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jroddie | 505 | 57 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2012-09-29T02:34:26+00:00 | 2013-02-07T22:11:17+00:00 | 1,063 | Chapter 57
“I know.” Othello agreed. I walked closer to the outside and looked out. It was definitely Equestria, with the bright pastels and the cheery air, but it was horrifyingly different. The fun houses and the countryside were there, but there were no ponies to be found. We were wedged between two houses in an alleyway, tucked neatly out of sight from the main square. Dark blood was splattered all across the square, even covering a decapitated life-size statue of Princess Celestia. I looked up. A full moon hung low in the sky, illuminating the streets with an eerie glow. The moon. The beautiful, beautiful Equestrian moon. I felt an ache deep in my stomach when I realized how close I was so close to Luna. I was about to walk out into the street when Finder grabbed me by the waistband of my pants and pulled me back. I landed hard on my backside. I was about to yell at Finder when he shushed me.
“Keep quiet,” He whispered. “They’re about to feed.”
“Feed?” I started, but Finder shushed me again. I turned slowly to look when the screaming started. I snapped to attention when the first pony, a yellow mare with orange mane, ran past the alley. I patted the ground to the side of me for the trusty sidearm that Jamal kept with him at nearly all times. I panicked when I didn’t find it. I turned in horror when there were more screams. Two more ponies darted past the Tardis, then a black blur. I blinked again, thinking that I saw something that wasn’t there. Then, another pony ran past the alley, but he connected with the corner of a house and tumbled down into the alleyway. He groaned with pain, clutching his shoulder and trying not to be noticed. I watched like a person would watch a car crash. Suddenly, a gigantic black thing ran past the alley. I froze, feeling helpless in its shadow of the creature. I felt a chill as the shadow came back. Othello gasped next to me, and I shook helplessly. It rounded the corner to the alley where we were hiding, looking for the injured quarry. I couldn’t describe it properly. It wasn’t quite like the spider that attacked me the day I died. It wasn’t quite an Angelic. It was just a monster. It towered nearly six feet, with bright red eyes and a maw lined with fangs. Tendrils of saliva dripped from its mouth and a pointed tongue darted from the ivory. It… It was an abomination. The injured pony, a dark green colt, saw the monster and started to scream. It was loud and blood-curdling, making my hairs stand on end. I broke my eyes from the scene with much difficulty and dashed back further into the Tardis. Othello grabbed my arm and tugged, stopping me in my tracks.
“What are you doing, Edwin?!” He whispered urgently. I shook off his arm and scowled.
“I might only be a human, but goddammit, I’m still a Numbered!” I retorted quietly, looking for Jamal’s revolver. I found it in a chair next to the Console and picked it up. I cocked the hammer as I walked out of the Tardis. I looked the monstrosity in the eyes and leveled the pistol at it. It turned from the pony to me, looking angered. I growled and pulled the trigger. The head of the monster flew back as if it were hit with a bat. I fired all of the rest of the rounds into the beast, screaming in rage as I did so. The monster writhed and fell back, finally landing on the ground with a disproportionate thunk. I threw the gun to the ground and picked up the pony. It shivered helplessly in my arms as I carried him to safety. There was a loud bang behind me, making me stumble. I turned to look and saw another monster, this one with multiple tongues sticking out of its mouth. My eyes widened in crippling fear as I watched it lumber towards me. I tried to run to the opening of the Tardis, but something grabbed my ankle. I fell hard, trying not to crush the pony. I turned back to see that the Creature had one of his tongues wrapped around my ankle. I got the pony out from under me and pushed it to the Tardis. It looked back to me, fear still bright in his eyes.
“Run, dammit! Run!” I shouted while the monster slobbered on my foot. The unicorn blinked his bright green eyes and shook his head with a devious grin. I felt my fear mix with confusion. The pony blinked. Its’ eyes switched from bright greet to a pale yellow.
“And miss out on a fight like this?” The pony said in a rich, smooth contralto. I blinked, stupefied by the out-of-character voice for the male pony. I watched with growing surprise as the pony exploded in a puff of shimmering golden dust. I turned away from the cloud to the monster that was now reeling me in. I could see a bit of ragged meat stuck between two of his fangs. The thought of where it came from made my stomach roil. The gold dust settled around me. I turned back to look back to where the green unicorn was. He wasn’t there anymore. I looked up at the pony that was there now, confusion replaced with a frightening excitement. The pony blinked, her eyes turning a bright white. I covered my head and quickly turned away from the blinding light, hearing the world turn completely silent for only a moment. A warm liquid splattered onto my body, and I tried not to think too hard about what it was. I looked back to my ensnared leg and shook off the now-ownerless tongue. I stood up and looked at the pony, now standing level with her.
“It’s been a while.” She said, cocky. I smiled.
“How did you know?”
“It’s an eighth sense.” She said, her golden mane sparkling dimly in the moonlight. She looked up to the rooftops. “Gespard, Marcus!” She shouted. I turned to look and watched two pegasi appear on a rooftop. “Take them to the sword!” She ordered, and the two ponies fluttered down on feathery wings and ran into the Tardis. I looked to Evangeline, grasping at straws.
“They’ll explain everything. Just go where they tell you to go.” She promised. I hesitated, but finally turned to the Tardis. I walked through the double doors and my fears tackled me. I was in a stranger’s land in a stranger’s body. Magic surrounded and permeated this place, making my skill with the Tardis shockingly inferior to magic users that could bend space-time without Galifreyan technology. I shivered and shakily walked to a command chair. I placed a hand to my forehead and sighed deeply. I was just a hopeless human, stuck in a world never meant for me. I felt a cold apathy seep over me as I watched Finder and the two other ponies talk to each other. My first encounter almost ended with me dying, and I can’t use the only weapon I’ve brought with me. Things were shaping up to be something that I was not qualified to deal with, and I’d only been there for a few minutes. I slowly turned to look at Othello. His forehead glistened with a sheen of sweat and his round wire glasses were fogged up. His brown eyes speared me to my chair. I knew he was thinking the exact same thing I was. We were out of our element. We should leave saving the world to those who can actually hold their own in battle. I gulped.
“Gespard,” I gasped out. The orange pegasus stopped talking to Finder and turned to me, completely enraptured.
“It really is you.” He whispered, adoration in his eyes. I nodded wearily, gesturing to the console.
“Tell me where we need to go.”
“The Vault.”
“The vault?” I tried to sound confused, but the energy was just not there. The orange pony nodded.
“The throne room will be fine.” He sighed. I frowned.
“Can you guys just turn back into regular ponies?” I ventured. Marcus turned to me, disguised as a red pegasus.
“No. We can’t remove our guise until we’re in the Royal Estate.” He explained. I shivered.
“Tardis, go to the Throne room.” I asked, not remembering that the Tardis wouldn’t accept voice commands from me anymore. I got up shakily and put in the commands manually. I looked up at the pillar, regret strong in my stomach. I felt something come to rest on my shoulder. I looked and saw Othello.
“Edwin, what’s wrong?” He whispered. I shook my head and turned back to the Console.
“We shouldn’t have come.” I sighed out. Othello grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. He had a rough scowl on his face and a finger pointed at me.
“You’re the one that wanted to come here. You’re the one that took the initiative, doing God only knows what to get the Tardis. You’re the one that saved that pony. You didn’t have to.
“I had to.”
“That’s exactly what I mean! You take it so damn personally! In your mind, there isn’t any other choice! You can’t just let them go and let nature take its course!” He shouted. I felt anger replace regret in my gut. I grabbed Othello by his black sweater and shook him.
“When we became Numbereds the choice was made for us! We can’t just decide anymore! But look at us!” I finished, letting Othello go and gesturing for him to look at me. “We’re humans! We’re not equipped to deal with this! When we were ponies, we had bodies that were made for this fight! We had bodies that could tear through mountains! We had bodies that could bring the dead back to life! We had bodies that could literally do whatever we wanted to do! But look at us now!” I shouted at him. “We’re just perfectly normal humans. Look at them!” I pointed to Marcus, Gespard, and Finder. “They’re the ones that should be fighting for a free Equestria. Not us. I would. I would in a heartbeat. But I can’t. I just can’t.” I sighed. Othello just stood there, stupefied. The trio of ponies stood there openmouthed. I frowned. Finder stepped forward, his dark purple eyes wary under the light grey mane.
“What… What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to send Othello and Marcus back to Canterlot. Othello… I can’t decide what’s best for you. You can make your own choice. Stay and fight, or come back to Earth with me.” I said to him, feeling slightly sad. “Finder, I’m taking you back to the Composer. Right now, Equestria isn’t your home. And I’m sorry, everyone. I- I just can’t.” I finished. They all were so crestfallen. I felt horrible. It was like someone twisted a dagger in my stomach. I frowned and pushed a few buttons on the console. I returned to my command chair and just waited for the Tardis to finish navigating. Othello and all the ponies stood where they were. They didn’t speak, they didn’t argue. They just stood. I felt like I was making the right decision. All I could do in Equestria as a human was die. I didn't have the ability to fight like the other Numbereds did. I was about to get up and check on the readouts when a huge lurch threw everyone everywhere. I landed on one of the metal floor grates hard, almost knocking me out. I moaned on the grate for a few seconds before I could muster the energy to get up. I clutched my forehead, feeling the blood start to ooze out. I looked around.
“Is everyone alright?” I asked a little bit too loud. I heard a whole lot of moaning, but nobody said yes. I walked around the Console and found Othello, who was lying on his back and clutching his arm.
“I think it’s broken.” He gasped out. I looked at his hand. His thumb was on the wrong side.
“I think it is too. Come on, let’s get you to a hospital.” I tried to say without vomiting. I got one hand under his shoulder and the other around his knees. I swung my foot up on the console and flipped a lever. Inertia chambers slid down from the ceiling, coming to rest on either side. I walked over to one and stuffed Othello in one.
“It really hurts.” He whispered hoarsely. I frowned and held a finger up to Othello. I reached for a black leather bag nearby and rummaged through it.
“You’re lucky he doesn't call himself the Carpenter.” I muttered to myself. I found the container I was looking for, a black cylinder with a silicone cup on top. I held it up to Othello’s nose and squeezed it. He inhaled and relaxed visibly. I put the medicine back in the bag.
“Can I have another puff? Still hurts.” He groaned. I smiled.
“I could, but that would literally kill you. Insanely strong opiates. Let’s just see how one puff works.” I explained. I was about to turn away when I remembered something. “Oh yeah, don’t look at your hand.” I finished, knocking on the chamber. The glass slid down over Othello, silencing his questions. I gave him a wave as he floated up in the chamber. He smiled weakly. I turned away from him to the rest of the Tardis. I looked through the bad again and found something to bandage up my head with.
“Anyone else?” I asked the Tardis at large. There was a slew of half-hearted nos. I smiled and walked out to the Console. I checked the coordinates. I turned to walked out of the door but turned back and grabbed the monitor by its sides, daring it to tell me the second time. Sure enough, the thing had the balls to lie to me again. I frowned and walked out of the door to make sure it was lying to me. It wasn’t.
“Hello Edwin.” The Doctor said. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I couldn’t say anything for a minute or two. The Doctor smiled. “Come on out, the air shield is expanded.” He said. I walked out into the barren wastes of Sigmus five. I looked at the black ash around me, seeing the occasional glint of glass. I looked up at the sky to see the Septimus and Culaan spinning slowly. I smiled, remembering the first time I saw them. I looked down at the Doctor.
“You’ve known this whole time.” I whispered. He nodded, understanding everything I wanted to say but didn’t.
“Yes. I couldn’t have told you.”
“Do you know what happens now? What happens when we go to Equestria?”
“Yes.” He said, slightly ashamed. His wings fluttered slightly. I frowned.
“Will you help us?”
“Only as much as I’ve helped already. There’s something that I can do, though.” He qualified. He walked around to the side of my Tardis. He gestured for me to follow. I did, and looked to where the Doctor pointed with his hoof.
“Oh my.” I breathed.
“I am the Doctor from the far future. I know how your story ends, Edwin. I could tell you right now. But I won’t. But I do need to tell you that everything will be fine. And there,” The Doctor shook his outstretched hoof, “Is proof.” |
jroddie | 505 | 58 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2012-11-18T04:57:55+00:00 | 2013-02-07T22:14:07+00:00 | 772 | Chapter 58
I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I could tell that it was mine. There was a light blue earth pony holding it with her hooves. Her hooves were wrapped in little paper booties, as if she were holding something that belonged in a museum. She looked around every now and then fearfully, swishing her pale grey mane, as if she was afraid something would come up and breathe on the thing. The thing itself, upon inspection, was found out to be a sword. This sword was more of a rapier than the sword I summon. It was painfully thin, as far as swords go. It very much resembled Othello’s sword that he made for Celestia, but it was decorated with a palate of dark blues instead of white and pink. The shape of the sword was very different from anything I had ever summoned before. The handle and the crossguard were thin and wispy, embellished with jewels and careful metalwork that resembled vines. The vines were blued steel embellished with thin lines of shiny platinum. The entire sword was iridescent. I looked back at the Doctor.
“What is it?”
“It’s the first sword you will ever sing.” He said, somber. I snorted.
“I’ve summoned lots of swords. None of them ever looked like this.” The Doctor smiled.
“I never said you summoned this one, Edwin. I said you sang this one.” He explained. I frowned for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant. The strange verb struck a familiar chord in my mind, but I couldn’t think of what it meant.
“What does that mean?” I asked. The Doctor sighed shook his head.
“I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. I’m not allowed-”
“To tell me about my future, I know. I’m a little bit too busy for your mind games, Doctor. I’ve got to get Othello fixed up and get some ponies back to Equestria. So unless you have anything else to say, I’ve got to go.” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. I turned to get back in my Tardis when the Doctor stopped me.
“Edwin.” He said simply, his voice laden with worry. I looked over my shoulder, not turning all of the way. He hesitated for a moment. “She still... She still loves you, Edwin. Please remember that.” He said. I nodded, turning back to my Tardis and walking away.
“Where were you?” Finder demanded, perched on top of the console. He was stomping away, trying to get the Tardis to do something. I looked quizzically at Finder.
“What are you doing?”
“You were taking so long! We have to go! Othello is starting to giggle!” he shouted, pointing at Othello’s tube. Sure enough, he was shaking silently in the inertia chamber, his mouth open with a smile. I frowned.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I agreed, walking up to the console. I grabbed Finder by the scruff of his neck and set him down on the ground. He huffed indignantly and stomped over to Gespard and Marcus, now clearly green and blue earth ponies. They were whispering with their heads together, peeking over their shoulders every now and then. I eyed them from my side of the Console, trying to figure out what they were saying. I frowned and flicked a few switches and keys on the console. A screen nearby blacked out for a moment, then booted up with a plain text program. I grabbed it, pulling it closer, and started to read.
Marcus: We can’t let him leave. Can we?
Gespard: He can’t fight. He’s already used his gun, and I’m fairly sure he doesn’t have any more cartridges. He can’t do that again.
Marcus: What?
Gespard: Oh, you know what I mean. But that’s beside the point. He’s no good to us anymore as a Numbered.
Marcus: You’re kidding me. We need him to stay.
Gespard: Oh please. There’s not a chance that we can turn him back. You’re just worried that your little girlie is going to get hurt.
Marcus: Don’t you dare talk about Eve that way. I’ll make a sequoiah sprout in your stomach.
Gespard: Please. You’ve made that threat so many times over the years.
Marcus: I’ve meant it every time. You leave her alone.
Gespard: Okay, Okay. But he’s a liability here. How did he get the Tardis?
Marcus: I don’t know. I don’t know. Is he even a Numbered anymore?
Gespard: He’s still Edwin. He should still feel devoted. But he can’t act on it. He’s useless.
Marcus: We can change him back. There are unicorns in the Royal estate skilled at transformation magic, and we can-
Gespard: Listen to yourself. You want to turn an unskilled... Thing into a Numbered. Even if we could do that, we wouldn’t need Edwin to do it. We could just get a Royal guard and change it into a Numbered. He would be loyal, obey orders, and know how to use his gifts wisely. It’s just not practical. But his skill as a pilot, on the other hoof...
Marcus: You want to use him.
Gespard: Yes. He could take us right to Cloudsdale without alerting anything. He’s not as eccentric as the Doctor. He’ll listen to one of us. If not, we’ll just have to take it by force.
Marcus: Can we take it?
Gespard: We’re Numbereds, Marcus. Reality is our plaything. We can do whatever we like. Even if he won’t help us, you’ve had experience piloting it.
Marcus: Is this the right thing to do?
Gespard: It can save Equestria from the Angelics once and for all.
Marcus: But...
Gespard: But? But nothing. We all want a free Equestria. Do you remember the peacetimes?
Marcus: Of course I do. It’s the most wonderful thing.
Gespard: We can do it. We can get that back. All we need to do is take the Tardis.
Marcus: I don’t know...
Gespard: If you won’t help me, I’ll take it myself!
I heard the last line of text out loud as it appeared on the screen. I looked up to see Gespard, his eyes glowing bright white, suspended in the air. Clear tendrils of water rose around him. I had a moment of panic before I reacted. My hands ran all over the console, flying at buttons and switches. Gespard flew around the console and into me faster than I could react to it. He collided with me, throwing me to the door. I was completely drenched, dazed, lying in front of the door. I was pulled up from the floor. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the water out of my face. Gespard was standing in front of me, eyes glowing, with a snarl on his face.
“You aren’t going to leave Equestria. You’re going to stay and help us fight the Angelics. You’re too valuable to leave.” He said, his voice cold. I gurgled, trying to talk past the water in my throat. Gespard released me, letting me fall down on the cold metal grate with a hard bang. I opened my mouth to cough and felt the water rush out of my throat. I coughed when all of it was out, struggling to breathe still. I put a fist down on the grate, trying to get up again. Gespard was still standing over me, radiating magic. I tried to say something, but only coughed again.
“Speak up. Are you going to help us willingly?” He asked, cold as ever.
“Tardis” I rasped out before breaking into a coughing fit. Marcus decided to interject.
“Gespard, Let him be! He’s done nothing wrong!” Marcus shouted.
“Hey, What’s going on?” Finder asked, oblivious to just about everything. I coughed again, trying to speak. Gespard growled, stomping his hoof.
“Edwin, you are going to help us or I will kill you.” He emphasized. I coughed again, still trying to speak. Gespard levitated me in the air. I felt a warmth in my throat where Gespard healed me so I could speak. “Well?” He asked, his cobalt eyes impatient. I gulped.
“Panic!” I shouted loudly. Gespard screwed up his face in confusion. The Tardis responded, sounding the blisteringly loud alarm that heralded the Panic button. Gespard released his magic. I crashed to the floor of the Tardis. In the confusion, I rolled to the end of the grate and crawled under, searching for anything that could help me stave off Gespard. I found the polished wood handle of a gun. I pulled it out of it’s snug little hiding spot and held it close to my body. I was about to figure out what it did at Gespard when a great sucking noise filled the Tardis. The grate above me lifted away and out of the Tardis. I felt the sharp rush of wind as everything but Othello tried to leave the Tardis at the same time. I spilled out of the door first like water through a funnel, watching Gespard, Finder, and Marcus get sucked out after me. I let out a gasp, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. All of the air in my lungs rushed out at once, leaving my throat sore. I blinked, looking back at the Tardis. It was framed against a starry nebula, rapidly shrinking into the starscape. I watched other Tardii slowly appear and disappear, catching the other occupants that were unceremoniously ejected into space. My hands settled out in front of me, and I suddenly found my vision growing blurry at the corners. My mouth and eyes were dry, my body was sore, and I couldn’t hear anything. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat, loud in my ears, thudding. My dry eyes blinked slowly, stretching tight skin over my eyes. My lungs begged for air. I gasped at the blackness, trying to get the air that was never there. I gagged silently in the beautiful starscape, thinking that this was a beautiful place to die. The blurry edges of my world slowly, slowly faded to black. I blinked one last time, feeling the deep, deep cold of empty space invade my body.
Something hit my face. I opened my eyes, my lungs heaving. I lifted my chest off of the floor, feeling the cool air around me. I touched my face with one of my hands, marvelling at the smooth skin. I sat up, looking down at my body. My red flannel shirt and slacks were completely ragged and threadbare, looking like they’ve been through a blender. The wooden-handled gun was resting next to me, emitting a faint blue light. I looked up at my surroundings. I was inside of the Tardis, but it wasn’t the Tardis I was using. Johnathan Cooper, the man from the hospital that I knew to be the Doctor, stood with his fists on his hips and a scowl on his face. The other Doctor, the pony, stood fluttering his wings impatiently with a scowl on his face too. I smiled weakly.
“Hey.” I ventured, trying to diffuse the situation. The human Doctor spoke first.
“It’s not fun to be left half-naked in the wilderness. It’s also not fun to explain to the police why there are three obliterated helicopters in the middle of a cemetery. It’s not fun to find a Tardis in the middle of a class-3 sector. So let’s dispense with pleasantries.”
“He wants his Tardis back.” The Pony Doctor said, his voice stern. I frowned.
“I kinda need it.” I tried to explain, but the human Doctor shook his head
“No, you don’t. You’re lucky that this little bloke found me in time to get it away from you. Can you believe that he had a Walters assault suit?” The human exclaimed in disbelief. The pony nodded, clearly impatient.
“Yes, I can remember. Now this is where it gets tricky-” The pony stated, talking to me now. “You obviously had assistance from a Time Lord.” The pony said. I blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“You were in possession of a controlled substance- Penultainium. It’s the fuel used to make the energy for the suit and it’s also the slugs that the suit fired. It’s extremely dangerous. Have you been feeling itchy? Have any inexplicable blisters on your body?” He asked. When I shook my head, he started up again, but was cut off by the human Doctor.
“It’s a level 9 regulated ore- fissile, radioactive, and impossible to handle safely. It’s been known to cause burns, blindness, heat blisters, hell, people that’ve been exposed to this stuff have had children with three extra heads. It’s dangerous, illegal, and literally impossible to smuggle onto a planet like Midnight.”
“I don’t know about that.” I retorted. The pony coughed, and then rushed into an explanation.
“Walking across the lobby you set off five alarms, three of them attuned to the radiation signature of penultainium. There are five thousand, nine hundred and sixty three alarms throughout the entire resort. You only set of five alarms. Thank God those five were enough to deploy the Judoon. With the penultainium alone, you've racked up enough crimes to earn yourself a trial at the Shadow Proclamation.” He finished. I frowned.
“Wait, you mean that-”
“It’s not your only crime? Of course. The Walter’s corporation itself is a front for a whole host of illegal smuggling operation and a slew of crime families. Almost every single product they make is endorsed and funded by mob money. The fact that you bought something from them is, again, enough to make you a galactic criminal a few times over.” The human Doctor said
“Please, I’m sure there’s a market for-
“Market for what?” The pony said. “A market for weapons systems that can destroy planets? There’s a market for it, and guess what color it is. Black, Edwin. These things are so illegal that you can get arraigned for just looking at them. It’s a crime most times to be in the same room with these things. You’ve broken so many laws that you should be pulling shards out of your feet with tweezers. It’s unreal. You’ve broken so many laws so quickly that I’d chew my own wings off if you didn’t have any outside help.”
“You’re saying that I’ve had help from a Time Lord.” I said out loud. The human Doctor scoffed.
“Please. There aren’t any more. Most likely you’ve had help from someone with a temporal device. It most likely wouldn’t be a Tardis- Those are few and far between. But you’ve got to have had something to help you out.” The Doctor said. I frowned.
“So... What’s gonna happen?” I asked. I had to play it dumb. I couldn’t tell them about the Composer. For all I knew, they could have hunted him. I couldn’t bring heat down on my future self. I owed the Composer that much.
“You’re going to tell us how you smuggled nine kilograms of penultainium onto Midnight. If that happens, we won’t extradite you and the Walters suit to the Shadow Proclamation. If you’re nice, we’ll let you keep the suit to fight Angelics.” He explained. I bit my lip. That put me in a real bind. The suit could definitely kill a whole load of Angelics, but I couldn’t reveal anything about the Composer. I thought about it for a moment. I smiled when I finally realized what I could say. The human Doctor frowned.
“What is it? What’s that grin?” He demanded.
“I can’t tell you about your future.” I almost laughed out. |
jroddie | 505 | 59 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2012-12-03T03:20:28+00:00 | 2012-12-03T03:20:28+00:00 | 873 | Chapter 59
“You should have seen the look on their faces, Othello. I’ve never had so much power over the Doctor.” I spoke to the Console room. I heard Othello’s tinny laughter over the Tardis’ intercom.
“Really? They just let you go?” He asked, voice distorted by the intercom. Othello was in the sickbay, with a surgical robot working to place his arm. When I got back to him, the Tardis told me that they had to operate immediately or he would lose the arm. He was so drugged up I was surprised that he could blink, let alone speak.
“Yeah, they did. They made me wade through space for a minute, but they still let me go.” I told him. He groaned in pain for a moment. I perked up, looking up to the source of the noise. “Are you alright?” I asked. Othello didn’t say anything for a moment, but he just gasped.
“I’ll live.” He groaned. I nodded and turned back to the Console. He started screaming, but the sound was cut off suddenly. I shivered, trying to concentrate on the Console. I keyed in the coordinates, looking with faint regret at the screen It showed the gross galactic coordinates in Standard form.
Universe A
Virgo Supercluster
Milky Way
Sol System
Earth
United States
California
San Francisco
890 El Camino del Mar
I read the location several times before it finally sank in. This was where Jamal lived when he was alive. It was a house I’ve never been to. Surely it was nice. The backyard led to the ocean, the neighborhood was amazing, and it even had a view of the Golden Gate. I could live there for the rest of my life, happy, healthy, and alone. I sighed. I typed in a new sequence, watching the destination I entered fill up the screen.
Universe D
Alcubierre group
Equus system
Celestia’s star
Equestria
Canterlot
The Royal Estate
Royal Suite 2
I read this location’s name even more than the first. This was where my home was. Where Luna and I paged through books together, where we slept, where we lived. It was where I came home to. I never felt comfortable anywhere else. It was the place that my mind sought refuge. But... My human body didn’t belong there. Jamal King never belonged in Equestria, and he never ever will. Only my mind did. It was like a puzzle piece forced to fit in place. I couldn’t bring Jamal’s body to Equestria, but I couldn’t live with myself if I went back to Earth. I waited, sitting in front of the monitor, for Othello to get done with his arm.
Othello crawled out from the floor, pulling himself out from under a grate. I was holding the gun that I found when Gespard tried to kill me. I was tapping the tip of it against my temple absentmindedly. Othello walked up to the console and looked at the monitors that I was looking at. He couldn’t hope to understand the flowing data, so he just tried to talk to me.
“They fixed it! They cloned one up for me, good as new!” Othello said, rolling up the sleeves of his black sweater and wiggling the fingers of his once-broken arm. There was a seam where the unblemished cloned flesh met the aged skin. I glanced at him, but kept tapping the handgun and looking at the data. Othello’s smile faltered.
“Othello, where do you want to go?” I asked him. Othello shrugged.
“Let’s go back to that Rangoon place, I’m hungry.” Othello said. I slammed my hand down on the console with a loud bang. Othello jumped.
“Not that!” I shouted, trying to get him to focus, “It’s this-” I said, shaking my gun at the two screens. “Are we going to Earth, or are we going to Equestria?” I shouted, trying to make it known to Othello how important this was. He gulped.
“I, uh, I... I don’t...” Othello stuttered along. I sighed.
“I think that we should go to Equestria.” I sighed out. Othello looked confused.
“But I thought that you didn’t want to go.” He said quietly. I sighed, throwing the gun out of my hands and rubbing them over my head stubble.
“We’ve come at least this far. We should go the rest of the way.”
“Good. Good.” Othello said, completely overeager to go. I rubbed my eyes.
“We need to be completely sure, Othello. Completely sure. We’re in this together. Do you want to go? We might not come back. We might die there. We’re going to have to live with our choice for the rest of our lives.” I told him, making sure that he understood his choice. He still nodded, eager to get back. I sighed.
“Okay, Othello. Strap in.” I said, pulling down the harness in my chair and making sure that I was firmly attached to the thing. Othello frowned.
“We’re just going to Canterlot, right?” He asked.
“Well, before the Doctor pulled us off course and Gespard tried to kill me, we were jumping to get you back home. We’re stuck between dimensions, somewhere between Equestria’s dimension and Earth’s.” I explained. Othello shrugged, letting his hands slap back down on his thighs. I sighed. “We need to dimension hop. It takes longer, it’s more dangerous, and it’s not very comfortable.”
“Do I have to wear one of those harnesses?” Othello asked. I shrugged.
“You don’t have to, but then I’d have to scrape you off of the walls when we got there.
“That bad?” Othello asked, belting himself down to one of the nearby chairs
“Frankly, I’m surprised that the Tardis can survive dimension hopping. It’s like putting an egg in the blender for a few days, putting your hand in to get it while it’s still running, and pull out an intact egg. If it was up to me, We’d both be in inertia chambers, but I need to constantly adjust the controls and that’s something I can’t do remotely. You could be in a chamber too, but I might need your help. So it’s gonna be dangerous, and it’s gonna be hard. But we’re in this together, Othello.” I finished, making sure that he understood the risk. He nodded, determined. I tightened the straps of my chair, making sure that I would stay firmly attached to my chair. I gulped and leaned forward to grab a lever, straining against my straps to reach it. I turned back to Othello. He was grinning like crazy.
“You ready?”
“I’ve been ready for the last forty years.” He promised. I smiled a toothy grin and
pulled the lever.
Five airsickness bags, three dimensions, two hours, and ninety trillion miles later, the Tardis finally stopped shaking. With fumbling hands, I managed to unstrap myself. I fell forward out of my chair. I clenched the grate with my hands, trying not to heave for the hundredth time. Cold and clammy, I crawled past an unconscious Othello and clawed my way to the Tardis door. I grabbed it and pulled it toward me, hurling myself out of the Tardis. I got up on my elbows and gasped for air that didn’t smell like vomit. It took me awhile to notice the vibrant purple carpet that I was lying on. The sumptuous weave was so soft I loathed getting up. But I had to. I pushed myself up to sitting and just looked at what was around me. The halls. Pony suits of armor, vases, tapestries, and chandeliers were absolutely everywhere. Everything was a little bit smaller than I remembered it to be, but I didn’t mind. I was home. I let the emotion suffuse me. I was home! This was where I belonged! I smiled and got to my feet. I closed the Tardis door and walked out into the hallway. I wandered aimlessly, trying to find anything.
I could feel how dirty my flannel shirt and my slacks were. My skin felt incredibly dirty. I tried to navigate through the halls, trying to find one of the scattered bathrooms. Pushing open doors at random didn’t work very well. I finally managed to push open a door and found a gleaming copper tub with shining faucets that promised hot water. I couldn’t strip down fast enough. A few minutes later I found myself steeping all of the adventure out of my bones. I relaxed. I was still holding the gun that I found in the Tardis, but I wasn’t expecting anything to jump in. I was just trying to relax. Getting thrown into space is unusually strenuous. I let myself rest, working hard to do nothing at all. I almost fell asleep.
“Wake up.” Something said, prodding at my face. I started, nearly jumping out of the tub. I looked all around me, wheeling all around. I finally focused on an emaciated, perfectly white pony. He had dirty bandages covering one of his eyes. He didn’t have a cutie mark from what I could see. All of these details coalesced in my mind and made me recognize the pony.
“Columnus?” I whispered, too surprised for anything else. He nodded.
“I see that you made the crossing. Regrettable.” He said calmly, his voice extremely hoarse. I was surprised that he could speak.
“Are you okay? You look like you should be dead.”
“I am weak, foal. My body is fresh and untempered.” He explained cryptically. I frowned, not understanding. I really didn’t want to press the point further, so I changed the subject.
“So why are you here?” I asked. Columnus tried to speak, but he bent over and started coughing. He sounded like he was going to hack up a lung. I waited for it to pass. I realized, while he was coughing, how strange this scene must look. A grown black man in an undersized tub, holding a gun, talking to a thin, coughing pony. It almost made me laugh. But Columnus perked back up and remembered what he was talking about.
“I realize that events in Equestria move quickly. We no longer have the luxury of time, so I shall try to be concise. You must get Othello to the Throne room. He must reach the sword.” Columnus rasped, his voice urgent.
“Why does he have to do that?” I asked, waving the gun to pantomime confusion. Columnus sighed.
“Suffice it to say that he needs to get there. Where is he now?”
“He’s in the Tardis. But why...” I trailed off, but Columnus shushed me. He crept toward the door, his ears twitching. I frowned, standing up in the tub. I leaned toward the sound that I could almost hear on the edge of my senses. Suddenly, the door to the bathroom exploded, sending splinters everywhere. I held up a hand to shield my eyes. An Angelic stormed into the room- he was immediately transmuted into a grey stone statue and toppled to the floor. The other Angelic that stepped in wasn’t so lucky. I raised my gun and fired it. There wasn’t any bang, and there wasn’t any smoke. There was a simple humming noise and the Angelic suddenly had a perfect square hole in his head. It was as if someone had cut out a square cross section out of an Angelic and left the rest of the body completely unaltered. The Angelic stumbled for a few steps and then fell, unmoving. I looked down at the gun in complete disbelief. I didn’t have time to think about this before Columnus waved me forward. I followed, trusting him, in the moment, implicitly. I followed him out of the door, stepping over the Angelic statue and into the hall beyond. We didn’t encounter anything else, and we arrived at the Tardis without incident. I walked in to the Tardis. Columnus tried to follow me in but I stopped him at the door.
“I’m not going anywhere where you can go.” I said. Columnus frowned.
“You would refuse me passage?”
“Yeah. It’s gonna be hard enough to get the Princesses to believe me without you. You’re going to have to figure out your own way around.”
“The Angelics could possess me in my weakened state.”
“Then I’ll have to kill you later down the road.” I said without hesitation. Columnus appeared to be offended.
“You would leave your own mentor to death?” He asked. I smiled.
“You’re not a mentor. And I could kill you now if that would make you feel any better.” I said, waving the gun. Columnus smiled.
“Blunt as always. I’ll pass on your offer, Foal. Making the Jump is strenuous as it is without having to do it twice.” He said, turning around and walking down the hallway when he was done. I watched him go for a moment and then shrugged. I closed the door and turned to the Tardis. Othello was staring at me, his mouth open. I held my hands out
“What are you looking at?”
“Where did your clothes go?” Othello demanded. I looked down at my body and only saw brown skin
“Where did my clothes go?!” I shouted, looking up at the ceiling like it would answer my question. Othello chuckled.
“Put something on, for Celestia’s sake. You can’t go anywhere like that.” He said. I frowned, trying to remember how to get to the closets. I remembered my way and managed to find one of the Doctor’s suits, along with a pair of black leather penny loafers. I walked back into the console room and navigated without saying a word. Othello was trying not to laugh the whole time, but he wasn’t doing very well.
“What are we going to do?” I asked Othello. He stopped laughing immediately.
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve made it to Equestria.”
“We fight. This is still our home, Edwin. We’re still Numbered.” He said, completely convinced. I nodded.
“Well, there you go.” I said, pointing to the Tardis door. Othello looked, walking towards the door. He pulled it open slowly. I was close on his heels, holding the square gun at the ready. Othello finally revealed the throne room. It was completely empty. There wasn’t a single pony in there. The windows to the throne room were darkened, as if it were night time. There was a table in the middle of the throne room, with a glass box on top of it. The glass box was holding none other than the first sword ever sung. I gasped out loud, knowing its history. The white and pink sword was glowing slightly in the darkness, radiating light from an unknown source.
“Othello, look, it’s-” I started, but Othello shusshed me. His face was serious. I stopped in my tracks, suddenly afraid of the sword. I watched, silently, as Othello approached it. He finally came up to the table. He placed his hands on the top of the glass case. He was silent for a long time.
“I can feel it.” He whispered. I frowned
“What?”
“I can feel it. It’s been waiting for me.” He said. He was quiet for another moment. Suddenly, he pushed the glass case off of the sword. It shattered when it hit the floor, spreading glass all over the floor. I watched Othello slowly reach for the sword.
“I... I don’t think that you should do that, Othello.” I cautioned, trying to keep Othello from touching it. It could be a serious magical trap. Othello shook his head.
“No, Edwin. This sword is mine.” He stated. I watched in fear as he grasped the hilt. |
jroddie | 505 | 60 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2012-12-13T17:16:14+00:00 | 2012-12-13T17:16:14+00:00 | 813 | Chapter 60
There was an enormous flash of white light. I was blind- All I could see was the white. I stumbled, trying to find out what was going on. I could hear screams and shouts, feel warm splashes on my skin. I got a mouthful of something, and it tasted like iron. I tried to spit it out, but it stuck on my tongue. I flailed around, trying to get my sight back and get my bearings. Something hard hit my head, and all of the white turned to black.
I blinked. I had a weird view of the carpet. It was like a wall. It took me a moment to realize that I was lying on it. I lied there on the carpet, thinking for a moment. I pushed myself up to my feet, looking around. Most of the throne room was untouched, but the blood started a few feet away from me. It started out splotchy and random, but then it started to form patterns. Long lines of red striped the carpet, with the occasional shoeprint. My eyes wandered closer to the table, closer to where Othello was when he touched the sword. A stray limb, a decapitated head, a truncated corpse. The bodies piled up eventually into an actual pile, with its peak located where the table was. It stood a little higher than I did. I looked up at the peak with awe. Not because of the insane violence that it took to create it, but because of who was standing up there. Othello stood at the top of the pile, panting and holding an Angelic up in one hand and the sword in the other. The sword. Othello’s sung sword. It shone with blood. Othello himself was thoroughly splattered, with his right hand looking completely painted, tapering off as his arm led to his shoulder. He looked much less pudgy than the Othello that I picked up. His turtleneck was slashed open across the chest, revealing flat abs. I looked up at him silently as he looked up at the Angelic
“Please, We didn’t know! Don’t-” The Angelic pleaded, but Othello swung his sword up and speared the Angelic with it. The sword entered through his stomach and exited through the gap between its collarbone and its neck. I gasped, surprised by the suddenness of the action. One moment, Othello was holding a living Angelic, and the next he was holding a kabob. He released the corpse, letting it slide off of his sword. He jumped lithely from the pile he made. I stumbled, unconsciously trying to get away from him. He landed as quietly as possible on the tips of his toes. I could see three parallel slashes on his chest as he was walking toward me. He waved his free hand over his chest and the gouges slowly turned back into regular skin. I paled. I fell over backwards, landing hard on the carpet. I held up my gun and pointed it at Othello.
“Please, Othello. Don’t come any closer.” I whispered, trying to hold myself together. Othello stopped in his tracks, surprised. He held his free hand up to his chest, holding it there as if to lend credence to the fact that he was real.
“Edwin, it’s me. Othello.” He assured, taking another step closer. I pointed the gun right above Othello’s head and pulled the trigger. There was a slight hum, and then there was a perfectly square hole in the wall behind the throne. Othello turned to look at the damage. He turned back to me, and I turned back to him, swiveling the gun so it was pointing to his head. Othello looked shocked.
“Please.” I whispered. Othello opened his mouth to say something, but only a hideously loud roar came out. I nearly bit my tongue off. The roar shook me down to my bones. I dropped the gun, trying to find the noise. Othello looked up at the ceiling with a snarl. “What was that!?” I shouted. Othello spat on the ground.
“I hate dragons.” He growled. He waved his free hand over the bank of stained glass windows. The priceless art shattered and blew out, leaving the colored glass to tumble down the cliffs. I could see the dragon flapping his wings far, far away. His slender body and limbs slid through the air, with the occasional flap keeping him into the sky. I felt my breath halt in my chest and my blood run cold. I gulped. It was a dragon. An Angelic dragon. I couldn’t even fight one while I was a pony, let alone now. I looked back to Othello. He looked back at me.
“Want to kill it?” He asked, enthusiastic. I blanched.
“I think that I’d rather stay alive.” I said, shocked. He laughed.
“Do you still have that suit?” He asked. I blanked.
“I really don’t want to.” I said breathlessly. Othello shrugged.
“More for me, then.” He said. He suddenly broke into a sprint, racing toward the windows. He bounded lithely through the broken frames. I rushed over to the windows, nearly leaping out the window by myself. My arms had other ideas and kept me from plummeting to my death. I poked my head out of the window and watched Othello turn into a shrinking dot, growing closer and closer to the ground. He suddenly lit up like a christmas light, shooting away from the cliffs and the ground and to the dragon. The dragon was so far away that I couldn’t properly see Othello’s bright light as he met the dragon. I watched in awe until I just couldn’t. I fell back and collapsed on the carpet, letting the realizations just pour in. We were in Equestria. Finally, irrevocably, here. There was no going back. Not now. We were entrenched. I let that soak in for a little bit, hearing echoes of the distant fight. Othello was strong. Really strong. He was fast, he could fly, he could fight. If only I was courteous enough to leave myself a sword. But Othello did. He was all of the things that he was when he was a pony, but with the convenience of hands. It looked like there wasn’t anything that he couldn’t do. I sighed, pushing my hands up to my temples, overwhelmed with inadequacy. I couldn’t fly. I couldn’t even fight without irradiating the entire continent. It felt bad. Really bad. I kicked my feet in frustration. I heard something rustle behind me, and without even missing a beat, I rolled onto my stomach and fired the square gun at the noise. All I could see was an opaque yellow wall with a perfect square punched through the middle. I looked through the square and saw the angry purple eyes framed in a white face. I gulped.
“H-Hello, Princess.” I stuttered out.
Looking back, I never ever ran faster than I did that day.
“GET OUT OF MY PALACE!” She shouted at me, chasing me down the halls. I leapt up into the air to avoid a sizzling magic bolt. When I landed, I immediately ducked to avoid the next magical missile. I sprinted down the halls, trying to run away from the incensed princess and find the Tardis. I tried to reason with her at the same time.
“Look, I’m sorry that I shot at you, but-” I ducked to avoid another energy ball. “I need to fight the Angelics!” I tried to reason. The Princess just shouted in rage.
“You need to get out of my palace!” She screamed. I just tried to run faster. I dodged magical attacks for a few more minutes when the windows ahead of me exploded. I skidded to a halt, knowing that the Princess would most likely kill me. But Othello leaped through the broken windows ahead of me. I tumbled, running past Othello and landing on the glassless patch of carpet. I turned back, trying to see if Celestia was going to kill me. She stopped right in front of Othello, looking even more enraged than before. She looked down at the sword in Othello’s hand and growled.
“How dare you creatures disgrace him like that!” She shouted. Othello put up a hand.
“Tia, I-” He started, but she snorted. Her horn glowed bright yellow for a moment, and Othello rose off of his feet and flew backwards. He landed hard on his back.
“You filth! First you come and disturb my palace, one of you assaults me, and then another one of you steals a priceless magical artifact from my treasury! If you’re lucky, I might not have you two executed!” Celestia shouted. Othello pushed himself up to his feet, brushing some dust off of his mangled sweater.
“It’s the most valuable artifact you have?” He asked, gesturing to the sword. When Celestia didn’t say anything, He simply added, “Humor me.”
“It is.” She said stiffly, not visibly wanting to cooperate. But I could tell that she was slightly interested in where this would go. She had nothing to lose, and it couldn’t hurt to see what would happen. Othello made a show of looking at the sword for a moment.
“It doesn’t seem powerful enough to earn a place in the treasury.” He commented. Celestia laughed sarcastically.
“You’re one to talk. I’ve seen my throne room. It’s turned you a monster” She said, spitting venom on the last word. I saw how much it hurt Othello to hear that from her. It took him a moment to say something.
“But compared to other artifacts, It’s nothing special. Physical and mental power? It’s a trifle compared to some of the things I know you have. But what makes this one special?” He asked. Celestia answered.
“It was given to me.” She said stiffly. Othello nodded.
“By Somepony special. Somepony that meant a lot to you. Somepony red.” He led. Celestia’s mouth dropped open.
“How do you-” She started, but Othello interrupted her.
“He helped you when you needed it the most. He brought your kingdom back from the brink. He loved you dearly. He’s so very sorry that he had to leave.” Othello said. I could see the tears building in the Princess’ eyes.
“How do you know?” She whispered, trying not to cry. Othello held his hands open wide and said,
“Benvenuti nella riva più calda.” He said. Celestia held a hoof up to her mouth, her tears starting to flow freely. Othello smiled, dropping the sword and walking up to her. He hugged her neck tightly and started to sob. “Bella principessa si, è passato troppo tempo.” He said, his voice shaking. Celestia was beyond words. She was just shocked. I felt happy that Othello finally came home. I got up off of the floor. My joints protested from the run, but my fresh heart showed no signs of going out on me. I put my hands in my pockets and walked off into the palace.
I ran into her.
Sometimes people say ‘Oh, we ran into each other the other day.’ and they mean that they met each other on the street, chatted each other up, maybe had some coffee in a cafe down the street.
I collided with her and sent us both sprawling.
“Ow” I grumbled on the floor. Something poked me hard in the eye. I stayed put on the ground for a moment before getting up. I didn’t see who I ran into, but I did quickly. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think anything. I just watched her get up. Her mane was completely different than I remembered it. It was like looking into a brilliant starscape, revealing the entire universe in one swath of mane. She was a deeper shade of blue than I remembered her. She stood taller and straighter than before, looking like she cared much less about everything. Her teal eyes looked at me, inspecting me like I was something that she was performing a biopsy on. She wasn’t even surprised that I wasn’t a pony. This wasn’t the Luna that I remembered. I gulped.
“What are you doing here?” she asked flatly. I tried to say something. Anything. I couldn’t. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I tried to say something again. It didn’t work. Luna rolled her eyes and started to walk in the direction she was going before managed to I interrupted her.
“Luna.” I said. She stopped, not even looking behind her.
“Yes?” She asked. Her voice wasn’t the soft tone that I remembered. It was stiff, formal. I felt cold.
“It’s me. Edwin.” I said. She didn’t do anything for a moment. But quick as a flash, I was hanging from the ceiling by my feet with a squareness gun in my face. Luna was grinding the gun into my left temple, her face as close to mine as possible.
“How dare you. How dare you. I know what’s happened to Edwin. I buried him. Have you ever buried anyone? Your soul mate? It hurts. It hurts in a way that can never be fixed. I cried so hard for the first few days I just wanted to kill myself so I could meet him again. Whatever jokes you may make, whatever machinations you have, whatever it is that you actually are, don’t bring back Edwin. I’ve tried to keep it down. But if you poke fun at my emotions like that, I will kill you myself. With my hooves.” She said, her words soaked in pain. I felt a wash of empathy for her. I was silent for a while, and she didn’t let me down.
“You buried... him?” I whispered, trying not to refer to myself in the first person. She nodded. “Where?”
It was too extravagant.
The tombstone wasn’t simple. It was one of those two-person stones. It was chiseled white marble, and with gold leaf in the wells of the carved letters.The entire stone was framed with seamless onyx. one side was my name, my cutie mark, and a small passage that I didn’t read. On the other side was Luna’s name. The crescent sapphire on her original grave was embedded in the marble where my cutie mark was on my side of the stone. That’s what really shocked me. She really intended to die someday because of me. That really hit home. The grass in the front of the tombstone was half grass and half tilled earth. I felt a pang, remembering the time that I saw Luna’s grave for the first time.
“Who was here for the funeral?” I asked. Luna didn’t say anything. I looked over my shoulder and saw her galloping towards the nearest door back inside. I could hear her sobs trail away, but I couldn’t go and console her no matter how much I wanted to. She didn’t need me right now.
“She needs you.” I told the grave, grabbing a fistfull of the fresh dirt. I turned up my palm and looked at it. It was deep, dark brown. There was a sunflower seed in the earth I was holding. I looked down at the grave. There were seeds scattered all over the grave. I smiled. In a few months, the entire patch would be covered in flowers. I got up and crumbled the dirt back onto the stone. The body down there felt like a stranger. Could it really be me if I was standing above it, looking at the grave? I know that the body down there was me, at one point. But could it still be me? Could the body that I was in once still belong to me? I heard a faint whisper behind me. I turned over my shoulder to see the Doctor standing next to the Tardis. I smiled.
“No hard feelings, right?” I asked. The Doctor smiled back, shaking his head.
“No. I’ve learned why you did what you did. I would have done the same thing.” He said with a quiet caring that only he could muster.
“Then why did you hand me off to the other you?” I asked innocently.
“To be honest, he wouldn’t leave me alone until I did. I’m quite annoying when I need to be.” He said. I sighed, turning back to the grave.
“Is it still me, down there?” I asked the Doctor.
“If it was still you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?” He explained deftly. I frowned.
“That’s not what I mean. Can it really be me? Was the body made for me? Was that body down there someone before I died? Did I take this body away from him when he died, like I took Jamal’s?” I asked the Doctor. He frowned. He walked over to my side and sat down next to me.
“Those are heavy questions, Edwin. Heavy questions.” The Doctor said. He was silent for a long time, not saying anything. I looked around at the swaying flowers around the tombstone. I noticed for the first time that we were in a garden. The Doctor cleared his throat. “I know how you feel, Edwin. Sometimes I don’t really know who I am either. But your conundrum is bigger than that. But your question. Whether or not this body was made for you or if you took it. It doesn’t really matter which. Neither one would affect us now. Even if this pony was a person before he died and you took his body, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think that he was, because ponies would have noticed somepony as strong as this one. But even if he was, you shouldn’t worry yourself about it. He would have wanted to live on past his time, trying to save his home from the Angelics.” He said. I relaxed at his words. I felt much more at ease.
“Do you... Do you think that I could have done any better?” I asked, voicing my fears. The Doctor put his hoof on my shoulder.
“You did very well, Edwin. Admirable, that’s the word. You fought for your home. You saved many, many ponies. Nopony could have asked you to do more than you did. It was surprising that you died when you did, but you earned your repose. Most definitely. It’s a shame you don’t get to enjoy it.” He said. I felt somewhat bittersweet.
“You’ve been to the future, right?”
“You know I have.” He said softly, hoof still on my shoulder. I turned away from the grave to him.
“Does it ever turn back to normal?” I asked. His face was extremely pained.
“I wish I could tell you. I really do.” He said. He took his hoof off of my shoulder after a moment and walked back to the Tardis. I could hear his hoofbeats when he got to the paving stones. I heard the creaking and closing of the Tardis door, and I heard the faint noise of the Tardis leaving. I closed my eyes.
“Thank you,” I said to my old body “For the memories.” I looked up into the sky. The sun was setting over the palace walls, leaving an orange flare over the wall. I could feel the hot tears on my face. I was home. I looked down at the tombstone again, reading the inscription on my grave.
I will always love you, Ed. Always.
I stood up, getting off of my knees. I turned back and walked back into the palace, filled with fresh vigor. I was going to remind Luna of what she put on that gravestone. |
jroddie | 505 | 61 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2012-12-24T18:07:39+00:00 | 2012-12-24T18:08:32+00:00 | 632 | Chapter 61
“So this dragon comes out of nowhere. Eyes bloody red, belly covered in jewels, and he’s looking at me.” Othello said. I laughed.
“No way.”
“Yes way. Now he’s seen me with his star sapphire. He knows that I have it. The Doctor’s next to me, trying to get me to give it up. ‘Come on, Othello’, he says, giving me the elbow. ‘It’s not worth it.’ He says. But I’m hell bent on getting Celestia this sapphire for Hearthwarming Eve. So you know what I do?”
“What?”
“I try to teleport out of there.”
“No!” I exclaimed. Othello just nodded, deep in the story.
“Oh yeah. But I didn’t know that this dude has a null spell ‘round the cave. So I’m just sitting there, blinking my eyes and looking like a retard. And this dragon knows what I’m doing. He starts growling. The Doctor starts elbowing me even faster now. He’s practically pushing me to the mouth of cave. Now you know this dragon’s wanting to kill us. But the Doctor’s trying to get him trapped in some riddles. This dragon must be some kind of dope, because he’s playing into the game perfectly. I manage to sneak away from the dragon while the Doctor’s going through this riddle contest. I’ve got the-” He says, but he’s interrupted by the doors to the dining hall opening loudly. The both of us turn and looked. Princess Celestia entered the hall, flanked by Antony and Asperx. The two brothers studiously avoided looking at us, but the Princess wasn’t so subtle. She stared at the two of us, clearly disgruntled. I turned back to Othello. His smile from the story faltered, and he got up from his chair. I watched him walk the long distance to the front of the room. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what the problem was. Othello finally reached the trio, and Celestia’s horn illuminated. A scroll popped into the air next to her hair, and she opened it with magic. She started to read it. I could see her mouth moving. As she spoke Othello grabbed his hair with his hands. Celestia kept reading.
“No Tia, no!” Othello shouted. I could hear the pain in his voice. I got up from my chair, standing upright. This was serious. I could hear Othello wailing while Celestia kept reading. Antony and Asperx, the pictures of uncaring, did not look at Othello. Celestia finished talking, rolling the scroll back up again. She touched Asperx’ shoulder. He looked right at me. He vanished in a puff of white smoke. I gulped, unconsciously walking backwards away from the scene. I fell backwards over the table behind me. I was lying on the table. Asperx appeared on top of me, with his face set in a threatening scowl.
“Do anything funny and you won’t be able to walk for the next few years.” He growled. My mouth dropped open. There wasn’t enough time to even figure out what happened.
“Wh-” I tried to say, but Asperx cast a spell that kept me from talking. He jumped off of me and onto the floor, levitating me into an upright position. I was completely pinned- Legs straight, arms plastered to my sides. My entire vision had a bright blue sheen, and I couldn’t even move my eyes to look around. All I could see out of my limited point of view was Asperx grinning at me. Everything I had planned out for getting to Equestria, I never really planned on what to do when I got there. Now everything was blowing up in my face. I heard a crash and the tinkling of glass. I tried to turn and look at it but only ended up straining my neck. Asperx summoned his sword, which glinted in the reflected moonlight. I wanted to look at the sword. It was somehow extremely mysterious, with its multiple facets, with all different colors that represented all of the different ponies that made up his brain. If it was possible for me to look away from it, it would have been impossible to look away from it anyways. I followed the sword, with its fractured blade, soar through the air. It swung out of my vision. It struck something, and that something struck me. I wasn’t able to move, which made the blow hurt even more. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t move through Asperx’ spell. The thing that hit me, which now looked like a bloody pile of white feathers, got up and screeched. That screech. It set my teeth on edge and made me shiver. It was like someone cracked my head open. Asperx clenched his teeth and pressed his hooves to his ears. The pile of bloody feathers assembled itself in my mind into a perfectly white griffon. It was so big. I was hovering a foot or so off of the ground, but this griffon could have easily looked me right in the eyes. I watched with awe as the griffon soared through the air, barely spreading her wings and extending her claws. I watched the claws fly closer and closer to Asperx’ widening eyes when I suddenly collapsed to the ground. I could hear the shouts and screeches of the fight unfolding. I tried to crawl away from the noises, but the pain on my left side of my body was excruciating. I could only use my right side to pull myself forward. I was crawling underneath the table when something wrenched my left ankle, pulling me out from underneath the table. I rolled over and turned to see Antony, eyes filled with tears and teeth clenched in an angry grimace. He was levitating a dagger over his head. He brought it down quickly, leaving me barely enough time to roll out of the way. I turned back to see the dagger. It was brilliantly ornate, with a wavy silver blade and a bright gem in the pommel. The hilt was wrapped in dull brown leather. Antony yanked it out of the floor and swung it back down again. I rolled the other way, but I was too late. I was positioned so that the blade slipped between two ribs, scratching my sternum and creating a clean cut through one of my lungs. The tip of it nicked my esophagus. I gasped, feeling every inch of the blade as it went through my body. I gulped, looking down at the blade. All I could see was the brilliantly embellished handle sticking out. I grabbed it with a shaking hand and tried to pull it out. It came out a few inches before I stopped, consumed with pain. I collapsed back onto the floor, trying to breathe. I looked up at Antony’s angry purple eyes.
“What... What would Berry say...” I tried to ask, but it only came out in panting breaths. Antony looked shocked for a moment, but then he flashed to something even angrier. With a shout he pulled the dagger back out and jabbed it back into my chest. I felt that one even more than the last one. He pulled it out roughly, only to just plunge it back in at a different spot. He did this again and again and again and again. After almost an eternity, he finally stopped, dropping the dagger and plopping back into a sitting position. I looked up at the stony ceiling of the dining hall, thinking about how quickly it all went wrong. I was given a second chance at a normal life, but all I wanted to do was go back to the one that I had before. I could feel my hands and feet get cold. I saw Antony enter my vision, still angry. He spat on my forehead. I could barely feel it.
“Don’t tell me what my wife would think of me.” He growled. He walked away, leaving me to look at the ceiling.
I didn’t even feel myself fall asleep.
“Shit”
“I know.”
“He’s messed up really bad.”
“I know.”
“What happened?”
“He made a Bladesinger angry, I suppose.”
“A what?!”
“Do you need more money?”
“I might.”
“It’s yours. Now treat him.” Something said. I opened my eyes a little bit. I couldn’t see very well, but something appeared in front of my face.
“Edwin, you might want to be asleep for this one.” The something said. I recognized it
“Doctor.” I muttered, unable to speak properly. I coughed.
“We’re going to patch you up nicely, okay? You’re going to live. Just stay strong.” The Doctor said, disappearing from view. I drifted off again, my mind giving me exotic dreams.
I blinked, looking around. It was bright white, straining my eyes. When I finally adjusted, I tried to sit up. Something was pressing me down. I looked down at my body and saw a thick metal plate there. My chest felt funny, like there were feathers tickling me. I was going to reach up and swat them away but my hand met the thick plate. It was cold to the touch. I was trying to push it off with both of my hands when the Doctor came in. I turned to him.
“Hey, you gotta help me get this off.” I said to the Doctor. The Doctor smiled.
“You don’t want to do that.” The Doctor said.
“Why not? This thing is so heavy.”
“It’s keeping you alive, that’s what. Something stabbed you thirty-seven times. I know that its starting to become the norm for you, but you shouldn’t be alive. You were lucky that I got to you when I did, or else you’d be in a morgue by now.” He said. I collapsed back onto the pillow.
“What’s this thing on my chest.” I wondered.
“New Terran gear. Best in the galaxy. This thing is pumping you full of biofoam and keeping your wounds closed with superglue. You’ve got an IV with some sucrose solution so you don’t get the shakes under there.” The Doctor explained
“Superglue?”
“It worked in the 1940’s, and it works today.” The Doctor explained simply. I frowned, looking up at the ceiling.
“What now?” I asked the Doctor.
“We’re going to have to get you a cane and get you out of that bed. We’re going for a walk.” He said.
A while later, I was standing with the Doctor on one of the hospital’s walkways, staring up at the sunset. Skyscrapers stabbed into the sky, puncturing the clouds of sunset. Neat grids of hovercars zipped past, blocking the view of the sun occasionally. We watched silently, and I stroked the cane resting on my legs.
“It’s strange.” The Doctor said. I didn’t say anything, letting him continue. “It’s strange. I’ve been to many, many places. I’ve seen a thousand sunsets almost identical to this one. I’ve seen the sunset on the day that Galifrey was destroyed. I’ve seen the sunset on the day that the colonists from old Earth landed on this planet. I’ve seen the sunset on the day that you died, Edwin. Both times. They’re always important. They’re symbols, sort-of. There’s always another day. Always another sunset.” The Doctor said. I nodded, trying to understand.
“What did my dad do?” I asked after a while. The sun sank down under the horizon a little bit. The Doctor looked at me.
“What?”
“My dad. The day I died.”
“Alex Shell?” The Doctor asked. I nodded. “He didn’t know about it till the next day. They tracked him down and a trooper knocked on his door. He just sat on the kitchen floor and just cried. The neighbors had to come in the next day to make him eat something. It tore him apart, your death. He almost didn’t come to your funeral. He had to, though. He had to know if it was all real. You were the last part of Angela that he had left.”
“Can we... Can we go see him?” I asked. The Doctor frowned.
“How can it... How can you help him? Edwin, you’re not you anymore. You might be his son, but at the same time you’re not. It couldn’t help either of you. It would just be a reminder of things that can never be.” He said. I looked back to the sunset.
“I need to get back to the Tardis.” I said. The Doctor nodded.
“Sure. I can send you to Canterlot to get it back. We’ll pick up Othello along the way.” He said. I frowned. Nothing went right.
I was limping through the halls of Canterlot, trying to find Othello and my Tardis. I rounded the corner and found the blue box. I limped faster, resting most of my weight on my cane. I flung the doors open and walked in Othello was sitting on the loveseat, chewing his nails. When he saw me, he got up and rushed over.
“She doesn’t love me anymore, Edwin. She said so. She decreed so. She arrested me and put me away. It was horrible, Edwin. I never felt so alone.” Othello said. I pushed past him, hobbling towards the console. I plopped myself down in a command chair and started putting in my coordinates. Othello rushed back up to me.
“Edwin! She doesn’t love me anymore. What are we going to do?” Othello asked, imploring me for guidance.
“I know what I’m going to do, Othello. After I do that, everything else is up to you.” I said. I turned back to the console and put in the last command that I needed. I looked up at the time drive, pistoning to send us to our next destination.
Dimension hopping is extremely dangerous. It’s a temporal impossibility. Einstein’s bullet in the dark was a coin flip in comparison. It was like firing a revolver that only has one bullet in it six times, firing a bullet each time, then unloading the revolver and pulling out an unspent cartridge. It’s impossible to conventional physics. But the Tardis has its ways. Othello and I found ourselves back on Earth in under an hour after a very shaky journey.
I opened the Tardis doors, feeling the wave of blistering heat from the outside. I squinted my eyes against the strong sunlight. I stepped out, feeling the burning dry air on the outside. My eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and I found myself on a luxurious deck, looking out at a half-completed skyline. The sun’s glare reflected off of the glass that bordered the entire deck. I looked back to the Tardis to see Othello climbing out, his eyes squinting in the sunlight. I waited a moment for him to adjust before I started to speak.
“Do you know where we are?” I asked him.
“An oven?” He ventured. I didn’t laugh.
“This is the Burj Kalifa, in the great Emirate of Dubai. The tallest building in the world for about twenty years from this time period, right now.” I said, pointing to the ground. I looked back out at the desert. towers punched out of the ground, reaching up to the sky. “The entire tower, from the spire, is about eight hundred meters tall. We’re on the highest observation deck, which puts us up about 480 meters up. If I were to drop something from this observation deck, it would take about fifty three seconds to fall to the bottom.” I said. Othello looked confused, so I took the sonic screwdriver I had in my pocket and waved it at the bank of windows. They all shattered, leaving no doubt as to my intent. Othello shook his head.
“No, Edwin. Please.” Othello begged. I shook my head.
“The Doctor was right. We really don’t belong here. Equestria isn’t ours anymore. The fight against the Angelics isn’t ours. It’s theirs. And I can’t handle that anymore. I can’t let go and live my normal life. I can’t go back and live Jamal’s life. I can’t bear it. I can’t.” I said, starting to break down
“Edwin... It’s you and me. We’re in this together. You can’t go. Please.” Othello said, his voice straining. I turned back to him. He was crying.
“I wish I could stay, Othello. I really do. But its just too hard. My mind belongs in Equestria, but my body doesn’t. Life just isn’t the same when you’re not a Numbered.” I said, trying not to cry too.
“But we are Numbered! We still are! We still have our minds!” Othello shouted. I hobbled over to Othello and grabbed him by his torn turtleneck.
“No we don’t! Have you ever tried to solve differential equations in your mind since you’ve been a human? Can you remember what you had for lunch on December third, 1976? Can you calculate what day it is using only the sun’s position and a compass? We don’t have our minds anymore, Othello! We just have normal, human brains. We’re not special anymore.” I finished, letting go of his turtleneck and walking towards the edge of the Deck.
“Please, Edwin.” Othello pleaded one last time.
“Luna thinks that I’m dead. I’m going to prove her right.” I said, and then jumped. The gleaming spire fell away underneath me, leaving nothing but the air to keep me up. The wind tore at my clothes, trying desperately to keep me from falling. But gravity prevailed. I watched the ground quickly grow in size until it filled my surroundings.
I never even felt myself hit the bottom. |
jroddie | 505 | 62 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2012-12-26T01:23:15+00:00 | 2012-12-26T01:23:15+00:00 | 743 | Chapter 62
I never felt any pain.
Dying was the simplest and most easy thing I could have ever imagined. All it took was a simple action. Jumping off of a building, driving in front of the tracks, making something angry. It was so hideously simple.
I drifted.
There’s really nothing to death. There’s no real sensation, except for the feeling of being upside-down underwater. It’s pleasing. The only real downside to death was the memories. With no real sensation, you were free to experience memory perfectly- like you were actually there. Smells were sharper, vision crisp, and sounds were clear. I remembered everything perfectly.
“Come in” the voice said, I pushed open the beautiful wooden door to see a dark blue mare lying on a rug in the middle of the room, with an open book in front of her. She turned to look at me, and her mouth dropped open so quickly, but she covered her emotion quickly “And you might be?” She asked, already knowing the answer.
“I- Uh, Edwin.”
My mind switched to a different memory
Luna was standing in the middle of a moon crater, with the Doctor standing near the two of us. She was sad, with a single tear in her eye.
“It has been ten long, cold years on this rock. Every time that I see the Doctor here, I beg and plead with him to take me back. He has sworn an oath never to interfere with the native populace, except in time of great duress. I only wish that he would make an exception...” Luna trailed off again, sadly contemplating her wrongs. I grinned, and looked her right in the eyes.
“The Doctor may do things his own way, Luna. But, he has never told me, not a single time, that taking souvenirs is not allowed. And I have happened to have found myself the prettiest little moon rock.” I said knowingly. Luna looked up at me, her eyes wide.
I thought about that memory for a little bit. That’s what started the relationship between Luna and I. Well, not really. It depends on where you were on the timeline. But I wasn’t anywhere on the timeline now. The finality of it consumed me, racing through my mind. I was dead. I was nowhere. I wasn’t in Equestria. I wasn’t on Earth.
I didn’t have to worry about the Angelics anymore. It took me a while to figure that one out. I didn’t have to worry about Slim, Spitfire, anything like that. It took me a moment to think about that one.
The one that really hit home was that I would never see anything else ever again. The Doctor, Luna, Princess Celestia, Antony, Asperx, Othello, Evangeline, Marcus, Twilight, Lieutenant Dash, all of them. None of them would ever see me again. I couldn’t handle that one and went crazy for a while.
The blackness was absolute. There was nothing. Nothing at all.
I was finally dead. After fighting it so long, I was dead. Completely and utterly stone-cold dead. All of my attempts to stay alive and fight the good fight were meaningless now. I was undeniably dead.
Once and for all.
finally. |
jroddie | 505 | 63 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2013-01-01T05:17:27+00:00 | 2013-01-02T03:01:02+00:00 | 808 | Chapter 63
I lunged up. I gasped, gulping air into lungs that weren’t there a second ago. I opened eyes that I didn’t have and looked up at the sky that wasn’t there. I felt the ground under me that didn’t exist a moment ago. I looked around. I felt overwhelmed by the extreme visual stimulus after being dead for so long. Was this some kind of memory? It couldn’t be. Everything was far too detailed compared to the memories. It was like someone turned up the volume on my senses. I inhaled through my nose, smelling all kinds of different smells. Pine needles, dirt, the smell of summer heat. I sniffed again, fascinated. I could hear everything too. Animals scurrying away, wind blowing through the trees. I looked around. I was in a forest, with scattered deciduous and evergreens all around me. I was about to look at the ground when I saw it.
Actually, it was when I saw me.
“Holy shit.” I whispered. It was my body. It was a pure, snow white. I was sitting in a puddle of long black hair. My legs didn’t have feet. They had hooves. I couldn’t believe it. I put my arms in front of my face. They were a perfect white, capped with hard hooves. I stared at them in awe. It was such a shock I couldn’t even believe it. I had to be sure. I twisted my body so my bottom half was lying on my side. I looked down at my flank. There was an ornate, calligraphic five there in a perfect inky black. I grinned to myself. I shot up to my hooves and looked around me. I was back. Back home. I rushed up to the nearest tree and punched it, making the forest quake and the leaves all around shake. With a huge snap, it splintered and cracked in half. The decapitated half of the tree fell over with a huge thud, its branches snapping down through the canopy. I looked back to the decimated tree for a minute. The stump sat in the ground, just a bunch of splinters sticking out of the ground. The trunk was a few feet opposite me, lying there in the forest like it was there the whole time. I heard something behind me. I turned quickly, looking at the Doctor sitting in front of the Tardis, wings spread and clapping. It sounded like two wooden bricks getting slammed together. I turned to face him fully, flicking my tail in annoyance. I had to quickly look back at it to see what it looked like.
“Well done, Edwin.” The Doctor said, dropping his hooves to place them on the ground. I frowned.
“You knew. You knew the whole time.” I said, filling my voice with venom. I could feel the anger rush through my insanely fast, making my legs wobble with rage. The reaction instantly confused me, and I tried to calm myself down. The Doctor shrugged and smiled weakly.
“I sure did. You’ve got me in a corner there.” The Doctor admitted. I thought about it for a while.
“Is there something that you’re keeping from me now?” I asked.
“You know that I can’t tell you about the future.” The Doctor said, somber. I didn’t even pause. My brain was running through all of the different ways that I could get an answer out of him.
“Are you sure? There wasn’t ever one time that you told someone about their future?” I tried to trip him up. The Doctor shook his head.
“Not once.” He said, absolute in his resolve. I thought about it for a moment.
“Fine. If you won’t help me then I’ll just go find out myself.” I spat back. I turned and walked away from him.
“Edwin! Wait, just one thing.” The Doctor said. I paused and turned behind me. The Doctor looked slightly sad. “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. That’s all I can tell you.” The Doctor said after a moment. I mulled it over for a second.
“Thanks, Doctor.” I replied, running off into the forest.
I forgot all of the things I could do. I could fly. I could run so very fast. I could see everything. I leapt through the trees, bounding off of branches and soaring through the forest. I leapt straight up, rocketing through the trees and breaching the canopy of trees. I watched all of the bare expanse, enraptured with the green leafy trees under me. I could see the faraway mountains and see some distant cliffs. With my sharp vision, I saw the beautiful fortress of Canterlot in the distance.
Canterlot.
Luna!
I forgot what it was like. Soaring through the air with nothing but determination holding you up. I tried to figure out how far away I was from Canterlot. I was looking at Canterlot at an angle of about three degrees. I knew Canterlot was about fifteen hundred feet off of the ground. My mind assembled the equation and presented the answer to me before I realized it was a math problem. It really shocked me. But I pushed it aside and flew even faster to get to Canterlot. The wind battered my body, trying to keep me from going faster. I pushed on, straining against the air in front of me. It finally stopped, letting go with an audible snap. I could feel the air pressing down on me for a moment, nearly crushing me, but finally letting go and letting me rocket forward. The pressure behind me was almost pushing me forward, and the roaring in my ears blocked out everything else. In almost no time at all, I was rushing up the steep crag of Canterlot, rapidly approaching the castle. I ducked and dove through spires, reaching higher and higher. I finally reached the castle walls. I set myself down on the ground and leapt up to the roof of the wall. I sprinted, going further into the castle. I navigated my way until I found myself on a roof overlooking the courtyard. I looked down to see a group of ponies gathered around some kind of long box. Princess Celestia and Luna were sitting close to the box, with a bunch of other ponies. Armored guards were peppered all throughout the courtyard. I looked closely at the scene. Celestia looked normal, but Luna, next to her, was shaking. I recognized her starry mane and darker navy coat. She was shaking. I realized that she was sobbing, with a hoof up to her face. I realized that that box was my casket. There was a picture of me on top of the casket, along with a bundle of roses. I was at my own funeral. It was kinda weird to see it. I was about to interrupt the scene when I heard a rumble behind me. I looked back and saw a huge black storm cloud flying my way. It was going to be right on me in a second. It was really loud, and people down in the courtyard heard it. I could hear the mumbling.
Pegasi cleared the sky-
Shame that she has to be reminded-
What’s that?
By this time, almost everyone decided to go look up at the rapidly approaching storm. Pointing and whispering were the norm, but I could only look at Luna. Somepony finally managed to tap on her shoulder. Luna looked at the pony, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. The pony pointed up at me. I recognized him. It was Antony, dressed up in a sharp black suit and tie. Luna turned and looked up at me. She looked at me for a moment, unblinking. I could feel the bitter happiness well up in me, and I tried not to cry. We were finally together.
The storm cloud decided at that moment to come right above Canterlot and dump all of its rain. It was pouring down, drenching everypony there. Antony summoned a black umbrella and held it over Luna, shielding her from the rain. Magical umbrellas popped up everywhere in the crowd, hovering over ponies. Luna’s umbrella blocked her view of me. She pushed it out of the way with a hoof, covering herself with rain in the process. She looked up at me, not believing what she saw. I smiled and walked to the edge of the roof and hopped off, letting myself float down gently to the courtyard. My hooves splashed down in the mud. I walked over to Luna, not taking my eyes off of her. I walked through the confused ponies that parted like water over a rock as I walked past. I walked right up to Luna. We didn’t say anything. We just stared at each other. I finally had to break the silence.
“I’m home.” I said. Luna suppressed a giggle, but then the tears started flowing.
“I missed you so-” She started, but a sob cut her off. She rushed up to me and flung her muddy forelegs around my neck, squeezing me. She started to cry in earnest now, and I reached a hoof up to hold her.
“It’s alright, Luna. I’m back.” I whispered into her ear. She shook, sobbing into my shoulder. I looked past her to see Celestia, pointedly not looking at me. She was looking down at her hooves. “Psst!” I said, looking at her. She turned an eye to look at me, but she quickly looked away. I understood. This must be before Othello came back. I patted Luna’s back. She pulled away from me, keeping a hold on my neck. She pressed her muzzle against mine.
“Thank you.” She whispered. I smiled.
“I couldn’t stay away.” I whispered back. She laughed. She let her hooves drop from my neck. She kissed me on the nose. I smiled even wider, if that was at all possible.
“Let’s go inside. Inclement weather.” She said, her ethereal mane flowing. I nodded.
“Let’s.” I said, and followed Luna inside.
We were sitting in her room. I was huddled in front of a fireplace, warming my hooves up. Luna was right beside me, holding me with one of her wings. She was nuzzling up against my shoulder. I couldn’t actually enjoy her presence because the worries about Angelics and Equestria came back to me. A scowl was set into my face that I couldn’t get rid of.
“What happened while I was dead?” I asked Luna. She sighed, pulling away from my shoulder.
“Oh please, Edwin. We don’t have to start that now. Let’s wait until the morning.” Luna said. It was tempting. I turned to Luna and looked down at her. She was looking back up to me with her bright teal eyes. My scowl relaxed into a normal face. I looked away from her to the window outside.
“I wish I could, Luna. I really do. But the sooner this is over the sooner we can have a normal life.” I told her. She frowned.
“Edwin, I just buried you. I thought I would never ever see you again. It hurt me. Let me have you to myself, at least for one day.” Luna pleaded with me. I frowned, turning back to the fire. The logs popped and crackled in the hearth. The flames danced through the logs, leaping up into the chimney. I watched it for a while.
“I love you, Luna.” I said. Luna hummed.
“Love you too, Ed.” She said. I leaned into her and we watched the fire. The rain pattered against the window.
“Luna?”
“Hm?”
“Do you still have that book?”
“No.” She said immediately. I looked down at her
“You don’t even know what I’m talking about.” I accused.
“You’re right” She admitted, grinning.
“The why would you...” I trailed off. Luna nuzzled up to me a little bit
“I’m not sharing you with anypony. Especially not a book.” She said. I smiled. We both turned and looked at the fire.
I woke up to a banging at the door. I opened my eyes, but Luna was covering me with one of her wings. I crawled out from under it and walked over to the door. The entire room had a blue cast to it, which was most likely the moonlight through the window. I eyed the fire. It was dead. I turned away from it to look at the door. I pushed it open with a snout. Princess Celestia was standing outside the door, looking groggy. My eyes widened.
“I request your presence, Captain Shell. Are you busy?” She asked. I bit my lip and turned back to Luna. She was still sleeping in front of the fireplace, wing spread over the rug. I turned back to the princess that was awake.
“Am I allowed to say-”
“No.” She cut me off.
“I’m not busy at all, Princess.” I said, trying to mask my disappointment.
“Come on out.” She said. I sighed and opened the door a little bit to sneak out. I gave one last glance to Luna before slipping out of the door. I pressed the door closed with a faint click before turning to the Princess.
“I know that you’re content to just spend the weekend locked up with my sister, but there are things that you need to attend to. Your duties as a Royal Guard captain have been taken up by Lieutenant Bladesinger at my request. Asperx doesn’t quite have the energy for such a strenuous position, so I need you to get back to your duty as a guard as soon as possible.”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, not understanding.
“You need to go to a Royal Guards meeting that’s happening right now. Now I’ll expect you to get armored and presentable in ten minutes, and then you’ll be escorting me to-” The Princess explained, but I cut her off.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” I said. The Princess’ only visible eye bulged.
“I beg your pardon?” She said, visibly taken aback.
“I promised Luna that I wouldn’t leave her today. Frankly, I might not be available until day after next.”
“Edwin, I am ordering you to put on your armor and go to the meeting.” She said, her droopy eye filled with determination. She thought that she wheedled her way into winning this war of wills, but I had something up my sleeve. I thought for a moment of the correct verbiage that I would need.
“You know what? Fine. You win. Princess, I formally resign my position and all honors due to a Captain in Their Majesties Royal Equestrian Guard Corps.” I said, feeling immense satisfaction. Princess Celestia’s mouth dropped open.
“You can’t!” She whispered, her tone grave. I smiled.
“I just did. Excuse me, your Majesty, but meeting Divinity in the flesh is quite the exhausting experience for this lowly common pony. Do excuse me, m’lady.” I said, mocking a curtsy with my front legs. I turned around and opened the door, closing it firmly behind me. I sneaked over to Luna, trying not to wake her up. I crawled under her wing and tucked myself in tight. Luna stirred.
“Ed...” She moaned, half asleep.
“What is it?” I asked quietly
“Whuzzat?” She mumbled. I rolled over and looked right at her. Her eyes were barely open, and her mane was completely still.
“Your sister. She hates me.”
“I know.” She said, giving me a kiss on the tip of my nose. I smiled.
“Love you, Luna.
“Love you too, Ed.”
It was a very good day. |
jroddie | 505 | 64 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2013-01-21T17:56:45+00:00 | 2013-01-21T17:56:45+00:00 | 806 | Chapter 64
I was looking out of one of the windows in Luna’s apartments in the Royal Wing. It was the window that looked out over the courtyard. It wasn’t raining anymore. I was looking down at the gravestone. I could see it perfectly from here. There were a few ponies down there near it. My old body wasn’t buried yet because there was an argument about whether or not I was really dead. I didn’t really understand what the problem was. There was a dead body that needed to be put in the ground, so you put it in the ground. I was thinking about going out and burying it myself, but I wasn’t too sure.
“Edwin?” Luna ventured, drawing me from my reverie. I didn’t turn, but kept watching the ponies argue.
“Yeah?”
“Still watching those ponies arguing?” She asked. I could imagine her now, peering through her half-moon glasses and filling out the Canterlot Herald’s daily crossword. I smiled.
