry, right?"
"Super mega sorry," easily agreed Pinkie as she sat up. "I learned my lesson." She began the sacred process of the Pinkie Promise. "And I really do want to learn how to play this better."
"And you will." Lyra nodded firmly. "If she agrees to it, she will make it happen. Octavia is a super dedicated pony. Once she starts, she is in it until it is done." Bouncing to her hooves, Lyra began trotting towards Octavia's house. "C'mon, no time like the present."
Spike looked left and right, taking in the natural tones of Fluttershy's cottage and the menagerie of critters that called its vicinity home. He took a slow breath, then stepped up to the door, knocking gently. "Fluttershy?" he called through the closed door.
Things were quiet a moment, but he didn't dare knock again. Alarming Fluttershy was too easy. A faint voice? He heard a gentle voice from within the house and smiles. Soon enough, his patience was rewarded with Fluttershy's face as the door opened.
"Hello there, Spike. Is something wrong?" She glanced around as if expecting some terrible monster.
Spike shook his head quickly. "Nothing like that. It's about the game, you know, the one you saw after the trip to YakYakistan?"
"Oh, yes." Fluttershy nodded. "Discord looked like he was having a wonderful time. Thank you ever so much for keeping him company." She reached out and pulled him into the cottage. "I was worried he wouldn't make other friends besides me, but seeing how excited he gets whenever we talk about it, I know I made the right decision."
Spike stiffened as Fluttershy spoke. "Oh, uh, yeah... a great time..." He worried his fingers together, considering how to phrase it. "And he is good fun to have around. Even Applejack got along with him."
"Applejack is playing?" Fluttershy's tone carried her surprise as she led Spike towards her tea table and invited him to sit on a cushion. "It's become quite a thing, hasn't it? Is Twilight also playing?" When Spike shook his head, she looked relieved. "Oh, for a moment I thought I was the only one not playing. I mean, I suppose I don't have to even if I was..."
Spike felt her uneasiness and smiled gently at her. "You're welcome to come, or not. You're not any less or more of a friend either way, Fluttershy. If it helps, the group's pretty full at this point anyway."
She did look relieved. "Oh, alright." She sat down across from him. "Thank you. You're such a good dragon, Spike. Now, what was it you came to talk about? Did you just want me to know how well Discord's doing?" |
Roll for Initiative | 23 - Firm Kindness | "Ah have a delivery t'make," spoke Big Mac, a large wagon of apples behind him.
Applejack nodded at the pile. "Whodathunk the ponies of Starlight's old town would be such good customers now that they're free to do their own thin's?" She patted the side of the wagon. "Be safe."
"Ayup." Big Mac took his first ponderous step of many, visions of the lovely mare that would be part of his reward at the end. She would be so happy to receive the apples. The bits were good, but her smiling face...
Fluttershy seemed to notice Spike's nervousness. "Oh, Spike. What's wrong? Whatever it is, I'm here to help." Her eyes darted about. "Unless it's really scary."
Spike waved his hands quickly as he sat up. "Nothing like that. It's just that Discord..."
"Yes?"
"He's a little..."
"Mmhmm?"
"He likes the spotlight."
"Oh." Fluttershy's ears perked up. "He does, doesn't he? Is he being a bother?"
Spike held up his pointer and thumb close together. "Most of the time, he's become a real blast to have around, sometimes literally, but last game, he brought Rarity into the game without warning me, and had her play the part of the mare we were rescuing."
Fluttershy suddenly broke into titter. "Oh, my. I should imagine she could play that role very well if she wanted to. Did she have fun?"
Spike blinked owlishly. "I never asked." He had never even thought to ask that. "We're getting off-topic though. The damsel was... supposed to be kinda... like Rarity, but not, you know, actually Rarity. She was my little fantasy for fun. Suddenly I had to deal with the real thing and... maybe I freaked out a little."
Fluttershy raised a hoof over her mouth. "Oh dear... I could imagine that being surprising," she spoke in sympathetic tones. "That wasn't a nice thing. I will speak to Discord." Her tone hardened a little as she spoke. "Has he been good other than that?"
Spike's earfins lifted a little. That had been easier than he would have guessed. "Mostly, yeah. We've had fun, you know, minus a few things... He's, uh, kinda making things way more real in a lot of ways, but he likes to jump the gun. I mean, I didn't mean for the step of the story to be done yet. I thought we'd be fighting the squizzard and his goons for a long time, and now he's gone, poof." He clapped his hands together for emphasis, making Fluttershy jump.
Fluttershy looked at Spike with wide eyes. "Oh my... Who is the squizzard?"
"He was the main bad guy of the adventure." He wriggled his claws. "He was a no good squid that raised armies of undead ponies and he kidnapped Princess Schmarity!"
"That's not very nice at all," agreed Fluttershy. "And you won?"
"I mean, yeah, we did, but not the way I'd have liked it." Spike crossed his arms. "It's hard to explain. I mean, it's a story, so it should have a dramatic finish. Not just a chaotic brawl in the middle of the woods."
A new voice spoke from behind Spike, prompting him to jump from his seat and see Discord, "that's because real battles are like that." He snapped his fingers, conjuring an image of a row of gleaming pony knights marching side-by-side. "We tell tales of noble soldiers following grand plans to success, but it rarely works out that way."
The phantom ponies became tired and dirty with travel, marching as more of a loose mob. "When they encounter the enemy, order is attempted, surely, but something has to give. They are ponies, afterall, not machines." The images stopped suddenly as another set of images arrayed against them, opposing knights. They fell upon one another in a great melee, punching and kicking. The once-proud knights reduced to tackling one another when they could, trying to secure victory. "War is rarely as glamorous as the tales spin."
Fluttershy waved a hoof through the image, dispersing it back into the mist it had formed in. "Discord, I'm glad to see you. I hear you've been making quite an impression at the games you play with Spike."
"I should hope so." He was suddenly in the unoccupied seat in the room. "Do tell."
Lyra looked aside at the nervous Pinkie that accompanied her. "Relax. Octavia is a classy mare. So long as you're polite, she will be too. Oh! No bouncing."
"No bouncing?"
Lyra shook her head. "No bouncing. Keep your hooves on the floor unless they're busy with your lute. Slow and smooth will get you farther with her. Let's see if she's home." She raised a hoof and gave the door three sharp knocks.
The door swung inwards to reveal a mare, but not the one they expected. DJ-Pon3 was bobbing her head softly to the tune of whatever was playing on her large earphones. She regarded them silently, the specific angle of her eyes hidden behind rosey glasses.
"Heya Scratch!" greeted Lyra, unbothered. "Is your roomie around?"
DJ raised a hoof, then turned around and looked around with sweeps of her head before walking away from the door, leaving it open.
Lyra leaned over towards Pinkie. "This is normal. If she finds Octavia, she'll bring her back."
"Twilight's told me a little about her." Pinkie bobbed her head. "I admit I was a little surprised that Twilight liked that kinda music, but there ya go."
"Must you continue pushing me?" came a refined voice from within the house before Octavia came into view, pushed along by DJ-Pon3. Vinyl gave a hoofs up before wandering back off to whatever she had been doing.
Octavia cleared her throat as she looked over the two ponies in front of the house. "Yes, well, hello?" Her eyes settled on Pinkie and she tensed. "How may I be of... assistance?"
Lyra thrust a hoof at Pinkie. "She just told me what a heel she was at the GGG, and I gave her an earful of how difficult it is to play an instrument and how amazingly rude it is to interrupt a pony when she's playing. She didn't believe me."
Octavia's eyes narrowed slightly. "I should imagine she did not."
Pinkie gasped. "But I'm ready to learn!" She pulled the lute off her back and held it in front of herself. "I wanna learn how to do it."
Lyra rolled her eyes dramatically. "I bet she thinks she'll learn it in a day. Can you believe this?"
Octavia's eyes closed a little more. "I can only imagine..." She turned to Pinkie fully. "You do understand that learning to play an instrument requires time, diligence, and practice? It may look 'fun' when you see an already skilled craftspony at work, but it is a long and hard road to reach the point that you'll be playing a single song." She shook her head. "If you're expecting instant results, you may as well return that instrument from wherever you purchased it."
Pinkie trembled with worry. She had thought Lyra would be there to help her, but she was dismissing her just as bad as Octavia was. What had gone wrong?! "P-please, I'm ready!" She ran her hoof over the strings, giving a little artless strum. "I like music, really. I'm more of a singer than a player, but I'm willing to learn, really! I'm super mega ultimate sorry for being a patoot when you were playing."
Octavia sat on her haunches, her expression easing towards a gentle half-lidded state. "Yes, you were. Did you come to say that?"
Lyra scooted over to Octavia's side. "When I heard she wanted to play an instrument, I told her it was silly, but she kept insisting. I bet that poor thing's not even tuned."
Octavia rose and took the two steps to reach Pinkie. "Let me see that." Pinkie didn't resist when Octavia took the lute and began plucking the cords with her hooves with a skilled touch. "Mmm, no..." She began fiddling with the knobs at the end, changing the sound of each string subtly. "An instrument is like a foal. You have to treat them right and raise them properly, and they will amaze you, and you will love them, or they will misbehave." She thrust the tuned lute at Pinkie. "You really haven't the slightest idea what you're doing, do you?"
Pinkie accepted the lute and slung it over her neck. She brought a hoof down across the strings, listening to the difference the tuning made to it. "That sounds better! I can't even exactly say why, but it does." She let her hoof wander back and forth, strumming aimlessly.
Lyra moved with Octavia, snickering softly. "I bet even you couldn't get her playing properly."
Octavia wheeled on Lyra. "I've had worse students."
Lyra reached out and poked the refined mare in the chest. "Oh yeah? Worse than Pinkamena Diane Pie? Color me doubtful."
"H-hey! I'm not that bad!" protested Pinkie with her ears pinned down. When had Lyra become such a sudden meanie?!
Octavia brushed past Lyra. "Miss Pie."
"Yes?"
"Do you truly wish to learn to play?" She raised a brow faintly. "Speak the truth. This is no task to be taken as a passing fancy."
Lyra smirked, unseen by Octavia. Pinkie hugged her lute. "Please show me how to play. I'll practice every day if I have to."
"You do have to," agreed Octavia. "Every day. There will be times you will curse your chosen path, but you will push past them. You will learn how to play, and you will be thankful when you have succeeded."
Pinkie almost bounced to her hooves but remembered Lyra's warning. She clambered up to all fours instead. "Does that mean you'll show me?"
"Be here just as the sun rises." Octavia pointed in the direction the sun usually rose in. "I will give you an hour's instruction every day. You will practice for two hours in your own dwelling. There will be a weekly measuring of your progress to ascertain what needs the most work. I would normally suggest a slower pace, but I feel certain you would lose interest if we didn't keep this intensive. Do you accept?"
Pinkie snapped up to two legs and brought up a hoof in a crisp salute. "Yes, ma'am."
Octavia turned to Lyra. "I've had worse," she repeated and moved back towards her house. "If it pleases you both, I will take my leave. Even experienced players need their practice, and I am behind on my daily regimen. Good day." The door shut behind her gently, barely making a click as it fully closed.
Lyra burst into giggles. "Told you I'd make it happen."
Pinkie pounced on Lyra, driving her to the ground in a fierce hug. "Thank you thank you! Now I can make up and learn how to play at the same time." She sat up on the pinned Lyra. "Oooo, this means I can go back to celebrating Octavia's birthdays! Oooo, this is the bestest day in forever!"
"Forever?" Lyra looked skeptically up at her ecstatic friend.
"Well, at least a week?" Pinkie giggled as she hopped free of Lyra. "You had me super scared. Where'd you learn to act so mean like that?"
Lyra sat up as her lyre appeared with a pop of sparkles, floating over her head and beginning to play under the glow of her magic. "Practice, and I know her buttons. Don't worry, many of us music types share them, so don't go using them on me, I'll know it!" She stuck out her tongue at Pinkie before giggling. "Glad it did work out though. You'll play for me once you learn a song, right? I totally want to hear a Pinkie song from a Pinkie lute." She clapped her hooves in time to the lively tune she was playing on her lyre.
Pinkie pulled down her lute and softly played it, trying to match Lyra's song with very little success. "Promise, though it sounds like that'll be a little while."
"I can wait if you keep at it." She stood up, her lyre still playing. "Keep at it! You owe me a concert." |
Roll for Initiative | 24 - A Perilous Journey | As peaceful as most ponies enjoyed things, Big Mac knew better. The space between the calm oceans of sanity that were pony tamed became progressively more troubling the further one went. He glanced up towards the sky, taking note of the few fluffy spheres he saw.
Sure, pegasi tried to keep weather everywhere under control, and they did better than over the Everfree, but they focused on where the ponies actually were. If an unscheduled downpour soaked some spot of unoccupied land, few would lose too much sleep over it.
The wheels of the wagon squeaked faintly as they rolled. They tried to catch on rock and roots, but he pulled them clear or over. The going was relatively smooth, allowing him to rely on casual strength to see the job done. His thoughts wandered to the train. He could ride out much closer to his destination, but that would take money away that he was trying to get.
What kind of provider could he be if he spent all the money?
A little smile touched his lips as he walked. He was a provider. As tremendously adventurous as his sister had become, saving Equestria and solving friendship problems, they rarely brought money directly to the farm. In fact, her distractions often meant she was drawn away from needed chores. She might save the country, or some pony's relationship. But who watched the farm?
"Me," he answered himself, only to quirk an ear towards the distant farm. And granny, he silently added. He couldn't dismiss her. That old mare worked at least as hard as he did. He deflated a little as he walked. Applejack worked plenty hard too, even if she did get called off once in a while. They were a team, together...
"Nice cart."
Big Mac looked up at the female voice to see its source. She was an odd creature, bipedal with great teeth and a relatively large head on a small body. She had greenish skin and had a mane but no fur. "What's in it?" she demanded, waving a small dagger at Big Mac and the cart together.
"Apples," replied Big Mac honestly enough, eyeing the creature warily. He pulled his cart ahead and to the left, hoping to pass the creature without trouble.
"Yuck." She sneered as she turned to follow the progress of the cart. "Maybe I can sell it. Give it up." With a sudden jump, she sailed through the air with her dagger high.
Big Mac lashed out a hoof, forcing her to twist away. Neither landed a blow on the other. "Nope." He pulled the cart faster, hoping to beat a hasty retreat.
The impish creature had landed on the cart, switching the dagger to a two-handed grip as her face split, showing an impossible number of teeth. "Yes! Stupid pony, I hurt you."
Big Mac took a hard left, the wagon swinging wildly behind him with the groan of stressed wood and metal. The creature fell over with the sudden motion, saying some very unkind things as it struggled to get upright. She only managed to get back to sitting up as he galloped wildly.
"Nice try..." She fell forward onto her belly and swung out wildly with her dagger.
Big Mac's ear spun towards the thunk of metal against wood. Ahead of him, he saw a possibility. He veered slightly to the right as he ran, timing it so the cart would go over something he didn't himself. With a jarring thump, he felt the cart hit it and go airborne for a precious moment as he ran along.
With a loud crash, it smashed back into the ground. The creature squealed as they were thrown clear with the impact, sent tumbling into the bushes. Big Mac let out a huff of air, continuing his charge for a few precious moments to be sure there was distance between himself and whatever that had been.
His apples were for one person, and that was a special mare, not some random imp.
Pinkie sat with her lute across her front. Her hooves rested along the strings. There was no smile on her face. She was sternly facing ahead, eerily still.
"And, begin," spoke Octavia. "As I've instructed you."
Pinkie barely nodded as she ran her hooves in slow motions, playing each note carefully as she went along the scale she had been shown. She started low and ended high.
"Very good." Octavia nodded. "You did your two hours, I can see."
"I did three!"
Octavia bopped Pinkie lightly with her cello bow. "Two. Not three, and not one. Exactly two. Downtime is as important as uptime to the learning process. I appreciate your eagerness, but we've already put you on the accelerated track."
"But..." Pinkie pouted a little at being chastised for trying too hard.
Octavia offered a faint smile. "If it helps, when you learn how to play proper songs, you are free to play them as long as you wish, for the pleasure of it. But, for learning, there is a pattern. You trust me, I hope?"
"Uh huh." Pinkie bobbed her head quickly. "Alright, two hours."
"And that's it." Octavia rose up to two legs. "I know it feels dreadfully counter-productive, but you do learn when you're not doing. You need both to get it right. Now, let us proceed to today's lesson."
Spike nervously laughed, a hand behind his head. "Oh, uh, hey. Didn't expect you... here?"
Discord looked amused at Spike's discomfort. "Of all the places I could be, the home of one of my dearest friends should be far from the most surprising. Now, what is on your scaly little mind?"
Spike jumped back to the ground. "Oh, you know, nothing that--"
Fluttershy raised a hoof for silence. "Discord, you were a naughty pony." Discord put his hands at his chest as if asking if it were he that Fluttershy was speaking of. "Yes, you. You know Spike's sensitive about Rarity. Inviting her without warning gave him a terrible shock. I wouldn't want to be so startled." She took a slow breath. "That was very unkind."
Discord shrank at the scathing talking to. "I was just trying to give a gift. A surprise gift! Tell me you didn't enjoy getting a smooch from the fair Rarity?" He was looking to Spike at the end of the question. "You were her hero."
Spike went red across his face. "T-that part was... kinda nice, but--"
"--see?" Discord crossed his arms. "He even liked it."
Fluttershy put a hoof to her chest. "I like little slices of cake, but if you were to throw one in my face, even if I wasn't hurt at all, I would not enjoy that. How would you feel if someone did that to you?"
Discord tapped his chin. "I'll be honest, I have a hard time imagining someone surprising me." Fluttershy gave him a flat look. "Alright, alright, I've been surprised before, and sometimes I guess I didn't like it too much." He huffed and turned his head away.
Spike raised a lone finger. "I mean, uh, thanks, if you were really trying to be nice. Just, uh, not with Rarity, alright?" He quirked a little smile. "Did she say anything after that?"
Discord rolled a hand. "She was sorry if you were hurt. She didn't expect you to just keel over like that."
Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh my. Maybe you should talk to her? I'd hate to think she was feeling guilty about it."
Spike quickly forgot Discord existed. "Yeah!" He stepped towards the door. "Thanks, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy waved at him as he fled before turning his eyes to Discord. "Don't think I forgot the other half of what he was here for."
"Other half?"
Fluttershy wobbled a hoof in the air. "This is Spike's game that he has generously invited you to. You should try to remember that."
"By what, not making it even more fun for him and everyone else there?" He lifted his shoulders. "Sounds boring."
"Not that." Fluttershy considered a moment. "This is his story. He wants to share it. It's very important to him. I mean, I'd be embarrassed forever if what I wrote was ever... published... but he's willing to share himself with you and the others. That's very brave, and special. You should respect that."
Discord made a soft shooing motion. "His story is immature and puerile at best."
Fluttershy returned with a little smile. "So are the both of you, and that hasn't stopped either of you so far."
Discord flinched back an inch. "Fluttershy! Was that... a burn?"
Fluttershy rapidly darkened across the bridge of her nose. "Oh, um... too harsh?"
Spike dashed through the streets of Ponyville before his pace suddenly slowed. He suddenly realized that facing Rarity about it would mean talking about his feelings. He needed an excuse. "Um... It was a long day! I was upset about Discord taking over the game, yeah!" He clapped his hands together with a smile. "That's it. None of this, uh, mushy stuff."
"You're talking to yourself," noted Lyra seated on a bench in her peculiar way. Beside her was a Bon Bon, also watching Spike. "Ponies will start thinking you're a little unhinged." A funny smile spread on her face. "Wouldn't want to share Twilight's rep."
Bon Bon reached up to bop Lyra on the head. "Don't even joke like that. Spike, is something bothering you? Did you mention Discord?"
Spike nervously smiled at the two mares. "Hey girls! Having a nice day?"
Lyra clopped her forehooves together. "I'm waiting for Pinkie to finish learning how to play a little tune."
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe you helped rope her into this. You know Pinkie's going to lose it eventually."
Lyra waved that idea away. "You're selling the pink whirlwind short. She likes music almost as much as she likes parties. I swear, if she didn't decide parties were her thing, she'd be busy playing every instrument she could find to make ponies smile." Lyra grinned at Spike. "Possibly at the same time."
Spike snorted at the mental image. "She's done something like that. What's she doing that has you two interested?"
Bon Bon pointed an accusing hoof at Lyra. "This troublemaker has Pinkie learning how to play a guitar from the strictest teacher in Ponyville."
Lyra crossed her arms over her chest. "She's the best teacher, and it's a lute, not a guitar. There's a huge difference."
Spike tilted his head. "Huh, like the one she uses in the game?"
Lyra leaned forward suddenly, the motion so sharp that she fell right off the bench and landed on her chest in a graceless pile a moment before she scrambled to her hooves. "What game?"
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "You could sit like a normal pony and that wouldn't happen nearly so often, you know."
Spike smiled before it occurred to him. Lyra was the pony that upset Twilight's game. "Oh, uh, you probably wouldn't like it."
Lyra's lyre appeared with a sparkle and began playing. "If there's a game that makes Pinkie want to play a lute, I am completely interested! Tell me more!"
Spike took a slow step back. "Yeah, I'll have to... catch you up on it, but I'm already late for a talking to Rarity, so I should be going, ya know? Bye!" He fled the disappointed Lyra.
Bon Bon shook her head slowly. "You come on too strong and scare ponies away."
"I haven't scared you off." Lyra touched the end of her nose to Bon Bon's warming cheek.
"I must be too stupid to scare easily," laughed Bon Bon before she extended a leg that turned into a gentle hug. "Crazy unicorn. What will I do with you?"
"Be best friends?"
"Good idea." Bon Bon nodded with confidence before slipping down to the ground on all fours. "For now, we should be ready to greet the afternoon crowd. Come on, you can help prepare."
"Aye aye!" Lyra trotted cheerily after her friend towards Bon Bon's shop. |
Roll for Initiative | 25 - Challenges | Big Mac struggled as he pulled the cart up the hill. The slant was sharp, too sharp. Each step was a small victory against the powers of gravity. There was a road, of sorts. It was where there was the last grass from what few other heavy things had dared ascend to the flat ground above.
"That looks hard." Big Mac looked over his shoulder to see a large snake coiled on his cart. "Oh, don't worry about me. I'm a vegetarian," assured the male-sounding snake. "You don't mind if I have an apple, do you? Just the one'd suffice."
Now, Big Mac hadn't heard of a snake that didn't eat meat on one level or another. Heck, the idea of one chomping an apple was a curious one. "Ayup. Just one." One wouldn't hurt things.
"You're a kind one." The snake nosed open the canvas that hid the apples. "Mmm, a quality batch! Did you grow these yourself? They smell different than wild apples." He slithered inside, vanishing from view.
Big Mac kept an ear trained back on him as he struggled up the hill. The snake's weight didn't make it easier, but it wasn't making it too much harder either. The freeloader was a mild nuisance, he decided. The sounds faded away. Was the snake already done? Big Mac glanced back and saw nothing but an untouched cart. It hadn't even said thanks, and he didn't get to see a snake eat an apple.
He snorted softly and continued struggling against gravity. Not a single pony said the trip would be easy.
Pinkie peered at the paper, filled with its strange, arcane, marks. It was like a magic spell! It summoned music. That was a spell, wasn't it? She nodded to herself, satisfied with her logic.
"Begin," spoke Octavia.
Pinkie's eyes followed the notes as her hooves played them with her beloved instrument. Her voice could not help but follow right along. "Mary had a little lamb..." It helped keep her hooves at the right pace to the song. Every time she said a syllable, she struck a note, with a nice long one at the end. "snow!"
Octavia smiled gently. "You are learning. That song, as I'm sure you are aware, has many more verses than just the starting one." She reached out and tapped the stand that held the music. "But there is only one sheet of music. What does a pony do?"
Pinkie frowned thoughtfully. "Do we just... play it again?"
"That is one method, perfectly valid. The song is a repeat of sounds. However, I should imagine that sounds terribly boring to you. Do you sing all those verses with exactly the same notes?" Pinkie shook her head quickly. "I thought not. You will need to vary it a little, to match the words that are sung."
Pinkie had to break the rules a little? That hardly sounded too worrying. Pinkie sat up as she strummed out the song of Mary and her lamb with a little variation that sounded just a bit more playful to her ears. "Sure to go," she finished the last line out loud, giggling softly. "Can you imagine that, having a lamb just following you everywhere?"
Octavia nodded softly. "Quite troublesome, but I am not an animal caretaker. I feel certain, should Fluttershy suffer such a setback, she would find such a thing endearing."
"Are lambs animals?" Pinkie tilted her head. "They talk."
Octavia shook her head. "That is neither here nor there. I want you to practice that song. Being a song, you may perform it as often as you please. If you wish, perform for an audience.
Pinkie lifted her lute up. "Am I good enough?"
"More than sufficient." Octavia nodded. "You will have your missteps. Learn from them. Having an audience can make you more aware of them and you can focus on eliminating them. Vinyl serves as my audience whenever I can talk her into ceasing her 'electronic' music for a time. You are no master, Pinkie, yet, but you are on the right path."
Pinkie felt a dismissal had been given. She tucked her instrument away and bounced to her hooves. "Maybe I'll play for the Cake Twins, they love silly songs." Confident, she bounced away.
Octavia watched her go, shaking her head slightly. "However does she 'walk' like that? That looks so very tiring."
Rarity opened the door to discover a small dragon had come to visit. "Spike, darling, wonderful to see you." She smiled at her friend warmly. "Do come in! The shop's open, dear, you could have come in without knocking."
Spike advanced awkwardly. "I thought about that, but it didn't feel right, you know?"
"Don't be silly, darling. You're a friend, and if I can tolerate random strangers wandering in, why would I be upset at seeing my little Spikey-Wikey." She put her hooves on Spike's cheeks and rubbed them affectionately. "You're looking better."
Spike warmed fiercely. "About that--"
"--I'm sorry." Rarity moved a hoof to her own chest. "I should have considered things before putting such a dreadful shock on you. I do hope you're alright, Spike dear?"
Spike nodded rapidly. "I'm fine, really. Uh, I mean, you didn't do anything wrong!" As if Rarity could do many things that were outright 'wrong'. Madness. "It was Discord that talked you into it."
"That isn't true, dear." Rarity trotted back towards a ponyquin that held her latest work. "When I heard what you were doing, I very much insisted on being part. Why, I was fairly certain Discord didn't even want me there, but since when did I worry too long on his thoughts?" She lifted some fabric and began comparing one to the other against the dress in progress, considering colors. "But you're a whole other matter, and I messed up. I'm sorry, Spike."
It hadn't been Discord's idea? "Oh, uh... it's alright, really..." Rarity had set up a plan that ended with her smooching him? She had wanted to be his damsel in distress? Spike could feel heat radiating off of him powerfully. "I... mean..." Talking was hard. Why hadn't Discord just said that she wanted to be there?
Rarity turned and set a hoof on his shoulder. "Spike, I didn't forget. When I was waylaid by those brutish Diamond Dogs, ugh." She shook her head. "You were ready to come running in, to save me. Sure, I saved myself, I've grown quite skilled at that, but you were ready to do it, and that does mean something, Spikey-Wikey." She moved that hoof to rub at his fiercely burning cheek. "You are a dear friend, and would do anything to keep me happy and safe. Thank you."
Spike wanted to say a dozen things. He had so many words in his head they all crashed into one another and none of them got through the narrow door instead of jostling on each other. "I mean..."
Rarity gently kissed his head. "That one's between two friends, not a princess and her knight. I feel certain, darling, there will come times when I save you. There will be times where you save me." She turned back to her work. "That is what friends do, and I'm glad to have you as one of them."
Spike felt the world spin, but he shook it off, angrily determining to stay in the moment. "T-thanks! I mean, yeah! We're friends." A small part of him gave the rest a nudge. They were friends. His hands hung limply at his sides. They were friends. Good friends. Precious friends. Friends.
"Shame you aren't tall enough to model this one." Rarity tapped at her chin as she considered her work gravely. "I'd love to see it on a living pony instead of a statue. There's a certain... gravitas you only get with a real pony." She looked over her shoulder and saw the thoughtful Spike. "Is everything alright, Spike dear?"
"Oh yeah! What could be wrong?" He forced a big smile at Rarity. Rarity who loved him. Like a brother. Rarity who admired him, as a friend. Would he ever get closer than that? Was he selfish to even think he should? "What are you... working on?"
"I'm so glad you asked." Her head turned back to it. "Photo Finish needs a piece that screams 'Spring has arrived!'." She waved a hoof over the unfinished product."What does this say to you, Spike dear?"
Spike imagined the suit telling him he was Spikey-Wikey, with love, forever. "It's... great."
"Mmm." Rarity ran a hoof along the soft material. "I..." she continued speaking about her dress and her plans for it, but Spike was barely paying attention, dealing with the tumultuous thoughts in his own mind.
Twilight thrust her quill down in her magic, dotting the last i on the page. "And... done." She clapped the book shut with her magic. "Finally, I get to take a break." Her eyes wandered over the room. "Hmm, wonder if Spike's back already?"
She rose to her hooves and began walking through the castle. "Spike?" But Spike did not respond. Instead, she heard a knocking from the front door. "Did he forget his keys?" Did they ever use their keys? It was a rare occasion. Twilight trotted easily down the steps and approached the door. "Spike, is that you?" She pulled open the door with her magic to reveal a pony, not a dragon. It was Lyra.
"Hey, buddy!" She clapped her hooves together. "Did you know Spike's playing some kinda game that has Pinkie learning to play an instrument?"
Twilight quirked an ear at Lyra. "Is that so? It wouldn't be the first instrument Pinkie has shown aptitude for playing."
"This is a special one." Lyra shook her head firmly. "This one's a string instrument, and only really dedicated earth ponies can learn how to play those."
Twilight had never even considered what went into an earth pony playing a string instrument. "Doesn't Octavia do it?"
"Oh, sure, call out the one best example." Lyra rolled her eyes. "In case you didn't notice, earth ponies have hooves, and no magic. Hay, even pegasi have their wings that are better for that kind of thing than hooves are. Speaking of Octavia, she's the one giving Pinkie lessons!"
Twilight imagined Pinkie being tutored by Octavia, or tried. "Have... either of them gone insane yet?"
Lyra flashed a big grin. "Even better! I saw Pinkie playing a sweet little foal's song in front of the bakery! I mean, she's not perfect, but she's not bad!" She clip-clopped her hooves excitedly. "So! What is Spike playing? If it can put that fire under Pinkie, I gotta know!"
Twilight thought back to her own miserable time that Lyra had caused, and knew that Spike was having his own troubles already. "Oh, just a silly little game. That's exactly the kind of thing--"
Lyra crossed her hooves and crashed to her haunches. "Twilight, you are an awful liar."
"W-what? I mean, what?" Her eyes darted around the area. "What do you mean?"
"You just said what three times in less than a second." Lyra quirked a grin at Twilight. "You're a darling, but lying is not your strong suit. Seriously, what is he doing? Is it some kind of crazy voodoo spell? Zap me!"
Twilight sank to her own haunches. She would have to face the matter head on. "Lyra... I have to admit something."
Lyra leaned forward a little. "Yeah? Well, go on. We're friends. Friends tell each other stuff."
"Yeah... I mean... remember when we were foals?" Lyra kept looking at her. "We used to play this game... O&O?"
"O&O! Oh wow, now that brings back memories." She clapped her hooves together and swayed back and forth. "The action, the excitement! The bad rolls right when you wanted anything but!"
"Y-yes, that game. I... did not appreciate how you entered my game."
Lyra looked baffled entirely a moment before she hopped up to her hooves. "Are you saying I'm the reason you quit?!" |
Roll for Initiative | 26 - Snakes and Apples | Big Mac leaned against a tree he sat beside, taking a break from his long journey. His eyes sank heavily. A little nap couldn't hurt.
He jerked awake and looked around. He had heard... something? But nothing was there. His imagination? Had to be. He settled back to sleep.
Big Mac jumped and looked around, but still nothing met his eyes. Sleeping in the wilderness was a nervous thing. Just a little more shuteye and he'd move on.
He tried to jump, but his back legs were held in something slick and cold. He flopped instead and turned his head to see half of his body had been stuffed down the gullet of a snake, the same he'd offered an apple to before. "Nope!"
"Don't be alarmed," spoke the snake as smoothly as anything with its mouth full could. "You looked cold..."
Big Mac tried to yank his legs away from their room-temperature surroundings. "Nope!" His legs were trapped tight, so he brought down a hoof, bopping the snake on the end of his snoot in a most unkind way. "Nope!"
The snake hissed in pain. "That's rude! I'm just trying to--" His words were interrupted with another solid battering from the panicked stallion. "Mother said there'd be days like this." The price of his meal was raising too high for comfort. The snake withdrew in a sudden jerk, leaving Big Mac freed and wet with saliva. "I thought you were a nice pony."
"Nope!" Big Mac scrambled to his hooves, shaking one of his damp legs as he hobbled awkwardly to his wagon. "Ain't no food for no snake."
The snake watched Big Mac hurriedly gallop away with his cart and let out a sillabant sigh. His meal would have to wait. Why did his father have to be non-venomous?
Big Mac crested the next hill and had to laugh. There was the town. He had almost made it without a problem, if he hadn't gotten lazy. He started down the hill with a smile, looking forward to his reward for a hard day's work.
Twilight waved her hooves at her friend. "No-no-no! I mean..."
"You're still an awful liar, Twilight." Lyra crossed her arms. "I mean... why didn't you say something? I woulda listened. I didn't mean to scare off one of my favorite bookponies. What'd I even do?!" She suddenly sucked in air in a loud gasp. "Is that why you practically never even say hi? Celestia above! I practically moved here for you!"
"Wait, what?"
Lyra waved a hoof. "Well, alright, that's a bit dramatic. I came to hang out with Bon Bon, but when I realized you were here too, that was like an extra super bonus. Seriously, what'd I do?!" She put both of her hooves on her chest. "Have you been angry at me for years?! Dang, girl. I thought you were a princess of friendship."
Twilight felt heat rising in her cheeks. "Well, you see..."
"I'm easy to talk to! You just had to--"
Twilight thrust a hoof forward, popping it into Lyra's mouth with the sound of a cork settling in snugly. "That, right there. You're not letting me talk, Lyra."
Lyra backed up enough for the hoof to come free. She nervously chuckled as a hoof went behind her head. "Sorry... You were saying?"
Twilight took a soft breath. "I'm sorry for not bringing this up earlier." She slowly extended a hoof with a sigh. "This was when were were just foals, and I was trying to put it behind me."
Lyra's snout wrinkled. "But you didn't! It was always there, nipping at your hooves." She leaned in suddenly. "Look, I know you've been kinda overwhelmed with the whole everything, and it took you long enough to get back to Moondancer, how about we skip the tearful shouting match and get straight to it?"
Twilight wryly smiled as she looked over the unicorn before her. "When we were playing, it was my first time. It was my first a lot of things. I was telling a story, and I was... really proud of it and wanted to share it." She spread her hooves. "I was so nervous..."
Lyra clopped her hooves excitedly. "I remember! I remember! It was great! I mean, the start, uh, before you kinda..." She saw Twilight eyeing her. "Ah, heh... continue."
"As I was saying... I had this story. I wanted to share it... I spent weeks just outlining it!" She huffed softly. "It was a day just figuring out what the perfect name would be."
"The Trials of the Timeworn Travellers," sighed out Lyra. "Great name. I was hooked from the word go."
Twilight crookedly smiled. "Thank you, but then the big day arrived. You were there, with the other girls. You were all excited, and so was I. I... was trying to hold it in, keep it professional. It went alright, at first... But then a certain unicorn started loudly announcing she had ideas, big ideas!"
Lyra's ears perked up, half-asking who the unicorn was before it struck her. "Oh."
"Yes, oh. You trampled all over my careful plans with a big smile on your face."
"I was having fun..."
"I wasn't!" Twilight brought down a hoof with a loud clop.
Lyra flinched back. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, Twilight..."
Twilight took a slow breath, moving her hoof with the motion carefully. "As a reasonable adult, I can see that now. You were just a filly, like me. We both... got carried away--"
Lyra pounced Twilight, driving the larger princess to the ground in a fierce hug. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ruin your life!"
Twilight pushed up at her, getting a few precious inches of room. "You did not 'ruin' my life." She sat up as Lyra backed off of her. "I was upset, at the time, but we're adults now. I can see that we were just being foalish, both of us." She wobbled a hoof between herself and Lyra.
"You say that." Lyra cocked a brow. "You say that! But you're keeping me away from Spike's game. You're still afraid I'll do exactly the same thing."
Twilight licked her lips. "Look, he has a lot of players, and he's overwhelmed. This is his first time too. He's... had some problems already, and I'm trying to help him through it. I don't want him to... do what I did."
Lyra leaned in as she pointed a hoof at Twilight. "None of that changes what I said. You think I'll run over his game."
"And you wouldn't?" asked Twilight. "Lyra, I like you, but that is kind of how you act."
Lyra crossed her arms. "I take offense to that! I can dial it down if I'm asked to. Bon Bon'll back me up on this." Her head suddenly tipped to the side at a mild angle. "Problems?"
Twilight grunted before her smile returned, awkward as it was. "Yes, those. He has Discord in his game, to start. He had Rarity stop in on him without warning." She counted on her hoof, tapping one against the other with each named issue. "Applejack was convinced this was all a horrible game that would make ponies horrible, but she's gotten over that, I think? I mean, Pinkie's there. Poor little guy's way in over his head."
Lyra tapped her own chest. "So what if I help? I mean, you know, not playing, but helping run things?" She brought her hooves together in an excited little clip-clop. "I've done it before! Who do you think ran the game after you ran off? Moondancer? That'd be a laugh."
Twilight envisioned her bespectacled friend trying to keep a game of O&O going and shook her head rapidly. "That would end poorly, I should imagine. Unless..."
Lyra tapped Twilight on the nose. "Distracted much? Seriously, I'd love to help out Spike. He's a great little guy, and if I can help out, well, I'm your mare!"
Spike wandered through the town, trying to calm his frazzled nerves. "Friend," he spoke to no one at all.
"Yep, we are those," agreed Pinkie.
Spike jumped in surprise as he turned to see Pinkie sitting there with a lute across her front, her hooves playing some song her couldn't immediately identify. "Oh, hey Pinkie." He hiked a thumb at the lute. "Getting in some practice?"
"Exactarooni." She flashed a brilliant smile. "I'm learning how to play it for real, even when I'm not playing a super awesome gypsy-bard. Wanna hear a song?"
Spike blinked softly. "You already learned a song? Wait, did you know how to play that before we played?"
"Nope!" She ran her hoof down the strings and began to play a little melody. "Fleece as white as snow," sang Pinkie as she reached the end, grinning. "How was it?"
Spike had heard the song before and giggled. "Not bad at all. Seriously, you just learned that? You are a kind of genius, Pinkie."
Pinkie glanced left and right as if being spied on. "Don't tell anyone," she whispered softly.
Spike looked befuddled at the idea. "Uh, why not?"
Pinkie shrugged softly. "Ponies act weird when you try to tell them you're smart, then they think you're showing off and they get defensive. I mean, if I say I'm smart, am I saying you're not? Ponies think that way and it gets super ultra awkward, so I don't talk about it." She strummed her instrument. "I just try to be a good friend to everypony."
Spike considered it a moment with a thoughtful frown. "Huh, wow. I never thought of it that way. Still, Pinkie, you are amazing. Your brain jumps in ways I'd never predict. Sometimes it kinda goes poorly, and sometimes not." He waved a hand at the lute. "Still, learning how to play so fast? You can't argue that."
"Oh stop!" Pinkie giggled merrily at the compliment. "You're too much, Spike. I bet you could learn it if you really wanted to. You just don't want to, so you don't." She directed a hoof at Spike. "You like running the game, and I've peeked at that book. No way! That's not my thing. I could stare at it for months and still get lost. Nope! I'll let you do that, mister smarty-dragon. I like parties, and music, and music at parties!"
Spike laughed at the image. "Are you going to, wait, you already do that sometimes, don't you?"
"Ah huh." She bobbled her head. "Only if the pony likes my kind of music." She lifted her lute over her head. "Now that I know another instrument, that means I can make more kinds of music for different kinds of ponies that don't like accordions or drums or the other things I've played. I don't know why ponies don't like those, but, eh, to each their own, right?"
"Right." Spike smiled at his exuberant friend. "Say, can you play something adventurous on that?"
"Oh shoot... I've only learned one song so far." Pinkie pouted as she lowered her lute to her front. "I'll learn something mega adventurous and play it for you, Spike. Speaking of which, have you seen Lyra? I saw her trot past, but I didn't get to give her the concert I promised her."
Spike quickly shook his head as he pointed up at the castle. "Can't say I know where she's hiding. I was thinking of heading home."
"Well, alright. If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her, alright?"
Spike thrust up a thumb. "You got it. Keep at it, Pinkie, you're doing great."
"Thanks!" Pinkie restarted the one song she new, adding a little flourish here and there as her muse demanded. By the time she even thought to look around, Spike had slipped away. "I'll learn something for you, promise," she spoke to the empty space that once held a small dragon friend.
Spike was busy hiking home, walking up the long hill that led to the castle. "At least some of us are having a good time with this." |
Roll for Initiative | 27 - Coming Together | Spike arrived at the castle, happy to be there. It had been a full day. "Maybe time for a comic before--"
"--Hey Spike!" interrupted Lyra who was just coming out of the door. "What luck! We were just talking about you, bud."
Twilight was just behind her, looking apologetic. "Hello, Spike."
"Um, hey." Spike wriggled a few fingers at either mare. "What's up?"
Lyra clip-clopped her hooves together. "We were talking about your awesome game, and I just wanted to say--" Spike cringed, imagining what could follow that statement. "--that I am available if you need any help at all. Want tips on what kind of monster to throw at them or a nice plot twist, I'm your mare!" She leaned forward. "In fact, if you want to spoil the heck out of me, I'd love to hear your plans so far. I won't tell a soul, promise."
Spike went a little limp. That wasn't nearly as horrible as he had imagined it could go. Even Twilight looked relieved behind Lyra. "That's, uh, nice of you. So, you've played this before, right?"
Lyra dismissively waved her hoof. "Twilight already told me she told you about me." She stuck out her tongue. "Tongue twister! Anyway, I was a real back end, but if I can help, just ask, and I'll do what I can, but, you know, not more than you ask for." She reached a hoof suddenly, ruffling the top of Spike's finned head. "I remember drowning at a few points, especially when Moondancer was involved. She would make the most insanely intricate plans, using things I never even heard about. That mare can research, lemme tell ya."
Spike hiked a brow. "I bet you don't have the literal spirit of chaos in your game." He twirled a finger. "Or somepony that thought the whole thing was some kind of depraved way to make ponies 'forget their true purpose' or something."
Lyra tilted her head. "Nope, can't say I--"
Twilight suddenly nudged in from the side. "Spike looks tired. We shouldn't ambush him the moment he walks through the door."
Spike held up his hands. "It's alright. Say, why don't we all have dinner?" He was feeling a little invigorated, though he couldn't say exactly why. "I'll get to cooking." He jogged past the mares towards the kitchen.
Lyra pumped a hoof. "Nailed it."
Twilight shook her head. "I'm not sure how, but that went pretty well. Now, you'll do exactly what you promised, I hope?"
Lyra's eyes partially closed. "Twilight, have some faith in me. I'll help when he asks and how he asks. It's not my game." She turned and trotted back into the castle. "If I want a game, I'll start one with Bonnie. Wonder what class she'd play...?"
"Here's yer shipment." Big Mac unhitched himself and started unloading loads of fresh apples for the lovely mare. She was already gushing about all the sweet treats she would make with them, but all he could think about was how sweet she was.
She pecked his cheek, and he knew the efforts he had gone through were worth it. The small bag of bits wasn't bad either.
"Already heading back?" she asked.
He had no ready excuse to remain in her presence. He hadn't even worked up the nerve to speak his feelings towards her. "Yup. Ah'll be back, with more apples."
"I'll look forward to it." She picked up an apple and sighed. "Now that my sweets are sweet again, ponies are gobbling them up. I better get back to baking."
They shared a friendly wave, and Big Mac started on his way home, the wagon rolling more easily without its load of apples aboard. He left that curious town of identical-houses behind. Starlight had come from there? Big Mac was fairly sure he had heard something to that effect.
Maybe next time he visited, he'd ask about that, though Starlight made him nervous. She put the magic in unicorn, and wasn't shy about using it whenever remotely applicable. He snorted softly. Sugar Belle wasn't like that at all. She was a hardworking mare. A little smile spread on his lips. She was an earthpony's unicorn. A baker! She didn't take shortcuts. She did it right.
Big Mac listed forward, his hooves refusing to cooperate as he tumbled to the ground. He felt something around his hooves, coiled tightly around all four legs.
"Hello," greeted a familiar snake with a soft hiss. "That was rude, leaving in the middle of lunch. Please, stay for dinner. I insist," he spoke with extended hisses for every s.
Big Mac tried to separate his hooves with a grunt of effort, but the snake had him in its coil tight. It was at that moment that he wished he did have a horn for a little magic, but he didn't. He'd have to use what was left. The snake was pulling him closer to his widening mouth and his head bumped against a rock on the way. Ah ha.
He grabbed the rock in his mouth and threw it with a cry and a twist of his neck. It went right into the snake's open gullet and the creature began to hack and cough. The coil loosened just enough for Big Mac to scramble free.
"Not so fast!" The snake darted around to be in front of Big Mac. "It's a matter of life and death, friend pony. My life, your death. Such is life, is it not?"
Big Mac stomped the ground like the irate horse he was. "Nope!"
"You don't even have those nice apples anymore. Only choice is you..." The snake darted forward, landing a bite on the air as Big Mac ducked back to avoid it. "It won't even hurt if you calm down."
Big mac circled around the snake and jumped at just the right time. Its next bite found flesh, but not a pony's. "Ow!" He drew back from his self-inflicted wound. "Is that what that feels like? That hurts."
"Yup," easily agreed Big Mac.
The snake sagged. "But I have to eat! I didn't ask for this..."
Big Mac coiled on himself and nosed out a lone apple he had left. He set it on the ground gently.
"You want me to try it?" The snake slithered closer with obvious doubt. "Snakes don't eat apples..."
Big Mac pointed at the offered fruit.
"I suppose there's no... harm in trying." He dove for the apple and gobbled it up with one big bite, making a little bulge in his body as it vanished down his throat. "Mmm, not bad. Maybe I could learn to like it."
Big Mac didn't wait for the snake to make up his mind, and trotted back towards the safety of Ponyville and his farm. As he went, a smile formed. He had weathered his own adventure, without any dice, and he had emerged in one piece. To think, some ponies thought farming was a calm and peaceful task. He snorted at the idea.
It would take some time before Lyra emerged from the castle, filled and ready to go home. Her trot home took her through the darkening Ponyville. Lights began to come to life in houses. She could hear the insects playing their little tunes as they emerged from wherever they hid during the day.
She decided to join them. With a twinkle, her lyre appears and she played it with her magic, stringing a cheerful little tune to the beat of the nature around her.
"There you are!" Pinkie was suddenly before her. "I've been waiting forever for you! Where have you been hiding?"
Lyra recoiled in surprise before bursting into laughter. "Why were you waiting for me, silly pony?"
Pinkie pulled her lute free from nowhere in particular. "I learned a song and I'm ready to play it for you. I promised!"
"But was it a Pinkie Promise?" asked Lyra with a sly look.
"Well, maybe not... but still a promise, and I plan to keep it! Are you ready to rock!?" She strummed the lute that sounded like it was not at all ready to 'rock'.
Lyra tilted her head. "Hit me."
Pinkie reached forward and booped Lyra on the nose. "Wish granted. Now, let's begin." She took two slow breaths before she ran a hoof across the strings. "Tonight we will play a special piece about a special mare. Sing along if you know the words. Mary..." She began to play the song of the mare Mary and her sheep.
Lyra began to clap along, easily identifying the song. Above her, her lyre joined in the simple melody, playing along with Pinkie's lute. Pinkie had a sour note or two, but Lyra kept right on playing, and so did Pinkie, and they played together to the end. "Hey, you picked that up quickly. Watch for the chord transitions, but you did great!"
"What's a chord?" Pinkie tilted her head.
That is when Lyra realized Pinkie hadn't meant to hit chords. She laughed it off. "Nevermind! Octie will keep you on track. She's good at that. Seriously, great job."
"Do you mean this cord?" She pointed at one of the strings on her instrument.
"You are priceless, Pinkie." Lyra jumped forward and hugged Pinkie, fairly confident the party pony would not turn down an abrupt display of affection. She was proven right when Pinkie returned the hug warmly. "Keep it up. You'll be a master at this rate."
Pinkie extended a hoof towards Twilight's castle. "What was up at Twilight's? You don't often go up that way."
Lyra stuck out her tongue. "Ugh, don't remind me. Can you believe that silly book horse was holding a grudge for years? I'm glad that's behind us at least."
Pinkie blinked. "I missed a friendship lesson? Shoot. What was the moral?"
Lyra tapped a chin with a hoof as her lyre played a thoughtful tune. "Well... I guess, if you're playing a game with ponies, you shouldn't forget about them, and what's fun for you may not be fun for them, so don't just assume it is."
"Good lesson." Pinkie nodded with firm agreement. "Who knows, maybe the map will call you sometime!"
Lyra almost dropped her lyre in surprise. "It can do that?!"
Pinkie shrugged softly. "Who knows? We sure don't, so we can't say it can't call you for a mega awesome friendship problem in need of special Lyra assistance. You'd go if it asked, right?"
"I mean, yeah, sure." Lyra dismissed her lyre with a pop. "I hope it calls me and Bonnie at the same time though." She waved a hoof a little wildly. "I wouldn't want to get called to some far off crazy place alone, ya know?"
Pinkie pointed at herself. "What if it was you and me?"
"Hmmm." Lyra looked Pinkie up and down. "I guess I could live with that. We could make sweet music together!"
Pinkie ran her hoof down the front of her instrument, strumming. "That sounded wrong somehow." She shrugged and tucked her instrument away. "Well, keep an eye out for when your cutie mark starts glowing and stuff. If it does, go to Twilight's castle and you'll find out where you have to go and what pony will be going with you!"
Lyra shook her head. "I'll keep that in mind, but I doubt it'll be calling on this rump anytime soon." She turned for home. "I should go make sure Bonnie isn't freaking out, seeing as I didn't tell her I'd be hanging out late."
Pinkie raised a hoof quickly to wave. "Good night, Lyra. Tell Bon Bon I said 'Hi, how ya doing? That's good! Hope you're having a swell time. You should come by Sugar--"
Lyra casually popped a hoof in Pinkie's mouth, silencing her. "Hello, got it. Pinkie, you are something else. Take it easy."
They parted ways, either headed towards their home to recover from a busy day.
It was a good day. |
Roll for Initiative | 28 - The End. The Beginning. | Spike looked left and slowly right across the table. "A very nice roll, but..." He could feel the tension in the air. They weren't using Discord's gift this session. They were playing it 'old school'.
Applejack thrust a hoof in the air. "Ah use mah cutie mark!"
Pinkie clopped her head with a hoof. "Why didn't I think of that?!"
Big Mac made a noise of approval, looking quite proud of his sister.
"Just enough," spoke Spike with a smile. He reached forward and nudged Applejack's piece ahead. "You manage to..."
They were playing O&O. A group of friends. He was running the game, but he was just as much a part of the group. They were together, as friends. He couldn't help but smile more as he thought of it. "Captain Wuzz, your eagle senses pick up a disturbance."
Even Discord was paying attention. Sure, he had groused a bit about not doing it 'his' way, but he hadn't stormed off. He was playing, part of the circles. Part of the friends.
Rainbow Dash pushed her figure ahead. "Yeah! Finally! I grab the sword!"
"As you do..." Spike let loose a small pile of dice, making the entire table wince, wondering what horror was about to befall them.
Watching from around a corner, Twilight smiled. Seeing Spike lead the game was a moment of pride in herself. It felt almost maternal, even if Spike wasn't... Well, in some ways, he was. She had hatched him. She had raised him. She wasn't, perhaps, the best at the job, but she had done it.
He was more of her little brother than her son, or so she preferred to think of it. She was pretty sure Spike preferred it that way too. That was fine. He was growing up, and becoming a fine person, even if it showed in a harmless game of O&O with friends.
Twilight let out a faint sigh. That table looked full. She would let Spike be the star for the moment. She turned and walked away quietly. "It's like the Crystal Empire," she reminded herself in a hushed tone. He had become the star there. And that was alright. He deserved the spotlight sometimes. "Not like I don't get a turn." She chuckled softly at herself as she ascended the stairs.
"How's it going?" asked a curious Lyra as Twilight reached her observatory. "Is he using my tricks?!"
Twilight smiled at her friend. Her regained friend. She shook her head at herself, imagining the wasted years. "He's doing wonderfully. They're all having fun." She moved for her telescope at an easy pace. "I don't think he'll have an emergency."
Lyra put a hoof behind her head. "I just want to be available. I won't come unless he calls though, like we promised."
"Thank you for that." She sat before her telescope and was quiet a moment before she turned to look over her shoulder. "Lyra?"
"Yeah, Twilight?"
Twilight pointed at her telescope. "Would you like to view the stars with me?"
Lyra gasped softly as she rose to her hooves quickly. "Y-yes! Yes, please. I'd love that."
Lyra trotted over to Twilight's side. Twilight was the boss of that activity, and Lyra eagerly learned a bit about stargazing.
Twilight turned the telescope slowly and carefully with her magic. "If you look, you can see a very famous constellation. Can you name it?"
Lyra put her head to the eyepiece and peered up into the night sky. "Oooo, wow, this is a great view. I never tried a telescope this nice before." Her eye wandered a moment before zeroing in on the constellation. "Hey, woah, I know this one, but it sure looks different. No wonder you like this."
Twilight smiled at Lyra. "It's a whole different perspective. Why, there are some stars you just can't see at all without it." Her magic slowly turned the device, giving Lyra time to move with it. "Look about... here."
"Oooo..."
It was good to be with friends.
Ponies sat up from their seats. Pinkie strummed across her instrument. "I didn't even have any of Discord's help and I was able to play along."
Discord chuckled at that. "I just lit the fire. You, my pink party pony, kept it going."
Pinkie tilted her head at Discord. "Huh, didn't think of it like that. Well, thanks! My music's on fire alright." She hopped up and slipped her lute away. "See you all for the next game!"
"Ayup."
Applejack leaned against her brother. "We'll both be there, fer sure."
"Until then." Discord tipped a hat he didn't have a moment prior.
Spike raised a hand to wave at them all. "Have a safe trip home. I'll have the next part of the adventure ready, so be ready!"
There was a group rallying shout as everyone split up to head to their particular home.
Rainbow bumped against Pinkie. "Finally got it."
Pinkie giggled softly. "It's like your lute, except it doesn't make as much music."
Rainbow snorted. "Sure it does. Any creep that messes with me will make all kinds of music as I poke 'em!"
Pinkie gigglesnorted. "A sword that big? I don't think you're 'poking' anyone."
"Well, true." Rainbow tapped her chin. "Huh, didn't think of that. After all this time using daggers, huh... Guess I'll be swinging this bad boy around." She swayed a hoof back and forth as if making grand sword swings. "Swoosh! Swoosh! Off goes their head!"
Pinkie stuck out her tongue as she walked along under Rainbow. "I hope you don't do that to anyone that doesn't deserve it. We're supposed ta be the good guys, remember?"
Rainbow frowned a little. "Yeah... you have a point there." She clopped her hooves together. "Got it! I'll use my daggers at first, but if it's a real mean bad guy, then out comes the sword, shwing!"
Pinkie bobbed her head with easy agreement. "Whichever weapon you use, I'll play a ballad for you. Hey, did you like my battle song?"
Rainbow burst into laughter. "The lyrics are something else, Pinkie. Nice instrumental though." She came in close to hug her friend from above. "Good to have you in my corner, Pinkster."
Applejack and Big Mac walked side-by-side on their way home. "Ya do know ah already know, right?"
Big Mac blinked. "Nope?"
"C'mon. Give yer sister a tiny scrap of credit." She bumped him lightly. "Just a little."
"Um..."
"Aw, yer shy. 'Course ya are, ya big lug." Applejack laughed softly as she walked. "When are you going to actually ask her out?"
Big Mac turned red right through his already crimson fur, lighting up as well as any hearth's warming tree.
"Just be sure to bring her over sometime. She ain't an Apple until she's met the clan." Big Mac offered no reply to his sister, just growing brighter. "Look, ah know ah said... some unkind things... Ah did some lookin' up. Ah'll admit, ah was ready to blow mah top, ah was..."
Big Mac looked over at Applejack.
"It's true. Ah was... Still, she's a good pony. She works hard. Shoot, she worked hard when we first met her. You know I did meet her before, right? Her stuff better now that she actually puts sugar in it?"
"Yup."
Applejack nodded. "That's good. Whole town full of scared ponies... She was the one to break from the herd, try to get word to us... She may be a unicorn, but she's a darn brave one. She's a good pony, and, if you like her, well..."
Big Mac suddenly grabbed his little sister and squeezed her tightly. He had no words.
Sometimes words weren't needed. |
The Mercy of Screwball | pre | "I get it, I get it," Lyra said, waving her hoof impatiently. "So what happened next?"
"Honestly? I nearly cried with joy. She was the absolute perfect assistant. She was a little freaked out by the kind of stuff we dealt with during the first month or so of course, though really who's actually ready for Ponyville when they first move here, but she learned amazingly fast. I only had to show her how to do something once, and she could remember it perfectly months later. I swear that pony has a photographic memory or something because she can recall the smallest detail about anything she's ever seen or heard with absolute clarity. She's memorized everything from complicated medical procedures to how I like my coffee in the mornings with just one lesson.
"As soon as she came into my life, things became a thousand times easier. She could balance an account book faster than any Marestreet stock broker in Manehattan, take inventory with just a glance, and as if she wasn't wonderful enough, she made for the greatest friend I could ask for in this crazy town."
"Present company not included of course," Lyra added with a smirk. Redheart shot her a mock angry look before continuing.
"After a while the rest of the current staff started to show up as well. None of them could hold a candle to Mercy though. I'm still called the Head Nurse, but almost every pony acknowledges that I'm really still the chief of staff and everything else around here, except a few of those stuck up stallions from Manehattan. Still, everypony knows that when its crisis time I'm the one who's in charge, and if I'm not around, they listen to Mercy."
"So how is she like your moldy old blanket?" the unicorn repeated, causing the pride that had been building in her cousin's posture to suddenly take a massive nosedive. Redheart looked somewhat abashed and rubbed her neck with her hoof before answering.
"Well... you know how I used to carry my blanket around with me wherever I went? And how I would get really cranky and antsy if I didn't have it because it was in the wash or something? Well... Mercy's kind of like my new blanket. I've come to depend on her so much that when she's not around I... I have a have to really force myself to do my job or I just fall to pieces. I start feeling really anxious and worried, like everything's spiraling out of control and I can't do anything to stop it. It's not like I need her to be right there next to me all the time, but I just need to know that she's there for me, you know?
"I've always scheduled us to be on shift together for at least a few hours, and even if we're not she's just seems to show up when I need her, on the clock or off. This is the first time we've... I've been in a crisis and she hasn't been with me. I've been doing my best to focus on what everypony needs me to do, but having her just missing like this with no clue to what's happened to her, I..." The ivory mare trailed off helplessly as the worry and anxiety she had been suppressing again found its way to the surface. "I don't know how much longer I can take this..."
"Seri..." Lyra said softly, getting up so that she could sit next to the frazzled mare. The earth pony leaned into her and was quickly gathered up in the forelegs of her younger cousin. Lyra tried to her best to be gentle as she rubbed the other mares back, and Redheart was quick to return the embrace and bury her face in the unicorn's shoulder, crying quietly.
"I just want her back..." the earth pony sniffed.
She had no idea that what remained of the pony she was thinking about, was watching her from the window at that very moment, or that it was literally looking daggers at the embracing pair within. |
The Mercy of Screwball | A Screwball romance | The plum colored pony was turning red with fury. She had finally found her ivory goddess, only to discover her cuddling with some strange green horned monster! Of course it was understandable that her snuzzy wuzzums could get a little impatient waiting for her. It had taken her fifty (or was it five?) times around the building to find her pink haired goddess, but that ugly creature holding on to her, that vial abomination would suffer.
Though, even as the spiral eyed pony readied the custard pie she had procured from... somewhere to throw at the creature, or at least the window, the ugly green thing let go of her white and pink squirty-flower and pulled away. The thing seemed to be saying something and the floating mare pressed her nose against the glass to listen.
"...haven't changed at all since we were fillies," the creature said, laughing. "Just traded one blanket for another."
"Well what about you?" her goddess replied, poking the monster in the chest with a hoof. "You could never get to bed unless you had that old teddy ursa of yours. The only difference now is she actually gets up and bakes for you too."
The horned beast grinned sheepishly as its face turned scarlet and it began to rub the back of its head. "Yeah well, speaking of Bon Bon, I should probably go back to helping her out in the kitchens. You think you can stay here and actual rest for a while?"
Her ivory beauty closed her eyes and waved a hoof at the creature, smiling gently. "Go. I don't plan on getting up from this couch until I'm numb as a rock." The creature smiled back and stood to leave. It made it half way to the door before (insert name here) added, "though I would have thought you'd be serenading the patients instead. A little music might help lighten the atmosphere around here."
The green creature froze in its tracks, causing the pink maned goddess to blink at it in confusion. "What?"
"I... sort of had to leave my lyre at home today..." the abomination admitted hesitantly. "A few of the notes I played while tuning it this morning sort of... exploded." Then looking back added, "Do you think our house insurance cover's musical accidents?"
"Knowing Bon Bon she probably asked for specifically when she moved in with you," the other mare deadpanned. Then with a teasing smile added, "now go, she's probably worrying about where you got off too."
The creature gave a nod and one last smile before opening the door and exiting, leaving her beautiful marshmallow pony all alone at last. The white mare sighed and began readjusting her cold packs again before laying her head down on the worn out couch once more. The spiral eyed face outside took on a cat like grin.
Now, all she had to do was make a romantic entrance.
Nurse Redheart let out a deep breath as her cousin disappeared behind the closing door. Laying her head back down on the arm of the less than plush couch, the Head Nurse began what was bound to be a lengthy search for a spot on the polyester and lumpy cotton that could be deemed comfortable. However, no sooner had she found a position that she could pretend to relax in than she felt a familiar tingling sensation begin to build in her nose. "Ah... Achoo!"
"Aardvark," a singsong voice said politely.
"Thank you," the Head Nurse replied, rubbing her nose and readjusting herself. A second latter her eyes flew open and she sat up as quickly as her bruised body would allow. "Who's there?"
The startled mare looked all about the room for the source of the peculiar remark, but she was completely alone, but there was one thing amiss that she did notice. The window, which she was sure had been shut tight just a few minutes ago, was open wide and letting in a gentle breeze carrying the scent of chocolate milk and soap. Being that the aroma wasn't entirely pleasant, and a strict order was in effect that all windows were to be kept shut at all times during a crisis situation, the Head Nurse forced herself to her feet to close it.
The cold packs slid off of her and fell with a sloshy 'plut' when they hit the ground as she stood. The cheep anesthetics had already done their work however, and while stiff, she was able to make it to the window without pain. She closed and secured the window closed without difficulty, but after double checking the latch and turning around she was met with a startling sight.
The room had completely changed.
The walls were draped in tie-dye sheets and pillow cases. No pillows though, just the cases. Several lava lamps of varying colors and sizes had been placed about the room on the table, the sink, the floor, and along the back of the couch, and a large and expensive looking stereo system stood against where the door to the hall should have been. Confused, and a bit frightened by the sudden change in decorum her hospital break room had taken, Redheart took a few tentative steps forward before realizing that the chipping tile floor had been covered by slices of freshly baked bread. As she bent down to examine them closer, there was the sound of curtains being pulled shut and she was plunged into almost complete darkness.
The earth pony quickly turned around to find nothing but darkness and took several more steps back until she felt her flank bump against the table. Her heart began pounding as she pleaded with her eyes to adjust to the gloom just a little faster. She could just make out something moving in the shadows but the uneven and shifting light from the lava lamps made it impossible to discern a distinctive shape, if it even had one. Redheart was no foal; this had to be the work of Chaos, and after her last encounter with its terrible, disfiguring, and mind warping effects she was in no hurry to go hoof to hoof with another of the heavily infected.
"H-hello?" she called out into the shadowy room. "Who's there?"
She was answered by a hungry (or possibly seductive,) growl. Redheart swallowed involuntarily.
"Listen," she said, doing her best to seem calming and sincere. "I know you're very confused right now, but I'm a nurse. I can help you. We've discovered a cure, so if you can just calm down and open the door I'm sure we can-" She was interrupted by a soft buzzing sound and several catcalls that were suddenly whistled at her from the darkness. The mare stopped for a few seconds in surprise before continuing, "...help you..."
By this time her eyes were finally starting to adjust to the dim light, and she could just make out the shape of a mare standing on her hind legs, leaning causally against the wall near the curtained off window. Growing up with Lyra, it was a silhouette she was more familiar with than most ponies. In fact, there was something very familiar the shape of the head and body.
"Please," Redheart asked, squinting her eyes as she attempted to penetrate the gloom. "Just... come into the light so we can see each other." There was a few seconds pause before the other mare reacted. Sliding off the wall, the pony landed on all fours and slowly made her way into the space just beyond the glow of the light.
"That's it," Redheart prompted, her smile friendly and beckoning the other mare to come closer with her hoof. "It's okay now, don't be shy."
The light from the closest lava lamp turned white before the other mare slid smoothly into view. The neutral light clearly illuminated her plum coat as well as a yellow and orange propeller beanie that rested atop a mane of wild purple and white streaked hair. The violet swirls of her eyes were partially hidden between half closed lids, and her smile was small and playful, (though it was difficult to distinguish in which sense of the word.) Redheart's own eyes widened and she brought a hoof to her mouth to cover the gasp that escaped her lips when she recognized the other mare.
"M-Mercy? she asked, her voice small and frightened. Is... is that you?"
The plum pony batted her swirling eyes and stepped closer, swaying her hips slightly as she did so. Redheart stood stalk still, frozen to the spot as she stared, eyes nearly the size of saucers. Screwball, the thing that had once been Mercy Sweetheart, continued to creep closer and closer to her prey in the dim light until,
*GLOMP*
"Sweet Celestia, you have no idea how worried I've been!"
The spiral eyed mare felt herself skid across the bread strewn floor on her back after being tackled by a white a pink blur that had grabbed her about the neck. Which was odd because even with a mind flooded with chaos and almost boiling over hormones, she had been quite certain she had been on her feet a second ago.
"When you didn't show up at the Medical Center I thought something had happened to you. I even sent Bon Bon and Lyra to look for you so I could try to focus on keeping the hospital together. I swear I would have gone to look for you myself, but everypony needed me here and... well... oh Mercy I'm just so glad you're okay!"
The confused Screwball felt the mare grabbing her squeeze her even more tightly, eliciting her to let out a squeak like a rubber duck. The babbling pony on top of her gave no indication of hearing the noise, and instead continued to repeat over and over how happy she was to see her missing friend. After several seconds, reality finally dawned on Screwball that the object of her affections was currently laying on top of her with her forelegs around her neck and her face buried in her shoulder, almost sobbing with joy at seeing her. The plum pony made a very wide a goofy smile as she began to proliferate tiny floating hearts again. She began to see the appeal of plans not going entirely as expected.
"Don't ever leave me like that again, okay?" Redheart continued, her eyes shut as she gently shook the other mare to emphasize her words. "Understand? I was going out of my mind with worry over you, you... you silly pony!"
Screwball nodded her head in def agreement. Given in the state of bliss she was in the ivory mare could have asked her to cut off her own head and she would have happily agreed. Not that it would have done any lasting damage of course.
But something was causing a lasting effect in the plum pony's mind. Something was beginning to wake up admits the desire, chaos, and pocket full that made up Screwball's brain. The warmth that twice before burned her bliss and euphoria that was Screwball was rising again. The memories and pain of Mercy Sweetheart rose with the prickling heat, but instead of burring away what was already there, the two minds began to swirl and mix. Like oil and water, they would not truly combine, but they were both present, and both the mind of a single mare. A mare who was exceptionally calm and contented in the embrace of her two year crush.
Sadly, one of the few rules of the universe the lord of chaos had not overwritten was that all good things must come to an end, and all too soon the sniffling white pony was climbing off of her plum colored friend, much to Screwball's disappointment.
"I'm sorry about that," Redheart said, horribly embarrassed yet still smiling as she wiped her eyes with the back of the hoof. "I just... Lyra says I get emotional when I miss somepony I care about. And, well, I guess it's no secret that I care about you..."
The ivory mare looking away shyly, her faced clearly tinged scarlet even in the soft multicolored light and Screwball felt herself turn to into a puddle of jelly. She quickly reformed herself into a pony when she heard the Head Nurse begin speaking again after a few seconds.
"Um, look I... I know this probably isn't the time or place," Redheart said nervously, looking down at her hooves. "But... well, I want to tell you that you're my... I'm not even really sure how to say it."
Screwball was on her hooves and sitting at the ivory mare's side in an instant.
"Well... Mercy, you're..."
'Yes?' The plum pony thought, leaning closer.
"You're my..."
'Yes?'
"My..."
'YES?'
Redheart took a deep breath to steady herself. Then she turned to face the waiting mare and said, "Mercy, you're my bla..."
The words died in her throat as she locked eyes with the other mare's violet/blue orbs. They were large, pleading and glistened with hope in the soft glow of the lava lamps around them. Those quivering, spiral and solid sapphire eyes looked at her as if she held the power of life and death. The plum pony's mind had stopped. Every synapse and scrap of lint poised with absolute focus as she waited to hear the completion of what could have been the most important sentence she would ever hear.
Redheart remained silent however, simply looking at the slightly smaller mare just as much attention. Then slowly, hesitantly, the ivory mare reached up to gently cup Mercy/Screwball's face.
"Mercy..." she whispered, slowly moving her head closer to the other mare. The both halves of the other pony mirrored her actions and slowly rose up to meet her. Her two toned eyes began to flutter shut and she felt her lips pulled forward like magnets searching for their counterpart. She could feel the warmth radiating off Redheart's face, almost taste her lips, and then...
"Is there something wrong with your eye?" Redheart asked concernedly, taking a firmer hold on the other mare's head and using her other hoof to pull open one of the now duckfaced pony's eye lids. "Err, hold on I can't see in this awful light. Come over here."
The Head Nurse stood and walked back towards the window, leaving the other mare frozen with her lips pursed and both of her minds completely blank. She remained in that awkward tableau for several seconds until the other mare realized she wasn't following grabbed her by the shoulder to pull her along.
Light flooded the room as soon as the baby draconequus patterned curtains (which had not been part of the room's original decor,) were pulled away. Both, or perhaps all three, ponies had to shield their eyes from the harsh and blinding light outside. Redheart wasted no time however and immediately grabbed Screwball's head to examine her. The mare wriggled in her hooves like a little filly as she continued to try to shield her eyes, her more mature half still stunned into complete indifference. "Hold still," Redheart cooed instinctively, "I need to see."
Her words had an almost immediate effect, and the plum mare settled down to allow the Head Nurse to perform her examination.
"Clammy coat, almost to the point of feeling artificial," Redheart said to herself, habitually listing symptoms. "No bruises or discoloration along face, neck or shoulders. Temperature feels normal. Eyes..." Redheart gently pried open the more unusual eye of her friend, absentmindedly stroking the mare's neck with her other hoof as she did so to keep calm her.
"Dilated? No, discolored? No, I... I've never seen anything like this," she muttered, again moving closer for a better look as her friend's spiral patterned eye.
She came almost nose to nose with the plum mare, and still slowly stroking Screwball's neck in a way that was supposed to be relaxing. The response wasn't quite the one she was trying to elicit however, and her assistant's face began to glow crimson and warm.
"It looks like you have a high fever as well," Redheart commented, pushing up the mare's overly curly bangs to press their foreheads together. As she did so her hooves moved down Screwball's neck and began checking the now whirling eyed mare's chest and sides for any swellings or inflamed tissue. Her patient however, was nearly ready to sprout steam from her ears as her boss intimately investigated her body for any signs of illness.
As both sides of her brain began to panic, the poor creature began to tremble so badly, due to various reasons, that Redheart had to lead her over to the couch and lay her down to finish her examination.
"Cough," she instructed, pressing her ear against the mare's chest. Screwball, upon feeling her love's face pressed so snuggly against her, and the tickle of warm breath against the sensitive nerves of her stomach could only manage to hiccup.
"It's worse than I thought," Redheart said worriedly, lifting her head from Screwball's stomach and moving up to look down at her face to face. "Mercy, listen to me. You've been infected by what we're calling the Chaos bug. We're not sure what's causing it yet, but Zecora has a potion read that can reverse it. I'm going to go see if I can move that thing in front of the door so I can get it for you. I want you stay here and keep calm, okay?"
Screwball, once again in her blissfully complaint state nodded goofily. What remained of Mercy was nearly catatonic from built up tension. Seeing her best nurse in such a condition wasn't entirely confidence boosting, and after biting her lip Redheart dove forward to encircle the mare in another tremendous hug, one which Screwball eagerly returned, and nearly finished off poor Mercy.
"I'm so sorry, Mercy," the Head Nurse whispered into her ear. "I knew I should have gone to look for you myself. It must have been terrifying out there for you." Again Screwball just nodded in compliance, her eyes sliding shut as she enjoyed the feel and scent of her love who was so willingly embracing her. Even Mercy relaxed into place eventually, making the plum pony whole, contented, and at peace.
It was the most wonderful, and perfect moment she had ever experienced.
"It's going to be okay," Redheart continued, giving the mare under her a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going to let anything happen to my best friend."
Screwball and Mercy's contented smile faltered at those words and their eyes popped open. Redheart didn't notice the change in expression as she pulled away and started purposefully for the five by six stereo system that blocked them off from the rest of the hospital.
The Head Nurse groaned as she put her shoulder against the massive black and silver box that was blocking her only path to her friend's cure. If she could just move it over a few feet she could reach the door knob and hopefully open it far enough to call for help. She couldn't hear anything past the walls, but she hoped that was just an effect of the strange tie-dye sheets, and not an ill omen. Try as she might though, she could not get the over sized music box to budge even an inch. Stopping to collect herself, and perhaps back up for a running start, the earth pony became aware of a presence to her right. Turning her head, she saw the plum colored earth pony standing next to her, her head tilted down slightly and her curly purple and white bangs covering her eyes from view.
"Mercy, I told you to lay down," Redheart said pleadingly. "Please, I don't want you to exert yourse-"
Her words were cut off as the mare slammed a hoof into the wall beside her with a thunderous bang, cornering the white pony between the wall and the stereo. Redheart understandably jumped and her eyes darted from the hoof to the mare's partially concealed face. "M-Mercy?"
The pony didn't answer, but instead stretched out her tail flicked it over to manipulate some of the controls on the stereo. The speakers came to life instantly.
"And now here's the new hit single from D.J. Pon3," the voice on the radio said before the tail flicked again and changed the station with an audible click of the dial.
"Reports are showing a slight chance for Chocolate rain showers and scattered Chaos,"
*Click*
"We now return to 'The Adventures of Doctor-"
*Click*
"Good evening fiiiiillieees-,"
*Click*
The bushy tail fell away as a smooth jazzy tune began to play. It was the kind of music that would be complementary to a candle lint dinner, as well as to certain events that might ensue afterwards. The plum colored mare slowly lifted her face to revile two swirling amethyst eyes, both glimmering with a hungry, almost predatory light.
"M-Mercy?" Redheart said asked, her voice shaking as she tried to push herself further into corner.
The multicolor eyed pony began to move closer.
"M-Mercy, Please! Don't come any closer," Redheart said, trying to sound braver than she felt. "I-I'm warning you don't..."
Her voice trailed off as the plum pony came almost nose to nose with her. She could feel the other mare's body heat against her chest, and knew they were almost flush against one another. Redheart became lost in those strange, swirling eyes. She watched, entranced, as the hunger inside them became a longing; a deep, powerful need that both frightened and, for some reason, excited her.
"Wha... what are you going to do to me?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
The plum pony answered by closing her eyes and capturing the white mare's lips with her own. Redheart went ridged with shock for an instant before trying (and failing) to vocalize a protest and push the other mare away. Her captor was having none of it however, and pinned her victim to wall whilst deepening her kiss. The Head Nurse struggled for a few seconds more before going completely limp. After a few more seconds her limbs soon found the will to move again and her forelegs slowly snaked their way up to wrap around the plum pony's neck. Her eyes rolled back and closed lazily as her own lips began hungrily tasting the invasive pair.
Now completely wrapped in their own world, the various signs of chaotic influence began to fall away from the room. The lava lamps collapsed into themselves and evaporated, the stereo beside them sank into the bread strewn floor, and the tie-dye sheets and pillow cases began to detach from the walls and fall into wisps of multicolored smoke. One such sheet fell over the oblivious pair. It covered their gently moving profiles while it was solid, but as it vanished into thin air, so too did the bodies of the two mares.
When the last whips of smoke and crumb of bread had disappeared from the room, all that remained was normal and completely empty break room. |
The Mercy of Screwball | Back to order | "Lyra, I'm sure she's fine," Bon Bon repeated for the fiftieth time as she followed her marefriend around the crowded hospital. "She probably thought she was feeling better and just went back to work."
"I know Bonsy," the unicorn replied, checking every hallway they passed for her earth pony cousin. "And if she is I'm going to drag her stubborn flank right back to the couch and tie her down to it. But no pony saw her leave, and her hat was still next to the couch, so-"
The musician was interrupted as several ponies's gasped and began pointing out the windows of the hallway ahead of them. Putting on speed, the two mares raced forward just in time to see an enormous rainbow spit in two and begin descending over them like an dome.
"Everypony get down!" Lyra shouted as she realized that one of the rainbows was about to fall right on top of them.
Grabbing on to each other for dear life, Bon Bon and Lyra felt the spectrum of colors sweep over them. Everypony in the building, and indeed everypony in Ponyville felt the rainbow pass through them like a wave of sunshine. Then there was a terrific blast of light, and everything fell silent.
Slowly, ponies began to stand up and look around.
"Is everypony okay?" Bon Bon asked, as she and Lyra got to their feet, still holding on to each other. There was a round of mumbled, "yes," "I think so," and "so intense," from the crowd.
Then the familiar voice yelled out from one of the examination rooms. "Dinky!" Lyra and Bon Bon rushed for the door without a second thought. Flinging it open, they braced themselves for the worst, but instead saw a grey and blond pegasus hugging her tiny unicorn daughter and almost sobbing with joy. The little filly was hugging her mother back as best she could with her little hooves and seemed about to burst into tears herself. Beside them, a yellow earth pony with a curly orange mane and three carrots for her cutie mark was staring at the mother and daughter in shock and amazement.
"She... She was a muffin!" Carrot Top exclaimed to two mares in the doorway, gesturing wildly at the blond and lavender filly. "She really was a muffin!"
Then all around the hospital reports began coming in those touched by the chaos bug had been miraculously cured. Stallions had come down from the ceiling, mares had stopped bursting into flames every time they blinked their eyes, and everywhere ponies were crying in joy or laughing in relief at seeing their loved ones restored safe and sound. The view from the windows reviled that the town had changed back as well. The checker board hills and streams of slick soap that had made up the new capital of chaos gone and the green, grassy fields and familiar dirt roads Ponyville had returned. Buildings had stopped floating about and were in there proper places and positions, homes destroyed in stampedes of light-footed buffalo had been miraculously repaired, and the sun shone bright and immovable in the clear blue sky.
"Do you think it's over?" Bon Bon asked tentatively, looking over at the teal mare as they stood in front of a large window overlooking the serine landscape.
"I think so," Lyra replied looking at all the happy ponies in the halls. Then she turned her attention back to the world outside. Everything seemed normal, but as she stood up on her hind legs to get a better view at the area directly below them she let out a small gasp. Before Bon Bon could ask what was wrong, the unicorn turned and began running bipedaly towards the stairs.
"Lyra, down!" her marefriend yelled after her as she made to follow, apologizing to the startled ponies in the hall as she raced after her eccentric marefriend before she caused any undo panic.
Upon making it outside, Lyra, now on four hooves due to necessity, turned full speed for the far corner of the building she had seen from the window. Standing nearby, and looking around in pleasant confusion was a white earth pony with a pink mane and a red cross surrounded by hearts on her flank.
"Seri!" the unicorn called out.
Redheart turned around upon hearing the voice and seeing her fast approaching cousin, smiled and waved happily.
"Hello, Lyra," she said cheerfully as the slightly panting unicorn came to a stop in front of her. "Where have you been?"
"Where have I been?" the musician asked incredulous. "Where have you been? You just disappeared when I came back to check on you half an hour ago and I've been looking all over for you!"
"Serenity!" Bon Bon called out in surprise, catching up to the two mares. She wasn't quite as out of breath as her unicorn counterpart, but after quickly descending two flights marefriend of stairs chasing after her she still a bit out of sorts.
"Hey are you two okay?" Redheart asked, reaching out a foreleg to steady her wheezing cousin.
"We're fine," the beige earth pony answered. "What about you?"
It wasn't an unwarranted question. The Head Nurse's mane, which was usually done up in a tight bun even when she wasn't on duty, was free flowing across her face and neck and appeared slightly damp. Her pristine white coat was also extremely ruffled and glistening, especially around her neck and cutie mark, and there appeared to be bits of either cloud or whipped cream in her tail.
"I feel great," the white mare answered honestly, smiling widely again. "Better than I've felt in a long time in fact. I don't know what Berry put in those drinks last night, but we should tell her to write down the recipe if she can remember."
Both ponies looked at her and then at each other in confusion. "Seri," Lyra said after she had finished catching her breath. "We haven't gone drinking with Berry Punch since last Friday. It's Thursday today, or at least it was this morning." She added, glancing up at the sky as if afraid the sun and moon were about to randomly trade places again.
"Uh huh," Redheart said skeptically, looking at her cousin as if she was telling a bad joke, but Bon Bon nodded in agreement.
"It's true," the beige earth pony said, her expression serious. "Ponyville was just hit with a massive crisis a few hours ago. Houses starting floating around and the roads turned into soap so you couldn't walk without falling down. Everything was in bright colors and there were buffalos in tutus and pink leotards dancing all over the place. Then a double rainbow exploded a few minutes ago and now everything's fine again."
"Okay, maybe we shouldn't go drinking with Berry anymore," Redheart said, looking at Bon Bon with sincere concern and putting a hoof out to feel the earth pony's temperature.
"She's not making it up!" Lyra yelled, slapping her cousin's hoof away from her marefriend. "Look you can ask the Mayor and everypony else in town about it, but it's true! You were here at the hospital making sure everypony was okay during the whole thing! Hay, you were going out of you mind worrying about Sweetheart most of the-"
The musician was interrupted as her cousin suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders. "What about Mercy?" Redheart asked, her steely blue eyes suddenly brimming with panic at the mention of her coworker. "What happened? Is she okay?"
Lyra and Bon Bon exchanged worried looks. "Well, we don't really-" the unicorn began, but she was interrupted a second time buy a painful groan from a nearby bush.
Redheart immediately let go of the unicorn and all three of them rushed over to the source of the disgruntled sound, noticing that a curly white and purple striped tail was peeking out from under it. After a moment's digging through the leaves and branches, they uncovered a plum colored earth pony lying on her back in what looked like a rather uncomfortable bed of twigs and dry underbrush. Moaning, and lifting a foreleg up to shield herself from the far to bring sunlight now leaking in to her little den, the mare opened her eyes to blink up at them with bright, solid sapphire orbs.
"Mmmm," the pony groaned as she let her eyes adjust to the uncomfortable brightness. Then she noticed a familiar, and relieved face smiling looking down at her. "...Serenity?" she asked, squinting up at them.
"She's never called you that before," Lyra commented. Redheart giggled in response and with the help of her cousin reached down and pulled the disoriented mare out of the bush. Bon Bon began brushing the leaves and debris off of her back as Mercy attempted to sit up on her own. The attempt was thwarted by the worlds refusal to stop spinning before her eyes and plum colored mare ended up falling forward into her boss.
"Whoa," Readheart said quietly, catching her subordinate and letting her assistant burry her freckled face into her shoulder in an attempt to hid from the oppressive sunlight. "Easy there, Mercy. How are you feeling?"
"My head feels like somepony broke off my horn and stabbed me with it," Mercy moaned, not raising her voice too loudly. Redheart exchanged confused glances with the other mares.
"Uh, Mercy," Redheart said carefully. "You're an earth pony. You've never had a horn."
"Well somepony better tell that to my skull," Mercy grumbled angrily, moving her face from the crook of Redheart's neck to burying it in the damp fluff of her boss's chest as she further attempted to hide from the sun. The Head Nurse giggled softly at her assistant's adorable antics and adjusted herself so that she could wrap her hooves around the slightly smaller mare and offer her some additional shade.
Lyra and Bon Bon stared open mouthed at the cuddling mares. Lyra in particular was completely dumbfounded.
"What?" Redheart asked innocently, noticing the gawking pair and looking at them as if she frequently let her subordinate use her chest as a makeshift cave.
"Nothing," Bon Bon said quickly, regaining her senses and trying to look innocent. Upon realizing the Lyra was till gapping at pair she gave her lover a subtle kick.
"Ow," the unicorn whined, rubbing her ankle where the beige pony had hit it.
Redheart watched as the two mares begin to argue with minimal interest as she cradled her groaning assistant. It gave quite a nice feeling, just holding the groaning mare that way. It made her feel almost, complete. Mercy meanwhile was attempting to tune out the rising voices of the couple beside them, and instead focus on the wonderful darkness and unique aroma her boss's chest had to offer. It was quite a pleasant smell actually. A bit musky and sweaty, but still sweet and floral; a little like marshmallows and roses. It was such a familiar scent too if only she could remember where...
The teal and beige ponies stopped their bickering as Mercy suddenly began to struggle and flung herself away from her boss as quickly as possible, her eyes wide as saucers and her cheeks blazing crimson.
"Mercy?" Redheart asked in surprise. Looking at her subordinate worryingly she took a step forward, even as the mare crawled away from her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong!" Mercy screamed back. "Why would anything be wrong? I certainly haven't done anything wrong! Why would you think I had, Ow! Oh, ow, ow ow ow..."
The plum pony grabbed her head miserably as she realized that leaving her dark sanctuary and raising her voice had been a horrendous mistake. No matter what guilty revelation she had just had.
"Oh come here you, silly pony," Redheart said exasperatedly walking forward and gathering up the migraine ridden pony in her hooves again. "Honestly, you ought to know better than to move around like that with a hangover. What got into you anyway?"
'A hangover?' Mercy mulled the idea around in her mind. Of course, that must be it. She had a hangover, and if she had a hangover then that meant she must have gotten drunk and then woken up, and of course only a very inebriated imagination could have concocted such an absurd fiasco as the one in her memory which meant she had nothing to panic over.
"We didn't go drinking!" Lyra repeated for the third time, causing Mercy's guilt and embarrassment to come swimming back to with merciless speed. "Look, reality took a rain check this morning and only decided to come back about ten minutes ago. We live in Ponyville, Seri, why is this so hard to believe!"
"For the last time, Lyra, I have no idea what you're talking about," Redheart replied, petting her assistant's mane absentmindedly. "The last thing I remember is going to the bar with our usual crowed of friends. After that all I know is I woke up beside the road here feeling like a million bits. Now stop yelling, you're starting to hurt my head too."
'She doesn't remember?' Mercy thought, not sure if she was more relieved or disappointed.
"Wait..." Redheart said slowly, looking up at the sky and tapping her chin thoughtfully. The plum mare on her chest winced up at her in fear. "I actually do remember coming into work on Monday... then on at lunch on Tuesday I remember I had to make Mercy here actually eat cause she was being silly," she said, smiling down at the plum mare and gently ruffling her white striped mane. Mercy smiled sheepishly back up at her, before the ivory mare continued, "Then on Wednesday..."
"Yes?" Lyra prompted.
'No,' Mercy thought.
Redheart seemed to wrack her brain for close to a minute before giving her cousin an imperturbable shrug. "Nothing," she said. "That must have been the night we went drinking."
Mercy sighed in relief while Lyra nearly blew a fuse. "For the last time, Seri, we did not go-" This time the unicorn was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. "What, Bon Bon!" she snapped, turning to look at the earth pony next to her.
Her attitude was met by a surprised and displeased face that foretold her spending the night on the living room couch if she did not rephrase her response very quickly.
"Er, I mean, what is it, Honey?" the unicorn asked, smiling her sweetest and trying to make her tone as sugary a possible. Her second response seemed to appease her better half as Bon Bon's face changed to a less ominous, though not necessarily forgiving expression before replying.
"Lyra, there may be a reason she doesn't remember," the beige pony said quietly to her marefriend, though her words were caught by a plum colored ear as well. "I read somewhere that when a pony goes through a traumatic experience, they sometimes repress the memory as a kind of coping mechanism."
Mercy's guilt nearly tripled upon hearing that. She felt ill, and bottom of her stomach seemed to drop out. She had done something so terrible, so vile, so sick and obscene to the very mare that was stroking her mane so tenderly at that moment that it had forced the innocent Head Nurse to strip over twenty four hours from her own memory. ...Well, come to think of it, Mercy's own memory was still a big hazy towards past the beginning of their 'encounter.' Could her mind be trying to block out the memory in an effort to spare her the worst of her sins? Forcing herself to shut out everything else, Mercy pushed herself to remember every detail of what had happened, knowing in her heart that she didn't deserve to spare herself even an instant horrific transgression she had committed against her pure, helpless victim.
Several seconds latter every inch of Mercy's plum colored coat, from her hooves to the tips of her ears turned red as her memories informed that her 'victim' wasn't quite so pure and helpless after all, and just why her boss's first name had been on her lips when she had awoken. As sights, sounds, and indescribable sensations flashed through her mind making her relive the previous hour and ten minutes, sixty nine seconds, the already exhausted endorphins and synapses of her brain screamed out in refusal and pulled the emergency off switch.
Redheart looked down felt the poor mare go completely limp against her as she passed out again.
"Mercy?" she asked quietly, gently shaking the plum colored mare. "Meeeercy?" The near comatose nurse gave absolutely no repose.
'Poor thing,' Redheart thought, gently brushing the lavender curls out of her friend's closed eyes. 'She must be exhausted..." |
The Mercy of Screwball | Epilogue: Memories | Nurse Mercy Sweetheart sighed as she absentmindedly stirred her tea. She hated taking breaks. Well, no that wasn't exactly true anymore. She didn't mind taking a little time out of the work day to eat and arrange her thoughts now. She just hated being in the room where she had to take those breaks.
The plum colored mare closed her eyes as a not entirely unpleasant chill ran up her spine at the memory of what had started in this room a less than a month ago. The guilt that welled up in her stomach was unpleasant however, and entirely deserved. She knew she hadn't been in control of herself at the time, she still felt completely accountable for her actions, even if nopony else remembered them what she had done.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door behind her click open.
"I'm pretty sure I've said this before," a familiar voice said behind her. "But tea alone doesn't constitute a full lunch, Mercy."
The purple and white maned pony opened her eyes and turned to see the reason for her troubles smiling gently at her from the door way. A smile she wearily returned.
"I'm just waiting for it to cool a little," she answered honestly, picking up a brown paper bag from beside her and setting it on the table for the other mare to see. "The rest is in here."
"Well, you better get started on it then," Redheart replied, still smiling as she closed the door and went to retrieve her own lunch. "We haven't had any massive calamites for a while and I'd say we about due for one any time now."
The plum pony sighed again as she opened her bag and pulled out a small rose on rye sandwich. "You're probably right," she replied, looking down at the slightly wilted petals sticking out of the bread. "Still, it's been nice having a little down time after that last... incident."
Redheart nodded and unpacked her own meal. They may have called it a lunch, but it was really more like an early dinner for them since they were both on the late afternoon shift.
The two mares ate in silence for a while. One simply enjoying the company of her assistant, the other wracking her brain as she tried for the four hundred and ninth time to broach the subject that had been weighing on her conscience for the last few weeks. It wasn't like she could just say, 'Hey Redheart, remember when we woke up next to the medical center a few weeks ago? Well, that was because we had boinked so hard it wiped your memory of everything that had happened in the last thirty six hours or so. Also I'm gay, thanks for noticing after two years of working together.'
"Hey Mercy," Redheart asked finally, picking at what remained of her salad and glancing up at the pony across from her. "Remember when we woke up next to the medical center a few weeks ago?"
Mercy nearly choked on a rose stem before answering. "Um, yeah? Why?"
"Have you been able to remember anything that happened before then?" Redheart asked, looking thoughtfully at the freckled mare.
Mercy immediately shook her head. "Nope," she lied, swallowing hard. "It's all still one big, hazy mess. Why?"
'Coward,' she mentally berated herself, stuffing the rest of her R&R in her mouth to keep her from actually saying it. That had been a perfect opportunity to get it all out in the open.
The ivory mare just shook her head. "No reason," she replied. "It just must be pretty annoying for you to have something you can't remember though. You're memory is so good I'm honestly surprised it's not your special talent," Redheart giggled.
The plum pony looked up at her curiously. "It is my special talent," she said smirking glad for the change of topic. Redheart looked slightly taken a back.
"But... But you're cutie mark?" she asked gesturing at the other pony's rear. Mercy stood up and turned so her boss could see the white cross and pink hearts that adorned her flank.
"This?" she asked, wiggling her rear. "Well, I guess it is a little on the more abstract side," she giggled. "Basically, the cross represents my passion for the medical field, and the hearts represent the hearts I've touched during my life."
"Well that's obvious enough, Mercy," Redheart said, frowning. "Mine's almost the same way. But how does that work if your special talent is your memory?"
"Look close," Mercy replied, walking around the table so the ivory mare could see better. "Each one of the hearts is slightly different. One's a little smaller, another is a bit brighter shade of pink; each one has something about it that sets it apart from the others, some tinny distinguishing detail that only I seem to notice. I actually got my cutie mark because I saved a lot of lives with that attention to detail."
Nurse Redheart looked from her assistant's flank to her face, with a wiry smile. "Tell me the story?"
Mercy laughed and nodded. "Okay, but only the short version. My dad worded as the chief of staff at our local hospital. One day he was about to go to work to deliver a new pamphlet to his staff about how to prepare a new type of vaccine. Out of curiosity I read one of the ones he had left behind, and noticed there was a typo in it that could have put a lot of ponies in danger. I rushed out of the house and nearly knocked him down on the sidewalk trying to tell him the pamphlet said 'sulfate' instead of 'sulfa."
"That could have caused some problems," Redheart agreed nervously, knowing full well the damage a slip up like that could have caused. Mercy nodded her head.
"My dad said basically the same thing and had the whole lot of them destroyed so that nopony would make the mistake. After that he told me how many lives I had saved by catching the mistake, this little thing showed up," she finished, nodding towards her cutie mark. "After that, everything was pretty much set in stone for medical college."
"And after that you came... here," Redheart added, smiling as she looked down at the cryptic hearts on her friend's flank.
"Yeah..." Mercy agreed, turning away to hide the soft blush on her cheeks. The way Redheart had paused made her wonder if the ivory mare had meant to say something different.
...to me.
The plum pony jumped a little as she felt a hoof brush gently against her flank. She turned to see her boss leaning forward to closely examine her cutie mark, evidently attempting the smooth out her coat to better spot the key differences between the four hearts. Upon noticing the plum pony looking down at her, Redheart quickly withdrew her foreleg and straightened up, looking sheepish. "Sorry," she said apologetically, a blush forming on her cheeks.
"It's alright," Mercy replied, fighting her own blush and making her way back to her seat to avoid provoking the ivory mare's curiosity again. She gave her head a little shake as her memory recalled several other times when she had felt Redheart's hoof against her flank, both gently and otherwise. She shook her head a little harder as her blush deepened and nearly fell over as she rounded the corner of the table.
"Um, are you alright there, Mercy?" Redheart asked, looking uncertainly at the stumbling mare.
"Uh, yeah," Mercy replied. Well at least now she could contribute her reddened complexion to that embarrassment. "Just... had something in my ear."
"Oh," Redheart replied going back to her salad. "You know, most ponies just wiggle their ear instead. Makes walking a bit easier."
"I'll keep that in mind," Mercy replied sulkily, resuming her seat and taking a sip of her tea. Stupid perfect memory; she wished the bucking thing came with an off switch.
The two sat in silence again for a few minutes, and again Mercy's mind turned toward broaching the subject of her confession. She had told herself before that she just didn't know how to start, but after her bald faced lie earlier she had to face the truth. She was scared. Scared that Redheart had only been caught up in heat of the moment when she had returned the plum pony's feelings, scared her that boss and best friend would be disgusted or feel violated after learning what they had done, and most of all, scared that it had been Screwball, not Mercy who had been the cause her love's euphoric amnesia.
She felt almost silly for worrying about such a thing, but still, the bar had been raised rather high on their first 'encounter.' She was certain that no normal or sane pony could have devised all the ways she had pleased her passionate, if temporary, lover. Then again, Redheart had gotten pretty creative as well. Mercy suppressed a pleasant shudder as she began to recall again their raunchy escapades. Sweet Celestia , she needed an off switch for her memory. If this kept up any longer she was likely to pass out again.
Trying to clear her head, Mercy turned her thoughts towards her other friends. Not that that helped much. Bon Bon had been dropping subtle hints lately that she should ask the ivory mare out to dinner soon. Such as purposefully mentioning quality restaurants around town that offered candle light dinners, or choice picnic spots to go star gazing. Contrariwise, Lyra had been dropping very unsubtle hints. Such as taking her aside and whispering "just ask her out for Peat's sake!" every time they went out for drinks together.
Mercy actually pondered the idea of asking her boss out as she absentmindedly began to stir her tea again. Now that she thought about it, Redheart had been paying her quite a bit of attention since the incident. Whenever they had gotten out together after work the ivory mare almost never seemed to leave the her side, and each excursion inevitable ended with the two slightly tipsy ponies walking home together before Redheart gave her a goodnight hug and nuzzle at her front door. Mercy often wondered what that exchange would be like if one or both of them were any more than tipsy, but being that an unexpected crisis was always to be expected in Ponyville, it was a temptation that could not be afforded.
Mercy took a long drink from her cup as she reviewed this new evidence. The odds certainly seemed in her favor now, quite a change from how they had been before Discord's release. Maybe Celestia really did work in mysterious ways? Still, if she was ever going to ask the mare out, then she'd need to come clean first. Glancing at the clock, she took note that they still had a good ten minutes left before they were due back on duty. She briefly considered waiting until the weekend when they would have more time, but the guilty feeling in her stomach refused to wait so long. This had to be done now.
"So," Mercy began casually, rummaging in her lunch sack for her dessert. "Have you been able to remember anything?"
'May as well see where to start,' she figured.
The head nurse shook her head and took a sip of her juice box. "About that day? Nothing," she replied bitterly. "I've been wracking my brain every night ever since then and I still can't get anything more than some vague feelings."
"Feelings?" Mercy asked curiously as she withdrew shiny red apple from the sack. "What do you mean?"
"Just... stuff," Redheart replied offhoofedly, extracting a large green tea brownie from her own bag. "A lot of stressing out and worrying mostly, but then Lyra said I was doing quite a bit of that anyway," she added, averting her eyes as she neglected to mention what else her cousin said she had done.
Mercy frowned. That didn't give her a lot to work on. "Anything else?"
Redheart blushed slightly. "Well... yeah. I remember feeling really good too."
"Good?" Mercy asked uncertainly, recalling how absolutely miserable she had felt after waking up in the rosemary bush.
"Yeah, good," the Head Nurse repeated, looking out the window wistfully. "I don't know how else to explain it. It was like... It was the most amazing feeling ever, almost to the point it was scary. I can't really put it into words. What's really frustrating is I think I have dreams about it sometimes. I wake up feeling like I did that day, but it always fades away so fast and I can never remember what I dreamed about..."
Redheart sighed and took another sip of her fruit drink as Mercy bit into her apple. Well, that was a little better. The plum pony chewed her food slowly as she planned out her words. She was almost ready to speak when the sulking pony suddenly sat up.
"Oh! Wait a minute there was something else." The ivory mare got up from the table and quickly crossed to one of the cupboards where began running rummaging around inside. "I saw this in the window of that old joke shop when I went out shopping yesterday. I was going to show it to you after we got off work but... Ah, here it is."
Mercy watched as the other earth pony turned around. In her mouth, was an orange and yellow beanie cap, with a green propeller sticking out the top. The plum pony's eyes bulged to size of plates as she recognized it. It couldn't possibly be...
Redheart dropped the innocent looking hat into her hooves and looked down at it musingly. "When I saw it in the window I... I don't know, it kind of triggered something in me. Not really a memory but..."
"W-where did you say you found that again?" Mercy asked, her eyes fixed on the cap as if she were afraid it might attack.
"Wiz Bang's Joke Shop near Ponyville Central Plaza," Redheart replied, still looking at the small hat with a dreamy expression. "It was so strange. I just happened to see it out of the corner of my eye as I was passing by and then it was like it just grabbed my attention. Suddenly I felt hot and tingly all over my body, and then I remembered I... I wanted something that day. I could feel the good feelings again but for the first time I remembered there something I wanted, needed to make that feeling complete..."
Mercy watched uncertainly as the ivory mare frowned down at the odd little hat. She searched her own memory quickly trying to recall what it could have been that Redheart had wanted so badly, she had been quite certain she had seen to every possible desire the Head Nurse had had during their encounter. When her mind came up blank she asked, "Did... did you remember what it was you wanted?"
Redheart looked up slowly and set the hat down on the counter behind her. "Blue eyes," she said quietly, staring vulnerably at plum pony in front of her. "I... I wanted to see blue eyes..."
Mercy felt her own sapphire eyes widen and her heart skip a beat. Inside her mind, a small pessimistic voice tried to say something but was quickly stamped out. For a few seconds she forgot how to breathe, which only added to the dizzy lightheaded sensation in her brain. When she finally did remember how to work her respiratory system, Redheart had hesitantly closed most of the distance between them and seemed to be waiting for some kind of reply.
Swallowing, Mercy new it was now or never. "Redheart, listen. There's-"
"Serenity," the ivory mare interrupted. Mercy closed her mouth and blinked at her. "I... like it better when you call me Serenity," Redheart added softly.
"Serenity," Mercy repeated slowly. She saw the Head Nurse's steel blue eyes light up at the sound of her name. Resigning herself, Mercy reached out and took the ivory mare's forehooves in her own. "Look, there's something I've been meaning to tell..."
Her resolved, and focuses, died as she became aware of a strange noise emanating from the window. Both ponies turned their heads to look towards it, and then back to each other as if to verify that the other mare had heard it too. It was the sound of raised voices and fighting, and as Mercy let go of Serenity's forelegs and the two of them crossed to look out the window. Their jaws dropped at what they saw.
Dozens of ponies of all ages, types, and genders were fighting tooth and hoof with each other in the picnic fields in front of the hospital. At least half a dozen miniature brawls had broken out and while the sight of the small riot was terrible, it was cast it involved that propped the baffled looks from the two nurses above.
"Is that the Mayor?" Serenity asked, squinting down into the crowd.
"I think it is," Mercy replied, both horrified and impressed as the town leader delivered a well placed kick to an unsuspecting Rain Drops. "She's certainly holding her own isn't she? Wait a minute, is that a doll their fighting over?"
Serenity nodded before catching herself. Interesting as the fight was to watch, those were still her ponies out there getting hurt. "We better get the center ready for patients," she said grimly, her expresion growing stern as she once again became the no nonsence Head Nurse of the Ponyville Medical Center.
"I'll tell Coldheart and Dr. Cross to start brining gurneys out to reception," Redheart continued turning to face her right hoof mare. "You get some of the other nurses and find some flashlights. It's practically sunset out there and Celestia knows how-"
"Twilight Sparkle!"
The Head Nurse fell silent as a regal and displeased voice sounded from outside. Both ponies turned back to the window just in time to be blinded by a flash of golden light. After their eyes had readjusted they gingerly looked back out the window to see that the fighting had suddenly stopped. Ponies were helping each other up and seemed to be apologizing to each other, as well as gathering around the Mayor and local mailmare or at least something next to them. They were also surprised to see Princess Celestia herself, standing in front of six familiar heroes. As she had her back to them, the Nurse's could only assume that she was congratulating them on the aversion of another crises.
"Well, speak of the devil. Eerr, Princess, I mean." Mercy corrected herself.
Redheart shot her disapproving smirk. "Come on, we better get down there. Nopony looks to beat up from hear but I want to make sure we at least look at those fillies before they escape."
Mercy nodded and headed for the door. She silently cursed herself for her inability to speak for a third time, but as always their duty as care giver's came first. She made it all the way to the door before she realized her boss wasn't following her. Looking back she saw that Redheart had made it only a few steps before coming to a stop and looking slowly around the room with a confused expression.
"Serenity?" Mercy asked tentatively. The ivory pony snapped out of her daze and shook her head.
"It's nothing," she said quickly walking forward again. Mercy watched her uneasily as the Head Nurse opened the door and made it half way into the hall again before stopping. She slowly turned to her assistant and gestured back into the room asking, "Mercy... Did we ever have any curtains on that window?"
The plum pony looked at her in surprise. "I... It..." She sighed. "It's a long story," Mercy said wearily. "But I promise I'll tell you after our shift."
Serenity nodded, but didn't take her eyes away from the room. "...and lava lamps?"
"Right now I think we better head down to reception," Mercy replied quickly, pushing her boss out the door and closing behind them.
"Mercy, why can I remember the taste of banana flavored whip cream?" Serenity asked, looking at her assistant suspiciously. "I've never even had banana flavored-"
"Foals now, stories latter!" the scarlet turning plum pony nearly yelled back as she continued to push her boss down the hall.
It was a night of new beginnings in Ponyville for many of its inhabitants, but as what would soon become the towns newest, and for several days most blushing couple descended the stairs of Ponyville Medical Center, the paddle like propeller of the beanie cap inside the break room gave a small twitch.
The End |
Ace Attorney: Scootaloo | pre | "Not until we cornered Sweetie Belle at her sister's house," Snails said. "I don't know when, but at some point her hood must've fallen off and I could see her clearly."
"Not the most reliable witness, if you hadn't seen anythin'," Apple Bloom said.
"Objection!" Diamond waggled her hoof and tutted. "Just remember, Snails was there with four other witnesses, who all gave chase to the hooded figure and all could identify that same figure as Sweetie Belle. On his own he may be useless, but together, they form a sort of competency."
'Wow. Very tact, Diamond,' Scootaloo thought as sweat dripped down her head.
"Witnesses, continue yer testimony," Apple Bloom ordered.
"I'm afraid me head was a bit in the clouds at that time. I don't really remember which hoof the culprit used." - Pipsqueak
"Hold it!" ... ... "W-What were you thinking about, if I may ask?"
"Objection!" Diamond Tiara slammed a hoof onto her bench. "Don't try stalling for time, here! Irrelevent questions have no place in this courtroom!"
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Scootaloo, if'n ya don't have any questions relatin' ta the case fer the witness, ah'll have ta end this line o' questionin' right here."
"R-Roger..." 'I'm not even sure I can say 'worth a try' for that one...'
Apple Bloom slammed her gavel. "Is that all yer questions, Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo clenched her teeth together. 'If I end my questioning now, we're sunk! But on the other hoof, I can't think of any contradictions in that testimony! What do I do?'
"Hold it!" Sweetie Belle pulled Scootaloo to the side. "Excuse me, can we just have a minute to talk here?"
"... Very well," Apple Bloom said. "But only one minute. Ah'ma countin'."
"What is it, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked.
"Ask to continue cross-examining. I think there's still something we need to ask one of them." Sweetie Belle explained.
"There is? I didn't find anything odd there."
"I'm not sure yet myself, but when you questioned Silver Spoon, something didn't feel right."
"... Silver Spoon, huh? Wonder if she's telling lies to help Diamond Tiara."
"Minute's up," Apple Bloom declared. "Well? What'll it be, Scootaloo? If you have no further questions-"
Scootaloo slammed both of her hooves hard onto her bench. "The defence still has one more question. We request that the cross-examination go on."
"... Ah can't see what further questions y'all could possibly have, but since we still have plenty of recess left, ah'm gonna allow this. Any objections, Diamond Tiara."
"... None," Diamond answered. "But remember, Scootaloo, stalling for time won't change the outcome of this trial."
Apple Bloom nodded and slammed her gavel. "Then the cross-examination will continue."
'If Sweetie Belle's right, then the one that I need to press is Silver Spoon...' Scootaloo thought to herself, wiping the sweat off of her brow as she readied her nerves.
"When I passed by the town hall I saw the figure spraying those patterns with their right hoof. I was focussed more on the figure so I'm sure I saw correctly." - Silver Spoon
"Hold it!" Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "So you were looking more at the culprit than the patterns. Was there anything else that you noticed? Anything that could help identify the culprit?"
"All that really stood out was the cloak. Oh, the top of it was pointed, as if there was a horn there. Other than that, there was nothing that stood out to me."
"! Scootaloo, that's it!"
Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle. "Uh, that's what?"
"There, during her testimony! Didn't you see her acting odd?"
"... No different than usual."
"Excuse me," Sweetie Belle said to Silver Spoon, "But could you just repeat that one more time?"
"... I have no idea what you're up to, but sure."
"Okay, Scootaloo. Pay real close attention to her hoof."
"Her hoof?" Scootaloo noticed that Silver Spoon's hoof was resting on her glasses. "Uh, I don't really get it, but..."
"Trust me. You'll see what I mean."
"All that really stood out was the cloak." Silver Spoon's hoof remained as steady as a rock. "Oh, the top of it was pointed, as if there was a horn there." Scootaloo was finding it hard to keep her attention focussed on that hoof any longer, and she still hadn't seen whatever she was supposed to see. "Other than that, there was nothing that stood out to me."
"! Wait, did she just-"
"I told you," Sweetie Belle said.
"Her hoof was twitching," Scootaloo muttered. "But does that really mean anything?"
"Rarity told me ponies give 'tells' when they're covering something up," Sweetie Belle said. "It's how she always knows when we're up to something."
'To be honest, I never thought we were fooling anypony with our innocent acts, anyway.' Scootaloo watched as Silver Spoon's hoof continued to twitch ever-so-slightly, nudging her glasses in the process. "So what does it mean? That she's lying or holding something back?"
"Why don't we ask her about it?" Sweetie Belle suggested. "We won't know otherwise." Scootaloo nodded her head. There really wasn't anything to lose, she felt.
"Gotcha!" Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin and narrowed her eyes. "Silver Spoon, is there something you're not telling us?"
"! W-What do you mean?" Silver Spoon asked. "I've told you everything I know!"
"... I don't think you have. Maybe you're not aware of it, but when you said 'there was nothing that stood out to me', you started to play with your glasses frame."
"My... glasses frame?"
"I think you're hiding something. I think you did see something that stood out to you."
"... Okay, I'll play along. If you're so sure, why don't you tell me what it is that I saw?"
'I don't have any evidence, but I've got a pretty good idea.' "Naturally, since you were playing with your glasses, that's exactly what it is that you saw... You saw a pair of glasses, or at least something that made you think that the culprit was wearing glasses."
"... You know what? You're right," Silver Spoon said, surprising Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "I think I saw what may or may not be glasses... but as I wasn't sure, I didn't say anything. After all, nopony else saw any."
Apple Bloom blinked a few times. "So... you might've seen the culprit wear glasses?"
Silver Spoon nodded. "That's right."
"Objection!" Diamond Tiara slammed a hoof onto her bench. "Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?! Nopony ever said that the pony they saw was wearing glasses!"
"Well, that pony had their hood up," Silver Spoon said. "But I approached from a different angle from everypony else. You see, they approached the town hall from behind the hooded pony, but I approached from the front. I got a sideways look at their face and saw a sharp reflection, but when you think about it, that could have just been the clasp of their cloak."
"It does look like it'd shine pretty bright in the sunlight," Apple Bloom admitted.
"There's more, though. It was the shape of the hood itself. Remember how I said that a horn seemed to poking up at the top? Well glasses also stick out a bit to the sides."
"And that's what you saw?" Scootaloo asked. "There aren't many ponies who wear glasses in Ponyville, so I guess you'd only notice something like that if you wear glasses yourself."
"Objection!" Diamond Tiara yelled. "Need I even point out how ridiculous you all sound right now? Those little 'signs' that Silver Spoon saw could have been anything! There's no concrete proof that that figure was wearing glasses! Unless you intend to supply those glasses yourself?"
"... W-Well, I can't really-"
"Then I rest my case," Diamond said with finality. "The culprit was none other than Sweetie Belle, and you have failed to provide a solid case opposing that claim. Now all that's left is the verdict."
"Hold it!" All eyes turned to Scootaloo, but she remained silent. All eyes turned to Apple Bloom, but she was also silent. Finally, all eyes rested on the witnesses as Snails spoke up. "Uh, excuse me, Miss Tiara?"
"What is it?" Diamond Tiara asked in an annoyed tone. "Can't you see we're in the middle of an important conversation right now? If you need the bathroom, I already told you to go before we started this trial!"
"No, it's not that!" Snails said. "What Silver Spoon said, it made me remember something!"
"And that is?" Apple Bloom asked.
"While we were chasing after the hooded pony, I bumped into somepony!"
"! You did?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yeah! It was after the culprit ran around a sharp corner and we followed after them. It was Twist that I bumped into! I remembered just now 'cause of the whole glasses thing. She and Silver Spoon are the only ones in our class who wear 'em, after all."
"You're right," Scootaloo muttered. "Wait a minute, if the culprit was wearing glasses, then does that mean-"
"Ah, except that Twist wasn't wearing her glasses at the time," Snails said before putting a hoof to his chin. "I asked her if she lost them, but she told me she was tryin' out contacts."
"Twist is wearin' contacts?" Apple Bloom asked. "Huh."
"Too bad, Scootaloser," Diamond Tiara laughed. "Though even if Twist were wearing her glasses at the time, there's no way I would tolerate you accusing somepony based solely on a shaky memory."
"But she was there when everypony gave chase, and like Snails said, she's the only other pony in our class who wears glasses!" Scootaloo protested.
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara removed her tiara and threw it at Scootaloo's head. It returned to her hoof and she adorned it once more. "Like I said, Silver Spoon's memory is questionable at best! Furthermore, Twist wasn't wearing her glasses at the time. There's nothing whatsoever to implicate her!"
"B-But..."
"Furthermore, who was it that everypony found at the end of their little chase? Whose hoofwriting is it that was found on those invitations? And whose hoofprints were found on the cans that match the paint on the town hall's walls?" Diamond Tiara pointed a hoof at the accused. "It was all Sweetie Belle. That's what every sign points to."
"N... NNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Everything fell silent. Everypony watched with bated breaths as they awaited the final decision from Apple Bloom. "Scootaloo? ... Diamond Tiara's totally right." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's heads both sank at the grave news. "At this time, there is nothing to implicate Twist as a possible suspect."
"Don't feel so bad," Diamond Tiara said with a grin. "If this incident makes it difficult to enter whatever commoner high school you were aiming for, I'll have Daddy pull some strings for you. Aren't I just the most generous pony ever?"
"However," Apple Bloom continued, "A new witness has been presented, one who has not been questioned yet. We can't ignore that."
"What?" Diamond Tiara asked in a flat tone.
"Remember what Miss Cheerilee taught us: we can't overlook anything, or we might miss somethin' valuable. Therefore, we must hear from this new witness, but only as a witness, an' not as a suspect. Is that understood?"
"... Tch, whatever," Diamond Tiara replied.
"U-Understood, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said.
Apple Bloom nodded. "Since we don't have enough time left, we'll end off here an' finish at the park after school, at around four. Is that okay with everypony?"
"Yes!" the entire crowd of foals replied.
"Then in that case, court is adjourned." Apple Bloom slammed her gavel one final time, and everypony scattered across the playground to talk about the case.
"Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said as she approached her friend. "... Thanks."
"Ah only did what was right," Apple Bloom said with a mild blush. "... Y'all don't seriously suspect Twist, do ya?"
"Right now, I dunno. But I do wanna question her." Scootaloo looked over at Diamond Tiara, who was smacking Snails across the head with a rolled-up magazine and yelling at Button Mash. "Say, do you think you could tell Miss Cheerilee that I got a bad stomach and went home?"
"Ya wanna cut class?" Apple Bloom with a tilt of her head.
"I just want to investigate. I never really got a chance to do so this morning," Scootaloo explained. "C'mon, I really need this! There could be some killer decisive evidence out there that we're all missing out on!"
"... Well, I guess it would only be fair ta let y'all investigate like Diamond did, but-"
"Knew I could count on ya!" Scootaloo shouted as she ran off quickly. "Don't worry! I'll find just what we need to get Sweetie Belle off the hook!"
"Scootaloo, wait!" Apple Bloom watched Scootaloo jumped over the nearby fence and disappear into the distance. "... Well, at least she's still got her energy."
Scootaloo arrived at the town hall at around half-past-two o'clock, according to the large clock in the town square, and could see much security around the building. "Looks like they beefed up security 'cause of the incident."
"Of course they did," a voice said behind Scootaloo.
"?!"
"Mayor Mare wasn't happy when she saw all that paint on the town hall's walls this morning." Scootaloo turned around to find a flash of light greeting her face. When the flash subsided, she found Featherweight pointing a camera her way. "Sweetie Belle had better hope she isn't found guilty."
"Y-You! Why are you here?! You should be in school!"
"So should you," Featherweight pointed out.
"Uh, oh yeah..."
"Apple Bloom asked me to help you out. She said you might need my camera if you find anything."
"Apple Bloom did? ... Well, I guess you can come along, then. Your good eye might actually help me out here." Scootaloo looked back towards the town hall.
"This place was already searched thoroughly last night. You'll find nothing." Featherweight turned to the path leading away from the town hall. "The path that the chase took place on, however, was not. We never had enough time to look into that."
"If the pony who sprayed all this graffiti wasn't Sweetie Belle, then that pony must have disappeared at some point during the chase when Sweetie Belle crossed paths with them."
"Makes sense," Featherweight said. "You suspect Twist, right? The point where she intercepted with Snails isn't that far ahead. Come."
Scootaloo followed after Featherweight as the scrawny colt hovered just slightly above the ground, snapping pictures of various thing as he moved.
The time was around twenty-to-three o'clock when the two reached the point where Snails had reportedly bumped into Twist. It was indeed a sharp corner, and around said corner was a straight, wide path with a four-way junction not too far past the initial corner.
"So what d'you think?" Scootaloo asked. "Seems to me that somepony would easily be able to hide from sight here."
"Indeed. I'm actually quite curious as to why anypony would chose to run straight at this point, as Sweetie Belle allegedly did."
"Oh my. Two naughty little foals skipping school to go on a date?"
"Huh?" Scootaloo asked as she and Featherweight turned around, only to find nopony there. As they turned back, Scootaloo began to ask, "Who-"
She was cut off abruptly by an explosion of smoke and a bouquet of flowers in her face. "Perhaps the two of you may wish to chose a better spot, though. One where ponies would not be as likely to see you." The blue unicorn wearing the purple pointed hat and cloak combo smirked at the two foals. "Don't worry. The Great and Powerful Trixie will pretend that she saw nothing."
"Y-Y-Y-Y-You!" Scootaloo shouted, pointed a shaking hoof at the showmare standing tall and proud. "You're the pony who enslaved Ponyville that one time!"
Trixie's face soured immediately and she huffed. "I will thank you not to bring up that incident!" Trixie flicked her mane and regained her cocky smile. "So, where were the two of you planning to go whilst playing hookey? Perhaps you'd like to see a romantic dinner show?"
"We're not a couple!" Scootaloo yelled. "It's also not dinnertime!"
Trixie tapped a hoof to her chin. "Trixie prefers to follow her own schedule. Why wait an extra six hours after lunch to have dinner, just because it's 'the norm'?"
"Because you'll get fat," Scootaloo deadpanned.
"... Well, if the two of you are not on a date, then why are you skipping school? Perhaps you came for an autograph?"
"Uh, no... We're investigating the vandalism of the town hall that took place last night."
"Ah, that," Trixie said, tutting as she shook her head. "Such a shame, that this is how the children of today have been brought up. Still, at least there's still some hope."
"Huh?" Scootaloo asked. "What do you mean?"
"Children should not be out defacing public property or awakening dangerous beasts from their slumber. They should be more like you two: harmlessly playing 'cops and robbers' and not causing any trouble."
"Actually, I'm an attorney," Scootaloo corrected.
"... Then why are you investigating? That's more a detective's job, don't you think?"
"My friend's on trial for the crime, and I'm going to prove her innocent, no matter what!"
Trixie stared at the filly's strong, determined gaze for a second before smiling. "Well, then in that case, the Great and Powerful Trixie wishes you luck."
"Uh... thanks."
"Here, perhaps seeing one of the Great and Powerful Trixie's great tricks will motivate you!" Before Scootaloo could protest, Trixie had removed her hat and placed it atop Scootaloo heads. After tapping her hoof against it twice, Trixie removed the hat to reveal a chicken underneath it. "Ta-da!"
There was no applause. Only utter silence before the chicken jumped off and walked away.
"Miss Trixie," Featherweight finally said, "I don't suppose you happened to see the incident take place last night, did you?"
"Oh, you wish to question Trixie about the incident? Very well, I'll play along, though unfortunately I was nowhere near the town hall at that time. Though Trixie did see a group of foals running this way sometime after seven. Perhaps those are your culprits?"
"! You saw them?!" Scootaloo asked. "Those are our witnesses! They were chasing the real culprit!"
"Ah, that foal with the fashionable purple cloak," Trixie said. "Trixie is glad to see that your generation is finally starting to appreciate true fashion."
"What do you mean by that?" Featherweight asked.
"Well, Trixie has seen at least two fillies wearing that cloak in the past week or so."
Scootaloo gasped. "You said two?" Trixie nodded. "Do you know who they were?"
"Trixie barely knows the adults in this town, let alone the children. Plus, both times that Trixie saw them, they had their hoods up. She could only tell their genders by their voices, though perhaps at your age a colt could use that high a pitch, too."
"Oh... I see..."
"Ah, but one of them did approach Trixie the other day," Trixie said. "She asked Trixie to make something for her."
"Make something?" Scootaloo asked. "What did she ask you to make?"
"It was an invitation of some kind," Trixie said. "Trixie cannot remember the details, but basically the filly challenged Trixie to create four copies in hoofwriting identical to a sample she had given me. Trixie found the request odd, but when that filly suggested that Trixie couldn't do it..." Trixie laughed and gave a proud grin. "Well, let's just say that nopony should underestimate the Great and Powerful Trixie."
"An invitation..." Scootaloo pulled out the invitation that was submitted as evidence earlier from her saddlebag and showed it to Trixie. "Is this the one?"
Trixie took the invitation into her magic and examined it. "Ah, yes. This is indeed it. You can tell because Trixie had put a little surprise into it."
"A surprise?" Featherweight asked.
Trixie nodded. "Well, just add water, and you'll see. A little favour, since it seemed that the filly was holding some kind of party or something."
"Add water, huh?" Scootaloo made a mental note of that as she took her invitation back. "Hey, d'you think you could testify for us in our courtroom later today?"
"Sorry, kid, but the Great and Powerful Trixie has prior engagements today. Though a written testimony should be just as good, if you'd like that instead."
"That'll do," Scootaloo confirmed as Trixie produced a notepad and a quill with her magic. She scribbled down her testimony and signed it, and then offered the quill to Featherweight. "It is customary to have a neutral party also sign testimony like this."
"What makes you think I'm neutral?" Featherweight asked.
"Like yourself, Trixie has good eyes," Trixie answered. "You just give off a general air of neutrality. Like you don't care one way or another how the story unfolds."
Featherweight stared at Trixie for a few seconds before taking the quill and signing the testimony. Trixie then took the testimony and, to Scootaloo's horror, ripped it into piece before her very eyes. "What-" A hoof went to Scootaloo ear and, with a grin, Trixie pulled out the written testimony from and gave it to Scootaloo. "Uh... thanks, I guess," Scootaloo said before shaking off the confusion. "This'll really help!"
"Well then, if that is the end of your questions, the Great and Powerful Trixie must bid you adieu!"
"Add-what now?" Scootaloo asked, looking up from her saddlebag after storing her evidence, only to find that Trixie was gone. "... W-Well, I can't really think of anything else I wanted to ask her, anyway..." Featherweight stepped forward, walking away from Scootaloo. "Huh? Where're you goin'?"
"I saw something," Featherweight said. "After that mare disappeared, I saw a glint over here."
"A glint?" Scootaloo asked before following Featherweight towards a bunch of bins lined up against a wall. She noticed that there was glass on the floor. "Is it the glass around here?"
"No. I can smell something more," Featherweight insisted.
"... Trash?"
"A scoop," Featherweight said as he dove behind the bins, pulling something out that made Scootaloo gasp and jump into the air. "A big scoop!"
"Those are... Twist's glasses!" Scootaloo shouted. "A-And look! There's green paint on them!"
Featherweight took a photo of the glasses. Part of the left frame and most of the left spectacle were coated green. "I saw something else, too," he said as Scootaloo collected the glasses. He reached behind the bin again and pulled out some purple cloth which, when unfolded, made Scootaloo gasp and jump once again.
"The cloak!" Scootaloo shouted. "The second cloak!"
Featherweight reached into the cloak and pulled out two spray cans. "Green spray paint." He took more photographs before Scootaloo collected the evidence into her saddlebag.
"T-This is perfect! This proves that Sweetie Belle didn't do it!"
"Not just yet," Featherweight said, causing Scootaloo to tilt her head in confusion. "For now, we don't even know if they have anything to do with this case. We need to find out if the paint matches the paint on the town hall, and more than that, we need to prove that these items have nothing to do with Sweetie Belle."
"B-But these are Twist's glasses! Isn't that enough?"
"For now, we shouldn't relax just yet," Featherweight said. "Diamond Tiara is a stronger opponent than that. We should continue investigating to see what more we can find."
"... You said 'we'." Featherweight simply stared back in silence as his response to that. "Does that mean... you're on my side now?"
"Not really," Featherweight said, scratching the back of his head. "This is just turning into such a great story, I'd hate to see it end prematurely because you underestimate your opponent."
Scootaloo sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, whatever. I guess it wouldn't hurt to do a little more investigating, and there was somepony that I wanted to see before the trial picked up where it left off, anyway."
"Oh? I'm guessing that would be Miss Rarity?"
Scootaloo nodded. "Sweetie Belle was carrying that can of spray paint when she ran to Rarity's place. I'm thinking Rarity might know why. At the very least, it's worth asking."
"Exactly. I didn't see anything else around here when I checked, so we should probably go there now."
Scootaloo watched Featherweight begin to walk away with a puzzled look on her face. "What? When did you check?"
"When we were speaking with Miss Trixie before. I scanned the entire area several times. C'mon. We don't have much time before school ends and the trial continues."
Scootaloo continued watching Featherweight moving away and, with a shrug, followed after the colt.
It was around fifteen minutes past three o'clock when Scootaloo and Featherweight found Rarity. After being unable to find the mare at Carousal Boutique or at the spa, the two foals asked about and were able to find out that Rarity had been sighted going towards the library.
"What are you two doing out of school?" Twilight asked as she gave the two a stern look. "Education is the path to a good future, and rules are in place so that society doesn't descend into anarchy!"
"Uh, yeah, but y'see, the thing is... Miss Cheerilee let us go early!" Scootaloo said, earning a very sceptical look from Twilight. "On account of... being such good students?"
Featherweight stepped forward. "We're actually doing a special article for the school's paper," he said.
"We are?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean, we are!"
"It's about the vandalism that took place last night. Miss Cheerilee let us go early since it's an extracurricular activity."
Twilight narrowed her eyes, staring deep into the colt's eyes, which remained steady under the hard, suspicious gaze. "Oh, well why didn't you say so?" Twilight asked, suddenly smiling very brightly and earning a relieved sigh from Scootaloo. "I would be happy to help in whatever way I can!"
"Actually, we'd like to speak with Miss Rarity," Featherweight said. "We believe she might know some things that can really help us... er, write our story, that is."
Twilight's face fell and she took a step back. "Oh," she said in a flat tone. "I see. Come on in, then..."
'... Maybe there is something she could help with,' Scootaloo thought to herself as she watched Twilight's crestfallen state. The filly pulled out the pair of glasses from her saddlebag. "Hey, Twilight? Could you check the paint on these glasses for me and let me know if they match the paint on the town hall?"
Twilight took the glasses into her magic and examined them. "Well it certainly looks the same, but I'll go out to the town hall and run a more scientific check for you, if you're willing to wait for about thirty minutes."
"That should be fine," Scootaloo said. "We'll talk with Rarity while we wait."
"Did I hear my name mentioned?" Rarity descended down the stairs from the library's upper floor and was surprised to see the two foals standing before her. "Heavens, is school out already?"
"They're here to ask you some questions about the vandalism that happened last night," Twilight explained. "I'm going to go visit the town hall to check the paint on these glasses. Would you mind keeping them company while I'm gone?"
"Why not at all," Rarity said with a smile. "I'll be happy to assist our young junior detectives with finding out who was behind this most tasteless crime!"
"I'm not a detective!" Scootaloo shouted! "I'm a-"
Featherweight put a hoof to Scootaloo's mouth, muffling her speech and catching her off guard. "What she means is, we're journalists. We're writing a column on this incident." Featherweight leaned closer to Scootaloo and whispered, "We can't her know her sister's on trial."
"Why not?" Scootaloo whispered back.
"Think about it! She'll interrupt the trial and demand everypony leave her sister alone, and then I won't have a story, and you won't be able to prove Sweetie Belle's innocence!"
"... Okay, fine," Scootaloo sighed. "Yeah, we're journalists. So let us ask you a few questions and we'll be outta your hair."
"Oh, please. You don't have to worry about being a bother to me," Rarity said as she sat down at Twilight's table, beckoning for the two foals to join her. Scootaloo and Featherweight both sat opposite to Rarity and she asked them, "Now, whatever would you like to ask me?"
Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "Well, I guess the first thing would be if you happened to see the incident happening, or anything unusual at around that time?"
"Well I certainly did not see it myself, otherwise I would have apprehended the young prankster and given them a stern talking-to! As for anything unusual, I cannot think of anything off of the top of my head. Though really, I don't believe I even know when the incident took place."
"Our sources have told us that it was around seven," Featherweight said. "Were you anywhere around the town hall at that time?"
"Oh, heavens no. I was... Hmm, let's see here..." Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin for several moments as she hummed to herself in thought. Finally, she gasped as her memory came back to her. "Aha! Now I recall! I was waiting for Sweetie Belle to deliver something to me at my house."
"Deliver something?" Scootaloo asked. "Like a spray can?"
"Why... that's exactly it," Rarity said. "How ever did you know?"
"Uh, lucky guess. So what's the deal with the spray can?"
"Well, I'm doing a spot of redecorating. Green is going to be in a few seasons down so I am preparing my workroom in advanced for that. The trouble is that my pet cat Opal likes to scratch the sides of the can and chew on the nozzles, so I asked Sweetie Belle if she could be a dear and store them at our parents' house."
"So at what time did Sweetie Belle arrive?" Scootaloo asked.
"That's just the thing. She never did. I had asked her to come by at around seven as that is not long after her karate classes end, and my house is along the path back to our parents'."
"Sweetie Belle does karate?"
"She's a blue belt so far," Featherweight reported. "Her kicks are so strong that the instructor has to wear special equipment when training her."
"She's just like her older sister," Rarity boasted with a proud smile. "A lady must protect herself, especially one as pretty as moi."
'How is such a shy and humble filly related to this pony?' Scootaloo cleared her throat. "So any idea why she didn't show up?"
"Oh, I imagine that she did, but I was not in at the time. You see, word had reached me about a sale at Ruby's jewellery shop of up to eighty percent off everything!" Rarity's smile turned into a sour pour and she stomped a hoof against the floor. "When I had gotten there though, the entire thing turned out to be a hoax!" she added with a huff.
"So Sweetie Belle must've just missed you and gone on home without waiting, huh?"
"That's certainly what I believe. Of course it's also entirely possible that she had forgotten."
Scootaloo reached into her bag and produced the two spray cans that she had found earlier. "Are these the cans of paint you use?"
Rarity took one into her magic and identified it closely. "Ah, yes! There's no mistaking it! This is a custom brand made from crushed and ground-up gemstones to offer maximum shine! Why, this is even the exact same colour I've been using for my redecorating."
"How can you tell?" Featherweight asked. "The shade might be slightly different."
Rarity shook her head. "I can tell from the ingredients on the back."
"... You've memorised the ingredients in spray cans?" Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Only the gemstones," Rarity explained. "Those are what provide the spray cans with their colours, after all."
"So these are the same as Sweetie Belle's," Scootaloo muttered as Featherweight made a note of that. "And are they easy to find?"
"Well, they're not the cheapest paint cans, but they are also by no means rare."
"D'you think you could write that down?" Scootaloo asked. "Er, our... article, will need written testimony like that."
"Oh, no problem at all." Rarity used her magic to levitate a quill and some parchment from Twilight's desk. "I'm sure that Twilight won't mind. Aaaand... done!"
"Sign it?"
Rarity raised an eyebrow, but complied nonetheless. The parchment was then taken by Featherweight, who also signed it beside Rarity's signature.
"So, was that every question that you had for me?" Rarity asked.
Scootaloo thought about it for a few seconds. 'There's still something else that's bugging me. Maybe I should show her that.' Scootaloo reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the purple cloak that was also found earlier. "You recognise this, right?"
"Oh! That's the same type of cloak that I bought for Sweetie Belle!" Rarity exclaimed, feeling the soft fabric with pouted lips. "But it's all dirty. Scootaloo, dear, you really should take better care of such fabulous designs."
"It's not mine!" Scootaloo told Rarity. "I, er, I mean I found it outside. I was wondering if you knew whose it was, since Sweetie Belle still has hers. I figured you made it or something, but... you just said 'bought'?"
"You think that I made this?" Rarity giggled and reached a hoof forward to pinch Scootaloo's cheek. "Oh, you little flatterer."
Scootaloo pulled her face away and quickly rubbed the sore spot on her cheek. "Then where'd you get it from?"
"A store up in Canterlot," Rarity answered. "I knew that this would look just right on Sweetie Belle, so I bought it for her. She really seems to love it."
"So then, it's not a one-of-a-kind item?" Scootaloo asked. "Anypony can get one?"
"That's right," Rarity confirmed. "In fact, now that I think about it, a filly approached me just last week who was wearing one of these. Maybe this cloak belongs to her?"
"A filly?" Scootaloo asked, exchanging a knowing glance with Featherweight. "Can I ask who?"
"I'm afraid that I don't know. Her face was obscured by her hood's shadow. She came to me with asking if I knew of anypony who could create high-quality wigs and I referred her to a friend of mine, Toupee Charmer. Though I warned her that his wigs are rather expensive, since such things aren't exactly in demand in this town. However, I was surprised when he had told me that the filly had sparked a new creative design that would take the world by storm."
"Take the world by storm? In what way?"
"I'm not so sure, either. He told me that he wants it to be a surprise, but said that the world of theatre will soon be showering him in bits. His only hint was to think of Yin and Yang."
"Yin and Yang?" Scootaloo asked. "What's that?"
"It's the balance of good and evil forces in the world," Featherweight explained.
"That's true, but I believe he was referring to the play about a young mare with another soul inhabiting her body," Rarity said. "When Yin takes over, Yang's hair as white as snow turns black, and her kind exterior becomes twisted and cruel."
Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "I don't really get it, but if that filly bought a wig, then-"
"I'm back!" Twilight announced as she entered the library, altering the others to her presence. "Good news! I was able to confirm that the paint on the glasses matched the paint on the town hall's walls!"
"Awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she jumped to her hooves and grabbed the glasses from Twilight's magic. "With this, there's no way we'll lose now!"
"'Lose'?" Twilight asked.
"U-Uhhh... L-Lose at making the school's best article, of course!" Scootaloo stashed all of her evidence into her saddlebag and glanced at the clock. It was about time for school to finish up, meaning that the trial would be starting in half-an-hour. "Well, thanks for answering all our questions for us! C'mon, Featherweight! We'd better go make that article!"
Featherweight nodded and rose to his hooves, bowing to the two mares before snapping a photograph of the two of them and then leaving behind Scootaloo. Twilight and Rarity simply shrugged before Twilight shut the library's door.
"So now that we know that the paint of these glasses match the paint on the town hall, we just need to know one more thing," Scootaloo said. "Who they belong to."
"The precinct is all the way on the other side of town," Featherweight said. "There's no way you can get there and ask for a hoofprint examination before the trial continues."
Scootaloo clicked her tongue and glared at the ground. "Darn it, I was so close! If only I just had a little more time..."
"... If you want, I can have the evidence examined for you," Featherweight said, surprising Scootaloo. "The cloak will probably have nothing, but the cans and the glasses might show just who they belonged to."
"You'd really do that for me?" Scootaloo asked.
"For my story, yes," Featherweight responded.
Scootaloo sighed. "Well, whatever. Just make sure you don't take too long, and I'll keep the trial going 'til you get back." Featherweight nodded his head as Scootaloo relinquished the glasses and one spray can. "... Thanks for doing this."
Featherweight blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, no problem." Putting the evidence into his own saddlebag, Featherweight took off down the town, running as fast as his little legs would allow him to.
Meanwhile, Scootaloo turned her gaze towards the direction of the school. "Alright then, let's do this. One 'not guilty' verdict for Sweetie Belle comin' right up."
After returning to the school, Scootaloo found Apple Bloom waiting for her with Sweetie Belle. The other foals had already moved to the park, and the three of them walked there together in complete silence. The tension was thick in the air, and when they arrived at the makeshift courtroom made out of cardboard boxes in the park, Scootaloo felt like her stomach was about to empty.
She noticed that Sweetie Belle's legs were shaking and that she had a long face. Putting a hoof to her friend's shoulder, she said, "Trust me. It'll be okay." Those words seemed to calm not only Sweetie Belle, but herself as well.
"Okay, we're ready for you," Archer said as she guided Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle towards the courtroom. The two took their places at the defence's bench, opposite to Diamond Tiara.
Apple Bloom, now donned once more in her judge's outfit, took her own place at the centre cardboard box, set a bit back so that she could watch over the entire courtroom.
"Here we go," Scootaloo muttered to herself. "It all ends here."
The gathering was loud as fillies and colts were discussing the previous trial and placing wagers on the current one. Passing bystanders stopped to look at the scene wild mild interest and curiosity before continuing on their ways.
Apple Bloom's squeaky hammer slammed down, silencing the ponies around her. "Court will now continue fer the trail of Miss Sweetie Belle."
"The defence is ready, Your Honour!" Scootaloo shouted, her voice loud and clear.
Apple Bloom nodded. "And the prosecution?"
Diamond Tiara was busy applying polish to her left forehoof and refused to answer Apple Bloom's question.
"Ah said, is the prosecution-"
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara placed her hoof polish down and glared at Apple Bloom. "I refuse to acknowledge this sham of a trial any further! The very fact that we are even having this second courtroom session is pathetic!"
"Objection!" Scootaloo shouted. "You won't be saying that after I'm done proving Sweetie Belle innocent!"
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara removed her tiara and threw it at Scootaloo. It bounced off of the filly's forehead and returned to Diamond's hoof. "You got this far on flimsy theories and pure dumb luck! I'm so confident you'll lose by the end of the first testimony that I'm not even giving this trial my full attention anymore!"
Apple Bloom slammed her gavel a few times. "Diamond Tiara! Would ya please stop throwin' yer tiara at the defence?! That can't be safe!"
"Actually, it doesn't really hurt that much," Scootaloo said.
"Maybe you've just crashed into so many walls that it doesn't even bother you?" Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Idiots. I'm using a Nerf tiara today," Diamond explained.
"They... make Nerf tiaras now?" Scootaloo asked in a state of utter bewilderment.
"Idiot. Obviously I had it custom-made for this trial."
"Um... why?" Scootaloo's question was answered by another tiara to her face. "... Oh."
"Now, if we're quite done, perhaps you wouldn't mind just wrapping this all up already?"
"That's what ah'm tryin' ta do," Apple Bloom said, "But ah need the prosecution ta let me know it's ready first."
Silver Spoon cleared her throat, attracting everypony's attention to the fact that she was standing right beside Diamond Tiara. "Yeah, about that... Diamond has asked me to take care of all the boring stuff for this trial." Diamond Tiara picked up her polish and resumed polishing her hooves.
Apple Bloom sighed. Diamond Tiara could get notoriously stubborn when things didn't go her way. "Well, so long as she's present, ah guess that'll be enough. Now, when we left off last time, we had discovered that a new witness had come ta light an' ah had decided that we should hear from her. Has the prosecution prepared the witness?"
Silver Spoon glanced at Diamond Tiara, who was examining her forehoof, and then turned back to Apple Bloom. "Di says 'yes'."
'She didn't say anything!' Scootaloo yelled inside her head.
"Very well then. Let's hear from the witness," Apple Bloom said.
Twist stood at the witness stand, smiling sweetly as she adjusted the glasses on her face. "Wow, this is super exciting!"
"Ye're wearin' yer glasses now?" Apple Bloom asked. "What happened ta yer contacts?"
"Oh, they weren't working out," Twist said with a frown, before immediately smiling once more. "But hey, glasses aren't so bad! So, what should I do now?"
"Well, if y'all could just testify as ta what ya saw that day, that'd be real helpful of ya."
Twist closed her eyes and reached into her saddlebag. As she opened her eyes, she pulled her hoof out quickly, revealing several lollipops in her hoof, which she threw backwards into the crowd of foals behind her. As expected, the foals immediately began to fight over the tasty treats.
"No problem! Sorry Sweetie Belle, but I've gotta tell the truth!"
'More like your version of the truth,' Scootaloo thought.
-WITNESS TESTIMONY-
"I was just passing by that street on my way home.
"There was nopony else there when that chase happened to pass by me.
"I had my new contacts in, so naturally, I saw everything clearly, including Sweetie Belle's face as she ran past me.
"I didn't see any glasses on Sweetie Belle. I think Silver Spoon must've just seen wrong.
"I didn't even know about the vandalism until this morning, and I certainly don't have any motive for it."
-END TESTIMONY-
Apple Bloom hummed in thought. "It seems that she really is nothin' more than a witness."
Diamond Tiara grunted. "Uh, she says 'I told you so'," Silver Spoon translated.
"Just one question, Twist," Apple Bloom said. "Why didn't y'all come forward before?"
"... Well, I didn't really feel comfortable with telling on one of my classmates," Twist admitted with a frown. "I'm not exactly very popular to begin with, y'know."
Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah understand. And Scootaloo, please remember that she is not a suspect," Apple Bloom said. "Badgering the witness will also not be tolerated."
"Don't worry, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said, punching her forehooves together with a confident grin. "I've got this in the bag."
Diamond Tiara gave a disinterested yawn. "Di wants you to just hurry up and admit defeat already," Silver Spoon said.
"Then if you are ready," Apple Bloom said, "You may begin."
-CROSS-EXAMINATION-
"I was just passing by that street on my way home.
"There was nopony else there when that chase happened to pass by me.
"I had my new contacts in, so naturally, I saw everything clearly, including Sweetie Belle's face as she ran past me.
"Hold it!"
"I had my new contacts in... so naturally... I saw everything clearly..."
"Gotcha!" Scootaloo rubbed a hoof against her chin. "Say, Twist, is everything okay?"
"Huh? Uh, everything's fine," Twist said in a confused tone. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just that, during that last testimony, your eyes shifted about when you said 'I saw everything clearly'."
"! D-Did they now? Well, so what if they did? It's nerve-racking being up here."
"No, I think it's something else," Scootaloo said. "The fact that it happened when you talked about how you could see clearly leads me to think that you were lying about that. Maybe... you couldn't see at all?"
"... Heh. Sorry, but with my contacts in, I could see everything just fine."
"That is, if you were wearing contacts."
"... Then where's your proof that I wasn't. You can't prove anything, can you?"
"Oh, I think I can."
"?!"
"Here's the proof that you couldn't see as clearly as you claimed during the incident." Scootaloo reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a photograph. "Take that!" She present the photograph to Apple Bloom. "These are a pair of glasses that me and Featherweight found during our investigation." "..."
"Twist, these are your glasses, aren't they? They were found at the scene of the chase behind some bins. The fact that they were there shows that you were wearing glasses that day, not contacts. At some point you threw them away, meaning that you couldn't possibly see anymore. Isn't the right?"
"... Ngh!" Twist's glasses began to fall from her face and she quickly push them back up. "T-That's... I... !" Twist took a deep breath and regained her composure. "... Those glasses aren't mine."
"... What?" Scootaloo asked, starting to sweat.
"Right. Those glasses, they can't be mine. I mean, like I said, I didn't wear any that day."
"Objection!" Scootaloo held the picture up once more. "Anypony from our class could tell that these are yours!"
"Why? Because they look similar? Who's to say that somepony else just doesn't own a pair with the same frame?" Scootaloo growled, but gave no further response. "You see? It was a nice try, but unless you can prove that they're mine, your argument is nothing but conjecture," Twist concluded with an angelic smile.
"Ah'm afraid she's right, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said. "Also, remember what ah said that Twist is not a suspect."
"Ngh!" Scootaloo began to chew on her hoof. 'What do I do now? How can I prove that those glasses are hers?'
"Di would like to know if you're ready to end this farce of a trial already," Silver Spoon announced.
"While ah doubt that Diamond even knows what 'farce' means, ah'll agree that this testimony seems rather solid. Scootaloo? Do y'all have any last evidence to present ta the court?"
"... I... I've got nothing..." 'C'mon, Featherweight! What's takin' ya?!'
"Then I guess this cross-examination is now over then, right?" Twist asked, pulling out several more lollipops from her bag and throwing them to the crowd of foals behind her. "Does that mean I'm done here and can go back to the gallery, now?"
"Yes, it does," Diamond Tiara said, placing her hoof polish down. "It also means we can now get the verdict that should have been given last trial."
"Okay!" Twist turned to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and waved a hoof. "Bye guys! Sorry I couldn't have been anymore help!"
Twist turned around and began to leave. "Hold it!" Twist stopped, and everypony looked around for the source of the interruption. Their eyes fell on Featherweight, who was panting as he approached the stand. "You can't end the trial just yet!"
An uproar began to stir up and Apple Bloom silenced it with her gavel. "Order! Order! What're y'all goin' on about?!"
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara removed her tiara and threw it at Scootaloo.
"WHY ME?!" Scootaloo demanded.
"What are you doing, Featherweight?!" Diamond Tiara demanded, ignoring Scootaloo's protesting cries. "This trial is over! Why are you butting in all of a sudden?!"
"I just got back from the Ponyville Police Station," Featherweight reported, "Where I asked the police there to check some items for hoofprints!"
"And?" Scootaloo asked. "What did they find?"
"... The glasses that we found, along with the cans, all had Twist's hoofprints on them!"
The crowd burst into a rising uproar again, and this time it took many slams of Apple Bloom's gavel to quiet them down. "Order! Order! AH SAID ORDER!" When all was silent once more, Apple Bloom asked, "What's this about 'the cans'?"
"Oh, right. We found two cans along with the glasses," Scootaloo explained. "We confirmed with Rarity that they are the same type that she gave to Sweetie Belle, even the exact same colour."
"Hold on," Apple Bloom said, "Sweetie Belle got those cans from Rarity?"
Scootaloo nodded and produced Rarity's written testimony. "She told us that she's redecorating her room, and that she asked Sweetie Belle to hold onto the cans for her. The reason Sweetie Belle was carrying a can to Rarity's last night was because Rarity asked her to take one over."
"Objection!" Diamond Tiara yelled. "Family testimony is not admissible! She could be simply covering for the defendant!"
"Objection!" Featherweight shook his head. "I was there when we questioned Miss Rarity. Miss Rarity knows nothing of this trial, nor even the suspicions towards her little sister."
"Featherweight, you... What's you game?"
"I'm just looking for a story," Featherweight said simply.
Scootaloo slammed her hooves onto her bench. "In any case, we now know that those glasses belong to Twist. After all, how else could her hoofprints have gotten onto them?!"
Diamond gasped and took a step back. "I-Impossible!"
Apple Bloom turned her attention towards Scootaloo. "What are y'all suggestin' here?"
"... Well, think about where Twist was found. It was just around a sharp corner, meaning that she would have had plenty of time to remove her cloak and hide her spray cans before her pursuers caught up with her."
"! Scootaloo, are ya really sayin' that-"
"That's right!" Scootaloo pointed an accusatory hoof towards Twist. "The defence hereby accuses Twist of vandalism and attempting to frame the defendant for her crime!"
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara was glaring daggers towards Scootaloo by this point. "You! Do you even realise how absurd that all is?! She was trying to frame Sweetie Belle? How exactly would she even know that Sweetie Belle would pass by that street at that time?!"
"Simple," Scootaloo said. "Sweetie Belle takes karate classes, and they end at around that time."
Apple Bloom's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Ah didn't know that... Wait! Then wouldn't that be an alibi for Sweetie Belle?"
"I already checked that out," Featherweight said. "Her karate class ended thirty minutes before the incident. There would be plenty of time for her to stop by the town hall and vandalise the wall, and then make it to Rarity's by sprinting."
"Oh. Ah see..."
"Since Sweetie Belle was on her way to Carousal Boutique, a smart filly like Twist could estimate the time that she would cross that street. Even if she was a little off, as long as she kept to that street, there would be plenty of corners to hide from her pursuers, who would immediately hone in on Sweetie Belle upon losing her!"
"Oh!" Sweetie Belle said suddenly. "That's why the previous witnesses thought that I 'rocketed ahead'! Because I was already much further along the street than Twist was!"
"That's right!" Scootaloo confirmed. "However, Twist must have got some of the paint onto her glasses. As well as being a pain to see through, it was also a very obvious piece of evidence, so she removed them and hid them with her cans!"
"N... NNNNNOOOOOO!" Diamond Tiara yelled as she held her head in her hooves.
"Hold on," Silver Spoon said. "What about her purple cloak?"
"That's easy," Scootaloo said. "Sweetie Belle had been wearing it everywhere lately, because it was a gift from her sister. However, it wasn't made by her sister, as you might think. It was purchased from a store in Canterlot, meaning that anypony with that cloak could pretend to be Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo reached into her saddlebag. "As for proof of this... Take that!" Scootaloo produced the purple cloak and presented it to the court. "This was the final item that we found on that street!"
"I-It's identical ta the cloak that was found in Sweetie Belle's room!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. The crowd burst out into a series of mumbles that Apple Bloom swiftly silenced with her gavel. "Order! Twist, w-what's goin' on here?! Did ya really-"
"Objection!" Twist slowly turned around, a dark frown covering her face. As soon as she was facing Apple Bloom, the frown turned back into its angelic smile. "Oh, I guess those were my glasses. My bad," she giggled.
Scootaloo slammed her hooves onto her bench. "'My bad' won't cover it! We know these are yours now!"
"... Well, yeah. But so what?"
"S-S what?" Scootaloo asked. "What d'you mean 'so what'?"
"I mean, just because they're mine... what does that prove? That I dropped them there during the chase?" Twist adjusted the glasses on her face. "Or maybe I dropped them before the chase, at an earlier date."
"!" Scootaloo bit down on her lip. "T-That..."
"I'll concede that those are my glasses. The only reason I denied it before was because I had forgotten, but I remember clearly now."
"... Quite right," Diamond Tiara said after taking a moment to compose herself. She then gave Scootaloo a wicked grin. "Besides, there's another piece of evidence that disproves your wild claims."
"Another piece?" Apple Bloom asked in a surprised tone.
Diamond Tiara nodded. "It seems as though our witness has noticed it, too. So then, let's have her explain it herself."
"Sure!" Twist said in a cheerful tone, before digging into her bag and pulling out a hoofful of candies in their wrappings and throwing them backwards into the crowd of ponies behind her. "I'll make sure it's a sweet testimony this time!"
-WITNESS TESTIMONY-
"Those glasses are mine, but I dropped them there a couple of weeks ago.
"I was helping my dad with painting his new wagon when some paint got onto them. They were an old prescription anyway, so I decided to throw them away with the spray cans.
"They must have fallen out of the trashcan when I threw them in there. It was pretty full.
"Anyway, I have nothing to do with this incident. I certainly have no motive for vandalising the town hall.
"And besides, Sweetie Belle practically left her calling card there. There's no doubt that it was her."
-END TESTIMONY-
"There you have it," Diamond Tiara said. "The glasses and the spray can have nothing to do with this incident."
"Hold on! What about the purple cloak that we found?!" Scootaloo demanded.
Twist simply shrugged. "I've never seen it before in my life. Maybe somepony tried to throw it away and it fell out, like what happened with me?"
Scootaloo grinded her teeth together. 'I... have no response to that...'
Apple Bloom nodded to Scootaloo. "Then if ye're ready, begin yer cross-examination."
"S-Sure..."
-CROSS-EXAMINATION-
"Those glasses are mine, but I dropped them there a couple of weeks ago.
"Hold it!" Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "If that's true, then why did nopony find them until now?"
Twist shrugged. "Maybe they just weren't easy to spot. Or maybe somepony did find them but just didn't care."
"... I guess that's possible," Scootaloo reluctantly admitted.
"Right, so as I was saying..."
"I was helping my dad with painting his new wagon when some paint got onto them. They were an old prescription anyway, so I decided to throw them away with the spray cans.
"Hold it!" Scootaloo held up the two spray cans. "While it's true that one is empty, the other clearly isn't. Why would you throw away a perfectly good spray can?"
Twist put a hoof to her chin. "I never noticed. My dad's the one who told me to throw them away. Maybe the nozzle got stuck and he thought it was empty? He never was very good with DIY stuff before." Twist gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of her head. "Um, but don't tell him I said that, please."
"... Fine," Scootaloo sighed in a defeated tone. "Moving right along..."
"They must have fallen out of the trashcan when I threw them in there. It was pretty full.
"Hold it! Didn't you notice when you threw them away?"
"They hadn't fallen out when I put them in and turned around," Twist asserted. "But then thinking back to it, I wouldn't be surprised if they had fallen out after I had left."
"Unless you can prove otherwise, you'll just have to take her word for it," Diamond Tiara told Scootaloo with a grin.
'Yeah right,' Scootaloo thought as she flopped onto her bench. 'Like I can prove that. This cross-examination really isn't going well.'
"Anyway, I have nothing to do with this incident. I certainly have no motive for vandalising the town hall.
"Hold it!" Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "Maybe that's too general a statement to make. What if it didn't matter what you were vandalising."
"Objection!" Diamond Tiara shook her head. "If you're going to make such bold statements, then you had better have the evidence to back them up."
"Well, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked. "Do you have proof that Twist's motives have nothin' ta do with the town hall itself?"
"... No," Scootaloo admitted, bowing her head in defeat.
"Heh. That's what I thought," Diamond Tiara said. "Well then, witness, let's just move on with your testimony."
"Sure!"
"And besides, Sweetie Belle practically left her calling card there. There's no doubt that it was her."
"Hold it!" Scootaloo shouted. "What do you mean by 'her calling card'?"
"I mean the evidence that proves I had nothing to do with this incident," Twist answered, stirring up the crowd behind her.
Apple Bloom's gavel silenced them. "If that's true," Apple Bloom began, "Then let's see it. This so-called evidence of yours."
"Sure thing, although this is really more the prosecution's job."
Apple Bloom turned to Diamond Tiara. "Well then, let's see it. What's the 'calling card' that shows that Twist had nothing to do with this incident?"
"Have a look!" Diamond Tiara presented a piece of card to the court. "This is one of the four invitations that Sweetie Belle had written and given out to our witnesses. Recall that they are all written in her hoofwriting."
"! Those invitations..." Scootaloo muttered.
"But I didn't write those!" Sweetie Belle protested.
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara yelled. "This is your hoofwriting! Are you suggesting that there's somepony else in our class who could mimic such hoofwriting perfectly, and four times, no less?!"
'... Actually,' Scootaloo thought, rubbing a hoof against her chin, 'Not from our class, but...' "... Your Honour, have the witness add this to her testimony."
Apple Bloom nodded and slammed her gavel. "Witness?"
"Of course!" Twist responded with a smile.
"Sweetie Belle wrote out those invitations and sent them to those four witnesses, so there's no mistake that she's the one who vandalised that wall."
"Objection!" Scootaloo pulled out her own invitation from her saddlebag. "I'm afraid that that's not true. You see, Sweetie Belle didn't write these."
"! W-What're y'all gettin' at, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara removed her tiara and threw it at Scootaloo. "Explain this at once! Are you honestly suggesting that there's somepony in our class who can copy hoofwriting to that extent?!"
Scootaloo shook her head. "Not from our class," she said. "You see, I ran into somepony during my investigation, who said that she was asked to make four copies of a certain invitation, all in the exact same hoofwriting as a sample that was given to her."
Twist jumped, whilst Diamond Tiara simply scoffed. "You must be joking, right?"
Scootaloo shook her head. "She even told me that there was a simple method to prove that they were her work. All we have to do is... just add water."
"Water?" Apple Bloom asked, receiving a nod from Scootaloo. Apple Bloom hummed in thought for a second, before slamming her gavel down once. "Bailiff! Prepare some water from the nearby fountain immediately!"
"T-This is ridiculous!" Diamond protested as Shady Daze ran with an empty bottle towards a nearby drinking fountain. When he returned, he poured the water onto the invitation on Scootaloo's bench as she held it out.
"... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rocketed backwards, as did Shady Daze, as the invitation sparked to life and erupted into a show of fireworks for all of five seconds. It ended with a pattern shaped like a crescent moon and a star-tipped wand. "T-There! That's the cutie mark of the mare who told us that!"
Apple Bloom blinked. "T-That's certainly one way ta mark yer work," she said. "So, ah'm ta understand that these invitations are..."
"Forgeries," Scootaloo finished. "Designed by somepony to frame Sweetie Belle." The crowd once again broke out into an uproar, but Apple Bloom made no attempts to silence it this time, too invested in Scootaloo's story to even notice it herself. "The one who gave us this useful information also told us that they had seen two fillies wearing the same purple cloak that Sweetie Belle has been wearing lately, and that one of them had asked her to make those invitations!"
"Ye're kiddin'!" Apple Bloom shouted. "W-Well, which one?!"
"Unfortunately, she was unable to identify them," Scootaloo said. "We have her written testimony right here."
"Let me see that!" Diamond Tiara demanded, though her request was denied as the testimony was given to Apple Bloom instead.
"'The Great and Powerful Trixie'?" Apple Bloom read.
"T-That showmare?!" Diamond Tiara asked. "You can't honestly expect her testimony to be reliable, after the whole ursa minor fiasco!"
"Why not?" Scootaloo asked. "It's not like she has anything to personally gain from lying to us, and we did find the second cloak, after all. Besides that, Rarity has also mentioned seeing a second filly wearing the same cloak!"
"I... ITCAN'TBE!" Diamond Tiara yelled as she held a hoof to her chest and breathed heavily, Silver Spoon quickly patting her friend's back.
"Deep breaths, Di! Deep breaths!"
Scootaloo slammed her hooves onto her bench and then pointed at Twist. "Twist, are you finally ready to admit the truth?!"
Twist looked around quickly, biting her lip and sweating heavily. "I... I..."
"Sweetie Belle's 'invitations' have been proven to be fake, and your glasses and two spray cans were found with the other purple cloak, along the path of the chase! There can be no doubt now as to your crime!"
"Objection!" Twist shouted, stomping her right forehoof onto the ground. "I-I already told you, I lost them weeks ago! T-There must be a third filly with a cloak, that's all!"
"Well Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked. "Isn't that also a possibility?"
Scootaloo shook her head. "Remember that Silver Spoon stated that the culprit was wearing glasses. The only other fillies I can think of who wear glasses are either too small or too big to be mistaken from Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "Besides, I'm sure we could find out if Twist's story is true by asking her dad."
Twist gasped. "That's... That's..."
"Objection!" All eyes turned to Diamond Tiara, who rose from her hyperventilating position and flicked her mane coolly. "That won't be necessary... because it's clear that Sweetie Belle is guilty."
"! H-How can you still be accusing Sweetie Belle, after we discovered that the invitations were fake?!"
"Heh. Clearly Sweetie Belle did that in the hopes of making it look like she was framed," Diamond said. "Whatever the case, it does not change the fact that Berry Pinch saw that it was Sweetie Belle."
Twist stared blankly at Diamond Tiara for a second, before giving a gasp of remembrance and then smiling at Apple Bloom. "T-That's right. Berry Pinch saw Sweetie Belle's mane and coat, right?"
"!" Apple Bloom slowly nodded her head. "Y-Yeah. That's right..."
"Well, I'll concede that my coat is similar enough to be mistaken for Sweetie Belle's at a distance, but my mane is a totally different colour." Twist tilted her head and gave a light giggle as she smiled even brighter. "I don't think that somepony with twenty-twenty vision would make that mistake."
Scootaloo bit the tip of her hoof as she thought about it for a second. "... Well, what if the witness used a wig?"
"If a wig was used," Diamond began, "Then prove it. Show us the wig that the witness supposedly used."
"... What now?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo.
Scootaloo groaned and lowered her head. "It's no use. We didn't find a wig at the scene."
"What's that?" Diamond asked, putting a hoof to her ear. "Do my ears deceive me, or has the defence finally started to speak some sense for the first time this trial?"
"There has to be some way that she was able to hide that wig," Scootaloo muttered to herself. "Okay, I just gotta stay calm and think about this... If Sweetie Belle's innocent, then Twist has to be the real culprit..." Scootaloo closed her eyes and began to think.
'If Twist is the culprit, then she either disguised her mane to look like Sweetie Belle's, or Berry Pinch just saw wrong. Which one could it be?
'She disguised her mane! I can't imagine that Berry Pinch saw wrong with her vision, and she'd have no reason to lie about what she saw. So then, how did she do it? It could have been a wig, or mane dye.
'She used a wig! There'd be no chance for her to wash out her mane dye in that short span of time she had after rounding the corner. So she removed the cloak, the glasses and the wig. But where did she hide the wig?
'She hid it on her person! The wig wasn't present at the scene, and she couldn't have removed it at the town hall, so she must have taken it with her. But then, why didn't Snails see it on her? Why?
'It looked like something else! It must have been made to look like something that didn't stand out, but what? ... Wait, didn't Rarity say this wig was special? Something about Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang... Ah! C-Could it mean-
'The wig had two sides!'
Scootaloo opened her eyes slowly. "I-I think I've got it..."
"If there are no further objections from the defence, then ah shall have ta end this cross-examination-"
"Objection!" All eyes turned to Scootaloo, who was staring determinedly at Twist. "Your Honour, the defence has solved the mystery! I know how Twist was able to disguise herself as Sweetie Belle!"
"! Y-You're bluffing!" Diamond challenged.
Twist simply stared back with a neutral expression on her face. "When I questioned Rarity, I had learned that a certain filly in a purple cloak had asked about where she could find a wig. She was directed to a specialist wigmaker!"
"Objection!" Diamond Tiara slammed a hoof onto her bench. "Need I repeat myself? No wig was found at the scene of the crime, or at the scene of the chase!"
Scootaloo nodded her head, surprising her opponent. "That's right. So we need to ask ourselves: why was there no wig found? The only possible answer... is that the witness took it with them from the scene!"
The crowd began to mumble at this new theory. "Silence!" Diamond threw her tiara at Scootaloo, who skilfully dodged it this time. "Are you insane?! Even a blockhead like Snails would notice if Twist had Sweetie Belle's mane!"
"T-That's right!" Twist said, her eyes shaking as she bit her lip. "Your story makes no sense!"
Scootaloo shook her head. "But it's the only possibility. The trouble is, you're right. The wig would stand out as it was. But actually, it turns out that this wig in particular has a special property."
"Oh?" Diamond asked. "Then enlighten us. What's this 'special property' of your make-believe wig?"
"She said that the wigmaker was inspired by the client's request, stating that it would revolutionise theatre. In particular, he mentioned 'Yin' and 'Yang'."
"Who and what?"
"Two characters from a play," Silver Spoon told Diamond. "Yang is a girl with long, beautiful white hair and a warm personality, but she turns into Yin, a girl with long black hair and cruel- ... Wait."
"That's right," Scootaloo said with a nod. "The colour of the hair suddenly changes. That got me thinking... what if the wig actually had two sides."
"Two sides?" Apple Bloom asked. "Like a reversible jumper?"
"N-No way!" Diamond shouted. "You can't possibly mean that!"
"Oh, but I do," Scootaloo said. "The wig is designed to look like Sweetie Belle's mane on one side, and Twist's on the other. That way, she could just wear it over her real mane, and nopony would even notice the difference!"
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara slammed her hoof so hard onto her bench that it collapsed. "That is... beyond stupid! What about the horn, huh?! The culprit was seen to have a horn!"
"A fake horn is hardly a trick to make and dispose of," Scootaloo argued. "In any case, we can prove whether or not Twist used this special wig!"
"Y-You can?" Twist asked, now breathing heavily as she looked all around her.
"For whatever reason, you didn't simply hide the wig like you did everything else. In fact, you went so far as to make it reversible just so that you could sneak it away from the scene."
"Why would she do that?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'm guessing a wig like that would be too much for her allowance to afford, so she simply borrowed it."
"Though I warned her that his wigs are rather expensive, since such things aren't exactly in demand in this town. However, I was surprised when he had told me that the filly had sparked a new creative design that would take the world by storm."
"My sister said that?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah. Maybe she was allowed to borrow the wig since she helped with designing it, but that would mean that she couldn't simply leave it at the scene." Scootaloo turned back to Twist, who had taken a step back from the witness stand. "I also doubt you had any time last night or this morning to return it, meaning that the wig should still be in your home!" Scootaloo pointed a hoof towards Twist. "The defence demands a search to take place immediately!"
"Silence!" Diamond Tiara's hoof was shaking furiously whilst Snips and Snails removed the crushed bench and brought in a new one. "Do you really think I would allow such a search to take place?! All you gave are flimsy theories and wild stories! I will not allow you to invade the witness' privacy on just that!"
Apple Bloom slammed her gavel. "Diamond Tiara raises a good point. A filly's bedroom is a sacred ground, and shouldn't be invaded lightly. However, Scootaloo's story... surprisingly makes sense ta me."
"A-Apple Bloom..." Scootaloo muttered.
"Therefore, ah'll conduct the search personally," Apple Bloom declared, giving Twist a reassuring smile. "Ah've been in Twist's room before, and since we're good friends, it won't be so bad as some random filly or colt rummagin' through her stuff."
"Can it!" Everything fell silent as all eyes turned to Diamond Tiara, who had said nothing. All eyes then turned to Scootaloo, who was equally silent. Then all eyes rested on Twist... whose head was hung low as she panted heavily. "You... and me..." Twist raised her head. She was glaring daggers into Apple Bloom's eyes. "We're not friends!"
"T-Twist?" Apple Bloom squeaked, blinking at Twist's outburst.
"W-What are you doing?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Are you trying to hurt my case?!"
"Can it!" Twist shouted, startling Diamond Tiara. "Do you really think I care about my case?! You don't have to search my room! There'd be no point! ... Because you'll find the wig there."
Everypony gasped and the crowd became awash of loud conversation. Apple Bloom's gavel silenced everypony. "Twist... are y'all... confessing, right now?"
Twist, breathing so heavily that her glasses began to steam up, simply adjusted the glasses on her face and nodded her head.
"But... why? Why would ya do such a thing? Y'all are one of the kindest, sweetest fillies ah know. And ta frame one of our friends?"
"Can it!" Twist turned her glare towards Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "What, just 'cause they're your friends, they're mine, too? Tell me, at what point did you assume that we were still friends?"
"W-What? But... we never stopped bein' friends, did we?"
"You... Ever since you met these two, you've never once come round to my house, or asked me to play with you... You abandoned me for these two! You betrayed me, so I decided to enact my revenge by separating you from your precious friends!"
Apple Bloom simply stared at the huffing filly in complete and utter shock. "T-Twist, ah... ah didn't think... Y'all already had yer cutie mark, so ah thought that-"
"You never asked," Twist said in a bitter tone. "You never said anything to me after your new friends entered your life. You just... forgot about me. You left me all alone, and it hurt..."
Scootaloo bit her lip as she watched the scene between the two. "Uh... h-hey, I'm sure she didn't mean to-"
"Can it! What do you know?! You were the lucky one! You were picked over me!"
"That's not true!" Apple Bloom shouted in protest. "Ah-Ah never abandoned ya, ah jus'... Ah was jus' so distracted with tryin' ta find mah cutie mark that ah... O-Oh Celestia, Twist, ah'm so sorry..." Tears began to well in Apple Bloom's eyes and, as Twist turned back to face her, she could see tears coming from the other filly, too.
"Ugh!" Everypony's attention was drawn to Diamond Tiara, who was rubbing her head with an annoyed look on her face. "Give me a break! You losers just had to turn this into some sappy soap opera, didn't you?! Silver Spoon, we're going."
"W-Wait!" Scootaloo shouted. "You can't just-"
"Trial's over! You won!" Diamond Tiara shouted. "And now I've lost interest, so I'm going. Silver Spoon, let's go!"
"Coming, Diamond!" Silver Spoon shouted as she followed after her friend. As the two walked, Silver Spoon glanced backwards to find Apple Bloom slowly approaching Twist, and the two fillies proceeding to hug each other. "... Hey, Di? If... If the two of us ended up hurting each other... do you think we'd be able to patch things up again?"
Diamond Tiara stopped and turned to give Silver Spoon an annoyed glare. "Don't ask stupid things," she said before turning back and continuing to walk on. "We'd never fight in the first place. I wouldn't allow it."
Silver Spoon simply stared for a second, before smiling and following after her friend.
Back at the courtroom, Twist was bawling into Apple Bloom's shoulder whilst Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle simply watched and waited to see what would happen.
"I'm so sorry, Apple Bloom," Twist said through her tears. "I-I don't know what got into me. I was just so upset, so angry, I-"
"It's okay, Twist," Apple Bloom said. "Ah'm not mad... Ah'm really not..."
"I-I swear I'll tell Mayor Mare the truth and wash off all that graffiti, right away."
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Ya can tell her the truth, but ya won't be in this alone. Ah'm ta blame, too, fer puttin' a silly cutie mark before mah friend."
Sweetie Belle called out to the two fillies to get their attentions. "I'll help, too!" she told them. "And don't worry, Twist. I'm not mad at you."
Scootaloo scratched the back of her head. "Well, if you're both gonna help her, I guess I'm in, too."
Twist could hardly believe what she was hearing. With a final sniff, Twist was able to forge a smile. "Thank you..."
"So, uh..." The four fillies turned to Snails. "Are you gonna give a verdict now, or what?"
Apple Bloom sighed and rose to her hooves. With a nod, she took her place back at her box and nodded to Sweetie Belle. "Defendant, please take the stand."
As Sweetie Belle passed by Twist, the latter filly said, "I'm sorry."
"It's really okay," Sweetie Belle responded.
"No, it's not. I planned this for weeks. I followed your movements to learn your routine and calculated the perfect way to frame you so that you'd be grounded, and I was planning to get Scootaloo next!"
"I said it's okay," Sweetie Belle repeated. "You're sorry, right? That's all I need to forgive you."
"... Y-You're... a really sweet pony, huh?"
Sweetie Belle giggled with a light blush. She then took her place at the stand and Apple Bloom cleared her throat. "Well then, it's been a very long, stand trial, but finally, we've discovered the truth behind the vandalism of the town hall. This court finds Sweetie Belle, on the charge of vandalism, 'Not Guilty'."
Everypony in the crowd pulled out their party poppers and pulled them at once, cheering as they showered the courtroom in confetti.
Apple Bloom slammed her gavel one final time. "Court is adjourned."
The following day at the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle was visited by four little fillies.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
Making new friends is always such a joy, but we mustn't forget our old friends, too! No matter how much fun you're having, or how distracted you are with a goal, you should always remember the fun times you've had with your friends, the bad times you've had with your friends, the times that you've had each other's backs, and especially, that your friendship is eternal. I learned the hard way that neglecting a friend is the fastest way of making somepony your enemy, and I was lucky that I was still able to regain my friend's trust, even if I deserved to lose her forever.
On the other hoof, I learned that I shouldn't just keep my feelings bottled up inside or wait for something to happen. I should have talked about my feelings, to my friend, or to anypony! I also learned that revenge is a sad, lonely act that only leaves you with a feeling of emptiness inside. Forgiveness, on the other hoof, is a pleasant act that leaves both sides feeling warm and can forms friendships between even the most unlikely of ponies.
All of us learned that friendship is magic, and eternal! We know that no matter what paths our lives each take, so long as we remember each other and stay connected, we'll always be best friends!
From you very loyal subjects,
The Cutie Marks Crusaders (now four members!)"
Twilight smiled and rolled the parchment up. "I'll make sure that Spike sends this off when he gets back."
The four fillies, all clad in their red Cutie Mark Crusaders capes, all rose to their hooves and returned Twilight's bright smile. "Thanks," Apple Bloom said before turning to Twist. "So, what d'ya wanna do today? Since yer the newest member, we'll let you decide."
Twist put a hoof to her chin. "Well, how about we go make some sweets at my house?" she suggested. "Princess Twilight can come, too!"
"Oh, no, I don't think that-"
"Princess Twilight!" a voice cried as the door to the library burst open. A pink and silver blur stopped itself at Twilight's side, revealing two smiling fillies looking up towards their favourite princess.
"Oh, good afternoon, girls," Twilight greeted. "What can I help you with? Another science fair project?" she asked with a teasing grin. "You sure do have a lot of those."
Diamond Tiara giggled nervously. "Yeah, well, you know teacher. She loooooves her science." Diamond shook her head. "Actually, Daddy is holding a special dinner party tonight and he said you're invited!"
"Oh! Well, I'm honoured, but-" Twilight felt some kind of force pulling at her left foreleg. She turned to find that it was four little fillies working together.
"She's already got plans with us!" Scootaloo shouted. "Go tell your dad that she'll have to take a rain check!"
"Uh, girls-" Twilight felt another force, this one pulling at her right foreleg.
"The princess would rather dine with nobility than play in the mud with commoners like yourselves!" Diamond argued as she and Silver Spoon pulled at the princess' leg.
"Girls, stop it! I-"
"Fine, then there's only one way to settle his!" Scootaloo shouted, releasing Twilight's leg and sending a challenging grin Diamond' way.
Diamond Tiara also released the leg and returned Scootaloo's grin. "Very well then. We'll hold a trial to determine who has ownership over Princess Twilight!"
"What?! You can't just-"
"Ah'll find us an impartial judge!" Apple Bloom declared.
"I'll come with you," Diamond said. "The rest of you prepare the courtroom and inform the class!"
The fillies all rushed out of the library, leaving Twilight Sparkle on her own whilst they dealt with her fate. Twilight stared at the open door for a second before sighing and closing it with her magic. Grabbing a nearby quill and parchment, she began to write.
"Dear Princess Celestia... I am writing to formally request the phasing of Law Education from elementary schools in Equestria."
-Turnabout Vandal: End- |
A new day in Equestria | pre | "Yes but the cake won't be ready before tomorrow.It has to cool over night. As I've already told Pinkie three times."
Rainbow starred nonstop at Grooves flank "uhu" while she daydreamed.
"Rainbow stop it!" whispered Twilight.
"What?" mused Rainbow feigning ignorance.
"Stop starring at his flank." hissed Twilight.
"Why? It's a really nice one."
Rainbow mustered the three stallions in front of them and had to admit that all three had nice looking ones.
"Horseapples! I think its almost that time of the year..." cursed Rainbow.
"What do you mean Rainbow?" Twilight eyed her friend cluelessly.
"I think I'm about to come in heat." whispered Rainbow with a deep red blush.
"OH." Twilight was really uncomfortable but Pinkie was not "Then you're almost three weeks early. That's not fair then you're all done when we are all ..." "Pinky stop it please!" interrupted Twilight the pink mare.
"Why?" deadpanned Pinky "OH right it's your third one this year, right?"
Twilight blushed like crazy, she has always been a little touchy that her heatcycle took itself so long to kick in. |
A new day in Equestria | Of Bee's and Unicorns | Twilight wasn't that much younger than Pinkie or the others, just two years younger than AJ and a few months younger than Rainbow Dash. Nonetheless she was the youngest of her friends.
When she moved to Ponyville she was afraid to tell that she, a full grown mare never had been in heat and tried to hide herself in her library as the mating season began.
Nopony would question that a lot of ponies did that during the two weeks and nopony would notice that her cycle wasn't active.
It was the morning before the mating season and Twilight noticed something off. Her concentration was off, she couldn't focus on anything and spellcasting was impossible.
She tried meditation to calm herself. When Spike spotted the manical expression in Twilights eyes he ran to get help.
He didn't knew what was going on but he feared another 'Smartypants incident'.
After gathering Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, Spike hurried back to the libary.
Twilight bolted arround in the library like a caged manticore.
"Calm down Darling. what is it? What's brotherring you Twilight?"
"I don't know... it's something that keeps me from... it feels like I don't know..." Twilight tried to sit still but then again started to pace arround the libary.
"The more I try to concentrate on what's wrong, the more... say Rarity, is that a new hat?"
"OK something really is wrong, since when does Twilight recnognise what ponies are wearing?" asked Rainbow.
"whatever do you mean darling? this hat is just a item to faboulus to ignore even for ... Twilight. I see now what you mean."
Pinkie grinned with a intensity like a sunbeam on a rainy day. "It's your first time? Oh Twilight this is really asking for a big glamorous party."
Twilight kept pacing "I'm sorry Pinkie but I'm really in no mood to celebrate at the moment. I could have Celestiaknowswhat maybe vascular dementia or even worse Alzheimer's."
Pinkie snorted at Alzheimer's "Oh don't be silly, Twilight you're just in season."
Twilight stopped dead in her tracks "in season? but I never was in season."
Pinkie interrupted her "see it's about time I mean you're only half a year younger than me and still hadn't had your first tingalingagoo." Pinkie said and touched her softly on her flank. Almost instantly Twilight felt incredibly aroused.
"See. You're just really sensitve right now and everything." she then leaned towards Spike "I would advise you to leave the town for the next two weeks..." she whispered. Spike couldn't make a rhyme out of it, till a few days later.
Spike didn't sleep really well, all night long he heard somepony moaning. The last few years he always was in Canterlot when the mating season took place. They locked themself up in Twilight's tower. They played games and were simply having fun together but now Twilight was a shiverring mess. "Morning Twi. Feeling any better?" he asked the mare which was shiverring in a corner of her bedroom.
"MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE SPIKE DO SOMETHING I CAN'T STAND THIS ANYMORE!" Twilight shouted while rubbing her Flank on the wall.
"Eww. Twilight gross get a hold of yourself. What could I do to make it stop?" Twilights eyes beamed with a manical Glimmer
"I don't know. SOMETHING! ANYTHING! JUST MAKE THE TINGELING STOP!" Spike started to realize what Pinkie meant
'I should have listened to Pinkie Pie and left town with the other Stallions'
Two days ago all Single stallions gathered to leave town. 'But I can't leave Twilight dealing with this all alone...'
Twilight started to drag her butt over the floor like a dog. 'EEEEWW, OK buck it ' "Sorry Twi I think it's better I visit ...your brother...or something ..." He frantically grabbed a few gems and left the libary.
He could hear Twilight shouting but he tried to ignore it.
Ponyville was in a really poor state everywhere mares with frantic eyes.
"Hey Spike!" Lyra trotted towards him. "oh hey Lyra. where's Bonbon?" greeted Spike the green mare.
"She's still asleep last two days were..." She snickered slightly "pretty exhausting. Say Spike..." she glanced at his hands "Could you lend me a helping ... hand?" a nervous eyetwitch "Hmm sure, what do you need?"
"I got this weird itching on my butt could you.....don't know do something about it? with your .....Hands?"
Spike realised what Lyra wanted him to do "OH no. No. Nononononono"
Spike ran into the woods and wasn't seen again for the next three weeks.
The little group arround Groove entered the street.
"I really favor the classical era. It was a really inspiring time, the political economics, the cultural distinctions, even two villages who were really close together often varied in cultural aspects.
But I also like the pre-classical era, the rise and fall of Star Swirl the Bearded."
Clouds interrupted Grooves history lesson "I really admire Star Swirl the Bearded did you know, he created more than 200 spells? He even has a shelf in the Canterlot library of magic named after him. He was the mentor of Clover the Clever, one of the founders of Equestria. I mean how cool is that? Someponys even believe he tutored Celestia herself. He is also rumored to have befriended Scorpan, and this is said to lead him to turn against his evil brother Tirek. I would really love to see his stained glass window in Canterlot, I heard it's really inspiring."The conversation had took an really sophisticated turn when the two Newbies discoverd their obsesion with historical events.
Now Twilight trotted alongside the two stallions
"I can assure you ...Rain Clouds was it?" The stallion nodded "his window really is divine, you can really feel his wisdom and compassion." Twilight stated.
Groove was happy to have found somepony to talk about 'Egghead stuff' how his brother used to call his hobbys and later his job.
"I really admire his dissertation about the fundamental differences in magic through the three tribes. His understanding of Earthpony magic was way ahead of his time. He was one of the first ponies to realize the connection between..."
Twilight interruptet Groove "wait, wait, wait, You had actually read Star Swirls dissertation about the fundamental differences in magic through the three Tribes? You've read it and you were able to understand it?" Groove looked at her dumbfounded.
"Well, a lot of the stuff about Pegasi and Unicorns went straight over my head and the translation wasn't that good but yeah I did.
Applied Magic isn't really one of my favored subjects but it was one of the most groundbreaking theories in the pre-classical era. My Teacher had me take at least three Klausuren 'bout him."
"EGGHEADS!!" Rainbow growled from behind.
"At least I'm not the only one who has no idea what they are talking about huh Pinkie?" she looked at Pinkie
"Don't be silly Dashy of course I know what they are talking about . I did also read it but Swirlsy was wrong when he assumed the significance of the consumed nutritions of a pony to be completly independent of their manareserves. this was debunked a good eighthundred years later by Einzel Stein when he released his dissertation about the different kinds of Magic and their effects on reality."
Pinky beamed with a innocent grin. "yeah Einzel Stein did indeed debunk a few minor errors." said Twilight and gave Pinky a approving but questioning smile. "He was also one of the first ponies who was able to theorize about the nature of chaos magic." said Twilight to underline Einzel Steins significance.
"Sadly, his reality theorem also led towards the development of the Harmony Bomb..." all three 'eggheads' looked down in mortified manner.
"The what now?" Rebound looked puzzled.
"The Harmony Bomb. A spell for military use, it concentrates a mass of Chaos magic particles into a supercritical mass the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing magical destructive chain reaction..."
lectured Twilight "by compressing a sub-critical sphere of Chaos magic expanding it to many times its original density... The after effects are ....horrible and hard to control..." she finished and an awkward silence befell the group.
Rainbow didn't understood one thing what Twilight had said.
"Maudi brought all of his books but she was pretty disappointed when she found out that he didn't wrote about rocks."
Twilight was confused. "Why should he write about rocks? He was a mathematician and physicist?"
Pinkie snickered "because his name means single stone so she thought he was a geologist." |
A new day in Equestria | Welcome to the neighborhood | "You live here?" Groove asked dumpfounded while standing in front of Clouds home.
A small typical Ponyville style building with a thatched roof and a balcony on the first floor.
"Yeah. Why are you so shocked?"
"Because I live right across the street." Groove said while pointing towards his door.
"That's funny. I live over there" said Rebound while pointing towards the door next to Groove's.
"What a funny coincidence." mused Twilight with a knowing smirk.
"Ok that's odd. Well nevermind welcome to the neighborhood." beamed Rebound brightly.
"Where do you want your Sir Fluffy?" Groove asked with a smirk on his muzzle.
Clouds opened his front door and made room for the couchcarrying stalion. "Simply drop it somewhere- I'm still unpacking and stuff." He said.
"Thank you again for carrying."
"No problem. Welcome to the neighborhood... even if I moved here a few days ago myself...."
"Well, usually I would invite you guys to come in and have some tea but my kitchen stuff is still somewhere in a box... well, I'm back to unpacking." Clouds said while he awkwardly closed the door.
"Oh Horseapples! I forgot, I promised Loolo to mow the lawn and have dinner ready when she comes back from playing with her friends. Sorry everypony I have to go."
With this words Rebound hurried across the street and Groove was left alone with the three mares.
Pinkie bounced up and down while chanting "Cake. Cake. Cake."
Rainbow Dash mustered his body like a Dragon on diet would muster a jewelry store and Twilight glared daggers at her pegasus friend.
"I live over there,...as you already know... If you would like to try the cake you can come by tomorrow ... I think the cake should be ready by then." He pointed at his door and tried to shoo the three away.
Pinkie snickered "Silly filly. ... no that wouldn't be right ... silly colty? Nah... stupid stallion. .. feels more like an insult ... " she rambled for a while about a fitting phrase.
"I'll help you make the cake." she smiled a friendly smile and hopped towards the doorway.
Rainbow Dash only nodded and said with a flat voice
"Yeah... what Pinkie said. "
Pinkie beamed brightly with joy
"Yay Dashy it's gonna be soo fun to bake cake with my friends it's one of my super duper most favorite things to do in the whole wide world. It's gonna be legen... wait for it."
She stopped mid sentence and smiled for a moment and then she bursted out "-dary! Legendary."
Rainbow Dash looked at her pink friend "Wait, what?"
Twilight seemed to ignore the hickhack between her friends and smiled politely "I hoped, we could talk a little longer about the classical era. I don't really get the chance to talk with an educated expert."
Groove could feel how his blood rushed to his cheeks. "Expert wouldn't be the word I would use. I'm a historian nothing more. that was my job."
Twilight blinked at him confused "Was your job?"
Groove blushed even harder "Scheisse ahem I mean yeah. I used to be a historian in Germane but here I'm currently unemployed soooo I used to be a historian. " he stammered embarrassed.
"Will you continue to work as historian here in equestria? Or do you plan to switch your field of expertise?"
Groove laughed "I've always dreamed about my own small bookshop. I hoped I could fulfill this dream of mine but I don't think it's gonna be soon...
To be honest the moving here was a lot more expensive than I had expected." He opened the front door and let the three mares inside his home.
The living room was sparely decorated with only a few pictures hung on the wall next to the kitchen door.
A pegasus stallion with a little earthpony filly playing with dolls.
A bunch of earth ponies working in an orchard.
Groove playing a giant double bass on a fancy looking party.
A small pegasus colt snuggling on the side of a unicorn mare.
Groove and the same unicorn mare snuggling in a restaurant, both beaming with joy.
A group of ponies standing infront of a barn the pegasus stallion with the little earth pony filly and Groove stood side by side. Next to Groove stood an older Pegasus mare who was obviously Grooves Mother. Groove could be her spliting image just younger and male. On the other side of Groove and the young Pegasus stood a dark green coated earth stallion who was to busy making funny faces for the little filly as to look in the camera.
A picture of two elderly ponys sitting on a porch exchanging affectionate glances with each others.
An old, black and white picture of a young Stallion in the Germane military dress uniform.
An old, black and white postcard picturing a street and a celestial cathedral.
A bunch of frames were stacked in the bookshelf next to the wall.
A lot of bookshelves almost all filled to the brimm with books were standing in the room.
"Wow it's looks like somepony tried to revive the Golden Oaks Libary... Oh sorry Twilight." blurted Rainbow and was paid with an angry glare from Twilight.
In the middle of the room stood a loveseat across from the chimney and two armchairs.
on the endtable next to the loveseat Rainbow spotted a familar sight.
A Daring Doo book, Rainbow knew every Book ever written by A.K. Yearling. but this book looked different "Daring Doo und das Ratsel der Funf Ringe des Schicksals?" She tried to read the title out loud but failed to pronounce it correctly.
Groove corrected her "Das Ratsel der Funf Ringe Schicksals. it's the germane translation of 'The Rings of Destiny.'
My fiance is a really big fan of Daring Doo."
"Why are there these funny dots over the a and the u?" asked Rainbow puzzled
"They are Umlaute. The equish language has simmilar pronounced sounds for example the ay in Day is simmilar to the Germane Ä..."
A loud crashing sound from the kitchen interrupted Groove's little lecture.
In the kitchen they found Pinkie burried under a pile of pots.
"Pinkie? What the hay were you doing? " asked twilight.
"I was looking for a mixing bowl to start the dough. But then stuff happened and now I'm on the floor and you guys came running and asked what I was doing... ahem ..sorry?"
" I'm sorry Pinkie but could you please not rummage through my cupboards on your own? "
"Schatz? Ist alles in Ordnung? oh we have guests... hello." After the noise Pinkie made, a petite mare came running to see what was causing it.
"Ladies, this is my fiance Tee Rose. Honey these girls are Pinkie Pie who wants to help bake the cake.
Rainbow Dash ... to be honest I have no idea what she wants here... and finally princess Twilight Sparkle."
Rose's eys grew big after realising that a member of the equestrian royalty has blessed her home with her presence.
"Oh my sweet Celestia... I'm sorry for the mess, your majesty. If I would have known that a princess would visit our little home I would have..." before she could finish Pinkie stopped her midsentence by showing her hoove in Rose's mouth.
"No need to worry. I'm just a normal pony just like everypony else, no need to make a fuss." said Twilight with a sad smile.
"She dosen't like it when you treat her like that. Just treat her like you would treat anypony
else." explained Pinkie with a forced smile.
"Oh I didn't know I'm sorry." Rose said with a disheartened look on her face
"It's no problem ..." Twilight said with a faked smile
"It just feels weird I mean last year I was just Twilight and only one spell later and the Twilight, I used to be ceased to exist... It's ..."
Rose smiled warmly and started to rummage through on of the shelves "I might have just the thing you need princess." she pulled out a small tin canister and started to boil some water "Anypony else want some tea?"
"Nope, thanks." Rainbow answered and pinkie snickered
"Hey Dashy when we three bake the cake we are three mares and one meassuring cup." Pinkie snorted
"Wait Pinkie, you remember what happened last time you tried to teach me how to bake?" Rainbow asked with a concerned look on her face.
"Yeah it was super duper....." Pinkie trailed off and stared into the void and before her inner eye she could see the gruesome scenes of rainbows last attempts at baking
'That shouldn't be able to burn?'
'AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! KILL IT! KILL IT!'
'I DON'T WANT TO DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
"... not fun. maybe it's better you sit this one out..." said Pinkie with a frown on her face.
"Well. I will leave here, got a cloud with my name on it."
"Do you mean a cloud cloud or the stallion next door?" asked Pinkie with a puzzled look.
"Yes." answered Rainbow and closed the front door behind her.
"So you want to help me with the cake I heard?" asked Rose Pinkie.
Rebound was mowing the lawn under the watchfull eyes of his little sister, or at least he was trying to.
With a loud boom the small lawnmower bursted into flames.
Blinded by the explosion he stumbled over the rake lying in the grass infront of him concealed by grass which wipped up and smacked his nose.
"OUCH! That smarts!" he mumbled while rubbing his hurting muzzle. "Great, now we need a new lawnmower ..."
Rainbow stared unbelivingly at the Unicorn trying to supress the laughter which started to rise inside her, but failed miserably.
Inside Scootaloo was observing how Rainbow Dash and her brother talked with each other.
She wasn't judging him for being a klutz, no she even played with her mane and gave him pretty obvious looks...
"That's it, now I know how i get Rainbow Dash to become my big sister." she exclaimed with a mischievious grin.
A few hours later the cake was baked, the guest had left and Groove and Rose got ready to leave for dinner at Sweet Apple Acres. |
Cadence's New Life Outside The Castle | pre | "Aah! Celestia of the fucking Sun!" Cadence screams in euphoria.
She immediately covers her muzzle, surprised at the words her mind had thrown out into the open. She had used her own aunt's name in vain--a minor sin in Equestria--and she said it out loud, and it felt amazing! She doesn't care if her majesty barged through the room out of nowhere and caught her screaming her name mixed with profanities, it's the exhilarating excitement coursing through her mind at the moment that she's focused on.
Lifting her head from her meal, Sizzle grins at the proud princess. "Woah, somepony has quite a potty mouth."
Cadence looks down at the pegasus and smiles while in the midst of her gleeful euphoria. "I know! I feel so free! Please, don't stop!"
"Hehe, as you wish, your highness."
Being called any royal title in a moment like this is pure blasphemy and heresy to the name of Celestia, but Cadence doesn't care, because she's free to do whatever she wants now without reprimand or repercussions.
Simmer climbs on top of the thirsting princess until her entire form covers her and their pussies are directly parallel to each other. She lightly drops her lower body down onto her partner's snatch, breaking out a small moan from the princess's muzzle. Smiling, she begins to move back and forth, rubbing her groin along Cadence's folds. The soft petals rub against each other like compassionate lovers; intertwining and folding over each other while lubricating themselves in their own tasteful secretions.
Both mares sing in elation as their minds become numb with rapture. Their moans of ecstasy become songs of joy and pleasure as their bodies conduct the tune of sin in the land of lustful gluttony. This feeling should last eons, an eternity even. It doesn't matter if it's immoral or against the norm; if one has a desire to achieve happiness and delight, what is stopping them?
As much as they want to continue this pursuit of reaching new heights of pleasure, Cadence feels something welling up inside her that seems to be storing up for one final explosion at the right moment. Her breathing speeds up and her heart begins to pump more excited blood through her veins to compensate for the rush of energy coursing through her.
"You're about to cum aren't you?"
Cadence struggles to look up at Simmer, who smiles with bliss.
"Come on then, princess, cum for me. Release all of your frustration and tension into this one orgasm."
As if her body was directly listening to the pegasus's command, Cadence's groin begins to spasm and convulse with a strange feeling of euphoria. It feels as if a rush of adrenaline is rushing through her veins to her brain, numbing all of her senses in every part of her body except for her vagina, which begins to tremble like an earthquake. She opens her muzzle to scream, but nothing escapes.
As quickly as it came, the surge suddenly disappears, leaving her body broken and exhausted with little tingles of bliss still coursing through her groin. Her vision is slightly blurry and she can barely see anything in front of her. Although, she can see a brown figure above her, blocking out the overhead lights. It comes closer, connecting its lips with hers and making her realize the figure is, in fact, Sweet Simmer.
"So, how did you like your first lesbian experience?"
It is a joy she's never felt in the castle or from being with Twilight. It's a sort of joy one would feel when the shackles of restrictions and boundaries have been bashed to pieces and one has finally been pardoned from their imprisonment. It's the first time in forever that Cadence had been set free.
The princess manages to calm down enough to talk. "It felt amazing! Being in the castle all the time restricts me from actually enjoying life. All the nonsensical royal duties, accompanying my aunt to meetings, acting refined and perfect for my subjects, it's all so annoying. But here..." She hugs her friend and rolls over until both ponies are on their sides. "...I can be free. I can be who I want to be without any restrictions."
Sweet Sizzle kisses the tip of Cadence's snout and smiles warmly. Her lust and libido have gone down, bringing out her gentle side. "Ya know, that's what everypony that comes here looks for: freedom. The customers escape the confinements of work and responsibility just to have some fun watching sexy ponies perform and serve them. We escape the social norms and demands of our authorities to feel something new, something most others would consider immoral. You're no different than the rest of us, Cadence."
The two ponies smile at each other and move closer for another kiss, but the sound of the door opening prevents them from enjoying themselves any further. The other waitresses file into the room but stop in the middle of the doorway to stare at the two sweaty ponies cuddling each other.
"Aw, you should have told us you were having trouble. We all could have pitched in and helped." Moise Muse complains.
"Anyvay girls, our shift ist over und it's time to head out." Hot Topic states.
She looks over at Cadence and smiles as they slowly get back up; the princess is still dazed from the orgasmic rush coursing through her body.
"Cadence, gut gemacht* today with the serving. Ze vay you treated zee guests und played around viz zem a bit really shows you've got vat it takes to vork here. I really hope you stay for a long time."
"Yeah, and next time you feel a little tense, let me be your next choice, please?" Moist Muse says with a pleading grin.
The group laughs out loud with the runway music playing in the background. This day couldn't possibly get any better for the newbie.
A knock at the door catches everypony by surprise. Hot Topic walks over and opens it to see Slam Bam standing in the doorway with a proud grin on his face.
"Congratulations girls, you all got a heftia pay this time." He levitates five full pouches of bits over to each mare, their eyes widen as they feel the weight. "You can all thank Cadence fah it. Apparently, the customers were pretdee astounded to see an alicorn working in this place and they gave auut extra tips fah the business. So now, everypony gets a heftia pay."
Cadence blushes in adoration. She's the main attraction at a strip bar; the only alicorn princess to ever work in a naughty business, and she loves it. |
Cadence's New Life Outside The Castle | Shame and Irony | Cleaned up, dye and paint washed off, and uniform and bits tucked away, Cadence says her temporary farewells to her new friends as they part ways until tomorrow morning for another six-hour shift. The princess can't help but gleefully pull out her substantial bag of bits and feel her pride swelling up in her heart at the thought of her feat.
"A bursting bag of bits from only a few hours of work. I've got the whole rest of the day to myself, so what better way to spend it, than to..." A loud grumble cuts her off in the middle of her thought. She places a hoof on her stomach to feel it growling in hunger. "...get some food. I think I should head back to the castle to grab a bite."
Immediately, Cadence reignites the teleportation spell and disappears from the streets of Canterlot, reappearing in her bedroom in the blink of an eye. Everything is just as she had left it: bedsheets are strewed around and unmade, the food tray is still here for some reason, and some bits of pancake litter the floor. She would have expected one of the maids or at least her aunt to clean some of this up for her while she was out, but whatever.
She places her bag of bits safely in her nightstand and hides her bunny suit in the closet behind her fancy, poofy dresses where nopony could find it...hopefully. She levitates the sticky pancake bits from the floor and sheets onto the golden tray and picks them up to fix her bed.
Spic and span, just how she likes it.
She carries her trash-filled tray in a field of magic as she trots through the halls of the castle to the kitchen. It's rather quiet for some reason. If she listens closely, she can hear only her hoofsteps and nopony else's.
'Strange. Normally this hall should have guards lining each doorway, spears at the ready. How come nopony's guarding this hallway?'
Her questions are somewhat answered as, on her way to the kitchen, a familiar voice could be heard coming from a nearby room. The further she walks down the hall, the closer she is to realize the sounds are coming from her aunt's chambers. The door is slightly cracked ajar, allowing light and sound to easily slip out into the open.
"Mmm, yes, right there! Fuck, you're amazing, General!"
Cadence stops in her tracks, nearly gasping aloud at what she has just heard. It's almost understandable for Cadence to swear, but for Celestia, the immaculate goddess of the land, to swear out loud is almost heresy.
However, her tone and the way she used the word "fuck" are similar in nature to the way Cadence had used it at work.
'No way. Is she really--?'
To answer her own question, Cadence peeks through the crack to witness a shocking, yet appealing scene that almost makes her drop the tray and its contents.
Celestia lays on her bed with three Royal Guard stallions--two earth ponies and one unicorn--partaking in a steamy gangbang. One of them thrusts his thick shaft into her muzzle, gagging her, allowing only small fractions of air to enter and warm, breathy moans to leave. His balls drag across her face with every thrust as slimy saliva coats the rod, allowing easy passage through her throat. The blub of his penis forms a small bulge in her esophagus, not entirely choking her, but instead allowing her to show off her skills. Another stallion stands over her, penetrating her dripping snatch, while the last stallion lays beneath her, forcefully making his way through her tight plot. With each thrust, they service her by raising their princess to new heights of euphoria and pleasure.
Cadence's body feels hot again from this pornographic scene. Her loins tingle and become damp with her own secretions. A small drip from behind her drags her attention from the show to the floor beneath her. Vaginal fluid trickles down her hind legs and forms a slick pool at her hooves.
She shakes her head, trying to drag herself back into the real world and out of the erotic scene. 'I think I've had my fill of sexual experiences for one day. I should probably tell her I'm back.'
She quietly moves a few doors back and clears her throat before calling out to the princess.
"...Aunty, I'm home! Are you here?"
She waits for a response, but Celestia doesn't answer back, at least not to her.
"Oh, shit!" The princess can be heard struggling and rustling in her room, trying to fix herself up before her niece barges in. "Everypony shut up and stay hidden. Do not make a fucking sound."
Hearing her aunt speak in a derogatory tone is strange, considering everypony reveres her as a righteous figure.
Suddenly, her tone becomes cheery and innocent once everything seems to be in order. "...In here, sweetie!"
Cadence walks over to her majesty's chamber and opens the door a bit more to see her aunt laying in bed with a silky white blanket over her majestic form. She props her head up with a hoof as she smiles innocently at her niece. The young princess looks around the room for any conspicuous signs of her lustful deeds. The sheets are clean, objects are placed neatly, and no other signs of life seem to be present.
"I'm back from work, Aunty." She tries her best not to sound suspicious, and hopefully, she doesn't notice the shift in her tone.
Celestia climbs out of the bed and approaches her beloved niece with a gracious smile and open wings. But even from a few feet away, Cadence can sniff out her musk and filth. The princess envelops her in a loving embrace with her angelic wings, which Cadence can't help but feel disgusted by.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay dear. How was your first day?" Celestia inquires.
"It was pretty--"
"Actually, we can talk about this over lunch! I invited a few guests to commemorate your first day in a job!"
"Uh, sure. I'm starving anyway."
The princesses leave the bedroom and head on over to the kitchen for a lovely banquet to celebrate Cadence's first job, although, in the young alicorn's eyes, it's not that big of a deal.
Meanwhile, the guards hiding behind the massive bed massage their thirsting erections in desperation. It's a pain in the ass that they didn't get to finish inside the princess, and even worse that they didn't get to cum at all. They can only envision Celestia's round, tight ass and wet, winking pussy as they stroke harder and faster, until finally ejecting thick streams of semen all over the pale yellow wall. They each grunt in unison as spurt after spurt of ejaculate create new layers of paint and a sticky mess on the floor. As the last few shots of fluid spill out of their tips, they pant for air, the cold atmosphere and the release of their aroused energy allow their throbbing shafts to recede back in their sheaths in satisfaction. The trio hoof-bump each other before they finally collapse in exhaustion.
The banquet hall is filled with food ranging from sweets for dessert to healthy foods. Everything one could desire is in this one room upon a massive marble table. Although the table is massive enough to seat at least three households, only the princesses and two selected high society ponies are the ones partaking in the meal. The guests sit on the length of one side while the princesses sit together on the other. The food is spaced apart perfectly in the middle so that both parties can view each other while they talk.
"So, young Cadence has found herself a job amongst her citizens?" Fancy Pants inquires as he takes a sip of tea. "That's a rather strange thing for royalty, considering where you live." He waves a hoof in circles, gesturing to the magnificent, rich castle.
Celestia takes a small sip of tea before retorting the noble's assumption. "It's not about the money, dear Fancy Pants. It's about what she learns while in the workplace. She can learn about dignity, integrity, and morals; things she'll need when she has her own kingdom to run."
Cadence peeks over at her aunt in the middle of sipping her tea as she compares what she had witnessed to the irony of her words. 'Like you're one to talk.'
Suddenly, the memory of her illicit act in the bar catches up to her, forming a chain of guilt around her neck. 'And I can't argue either.' To take her mind off of the mockery of this entire conversation, she dives into a freshly diced carrot, hopefully with nopony noticing her tension.
"Well, may I ask where exactly she works?" Fleur de Lis requests.
The formed bolus catches itself in Cadence's throat, nearly choking her to death from the question. She knew it was coming, but for some reason, she still wasn't prepared for it. All eyes shift to her in worry while a white wing rests upon her back, patting her to loosen the lodged object.
"Cadence, sweetie, are you alright?" Celestia asks.
'COUGH!' "Yeah, just went down--COUGH--the wrong pipe." She clears her throat a bit and the ball easily slides down her throat and into her belly.
She isn't worried so much about death, but about what her acquaintances and aunt will say once they find out about where she really works.
"Sooo...what kind of business does young Cadence work for?" Fleur repeats.
"Oh, she works in a bar," Celestia finally reveals.
The room goes dead silent. The only sounds are the clopping hooves of the Royal Guards marching through the halls, and that's only a few meters down the halls.
The nobles look at each other and back at the princesses with confusion.
"A-a bar?" Fancy Pants questions.
Celestia nods and looks to her niece with pride and adoration. "Yes, and although it isn't really a place we are familiar with or even go near, Cadence has actually had some fun. Haven't you sweetheart?"
The princess gives a shallow nod in concealed shame as she proceeds to take small bites of her carrots.
"Well, there's no shame in where you work, unless it's one of those...ugh...strip clubs," Fancy Pants barfs.
The stallion shudders at even the mention of the phrase but Cadence feels a sense of shame, knowing the disapproval the nobles have with such a business.
"Oh, I highly doubt that," Celestia objects. "Cadence is too modest to be working in such a disgusting environment."
"I know, right?" Fleur adds. "The stench of musk and alcohol is absolutely atrocious. I don't know how those ponies are okay with showing off their bodies like sex objects."
Cadence's pink face suddenly turns a deep shade of red in embarrassment and anger, as these ponies are not only talking about the other workers but about her and her friends as well.
A nauseous feeling brews in her gut as if the small bundle of carrots she had eaten wants to regurgitate. "Uh, can we not talk about strip clubs and sex? It's really making me lose my appetite." She tries to maintain a kind smile, but the wave of guilt and embarrassment are crushing her.
The couple blushes in shame at their divergence in the conversation, but Fancy Pants delivers the apology. "Oh, forgive me, your highness. I did not mean to cross any boundaries."
"It's quite alright. Let's just enjoy the meal, shall we?"
The table sits in silence for a while as everypony proceeds to finish their meals, grab seconds, and finish those too. Not a single word is exchanged between either party for a few minutes until Cadence breaks the silence as she sets down her fork and knife.
"Aunty, may I be excused?"
The monarch looks down at her niece with a worried look. "Why, whatever for, dear?"
"I suddenly lost my appetite from this conversation. I think I'll go...take a quick nap."
Without waiting for her aunt's permission, Cadence wipes off her muzzle of food bits and trudges back to her room.
The halls are still quiet with only her hoofsteps echoing throughout the castle. The guards remain stone-still like statues with their eyes forward as the princess walks past them, not addressing her or bothering to ask her about her woes, even when it's so visible.
Finally, she makes it back to her room and jumps face-first onto her bed with a loud pomf. A wave of guilt and shame sear her soul with unbearable pain. Hot tears stream down her face as she thinks about the words those ponies had said.
"I'm not a sex object...am I? I just...AAH!"
She slams her face into her pillow with tears staining the cover. Too many conflicting thoughts course through her mind, bringing in mostly negative views about her job choice.
If only she had somepony to cool down her burning humiliation. Somepony to talk to that could understand her troubles.
A sudden rhythmic knock at her door startles her from her thoughts. She wipes away her tears before she can permit the visitor to enter.
"Come in."
The door slowly opens to reveal her aunt's face peeking through the crack. She smiles at her niece but is disheartened when she doesn't return one back.
"Cadence, are you okay?" the monarch asks.
The young princess looks away from her aunt with a flurry of emotions. She doesn't know if she's upset at the other ponies, ashamed of herself, or even mad that her aunt could say all of that while being a "sex object" herself.
The monarch sits on the small, pink bed and rests a warm wing over the young mare's shoulders. Although it feels comfortable to have her feathers caressing her, no amount of comfort could possibly take away the cold feeling in her heart.
"Sweetie, if you're upset about something, you can tell me."
'Can I really?'
"Was this about the whole 'sex object' conversation? If you really feel this way about those ponies, then--"
"No, Aunty."
Celestia raises an inquisitive eyebrow at Cadence's stern objection. "What do you mean?"
"I mean...have you ever...had something you're too embarrassed to tell somepony about, and you're too worried that pony will degrade you for it?" She looks up at the princess to see her turning away with a small splotch of pink on her cheeks. 'Yeah, of course, she does.'
Celestia takes a deep breath and clears her throat before addressing this strange but too-close question.
"Well, sweetie, as the ruling monarch of this land, I obviously don't have anything to hide from anypony, other than my obsessive cake disorder. You know, eating too much cake almost every single day and hardly gaining any satisfaction?"
The way she was talking so fast is a telltale sign that she's trying her best to hide her sexual deviation. But one can not simply hide the truth from somepony who has witnessed the deed firsthand.
"Riiiiight."
Cadence looks away again in anger and shame, still unsure of how to address her aunt about their situation. Of course, she wants to keep her real job a secret, but she also wants to call out Celestia for her heresy. Both options would most likely end up in her being grounded...or worse.
"Anyway, Aunty, uh, can I just sleep for a bit. I've had a crazy first day and I'd just like to--"
"Relax, of course. If you need anything, just give me a shout or send one of the guards to fetch me. I love you Cadence."
Celestia pecks her niece on the forehead before leaving the alicorn in solitude in her room. The frustrated princess flops onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling with nothing but self-loathing in her mind. She wants to sleep, but the thought of having stress-induced nightmares prevents her from even closing her eyes. Maybe there's somepony she can confide in that's not in this castle.
She sits up as a sudden realization hits her. Of course! She does have friends outside the castle! Though, she can't just leave with her identity exposed; ponies would be running over to see her and ask questions and all that annoying crap. A disguise would be most beneficial in this situation. She opens up her closet and pushes her poofy clothes around, trying to find something obscuring.
'Let's see here, what should I choose?'
Something bland and boring catches her eye in the very back corner of the sea of bright, colorful clothes. A faded pink cloak and withered hood sit idly by, collecting dust.
'Wow. I haven't worn this since last Nightmare Night. Heck, I don't even remember what this was a part of. Whatever. I just hope it still fits.
She takes the dusty clothes out of the closet and proceeds to put them on. The hood barely covers the front curls of her mane and her horn stabs through the fabric, creating a second hole for her. Next is the cloak, which is obviously too tight now, but still manages to cover her wings, and Cutie Mark, which is the main objective. To hide her face, she grabs a pair of obscuring black shades from her nightstand drawer and puts them on. She looks in the mirror to check over her appearance and make sure she can't even recognize herself.
'Perfect!'
Cadence exits her room, trying her best to seem normal, and addresses the two guards stationed outside her doors.
"Guards, I will be heading out for a while to clear my head. Do not follow me or wonder where I am going, but make sure to tell my aunt that I will be out for a while. That is an order."
The ponies salute in response to her command. Not a single peep, not even a grunt escapes their lips, which really unnerves the princess but she doesn't care anymore. She's just glad to leave the castle and meet up with some of her friends to clear her head of all unnecessary thoughts.
She opens the front door of the castle and looks around to make sure the coast is clear before she exits. Not a single soul besides the guards. She heaves a sigh of relief as she enters the front garden of the royal grounds.