“I don’t understand the problem. There’s a corpse, you should bury it.” I said. Asperx was down there in the mud, championing the cause for my old body to get buried. I felt very grateful to Asperx for going out in the muggy weather. He must have been sweating like nobody’s business. I turned away from the window. Luna was looking at me over her glasses, levitating a pencil in a dark blue cloud of magic.
“That’s not the point of it all. Because the pony who was going to be buried ruined everypony’s day but one by coming back to life-”
“You’re welcome.” I interrupted. Luna smiled, but kept going.
“- They need to decide who the old body actually belongs to.”
“It’s mine, obviously.” I said. Luna sighed.
“Try telling them that.” Luna said, putting her pencil back onto the paper.
“I’m gonna go out for a bit, Luna. I’ll come back with breakfast.” I said, walking to the door.
“Dandelion sandwiches!” Luna yelled after me as I closed the door.
I walked out into the courtyard, feeling the intense humidity. I was sweating before I even left the covered walkway edging the garden. I was trying to figure out how I would get to the ponies and not get covered in mud when I had a great idea. I felt myself floating up into the air. My hooves left the ground and I sailed out into the garden. I soared right to the place where the gravestone and my un-buried coffin was. I set myself down on the ground right next to Asperx. The pony across the coffin from Asperx and I lightened a few shades, with his mouth wide open. He was a stout pony, with a bright green coat and a slightly darker mane of the same color. I tapped Asperx on the shoulder. He turned to me, looking like his face was melting off. When he realized it was me, a big smile spread across his face.
“Hello Captain Shell! Congratulations on being alive.” He panted out. I smiled back.
“Hey, you too. Why don’t you go inside for a minute? I can handle this.” I told him. Asperx relaxed visibly.
“Thank you very much.” Asperx thanked me, and then turned around to walk inside. I turned back to the other pony who was arguing with Asperx. He looked slightly angry, and his mane was mussed a little bit. He wasn’t really sweating much at all.
“Who’re you then?” He said, giving off a hint of accent.
“I’m the late Captain Shell.” I said. The green pony shook his head
“No y’aint. ‘ees right ‘ere.” The green pony said, pointing to the coffin. The picture frame was still sitting on top of the casket, so I reached up with my hooves and grabbed it. I held it up next to my face.
“See the resemblance?” I asked. The pony frowned.
“No way you’re ‘im.” The pony objected. I set the picture back on the casket.
“Well, There’s a pony in here that’s dead, right?”
“Yeah, but-”
“And dead ponies are usually buried, right?”
“Yes, but-”
“And this is a dead pony in here, right?”
“Yes, but-”
“I don’t see the problem. There’s something that need to be buried here, and you’re not burying it.”
“Yes, but-”
“Then there’s not really a problem. You go on and put this pony in the ground. I think that he earned it.” I said. The pony was trying to think of a retort, so I just turned and walked away.
“This is Grave Theft! If this is your grave, he’s stealing it!” The pony shouted after me. I didn’t even look back.
“He can have it. I don’t need it.” I told him. I didn’t get to see the look on his face, but I’m sure it was very satisfying.
When I got back inside, Asperx was nowhere to be found. I didn’t think much of it at all. I was going to just go straight to the dining hall and order breakfast and then come straight back to Luna’s apartments. Straight there, straight back, no distractions or diversions. No Doctors, Guards, Angelics, Princesses, Numbereds, Ghosts or Pan-dimensional Hyper-boars. I hopefully thought that nothing was going to happen. I walked up through the halls and staircases avoiding adventure entirely, hiding myself with magic whenever I saw something come around the corner. I was down near the bottom floor of Canterlot, which was open to the public. I was passing research students and the famous Royal scholars. Every now and then I passed the occasional solid white or grey guard, dolled up in armor. I waded silently through the halls, working my way slowly to the dining hall. It was strange, walking through the halls without being noticed. I could look at all the ponies passing me with impunity. They all acted differently than they would have if I was there, visible. Their faces were different, their gait was different, some of them were even singing. After a while of being fascinated with the ponies, I eventually found myself walking right up to the dining hall, doors wide open. Lunch was going on right now, and hundreds of ponies were walking around in there. It was going to be a lot harder getting into there undetected now. Making myself visible again, I did the only thing that I could really do
I let myself be a hero.
I laughed raucously, being bounced on the great wave of joyous guards. Everypony in the hall was cheering wildly, celebrating the return of their dragon-slaying Captain Shell. The ponies all passed me around, with everypony wanting to touch some part of me, as if it would give good luck. We laughed, we cheered, and we had a really good time. The wave eventually deposited me to the corner of the dining hall, covered in shade. They were all huddled around a small table. The ponies I recognized were all forward guard lieutenants. Pix and Ryo had their backs toward me, but there were three other ponies that could see me more easily. One of them was an enormous yellow hulk that glinted slightly in the shade. Whatever it was, it made Ryo look like he could fit in a teacup. The pony looked up at me with bright golden eyes after a moment of me sitting on the floor. It stood up straight, towering over the other ponies at the table. She walked around the table, coming closer to me. I finally recognized her.
“Celestia’s Sun, it’s really you.” Evangeline said, almost laughing. She giggled after she said that, completely out of character. I smiled even wider. She kept looking at me, shaking her head. “It’s hard to believe.”
“What happened while I was gone?” I asked. Evangeline grimaced. She glanced at the other ponies around us, leaning in to whisper
“We might want to go somewhere else to talk about that.” Evangeline cautioned. All of my goals suddenly mashed themselves together at once.
“How about lunch?”
Evangeline, Luna and I were huddled around a respectable pile of peaches and Dandelion sandwiches.
“So what’s going on?” I inquired, levitating a peach to my mouth. Evangeline pursed her lips, reluctant. I kept my eyes on her, tearing a chunk out of a peach.
“I think it would be best if Marcus and Gespard were here for this. They don’t know that you’re here yet.” She said. I tried to say something, but there was peach all over the inside of my mouth. Luna, thankfully, understood my intent.
“Please don’t do it in here.” Luna compromised stiffly. Evangeline wordlessly got up and walked out of the room. I frowned in confusion and looked at Luna.
“Wuzzit?” I mumbled, still eating the peach. Luna sighed.
“It’s a garish procedure, contacting the Nether. Pretty messy, too. I never really appreciated it.”
“Wuzzit?” I mumbled again, dribbling peach juice down my chin.
“Go look if you really want to. I wouldn’t. Might ruin lunch.” She warned, turning back to the sandwich floating nearby. I really wanted to eat these peaches, but I really wanted to know what Eve was doing. Hunger, to nopony’s surprise, won. I was gnawing on the pit of peach number three when Evangeline called me.
“Edwin, They’re here.” Evangeline announced from the other side of the door. I picked her up clearly with my new pony ears, that nicely swiveled toward the sound. I clenched my teeth and shuddered at the sudden stimulus. I was still being surprised by all of the things that I could do in a different body that had extra muscles than my old one did. I got up and walked to the door, pushing it open slowly. Evangeline was breathing heavily, sitting on the ground in front of a grainy, flickering apparition of Marcus and Gespard. When I pushed the door open all the way and entered the room, Gespard and Marcus shouted out in surprise. When they recognized that it was me, they started shouting even louder and performing a general outburst of excitement. Marcus was on his fifth loop when I really had to stop the hubbub.
“Hey, okay, okay. Let’s calm things down a little bit.” I childed lightly, trying not to laugh. I’d never seen the two ponies so animated and lively before. The apparitions all settled down, settling down to the ground. I looked down at their hooves for a moment, and was surprised to see a strange shape below them. The apparitions were suspended an inch or two above the ground, right over an array of dark red symbols. The shapes were arranged in a rough circle, with a square circumscribed around it. I frowned for a moment. “What’s that?” I asked. Evangeline, who was still panting slightly, waved a forehoof at the thing. Blood flew from her hoof, propelled by her tired gesture.
“It’s the spell frame. Gotta... Gotta keep it in one place.” She struggled, trying to remain awake. Her eyelids drooped. I looked down at Eve’s hooves. They were slit near what would be the wrist. I walked over, picking up an orange-tinted hoof with two of mine. I tried to heal it with my magic, but the power eluded me.
“Luna?!” I shouted, panicked. I heard something shatter and the rushed clip-clop of hooves. Luna burst through the door.
“What is it?” she shouted, clearly flustered. Her starry mane was swaying quickly.
“I can’t fix this. Come help me.”
“She was doing the blood one, wasn’t she?” Luna asked, going to Evangeline’s other side. Luna took a look at one of Eve’s hooves. She frowned for a moment before she fixed up Evangeline’s wrists. Evangeline smiled weakly when she was done.
“Thank you, Princess.” Evangeline rasped out. Luna smacked Eve on the shoulder with a naked hoof before waggling that hoof at her accusingly.
“That’s what you get for contacting them like that.” Luna reprimanded. Evangeline nodded, too tired to care.
“Are you gonna be okay?” I asked Eve, who was still hunched over. She nodded. Something Ahem’d from inside the apparition. I turned to look at a squinting Marcus. He seemed slightly hesitant.
“Why didn’t you fix it for her?” Marcus inquired, confused. I released the hoof I was holding and looked back to the projection
“I...” I hesitated. I worked magic before. I remembered punching a tree out of the ground when I first woke up in this body. That was certainly magic. When I was a pony the first time, I had no problem killing an Angelic soul. I flew, I used the Flow, I did almost everything. But... I couldn’t heal Eve’s legs just then. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to weave the spell. It was simply that I couldn’t access the magic. It was tucked away in my brain somewhere, hidden. For some reason, I was able to get at it earlier when I was sneaking through the Palace, but not right now.
“I can’t use magic.” I announced. |
jroddie | 505 | 65 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2013-02-27T05:03:40+00:00 | 2013-02-27T05:03:40+00:00 | 825 | Chapter 65
All of the ponies around me burst out in some show of emotion. Well, Evangeline didn’t. She was busy trying not to faint. But Luna, Gespard, and Marcus all made up for it.
“WHAT!?” was the general consensus. Luna was shocked, but Gespard and Marcus were steaming. I was happy that they weren’t actually here in person, because it looked like they would have beat the magic into me. Luna’s first go-to was doubt.
“I-It can’t be, Edwin. You’ll just have to try harder.” Luna said, sounding slightly desperate.
“I don’t thi-
“What do you mean that you can’t use magic? You’re a Numbered!” Marcus shouted. I tried to explain, but he didn’t let me. “You HAVE to use magic. We’ve been getting slaughtered out there! You’re our last hope!” Marcus shouted.
"What?" I asked, taken off guard. Gespard snorted.
"We've had to concede defeat in the past few fights with Angelics. We've lost Appaloosa, Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and Salt Lick City. We would have lost more, but after you died the Angelics just stopped for a little bit. Thank Celestia there's a cliff between here and the ground. Otherwise we would have lost Canterlot." Gespard explained.
I was shocked. Four cities completely gone. I couldn't really get my brain around it. I've been in ponyville before, and there were so many ponies there that I never saw the same one twice. And that's supposed to be the SMALL city? It was unfathomable. Eve and Luna started to leave, driven by some unheard conversation between the two mares. I was left to look at the likenesses of Gespard and Marcus.
“W-What now?” I stuttered, completely vulnerable. When it came down to it, I almost always knew what to do. Kill this, go there. Eat that. Sleep here. I almost always followed my own rules. But now was different. I was just an Earth Pony. Gespard smiled.
“We can always send you to Magic Kindergarten.” He laughed. Marcus pushed him out of the frame of the spell. Marcus stood in the center now.
“You’re going to have to learn how to use magic. I don’t know how, most of Us never really had to learn magic. We just knew.”
“How am I going to learn magic?” I asked. Marcus sighed, shaking his head. He reached down with his hoof though the projection, smearing one of the lines of blood. His projection immediately stuttered and wobbled.
“Go to the Library.” The shaking image of Marcus said. The apparition shuddered itself out of existence quickly, leaving me in the room by myself.
I stumbled through Canterlot for almost an hour before I found the library. I had to ask around, and apparently the Library was its own building. I walked across a small bridge to get to a large, pompous building, complete with spires. I walked into the building and felt immediately inferior. There were thousands of bookshelves just in the lobby, reaching up to the very, very high ceiling. I knew that I couldn’t find anything on my own, so I went up to one of the help desks. A fairly matronly pony with thick glasses looked up with a toothless smile.
“Can I help you?” She asked loudly.
“I need a book about magic.” I said. The pony nodded and walked out from behind the counter, shaking a little bit. I was slightly worried about her, but then she lit up all over with a magical aura and floated up into the air, gliding along slightly above the ground.
“Follow me, dearie.” She asked. I followed her as she floated off down one of the halls.
While we were going to the magic books, I was looking at all of the strange ways that the ponies kept books on shelves. Some shelves were perfect circles, with books all along the edge. Other bookshelves were strange geometric shapes. While we were walking through a hallway, I looked up and saw books magically adhered to the ceiling. Some of the books flew around like birds or hopped like frogs. I saw a book that was sitting on a chair and reading itself to a group of enraptured little foals. I was so amazed by all of the stuff around me that I didn’t hear the librarian.
“What?”
“What kind of magic book do you need?”
“Oh, I uh... How to learn magic?” I ventured. The mare nodded and floated higher. I watched her ascend, amazed. She disappeared from sight for a moment, reappearing with a hefty book. I grab it with my mouth and start to walk away, but the librarian puts a hoof on my shoulder. I turn back to her.
“What are you going to do with this book, dearie?” The librarian asked quietly. I placed the book on the ground so I could talk.
“I’m going to learn magic.” I said like it was obvious. The mare suddenly looked shocked, struggling to talk.
“Oh, um... Well, dearie, you’re...” She stammered, trying to say something. I frowned, trying to get at what she was saying. I turned around to face her.
“Is there a problem?”
“Oh, no, it’s just that... Well... You...” She kept stuttering. I raised my eyebrows, trying to get her to finally say it.
“Yes?” I prodded. She finally broke down.
“You’re an Earth pony!” She shouted. Everypony in the library immediately turned and stared at her. There was a faint, consistent murmur in the library before she shouted, but now you could hear a pin drop on carpet. The librarian was looking down at her hooves, amazingly embarrassed. I understood how weird it was. An earth pony, coming into a library and asking for a book about magic. Must be weird. I did the first thing that came to mind.
“You’re a Unicorn!” I shouted just as loudly. I turned around, picked up the book with my mouth, and stormed off.
Back in Luna’s room, I was poring over the book. The first chapter was, helpfully, about how to turn pages with magic. There was a whole page with descriptions with what thoughts to think and which muscles to clench, and something about some kind of gland. I couldn’t understand any of it. But the thing that was repeated time and time again was that you were supposed to concentrate on exactly what you wanted to do. No distractions, or you might do something dangerous. According to the book, that’s why most unicorns could only do one type of magic. You could only concentrate on one thing perfectly, and that was, most often, the thing that you were interested in the most. But this book would teach any unicorn to do simple spells, if you could believe a book. I wanted to believe. I was skimming through chapter 5 when Luna walked in. She stopped by the door and leaned against the frame.
“You’re adorable when you’re trying to learn.” She cooed. I smiled.
“You might be able to help me. This book isn’t helping at all.”
“Which book is that?” Luna asked, levitating the book up into the air. She looked at the spine, squinting. “Ah, Bevvisov.” Luna remarked, putting the book back down in front of me. “You know, I graded his doctoral thesis when he graduated from Canterlot U. It must have been at least three hundred years ago. He was barely suited to learn magic, let alone teach it.”
“So I’ve been reading this for nothing?” I asked, exasperated. Luna nodded.
“Let’s go over to Tia’s library and pick out a book. I’ll wager my tiara that she has something that is more helpful than that trash.” She supplied, waving for me to get up. I did, following her out of the door.
Celestia’s library was nowhere near as big as the Canterlot library, but the books were incredibly more valuable. Gilt pages and encrusted covers were all that I saw left and right. Luna knew where she was going and I was happy to follow. As Luna walked past the shelves, she pulled books off of the shelves with magic, letting them float behind her. She was constantly mumbling to herself, debating on which books to pick. She started to go off without me, leaving me behind. She was so caught up in the books that she kind of left me behind. I was wandering around the library, trying to find Luna, when I saw a massive bank of windows. They looked out over a seemingly endless plain, with rolling hills and towns and cities spotting the landscape. I walked up to the panes and pressed my nose against the glass, trying to look down. I could see the ground below me, which was dizzyingly far away. I felt the rush of vertigo, and I had the sudden urge to jump out of the window and fall. I gulped and backed away from the window quickly. My heart was pounding and I was breathing heavily. I couldn’t understand why I was freaking out so much over looking out of a window.
“You can feel it, can’t you?” A rich, smooth voice said behind me. I turned and looked at Columnus. He was just as pale and emaciated as ever, but he looked... Brighter. His mane and his coat were shiny. He still had a bandage over one of his eyes, but it was very clean and neat. His ears were perky, and he had a bright smile. His rapid change took me a minute to understand until I realized that the Columnus I saw as a human is actually from the future on this timeline. It was hard to keep timelines straight. But I knew what he meant. I could feel sweat cooling on my back from my moment of panic.
“What’s happening?” I breathed out, scared. Columnus motioned me over. I shakily stepped over to where he was. His large, solid black eye was staring at me. He prodded my shoulder, sizing me up.
“It is this flesh, this weak flesh. It is urging you to go back into the Schism, to take a new body. It is trying to get you to release your hold on this world and return to the Flow.” He told me. I was puzzled by what he said. I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.
“What?”
“You can’t use magic, correct? Can’t connect to the flow?” He asked. I nodded. “Then you must come with me. Spending time in the Upper dimensions will help you. It will give you back your strength.”
“What?”
“You must come with me to the Forest. We must spend time near the Aethr. It will strengthen you, make you strong. If you don’t, it could be months before you regain access to the Flow.” He told me, his eye showing a sense of urgency.
“What, right now!?” I inquired. Columnus nodded. He blinked his big, black eye and a piece of chalk appeared next to him. He picked it up with magic and started to draw a big circle on the ground. “I can’t go right now! I have to learn magic with Luna! I’ve got to take care of the business around here!”
“You think that Ghosts can learn magic? Pah! We know instinctively how to weave. We do not need books or teachers or things of that manner.” Columnus spouted, showing special hatred for the things. He finished drawing the circle and was now writing symbols on the outside of it.
“Don’t I get a say in the matter?” I shouted. Columnus sighed and turned away from the circle.
“Pardon me for saying, but no. I must act quickly to save the controlled dimension. Get in the circle.”
“No.” I said, petulant. Columnus blinked, and huge stone hands leaped out of the floor and grabbed me. I didn’t even have time to shout for help before they pinned me to the middle of the circle. Columnus stepped inside of the circle and finished drawing one of the symbols on the outer edge. The solid floor that I was standing on suddenly dropped, plummeting through the castle. The stone hands were still holding me. I could see the floors of the Palace fly past, showing ponies in various stages of activity. I could feel wind shooting past, flinging my mane up. I struggled to see Columnus.
“What are you doing!?” I shouted, the wind carrying my words away. Columnus turned to me and smiled grimly.
“I’m taking you home!” He shouted back. The castle floors that were flying past suddenly turned to open air. We started to tumble, flipping end over end. I could see the rapidly approaching ground.
“You’re going to kill us!” I tried to shout, awarding me a bird to the face. Columnus didn’t say anything, while I tried to shoo the bird away. I watched the ground rush closer and closer while the stone circle was still spinning. I got to see the ground up close before we hit it.
I leapt up into the air, straight out of unconsciousness, screaming. I looked around. Bright green trees were everywhere. Deciduous trees and evergreens filled the landscape. I looked around me some more and noticed that I was a good thirty feet above the ground. Below me, Columnus was laughing.
“What’s happening? Are we dead?” I shouted.
“No! We’re in the Control dimension! You just fainted before we made the switch!” He shouted back. I found myself hoof-deep in mud before I even realized that I wanted to be back on land. Columnus was right next to me, sitting next to a dying fire. “Be careful,” Columnus warned, “You are constantly in the Flow here. Be wary of what you wish for.” He disclosed. I nodded. I pulled my hooves out of the mud with a suuuck noise, pulling myself onto drier land.
"So what happens now?" I asked. Columnus closed his eye, taking a deep breath.
"You must bathe in the aethr. It will connect you to the Flow and allow you to access the upper dimension on your own. It will anchor you to this dimension."
"Bathe? Like, in a tub?" I wondered. Columnus smiled.
"It's more like a river."
Of all the places and times that I have seen during any of my life, the Flow had to best one of the grandest. Canterlot was nothing. Dubai was nothing. New Earth was nothing. Midnight was nothing. Everything was horribly insignificant compared to the Flow.
"Oh my God." I gasped, looking all around me. A huge waterfall deposited a river into the middle of a shallow valley, and rapids flowed violently through it. I ran up to the water to get a closer look. It wasn't like normal blue water, but looked like liquid amber. Spaced unevenly were bright, almost glowing golden threads. In the clear amber I could see that the threads were all anchored to the bottom of the river.
"This is the Aethr. All Ghost souls originate in this dimension, so all Ghosts have an intimate connection to the Flow."
"It's beautiful."
"Yes, it is."
“This is what everyone means when they’re talking about the ‘threads’?”
“Yes, it is.”
“What are they?”
“Each thread represents a life in every other dimension. Plant, pony, dragon, griffon, fish, dog, cow, sheep, Time Lord, Judoon, Terran. Each one has a thread in this river.The list does go on. Every one of them has a thread in the Flow. That’s also where the energy comes from when you weave a spell. When you have access to the Flow, the amount seems limitless, but there is an actual finite limit to the energy you can use. Even though the amount is finite, the amount is so vast that it is impossible to quantify by any method. When you weave, an infinitesimal, miniscule amount of energy is taken from every single being with a thread in the Flow, including a small amount from you. Then it is given to you for you to do as you please with it.” Columnus explained. I mulled it over for a moment.
“Can you kill things from up here by destroying their thread?” I pried. Columnus frowned, sighing.
“Yes, it is possible.” He admitted.
“Then I can use this to kill the Angelics! This is amazing! Columnus, can you believe what this means? We can end the war without even looking at Angelics!” I blurted out, overjoyed. Columnus shook his head.
“There is no way to know which soul you are killing. It has been attempted before, and nothing in Equestria was killed. It was horrible. A whole acre of threads were destroyed.”
“Oh.”
“Yes.” He agreed. We both sat there on the pebbly shore, looking at the amber waters fly past.
“What now?”
“Get in.”
“Just... Get in? No preparation or anything?”
“That’s right.” Columnus confirmed.
“Okay then.” I said hesitantly, walking slowly to the Flow’s edge. I hesitantly held out my hoof to lower it into the Flow. |
jroddie | 505 | 66 | Doctor Whooves,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | One Way | Edwin Shell dies as a human, and wakes up as a pony. Can he save Equestria before it is too late? | incomplete | 229 | 54 | <p>Edwin Shell is a human come to Equestria after his violent, early demise. He wakes up in a strange land in an even stranger body, finding colorful creatures that call themselves "ponies". He soon finds himself in a centuries standing power struggle between the Numbereds, the ancient race that has guarded Equestria since time immemorial, and the Angelics, who are countless and seek total annihilation of civilized life. Can Edwin find a way into this strange world, or will he be killed before he has a chance?</p> | teen | 2013-03-17T01:30:42+00:00 | 2013-03-20T21:51:50+00:00 | 1,528 | Chapter 66
Wow
Really, there aren’t words.
When you touch the flow, you don’t exactly... enter it. You never really break the surface. You can’t get in it and swim, like you could for a normal river. When you touched it, you really... I guess you switched over. You actually left your physical body and entered the flow with your consciousness. The sensation is pretty freaky. It's like being upside-down underwater. But it's well worth the actuality of just being in the Flow. In the Flow! I couldn't get over how cool it was.
"Wow." I repeated, looking all around me. It was kind of like using the Tardis, but all at the same time. It really doesn't make sense, but the only way to understand it is to have done it. I saw the birth of the star Sol, emerging from its protective cloud of plasma and heavy gasses. I saw a young Doctor, prancing through the ruddy grasses of his childhood home. The silver trees swayed in the crisp wind. I really wanted to talk to him, and then I was actually there. The Doctor noticed me quickly, jumping down from the branches of one a silver tree. He was a think kid, with a bowl cut and dull grey eyes. His clothes were all made out of a brownish leather.
"Mommy, Mommy! Look at the horsey!" The little time-lord squealed. I smiled. He bounded over to me and, without a qualm, stuck his fingers up my nose. I snorted, pulling away.
"Hey, don't do that!" I complained. The Doctor's eyes widened and he backed off a few steps.
"You can talk?!" The little guy exclaimed. I nodded.
"My name's Edwin." I said, sticking out my hoof. The doctor shrunk away from me.
"Mommy said I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He said coyly, rubbing his shoes together. I laughed.
"That's a good rule. Well, I suppose I'd better go, then." I said, feeling myself slip back into the flow.
"Am I ever gonna see you again, Mr. Horsey?"
"You can bet on it." I promised. The Doctor smiled and waved as I entered the flow again. I saw everything else. I saw myself in my second life, my first time around as a pony. The majority of the time I wasn't so bad, but sometimes I was such a dumbass. I popped in to watch myself fight the dragon. I suddenly found myself on a palace balustrade, looking down at an enormous Angelic dragon and a little white smudge. The dragon roared, shaking the stones under my hooves. My teeth rattled and I could feel it in my bones. The sky turned very, very dark for a moment, like something turned off the sun. A white-hot bolt of lightning connected the smudge to the monstrous dragon, making the dragon scream in pain. I watched as the scales were seared and fell off, revealing pink flesh and exposed muscle. It sure was magnificent to watch the second time around. The tines of lightning faded, leaving the white smudge and the dragon both there. There was a slight pause, and then the smudge started wiggling. I watched, enraptured, knowing what was going to happen. I watched the white smudge summon a yellow smudge. There was a moment, blissfully short, where nothing happened.
“Kill it Eve! kill the Dragon!” I shouted, struggling for my life, trying to fight the huge behemoth. My screams echoed through the air, amplified by magic, to finally reach the me standing in the Palace. Without a moment’s delay, there was a great flash of red. I wanted to see what was happening, so I didn’t allow myself to be blinded by the flash. I watched Evangeline’s blur sprout a enormous red pillar, which crawled through the air towards the dragon. Neither the white smudge or the dragon moved, or even noticed the pillar. It slowly but surely reached the Dragon without stopping. It tore through cleanly. It wasn’t like a hot knife through butter, because that implies some kind of resistance. It was more like concentrated sunlight through a dragon. I watched as the pillar bored the hole straight through the dragon, exiting through the backside. Perception assuemed it’s normal pace, and the dragon fell out of the sky with a fresh new hole for bodily functions. As the dragon fell out of the sky, I fell through every possible dimension. Millions upon millions of universes were explored in the blink of an eye. hundreds of universes without trains, meaning that I wouldn’t die and come to Equestria. Thousands of dimensions where Emily Lauren Banks, the woman who couldn’t drive stick or unlock a handbrake, didn’t exist. Three thousand and twenty five universes without a James Willcox, with no free tickets to Florida Comic Con 2008. Millions of Universes without Angelics or Numbereds, which made them slightly useless. The strange thing was, that every universe that had Angelics had Numbereds. There was no such thing as an Angelic-infested universe without some elite fighting squad to eradicate them. Magic, guns, telepathy, super soakers, you name it. The Numbereds had it. I was tempted to stop in and say hello, but I might have met something that didn’t like me. There were billions and billions of universes without an Equestria, with no bright sun and dull hamlets. Hundreds of universes without a Luna, without an Edwin, without an anything. Twelve universes where Luna hated Edwin. Twelve universes with an Edwin that loved Celestia. That one made me shiver. In one of those universes, Edwin had to kill Othello when he realized the affair. I watched the great battle distractedly, trying not to pay too much attention. In another one of those universes, Othello had to kill Edwin, but only after losing a leg that magic could not replace. I decided to stop in that one.
“This is the last time you cross me, Youngling!” Othello shouted, surrounded by a field that would give Hannibal nightmares. Pillars of fire shot up from the ground, and I could smell the brimstone in the air. A gravely wounded Edwin, panting heavily and clutching a hoof to his chest, layed on the ground under him and chuckled coldly.
“Pah!” other-Edwin spat. “You are too old and feeble. The Princess has seen the new model, and she wants to trade in.” the pony sneered. Othello’s face filled with indescribable rage. The great red pony swung a hoof back, filled it with fire, and swung it back. There was a sharp twang and a horrific scream. Other-Edwin was levitating a sword with magic. It was extremely similar to the sword that Celestia had in her collection. Othello held a hoof to his bleeding stump, howling.
“Dare you?! Dare you kill me with the mare I love?!” Othello screamed to nopony in particular. Edwin laughed the same cold, careless laugh. He kicked Othello onto the ground. He raised his sword high into the air, preparing to cut down the eldest Numbered. I edged closer, wondering if I was in the right universe. I realized in shock that I was surrounded by the corpses of hundreds of Angelics, and three Numbereds. Their bright, dead eyes stared at me. Each of them had their throats slit. I gulped and turned back to the scene. Othello turned away from the other-Edwin and looked right at the corpses. He grimaced and turned back to the murderer. “What did they ever do, Edwin? We were all friends once! The Covenant flowed through all of our veins! Why?!” Othello begged for the answer, almost distraught beyond words. Edwin grinned and leaned down to answer.
“They would deny me my Queen.” He snarled. Othello frowned in anger and I could feel the hate well in his gut. He spat out a torrent of fire at other-Edwin’s exposed face. other-Edwin yelped in pain, clutching his burning face with his hooves. The magical sword fell to the ground. Othello got up shakingly, only being supported by one forehoof. He limped over to other-Edwin, who was still writhing in pain. Othello stood on his hind legs and grasped other-Edwin with his only remaining foreleg, hoisting him above his head. An enormous furrow opened up in the ground, with tongues of flame reaching up to taste the air. He looked up at the other-Edwin.
“You have thrown Equestria into turmoil! A once prestigious family is now a house divided! You have killed how many in your ungodly pursuit? Hmm? I thought you would have enough sense to stop with Princess Luna! Her death wasn’t enough? She did nothing to you!” Othello shouted at the writhing ball of other-edwin. Othello shook his head, filled with more hate than he knew what to do with. “I have to kill you! You have stained Equestria with too much blood!” Othello shouted. other-Edwin didn’t say anything back. Othello simply tossed him into the crevice. other-Edwin simply fell. Othello stared into the gorge for a long while. He bellowed, shouting wordlessly into other-Edwin’s grave. I disappeared into the flow without him noticing, flitting through the dimensions like a firefly though the dark. Anything I wanted to know was not withheld from me. I finally resurfaced, breaching the flow and returning to my body. I inhaled deeply, smelling the dull musk of the forest. I got to my hooves and looked around me. I saw Columnus eating an apple, looking out at the Flow. I walked over and sat next to him.
“How was it?” He asked. I inhaled, trying to think of a way to describe how amazing it was.
“There aren’t words.” I said after a while of thought. Columnus took a bite out of his apple.
“There never are, foal.” Columnus agreed. We were both silent, watching the sun over the golden water.
“How did this happen?” I asked, watching the sun set.
“Hmm?
“The Flow. How did it happen? Where did it start?” I asked. Columnus took another bite out of his apple.
“The Flow is infinite. It has no beginning or end. It always was and always shall be.”
“Can’t we use the Flow to-”
“Figure out where the Flow came from? I just told you that is always has been. There is no point in going to the beginning of everything, because it was there too. Even before that, the Flow was there, everpresent.” Columnus explained. I nodded. The sun set over the hills, covering the valley in a slight darkness. I looked back at the Flow and pointed.
“Look! It’s glowing!” I exclaimed. Columnus smiled, throwing the apple core over his shoulder.
“Yes, it is. Are you surprised?” He asked. I nodded, not taking my eyes off of the mystical river.
“Yeah. It’s amazing.”
“You must try some.”
“What?”
“You must drink.” Columnus said, flicking the one ear not covered in a bandage. His big, black eye looked at me. He blinked, making a golden, ruby-encrusted goblet appear. It floated in the air with magic as Columnus stood and walked to the river. I got up, confused, and followed him.
“You can’t take any out, Columnus.”
“Correction- you can’t touch the flow. But you can certainly drink it. I have done it thousands of times.”
“How can you drink it if you can’t touch it?” I asked, befuddled by the contradiction. Columnus looked back and me and tried to roll his eyes. The gesture didn’t work as well when you didn’t have irises.
“Do not question the Flow. Only accept the blessings it gives us.” Columnus corrected me. I pouted. Columnus dipped the goblet into the Flow, and surprisingly it collected some of the amber liquid. He handed the glass to me, and I grasped it with magic. I could feel the warmth through the magical connection. As I moved the chalice to my face, I could smell the sickly sweetness of it. It was like hot, hot cider. I could almost taste the spice. I lifted it to my lips and sipped. It ran down my throat, almost unbearably warm. It was so sweet I could barely stand to taste it. But I was energized. The Flow filled me with so much energy that I was bouncing off of the walls. It was incredible. I couldn’t stand still. I had barely swallowed the first sip when I was sprinting back through the forest. I ran and ran and ran. I leaped through the trees, climbing higher when I was bored with the ground. I bounded through the branches, flying and laughing. I felt so incredibly happy that I couldn’t think of anything but how awesome this was. I flew and jumped and landed, and eventually I crashed.
After the fact, I learned that I collided with a tree at about a hundred miles per hour, snapping it in half and hitting another tree, which was considerably bigger than I was and stopped me. Columnus said that if it wasn’t for the Flow, I’d be dead. I think that if it wasn’t for the Flow, I’d probably be alive. But I didn’t say that to him. So we were sitting in a nice log cabin that Columnus blinked up for us in the middle of the forest. I was swaddled up in a blanket, drinking tea. There was a blazing fire in the nice fireplace. Columnus was working on dinner because, unlike the Nether, you really needed to eat in the Flow world. A lot. I floated my teacup and rubbed my forehead, which was still sore from my tree crash earlier in the day. I watched the logs pop in the hearth.
“So what happened to Alucard?” I asked after feeling the question stew for most of the day.
“The Dragon of the North?” Columnus asked, shocked that I knew the guy. He ducked his head out of the kitchen and looked at me incredulously.
“I didn’t know he was called that.”
“He was. You know him?”
“He teaches me magic.” I explained simply. Columnus grunted his approval.
“He was a master of the art.” He proclaimed, going back into the kitchen.
“Was?”
“Yes, he died. During the last Conclave, in the Third’s great Genocide. I’m not surprised that the Doctor has decided to spare him from the timeline. He is a great asset.” Columnus told me. I remembered my experience with Sebastian’s dream, my firsthand account of Alucard’s death. I stared into the fire, thinking about the conflicting realities that were forming in my mind. If Alucard was alive on Sigmus Five, that meant that the Doctor took him from his natural timeline and placed him there before his death. That means that the Alucard I know doesn’t know that Evangeline kills him and that there are only three Ghosts left in existence, not the four I thought there was. This also meant that Alucard didn’t know about Sebastian and her ‘flexibility’, or Columnus’ control of the existing Ghosts, and all the other crap that I knew about. This also mean that I couldn’t tell him about pretty much anything that I knew. This also meant that I was some mind-slave of the Doctor, involved in some kind of illicit pact. I sipped on my tea, feeling a sort of impotence that came with an unwilling obligation. I sighed in disgust.
Fucking time travel. |
Tunersymphon | 506 | 1 | DJ P0N-3,Rainbow Dash,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Other Side of the Vinyl | hiatus | 22 | 4 | <p>The picture was created by Shelmo69 and she/he has given me permission to use it. </p><p>Rainbow Dash has finally reached her dream. She's a Wonderbolt. Not only that, but on her first show, she's leading half of the Wonderbolts. It's beyond her dream. However, what seems to be a tragedy turns out to be the biggest stroke of luck Rainbow has had yet.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-13T23:37:46+00:00 | 2011-08-13T23:37:46+00:00 | 1,276 | Part 1: Scratched Records _
Chapter 1: A Pinch of Luck
Jumping out of her bed with as much enthusiasm as a filly on her first real Christmare day, Rainbow Dash looked around in excitement, only having about an hour of sleep. She didn’t care. Today was her day to really shine like the streak across the sky she is.
Two weeks ago, the Wonderbolts finally recognized her true ability of flight during a casual race against another pegasus. Dash managed to go so fast, the transition between regular speed and Sonic Rainboom speed was nearly indefinite. Dash and the team hung out for the rest of the day...And not like she “hung out” with them at the Grand Galloping Gala. After a few hours of discussion, she was admitted onto the team as an honorary Wonderbolt. Dash fainted…Although fainting would be an incredible understatement.
Today, she would be doing a show with the rest of her team in front of about 1,000 ponies, big and small, at the InterEquestrian Air Show. It was an annual tradition, and every year the Wonderbolts would start off the entire show with a magnificent performance…Proformance as Dash would say. She attended the show every year as well just to watch them. She finally had the chance to be in the sky side by side with them.
It was only 1:50 A.M. but Dash just couldn’t go back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. The only thoughts that went through her head was, “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my goooosh!” One thought led to the next to the next, and before she knew it, an entire flight plan was floating in her head, waiting to be shown off in triumph. And she was leading.
Suit. Check. Confidence. Check. Attitude. Definitely check. Dash kept a mental note of everything she needed for the show today…Although there wasn’t much she didn’t already have. The crowds were…Well, not cheering, but talking loudly outside of the Bolts’ tent, and it felt like the world was waiting for them. She almost galloped out of the tent to greet the shouting voices before Soarin called her back in.
“Glad to have ya here, Rainbow Dash. Not much when we see a new member to our team.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, sir! I’ve been waiting my entire life to be here.” Dash was almost spilling out with excitement.
“Good to hear that. Now…This is your first real show, right Dash?”
“Unless you count that competition you saw me in, yes. Why?”
“Well…You’re going to be leading Misty and Spitfire here out onto the field. Do whatever you want and they will follow you to make the coolest look possible. That’s what we’re here for. Me, Igni, and Bust will be doing our own thing. Got that?”
By now, Dash was nearly hopping with joy, smiling as big as she ever has. “Yes sir!”
“Good!” Soarin patted her head gently, smiling. “Let’s make this a day you’ll never forget. We have 10 minutes until we go.”
Dash hopped back to her small sitting area, trying to hold in all her joy. Not only is she flying with the Wonderbolts…She’s leading them!
10 drearily long minutes later, Dash followed behind Soarin out onto the field. She felt a bit sleepy, but this doesn’t happen every day. Her smile was as big as ever, her gallop was ecstatic, the entire crowd roaring with excitement. This was better than she could’ve ever imagined. The feeling was fantastic. She couldn’t help but look at every single face in the fans, blooming with joy.
The Wonderbolts took a modest bow to everyone, Dash and her group looking one way, Soarin and the others looking the other. Turning his head to the side just enough, Soarin spoke to Dash. “You ready?”
“Ready? That’s not a strong enough word to describe what I’m feeling.”
“I could only guess. Let’s go.”
Simultaneously, the two crouched down just a bit and then jumped up at full speed, the other 4 following behind. Dash’s colorful rainbow stuck out from the others’ clouds of smoke and lightning, making the display quite original. Each group split off into their respective direction. Dash would’ve liked to see Soarin’s performance, but it was her time at the moment.
Flying at par with the other two, Dash looked to the rows of audience, seeing all their faces now and how they would change. One pony stuck out the most: A unicorn with a off-white coat and a long light and dark blue streaked mane and tail, something that looked like glasses propped up on her head. She had a small smile, but barely noticeable.
The three slowed down a bit as Dash began to do a loop. She proceeded to make a spiral, the other two following suit, making two duplicates inside of the larger one. She looked back at the same pony from the audience and her smile was noticeably bigger. That wasn’t good enough though.
Next, the performers went for the available clouds, one of them hitting the right side, the left side, and the middle. The result was each time they hit a cloud, it would split and two small tornado looking clouds would form. The crowd jolted with excitement, either from that stunt or Soarin’s, but Dash didn’t think they ever saw her stunt before.
For the final thing she had up her sleeve, she motioned Misty and Spitfire to go ahead, herself nearly going to a stop. The crowd slowly hushed as the distance between them grew and grew until nearly 2 minutes went by. The cloud trails were nice and solid left from the other two. Before she executed her plan, she looked to the pony one more time. Her smile was definitely considerable, waiting in anticipation for the next move. And for a moment, Dash’s eyes and the pony’s contacted, just enough to be noticed. Dash suddenly felt relaxed, feeling even more confident in her abilities. She gave an obvious nod to the pony before she started forward, quickly gaining speed.
The wind flowed through her rainbow mane smoothly, the environment starting to blur a bit behind her, her mind racing. But even in this crucial moment, she seemed distracted. Dash wasn’t sure by what, but that would have to wait until later. Her lack of sleep started finally catching up to her as she exerted herself, her muscles also relaxed other than her flapping wings. The speed continued to grow until a resistance could be felt, a visual line forming around her. This was it. Only her fourth time doing the Sonic Rainboom, and it was nearly a mere playground trick to her now.
The line narrowed to her form, everything a complete blur now other than the distinct trails beside her. Her weariness continued to try to drag her down, but she pulled through. The Sonic Rainboom was heard by everyone within miles and seen by everyone within the same distance. The trail she left was magnificent as she maneuvered around the trails by Misty and Spitfire gracefully, making a figure 8 pattern. The sight was spectacular.
However…She felt the sleepiness finally starting to overcome her. She was not used to lack of sleep, and the sudden exertion pushed her to her limits. Slowly falling towards the ground, she tried to slow her speed of approach, but it was a bit too much.
Before she crashed, the image of that off-white and blue pony, smiling wide, flashed into her mind. As long as she made others happy.
Rainbow Dash hit the ground from an aerial routine…going the speed of sound.
Chapter 2: The More You Know
Hoof steps echoed through the nearly empty streets of Ponyville. The only remaining residents being ponies that had more important things to do than to see the Air Show today, which was unlikely, or ponies that are running a bit late. Vinyl Scratch was one of them.
With a few records in her mouth and focusing her magic on signing a copyright paper, she had her hooves full with business and she really wished she didn’t. She knew quite well the IEAS was today, she had her ticket, and she was not planning to miss it. Managing to miss the show 2 years in a row since she got back here from San Manetonio, she wasn’t going to miss it again. Hearing so many things about these Wonderbolts and not seeing them once is a pain.
Dropping by her house, Vinyl quickly finished the paperwork with her neat but unique signature at the bottom of each page, setting the records down next to it. She didn’t have time to change into anything, and she barely had time to find and grab the ticket before the clock said it was going to start soon.
Already on her way down the trails to the show area, Vinyl heard a call from behind. “Yo, Scratch! Wait up! Forget about me?!” Tune was yelling at the top of his voice, running up to Vinyl. “Don’t tell me you forgot about little ole Tune Symphon, Scratch.”
Tune Symphon was a shorter colt with a sage green coat and a white mane and tail. It wouldn’t usually match, but he somehow managed to make it look respectable.
“Oh, sorry Tuner. Got caught up in some of my business, y’know how it goes.”
“Yeah, yeah. You always say that. Just like last year at the Air Show you didn’t even come.” Tuner pouted a bit, turning away.
“Come on, Tune. Y’know what happened then. That was beyond my control. I wouldn’t ditch out on ya if I wanted. We all good?” Vinyl stuck out her hoof, smiling weakly at him.
Grunting, Tune lifted up his hoof also and hit it against hers, smiling just enough. “Whatevah.”
“It’s about time we got here. I think just in time for the show to actually start, too. No thanks to the slow tempo over here.” Tune nudged Vinyl, chuckling under his breath.
“Like I said, Tuner. It wasn’t my fault.”
“Loosen up, will ya? You’re here for some fun, not to be all tense about how this small contract might work out. Just forget all about your troubles and relax. It’ll be a change for you in public.”
“Oh, hush you. I’m plenty loose. Just a bit tired, that’s all. Let’s just sit down and watch the show. Never seen these guys before. Heard they were good.”
“Good?! These Wonderbolts are amazing! They recently got a new member today, too. First pegasus to do a Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash, is it?”
“No clue, myself. Hm…Rainbow Dash?”
“Yup, if I remember right. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. Let’s just watch. It’s starting.” In the back of Vinyl’s mind, something was scratching away. Rainbow Dash was a very familiar name and she swore she saw her before. Maybe not meet her, but at least see her.
“You serious, Scratch? You left your DJ glasses on you. They’re still on your head up on your horn.”
“Ah, shoot. Ah well. Not like they don’t make me look awesome.”
“We could discuss th-“
“Shush! They’re coming out!”
The two, not to mention the audience, watched as the six Wonderbolts trotted onto the field.
“Oh, there they are!” Vinyl shouted.
“Yes, we know, Scratch. We can see them.”
Feeling somewhat offended by his abrupt comment, Vinyl shut up and watched as the six lined up, each having a smile of their own. Her mouth formed a smile within a few seconds, a bit giddy but trying not to show it.
The Wonderbolts darted upwards towards the sky so quickly, Vinyl almost couldn’t catch up. Among the clouds of smoke, a bright sparkling rainbow was visible. That was probably Rainbow Dash. Trying to follow the rainbow, it quickly led her to 3 spirals, 2 made of smoke, the biggest made of, of course, rainbow. Her eye caught up to the speeding pegasi, dashing through countless clouds, splitting them into 2 spinning puffs of condensation.
“Man, these ponies are fast!” Vinyl thought to herself. She looked at Tune for a moment, noticing him staring in awe also. The rest of the crowd was cheering. “Wonder why no one ever thought of that cloud trick?”
Rainbow stopped as the other two flew ahead at full speed. “I wonder what she’s planning?…” Vinyl could see Dash turn her head towards her. Vinyl wasn’t sure if Dash knew, but their eyes met, and she could tell even from this distance. Dash nodded, and it looked like it was towards her. Maybe she was just imagining, but it really looked like it.
Before she knew everything that was going on, Dash was off and flying at her signature speeds. The distance grew but the Sonic Rainboom became more and more seeable, bending itself around Dash’s body as she began breaking the sound barrier. With what seemed like not even breaking a sweat, Rainbow Dash made the Sonic Rainboom, making everyone cover their ears and make sure nothing flew away. It was beautiful. The long rainbow trail circled around the smoke majestically, creating a flowing wave pattern...Until she saw the trail start heading towards the ground.
Vinyl turned to Tune. “Is that supposed to be happening?”
“You have as much idea as I do. I’m gonna guess no, though.”
Jumping from her seat, Vinyl headed towards the rails of the bleachers, leaning against them as she looked off towards the sinking rainbow…Until a huge dust cloud rose where the rainbow stopped. She felt like yelling out her name, but Dash was way too far. The medical ponies were already on their way to the crash site. It was going to be a while until Vinyl saw her, but she understood. She didn’t even know her, but she felt like she should…
“Vinyl, why do you even want to stay here? You don’t even know her!” Tune stamped his hoof at the ground, standing near the exit. Vinyl was sitting near a cot where Rainbow Dash laid, one wing held up and multiple burns and wounds and unconscious.. The cot wasn’t exactly a gory sight, but it wasn’t pretty. Other than small bits of the cot cover, which was red from some blood, and the ponies inside, the small tent infirmary was completely white and shook from anything from a weak hit on the ground to a loud noise.
“I know I don’t, Tuner, but I…There’s a feeling inside me, alright? You ever have one of those?” Vinyl looked at him with plead, putting her hooves to her chest. A few long moments drug by before Tune towards the exit, smirking.
“You know I’ve never been good with feelings. I’ll leave you alone. Just hurry up.”
“Thanks Tune…” Vinyl sat quietly next to Dash’s cot, putting her hooves next to her thighs. “I remember where I saw you now…It was at Rarity’s outfit debuting. To be honest, the dress was horrible…but you looked exquisite none-the-less. Nopony really thought me as the type to fancy a few girls, but it’s true…”
“Heh. That’s all I’m assumed to like,” Dash replies back, making Vinyl jump and fall out of her chair as she thought she was still unconscious. “It’s true though…You’re not a bad pony yourself.”
Chapter 3: Just A Feeling
Rainbow Dash turned her head towards Vinyl, smiling faintly. The crowd was still cheering in the background, already moving on from the huge crash. Crashes happened nearly every year, but no one realized how severe that one could’ve been. There about 3 burns on Dash from friction, many cuts and tears, and a minor concussion. In fact, how she lived was a miracle, and the fact that she came out with so little injuries is phenomenal.
“What are you doing here, kid?” Rainbow Dash questioned. She had a smirk on her face despite the pain, hiding it like she always did. Her mane and tail practically shone in the lighting in the white room. They were a bit dirty but altogether still radiant.
“To tell you the truth, I’m not entirely sure. A feeling?” Vinyl’s mane was a bit messed up from the sudden panic. Despite this, it still was in a near neat composure along with her tail, the calming blues agreeing with the blank white of the tent. She smiled back at Dash, closing her eyes a bit.
“Yeah, I heard that last conversation. I was nearly unconscious, not dead. I had a bit of a feeling too…Part of the reason I crashed. But, eh, to be honest, the crash wasn’t as bad as I would’ve thought. My Wonderbolts outfit is pretty jank, though. Speaking of which, where are they?” Vinyl sprung back to her senses, looking around a bit.
“Not entirely sure. I think they’re still out there, judging the fliers. Even when it’s not a competition, it is.” She rolled her eyes. “Never for fun, huh?”
“Oh, that’s not for the audience or anything. Just bragging rights.”
“That…That makes sense…” Vinyl looked down towards her hooves, sighing. The room grew quiet, the two looking away from each other a bit nervously. Not all the time where two ponies don’t know each other and suddenly feel an urge to meet them for apparently no reason. Dash broke the silence, turning to Vinyl.
“You had the feeling too?”
“Of course. That’s why I’m here. It was when our eyes met. It was an odd and I never felt before. You?”
“Same here. It was…odd, to say the least, but good feeling. I have no idea what it is…But I’m glad you came to me. I might’ve just blown off the feeling. I tend to do that to a lot of things, haha.”
Vinyl chuckled, looking up and smiling. “Good thing, then. No one blows off Vinyl Scratch.”
“Oh, so that’s your name? I’m glad introducing yourself was important. My name is-“
“Rainbow Dash, of course. I know you. You’re a Wonderbolt, how I couldn’t?”
“Ha. I guess you’re right, huh? Anyway, I better get back to the others, actually. I’ll talk to ya later.” Dash began stepping out of her cot, grunting.
“No wait! The doctors said you shoul-“ She face-planted into the ground as soon as she stepped down, grunting. Vinyl trotted over to help her back into the sheets, struggling. She was a bit heavier than expected of her stature, but she was a strong flier. Both of them panting a bit from the small bits of exercise, they both sighed.
“Heh…Never mind, I guess I’m staying here with you.”
“You better. I let my friend go ahead of me so I could stay here with you. Speaking of which, I will have to go soon. I have a lot of stuff to deal with. I will leave in a minute, but…I know this is odd to ask, but would you like to meet me at Sugar Cube Corner?” Vinyl smiled, blushing just a bit. “Y’know, you seem cool and all.”
“Haha, are you blushing? Are you asking me on a date?”
Vinyl’s blush turned 20% darker, jumping back a bit. “Huh?! No no! I was just-“
“I’m just messing with. Hahaha. I’ll meet ya there tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, either. I’ll be better by then. I’ll see ya there.” Dash gave a warm smile, sitting up right. “And don’t you forget it.”
Vinyl couldn’t help but smile back, shying away a bit at the same time. “Sounds good. I’ll be off then. I’ll see you tomorrow, Rainbow Dash.” She started walking away from the cot, sighing contently before Rainbow Dash called for her.
“Hey! You’re forgetting to give me a hug or something!” Laughing a bit, she opened her forelegs.
Vinyl turned around, trying to hold back her smile and acting like she is giving a sigh of disapproval. “Fine, I guess I have to, now that you ask me.” She trotted back over, lifting herself into a hug, hugging Dash tight for a few moments. Right before she started to back away, Dash gave a small kiss on her cheek, causing Vinyl to blush dark crimson. She stepped away from the hug, shying away as she turned around. “I-I’ll see you tomorrow, then…Bye.” Vinyl started to trot back out, thoughts rushing through her head. As the sun came into view in the sky and she stepped out of the tent, she could hear Dash yell, “C’ya Vinyl!”
Vinyl smiled up to the sun for a few seconds, soaking in the light before starting to gallop home.
The moon was high in the night sky, just luminescent enough to make most of the town seeable. Nopony was out, nearly all the lights were out, and everypony was asleep…Except for Vinyl. The living room light was on, her scratch table lit with all the various lights, the computer screen next to it shining onto her face. Everything had their volume down low, allowing everyone else to sleep. The two discs were spinning slowly, the styli right above the discs. Vinyl adjusted some of the settings on the computer before setting one of the styli down onto the right disc, allowing some of her favorite band, DeadMar3, to start playing. The tune was slow at first, a very peaceful melody. She swayed her head to the music, closing her eyes and soaking in the notes. She wished life was as peaceful as this song all the time. Her eyes watered up a bit, the rhythm flowing through her like a stream. Vinyl’s environment went inside of her head, turning a cold blue color, relaxing her every muscle.
This is what she nearly always did was listen to music. This song always stuck with her, allowing peace to move through her life when she most needed it. As the song began speeding up, she always realized that she couldn’t always stay back and relax all through life. The only thing you can really do is move forward after a fall and keep going. The beat dropped and she began bouncing her head to the tempo. Caught in the moment, she even forgot to put the stylus on the second disc. The song playing right next to her, she fell asleep at the table.
It was 10 in the morning and Dash was sitting at Sugar Cube Corner, waiting impatiently. Her hoof was taping the ground, looking all over the restaurant. She got here as soon as the place opened which was at 9. Her wing ached a bit, resting in a sling. There was a root beer with a straw in it sitting in front of her, but she was anxious. She barely got any sleep again, but this time because of all the feelings she got. Thoughts of that pony, Vinyl, kept speeding through in and out of her head. She didn’t even really know her, but in a way, she felt like she did.
The kiss…That brief cheek kiss phased. She didn’t even realize she did it until a few minutes after Vinyl left. She wasn’t even sure if it was her that did it, it seemed unreal. But, she did realize it was the past and as long as Vinyl didn’t bring it up, she didn’t have to explain herself. “Hey, can I get a sundae over here?” she called to the waitress.
As she waited for her sundae to arrive quickly, she heard the restaurant door open. Dash jumped a bit, looking over at the entrance. “Vinyl?”
“Who’s that? Nah, Dash, it’s not one of your lame friends. Miss me?” Dash watched as a tall gryphon walked up to the foot of her booth and sink one of her talons into the tabletop.
Chapter 4: Quick Disunion
“What are you doing here, Gilda?” Dash said to the towering gryphon crossly, getting out of her booth seat. “I thought you ditched these “lame ponies” here, including me.” Dash lifted herself onto her back legs, looking Gilda straight in the eyes.
“Yeah, you’re right, I did. But, something like what you did to me isn’t easily overlooked, tough one.” Gilda poked Dash hard in the chest, pushing her back onto all fours. “We were buds, Dash. Then like I was just something you could throw away, I was gone in your eyes. That’s not something forgiven.” The gryphon began taking slow steps towards Dash, causing her to step back. “Let’s just say I came back to settle the score with you.”
“Look, Gilda, I don’t want any kind of trouble with y-“
“Yeah, you got that right. I don’t think anypony would. You know I’m stronger than you; you don’t even have to question that. Bigger than you. And…” She placed one of her talons against Dash’s head, making a small incision. The pegasus yelped, not expecting the cut. “Sharper…than you…In two different ways.”
“Gilda, this whole thing was your fault. You treated my friends wrong. To think I would let that slip past me was a mistake because no one hurts my friends.”
“Oh ho ho, Dashie. But I was your friend. And you hurt me. Are you calling yourself a no one? Because if that’s true, I guess no one will miss you when you turn to pulp!” Gilda lifted her claw, bringing it down with full force. Everything started to move slowly. Dash knew even with her great speed, she wouldn’t escape this blow…Especially with her wing broken. She merely waited the blow to injure her or even kill her…
The moments when by as slow as it could ever go, making Dash feel every heartbeat, hear every movement. This was probably how it all ended…
That’s what she thought until she felt the vibrations of hooves on the floor, the sound of somepony running closer. The sound stopped for a moment until the same sound, but much louder, resonated from the table next to her. Dash lifter her head just in time to see Vinyl jump from the table, spinning towards Gilda before hitting her straight in her beak. The gryphon felt the entire blow, stopping mid swing and beginning to fall to her side. Vinyl landed between her and Dash, holding out her chest triumphantly as Gilda hit the floor, groaning in pain.
“Oh, you little-“
“You are SO lucky that I was here to stop you, or you would’ve been hurting a lot more later!”
“No one humiliates me!” Gilda swung her talons near the ground and Vinyl quickly reacted, jumping over them in a nearly cheerful hop. The other claw came down at her directly after, making Vinyl jump to the side. There was a smug grin on Vinyl’s face, as if this wasn’t anything but a daily duty. In one huge swing, Gilda brought down both of her claws down at the unicorn. She merely jumped back, dodging the blow completely, following up with another hop towards Gilda, reaching right up to her face. She spun and gave another kick, giving a nice, satisfying CRACK noise. The gryphon fell once more, this time unconscious.
Vinyl did this all with headphones on. She walked over and kicked Gilda gently, making sure she was unconscious. She then proceeded to take off her headphones and turn them up all the way, allowing the song she was listening to finish with a loud, “KO!”
“Seems like you’re no one, huh?...That song was way too convenient, wasn’t it?” She scratched her head, chuckling.
Dash sat there, dumbstruck from the speed of what just happened. “How did you-“
Vinyl quickly interrupted, walking towards the restaurant’s door. “We better get going. This isn’t exactly the best place to hang out at the moment.” Dash shook herself to her senses, lifting herself onto her feet and quickly following behind Vinyl, giving Gilda’s unconscious body a concerned look.
The sun was as bright as ever, the skies absent of any cloud, even without Rainbow Dash’s help. It was spring at the moment, 3 weeks after the Winter Wrap-up. The creatures were all out and about, minding their own business as the ponies did theirs. There was still a slight cool breeze in the air, but it was nothing like weeks ago.
The two ponies walked side by side of each other, the streets of Ponyville packed with bustling buyers and sellers, talkers and wanderers. The grass was as green as it could get for spring, flowers budding out from the blades. Everything was relatively quiet for such a lively and busy place.
Vinyl stopped at a bench, laying down and looking up at the goggle-tinted skies as Dash stood, still in shock. After about a minute, she set herself down next to the bench, looking up at Vinyl. Without looking back at her, Vinyl asked, “You have something to ask?”
Shaking herself out of her thoughts again, Dash lifted herself back up again. “How did you do that back there? That was incredible.”
“When I was a kid, I was one of the last ones to get my cutie mark. In attempt to get it faster, I tried a bunch of stuff that I enjoyed, one including martial arts classes. Not much other than that.” She said all this calmly as though she didn’t do anything. “Not to mention, I had the drop in on her. That made it a lot easier.”
“But that much easier? I mean, you took her out in 10 seconds flat. It was-“
“I get it. Can we not talk about it?” Vinyl replied with a slightly saddened tone. Dash hushed, looking down at her hooves regretfully.
“Thanks…For helping me.”
“Ah, it was no problem.” Vinyl spun herself on the bench and sat up right, slipping her glasses over her eyes and smiling. “Don’t mention it.” She pushed herself forward, landing on all fours in front of the bench before looking over her shoulder at Dash. “Let’s get somewhere else so we can talk. Maybe get a bite to eat on the way there.
“Oh, yeah! How about some cotton candy?” Forgetting instantly about the last event, Dash came trotting with a hop to her step beside Vinyl.
“This early in the morning? That is not good for you.”
“Yeah, that might be true. But you only live for so long! Enjoy everything you have and do everything today!”
Vinyl sighed and turned to look the pegasus. Responding slowly with an odd tone to her voice, she said, “I knew someone like you. What if by doing everything today, you have nothing left for tomorrow? What if something you did today prevents you from doing something tomorrow? I can see what you mean, but to do it with no regrets may prove difficult.”
Dash slowed down a bit, still following directly behind her. Vinyl didn’t seem like a pony to say something like that. She seemed like somepony like Dash. Fast-paced and exciting. Maybe that’s just what she was saying, but she sounded convincing. Maybe she just needs someone to help her.
Passing by a food booth, Dash tossed up two bits onto the counter and was quickly handed a stick of cotton candy. Beginning to eat it the best she can while still walking, Dash caught back up with Vinyl’s side, biting happily away at the fluffy snack.
Vinyl turned to Dash again. “Where would you like to-…Oh, heh. Looks like you already have something to eat. Never mind, then. Is it good?”
Cotton candy stuff in her mouth, Dash replies, “Ah corsh! Ish dehicious!”
Chuckling, the unicorn turns her head back in front of her. “Good. You better get me some later. It looks good.”
“Wan’ shome?”
“No…Heh. I’m good for now…Ah, okay, we’re almost there. Keep following. I have a sweet hang out spot.” Dash looked around, smiling warmly, noticing they were walking onto Sweet Apple Acres.
Chapter 5:
“What are we doing out here, Vinyl? This is AJ’s farm.” The apple trees, ripe and right for picking, were slowly becoming denser the farther they went into the farm.
“AJ? Never heard of her.” Some rotting apples were laying on the ground not from the trunk of the tree while the fresh ones have rolled down the hill, far away from its producer.
“AppleJack, silly. Y’know, the Apple Family. AppleJack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith. Them.”
“Oh, right! The ones that own Sweet Apple Acres. Like I said, I have a hangout spot just for us. It’s nice, cozy, and far away from everything. Used to go there every day after…” Vinyl grew quiet, looking down at the ground and then closing her eyes. Nudging her gently, Dash smiled at her.
“After what, Vinyl?” Quickly becoming concerned, Dash pushed Vinyl’s head up with her wing. “You can tell me. I know we haven’t been friends for that long, but you can trust me.”
Letting out a long sigh, Vinyl lifted up her head and started walking faster. The pegasus kept up, wiping away the smile as they walked on. Vinyl lifted up her goggles for a moment and wiped at her eyes before putting them back on. “I’ll tell you what happened when we get to where we’re going…” She began to trot through the trees, taking a turn every few steps, almost looking like she was trying to shake Dash off. Dash pursued just as quickly though, only not staying by her side because of the few wounds she still had from the day before. The nurse unicorn did a great job overall, though.
The trees grew thicker and thicker, trying to reach out and trip the crippled pony, sticking out their roots in desperation. Dash kept running as fast as she could, jumping over the obstacles and dodging the hanging limbs. It seemed like the Everfree Forest all over again. She’s never gone this far into the orchard on foot. Actually, she’s never gone into the orchard on foot at all.
Light erupted in her face as she exited the thicket and into an slightly open clearing with one single apple tree in the middle, a tree house built on it. Vinyl was casually walking up the walkway into it, her goggles now up. The tree house had a bit of color though there were many things falling off and such. The door was off its hinges mostly and there was CMC written on the front of it. It seemed almost as old as Dash herself.
She quickly followed behind Vinyl, starting to walk up the walkway as the unicorn walked into the house itself. Something about this dinky little clubhouse seemed familiar. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she’s seen or heard of it before. Maybe she was just imagining it.
Stepping inside, she witnessed Vinyl kneeling herself down with her hooves together in front of a small portrait, although it was too dark to tell who it was. Her voice was hushed, barely even audible across the small room. The entire interior had no light other than one window, and there were curtains over that also. Vinyl’s goggles were now on the ground next to her, the first time Dash actually saw the goggles off of her body.
Dash began walking more into the house, treading carefully as to not disturb Vinyl. Even getting closer, her words weren’t recognizable at all. They were too quiet. Vinyl didn’t seem like someone to be talking to themselves…Dash then realized the connection between the portrait and her talking quietly. She was talking to her. It must’ve been a close pony that died. That would explain a lot.
Vinyl finished up her nearly inaudible talk session with, “Thank Celestia for letting me talk to you again. I will back soon.”
“You two were really close, weren’t you?” Vinyl jumped in fright, turning around quickly, her horn glowing. Just for a second, it lit up the portrait bright enough to show a pony with a grey coat and a long grey mane with a small pink bowtie on. She was smiling, looking away from the photographer as if she didn’t want to be taken a photo of, although it was obvious she did.
The unicorn in front of the portrait, calmed down, slipping on her goggles over her noticeably red eyes. “Don’t sneak up on me Octy…” She realized what she said and turned back around, blushing a bit and sniffling. “I mean Dash!”
“Vinyl…are you alright?” Dash walked closer to Vinyl, putting her hoof on her back. “It looks like we need to talk about something.”
The unicorn let out a long sigh, her horn glowing again to move her goggles up. “Yeah…I told you I ‘d tell you what happened…” She sat down, wiping her eyes again and looking up at the portrait she was kneeling in front of.
“That’s Octavia. An earth pony I met back when I was a tiny mare. Still in the schoolhouse and all. Had our cutie marks but that’s the only thing mature about us back then. Well, actually, me specifically. Octavia was the mature one that got me out of stuff. We were best friends, hung out all through school. Filly school, middle school, high school, even went to the same university. Yeah, we were both music people. She loved the cello, I loved mixing music. Quite opposite sides of the scale, I know, but we tolerated each other’s music and actually grew to love it.
“So…When it came for graduation, we obviously both graduated with modest positions in our class…Modest being I was near the bottom for having creativity and she was at the top because she knew how to work with restrictions. We continued to hang out for a while, but like most friends, saw each other less and less. That was expected. When she was…” Vinyl paused and sniffled a bit, choking on her words. “Sorry…When she was traveling to one of her shows…A harpy attacked her. She only had her cello with her, and it was a family heirloom. She couldn’t use it to defend herself. Instead, she got mauled and clawed close to death…That’s all the harpy wanted. Nothing else. Right after that, the harpy flew off and someone discovered Octavia, barely alive.
“When I learned she was hurt and at the hospital, I went as fast as I could to see her…I broke down when I did. She had cuts all over her body. Most of her bones broken…It was…horrible. She smiled when she saw me though. That was the first time I cried ever, and she saw it. She said she felt privileged because she knew that it was.” Vinyl sniffled again, tearing up. “I was right next to her when she died…She didn’t have any immediate family and I was the only real friend she knew…She said she gave everything to me on her will.” Tears began to roll down her face, causing her to look away a bit. “I didn’t want anything. I said the only thing I wanted was her to live…She responded with…” Vinyl coughed, trying to keep talking but it started to prove difficult. “She said…’That can’t happen now. I don’t want you to live with me as a burden…I want you to live as much as you can. I didn’t do it like you did, and I regret it now…” Vinyl was almost balling now, wiping her eyes over and over again. “I want you to regret nothing and protect everything you love…That…That is how you actually live, not just survive.”
Vinyl buried her face in her hooves, letting go of everything. Dash sat nearby, listening and watching, unsure what to do yet. “She…She died moments after those words. I cried the entire night, but the next day, I acted like nothing was wrong, and lived, like she said.” She lifted herself from her hooves, closing her eyes to hold back the tears. “But everyday since then, I came back here…Where me, her, and AppleJack used to hang out…When we were really small…And I talked to her…Until AppleJack’s little sister and friends moved in, and that’s when I moved to the thicket of the trees…Until, again, they grew older and stopped coming. Everyday I could. She will never leave my thoughts…” She began crying again, hanging her head, letting her tears soak into the wooden floor.
Dash scooted over and swung her foreleg over Vinyl’s shoulders, pulling her closer. The same feeling she had when flying, when she first saw Vinyl, overcame her again. “That’s not what she told you to do.” Vinyl turned her head, confused.
“W…What?”
“Octavia didn’t tell you to stop living because someone else did. You’re not living yet. You’re letting something in the past shackle you down. That’s not living. Living is what she said. Having no regrets. Right now, you’re regretting her death. You need to move forward and take a hold of what’s ahead of you. Looking at what’s behind you only makes you crash. Trust me, I know.”
Vinyl managed a small chuckle, wiping the tears from her eyes one last time. “I…I guess you’re right…Sorry…for dumping this all on you.”
“Don’t mention it. I accidentally dumped my crash onto you yesterday, I’ll take the same times 10.” Vinyl put her head on Dash’s shoulder, sighing and chuckling again.
“Heh…If that’s true…” She sniffled again. “Will…You help me not to look behind me?” Neither of them blushed, this wasn’t somepony asking another out, this was a question to salvation and happiness.
Dash smiled. “I couldn’t say no. You’ll always have my rainbow leading the way.”
-They returned to Ponyville an hour afterwards. Neither say what happened in that hour. By noon, they confirmed that they were dating. Gilda was seen leaving Ponyville a little bit after the fight between her and Vinyl. She didn’t speak to anyone but seemed to have a broken beak. Vinyl only returned to the treehouse one more time and it was to retrieve Octavia’s picture. She keeps it in her living room only as a reminder to keep moving forward.-
Part 1
FIN
Part 2 will be out as soon as possible, including another 5 chapters. The other Mane 6 characters shall be met, so expect some…well…unexpectations. I know that’s not a word. |
|
Tunersymphon | 506 | 2 | DJ P0N-3,Rainbow Dash,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Other Side of the Vinyl | hiatus | 22 | 4 | <p>The picture was created by Shelmo69 and she/he has given me permission to use it. </p><p>Rainbow Dash has finally reached her dream. She's a Wonderbolt. Not only that, but on her first show, she's leading half of the Wonderbolts. It's beyond her dream. However, what seems to be a tragedy turns out to be the biggest stroke of luck Rainbow has had yet.</p> | everyone | 2011-10-03T16:40:55+00:00 | 2011-10-03T16:40:55+00:00 | 1,454 | Part 2
Chapter 6: First for Everything
It has been one week since Vinyl and Dash began seeing each other. They mainly hung out at Vinyl’s house, talking hours on end about everything in their life. Dash usually was the one talking though, and Vinyl would sit back and listening, smiling the entire time. Dash’s wing was still injured for the entire week, but instead of going away from the subject of flying to not sadden herself, she dived into more so than ever before. If Dash ever ran out of things to say, Vinyl would play one of her own songs to keep her going but instead made Dash give out uncountable amounts of praise. Vinyl has yet to publish any of her personal works but she is being encouraged to.
This morning, they were headed for Sugar Cube Corner to eat and talk like usual, but in public to hopefully run into one of Dash’s closest friends. They have just entered when a hot pink mare jumped in front of them, bouncing in joy.
“Oh my gosh! Dashie! I haven’t seen you in, like, an entire week! Hehehe! I haven’t spoken to you in longer! I did see you a week ago but you were leaving Sugar Cube Corner with the mare next to you and I saw the big old meanie Gilda on the ground and I was like, ‘Ooooooh, what did they do?’ and I heard later that the mare next to you beat her up and I’ve been meaning to say ‘Wow, awesome!’ but I haven’t seen you until so I have to say it now! I heard it was awesome!” Pinkie got right into Dash’s face, giving a huge smile and then letting out a laugh.
Unable to react, Dash and Vinyl looked at each other questionably. Practically like a guardian angel, Rarity stepped out from behind the restaurant counter, giving her most prissy pout look while putting her hoof against her forehead. “Ooooh, Pinkie dear. Would you please stop talking so much. You’re giving us all such the headache.”
“Oh, don’t be like that Rarity! I haven’t seen Dashie in fooooorevvvvvver! Oh! And who’s your marefriend?”
Dash flared up like a fireball, blushing dark crimson. “What? N-No! It’s not l-“
Vinyl interrupted by laughing, starting to walk past Pinkie to get to her booth. “It is like that, and my name is Vinyl Scratch. I’m, yes, the rainbow ball’s marefriend. Pleased to meet you.” She sat down in booth, propping her legs on the table and leaning back as much as she could. Dash continued to blush but happily instead of embarrassingly. She quickly followed behind, sitting right next to the unicorn, pushing her playfully.
Seeing the goggled unicorn, Rarity ran up to the table, smiling. “Oooh, a marefriend? Well, I have to say, although they’re not exactly my style, those goggles actually quite compliment your mane. I love those cool colors.”
Pinkie bumped into Rarity, getting into her face also. “Oh, silly! Goggles can’t compliment a mane! They can’t talk!”
In response, Rarity merely placed her hoof against her face, sighing. “Oh my, dear, you have so much to learn.”
Vinyl swung her legs back under the table, sitting up right. “Glad to meet you two. How about we talk with some treats? I’m hungry. Do you have s-“
“Coming right up!” Pinkie zoomed into the kitchen and came back with a platter of cupcakes in less than two seconds. “Wupwakes! On ve vouse!” she yelled with a the platter still in her mouth. She set it down in the middle of the table, Rarity and Pinkie sitting down across from the couple. Everyone except Dash grabbed a cupcake, quickly starting to munch on it.
Nudging Dash, Vinyl pushed the cupcake towards her. “Why aren’t you gonna have the cupcake?”
“Oh…Not really in the mood for it right now.” She pushed the cupcake back again, sinking into her seat.
“How come, hun?”
“Well, just something I read a few days ago…” Dash winced a bit. “I’d rather not get into it.”
“Oh, come on, Dash. What could ever be bad about a cupcake? Pinkie Pie probably made these cupcakes just from us.”
Dash winced again, sinking lower. “Yeah…or from us.”
“What do you m-“
Rarity interrupted loudly, pointing at Dash’s wing. “Oh goodness! What happened to your wing, dear? Was it from that air event? Some ruffian push you into the ground?”
“Weelllll…” Dash’s voice went extremely quiet, barely louder than Fluttershy’s voice. “I fell asleep while flying…”
“What Dashie? We can’t hear you! You need to speak louder, like me!”
“I fell asleep while flying…”
“Y’know, dear, it would help if you spoke at your normal speaking voice,” Rarity said.
Vinyl blurted out, grinning mischievously. “She fell asleep while flying because she was thinking of beautiful old me.”
Dash’s cheeks turned to the darkest crimson possible, popping herself into an upright position. “I did not!”
“Ooooh, Dash! I think that’s the darkest blush I’ve seen you ever turn. You’re adorable blushing! You’re even blushing more than when I found out you use tongue!” Dash couldn’t speak now, simply sinking into her seat, pouting.
Rarity blushed a bit also, chuckling before saying. “Now, girls. Don’t give us too much information, alri-“
“OOOOOOOH MY GOODNESS! Tell us ever detail!” Pinkie was now hopping with so much excitement, she couldn’t contain herself (although she didn’t exactly try).
Vinyl couldn’t help but start uncontrollably laughing, Rarity trying to contain her laughter the best she could while Dash continued to pout. Vinyl hit the table, trying to let out all of the humor. Pinkie Pie looked at the three of them, chuckling innocently. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh…Oh, nothing, pink one,” Vinyl said. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Pinkamina Diane Pie! Pinkie Pie, for short!”
“And why do you always yell?”
Pinkie gasped loudly, getting a surprised look. “I’ve been yelling?! Goodness, I’m sorry! I’m gonna try to stop yelling, but it’s so hard for me because I love to have fun and yelling is part of a party and-“
“Pinkie?” Rarity interrupted.
“Yes Rarity?”
“You can be quiet now, deary.”
“Oh! Okay!” She pulled a zipper out of nowhere and pretended to zip her mouth close…Well, she actually did. Somehow.
Snorting a bit from laughing, Vinyl took another bite of her cupcake, wiping away a tear from her eyes. “Oh, you guys are great. And don’t worry, me and Dash here haven’t even kissed. She isn’t exactly the smoothest pony around.” She chuckled, taking the last bite of cupcake she had.
Now it was Dash’s turn. She sat up right again, grinning as mischievously as ever when she wrapped her forelegs around Vinyl, pulling her into a deep passionate kiss in front of Dash’s two friends. She intended for the kiss only to last a second…but they both were caught in the moment, their forelegs wrapping around each other tightly. And Vinyl was right. Dash didn’t mean to, but she started using tongue. They kissed for what seemed like an hour, but really was only about 20 seconds before they pulled away from each other, blushing and smiling.
Rarity couldn’t help but watch and blush, putting her hooves to her mouth before saying, “Oh my…”
Pinkie stared wide-eyed, unzipping her mouth before practically shouting, “Holy guacamole!”
The two lovers realized they weren’t alone again, smiling at the other two innocently. “Well…Now we have, apparently,” Vinyl said. The table grew quiet, everyone just looking at each other, waiting for an ice breaker before Vinyl made the break. “And I was totally right about the tongue! Haha!”
Rarity giggled, turning her head away. “Oh, you two are a good couple. Your colors so do not match, but who am I to judge something like that?” She began pushing Pinkie out of the booth, scooting our herself. “Well, if you do excuse me, I have to get back to my work. Duty calls!” She trotted off, probably off to spread the gossip. Before she left, she peeked through the entrance and called over. “Oh, and dearest Rainbow? Go over to Twilight, she might be able to help you with your wing.”
“Oh good idea, Rarity! Thanks!” Slipping out of the booth quickly, she slid a few bits on the table. “Thanks Pinkie Pie for the cupcakes and all. I’ll see you around.” Vinyl slid out of the booth as well, placing a few more bits next to Dash’s.
“Thanks Pinkie. And don’t worry about those bits. I want you to have them.” She took Dash’s cupcake off of the table, biting off a bit before levitating it with her horn. “See ya around.” Vinyl and Dash trotted out of the store side by side.
Pinkie waved goodbye before yelling, “Bye Dashie! Bye Dashie’s marefriend! Oh, I meant Vinyl. Bye Vinyl!”
Chapter 7: Time Heals all Wounds…And So Does Magic
The two were walking together again towards Twilight’s house, practically touching each other’s sides. Like usual, the streets were moderately busy. Ponies leaving and entering various shops, visiting friends, colts trying to pick up the mares. Everyday life.
“So…Dashie,” Vinyl said inquiringly.
“Oh, geez, not you too. Pick that name up when Pinkie said it?”
Vinyl giggled innocently, pushing Dash with her hip. “Oh, it’s not that bad. But, yeah, what was with that kiss? I’m not implying you’re not one to make quick decisions, but that was unexpected.”
“Oh, that? It was nothing. Just thought I’d play a small joke on ya,” Dash replied triumphantly.
“Joke, huh? I think it was more than that. You’re tough on the outside, Dash, but you’re all flowers and rainbows in the inside. You’re not fooling me.”
“Pfft. You can think whatever you want, but I know what was up. It didn’t mean as much as you want it to.”
Vinyl giggled again, walking slowly away from Dash with a grin. “Oh, phooey. I guess I won’t make sweet, sweet love to you like I was going to tonight.” She could hardly contain her laughter, but she kept it in to see Dash’s reaction.
Her color nearly drained completely out of her face, stepping away just as much as Vinyl did. She didn’t know exactly what to think. “W-Wha? I meant…I mean, I didn’t- There was no way-“
“Oh, stop, you smooth pony. You’re making me blush.” Vinyl gave out a hearty laugh, bumping Dash again. “Dash, you’re waaaaay to easy to mess with, you know that? You’re like a big bowl of jello.”
“And you’re nothing but a tease! If I was so easy to mess with and I were you, I would totally, right here, right now, do-“
“VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINYYYYYYLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!” Dash was interrupted, looking the direction the yell came from, only seeing three small clouds of dust running towards them. The clouds got close and ran into Dash, one in front of the other. As the dust cleared, near her hooves were Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, in order.