The foliage is especially beautiful today in the spring sun. Beautiful purple crocuses, golden daffodils, sparkling pink rhododendron, and even some rare hibiscuses that look like they've been dipped in a rainbow. It's a rather romantic scene for most of the nobles, but for Cadence, she just enjoys the view. Their perfume-like aromas erase her worries and troubles, filling her with a sense of peace and tranquility.
"Hey, you there!"
Cadence winces as she slowly turns around to see a stallion guard approaching her. Unlike the rest of the Royal Guards, his uniform is different from the others: purple with gold borders and a chest plate with a familiar pink star in the center. His plume and tail are sapphire blue with cerulean highlights while his coat is a very light gray.
"Oh no," Cadence whimpers.
The stallion stops directly in front of the disguised princess, looking her over with a stern gaze. His usual electric blue eyes seem almost ice cold with how serious he's being in front of her.
"State your business here in the royal grounds, citizen!"
Cadence smirks as a devious little plan brews in her mind. 'I'm gonna have some fun with this.' "What's the matter, sir? Is it suddenly illegal for me to be on the premises?"
The guard is taken aback by the "intruder's" disrespectful tone. "Excuse me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to? I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard, ma'am, and I suggest you show a little respect."
'And now for the reveal.'
Cadence moves her hood back a bit to reveal her pink and yellow streaked mane, and pulls her glasses down to reveal her shimmering purple eyes. She smirks and raises an eyebrow at the arrogant stallion, whose face suddenly drains of color. His eyes shrink to specks as his mouth tastes the fresh grass at his hooves.
"And do you have any idea I am, Captain Shining Armor?"
Shining's mouth twitches, but nothing escapes, other than small squeaks of shock. He suddenly bows before her highness as he apologizes profusely at her hooves.
"Forgive me, your excellence! I simply did not recognize you under that cloak! Please excuse my arrogance and don't have me executed! I have a sister to look after!"
Cadence shakes her head and releases a heavy sigh at the captain's pathetic display.
"I really should have you punished for your hubris, Captain..." Shining looks up at the princess, wondering what kind of punishment is to befall him. "...but with you being little Twilight's brother, I will let it slide for now."
With overwhelming elation, Shining Armor leaps up from his pleading position and hugs the princess with a rib-crushing grip. She can feel her organs being scrunched together into one tight bundle as her body collapses in on itself.
"Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! I promise I won't be so cocky again, princess. Thank you for your mercy!"
She's glad to be accepting his thanks, but it's still too much love, even for somepony who has a crush on her. "S-shining! Please...let...go! Can't...b-breath!"
"Oh, forgive me!" He releases his princess from his affectionate hug and slowly backs off to give her some breathing space. "Are you okay, princess?"
Somepony is crumpled on the ground, coughing up choked spittle, and trying to gasp for air after nearly having their lungs crushed isn't too bad. Just an ice pack would patch her right up.
"Does it look like I'm okay?!" Cadence explodes.
Shining backs away in embarrassment as the princess struggles to get back up. He averts his gaze as she walks away from the guard pony without another word.
'I don't care if he's Twilight's brother. I want to bop him over the head for being so...disrespectful? Overly-affectionate? Worried about me?'
Unlike most of the Royal Guards, Shining Armor is one of the very few who takes time out of his schedule to talk to her. He asks about her day, her life in the castle, and also about her growing relationship with Twilight. She knows he has a crush on her, but almost every pony does. Although, unlike every other pony, Shining doesn't try to gain her favor with flowers, gifts, or special tasks. He just acts like the big nerd he is and pretends like every day is just a normal day, of course, while also acting clumsily in front of her. Cadence should apologize to him when she comes back.
Now a new card of guilt is on the field and it's Cadence's job to know how deal with it.
The streets of Canterlot aren't too busy this afternoon, probably because everypony is currently in an eight-hour job at the moment like responsible adults. The only ones not currently behind a desk, in a dull office, or spending time with family are the teens and adolescents frolicking and chatting and just being young until the real world hits them in the face.
Cadence obviously didn't plan out how she was going to find her friends, but she's sure they're living somewhere in the city. Her most likely guess, they're either at their homes or sitting in a cafe.
"Hallo, Candy!"
The well-known voice catches the wandering princess from her left. She whips around to see Hot Topic approaching her, wearing a similar disguise: a blue hood and cloak with pink rimmed sunglasses. The two ponies hug each other as if they haven't seen each other in months, sharing a warm, affectionate moment.
"Cadence, mein freund*, vat are you doing out here?" With other ponies around, Topic makes sure to whisper her friend's name, so as to not draw too much attention to themselves.
"I was actually on my way to see you all. I was hoping we could spend some time together, get to know each other a bit more. Also, I just really need somepony to talk to because, well, the castle doesn't have the most interactive ponies."
"Oh, Cadence, of course, ve can help. Ve are friends after all, and vat guud friend vouldn't help anozer pony out?"
Cadence beams with joy as she hugs her friend again, this time with more strength. "Thank you, Topic. So where's everypony else?"
The two release their hug as Topic quietly gestures with a hoof for her friend to follow her. The two travel through the large city past fancy businesses, uptight companies, and some tasteless fancy diners. The further they trod, the more Cadence starts to realize where they're heading. The buildings are starting to look less familiar and more colorful instead of the "elegant" plain white buildings near the inner city. The stores are also more extravagant and almost commoner-friendly. She can't imagine a royal or noble stepping into this part of Canterlot, otherwise, they'd probably have a seizure from all of the vibrant colors.
"I don't think I've ever been in this part of the city," Cadence says as her mind is entranced by the divergent appearance of the area. "What is this place?"
Topic looks back at the princess with a puzzled look. "Really? You've never been to ze commoner district of Canterlot before?"
"No. I never even knew Canterlot could be so...laid back. I don't know why my aunt doesn't take me down here."
"Mm, probably because of your high status. I've never seen any fancy ponies or nobles enter zis area before."
Cadence is finally venturing into a land that is completely out of her norm. A place princesses and nobleponies would find strange and almost otherworldly, she finds colloquial and relaxing. It feels fun just to walk through the maze of bright buildings and unique shops. Ponies run around acting jovial instead of observing upper-class ponies as their role models. Ponies here can be free and enjoy life instead of burying their faces in a pile of books or unending lectures on formality and decorum.
Up ahead, a cafe is open with the rest of Cadence's friends inside--none of which are wearing disguises like her and Hot Topic--chowing on some sandwiches and drinking what looks like some dark, fizzy drink, something Cadence has never had the fortune of tasting. The two enter the cafe and, immediately, the other ponies greet them with kind smiles and waves.
"Hey, everypony," Cadence says as she plops down next to Moist Muse and Wet Breeze on a green and yellow-striped sofa. The springs are very loose, letting her bounce a couple of times before finally settling to rest. "How are you doing?"
Moist takes the last swig of her bubbling soda before responding to the princess. "Doing just fine. How's life in the castle."
"Boring as Tartarus. I wanted to get away from royal life for a bit and talk to somepony. There are a few things I want to get off my chest, actually."
The mares raise their eyebrows in curiosity.
"Well, we're here to help a fellow friend-slash-coworker," Moist Muse claims, resting a hoof on the alicorn's shoulder. "Anything you need to vent, let it out. We can help you the best we can."
Cadence looks at each of the four mares, their eyes filled with warm compassion and love for their friend. She smiles as she knows each of these ponies are like her and could never judge her for her situation. She takes a deep, calm breath before releasing all of her pent up tension.
"Well, you see..."
"Ouch. This whole situation is just filled with irony and shame, huh?" Simmer asks.
Cadence nods her head, not uttering a single word as there is nothing else for her to add. The ponies look at each other, brewing a solution or at least some advice for Cadence to deal with her predicament.
"Vy not show Princess Celestia vat you can do?"
Everyone looks at Hot Topic with bewildered looks. Their gazes don't affect her, however, and she further explains her solution.
"Obviously, your aunt, ze princess, is filled vith some sexual needs zat she uses the guards to get rid of. Perhaps...you could..."
"Are you crazy?!" Cadence explodes, grabbing the attention of the barista and some of the other patrons. She pulls herself in and lowers her voice to a gentle, but rigid whisper. "I am not going to make out with my aunt!"
"Technically..." Wet Breeze interjects, "...she's your adoptive aunt, correct? So it's not technically wrong."
Cadence can't help but feel that her friend is right, but it's still her aunt, and... "I'm also doing it with another mare. What about that factor?"
Sweet Simmer rolls her eyes at the princess's faulty reasoning. "Candy, didn't we just have sex not too long ago?"
The memory of the pegasus's graceful lovemaking is seared into the princess's mind and body. Her tongue searching her moist cavern; the wet folds making contact with each other, fueling their libido and sexual desire; the passionate kisses filled with a beautiful combination of love and lust. Everything about it was so wrong, and yet it felt so good.
"I know, but...with Celestia?"
"I zink I know a solution to your Shining Armor situation as vell," Topic states, however, Cadence can't help but give the unicorn an inquisitive glare.
"Does it have anything to do with sex?"
"Mmmaybe? But, hear me out!"
Cadence holds her tongue and listens to what the blazing unicorn has to say.
"Maybe you don't have to have sex vith him. Maybe you can just...I dunno...give him a simple lap dance. That usually cheers stallions up."
"A lap dance?" Cadence looks at the other mares for some sort of clarification or backup, but they're either eating or pretending that this conversation doesn't concern them. She turns back to Hot Topic, who's currently awaiting her answer as she munches away on a sandwich. "Is that really the only option? What about a simple 'I'm sorry'?"
"I mean, zat's simple, but you know vat zey say: 'Taten sagen mehr als Worte'." Cadence stares blankly at the pony. "Ahem, 'Actions speak louder zan vords."
Now all Cadence can think about is having sexual relations with her aunt and "apologizing" to Shining Armor with a vulgar lap dance. She looks outside to see the sun balancing on the horizon. Celestia could be looking for her soon and if she found her here, there would be dire consequences.
"Thank you, girls, especially you, Topic."
The pegasus beams with pride at her commemoration.
"I'll try and make some things work. I'll see you all at work tomorrow." |
Cadence's New Life Outside The Castle | Perfect Apology | "Aunty, I'm heading out now!" Cadence calls, her voice echoing through the castle as it seeks out Celestia.
She waits patiently near the front doors of the castle for the higher monarch to send her off, but she's taking longer than usual to appear. Just the mention of Cadence leaving for the day should have Celestia teleporting over to her and clutching her in a rib-crushing hug, but not now.
Curious about her aunt's whereabouts, Cadence trots over to the monarch's chamber to find her. Once again, the guards seem to be missing from their posts near the front of Celestia's doors, which is a telltale sign of her illicit activities. The sounds of grunting and erotic moans emanate from behind the door, solidifying Cadence's suspicions.
"Of course she's spending the day fucking," Cadence grumbles.
She turns to head back to the exit but a thought runs through her mind. Looking back at the door and listening to the arousing sounds, the young alicorn's body begins to heat up once again. Lewd thoughts swim through her mind as she thinks about the fun her aunt could be having. Being plowed by three, four, or even an entire squad of guards could be an exhilarating activity.
A cool draft across her moist nethers wakes her from her thoughts. As much as she'd love to peek at the scene, duty calls. She moves back a couple of paces down the hall and tries her best to seem as ignorant as possible before calling out to her aunt.
"Aunty, I'm heading out now!" she calls once more.
She listens intently as the bed creaks and the rustling of bodies and armor emanate from Celestia's chamber. The doors swing open, revealing Princess Celestia in all of her musky, perverted glory. Her mane is slightly frazzled and her wings are unkempt. Her creamy-white coat is slightly stained with bits of what may be semen and spittle.
"Good morning, Cadence," the princess says with fake tiredness. "Leaving already?"
The pungent smell of semen stings the young alicorn's nostrils but she tries her best to seem as unaware as possible of her aunt's indecent deeds.
"Yes, Aunty. I was just going to let you know before I head out. I love you."
"Oh, I love you too, sweetheart."
Celestia lunges forward to envelop her niece in a loving hug with her wings. As much as Cadence loves a warm embrace from her aunt, the scent of salty semen and cocks plague her nostrils, nearly causing her to gag into the princess's fur. Quickly, Cadence releases herself from her caretaker's hold and teleports from the castle in the blink of an eye.
Celestia just stands there, wondering what in the world has her niece so worked up. But her thoughts are drawn back to her chamber as a guard stands outside of the doorway, watching either her or her fat ass. She smirks at the guard and trots towards him, watching nervousness creep on his face and his cock standing at attention.
"We are not finished until I have been fully satisfied," the monarch says, picking the guard up in a telekinetic field. "I wonder if your fellow guards still have enough semen in their balls to fill me to the brim."
Cadence appears in the strip bar in a flash of blue light, nearly startling Slam Bam out of his seat behind the counter.
"Holy fuck!" he cries as he steadies himself. "Cadence, a little warnin' before ya do that?"
The princess looks away in embarrassment but his words slowly process in her mind, causing her to look back at him in confusion.
"I can't just send you a letter telling you I'm going to pop up out of nowhere, sir," the princess replies in a snarky tone. "Anyway, are the other girls here?"
Slam points a hoof at the door leading to the waitress changing room. "You've got your uniform witcha, right?"
Cadence pats her saddlebag and heads in to meet her friends. The second she steps in the room, Hot Topic jumps her, wrapping her hooves around the royalty's neck, and strangling her in an affectionate hug.
"Oh, Cadence, mein freund, how have you been?" the unicorn asks.
Cadence gives a hoarse, struggled gasp as a reply, prompting the waitress to release her hold before she goes to prison for killing a princess.
"Es tut mir leid," the unicorn anxiously says. "I can be a little...overly affectionate."
"No problem," Cadence hoarsely replies. "It's great to see all of you too. How's life?"
"Pretty decent," Wet Breeze replies as she puts on her sleek, black uniform. "I actually have a date after this so, hooves crossed that it goes well."
Cadence is rather surprised that a worker at a strip bar could get a colt-friend, considering what goes on at this establishment.
"How does that work?" Cadence asks. "How do you date somepony if you're working in a place like this?"
Breeze glances at the alicorn with an anxious look and peers at herself in the mirror. "I didn't tell him I'd been working in this joint," she replies. "I was a little nervous that he'd reject me for acting like a slut."
Understanding of the situation, Cadence trots over and rests a hoof on the downtrodden mare's shoulder.
"It's alright," the princess says. "The only thing he could complain about is if you can't suck a dick properly."
Cadence covers her mouth with a wing almost instantly. She didn't mean to spout such filthy words from her muzzle, much less towards her friend. She looks over at Breeze's face to see her anger bubbling but instead sees a smile spread across her muzzle.
"I guess that's all he could complain about," the unicorn chuckles. "I almost forgot about our conversation yesterday and didn't take those pointers to heart. How's that going by the way?"
Now it's Cadence's turn to look away with anxiety as she thinks about Shining Armor and Princess Celestia. "I haven't done anything about it yet," she replies. "I'm hoping I can talk to Shining Armor later today and apologize."
"Atta girl!" Sweet Sizzle says as she wraps a hoof around the princess's shoulders. "I'm sure you'll patch things up with everypony soon. For now, we have to get ready."
Cadence nods in compliance as she puts her uniform and makeup on for the day. Cute bunny ears, tight bodysuit, slicing stockings and shoes, collar and cuffs, and finally the bunny tail.
Although the princess would rather have another sloppy rimjob, time is of the essence. She levitates a pink bottle of lubricant--the smell of which is sweet like strawberries and cherries--and drizzles it all over the silicone plug of the tail. Anxiously but boldly, Cadence inserts the plug into her plot, feeling the tingling sensation of being penetrated once again. With just a little more force, the plug slips into her confines, resting comfortably in her ass, while letting a moan escape her lips.
"You really like anal, huh Cadence?" Moist Muse asks, taking a peek at her fluffy rear.
"A-anal?" the princess repeats. "I'm...not sure, actually. It just feels nice to put this thing in now."
"Oh, ve know," Hot Topic replies. "It vould be even better if it vorked like a stallion cock; moving in and out of your ass, filling you vith every inch--"
"Okay, okay!" Cadence shouts, shutting her friend up for good. "I don't want to get too aroused before heading to work." Though, as she says that, her loins begin to burn with desire already. "I just need to get my make up done, and I'll be good to go."
The girls service the princess by dying her mane and tail to match her erotic stage name. With a mane and tail made of cotton candy, and a plump, juicy ass that tastes as sweet as a treat, Candy Ass makes her return.
"Welcome back, Candy Ass," Sweet Sizzle greets with an ecstatic smile.
Cadence looks herself over and smiles in approval at her alter ego. "Thank you girls so much for helping me," she says. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Come now," Moist Muse replies modestly, "it's just some make up. I'm sure you'd be able to do it yourself, right?"
"It's not just that. Thank you for being such great friends even when I'm a princess. Most ponies would just bow and tremble before royalty, so it's great to have friends that don't treat me like a high and mighty monarch."
The rest of the girls put on passionate smiles and come together around Princess Cadence for a loving group hug, nearly toppling over into the makeup supplies. Cadence feels a joyous calm wash over her within her friends' embrace. She smiles as she accepts these new feelings and her new role.
"I think we'd better get going," Moist Muse states, pulling herself away from the hug. "We've got twenty minutes before opening, so we'd better hurry and get everything ready."
The girls nod in unison as they exit their room. Slam Bam is already wiping down tables while a few other ponies Cadence is not familiar with are sanitizing the stripper stage.
Slam looks over at the waitresses and gives them a smile and a tip of his fedora. "Looking great, ladies," he says. "Cadence, I actually wanted to talk to you for a sec."
The princess looks back at the rest of her friends and they all give affirmative nods. She swallows a nervous lump in her throat and follows Slam to his office. Uneasiness eats away at her heart as she sits down in the seat directly across from Slam Bam.
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble, Cadence," the boss says in a calming tone. "It's quite the opposite."
Cadence raises an intrigued eyebrow, curious as to where this conversation is going to go.
"Remember yesterday, when I said all those ponies were giving extra tips because of you?" Slam asks.
Cadence nods as the memory comes back to her.
"Well..." He levitates a small stack of paper that all seem to be little notes or letters. "They were so amazed that an alicorn was working here, that they wrote a few fan-letters for you." Slam slides a blue envelope towards the princess, who takes it and reads the note inside. "Go ahead and read it aloud. I kinda want to know what they have to say about you."
"The new alicorn hire is pretty odd but very arousing at the same time," Cadence reads. "I don't know where this one came from but if she's royalty, I wish Princess Celestia could join her and show off her sweet body. Don't tell her I said that." Cadence smiles and crosses her heart with a hoof in agreement with the author. "Promise, pal."
Cadence takes a green envelope, tears it open, and reads the note inside. "I hope Candy Ass gets this letter. If she's reading this, I just want to say how awesome it is to have a princess working here! Your ass is just as your name suggests: sweet and tempting. This may sound sudden but I hope she gets to be a VIP specialist soon."
"VIP specialists are uh...employees who...provide a more...personal service," Slam explains.
It takes a while for Cadence to register what he's talking about until it finally hits her. She's only ever had sex with a mare, and that was only a day ago. Cadence's imagination tuns wild as she wonders what it would feel like to take a stallion's length up her pussy.
"That's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about," Slam Bam says. "Would you like to move up and work as a VIP specialist? It's alright if you don't, since it's a rather sudden proposal."
Cadence rereads the letter and feels pride welling up in her heart. She looks up at Slam with a grateful smile and gives her answer.
"Do you think I could try it first?" she requests. "I don't know about having sex with a stallion, I mean, I already had sex with Sweet Sizzle, but--"
"It's no biggie," Slam replies nonchalantly. "I kinda didn't expect you to go with it right away. Of course you can try it; if you don't like the experience, you don't have to continue."
Cadence nods in appreciation at her boss's approval and rises out of her seat. "Thank you, sir," she responds. "Where exactly do I go for--"
"Door on the opposite side from this office," Slam replies. "Also, quick FYI, if you don't completely accept this position, you won't be earning the bits from the patron."
Cadence nods in understanding and exits the office, noticing everyone's expectant gazes.
"So?" Sweet Sizzle pokes. "What did he say to you?"
"Apparently, the ponies were so surprised that an alicorn is working here, Slam wanted to know if I'd like to be a VIP specialist."
The girls look at each other with shocked expressions and turn their gazes back to Cadence, who looks as if she's said something offensive.
"I'm so jealous right now!" Moist Muse says with a grin. "It's not every day a waitress gets promoted to VIP specialist. That's a huge step-up for you!"
"So, you aren't jealous?" Cadence asks. "I mean, have any of you done this?"
"Of course!" Hot Topic replies. "All of us, besides Moist, have had our fill of cocks and pussies over ze months ve've vorked here." Topic trots closer to Cadence and leans her muzzle close to the princess's ear. "I actually hold ze title for best cock sleeve in the bar."
Cadence shudders at the idea of having such a lewd title. Her loins, however, burn with lust as she can just imagine the number of stallions she can make cum. Perhaps enough to usurp Topic's throne.
"Oh, I know zat look," Topic says. Cadence snaps from her daydream to see her friend's cocky expression. "You think you can overthrow me from my title? You may try, Candy Ass. If you can please up to thirty stallions in a month, I vill deem you ze vinner."
Topic extends her forehoof and Cadence does the same. Both ponies shake on the deal, solidifying their provocative agreement.
"Let's not dillydally, girls," Wet Breeze says with authority. "Doors are opening, so get ready."
As if by the sound of Breeze's voice, the doors to the strip bar swing open, letting in a flood of ponies. As Cadence watches the patrons pour in, her eyes catch a familiar streak of sapphire blue. Looking through the sea of ponies, Cadence's eyes shrink to pinpricks as she recognizes the Captain of the Royal Guard.
"Hey, isn't that the Captain of the Royal Guard?" Moist Muse asks. "His name is Shining Armor, right?"
All eyes turn to Cadence while her face is still contorted with crippling fear and anxiety. She tries to speak but fear grabs hold of her tongue, preventing her from screaming in terror or answering Moist's question.
"Woah, Candy, what's up with you all of a sudden?" Wet Breeze inquires.
"S-Shining Armor is here," Cadence finally stammers. "Why is he of all ponies here? If he finds out I'm working here, he's going to spout that off to his parents and then little Twilight will know about this and then--"
"Woah, woah, woah!" Sweet Simmer says, trying to soothe the hyperventilating royal. "It's alright, Candy. Just take deep breaths. Maybe he won't even recognize you. No pony else has so far, so it's possible he won't either."
Cadence takes deep, hard breaths to calm her nerves but just the thought of Twilight's older brother being here in this establishment and finding out that the Princess of Love is working here is too much for her to handle.
As she looks up, Cadence notices the captain is already seated with three of his fellow guards, however, he looks like a fish out of water. He's tense and looking around as if he's entered Tartarus. Perhaps after Cadence's outburst towards him the other day, the guards in his platoon decided to take him out to this bar to relieve some stress.
The princess swallows her anxiety and builds up the courage to take the group's orders.
"Hey, boys," she says in a seductive tone. The guards turn their heads toward the slutty royal and grow aroused grins at her approach. Shining Armor on the other hand, tries his best to avert his gaze. "Can I get you strong studs something to drink to start you off?"
"Four bottles of your finest alcohol, ma'am," one of the guards requests. "This guy over here is really gonna need it." He nudges Shining Armor in the forearm in a joking gesture, but the captain still seems uncomfortable.
"Four strong drinks coming right up," Cadence replies.
As she turns to walk away, she makes sure to tease the guards with a shake of her rear, enticing them to get a good look at her. She glances back to see Shining shooting her an astonished look before looking back down at the table with an embarrassed blush.
"So, did he recognize you?" Sweet Sizzle asks as she follows Cadence back to the kitchen.
"I don't think so," the princess replies. "Either the makeup really works or he can't see my face properly in the dim lights. Either way, thank Celestia he hasn't said anything yet."
Cadence enters the kitchen and barks out the table's order to the chefs. They scurry around, filling up bottles with booze and handing them over to the princess on a silver platter.
As she approaches the table with the Royal Guards, she notices that Shining Armor is starting to strike up a conversation with them. She smiles a bit as the anxious captain starts to come out of his shell, just like her.
"Here you go, fellas," the princess says as she places the drinks in front of their respective ponies. "Can I start you off with some appetizers or perhaps we can skip straight to the main course?"
"I'll start off with the veggie kebabs," one guard says as he looks over his menu.
"Me and Thunderstruck will share the cauliflower pizza," another guard requests while nudging his comrade.
Cadence writes down their orders and looks up at Shining, who tries his best to cover his embarrassed face. "And for you, sir?" she asks.
Shining puts down the menu and looks up at Cadence with the most innocent expression she's ever seen, making him almost look like a young colt.
"I-I'll take the eggplant lasagna," he responds.
"Excellent choice, sir," Cadence replies as she takes the order and menus from the customers and trots back to the kitchen.
She tears off the sheet of paper with the written orders and hands it to the head chef for him and his team to prepare. While she waits for the order to be completed, she looks over at the table to see one of the guards heading her way. Her heart begins to beat out of her chest, wondering what he could possibly want with her.
"Excuse me, miss?" he asks.
Cadence faces him with a modest, respective form before answering him in a lewd tone. "Yes, mister?"
The princess notices a shiver of joy run up his spine from just the sound of her voice. "Are you a VIP specialist?" he asks.
"Sort of. I'm giving it a shot before I fully commit. Do you require my services?" The princess places a hoof on the soldier's chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat and the collection of sweat on his chest fluff. "You seem pretty tense. I bet being a member of the Royal Guard is pretty exhausting. Do you need some help relieving that stress?"
The stallion's gleeful smile fades as he clears his throat and glances away. "N-no, not me," he replies with disappointment. "It's for him over there."
Cadence follows the soldier's gaze and her face drains of color as her eyes land on Shining Armor randomly glancing over at his friend and the princess.
"Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard?" she asks in shock.
"Yup. We heard he was having some mare problems so we decided to take him out for a night on the town. We decided he needs to mingle with a few mares and get used to being around them. So far, it's not working. That's why we need you to--"
"Pop his cherry?" Cadence finishes on instinct.
The guard nods at the term. "Right. If you're not ready to go, that's alright. However, he has been eyeing you pretty intently for some time. I think he really wants to get with you."
Having sex with Twilight's older brother for the first time, Cadence would never even conceive the notion. However, the memory of reprimanding him out in the open resurfaces in her mind. Hot Topic's suggestion for apologizing to the stallion pops up in the princess's mind, tossing away most of her anxiety and discomfort.
'I could give him a lap dance as an apology,' Cadence thinks to herself. 'But would that really be enough for him?"
Cadence glances at Shining Armor once more, no thoughts of Twilight or innocence plague her mind, allowing her to make a clear decision. "I'll do it," she says. "Tell him to meet me in the room on the right."
The guard nods and trots back over to his table to give his captain the news. In the mean time, Cadence takes a deep breath and exhales a stressed sigh.
"Sooo..." Moist Muse says as she pulls up the princess, "...you're about to get your first customer as a VIP specialist, huh?"
Cadence looks over at her friend's proud face and manages to bring up a reassuring smile. "I guess. Do you have any tips for what I should do?"
"All I can say is to follow your instincts. You'll be able to get him off if you let your body do the work instead of your brain. But before you get to work on him, I need to get to work on you."
Cadence isn't sure what her friend means by that until Moist grabs her hoof and leads her to the waitress' room. Moist grabs a rack of smutty uniforms from seemingly out of nowhere and puts them on display for the princess.
"Get out of that uniform and pick a new one that will entice your partner," the earth pony says.
Cadence looks upon the selection of lewd outfits, trying to figure out which would appeal more to Shining Armor but also blend in with her own character. Unfortunately, the assortment of lingerie and outfits seem too cliche and bland.
"Shining Armor is a more submissive type," Cadence ponders aloud, "so dressing up as something even more submissive would probably bring out his dominant side." She levitates a fake Royal Guard uniform from the rack and analyzes it with approval. "What better way to do that, than by dressing up as one of his loyal soldiers?"
"Excellent choice, Candy!" Moist says with adoration. "You've got a great intuition, huh?"
Cadence chuckles pridefully at Moist's compliment and proceeds to wear the uniform. The Corinthian helmet rests snugly over her head and face, providing her with enough visibility. The plume automatically adjusts to match Cadence's altered mane colors. The body armor and breastplate rest upon her bodywhile the straps along her belly are tightened just enough to not squeeze her, but also enough for the armor to stay on her. Gold boots cover her hooves, completing her look.
Besides the fact that the outfit imitates the actual Royal Guard's uniform to a T, it doesn't share the overbearing weight it normally does. It feels as if Cadence's body is dressed in bits of light plastic.
"Go get 'em commander!" Moist says with a satirical salute.
Cadence chuckles and exits the changing room through the back. The path leads backstage where the strippers usually get ready for their performances. However, no one else is here as the music blares and cheers erupt in the main area. Cadence anxiously makes her way over to a curtain with a sign marked "VIP" and stands before it.
Her heart beats wildly, pumping her with adrenaline and excitement. However, she takes a deep, calming breath to relax her body.
"You can do this, Cadence," she mumbles to herself. "Just use your instincts. He won't recognize you. He won't recognize you!"
With her courage solidified and her mind cleared of all uncertain thoughts, Cadence passes through the curtain. The room is dim with only slowly fading red and blue lights illuminating the area. An erotic instrumental plays through a set of speakers, along with the scents of jasmine and rose to provide an arousing atmosphere.
Shining armor sits on a long, black, leather couch, waiting for Cadence's service. He looks around aimlessly while rubbing his hindlegs together as if hiding a rising boner. He looks over at the parted curtain and, through the dim lighting, blushes a deep shade of red on his pale cheeks.
"Hello, Captain," Cadence greets in the most alluring voice she can muster. "Do I have your permission to enter?"
Shining looks at the guard-dressed princess with confusion, unsure of what's going on. "W-what do you mean? Of course you do. I mean, unless..."
Cadence grins deviously and approaches the frozen stallion, making sure each step shows her earnestness to her role. She stands at attention, saluting the captain with utmost respect.
"Specialist Candy Ass, reporting for duty, Captain!" Cadence says with respect and pride. She smirks as she watches Shining's face morph from confused to curious. "How shall I serve you, Captain Shining Armor?"
The princess climbs onto the soft couch and crawls towards the anxious stallion. He doesn't back away, thankfully, allowing Cadence to get nice and close to him. She places a hoof on his chest, feeling his racing heartbeat and rapid breathing building up with excitement.
"S-service me--I mean, serve me?" the stallion stutters.
His eyes fall from the seductive little guard, down to his crotch, which he immediately covers up with his forehooves in shame. Cadence follows his gaze and grins maliciously as an idea brews in her mind.
"Oh, I think I know a way to help you, Captain. Just relax, open your legs, and let me service you to your heart's content."
Realizing he has no choice, Shining Armor opens his thighs to reveal his slowly growing stallionhood. Cadence marvels at the impressive tool, especially since this is her first time ever laying eyes on such a specimen. Its length is rather impressive, nearly the length of Cadence's forearm. As she gives it a small touch with her hoof, the organ throbs with life. Thick, pulsating veins course through the length of the shaft, providing it with enough blood and heat to keep it hard and erect.
The scent is mesmerizing. Although it's just the stench of musk, it is almost aphrodisiacal to Cadence, tempting her to indulge on the meal before her. And indulge she does.
Opening her muzzle, she latches onto the bulb of the penis head, slowly engulfing the length down her throat, down to the cock's medial ring. She can feel the length twitching in her throat as it rests in its warm confines. Her tongue circles around it, slathering it in warm, wet saliva, begging it for its precious essence.
Shining releases a childish moan of pleasure as his cock is devoured by a mare for the very first time. Cadence looks up at the captain and smiles with his dick still deep within her throat. His sounds of approval only motivate her to keep bobbing and please her customer until his spunk coats her elegant, pink fur.
The taste is salty and musky from the small drops of precum. Its texture is girthy, leathery, and hard, however also quite malleable. As she swirls her tongue around, Cadence can feel the small bumps of the veins coursing through Shining's dick, causing him to twitch in pleasure every time she runs over one.
Reaching her limit, and desperate for air, Cadence pulls back, letting the slobbered shaft loose from her maw with a loud *pop*, and allowing it to flop onto Shining's belly. The princess gasps for fresh air, trying her best not to choke on her own spittle. Swallowing it, she savors the salty, musky taste of Shining's meat.
"That was...amazing!" Shining says in awe.
Cadence smiles gratefully as she wipes away the dribble on her face. "Oh, we're just getting started, sir," she responds. "You won't be fully satisfied until you cum, right?" She places both forehooves on the stallion's shoulders and raises herself up until her dripping snatch is positioned directly over his throbbing dick. "Better prepare yourself, sir."
"W-wait!" Shining exclaims, taking Cadence by surprise. "I'd always thought my first time would be with my future wife?"
Cadence raises an eyebrow at the captain's statement but continues to smile at him. "Oh? And who would that be?" she wonders.
Shining looks away as if the answer he plans to spout out is an embarrassing one, but Cadence knows that he's always wanted to date her.
"P-Princess Cadence," the stallion finally spouts. "I really love her and...I don't think I can go through with this."
Cadence is touched by Shining's loyalty and adoration for her, but she still needs to apologize. She can't say it aloud, so there's only one way she can express it.
"Well, wouldn't it be best if you got a little experience before you please your future wife, sir?" the princess asks as she lowers herself down onto the head of Shining's still-hard erection. She releases a sharp breath of air as the two virgin organs kiss each other, having yet to become one. "If you want to properly breed her and start a family of your own, sir, may I suggest a little hooves on experience?"
Cadence doesn't dare slide down on the pole of meat until her stallion gives her the signal. Shining looks down at his dick and back up at the princess with anxiety, but takes a deep, calm breath as he hesitantly nods.
Slowly, the princess lowers herself down, engulfing Shining Armor's throbbing sex into her own. The two become one as the young virgins become mature mare and stallion.
'I've finally done it!' Cadence thinks with glee. 'I'm actually having sex with Twilight's big brother, the Captain of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard, Captain Shining Armor!'
The thought alone causes the mare to tremble in bliss and clench her pussy around the thirsting cock inside her.
Pain courses through Cadence's core as Shining's member slides into her but is soon drowned out by feelings of pleasure and bliss. She looks down at Shining Armor and he at her. The two come together, connecting lips and savoring each other's passion. Instead of feeling lustful for the captain, as she should, Cadence feels adoration for him and maybe a spark of love. She doesn't know if it's because he's Twilight's brother or the fact that he's such a compassionate soul, but she wants his first time to be a tender experience, not a sinful one.
She rides her stallion slowly, taking in the new sensations of sex as the captain's cock enjoys itself in its new home. Warmth, passion, pleasure mixed with pain, and a bit of lust on Cadence's end drive her to please her customer and take both of them to new planes of delight.
The princess increases her vigor, slamming her rump on Shining's crotch as she tries to bring him to an erupting climax. Like a battering ram, his cock head bashes against Cadence's sensitive cervix, sending waves of euphoria through her body. Her mind begins to fog up and drive out all other thoughts besides the overwhelming sensations erupting within her core. She tightens her hold on Shining's cock, hoping to squeeze out some pent up cum from his tip.
Unexpectedly, Shining Armor wraps his hooves around Cadence and tosses her over onto her back on the couch. Looking down, Cadence can see his member still thirsting for more of her. Desiring to feel him once again, Cadence ignites her horn and spreads her pussy lips apart, letting the captain get a good look at his meal.
"Sir, please fuck this naughty soldier's dripping cunt and cover me with your hot, sticky foal batter."
Invigorated by her words of lust, Shining rams his cock deep into Cadence's thirsting snatch, bashing against her cervix once again. Cadence can only squeal and moan in ecstasy as Shining Armor fucks her senseless while he is fueled by lust and instinct. With every thrust from the wild stallion, the mare tries her best to clamp her pussy on the throbbing cock, but her mind has lost focus and can barely keep up with Shining's sporadic rhythm.
It's almost as if Shining Armor has become a natural at sex in this short span of time. His techniques are starting to improve and his speed is starting to normalize to form a harmonious rhythm that Cadence can focus on. To her surprise, Shining Armor ignites his horn in a magenta aura. Confusion clouds her mind until it's suddenly thrown away by euphoria as something shocks her clit. The bundle of sensitive nerves in the sweet spot send signals of searing satisfaction through Cadence's body.
It's too soon but Cadence can feel it; Shining Armor's cock begins to flare at the tip, his hot spunk ready for release. As much as she wants her womb to be filled by Twilight's brother's cum, she can't risk getting pregnant.
"S-sir! Please, pull...out!" the princess barks as her mind is clouded in rapture.
Shining regains focus and looks down at the alicorn with fear and extracts his cock from its moist, warm confines. It twitches and throbs violently, wanting to dive back into the princess's succulent pussy and paint her insides white. As a substitute, Cadence ignites her horn once again and wraps the tense tool in a blue sleeve of magic. The sleeve moves back and forth like a piston, jerking the stallion to climax until finally, he releases his tension.
Spurt by spurt, hot globs of stallion spunk coat the pink alicorn's face, body, and wings. The stench is overwhelming and floods Cadence's mind with more lustful imagination but soon fade away as something makes contact with her lips.
Looking back down, the royal sees Shining's receding cock stuck in her muzzle. As she looks up at the stallion, she takes notice of his cocky, dominant expression.
"Come now, Specialist Candy Ass," he says in an arrogant tone, "you still have clean-up duty. Now get to licking."
Cadence, happy with the captain's one-eighty, complies and suckles on the cock's tip, draining it of dribbling spunk. It's salty, thick, and rich, most likely from years of being a virgin nerd. Despite being a stout, responsible captain that mares would swoon over, Shining Armor can be quite the geek when left alone.
"How was my performance, sir?" Cadence asks as she splays her cum-stained figure for Shining to gaze upon. "Would you say promotion-worthy?"
"Promoted to be my personal cock sleeve," Shining says with a devious smile. However, his grin fades as he registers what he just said. "S-sorry! That just sort of came out. I didn't mean to call you a cock sleeve, it just..."
'And the virgin nerd returns,' Cadence mocks in her head. "Well, if we're quite finished here, I'd like to wash this off as soon as possible." Cadence rolls off of the couch and back onto her hooves. She flaps her wings, sending white specks flying around the room.
"Oh, I just wanted to say thanks, Candy," Shining responds with a bright attitude.
The princess looks over at him with a dumbfounded expression. "What do you mean? For taking your virginity?"
"N-no, not exactly that." The nerdy stallion averts his gaze and crosses his foreleg over the other in an anxious gesture. "I just...thank you for helping me with gaining new experience, I guess. It sounds stupid but...if I ever marry Princess Cadence, I want her to feel special when we...do it."
Cadence turns away from the stallion to hide a compassionate smile. "Well, I'm sure she'd be a lucky mare to have someone as vigorous and as virile as you, Captain. Now if you'll excuse me..."
The cum-stained princess trots back over to the curtain leading to the backstage area, leaving Shining to take care of himself. The strippers continue their work, pleasing everyone with their alluring bodies and exotic techniques, allowing Cadence easy passage back to the waitress dressing room.
As she opens the door, all of her friends whip around and stare at the mare's drenched figure. Cadence doesn't utter a word as she hops into a chair and downs a bottle of fizzy soda that was left sitting on the makeup table.
"Woah, Cadence, you alright?" Moist Muse asks.
As the princess finishes the sugary drink, she looks over at Moist and gives her a reassuring smirk. "Do I look alright?" She unfolds her wings to reveal the wet stains of stallion spunk.
"I take it you enjoyed your first time with another stallion?" Sizzle asks.
"Shining was pretty good for an amateur," Cadence replies. "He caught on quickly though, so it was pretty enjoyable."
"Does this mean you'll want to keep being a VIP specialist?" Sizzle inquires with a gleeful grin.
Cadence mulls the prospect over. "It felt pretty good to fuck a stallion..." Cadence mumbles, "...though, fucking a mare would also be invigorating. Or better yet..." Cadence shivers as a much more elaborate idea springs to mind, "...perhaps I can have a whole group of ponies to fuck every hole in my body. I guess I can keep being a VIP specialist."
Hot Topic trots over and wraps the alicorn in a friendly embrace, disregarding the scent of sperm on her coat. "Zat's ze spirit, Candy," she cheers. "Don't forget to vash yourself off before heading back to ze castle, ja?"
The princess nods in affirmation and proceeds to make her way to the bathroom in all her lustful, musky glory. |
The Phantom Filly | pre | "Count in me. Thanks to the power of the Phantom Ruby, I can go anywhere in no time without even needing to take the train. The instant I started fighting those robots as Zero, I told myself that I would stop him."
Twilight smiled. "Glad to hear. I don't enjoy sending a filly fighting murderous robots, but your powers will really help us save ponies. I'm also glad to have found out who you are, because it will be easier to contact you when the time comes. But what if you are in school?"
"Mmh... You could try to sign to me through a window without being spotted, and I will come."
"What? Just like that? But you will have to justify your absence!"
"No need. Remember, I can create replicas," Scootaloo said before she created a replica of herself standing on the table, the replica glitching a little before it stabilized.
"Woah! It looks as real as you!" shouted Spike. He then poked the clone. "It's real!"
Scootaloo nodded. "It's like I said. This is actually an illusion, but thanks to the power of the Phantom Ruby, it is as real as me. I can even make it act like me, give to it my memories and all. So once you sign to me, I will pretext that I need to use the toilet, then I will create a replica..."
"...And I will take Scootaloo's place while she goes to kick some metallic butts," suddenly said the replica with a smirk.
Twilight looked at the replica, then smiled widely. "Wait a minute. Those replicas are made from the ruby's power you said. So what if I use one to study in your place?"
"If it can satisfy your thirst for knowledge, then why not?" the real Scootaloo said.
"Yes yes yes!" shouted Twilight as she took the replica who looked at Scootaloo with a pleading look. "Between this and Eggman's technology, maybe I will be able to find a way to replicate this power! Oh yeah, we're studying the remains of the robots to create our owns, so don't be surprised if you soon see robots roaming the streets. Now I must go thankyouforeverything!" she finished in one breath before she ran back to the basement with the replica.
The filly and the dragon looked at the door where she disappeared for a moment, then looked back at each other, Spike groaning. "Now she will probably remain down here all night, and maybe even all week..."
"Sorry."
"Because of all this, I forgot to ask you: who is Zero? You didn't take his appearance just like that. Is he a comic character that I don't know?"
"Uh no. He's my original character. There was a moment where I wanted to make my own comic, and he was supposed to be the villain."
"Then why not transform as the hero?"
"The hero was Rainbow Dash."
"Oh! Of course!" laughed Spike.
Me... An original character... Really... said Infinite with a groan. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 5: Revealing her Powers | The building of Eggman's HQ under Manehattan was going well. Very well. More robots were built each second by his factories, and tunnels were dig and built so his troops could exit outside of the city to gather more resources and even transport them so they could go build secretly his new, real HQ in a place called the Badlands that Tirek informed him of. Once this new HQ will be advanced enough, Eggman and Tirek will move to there, and this place will become a simple outpost for the conquest of Equestria.
"It's really impressive to see how fast you advance knowing that you started from nothing just a few weeks ago," said Tirek.
Eggman cackled. "And again, you saw nothing! Wait until my HQ in the Badlands is finished!"
That was when some robots came, dragging a small group of tied ponies. The unicorns among them were unconscious, the robots not knowing how to stop them from using their magic. The others were looking around in panic, and when they saw Eggman, they started stepping back, only to be pushed by the robots.
"Ohohohoh! Here's your dinner, Lord Tirek."
The centaur rubbed his hands before he approached the ponies. Then, he opened his mouth, and one by one, the ponies were drained of their magic, their fur becoming pale and their Cutie Marks disappearing. Tirek, him, became a little taller, a little more muscled, and his fur became less pale, turning to red. "Yes! I can feel my power grow!" He turned back to Eggman. "I will need much more, but a deal is a deal. I will let you study some of my magic so you can find a way to use it for your robots."
Eggman smirked. "Perfect!" He then turned to the ponies. "They can't get out of here. Badniks! Send them to work! They should be a nice bonus workforce."
"Are you still sure Scootaloo?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah," answered Scootaloo with a sigh. "I have no real reason to hide my identity from them. Well, Rarity may ask me to use my transformation power for her clothes, Applejack will certainly not be happy about me going to fight robots, and Pinkie will probably need a Pinkie Promise to not blabber my secret to the whole town, but I know that they will not be invasive."
"And why not tell your aunts too?" asked the mare.
"I'm already revealing my identity to five mares and this will be hard enough with how some of them will react. I can't deal with my aunts at the same time. The moment I reveal to them that I've got reality bending powers and that I'm planning to use them to risk my life, they will probably want to ground me for life, and it will take a lot to convince them not to! But with your help and the help of Princess Celestia..."
"Oh, I see. You want us to back you up against your aunts."
"Yep!"
"Normally, I would say that we wouldn't intervene in such family matter, but this is about saving lives so I suppose that this is for the best."
Scootaloo sighed. "The only problem is that if they accept, they will be really worried, and I don't like the idea of making them worry so much. This is also why they aren't here, I'm still hesitating to tell them because of that."
"Aww. That's sweet of you Scootaloo. But they need to know. It wouldn't be fair for them."
"I know. And I have to hurry, because Auntie Lofty will soon leave back to her town, leaving only Aunt Holiday to watch me."
Twilight nodded. "Understood."
That's when the door opened, letting enter the five mares that were Twilight's friends: Rainbow Dash, Applejack (slowly limping because of her still injured leg), Fluttershy (helping Applejack), Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.
"Hey Twilight! You said you wanted to see us?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"News about Eggman?" asked Applejack.
"Unless this is about the news I got about ponies starting to disappear in Manehattan," said Rarity.
"Wait, really?" asked Rainbow.
"Ponies are disappearing?" asked Twilight.
"Yes. A customer from Manehattan told me this morning. The poor dear was so scared that she decided to remain in Ponyville for a few days."
"Eggman's last seen in Manehattan, so he probably's something to do with this," said Applejack.
"Eggman is foalnapping ponies? Why?" wondered Scootaloo.
Probably to use them as slave labor or as lab rats, said Infinite.
Twilight frowned. "I will have to talk to Celestia about this. But no, I didn't ask you to come here to talk about this." She smiled at them. "I found Zero. He's here."
"Really?! Where?!" shouted Pinkie as she looked around. "Oh! Hi Scootaloo!" the mare quickly said upon spotting the filly before she continued to search. But then, she stopped, putting two and two together as the others did the same.
"SCOOTALOO?!" yelled the five mares (or half yelled in Fluttershy's case).
Scootaloo slowly raised her hoof to wave at them, giving a sheepish smile. "Hey! Surprise?"
"Oh, my gosh! Scootaloo is Zero!" shouted Pinkie excitedly.
"Scootaloo is Zero?" asked Rainbow Dash and Rarity in disbelief.
Applejack looked at the filly in doubt. "Are ya really?"
Well... Here we go... thought the filly before she transformed herself into Zero. "Yes, I am Zero."
"Oh, my gosh!" shouted Pinkie before she jumped beside Scootaloo to look at her. "So you're a superhero now? It's so cool! And I love your new transformation! So dark and cool! So how did you get those powers? Were you bitten by a mutant spider? Wait, no. Were you given a serum that turned you into a supersoldier? No, this can't be that. So was it-"
"I ate a ruby that gave me those powers," said Scootaloo.
"A ruby?" Pinkie Pie took a ruby from Spike's stash of gems.
"Hey!" shouted the drake.
"So if I eat this ruby, I will get powers?"
"What? No! This was a special ruby that possessed those powers! I ate it, it merged with me, and now, here I am!"
"Aww... But I wanted superpowers too..."
"Don't you already have some sort of superpower with your Pinkie Sense?" asked Spike as he took back his ruby.
"Silly! My Pinkie Sense isn't a superpower! It's just my Pinkie Sense!"
"But you can practically predict the future with it! And nopony else has it!"
What are they talking about? asked Infinite.
"I don't think you're ready to know."
While Spike and Pinkie were arguing about whether or not the Pinkie Sense was a superpower, the other mares approached Scootaloo.
"So... Sorry for not telling you," said Scootaloo. "I swear I was planning to tell you, Rainbow Dash! I just needed some time to learn to control those powers." She turned to the others. "And Twilight convinced me to tell you too after she discovered." She approached her face to whisper to them. "The truth is that I was scared that she would lock me in her basement to experiment on me."
Rainbow Dash and Applejack burst into laughter at this. "I totally understand what you mean!" said Rainbow. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you for hiding this. I least, you told us. I'm just curious."
"And we must thank you for helping us against those robots," said Rarity before she frowned. "But I'm not sure I can approve of you risking your life, even to save others. You are just a filly."
"Rare's right," said Applejack. "It's nice of ya to help us, sugarcube, but fillies shouldn't go fighting."
Scootaloo crossed her arms. "Maybe, but when that filly has powers and can save lives, it's better for her to do something rather than remain behind and leave ponies get killed." She frowned. "Dare to contradict me."
"Wow... Uh... You know that you're very intimidating when you frown like that in that form?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh! Sorry!" Scootaloo said sheepishly before she returned to her filly form. "But yeah, I can do this!" Suddenly, after a wave of energy, gravity was reversed, and everypony was walking on the ceiling. "And this!" She created twenty replicas of herself as Zero. "And this!" Suddenly, the inside of the library was ten times bigger. "And also this!" She turned herself into an alicorn, and she used her new horn to levitate a book. "And so much more!" Everything returned to normal. "It wouldn't be fair for me to have so much powers and not use them to help others against that mad egg guy!"
Everypony, even Twilight, stared at her in awe after this display of power. For Twilight, it was one thing to be told about these powers; it was another to see them in action and doing such feats as to change gravity and change space. Feats that only archmages, alicorns, and Discord could do!
"Dude..." said Spike.
"Also, I heard that Princess Celestia herself wants me to help her fight Eggman. So, filly or not, I'm going," finished Scootaloo.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Does the princess even know that ya're Zero?"
"Uh... Not yet. She's the next in the list. Twilight will send a letter to her explaining everything."
"So what says she'll accept to send a filly to fight a dangerous guy?"
Scootaloo gave her an 'are you serious?' stare. "The lives of her ponies and the future of this world and many others."
This closed Applejack's muzzle.
"Also, Eggman wants my powers, and he knows about me, so I'm his target, so I'm already in danger. Going to fight Eggman and his robots will change nothing. Either way, I will have to defend myself. At least, in the second case, I'm doing something in return."
Applejack sighed. "Okay... Ya convinced me..."
"Me too," said Rarity.
"If it is for the best, then I suppose this is ok," said Fluttershy. "But I don't like it..."
"Me too," said Applejack.
Scootaloo just shrugged in reply.
"But seriously! What are those powers?!" asked Rainbow Dash. "What you did was awesome!"
"Augmented reality manipulation. Thanks to illusions, I can change your reality and project it to the real one if I want. It's what I did with my body. I changed my reality to become Zero, and I made it real. And so..." Suddenly, she looked like Rainbow Dash. "I can change my reality so I can be like you, both in appearance and skill!"
"Wait, so you mean that you can be as fast as me?" asked excitedly the rainbow maned mare.
"Yeah!" shouted excitedly the filly before calming down, returning to normal. "But this is a little cheating because I could make it so I am faster than you. I pretty much have no limit."
"So, no race?" asked Rainbow, disappointed.
Scootaloo shook her head. "No race. But I can make it so I have normal wings, then train to fly the normal way. It will just take a little longer."
Rainbow smiled. "Eh. I can wait. I will even train you myself."
"Really?!" asked Scootaloo, looking at the mare with stars in her eyes.
"I promise," said Rainbow, rubbing the filly's mane.
Pinkie then approached. "I have a question!" She then looked seriously at Scootaloo. "Can you turn all the houses into gingerbread house?"
"I could," answered Scootaloo with a laugh.
"BEST POWERS EVER!"
Celestia read Twilight's letter telling her about Scootaloo being Zero and her powers. She frowned at the revelation that Zero was a filly, not liking it at all, because it meant that she would have to send a child risking her life. But Scootaloo's powers, rivaling the ones of Discord himself, were needed. Ponies started disappearing in Manehattan, and she could only imagine what Eggman was doing to them.
At least, Scootaloo was ok with this. That filly was very courageous.
And they were also able to convince Scootaloo's aunts to let her go. That was nice to know. But what about her parents? Wherever they are, she would have to go talk to them so they know about this.
Twilight studied the power of that Phantom Ruby too. If she could replicate them somehow, they won't have to send a filly risk her life anymore. So Celestia hoped that her research would be a success. Meanwhile, the study of the remains of the robots were advancing well. The main problem was that building their own robots would take a while. One at a time. Eggman must have a way to build them rapidly, probably a factory (already).
Wait...
If Eggman built a factory, then where did he build it? He was last sighted in Manehattan, and ponies started disappearing in Manehattan, so he was probably somewhere in the city, or close to it. But they searched everywhere, and found not a trace from him.
This meant only one thing: he was underground.
If that's the case, then this would leave them no choice but to probe the entire island in search of a 'hole' under the ground big enough for at least one factory, and it may take a while because there were many basements. But Eggman probably hid the entrance to his base, so if they find a building with a basement, but with no known way to reach this basement, it would be the jackpot.
This may still take some time. Meanwhile, she would send more of her guards to Manehattan and try to build their first robots. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 6: Manehattan | "Mmh... They're probing Manehattan," said Tirek as he looked at the monitors showing the surface with Eggman.
"Of course, they understood that we're hidden somewhere underground," said the doctor.
"It will still take them some time."
"But it will be best if they take more time, so..." Eggman smirked. "Time to give them some action."
Tirek smirked too. "I like it. But could you at least avoid to kill them? I can't drain magic from corpses."
"I will try."
Manehattan Beach. Despite most ponies being on edge because of the recent disappearances, many were still trying to live their life, and so, passed some good time on the beach, relaxing or playing under the warm sun.
But then, ponies started to see things moving in the water, and soon, flying robots, dozens of them, from birds to wasps passing by bats, came out of it. Understanding what they were, the ponies started running away. Behind them, walking out of the water, more robots were coming, crabs, snails, rats, caterpillars, ladybugs, and much more. But most of the robots coming out were red and black, egg-shaped robots with grey head, thin arms and legs, and two rockets on their back, some of them using said rockets to fly.
And all the robots fired at the fleeing ponies.
Scootaloo knew this would happen...
She had dreaded this moment...
And now, here she was...
Being a mannequin for Rarity.
Thanks to the possibility to change shape at will because of the ruby, she was just perfect for this job, and Rarity saw the perfect occasion to take measurements to be able to make dresses for ponies and creatures she wasn't used to make clothes for because she hadn't an exemplary of said ponies and creatures living nearby. So Scootaloo used her powers to take the appearance of more of less muscular ponies (less buffed than Bulk Biceps), more or less chubby ponies, ponies taller or smaller than usual, minotaurs, griffons, and so on. Rarity was Sweetie Belle's sister, so Scootaloo couldn't say no to her pleads, especially if it could help her improve her business.
At least, it gave Scootaloo the occasion to see how it felt to be all those different beings. And Rarity even proposed to make some clothes for her Zero persona as a reward. It could be nice to have some, just in case.
Infinite clearly didn't like the idea of having his body being used as a mannequin. And he was clearly disgusted when Scootaloo first put on a dress, because it was as if he was wearing one.
Then, Twilight appeared. "Rarity! Have you seen Scootaloo? I have been told she was here!"
"I'm right here," said Scootaloo, waving a claw as she was now a young griffon chick.
"Scootaloo! We need you! Manehattan is under attack!"
"What?!" yelled both Scootaloo and Rarity.
"Hundreds of robots! They turned the entire island into a battlefield! Hundreds of ponies have already been injured, Royal Guards included!"
Scootaloo frowned, then used the powers of the ruby to teleport the dress she was wearing to a nearby table before she transformed herself into Zero. "Then I'm going right now!" The next instant, she was gone.
When Scootaloo appeared in the sky above Manehattan, she saw pure chaos. Between the buildings, robots were flying in formations in all directions, constantly firing at the streets and at the buildings. On the streets, more robots were scattered and firing at will at everything that wasn't another robot. Some of them were dragging captured ponies to an unknown destination.
Looking at the carnage in rage, Scootaloo sent a wave of energy to the entire city, and the next instant, the robots were firing at each others, now seeing other robots as ponies. While this happened, Scootaloo started attacking them, using a red sword similar to the one that Infinite materialized in their mindscape, or creating laser cannons. She also sent replicas of Celestia and Luna, speeding up the destruction of the robots.
In this chaos, the real Celestia and Luna appeared with more Royal Guards. They looked in wonder at the robots destroying each other and being destroyed by clones of them, but when they saw Scootaloo pass above them slashing at robots, they quickly understood what was going on and helped the replicas and remaining Royal Guards finishing the robots.
In a few minutes, Manehattan was cleared of all enemies.
"Impressive..." said Tirek. "The powers of this ruby are prodigious."
"This is why I must get my hands on it!" shouted Eggman.
In your dream, old man. I will be the one who will get the powers of this ruby, thought Tirek.
"But at least, the attack worked," continued Eggman.
"Will you send more robots to attack?"
"Tomorrow. I must rebuild my army before sending it to be slaughtered again." He gave a maniacal laugh. "Let's see how long it will take them to find this place with daily attacks slowing them down!"
Celestia and Luna found Scootaloo, still as Zero, sitting beside a group of injured ponies, the filly using her new powers to heal them.
"Hello Sc-Zero. I didn't know that you could heal ponies," said Celestia.
Scootaloo looked up at them. "I wasn't sure too, but since I can change reality, I told myself that I could change it so ponies wouldn't be injured anymore." As a demonstration, she used her power on the leg of a mare an energy bullet had pierced, and after a somewhat glitching moment, it was as if the wound had never existed. "It makes me feel guilty to find out only now. All the injured ponies back in Ponyville would be healed by now. As soon as I return, I will get to that."
"Thank you!" said the mare she just healed before she went to hug a colt.
Celestia looked at the mare and the colt with a warm smile. "Those powers are really wonderful." She looked back at Scootaloo. "You are wonderful."
Luna nodded. "Thank you for helping saving the ponies of Manehattan."
Scootaloo got up and did an exaggerated bow. "You're welcome, princesses. It's only normal for a superhero to save the day. And I will gladly do it again if those robots come back."
Infinite groaned. Kill me...
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. A boy who doesn't like the idea of being a superhero? Well, knowing his past, he would be more of a supervillain.
Celestia giggled at her act. "Well, I fear that they will be back very soon. We are getting closer of finding Eggman's base, and he doesn't like that."
"Oh. So this is the reason of today's attack?"
Luna nodded. "But we will continue to probe the underground of Manehattan until we find him, no matter how much he tries to stop us."
"So..." Scootaloo looked around at the injured ponies. "We should evacuate the city."
Both princesses nodded, and Celestia said "This is what I thought. But we will have to find a way to shelter all those ponies."
"But it's better than letting them being shot by those robots again and again," said Luna.
Scootaloo nodded before she returned to heal the ponies, only to frown at seeing who was the next pony, and what happened. It was Babs Seed, and she had lost a leg. Quickly, Scootaloo used her powers to make a new one appear. "There. Better," she said while patting her head.
Babs hugged her, crying. "Thank you... Thank you..."
Scootaloo patted her back with a smile. "You're welcome." She then looked around and shouted "Everypony missing a limb or an eye or something else quickly come to me!"
Celestia sighed. "We are so lucky to have her..."
Luna nodded.
The next day, for once, Manehattan Beach was calm, empty of ponies excepted for some guards stationed here.
And those guards were the first ones to see robots coming out of the water.
"Oh no..."
"We're attacked!"
Scootaloo spotted Twilight waving at her through a window while she was in school and immediately groaned, understanding what it meant.
So she did as she said before and went out of school to go fight the robots and save Manehattan, again.
The next day, more robots came out of the water of Manehattan Beach, forcing Scootaloo to come save the day again. By now, the majority of the Royal Guard was here, including Shining Armor, and Luna herself decided to remain stationed in the city to be ready. By now, the civilians were evacuated, so the battle was faster and less bloody.
Scootaloo decided after that to remain in the city too, leaving a replica to take her place in Ponyville, and Twilight and her friends also came to help. Yes, even Fluttershy, but knowing that innocent critters were used as batteries to power the robots, the usually not violent mare was determined to take part to save them.
And you didn't want to be in the path of an angry Fluttershy trying to save innocent critters. Always watch the quiet ones.
After a few more days of this, special robots with fully functional magic generators started to appear among the more normal robots, becoming quickly a greater menace with their ability to use magic, even if it was just as simple spells like levitation, magical beams, or shields.
But in return, the ponies finished their first robots, boxy metal pony-shaped automatons running on magic that clearly still needed some improvements. Comparing a pony robot to an Eggman robot was like comparing a clumsy rooky Royal Guard to a fully trained captain.
But at least, battle by battle, the situation was slowly improving for the ponies who also started to use more advanced weapons and more effective armor taken or inspired from Eggman's robots.
One good thing that came out of this nightmare caused by Eggman: the technological boon.
Then, one day...
"Mmh... There's something big under there," said an unicorn guard after using one of the probing spells near an abandoned factory. "The buildings in this area shouldn't have basements, right?"
"Some of them have one, but generally only for storage," said another guard, an earth pony. "So, not big."
"Let's continue probing the area," said another unicorn guard. "We may have found what we search."
"They found us," said Tirek.
"It was bound to happen. But at least, it took them more time, so we are better prepared," said Eggman.
"You'll use that weird mecha to try to capture the ruby?"
"Yes. Time to test this magic."
Scootaloo (as Zero), Celestia, Luna, Twilight and her friends, and Shining Armor were gathered inside the abandoned factory with a few guards, looking around. More guards were looking outside the building.
"Where is the entrance?!" shouted Luna.
"Probably well hidden. It could be behind any of those walls or anywhere under the floor."
Scootaloo was knocking on the walls, trying to find a secret panel, or if the sound changed, but her search was as unsuccessful as the search of everypony else. She lost patience. "Ugh... We are losing time." She then activated the Phantom Ruby and materialized a giant drill. "Move away, everypony!" she then shouted before she activated the drill, which dug a hole. After a few minutes, she felt the drill reach something, made it disappear and jumped in the hole.
"Wait!" shouted Shining Armor too late.
Scootaloo landed in a room in front of an elevator (the actual entrance) and shouted, "Alright! Now time to-" That's when she saw the dozens of robots and turrets turned toward her, cannons ready to fire.
Idiot. You don't jump blindly in an unknown underground base probably well defended, said Infinite. Especially after using a drill to dig a hole to it.
Shining Armor suddenly dropped in front of her. "Remain beside me!" he yelled before he materialized a pink shield all around them just before the robots fired. The shield was thankfully strong enough to resist the onslaught, but Shining Armor was clearly in difficulty. So Scootaloo acted quickly and used her powers to materialize and throw metallic spiked balls at the robots and turrets fast enough to pierce and destroy them.
Scootaloo and Shining were then joined by the princesses who finished the remaining robots that survived the projectiles. The Royal Guards then jumped in, the Element Bearers among them.
More robots came but were quickly destroyed by Scootaloo, and the guards moved into the different hallways connecting to this room, followed by Scootaloo and the others.
As expected, the place was a huge factory divided into many levels, each producing different types of robots. The ponies really understood the horror of the place when they saw mechanical claws grabbing captured animals out of capsules and place them inside the robots. What was horrible was the number of capsules: hundreds, filling whole rooms. And each contained a few dozens animals.
Fluttershy almost lost it when she discovered it.
They also found the kidnapped ponies, forced to work in the factory and drained from their magic. They were quickly escorted out of the place.
Many traps were in the way of the ponies in addition of the turrets and robots, from spikes coming out of the floors and walls to flamethrowers, and even rooms that were filling with a poisonous gas or water. They found out about the secret tunnels, the monitor room, the labs where Eggman experimented with magic, and everything else.
Then, as Scootaloo crashed some robots against a wall by manipulating gravity, she saw Eggman run behind a door that closed behind him while four turrets activated. She easily destroyed the turrets and materialized a big cannon to blow up the door, letting her follow the mad scientist into a hallway. Some more robots and turrets tried to stop her, but they barely slowed her down, and before long, she passed another door, not remarking that she was now alone.
She then entered a big dome-shaped room with Eggman's emblem on the wall, and no exit. Before she could start to look around, the roof of the dome opened, and a huge egg-shaped robot looking like Eggman dropped in front of her, easily ten times bigger than her. It had short but bulky legs with wheels, and bulky arms with three spikes for fingers.
A strange device in its torso then activated, and the next instant, a magical shield trapped the both of them in the room.
DEATH EGG MAGICAL ROBOT
"WHAT THE HAY?!" yelled Scootaloo. "What is that?!"
A Death Egg Robot, answered Infinite. And this one seems to be able to use magic.
"MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Long time no see!" shouted Eggman from inside the robot. "Seems like you enjoyed having my ruby! But now, it's time for you to give it back!" he shouted before the spikes of the right hand of the robot rotated. He then attacked Scootaloo with it, and she quickly flew away, only for the robot to fire its left arm at her. She teleported to avoid it, but then, the robot fired a powerful magical beam from the device in its torso and hit her, causing her to slam against the shield.
The robot suddenly jumped to crush her, and Scootaloo teleported again in panic, seeing that the robot had a big jetpack on its back to help it move. When she reappeared, Scootaloo attacked by sending some red cubes, and the robot was transported to a reality where it was attacked from all sides by laser cannons, but the only cannons that were effective against it were the ones hitting it in the black part at the bottom of the body or on the head.
When the robot landed after its jump, it caused some robots and pieces to fall from the ceiling, and the robots fired at Scootaloo. She quickly destroyed them, but the Death Egg Robot used then the magical device in its torso to levitate the pieces and remaining robots and to throw them at her before firing its two arms and another magical beam.
As Scootaloo avoided them, she sent more of the red cubes to trap the robot in a reality where it was hit on the torso by a big battering ram, but it barely stunned it for a few seconds that Scootaloo used to attack its black part and head.
Scootaloo, however, was grabbed by the robot's magic and was sent right into the path of a punch from the robot that slammed her on the ground, and the robot jumped again to crush her. Scootaloo quickly used cubes to inverse the gravity of the robot's reality to make it land on the ceiling of the shield, but the robot then dropped bombs and used magic to throw them at her.
Avoiding the bombs, she returned the gravity back to normal, making the robot fall head first on the floor and leaving its black part and head vulnerable to Scootaloo's attacks. However, the robot quickly got up and charged its magical device before firing a huge beam with it while rotating its torso. While avoiding the beam, she continued sending cubes to attack its black part.
But then, the robot teleported and appeared right above Scootaloo. Before she knew it, the robot dropped on her, and it crushed her under one of its feet, which it raised and brought down back on her to crush her more.
"MWAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Eggman as he continued to bring down the robot's foot on Scootaloo. "You aren't as tough as you thought! You may have the ruby and its powers, but you are still just a little filly playing heroes in the big leagues! Now, remain still!" A compartment opened under the magical device. "I have a place just for you! You will help me conquer this world!"
He's right. You aren't trained to face such an enemy. However, I am. Let me tack control of your body, and we won't serve as Eggman's power source, said Infinite.
"I-I refuse... If I let you control me, you will hurt everypony..." At this, she tried to get up, only to receive a punch to the back, getting badly injured by the spikes of the robot's hand.
She was able to use the ruby to teleport again and she sent red cubes at the robot to attack it. When the robot fired its arms at her again, Scootaloo went to dodge, only for the arms to teleport and appear before and behind her, and she was crushed between them.
As she dropped, the robot's left hand changed form to turn into a real-looking hand and grabbed her. Electricity came out of the hand, electrifying her and stopping her from doing anything because of the pain.
The pain stopped when Celestia suddenly came out of the hallway and destroyed the shield before Luna, who followed her, fired a huge magical beam at the robot. However, all the beam did was to force the robot to take a step back.
"AHAHAHAH!! That's all? I barely felt it!" shouted Eggman.
"What is that thing?" shouted Luna.
"Its weak points are the black part and the head!" shouted Scootaloo.
"Shut up, you!" shouted Eggman as he electrified the filly again.
"Stop it!" yelled Celestia before she charged at the hand holding Scootaloo to try to save her. She barely avoided the other arm trying to punch her, only to be hit by a magical beam fired by the magical device of the robot. As she recovered, the robot teleported beside her and tried to punch her again. Celestia created the most powerful shield she could form, but it was destroyed like a mirror by the robot's punch, and she was sent against the wall of the room.
"Oh, I love love love this magic!" shouted Eggman with another laugh. "Wait until I face Sonic again with it! Even him will not resist against me with it!"
That's when the Bearers and some Royal Guards entered the room, and upon seeing the robot and the state of Scootaloo and of Celestia, they started attacking it with everything they had. Luna quickly told them what Scootaloo told her about the robot's weakness, and the ponies started targeting the black part and the head.
But despite all this, the robot remained a real powerhouse, the few hits it took while it was moving around to attack the ponies barely damaged it. Eggman started by targeting Luna, sending bombs toward her. She sent the bombs back at the robot with her magic, but they weren't effective at all. She jumped back to avoid the robot's arm, but the robot then teleported beside her and kicked her. Meanwhile, it used the arm holding Scootaloo to slap Rainbow Dash, sending her crashing on a wall, before it started rotating its torso while firing a magical beam, sweeping the ground and hurting a lot of ponies with it.
Celestia and Luna came back to attack, but the robot then slammed a foot on the floor, causing robots and objects to drop from the hole in the ceiling where it came from, and then used telekinesis to throw the robots and objects at the princesses and at the other ponies while kicking an Earth Pony guard that came too close, and crushing another. It then used telekinesis again to grab some guards and to throw them at others.
The robot jumped toward Shining Armor, only to teleport mid-jump and to appear just above Twilight, who couldn't act in time to avoid it dropping on her. It then swept the floor again with a magical beam while dropping bombs all around itself.
Scootaloo was crying, not able to do anything to help them.
Your friends are getting hurt anyway, said Infinite in her mind. What do you prefer? Let Eggman continue, killing your friends, and using us to conquer the world? Or take the risk and let me take control to have a chance?
"A... A chance? Maybe you will destroy... the Death Egg Robot... but... I know you will attack my friends immediately after. This will not be better..."
But at least, Eggman will not get the ruby and will not use it.
"But you will use it..."
Then make your choice, but do it quickly, or your friends will die anyway.
Scootaloo opened her eyes and looked at what was happening. The ponies were losing. Already, dozens of guards were lying around unconscious, and Applejack, Twilight, and... and even Rainbow Dash... The princesses and Shining Armor were in bad shape too. The captain now prince was using a shield to protect himself and some of his fellow guards, only for the robot to easily destroy it by charging into it with the help of his jetpack, and the ponies were rammed and sent flying.
The Death Egg Robot... What a truly terrible machine... It must be stopped...
But then...
Scootaloo closed her eyes. I must choose between two evils. What would be best? If this continues, Eggman will win, but if I let Infinite take control of my body, it will not be better. But... Maybe they will be able to stop him. The robot is too strong, but Infinite is more vulnerable. They can fight him, even with the Phantom Ruby in his side. Oh, please... I hope I'm right... "Sorry everypony... ALRIGHT INFINITE! YOU CAN COME OUT!" she yelled before she stopped moving.
Her yell caused everyone to look at her, even Eggman, staring in wonder, stopping the battle.
"Infinite?" asked the scientist.
He smirked. "Finally..."
A wave of energy came out of his body, and he was suddenly out of Eggman's grasp, floating in front of the robot, a certain mask now on his head.
He cackled. "How long have I waited for this? I must thank you, Eggman. Without you, this stupid child would have never let me take control."
Inside his cockpit, Eggman frowned. "You aren't the filly. Who are you?"
The new being put a hand in front of his mask as the black right eye and the right ear of it started glowing red. After a small chuckle, he answered, "I am Infinite..."
"Inf-What?" Eggman was interrupted when he felt the arms of the Death Egg Robot being pulled. He then saw that two black tendrils had come out of the walls and were wrapped around them. He tried to free the arms, but the tendrils revealed to be stronger. "What?!" Then, the tendrils pulled hard, and the two arms were torn off the robot's body. "WHAT?!"
Woah... said Scootaloo in Infinite's head.
Now, everypony could see the smirk behind the mask. "I am this world's doom."
He materialized the red sword, then charged at the robot and slashed at it while passing beside it. With just this one slash, he cut the robot in two horizontally. "WHAAAT?!!" yelled the doctor.
What?!
Infinite cackled again. "This is how you really use the Phantom Ruby." He then saw Eggman crawling out of the robot, and landed in front of him, his sword pointed at his forehead.
"Waaahh!" shouted Eggman as he moved back in fear.
"I can accept to work for someone," said Infinite. "But I refuse to be used to power a robot. I. Am not. A tool." At this, he was about to behead Eggman when he was interrupted by a shout.
"Wait!" yelled Celestia. "As horrible as he was, he doesn't need to die! You already defeated him!"
Infinite lowered his sword and stared at the alicorn, seeing that some ponies were recovering and were staring at him in wonder and fear.
"Oh? The princess wants to spare the man that caused so much suffering to her people? Why am I not surprised?"
"I will send him to prison for the rest of his life. That's a much better punishment than killing him on the spot."
Infinite stroked his mask. "Mmh... True. Decades of loneliness in a small room with only bread and water to survive sounds better than ending his suffering. However..." He raised his sword. "In my world, there will be no prisoners!"
"Stop!" yelled Celestia.
But Infinite didn't listen to her and swung his sword, only for something to drop behind him, and before he knew it, he was sent flying into a wall by a strong fist punching him on the side. When Infinite recovered, he saw that whatever had punched him was a tall and muscular red and black centaur.
Celestia and Luna gasped and shouted, "Tirek?!"
"I don't know who you are," said the centaur. "But I won't let you kill Eggman. I need him." At this, Tirek grabbed the doctor, and they both teleported.
Infinite growled. "So he made an ally? I should have known. Eggman loves to make allies." he then calmed. "No matter. I will deal with those two later. Right now..." He turned to the ponies. "I have other fishes to deal with."
I will not let you! shouted Scootaloo before she tried to regain control, only to fail after a short struggle.
Infinite huffed. "If I couldn't take control of your body by force, you certainly will not be able to. If you want to regain control, I will have to let you. Of course, I won't."
Scootaloo didn't listen and tried again. I still won't let you hurt them! I will fight to the end for this!
"Admirable. Too bad it's useless," he said before he started floating.
INFINITE
Seeing this, the ponies readied themselves.
"I don't know what is happening, but it seems we will have to fight again," said Luna.
Infinite chuckled. "You think this will be a fight? I would rather call it a slaughter." At this, he teleported, and they suddenly heard Fluttershy's scream. They turned toward the mare and saw that Infinite was now holding her by the neck, ready to behead her. "And let's start it now."
"FLUTTERSHY!!!"
But then, something passed in front of Infinite so rapidly that he could only see a blur, and Fluttershy wasn't here anymore. Infinite looked to his left and saw a strange creature in a blue superhero costume with a red cape floating alone, holding Fluttershy in his... claw and paw? The thing seemed to be an amalgamation of different animals.
Discord! Yes! shouted Scootaloo excitedly.
"Discord?" wondered Infinite.
Discord chuckled. "Seems like I came just in time."
"Discord!" shouted Fluttershy before hugging him.
"You snake! Where were you?! We tried to contact you for days!" yelled Luna.
"Sorry, I was taking some vacation in Chaosland when I felt a disturbance in the force," replied Discord before he dropped Fluttershy and made his costume disappear. "Really. I can't leave a few weeks without things going south. A city half destroyed, robot corpses everywhere, a battle in a factory of doom..." He took a dramatic pose. "All this chaos and I'm not even here? Really, I'm hurt! At this rate, I will be out of a job!"
Infinite sighed. "You are here since barely half a minute and you are already annoying..." He then started floating again, red cubes appearing behind him. "A buffoon like you should be out amusing children. But it seems you preferred to choose death. I will gladly give it."
With a sound like a sword slashing him, Discord's body separated in two. "Ow. The edge. And I thought King Sombrero was the master in edginess. He has some serious competition."
"ENOUGH!" yelled Infinite before he sent the cubes at Discord.
Discord remained in place, looking at the cubes in curiosity. When they touched him, he was transported to a reality where he was attacked by saws. By the time the reality disappeared, he was cut to pieces.
"Ow... Okay. You just beat Sombrero. You are the Edge Emperor."
"How can you still be alive?!" shouted Infinite.
Discord reconstituted himself. "Oh yes. I forgot to present myself. Discord, Spirit of Chaos."
"Spirit of Chaos?!"
Discord snapped his fingers, and the reality around them changed. They were now in a field made of a squared ground, each square in a different color. The sky was brown, the sun was blue and singing opera, pink elephants were flying, hippopotamus were dancing in tutu, trees were dancing polka, a rainbow made of wrong colors was running after a pink cloud to eat it, and Discord shouted "CHAOS!" with the biggest smile, confetti raining around him.
Then they were back in the room in the factory.
Infinite stared at Discord.
"And now that I presented myself, how about you present yourself?" asked Discord.
Infinite answered by trapping Discord in a reality where dozens of swords were charging at him. Discord would have let himself get impaled, but he felt that something was different, and he snapped his fingers, turning the swords into balloon swords that bounced from him.
"How rude. Not only you don't answer me, but you also send me in a reality where I am vulnerable to your attacks? Really, that's low."
"Hum... He called himself Infinite," said Fluttershy.
"This is actually Scootaloo, but something happened to her! And now, this guy took her place!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
"Scootaloo?" asked Discord as he popped a list out of his brain and looked at it. "Scootaloo... Scootaloo... Ah! Filly... Orange... Oh! The chicken who helped free me the first time with her friends!"
He then snapped his fingers, and Infinite was suddenly turned into a chicken.
Hey! yelled said filly from inside Infinite's head.
"That was mean, Discord," said Fluttershy.
The chicken looked at Discord with a deadpan look before he transformed back into Infinite with a yell of rage. He then sent a wave of energy that trapped Discord in the ruby's power. He then fired from the palm of his hand a beam, only for Discord to use a mirror to deflect it back at him before he looked at it to comb his mane. But then, a sudden increase of gravity almost crushed him against the ground, and Infinite materialized a big crusher above him. Before he could be crushed, Discord teleported, then snapped his fingers to change reality back to normal, stopping his vulnerability.
"You know. I'm not one to go serious in a fight, but since you can kill me, I may have to do an exception," said Discord before he snapped his fingers, and a big fist came out of the ground to hit Infinite between the legs.
Infinite clearly kept himself from screaming like a girl, but still clutched the part in pain, groaning.
This... This is what colts feel when we do that? asked Scootaloo. I promise to never do that. The pain is too horrible.
"Who uses low blows now?" asked Infinite painfully.
"An eye for an eye," replied Discord. "Beside, you needed to lower on the edge. It was the perfect way."
"I'll... kill you..."
Infinite sent another wave of energy to send Discord back in a reality where he's vulnerable. In this reality, Infinite was also a giant, and he immediately punched Discord, crushing him between his fist and the floor. However, Discord slithered around Infinite's arm like a snake, climbing it until reaching Infinite's shoulder. Here, he avoided an attempt of Infinite to crush him with his hand and climbed his head until reaching the top. Discord then materialized a small toy hammer, jumped to avoid being crushed between Infinite's hands, and bonked him on the head. The blow half buried Infinite, only leaving his head out of the ground. Then, a giant tendril formed from the ground, wrapped Discord, and threw him to a wall where chains trapped him from head to tail.
But as Infinite charged toward Discord, a huge magical beam suddenly engulfed him. When the beam finished, Infinite was still alive, but terribly weakened. He turned to the origin of the beam and saw Celestia. "You..." he managed to say before losing consciousness.
The chains around Discord disappeared. "You know those chains weren't really trapping me, right?"
"I know, but I saw an opening, so I used it," replied Celestia.
"Well, good job. For once, you decided to be useful," said Discord before he turned toward Infinite. "Now, I have a last thing to do to end this." He approached him, placed him on his front, then turned a switch from 'Infinite' to 'Scootaloo'. "There. Now, the chicken is back to control."
Everypony sighed in relief at this. "Thank you, Discord," said Celestia.
Discord took a big breath and sighed in bliss. "Ooh yes... I like the sound of ponies thanking me for saving the day. I should do it more often." |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 7: Weak | Infinite woke in the mindscape and immediately roared in rage.
"Wow. She got you good," said Scootaloo. "I don't know if Discord planned it, but he was a really good distraction."
Infinite growled. "That clown... The next time I'm out, he's dead."
"Next time? There won't be a next time," said Scootaloo with a glare. "You almost killed Fluttershy. You can be sure that I won't let you out anytime soon."
Infinite glared back at her and chuckled. "With how weak you are, I don't think so. Sooner or later, you will encounter Eggman again, and he will be in command of a mecha even more powerful than this Death Egg Robot. You put up a good fight against it, but you still lost. So how do you think you will fare against his next creation?"
Scootaloo looked down. "Then I will become better at fighting and make sure that what happened today never happens again." She stared back at Infinite. "And I'm sure that Rainbow Dash and the others will do the same. Now that they know what they're up against, they will get better. And together, we will defeat Eggman, no matter what he will send at us."
Infinite huffed. "And what if you can't?"
"Well..."
"That's the thing, chicken. You can work together to try to defeat Eggman, but all it would take is a robot too powerful, and it would kill you. And you know why? Because they are limited. They don't have this unlimited power that we possess. So if you continue to count on them to be at your side to win, you will just go down with them. You can't count on them. You can count only on you and your power. If you don't want what happened today to happen again, then become THE strongest, most powerful being in the world. With the power of the Phantom Ruby, you can, unlike them."
Scootaloo frowned. "Speak... Speaking from experience?"
Infinite turned his back to her. "Teamwork isn't always the solution. That's all you need to know." He took a big breath. "However... While I was in control, something was wrong..."
"What?"
"I didn't have control of all the powers of the ruby. It felt like I only had half of them."
"Uuh... Maybe because it wasn't really your body, but mine?" wondered the filly.
Infinite shook his head. "This can't be that. Since we are both merged to the ruby, your body is also my body. Remember, I can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. Same for you when I was in control. We are two minds in one body." Infinite closed his eyes to think, only to open them suddenly. "Wait... Two minds... We merged to the ruby, but..."
Infinite turned back toward Scootaloo and approached her. Scared, the filly backed, but Infinite teleported in front of her. "I won't hurt you. I just want to test something." At this, he placed his hand on her forehead.
Scootaloo immediately had flashes.
She landed on a pillar at the entrance of a base, spotting a bipedal black hedgehog partially hidden behind another pillar.
"You. You destroyed my squad. I'll show you why they call me the ultimate mercenary!" she, no, he yelled at the hedgehog in rage. "Take THIS!"
He charged at the black hedgehog, only for him to disappear in a blue flash, to his surprise. "What?"
Suddenly, the hedgehog appeared behind him and kicked him to the sky, then teleported above him to smash his back to the ground. With another teleportation, the hedgehog appeared again as he crashed and kicked him toward a wall beside a pillar. Groaning in pain, he tried to get up, but couldn't, rubbing his head.
"Worthless," Said the hedgehog. "Don't show your pathetic face around me ever again." With this, the hedgehog teleported away.
This hedgehog... He outclassed him totally. He could do nothing. He was so... strong... That's when he saw his hands. "I... I'm shaking... Me?! Me... Afraid...?! Urgh. Pathetic?! Me... he's calling ME weak?!" At this point, as he was getting up, hate and anger totally invaded him. How dare he?! "No! I am not weak! I'm... I'm not. I'm not weak! I AM NOT WEAK!" he shouted with a roar.
In a flash, he was now looking through the eyes of a familiar mask, a Phantom Ruby different from the normal one on his torso. He was on a long-suspended roadway inside a huge futuristic fortress that was actually the field of a terrible battle. Above him, two armadas, one made of red ships with symbols based on Eggman's head, the other made of blue and white ships, were firing at each other. Debris and projectiles were raining around him, but he didn't care. What he cared about right now was the blue hedgehog he was actually fighting. The hedgehog was running after him at high speeds as he was rapidly floating backward, and hundreds of red cubes were following the hedgehog, threatening to engulf him if he stopped too long. Following the hedgehog was a red cat in some uniform and armed with some weird weapon.
To them, he said, "Friends are nothing but a fleeting illusion. You can count on nobody but yourself!"
To this, the hedgehog replied, "Your mask can't hide how sad and lonely you are! That Phantom Ruby virtual reality of yours is the real illusion!"
And then, in another flash, the hedgehog and the cat were now charging at him at unbelievable speed. Together, they jumped in the air and spun toward him, sending him flying, defeated.
Slowly, he got up. "Impossible. I cannot be defeated."
"Wrong, loser!" replied the hedgehog. "The things that can't be defeated are heart, soul, and the bonds of friendship. Three things you and your counterfeit cronies lack!"
He punched the ground in rage, only to feel himself being pulled. "No, wait! I can still fight!" he shouted as his body was disappearing.
To no avail. He was absorbed inside the Phantom Ruby, and the next thing he knew, he was trapped inside it.
It suddenly ended, Infinite removing his hand from her forehead while using the other to rub his head. "This is what I thought... Ugh... What a pathetic life you have... No wonder you're so weak." He shook his head. "Whatever. It turns out we aren't fully merged."
"What do you mean?" asked Scootaloo while she processed what she saw.
"We are merged with the ruby, but because we are both in it, it divides the ruby between you and me. We each have access to only 50% of its power. You control the first half, I control the other half."
"I see... But what was that with the flashes? Were they your memories?"
"Of course... If I saw yours, you saw mines... Yes, those were my memories, whatever you saw. And if it happened, it is because the instant I touched you, we started merging. This is what I meant by 'we aren't fully merged', we are one with the ruby, but our minds are still separated. The full merging would be one mind in one body." He growled. "It means that, unless we decide to merge ourselves to become one new being, we won't have access to the full power of the ruby." He stared at Scootaloo. "And I refuse to lose myself."
"Well, I certainly don't want to become partially you either! You are still a mass murderer that helped a mad scientist to conquer the world and led it to a global war! And you also almost killed Fluttershy, and would have if Discord hadn't come!" yelled the filly.
"At least something we agree upon. But now, tell me, what memories did you see?"
"Uh... The 'I'm not weak' part and the part where you got your butt kicked by a blue hedgehog and a red cat."
Infinite groaned. "Of all my memories..."
"And you know what?" continued the filly. "You are right. But you are also wrong." She lowered her ears, looking down in sadness. "Your whole squad was killed despite facing a single being because he was too strong." She looked back at him. "But then, despite your immense power, you lost because a hedgehog and a cat worked together to defeat you." She sighed. "In the end, I suppose it just depends, but at least, I know that when facing a stronger enemy, the best thing to do is to ally yourself with someone to better your chances. Yes, it means that we're weak, but at least, it works. You saw it first hoof... Uh... First hand."
Scootaloo then walked away. "So I am not ashamed to say that I will not hesitate to call for help if I need it, but I will also continue to train to become better myself. And not just at using the Phantom Ruby's powers, but also at fighting, to be ready next time I encounter Eggman."
Infinite stared at the filly walking away, then huffed, turning around.
Scootaloo awakened and felt her body aching everywhere.
Right, her body was engulfed from head to feet in a giant magical beam fired by Celestia. Frankly, it was a miracle that her body hadn't been turned to ashes. Maybe she had the Phantom Ruby to thank for this.
She quickly discovered that she was in a hospital bed with a monitor regularly beeping in the rhythm of her heartbeat. Her body, which was still Infinite's but without the mask, probably removed, was almost entirely covered in bandages. Her head was actually the only place not covered, thanks to the mask having protected it.
And sitting on chairs beside her bed were Twilight and Rainbow Dash, the first one reading a book and the last one sleeping. Twilight must have heard her moving, because she looked up from her book. However, while Twilight looked at her, the mare seemed tied between a happy expression and an unsure expression.
"Uh... Scootaloo?" she asked hesitantly.
Scootaloo understood why. "Yes, it's me, don't worry." At this, she used the Phantom Ruby to take back her normal appearance, and also to heal herself.
Twilight sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Celestia... Discord really did it."
Scootaloo looked at her in confusion.
"Discord gave you back the control of your body, or this... Infinite would still have been the one in control," she explained.
Right. I should be the one in control. Curse that clown!
Scootaloo facehoofed. "Of course! I forgot about that!"
"And about that, you owe us an explanation."
Scootaloo flinched. Something else she hadn't thought... What will happen to her, now? What will they do? Will they put her in an asylum? In a dungeon? Or will they assign a platoon to watch her over for the rest of her life? No more freedom and/or privacy!
What was she thinking? With the power of the Phantom Ruby, she could just go out of whatever will happen with just a thought. But then, her life would be over... She would become a fugitive. She wouldn't be able to see her friends again. Rainbow Dash... Her family... her dream...
Twilight looked at the filly with worry when she saw her starting to shake and to cry. She put down her book and approached. Placing a hoof on her chin, she said gently, "Hey... Stop crying. It will be alright."
Scootaloo shook her head. "No, it won't. Now that you know about Infinite... I... I..." She looked at Twilight with pleading, scared, teary eyes. "What will happen to me?"
With an unsure expression, Twilight thought a few seconds before she answered. "I'm... not sure... We will have to talk about this with Celestia and Luna." She then hugged Scootaloo.
Scootaloo accepted the hug, still crying, and remained like this until they both heard Rainbow Dash wake up. After a yawn, she rubbed her eyes and said, "What's all that noise...?" That's when she saw Twilight hugging a crying Scootaloo, and almost flew to the bed. "Scootaloo! Why're you crying? What's wrong? If this is about what happened, I'm not mad! Well, maybe a little because it would have been nice to know about that psycho who seems to now live in your head. But it's okay! It's not that bad!"
Twilight sighed. "She fears what we will do now that we know about Infinite."
At this, Rainbow looked at Twilight with suspicion. "And what will you do?"
"Like I said to Scootaloo. We will have to talk about this with Celestia and Luna." Twilight releases Scootaloo. "Now that she's awake, I should go search them. Wait for me here." And at this, she teleported, leaving Rainbow alone with the filly.
They didn't talk for a few seconds, not sure what to say, until Rainbow just hugged Scootaloo while asking, "What do you think they will do?"
"Send me to a dungeon, or an asylum, or send guards to watch me every time."
"Asylum, I don't think so, you aren't crazy. Dungeon, heck no! Even if you have a psycho in your head, and he almost killed Fluttershy, you aren't a criminal! As for the guards..." She frowned. "This is the only thing I'm not sure about. But I know it would be wrong. It would be barely better than being sent in a dungeon. And you can be sure that I will do everything to avoid this."
Then, after a few more seconds of silence, she asked, "So... How did this happen?"
Understanding what Rainbow was asking, Scootaloo answered, "It turns out I am not the first one to merge with the Phantom Ruby."
"Talk about rotten luck..."
"Yeah... But the good news is that as long as I don't give him the control of my body, he can't take control of it."
"Really? That's good news! But then, how did he take control back then?"
"You... You were all about to be killed by Eggman... I knew Infinite would also try to kill you, but I thought that you would have better chances against him than against that giant robot. At least, Infinite was vulnerable."
"Yeah, but he could teleport and manipulate reality. That's not better."
"You're right, but I didn't know what else to do..." She sighed. "When I saw Infinite destroy that robot so easily, I understood that I was really not ready. I understand how to use the ruby's powers, but contrary to Infinite, I don't know yet how to use them that well. My mind is still not used to the full extent of possibilities I have. And also, I don't know how to fight. Infinite was apparently a mercenary back then, and a very skilled one, but me, I'm just a filly whose only skill is to do stunts with a scooter..."
Rainbow sighed too. "You aren't the only one to feel this way. I mean, I don't know if you saw, but I was flying when SLAP! And I was out! We were all getting our butts kicked back then, even the princesses and Shining Armor. None of us were ready. None of us thought that Eggman could build a robot that strong." She smiled at Scootaloo. "But as we say, we learn from our errors. The next time will be a different story. We will make sure that you aren't forced to call Infinite for help ever again."
"Well said, Miss Dash," suddenly said somepony.
Surprised, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash turned around to see that Rainbow's friends, Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor were now in the room. The one who talked was Luna.
"Uuh... How long have you been here?" asked the cyan mare.
"We came about the time you said, to repeat your words, 'we were all getting our butts kicked'," answered Luna before she frowned. "And I still can't believe that we were really getting our butts kicked. We were three alicorns plus the captain of the Royal Guard plus dozens of experienced royal guards against a single robot, for mother's sake! Yes, we were holding back to avoid collapsing the city on our heads, but still!"
"It sure is frustrating," said Celestia. "But like Miss Dash said, we now know better. We will be better prepared." She cleared her throat. "But we aren't here to talk about this." She looked at Scootaloo. "We are here to talk about this Infinite who may be a danger to everypony."
Scootaloo lowered her ears.
"Is it true that he came out only because you were forced to call him for help?"
The filly nodded. "Yeah. He can't take control of my body as long as I don't let him. I only let him out because... Well..."
"We were all getting our butts kicked," repeated Luna.
"Yeah... At worst, all he can do while trapped is make me lose focus by trying to forcefully taking over, but he can never take over this way. Unless I get too mentally weakened, I suppose..."
"Then why not warn us?" asked Applejack.
"I was scared. I thought that if you knew about Infinite..."
"We would try to control you to make sure that Infinite never gets out for the safety of everypony else," finished Celestia with a sigh. "Who is Infinite?" she then asked.
"Uh?"
"What do you know about him?" asked the princess.
"Oh. Well, not much. I only know that he is from another world, an alternate version of the world Eggman comes from, because he was an ally of an alternate version of Eggman and helped him conquer his world with the Phantom Ruby. At first, he was apparently a mercenary that Eggman probably recruited with his squad, only for his squad to be exterminated by some black hedgehog very strong. Infinite was easily defeated too. I don't know what happened after, but I suppose that was when Eggman gave him the power of the Phantom Ruby to make him stronger, so he could have his revenge and help him by the same occasion. The next thing I'm sure is that Infinite was defeated, and his mind was absorbed and trapped inside the ruby."
"I see... Anything more?" asked Celestia.
Scootaloo smirked. "A good way to resume Infinite is... He's a lonely bully who hates being called weak and wants to see the world burn and everyone suffer. Probably got a heck of a bad childhood."
You. Did not. Just say that.
"I did and don't say I'm wrong. Even the blue hedgehog could see it. You are acting all edgy and strong and all, but deep down, behind this mask and those illusions, you're just a poor guy who needs a hug. Too bad I can't give you one, and not just because you would behead me."
I. Don't. Need. A hug!
"Yes, you need one, but you don't know it. You're too proud for that. But come on. The moment Twilight and Rainbow Dash hugged me, didn't it feel good?" ...
"Hello?" ...
"Still in there?" ...
"Okay, give me the silent treatment. It just proves to me that I'm right." Scootaloo looked back at the ponies in the room. "So yeah. It's Infinite," she said with a shrug. "I wouldn't be surprised to learn he's jealous of everyone having a better life than him."
I'M NOT JEALOUS!
"Okay, I just got confirmation. He's jealous."
She punched herself on the muzzle.
"Ow! Hey! Did you just take control of my hoof to punch me?! I thought you couldn't!"
Seems like when I'm determined enough, I can temporarily take control of a part of your body. I REALLY wanted to punch you right now.
"Great... Okay, note to self, avoid making Infinite too angry," said Scootaloo while rubbing her muzzle.
"Well... This happened..." said Twilight.
"I like comic duos, but it's less fun when we only hear one of the two," said Pinkie.
"Anyway," said Scootaloo. "Infinite is also a mass murderer. When he helped his Eggman conquer the world, he killed a lot. He told me that when Eggman's capital was attacked by a resistance army, he almost killed all of them in a few minutes. But he's also a kinda nice teacher. I had to trick him, but once he started talking about how the Phantom Ruby's powers worked, he told me everything. And every now and then, he helps me in his own weird way. Like he says how weak I am, but at the same time, he gives me advice or encourages me, again in his own weird way. I think he likes teaching his way. Probably helps him feel stronger. Oh, yeah, and he absolutely hated when Rarity made me try her dresses."
"I can guess," said Rarity with a giggle.
"That's all I know about Infinite," finished the filly.
"So, to resume, he's a very dangerous individual who would not hesitate to use the power of the Phantom Ruby to kill and destroy just to make himself feel better about his loneliness and to satisfy his strong inferiority complex," said Celestia. "That's quite the villain... I don't know if I should be disgusted or if I should pity him."
"Why not both?" asked Luna.
"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!" suddenly yelled Scootaloo before she put her hooves on her mouth in shock. "That wasn't me..." I'm starting to wonder if Infinite touching me isn't the cause... He did say that it caused us to start to merge.
Celestia started thinking. What should she do? Infinite was clearly a danger, and even if Scootaloo said that he couldn't take control by himself unless maybe if she's mentally weakened, the risk still existed. Scootaloo clearly needed to be watched over. But she could see that the filly was scared. And Rainbow Dash was giving her the death stare. If she didn't want to have the Element of Loyalty on her back, she had to watch out what she said.
"How can you assure me that Infinite will not come out again to kill everypony?" she asked.
Scootaloo frowned. "I will become stronger. I will train to fight and to better use my powers. If I can avoid a repeat of what happened, then I won't need to let Infinite take control anymore."
"This is not enough. It could still happen. Eggman, with Tirek at his side, will become more dangerous as time passes," said Celestia. She then smiled. "But I know of a way to make sure that Infinite wouldn't be a threat anymore without having you being watched over."
"Really? What?" asked Scootaloo.
"Try to reform him."
"What?"
What?
"If you can convince him to give up his hate and to not try to kill anymore, then we wouldn't need to be careful of you."
Scootaloo frowned again. "Easier said than done. This guy is more stubborn than Applejack. I already told him that it's okay to ask for help when fighting a stronger enemy, but it was like talking to a brick wall."
"Then it may take a while... But I'm sure that he can be convinced. Until then, I charge Twilight and her friends to keep an eye on you." She looked at Twilight. "Is it alright for you?"
"Of course!" replied the lavender mare. "We won't mind! Right, girls?"
The five other mares all agreed, especially Rainbow.
"What do you think, Scootaloo?" asked Celestia.
"If it's by them, then I suppose that I don't mind."
Celestia nodded. "And you said you wanted to train to fight." She turned to Shining Armor. "Then you could train her."
Shining Armor smiled and nodded. "Don't expect me to go easy on her."
"I don't expect less. You are the captain, you know how to best train ponies." She then turned to Rainbow. "And I suppose that I can count on you to help her become better in the air."
"You bet!" shouted the pegasus, to Scootaloo's joy. "I will be her Spitfire!"
"Then it's settled. I will leave you to discuss the details. Now, is there anything you want to know, Scootaloo?"
"Uh... Yeah. What happened after I was knocked out?"
"Not much. All of Eggman's robots in Manehattan are destroyed, and we have taken control of his factory. We are planning to convert it to our own usage. Sadly, we don't know where Eggman and Tirek are now, so this isn't the end. But I charged Discord to find them. If Tirek absorbs magic from somepony, he will feel it immediately. Hopefully, he will be able to capture them. We also have started to rebuild Manehattan, and we are studying Eggman's technology to upgrade our own again. The number of robots in our army should multiply in the following days, and they will be of better quality."
Scootaloo nodded. "That's good!" But then she frowned. "But I fear this won't be enough... You see, while I was sleeping, me and Infinite discovered that if we touch each other in the mindscape we share, then we start merging. The touching only lasted a few seconds, so nothing bad happened, but I saw some of his memories. And in one of them..." She used the Phantom Ruby to transport all of them in a virtual version of what she saw when Infinite was fighting the blue hedgehog and the red cat.
They were now standing on a floating platform made of purple cubes, and all around them, to the ponies' amazement, they could see the fortress, and the two armadas battling in the air above them.
Scootaloo pointed at the red airships. "Eggman can build airships like them. Against them, we wouldn't stand a chance. We will need something to counter them..." She pointed at the white and blue airships, "like our own armada. And I'm talking about airships as advanced as them. They would destroy the ones we have in a few seconds. And that's not all! Infinite even told me that Eggman can build a giant space station given enough time!" She brought them back to the hospital chamber. "We will need much more than just robots to fight Eggman if Discord isn't able to stop him." Scootaloo then pointed at herself. "There's another problem. I also discovered that I only control half of the Phantom Ruby. Infinite has the other half. So I won't be able to use the full power of the ruby to fight. Things like materializing a sun to burn an entire army may be out of my reach."
Some ponies gulped at this.
"W-well... I'm sure that Discord will be able to stop them," said Fluttershy. "I-it's Discord... after all..."
"Yeah... This is why I fear that we may have to start building an armada of those advanced airships..." said Luna. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 8: Betrayal | There were many inhospitable places in Equestria. The Everfree Forest was at the top. The Frozen North was a close second. And the Badlands came third.
Present at the South East of Equestria, behind the Macintosh Hills and surrounded by dangerous swamps and jungles, the Badlands were a vast expanse of lands devoid of plant life and full of rock formations forming many natural pillars among small mountains. It wasn't one of those deserts where it's as hot as in an oven; it was just a place where it never rained and where there was absolutely no water present, no lakes, rivers, or whatever. And yet, many predators could be found in this place, hidden in the many caves or underground, and not small ones, making it a place where if you didn't die of dehydration, you would almost certainly end up in the belly of something.
Nothing problematic for someone like Eggman. His robots could easily deal with any predators, even hidden ones, and they didn't need water to survive. As for him, his robots protected him all the time and made sure that he was never running out of water.
It was also a perfect place for his HQ. None of those ponies would dare to come here, and the mountains were a great cover. He could see Canterlot from here, but where he placed his HQ, surrounded by mountains, the ponies of Canterlot won't be able to spot it. A small observation post at the top of one of the mountains, and done! And of course, all those mountains just asked to be dug and be turned into factories and laboratories. The whole land could be turned into a stronghold, and the ponies wouldn't even see it.
After escaping Manehattan, Eggman immediately came here with Tirek. The HQ was far from being finished, but it was largely advanced enough for them. As they entered the iron fortress hidden among the mountains, countless robots were still hard at work, building the structures around a tower with Eggman's face at the top, including a giant wall to push back potential assaults and some of the predators.
Tirek was really impressed at the work done by Eggman and his robots in so little time. The underground factory in Manehattan was really just the tip of the iceberg of what the man could do.
Once they're installed, Tirek eventually asked "What now, old man?"
"Truth be told, I wasn't expecting to lose back here. You saw me. I was in control until... THIS happened! A second personality appearing out of left field! And experienced enough with the ruby to destroy my Death Egg Robot in a few seconds! If it wasn't for it, the Phantom Ruby would be in my possession, and the world would already be mine!"
"You mean 'ours'?"
"Yes, ours," corrected Eggman before sighing. "Thankfully, I am a genius, and I already remade my plans. I will turn my back to Equestria and focus elsewhere. There are many other lands easier to conquer, and more lands under my... our control means more resources, more places to build our army and our weapons, more power! And then, we will crush Equestria!"
"What about the filly with the ruby?"
"Yes. She could still cause a problem for us, especially that other personality, that Infinite." Eggman started walking in circles, deep in thought. "Magic worked well, so I suppose that magic is the best way to defeat that filly, Infinite or not."
Tirek smirked. "Then continue to give me creatures to drain from their magic, and I will gladly deal with this filly. Actually, I have an idea that will assure our victory, but it may be hard to do."
Eggman looked at the centaur. "Tell it."
He told it, and Eggman smirked. "I like it. Perfect. And I already know how I will do it. The only problem is that it will take a lot of time and resources, which brings us back to the conquering of more land. All that remains is to find a way to defend ourselves against the overwhelming power of the ruby until we can put our plan into action."
"So we should wait until we find something?"
"We better, yes. Beside, I still need to finish the Egg Fortress. I will think of something."
A few days later, they found this way.
The robots had attacked a tiny town not far from the Badlands and captured its entire population for Tirek to drain before they would be sent to work.
But just as Tirek started to drain them, however...
"You know, I should have expected that you were hiding in the Badlands," suddenly said someone behind Tirek.
Surprised, Tirek immediately turned around while the robots surrounding him pointed their weapons at the origin of this voice: the Lord of Chaos Discord.
"Discord?" asked Tirek in disbelief. "You are free?" He quickly turned to the robots. "Lower your weapons. They are no use against him."
Despite the robots being Eggman's, the doctor programmed them to also follow Tirek's orders (but Eggman's orders remained the priority), so the robots lowered their weapons.
While this happened, Discord looked around at the fortress. "You know, I really don't like what I'm seeing. It's so... bland! Bleh! But, luckily, I'm here to stop that!"
"What?!" shouted Tirek just as Discord turned into a cowboy and wrapped a lasso made of chains around him. Again, the robots pointed their weapons at him, but with just one snap of his fingers, he turned all the weapons into equivalents that fired bubbles.
Then, he said, "This statement is false!" causing all the robots to start to spasm because of the paradox before they deactivated. The captured ponies all started cheering before they were teleported away with another snap. "And Discord saves the day again!"
"What are you doing?!" shouted Tirek.
"You haven't heard? I save the day! I stop the bad guys, save everyone, and all is well that ends well! Speaking of, I must now find Mister Egg Moustache."
"Wait! You are working for the ponies?!"
"Of course!"
"Why?!"
"Because they're my friends! But, between us, I do it mostly for Fluttershy."
"You? Friend with ponies?"
"Yeah. I know. News of the millennia. Who would have thought?"
Tirek frowned. "So even you fell to that trap..."
Discord took a step. "Which trap?" he asked before falling through a trapdoor that wasn't there before.
"Really, Discord, I'm surprised," said Tirek as Discord reappeared beside him. "Aren't you the Lord of Chaos? Freedom incarnate? I am sure that the ponies aren't letting you act like you desire, so why be friend with them?"
Discord put his paw under his chin. "It's true that they don't let me work my art," he said as he started painting a chaotic picture, "but when you aren't a jerk to them, they can be good company, if a little boring and annoying."
"But don't you miss it? Being able to do what you want with no one giving you limits? You are superior to them. You don't want to follow them. They should be the ones following you." Tirek gave then a smile. "Listen. I have a plan that could make us the master of this world, and Eggman is unknowingly helping with it." He then revealed what he was planning, to Discord's surprise.
"Why reveal this to me?" asked Discord.
"Because, contrary to those ponies, I entirely trust you. Join me, and you will be able to do all the chaos you desire as long as it doesn't cause a problem to our plan. Once every single pony is drained of their magic, nothing will be able to stop you. You will be free. Truly free. Isn't it what you want, to be free?"
"And what about Eggman?"
"Once he stops being useful, we will get rid of him. And the world will be ours to do like we want. You will have all the fun you want, and nothing will stop you. And as a proof of my trust..." Using his magic, he levitated a necklace with what looked like a golden triangle missing its top, with three holes, a triangle at the center, and two oval at the sides. "I give you this necklace that my own brother gave me long ago. It's precious to me."
Discord took the necklace. "And yet, you give it to me?"
"Like I said. I trust you. So, what do you think, partner?"
Tirek entered the room where Eggman was doing some experiments with magic. "Guess what, Eggman! I found us a way to fight back the ruby!"
Interrupting his experiment, Eggman turned toward him. "Really?"
That was when Discord popped from Tirek's back, waving at the doctor. "Helloooo!"
Taken by surprise, Eggman asked, "Who is this?"
"A new ally!" answered Tirek. "Discord, the Lord of Chaos himself! Probably the most magically powerful being of this planet! One snap of his fingers, and he can bend reality to his will!" Tirek frowned. "But those pesky ponies are stopping him from having his fun, so he decided to join us." He smiled back. "He will be our mean to defend ourselves against the ruby!"
"And I totally can," said Discord. "I calmed down Infinite before he could go on a murderous rampage and brought back the weak chicken in control."
"That's great news!" shouted happily Eggman. "Now I can finally focus on spreading my... our empire without risk!"
"However..." started Discord as he began rubbing his fingers. "I may have caused a little problem..."
"What problem?" asked Eggman with a frown.
"Well, I was kinda working for the ponies before joining you, so I freed the ponies your robots captured when I came here. As we're talking, they're probably telling Princess Sunbutt about your not so hidden anymore fortress," finished Discord before giving a sheepish smile.
Eggman facepalmed.
Scootaloo, as Zero, was in Canterlot training with Shining Armor when she was called by Celestia to meet her in the throne room for an important last-minute reunion. When she entered the room with the stallion, the Elements Bearers were already here, along with Luna and some ponies she didn't know. Those last ones got scared when she entered, but the others quickly reassured them. The worst was that some of them looked pale and hadn't their Cutie Marks, like the ones in the factory that Tirek had drained.
Not long after she entered, and once the ponies were calmed, Celestia started speaking. "Now that everypony is here, let's start this emergency meeting." She looked at the ponies Scootaloo didn't know.
Understanding that it was their cue, one of them talked and explained what happened. Dodge City, the town they came from, was attacked, and everypony here had been captured to be drained by Tirek and enslaved by Eggman. Thankfully, Discord saved them.
"So Discord found Tirek and Eggman and captured them?" asked Fluttershy happily.
"That's the problem, miss Fluttershy," said Celestia. "They saw Tirek being captured, but not Eggman. And if Discord had succeeded, then he would be there with the both of them in chains."
"But he's not," continued Luna. "So we believe that something happened, and that Discord failed."
Fluttershy put her hooves on her mouth in worry.
"But, at least, we now know the emplacement of Eggman's new HQ in the Badlands, and it's not finished yet. It is another chance for us to end Eggman's actions and capture him and Tirek."
"And of course, you can count on me to be here to assure our victory," said Scootaloo. "I trained hard with Shining Armor, so what happened in the factory won't happen again. I promise."
Celestia nodded at her. "Thanks to Eggman's factory, hundreds of robots are now part of our army, and we've equipped all our soldiers with weapons and armor equal to Eggman's robots. We sadly couldn't build yet the airships like you showed us, Zero, but I don't think Eggman had time to build them either." She looked at everypony. "Victory is within our reach. We can't let pass this chance. If we fail... I fear that this situation may turn to a real war. We must avoid this."
"But what about us, Princesses? We are not soldiers," said Rarity.
Celestia nodded. "But you are very resourceful. You proved it again and again. I'm sure you will find a way to help in this battle."
"We can do it, just like against the changelings!" Pinkie Pie said before she put a hoof under Twilight's neck and grabbed her tail with the other. "Remember?"
"Totally!" shouted Rainbow Dash before she hoofbumped Applejack.
"For civilians, we sure showed them," said Applejack.
"I... I want to see if Discord is alright..." said Fluttershy, shaking.
Celestia smiled. "Then we will all go to the Badlands and, hopefully, end this."
"And this time, end this for real," said Luna.
In the Badlands, the Equestrian army advanced toward Eggman's fortress, with the princesses, Shining Armor, and Scootaloo at its head. Scootaloo couldn't help but gulp as she saw thousands of robots waiting for them in front of the unfinished wall surrounding the fortress. The battle in Manehattan were just skirmishes compared to what was about to happen. A real, total battle between thousands of soldiers that will certainly result in a lot of deaths. At least, they had now a lot of robots on their side.
The equestrian robots had various shapes, but the most common was the pony model that constituted the first line. They were earth ponies made of metal with a cannon in their mouth to fire energy projectiles. The more advanced also had a horn to use magic. Sadly, they couldn't reproduce pegasus robots yet. Instead, they had the second most common model: spherical drones flying thanks to propellers with a single cannon at the front. Some other models consisted of minotaur-like robots heavily armored with Gatling guns instead of arms very hard to produce, and robots rather small but quick with wheels under each leg and a big horn on the head, not to use magic, but to impale anything on their way.
There weren't many of them, just a few hundreds, but thankfully, Scootaloo knew of a way to make that number grow to a few more hundreds. So, just before the battle started, she rose in the air and used the power of the Phantom Ruby to create hundreds of replicas of the robots. This slightly drained her, but at least this should reduce the number of deaths on their side.
Then the battle began. The robot replicas were the first to charge, followed by the real robots, and finally by the ponies who went to covers to fire at Eggman's robots while remaining protected from their projectiles. Shining Armor and other unicorns used shields as cover to slowly advance on the enemies while attacking, pegasi were raining destruction from the sky, dropping hundreds of bombs, and the alicorns used their vast magical power to destroy huge numbers of robots very rapidly.
Rarity's multitasking with her magic revealed to be formidable in this battle. Thanks to it, she could wield many guns at once. Rainbow Dash was a real superbomber, and Pinkie Pie was... Pinkie Pie, enough said. Applejack, her, climbed on one of the equestrian wheeled robots and used it as a ride to quickly approach the enemies and destroy them one after another with her strong hooves. As for Fluttershy, again, to save the little critters trapped in Eggman's robots, she was a real tiger, easily dodging the robot's projectiles before opening them to let the animals out.
And in the middle of all this, there was Scootaloo and her Phantom Ruby, who destroyed half of Eggman's army in just a few seconds. But then, just as she sent hundreds of spears to rain on more robots, her spears were turned into streamers.
"What?!"
Then, she was hit by something, and she found herself bouncing from pegasus to pegasus and even from Celestia, each bounce followed by a 'ding', before she ended inside a cave in one of the mountain, a giant 'TILT' appearing above the entrance of the cave. Scootaloo rapidly came out of it and spotted Discord smiling smugly at her while twirling a hammer.
"Hello there."
"Discord? YOU!!!" Scootaloo put her hands on her mouth. "Calm down Infinite!"
Let me out! I will kill that clown!
"Seems like someone isn't happy to see me," said Discord. "Meh. I'm used to that."
"Discord? Did you attack me? Why?!"
"Sorry, chicken, but the bad guys proposed a juicy offer to me that I couldn't refuse."
Scootaloo growled. "So you're betraying us?"
"In one word... Yes."
"I knew we couldn't trust you!"
"You never trusted me in the first place."
"Fluttershy trusted you!"
Discord winced at this, but quickly recovered. "I don't need her. What I need is chaos, something that I was really missing while on your side."
At this moment, a Death Egg Robot came out of the fortress, followed by Tirek and a robot looking like the blue hedgehog from Infinite's memories, but a little smaller and rounder. The three of them quickly began to spread destruction among the equestrian army, with Tirek draining ponies left and right, turning the tide of the battle despite the alicorns' quick intervention to fight them. Surprisingly, Luna, who was fighting Tirek, was the one having the least amount of trouble, Eggman's robots constantly helped the centaur who was still not powerful enough, but Tirek was wearing a strong armor.
Scootaloo charged toward them to help, only for a brick wall to appear just in front of her, stopping her on the spot, only causing some bricks to move to form her body-shape.
"Already wanting to leave me? Come on, we aren't finished yet," said Discord with a laugh.
DISCORD
Scootaloo turned to him. "Darn! I don't know if I can deal with him yet!"
Then let me out, and I will deal with him.
"No!"
Scootaloo looked at the battle in worry, then turned back to Discord, readying herself. She must at least try!
Discord gave another smug smile. "So you think you can defeat me? Very well. Let's see if you can do better than Edge Emperor."
He snapped his fingers at the same time that Scootaloo sent him to a new reality to make him vulnerable, and a giant ball appeared in the sky and dropped toward Scootaloo. The filly changed gravity to send the ball dropping toward Discord, only for the draconequus to invoke a giant baseball bat and to hit the ball with it, sending it back at Scootaloo. So the filly created a hole in the ball so it passed through her without hitting her, and the ball went to hit a mountain.
"Home run!" shouted Discord.
Scootaloo then appeared beside him to punch him on the head, and while she succeeded, Discord's neck stretched like rubber, and the head suddenly came back to headbutt her, sending her flying while Discord rubbed his head. "I felt it..." He snapped his fingers, returning to a more normal reality where he was invulnerable. "Better."
"Discord!" he suddenly heard someone shout. He immediately recognized the voice and turned.
"F... Fluttershy..."
Here she was, tears streaming from her eyes, looking pleadingly at him. "Discord... Please... Stop... Why are you doing this?"
Discord quickly looked away from her, frowning. "So I can do all the chaos I want with no one telling me to stop. I felt too imprisoned among you, too limited. Now, I'm taking back my freedom."
Fluttershy looked at him, heartbroken. Before they could say more, a new wave of energy from the Phantom Ruby caught Discord in another reality, immediately followed by a giant cannon firing a huge laser that engulfed him, the draconequus yelling in pain.
Scootaloo then appeared beside Fluttershy and grabbed her. "I don't think it will be enough against him. We must go."
They teleported to Celestia just as the princess avoided a magical beam from the Death Egg Robot. Scootaloo then raised a part of the floor under one of the feet, toppling the robot on its side.
"Celestia! We must go! Discord has joined them, and I don't think I can defeat him yet!"
Celestia bit her lips, not wanting the battle to stop like this. But if Discord joined Eggman, then things could turn for the worst, and they were already having difficulties dealing with Eggman, Tirek, and that hedgehog robot.
"Very well." She fired a black magical projectiles toward the sky, signaling that they must retreat.
Discord, after snapping his fingers to heal himself from the laser, stared at the ponies retreating, then teleported beside the Death Egg Robot.
"What are you waiting for?!" yelled Eggman. "Go after them!"
"It would be too risky for me. I can fight the ruby, but I can't fight the ruby, three alicorns, and an entire army at the same time by myself," replied Discord.
The hedgehog robot went after them, only to be easily destroyed by Scootaloo and the three alicorns.
"See?" said Discord.
"Damn it!" shouted Eggman before he took a big breath. "At least, we pushed them back. Good job. Tirek was right. Thanks to you, we will be able to defend ourselves against the ruby." He then looked at his army, frowning. "But they destroyed a lot of my robots." He huffed. "Using my own technology against me! The nerves! Even the people of Mobius hasn't gone that far! Normally, they destroy what I create!"
Discord shrugged. "Yes, ponies are paradoxical this way. They can take stupid decisions, like sending me to deal with you, and take smart decisions, like repurposing your factory for their use." He sighed before stretching his arms. "Well, I'm gonna rest a little. I need to recover after that huge laser I took." |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 9: Study Your Enemy | They failed. They couldn't believe they failed. They had everything. Number, robots, weapons, armor, the Phantom Ruby, the alicorns, enemies mostly not ready...
And they failed... because Discord joined Eggman and Tirek, changing everything. Discord was too powerful. By himself and just the snap of his fingers, he could change the tide of the battle in just a few seconds. And since the Elements of Harmony, Discord's main weakness, were back in the Tree of Harmony to give it back its power to stop the plunder vines from spreading, the only way to face him they had was the Phantom Ruby that possessed powers that could counter his. But if Scootaloo had to be honest, she wasn't sure that she could defeat him. She could fight him, but with only 50% of the ruby's power in her control, an actual victory would be extremely hard to obtain against him.
At least, a good thing in this was that they countered each other. As long as Scootaloo and Discord were ready to answer the call of the battle, they would make sure that the other couldn't use his/her powers to destroy the other's army. Scootaloo could already see many fights against the draconequus in the future just to make sure of this. She would keep Discord occupied while the others tried to win the battle.
This greatly annoyed Scootaloo because this meant that she couldn't participate too much in the actual action to destroy Eggman's robots. Thankfully, she believed in the others. They won't need her to fight Eggman's robots. Not now that they were used and had the means to face them.
Still, because of this fail, the mood was very gloomy as she and the mares returned in Ponyville. Fluttershy was so heartbroken by Discord's betrayal that she locked herself in her home, but Rainbow quickly flew through one of her window to remain with her.
The worst was that because of this failure, because of Discord's betrayal, a war certainly started. Celestia already went to start the building of a second robot factory, a weapon factory, and a construction site for airships, while Luna went to start the preparations for an all out war. Recruitment, training, fortifying the cities, sending ponies to build an outpost near the Badlands to keep watch of Eggman, and so on.
The near future will be a dark one...
Scootaloo returned to her friends, taking the replica's place, and told everything to them. Despite the bad news, they decided to continue crusading to get their mind out of it.
Infinite was curiously silent.
Tonight, when Scootaloo slept, like usual, she appeared in her mindscape shared with Infinite where she found him back against one of the burning buildings, arms crossed in apparent thought.
"A bit for your thought?" asked Scootaloo. "You've been curiously silent since the battle."
"I have nothing to say. You failed."
"Really? No speech like 'mouahaha! You shouldn't have trusted others! Now this clown betrayed you and you lost because of this'?"
"First, I don't laugh like that. It's more Eggman's thing. Second, no need to say what you already understood. The only thing I should say is 'I told you so'."
Scootaloo huffed. "I never really trusted Discord in the first place. I was just willing to trust him because Fluttershy trusted him, and the princess seemed to think the same thing. But it doesn't mean that I will stop trusting Rainbow, Fluttershy, and the others. On the contrary, I must trust in them, because with Discord joining Eggman, this isn't a war that I will be able to win by myself. Not until I manage to defeat him."
"But he's too powerful. You said it yourself. And as much as it pains me to say it, I concur with what you said. With just 50% of the ruby's power, winning against him will be tough. We aren't powerful enough. We would need the ruby's power at its 100%."
"But for this, we would have to merge..."
"Something I still refuse," They both said at the same time.
"But this means that we will have to find something else to defeat him than power," said Infinite.
"Really? What?" asked Scootaloo.
Infinite groaned. "I don't believe what I'm about to say... We will have to be like Sonic."
"Who?"
"The blue hedgehog you saw in my memories. The one who defeated me. Remember, he defeated me despite my overwhelming powers. And against Eggman's robots, no matter their firepower, no matter their resistance, no matter their size, no matter that they fly or swim, Sonic always manage to destroy them. And yet, all he has is his speed."
"So we must be fast?"
"Partly. We must also be smart. I don't doubt that the cat helped him a lot in defeating me, but a big part of my defeat was that he managed to understand my powers and how I used them. So he was able to counter and dodge anything I threw at him. It's the same against Eggman's robots. He always analyses how they work, how they move, how they attack, where they're weak, and in the end, he runs, he dodges, he waits for the opening, and he strikes. It's no use to be powerful if you can't hit your enemy."
"The problem with Discord is that he's random. He's the Spirit of Chaos, there's no way to understand him."
"And yet, remember what you did in your fight against him. When he dropped that giant ball on you, you immediately acted to counter it. This is the key. You will have to counter and avoid whatever he will throw at you using what little power from the Phantom Ruby you have, work your way to find an opening, and strike. You don't understand him, but you understand his powers, and you have the power to counter them. It's enough."
Scootaloo looked down in thought. "Yeah. This is also what I understood from Shining Armor's training. 'Study your enemy.' But I still have a lot of training to do. I don't think I will succeed in the first try." She looked back at Infinite, determined. "Until I manage to defeat Discord, I trust everypony to be able to win this war even without me. Actually, I may repeat to them what you just told me. I'm sure that this will help them a lot against Eggman's robots, even the most powerful ones. Thank you, Infinite."
At this, Scootaloo went to train, leaving Infinite by himself. He frowned.
'Study your enemy'... No wonder I was so weak. I was putting everything in my strength and my power. If I had stopped to think before acting harshly... Maybe... He closed his eyes with a sigh. What an 'Ultimate Mercenary' I was... I hate this place. It causes me to think and to question myself...
"He said that?" asked Rainbow Dash.
Scootaloo nodded. "Yup. 'Study your enemy'. This is the lesson he gave me tonight. Shining Armor was already giving it, but Infinite helped to make me understand how important it is. If we want to defeat Eggman and his army, we will have to read his creations and act in consequence to be able to destroy them. Like, with the Death Egg Robot, its weakness was its head and its bottom. If we had remained calm, focusing on its attacks to understand them and better avoid them, we would have eventually won without Infinite. Of course, this will need some training, but if you want, I can create a replica of the Death Egg Robot, and we can train against it. It should be easy, we already know all its attacks."
The six mares in front of her looked at each other in thought.
"Look. I'll go first to show you," said Scootaloo before she created a Death Egg Robot replica.
Thankfully, they were far enough outside of Ponyville, so they won't risk causing any damage. The ponies still moved away to not be caught in the crossfire. Just in case, Scootaloo created a dome shield around her and the replica. Scootaloo then took her Zero persona and started floating in front of the robot.
DEATH EGG MAGICAL ROBOT REPLICA
The robot attacked her by sending its left arm, and Scootaloo avoided it by flying to the side. It then attacked with a magical beam, and Scootaloo flew away from it as it chased her while approaching the robot. When she was close enough, the robot stopped firing its beam and tried to smash her with its right arm, only for Scootaloo to fly out of the way again before successfully hitting the head.
She quickly flew away before the robot could counterattack, and it jumped at her, only for Scootaloo to fly under it, so she was behind it when it landed. She then hit its bottom violently, sending it flying a couple of feet to land loudly on its belly.
To the ponies' amazement, Scootaloo continued to hit the robot again and again without getting hit in return, and without even using much of the Phantom Ruby. She just remained focused on the robot and its attacks, avoided them, and attacked when she had an opening. She wasn't rushing the fight. And after two minutes of fight, the robot fell to the ground and exploded.
"See?" said the filly. "Of course, we won't know what future robots will be able to do, so this will be harder, but you get the gist. So who wants to try now?" she asked as she created a new Death Egg Robot replica.
"Me!" shouted Rainbow Dash determinately.
"I knew you would be the first," said Scootaloo before she left Rainbow to fight the replica.
Rainbow had it easy against the robot. She was fast, and she could fly, so all she had to do was passing the robot's defense and hit the head. The fight was over in a little over one minute. She actually complained that she didn't manage to beat it in ten seconds flat.
Applejack went next. Contrary to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, she couldn't fly, so she had to be even more careful. Her primary ways to attack the robot were either to wait for it to fire an arm at her so she could climb on it and reach the head, or wait for it to jump in order to go behind it and hit its bottom.
Pinkie Pie came next. Being Pinkie, she had no problem avoiding the attacks and reaching the weaknesses, and she ended the fight almost as rapidly as Rainbow Dash using a squeaky hammer.
Twilight decided to be the next one. She had both flight and magic, powerful magic, so she just had to remain at a distance to avoid the attacks and fire magical beams at the weaknesses in return.
Rarity also used magic, but went with throwing gems, many gems, that were like big bullets that easily perforated the bottom and the head.
Hesitantly, Fluttershy decided to come after Rarity. She wasn't one to fight, but thinking about the poor critters trapped in Eggman's robots, she wanted to join in. She already proved in Manehattan and in the Badlands that she could be a dangerous foe. But there, she remained calm and repeated the methods used by Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but slower and more carefully. Her fight took the longest, but she was still effective with a minimum risk taken.
Scootaloo smiled. With some more training, those six will become Eggman's nightmare. Especially Rainbow. The poor guy will regret Sonic.
As for her, she had a draconequus to defeat. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 10: Beginning of the War | Time passed surprisingly calmly. Eggman didn't attack Equestria, leaving them to prepare. The ponies worked as quickly as possible to have the army to counter the mad scientist helped by Tirek and Discord. The outpost near the Badlands was the first to be finished, now keeping a constant watch for any enemy assault. Dodge City, because of how close it was of the Badlands, remained deserted after what happened to its inhabitants. And Scootaloo continued to train, using Death Egg Replicas to better her skills and the ones of Rainbow Dash and the others.
Everypony was nervous. The war against Eggman could start anytime, and they weren't sure what would be Eggman's first move.
But something unexpected led to the Equestrians doing the first move: the changelings.
If there was something that nopony expected, it was for Queen Chrysalis, followed by some guards, to suddenly come to Canterlot wishing to talk with Celestia. They warned the four princesses of this and they quickly gathered in the throne room with the help of teleportations as the changelings were heavily escorted here.
Almost as soon as they entered the room, Chrysalis said "Let's pass the formalities and the chitchat about how you are surprised to see me here, I will not lose time. Do you know about the Storm Empire? No, I suppose. You're blind to everything that happens outside of your kingdom."
Luna groaned. "Please, don't tell us we have another army to deal with besides the robot army."
"The Storm Empire is a powerful army commanded by one Storm King that has conquered all the lands in the South. My changelings kept watch of it, knowing that I would probably end up fighting it after taking over Equestria." Her frown became deeper. "And now, that Empire is being destroyed by this army of robots you talked about. I know about the robots and Eggman, I had some spies who reported to me everything that happened, so I know how bad news they are, especially after learning that Tirek and Discord of all beings are now working with him."
"And you won't join them?" asked Celestia in confusion.
"Are you kidding? I can already tell that Eggman is planning to keep the world for himself if he wins. Same for Tirek. And Discord being Discord, he will just fool around without caring for the others. We changelings can't transform into robots, so we can't put a trap to backstab them in case of victory. Tirek and Discord would be too powerful, and Eggman would be too well protected. We would be at their mercy. There's no chance for us if we side with them."
"So you will side with us?" asked Celestia.
Chrysalis growled and almost spat. "As much as it sickens me, yes, I will side with you. Trying to fight them by myself would be suicidal. I saw how you improved your armies, I know that my only chances are to help you, or to flee. And I would prefer remain and fight, even if I must side with you, than flee."
The four princesses looked at each other, knowing how risky it was to accept the changelings. They could easily infiltrate their ranks and backstab them once it was over.
Chrysalis understood this. "And don't expect me to backstab you when one of your ponies now possesses the power to bend reality. What would I be able to do against this? I may want to conquer Equestria and to imprison all the ponies for their love, but I'm not stupid. I can't fight this power. Also, it's in your best interest to accept me and my changelings. We may not be able to turn into robots to infiltrate Eggman's army, but we can still turn into animals. As birds, we could watch them from the sky, and in the jungles around the Badlands, we could be anything."
While still unsure, the ponies knew that Chrysalis was right, and Celestia nodded. "Very well. Welcome to the Alliance. We're hoping to make other races join us, such as the griffons."
Chrysalis huffed. "Those greedy birds? Good luck on that. Anyway, I have some info about what's happening." She signed one of her guards to approach, and the guard gave her a big parchment. "Here's a map that includes Equestria and the lands in the South." The guard then gave another parchment, smaller. "And here's a map of the lands that include the Dragonlands and the kingdom of Abyssinia, at the other side of Celestial Sea and South of Griffonstone." She displayed the two maps for the princesses to see. "The Storm Empire managed to conquer all those lands in the South, from the Storm King's lair in this island at the extreme end to most of the Bone Dry Desert. Beyond the sea, they conquered all of Abyssinia, at the South-east of the Dragonlands, passing by the Ice Barrier where they probably come from in the first place.
I don't know if Eggman is planning to try to conquer Abyssinia too, but right now, he spread his robotic empire all the way from the swamps at the East to the old territory of Arimaspi, conquering all the jungles there. And yes, this includes the small piece of jungle between Dodge City and Horseshoe Bay. Eggman certainly knows about the outpost you built there, so he built a base in this part of the jungle from which he's planning to attack the outpost from behind at the first occasion, once he's finished with the Storm Empire. Last I heard, both Eggman and Tirek are busy directly fighting the Storm King's troops in the desert, so my advice would be to attack this base first, and to spread the guards from all the Macintosh Hills to San Palomino Desert that is also very vulnerable, without forgetting the South of Rockville's territory. You should also send a part of your army to Baltimare. This city is also very vulnerable against an attack from the jungle and could become an important place from which to send troops to the lands beyond the Celestial Sea if Eggman decides to invade them. Las Pegasus could have a similar role if he decides to invade the lands beyond the South Luna Ocean."
The princesses looked at the maps, following Chrysalis' words. Once she had finished, Celestia pointed at a mountain at the far South. "Mount Aris... What happened to the hippogriffs? Were they invaded by the Storm Kind?"
Chrysalis nodded. "Yes, but they disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to them. You can try to find them, but since it's in the territory of the Storm King, it will be extremely dangerous."
Celestia rubbed her chin. "I think that I may know what happened to them. Queen Novo possessed this Pearl and..." She smiled. "Your changelings can transform into anything, right? Does this include fishes?"
"Of course."
"Then, you should send some of your changelings as fishes to travel to Mount Aris, but instead of exploring the mountain, you will send them exploring the depths."
"The depths? What would they found there?" asked the queen.
Celestia smirked. "The hippogriffs."
"Last I knew, hippogriffs aren't fishes. But you seem to know something. Very well, if they can be found there, they could be useful to attack from the South. You can also try to convince the griffons to join you, but I don't believe this will work unless you propose millions of bits to them. You should rather try to convince the people of the West, you will have more luck. This is where you will find the zebras, the minotaurs, and Saddle Arabia. There's also the Yaks that you should easily convince, these brainless mountains of muscles can't refuse to be part of a war."
"And then, there are the dragons..."
"Unless you have a death wish, you should leave them alone. They don't like anyone entering their territory, and they can perfectly well defend themselves against any invasion. They won't need us to curb Eggman's progress over there for many months, which should leave us, hopefully, enough time to defeat him. And if we can find the Hippogriffs like you think we will, we could try to outdo Eggman and join Abyssinia from the South to recruit it. We would first need to kick out any storm troops still there, unless we can convince them to stop following the Storm King and to join us instead. This way, with us at the North, the zebras, minotaurs, and Saddle Arabians at the West, and the dragons and Abyssinians at the East, Eggman will only be able to spread his empire to the South where the Ice Barrier will give him a hard time."
"I just hope we won't have to go to the Ice Barrier to fight him there," said Luna.
"I can try to go and convince the Yaks. The Crystal Empire is just at their door," said Cadance.
Celestia nodded. "And I will send emissaries to talk to the Zebras, Minotaurs, and Saddle Arabians. And I can still believe that we can convince the griffons without having to pay them. The fate of the world must matter more than some gold coins."
"Believe it if you want," said Chrysalis. "Meanwhile, I will send my changelings to Mount Aris to search for the Hippogriffs."
"I will send guards to watch from the Macintosh Hills to San Palomino Desert," said Luna. "Maybe build another outpost at the South of Rockville, in front of the jungle there."
"As for me, I will prepare an assault of Eggman's base in the jungle between Dodge City and Horseshoe Bay," said Twilight. "Me and my friends will be going, as well as Zero to distract Discord if he comes. We have been training for this."
"So we have our plan of action," said Celestia. "I will send Shining Armor to help you. We must destroy that base," she said to Twilight.
"Or make it ours," said Chrysalis. "A base in the jungle between Dodge City and Horseshoe Bay will ensure that Eggman won't try again without us knowing, and it would be our spearhead to assault Eggman's bases in the jungles surrounding the Badlands without having to pass by the hills."
"Good idea," said Celestia with a nod.
"So, I go first, spread havoc, and once Discord appears, I distract him until you're done with the base," resumed Scootaloo with a nod. "Alright. Count on me. Oh and count on me to make sure that the changelings don't try anything funny behind our back."
All the other ponies in Twilight's library nodded.
"We will take a train to Dodge City and go to the outpost from here. Once in the outpost, we will launch our assault on Eggman's base. Five minutes before we reach it, you will start attacking it. Don't forget your headset to warn us of anything that may be important for us to know, like if Eggman is actually here, or if there's some secret weapon," said Twilight.
"Of course," said Scootaloo as she took the headset made for her Zero persona with a combination of Eggman's technology and of magic.
Eggman's base was a classic one, with some factories, storehouses, some defenses, buildings where the robots were gathered in wait of being sent to action, a building where there were some airships, and power plants. A simple assault outpost.
Nothing prepared it to receive an assault from the Phantom Ruby. In just a few seconds after Scootaloo activated its power, hundreds of robot replicas appeared among the buildings and attacked everything, many enemy robots were destroyed, the majority of the defenses as well as all the airships were gone, and some of the buildings were damaged, especially the factories.
Then, all the robot replicas were turned into gingerbread robots, and Discord appeared.
"Typical. We turn our back five seconds and the mice start dancing. Couldn't you ponies remain peaceful a few more weeks? We're kinda busy."
"Exactly. We discovered this base, we found out that you were busy against the Storm King, so I decided to destroy this base before it could unleash its robots."
Discord raised an eyebrow. "How did you find out about the Storm King?" He noted something on some paper. "Note: there may be a spy, somehow. Could you tell me?"
Scootaloo gave him the middle finger.
"Ouch! No need to be vulgar! Who is the irresponsible adult who made you learn about it?"
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Infinite, who else? Have a bad guy stuck in your head, and you eventually learn some stuff... very bad. Don't ask me the number of insults I learned since I merged with the ruby."
"Of course, with the Edgelord himself in your head, it was stupid to ask."
Infinite growled.
"So, how about we stop chatting for nothing and we directly go to the point where I turn you into a garden ornament for birds to poop on?" proposed Scootaloo.
"Ooh? You think you can do it?" asked Discord smugly, arms crossed and eyes closed.
He was suddenly hit by a wave of Phantom Energy, and the next instant, gravity multiplied by one hundred, and Discord found himself against the ground like a pancake. The ground was then turned into a quicksand that sucked Discord in before solidifying. With a stomp of her feet, Scootaloo then caused a big block of stone to come out of the ground, and she punched it, destroying most of it, leaving only a stone statue of Discord.
Scootaloo gave a couple of taps on the statue to get rid of some dust. "Perfect."
Discord stepped out of the statue as if he was a ghost and looked at the result. "I must admit, I look good. Too bad for you, this isn't like with the Elements of Harmony."
Scootaloo shrugged. "Yeah, I thought so. I still had to try. Now..."
The statue suddenly gave Discord an uppercut, sending the draconequus flying to the sky. Scootaloo flew after him and tackled him, sending the both of them away from the base just as the equestrian army reached it.
Since Scootaloo already destroyed a good part of its defenses, they didn't have much to worry about. A lot of robots remained however, and attacks were rapidly exchanged a little everywhere among the building and the trees. But the equestrians came prepared, and with Twilight among them, they rapidly got the upper hand.
But then, a blue hedgehog robot, exactly like the robot fought back in the Badlands, came out of one of the buildings and started to rapidly fly around, spreading destruction in its path among the equestrian ranks.
"A Metal Sonic spotted! I repeat, a Metal Sonic spotted!" shouted a soldier.
"Darn. Eggman built another one?" asked another.
"Nothing stopped him, so... yeah, of course he built another one," said Applejack.
"Metal Sonic is that robot built after that Sonic guy that Scootaloo told us about, right?" asked Rainbow Dash. "So it's all speed! Then leave it to me! Where is it?" she asked just before she saw a blue thing fly not far in front of her. "Forget it, I saw it!" she shouted as she started chasing it.
The robot spotted her as she caught up to it; the mare smiling smugly at it. "Hey, ugly!"
METAL SONIC
Metal Sonic accelerated through the trees, and Rainbow Dash followed it, only for the robot to strike some of the trees, causing them to topple on the pegasus who had to move up or down while accelerating or slowing down to avoid them. The robot then turned around and charged energy in the intake in its stomach before it fired a big plasma laser.
"Woah!"
Rainbow Dash aileron rolled to the side, avoiding the laser, then quickly rolled to the other side to avoid a tree before she accelerated again to catch up to the robot. Metal Sonic's arm then turned into a gatling gun and it fired countless of bullets at her, but Rainbow accelerated again while maneuvering around to avoid them, and soon reached the robot. So Metal Sonic tried to claw her, only for Rainbow to suddenly rise before she dropped back on it, smashing her hooves on its head.
Metal Sonic lost speed as a result and crashed through some trees before it recovered. Rainbow Dash could now feel the robot's glare at her back, and the pegasus saw it turn into a ball before it suddenly accelerated, its metallic spikes ready to turn her to shreds. Rainbow Dash flew to the side and punched the ball as it passed, sending it crashing into more trees. Metal Sonic quickly came back, and the two of them were now flying side by side.
Again, Metal Sonic fired a plasma laser that Rainbow easily dodged by flying around it before she tried to stomp it again, only for Metal Sonic to form an octahedral energy shield around itself that stopped her. It then lowered the shield and tried to claw her again, succeeding only in hurting one of her hooves. In return, Rainbow punched it on the face, and it counterattacked by turning its arm into a gatling again. As it fired, however, Rainbow Dash punched hard the jet on its back, causing it to lose control of its flight for a few seconds.
Metal Sonic recovered and flew up beyond the trees, toward the sky, quickly followed by Rainbow Dash. It then accelerated to the point of creating a sonic boom, going supersonic, and Rainbow Dash followed its example with a Sonic Rainboom. To her disbelief, Metal Sonic remained faster than her, and so, it remained in front of her as it got surrounded by a pulsating electrical field. Then, a huge and powerful electrical field was unleashed around Metal Sonic as it suddenly slowed down, and before Rainbow knew it, she flew right in it, getting herself badly electrified.
But the mare was used to electricity and quickly recovered. However, the robot was now terribly slowed down, and she used the occasion to ram it and to send it to crash into the ground, badly damaging it. It wasn't enough to destroy it however, and Metal Sonic returned above the trees, returning to its previous speed, causing another sonic boom, followed by Rainbow. But then, Metal Sonic decelerated enough to get behind Rainbow, and it fired a few more plasma lasers at her, only for her to dodge all of them while she decelerated too, eventually stomping on Metal Sonic, only for it to reform its shield before accelerating.
Then, it faced her while flying backward, turned both arms into gatling guns, and fired at her with both of them while also firing more plasma lasers. This forced Rainbow to return under the trees, leaving Metal Sonic to blinding fire through the leaves. It returned under the trees too to spot the mare, only for her to come from the side and to slam it through many trees before she returned above the jungle, followed by Metal Sonic, the robot now sparking electricity.
"You're a tough one, but I'm still the best!" yelled the mare with a smirk.
This infuriated Metal Sonic even more, and suddenly, an electrical field appeared around it as it started spinning and its speed became so much that Rainbow barely had time to roll out of the way before the robot passed her, and in just a few seconds, it was miles in front of her. But she saw the robot charging back at her, and she decelerated below sound speed before accelerating again, remaining at the limit, with the cone of air surrounding her. Then, just as the robot was about to hit her, she performed the Sonic Rainboom, suddenly accelerating. The electrical field hit her, but she still hit Metal Sonic with the full power of the Sonic Rainboom backing her. As the electrical field disappeared, leaving Metal Sonic seemingly worn down, Rainbow Dash then flew high into the sky, decelerating again with the robot in her hooves. Then, she dropped back toward the ground, gaining speed more and more, and just before she hit the ground, she performed another Sonic Rainboom, and they both hit the ground in a huge explosion leaving behind a rainbow cloud.
All that remained of Metal Sonic after that were broken pieces littered around Rainbow Dash in the crater they formed.
Rainbow Dash recuperated her breath, exhausted by the fight. "Huff... Huff... Eheheh... Told you. I'm the best. But now, I want to face this Sonic in a race. If you're based on him, he must be really fast."
Back at the base, all of Eggman's robots were destroyed.
It was a victory.
Scootaloo was told so through her headgear, and she smiled smugly at Discord.
"Why this smile?" he asked.
"I won. We took the base."
Discord opened his mouth, then closed it, understanding. "You were just a distraction."
"Yup!"
"The ponies came after you to finish what you started."
"Yup!"
"You were there mainly to stop me from stopping them."
"Yup!"
"Clever girl."
"Yup!" she said a last time before she disappeared, leaving behind Discord.
"Eggman won't like it..."
"THEY WHAAAAT?!!"
The war was on! |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 11: Counterattack | Inside one of Eggman's airships, above the Bone Dry Desert near Klugetown.
Eggman, Tirek, and Discord were now around a table with a map of Equestria on it, Discord disguised as a general. Eggman slammed a fist on the table in rage.
"I can't believe they ruined my plan before I could even start it!" he yelled. "And they destroyed Metal Sonic, again!" He looked at Discord. "How did it happen?!"
Discord saluted. "The chicken distracted me while the ponies attacked the base, sir! I could do nothing, sir! The chicken had badly damaged the defenses of the base before I came, so they almost just had to walk in and claim the base for themselves, sir! I don't know how they defeated Metal Sonic, sir!" He snapped his fingers, and Metal Sonic's remains appeared on the table. "I gathered its remains in case they could be useful, sir!"
"They're as useful as scrap metal! But at least, I can use them to rebuild it."
"I also learned that there may be a spy, sir! They discovered about us being busy fighting the Storm King and took the occasion to attack us from behind!"
"A spy?! How is this possible?! No spy can infiltrate my army!"
"They probably used magic, sir! One way or another, I will try to find what they used!"
"So, what is the plan now, doc?" asked Tirek.
"We can't leave our business with the Storm King unfinished, but we can't leave what the equestrians did unpunished," said Eggman before he smirked and pointed at the jungle between Dodge City and Horseshoe Bay. "I will send an assault to retake my base or build a new one." He pointed at the outpost near the Badlands. "And at the same time, I will send an assault from the Egg Fortress to their outpost. Let's see how they will fare against two assaults at the same time."
"Then I will participate in the one in the jungle," said Tirek. He then looked at Discord. "As for you, you will participate in the one against the outpost."
"Yes, sir!"
"You all did a good job," said Celestia as she walked among the captured buildings of Eggman's base with Luna, Twilight and the others, including Scootaloo in her Zero persona. "Especially you miss Dash. I saw how powerful the robot hedgehog, Metal Sonic, was back in the Badlands, and yet, you destroyed it by yourself."
"Ahah! You should've seen me! Sonic Rainboom in its face!" replied proudly Rainbow Dash. "But I must admit, I would've never won without Scootaloo's training." She turned to the filly currently black jackal and bumped her. "Thank you, Scootaloo."
Scootaloo looked back at her as if she had just given her the best Hearth Warming gift ever. Oh, my gosh! Rainbow Dash thanked me! "You're welcome, Rainbow Dash! We will continue to train and become even stronger and win this war together!"
"Darn right!"
Luna looked around at the ponies starting to work on the buildings to convert the base for their use. "With this base, we will have direct access to anything Eggman built in the jungle around the Badlands. We will be able to surround his fortress and attack it from all sides. Discord or not, victory will be ours. However, we must be ready. I imagine Eggman will try to recapture it."
"It will take time to rebuild the defenses of this base," said Shining Armor. "We aren't working as quickly as Eggman and his robots. Ours aren't that effective yet. So we will need troops."
"The army is already spreading from Baltimare to the West coast of the San Palomino Desert," said Celestia. "The most we can bring to this base are more robots."
"We must wait for news of the other species," said Luna. "With them joining us, we could bring much more soldiers here. Until then," She turned to Scootaloo, "...we will have to count on you to support our defense."
Scootaloo sighed. "Excepted that if Discord comes, I won't be able to support anything. He will do to me what I did to him: he will distract me and let Eggman's robots deal with our troops. I won't be able to protect this base or anything alone."
Luna nodded. "True. But you will be able to count on me to help you. I will remain on the frontline with Captain Armor. And the Wonderbolts will be ready to come and help anytime."
"And chariots with our best pegasi will be ready every day to transport Twilight and the others if their help is needed," said Celestia. "Sadly, I must remain in Canterlot. Even in time of war, I must manage the kingdom. And I will probably have to discuss a lot with the leaders of the other species for our Alliance and to decide the actions we will take together." She chuckled. "It will be a hard battle in its own way." She looked at Luna. "Unless you want to exchange?"
"No thanks. I prefer to battle with a sword... or a gun rather than with words."
"Princesses! Captain!" suddenly yelled a stallion running toward them. "We just received a call from Dodge Outpost! They spotted a huge army of robots approaching them from the Badlands! Discord is among them!"
The ponies looked at each other.
"They didn't waste time," said Applejack.
Then, a bird came to them, only to transform into a changeling.
"An army of robots is approaching the base," he warned. "We spotted Tirek among them."
"Two attacks?!" asked Twilight.
Luna cursed. "We will have to divide ourselves. Zero, you will fight Discord while me, Captain Armor, and three of the Elements will protect the outpost!"
Celestia nodded. "And the three remaining Elements, including Twilight, will remain here with me to protect the base!"
"Very well," said Twilight before she turned to her friends. "Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, you should be the ones remaining here."
"Why us?" asked curiously the yellow pegasus.
Twilight giggled. "This jungle is perfect for Pinkie. She has all those trees and bushes to hide in, disappear, and somehow reappear thanks to her Pinkieness to attack the robots by surprise."
This made Rainbow and Applejack laugh.
"As for Fluttershy..." She smirked, approached the pegasus, and whispered something to her.
Fluttershy's eyes widened, and after some hesitation, she nodded. "I will do it. It shouldn't be hard."
"So, this leaves me, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack to come with Princess Luna," said Rarity.
Twilight nodded. "Rainbow will get them from the sky, you will attack them from the wall with your magic, and Applejack will smash any robots that enter."
"But what about Tirek?" asked Scootaloo.
"Tirek shouldn't have yet the power to forcefully drain an alicorn," said Celestia. "Me and Twilight will fight him together. Or at least one of us, if the other cannot fight him for some reason. It's why I asked Twilight to remain here." She looked at Twilight. "And it would be better if we fight him backed by robots. I know that he can't drain non-living things."
"The hardest to deal with will be Discord. Sc-Zero alone may not be enough to force him to give up," said Rainbow Dash.
"If we destroy the robots, he may retreat," said Luna. "Unless he wants to fight her, me, and our soldiers and robots at the same time."
"And me and Twilight," said Celestia. "As soon as we are done here, if we learn that the battle at the outpost is not over, we will come, and not even Discord could face all of us at the same time."
Luna nodded and turned to Scootaloo. "Go ahead and stall Discord. We will hurry to join the outpost."
"Yes, princess," said Scootaloo before she disappeared.
Discord, at the head of the army of robots, still out of reach of the cannons of the outpost, raised a sword and yelled "CHARGE!" before flying towards their target, followed by the robots. But then, a wave of energy came out of nowhere, and the next thing he knew, a giant STOP sign appeared just in front of him, and he crashed head first on it. The STOP sign then slammed itself on the ground, crushing him. The sign then disappeared, leaving behind a very hurt, flattened Discord. "Oww..." He peeled himself from the ground, and with a shake, he returned to normal.
He looked up, seeing Scootaloo floating in the air. "Already here?" he asked.
"Of course," she answered. "As soon as I learned about an army approaching the outpost with you at its head, I teleported here."
Discord shrugged. "Oh, well, I knew this would happen." He turned to the robots. "Leave her to me, boys! Go attack the outpost!"
Scootaloo landed in front of him, materializing a sword before Discord turned back to her and took position.
Then, two life bar appeared above them, and a voice coming out of nowhere said, "READY? FIGHT!"
"Really?" asked Scootaloo with a deadpan look.
"What?"
Seriously... said Infinite with an audible facepalm followed by a groan.
In the jungle, the equestrian army joined Eggman's army before it could reach the base, not wanting to add in the damage already done by the previous assault. Because of the trees, there was a lot of cover for both armies to use to protect themselves against projectiles, and as Twilight planned, Pinkie had a field day using her Pinkieness to go from tree to tree without even having to move between them, as if she was teleporting. The poor robots had no chances. The changelings joined in the middle of the battle, jumping from the branches of the trees or out of bushes disguised as animals, only to return to normal before attacking the surprised robots.
However, three airships quickly came to support the robots, forcing Celestia to go destroy them and leaving Twilight to deal with Tirek. The lavender alicorn found the centaur as he smashed an equestrian robot. Tirek was a little bit bigger and more muscular than back in the Badlands, but nothing dramatic. Twilight should still be able to fight him. However, he still had this armor.
Tirek spotted her and smirked. "Ah, the new princess. Twilight Sparkle, if I remember. So, you will be the one facing me?"
"Seems like it," replied Twilight, her head lowered, ready to fire magical beams at the centaur. "Celestia is busy with the airships, and the others couldn't fight you without getting their magic drained."
"Eh! From what I learned about you, you are not experienced at all in fighting. You are more an egghead who became an alicorn only a few months ago. Just a newbie. It will be easy."
"You are right, I don't know much about fighting, but I know a lot about magic! Prepare to be surprised!"
"I'm surprised you even think you can win against me! I drained a lot of magic, and I'm now as powerful as an alicorn! And just look at this body!" shouted Tirek as he flexed his muscles. "And that's not counting the nice toys Eggman gave to me with this armor! You're doomed, Twilight Sparkle!"
TIREK
Tirek found himself slapped by a vine, and he looked around to see more vines manipulated by Twilight. Another tried to slap him, but he caught it and tore it off before he blasted another. A dozen vines then went to attack him at the same time, but he surrounded himself with a magical shockwave that destroyed all of them, only to be hit on the torso by a rather strong magical beam.
He fired back his own magical beam at Twilight, and the mare went to hide behind a nearby tree before she charged magic in her horn. She then stepped away from her cover and unleashed her magic into a salve of smaller magical beam that homed in Tirek. The centaur created a shield to protect himself from the beam, but then felt the ground under his hooves turning into mud, and he lost balance. Twilight then appeared on his back and fired a beam at the back of his head, sending him faceplanting in the mud as his shield disappeared.
Twilight jumped on his head, using it to bounce away from him and get him even more in the mud before he could get up, but just as she bounced, Tirek caught her tail and he slammed her in the mud. Before Tirek could fire a beam, Twilight flashed her horn, blinding Tirek with the light, causing him to free her before she flew away and fired a few more beams until he recovered. She immediately went to hide behind another tree, avoiding a beam from the centaur.
Tirek tried to go after her, only to discover that the mud around his hooves had turned back into solid ground, trapping him. Growling, he opened a part of his armor, revealing a rocket launcher that he used on the tree behind which Twilight was hiding, only to discover that the mare wasn't here. Twilight then came out from behind another tree behind him and fired a bigger beam at his back before returning behind the tree.
Tirek smashed the ground to free his hooves, turned around, and fired another rocket to destroy the tree, but again, Twilight wasn't here, and she came out from behind another tree at his left, firing yet another beam. The thing was that she was using the cover of the trees to teleport from tree to tree to surprise him, but Tirek eventually surrounded himself in a shield, stopping her beams. But to his surprise, Twilight planted her horn in the ground and fired a beam in it, only for the beam to come out of the ground under him, hitting him despite the shield.
Growling, Tirek revealed a flamethrower in his armor, and turned around while firing, putting all the surrounding trees on fire. Twilight flew up to avoid the stream of fire, and fired a beam to destroy the flamethrower, making Tirek growl again. As the fire was spreading around them, he used his magic on a tree to make it fall on Twilight, but the mare flew to the side to avoid it and used her own magic to push the tree so it would fall on Tirek, but the centaur destroyed it with a rocket, only for a beam to hit the rocket launcher, causing a big explosion in his torso that destroyed his armor and badly injured him.
Putting a hand on his torso, Tirek stared at Twilight and grabbed her in his magic before throwing her toward the surrounding fire, but Twilight surrounded herself in a shield to protect herself and teleported only to receive a beam that slammed her against a tree. She quickly flew away to avoid another beam, then avoided more beams as she used her magic to manipulate the fire and sent it toward the centaur as a stream. Tirek was badly burned, but he quickly created a magical shockwave to push away the fire, only to be hit on the head by a small boulder.
He shook his head to recover, and they both fired beams at each other again.
As Scootaloo and Discord continued to fight each other, giving a really chaotic battle in the distance, the Gorge Outpost was still under the assault of the badniks. However, the robots were quickly joined by five airships raining destruction on the outpost, forcing Luna and the Wonderbolts (who answered the call) to go and destroy them, the Wonderbolts launching bombs. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were forced to fight the robots without the help of the princess, Rainbow Dash destroying the flying ones, Rarity attacking them from the walls, and Applejack attacking the ones that passed the door at the wall protecting the outpost.
However, Applejack ended up fighting a stronger robot than normal that was designated as an alicorn, a Mecha Alicorn, that could use magic and fly with jet wings.
The Mecha Alicorn was constantly attacking the mare by firing magical beams of various power levels, by levitating objects (often remains of other robots) to throw them, or by firing magical balls, the bigger ones exploding into dozens of smaller ones raining on Applejack. All the while, it continued to fly, remaining out of range of Applejack, so she couldn't buck it.
However, the mare didn't give up, and using Scootaloo's training, remained far enough of the robot to dodge its attacks, waiting for an opportunity, and approached before using her lasso to force the robot to come to her and buck it before it would free itself and fly back.
Meanwhile, Rarity was running on the walls, helping the allies here fighting enemies that managed to get on them either by flying or by being carried by others, or even by jumping. To attack them, she used a dozen of gems that she levitated, piercing the robots with them while using a big one as a shield against any projectiles fired at her.
She also ended up facing a Mecha Alicorn, but thanks to her gems, the only problem she had while facing it was that it could create a shield to protect itself from them. However, it couldn't keep its shield and attack at the same time, so Rarity waited for it to attack to throw her gems at it.
Rainbow Dash also faced her own Mecha Alicorn, but it was nothing compared to Metal Sonic.
A few more of those Mecha Alicorns were encountered here and there in the outpost, causing a lot of problems to the equestrians.
Mecha Alicorns were also causing a lot of problems back in the jungle, and with only Pinkie managing to easily destroy them, it was a matter of time before ponies and changelings would be forced to retreat to the base, and maybe even to give it up.
But then, hundreds of animals, from tigers to wolves and much more, came from the depths of the jungle and attacked the badniks. In the sky, clouds made of birds, including many big ones, engulfed the flying robots, leaving only scrap metals to rain into the jungle. Among the birds, Fluttershy was riding on the back of a roc.
"Good job, everyone."
Back at the fight between Twilight and Tirek, it was now raining, pegasi using rain clouds to put out the fire and stop it from spreading. Under the rain, the two adversaries were taking heavy breaths, both exhausted. Twilight wasn't as injured as Tirek, but she used a lot of magic to fight him, the centaur being really resistant.
Then, they both fired at the same time a huge magical beam, the two beams clashing. But then, two birds came and pooped right in Tirek's eyes, breaking his focus. Thus, Twilight won the beam clash and Tirek was thrown back against a tree, toppling it. That was when the animal stampede reached them, and Tirek found himself bitten and clawed all over his body. Just as the last airship in the sky started to drop, smoke and fire coming out of it, Tirek teleported away.
They won the battle of the jungle.
"Back in formation!" shouted Spitfire, prompting the Wonderbolts to fly after her in a triangle formation, each holding a bag full of bombs. Using all their training, they flew toward one of the airships still in the air above Dodge Outpost while dodging the lasers from the cannons firing at them. As they flew above the airship, Spitfire yelled "Now!" and opened her bag of bombs, followed by the others. Bombs rained on the airship from the bow to the stern, destroying a lot of cannons as well as the bridge and some other important parts. It left the way open for some ally robots to finish it. Another airship, the last one, was then traversed from end to end by a powerful magical beam fired by Luna, and it started to drop, exploding.
Discord saw this and frowned. "This is bad..." He said then before dodging an energy ball before he caught it, bounced it on the ground like a basketball, and kicked it back at Scootaloo, only for her to disappear as the ball was about to hit her. She reappeared just in front of Discord, and punched him in the gut, only for Discord to disappear in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind only a log with a troll face. Scootaloo quickly looked around to see where he would reappear, only for Discord's claw to come out of the ground to punch her between her legs.
But Scootaloo then felt Infinite taking control of her right arm, using it to rapidly grab the claw and stop it.
Never again!
Recovering control of her arm, Scootaloo rapidly pulled on the claw, only to discover that there was nothing at the end. She then felt something grab her tail, and the next instant, she was spun around before being thrown, Discord shouting "So long-a chicken!" Before she could understand what was going on, she hit a bomb that exploded, sending her flying to the air to land in front of Discord, the draconequus now having a mustache, a red hat, a red shirt, and blue overalls.
As she groaned, Discord laughed, only for Scootaloo to turn the ground under him into lava. Discord fell in it, only to jump out of it, butt in fire, screaming in pain before running around uncontrollably. She then hit him in the face with a bat.
Why a bat? You could have used a sword and beheaded him! screamed Infinite.
"Despite making him vulnerable thanks to the Phantom Ruby, I'm not sure that beheading him would work. He's still the Spirit of Chaos. Also, I would rather avoid killing if possible."
"Ow... That hurt..." said Discord as he rubbed his bleeding muzzle. He snapped his fingers, healing himself, only to be hit from behind by a powerful magical beam from Luna, sending him on the ground.
Scootaloo quickly acted, created four replicas of herself, and they each fired a powerful energy beam at Discord, leaving him badly burned. Despite the injury, Discord snapped his fingers, healing himself again, before he teleported away.
Scootaloo waved at Luna. "Thank you, princess!"
Luna nodded in return, smiling.
The Battle of Dodge Outpost was won too. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 12: The Plan | Bone Dry Desert, inside one of Eggman's airship near Klugetown.
Discord was alone around the round table, boringly playing some chaotic card game with a clone of himself. Then, Tirek entered the room, and Discord looked at him with a smile, the clone disappearing, only to frown at his state.
"They defeated you?" he asked.
Tirek growled. "Yes..."
"Who did you face? Sunbutt?"
"If only. No, she was busy with my airships. I was defeated..." He growled again. "By Twilight Sparkle."
Discord stared at him in silence for a few seconds. One of his ears then grew in size, and he asked, "Can you repeat? I think I didn't hear correctly."
"To be more exact, I was hoof to hoof against Twilight Sparkle, but then, as we were in the middle of a beam clash..." He growled yet again. "Birds pooped on my eyes... And I took the beam in the face. And then, all those animals came and attacked me while I was down. The battlefield was overrun by them. Somehow, they weren't attacking the equestrian army, only our robots, as if someone was commanding them."
Discord's jaw dropped. "Wow... I know only one pony who can get animals to follow her like that: Fluttershy."
"Isn't that the pony you mentioned the first time? The one you..." He spat, "befriended?"
"The very same. She's the Element of Kindness, an animal caretaker who wouldn't hurt a fly. Normally. She's very good with animals, she can tame the wildest beasts." Discord laughed. "She even tamed me, for a time." He waved at the map on the table. "Maybe we should have avoided the jungle. If she can assemble an army with the animals, then she could destroy all our bases here just by herself. Wait, no, she won't because it would be too risky for the animals." He sighed. "Between Eggman using animals to power his robots, and me betraying her, I guess I shouldn't be surprised she took such an active role. I heard stories of her staring down a full-grown dragon and make him cry for his mommy, or even a cockatrice. So, now?"
"Don't tell me you're having regrets."
"What? Me? Having regrets? Never! Anyway, what do we do, now?"
"We wait for the old man, he should come anytime."
"Ugh! More waiting!"
Thankfully for Discord, they didn't have to wait for long. Just a few minutes later, Eggman entered the room, smiling widely.
Discord ate a carrot. "What's up, Doc?"
"Some good news?" asked Tirek.
"Very good news! I finally defeated this Storm King! All the South is in our control! So I could finally start our project!"
Tirek smiled. "The building of the Death Egg?"
"Yes! Also, the Storm King and his second are now waiting for you to drain them in Klugetown. However, what can you tell me about this scepter?" asked Eggman as he showed a dark purple scepter with a long crystal at the end.
"Oooh! The Staff of Sacanas!" said Discord. "Powerful magical artifact. It can manipulate the weather, do some weather-related magic like firing lightning, and absorb magic to become even more powerful."
"Absorbing magic?" said Tirek. "We already have me, this won't be needed."
"True," said Eggman. "But the weather manipulation could be useful. I could create a cyclone around the Egg Fortress to better protect it. Or better, create a cyclone around the Death Egg as we build it. No! No! Better! I will build a new fortress and create a cyclone around the construction site of the Death Egg! Gotta make sure that those equestrians don't destroy the Death Egg before we launch it!"
"Perfect!" shouted Tirek before he sighed. "If only we had more good news to give."
Eggman groaned. "They defeated the both of you? What about the Mecha Alicorns?"
"Oh, they worked well, but not well enough," said Discord. "While I was busy with the chicken, again, and Luna was busy with the airships, the Element Bearers who came to protect the outpost destroyed them, letting the outpost resist long enough for Luna to destroy the airships and return to deal with what remained, me included."
"I was facing Twilight Sparkle the majority of the battle, so I can't tell how well they worked in my end," Tirek began, "but they certainly didn't resist the assault of the animals."
"Animals?" asked Eggman with an eyebrow raised.
"One of the Element Bearers reveals to be very good with animals, even the ones of the jungle," said Tirek. "That Fluttershy gathered them and sent them to destroy your robots and attack me."
Eggman growled. "Those Element Bearers are starting to be as annoying as Sonic! I will have to deal with them quickly!"
"I have more bad news," said Tirek. "I spotted changelings in the enemy's ranks."
"Changelings?" asked Eggman.
"Changelings? Really?" asked Discord with a groan. "This may explain our spy problem, then..."
"What are they?" asked Eggman.
"Shapeshifters," answered Tirek. "They can transform into other creatures. As Discord said, this could explain our spy problem. Some of those changelings are probably disguised as animals and spying on us. They can be anything. The birds passing above our heads, or the giant scorpions digging in the sand under our hooves or feet. And let's not talk about how they must be like fishes in water in the jungles. How did the equestrians manage to convince them to join them? Last I heard, they were enemies!"
"Queen Chrissy probably saw us as a bigger threat," said Discord. "It's the only reason I can see that would push her into accepting an alliance with the ponies. And that's very bad news to us. Not only changelings are perfect spies, one of their particularities is that they eat love, and all excess love is added to their magical power. In clear, the more they eat love, the more powerful they can become. Their queen can even surpass the power of an alicorn. And ponies have a LOT of love to freely give. A few hug sessions before a battle, and our robots will have a very bad time. And that's not counting if ponies and changelings start to get together in a more... romantic way... as a result. The lucky lings will become real powerhouses."
Eggman rubbed his face. "So, you're telling me that we're now facing a species that can become very powerful just by being hugged?"
"Or by being kissed. Or whatever other lovey-dovey stuff you can think of. Or just by being in company of a friend. Friendship, while less powerful, is some form of love."
"I hate this world..." groaned Eggman. "At least, the magic is worth it." He looked at the map, deciding of their next move. "Our goal is to build the Death Egg and launch it into space. Until then, we have to do everything in our power to make sure that the ponies and their allies don't stop it. Conquering Equestria would be a big plus, but it's a more secondary objective to make our lives easier at this point."
"So... We remain in defense in the lands we took over until you finish the Death Egg?" resumed Tirek.
"No. This would give the equestrians the time to gather the necessary power to roll over our defenses despite us. We will need to harass them with as much of our forces as we can give. Make sure that they are too busy defending themselves to do anything too quickly." He gave a big wave over the map. "All our factories will be working continuously to build an army that will constantly attack the frontiers of Equestria. At worst, they resist until we launch the Death Egg. At best, they tire and we conquer them."
"If we could deal with the Elements Bearers and the filly possessing the ruby, our chances would rise greatly," said Tirek. "I propose that, just before we launch this general attack, we send an assault where they live to capture them. With the three of us, and Metal Sonic when you rebuild it. This way, they won't join the front and help the equestrian army again, and we should finally be able to win this war."
"So, a big assault on Ponyville?" said Discord, ears lowering. "I suppose that... it's our best bet. If we deal with the Elements and the chicken, then the rest will be a piece of cake."
He snapped his fingers, materializing some pieces over the map. Seven pieces were on Ponyville, each representing the Cutie Mark of one of the Element Bearers, as well as the Phantom Ruby. Two more pieces, a Sun and a Moon, were on Canterlot, representing Celestia and Luna. Another, a crystal heart, appeared on the Crystal Empire for Cadance. There were two castle-like pieces, one near Dodge City and another at the South of Rockville, representing the outposts, and a shield on the castle near Dodge City represented Shining Armor (where Discord thought he still was). From Horseshoe Bay in the West coast to the San Palomino Desert, equestrian flags appeared, representing the position of equestrian troops. Factory pieces with Equestria's flag, one at Manehattan, and one in the jungle between Dodge City and Horseshoe Bay also appeared to show the position of known factories/bases in Equestria's possession.
Then, from the Hayseed Swamps to the West of Arimaspi's old territory, from the Badlands and the South of the Macintosh Hills to the Basalt Beach at the extreme South of the continent, dozens of factories with Eggman's symbol appeared, with a castle-like piece appearing at the center of the Badlands to represent the Egg Fortress. At the center of the Bone Dry Desert, a piece representing a spherical space station with Eggman's face appeared. Finally, three pieces with Eggman, Tirek, and Discord's face appeared not far from it, along with hundreds of pieces with Eggman's symbol representing Eggman's troops a little everywhere. Many triangular pieces with Eggman's symbol also appeared, Eggman's airships.
Then, the majority of the pieces with Eggman's symbol moved toward the pieces with Equestria's flag.
"You know," said Discord. "With our overwhelming force, we may not actually need to attack Ponyville. Just look at what we have compared to them."
"True," said Eggman with a smirk at seeing the display before he took the piece with the Phantom Ruby. "But I still would like to get my hands on the ruby as soon as possible. And I created a new robot that I just want to try on her. A little gift that I got from my future self."
"Oh yes, that mecha," said Discord as he snapped his fingers again, creating a new piece looking like a dragon beside Eggman's piece. "So we still attack Ponyville. Very well..."
Three dozens airship pieces gathered around the pieces of Eggman, Tirek, Discord, and the dragon. A metallic blue hedgehog piece then appeared among them before they all moved above the Macintosh Hills, above Appleloosa, above the Everfree Forest, before they stopped at Ponyville, beside the Element Bearer pieces.
"They will see us coming," warned Discord. "The princesses will probably come to help. If we're unlucky, a love boosted Chrysalis will be with them." He moved the Sun and the Moon to Ponyville and created a black piece with a crown between them.
"Then we will bring a lot of Mecha Alicorns! More powerful ones, who can better use their magic!" shouted Eggman with a cackle.
Hundreds of pieces representing metallic alicorns appeared all over the frontline, and among the airships attacking Ponyville.
"Right, I forgot about them," said Discord.
"Then let's prepare! In a few days, we will attack Ponyville!" shouted Eggman before he left with another cackle.
"I will drain every prisoner we made in our little war against the Storm King," said Tirek with a smile. "If I face Twilight again, I will destroy her." At this, he left the room too, leaving Discord alone.
Discord sighed and took the piece with three pink butterflies, staring at it. Then he closed his eyes and crushed the piece in his claw.
"No regrets..." |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 13: Alliance | Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse.
Scootaloo groaned, rubbing her head.
"Discord still making your brain melt?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Ugh... Yeah... I just can't come up with a way to defeat him. No matter what I do, he counters it, then I counter his counter. Then he counters my counter to his counter. And so on, until one of us finally manages to catch the other off guard for one reason or another. But it isn't enough and it restarts. And because of it, at best, we're equals." She sighed. "I now understand it. I can't defeat him alone. I need help. Like Luna who fired a beam at him from behind." She sighed again. "But each time, everypony is too busy fighting, and they can't help me before a long time. So, by the time we force Discord to retreat, the battle is pretty much over. I want to be able to defeat Discord at the beginning of a battle so I can return to destroying robots!" She groaned. "And even the method I've been using, waiting for an opening and hit, doesn't work. He leaves a lot of openings, but he's so unpredictable and so powerful that nine times out of ten, it doesn't work."
"So the only time you really manage to hit him is when you catch him off guard?" asked Sweetie Belle. "How do you do it?"
"I do something he wasn't expecting. Or he becomes so arrogant that he starts acting stupidly, letting me get a hit. It's how he was defeated by Rainbow Dash and the others the first time, but they had the Elements. I don't have them."
"So you hit him by becoming unpredictable, then continue," said Sweetie Belle. "Become as unpredictable as him!"
Scootaloo laughed. "I try, but it's harder than it sounds! I'm not crazy enough!"
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "You? Not crazy enough? Must I remind you of all the crazy ideas you gave for our crusades?"
Scootaloo gave her a deadpan look. "My ideas are not-"
"With most of them, we risk our lives and end up grounded for a week or two."
"Uuh... That's not the same kind of crazy," said Apple Bloom with a laugh. "Scootaloo's craziness is a reckless craziness, while Discord's craziness is a chaotic craziness. '2 and 2 equals apple' kind of craziness." She looked back at Scootaloo, who was pouting. "Maybe you should start thinking like that to defeat him. When you attack, just do something crazy and random."
"Yeah! Like, imagine... I'm Discord and I'm about to hit you with a... Er... With a rubber chicken! What will you do?"
"I would... Hum... I would... Well, first, I would dodge the hit just in case there's a brick in it, and then..."
"Too predictable! I would hit you with something else as a result!" shouted Sweetie Belle.
"Then... Then..."
Stop thinking about it, it wouldn't work, suddenly said Infinite.
"Huh?"
Trying to become like Discord won't work. At best, like you said, you would end up toe to toe with him. But he's clearly a master of unpredictability, so he could probably predict your unpredictability, or some of it, and you still wouldn't be able to predict him because you aren't used to predict something that can't be.
"But-"
I remarked that it wasn't because you were unpredictable that you hit him, but because you did something you never did before, taking him by surprise. You never turned the ground into lava before the previous battle, so when you did it, he fell in it. Before that, when you managed to hit him by turning your hand into a cannon, it was because you never did it before too. The reason is that you developed some kind of pattern with the power of the Phantom Ruby; you have a tendency to repeat the attacks you're most used to, only changing them a little, and each time you do something out of this pattern, you take him by surprise.
The gears turned in Scootaloo's head. "Waiiit... are you saying that I can defeat Discord... by becoming deceptively predictable?"
Exactly. But this won't be enough. You will need to create many layers of predictability, so once you break a layer, when Discord just understands and gets used to your new predictability, you break another, forcing him to learn again. Each layer breaking will be an occasion for you to seriously injure him before you have to pass to the next. You may only have 50% of the ruby's power in your disposition, but this is more than enough power for you to develop those layers, and a plan.
"So to defeat Discord, I must become like a boss from a video game... Okay.. This... could actually work. But I will need to talk to you once I'm asleep to get more in depth with this plan. Aaand I may have to talk to Button Mash."
"Err... Could you tell us what Infinite told you?" asked Sweetie Belle. "How could you defeat Discord by becoming as predictable as a boss from a video game?"
"Let me explain," said Scootaloo before she repeated what Infinite said.
Tonight, as Scootaloo said, once she fell asleep and appeared in the mindscape, she went to talk with Infinite. She looked at the jackal who stared back, waiting for her to start.
After a minute of silence, she eventually said, "I need your help."
She could clearly see him raise an eyebrow behind his mask. "Really now?"
"Yes. I thought about this all day since you told your idea, and the truth is that even with your idea, it probably won't be enough to defeat Discord by myself. Because, yes, I can create new patterns to take Discord by surprise, but there is one problem: I am limited. I'm not talking about the power of the ruby, but about my imagination, my style... About me! I am not somepony like Discord, who can come up with an infinite number of ideas at once! I am just... somepony normal with more power than I know how to use because of my normal brain."
She pointed at Infinite. "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Or else you wouldn't have lost to Sonic. You had infinite power, but because you were just a normal guy, with a normal mind, a normal imagination, a style, and all, you were limited. We aren't Gods or Spirits or whatever! We are just mortals with godly powers!"
She flew to Infinite's face, or mask, making sure to not touch it (she wasn't sure if touching the mask would cause the merging) as she glared at him. "You understand, Infinite? We are strong, powerful, and everything you can think of, but in the end... We. Are. Still. Weak! That's why I need your help to defeat Discord! Our minds are as opposite as they can be! Your ideas of attacks are different of mines! Your manner of using the Phantom Ruby is not the same as me! If the two of us work together and fight Discord together, then I'm sure that we can win"
"And don't talk about you killing everypony and taking over or destroying the world once you have control of my body! I'm sure you aren't that dense! If you turn against us, we will defeat you one way or another! If not by us, then by Eggman and his allies! And look where it already led you to act like you did! You joined Eggman, and you lost your squad, your friends, as a result, before being defeated! Then you helped Eggman by conquering the world, and you were defeated again! You lost your body, and your mind merged with the Phantom Ruby, getting yourself trapped in it! What will it be next time? Getting sealed for eternity? Becoming a power source for Eggman? How about you stop being a bastard?! Trust me, it will be better for your health! And it will make everything much easier! For you, for me, and for everypony! So you listen! You will join me! We will buck the teeth out of Discord's mouth! We will end this war! We will become heroes! And we will use those awesome powers we have to show any villains that will try their luck that we mean business! UNDERSTOOD?!!"
By the time she was finished, Scootaloo's muzzle was almost touching Infinite's mask, her right eye facing his left eye. Her body and the surrounding space were glitching, and she felt as if she could breathe fire at him.
Infinite stared back at her, silent and not moving.
"You're done? You emptied your bag?" he eventually said. "You finally said all you had in your mind?"
"Not really. I also want to thank you for helping me despite yourself. That advice you gave. I know you're doing it only because you hate Discord and you want to see him defeated, but it's still nice." She sighed. "But like I said, unless we work together, I don't think I can defeat him, no matter how helpful your advice is. I really need you, Infinite. Please... Help... Eggman's robots are becoming more powerful, Tirek too. I can't just continue to fight Discord. They will need my help. Our help."
Infinite stared again at Scootaloo for a few seconds. Then he closed his eyes, turned his back to her, and took a few steps away, arms crossed. "I'm no hero..." he then said. "I don't want to be one." His hands tightened on his arms. "I hate heroes. They come, save the day, and leave, making it look like everything is alright. Well, if everything was alright, then why did I have to live by myself since I was as tall as you? Why didn't the heroes come to save me from the starvation, the loneliness, the violence? Answer: because they're just people. They can't be everywhere to save everyone. And yet, they still think that they make a difference. And reassured by their presence, the 'good people' just forget about the rest. They forget about the ones who, like me, have to fight to survive, and who don't have a hero to make the pain end. They forget what it is to suffer."
Scootaloo, who stopped flying, looked at Infinite, thinking. "Is this why..." She waved at the burning buildings. "You want to see the world destroyed? Why you want everyone to suffer? You want them to understand what you went through?"
Infinite didn't answer, so Scootaloo sighed.
"You are right, we can't stop the suffering. I can't even think of what must be going on out there. We have it easy in Equestria, with our magic, with the princesses. Many probably hate us for this, like you. And... I'm sorry for this. And now that you said it, it sounded... Uh... Pre... Presomp... Presimp..."
"Presumptuous."
"Thanks. It sounded presumptuous to tell that I would be a hero without really thinking about it. You see, since I first saw Rainbow Dash, I always dreamed to become like her, even if I knew that I couldn't because of my wings. So yeah... A dream..." She looked at her hooves. "But with the powers of the Phantom Ruby..." She looked back at Infinite, then teleported in front of him so she could look at him in the eyes. "I could become a hero, but this would be a waste. You're right, I would be stopping Eggman, Tirek, and Discord from conquering the world, but then what? I would use it only to fight villains? To play games with my friends? To become a Wonderbolt? No. I will use it to help others. Like I did, back in Manehattan. And not just ponies. I will explore the world and try to help as many people as I can. Of course, I won't be able to help everyone and to stop the suffering, but I will do my darn best! And you could help me!" She gave a soft smile. "You lived through this, so I'm sure there's nopony better than you to understand them, and help them."
"Do you really think that just by giving a smile and some nice words, you will convince me to become a benefactor?"
"Worth a try. Right, you want people to suffer, not not suffer. Everyone will feel my pain yada yada." Scootaloo rubbed her face. "But, again, can't you think about it? Is it worth it to continue to try to make everyone suffer? To make the world burn? Look where it led you! And this won't stop the pain and the loneliness."
They stared at each other again before Infinite huffed. "Right now, all I want is to see Discord get what he deserves. If it means that I must work with you and not attack your allies, then fine. I can accept those terms."
"Thank you, Infinite. That's all I ask for now."
"Anyway, I have an idea of how we will proceed against Discord. If it works, then in a few battles, Discord will be defeated."
The days following the double battle at Dodge Outpost and in the jungle, a good deal of good news came to Celestia. She was able to convince the griffons to join them... in exchange of some thousands of bits. Hopefully, some weeks passed among the ponies will make them less greedy, like it was making the changelings more friendly (despite Chrysalis remaining cold with the ponies).
Cadance also convinced, really easily like they thought, the Yaks. They now had to make sure that they won't get killed by charging heads lowered toward the enemy's ranks. They will probably equip them with heavy armors with gem-powered front shields.
They then got news front Mount Aris: the Hipogriffs, as Celestia thought, left the mountain to hide in the ocean to escape the Storm King. Queen Novo used the Pearl of Transformation to turn all of them into seaponies, and created a new, hidden kingdom: Seaquestria. Now, they needed to open back communication with them to convince them to help. Celestia admitted that it will probably be difficult. Queen Novo probably felt betrayed that the ponies never came to their help against the Storm Empire.
Chrysalis was right, Celestia had really been blind to what happened outside of the borders of Equestria.
But the threat of Eggman's empire helped a lot there, so Novo agreed to reopen relations between their kingdoms, and to join.
Luna went to the Dragonlands to try her luck with the dragons. It was hard, and Luna had to do a few fights, but she was able to convince Torch, the Dragon Lord, to fight Eggman. She then had to convince him to not immediately start an assault, judging preferable to wait for news of the zebras, minotaurs, and Saddle Arabians while she went to Abyssinia to free them from the Storm King and see if they would join the Alliance too. Behind her back, the dragons still attacked Eggman's troops, only to suffer a serious defeat. Apparently, when you have dragons face heavily armed and advanced airships, the airships win. This definitively convinced Torch to see Eggman as an actual threat and to join the Alliance.
While this happened, Luna convinced Abyssinia too. Apparently, Eggman defeated the Storm King (bad news), so Abyssinia was able to rebel and to regain its freedom from the storm troops that hadn't given up following their king's orders. The remaining storm creatures joined the kingdom's army, Storm Empire technology included. Between the dragons and the storm airships, it was a big bonus for the East!
West was also very good. The zebras, minotaurs, and Saddle Arabians took Eggman's threat very seriously and immediately accepted to join the ponies to fight him.
But now came the hardest part: making sure that all those peoples would work together. They all had a common enemy, but it didn't mean that they will accept to form a single army. Not with such colorful personalities. Celestia informed all of them of who else joined the Alliance and asked all of them to bring a leader with some troops to Canterlot so they could discuss together and truly form the Anti-Eggman Alliance (AEA).
The griffons were the hardest because they didn't have any leader. Since it was for a war, in the end, they sent a group of griffons that knew some stuff about it. For the dragons, because of his size (close to a small mountain), Torch couldn't come and sent instead his daughter, Ember.
This went as well as Celestia thought it would go...
But then, in the middle of this, very bad news came: Ponyville was attacked.
It was almost immediately followed by more bad news: Eggman began a general assault all over the frontline from the West to the East.
The reports talked of hundreds of thousands of robots and hundreds of airships, and thousands of those Mecha Alicorns.
If Celestia's fur wasn't already white, it would be now. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 14: Ponyville Part 1 | It was quite the sight for the ponies of Appleloosa to see thirty futuristic airships fly above their town. Unbeknown to them, they were lucky that the armada passed without paying attention to the little town.
The armada then went to the Everfree Forest, and in a few minutes, they traversed it, and the first pony of Ponyville who spotted them in the distance was Rainbow Dash as she was in the middle of bucking some clouds.
She paled. "Oh, buck!"
Twilight was in her underground lab, rereading some notes. She could feel it, she was getting closer to make a perfect one. She could finally make one stable enough to be safely used, she just needed to find a way to get rid of that annoying defect, making that only the first user of one could use this same one.
Then Rainbow slammed open the door, barreled down the stairs, and yelled, "Twilight! Twilight! Eggman's robots are coming! Come quick!"
First annoyed that one of her friends suddenly entered her lab while she was busy, she was then horrified at what she heard. Eggman's army was coming? Here, to attack Ponyville? Or maybe even to attack Canterlot?
"I'm coming! Go first to warn as many ponies to shelter in basements as possible! And try to gather our friends!"
"Aye!"
Rainbow flew out of the basement and out of the library to do as she was told. Meanwhile, Twilight took a pouch and put it in it.
"Scootaloo! Look!" shouted Sweetie Belle as she pointed through a window of the clubhouse, turned to the Everfree Forest (the forest wasn't visible behind the apple trees), in panic. Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked out the window and saw the many red airships approaching in the distance.
"Oh no..." said Scootaloo in horror before she quickly turned to her friends. "Go to the Apples' basement! This will be ugly!" After saying this, she transformed into Zero and flew through the window toward the airships.
She rapidly reached them, and as she charged toward the first one, she started spinning. With her body, she then pierced the ship from bow to stern, destroying it. The other airships fired at her, forcing Scootaloo to maneuver to avoid all the projectiles while she approached a second airship, materialized a sword, and cut it clean in half. Hundreds of flying robots came out of the ships to stop her, but she easily destroyed them as she went to a third airship and threw at its bridge a very powerful bomb that she created, destroying the bridge and damaging the ship so much that it started to drop to the forest below. Scootaloo then manipulated the gravity of a fourth ship to make it crash on two other ships.
Already six ships down. It would be fast, but she knew that Discord will probably appear anytime now to stop her.
But then, as she charged toward another ship to cut it, she saw an electrified drill coming from above and barely avoided it with a teleport. When she appeared, she flew rapidly while moving left and right to avoid more drills. The attacks eventually stopped, and Scootaloo looked up, then quickly teleported a few steps back to avoid being rammed by something huge and red.
Scootaloo was now facing a red mecha even bigger than the Death Egg Robot, seemingly designed after a dragon, with a bulky torso with many highlights, spiked shoulders, disembodied flamed wings made of blue energy, a drill for a left arm, a huge six-barreled cannon for a right arm, and a lower belly much smaller ending with two talons-like cannons for feet, and a tail. There were two cockpits: one as the head, and another above the feet, between two protrusions. There was also a glass dome in the lower belly.
EGG MAGICAL DRAGOON
In the head's cockpit, there was Eggman.
"Eggman?! You're the one fighting me?!" shouted Scootaloo. "I thought it would be Discord! Again!"
"Ahahahaah! Not this time! Discord will be busy dealing with your little quadrupedal friends!"
"Oh no... They've no chance against Discord!" She was about to fly back toward Ponyville, where the airships had continued to advance, only for the mecha to teleport in front of her, blocking the way.
"Where do you think you're going?!" shouted Eggman. "Don't think you will get away from me! This mecha is the pinnacle of years of research that I received from my future self! And I modified it with the magic of this world to make it even more powerful! This time, not even this Infinite guy in you will be able to destroy it! I will defeat you and get my hands on the powers of the ruby! And this world, and many others, will be mine! Nothing will stop me!"
"I will stop you!"
"You're as bad as Sonic! Don't you remember what happened the last time?! Don't be so confident!"
"A lot happened since the last time! This time, I'm ready!" shouted Scootaloo before she looked worriedly toward Ponyville. Hold on, everypony. I deal with him, and I'm coming.
"Then let's see if you're ready against this!"
Watch out. It's an Egg Dragoon. Eggman wasn't joking about it being the pinnacle of his technology, warned Infinite.
Magical energy charged at the two big spikes on the shoulders, and they fired toward the sky, exploding into dozens of huge magical beams that rained all over the area. Scootaloo flew around to avoid the magical beams while Eggman charged more magical energy in the spikes and unleashed it as dozens of smaller beams that homed in on her while he started to fire fireballs with the arm cannon.
Scootaloo teleported to avoid the homing beams, then charged toward the cockpit, hitting it only to hit a protective shield. The Egg Dragoon teleported, and Eggman moved to the lower cockpit, starting to control the feet. From them, he fired ice waves while firing powerful magical beams from the protrusion. Scootaloo slalomed between the waves and the beams while approaching, only for the tail to suddenly fire a burst of electricity, electrifying her. While she was stunned, the tail then slapped her, and Eggman returned to the head cockpit to fire a drill at her. She recovered and avoided the drill, only for it to chase her, and Scootaloo had to destroy it with an energy beam, then quickly teleported to avoid a stream of fire from the arm cannon.
"Maybe I should leave it to you..." Scootaloo told Infinite.
Better this way. You became strong, but this mecha is on another level.
In an instant, Scootaloo and Infinite switched control, Infinite's mask appearing on the head. Eggman immediately teleported behind him, drill ready to gore him. Infinite teleported and slashed at the Egg Dragoon with his sword, only for the Egg Dragoon to teleport away. The mecha then continued to teleport around randomly, leaving at each teleportation a magical ball that slowly floated toward Infinite, exploding after a few seconds. As Infinite avoided the explosive balls, Eggman stopped teleporting and fired the cannon, many bursts of magical beams homing in on him while also firing an electrified homing drill.
Infinite destroyed the drill while avoiding the rest, then teleported beside the Egg Dragoon and slashed, only for his sword to barely cut it, the robot revealing to be even more resistant because of a defensive magical boost.
As I thought! You must focus on the cockpits! shouted Scootaloo.
Before he could do so, the Egg Dragoon teleported away. Cursing, Infinite sent Phantom Cubes toward the mecha, getting more serious as the mecha began to use magic to create and gather storm clouds, the clouds firing lightning bolts at him while partially masking what Egg Dragoon was doing. At least, some of the cubes hit the mecha, trapping it in a reality where laser cannons fired at its cockpits, but the protective shield around it revealed to be extremely resistant too.
As Eggman cackled at this, Infinite cursed again. "This will be a long battle."
Leave the clouds to me! I know how to get rid of them!
So Infinite let Scootaloo taking control of their body, the filly getting rid of the mask (still not used to it). While the change happened, a lightning bolt hit her, but she quickly recovered and avoided the many other lightning bolts while approaching the clouds. Partially masked by the clouds, the Egg Dragoon began to use its feet to fire ice waves at her while firing magical arrows from the protrusions beside the lower cockpit.
Scootaloo had to teleport a lot to avoid them while she kicked the clouds, destroying them. Once enough clouds were destroyed, she sent Phantom Cubes at the Egg Dragoon only for it to teleport. She knew it would happen, so she sent cubes in all directions, and some of them hit the mecha as it reappeared. It was then sent to a reality where it was surrounded by a very dense fog, and Eggman couldn't see Scootaloo coming as she charged at the lower cockpit and rammed it, followed by replicas of her doing the same. In total, the cockpit was hit five times at a speed superior to sound, and yet, the surrounding shield still resisted as the Egg Dragoon returned to the normal reality.
Then, the Egg Dragoon's wings quadrupled in size, the blue energy becoming magical energy, and it charged toward Scootaloo. She flew up to avoid it, only for the Egg Dragoon to teleport, and it appeared just above her. Not prepared for this, it rammed her with one of the wings. However, she still managed to grab the wing, and she threw the mecha to the ground. Despite the wings being disembodied, they still seemed attached to the main body by some force.
The mecha teleported back, and Scootaloo let Infinite take control again as the Egg Dragoon did the magical beam rain while firing fireballs from the arm cannon and lightning bolts from the drill.
Twilight came out of the library as the airships reached the edge of the Everfree Forest and dropped hundreds of robots while firing at the buildings. In just a few seconds, Ponyville passed from a peaceful little town to Tartarus, buildings burning, ponies running left and right to find shelter or escape, and equestrian soldiers and robots guarding the town readying themselves for the oncoming enemy robots. As robots dropped directly on the streets, she attacked them, protecting the ponies.
Before long, she saw Tirek drop from one of the airships at the edge of the town, and as she advanced toward his position, she was joined one by one by her friends.
"Don't come with me!" she ordered. "Tirek is in this direction! You would be drained! Just continue to fight the robots and protect the ponies"
"Where's Scootaloo?!" asked Applejack.
Fluttershy pointed toward the Everfree Forest, where they could see Scootaloo, as Zero, battling a giant red dragon-like mecha. "Occupied..."
"Wait? She isn't fighting Discord? Then where is he?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she looked around.
"I found Discord!" shouted Pinkie as she pointed at a draconequus wearing a red and white striped shirt, a similar bobbled hat, blue jean, brown boots, round glasses, and a cane partially hidden in the chaos.
"D'oh! How did you find me so quickly?!" shouted Discord.
"Because you stood out too much!" answered Pinkie.
"YOU!!!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she charged toward Discord in rage.
Discord materialized a red cape that he put on the path of Rainbow, and moved it at the last second while moving to the side with an "Ole!" Rainbow found herself entering a cannon, and Discord appeared behind it disguised as an officer, holding the rope of the cannon. "Fire!" He pulled on the rope, making the cannon fire Rainbow Dash right back at the ponies.
She was caught in Twilight's magic before she could ram anything or anypony.
"Are you alright, Rainbow?" asked the alicorn.
Rainbow Dash sighed in relief. "Yes, thanks."
The ponies then turned back toward Discord, glaring at him in anger.
"Ooh. We could cut the tension," said the draconequus.
"And I think you know perfectly why," said Twilight.
"Hey! It's not my fault that I betrayed you, it's your fault!"
"Say that again?! How can it be our fault?! Ya betrayed us!" yelled Applejack.
"Because I'm the Spirit of Chaos. I don't know if you remember. Chaos is in my nature. It's part of me. And yet, you who wanted me to become your friend, you hated it. Each time that I used it, it annoyed you! You refused it!"
"I... didn't mind it... as long as it didn't do any harm..." said Fluttershy.
Discord looked visibly guilty for a second and quickly turned his head to not face her. "You were the only one with Pinkie. And even then, I felt very... limited."
"It's part of being friends," Said Twilight. "You have to control yourself to not hurt the ponies around you, and it means imposing some limits."
"And yet, despite me imposing myself those limits, outside of Fluttershy and Pinkie, none of you accepted me."
"You weren't helping too, like when you faked this sickness and spread it to the entire town," Said Rarity.
"I was still learning! Okay? A Thousand years of being me doesn't go away in a few days. I was new to that friendship stuff. And again, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but mainly Fluttershy, were the only ones who supported me."
"Then why?" asked Fluttershy.
"Like I said... I felt too restricted, even by you. When Tirek told me that he would become my friend and leave me to do all the chaos I want, giving back the freedom I lost among you, I couldn't refuse." Discord showed them the medallion around his neck. "He even trusted me enough to give me this medaillon that was given to him by his own brother."
"So... You didn't like the time we passed together?" asked Fluttershy as her expression became somber.
"I... liked it... But..."
"Is it worth it? Is your chaos worth all that suffering that your new 'friends' are spreading?" she asked as she advanced. "The animals imprisoned and used to power the robots? The ponies hurt? Captured and enslaved? Drained of their magic? Becoming miserable?"
"Fluttershy?" called Twilight.
Hearing her, Fluttershy turned her head toward her, showing her tear-stained face, her anger, her pain...
"You... want to have a 'talk' with Discord, right?" asked the lavender mare. "Then take this." She gave Fluttershy a pouch. "You will probably need it." She then looked at Discord. "What you said about us was right. We were... too hard on you. I'm sorry... for failing you."
Fluttershy looked at what was inside the pouch, and her eyes widened. Understanding what was in it, she nodded at Twilight in thanks and advanced again toward Discord.
"What did you give her?" asked Rainbow.
Twilight smirked at her. "The result of my research."
"Mmh... I don't know what you have in mind, but..." Discord snapped his fingers, and the ponies were all trapped in cages, without horns or wings. "You will all come with me. You caused too many problems to Eggman and Tirek."
Fluttershy dropped the content of the bag on her hoof, revealing what was inside to be a magenta icosahedron ruby with black ripple patterns along its surface, small enough to fit on her hoof.
Then, with a familiar sound, space distorted, and suddenly, the cages were erased, and the wings and horns returned on everypony. Actually, a horn also appeared on Fluttershy's forehead.
Discord's jaw dropped, and his eyes popped out of their sockets.
The same for the ponies, less literally, excepted for Twilight who bounced in joy, shouting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Twilight then stopped and looked at her friends. "Let's go. Fluttershy can deal with Discord. I'll stop Tirek while you go destroy the robots. Explanations later!" she finished just as her friends were about to ask something. "Oh! Right! Fluttershy! Watch out what you do with this ruby! Its energy is limited, and slowly recharges with time! So avoid using too much of its powers at once!"
"Understood," replied Fluttershy as she glared at Discord.
Twilight nodded, "Let's go," she told her friends before she flew toward Tirek. The other ponies nodded and separated to fight the robots.
When they were gone, Fluttershy began to talk. "Discord... I'm sorry for what I'm about to do... But you leave me no choice... I must save everyone." She looked at him sadly. "Maybe I can even save you..."
Discord shook his head, recovering from his surprise, and said, "Save me? I don't need to be saved!"
"That's what you think..."
Discord looked at Fluttershy, then closed his eyes and lowered his head in sadness.
DISCORD
He then readied his claw to snap.
Rainbow didn't go far before a familiar hedgehog robot appeared in front of her, stopping her.
"Oh? You want more?" asked Rainbow Dash.
Metal Sonic readied himself.
"Very well. Time for me to kick your shiny metal butt for the second time."
"WAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIT!!!" a yell suddenly interrupted them. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie came out of nowhere, flying on the back of one of those Eggman-looking robots, and jumped down, leaving the robot to crash into a building. "You already had your boss fight, Dashie! My turn!"
"What? Uh... Are you sure? This robot is very strong and fast and... Right. That's you. Alright, have your fun!" She turned back to Metal Sonic. "Sorry buddy! Maybe next time!" At this, she flew to the nearest robot.
Metal Sonic was beginning to follow her, only to be tripped by one of Pinkie's hooves, making it faceplant on the ground. "Oops. Silly hoof getting in the way," said Pinkie with an innocent smile.
Metal Sonic made a sound like growling and got up to face the pink pony.
METAL SONIC
Spreading its arms, hands open facing up, it then created two magical balls.
"Hey! You got magical powers! So cool!"
Metal Sonic threw the balls at her.
Twilight reached Tirek, the centaur draining two Royal Guards at once while destroying an equestrian robot. He had changed a little since last time. He had almost doubled in size, his horns were much longer, and his skin had turned from red to magenta.
As Tirek spotted her, Twilight gulped.
TIREK
If only she had created a second stable Phantom Ruby Prototype... |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 15: Ponyville Part 2 | Infinite moved between ice blasts fired by the ice cannons of the feet of the Egg Dragoon as he approached the mecha. He readied his sword to pierce the shield around the cockpit of the head, only for the arms of the Egg Dragoon to suddenly transform into two giant blocks threatening to flatten him. Infinite quickly teleported, appearing behind the cockpit. He thrusted his sword, only to be parried by the tail of the mecha. However, he charged energy in his left hand and fired an energy blast at the cockpit, but the mecha teleported away and immediately used magic to fire from its arm cannon a dragon made of fire that flew toward the jackal. Infinite teleported to attack the Egg Dragoon again with his sword, only to be parried by the drill before the mecha teleported again. Infinite immediately followed it with a teleportation, and the two clashed, teleported, and clashed again a few times. Suddenly, as the two clashed, a second Infinite came from above, three times bigger than usual, and hit the shield around the cockpit with his sword, revealing the first Infinite to be a replica who disappeared afterward. Infinite hit the Egg Dragoon with such force that the mecha was sent crashing into the forest in the blink of an eye.
By the time the Egg Dragoon came back, Scootaloo had taken Infinite's place and used her power to create a huge storm. She then rapidly flew around the Egg Dragoon, trapping it in a tornado that made it spin, getting Eggman confused. Then, Scootaloo disappeared, and charged through the cloud coated in electricity before hitting the cockpit with the power of 1000 lightning bolts, and the Egg Dragoon crashed again in the forest with the filly. Finally, the shield around the cockpit was destroyed, but before Scootaloo could do anything, the Egg Dragoon's drill turned into a hand and grabbed her before throwing her to the air, and it immediately fired a fire dragon that hit her, badly burning her. The Egg Dragoon then teleported among the clouds and destroyed them with a shockwave that Scootaloo avoided with a teleportation.
Scootaloo appeared in front of the Egg Dragoon, far enough to think of her next action to attack the now vulnerable cockpit, only to discover that the Egg Dragoon was now missing its lower part, and Eggman wasn't in the head cockpit. Suddenly, she was slapped from behind and sent flying toward the upper body of the Egg Dragoon who prepared its drill. She quickly let Infinite take control, and the jackal parried the drill only to be hit at the same time from behind by an icy projectile, freezing him. The arm cannon was then about to smash him, but Infinite broke the ice covering him, and he caught the arm cannon in his other hand, stopping it with difficulty thanks to his strength boosted by the Phantom Ruby. He then threw the upper body behind him, right towards the lower body, only for it to teleport. While the upper body recovered, the lower body teleported at the opposite side, and Infinite looked back and forth between the two of them, spotting Eggman in the cockpit of the lower body laughing maniacally.
It can separate in two?! shouted Scootaloo.
Not answering, Infinite created hundreds of Phantom Cubes and sent them at both parts of the Egg Dragoon.
Metal Sonic was throwing magical balls after magical balls at Pinkie Pie, but the pink pony was constantly bouncing around seemingly randomly, somehow avoiding all the projectiles with her eyes closed! Quickly having enough of this joke, Metal Sonic charged at her, claws ready, only for Pinkie to sidestep in the blink of an eye, only leaving a hoof to trip the robot, again.
When it got up, Metal Sonic turned to face her, only to see that she had vanished. It turned to search her, but it saw her nowhere. As it thought that Pinkie ran away, it was suddenly bumped two times on the back of its head.
"I'm behind you!"
Metal Sonic immediately turned around, swinging its claw to attack her, only for her to duck. When it looked down, however, she wasn't there anymore! It was then bonked from behind by a squeaky hammer, sending it to slide face first on the ground.
"I told you I was behind you!" shouted Pinkie, using her squeaky hammer as a cane.
Metal Sonic stared at her. Where did that hammer come from? No matter! It got up and charged back at her, only for her to sidestep and trip it for the third time. This time, however, it was smashed by the hammer. Metal Sonic used its magic to grab the hammer and force it out of Pinkie's hooves. It then got up and crushed the hammer in its claws.
"Hey! That's not nice! I liked this hammer!" She took another hammer out of her mane. "You're lucky I have more of them!"
Metal Sonic twitched before teleporting. Pinkie ducked just as it appeared behind her, avoiding its claw, then grabbed said claw with her tail and slammed Metal Sonic with it before crushing it with her hammer. Metal Sonic quickly teleported and reappeared further before it jumped, curled into a ball, and dashed toward Pinkie Pie, only for her to hit it with her hammer, sending it crashing into a building.
Pinkie quickly used her mane to dig a tunnel just before Metal Sonic came from above and smashed the space where she had been the previous second. Metal Sonic then turned its arm into a cannon and fired a powerful magical beam in the tunnel, hoping to get the pink pony this way. It didn't work, because Pinkie partially came out of the ground beside it, waving at it with a big smile. She ducked back in the tunnel, avoiding another magical beam, and came out elsewhere, only to immediately duck back in the tunnel to avoid another beam. Pinkie then came in and out of tunnels all around Metal Sonic, and the robot eventually roared and rapidly fired dozens of beams one after another at the pink pony each time she came out of the ground, but she was so fast that she avoided all of them. And yet, he was fast! Metal Sonic eventually decided to just charge a powerful explosive ball and to throw it in one of the tunnels. The blast spread to all the tunnels, and it sent Pinkie flying out of one of the tunnel. Metal Sonic quickly charged toward her and rammed her, sending her crashing into a building, causing a cloud of dust to rise.
Metal Sonic flew after her, only to be blasted by a cannon, ending up buried in a pile of dough. Pinkie then kicked her party cannon now on wheels to make it advance toward the pile of dough, and she jumped on it. When Metal Sonic came out of the dough, she grabbed its leg with her tail and put it in her cannon. She then targeted an airship just above them and fired, sending Metal Sonic crashing into the airship, apparently hitting something important because it caused a big explosion that sent the ship crashing on another beside it, and both ships dropped on some houses at the outskirt of Ponyville.
Then, a house beside Pinkie blew up partially because of a laser fired by one of the airships, and Pinkie quickly put a hoof to cover her eyes before she looked at what remained of the house.She then looked around, and climbed on a roof not burning yet, seeing that most Ponyville was now in the same state. The town had become a giant inferno, and the airships were continuing to rain lasers everywhere, destroying what hadn't been destroyed yet. In the distance, she could see Twilight fighting Tirek, avoiding his beams again and again, and not far, space distorted, the sign of a Phantom Ruby being used. Far in the forest, Scootaloo was still busy fighting the red mecha, now separated in two. Scootaloo levitated a tree and slammed it against one of the parts. Everywhere, she could hear the sound of battles between the equestrians and Eggman's robots, with explosions, and screams... and ponies dying...
Not far of her position, she spotted Berry Pinch beside her mother, Berry Punch, who was partially buried under a pile of remains of one of the destroyed houses, and she immediately went to help them. The filly was shaking her mother, trying to wake her, when she saw her coming. Rapidly, she moved the pieces of the house trapping the mare, freeing her, and she shook her too.
However, she quickly understood that Berry Punch will never wake up again...
And things like that were probably happening a little everywhere, friends dying... killed by those metallic monsters, and their creator.
As her expression became somber, tears streaming on her cheeks, she suddenly moved her head to the side, avoiding Metal Sonic's hand that was about to pierce her head. Her mane becoming flat, she then grabbed the arm and kicked the robot away, tearing the arm off it. She then signed Berry Pinch to hide somewhere before she fully turned to face Metal Sonic, now very damaged. Beside its now missing arm, many pieces making up its 'skin' were now destroyed, leaving its inner circuits for everyone to see, including one of its eyes. A part of the back of its head was also missing, and electricity was constantly coursing through the robot. Pinkie then approached the corpse of an equestrian soldier lying not far and took his weapon, one of the newly made magical guns, designed after Eggman's own weapons from his robots with some modifications.
The truth was that Pinkie was trying to hide from reality behind jokes and her usual pinkieness, but she couldn't hide anymore. Her town was attacked and being destroyed, friends were being hurt, or killed. It wasn't time for jokes anymore.
She fired at Metal Sonic, a small magical blast coming out of her gun, but Metal Sonic created a shield and protected itself. When the shield disappeared, it then fired its own magical beams at Pinkie. The mare grabbed her gun with her tail, then took her hammer from... somewhere, and avoided or parried all the beams while approaching the robot. Again, Metal Sonic created a shield to protect itself from Pinkie's hammer, which wasn't a squeaky hammer anymore, and surrounded itself in an electric forcefield that forced Pinkie to jump away. The mare then jumped again to avoid electricity coming from the forcefield and sweeping the ground until the forcefield disappeared, leaving Metal Sonic vulnerable. Pinkie took her chance and hit Metal Sonic with her hammer, sending it in the air. She then jumped after it and smashed it with her hammer, and Metal Sonic crashed. As Metal Sonic got up, Pinkie then placed the barrel of the gun in front of its face and fired.
Metal Sonic took a few steps back from the hit, missing a few more pieces, but quickly recovered and turned its remaining arm into a gatling gun. However, as it was about to fire at her, Pinkie slapped the arm away and fired again with her gun. Metal Sonic levitated chunks of ground to protect itself from the magic blast, and sent the chunks at Pinkie, hitting her with them before it fired its gun. Pinkie however dropped her hammer and grabbed two chunks of ground, then used them as shields, moving them rapidly to intercept all of the gun's bullets. When Metal Sonic stopped firing, Pinkie threw the two chunks of ground at it, and while it recovered from them hitting its face, she grabbed its remaining arm and teared it off.
Growling, Metal Sonic levitated its arm (still in gatling mode but not working anymore) as well as the other back at it, and attacked Pinkie with them, using the gatling arm like a bat and trying to claw her with the other, but Pinkie used both hammer and gun to protect herself against the onslaught. So Metal Sonic fired all kinds of magical projectiles, but Pinkie either avoided them or used her hammer to deflect them. All the while, Metal Sonic stepped back as Pinkie tried to hit it with her hammer, and it avoided the magical blasts from her guns, but eventually, Metal Sonic flew away, only for Pinkie to fire at its jetpack, making it crash.
Before it could get up, Pinkie put a hoof on its back, placed the barrel of her gun against the back of its head, targeting the missing part, and fired, and fired, and fired.
Metal Sonic stopped moving.
Sighing, Pinkie looked around, seeing Berry Pinch coming out of her hiding place and approaching her mother again. As she shook her mother again, Pinkie went to her and placed a hoof on her back, gaining her attention, before hugging her.
"I'm sorry..." She then placed Berry Pinch on her back. "Come on. We must find a shelter for you."
"But, and mommy?"
Pinkie said nothing. The filly seemingly understood, as she looked at her mother, and started crying. Actually, she probably understood before, but refused to believe it. Like Pinkie, who refused to believe that her happy world was disappearing in flame.
With Berry Pinch crying on her back, Pinkie advanced, gun ready to fire at any Eggman robots showing their face.
Discord snapped his fingers, and dozens of chains appeared to immobilize Fluttershy. But she easily destroyed them with the Phantom Ruby in her possession. Another snap, and Fluttershy's hooves were stuck in stone, but the stone broke. Another snap, and Fluttershy was trapped in a giant snow globe, but it broke too. Another snap, and a giant cake fell on her, only for the cake to disappear and reappear above Discord, falling on him before disappearing again.
"Discord! Stop this!"
"I can't! I can't let Tirek down!"
"What about me?"
At her question, Discord closed his eyes and snapped again, and Fluttershy was suddenly a rabbit. But again, with the help of her Phantom Ruby, she turned back to her alicorn self in just one second.
"You are having second thoughts," she said.
"Ah! As if!"
"Then why aren't you attacking me? Why are you only trying to stop me?"
"Erh..."
"You don't want... I don't want too..." Fluttershy looked around at what was happening, then at her Phantom Ruby, then at Discord. "But I must. If you still want to help Eggman and Tirek, if you still want to stop us from fighting back and defeat them, then I have no choice." She gave him a pleading look. "So, please, stop."
"I... can't..."
Fluttershy sighed. "Then..." She activated the Phantom Ruby, and Discord was sent to a reality where he was vulnerable. Discord quickly acted and snapped his fingers, creating a spear of energy that flew toward the ruby to destroy it. However, Fluttershy jumped to the side, avoiding the spear, and placed the ruby in a necklace that she created. She then turned into a lion and ran toward Discord. The draconequus teleported away and snapped his fingers, and dozens of spikes came out of the ground randomly, but Fluttershy turned into an eagle and flew up to avoid the spikes. Discord then created a strong wind to force her back toward the ground, but she teleported. The next thing Discord knew, a gigantic snake wrapped itself around him and constricted him.
Discord, however, made himself a new arm and grabbed the snake by the neck before doing a knot with her body. But the snake then turned into a bear and slapped him. Just as he was sent flying, the bear, Fluttershy, grabbed his tail and slammed him on a stone appearing right on the way. She then materialized a boulder in her paws and smashed it on him. Fluttershy then turned back into an alicorn, levitated Discord, and Stared at him, crying.
"Please, Discord! Give up! It hurts me as much as it hurts you! You aren't even really fighting! You could go hoof to hoof against Scootaloo! You don't want this!"
Discord freed himself from the Stare and from the levitation, teleported back, and with a determined expression, rained hundreds of energy balls all over the area around Fluttershy. However, when the rain stopped, almost none of the balls reached her, and the few that did were easily avoided. Because of this, the whole area was destroyed except Fluttershy's position.
"See?" she said.
With a snap of his fingers, the ground turned into ice, and Fluttershy slipped, taken by surprise. Discord then teleported and appeared in Rainbow Dash's position, in the sky above Ponyville. The mare was destroying many flying robots by herself, including dozens of Mecha Alicorns, with her speed, before Discord decided to stop her.
"Woah! What are you doing there? I thought Flutters was dealing with you!" she shouted in surprise when she saw him.