“Oh, hey Crusaders. How do you know Vinyl’s name?”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo covered their ears and Applebloom inhaled loudly before speaking. “We heard about ‘er earlier today from some other pony and we heard she was a DJ and that was cool but then we learned later that our DJ fer our school dance got sick and won’t be able ta come and Vinyl is cool and she DJs so we were thinking that she could DJ for us and we need ‘er NOW!” She panted a bit, looking down at the ground trying to get her breath back.
“I think that was a record, Applebloom. Maybe you’re Cutie Mark is yammering.”
“Of course it’s not, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “What would a Cutie Mark for yammering be?”
“Considering Applebloom, a pony in pain.” She let out a small laugh.
“’Ey! At least I’d get my Cutie Mark!”
“Hold up, now, little ones,” Vinyl interrupted. “Okay, so you want me to go DJ at your school dance?”
The three nodded, each of them responding with their approval.
“…Who has a dance at school in the morning?”
“Who cares? Let’s go!” The Crusaders grabbed Vinyl by the hooves and began dragging her back to their school as Vinyl turned back and called out.
“Hey, Dash, I’ll meet up with ya later! I’ll see you at Twilight’s!” Upon finishing the sentence, she was dragged around a corner and out of sight.
Dash merely sighed, turning back around to head for Twilight’s house.
Knock knock knock.
Dash was in front of Twilight’s library, it looking a lot bigger from her lack of flight. The unicorn quickly opened the door with a book levitating beside her and a smile on her face. “Hey there Rainbow. Surprised to see you use the front door. You usually come on through a window at your leisure.”
“Thanks, Twi, but I’m not in for jokes at the moment. I have a favor to ask.”
Twilight set down her book, looking at the shelves of the countless others. “Oh? What is it?”
Dash sighed and sat down, looking at her wing. “If you didn’t notice or hear already, I broke my wing during the air show. I was hoping you could do all your fancy magic stuff and fix it.” She shuffled her wing a bit, wincing in pain.
“I heard. How’d it happen?” She pulled a book of the shelf, dusting it off.
The pegasus kicked at the ground shamefully, looking away. “Rather not talk about it, Twi. Just can you fix it or something?”
“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy. I’m not a medical unicorn, you know that. I know some things about it, so I’ll try. Is that okay?”
Dash just responded with a swiping hoof motion, saying, “Sure, whatever, let’s get on with it. Anything I need to do?”
“No no no. Just stand still. I don’t want to hit the wrong bone and oversize that one, causing the problem to get worse.”
Dash quickly jumped away a bit. “What was that?”
“Oh, nothing! Nothing at all. Now just stand still. It’ll all be okay.” Twilight walked to Dash’s side, levitating a book next to her. “Now, let’s see here…Bomb wounds, no…Brony attacks, too far. There we go, broken bones. Now let’s see…Oh, okay, simple enough…Oh my.”
“What is it, Twi?”
Twilight slammed the book closed and set it down on a far away table, forcing herself to smile. “Nothing! Simple task, no possible negative consequences that may end up with you never flying again, nope!”
“WHAT?!”
The unicorn’s horn started glowing already, quickly making Dash forcibly fall over onto her side. “Just stay calm. Alright Dash?” Dash continued to struggle a bit, the thought of losing her flight forever more frightening than anything else she’s ever thought of. She couldn’t move under Twilight’s spell though, so she quickly stopped struggling, realizing the futility.
The violet unicorn’s horn began flowing more vibrantly, closing her eyes to focus on Dash’s wing. A small purple aura appeared beneath Dash’s wing skin, making the pegasus flinch. The aura grew brighter and larger until nearly the entire wing was enveloped. Dash closed her eyes tight, afraid of what was going to come.
All of a sudden, her entire wing erupted in pain. It felt as if 1000 needles penetrated the skin and was probing at the bones. She tensed up, grimacing and grinding her teeth together to stop from screaming in agony. This was worse than breaking the wing. She knew never to break her wing again from this experience alone. The pain increased, feeling as if it was set on fire.
And as quickly as the pain came, it passed by. Dash quickly opened her eyes and looked at her wing, the aura subsiding. She looked up at Twilight with a look of desperation. The unicorn shrugged, unsure of what to think. “I’m not sure if I was able to do it. I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
Dash nodded, lifting herself onto her feet shakily, still shocked from the pain. She managed to wiggle off the cast with a small amount of effort, although the stiffness in her now self-supported wing managed to make her wince a small bit. Backing up a bit to get a clean take off, she inhaled and held her breath, unsure of what to expect. Either she’s going to fly or she’ll never fly again. That’s not exactly the ideal conditions.
The pegasus began to trot forward, her heart beginning to beat faster. Her hooves sped up, the distinct clop clop on the hard wood floor. This was either a make it or break it moment, almost literally. Dash closed her eyes tight as she jumped off the floor, managing to open her wings…
And fly. She felt the weightlessness she so adored for her entire life. The air blowing on her face, the breeze under her wings. It all came back to her as quickly as it left. She immediately did a loop in joy, laughing with happiness. “Twi, look! You did it! You fixed my wing! I can fly again! Hahaha!” She continued to do spins and twirls in the air, welcoming back her ability of flight. In her excitement, she swooped down and playfully tackled Twilight, hugging her tight. “Thank you, Twilight! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
The flying pegasus flew out of the library at full speed, hollering to her heart’s desire. Twilight got back up to her feet and said to herself, “Eh, now get out of here, rascal.”
Chapter 8: Cutie Crusaded
Vinyl was finally dragged to the small school gym, decorated with streamers, lights, speakers, and numerous other kid friendly decorations. No glowsticks, unfortunately, as the lights were still on. Balloons were already being deflated and kicked around by the kids, all of them eagerly awaiting some music to accompany their dance.
The Crusaders quickly pushed the unicorn behind the turntable, the plates both lacking of any disc. There was a small box of vinyl under the table, but a quick glance proved it was all classical or boring stuff. She didn’t learn much about magic, but the one thing Vinyl did learn is how to be prepared. Her horn began to glow and her private flight case appeared beside her, stuffed full of 8-tracks, CDs, and other things of the sort.
Bringing her mouth close to the mic as the Crusaders got on the dance floor, Vinyl yelled, “YOU READY TO GET DOWN?!” It was much louder than expected in the small gym with the plethora of speakers, but this is what Vinyl was used to. The crowd of easily less than 50 ponies, excluding the teachers, shouted back with excitement. “Let’s get it started then!” The shout reverberated through the gym again, causing Vinyl’s table to shake.
She quickly turned to her box of music, shifting through the cases. “Baby Got Flank”? No, not filly friendly. “Pony Swag”? Definitely a no. “Equestrian Idiot”? Again, nada. “Ah, here we go”, she said to herself. “Flutterwonder.” She slapped the vinyl onto the platter, spinning it for a second to test if it worked. It spun with some resistance, probably because of the date on this ancient craft. Flipping a switch and bringing the stylus down as the record began to spin. “We’ll start off a little slower, everypony, to get those muscles worked up.” The music began playing and some of the fillies started dancing slowly to the music.
The unicorn began shuffling through the music again as that music played as a distraction. “Ah! Here we go!” She slipped a copy of Pinkie’s Lie out from its case and scratched Flutterwonder, making a nice stereotypical DJ screech. “Nah, I’m just kidding, fillies. This is a party.” She put Pinkie’s Lie onto the other platter, turning on another switch and bringing down the stylus on it also. The crossfader glided to the right over to the new track, bringing the nice bass into the noise.
All of a sudden, it was like a light bulb appeared above Vinyl’s head. She stuck the crossfader in between the two tracks, causing both to play simultaneously. At first, the beat sounded horrible, but Vinyl tuned the pitch control and the beats began to match, the sound of Fluttershy’s voice contrasting with the Pinkie’s Lie strong bass and kick. The result was phenomenal and everypony was up and dancing with moments.
“And that’s how, little ones, you get your Cutie Mark!” Bobbing her head in her own signature style and finally slipping her goggles over her eyes, she spotted the three Crusaders congregating in the corner. Speaking to herself, Vinyl said, “Hmm…Maybe I shouldn’t have said what I did.” Everytime Pinkie’s Lie was about to get to the vocals, she spun the record back to the beginning where the bass began.
A concerned teacher quickly began walking her way through the crowd up to the turntable, talking away. The music was much too loud for Vinyl to hear what she was saying, so she motioned to speak louder by raising her hoof up. Barely audible over the music, the teacher said, “I WOULD LIKE TO TALK WITH YOU OUTSIDE!” Vinyl nodded, switching the crossfader to just Pinkie’s Lie until she got back as she started to walk away.
Now in the light of the day, it was apparent the teacher wasn’t only concerned but worried. She closed the door to the gym mostly, but it was open enough for Vinyl to see inside to her turntable. The music was much quieter out here, also, loud enough for you to hear the bass but quiet enough to have trouble hearing the words.
“Hello, my name is Ms. Cheerilee. I heard your name was Ms. Scratch. I’m pleased to meet you.”
Vinyl began sticking out her hoof for a shake and said, “Pleased to meet you t-“ before realizing that the teacher didn’t want a hoofshake at the moment.
“Yes. Well, as you heard, our last DJ got sick and Applebloom and her friends said they knew someone. However, even if you did come at such short notice and such innocent little girls know you…Someone said you may possibly have some…well, substances.”
The DJ’s ears perked up. “Substances? Like what?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but I’m guessing you might have drugs.”
“Drugs?! Miss, I have never…” Peeking inside for just a moment, Vinyl could see Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all heading over to the turntable, looking through the case of albums. “Oh no…”
“Oh, why’d you say oh no? Realize that you do have drugs?” The teacher cocked her head suspiciously.
“No, miss, I have to-“ Vinyl tried to walk past the teacher to get inside, but she quickly blocked her path.
“Oooooh no. You’re not getting away from this one that easy. Where are they?” Looking over Ms. Cheerilee’s shoulder, Vinyl could see Applebloom taking off Flutterwonder and Scootaloo managed to switch the crossfader to that side. Sweetie Belle picked one disc at random and put it under the stylus, the song instantly starting to play. “Uh…word…adjective…pronoun…adverb.”
Before the next part of the song, Vinyl managed to whimper out, “Oh, sweet mother of Celestia…”
“You let them put on WHAT?!” Ms. Cheerilee screamed. Hours after the dance, the school was still getting tons of calls from angry parents after hearing about one song the “DJ” played.
Vinyl sighed in response, burying her face in her hooves, her goggles still on to hide her angered expression. “I didn’t let them put it on. Apparently, the three that put it on told some other pony to tell you that I had “substances”, although they meant a drink or something because having drinks in there is against the rules. I don’t think the fillies even know what drugs are.”
“That doesn’t excuse from the fact that you left the table where they could’ve got a hold of a song like that!”
“I understand your anger, miss, but you brought me aside to ask me about the “drugs”. They heard me mention Cutie Marks and that’s when they got this idea. They tried to DJ to get their Cutie Marks.” Vinyl continued to bury her face, getting slowly pushed over the edge from this one-sided teacher.
“Why did you even have that song?!”
Vinyl sighed again, picking her up to look at the teacher. “I’m sorry. I’m a DJ and sometimes, I get called to places that like music on the more wild side. Wild meaning dirty. I have no control over that, and if I knew I was going to a school, I would’ve taken it out.”
“Then why did you sign up for being a DJ for a school?!”
Vinyl’s last straw broke. She seemed like a nice lady, but way out of shape when it came to real situations. “Look! I didn’t sign up to be your school’s DJ! I was nice enough to take off time from my day to come to a school that help and help them!” Vinyl got up, taking off her goggles to show her fiery ruby red eyes. “The fact is I tried to help and be a nice pony, and yes, I understand that was a sad mishap back there. But it wasn’t my fault! Kids tried to get me out of the booth to see what they could do, and they used you as a middlemare! If you’re going to let that simple fact fly over your head so you can put the blame on someone else, so be it! But at least you’re getting paid!”
With that, Vinyl snapped her goggles back on and trotted out the door, slamming the door hard and making sure it was as loud as possible before galloping away. She went over to the gym and closed her flight case after sticking her albums back in. Her horn began to glow as did the case before it vanished in midair. “Maybe she’d like it if I stuck some speakers in her bedroom and I played that song when she slept…”
Chapter 9: Rearrangements
The sky was absent of any clouds, unlike earlier, the sun shining on every inch of Ponyville. A few pegasi were flying around, but one rainbow streak was destroying every trace of cumulus that appeared.
She soared full of passion, the wind gently gliding around her as her wings helped the pegasus defy physics. Doing spins and rolls and flips all around the sky, her lungs yelled out with joy and excitement. Even after a small week of no flying, Dash missed it more than anything else in the world right now.
Well, almost anything else. If it for more than a week, flying might be at the top, but not seeing a certain mare for only a small bit made Dash long for her. Flying up above the entire town, she looked below at the ant-sized ponies. Like every other time, ponies were walking around, entering and leaving shops, etc. Everyday Ponyville. But even from the height she was at, Dash could see two streaks of dark and light blue moving about below.
Dash reared back in the air, spreading her wings wide before diving towards the blue-maned pony, quickly gaining speed. Definitely the fastest she’s gone all day, the pegasus attempted to go faster, Everything around her began to blur as her eyes began to water from the velocity. The blue-maned pony managed to look up, unmistakable DJ goggles on her forehead. Vinyl watched as Dash continued to approach her at high speed, the unicorn straddling the ground as if bracing for impact.
Dash playfully tackled Vinyl into the grass and dirt, causing them to tumble a bit before rolling together to a stop. The two were giggling up a frenzy, their coats and mane littered with blades of vegetation and chunks of dirt, but they held each other close anyway. For Vinyl, this was a reawakening in her life, and Dash had a new thing to work for. They brought happiness to each other in the most unexpected way, but life has its way to even the field.
“You’re what now?!” Vinyl yelled as her belongings were thrown out the doorway of what used to be her house. Tune, the actual owner of the house, was proceeding to throw out all of her possessions into the yard without any regards to who might be in front of him.
“I’m kicking you out. I’m pretty sure that was pretty clear.” Vinyl was staying side-to-side with him, attempting to stop Tuner from just chucking her equipment. “I know you’re a smart unicorn, Vinyl, figure it out.”
He hung on to some integrity as he just set the large coffin of DJ equipment onto the ground, beginning to walk back inside the house. Quickly blocking him from the house was a cyan pegasus, her head dipped low and wings spread out. “Tell us why you’re kicking her out, or I’m going to have to punch you out!”
Tuner, unperturbed by her aggressiveness, stomped the dirt in front of her, causing dust to rise between the two. “You better not talk to me like that, you little runt! I’ve known Vinyl my entire life, and I’ve only heard about you. Don’t think I won’t tramp you into the ground.”
Verbally butting heads with Tuner now, Dash got as close to his face as she could without touching him. “Did you just call me a tramp, chump?! If you don’t tell us why RIGHT NOW, then I’m going to have to shove my hoof SO FAR-“
“DASH!” Vinyl yelled as loud as she could, exasperation in her voice. “What is this solving?”
The pegasus stepped away from the short earth pony, bringing her head down. “Sorry, Vinyl.”
“I get where you’re coming from…Although, Tuner. I don’t know what to think about you at the moment.” The unicorn lifted her goggles off her eyes, looking at Tune with a hint of hurt. “I don’t get why you’re doing this. If you’re making me go, at least tell me why.”
Tuner sighed, getting noticeably more tense under the stress. “Because of that mare right there.” He pointed to Dash accusingly. “Ever since I knew you, Vinyl, I liked you. You know that. We became friends, that is obvious. But as we got closer, I asked you out on a date or two, and you always said that you didn’t want any kind of relationship. You never explained why. You just said you never wanted to date anyone.” Putting his hoof back onto the ground, Tuner scowled at Vinyl, digging his hooves into the dirt.
“And then here comes Rainbow Dash, she’s so cool! One day. ONE DAY! You start dating her like you’ve never had a problem with it. To others, it seemed like a good sign. But to me, it seemed like you’ve been avoiding me for the longest time. I tried to cope with that, but it’s hard to see you everyday and think that you may not even believe I’m a friend. So, Vinyl…I should be asking you why.”
Vinyl stood motionless, a concentration in her eyes, not responding. The earth pony continued to dig his hoof farther into the dirt. Dash stood on the sidelines, looking between the two glaring ponies. The absence of sound hung in the air for what seemed like an hour. Tuner began to pant with frustration, expecting an answer. Rearing up on his hind legs before slamming his hooves into the ground, he yelled, “WHY?!”
Again, the silence washed over the three, causing Tuner to tense up even more. Vinyl sighed, looking down at her hooves. “I shouldn’t have lied to you. I see that. I never thought of you as anything more than a friend. You supported me and I supported you. Nothing much other than that. I’m not the right one for you. I guess it’s my fault.” The unicorn shrugged. “I’m sorry, Tune. Not much of an apology, but I can’t say anything else.”
Tune didn’t waste any time on the situation. He side-stepped Dash to get back inside the house, grabbed the last piece of her belongings in his mouth, walked it back outside, and set it in front of Vinyl. “Even after hearing all of that…I don’t care. I was hurt and that’s that. Maybe we can be friends again someday, but for now…get off my property.”
An hour passed of moving luggage and numerous discussions before Vinyl set her last bag into Fluttershy’s hut, sighing contently. Dash and all of her friends, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and even Rarity, helped moving in. Everypony except for the three unicorns were panting, smiling as they saw the last bag.
Vinyl put it down next to the wall, her new temporary home welcome but definitely not something she is accustomed to. The hut had a tall ceiling and bright colors throughout it, along with multiple locations for small animals to sleep and eat. It almost seemed like Fluttershy took part of the forest and put walls around it.
Stepping up onto a nearby side table, Vinyl stood now a head taller than any other pony in the room. “Thanks everypony for helping me move in! And sorry for the short notice. Didn’t exactly plan any of this.”
Pushing a small box aside, Applejack walked up, grinning. “No problem, sugarcube. Any friend of Rainbow’s is a friend of ours.” Like a small filly in a classroom, Twilight whispered into Applejack’s ear. “What’s that?... Hm… Well, so? Oh, we’re not here ta judge, Twi! Now stop whispering!” Twilight jumped back, getting a loud earful.
“Heh. Sorry. Habit on the subject.” Looking back to Vinyl shamefully, she mustered up a (obviously) fake grin. “Anyway, it was nothing, Vinyl. I don’t think anypony would’ve expected to be kicked out by their best friend.”
Raising an eyebrow and stepping down off of the table, the DJ turned to Twilight. “Yeah, thanks. Feeling better already.” She rolled her eyes, walking towards the front door. “But thanks again. Would’ve taken forever without you ponies.”
The various ponies began to filter out of the hut, saying their farewells (Rainbow’s being a little more physical) as they left Vinyl and Fluttershy to themselves. Vinyl sighed in relief. That could’ve gone a lot worse than expected, she thought to herself.
Fluttershy, with an ecstatic smile on her face of being able to talk with a new friend, asked, “So…Um, Vinyl. I heard you were a DJ? What kind of music do you listen to?”
Vinyl replied by turning towards her with an evil smirk as she pulled out her iPod, iPod station, and began scrolling to the loudest, most vulgar song on her playlist…
Chapter 10: ForestShy
“Hey, Fluttershy!” Vinyl was at her turntable, two discs spinning against the rubber platters as music erupted from the nearby speakers, uninhibited by the fact that there are no longer houses anywhere near them. Chain Algorithm’s “Little Girl on a Scooter” was playing loud as the unicorn practiced using her hooves, scratching the disc of “Avast Your Ass”, catching the beats against the two like a butterfly net.
The buttery pegasus peeked out from behind her bedroom door, her head low. Just barely audible over the music, she replied, “Y-Yes, Vinyl?”
The off-white pony quickly put her hooves against the two discs, making a loud screeching noise before turning off the table. She turned to Fluttershy with concern, putting her goggles on her forehead. “Why are you back there like you’re scared of something?”
Looking down at the ground timidly, Fluttershy sunk back into her bedroom a few inches. “Well… I don’t really like loud music… Or that kind… Eep.”
Walking a few steps forward, pushing some of her records out of the way with her hooves, Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with electronic?”
Only the tip of the pegasus’s nose was visible now, replying in a tiny voice, “N-Nothing…”
Vinyl couldn’t help but chuckle at the pony’s shyness, walking up to the door and swinging it open fully, revealing the cowering Fluttershy. She quickly put her hooves over her head in protection. “Fluttershy, no need to worry. Not like I’m gonna hurt you or something. Everyone has their own opinion.” Vinyl placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s head gently, sighing contently. “By the way, just for future reference, I’m probably the least violent pony you will ever know.”
Upon saying that, images of many past situations at her gigs rose out of their deathly graves and began haunting her memory again. Even with somepony that’s against violence, when you put her into a gig that has a bunch of drinks and a lot of annoying ponies, it tends to get messy. Messy as in Vinyl’s drunken stupor of hitting her attackers with a bottle of Colt’s Light until it broke, then resulting in her fleeing the scene.
The pegasus managed to shake those thoughts quickly away, returning to current reality. By this time, Fluttershy had pushed Vinyl’s hoof softly away and gotten back onto her feet. “You mean that, Vinyl?”
The off-white pony nodded, smiling at Fluttershy. “Of course. I wouldn’t kid about something like that. Besides, you’re a really gentle pony, I would never mean to hurt you.”
The pegasus smiled back, saying, “That’s… Nice of you. If you would be so kind, could you help me today find some stuff for the sweet little animals I have here? I mean, if it isn’t interrupting anything you’re doing…?”
Vinyl looked over at her turntable, and then back at the grinning, goofy pegasus, letting out a long, exasperated sigh before looking at her optimistically. “Sure, why not? I would love to help out a bit.”
“Great! Let me just go get my forest equipment!” Fluttershy quickly trotted off before Vinyl could respond.
With a blank look on her face, Vinyl stood motionless, questioning, “…Forest equipment?”
“Eh, what are we supposed to be doing out here?” Vinyl and Fluttershy were standing in a loose thicket of trees, the sun at high noon and the light managing to light the forest floor easy enough to read. Various plants lined the trunks of the thick trees, although most were typical green plants that were difficult to distinguish between each other. A few flowers bloomed from the bases of the forest, usually residing on one side of the path made by ponies or the other.
Although it took much persuading, Vinyl managed to be convinced to leave her goggles at the hut, her eyes now at full mercy of the relentless UV rays.
“Well, it’s not complicated,” Fluttershy responded. “We’re just out here to gather some food for the precious animals. Now, there are a few things you need to remember… Well, if you can… When you’re collecting the plants.” The pegasus breathed in, proceeding with the next statement rapidly. “Just keep in mind that there are plants you must avoid, such as the tree nettle and poison ivy. I would prefer you to grab the plants for the bunnies that are lower in cellulose than the rest, because otherwise it’s hard to digest. Get some grit for the sparrows while you’re at it, and don’t get any fungi. Maroon hates those, and I mix the ingredients to get the birds’ food. The rodents are fine, I have enough nutritions for them at the establishment. And if you find any small dead prey, would you be kind enough to fetch it for my ferrets?” The yellow pony then shivered, her pace of speaking returning to normal. “… Although I hate that last part. Got all of that?”
Once again, Vinyl stood there for a moment, expressionless, trying to process all of the rapid data. Satisfied with contentment, Fluttershy grinned and began to turn around, already heading off to a different direction. “Good! I’m glad you could help. I’ll see you at the hut later.” With a small hop to her trot and Angel to her side, the pegasus proceeded into her family of trees.
Alone in a foreign nightmare, Vinyl’s mind quickly got the better of her as the lack of anything modern consumed her. She has lived her entire life in a city or large town, and hasn’t even set foot into a forest. Every single story she heard when she was a filly with a monster in it was placed in a forest. Heck, she even heard that some of her classmates were taken by some of the monsters. Her lack of goggles to cover her fear in her eyes further drove her off the edge.
The DJ swallowed her fear, though, beginning to trump forward into a path next to the one Fluttershy entered, determined to do her best. “Ha! Forest… Pfftch. Doesn’t scare me anymore. All those stories are just foal stories. Like I would be scared of those!” Small leaves of a flower brushed against her back leg, causing her to jump and produce a loud, high-pitched scream for a split-second. Quickly realizing her “attacker”, she flushed red with self-embarrassment. “Heh, yeah. Nothing scares me now.”
~{One Terrifying Hour Later}~
“Vinyl, what happened?!” Rainbow Dash came trotting into the hospital room at full speed, skidding to a stop next to the unicorn’s bed. Vinyl has been at the hospital for about 5 minutes now, and Rainbow was informed immediately. Windows may have been broken on Rainbow’s journey there. A few machines were hooked up to the off-white pony as well as a few scratches and marks were present on her body.
“Oh, Dash… It was horrible. There were… Plants… And bugs… EVERYWHERE!” Vinyl flailed about a bit as if she was in a foal’s tantrum. Panting and turning away from Dash, the unicorn curled up into a ball.
Nurse Redheart walked up to Dash calmly, tapping her shoulder before stating, “Don’t worry. She’s completely fine. She actually ran in here a few minutes ago, wanting immediate medical attention. She said, ‘I now have 10 different forest diseases and a parasprite in my stomach. I need your help.’ Or something along those lines at least, and much more frantically. We checked everything on her.” She paused, looking at her clipboard to double-check. “And she’s all good. Vinyl just is apparently deathly scared of nature.”
Sighing with relief, Rainbow smiled at the nurse, chuckling a bit. “Thanks, Redheart. She had me worried.” The nurse nodded, turning around and beginning to search through her papers on her board again.
“Sorry Rainbow.” The pegasus looked back over her shoulder at Vinyl, seeing the unicorn still curled up.
“W… What?”
“I’m sorry. I know I probably made you worry about me, and I didn’t mean to. Just, y’know… Fears and all.”
The pegasus quickly walked right up to the bed, bringing her head down and nuzzling Vinyl’s neck, laying it in her hair. “I’m just glad you’re alright. You’ve got nothing to worry about, I’m not mad or anything.”
“You… You sure, Dashie?” Vinyl blushed a bit, sighing contently and closing her eyes gently.
“Of course I’m s-… Did you really just call me Dashie?”
(OKAY! This is NOT what I expected Part 2 to be like at all. Gonna be honest, I’ve been lacking in my writing. Not to mention, I’ve been slow as hell. For anyone waiting for part 2, I’m REALLY sorry for the long wait. School is a killer. Anyway, yeah. I agree, the beginning is the best part and it slowly degrades. But oh well. So, yeah. I’m HOPEFULLY going to continue and get better and more enriching stuff next time. If I stop writing it all together, gonna be honest, don’t be surprised. I’m getting more and more busy by the day. But, anyway…THANKS FOR ALL THE FAVORITES AND WATCHES!) |
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Pinklestia | 510 | 1 | Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Trust | Princess Luna wants to regain her sister trust, but when Celestia starts to finally be honest with her, things start to change. | complete | 52 | 13 | <p>Princess Luna wants to regain her sister's trust, but when Celestia begins to finally be honest with her, things start to change. </p><p>This story has a Live Reading, you can find it here:</p><p><a href="http://www.tllps.tk/" rel="nofollow">http://www.tllps.tk/</a></p> | everyone | 2011-09-10T22:48:52+00:00 | 2023-10-16T17:26:28+00:00 | 3,777 | Celestia glanced around her study. She was alone at last and had been so for about an hour. Instead of screaming out her frustrations she contented herself with lighting some wood in the fireplace. This time "lighting" was more like "throwing a giant ball of fire at it". Those taxes! They were just... so boring! She had employees to do these kinds of tedious tasks.
Yes, for some strange reason, Luna loved to do this stuff. But Celestia had decided to do it herself this time. Now, five hours later, she was starting to regret this. She had tried it just to see what Luna saw in it, but she had totally failed. She just couldn’t understand why Luna enjoyed it! But at least Celestia accomplished something - she found out that taxes in Appleloosa needed to be cut and that some rich families tried to avoid taxation.
The sun princess decided to take a break. Only a few hours remained before she had to set the sun. It was not a good idea to do that when she was in a bad mood. She hadn’t received any friendship reports from Twilight in a while nor any intel from her Ponyville spy, Pinkie Pie. Celestia had her doubts about using her at first. But after the pink earth mare had busted the three royal spies she sent she just decided to tell Pinkie everything and, for some reason, she ended up hiring her.
Because Pinkie was expected to act odd, she was the perfect spy. The "Pinkie Pie" promise assured she would never tell Twilight or any of her friends. Unless, as Celestia herself had clarified, that information absolutely had to be revealed to avoid a certain death situation.
Now, what to do? Maybe a relaxing bath would help... or she could spy on Twilight herself. Even better she could fly there, share some time with her faithful student and... No, she couldn’t do that! A quick flight over the town to ensure everything was going well was one thing, but if she planned to stay things would get... complicated.
"Ok, two hours, thirty minutes until sunset... I wonder if Luna is awake," Celestia thought. She walked to Luna's chamber and gently knocked on the door. While Celestia was a bit of a prankster, one joke she'd never do was to wake up Luna by surprise. "Luna, Sister, aren’t you awake yet?" No answer, Luna must still be asleep. Only two hours, twenty-one minutes till sunset. Being the sun goddess, Celestia had a perfect sense of time during the daytime. She was a perfect, living sun clock that worked even when the sun was covered with clouds.
And right now, she was a perfectly bored living sun clock. She decided to not annoy her sister and take a relaxing bath instead.
"Oh, poor Princess Celestia, she wants to take a much needed bath. Will Her Highness have to do it by herself?" Celestia said in a half mocking tone. And she waited.
A dozen servants quickly appeared. They had been avoiding her because she had asked to not be disturbed before she had started her work on the taxes,
Meanwhile...
In Ponyville's library, Spike the dragon had just finished organizing and putting away all the new books that had been received that day. Princess Luna was drinking tea with the unicorn known as Twilight Sparkle.
"So, let me get this straight. You left without telling your sister. And after you raise the moon you want me to do a complicated spell that will lower your powers and turn you into a regular unicorn for a few hours?" Twilight said, not liking where this was going.
"Yes, that is the general idea. But don’t worry, I will prepare everything. All you need is to channel your magic in the mystical circle I will draw, and I will do the rest."
"Princess... I... I don't feel very comfortable doing this. I am flattered you trust me enough to have me perform such a complicated spell. But first of all, I really think you should tell your sister about this, and second, if things go wrong, I... I don’t want to be banished to the Everfree Forest!" Twilight Sparkle replied.
"Miss Twilight Sparkle, if anything goes wrong, I will take all responsibility. And you will be with me!" Luna reassured her.
"What?" Twilight screamed. "You mean I am going to be walking you around Ponyville, pretending you are a mare I know from Canterlot or something like that? Well, it’s not like I never wanted to spend some time with you but..."
"Something like that will be just fine. Besides, as I will provide much of the magic for the spell, it won’t be much different from the simple spells you have in one of your books. Or at least, not more complicated than giving wings to your friend Rarity."
"You know about that? Eh, of course you know! May I ask why you are doing all this?"
"For fun, and being a regular pony for a few hours will help me to understand how mortals see things. I can do it on my own, but it would be cheating because I’d just be holding back and pretending to be normal. With the spell active I won’t have any other choice but to just be a unicorn for a few hours. Besides, I might think about tutoring you if you do this small favor for me. " Princess Luna looked at Twilight’s eyes, smiling.
"Are you bribing me with private lessons in exchange for doing a spell that will make you a regular unicorn for a few hours? Any reason you can’t do the spell alone?"
"Because if things go wrong, only the caster will be able to easily undo the spell. And if I cast the spell, even my sister would have trouble undoing it. If you are the one that does the spell, things will just be less risky."
"So, on one hoof, you praise my talent with magic and in the other, you said you picked me because I am weak?" Twilight said, then covered her mouth with her hoof "I... I am really sorry Princess! I didn’t... I..."
"It’s okay, I just cast a sincerity spell to know if you would do this on your own, and not only because I asked you. Now, it doesn’t have to be today and I bet your friend Pinkie Pie is tired of being frozen as a statue. Bye, Miss Twilight, I must leave now."
"You... did... what to Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked, enraged. "Just because you are Celestia's sister doesn’t mean you can... dammit! The spell is still going on, right?"
"Goodbye, Miss Twilight. And don't worry, as soon as I leave your friend will be fine," Luna said before leaving the library and a confused unicorn behind.
After sunset the moon was raised and after all the stars were in place Luna went to her sister’s bedroom. She knew Celestia wouldn’t go to bed for another two hours, and she felt like they really needed to talk.
"Tia... we need to talk," Luna said softly. The bedroom door opened and the gentle face of Celestia greeted her.
"Now? What could we possibly talk about? How you sneaked out without telling me? Or maybe how you turned Pinkie Pie into a living statue until you left Ponyville? I don't really think we have anything to talk about."
"This is exactly what we have to talk about! We are supposed to rule together, like we used to. But since I... came back, I can’t go anywhere or do anything without you spying on me! Why won’t you trust me?"
The sun princess stared at her sister for a moment before moving out of the way. "Ok, come inside." Once Luna got into the room, she closed the door.
"Luna, I could go on and on saying I just look out for you. Oh, I could say many things. But I am tired of lies and manipulations. I need somepony I can talk to, and if I can’t do that with my own sister, I will start to go nuts!"
"Wow, you... are... being honest?" Luna said, shocked.
“We are family, right?” Celestia said and hugged her sister, for a moment Luna let her big sis hug her, but then moved away.
“Tia... no, Celestia. What is going on? You are not only spying on me, but also on Twilight and her friends, why don’t you trust her?” Luna asked. “I... I know I don’t deserve to be trusted. But she and her friends, that’s different.”
“Well, I do trust Twilight. But... Twilight is becoming famous, ponies everywhere are starting to know that my best pupil, one that I hold close to my heart, hangs around pretty much unprotected in a small town.”
Luna’s eyes opened wide. “What? But this era seems so peaceful, are you saying you... we... still have enemies capable of killing those we love?”
“I am sorry to say that yes, we still have enemies capable of doing that. But don’t worry, from now on there will be no secrets between us. I tried to ignore it, but you have lost your innocence. Now, how do you feel about Twilight?”
“She is a nice mare. The first time we met, she was so nervous about messing up that it was kind of funny. But now we are starting to become as close as a high-class pony and one of the two rulers of Equestria can be. Why?”
“Would you kill to protect her?” Celestia asked. Luna looked at her sister, eyes shocked. She wasn’t joking; Celestia didn’t have the sly smile she had when she was joking.
“I... I don’t know. We aren’t that close and even as Nightmare Moon... I never killed anypony. Maybe I have killed some bugs by accident, but that was it.”
“Luna, I don’t like it, but my hooves are covered with blood,” Celestia said, and for a moment Luna saw her sister covered with blood, her eyes full of rage. That really scared her, thankfully the vision soon faded away.
“Sister... I... I didn’t know you had to... kill,” Luna said, shocked. “So, that’s why... you lied to me. You tried to preserve my innocence... and I... I ruined it!” Luna started to cry, finally realizing what Celestia had done for her and Equestria. She had been so selfish, complaining about ponies not admiring her beautiful night when her sister was getting her hooves dirty so Luna didn’t have to.
Celestia stepped closer to her sister, but Luna moved away.
“Tia... does this mean that someday... I will have to kill? Even when I was Nightmare Moon, I didn’t face anypony with the intention of killing. In fact when... one of them almost fell off a cliff, a small part of me felt horrified,” Luna said.
Celestia’s eyes focused on Luna, Luna could see her sister crying. That was quite a shock for Luna, especially since she couldn't recall ever seeing her sister doing that, not since they were little fillies.
“Luna, there will come a time when you will have to fight to protect this kingdom and those you love. It won’t be easy,” Celestia said and hugged her sister, this time Luna hugged back.
“I... I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t want to become... her again,” Luna cried. “The elements of harmony purified my heart... just so that it could get corrupt again?”
“Luna, part of ruling a kingdom is making difficult decisions. I tried to protect you, like any good sister would, and I would have liked to preserve your innocence a bit longer. But... the time has come for you to start learning what it truly means to be one of the two rulers of Equestria.”
Celestia’s words were kind and sad; her mane stopped moving, turning pink.
“Your mane is... normal?” Luna said and then nuzzled her sister gently “But you HATE pink. I only ever saw it like that when you were sleeping, and sometimes, not even during your sleep”
“I know you like pink a lot, dear sister,” Celestia said, smiling.
“No, I don’t, not anymore, but... thanks.”
Luna knew that despite some illustrations in old fairy books showing her sister as pink, most ponies of this era probably didn’t know what her real mane looked like.
“So, will you trust me now? No more spies?” Luna asked, fearing the answer.
“Well, I can’t leave you unprotected; you are still my little sister!” Celestia said and started to tickle Luna.
“Hahaha, stop that, we aren’t fillies anymore!” Luna startled to tickle back, and soon, both sisters were having a pillow fight, just like old times.
After all the pillows had been destroyed, both alicorns ended up flopping over the huge bed close to each other.
“We... we haven’t played like that in...” Luna said, staring at the roof.
“Thousands of years...” Celestia said, a bit surprised herself, as, for the first time in a very long time, she had done something without planning it in advance. “It sure helped to break the ice.”
“Yeah... Celestia, Twilight Sparkle your faithful student... she really has potential, did you make her or something?” Luna said, in a more serious tone.
“Well, if by making her you mean manipulating the unicorn clans and inspiring a bit of racism to make it less likely for a unicorn to not marry a nonunicorn... Yes I did.”
“A bit of racism? I have read the records of that time. Things did get ugly for a time...”
“Well, it took a few hundred years longer than I had planned, but I got you back, right?” Celestia said, a smug smile on her face.
“Are you drunk?” Luna asked, surprised at how open Celestia was.
“Hay yeah, after five hours of tax paperwork I kind of needed it. But I am not drunk enough that I don’t realize what we are talking about. Damn, I think I am starting to feel sick...”
"Eh... should I leave now?" Luna asked. As it was night time, Luna had work to do. She worked during the night because she mostly slept through the day.
“Yes, if you want...“ Celestia said. “I might start doing crazy stuff unless I get some sleep. And... I hope you get a date someday...”
Luna blushed and quickly ran out of Celestia’s bedroom. Celestia looked around at the mess they had made. She smiled and then let herself fall into a deep sleep. |
Starcrosser | 511 | 1 | Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Comedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | One Wish | complete | 32 | 2 | <p>Twilight makes a wish on a star, Luna sees an opportunity. The two end up living each other's lives for a day</p> | everyone | 2011-08-15T03:12:22+00:00 | 2011-08-15T03:12:22+00:00 | 3,139 | The two sisters stared at the sky as it melted from day to night. They were hard at work; one raising the moon and the intricately placed stars, the other lowering the sun so ponies could sleep without the light of day. However, what I, and most others, call hard work, is in no way the same. These sisters have over 1000 years each of experience. To say they can do it rather easily is no understatement, but it would probably be accurate.
“I trust you will not forget your engagement in the Shetland Forest tomorrow.” Celestia loved her sister, but entertaining her sister was simply not one of her strengths. It could be said that the two were as different as Day and Night, but that seems kind of cliche.
With a sigh, Luna reassured her sister. “Yes, I’ll be there.
“I realize meeting with the Griffins may not be your top priority, but I have other engagements that must be attended to first. I very much appreciate you taking my place.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” said Luna, obviously not meaning it. “I mean, all I have to do is travel through a potentially-dangerous forest I’ve never been through before, negotiate a treaty with a species that not only hates us, and is at war with us, but also just happens to be meat-eating, and return in time to raise the moon and the stars.”
“Don’t worry about getting home on time. If you aren’t here, I’ll handle the night. I’ve had a thousand years practice, you know.” Luna sighed again. She didn’t like being reminded of her time as Nightmare Moon.
By now, the sky was fully immersed in night. “I’m sleeping through the night tonight, Tia. I’ll need my rest if I’m going to take your place.” Luna began to walk back to her room. “Tell Polaris to wake me at morning.”
Luna would need her rest this night. Otherwise, she would be far too fatigued to even make sense when speaking, let alone negotiate a peace treaty. She had no intention of listening to any star wishes tonight. However, one voice decided to ignore her need for rest, and ring into her ears.
“I wish, just for one day, I knew what it was like to be one of the princesses.” It was a voice Luna remembered, and a wish she could grant. Most wishes were well within her power, but she usually had no reason to grant them. This one, however, appealed to her mischievous side.
Somepony is already taking Celestia’s place. Why couldn’t somepony take mine? Just one day couldn’t do any harm, could it?
However, there was the not-quite minor problem of the treaty. If it wasn’t executed correctly, it could end in disaster. The question plaguing Luna’s mind, though, was the identity of the pony who made that star wish. She had recognized that voice. Now who was it? It had to have been from sometime after she had escaped from the moon. Any earlier, and the pony would have to be well over 1000 years old.
Whose voices had she heard recently. Not terribly many. Luna was still catching up with Equestrian society, and that took up most of her spare time. She spent a lot of her duties alone, or with her sister. But that wasn’t Celestia’s voice. Perhaps one of the elements; one of her saviors. Yes. It almost had to be. To think they had saved her from the eternal nightmare... She owed each of them very much. It certainly wasn’t Loyalty, Laughter, or Honesty. The personalities just didn’t fit. She had already heard Kindness, barely, so she could rule that out. Generosity seemed like one that would wish for something like that. Just as regal as her taste. No, Generosity had some sort of an accent. That only left...
Magic. Wasn’t that someone Tia knew? Yes! Magic was Tia’s protegee! Tia said she was bookish, a quick learner... Perfect! She probably knows more on the subject than I do! She’s going to be quite surprised, isn’t she. Ah well, she did wish for it. Now, where’s that book?
That night was one anypony who was awake would remember. For at the stroke of midnight, a blue flash of light shone from the moon itself, making way for two beams of blue light to invade two homes. One, the royal castle in Canterlot. The other, a simple library in Ponyville. Nopony knew why, and nopony would ever be told. But, more importantly, neither pony sleeping in those homes ever realised what was happening. They were both heavy sleepers.
“My Princess? I was told to wake you.”
Twilight was still quite sleepy. The thought never occurred to her that this might be a dream. “Princess?” she asked, sleepily. “Pinkie’s party last night didn’t get that crazy, did it?”
“I’m sorry? Oh dear, you’re dreaming, aren’t you?”
“Dream? Oh, maybe. Try pinching me.”
“Princess?”
“According to my studies, one shouldn’t be able to feel pain in their own dream. If I am dreaming, a pinch should wake me up. So pinch me.” Twilight opened her eyes, and saw the stallion standing over her. “P-preferrably near the hindquarters.”
Polaris hesitated. He was used to having the Princess making unusual requests of him. However, this was a first. Denying the request of a Princess, however, was not terribly appealing to him. He pinched her.
“Ow.” The princess’s expression didn’t change. “Alright. Either I’m awake, or I need new books on dreaming.
“I hope the first one is true. Now, please. You need to wake up. The Griffins won’t like being kept waiting.
“But, if I’m awake, who are you?”
“Please don’t tell me you have amnesia.” He paused. The alicorn just stared at him, still clutching her blankets. He sighed. “I am Polaris, your apprentice. I hold the same role to you as one young Twilight Sparkle did to Princess Celestia, prior to your return, my princess.”
“Twilight Spa-” Twilight was surprised to hear her name in the third person. Something suddenly clicked within her mind. She looked at her hooves. Something was wrong about them. Namely, that they were blue. “Polaris, I have to tell you something.”
“Anything, my princess.”
“That’s just it. I’m not your princess.” She could tell Polaris was confused. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
Polaris was silent for a moment. Then, came his reponse. “No. How could that be? You look precisely like Princess Luna.”
“Rutabega.”
“What?”
“Rutabega. That’s the royal call sign for situations where somepony has to make it known that they are telling the truth.”
Polaris was taken by surprise. “That... That’s not Luna’s call sign.”
“No. It isn’t.” Twilight knew exactly what she was doing here, but it was only now that it was becoming apparent. “It’s Celestia’s. And I would know it because-”
“You are Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to Princess Celestia.” He knew that now. She had proved herself. “But how?”
“I don’t know for sure. Maybe somepony cast a consciousness transferal spell.”
“That would take a lot of magical ability...” Then, it hit him. With no more warning to her mentally misplaced friend that a look on his face, he ran. Twilight followed him, as he ran to some place in the castle. She began to realize that they were headed for the Royal Library.
By the time she arrived, Polaris was already scanning for something. Apparently, he found it quickly, as he walked up to one of the bookcases. After a moment, he spoke again. “You were right. Somepony did cast a spell. And I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with somepony else’s star wish.” He glanced backward to Twilight.
Twilight hesitated. “... I didn’t break a law or something, did I?”
“No, but I hope Luna gets less mischievous as she matures, rather then more. Equestria couldn’t handle it.”
It was much later that Luna woke. Without the duty of making peace between two races resting on her shoulders, she could afford to sleep in. To be specific, she did so until about noon.
Her awakening, however, was not pleasant. As Twilight had already theorized, Pinkie Pie’s party did get rather crazy last night, and Twilight got drunk for the first time. This morning (barely), Luna was feeling the effects.
“Twilight?”
“Wha?”
“Twilight, wake up! It’s almost noon!”
“Give me five minutes.” Her speech was slightly slurred.
“Twilight, you told me to wake you up”
“Look, um... Spike, is it? Yeah. Spike. I have this terrible headache, and I-
“‘And you will feel much better after you have a good breakfast.’ You told me yourself last night, before you got hammered.”
“I don’t suppose I can argue with my own logic.” Slowly, and reluctantly, Luna dragged her new body out of bed. Spike had prepared her a bowl of something. It had milk, something flakey-looking, and slices of banana, as well as a glass of apple juice, presumably. Honesty was an apple farmer. It seemed natural to have apples involved. However, there was a major difference from the food she normally ate at the castle. It looked tasty.
“My Princess, I felt I should notify you that your sister and I are just about to depart for the Shetland Forest.”
“We?” Celestia was surprised. She had expected Luna to be going alone. However, she was not disappointed. She was actually glad that she was taking Polaris with her.
“The Princess asked me to accompany her. I know the forest better than she does.”
“I intended to suggest such a thing anyway. I felt it would be dangerous to go alone, and that you knew her well enough to be a good companion.”
“Thank you, my princess.”
Celestia paused for a moment. “You’re welcome. Have a safe journey.”
“Of course, my princess.” And with that, Polaris left Celestia alone. Celestia already knew the other engagement that would take up her time during her sister’s trip. She was thinking about it when a scroll suddenly appeared in a plume of green smoke. It was from her student, Twilight Sparkle. She hadn’t been expecting a friendship report...
“‘Hey Silver Spoon, guess who gonna be a blank flank?’” Luna had just read something she could hardly believe anyone would put into words. She then proceeded to wrap up the pages like a scroll, and lie it on Spike’s desk, with a note. “Send to Princess Celestia”.
As anypony might have expected, Luna was proudly abusing her position in Twilight’s body. Of course, she wasn’t about to admit that. She had other ideas.
“Lets see what Twilight has for music.” She searched around for a bit until she found Twilight’s radio, and her CDs. She was not impressed at finding titles such as “Waltz of the Flutterbys”, “Rhapsody of Equestria”, and “Piu Allegro”. However, what surprised her was that her new body seemed to disagree with her on that last one. Her new heart was beating at what Luna thought was top speed, and her entire body seemed to warm up. But why? Then, it hit her.
Twilight, you dog! I had no idea Tia’s dear, most faithful student had eyes for someone, let alone... wait, what’s this mare’s name?
She opened the case, and saw a suspiciously familiar name: Octavia Treble. Where had she heard that before. Regardless, she had an idea. Who ever said she couldn’t do this filly two favors at once. In the midst of granting her star wish, she would set her up with the filly of her dreams. The words “harvesting two trees with one buck” came to mind.
However, if she had a chance at Miss Treble, she would need to make Twilight look her best. The first step was the mirror. She looked at her reflectio-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
… It would seem she had seen Twilight’s mane. It wasn’t hideous. Some might say it was rather appealing. However, after that story, Luna couldn’t look at her pink highlight without remembering the horror. She realized two things in that moment. 1, she would have trouble getting to sleep for the next few months if she kept remembering that story every time she saw the color pink. 2, she had her work cut out for her.
“This reminds me of the Everfree Forest.”
“How so?”
“It’s dark, the clouds are moving without the help of pegasi, and there are a lot of trees. Trees as far as the eye can see.”
“You’re starting to sound like the Princess.” Polaris had had much more time around the Princess to understand what she was like. Twilight just took his word for it. “Not that that’s a bad thing. It’s often quite refreshing to see Royalty act like a sixteen year old filly.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes. It’s certainly better than a Princess acting like a Princess. You know, the stereotypical kind that’s spoiled and terrible to put up with. Honestly, I much prefer her like she is, even if she does cause havok.”
“Havok? I find that hard to believe.”
“You don’t know her very well, do you? You know one time, she actually tried to create a miniature zombie apocalypse in the Everfree Forest?”
“You’re kidding!”
“Not at all. We had to build them their own little villiage and put a magical barrier around them.”
“Why would Luna do that?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea. Honestly, I’ve stopped trying to figure it out. Sometimes, I wonder if she knows why she does what she does. But I put up with it, mainly because its fun.” Polaris’s tone suddenly switched to a sadder one, as he began remembering his past. “I’m starting to ramble. I’m sorry. I get like this when I remember what life used to be like. You wouldn’t be interested in that.”
“You know what? I am.”
Polaris sighed. He wasn’t ever happy recalling his past, but telling other ponies occasionally was better than bottling it up. “Fine. I was born in a town called Hoofington...”
Spike had come and gone, having sent the story to Celestia. Only hours afterwards was Luna finally finished. Although tedious, she had managed to make Twilight look like a new mare. Her mane seemed to glow, as if it were an amethyst. It left a forelock, resembling Octavia’s, but most of it flowed back, with elegance, but a just a few misplaced hairs to give the hint of non-pretentiousness (Octavia Treble may be a royally acclaimed cellist, but Twilight vanquished Nightmare Moon. She had to make sure not to look as if she was on a pedastal.)
However, regardless of the fact that she looked confident, neither case obscured the more important fact: she looked marvelous.
Now, all she had to do was find Twilight’s dream filly. But before she left, she decided to leave a note.
Spike,
I will be gone for the night, and will not return until the morning. Please close the library for me, and open it again in the morning, if I have not returned by then. If you are uncomfortable sleeping in the library without me, feel free to ask one of my friends for temporary lodging.
Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle
P.S. Moondancer said ‘hi’.
“You have to be kidding. There is no way Luna is afraid of baseballs.”
“She is, though.” Polaris himself was laughing at this one. “It was this one time when she was pretending to be a normal unicorn. She went to this baseball game with a Ponyville family, and the little girl wanted to catch a fly ball, so she cast a spell. It backfired. All the fly balls whacked her right in the head. To top it all off, she couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.”
“I hope she did when she got home.”
“That’s the best part. She never did.”
“Really? Well, if she ever turns into Nightmare Moon again, I’ll bring a few pitchers with me.”
“Lets just hope you don’t have to worry.” They continued on until they noticed a small hut up ahead. “That’s the agreed location. Are you ready?”
Twilight hesitated. “... Yes.” With that, they walked towards the hut.
As they entered, they saw one lone griffin sitting at the end of a square table. “Princess Luna, I presume?”
“Y-Yes.” The griffon seemed to snarl at her very presence.
“And who is your guest?”
“Well, …”
“I am her apprentice, Polaris. You, I shall assume, are Queen Platia?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I know the Kingdom rather well. I shall act as a neutral third party.”
“Very well.” Platia was not happy, but neither pony had the misconception that it was because of Polaris’s descision. “Let the negotiations begin.”
Let the games begin. Luna could see her goal, Octavia, up ahead. She was alone. It was just a matter of how to approach. Can’t be too subtle, or she won’t pick up on anything. Can’t come on too strong, or she’ll panic or something. We don’t want that. It’s going to have to feel normal, sort of a transition. By now, Luna had a plan for her approach. The world may never know if it would have worked.
She approached, set herself beside Octavia, and in a relatively flat tone, said “Hi.”
Octavia was this close to breaking into tears. That doesn’t work as well when you can’t see me, or when I don’t have fingers. However, lets get back to the subject.
“What’s wrong?” Luna was genuinely worried. Not that things weren’t going according to plan, but for Octavia’s sake.
“IT’S JUST NOT FAIR!” the cellist screamed, unable to hold her tears back now. She cried into the purple shoulder next to her.
“Oh dear. Listen. You can tell me anything. I’m here for you.” There was no response. Only an ever-dampening patch of shoulder fur acted as Octavia’s response. “You don’t want to say in public, do you?” Octavia shook her head. “Come on. Is your place near here?”
Victory.
Victory.
“Alright. I think we have here an effective peace treaty.” Polaris was a very good negotiator, but Twilight had managed to prove herself a better one than he could hope to be. “I shall spare you the details, but I feel I should refresh our memories of the points made in it.
“Equestria and the Griffin Kingdom shall cease conflict as of midnight, tonight. The sale of Griffin quills will be made illegal. The owl trade between the two nations shall be opened, so as to provide an alternative source for quill feathers. The base price for every six owls to from the Griffin Kingdom shall be set at one dragon egg, or any amount of Equestrian commodity equal in price. Any Griffins that remain illegally in Equestria, and any Ponies that remain illegally in the Griffin Kingdom shall be deported to their proper nation. Are there any objections?”
Twilight spoke up. “I would like to propose one more condition.”
“What could that possibly be?” Platia seemed to disapprove.
“That Polaris stop using the word ‘shall’ for 24 hours.”
Platia was taken by surprise for a moment. Then, in a more pleased tone, she contributed a simple “Agreed.”
Polaris, this time, was the unhappy one of the three. “Fine”, he grumbled. “Anything else?”
“I think that will be all.” Platia, as a change, seemed content. “Right, Princess?”
“I tend to agree, Queen.” Both Twilight and Platia signed “Might we say this is the beginning of an inter-species-”
“No.”
“...That was quick.”
“I happen to be married.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that! I was going to say friendship.”
“Oh. … Perhaps.”
“Goodbye for now, Queen Platia.”
“The same to you, Princess Luna, and Polaris.” With that, the two ponies departed.
“I will never know how you managed to do it. Even the Princess had no idea how she would do it.”
“What?”
“You not only managed to get the Queen of the Griffins to call a truce, but to also open up the owl trade. The Princess was worried she wouldn’t even get close. In fact, for quite a long time, she thought she would get eaten.”
“Eaten?!”
“Yes. Did you not know Griffins were carnivorous?”
“Well, yes, but eating diplomats was made illegal by the Detrot Conference of 963.”
“Oh, didn’t you hear? That was repealed last Tuesday.”
“WHAT?!”
“April Foals!”
Twilight was not impressed. “It’s November 12th.”
“Worth it.”
“We should settle down for the night. Princess Celestia has agreed to handle the night until your return. There will be no harm in taking rest before returning to Castle Canterlot.”
“Wait... You don’t intend to return me without swapping our bodies back, do you?”
“I won’t have to worry about that. Your bodies will automatically be swapped at midnight. You’ll probably wake up in your own body.”
Twilight hesitated. She had almost grown used to Luna’s body. However, as much as she sort of liked being a Princess, she realized she had to return to her original body at some point. “Alright.”
The two ponies found a large tree. Polaris claimed the branches, and Twilight took to the the inside. And then, they fell asleep.
When Luna awoke, she was inside a tree, and covered in tree sap. She was not happy. She crawled out of a small hole in the bark, wiped the sap out of her eyes and looked up to see Polaris lounging in a tree branch.
She then decided to throw rocks at him.
“Ow!” He fell out of the branch. Luckily, he had no broken bones, but he did sprain his ankle, as a few royal doctors would later discover. “I see you’re up, my Princess.”
“Explain the tree sap, please, Polaris.”
“You slept inside a tree, my Princess, does it really need explanation?”
Luna thought for a moment. “No, I suppose not.”
“May I ask how your out-of-body experience was?”
“Oh, marvelous. F.Y.I., if Princess Celestia wants to read you a story from Twilight Sparkle, deny her. Tell her I gave you permission if you have to. Do not let her read it to you under any circumstances.”
“I assume it was one of your pranks?”
“You know me too well, Polaris. Oh, and I hooked her up.”
“You... She didn’t tell me she had eyes for any colts in Ponyville.”
“She doesn’t have eyes for a colt. She has them for a filly. Ever heard of Octavia Treble?”
“The cellist. Yes. You said she played at our last family reunion.”
“Yeah... About that...”
Twilight awoke much later, in a strange bed. She thought she was dreaming, and that she was going to wake up in her own bed at any moment. She was wrong.
“Hello, sweetie,” spoke a voice Twilight had never heard before (though it was oddly familiar), suspiciously close to her ear. She was still a little groggy, but she forced herself to wake up.
“Who are you?”
The voice chuckled at her. “You don’t remember last night, do you? It’s Octy.”
“Huh?”
“Octavia Treble. You started calling me ‘Octy’. We met near Sugarcube Corner last night, and the rest, well, was my best night ever.”
“You mean we...”
“Yes, we certainly did”
Twilight paused, before saying, with a hint of relief, “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Care for another verse?”
“If that means what I think it means, yes.”
Luna returned safely to Canterlot Castle, and promptly took a shower to wash off the tree sap. When she got out, she had to ask her sister a question.
“While I was out risking my life in those negotiations, what was the urgent matter you had to attend to?” Celestia looked worried. “Come now, dear sister, out with it. What do you have to hide?”
Celestia suddenly found a way to stall. “Actually, while you were out, I got a letter from Twilight. I haven’t had time to read it. Would you like to read it with me? It’s unusually long...”
“NO!” That was such a big mistake. What could I possibly been thinking?
“Oh, come now. It wouldn’t hurt you a bit to hear about my student’s studies of the magic of friendship. Now, then. ‘Dear Princess Celestia. I have a story I would like to share with you...’”
Celestia was lying in the bed, staring at the handsome colt lying beside her. “That was absolutely marvelous. Would you care for another go?”
“Eeeyup.” |
|
EHeroFlareNeos | 512 | 1 | Slice of Life | Luna's Exciting Day | complete | 13 | 2 | <p>My entry for the Happy Luna Fanfic contest over at Equestria Daily.<br /><br />Luna receives an invitation to a party and decides to make cupcakes for the occasion. Can she avoid ruining her confections, or will things simply not go quite as planned?</p> | everyone | null | 2011-08-15T06:11:47+00:00 | 1,232 | Luna’s Exciting Day
Intro
It began as a normal day in Canterlot for Princess Luna. Having been back from her 1,000 year imprisonment on the moon for a while now, she continued to pick up on current customs and technology, if imperfectly, thanks to help from her sister Princess Celestia. At this point in the day, she had just put on her socks in her room, her sister walking in.
“Dear sister, why do you put those socks on every day?” Celestia asked once inside.
“They feel really comfortable.” Luna said “Why do you ask?”
“No reason really, I’m just glad you’re happy.”
Luna smiled for a moment and then sat up on the floor. “While I have been learning more and more about the world in this day and age, sometimes I really don’t know what to do. Do you ever feel that way?”
“Of course Luna, it’s natural. But I’m glad you mentioned it.”
“Why?” Luna wore a look of slight confusion as she watched her sister’s horn light up to levitate a small scroll.
“Here, take a look at this. It came all the way from Ponyville.”
As the paper came closer, Luna captured it with her magic and slowly unrolled it. “Ponyville? I can’t really say I’ve been there.” After reading the words in front of her, she felt happy. “Oh my god, I’ve been invited to a party! That hasn’t happened to me for a long while.”
“So, are you going?”
“Of course I am. But, can you tell me who Pinkie Pie is?” At this point, the invitation lay on the floor between the two Alicorns.
“Oh, you’ll like her a lot. She loves to throw parties, and knows just how to make a pony laugh. Also, she’s a friend of my best student, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Now I really want to meet these people for myself. And there’s something else I want to take over there while I’m at it.”
Act 1
In what seemed like no time at all, Luna prepared to bake with an oven. In her time back in Equestria, she made sure to master this appliance first. She began to make a mental calculation. “Let’s see now. If I want to bake these, I’ll need to know exactly how many ponies will attend. So, if Twilight Sparkle has five friends… add three… there’s a dragon… include myself… ah, a couple dozen should do it. That way, if they like my baking they can have more.”
With the calculations and portioning set, she began manipulating the objects around her with her magic, the goal of creating a small batch of cupcakes. Taking great care with the instructions on her personal recipe card, Luna got through most of the process. Soon the mixture was in the oven with a timer set for the appropriate length. As she waited, Celestia walked into the kitchen. “I see you’re enjoying yourself.”
Luna smiled. “Yes sister, I just love to bake.”
“And still in socks I see.”
Luna held up a hoof and looked at it for a second. “Well, I don’t see any reason why I can’t.”
“It’s fine dear sister. I just wanted to know how your cupcakes were coming along.” Celestia could smell a delectable scent of chocolate in the air. “Ah, it smells wonderful.”
“But just wait until you taste them.” At that very moment, the timer went off, indicating that the cupcakes were ready to be taken out. “Oh, they must be done now. Hold on a moment sister.” Using her magic, Luna removed her creation from the oven and set the pan down to cool. Once enough time passed, she then levitated a container of icing, carefully spreading its contents on top. When finished, she turned toward Celestia. “Would you like to have one?”
“I’m not sure. I wouldn’t want to throw anything off.”
“It’s alright. I made an extra one just for you.” The dark blue Alicorn let one particular confection float toward her sister.
“Well, alright sure.” Celestia transferred control of the cupcake to her own magic and took a bite. “My, you still amaze me even after all this time. I’m sure the other ponies will be delighted to have these.”
Luna smiled from satisfaction. “Why thank you sister.” In a moment, her train of thought shifted to the party, a hoof at her chin. “Now, how to carry these over to Ponyville… Oh that’s right, I have these.” She remembered she had some boxes in the next room specifically for this kind of situation. Using her magic once more, she placed the confections neatly within the boxes, making sure they wouldn’t hit each other during travel. Afterwards, she placed the containers inside her satchel, making sure to include the invitation and her socks. “There, now I feel ready for the party.”
“Would you like a ride?”
“Oh thank you Celestia, but I don’t want to arrive immediately at…” She glanced at the invite “Sugarcube Corner. I want to be able to look around too.”
Celestia smiled again. “Sounds like a plan.”
After a ride in the chariot, Luna had arrived right outside Ponyville. Stepping out, she took in a deep breath of the autumn air. “This is wonderful sister. I can’t wait to explore and see what this town has to offer.”
“I’m sure you’ll find something to like. The people are nice here, but they sure get nervous around royalty.” Celestia smiled a little.
“I can’t imagine why.” said Luna, rolling her eyes.
“By the way, a word of advice…” Celestia moved her head closer and whispered to her sister, pulling it back in once she finished speaking. “Don’t compete with Rainbow Dash.”
“Huh?”
“Have a good time sister Luna!” And with that, the white Alicorn went on her way back to the castle.
“That was oddly specific.” Luna said to herself. “Now, time to explore!” She then trotted over to the forest, wishing to see how it compared to Canterlot. Among the trees, she felt at peace. Never before had she seen plant life in such a natural setting, different from the maintained atmosphere at home. She especially enjoyed watching a few of the leaves fall, and the fact that only some of them fell on their own made it seem like something bigger would happen later. “This is just simply fascinating. I’ll have to make sure to come back when all of the leaves are going to fall.”
At that moment, a Pegasus appeared right behind her, one the Alicorn had only just learned the name of. “Hi!”
This startled Luna at first, but she calmed down once she saw the owner of the voice. “Oh, hello. You startled me there for a second.”
“Sorry about that.” the Pegasus said with a laugh. “You seem a little familiar to me, but I don’t think I’ve seen you around here. What’s your name?”
Luna took a moment to clear her throat. “My name is Princess Luna.”
“Ah! Pardon me, I forgot who you were.” The blue Pegasus bowed in her presence.
Luna gave a nearly inaudible giggle. “Oh, there’s no need to be formal. You can stand up now.” The pony did so with slight embarrassment. “So tell me, what’s your name?”
“Well, I’m glad you asked. The name’s Rainbow Dash. I’m the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.” While saying this, Rainbow Dash made a pose in front of an imaginary background.
“Rainbow Dash you say? I’ve heard about you from my sister’s letters. So you really are the fastest?”
The Pegasus floated triumphantly. “Yup, there’s no pony that can top me in a race.”
Luna gained a look of fascination, followed later by slight disappointment. “Wow, that’s sounds great. Too bad I can’t do anything with this cargo.”
“Oh, where are you going?” Rainbow Dash broke out of her pose.
“Well, I got an invitation to a party at Sugarcube Corner. Perhaps you could help me?”
“Hey, I’m going over there too. It’s a Pinkie Pie party right?”
“Um…yes.”
“That’s cool. Maybe we can go over there together.”
“I was thinking about that.”
Suddenly, a familiar thought crossed Rainbow Dash’s mind. “But… why don’t we make this more exciting?”
“How do you mean?”
“I mean, let’s race over there.”
“Oh, I’m not sure about doing that. I wouldn’t want to ruin what’s in here.”
“Then we’ll just move slower, though that wouldn’t be much fun for me.”
Luna pondered this for a moment. “Well, my sister told me I shouldn’t, but I don’t really see the harm in one little race. Sure, I’ll do it.”
“Alright!” Rainbow Dash felt psyched up. “It. Is. ON!”
Act 2
The two ponies lined up side by side, ready to start their race. “Ready?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Just say the word.” Luna replied happily.
“Alright, ready, set, go!” They both took off, the Pegasus gaining an early lead, leaving behind a rainbow trail.
“Wow, she’s fast.” Luna thought. She tried to get into the spirit of competition, but her cargo of cupcakes held her back.
Rainbow Dash noticed the huge lead she had and looked back to see the Alicorn far behind her. For a brief moment, she stopped to yell back to her. “Come on Luna, I know you can do better than that!”
“Maybe she’s right. But how can I go fast with all of these cupcakes? I don’t want to ruin them.” Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. “Wait a minute. I can still go fast if I levitate my satchel with my magic. All I have to do is keep it level.” She began to act on impulse. “Alright Rainbow Dash, I’m coming for you.”
“That’s the spirit!” The Pegasus sped off into the distance again.
This did not deter Luna, as she had a plan. “Get ready.” she said to herself. With her magic acting the way she wanted, the Alicorn increased her speed in an attempt to catch up to Rainbow Dash. Eventually the two ponies were neck and neck, which didn’t surprise the Pegasus. “Alright, I caught up to you.”
“Nice work, though I should probably tell you that I’m not really going at full speed.”
“You aren’t?”
“Oh yeah, watch this!” Rainbow Dash rocketed forward, bursting with speed. However, this created an unintended side effect.
Luna felt a powerful wind underneath her. Even though she slowed down, she felt herself launched into the trees above, a sensation which frightened her. “Oh no, help!” While flying through the thick leaves, the Alicorn felt herself become covered in thick tree sap, a phenomenon that affected her bag as well. She eventually hit the ground with a small thud, the sap delaying her drop. Thankfully, her cargo landed the same way directly in front of her. “Oh thank goodness, my cupcakes are safe.” Suddenly, she saw a stampede of bunnies heading in her direction. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
In the moment, Luna felt more worried about her cupcakes than anything. She tried moving, but the sap made the task rather difficult, especially with her wings now stuck to her body. “If only I had some help.”
“Did somepony say ‘help’?” Rainbow Dash arrived just in time, lifting Luna’s satchel above the ground to prevent it from being trampled upon. As the stampede came and went, Luna felt scared, but then felt completely underwhelmed once she noticed the bunnies avoiding her entirely. With the bunnies gone, Rainbow Dash helped the Alicorn back up onto her hooves. “Sorry about that. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I think I am.” Luna shivered from the feeling of tree sap on her coat. “But I wonder what caused those bunnies to do that.”
Still in midair, Rainbow Dash gave a nervous laugh. “Well, I think that was my fault.”
“Why? Did you scare them?”
“Um…yes?”
Luna glared at the Pegasus, who gave a nervous smile in return. After a brief moment, she sighed. “I guess you didn’t mean to do that. Anyway, I think it’s more important that my cupcakes are safe.”
“Wait, you were carrying cupcakes in there?”
“Uh huh, I baked them myself.”
“Man, Pinkie Pie would love to try those. You should have said something earlier.”
Luna blushed. “I’m sorry. Let’s see if there’s any damage.” Rainbow Dash opened the bag to remove the contents within. With two boxes in hoof, she opened them to check on the treats inside. Breathing a sigh of relief, Luna commented “Wow. That was a close call.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe nothing bad happened to them.” Unfortunately for them, irony decided to rear its ugly head. A large thick pinecone landed on Rainbow Dash’s head, causing her to drop the box in her hooves. Luna tried to save it using her magic, but she couldn’t react in time and the cupcakes inside ended up getting damaged anyway.
“Oh no, they’re ruined.”
When the Pegasus stopped rubbing her head where it hurt, she noticed what the Alicorn meant. “Oh crud.”
Act 3
Rainbow Dash looked down at the mess within the box, immediately placing the blame on herself. “I’m sorry Luna. I didn’t mean to drop it.”
Luna felt down at first, but then spotted the other box intact. “Well, it wasn’t your fault. I guess I should’ve been faster with my magic. Anyway, there’s still another box, so I can still take those at least.”
The Pegasus breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, I thought you would be mad at me.”
“Actually, I’m a little more concerned about all this tree sap. It feels really sticky… and a little gooey.”
“Don’t worry, I know someone who can help with that.”
Luna lit up. “I’d like to meet them then.”
“Then follow me.” Rainbow Dash flew off, only to come back a couple seconds later with a nervous smile. Luna didn’t seem amused. “Um… need help?”
Soon, the two ponies ended up inside Rarity’s boutique, Luna receiving a cleaning. “I must say, I couldn’t quite tell who you were under all that icky sap. When I found out you were a princess, I knew I had to do something fast. Are you alright now dear?”
Luna giggled. “Yes Rarity, I’m fine. You don’t need to be so worried.”
“Oh, she’s always like that.” said Rainbow Dash.
Rarity replied “A proper mare must always be polite Rainbow Dash, especially around royalty. Besides, wasn’t it your fault she ended up this way in the first place?”
“It’s alright Rarity.” Luna said with a laugh. “There’s no need to argue. I just want you to treat me like you would a friend.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh yes. Sometimes I get tired of being pampered so much. Besides, I’m still young so I might as well slow down for a day and look at things like a normal pony.”
“Well alright. If you insist…”
“Thanks. I think my sister would appreciate this.”
Soon, Luna’s bath finished and she got out to dry herself off with her magic. “Ah, that’s better.” She then grabbed the socks out of her bag and started to put them on.
“I hate socks.” said Rainbow Dash as she watched this.
Rarity gave her a look of disappointment.
“Don’t give me that look!”
Once the Alicorn had her socks on, she felt at ease. “Now I feel comfortable.”
“Glad to know that dear.” said Rarity “So tell me, what brings you all the way to Ponyville?”
“Oh, I got an invitation from Pinkie Pie. I think it’s for a party.”
“You did? I got invited too.”
Luna smiled. “That’s wonderful.” Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. “But wait, if you got invited, why aren’t you over there right now?”
Rarity wandered around the room to inspect all of the dresses. “Didn’t you read the invitation dear? It isn’t until later.”
“Hmm?” Luna took another look at the invite she brought with her. When she noticed the time, she sighed and slumped onto her stomach. “It’s in the late afternoon? Well, I guess I hurried over for nothing then.”
Rarity walked back over to the Alicorn. “Oh don’t get yourself down dear, it was an honest mistake. Why, we’ve all done it at some point in our lives.”
“Really?”
“Sure. It’s perfectly normal to overlook something on occasion.”
“Yeah, you just have to be careful about how often you do.” added Rainbow Dash.
“Thank you girls,” Luna rose up and hugged both ponies. “I feel much better now.” The hug briefly got tighter as they all smiled. With that, Luna switched her mind over to something else. “Now, what do I do about those cupcakes that got ruined?”
“You brought cupcakes?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah, I baked them myself.” Luna broke the hug and stood again on all fours.
“May I try one?”
“Me too?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Luna opened both boxes and saw the already crumbling cupcakes. “Well I don’t see the harm in that now that they’re a mess.” Luna sent two of the more intact ones with magic over to Rainbow Dash and Rarity. “I suppose it’s my fault for trying to transport them all sideways most of the way.”
Rarity took a bite of the dessert, now suspended in front of her. Her eyes went wide and then reverted back to normal. “My, this is simply delightful.”
Luna had a look of confusion. “You think so?”
“Yeah, this is really good.” said Rainbow Dash as she swallowed.
“Oh yes. As a matter of fact, I think Pinkie Pie would love to sample your baking.” Rarity added.
“That’s what I thought, but then this happened.” Luna lowered her head.
“Don’t worry about it dear. You can just make another batch.”
“I guess I could, but where could I do that?”
“I know just the place.”
“Great. I can still fix it!”
The ponies all went to Sugarcube Corner so Luna could remake the cupcakes. One particularly enthusiastic pony felt more than happy to let her. “Oh wow, Princess Luna is baking cupcakes here at Sugarcube Corner,” Pinkie Pie began in her bubbly voice. “I never thought a Princess spent her time baking. Then again, I guess it isn’t uncommon for ponies to bake, especially a princess. I love baking cupcakes. It’s the greatest thing ever. Well, maybe except for baking more than just cupcakes like cookies and pies and regular cakes. Ooh or maybe making combinations of things. But do you know what my favorite part about baking is? Eating what I just made! Oh wait, that’s my second favorite part about baking. My favorite part about baking is actually licking the batter after I put something in the oven! That way I get to eat more than just what I’ve already got in the oven and then when I let what I have in the oven cool, I do my second favorite thing: Eating it!”
“Um…thank you Pinkie Pie.” Luna, still wearing socks, noticed the timer go off. “Oh, they must ready now.” Using her magic, she carefully removed her newest creation from the oven to allow it to cool. “There, it won’t be long before they’re finished.”
Pinkie Pie bounced with joy. “Yay, I can’t wait to try out your baking!”
Luna giggled with delight. “I can’t wait to share it either.”
Later on, the party got underway. Every pony had a positive reaction to Luna’s cupcakes, which in turn made her happy. Whenever someone tried to treat her special, she would blush, telling them she felt ok with informality. At one point, Twilight Sparkle approached the Alicorn standing in front of the array of pastries. “Hello Luna. Enjoying your party?”
Luna turned around. “Yes I am. You must be Twilight Sparkle. My sister has told me all about you.”
“Has she?”
“Yes, and it’s made me want to meet you even more.”
Twilight blushed slightly. “Well…”
“I also wanted to thank you for saving me that one time. Sorry I did all those terrible things.”
The Unicorn assumed a forgiving tone. “Hey, don’t worry. That’s all water under the bridge.”
“Thanks.” Luna smiled.
“So, have you met my friends?”
“Uh-huh. They’re very nice, especially Fluttershy. Applejack also seems like a pretty honest pony.”
“Yeah, I’m glad I picked them.” Twilight began consuming a chocolate cupcake, enjoying the taste. “So, what are you going to tell Celestia?”
“Well, I learned something today about friendship.”
This intrigued the Unicorn. “You did?”
“Yes. I learned that when you try to fix something, sometimes you can’t do it alone. It’s good to know a pony you can count on to help you out.”
“That’s great Luna. It’s always good to learn about something.” Twilight finished her cupcake. “By the way, your baking skills are amazing.”
“Why thank you. Now, I believe there’s something I need to do.” Luna walked over to the biggest window in the room and activated her most important spell. Within moments, the moon rose into the sky, illuminating all of Equestria.
“Alright every pony, let’s party some more!” yelled Pinkie Pie. As the party continued, Luna felt happy talking and getting to know everypony a bit better. She couldn’t wait to go back to Canterlot later so she could tell her sister about the best night she ever had in a long time. |
|
SPark | 513 | 1 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2012-01-10T22:30:56+00:00 | 2017-06-13T03:34:39+00:00 | 8,792 | This is a sequel to my Valdemar crossover story, In the Eye of the Storm, but it contains no canon Valdemaran characters, so I haven't marked it as a crossover. You don't need to have read In the Eye of the Storm to understand everything here, the story should be fairly self-explanatory. And hopefully also enjoyable. (The only relic of the previous story is that Luna has ended up with a close platonic friend, Dale, with whom she shares a special bond. Dale will be tagging along in this story, but has only a minor role to play, it's mostly about Luna and Twilight.)
"'Tis better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness."
"...Make some friends!"
Twilight Sparkle frowned at the scroll. Friends? Celestia was ignoring her well-researched warning and was ordering her to make friends? She shook her head. It was nonsense. She needed to research! She needed to prepare! She had better things to do than make friends. She had better things to do than make sure the Celebration was perfect, for that matter. The Ponyville ponies were no doubt quite competent. They could handle things. She had research to do.
"...The night will last forever!"
When Nightmare Moon had escaped into the unnatural night, Twilight turned and dashed from the room. She knew what to do! She wasn't sure if she would succeed, but her research had paid off, and she knew what she needed, and where to find it. Her eyes were narrowed in determination as she galloped through the dark night towards the Everfree Forest, where the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters lay. She would find the Elements of Harmony and use them to defeat Nightmare Moon. She had to!
Twilight Sparkle staggered up to the castle. She was exhausted, bruised from falling off a crumbling cliff and bleeding from where a manticore had clawed her before she could fight her way past it. Twigs were caught in her hair and dozens of scratches criss-crossed her coat from battling living trees that had reached out to stop her. Her mane was drenched, she had nearly drowned trying to ford a raging river. And her magic was already half drained, for she'd had to teleport across a chasm that had once been bridged. The chasm had been wide, and it had taken more out of her than it should have. But she had made it.
"No! No!" Nightmare Moon's voice was full of fear. But the spark faded and nothing else happened.
"But... where's the sixth element?"
Nightmare Moon laughed and crushed the stones before Twilight Sparkle's horrified eyes. "You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me! Now you will never see your princess, or your sun. The night will last forever!" Despair filled Twilight's heart. She had failed.
Twilight Sparkle woke in a panic, panting hard. She was filled with a deep, horrible feeling that everything had gone wrong somehow. The details faded even as she tried to grasp them; she knew that she had been dreaming, a terrible nightmare, but she could remember nothing except a sense of failure. She had failed to do... something, but she couldn't think what, or what else had happened. She shook her head and tried to blink the sleep from her eyes. It was just a dream.
The sun was shining. She had once again stayed up late to look at the stars with Luna, so it was already nearly noon. And if it was nearly noon, the book store would definitely be open! That thought energized her. She yawned and gently prodded Spike awake. "Spike! Spike! Wake up!"
The little dragon snorted and jerked upright. "I'm up! I'm up!"
Twilight Sparkle giggled. "Good! Today's the day my new books should be arriving! I'm so excited!"
Spike yawned widely. "Only you could be so excited about books," he said.
"Four new history books, three books of natural history, and a new spellbook are definitely worth being excited over!" Twilight bounced just a bit. "I especially can't wait to try out the new spells. I've mastered all the out-and-out spells I have in my current books, and I'm not quite good enough yet to be crafting really complicated spells from theory. But the more spells I learn and practice, the better I'll get."