As if his fight with Fluttershy never happened, he answered, "Oh, you know, I just-" only to be suddenly slapped by an ursa major, sending him crashing miles away like a meteor. Then, the ursa opened her mouth and gathered energy in it before firing a powerful beam in the direction Discord crashed, causing a huge explosion in the distance.
Rainbow Dash yelled in panic at seeing an ursa major in Ponyville, but to her surprise, the ursa turned to her with a gentle look and began to talk. "It's okay Rainbow, it's me." Recognizing Fluttershy's voice, Rainbow's jaw dropped. The ursa then disappeared, leaving in her place Fluttershy back to a simple pegasus. She looked at the Phantom Ruby in her necklace, frowning. "I used a lot of energy because of this..." She looked at the airships. "That's sad. I could have used this form to destroy some of those airships." She looked back at Rainbow, seeing that she was still staring at her with her jaw dropped. "What?"
"YOU TRANSFORMED INTO AN URSA MAJOR!!! THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!!"
Fluttershy blushed and looked away, hiding her face behind her mane. "It... It was nothing..."
Before they could say more, robots fired at them.
"It was not nothing! I would like to talk more about this, but we should deal with those guys first! Come on!"
"I will attack the airships," said Fluttershy.
They both nodded and went to attack.
Despite a brief interruption because of the shock of seeing an ursa major suddenly appear in the middle of Ponyville, slapping something, and firing a laser before disappearing, the fight between Twilight and Tirek was a really brutal one, as somepony could judge by the state of the surrounding area. Nothing remained, not even rubbles!
Twilight jumped left, and left, and left again to avoid a succession of beams fired by Tirek, and fired back, only for the centaur to protect himself with a shield. He then caught Twilight in his magic and slammed her at the ground, but she teleported and fired another beam, this one hitting Tirek directly on the head. But the centaur was now so powerful that he just flinched in pain a couple of seconds before he recovered, and fired dozens of magical beams in all directions, only for the beams to home in Twilight, trapping her. Again, she teleported, but Tirek teleported too, punched her, and quickly fired another beam after her. After crashing because of the punch, Twilight couldn't avoid in time the beam and was not only hit but also propelled in the air by the explosion it caused.
Despite this, Twilight quickly recovered and faced Tirek, panting. The fight was too uneven; it was clear from the start. In their previous encounter, they were tied, but now, Tirek had gained in power again, and so in strength and resistance too. Twilight still managed to land a lot of hits compared to him, but they were mere slaps compared to his attacks that were more effective. As a result, she was now hurting all over her body, almost drained of her magic and energy, while Tirek was in much better shape. He was also hurt and breathing strongly, but it wasn't as bad as the alicorn.
In the distance, Fluttershy saw this.
Twilight used her magic to cover the area in a cloud of dust, blinding both her and Tirek. The centaur quickly blew the cloud away, only to see that Twilight wasn't there anymore. He looked around, even up in the sky in case she flew, but she was nowhere to be seen. But then, he was hit in the belly by something powerful enough to propel him a few feet in the sky before he dropped back, and he saw that it was a giant beam fired by Twilight who had been between his legs. This one really hurt.
Tirek got up and slammed a hoof, creating a shockwave that forced Twilight to fly, and he followed it by beams that the mare avoided with more or less difficulty while firing back. Tirek eventually caught Twilight in his magic and made her approach him, ready to punch her. Twilight teleported, avoiding the punch, and appeared in front of his eyes before she flashed her horn, blinding him. She then fired a point-blank charged beam before teleporting away. Growling, Tirek levitated dozens of chunks of ground, but before he could throw them at Twilight, something rainbow-colored of unimaginable speed rammed him in a huge rainbow explosion.
Twilight looked in surprise as Rainbow Dash came out of the rainbow explosion. "Rainbow?! What are you- Are you an alicorn?!"
"Yup!" shouted Rainbow Dash, proudly rubbing her new horn only to wince. "Wow. It's more sensitive than I thought."
While she talked, Tirek recovered, bleeding from the head and growling in rage, only for something to strongly hit one of his front leg, making him fall. Pinkie, now also an alicorn and still flat-maned, jumped in front of him and hit him in the face with her hammer, sending him flying a few feet away right toward Applejack, who was also an alicorn. As Tirek fell toward her, she bucked him on the head, sending him flying again. While in the air, Rarity, an alicorn too, came followed by hundreds of gems floating in her magic, and she fired them at the centaur, leaving him no chance. As he crashed and got up, Fluttershy appeared, and with the Phantom Ruby still in her possession, created dozens of ferocious animals that charged at Tirek to attack him. There was even an elephant who charged him!
Twilight looked in awe. "Girls! What...?"
Rainbow Dash answered her. "Fluttershy saw that you had problems against Tirek, so she warned us, and used what you gave her to turn us into alicorns so Tirek couldn't drain our magic! Oh, don't worry about Discord. Fluttershy took care of him."
"And I took care of Metal Sonic," said Pinkie Pie as she approached.
When she saw her, Twilight got worried. "What happened, Pinkie? Are you alright?"
"No..." answered Pinkie with a sigh, tears in her eyes.
Before she could say more, Tirek roared, sending the replica animals flying with a powerful shockwave. The six ponies immediately went to surround him. Seeing that Applejack was the closest, Tirek tried to punch her, but she avoided the punch and climbed the arm before kicking his head while Rarity fired her gems at him, not stopping. Already having enough of her gems, Tirek fired a beam at her, only for Fluttershy to use the ruby to raise a part of the ground and to use it to shield Rarity. Tirek was then rammed in the head by Rainbow before he took a beam from Twilight. Pinkie Pie then teleported behind his head and fired her gun.
In this onslaught, Tirek roared again and fired electricity from his horns, the electricity spreading into several arcs that swept across the area randomly, forcing all the ponies to move to avoid them while Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie continued to fire at him with magical beams, gems, and gun. Fluttershy eventually charged at Tirek and rammed him in the belly, sending him crashing many feet further. He got up again only for Rainbow to force him back on the ground with a charge from behind, and Applejack hit him many times on the head. Tirek slapped her before getting up, also slapping Rainbow, who was charging at him again.
But then, he was hit by a large and powerful magical beam that caused an explosion that badly burned him while also sending him crashing again. When he looked at the origin, he saw Celestia approaching while an army of equestrian robots led by Luna came and began destroying Eggman's army. For the first time, a new equestrian airship also came attacking enemy airships. A magical shield surrounded it, protecting it. It wouldn't be enough against the many enemy airships remaining, but they were already busy fighting back the hundreds of equestrian robots overwhelming them.
Tirek teleported away, and the ponies cheered. Their cheer didn't last long however, they quickly separated to destroy the remaining enemy robots, Twilight and Celestia moving toward Eggman still fighting Scootaloo.
Scootaloo flew rapidly to avoid a storm of fiery projectiles from the arm-cannon of the Egg Dragoon's upper body, then spun while moving to the right to avoid an icy wave from the ice cannons of the lower body. She eventually flew right between the two parts of the Egg Dragoon and caused them to fire at each other, and she used the occasion to materialize bombs above them. Some bombs hit, but she had to teleport to avoid a tree levitated and thrown toward her. She then appeared above the upper body a ball of electricity in her hand, and she was finally able to pierce the head cockpit with it. The electricity spread to the whole body part, damaging it to the point that it began to explode while dropping toward the forest below.
"What?! That's impossible!" yelled Eggman from the cockpit of the lower body. The lower body was also rather damaged, the cockpit had lost its shield, and there were some cracks.
Scootaloo used his shock to teleport behind the lower body and grabbed the tail. She spun, and threw the body part before teleporting on its way and prepared to punch the cockpit, only for the body part to spin, avoiding the attack. But before Eggman could do anything, Scootaloo fired a beam that homed in the cockpit, but Eggman used the tail to stop it.
"Eggman!" suddenly yelled a familiar voice from the forest, gaining the attention of the two fighters. Looking down, they saw that it was Tirek, very injured. "We must go!" he shouted before teleporting away.
Eggman looked toward Ponyville and saw his army being destroyed, as well as Twilight and Celestia approaching. "What?! We lost?! How could we lose?! What happened to Discord?!" Growling, he then said to Scootaloo, "You somehow win this battle, but you will not win this war! In a few weeks, this world will be mine!"
Then he teleported just as Scootaloo fired a beam. As Twilight and Celestia joined her, she cursed.
"He escaped again!"
"At least you defeated him," said Twilight. "Now let's return to Ponyville and help the others finish what remains of Eggman's robots."
Scootaloo sighed and nodded before they returned to Ponyville, Eggman's airships dropping one after another.
Meanwhile, all over the frontline now assaulted by Eggman's troops, reinforcements came to help the ponies and changelings. All the ally troops that came to Equestria, griffons, zebras, yaks, and so on, joined forces to help stop the advance of Eggman's troops and avoid that the two outposts fell. Baltimare was saved from destruction by dragons, storm airships came to fight Eggman's troops above the desert of Appleloosa, and Chrysalis herself came to help the outpost South of Rockville.
Now, they had to act quickly, or they won't resist long against the endless assault of the robots. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 16: Aftermath | They won the battle of Ponyville.
But at what price?
Almost nothing remained of the town but ruins. The townhall, Sugarcube Corner, the Golden Oak Library... Even Sweet Apple Acre got ravaged. Almost no apple trees survived. Ponyville was absolutely destroyed.
But it wasn't the worst part.
They installed tents beside the ruins to shelter the now homeless inhabitants. Celestia promised them all the help of the crown to rebuild the town as rapidly as possible. Until then, if they can't find family or friends to receive them, Celestia will ask hotels to welcome them freely. The princess of the Sun then had to return to Canterlot to continue her talk with the leaders of the other races. Thankfully, this drama seemingly opened their eyes, so they should now be able to work together. They already sent their armies to help at the frontline. Luna also went to help in the jungle beside Dodge Outpost, to keep the captured base in it.
But among the tents, there was one tent.
A tent full of covered, aligned bodies of ponies who didn't survive the attack.
The robots didn't target the civilians, but in the blind destruction they caused, especially the airships, there were many collateral victims.
Scootaloo, in her normal pegasus appearance, entered the tent, and gave an once-over, looking at the bodies, and at the ponies still alive surrounding them, mourning. It was the first time she entered the tent because, as Zero, she had to heal the injured, and there had been many. So she discovered the full extend of the horror that happened. The dead. And to think that the majority of those deaths were ponies she saw regularly when she moved around on her scooter. Her heart hurt.
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were walking among the mourning ponies, trying to comfort them. Pinkie wasn't even bouncing or talking excitedly. She was just walking from one group of ponies to another group of ponies, hugging them, talking calmly to them, and just being there for them. It was so surreal to see the pink mare so calm, but it was just a different way to bring back smiles when joking and being goofy would be too much. She remained a lot beside Berry Pinch, the poor filly having lost her only family, her mother, in the attack. Sadly, a few other fillies and colts lost somepony dear to them, and a few more became orphans like Berry Pinch.
She wanted to go and hug all of them, but she couldn't bear to remain in this tent, so she left, and once she was sure nopony looked at her, she teleported on a cloud above the ruins of the town, and she sat on it, looking emotionlessly at what remained.
"What do you think, Infinite? Do you like it? This is the kind of thing you dreamed."
Honestly, yes. I like it. I wasn't expecting less of Eggman. He's good. This is why I allied myself to him, or the other him, in the first place. If this one wasn't trying to use me as a power source, I would gladly join him. I would even put up with Discord if I had to.
Scootaloo frowned. "I thought so..." She sighed. "You really are a broken guy. But I don't care what you think. As long as you continue to help me to stop Eggman and his allies, it won't matter."
But once we're done with Eggman, our alliance is over. Remember this.
"Yeah, yeah. But remember what I said. Stop clinging to your past. You are seeing the world through new eyes, mines, so why don't you try to learn from this new experience and change? Like, learning what it's like to be loved. I know you aren't directly the one receiving the love when I'm hugged and all, but it should give you an idea."
I learned that love is nothing to me. I don't care about it.
Scootaloo groaned. "Such a stubborn idiot... You have some of my memories, right?"
I ignore them.
"Well, don't! I don't know what memories you got from me, but you shouldn't ignore them! I'm sure you will learn what it feels like to be loved from at least one of them!" She then thought of something. "Wait a minute. You can't ignore them. If it was like what happened to me, then you lived those memories. You already know what it's like to be loved. Are you ignoring it because you refuse to give up your 'all dark and mighty' act? Unless..." She raised an eyebrow. "Unless this is the actual reason you helped me all this time. You actually started to care, but you were too proud to show it and you gave those stupid excuses to keep up your act... and maybe even to convince yourself that you still don't care. And before you say anything, I know what it's like to be too prideful to admit something. Me and Rainbow Dash often have this problem. And I know you have a LOT of pride, so I know you will probably never admit it. But hey!" She smiled. "If you really care, then thanks for caring! That's nice of you!" ...
"Hello?" ...
"The silent treatment again?"
I saw the memory of where Rainbow Dash became your surrogate sister... Infinite said. And the one where you formed your club with your two friends...
"How did they feel?" ...
"Understood. Don't worry, it will be our little secret."
"Scootaloo!"
Scootaloo looked at the direction of the voice and saw Rainbow Dash approaching. Smiling, she waved at her. "Hey!"
Rainbow Dash landed on the cloud. "Hey. I searched you everywhere."
"Sorry. I was having a little talk with..." She chuckled. "My soulmate."
In her head, she heard Infinite sputtering, and she fell in laughter.
Rainbow Dash had a bewildered expression for a few seconds, then she understood. "Oh! Because you two share the same body so... Pfff... Bwahahahahaha! But wait, shouldn't it be 'bodymate' or something like that?"
"It would have been less funny."
Rainbow laughed again. "Good point. Anyway, we received a message from Princess Celestia. She and the other leaders finally decided on a plan, and frankly it was so obvious that I wonder why they took so long to decide. But it will take a few days for it to start, so we will need your help in the frontline."
"Ok. What's the plan?"
Meanwhile, in some room, somewhere.
"I don't believe it! How could we lose?!" Eggman yelled. He pointed at Tirek and Discord. They were both healed now, thanks to the draconequus. "Scootaloo was busy fighting me! You could have easily defeated the ponies! Especially you Discord! What happened?!"
"An unexpected development," Discord answered. "But really, coming from Twilight, I shouldn't be surprised. She somehow managed to make a copy of the Phantom Ruby."
Tirek looked at him. "So it really was what it was," He said. "This explains everything." He looked back at the doc. "The Element Bearers used it to turn themselves into alicorns. I was no match against all of them at once. This also probably explains the ursa major suddenly appearing and disappearing in the middle of the town."
"Yeah... It was Fluttershy giving me the biggest slap of history. I still feel it. She was probably waiting to give me one after I betrayed her."
Eggman was pulling his mustaches by now. "You're telling me they can now copy the ruby?! This is the worst scenario for us! If they produce more of them, we won't stand a chance!"
"I can try to stop the production," Discord said before he took a top hat, put his claw in it, then pulled Twilight out of the hat. However, she had now a necklace with a Phantom Ruby around her neck. Seeing this, and seeing her expression turning from shock to rage, Discord yelped and put Twilight back in the hat. "This is getting out of hand! Now there are two of them!"
"Why didn't you do that before?!" Eggman yelled.
"Because I thought it would have been too boring to win this way."
Eggman facepalmed.
"So what now?" Tirek asked.
"I will speed up the construction of the Death Egg. Meanwhile, we will return to the frontline as much as we can to slow the equestrians and their allies. We must keep them away from the Death Egg until it's launched!"
The three villains did as Eggman said. For the following days, they went to the frontline, were forced to retreat, only to return a few hours later recovered. Thousands of robots and dozens of airships were constantly coming from all over the occupied territories to continue the fights without stopping.
On the Alliance side, they didn't have a constant supply of troops despite the robot factories working at 200%, but the presence of the princesses, Chrysalis, the Element Bearers, Shining Armor, and Scootaloo/Zero almost always made up for it, especially with the addition of the Phantom Ruby Copies. Now that Twilight had created some, scientists followed in her steps to continue her work (helped by her when she could) and produce more copies while searching for ways to make said copies as perfect as the original. Their production was slow, only one every few hours, but each added Copy was a tremendous boost for the Alliance.
The problem was that the Copies needed a way to recharge their energy. Twilight had at first created a generator in her basement lab under the Golden Oak Library, but it quickly revealed to not be enough to supply all the rubies. So Twilight was forced to build a bigger, more powerful generator somewhere safe but close enough of the frontline. In the end, they built a Phantom Generator in the two outposts, building the one in Dodge Outpost first for the future assault on the Egg Fortress in the Badlands.
But first, they were waiting for something else to happen.
And it happened.
South Luna Ocean, Nightmare Cliffs.
With most of Eggman's troops going to the frontline to fight the Alliance, there weren't many robots present on the Cliffs to witness the apparition in the horizon of an armada of flying battleships. They weren't as advanced as the ones from Eggman's army or the ones that the equestrians now used; they were just normal ships of various designs, with sails and oars, somehow floating in the air. And on those ships were zebras, minotaurs, and Saddle Arabians. The cause of the ships flying was revealed when some of them raised Phantom Ruby Copies, ready to use their mighty powers.
In the Celestial Sea, in the East Coast of the Bone Dry Desert, something similar was happening. An armada of Abyssinian ships and Storm Airships, followed by a small army of dragons with at their head the Dragon Lord Torch as well as a small army of hippogryphs and some changelings, appeared too, some of them possessing Phantom Ruby Copies.
In the West, as in the East, they didn't possess any Phantom Generators, but those rubies will certainly make Eggman turn pale before they run out of energy.
The last phase of the war, the attack, began. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 17: Egg Fortress Assault | "At least half of Eggman's robots left the frontline," reported Shining Armor as he entered the war room of Dodge Outpost, a large room with in its center a map of Equestria and the lands in the South. Around the map were Celestia, Chrysalis, Twilight, Cadance, Scootaloo (as Zero), Ember, and some chief officers from all the races part of the Alliance (excepted the yaks. They were all in the frontline smashing robots).
Celestia acknowledged him with a nod. "Thank you, Captain Armor. As we expected."
Scootaloo laughed. "After how Eggman left the frontline in panic, it's no surprise."
"Tirek left too," said Twilight. "Only Discord remains to cause us problems."
"But thanks to your Phantom Rubies, he's just a nuisance," Chrysalis said. "Now that there are fewer enemies facing us, it's time for us to push them back."
"Luna is already at it," Celestia said.
"But now, we must act quickly," Twilight said. "We gave the armies of West and East Phantom Rubies, but they don't have generators yet and it will take time to build one under the constant assault of the robots, Eggman, and Tirek. Their rubies will probably deplete before. We must help them."
"It shouldn't be a problem for you now," Ember said as she traced with a claw, a line from the captured base in the jungle passing through the Hayseed Swamps and finishing in the east coast of the Bone Dry Desert where the army of East accosted. "You fight your way through the swamps as rapidly as possible until reaching us. Same for the West through the forest here and the old territory of Arimaspi."
Celestia hummed and nodded. "And once it's done, we will link West and East by the South, circling Eggman's forces and making sure he won't be able to escape to the Iceberg Barrier. Luna will lead the assault to the West."
"And I will lead the one to the East through the swamps," said Chrysalis.
Celestia nodded again. "However, we will focus a big part of our army in a third assault..." She pointed south of Dodge Outpost. "To the Badlands, or what remains of it."
Everybody shivered when remembering what Eggman did to the Badlands since their failed assault.
"Yes. It's probably better to deal with this problem as quickly as possible," said Cadance.
"It's Eggman's main fortress from which comes a huge number of robots and airships. Destroying it, or capturing it, will greatly diminish the number of enemies the other two assaults will face," said Twilight. "And I suppose I will be the one leading the assault here with Shining Armor."
Scootaloo frowned. "We will also need a few dozens of your Phantom Rubies if we want to limit the deads in our side." She made circles around the Badlands with a finger. "Eggman turned the entire land into a fortress after all, who knows how many robots will defend it. Probably in the hundred of thousands. And let's not talk about the airships and whatever other defenses are in place."
"Of course. I already know how we will use them to pass the first wall without losing anyone," replied Twilight.
"Really? How?" asked Scootaloo.
"We will levitate the section of wall we will be facing and all the traps and defenses defending it, and we will throw them at the fortress. This will be costly on the rubies, but at least, we will be in the fortress, and the fortress will take some damage thank to that."
Not bad, said Infinite. And I have a little trick that should help after that.
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.
A few days later, not long after the beginning of the assaults to join the East and the West armies, hundreds of the newly made transport vehicles having working engine without needing anypony to pull them left Dodge Outpost, followed by some of the new equestrian airships. Already, in the distance, the drivers could see the wall surrounding the Egg Fortress.
Thanks to the changeling spies keeping an eye from the sky, they knew how bad the Egg Fortress now was. Where before, it was just a small fortress in the middle of the Badlands mostly hidden behind the rock formations, it now spread out the whole land. To be more exact, the whole Badlands were now the Egg Fortress. All the rock formations were destroyed to leave place to buildings and roads, not a single trace of anything natural remained. What constituted the original fortress, with the tower with Eggman's face on top, was still surrounded by the original wall.
Whether they destroyed the Egg Fortress or took it over, it will be a huge hit to Eggman. Without it, it will be much easier defeating what will remain. And if they could actually take it over, then it will be a huge boost for the Alliance's army, making this war even easier. But this will be a hard battle. Right now, Eggman and Tirek were busy pushing back the armies of East and West, but Discord was still around, and Metal Sonic still returned regularly. The fortress, covering the whole Badlands, was HUGE, a maze of buildings and roads, full of robots, airships, traps, and other dangers. The battle will probably last for hours, even with the Phantom Ruby Copies they were bringing.
In one of the transport vehicles, the Bearers and Scootaloo were gathered, mostly recovered from what happened at Ponyville, but Pinkie's mane, still a little droopy, showed that there were some scars. Twilight opened a bag and levitated from it six Phantom Rubies, each shaped exactly like the Elements of Harmony after the Bearers' Cutie Marks, so a star, a lightning bolt, a butterfly, an apple, a balloon, and a diamond. Each inserted in a necklace. Her friends looked at her in curiosity.
"More Phantom Rubies for us?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We all already have one now." She pointed at her necklace with a Phantom Ruby around her neck.
"I know, but these are special. After so much research, and with the help of the scientists, I was finally able to develop copies that are probably the closest from the original Phantom Ruby we can get. Those six rubies are the first six of the last generation of Phantom Ruby Copies, perfect ones. They are almost as powerful as the original, don't crumble if overused, and can be used by more than the first pony using them. The only default remaining compared to the original ruby is that they aren't self-recharging. We still need a Phantom Generator nearby and we must still try to not overdone using them. I don't think we will be able to create better copies than these."
"And we get to be the first ones to test them?!" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
Twilight gave every ruby to the respective ponies and asked, "You remember the plan?"
"Of course," Scootaloo answered. "We wait for the signal, we fly out of the vehicle, and we destroy the wall so the army can enter the fortress without suffering any losses."
Rarity nodded. "We will use the combined power of all the Phantom Rubies we brought to levitate the wall and any defense with it."
"And then we throw them at the fortress," Applejack finished.
"Easy peasy," Pinkie said.
"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You aren't forced to come."
Fluttershy took a big breath. "No. I'm okay. I'm just terrified, but I'm okay. I can do it. For our friends back in Ponyville."
"Princess Twilight!" the driver suddenly yelled. "It's time!"
"Ready, everypony?" Twilight asked.
They all nodded, gave a group hug, Scootaloo hugging Rainbow Dash, then opened the back door of the vehicle and, with the power of the rubies, flew out and flew in the wall's direction with a few dozens soldiers (mainly officers) including Shining Armor, leaving behind the army of vehicles that stopped for now, not wanting to get in range of the turrets or to risk rolling on a mine.
As the Phantom Ruby users approached the wall, thousands of robots were coming out, dozens of airships were taking off from behind, and the hundreds of turrets on the wall fired. In return, some of the users created replicas to lure the turrets and lower the chance to be hit, while others dodged or used shields to protect themselves.
Once they judged they were close enough, the Phantom Ruby users activated their rubies, distorting the entire area. Then, innumerable mines floated out of the ground with the robots, and a huge portion of the wall followed. Once nothing remained on the ground, they threw everything at the fortress and the airships, causing untold damage as thousands of explosion happened and many airships crashed.
Scootaloo then flew forward. "Your call, Infinite!"
Infinite's mask appeared on their head. "Perfect. Even with just 50%, I still should be able to do this."
Reaching where the wall was, Infinite activated the power of the Phantom Ruby again, and suddenly, a few dozens of giant monsters in the likeness of Infinite appeared in a large area, and they began to spread destruction among the robots.
Woaaaa...
Rainbow Dash came beside him, looking in worry at him but giving him a smug smile. "Don't think you can take the spotlight like that."
She then flew ahead toward the armada of airships still in the sky. Activating her Phantom Ruby, she flew at a speed unseen until now, and she flew through the airships one after another, destroying them. While she did it, strong winds appeared, blowing at hundreds of miles per hour. Even the airships couldn't resist them, and they were swept and thrown into each other. For the ones that survived, giant clouds gathered above them, and a rain of extremely powerful lightning bolts hit them.
"HECK YEAAAH!!!" yelled the pegasus.
Back on the ground, Applejack whistled. "That show off sure knows how to give a show!"
Pinkie Pie smiled widely. "But we can show off too!"
At her words, Pinkie flew further into the fortress and hit the ground, creating upon impact a tsunami of chocolate that swept the robots off the roads. Out of the chocolate came spider cupcakes that devoured the robots.
The other bearers followed her example and separated to cover more ground.
When she landed, Applejack yelled "That's for Sweet Apple Acres!" before she used her Phantom Ruby to make hundreds of apple trees grow through the metallic ground, their roots spreading and causing havoc while they rained giant apples that crushed the robots.
Fluttershy used hers to materialize all kinds of animal that trampled the robots, and Rarity used giant scissors to cut anything like paper while firing many gems in everything that was metallic and that moved. Finally, Twilight used pretty much everything she could think of to destroy a maximum of robots, from raining beams to sending meteors to crash to increasing gravity to the point of crushing the robots.
The soldiers were also doing their part. Shining Armor and some of the others used their own Phantom Rubies to create many replicas of the equestrian airships, increasing their normally small number. One of the soldiers at the front materialized a vehicle with giant swords at the sides. As the vehicle rolled, the swords cut the robots. Another soldier became a giant and materialized on himself a huge armor possessing dozens of cannons that fired in all directions. Some turned themselves into alicorns and used their increased powers to destroy the enemies.
By the time the rest of the army reached the fortress, a big part of it was already destroyed by the Phantom Ruby users, but it was a small part compared to the entire fortress.
Metal Sonic came out of wherever it was to deal with them, and it encountered Rarity.
METAL SONIC
"Oh! It seems like it's my turn to destroy you, you metal ruffian!"
Rarity levitated two giant needles linked to each other by a thread, and she sent them to attack Metal Sonic from the left and the right. Metal Sonic flew up to avoid them, then charged at Rarity who surrounded herself in dozens of gems forming a sphere. She then fired some of the gems at Metal Sonic while the robot attacked her with its gatling arm or its magic, firing beams or fireballs or lightning bolts. All the while, it had to dodge the two needles that continued to attack it from left and right. Unbeknown to it, the needles were entering the buildings at the sides of the road they were in, and exited them continuously. Because of this, the buildings were now linked to each other by the thread, as if sewn.
After a few minutes of this, Rarity smirked, then grabbed the two needles. She then materialized a gem from behind Metal Sonic and hit its jetpack with it, making it lose control. Rarity then flew up above the buildings, and pulled with the needles, causing the buildings to close on Metal Sonic. Rarity then quickly fired hundreds of gems all over the buildings, and the gems exploded, destroying everything in a big radius.
Rarity flipped her mane. "Stylish, and deadly."
She then saw something teleport behind her, and she could barely turn her head before Metal Sonic prepared to impale her with its sword-arm. But suddenly, it was sliced in half from behind. The two pieces fell, revealing Infinite, no, Scootaloo who used a lightning bolt as a sword.
"Thank you, darling."
Scootaloo nodded as Rarity moved to continue to attack the enemies, then looked around at the battle. Here, she saw a hydra ridden by Fluttershy devouring robots. There, there was a giant cake monster (a cakezilla?) throwing a piece of building at an airship. A giant explosion happened further, and in the distance, the main tower fired home in beams from the eyes of its Eggman head.
There was something missing.
"Where the heck is Discord?"
"I'm right there," a familiar voice answered from behind.
Turning around, Scootaloo saw Discord lying on a lounging chair eating popcorns. She immediately pointed her lightning sword at him.
"Lower your sword, I'm not there to fight, just to admire the spectacle."
"Yeah. Right."
"Really! What do you think I could do against all those Phantom Rubies? Whether or not I fight, this will change nothing. I will barely slow down your victory by a few seconds. I will be trashed. From this point forward, there's no way to stop you and your Alliance from advancing. This will not stop Eggman and Tirek from trying to at least slow you down, but I'm a realist. Just go satisfy your destructive drive, you have nothing to worry about me."
Scootaloo looked at him with suspicion, making him sigh.
"Alright, I will tell you. I don't need to fight anymore. You are already bound to lose this war."
"Did you not just say that our advance couldn't be stopped anymore?"
"I said that, yes. But, you see, Eggman is developing a way to absorb everyone's magic in one go. And by everyone, I mean every single living beings in this world."
"What?!"
"As fast as you are destroying his empire, you won't be able to stop him in time. His little thing will be finished in about a week. And then, it will be game over for you. Little advice, you should evacuate Cloudsdale and other cloud cities, or this could get quite messy once the pegasi lose their magic."
"I... We will not let him!" Scootaloo yelled, scared.
"Then be faster," Discord replied casually before he got up from his chair. "Now that I said my warning, I can go. But one last little thing before I disappear, the Alliance should watch its back. Don't leave any cities unprotected. Even the ones that shouldn't worry from being attacked like the Crystal Empire."
"Why are you giving these warnings?"
Discord looked at her sadly. "To limit the deaths. I am who I am, but I don't like Eggman's actions killing ponies. Don't worry, once this war is over, he will regret all this. I promise."
He then teleported away.
"Well... Buck..." Scootaloo said eventually. "I must warn everypony!"
Let's finish this battle first. You will warn them after.
"Yes. You're right. But after that, it will be meeting time, again."
At this, she flew to the nearest Mecha Alicorn.
Meanwhile, some of the soldiers encountered a giant centipede robot, as big as a house and as long as a hoofball field.
CENTIPEDE MECHA
The giant thing was running down the road like a train, trampling everything on its way, while dozens of cannons lined on its back fired homing missiles at anyone who avoided it.
It was promptly beheaded by Shining Armor.
Not long after, Rainbow Dash attacked the central tower that fired continuously at them.
EGG TOWER
The tower targeted her, countless weapons coming out of its walls to attack her with beams, missiles, bullets, without forgetting the homing energy projectiles from the eyes.
Rainbow Dash avoided the onslaught and flew vertically above the tower, gaining height before charging back at the tower from above on the verge of doing a Sonic Rainboom. She pierced the head of the tower in a big rainbow explosion, going from top to bottom in less than one second. The tower was obliterated.
Then, Applejack found herself face to face with a giant Eggman-like robot possessing four arms, each ending in a giant cannon.
EGG GUARDIAN
Every cannon fired giant fireballs that caused a gigantic explosion upon impact, totally incinerating Applejack's trees. One of the cannons fired at her, but thanks to the Phantom Ruby, Applejack bucked the fireball back at the robot, damaging it. The robot still continued to attack her, and she repeated her action, eventually destroying it.
Pinkie Pie and some soldiers were dealing with some giant purple octopus robot, each of its tentacles ending with a cannon.
OCTOPUS MECHA
Pinkie materialized a giant gingerbread sword and cut the tentacles one by one before she sliced the main body vertically in half.
Some special airships fused to form a giant Eggman-like mecha.
MEGAEGG
Infinite's giant monsters tore it apart.
And it continued.
LION MECHA
A big robot lion with claws that could cut diamond.
EGG BALL
A big floating ball full of hidden weapons and that tried to roll on the ponies.
HYDRA MECHA
A robotic four-headed hydra that could fire giant laser beams from its mouths.
MECHA TURTLE
A robotic giant turtle with a hard shell full of hidden cannons and that could spin to ram its enemies.
And many, many more.
They were all easily destroyed.
As the battle continued and lasted for hours, Eggman and Tirek eventually came.
EGG DRAGOON
TIREK
But they barely lasted a few minutes before they were forced to retreat because of the dozen or so Phantom Rubies they were facing.
Of course, the Phantom Ruby users were regularly forced to pause so their rubies recharged, but they always made sure that there were a few users fighting, so there weren't many problems when a powerful enemy appeared.
In the end, the battle lasted a whole day, ending with the clear victory of the Alliance. A good part of the fortress was destroyed, but many factories were still in working condition.
This day, the Alliance won a major battle.
But not the war. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 18: Race Against Time | Almost immediately after the end of the battle of Egg Fortress, Scootaloo asked for an emergency meeting with the princesses and other leaders. Since Luna was still leading the assault of the West, however, she couldn't attend it, as well as Chrysalis, but Scootaloo insisted on being in contact with them during the meeting. They needed to hear what she was about to reveal. Even the leader of the yaks, Prince Rutherford, was included. The meeting took place in Dodge Outpost, like the previous one, and began once everyone was present or in contact, ready to listen.
"So," Celestia started. "Zero, why did you ask for this meeting?"
«Be quick so yak can return to smashing metal bugs!» shouted Rutherford through a radio.
Scootaloo took a big breath to calm her nerves, then explained. "In the previous battle, Discord talked to me and gave me some information. If this info is true, then they are very serious."
«Why would Discord give you this information?» Luna asked through another radio. «Whatever he said, I don't trust it.»
Scootaloo shrugged, even if she knew that Luna couldn't see her. "Apparently, he doesn't like ponies getting killed because of Eggman, so he hopes to limit them thanks to this info. He revealed that Eggman is developing a way to absorb the magic of everyone in the world which, obviously, would be very bad for the pegasi living in Cloudsdale."
Many faces paled at this revelation.
"So... He wants us to stop Eggman from developing whatever will absorb our magic?" asked Celestia.
"Nope. He wants us to evacuate all cities like Cloudsdale. He said that we wouldn't be able to stop Eggman in time. Whatever he's doing, it will be finished in about a week."
«Of course we will stop him!» Chrysalis shouted. «I already have an idea of where is whatever Eggman is creating thanks to my spies!»
"Where?" Ember asked.
«Right in the middle of the Bone Dry Desert! My spies reported that a giant cyclone suddenly appeared here, creating a huge sand tornado dozens of miles wide! This tornado is probably hiding a base.»
"A base where Eggman is developing this way to absorb all our magic," Celestia concluded.
«Exactly. My spies reported a lot of movements from Eggman's troops, transporting tons and tons of resources from all over his empire into this tornado.»
"It probably has something to do with the Staff of Sacanas," the representative of Abyssinia, a bipedal cat, suddenly said.
"The what?" Ember asked.
"The Staff of Sacanas. Since the Storm Creatures joined our ranks, they told us some precious informations about their previous master, the one who conquered our lands before he was defeated by Eggman, the Storm King. The Staff of Sacanas was where he got most of his powers, a powerful staff that could control the weather and absorb magic."
«A staff that can control the weather, and coincidentally, a giant tornado appears in the middle of the desert,» Chrysalis said.
"Eggman obtained this Staff of Sacanas, and it is the key for him to absorb everyone's magic," Celestia concluded again.
"Doesn't he already have Tirek for this?" Cadance asked.
«He won't let Tirek take all the magic. It wouldn't be better than giving Tirek a dagger to backstab him,» said Chrysalis.
«But now, how does he attend to absorb the magic of everyone on the planet with this staff?» Luna wondered.
"Maybe he's building a giant device for it?" proposed Twilight.
«It would explain all the materials transported into the tornado,» Chrysalis said.
Scootaloo gulped. "Infinite, do you think...?"
Yes. The Death Egg. It's the most obvious way.
"Could you...?"
Infinite sighed. Fine.
Scootaloo made noises with her throat to gain everyone's attention. "Infinite knows what Eggman is probably doing. I will have to leave him in control of my body so he can explain to you."
"Are you sure?" asked Celestia with worry.
"Don't worry, he won't try anything. With almost everyone in the room possessing a Phantom Ruby, it would be suicidal. And he doesn't like the idea of Eggman getting everyone's magic as much as us."
"Eggman would become so powerful that nothing would be able to stop him, not even the Phantom Ruby," Twilight agreed.
"Very well, you can let him out," Celestia said.
Scootaloo nodded, then let Infinite take control, his mask appearing on their head. Everyone immediately tensed as he floated above the round table in the center of the room.
"You have seen many things from Eggman since he appeared in this world," He began. "But you haven't seen everything yet. No matter his plans, Eggman always has three goals: get his hands on a great source of power, defeat his enemy, and build his worldwide empire, Eggmanland. For this last goal, there was almost always a key element: the building of the Death Egg."
«What? Like this Death Egg Robot we fought in Manehattan?» Luna asked.
"No. It has nothing to do with that. The Death Egg is a space station."
"A space station?!" everyone shouted.
Infinite nodded and materialized above the table a metallic ball with Eggman's face. "Here's the Death Egg. Of course, the real one is much, much bigger. The Death Egg is a key part of Eggman's empire, to give him total control over the population of the world. Few would dare to resist him with a station that could fire city-wiping lasers from thousands of miles above their heads, without forgetting all the robots that it could produce and send everywhere. When I helped my Eggman defeat Sonic and take control of Mobius, he even used it as a prison and a generator for my Phantom Ruby Prototype. But in this case, I suspect that he will use it with this Staff of Sacanas to absorb everyone's magic. If that thing is launched into space, we lose. So we must destroy it before."
"In only one week..." Celestia said. "We still have to link the three armies before fighting our way through the desert. If we want to make it in time, we will have to constantly advance with everything we have."
"But then comes a second warning that Discord gave," Infinite said. "He warned us to keep all the cities guarded, even the ones that are safe. Eggman must be preparing something to send troops even behind the frontline. Maybe by sending airships from space."
«But we can't hope to reach that tornado in one week while leaving troops to defend ALL our cities!» Luna shouted.
"Then we will use Phantom Rubies. More and more Phantom Rubies. We will multiply their production," Celestia said. "And... In the eventuality that we fail to stop Eggman from absorbing all our magic, then we will start to evacuate the cities at risk, like Cloudsdale. And no, if Eggman absorbs our magic, this will not mean our defeat. The Phantom Rubies will still work even without magic. Another reason to multiply their production. And we now have a technology that can oppose Eggman's. With magic or not, we will win this war."
Then, the representation of the Death Egg disappeared, the influence of the Phantom Ruby stopped, and Infinite screamed as he fell on the table on his butt. Giving a small hiss of pain, he then got up, his mask disappearing.
"Next time, a warning would be nice, Infinite," Scootaloo said.
You know me, I'm not nice, replied Infinite with a chuckle.
"Ahem! So, I think we all agree with this plan: we continue to work to link the three armies, but we will send troops to guard our cities while we increase the production of Phantom Rubies. Equestria is even ready to give some rubies to its allies so they can better protect their cities. Until now, Eggman mainly targeted Equestria, but I wouldn't put it past him that he will target all the peoples who joined us. Once the three armies are linked, then we will start a general assault toward the center of Bone Dry Desert with the goal to reach it in less than a week to destroy the Death Egg before it can take off," said Celestia.
All the representatives of the Alliance present in the room nodded.
"A plan simple, but probably the most effective we have, given the fierce resistance the robots are giving despite our Phantom Rubies." Shining Armor said.
«And I also received reports that Eggman has built a vast fortress in the tornado and many others all across the desert. We will have to fight day and night to succeed,» said Chrysalis.
"This will be a long week..." Scootaloo sighed.
The next two days, the assaults led by Luna and Chrysalis were finally able to join the armies of West and East, accomplishing the first objective. While this happened, the equestrians reconverted the Egg Fortress, or what remained of it, for their own use, and thanks to it, were able to capture the old territory of Arimaspi as well as most of the forest and jungle north of Bone Dry Desert.
With their position on the mainland assured, the Saddle Arabians, minotaurs, and zebras, helped by the hippogriffs, sent an assault on the island that was once the realm of the Storm King, south of the mainland. The island was converted into a base that produced submarines, which would have been very bad news for the hippogriffs if left unchecked. But this worried the hippogriffs because more submarines could be elsewhere. They scouted the oceans after that, discovering some submarine bases between the south coast and the Iceberg Barrier, and with the help of Phantom Rubies, worked in destroying them.
By the third day, the general assault toward the center of Bone Dry Desert began, the East army going by the south through the Sea of Clouds to cut any possibilities for Eggman to escape. The closest to the center of the desert were the equestrians and other peoples forming the North army, but they still had to capture the south part of the jungle and the forest before entering the desert itself. This left the West army, but from the Nightmare Cliffs, they had to cross hundreds of miles of desert full of well-defended fortresses. Them reaching the tornado in time was pretty much impossible. Without forgetting that there were the Caves of Conundrum on the way, and who knew what Eggman did with them.
Nobody was looking forward to entering this maze of caves, probably full of robots. If Eggman played it smart, those robots could be giant worm-like robots that could devour everything inside those caves.
In the end, only an assault from the south of the Forbidden Jungle could hope to reach the tornado in time.
But then, a dozen of Eggman's airships suddenly appeared above Canterlot.
A similar number appeared above the Crystal Empire.
More above Griffonstone.
Also above the Changeling Hive.
This was what Discord talked about: Eggman found a way to teleport small armadas of airships everywhere. Airships appeared above the capitals and major cities of all the members of the Alliance. If it wasn't for Discord's warning, the number of casualties would have reached the millions, and the Alliance would have been destroyed. Thankfully, all the airships were destroyed, not without causing some destruction. However, airships continued to appear here and there, constantly causing problems to the Alliance, attacking convoys, forcing the armies to spread to defend as much land as possible, and making the Alliance lose time. This also caused the populations to be constantly in fear of seeing the airships of doom appearing above their head, greatly decreasing the moral already low after the destruction caused to the cities and farms.
For the next three days, the Alliance had to fight the constant assaults of teleported airships and the beginning of a famine while trying to reach the tornado and finish this war. The West Army was advancing slowly, but surely, the East Army took most of the South, and the North Army almost reached the fortress surrounding the tornado.
It seemed like the North Army would be able to destroy the Death Egg in time.
But then, as the North Army reached the fortress and began the, hopefully, final battle...
The fortress wasn't as huge as the one that the Badlands became, but since it surrounded a sand tornado dozens of miles wide, it was still HUGE, and extremely well protected by a sea of airships. The Alliance countered by creating its own sea of airships replicas thanks to the Phantom Rubies, and in just a few seconds, the battle became the most violent of the war. Explosions littered the sky, and all kinds of powerful robots like in the Egg Fortress came to add their touch. Half the robots mastered alicorn-level of magic while, at this point, half the attackers possessed a Phantom Ruby, the copies that Twilight was able to perfect, and the battle took proportions where it was a wonder that the universe didn't collapse.
In this chaos, Rainbow Dash encountered an old rival of hers: Metal Sonic. She saw it, its back to her, as it just impaled a pegasus with its arm turned energy sword.
"Hey! Tin can!" She yelled. "It is time for us to have our round two!"
Hearing her, Metal Sonic turned its head to look at her, then let the pegasus drop as it faced her.
It was now holding a Phantom Ruby in its left hand.
"Uh oh..."
The ruby activated, and Metal Sonic disappeared in a flash of light that forced Rainbow Dash to close her eyes. When she opened them, she saw that Metal Sonic had transformed.
It was now taller, possessing five sharp quills instead of the three usual ones it had on its head, and there were white stripes on them. It now had black and curved shoulder plates, an also black spiky belt with a black cape at the back of its waist, and larger gauntlets and leg armor with white spikes coming out of its knees. The Phantom Ruby was now inside its torso.
All in all, Metal Sonic now possessed a much more menacing appearance, and as it gave itself a look, it began cackling madly.
NEO METAL SONIC
"Well... Buck..."
Metal Sonic eventually stopped laughing and raised its arms, sending powerful lightning bolts all over the area, destroying everything, both friends or foes, giving another cackle.
Thinking quickly, Rainbow Dash used the Phantom Ruby to give a Sonic Rainboom kick in Metal Sonic's face, gaining its attention. "I'm your opponent! Stop attacking everyone!"
Metal Sonic rubbed its slightly damaged face, chuckling. "Rainbow Dash... Prepare to suffer for eternity."
"You can now talk? Woah!"
She moved her head, barely dodging Metal Sonic's punch. However, as she flew back and readied her Phantom Ruby to attack, a sudden beam came out of nowhere and destroyed it, to her horror.
"WHAT?!"
A few minutes earlier.
The battle quickly turned for the advantage of the Alliance. Surprisingly, neither Eggman nor Tirek appeared to try to stop them.
But as Scootaloo almost reached the tornado, preceding everyone else, she encountered someone: Discord.
"You finally decide to do something?" she asked.
"Yeah. Surprisingly, you reached this fortress in time, so I have to act. Sorry to say, but your advance stops here," said the draconequus very seriously.
He then snapped his fingers.
And everywhere, beams suddenly appeared and took everyone by surprise, destroying every single Phantom Ruby Copies excepted the one in Metal Sonic's torso. Even the ones used by the other armies, or the ones that were still being produced, were destroyed. Not a single ruby was left.
And as the replicas disappeared, the situation became less advantageous for the Alliance.
"EEEEHHHH?!!" yelled Scootaloo in horror.
"Oh my, did I say that I could do nothing against all those Phantom Rubies?" said Discord before he raised a sign with "I lied!" written on it. "I just needed to lower your guard. And now, once I'm done with you, the Alliance will be at my mercy."
DISCORD
"If you think you have won, think again!" Scootaloo shouted as she materialized a lightning spear.
But then, before the fight could start, the sand tornado behind Discord disappeared, revealing a fully finished Death Egg, exactly as Infinite described it. A giant metallic sphere with Eggman's face, actually half buried in the desert's sand.
"THAT'S THE DEATH EGG?!!" Scootaloo yelled.
"What is this idiot doing?" Discord growled.
Green energy gathered in the eyes of the Eggman face, and everyone understood what was going on as the airships moved. Then, two giants green beams were fired from the eyes and destroyed everything in their path before they hit the ground, causing two tremendous explosions that caused more destruction. Nothing was left of the few airships that were caught in them.
As Scootaloo stared in horror at the two craters that were formed where nothing remained, Discord growled and yelled "Eggman! I've had it! You didn't need to go that far!"
The airships of the Alliance moved to avoid being in front of the Eggman face next time it could fire when, suddenly, an alarm started blaring all across the fortress. Then, on various screens, a countdown appeared.
Five minutes before launch. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 19: The Death Egg | The Death Egg revealing itself and firing at the Alliance's airships, followed by the countdown starting, caused the real battle to begin. Thousands and thousands of robots were coming out of the space station to assault the attackers, and with the destruction of all the Phantom Rubies by Discord, the situation was really dire.
Yet, the princesses didn't lose hope. They had to win. When the Death Egg spun to follow the airships and be able to target them, Celestia yelled "Don't stop moving! But if the worst happens, spread out as much as possible, and as far away from the ground as possible!" She then turned to Luna. "Let's do IT!"
"Are you sure? It will cost us a lot," the little sister warned.
"But it will help us regain the advantage, as much as we can have against the Death Egg," Celestia replied.
"Very well," Luna said.
The two sisters then used their magic to move the sun and the moon at the same time until both celestial bodies were high above them in the sky, the Moon eclipsing the Sun. Then, they charged a vast quantity of magic in their horn, and the Sun and the Moon glowed. A few seconds later, the two bodies unleashed a huge energy beam, extremely powerful that nopony had seen in millennia.
The legendary Eclipse Cannon.
The beam hit the ground in a giant explosion, destroying a huge part of the fortress and countless enemies, then swept the base around the Death Egg, causing even more destruction. For many long seconds, the beam moved, destroying more of the fortress and causing Eggman's army to visibly shrink. By the time the beam disappears, easily one third of the fortress was destroyed, most of Eggman's airships were wiped out, and his robots dropped to a more manageable number. Oh, and everywhere the beam passed, the metallic ground had disappeared and the sand under it had been turned to glass.
But now, Celestia and Luna were almost out of energy. They could still fight, but they're forced to be more careful.
Then, the Death Egg fired again, but thankfully, the targeted airships were able to move out of the range of the explosions in time. In the end, they caused more of the fortress to be destroyed.
More enemies were however coming from the Death Egg, stopping any tentatives of the Alliance to approach it and attack. But without the Phantom Rubies, would they even be able to destroy something that huge in time? Scootaloo seemed now to be their best chance.
But right now, there was another danger than the Death Egg, much closer, and very deadly.
Rainbow Dash, right now, hated her life. She was facing a mad hedgehog robot who was now sentient and possessed crazy electricity powers as well as great magic. To make things worse, said robot possessed a Phantom Ruby that gave it even crazier powers.
And her own Phantom Ruby was destroyed.
Immediately after that it was destroyed, Metal Sonic laughed at her, making the pony growl in rage. Deciding to act despite her now very clear disadvantage, Rainbow Dash flew away, then flew back, gaining speed. Seeing this, Metal Sonic stopped laughing and flew up to avoid the Sonic Rainboom Punch. It then went after Rainbow Dash, and with the power of the Phantom Ruby, it did its own Sonic Rainboom almost immediately. Despite her surprise, Rainbow Dash barely avoided the attack by flying to the side, only for Metal Sonic to suddenly stop beside her and punch her.
Placing her front legs to block the punch, Rainbow Dash was sent flying far in the air, thankfully not toward the ground or any of the buildings. She used this to recover while moving at high speed. As the Death Egg then fired for the first time, and the countdown began, she circled it, Metal Sonic teleporting in front of her. Still moving at the same speed as her, the robot then turned to face her and caused electricity to rain randomly in her path while sending some of those Phantom Cubes in small groups to home in on her.
Rainbow avoided all of it as best as she could, especially the cubes, then gained speed to try to catch the robot only for it to match her speed, making sure that it would always remain far enough in front of her.
"You do know your fighting is pointless?" it asked her.
Rainbow couldn't hope to answer it. With how fast they were moving, her words would never reach it. Instead, she just made a rude gesture with her front legs, hoping that the robot would understand.
It got a chuckle out of it. "You are just like him, never willing to give up despite everything."
Metal Sonic then used the Phantom Ruby to move buildings, forcing her to move up, down, left, and right to avoid them. At a time, she was forced to pass through a window to traverse one of the buildings that she couldn't avoid in time, getting herself some cuts.
"You are loyal, willing to give your life for others, just like him. You are fast, just like him. You are arrogant... Just. Like. Him!"
Metal Sonic materialized more cubes, these forming even bigger cubes as obstacles in Rainbow's path. They were too many, and Rainbow touched one of them, getting her sent to a reality where the cubes were replaced by floating saws. Not wanting to finish like a log, she carefully avoided them until they disappeared with the fake reality.
"This is probably why I despise you more than anything else in this world!" Metal Sonic yelled.
Just then, the Sun and the Moon moved above their heads in the sky, the second getting in front of the first, and a huge beam came from them and destroyed the fortress and Eggman's army.
Making sure to remain away from it, the two of them continued their fight, Metal Sonic using the ruby to create clones of itself. The clones then spun, surrounding themselves in electricity, and one after another, they charged at Rainbow Dash, who got a few close calls out of this. The giant beam passed just at their left at this moment before it disappeared.
"I was made by Eggman to fight Sonic as a more powerful copy of him. I had all the advantages. Power, speed, intellect... I could even copy his own attacks! I was made to copy, and perfect what I copy!"
This time, using magic, it formed a magic ball between its claw-like hands. From the ball, a dozen beams came out at once and swept the air, and again, Rainbow could only dodge. Eventually, Metal Sonic fired the ball at her, forcing her to avoid both it and the lasers it fired around it, which became harder as the ball came closer. She was hit by one, but she quickly recovered and continued her course after Metal Sonic.
"And yet, I always lost against him, somehow. Despite my superiority, he still managed to destroy me, like you did in the jungle."
"Sucks to be you," said Rainbow Dash, even if she knew that Metal Sonic couldn't hear her.
"But now, I finally have the power to defeat him! I don't even have to follow Eggman's orders anymore! Thanks to this ruby, I'm now my own master!"
It turned its two arms into gatlings guns and fired at Rainbow Dash, the mare rapidly moving around to avoid the bullets.
"So I will kill you, then Eggman, Tirek, and Discord, and be the one at the head of this world! Then, I will return to my world, and kill Sonic and his friends, and conquer it too! This will be MY empire!"
Gosh... Will this guy just stop? It's 'alive' since just a few minutes, and it already has a bigger ego than me! Probably takes it after its 'father', Rainbow Dash thought.
She had to avoid a few more attacks consisting of Phantom Cubes, electrical, and magical beams, as well as one where Metal Sonic levitated pieces of destroyed buildings around it before throwing them at the mare. Metal Sonic was losing patience.
"I compared you to a hedgehog, but I should rather compare you to a cockroach! You're as hard to kill as one! And as annoying! Just die already!"
With its magic, seemingly boosted by the Phantom Ruby, it levitated hundreds of debris, including some huge ones, then sent all of them at once. Rainbow Dash had to use all of her hard training to avoid this cloud of debris, doing maneuvers worthy of the Wonderbolts. She still got hit by some of them, but she avoided all the more dangerous ones.
Just as it saw that she survived, Rainbow gave it a smug smile. That's all?
Metal Sonic suddenly stopped, taking Rainbow Dash off guard. The robot then moved to the side to avoid her as she passed. While the mare turned around to charge back at it, Metal Sonic then used the ruby again to levitate pieces of buildings again. It created a tornado around itself with them, forcing Rainbow to fly away to avoid it, and the mare could only watch as the pieces of buildings merged with the robot, helped again by the Phantom Ruby.
Metal Sonic grew in size and in bulk until becoming as big as a small building, keeping the familiar shape of its head with the five sharp quills, but losing its hedgehog-like form to take on a more dragon-like one. Or rather, some kind of weird hedgehog-dragon centaur thing. Its eyes changed, now lining vertically on its head, the one above smaller than the other, the right hand was replaced by a flamethrower, spikes appeared on its back from the shoulders to its new tail, and two huge wings grew from its lower body. However, it didn't possess legs anymore.
METAL OVERLORD
The remaining debris dropped to the ground, and the robot levitated the now fully depleted Phantom Ruby, and destroyed it.
It seemed like not just the rubies had been destroyed, but the generators too. Not like it will change much against that thing!
It immediately attacked Rainbow Dash with its flamethrower, forcing the mare to retreat before it unleashed electricity in all directions, attacking everything! While doing so, it also fired crystal projectiles from its mouth at Rainbow Dash as she circled it.
Having making itself known by attacking both the Alliance and Eggman's army, both armies targeted Metal Sonic with their respective airships, hitting the robot from all directions with lasers and other projectiles. However, they barely phased it, and it countered by firing its spikes as homing missiles.
Twilight came to stop it, but the robot revealed to be faster than someone would think because of its size, and it charged at her, giving her a giant headbutt that sent her flying. Metal Sonic then charged a huge laser inside its mouth, and Twilight was barely saved by Rainbow Dash.
The Death Egg then faced it and fired its two giant lasers from its eyes, only for the robot to surround itself with its familiar shield, blocking the lasers as well as the resulting explosions.
While holding a now unconscious Twilight, Rainbow Dash stared at Metal Sonic in despair. "How can we face that thing?"
"Dashie!" Pinkie Pie suddenly yelled from the roof of one of the surviving buildings. The pink pony was waving at her, and Rainbow Dash landed beside her, slowly laying down Twilight.
"You have an idea?" she asked.
Pinkie nodded, then raised a hoof, revealing a Phantom Ruby! "What?! How did-?!"
"Pinkie Sense! Now, take it, and kick this meanie's robotic butt! But remember, the generators were destroyed!"
"Thank you, Pinkie! I think that we will all owe you one!" Rainbow Dash said happily as she took the ruby.
"Then be at my victory party once this is over!"
"Do you even need to ask? Of course, I will be here!" the pegasus said. "Take care of Twilight."
Pinkie saluted. "I will!"
Rainbow then flew back toward Metal Sonic and used the ruby to turn herself into an alicorn. Boosted by the ruby, she charged at Metal Sonic, did a Sonic Rainboom, and hit it on the torso, slightly damaging it and gaining back its attention.
"Back for more?" it said. It then saw that she now possessed a Phantom Ruby. "What? Where did you-? I thought that they had all been destroyed! Nevermind, this won't change anything! Prepare to die!"
"If this changes nothing, then what is this hole that I just caused in your torso?" replied Rainbow Dash with a smirk before she flew away to avoid being slapped by its left hand.
Metal Sonic unleashed dozens of attacks at her with its magic and its inner capacities. Electricity, giant fireballs, thrown giant debris, lasers, crystals, and so on, and Rainbow Dash dodged all of them thanks to her enhanced speed, but couldn't approach because of the continuous barrage. Many of the attacks continued to cause huge destruction around them, and it led the Death Egg to fire at it again.
Seeing the two lasers coming, Rainbow Dash flew away to be out of the ranges of the explosion as one of them hit Metal Sonic, the robot being surprised. The lasers were powerful enough to damage Metal Sonic a little, but not enough to destroy it. However, it took some time to recover, and Rainbow Dash took the occasion to charge at it again, targeting the same hole she created earlier in its torso.
Metal Sonic immediately used its flamethrower at her, and Rainbow Dash was slightly burned before she could get away. However, the robot sent the four claws of its left hand at her, and the claws trapped her in some crystal cage. Metal Sonic then charged energy in its mouth, and Rainbow Dash struggled to escape the cage before it could fire. She succeeded and was able to avoid the laser.
Dozens of airships from the Alliance then fired at it at once, giving Rainbow a new opening to charge at it, again targeting the hole she caused. All the while, Eggman's army continuously fired at it. Getting annoyed by them, Metal Sonic forced Rainbow away, then charged energy again before firing a laser. It swept the air all around it with it, destroying countless airships, mainly from Eggman's army as the Alliance's airships were too spread out. Rainbow Dash, again, used this opportunity to attack it another time, this time using the Phantom Ruby to send a powerful bolt of electricity inside the hole she caused, badly damaging Metal Sonic's circuits.
She immediately flew away to avoid a slap from the now smoking robot just as the Death Egg fired again. This time, Metal Sonic saw the lasers coming and used the same shield as earlier to protect itself. Rainbow Dash, however, used her ruby to teleport inside the shield, and used Metal Sonic's surprise to attack it again. She spun, then used the ruby to surround herself in electricity while immediately doing a Sonic Rainboom, passing right through the robot by the hole she caused. The electricity spread everywhere in its body, roasting its insides as it spasmed.
The shield disappeared, and Rainbow Dash rapidly moved far enough above it as it was still paralyzed. She then spun again and used all of the ruby's remaining power to create the most powerful electricity around her body ever while doing another Sonic Rainboom.
Still paralyzed by the electricity and all the damage it took, Metal Sonic couldn't avoid the attack, and it was pierced from the head to the bottom of its body, the electricity finishing it.
"N... No... How...?" Metal Sonic asked before it exploded, the explosion as big as the ones caused by the lasers of the Death Egg.
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash in victory shouted as she turned to the remains of Metal Sonic, her body returning to normal. "You were wondering why you lost? Because you suuuck, and we're aaaawesoooome! Ahahah! Wait until I tell Scoot! Speaking of, I wonder how she's faring..."
Back when the Death Egg fired for the first time and the countdown began, Discord was still growling at Eggman's act.
"Why are you still working for him if you hate his actions so much?" asked Scootaloo.
Discord huffed. "I don't work for him. I'm helping Tirek, and Tirek has a partnership with Eggman, so I have no choice but to help him too if I want to reach my goal."
"Total liberty, uh?"
"Oh! You remembered! Good job!" Discord said while clapping. "Yes, to regain my liberty, I'm willing to work for Eggman. But don't worry, once we reach our goal, me and Tirek will make Eggman pay for everything he did. If everything goes to plan, then Eggman will be history today! But for this, I must stop you from destroying the Death Egg. It's an important part of our plan."
"Sorry, but I'm not too keen in letting everyone's magic getting drained."
At this moment, the Sun and the Moon moved to create an eclipse, and a huge beam came from them and destroyed the fortress.
"And it seems that Celestia and Luna aren't okay with it too."
"Like I care if you are okay or not."
"Even Fluttershy?"
Discord let a small growl escape before he calmed down. "Even her. Now..."
Snap!
Bubbles suddenly appeared everywhere around them.
Snap!
Fishes now appeared, swimming in the air like they normally swim in water.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Clouds of cotton candy appeared, the buildings in the area floated, and random objects appeared, also floating in the air among the bubbles and the fishes.
"Shall we dance?" he finished.
Suspicious, Scootaloo sent a small projectile at one of the bubbles, and the bubble exploded, letting out some powder.
"Oh! Scraping powder! Too bad you didn't get it," Discord said.
Scootaloo pointed her lightning spear at Discord, used the power of the Phantom Ruby to trap him in a reality where he was vulnerable, then charged. "Let's finish this once and for all, Discord!"
Remember our strategy, said Infinite.
Scootaloo didn't reply, instead avoiding a cotton candy cloud that Discord sent in her path to block her. She teleported and charged again. When she reached Discord, she thrusted her spear, only for the Spirit of Chaos to move his body like a snake to avoid it. She did a couple more thrusts that Discord avoided the same way, then teleported back and threw the spear that Discord also easily avoided.
Some fishes went to attack her, but Scootaloo surrounded herself in a shield of electricity that electrocuted all of them. Meanwhile, Discord took a pogo stick that floated nearby and bounced randomly in the air before suddenly going after Scootaloo.
She avoided him with another teleportation, materialized a new lightning spear, then charged at Discord again despite him continuing to bounce around. Anticipating this, Scootaloo thrusted her spear again, but Discord teleported before that, and only the pogo stick was destroyed.
One of the bubbles then floated toward her from behind and touched her before exploding, and she found herself trapped in stone. Discord appeared beside her with a hammer and a chisel, but she was able to escape thanks to the power of the ruby before he could do anything, and she teleported away.
When she appeared, she materialized Phantom Cubes that she sent in wave patterns by groups of three, first three vertical waves horizontally, then three horizontal waves vertically, then three horizontal waves vertically. Again, Discord easily avoided them, took a cue stick floating around, and used it to send a bubble into another bubble, creating a chain reaction of bubbles hitting bubbles. Scootaloo tried to avoid them, but she was eventually hit by one. When the bubble exploded on her, she wasn't sure what it caused until Discord took a floating body mirror and turned it toward her.
While still in her Zero persona, she was now physically younger, much younger. Like, around five years old, maybe.
"Uh. You were adorable when you were a child, Infinite," she said before she used the ruby to return to normal.
Infinite groaned. Just hurry up. We're losing time.
Rapidly, Scootaloo attacked again with her lightning spear, doing three thrusts before throwing it. This time, however, she teleported before throwing a second spear, and teleported again before throwing a third one which didn't do much in the end. Discord was even looking bored.
She began to attack more rapidly, repeating the three lightning spear thrusts followed by the throw, and occasionally doing the wave attack. She, however, diversified the first attack, doing for example the three thrusts, and teleporting only to appear behind Discord before doing a fourth thrust. This one took him by surprise and actually hit Discord, showing that the strategy worked.
Discord healed himself, then finally used his magic to exit the reality where he was vulnerable, only for Scootaloo to send him back in it immediately. So the draconequus did a flick with his claw, and the various floating objects, bubbles, clouds, and buildings moved rapidly and erratically.
Scootaloo decided that she did enough and left Infinite in control, his mask appearing on her head. Infinite immediately began by using strong gravity to force all the floating stuff to drop on the ground, then sent groups of Phantom Cubes homing in on Discord one by one. As Discord avoided them, Infinite spun while surrounding himself in electricity, then charged at him. Discord let himself drop to avoid him, then materialized a wall made of steel in his path, and Infinite crashed headfirst into it.
Infinite didn't lose time however and quickly recovered, repairing his damaged mask. A square of Phantom Cubes then appeared directly under Discord, and he moved aside just beside it as it turned into an immense column. However, more squares appeared under Discord as he continued to move. The draconequus then saw Infinite suddenly drop toward him and a cask materialized on his head, diminishing the effectiveness of the hit. Despite his foot hashing, Infinite then levitated debris around him and sent them at Discord one by one before he repeated with the groups of Phantom Cubes homing in.
After repeating those attacks a few times, he gave Scootaloo control again, and the filly repeated her attacks, starting with the three spear thrusts before throwing it.
"I didn't know that I was fighting a boss from a video game," Discord said as he avoided more lightning spears thrown as Scootaloo teleported repeatedly. "I'm disappointed. Our previous fights were more entertaining. I don't even have to be serious."
"Like you were ever serious," Scootaloo said.
"I was serious, back when you were really fighting."
Scootaloo didn't reply to that, and after a few more attacks, left her place to Infinite who repeated his attacks, but adding a little something: when he dropped on Discord after the columns of Phantom Cubes, if the draconequus dodged, then a clone secretly materialized would drop too. It took Discord by surprise the first time, giving him a serious headache.
Infinite didn't pay attention to the big blue dragon robot that appeared in the distance. He will have to trust the Alliance to deal with it while he fights Discord. Scootaloo, however, was worried.
Discord dodged again the debris that were levitated and thrown by Infinite, then yawned. But then, he found himself impaled by a lightning spear, to his shock, literally and figuratively.
Infinite used one of Scootaloo's attacks? Okay, they got him good this time. He quickly destroyed the spear before healing himself, but didn't see the square of Phantom Cubes appearing above him. The square turned into a column, and he was caught in it, finding himself in a reality with a wall of huge cannons firing alternatively. Again, because he was caught off guard by this, he couldn't avoid in time the beam fired by the cannon facing him.
Growling, he healed himself as the mask on Infinite's head disappeared, showing that Scootaloo was back in control. The filly charged at him with a lightning spear, and Discord moved his body to dodge, only for the lightning spear to turn into a familiar red sword, and Discord was badly cut as a result. He quickly created a shockwave that threw the filly away, giving him space to heal, again.
However, Scootaloo- No, Infinite, he had the mask- Infinite appeared behind him ready to attack with the red sword. He quickly materialized a rod to parry the sword. But again, he didn't see the square of Phantom Cubes forming under him, and it was only at the last moment that he saw it. He was transported in another reality, but instead of finding himself in front of a wall of cannons, Scootaloos on flying scooters with reactors were charging at him from all sides. He quickly turned the scooters into duck buoys, and all the Scootaloos dropped before the reality disappeared.
And again, Infinite, no, Scootaloo came from behind with Infinite's sword, and Discord decided to teleport away. Scootaloo... Infinite, the mask appeared again, then sent after him those groups of Phantom Cubes homing in on him, and also threw lightning spears.
Scootaloo charged at him and thrusted her lightning spear three times, then teleported behind him, the spear turning into the red sword. Discord quickly materialized a knight shield to block it, only for Scootaloo to teleport again, and Infinite appeared yet again behind him and impaled him with a fire spear! Infinite immediately sent a Phantom Cube and sent Discord in a reality where it rained spiked balls. Still impaled and burned by the fire spear, he couldn't avoid the balls hurting him even more.
When he came back, Scootaloo was here and immediately impaled him with her lightning spear, then Infinite slashed him with his sword before giving him an uppercut, then Scootaloo kicked him strongly, sending him flying before throwing another lightning spear and impaling him again. Infinite then teleported near him and attacked again, slashing with his sword all over his body.
During a brief moment, Discord recovered his senses enough to roar and punch Infinite in the mask, destroying it and sending him flying away. Breathing heavily, Discord then healed himself.
In the distance, the blue dragon robot exploded.
Scootaloo was back in control when she attacked again using Infinite's sword, and Discord quickly teleported away before he said, "Trying to out-trick me, huh? Good job, you almost got me. Now, I am angry."
Scootaloo smirked. "Angry at us, or angry at yourself for hurting Fluttershy?"
Discord growled. "I don't care about her anymore!"
"Then explain how she defeated you so easily with you barely putting up a fight."
"I... I wasn't in top form that day! I was sick!"
"Probably sick of yourself. You are nothing more than a brat spoiled with enormous power and the freedom to do what you want thanks to it. When you don't get what you want, you start a tantrum. You are millennia old, but you are no better than a child who refuses to change even knowing that it would be for the better, because you are too attached to what you already have. Ironic. Isn't chaos about change?"
Discord growled again, louder. "Shut up..."
"No wonder you disgust yourself... You contradict your very nature with your actions."
"SHUP! UP!"
Scootaloo gave the smuggest smirk she could give. "Make me Lord of Idiots."
Discord roared, and he unleashed a wave of magic that spread over a vast area, altering everything in it except Scootaloo. The area was now pure chaos and insanity, impossible to describe.
Good job, said Infinite. We made him so angry that he won't think what he will do. It will be easier to defeat him.
"Let's make sure that he doesn't calm down," Scootaloo said as she charged at Discord.
Only for him to snap his fingers, and time was suddenly slowed down. Discord then created a ball of pure chaotic energy and threw it at Scootaloo. Despite being slowed down, Scootaloo managed to teleport. Using a vast quantity of the energy of the Phantom Ruby that she can use, she then forced her time to return to normal as she appeared behind Discord.
"The trust hurts," she said before she impaled him with two lightning spears.
You used a lot of energy. Leave the fight to me while you recover it.
"Very well."
Thanks to Discord being impaled, time returned to normal, and Infinite tried to attack with his sword, but Discord hit it with his lion paw, and the sword was turned into particles. The draconequus then tried to hit Infinite too, but the jackal quickly teleported before getting the same fate. He appeared further and fired a beam that sent Discord crashing.
Easier to defeat, but much more dangerous, said Scootaloo.
Infinite nodded. "If he hits us once, we're dead. We must be careful."
Suddenly, the ground moved as if it was alive, and parts of it rose to attack Infinite, who was left with no choice but to fly further in the sky. Midflight, Discord appeared in front of him and tried to hit him again, but Infinite skillfully avoided the eagle claw before rematerializing his sword and cutting Discord with it.
Discord teleported away, then sent all the buildings in the chaotic area... or what they transformed into, toward Infinite, who teleported away again and again and again to avoid them. Eventually, Infinite levitated some of the 'buildings' and threw them at Discord, who destroyed them with his balls of chaotic energy. Discord then assembled all the 'buildings', including the remains of the ones he destroyed, into a giant ball in the sky before he let it drop on Infinite.
Infinite waited, and at the last moment, he used the power of the Phantom Ruby to alter reality so he was now in the place of Discord, and Discord was in his place. The draconequus was crushed by the ball. For good measure, Infinite then created a giant energy ball, about one tenth of the size of the sun he created back in his world, then sent it toward the mess of 'buildings', and it was destroyed in an enormous explosion.
Taking back his breath, Infinite stared at the smoke remaining after the explosion, daring Discord to survive this. Meanwhile, in the distance, he could see that some of the airships of the Alliance finally fired at the Death Egg. 5 4 3 2 1 0!
The alarm blared again as the countdown finished, and the ground shook.
Shit! We must destroy the Death Egg! Now!" shouted Scootaloo.
But suddenly, a portal opened at Infinite's left, and out of it came Discord's upper body who grabbed Infinite's left arm.
The arm turned into particles.
Acting quickly, Infinite sliced his arm with his sword, then slashed at Discord's head, giving him a severe cut before he disappeared back in his portal.
AAAAARGH!!! IT HURTS!!! yelled Scootaloo, not used to the pain.
Infinite huffed in return before, in the familiar glitchy way of the Phantom Ruby, the arm reappeared.
As the Death Egg took off, another portal opened at this moment, and Discord came out of it. This time, Infinite was prepared, avoided Discord's attempt to grab him, and sliced his right arm, making the draconequus yell in pain. Infinite then materialized a chain and wrapped a part of it around Discord's neck before pulling, forcing the draconequus entirely out of the portal. After spinning him for a few seconds, he then sent him crashing to the ground.
Sword ready, Infinite then went after him to finish this!
Only for a certain yellow pegasus to place herself between him and Discord yelling, "STOP! PLEASE!"
If it wasn't for Scootaloo forcing him, Infinite wouldn't have stopped.
"What are you doing?!" shouted Infinite.
"Stopping you from killing a friend," replied Fluttershy calmly, shocking Discord who looked at her in disbelief from the ground.
"A friend?" Infinite repeated. "A friend?" He laughed. "You call him a friend after everything he did?"
One by one, Fluttershy's friends came, including Twilight, who had awakened.
Seeing what was happening, Twilight placed herself beside Fluttershy and talked. "We haven't really been good friends to him too... Chaos is in his nature, but we tried to force him to become someone he isn't. Even if I accepted some of his chaos, I understand that I was putting too many limits. We put too many limits." She looked at her friends one by one. "Discord wouldn't change in one day, and yet, from the first day, we asked too much from him. Instead of moving slowly, we forced him directly to be what we wanted him to be." She looked at Discord. "It's no wonder that he followed Tirek. We really were like jailers to him."
Infinite stared at Twilight, then at Discord, then turned to look up at the Death Egg that was already far in the sky. "Fine. Whatever. I don't have time for this. Don't come crying when he backstabs you again," He finally said before taking off after the Death Egg.
Everypony watched him fly away until Discord asked, "Why?" gaining back their attention.
Twilight smiled sadly. "It's like I said, Discord... Yes, we are angry that you betrayed us. You hurt Fluttershy a lot. But..." She sighed. "We really didn't help. Some of us even outright refused to trust you. We... I failed. I was too forceful toward you, and I barely put any effort in return. At best, you were a nuisance that I tolerated because Princess Celestia asked me to."
"He didn't really help, like when he faked that sickness that turned him blue," said Rarity.
"Of course. Like I said, he wouldn't change in one day. And we have to accept it. It's a work for all of us, not just him."
Discord looked at her, then sighed. "The truth is... I was barely putting any effort too... I wanted to try friendship. It felt... nice..." He looked at Fluttershy with a small smile at this. But his smile disappeared. "But at the same time... I refused to give up what I had. The possibility to do what I want, without caring what ponies were thinking." He pushed a small laugh. "Scootaloo was right. Chaos is change, and yet, I refused to change. How ironic. I'm really just a spoiled brat with a lot of power."
"She said that? Ouch..." said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight smiled and raised a hoof. "Then, how about we retry from the beginning? You can do what you want with your chaos as long as it doesn't harm ponies or other living beings. Of course, it would be best if you could avoid being annoying. In return, we will accept what you are and put our trust in you, and help you learn about friendship."
"Twilight. You know me. I can't stop being annoying. But at least, I will try to control myself and learn what it is to be a good friend. So... Deal!" He tried to shake Twilight's hoof, but he then remembered that he didn't have a right arm anymore. "Oh, right..." With a snap, the arm was back, and he shook Twilight's hoof. "Deal!"
He was immediately hugged by Fluttershy.
As a warm smile appeared on his face, he then took the necklace that Tirek gave him. "Tirek gave this necklace to me when he convinced me to join him to show that he was trusting me. He told me that it was his own brother who gave it to him. I... I don't know how to feel about breaking that trust... He even told me his plan."
Twilight shook her head. "He manipulated you. Scorpan, Tirek's brother, was the one who revealed to Celestia and Luna Tirek's intentions, which led to him getting imprisoned in Tartarus. Tirek hates his brother. That necklace means nothing to him. He used it to make you think that he was your friend when, in reality, he probably planned to backstab you when you would stop being useful."
Discord huffed. "I should have seen that coming... The puppeteer puppeted like an idiot. I'm really the Lord of Idiots."
"Something that Scootaloo also said?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. She was really spot on. Well, this revelation made this necklace lose all its symbolism, but I hope that you will still accept it as proof of my friendship. True friendship." At this, he placed the necklace around Twilight's neck.
Then, for an instant, a rainbow shimmer traversed the necklace.
"Uh? Why did it glow rainbow?" Twilight wondered.
"Oh, right, you didn't find out because of all those events..." Discord said. "No time to turn around the spot. Tirek is about to absorb everyone's magic, so I will have to be more direct than usual. This necklace is one of the keys to open the chest that the Tree of Harmony gave you. To think that I would be the one giving the last key..."
"The last key? What? And what about Tirek?"
"No time to explain! Let's go to the chest!"
And with a snap, he teleported all of them.
Flying after the Death Egg, Infinite eventually flew so far in the sky that he passed what no other ponies passed excepted probably Celestia and Luna: a magical veil surrounding the world forming the sky that the inhabitants of the planet saw. Traversing it was like traversing water, except that it wasn't wet, and beyond it was the real sky: space. An infinite and mysterious space full of real stars and other real celestial bodies that were out of Luna's power.
The Death Egg was further ahead, still moving, having not yet reached its intended position to absorb the magic of everyone in Equus. It seemed like Eggman prepared for the eventuality of someone chasing the Death Egg, because a giant armada of airships, or rather, spaceships moved to block Infinite's path and fired at him while sending countless robots.
"I don't think I will have enough energy to destroy all of them," said Infinite begrudgingly.
Then once you feel that you're almost out of juice, switch with me. I think that I almost recovered entirely, Scootaloo said.
"Once this happens, avoid using your energy too rapidly. I will have to recover my own."
Of course!
Inside his mask, Infinite smirked. In his mind, Scootaloo smirked too.
"It's show time! they both shouted.
Infinite charged toward the first spaceship that blocked his path, avoiding all the projectiles fired by its cannons, then sliced it in half with one slash. With more slashes, he cut the ship into smaller parts. One by one, he then threw the parts at the other spaceships near enough, destroying many robots in the way.
Not stopping moving to avoid the storm of beams and other projectiles fired his way, he then fired his own beam toward a spaceship at his right, piercing it from part to part, destroying it, before he used that same beam to sweep the space from his right to his left, destroying more robots and spaceships and creating a giant field of explosions.
But there were still a lot of them, and the Death Egg was moving further and further.
We will never catch the Death Egg at this pace!
"We will have to move and attack the ships only when we're left with no choice. I leave this to you, I almost used everything I have."
Okay! Count on me!
So Scootaloo took Infinite's place and flew as fast as she could thanks to the Phantom Ruby without using too much energy. A Spaceship placed itself in the way, so she spun while surrounding herself in electricity and passed through it. While inside it, she left a bomb powerful enough to destroy it; the spaceship exploding behind her.
More spaceship moved to block the way, and she had to slalom between them, continuously attacking them and the robots they sent with beams and other projectiles, or with her lightning spears. Then, the Death Egg, its Eggman head facing her, fired its two giant beams at her, and she quickly moved out of the way as the two beams destroyed many spaceships in their path.
More and more, she approached the Death Egg as it continued to fire until, suddenly, it stopped moving, and a 'mouth' opened.
"Oh no..."
And, as she feared, Scootaloo could feel, and see, her magic being drained out of her. From Equus, countless streams of magic were coming toward the mouth of the Death Egg.
They couldn't stop it in time...
Everyone's magic, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, the others, Celestia, Luna... even Discord, was taken and disappeared inside the space fortress.
"We... We failed..."
Not completely. We still have the Phantom Ruby's power. We can still destroy that fortress!
More determined than ever, Scootaloo flew toward the Death Egg, passing the last few spaceships on the way.
But then, the Death Egg cracked, cracked, cracked... and exploded.
Out of it came... Tirek, now almost as huge as the fortress had been, now possessing long white hairs with his white beard.
He admired his now huge body, then shouted "Yes... YES!!! I have the POWER!!! AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" While laughing, he stared at what remained of the armada of spaceships, and fired dozens of huge magical beams and thousands of smaller one, destroying everything, both ships and robots. "Thank you, Eggman! I would have never succeeded without you! Ahahahah!"
Gulping, Scootaloo took Infinite's sword and charged toward Tirek. With the power of the Phantom Ruby, she could still slice him! But Tirek saw her coming, and with a smirk, fired another giant beam. Scootaloo avoided it, barely, but she didn't see coming the huge fist that followed with surprising speed for its size. She was Punched, so strongly that she was sent flying back toward Equus. As she entered the atmosphere, she recovered her senses and quickly used the ruby to avoid being burned, then used it to avoid being turned into paste upon crashing, wherever she crashed. She still was hurt a lot, and as she slowly recovered in the center of the crater that she formed, she used more energy of the ruby to heal the injuries she got.
She was almost out of juice now, already.
Then, with a big earthquake, Tirek landed behind her, as big as a mountain.
The centaur was giving her the biggest, evilest, most superior smirk he could give.
L O R D
T I R E K |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 20: Phantom | Scootaloo stared up at the mountainous centaur, and couldn't stop herself from gulping. Tirek now possessed the magic of everyone in the world. She didn't know how much it was, but she didn't doubt that it was enough to overpower anything she could throw with the measly 50% that she controlled of the Phantom Ruby. Discord was already a close call, and Tirek was at least one thousand time more powerful now. And she was almost out of energy, and she wasn't sure that Infinite recovered enough.
The situation was definitively not in her favor, and she could count on nobody to help her. Everyone lost their magic, and all the Phantom Ruby Copies were destroyed because of Discord. Their armada of airships would be wiped out in an instant, and any weapon would be simple insect bites against him.
"Uh... Any idea, Infinite?"
... He probably doesn't control his new powers yet, so we may have a chance... A very small chance... If only we had full control of the Phantom Ruby...
"You aren't thinking that we should...?" No.
While they talked, Tirek lowered himself like someone lowered themselves to look at an ant, still smirking.
"Hello there. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time we're facing off each other in battle. All the other times, it was against at least one of the Elements or the princesses."
"Uh... Well, Discord always made sure that I couldn't ruin your fun."
"He did. But now, here we are..." He looked around, seeing that they were now among the frozen mountains of the North, "in the Frozen North, me possessing everyone's magic and about to conquer the world." He looked back at Scootaloo. "You know what, I'm in a good mood, so I'll let you go if you decide to not try to stop me. As powerful as you are thanks to your ruby, you can't expect to win against me now."
"And let everypony down? Like hay!"
Tirek gave a resigned shrug. "As you wish."
He rose back to his full length, rose his right arm, and attacked.
Scootaloo quickly flew away, and the giant fist impacted the ground without hitting her. However, the force of the blow caused strong winds that almost swept her, and cracks spread all around as the area shook, avalanches beginning and mountains crumbling!
Scootaloo flew along the arm to Tirek's shoulder, then sent a wave of Phantom Energy to get Tirek in her power before she materialized one of her lightning spears, then threw the spear at Tirek's head. The spear pierced the right cheek, and electricity spread in Tirek's body, but the centaur barely felt it and fired a huge magical beam in return. Scootaloo teleported to avoid it, the beam leveling an entire mountain.
When she reappeared, Scootaloo sent some Phantom Cubes at Tirek, sending him in a reality where dozens of laser cannons continuously fired at him, but again, the cannons were too small to do any real damage and he made it known by smashing Scootaloo as soon as the alternate reality disappeared, sending her crashing at his hooves. He then rose a hoof to crush her, and Scootaloo, coughing blood, quickly let herself pass through the ground like a ghost.
She then came out of the ground behind Tirek and rose dozens of giant spikes of rock under his lower body's belly. This had an effect on Tirek, but only a small one. The centaur just let escape a small groan of pain before he recovered and sent a magical shockwave that destroyed the spikes and sent Scootaloo into a mountain. Tirek then tore off a huge piece of ground and threw it after the filly.
Let me in control! Quickly ordered Infinite when they saw the mountainous boulder coming at them, and Scootaloo wordlessly accepted, Infinite's mask covering their head as he took control. Infinite then charged toward the boulder and drilled through it as the boulder hit the mountain in a huge crash that caused tons of rock to fly in all directions. Once out of the boulder, Infinite continued charging toward Tirek who levitated more giant boulders before throwing them one by one. Infinite also drilled through them, then quickly teleported to avoid a surprise beam from Tirek. Reappearing, Infinite continued his charge, and hit Tirek in his upper body's belly, giving in enough power to actually get the breath out of the centaur. Infinite then sent Phantom Cubes to transport Tirek to a reality where dozens of seesaws cut him a little everywhere and even threatened to cut their way to his brain and his heart, but Tirek destroyed all of them with another magical shockwave that even destroyed the reality created by the Phantom Ruby.
Caught off guard, Infinite couldn't avoid the beam that followed, and it was only thanks to the Phantom Ruby that he wasn't totally disintegrated, and after some glitching, he was totally healed. He fired back his own beam at Tirek using a lot of energy from the ruby, and it was powerful enough to force the centaur to take a step back, grunting in pain before he came back and kicked him toward another mountain. Tirek then fired another beam at the mountain, totally destroying it.
But just as Tirek laughed in victory, he saw a group of six familiar ponies approaching from the air, surrounded by a rainbow aura. It wasn't just that; the ponies had changed, gaining colors in their manes and tails, and even in their feathers for the ones possessing wings. Some of them even had actual longer manes and tails.
"What? How is this possible? I absorbed everyone's magic!"
"Maybe, Tirek," answered Twilight, "but there's one magic that you couldn't absorb, and it's the most powerful of all: the Magic of Friendship!"
At this, the six mares fired a powerful rainbow beam at the centaur who immediately fired his own beam. While at first, the two beams clashed without any winner, Tirek eventually smirked and put more magic in his beam, beginning to overpower the beam from the mares. The Bearers gasped at this, then put more magic into their beam, only for Tirek to put even more magic into his beam. The mares were forced to disperse.
"Ah! As powerful as it is, your Magic of Friendship can't hope to overpower the magic of all the beings in the world!" shouted Tirek.
Twilight growled, not able to stop sweating in worry. "Speaking of," she started, "how could Eggman let you have it? I'm sure that he knew that you would use it against him! He's not stupid! Did you sneak in the Death Egg?"
"Not at all," answered Tirek with a shrug. "As unbelievable as it sounds, he actually let me have it. Maybe he's really that stupid but, hey, I'm not one to look at a gift horse in the mouth."
The ponies looked at each other. This was weird. Something was going on.
Whatever, they now had to deal with Tirek, and it wasn't looking good for them.
"What do we do?" asked Rarity.
"We don't give up," answered Twilight. "We must defeat Tirek, for Equus."
"Where's Scootaloo? Shouldn't she be here?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"There was a big explosion earlier. I hope she's alright," said Fluttershy in worry.
"Don't worry! I'm sure that if we fight long enough, she will come back with a power up and kick Tirek's butt!" shouted Pinkie Pie.
"It doesn't mean we won't try to kick his butt before," said Applejack.
"Of course! We will do our best!" replied Pinkie.
The six ponies then attacked Tirek, circling him and doing what they could, using magic, charging at him, throwing stuff at him as strongly as they could, and so on.
Meanwhile, Scootaloo and Infinite were in a really bad shape. Their unconscious body was constantly glitching, trying to repair itself with the little Phantom Energy that remained.
Infinite destroyed one of the burning buildings with an explosive beam.
"I can't believe I was defeated that easily!" he yelled.
"What did you expect?" asked Scootaloo. "The guy has the magic of everyone in the world, and we only have 50% of the Phantom Ruby at our disposition. It's like asking a bee to fight a full-grown stallion. Yes, the bee will sting, but the stallion will easily crush it in the end. And again, we weren't in top form after our fight against Discord."
Infinite glared at her, then destroyed another building. Comparing him to a bee! The nerve! And the worst was that she was right!
Scootaloo watched Infinite as he let out his frustration, then sighed. Slowly, she walked toward him, then sat beside him, the jackal looking at her.
"Infinite... I don't think we will be able to win this one... Not in our actual situation..." she said.
"..."
"You know I'm right."
"..."
She sighed again. "We... We need to..." She took a big breath. "We must defeat Tirek! But he's too powerful! We must merge!"
"....... Yes... We must merge," finally replied Infinite after a small sigh. "But you know what this means..."
Scootaloo nodded. "We will become one, forever."
"Are you sure you want this?"
"No... I don't want this... I don't want to lose myself and become a part of you, or you a part of me. But we aren't really given a choice, are we?"
"We have. We could simply forget about Tirek, your friends, the world, everything, and just go live our life without care."
"Is this what you want?"
Infinite chuckled. "No. This would mean giving up, and I never give up. But I don't want to lose myself too..."
"But you prefer kicking his ass," said Scootaloo with a smirk.
"And take him down from his pedestal."
"Well, I think this settles this. I want to save everyone, and you want to show Tirek who's the boss and beat him back to Tartarus." She presented her hoof to Infinite with a determined expression. "Let's do this, partner."
After staring at the hoof for a few seconds, Infinite took it.
Scootaloo closed her eyes as Infinite's memories entered her mind.
Sorry everyone... I will not come back... kinda. I hope the new me will be ok.
Twilight teleported to avoid being slapped like a fly and immediately countered with a magical beam that hit Tirek in the left eye. The centaur yelled in pain, putting a hand to cover his eye, then rained thousands of powerful lightning bolts all over the area as retaliation. The ponies tried to avoid them, but it was like trying to dodge rain drops, and one by one, they were hit.
Rainbow Dash, despite this, did a Sonic Rainboom (she stopped counting how many times she did one today, especially since the fight started) and hit Tirek in the back of the head. Pinkie followed it by hitting Tirek on the cheek with her hammer, and the others all charged at him one after another. In return, Tirek sent a storm of magical balls in all directions, forcing the ponies to back away to better dodge them.
"I-I don't know how long I can keep up..." said Rarity.
"Me too," said Rainbow Dash. "My wings are killing me. But... But we can't give up!"
Suddenly, a wave of Phantom Energy spread everywhere and hit everyone, ponies and centaur, sending them in a reality where the frozen mountains were replaced by volcanoes, rivers and lakes of lava appearing everywhere on the ground. One of those rivers appeared around Tirek's back legs, and he quickly moved them to stop the burn.
"What the...?!"
"Woah!"
"Eep!"
The earth then shook, and giant boulders began to rise from the ground. Then, a vast quantity of lava rose too and gathered above a lake before separating to form a tunnel, and out of the tunnel came... someone who looked like Scootaloo, but had the body shape of Infinite.
The being was a bipedal orange furred, purple maned/tailed pony possessing black-gloved hands and feet covered by black shoes. She seemed female, and had her arms crossed, slowly floating forward, eyes closed. She had a similar mane style as Scootaloo, but her hairs were the same length as the ones she possessed as Zero. She possessed no wings, however.
Then, she opened her eyes, revealing that the left one had a yellow iris while the right one had a blue iris.
"Scoot?" said Rainbow Dash in wonder.
"Mph! So you survived. What is with the new appearance?" asked Tirek.
"The one that I decided best suited me," answered Scootaloo(?) with a shrug. With a wave of her right arm, she then sent the lava toward Tirek, and the centaur quickly put on a shield to protect himself. But then, Scootaloo(?) teleported just in front of his face. "Call me Phantom," she said before causing an explosion of energy in Tirek's face, forcing him to take a step back, causing one of his back hooves to step into a river of lava. Burned, he quickly got it out with a growl.
"Phantom?" asked Twilight, gaining Phantom's attention, who nodded at her. Where before Zero was a little taller than Twilight, Phantom just reached her muzzle.
"Scootaloo and Infinite merged to be able to use the full potential of the Phantom Ruby. I'm the result. I'm Scootaloo, but also Infinite, and yet, I am none of them, not really." She gave the ponies a small smile. "I decided to call myself Phantom. I thought that it was a really appropriate name for me, and it sounds cool."
Pinkie Pie waved at her. "Nice meeting you, Phantom who's also Scootaloo and Infinite but not really!" She then looked at Phantom's thighs and gasped. "Oh my gosh! Look!" she shouted while pointing at them.
Phantom looked down at her thighs, then gave a small gasp. On the side of both thighs was now the image of the Phantom Ruby. "Is that my Cutie Mark? O-oh my gosh! It is! I have my Cutie Mark! I have my Cutie Mark!"
Just as it seemed that Phantom was about to fly in all directions in joy, she saw a huge magical beam come at them, and she quickly used her power to teleport everyone out of the way, and they reappeared behind a boulder further away.
She cleared her throat, calming herself. "As awesome as it is, the celebration will have to wait. Let's deal with Tirek first. By the way, how did you get... like this?" she asked while waving at the mares, referencing to their new appearances.
"A power that we got from the Tree of Harmony after opening a chest," answered Twilight. "It would be too long to explain, but to make it short, we had to collect six keys, and Discord gave the last one when he finally accepted Friendship, just after you... Erh... Infinite left. Gosh, this will be awkward..."
"And yet, that darn centaur's still more powerful than us," said Applejack.
"So, you can, like, send a rainbow beam?" asked Phantom.
"Yes. We could use it on Tirek to force everyone's magic out of him and send him back to Tartarus," said Rarity.
"But he totally overpowered us!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
"But if you could hit him, then it could work, right?" asked Phantom.
"Yes," answered Twilight. "No matter how powerful whoever we target is, as long as our beam hits, it's over for them."
"Alright then. You wait out of the way and fire the beam when you have the occasion, I will gain Tirek's attention," said Phantom.
Without giving time for the ponies to reply, she teleported and reappeared behind Tirek. She then created a column of lava and sent it at his back, badly burning him. Tirek immediately turned around and caught Phantom in his magic, immobilizing her. He then fired another beam, only for Phantom to teleport again despite the magic, freeing herself. Phantom then materialized a meteorite that Tirek punched into dust before she sent more lava toward him from his sides.
Tirek had enough of the lava and used his magic to lower the temperature, turning all the lava in the area into stone, only for Phantom to finally send all the floating giant boulders. After getting hit by a few of them, Tirek quickly surrounded himself in a shield, then formed two walls from the ground at both sides of Phantom. He tried to crush her between them, only for Phantom to destroy them.
Then, reality changed, and the chain of volcanoes turned into a desert, the mountains replaced by mountainous dunes. Phantom then created a giant quicksand under Tirek, and the centaur sank, but Tirek quickly levitated himself out of it. He then blew strong winds, creating a huge sandstorm hoping to blind Phantom, but she used this at her advantage and used the sand to create a huge sand fist that she used to punch Tirek.
Tirek easily destroyed the sand fist with a swing of his arm, then he manipulated the sand like tentacles to try to hit Phantom. One of them slapped her, but she quickly recovered and sent a huge wave of sand at Tirek like a tsunami, sweeping him. With a roar, Tirek used a magical shockwave to free himself from the sand, then moved the Sun and the Moon so the Moon faced the Sun, firing Celestia and Luna's Eclipse Cannon at Phantom. The anthropomorphic filly didn't stop moving to escape the powerful beam that easily turned the sand into glass and she created more sand fists that she used to punch Tirek in return.
Seeing that Tirek wasn't stopping his Eclipse Cannon, Phantom changed tactic, and the following moment, water suddenly flooded the desert coming from nowhere, the only thing remaining out being the dunes that turned back into mountains. Then, out of the water came a creature made of water almost as tall as Tirek! The creature resembled a giant snake of water with its head, back and sides covered in dark blue reptilian skin with liquid spikes protruding from its back. Despite its liquid nature, the thing possessed green slit eyes, green sharp teeth, and even a long green tongue and green horns on its head and green arteries along its back. They could also see an organic brain inside a 'fin' on the head.
Around the creature, several tentacles of water rose from the newly formed ocean and wrapped themselves around Tirek.
"What is that thing?!" asked the centaur as he struggled against the tentacles of water.
Phantom appeared above the snake thing and landed on its head. "Meet Perfect Chaos. Or rather, a replica. It's not as powerful as the original, but..." She snapped her fingers, and Perfect Chaos fired a powerful energy beam at Tirek that sent the giant centaur flying. "It's still good enough to hurt you."
Now would be a good time, girls, she thought. She used a lot of energy to create that powerful replica, and she wasn't sure if it would last long against Tirek.
Well, as long as Tirek didn't understand Chaos' only weakness, it should be ok.
Tirek got up, then fired at Perfect Chaos with his own powerful beam. Phantom quickly teleported away as the beam hit Chaos, and its water body exploded. However, it quickly reformed as if it was nothing and fired green energy bullets from the spikes on its back while also sending its water tentacles to attack the centaur. Tirek put on a shield to protect himself, then fired back dozens of magical bullets that turned Chaos' body into swiss cheese, but again, it quickly reformed. However, one of the bullets managed to hit the brain in the 'fin', and Chaos shrieked in pain as its body crumbled a little before recovering.
Tirek saw it, because he targeted the brain more precisely.
"Crap," said Phantom at this.
Chaos immersed himself in the ocean, avoiding the many bullets targeting his brain, and came out of the water directly in front of Tirek, biting his right arm with its sharp teeth while firing more energy bullets. Tirek tried to hit it with his other arm, but a water tentacle wrapped itself around it. Tirek growled as more energy bullets and clusters of energy balls hit him, and more tentacles wrapped around his body, and he sent a magical shockwave that destroyed Chaos' body, sending the water composing it far away.
Chaos reformed out of the ocean again and fired another beam that Tirek dodged before firing a beam too, targeting the brain. Chaos dodged it too, and fired a second beam at the same time as Tirek, the two beams clashing. But then, in the middle of the clash, Tirek teleported just beside Perfect Chaos, taking it by surprise. Tirek then punched the brain out of the 'fin' and immediately fired a beam at it, disintegrating it. Perfect Chaos' body crumbled, disappearing in the ocean, never reforming.
Tirek then charged a vast quantity of magic and expelled all of it, breaking the reality formed by the Phantom Ruby, returning him and everyone else in the frozen mountains.
Recovering his breath, he said "Not bad. I don't know what was that thing, but it gave me quite the workout." He turned to face Phantom, who was growling. "That Phantom Ruby really is an amazing artifact. Too bad I have to destroy it to ensure my supremacy."
Girls! Where are you?!
Tirek formed a new beam, and Phantom prepared herself to use the Phantom Ruby again.
But then, several little orbs possessing glowing green cores came from nowhere and impacted here and there Tirek's body. From where they impacted, obsidian began to spread and cover Tirek's body.
"What the...?! The Storm King's obsidian grenades?!" exclaimed Tirek before he panicked. He tried to stop the obsidian from spreading, but failed, and could only repeat "No!" as he was turned into a giant obsidian statue.
"What happened?!" asked Phantom to nobody in particular.
"MOUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"That laugh. Eggman! Show yourself!"
"With pleasure!"
A huge robot suddenly appeared beside Phantom, and before she could act, she was slapped hard and sent crashing into a mountain. She quickly came out of the crater she formed and looked at Eggman's new robot.
It looked like a Death Egg Robot, but at least five stories tall and less bulky. It actually resembled more Eggman himself, with a round body with a spherical head possessing the features of Eggman's head, two arms finishing in sharp claws, and two long legs finishing in clawed feet. The robot possessed also wings similar to the ones that the Egg Dragoon possessed to let it fly. However, on the head, there was a big golden crown possessing eight protrusions, including one three times bigger than the others at the front. Each of the protrusions possessed a slot excepted the big one, which possessed three slots one above another in decreasing size. The middle slot, of medium size, already possessed an object, some kind of staff with a crystal.
"Mouahahahaha! Surprised?" asked Eggman, spreading the arms of his robot.
"Not really. I knew that you were preparing something."
"But you didn't know what! Ah!"
Phantom huffed. "How could I? With you, everything is possible."
"Why! Thank you! I do my best! That colossal idiot certainly didn't see this coming! He really thought that he had gotten the upper hand on me when I had actually planned it! He took me for a fool! But seriously, who would be stupid enough to send a potential backstabber to take all the power without a plan? What an idiot! And now, the magic he absorbed will be mine!"
"And how? Last I know, you have no way to absorb magic."
"I have one! See?" He pointed at the staff in the crown. "The Staff of Sacanas! A little gift that I got from the Storm King along with the obsidian grenades. Thanks to it, I will be able to absorb all the magic and make it mine!"
Phantom frowned. "And you think that I will let you?"
"Yes, because you will be too busy trying to catch them," said Eggman before he teleported the obsidian statues of six familiar ponies beside the robot, making Phantom gasp. The statues were then thrown far away in the sky, and Phantom quickly teleported among them. She caught them in her telekinesis, then teleported all of them on the ground where she slowly dropped them. Finally, she used her power to return them back to normal, the ponies still in their rainbow form.
"Are you alright, girls?" she asked.
As the ponies hugged each other, recovering, Twilight answered. "Yes, we are alright. I'm so sorry, Sc-Phantom. He got us by surprise."
"I know. Okay, now that you're alright, I must return. He's absorbing all the magic from Tirek."
"What?!" shouted everypony.
"No time to explain."
"We're coming!" shouted Rainbow Dash, the others nodding.
"Very well."
Phantom teleported all of them back toward Eggman and Tirek, only to see Eggman just finishing absorbing the magic.
"MOUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU'RE TOO LATE!" he shouted before he fired a powerful magical beam at the obsidian statue of Tirek, destroying it and making the ponies gasp. "You did your job well, Tirek! Now you can rest... IN PIECES! AHAHAHAHAH!!"
"You monster!" yelled Fluttershy.
Eggman turned toward them. "Come on! I get you rid of a monster, and this is how I'm treated? I'm hurt! Anyway, I would like to start our little dance right now, but I'm not finished powering up. I need to be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that I will win! And for this..." Using the magic he absorbed, he opened a portal. "I need to return home! See you quickly once I conquered my homeworld!" He flew through the portal.
"Oh no you don't!" shouted Phantom before she flew after the robot.
"Wait for us!" shouted Twilight as the six ponies followed her, and together, they passed the portal before it closed.
They came out of the portal in the sky not far of a huge floating island, and as they chased Eggman, the robot suddenly teleported. The ponies stopped and looked around, expecting to see the robot reappear, but it didn't.
"Where did it go?" asked Applejack.
Phantom looked toward the floating island and growled. "Angel Island... He's on that island! I know what he's after! Quick!"
Again, she teleported all of them toward the island, and they appeared above an altar surrounded by seven pillars. On the altar was a giant green gem, and seven smaller gems, each of different colors, green, red, white, yellow, purple, blue, and turquoise, were on the pillars. At the base of the altar was a strange red bipedal creature knocked out, and beside the altar was Eggman's robot.
Phantom quickly acted and fired an energy beam, but the robot dodged it, and all eight gems levitated toward the crown, the seven slots in the small protrusions and the big slot under the one containing the Staff of Sacanas opening. Just as Phantom and the ponies charged to stop Eggman, the robot teleported again, this time with the gems, and it appeared far in the sky.
As the island fell from the sky, the gems entered the slots.
"I suppose that this is bad news that he got those gems?" asked Twilight.
"Very bad news," answered a very sweating Phantom. "The small gems are called Chaos Emeralds, and the big one is the Master Emerald. To put it simply, anyone possessing the seven Chaos Emeralds becomes nearly invincible. Add in the Master Emerald, and we could compare the being possessing them to a God. Normally, the Phantom Ruby is powerful enough to deal with the emeralds, but with the magic of everyone from Equus added in..."
"We're bucked up," concluded Rainbow Dash.
"This is quite the understatement!" shouted Eggman as he returned to them. "But I still have an empty slot in my crown, and I think that you guess what it is for."
Phantom teleported away with the ponies.
"Ah! You can try to escape! But I will eventually find you!" shouted Eggman.
The group reappeared back near the altar of the emeralds on the now crashed island, Phantom thinking that Eggman will not expect them to teleport there.
Twilight immediately began pacing while muttering how much they were doomed. The others weren't really much better.
"Don't worry, I have a plan," said Phantom.
"Really?" asked Twilight hopefully.
"Yes. However, the Infinite part of me hates it. But it doesn't matter. The problem is that I have to leave you in this place while I go search for... new allies."
"What? You can't leave us in those... ruins," said Rarity worriedly.
"I won't be long. Give me a few minutes. Meanwhile, how about you help the knocked out echidna over here?" she said as she pointed at the unconscious red animal near the base of the altar.
Fluttershy immediately moved to help him.
Phantom then teleported, leaving the ponies. Making some quick teleports around the world, it didn't take her long to find her first target: a blue blur that was actually a blue hedgehog running at the speed of sound in an area she knew was called the Green Hills. Phantom teleported in his way, and the hedgehog who was actually the Sonic of this world, seeing her, immediately stopped in front of her.
"Sorry to stop your run, but we have an emergency," she began. "Eggman got the seven Chaos Emeralds AND the Master Emerald. More than that, he now possesses powerful magic. Come with me."
Sonic immediately turned serious and nodded before Phantom opened a portal and flew the both of them through it.
They appeared in an exact similar world, but a few years in the future, and Phantom immediately explored it in search of her two targets. She quickly found the first one: Sonic, again.
She found him outside of what was known as Sonic's home in the Green Hills, relaxing on a chair while eating a chili dog. This Sonic differed slightly from the other. The past Sonic was smaller and rounder.
When the filly suddenly appeared beside him with his counterpart from the past/another dimension, he was so startled that he bounced out of his chair and dropped his chili dog.
"Aw man!" wailed the hedgehog before he looked at Phantom annoyed. "Good job, you made me waste a good chili dog!" He then saw the other Sonic beside her who waved at him. "Hey! That's you! Already back?"
"Listen, I don't have much time," began Phantom. "My name is Phantom, and I need your help. The Eggman from this Sonic's world has gained too much power, and we need you and the Chaos Emeralds of this world to deal with him. Do you know where they are? Oh, and could you tell me where your friend the red cat is? He could be a good asset against Eggman."
Sonic crossed his arms in thought. "Uh... Tails may know where they are, both the Emeralds and Leo, but the problem is that Leo stopped the fighting after the end of the war. I'm sure he would accept if we asked him to join us, but I feel guilty to take him away from his peaceful life that he deserves after what he went through. I would suggest that we take Shadow instead."
"Shadow, uh?" asked Phantom in an annoyed tone. "Is there anyone else?"