"You sound like Rainbow Dash, wanting to be the best."
Twilight giggled. "Oh Spike! I want to get better at magic, but I don't want to be the best magician in Equestria. That's Princess Celestia, and I could never match her!"
"Oh, right."
"Come on, let's go!"
Twlight lifted Spike up onto her back with her magic, then cantered down the stairs headlong, making Spike cling desperately to her mane. She flew out the door, closing it behind her with magic without even slowing, and galloped through town towards the book store.
Mr. Quill, the bookseller, had the books waiting at the counter when Twilight galloped in. "Hello there missy! I knew you'd be in today, your books are right here."
"Thank you!" Twilight's horn glowed as she picked up the books and loaded them into her saddlebags. She read off the titles as she floated each book into place. "Supernaturals Volume Two: Even More Super, Beasts of Legend and Lore, The Almanac of Magical Plants, Great Unicorns of History, I can't wait to read them all! Ooo, and On Portals: Spells for Windows and Doors... I wish I'd had that one last month, it would have come in handy."
Once all the books were loaded in, Twilight floated a handful of bits over to Mr. Quill. "Thank you," she said again, and trotted off to the library with Spike still clinging to her back. The only reason she didn't gallop flat out was the weight of the books. She was so excited! Which one to read first?
When he got back she found Luna and Dale were up, making breakfast. "Hello," she said, greeting the princess and her white earth pony companion. Luna visited Twilight often; they both loved stargazing and astronomy, and Luna had bored a polite Celestia to tears with chatter about the stars nearly as often as Twilight had visited the same fate on her friends, before the two had met and discovered somepony they could share their hobby with. And where Luna went, Dale was never far behind. Dale had come from another world with four of his friends. They'd come by accident and had wanted to return home as quickly as possible. Twilight and Luna had both worked to help them get home again, but Luna and Dale had become very close friends, and there was something Twilight still didn't fully understand, some kind of magical bond between them that meant they couldn't be separated for anything. So when Luna had decided that she couldn't go with him to his world, Dale had remained with her. Twilight had asked once if they were in love, but they had both laughed (and had gone on chuckling for quite a while afterwards. Twilight had felt rather put out, it had seemed like a reasonable enough question!) and said that no, this was different.
"It's a lot like love, we care about each other a great deal. But the bond itself is something else entirely," Dale had said. "It's not something you think, or something you feel, it works on a deeper level, the level where you don't think, you just are."
Twilight hadn't completely understood, but she was a bit more cautious about investigating mysterious things after the whole incident with the Pinkie Sense and the hydra. What she did know was that these days wherever you found Luna, you'd find Dale trailing after her like a loyal ghost. With his all-white coloration, pale blue eyes, and lack of cutie mark, "ghost" was a pretty good description of him. You could lose him in a snowbank and never find him again!
"Want a daisy sandwich?" asked Dale. "We picked up some croissants, so they're extra gourmet this morning."
"Sure. Thank you."
"Did you get any gemstones?" asked Spike eagerly.
Luna giggled. "I did. Just some turquoise, but I know you like it."
She floated a few chunks of stone over to Spike, who started stuffing them eagerly into his mouth. "Mmph! Thmphks!"
Twilight dropped her saddlebags on her desk. She wanted to start reading right away, but her rumbling stomach told her she'd better have a croissant first.
"So, you have some new books?" asked Luna as Twilight munched on her sandwich.
"Yes! Have you read any of these yet?" Twilight Sparkle floated the books out onto the table. Luna loved to read, and devoured books rapidly, but of course there were a thousand years' worth of books for her to catch up on, so she hadn't read most of Twilight Sparkle's collection.
"I have read The Complete History of Equestria; it is a bit overwrought, I think. And not very accurate about myself and my sister, I have to say. None of the others look familiar though."
"How about this one?" Twilight lifted the spellbook.
"No. Though I am, of course, very familiar with portal magic. Especially after last month! There is nothing like teaching somebody else to polish up your own skills."
"I can guess what a 'door' is, but what does it mean by 'windows'?"
"A window is another name for a scrying spell. It's when you look elsewhere, rather than traveling elsewhere."
"I see." Twilight took another bite of her sandwich.
"Would you like to try one? We could see if I could look at our friends in Valdemar and see how they are doing."
"I like that idea."
"Why don't you read the book, and I'll clean up here. Once you've read about it, maybe I'll show you how to cast the spell, and you can try it out."
"Sounds good!" Twilight opened the book, holding it up so she wouldn't drop bits of sandwich into it as she ate. It took her a long time to finish the sandwich; she kept forgetting it was there, the spellbook engrossed her so thoroughly.
"Ready for some spellcasting?" Luna trotted back into the kitchen, Dale following behind her as always.
Twilight looked up from the book. "Sure! Should we go into the main room?"
"It's easiest to scry in a bowl of water, so let's stay here." Luna's magic opened a cupboard and floated a large mixing bowl out. She filled it and set it on the floor. They both stood over it. "I'll start with a local scrying spell. We can look in on Spike out in the next room, just to get started."
Twilight nodded, watching intently. She'd just read about how this worked, but seeing it in action would tell her a lot. Luna's horn glowed, and a second, shimmering glow started on the surface of the bowl, then cleared away, and now the bowl was a window, looking down into the next room, where Spike, rather than putting away books as he was supposed to be, was curled up napping.
Luna and Twilight giggled.
"Now why don't you try it? Go for somewhere a little further away."
"How about the throne room in Canterlot?"
"Good idea." Luna smiled. "Remember it's considered very rude to scry on anywhere private, but the throne room is a public place, so it's not a problem."
Twilight nodded. She concentrated, running the spell over in her mind, applying her will to it. She loved doing this; the orderly patterns of spells were so satisfying, and exercising her special talent was wonderful.
Moments later the bowl's surface was showing the throne room. "I did it!" said Twilight happily. She peered at the scene in the bowl. Celestia was sitting on her throne, speaking to a pair of petitioners. Twilight realized that the scene was silent. "Scrying doesn't carry sound?"
"No. Not in and of itself, at least. You can combine it with a distance listening spell, if you like, but you should probably master the scrying spell itself first."
"It seems like I have it down pretty well," said Twilight with a smile.
"Very true," said Luna, and she smiled back. She could see why her sister had chosen Twilight as her special student. "But we wanted to look all the way to Valdemar. Inter-dimensional scrying is a little bit harder. Would you like to start with something nearby?"
"How can another dimension be nearby?"
"Are you familiar with the branching worlds theory?"
"Oh of course!" Twilight face-hoofed. "A dimension that only recently branched off of this one would be 'nearby' in dimensional terms."
"Exactly."
"So I'd be looking for a world that's like this one, but not quite the same. Hmm." Twilight pondered. Then she had an idea. The half-remembered dream where she'd done something wrong. What if she tried to see that? She was curious if it would work. And she was also curious about what exactly she'd messed up in the dream. It probably wouldn't work at all, but then again the dimensional possibilities were theoretically endless, and one where the dream was true ought to exist. "Right." Her horn glowed again. This time the glow grew brighter as Twilight cast the spell. It was almost the exact same spell as ordinary scrying, but it was taking a lot more power. She strained, the glow brightening further. Then the water once more shimmered and cleared, and she could see a scene in it.
It was dark, so for a few moments Twilight couldn't quite make out the details. She was definitely looking down at the library tree, but something was wrong. With a gasp she realized that the tree was burned. She could see right through the blackened branches into the scorched remains of the library itself. Books, some still relatively intact, some half-burnt, lay strewn around. Many of them showed the effects of the ruined ceiling, their pages were crumpled and warped with rain.
Luna was gaping at the bowl as well. "What universe did you reach for?" she asked in a stunned voice.
"I... I had a dream last night that I'd done something wrong. I was curious what; I couldn't remember. So I thought the dream must be true somewhere. But I was expecting... I don't know, I was expecting to see myself go out in public with socks on my horn or something like that, the usual sort of 'I did it all wrong' dream. Not this! What in the world could I have done to cause this?!"
"I don't know"
"Maybe I just... tipped over a candle. And... and... no, that makes no sense, why wouldn't some pony have cleaned it up by now? Those books have obviously been lying there a really long time. And where is Spike?"
"You can change the focus of the spell to a broader view fairly easily, just picture it pulling back."
Twilight nodded and zoomed back until she could see most of Ponyville. Her heart sank. The town seemed to be completely deserted. A few buildings were burnt, or fallen down, though most seemed intact, just empty. And the gardens were rotting, as though... She stopped as a horrible thought shot through her. As though the pegasus ponies had scheduled too many cloudy days, as she'd seen happen once. Only this was worse than that. Much, much worse. As though they hadn't seen the sun all year. "I think I know what I might have done," whispered Twilight.
She moved the spell's focus again, zooming over the forest towards Canterlot. Soon she and Luna were both staring at the throne room. It was the same room they'd viewed only minutes before, but now it was not Princess Celestia that sat there. Instead a mare as black as night, with a flowing mane containing the night sky itself, lounged on the throne. Nightmare Moon reigned over Equestria, and beyond the windows was the blackness of a night that never ended. |
SPark | 513 | 2 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2012-01-10T23:31:22+00:00 | 2017-06-13T03:36:07+00:00 | 5,899 | Someone was watching.
The midnight alicorn sensed it. Of course there were often eyes on her. Her subjects regarded her with fear, and those who ventured into her throne room usually stared at her, if they weren't so cowed that they looked only at the floor at least. This was different, though: these were magical eyes, looking from afar.
A glimmer of dark light issued from her horn as she seized on the trace, but try as she might she could not follow it back to its source.
She cursed, making the guardsponies flanking the door to her throne room jump. For a moment she considered having them punished for moving without being commanded, but her continuing efforts to trace back the spell that still watched her were too distracting. She would have them disciplined later, perhaps.
Her inability to trace back the watcher was... unsettling. She had not felt fear in some time, but a flicker of it went through her now. There were many reasons why she might have failed. They could be watching from very far away, but she could reach as far as the moon, and even to the stars. Something that watched from beyond the stars was nearly unthinkable, and such a being would be an alien and quite likely hostile creature, to dwell in the chaos past the crystal sphere of the sky. That thought was bad enough, but if the being was not far away, if it was nearby... it must be a creature of immense power. Power perhaps even greater than her own, to block her and hide itself.
She did not like that idea at all.
Of course there were other possibilities. A unicorn with a special talent that had to do with concealment might manage to hide, even from her. She knew of none such, but then she might not, for they would of course have been able to hide from her agents as well.
Or the watcher could be watching from another dimension, that also would prevent her tracing the spell back. Given how rarely one dimension affected another, though, that seemed unlikely. Some other being of power from outside Equestria, or even beyond the stars seemed much more likely. She would have to prepare. If some alien or foreign power came to challenge her, it would not find her sleeping!
"Do you hear me, you foal?! Do you know what you meddle with here? I know you are watching! When you come I will be ready!"
One of the guards jumped a second time at the dark mare's sudden shout. Snarling, the alicorn commanded the second guard, "Go have him flogged for moving!"
And then, as suddenly as it had began, the sensation of being watched ended. The eyes had closed, or looked elsewhere.
"I'm not sure we should keep looking," said Twilight, a shudder of fear and uncertainty going through her.
"No. I want to know," said Luna. "I need to know what I did... what I would have done."
"Luna..." Dale came up behind her and peered into the bowl. He saw Nightmare Moon there and sighed. "You're not the same person. You're not Nightmare Moon."
"But I was. It's not like some other entity took me over, I chose to take up that name. I chose to bring the night. I did those things, and I need to know... I've always wondered, and now I can see, what would have happened if Twilight hadn't stopped me. If she and my sister's love hadn't saved me, what would have happened?"
Twilight looked torn. "I want to know too, but I don't think we're going to like what we see. I should just end the spell now, and forget all about this."
"But you won't, will you?" asked Luna quietly.
They exchanged glances, and Twilight nodded. The same horrified curiosity filled her. What would have happened if she'd ignored Celestia's wishes and just studied the way she had wanted to? "No, you're right. Now that I know this world exists... I already know too much to go back. I need to know more."
In the bowl Nightmare Moon's lips moved silently. Luna didn't offer to cast the spell that would add sound. She wanted to know, but she wasn't sure she could bear hearing that voice again. That voice would be too much.
"Can you aim the viewpoint at a pony?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Yes. Just will it, and it should happen."
Twilight shook her head. "I tried. Just now, I willed it to show me, but it didn't change."
Luna felt a chill. Knowing what she had once intended towards Twilight Sparkle, she had a horrible suspicion. "Try somepony else."
"All right."
Twilight picked the first pony who came to mind, her friend Rarity. Immediately the scene changed. It was, if anything, darker than before. The only light was a faint wisp of a glow coming from a white unicorn's horn. For a moment Twilight thought that the spell had gone wrong. The rough-coated, filthy creature with the raggedly cropped mane and tail could not possibly be Rarity, but it was. She wore not a stunning gown but a heavy hauling collar, though she looked thin enough that hauling any load ought to have been utterly beyond her strength. The glow of her horn led her down a dark tunnel, and after a moment she paused and began digging. Her worn and cracked hooves scraped at the rock. Every so often she struck the tunnel wall with her magic, cracking the rock, and then digging the pieces away with her hooves. Soon a sparkle was revealed, a gem. She picked it up in her mouth, and stumbled wearily back the way she'd come, to a cart half-filled with glittering stones. She dropped her find in, then resumed her search.
Twilight felt her heart nearly breaking to see Rarity's plight. She almost ended the spell then and there, but she had to know. The need was beyond reason. This wasn't her world! They weren't her friends! But somehow they were, and somehow it was, and she had to know just how bad it was.
"Pinkie Pie," she whispered, and moved the spell again. Surely Pinkie Pie would still be laughing? The new image was dark as well, even darker than the mine where Rarity had labored. Twilight peered at it for a long time before finally making out a darkened forest, lit only by a crescent moon. The bushes and trees were rotten skeletons. Mushrooms grew plentifully among them, some reaching gigantic proportions. Among the mushrooms, huddled under the caps of the largest, were a handful of ponies. They were sleeping, and the nearest one was Pinkie Pie.
She was not quite as horribly changed as Rarity. She was still the same pink pony, with the same wildly curly mane. But it was held back with a practical headband, and her face, even in sleep, was care-worn and lined. She looked like a mare twice her age, and she slept with a knife next to her hoof. She's not doing that just to be ready to cut the cake at her next party, thought Twilight with a pang.
Quickly she shifted the view again. Applejack this time. The orange cowpony was standing in a stall. A familiar enough sight, except that this Applejack was not mucking out a cow's stall or tending to any other such chore, she was chained there as if she herself were an animal. She wore a bridle, with a bit in it. Twilight had seen pictures of the old slavery devices in books, but never thought to see a real one. And she doesn't have her hat. You know it's bad if Applejack has lost her hat! The thought was almost hysterical. Twilight kept the view there for a moment more, but Applejack just stood, head down. Twilight shuddered and moved the scrying spell once more.
Rainbow Dash. The brash pony seemed the best suited of all of them to dealing with hardship. Would she be well? Would she be smiling? The scene steadied and Twilight's heart fell. Rainbow Dash was walking along a nighttime street in some city. It might have been Manehattan, or possibly downtown Fillydelphia. She was hitched to a fine carriage, but she too was wearing a bit, and she walked with her head down and heavy, plodding steps. The driver was a young unicorn in black livery with a white moon on it, no doubt in some way associated with Nightmare Moon, but that wasn't what drew Twilight's eyes. The harness was obviously meant for an earth pony, it shouldn't have fit Rainbow Dash at all. But it did. Horrifyingly, it did. Oh Celestia no! Twilight almost whimpered out loud. Where Rainbow Dash's wings should have been there were two horrible scars. The scene kept moving as Twilight gaped in shock. The driver yanked on the reins, halting the carriage. Two well-dressed and well-fed fillies stepped out; both had little badges on the shoulders of their gowns, black with the crescent moon mark. Some ponies were apparently thriving under Nightmare Moon's rule. But not my friends. Not poor Rainbow Dash. Twilight felt sick. Luna was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Twilight almost shut the spell down then and there, but there were still two more friends left to see. Twilight bit her lip as she shifted the spell once more to Fluttershy. She didn't know what she would do if that soft, gentle pony had been tortured as well.
Once again it was dark. Of course it's dark, it's been night for a whole year. Everything is dark everywhere. This time there was only the barest sliver of light. Finally Twilight made out a small, yellow form, curled up against a huge, dark one. She puzzled over it for a long time before figuring it out. Fluttershy was sleeping in a cave, curled up with a manticore. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but she looked somewhat ragged. Her hair was in tangled dreadlocks, and she seemed perhaps a bit thin. But as Twilight squinted into the dark she made out more shapes: Fluttershy was surrounded by animals. So whatever else had happened she had kept that much of her freedom, at least.
One more, thought Twilight. She sent the spell seeking Spike. But once again it stayed focused on Fluttershy. She swallowed. "What... what does it mean if the spell can't find the person you're sending it after?"
Luna said softly, her voice thick with tears, "It means that they are surrounded by powerful magics or... that they are dead."
Dale moved to nuzzle Luna, who leaned against his broad side, still crying. "That wasn't you," he said. "You didn't do those things."
"Only because I was stopped! Only because Twilight Sparkle and Celestia rescued me, otherwise I would have. I meant to! I meant to kill her, and in this universe I succeeded."
"It still wasn't you. Luna... we've had this discussion before. Yes intentions matter, but so does what really happened. You meant a certain amount of harm. But I think it was an innocent kind of malice."
Luna blinked at him. "What? How can malice be innocent?"
"Have you ever killed anypony?"
"No..."
"Then you have no idea what killing actually is. You don't know what it means. What the weight of such a deed is. We all say, in moments of anger or hurt, that we wish somepony or other dead. That's all you did, is wish. You may have acted on the wish, but I still don't think you really meant it."
"But in this other universe... the things done there, the things I'm sure I did, they are not innocent things!"
"That Nightmare Moon has walked much further down the dark path than you did. After you kill once, that innocence is gone. You can choose to regret and change, but you can't choose to undo. And you know how hard it is, to change."
"Yes," said Luna, very softly.
"And think on this too... Twilight?" Dale turned to the unicorn.
"Yes?"
"You've told me this story before. Celestia ordered you to oversee the celebration, and that's how you made your friends, and defeated Nightmare Moon. Have you ever directly disobeyed her?"
"Well... no. Not directly."
"Do you think you could? Can you imagine doing so?"
"I... not really. I've thought about it, but when it comes to acting I just can't bring myself to, even when I want to! She's my teacher, and my ruler,” Twilight's nose wrinkled, “And she always turns out to have been right.”
"Exactly. The pony who disobeyed, and made no friends, and lost the battle with Nightmare Moon wasn't you. It was some other pony, no doubt very like you in a great many ways, but in one little way she wasn't you at all. She did something you could never have done. This is a different world. The Nightmare Moon there will be different from our Luna. The other ponies may be different too."
"I still can't help but feel somehow responsible, as though I ought to do something about it."
"Like what?"
Twilight shook her head, "I don't know! The thing is that I know with my head that it's not my fault, but my heart... My heart aches for those poor ponies, and it feels like it's my fault. You're right, it wasn't me. But it's so close to being me that it seems like I should do something!"
"I don't think you can though. The Elements of Harmony are destroyed in that world. There's nothing and nobody to make things right."
"There might be," said Luna.
Dale eyed her, "This is not your responsibility. This is not your fault!"
"Equestria wasn't your responsibility either, once, but you chose to stay here anyway."
"That's very different. Listen, Luna... I'm not going to tell you what to do. That's not my role. But I want you to think about what you're doing before you do it. There are infinite worlds. Every possible thing can happen somewhere. Somewhere there's a world where I came through that portal in black power and I killed you, instead of Chose you. Somewhere there's a world where I came through and met a Luna, not even a Nightmare Moon, who killed me anyway. Somewhere there's a place where you and Twilight are allies against a Evil Daymare and her scorching eternal sun. Somewhere there's a place where you and Twilight are bitter enemies, and somewhere there's a world where you are keeping the world in darkness with Twilight reigning at your side! Do you see? Everything happens somewhere. This dark world you see is one of a million different dark worlds. They're all out there, and there's no way you can make any real difference. Even if you made it right somehow in this one place, and I'm not sure you can, there will be infinity more just waiting."
"But we know about this one," said Twilight. "We haven't seen those other worlds. We've seen this one, and the suffering there. And if we can make it better for just one pony there, isn't it worth trying?"
"I will have nightmares about it," said Luna quietly. "I can already tell. I'll have nightmares where I am the one doing those things. Where I am the one who makes my friends have to hide, who enslaves and hurts and mutilates them."
"The nightmares will fade in time."
"Will they? I do not know. I suppose guilt can fade... But guilt fades best when you know you did all you can. I still wonder, sometimes, if I have done all I can to make up for Nightmare Moon; now I'll wonder even more. I tried to bring that horror that we've seen into the world. If I can stop it, is it not up to me to do so?"
"And can you stop it?" asked Dale quietly. "Your power..."
Luna sighed, "I know. I have yet to take up my full power. My sister still raises the moon. She always was wiser than me, if not more powerful." Luna smiled suddenly, a halfhearted thing, but the first smile she'd had since the scrying spell had begun. "And given that wisdom, before we do anything, we should discuss this with her. I shall not run off like the heroine of some ponytale and do something stupid without first asking for advice. She may be able to tip this decision one way or another."
"I agree," said Dale and nuzzled Luna again.
"I'm glad you brought this to me, sister." Celestia's normally serene face was troubled. "This is a difficult issue."
"It is," said Twilight. "We've argued over it several times now, on our way here. Luna and I both feel responsible, but..."
"But you're not actually responsible at all, and you may not be able to change things. This Nightmare Moon is very entrenched in her power, it seems, and the Celestia of that world would have no doubt acted by now if she could. You cannot count on her to save you."
Luna glanced at Twilight. Then she looked at her sister. She felt within her for the bond she had with Dale, a deep foundation she could always lean on. She took a deep breath. "I could fight her. I could at least fight her to a standstill."
"Luna..."
"I am ready to take my power again, sister. I have been resisting all this time because I was afraid of being tempted by it. Power made me jealous and bitter once; I was afraid that power could do the same again.” Luna's voice dropped to just above a whisper, “And every time I saw you make another beautiful night, I worried that once I raised the moon again I would be jealous of your nights as well as your days. I was so afraid that ponies would not find my nights as beautiful as yours. But that does not matter now. Do you not see? I know too much! Before today I let jealousy turn to hatred, and hatred turn to action, and the action even led me to try to kill. Because I did not know where it would lead me in the end. All I knew was that I wanted power and praise. I wanted to make everypony love me! And I still wish they did. I still wish it so hard sometimes! But that's not what it's about anymore, because I have seen what I would actually get! The Fluttershy here is my friend. That other Fluttershy hiding in a cave does not love Nightmare Moon! The Rainbow Dash here is my friend too. And that Rainbow Dash..." she swallowed, a lump coming into her throat, "That Rainbow Dash no doubt hates Nightmare Moon with every last bitter fragment of her soul. Before I saw this I could still contemplate taking power and trying one last time to make it work, to make them all love my night. But now... no. I could never do it. And that means I am finally free! I no longer need to fear my own self! I can take my full power, and fight this other me, and even if we both annihilate each other, that world will still be an infinitely better place!"
Celestia's serene mask slipped for a moment, allowing a wince to show at Luna's self-destructive exclamation. She reached out and laid a hoof on her sister's shoulder, "But this world will be a much poorer one. I don't want to see you go off to fight a battle you can't win. You are evenly matched in power, but as a ruling tyrant Nightmare Moon has other resources you can't draw on. You will quite likely lose, and die, and I would miss you. It was hard enough having you gone, sister. Having you dead? I couldn't bear it."
"I can't just sit here, knowing what's happening there, and do nothing. I can't do it!"
"Isn't there some other magic we can bring?" asked Twilight. "Could... could you come with us?"
Celestia sighed. "No. I wish I could! I'm sure that with my sister at my side, we would surely win. However, if we both go, neither the sun nor moon will rise while we're gone. This world here, that we are responsible for, will be trapped in eternal night as well. Or in eternal day, which might be even worse! I can't go. Though..." She stopped and considered thoughtfully for some time. Twilight, Luna, and Dale all watched her with hopeful apprehension. "Twilight? You said that all five of your friends are alive on the other world."
"Yes."
"Then perhaps you might be able to raise the Elements of Harmony there. They by themselves could defeat Nightmare Moon, as you well know. Coupled with Luna's power your victory would be almost certain."
"But in that world Nightmare Moon destroyed them, didn't she?"
Celestia smiled. "No, my student. The stone spheres were never the real Elements, only crude symbols. She destroyed those in this world too, after all. Your friends were the true bearers of the Elements, even before they followed you to the ruins.” Celestia hesitated before continuing, “It is no accident that you all gained your cutie marks in the same moment, you know."
"What?" Twilight looked confused.
"You were always destined to be together... though sometimes destiny needs a little nudge. I worked very carefully to draw the other five into one place. I had hoped to draw them here, to Canterlot, to you, but Applejack in particular was tied too tightly to Ponyville. So in the end I sent you there instead, where I knew that the Elements within you all would bring you together, if only you would let them. And you did. You made friends of your own free will, but it was the Elements that made that choice possible for you at just the right place and time."
"I never knew..."
"You never needed to know. But now you do. Because if you are to defeat this other Nightmare Moon, you will need the Elements once again."
"Does that mean that her friends from here could go, and face Nightmare Moon with us?" asked Luna.
"No!" said Twilight instantly. She shuddered. "I couldn't do that to them! They'd want to know... they'd want to know why, and I'd have to tell them... It's horrible enough that I know what happened to them. I can't possibly put them through that. I'm the one who went and pried into it , and I still kind of hate myself for doing it. They'd hate me for showing them the things I've seen. They'd hate me for just telling them! I couldn't possibly bring them there."
"I understand," said Celestia gently. "Though they might prove stronger than you think. But the five in this other world almost certainly bear their Elements as well. If they are still true to loyalty, laughter, generosity, honesty, and kindness, and if you can gather them together, and feel that spark of friendship and magic once more, the Elements of that world will be restored."
"The first thing I thought when I saw Rarity slaving away like that was that I wanted to rescue her. A plan that involves rescuing them all sounds like a very good plan to me," said Twilight fervently.
"I agree," said Luna.
"Then you're determined to go ahead?" asked Celestia.
Both nodded solemnly.
Celestia bowed her head with a soft sigh, "I am sad and proud at once. You have both grown so much in such a short time. I could wish you would both stay home, and be safe, but then you wouldn't be the brave, strong, caring ponies that you are. So go with my blessing, and with any help I can send you." She paused and then added, "Although please don't go right away. Luna, you have raised your power just once in a thousand and one years. You need to practice, and particularly to practice combat magic. I will be happy to help you, to give you a near-equal power to practice against. And Twilight," Celestia smiled fondly, "I'm sure you'll want to study all sorts of things in preparation. I suggest studying the history of the neighboring kingdoms in particular. Here in Equestria we've never known an absolute tyrant, though a few have accused me of being such. They wouldn't if they knew what tyranny was like. We're spoiled here, a bit, but in other places it has happened. Read about them, about what they do, and how they've been brought down. You can break her power with the Elements, but first you'll have to rescue these other-world versions of your friends. That will take knowledge."
Twilight nodded. "Thank you, Princess."
"Just don't make me regret this. Study hard, go carefully, come back safely."
"I will."
"And you too sister. Prepare every way you can, and take care. I couldn't bear to lose you so soon after regaining you."
The sky was painted with glorious colors above the lonely hilltop where four ponies stood. Luna hadn't wanted a huge audience for her first moon raising and the traditional spot on top of her palace tower was visible to every pony in Canterlot. So she had come here, where the painted sky contrasted with the darkening land beneath and where there was no one but her chosen friends to see or laugh if it went wrong somehow. She watched as the stunning sunset progressed, feeling that Celestia had put forth an extra effort, just for her. Pale yellow that was almost white at the very horizon faded through orange and red and an incredible twilight purple into pure indigo blue above. A few perfectly positioned clouds caught the last few rays of the sun and shone a gorgeous gold against the darkening sky. The first hints of the stars were already appearing high overhead as the light slowly faded.
It was time to raise the moon.
Luna's heart was racing. It had been so long. She had raised it only once in all this time, and that was as Nighmare Moon. The thought filled her with a wash of terror. Irrationally she imagined that raising the moon would bring the Nightmare back, return her somehow to the self she'd been. Then Dale took a step closer and nuzzled her shoulder, and she relaxed. Nightmare Moon was dead and gone. She was only Luna now. She closed her eyes. She didn't need to look in order to do this work. She could see the moon with senses other than her eyes.
She reached out to it hesitantly, and it was there. Cool and yet warm with power. More subtle than the sun, but hardly any weaker, despite its dimmer light. Joined with her own natural unicorn's magic it was strong indeed, and that strength poured into her, making her mane flow and sparkle with starlight. She spread her wings, and in one glorious leap she was aloft, arrowing straight up into the sky.
And the moon rose, answering her leap, meeting her above the horizon. For an instant that was all eternity she hung there, bathed in power, and then the moment ended and she landed gracefully. Twilight Sparkle stomped her hooves against the ground, applauding Luna. Celestia and Dale joined in, and Celestia cheered. Luna blushed.
"Beautifully done!" cried Celestia.
"Yes, bravo!" said Twilight.
Luna blushed more. "It wasn't anything. I mean you've been raising it for a thousand years, even though moon magic isn't natural for you."
"We are sisters. Our powers are more alike than different. You have affected the sun without too much trouble, after all."
Luna smiled wryly. It used to hurt so much, to think about holding back her sister's sun. But she'd been forgiven. It was in the past. And somehow, talking about it helped. Speaking about it turned it from a secret shame to a simple fact. "It was very easy the second time, certainly. You didn't fight at all."
Celestia chuckled softly. "I had a master plan that worked out much better than fighting you directly, my dear Lulu."
Luna wrinkled her nose at the nickname. "If you call me Lulu, I'm going to start calling you 'Celly' again."
Celestia laughed. "Not that! Anything but that! I am not a celery stick!"
Luna began to break out in giggles. "I don't know... maybe you are delicious and crunchy on the inside. I could find out!"
"Nooooooo!" Celestia was laughing almost too hard to speak. "Elder sisters are not for crunching!"
"How do I know until I try?" Luna advanced on her sister, miming exaggerated chewing motions. "Going to eat a crunchy Celly stick!"
Celestia laughed so hard she fell over, which started Luna laughing as well, and soon both were rolling on the grass, giggling like madponies. Dale and Twilight exchanged amused glances.
"Are you two finished reverting to foalhood?" asked Dale as the laughter started to die down.
"Oh, for the moment, I suppose," said Celestia, looking up at Dale from where she was still sprawled on the ground. She rolled over and got to her feet with a sigh, "Back to the adult world of responsibility." She smiled down at Luna, who was picking herself up out of the grass as well, "And I suppose we should get back to Canterlot, sister mine. Now that you've done it here, raising the moon from your tower shouldn't be hard. But it was nice coming out here away from everypony. And nice to have a laugh, even if we did behave like fillies." Her smile turned wistful, "I should thank you for that, by the way. I didn't have a childhood when I was a filly. Not with how things were back then. But raising you let me experience childhood in a way I never could have otherwise."
Luna looked up at her sister, having to blink away a hint of a tear, "Really?"
"Yes, really. And as much as I might wish we both could have been raised by our parents, in a way I'm very glad that we weren't. Raising you was special. You're special. And I should say so more often. If I had, all those years ago, maybe things would have been different."
"The past is past, as Dale keeps telling me. We can only go on into the future. But I think... I think I'm glad too, that you raised me, that we could be sisters. I do love you, 'Tia."
"I love you too."
"All right sister, hit me."
"You're sure..." Luna was trembling with nervousness as she looked at her sister.
"I'm ready, don't worry!" Celestia's horn glowed with magic, which was forming a shimmering bubble around her. Luna swallowed and fired off an attack spell. It was a narrow dart of magic that shattered in a shower of sparks on Celestia's shield.
"Lulu.. if you fight like that, Nightmare Moon is going to clobber you."
Luna wrinkled her nose, but otherwise let the goading nickname pass. "Sorry."
"Try again. Harder. You may be a little bit stronger, but I'm much more cunning. I promise, you can't hurt me." Celestia smiled, as serenely as always.
"Okay..." Luna concentrating, her horn glowing brightly. This time a massive fireball shot across the barren ground between the sisters and engulfed Celestia's shield. The fire faded away, and Celestia was still standing there. Not even her smile had changed, despite the scorch marks all around her.
"That's much better! That's probably a good level of power to work with today. We can make our way up to stronger things later. Now, why don't you try something a little more subtle than fire?"
Luna took a deep breath. She had never been hugely into combat magics, though she'd used them at need. Her opponents had usually been mortal, though, and easily beaten; now she needed every possible advantage. If she could be confident in the strongest of combat magics she would have an edge over Nightmare Moon, who would have never had such a chance to hone her skill against an equal opponent, so she steeled herself and reached for the moon power once more. This time she filled the air with a swarm of magical needles that rushed at Celestia's shield from every direction at once.
They shredded the shield away, and for a moment Luna's breath caught. She was going to hurt her sister! Then they were stopped by a second shield layered inside the first, and Luna nearly went limp with relief.
"Very nice! Now try something else." Celestia looked as unruffled as if Luna had done nothing. It was aggravating! But Luna took a tight grip on her temper. She knew where unbridled anger led! Instead she focused on crafting her next spell. She didn't want to hurt her sister, but she was going to damn well ruffle her unflappable composure!
By the time Celestia called a halt several hours later she was still smiling serenely. Her hair looked just a little bit wilted, so Luna considered it a victory.
"How did you get so good, Tia?" asked Luna. "Last time we fought I beat you easily! By the end there I was putting nearly my full power into the spells, and you looked like you were hardly trying."
"I have cultivated an unflappable expression." Celestia smiled, though it was a little bit sad. "Also, the first century or so after I banished you, sister, I let a little bit of anger into my heart too. I was determined that when you came back I would be able to beat you. I vented quite a lot of that anger against various hapless practice targets before realizing that not only was I doing harm to innocent mountains and forests, but that beating you wasn't really what I wanted."
Luna felt touched by this glimpse into Celestia's heart. They'd been very close once, but it had been so long since those days... It felt good. "So you probably could have fought me to a standstill at the Celebration last year."
"Yes, but we would have leveled Ponyville. And if I had beaten you, how would you ever forgive me for banishing you? How would Nightmare Moon's anger have been broken to free the Luna I loved? I needed a better way, and eventually I found one. It was hard, letting you banish me, knowing what might happen to you and to our world if Twilight failed."
Luna nodded. "But it worked. Here, at least. Hopefully that other world will have a happy ending as well."
"I hope so too."
Luna shook herself from the reverie. "So, shall we practice again tomorrow?"
"Yes. I want you to get so used to casting attack spells that you don't need to think about them. Then we'll work on defense spells, and then a few proper duels, using both together. You're already doing very well, so I don't think that will take more than a couple of weeks. And then," Celestia sighed softly, "it will be time for you to leave on your quest, dearest sister."
Luna's desk was strewn with papers, books, used quills, and the other detritus of a project left half-finished. She regarded it with a sigh. She had so much to do here! She'd barely begun putting down the ideas sparked by the strange ponies who'd visited here last month, but all that would have to wait. It was hardly urgent, after all. She turned to where her saddlebags lay on the bed. Her horn glowed and they settled into place on her flanks.
A knock on the door revealed her sister Celestia, "Ready to leave, sis?"
Luna surveyed the room one more time, then nodded, "Yes. As ready as I am going to get, anyway."
Celestia suddenly hugged her, "Be careful, Lulu."
"I will, Tia."
"I'll miss you."
"I will miss you too."
Their goodbyes said, Luna trotted down the hall to get Dale. The inscrutable earth pony was waiting for her in his rooms next to hers. His saddle bags were twice the size of hers, and looked stuffed full; he'd obviously come well prepared.
"Looks like you're ready and then some," said Luna.
Dale smiled. "I've packed mostly food. With no sunlight I don't know what everypony there is eating, but we shouldn't have to worry about it for a week or two, at least."
"Good thinking." She glanced out the window, where the sun was just touching the horizon. "I guess I should go raise the moon once more, before Celestia takes it over again."
Luna trotted easily down the road towards Ponyville, Dale following behind her. The moon was just a hoof's-breadth above the horizon in the east, and the last fading purple of sunset still stained the horizon to the west. A soft breeze fluttered through her mane, the night around her still and serene.
Inside, her stomach was tied in knots and her heart felt like it was in her throat. Practicing against her sister had been difficult enough; the idea of actually physically battling Nightmare Moon grew more terrifying the longer she thought about it. On the heels of those horrible images she and Twilight had seen it had been easy to swear they'd make it all right; now that the actual conflict was mere hours away, she felt much less enthused about the idea. But she couldn't possibly back out; the desire to right those wrongs still burned in her. And Dale and Twilight would be with her--her two closest friends. That thought was both strengthening and actually quite alarming; they would be fighting a goddess at the peak of her powers! Luna was a goddess too, but the other two ponies were merely mortal, and the more Luna thought about it, the more they both seemed so very fragile. The combat spells she and Celestia had traded could easily kill a normal pony casually, in passing.
Luna tried not to visibly shudder at the thought. Dale was bonded to her, deeply and intensely. It would be like losing part of herself, to lose him. And Twilight... Luna still wasn't sure what to think about Twilight. A month ago, in the midst of an emergency, they had touched horns. Luna didn't know what it had been like for Twilight, but for her it had been intense. The touch of Twilight's soul against hers had burned itself into her memory. Luna longed to have that kind of intimacy with the purple mare again. But Twilight was her best friend. If she said anything about wanting more and Twilight didn't feel the same way Luna might lose that, and that thought was unbearable. Anyway, Luna wasn't even sure what "the same way" was, because she wasn't sure what she felt. It was all very confusing and complicated. Friendship was still new to her, and drawing the lines between friends and... other relationships was difficult. Luna definitely cared for Twilight, but was that just because Twilight was the closest of her friends? Better to avoid the whole thing entirely, which was exactly what she'd done since then. They still stargazed together frequently, but Luna had kept their discussion on safe, scholarly topics. Which I should be sticking to now, she told herself. Or rather I should be sticking to practical concerns about what we're headed into. I don't need to have my mind wander off on some philosophical and personal meanderings about eros and philia and all that.
"You're troubled," said Dale as they neared Ponyville.
"Of course I am troubled," snapped Luna, embarrassed by the direction of her thoughts. "I am sallying off to face a mad version of myself from another world and dragging my two best friends with me, no doubt to our mutual grisly dooms!"
Dale chuckled, and for a moment Luna wanted to bite him. Or smite him with divine power. Or something. But the imperturbable earth pony projected a mental warmth at her through their bond, and Luna calmed. She could never actually hurt him.
"That's not really what's worrying you, I suspect. Or not the whole story, anyhow."
Luna sighed. "I suppose not, but it is enough to worry about right now. We do not have time to deal with my other issues. This is more important."
"Almost there," said Dale, allowing the subject to drop as they entered the town itself. This early there were still a few ponies about, and the lights were on at the library.
When Luna knocked on the door, Twilight answered it immediately. Inside the clutter of books and papers was even worse than usual. Twilight had obviously been researching very hard.
"Did you find what you needed?" asked Luna.
"I don't know!" said Twilight with a pained expression. "There weren't any books helpfully titled 'How to bring down a tyrant in five easy steps'. I've read as much about historical tyrants as I can, but the history books don't even agree on who is a tyrant and who isn't. Some rulers are called tyrants in one and heroes in another. There are even a number that consider Celestia to be a tyrant!” This obviously outraged Twilight on several levels, and Luna had to school her face carefully to keep from chuckling as the purple mare's tirade continued, “And there aren't really that many books on other nations in the library, it's very Equestria-centric. I even looked through the archives at Canterlot, but I didn't find anything specifically on tyrants and repressive government. To really get into the subject I'd have to travel outside Equestria to get my hooves on a few specific books I've heard of that may or may not actually help, and I don't think we have time for that! I compiled some lists of what information I could find, and I guess it's just going to have to do."
"You have done your best," said Luna.
"I hope so." Luna realized now that Twilight was just as afraid as she was.
"Twilight... we do not have to do this," said Luna. "You do not have to do this."
"Yes I do. We've been over this already. Our knowledge of the conditions there makes us obligated to help if we can, and you need me. Alone, you and Nightmare Moon might be evenly matched, but with me you can use the Elements of Harmony and bring her down. So I do have to do this, Princess." Twilight's face was set in an expression of grim determination. Luna had seen that expression before, when she'd been Nightmare Moon and Twilight had fearlessly charged at her. With even less certainty of victory than they had now, Twilight had been willing to face Nightmare Moon alone. How could Luna be afraid, when a mere mortal unicorn was willing to face down her fear and fight? She sighed.
"You are a remarkable pony, Twilight. All right. Are you tired? Do you wish to sleep first, or shall we go?"
Twilight glanced upstairs, towards her bedroom. Then she looked at the mess around her. Suddenly she yawned. "I guess I should sleep. Owloysius, would you please pack my notes into my saddlebags? Put in that notebook and a spare quill as well." Her avian night assistant hooted in reply, and flew down from his perch to begin gathering the scattered notes. "Thank you," said Twilight. She yawned again. "You two can stay as usual, and we can set out in the morning."
Luna woke with the sunrise. She could sense her sister's power as the sun edged above the horizon. The first warm beams felt like a blessing. For a moment she felt a tear in her eye. If this went badly she might never feel the sun again. Is it any wonder ponies always loved my sister's sun? It is a wonderful thing. I don't think I ever really appreciated it before. I was too busy resenting it.
"Good morning," said Dale quietly from where he had slept standing next to her. No matter how often he explained that he'd grown up without even the thought of sleeping in a bed, and preferred to stand or at most to lie in a pile of bedding, Luna still found it strange. But he had lived a very different life, training and preparing to be the mount and special partner of an alien being on another world, before a cosmic accident had made him Luna's special partner instead. She was very glad of the accident, but still occasionally baffled by the big stallion. He wasn't like anypony else she knew.
"It's a beautiful morning," said Luna. "I will miss the sun while we're gone."
"We all will. But the ponies over there already miss it more than we ever could."
"Yes." She climbed out of the guest bed and walked over to nudge Twilight. "Twilight. Wake up!"
"Mrph?" Twilight opened her eyes just a crack and peered blearily up at Luna.
"It's time to go," said Luna.
"Go?" Twilight blinked at her, slowly coming awake. Then her eyes went wide. "Right! Go! Celestia, what time is it anyway?"
"Just past dawn," a brief smirk touched Luna's lips, "and I am not Celestia."
Twilight stared uncomprehendingly and blearily at Luna for a long moment before comprehension, a blush, and a toothless glare passed across her face one after the other, "Ugh. Give me a minute."
"I will go make some breakfast."
As usual, there wasn't much food in Twilight's kitchen. Luna smiled wryly. She often went out shopping when she stayed over, and frequently cooked for Twilight too. The scholarly mare tended to forgot to eat when she was in the middle of a good book, and she rarely remembered to buy food, or bothered to cook. When Luna wasn't around she tended to just eat out. Now, though, it was just as well. There were enough odds and ends to put together a basic breakfast, and after that they might not be coming back for some time.
It felt so strange, all these little goodbyes. Goodbye to the sun. Goodbye to Twilight's library. Goodbye to flower sandwiches. Without sunlight there would be no flowers, and no grass, nor trees, nor anything but mold and mushrooms. She'd always liked the taste of mushrooms, but she suspected that she'd be very sick of them by the time they were done.
"I've said goodbye to Spike," said Twilight as she walked into the kitchen. "So I guess there's nothing more that needs doing. After we eat, we can leave."
When they'd finished their breakfast there was a long silence. The three ponies sat at the kitchen table and looked at each other, none wanting to be the first to say it. It was Dale who finally did, "It's time to go."
"Yes." Luna looked over at Twilight. "You are the one who has been studying... do you have a plan? I will make the portal, but where do we start?"
"I want to start with Pinkie Pie, I think. In the Everfree forest."
"Easiest then to just make the portal go right here, and walk to the forest."
Twilight nodded. "Yes. Though... Luna? What about time? You said once that causality doesn't propagate across dimensions? I should have thought of this earlier. Why can't we take this portal back to when Nightmare Moon first appeared, and defeat her then, before the things we've seen happened?"
"Well, partly because we have seen them. The things that happened to them are what made us decide to do this. If we go back to before they happen, we have no reason to decide to do this, and then we have a paradox, which is... we do not want a paradox. With their world and ours being so close, time travel is time travel, their past is the past for us as well. I wish we could go back earlier, but it will not work. Building a portal to some other place on their world would be hard enough, but building one to some other time... I haven't the power for that. I have heard odd rumors about time traveling ponies, but that is all they are: rumors. Nopony I know has the power to visit the past."
Twilight sighed. "So much for that bright idea. I guess it couldn't possibly be that easy. All right then. Time to go do this the hard way then."
"I shall use the kitchen door," said Luna. "Is everypony ready?"
Dale and Twilight both just nodded. Luna closed her eyes. This would be a difficult spell. She concentrated, and her horn began to glow, the doorway leading into the library soon joining it. Her horn grew brighter and brighter. Threads of light arced from it to the doorway, which also glowed brighter before being overshadowed by a rainbow shimmer that wavered over the doorway. Suddenly the shimmer cleared and the doorway led not into the sunlit room beyond, but into a blackened wreck, moonlight streaming down into the ruined library.
Dale passed through the portal without incident. Twilight followed, picking her way nervously among the burned and crumbling books on the other side.
And then it was time for Luna to go. She took one last deep breath and stepped over the threshold.
A white alicorn sat upon a throne, and the early morning sunlight streamed into the room. She sensed something ancient and strong stirring, crying out, and she closed her eyes in communion as she spoke the ancient, celestial language within her mind.
"Where is she? The one I gifted with my power so long ago, that I might slumber? Where is the mare to raise the moon? She is gone. Must I wake once more?"
"No, sun's-sister. Sleep on. Sleep on. My moon-gifted sister has but gone on a journey. She shall return. And until she does I shall guide your light through the sky. Sleep on."
"What journey could lead her beyond my reach, sun's-child?"
"A strange one, sun's-sister. A very strange one. But you need not wake. I shall tend your light until my moon-sister returns."
"Very well."
The alicorn smiled and soothed the moon, until once again she slumbered deeply. But her smile was a little sad. She hoped that her promised to the moon was true, that her sister would return soon, safe and well.
"Good luck, little sister," she whispered in the silent celestial language. "Good luck." |
SPark | 513 | 3 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2012-01-05T12:31:33+00:00 | 2017-06-13T03:36:43+00:00 | 4,962 | It was dark in the throne room.
It was usually dark in the throne room. A beam of moonlight streamed through a single skylight, from the moon which hung directly overhead. It illuminated the throne, but all else was pitch black.
The mare who lounged on that throne did occasionally provide a light for her subjects, but she often preferred to keep them in the dark. Their fumbling was amusing, which was more than she could say for the sight of their faces. They were graceless things, full of tawdry emotions. They showed mostly fear of her punishments and greed for her rewards, and both emotions bored her to tears.
Moonlight shimmered over her jet black coat, and glimmered brightly on her crescent moon cutie mark. It fell into the starry expanse of her mane without a trace, but gleamed softly on her polished ebon horn, and gently caressed the velvet black of her feathered wings.
She never grew bored of the moonlight.
It was cold in the throne room. The ebon mare's breath was as chill as the moon itself, but her guards exhaled plumes of cloud as they stood flanking the door, awaiting her command.
The chill had grown deep enough that a faint tracery of frost was beginning to form on the stones of the palace. The alicorn seated on the throne regarded the frost with something like fascination. The branching, delicate, infinitely varied tracery was beautiful. She sent a spark of magic, cold and pale, threading along the curls and whorls of frost that adorned the floor of the throne room. It was so much cleaner and purer than anything else she knew. Ice was very close to perfection, she decided. Water was purified by freezing, after all. And its crystalline lattice was every bit as convoluted as anything living, but without all the messy complications of life. Ice was simple.
"Your Majesty!" A servant dashed into the throne room, stepping on the tracery of frost that the alicorn had been examining. Her eyes narrowed.
"Guards! This peon interrupts my meditations! Have him killed."
"But... but... your majesty! I have important news!"
"No news is so important that it can't be delivered in an orderly fashion, you pitiful excuse for a lower life-form. Guards?"
"Your Majesty," said the unicorn guards in unison. Their horns glowed, and they dragged the unfortunate servant away.
"This is really creepy," said Twilight.
Luna couldn't help but agree. Ponyville seemed to be utterly deserted. A few of the houses were burnt out shells, but most were simply empty. Moonlight cast strange shadows over the deserted town, and things seemed to move when nopony was looking at them. The air was chill, though it wasn't really the cold breeze that made the trio of ponies shiver. It felt like late autumn, not late summer, and the occasional gusts seemed as though they should have stirred up rustling piles of fallen leaves, but there were no leaves, only rotting, slimy remnants covered in mushrooms that grew on everything with sickly enthusiasm.
"Let us be going," said Luna.
"Lets."
They trotted quickly through the town. When they reached the bridge leading towards Sweet Apple Acres all three of them let out sighs of relief. But though it wasn't quite as spooky as the abandoned husk of Ponyville, the vast expanse of rotting apple trees wasn't exactly cheerful. The barn was still standing, but it was obviously deserted as well. The little group continued past it, and eventually reached the borders of the Everfree Forest.
That was nearly as creepy as the town had been. The rotting trees overhung the path, which was choked with dead branches and molding leaf slime. Mushrooms had been everywhere, but here they were gigantic, some taller even than Luna. A few glowed faintly, sprinkling the ground with patches of unwholesome green light. The trio found themselves walking so close together their flanks brushed. Luna hoped that Twilight couldn't see her blushing.
They had been in the forest less than an hour when from nowhere a voice shouted, "Halt!"
All three of them froze in place. Four ponies stepped out from hiding places on either side of the path. They all were armed, with hoof axes or knives in their teeth. And nearly straight in front of them a fifth emerged, with a knife sheathed on one foreleg. Candy-pink with a magenta mane and tail, all three of them knew her well.
"Pinkie Pie!" exclaimed Twilight.
"Intruders!" said Pinkie Pie. "Why have you come to the Everfree Forest?"
"We came looking for you," said Twilight. "Pinkie-"
"You're minions of Nighmare Moon, seeking to crush the rebellion!"
"What? No! Just the opposite! We're fighting against her!"
One of the flanking ponies, looking fierce, growled, "You've come here with that cutie mark and expect us to think you're not with Nightmare Moon?" He pointed at Luna, whose eyes went wide before quickly darting over to look at Twilight in mute panic. It had never crossed her mind to even consider her cutie mark's similarity to Nightmare Moon's. Twilight, though, simply made an exasperated noise at the accusing pony.
"That's ridiculous! Luna has had her cutie mark much longer than Nightmare Moon has been around! I mean seriously! How many ponies are there who have some kind of lunar cutie mark? My own father has one, and he definitely isn't her servant. Surely you know good ponies who have moons on their flanks?"
The warlike ponies surrounding them exchanged uncertain glances, and Luna continued to stare at Twilight. Clearly she had already thought of this. It was a little embarrassing, but the rigorous research and preparation were two of the things that Luna... really liked about Twilight. She shut down that train of thought and quickly fixed her eyes forward before she could start blushing..
Pinkie Pie cleared her throat. "We will take you to our leader to be judged!"
"Look, Pinkie... we came to talk to you."
"We will take you to our leader," said Pinkie implacably. Luna shivered; Pinkie hadn't smiled even once this entire time. That wasn't the Pinkie that she knew. Maybe this wouldn't work. Maybe... maybe the laughter had gone out of her entirely.
The other ponies fell in around them, and Pinkie led the way deeper into the forest. It wasn't until they reached the gorge, crossed by a decrepit bridge, and Luna saw the crumbling walls beyond, that she realized what their destination was. They were headed for the ruins of the old palace. She was prepared to use her magic to float everypony without wings to safely if the bridge fell, but though it creaked alarmingly beneath her hooves, it held for the whole party to cross.
On the far side Pinkie led the way into the palace itself. They went across the grand entrance chamber, where the Elements of Harmony had once rested, through several hallways, and up a flight of stairs to the old throne room. It looked only slightly changed from when Luna had been there as Nightmare Moon the year before. The difference was that now it showed signs of occupation. A half dozen ponies greeted them as they arrived. Some of them looked vaguely familiar to Luna, ponies she had seen around Ponyville. There was an unmistakable huge red stallion, Applejack's brother Big Macintosh. And the tan mare... wasn't that the mayor of Ponyville? Luna caught a glimpse of a scroll cutie mark as the mare rose. Yes, it was her.
"How was the raid, Pinkie?" asked the mayor. Then she stopped and stared at Luna, Twilight and Dale. "And who are these ponies?"
"Trespassers!" said Pinkie in that same implacable voice.
The mayor sighed. "I see."
"And possible servants of Nightmare Moon. See?" She pointed at Luna's cutie mark. Then she pointed at Dale, who didn't have a cutie mark. Then she pointed at Twilight as well.
"Pinkie..."
"I brought them to see our leader."
"Oh Pinkie." The mayor sighed again.
"You're the leader?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
The mayor smiled, a faint, long-suffering sort of smile. "No," she replied. "Pinkie is."
"Surprise," said Pinkie flatly.
All three of them gaped at Pinkie Pie. "What?" said Twilight, looking completely confused. "No, wait. I shouldn't be surprised. You are definitely still Pinkie Pie." Luna wondered if that was a hopeful sign. Pinkie seemed to still be a little crazy, but her chaotic nature wasn't what they needed, they needed her laughter.
"I certainly couldn't be any other pony," said Pinkie Pie. Her voice was no longer hard and implacable, and she even had a hint of a smile, but it was a grim sort of thing, not the easy smile that Twilight and Luna knew so well. "So. What is your business here?"
"Like I already told you twice, we came looking for you."
"I don't know you. The only ponies who would be looking for me are the minions of Nightmare Moon, who want to kill me."
"We are not servants of Nightmare Moon!" Twilight's voice showed her frustration.
"No wait..." Pinkie peered at Twilight. "I do know you! You're the mare who knew Black Snooty!"
Twilight blinked. Of course. In this world she hadn't become Pinkie Pie's friend, but she had still been there when Nightmare Moon appeared at the Summer Sun Celebration. "Well, I am and I'm not. You see, we come from a different version of this world. I'm not the Twilight Sparkle you saw. I'm pretty sure Nightmare Moon killed her."
Pinkie tilted her head to the side and blinked at her, and Twilight could almost see the wheels spinning in her mind. "A different version," she said softly.
"We've come here to defeat Nightmare Moon, and we have a way to do it. But we need you." Twilight plunged into her explanation. "You see there are six things, called the Elements of Harmony, that can defeat her. And those six elements are embodied in six ponies. I'm one of them, the Element of Magic. And you're one too. You're the Element of Laughter. If we can get the six ponies together and attack Nightmare Moon, she'll be destroyed easily. As long as you can still laugh..."
Pinkie's expression snapped in an instant from thoughtful to enraged. "As long as I can still laugh? Over the last year I've seen my home destroyed, most of my friends killed, and everything I ever loved ruined! You can't even throw a party anymore because there's no food! I haven't had a cupcake since the rebellion in Ponyville! We eat mushrooms until we're ready to turn into mushrooms we're so full of mushrooms and the only time we get any other food is when we steal it from Nightmare Moon's minions, and doing that means you might die just so you can have real food and not even a cupcake! I try my very hardest to keep smiling, Twilight, I do. I know my little ponies need hope and smiles to keep going. But there are limits! Everything is awful and horrible and just keeps getting worse the longer we go on. And I'm supposed to still be laughing!?"
Pinkie stood glaring at Twilight and panting slightly. Twilight flinched back from her gaze. Was their quest going to fail just like that? No more laughter? How could Pinkie Pie possibly stop laughing? She was the one who had taught Twilight how powerful laughter was in even the darkest of circumstances! And then suddenly Twilight knew exactly what to say. "Pinkie... in the other world I come from, you taught me something about laughing. You sang me a song about it. It goes 'When I was a little filly and the sun was going do-own," Twilight hesitated, not quite remembering the next line.
All the anger disappeared suddenly from Pinkie's face, replaced by a faraway look as she picked up the thread where Twilight hesitated, "The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me fro-own." Her voice was no more than a whisper.
"Yes!" said Twilight, and kept singing, Pinkie joining in now.
"I'd hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw.
"But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all.
"She said, Pinkie you gotta stand up tall,
"Learn to face your fears.
"You'll see they can't hurt you,
"Just laugh to make them disappear.
By now both mares were singing in full voice, with every other pony in the room staring at them. Twilight laughed and just kept singing. "So giggle at the ghostly!
"Guffaw at the grossly!
"Crack up at the creepy!
"Whoop it up with the weepy!
"Chortle at the kooky!
"Snortle at the spooky!
"And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another think coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... Laugh!"
Twilight had to drop out at the end, she could never remember how that last bit went, but Pinkie was still singing strong, and when she finished she broke into delighted peals of laughter.
"Oh Twilight! Now I understand! You really do know another me from another place, don't you? And, and—oh! Everything makes sense now! I always knew that the world was supposed to be full of sunshine and laughter, and cupcakes with frosting on them and streamers and balloons, and that mean old Black Snooty wasn't supposed to be here! This whole world has gone wrong, and I thought that meant that I had gone wrong, because how can I be the only one all full of bubbles and happy and laughter, when the rest of the world isn't? So I stopped laughing because what was the point, if I was wrong and the whole world was supposed to be darkness and mushrooms and ponies getting killed? But it's not that at all! I was right, and everything is meant to be good, only it went bad. In your world you took laughter and magic and everything nice and you beat Nightmare Moon right away, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Twilight, suddenly feeling very confused. But then she was used to feeling confused around Pinkie Pie, so that was actually heartening. This was the friend she knew!
"So I've been living in the world where everybody has goatees all along! I should have known. Or no, wait, not the goatees, otherwise you'd be Black Snooty, or Celestia would be or something. But whatever! Don't you see?! This means that everything I always knew was right really was, and if you're here that means that it's going to be right again! So I'm in! I'm with you! I'll go and laugh right in that mean, mean, meanypants Nightmare Moon's face, even if it gets me splatted across half the palace!" She paused and then said more soberly, "Which I guess it might. You don't change the story from grim-dark to happy-fluffy in just one page. But... that's okay. We have a chance now, so I'm going to take it!"
"Pinkie... I didn't understand half of that. But I'm glad you're with us. Thank you."
"If Pinkie is with you, we're with you too," said the Mayor.
"You are?" asked Twilight, suddenly confused. "But..."
"We've followed her this far, and she's kept us alive and free, when most of our friends are dead or enslaved, or have gone over to Nightmare Moon's side. We'll follow her wherever she goes, even to go laugh in Nightmare Moon's face."
"Aww, thank you Marie. You all don't have to go though. I don't want to drag you into danger for no reason. We don't need an army, do we?"
She looked at Twilight Sparkle, who frowned and looked at Luna.
"We did not plan on having an army," said Luna, "but we might be able to use one. Though I am not sure a dozen ponies counts as an army." She surveyed the room. "Then again, we were planning on going ahead with just eight."
Twilight nodded. "The rest of you might come in handy, but you won't need to go laugh in Nightmare Moon's face, for that we need the other four Elements of Harmony. You might be able to help us find and rescue them though."
"Let's have a council of war then!" said Pinkie Pie. "Marie, get Big Mac and Ditzy Doo. And fetch some mushrooms so everypony can eat. Maybe it's not a proper party, but we have a reason to celebrate now."
"Actually..." that was Dale, breaking in. Luna knew, the moment he spoke, what he was going to say. It might be foolish, but she wasn't going to stop him. "We brought some food. We'd be happy to share. And it's the sort of thing that might be good enough for a proper party, or closer to it than you've had in a while."
Pinkie's whole face lit up. "Really? Really and truly, a party?"
"Really. We don't have any balloons, and we didn't bring any cupcakes, but we have a little fresh fruit, lots of dried fruit, lots of grain, and even some muffins."
"Muffins!" shouted a voice, and a gray pegasus mare shot across the room to land with her nose practically touching Dale's. Her eyes were intently focused on his as she asked, "Muffins?"
Dale smiled. He recognized Ditzy, though he hadn't known the mailmare very well back in Ponyville. But everybody who knew Ditzy knew how she felt about muffins. "Yes, we have muffins. I think enough for a muffin for everypony."
"Muffins!" shouted Ditzy, her eyes wandering off in different directions, but her expression otherwise almost pathetically hopeful.
"I call that a party!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Then let us party," said Luna with a grin. Her horn lit and she started to lift Dale's saddlebags off his back.
"NO MAGIC!" shouted Pinkie Pie, so loud Luna felt her ears ringing. She instantly stopped, dropping the saddlebags back down.
"Sorry," said Luna, looking chagrined. "I should have realized. I can sense magic from a great distance, of course Nightmare Moon can too. And with nopony out here except outlaws, of course she would notice any magic at all."
Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeah. No magic, unless we're in a city where the authorized unicorns around us can hide us."
"I shall remember that."
Pinkie looked at Luna with a serious intensity that was doubly unsettling coming from the pink party pony. "You're Black Snooty, aren't you," she asked quietly.
"Uhm." Luna tried to formulate a response.
"That's okay, I know you're good. You're the one without a goatee. And I won't tell! I can keep a secret forever. Now, let's get to that party!"
Luna smiled in relief. "Right."
They unpacked the food that Dale had brought, and distributed all the perishables that the trio had meant to eat over the first few days. The dried fruit and grain, meant to last them the next two weeks, would be gone in only a few days, among so many ponies, but none of them objected. Pinkie's rebels had been living on mushrooms for months, the newcomers could certainly survive on the same diet, so keeping the better food for themselves was too selfish to even contemplate.
Soon everypony there was chewing happily. Pinkie produced a few strands of colored paper from somewhere and hung streamers. Then she led the gathered ponies in an enthusiastic sing-along. It was acappella, nopony had saved any instruments, but the ponies seemed cheered by it all the same.
Eventually the party began to wind down. Ponies started seeing out their beds, though "bed" was perhaps too generous a term for the piles of rags and ragged, battered mattresses tucked along the walls of the room. There were more beds than ponies to fill them, a mute testament to past losses. But Twilight and Pinkie Pie were both still awake, sitting together at one edge of the room, and talking quietly.
"Tell me about what happened here. I haven't been able to look into the past, only the present. And I first looked just a couple of weeks ago. I know that the 'me' from this world failed in her quest, and almost certainly was killed. I know that Nightmare Moon rules here. I know the ponies I need to gather together are still alive. But that's about all I know."
"Well, you know about when Black Snooty appeared at the Celebration, then. After that for about a week nothing happened. Then she turned up again, this time with pegasus guards, like Celestia's, with her. She said she was the Queen, and everypony needed to bow to her. Nopony liked that very much, and there was some grumbling and shouting about it, but the guards went out and dragged out all the ponies who complained and killed them. That kind of shut everypony up.
"She basically bullied us all into saying we'd do what she said. That lasted for all of three days, I think, before Rainbow Dash came back from Cloudsdale." Pinkie Pie smiled sadly. "She was there when mean old Black Snooty came here, and got to here by the time Black Snooty reached there, so she didn't see any of those speeches. Good thing, I think, or she'd have been killed right away. I don't know if you know her?"
"I do. In fact she's another one of the elements I'm here to gather."
"Then she isn't dead?"
"No. She's... she's not doing very well, but she's still alive."
"That's really peachy keen! I'm so glad. We never knew what happened to her. She started saying that it was wrong to just let Nightmare Moon rule, that she was evil, that we were Celestia's subjects, and that we should fight. She got pretty much the whole town of Ponyville all worked up. Her and Applejack, they were the ringleaders. I was with them, and the ponies you see here, and a good part of the town. The ones that weren't either ran off and hid, or they ran to Canterlot. Which of course brought Nightmare Moon and her guards right here. She came with pegaus and unicorn ponies, lots of them. There was a huge battle right in town, and for a little bit it looked like we might even win, but then old Black Snooty started throwing around really powerful magic. And that was that. When we knew it was all lost most of us ran for it, but Rainbow Dash and Applejack weren't having any of that. They said they'd hold off the guards as long as they could, so everypony else could make it to the forest and hide. And that was the last time I saw either of them.
"Most of the ponies who made it here to the forest were all full up to here with fighting, so they went off to try and live in other cities and towns, and pretend to be good little ponies for Nightmare Moon. But some stayed. And I thought to myself, 'self, even if we can't have a real rebellion, we can still do something.' So that's what we've been doing. Something, but not much. We steal food, we burn down guard posts, and do whatever other things my little brain can think up to do to cause chaos for Black Snooty and her Snooty guard. But sometimes a pony gets fed up and leaves, and sometimes one gets killed, and so we get smaller and smaller. I didn't know what else to do! I didn't want to join the meanypants brigade, but I didn't want to sit on my tail. I worried myself into a worrywart! And I started getting kind of crazy-sad, but not like I used to. I used to get a little bit crazy-sad, thinking my friends didn't really like me. But... I can't ever think that anymore. The first time you see a friend die for you, you know they're not just pretending to be your friend. But crazy-sad-grim isn't any fun either."
Pinkie had grown progressively quieter and looked progressively more downcast as she spoke, staring at the stones in front of her feet and missing the tears that were welling up in Twilight's eyes. But then all the sorrow evaporated from her face, swept into some secret place deep inside, and she grinned at Twilight. "Just plain crazy is okay! Maybe now I'll try crazy-mad. Because Black Snooty does make me mad! Really mad! So mad I just want to shoot steam out my ears sometimes!"
Twilight surprised herself by choking out a giggle. The image was so silly, even if everything behind it was so serious. "She makes me pretty mad too. But we're going to stop her, no matter what it takes."
Pinkie Pie sat up straight, assuming a slightly exaggerated air of being all business. "So what other ponies do you need? You said six. So there's me, and you, and Dashie, that leaves three."
"Applejack is one."
"Yay, she's alive too!"
"And Rarity."
"Rarity! She was one of the ones who left to try and live somewhere else. Will she join us?"
"She may have tried, but she failed to be a good enough subject of the Kingdom of Night, because she's working as a slave in a gem mine now."
"That's good. Well. It's not good that she's a slave, but it's good that she's not on Black Snooty's side!"
"Yeah. And the last pony we need is Fluttershy."
Pinkie's ears fell and her eyes went wide as saucers.
"Oh, cupcakes." |
SPark | 513 | 4 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2012-01-05T12:53:51+00:00 | 2017-06-13T03:37:26+00:00 | 3,931 | "You're really, totally, completely, cray-zee," said Pinkie Pie in an exaggerated whisper.
"I'm not crazy," said Twilight somewhat absently as she peered through the dead branches and down into a small clearing at the base of the hill. In the center of the clearing a yellow pegasus was grazing on mushrooms. She was thinner than the Fluttershy Twilight knew, and the ever-present moonlight clearly showed her matted, dreadlocked mane. Her coat was grungy and grimy, and all in all she looked more like a wild animal than a civilized, intelligent pony. But it was unmistakably Fluttershy. "We need Fluttershy if we're going to defeat Nightmare Moon. I managed to find the right thing to say to you. I think I can find something to say to Fluttershy too."
"I hope so," said Pinkie Pie.
Twilight and Pinkie crept backwards out of the bush to where the others were waiting. All thirteen of Pinkie Pie's rebels, plus Luna and Dale were there.
"All right. Everybody got the plan down?"
"Eyup," said big Mac. "Ya'll are goin' down thar to get that crazy critter-wrangler to join this here rebellion. Yer goin' to go in by yerself first so as not to scare her any. If any critters attack, ya'll want us to deal with 'em, but we ain't supposed to hurt 'em any, an' as usual the unicorns cain't use magic t' do it. I think Pinkie Pie is right, ya'll are plumb crazy. But we're willin' to try it."
"Thank you," said Luna, looking around at the gathered ponies. She hadn't intended to end up part of a larger rebellion, she knew that Twilight had planned for them to just recruit the other Elements of Harmony, but she was already realizing how very helpful these other ponies could prove to be. "Thank you all."
"We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't know Fluttershy's creatures won't chase us very far if we run," chimed in ex-mayor Marie Mare. "We've had accidental run-ins with them before."
"Just don't be too quick to retreat if things get tough. I don't want anypony hurt, but we really need Fluttershy," said Twilight.
There were nods of agreement all around. These ponies were the bravest and toughest, the ones who'd survived and stuck with their small rebellion for all this time. Luna couldn't help but smile at them; they'd come through a great deal, and they were still willing to go through even more.
"Let's go!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Quietly, remember," whispered Twilight, with a hint of exasperation. She was already wondering how the pink and energetic mare had managed to run anything that required not being heard or seen for so long and expected that she'd wonder for a long time.
"Right," whispered Pinkie. She started tip-hoofing from tree to tree, and the others followed in her wake.
They managed somehow to read the edge of the clearing without alerting Fluttershy to their presence. Twilight stepped clear of the bushes and cleared her throat.
Fluttershy whirled around to face her, and her eyes went wide with terror.
"It's okay Fluttershy," said Twilight. "I'm a friend."
She didn't get any farther, because Fluttershy instantly spun around and bolted from the clearing. "Horseapples," muttered Twilight, and ran after her. The others broke free from hiding and followed.
"Ouch!" Something small and hard hit Luna on the head. She heard the chattering scolding of a squirrel, and there was a chorus of pained cries all around her as a hail of acorns came from the trees above.
"Run faster!" said Pinkie Pie. They dashed on, and eventually the hail of nuts ceased. Ahead was another clearing, and Luna caught a glimpse of yellow. Fluttershy was there.
"Please listen, Fluttershy!" cried Twilight. "This is important!"
Fluttershy backed away from Twilight several steps, fixing her with a terrified stare as she spoke, barely above a whisper. "Go away! Please!"
Twilight took one step forward, opening her mouth to entreat Fluttershy to listen, but that was apparently one step too far for the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy reared, spun on her hoof, and sprinted off again, dashing among the trees. Twilight muttered another curse and resumed the chase.
Luna took to the air, trying to see where Fluttershy was headed from above. Suddenly a cloud of birds came whirring up from the forest canopy. She found herself being pecked, clawed, and harassed by a dozen, including several large black crows whose powerful beaks could do her real damage. She dodged and wove through the air, but moving away from one attack often just put her in the path of another, and even the largest birds were much more maneuverable than she was. Cries from below indicated that the ground-bound ponies were being attacked as well, but so many birds were swarming in the open air above the forest that Luna was forced to the ground with them. She and the others ran frantically, more concerned with fleeing the attacking avians than with following Fluttershy.
After what seemed like an eternity of chaos, the birds finally slackened their attack, and as the ponies once more broke into a clearing in the forest the birds vanished back among the trees. Everypony was scratched and bleeding, though there seemed to be no serious injuries. Without being asked, Luna once again took to the air, scanning the forest below for a glimpse of yellow and pink. For a stomach-sinking minute she saw nothing at all, then, in the distance, a flash of color. It was just within the forest, near the fringes where Everfree bordered on a swamp.
"That way," she called out, and pointed.
"Let's go!" said Twilight, and the ponies below broke into a run once again.
This time they didn't even catch sight of their quarry before encountering resistance. And it was much more formidable than squirrels or birds. Their only warning was a rustle in the underbrush and a low growl, and suddenly there were wolves and other larger creatures everywhere. A manticore led the charge, its mouth open wide in a deafening roar, fangs dripping.
Twilight faltered, and the running ponies behind her slowed, but then Pinkie Pie shouted "Charge!" and Big Macintosh took the lead. He slammed into the manticore with an audible thud, and to Twilight's shock he bowled the larger creature completely off its feet. It let out a startled yelp.
The ponies formed a wedge by instinct, driving through the gap left by the manticore and pushing the wolves aside as they thundered past. Twilight rammed her shoulder into a wolf nearly as big as she was, not realizing what she was doing until the creature was already stumbling away and falling behind. Terror washed back over her as the analytical part of her mind automatically listed off half a dozen ways that shoulder-checking a wolf could have—should have!—gone horribly, messily wrong, and it sent her heart racing faster than any run ever had, but she wasn't going to stop now.
Behind them the scattered, bruised predators were getting to their feet and re-grouping, but the ponies were running flat out now, and none of their attackers seemed eager to continue the conflict. They were soon left behind.
Luna continued to fly overhead, directing the running ponies towards the occasionally glimpsed flash of yellow. Fluttershy was clear of the forest now, and Luna saw her take wing, then land on a hummock just inside the swamp.
Soon Twilight and the others broke free of the forest. They skidded to a halt at the edge of the swamp. "Fluttershy!" called out Twilight. "Will you please listen to us? We're trying to stop Nightmare Moon, and make this whole world a better place for ponies and for other creatures. But we need your help. Please, Fluttershy..."
Fluttershy glared at Twilight across the stretch of muddy water that lay between them. "Leave me alone!" she said, managing much more volume than she had previously.
"But Fluttershy..." Twilight stopped, and her eyes went wide. Behind Fluttershy a huge triangular head covered in pus-yellow scales had risen from the swamp. "F-Fluttershy! Watch out!" A second head rose next to it, then a third, and a fourth. All the ponies were staring up in horror as the hydra loomed over the tiny yellow pony. It stepped out of the water, its enormous feet landing on either side of the frail pegasus.
"Fluttershy! It's a hydra! Run!"
But Fluttershy simply stood where she was. Her eyes narrowed as she spread her hooves and dug them into the dirt, looking straight at Twilight, who took a half-step back. "Leave me...”
"ALONE!"
Twilight quailed at the combined power of that gaze and shout, falling back onto her hindquarters. Then the hydra lowered all four heads, hiding her view of the pegasus they had come seeking. Four mouths opened, showing four sets of formidable fangs, and the hydra roared. And then, stepping carefully over Fluttershy, it started forward.
"Run!" yelled Luna, and nobody below needed any further encouragement. Ditzy Doo took to the air beside Luna, while the others galloped back the way they'd come. They darted in between the tree trunks, and Luna hoped that the dense forest would stop the hydra, but it didn't even hesitate, it just plowed into the dead trees with a thunderous crash. Branches splintered, smaller trees toppled, and the hydra didn't even seem to notice any of it.
"Horseapples! Keep running, everypony," she called out. She looked back at the hydra. It wasn't all that fast, but it was going in a straight line, just plowing through everything in its path. The ponies were weaving and dodging among the trees and undergrowth. The hydra was going to catch up. If she could use her magic she could stop it easily, but that would alert Nightmare Moon. What am I going to do? Ditzy bobbed irregularly through the air next to her, and the two other pegasi in the group were airborne now too, but the rest of the ponies were earthbound. How could they escape? She looked around frantically for some idea. They she saw what had once been a huge open meadow a little ways off. Surely without having to dodge and weave through brush and trees the ponies would be able to outdistance their pursuer?
She swooped lower, calling out, "This way!" and led the ponies in the direction of the meadow. They galloped after her, with Twilight Sparkle panting heavily and bringing up the rear. Luna very soon broke out into the meadow with the others just behind her. They raced across the mushroom-laden field where once rich green grass had grown and, moments later, the hydra broke through the last of the trees and joined them. It roared with all four heads and to Luna's dismay it was still gaining on the running ponies.
The hydra lowered one of its heads, curling that neck like a snake to allow it to strike, and that's when Luna saw Twilight. Tiring rapidly, the purple unicorn had lagged far behind the rest of the herd.
"No!" The shout was ragged, hurled automatically out of Luna's mouth; the only thing she could possibly do in time. She was too far away to race a hydra's strike and win! She might as well have been still on the moon for all the help she would be able to give Twilight. There was simply no way! For the third time in her life, Luna knew the despair of complete helplessness; it felt like the bottom had dropped out of her stomach, and like her heart had simultaneously shot up into her throat.
But she tried. She raced toward Twilight on powerful wingbeats, straining every muscle. She cried out Twilight's name at the top of her lungs as the Hydra's head shot forward. Twilight stumbled when she heard it, falling face-first into the ground. The hydra plowed open-mouthed into the dirt scant feet in front of her, and Luna's heart leapt with renewed hope. Sometimes fate smiles on a pony who tries. She gritted her teeth and folded her wings, arrowing down towards the hydra. She zipped brazenly in front of its heads, banking and twisting, weaving back and forth in mid-air to try to confuse and distract it. For a moment it worked; the hydra halted, and two of the heads knocked into each other. As Luna exalted in her moment of triumph, a third shot out and hit her with stunning force. She cried out as she tumbled from the sky. When she lifted her head, she saw the head that had downed her looming over her, mouth gaping, sharp fangs glinting in the moonlight.
Then a pair of powerful hooves lashed out and slammed into the hydra, striking it directly on its nose. It shrieked, and the other three heads shrieked as well. A second head dipped down menacingly, and once again the pony standing over Luna lashed out with strength and speed, bucking the hydra's head so hard this time that there was an audible crunch of breaking bone.
This time it didn't shriek so much as wail, the heads all thrown back to keen at the sky. And then, amazingly, miraculously, it had had enough. It turned and retreated the way it had come. One of the uninjured heads peered back hungrily at them, but apparently it was out-voted by the other heads, for it swiftly vanished behind the trees and soon Luna couldn't even hear its footfalls.
She looked up to find Big Macintosh standing over her, looking down with an expression of concern.
"Are you all right, ma'am?"
Luna got shakily to her feet. She felt like one big bruise, but nothing seemed to be broken. "I think so, yes. Alicorns are tough. Although apparently you are tougher." She smiled at him, and somewhat to her surprise he blushed.
"T'weren't nothin', ma'am," he said, and ducked his head.
"Wow! That was super-scary!" said Pinkie Pie, bouncing over.
"You can say that again," said Twilight. She shuddered.
"Wow! That was super-scary!"
Luna giggled, a little hysterically; she was still feeling the shaky adrenaline aftermath of the fight. "So what now?"
Twilight sighed. "I guess we try to figure out a plan B. Because talking to Fluttershy definitely isn't working."
"Fluttershy takes 'never talk to strangers' to heart," said Pinkie Pie cheerfully.
"That is probably the real problem. Back in my world Fluttershy and I are friends, but when I first met her she wouldn't talk to me there either. It took her seeing Spike..." Twilight trailed off. Spike here was dead. A pang of homesickness went through her. She missed Spike already. She missed the sun. She missed her friends! She shook her head, trying to shake off the sadness. "Well... anyway, this Fluttershy doesn't know me at all. But if we could get somepony that she knows to talk to her--"
"She knows Dashie! You want to rescue her anyway, right?"
"Right! That's right! That's a very good idea. I should have remembered that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash grew up together. I'm sure Rainbow Dash would be able to talk to her!"
"We should go back to home base," said Pinkie Pie. "It's getting late. We can plot plotting plotty plots to procure penned up ponies tomorrow."
Twilight looked at the moon, still nearly overhead, where it had been all this time. As far as she could tell it was fixed directly over Canterlot. "How can you tell how late it is?"
"By the stars, silly."
Twilight facehoofed. "Right. Of course. I should have realized. I think it's definitely time to rest, I can't think straight."