Sonic shrugged. "He's the most powerful that I know that's available. Silver is back in his time."
Phantom groaned.
"You seem to have a problem against Shadow."
"You can say that. One of the two beings I'm formed of hated him with all his guts."
"What do you mean? You are... two persons who merged together?"
"Yes," answered Phantom with a smirk before she materialized a certain mask on her head. "Remind you of something, Blue Buffoon?"
The two Sonic gasped and immediately put themselves into position to attack.
"Infinite! You survived?"
Phantom dematerialized the mask. "Hey, remember what I said, Infinite is a part of me, but I have another part who was much nicer. You have nothing to fear from me. Trust me, if I was Infinite, I would never lower myself to ask for YOUR help, even if it meant becoming a power source for Eggman."
"Uh. True. Well, let's go search Shadow and the emeralds. Meanwhile, you can tell me what happened. Looks like quite the story. But it's nice to have you on my side."
A few minutes later, a portal opened beside the altar of Angel Island, back in the other Sonic's world. Out of it came Phantom, the two Sonic, a black hedgehog with red strips on his quills, and seven emeralds exactly like the ones that Eggman took.
"Woo! The Altar of the Emeralds! It's been a long time!" said the taller Sonic as he looked at where they were.
"Sonic!" shouted someone, gaining the attention of the group toward an approaching two tailed bipedal fox. The fox hugged the smaller Sonic and spoke rapidly. "I couldn't find you! I thought that Eggman had gotten you!"
The younger Sonic patted the fox's back reassuringly.
"You are back," said Twilight as the ponies approached behind the fox. "Those are the allies you talked about?"
"Yeah," answered Phantom before she presented the three hedgehogs. "Sonic, Sonic, and Shadow."
Young Sonic waved at them, Shadow gave a nod, and the older Sonic said "Sup?"
"The first Sonic is from this world, and the second Sonic and Shadow are from the same world that Infinite came from," explained Phantom.
"You can go to other worlds?!" asked Twilight in shock.
"Of course. Reality bending power, I can open portals," answered Phantom. "Anyway. Sonic, Sonic, Shadow, those are the ponies I talked to you about. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy."
The ponies greeted the hedgehogs and talked to them.
"So you're Sonic? I heard that you were fast!" said Rainbow Dash.
"And you must be Rainbow Dash. Phantom told me about you. Apparently, you are quick too."
"Fastest flier in the world!"
"Fastest runner in many worlds!"
"Not in mine!"
"Alright! We will have to see this in a race once this is over!"
"Eh! I will totally beat you!"
"In your dreams!"
The two stared at each other, then smirked before shaking hand/hoof.
"Ya aren't big talkers, are ya?" asked Applejack to Young Sonic and Shadow.
Older Sonic put an arm around the back of his younger self. "Yeah, I was more the kind to let my actions speak for me when I was young. I got better with time. As for Shadow, he's just shy."
"I'm not," shouted back the black hedgehog.
Phantom rolled her eyes and whispered to the ponies "He's an edgelord, like Infinite."
They understood.
"So, what is Tails doing here?" she then asked, pointing at the fox.
"He came in panic with his flying vehicle... Uh... A plane, I think he called it," explained Twilight. "He arrived just a few minutes ago. He expected to find his friend there."
"I thought that Sonic would have gone for the Chaos Emeralds to stop Eggman," said the fox.
"Speaking of, what is the situation with the rotten egg?" asked Older Sonic.
"He's devastating everything in his path to force the world into submission! Nothing can stop him! Entire cities already fell!" Tails told them.
"Well, that sucks. But now, thanks to Phantom, we're here, and we have Chaos Emeralds." He looked at the other hedgehogs. "What are we waiting for? Let's take our Super States and stop Eggman!" He turned to face Phantom. "You're in, I suppose?"
Phantom nodded. "I am, as well as these six." She pointed to the ponies. "Eggman ravaged their world, they also want a piece of him."
"Darn right!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
"And we will all have a big victory party once we're done!" shouted Pinkie Pie.
"A victory party? If there are chili dogs, I'm in," said the older Sonic.
"Deal!"
"There's one problem," then said Shadow. "I don't think the emeralds possess enough Chaos Energy for all of us. That times against Metal Sonic was already stretching their power."
"Easy," said Phantom. "I will turn myself into a Super State first, which will enormously boost my Phantom Energy. I will then use my boosted Phantom Energy to give all of you a Super State."
Shadow frowned at her. "If you try anything..."
"You could do nothing," replied Phantom. "You will have to trust me."
After a moment of silence, Shadow huffed. Phantom took this as his sign, and she levitated the Chaos Emeralds around her.
"I will remain behind to keep an eye on Knuckles," said Tails as he stepped back. "Good luck."
"Excuse me to ask just now, but what is exactly the Super State?" asked Rarity.
"The state we used to kick the butts of Gods and god-like beings," simply answered Older Sonic. "As long as we have rings to power it, we are near invincible."
"Speaking of," said Phantom before she materialized six bags in front of the ponies. "Here are rings for you. They possess their own energy, and when you absorb them, their primary use is to protect you from harm, but in our situation, they will fuel the Super State."
"Great!" shouted Rainbow and Pinkie before the ponies opened the bags and took the rings.
Meanwhile, Phantom absorbed the positive Chaos Energy of the emeralds, and with a big flash of light, her body entirely turned golden. Quickly, she then used her Phantom Energy to give the others that same Chaos Energy and turn their bodies golden too, some of them keeping some special features like the red stripes for Shadow and the colors given by the Tree of Harmony for the ponies (in Rainbow's case, her mane and tail remained rainbow colored). The ponies, including Phantom, also kept their Cutie Marks.
"That's awesome!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
"Yipee! I feel like I could party with the entire world!" shouted Pinkie Pie.
"Yikes. The gold is terribly clashing," commented Rarity. "But I feel great!"
"Come on girls, we must go. I can already feel the energy of the rings diminishing," said Twilight.
"Yeah, we can't enjoy our Super State unless we have tons of rings. Let's go find Mr. Egghead," said the older Sonic.
It didn't take them long to find Eggman, they just had to follow the explosions. He was destroying a small city of anthropomorphic animals when they reached him. However, he saw them coming, and he turned to face them.
"Well, isn't that a surprise? I was expecting you, Sonic, but not the other you! And in Super State!"
"You have me to thank for this," said Phantom with a smirk.
"You know, I almost forgot how round you were back then, Eggman," said the older Sonic "At least, your future self improved his look."
"And I prefer you when you shut up! So you think you can stop me? You may be ten in your Super States, and you may have the Phantom Ruby in your side, but I have the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald, and the magic of an entire world! I will crush you, then take the Phantom Ruby and make it mine, and I will be truly invincible! And Eggmanland will be an interdimensional empire!"
"Poor guy, you are blind. We clearly have the advantage!" shouted Older Sonic.
Eggman growled, and the slots containing the emeralds and the Staff of Sacanas glowed. The robot then flashed, and before everyone's eyes, it doubled in size, gaining a glowing body that made it look like it was made of pure energy. The wings were now like two giant veils actually made of energy.
GOD EMPEROR
DEATH EGG
"Who has the advantage now?!" shouted Eggman.
Phantom huffed, and her body began to glow red-purple. Then, reality around them disappeared, replaced by a dimension of nothingness, a purple void with floating cubes and net-like grids extending into infinity in all directions.
The Null Space.
"This place is giving me the creep..." commented Rainbow Dash.
"I know..." replied Older Sonic.
"So you think you can still defeat me," said Eggman. "Then... Come at me!" he shouted as he flew backward.
"Alright! Let's go everyone!" shouted the older Sonic as he readied his hand.
Everyone saw what he wanted to do, and while some hesitated, in the end, they all did it.
A fist bump. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 21: Fist Bump | The God Emperor Death Egg was flying backward as it faced the team of heroes that chased it at unimaginable speed, the giant mecha having its arms spread, ready to attack.
"Ahahahah! I am so close! Once I defeat you and get my hands on the Phantom Ruby, nothing will be able to stop me!" shouted Eggman.
"Don't count on it, Eggman!" shouted back Phantom.
"We won't let you continue your madness! For all the harm you did to our world, we will defeat you and put an end to your evil!" shouted Twilight.
"All those ponies... All those poor animals who suffered... Who died... NEVER AGAIN!" shouted Fluttershy. Yes, shouted.
"Well, doc, seems like this time you did a really bad thing. I will have to give you a big spanking," said the older Sonic.
"You will have to reach me first!" shouted Eggman before, suddenly, a shield appeared around the mecha.
"Well, that's annoying," said Older Sonic.
At this moment, Eggman began to attack, firing a total of ten lasers from the fingers of the mecha that randomly swept through the air.
Then, Phantom used her powers to materialize groups of rings in the path of the heroes. "There, so we don't lose our Super States in the middle of the battle. Make sure to collect them."
"Great! You know, it's nice to have the Phantom Ruby in our side. It's like using cheat codes in a video game," said Older Sonic.
"Ugh... You're as exasperating as I remember."
"What? You can't change what is already perfect."
"Oh boy, he's like a Rainbow Dash number 2," said Applejack.
"Hey! I'm hurt! It's her who's a Sonic number 2!" replied Older Sonic.
"Hey!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
Twilight groaned. "Please! Focus on the fight! It's already hard enough to avoid those lasers!"
That was when Eggman stopped firing the lasers and then used magic and Chaos Control to materialize and send a huge number of meteors at the heroes.
"Woah! There're too many! No way to dodge!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
But then, Phantom, Twilight, and Shadow fired energy beams, magical bolts, and red energy bolts powerful enough and in enough quantity to destroy many of the meteors and let the group pass through unharmed.
Eggman then sent a meteor two times as big as his mecha. This time, Older Sonic grabbed his younger self and Rainbow Dash, to her surprise, and together, they spun in front of the others while gaining speed. Thanks to the Sonics, Rainbow Dash immediately knew that she had to draw the energy of the emeralds from within her to help power the move, and together, they pierced the giant meteor, breaking it into smaller pieces that the others could pass between.
"What was that?!" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Chaos Power," answered Older Sonic. "Using the Chaos Energy of the Chaos Emerald, we can use various powers, like what we just did, or the bolts that Shadow fired earlier."
"We can bend space-time thanks to it," continued Phantom. "However, since you aren't specialized in its control, you are very limited so, most of you, don't expect to be able to fire powerful bolts like Shadow. It will be easier to use powers more related to your skills, like speed for Rainbow Dash, or strength for Applejack."
"I think I see what you mean," said Rarity as dozens of pieces of meteors were now levitating around her, ready to be thrown.
"So we're using chaos. I know a draconequus who would love it," said Twilight.
"Giant energy balls incoming!" yelled Pinkie Pie as Eggman sent a group of energy balls with the wave of an arm. She then took her hammer from nowhere and shouted, "Leave them to me!" before she moved in front of the group. Using her hammer, she then sent some of the energy balls back at Eggman, only for the shield to stop them.
"Wooh! You go! But... Where did that hammer come from?" asked Older Sonic. "It reminds me of Amy."
"Don't question it," said the ponies in unison.
"Uuuh... Alright."
"We must destroy that shield," Shadow said.
"Ah! Admire my power!" shouted Phantom before she sent an enormous wave of chaos boosted phantom energy. Then, far above, a space station looking like it was built in a half of a giant spherical meteor appeared. Onto the front of the space station was a giant cannon that was pointed right at Eggman.
"Wait. The space colony ARK?" shouted Older Sonic in surprise.
Then, a vast quantity of energy gathered in the cannon, and it fired a humongous laser that hit the shield around the God Emperor Death Egg, successfully destroying it! Even after the destruction of the shield, there was enough power left in the laser to hit the mecha and make it wobble, causing it to lose speed as Eggman screamed.
"Woah, dude..." said Older Sonic in awe.
"Now is the time to attack!" shouted Shadow.
Hearing him, Rarity threw the meteors that she was levitating, targeting the wings to make the mecha slow down even more. Fluttershy joined her by firing, to everyone's surprise, the same red bolts than Shadow used at the wings and at the slots in the crown.
Not stopping to question this, Twilight fired hundreds of magical beams that homed in on the slots in the crown while the others charged and also attacked the slots, Shadow and Phantom did the same in their respective ways, and the others charged, Applejack bucking the slot containing the Master Emerald, Pinkie hammering the one containing the Staff of Sacanas, while the others rammed the remaining slots until Eggman recovered and teleported the God Emperor Death Egg away, the wings regaining their power.
"I must say," began Eggman as the shield reformed around the mecha. "you took me by surprise!" He then fired a huge beam at the space station, destroying it. "But even boosted by the Chaos Emeralds, it must have cost you a lot of energy! You won't be able to do it again anytime soon!"
Phantom huffed. "I will just have to survive until I can do it again. It recharges quickly."
"Well, try to survive that!"
Eggman suddenly clawed the air in front of him, leaving scratch-like lines of energy that remained behind, forcing the heroes to move between the lines to avoid them. Eggman rapidly repeated it, clawing the air in different directions, creating lines going from horizontal to vertical, passing by everything in between. The distance between the different groups of lines was so small that there was almost no time for the heroes to position themselves to avoid the next group. Sometimes, Eggman clawed the air with both hands at the same time, making it even harder. In the end, some of the heroes got hit and hurt despite the Super State, causing them to lose some of their rings, which made Eggman laugh.
"Ah! I can even hurt someone in Super State! As I thought! Nothing resist me anymore! I am a god!"
"Hey, your head is already big enough, no need to make it bigger!" said Older Sonic.
"You're one to talk," said Phantom with a smirk.
"Say you," returned Older Sonic. "And at least, I don't compare myself to a god."
"CHAOS CONTROL!" suddenly yelled Eggman, and then time stopped. The mecha then charged energy in front of its torso, only for Shadow to break free of the time stop thanks to his control of chaos energy.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" He warped everyone just before a giant blast of energy hit them, and they appeared slightly to the left. Older Sonic then also broke free too, followed by Younger Sonic, Phantom, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, and together with Shadow, they used Chaos Control again to return time to normal before Eggman could attack again.
"What happened?" asked Twilight.
"Isn't it obvious? Eggman stopped time," said Shadow.
"And only the ones that are used to control chaos energy and have enough power can hope to break free," said Older Sonic.
"That, or use phantom energy. It's the same," said Phantom.
"Easy to say when ya're the only one who can use that phantom stuff," said Applejack.
"But how did the pink one escape? She isn't used to chaos," asked Older Sonic.
"Don't question it," answered the ponies.
"Pinkie is probably the most chaotic being in our world under Discord, the Spirit of Chaos himself," informed Twilight.
"It makes others laugh, so it's natural for the Element of Laughter!" Pinkie said.
"IT DOESN'T EXPLAIN HOW YOU CAN BREAK THE PHYSICAL LAWS WITH NO APPARENT POWERS!" yelled the alicorn.
"Woah! Easy there, sugarcube!" said Applejack.
"Okaaay..." said Older Sonic.
While they talked, Eggman restarted firing sweeping lasers from the fingers of the mecha's right hand, but this time, he fired homing projectiles of energy that targeted the heroes randomly, eventually succeeding in hitting Rainbow Dash.
"Drat! I'm almost out of rings!" she shouted!
"Then collect the ones that I materialize!" Phantom said.
"Hard to do when I'm constantly moving to dodge!"
"Anyway. What about... uh... Fluttershy, that's it? First you use the same attack than Shadow which asks some control of chaos, then you can break free from a Chaos Control Time Stop," asked Older Sonic.
"Good question," said Twilight.
"Yes, darling, you surprise us," said Rarity.
Fluttershy hid her eyes behind her mane. "Well... After passing all this time around Discord... I suppose that I... got a couple of things about chaos..." ...
"Makes sense," said Pinkie.
Suddenly, Phantom sent a wave of phantom energy, materializing the space colony ARK again far above. However, as the space colony charged energy, the God Emperor Death Egg fired at it its own energy beam, destroying it before it could fire.
"Did you really think you could use the same trick twice?" said Eggman after guffawing.
"Crap..."
Eggman then sent energy balls that moved up, down, left, or right before they fired a moving laser in the path of the heroes, creating an obstacle course where the heroes had to avoid dozens of those moving lasers.
"Welp. That was a bust. Any ideas, guys?" asked Older Sonic.
"Erh... How powerful the attack needs to be to destroy the shield?" asked Twilight.
"The cannon of the space colony ARK could destroy an entire planet," said Phantom.
"Oh, alright! We have to use something that could destroy a whole planet! That's easy!" said Twilight in obvious sarcasm.
"Really easy actually!" said Older Sonic. "We're ten in Super State, and one of us possesses the Phantom Ruby. I'm sure we can find something."
"Like we could charge at the shield all together," said Pinkie Pie.
"Yeah, like that," said Older Sonic. "But we will need to approach first."
"He won't let us. He can teleport," said Shadow.
"We can teleport too!" said Twilight.
Following her words, she teleported everyone in front of the shield of the mecha, only for it to immediately teleport away. Annoyed, Twilight teleported them again, but Eggman teleported too.
"Well, this doesn't work," said Rainbow Dash.
Phantom then sent Phantom Cubes at all of them, sending everyone in a different reality. Different as in Eggman's mecha disappeared, but they were still in Null Space. For a moment, this confused everyone.
"He won't see us coming!" then said Phantom. "Be ready!"
"Uh, smart," said Older Sonic.
"Next time, warn us, or I'll kill you," said Shadow.
"Noted," said Phantom before she teleported all of them far above what she supposed was Eggman's position. Then, they all gathered and charged, accumulating energy, and when they returned to the previous reality and the God Emperor Death Egg reappeared, they hit the shield just above the crown, piercing it.
"What?!" yelled Eggman.
Before Eggman could react, they hit the head of the mecha, right in the center of the crown, causing it to lose control. The heroes then took the occasion to attack the slots in the crown like they did previously, Twilight and Rarity using magic, Shadow and Fluttershy using Chaos Powers, and so on. Eventually, Eggman recovered and teleported away before reforming the shield.
"Alright!" shouted Phantom. "Let's repeat that!" She materialized more Phantom Cubes and sent them at the group to send them in another reality again.
"I won't let you!" shouted Eggman before he accumulated energy. Then, just as the heroes changed reality, he unleashed it, breaking the reality!
"Damn it!" yelled Phantom.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Eggman actually charged at them!
"Woah! Watch out!" shouted Older Sonic before the group quickly dispersed, breaking the formation.
The heroes were now separated all around the mecha as it stopped among them, and it tried to slap them with its giant claws. The mecha also fired lasers from its eyes and from the slots in the crown, and it fired dozens of energy balls from all over its body, turning the situation very chaotic.
The heroes tried to regroup to destroy the shield, but Eggman just wouldn't let them, always moving where they were gathering to force them to disperse again before they could act. But then, when Eggman tried to slap them again with the mecha's left claw, the two Sonics, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie suddenly gathered and charged at the claw together. After a small clash, they managed to push it back. Then, Eggman tried to slap them with the right claw, only for Phantom, Twilight, Shadow, Rarity, and Fluttershy to gather together and use their powers together to hit the claw and push it back too after a small clash. Then, the two groups reformed as one, and they charged at Eggman. But the mecha then teleported behind them before they could hit the shield, and it unleashed an enormous wave of energy, forming an actual storm of energy blasts that left little place to avoid them. The heroes simply avoided them with a Chaos Control Warp, teleporting behind the mecha to try to charge it again. But Eggman wasn't stupid, and he teleported away, understanding that they were attacking from somewhere he couldn't see.
But the heroes saw this coming and teleported at the same time, so when Eggman reappeared after his teleportation, he was very confused to not see them, and by the time he understood, it was too late. Again, the heroes pierced the shield from above and attacked the slots of the crown before Eggman teleported away.
"Rrrngh! You're giving me more trouble than I expected!" shouted Eggman. "I should have seen that putting the emeralds and the staff in the crown would make them too vulnerable! Well, time to change that!"
In a flash of intense light, the God Emperor Death Egg transformed. When the light disappeared, the emeralds and the staff were now in the mecha's torso, all grouped together, with an emplacement left for the Phantom Ruby. Eggman then accumulated energy and unleashed it!
As the heroes screamed or groaned, fighting against the enormous quantity of energy, they looked in horror as the Null Space broke apart around them, and they were all back on Mobius.
"No! Not there! Such a fight could destroy Mobius!" shouted Older Sonic.
Shadow looked at them, and they all knew what they had to do. Rapidly, all together, they used Chaos Control, and they all warped, including God Emperor Death Egg, anywhere, everywhere but on Mobius. In the end, they warped in space, in the middle of nowhere.
"Better," said Phantom.
Eggman gave a huff. "You know that I would never destroy Mobius! I want to conquer it, after all! I would have teleported us! But thanks for doing the job for me. But... I still have something to do to make it better. CHAOS CONTROL!"
And so, in a flash, where before there was nothing, a planet appeared.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
A second planet appeared.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
A third.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
A fourth.
"CHAOS CONTROL! CHAOS CONTROL! CHAOS CONTROL! CHAOS CONTROL!"
A fifth. A sixth. A seventh. An eighth.
"Are you kidding me?" asked Shadow.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
"Stop that!" shouted Twilight as she looked at the planets that already began to collide between each other.
"MAKE ME! MOUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! CHAOS CONTROL!" yelled Eggman before he flew backward again, facing the heroes as he flew toward two planets that were dangerously approaching each other, repeating "CHAOS CONTROL!" all the while.
"Okay. He lost it," said Older Sonic.
A boulder the size of Equestria coming from two planets colliding was suddenly about to hit them, and Phantom teleported them out of the way.
"What are we waiting for?" she shouted, "After him!"
They nodded and chased after Eggman. They caught him at the icy surface of one of the two planets about to collide, and Eggman immediately attacked them by sprouting giant spikes of ice from the ground before sending giant boulders of ice while regularly firing lasers or energy balls.
The heroes avoided all those attacks as best as they could, the ones who could use magic, Chaos Power, or phantom energy using them to destroy the spikes of ice and the icy boulders. Applejack even developed the power to send small shockwaves while punching the air to help.
As the second planet, a dead rock, was closer and closer, Eggman flew toward it, using the mecha's power to levitate huge pieces of ground from the two planets and throw them. Again, the heroes used all the powers they had to avoid them or destroy them, even drilling through them.
Eventually, they left the two planets behind just before they collided, causing thousands of giant boulders to be sent in all directions, including toward the heroes who had to avoid them, then avoid more boulders coming from other planets colliding. By now, space was filled with boulders going in all directions because of collisions, or because they were caught in the gravitation of this or that planet.
All the while, Eggman continued to bring more and more planets with Chaos Control while attacking them, using energy balls that acted as bombs, firing homing blasts of energy, sending shockwaves, or simply throwing boulders.
The heroes had to redo their stocks of rings a lot of time.
They tried to use the boulders as cover to teleport and approach Eggman by surprise, but he always had enough time to teleport away. Even when they teleported behind him, as soon as they disappeared from his field of view, he teleported, and there was no way to know where he would reappear, so it was impossible to predict him.
Eventually, they flew toward another planet that had an atmosphere so thick that they couldn't see the surface. But when they entered it, they were immediately subjected to winds going at hundreds of miles per hour, and it was impossible to count the number of lightning bolts that they could see in just one second. They had to constantly move to avoid them and the powerful tornadoes that Eggman created in their path, and the boulders constantly falling from space.
The problem was that because of the thick atmosphere, they could barely see anything, so they rarely saw the lightning bolts, tornadoes, and other attacks before the last second. They weren't even sure that Eggman was still before them. The attacks seemed to come from all directions. So the phantom and chaos users used their powers to blow the atmosphere away, creating a pocket empty of air around them.
This let them see that Eggman was tricking them by teleporting in all directions while attacking and used attacks with wide range to be sure to hit the heroes despite the atmosphere that was also blinding him. Seeing that he was discovered, Eggman stopped and flew up back toward space, and the heroes pursued him, seeing that he was going toward yet another planet that was approaching the one they just left, this one volcanic.
It didn't take them long to reach the surface of the planet covered in volcanoes and oceans of lava, and Eggman immediately sent streams of lava at the heroes. Again, space boulders from other planets rained along with boulders of solid magma sent in the atmosphere by the volcanoes, and Eggman added his touch with boulders levitated out of the ground. Starting to lose patience, some of the heroes hit the boulders to send them at Eggman, not doing much because of the shield.
However, this gave Phantom an idea. "Listen, everyone. I think I know how we will reach Eggman."
As she told them her idea, however, Eggman used the mecha's powers to change the landscape by causing pieces of the ground to randomly move up and down, so the heroes had to avoid newly forming cliffs and the resulting lavafalls and rains of boulders they caused. Eventually, Eggman simply separated the ground in two and flew in the formed path, and as the heroes followed him there, he sent more magma at them from the lavafalls at both sides, and even created pillars of stone connecting the two sides in the path of the heroes.
Then, in a mighty crash, they heard the planet finally collide with the one with the thick atmosphere, and both Eggman and the heroes quickly moved back into space, just in time as a second planet collided with the volcanic one.
"Alright! Let's start it!" shouted Phantom.
She then materialized a real armada made of Eggman's own spaceships, or rather, replicas that fired at him. Twilight then fired hundreds of homing magical beams. Rarity threw boulders. The Sonics and Rainbow Dash charged at boulders to send them at Eggman. Pinkie hit boulders with her hammer. Applejack bucked boulders. And Shadow and Fluttershy fired the red bolts of energy. Eggman's shield was absolutely pummeled, and he was guffawing at their attempt to destroy it.
"Are you becoming that desperate that you think that it will be enough to destroy my shield?"
He then saw a boulder many times bigger than the God Emperor Death Egg approaching. Smirking, he punched it, easily reducing it to dust, and he laughed again.
But his laugh didn't last as something suddenly pierced the shield before hitting the torso of his mecha where the emeralds and the staff were gathered.
"WHAT?!"
What happened was that all those attacks on the shield were just to blind Eggman, so he couldn't see Phantom materializing the giant boulder around the heroes. When Eggman destroyed the boulder, the heroes came out of it and pierced the shield before hitting the mecha's torso.
"Thanks for making our victory easier by gathering in the same place the emeralds and the staff, Eggman!" then shouted Phantom as the glass covering the emeralds and the staff was destroyed, letting the heroes grab them. Without its power sources, the God Emperor Death Egg turned back to normal as Eggman shouted, "NONONONONONO!!!"
Older Sonic gave the Staff of Sacanas to Twilight before giving Eggman a smug smile. "You compared yourself to a god earlier. Well, too bad for you, I'm a god killer."
Adding the power of the second set of Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald to what they already had, the heroes used a Chaos Control to bring everyone back to Mobius. There, Eggman tried to escape with his mecha.
Older Sonic turned to his younger self. "The honor is yours. He's your Eggman after all."
Young Sonic gave him a thumb up in thanks before he charged toward the fleeing mecha. With the power of two sets of Chaos Emerald and one Master Emerald, he easily and rapidly pierced the mecha.
With Eggman screaming in horror and rage, explosions littered the mecha, and after a few seconds, the God Emperor Death Egg exploded.
Eggman ejected himself with his Egg Mobile just before the explosion, but as he started his escape again, he was surrounded by the ten heroes still in Super State, Twilight pointing the Staff of Sacanas at him.
He raised his arms in surrender. |
The Phantom Filly | Chapter 22: Uncertainty | "And remember. Lock him in your best cell," said Older Sonic.
"Of course," answered the officer of the G.U.N. while soldiers escorted Eggman inside the prison.
"This is not over, Sonic!" yelled Eggman. "I will be back! Nothing can lock me for long! I'll be out before you know it!"
"Silence!" shouted one of the soldiers as he violently tugged on Eggman's chains to force him to advance.
At this, the two Sonics, Tails, and Knuckles walked away to join the others who had remained in the jungle outside the prison. After all, who knew how the G.U.N. would react to aliens from another dimension using magic, without forgetting Shadow, who was still supposed to be locked by the G.U.N. in Prison Island in this universe, the very island where they were now. It was weird for Older Sonic to see this island in its normal state again after Eggman destroyed it in his universe, and to be able to explore it without having to fight the robots of the G.U.N.
When the four joined the ponies (who were still in their Rainbow Form), Phantom, and Shadow in the jungle outside the prison, the black hedgehog was the first to talk. "I maintain that we should have killed him. You know as well as me that he will escape, eventually."
Older Sonic shrugged. "Maybe, but then, we wouldn't be better than him."
"Like I care," said Shadow.
Phantom shook her head. "I'm with Shadow," she said, making the ponies gasp. At this, she shrugged while looking at them. "Remember. I may be part of Scootaloo, but I'm also part Infinite." She looked back at Older Sonic. "It's good to have morals, but when you know all the wrongs Eggman can do, wouldn't it be best to put a definitive stop by killing him? Do you really want to let this universe go through everything he caused in our universe? Chaos' rampage? Blowing up half of the Moon? Almost causing the ARK to destroy the world? The enslaving of the wisps? Or everyone almost being killed because of his Life Energy Extractor? Do you know how many people died directly or indirectly because of our Eggman? At least, by killing this Eggman, we would ensure that all those deaths would never happen."
"Except that this universe differs from ours," said Older Sonic. "Events are already happening differently after the Time Eater and the Phantom Ruby. Heck, you just spoiled our friends from this universe with some of what Eggman will do in the future. With this knowledge, you can be sure that history will not be the same." He pointed at Shadow. "Also, Eggman needs to be alive to bust Shadow out of the prison where he's kept. That is, if Eggman decides to bust him out, who knows how things will go after the recent events. Maybe he will have different plans in mind."
"Plans that will probably cause people to die. No matter how different his plans may be from the ones of our Eggman, those will still be plans to conquer the world and cause untold suffering to the people of this world and maybe of others like he did on Equus."
"And I... Well, the other me will be there to stop them, like always."
Phantom rolled her eyes. "And what about the people that will be killed before he's able to stop Eggman's plans?"
"What about Shadow then? He killed people too, but now, look where he's."
"Shadow had the occasion to redeem himself, and he took it without returning to the path of evil when he could have. Eggman had many occasions to redeem himself. He helped to stop Chaos' rampage and the ARK's crash, both events that he caused, and yet, he didn't stop his schemes. This guy is irredeemable, and the world would fare better with him gone forever."
"Phantom!" shouted Twilight. "No matter the reason, as much as someone deserves it, killing is bad."
"Tell that to the staff of the G.U.N. on this island. I'm sure they'll be happy to hear that they could all die because you refused to do the right thing. It's bad killing someone, yes, but isn't it even worse to let someone live when we know that as long as they live, they will cause death and destruction?"
"That's not fair Sc-Phantom!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "You know that there is no right answer to this!"
Phantom shrugged again. "In my opinion, there's a right answer. There's the good thing: not killing Eggman, and there's the better thing: kill Eggman and save the lives of all the people that will die because of him, morality can go to Tartarus."
Tails placed himself between Phantom and Older Sonic. "Hey. Hey. Everyone here has good points, but I think that my Sonic and Knuckles will agree with what I will say. This is the Eggman of our world, so we decide of what we will do to him. And we decide to not kill him. We know that we will probably regret this later, but we refuse to become like him."
Phantom sighed. "Alright. But don't come crying when someone eventually dies because of him. But at least let me tell this. If becoming a hero forces you to have this stupid moral that stops you from doing what is right, then I refuse to become a hero. I would rather be, well, like Shadow actually. Someone who knows that, in this world, to do what is right, you must sometimes dirty your hands. Someone that I would call a REAL hero."
Older Sonic gave a small wince. "Ouch. Harsh."
Shadow laughed at this. "I think this is the first time that I hear someone saying that I'm a better hero."
"Yeah, rub salt in the wound..." grumbled Older Sonic.
"So you're saying that it's better to be a killer?" asked Rainbow Dash as she stared at Phantom in the eyes.
Phantom hesitated for a few seconds, then answered, "Yes. If it's to save lives."
"You... You really aren't Scootaloo. She would have never said that," the cyan pegasus said, tears appearing in her eyes.
"No, she wouldn't," confirmed Phantom with a nod. "Scootaloo was a naive child who knew nothing of the world. Like most ponies, she thought that everything was black and white, and heroes were the best things ever. I'm Phantom. I'm the result of the merging of the mind of said child with the mind of a full-grown adult who had to live by himself since his childhood, who learned that the world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, that heroes were jokes, and who thought that since the world was cruel, then you had to be cruel to live. You can guess what won out between the naivety of a child who lived in peace and the reality of a grown adult who lived in difficulty."
"So, what does this make you?" asked Rainbow Dash as she wiped her tears.
Phantom thought a moment before answering. "I'm barely one hour old. I have yet to fully discover who I am. But I already know this: I'm someone who's ready to give her life to save who she loves and who will do everything to protect the innocents even if it means that she has to break some necks. I'm also someone very prideful, something that Scootaloo and Infinite had in common, but I will not hesitate to put my pride aside when needed, like when I have to ask for help to defeat someone more powerful. I'm also someone lost because, like I said, I'm barely one hour old, so I have no idea of where my life will go from there. I know that I want to remain in Equestria with the people that I love, but I know that those people were the people that Scootaloo loved, not me, and those people loved Scootaloo, not me, so this may not be possible. At least I haven't that problem with my Infinite side. The only people Infinite cared about a little were killed by Shadow."
Nobody was sure what to say to this, but Fluttershy was the one to eventually tell something. "We... We would like then... to know more about you and be your friends."
Phantom sighed. "Thank you... Let's... just forget this whole discussion and return to Equus to give their magic back to everyone."
"Before that, bring me back to my world," ordered Shadow. "I have done my part."
"WHAT?!" yelled Pinkie Pie. "No, you haven't yet! You still have to come to my victory party! Everyone here is invited!"
Shadow gave her his best "I don't care," look and said, "You will have to do it without me."
"But-"
"Don't mind him," said Older Sonic. "This guy is allergic to fun, and nothing you say will change his mind."
"BOOOOOHHH!!!"
"Hey. To make up for it, how about I invite my friends from my worlds? I can't go to a party without them." He turned to Phantom. "Of course, I will have to return to my world first too."
"And we will do the same!" said Tails.
"Yay!" shouted Pinkie. "This means more friends for us to encounter!"
"Uh... Wait," said Applejack. "If Ah follow it correctly, it means there'll be two of each. Like, two Sonic, two Tails, two Knuckles."
Older Sonic became pale. "Two Amy..."
Younger Sonic became pale too at this.
"This will be an interesting party..." said Rarity.
"Wait wait wait," said Knuckles. "Sorry, but I must refuse. I can't leave the Master Emerald."
"Aww please," pleaded Pinkie, only for Knuckles to shake his head.
"Don't insist, Pinkie, it's his choice," said Twilight.
Pinkie pouted. "Fine."
"So, how about we do like that," said Phantom. "First, I bring Sonic and Shadow back to their world, then I bring the ponies back to Equus, so they can give the magic back to everyone. Meanwhile, in your respective worlds, you warn your friends about the party. Then, once we have destroyed Eggman's remaining robots in Equus, I come pick you up for the party. Is that okay?"
Both Sonics answered her by doing a thumb up.
"But where will we do the party? Ponyville is still in ruins," wondered Rainbow Dash.
"Come on, isn't it obvious?" asked Pinkie. "It will be a party to celebrate our victory in the war against Eggman! So there will be things like a military parade and all that stuff! So it will take place in Canterlot! As in, in the entire city, not just in some building! But I'm sure that a big part of it will take place in the castle! And then, it will spread to the whole Equestria and even to other kingdoms because everyone will want to celebrate our victory! The griffons, the yaks, the zebras..."
"So, in one word, 'everywhere'," said Twilight.
"Exactly!"
Phantom gave a small smile, then looked at Older Sonic and Shadow. "Let's go."
The last robot fell under Celestia's sword, freeing a small rabbit that was trapped in it. Without their magic, and with all the Phantom Rubies destroyed, they had to fight with weapons and the technology they developed in this war. It was trying; it was long, many sadly died, but finally, victory was theirs. All factories were captured or destroyed. They destroyed all robots. Eggman's ultimate fortress had fallen. She didn't know what was the situation with the other armies, or with the element bearers and Scootaloo, but here, they won.
When she was joined by Shining Armor, she asked him "How bad is it?"
Shining Armor sighed. "If it wasn't for our robots, many pegasi would have fallen to their death. But that's probably the only good thing that happened. Not used to fighting on the ground, many pegasi were rapidly killed. Same for the unicorns, who were too used of magic. The ones who fared better were the earth ponies, the yaks, and the griffons. Over half of the changelings were slaughtered. Chrysalis herself was badly hurt."
Celestia shook her head. "It's in situation like these that we see how much we became too dependent of magic..."
Shining nodded. "If it wasn't for the new weapons we developed thanks to Eggman's technology, the majority of the unicorns, pegasi, and changelings would have probably been exterminated."
"One thing we can thank Eggman about... What is that?" suddenly asked Celestia when she spotted a purple hole appearing in the sky, above the crater left behind the Death Egg.
Then, out of the hole came the element bearers who looked more colored as well as who she assumed was Scootaloo in a different form than her usual ponyself or her Zero persona. As Celestia and many others watched, Scootaloo then moved away of the element bearers as Twilight let a staff levitate in the air. The bearers then gathered close to the staff and used the power of Harmony to fire a magical beam at it. The staff was destroyed, and the magic it absorbed was released in a huge rainbow explosion that spread everywhere with the bearers. As the explosion reached them, everyone could feel their magic returning, proved by the Cutie Marks reappearing on the ponies' flanks.
Celestia smiled. "They did it!"
Luna teleported to her side. "Do you think it means it is over?"
"I hope so," answered Celestia. "But what happened to Eggman and Tirek? And Discord?"
"I have no idea where Discord is right now," answered someone. When Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor followed the voice, they saw that it was Scootaloo who had joined them. "But you will be happy to hear that Fluttershy and Twilight were able to convince him to return to our side for good, and I was told that he even helped Twilight and the others unlock this power they just used. As for Eggman and Tirek, Eggman is now in jail in his home dimension and Tirek is dead, killed by Eggman."
At hearing of Tirek's fate, Celestia gave a small sad frown, but quickly stopped thinking about it and gave a smile. "So the war is over."
"Almost. There are some robots of Eggman remaining, but now that the bigger threats are gone, it should take me only a few hours to deal with them. By the way, my name is Phantom."
"Phantom?" asked Luna in confusion. "Are you not Scootaloo? You clearly have her powers, and a very close appearance."
"To fight Tirek, Scootaloo and Infinite had to merge to use the Phantom Ruby at its full power."
Again, Celestia gave a sad look. "I see. I'm sorry it came to this."
Phantom gave a shrug. "What is done is done. Now, excuse me, but the sooner those robots are destroyed, the better. I'm sure Twilight won't mind telling you what happened in my place. They should finish soon." she said before disappearing.
As Phantom said, Twilight and her friends rapidly finished with the task of giving the magic back to everyone. Almost immediately after they finished, the Tree of Harmony used the Chest to literally make a crystal-tree-palace grow out of the ground beside the ruins of Ponyville. Celestia and Luna found Twilight and her friends at its base, looking at it in awe. And so, it was in one of the new palace's rooms, one with a big enough table for all of them, that Twilight told the princesses how the final battle went on. Discord, Spike, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle quickly joined them (the three last ones after wandering the halls of the palace for a dozen minutes).
Once she finished, Sweetie Belle immediately asked "So, does this mean that Scootaloo is gone?" on the verge of crying.
After exchanging looks with her friends, Rarity answered "It's complicated... But yes, the Scootaloo you knew is gone. The new one is more... adult, and ruthless..."
"Yeah, she thought that it was better to kill Eggman than to let him live," said Rainbow Dash. "And she made it clear that she didn't like heroes like us because of our moral stopping us from doing "what is right". Scootaloo loved Batmare, but Phantom wouldn't hesitate to insult her."
"Oh yeah, I totally see how she would go," said Pinkie Pie before she imitated Phantom. "Batmare is an idiot. She should just kill Joker so people would stop suffering from his 'jokes'. The second Robin wouldn't have become who he's now, the commissioner's wife would still be alive, and batfilly wouldn't be in a wheelchair. Talk about a hero."
Spike winced at hearing one of his favorite heroes being so harshly criticized, even if it was just an imitation. "She would really say that? Batmare was her favorite hero."
"I would have exactly said that, yes," answered who the mares recognized was Phantom before she entered the room. "Sorry Spike. I'm now more 'Punisher' than 'Batmare'."
"Oh, well, that's okay, if you now prefer antiheroes," replied Spike awkwardly.
Phantom then looked around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "Nice castle. I won't ask how it appeared and will just go with 'shut up, it's magic'." She then looked at Celestia. "Anyway. All of Eggman's robots are now destroyed. The war is definitely over. Losing magic didn't really cause problems to the other species except the hippogriffs, so they could continue destroying the robots without too much difficulty despite the lost of the Phantom Rubies."
"Sorry about that," said Discord.
Phantom stared at him. "You have a lot to be sorry for, but it won't bring back everyone who died because of your betrayal. At least, you helped stop the war at the end. Just make sure it never happens again." At this, she teleported away.
Discord gulped. "If looks could kill..."
Apple Bloom looked down, depressed. "She didn't even look at us..."
"I'm sorry, Apple Bloom," said Fluttershy. "I think she's scared of what you think of her now that she's... not Scootaloo. There's still some Scootaloo in her, so she still sees you as a friend, but she doesn't know if you still see her as a friend. Maybe if you and Sweetie go talk to her..."
"Uh... Alright," said Apple Bloom. "But where? She just teleported, and she'd be anywhere."
"Easy," said Pinkie. "At the victory party in Canterlot. She will be there."
It took a few days for the party to be ready. The news of the end of the war had to spread, the troops had to return from the desert, the injured had to be treated, the dead buried, they had to deal with the small famine caused by Eggman with the help of kingdoms that weren't touched, and they had to do all the preparations. They also had to deal with the Storm King who had been saved from Eggman's prison in Kludgetown, and he was sent to Tartarus, much to Phantom's exasperation. They used that time to begin the post-war reparations, including the rebuilding of Ponyville. Phantom's powers helped a lot.
But eventually, the party began with a huge military parade in Canterlot assembling members of all the species that took part in the war, but having mainly ponies because the other species were busy doing their own parades (or equivalent) in their kingdoms. Even the changelings took part. As they thought, a powerful bond of friendship appeared between the ponies and the changelings during the war, and so, many of them refused to return to fighting ponies. Besides, Chrysalis was still injured, and the queen decided to stop messing with the ponies, not wanting to take any risk with Phantom around. She understood that her chances against her were close to null, and the bipedal filly(?) wouldn't hesitate to end her life, contrary to the ponies. She wasn't stupid; she knew a lost cause when she saw one, and she didn't want to die.
The parade was a suitable occasion to show to the population how much the military had advanced in this war, the weapons, the vehicles, the robots. Bad guys will have to think again before trying to conquer Equestria. And already, seeing the new technologies, many were thinking of how they could use it to advance Equestria and improve everyday life.
As Pinkie said, the celebration quickly spread to the rest of Equestria, and everywhere, equestrian airships could be seen in the sky with banners and dropping confetti while thousands and thousands of ponies were out in the streets screaming their joy. The festivities then turned into a more normal looking party, with games, food, and all.
As they promised, the two Sonics came with most of their friends. Of course, Phantom had to pick them up, being the only one with Discord who could go to other dimensions at will. Younger Sonic didn't bring many people, only Tails, a pink hedgehog girl named Amy Rose, a red armadillo named Mighty, and a yellow flying squirrel named Ray. Older Sonic, however, came with quite a cohort. His world's Tails and Amy Rose, but also an adorable young bunny girl named Cream with a strange blue and yellow flying creature named Cheese, a big purple cat named Big who came with a frog (a normal frog, not a bipedal one) named Froggy, a crocodile named Vector, a chameleon named Espio, a bee named Charmy, and a red cat named Leo. This last one, the ponies quickly recognized thanks to Phantom telling them Infinite's story before the party, including how Leo helped Sonic defeat the jackal.
When Older Sonic saw Mighty and Ray, he got a guilty look. He had totally forgotten about them. He hadn't seen them in years.
Understandably, some of Older Sonic's friends from his world had doubtful expression when they looked at Phantom. Older Sonic obviously told them about who she is, and the only reason why they hadn't jumped at her was probably because he also told them about how she helped fight Eggman. But Vector really seemed ready to punch her if she did anything wrong, and she didn't doubt that Espio would spy on her to ensure that she was clean.
Not like it would matter if she wasn't 'clean'. If she ever found herself fighting Sonic again, she wouldn't let herself be blinded by her pride and her ego like Infinite. She wouldn't underestimate him anymore. So they could consider themselves happy that she wasn't planning to burn the world anymore. She would have been their worst nightmare otherwise.
Anyway, while the ponies got to know them and made friends, Phantom decided to stay away. She still wasn't sure what to do. It was so weird... Were they her friends or not? Things became awkward after that whole 'We should kill Eggman' discussion, and it seemed like even the ponies weren't sure what to think of her. Since the end of the war, she didn't talk to them much, mainly busy coordinating the reconstruction of Ponyville. She hadn't even seen her... Scootaloo's family yet. Her parents and her aunts. As the hours passed, the party continued, and the day turned to night, Phantom remained by herself, not even really participating, barely eating or drinking anything as she sat on a bench.
She was really starting to feel lonely. Maybe, once this party was over, she should just move to another dimension and have a new start.
"There she's!" she suddenly heard. When she looked at the origin of the voice, she saw Apple Bloom pointing at her, followed by Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash.
Older Sonic was also with them, eating a chili dog. "Finally! Well, what are you waiting for? Go talk to her before she decides to teleport! I will remain here for now."
Following his words, the fillies ran toward her. Rainbow Dash followed them at a slower pace while Sonic went to a nearby stand. Sonic, however, darted around the bench, looking like a blue blur, before returning to his previous position, now seemingly holding something invisible under his right arm. The invisible thing then became visible, revealing himself to be Espio who was struggling to escape as Sonic went to the stand. When the fillies reached the bench, they both jumped on it, Apple Bloom at Phantom's left and Sweetie Belle at her right. Phantom didn't object. She knew why they were there, and it was really time to have this talk. Enough putting it off.
"Hey... um... girls..." she greeted.
"Hey..." they both replied at the same time.
An awkward silence followed, with Rainbow watching beside the bench. She wasn't sure what to say too.
Apple Bloom then looked at Phantom's thigh and said, "Hey, ya got yer Cutie Mark! That's great!"
Phantom chuckled. "Yeah. That's great. I just had... Scootaloo just had... Ugh!" She rubbed a hand on her face. "Scootaloo just had to merge with someone and become me to get it, losing herself in the process..." ...
"I hope we won't need to merge with somepony too to get our Cutie Mark. I don't want to lose myself..." said Sweetie Belle.
"I don't think you have to worry about that. Unless another Phantom Ruby pops up and you eat it, I don't think it will happen."
"But it'd happen with magic, right?" said Apple Bloom. "Like, a magical accident, and bam! Fusion!"
Phantom smirked. "Then avoid being near Twilight and you should be okay."
This almost got a laugh from Rainbow while the fillies giggled.
Another awkward silence followed this.
"So... You aren't Scootaloo anymore?" eventually asked Sweetie Belle.
Phantom took a few seconds to answer. "She's a part of me, but yeah. I have all her memories, and when her minds merged with Infinite's to form mine, I kept some of her traits, but I'm my own person... Sorry..."
"Oh..." they both said before Sweetie continued. "But you said you're part Scootaloo so, what does this mean about..." She pointed at herself and Apple Bloom. "Us?"
"That is the one million bits question," answered Phantom. "I have been wondering this ever since Eggman's defeat..." She got up from the bench, then materialized a second bench that she sat on to look at both fillies at the same time. "Listen... There's a reason why I kept an appearance close to Scootaloo's when I could turn into anything I want. Scootaloo's life was shorter than Infinite's, but..." Tears began streaming from her eyes. "Infinite... He was just loneliness, anger, hate, suffering... And Scootaloo... Her life was everything that Infinite unconsciously wanted. I... Every part of me wants to be Scootaloo, but I know that I can't be Scootaloo. As Rainbow Dash said, Scootaloo would never support the idea of killing Eggman. I want to be your friend, I want to be Rainbow Dash's little sister, I want to be Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood's daughter, and Holiday and Lofty's niece... But I don't know if I have the right just because I'm part her... I don't want to feel like I'm stealing her life... And I'm not even sure if you will accept the new me... That darker me..."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged a look, but Rainbow Dash was the first to say something as she went to sit on the first bench, between the fillies, facing Phantom. "You know what? You are wrong. I was wrong. You ARE Scootaloo. You are different. You are more mature. You are more serious. More thoughtful. And you are now ruthless. But you are still her. Being part Infinite won't change that. You still love your friends and your family. You said it, you are ready to do anything for them. And you clearly fear losing them. That's called loyalty, and I don't know a filly more loyal than Scootaloo. Than you." She pointed a hoof at Phantom. "So call yourself whatever you want, but for me, you will always be Scootaloo, my little sister. I'm still not okay with what you said about killing Eggman even if you gave some good points, but I can accept it because I know that you only have the best interest of everypony in mind. Just avoid killing him, please. And try to avoid killing villains if you can."
Phantom stared at her in shock. Rainbow Dash still thought of her as Scootaloo, even if she was different? Even if she had a different mind? Even if she was now part Infinite?
Then... Rainbow Dash hugged her, and the dam broke before Phantom hugged her back. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged another look before they nodded, smiling, and jumped to the second bench, at both sides of Phantom, before they also hugged her.
"And you will always be our friend!" they both said, making her cry even more.
Some distance away, Sonic looked at the scene with a small smile before he said to Espio who was still with him "There. See? You can go tell Vector and the others that they've nothing to fear from her. Monsters don't cry."
Espio gave a smile and nodded before walking away.
In the sky, the fireworks started. |
The Phantom Filly | Epilogue: Prelude to New Adventures | One year later.
Tick tock, tick tock
DRIIIIIIIING!
An orange hoof slammed on the alarm clock to stop it, thus beginning Phantom Scootaloo Zero's day as she awakened. After getting rid of some dust in her eyes, she jumped out of her bed and started her morning ritual before school. Not much. Thanks to her power, she didn't need to do things like brushing her teeth or taking a shower. A bit of self-reality warping thanks to her Phantom Ruby, and she was all clean. This way, she could also avoid having to eat breakfast, but in her mind, nothing beat a good bowl of cereals with a glass of fresh fruit juice in the morning, so she refused to stop having them. In the end, most of her morning before school was passed, either discussing with her aunts or doing some exercises. Again, she didn't need to do exercises, but she didn't want to stop doing them.
And yes, she still went to school. Despite her adult mind, she still needed to go there, as much as it annoyed her. Infinite, or rather Zero, never went to school in his life, and he certainly knew nothing about Equus' History and geography. Besides, going to school meant spending time with her friends.
Breakfast over, she took her saddlebag, shouted to Aunt Hollyday that she was going, and exited her house.
Ponyville had changed a lot. When the town was rebuilt, it was with the new castle in mind. While the castle wasn't in the center of the town, like the castle of the Crystal Empire, the town was built so it was pretty much its heart. All the main streets now started from the place around the castle, and the city hall was just beside it. Most of the businesses were closer to the center of the town, but many decided to open near the castle.
Some of Ponyville's most symbolic buildings were rebuilt like they were, like Sugarcube Corner, the spa, or the Carousel Boutique, and the city hall, and generally, the town kept its original architectural charm, but now, the town had actual roads like in bigger cities like Canterlot and Manehattan for the circulation of the vehicles, much more numerous.
This was the major change: the technology. Carriages had now mostly given their place to cars, motorized vehicles. While most still possessed wheels, the most advanced could fly, or at least hover over the ground. Even the trains were different, now able to traverse Equestria and reach neighboring countries in just a few hours. Ponyville also now had access to electricity, the nearby dam having been upgraded to be a hydroelectric generator. As a result, automatic street lights were now present among other things. Some factories could already be seen in the outskirts of town, and most important of all, robots were now present a little everywhere, helping the ponies in everyday tasks.
And with the help of magic, all of this was eco-friendly, contrary to Eggman's technology. They made sure to not become technological obsessed monsters like him. Each time there was something polluting, they immediately searched for a solution, technological or magical, to make it non-polluting. Or at least to limit the pollution, and then they would try to find something to counterbalance that pollution.
It wasn't just Ponyville. All of Equestria, and the entire world, was changing, entering a new era of technology which led to a massive economical boon greatly helped by the friendlier relationships formed in the war against Eggman.
In all this, a portal to both Sonic's worlds was secretly built with the help of both magic and technology and a lot of studying Starswirl's portal. The Tails, little technological genius that they were, also helped a lot. This way, the otherworldly friends could continue to see each other without needing to call Phantom or Discord each time. Among other news, Twilight now had a protegee named Starlight Glimmer, Cadance was now pregnant, and some changelings physically changed when they discovered that they could give love, forming a new people.
As for the Phantom Rubies, they decided that they would stop producing them. In wrong hooves, they could be too dangerous. They destroyed any rubies that had survived Discord, along with all written knowledge of how to produce them.
And all this time, Phantom Scootaloo Zero just lived her new old life. Since she was told that she was Scootaloo despite also being Zero, then she decided to continue to live as Scootaloo. Following the victory party, she talked to her family, parents and aunts, who accepted the new her. So she continued to live in Ponyville with her aunts, going to school, and helping her friends finding their Cutie Mark.
Speaking of which, Scootaloo joined her friends in front of the school, which was built in the same place as before, but bigger, because they didn't doubt that in the following years, the number of students will grow a lot.
Despite the world changing around, the ponies didn't change, and this included Scootaloo's fellow Crusaders. The two fundamental changes about them were that they had grown a little, and they now had a Cutie Mark: an apple made of wood for Apple Bloom and a music note for Sweetie Belle. After that she merged with Zero, Scootaloo gained enough maturity to understand how stupid they had been with their Cutie Marks. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's Cutie Marks had been so obvious that she had to stop herself from slamming her head in a wall. Apple Bloom was good in carpentry, and Sweetie Belle was good at singing. How did they not see that before? Answer: because they were children. Of course, Scootaloo had her Phantom Ruby Cutie Mark. She wondered what would have been her Cutie Mark if she hadn't found the Phantom Ruby. Maybe something to do with her scooter, or with speed. Or maybe the CMC's destiny would have been different, and they would have gotten different Cutie Marks.
After school, they went to Sugarcube Corner to have a little snack, followed by Berry Pinch.
"Here you go," said Pinkie as she dropped three milkshakes.
"Thank you, Pinkie," they all said.
Pinkie then nuzzled Berry Pinch. "How was school my little cupcake?"
"Moooom. I told you, don't call me that in front of others," said Berry Pinch with a blush.
"Ah, yes, you prefer when I call you my little pinchy."
Berry Pinch pouted and booped Pinkie on the nose. "Stop that!" But finally, she laughed and continued. "School was alright, like always. Today, we learned about..."
As Berry Pinch began recounting what they learned today in school, Scootaloo couldn't stop herself from giving a warm smile. Poor Berry Pinch lost her mother in the attack of Ponyville and became an orphan. The filly was inconsolable. But then, after the war, Pinkie Pie adopted her and did everything she could to give Berry Pinch back her smile. Now, those two really were mother and daughter. Pinkie knew she will never replace Berry Punch, but she worked hard to be the family Berry Pinch needed. A good example was that Pinkie was now living in her own home beside Sugarcube Corner so the filly could have her own chamber.
Tragically, Berry Pinch was far from being the only foal who became an orphan in this war, and a couple of orphanages had to be built here and there. The good news was that none of the orphans from Ponyville had to leave town to go live in an orphanage. They were all quickly adopted. Despite all their defaults, the ponies of Ponyville really had the biggest heart of Equestria.
And among the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Pinkie Pie wasn't the only one who adopted one. Fluttershy just couldn't bear to leave a foal alone without doing anything and decided to adopt one: Lily Longsocks. The filly loved animals almost as much as Fluttershy, and her unnatural strength helped her greatly with the bigger ones like Harry the bear. Even Angel didn't dare messing with her. Rarity also adopted one, none other than Silver Spoon. This made things really awkward between her and Sweetie Belle, but eventually, the two warmed up despite the bullying, and Silver Spoon stopped following Diamond Tiara and became friends with them. This made the situation with Diamond Tiara worse, but things got better since they helped her against her mother, Spoiled Rich.
When they finished their milkshakes, the Crusaders left Berry Pinch with her adopted mother and exited the bakery to go to their 'new' clubhouse. Thanks to Scootaloo's power, she was able to create a new one exactly identical to the previous one that had been destroyed with the rest. On the way, Scootaloo waved to Rainbow Dash as the mare passed above them, pushing clouds. They then passed Applejack's stand of apples and said a quick hello to her and Fluttershy as the pegasus was buying some apples. Lily Longsocks was also there with Discord, a little to the side arm wrestling. Despite making himself even more buffed than Bulk Biceps, Discord was losing, so he was doing funny faces to make Lily lose her focus. But even if this made her laugh, he was still losing. This filly could be the daughter of Supermare. The Crusaders also crossed paths with Twilight and her protegee Starlight Glimmer, the princess probably giving her another tour of Ponyville to help her make friends.
Yes, things changed a lot, but this remained the peaceful Ponyville.
And of course, since it was Ponyville, something was bound to happen to interrupt this peace.
And that something was an airship suddenly coming from the sky. This wasn't an airship like the ponies were now used to, this one looked like an actual seafaring blue-white ship, with oars, a keel, and a mast, but it also possessed engines at its aft flanked by two wings. There was also a star emblem on its bow, and its sail had the drawing of what looked like a vortex.
Curious, everypony followed the ship as they saw that it was going to land beside Twilight's castle. Scootaloo teleported herself and her friends. When the ship landed and an entrance appeared on its side with a ramp, she made sure to be at the front of the forming crowd, ready to intervene if it revealed to be a threat.
But then, out of the entrance, walking down the ramp, came Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo could only say one thing at this.
"What?"
Discord put a phone on his hear. "Hello Discord, it's to confirm that she arrived."
«That's splendid news! Let the chaos begin!» answered Discord.
"Ohohohohoh! I can't wait for them to meet the third one."
«Oooh the sweet, sweet chaos those three will create.»
To be continued |
A Simple Reflection | pre | The stallion didn't move. He just nickered nervously and huddled closer to the trunk of the tree. Applejack was seized by a sudden vision of lightning striking it, sending a massive charge into the ground and dropping the pony where he stood.
"Listen," she said nervously. "This isn't a good place for you. Ah know that leg hurts, but if lightning strikes here, you won't be walking away from it."
Something was wrong. Most ponies, unless they were utterly exhausted, would have responded by now. And this stallion's eyes were clear and alert. That, and he just didn't look right. She couldn't quite place it, but it just seemed off.
Finally, she saw it. Her eyes widened. "Dear Celestia, what are you?" |
A Simple Reflection | Chapter 3 | An unseasonably cold wind blew through Canterlot, and the rumble of distant thunder rippled through the air. Fairweather lifted his head, looking out at the dark clouds massing over the horizon. The storm seemed to have come out of nowhere, blooming out of a clear sky.
He shook his head, returning his attention to the small hole he was digging with a trowel. Nearby, an aged earth pony watering some plants glanced at him and gave him a friendly nod. Fairweather nodded back, carefully scraping a small amount of earth off the sides of the even, perfectly circular hole in the soft loam.
To his side sat a potted orchid, purchased minutes before from a street vendor. Dozens of others like it bloomed around him, in hues of red, blue and purple, as they should be. He'd been carefully planting them here for nearly twenty years, every time he'd had to leave Canterlot on a mission or for some other purpose.
The earth pony moved to another patch of plants, whistling merrily. He didn't even know Fairweather's name, but he knew him well enough to know he wanted to be left alone while planting one of his orchids.
With slow, precise motions, Fairweather lifted the orchid out of the pot and deposited it in the hole he'd dug. As usual, it was a perfect fit. He'd had a fair amount of practice getting the holes just right.
That done, he let out a heavy sigh and looked at the plain headstone in the middle of his cluster of orchids. His hooves suddenly ached for a piece of soapstone and a file, but he wrestled the urge down.
I know it's been a while, he thought, addressing the headstone. I didn't forget. I just haven't been here.
His armour and kit lay in a neat bundle a few strides behind him. The chestpiece almost didn't fit him any more, but he'd been able to punch a new hole into the canvas straps to loosen it some. I'm getting soft in my old age, he thought, chuckling to himself.
His ears perked up at hoofsteps somewhere behind him. Fairweather looked behind him, blinking in surprise when he saw Shining Armour picking his way between the headstones. When the he saw him, the Captain ducked his head, ears flattening. "We're due at the courtyard in a few minutes," he said. "But if this is a bad time..."
Fairweather glanced back at the headstone. "No, lad," he sighed.
Shining shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure? Because I can come back later, and--"
"Ah don' recall stuttering," Fairweather snapped. "This be as good a time as any." He looked back at the headstone. "Ah was just saying goodbye. Just in case Ah... just in case."
It was a simple thing, really, saying goodbye. Why had he never had a chance when she was alive?
"If you need more time, just say it," Shining said. "I know you miss her."
"Ah had my time with her," Fairweather snapped. "And now it's over. No getting it back, so there's nothing left to do but move on." To prove his words, he stood, taking the trowel and the discarded flowerpot under a wing. He slung his kit over his back and strode past his friend, putting the grave behind him.
He didn't have to see the look on Shining's face to know where his thoughts were. They were back in the Crystal Empire with his wife. Had he said goodbye before he left?
"Who did you find t' bring along?" Fairweather asked, breaking the silence that had sprung up between them.
"I found a few willing guards, and a decent tracker." Shining replied, still gazing to the north. "We have our full squad, at least. A medic, too. He gave me something for my head."
Fairweather grunted. "You should 'ave let me worry about it. Your noggin's taken enough abuse today." After a moment, Shining's words registered fully. "Wait, you found a tracker? How in blazes did you manage that?"
"It wasn't as hard as you might think," Shining replied, rounding the corner and entering the palace's east courtyard. Inside, eight ponies stood at ease, kits spread around the immediate area.
Fairweather stopped dead, staring at the assembled ponies. "You didn't," he breathed.
One of the ponies, a pegasus mare, looked over at him. She was the only one without armour. "Officer on deck!" she shouted. The other guards glanced over, cutting themselves off midword, and quickly assembled into a line, snapping crisp salutes.
Fairweather shot a disbelieving look at Shining, who responded with a slight smile. "Are these...?"
"The other guards in my cadet group?" Shining replied. "Yes. You were a sergeant, last they saw you."
Fairweather ran down the line of guards, finally stopping on a massive blue earth pony with more scar tissue on him than skin. "Dear stars, Patchwork. They made you a medic?"
The ex-bouncer bared his teeth in a grin with more gaps in it than anything else. "Turns out I've a good hoof with needle and thread," he replied. "Comes from stitching myself up so much."
Fairweather shook his head and continued down the line. The mare that had announced him straightened slightly when he approached, but he continued on without a word. "They'll do," he said simply.
"I certainly hope so," Luna said, striding out of the shadows.
Shining stiffened and took a step back. Fairweather stifled a chuckle. He couldn't blame the unicorn. Having a Princess walk out of nowhere right beside you had to be an unsettling experience.
Luna surveyed the group. Where they had stood proudly under Fairweather's examination, under Luna's they seemed to shrink. "Are these the best you could find?" she asked Shining.
"Absolutely not," he replied. "But I trust them all, and that's the important thing."
She sniffed and walked past the guards. "I trust that Shining Armour has briefed you. If he has not, simply know that we are pursuing a very valuable and potentially dangerous quarry. Which among you is a tracker?"
"That'd be me," the mare spoke up in a slight, nearly undetectable burr.
Luna glanced at her. "Our quarry was last seen plummeting from my sister's chambers into the Ice River. I trust that you will be able to guide us from there."
The mare grinned. "You're talking to Trail Blaze here. If it walks, runs or flies, I can track it."
The grin slipped right off her face when Luna turned away without a word. "We have no time to lose," she said. "Move out."
While the others were shouldering their packs and tightening armour straps, Fairweather strode to Blaze's side. "What are ye doing here?" he hissed. "Shining gave me the idea that he only took guards."
Blaze bristled. "I happened to be near the palace to hand in some paperwork. Shining recognized me and asked me to come along. Simple as that."
"There's still the issue of you bein' a civilian," Fairweather pointed out. "If you get hurt, it's on me."
"You're being overprotective again," Blaze retorted. "I've been in plenty of hairy situations in the field. I'm sure I can take care of myself."
"Ah don't doubt that," Fairweather replied. "Not one bit."
"Then why are you worried?"
Fairweather sighed. "When your mother died, I... I promised no' to let anything happen to you. I cannae keep that promise if--"
"If I keep getting myself in trouble," Blaze finished. "I know." She flashed him a lopsided grin. "Tell you what. When things get ugly, I'll go the other way. No heroism from me. Happy?"
Shaking his head, Fairweather clapped his daughter on the shoulder. "Ah would be if Ah didnae know you were lying." He glanced toward the others. "Let's go. You've got a target to track." And now I have a daughter to worry about. You owe me for this, Shining.
Wet, shivering and exhausted, Rainbow Dash glided toward the weather headquarters in Cloudsdale. Far behind her, the storm over Ponyville seethed darkly, sheet lightning flickering between the clouds.
"Stupid Blossomforth," she muttered under her breath as she landed, wings shaking from overexertion. "Stupid microburst. Stupid storm." Her mind unwittingly flashed back to the incident that had brought her here in the first place. Giving up on tending the storm, returning to home base... seeing grass flattening in the field below them, calling out a warning an instant too late...
Blossomforth was now in the Ponyville hospital with a dislocated shoulder, a broken wing and a concussion. Rainbow had heard of microbursts and what they could do to a pegasus in flight, but this was the first time it had happened on her watch, and it shook her to the core.
The weather control station was in chaos when she walked in, dripping water through the cloud floor. Ponies ran and flew around, carrying topographical and atmospheric maps. Voices were raised to be heard over the frantic activity, only adding to the overall volume.
"... the hay was in charge of that warm air front? It was supposed to swing to the west, not the north! That's what caused most of this!"
Rainbow winced, avoiding eye contact with the red-faced pegasus stallion stomping by. Thunder Head was one of those bosses that should be avoided whenever something went wrong. If it wasn't for the fact that she had to fill out an incident report for Blossomforth, she wouldn't be here at all.
There. The filing cabinet with the forms was right in front of her. All she had to do was grab one unnoticed, and--
"Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow bit back a groan and turned around, meeting her boss' blazing eyes. "Yeah?" she replied.
Thunder Head jabbed his hoof into the center of her chest. "Your team was in charge of redirecting that air front! What in the name of Cerberus' balls happened?"
"We did redirect it," Rainbow replied, fighting to stay calm. She'd seen employees get in shouting matches with Thunder Head, and it never ended well. "I really don't know what happened."
"I can tell you exactly what happened!" Thunder Head snapped. "You went and created one of the worst thunderstorms of the year! That cyclone's thrown the schedule for the rest of the region off by weeks!"
"I didn't create it," Rainbow grated, her temper fraying. "The entire system went haywire! The thunderstorm practically created itself."
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Thunder Head roared, a vein pulsing on his temple. "The only way a storm's created by accident is by sheer incompetence! Don't try and pawn your failures off on some freak acci--"
With an almost audible crack, Rainbow's temper snapped like a poplar in a windstorm. "I did nothing wrong!" she yelled back. "That front swung back north all by itself. I've spent the last three hours working myself to the bone to try and stop this from getting any worse! It's only because of me that we're dealing with a thunderstorm right now instead of a full-on tornado!"
Rainbow shut her mouth, aware that the room had fallen silent. All eyes were on her, the pony that had dared to yell back at Thunder Head.
Her boss' face slowly went purple. "That'll be all," he said quietly, before turning and walking away.
Rainbow watched him go, and then turned to the filing cabinet. Her hooves were shaking so badly that it took her three tries to get it open. The silence continued as she filled out the incident report and tossed it carelessly onto a desk. Someone would find it eventually. Whether or not they'd be able to read what she'd written was an entirely different story, and not her concern anyway.
Guess that's my two weeks notice, she thought offhandedly. Ah, well. I've got some savings stored up. Let's see how they get on without me. In the meantime, I've got a job to do.
The thunderstorm was only the beginning. She could feel it. When she'd been working with the team to avert the storm, everything had been more difficult. The clouds almost resisted their efforts, and by the end of it, even staying aloft was a challenge.
She looked around. The ponies around her all bore the same expression of dull shock. And none of them believed her. She could see it in their eyes. Her words were nothing but the desperate defense of a doomed employee.
They don't believe me. That's fine. I don't need their help.
Nopony in the room so much as moved until she left the cloud building.
The Ice River always ran fast this time of year. Fed by both glacial meltwater and underground hot springs, the river was always just warm enough to swim in, yet always carried the chill of the mountains, giving it its name. Sediment and minerals from the glaciers high in the mountains surrounding Canterlot gave the river a translucent turquoise hue. It was bordered on on one side by forest, which thinned out to grasses and reeds as it neared the river.
Shining stuck a hoof in the river, and snatched it back, hissing. Just warm enough to swim in. As in just warm enough to avoid instant hypothermia. To think that in the autumn, when the river's flow had abated somewhat, ponies actually went floating down the river for therapeutic purposes. The mineral-rich water was apparently very good for the skin.
I'll take dry skin over freezing water any day, Shining thought, shaking a few drops off his hoof.
Farther downriver, Blaze was picking her way through the growth on the river's banks. Only the movement of the tall grasses and reeds marked her passage.
For a moment, Shining wondered if the pegasus mare was actually capable of tracking something over a day gone, but then reminded himself of what she did for a living. Blaze was a field operative for Canterlot's conservation authority, in charge of tracking and tagging endangered wildlife. Her last project had been collecting observations on the Everfree's timberwolves. How she'd managed to do so and remain intact was a mystery to him, but she'd done it.
To the side, Fairweather watched his daughter work, pointedly not looking at Shining. He was talking quietly with Luna about something, but Shining couldn't even catch a whisper. Luna must have put up some kind of sound-dampening spell.
Blaze suddenly let out a shout. In response, Fairweather's ears went flat and he took to the air midword, streaking to where the shout had come from. Shining followed an instant later, his heart pounding. Collapses along the bank were common this time of year, and he knew from experience that pegasi weren't good swimmers. If Blaze had fallen in...
He crashed through the bush and skidded to a halt when an upraised hoof almost struck him in the muzzle. "Not another step," Blaze snapped, peering intently at something on the ground.
Shining's terror vanished, replaced by sheepishness. "I thought you'd..."
"So did my dad, apparently," Blaze replied, glancing up to where Fairweather circled. "Seriously, it's bad enough with just him looking out for me. And at least he knows to keep to the sky. You're standing in stinging nettles, by the way."
Shining glanced down. "No I'm not..." As soon as he opened his mouth, his legs started to burn. He carefully moved to the side, although the burning feeling remained. Now that he had a better angle, he could see what had made Blaze shout in what he now realized was triumph. The river bent slightly, creating a small outcropping of sediment. A few reeds beside it were flattened, and hoofprints were sunk into the soft earth. From any other angle, it was nearly invisible.
"This is where he got out of the river," Blaze explained. "Judging from the depth of the prints, it must be a stallion--either that, or a really fat mare." She continued on, casting a critical eye over the prints, which grew fainter as they moved farther from the river. "Not much distance between the prints here. He wasn't moving quickly. I wouldn't be, either. Almost drowning never put me in much of a running mood."
She walked past Shining as if he wasn't even there. Overhead, Fairweather made one final circle and returned to where the other guards were waiting. "He laid down here for a little while," she said, indicating a patch of flattened underbrush under a tree. "Catching his breath. From there..." Blaze bared her teeth in a feral grin. "Oh, it's like he's not even trying. This guy doesn't have a chance."
Shining followed her gaze, frowning. All he saw was leaf litter and an uneven forest floor. "You, uh... found a trail?"
"Don't ask stupid questions," Blaze replied, walking along the trail it seemed only she could see. "Get the others. I'll lead the way."
A knock sounded at the entrance to Luna's chambers. "Come in," Celestia said, stifling a yawn. The sun was starting to go down, and without the rush of energy it gave, her bone-numbing exhaustion made itself known with a deafening clamour.
A blue unicorn in a tattered lab coat tentatively pushed the door open, shaking his wild mane out of his eyes. "Sorry to disturb you," he said, "But I've found something odd. I need a second opinion."
Celestia nodded. "Go on."
The unicorn, a member of her personal research team whose name she couldn't recall for the life of her, hesitated. "Well, I decided to go up to your chambers to have a look around. Scan it for magical resonance, and all that."
Stiffening, Celestia gestured for him to continue. Her and Luna had been trying to keep their little experiment quiet, mainly because of the public outcry that was sure to come as a result. They couldn't understand what drove them. If this pony had figured something out...
"What did you find?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice neutral.
"That's exactly it," he replied. "I didn't find anything. No residues of any kind."
Celestia frowned. That was unexpected. "What do you mean?"
"Just that. I didn't even feel background resonance. Your entire room was... well, for lack of a better word, it was a void."
"Interesting," Celestia said carefully. What in the world did that mean? She'd drawn enough power to lay waste for miles! How could there be no resonance whatsoever?
"Your Highness, with all due respect..." The unicorn transfixed her with his intense cobalt eyes. "What happened up there?"
"I..." What was she supposed to say? "I don't remember."
The unicorn's expression softened. "Can't blame you, I guess. Head injuries have a way of doing that."
"Do you have any idea what it means?" Celestia asked.
"Not a clue," the unicorn replied. "I can't think of anything that'd do that. It's like something just... cancelled all the magic out." Celestia flinched. The unicorn saw the slip and looked back up. "You sure you don't remember anything?"
"If I knew what happened up there," Celestia said truthfully, "I'd tell you. Now, I must rest."
The unicorn bowed and backed out. "... see what the other guys think," Celestia heard him mutter on the way out.
She sank back on the cushions, trying to recall exactly what had happened. The moment that thing had touched her spell, the whole thing had unraveled. No, it had recoiled.
Celestia shivered. For some reason, remembering that afternoon made her feel cold. Not the chill of a cold day; something far deeper than that. The lightless, heatless cold of an utter void.
Her heart jumped into her throat. Luna! Her sister was well versed in magical attacks and entrapments. If she located her target and used one of them...
She leapt out of bed and staggered to Luna's study, feeling the effects of leaving the sunlight instantly. Pain shot through her side with every step, but she ignored it. Luna had to be warned.
She reached Luna's desk and yanked open the first drawer that came within reach, pulling it out completely and spilling parchment all over the floor. She dug through the pile for a blank sheet and, forcing magic through her horn, levitated a quill from the desk's surface. When she finally found a blank sheet, she hunched over it and began scribbling. It took a massive effort of will to make the quill move the way she wanted it to, making each letter a challenge.
Finally, it was done. She hastily blew on the ink, counting the seconds as she waited for it to dry. That done, she forced magic through her horn one last time into a teleportation spell.
At that moment, the sun sank below the horizon. Every ounce of strength she had left fled from her, and utter exhaustion settled over her like a crushing weight. She felt the magic fade from her grasp, and the desk rose up to meet her.
No... she thought, fighting her traitorous body to stay awake. Against her will, her eyes drifted shut.
To the south, the storm continued to roil. Its fury was spent, but it seemed that the land was still holding its breath. Watching. Waiting.
For this was only the beginning. |
A Simple Reflection | Chapter 4 | About halfway through the night, the thunderstorm stopped, as suddenly as it had come. Within an hour, the clouds had broken up, their fury spent, allowing the stars to shine again. Shining Armour glanced nervously up at the sky as he drove in another tent peg, half-expecting it to cloud back over, or for lightning to strike from the clear sky. He wouldn't have been surprised; over the last couple hours, lightning had struck around them furiously, igniting fires in the grass that were almost immediately extinguished by the pounding rain.
Shining shook his head and drove another tent peg into the soggy ground, looking for anything to distract him from his thoughts. And from the headache that was starting up behind his eyes.
"You look like you're waiting to be executed," Fairweather said dryly from behind him. "Relax. The storm's over."
It's not the storm I'm worried about, Shining almost said. Instead, he just grunted, pounding in another peg. It went in almost too easily; despite them only having been there for a few minutes, the ground was already churned into a muddy mess.
Fairweather sighed. "I'm sure she's fine."
Shining didn't look up. "Is there any chance at all that Blaze is wrong?"
"If she said he went to Ponyville, then he went to Ponyville. Blaze... she's a few things, but wrong isn't usually one of them." Fairweather fidgeted. "You know, there might be a better reason for going there. It's a small country town, out of the way, easy to disappear in. He may just be lying low."
Shining chuckled, slinging his bedroll into the tent. He'd already lined the floor with spruce and cedar boughs, but the damp would probably sneak in anyway. "I really wish I could believe that," he replied. "But you know as well as I do how big a target the Elements are. They might be the only real threat to this thing! And here we are, setting up camp a league from Ponyville, for no other reason than because someone doesn't want to cause a panic!" He realized that his voice had risen to a shout and hastily shut his mouth.
"And what was your plan?" Fairweather asked, his voice icy cold. "Charge in, all by your lonesome, and ram a lance down his throat? Endanger yourself, the mission, and everyone around you? That's not the Captain of the Guard thinking, it's a milk-drinking colt that read one too many fairy tales!"
Shining looked away, chastised. He tried to think of something to say to salvage his pride, but nothing came to mind.
"Listen," Fairweather continued, more softly. "I know you're used to trusting your instincts. But sometimes, you need to take a wee bit more care."
"So we sit here and do nothing," Shining replied, scowling. If there was one thing he hated, it was waiting for something to happen.
"We bide our time," Fairweather shot back. "Luna's searching the dreamscape every chance she gets. If an' when she finds a trace of it, we'll know roughly where it is. Then we can come in quickly and precisely."
"I still think I should at least warn Twilight," Shining said. "She deserves to know. She might even be able to help us!"
"Maybe," Fairweather agreed. "But if we telegraph our presence, we lose our only chance."
"And we might lose our chance if we sit here doing nothing!" Shining snapped back.
Fairweather sighed. "Ah know this is difficult for ye. It goes against every one o' your instincts. But Ah've been in situations like this before." He put a hoof on Shining's shoulder. "Ah'm no' asking you to agree with me. But Ah am asking you to trust me."
Shining shook his head. "What if she's wrong?" he asked quietly. "If she doesn't even know what we're chasing--"
"We'll manage," Fairweather cut in. "Migh' end up being a wee bit messier than we thought, but we'll manage."
"I hope so," Shining said.
Fairweather held up a hoof. "You hear that? Wingbeats."
Shining cocked his head. "I don't hear anything," he replied.
"Shh..." Fairweather closed his eyes, rotating his ears. A frown crossed his scarred face. "I don't hear it any more," he admitted, opening his eyes. "Must have been my imagination."
A cold gust of wind blew through the camp, and both shivered. "We should grab some shut-eye," Fairweather remarked. "Remember what I told you, lad." With that, he sauntered off toward his tent at the far corner of a camp, whistling jauntily through the gap in his teeth as if nothing had happened.
Shining turned toward his own tent, dreading the prospect of sleeping on the soaked ground. Everyone in the camp would be achey and irritable come morning. Just another perk of field work. At least he'd had the foresight to place his tent underneath a sizeable oak tree. The ground would be slightly drier there.
As he passed under the branches, a dark shape suddenly swung down, fastening a foreleg over his mouth. Shining's yelp of alarm escaped weakly through his nose, and he glared up at his captor, running through a list of offensive spells...
Shining blinked, letting the magic die away. "Blaze?" he mumbled against the foreleg.
The pegasus responded by putting a hoof to her mouth in a shushing gesture. After releasing him, she leapt down from the branch with catlike grace, landing with barely a rustle. She sank low, catching his eye again, and gestured with her head to somewhere away from the camp.
"What's going on?" Shining whispered, following her through the grasses. "What are you doing out?"
"I found something," Blaze replied, slinking through a patch of goldenrod. The pungent pollen made Shining's eyes water, making him glad he didn't suffer from allergies. "You need to see this."
"No, I mean why are you out of the camp in the first place?"
Blaze snorted. "You can go ahead and spend the night with a bunch of overmuscled, uneducated stallions if you want. I'd prefer something a little more isolated."
"What the hay is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Now be quiet. Someone might hear us."
"Why do we have to sneak out?" Shining asked, immediately before walking through a spider web. He stopped, biting off a curse, and raised a hoof to wipe the sticky threads from his face.
"I don't trust Luna, Dad will want to tell her, and I don't know anyone else," Blaze said, carefully bending a sapling out of the way.
"You don't really know me either," Shining remarked.
"I know your face, your station, and your reputation," Blaze shot back. "And while I don't necessarily agree with everything you've done, you seem a little more open-minded than Fairweather. Besides, even if Dad doesn't tell someone, I have a feeling he'll just humour me no matter what I say. He did that when I was a kid; don't see why he'd change his habits now."
Shining blinked. "Fairweather? Humour you? You sure we're talking about the same pony?"
"You don't know the half of it," Blaze replied. "That was one of the reasons I ran away."
"You ran away," Shining said flatly.
"I had my reasons, and no, I don't want to talk about it. Now be quiet. We're almost there."
They finally came to a stop before a small hillock crested by a sizeable boulder. Lichen spiderwebbed across the rock's surface, and a small cedar tree grew from a cleft at the top.
"So what did you find here?" Shining asked, yanking a burr out of his mane.
"I told you I'd lost the trail back there, but had a pretty good idea where it was going," Blaze stated. "Well, I found it again."
Shining's heart soared. "Does it lead away from Ponyville?"
"No, it definitely leads toward Ponyville," Blaze replied, pointing to some shallow depressions in the dirt. Shining's spirits fell and shattered on the cold, muddy ground.
"He's moving slowly," Blaze continued, "And he's wandering a bit, but he hasn't deviated much. But I found something way more interesting over here."
She lead Shining to a small grouping of tall, leafy, purple-flowered plants. They looked normal, except... "Has something been chewing on these?" Shining asked. "It looks like something's been taking bites out of it."
"That's because our stallion did," Blaze replied. "This is alfalfa. Not the tastiest plant out there, but it's sweeter than plain old grass. Not bad when you fry it with some butter, either." She reached out, snapped off an untouched sprig, and popped it in her mouth.
"So he got hungry," Shining said dryly. "Sorry, but I'm not sure how that-"
"Look at the pattern," Blaze cut in. "It's random. If you were munching on something like this, you'd keep it to one plant, right? You wouldn't spread it around. This looks more like the pattern a deer or goat might leave. And look over here." She pointed to an area where patches of grass were torn up. "Again, standard grazing behaviour. This stallion we're chasing... with the meandering trail, and this, I'm starting to think he's not fully sapient."
Shining shook his head. "Blaze, that doesn't make any sense. We... equines have been cognitive for almost a million years."
"That's exactly what I'm thinking!" Blaze shot back. "But this behaviour doesn't fit. It's just... wrong." She shivered. "This all feels wrong."
Shining sighed. "Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. We have no way of knowing until we find him."
"And what happens when we do find him?" Blaze shot back. "I'm not stupid, you know! You say you want to bring him back to Canterlot, but I can guess what Luna's thinking. She's out for blood, for pony's sake!"
"She wouldn't..." Shining started halfheartedly, and trailed off. Did he really know what Luna would and wouldn't do? She was unpredictable, still trapped in a way of thinking hundreds of years old.
Bring him back to me. Use whatever means you deem necessary.
Shining thought furiously. That was exactly what Celestia had said. She never said to bring him back alive.
"We should get back to the camp," Shining said abruptly. "We can sort all this out in the morning."
"You go ahead," Blaze retorted. "I like it just fine over here. Besides, I might take another look at this trail. See if I can find out anything more."
"What if I ordered you to go back?"
Blaze smirked. "I'm not part of the Guard. Technically, I'm a civilian consultant, so you don't have any real authority over me."
Shining gritted his teeth. She was right. He could make strongly worded recommendations, but Blaze had no reason to follow them. She's the best there is, he told himself. You can put up with a bit of insubordination for that.
"Shining?" He turned around, meeting Blaze's suddenly intense eyes. "This stays between you and me. I don't know what to make of it myself, and I don't want to know what the others will. If you even hint at what I found..."
There was something in those eyes that said disobeying her would be a very poor choice. Shining blinked. "I won't," he found himself saying.
Blaze smiled. "Good. Now get back to the camp before someone misses you."
Ignoring the sudden urge to smack her, Shining turned tail and left, his thoughts a tangled whirl.
Before he knew it, he found himself at the entrance to Fairweather's tent. He paused for a moment, unsure as to why he'd even come that way.
"You migh' as well come in," Fairweather said from inside. "It's damned spooky, havin' you stand there."
Shining jumped, and hesitantly poked his head in. Fairweather gestured toward a camp stool, laying his files and a lump of soapstone on a table.
Both were silent until Shining had sat down. Fairweather picked up the soapstone carving again and started worrying away at it with a fretsaw. "So what'd Blaze tell you out there?" he asked.
Shining tensed and relaxed again within a moment. It didn't surprise him in the slightest that Fairweather knew what had happened. "She has some... strange ideas," he admitted.
Fairweather sighed, sawing off a small piece of stone. His hooves were already covered with fine dust. "She's been suspicious of a few things ever since she first found the trail."
"I think she has more than just suspicions," Shining replied. "It's just... hard to believe."
"Belief's a funny thing," Fairweather said, examining the stone critically. "Can be easy to find, or hard, depending on 'ow unfamiliar it is."
"She was worried that you'd humour her," Shining said.
Fairweather looked up from the carving. "Ah expect she asked you not to repeat anything she said."
Shining swallowed. "If she told you what she thought, would you believe her? Or just..."
"When a little filly gives you a drawing, you humour her," Fairweather said. "When a grown-up mare has a serious theory, you believe her." He shook his head. "Ah won't ask you t' betray her trust. Even if our target isn't what it seems, it makes no difference."
Shining grunted. "She seems to think differently."
Fairweather let out a heavy sigh. "Blaze is... she has her mother's spirit. But she had a habit of jumping headfirst down a hole without even checking to see what's in it. I'm not saying she's wrong, but... we need to look at all sides here."
Shining was silent for a moment. "She mentioned that she ran away," he finally said.
"A mistake on my part," Fairweather replied. "I just didn't want to lose her. So I tried to keep her safe. But I was really just tying her down. And Blaze... she's not the kind of pony to be tied down." He shrugged. "So she ran. Went and made a name for herself. I didn't see her for six years. When she came back, she'd..." Fairweather blinked, clearing his throat. "She'd gone and grown up."
Shining went over and patted his friend on the shoulder. Fairweather pushed him off, and took a deep, shaky breath. "No sense worrying about it," he said gruffly. "I cannae change it, can I? Now keep your 'ead where it needs to be. We 'ave a job to do, remember?"
Shining shook his head. "I'm still wondering if we're going about this the right way."
Fairweather sighed. "It does nae matter what it's capable of. We need to find it, and stop it from repeating what happened in Canterlot."
"Aren't you curious at all?" Shining asked. "I mean, we should know what we're going after, right?"
"Not another word," Fairweather snapped. "Ah know what you're thinking. And it won't work. Ah already tried asking Luna 'bout what she knew."
Shining slumped. That had been his exact idea. "And?"
"She told me it's a soul-eating demon from the depths of Tartarus. What in blazes do you think 'appened? She didn't say a word. Rattled off some nonsense about it not being important, and sent me on my way." He waved a hoof. "But if you want to try, go ahead. May as well."
"Why would she not tell us?" Shining asked.
"Maybe she doesn't want to frighten us," Fairweather replied. "Keep us ignorant, and use us as a distraction. Or maybe it's some dark secret she donnae want released."
Or she knows just as much as we do, Shining thought. "I'm going to see what she has to say," he said.
"Good luck," Fairweather said. "Ye'll need it."
Dreams flitted through Luna's awareness like thousands of pinpricks of light. Each contained their own little world, a tight bundle of emotions, images and sensations. Every so often, Luna would dip into one of them, spreading peace through a nightmare, or reassurance through a dream wrought with anxiety.
It was familiar, soothing work. Over the years, Luna had turned her unique awareness into something more akin to meditation, putting her mind at rest even as she eased the dreams of others.
Now, her mind was all purpose. Dreams were the mind's way of ordering and categorizing everything a pony had experienced that day. Tonight, her awareness was focused exclusively on Ponyville. If someone had seen their target, she would know.
Without warning, the wards around her tent suddenly went off, and her trance vanished like a pricked bubble. Luna blinked a couple times to refocus her eyes and directed a cold glare at the pony pushing his way into the tent. "I wasn't aware we were ready to break camp, Shining Armour."
"We're not," Shining said. "I wanted to ask you something. About what we're going after."
Luna fought the urge to sigh. I thought you might ask about this. "May I ask what aroused your curiosity?"
"A little while ago--" Shining cut himself off. "I just feel like I deserve to know what it is we're chasing. What he's capable of, what kind of being he is... just something. I don't like being left in the dark, and any of the ponies I brought along will tell you the same thing." He hesitated. "Besides, I feel like I should know what's in Ponyville with Twilight."
Luna thought for a moment, wording out a safe response. "All you need to know is that our quarry is sufficiently dangerous to require the utmost caution."
Shining shook his head. "With all due respect, that was good enough for me yesterday. It's not good enough now. You might be a Princess, but I'm still Captain of the Guard, and I need to know exactly what it is that I'm supposed to protect you from."
Luna almost snorted. Protect her? In all likelihood, it would be the other way around.
Shining waited a moment for an answer. When Luna didn't give one, he asked, "Is this related to what you and Celestia were working on?"
Fighting to keep her face neutral, Luna allowed herself a slow blink. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more clear. My sister and I have many duties, and-"
"None of that," Shining snapped. "I've heard the rumours, and I saw the look you were giving Princess Celestia in your rooms. Whatever you were working on, she put it into action too early, didn't she? And what we're chasing is the aftermath."
Luna let out a deep, rolling chuckle. "And I was starting to wonder when you'd show some backbone. Very well. I'll humour you." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Are you familiar with the many-worlds school of thought?"
"I think Twilight might have mentioned it once or twice. It sounds familiar."
"One interpretation is that there are an infinite number of worlds, each representing a different set of probabilities. In that school of thought, nothing is impossible. Only incredibly improbable."
"Hold up," Shining said, chuckling nervously. "I think I know where this is going. Are you trying to tell me that this thing is from another universe?"
"Part of our studies was to attempt to create a window to another realm of possibility. It was intended to be a joint effort, and not to be attempted for quite some time. But it would seem that my sister became overzealous. As for the rest... well, I'm sure you know."
Shining reflexively reached up to touch his bandage. "But what is it?"
"We don't know," Luna said. "We have no idea what it is, what drives it or what it is capable of. We only know that it does not belong here, and should be removed immediately."
Shining shook his head in bewilderment. "And when we find him? Princess Celestia ordered us to bring him back. How in Tartarus are we supposed to--"
Luna gave him a cool stare. "That thing nearly killed my sister," she said. "What makes you think I have any intention of bringing it back alive?"
Shining blinked in surprise, unable to summon any words. Luna turned away from him. "That said, Celestia spoke to me before I left. Due to the delicate nature of the situation, I have been asked to exercise some restraint. Rest assured, I will not, as you seem inclined to believe, destroy it on sight." However satisfying that may be. "Restraining it will be difficult, but not impossible."
Shining obviously saw her face darken. "But you don't like that," he replied.
I suppose it doesn't take a court Inquisitor, Luna thought wryly. "No," she said. "I do not. I personally believe it was a mistake to even let it come here, and that it should be eradicated as soon as possible. I think Celestia's wish to study it further is idiocy, and endangers herself and the entire land."
She looked back at Shining. "You are wondering why I'm telling you all this, aren't you? Especially after I sent Fairweather away without so much as a hint."
Shining nodded jerkily. "A little bit."
"We... share a common concern," Luna said hesitantly. "You are worried about a sister, and I... am worried about a friend. Twilight was the first one to show me any compassion when I last visited Ponyville, and..." She cut herself off and swallowed. "Fairweather's inactivity is not helping. I understand that we must approach the situation carefully, but there must be some way to at least assess matters."
Shining hesitated, looking like he might want to say something. "I should get back to my tent," he finally said. "Try to get some sleep." It was obviously not what he'd previously been about to say.
Luna turned her face away to hide her smile. It seemed that her words had taken root. She gave a wordless nod to send Shining on his way.
I will not allow you to continue your mistake, dear sister, she thought fiercely. There is simply too much to lose. And if it required going behind the back of everyone else, then so be it.
Twilight wasn't quite sure what woke her up first: a sunbeam focused precisely on her closed eyes, or the incessant pounding on the door. She groaned, rolling over and pressing a pillow over her ears. The thunderstorm had kept her up well into the night, and an early-morning visitor was not something she was ready to contend with.
Blessedly, the pounding on the door stopped. Twilight sighed, relaxing and preparing to drift off again... and a stone pocked off her bedroom window.
Teeth grinding together, Twilight waited through three more stones, before flinging the covers off and throwing the window open. Her angry shout of "What?" died in her throat as she saw Applejack standing at ground level, a pile of small pebbles beside her.
"Twilight," Applejack said, sighing in relief and dropping the pebble in her hoof. "Thank Celestia. Ah was startin' to think you weren't there."
Twilight frowned, still trying to clear the cobwebs from inside her skull. "Why are you here this early? Is something wrong?"
"Yes. No. Ah... just come with me. There's something you need to see."
Twilight's eyes widened. "The lightning storm last night! You have several sandpits near your property, right? Did you find a couple fulgurites?"
"Fulga-what? You know, never mind. Just come on."
Her curiosity stoked to an inferno, Twilight hurriedly tugged a brush through her mane and splashed cold water over her face. Spike stumbled out from her room in the meantime, rubbing en eye. "Uh..." he said, watching her rush around the library. "Did I miss something?"
"Applejack needs me," Twilight explained, bolting down an apple. "Mind the library while I'm gone."
With that, she was out the door. "Okay," Spike said belatedly to an empty library.
"So," Twilight said breathlessly outside. "What'd you find? Or did something happen?"
"You'll find out when we get there," Applejack replied, glancing around uneasily. Twilight had no idea why. The streets were nearly empty, on account of the early hour. "And, uh, keep quiet about it until we're on the farm."
Staying silent on the long walk to the farm was probably one of the hardest things Twilight had ever done. Whatever Applejack had found, it was something big, and her refusal to say anything only made things worse.
They finally stopped beside a row of stables near one of the orchards. The stables were usually home to several cows, who were currently grazing in some of the neighbouring fields. "Twilight," Applejack finally said, stopping beside one of the stables. "Do you trust me?"
Twilight blinked. "Of course I do," she replied. "What kind of question is that?"
"No," Applejack snapped, fixing Twilight with an uncomfortably direct stare. "Ah need to know you trust me."
The implication was there. Applejack was talking about the kind of implicit trust reserved for the closest of friends. It was the trust that no matter what, meant one would be standing with the other. Twilight swallowed, suddenly uneasy. "I trust you, Applejack," she said.
The earth pony heaved a sigh, seemingly relieved. "Here we go, then," she said, flinging open the door.
Inside the stable, a pony lay on a bed of straw. It raised its head as the door open, fixing Twilight with a liquid gaze.
Twilight didn't look for any longer. She flung her weight against the door and slammed it shut, breathing heavily. "Oh my gosh," she said quietly. "You've kidnapped somepony. I thought you found a fulgurite, and you kidnapped somepony."
"Twilight, this ain't what it looks like."
"Really?" Twilight snapped. "You have a pony locked in your stables. I think I have a pretty good idea what it looks like!"
"Calm down and listen to me," Applejack said.
"I am calm!" Twilight shrieked, pacing rapidly. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly released it. "I'm calm," she repeated in a more even tone. Her eyes flashed open, and she fixed Applejack with a glare. "Now you'd better explain what I just saw."
"It's hard to explain," Applejack said sheepishly. "He... he looks like a pony, but he's not one. Doesn't act like one, I mean."
"Start from the beginning," Twilight said evenly. "Where did you find him?"
"Last night, during the thunderstorm," Applejack replied. "He was just walking along the path, like he was lost. Ah thought he was lost at first, but then... he wasn't acting right. And then I started noticing he didn't look right."
"Applejack, this is a thinking, feeling pony," Twilight groaned. "It doesn't matter how they act! You can't just lock one up because he's acting a little weird!"
"He has no cutie marks," Applejack burst out.
Twilight paused. "That's impossible," she finally said. "You always get your cutie mark before you're fully grown. There's no way around it."
"Take a look," Applejack said. "Flanks are as blank as Applebloom's."
Against her better judgement, Twilight opened the door again. The stallion still hadn't moved, content to munch away on a basket full of hay. Sure enough, his flanks didn't bear a mark. And, now that she was looking, Twilight was cataloguing several other noticeable differences. His head was longer than most ponies' she'd seen, the colouration of his coat was more drab and less uniform, the shape of the legs was almost completely different...
She took a step in, prompting the stallion to raise his head again and fix her with that same liquid stare. "Hi there," she said awkwardly. "What's your name?"
The stallion said nothing. He just continued chewing, staring at her.
"Can you understand me?" Twilight asked. No response. Not a flicker of recognition in those deep, soulful eyes.
Growing impatient, Twilight lit her horn and reached out with magic, performing a simple spell intended to assess a pony's physical state. But when the tendrils of magic reached the pony, they... recoiled. There was really no other word for it. The spell immediately fell apart, unraveling into nothing.
Twilight jerked backwards, panting, sweat suddenly beading on her forehead. In the instant before the magic had failed, she'd felt something horrible. The pony was a complete magical void, a total antithesis to the force that ran through everything in Equestria, whether it was alive or not. "What in the world did you find?" she asked, shivering despite the heat. The sweat on her forehead felt like it was about to freeze.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Applejack replied, oblivious to her friend's condition.
Twilight swallowed, suddenly feeling like she was going to be sick. "I don't know. I just... I don't know." Before she even know what was happening, she lurched toward the far side of the stall and retched. |
A Simple Reflection | Chapter 5 | As the sun rose, Shining sat in his tent, polishing his chestpiece. The metal already shone like a mirror, but he still continued rubbing it with a cloth in gentle, circular motions. The tension through the camp was palpable. Fairweather, he knew, would be in his own tent, scraping away at lumps of soapstone with a file. Even Luna had confined herself to her tent, refusing to talk to anyone.
With most of the ponies in the camp, it was simple impatience. None of them were used to waiting. Shining's restlessness, however, was the result of something completely different.
He's not fully sapient.
Shining scowled and spat on the gilded chestpiece again, scouring the cloth over it with more force than was really necessary.
Blaze is a lot of things, but wrong isn't usually one of them.
She had to be wrong here. What she said made no sense. How could a pony be capable of overpowering Princess Celestia and leveling her chambers, and yet possess the intellect of a deer or dumbox?
Are we doing the right thing?
You just want to keep her safe.
I'm not asking you to agree with me. But I am asking you to trust me.
Gritting his teeth, Shining threw down the piece of cloth. As if to add insult to injury, his headache was coming back with a vengeance. Before it could get any worse, he went over to his pack and crammed a bundle of dried herbs Patchwork had given him into his mouth. They were no replacement for unicorn healing, but the combination of willow bark, rosemary and aspen leaves did the job well enough. Fifteen minutes or so, the medic had said, and a headache will just be a bad memory. Gagging at the vile taste, Shining was unsure if they were actually worth it.
While he waited for the herbs to take effect, Shining went back to polishing his armour. I don't even know who to believe any more, he thought morosely.
I wish Twilight was here, he mused. She was always better than me at muddling things out. Besides, if she was there with him, she'd be safe. Just like Luna had said he wanted.
"That breastplate looks polished enough to me."
Shining looked up, meeting Fairweather's eyes. The pegasus still held a few small files and a half-carved figurine under one wing. "And I would have thought that after all this time, you'd have gotten better at that,' he shot back. "Nopony's perfect."
Fairweather scowled. "I came here t' talk, not argue. My carving abilities aren't really in the picture."
Shining took a deep breath, reining his temper in hard. His headache, which had begun to recede, came roaring back. "All right. So talk."
Fairweather looked him over for a moment. "How much sleep did you get last night?"
"Not much," Shining admitted.
Fairweather grunted. "It shows. Straighten up. Look at me." He nodded. "Better. Ye don't look like you're about to fall on your face any more." He glanced at Shining's bandage. "You're bleeding again."
"Luna seems to think that whatever we're chasing has to be destroyed, whether it's an actual threat or not," Shining said abruptly.
Fairweather blinked. "So you did get something out of 'er," he grunted. "Figures she'd 'ave told you."
Shining shook his head. "I just don't know who to believe. I don't know if it's the head injury, but I... I'm just so confused."
Fairweather eased himself down onto Shining's camp stool. "If I were you, Ah wouldn't listen too closely t' what Luna has to say."
"It's not just what Luna told me," Shining said. It's not just what Blaze thinks either. I've gotten to a point where I almost don't care what they think any more! I'm sick of hearing theories and speculation! All I care about now is that Twilight, who's completely unaware of the situation, is in the same town with something we know nothing about!
"There's just a lot on my mind right now," he said instead.
Fairweather let out a heavy sigh. "You realize you 'ave nothing to prove, right?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shining retorted.
"We both know what that means," Fairweather replied. "Any other soldier would be in the infirmary right now. Frankly, the only reason you're out 'ere is that we'd have to tie you down t' keep you in Canterlot."
"You want me to leave," Shining said. "You think I can't handle this. Is that it? Is that what this is all about? Because if you think I'm going to crack, you're wrong."
"It has nothing t' do with your ability to handle things," Fairweather snapped. "You'd keep a cool head e'en if the sun was about to explode. Ah just... there is nothing about this situation that I like. My gut's telling me things are going to end badly for everyone involved, and... you 'ave a wife to worry about."
"And a sister," Shining shot back. "You think I'm just going to abandon her?"
"Ye wouldnae be abandoning her," Fairweather said. "The rest of us would be there for her."
Shining shook his head. "I couldn't. At my wedding, at the Crystal Empire... Twily's always been there for me when I needed her." He thumped a hoof against his chest. "Now it's my turn. And if things are going to go as badly as you think they are, I'm going to regret leaving for the rest of my life."
Fairweather smiled and gently punched Shining's shoulder. "Ye just had to prove me right again, didn't you?" He stood with a grunt of effort. "Ah'll go fetch Patches. E'en if he cannae do anything about you bleeding, that bandage could probably stand changing."
Shining watched him go. Now it's my turn. He hadn't actually thought about it that way before he'd said that. In the end, what he wanted boiled down to two things: the truth, and to keep Twilight safe. And the only way to make that happen was to go to Ponyville by himself, against orders.
He wouldn't be court-martialed. Since the Royal Guard was a separate division of the Equestrian military and possessed its own ranking system, him and Fairweather were technically equally ranked, so he didn't strictly have to follow orders.
Shining stood there for a moment longer, weighing his options. Finally, with a muttered obscenity, he bundled his armour together and slung it over his back. He could say he was going out to check the perimeter; something routine. They wouldn't think to look for him for a couple hours. He could be in Ponyville before anyone figured out where he'd gone.
Thankfully, nopony accosted him as he walked out of the camp. And why would they? He was a superior officer to everyone there except Luna and Fairweather. As long as neither of them saw him, he'd be fine.
Shining let himself relax a bit. I might actually be able to pull this--
"Going somewhere?"
Shining froze as Blaze stepped out from behind a tree, munching on an apple. "I'm checking the perimeter," he said lamely.
"With your armour all slung over your back?" Blaze remarked. "Please. You're going to Ponyville, aren't you?"
Shining took a moment to look the pegasus over. He outweighed her by a good hundred pounds, but pegasi were often capable of surprising bursts of speed and strength. Honestly, he wasn't sure which would come out on top if it came to force.
"Thought you might be," Blaze said, grinning. "I would have left an hour ago, but I don't have a good excuse to wander off."
Shining blinked. Of all the responses he was expecting, that certainly wasn't one of them.
Blaze took another bite of the apple. "Go ahead," she mumbled. "I'll see if I can throw the rest off your trail."
Shining opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Don't thank me. You've saved me some trouble. Just answer me a question."
"Anything," Shining replied.
"Why?"
Shining paused. There was a lot left unspoken in that question. "Luna told me some things last night," he finally said. "I'm... starting to think you might be right."
Blaze smirked. "I usually am," she said smugly. "But if I might ask... what are you looking for? Do you have a plan?"
Shining sighed. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I have absolutely no idea what I'm looking for, or what I'm going to do when I find it. I'm still not sure what side I'm on."
Blaze smiled sadly. "So there's already sides in this, are there? Us versus them."
Shining paused. He hadn't wanted to think of it like that. "Looks like it," he finally said.
"Luna's going to come after you," Blaze said suddenly. "When she learns you're gone... she won't stop at anything."
Shining nodded. "I know."
Blaze swallowed. "Something bad's going to happen," she said quietly. "I can feel it."
"I can too," Shining sighed. "I think everyone here can."
With a heavy heart, Shining continued on, focusing on the small, quiet town in the distance.
Either I'm making a huge mistake, he thought, or Luna is. And I really don't know which.
"Twilight? You all right?"
Twilight lifted her head, cold sweat beading on her brow, hating the taste of vomit on her tongue. "No," she groaned. "I'm not all right."
"What just happened?" Applejack asked, directing a cautious glare at the stallion in the corner.
"Magical backlash of some kind," Twilight said through gritted teeth, fighting the urge to retch again. "He caused it. Don't know how."
Applejack nudged her head under one of Twilight's forelegs, supporting some of her weight. "Come on," she said. "Let's get you inside."