"We all could use some rest," said Luna.
"Follow the leader!" exclaimed Pinke Pie, and she bounced off into the woods, a trail of defeated but still hopeful ponies walking behind her.
Back at the ruined castle the ponies settled in for the night, though Twilight found herself wondering what you called the sleeping period when it was night all the time. Calling it "night" seemed very imprecise. She curled up under a tattered blanket, shivering just a bit. It was colder than it should be during a summer night. Though now that she thought about it, it was much warmer than it should be after a year with no sunlight to warm the land.
"It's cold," she said to Luna who was trying to get comfortable next to her, "but it's not frozen solid. Without any sunlight, shouldn't it be much colder?"
"Well you know the world is flat, right?"
Dale's head popped up from Luna's other side. "It's flat?! I thought it was a sphere!"
Luna giggled. "If it were a sphere, would not the horizon be curved? And ponies would fall off of it!"
"Actually," said Twilight, looking thoughtful, "if it were a big enough sphere you wouldn't see the curve."
"True. But what of the falling off?"
"Well, obviously gravity would pull towards the center, rather than pulling down. Then you'd stick on even if you were on the bottom. Except really there would be no bottom... That's a fascinating idea, really! I should work out the math..."
"You were explaining about the cold?" said Dale to Luna.
"Oh, right," said Twilight, looking sheepish.
"Well, when the sun is not overhead, 'tis passing underneath. It does still warm the world from below. So it should only be a little bit colder than a normal night. But for summer it does seem rather cool. It feels more like late autumn. We should ask the ponies here what the weather has been like this year. I really do not know what the effects of long-term night would be. I... did not think very much about consequences, back when I was, uh, you know."
Twilight nodded. "Well, you were hurting and just wanted to lash out. I think everypony has done that at some point, and it doesn't usually involve thinking anything through." She yawned. "But for now I think it's time for everypony to sleep."
"So we are headed to Manehattan?" Luna asked.
"Yep!" said Pinkie Pie. "Canterlot is closer, but doing the magic right under Black Snooty's nose is probably a bad idea. So Manehattan is the next place big enough to hide your spell. And who knows, Dashie might be right there!"
"I wish I'd taken the time to locate her before we left," said Twilight. "If she's in some other city this is going to take forever!"
Pinkie, Luna, Twilight and Dale were making their way to the edge of the forest. The others had stayed behind, since they weren't needed for the scrying spell and hopefully wouldn't be needed for Rainbow Dash's rescue either. Pinkie had insisted on coming along, though, and Twilight hadn't been able to say no.
"I had wanted to ask," said Luna as they walked through the woods, "about the temperature. What has the weather been like since Nightmare Moon's return?"
"I'll answer you that if you'll tell me your story." She looked around and in a conspiratorial whisper added, "I know who you are, but how come you haven't got a goatee?"
"What is it with you and goatees?" asked Twilight in exasperation.
"Duh! Everybody knows goatees are eeeeeeeeevil."
Twilight gave Pinkie Pie a flat, skeptical stare. Then she sighed. "Right. Of course. Evil."
"So tell me your story, and I'll tell you the story of how I got my cutie mark!"
Luna chuckled. "I have actually heard that story already, Pinkie. You were going to tell me about the weather, remember?"
"Aw, but that's boooring!"
"It might be important."
"Oh. Okay then! Boring stuff is all right if it's important. Surviving is what matters. And beating Black Snooty. So I'll tell you about the weather. But promise you'll tell me why you're not evil anymore, okay?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," said Luna, having spent enough time around the Pinkie Pie from her world to know the proper form.
"Okie-dokie!" said Pinkie Pie with a gleeful bounce, as if it were perfectly normal for cross-dimensional immortal princesses to know how to Pinkie-Pie-Swear. Maybe it was. "Weather! Right! Well it was pretty normal last summer. Other than being dark all the time, but you know about that. It was just like you'd expect from summer nights though. Warm, sometimes some rain, one good thunderstorm before the pegasus ponies mostly got jailed or killed in the Ponyville rebellion. Then we started getting wild weather from the forest, but it still wasn't anything too weird. But when the leaves were supposed to turn for fall, they were all dead already, because there wasn't any sun. And it didn't get cold, it stayed pretty much just the same. It got a little bit colder during winter, but there was no snow at all. Which I guess was a good thing since there was nopony around to wrap up winter, so it would have just sat there. When spring came it didn't get any warmer, it stayed just a little bit cold. And when summer came, or should have come I guess, it actually got colder. It's been slowly getting colder all summer long, in fact."
Luna frowned. "That is not good. I can understand the seasons getting disrupted, but it should not be getting colder like that. The sun should still be warming the world from beneath. Without the influence of magic to change the seasons it ought to just stay about the same. It should not get colder."
"What... what do you think could be causing it?" Twilight looked as worried as Luna felt. Luna suspect that as intelligent as Twilight was, she already suspected the likely cause of the increasing chill.
"I can't say for certain, but... the sun might be growing weaker."
"And that means Celestia is growing weaker as well."
"Yes."
"And if it keeps on... then what?"
"Then the world freezes solid. Which I never wanted, but this Nightmare Moon has changed a great deal over the last year. I know a lot about how she thinks, but I do not know everything anymore. She hates Celestia, I know that much, so she may well be the cause of this as well. Or it may be a natural result of Celestia's banishment, I don't know. Living on the moon was lonely, but it did not take much magic to keep me alive. The sun is a lot more hostile to pony life... staying alive may be draining Celestia's magic."
"One more reason to defeat Nightmare Moon and set Celestia free then," chimed in Dale.
"Yessiree!" said Pinkie, her renewed cheer still completely undampened. "But now that we've talked about the weather, tell me your story!"
"Why don't I tell you?" said Dale. "Luna has told it to me many times. She's probably tired of telling it." He smiled at Luna, and she could feel his supportive warmth through their bond. She nearly always cried when talking about the experiences she had gone through. She wasn't ashamed to cry in front of Pinkie Pie, but it was an emotionally draining experience, telling that tale, and she would be just as happy to let Dale tell it for her.
Pinkie Pie was apparently just as happy too, for she nodded with enthusiasm and fell in next to Dale, bouncing by his side as the four ponies proceeded on a path that would lead them eventually to the vast metropolis of Manehattan.
That left Luna and Twilight together almost alone, with Dale and Pinkie Pie thoroughly distracted. Luna glanced over at Twilight, the purple mare looking pensive in the ever-present moonlight. "Bit for your thoughts?"
Twilight shrugged. "Just thinking about everything we've been through. So many adventures in such a short time, my friends and I."
"I wish I could have been there for more of them," said Luna. "But it took me a while to be ready to face other ponies, after being alone so long, and then starting things off by... well, starting things off on the wrong hoof, to say the least."
"It's okay. I've enjoyed the time I've spent with you," said Twilight. "You're a good friend."
"Thank you." A good friend, thought Luna. Something I never really had before. I never let ponies get too close to me. There were so many reasons why books were safer. And there was always Celestia, there when I needed her. Until I wanted something she knew better than to give me, and suddenly I had cut myself off from her, and I was alone. Maybe if I had had just one friend back then things would have been different. But I avoided friends after...
"Bit for your thoughts this time?" asked Twilight. "You look sad."
Luna heaved a heavy sigh. "Yes. I was remembering."
"Remembering Nightmare Moon?"
"No. I was remembering before. One of the things that probably led to Nightmare Moon in the end, though at the time I never would have suspected. All I knew then was how hurt I was, and how alone. If Celestia had not been there for me I might have... I donot know. Gone mad, perhaps, although in a different way than Nightmare Moon's madness."
"I... I'm afraid you've lost me, Luna. You're not talking about the fight you had with Celestia when you first became Nightmare Moon, are you?"
"No. I'm talking about the origin of the royals. Which happened many hundred years before that."
"The origin of the royals?" Twilight looked utterly confused. Luna caught herself thinking that she was cute when she was confused.
"Yes. Have you ever wondered why Prince Blueblood calls himself Celestia's nephew, when she only has one sister and no brothers?"
"I... er... I assumed it was some sort of formality, or an adoption. Do you mean that he... and you... uh..."
Luna smiled. Her memories were sad, but Twilight's reaction was amusingly adorable. "He is my many-times-great-grandson."
"Oh. I see."
"You see some of it, at least. But not all. I was so young then. I had not even taken up my full power. A mere filly of two hundred and fifty years." She chuckled. "Of course that sounds old to most ponies. And if I had had a different upbringing I am certain I would have been mature enough by then, but I was raised by Celestia. She loved me. She loved me very much. And since she would never grow too old to care for me, she saw no reason to hurry me into adulthood and responsibility. She took care of everything for me, saw to my every need, and showered me with love and affection. It was wonderful, to have more than two centuries of being a beloved child, but it also meant that I never had any reason to grow up. So I did not. But of course physically I was a grown mare. And predictably that fact was eventually noticed by a stallion.
"I have always been introverted. Even before ponies discovered books I still spent much of my time studying alone. It is just that in those days I studied the world directly. I flew in search of plants and animals, and watched their life cycles, and learned. I once followed and observed a family of wolves for twelve generations. Wolves have complex lives, and I learned much from them. But one day, as I observed the growth of a young tree and considered what I might learn if I could watch it for its entire lifespan, I encountered a stallion.
"He said he was a scholar of nature too. I knew nothing of lying in those days. Plants and animals do not lie. He said many things, and I still do not know exactly how he knew so much about me. My sister, also more innocent then than she is now, may well have told him, all unsuspecting. But however he knew, he had just the right words to soothe and charm a wild creature such as myself. It was only later that I learned that he cared nothing for me. He wanted the power that would come with being wedded to one of the ruling princesses. That was all I was to him, a way to power. He was the center of his own universe, and there was no room for any other light there, certainly not for such brilliant lights as love or friendship.
"But I did not know that, not then. I loved him. Or I thought I did. I am still not sure. It may have just been infatuation. He was handsome, and witty, and he showered me with attention, praise, and gifts. And, well, eventually things progressed as they are wont to do between stallion and mare, and I found myself pregnant.
"That was when I found out what sort of stallion he really was. He did not want the foal. He wanted marriage, and a throne at my side, but children were of no interest to him. He actually tried to make me... to make me get rid of her." Luna was walking more slowly now, her attention turned inward. "I wanted the foal, and wouldn't even consider any other option. So we fought. We argued and debated and screamed, more viciously than any of my later arguments with Celestia. And finally he lost his temper completely and told me how he really felt about me, how he had only been using me to get power.
"So that was the end of that. Celestia stepped in and made him vanish. I never knew what she did with him; for all I know she turned him into a frog. I certainly never saw him again. In time, I bore a beautiful little filly. She had my eyes.... but she had her father's coat. And every time I looked at her I hated her just a little, for being part of him. I've never been wise, but I was wise enough to know that a filly should not have to grow up with a mother who hates her. Celestia found a couple who could not have foals, who wanted her very much. They raised her. I very seldom saw her at all. I was too hurt. But she grew up, and had children, whose children had children, and Celestia always took special care of them. All the nobles in the kingdom now are descended from that little filly, but the line of Prince Blueblood is direct, oldest child to oldest child." A faint smile flitted across Luna's face. "And I can not stand that smarmy, selfish cad. He takes after his ancestor far too much. Some days I want to turn him into a frog myself! But Celestia puts up with him, and with the others that have been like him. She told me that... during my banishment they were all she had of me, so she cared for that family as if they really were her direct nieces and nephews, and not a hundred times removed."
Luna trailed off, then shook herself before picking the main thread of her tale back up. "But that old hurt is a large part of why I never had any friends. I never let anyone get close to me, after that. Perhaps if I had had a friend I might not have become Nightmare Moon. Celestia was my only confidant, so when I disowned her I was left with nothing but my own anger. A friend might have made all the difference." Luna heaved another deep sigh. "Here Dale was trying to spare me from telling old, sad stories, and I have gone and told one anyway."
"I'm sorry," said Twilight. "I didn't mean to pry into your personal life."
"No, it is all right." Luna smiled at her. "I don't mind telling you about it. You are my best friend. And anyway it is such an old story. That all happened many hundreds of years before my banishment, so I have had time to heal. Nightmare Moon is a bit more of a recent wound... and sometimes the thought of confronting her here terrifies me, if I am being honest. But I have to do it. I-- just have to."
"Well, with any luck at all we'll gather all the Elements before she even knows we're here, and you won't have to do anything but hold her off for a few minutes while we summon their power."
"Yes... I hope so." |
SPark | 513 | 5 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2012-01-05T13:05:15+00:00 | 2017-06-13T03:38:08+00:00 | 4,855 | "Foals, all of them," muttered the black alicorn. Her guards were once again dragging away a petitioner who had annoyed her. The petitioners, guards, and servants had worn a clear path through the frost that now thickly adorned the throne room. Traceries of white crawled up the walls and a fuzzy blanket of tiny crystals covered the floor. Ice, pure and pristine, the perfect form of order, met her eyes almost everywhere she looked now. Everywhere except that path from the door to her throne. She frowned at the expanse of clear stone. She would rather have the frost. Perhaps she should forbid them to come here and speak to her at all.
But then who would worship and flatter her? Who would bring word of how much her subjects loved her eternal night? What was the point of all she'd done to grasp power if she never saw her subjects? She might as well be back on the moon. No! She'd fought hard to gain this power!
Her mind went back to those early battles. The strange unicorn that had tried to use the Elements of Harmony against her had been the first to oppose her, but there had been others as well. They were all dead now. Dead or enslaved... as all who dared stand against her should be!
For a moment she could taste the magic of that first death spell, and hear the thud of the unicorn mare's body hitting the floor. She had never killed before that moment.
The alicorn pushed the memory aside. The sentimental, childish part of her that had once been named Luna had cringed away from killing, with thoughts about such things as the value of life, wrong, and right, and justice. But Nightmare Moon was above all those. She had long since rid herself of all but the merest wisps of that weak foal Luna. Wrong was whatever displeased her. Right was whatever pleased her the most. The only justice was the justice she dispensed, the justice where those who pleased her were rewarded and those who failed were punished, which was exactly as it should be. And as for those who rebelled against her... death was what such stupid and flawed creatures deserved! But ponies were all stupid, all flawed, and with each passing day she despised them more. Messy, demanding, emotional creatures. Ice was so much better than any living thing. Her magic caressed a tendril of frost, once again tracing its curls and branches.
Perhaps she could make servants of ice.
Yes. Yes! Servants of ice. She was already working to weaken the sun, her sister's sun that she hated so much. And the weaker the sun grew, the stronger the ice would become. Someday perhaps all the flawed, stupid, messy ponies would be dead and frozen, and she would be served by perfect, pristine, elegant creatures of ice. She imagined that world, and she smiled.
Her horn began to glow. "Time to do battle once more, my dear sister. You have held out admirably for such a weakling, but now tormenting and draining you is more than just a hobby. It's my new goal in life."
She threw back her head and laughed.
"Here we are."
They had reached the fringes of Manehattan as the "daytime" stars were sinking and true night was arriving. The city was an unsettling mixture of normal pony life and stark reminders of the harsh reality of Nightmare Moon's rule. They had passed through the suburbs, where some houses glowed with light as ponies prepared for bed, and the occasional happy shout of a child still at play could be heard. But many houses, as many as one in three, were dark and deserted, and none of them had lawns or gardens anymore. Most showed some attempt to clear away the dead plants and put other things, statuary and sand gardens and beds of gravel, in their place. But many of the still occupied homes had the sad, rotten remnants of grass and flowers still moldering in their yards, a testament to crushed spirits who could no longer care enough to try and make their surroundings pleasant.
They had passed swiftly through the residential suburbs and into a commercial area, where Pinkie Pie led them straight to a deserted warehouse.
"The rebel base! Nopony ever comes here anymore, so it's safe. And we're surrounded by enough unicorns that you can do your magic now. Though a big enough spell might still get noticed by sompony."
"Scrying isn't a very powerful spell," said Twilight, looking around the dark room. She lit the tip of her horn, feeling a kind of relief to be able to use ordinary magic again. She hadn't realized how much she depended on it until she'd had to do without. "Now I just need something to scry in. We should have brought a bowl or something."
"How about a bucket?" Pinkie Pie dashed off, and returned bearing a battered tin bucket. The building turned out to still have running water in a grungy little bathroom next to the receiving office, so soon the bucket was filled and the four ponies were gathered around it.
"Should I cast the spell, or do you want to?" asked Twilight, looking at Luna.
"You go ahead. You know Rainbow Dash better than I do."
Twilight nodded. Her horn glowed as she constructed the spell. A moment later the image of a rainbow-haired blue pony had appeared in the bucket. She was standing in a stall, head down, looking listless. Twilight's heart lurched to see her like that. And with the harness off the full extent of her mutilation was clear. Broad scars ran down her sides, and there was no remnant of her wings at all. Her mane and tail were limp, the bright colors seeming to mock the horrors that Rainbow Dash had endured.
"Poor Dashie," said Pinkie, her voice thick with unshed tears. "Poor, poor Dashie."
"At least we can set her free," said Twilight grimly. "Now let's see where she is." The spell zoomed out, their point of view passing through a wall so that they could see the stable where Dash was being held captive. Then it pulled back further, letting them view an urban commercial district. Then further, and they could see towering buildings, and then a slice of ocean. A moment later the Pony of Liberty came into view, brightly lit and glowing against the dark ocean. "She's here then, in Manehattan."
"I am surprised they have not pulled the statue down," said Luna. "She stands for tolerance, love, and liberty. Not really things that this Nightmare Moon seems to value. Although... I suppose she may not know that. I learned it while reading a book on the history of the griffon kingdom. One of their greatest artisans made her as a gift to Equestria, to symbolize the friendship between the two nations. I wonder how much time Nightmare Moon spends with books?"
"I heard that she spends almost all her time just sitting in her throne room, being creepy and brooding. And that half the time if you get in to see her she'll just have you thrown in a dungeon," said Pinkie Pie.
"That sounds about right. Brooding is all I did on the moon. Living with Celestia I quickly got back into the habit of reading and learning, and now I have friends as well, but without anypony to encourage her to change, the old habits from so long on the moon are probably still with her. And she has all her own crimes to brood on now, as well as her hatred for everypony else. She's probably more miserable now than I ever was. And misery breeds more hatred."
Twilight dismissed the spell, leaving the bucket showing nothing but the reflection of the ceiling above. She took her saddlebags from her back and set them on the floor. After a moment of rummaging she came up with a sheaf of papers. Luna was momentarily amused to see that the one on top was a checklist of Elements and ponies. An overly-complete list, since the first entry was "Twilight Sparkle – Magic." Below that "Pinkie Pie – Laughter" was checked off as well. Twilight shuffled that one to the bottom of the pile, revealing a page of closely-written notes. "So now we need to make plans. I've read a lot about tyrants and oppressive government, but Pinkie, you've been living here, you can probably tell me a great deal. The books said," she glanced down at her notes, "that one of the almost universal conditions in a tyranny is that every subject or citizen has to have official paperwork of some kind. It said that sometimes the ruling tyrant will settle for making certain classes of citizens identify themselves, there was a bit about one of the zebra nations and their treatment of specific zebra clans... But anyway, I've seen ponies wearing those moon badges, does every pony have to wear one?"
Pinkie blinked at Twilight. "Badges? Badges?! We don't need no stinking-" she stopped abruptly. "Wait! You're right! Everypony does wear a moon badge. Though they're not all the same."
"Well, we're going to need some badges then, if we're to move around without getting caught. I'd hoped we could just go straight to the rescue, but I don't want to botch this. So we're probably going to have to spend some time in study and research. If there are different kinds of badges they probably mean different things. Ranks, maybe. If we can get our hooves on a high-ranking badge we might be able to walk right in and set Rainbow Dash free."
"Good idea," said Luna. "At least the study and research. I am not sure about ordering Rainbow free. Maybe with a disguise... we do not want to let Nightmare Moon get any hint at all of who we are and what we are up to. She may not know about the Elements of Harmony, but if she notices we are setting her slaves free she may take steps to stop us. And if we confront her before we've gathered all six elements... well, I should be able to fight her to a standstill, I have said that. But a lot of bystanders might get hurt in the process, and a standstill is not what we want, we want a decisive victory." Luna wasn't going to mention her own fears and doubts; she couldn't bear to lay more on Twilight's shoulders.
"Right. The first order of business then is to find out more about the badges. Time for some more scrying, I think."
Dale, Luna, and Pinkie started setting up a sort of indoor camp while Twilight once again cast her scrying spell and started looking for the information they would need.
"How does my illusion look?" Luna looked back at herself. Her wings were invisible, and she was wearing an illusory gown that rippled with rainbow swirls of color, which covered her cutie mark completely.
"You look very elegant," said Twilight. "Good enough to make Rarity jealous." For some reason Twilight Sparkle was blushing, but Luna didn't get the chance to think about exactly why that might be before Pinkie cut in.
"Do me next! Do me! Do me!" said Pinkie Pie, with her usual boundless enthusiasm. Luna smiled and cast a second illusion spell. This one was much simpler, it merely hid Pinkie's cutie mark, replacing it with a cluster of flowers.
Twilight's cutie mark was disguised as well, and Dale had one added to his blank flank. He looked back at the compass rose that Luna had chosen. "Any reason for that particular design?"
"You look like a royal. And Twilight tells me that quite a few of them have... what was the phrase?"
"Sucked up to Nightmare Moon," said Twilight with an expression of disgust. "And fallen over each other to kiss her flank. Though I shouldn't have been surprised, given the only royal I know, Blueblood, is definitely one of those thriving under Nightmare Moon's rule. She seems to encourage some ponies to lord it over other ponies, just so long as everybody bows to her."
Luna sighed. "I suppose I should feel relieved that I can hardly imagine behaving like that. But in any case, the compass rose is so Dale and I will seem like a high class couple, just the sort of pony who would hire a carriage for no particular reason, and I in particular shall play the sort of pony who would be shallow enough to insist that the carriage or the pony pulling it match her outfit." Luna grinned. "We know they do not have a rainbow carriage, so they shall be forced to produce their only rainbow pony. Then we just hijack the carriage and set Rainbow Dash free. Easy as pie!"
"Pie is actually kind of hard," said Pinkie with a frown. "At least if you want the crust to be any good. Though pie filling is really easy!" Her frown changed to a broad grin. "And delicious! I like to just eat it without the rest of the pie sometimes! I really miss pie. When Black Snooty is all gone I am going to make every kind of pie and cake and cupcake there is in celebration, and have the biggest party ever!"
"I am looking forward to it, Pinkie." Luna smiled gently at the pink pony. She was very glad that Pinkie seemed so lightly touched by the hardships she'd endured. Pinkie had begun to lose hope, but having that hope again had been all she had needed to bounce back to nearly her old self. If anything she was stronger for the challenges she'd faced. Luna suspected that Rainbow Dash might have a harder time of it, but there was nothing they could do about that but rescue her as soon as possible.
"Well... let's go," said Twilight, apparently mirroring Luna's train of thought.
They set out through the city streets. The half abandoned commercial district where they began was nearly silent, but as they approached the heart of the city the light and sound grew, until they were surrounded by bustling ponies of every color and description. All of them carried a crescent moon badge of some kind. Most wore simple laminated cards on cords around their necks, but some had jeweled badges, or beautifully embroidered badges sewn to their clothing. Luna's illusions included badges for all four rebels. They would hold up to examination by any but the most skilled of unicorn mages. As this was Manehattan and not Canterlot, Luna wasn't very worried. There were unicorns enough here, but the best had always lived in the royal city of unicorns, where all the best schools of magic and the most prestigious magical societies were.
They reached a street where nearly all the shops were shuttered, closed for lack of business or, more likely, because the proprietors had done something to catch the attention of Nightmare Moon's Night Guard. The quartet had already passed several of the intimidating guardsponies. They were obviously picked from the strongest colts in Equestria, huge draft ponies wearing black enameled armor. Most were earth ponies; Twilight Sparkle's scrying had revealed that Nightmare Moon kept the Black Corps of unicorns and the pegasus Shadowbolts close to her, sending them out in overwhelming numbers to utterly crush any signs of organized resistance they could find. Pinkie's rebels had been raided by them twice, both times cutting their numbers massively. That was how a force that had once been made of much of the population of Ponyville had been reduced to only a dozen ponies.
It had made Luna's heart race, to walk past those armored ponies. Some part of her was certain that they were going to see through her illusions and arrest them all on the spot. Only Dale's silent mental reassurances had kept her expression calm. She had no idea how Pinkie Pie and Twilight were managing.
But now they had reached the first stop. "Here's where we wait," said Twilight. The street was no grungy back alleyway, which the carriage driver would be suspicious about, but it was utterly deserted. The rebel quartet needed there to be no witnesses to what would happen here.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie stopped there, sitting on the curb and chatting, trying to look innocent; just two friends who'd happened to meet and stop to talk. Luna and Dale continued onward and soon reached the stable. Luna had to work hard to keep an expression of disgust off her face as she watched a carriage drive out of the building. A number of nearby kingdoms had gone through unfortunate periods of slavery. Equestria hadn't; Celestia would never have put up with such a thing and her influence was part of the reason that slavery was less of a problem in the modern world. Obviously, though, some ponies were all too eager to rake in the bits wrung involuntarily from the hard use of others.
Still, she wasn't here to abolish slavery. She was here to rescue Rainbow Dash. With Nightmare Moon defeated and Celestia back on her throne, the slavery problem would take care of itself.
Dale held the door for her as she walked inside. The front room was half guardroom and half office. She ignored the two uniformed Night Guard and approached the earth pony who sat at a desk just inside the room. He was dressed in gold-trimmed black as well, but his neatly pressed outfit wasn't so much a uniform as it was the livery of a high class servant. On a bench behind him half a dozen young ponies dressed in plainer versions of the same livery sat and fidgeted in the way of bored young colts everywhere.
"May I help you?"
Luna put her nose up in the air and spoke down to the servant in the haughtiest tone she could manage. "I require a carriage immediately."
"Yes ma'am. It will be twenty bits."
Luna dropped a bag of bits on the desk. They clanked just as they should. It took everything she had not to hold her breath as the clerk took them. If he had a touch-stone to test them for illusion it would not go well. Their scrying hadn't caught him using one, but that didn't mean he might not have one, and if something made him suspicious... but no, he simply dropped the illusory bits into his cash box.
"Thank you. I'll have your coach prepared right away."
"Not just any coach, young stallion," said Luna, her nose still in the air as she tried to do her best impression of the snottiest royal unicorn mare she could remember. "I have particular requirements. I must have a coach and pony as magnificent as my gown. I insist upon transportation that is stylish."
The clerk looked at the rainbow swirled dress. His eyes went just a little bit wild. Luna could almost see him thinking that he didn't know anything about style or how to match a coach or a pony to a gown. And she suspected that the consequences for upsetting a customer, when the customers tended to be favored subjects of Nightmare Moon, might be dire. "Uh..."
"Perhaps you could let us look at the coaches and ponies available?" broke in Dale.
The clerk's expression of relief was almost comical. "Yes, of course, right this way."
The office led into a huge barn of a room, where several black and silver carriages were parked in a line, waiting to go out the huge double door to one side. Beyond them, at the back of the room, were the stalls where the unfortunate pony slaves were penned. They were not prison cells; in fact, they looked to have been adapted directly from cow stalls. The building had no doubt actually been a barn before being converted to its present use. Cities did sometimes have a few quasi-farms near their hearts, sometimes dairy farms providing fresh milk to the residents, or sometimes working donkeys who did much of the hard labor that some ponies found beneath them.
The stalls might as well have been cells, though, for all the chance of escape they afforded. Luna noticed a glow of magic as she walked through the door into the room; a similar glow hung over the large double doors. Even if a pony slipped their bridle and got out of their stall, they wouldn't be leaving: the magic would keep them trapped inside. No doubt harsh punishments awaited those who made such a futile attempt.
She had to work hard to keep sympathy and sorrow from showing on her face. Dale was an immense help, projecting a gentle reminder of what they were here for and how important it was into her mind. That thought was enough to make her expression hard and serious again, which would pass well enough for the necessary hauteur. She swept her gaze across the carriages, and frowned at the clerk. "These will do, I suppose. Black, at least, does not clash. But I really must insist on something a bit more showy. Let me see the ponies."
"Of course ma'am." The clerk led her, with Dale trailing after, past the coaches and to the row of stalls. It was actually a double row of stalls, which a second row back to back with the one facing her. A corridor led around the end of the row to the other side, but she immediately made out the pony she was looking for on this side, several stalls down.
She pointed. "That one. That's the one I want."
"The blue one, ma'am?"
"Yes. With the rainbow mane. It will match my dress beautifully."
Rainbow Dash was standing with her head down and her eyes closed. When the clerk went in and led her out, she followed him with a broken, dazed docility that made Luna want to weep. She had to look away while the clerk harnessed her friend to the carriage. One of the young liveried ponies came out and held the door open for Luna and Dale, who climbed in. It was an immense relief to Luna to not have to look at the scarred, listless form of her friend anymore. If they hadn't been mere minutes away from setting her free,she might have been tempted to abandon the plan, attack the clerk, and let her go right there on the spot. As it was, she had to keep herself occupied with other thoughts. Attack and defense spells filed across her mind's eye in an expanding tree of possible needs and scenarios, as she and Celestia had practiced. A corner of her attention noted the sound of the driver shutting the door and climbing into his seat.
The driver called back, slightly muffled, "Where to?"
Luna gave him the address of a house just on the other side of Twilight's ambush so that his route would be certain to pass by it. He flicked the reins and Dash started forward at a slow, tired amble.
"This one's a little bit slow, ma'am. If you're in a hurry I can make her go faster."
"No need for that, I am in no hurry at all," said Luna, cringing at the idea of the driver whipping Rainbow to greater speed.
"A slow ride is a much more comfortable one," said Dale, loudly enough for the driver to hear. He gave Luna a small, reassuring smile. With the door closed and the driver unable to see, Luna dared to smile back. The coach rattled its way along without any further conversation. That was just as well; the closer they got to the ambush point, the more nervous Luna grew. Twilight had practiced the knockout spell several times on Dale and Pinkie, who'd both volunteered to be guinea pigs. But what if something went wrong with the spell this time? What if a guard came along just then? What if something else went horribly wrong?
Just as she started to work herself up into a panic, Dale silently soothed her once more. He projected reassurance and calm, that sank slowly into her, and gradually her stomach stopped clenching in fear.
:I don't know what I would do without you,: she said to him through their mental link.
:You'd manage,: was his warm response. :You were doing fine when we were chasing Flutterhsy and fighting all those creatures.:
:That is different. Battle is... different. Dealing with ponies, especially in the heart of such a crowd of them, that is harder. Some random pony could walk by at any moment and do anything at all. They are so unpredictable! I am much more used to books, or even battles, than all these ponies.:
:True enough, I suppose. But the odds are on our side, and Twilight has planned this all out rather meticulously. It should go off without a hitch. It'll be going off in just a moment, in fact. Look:
Luna obliged, glancing out through a gap in the curtains. She recognized the corner of the street they'd left Pinkie and Twilight on, and watched the sidewalk pivot slowly as the carriage made the turn. She caught a glimpse of the two mares in ambush, still sitting, apparently ignoring the carriage as it rattled towards them. Twilight was still looking away, even, when her horn started to glow, and Luna spared a fleeting thought to admire the unicorn's finesse. When Twilight finally turned directly to the driver to finish the spell, the colt slumped over instantly, painlessly, and with absolutely no fuss. He would stay out for several hours, or until somepony woke him.
Rainbow apparently didn't even notice. She kept plodding along until Pinkie Pie landed directly in front of her, startling the rainbow-maned pegasus out of her stupor. Immediately, she craned her neck back to look at the driver, which is when she saw Luna and Dale scrambling out of the carriage. Her attention was grabbed next by her harness suddenly beginning to glow; when she looked down, she saw the buckles of her harness unfastening themselves. When she looked back up, she saw Twilight's horn glowing with a matching hue. As all the pieces slotted into place in Rainbow's mind, the alarm in her eyes began to fade.
When the four rescuers gathered in front of Rainbow, she still hadn't moved. Her eyes had faded back to half-lidded hopelessness, and she stared at the other ponies' hooves.
"Let's go, go, go!" said Pinkie.
"You're free now, come on," said Twilight.
"No," said Rainbow Dash flatly. "I'm not going anywhere." |
SPark | 513 | 6 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2012-01-05T13:32:48+00:00 | 2017-06-13T03:39:16+00:00 | 5,476 | "No. I'm not going anywhere."
The other four ponies gaped at Rainbow Dash.
"What?" said Twilight.
"Are you all deaf? I said I'm not going. Put the harness back on me and I'll walk back to the stable."
"You're crazy!" burst out Pinkie Pie, with her usual tact.
"No, I'm not crazy. So I'm notcoming with you."
"But Rainbow, we need you," said Twilight pleadingly.
"Yeah, right. You don't need a crippled failure. And even if you did, I still wouldn't be joining whatever stupid rebellion you have planned this time."
"We do need you. Without you we haven't got a chance of defeating Nightmare Moon."
"Did you get hit on the head? Are you mistaking me for another pony? Or are you just stupid? You don't need me, and I don't care if you do. Get it through your heads, I'm not coming with you!"
"But Dashie, why?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Why? Why? You were there when 'why' happened, Pinkie, the first stupid time around!" The anger in Rainbow's voice collapsed into bitterness as she continued. "I've already given more than I had to give. If I go with you and fight again, what'll they take this time? Are they gonna cut off my back legs so I have to drag myself everywhere? Maybe they'll take out my eyes! At least then I wouldn't have to look at the sky anymore!" The renewed anger in Rainbow's voice quickly died back to cold, bitter embers again as she stared at the cobblestones under her hooves. "They'll probably just kill me this time. Which would almost be a relief, but I'm not so tired of living yet that I want to join you and your crazy rebels. You haven't got any chance of accomplishing anything except getting yourselves all maimed and killed. I've been there, done that, and I'm not doing it again! Now put me back in that harness and let me go back to what little life I have left!"
"Oh Dashie... it's not like that this time."
"It's not? Have you got Celestia stashed away somewhere then? Because I don't see any sunlight yet."
"We do not have Celestia," said Luna, breaking in. "But we do have me." She dropped her illusion, revealing her wings, and spread them slightly. "I am an alicorn too. And we have stronger magics even than that. Which is why we need you, Rainbow. There is a way to defeat Nightmare Moon, a way that has worked in the past, on other worlds, but we cannot do it without you."
Rainbow Dash stared at Luna. For a moment a touch of wonder and hope crossed her face, but as Luna finished speaking her eyes narrowed again. "There is no way that some big, awesome magic needs me. My answer is still no! How many times do I have to tell you crazy ponies that? No! I've lost my wings! Fighting Nightmare Moon cost me the sky! I have nothing left to give!"
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence in the wake of Rainbow's tirade. What does a pony say in response to such things? How could they ask somepony who had given so much to give even more? But then Twilight had a scrap of memory float through her head, and with it came a flicker of hope. She took a deep breath and said, "What if you could get your wings back?"
"Don't say that!" Rainbow leapt up to stand nose-to-nose with Twilight; she was practically vibrating with anger. "Don't you dare say that! Nothing can give me my wings back!"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't have strong evidence it might be true," said Twilight sternly. She leaned back and away from Dash, but held her ground. "The magic that we need you for, the Elements of Harmony, has restored ponies before. We were all bruised and battered, and more than that, one of my friends had lost her tail; but after we used the Elements all our scrapes and scratches were healed, and the tail had been restored as if it had never been lost." Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight pushed on. "I won't make you any false promises. A tail isn't the same as a pair of wings. But it's a chance, and a real one. This isn't some kind of story where everything ends happily ever after, but it's also not a hopeless endeavor. Luna is a match for Nightmare Moon all by herself. With you and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony with us we have a real, solid chance to beat Nightmare Moon permanently and completely. So please reconsider, Rainbow. We're not crazy, we really do need you. Please."
Rainbow stared at Twilight with intense, narrowed eyes for a long time. "If you have something that great, why aren't you saying 'it's sure to work' and 'we can't possibly fail'?"
"Because nothing is sure. Something can always go wrong. But this is something that has worked, and can work. All we need is the right group of ponies, and that group includes you."
"Me. Rainbow Dash. The cripple."
Twilight opened her mouth to insist that Rainbow was not a cripple, but she managed to finish her second thoughts before the words came out of her mouth. Instead, she just nodded and gave a simple "Yes."
"And I'll get my wings back if I join you."
"Probably, yes."
"Okay. I'm in."
Pinkie Pie bounced up and down and cheered. The other ponies exchanged grins. Rainbow Dash, though, held up a hoof. "If."
Pinkie stopped cheering.
"If?" asked Twilight, feeling suddenly unaccountably nervous. She had the horrible feeling that all her plans were about to go right out the window.
"If you rescue the rest of the ponies in the slave stable."
"What? You are crazy!" said Pinkie Pie. "They'll be free once we defeat Nightmare Moon, that is way more important!"
"I'm not leaving without them."
"But..." started Twilight.
"No. That's my condition for joining your dumb rebellion and risking everything. You want me, you free my friends."
My friends. Twilight heard those words, saw the determination on Rainbow's face, and suddenly her heart lifted. Her plans had definitely just gone out the window. Rescuing more than a dozen ponies was going to complicate things immensely, but even so, Twilight felt an enormous weight of worry disappear from the back of her mind as she looked at the pony they had come to rescue. Wings or no wings, the pony that stood before her was still Rainbow Dash; she was still the ponyfication of Loyalty.
She was still the pony who was Twilight's friend.
A broad grin spread across Twilight's face. "We'll do it."
"Twilight..." Luna looked worried. "...is this a good idea?"
Twilight laughed. "Maybe not. But it's worth doing."
"Time to plan." Back at the "rebel base" Twilight floated a pencil over a fresh sheet of paper while Luna, Dale, and Pinkie Pie looked at her expectantly. Rainbow Dash had refused to come with them, even temporarily, without her friends. Luna and Dale had gotten back into the carriage, loudly slamming the door closed just as Twilight released the driver from her sleep spell. He had awoken with a start and immediately glanced around himself fearfully, thoroughly convinced that he had somehow dozed off.
Rainbow had promised that she'd let the other enslaved ponies know that rescue was coming, so they would be ready. Twilight just had to come up with some way to get a dozen ponies out of a guarded stable, without letting Nightmare Moon know who had done it.
"This is not going to be easy," she said. The expectant faces of the other three, all obviously certain she could come up with yet another brilliant plan, made her stomach twist. "I... I really don't know what to do! Even if we somehow lure away the guards, clerk, and drivers, when they come back they'll notice all the ponies are gone, and rescue by rebels is the obvious conclusion!"
Pinkie Pie frowned. Luna's brow furrowed as she thought. "We have to somehow make them think something else has happened to them. Re-direct them in a different direction. What if... hmm... I cannot make an illusion that would last more than a day or two, otherwise I would suggest we put illusory bodies in the stalls, make them think something had killed them all."
Twilight thought about that. "Yes, having Nightmare Moon think they're dead would be great. But if we can't leave bodies behind..." She thought some more. Then her face lit. "Of course! I know exactly what we need to do. We just need to work out the details. Except..." she frowned again. "I know you're good at illusions Luna, but just how good? Can you do sight, scent, sound, and touch at the same time, across a whole building?"
Luna considered. Purely visual illusions were easy. Sounds weren't too hard either. Touch was trickier, doing the illusory coins that could be felt earlier had been the hardest part of their plan, magically speaking. Adding scent, and making it cover an entire building... "I suppose it depends on what the illusion is of. If I have to fill a building with individual ponies that move and talk and can be felt, I could not do it without drawing on the moon's power, which is of course a Bad Idea, but if it were something simpler I might be able to."
"It is fairly simple. I need to light something on fire."
"Ooo, fire!" said Pinkie Pie, with an unexpected glint in her eye and enthusiasm in her voice. "I can set things on fire for you!"
"Uh... thank you Pinkie, but I don't need real fire. Or rather I don't need real fire right away; I suppose you could set a fire for me later on for this plan. But Luna... can you make a fire that's really convincing? It would need to feel hot and smell right."
"Heat is much easier than doing solid tactile illusions. Fire is fairly easy visually and aurally as well. The scent will be the most difficult, but... yes, I think I can do it."
"Good. Here's the plan then."
The other three gathered close as Twilight explained how they were going to rescue Rainbow Dash's friends.
"Ready Luna?" whispered Twilight from where they both crouched in the dingy alley behind the slave stable. It was dark, of course--it was always dark. The eternal night was wearing more and more on Twilight with each passing--well, not with each passing day, but... whatever passed for such here. Her mind knew that dawn wasn't coming, but her body and soul kept hoping for a relief that never appeared. She was heartily sick of night already, and she knew that even Luna felt the same. She couldn't imagine how the ponies that had lived with it for more than a year were coping. But perhaps they weren't, really. The lighted streets of the city were strangely manic, pretending to a never-ending brightness and energy as if it were a Summer Sun's Night that never stopped. It did ebb at times; nopony could party forever, not even Pinkie Pie. Not even a depressed subject of Nightmare Moon pretending desperately that they were happy and all was well.
Now was one of those ebb times. If night and day had had any meaning, it would have been the small hours before the dawn, but of course no dawn was coming. Not yet.
"Ready," replied Luna.
"Pinkie?"
"Ready."
"Dale?"
"Ready, but I hope I won't be needed."
"I hope so too." Half to herself Twilight added, "Maybe we are crazy."
"Probably," replied Luna quietly, with the ghost of a smile. "But we are doing this anyway." Her horn began to glow. This would be her show most of all, so she obeyed her own cue to begin. The other ponies' parts would come once her illusion was well underway.
Her fire started small. The first flicker of flame that licked up from a pile of straw sitting against the wall the barn shared with the office was hardly bigger than a candle's flame. It was easier to build a small illusion and then push it outward, and it would look more natural that way. It looked like fire. It sounded like fire, though at first the crackle was small. It smelled like fire. And it radiated heat like fire, though the heat was as unreal as everything else. If it hadn't been, the false fire would soon have started real fires as it grew.
She built it rapidly from there. There could be no chance of an attempt to put it out! It appeared to consume the haystack entirely. It climbed the wall. It crept rapidly across the wooden floor and leapt eagerly onto the carriages.
The enslaved ponies inside saw it and many shifted nervously from hoof to hoof, but they said nothing. Dale had passed a telepathic message to Rainbow Dash, and she had quietly passed it to her neighbors, so they all knew that the fire wasn't real, no matter how it looked. Or sounded. Or smelled.
Eventually the ponies in the office noticed, but only when the fire licked around the door between office and stable proper, and by then it was too late: the interior of the barn was an inferno. Any pony who tried to go in was pushed back by the intense heat.
In the alley Luna's horn was glowing brightly, and her eyes were shut firmly in concentration. Twilight spared a moment's thought to admire Luna's poise; she was all too aware of the ridiculous scrunched-up faces she made when performing serious magic. Her thoughts were interrupted when Luna began adding the screams of tortured ponies to the crackle of the fire—that was Twilight's cue to start in on her own work. Her horn glowed as well, and a spark of intense magic traced an arch in the wall before her. She shoved and the cut out interior of the arch fell inside. Pinkie swept in immediately and began untying ponies with practiced ease. The illusory fire licked over them all, but there was no heat with it here.
Soon a stream of ponies was going out the newly cut door, past Twilight, and down the alley. Pinkie led them, tip-hoofing quietly, while Dale watched down a side alley for any sign that the guardsponies were trying to circle the building. As the strongest of the little group his job would be to fight them off long enough for Twilight or Luna to bring magic to bear, but that would be... less than ideal.
Fortunately, they got just enough luck to keep their plan intact. The guards, clerk, and drivers were rushing around in a disorganized mess. There was plenty of shouting, angry orders and panicked wailing alike, but nopony could make himself understood over the roar of the flames. A pair of guardsponies tried several times to reach the inside of the barn, but the flames were spreading into the office itself and they soon gave up, retreating to the street to watch. One of the guards finally raced off, presumably to summon firefighters. The other, with the clerk and drivers, stood around looking baffled and helpless. A few of the drivers tried to get in through the huge double doors, but Luna's firey illusion engulfed those doors as well. Nopony had any reason to check the back of the building. There were no doors there.
Pony after pony slipped out through the hole cut in the wall and followed Pinkie Pie towards the relative safety of the "rebel base." Twilight counted them: Nine out. Twelve total. Three to go! Almost thereohmy Celestia it's--
"Applejack?"
It was, and she paused, giving Twilight a quizzical look that she knew so well. "Do ah know you?"
"Yes. Well, no. Wait..." Twilight shook herself. "No time to talk now, follow the others. I'll explain later."
Applejack nodded slowly and moved quietly down the alley after the others, shooting Twilight a sidelong glance as she went. Behind her came a yellow pegasus with a flaming orange mane and tail, and then Rainbow Dash close on her heels. Dale peeled off from his watch to fall in behind the column, to make up the rearguard. He might be needed if they were spotted. They would have to cross several major streets, though most of their route would be by back alleys and deserted ways where shops and houses were all abandoned to decay.
"That's everyone!" whispered Twilight to Luna.
"Right," muttered Luna. Her horn grew brighter still, and Twilight's glowed once more as well. Luna kept up the illusion of spreading flames, but she and Twilight both were now starting real ones. They had decided to pass on Pinkie Pie's offer and use magical fire instead. Magical fire that burned hotter and brighter than anything natural possibly could. The flames spread even faster than the illusion had, and soon the roaring inferno engulfing the building was very real, enough so that the casting pair had to retreat down the alley as the flames reached the back wall of the stable.
The fire would leave a magical residue that any unicorn could read, of course, but in doing so it would mask the residue of Luna's illusions. Nightmare Moon and her guards would know that the stable had been burned down by magic that had reduced everything to a fine, floury ash, and that there were no longer any slaves. They would also 'know' that there was nopony in Equestria save Nightmare Moon herself who was capable of convincingly faking the fire to cover for an escape, so they would be left with only one possible conclusion: it would look like an attack. A clumsy failure of an attack that had missed its real targets, and caught the innocent slave ponies instead. Nightmare Moon was used to Pinkie Pie's raids, she knew there were rebels out there. It would be a simple matter of a moment's egoism for Nightmare Moon to assign the bungled attack to the forces that she already knew and loathed.
"I was very convinced of my superiority to all other ponies when I was Nightmare Moon," Luna had told Twilight. "This Nightmare should be even more so. She will hopefully be eager to see stupidity, rather than cleverness, here. Though I do not know for sure. I had some... paranoid tendencies. She will see a plot against her here no matter what we do. But at least if this works she shall be thinking of the wrong sort of plot, looking in the wrong direction. 'Tis a better plan than anything I can think of, at least."
Now it looked as though they were going to get away with it. The magical fire had taken root over the entire building. Out on the main road the firefighters had arrived, with their pumping truck and hoses, but they were merely spraying down the neighboring buildings to keep the fire from spreading. They were all experienced enough to know that the fire in the stable had passed well beyond their control.
Luna finally let go of the last of her illusion, including the sounds of screaming ponies. Now there was only the crackle and roar of real flames. And with no chance of setting the whole city on fire, there was no reason for her and Twilight to stay and watch their handiwork. They quickly followed in the wake of the others, moving through the darkness, away from the warm, hungry glow that would eat every last scrap of evidence for them.
They walked calmly through the city, resisting the urge to gallop and catch up with the others. Running would only attract unwanted attention. For the first few blocks, at least, all eyes were on the glow and roar of the burning stable. Nopony noticed them trotting casually across a broad thoroughfare, as nopony had noticed the column of rescued ponies following that same path a few minutes before.
A second crossing, further from the fire, was more nerve-wracking, but once again they manged to slip across the major road without drawing any undue attention. At last the pair reached the warehouse, still apparently abandoned from the outside.
Thankfully, inside the warehouse all twelve of the rescued ponies, plus Dale and Pinkie Pie, proved to be safe and sound. They were loosely gathered around a little glow of light, provided by a slate-blue unicorn stallion that Twilight vaguely remembered seeing around Ponyville.
"Twilight! Luna!" Pinkie bounced up to them. "You made it back!"
"You didn't have any trouble leading the others back here?" asked Twilight.
"Nope!"
"That's good." Twilight scanned the ponies they'd rescued. Her eyes fell on Rainbow Dash, who was lying down a little ways off. A yellow pegasus that Twilight belatedly recognized as Spitfire was lying next to her, and had pillowed her head on Rainbow's flank. They were talking softly and Twilight hesitated to interrupt them. Something about the way the were looking at each other suggested something private and personal--intimate even. Twilight blushed and, for reasons she couldn't quite articulate, glanced at Luna. Then she saw Applejack, standing next to the unicorn providing the light, and she trotted over to greet her.
"Applejack. Hi there."
"Howdy. Ya'll seem to know me, but I can't say I've ever laid eyes on you."
"Well, no you probably haven't. I'm Twilight Sparkle. And I do know you, sort of, but it's kind of complicated. I need to talk to you about it though, because we need you in order to defeat Nightmare Moon."
Applejack gave Twilight a dubious look. "Me? No offense, but that sounds nuttier than a dead squirrel."
Twilight hesitated a moment at the strange metaphor. Why a dead squirrel and not a live one? She shook off the thought and responded. "I know it does sound a little bit out there, but it's true. You see, there's something called the Elements of Harmony, which have defeated Nightmare Moon in the past. They're actually six ponies, each one holding one element. You have one, Rainbow Dash has one, I have one, and Pinkie Pie has one. So we've already got four out of the six. We'll have the other two soon, and then Nightmare Moon won't stand a chance."
"Ah don't have any Element, sugarcube. Ah lost everything ah ever owned, so if ah ever did have somethin' like that it's long gone."
Twilight shook her head. "It's not an object you own, it's something inside you. You've had it probably since you got your cutie mark. It's not something you could lose." Unless you're no longer honest, thought Twilight to herself, and I don't know of any way to be certain of that. But so far the others have all been true to their elements. Surely Applejack is too.
"Well, ah don't know... Ah don't feel like ah'm anythin' special... Ah'm no better than any other pony."
Twilight shook her head again, trying to explain. "It's not that you're better, it's just... something you have. Honestly I don't completely understand the relationship myself. I never felt any different because I have the Element of Magic. But I do. I've used it before, so I know it's there. And Princess Celestia has told me that you have an Element as well." That was true enough, at least. That was more or less all the detail that the Princess had given Twilight and her friends when she was explaining things to them after... after Luna's rescue from the Nightmare. Twilight didn't quite want to get into the discussion that started with her telling Applejack that she'd seen her use her Element as well. Not right this second, anyway.
"The Princess? Do... do ya'll know what happened to her? Nightmare Moon," to Twilight's surprise Applejack turned her head and spat on the floor after speaking the name, "told everypony that the Princess was gone forever, but ah've heard a passel o' rumors about her. Everythin' from her bein' deader 'n a drowned filly to her havin' run off to some other country 'cause she was afraid o' Nightmare Moon."
Twilight hesitated a moment at this second macabre metaphor, but only a moment before jumping to her mentor's defense. "She'd never do that! She's gone because she's been banished to the sun, the way Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon until she escaped. But if we succeed in defeating Nightmare Moon, then Celestia will return, she certainly isn't gone forever." I hope, added Twilight to herself, thinking of the growing cold, the possibly weakened sun.
"Well! That's mighty good to hear." Applejack smiled.
"So are you willing to join us, and fight Nightmare Moon?"
"Ah reckon so. Ah'm not the kind of pony to sit back when there's buckin' to do. And if anypony needs a good flank-buckin' it's Nightmare Moon."
"Great!" Twilight glanced around, seeing that most of the ponies were settling in to sleep. She noticed her saddlebags set against one wall and the thought of how much planning she needed to do passed through her mind. "Thank you for joining us," she said to Applejack. "I really need to study my notes again now though, so I'll talk to you later."
"Sure thing sugarcube."
Twilight crossed the room, settled next to her bags and pulled out a sheaf of notes. She paged through them, crossing off everything that was no longer relevant, circling things that seemed particularly important, and occasionally jotting down a new note. Some time later she dozed off over her notes, as she had many times in her bookish life.
Luna remained wide awake, thanks to the never-ending night and an alicorn's natural need for less sleep. She gazed across the room full of sleeping ponies towards where Twilight lay. The unicorn looked so sweet lying there, her papers beneath her head, her quill beside her, a faint frown of concentration still creasing her brow. It was like a painting, The Scholar After A Long Day, perhaps.
I used to paint, thought Luna. Maybe I should pick it up again. That could be my first piece. The thought made her smile. She picked her way across the room, circling around sleeping ponies, to reach Twilight's side. She felt a strange urge to lie next to Twilight and cuddle up with her. The thought of such warmth and closeness with the beautiful and intelligent mare was wonderful, but also frightening. And what would Twilight think, if she woke to such intimacy? She would no doubt be uncomfortable, or even upset at Luna for taking such a liberty. It wouldn't be right, said Luna to herself with a touch of regret, for... so many reasons. I suppose I could wake her, tell her how I feel, ask her... Luna snorted mentally, ...panic her, addle her wits in the middle of the most dangerous journey she's ever been on, make her uncomfortable to be around me when we need so desperately to be working together. Luna sighed, and sat down a few feet away. We have more important things to worry about, she told herself. Gathering the Elements of Harmony and defeating Nightmare Moon is what we need to concentrate on now. Relationships can wait.
She knew that was partly an excuse, that her own fear of rejection was much of the reason why she didn't want to say anything about her growing feelings towards Twilight. She had seen many romances over her long life, and even gently shepherded a few special ponies through their own fears of rejection, many, many years ago... but she had avoided such entanglements assiduously. The idea of deliberately entering into a relationship after so long was terrifying, and that fear seemed stronger, strangely, than her worries about Nightmare Moon. Still, it was a good excuse, and she was going to stick to it. So she lay down where she was, and tried to go to sleep. But her thoughts kept returning again and again to the mare that lay nearby, and to the dark mare she had once been, and those two fears chased each other around and around in her head until she heard ponies beginning to stir into wakefulness around her, and she gave up on sleep.
Pinkie Pie was one of the first up, and she set about quietly waking the rest. As they had not expected to be rescuing a dozen ponies, there was not enough food to make a proper meal, but what the rescuers has brought was shared out, a few bites for each.
"There's more when we get to the Everfree," Pinkie told the hungry ponies.
"That's just fine, sugarcube," said Applejack to her. "Those no-good bootlickers only ever gave us mushrooms anyhow, I won't miss 'em!"
"Well, we mostly have mushrooms too," said Pinkie with a sad frown.
"Mushrooms in freedom or mushrooms in slavery, I know which one I'd rather eat," said Spitfire. There was a general murmur of assent from the gathered ponies.
"Come on," said Rainbow Dash. "Let's go. The sooner we go, the sooner we get to food, right?"
"Just a moment." That was Twilight, still blinking sleep out of her eyes. "I have one more thing to do before we leave."
"What is that?" asked Luna.
"I need to scry again. We're eventually going to need to know where Rarity is, and if I don't do it now, we'll have to come back here to do it again. I'm pretty sure the mine isn't underneath Manehattan, so that would be a waste of time."
"I am very glad you're doing the planning, that had not even crossed my mind," said Luna ruefully, once again forced to admire Twilight's intelligence and foresight. Not that it takes much forcing...
"Just let me go get a bucket of water. It will only take a minute, and then we can all go."
"We need to go out a few at a time anyway," said Pinkie Pie. "I'll start sending out ponies while you do your stuff."
Twilight nodded and looked around for the bucket.
"Ah saw it over there," said Applejack. "Lemme go fetch it for ya." She trotted across the room and soon had the bucket they'd used before refilled.
Twilight peered into it, her horn glowing. Luna could just glimpse the pale white unicorn against the darkness of the mine. Then the view moved through the dark, seeking an exit. When it came out into the brighter, moonlit night above it zoomed out, and Luna didn't recognize the tiny images from her angle. Twilight, however, smiled.
"She's in the Diamond Dog tunnels, not half a day's walk from Ponyville. That makes things much simpler. We have to stop in the Everfree to pick up Fluttershy, and we may be able to rescue Rarity the same day!"
"What-all is this?" asked Applejack, peering down at the tiny image, now showing the ruins of Ponyville as seen from above.
"Scrying. It's a way to see things with magic."
"An' you can see anything?"
"Well... within limits. I wouldn't want to look in on Nightmare Moon, for example. Now that we're so close to her she might sense it."
"What about normal ponies? Jus'... ordinary folks."
"Yes, I guess I could look for any ordinary pony," said Twilight slowly, fearing where this was going. "Though they have to be somepony I've seen before."
"An' have you seen my sister Applebloom?"
Twilight hesitated, then nodded.
"Then you gotta' look her up for me, see if she's doin' all right. Pinkie tole me that Big Macintosh is alive an' well, but nopony knows what happened to any o' the young 'uns from Ponyville."
"Applejack... I don't know if that's a good idea. Anything might have happened to her. If what I see is bad..."
"Ah can handle it." said Applejack, her eyes narrowing. "Ah can handle anythin'."
Twilight looked at Applejack. A friend, a stranger. The Element of Honesty. Maybe. So much unknown, but that determined stubbornness was the same. It had led the Applejack Twilight knew dangerously close to lying; self-deception was the easiest sort of lie to tell, and this Applejack might well be deceiving herself now.
"Applejack... be completely honest. Don't lie to me, and don't lie to yourself either. If something bad has happened to your sister, can you handle it? Don't tell me it won't hurt you at all if she's been harmed. We'd both know you were lying."
Applejack frowned, opened her mouth to say something angry, then stopped and frowned again, a more thoughtful frown this time. Then she heaved a sigh. "You're right. An' I'd be more than hurt, I'd come all to pieces faster than a month old corpse that's been bucked good n' hard. It'd probably be the last straw that broke me. But now that I know I can see if she's alive, ah have to know. Ah can't go along not knowing any longer, I'd go plumb crazy anyway, like the ponies they put in solitary. Please; ah have to know."
Something in Twilight's heart jerked at Applejack's pleading. Not just because she'd shown still was still honest, though that was part of it, but the sincere need in her friend's voice touched her deeply, twisted her heart and made it impossible for her to say no. Without a word her horn lit again.
The second or so it took the picture to change was agonizing. Twilight thought she might burst from the tension, not knowing if the spell would find Applebloom at all or if it would be unable to locate her, as it had been unable to locate poor Spike.
But then the view of Ponyville vanished, replaced by a familiar yellow filly.
Twilight nearly fell over with relief. Applebloom was alive! She was in a school room, and as Twilight widened the view another sigh of relief escaped her. The room was full of familiar colts and fillies. Some she didn't know, but she saw Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Snips, Snails, and even the obnoxious Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. All the fillies and colts of Ponyville seemed alive and well.
All the young ponies wore moon badges. The unicorn teaching the class, who had one as well, was writing on the board, and Twilight could read it easily enough. "The benefits of the Kingdom of Night," it read, and the teacher was filling in item one of the list below it. The youngsters were apparently being taught some insultingly obvious propaganda, but that was miles better than the horrible torture or slavery that Twilight had been unable to keep from picturing.
"She's all right," breathed Applejack.
"Yes," said Twilight. "Hoofington, it looks like. A long way from anywhere we'll be, and that means it's safe." Twilight smiled slightly. “She'll be waiting for you when we defeat Nightmare Moon; I can't imagine how happy she'll be to see you. But now, it looks like it's our turn to get out of here."
They were the last two ponies in the room; Luna and Pinkie Pie were hovering just outside the door.
"Right. Let's go get ready to buck some Nightmare flank," said Applejack with grim and yet delighted determination. She grinned at Twilight, and Twilight grinned broadly back.
I thought I'd take a moment to say "thank you" to everybody who's made it this far. It's a lot of words, I'm glad you've stuck with me through them all. We're probably still not quite halfway, so there are a lot more words to come. I know how it all ends though, so I promise I'll stick with it if you will. :)
I also want to thank all those who've commented, followed, and rated. Seeing evidence that people are reading and enjoying my work is what makes posting it worthwhile, after all. Otherwise I might as well just keep it to read myself.
But most of all I need to thank my editor, who also happens to be my husband. There's a reason why this story is better than the other ones I've done. I do think I had a better idea this time around, most of the others were just "Ha, that would be fun!" notions, but my writing has been as good as it is largely because of his tireless efforts, especially on this chapter. It was a little rough when I handed it over to him, but he polished it up nicely.
The next chapter probably won't happen right this instant, I have a hectic few weeks ahead of me, but expect more as soon as I can find some time to write, exciting things are happening in the next chapter. :D |
SPark | 513 | 7 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2013-05-21T06:30:05+00:00 | 2017-06-13T04:00:47+00:00 | 2,050 | The black alicorn sat in front of a block of ice. The previous several blocks had been cloudy with impurities, and there had been a great deal of yelling and dispensing of punishments, but this one was satisfactory. Her work earlier had borne fruit; the room was even colder now than it had been. It was cold enough now for ice and snow outside, here high up on the mountain's flank. Soon it would be freezing in the valleys as well. And then... then it would grow colder and colder until the world was as cold as the silvery moon itself, and nothing lived but Nightmare Moon and her ice servants. They would worship her, for she would be their creator, their goddess. Ponies had such difficulty recognizing her greatness! Her new servants would have no such flaws.
"That is the problem with ponies," she said to herself as she regarded the ice. "They called us princesses and let us rule them, but they didn't call us gods or worship us as they should. And my dear sister," the alicorn sneered, "was content with the generous praise they gave her. Their fawning blinded her to their inadequacies. But I see them clearly. More clearly now than ever! They were dumb, pathetic animals that we raised to intelligence, but their animal nature still shows through. They might as well be cows. Or rabbits. They are not worthy to be my servants. But ice... Ahhhhh ice." Her horn glowed and she caressed the block with a cold tendril of magic. "I will make new life. Perfect life. Pristine and mathematical as the ice crystal it springs from. Their only emotion will be their love for me. They will give me the worship I have always deserved, that even my best servants cannot give me, for I will be their creator, their goddess. My subjects call me their queen because I insist on it. They should call me goddess without having to be told! They are too flawed to see my true power. But you..." She stared at the ice with a gaze that was almost tender, like a mother looking at her newborn foal. "You will be everything I ever wanted."
Her horn glowed faintly, and shavings began to fall away from the block. At first flurries of them flew like snow as the alicorn swiftly roughed out the form, then more slowly as she carefully refined it. Hours passed as she worked. The guards changed, but she paid them even less attention than usual; all her thoughts were on her work, her art-- her masterpiece. When the shape finally pleased her, the alicorn polished it, spending hours more caressing it with her magic until it was perfectly smooth. At last she stood back and looked at her creation. It was an earth pony, perfect in every detail, of clear, flawless, crystalline ice.
"A suitable start," she said to it, "but my work has just begun. For now you must wait, my beautiful creation. Wait while I weave the magic that will awaken you,” her voice descended to a quiet purr, “and show you who your true Goddess is. And then at last I will have no more need for these ponies. Then my kingdom of night will be perfect, as it should be."
Moonlight spilled down along the string of walking ponies. Luna looked up at the moon and sighed. She never would have imagined she'd grow sick of moonlight, but it was proving entirely possible. She longed for sunlight, for blue sky and white clouds, for the colors of sunset and sunrise, for anything other than night following night following night. She was starting to long for warmth as well, for the feel of sunlight on her skin and the warmth of a summer breeze. Even though it was technically summer, and the stars shone in their summer places, the air felt like winter was nearly there; it was almost cold enough for frost. Nopony had much in the way of winter gear, so they were all chilled and miserable, and hungry on top of that. Though there were mushrooms everywhere, they didn't dare stop to forage until they reached the cover of the forest, and that was many hours away.
They had left the city in twos and threes several hours ago, and were now in what had once been rich farmland, though there was nothing green growing there anymore. They had come far enough to no longer have to worry about the Night Guard, but though the Shadowbolts did have occasional patrols out into the countryside, those were rare enough to not be worth worrying about. Nightmare Moon was obviously not feeling very threatened by the tiny handful of remaining rebels. She has no reason to be, thought Luna. If it were not for the Elements of Harmony, which she thinks destroyed, and myself, who she does not know exists, we would be no threat at all.
So it was safe enough for the strung-out line to start bunching up and traveling as a group. Twilight came trotting up beside Luna, and they walked side by side in silence for some time. Ahead of them Spitfire and Rainbow Dash were also waking side by side, talking in low voices. Twilight couldn't hear most of it, but it was sprinkled with giggles, and had the sound of something fairly intimate. She had just managed to stop being nosy and tune the two ponies out when Dash's voice started to rise; whatever the discussion had been, it was obviously turning into an argument.
"Don't pull this crap on me again, Spitfire! We've only just gotten out of that hellhole, it's too soon!"
"But Dash, I was only-"
"Only going too fast. Which is funny because I know you're so slow," hissed Dash through bared and gritted teeth. The words came out razor-sharp, and they seemed to cut Spitfire deeply; Twilight was shocked to see the ex-Wonderbolt instantly wilt, tears gathering in her eyes.
"Dash, please..."
Spitfire looked so hurt that Twilight couldn't help but break in, wide-eyed, "Rainbow Dash--! That was a horrible thing to say to a friend!"
Suddenly both ponies in front of her halted, and Twilight found herself fixed in place by the glares of two sets of eyes: one amber gold, one dark pink, and both slitted in anger. "She can say whatever she wants! I am slow, I know it! It's just the truth! And in any case it's none of your business!" Spitfire's bright, firelike hair actually seemed to flicker and glow like flame as she shouted Twilight down; the tears were still glittering in the corners of her eyes.
"Eep!" Twilight backed up a few steps, apologies falling out of her mouth, "Sorry. Sorry!"
Spitfire glared a moment more, then turned back around. She and Rainbow Dash trotted a bit faster, putting several other ponies between themselves and Twilight before slowing down again. Twilight started walking again, and shook her head in bafflement. "What was that all about?"
Luna chuckled sadly at Twilight's plaintive question, "'Twas a lesson even I managed to learn, eventually. Never jump into a lovers' quarrel unless you wish for both ponies' ire."
"But Dash was hurting her feelings. That's not right!"
Luna shook her head. "I suppose 'tis not. But they will have to sort that out for themselves. You cannot fix other ponies' relationships for them, not like that."
"Shouldn't friends try to help their friends with their problems? Dash is a friend, I just want to help her."
"Friends can help, yes... friends must be ready to help. There is a difference, though, between offering help and telling another pony what to do with her life. Believe me Twilight, I know how frustrating it is to watch friends make foolish decisions. I have seen ponies I cared deeply for do things I knew were mistakes many, many times. It is never easy to watch another pony make a mess of her life, but you cannot make their choices for them. You can only be there when they need you."
Twilight nodded, and walked the rest of the way to the forest in thoughtful silence. She caught herself dictating a letter to Princess Celestia in her head, lining out this little lesson, and her heart ached at her inability to complete the familiar ritual. For a moment, she felt as alone as she had ever felt in her life—the unmeasurable distance between herself and her home and friends, the terrible things she had found waiting for her in this place, and the enormity of the task in front of her all crowded in on her consciousness like low, black clouds. She found herself musing darkly on which Celestia she should send it to in any case--her mentor back home, or the trapped, probably weakened, maybe dead princess of this world?
Her head sunk lower and lower with each passing thought, until the gentle brush of long feathers against her side startled her from her dark introspection. It was Luna, giving her a concerned, tentative smile and folding her wing back against her side. Twilight returned the smile and, to her surprise, it was a genuine optimism buoying her head and heart and spreading to the corners of her mouth. She had her—well, she had Luna with her, however far from home she might be, and she had her friends. With my friends, I can manage anything, and although these ponies are sometimes strange, they are still my friends.
Rainbow Dash paused in front of the cave mouth. A few yards away Luna and Twilight stood close together, wearing identical expressions of hope and worry. Pinkie Pie and Dale had taken the rescued ponies back to the ruined castle, but Luna, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash had split off and gone in search of Fluttershy. Now, hopefully, they had found her. And hopefully, Dash would be able to reach her where Twilight had failed.
"Here goes," muttered Dash, who looked more than a little nervous, though she was trying to hide it. She pranced in place for a moment. "Here goes," she repeated, a little louder, and finally stepped forward from the moonlit night and into the deeper darkness of the cave.
She paused again after a few steps, straining to see in the gloom. She could hear something breathing ahead of her, and it sounded like something large. Probably the manticore Luna and Twilight had told her about. She swallowed, then set her expression in an aggressive frown. No big deal, she wasn't afraid of any manticore! She could take it, she was Rainbow Dash!
As her eyes adjusted, shapes slowly emerged from the darkness. She was in a narrow tunnel, but just ahead the cave opened out, and she could see something bulky partially blocking the entrance to the wider area. She crept slowly closer, trying to step softly. Up close—ooh, yeah. Yep. That was a manticore alright.
Definitely a manticore. It was lying halfway across the entrance, and Dash could just make out Fluttershy, nearly covered in squirrels, rabbits, and other small creatures, sleeping a few yards beyond it. She took another step, then froze as the manticore yawned and shifted. For a long moment Dash held perfectly still, but the manticore's eyes stayed shut. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and took another step. The manticore's paw was now stretched out across the tunnel; she would have to step over it.
She slowly lifted one hoof over the paw and set it softly on the floor beyond, then another, then the third, and she was clear! She trotted confidently forward, smirking at her own awesomeness, and promptly tripped over something small and fuzzy, landing with a crash in a pile of loose stones.
With a roar the manticore leapt up. Squeaks and squeals sounded as creatures scattered in all directions. Dash yelped and scrambled away from the manticore, but the huge lion-like creature's night vision was far superior to hers, and it easily pounced on her and pinned her to the floor. Panicked animals were still scurrying everywhere around her as she lay on the floor, but her attention was abruptly focused when the looming beast's hot breath washed over her face. Dash squeezed her eyes tightly shut, expecting the next thing she felt to be tearing claws or piercing teeth. Instead, she got something small and not at all sharp thumping repeatedly into her head.
Dash opened her eyes to see a small, pale, furry shape. Angel the bunny was standing over her, kicking her in the forehead.
"Angel?" said Dash, and the bunny paused and looked down at her. Then he kicked her again, for good measure. and scurried off himself. That left Dash alone with the manticore, whose front paws were still pinning her to the floor. Its reeking breath still bathed her face and she wasn't entirely certain why she wasn't dead yet. But since she wasn't, she was hardly going to just lie there. She squirmed, trying to get loose. She got a rear hoof planted on the manticore's side, and it let out a grunt, but then it unsheathed its claws and growled. Dash could suddenly feel each individual razor-sharp point pressing on her skin, and with a little “Eep,” she stopped fighting.
"Dashie?"
The voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but at its sound the manticore's growling instantly changed, and Rainbow Dash realized that the huge creature was purring. And when she craned her head to look in the direction Angel had fled she saw another pale shape in the darkness.
"Fluttershy?"
"It is you! You're alive!" Fluttershy was still nearly whispering, but her trembling, uncertain joy filled the soft words with energy. "I thought that... that... that they had killed you."
She came closer and with nothing more than a gesture directed the manticore to let Rainbow up. Dash righted herself and looked at her friend. Closer, and right side up, she could see that Fluttershy was very different from the mare she remembered. Her coat was rough, coarse and muddy; her cutie mark was almost invisible amid the grime; her mane was a tangled mass of dreadlocks, and she was far too thin; Dash could easily count her ribs.
Fluttershy was regarding Dash as well, and even in the darkness one thing was impossible to miss. "Oh! Your wings! Oh no!" Fluttershy rushed to Dash's side, where she stopped, one hoof outstretched, instinctively drawn to help and yet suddenly aware that no help could possibly be offered.
"Yeah," said Dash, drooping a little at the reminder of all she had lost. "Nightmare Moon had them... well...."
"I'm so sorry!" Suddenly Fluttershy threw her hooves around Dash, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry! If I hadn't run away during the battle, If I wasn't such a coward, always afraid of everything--"
"Then they'd just have caught you and cut yours off too," said Dash flatly. "Nobody could have stopped them, we were too badly outnumbered."
"But maybe if--"
Dash cut her off again. "No. You can't blame yourself for what happened to me. It's nobody's fault but Nightmare Moon's, and if I have my way she's going to pay for what she did."
Fluttershy finally stepped back from the hug and looked at Dash's grim expression. Her own eyes narrowed just a bit. "I'm not good at fighting, Dashie, but I'll help you if you want. You're right that she needs to pay. Nopony should hurt others the way she did." Some surprising vehemence had crept into the quiet mare's voice.
"You can help. Maybe. It's probably all just stupid and crazy and we'll all die, but maybe it isn't and we have a chance."
"I... I don't understand."
"I don't think I do either, but there are two ponies you need to talk to. They can explain it better than I can."
"Other... ponies?" Fluttershy looked suddenly terrified. "Strangers?"
Dash looked behind her uncertainly, to where she could see a circle of bright moonlight marking the cave entrance, where Twilight and Luna were waiting. After a moment's pause, she looked back at Fluttershy and shook her head. "No. Not strangers-- friends."
Luna kept catching herself holding her breath as she and Twilight waited for Rainbow Dash to emerge from the cave. When instead they heard a faint clatter and a roar, Luna's heart sank. Something had gone wrong. She took a step forward, and found Twilight moving forward as well, hesitantly. What was happening inside? Should they rush into rescue Dash? What if they only angered and alienated Fluttershy further? Without her their hopes for victory were very slim indeed. They needed her.
The roars ceased and there was a long, tense silence. Luna realized she was holding her breath again, and let it out in a gusty sigh, which made Twilight jump.
"Should we..." began Twilight, then trailed off as something moved at the cave mouth. It was Dash! Or rather, it was Dash's rump. For some reason the blue mare was emerging from the cave rainbow-hued tail first. As she came out, the waiting mares could hear that she was talking steadily, in the low, soothing tones used on a frightened animal.
"They're really nice, you'll see. Come on, they're just outside. It's okay. I'm right here with you."
Behind her, trying to hide her entire body behind her mane, came Fluttershy. Behind Fluttershy, looming protectively over her, came the manticore.
Twilight gulped. Even Luna took a step back. But Dash just kept patiently leading Fluttershy towards them, and despite the massive, lion-like menace Twilight and Luna both managed to hold their ground.
"There," said Dash. "Fluttershy, these are my friends, Twilight and Luna. Let them explain what's going on."
Fluttershy peeked hesitantly around Rainbow Dash. Twilight tried to smile reassuringly at her. As Twilight launched into her explanation of Nightmare Moon, the Elements of Harmony, and how they needed Fluttershy, Luna found herself looking at Dash with something like surprise. Back home she hadn't known Dash very well. They had very little in common and seldom did anything together, unless it was with Twilight and the entire group of Ponyville friends. Luna had seen her being competitive, loud, and egotistic back home. Here, she had seen her burning with hate, driven by anger, and filled with hurt that made her lash out. But now--! Suddenly she was showing another side altogether. A gentler, more considerate side that Luna had never expected. She had wondered what it was that made the loud Rainbow and the painfully shy Fluttershy such friends when they were so different, but perhaps they had something in common after all. Fluttershy's tender heart was open to every creature she came across, while Rainbow Dash obviously reserved her care for only her closest friends, but the gentle sound in Rainbow's voice as she had led Fluttershy from the cave was a sound Luna had heard many times from Fluttershy herself.
But was Fluttershy's kind heart still there in this dark world? Was she still true to her element? She had obviously responded to the injured Dash, but perhaps that was only because of her friendship. She had set a hydra after them, after all. They had pressed her to the limit, obviously, but would the element of kindness have done such a thing? Luna wasn't sure.
Twilight wound up her explanation, paused a moment, then gave Fluttershy her best hopeful smile, "So, will you help us?"
"I... Yes. Yes, I'll help." She was still peeking out from behind her hair, but the answer had come with surprising speed and surety.
Twilight sagged, her hopeful smile turning into a broad grin,"Oh, thank you. Now we just need to rescue Rarity and we'll be ready to bring Nightmare Moon down!"
Fluttershy looked completely dismayed at the idea, but Rainbow Dash nudged her. "You can do it. You can bring your manticore, if you want. He might help us get into the castle at Canterlot."
Twilight smiled. "Yes, or bring your hydra! It could probably knock down the castle walls for us."
"Oh, I couldn't," said Fluttershy, aghast. "What if they got hurt?"
Twilight looked baffled. "But you had the hydra chase us. And it did get hurt, Big Mac kicked it right in the nose.” a beat, "In one of its noses, anyway."
"Yes, and I wish I hadn't. The poor, poor thing. And if they had hurt you ponies that would have been just as bad. I'm so, so sorry, I was just afraid, and my friends wanted to protect me. I shouldn't have let them. They're healing well, but if they had gotten... really hurt, or one of you had, I would have been so sad that I just don't know what I would do."
Luna gave a smile edged in private amusement, "You're a kind pony, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy hid behind her mane again. "Oh, um. Thank you...I just don't like seeing anypony get hurt. Not even Nightmare Moon, except that we have to do something about her, so that all the ponies and creatures can be free and the sun can shine again."
"We're all in it for that exact same reason," said Twilight. It was a declaration, accompanied by a sure and forthright nod.
"Speak for yourself," muttered Rainbow Dash.
Twilight shot her a quelling glance for ruining her moment, but Dash just glared belligerantly in return.
Luna coughed. "We should go meet up with Pinkie and the others and plan Rarity's rescue."
"Yes, we should. Come on everypony. Sunrise could happen tomorrow!" Twilight trotted off perkily. Luna chuckled and followed her, with Dash, Fluttershy, and the still-protective manticore coming along behind.
The trip through the dead forest went swiftly, and soon they had reached the ruined palace. Luna once more held her breath, magic at the ready, as the group crossed the decrepit bridge. It groaned alarmingly under the weight of the manticore, but miraculously remained intact.
Inside, it was almost crowded; there were over two dozen ponies now, resting, eating, and talking together. A ripple of curiosity and alarm ran through them as the manticore followed the mares into the old throne room. Fluttershy, suddenly the focus of all those eyes, squeaked and shuffled quickly backward to interpose the monstrous feline, who started to glare at the assembled ponies. Several of them also squeaked and ducked behind whatever was nearest them.
Twilight sighed, and Luna mentally congratulated her for managing to stop her eyes from rolling. "Everypony, this is Fluttershy. She and the manticore are friends. They're part of the plan to defeat Nightmare Moon."
She got several incredulous glances, and none of the hiding ponies emerged—especially not Fluttershy. The tension continued to grow as ponies and manticore regarded each other. Before Twilight could start haranguing anypony, however, the manticore turned and started broadly grooming Fluttershy's mane with long, ridiculous slurps.
The tension went out of the air like a popped party balloon, and several of the hiding ponies emerged with smiles on their faces. The manticore was purring, and Fluttershy was smiling as well. "Thank goodness," muttered Twilight, which set Luna off to giggling.
"He he he! What are we laughing at?" Pinkie Pie popped up next to Luna as though she had appeared out of the ground.
Luna jumped, but Twilight was more used to Pinkie Pie's antics than the princess. She just turned to Pinkie Pie and smiled. "Pinkie! Get Applejack and Rainbow Dash and anybody else you think we might need. It's time--”Twilight broke into a grin. Even all she had seen in this world couldn't dampen her enthusiasm for this, “--for another planning session!"
"What does tall blue pony want?" The diamond dog's voice was rough, but with a whining tone that set Luna's teeth on edge. Torches bracketed the broad arch that led deeper into the mine, their light flickering off the dog's coarse coat. It stood in the center of the threshold, flanked on either side by massive guard dogs. All three were staring with unfriendly expressions at the lone pony that stood before them.
She planted her hooves firmly and gave the creature a flat, cold look. "I want to free all the ponies here. You're going to let them go, now."
"Pony is joking. Ponies here belong to Pony Queen. Diamond dogs cannot let them go, even if diamond dogs want to! But we do not want to let ponies go, ponies work, ponies get gems for dogs. Ponies stay. You go away."
"I think not." Luna reared up and let out a loud whinny, signaling to the ponies behind her who had thus far stayed out of sight. Suddenly two dozen equines were charging at the entrance to the mines. The two burly guard dogs and their smaller commander immediately retreated, scurrying inside the broad main tunnel, and Luna hurled herself after them with a defiant cry, the other rebels on her heels.
Four shadowy shapes moved in the night. Two of them were ponies, a unicorn and a pegasus, while the other two were smaller, lower to the ground, and much shaggier.
"Okay, we're over the mine now," whispered Twilight.
Fluttershy nodded. "Go dig, little friends," she said to the two badgers that accompanied her. Her whisper was so quiet that Twilight almost couldn't hear it, but the badgers obviously could; they both started tunneling rapidly into the ground.
The ponies waited in the chill darkness while the badgers dug. The little creatures were swift diggers, but they needed to put in a lot of extra work to make a tunnel wide enough for a pony, and it was taking a long time. At last, though, the badgers came back out of the tunnel, and Fluttershy said, "They're through."
"Let's go." Twilight crawled into the tunnel. It wasn't quite high enough for her to walk upright. Fluttershy came behind her, so close Twilight occasionally felt her stepping on her tail. It was pitch dark in the tunnel, and Twilight felt her way forward slowly. Loose dirt and rocks tumbled down on her whenever her horn brushed the low ceiling, and her legs were soon scraped and sore from crawling over the rough tunnel floor. After what seemed like an eternity of groping in the darkness, she emerged into the larger tunnel. Unfortunately, it was still pitch black, and now she couldn't even feel her way along. Cautiously Twilight summoned the smallest possible spark of magic to light the tip of her horn. She'd seen Rarity doing the same while working here, so hopefully the little speck of power would pass unnoticed.
A second spell would also have to pass unnoticed, for in the maze of tunnels that made up the Diamond Dogs' mine there was no way to know where Rarity might be. Twilight had a plan to locate her, though: she had combined the gem-seeking spell that her Rarity had taught her with the scrying spell that had kicked off this whole adventure to make a spell that could lead her to anypony she could scry for. To wit, Rarity. She was proud of the bit of spellcraft, but she was particularly pleased by how satisfyingly fitting it was to find Rarity with her own spell.
As she finished casting the hybrid spell, a sudden tugging on the tip of her horn nearly pulled her off her feet. She grinned; that meant it was working. "Follow me," she whispered to Fluttershy, and trotted off in the direction of the tugging.
Only moments later she nearly walked straight into a wall. She skidded to a stop, her horn still trying to pull her forward through solid rock. "Horseapples." Of course the spell wouldn't show her a path through the tunnels, it was just showing her a direct line to Rarity. Which was better than wandering aimlessly, but not by very much.
"What is it?" Fluttershy's whisper sounded terrified.
"The spell is trying to pull me straight to Rarity through the walls. We'll have to find a way around, I guess."
"Oh."
"It'll work out. It has to. Come on." Leaning against the pull of the spell she set off along the tunnel wall, hoping that she'd be able to find a path through.
"Forward! For Celestia and the Principality!" shouted Luna.
"For Celestia! For Equestria!" yelled Marie Mare who charged forward and head-butted a diamond dog in the chest. The tunnel was a scene of complete chaos. The diamond dogs had retreated just far enough to call reinforcements and set up a defensive line blocking off the tunnel. The ponies had formed a line of their own, and the two forces swayed back and forth, hooves delivering bone-breaking kicks, claws and teeth drawing blood from equine hides, but neither side able to gain any significant ground.
Dale screamed a wordless war cry and charged, Big Macintosh grimly silent at his side. The two huge stallions broke through, tumbling dogs out of the way, but had to halt before they became completely surrounded and cut off, and were soon forced back again.
The ponies had managed to break the line several times but it always reformed, and there were still more diamond dogs running from deeper within the mine all the time. It wouldn't be long before Luna and the rebels were outnumbered. They were already having trouble pushing the diamond dogs back any further, though the tunnel was narrow enough that neither diamond dogs nor ponies could bring their full force to bear at once.
Luna looked up. The ceiling was very high here, perhaps she could shift the odds a bit.
"Pegasi! Take wing!" She suited actions to words and shot into the air. There wasn't as much room as she might have liked, but there was enough to stay above the dogs' heads. One reached a paw up at her and she kicked it viciously. Derpy and two other rebel pegasi whose names Luna hadn't learned took wing beside her, but the five that had come from Manehattan hesitated. Luna saw their eyes going to Rainbow Dash. "Quickly!" she called. "We must press the advantage while we can!"
Four of the five took flight, joining the others in attacking from the air. Spitfire hesitated a moment longer, but Rainbow Dash glared and shouted "Go, you idiot!" at her, and she snapped her wings open and leapt into the air as if stung.
The pegasi swooped down on the dogs, battering at them from above. Some even grabbed rocks from the cavern walls and pelted the enemy with them. The dogs began to fall back and the earth ponies and unicorns cheered and pushed further forward.
Suddenly the lead dog howled, a piercing sound that echoed off the tunnel walls. The battle paused for just a heartbeat as ponies and dogs both jumped at the sound. "Fall back!" called the spindly canine. "Fall back and bring it down!"
The dogs immediately retreated into the cavern, running with greater speed than Luna would have expected from such bulky, awkward-looking creatures. She soared after them, the other pegasi surrounding her. The ground-bound ponies were somewhat slower to follow, but they too chased the retreating dogs.
"Swiftly, go, bring it down!" called the dog again.
"Wait!" Pinkie Pie, who had been in the lead of those running below, skidded to a halt, causing a pile-up of ponies behind her. The gap between them and the dogs opened further, and Luna was about to shout something back about how they should run faster, when Pinkie said, "Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail! He means bring down the tunnel! They're going to collapse it! Run for the entrance!"
Luna back-winged furiously, coming to a halt in mid-air and nearly falling. The other pegasi tried to turn in various ways, but in the confined space of the tunnel none could reverse swiftly. Derpy rebounded off a wall as her attempt to turn around in the tight space failed, and there were several near-collisions between pony and rock or pony and pony before the pegasi got themselves headed back the way they had come.
The earth ponies weren't waiting, and they were wise not to; nopony could save anypony else by waiting if the ceiling above fell on them all.
Even as the ponies ran, and the pegasi raced to catch up with them, a rumbling began, coming from every direction at once and being felt as much as heard. Rocks began to fall; first a few pebbles, but then a deluge that grew ever thicker. It seemed that Pinkie Pie was right, and that the entire length of the tunnel was collapsing around them. The earth ponies and unicorns were nearly to the entrance, but the pegasi had been deeper, and the time needed to turn had slowed them further. As a fist-sized rock bounced painfully off her haunches, Luna realized that they weren't going to make it.
Her horn lit. She hadn't been using magic for fear of attracting Nightmare Moon's notice with even ordinary spells, but she couldn't just let these ponies die. "Pegasi! To me!" Above her she made a huge glowing umbrella of force. The rocks bounced harmlessly off it. Her cry and the sight of such safety drew the others to her, and soon they all hovered as closely as they could. The roar grew louder and the rain was no longer a shower of falling rocks but a solid wall of rubble coming down around them. Luna extended the umbrella into a sphere as the tunnel filled completely with rubble.
Finally the roar ceased, and eight pegasi and one alicorn hovered in a hollow space completely buried in rock and earth.
Luna looked slowly around as the dust settled, absorbing their situation.
"Oh... buck.".
Twilight's hooves were starting to ache. It wasn't so much that she had done a lot of walking; though the tunnels seemed endless, they really hadn't gone that far. It was the way she needed to brace herself against the spell's pull on her horn the whole way along. It had required a lot more physical work than she had expected.
They had gone down far too many dead ends, but the diversion at the mine entrance seemed to be working, for though they'd heard some commotion echoing very faintly down the tunnels they had seen no diamond dogs at all. And now ahead was a dim glow, and the sound of hooves on stone. Twilight the Fluttershy peered around a bend and saw two unicorns, one hitched to a massive cart, the other chipping at the wall with a cracked and worn hoof. One Twilight vaguely recognized from seeing her around Ponyville, she was named named something... something-gate? Twilight couldn't quite remember. But she had no trouble remembering the name of the second unicorn.
"Rarity! We found you!"
Rarity's head came up and she stared at the pair with shocked eyes. "Who are you?"
"I'm Twilight, this is Fluttershy."
"Fluttershy, yes... we've met. But never mind that, the important question is what is going on?"
"We're rescuing you. We need you." Twilight hardly paused for breath before continuing. "We have a plan to defeat Nightmare Moon, but it requires your help. Please, come with us! We have a distraction keeping the diamond dogs busy, but it won't last forever and we need to get out of here fast."
As Twilight had thought, Rarity didn't question why she in particular might be needed. She also, as Twilight had hoped, didn't pause to ask for details about the plan. She just nodded. "I am heartily sick of that tyrant and her rule. Let us go." She turned to the other unicorn, and her horn lit as she started to un-hitch her from the car. "I assume Colgate can come too?" Then she paused. "And... there are others here, six more of us. What of them?"
"Don't be silly," said Colgate. "I'll stay, and so will everypony else—it's too risky to try and spring everypony, and you've done enough for us already. If this plan is any good then when Nightmare Moon is defeated we'll all be set free anyway. And if it's not any good then here is no worse than where anypony with you is likely to end up, am I right?" She looked at Twilight, who looked back, a bit surprised at such ruthless pragmatism.
"Well yes... But the plan really is likely to work. It's something that's worked before, you see. Nightmare Moon was defeated once before, she can be defeated again."
"Good,” the blue unicorn flashed a fierce grin,“Then go, Rarity, and we'll see you when you pick us up for the party after.."
Rarity nodded reluctantly, and stepped towards Twilight. Suddenly, the ground trembled underfoot, and they all heard a distant but still shockingly loud roar. The sound seemed to come from every direction as it echoed down the twisted maze of tunnels.
"Horseapples!" said Colgate. "Your diversion was an attack on the entrance, wasn't it?"
"Uhm, yes?"
"Well that was the sound of your diversion getting buried. Fido had them collapse the tunnel again--he's done it a couple of times before. And now they'll be patrolling outside, trying to round up anypony that escaped the collapse."
Twilight slumped. She didn't want to think about what might have happened to the others. To her friends. To Luna...
All her plans had just gone horribly, horribly wrong.
Hello, my loyal readers. Nope, I'm not dead. Yep, I'm still planning on finishing this story. Nope, I don't know when. Yep, I do know how many more chapters there are. (probably) Nope I'm not going to tell you what's in them. Please remember, I don't respond to guilt trips or threats! They'll happen when they happen. Good things are worth waiting for, right? :D
P.S. Thank you again to Jordanis for editing this for me. His suggestions are a large part of why this is probably my best fanwork. |
SPark | 513 | 8 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2017-01-01T08:11:03+00:00 | 2017-06-13T04:18:22+00:00 | 1,168 | There were books and papers strewn around the throne, which was illuminated now by more than merely moonlight. Though the magical spark by which the black alicorn read was a cold light, and it did nothing to warm the bitter chill in the air.
The ice statue stood beside her, a motionless thing of glittering crystal. As yet it did not live. But the spells were nearly ready. "Soon," crooned the alicorn gently. "Soon. I could animate you now, my beauty, if I wanted only a mindless automaton. But I want more. I want what these pitiful creatures of daylight and warmth have never given me. I want you adoration and worship. I want your admiration and respect. I want your love. So you must be more, much more, than a mindless servant. You must be perfect. And soon you will be."
A faint scrape of hoof on stone made the alicorn look up. One of her Night Guard, a senior officer whose name she did not recall, stood just inside the room, head bowed, waiting for her. She smiled. She was finally getting them trained. It was ridiculous how many she'd had to punish before they started to figure out proper behavior.
"You may approach and speak," she said regally.
The burly earth pony walked along the narrow path through the increasingly thick frost that covered everything in the throne room. He reached the throne and bowed once again. "Your Divine Majesty. There is an incident in Manehatten that you may wish to be aware of." He paused and looked up at her for approval. She nodded gracefully and he continued. "One of the new stables where those who unwisely opposed you have been put to work was burned to the ground two nights ago. Your loyal servants all escaped, but the slaves within could not be freed, and all perished. And the fire itself was clearly magical. Several unicorns have confirmed this, and one told me he felt that the unicorns who had done it were of unusual power."
The alicorn's eyes narrowed. "Unicorns of unusual power? Yes, you did well to tell me of this. Now go."
With another bow the Night Guard withdrew.
For the time being her spell was forgotten. There were unicorns of unusual power working against her. Or were they working against her? If they were they must be unusually stupid, to have killed those who should be their allies while allowing her servants to go free. Surely she need not worry about foals who would make such a mistake. They would certainly reveal themselves to her, and be defeated, if they were that inept.
But what if they were not? What if they had gotten the result they intended? What then? What possible reason could some alliance of unicorns have to destroy rebellious slaves, and leave those loyal to her untouched? Could this be some potential ally, making a subtle statement? She neither needed nor wanted allies, but it was possible that this coalition of powerful unicorns felt otherwise.
It might not even be unicorns. There were few of them outside of Equestria, and surely those inside it would know better than to do anything that she didn't directly sanction! But unicorns were not the only creatures that could use magic. Dragons could, though their magic was limited in scope. And there were the kirin, and the kudu... Both lived far from Equestria's borders, but both were very powerful races. And this kind of indirect action would be very typical of kirin in particular. Though kirin who were willing to kill were very rare...
And what if this was related to that sense of beings watching that had come some time ago? What if incomprehensible beings from beyond the stars were here now, working some alien magic to some alien purpose? Would an ordinary Manehatten unicorn know the difference between unicorn magic and that of such beings? Their purposes would be unguessable, and their power might well be very strong.
She would have to be on guard every moment, alert and ready for whatever attack might come. But she would be. She was the goddess of night. By her command the moon reigned eternal over her palace. She could defeat any challenger, even the subtle kirin or the mighty kudu! With her head held confidently high she floated a book once more before her. When the world was truly frozen, and she was served by her perfect creations, she would have no need to worry about attack. There would be none left to challenge her; no other races, no troublesome ponies, only the goddess of night and her flawless servants of ice. And if beings from beyond came to challenge her, she would meet them easily, with her adoring servants at her side. Nothing could threaten her then.
Luna's wings flapped slowly, just enough to keep her aloft. A part of her was aware of the quiet pegasus magic that was enabling her to hover in contravention to gravity and physics, but most of her mind was focused on her current predicament. Surrounded by eight other winged ponies, she hung in the center of a sphere of protective magic. It would have been pitch black had not the sphere itself glowed with a gentle light. That light illuminated the dirt and rock that completely encapsulated the sphere, trapping the ponies within it.
"Sweet Celestia." The voice was awed and panicked at the same time. Luna looked over to see Spitfire hovering beside her, the mare's eyes wide and stunned. "We're trapped."
"Only for a moment," said Luna soothingly. "I shall get us out as soon as I figure out which direction to dig in."
"What about the others?" spoke up another pegasus. There was a murmur of worried agreement.
"Just a moment..." Luna reached out mentally. :Dale?:
:I'm here. Though it was a near thing. I'm still digging out, actually, I was about half buried. Be free in a moment. Though...: He paused, and Luna could tell that he was looking behind him, at the wall of earth and rocks that filled the tunnel. :I'm not sure all of us made it. I was near the end, I'm not a fast runner. But I think somepony was behind me. But I can see that most of them got clear in time. Big Mac is helping to dig me out. We'll all be free in just a moment.:
Luna relayed that to the others. "It looks like they are mostly fine." None of the ponies questioned how she could know this. She wondered, for a moment, what they thought of her. She was an alicorn, when the only alicorns they knew were their near-divine ruler Celestia, and the demonic Nightmare Moon. Did they think of her as a goddess? It seemed unlikely to Luna, who did not feel remotely like a goddess. But they showed no signs of thinking she was like Nightmare Moon either, they seemed to trust her. "'Tis still chaotic out there," she said, "but it looks as though they were clear of the tunnel before it finished collapsing."
"Thank Celestia," breathed Spitfire, and Luna knew she must be thinking of Rainbow Dash.
:I'm going to be one giant bruise,: Dale said to her with a rueful mental tone, :But I'm loose. Now...: Suddenly a shock of awareness ran through him. :Curse it. The dogs must have another entrance, maybe several. There's a group of them coming our way.: He paused, and Luna could feel his dismay. :A big group. A really big group, more than we were fighting in the tunnel. I didn't know there were so many dogs in the whole mine. Luna... I'm not sure what we're going to do. If they corner us up against the blocked tunnel we'll all be captured or killed:
:Damnation. If it were just you, and if it were just capture... but I do not want you killed, and Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack are all with you. We need to get them free. You shall need to run for it and leave us.:
:That's what I was thinking. Looks like Pinkie thinks the same, she's already ordered everypony to scatter and run.: Luna could tell, in face, that Dale was running flat out even as they spoke. :Over open ground outside I'm sure we can outrun them, even a slowpoke like me. Though you know if it were only me I'd stay.:
:I know. Protect the other elements, get them out of there. You are still being a distraction, so the plan has not fallen apart completely.:
:As far as we know, anyway,: was Dale's rather pessimistic response. :But hopefully Twilight is having a better time of it.:
:I hope so too.:
Three unicorns and one pegasus stood in a circle, the dark tunnel around them illuminated by a light that hovered at the tip of Twilight Sparkle's horn. "What do we do now?" she said, her brow furrowed with worry. "We have to get out somehow."
"They'll be guarding all the exits, and patrolling outside, and that plain has few hiding places on it." That was Colgate, the pale blue, practically-minded unicorn who was Rarity's companion in servitude.
"If they're patrolling, we have to be able to sneak past them somehow. Or... something."
"Diamond dogs have very excellent hearing, I'm afraid," chimed in Rarity. "They're hard to sneak around. Quite a lot of ponies have tried to escape, and even with the aid of magic they've all been caught so far."
"We have a secret tunnel out..."
"They'll find it and fill it in," said Colgate. "They dig faster than anything. And even if they don't find it, I bet the entrance is probably inside the range of their patrols."
Twilight sighed. "This suddenly got a whole lot harder."
"Most things worth doing are. And defeating Nightmare Moon is worth doing. Don't give up yet."
"Indeed," chimed in Rarity. "We have all thought of escape many times. Your diversion will still be diverting them, for they will be concentrating on their outside patrols, seeking to capture any attackers they can find. We shall have some freedom to plan here, and perhaps we can come up with something. I had nearly given up hope, but the thought of that despicable tyrant gone is quite motivating. Let us see what resources we have."
"Not many. I'm good with magic, but if I use too much power I might draw the notice of Nightmare Moon, and we're not ready to face her yet, we need Luna and the others with us."
"What about you, darling?" Rarity turned to Fluttershy.
"Oh. I can't do very much. I'm just good with animals."
"So. Three unicorns, but no magic. One pegasus, underground, who is good with animals, but no animals." Colgate made a face. "I don't suppose 'good with animals' extends to doing something about diamond dogs?"
"No. Sorry." Fluttershy looked as though she might try to hide behind Twilight again.
Colgate sighed. Twilight wanted to echo it. What were they going to do? She wished she had some paper and a quill so she could write things down. She always thought better when she could make lists. She would list their assets on one side, three unicorns and one pegasus, and their obstacles on the other side. "What exactly do we face here? These patrols, for example. If we can sneak out my tunnel, and we're inside the area they're searching for the others, what will we run into? How many dogs, do you know?"
"They always go around in threes," said Rarity. "At least here inside. But I am fairly certain they do so outside as well."
Twilight considered that. Four ponies against three dogs. Numbers favored the ponies, but the dogs were probably better fighters. They were certainly bigger. "And do they ever go into the forest? If we get that far would we be safe? How fast are they?"
"Slower than a pony, at least over flat, straight ground. They're nimble, but not fast. And they avoid the forest. I've heard them talk about it, they don't like it."
Twilight nodded. "So we could out run them."
"In theory," said Colgate, "and probably over a short course, but..." she looked at Rarity, then down at her own cracked hooves. "But we're not in prime running shape here. And even if we can out run them, we have to get past them, otherwise where will we run to?"
"And getting past will probably mean fighting them." Twilight sighed. "So that's still not a solution. I'm not much of a fighter, especially without magic."
"None of us are fighters, and none of us are strong with magic either," said Rarity. "All the really strong unicorns are imprisoned at Canterlot, not out here."
"How many of you are there here?" asked Twilight, suddenly getting a flicker of an idea. Their resources weren't enough, and the obstacles in front of them were large, but there was one more piece of the equation she hadn't been thinking about, and that was their goals.
"There are six more, so eight of us altogether. Ten counting you two."
"That might be enough to temporarily overwhelm a scouting group then."
"Possibly, yes," said Colgate with a thoughtful frown. "But there are some of us who definitely aren't up for a run all the way to the forest."
"They wouldn't have to be. Our goal, after all, isn't to rescue everypony here tonight. We need myself, Fluttershy, and Rarity to face Nightmare Moon, and then we can free not only everypony here, but everypony in Equestria. That's the real goal. So if there were seven distractions, the three of us might be able to slip by them."
"I see! Yes, that could work. That could work very well indeed!" Colgate grinned.
Rarity smiled as well. "I shall lead the way to our fellows then."
"Yes. And hurry. I don't know how much longer they'll be occupied with Luna and the others."
Rarity nodded, and started down the tunnel with the other three trailing behind.
It took longer than Twilight had hoped before they collected the other six unicorns. Rarity told her that in actuality they were all remarkably close, working different parts of a recently discovered seam of particularly nice gems, but to Twilight it seemed like it took a small eternity to find the rest of Rarity's companions in servitude. She could feel the seconds trickling away, and with who knows what gone horribly wrong with Luna's distraction she wanted to get the three Elements of Harmony out of the mine as soon as possible. She was already realizing that bringing Fluttershy along had been a very bad idea. She ought to have had the pegasus order the badgers to dig, and then immediately fly back to the relative safety of the forest. And what of Luna? Just the thought that she might be dead filled Twilight with unbearable dread. Twilight found herself surprised, in fact, at how much that image twisted her stomach. Though it's only logical, she told herself. Without Luna our chances of besting Nightmare Moon are much slimmer. Getting all of us into the castle, right to the throne room, may well require Luna's magic. But that was just the start of Twilight's worries. If things had gone badly at the front gate what about Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash? Any one of them might have been killed or captured! Twilight felt her stomach knot with guilt. She should have somehow convinced them all to stay behind, and put one of the other ponies in charge of attacking the main entrance. It had all seemed simple and fool-proof when she'd first thought of it, but in retrospect the entire plan seemed to be madness. And was her new plan to get Rarity out any better? What else might she be overlooking?
But at last she had to push her worries aside, for they had reached the last of the six mine workers. Now Twilight stood before three stallions and five mares, all very much the worse for wear, thin and ragged and obviously ill-used. Their eyes were on her with something like hope, and Twilight wished she had a better plan, one that would free them all. But there was no time, and they would just have to do the best they could with what they had.
"Okay," she said, looking at the gathered unicorns, "here's what's going on. Rarity is absolutely vital to a plan to defeat Nightmare Moon. Fluttershy and myself are needed as well," she added, gesturing to the pegasus behind her. "So we three need to get out now, before the dogs give up their patrols and come back inside. Here's the plan I have--"
"Wait," said a light gray stallion with a strong Canterlot accent and a quaver in his voice that mixed outrage with fear in equal parts, "you three are leaving, and the rest of us have to stay is this wretched hole?"
Twilight winced. "Well, we'll all be outside the mines, so some of you might manage to get away, but I need you all to lead the diamond dogs off, so that the three of us can make it to the forest. I really wish I could rescue everypony, but I can't think of a plan that would get us all out, and we have to get us three free in order to beat Nightmare Moon."
A white stallion, who looked as though he might once have been a match for Rarity's perfect grooming before the mines had served him as they had her broke in. His accent made it clear that he too was from Canterlot, but tone wasn't the least bit fearful. "Jet Set, my friend, she is absolutely correct. If there is any chance at all of toppling that tyrant we must take it, even at the cost of our own lives."
"Trust you to go right to the heart of things," Rarity said to him with a warm smile. "Yes. I wish I could take all of you, but Twilight tells me that I am the one needed, and I am forced to agree with Fancypants. Any chance at freeing Equestria is more important than other considerations. So I am with Twilight and her plan all the way."
Twilight felt a warm glow to hear Rarity stand up for her, even though in this world the white unicorn hardly knew her.
"Yes indeed. Now tell us of this plan of yours, my dear," said Fancypants. "I'm sure we'll all do our utmost on Miss Rarity's behalf." He shot Jet Set a stern look and the other unicorn looked away, obviously cowed. Then he turned to Twilight expectantly.
"Okay," said Twilight with renewed determination. "Here's the plan."
"Here is the plan," said Luna to the worried pegasi hovering next to her.
:We're almost to the forest,: Dale reported silently to her even as she spoke. :I have no idea if they'll follow us past that boundary. A few of us have had trouble keeping up, but the dogs have been having some trouble too.: She could sense a sort of fierce excitement to Dale's mental words, and with them came images. When the ponies had scattered Dale had stuck with Pinkie Pie and the other Elements. Big Macintosh was still with them as well and the two stallions were bucking any dogs that caught up with them right in the teeth. It hadn't stopped the dogs, but it had slowed them. The ordinary grunts seemed reluctant, and the leaders had to goad them with curses and threats in order to keep them chasing after the ponies. It wasn't over yet, but it looked like Dale, and more importantly the Elements of Harmony with him, might well make it. Unfortunately the dogs had numbers enough to send some after the fleeing ponies and keep a second force right outside the door, so there was no easy escape for Luna and her trapped fellows.
"The diamond dogs are outside in force, so we are going in, not out. There are so many out there that they have to have pulled every dog they have out of the mines." I hope, she added silently to herself. "The other ponies are already nearly free. Once we're into the tunnels I'm sure we can find one of the other exits that they have been using, and as we're all pegasi once we're into the air they will not have a chance of catching us."
She looked around orienting herself. She couldn't see her goal with her eyes, of course, but her magic could find the way. Maintaining the spell that kept them all safe from being crushed under tons of rock while searching for the tunnel that must lead inward was difficult, and digging was going to be even harder, but she had enough power to do it.
It was risky, of course. Earth tended to muffle magic, and thus Nightmare Moon might still never notice the amount of unicorn energy Luna was pouring forth, but it might be enough power to bleed through, they weren't that deep. The alternative, however, was death, so she could do nothing but work as swiftly as possible. So as soon as she located the uncollapsed portion of the tunnel she immediately released the seeking spell and began a digging spell. She strained, her horn glowing brightly, trying to hold the sphere intact around them while creating a tunnel to it. The fallen rocks she dug through were unstable, and pieces kept falling into the tunnel. In frustration, her horn glowing brighter still, Luna extended the shield that kept them safe into the tunnel she was digging, shoring up the ceiling with pure force. Rocks and earth flew as she dug faster and faster. She was reaching the limit of her power. If she exhausted her personal reservoir of magic without finishing the tunnel out they would be trapped indeed, and doomed as the unstable bubble collapsed around them, burying them in tons of stone and earth.
Just as her worry was turning into certainty that they were all doomed, the tunnel broke through into open space. With a feeling of massive relief Luna said, "Quick, everypony though the tunnel."
Derpy Hooves was the first to swoop down and land on the bottom of the bubble. She ducked and climbed into the narrow tunnel Luna's magic had dug. One by one the others followed her. Spitfire went last, looking hesitant. "If I get stuck I'm going to freak out," she said.
"You will not get stuck, it is wide enough. But hurry, I cannot hold this much longer."
"Right. Okay." Spitfire swallowed, then ducked in as well.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Luna followed. She was a bit taller than the others and nearly had to crawl, but it was just big enough. As soon as she was well clear of the bubble she let the spell holding it go. Instantly there was a roar as it collapsed behind her. Spitfire stopped with a squeak of terror, and Luna bumped into her rump. She had to nudge the mare a bit to get her to move forward again. Her magic was still steadily draining away, since she had to keep the ceiling of the tunnel up. But soon she was out in the open and she could let that go as well. It didn't fall in quite as spectacularly as the bubble had, but it was no longer passable either.
With just enough magic left to summon a tiny spark of light to the tip of her horn, Luna looked around her. Behind was a tumbled slope of debris from the cave in. Ahead a vaulted empty space, leading off into the unknown darkness. And eight pegasi were looking at her, all of them fearful, worried, or nervous. Luna had a moment of panic. Twilight was the one who'd made all the plans. How was she supposed to proceed now, with their plans completely shattered? What was she supposed to do? Then she felt Dale reaching out to her again, even though though she knew he himself was still in danger. :You'll do just fine. Calm down. Think through your options. You're a princess, you can lead a few ponies.:
:I am a princess in name only, I have never lead anything or anyone.:
:Well, perhaps it's time you learned how. We've reached the trees, and it looks like the dogs are even more reluctant to go into the forest than they are to chase bucking ponies. So we're probably safe. We'll need to regroup, hopefully we didn't lose anyone when we scattered. But Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack are still with me, so the plan proceeds with only trivial interruptions: She could nearly see him grin as he said that.
:Trivial. Right.:
:Remember. Think over your options, don't panic, and then just do the best you can.:
:Don't panic. Easier said than done. But I shall try.:
"Luna?" asked Spitfire, looking worried.
Luna blinked, and looked once again at the scene before her. Think over my options. I have only one right now, go forward. "Forgive me, I let my mind wander," she said to the fearful, hopeful pony faces turned towards her. "The only way out is further in, for now at least. Let us be off."
"Almost to the tunnel," whispered Twilight. She shot a silent prayer towards Celestia that the tunnel she'd dug in would still be open, undiscovered.
Behind her eight unicorns and one pegasus tip-hooved through the mine. They went in almost complete darkness, only the faintest of glows coming from their horns. Up ahead Twilight heard a faint sound. She stopped and extinguished her horn light, then peered cautiously around the corner. Up ahead was the hastily-dug tunnel they'd entered by. But standing around it, examining it by the glow of a small lamp, were three diamond dogs.
Twilight bit back a curse. She'd hoped to get clear of the mine before having to fight. But there were ten of them, even if one was Fluttershy and the rest were hardly in peak physical condition. They should be able to take three diamond dogs. All they had to do was get past them.
She turned back to the others. "All right, this is it. There are three dogs at the tunnel entrance. We have to get as many of us as possible past them. If we can take them out that's great, but just getting past them is the main goal. Ready?"
Nine faces, showing varying degrees of fear and determination, nodded.
"Then go!" Twilight spun and led the charge, staying silent as she could, though her hooves were loud on the stone. The diamond dogs turned when she was still some distance away. She hit one with a magical shove, and it tumbled off its feet. The other unicorns were right on her heels. Fancypants even pulled level with her, his horn blazing.
Then out of the little tunnel itself came three more dogs. "Bucking Horseapples!" Twilight swore. There was no way they could fight past all six, and there might be more in the tunnel or at the other end. She skidded to a halt, unicorns piling up behind her. "Retreat!" she shouted, making a split-second decision. Running was the only option that didn't end with them all captured.
"I shall give you time," said Fancypants in a calm voice. "Run swiftly."
Rarity, who had turned to run, halted and turned back. "Fancypants! No!"
Colgate shoved her. "Go Rarity! Go! If we don't get you free this all fails, run!"
Twilight reached the halted pair and shouted, "Come on Rarity! Run!"
Rarity gave Fancypants one last glance. His horn was glowing so brightly it was blinding, and he had set himself in the center of the tunnel, facing the diamond dogs, who were all hesitating, squinting against his brilliant light. Then she turned and ran. Twilight, running at her side, saw tears streaming back from her eyes as she ran.
Twilight was almost in tears herself. They had failed to get out, and now the Diamond Dogs knew that the mine slaves were trying to escape. They would be guarding all the exits! The rebellion was going to fail here, with half the Elements trapped in the mine.
The silence in the mine was eerie. Somewhere outside the Diamond Dogs would be regrouping, having chased the fleeing rebels into the forest. Somewhere deeper in the mine slaves must be working, though they were hopefully now short one white unicorn, if Twilight had been successful. But where Luna and the other pegasi were the only sound was the clopping of their own hooves.
Spitfire was walking next to Luna. The others trailed behind, following the feeble glow of Luna's horn. "Do you think we'll find a way out?" she asked Luna in a low voice.
"Yes. We know there are many exits. It's just a matter of time until we find one." Luna tried to sound confident, though she felt anything but. She was choosing passages at random whenever they came to a fork. She had no idea if they would ever find their way out.
Luna looked over at the mare walking beside her. Spitfire looked horribly nervous. She kept glancing up, at the rocks only a few feet above her head. The ceiling was low here, Luna had to duck from time to time to keep her horn from hitting it. And though Spitfire had plenty of room she sometimes ducked too, and shied for no reason.
"Are you well, Spitfire?" asked Luna.
"Yeah. Yeah, just... I don't like it when I can't see the sky. Buildings are okay, though I'd rather be outside, but this..."
Luna nodded. "Yes. But we should be out soon. Meanwhile... talk to me. Tell me about yourself. How did you come to be at the stable?" Luna hoped that if Spitfire talked she would be distracted from her fear. Phobias could cause irrational panic, and having one of the group break down would be a very bad thing in this situation.
"I was in the Ponyville rebellion. We'd gone there to participate in the Summer Sun Celebration, you know. The Wonderbolts, I mean. I was the captain..." She sighed. "It seems like much more than a year ago. The whole world was different then."
"Were you and Rainbow Dash together back then?" Luna regretted the question as soon as she had asked it. It was nosy, and none of her business.
"No. The battle was the first time I laid eyes on her. And she didn't... we didn't... I got to know her after. In the stables, she did everything she could for us all, even though that wasn't very much. That's what made me admire her. That's what made us all admire her. You notice that the rest of us were reluctant to fly. We'd all decided that we wouldn't, when she was there. Because we respect her. But the battle... I didn't come away from that liking her, no." Spitfire's tone was bitter.
"I am sorry Spitfire," said Luna. "I should not have pried. 'Tis none of my business."
"I dunno, it's kind of a relief to talk about it to somepony. I've spent too much time thinking myself in circles about what happened there."
"Well... if you wish to talk, what did happen? I know only that there was a battle, and that Nightmare Moon's forces won."
"Yeah. I didn't see it all. No one pony could, it was complete chaos. At first we were doing all right. The Shadowbolts look flashy, but they're not actually very good. The Wonderbolts are much, much better, and some of the locals weren't half bad too. Her unicorns had a little bit of an edge, but not much of one, and with the skies in our hooves we were whittling away at it pretty good. And Rainbow... she was everywhere. She pulled a sonic rainboom over the battlefield early on. Knocked the Shadowbolts on their sorry tails, and startled the buck out of me, let me tell you. I'd thought that was just a myth. But she did it. She was so fast. I... I wasn't fast enough."
Spitfire fell silent, and her head dropped. It was some time before she continued. "Soarin... He was like the brother I never had. We were very close. And he was right in the thick of it. When Nightmare Moon entered the fighting herself he caught a bolt in the wing. And he'd been really high up. I saw it... I saw it but I wasn't fast enough to catch him. And Rainbow... she was fast enough, she pulled another boom right after that, she still had enough left, she could have done it, but she didn't. She didn't. And he hit the ground hard. Dead, just like that. Gone, and I wasn't fast enough."
Luna hesitantly gave Spitfire a nuzzle. "I am sorry."
"That's life. Lots of ponies bought it in that fight. Lots more have bought it since. I just... I don't know, some days. If I could change just one thing about how that came out, would I save Rainbow's wings, or Soarin's life, you know? Rainbow is something special, but some days I can't help but still hate her for not saving him. And some days I know she hates me for being able to fly when she can't. I don't think we'll ever make it work. There's too much pain between us."
"Spitfire, I..." Luna suddenly stopped, her head going up, her ears pricked. She heard the clatter of hooves in the distance. And since Dale and the others were all accounted for outside, it was either the mine slaves, or...
"Quickly," she said, "This way," and ran in the direction of the sound. The hoofsteps in the distance grew louder, and up ahead Luna saw a spark of light, shining from the tip of a unicorn's horn. A moment more and she could make out the purple coat, the flying indigo mane. It was Twilight!
Luna's heart leapt, though she knew that was irrational. Seeing Twilight here was a bad thing, she was supposed to have escaped during the chaos of the attack on the front gates. But Luna couldn't help but be glad to see her all the same.
The two groups of ponies, pegasi and unicorns, came together. "Twilight!" said Luna.
"Luna! I'm glad to see you. But aren't you supposed to be outside?"
"We got trapped when the diamond dogs collapsed the ceiling on us."
"Where's everyone else?"
"Outside, most of them ran for it in time, but we were deeper in when it happened."
"They're all right then?"
"We haven't been able to do a head count, but most of them made it. The other elements did, at least."
"Thank Celestia."
"But what about you? You're supposed to be out by now."
"We're trapped." Twilight frowned. "Well and truly trapped, and you with us too. When we got a little distance on the group after us, they stopped even trying to catch us, and I'm afraid that probably means they've sealed all the exits."
Luna had to bite back a stream of very impolite words. How were they supposed to get out now?
A noise in the distance made Luna whip her head around.
"Horseapples." Twilight muttered it under her breath. "They're following us after all, just slowly. We've got to get out of here. But now that you're with us..." She turned to one of the unicorns with her. "Colgate. What's the deepest shaft in this mine? Can we get there without going near any of the exits?"
"The... deepest? That'd be the one where they found all those sapphires, I guess. We dug that one really far down before giving up on it. But why do you want to go deeper?"
"I'll explain on the way, but they're catching up fast, we need to get moving."
"Right. That way then." The blue unicorn pointed, and Twilight took the lead, setting off down the passageway back in the direction Luna had come from.
"Twilight..." Luna ran by Twilight's side. She trusted the purple unicorn, but going deeper seemed like complete insanity.
"Stone insulates magic, right?"
"Yes."
"We can't get out by the regular exits, right?"
"Right."
"But we could use magic to make an exit... if we can keep Nightmare Moon from noticing it. So we need to be deep."
"But we'll have to tunnel to the surface, so going deeper will only make us need more magic."
"Not if we use a portal spell."
"But... but Twilight... you have not cast one before. Are you sure it will work?"
"You've cast several now, why would I need to?"
"Oh dear. Twilight, I used up most of my magic saving us from the cave in. Supporting tons of stone takes a great deal of power. I can barely keep my horn alight. And down here there's no moonlight, I cannot replenish myself."
Twilight looked panicked. "What? But... but... No, let me think this through. There has to be a way! I refuse to give up!" Her brow furrowed with thought as she ran. Colgate directed them through several branchings, and the tunnels they chose began to slope noticeably downward. They were committed now, but Luna had to admit that with the exits guarded there were not many other options. The diamond dogs had them outnumbered and outmaneuvered. Only something unlikely would get them out.
"Aha!" Twilight grinned over at Luna. "The horn-touch! I can transfer magic to you! Uhm." Suddenly she blushed. "If you don't mind. I mean it's... uh... personal I know, but this is an emergency and..."
"I do not mind, Twilight. As you say, it is an emergency." Luna was not going to say what she was thinking, which was that she had been secretly hoping for the chance to touch horns with Twilight again since that first time.
"Great! Thank you."
They ran on, galloping through the tunnels in a clatter of hooves, pegasi and unicorns together in one long string of ponies. The faint sounds of pursuit were always behind them, the diamond dogs were in no hurry, they knew they had their quarry trapped, but they weren't going to give up. The tunnel they followed twisted downward, corkscrewing into the earth.
Ahead an irregular wall loomed. Twilight halted her headlong run just short of it. They had reached a dead-end.
"We're here," said Colgate. "This is the deepest part of the mine."
With everyone halted Luna pricked her ears, listening. The sounds of pursuit were very faint. They should have enough time.
"Luna?" said Twilight.
"Yes." Luna stepped close and touched her horn to Twilight's, trying not to be nervous. She felt the touch of Twilight's soul immediately. It was much like that first time. Twilight was still a bright, lively swirl of thoughts and ideas, strong and intelligent. It was wonderful to feel that brilliant soul touch her own. But Twilight was harder now, with a core of grim determination that was much more a part of her than it had been. Her experiences over the past few weeks had changed her.
Luna tried not to feel guilty for that, and concentrated on pulling the magic she would need. She thought, as the power welled up in her, that she could stay like this forever, just her and Twilight, together. Something in the way Twilight's soul touched hers suggested that Twilight too wished to prolong their contact. But it took only a few seconds before she was finished and, reluctantly, lifted her head, breaking the connection. Twilight looked up at her. Luna looked back. They were both slightly flushed, and it was Luna who looked away first, not willing to face what had passed between them.
"Better cast the spell quick," said Twilight. The barks and shouts of the diamond dogs were growing closer. They didn't have much longer. Luna shut her eyes and started. She hoped Twilight was right and they were deep enough. The shield she'd created earlier had been draining, but not that energetic. But portals were "noisy" spells, they had to be. And nothing could hide the flash of power at the other end when they came out. Still, the worst of it would be right here, a flare that absolutely would draw Nightmare Moon's attention if Twilight was wrong.
Her horn blazed to life and she built the spell quickly. Soon the end of the tunnel was ringed in light, and with a rainbow flash the ring became a sheet became a doorway to elsewhere. The other side was Fluttershy's cave. "Quick, go through!" Some of the ponies hesitated, awed and fearful, but Colgate leaped through and the others quickly followed. Soon only Twilight and Luna were left. "Go," said Luna, and Twilight nodded and followed the rest. And then, with her magic once again nearly spent, Luna followed her, and the portal collapsed behind her.
They had done it.
All they had to do was rendezvous with Dale and the others and all six elements would be together! And then... Fear and eagerness warred within Luna at the realization. Then it would be time to face Nightmare Moon and bring an end to her eternal night. |
SPark | 513 | 9 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2017-02-02T00:54:47+00:00 | 2017-02-02T00:58:22+00:00 | 1,079 | "Take that, you accursed piece of parchment!" The black alicorn's eyes slitted with rage and a bolt of pure magic shot from her horn to the offending document. It sizzled and burned satisfactorily. The dark mare stood on the dais of her throne room, her chest heaving with anger, the burnt spot before her marking yet another of her failures.
"I will do it," she muttered angrily to herself. "I will." She glared at the scorch mark, then hissed out another curse as she realized that her own rage-driven spell had melted some of her beautiful frost. Her slitted eyes flicked up to where the guards flanking the door were carefully not looking in her direction at all. She glared at them for a while, hoping that one would cough, or twitch, or give her some other excuse to vent her rage on him, but neither did. She snorted in frustration and looked out the window instead. Moonlight streamed down onto the city, as always, and she sighed, relaxing a little bit at the sight of her lovely, eternal night.
"I brought the night that never ends. I have brought a winter that never ends too. I defeated my accursed sister. I can certainly master this spell and bring my perfect servants to life. I know I can. It will simply take time, that is all." She nodded to herself. She was the Queen--no, the Goddess of Night. All would come out according to her desires in the end. It always did.
After some time spent contemplating the moonlight she heard the faintest possible scuff of hoof against stone. She turned her head to see one of her Shadowbolts bowed before her throne. She had bowed so low she was practically prostrate, in fact, with her nose pressed to the freezing floor. The alicorn smiled faintly, her ill temper further eased by this display of proper respect. After waiting long enough to be certain the pegasus mare would be half frozen, she spoke.
"You may rise and report."
"Yes, your Majesty." The pegasus got to her feet, but paused to bow again before continuing. "There was an incident at the diamond dog mines yesterday."
"An incident." The alicorn's eyes narrowed. "What kind of incident?"
The pegasus swallowed. Being the bearer of bad news could be fatal, but somepony had to make the report, and she had gotten the short straw. "There was an attack on the mines, and while a group of ponies distracted the guards by pretending a frontal assault, a smaller group tunneled into the mine and freed the unicorn slaves there."
"And how," hissed the alicorn dangerously, "was this feat, which I was assured could not be done, accomplished?"
"The dogs say it was magic, your Majesty. They'd cornered the unicorns trying to escape in the deepest part of the mine, but then they all simply vanished."
"I see. I would not have thought such pathetically weak unicorns would have had the skill to cast such a spell." Her mind flashed to the stables, and the slave ponies slain by magical fire. Could this be more of the same? But who would kill slaves one day and free them the next? At least this time there were witnesses. Perhaps... "I presume the dogs saw enough of the ponies attacking to identify those responsible?"
"They recognized Pinkie Pie and some of her rebels," said the Shadowbolt.
"Ah." That was almost disappointing. Merely another pathetic rebel attack, albeit a more successful one than most. "Perhaps it's time I wiped out Pinkie's little band once and for all. Was there anything else?"
"Yes your Majesty. The dogs said that the distracting attack was lead by an alicorn."
"What?!" The shadowbolt cringed and flattened herself to the floor again. "Describe her!”
"S-she was shorter than you, your majesty," the pegasus was trembling and stammering now. "Her coat was blue, and her hair lighter blue. But her cutie mark was also a crescent moon."
The black alicorn stepped back in stunned silence. Then she screamed, "WHAT?! No! You lie!"
"P-please, your Majesty, I'm only saying what the dogs said. I'm sure they're wrong. They're stupid animals! Please don't kill me!"
For a moment the black alicorn glared at her and considered doing just that. But that would mean delay while she summoned another servant. So the bolt of power that threw the pegasus mare halfway across the room didn't kill her; it just left her stunned and wailing with pain. "Oh shut up," she said, stalking over to the smaller mare. "Get up, go to the captain. Have her take the Shadowbolts to the mines and find out what really happened!"
"All of them, your Majesty?" said the dazed pegasus.
"Yes all of them, you cretin! I want every single diamond dog questioned. I want every scrap of information anyone can find about this blue alicorn. And I want it by tomorrow! Go now, before I decide to kill you after all. If you're not back with the information by next evening star-set I'll have the whole company whipped!"
"Yes your Majesty, right away, your Majesty. Thank you, your Majesty." The pegasus scurried from her presence with remarkable speed.
The black alicorn returned to her throne and settled on it, her face creased with unaccustomed lines of worry. She was very familiar with the alicorn the dogs had described, but that description was an impossibility. The Princess Luna had died the day Nightmare Moon had thrown that name aside to take a new one, and no living pony had ever set eyes on her to know to counterfeit her appearance. No living pony in Equestria, at least. Her eyes narrowed. "Perhaps it's time for me to check in on my dear sister," she murmured.
"We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of our good friend Marie Mare." Pinkie Pie stood on the dais at one end of the room, with the various rebels and freed slaves looking up at her. Pinkie's mane was as bright and fluffy as ever, but her smile held a hint of a deep, aching sadness. She had spoken words like these far too often over the past year. "There is much to celebrate. She was a kind, capable mayor for many years, and when mean ol' Black Snooty came, she was one of the first to stand up to her. She was also my friend, and a friend to a lot of you. So it's okay if we all cry just a little."
She paused, and Twilight, standing among the gathered ponies, saw the sparkle of tears in Pinkie's eyes. "But we should all smile too, and remember all the good things about her. So please, anyone who wants to come and share happy memories, come up and speak."
Twilight stayed where she was while ponies began to file forward. She was once again reminded of how much of an outsider she was here. It would feel presumptuous for her to try to speak. She had not lived through the past year with these ponies, though just now she felt as though it had been a decade or so since she'd stepped through the portal. She tuned out the eulogies and closed her eyes, letting her head sag wearily. She was so very tired. Her head sagged further, then jerked up as she felt a soft touch on her shoulder.
She glanced over to find Luna standing beside her, while all around ponies scattered, the funeral apparently ended. "When did you last sleep, Twilight?" asked Luna. Twilight blinked at her tiredly for a moment.
"Uhm. In Manehattan?"
"You did not rest before we set out to rescue Rarity?"
"No. I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking of things that might go wrong with our plans. I sat up all night thinking up backup plans in case of any possible emergency." She smiled a bit wryly. "Though of course none of those emergencies were anything like what actually went wrong."
"You did well all the same. I am not sure I could have come up with such a plan. And it seems to have worked. Though..." she hesitated. "I know you need sleep, but we cannot rest now. Pinkie has said, and I agree, that we must move from here. It is no longer safe. There is a camp in the forest where we may make our final plans before setting out for Canterlot."
Twilight nodded. A scout had reported seeing a flight of Shadowbolts over the forest near where Luna's portal from the mine had emerged, though thankfully all the rescued ponies had been well away from it by then. But there was no doubt that Nightmare Moon would have reason to cast suspicious eyes on the Everfree Forest, and the castle was far too close to the portal's entrance for them to stay. They had paused only to honor Marie, who'd been killed when the diamond dogs brought down their tunnels, and to gather what supplies they could before leaving. "I'll be all right," she said. "I've stayed up longer than this before, after all."
Luna chuckled softly. "Yes. Though I am told you made a few somewhat... questionable decisions when last you chose to go without sleep."
Twilight managed a small smile. "Well, yes. Still, I can rest once we've reached the new camp, right?"
"Indeed."
Most of the ponies had left the room by now, and Twilight followed, weary to the bone with a tiredness that was as much spiritual as physical. It was easy enough to put one hoof in front of another. It was harder to think about where those hoofsteps would lead. She knew she ought to be feeling excited and confident. They'd done the impossible and gathered all six Elements in one place. Victory was nearly at hand. She tried to focus on that, but her mind kept circling back to dark things. To the funeral, and Marie's death. To all those who had died. To Spike, who she missed intensely, and to her other self, who had failed, and died, and caused all those other deaths. Including Spike's.
Somehow that thought was enough to bring her to the edge of tears. Even though she knew her Spike was alive and well, waiting for her back home, knowing that this Spike was dead, and that this universe's Twilight had lead to that death, made her want to weep. It didn't make sense, but she felt tears gathering in her eyes as she walked all the same.
The walk to the new camp didn't take very long, but with her mind trapped in thoughts of death and failure it seemed like an eternity to Twilight. She was pathetically grateful when they finally arrived and it was time to gather for one last planning session.
She got her notes from her saddlebag, taking comfort from the rustle of paper in her hooves. With everypony else gathering around beneath a giant mushroom she didn't have time to read through them all one last time as she might have liked, but she did smile a little at the top page, where her checklist of the Elements was now complete. Seeing that made her feel just a bit more hopeful. They had come this far, surely they could win!
Once the six elements and Luna had all gathered around, all eyes turned to Twilight. "So what's the plan?" asked Rainbow Dash
"Now we need to get us six in front of Nightmare Moon."
"So we get to storm the castle!" said Pinkie Pie exuberantly.
Twilight smiled a little. "Yes."
"That will not be easy," said Rarity with a frown.
"Have you been inside the castle since Nightmare Moon took over?" asked Twilight. "I used to live there, but I'm sure she's changed things."
"Yes. My trial, after I was caught aiding badgeless ponies in Canterlot, was there. Though I didn't see Nightmare Moon herself. I think the largest problem is going to be getting in the front gate. They do generally keep the drawbridge down, but there are always at least four guards stationed there, the whole thing is wrapped in a dozen protective spells, and there's also the dragon."
"Dragon!" That was Applejack. "We're goin' ta have ta fight a dragon?"
"Oh no, no, it's not like that!" said Rarity reassuringly. "Why the little thing could hardly hurt a filly, it's just a baby. But the guards use it to send messages instantly to each other with dragon's fire. The captain of the Black Corps will know as soon as we assault the gate, and he can coordinate the defenses. We'll have half the Corps right on top of us before we can get across the drawbridge!"
Twilight had barely heard anything Rarity had said after the words "just a baby". She felt like she'd been hit between the eyes. "Wait... what did this baby dragon look like?"
"He had purple scales and green spines. Quite a handsome little fellow, for a dragon. Though he kept staring at me rather strangely the whole time I was at the gatehouse."
Twilight felt her heart jump. That had to be Spike! He was alive! She tried to gather her scattered wits. They needed to plan. Spike being alive didn't change anything. But it changes everything, whispered some part of her. She shook herself. No, she couldn't let this sidetrack her from the plans they needed to make!
Luna thankfully stepped in. "So. Our challenges are the guards, the protective spells, and the messages that will summon more guards. I think, actually, that none of those will pose much of a problem. Our only goal is to get you six to the throne room. Secrecy will not matter, nor will much else. I believe if I summon my full power I can easily dispel any wards, neutralize any guards, and prevent the dragon from summoning help. Of course the instant I do, Nightmare Moon will know we are there, but within minutes we can be at the throne room, and it will not matter what she knows."
Twilight managed to pull herself together. "Yes," she said. "If you can clear a path for us, we can run straight from the gate to the throne room in only seven minutes." She smiled. "I've, uhm, had reason to run that path as fast as possible a few times when I was a student."
"Then we have our plan," said Luna, sounding satisfied. There was a general murmur of agreement from the others. Looking across their faces, Twilight saw a certain amount of apprehension, but mostly she saw determination. She felt her heart lift to see it. Her friends were with her. They could do this. And Spike might be alive after all. Surely that was a good omen.
As the other ponies settled in to sleep, Twilight found herself still thinking about Spike. Was he happy? Did the guards treat him well? What would he think if he saw her? Did he know that his Twilight Sparkle was dead, or had she simply gone away and never come back?
And what if it wasn't Spike? There were other dragons in the world. There could be some other young purple dragon at the castle. Maybe Spike was still dead after all.
Twilight rolled over restlessly. It was still cold and her blanket was somewhat inadequate, but she was tired enough she should have been able to sleep soundly. It was thoughts of Spike that were keeping her up. No matter how she tried to still her mind, she couldn't keep it from running through dozens of scenarios. Spike chained to the wall in the castle, starving and miserable. Spike lying dead somewhere. Spike waiting home alone for a pony who would never return. Spike crying over her death.
Finally she gave up on sleep for the moment and rose. The blue unicorn stallion standing watch, whose name she couldn't recall, nodded at her but didn't ask questions as she made her way to a spot far enough into the mushroom grove to not wake anypony. She started to pace back and forth. It must be Spike that Rarity had seen. He'd even stared at her, no doubt stunned by her beauty, as the Spike of her own world had been. But maybe it wasn't. Maybe he was still dead. Maybe Rarity had some certain something that appealed to dragons in general. For all Twilight knew it was another dragon, thinking about his dinner as he stared at the gems on Rarity's flank!
She paced faster, her mind racing around and around on the same track. Spike alive. Spike dead. Spike alive. Spike dead. Spike alive. Spike dead. Like some kind of Schrodinger's dragon, she thought, half-crazed, her eyes a little wild.
"Maybe I have to collapse the wave form then!" She stopped pacing and stood, shifting uncertainly, as the idea she hadn't even meant to speak aloud spread through her mind. If she could just know whether Spike was alive or not... Suddenly she knew exactly how Applejack must have felt back in Manehattan. She had to know. But that was crazy! She couldn't just scry here. Even if she had water to scry in, using unicorn magic in the Everfree would get her noticed, possibly caught, and ruin everything.
She started pacing again. Surely there was a solution? Surely she should be able to think of something. If she wasn't anywhere near her friends... and Nightmare Moon had failed to notice short duration magic before, hadn't she? She could cast the spell swiftly, and then teleport away. That would be safe enough, wouldn't it?
Before she even realized she'd decided, she started trotting further from the camp, in the direction of the ruins of Ponyville. When she'd put a fair distance between herself and the camp she teleported ahead. Teleportation, or winking as the art had been called in ancient times, was line of sight. In open space that meant one could go a great distance, but in the forest it was more limited. Still it moved her faster than her hooves alone could have.
Soon she arrived at Ponyville. The fountain at the center still held some brackish water, and though frost rimmed the edges of it, and it was choked with decaying matter and fungal growths, a patch was free of ice and smooth enough to scry in. She cast the by now familiar spell swiftly... but the water stayed empty. Twilight frowned, then smacked herself in the forehead with a hoof. Of course it wasn't going to work; she'd tried to scry Spike before and failed. "I really do need to sleep, I'm not thinking clearly," muttered Twilight. What had Luna said? If a scrying spell didn't find somebody, it meant they were either dead or... or... surrounded by powerful magic, that was it. And Spike was living in Canterlot. Right at the palace itself. Of course he was surrounded by magic. Perhaps Nightmare Moon had even bound him in some kind of spell to force him to serve her...
Twilight's eyes went up, to where she could see Canterlot itself, far off in the distance. The moon was still brilliant overhead, and the light was more than bright enough for her to see the palace clinging the peak above the city.
Spike was at the gatehouse.
Which Twilight could just make out in the distance.
A straight line of sight.
There was a feverish light in Twilight's eyes as she stared at the spot where Spike surely must be. Surely. But perhaps not. He might be dead. And she had to know!
She knew it was insane. Somewhere under the froth of worry and fear, she knew that.
But all she could think of was Spike. Spike dead. Spike alive. Spike dead. Spike alive.
Twilight stood staring across the miles at the tiny speck of the palace gatehouse for a long, long moment.
Then her horn lit and she winked out of existence.
With a flash of magic, Twilight Sparkle appeared on the road in front of the gatehouse. It hadn't really been built for defense; before Nightmare Moon had taken over the simple structure had provided an antechamber before ponies entered the palace proper. It was still structurally the same, and the doors still stood open, almost as if in mockery of Celestia's policy that anypony could gain access at any time, but they were now flanked by a pair of stern, black-armored unicorn guards. More could be seen inside the door, where across the modest chamber a second, closed, pair of doors lead into the palace proper.
The guardsponies' horns glowed, both leveled threateningly at Twilight. She, however, completely ignored them, peering into the chamber beyond, scanning among the ponies for a glimpse of purple and green scales.
She spotted Spike at the exact same time he spotted her. He stood among the guards, seemingly free and unfettered. Twilight had nearly expected to find him chained to a wall, or wearing a magical collar, or bearing some other restraint, but there was no sign of any such. He looked sleek and well-fed as well, and Twilight felt a shock, and then a second shock as she realized how much it had hurt, seeing all her friends so abused. She smiled, a tear starting in her eye, to see Spike looking so well.
Spike continued to stare at her for a long moment. Then he said softly, disbelievingly, "Twilight?"
"Yes, it's me," said Twilight.
One of the unicorns flanking the gate turned to Spike. "You know this mare?" he asked.
Spike nodded, and Twilight was puzzled to see his expression harden into one of grim determination. "Yes," he said, his voice rough with... anger? "I know her. This is the traitor Twilight Sparkle. Arrest her!"
Twilight felt as though the world had dropped out from under her hooves. "W-what?" she stammered, even as the unicorn guards ran to tackle her, their horns flaring with magic. She knew some basic combat spells, she should have been able to fight at least some of them off, but she was so stunned that all she could do was stand there as their magic enveloped her.
She was still staring at Spike as the guards clapped manacles around her hooves and dragged her away.
Luna seldom needed sleep. After all they had done, however, and with the prospect of seeing Nightmare Moon tomorrow, she had felt she needed a full night's worth. Not that "a full night" had any meaning anymore.
So she woke feeling rested and energized, though once more she felt an ache to wake in darkness. How she missed the sun!
She turned to find Twilight, but there was no sign of her. Other ponies were stirring around her, though most still slept. She rose, a flash of concern running through her. Twilight had looked so strung-out and exhausted that Luna had expected to find her still asleep. If she was awake already had something gone wrong?
Pinkie Pie was up, and when Luna approached her she was greeted with a cheer that seemed to indicate no disaster had fallen during the night. "Good morning! Not that it's really morning since there's no sunlight, but there will be sunlight soon, I just know it! Nightmare Snooty is going down!"
Luna smiled at Pinkie's enthusiasm. "Have you seen Twilight yet?"
"Nope. No sign of her."
Luna frowned. "She was already awake when you arose?"
"I guess so." Pinkie frowned too. "That isn't right, is it? She looked so tired, she should still be sawing big ol' logs."
"That was my thought as well."
"I'll go look for her."
"As will I." Ponies were getting up and making breakfast preparations in the moonlight all around, and Luna circled the group three times, meeting Pinkie Pie again several times as she did so, before concluding that Twilight Sparkle wasn't merely unnoticed amid the milling ponies, but actually gone. She felt a whisper of fear that might spill over into a scream of terror at any moment. Twilight couldn't be gone. They needed her, or everything they'd done so far would be in vain.
A pale shape glimpsed out of the corner of her eye was Dale. The big stallion nosed her gently. "It'll be all right. We'll find her," he said.
"I hope so," said Luna.
Pinkie Pie bounded up to her. "Pokey Pierce saw her get up and go out into the woods a little after midnight," said Pinkie.
"Why would she do such a thing?" asked Luna.
"Dunno!"
Luna's wings twitched, and she spent a moment carefully refolding them, trying to cling to her composure. Very well. Twilight had gone off into the forest for some reason. They had to find her. "Can anypony track her?"
"No." Pinkie looked more sober than usual as she shook her head. "Tracking in this mess of mushrooms and dead leaves and rotting things is nearly impossible. That's been good for us, usually but... no."
"I see. Very well."
Luna took a deep breath. She would not panic. She would not panic. So they could not track Twilight physically. They would have to track her magically. And since she still could not simply cast a spell that would run continuously, such as the spell that would trace Twilight's track, she would have to resort to scrying. Again.
"Pinkie... get everypony ready to go. I will go find Twilight. We'll head out to Canterlot as soon as I return."
"Okey dokey lokey!" said Pinkie Pie.
Luna set off at a gallop away from the camp. Best not to cast the spell amid the ponies, lest she attract Nightmare Moon's attention before they were ready. The nearest standing water she could think of was in Ponyville and so, unknowingly, she retraced Twilight Sparkle's steps to the choked fountain at the heart of the town. Dale ran beside her, a reassuring but silent presence.
She felt the faint traces of magic around the still puddle when she arrived, and something about that made her heart sink. If Twilight had come here to scry, what had she been looking for? What could have happened in the night to change all her plans?
Luna cast the scrying spell and peered into the water, hoping for answers.
It remained empty.
Something in her stomach tightened. She tried again. Still, nothing.
A third try, with more power behind it, and Luna thought she saw a brief flicker of something. She gathered all her power to her and cast the spell once more, throwing everything short of the moon itself into it. Her horn blazed with light, and the water glowed with brilliant fury. Twilight was alive and Luna would find her!
Suddenly a scene burst into view at the center of the daylight-bright puddle. It was Twilight, alive! But her hooves were chained together and she was shuffling between a pair of black-clad guards.
Even as Luna's heart leapt in relief she felt something brush against her magic. A touch both familiar and alien at once. Instantly Luna cut off the spell and threw up every kind of shield and hiding spell she could think of.
"Quick, run for the forest!" she cried. Some physical strike might be reaching out at any moment. She thought she might have dropped the spell and shielded herself swiftly enough to keep Nightmare Moon from scrying her in return, but she knew she couldn't prevent her darker self from finding the location she'd cast the spell at, even if she couldn't find the caster. It was time to move, and fast.
They raced through the deserted town and into the forest beyond. Rotten logs broke beneath their hooves, their hearts pounded, their breath came in gasps as they sprinted as fast as they could.
Suddenly behind them there was a thundering boom. Purple-green light flashed as a bolt of magic stabbed down from the star-strewn sky. Luna glanced back, and though she couldn't see it through the trees she suspected that there was now a smoking crater at the heart of Ponyville.
She slowed to a trot, and Dale slowed as well. "Now what?" he asked.
Luna frowned, and that thread of panic returned. Twilight was alive, but Twilight wasn't here. Twilight had made all their plans, and now all those plans had gone right out the window! They couldn't just charge into Canterlot now. They would need time to find Twilight and bring her and the other Elements to wherever Nightmare Moon was. How would they buy that time? Luna might fight off Nightmare Moon herself for a while, but could just a few dozen ponies battle all of her guards long enough? Pinkie's rebels were hardened and experienced, but they made up only about a third of their force. The freed slaves were willing but not as able. They wouldn't stand a chance on their own. What was she supposed to do?
"You'll think of something," said Dale, answering her thought as he sometimes did.
"Will I? Twilight is the one who has planned all this so far. I..."
"You have planned many things in your life."
"But nothing like this. I have planned experiments. I have planned social gatherings. I have never planned a desperate rescue attempt. Every time I have needed to do something truly important, somepony else has planned it. Usually Celestia. Every time except..." She halted, shivering. She had planned Celestia's defeat and her revenge on her own. This horrible world of dark and decay was the direct result of that particular plan.
"You are not her," Dale said softly.
"I know. And yet I was. For so very, very long, I was. I know too well how she thinks, Dale. 'Tis so easy to know what she will do. Yet that does not tell me what I must do now!"
"What would Twilight Sparkle do?"
Luna blinked. Then she smiled just a little. "Make a list, no doubt."
"Then let's go make a list. And you can ask Pinkie Pie as well. She probably knows a good bit by now about desperate attempts."
Luna nodded and increased her pace. Yes, she would ask Pinkie Pie. And she might even make a list as well.
Back at the camp Luna saw that the ponies were ready to leave. She swiftly found Pinkie Pie and explained that Twilight had been captured.
"Oh, cupcakes! That's not good. That's the total and complete in every way opposite of good!"
"Indeed. I do not know how best to proceed, Pinkie. The plan Twilight created for our assault relied on speed. I would occupy Nightmare Moon whilst your ponies helped the elements run to the throne room and destroy her. Yet now we must first find Twilight! She must be within the palace complex, for who else could have captured her? Yet the palace is large, and the catacombs within the mountain larger still! How can we gain the time to locate her? While I might fight Nightmare Moon to a standstill and buy as much time as needed from her, you and your ponies could not hold out against her guards for long."
"Not alone we can't," began Pinkie. She was grinning suddenly. "But if we had a little friend in our corner..."
Luna blinked at her. "A little friend?"
"Yep! And I know just the guy! I've been saving him for a special occasion. I figured someday I could bring him to the palace, when there was nothing left to lose and hay, why not, right? Then you and Twilight changed my plans, and your way was lots better than that! But now, well... we have nothing left to lose, don't we? We get Twilight back and Black Snooty goes poof, or we don't and everything is mushrooms and darkness forever and ever and ever."
"I... uh..." Luna had no idea what Pinkie had just said.
"Come on! I'll show you," said Pinkie.
An hour later they were back at the ruined palace, but they didn't go to the old throne room this time, nor to the chamber of the Elements. Instead Pinkie Pie led the way down to the ravine that lay between the palace and the Everfree forest. There was a narrow path that wound down to the base of it, and there, in the near-pitch blackness, there was a door. "It's super-secret," said Pinkie Pie. "It goes into the basement, but you can't get there from the palace anymore, the stairs fell in a loooong time ago."
Luna nodded. She remembered the basement entrance, though in her day a spell had hidden the door.
Inside it was so dark that Luna had to light the smallest possible spark of magic at the tip of her horn to show the way. Pinkie guided them down a passageway carved from living rock. Behind her came Luna, and Dale and Big Macintosh followed. Pinkie had insisted that both big stallions come along, saying cryptically that they'd be needed.
After several minutes they emerged into a larger space. The dim light didn't show it very clearly, but Luna could just make out a stack of crates in the middle of the room. She followed Pinkie over to them.
Pinkie reached out and caressed one of them with a hoof. "Here we go! Say hello to my little friend! His name is Trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene, meet Luna."
Luna blinked at the boxes, and for a moment the long word Pinkie had used was meaningless. Then she saw the much more familiar letters stamped on the side of each crate and her eyes went wide.
"Is that..."
"It most definitely and indubitably is!" Pinkie's grin was as broad as Luna had ever seen it, and her hoof once more, with loving tenderness, caressed the crate of TNT.
Today's exciting news: the final chapter of this story is written! I just have to run it by my co-author. So this *will* keep coming out until it's all done, no more pauses.
Also, just FYI, I have a Patreon for writing now, so if you'd like things like early access to story chapters and the ability to submit ideas for me to write, check it out. |
SPark | 513 | 10 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2017-03-06T21:42:37+00:00 | 2017-03-06T21:42:36+00:00 | 1,027 | “Derpy, go,” whispered Pinkie.
The blonde pegasus nodded solemnly and took to the air, racing ahead of the little band of rebels. In one hoof she held a stick of explosive, in the other a match. She didn't have far to go. While the rest waited amid the buildings that stood nearest the palace, Derpy crossed the last few yards to the palace gate itself. A pair of wary guards stood outside it. They looked at her with narrowed eyes. The gate itself still stood open, though the inner door was closed.
“Halt!” said one unicorn.
Derpy landed on her hind legs, still clutching the TNT and the match.
“What are you...” started one guard.
“Muffins!” said Derpy cheerfully, holding up the stick of dynamite. She struck the match, lit the fuse, and flung the stick as hard as she could. It hit the inner door with a thud and fell to the floor. The guards all gaped at it for a long moment, but before they could do anything else it exploded.
The sound was the signal for Pinkie and the others to charge. Luna took the lead, her horn blazing. The dynamite had cracked the physical doors, but there were spells to crack as well. She swept them aside with ease. There was no need to save her power now, for at last she would be able to draw on the full might of the moon at need.
She clattered through the debris-strewn guardroom, trying to not look too closely at what was there. The dynamite had not just shattered the doors, it had shattered the guards as well.
The other ponies were close on her heels, but as they made their way through into the palace proper one of the guards, blood-spattered and with a mad light in his eyes, rose from the floor and leaped at the little band, horn aglow. With a battle cry, the nearest rebel unicorn met him horn to horn. Luna, glancing back, was a bit shocked to see that it was Jet Set, who'd done nothing but complain and whine the entire time he'd been with them. He wasn't complaining now though. His horn blazed, and his hooves lashed out at the guardspony, but he was still thin and weak, as all the mine unicorns were. He was soon being pushed back.
The rest of the rebels were still running past him, but another unicorn came up beside him and stabbed the guard in the throat with sudden, shocking efficiency. It was Colgate, her horn now stained bright crimson. “Come on, we can't get bogged down here. Keep moving!”
Soon all the rebels were inside. They halted for a moment, looking at the huge reception room, with stairs going up, doors leading to halls, and archways letting out into the frozen gardens.
“Pinkie!” said Luna, taking charge. “The stairs will lead to the throne room. One of the doors over there,” she gestured,” goes down into the catacombs, where Twilight is likely to be held. You go that way. Everyone else, fan out and cause as much chaos as you can. We only need to keep everypony here distracted until we find Twilight and get the elements to the throne room.”
“Right!” Pinkie Pie bounced with a kind of fierce excitement.
“And whatever you do, you five stick together!” said Luna. Then she was off, horn aglow as she dashed towards the distant throne room.
“Okie Dokie!” said Pinkie Pie. “Let's go!” She galloped towards one of the doors, with Fluttershy close at her side. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash streamed behind, with Spitfire and a few more of the former pegasus slaves trailing after.
Dale and Big Mac, standing with the remaining rebels in the middle of the room, exchanged glances. Dale jerked his head to the left. Big Mac nodded and turned to the right. They each still bore their saddlebags stuffed with explosives. Derpy, grinning a manic grin, the effect only enhanced by the way her eyes wandered independently, swooped down to Dale's side. “Let's go... buck up their muffins, shall we,” Dale asked her with a smile.
Derpy nodded enthusiastically and the pair set off, with a few more rebels in tow, to cause whatever chaos they could.
“Nightmare! I caught the traitor, Twilight Sparkle. The one that caused all this!”
Nightmare Moon’s head snapped up. A killing spell hovered at the tip of her horn, for whoever had dared to interrupt her vitally important work on the ice pony. Then she saw that it was Spike, the little dragon. He was something of a pet project, or perhaps just a pet, and she did not want to throw away the work she had put into him thus far. She stayed her hoof and dismissed the spell’s energies rather than casting it.
“What did you say?”
“Twilight Sparkle! I caught her trying to get into the palace!”
Her eyes narrowed. Two dead mares in one evening? “Have her brought here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Spike, and with a ridiculous little salute he scurried out of the room.
When he returned some time later he was followed by a pair of unicorn guards, who flanked a single unicorn mare. A single, impossible unicorn mare, for she was unmistakably Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's prized student, who had opposed her so valiantly and so stupidly when she'd first returned.
“No,” said Nightmare Moon, madness and rage flashing over her face. “No! You're dead! I killed you myself!”
“Wh-what?” Spike stammered incredulously. “But Nightmare, you told me... you told me she betrayed Celestia, summoned you back, and then ran away. She abandoned Equestria. She... you...”
“Shut up!” said Nightmare Moon. She stalked down from the dais, ignoring the suddenly anguished and confused little dragon who scurried aside just before she would have trampled him. Nose to nose with Twilight, Nightmare Moon snarled at her. “You can't be here! You can't be alive! What is going on?”
Suddenly a distant, muffled explosion sounded. Nightmare Moon's head snapped up. Then she gasped. “That magic! No! It can't be!”
Twilight, who'd been just standing there, dazed, confused, unfocused, suddenly lifted her head. Luna and the others. It must be. They'd come for her. She smiled.
Nightmare Moon turned back to her, her teeth bared in a snarl. “You're going to tell me what is going on. You are impossible. The magic I sense is impossible. The things I've been told, all impossible! Tell me!”
“No,” said Twilight simply.
“Fine. Your cooperation is not required.” Nightmare Moon's mane, a dark cloud shimmering with magic, reached out and wrapped around Twilight, dragging her across the room. In her anger, the alicorn didn't even care that she was marring her beautiful frost; no more than she'd cared about ruining her careful cultivation of Spike. She was far too enraged, and it was better to act on that rage than to face the fear bordering on terror that lurked beneath it.
She flung Twilight down roughly beside the throne and fastened her chains to a ring there (a feature that had been added since she had taken this place from her sister). To the unicorns that had brought Twilight in she barked a quick command. “Go! And find out what is going on!” They instantly obeyed, leaving only the two usual guards flanking the door, and Spike, who still stood in the middle of the room, staring at Twilight in blank shock.
Nightmare Moon glared at him. “Out!”
“But I...”
“OUT!” Her horn lit, and Spike immediately scurried toward the door.
“Now,” said Nightmare Moon, advancing on Twilight with her horn aglow, “You will explain what in Tirek's name is happening!”
Twilight's horn lit in defiance. “No.” she said again, flatly.
“You little...!”
“Pardon my intrusion, but I believe I am the one you should be interrogating.”
Nighmare Moon whipped around, her mouth opening to chastise whoever would dare to interrupt her, but she stopped, gaping, at the sight of Luna standing in the doorway. Luna stood tall and defiant, and though she still felt a flutter of fear in the pit of her stomach, nothing of that showed in her face. Her horn blazed with shimmering magic, sparkles of it hovering around her like the stars on a moonlit night. Her cutie mark too seemed almost to glow, and her coat in contrast was the deep color of the sky just before the first hint of sunrise.
Twilight, looking at her, felt her heart leap. In that moment Luna was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. “Luna!” she cried, her eyes shining.
“Twilight,” said Luna.
“No! You are both dead! DEAD!” thundered Nightmare Moon.
Luna laughed suddenly. “I live. It is you who should be dead. You never should have lived at all. You were a terrible mistake--one that I shall rectify posthaste!” With that she leaped forward, galloping across the room. Nightmare Moon charged to meet her.
They met in the center of the room, horn to horn, with a crash that seemed to reverberate to the very foundations of the castle itself.
Dale trotted down a corridor. The palace was full of such magnificent halls, hung with tapestries or lined in stained glass windows. Quite a few of the windows were shattered where he and his troop had passed. He'd gotten separated from most of the other rebels; the only ones with him now were Derpy Hooves and Pokey Pierce, one of Pinkie's unicorns.
“Muffin,” declared Derpy, in this case probably meaning she was going to scout a bit ahead, for she soared down the long hall, while Dale and Pokey trailed behind.
“Do you know why... uh...” Dale turned to Pokey hesitantly, his curiosity finally overcoming his manners.
“Why she only says muffin?”
“Yes.”
“Nopony knows why muffin specifically, but... I think it's because of what happened during the battle of Ponyville. She lost her daughter. Nopony on either side was targeting foals, but these things happen. She's never been the same since then. I mean, she was always a little odd, her eyes were always like that and she had quite a few other little quirks. But she could talk like anyone else. After she found her daughter though, well... muffin is all I've heard her say since.”
“Oh. I'm sorry.”
Pokey shrugged. “Everypony’s lost somepony, I think. I just hope that your Luna can really beat Nightmare Moon and end all this.”
“She can,” said Dale confidently. Even now he could feel, through the connection, that battle had been joined. There was no fear in Luna any more; she was holding her own. That was all she had to do; just hold her own long enough for Pinkie Pie and the others to find Twilight...
“Muffin!” shouted Derpy in warning, soaring back towards them. Behind her the sound of clattering hooves heralded another squad of guards.
“Time for some kaboom,” said Pokey with a grin. His horn lit and he lofted a stick of TNT from Dale's saddlebags to Derpy.
“Muffin,” she chirped affirmatively, and Pokey's magic flared again as he lit the fuse, even as Derpy was racing towards the oncoming foe, a squad of Black Corps unicorns. She hurled the stick and flapped madly to a halt in mid-air. It landed in the middle of the squad and exploded in the same instant. She'd gotten very good at timing the fuses so that the enemy had no time to throw the stick back.
When the deafening boom faded, the hall was still not silent, for it was now filled with the screams of wounded and dying unicorns. Grimly Dale and Pokey waded in among them. The downed ponies were mostly too shocked and injured to do much magic, and the two stallions made short work of them. They left red hoofprints as they continued down the hall, but the blood soon dried, adding to a knee-high coat of rust they both wore. The little trio had become all too expert at killing the enemy, earth pony Night Guard and unicorn Black Corps alike.
“I wonder why we haven't see any pegasi yet?” mused Pokey as they went.
Dale shrugged. “I'm just as glad. This would be harder if they could come at us from above.”
“Yeah. They're probably away on some mission or other.”
“Probably. I just hope they stay away long enough.”
“Muffin!” came a shout from ahead, and the two stallions broke into a run. Time to fight again.
“This maze is worse than the mines,” said Rarity, her horn lit with a spark of magic. The twisting corridors that lay beneath the palace were only occasionally illuminated by torches. They were also sometimes illuminated by windows cut into the rock, showing that the halls were carved into the mountain itself, running along its slopes for what seemed like miles in every direction. She was leading the way now, with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack close behind. A little further back, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash walked side by side. Their heads were together in low conversation, the pair in a world of their own, not really paying attention to the other ponies.
“What are we going to do, when this is all over, Dash?” said Spitfire softly.
“What do you mean?”
“I don't know. I just wonder if we really can make things work. With Nightmare Moon gone the world will be a happier place. But it won't undo everything that’s happened.”
Rainbow Dash glanced back for a moment at her scarred sides. “Maybe now isn't the time for this,” said said, sounding somewhat irritated.