"No!" Twilight said, shaking her friend off. "I'll be fine. I'm feeling better already." Her nausea was already starting to recede.
"Are you sure?" Applejack asked.
"I'm sure," Twilight said, swallowing. "I've never felt anything like that." Hesitantly, she spun out a few hair-thin tendrils of magic, and slowly extended them toward the stallion. Just before touching him, the magic started to writhe, almost like something alive, trying to pull out of her grasp. Shivering, Twilight yanked the magic back before it could collapse entirely. "That makes no sense," she whispered.
Applejack frowned. "Uh, Twi? Hate to interrupt your musin', but I'm feeling a bit left out of the loop here. What the hay just happened?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself," Twilight replied. "Magic just flies apart around him. It's like he not only doesn't have any magic in him, but he makes it collapse around him!"
"Ah don't follow," Applejack said.
Twilight winced. "Sorry. It's tough to explain. If I were to, say, lift you with magic, I'd feel you. I'm not talking about an aura or anything like that, but I'd know I was holding something. With him, I feel absolutely nothing."
"So what happened with you just then? You still look like you're going to be sick."
"When magic falls apart like that, it's not usually pleasant. It falls into whatever it wants to." Twilight swallowed. "I think I was lucky to just feel sick from it."
Applejack sighed. "So what do we do? I'm stumped."
Twilight shook her head. "Keep him here. I'll see if I can find anything in the library, maybe send a note to Princess Celestia. I need to find out exactly what he is, and how he got..." She trailed off. When she'd stumbled off to throw up, the stallion had clambered to his hooves, ears laid back. He still seemed on-edge, but that wasn't what had attracted Twilight's attention. There were several dark spots on the straw below him.
She quickly looked over the stallion for any sign of open wounds. After a moment, she saw that he was favouring his right foreleg. Applejack noticed it at the same time she did, and swore. "He's hurt," she muttered. "Ah thought he was limping last night, but Ah paid it no mind. Just wanted to get him out of the rain."
Twilight knelt down and examined the stallion's leg, ignoring his soft snorts of alarm. "Looks like he's got a piece of glass stuck in there," she said. "Poor guy. It started bleeding again every time he shifted." She got back up. "All right. Change of plans. We take him to the library. I've got a couple dissection tools there I should be able to fix him up with."
Applejack frowned. "Uh, I hate to point this out, but... ain't Fluttershy way better than you at this kind of thing?"
"Maybe," Twilight agreed sheepishly. "But until I figure out exactly what our friend is and where he came from, the fewer ponies that know about him, the better."
She glanced at the stallion, who was still standing passively near the back of the stall. "Uh... any ideas on how we're going to move him?"
Applejack nodded thoughtfully. "Ah've got one or two."
Luna's eyes flew open as the wards around her tent alerted her. I am not accustomed to being disturbed this often, she thought as Fairweather pushed through the tent flap without so much as a word.
"Can I help you?" Luna asked, withdrawing her awareness from the dreamscape. It had quieted some, but there were still some late sleepers whose dreams might hold information.
"What did you tell 'im?" Fairweather barked.
"I am afraid you will have to be more specific."
"Don't give me that!" Fairweather spat. "You know perfectly well wha' Ah'm talking about! Shining Armour's left the camp, and you were one o' the last ponies he talked to." He stepped closer, his tone becoming low and dangerous. "Now you're going t' tell me everything you told him. Because if you went and manipulated my friend--"
"Must I remind you who you are speaking to?" Luna hissed. "You are upset, and understandably so, and in light of that I will forget what you have just said. Now compose yourself and address me as your Princess, and not as a criminal!"
Fairweather shut his lopsided jaw with a click, nearly shaking with the urge to start shouting again. "I will not disguise the fact that Shining Armour and I discussed some sensitive matters last night," Luna said. "But I can assure you that I did not, as you said, manipulate him. His choice to leave was his and his alone."
"And what exactly did your conversation last night have to do with 'is decision, Princess?"
"I am afraid I have no answer to that," Luna replied. "It may have, or it may not. You will have to ask him yourself. However," she continued, cutting off Fairweather's retort. "I see no reason why we cannot use this situation to our advantage."
"My friend and Captain of the Guard is striking out for Ponyville with severe injuries and no idea what he migh' encounter," Fairweather hissed. "Pray tell how that's advantageous."
"Ten Guards and a Princess scouring a town on an unknown mission is cause for uproar," Luna said. "One Guard, on the other hoof, is simply a curiosity. Assuming that Shining Armour maintains discretion, he could make an effective scout."
Fairweather's eyes narrowed. "If Ah didnae know better, Princess, Ah'd say you were planning this from the beginning."
"It is a good thing that you know better, then," Luna replied. Oh Fairweather, you are a dangerous pony indeed. It's not often I find I have underestimated someone.
"In that case, you wouldn't mind if Ah moved the camp closer. To come to our scout's aid if need be."
"Of course not," Luna replied. "You are in command, after all."
"Ah appreciate your time, Princess Luna," Fairweather said. "It's been quite enlightening."
As soon as Fairweather left the tent, Luna allowed her face to melt into a scowl. It seemed that her second knight intended to take himself off the board.
Well, if she now had to sacrifice a few pawns, so be it. This was a game she could not lose.
"All right," Twilight whispered, glancing around the front of the library. "We're clear."
Applejack emerged from behind a house, a rope in her teeth. The other end was looped around the stallion's head in such a way that pulling on it encouraged him to move without cutting off anything vital. It had taken some creative maneuvering on Twilight's part to get them through town unseen.
Twilight reached the library's back door and held it open, glancing anxiously around as Applejack hauled their quarry closer. The stallion nickered quietly in protest, but plodded along calmly enough. That's a good thing, I guess, Twilight thought. I don't think me or Applejack could restrain him if he decided to get a bit ornery.
Slowly but surely, the two inched forward. Come on, come on! Twilight thought. We don't have time for this!
Sure that someone would see that at any moment, she all but shoved the two into the library, taking a last furtive glance around before ducking inside.
She closed the door and rested against it, heaving a sigh of relief. "You want to tell me what's going on here?" Spike asked from the stairs.
Twilight gave a yelp of surprise and leapt to her hooves. Spike! I'd completely forgotten about him! "Spike, I promise I'll explain everything. But I can't now. Just... hold down the fort. Don't let anyone in. Say I've got the flu. Heck, say I have the plague!"
"Is something wrong?" Spike asked. "Who was that with Applejack?"
"I'll explain later," Twilight said. "Please, Spike. I need you to trust me on this."
Spike hesitated, and nodded. "All right," he said. Then he fixed her with a startlingly intense glare. "But you'd better tell me what's going on at some point."
Twilight winced. She knew better than anyone how much Spike hated being out of the loop. "I will," she promised.
Twilight snatched her dissection kit off her workbench and, after a moment's consideration, went to the icebox and filled a bowl with greens. While a couple of them might be useful for poultices in a stretch, she really just needed something to distract the stallion with. With that floating behind her, she ran downstairs. "How is he?" she asked Applejack.
"Not happy," Applejack replied, tugging on the rope. "Takin' those stairs put some strain on his leg, and he didn't seem to like that."
Twilight knelt down in front of the stallion, who was snorting in agitation. "Relax," she told him, taking a pair of tweezers out of the kit. "Everything's going to be fine."
The moment the metal touched the wound, the stallion nickered and stepped back. Twilight bit off a curse and stood. "Fasten that rope around his leg. I can't get the glass out if he keeps moving."
Applejack quickly obliged, undoing the rope from the stallion's head and retying it around his powerful foreleg. Twilight knelt down again, ignoring the stallion's hot breath on the back of her neck. She tried not to think about what would happen if he decided to bite her. His jaws were a lot heavier than the average pony's; they could probably do some severe damage.
"Just hold him still," she instructed Applejack, carefully manipulating the tweezers. After a moment, she fastened the ends around the shard. "On three," she said. "One... two... three!" With a quick motion, she yanked the small shard out.
The effect on the stallion was immediate. He let out a whinny of pain and jerked backwards, yanking the rope out of Applejack's mouth. Twilight scampered backwards, getting away from those jaws -- and froze as the stallion turned around, aiming his rear hooves right at her. She swore, diving out of the way, and the kick that would have caught her in the face instead caught Applejack full in the chest. She was sent flying backwards into the wall with a strangely hollow thud.
"Applejack!" Twilight yelled, glancing anxiously at the stallion. He was suddenly docile again, the flash of temper gone as suddenly as it had come.
Applejack's eyes opened, and focused blearily on Twilight. "Big Mac, Ah don't wanna play tag with hay bales no more," she moaned.
"Look at me Applejack," Twilight said. "What's the square root of two hundred thirty seven?"
"Square what?" Applejack replied, frowning. "There ain't no tree with square roots that Ah know of."
"Good enough," Twilight said with a smile. "You all right?"
"Good enough," the earth pony echoed, blinking a couple timed to focus her eyes. "That stallion's got one heck of a kick. Ah think Big Macintosh might have a rival in the strength department."
"Let's not test that," Twilight said, helping Applejack to her hooves. She suddenly remembered the bowl she'd left on the stairs and floated it as close to the stallion as she dared. He let out a happy nicker, buried his face in the bowl and started munching.
Applejack shook her head to clear it and looked at the stallion with new wariness. "Now what?"
"I..." Twilight closed her mouth. She had no idea. "I guess... let me grab some books. I don't know about you, but I want to find out exactly what he is, and where he came from. Maybe then we can figure out what to do with him."
"Any idea on what he is?" Applejack asked.
"I've never seen anything like this," Twilight admitted. "I mean, he could be some form of primitive equine. A living fossil sort of scenario. But that doesn't explain how he negates magic." She glanced back over at the stallion again, who was peacefully investigating the basement. "Think you can watch him for a few minutes?"
Applejack chuckled. "Ah've learned my lesson. Ah'm knotting the rope around something heavy this time." The mirth faded from her face. "Just, uh... don't take to long. I don't really like bein' around him."
Twilight paused halfway up the stairs. "Why not?"
"Forget it," Applejack said, waving a hoof. "It's silly."
"Any observations you have could be potentially useful," Twilight countered.
Applejack sighed. "Whenever Ah get too close, I just... start feeling a bit weak, is all. I can't really explain it."
"That's perfectly natural," Twilight replied. "It's a primal response to an unfamiliar situation. Don't let it bother you."
"That's not what I meant," Applejack protested, but Twilight was already gone.
Twilight stepped out into the library rotunda, compiling a list of titles. Equine Morphology's a definite, and I'll need something on evolutionary history... and that guide on writing journal articles is always helpful. Who knows? Maybe I can get my name out there for something beyond being an Element bearer.
She glanced at her workbench, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Maybe The Nature of Magicks would be a good idea, too. Or it might be a little too archaic.
She'd been reading it the previous day. It had made some very fascinating points, focusing on innate magics that permeated every corner of the land. It didn't just manifest in unicorns, as most scholars of the time had thought.
Twilight blinked. Then her jaw dropped. "Oh my," she said quietly. She snatched the book and began leafing through the pages, looking for a particular excerpt. At the front of the library, someone knocked on the door. She ignored it. Spike would take care of it.
Finally, she found the passage. As she scanned it, her heart sank. Stupid, stupid, stupid! she berated herself, slamming the book shut and turning toward the trapdoor. Why didn't I think of that?
She flung the trapdoor open and barrelled down the stairs. Applejack glanced up at her. "Well, that was quick," she remarked. Her easygoing expression melted into a frown. "Something wrong? You look like you saw a ghost."
"Don't go near him," Twilight replied, refusing to taker her eyes off the stallion, who was currently rubbing his jaw against the edge of a table. "Don't touch him, just... keep as much distance between him and you as you can."
"Why?" Applejack asked. "What'd you find out?"
Twilight lit her horn out of reflex, and dulled it in the same moment. Magic was worse than useless in this situation. "I was stupid. Magic is magic. If he negates my magic, then he negates all magic."
Applejack frowned. "Ah'm not sure I follow."
"Magic doesn't just appear in unicorns," Twilight said, forcing her voice to stay even. "It's everywhere. Pegasi use it to fly and change the weather, you use it to grow things, and it gives you your strength and stamina. It's in the plants, it's in the ground, it's everywhere. If he's negating whatever magic he comes into contact with..."
"Let me get this straight. He's sucking the magic out of everything he touches? Stars, Twilight, what the hay is that going to do?"
"Picture a lake," Twilight said. "Now, let's take that lake, and put a bottomless hole in it. The hole moves around at random, but the lake's constantly draining. Wherever the hole is, the surface gets disturbed. That's what's making you feel weak. That's why the weather team lost control."
Applejack was silent for a long moment. "What happens when the lake drains?" she asked weakly.
Twilight shook her head. "It shouldn't. That's not actually a great analogy. Magic's just a type of energy. By its very nature, it can't be created or destroyed. Only converted."
"Converted? Twi, that ain't much more promising."
"Twilight?" Spike asked from upstairs, jarring her from her reverie. "We've got a bit of a situation."
Twilight glared upstairs. "If it's not a life-or-death scenario, I'm going to make it one," she growled, stomping up the stairs.
"This had better be important," she started. Then she saw who was standing in the rotunda, and her jaw dropped.
"Hey Twily," Shining said, his face drawn and taut. "We've got a bit to talk about." |
A Simple Reflection | Chapter 6 | "Shining," Twilight said dully. What in Tartarus is he doing here? He's not supposed to have any leave for six weeks! "Aren't you supposed to be in the Crystal Empire with Cadance? And..." She caught sight of the bloodstained bandage around his head and her eyes widened. "Celestia's fetlocks, Shining! What in the world happened to your head?"
"I'm fine," her brother said roughly. "Split scalp, minor concussion. It's not important right now."
"Shining, there's nothing minor about a concussion," Twilight replied, aghast. "You shouldn't even be on your feet right now!"
"I said it's not important!" Shining snapped.
Twilight fell silent. Her brother was wearing an expression she'd never seen on him before. "Shining," she asked. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Shining let out a heavy sigh and looked away. "I don't really know where to start," he said. "A couple days ago, Princess Celestia tried something. I still can't tell you for sure what it was, but I know that it went wrong. I got there just in time to watch it happen."
Twilight blinked. That explained the magical outpouring she'd detected.
"I didn't see how she did it," Shining continued, "but when I got there, she wasn't alone. Something else was in the room with her. Something bad." He paused and rubbed at his temple, wincing. "It... it gets a bit fuzzy after that. I remember her telling me to leave, and casting some kind of spell. Next thing I remember was waking up in a bed with a bandage and a splitting headache."
He saw the look on Twilight's face and quickly said, "Don't worry. She was alive, last I saw her. She sent me, Luna and a few others to track the thing down and bring it back. They're all still camped a couple kilometres from Ponyville."
"Then why are you here and not with them?" Twilight asked, panic flaring in her chest.
"I came here to make sure you were safe." Shining growled, leaning closer. "And to find out the truth. Everyone back at camp seems to have different ideas about what we're chasing, so after finding you, I was going to try and find something concrete. So you can imagine my surprise when as I came by to check on you, I saw you and your earth pony friend leading the very thing I'm chasing into the library!"
Twilight sank down into a chair. "I thought we were being discreet," she whispered.
"Where is he?"
"What are you going to do to him?" Twilight asked, panic flaring in her chest. She'd heard the sudden coldness in his voice, a tone unlike anything she'd ever heard from him.
"I'll decide that as soon as you tell me everything you know about it. Now where is he?"
Twilight snapped her head up. "There has to be a mistake," she said quickly. "He can't even talk! There's no way he could..." She trailed off. Magic. Princess Celestia cast a spell of some kind. A probing spell made me sick. What would a spell cast by an alicorn at full power do?
"Shining, you know you can trust me," she said. "I'd never lie to you. That stallion will never intentionally hurt you."
Shining studied her face for a long moment. "Show me," he finally said.
Applejack fidgeted nervously, trying to look everywhere except at the stallion, and at the same time loath to take her eyes off him. It was nerve-wracking to be in the same room as something that was literally sucking the magic out of the world.
And yet it was hard to believe he could do anything bad at all. The stallion looked completely innocent. Even his earlier nervousness was gone, now that he had a bowl of food to distract him.
She frowned. "You need a name," she said to nobody in particular.
"Applejack?" Twilight called from upstairs. "You still okay down there?"
"Ah'm fine," Applejack yelled back. "What'd Spike want?" She glanced up as she heard someone coming down the stairs. Her ears flattened. "Oh."
Shining Armour glared at the stallion past her, his face murderous. Applejack took a step to the side to position herself between the stallion and Twilight's brother. She doubted she could do much against magic, but she'd be able to hold her own if it got physical.
The stare-down continued for an uncomfortable thirty seconds, long enough for a bead of sweat to roll all the way down Applejack's face. The entire time, the stallion looked nervously between them, flicking his ears and making a quiet huffing sound.
Shining, his face inscrutable, was the first to break the silence. "What were you just saying?" he asked.
Applejack shot a questioning glance to Twilight, who replied with a shake of her head. Her meaning was clear. I'll explain later.
"Ah was saying he needed a name," she said carefully, still expecting Shining to attack at any moment. "Just 'cause... well, Ah'm getting sick of thinking 'bout him as 'the stallion' or something like that."
Behind her, the stallion lost interest in Shining and returned its attention to the bowl of greens, munching away without a care in the world.
Shining opened his mouth to say something, and bit it back. A dozen different emotions fought for dominance of his face. Suddenly, he turned around. "I've seen enough," he said. "I need time to think."
Without waiting for a reply, he pushed past his sister and went upstairs. Applejack waited a moment, and then let out a breath, tension draining from her muscles. Her heart pounded in her chest. "You feel like telling me what that was about? For that matter, what's he doing here?"
Twilight hesitantly walked down the stairs. "Applejack, I... you don't have to stay here any longer. I can handle it from here."
Applejack gave her a flat stare. "Really, Twi? You're gonna do that?"
"I don't require your assistance any more," Twilight replied. "You're free to go."
"Ah know you well enough to know when you're plannin' on playing the hero," Applejack said. "And it's not happening. You ain't gettin' rid of me that easily. Now, what's goin' on?"
Twilight sighed. "Shining's here as part of a strike team to take our stallion out. Apparently, he destroyed a wing of the castle and nearly killed Princess Celestia. I have a feeling this is going to turn ugly. Really ugly. I don't want you or any of my friends to be anywhere near here when it does."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "You're not doing a very good job of convincing me to leave."
Twilight clenched her jaw in frustration, and then relaxed. "I know better than to try forcing you," she said quietly. "Fine. Stay here, watch our friend, think of a name if you want. I'm going to talk to Shining and see if he knows anything useful. Then we figure out what to do." She glanced at the stallion again and hesitated. Then she walked back up the stairs, shaking her head. "We'll figure something out," she muttered.
Applejack let out a loud huff after Twilight left. Try to get rid of me, will you? That's not the Apple way, Twilight. I'm here until the bitter end!
The air seemed to suddenly chill around her. She shivered and looked around, unconsciously reaching up and running her hoof along the brim of her hat in a gesture of good luck. Don't go turnin' your back on me now, Lady Luck, she thought to herself. Wouldn't be a good time.
Twilight poked her head into her bedroom. Shining was sitting on her stool, gazing out the window. She knew better than to ask if he was all right. It was obvious that he wasn't. Instead, she pulled up a chair and sat beside him. He'd talk when he was ready.
Shining gave no sign that he'd noticed her for a good few minutes. "You know, when I saw you leading that thing into your house, I expected the worst," he finally said. "I thought... stars, I didn't know what to think. I still don't know what to think."
He turned and fixed his eyes on her own. "What is he? What do you know?"
Twilight looked away, chewing her lip. "It's difficult to explain," she said.
"I've been hearing that a lot lately," Shining grated. "Try anyway."
Twilight took a deep breath, and started talking.
"Dusty? Think that'll work for you?"
The stallion looked back at her. "Maybe not," Applejack admitted. "How about... ah, consarn it. Why'm Ah even bothering? Ah can call you anything Ah want and it won't matter none!"
She sighed. But it would matter. Attaching a name to something made it more valuable. Worth protecting. It stood to reason that something worth protecting should be given a name.
She paced around the room, thinking. The stallion, finished with his bowl of vegetables, followed her, bobbing his head rhythmically like he was playing a game of follow-the-leader.
Suddenly, Applejack stopped and turned around. The stallion gave a snort of surprise and took a couple steps back. "How about Tex?" Applejack said.
Yeah. Tex would work. According to Granny Smith, it meant "friend" or "ally" in some different language. One of the old languages, from the ponies that lived in the area well before Ponyville went on the map. "Whaddaya think?" Applejack said, patting the stallion on the shoulder. "Will Tex work for you?"
The stallion gave a quiet half-whinny in reply. "Ah guess that's as good an answer as any," Applejack said. She looked up the stairs. How much longer was Twilight going to be?
"Hold tight," she said to the newly named stallion. "Ah'm gonna grab you some more food."
Tex flicked an ear and started rubbing his cheek against the edge of a worktable to scratch an itch.
Applejack grabbed the bowl and trotted back upstairs. Once in the kitchen, she emptied the larder into the bowl, and grabbed a couple apples off the counter for herself. Watching the stallion gorge himself had given her a case of the munchies. After a moment's thought, she emptied some of the mixed greens out of Tex's bowl into two smaller ones and left them on the counter. Twilight and her brother could probably do with a snack when they came down.
With the bowl of vegetables balanced on her back and half of one apple already in her stomach, Applejack went back down into the basement. "Dunno if you're still hungry," she said, "but Ah thought Ah'd bring something down anyw--"
She cut herself off, eyes widening. "Uh..." she managed, looking down into the sea of green Twilight's basement had become.
A sunbeam slanted in through the stained-glass window in Luna's study. As the sun rose, it crawled across the floor, climbing the heavy wooden desk, and illuminating the injured alicorn slumped over it.
Celestia twitched as the sunbeam warmed her fur, and her eyes snapped open. For a moment, she stayed still, letting energy flow back into her. Then, with what felt like a superhuman effort, she raised her head, looking down at the letter she'd been about to send the previous night. So much could have happened in those lost hours... but at the same time, it probably wasn't too late.
She channeled magic through her horn -- it was so much easier when she was in the sunlight again -- and began the spell that would send the hastily written letter to her sister. She hesitated, and brought the quill over to write down a quick postscript.
With a heavy heart, she sent the message. You win this round, sister.
Shining snorted. "So that's what you meant when you said he'd never intentionally hurt anyone. That thing's not harmless at all!"
Twilight bristled. "As long as you don't use any magic near him, you'll be fine."
"What about the ambient magic?" Shining snapped.
"Well... all right, maybe that's not harmless."
"Luna was right," Shining said. "Celestia should never have brought him here."
"Brought?" Twilight said, frowning. "What do you mean, brought?"
"I'm just going by what Luna said, but... she said that he's from another world. Another universe, another dimension, whatever you want to call it. That's why he's so different. That's why he breaks the laws of magic. He literally doesn't belong here."
Now it was Twilight's turn to be stunned. "I'd suspected..." she said quietly. "This is... do you have any idea what this means? If word of this gets out, it'll turn the entire scientific community on its head! Princess Celestia just proved the entire many-worlds school of thought! It means that Tangent wasn't a nutcase after all!"
"None of that matters!" Shining yelled. "Do you understand me? If Luna finds out what that stallion does to magic, she won't stop until he's lying dead at her hooves. Stars, after what you've told me, I'm tempted."
"Don't even think about it," Twilight said fiercely. "I know perfectly well what could happen if we keep him here, but I refuse to believe that murdering him in cold blood is the only solution!"
"Will it work?" Shining asked coldly.
"I'm not even going to consider--"
"Will. It. Work."
Twilight gritted her teeth. "It's impossible to know for sure, but... theoretically. It makes a lot of assumptions, but whatever process is disrupting our magic should cease with vital functions. It all depends on whether the disruption is a manifestation of mental or physical presence." Her voice grew steadily more toneless as she went on.
Hiding behind medical detachment, Shining thought. I don't know how you manage it. Out loud, he said, "That still doesn't solve the issue of Luna. Any ideas on how you're going to convince her?"
Twilight got up and walked to the other side of the room. "Are you even listening?" Shining shouted at her back.
"I'm thinking," Twilight snapped back. Shining shut his mouth and ground his teeth. If she needed to think, she needed to think. He'd wait. She stayed silent for a long, painful minute. "You need to go back to the camp," she finally said.
Shining blinked. "Are you serious? After all the trouble I went through to get here? I'm not leaving you now, not when it's obvious you need my help!"
"You will be helping me!" Twilight shot back. "You're right. If and when Luna finds out what that stallion can do, she's going to strike, and hard. I need you to find her and buy me some time."
"For what? Twily, you can't run from her."
"I'm not going to," Twilight said. "I need time to send him back."
That gave Shining pause. "Send him back? Are you sure that's even possible?"
"Every process is reversible. If Celestia can bring him here, then I can send him home." Twilight chewed her lip. "I just don't know how."
Whatever Shining had been about to say was cut off as Applejack pounded up the stairs and barged through the door. "Twilight?" she said. "We, uh... we've got a situation."
With quick, practiced flows of magic, Luna pitched her tent under the shade of a large walnut tree. Beside her, Fairweather hunched over a ring of stones, working on lighting a small fire. He hadn't said a word to her during the entire trek.
The other Guards set up their own tents well away from hers and Fairweather's, casting worried glances at them the entire time. Their wariness was justified. The tension between her and Fairweather was palpable, and Shining's disappearance hadn't helped matters one bit.
Luna was fine with that. As long as they did their jobs, she could care less about whether they were happy or not. She let the silence stretch, and made some adjustments to tighten her tent's canvas sides.
"How do ye think he's doing?" Fairweather abruptly said under his breath.
Luna stiffened momentarily. She hadn't actually expected the major to speak to her. "Shining Armour is a capable soldier. I am certain he is doing well."
"Ye'd better hope he is," Fairweather replied. He said nothing more for a time, absently striking the back of a knife against a rod of fire-steel.
Luna took the opportunity to settle into her tent. Most of the other Guards lined theirs with evergreen boughs, but she preferred sleeping on the bare ground. That was the way she'd done it in the past, and it was the way she'd do it now.
"Ah think Ah've got you figured out," Fairweather said again. "Or your little plan, at least."
Luna fixed him with a smile filled with as much smugness as she could muster. "Enlighten me."
"Princess Celestia ordered ye to bring back that stallion alive," Fairweather said, striking a shower of sparks onto a pile of tinder. "You didn't seem happy about it back in Canterlot, an' ye seem less happy about it now."
"My sister does not 'order' me to do anything," Luna replied, bristling. "She may ask things of me, but she does not order me around!"
Fairweather smiled, and she shut her mouth with a snap. "That's exactly wha' Ah'm talking about," he said. "Shining's just the start, isn't he? You wanted to muck things up to the point where that stallion would end up dead by accident. Either that, or you've sent 'im along to speed things up. Give you a sign of where he is. Then ye'd strike out on your own and settle things the way you think they should be settled." He struck the knife against the fire-steel again, sending a shower of sparks down onto the pile of tinder. "Ye'd get your way, and Princess Celestia would be none the wiser."
Luna glared back at him. "You watch your tongue, Fairweather," she hissed. "Even if your accusations were true, what would you possibly have to gain by telling me to my face?"
Fairweather bared his teeth in a hideous grin. "It gives me confirmation," he replied, and walked away, leaving the fire unlit.
Luna bit back an angry retort and watched him walk to his tent, whistling infuriatingly through that gap his scar had left in his teeth. He'd have to be dealt with later.
She almost didn't notice the scroll that suddenly appeared next to her. If it hadn't been for the flash of magic, she wouldn't have noticed it at all. She glanced down and frowned at it in confusion, prodding it with a hoof. I wasn't expecting any missives.
She sighed and unrolled it, frowning at the contents. From the magical aura about it, she knew immediately that it had been sent by her sister, but the penmanship was a far cry from Celestia's usual standards.
Any thoughts of Fairweather's impudence vanished as she scanned the short paragraph. One by one, pieces of the puzzle clicked together in her head. This letter explained much.
She looked down and read the last line, which had obviously been jotted down as an afterthought. Then reread it. And read it a third time.
With great care, she rerolled the letter and tucked it into the bag holding her armour. Strangely, she didn't feel happy, reading her sister's new orders. She supposed she should have felt elated, or at the very least satisfied. Instead, she just felt... she didn't know how she felt. It was certainly an odd feeling to suddenly learn that all your plans had suddenly become unnecessary.
For a moment, she thought of Shining, who she had manipulated into going into the lion's den, and of Fairweather, whose trust she had certainly lost, and felt a twinge of guilt.
What's done is done. There was no taking her deeds back. All she could do now was move forward.
She closed her eyes and lit her horn, spreading her awareness outwards. Except instead of the dreamscape, she searched the layer of magic surrounding and permeating Ponyville, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Magic was never easy to sense in this manner. Searching it thoroughly would take time. But that didn't really matter.
Nothing mattered, except undoing her sister's mistake.
Twilight blinked as she followed Applejack down into the basement, her jaw falling open. "Wha..." she managed.
"Caught me off guard too," Applejack said, giving Tex an anxious glance while he munched away. "It's... not exactly somethin' you see every day."
"I'll say," Twilight said, walking down the steps and hesitantly stepping onto the carpet of grass her basement floor had become. Not just grass; wildflowers, mosses and creepers were dotted throughout the entire thing. A couple saplings even stretched upward. From what she could tell, her floorboards were gone, either rotted away or somehow transmuted into greenery.
"Any idea what caused it?" Applejack asked.
"There was a preservation spell on the floorboards down here," Twilight admitted. "Damp conditions, you know. I'd forgotten about it."
"But why didn't it do this until Ah left the basement?"
"I don't know," Twilight replied impatiently. "I still don't understand how this magic-negation thing works." She paused, cocking her head to the side. "This does give me an idea, though. I bet the magical fields around here would look really interesting. It might give me a couple clues."
Applejack stepped back and let her concentrate. "You want me to leave, or..."
"No," Twilight said, her horn glowing. "Stay. You work well as a control sample. Gives me something to compare against."
Applejack frowned. "Uh... thanks. Ah guess."
Twilight said nothing for a minute, her eyes flickering under closed lids. As the silence stretched, Applejack shifted uncomfortably. Her nose started itching unbearably, but she elected not to scratch it. Moving might mess with whatever Twilight was doing. "Huh," Twilight said after a long pause. "That's interesting."
"What is?" Shining asked, having just walked onto the stairs. He blinked and did a double-take at the basement floor. "And what in Tartarus just happened to the floor?"
Twilight's eyes suddenly shot open. "Uh oh," she said.
Applejack frowned. "What do you mean, 'uh oh?'" she asked in unison with Shining.
Twilight looked over at Tex. "We need to move. Now."
Luna opened her eyes. She'd found him. And it was worse than she had thought.
Floating in an aura of magic, her armour rose out of where it had been carefully packed and affixed itself to her chest, neck and forelegs. She bent her neck to either side, feeling the segmented metal flex smoothly with her movements.
As the armour clicked and slid together, Luna felt a deadly calm overtake her.
It was time to hunt.
"Twily," Shining asked. "What's going on?"
Twilight tightened a knot in the stallion's makeshift bridle with her teeth. "Luna," she said breathlessly. "I sensed her while I was looking at the local thaumascape. She knows the stallion's here."
"Tex," Applejack spoke up.
Twilight frowned at her. "I'm sorry?"
Applejack nervously tapped a hoof on the floor. "You, uh... told me to come up with a name. So Ah called him Tex."
Twilight softened her stare. "Tex, then. Luna knows Tex is here."
Shining knew better than to ask how she knew. It was one of the most basic lessons in magic. All unicorns left a characteristic residue on their spells. If you knew what to look for, it was a simple matter to identify whoever was casting, or had cast the spell, regardless of whether it was simple telekinesis, or looking at the thaumascape. "She's coming, then," he said instead.
"And if she knows what to look for..." Applejack started.
Twilight shushed her friend with a violent gesture. "I know!" she snapped. She checked herself and softened her tone. "I need to think."
"Twily, we don't have time to think," Shining said. "Let me go and try to stall her. Maybe I can give you enough time to figure out how to send... how to send Tex home." Strange, how giving the stallion a name changed things.
"No," Twilight replied. "If what you told me is true, she won't stop for anything. Not for you, not for me." Her expression became thoughtful. "Unless..."
Luna stepped out of her tent, taking a moment to firmly set her lance along her back. She almost hadn't brought the ancient weapon. It reminded her too much of days gone by. Days she'd rather remained forgotten. Now, she was glad she'd brought it. The thing was solid starsteel: hard and sharp enough to punch through dragonscale. More importantly, it didn't have a spark of magic in it.
A Guard, heating lentils over the fire, caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and fell backwards, giving a yelp of surprise. A moment later, his alarm turned to embarrassment as he recognized her.
"Gather the others," Luna said tonelessly.
When a pony spoke to you in that tone, it was never wise to question them. The Guard leapt to his hooves and galloped off without so much as a salute.
Luna let the slight go. The others had set up camp over a wide area. It would take a few minutes to gather them all. At any other time, the delay would have irked her, but now she didn't mind.
She spent those few minutes staring into the coals. Watching as they slowly burnt down.
"Do you have a better plan?" Shining said, noticing Twilight's thoughtfulness.
Twilight nodded. "I think so. Shining, how much do you know about erasing a trail with magic?"
Her brother blinked in confusion. "A little bit. It's standard training for unicorns in the Guard."
"You have five minutes to teach me. Applejack, how well do you know the Everfree?"
"Whoa, whoa!" Applejack said. "Twilight, you know what lives in the Everfree."
"Answer the question," Twilight replied.
Applejack sighed. "Reasonably well, Ah guess. Fluttershy'd know it better, but... how deep are we going?"
Twilight hesitated for a moment. "Not that deep," she lied.
Applejack's mouth set itself in a thin line. She'd caught the lie, then. "Don't do that," she said quietly. "Not to me."
"Do you want to hear the plan or not?" Twilight asked, hoping to recover. The lie had been for her brother's benefit, not Applejack's, and the last thing she wanted was to have her friend give it away. When the other two stayed silent, she nodded and gave a rough outline.
Nine faces looked back at Luna, all waiting expectantly for what she had to say. Luna looked back, the image of composure. Inside that veil, her guts were roiling. She waited a moment longer before speaking, although in reality she was just putting it off.
"I have deceived you," she said without preamble. "Some of you have already noticed, but from the beginning I had no intention of going along with my sister's wishes."
Fairweather blinked in obvious surprise, and frowned at her as if expecting some sort of ploy.
"From the beginning, I have been planning to turn this mission into an execution. The intention was to create such a volatile situation that violence was our only choice. That was why I manipulated Shining Armour into going to Ponyville. He was to act as a combination scout and catalyst, forcing the situation to escalate, at which point I would be 'forced' to intervene."
She expected an outcry, or at the very least some wordless sounds of shock or disgust. The silence of the Guards in front of her was almost more difficult to bear.
Luna swallowed. This part would be the hardest to say. "That was a mistake. I fear I have risked the life of one of our finest Guards on my own stubbornness. Our target is far more dangerous than even I had feared. Shining may still be alive. He may not."
Patches stepped forward, licking his lips nervously. "How do you know this?" he said carefully. "How dangerous that thing is. I mean... you haven't left the camp."
"My sister sent me a missive a few minutes ago. One of the unicorns in the castle found something very disturbing in her rooms. It would appear that the stallion has a severe disruptive effect on magic. All magic. She fears that if our stallion is allowed to roam, Equestria will die."
She looked around, making eye contact with all of them. "I have no intention of letting this happen. I will go to Ponyville and end this once and for all. And if Shining has fallen... I will avenge him."
Silence reigned in the camp. After a moment, Fairweather stepped forward. "Shining's my friend. Ah'm no' about to sit by and let you have all the fun."
Patches straightened. "You're not going anywhere without us."
"For Shining," another Guard said, stepping forward. One by one, the others followed suit.
"I deceived you," Luna repeated. "I sent your leader into mortal danger. The responsibility is mine to bear! You would dishonour yourselves by continuing to follow me!"
"Everyone makes mistakes, Princess," Fairweather said.
Luna looked around, bewildered. The Guards looked right back, ready to follow her wherever she went. A small spark of something appeared in her chest.
She set her jaw in a firm line. "Then follow me," she said, turning. "We have a job to do."
By the end of it, Applejack was doing her best to hide her fear, and concern had etched deep lines in her brother's face. "Twilight," he asked, his voice drawn and tight. "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"No," Twilight said. "But it's our best shot." Her voice carried more conviction than she felt.
Applejack locked eyes with her. "You'd better be sure about this," she said. "For your sake. And for Tex's."
Twilight swallowed and told her second lie of the day.
"I am."
The haft of Luna's starsteel lance knocked lightly against the segmented metal protecting her neck as she walked through Ponyville. Around her, ponies went about their business, setting up stalls, opening up shops, and sweeping the last bits of refuse from the storm off the streets. They acted like they didn't see her, and as long as her cloak of shadows held, they wouldn't.
In the thaumascape, they appeared as bright pinpricks of light rushing around her. Normally, they would look like they were swimming through a tranquil pool. Now, they seemed to be plowing through a lake whipped into a frenzy by a near-gale.
There wouldn't be many tangible effects. Not yet. Now that she understood the stallion's true capabilities, everything made sense. It had taken Celestia's conclusions to pull everything together. The storm of the previous night had been the result of his entrance into Ponyville, much like the splash that resulted from dropping a boulder into water. After the splash died down, all that was left were waves.
Except these waves would grow gradually worse, spreading through the land, until the entire web of magic collapsed.
It was to the source of those waves that Luna was making her way towards.
Beside her, Fairweather and another Guard shuffled along, casting nervous glances at the ponies surrounding them. They were all Luna had allowed to accompany her. The others were moving to different points in the small town, cutting off likely avenues of retreat. "Bloody unnatural," Fairweather said for the umpteenth time.
Luna ignored him. Her spell projected a very strong don't-look-at-me sort of aura. They were so far beyond notice that they weren't even worth perceiving. Fairweather could have been pounding on a drum and none of the ponies around them would have so much as flicked an ear.
The source of the disturbance was unmoving, surprisingly. The stallion had to know he was being pursued. That he chose to stay in one place meant he was an imbecile -- or so confident in what he could do that he wasn't afraid. Neither were encouraging.
Pushing aside her growing unease, she pushed on..
Sitting in the center of the library, Twilight opened her eyes. "She's coming," she said.
Shining stiffened. "How far?"
"Not far at all," Twilight replied. "A couple minutes, at most. Are you ready?"
Shining glanced nervously at the door. "Yes," he said reluctantly. "I really don't see why you haven't left yet."
"As long as Tex is with us, Luna can track us," Twilight said. "This is the only way."
Shining nodded grimly, fixing his gaze back on the door and running magic through his horn.
Twilight closed her eyes again. "Really close now. Get ready, Applejack."
Shining tensed. Applejack led Tex to the library's back door, unconsciously running a hoof along the brim of her hat.
Abruptly, Twilight's eyes flew open. "What is she--" she started, just as she felt a pulse of magic from the other side of the door.
The heavy oak door, which must have been as old as the tree itself, blew off its hinges and flew directly toward Twilight. She caught it with a fist of magic, knocking it to the side, where it crashed into a bookcase.
"Applejack, go!" she yelled, projecting a magical barrier around herself and watching with horrified fascination as Luna walked through the doorway, her expression murderous. Two ponies flanked her, lances at the ready.
I didn't expect this, she thought.
Luna saw her and her face softened from rage into confusion. "Twilight?" she asked in a confused tone. "You're all right? I thought you..." She trailed off as she saw Applejack all but shove Tex out the back door. "What are you doing?" she said faintly. "What are you doing!?"
Shining forced himself to his hooves, ignoring the ringing in his ears. Luna was standing right beside him, and another pony was stepping in beside her.
No plan survives its execution, he thought, scrambling back from the door. It was an old military adage, but like most, frightening in how often it proved itself true. The extra pony alone complicated matters. It suddenly made what he had been supposed to do a lot more difficult.
"What are you doing?" Luna said, staring in horror at the back door.
She started to move toward Twilight, unclasping a long, shining lance from its socket on her back. "What are you doing!?" she screamed.
The third pony rushed in. Fairweather. He looked down at Shining, his face creasing in relief, then confusion.
Shining hesitated for a split second.
Then let the spell snap into place.
Luna took one more step, and a shimmering lattice of purple threads appeared around her, freezing her where she stood. It was a modified shield spell, one that rendered its target completely immobile.
"What in the--" Fairweather started, before Shining wove similar spells around him and the last Guard.
Almost immediately, pain flared in Shining's head as Luna lit her own horn, fighting to escape. He held on to the spell by sheer force of will.
"Twilight, go!" he snarled. "I don't know how long I can hold this."
But his sister took a step toward the frozen Princess, her face pensive. "Release her mouth," she said.
"What?" Shining yelped.
"You heard me," Twilight said, an odd look on her face. "I want to talk to her." Shining looked back at her for a moment, and then did as she asked.
"Twilight, what are you thinking?" Luna asked the moment the threads around her jaw vanished. "Do you have any idea what that... that thing is capable of?"
"I do," Twilight said calmly. "And I know what you want to do to him." She stepped closer. "My brother is going to hold on to you. I'm going to take him to the Everfree, where you won't be able to find him. And then I'm going to send him home."
Luna flapped her mouth in shocked silence. "The Everfree?" she finally gasped. "Twilight, you can't. You can't! You don't know what that could do!"
"You're right," Twilight agreed. "But if you insist on trying to kill Tex, it's my only option."
"You named it?" Luna snarled, contempt dripping from her voice.
Twilight stepped back. "That's all I need to hear. Hold her as long as you can, Shining. I'm going to end this." She directed a hard glance at Luna. "The right way."
She turned and walked away. Luna stared helplessly after her until the back door closed. Then the assault on Shining's spell redoubled.
Shining took a deep breath and sat down, putting all the focus he could muster into the spell.
Please be right, Twilight, he thought.
By the time Twilight had caught up, Applejack had nearly made it to the outskirts. "What in the hay took you so long?" she asked.
"Tried to reason with Luna," Twilight panted. "Didn't work."
"Didn't you say it wouldn't?" Applejack replied, tugging on Tex's lead.
"Worth a try."
Applejack snorted and continued on. "Your brother okay?"
"He got knocked back a bit when Luna opened the door, but he should be able to hold her." Twilight paused. "That... doesn't mean we should relax, though."
Applejack sighed and touched the brim of her hat. "Tell me something Ah don't know."
They walked in silence for a moment. The streets in this area were empty; everyone in this part of town was either at work or shopping in the main square.
"You never explained something," Applejack spoke up. "Why can't Luna track Tex in the Everfree?"
"Right before Luna found us," Twilight answered, "I found something interesting. The disruption Tex made in the surrounding magical field looked a lot like the local field in the Everfree. Wild, untamed, that sort of thing. Theoretically, Tex should be able to blend in with it. It's not an exact match, but it should be close enough to be confusing."
"Should be?" Applejack replied. "Ah'm not sure how much Ah like the sound of that."
Twilight looked nervously at Tex. Applejack caught the glance and sighed. "You still have no idea how to send him back, do you?"
Twilight hesitated before answering. And then nearly walked into a stallion in full armour. She yelped and stumbled back, knocking Applejack into Tex, who jumped back with a whinny of alarm.
"Are you all right?" the Guard asked, extending a hoof to help Twilight up. "You'll have to be more careful in the..."
He looked at Tex and froze, his eyes going wide. Twilight didn't even think. She just lashed out with a spell. The Guard collapsed bonelessly, his eyes rolling up in his head.
"Land sakes, Twilight!" Applejack exclaimed, looking down at the limp Guard. "What'd you do to him?"
"Knock out spell," Twilight replied automatically, eyes fixed on the Guard. "At least I think it was. I hope it was."
Applejack could see panic beginning to rise in her eyes. "Come on," she said, touching her friend's shoulder. "Nothing we can do now. Let's get a move on before more show up."
Twilight nodded jerkily. "Yeah," she said.
Applejack led her onward, watching as the tension melted from her body. Typical Twilight. She'd stand up to Luna if it was planned, but as soon as the plan started to fall apart...
She threw the thought out of her head. No use thinking about that. All plans had room for a couple failures. They were still moving, they were still breathing, and that meant it was going well.
The pain in Shining's head finally abated, leaving behind a dull ache between the eyes. He let out a gasp and opened his eyes, suddenly aware that he was drenched in sweat.
Luna had kept fighting for far longer than he'd originally anticipated, pushing him to his limits. Yet his shield spell still held. By their very nature, they were difficult to break out of by magical means, but Luna had certainly tried.
He chanced a look at her. She still glared at his through the shimmering threads, but her eyes held the trademark dullness of magical exhaustion. It had been a close thing. If Shining had tried holding her at night, when she was at her strongest...
He dismissed the notion. It was daytime, and for that he was thankful.
Still, holding Luna was taking its toll. He couldn't sustain the spell much longer. And when she got out... she might have been exhausted magically, but that wicked-looking lance didn't need much magic to wield.
Applejack came to a halt beside a tree and reluctantly passed Tex's lead over to Twilight. The stallion followed, nuzzling Twilight's shoulder and nickering softly. "There you go," she said. "He's all yours."
Twilight took the lead in her mouth, not trusting her magic this close to Tex, not to mention this far into the Everfree. "Stick to the plan," she mumbled around the rope.
Applejack sighed. "Yeah. I'll do that." What are you not telling me? her tone said. What don't you trust me enough to know?
There was a potential setback far greater than sending Tex back. The Everfree's magical field was similar in principle to Tex's disruptive effect, but it was still magic, just more wild and untamed. At the outskirts, it was minimal, but for Tex to be truly hidden, they had to delve deep into the forest, where the Everfree's unique magic would be at its strongest.
And Twilight had no idea what would happen when the two clashed.
It wasn't something she cared to dwell on. She simply nodded to Applejack and struck off into the forest, leading Tex along beside her. Behind her, Applejack waited a moment and went in a different direction. As soon as she did, Twilight lit her horn and cautiously wove the spell Shining had taught her. The prints her hooves had left in the soft loam shimmered and vanished.
Twilight eyed the results with satisfaction and moved on.
The Everfree, as usual, was eerily silent. As she moved deeper into the forest, the canopy thickened, until only small patches of sunlight remained. Curtains of moss hung from gnarled trees, and the air became thick and still.
Twilight shivered as she stepped over a protruding root. In some ways, the silence was even worse than having something actively stalking her. Silence let the imagination run wild.
Behind her, Tex snorted and stepped over the root. At the same time, a rotted branch gave way and crashed to the ground. Twilight jumped and gave a yelp of surprise, and Tex scrambled toward her, tripping over the root in the process.
Without even thinking, Twilight reached out to catch him with magic, realizing her mistake a moment too late. Predictably, the spell unraveled, but what happened next surprised her.
Instead of dissolving into nothing, the spell twisted and writhed around Tex, sparking fiercely. Tex himself couldn't sense it, but he could sense the smell of ozone that suddenly sprang up around him. He whinnied and jumped to his hooves, and the spell abruptly collapsed into a pulse of... something. Whatever it was, Twilight's horn started burning as soon as it reached her.
She blinked against the pain, waiting for it to recede. It didn't. It just intensified. She gritted her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut as tears streamed from them. All around her, she could feel the Everfree's magic reacting to the pulse. The air whipped itself into a gale, sending the limbs of the ancient trees whipping back and forth. The ground started shaking, and Twilight started hearing muffled concussions as buried stones sheared and split.
As suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Except all around her, she could hear howls. The creatures of the Everfree were all crying out in one, surprised voice. For a moment, she thought the howls would begin to converge upon her, but instead they did something even more alarming.
They fled.
Applejack heard the wind first. She blinked in surprise as the air started to stir. The air never stirred in the Everfree. It only hung, dead and cloying.
Then she felt the pulse. It tore through her, ripping the strength from her limbs and sending her to her knees.
Then came the screams.
Applejack sat and stared dumbly as a timberwolf crashed through the bush into her clearing. It turned those baleful green eyes on her and snarled.
It wasn't the snarl of a hunter about to pounce. It was the snarl of a fleeing animal whose escape had just been cut off. Numbly, Applejack forced herself out of the way. Without hesitating, the timberwolf sprinted past her and into the bush, kicking up clods of earth in its haste.
No matter what happens, don't come after me, Twilight had said. You need to lay a false trail. If Luna escapes, you need to keep her as far away from me as you can.
"Stick to the plan," Applejack said under her breath. "This wasn't part of the plan, Twi."
At first, Shining mistook the itching in his horn for a symptom of magical exhaustion. That wouldn't have been surprising. But then he saw the confusion in Luna's eyes. Confusion that quickly turned to horror.
An instant later, something changed. A wave of something tore through him. His vision doubled, and bile rose in his throat. His magic thrashed free of his grasp, screaming all the while. Or maybe that was him. He couldn't tell any more.
A hoof touched his shoulder, and suddenly the tumult stopped. Shining shut his mouth -- it seemed that screaming had been him after all -- and looked up at Princess Luna. Magic continued to rage and seethe around him. He could feel it. But Luna radiated stability and order.
"Can you stand?" she asked, her voice full of strain. Shining suddenly realized her horn was glowing. Seemingly, she'd found a hidden reserve of strength. He nodded, not trusting his voice. Judging from how raw his throat felt, he wouldn't have been able to muster more than a pitiful croak.
"I cannot maintain this for long," Luna said. "As soon as I stop projecting myself, the chaos will come crashing back. It will not be pleasant, but the worst of it has passed. You will be able to withstand it."
"What happened?" Shining rasped.
Luna gave him a flat look. "Your sister has made a dire mistake. Do not blame yourself. You were not wrong to trust her." She stepped away. "But you were wrong to take her side. Fairweather. Take Shining back to the camp. See what Patches can do for him."
"Luna," Shining croaked. The Princess looked back at him. "Don't hurt her."
Luna's face softened. "I won't," she promised.
Twilight raised her head, blinking tears from her eyes. A soft shower of dislodged leaves fell to the ground. Beside her, Tex sniffed hesitantly at a crack that had split the earth six inches from his hoof.
She opened her mouth, then closed it. What was there to say? There really were no words to describe how she felt. Instead she closed her eyes and opened her awareness to the thaumascape, dreading what she would find.
What she saw made chills run through her. The pulse had thrown magic into flux for kilometres. Somehow, the Everfree had magnified Tex's effect on normal magic. To make things worse, Tex's presence was no longer masked. If anything, it was more obvious than before. If Luna didn't know exactly where he was, she was blind.
Twilight grabbed Tex's lead and hurried on, crashing blindly through the brush. Behind her, Tex tossed his head and whinnied in protest, although thankfully he didn't resist her. She came into a small clearing and stopped. What was the point of running? No matter where she went, Luna would find them.
She dropped the lead and looked back at Tex. The stallion gazed back at her with those soft eyes, completely unaware of what was happening. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I thought... I thought I'd have more time."
She tightened her jaw. So what was she going to do now? Just sit and wait until Luna arrived? No!
With a shake of her shoulders, she swung her saddlebag onto the ground. Out came a battered, familiar-looking book. Multiverses.
Science was all about standing on the shoulders of giants, and using that foundation to build something greater. Tangent had gotten close to figuring out how to move entities between universes. She'd almost figured it out before disappearing, and Princess Celestia had obviously closed the gap. If she could figure it out, so could Twilight.
She flipped through the book, scouring the spells, diagrams, and wild speculations. Most of it was familiar. She'd skimmed the book months ago on a whim, and discarded it after seeing just how wild the theories were. Now she pored through it with intensity, knowing that every second she spent looking at the page was a second she couldn't spare.
Almost on their own, pieces began to fit together in her head. If she modified a teleportation spell, and instead envisioned space as the thing to be transported...
She channeled magic through her horn and started weaving. Almost immediately, the spell began shaking like a rickety building. Fighting the rising tide of hopelessness, she let it die away and looked through the book again for something she'd missed.
The second attempt yielded the same result. The third lasted perhaps half a second longer. The fourth nearly blew up in her face. The entire time, Tex stood there, nibbling on a patch of grass.
Twilight tried again, blinking sweat from her eyes. She would not be beaten by this! The spell, radically revised from the previous one, started to take shape. Yes! she thought, adding one more element.
Then watched in dismay as the entire thing collapsed into a tangled mess. She gritted her teeth until she felt her jaw creak, and banished the spell. Tex, sensing her anxiety, walked over and nuzzled her shoulder.
Twilight looked over at him. It's okay, the stallion's eyes said. You tried.
"It's not okay," she choked.
"Twilight, you could not be more correct."
Twilight jumped and instinctively positioned herself between Tex and Princess Luna, who had just stepped out from between two gnarled trees. She gestured with the tip of a wicked-looking lance. "Step aside."
"No!" Twilight said, ignoring the quaver in her voice. "I almost have it! I can send him home!"
"You had your chance," Luna said coldly. "And you failed. Stand aside. Please."
A hot surge of anger suddenly rose in Twilight's chest. "I have not failed!" she snarled, lighting her horn and slamming a spell into Luna. The Princess was caught by surprise and knocked backwards into a tree trunk. The lance fell from her magical grip and clattered onto the ground.
Twilight's ears went flat. "Oh my gosh," she said. "I... I didn't mean..."
Luna raised her head, a terrifying fire burning in her eyes. A blue flash filled Twilight's vision, and suddenly she was lying on her side a good three metres to the right, a coppery taste filling her mouth. Tex reared, whinnying, and stepped forward.
"Close your eyes, Twilight," Luna ordered, raising her lance.
Sudden strength flooded through Twilight's frame. No. She forced herself to her hooves, lighting her horn.
Time seemed to slow. Luna hurled the lance at Tex with a flick of her head. The starsteel head hurtled toward his heart with deadly accuracy.
Twilight wove a spell she'd performed dozens of times before. She vanished in a flash of purple and instantly reappeared between Tex and Luna. Watching the lance fly toward her.
Her second spell was already prepared. All she had to do was let it go. A dense, purple shield sprang up around her. An instant later, the lance crashed against it with a clear, bell-like peal. Pain lanced through Twilight's head as the spell absorbed the impact. Gritting her teeth, she strengthened the spell, pouring every scrap of strength she had left into it. It wasn't enough. An instant after the lance struck, her shield spell bent inwards. It was a slight flex; almost imperceptible. The flex became a dent. The dent became a fissure. The fissure became a tear.
Twilight's shield shattered, breaking into a thousand motes of coherent magic. Time slowed to a crawl. Twilight watched the lance fly towards her with an odd sort of fascination. It looked like it was barely moving, as if it was traveling through jelly. Sparkling motes of magic fell all around it, bathing it in prismatic hues as they blinked out of existence.
Luna's face was still frozen in a snarl of aggression. She looked back at Tex, who was standing still in mid-whinny. There was no fear in his eyes. Luna had hurt the pony who had showed him kindness, and he was defending her. Not a second later, their roles had been reversed.
There was no time to prepare a second spell. No time to dodge. Even if there had been time, the thought of moving out of the way never even crossed Twilight's mind.
It was odd how the threat of imminent death cleared the mind. Twilight was thinking more clearly than she had in years. Everything fell together in her head with razor-sharp clarity. The solution was so simple that it just hadn't occurred to her. The problem wasn't the structure of the spell. It was in the magic itself.
Magic was energy. It couldn't be destroyed, only converted. It flowed through everything, living or not. Tex was no exception. The disruption he had on her magic wasn't a negation so much as a conversion to his form of magic. A magic Twilight wasn't able to sense at the time. That magic was just... different. More subtle. Like a line in a song, hidden underneath the melody.
Like a harmony.
Just like that, her awareness opened to the alien magic. It had been there the entire time, steadily growing in strength as Tex converted more and more of Equestria's magic. Twilight just hadn't known what to look for. At first, her mind instinctively recoiled, but she somehow forced herself to channel it. Maybe she wasn't channeling it at all. Maybe it was Tex providing the magic, and she was just shaping it. In the end, it didn't really matter.
Twilight formed the spell. The alien magic flowed stubbornly at first, but with steadily growing ease, and wrapped around Tex without collapsing. And why would it? It was his own magic, after all.
She wove the spell with care, making sure it was perfect. There would be no second chances.
Finally satisfied, she released the spell. Tex vanished, leaving nothing but four hoofprints in the loam. Her awareness of Tex's magic disappeared, likely forever. Time sped back up to normal.
And Luna's starsteel lance crashed into her chest.
The impact knocked Twilight back into the space Tex had previously occupied. Her breath rushed out of her, but strangely she couldn't draw it back in.
She had expected pain. Instead, she just felt... cold. An awful cold, radiating from the metal lodged in her chest. She shivered. Stars, why is it so cold?
She saw the expression on Luna's face. The snarl vanished, replaced by confusion. Then understanding, and then horror. "Twilight!" she howled, although the sound was strangely distant.
Twilight tried to smile at her, but nothing was working the way it should have been. Why was Luna so upset? She thought the Princess would be happy, knowing Tex was home.
"Twilight," Luna said, cradling her head. "Twilight, look at me."
She wanted to, but she was just so tired. The spell had taken a lot out of her. And it was so cold.
"It's okay," she tried to say. Nothing came out, through. Maybe if she slept, everything would work right again.
She closed her eyes. From far away, she felt magic. Lots of magic.
Then she felt nothing at all. |
A Simple Reflection | Epilogue | Scrape... scrape... scrape...
She twitched her ears. What was that sound? Couldn't whatever was making it see she was trying to sleep?
Scrape... scrape... scrape...
Maybe she could sleep through it. She was just so tired.
Scrape... scrape... scrape...
She frowned. All right, maybe she couldn't. What even was that? She opened her eyes, and looked around. Bare white walls, a strong smell of antiseptic... was she in an infirmary? Why was she in an infirmary?
She looked to her left, toward the source of the scraping. A grey pegasus hunched over a misshapen piece of soapstone, worrying away at it with a rasp. From the look of it, the pile of dust on the floor was far more impressive than whatever he was carving. He hadn't noticed her yet.
Suddenly, she became acutely aware that she was thirsty. She looked around again, hoping to find a pitcher of water. To her delight, there was one, but it was on a table beside the pegasus. At the moment, all she could move was her neck. She tried calling out, but the only sound she could make was a dry rasp.
The pegasus ignored her, and kept filing away. Honestly, if he was trying to reduce the piece of soapstone to dust, he was doing a fine job.
She tried calling out again, but the sound was lost as the door creaked open. A white alicorn walked through, casting a worried look at the pegasus. "Is there any change?" she asked.
The pegasus shook his head. "No' yet," he replied. "She'll wake eventually. Ah know she will."
The alicorn sighed, and looked over at her -- and froze. "Twilight?" she whispered.
Yes, Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. That was her name. The pegasus was Fairweather, the alicorn was Princess Celestia, and...
Everything came flooding back. Tex, the Everfree, Luna...
She forced her hoof to move, to try and pull down the blanket covering her chest. She had to see it.
Celestia's hoof stopped her. "Not yet," she said. "You've... you've been through a lot."
Twilight looked back at her. She could make out the faint shadows of bruises on her mentor's neck and back. Celestia's eyes were red-rimmed, and her feathers were in disarray. Looks like I can say the same about you. She tried to say so, but her voice wouldn't cooperate.
"Here," Celestia said, levitating a glass of water toward her. Twilight drank greedily, spilling down her chin.
She sat back, exhausted by the effort. But she still had strength for one word. "Tex?" she gasped.
Celestia paused for a moment. "Gone," she finally said. "You truly did something special back there."
Twilight frowned. There was something else. Something important. It took her a few moments to remember what it was. "Friends?" she said with the last of her strength.
"In the room down the hall," Celestia replied. "Sleeping. They insisted on keeping vigil, but I managed to convince them to rest after a day and a half."
Content, Twilight closed her eyes.
When she awoke again, she was alone. The sun slanted through the window at a sharper angle than before. More important than that was the strength that now flowed through her. She lifted a hoof, shaking with the effort. A newborn foal could have managed better, but it was still an improvement.
Now for another test. Moving slowly, she shifted the covers and placed her rear hooves on the floor. So far, so good. Her front hooves joined her rear ones. She took a breath. Her legs were shaky, but they held her.
She carefully began walking around the room, gaining confidence with each step. A wall-mounted mirror at the far side of the room caught her eye. She stopped dead, eyes widening. Then took a few steps closer to make sure she was seeing right.
With a trembling hoof, she reached up to touch the area on her chest that had been shaved, and the six-inch scar that meandered across it. A half-memory of a shining lance flashed through her mind. She shivered. It had been cold. She remembered that much.
"I expected you to still be asleep."
Twilight stiffened. She hadn't heard the door open. But she didn't turn around. She just watched as Princess Celestia joined her at the mirror.
"How?" she whispered.
"Luna," Celestia said. "She petrified you. It was risky, but it... kept you alive until we could bring you here. It gave us time to bring in the best healers we could find, but... it was still close. Too close."
"Were you there?"
Celestia paused for a long time. "Yes," she finally said. "I was there."
"I'm sorry," Twilight said.
"No," Celestia replied with sudden vehemence. "Don't apologize. You did what you had to."
Twilight shook her head. "Back there, in the Everfree... I knew I was going to die. That's how I was able to send him back." She studied the scar again. "I should have died."
Princess Celestia made an odd sound beside her. Twilight looked up, and saw that she was biting her lip, tears overflowing from her eyes. "Never do that to me again," she whispered fiercely. "Never."
Twilight reached out and touched her shoulder. The Princess responded by reaching out with a wing and hugging her close. She nuzzled her mentor's neck, a chill running down her spine. What must it have been like for her? Seeing her brought in by a panicking Luna, petrified and impaled by a spear?
"I don't blame you," she said quietly.
Celestia stiffened. "Is that the truth?" she asked.
Twilight took a moment to search herself. None of this would have happened if Celestia had not accidentally brought Tex into their world. But for the life of her, she couldn't find a shred of blame for it. Or for anyone involved. None of them had been truly prepared for what happened.
She nodded. With that simple movement, she felt the tension drain out of her mentor. Her own breath hitched, and she felt her vision became misty with tears.
Abruptly, Princess Celestia stepped away. "Your friends will want to know you're awake," she said, her cool demeanor back in place.
My friends, Twilight thought, a twinge of guilt appearing in her chest. She hadn't given any thought as to how her actions might have affected them. She would have some apologizing to do, it seemed.
But there was one thing she had to ask.
"Princess," she said. "Did... did I do the right thing?"
Celestia looked at her for a long moment. "Yes," she finally said. "You did."
She left, leaving Twilight to stare at the door and think. A long moment later, a chorus of excited voices erupted from the other side and her five friends burst in, surrounding her, every one trying to ask her own question.
Twilight said nothing and instead drew them all into a group hug. They understood her intent and hugged her back, content, as if suddenly everything was right in the world.
And perhaps, for a brief moment, it was. |
Meeting His Heroes | pre | "Really sugarcube?" Applejack chimes in. "How come y'all had that mason jug and funnel set up out front of your castle?"
"I..." Twilight began to say but paused when all of her friends gave her a knowing smile. She then groans in defeat. "Fine! I took advantage of Discord's little prank to save some money on milk, but so was everypony else!"
"Just wanted tah hear ya admit it" Applejack said smugly.
Twilight hid her face in embarrassment as her friends laughed at the schadenfreude. Even Thorax had to chuckle a little at the antics going on between the seven mares.
Eventually, Twilight got over her embarrassment enough to advance the conversation along. "Who wants to tell Thorax about themselves next?"
Almost immediately, Pinkie's hoof shoots up.
"Okay, Pinkie, you can have a turn."
And she did. Each of the other six mares talked about their moving to Ponyville.
Pinkie traveled there and only intended to stay for a little while before she moved to a larger city, but she fell in love with the town and quite liked working for the Cakes, so she decided to stay.
Applejack had always lived in Ponyville, but recalled how she'd gotten her cutie mark upon returning from Manehattan, where she'd moved to experience a more sophisticated life that she'd quickly become not fond of.
Fluttershy recalled her own cutie mark story, and said that she'd moved to Ponyville after she'd finished her schooling in Cloudsdale.
Rarity had also always lived in Ponyville; her family were one of the few unicorn ones in the predominantly earth pony town. As a filly, she had similar desires to move to a big city such as Manehattan like Applejack did, but as she grew up, she fell in love with the town and decided to make it her home.
Rainbow Dash was the only one of the element bearers that didn't actually live in Ponyville. She had what she called a "cloudiminium", but it was close enough to Ponyville she could fly there in a fairly short amount of time, even going at a comfortable pace and not like a bat out of Tartarus.
As for why Rainbow Dash was in Ponyville? She works for the weather service, like a lot of pegasi do, and she was assigned to their weather team.
When it came to be Starlight's turn, she'd became rather embarrassed, and ashamed from what Thorax could tell. Of course, he already knew the story from Twilight about the village she'd started and how much she hated cutie marks. That was all in the past, of course, and the lilac mare was doing her best to embrace friendship between ponies of such diverse backgrounds.
"What about you Thorax?" Pinkie asked the changeling. Her friends looked at her with stern glares, but the pink pony shook them off.
"What? It's Thorax turn to answer a question."
Thorax chuckled nervously. "I, uh, guess it is" he conceded. "So, you all want to know how I got here?"
Twilight nodded. "As much as I would've preferred Pinkie not asking that question in such a way," she said while giving the party mare the stink eye, "I think we would all like to hear your story about coming to Equestria, and more specifically, the Crystal Empire."
Thorax looked at the mares before him, and then to Princess Cadance. Sure, he'd told this story before, but he honestly wasn't a fan of having to tell it.
The princess heard his silent plea and answered it.
"Girls," she addresses the group, "Thorax isn't really that comfortable with telling this story. I don't think we should force him to."
"Why not?!"
The voice of Rainbow Dash causes all the ponies there to turn and face her.
"We told him all of our stories," she argues, "so why shouldn't he tell us his. It's only fair!"
Princess Cadance glares at Rainbow Dash rather sternly. "It might seem fair to you, but I've heard Thorax's story myself, and making him have to tell it again would be most decidedly unfair."
Rainbow Dash stood her ground. "I still want to hear it."
Princess Cadance was becoming rather cross with the pegasus. She knew her to be stubborn, but to the point of being outright rude?
Then she remembered the facts that she'd been trying to ignore since Thorax was first accepted as part of the Crystal Empire: Thorax was a changeling, and the ponies in Equestria, Rainbow included, didn't like them.
Just as the princess was about to cut into Rainbow Dash for her rude behavior, Thorax's voice stopped her.
"It's okay" he told the princess. "I'll... I'll tell them."
Princess Cadance turns to Thorax with shock. "Thorax, you don't need to-"
Thorax cuts her off with a hoof. "I know," he responds, "but all of these ponies would like to know, so it's only fair that I tell them."
Princess Cadance looks at Thorax with concern, but again the changeling waves her off.
"Really, it's fine."
Despite her concerns, she nods in agreement and allows Thorax to tell his story.
Thorax takes a few breaths before he begins telling the story of how he came to Equestria to find peace and harmony.
"It all started about a year or so after the attempt to invade Canterlot..." |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 1 | Author's Note - This portion of the story will be told from Thorax's perspective.
The Changeling Hive
One Year After The Failed Invasion...
The hive was in low spirits. At first glance, a pony would think that the creatures inside were very aggressive and should be avoided at all costs. While that statement was true enough on its own, it didn't summarize the situation well at all.
The changelings, despite outward appearance, were afraid.
With the failed invasion of Canterlot during Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Guard Captain Shining Armor's wedding, the changeling race as a whole was exposed to Equestria and the greater world. Now suddenly out in the open, many infiltrators abandoned their posts, fearful that they would be revealed and subject to harm through either outright torture from the guard or prisoners they'd be forced to share cells that would want to enact revenge upon them for past slights they may or may not have endured because of changelings.
With this massive upheaval, Queen Chrysalis doubled down on the already iron tight grip she held over the hive. She ordered rations cut, more intense training, and ordered the focus of love gathering to be directed at the more unconventional sources, if only for the fact that they would be less likely to associate the term changeling with something malevolent.
The worst of all was a moratorium on new eggs. Changelings that wished to have a brood were not permitted, told to wait until there was a need for new changelings to serve as either a new batch of infiltrators, or potentially as the first wave of soldiers for another invasion.
That was the first three months. When the fourth month rolled around, the queen then ordered infiltrators to begin returning to Equestria, only gathering enough love to sustain themselves as needed. Their role now was to conduct espionage on the most powerful ponies in Equestria. Once they had enough information, they would return and report back to the queen what they had learned.
When the infiltrators got news of this, there were many volunteers. Drones that had been eager to help exact revenge against the ponies that had snatched away their meal ticket, and in the case of some, the right to have progeny to call their own.
In my case, the orders presented me with an opportunity. I had seen what friendship could do, and I knew I wanted it for myself. The problem would be obtaining it, and I knew I couldn't get it from the hive.
I had tried many times already, and each to no avail. I would be hit, made fun of, or in the worst cases, drained and left to lay where I fell in the halls of the hive.
Being drained was the worst. To have all of the energy sapped from you and end up in such a malaise state that you don't even care if you lived or died. Feeling that for the first time instantly made me regret anytime I ever needed to feed on another creature. It was the last piece of evidence I needed to show me that the ways that changelings lived were wrong, and someling needed to fix that.
Of course, convincing the other changelings would be a whole other matter.
"Stop hitting yourself, Thorax!"
I again felt the repeated barrage of my own hoof drilling into my face while it was enveloped in a green glow. Scizza, one of the larger drones in the hive, was sitting on my chest with his hooves crossed over his barrel, a wicked grin on his muzzle.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I cried with each strike, my attempt to force myself to stop overpowered by Scizza's much stronger magical grip.
"C'mon weakling!" he taunted me. "If you really wanna stop me, then stop me!"
I redoubled my efforts to break free, but again, I was met with the constant barrage of my own hoof striking my face. The only thing I could do to protect myself was close my eyes, but even then, I would probably have a bruise from the abuse.
"You're pathetic" Scizza chided me as he released my hoof, now bored of the mindless torture. "You're even weaker than the grubs in the nursery hive. It's a disgrace!"
The larger changeling rose up and pressed a hoof hard into my barrel, and I could swear he adjusted his form to take the shape of rows and rows of sharp points because I could feel an almost burning sensation from where his hoof was pushing me down.
"I don't know why the queen bothered to let you live" he continues. "I'd say she felt sorry for you, but you know our queen has no pity!"
He pressed down into me as he said the last part, and I could feel some kind of liquid on my chest. I didn't look, but I'm almost dead certain it was my blood that had seeped out of the wound Scizza almost surely made.
"Why did the queen bother to save you?" he asked me, malice still present in his voice but more diminished. "I don't understand it. You don't go out and forage for love, nor do you train to fight, dig in the tunnels or build any walls. You don't even help care for the grubs! So why did she save you if you're nothing but a boil on the collective changeling flank?!"
He let up and I took a lungful of air in. My only reply was "I'm not allowed to care-"
Scizza cut me off. "I know you're not allowed to care for grubs! You also know why that is!"
His hoof returns to my chest, the apparent spines having lengthened and dug deeper, making my discomfort so much I can barely keep the noise down to the level of a whisper.
"I hope you're proud of yourself for what you did to Ocellus!" he sneers at me. "The queen is considering disposing of her. Do you have any idea how hard Scorpion and Ovi worked to have that brood and only one nymph out of four to survive?! You should have your head staked on a rock outside the hive on general principle!"
Scizza removes his hoof from my chest and positions it at my head. I look him in the eyes and I realize that his gesture is not an idle threat. The look there is one devoid of any compassion or mercy. They're the eyes of a real monster.
"You know, the queen will probably exile me or something for this, but I'm gonna do what she should've done with you to begin with!"
With that remark, he raises his hoof with the full intention of literally driving it through my skull...
...only for a blast of green magic to send him flying into a wall.
"Scizza!" a familiar voice calls out. "What in the queen's name are you doing?!"
Scizza recovers and glares at the newcomer. "What the queen and you both should've done, Pharynx."
My brother stands in the hallway with a glare fixed to Scizza, his horn a steady flame of green magic. "If you don't desist and move on," Pharynx warns, "then I'll have to finish this job, plus my own AND yours, and what remains of you when I'm finished will have to go to the queen and explain this whole mess. Do you understand me, Scizza?"
Scizza frowns at Pharynx, but offers no other resistance. "Whatever" he says as he walks away, clearly not wanting a well to do fight while the queen is in a rather irritable state.
Once he leaves, I sit up and look at Pharynx, who looks at me with disappointment. "I know" is all I can reply.
"And yet I still have to come keep you from being turned into a smear on the walls or floor" he adds as he shakes his head. "I don't know what happened to your egg to make it turn out like that, but I hope it never happens again for as long as Queen Chrysalis lives. She's still not sure what to do with Ocellus, you know?"
I hang my head, unable to look at him. "I already said I'm sorry."
A hoof strikes me across the muzzle.
"THAT RIGHT THERE, THORAX!" Pharynx yells at me as he delivers another blow to my face. "No changeling apologizes to another changeling, or apologizes for another changeling!"
"You're too soft and too sentimental, Thorax!" Pharynx spits as he buzzes his wings and takes off. "Either get with the program, or get out of the way!"
Get with the program...
...or get out of the way.
I don't think it was Pharynx had intended, but in that moment, he put things into perspective for me.
I had a choice to make. Either I would have to deny everything I had come to believe and conform to the same system that every changeling before me adhered to, or I would have to abandon that system altogether in hopes of finding the answers I was looking for.
I think it's pretty obvious what my choice was. |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 2 | "I planned my escape from the hive that night" Thorax told the ponies. "I knew a bit about the patrols and when the gaps in time would be. All I had to do was know when to disguise myself as some innocuous feature like a rock or a mushroom. Once I had all that ironed out, I only needed to wait for the most opportune moment."
"Little did I know that it would come only a few nights later."
The work that needed to be done in the hive for the day had been completed. Love was gathered from cocooned prey, tunnels that needed dug out were excavated as much as time would allow, nymphs were taught the lessons of the hive, and the hatchery was watched over and maintained. Now, every changeling was going to bed, or at least, most of them.
A special group of changelings that served as the night guard were up and about. Their task was simple: monitor the hive. If there was an intruder, they captured and cocooned them. If there was a changeling milling about, they were detained and questioned. If they noticed some kind of damage to the hive, they investigated it and reported it.
Simply put, they took care of the hive's security and safety while the other changelings slept.
A time or two before, I would have to perform this duty. I would often try to get assigned to areas around the nursery, so the most that I would need to do would be to stop wayward changelings and ask what they were doing. Most times, however, I was put outside, where I would have to capture small animals that would then provide sustenance to the grubs in the nursery.
My experiences with guard duty did give me some familiarity with how the rotations worked. Because of that, I had a rough idea of when there would be gaps for me to exploit. I waited until nightfall, until I was sure the first guard patrols had been completed, before I put my plan into motion.
The hive was quiet. Most changelings were asleep. The ones that weren't were the guards patrolling the hive, their wings buzzing as they made their rounds.
I was hiding in an alcove, having waited for Pharynx to finally drift off to sleep. Cautioning a look, a poked my head out a little to scan the hallway. I ducked back in quickly as a patrol was rounding the corner.
They kept going, and I breathed a sigh of relief. That had been too close of a call.
Making sure the patrol was not doubling back around, I quickly made my way past some of the other living quarters and started making my way up to the hive's entrance. The large opening was not my intended target, but was not far from it.
Just a short distance away and concealed by a pile of rocks was an entrance that most changelings didn't know about. Barely large enough for an adult drone to fit through, it was often used by curious nymphs who wanted to explore the wasteland outside the hive.
Tonight, it was my tunnel to freedom out of this veritable prison.
"Thorax?"
I froze up. Almost immediately, I began to curse myself for carelessness, but then I recognized the voice.
Turning around, I spot a nymph that is only a few short years from adulthood. She looks like nearly every other changeling drone, except her eyes are a much paler blue.
"Ocellus?" I respond cautiously, unsure of what the young changeling would do.
"What are you doing?" she asked me, eyes tired but expression curious.
"What are youdoing?" I counter. "It's a bit late for you to still be awake."
"I was thirsty" she tells me. "I was going down to the trickle to get a drink."
The trickle was the hive's term for our water source. It was a spring head that the hive had been built up around. I'm not sure where the water comes from, but I think it could be from the Hayseed Swamp, and the normally murky water gets filtered out by the soil.
"You never answered my question" Ocellus then points out.
I let out a sigh. Ocellus was a bright nymph. If she was fortunate, she would be trained to become an archivist and catalog the information that infiltrators brought back from the various nations of the world. I certainly hoped that's where she would end up; she was very eager when it came to books.
As for the current situation, I was in a bit of a pickle. I knew that Ocellus was much more sympathetic to my ideas than other drones, but she also felt duty-bound to the hive, so telling her what I planned to do was a risk.
Fate, it seemed, had chosen for me.
"You're leaving, aren't you?"
I couldn't look her in the eyes, nor could I bring myself to answer her question. In the end, my silence was answer enough for her.
"The queen will label you a traitor" Ocellus tells me, her tone sounding more cautionary than threatening.
"I know," I finally respond, "but I must do this. Something inside me is telling me that I need to go so that I can find out."
Ocellus looks at me for a moment, and then steps forward, wrapping her small forelegs around one of my larger ones.
"Take care of yourself, Thorax," she tells me, "and please come back if you find what you're looking for."
"I will" I respond as I wrap my free foreleg around her and hug her back. I could never be completely certain, but I think we shared some of our love back then, without either of us even realizing it.
We separated and Ocellus wished me luck, then made her way back to her parents. I left out through the small entrance and into the badlands around the hive.
The desert stretched out a good ways around the hive, but there was some visible treeline in one direction, so I kept low and made a move for it.
I got almost the whole way there before something large tackled me to the ground. I rolled over to see what it was and froze.
Looking back at me were a pair of dark purple changeling eyes.
It was Pharynx; he'd apparently followed me out of the hive and chose to confront me out here and away from any other changelings.
His eyes glared at me as he asked me the big question of the night.
"And just where do you think you're going?" |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 3 | I laid there as I looked up at my brother Pharynx, his purple eyes glaring down into my turquoise ones. His weight was pressing into me as he made sure I stayed put until he decided I could move again.
"Well?" he asks impatiently.
I couldn't answer him. What could I tell him? There was no such thing as a changeling leaving the hive; it was high treason in his eyes.
But I couldn't lie to him. I was never good at it and he would've picked up on it in a heartbeat. Whatever answer I did give him, he wasn't going to like.
"I... can't."
Pharynx cocks an eye ridge. "Can't what?" he prods.
"I just can't anymore."
My response isn't to his liking. "Out with it Thorax!"
"I can't stay in the hive anymore!" I finally blurt out.
His emotions go from a split second of shock to seething anger.
"You're telling me you're abandoning the hive?!"
I flinch, but steel my resolve as much as possible.
"I don't belong there, Pharynx" I tell my older brother. "Even you have to see that."
His response is to hiss into my face. "Of course you think that!" he responds in a matter of fact way. "You're weak, Thorax! Every day you get bullied by other changelings and I have to step in. Do you know why they do that?"
"Because I can't defend myself" I retort.
"Because you won't defend yourself!" he counters.
"I'm not a fighter!" I shout back at him. "If I was, I wouldn't need you to protect me! I don't fit in here, Pharynx! I just... don't belong."
Pharynx doesn't say anything for a moment, but he stays firm in his position.
"You're a changeling, Thorax" he tells me, his voice having lost its anger. "The hive is the only place for you. If you don't think you have a place here, then that means that there is no place for you."
I grow a bit wary of what he means, but I stand my ground, perhaps for the first time in my life.
"I'm not happy here, Pharynx. I wish I was, but I'm not. Everyday I have other changelings giving me a hard time just because I don't do like them. The queen doesn't trust me to accomplish any kind of tasks. She cuts back my rations thinking It'll give me the incentive to do better but it only makes me weaker still."
"And then there's you."
Pharynx looks at me in confusion.
"You're the only changeling here that even comes close to showing me anything close to positive, but even with those times where you chase off the other drones bullying me, you pick up where they leave off. I don't know if you do it because you think it will get me to toughen up or if it's something else, but all it does is make me feel even more like I don't belong here."
"That's why I can't stay anymore. I need a place where I feel I can belong, like I can contribute something and it actually matters. As long as I stay here, I won't be able to do that, even if I do like all of the other drones. I have to go where I can make a real difference."
I stop speaking and I wait for Pharynx's response. It's quiet for much longer than I expected.
"You're serious?" he finally responds, an unusual amount of uncertainty in his voice.
"I know what leaving means, and what will happen to me," I reply, "but I have to do this. I have to at least try."
I look back at Pharynx, but he's turned away from me and looks back towards the hive.
"...Fine."
His voice surprises me a great deal. It almost sounds... defeated.
"I can't convince you of how horrible an idea this is, so just go. Go find... whatever you're looking for."
He steps back towards the hive and opens his elytra, ready to take to the air.
"I'm sorry, brother" I call to him. "I wish I didn't feel this way, but I have to do this."
"...I know" he replies as his wings buzz and he heads back towards the hive, his body silhouetted against the stars.
"So your brother tried to convince you to stay?" Applejack asks.
"Yeah," Thorax replies, "but not really because of any sort of love. A changeling who leaves the hive without permission is considered a deserter and traitor. There's no active searches, but any infiltrators out on a mission are told of the deserter and advised to capture or..."
"Or what?" Rainbow prods.
"...Eliminate the drone." I finish.
There's a collective gasp from all the mares, except Princess Cadance; she did gasp the first time Thorax told her this story.
"After Thorax told us this, we made extra sure that he would be safe while he stayed here" Cadance then explained. "Frequent guard rotations, specialized enchantments on armor that react to talismans placed on entryways to the palace and in many public spaces, and code phrases that are known only to the guards and changed weekly or even sooner if it's even suspected that they've been compromised in any way."
Applejack whistles. "Whooey! Sound's like y'all done thought about dang near everything."
"We've definitely done all we can to make ourselves, and Thorax by extension, as safe from changeling infiltration as we possibly can" Cadance says in agreement.
"So what happened next?" Pinkie Pie asks Thorax.
"Things were kinda iffy for the next few days," Thorax replies, "but it got a bit hairy after that."
"Why?" asks Rainbow Dash. "What happened then?"
Thorax lets out a breath before he replies.
"That's when I encountered the buffalo." |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 4 | "After Pharynx left me," Thorax continued,"I turned and flew as far, and as fast as I could away from the hive. Once I felt I was far enough away, I decided on a pony disguise I wanted to use to travel more safely. Dodge Junction was the first town I would come across, and I wanted things to go as smoothly as possible."
"I decided on a beige earth pony with a medium-light brown mane and tail, with orange streaks in it. The eyes would match the streaks, and my cutie mark would be a cactus. I decided on calling myself Prickly Pear, and my special talent was growing cacti."
"Once I was comfortable with my new look and identity, I stepped into town. Everypony greeted me kindly enough, though obviously because they thought I was a pony like them. They showered me with love and affection, especially this one little mare that was barely older than being a filly, and I thought about just setting up shop there; I could've even made a life with the mare if I so chose, and maybe even revealed myself to her once I thought she would be comfortable enough with the idea."
"Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I stayed one night, and the next day, rumors of a changeling infiltrator had started spreading. I wasn't discovered, but another changeling sent to find me was found trying to siphon some love away from a couple... coupling. I guess it was too good an opportunity for them to pass up."
All the mares sitting around Thorax blushed, but the changeling ignored it and continued with his story.
"The changeling wasn't caught, and ponies were getting suspicious of one another. I left that night, giving a half-truth of being caught by a changeling, and wished everypony the best. Once out of town, I decided to move on to the next town as quickly as I could, which was Appleloosa."
"Heh, That's where mah cousin Braeburn lives," Applejack told Thorax.
"I think I did run into him," Thorax replied,"but that was after I ran into the buffalo, and I'll tell ya, that did that not go well at all."
With the nerves about the potential of being discovered having quieted down, I began making my way for the next town north of Dodge Junction. There was a lot of desert around me, but I also saw plenty of green growth that told me there would be a well or springhead somewhere. My biggest concern was food, and there was very little love I could get, at least the kind I wanted to obtain, with no personal qualms about how it was gathered.
As I was heading towards Appleloosa, I began to feel a rumbling sensation through the ground. I looked around at first and couldn't see anything, but a minute or so later, I noticed a large dust cloud forming on the horizon. Curious as to what it was, I started looking for a place higher up so I could see better.
Before I knew it, I had been nearly stampeded by a herd of buffalo. Large beings with feather decorations on their heads. Their powerful hooves shook the earth beneath my hooves so much that I didn't know what was gonna happen.
I made my best attempt to get out of the way, but I soon collided with one, and getting hit by one of them is like having a colossal dragon flick you in the chest with their claw. I was sent rolling, and I thought I was gonna lose my disguise before I could recover.
I didn't, fortunately, but when I did come to a stop, I was immediately surrounded by the buffalo, and all of them looked at me with anger and annoyance.
"Why is pony interfering with buffalo stampede?"
I turned to the voice and saw a buffalo bull larger than any other buffalo approach me. He had the most ornate of the feather decorations in the group, so I deduced quickly that he was the leader.
"Answer, pony. Why did you interrupt stampede?"
His voice was louder and had more force behind it. I shivered in place as I tried to answer him.
"I-I didn't mean to! I was walking from Dodge Junction to Appleloosa. I didn't know you were stampeding here!"
The buffalo chief looked me over as he considered my answer, but he scowled as he approached me and took a whiff of air.
"You not smell like pony," he pointed out. "You smell of smoke, but yet we see no soot."
His glare hardened. "Only creature buffalo know that have smell of smoke without soot is changing pony. You are changing pony?"
I looked at him in fear, remembering then how buffalo could smell changelings because we emit a pheromone to identify each other. My hopes of a new life in Equestria were put on hold as I had to think to myself how I could get away from this situation with my life.
"Pony take too long to answer," the buffalo leader said as he turned to another pair of buffalo nearby. "Use magic zebra paste on pony. It will tell us if he is changing pony soon enough."
Magic paste? I thought as I watched one of the buffalo step forward, a ceramic pot in their one hoof. Before I had a chance to react, the buffalo threw the jar at my hooves and it smashed, spilling a strange substance onto my hooves and legs.
Almost as soon as it hit me, I noticed something very strange happening to me. It was like the part of me that was responsible for my disguise magic had gone numb, and very quickly, my disguise was cast away in green flames.
The buffalo reacted, not with fear, but with even more disdain.
"You are changing pony!" the buffalo leader yelled as he pointed a hoof at me. "You ruined pony ruler wedding some moons ago! You take buffalo while sleeping and pretend you them so we love you like family! You are usonvi! You are threat to buffalo!"
"Please!" I cried out as I fell to the ground. "I don't want to hurt you. I want to live peacefully in Equestria. Please, let me leave and I won't bother you again."
The buffalo leader spat on me. "Chief Thunderhooves not born day before now! Your words are as hollow as bird bones! We would be fools to trust changing pony!"
"Please!" I cried out again, tears starting to fall from my eyes in desperation. "Let me leave! I won't come back! I promise!"
Chief Thunderhooves ignored my pleas. "We take you prisoner and give you to ponies. They have bounty on changing pony. We give them changing pony and we get enough food to feed all buffalo for next six moons."
Before I could even protest, the buffalo surrounded me and, instead of tying me up, threaded two thin poles through the holes in my legs. Two buffalo nearly as large as Chief Thunderhooves stepped forward and balanced the pole onto their backs.
"Buffalo go to Appleloosa with changing pony prisoner now," the chief told his buffalo. "We move now. Do not listen to the words of the changing pony. They are like honey to catch wasp in death trap."
"Do not go close either. All who get too close lose their heart. Heart make buffalo strong. Warriors, don't let changing pony take heart from you."
The other buffalo snorted in agreement and the entire herd began moving. I had no way to resist them. My disguise magic wouldn't work with the pole in my legs, and I could still feel the effects of that weird paste they threw at me before. I could do nothing but await whatever fate had in store for me when we arrived in Appleloosa.
At Sundown...
The trip to Appleloosa would take more than a day, which I was glad to find out. I didn't have any sleeping provisions, so I would've needed to find an abandoned cave or some place similar to wait out the night.
Of course, that didn't really matter when the buffalo made me sleep outside. The had a unique way of dealing with changelings and keeping them prisoner: the changeling had their legs threaded over long poles sunk deep enough into the ground they couldn't be wiggled loose and free, then ropes were bound around the barrel and staked down into the dirt, and last was an application of another magic paste that disabled pretty much all magic a changeling could use.
All in all, it was highly effective, and I could only escape if one of the buffalo allowed me to, and the chief had already warned them not to listen to my honeyed words.
"Drink, changing pony."
I was startled from my thoughts by the voice. I looked up to see one of the buffalo, a young cow if I had to guess. In her hoof was a bowl, which I assumed was supposed to be water. I lifted my head and opened my mouth, and the cow tilted the bowl, allowing the liquid to pour down my throat. She let it continue to pour, so I had to keep swallowing, unless I wanted to try and drown myself.
Once the bowl was empty, she pulled it back and set it aside. She then produced a second bowl that had more of that paste in it.
"Please don't use that," I asked of her. "I don't want to hurt any of you."
"Promise from changing pony as empty as water bowl is now," she said somewhat coldly, but also sounding like there was a bit of sadness in her voice.
A part of me then thought about manipulating that into an escape attempt, but I stomped that down quickly. It was exactly that kind of thinking that got my kind the reputation we had to begin with. Nevertheless, if there was a slight chance I could perhaps begin convincing as least one of these buffalo that I wasn't a monster, I was going to take it.
"You're right. Like your chief said, my kind have used a lot of hollow, honeyed words. We've made our entire existence off of lying and deceiving, and taking what isn't ours. I wish I could go back in time and stop it all from ever happening, but I can't."
Genuine tears rolled from my eyes. What I had told her was the truth. If the changelings had started out different, chose peace and harmony instead of war and evil, maybe things would've been different. Perhaps my life would've turned out better than it was.
"Changing pony speaks of regret and cries tears of shame, but father says that is the way of changing ponies. They act like they are hurt when they are not. They act like they are ashamed when they are not. They make others feel sympathy for them so that they can steal the heart from those who care."
"We need love to survive, and no creature has ever showed us love. Maybe that's why changelings feel like they need to take it from others all the time."
The cow looked at me with surprise. "You think you cannot be loved by another?"
"I hope that one day I can, but as it is now, none will. I can only receive the love and kindness I desire if I pretend to be something else. It's the curse of my kind. To get what we need to live, we must live a lie at all times."
"Believe it or not, I hate lying. I'd rather be honest and tell the truth when I can, but even without it being about the fact I'm actually a changeling, I know the truth can hurt, and it becomes preferable to lie."
The young cow looked at me for a few more moments, but then slathered a fresh coating of the magic-suppressing paste on my horn, then picked up the bowls and left. My head fell back down into the dirt.
My one chance to convince one of these buffalo that I wasn't a monster like the other changelings, and I blew it. |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 5 | I was awoken the next day by a face-full of the magic paste. I made an attempt to shake it loose from my eyes, but it stuck to my face. A cloth was rubbed across is shortly after I stopped shaking, and with my eyes clear, I looked up to see who threw the concoction in my face.
Standing over me was Chief Thunderhooves. Beside him was another cow buffalo, a bowl in her hoof and a scowl on her face.
"We move now, changing pony," he spat at me, "and you not use honeyed words on my daughter again!"
I flinched back as much as the poles holding me to the ground would let me. Apparently, the little cow that visited me last night was the chief's daughter.
Very roughly, the poles and rope holding me down were removed, and I was quickly rolled onto my back, the holes in my hooves once again home to the wooden poles meant to carry me.
"We move, buffalo!" the chief called out, and as one, the herd set forth for Appleloosa once again.
I had made my best effort last night, but it was no good. I blew my one chance to get free, so now I would become a prisoner in Equestria. The only question in my mind was would the ponies get rid of me, or would the hive send a changeling there to do it themselves?
My thoughts were interrupted as the chief stopped dead in his tracks. The herd followed suit, looking to their leader for an answer as to why the had ceased moving.
"Be on guard, buffalo," the chief warned. "The ground trembles beneath us, but not because of our hooves."
Instantly, the buffalo went on guard, looking this way and that. The two buffalo carrying me did the same, but would shoot a glare back at me as though to blame me for the predicament.
Electing to do as the Ancient Pona would, I looked around in an effort to see if there was an attacker nearby. I doubted it was changelings; they would've swarmed the buffalo herd by now.
Perhaps a wolf pack?
No, that made even less sense. The chief even said that the ground shook from something besides themselves. Wolf packs, even large ones, didn't make that much vibration through dirt.
Before I could theorize any further, the ground around the buffalo exploded open. The buffalo turned this way and that to see what was going on. Once I saw the ground open up, I narrowed my list down to one threat I knew existed in the area - tatezlwurms.
However, it turned out I was wrong. Emerging from the holes were diamond dogs, the large bipedal canines that lived underground and valued gemstones more than nearly anything. There must've been several dozen in all, and the had surrounded the buffalo completely.
Looking ahead, I saw the chief squaring up with one of the diamond dogs. This dog resembled a bull dog, and atop his head was a crown full of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, opals, and diamonds. Interestingly enough, there were a few empty spots where it looked like more gems could be added.
"Chief Thunderhooves!" the dog called out. "We have come to claim your sacred gems for our own!"
"We will not surrender them!" the chief spat back. "Those gems belong to my people, and I will not allow you to steal them from us!"
"You will not surrender the blue stone? Then perhaps we take the earth out from under you?"
"You cannot take the earth any more than the ponies can take the sky! The world is for us all, but you wish to hoard much of it for yourselves!"
Their argument went on, but I lost interest in their words. Still, I did want to know why the diamond dogs were harassing this herd of buffalo. I tried getting the attention of one of my captors.
"What's going on?" I asked.
The buffalo turned and glared at me. "Silence, changing pony. We will not fall for tricks or honeyed words."
I looked down at the ground dejectedly. That's when I noticed a set of small hooves approach me. Turning, I saw the chief's daughter again.
"It's the diamond dogs again," she told me in a voice almost as low as a whisper. "They want our sacred gems."
"What do you mean sacred gems?"
"There is a place, far from here, where we can find rocks of a most unusual color. They have both a green like the grass, but also a blue like the sky, all mixed together. The dogs look on them almost the same way they do the diamonds that give them their name."
Now this exchange made sense. The diamond dogs were after turquoise and the buffalo knew where to find it, but the buffalo weren't giving up the location because they viewed the gemstone as being a sacred rock that must be protected.
"Enough of this!" the diamond dog leader declared. "If you won't give up the location of your sacred stones, then we will simply take the sacred stones you have with you. Dogs, ATTACK!!!"
The buffalo tensed, looking at the diamond dogs surrounding them, but not one of them moved. Instead, the ground began shaking again, and a moment later, diamond dogs erupted from the soil all around the buffalo. Once on the surface, they began attacking, tackling the buffalo to the ground.
A pair of diamond dogs shot up and knocked the buffalo transporting me to the ground, sending me flying off towards a group of calfs and older cows.
My head hit the dirt hard and I had my mind jostled for a few moments, but when I was able to think straight again, I noticed that, during my flight and impact with the ground, one of the poles through my legs had been broken over a rock, split into two pieces. The second pole was mostly intact, but had suffered enough impact that at least one good kick or stomp would break it the rest of the way.
I looked at the buffalo around me and noticed one in particular: Chief Thunderhooves' daughter. She had been somewhat sympathetic to me last night, even if still heeding her father's advice. I was taking a gamble, but a gamble was all that I had to take.
"I can help!" I called out to her.
The buffalo turned to scowl at me, but she looked at me with surprise.
"Please, break the pole so I can be free. I can help."
Before she could answer, another buffalo stepped forward.
"Cease with the honey words changing pony!" they told me before turning back to the diamond dogs attacking them.
By this point, nearly every buffalo was tangled with a diamond dog. The only ones who weren't were the calfs and older cows watching them; I suppose they felt that was dishonorable to attack them or something.
The dogs ignored me, and I decided to try and help myself. I was able to roll over onto my hooves where I shook the broken pole from my legs. Doing my best to move with the other pole still in place, I tried to find something I could break the pole and free myself completely.
Before I could get far, I was tackled to the ground, rolling a bit before coming to a stop. I looked up and saw a diamond dog looking at me like a predator who just caught some poor creature that it intended to be its meal.
"HA! They caught a changeling!" the dog called out as it reached for a rope on its hip. "Equestria will pay quite a bounty to us for turning one of them in!"
My magic was still suppressed, so I was limited to what flailing I could do with two legs. The dog began tying the rope into bindings to hold me in place, preparing to take me prisoner to Equestria.
Before it could finish, the diamond dog was kicked violently by a buffalo, so much that it went flying for a few feet before impacting hard into the ground. I looked up to see the chief's daughter over top of me, looking at me sternly.
"You say you can help buffalo?"
I felt fear coursing through me from her gaze, but I gave a nod in response.
"Trust is important to buffalo. If I give you trust and you break it, I will find you and make you pay for breaking trust. You understand?"
Again, I nodded.
"I free you, you help buffalo with diamond dogs."
"Yes," I answered.
"I guess that will have to be good enough."
The heifer turned around and raised a back hoof high. I turned my head, hoping that she wouldn't have a change of heart and just stomp me out there and then.
CRACK!
I felt her kick shatter the pole in my other legs. I kick the now broken pole free from my limbs, and enjoy the return of my mobility.
"I keep my half of deal," she reminded me. "Now you keep yours, changing pony!"
I looked at her and gave her a nod. I rose back up onto my hooves and looked at what was happening around me. The buffalo and diamond dogs were still tussling, but I could already see that the element of surprise the diamond dogs had at the beginning had nearly ensured victory for them.
Well, after seeing that, I thought the buffalo should have their own element of surprise.
I buzzed my wings to carry me up above the fight and start to transform, but my magic blinked out and I gently hovered back to the ground.
"It's no use," I told the chief's daughter apologetically. "That paste still has my magic suppressed. I can help, but only if I can use my magic."
The heifer looked at me for a moment before she picked up a nearby jug and dumped its contents onto me.
At first, I thought she was suppressing my magic again, but I suddenly felt my magic returning.
"I show you more trust, changing pony," she told me,"so you hold up bargain. You help buffalo now!"
"Right," I respond as I rise up again, focusing my magic on a transformation.
I felt the familiar wash of magic over me, and suddenly, the sky is filled with my new form.
Large black scales, green fins, massive membranous wings, and a mouth full of sharp teeth that could only belong to a predator.
I had become a dragon.
Letting out a roar, I swoop down over the diamond dogs. I pass over the group and let out a roar at them, causing many to stumble backwards in fear.
"DOGS! RETREAT!" the leader cried out, and the other dogs complied, quickly burrowing back into the ground and leaving the buffalo alone.
Once I was sure the dogs won't come back, I changed back to my original form and land in front of the buffalo.
The chief looked at me sternly for a moment and began to speak, but was stopped by his daughter.
"Strongheart?," he said in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"I..."
She faltered for a moment, but quickly resolved herself.
"Changing pony helped buffalo against diamond dogs. I don't think it's right that we try to take changing pony as prisoner anymore."
The chief's shock quickly turned to anger.
"Changing pony's flank was on line just as much as buffalo. He fight to save own neck!"
"No!" she protested with a hoof stomp. "Changing pony kept word and help buffalo. He prove himself not to be an enemy of the buffalo."
"Little Strongheart," the buffalo chief began with a seething voice. "Changing ponies attack our people since before even great-grandfather buffalo born. They steal our hearts and capture our people, then they wear their skin and make us think they are one of us. They hurt many buffalo, and hurt many ponies too. Ponies are new allies to buffalo, and we show great distrust by not giving them one they call criminal."
Little Strongheart still stood her ground, but I could already tell her confidence was waning.
"I made deal with changing pony."
The chief again looked at her in shock before becoming even angrier than before. "You WHAT!?"
"I freed changing pony and he helped buffalo," she explained. "He kept his word to me."
The chief was still quite upset at the news, but he began to calm down as he heard his daughter's admission.
"You show disrespect to elders and me by not heeding my words," he scolded her, "but, just as with Appleloosa ponies, you stand strong on what you think is right, and it help buffalo in the end."
The chief turned his attention to me.
"You help buffalo with diamond dogs? You made and kept deal with Little Strongheart?"
I stood up straight and gave a firm nod.
The chief nodded his head and hummed, closing his eyes in thought. After a few moments, he whispered something to Little Strongheart, who became excited and rushed off somewhere into the herd.
"Changing pony, you have shown that you can at least keep your word to the buffalo."
Little Strongheart returned with a necklace in her mouth. It had feathers and beads on it, as well as a few of the turquoise gemstones the diamond dogs had been after.
"This is gift to you for helping buffalo," he explained as Strongheart put it on me. "You are recognized as ally of buffalo. We will honor you by not turning you over to ponies. May the great spirits go with you, and may you continue keeping your promises."
"I intended to, Chief Thunderhooves," I told him, then turned to his daughter, "and thank you, Little Strongheart, for believing me when none of the other buffalo would."
She smiled at me and nodded. I nodded in return, then I buzzed my wings and took off for Equestria...
...and then set back down and disguised as Prickly Pear before I got too close. |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 6 | "Those dreadful ruffians!" Rarity spat out as she heard Thorax finish his story regarding the diamond dogs and buffalo. "Threatening Chief Thunderhooves and his buffalo for a few turquoise gems!"
"You actually turned into a dragon and scared them off?" Fluttershy asked Thorax.
"I did," he answered, "and the buffalo were gracious enough to let me go."
"And ya started headin' on in towards Appleloosa?" Applejack finished.
Thorax gave a nod. "I got to Appleloosa sometime around midday, but my arrival didn't really go smoothly."
"How come?"
"Well, I arrived in an apple orchard and... they accused me of stealing."
"They thought you was tryin' ta take apples?!"
"They did, but I was able to convince them otherwise. In fact, thinking on it now, I did meet your cousin Braeburn, because he was the one that accused me of stealing apples."
I was approaching the town of Appleloosa when I came across a fairly strange sight to see in a desert - an apple orchard. To the left and right of a fairly wide path leading towards the main part of town were large apple trees, all of them full of big red apples, which at that point in time, meant they were ready to be harvested.
Feeling my body begin to ache from the exertion I had earlier, I decided to stop under the shade of one of the large apple trees. As I laid down in the shadow created by the canopy, my sight caught one of the fruits on the ground; some small marks told me that a squirrel or critter of a similar size had likely knocked it down in an effort to eat the rather delicious-looking fruit.
In fact, looking at it had got my appetite going, though mine unfortunately wasn't for apples.
I decided to pick up the fruit and look it over in my hooves. The skin was flawless, save for the aforementioned marks from the small animals. It had a stem with a pair of leaves poking out from it, and felt fairly firm, but with some give to it. Going from memory, what I observed meant that the apple was ripe and ready for eating.
"DROP THAT APPLE, YA DANG THIEF!"
I jumped up from my spot and looked around in fear and confusion. Soon enough, I sensed anger approaching me very quickly, and before I could react, a hoof had pushed me back up against the tree I was relaxing under.
"WHAT ARE Y'ALL DOIN' TRYIN' TA TAKE OUR APPLES?!" the voice accused me.
I finally laid eyes on my accuser, who turned out to be an earth pony stallion with yellow coat, dirty blonde mane and tail, wearing a cowboy hat and vest, and a large red apple adorning his flanks.
"SPEAK UP!" he shouted at me, a scowl plastered on his face.
"I-I wasn't stealing-"
"HORSEAPPLES!" he interrupted, practically spitting on my face. "I FIND Y'ALL IN OUR ORCHARD AND YA IS HOLDIN' AN APPLE LOOKIN LIKE YA READY TA EAT IT! Y'ALL DIDN"T DO ANYTHIN' TO HAVE A RIGHT TA JUST TAKE AN APPLE AN' EAT IT!"
"I wasn't stealing!" I attempted to defend myself. "Honest I wasn't!"
"Then what was ya doin'?" he asked me, starting to calm down a bit.
"I was walking from Dodge Junction when I came across this orchard."
"Y'all walked here from Dodge Junction?" he parroted with a raised eyebrow, then shook his head. "If that's the truth, then y'all is either not afraid of anythin' or just plain dumb. Them grounds between Dodge Junction and this here orchard is the territory of the buffalo; it's their stampedin' grounds."
"It is?" I asked, trying to make it sound like I genuinely didn't know.
"Eeyup. They ain't too fond of ponies walking through during their stampedin' time, even if we all made peace a while back."
"I didn't know," I told him, this time meaning what I had said; I really hadn't known the first time. "I meant what I said, though. I came here from Dodge Junction and was hoping to find Appleoosa."
The stallion's demeanor changed from skeptical and angry to excitement. "Well why didn't ya say so? This here orchard is right on the outskirts of AAAAAPLELOOOOOSSSSSAAAAA!"
...What?
"My name's Braeburn, and on behalf of Appleloosa, let me give ya a better welcome than I did a moment ago."
Braeburn extended a hoof to me, to which I cautiously offered my own. He proceeded to tap mine and then wrap one of his forelegs around me.
"I don't know if y'all plan on stayin', but this here town is grownin' into a mighty fine place to live, and if y'all is lookin' fer work, then ya got here just in time!"
"What kind of work?"
Braeburn had a good laugh at my question. "If ya would just take a look around, I think ya can figure it out fer yerself."
I look at the trees again and realize that the stallion is referring to the harvest of this year's crop of apples.
"So you need ponies to pick the apples?"
"HA! Hay no! We don't pick apples. We buck 'em!"
"...Huh?"
After hearing that last bit, I had to wonder if this stallion had some unusual preferences in regards to fruit, and how it was consumed.