“Maybe. But this fighting... it just keeps reminding me of Ponyville. I keep remembering Soarin.”
Rainbow scowled. “Soarin, Soarin, Soarin. Enough of Soarin, Spitfire. Maybe it's time for you to get over him already.”
Spitfire glared at Rainbow. “You don't just 'get over' losing somepony close to you.”
“And just how close was he, Spitfire? He seems to be all you ever think about. Do you think about him when you're banging me, is that how 'close' you were?”
“What?! You know he was like a brother to me, Rainbow! And if I need to get over him, maybe you need to get over your wings already! Earth ponies and unicorns manage just fine without them. You aren't a cripple, and it's not the end of the world that you can't fly!” She was no longer quiet, and she wasn't walking anymore either. She and Rainbow halted in the middle of the hall and shouted at each other, while the other ponies looked on in shock.
“That's easy for you to say!” Tears were in Rainbow Dash's eyes, even while they were narrowed with rage. “You still can--you still have the sky! You don't know what it's like to lose that! You can't know! Nopony can!” She turned suddenly and fled down a side corridor.
“Oh buck,” said Spitfire.
“Oh no! Dashie, come back!” called Fluttershy. But Rainbow was already long gone. Even on foot she was very fast.
“We need her!” Pinkie Pie scowled at Spitfire.
“Buck it. I'll go catch her,” said Spitfire. Her wings blurred into motion and she shot down the side passage, faster than any of the others could run.
“Now what?” said Applejack.
Pinkie Pie sighed. “It won't do any good to find Twilight if we don't have Rainbow Dash. So now we just have to wait, and hope she comes back soon.”
“Uhm. Not to rain on your parade, but ah don't think we'll get that luxury, Pinkie,” said Applejack. “Listen.”
They all fell silent for a moment. In the hall behind them came a faint echoing sound of hoofsteps. A lot of hoofsteps.
“Celestia-bucking strudel!” swore Pinkie in frustration. “More guards! Run!” She galloped down the path that Rainbow Dash had taken earlier, the others close on her heels. As she ran, tears gathered in her eyes and streamed back along her face. They couldn't find Twilight. Rainbow Dash was gone. The plan was falling apart and if it failed they would have no second chances. Nightmare Moon would reign forever.
Mwa ha ha ha ha! Yes, I am evil for ending the chapter there. We're finally getting to the bits that I've been eagerly anticipating since I thought all this up back after season 1. There are three more chapters and an epilogue left, and you are all in for one wild ride, lemme tell you.
P.S. I do have a Patreon now. If you want to support me in writing more like this, consider becoming a patron. |
SPark | 513 | 11 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2017-04-03T22:42:20+00:00 | 2017-04-03T22:42:20+00:00 | 967 | The center of the throne room was incandescent with magic. Twilight had to squint to make out the two dark forms, one a little larger than the other, that jostled back and forth within it. The guards had all fled the room, unwilling to stay in the face of such overwhelming power. Twilight couldn't see Spike either, and presumed he too had fled. Only she remained, chained to the floor and unable to leave, to watch the two alicorns do battle.
Suddenly the magic flickered and dimmed. Both alicorns stepped back, panting. That they were evenly matched in raw power was hardly a surprise; neither would be able to wear the other down, either, with the moon's near-limitless energy replenishing them both. So it would come down to technique, finesse, and strategy. Simply battering each other with raw power would accomplish nothing.
Luna's eyes flickered away from her opponent to Twilight, who, she suddenly realized, was very obviously not in the dungeons to be found by Pinkie Pie and the others. She had just enough time to send a swift mental message to Dale, :Find Pinkie Pie! Tell her to come to the throne room, Twilight is here!: before Nightmare Moon, also realizing that raw power would get her nowhere, lit her horn again to cast a spell.
A raging ball of flame shot at Luna, and Luna actually laughed. The same spell, the exact same spell, that she had first thought of the very first time she had practiced dueling with Celestia! She drew the cold of the room itself around her and sucked the energy from the fireball before it had even touched her shields, then formed it into a storm of ice darts that she flung back at Nightmare Moon.
Nightmare Moon raised a spherical shield and the darts shattered against it. She laughed. “Ice, little Luna? I will show you what ice can do!” She beat her wings and wind whirled through the chamber, picking up the frost that had coated it. The fragments of ice joined into a flock of winged, coiling ice dragons.
Luna smiled. Showy, but it was still just ice. Her own shield was ready, and it was not a simple physical barrier. It was a layered construct that Celestia had taught her containing many different magics... including elemental power. It was simplicity itself for Luna to activate the fiery layer and direct its energies outward. The dragons began to melt even before they touched the shield, and those that contacted it directly didn't just melt, they sizzled, exploding into steam.
Nightmare Moon snarled as her dragons melted away, but before she could cast another spell Luna activated another part of the shield, one that made it not quite strictly a shield at all. Lightning crackled out from the orb surrounding her, striking Nightmare Moon, who had not expected offensive magic from a shield bubble. She shrieked in rage, her horn blazing with powerful magic, and the room suddenly shook. The whole palace itself, in fact, trembled, windows shattering and decorations falling from the walls.
The floor heaved up, and the marble paving stones and the plainer rock beneath flowed together into a great, hulking shape. The roughly-molded earth elemental looked more or less like a pony, and it reared up and brought both front hooves down to trample Luna. They met her shield in a blinding shower of sparks, but the shield held. The elemental reared again, pounding relentlessly on the barrier. In the background Nightmare Moon, her horn still blazing as her power kept the creature animated, laughed in triumph.
Luna smiled. The shield spell was a cast spell, not an active enchantment. She needed power to activate certain parts of it, but to hold against simple physical force required nothing further of her. She was free to use her magic to form a better counter.
Wind whirled in through the open windows and formed a dust devil in the center of the room. It picked up bits of crumbled stone as it grew and grew. Soon a whirlwind raged there, engulfing the whole chamber. Nightmare Moon was forced to raise shields of her own, diminishing the power she could feed to her creature. The wind, too, tore at it, pulling chunks from it, throwing sand against it and abrading it, gradually tearing it to pieces.
Twilight Sparkle watched this with wide eyes, fascinated by the chance to see what was quite possibly the greatest magical duel Equestria had seen in a thousand years. She had quite sensibly raised a simple shield spell over herself early on. It would not begin to hold against the full force of any of the magic being flung back and forth at the center of the room, but she was all the way at the back, to one side of the throne, and so only had to worry about the fringes of some of the effects.
Her fascination, however, was tempered with fear. That was Luna there. Luna her friend. Luna she stargazed with. Luna who had been by her side through all the horrors of this long night. She was holding her own, but for how long?
Luna herself felt no doubts. Fear had vanished in the instant that battle had been joined. The longer the battle went on, the more confident she became. Nightmare Moon's magic was powerful, but simplistic. The elemental had been a startling touch, but it was still based almost entirely on brute force. There was no finesse in anything she was doing.
Nightmare Moon suddenly dropped the spell keeping the elemental moving, letting it scatter into its component pieces. She snarled at Luna, though Luna couldn't hear if she said anything amid the raging wind. Then, suddenly, she seemed to vanish.
Luna let the storm go, the howling wind fading to silence, the debris falling to the torn floor of the throne room. She looked around, but there was no sign at all of Nightmare Moon.
Spitfire raced through the dim halls beneath the palace. She followed the sound of clattering hooves, though soon she caught a glimpse of a rainbow tail vanishing around a corner ahead. She would have caught up some time ago, but the twisting path Rainbow Dash was following meant she had to repeatedly slow to go around corners without hitting the walls.
Still she was gaining. Two more corners and she was almost on top of Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash! Slow down! Please! Your friends need you!”
“Leave me alone!”
Spitfire gritted her teeth and flew a little bit faster. She felt her feathers clip a wall as she rounded yet another corner and almost lost control, but she didn't slow down; she had to catch Rainbow Dash!
Ahead, moonlight glowed through an archway, and a moment later Spitfire shot out into an open courtyard. She had an instant to take in the scene: the shocked unicorn guard standing in the middle of the open space, the moonlight shining down brilliantly on him, Rainbow Dash throwing herself on him with a shout of rage as her anger and anguish suddenly had a physical target to expend itself on. Then the guard, with panic in his eyes, threw up his head and winked out of existence, carrying Rainbow Dash along with him.
“Buck!” shouted Spitfire. She landed in the center of the courtyard, where the guard had been only an instant before, and scanned the surrounding area. Unicorn teleportation was line of sight, she knew that much; so she should be able to see where they'd gone. But she couldn't immediately see anything. She frowned. They weren't on top of the walls around the courtyard, that was obvious. She could see a few rooftops and some of the palace's towers, so they must have gone to one of those. She took wing again and set out towards the nearest tower. She had to find Rainbow Dash!
“Muffin!” Derpy's war-cry was immediately followed by another boom. Pokey pulled another stick from Dale's pack and floated it to the gray-coated pegasus, but despite the fact that the guards still hadn't rallied enough to mount a coordinated defense against the random assaults of the trio, he was worried. There weren't very many of the little red sticks left in the pack, and there were still an awful lot of guards. The last of the squad they'd faced down in this particular crater-pocked hallway were gone now, though. He and Dale exchanged glances. “What do we do when they're out?” said Pokey.
“We'll just...” Dale suddenly froze, his eyes going unfocused for a moment. He shook himself. “We'll just have to carry on. But we've got a mission now. We need to find Pinkie Pie and the other elements.”
“Okay.” Pokey was a bit confused, but he wasn't going to question Dale. The big earth pony had lead them well so far.
“If we get separated, she needs to know that Twilight Sparkle is in the throne room, so the elements should go there.”
“Right.”
“Hey Derpy!” The wall-eyed pegasus swooped down and landed next to Dale, her head cocked to the side in a questioning gesture. “We have to find Pinkie Pie. Stop scouting for guards and start looking for pink ponies, okay?”
“Muffin,” said Derpy, and she bobbed her head up and down in agreement. Then her head snapped up at the sound of hooves on stones. “Muffin,” she said, this time in a tone that made it a curse word.
“Ah buck,” said Pokey as almost a dozen uniformed ponies spilled into the room. At least these were the ponies of the Night Guard and not unicorns of the Black Corps, but there were an awful lot of them.
“Muffin! Muffin!” This time it was an urgent command, and Derpy held out a hoof to Pokey.
“Right.” He handed her another stick, lighting the fuse as he did.
Derpy rocketed into the air. “Muffin!” she screamed, and threw the stick right in the middle of the guardsponies. Pokey pulled out another, but there were only four more after that, and once they were gone, they were going to be in a lot of trouble.
“Horseapples! Dead end!” Applejack skidded to a halt and spun around. The other four ponies with her nearly piled into her as they halted.
“Quick, back the other way!” cried Pinkie Pie, and they rushed down the hall, back to the last junction. They had to get there before the guards caught up. They'd split up from the few pegasi who'd come with them some time ago, in an attempt to lead the guards away. That had bought them a little time, but not much. Now they reached the junction just as the pursuing Night Guard did.
Applejack instantly spun and bucked one of them right in the face. He went down like any apple bucked from its tree, and about as likely to get up again. Pinkie had her knife in hoof and soon it was as bloody as Applejack's hooves. Rarity had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, but her horn was alight and one of the guards made a strangled noise as Rarity's magic wrapped around his throat. Only Fluttershy didn't join the combat, she just plastered herself to one wall, out of the way of her friends.
In a few minutes the frenzied chaos faded to silence. There had only been four guards. Now they were all down, and none of them would be getting up again. Rarity looked more than a little green as she opened her eyes at last. Applejack and Pinkie Pie weren't as queasy, but neither of them were looking too closely at the still forms either.
“Come on,” said Pinkie. “We've got to find Twilight. And Rainbow. Somehow.” She looked positively deflated, her ears drooping, her normally perky mane and tail bedraggled.
“Buck up sugarcube. We can do it.”
“You've gotten us this far, Darling.”
Fluttershy gave Pinkie a wordless hug.
“Thanks girls.” Pinkie still looked somewhat bedraggled, but she'd perked up a little bit. “You're right! We can. We can find a way out of here. The palace can't go on forever, it just can't! We'll get out in the open, get our bearings, and find Twilight, I know we will. And Spitfire will find Rainbow Dash, and everything will be okay. We're the good guys and this is the kind of story where the good guys win!”
The other three exchanged doubtful glances, but they all followed Pinkie when she bounced cheerfully down the hall all the same. What else were they going to do?
“Buck you, you mother-bucking, Sun-forsaken son of a diamond dog!” Spitfire screamed at the night sky. She wasn't sure if the comment was addressed at Rainbow Dash or at the nameless unicorn who'd winked away with her. Neither one of them were around to hear it, in any case.
She had searched every rooftop, every crenelation, every bit of the palace that was visible from the little courtyard, and every room that was accessible from any of them, and had found no sign whatsoever of Rainbow.
“Okay. Pull yourself together Spitfire. Obviously there's something you missed. Winking is line of sight. Go back and see if there's anywhere else to look. Right.”
She soared back down to the cobble-paved space and put her hooves once more on the exact spot where the unicorn had been standing. She looked around. Still nothing. Then she frowned. He'd been a big colt, his head was well above hers. That might matter. Her wings carried her up into the air, hovering a foot or so off the ground. That was probably about right. She looked around again. The angle hadn't changed much of the view. But then her eyes lit on something she hadn't been able to see at all before.
She stared, a cold chill going through her.
She could see the very tip of the peak of the mountain that stood on the opposite side of the valley from Caterlot, several miles away.
“Oh, buck me,” she whispered.
Luna stared around the suddenly silent throne room. It seemed empty save for her and Twilight, but she knew that Nightmare Moon would not have given up so easily. This was not a retreat; this was a shift in tactics of some kind.
A mocking laugh echoed through the room. “Poor little Luna. Weak, unwanted, pitiful Luna. I killed you once already, you know. I don't know how you're here in the flesh, but I promise you I can kill you again. I am better than you in every way.”
Luna declined to respond to the goading; she just kept scanning the room for the source of the voice.
“Up there!” called Twilight. Luna's eyes snapped to the peak of the arched ceiling, where a puddle of shadow clung to the highest corner. Her eyes narrowed as she considered what form of attack would be best against such a disembodied being.
Before she could implement any of the half-formed plans that sprang to mind, the shadows coalesced, but not into the familiar pony shape of Nightmare Moon. Instead, the blackness formed itself into a great eagle, its wings as wide as a gryphon's, stooping down on Luna.
With only an instant to react, Luna did the only thing she could think of. She too changed her shape, becoming a little gray mouse, low to the ground and too difficult a target for so large an eagle to hit. Nightmare Moon swooped by overhead, flapping furiously as she struggled to not hit the wall. She didn't quite succeed, and Luna giggled, the sound high and squeaky in this tiny form, as the eagle hit the unforgiving stones and dropped to the ground, momentarily stunned.
But that had been only the opening move. Suddenly the eagle changed again, black shadows flowing into a new shape. A black serpent now slithered swiftly across the floor, pursuing the mouse that Luna had become.
Luna shifted again, becoming a blue-gray cat, and raised a clawed paw to strike at the snake before her. The serpent recoiled, and Luna the cat leaped on the serpent, which writhed under her claws. Abruptly her paws passed through the coils as the snake dissolved and re-formed into a larger shape. With a deep bark a jet black hound lunged at her.
Luna hissed and fled, racing across the room with the hound hot on her heels. As she fled she shifted again, her legs growing longer, her body larger, her face changing shape, until she stopped and turned, fangs bared, a snarling gray timber wolf facing down the hound.
The hound skidded to a halt. For a moment the two canines circled, bristling and snapping at each other; but the wolf was much bigger and more powerful. Finally the hound broke off, pulling back and shifting again, swelling upward until a huge black panther stood there.
Well, if we're just going for size... Luna grinned a wolfish grin, then changed too. Now a great, midnight blue dragon loomed over the panther, her head nearly touching the ceiling. She put a clawed hand over the panther, pinning it down. “Now what, Nightmare?” she said. “I can't think of anything that beats a dragon. Unless you want to try shaping an Ursa, but then you wouldn't fit in the room. I'm not sure it's even possible to shape a star bear, anyway; they're not exactly animals.”
The panther snarled defiance, and suddenly Luna’s claws held only smoke. She looked around, but saw no new form. She returned to pony shape and once more scanned the room, looking for a hidden puddle of shadow that must be somewhere.
“You think you've won, don’t you?” said the mocking voice. “You think you can defeat me? Me, Nightmare Moon!? Foals!”
“You are the foal, Nightmare. You are a child's idea of a villain, created by a child who didn't know any better. I've grown up since then.”
“I, the foal? No! I am strong. I have put aside all the foalish notions that held you back for so long. I have power. And you... I know your weakness, Luna. I remember being you. I remember, before I learned that a cold heart cannot be broken.” Laughter filled the room again, and Luna's eyes went wide as she saw the shadow, an inky blot that hovered behind Twilight Sparkle.
“No! Twilight!”
Suddenly Nightmare Moon was there, the tendrils of her mane wrapping around Twilight. “Oh yes. I think I've won, little Luna.” She took a moment to pause for a self-satisfied chuckle before her face fell into a vicious snarl, “If you do not surrender now, I will paint your hide with this… Twilight’s blood.”
This chapter was so much fun to write! And yes, I am evil. Mwa ha ha ha ha, etc. I can hardly wait to post the next one! (Yes, I will be sticking to my once a month schedule. Yes, see above about being evil. But this is so close to being done, guys. Three more months feels like nothing compared to how long the story as a whole has taken me.)
I think the fact that this is a season one fic does kinda show in this chapter. Also showing: the fact that Jordanis is a damn fine editor/co-author.
This story was brought to you mostly by Jordanis, but also in part by the fine folks who support me on Patreon! If you'd like to help me write more stories like this, please consider becoming a patron. |
SPark | 513 | 12 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2017-05-08T23:55:17+00:00 | 2017-05-08T23:55:17+00:00 | 926 | Pinkie had stopped bouncing some time ago. She was still managing to lift her feet, which was more than could be said for Fluttershy; she was shambling along like a scarcely animate skeleton. Rarity stumbled after her, and only Applejack had any bounce in her step as the four threaded their way through the mountain. They had lost the paved corridors and ended up in a series of natural caverns lined with gigantic crystals, which threw the little spark of light from Rarity's horn into a thousand glimmering fireflies all around them.
They'd wandered for what felt like hours, though it had not been that long. Fluttershy and Rarity were still thin and weak, and so had tired easily. Still, with each corner they turned to find themselves still lost, their hopes faded just that much more. They couldn't even find a way out, let alone find Twilight Sparkle.
As they stepped into yet another crystal chamber, Fluttershy's head suddenly came up. This room was not echoing and silent as the others had been. It was filled with a faint rustling, and high-pitched squeaks, on the very edge of equine hearing, bounced from the polished walls. "A bat colony!" she exclaimed softly, sounding delighted.
"We can't stop here, sugarcube," said Applejack tiredly. "We gotta keep going."
"Oh but you don't understand," said Fluttershy, shrinking away from Applejack and peering at her from behind her mane, but still continuing. "This is important."
"We all know how much you care for animals, darling, but Applejack is right," said Rarity gently.
"Gotta keep our hoofsies moving, Flutters," said Pinkie with a nod.
Fluttershy suddenly tossed her mane and stomped one hoof down firmly the sound ringing in the chamber and causing a flurry of rustles from the bats above to follow it. "No."
The other three stared at her.
"We're not moving on until I talk to one of the bats," said Fluttershy, glaring at the others.
None of them could meet that stare. They all turned away, one by one. The glare turned to a sweet smile, and Fluttershy flapped her wings, rising slowly up to where a cluster of dark-furred bodies hung from the crystals.
Her friends stared, defeated and confused, as she whispered to the bats. Rarity sagged, sinking to her hindquarters, her head hanging heavily. Pinkie frowned worriedly, looking between the hovering pegasus and the terrain ahead of them. They were probably nowhere near the exit, they needed to get moving. Applejack scowled. "Fluttershy, honey, we don't have much time," she started.
Fluttershy ignored her. Suddenly one of the bats gave a chirping call and took wing. Fluttershy clapped her forehooves together in sudden delight. "Follow Mr. Bugeater," she said, her voice still soft but exultant. "He's going to show us the way out."
Rarity's head snapped up and she pulled herself to her feet. Pinkie let out a whoop of delight and bounced a few steps before resuming a less tiring trot. And Applejack said, "Ah’m right sorry I doubted you, sugarcube. Let's move out!"
Dale stepped through a shattered wall and out into an open courtyard. His little group hadn't been the one to blow this up, so presumably Big Mac and whoever might be working with him had been here. There was no sign of other ponies now though—unless one counted the corpses of a few Night Guards.
"All right, Derpy, see if you can spot Pinkie," said Dale.
Derpy saluted silently, then flapped up into the perpetually blackened sky. Clouds formed a patchwork across the stars, and the moon was out from behind them for the moment, sending brilliant light down over the castle. The night was anything but peaceful, however. In the distance an explosion sounded. Dale hoped that meant that Big Mac still had TNT left, and not that the guardsponies were breaking out something nasty. His saddlebags were entirely empty now, so he'd shed them somewhere in the palace behind them.
Above, Derpy hovered in place, turning slowly, scanning the ground below. Dale and Pokey both looked up at her hopefully. She looked for a long time. Her slightly off-kilter eyes worked their way from the courtyards around the palace proper, up the palace itself, and to the mountain beyond. Suddenly she grinned and pointed with one hoof. "Muffin!" Dale followed her gesture, and to his surprise he could see them too, four figures making their way down a winding path from a black cave mouth high on the mountainside. The one in the lead was unmistakably pink from forelock to tailtip: it could be no other but Pinkie Pie.
A cry from above jerked Dale's attention back to Derpy. A dark-uniformed form had streaked across the sky and slammed into her, carrying her in an arc to the ground. There was a sickening thud as Derpy struck hard, the Shadowbolt's hooves slamming her against the unyielding flagstones. Her mismatched eyes dulled, unseeing, as Dale stared in horror.
The Shadowbolt grinned at him. "You’re all bucked now," she said, and began to advance with slow, teasing menace. Dale didn't even have to look up to know she was not alone; the air was alive with the low whirring of pegasus wings.
"Get to Pinkie," he said urgently to Pokey. He could sense a sudden terror from Luna, and knew that things were going wrong in the throne room. "Tell her and the others to head for the throne room as quickly as possible. Wink there if you can."
Pokey lifted a weary head and lit his horn. Dale could see the strain in him as he struggled to cast the spell. He suddenly vanished with a pop, leaving Dale alone.
The Shadowbolt laughed. "I guess your little friend doesn’t have the stomach to stand and fight," she said. "It won't save him. All you rebels are going to die tonight."
Dale was too tired to trade verbal jabs with the Shadowbolt. Instead the huge stallion lunged forward, screaming a wordless war-cry as he flung himself at the sneering pegasus. She yelped and snapped her wings out, jumping for the sky, but he hit her before she could get high enough, and she tumbled down to the ground. He gave her no time to recover, rising and driving straight down on her with both front hooves. She tried to roll aside, but she was just not fast enough on the ground. There was a crunch of breaking bone. She shrieked. Dale could hear the sound of wings growing louder and knew that the others were diving on him, but for the moment, he didn't care. The pegasus under his hooves had killed Derpy, and his rage would not allow him to let her go, whatever the cost might be. He reared up. When his hooves came down again her scream cut off instantly.
Something else struck him a glancing blow to the back of his head. It was glancing only because of how he'd suddenly dropped down, otherwise the force of it might have broken his neck. He didn't look around to see the pegasus that had hit him, or to find out of it had company, he just ran, sprinting for the nearest building. He needed to get under cover if he wanted to have any hope of surviving the next few minutes.
As he ran, he hoped that the others were faring better, but that hope was without much force. Luna was losing her battle, there didn't seem to be very many rebels still on their hooves and fighting, and as he ducked through a ragged hole into the low building beside him, the sky was filling with dark-uniformed forms. Things were going very badly indeed.
Spitfire raced across the valley, a streak of flame-colored light trailing behind her. Her heart was heavy as she flew. Rainbow Dash could be nowhere but atop that opposing peak, and that meant that all was almost certainly lost. Luna couldn't hold out forever. She'd avoided the fighting while she searched, but she'd seen enough to know that the rebels couldn't hold out much longer either. By the time she and Rainbow got back it would probably be all over.
Her pace slowed as she flew. What was the point? The rebellion was finished. They'd put up a good fight, but they'd lost. Nightmare Moon would reign forever. The night would never end. Whatever ponies managed to survive would always be her slaves. The best Spitfire and Rainbow could hope for was a relatively quick death in the fighting when they returned.
The bright streak behind her faded as she slowed. Her heart felt heavy in her chest. She might as well just sink to the ground now and give up. Only a faint wish to see Rainbow once again before she died kept her flying forward.
She angled up, climbing towards the mountain's peak. It was lower than the one that towered above the palace, but it was high enough that she still had to strain a bit to reach it.
Finally she arrived. The rounded, windswept rock was barren save for two bright splashes of color. One was the shape of a dead unicorn guard, his pale teal coat splotched with a bit of red here and there. The other was actually quite a bit lower, trying to climb down the far-too-sheer slope of the mountain's side. It was a bit of the lost daytime sky, a patch of bright blue and prismatic color: Rainbow Dash. She let out a whoop of glee as Spitfire came down to land precariously on the ledge next to her.
"Spitfire! Boy am I glad to see you! Come on, help me down from here so we can go kick some Nightmare flank!"
Spitfire stared at her dully. She wasn’t surprised that Rainbow was pretending their earlier argument had never happened; that was normal. They’d fight, one or the other of them would storm off, and then later they’d both act like nothing had happened. But she was surprised that Rainbow seemed to think Spitfire could be of any use. "It's no good. We're going to lose."
Rainbow blinked, looking confused. "Hey, don't say that! We can still win. You've just got to get me back over to the palace, that's all."
Spitfire sat down on the ledge. "There's no use. We won't get there in time."
Rainbow scowled. "Look, I am bucking sorry that you're going to have to carry me. I would just love to be able to fly there myself, but I can't. I need you to help me, so let's get going!"
Spitfire shook her head wordlessly.
Rainbow bristled, her whole body practically vibrating. "So just because I'm a bucking cripple, we're going to lose, is that it?"
Spitfire looked away, unable to bear her rage. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I'll bucking make you sorry! I can still fight! I can still do this!" There were tears in her eyes now. "Don't you tell me you're sorry, you've still got your bucking wings, so bucking carry me already!"
Spitfire turned and snapped at Rainbow, frustration and despair finally flashing over into anger. "Everything isn't always about you, Rainbow! Yes I have my wings, but it doesn't matter. They're not good enough! I'm not fast enough! Carrying you is going to exhaust me. It was hard enough getting here. By the time I fly us both back it will be too late. I can't do it, okay?"
Rainbow took a step away from Spitfire, her hooves coming dangerously close to the edge of the narrow strip of rock they stood on. "What?" she said, softly, stunned.
"I can't do it. You're right. Everything you've ever said about me is right. I'm too slow. I'm a failure, and Nightmare Moon is going to win because of me." There were tears in her eyes too, and she looked away from Rainbow again, her head sank in shame.
"Spitfire..." Rainbow trailed off, her face twisted with conflicting emotions. She reached out towards Spitfire, then let her hoof drop.
"I'm sorry."
There was a long silence. The wind moaned around them, chill and damp. Spitfire shivered. She didn't normally feel the cold, but it was well below freezing here. The cold seemed to have settled into her heart, into her very soul. She shivered again, the last of her warmth vanishing with the last of her hope.
A warm presence suddenly pressed against her side. Rainbow Dash bent her head and nuzzled her cheek. "I'm the one who should be saying sorry," she said with uncharacteristic softness. "You're not a failure, Spitfire. You're the best pony I know. And you're not slow. You got here in hardly any time at all."
Spitfire turned her head away from the caress. "That's not true."
"It is true. I'm sorry I've called you slow. I'm sorry I made you doubt yourself. I've been hurting, but that's no excuse for me to hurt you. I'm really sorry." She nuzzled at Spitfire's ear, and Spitfire sighed and gave in, leaning a bit into it.
"It's still over, Rainbow. I'm not fast enough to carry you and get back to the palace in any kind of reasonable time. Everypony else will be dead by the time I get there."
"There's a way to do it," said Rainbow. "After a sonic rainbooom there's so much magic and momentum that you could carry three or four of me without slowing."
"I can't do the rainboom," said Spitfire incredulously. "I'm too slow."
Rainbow snorted and stomped her hoof. "No you're not," she said sharply. "You're every bit as fast as I ever was. I only said you were slow because I'm an idiot and was trying to hurt your feelings, which was stupid of me and I already said I was sorry."
"Rainbow... I can't. I just can't do it. Please..."
"Please what? Please let you give up on yourself, and on your friends, and on my friends, and Luna, and Twilight, and every creature in the world? No. I'm not giving up and neither are you. You can do it!"
"I can't! I'll have to carry you while trying to get up enough speed for the rainboom. I can't do that! You're the only one who ever did it, and you can't do it now!" Spitfire clapped a hoof over her mouth as soon as she said that. "I..."
Rainbow cut her off. "Yeah, I know, I lost my wings. I noticed. But Spitfire," Dash took a deep breath, "you're my wings now. I need you. I need you to believe in yourself. I need you to believe you can do this."
"But carrying you..."
"Look, we can make it easier, okay? You have to get really high—as high as you can—and power into a dive. My extra weight won't slow you down then. Heck, if anything it'll help!" Rainbow reached forward and took Spitfire’s face between her hooves, forcing her to look Dash in the eyes. "You can do this, Spitfire. I said you’re my wings. My wings have carried me through the rainboom before. They can do it now. I trust them." She slid one hoof down Spitfire’s neck and back across her folded wings. "I love you, Spitfire," she said softly.
Spitfire looked back into her eyes, still bright with tears. Tears had gathered in Dash’s eyes as well, and Spitfire felt a lump in her throat. She also felt the chill falling away from her heart. "You really mean that?" said Spitfire.
"I really do."
Spitfire took a deep breath and rose to her hind legs. "All right then." She narrowed her eyes, and a kind of spark flared in them for a moment. "Let's do this."
She picked up Rainbow Dash, her wings snapping open as she did so, and stepped off the cliff and out into space. For an instant they fell together, then Spitfire pulled out of the dive and they flew.
Spitfire beat her wings hard, straining upwards. She started to circle, flying around the narrowing peak. Soon she passed it and its crimson-and-teal adornment, and was climbing into the cloud-strewn sky. The wind picked up. She turned into it, riding it, using it to gain more height. Rainbow Dash's weight seemed to grow the higher they got. She had put both forelegs around Spitfire's neck, helping to hold herself on, but Spitfire was still the one doing all the work. Her wings began to burn. Her lungs burned too. The air was growing thinner.
She fought on, climbing higher and higher. Soon the scatter of clouds that had partly hidden the stars were below her and the sky above was bitterly cold, the stars diamond-clear. They twinkled less, this high.
She was gasping for breath, every muscle straining, her wings in agony, and finally she had to stop. She had reached the highest she could fly with her burden, she could go no higher. "Okay," she gasped, trying to catch her breath as she stretched out her wings, gliding along for just a moment. "Are we high enough?"
"Yeah."
Spitfire looked at Rainbow Dash, their faces so close together. "I'm still not sure I can do this," she said.
"I am," said Rainbow Dash. Then she twisted her head and kissed Spitfire with brief, fervent passion. When she broke off she flashed Spitfire a cocky grin that Spitfire hadn't seen on her face in what seemed like an eternity. "My wings are the best in all of Equestria. So come on; I'm ready to fly."
Spitfire couldn't come up with anything to say in response, but she felt a spark of hope flicker a little bit brighter. She set her face in an expression of determination, took one last deep breath, and dove.
Eee he he he! I can't decide if this is my favorite chapter, or if the next chapter is my favorite chapter. We're reaching the moments that I originally thought up clear back after Season One, that were the reason why I decided to write this story.
This story was brought to you mostly by my awesome co-author Jordanis, but also in part by the fine folks who support me on Patreon! If you'd like to help me write more stories like this, please consider becoming a patron. |
SPark | 513 | 13 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2017-06-13T21:52:16+00:00 | 2017-06-16T23:15:08+00:00 | 1,033 | Luna stared in horror at the scene before her. Nightmare Moon stood behind Twilight with dark, star-specked tendrils of her mane curling around the unicorn. Twilight's horn was still glowing, keeping the shield bubble around her alive, but the strain was already showing on her face as the Nightmare tightened her magical grip.
"Release her!" demanded Luna, hoping she had hidden her fear.
Nightmare Moon laughed. "I think not." With one swift motion the misty tentacles of her hair crushed Twilight’s shield, which vanished even as it shattered, leaving Twilight exposed, vulnerable, and utterly burnt out, her horn tip actually slightly blackened from the backlash.
Luna's heart was in her throat. She took a step forward, her horn glowing. She had no idea what spell she could cast, but she had to do something.
"Ah, ah, ah!" The tendrils of Nightmare Moon's mane were wrapped around Twilight directly, and they tightened as Luna moved. "One more step and I'll wring her little neck."
Luna halted, trembling.
"That's better." Nightmare Moon sneered at her. Her mane wrapped around Twilight's throat, and Twilight let out a little choked sound as Nightmare Moon squeezed. "Now, release your magic."
Luna's horn blinked out.
"Very good," gloated Nightmare Moon. Her tail curled around and stroked Twilight's cheek. Luna could hear Twilight breathing; she was gasping, struggling for each breath. The sound seemed to reach somewhere deep within her, kindling a fear as strong as any she'd ever felt. The image of Twilight dead was the worst thing that Luna could imagine.
"Now, my dear little princess, you will kneel at my hooves. You will let me bind your magic, and you will answer all my questions about who you really are and how you have come here."
Luna hesitated. Part of her wanted to surrender. Most of her, in fact, wanted to do anything at all to prevent harm from coming to Twilight. Yet despite being half-choked, Twilight herself was shaking her head frantically. Twilight did not want her to give in. They had come so far, come so close, she couldn't possibly give up now. Twilight's life was not worth the lives of all the ponies in this world. They would die if Luna surrendered and Nightmare Moon won.
Or would they?
"Come now, I am not a patient mare. Surrender!"
"If I do, how do I know you won't merely kill her anyway?" asked Luna.
Nightmare Moon slackened her grip just a little bit, letting Twilight breathe. "I have no reason to harm her. She is only a unicorn. It's you that I want."
"No, don't do it!" said Twilight.
"Silence when your betters are speaking," snapped Nightmare Moon, and a tendril of her magic wrapped itself around Twilight's muzzle, holding it shut. Twilight glared at her and tried to cast a spell, but the magic sparkled and fizzled uselessly from her singed horn, making her wince in pain. What magic her struggle hadn't used the backlash had burned out of her; she had none left. Even if she'd had enough to do something, it would probably hurt too much to cast.
"It is all right, Twilight," said Luna. "Everything is going to be just fine." She felt a strange sense of calm settling over her. She needed to save Twilight, because it was Twilight who was necessary to their plan to defeat Nightmare Moon. Luna had already done her part by delaying and distracting the dark alicorn.
Yet there was more than that. She needed to save Twilight because she loved her. It was that simple, and that simple admission seemed to bring the whole universe into sharp focus. Love and friendship were different faces of the same coin. They were different halves of the same magic. The deep magic of Equestria, the harmony that made Celestia what she was and that Luna had somehow never been able to get a handle on, was built on love and friendship. That was why she'd never fully grasped it: she had always kept her heart apart. She had never fully trusted another pony, not even her sister.
But she trusted Twilight. She trusted her magnificent intellect. She trusted her skill with magic. She trusted her to be there, when Luna needed her. She could trust Twilight with her heart, and she could trust Twilight to save Equestria if she surrendered. All might seem to be lost, yet all could never be lost so long as ponies held to friendship and love.
All that flowed through her in a brief moment, an instant when it seemed like the universe itself was singing in her heart. Every part of it—even the moon that still spoke to Nightmare—told her that now she understood at last.
Twilight, frustration and fear twisting her gut as she watched Luna prepare to surrender, let out a sudden gasp as silvery moonlight blossomed around the blue alicorn. Nightmare Moon gasped too, and tightened her grip on Twilight's throat.
"Cease this at once or she dies!"
"Of course," said Luna, and her voice was gentle—serene. The light faded, and Twilight's eyes went wide in shock. Luna's mane and tail were no longer simply light blue hair that hung from her dock and poll like any pony's. They lifted and flowed on some invisible breeze, like Celestia's. They were darker than her sister's, layered with the deep colors of the evening sky, blue and indigo and purple. They were speckled with stars, like Nightmare Moon's, but the stars were far more beautiful, far more real somehow; as if Twilight could see straight into the fires at each one’s heart. She was taller too, perhaps as tall as Nightmare Moon herself, and her horn had lengthened as well.
"What trickery is this?" hissed Nightmare Moon.
"No trickery," said Luna. "Only truth,” she regarded the Nightmare solemnly, “and friendship.”
"Friendship?” growled Nightmare, “Nonsense! A nothing! A lie silly ponies tell themselves so they can pretend they are not alone! Have you forgotten what I hold here?" She lifted Twilight and shook her, making the unicorn whimper and clutch futilely at the strands around her throat. The chain that still connected her to the dais rattled and clanked with each shake.
"I could never forget that you hold that which is most precious to me," said Luna. She bowed her head. "I surrender to you willingly. I will swear whatever oath you require to accept your bindings, once Twilight is safe."
"Swear on the moon. She is listening."
"So she is," said Luna, her head still lowered, but a strange smile on her face. "I swear, on the moon and her maria, on her bright side and her dark side, on her dusty regolith and her cold heart, that I will surrender and allow myself to be bound, if you let the unicorn Twilight Sparkle go unharmed."
Nightmare Moon dropped Twilight. "I could almost believe that you truly are Luna. How do you know that oath?"
"I will not answer you, nor be bound by you, until Twilight is safe. Release her chains as well," said Luna.
With a wordless contempt, Nightmare Moon tossed her head, her horn sparking, and the chains fell from Twilight's hooves.
"Luna..." said Twilight, trying to come up with something useful to say.
"Do not worry, Twilight. Trust in the magic of friendship."
Twilight nodded.
A soft sound near the doors caught Twilight's attention, and she looked over to see Spike straightening from where he'd curled in a protective crouch beneath a small pile of rubble. He looked terrible, his face streaked with dust that tears had washed muddy tracks through. He looked at her and spoke, his voice tiny, vulnerable, as it echoed in the huge chamber. "Twilight? I... I'm so sorry. She lied. I didn't know she'd lied..."
"Spike, it's okay," said Twilight wearily.
"No, I rather think it is not."
Twilight's head snapped around to stare at Nightmare Moon. A length of magical chain already coiled around the surrendered Princess Luna. Now the Nightmare's horn glowed and her magic scooped Spike up into the air.
"I have promised to let you go, but I made no promises about him," she snarled.
"No! Put him down!" cried Twilight, her ears pinned back as sudden despair filled her.
Nightmare Moon threw her head back and laughed. "You ponies! You are so endlessly naïve. I am going to crush your every stupid little hope and dream, starting right-"
She broke off as a shockwave slammed into the throne room. For an instant the sky was filled with vivid color: every possible shade of yellow and orange twisted together in a brilliant arc of fire that washed over the palace, accompanied by a booming like thunder. When the blast front had passed, Twilight saw a glimmering ember, small and far away, but growing steadily, headed directly towards her.
Fluttershy's bats had led the quartet out of the crystal caverns in no time at all. After passing briefly through a paved corridor, they emerged high up on the mountain's slopes, above and behind the palace itself. "Yay! We're almost there!" said Pinkie, managing a bit of a bounce as she exited the cave.
Applejack surveyed the stairs that led down the mountainside. There were a lot of them, zig-zagging back and forth for quite some distance until they reached the palace gardens below. She sighed. "I dunno about 'almost', but I will admit I'm right glad ta' be out o' all them caves an' such."
"Yes, it is a delight to have some fresh air, such as it is," said Rarity. "For which we all owe Fluttershy a great deal."
"Oh, it's nothing," said Fluttershy, hiding behind her tangled mane.
"We still don't have Twilight, though," said Pinkie with a scowl. "Or Rainbow."
"Well, she ain't here on the mountain, so we might as well get a move on down them stairs." Applejack sighed again, but set off briskly enough, with the others following behind. Sounds of occasional combat floated up to them. It was no longer punctuated with explosions; the TNT seemed to have finally run out. Nevertheless, the fact that the rebels were still putting up a fight was a fairly hopeful sign to the four—even if everything else about the plan seemed to be continuously going wrong.
Both Rarity and Fluttershy were barely able to keep their feet at this point, so the pace was slow. They'd only gotten about half way down, when the scene below changed for the worse. The air was suddenly alive with dark-uniformed pegasi. The Shadowbolts had arrived.
All four ponies froze in place on the stair, not wanting to attract the attention of the horde of enemy pegasi.
"Aw horseapples," whispered Applejack. "What the hay are we supposed to do now?"
"I haven't the faintest," said Rarity, with a resigned sigh. "I am beginning to fear that—eep!" She jumped as Pokey Pierce appeared on the stairs behind her.
"You all need to get to the throne room right now," he said urgently.
"What? Are you crazy?" said Pinkie. "We might maybe sneak the rest of the way down the stairs, but then we'd have to sneak across open grass to the back door of the palace, and sneak up the stairs, and sneak in the door! There's no way we can do all that sneaking without getting seen. Believe me, I know sneaking!"
"I know. But Dale said that Twilight Sparkle was there. And he said you have to get there as soon as you can. I think..." He paused, glancing over and gauging the distance. "I've got the spell down now, I think I can wink there carrying one of you. I'm not sure I can do it four times, but I'll try."
"I can wink too," spoke up Rarity. "I am not terribly expert at it, I've barely winked since school." She smiled then, a little bitterly, and said, "I have carried my dear departed Opal a few times, however, and I think that just now Fluttershy and I together weigh no more than Opal and I did then. I can carry her."
Pokey relaxed a bit. "I can do it if I only have to make two trips."
"Then what are we waiting for, darling? After you." Rarity gave him an elegant nod. Pokey smiled at her, blushing just a bit, then turned to Pinkie. His horn glowed. He strained and it brightened, gaining a second corona. Then, with a soft bang, he and Pinkie vanished from the downward stairway and appeared at the top of the one that led to the back door of the palace.
Rarity took a moment longer to gather her magic, but she too made the trip, with Fluttershy beside her. She staggered when she arrived, nearly going to her knees. Her smile was triumphant despite her weakness, though. It had taken every ounce of magic she had, but she'd done it.
Pokey looked exhausted, but he vanished from the top of the stairs and reappeared next to Applejack. Then they too were atop the stairs. Pokey collapsed completely, lying prostrated on the stone, his horn smoking slightly. "I will never move again," he mumbled.
"Maybe you'd better—here come some Shadowbolts," said Pinkie.
Applejack hadn't wasted any time, she'd already opened the door. "Servant's hall here, looks like. Let's hustle, we gotta find the throne room and Twilight, quick!"
She darted inside. Pinkie followed. Rarity and Fluttershy, however, moved more slowly. Rarity in particular was barely on her feet. A dark form swooped through the air towards the stumbling unicorn. Applejack started to shout a useless warning.
Suddenly there was a deep, booming sound and a wave of shimmering fire flashed across the sky. It tumbled the Shadowbolts from the air, grounding many and scattering the rest far and wide.
"That was a rainboom!" said Rarity in delight. Her already dreadful mane was now completely blown askew, but she could not even bring herself to care.
"Dashie!" said Pinkie, bouncing with glee.
"Well if Rainbow Dash is on 'er way, we'd better hustle ourselves!" said Applejack. "Here, I'll lend ya a hoof," she said to Rarity, and the next thing Rarity knew she was lying across Applejack's back as the strong farm mare cantered down the hallway.
Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy similarly and ran after her. "We're coming, Twilight!" she shouted gleefully. "We're coming to take down Black Snooty forever!"
Twilight's heart leaped in her chest. In front of her she saw the swiftly growing ember that had to be Spitfire and Rainbow Dash. And now, behind her, she heard the faint echo of a voice that was surely Pinkie's, along with the sound of hoofsteps echoing off the stone walls. Her friends were coming for her.
Her friends that had been with her through so much darkness and pain. Her friends that had fought, and suffered, and somehow stayed true to everything they were, even in the worst of times. Her friends that she had known and loved not merely for one single festival day, but for weeks of toil and hardship.
The spark that shone in her eyes was stronger than ever before, as was the magic that began to pour into her. Even as Spitfire, carrying Rainbow Dash and trailing a long arc of literal flames behind her crashed through the window and into the throne room, even as Applejack with Rarity, and Pinkie Pie with Fluttershy came running out from a little door tucked behind the throne, and even as Nightmare Moon looked around in confusion and disbelief, Twilight's eyes began to glow, the magic of harmony filling her to the brim.
"What?! No, this cannot be!" screamed Nightmare Moon. "That magic cannot be! I destroyed the Elements!"
"No you didn't," said Twilight. She was rising into the air. She closed her eyes, not needing to see to know that her friends were being drawn to her, rising around her. "You destroyed a few pieces of rock. The real Elements of Harmony cannot be destroyed, not as long as laughter, loyalty, honesty, kindness, generosity, and friendship still exist in the hearts of ponies."
"No!" cried Nightmare Moon, but she had no time to say anything else, for Twilight opened her eyes, and the light blazing out from them was one with the rainbow that curled around all six ponies and shot out at the Nightmare, wiping her darkness away. |
SPark | 513 | 14 | Main 6,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Spark to Light a Candle | A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic. | complete | 202 | 14 | <p>A half-remembered dream leads Twilight Sparkle to test a new "window" spell by looking at an alternate Equestria. What she sees there will lead her and her friend Princess Luna into adventures they had never imagined possible. A season one fic.<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/01/story-spark-to-light-candle.html" rel="nofollow">As featured on Equestria Daily.</a> </p><p>This is technically a sequel to <a href="/story/271/in-the-eye-of-the-storm" rel="nofollow">In the Eye of the Storm</a> as it's using the same versions of Twilight and Luna, but you can absolutely read this story without having read that first. </p><p>I began writing this story during season 1. I've updated some things to reflect canon changes in season 2, however at that point I decided that having to constantly go back and change things every time something new happened on the show just wasn't going to work, so the story ignores most of season 2, and everything from season 3 onward.</p><p>This story owes much of its quality to <a href="/user/Jordanis" rel="nofollow">Jordanis</a>, who is practically the co-author at this point.</p> | teen | 2017-06-13T21:52:29+00:00 | 2017-06-13T21:52:28+00:00 | 1,396 | "Woo hoo!" Rainbow Dash looped in a delighted spiral through the air above the throne. Spitfire danced with her, the two of them swooping and circling around each other. Rainbows and flames trailed behind them, drawing a double helix of light as they circled upwards together. Twilight laughed in delight to see it. Her friend, restored as she had hoped, was a wonderful sight. The other Elements looked better as well, tangled dreadlocks restored to smooth manes, gaunt sides returned to plumpness, cracked hooves smoothed and polished.
"It's so pretty!" said Fluttershy.
"It's a sight for sore eyes," said Pinkie Pie, staring up at Rainbow and Spitfire.
"Oh." Fluttershy ducked her head and smiled. "Yes! But I mean the necklaces. Look, yours has your cutie mark on it."
"Ooh! Wowie Zowie! It does!" Pinkie grinned and bounced in place. The five of them wore their elements, and Twlight felt the gentle weight of Magic's crown on her head. Everything looked just as it had one year ago, on that other world.
Or almost everything. Twilight could see no sign of any second Luna. It seemed that Nightmare Moon has spoken true when she'd said she'd killed her former self. The Luna she knew, her mane flowing and full of stars, smiled at her from across the chamber. Despite that pang of sorrow, for a moment Twilight could believe everything would be all right.
"I can't believe yer crazy plan worked, Twilight, but you were right, we really do represent the elements of harmony!"
"Indeed you do"
At that moment, a brilliant light shone over the hills of the east, visible through the ruined windows of Canterlot; the sun rose over Equestria for the first time in nearly a year. Everypony averted their gloom-adjusted eyes from the sun's new glare, but Twilight found that she could stare right at it after only a moment's adjustment, and her heart dropped a fraction—this sun was certainly dimmer and weaker than the one back home.
A glowing sphere detached itself from the sun and drifted through the window before them. Twilight's heart was doing gymnastics now—she recognized the returning Celestia even though she had only seen it once before, but the sphere moved agonizingly slowly and its brightness flickered. Twilight's automatic elation at Celestia's presence warred with her worry.
When Celestia flashed into being, Twilight's worry won. The alicorn's mane and tail hung straight downward, and her cheeks were deeply sunken. In fact across the princess' whole body slimness had given way to gauntness and visible bones; Twilight could count her not-quite-mentor's ribs in stark relief under the skin. While everypony else remained with their heads down in reverence, Twilight surged forward with a worried cry, “Princess Celestia!”
“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student! I knew you could do it.”
She doesn't know... Sweet stars, she doesn't know I'm not her Twilight. Now, finally, Twilight's heart sank like a stone and splashed into the pit of her stomach. Shocked, she halted just shy of the alicorn and looked at her with wide eyes that were beginning to water.
Celestia watched with growing concern. She had lowered her head, anticipating and welcoming her treasured pupil's embrace, but it had never come. Instead, the filly stood rooted to the floor, staring at her in a tightly controlled panic. She put together a gentle smile for her student and asked, “Twilight, dear, what's wrong?”
Tears rolled down Twilight's cheeks. She wanted to say that nothing was. She wanted to simply hug her mentor and have everything be alright. But instead slowly, reluctantly, she took a breath and began to explain.
Twilight wished she could look away, wished she didn't have to see what her words did to her princess. She couldn't, though. She couldn't cower away and deliver this news, so she watched Celestia's frozen, stony face as she was told that her precious student and beloved sister were dead.
It was only when the tears clouded Twilight's eyes that she finally hung her head, murmuring apologies between quiet sobs—for her own self, for her fallen self, for having failed Luna, for having failed to stop Nightmare Moon, for having not come sooner, and for having not listened when she was sent off to Ponyville. Her litany was cut short by the familiar feeling of the princess' neck across her own in a comforting embrace.
“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student...” The voice was still strong, motherly, smooth and unhitched, but Twilight felt the drops of a single tear from each of Celestia's cheeks. “...you have done so well.”
The thin, wan sunlight that streamed over Equestria was brutally honest, despite its weakness. It revealed what Nightmare Moon's night had attempted to conceal: that the land was dead. Neat, square, green patches marked the places where magic raised food for the privileged, but they were few and far between. Most of what Twilight could see from the highest balcony in Celestia's Palace was black, sickly, and rotting. Many of the mushrooms, too, were now dying, slumping into putrid piles beneath the thin sunlight.
"It's so..." Twilight shook her head, unable to even find a word for the horrors daylight had revealed.
"I know," said Luna gently, sadly.
"I will miss the ponies here, but I'll be glad to go home," said Twilight.
Luna nodded slowly. Then she inhaled deeply and said, almost shocked at her own daring, but knowing that it must be said. "I will miss you greatly. I have come to... to love you, over these weeks."
Twilight's breath caught for a moment at the word love, but then she registered what else Luna had said. "You're not coming back?"
"Not right away. This world needs me."
Twilight looked out at the ruined world below her and nodded. Some part of her was still processing "love" in rather stunned delight paired with intense dismay at the idea of losing such a thing as love in the moment of finding it, but the more rational bits knew that Luna was right. The task of restoring what the long night had destroyed was dismayingly large. Celestia could not be left to do it alone. "Will you be able to fix things?" asked Twilight, still staring at the bleak landscape.
"I think so. It will be difficult, but I will not be alone. The ponies here will aid me, my sister here will aid me, and there are allies I can call upon. The kirin, I believe will help. Perhaps even the Kudu. And there are things that alicorns can do to combine earth pony and unicorn magic that will have great effect. So yes, I think the Equestria of this world can be restored."
"That's good." Twilight dared to look away from the view and glance at Luna. She looked so strong, standing there with her hair gently waving on the intangible cosmic wind. Yet she also looked so sad. "I... I could stay and help."
Luna shook her head, staring out into the thin daylight rather than meet her eyes. "No, Twilight. One unicorn, however strong, will make little difference to the effort here. I have seen how this world has worn on you. I have seen how much you miss my sister, how much you miss our Equestria. You should return."
Twilight swallowed, then softly said, "But I'll also miss you. I think I love you too."
Luna looked at her then, and sorrow and love both shone in that gaze. "Oh Twilight... I am glad. I am very glad indeed to hear it. Yet this world needs me desperately. And you desperately need rest, and home, and the solace of familiar things."
"I guess. But still... Don't you need those things too?"
Luna sighed softly, a small, regretful smile on her lips. "Rest, home and solace would not go amiss, no. Yet I am a princess, and an alicorn, and I have a duty that I cannot forsake. I shall take great solace in mending my own past wrongs here... and in the thought of you when all is done. We shall not be parted forever, Twilight my love." Luna smiled warmly, and Twilight found her heart suddenly beating faster. "I will return when my task here is completed." She took a step closer to Twilight, her head bending slightly.
Twilight stepped closer too, tilting her head up to the tall alicorn. Their muzzles met in a kiss that was brief, but sweet and without any hint of hesitation.
"I'll cast the portal to send you home now," said Luna when they at last broke apart.
Twilight simply nodded.
Luna's horn glowed with brilliant, silvery light that grew until it was almost unbearable to look at. Then the portal appeared, the arching rainbow shimmer Twilight remembered from what seemed like a lifetime ago. She stepped towards it, then stopped, looking back.
"Look for me in a year and a day," said Luna. "And until then, be well."
Twilight groped for how to reply, looking for the words that would somehow express the tangled emotions she felt. Finally she said, "You be well too. Just... don't be late."
Then she stepped through the portal, into the undimmed sunlight of Equestria, and was home once more.
And that's it! After way too many years, it's finally all done! Thanks again to the wonderful Jordanis, who is essentially my co-author on this one. Without his help this would have been a much weaker story. (And would have a lot more comma errors, too.)
I suspect this may have set a record of some kind, I'm not sure how many season one fics are still running. Not that it's a record I should be proud of, this could have been finished long ago. But life kept happening, and at least it's done at last. Hopefully it will have been worth the wait.
I certainly like it, but I'm a little biased!
The final chapters of this story were made possible in part by my lovely patrons on Patreon. If you'd like to support me in writing more stories like this (I have several epic ideas I'd like to work on, now that this is done!) consider becoming a patron today. |
MrTibbz | 514 | 1 | DJ P0N-3,Original Character,Princess Luna,Comedy,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Best Riff in Equestria | complete | -1 | -1 | <p>Riff Track is a Travelling musician, who roams Equestria with his best friend and manager, Sieg Musica. Their next stop in Ponyville does not start off well as they stumble throughout the town.</p><p>Art by Bronyontheway on DeviantArt <a href="http://bronyontheway.deviantart.com/#/d45me53" rel="nofollow">http://bronyontheway.deviantart.com/#/d45me53</a></p> | everyone | 2011-08-15T09:36:06+00:00 | 2011-08-15T09:36:06+00:00 | 1,309 | The Best Riff in Equestria
A story by Mr.Tibbz
Chapter One: Here I go...
Nervous, anxious and sweating like a waterfall I was waiting in the backstage of Fillydelphia’s Elementary school Talent show.
“Riff Track! You’re up next!”
I snapped out of my stupor by the sudden scream of our class teacher Mrs.Flower Light; she was strict, but she loved to teach. I remember I got scolded many times, and often I stayed alone in detention quite often with her. Once you get to know her, though, she was actually a nice lady.
“Now is the time to prove myself,” I thought to myself.
I was pretty confident I’d do well; I practised my technique day and night, I barely studied, I gave my all to be there.
“...I hope I don’t mess this up”
As if I jinxed myself, I managed to trip over my own hooves in the sudden rush of panic, and stumble onto stage. I at least managed to keep my magic focused on not dropping my guitar. I loved that thing ever since my dad gave it to me for my birthday; I remember going everywhere with it.
“And now, Riff Track is going to perform a musical number for the audience. Everypony, let’s give him a helping hoof!” shouted Mrs. Flower Light, enthusiasm oozing out of every word.
Everypony applauded; my cheeks turned red from the embarrassment as I saw my parents in the audience with huge grins on their faces. My mom was never fond of the loud practice sessions I had back home, but she was still really supportive. I mean, she’s my mom! Of course she would support me no matter what I’d do, right?
“...Well, no turning back now.” As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t chicken out at that point.
I took a deep breath and brought my guitar closer to my chest. I practised using magic in order to play multiple notes at the same time, to achieve an effect of more than one instrument playing... but that didn’t work out so well as I started losing focus.
One wrong note after another, the song started to sound more out of place, and I started to slowly fall into panic. The ‘plings and plongs’ sounded a lot more irritating than I had imagined; I had to think of something fast. That’s when suddenly I remembered the song I heard at my first concert. As though suddenly possessed, I just started remembering the melody note for note, chord after chord. I finally started playing my guitar in a way I thought impossible, and it all passed me in a trance. I closed my eyes to focus on the magic, manipulating the guitar to my will, when I reached the end of the song.
…
There was silence. I slowly opened my eye, afraid of the inevitable laughter and the feeling of humiliation striking me, but everypony just stared, jaw-dropped. I thought I saw my dad tearing up a bit before he began a slow applause. Soon after, everypony followed and starting applauding and cheering loudly.
It was amazing... this, I would remember for the rest of my life! It was all me right there!
I made it big time! A bright light behind me caught my attention, as an image of a guitar and a vinyl record materialized on my flank.
Then suddenly everypony started chanting my name.
“RIFF TRACK! RIFF TRACK! RIFF TRACK!”
“Riff Track”
“Riff...”
“Riff Track...”
“RIFF TRACK WAKE UP!”
“Huh?! WOAH!”
I felt confusion and pain as I fell off my sofa and onto the hard unforgiving wood. From the tone of that all to familiar voice, it seems I overslept once again.
I groaned in pain as I tried to make out who it was that interrupted my slumber.
Turns out it was my old friend, Sieg Musica. He helped me out way back when I was still starting my career as a travelling musician.
“Aww, Sieg c’mon, like, five more minutes...”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you oversleep again, we have work to do.”
His brown mane rubbed my face as he tried to get me back on my hooves. I wobbled for a few moments before finally waking up.
“You are a mess Riff; we can’t put on a show with you looking like that!” His light-grayish face was mere centimeters from mine.
“Alright, alright, sheesh...”
Sieg has been my manager for more than six years, since we met. He organizes everything for me, knowing I wouldn’t bother with it, and even though I’m deeply thankful to him for everything he has done for me, he can get pretty annoying at times.
“We have stopped in Ponyville. I heard it was a pretty nice place,” Sieg said in his modest fashion.
“And you think the ponies ‘ere will like my performance?” I asked, still drowsy.
“Depends; I do believe that a small town like this will appreciate true talent. The important thing is for us to put on a good show. Whether they liked it or not depends solely on them.”
“Umm, okay? ...I’m still not entirely sure what you meant by that,” I replied, confused by the sudden long answer. A simple “sure” or something would’ve been okay.
“Just try and have fun. The show goes way better when you’re having fun doing it... and not looking like you had covered your head in black lint!” Sieg chuckled as he parked the trailer car.
The trailer car was like a second home to me. We’ve been travelling all throughout Equestria, putting on small performances for years. Sieg, being him, organized the set up and stage whilst I handled the performance myself. My shows don’t always cough up many bits, but there’s usually enough to keep us going ‘till we get to our next stop.
As I stumbled on over to the bathroom, I saw my mane in a curly mess of tangles and my eyes still looking half-asleep.
“Ugh...I wonder...” I pondered, for the moment, if I could use my magic to straighten my mane to its former shape.
“Meh, might as well try. What’s the worst that could happen?” As I said those words I started to focus my magic, my horn began to glow, and for the moment I thought it was working...
My black mane was slowly regaining it’s spiky form, going downwards on the end.
“ACH-CHOO!!!”
My horn illuminated the room and a cloud of smoke sparked from it.
I got fried pretty badly, though not as badly as my hair.
“Oh, horse-radishes.”
I looked at myself in the mirror after wiping off the black dust that covered it, my hair and bits of my orange fur, completely fried. Now I’m even more of a spectacular mess.
I peeked out of the bathroom door.
“Hey-uh, Sieg? Ponyville wouldn’t happen to have a hair-salon nearby? Oh and I do think bits of my fur are-” I paused to take a look at my fur, slowly coming off in patches. “...yeah, my fur is falling out. Rapidly.”
This was going to be the longest stop I had in a while.
=====================================================================
As expected, Sieg tried desperately not to panic. I tried joking about it to avoid making a big deal out of it. I was sure that Ponyville would have some place where I can get my fur and hair back to normal in time for my show.
“Riff! How in the hay did you manage to do...THIS!” Sieg half-shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at the bald patches that began appearing on where my fur used to be.
“I have no idea. I tried to use my magic to straighten out my hair, and well... I sneezed.” I tried holding in my urge to laugh, realizing how stupid the words coming out of my mouth sounded.
“Well, we can’t have you walking around Ponyville looking like that,” Sieg almost chuckled, a smirk almost escaping his panicked face.
“Well, maybe there’s some kind of spa place for these kind of occasions? Maybe a ‘Boutique’ of some sort?” I suggested.
Sieg almost instantly lost his panicked expression in exchange for one of enlightenment as he went to the front of the trailer where the drivers seat is situated, reaching out for a magazine called “Ponyville Times”.
“I picked it up on the way here,” he explained, “maybe it can tell us where we can find the local fashion salon and get you back into your ‘normal’ shape.” The way Sieg said ‘normal’ made me question my appearance before; my hair isn’t that outlandish now, is it?
“Well let’s see what it’s got,” I said, curious about the local shops since I would probably require some extra supplies, what with most of my shampoo turned into dust.
As we turned the pages, I saw articles about local places of interest and events coming up. There was also an article about a travelling magician pony who claimed to have vanquished an Ursa major but was later found to have fabricated the whole story to gain popularity.
“Wasn’t that smart of her, eh?”
“Keep looking Riff... we don’t have a lot of time and- there!” He shouted excitedly.
“What did ya find?” I asked.
“Here, look.”
He pointed his hoof at an article that showed two very well groomed ponies that were apparently giving an interview about their Bath house and Spa in Ponyville, and how successful it has become over the years.
“That’s where you’re gonna go, Riff” Sieg said, as if commanding me to do just that, “but we can’t let you be seen in public in your current state.”
“You have any ideas?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yup. You can trust me to always have a plan in mind!” He exclaimed with a self-satisfied grin.
=====================================================================
“RAGS?! THIS WAS YOUR PLAN? TO COVER ME IN RAGS?!” I shouted at him in a playful manner, trying to understand how he saw this as a good idea.
“Hey, c’mon, it’s better than having your bald patches shown to everypony. Besides, nopony is even gonna know it’s you!” He excused his actions, but I still felt frustrated at the fact I’m now forced to wear rags in order to sneak into a Spa. I wouldn’t mind so much if it wasn’t so awfully hot!
“Dear Celestia, why?!”
“C’mon, it’s not too far now.”
As we trotted through Ponyville, I saw some ponies looking at me in a very weird way, but most seemed to ignore me. I mean, what’s so conspicuous about a pony that nopony saw before, covered in rags, walking beside another pony wearing a suit?
“I have no Idea how you can stand the heat wearing that suit. Aren’t you sweating?” I asked, honestly baffled by how he didn’t even break a sweat.
“It’s pretty thin, so it’s not really that hot actually. Besides, I like it.”
I guess that made sense, but was the tie really necessary?
After a while of walking through Ponyville, we finally reached our destination.
“There it is; The Bath House. C’mon Riff, let’s go!” He elbowed me in the neck.
“Why does this always happen to me?” I asked in a sigh.
Sieg seemed to ignore my comment and we approached the entrance of the Bath house.
He knocked on the door while I studied the building. The Bath House seemed pretty big from the outside, and the door was simple and stained with a darker shade of wood.
We heard a voice emanating from behind the door.
“Coming!” said the voice of a mare with a strange accent I had never heard before.
As the doors opened, we were greeted by two ponies who seemed like copies of each other. One was a pink pony with a cyan mane and a headband, while the other was cyan with a pink mane, also wearing a headband.
“Yes? How can we help you?” asked the cyan coloured pony.
“Well, you see, my friend here got himself fried whilst trying to do his hair with magic, and, well, the result is... this,” Sieg then took off my hood to reveal my fried, burned hair as well as patches of fur falling out.
“Eek! O’ no no no no no! This won’t do! Quickly! Inside!” Shouted the Pink pony, she and her possible twin dragging us inside.
“Uh, this can be fixed, right?” I asked nervously, having seen the horror in their faces back at the entrance.
“I’ll see what I can do...” Said the pink pony with determination. “We’re going to have to give you the full treatment.”
“Anything, please; just make my fur come back!” I pleaded with the pink pony, who looked at me with pitying eyes.
“Lotus! Handle the other customers! I will handle this one personally,” she gave orders to her co-worker. Then, after giving me a quick glance, she proceeded to give me the full spa treatment.
Sieg, in the meantime was sitting at the waiting room near the entrance, reading the magazines left on the tables, trying to find out what is up and about in Ponyville. He always wants to be ‘In-the-know’ and not feel uninformed.
“Hmm... this could work...” Sieg pondered aloud as he read an article about an outdoor rave party.
As I was taken from one bath tub to the next, I felt as if they were pulling me on a short leash. Each tub they threw me in was amazingly warm and relaxing, though. I never had enough of a moment to ask what each was for and how they worked.
The steam rising from the small circular pools were almost mesmerizing. It was like the steam just took all my worries away.
“Aww, yeah! I could just stay in this tub forever,” I said as I felt the pure ecstasy pulsing throughout my body, “This feels absolutely great!”
The pony who treated me was Aloe; she and her twin sister run this Bath house and spa place. A mighty fine job they’re doing, too.
“We are done Mr. Track. You can get out of the pool now,” Aloe said in a very calm tone.
“Oh? Am I done already?” I asked quizzically, having lost track of time.
“Yes, and here, take a look. You are absolutely astonishing!” As I got out of the pool they pointed me to a nearby mirror where my reflection showed me, with all my fur back where it should be and my hair glistening in the light as I tried to slick it back with my hooves.
“Wow! Amazing. How?” I was at loss for words. I looked just stunning; even I was surprised that was me.
“Oh, it is thanks to the natural herbs that we are supplied with by a zebra named Zecora. The herbal baths can do wonders for anypony!” She said excitedly, satisfied with another happy customer.
“Miss Aloe, I cannot thank you enough. How much do I owe you?” I asked, knowing that it would take probably most of my budget to pay for such a treatment.
“..Oh, do not worry Mr.Track. It was a pleasure helping a pony in dire distress. This is on the house,” She said, being absolutely honest.
“You mean that? W-wow! I mean, thank you so much! Maybe I’ll visit you again when I’m finished with my show, Aloe,” I exclaimed. I’ve never met such a kind pony before; not only did she bother fixing me up, but she did it free of charge!
“Oh? What is it that you do, Mr. Track?” she asked, a cheerful, curious expression on her face. “I don’t think my sister or I have ever seen you here in Ponyville before.”
“Oh, um, I’m a travelling musician. I go all over Equestria and put on rock performances,” I said with a proud look on my face.
“That is most exquisite! The graceful melody, the heart-stopping beats. I may not seem like it, but I have been to my fair share of music concerts,” she sighed, almost falling into a daydream.
“Well, I have to go now. We have a show planned for today,” I waved my hoof to her.
“Farewell, Mr. Track!” Aloe waved back in a gentle fashion.
I trotted over to the entrance where Sieg was pacing back and forth. I walked over to him.
“Hey dude, check me out!” I half-shouted in excitement.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s nice, Riff,” he said in a very disinterested manner, “I have something better than your new look right now!”
“What could be better than my awesome new look?” I asked completely oblivious to the fact he was smiling maniacally.
“Riff, I just read an ad. There is this Pony DJ that I think we could make an agreement with,” he said, even more excited than before.
“Go on?” I asked, being curious about what he had planned this time.
“And... she can get us in contact with some major record dealers! We’ll finally have a place to stay!”
“Awesome, but can we keep the trailer? I kinda like it,” I said in a joking fashion.
“When we go big, we won’t need trailers, Riff.”
End of Chapter 1 |
|
MrTibbz | 514 | 2 | DJ P0N-3,Original Character,Princess Luna,Comedy,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Best Riff in Equestria | complete | -1 | -1 | <p>Riff Track is a Travelling musician, who roams Equestria with his best friend and manager, Sieg Musica. Their next stop in Ponyville does not start off well as they stumble throughout the town.</p><p>Art by Bronyontheway on DeviantArt <a href="http://bronyontheway.deviantart.com/#/d45me53" rel="nofollow">http://bronyontheway.deviantart.com/#/d45me53</a></p> | everyone | 2011-08-15T09:35:15+00:00 | 2011-08-15T09:35:15+00:00 | 1,103 | The Best Riff in Equestria
A story by Mr.Tibbz
Chapter Two: A new opportunity!
“So, let me get this straight: you want me to perform with a DJ at an outdoor rave party?”
“That’s the idea! I’m sure she’ll be okay with it as long as it’s in good fun,” Sieg said.
“Oh yeah, and if I get booed off stage?” I asked, knowing this was going to be the crowds’ most probable reaction to me crashing their rave party.
“Hey, this is the only chance we’ll have to actually have a crowd. All you need is some new gear.”
“What’s wrong with my guitar?” I asked, puzzled. It did it’s job fine for the past six years.
“We need something with more ‘oomph’ in it. I suggest we grab an electric guitar so you can really start rocking.”
“I guess,” I said, not really happy that I wasn’t going to be using my trusted instrument of choice.
“It’ll be fine, Riff. Just you wait and see!” Sieg uttered cheerfully, gaining a pep in his step.
The thought of performing at an outdoor rave party seemed good on paper, but I was still skeptical about the whole thing.
“So, where did you say we’re meeting this Vinyl Scratch?” I asked, having forgotten amidst my thoughts.
“I read that she would be visiting the Café before the show,” Sieg explained.
“Oh, great! I am starving!” I chirped, not having eaten since morning.
It was still broad daylight when we approached the fancy looking restaurant.
The restaurant seemed almost full, but a particular table seemed to catch Siegs’ eyes.
“There she is! C’mon Riff, let’s go meet her,” Sieg said with a smile on his face.
“Alright, let’s see what the fuss is about,” I relented before being confronted by Sieg face to face.
“Oh and Riff, try to keep your comments to yourself. This is important,” Sieg told me with a stone-faced expression I’ve rarely seen on him.
“Uh, sure thing, Sieg, I won’t mess this up,” I responded nervously, trying not to show the fact that I was completely smothered in fear at the thought of what he’d do to me if I made us lose our only chance at going big.
Sieg and I approached the white pony wearing black-rimmed shades with purple lenses on her forehead. She seemed to be enjoying a daffodil and daisy sandwich.
Sieg stepped forward to the DJ pony’s table first.
“Hello. Vinyl Scratch, I presume?” Sieg asked, again returning to his good-mannered self.
“You presumed right! What can I help you two colts with?” She replied. Her voice was quite powerful but it had a sense of calmness in it; I wasn’t sure how to describe it.
“My name is Sieg Musica, and this is my companion, Riff!”
I waved a hoof at her. She didn’t seem to notice.
“We were just hoping that we could come to an agreement with you in regards to the rave party you are planning today,” Sieg continued.
“Hmm... proceed,” she said in an almost mocking manner.
“Well, uh... we thought that we could help spice up your show a bit by doing rock performances in between your songs for tonight,” Sieg explained nervously, starting to sweat a bit, managing to keep a polite smile in spite of his obvious concern.
“I’m guessing the orange guy here is the one performing?” She shot me a look, freezing me in place.
“Um, yes, that is correct,” Sieg answered promptly, becoming even more nervous about whether or not she would approve of this.
“You think you can put on a good show?” Vinyl asked, still facing me.
“Um, yes I bel-” Sieg was abruptly interrupted by the DJ pony.
“I wasn’t asking you, I was asking him,” she pointed her hoof at me.
“Oh! Well, yeah! Of course I’ll put on a good show! I’m the best rocker around!” That last phrase sounded a bit too cocky. I am going to die any moment now, I just know it.
“Oh, really? Well, I’ll see you at the show then,” the DJ pony responded cooly. She then got up from her table while putting back on her trademark shades with her magic.
“Consider this an agreement, Mr. Musica. We’ll meet backstage in the town square,” having said her piece, she trotted off.
“Hey! look at that; my blabbering got us in the show!” I said with a smug grin.
“Riff, sometimes, you just amaze me,” Sieg said with a relief.
It is still daylight; that meant we still had time to explore Ponyville. I was still hungry from before, so we decided to stay at the cafe and order some food.
Sieg ordered some hay fries, while I ordered the daffodil and daisy sandwich.
“Hey Sieg? What did ya think of that Vinyl Scratch?” I asked, trying to stir up a conversation.
“Oh, uh, she was... helpful,” said Sieg, not really paying attention to my words.
“I dunno, man. I thought she was cool,” I added, “those shades of hers were awesome. Where can I get some of those?”
“I have no idea, Riff. Just focus on getting that electric guitar for tonight's show,” Sieg said, munching on his hay fries.
After we finished up our food and paid for our orders, we started heading towards the town square. A stage had already been erected by the work-ponies.
After wondering around the square for a while, I was hit with a sudden realization.
“Sieg... there are no music shops in Ponyville.”
Sieg froze, suddenly realizing this as well. I guess we both kinda forgot that little detail.
“Riff, you don’t happen to have a possible relative in Ponyville who is also musically inclined?” he asked, his pupils slowly shrinking in size.
“Uh, no...” I answered, his pupils now resembling small dots.
=====================================================================
“How are we supposed to be heard now if you don’t have an electric guitar we can plug into a speaker?!” Sieg predictably panicked.
Calming him down was no easy task as he took to flailing about in circles.
“Sieg! Calm down! I think I know where we can get an electric guitar,” I half-shouted.
Sieg stopped dead in his circular routine and faced me, standing a bit too close for comfort.
“Where, Riff? WHERE?!” he screamed at me, taking hold of and then shaking me at the same time.
“Manehattan.”
“We won’t be able to get there and back in time! It’s almost afternoon!” Sieg exclaimed, returning back to his circular motions.
“The more time you spend going in circles, the less time we have actually getting to Manehattan!” I shouted, trying to snap him out of his panicked circular pacing. It started to make me feel sick from dizziness. “It’s not like we have another choice.”
Sieg stopped circling about to face me.
“...Okay, Riff, but if we miss this chance... you don’t even wanna imagine what I’ll do to you!” He glared at me for a moment.
“Alright, Sieg. Trust me, we’ll get through this.”
We both nodded and galloped towards the trailer we parked near the entrance.
We both climbed into the trailer, Sieg taking the wheel while I gave him directions.
We drove for about two hours until...
“Uh, Sieg, when did you last refill the gas?” I asked out of curiosity, noticing a slight jerkiness to the trailer.
“Not since our previous sto-... uh-oh...” Sieg froze up, quickly looking at the tank meter. We were running empty.
“Oh, well that’s just great!” I said in annoyance as the trailer immediately started to slow down until it reached a full stop.
Sieg and I got out of the trailer to try and examine the situation. It was still a long way to go.
“Argh! This is all your fault, Riff!” Sieg shouted, and pointed accusingly.
“My fault?! It was you who wanted me to get that stupid electric guitar!” I argued.
“I never should have agreed to this!” Sieg retorted.
Our arguing soon reached a peak and we were about to charge one another when I saw something in the distance that appeared to be coming our way.
“Sieg stop. Look!” I pointed behind him to a horse-drawn carriage approaching us.
“Trying to trick me again, eh? Not this time!” He almost charged me until we heard a voice coming from the carriage as it stopped beside us.
“Do you two you require some assistance?” said an unfamiliar voice. It was coming from behind the door of the carriage.
“Well, our vehicle broke down and we desperately need to get to Manehattan,” Sieg suddenly forgot all his rage towards me and proceeded to speak in a polite manner.
“I can get you to Manehattan, if you wish,” replied the voice.
“Yes please!” We said in unison.
After being invited into the carriage, which was in fact very nicely decorated with red cushions and very dark wood paneling, we were greeted by a very unexpected pony.
“Princess Luna?” Sieg asked as it sunk in that the pony was an alicorn, and was of a dark blue color.
“Princess Luna? But wait I thought you were ban-” Sieg’s hoof was practically in my mouth before I had a chance to speak another word.
“Your highness!” Sieg said, bowing his head and elbowing me in the sides, prompting me to do the same. “What brings you here?”
“I was just visiting Ponyville to check up on a few things. You two seemed like you were about to tear each other apart back there,” She stated in a very calming tone, a touch of sadness in her eyes.
“Oh it was nothing, Princess,” Sieg nervously explained, glaring back at me with a grin.
“Y-yeah, n-nothing,” I added.
“Very well. I will let you two sort it out yourselves. You needed to go to Manehattan, yes?” Luna asked.
“Yes. We need to get to a music shop in Manehattan in order to buy a certain instrument for our show tonight,” I quickly answered.
“I’m afraid we don’t have much time,” Sieg added dourly.
“I can drop you off at Manehattan’s market district,” she offered in a soft, comforting tone.
“Oh, many thanks to you, your Majesty!” Sieg practically wept, bowing his head lower..
“It is not a problem. I was heading there myself,” she replied with a warm smile.
We conversed during the rest of the trip to Manehattan’s market district. Luna had quite the thirst for knowledge of the daily life of a pony in today’s times, especially travelling ponies like us.
In what felt like only a few minutes, we arrived in Manehattan’s market district. Princess Luna dropped us off, as promised. Before we could even state our thanks, she offered us yet another kindness.
“Here are some bits for your troubles.” She handed us an impressive satchel containing numerous bits. “I just wanted to make sure the show goes well tonight,” she added somewhat bashfully.
As she started to close the carriage door, we quickly brought our jaws back from the ground in order to thank the Princess one last time.
=====================================================================
We gleefully hopped all the way through the market district until we saw a shop called “Guitars, Flutes And More.”
“There! I think we found it, Siegy!” I chirped with excitement.
“Let’s go! Before it closes!” Sieg replied, obviously feeling just as happy as I was.
Upon entering the store, Sieg and I scoured the shop for the most expensive electric guitar we could find.
“Hey Riff, you like this one?” He pointed his hoof to a brilliant white guitar. It’s fretboard was infused with diamonds and the base of the guitar was polished to the point of mirroring my reflection.
“Yeah, let’s go with this one.”
I carefully lifted the guitar off its stand and brought it over to the counter.
The receptionist pony looked at us with a bored look on his face.
“That will be two-thousand-seven-hundred and ninety-nine bits, sir,” said the dull gray pony.
We tossed the satchel on the counter.
“Will this cover it?” We asked in unison, huge, cheerful grins on our faces at the sight of the receptionist-pony’s surprised look.
The withdrawal of almost three-thousand bits left the satchel significantly emptier, though the tell-tale jingle of a few dozen remaining bits sang with every step.
“This should be enough for the taxi fare to Ponyville,” Sieg observed after taking a quick peak inside.