"I'm talkin' about Apple Buckin'," he went on to explain. "That's when ya go up to a tree full of ripe apples and give it one, good, swift kick!"
Braeburn punctuated his statement by turning around, rearing up his hind legs, and jamming them as hard as he could into the trunk of the tree. The impact shook the tree so hard that the ripe apples snapped off the limbs and fell to the ground.
"Now, normally, we have baskets set up to catch 'em when they fall, but I was just showin' ya how it's done. We can pick these ones up and take 'em in for cider pressin'."
"You can't just eat them?"
"Nnnope. Them apples hittin' the ground got bruises on 'em, and that makes the fruit not taste as good as they should, so we take 'em and press the juice outta 'em and make cider."
Braeburn then leans closer to me in a conspiratorial manner and adds, "we also take some of the cider and give it an edge, iffin' ya get mah meanin."
I've tried the kind of cider that Braeburn was talking about, but honestly, I didn't much care for it.
"So, if ya was lookin' fer work, we're gettin' ready for harvest season. Ya get twenty bits a day, along with three hots and a cot. Whaddaya say?"
Twenty bits a day, along with room and board, as well as meals. If I could sustain myself on normal food, I'd call it a pretty decent deal.
"That sounds like a good offer, but-"
"Then it's settled!" Braeburn exclaimed while cutting me off, not giving me the chance to refuse his offer.
"Yeah, Braeburn can get a bit pushy without meanin' to," Applejack confessed to Thorax.
"I didn't mind it so much," Thorax told Applejack. "In fact, the week or two I spent there did help me to acclimate better to Equestria. I just wish some things had went differently than they had at the time."
"Things went differently? How so?"
"Well... I was introduced to the farm hands that would be helping with the harvest."
"What's wrong with that? Ya ought ta get ta know yer coworkers."
"Oh, I knew him already. He called himself Fuzzy Peach, but his real name was Earwig."
"Earwig? What kind of name is that?"
"A changeling name." |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 7 | "A CHANGELING?!" Applejack cried out in surprise.
"Yes, a changeling," Thorax confirmed. "He was a year or so older than me, and was a former bully of mine back in the hive. He quit once he was actually certified as an infiltrator, but as you can imagine, he didn't have any remorse for what he did, to me or to the ponies he's drained over the years."
"So what did you do about him?" Twilight asked.
"I didn't really do anything, honestly. He was actually working there just to get a few bits so he could move on somewhere else. Of course, just because I didn't do anything, doesn't mean that he didn't do something."
I was setting up my cot on the first day, putting sheets and pillows on it. I didn't really have any possessions besides that necklace Little Strongheart gave me, so once I finished, I went to find Braeburn to see what needed to be done.
That's how I ended up face first in the dirt with a sore muzzle.
"Whoopsie," I heard above me, turning to see "Fuzzy Peach" standing above me. He sneered when nopony was looking and trotted off, satisfied with his little taunt of me.
I got off the ground and rubbed my nose, examining my hoof and seeing no blood on it. I didn't see where he went off to, so I just left it go and went to the orchard so I could start working.
I spent the day working there and getting a decent haul compared to the other, more experienced ponies. By mid day, I filled the cart that took the apples back to the barn for sorting about halfway full. When lunch was called, I went in with the others, but saw Earwig with a mare just barely out of fillyhood. They went off to another part of the orchard, and I knew right away what was happening.
When I next saw them, the filly looked quite tired, and kept rubbing at her temples. Ultimately, she asked Braeburn if she could finish early due to her current state, and he agreed, seeing she wasn't in the best condition, even commenting that several ponies seemed to be feeling that way as of late.
I frowned, but didn't say anything. Ratting on Earwig would've blown my cover, and I didn't want to risk getting ran down by Braeburn or another pony and hauled off to a prison or a dungeon, so I tried to think on what I could do to discourage him from feeding.
Being honest, I probably would've had better luck bathing a cat.
That evening, as I was asleep, I could hear a pony having what sounded like a nightmare. When I looked up to see what was happening, I could see a pink glow in the room. That glow told me enough about what was happening, and I elected to confront him before he could do more harm.
"Earwig."
The changeling, hearing his real name, stopped and looked at me, his eyes glowing blue and glaring at me.
"Beat it, grub!" he hissed. "This one's mine!"
"No, it's not."
"You gonna fight me for it?"
"No, I'm not."
"Then get lost!" he ignored me and resumed feeding, the pink glow emanating from the pony, who reacted with their moans indicating another nightmare.
"Earwig, stop! You're gonna call attention to yourself like this!"
He cut off the flow and glared at me again. "Do I look like I care what you think, grub? What are you even doing out here? You never completed infiltrator training!"
"I have my reasons."
The glare he had widened upon my saying that. "Your reasons? I didn't know the queen superceded giving orders and let changelings act of their own volition."
"She didn't."
"You left the hive?! You damn traitor!"
He moved to attack me, but I closed the distance and stopped him.
"You really wanna start a fight in here and expose us both?"
Earwig considered what I'd said for a moment, and then backed off, returning to his bunk a little further away. Before he got under the covers, he shot me one last glare, and a warning.
"Better grow a pair of eyes in the back of your skull, Thorax. You're gonna need 'em."
"That sounds awful," Fluttershy said while shivering.
"Yeah, that's totally not cool," Rainbow chimed in. "Tell me you did something the next day."
"I didn't," Thorax replied. "It wasn't that I didn't want to; I just wasn't sure how to let him know without blowing my cover."
"Would blowin' yer cover really ah been that bad?" Applejack asked.
"At that moment, it would have. I know what I said about wanting to be friends with ponies in my natural form, like I have been for a little while now, but at that time, it wouldn't have been a good idea, especially with Braeburn."
"Aw, it couldn't have been that bad." Pinkie commented.
"It was that bad. When I even slid mention of changelings in conversation, his mood soured faster than a glass of milk left out on a hot day, and he told me there was a special spot in the orchard he would bury "them dang varmints that tried ta hurt mah cousin"."
Applejack shivered upon my perfect impersonation of her cousin's voice. "Yeah, that was probably a good idea ya wasn't so forthcomin' about what ya is. I ain't exactly a fan of lyin', but I know that tone ah voice. Mah cousin wasn't jokin' none when he done said that."
"Yeah. Even without being able to sense his emotions, I could tell he was serious."
"So what did you do?" Pinkie asked.
"Well, nothing happened for a few days, but then there was a day when Braeburn assigned Fuzzy Peach, myself, and another pony to work in a part of the orchard further out. What happened... wasn't good."
"Fuzzy" volunteered to work on the set of rows furthest out, and the other pony with us decided to do the middle rows while I took care of the ones closest to the main house and barn. I made an argument about taking the middle rows, and ultimately convinced the pony to take the ones they wanted me to do originally.
Earwig couldn't have cared any less. If the pony took the rows, that was a chance for him to drain that pony and come after me with as much magic as he wanted, and with me taking the middle rows, he could take care of me and have the pony for dessert. I figured that if I took the middle, I could kick up enough fuss for that pony to get away.
We set to work, going to our individual rows. Earwig gave me a sinister smile before disappearing behind some of the trees he was meant to work on. The other pony moved towards the house and the rows they agreed to take care of. I set up my baskets and got to work, but kept my head on a swivel, looking around me and watching in the trees to make sure I wouldn't be ambushed.
Things were okay for about an hour or so. I got full baskets and put them onto the cart, and would occasionally see the pony out helping us. She was a mare, and a fairly large one at that. Sky blue coat with silvery-white mane and tail pulled back into a ponytail and had a cutie mark of a pie with whipped cream on top.
We would talk occasionally, commenting on the heat and whatnot, but never said too much. She would offload her baskets and then go back with empty ones. I'd do the same, but when I came back the last time, I saw her there putting her baskets onto the cart, but they didn't look nearly as full as they should.
"You doin' okay?" I asked her as I walked up.
The response I got was for her to turn around, her eyes black as night and her mouth full of sharp teeth.
I jumped backwards and fell, letting out a shout as I did. I ended up leaned back against the tree behind me, where I felt something drip on my head. I looked up and saw the mare inside a cocoon, disguised just enough by the canopy that I didn't notice it before.
"I told you you should've grown eyes in the back of your skull, grub!" Earwig shouted as he pounced at me. His yell gave me enough warning to roll out of the way and make a break for it, calling out to the house and barn for help.
Earwing tackled into me from behind, hitting me hard enough to lose my breath momentarily.
"Not today, you turncoat!" he spat at me, rolling me over to look me in the face. "Those ponies aren't gonna help you, not after I expose you for what you are."
He was pressing down hard into my chest, making it hard to breath. I struggled against him, trying to think of a way to get him off of me. When I felt my hoof hit against a tree, I got an idea. With what strength I could muster, I gave the tree as hard a shot as I could.
A flurry of apples rained down on Earwig, hitting him hard enough to distract him. I quickly pushed him off of me and got to my hooves. With only one chance and little time to act, I reared up and shot my legs back with as much force as I could.
I felt the contact and heard how hard my kick connected. Then, I heard a thud, followed by a series of additional thuds. Turning around, I saw Earwig laying on the ground, unconscious and covered in apples.
"What the hay is goin' on over here?"
I looked to see Braeburn come running up. Thinking quickly, I came up with a story, which was mostly true.
"A changeling tried to attack me! He wrapped up Dessert in a cocoon in one of the trees and turned into her, then he tried to get me!"
Braeburn saw Earwig and scowled. "I guess I should get some ropes on that varmint and turn him into the sheriff. We'll have to find out where he stashed Fuzzy Peach."
"If there is a Fuzzy Peach," I countered. "I've heard of changelings coming up with original pony identities and backstories before."
"Have ya?" he says to me with a suspicious look.
"Yeah, they have. I think it's because they're afraid of not copying a pony good enough to fool their friends. You know, like how that queen didn't do a good enough job pretending to be Princess Cadance and got found out by that Sparkle pony?"
Braeburn thought on it for a second and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that sorta makes sense. Well, I'll deal with this one. You see if ya can get Dessert outta the tree and we'll cut her out of that thing."
"We got Dessert down and out of the cocoon," Thorax concluded. "Unfortunately, when she came around, she was feeling really weak, so I knew that he took some love out of her before he wrapped her up. Braeburn caught him coming to, and..."
"And what?" Rarity prodded.
"Let's just say that place in the orchard Braeburn was talking about almost got its first permanent resident."
Each of the mares shivered at the implication.
"He didn't hold back, did he?" Applejack asked, as if she knew the answer.
"I don't think I've ever seen a changeling that was happy to see royal guards. He didn't even fight when they took hold of him to put him in the cart to haul him off to jail."
"I never heard of a changeling submitting like that," Starlight commented.
"Normally, they don't, but with the state he was in, Earwig didn't have much choice in the matter. From what I've heard, the guard has to offer medical assistance to prisoners, regardless of their personal feelings."
"They do," Twilight confirmed. "So, what happened after Earwig was taken away?"
"Dessert was laid up in bed for a day or two, but when she finally recovered enough, she told us what happened. According to her, Earwig disguised himself as a basket and attacked her when she went to pick it up. After he drained her, he said about 'finding that traitor' and cocooned her. Braeburn wasn't sure what the traitor comment meant, but figured it meant there was another changeling about. I stuck around until the harvest was done with and collected my pay, and eventually made my way out of Appleloosa and further into Equestria."
"I didn't have anything significant happen to me for a few weeks, but that changed when I got to a big city in the western skies."
"Big city in the western skies?" Rainbow repeated in confusion. After a few moments, her eyes went wide and she looked at me in surprise. "You mean...?"
"Mhm. I ended up in Las Pegasus." |
Meeting His Heroes | Thorax's Story - Part 8 | "YOU were in Las Pegasus?! The unofficial party capital of Equestria?!"
Pinkie gawked wide-eyed at Thorax, hearing the changeling had visited the one city that she had wanted to more than any other.
"I did," Thorax answered, "and that place was just a bit too wild for my liking."
"Ah can imagine," Applejack said with a chuckle. "Them folks aren't of the 'early to bed, early to rise' sort."
"No, they aren't, and they certainly aren't of the sort for quiet reading either."
"Hay no!" Rainbow exclaimed. "That place never sleeps. All the games, the food, and the entertainment. A changeling could probably sustain itself on just the overall atmosphere."
"You have no idea how right you are, Rainbow Dash. I was surprised that I didn't see any drones there when I passed through."
"I know it isn't quite the right scene for you," Rarity interjected, "but surely you found something to enjoy doing there."
Thorax became a bit sheepish and looked away.
"Well... I did get kinda good at playing the card games."
Wandering around Las Pegasus, I was taken in by all the lights. There had to have been thousands, maybe even millions of them all across the city!
Fortunately, I'm not overly photo-tactic, but to say they didn't get my attention and hold it every few seconds would be an outright lie.
Ultimately, I decided to keep my field of view lower to the ground, lest I be standing there for so long I lose my disguise and cause a panic. I trekked along, looking at the names for some of the places:
The Hot Hoof
The Princess's Parlor
Lucky Duck's
Dueces Wild
I blinked for a moment as I took in the names. What kind of things went on at these businesses? Were they on the level, per se? Could I get in with no problems?
But most importantly for me - Would they be able to identify a changeling, even through a disguise?
I couldn't just walk through this place and not see something; it would be a wasted opportunity. So, with that in mind, I picked a place that looked like some of the other ones, but was a fair bit smaller.
The name on the sign out front said The Velveteen, with a large rabbit standing behind it, its paw waving with a carrot held in its grip. I walked through the door and was greeted with a large floor space, and on that space were rows of tables, each of them having some kind of game being played at them.
There was one where a large wheel spun, another with a smaller wheel built into the table, one with walls that players threw a pair of dice at, and several tables with a variety of different card games going on.
"Need some help, sweetie?"
I jumped a little and turned towards the voice. It was a mare in what looked like a pair of gardener's overalls, but the legs in the back were far too short for that. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd think they were made to accent her backside.
Shaking my head, I answer her question. "It's my first time being in a place like this."
"A newbie!" she said as she moved a little closer. "Well, how about I give you a little tour, hmm?"
"Uh, okay."
"Great!" she exclaimed as she then led me by the hoof past all the tables, explaining each game. The first was called roulette, where a small wheel was spun and a white ball was tossed in. Players would then guess which color or number the ball would fall on, and stake a chip down on their guess, like a sort of money wagering.
Next was the large wheel, which was a game called Big Six. In that game, players guessed which number or color a needle would land on when the wheel was spun. If you landed on it, you got all the chips wagered on the table.
The dice game was called... well, it's not a nice word, but the mare did tell me it was sometimes called seven eleven. To play that... well, the rules are pretty complicated, but the general idea is you guess the outcome of the dice and wager on it. Some rolls are considered good, and others aren't.
After those were the card games. The first was stud, where you were dealt an amount of cards, and had to decide whether your hand was good enough to beat other players, or if you needed to get new cards to build a better one. There was also one called Hold 'em, where you were dealt two cards, and then assembled your hand from a community of five cards held by the dealer. There was also blackjack, where the goal was to get as close to 21 without going over, and closer than any other players. You were dealt two cards, and had to decide whether you wanted an extra card by telling the dealer "hit me", or if you felt you were close enough that you didn't want to risk going over and held. In that one, if you got a king, queen, or jack, along with an ace, you won right away.
There were some other ones, but I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to them. In truth, I had seen the chips being placed on the tables, and players calling out excitedly when they won a large collection of them.
"Over here's the cage, where you get your chips for the games."
I was brought back to the mare leading me on the tour, realizing I had become too distracted by the fun that was being had by everypony in the place. Her hoof gestured directed me to a window in the wall. Set into the window was a set of holes in a sort of hexagonal pattern, and directly behind it was a mare wearing similar overalls to the one giving me a tour. She was taking a stack of bits from a stallion in a rather plush looking coat, and after a moment, produced a stack of chips on a tray, placing them inside a box and pressing a button, causing a door to open up and allow the stallion to get his chips.
I watched the exchange and was still confused as to why the use of chips, until I saw another stallion with a big stack of chips walk up to the window and set them down. He said something to the mare, who nodded and pressed the button, allowing the stallion to place his chips inside the box. The door then closed and the mare took the chips, counting them and then walking away for a moment, returning with a small sack that she placed into the box. Once it opened, the stallion collected the sack and looked inside, then gave a nod and walked away, a very clear jostling of bits audible to me as he passed by.
It finally clicked in my mind; this place was a gambling parlor, and these ponies were playing these games to win money.
"Curse Nightmare Moon's flank!" I suddenly heard, directing my attention to a stallion who was walking away from a roulette table, where the pony running it was raking a pile of bits towards them.
"Sorry, sir," the pony called to him, "but maybe you'll come back and have better luck."
"And maybe Princess Luna will appear in your dreams and scold you for rigging the game!" the stallion spat back, still upset at his sizable loss, or at least what I thought was probably a sizable loss.
"Some folks just can't take losing," the tour mare commented as she then walked over to a set of stairs. "These lead up to the hotel. If you need a room, I'd go up there and book it while you still got bits to book it with."
"R-Right, thanks."
The mare walked away as I went and got the room I would keep for the night, but I didn't actually sleep; it was too loud to even fathom falling asleep. Rather, I spent darn near the whole night sitting on a bed, partially in the disguise I was using, and then in my natural form after I had closed the window blinds, wondering whether I should stay here for a bit and try to have some fun, or move on before I got in over my head.
"So did you?"
Thorax looked up to see Pinkie looking at him, her head cocked to the side like a puppy.
"I did, but I didn't stay long."
"How come?" Rainbow Dash asked me next.
"Well, part of it is because I was getting overwhelmed from all of the excitement, but the other part..."
Thorax trailed off, looking a bit nervous.
"It's okay, darling," Rarity reassured me, "you can tell us."
Looking around the table, the other mares gave him reassuring nods as well. Taking a breath, he came out with the truth.
"Part of me leaving was getting overwhelmed, but the other part? Well, I got on the bad side of some ponies."
"You got on the bad side of ponies?" Twilight asked in confusion. "What ponies?"
"The Scelus Familia."
Everypony at the table blanched upon hearing the name.
"Y'all got in trouble with them..." Applejack started, but didn't finish. Thorax, however, finished for her.
"Yes, I got in trouble with mobster ponies." |
The Elements of Nature, Book 2: 土 & 雷 (Earth & Lightning) | pre | "I think The Boulder's going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble VI!" One of them said.
"He's going to have to fight his way through the best fighters in the world to get a chance!" The other said.
"Excuse me, but where is this Tournament, exactly?" Firebrand asked as he got closer.
"It's on the island of Nunya ...'nunya' business!" The colts than laugh and walk away.
Rainbow then laughs and wipes tears of laughter away. "Oh, I got to remember that one!"
"I'll take care of this." Agua said. "Hey, strong guys! Wait up!" She then runs after the students around a corner.
"Why would you want to go to a Tournament, Firebrand?" Twilight asked him.
"Well, if were going to have a chance to find the Avatar of Earth, we need to look for strong fighters. After all, me and Agua are good fighters."
"That makes sense ... I think?" Rarity said.
"RIght. Besides, we need to find strong allies against the Fire Nation." Fire' said. They then see Agua coming back.
"You ready to find the Avatar of Earth? Because we're going to Earth Rumble VI!" Agua said.
"How'd you get them to tell ya, sugarcube?" Applejack asked her.
"Oh ... a girl has her ways." Agua said while smiling as they head for the Tournament. On the corner where Agua talked to them, the two colts are frozen together at the head, encased in ice at an alley.
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Nightfall, and the find the entrance to the location of Earth Rumble VI: a lighted tunnel in a rock face. Ponies enter the tunnel and head down a hall where the competition will be held. A large rectangular arena is located in the middle. The arena has stairs running down to a lower, oval-shaped area. Seats for the spectators start at the same level as the arena. The gang walk into an empty row of seats. "Hey, front row seats! I wonder why no one else is sitting here." Appel Bloom said as they sit down. Suddenly, a spear is thrown in their direction and it hits the seats behind them, barley hitting Fire's head.
"I guess that's why." Agua said as they head further up the seats to where its safe.
A Pegasus stallion walks to the center of the arena and grabs a microphone. "Welcome to Earth Rumble VI! I am your host, Xin Fu!"
Twilight than sighs out of realization. "This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other, isn't it?"
"Sounds like it." Rarity said.
"The rules are simple. Just knock your opponent out of the ring, and you win!" He then leaps up to a podium above the ring as a bell rings. "First up, The Boulder vs. The Big Bad Hippo!" The Boulder steps up as the crowd goes wild. He has a terra-cotta coat, earth green mane and tail, he also has a dumbbell for a cutie mark. He has a bow and arrow with him, with the arrows having boxing gloves on the tips. The Big Bad Hippo then steps forward. He has a moth that's like a real hippos. He has a yellow coat with a brown mane and tail with a hippopotamus for a cutie mark. He also has a large club.
The Boulder then points to the Hippo. "Listen up, Hippo. You may be big, but you ain't bad! The Boulder's gonna win this in a landslide!"
"Hippo ... mad!" The Hippo then raises his front legs in anger and stomps one foot. The Boulder fires three arrows that crash into The Hippo, but he doesn't move. He catches one arrow with his mouth, chews on it and spits it out. The Hippo then jumps up and down, causing the surface of the arena to tilt. The Boulder hereby looses his balance.
"Unbelievable, mares and gentlecolts! The Hippo is rocking the roof!"
The Boulder reaches the edge, but saves himself at the last second. He grabs a large rock and throws it at his opponent, hitting him on the back. As The Hippo turns around to look at him, The Boulder tackles The Hippo and throws him out of the ring. The Hippo crashes in the lower area of around the arena and the fight ends thus in The Boulder's favor.
"The Boulder wins!"
"That was interesting." Rainbow said to the others as the next match begins.
"Next match ... The Boulder vs. Fire Nation Mare!"
The Fire Nation Mare while happily waving a Fire Nation flag. The crowd boos loudly. "Please, to rise for Fire Nation National Anthem!" She then begins to sing, loudly. "Fire Lord! My flame burns for thee!" Rocks are then thrown at her by a booing crowd.
"Go back to the Fire Nation!" Rainbow yelled out. She then throws a rock that hits Fire Nation Mare's head. Before she cold recover from the hit on the head, The Boulder grabs her and throws her out of the ring. After a few more rounds, the last round is here.
"I thought this would never be over." Twilight said.
"Tell me about it." Firebrand said to her.
"Who do you think this champion is anyway. He must be strong if he beat the Boulder before." Scootaloo said to the group.
"I have a feeling we'll find out." Agua said to her as Xin Fu goes to the center of the stage.
"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The Boulder vs. your champion ... The Blind Bandit!" Xi Fu said as a mare around the same age as Agua and Firebrand then walks into the ring. She is carrying a scythe with rock patterns on the blade and it has a black diamond where the blade leaves the staff. She has a sand brown mane and tail with earth green streaks, and a earth green coat. Her cutie mark is a mountain. Her hoofs are sand brown with a pattern thats like mountain tops.
"She can't really be blind. It's just part of her character, right?" Fluttershy said with worry in her voice.
"I think she is." Firebrand said to her. "Theres something familiar about her."
"This will defiantly be interesting." Twilight said as the Boulder and the Blind Bandit face each other.
"I can't look." Pinkie said as she covers her eyes, only for her to slightly lift one of them so se can watch.
"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind mare!" He said to the earth green mare.
"Sounds to me that you're scared, Boulder!" The young mare said to him mockingly.
"The Boulder's over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a landslide!"
"Whenever you're ready, The Pebble!" She then laughs. Firebrand then flashes back to his vision in the swamp of a young, blind mare laughing.
"It's on!"
"I remember now."
"You do? Where did you see her?" Twilight asked, trying her best to hide the jealousy in her voice.
"In the swamp, from my vision."
In the ring, the Boulder is throwing large rocks at the Blind Bandit. She keeps dogging them because she can see through the earth, meaning that she can see whats coming before it comes. She then pulls out her scythe and knocks the Boulder out of the ring. "Your winner, and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!"
"How'd she do that?" Apple Bloom asked.
"She used ... earthbending." Firebrand said.
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Later, outside the competition, the gang are trying to get some answers about the Blind Bandit, but find nothing. "Any luck?" Twilight asked the others. She got, 'Nothing's, 'Buckets's, and 'Nada's. She also got a, 'Only a penny' from Pinkie.
"If we want to find the Blind Bandit, the Academy is a great place to start." Fire' said. They then head for the academy and meet with the same two colts from yesterday.
"Oh great, you again." One of them said.
Agua then glares at them, causing them to back off. "Yeah, I didn't think so."
"We need to find the Blind Bandit. Do you guys know where she lives?" Fire' asked.
"The Blind Bandit's a mystery. She shows up to fight, then disappears." The other colt said.
Agua then places a hoof on Firebrand's shoulder. "Let me handle this." She the approaches the second student with a stern look and says accusingly. "You're not telling us everything!"
"I ... I swear it's true! No one knows where she goes, or who she really is." The colt said out of fear.
"That's because we're asking about the wrong pony." Fire' realized.
"What are you getting at, Fire'?" Twilight asked him.
"Well, In my vision, I saw a mare, in a white dress, with a flying boar. Know anypony like that?" Fire' asked the colts.
"Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family. They're the richest ponies in town, probably the world." One of them said.
"Yeah, but they don't have a daughter." The other finished. "They do have a son."
"A flying boar is good enough for me. Let's check it out." Fire' said as he leaves with the others.
"Yeah, you'd better leave." One of the colts said quietly.
"Hey, I got my eye on you." Agua said to them.
==================================================================
Later at the Beifong estate, the gang arrives. "That's the flying boar from my vision. Come on!" Firebrand said.
They enter the courtyard when, suddenly, part of the ground lifts up, launching them into the air. They then see the Blind Bandit in a white dress on the ground nearby. "What are you gays doing here?"
"How did you know we were coming?" Agua asked her.
"How did you find me?" She asked.
"I had a vision in a magic swamp, and -"
"What Fire' is trying to say is, he's the Avatar of Fire, while Agua here is the Avatar of Water. Were looking for the Avatar of Earth, and we think you might be the Earth Avatar." Twilight told her.
"Not my problem. Now, get out of here, or I'll call the guards." She said.
"Terra, who are these ponies, and why are you showing them your earthbending?" Terra then turns around, while the others see where the voice is coming from. Her older brother, Geo, is heading for them. Unlike his sister, he has a sand brown coat and an earth green mane and tail. He has light green eyes, and a horseshoe for a cutie mark.
"They are looking for the Avatar of Earth, Geo." Terra said to him.
"Really."
"Look, we don't want any trouble. Were just looking for the Earth Avatar." Firebrand told them.
Geo looks at his sister and nods. She then lowers the earth. "Come. Lets head in." Geo said to them. Later, inside the dining hall, Geo and Terra are talking to their unexpected guests. "Your lucky our parents are away. Avatars or not, they would have you guys beheaded." Geo told them as they drank tea.
"They would." Fluttershy said.
"Yeah. Their kind of overprotective." Terra told to them.
"Oh, grate." Rainbow said.
"Look. I know my sister here is the Avatar of Earth, but if mom and dad found out, she would never see the light of day again, if you know what I mean." Geo said to them.
"I understand, but if we have any chance against the Fire Nation, we need all the Avatars." Agua said to them.
"Say, Terra, when did you first learn about your earthbending?" Twilight asked her.
"Well, you see, one day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. The badger-moles. They were blind, just like me. So we understood each other. That's when I learned I can do earthbending, it's not just a martial art, but it's also an extension of my senses. Form them, the original earthbenders, I realized that I was one of the five Avatars. I also learned how they can see. They use seismic sense, with it I see with earthbending. It's kind of like seeing with my feet. I feel the vibrations in the earth, and I can see where everything is. You, that trees outside ... even those ants near Rarity's cup."
They look at her cup, and see some ants around it. "Eww." Rarity said as she moves the cup from the ants and brushes them off the table. The others soon laugh.
==================================================================
Outside in some bushes, Azula, Ty Lee and Mai are watching the group. "Why are we doing this again?"
"To capture the Avatars before they find the other 3, that's why Ty Lee." Mai said to her.
"Oh yeah."
"Who are they talking to anyway?" Mai asked.
"I don't know, Mai. I can tell there a noble family, but they don't look like there married, and that mare looks like she's blind." Azula said to her. They then see Terra bending a small rock. "That blind one must be the Avatar of Earth." Azula said upon realizing she just saw her do earthbending.
"Great. We just started the search and we already let them find one of the 3 remaining Avatars." Mai said.
"There heading outside. We have our chance if we use stealth." Azula said as the gang leave the dinning hall. Ty Lee then looks at Firebrand before he leaves the room.
"Is it me, or is that Fire Avatar kinda cute." Ty Lee said. Her friends then stare at her.
==================================================================
The gang, accompanied by Terra and Geo, are walking around outside. "We'll talk with our parents. With any luck, they'll listen." Geo said to Firebrand.
"Good."
"Say, Terra, why would you go to those tournaments?" Agua asked her.
"Because, I like fighting." Terra answered.
"Well, your going to like this!" They turn around and see Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai standing by some unconscious guards.
"Aw, crud." Fire' said as he and Agua pulled out their weapons.
"I'll take the Water Avatar, I guess." Mai said unenthusiastically.
"Oh, oh, I'll take the Fire Avatar!" Ty Lee said to Azula with excitement in her voice.
"Guess I'll take the rest. It hardly seems fair ... for them." They then attack. Ty Lee goes for Firebrand while Twilight backs him up.
"Who's your girlfriend, Fire Avatar?" Ty Lee mocked.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"I'm not his girlfriend."
"Oh, whatever." Ty Lee then heads for them. She doges an attack from Firebrand's sword and goes after Twilight and hits her with several quick jabs on
her front legs. Twilight is surprised by this attack and loses her balance.
"Twilight! What did you do to HER!" Fire' then slashes a few times at Lee, who keeps dodging the attacks, thanks to her acrobatic skills.
"I just blocked her Chi that leads to her legs. It will wear off soon. Giving me enough time to do this!" She then grabs Fire' and throws him onto the ground and jumps on him. She then leans in closes and kisses him. Twilight is both angry and shock at what Ty Lee is doing. Fire' them quickly kicks her off.
"Oh, yuck. I just got kissed by a Fire Nation mare! Blah!" Twilight then gets some strength back in her legs and walks over to him and glares at the pink Fire Nation pony.
"I can't believe she just did that!" Twilight said, clearly annoyed.
"I can't believe it either! Not exactly how I pictured my first kiss." Fire' said as he gets up.
"Gee, so territorial. And its only our first date." Ty Lee joked.
"I really don't like this mare."
"Me either, Twi." He then removes his cape and places it over Twilight. "Hear, you need it more than I do now." Twilight then smiles. Ty Lee then glares at her with a boat load of jealousy.
Meanwhile, Agua and Rainbow are busy with Mai. Each attack they fire, she dodges with relative ease. "I'm so board. Can you two at least make it a little more interesting?"
"I had it with you!"
"I had it with her too, Rainbow." They then attack again, but Mai jumps out-of-the-way and throws some Kunai at them.
Meanwhile, the others, including Terra and Geo, are having trouble with Azula. "Darn she's good." Shining said as he got hit by a karate kick.
Back with Twilight & Firebrand, Ty Lee is still giving them trouble. "This mare is really starting to get on my nerves!"
"I know. It's like she knows when were going to attack." Twilight said as Ty Lee throws a rock at them that hits Twilight in the leg. "I'm really going to turn her into a cactus if she keeps this up." She then runs for Lee to use her magic to turn her into a cactus, but lee jumps over her and lands behind her. Lee then wraps one of her legs around Twilight's neck and places a small dagger near Twilight's head.
"Let her go, now!" Fire' said in a stern and angry voice.
"Aww. What are you going to do about it? If she even makes a twitch, she is a dead mare. And even if you knock the dagger out of my hoof, I can just break her neck."
"Firebrand. Help!"
"LET. HER. GO. NOW!" Fire' said as he began to glow.
==================================================================
On a remote island, a small crown that's like Twilight's tiara, only with a fire like pattern on it, begins to glow in the jungle. It's right next to a white orb that appears to be alive. "It has begun." A strange, unknown voice said.
==================================================================
At the Beifong estate, Firebrand begins to be cover in fire. His mane and tail become blue fire while the rest of him becomes white fire. His sword and eyes become orange fire. Doth Lee and Twilight are horrified by what just happened to Firebrand. Fire' then disappears in a flash.
"Huh." Ty Lee began. "Where did he go..." Before she could finish, Firebrand appears behind her and throws her across the court yard.
"Firebrand? I didn't know you could do that." Twilight said when she sees his new look.
"I didn't either. I just became so worried about you that this happened." Fire' then stops when he realizes what he just said. Thou he is still made of fire, Twilight can still see that he's blushing. She then blushes to.
==================================================================
On top of a hill, an insectoid like creature carrying a samurai sword sees Fire' and stays in place. The creature is like an changeling, only with white armor that's like with red spikes coming out of his shoulders. He also has red eyes and is carrying a katana.
==================================================================
Agua and Rainbow are beginning to understand why Mai's cutie mark is a shuriken. "You two are finally starting to make this interesting. I bet your mothers would bedridden you two for months when I'm done with you." Mai unenthusiastically said.
At the thought of her mother, Agua becomes extremely angry and she begins to glow, along with her neckless that she brought. "Don't you dare talk about my MOTHER!" She then begins to turn into water. Her mane and tail become steam while her body becomes liquid water. Her wings and trident become ice. She the fires a blast of water at Mai and it freezes her front hoofs.
"OK. Time to get out of here." Mai said as she runs to help Ty Lee.
"That was AWSOME!" Rainbow said to Agua.
"I think this has something to do with the Element of Water." Agua said as she looks herself over.
Azula is about to kill the others when both Mai and Ty Lee show up. "What happened to you two."
"I think we accidentally helped the Avatars of Fire and Water unlock their true potential." Ty Lee said as Fire' and Agua arrive with Rainbow and Twilight in tow.
"Guys! Are you all right?"
"Were fine now, Rainbow."
"Good, Applejack. Now let's get you up." Rainbow said as she helps them up.
Shining then turns to Twilight. "So, how was your date with Fire'?"
"Nows not the time for jokes, Shining! Oh, before I forget." She then uses her magic to levitate Terra's scythe to her. "Hear you go."
"Thanks. Now I can do some damage." Terra then walks beside Fire' and Agua. Her neckless (which looks like her cutie mark) begins to glow. Her mane and tail become sand while her body and scythe become pure earth and stone. They then get ready for battle.
"Uh, Azula. I think its time of a retreat." Mai said.
"Good call, Mai." Ty Lee said.
"Fine." She then reaches into her saddle bag and pulls out a small ball. She throws it on the ground and smoke envelops them. When it clears, they're gone. Fire,' Agua, and Terra then return to their normal forms and collapse.
"Firebrand!" Twilight then runs up to him while the others run up to the others. "Are you all right? Can you get up?" Twilight asked him as she lifted his head.
"Do I have to?" Fire' said to her. She then releases her hold and he drops. Agua and Terra then get up, followed by Firebrand.
"That was amazing, sis. You finally got a hold on that." Geo said to his little sister.
"Thanks, Geo." Terra said.
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On the hill where the white changeling is at, he sees them talking about what happened. "Impressive." He said as he leaves.
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Later, it's almost dawn, and Fire' is walking in the garden along with Twilight. "Shining and Cadence managed to get us a ride out of here. So why the long face?"
"Its that Ty Lee from last night. I still can't believe she kissed me. And she threatened you. I can't believe anypony from the Fire Nation is like that."
"Tell me about it. But the good news is that you can become an inferno whenever you want to now."
"Yeah. I guess it is a good thing." He then pauses for a moment. "Twilight, I swear that I will never let something like that again happen again." Twilight then blushes, but she tries her best to hide it. Some Royal Pegasus Guards from Equestria arrive to pick them up. The group the get into the large chariot being pulled by 6 pegasi.
"Take good care of my sister." Geo said.
"We will, Geo." Shining said to him. "Say, how are you going to explain this to your family?"
"I'll tell them that I found a school for the blind and I sent Terra there with some guards." Geo said. The group soon leave, with Terra finally getting her first taste of real freedom.
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In a forest near the border of Equestria and Geo Firma, the strange creature from before is walking along a river. He the stops for a moment. "So," he began, "the Avatar has returned, but in 5 bodies like the prophecy says. But so have I!" He the continues to walk away. |
The Elements of Nature, Book 2: 土 & 雷 (Earth & Lightning) | Chapter 4, The Chase | The Elements of Nature
Book 2: 土 & 雷 (Earth & Lightning)
Chapter 4, The Chase
At the foot of a the Crystal Mountains, the gang and the guards are setting up camp. "Hey! You guys picked a great campsite." Terra said as she rubs her hoof on some feathers. "The grass is so soft."
"That's not grass. The pegasi and Cadence are molting." Twilight said to them as Rarity gets down on some feathers.
"Oh, gross!" Rarity then leaves the spot right away.
"That's not gross, Rarity, it's just a part of spring!" Fluttershy said. "You know, rebirth, flowers blooming and the pegasi getting a new set of feathers."
"Ah, the beauty of spring." Rarity sarcastically said. Rainbow then sneezes at Rarity, and most of her feathers land on Rarity. "Aggh, Rainbow, stop! Ugh!" Rarity said while waving her legs, now coated in sky blue feathers while coughing.
"It's not bad, sis." Sweetie said as she makes a hat out of the feathers. "It makes a great wig!"
Apple Bloom then shows the group she made a beard out of feathers. "And a great beard!" The two fillies then laugh.
Pinkie then sneezes, sending herself back before crashing into one of the pegasi guards. The incident causes her to fall over and for feathers to blow everywhere. They continue to laugh joyfully, causing even the guards to chuckle slightly. Later in the evening, the group are setting up camp. Fire' and Shining are setting up the tent while Twilight, Rarity, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Rainbow ad Agua throw down a pile of firewood they collected. Applejack, who spends her time stirring around water in a pot, notices Terra slumped lazily against a rock, chewing a piece of wheat. Applejack then walks up to her. "So Terra, usually when setting up camp, we try ta divide up the work."
Terra just shrugs casually. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go."
"Wal, acshully whut Is tryin' t'say is, some of us might fetch some water, while somepony else might set up th' fire pit, o' put up th' tent." Pinkie then hops over to her, and gives her several berries she collected and hops to the others. "Even Pinkie thar does her fair share."
"AJ, I'm fine." Terra breezily said. "I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire," Terra then pats her saddle bag. "I've already collected my own food and look," She then Earthbends a rock tent over her, "my tent's all set up."
"Wal, thass great fo' yo', but we still need t'finish..."
"I don't understand what's the problem here!" Terra angrily interrupted.
"Nevah mind, cuss it all t' tarnation." Applejack said as she waves her hoof dismissively and walks away. Terra then earthbends herself into her tent. Later, the group continue to set up, with Pinkie cooking dinner from the fire.
"I hope you all like Pinkie's-Super-Duper-Special-Surprise-Berry-Soup!" She said as she adds two cups of hot sauce.
Applejack walks up with a jug of water and notices Terra eating some kind of fruit in her tent. Her dull expression changes to one of slight happiness as she walks over to her. "Hey Terra, ah wanted t'apologize fo' earlier. Ah reckon we is all jest a li'l tired an' gittin' on etch other's nerves." Applejack said while she rubs the back of her head sheepishly.
"Yeah, you do seem pretty tired." Terra casually said.
"Ah meant all of us." Applejack said, slightly disgusted.
Terra then lazily tosses the fruit onto the ground and lays her head down to rest. "Well, good night."
"Good night." AJ said as she leaves.
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Hours later, at nightfall, everyone is asleep when Terra is suddenly startled awake. She rises and presses her left hoof to the ground to feel the vibrations within the earth. She then rises to her feet and runs out of the tent. "There's something coming toward us!" She yelled to the others, waking them up.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"It feels like an avalanche, but also not an avalanche." Terra answered.
"Your powers of perception are frightening." Rainbow sarcastically said.
"Sh'd we leave?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Better safe than so'ry, sugarcube." Applejack said to her little sister. After the group take flight, they see a cloud of smoke billowing toward them in a clearing in the distance.
"What is that thing?" Shining asked. The thing in question is a combination of a tank and a train, which is racing speedily along the ground.
==================================================================
A bit later, Fire' yawns sleepily, with dark circles beginning to form under his eyes. Rainbow appears ready to fall asleep as she leans her head on Twilight's shoulder. The others are sitting idly by. The pegasi guards fly over the mountainous terrain and land on a smooth, rocky surface. Terra then leaps off to the ground, completely relieved. "Ah, land sweet land!" She then gets up and says cheerfully, "See you guys in the morning!"
"Acshully, kin yo' he'p us unload?" Applejack said to her.
"Really? You need me to help unload Rainbow's funky-smelling sleeping bag?" Terra sarcastically said as the two see Twilight giving Rainbow her sleeping bag. Rainbow sniffs it, and turns away, her disgusted face growing red, and falls backwards, passing out.
"Wal, yeah. Thet an' ev'rythin' else. Yer a part of our team now, an'..."
"Look! I didn't ask you to help unload my stuff!" Terra said as she turns and begins walking away. "I'm carrying my own weight."
"Thet's not th' point. Evah on account o' yo' joined us, yo've been nothin' but se'fish an' unhe'pful!" Applejack angrily said.
"What? Look here, sugar queen," Terra said as she points a hoof at Applejack, "I gave up everything I had so that I could help you guys win this war. So don't you talk to me about being selfish!" While she is saying this, a fuming Applejack is tensing her muscles in frustration and raising her hoof in an attempt to speak. But after she finished, Terra sits down on the ground and earthbends an earth tent over her.
"Sugar queen?" Terra then uses her earthbending to close the door of her tent. "D-did yo' jest slam th' dore in mah face? How kin yo' be so infuriatin'?" Applejack yelled, getting the groups attention.
"Sh'd we do sumpin?" Apple Boom asked.
"Hey, I'm just enjoying the show." Rainbow said, amused by the way Terra and Applejack treat each other.
Twilight then walks up to Applejack, who is bucking at the door to the tent. "Okay, okay, you both need to calm down." Twilight said to them.
"Both?" Applejack said as she rapidly turns to face Twilight, her expression crazed and her eyes bloodshot. "Ah's completely calm!"
"Uh... I can see that." Twilight awkwardly said as she backs off. Later that night, most of the group are lying on the ground. Applejack is still awake, glaring at Terra's tent.
"Th' stars sho'nuff is right purdy tonight. Too bad yo' kin't see them, Terra!" Applejack mockingly said, only for Terra to use her earthbending and creates a fissure that channels underground and sends AJ flying into the air. She lands on top of Rainbow, startling her.
Annoyed, Rainbow pushes Applejack off to the side. "Hey, how's a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earthquaking?"
Terra then opens her tent. "That thing is back!"
"Well, how far away is it?" Rainbow asked as lies down and pulls the covers of her sleeping bag over her head. "Maybe we can close our eyes just for a few minutes." She tiredly said.
"I don't think so, Rainbow." Fire' said when he notices some smoke in the distance.
==================================================================
The group are now soaring away from the scene over the mountainous terrain, with the tank train speeding across the land after them. "Seriously, what is that thing?" Cadence asked.
"And how does it keep finding us?" Terra added.
"I don't know. This time, were going to make sure we lose it." One of the Pegasus guards said as the fly past some mountains. They then fly between two mountain ridges. The pegasi then land on a flat-surfaced rock bed, throwing everyone onto the ground along with their belongings.
"Okay, forget about setting up camp." Rainbow said as she crawls along the ground to her sleeping bag. "I'm finding the softest pile of dirt and going to sleep."
Applejack, out of anger, pulls her sleeping bag over her head like it's a pillow. "Thet's fine on account o' Terra warn't a-gonna he'p ennyway!"
"Oh, I didn't realize the baby still needed someone to tuck her in bed." Terra irritably said as she is lying on a bag.
"Come on guys, there's something after us and we don't even know what or who it is." Twilight said to them.
"It could be Zuko." Agua said as she rolls over on her side in her bag. "We haven't seem him since the North Pole."
"Who's Zuko?" Terra asked.
"Oh, just some angry freak with a burn mark on his face who's tracked us all over the world." Rainbow said.
"What's wrong with special traits, rainbow mane?" One of the pegasi guards mockingly said.
"My mane is natural, unlike Zuko's burned eye." Rainbow agued.
"At least Zuko's eye makes him more menacing then a pony with a rainbow mane and tail." Rarity joked.
"Anyway, whoever's chasing us couldn't have followed us here, so, now would everyone just shhh?" Rainbow said as she lays down. Scootaloo then sees something thats really scary and points at it. "Oh no, don't tell me..." Rainbow said as she buries her face in her hoofs.
"That's impossible. There's no way they could have tracked us." Twilight said out of disbelief.
"I can feel it with my own four hoofs!" Terra said as Fire' runs to the cliff next and notices smoke rising from the far end of the rocky pathway.
"Lets get out of here." Fluttershy nervously said.
"Maybe we should face them. Find out who they are. Who knows, maybe they're friendly. And I can throw a PARTY!" Pinkie shouted.
"Always the optimist..." Rainbow hopelessly said.
The tank train as it slows down and come to a halt. The door to one compartment opens, releasing a burst of steam. From the mist emerges three motorcycles. Ty Lee comes off first, followed by Mai then Azula. The group are looking on in shock as the three girls stand on top of the of the bikes, with Azula having a determined look on her face. The three begin racing toward the group. "It's those three mares from Erde City!" An alarmed Shining Armor said as they take on fighting stances.
"We can take them. Three on eight." A determined Terra said.
"Actually Terra, there's 14 of us." Scootaloo pointed out.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't count you. You know, no fighting skills and all." Terra sheepishly said.
"We can still fight!" Cadence said to her.
"Okay, three on eight plus Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Cadence." Terra smugly said.
"Errrgh!" All three of the CMC said out of anger.
Terra then earthbends three columns in an attempt to hinder the mares, however, they just go around the pillars and continue on their way. "Well, we wanted to find out who they were and we found out." Rainbow said as she puts the groups stuff away in the chariot. "Now let's get out of here."
Terra then earthbends a rock wall in front of the trio. But Azula just takes out a small gun thats white with red lines and firs, but instead of bullets, it shoots a bolt of lightning at the wall, leaving a huge gape in the middle. The three then go through it with ease. Terra is completely shocked at this. Mai then releases a flurry of stilettos. Terra launches herself off a pillar as the darts strike it as she lands on the chariot where the others are waiting. "Go, go, GO!" Agua said as they take off, narrowly avoiding another lightning bolt.
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A bit later, the group is still flying through the monitions, with the pegasi very tired. "Ah cain't believe them mares follered us all th' way fum Erde City." A shocked Applejack said.
"I still think we could have taken them." Terra grumpily said.
"Are you kidding me?" Twilight said while pointing her hoofs upward repeatedly in gesture. "The crazy karate and the flying daggers are bad enough, but last time we saw them, one of those mare did something that took my magic away. That's scary." Twilight said the last part with so much fear, you can literally cut it with a knife.
They then see the sun rising over the horizon. "Oh no, the sun is rising. We've been up all night with no sleep!" Rainbow complained.
"Rainbow, we'll be okay, sugarcube." Applejack calmly said to the rainbow maned Pegasus.
"Are you sure? I've never not slept before!" Rainbow then holds her hoofs up to her head. "What if I fall asleep now and something happens?" Rainbow is now beginning to freak out as her eyes bulge out. "And something always happens!"
"Every time we land, those mares are there. So we'll just have to keep flying." Twilight said. They then hear a yawn from one of the pegasi guards.
"We can't keep flying forever." Fire' pointed out as they fly over.
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In field where a few flowers are growing, the tank train speeds by rapidly, slicing the heads of the flowers off. At ground level, there are indentation marks from the train left in the ground. A pair of pony legs gallop by. Its Zuko, who has a look of determination on his face as he follows the tracks.
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Back at the chariot, everyone is trying to stay awake for as long as possible. "So what's our plan?" Cadence asked as she tries to hide how tired she is.
"Don't know ... too tired to think." Terra said as she slumps against the side of the chariot, exhausted.
"I'm sure we'll come up with something after a short nap." Twilight said with a smile.
"Yes ... sleep." A relieved Rainbow said. When they close their eyes, they soon begin to lose altitude. Terra is the first to wake up and she hangs onto the chariot for dear life.
"What's going on?" She yells out.
"The pegasi fell asleep!" Fire' said as he is hanging from the bars that connect the pegasi to the chariot.
"This should wake them up." Agua then uses her waterbending and splashes some water on the pegasi's faces. They wake up and try to land safely. They soar through the trees, colliding into and snapping several branches. The team members brace against the impact. They make it on the ground, having created a channel way behind him from the impact. The pegasi are sleeping again
Firebrand lands on the ground to check up on the guards. "There exhausted." He said to the others.
"Okay, we've put in a lot of distance between us and them. The plan now is to follow the pegasi's lead and get some sleep." Rainbow said.
"Of course, we'd've gotten some sleep earlier, eff'n Terra didn't haf sech issues." An irritated Applejack said.
Terra then wakes up and slams the ground and screams furiously. "What?"
"All right, all right, everyone's exhausted! Let's just get some rest." Firebrand said as he tried to calm the two down.
"No, I want to hear what Applejack has to say. You think I have issues?" Terra said to the rodeo pony.
"Ah's jest sayin.' Mebbe eff'n yo' he'ped out earlier, we c'd haf set up our camp faster an' gotten sleep an' then mebbe we'dn't be in this hyar situashun!" The farmer yelled.
"You're blaming me for this?" An annoyed Terra said.
"No! No, she's not blaming you." Twilight desperately said as she get between the two before a fight starts.
"Were all a team, which means it's all our faults." Fire' said, but Applejack and Terra just stare at him.
"No, I'm blaming her!" Applejack yelled.
"Hey," Terra said as she shoves Twilight out-of-the-way. "I never asked you for diddly-doo-dah. I carry my own weight. Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's the pegasi and Cadence over there!"
"Why are you blaming me, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Agua and the guards?" Cadence asked.
"You want to know how they keep finding us?" Terra then grabs some feathers from a guards wings as the molted feathers blow away in the wind. "There leaving a trail everywhere we go!"
"How dare you blame my friends!" Twilight yelled as she faces Terra. "The pegasi saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame it's you! You're always talking about how you carry your own weight, but you're not. They are! The pegasi are carrying your weight. They never had a problem flying when it was just the 13 of us!" They all soon ague, except Firebrand who sees something far too familiar. He then has a flashback.
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"Firebrand needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal colt."
"He needs to be taken to the capital so we can know if he's a danger or not."
"Calm, Phoenix, you to Garth. I agree with both of you. But Phoenix, I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the colt cloud your judgment."
"All I want is what is best for him. He's my only son."
"I'm sorry, but you and Firebrand must be separated! The colt will be sent away to the capital to see if he's a threat."
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Firebrand begins to cry as the fight the others are having is far to familiar to when the village elders wanted to take him away from his farther. He then realizes that Terra is right after he sees some of Fluttershy's feathers fall of. He the uses his magic to collect all the loss feathers and puts them in his saddlebag. He then becomes a fireball again and flies off, but not before he leaves a note for the others.
After Fire' leaves, Terra stomps on the ground, launching her saddle bag into the air which she catches. "Thats it! I'm out of here!" She said as she leaves.
"Wait!" Apple Bloom said as she, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle get in front of Terra, only for Terra to earthbend the ground beneath them to shift them off to the side, leaving them surprised.
"What did I just do?" Twilight said as she slumps. "I can't believe I yelled at the Avatar of Earth. Now both she and any hope of winning the war soon is gone."
"Ah know." Applejack regretfully said. "We is all jest tryin' t'git used t'etch other. An' ah was so mean t'her."
"Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks." Rainbow said while drinking from a cup with the others.
"Thanks, Rainbow." Twilight sarcastically said to her.
"No problem." She said. But she then realizes something else is wrong. "Has anyone seen Fire'?"
"He must have left too." Twilight said, completely brokenhearted.
"Ug, if it's all right with you, I found a note Fire' left behind." Fluttershy said as she gives Twilight the note.
"What does it say?" Agua asked.
"It says, 'Guys, Terra was right. The feathers are leaving a trail right to us. But I shock all the loss feathers and collected them. I'm leaving a trail so they won't follow you but me. If you want to find me, follow the feathers.'" After Twilight finishes reading it, the group are all downhearted. "Oh, he's right," Twilight said, breaking the silence, "and we were too busy arguing to see it."
"Fire' is right. We is a team, thet means this hyar is all our faults. We need t'find Terra an' apologize." Applejack said.
"Okay, but what are we going to do about the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing us?" One of the Pegasus guards said.
Twilight then takes a loos feather from the guard. "I have a plan." Twilight then whispers something to first Agua's then Rarity's ears, with both of them smiling evilly.
"Oh, I don't like that look in their eyes." Rainbow said. One good sock in freezing cold water later, the pegasi, except Agua, are shivering after being soaked by a waterbending blast from Agua and an unbearable scrub down by Rarity, who got every single molted feather she can (which annoyed Rainbow to no end since Rarity also did her hoofs, which are now comparably to the fashion designers).
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Rainbow said to a clearly happy and smug Rarity.
"What ever gave you that impression, Dashie?" Rarity said as she puts up her very expensive brush in her saddle bag.
"Okay, now that your clean, theres no more trail." Twilight said as a guard flutters his wings, with zero feathers coming off. "I'm gonna follow Fire' and see if he need help." Twilight then leaves as she follows Fire's trail, with Shining and Cadence staring at her with some shock at first, but they quickly smile as they get on the chariot.
"I hope Fire' doesn't try anything funny with Twilight while there alone right now." Shining said as the take off. As they fly away, they accidentally brush against the treetops, snapping the topmost limbs off and causing them to fall to the ground.
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At a lower part of the mountain, fog is partially obscuring their peaks. Terra is walking slowly along a pathway on her own. She then stops, having detected something nearby. She then shifts her hoof abruptly in the opposite direction. She then turns her head swiftly and uses earthbending to send a stream of earth toward the unknown source.
The stream of earth travels its way to a large rock ahead and a dust cloud erupts in the air from the impact. Terra then hears a grunt of pain is from behind the rock. Terra recognizes the voice as being from a pony and approaches the rock, still assuming a fighting stance. She sees, that its Iroh she hit, who's face is grimacing from the incident. "Ow ... That really hurt my tailbone." He said.
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Meanwhile, Azula and her group arrive where the gang left. Azula picks up a Pegasus feather from a small pile, with Mai and Ty Lee behind her. "Wads of Pegasus feathers. How delightful." Mai dryly said in her usual non-cheery attitude.
"Hmmm ... they're not wads, they're more like bundles, or bunches?" Ty Lee said as she began scratching her head while thinking. "It's got a 'uh' sound."
"Clumps?" Mai asked.
Ty Lee then hugs Mai for helping her figure it out. "Clumps! They're clumps!"
Mai then sees the fake feather trail. "The trail goes this way, Azula." Azula then looks in the direction of where the group left and sees the broken branches.
"The Avatars are trying to give us the slip. You two head in that direction and keep your eye out for the pegasi. I'll follow this trail." Ty and Mai then go in the direction that Azula pointed them at, and leave on their bikes as Azula follows Fire's trail.
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Firebrand continues to fly above the forest in his fire form, leaving behind the feathers. He turns his head around and sees that Twilight is following him, trying her best to keep up. He lands and waits for Twilight. "You sure are fast, Fire.'" She said to him when she finally caught up, out of breath.
"Why did't you leave with the others?" Fire' asked as he turns back to normal.
"Like you said, were a team, partners." Twilight then blushes when she realizes what she just said. "That didn't came out right."
"It's all right." He the heads over to Twilight and picks her up, with Twilight's whole face turning red as Fire' goes elemental again, but his fire isn't harming Twilight, much to the twos relief. The two soon leave the lush, green landscape area and soar over a more arid, rugged terrain. Both of their eyes are tired from lack of sleep as they peer down and look forward. They soon arrive at an old ghost town and land. It is similar to historical Western towns. Fire' turns back to normal and they lay down and wait.
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The others are still flying, some of then are asleep. "Terra couldn't have made it too far by now." Rainbow said as she searches the forest below.
"Uh, Rainbow."
"What is it, Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked. She then sees what the filly is trying to tell her about. "Ooooh, no! Gays!" The others turn around and see Ty Lee and Mai in hot pursuit, riding their motorcycles.
"How did they find us?" A shocked Applejack asked.
"Guards, come on, we need to go faster!" Shining yelled at the pegasi.
"There too tired!" Cadence said to him.
"Not good, not good!" The pegasi then grunt due to the work. On ground level, Mai and Ty Lee are still chasing them. The pegasi are heading towards the river, which gives Rainbow an idea. "We just need to make it across that river!"
"Come on gays, just a little further..." The pegasi listen to their captain and land on the other side of the river.
"We made it. We're safe." Fluttershy said.
"You did it!" Cadence and Shining then hug out of relive. When she opens her eyes, she gasps. Shining turns around and becomes horrified. The motorcycles have change slightly and are now paddling across the water rapidly, allowing for them to drive over the surface of the river. Agua steps forward and spins around, sending a wave of water crashing into Ty Lee's motorcycles. Ty Lee leaps off the bike just in time and emerges from the water. She lands near the treetops where she gracefully dodges from tree trunk to tree trunk in pursuit of Agua who opens her water skin.
Ty Lee then somersaults onto the ground. Agua attempts to lash a water whip in her direction, however, is forced to quickly dodge several of the acrobat's blows. She narrowly avoids having her chi blocked and fires several sharp discs of water at her enemy, who cartwheels repeatedly to escape. Mai, still mounted on her bike, turns around and fires several stilettos from uploaded holsters in her sleeves. The stilettos nearly hit Rainbow. Shining then steps forward and knocks the stilettos off-target with his magic.
Applejack bucks a boulder in Mai's direction, however, the knife thrower merely leaps off her bike, avoiding the attack. She spins around and fires stilettos from a holster in one of her back legs. Shining knocks them away again with a tree branch. Mai then runs forward. Agua turns around and is forced on the run when Mai comes charging towards her. Ty Lee somersaults and leaps into the air where she then flips and lands on the ground near Applejack.
She lands several quick blows, using chi-blocking to incapacitate Applejack's front right leg. Applejack then head buts Ty Lee's hoof, making her back off due to the pain. "Good try, but no."
Agua begins to draw a stream of water with which to attack Mai, however, the knife thrower hurls two shuriken knives her way. Each of the two knives pins her wrists to a tree trunk. Agua gasps in horror as the riverbank water falls into the river again and Applejack hobbles over as a result of the paralysis. She falls to the ground. "How is yo' doin'?"
"Well, you know..." Agua then notices something is wrong. "Where are the others?"
"Th' pink one pareelyzed thar legs, all 'cept th' pegasi an' th' CMC." Applejack said.
Mai then walks up to them, with Ty Lee behind her. "I thought when me and Ty Lee finally caught you guys, it would be more exciting. Oh well, victory is boring." She said dryly.
Suddenly, the two are swept off their feet by a powerful gust of wind conjured by the pegasi's wings. They incidentally somersault into the air and land several yards away in the water. "Thanks gays, I don't know what we'd do without you." Applejack said to them.
"Come on, we need to find Twilight and Firebrand." One of the pegasi said.
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In the ghost town Fire' and Twilight are at, Azula appears, riding on her motorcycle in a cloud of dust. "All right, you've caught up to me. Now who are you and what do you want?" Fire' said to her.
"You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint." She then covers her eye and deepens her voice, as she begins to imitate Zuko. "I must find one of the Avatars to restore my honor!" Fire' and Twilight remains silent. "It's okay, you can laugh. It's funny."
"So what now?" Twilight asked.
"Now? Now, it's over, Unicorn mare. You're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you." Azula said to them.
"We're not running." Fire' said as he and Twilight got up. Azula just smirks at this.
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Meanwhile, Iroh is serving tea to Terra, even after what Terra did to him. Iroh then pours some tea into two tin cups and gives one to Terra. "Here is your tea." Terra is just staring blankly at the ground then back to Iroh. "You seem a little too young to be traveling alone."
"You seem a little too old." Terra responded as she takes her cup of tea.
Iroh then laughs a little. "Perhaps I am."
"I know what you're thinking... I can't handle being by myself." Terra casually said.
"I wasn't thinking that." Iroh defended.
"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea!"
"I poured your tea because I wanted to and for no other reason."
"When ponies see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me, but I can take care of myself, by myself."
"You sound like my nephew, always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting the people who love you help you. Not that I love you. I just met you."
Terra then laughs at Iroh comment. "So where is your nephew?"
"He's getting some food, but I think he's doing something else." Iroh said, knowing that his nephew is following one of the Avatars right now. "I've been tracking him now actually."
"Is he lost?" Terra asked.
Iroh then looks away, slightly sad. "Yes, a little bit. His life recently changed and he's going through very difficult times. He's trying to figure out who he is and he went away."
"So now you're following him."
"I know he doesn't want me around him right now, but if he needs me, I'll be there."
"Your nephew is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it. Thank you." Terra said as she gets up and takes her scythe.
"My pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights."
"No, thank you for what you said. It helped me." Terra happily said.
"I'm glad."
Terra then leaves, but turns around briefly. "Oh, and about your nephew, maybe you should tell him that you need him, too." Iroh remains silent and sips his tea.
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"Do you really want to fight me?" Azula asked Fire' and Twilight.
Suddenly, Zuko appears from an alleyway. He then pulls out his swords. "Yes, I really do." He said.
"Zuko!" Fire' said, alarmed.
"I was wondering when you'd do show up, Zuzu."
"'Zuzu'?" Twilight said as she tried to hide her laughing.
"Back off, Azula! He's mine!" Zuko firmly said.
"I'm not going anywhere." She then assumes a fighting stance. Each of the 4 opponents stand, ready for battle. Azula is as confident as ever. Zuko averts his gaze first to Azula and then towards Firebrand. Fire' the assumes fighting stance, pointing his sword at Zuko as he turns into his fire form. Twilight then gets ready to help Firebrand. After a few moments, Azula makes the first strike. She pulls out a flamethrower and fires at Zuko. Zuko tries his best to block it, bet he hits a wall. Fire' then flies up, but Azula fires at him and he hits the ground hard. Azula then tries to tack him out, but when she hits, Fire' disperses his body and flies to Twilight and rematerializes. Zuko then tackles him, and the two land in a building. Fire' the heads into a room followed by Azula. When she enters she sees that there's no floor.
She nearly falls off, while Fire' is just hovering there. Zuko follows, but he doesn't see that there's no floor and falls. The others soon arrive to help Twilight and Fire' fight off Azula.
"Are we glad to see you." Twilight said to her older brother and her friends.
After a few more fights, Zuko begins to wake up and sees Iroh standing above him. "Uncle..."
"Get up!" Iroh then helps Zuko get up. Agua and Applejack then run straight toward Azula. They leap over her just as Azula fires a blast of lightning at them. She turns around and blocks a water whip Agua sends at her. She fires a blast at the rest of the group.
Fire' then appears right behind her. She turns around and nearly manages to strike him with another blast. Azula is about to fire another lightning bolt at the group when she suddenly falls over to the side. Terra appears from an alleyway, having just shifted the ground beneath her feet. "I thought you guys could use a little help." Terra said to them.
"Thanks, sugarcube." Applejack happily said.
Azula rises to her hoofs and begins running away. Azula as runs through the alley and leaps over some crates and tries to escape, Iroh intervenes, using his rotund belly to knock her off her hoof. Zuko then appears next to him. Fire,' Terra, Agua, the main six, the CMC, Shining, Cadence, the pegasi guards, Zuko and Iroh have now all cornered Azula against the ruins of a stone wall. "Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors, all working together." She said coolly while backing up as her enemies surround her. "I'm done. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."
Iroh now averts his gaze toward the other members, who remain on high alert. He looks at Terra then to Firebrand, Agua, the main six, Shining and Cadence, who still assume fighting stances. Azula then smirks and smiles and takes a step forward, taking her Lightning Gun and fires a blast at Iroh, who gets hit. He screams in pain and falls to the ground. "Aaaah!" Is all a horrified Zuko could say. He, Fire,' Shining, Cadence, Twilight, Agua, and Terra (not counting, Fluttershy, Pinkie, AJ, Rainbow, Rarity and the CMC for obvious reasons) turn to face Azula, four of them bending their respective elements and the on-bender Unicorns and Alicorn firing lasers at her.
The impact of the elements and magic creates a minor explosion, sending a thick cloud of smoke everywhere. When the smoke clears, Azula is gone without a trace. Zuko then kneels before his uncle, dismayed at the turn of events. "Ugggh! Get away from us!" He said to the group. Terra uses her seismic scene and sees that Iroh is still alive, the Lightning Gun having not charge long enough for a kill shot.
Agua then walks up to Zuko and Iroh. "Zuko, I can help."
But Zuko just blasts an arc of fire at them. "Leave!" The group then leave, leaving Zuko still kneeling over an unconscious Iroh. Later at nightfall, the pegasi guards land on the other side of the crystal mountain and fall asleep. In the chariot, the group is asleep, with Twilight and Firebrand resting next to each other. |
The Elements of Nature, Book 2: 土 & 雷 (Earth & Lightning) | Chapter 5, Enter Blitz and Deker | The Elements of Nature
Book 2: 土 & 雷 (Earth & Lightning)
Chapter 5, Enter Blitz and Deker
At Canterlot, Firebrand, Agua, Terra, and the others are discussing where the Avatars of lightning and air might be at. "According to the scroll, the Avatar of Lighting is somewhere in the USA." Bastion Yorsets said to them.
"Wheres the US?" Fire' asked, having never even hearing it before.
Celestia then pulls out a map of the world and shows it to him. "The United States of America is located on the North American continent, Rainbow. It's the only country in the world that the Fire Nation will not dare attack. It's also the most advanced, not only are there cameras there, but also things like computers, television sets, cars, pretty much any thing you can think of, it's bound to be made in America."
"Wow. I heard of the US before, but I never been there."
"Not surprising. You see Agua, the United States is a superpower. It's also the home of the UN."
"The U-what?" Applejack asked Celestia.
"United Nations. Equestria is a part of the UN, and the next meeting is in a few days. You can come along, if you want."
"But what about the Fire Nation? Wont they be there too?"
"No, they won't Twilight." Shining said to his little sister. "The Fire Nation is not part of the UN."
"Oh, good."
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Later on a plane heading for the US, Twilight, her friends, the CMC (who somehow persuaded the others to come along), Firebrand, Agua, Terra, Celestia, Luna, Shining, and Cadence are either asleep or are reading a book. Twilight is sitting next to Fire' as she is reading a book. "What you reading about?"
Twilight nearly losses her train of thought when Firebrand said that. "Oh, it's a book about the US. Apparently it's called 'The Land of the Brave and Home of the Free' because it rebelled against Great Britten when there were only 13 colonies. US scientist and inventors made many things over its 225 years, which is relatively recant compared to Equestria."
"Oh yeah. Like what?"
"Trains for one, also the US made, planes, cars, phones, telephones."
"Wow. Sounds like a pretty cool place. You should get some sleep, Twi. We have a long day tomorrow." With that, Fire' went to sleep, followed shortly by Twilight, who places her head against his.
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At the hive of the changelings, which is located in Sub-Sahara Africa, Queen Chrysalis is in her throne room, drinking a bowl of white liquid. It's medicine because, a few months ago, when they were repelled from Canterlot by Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, she landed on her head, and now has skull splitting headaches. As a result, she needs to dink the medicine nearly everyday. She then runs out of it. "I need more medicine!" She yells out as the changeling doctor, whose name is Medizinisch, gives her some more. He has a slightly different build then other changelings, more slender, his face also has some tentacles that makes it look like he has a mustache. He also has eyes that are like Chrysalis. "Thank you, doctor." She then drinks some more medicine. "Bring in Hexe."
Soon some changeling guards come in with Hexe. She is the changelings resident which. She carries with her a harmonium which she often plays. She has a more mare like build then other changelings. She also has some strange marking on her body which help tell her apart from other changelings. "You called for me, your highness."
"How is the progress of the Spy Spell?" Chrysalis asked.
"It's going along smoothly. A few more tests and it will be complete." Hexe answered her queen.
"Why is there an edge in your voice?" Chrysalis asked her. "I already know the Avatar has returned. What other bad news have you brought me this time?"
"It's not bad news, buts it's also not good either."
"Well, what is it?"
"I was performing a test on the Spy Spell. I turned its gazed at the Everfree Forest, that's when I saw Him on the other side." Hexe said.
"Him?" Medizinisch said. "You don't mean..."
"Yeah, I do mean him. Deker." Hexe finished.
"Hmm. The Cursed Warrior." Chrysalis said.
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In the Everfree Forest, at night during a full moon, Deker, the creature that saw Fire,' Agua, and Terra unlock their true potential, pulls out his sword, which has red gaps on the back while the rest is normal. "Ah. Uramasa, my trusty sword. You've reawakened and shine anew. This can only mean one thing for us. After all this time, a worthy opponent has been found." He then places his Uramasa back into its sheath. "It must be one of the Avatars."
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In New York City, the plane the gang is on lands, which wakes up both Twilight and Firebrand. When Twilight sees that she is leaning against him, she quickly gets up and blushes. "Looks a lot like Manehattan." Applejack said as she looked outside the window.
"Wow. Look at all the ponies in the black suits."
"There the Secret Service, Rainbow. There in charge of protecting the US President and any other world leaders from all kinds of threats." Luna said to her.
"Looks like were the first to arrive." Celestia said as the door opened and stairs popped up. She and the others soon leave and head for two limousine. Celestia and Luna soon stop near the shorter and turn to the others. "This our limo. You have the other. The driver will tack you to a 5 star hotel."
"That be great, Princess. I haven't been to a hotel since I went to Canterlot to work on Twilight's birthday present." Rarity said.
"Hopefully you won't get to carried away like that time." Rainbow said to her. They soon get into their respective limos and leave. While Celestia and Luna head for the UN building, the gang head for the hotel, which is called, the Trump Soho New York.
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In a forest in Geo Firma, Iroh is having a dream about his son. He soon wakes up and sees Zuko standing next to him. "Uncle ... you were unconscious. Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack."
"Somehow, that's not so surprising." Iroh then groans as he gets up. Zuko then gives him some tea.
"I hope I made it the way you like it." Zuko said as Iroh then drinks it, but he grimaces.
"Good. That was very ... uhhh ... bracing." Zuko then gives him another cup, but Iroh secretly throw it away.
"So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I'm going to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her." Zuko said.
"No, she's crazy and she needs to go down. It's time to resume your training." Iroh said, thinking the exact opposite of Zuko
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After a few days in the US, the gang make it to the Lowlands of the Mojave Desert. They are in a bus going up a plateau. The bus nearly falls over, but it manages to stay on the ledge. "I know I said we had to lay low for a while, but this is crazy." Fire' said. The entire group is wearing some Mexican ponchos and sombreros.
"Were in the Lowlands of the US Firebrand. It doesn't get any lower than this." Shining said to him. Shining is also wearing a fake mustache.
"You can say that again." Cadence said to him.
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"Firebending is not fueled by range or emotion. To perform the firebending techniques perfectly requires peace of mind." Iroh said to Zuko.
"I see. That's why we're drinking tea, to calm the mind." Zuko said as he takes another sip of tea.
"Oh yeah, good point! I mean, yes. There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few can firebend, can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance." Iroh then performs a technique called the fire breathe, which means he can breathe fire like a dragon.
"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko excitedly said.
"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first." Zuko then takes a deep breath. He tries to do the fire breath, but instead an explosion launches him back. Iroh then shakes his head in disappointment.
==================================================================
They finally make it to the town on the top of the plateau. There is a gust of wind that blows some dust into their faces. "Right now, all I want is a warm shower, cold drink, and to get out of this outfit. It clashes with my mane." Rarity said.
"Your not the only one. I fell like I'm gonna go nuts if I have to keep wearing this."
"Tell me about it, Rainbow." Applejack said to her, replacing the sombrero with her cowgirl hat.
"Yeah, good luck with that, you three." Fire' said to them. "Whoever named this place Sanctuary City, clearly didn't know what the word 'city' meant, or the word 'sanctuary.'" He than looks at some residents who are staring at them. His stomach than groans.
"Looks like somepony is hungry."
"Stop teasing, Twi. Lets get some grub, I'm starving." Fire' said as he looks around and sees a saloon that specializes in food from Abysus, mainly noodles. "No way. I haven't had anything from Abysus since it was..." He then stops for a moment.
"Come on Fire,' let's get something to eat." Twilight said as they made their way to the saloon.
==================================================================
Back at where Iroh is training Zuko, Zuko tries the fire breath one more time, only to get another explosion. "Why can't I do it? Instead of fire breath it keeps blowing up in my face ... like everything always does."
"I was afraid this might happen." Iroh said. "You will not be able to completely master firebending until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."
"What turmoil?"
"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away." Iroh lectured his nephew.
"But I don't feel any shame at all. I'm as proud as ever." Zuko argued.
"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." Iroh said to him.
"Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately." Zuko sadly said.
"I have another idea." Iroh said, lifting Zuko's spirits. "I will teach you a firebending move that even the Fire Avatar doesn't know. Because I made it up myself." Iroh then gets a stick and give Zuko another lecture. "Fire is the element of power." He then draws the firebending insignia in the dirt. "The people of the Fire Nation, the original firebending nation, have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance." He then draws the earthbending insignia. "The Earth Kingdom, now called Geo Firma, is diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom." Draws the airbending insignia. "The Air Nomads, now called the Tibetans, detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor! Water is the element of change." Draws the waterbending insignia. "The people of the Water Tribe, now called Pegasus City, are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything. Lightning is the element of ferocity." He then draws the lightningbending symbol. "The Lightning Warriors are strong and ferocious, being able to conquer all that stood in there way. The sixth element is the element of life. Not much is known about that one." Iroh said as he draws a small circle in the center of the drawing.
"Why are you telling me these things?" Zuko asked.
"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole." Iroh explained.
"All this six elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff." Zuko said.
"It is the combination of the six elements in one pony that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too. You see the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders." Iroh said. "I learned from an old Waterbending scrolls that Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning."
"You can teach me to redirect lightning? How is that possible."
"You see, Prince Zuko, all the elements of Nature have their own strengths and weaknesses against each other. Fire is effective against lightning. If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your hoof-tips, up your leg through your shoulder, and down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is the sea of chi. Only my chi is more like a vast ocean. From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other leg. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion, to get a feel for the pathways' flow, like this." Iroh then does the technique. "Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in? Down, up, and out?"
"I think so." Zuko said as they continue to practice.
"Come on, you've got to feel the flow." They than practice the motion for a few minutes. "Excellent! You've got it!"
"Great, I'm ready to try it with real lightning!" Zuko said excitedly.
"What, are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous!" Iroh said as they stop.
"I thought that was the point! You teaching me to protect myself from it! From a Fire Nation Lightning Gun like the one Azula has."
"Gah! But I'm not a Pegasus, or a lightningbender, I can't shoot real lightning at you! If you're lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all!" Iroh said.
"Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning." He then leaves to find a storm in the forest.
"Zuko! Wait!" Iroh follows closely behind.
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The group enter the saloon, but they see that everyone inside is not exactly pleasant. "I can't say for certain, but I think they might of notice us." Pinkie said to the gang.
"Yay, think." Scootaloo said to her.
Fire' then takes a set at the bar. "Welcome to Sanctuary, ponies. What can I get yay?" The chef asked.
"Give us a bowl each please." Fire' said as he and the others sat down.
"All right," The chef said as he got a bowl. He then places it on the bar, "Heres one." He slides it down to Scootaloo, but she doesn't catch it in time and it hits a Pegasus stallion with a light blue mane and tail that's stilled like a Jamaicans, a navy blue coat, and a lighting bolt for a cutie mark. He is also wearing a light blue leather beret, along with a black leather jacket.
"Oh," Scootaloo then gets a napkin and heads for the Pegasus and begins to wipe the mess up from her bowl. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't my fault." She then notices that he has nun-chucks with lighting bolts on each handle that end with lighting blue gems.
"Wrong move, filly." He said in a Jamaican accent. He then turns around to see the filly that got noodle sauce on his jacket.
"Yikes, he has nun-chucks!" Scootaloo said to the others.
"Who the hay are you?" Applejack said to him.
"The names Blitz. You lot must be new to the Lowlands. If you're gonna put your hoofs on somepony hear, you better be sure you can kick their flank first."
"I don't think that's gonna be a problem."
Blitz then gets up. "I'm gonna do you and your little friends a favor, Red. I'm gonna let you lot walk out of here while you still can."
"Hey, who are you calling little?" Rainbow said to him.
"Come on you two, we don't want no trouble." The chef said to them.
"I wouldn't do that, Rainbow." Applejack said to her.
"So you think your pretty tough, don't you." Rainbow said to Blitz.
"Princess, around here there's only two ways to be; tough or toast."
"Princess? Oh that's it!" Rainbow then throws a punch, but Blitz caches it with a kung-fu move and twists her leg around her back.
"You aught to put a leash on your cat." Blitz said as Rainbow struggles to get free.
"Take your hoofs off my friend, now!" Fire' said to him as he draws out his sword.
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Outside, Hexe and some other changelings are watching whats going on. "Now, why would the wielders of the Elements of Harmony be in a place like this? Come, we need to disguise ourselves if we want to have our revenge." She then turns into a younger version of Granny Smith, only a Unicorn with a red mane and tail and a harmonium for a cutie mark.
"Are you sure you can handle this, Hexe." One of the other changelings said to her.
"I'm sure. I know what my place is now. Now hurry up and change!" The others soon change as well. They then head down, trying their best to stay hidden and fit in place.
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On the street, Blitz and Fire' are at opposite sides of the street. Terra makes a ring around the two. "Hear are the rules. The are no rules."
"That doesn't make any sense, Blitz. How are there rules if there aren't any?"
"I'm not the one who made this challenge, mate."
Twilight is the referee, she's the one who decides if someone cheats. She has a nerves look on her face. "What has he gotten into this time?" She thought to herself. "OK. Draw." At that, Blitz pulls out his nun-chucks while Firebrand pulls out his sword.
"Hay, Princess. You excited about watching me mope the floor with your friend?"
"Stop calling me that!" Rainbow yelled at him. But before the two could fight, Die makes her move. She sneaks up on Twilight and flies away with her.
"TWILIGHT!" Shining, Firebrand, Candace, and Rainbow yelled.
"Guys?" Twilight said to them as some drone hold her hostage.
"If you want her back, meet me at the old quarry, with the Elements of Harmony." Hexe said as her changelings leave with Twilight. "Otherwise, she will become Queen Chrysalis's personnel snack." She then disappears in a puff of green smoke.
"Does stuff like that happen to you lot often?"
"Pretty much, Blitz." Rarity said to him.
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At New York, Celestia and Luna are discussing about what has happened over the past year. "First, Firebrand goes to the Spirit World. Second, Agua waterbends the entire sea at the North Pole. Third, Terra, along with Fire,' and Agua become pure forms of their respective 3 elements. Whats next?" Luna said to her sister. Suddenly, a messenger from the Lowlands arrives with a letter.
"Telegram for Princess Celestia." The pegasus colt said as he gave it to Celestia.
When the colt leaves, Celestia opens the letter and reads out loud. "Dear Princess Celestia, we have a situation. My sister, Twilight, has been kidnaped by some changelings. They want us to come to a quarry in the lowlands with the Elements of Harmony, otherwise, she will become Queen Chrysalis's personnel snack, according to them. Please come to the Lowlands as soon as possible. Singe, Shining Armor." Celestia and Luna are shocked at what they just heard.
"Sister, we need to go to the Lowlands with the Elements, otherwise, we may never see Twilight again."
"I know, Luna. We need to go now."
==================================================================
At Sanctuary City, Shining and Fire' are pacing. "Calm down you two," Cadence said as she tried to comfort them, "both of my aunts will be here soon. We'll come up with something."
"Who is this 'Chrysalis' anyway?"
"She's the queen of the changelings, Blitz."
"Oh. Now I see why you're so worried now Shining." Just then, Princess Celestia and Luna arrive with the Elements of Harmony.
"Celestia! Luna! Are we glade to see you."
"Likewise, Rainbow. Now tell me, where did the changelings took Twilight to."
==================================================================
Meanwhile, Zuko has tracked down a storm, seeking lightning. "You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it, and now I can give it back! COME ON! STRIKE ME! YOU'VE NEVER HELD BACK BEFORE!" No lightning strikes. Tears stream down Zuko's face, he then yells at the top of his lungs.
Iroh then walks up to him and places a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. "You'll use it someday, I'm sure." Iroh said. "You really shouldn't scream like that. You could overload your vocal cords."
"Thanks uncle." Zuko said as he gets up. "What now?"
"We head to that village that you accidentally found." Iroh said as he points to a small. A few minutes later, he and Zuko enter the Misty Palms Oasis (the towns watering hole) and take a set.
Zuko then takes a good look around. "No one here is going to help us. These ponies just look like filthy wanderers."
"So do we." Iroh said. He then points at something behind Zuko. "Ah, this is interesting. I think I found our friend."
Zuko turns around and sees Iroh is pointing at, an old Pegasus stallion sitting at a table that has a game that looks like a combination of Go, Chinese Checkers, Straight checkers, and Xiangqi. "Zuko turns around to see where Iroh is pointing at, the camera pans over his shoulder to reveal an old man sitting at a Pai Sho table."
"I don't think this is a gamble." Iroh said as he gets up and walks over. Zuko soon follows. "May I have this game?"
The Pegasus gestures Iroh to sit down "The guest has the first move." Iroh sits down and takes out a tile thats like his cutie mark and places it in the center of the board. "I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways." The Pegasus said as he cups his hoofs toward Iroh.
"Those who do can always find a friend." Iroh said as he copies the gesture of the old stallion, also cupping his hoofs toward him.
"Then let us play." The Pegasus said as he places a tile on the board, quickly followed by a tile placed by Iroh. Seemingly without even looking at what the other pony is doing, the two stallions quickly place their tiles on the board. Zuko sits down and watches intently as the two stallions place one tile after the other. When they are done, their tiles form the shape of a lotus flower. "Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets." The Pegasus said.
"What are you old gasbags talking about?" Zuko asked.
"I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game." Iroh said as the Pegasus takes them to another building in the village, a flower shop.
"It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets." The Pegasus said.
"Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is this club going to offer some real help?" An annoyed Zuko said.
"You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts." Iroh said as the Pegasus Pai Sho player leads Iroh toward a door with a peephole in it. He knocks two times. A mare slides open a small window in the door and peeks through.
"Who knocks at the guarded gate?" She asked.
"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Iroh answered. Iroh then smiles as the door opens to let him and the Pegasus Pai Sho player through. But when Zuko attempts to follow them, the door slams shut in front of him. He looks at the door with a pout when Iroh opens the small window. "I'm afraid it's members only. Wait out here." An annoyed Zuko then frowns and crosses his legs when he rests against a nearby table. He then leans over to sniff the plant on the table.
==================================================================
At the quarry, Twilight is being held by ropes on a lamppost. Changelings are around her, making sure she doesn't try anything. "You won't get away with this." She said to Hexe.
"No? We will soon. Once they bring the Elements hear, my little trap will make sure that they won't be used again. And once that's done, Chrysalis will probably use your love for that Red Unicorn to regain her strength." Hexe said to Twilight.
"I do not love Fire'! Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Yeah, right..." But before Hexe could finished, some fire nearly cuts her neck. She backs off, and the fire then goes around Twilight and frees her from her binds and carries her to the gang, who have the Elements of Harmony. "What?"
"I know you." Celestia said. "Your Chrysalis personnel witch Hexe, aren't you."
"Witch is such a strong word. I prefer, female warlock. Changelings, attack!" They do so, and a fight ensures. Twilight casts a spell that will make sure that the changelings won't take the forms of her friends.
"These changelings are like ants at a picnic. Always a nuisance" Terra said.
"I hope you lot have a good dental plan, 'cause with all the teeth I'm knocking out, you'll need it." Blitz said as he hit some changeling in the face with his nun-chucks.
"I wonder what happened to Hexe?"
"I bet she just went back to the changeling hive, AJ." Rainbow said as she, Applejack, Cadence, and Shining are doing a back to back. After they finished their group of changelings, they narrowly avoid some lasers from Hexe.
"Surprise to see me?" Hexe said to them.
"I don't like surprises!" Shining said.
"And I hate bugs!" Cadence said. She then fires a laser of her own, but Hexe jumps out-of-the-way and lands in front of them.
"Ha. That's all you got? Well, lend me your ears for the last song you will ever hear." She then gets out her harmonium and pulls out a small blade.
"I don't think so." Applejack said to her. She and Rainbow then charge at her, but Die either avoids the attacks or blocks them. She knocks them back a little, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom come to see if there all right, along with Cadence and Shining.
"Hears a tun with some edge." Hexe said as she pulls out the upper part of her harmonium that has a large blade and runs for them. When she runs by, Rainbow, AJ, Cadence and Shining fall to the ground due to the shock of what just happened. "I must admit, it pains me to know that you 6 wont be around to hear my encore." She then runs for them, but Blitz blocks it with his nun-chucks. As they have a stand off, Blitz builds an electric charge from his legs that knocks Hexe back. Blitz then goes to help them, starting with Rainbow.
"Your the Avatar of Lightning." Rainbow said to him as he helps her up.
"I ... I guess so." Blitz said as his hoofs get a lighting pattern on them, while some strands of his mane and tail turn navy blue. Hexe charges back at them, but Fire' block it again with his sword and the two fight. After a few blows, Fire' turns into is elemental from.
"I got news for you. Your concert is about to end." He then does a blow that sends her a few feet. The others soon join Firebrand. Celestia then opens a box that has the Elements of Harmony in them and gives them to their respective wielders.
"Time to turn you to stone." Twilight said as she and her friend charge their attack and fire, the same way they did against Discord. But before it could hit her, Deker jumps in the way, pulls out his Uramasa, and slices the attack in half.
"Huh?" Scootaloo said in disbelief.
"Whoa." Agua said.
"Who's that?" Shining said.
Deker then releases his stance and points his sword at Firebrand. "Avatar of Fire, you shall be my sword Uramasa's greatest challenge."
"What the hay does that mean?" Applejack said to him.
"Deker, you came to save me?" Hexe asked him.
"Not quit."
"What?"
"Fire Avatar, we will duel soon." Fire' then stares at him. "Until then..." Deker then grabs Hexe and jumps to a nearby cliff and they disappear.
==================================================================
At the village Zuko and Iroh are at, Zuko is asleep at the table when he wakes up by the squeaking of the door. Iroh steps through as Zuko takes on a defensive stance. "What's going on? Is the club meeting over?" Zuko asked.
"Everything is taken care of. We're heading to Ba Sing Se." Iroh said as two White Lotus members step out.
"Ba Sing Se? Why would we go to the Geo Firma capital?" Zuko asked.
"The city is filled with refugees. No one will notice two more." The Pegasus member said.
"We can hide in plain sight there. And it's the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation. Even I couldn't break through to the city." Iroh said as he happily shrugs. They then hear a bell, which means that somepony has entered the shop. A young Unicorn colt than approaches the group, holding up some papers with his magic.
"I have the passports for our guests." He said as he gives Zuko his 'Lee' passport, while he gives Iroh his 'Mushi' passport.
==================================================================
A few days later, back at New York, the gang, now accompanied by Blitz, arrive at the air port. "So, you lot are from Equestria?"
"Yeah, we are, Blitz. Well, some of us. Most of us. I forget." Pinkie said to him.
"Say, Twilight, you all right."
"I'm fine Shining, but I can't shake the feeling that all of Die's anger came from some past sadness." As they board the plane, Fire' wonders to himself about who saved Die.
"Hum. Who was that protecting Hexe?" He then remembers what Deker said to him. "Avatar of Fire, you shall be my sword Uramasa's greatest challenge." The plane then takes off into the sunset as they head for Equestria. |
The Elements of Nature, Book 2: 土 & 雷 (Earth & Lightning) | Chapter 6, I’v Got a Spell on Blue | The Elements of Nature
Book 2: 土 & 雷 (Earth & Lightning)
Chapter 6, I've Got a Spell on Blue
"Hows the translation of the scroll coming along?" Celestia asked Bastion.
"It's almost done, Princess." Bastion Yorsets said to her. "It appears that it only tells the location of where the Avatars will be reveled, not where they are."
"Oh really." Blitz said to him.
"According to the scroll, the Avatar of Air will be reveled in the Himalayas."
"Himalayas!? That's on the other side of the world!" Twilight said to him. "We have to go across Geo Firma before we can get there!"
"I know, Twilight. But we can use that to our advantage. The Earth Kingdom City of Ba Sing Se is on the route to the Himalayas. If the Earth King becomes an ally, then we might have a chance against the Fire Nation." Celestia said to her student.
"Assuming the US continues to stay neutral." Luna quietly said to Twilight under the hearing of her sister.
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At the hive of the changelings in Sub-Sahara Africa, Queen Chrysalis is talking to Deker. "If you're here to hear me say, 'Thank you' for saving Hexe, your wrong."
"I'm not here for a thank you, I want to know if your going after the Fire Avatar?" Deker asked.
"No. I'm not. Now leave, you're giving me a headache." Chrysalis said as she drinks some of her medicine.
"Very well then." Deker then leaves the hive.
"Why does he want to know if were going after the Fire Avatar?" Medizinisch said out load to himself. "I have to do research." Just then, right before Deker leaves, another changeling appears. Unlike others, he has a navy blue face and spikes on his body. He also carries a shield that looks like an eye.
"Out of my way Deker!" Deker does so as the new changeling walks in.
"Oh, go away Madimot! Your all talk and no game." Medizinisch said to Madimot.
"Don't talk like that to me. I'm the baddest of the bad." The changeling known as Madimot said.
"Why are you here?" Hexe said with annoyance in her voice.
"I'm here to tell you how to get our revenge on the Equestrians."
"I'm listening." Chrysalis said to him.
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On their way to Geo Firma, the main 6, the CMC, Shining Armor, Cadence, Firebrand, Agua, Terra, and Blitz stop for a break and to do some training. Shining and Fire' do a small sword practice fight. They use the nonlethal sides of their blades so they wont hurt each other. After a few slashes, Fire' wins. He then helps Shining up. "Both of them sure are good with a blade, huh Twilight?"
"They sure are, Cadence."
"I hate to see what would happen if they had to fight for real."
"Come on, Rainbow. Thar fine friends, thet will nevah happened."
"If you say so, AJ."
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At a bay in Geo Firma, a ferry departs, with Zuko and Iroh are on board. "Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace..." Iroh then turns away for a second, then turns back with a floral hat on his head, "as a tourist!"
"Look around. We're not tourists, we're refugees." He then sips some food they were given, but he then spits it out. "Uggh! I'm sick of eating rotten food. It's like eating dirt. I'm tired of living like this!"
"Aren't we all?" Zuko and Iroh then turn to where the voice came from. They see a Unicorn stallion with a brown mane and tail, no longer then Big Mac's, while his coat is a lighter color. He also has two hook swords for a cutie mark. He is accompanied by two other ponies, one a Pegasus mare while the other is an Earth Pony stallion. The Pegasus mare has a red coat with a yellow mane and a bee for a cutie mark, while the Earth Pony colt has a white coat with a gray mane and tail and wears a rice hat. "My name's Jet and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot." Smellerbee is the mare while Longshot is the Earth Pony stallion.
"Hey." Smellerbee said to them as Longshot nods.
"Hello." Zuko said back.
"Here's the deal. I hear the captain's eating like a king while the refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" Jet said to them.
"What sort of king is he eating like?" Iroh asked Jet.
"The fat, happy kind." At this, Iroh's mouth hangs open as he starts to drool. "You want to help us 'liberate' some food?"
Zuko then tosses the bowl of rotten food into the water. "I'm in." Jet smirks at the remark.
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In a forest, several miles away from the gang, a group of ponies is taking a hike. Two of them, both unicorns, are kind of off in a sense. The lager one, whose name is Bulk, is teaching his nephew, Spike, the smaller one, how to be a samurai. Bulk has a very short mane and tail, to the point where he doesn't look like he has them. Bulk also has a tan coat, and a dumbbell for a cutie mark. Spike has a red mane and a light blue coat, and an upside down horseshoe for a cutie mark. Spike is also kinda jumpy and is holding a can. "Spike, being a samurai is more than just fighting evil, it's about being one with nature." He then pushes a tree branch out of his way, but when he let's go, it hits Spike. He quickly recovers and is even more jumpy now.
"But I'm scared of dragons, uncle Bulk."
"Spike, I don't think dragons live in this neck of the woods. So loss the dragon spray already. What you should have brought was this." He then pulls out his own can. "Mosquito Repellent." He then sprays some, but the wind pushes it back into their faces, temporally blinding them. They then hear the other hikers screaming and running "Terrified hikers can mean only one thing: Mosquitoes!"
"Dragons!" They then try to run, but they hit each other instead. Bulk then grabs Spike when he realizes something.
"Spike," He quietly said, "never run from a dragon this close. Play dead, like a possum." They do so, but instead of a dragon or mosquitoes, Madimot walks up to them.
"Hah. You can't fool me. Not even possums are that ugly. Lucky for you I have more important business." Madimot then leave the two. When they get up and see what just passed them, they are excited.
"Our fist real live battle, Spike. And we survived! Now we are officially samurai warriors!"
"We are?!" Spike excitedly said.
"Shush! Yes, we are." Bulk said as they quietly leave.
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Back on the ferry, Zuko, Jet, and Smellerbee sneak up to the food storage area. Zuko then breaks the door open with his swords and he and Jet take some food. "Guard's coming!" Smellerbee said as Longshot fires an arrow with a rope attached to it, allowing the three to slide down it. Longshot manages to pull it away before the guard notices.
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At the forest Madimot is at, he continues to terrorize the hikers until the gang find him. "Huh. I was wondering when you would show up."
"Very funny changeling." Fire' said to him.
"Hey. Don't call me just any changeling. I'm Madimot, the baddest of the bad from the Sahara. I'm a bad bad bug!"
"Lets see if you can back up all that talk."
"Hmm, having back up is a good idea, Rainbow Head." He then pulls out a whip and smacks it into the ground. A large white tiger than appears behind him.
"What the?" Rainbow said.
"Is that a white tiger?" Twilight nervously said.
"Yep. I found it and he become my pet kitty, or should I say my pet Tiggy."
"Thats not right!" Fluttershy said to the changeling.
"Tiggy, get them!" The tiger than charges at them, roaring loudly. At where Bulk and Spike are hiding, they hear the roar.
"Sounds like a mountain lion." Bulk said as his nephew began to shiver. The tiger begins to attack the group, separating them. Madimot sees that Twilight is alone.
"Oh good. A new puppet." He fires a green fire at her. Shining sees this and pushes Twilight out-of-the-way. As a result, Shining gets hit and is now under Madimot's control, his eyes glowing green.
"Shining!"
"Oh boy. I have a new puppet. I think I'll call him Blue." Madimot said as both Twilight and Cadence stare in disbelief. "Blue, take care of them." Shining then conjures up a blade and attacks his sister. Twilight manages to dodge the attack and tries to snap Shining out of it, but no matter what she says or does, nothing works. Fire' charges at Madimot with his blade drawn out. But Madimot sees him coming. "Good. Two new pets for the price of one." He said as he charges his spell. "Your mine now, Red." He fires, but almost on instinct, Firebrand cast a spell that blocks the mind control one. He then does a few slashes at Madimot.
"That won't work on me, changeling."
"No, it wont. Tiggy, take care of him!" The tiger than charges at Firebrand. He and the others are in a group now, with both the tiger and Shining about to pounce. Fire' then creates a small fire and when it dissipates, they are gone.
"Hum." Madimot said as he walks to where they were at. "Cowards, but good timing. I'm starting to dry out. Blue, wait here with Tiggy."
"As you wish, master."
==================================================================
Back on the ferry where Zuko and Iroh are on, Jet passes out food to other travelers. The other Freedom Fighters, Zuko and Iroh are siting together. "So, Smellerbee, that's an unusual name for a young stallion!"
"Maybe it's because I'm not a stallion ... I'm a mare!" She then walks away.
"Oh, now I see." Iroh said when he realizes his mistake. "It's a beautiful name for a lovely mare!" He called out.
Longshot then approaches Smellerbee and gestures at her. "I know, you're right. As long as I'm confident with who I am, it doesn't matter what other ponies think. Thanks Longshot." Jet then approaches Zuko and Iroh.
"From what I heard, ponies eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall." Jet said to the two, oblivious that there from the Fire Nation.
"It is a magnificent sight." Iroh said.
"So you've been there before?" Jet asked.
"Once. When I was a ... different colt." Iroh answered.
"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, but that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se: for a new beginning. A second chance." Jet said, remembering when he used to live in Equestria, before the Fire Nation killed his family and moved to Geo Firma.
"That's very noble of you." Iroh said to him. "I believe ponies can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances."
==================================================================
"Impressive." Queen Chrysalis said to Madimot as he drinks some green water. "Hypnotizing both a deadly predator and the caption of the Canterlot Royal Guard."
"Like I said, I'm the baddest of the bad. If I hadn't dried out, those Avatars and their friends would have been dead. I can make those two do whatever I want." Madimot boasted.
"Then why don't you make Shining Armor turn his sword on himself?" Hexe asked him.
"Thats not fun. Die, when was the last time you had some fun messing with ponies? Three centuries ago!"
"Actually, it was-"
"Ugh, never mind. I'm heading back."
"So go." Medizinisch said to him. Madimot then leaves. "I have to get back to my research. So much about the Fire Avatar's family. So many big words to. Ooh-ah-ooh! I feel like tearing off my beard!"
"I'll help with that." Hexe said to him. "But why are you so interested in the Fire Avatar?" Hexe asked him.
"I think theres something about the Fire Avatar that only Deker knows about. And he doesn't want us to know what it is."
==================================================================
In a forest not far away from the group, Deker is walking through it. "Queen Chrysalis doesn't know the truth about the Fire Avatars legacy, or the sealing spell." He said to himself. "Good. That means she'll stay out of my way." He then pulls out his Uramasa. "Uramasa, my trusty sword, if I can't find me a worthy opponent and bring him to his knees, then whats the point of being immortal?"
He then puts Uramasa back in its sheath. He continues to walk, but as he does so, his entire body is engulfed in purple flames. When he exits, he becomes a unicorn stallion that has a red mane and tail that are like Shining's, a gray coat, tortoise green eyes, and a katana for a cutie mark. He is also wearing a white cloak and black boats. The sheath that has Uramasa is now covered in cloth with a diamond pattern.
==================================================================
On the ferry Zuko and Iroh are on, Zuko and Jet are at the bow. "You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were. You're an outcast, like me. And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs. Because no one else will."
"I've realized lately that being on your own isn't always the best path." Zuko said as they see that the ferry is getting close to the giant walls of Ba Sing Se.
==================================================================
At the gangs camp site, Cadence and Twilight are crying. "How could Shining fall under a changelings spell again?"
"I don't know, Cadence. But we have to find a way to get him back." Twilight said as she wipes away a tear.
"Say," Rainbow said as she turned to Firebrand, who wasn't under Madimot's control, "how did you resist that changelings spell?"
"I don't know. All I know is that I can use the same spell to free Shining, if I can." He the walks away for a moment.
"What did he mean by, 'if I can?'"
"Please, don't say that in front of Twilight and Cadence, Rainbow." Rarity said to her. They then see a pony with a hard hat and a hammer for a cutie mark running up to them.
"Help! Some kind of monster is attacking. It has a white tiger and a white unicorn with a blue mane!" With that, the group leave, leaving behind Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Fire.'
"Do you think we should tell Fire' about this?"
"We should, Sweetie." Scootaloo said to her.
"Yeah. Lets go tell him!" Apple Bloom said as the three fillies go and do just that.
==================================================================
At the construction site, Madimot is terrorizing the workers. "This is so much fun. I can't wait for the Avatars to show up." Almost on cue, the group arrive, weapons ready.
"You should be careful what you wish for, mate."
"I don't have to be careful. I'm the baddest of the bad. Tiggy! Blue! Take care of them!" They do so, but Fluttershy quickly relaxes the tiger into submission for a moment. Shining isn't so easy, he avoids any spells Twilight tries. Cadence spell that helps her spread love doesn't work either. He is about to finish them when Fire' places his blade in the way.
"Leave them alone!"
"Oh. I have an idea. I want to see how well Blue fights. Blue challenge him to a duel."
"You don't have to convince me." Fire' said as he and Shining made their way to the center of the site. Twilight and the others stare at them as they prepare for the fight.
"I cant believe this is happening." Rainbow said. The two soon battle. After a few tense moments, Twilight can't hold back for much longer.
"FIRE,' STOP Y'ALL!" Applejack yelled.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Rarity yelled, despite knowing her vocal cords are being strained.
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?! THAT'S MY BROTHER!" Twilight said.
"Shut your mouths!" Madimot yelled at them when he heard enough. He then fires a laser at them. It doesn't do much but knock them off their hoofs. "No talking during the show!"
As the group recover, a unicorn stallion that has a red mane and tail that are like Shining's, a white coat and a katana for a cutie mark walk up to them. Its Deker. "Looks like we have a winner."
"Who are you?" Rarity asked him.
"It doesn't mater who I am. What matters is that the one who's winning isn't the stallion with the blue mane."
"What." Cadence said to him. "How can you tell?"
"Because the red one is fighting as if he's trying to win a training point rather than a real duel." Fire' and Shining are on top of a crane arm, still slashing at each other. Fire' than jumps off and lands on a hill made of gravel. "It's a lot different than fighting for survival." Shining then follows and they two continue. They then roll down the hill. "You fight with instinct. You have to watch your target like a hawk." Fire' then leads Shining to an open area and they continue without causing too much damage. "It's easy to get tired in a long battle when there's no one to say stop." Fire' lets Shining cut a chain that was holding some rods and it falls in between them. After a few more slashes, Fire' kicks Shining in the stomach and sends him a few feet back. He quickly gets up, but doesn't recover as fast. Fire' places his sword on his shoulder while Shining holds his out.
"I'm not sure I can watch this for long." Fluttershy said to the others.
"Don't worry, because the fight will be over soon."
"Really?" Twilight said in disbelief.
"Indeed. The red worrier has a good stance, it reduces fatigue, he'll stay strong. See that glow on his horn, he is enchanting a spell on his sword as we speak. And when the white and blue one goes for the point, the red will take the opening and he'll strike. He's looking for a decisive blow. Thats the difference between these two."
Shining then charges at Fire.' "Come back to us, Shining." Fire' blocks the attack and cast his spell, causing his sword to catch fire. He then releases the block. "This should brake the spell." He then hits Shining. The group, except for Deker hold their breath. Soon, red electricity comes from Shining as a ball of green fire floats up from him and disappears.
"What have you done!? BLUE! MY PUPPET!" Madimot yells out. Shining then falls to the ground.
"Shining!" Cadence said as she and the others leave Deker and head for Shining.
"I was right." Deker said to himself as he looks at Firebrand. "The Fire Avatar is the perfect opponent for my Uramasa." He then leaves.
"Ugh. What happened?" Shining asked when he sees his sister, wife, and friends around him.
"You were under a changelings control again, Shining."
"Oh. Is that all, Twiley"
"Fire Avatar! You had this planed all along!" Madimot yells at him.
"Yeah. When we fought in the forest, I instinctively used a spell that protected my mind from your control. I realized I can do the same for Shining, which is why I had to fight him." Fire' explained.
"Wait. We were fighting?"
"Yeah. Because your such a good fighter, it took me a lot longer to charge up the spell."
"Thanks. Now, lets fight something that isn't our friend." Fire' then nodes as he and Agua, Blitz, and Terra become their elemental forms.
"Don't be so sure." Madimot said as he hit his whip against the ground. "Tiggy, get them!" The white tiger gets up and charges them.
"I'll take care of the tiger. You gays take care of the changeling."
"You got it, Fire.'" Shining said to him. Fire' then heads for the tiger. He stalls it by moving from place to place. He then charges his magic and cast the same spell on his sword that he used to free Shining. When he hits, green flames leave the tiger and disappears. When Fire' turns back to normal, the tiger walks up to him and begins to lick him. "OK. OK. Settle down boy."
After getting hit by a few attack, Madimot sees what just happened. "Oh no! Now Tiggy is against me too!"
"Show over, changeling!" Shining said to him.
"Terra, I have an idea, but we need time!"
"You got it, Fire'!" Terre then hits her scythe against the ground and a crack opens under Madimot. He then sinks in due to his shied weighing him down.
"No! I'm earthquaking in my boats! This can't happen to me! I'm the baddest of the bad!" Terra, Agua, Blitz, and Fire' then go into their Avatar States and jump forward. Madimot get out just in time to see what is happening.
"4 Element Strike!" The four Avatars yell as they hit Madimot on at a time in this order, Earth (Terra), Water (Agua), Lighting (Blitz), and Fire (Firebrand). When the land behind him, Madimot is begins to fall to the ground.
"This can't happen! I'm the baddest of the bad!" He yells before exploding.
"Hey. I thought you gays weren't meant to hurt others?"
"Yes, Rainbow. Were not meant to hurt other ponies. The dragon spirit didn't say evil creatures like changelings." Fire' pointed out. The group soon laugh as the tiger leaves for the forest.
==================================================================
Later that night on a mountain not far away, Deker is siting in front of a fire in his pony form. He then partially pulls out his Uramasa. "Patience, Uramasa. At last we have found him." He then remembers how Fire' was able to free Shining Armor from Madimot's spell. "All that remains is to find the right place and time. And then the most epic duel in history will commence." |
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