End of Chapter 2 |
|
MrTibbz | 514 | 3 | DJ P0N-3,Original Character,Princess Luna,Comedy,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Best Riff in Equestria | complete | -1 | -1 | <p>Riff Track is a Travelling musician, who roams Equestria with his best friend and manager, Sieg Musica. Their next stop in Ponyville does not start off well as they stumble throughout the town.</p><p>Art by Bronyontheway on DeviantArt <a href="http://bronyontheway.deviantart.com/#/d45me53" rel="nofollow">http://bronyontheway.deviantart.com/#/d45me53</a></p> | everyone | 2011-08-15T09:36:52+00:00 | 2011-08-15T09:36:52+00:00 | 1,149 | The Best Riff in Equestria
A story by Mr.Tibbz
Chapter Three: On with the show
I held the guitar floating near us as we exited the shop and fared for a taxi-pony.
Sieg let out a whistle.
“Taxi! Over here!” Sieg shouted at an incoming pony who had a blinker strapped to his head. The pony was pulling a yellow open-carriage.
“Get us to ponyville, as fast as equinely possible.”
We got into the carriage, which promptly raced towards Ponyville.
The trip went by quite fast and the moon was just slowly rising while the sun set in the west as we arrived at the entrance to Ponyville. It was almost time to start the show.
“Thank you again. These should cover it.” I gave the taxi-pony a hoof-full of bits that was probably more than I owed him. “Consider the rest a big tip.”
Sieg and I then proceeded to gallop towards the town square where we saw that the stage had already been set up. The lights danced and the music was already playing, the audience carrying glow-sticks of various neon colours.
“Do you think we’re late?” I asked Sieg as we galloped closer.
“Not sure. It doesn’t seem as if she’s on stage,” replied Sieg.
Before we knew it, we had reached the stage. We entered through the back to meet up with Vinyl Scratch who had apparently been waiting for us, trying to stall the crowd in our absence.
“Where have you two been? The crowd is getting restless!” Vinyl Scratch half-shouted.
“We ran into a bit of a problem and then we had to-” before I could continue, Vinyl was already behind me, pushing me onto the stage.
“Just play along, alright?” She whispered to me. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but before I could ask, she had already stormed towards her turntable on the upper platform of the stage.
I was situated at the ground level of the stage, somewhere in the middle. The lights above me blinked on and off to the beat of the loud electronic music.
Sieg, in the meantime, was backstage watching the whole thing; he simply couldn’t keep himself under control since he knew I wasn’t prepared even the slightest bit for this show.
I kinda regretted oversleeping now.
“Ladies and gentlecolts! Are you ready for this? Are you ready to drop it to the beat? Are you ready for DJ P0n-3!?” Vinyl Scratch shouted into her mic, causing the audience to go mad, their glow-sticks becoming a multi-chromatic blur of light above the crowd as everypony started waving them around.
“I hope you’re ready, ‘cause tonight we have something special!” As she said that, I knew that I had to be prepared for something; I just wasn’t sure what ‘it’ was.
“Tonight, somepony dares to challenge me! The turntable temptress herself - DJ-P0n-3!” Vinyl once more shouted to the crowd who had, believe or not, become even more restless than before. “The pony present here tonight thinks his musical abilities can rival to that of mine!”
I was getting quite nervous already; I expected something, but not a challenge!
“Let us see how this, lost, confused, over-his-head pony can stand up to yours truly!”
Okay, well that was uncalled for. Suddenly, a light shone upon me, blinding me for a few moments and forcing me to shield my eyes with a hoof.
“Everypony, give it up for Riff Track!” Vinyl shouted. For a moment, I had frozen in place as the crowd suddenly became a little quieter - which wasn’t saying much. I was certain that the background roar of the crowd could still be heard for over a mile - an idea that frightened me more than I would have liked to admit. I tried as hard as I could to give a confident smirk to the audience, but to no effect.
“Let’s see how you can handle these beats, Riff!” I was immediately bombarded by the loud sound of a remixed bass & drum track. I thought I felt my ears go numb before suddenly snapping back. It felt like a blitzkrieg of sound.
“A little too loud for ya Riff?” Vinyl’s continual mocking was starting to tick me off a bit. That’s when I decided it was time to strike back.
I quickly plugged my guitar into the nearest amp, and proceeded to turn it up to eleven. I felt hesitant about doing so, but I felt like I had to fight loud music with even louder music.
“Well Vinyl, I hope you’re ready, ‘cause it’s about to get 20% louder!” I tried shouting to her, only notice that they forgot to give me a mic. Guess they didn’t expect me to actually have anything to say. “Here goes!” With that, I began to play a power chord over the bass in the vain hope It would sound louder and gain the crowds attention.
Attention I got... for a few seconds before the bass’ volume began to steadily increase.
My ears were almost bleeding; I couldn’t handle being this close to the speaker. The stage was literally starting to tremble from the sound.
“You think I was playing at max volume? That was only the low setting!” Vinyl screamed maniacally, as if possessed by the music.
I had to think of something; the crowd was slowly starting to try and boo me off stage, probably seeing me as an interruption to the rave. I had to get louder - much louder.
“I got it!” I said to myself. If I used my magic to increase the amp’s output beyond its limit, I could blast a sound wave from the speakers and steal the crowds attention from Vinyl. It was a risky move, as it could blow out the amp, but I had little choice.
“Let’s make some magic!” I said, grinning to myself.
Sieg was still sweating buckets from the stress of the whole situation backstage.
I quickly began magically amplifying the volume of my speakers, Vinyl raising her eyebrow as I gave her a cocky grin.
My muscles tensed and I was gritting my teeth as I tried to squeeze as much juice into the speakers as I could.
“Done...” I groaned under my breath, exhausted from the ritual.
I levitated my guitar closer to me and tried to ready myself for the inevitable tidal wave of sound I was about to unleash. I took in a deep breath, standing up straighter as I braced myself.
I then struck another power chord.
The ensuing blast of sound propelled me several inches forward, even as I dug the edge of my hooves into the hardwood floor of the stage.
The soundwave vibrated - rather than echoed - through the air around the crowd, everypony's mane rippling backwards as though struck by a powerful gust of wind. Somepony’s even had their glow-sticks blown away by the enormous blast of sound. I continued to play in rhythm to the bass as the roaring wave of sound continued propelling me inches closer to the edge of the stage with each strike of the chord.
Nearby, Vinyl was briefly perturbed by the sudden change in the playing field, the skilled DJ gradually shifting her music into a new rhythm - no doubt to try and throw me off. I took a moment to listen to the new rhythm - as well as to reposition myself further back from the stage’s edge - before gradually and skillfully adjusting my chord to the new rhythm, continuing to keep pace with her.
Now that our instruments were at equal levels of sound, it was truly my guitar versus her beats. Despite successfully matching her new rhythm, Vinyl continued to frequently change the rhythm at random intervals, trying to keep me off balance. I did my best to keep pace her abrupt changes, and for the most part, I was successful, despite being thrown off rhythm a couple of times when Vinyl switched beats quicker than I anticipated. I mean, who switches thirty seconds into a new rhythm? Seriously.
Sieg, meanwhile - amazed by the whole thing - was crying tears of joy as he hopped around like a little foal backstage. I only chanced a couple of glances and couldn’t actually hear him over the music, but I could swear he was chanting something about money from the way his mouth was moving.
=====================================================================
After the show was over and most the crowd had dispersed, I walked backstage. I was promptly greeted by both Sieg and Vinyl, the two exchanging smiles with each other before turning their attention to me.
“Riff! That was amazing! When did you learn how to do that?” Sieg asked, obviously having been completely taken aback by my performance.
“I just focused on my objective. I said I was gonna get loud, didn’t I?” I replied smoothly, offering as innocent a grin as I could.
“Well, you sure surprised everypony - myself included,” replied Vinyl, the talented DJ pony no longer wearing her trademark sunglasses, giving us a rare view of her stunning ruby eyes.
“Thanks!” I chirped, pleased with myself.
“In fact, my producer was actually in crowd. Unfortunately, he’s got some important business in Manehattan, so he asked me to give you his card personally,” she explained as she levitated the card over to us. “I look forward to working with you in the future, Riff,” she said that last phrase in a much calmer voice than I expected after all of her shouting during the show.
“Oh, uh, o-of course! You too!” I couldn’t help but blush at the thought of meeting her again. I can’t really understand why, but her mocking was slightly charming to me.
Sieg and I stood silently as the white DJ pony walked away. After a few moments, Sieg suddenly elbowed me in the side.
“Ow! What’s the big idea, Sieg?” I replied with a grin.
“Oh, no idea. Just felt like hitting you,” Sieg replied in a sarcastic tone.
We both started to laugh and praise our good fortune; we finally had a contact that could get us to the top in no time! Sieg eventually suggested we head on over to the Café and celebrate. My stomach answered for me before I had a chance to even open my mouth.
Later at the Café, we ordered a couple of bottles of the local cider. By the time we had finished them, we were singing makeshift lyrics about our recent success loudly. Before we had a chance to order another bottle, the staff asked us to leave the restaurant. The nerve of those ponies!
Sieg, being the most sober out of the two of us - which wasn’t saying much, and was only the case since I repeatedly drank from his glass when he wasn’t looking - tried and keep me balanced upright on our way, presumably, to our trailer.
It was then - as we trotted clumsily towards the entrance of Ponyville - that I had a sudden, horrifying realization.
“Sieg... di-didn’t uhhh... didn’t we leave our uhm... our uh.. trailer back on the- on the road?” I asked a bit drunkenly while trying to keep my head steady.
Sieg was about to say something, but before he could open his mouth; we saw our trailer, parked right at the side of the entrance.
We trotted towards it, when we saw a letter stuck on the windshield.
“Great show, you two!” Read the letter in an elegant, graceful font. Upon seeing a familiar royal seal at the bottom, we immediately realized who it was from.
“Looks like Princess Luna has a likin’ for this new generation of music,” Sieg chuckled, slurring only slightly.
“Ar.. aren’t we just.. *erp*... lucky?” I added in a mixture of drunken disbelief and sarcasm.
“Yeah... imagine alllll those bits tha’ we’re gonna earn on this record deal! Speaking of which, where’d you put that producers business card, Riff?” Sieg faced me, wobbling only very slightly.
“I uhh, I thought you had it...” I replied blankly, hiccuping shortly after speaking.
We both stared at each other for a moment in thought, another horrifying thought slowly creeping into our heads. Our eyes went wide as we both shouted in unison.
“THE RESTAURANT!”
I’ve never sobered up faster in my life.
We galloped back to the restaurant as fast as we could, too panicked to take pride in having avoided drunkenly tripping over ourselves. We saw the same waiter who asked us to leave standing at the entrance of the restaurant. He turned just as we approached him, Sieg and I slowing down and fighting to catch our breath.
“I do believe you... gentlecolts... forgot this when you left,” the waiter pony said in the most stuck-up manner a sentence could be uttered as far as I was concerned; he even paused a moment before sarcastically emphasizing ‘gentlecolts.’ Fortunately, he presented us with the precious business card shortly after.
“Ah, yes,” Sieg took a sigh of relief, “thank you kindly.”
“At least one of you still has manners,” said the waiter pony. He was lucky that I was too relieved to argue. “Please try and pay us a more quiet visit in the future.”
“Y-yes, of course. Thank you again!” Sieg took the card and we began to slowly walk back to our trailer, significantly more sober than our previous trip. Most of the walk this time, though, was silent, each of us smiling and looking up at the night sky in a thoughtful - and thankful - manner.
After a while, we reached the trailer once again, and the realization that we were about to leave settled in. While Sieg began checking it over and preparing it, I started thinking about all I’d been through in just the past day, and how fun it had been in spite of all the panicking. I also found myself thinking about the kindness of the ponies here, from Aloe cleaning me up for free, to Vinyl agreeing to let us perform with her on the spot.
As I stared at the village, lost in thought, I didn’t even hear Sieg laugh and loudly thank Luna for apparently refilling our trailer’s gas tank. I was snapped back to reality once it started up, and finally climbed into the trailer next to my manager and long time friend.
“Hey, Sieg?”
“Yes, Riff?”
“When are we gonna visit Ponyville again? I kinda want to have my own concert here, you know?”
“Soon, I hope. Let’s focus on getting the bits for that concert before we plan it.”
“Alright. Whatever you say, Sieg.”
The End |
|
Soviet | 518 | 1 | Nightmare Moon,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Darkness Within | Luna's past comes back with malicious intent. | complete | 34 | 2 | <p>Luna thought that she had banished the evil within her once the elements had defeated her. She will come to realize that she was deadly wrong as the evil within her comes back with more power than she could have ever imagined.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-15T22:26:50+00:00 | 2011-08-15T22:26:50+00:00 | 4,211 | Luna made her way through the long winding corridors of Canterlot. The full moon’s light shone through the long towering windows of the corridor, the indigo light reflecting off of Luna. This was her time of the celestial cycle, nighttime. Luna stared out the windows as she moved, admiring her moon. She had seen it many times before and had even spent a millennium on it, yet tonight it seemed different than most other nights - but in what way she couldn’t tell.
Luna didn’t dwell on it for long and only assumed it was her mind playing tricks. She continued trotting casually down the corridor; she was in no hurry to be anywhere specific. The corridor itself seemed to stretch on into the distance, high stone walls going up farther than she’d have thought possible. Lit torches adorned the window slits high upon the walls. The light coming from the torches seemed futile against the encompassing darkness of the night.
Through the windows from her vantage point in Canterlot she could see far across Equestria. Lights of houses from various villages and towns far below seemed small but vivid. At least some are enjoying my night, she thought happily.
As she continued down the corridor, she realised the walk had lasted for seeming hours. Something was amiss, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on what, “It’s as if everything is moving... slower, like time is being manipulated around me.” she said to herself. She could understand the base of the problem, but nothing more. Going deeper seemed impossible.
“Why does it feel like I’m going nowhere? And why does this corridor and indeed the entire castle feel so different than a few hours ago? Why have I seen no pony else? There must at least be guards taking night shifts.”
The answers that she sought wouldn’t come to her. She knew something was wrong but just couldn’t seem to make sense of it. The more she tried to deduce the problem the more confused she became, and her train of thought just went around in circles. It was as if something was purposefully attempting to keep her from the truth. “This is all wrong, something just isn’t right here.”
Something was changing, the darkness of her night was now beginning to feel unnatural; it was becoming colder, it shifted around her like an entity acting of its own volition. It was an unnatural, shapeless motion that blurred the castle walls as it circled. She had not felt such a darkness surround her since her time as Nightmare Moon. Then, she had controlled such darkness for her own use, but relinquished it once the elements had released her. Ever since, she had committed herself to not fall victim to the allure again.
She remained stationary; staring at the floor, trying to push past whatever mental force field was keeping her train of thought from continuing. Amidst her concentration she never noticed how the torches behind and in front of her were slowly going out in succession. The darkness crept ever closer to her, gaining more power as it grew. It wasn’t until she looked up, after finally giving up trying to defeat the mental force field, that she noticed this event. By then it was too late. The last torch in front of her finally extinguished itself, leaving only the light of the moon upon her, but not even that lasted for long. The moon itself slowly dimmed and diminished from its full brightness, even the lights from the villages below were fading, sucked into the hungering darkness until they were finally gone. As the moon lost its light, so too did Luna’s power wane. She was being sapped of her strength by the same darkness that she had felt before. She felt weak and her legs wobbled slightly, almost making her lose her balance. The moon’s light dimmed and waned until finally it had given out and disappeared from existence along with the sky and stars it was lighting, all now covered in black.
Darkness. Darkness enveloped her from all sides; she could not see. Pure blackness now ruled. Luna was not one to be afraid of darkness, as that was her domain, yet she was beginning to breathe heavily and less steadily as her heart raced faster. She was afraid, and quickly becoming terrified. This darkness had a mind of its own; this darkness was out of her control. It now viciously swirled around her in a hurricane of icy wind, penetrating through her coat and freezing her to the bone.
Hysteria gripped Luna tight as the shadows surrounding her began their attack. She wanted to flee but her legs would not obey her. The light, quick thumping of her heartbeat grew exponentially in volume as it raced faster and faster until she feared it would burst. The incessant thumps were now a rampaging beat that was deafening. She began to scream in agony as the voracious dark consumed her, though she knew that nopony could hear her. Pained tears flowed uncontrolled from her eyes. It was too much; she felt her life being sadistically squeezed from her as the darkness choked her. She tried harder and harder to breathe, but the harder she tried the more difficult it became. The deafening beat of her heart was now slowing from oxygen loss. Bright spots now glared in her half closed eyes and the strangulation continued. The last thought she could form was “Why me?”
“Because,” replied a voice that she immediately recognized, “you are weak, you resist letting the strength of the darkness in.”
Nightmare Moon, it was Nightmare Moon’s voice. It was disembodied and grungy, but definitely hers. Through bloodshot vision, Luna could see a malicious pair of eyes glaring piercingly, sending a new wave of terror through her.
“You refuse to embrace your full potential as the ruler of total darkness and for that you deserve nothing, NOTHING.” The voice shot out at her venomously. The darkness gave one final crushing push onto her as her very last breath escaped her.
Luna awoke with a startled gasp. The mental shock quickly subsided as light surrounded her instead of darkness. She had no idea how to grasp what she had just been through. It must have been a dream, she reasoned, but it was still one of the most harrowing experiences she had ever faced. She had just been through a living hell from something that was a part of her deep within that she foolishly believed she had vanquished some time ago.
---
“Luna, are you alright? You seem distracted.” asked a worried Celestia from the end of the royal dining table. Luna had just now realized how much time had passed since she woke. Everything since had melded together until now when someone had actually addressed her. This was very unlike her; she was very attentive when it came to matters dealing with the castle and her new life there. She was trying her best to re-assimilate back into her old life. Losing focus and her track of time was not a good thing to be doing.
“Yes I’m fine, just a bit tired. I just had a bad dream last night, nothing to be worried about though.” She replied half-truthfully. She wasn’t fine, her latest dream had troubled her greatly, but she tried pushing it off as just a horrible nightmare and nothing more. Yet she knew deep down it was something more than that. She was making so much progress in suppressing dark temptations and to have them to begin to resurface again would demolish all of her ambitions. This was something she could not afford, not at such a crucial point in her new life. It was hard enough to change her sleeping cycle to conform with everything better.
“Oh, really? What about?” Celestia inquired.
“I’d rather not say, it’s not a big issue, really.” Luna insisted, even though she knew Celestia could almost tell perfectly when she was lying or not telling the full truth. Luna meant well by not telling her sister the whole truth, but she just couldn’t bring herself to tell her everything. She didn’t know if it really was her inner darkness attacking her or just a bad dream. She may just be overreacting to it after all.
To her relief, Celestia relented, though noticeably disappointed. “Very well then, just know that sometimes keeping things to yourself can be more harmful than telling others about them.” She said, cutting the words through Luna to make her point. Luna quite clearly got it.
Their breakfast continued in silence for another few minutes as Luna stared at the wall to her left, lost in thought. Then Luna began to hear an unusual sound from no distinguishable point. It was a voice, a voice barely at the volume of a whisper, making the words unintelligible and unclear. The voice was wispy and very soft, almost soothing, it sounded a lot like Celestia’s. There was no pony else in the room with them. Luna assumed Celestia had asked her something while she was thinking so she turned back to her and asked “Did you say something?”
“Hmm? No, I didn’t say anything.” She replied back with a confused expression before adding “Are you sure that you’re perfectly fine?”
This came as a shock to Luna. If these quiet whispers weren’t from her sister, then who? Hearing whispers from nowhere was definitely not a good sign.
“It has to be my mind still playing tricks on me; I must have had very little sleep last night then after all.” Luna concluded.
“Oh, it must have just been nothing, then. I suppose I’m just a little tired is all. I think I will go take a nap.” Luna spoke these quickly while chuckling to make it appear as if it was just some silly mistake on her part and began to exit the room before she even finished speaking to avoid her sister’s inevitable response.
---
A few days later, Luna was joyfully trotting through the corridors of Canterlot. After that breakfast she had decided it best to get some sleep to see if these dreams would persist but thankfully she slept perfectly fine. That night and a few nights after no similar dreams had come back.
“Maybe I was just overreacting after all.” she thought to herself after she had woken up that morning.
It was a very beautiful day out, Celestia had really outdone herself. Outside in the courtyard she could see a hustle of activity. Guards were patrolling on the outer walls and keeping watch near the gates, workers were now heading back home now that the work day was over, other citizens starting to head out for the night for some enjoyment. It was a refreshing sight from the horrible dream she had.
She made it successfully to her destination of the royal dining room for her evening meal. The guards standing watch by the doors acknowledged her presence with a quick bow and opened the doors for her. Celestia was already there and had definitely noticed Luna’s massive mood change from a few days earlier and beamed at her. “Well you certainly seem much better than you did earlier this week.” She commented.
“Yes I definitely do after I had some good rest; I suppose it was just a lack of sleep.” Luna said back to her.
The rest of the day went as most days usually go. After the day was complete and the sun began to sink Luna raised the moon as she did every night before since her return. The full moon shone with much more brightness than it usually had. Luna assumed it must have been a reflection of her mood as many of the things involving the moon were. She then returned to her bed from her balcony and settled in for a restful night of sleep.
Luna was in the castle’s throne room. She sat in the space that was to the right of Celestia, who was sitting on the throne itself. She felt dignified and happy to be back where she had been so long ago. It was a good feeling, ruling the land together with her sister. This was the way it was meant to be.
Suddenly a pang of a long forgotten feeling shot through Luna. She couldn’t specify which feeling that it was though. It was a strange, hateful feeling that she had not felt in quite a while. It made her feel bitter inside, and it would not release its hold on her. It chewed away at her soul and she could not resist it any longer. It continued to fill and deprave her until it was all she could feel. Looking over at Celestia she realized what this emotion was: Jealousy.
It was pure, unrestrained jealousy towards her sister. She had all the real power when it came to political matters. She had all the power when it came to ruling their subjects. She had all the power when it came to nearly everything in Equestria. This revelation made things all too clear now. Celestia was purposefully keeping her out of important matters concerning the country because she was still distrustful of her. After all the effort she put into showing her sister that she was now free of her corruption she still didn’t trust her. The now uncontrollable jealousy was converting into an infuriated rage.
“How dare she?!” Luna screamed to herself. “After all this time, nothing’s changed, it’s still the same, and the next thing I know she’ll try and find a reason to banish me again!” She wanted to do something right there and then. She wanted to stand up to Celestia and scream at her, she wanted to hurt her, she wanted to… to...
“No! What am I thinking! I would never do such things! I willingly gave up such petty emotions for a reason.” She thought as rationality had surged back into her. “I understand why she feels distrustful of me, and she should be. I just have to prove to her that I can be trusted. We were meant to rule together.”
“Do you honestly believe that?” came a voice from her right. It was Nightmare Moon’s disembodied voice again. Luna’s eyes widened with surprise. She wanted nothing to do with that part of her anymore, why could it not just leave her be? She looked up fearfully. There stood the one who caused her a thousand years of suffering. She recoiled slightly at the sudden sight of her. Celestia sat to her left completely oblivious to what was happening.
“Cowardly groveling little foal.” the phantom spat at her. “You are a naïve one aren’t you? A blind, ignorant foal led by some mythical notion that you might actually be accepted back here. Why do you not open your eyes and see the world for what it truly is? You and I both know she will never truly accept you back as her sister. The sister she had known and loved died over a millennium ago. You are DEAD to her! All that you have left is yourself, yet you won’t even let yourself realize your full potential. You’re letting yourself remain weak so that she can suppress you from becoming a threat. Why do you willingly allow yourself to be manipulated and subverted by that solar tyrant?”
“Celestia is no tyrant.” Luna responded defensively. “She only had to clamp down onto Equestria for a period of time to keep order, which was being thrown into mayhem by you.”
“Spare me the self-righteousness, don’t forget that it was you who originally called upon me for help in the first place, we are the same.” She retorted.
Luna could not argue with her. She was right; it was her fault that all of those years of discord in the world had begun with her and her damned misplaced desire for attention. Had she not been dreaming, she would have simply ignored her dark side or easily found some comeback. In her dreams though, all of her memories were ever present as if they were still occurring. It clouded her mind and made her more susceptible to influence. She could think of nothing to say back, so she remained silent.
“Ah, you see, you get it now. You realize that what I speak is the truth. We can be the new rulers of this land though. Don’t you see? She’s scared of you, she fears you, as she should. You may look at the past as something bad but in truth it was merely a setback. The elements can be dealt with if we work together. If we can remove them from the picture then no rogue factors will stand in our way. Together, we can become more powerful than Celestia could even imagine. Together, we can rule this land as it should be, in eternal night! All you have to do is just let me in.”
Luna’s eyes had burst open wide, her pupils shrinking to tiny dots. ‘Just let me in’, those last words spoken by Nightmare Moon had been the same words that she had heard all those years ago when she was first approached by her. She was asking her to do the very same thing that she had done so long ago. Scorching memories of the destruction caused by the time she had answered yes to those words now violently flashed through her mind. So much suffering and anguish was caused by her selfishness. “No, I can’t let that happen again.” she thought. Luna looked up at her inner darkness and bore a stare into her.
“Well, what do you say?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“...No.” was all she eventually managed to quietly let out.
“What! What do you mean ‘no’? I’m offering you unlimited power, and you refuse it?” Nightmare Moon asked, baffled.
“No… no, not after remembering the atrocities that I had committed, not again. Never. Again. I refuse to let the complete darkness in for that reason. I will never corrupt myself and become that, that monstrosity again.” she said contritely.
Nightmare Moon’s pleasant yet deceptive smile that she had been wearing the entire time of the discussion quickly melted at first into that of disbelief. From there it devolved even quicker into an angered face of rage.
“FINE.” she yelled out, making Luna cower slightly in her seat. “I had hoped that you would simply accept my offer of power, but it seems that you are as ignorant and stubborn as ever. No matter, every thing's will can be bent, the full power of true darkness can turn your world a living nightmare and shall crush you if you continue to refuse. You will watch as your reality falls around you!”
Luna then began to notice what was occurring as Nightmare Moon viciously spoke. Celestia had disappeared from her side leaving only an empty throne. The walls around the throne room began to steadily erode and break apart. Cracks spouted from the ceiling down into the walls, cracking and crumbling the walls into pieces. This continued all the way down the sides of the room first, then moving to the floors. The white polished floor aged rapidly as if years were going by in seconds and broke into large chunks that disappeared below. Luna then saw what was beneath the crumbling floors as they disappeared: Nothing. It was an abyss of blackness, stretching across farther than she could see. Nightmare Moon too began to fade as the collapsing room had reached her, the same malevolent smile etched onto her face as she vanished.
The only thing that remained of what was once the throne room was where Luna was sitting, the rest of the room was now gone, a memory faded into the abyss. All around her was a red tinge that surrounded her above, but below was the blackness of the abyss. Looking down into it, Luna began to feel extremely uneasy. She stared deeply into the bottomless darkness, and it was as if the abyss was… was staring back at her. Luna’s heart stopped and her blood flushed cold. Some unfathomable fear was stricken into her to the very depths of her soul. She forgot how to breathe as she now knew what she was looking at. She was looking at herself, into the abyss of her own fears and phobias and indeed, her own inner darkness in its truest form. She had never imagined that her own inner darkness would have such a hold within her. Nightmare Moon’s lingering voice called out to her one last time.
“Stare into the abyss, but be warned, for the abyss stares back at you.” she concluded to Luna with an unholy cackle. The unstable floor beneath Luna gave way, plunging her into nothingness.
Light poured through Luna’s field of vision as she gasped for air. She jumped and fell out of her bed in hysterics as she once again returned to life. The evil contained within her brought her to the brink of death two times now. It was the most unimaginable thing to experience, looking at your own death in the face multiple times. There was no way she could cope with that. A torrent of sobs escaped her as she remained there curled up shaking feverishly as the sound of that demented laughter still freshly echoed in her mind. The same voice that had tormented her all night echoed to her one last time.
“Pathetic.” was all it had uttered.
---
Luna was back in the royal dining room again for breakfast that morning, now she wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was distraught. She shook slightly as she stared forward blankly. She now knows that a part of herself really has violently turned against her and has vowed to make her world a living nightmare, and that was no idle threat. She thought that she could control or ignore the churning darkness that was within her but is now learning how deadly wrong she was. Something is going to happen soon, and she won’t be able to stop it.
Celestia had obviously taken note of this but did not know how to approach her about it. Luna was scared, possibly even terrified with how much she was shaking. Celestia was worried that if she had attempted to get Luna to tell her of her problems she would get defensive like before. It pained her too much to see Luna in this state; she would have to take a chance, for Luna’s sake.
“Luna, I’m worried about you, I hate to see you like this. Please, tell me what is happening with you. I only wish to help you with…”
She continued to speak, but Luna could not hear her, she was fixating on a similar sound she heard from before. It was that same whispering sound again. It was such a beautiful and soothing sound gliding across her ears, and now it was almost at a level of audio that she could understand. She perked her ears up and listened intently, completely blocking Celestia out in the process. At first she heard the same unintelligible jumble of words for some time. Then, after about half a minute she finally made out a single line. She was suddenly shocked as the voice of what she heard was no longer a soothing whisper, but now a demonic echo that scathed her ears: “…Your friends will abandon you…”
Something had struck a chord with her, as soon as she heard that unholy voice something seized control over her body. A split second after the voice finished she shot strait up, smashing her one hoof on the table and a plate in front of her, shattering it. She did not even feel the initial pain; she was literally out of control of her body. Blood from her hoof oozed out from the jagged pieces of the plate that had punctured her when it broke, pooling on the table cloth and staining its bright white color into a grimy shade of red. She remained locked into the same position, breathing unsteadily, she couldn’t move even if she wanted to. The blood was now making a river off from the pool and dripped slowly off the table onto the floor.
Celestia appeared to be just as shocked as Luna is. She only tried to get a conversation going with Luna and she freaks out. She was never one to be caught off guard so easily but she had never expected Luna to do this. Celestia finally regained her composure but was still slightly unnerved as she continued to star at Luna. She had never seen her do such an extreme action in the past year she was here. What could have driven her to such lengths? She stood and moved around the table to face her sister. Luna was still under control from whatever had taken hold of her, though Celestia did not know that. She cautiously inched towards Luna, trying to avoid starting at the blood until she was about a meter from her. Slowly she began asking “L-Luna, are you… alright?” She felt silly for asking such an obviously answered question, but she had to say something to break the unsettling silence.
Her sister’s innately calming voice had finally given Luna the push to regain her motor skills. She quickly snapped her hoof away from where it lay in the middle of the broken shards of the plate and brought it up to her eyes and examined it. It took only seconds for her to feel the pain of what she had just unintentionally done and finally gave out a belated scream. It was a deep, grating scream that rang out all through the room. Once she finished she began to hyperventilate at the sight of her own blood flowing down her hoof. She was starting to shake more uncontrollably than she was before.
Celestia did nothing; she was absolutely bewildered by the entire situation. All of Luna’s actions in the past few days made no sense in the slightest. She acts strange one day, then is fine for the next few days, and now does this? Both times when she had attempted to help Luna she had lost it and did something crazy. She began to cringe at the site of her sister’s blood, it was never an easy sight for her to see, especially that of her own kin’s. She feared that if she had attempted to help Luna again would do something similar or even worse. She shuddered at the thought of her sister injuring herself further than she already has.
The commotion of the plate breaking and Luna screaming had alerted the guards posted outside the door and they burst through the door with zeal ready to combat whatever enemy had attacked their rulers. But just as quickly as they entered, they too were confused with the sight that beheld them. No enemy was attacking the sisters yet Luna was bleeding and hyperventilating while Celestia just stared at her. The two sisters did not even look at them when they had entered.
The guard on the left approached them with uncertainty and asked “Err, is there a problem Princesses?” The sisters made no attempt to respond to them. Tears were beginning to stream down Luna’s face as the pain from her wound grew. Celestia remained immobile, still contemplating her next move.
The tears in Luna’s eyes were beginning to obscure her vision. She attempted to retrieve the memory of what had just occurred to her. She found herself standing with her hoof in the center of a broken plate, covered in her own blood. The last thing she recalled was hearing a demonic whisper. She couldn’t even remember doing anything, the past minute to her was completely black. Just as she had wished to never hear that demonic voice speak to her again it returned louder, though only slightly, but now clearer than ever. “…Tell yourself that these are your friends again, they have turned on you, kill them before they kill you…”
Luna had finally regained her senses and looked about her. Celestia was standing close to her right staring at her closely and to her left stood two of the personal guard; they too were staring at them. The voiced unveiled a truth to her once it spoke, only then did she now see past the guises on their faces. They were all planning something, she knew it. The voice was right; she could see their cold, murderous expressions. The pieces were starting to come together now.
“Oh my,” she whispered, “it’s true, the voice is true. You’re all plotting to murder me aren’t you?!” She was starting to become hysterical.
Celestia now stopped trying to comprehend what was happening. Now she thinks that Celestia and the guards were trying to murder her! Nothing that Luna was doing made sense any more. The only thing she could manage to stammer out was “Wh-what!? Luna, what is happening to you? Stop this madness. We aren’t planning to do anything in the slightest. Please, why don’t we jus-“
“LIES.” Luna interjected forcefully. A brief flash of light passed in her eyes and horn as she sent a shockwave of energy out from her. Both guards flew backwards, both falling unconscious after hitting the wall. Celestia merely recoiled slightly as it buffeted her.
Now Luna was attacking her! Is it something that I am doing? thought Celestia. What am I doing wrong to make her act this way? Every time I try helping she progressively gets worse. Celestia made no further attempt to do anything with Luna anymore. She was now terrified of what Luna would do if she had tried to help her again.
After Luna had finished her attack, she turned towards her sister and looked upon her face again. To her, Celestia had a wickedly sinister grin on her, full of untold horrors of what she was about to do to Luna. Luna’s eyes began to widen with fear. Celestia was still more powerful than her and could easily overpower Luna if she wanted to. She realized now how foolish it was to attack her.
Celestia still kept her dumbfounded expression pointed at Luna; Luna must have seen something in Celestia that she was apparently not aware of, because she glared at Celestia as if she had just slaughtered hundreds of innocent foals before her. It made her uncomfortable; it was as if Luna were staring through her soul.
Luna cowered in terror before her, whimpering slightly. Through her view she saw Celestia give a sadistic laugh towards her before cruelly saying “What, is the little weakling going to cry now? Pathetic, you should have never been restored to such a disgraceful form when the elements defeated you. You should have just died.” Luna could not believe the words that she was hearing. They scalded her as Celestia spat them out at her. The voice once again returned, now slightly above a whisper, it all too clear now. “…They have all abandoned you, strike out now before they do…”
“I…I can’t, not against her.” Her voice faltered as she spoke. Even though Luna’s sanity was dropping lower she still resisted the thought of attacking her sister all out. The shockwave was just a warning to get Celestia to back away from her. .
“Luna, what in Equestria has gotten into you?” Which through Luna’s distorted hearing translated to “Ha, see, I knew it, you truly are weak, a weak, disgraceful excuse for royalty.”
“…Do it, attack while you still can…” The voice insisted, encouraging her still.
“I…” Luna was lost for words.
“…DO IT…” The voice finally commanded, no longer suggesting it.
In an instant Luna once again lost control of her body as she quickly grabbed a knife from the table and charged towards Celestia. She was completely frozen, unable to make herself move, her heart was starting to rend itself. The one pony she had loved the most in the world was once again turning on her in a fit of rage just as she had all those years ago. This time though there was no reason for this unprovoked attack, which was making it worse for her. It pained her greatly to fight and banish her last time, and now when she had just gotten Luna back she could not bring herself to defend herself. The thought of Luna becoming the evil that she had fended off once again was too much for her. She broke down into tears.
The sight of her sister crying inundated Luna with sanity as she began to lunge towards her with the knife. At the last second she had gained enough control over herself to veer to the right, only nicking Celestia’s right foreleg. Even though it was only a minor injury, she still fell on her hind legs and then onto her forelegs in a storm of weeping. She could not control herself any more, the pain of all her memories from the past were all too lifelike as if she were experiencing them in the present. She began to remember a timeline of events leading to the point where Luna became Nightmare Moon out of her hate. Then last the guilt of 1000 years of separation and 1000 years of trying to cope with herself and her actions that she took to right after banishing her to restore order to Equestria. How cruel she had been, only recently with the return of her sister had she finally come to terms with herself. Now as history started to repeat itself, all of the memories came crashing back onto her in a maelstrom of grief and sorrow.
Luna was taken aback from such a sight. Had she cut her deeper than she thought? “…Now, strike now while she’s down, deliver the killing blow…” Luna had enough sanity to resist the voices hold over her this time, but that resistance would not last forever. She had to leave while she still could. She dropped the partially bloodied knife and bolted out of the door, making a beeline for her room, not caring what got into her way.
---
Celestia remained where she fell, unregulated tears and sobs still continuing from her. Seeing Luna in the same state she was a millennium ago and fighting against her again was soul crushing. Since the first time that she banished Luna and the chaotic period following she vowed to never do something so horrible ever again. She blamed herself for everything that had just occurred, unknowing to what was truly happening to Luna. She believed that Luna is acting this way because she had been ignoring her since Luna had returned and that history was repeating itself again. The thought of that happening tore her heart apart.
Some guards who had heard the commotion from across the hallway had rallied up a force of a dozen more guards and were just now making their way into the room in a V formation. They had not expected the sight that they saw upon entering the room. Their ruler, the goddess of the sun, was lying in a pit of her own despair and tears before them. How such an image of perfection could be brought down to such a pitiful state, seeing her like this made all of them shift uncomfortably. The one who had taken point of the V formation moved forward and addressed her. “Princess, we heard a commotion coming from in here and we wanted to make sure that you were okay.” He still asked even though the answer was abundantly clear.
Celestia could not let her guards see her in this state. She attempted, though very unsuccessfully, to regain her composure once again. She stood up to full height but with her legs still slightly trembling from the emotional stress she just experienced and asked “Luna, where is Luna?” she cared about nothing more right now than to know where her sister was and to know what was going on with her. She could not allow herself or Luna to go down the same path that was taken before.
The point guard shifted again, trying to find the words. “Princess Luna was charging through the hallways once our group formed, I sent two of us after her though I have not heard back from them yet, but from the looks of it she was heading straight for her room.”
That was all that Celestia needed to know, she thanked them and began to head out. The guard that she was talking to called out to her, “Princess, where are you going? Do you need assistance?”
“No, I don’t need any help; I’m not sure if I can even be of any help myself.” And with that, she exited heading towards Luna’s room.
Five minutes later, Celestia made her way to Luna’s room at the far end of the castle. Something was clearly happening there too, about four guards where standing outside of the rooms closed doors. One of them was knocking on the doors asking repeatedly “Princess Luna, Princess Luna, are you alright?” Upon her approach the guards quickly stopped what they were doing and bowed. The one who was knocking on the door spoke first.
“Princess Luna appears to have locked herself in her room and refuses to respond to us, the two who chased after her saw her enter and slam the door shut, since then we have come to help but with no avail.”
Celestia made no attempt to be surprised; she knew that this is what would have happened if Luna was indeed heading to her room. She now had to try to talk to Luna even if she got to this point now by her trying to help, or so she thought. Against all self-warnings not to, she approached the two ornate oak doors that made up one massive door and stared at them for a while before finally building the courage to start.
“Luna, I do not fully know why you are acting this way, but it pains me to see you doing these terrible things. I just wanted to say that if it is me that you are angered at, then please accept my most sincere apology that I can give. I know that you have no reason to accept my apology and I would not blame you if you didn’t, but please, I beg of you” Celestia was attempting not to break down again “I beg of you to try and let me help you with whatever problems you are having. I hate to see you this way Luna, I never want to see you in such pain and hate again, I have reaped the consequences of what I have sown a long time ago and vowed to never do such horrific things again. I don’t want to lose you a second time Luna, I don’t know if my heart could take that again. I love you and I just want my dear sister back again.”
Silence. Nothing came out from behind those doors that stood before Celestia while or after she spilled her heart out. She remained there in disbelief; her sister really didn’t love her anymore. Tears welled up once more from her eyes as she quietly said “Then I guess you really don’t love me anymore, I’m so, so sorry Luna.” Her heart was shattered She trudged away from the door, disconsolate.
---
Luna was galloping down the corridor from the dining room that led straight to her room. She wouldn’t stop for anything, not while she still had some control over herself. She frantically galloped faster as she saw that more and more ponies where stopping to watch her hysterically galloping past with confused looks on their faces. But to Luna she saw that they all had the same evil grins that she saw Celestia have on a few minutes ago. “They’re all trying to kill me too?!” She thought as she saw them. She knew Celestia and the guards were trying to kill her, but now every pony in the whole castle too? It gave her all the more reason to speed up faster as her still dropping sanity continued to warp reality around her.
She finally made it to her room and quickly made her way inside, slamming the door behind her with a loud clash. Once inside she moved to the furthest corner away from the door and fell into a fit of strange emotions she could not pick out. It was all just too much for her; she couldn’t handle all of the stress weighing down on her.
Minutes later she remained unchanged, not knowing what to do with herself. The demonic whisper had finally subsided for the moment, but she feared it could return at any time. She flinched and gasped slightly as she heard banging on her door and some pony calling out “Princess Luna, Princess Luna are you alright?” She didn’t respond, she knew better, they’re merely trying to coax her out so that they can arrest and execute her.
The banging and voice calling her out finally ended after a few minutes as she heard faint mumblings outside her door. Then after a few seconds later she heard the voice of her sister. “Luna, I do not know why you are acting this way, but it pains me to see you doing these terrible things.” Her voice was now much more sincere and apologetic than it was earlier now that the whispering wasn’t speaking to her and manipulating whatever she heard. It sounded so friendly, much like her sister’s voice was.
“I just wanted to say that if it is me that you are angered at, then please accept my most sincere apology that I can give. I know that you have no reason to accept my apology and I would not blame you if you didn’t.” Luna could then tell that she was actually telling the truth, it was amazing to her. She now wanted nothing more than to be with her sister once more. She forgot her insecurities as she began to get up and move towards the door and her dear sister.
Before she made it halfway to the door the whispering returned with stinging force as it yelled louder than it ever had “…STOP, she lies to you, she wants to kill you, don’t forget what she has done to you before, it’s a trick…” Luna was beginning to lose control of herself again, she was only a few meters from the door. She wanted to open it so badly, but the entity fighting her was gaining more control. She shed one tear as she heard her sister barely whisper from the other side “Then I guess you really don’t love me anymore, I’m so, so sorry Luna.” She completely lost control again as she flailed backwards away from the door, losing consciousness as her body was taken over.
Some time later she had regained her movement but no longer attempted to leave her room. She knew that if she tried to leave through her front or balcony doors she would just be taken control of again and forced to move away from it. She was now a prisoner of herself. The sun was starting to set and night was beginning to take over now. Luna was saddened at the sight she then saw. The moon, it raised without her, Celestia must have raised the moon. This greatly pained Luna, Celestia must have truly thought she was a lost cause. She no longer believed that her sister was trying to kill her and she wanted to speak with her, but she couldn’t. She must still think I'm angry at her too. With a sob Luna moved towards the bathroom, Maybe a bath will at least calm me a bit. she reasoned.
To the far right of the room next to her bed was a smaller bathroom. Luna went in and lit a candle on the wall just inside the room. The bathroom was a moderate size, more than enough for her to fit in. On the right was a bathtub and to the left was a counter with a sink and mirror above it. Luna placed lit the candle beside the mirror and looked into it, disgusted by what she saw. She looked as if she hadn’t slept for days, her mane was frizzled and unkempt and bags hung under her eyes. Her eyes themselves seemed to have gone slightly paler from a deep dark green to a hazed and clouded light green. She looked completely horrible, and she felt no better than how she looked.
The blood from her hoof had coagulated and no longer bled out but shards of the plate were still stuck in her. She began working on removing them. Using her magic, she plucked out the tiny pieces left in her. Each time she removed one she winced a little bit more as small bits of blood from the punctured area began to seep out. After a few arduous minutes she removed the last piece and ran water from the sink over it. The water stung the areas burnt slightly but it wasn’t nearly as painful as when it was still bleeding.
Once she was done cleaning the blood off her hoof she then decided to finally take a bath to try refresh her. She filled the tub with hot water and slowly stepped into it. The water quickly soothed and relaxed her as she fully entered the tub, letting the still water clam her fragile nerves as she closed her eyes. It was actually rather peaceful for a change. She should be worried that that would change soon but the mystical healing powers of the water pushed any negative thoughts out of her mind. Time stood still as she remained there in the tub. She was in complete bliss for once in what seemed like a very long time.
Minutes passed as she remained there resting. As time passes, the sense of dread and darkness came creeping back into her mind. No, I don’t want to lose this feeling again, I don’t want to lose myself again. she thought to herself helplessly as she opened her eyes once more. Nothing in the room had changed, but the night was starting to come to full height outside the door. Something had surfaced a few feet away from her. It was a small, pointed conical object with a spiral line going up it. The deep blue water around the object began to tinge red. Luna fearfully moved closer to it and gasped when she realized what it was: a severed unicorn’s horn.
She was appalled by the sight. What kind of monster would do such a thing to a unicorn? She wanted to move it but was too afraid to, the red tinge around it began to spread cancerously throughout the tub. If this is a unicorn’s horn, then where is the rest of it? she dared to wonder. The drips falling on her head and around her answered that question. Looking up, Luna beheld horrifying macabre of a sight. Hanging from a hook jutted impromptu out of the ceiling was the mutilated corpse of a unicorn. Luna could tell because at the center of its forehead was a splotch of red and the base of a horn. She could see that the unicorn had a lavender coat through what parts weren’t covered in blood. Its mane and tail where both mostly jumbled and cut in a way that made it look like something had violently ripped it apart. Its limbs where bent at an awkward angles and it’s left foreleg was completely dismembered. Where that leg was Luna didn’t know and didn’t want to know. It had cuts and bruises all over it, random pieces of fur and skin where cut off all around its body and it was just completely covered in blood, only some spots remained somewhat clean. It was as if a wild beast had attacked and furiously mutilated it. Observing it harder, Luna fell backwards out of the tub onto her side when she realized that the unicorn was her friend, Twilight Sparkle.
Luna quivered in fear at the sight of the element of magic who had been the one who released herself from her dark binds. She considered Twilight to be one of her best friends since she was released. Seeing her like this churned her stomach around as she tried her best to just keep herself from vomiting. She crawled away from the tub and onto her hooves as she tried to push what she had just seen out of her mind. She pulled herself up to the counter and steadied herself on it, nearly vomiting again but barely holding it in. She looked up into the mirror and quaked in fear at what she saw in the mirror. Nightmare Moon stood in the mirror glaring back at her menacingly. She spoke now in a full, non-disembodied voice.
“Now that was a fun joke, wouldn’t you agree? Ha! The look in your eyes when you saw your friend like that was absolutely priceless. But now you see my powers of mind manipulation, that and the whispering you so love to listen to.” She finished the sentence in the same demonic voice that Luna had been hearing all day.
“Along with that I still have some power to control your body at whim, you know that all too well also. But that was all a mere trifle of my full powers. I can still turn your world completely inside out, I shall give you one final chance to consider my offer. You know what’s in store for you if you refuse after seeing my little demonstrations today.”
Luna actually considered it this time, if nothing else to end this torment she was being put through. Before she was about to answer a thought seeded in her mind. She saw the faces of her friends and that of Celestia’s. The thought of actually betraying them in this way was bile to her. The last thing she saw was all the horrified faces of those she hurt during her time as Nightmare Moon again. Could she really do all of that again? She remembered some of the last things she said to Nightmare Moon during her last dream with her: “I will never let myself become that, that monstrosity again. Never. Again.”
She gave her final answer. “No.”
The mirror exploded, sending her flying back in a hailstorm of glass as Nightmare Moon screamed “INSOLENCE.” Luna landed next to the tub and heard the voice continue violently. “I tried, I tried to give you unimaginable power and you still defiantly refuse it twice, twice! I thought you to be more reasonable now that you have seen a taste of true power but you will never give in so long as your will remains. It appears that your will must be broken. Sometimes for something to be rebuilt it must be broken first. You shall know the full power of the darkness now, what you create will be your destruction.” Luna had just regained her balance and made her way back to the counter where the mirror exploded. It was completely obliterated, and the immediately area in front of it was scorched black. Before she made another move the bathroom door slammed shut. A frigid wind then gusted past her, chilling her to her core and extinguishing all the candles. The room went completely black, Luna gave a shiver before realizing that she can illuminate the room with her magic. Her horn began to glow with a blue light that filled the room. Luna now wished that she had done no such thing.
The room had turned into death.
All around her the walls were now coated with blood and gore. The Twilight illusion that she saw was gone, but replaced with an excess of blood over the spot where the hook was. Luna seized up, the clean and good looking room that was there a minute ago was now a decrepit and horrific gore fest. It were as if she were dreaming again, but this time, it was all real. Luna began to once again hyperventilate at the sight around her. She could barely stand the sight of her own blood from before, this was overwhelming. Her heart was now beating at a rate she couldn’t keep up with. She was becoming extremely queasy. Her vision dimmed out along the edges of her eyes, she was blacking out. She almost did but barely pulled through to just keep conscience. The voice now returned again at full voice “…This is what you will become…” Then it gave a laugh that struck down at Luna’s soul, causing her to finally snap.
She gave a terrified, blood curdling scream, and in a blind panic rushed towards the door, charging up her magic. She sent a wave of energy directed towards the door, causing it to bust open slightly ajar on its hinges but not fully broken. Luna changed that with a lunge towards it. The door tore down and she tripped over a few remnants that fell in front of her path going through the door. Her room had no traces of blood or decay in it. After Luna got up and calmed herself slightly she gave a relaxed breath. But her brief repose ended abruptly as she noticed that the moon outside was blood red and full of anger. The night sky looked as if it were burning. The decayed state that the bathroom was beginning to seep out into her room, causing the walls to decay as this mysterious plague moved past it. The walls didn’t start to have blood appear on them though, just decayed as is it were thousands of years older with no upkeep.
A blatant ringing now began to make its way into Luna’s mind. It pierced her ears with force and she stumbled slightly from the abrupt noise. Her psyche was chipping away the more things kept happening to her, and she was starting to reach a breaking point. As she lifted her head up from recovering from the ringing the gore she had just escaped returned more terribly than before. Strewn across the room where dozens of corpses. She could tell who they all were too. They were all Twilight’s friends, the rest consisted of guards and other ponies around the castle that she came to know in the past year. She didn’t see her sister’s bloodied corpse amidst them but she was still shocked at all the others who were dead around her. Blood pooled around the corpses and her. She had to get out of here. That damned demented laughter from the demonic voice started up again along with the ringing and the walls decaying.
“Get out of my head!” Luna screamed hopelessly. More tears began to form in her eyes as the emotional stress started to crack her.
“...How can I leave you when I am you, you are doing this all to yourself...” The voice replied, it spoke still even as its laughter still echoed in the background.
Luna didn’t want to hear it. How could she be doing this all to herself? She didn’t want to believe it, but the more she tried to disbelieve it the more that it made sense to her. If Nightmare Moon the had been doing these terrible things, then it was all being done by herself, her darker self at least. Was it all just some extremely complex ruse performed by her on herself? Luna was committing suicide right now. She was killing herself in the end. It’s all just in her head, the entire time, it was all her. She couldn’t handle that kind of truth.
“No.... no, no, no, NO” She yelled out, her voice losing all traces of rationality and turning into hysterics. “It’s not true! It can’t be! You’re lying!” She began to smash her non injured hoof on the wall for no particular reason while shouting incessantly. The same ringing and laughter still present in her mind was not helping either. There was no way she could be doing this all to herself. She continued to smash on the wall, creating a small hole into it until she finally gave up from it being too painful and collapsed onto the floor, still crying hysterically. The pressure was breaking her, she had to get out of here. She didn’t have enough energy to try breaking down either the balcony or front doors so she took an unorthodox route.
Without thinking twice, Luna charged the window next to the balcony with all of her strength she had left. She moved closer and closer to it, losing more and more of her reasoning skills to talk herself out of it. She put her head down and used her horn as a lance to break the window open and jumped through it. Tiny pieces of glass flew out past her as she cleared the window ledge. All she had to do now was unfurl her wings and fly away. Nothing happened, she still continued to fall. Looking to her side she saw the source of her problem, her wings were gone.
“Wha-?” was all that Luna could start with before hitting the ground.
---
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to you to ask why you have not responded to my last letter to you. I don’t wish to impose but it’s just you have never not responded to any of my letters before and if there is something wrong or you can’t answer for some reason I would like to know. If something is wrong though I hope that your are okay.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle
Celestia read the letter, but didn’t have the heart to answer. She felt bad for ignoring her student but couldn’t bring herself to do much of anything other than raising the sun and moon by this point. It was early morning now as she had just raised the sun. She had no idea what to do with herself now. Her sister has turned against her for reasons she does not know but blames herself for, and it took a deeper toll on her than she thought it would. Two times she has lost her sister now. Two times she had to go through the experience of heartbreak. As much as her student and others would like to believe, she is not infallible. She has as much faults as any other pony, and losing her sister was perhaps her biggest one. She couldn’t deal with loss, she abhors the loss of life and love, especially that of her sister’s.
In the midst of her brooding a messenger came galloping into the throne room frantically shouting “Princess Celestia, Princess Celestia!” He stopped before her, breathing laboriously. He was a Pegasus stallion with a brown coat, and a fire red mane. It took her a minute to pull herself out of her sadness and address him.
“Yes, messenger?” Usually she would address all of her messengers by name, but she no longer cared. Her apathy was creating a large void inside of her.
“It’s Princess Luna, something’s happened.” he said through staggered breathes.
Celestia instantly stood up and quickly asked “What? What’s happened with Luna?!”
The messenger was surprised by her sudden interest in him. After a few seconds he explained “Some guards on patrol found Princess Luna unconscious about a story below her room. It appears as if she had jumped out the window and fell down. She was immediately taken to the castle’s hospital and is being treated though I know not of the extent of her injuries. We looked in her room through the broken window and it looked completely fine, save for a broken bathroom door and a hole in the wall.” As the messenger was finishing Celestia was already making her way out of the room towards the hospital, leaving the messenger behind.
Celestia made it to the hospital as fast as she could. A nurse was waiting by the entrance almost as if anticipating her arrival and told Celestia to follow her. They moved past the general wards of the hospital towards the back where a private room was. She entered the room and looked upon her sister in the middle of the room. She was lying sideways in a medical stretcher, dried blood and dirt covered the bottom of her legs and she had her eyes closed. For a small second Celestia thought that she was dead but then saw her taking small breathes. Cuts and bruises also covered her body. Seeing her like this made her heart begin to wrench again. One of the doctors who were in front of Luna observing her noticed Celestia’s presence and trotted over to her and bowed. She had a white coat, though not as bright as Celestia’s, with a gray mane.
She began to speak, “Well, I have good news and bad news, the good news is that your sister’s life is not in extreme danger, she only has two broken legs and a few cracked ribs as her worst injuries. The bad news is she seems to be in a coma and doesn’t seem to be responding to any of the treatment methods we have tried.”
“When did she get here?” Celestia asked.
“About 45 minutes ago, since then we have mended most of the broken bones and ribs but they need to remain immobile while the magic heals them over time. But past that we have only been observing and trying to treat her coma.”
“Why didn’t she just start flying once she broke through the window?”
The doctor shrugged as best she could and said “I really have no idea, there could have been any number of reasons why, which one I don’t know.”
“Maybe I can help her?” Offered Celestia.
“Well, I don’t honestly know how you could help her, but she is your sister and I know not of the extent of your powers so I would not interfere if you tried to do anything.”
With that Celestia moved towards her sister, the other doctors who were standing next to Luna immediately vacated the area around her to let Celestia through. Celestia stood before Luna, wondering how to go about helping her. She wanted to set things right with Luna so that she could live with herself again. She was in no state to rule while she was so deeply conflicted. She had to help Luna any way possible, for both her and Luna’s sakes.
With a flash of her horn, she began to attempt to help, the spell she was attempting was very complex and complicated. Probably only her and Luna where the only ones who could cast such a powerful spell. It was a spell that attempted to return the sleeping awake. It bordered on necromancy as the spell was powerful enough to animate the dead as well, potentially reviving a the recently deceased. Though she banned such things from being practiced by others for good reason. It was a very draining spell, her power was being sapped as she kept the spells magical energy flowing. Before she was about to give up and stop casting the spell Luna’s eyes sprang open.
She heard the doctors around here moving and talking in commotion as they witnessed what she had just done. Luna kept her lifeless stare for another few seconds before regaining her senses from such a deep sleep. But once she realized that she was awake again and remembered her last few memories she suddenly began to buck in her bed. Though once she felt the pain of her injuries that stopped quickly and devolved down into hopeless cries and sobs. Everyone around her stared at her with confusion.
Celestia moved closer to Luna and once she stopped moving Luna’s head snapped up to look at her and she screamed with fear. The screams were out of pure terror of seeing Celestia again. Had she of had any rationality left she would have recognized her sister but she could only see the same evil version of her sister staring down at her. In between screams she kept spewing out unintelligible words and sentences that made no sense what so ever to everyone around her. Celestia could make out a few words and snippets of what she was saying: “Murderer…they’re all dead…don’t let her near me…nothing is true…why…” She was shivering as much as her pain threshold would allow her to. It was a pitiful sight.
“She’s completely broken.” Celestia observed.
One sentence through Luna’s ramblings kept coming up though “She’s trying to take over…she’s trying to take over…she’s trying to take over…must…stop…her…before it’s too late…Nightmare Moon…stop...”
Celestia gasped at hearing that name uttered again by her. It suddenly clicked with her. Was this what was happening all along? Was it the work of Nightmare Moon that drove Luna to do these things? It was coming together perfectly now. It really wasn’t Celestia’s fault all along.
Celestia thought for a few minutes, then she decided what she had to do, it was a bit drastic, but drastic measures must be taken in drastic situations. She gently placed her hoof on Luna’s face, which made her stop her screaming and rambling to look up at her through extremely dilated pupils. Celestia also cast a small spell to calm Luna. Luna could not recognize her true sister fully in her condition, but when she spoke the voice sounded familiar and eased her slightly.
“Luna, I now know what has really been happening with you recently, I should not have been so blind or ignorant as to assume that you were finally free of your inner darkness’s grasp. For that I apologize, and apologize for what I am about to do, but it must be done. Listen to me know, really listen to me as I tell you this: there are monsters and demons lurking inside all of us deep down, where there is light there must dark. Bad things that happen in this world come from our dark sides that consume us, but we all must face our demons at one point in our lives. Your dark side wants control of you Luna. It wants to break free of its prison inside of you like it did before, but you cannot, I repeat, you cannot let the evil take a hold on you like this Luna. You must face your demon and vanquish it once and for all, but you shall not be alone, remember that. Wherever you are, in the brightest of darkest of places, know that I and every one of your friends love you and we shall always be with you by your side now and always, even if we are not there physically. Now, you must conquer your evil raging within you and balance your inner light and dark, for yours and all of Equestria’s sakes. Do this for everyone, if not for yourself.”
To finish, she cast one final spell on Luna, but this time it was a spell to put her back into a sleep where she would not emerge from until the darkness within her was once again balanced or it had beaten Luna. With a heavy sigh, Celestia sat down next to her sister, she would not leave her side until the battle was done, she did not want to think about what would happen if Luna lost.
---
Luna was in the remnants of the castle deep in the Everfree Forest where she had been defeated by the Elements of Harmony. She stood in the middle of the destroyed room high up where the final battle had taken place. The majority of the ceiling was gone and the windows broken, only leaving rusted frames. It was dark out, as most of her dreams where. She began to move towards the balcony at the end of the room but before she reached the doorway frame to exit out onto the balcony something flashed in front of her making her shut her eyes for a brief second. When she opened them a gruesome sight was before her. Celestia lay there on the balcony, mutilated and desecrated. The same overwhelming sadness and disgust was starting to take hold of her again. But she immediately dismissed the illusion for now that she was free of her physical form she now knew better. From behind her she head the maniacal laughter of Nightmare Moon. She turned away from her sister to see her dark side again, she had seen her many more times than she would have liked to have ever.
She was becoming sick of it.
Nightmare moon began again with her fully formed voice. “You see, your own sister has once again abandoned you to your fate, and look where that has ended for her.” She motioned towards the Celestia corpse illusion. “She sent you in here to fail Luna, she wants me to win so that she can finally be justified in ridding the world of you. If you resist, that may just happen, but willingly we can defeat her. You have seen the power of the darkness many times over now, you know how terrifying it can be. I wanted to show you so that you realize your destiny and see past your false beliefs that this world is full of good and joy. Look at reality, you are face to face with the full night with no hopes of winning, this will be easier if you give in.”
Luna, for the first time, was not scared of Nightmare Moon. She had intended for the corpse illusion to frighten her into submission but that backfired. Now that Luna could think clearly again, the words that Celestia had told her before putting her to sleep rang through her mind with stringing truth. She was right, the fate of the world depended on her and being strong, for everyone. Instead of scaring her, the illusion set off a different spark: enmity, hate, anger. Not the kind that her darker half used for her own nefarious purposes, but the kind that radiated conviction and justice. This was her time to stand against all odds and conquer. She had been retreating from her inner darkness for too long and she let it gain too much ground in her, it was time to change that. The memories of her past no longer clouded her mind, the only thing she could think of now was retribution. As the seeds of vengeance within her grew, her eyes began to shine with magical energy. It flowed through her unrestrained like a rushing river. A glow was beginning to emit from her as the power increased to innumerable amounts.
Nightmare Moon, for once, looked uneasy, but remained stationary and began to speak. “What do you think you’re doing, do you honestly think that you can defeat m-“
“SILENCE.” Luna commanded as she stomped her hoof down, creating a small crater where it impacted the stone floor. Her voice was no longer her regular voice, it had synthesized echo to it that rang across with unbreakable might. A column of light burst forth through the blackness of the night sky above and set on her. The light shone with an unimaginable brightness that blinded Nightmare Moon.
Luna was now speaking with a justice that echoed further than just herself, it echoed throughout her dream world with omnipotence. She gave one last speech to her dark side. “I am Princess Luna of Equestria, and you, demon, have no control over me or my dreams. I am the master of my own soul and you shall not interfere with me. You have no hold over me, I am something more than you can ever be. While you may be the ruler of my deepest darkness, I have something that you never will have. I am the middle ground between night and day, I control a piece of both, as does my sister, in equilibrium. You are the darkest of night, you have no light to control. And that, that is your one major flaw. Once you try and upset that balance of night and day, you invoke the wrath of the elements of harmony. And now, while they are not actually here, they are within me, in my very soul. I too doubted this once I saw the abyss within me, but I now know that it was my own self-doubt that undid me, until now. You are not a part of me, you are a manifestation of the evil that has grown within me, this I realize now. I have let you gained too much of a hold over me, and the elements are retaliating just as they had a millennium ago. Now, I have become the elements and its avenging wrath, I am your destruction, and I cast you back to whence you came, demon!”
The column of light coming from the sky burst out in all directions, overtaking Nightmare Moon and sending her back into the deepest depths of Luna, never to return again. The light cleansed the rest of the castle and the surrounding forest as daylight broke out from night. The power faded from Luna and with a tired smile she collapsed.
The same light that she had created in her dream now shone through her vision. Luna opened her eyes finally, greeting the daylight. She noticed where she was for the first time. Before when she was awake she knew she was someplace different from her room but didn’t know exactly in her crazed condition. Looking through clear vision for once in what seemed like a long time, she saw everything for what it truly was and not a distortion of it. Most clearly of all though, she saw her sister in front of her, starting to tear with joy.
Celestia could not contain herself, she cried out with joy and hugged Luna’s neck. Luna too could not help but feel joy as the nightmare was finally over. She asked one last time, just to make sure. “Sister, is it finally over?”
“Yes my dear Luna, its finally over.” |
filleg | 519 | 1 | Big Macintosh,Bon-Bon,Derpy Hooves,Doctor Whooves,Lyra,Main 6,Princess Celestia,Crossover,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | Pony Royale | Battle Royale with ponies. | incomplete | 10 | 4 | <p>Ever read/watched Battle Royale? Well, this is that but with ponies. Please comment after reading. Everytime you don't, a kitten dies!</p><p>Working on chapter three!</p><p>Art credit: <a href="http://sefling.deviantart.com/" rel="nofollow">http://sefling.deviantart.com/</a></p> | teen | 2012-05-05T19:36:13+00:00 | 2012-05-05T19:36:13+00:00 | 2,726 | Pony Royale
A grimdark/crossover written by Filleg. Proof-reading and editing by Brollyhero93.
It was as usual, a warm and sunny day. Birds have been tweeting, the fillies had been playing, and everything was right with the world. But things were about to change, something that nopony could ever imagine was in the making. Derpy Hooves had received an important mail order from her princess. Ten scrolls with the royal seal, bounding them all, one of which was for Derpy herself. She quickly delivered the rest of the scrolls. They all received the scrolls from Princess Celestia within minutes; Twilight with her friends, Lyra, Bon Bon, Derpy Hooves, and of course Dr. Whooves. The scroll kept an invitation, which said that Celestia requested them, to attend to a very important meeting. Obedient as they all were, they all went. They were also very excited, because a meeting with the princess was always a great honor.
The meeting was private, and only for the ten of them, plus the princess of course. The meeting took place in the old castle of the divine sisters. It had been tidied up since Nightmare Moon had been defeated here, but it still looked rather spooky. They were quite surprised that Celestia had chosen this location for their meeting, but who are they to question their Goddess? Everypony had walked there as a group, they were after all, great friends. They all entered simultaneously.
As soon as they all stood in the middle of the room, the lights went out and the entrance was closed shut. A small light glowed. The light grew brighter, and soon, Princess Celestia was illuminated from the shadows.
All Twilight could say was: “Princess Celestia, what's the meaning of this? What are you doing?”
The princess just grinned, and the light from her horn got stronger and stronger until a flash appeared. This caused everypony to pass out. She then brought back the light and opened the door. Three Diamond Dogs entered the building and grabbed all the ponies, and threw them into bags.
The princess watched as the Diamond Dogs ran back out of the building, now with bags full of ponies. She looked pleased and still kept that sick grin. She then teleported out of the castle, to an unknown location.
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“Ow... My head” Rainbow Dash mumbled. Her sight cleared. She noticed that she was sitting by a school bench, and so were everypony else.
Princess Celestia had a peaceful, but yet disturbing smile as she looked up from her book. “Hello, my dear subjects. Glad to see you awake.”
“What the hay is goin' on here?!” Screamed Applejack, eagerly watching her surroundings, seeing several of those filthy Diamond Dogs, packing various firearms.
“Let me just cut to the chase.” Celestia began. “Equestria is in a big financial crisis. Apples and friendship just isn't as requested on the market as before.” She said with a laugh. “So, I have made a deal with the dragons of Equestria... They will pay good money to watch some... Special, entertainment.” She wore that same despicable grin as before.
This made Fluttershy cry like she's never done before, and made Rainbow scared for the first time in a long, long time, though she didn't show it.
Even though terrified, Rainbow said: “What in Celes... Um, Luna's name are you talking about?! Why are we here?”
“You're all here because you are the special entertainment.” Celestia answered calmly.
“You will never get away with this!” Said Dr. Whooves.
“Oh, you couldn't be more wrong my dear doctor.” She began. “This will only be aired for dragons, so nopony will ever find out about this. All that will happen is that ponies after ponies will be brought into this project, after you've done with each other.”
“What... What do you mean princess?” Twilight sobbed.
“You're all going to kill each other. The last one alive will get his or her freedom.” She replied to her most prized pupil.
This made Rainbow Dash furious! “What makes you think we would do such a thing?!”
“Oh, haven't you noticed? You really need to pay more attention to your body. Take a look and see if you can figure out why you will do as I say.”
Rarity looked at her hooves for the first time since this “meeting” started. “Aren’t these horse shoes?” She asked. “But they seem to have mechanical stuff in them. And a light”
“Very good Rarity!” The princess praised. “Now, these are the latest in 'manner control'. And you'll be the first ones to test them! Isn't it exciting? But of course, we must try them right away, so that we know for sure that they work. And to demonstrate to you all how they work, Gentledogs, please.”
One of the Diamond Dogs pulled up a laptop and plugged it into a projector. What was seen on the screen was poor Big Macintosh, trapped in a cage. You could see that he was very frightened and tense. You could also see that he had the same horse shoes that everypony else had.
Celestia nodded to the Diamond Dog and he typed something on the laptop.
Suddenly, the horse shoes on Big Mac started to blink, and the inter walls between the blinks became shorter by time.
“What the hay... Big Macintosh! What are you doing to him?” Screamed Applejack.
“He-He, just you wait Applejack.” The princess said with a sly grin.
The beeping soon got up in several beeps per second. Now it's really fast, like a drum roll. Big Mac screamed, you could see that, but there was no sound on the video stream, so nopony could hear him.
The horse shoes were practically glowing at this point, Big Mac’s eyes were full of intense fear, and then it happened. The thing that everypony feared.
They exploded. There was no trace left of the huge pony Big Mac. He was all gone. All that was left was blood.
“NOOOOOOOOOOO! You bastard!” Applejack screamed, with tears in her eyes, and vomit in her mouth.
Fluttershy lost consciousness and hit the floor. Panic broke out among the ponies.
“Ha-Ha, good! Now we know that it works, and that it will be super effective. Alright, are you all done with your whining?”
The room went quieter, after one of the dogs flashed his weapon.
“Good.” The princess continued. “Let me explain to you the rules. Here is a map of the island that we are currently located on. (It was shown on the screen) It is divided into equal squares or zones. Each zone is marked out by numbers and letters in a coordinate system. Every two hours, a speaker will tell you which zones are death zones. If you are occupied in one of the death zones for more than 10 seconds, the timer on your horse shoes will start and you will surely die when the ticker is up on them. Just like our good friend Big Mac recently demonstrated for us.”
Everypony took a good look at her, full of hatred and a thirst for vengeance, but they also listened carefully. They all started to see the seriousness of the situation.
“We have drawn your names to pick the order of who shall gallop out of here first to last. You will all be given a saddle bag, each of them includes: water, a compass and a map, the map is just like this one on the screen. You will also get a weapon each. The weapon can be mainly anything from guns to... Well, you'll find out. Ha-Ha.”
“Oh, and if you try to leave the island, we will detonate your horse shoes, we are constantly tracking your every move. And if four hours pass without a kill, everypony dies. And if there is no winner after two days has passed, everypony dies.”
Pinkie could feel her heart turn into stone. Why bother being happy? Everything she's ever known was false. There was no happiness. Our Goddess is a tyrant, a sick meanie mean pants! Her hair flattened out.
And poor Twilight... She's spent all her life believing in her precious, beautiful princess. And it was all... A lie. That... Celestia, her best friend and idol, could ever do such a thing was just unimaginable. She couldn’t muster a word.
“Alrighty! Let's get to it, shall we?” Celestia said in a happy tune.
A Diamond Dog brought in a shelf on wheels that was full of military saddle bags.
“No... NO! I will not let you do this!” Screamed AJ, still furious about her brother. She charged towards Celestia for the kill. She was out of her mind, she didn't think, she just acted.
It happened really fast. She was already just a few feet away from the princess. But the princess did something that Applejack didn't count on. She bent her head and impaled the poor earth pony in the heart, killing her instantly.
She swung her head to shake the dead pony off from her now bloody horn.
“What a pathetic display. I thought you'd last longer than that, Applejack.” The Goddess said.
“NOOOO! DAMNIT! NOOO! Rainbow Dash cried. She wanted to storm her too, just like her brave friend AJ did, but she realized that all that it would do, would be that she would share the same fate AJ did. She just put her head against the bench and cried.
“Alright, so no more outbursts? Good!” The princess was screaming at this point, but she soon got calmer.
“Let's get this show on the road. When I call your name, GO!”
“Number one... Derpy Hooves!”
Derpy rose and took a last look at her friends. Twilight noticed she had a strange look on her face, other than her wall-eyed expression of course. It wasn't a look that said something like: “It's ok, we'll get out of this mess!“, but more of a: “I'm not dying for you...“ kind of look.
“Derpy...” Twilight said in a soft and concerned voice.
Derpy ran past everypony and quickly grabbed a saddle bag, and hardly put it on before bursting out through the door.
“The second pony is... Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy was hardly awake from all the exhaustion. She met Celestia’s eyes, Celestia made a confirming nod. Fluttershy gulped and took a look around. She saw her very best friends and began to cry again. She had also soiled herself all over the school bench.
One of the dogs yelled at her to come up, and she eventually did. She grabbed a saddle bag and put it on. She made a silent squeak and walked out through the door.
“God that took long... Anyhow! Let's see... Bon Bon, you're up! Number three.”
Bon Bon hugged her best friend Lyra before leaving. She took a good look at the saddle bags before deciding which one to take. She picked a lucrative looking one and ran out through the door.
“Number four.. Oh, silly me, that's Applejack. Let's move along then.”
“Next is Pinkie Pie, number five.”
Pinkie gave Twilight a reassuring look: “We'll meet up soon.”
She trotted to the bags and just grabbed one and left the room.
“Now we have... Lyra! Number six. Go and meet up with your friend. He-He...You still think she cares for you under these circumstances? You sad little foal!”
Lyra held back the tears enough as to, not show them that she was about to cry. Then obeyed, took her bag and ran out looking for her best friend. She knew that she would never forsake her.
“Number seven... Rainbow Dash, you're up!”
Rainbow looked up from her bench, still sobbing. She stood up and ran, she couldn't face her friends. She forgot to bring her saddle bag, a Diamond Dog reminded her with a fist to the face. She then took one and went outside.
“Rarity. Please choose your saddle bag. You're number eight”
Rarity tried to hold her tears back, but was unable too. She hardly even dared to walk past Celestia, whose horn was still dripping with Applejack‘s blood. AJ’s body was still lying there, all torn up and bloody. But she managed and quickly grabbed one of the saddle bags, and exited.
A faint scream was heard, but nopony made a remark about it. Celestia seemed eager to get the rest of the ponies out.
“Now it's my very own prized student, Miss Twilight Sparkle. You're number nine” The princess exclaimed.
Twilight had the hardest time to walk up to the princess. Her relationship with her had been so good... How could she have never seen that she was capable of such a horrible thing as in making ponies kill each other for her own amusement?
“Why are you giving me that look Twilight? I already explained to you why I do this. It's what's best for everypony.” The princess said.
“You know that this is messed up, this is not what any sane pony would ever do. You don't have to do this.” Twilight answered.
- “You're right, but this will amuse me more than anything else. I guess that's one thing that the dragons and I have in common. Ha-Ha.”
- “I swear... I will kill you for this.”
- “Ha-Ha, how cute. Now then, run out there and win if you want to survive.”
The princess was smiling.
Twilight took one of the three bags left and leaved.
“Alright, now we only have Dr. Whooves left to go. You're our final number ten”
Dr. Whooves took a bag and told the princess in a dark and nerve-wrecking voice: “I'll get you bitch.”
Princess Celestia did not reply. There was something about him that she just couldn't figure out, so she decided to keep her mouth shut.
After the brown time traveling pony left the room, Celestia asked the laptop: “There we go, you saw all that?” The laptop replied: “Yes. And here are our bets.” The princess replied: “Great! Now let's watch what they're up to. I thought I heard somepony scream before, we'll have to look at the replay.”
“He-He. We've already seen it. It was awesome. It upset Spike though” The laptop replied in a based tone.
“Oh you guys! No spoilers. Ha-Ha.” Come on dogs, let's hit the break room.
Celestia’s heart was full of anticipation, and her horn was soaked in blood.
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Number/Pony
#1 Derpy Hooves [ALIVE]
#2 Fluttershy [ALIVE]
#3 Bon Bon [ALIVE]
#4 Applejack [DEAD]
#5 Pinkie Pie [ALIVE]
#6 Lyra [ALIVE]
#7 Rainbow Dash [ALIVE]
#8 Rarity [ALIVE]
#9 Twilight Sparkle [ALIVE]
#10 Dr. Whooves [ALIVE]
Pony Royale |
filleg | 519 | 2 | Big Macintosh,Bon-Bon,Derpy Hooves,Doctor Whooves,Lyra,Main 6,Princess Celestia,Crossover,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | Pony Royale | Battle Royale with ponies. | incomplete | 10 | 4 | <p>Ever read/watched Battle Royale? Well, this is that but with ponies. Please comment after reading. Everytime you don't, a kitten dies!</p><p>Working on chapter three!</p><p>Art credit: <a href="http://sefling.deviantart.com/" rel="nofollow">http://sefling.deviantart.com/</a></p> | teen | 2012-05-05T19:37:48+00:00 | 2012-05-05T19:37:48+00:00 | 1,127 | Pony Royale Chapter two
A grimdark/crossover written by Filleg. Proof-reading and editing by Brollyhero93.
[WARNING. This chapter is bloodier than the first one, but there's also some comedy that I just couldn't avoid putting in there, so it level‘s out. :) There might also be some plot holes (Ha!) because there's like 4 months of space between the chapters, and there's some things in chapter one that I cannot stay true to. Or something. I don't know. Most of this was written in October or something. Enjoy!
Twilight thought back. Back to when life seemed to make sense, back when her whole world still was solid. She could hardly manage to.
"How could she do such a thing? What sort of monster has the most powerful pony become?"
She thought this to herself, whilst walking through the corridor, that's adjacent to the outside. She heard Celestia calling up Dr. Whooves. She then opened the door and saw a terrifying sight.
“S-Stand back! You heard the Princess! Only one pony can live, and I... I DON'T WANT TO DIE!” Screamed the panicked Rainbow Dash.
She was aiming a crossbow against a panicked Rarity, who in turn held a spoon.
“A SPOON? What is your problem Celestia? Do you think this is funny? Rainbow Dash is going to kill me and I get a spoon to defend myself with?”
Rarity was frantically crying, holding the spoon in the best defensive position she could manage.
“Rainbow! What are you doing? Don't you believe that we can fix this? Like how we got that Dragon to move or how we got rid of the Parasprites, or how we stopped freaking Discord!” Twilight screamed.
Rainbow Dash was rapidly altering focus from Rarity to Twilight. She was crying too.
“Shut up Twilight! Why are you so stupid? Don't you see that there's no way out?”
Rarity took her chance and ran towards Rainbow Dash, with the spoon raised and ready.
Rainbow quickly reacted and pulled the trigger. The arrow traveled through Rarity's throat. Rarity let out a muffled but yet powerful scream, before hitting the ground.
“NOOOOO! What have you done?!” Twilight screamed
“Wha-what have I done... I... NO! I wanted this! I need to kill all of you, so that I can get my life back. I want to work on the weather patrol like I always do. I want to live in my cloud home in Ponyville! I wanna... LIVE!”
Rainbow aimed the crossbow at Twilight, ready to shoot her. Twilight just closed her eyes because she knew that there wasn't any time to react.
But then she heard a shot. She opened her eyes and saw that Rainbow had blood all over her face as she fell to the ground with a tump. She then noticed Dr. Whooves. He had saved her.
While Whooves reloaded his shotgun, Rainbow Dash stood up. She was alive! She grinned at the pair like a mad-mare and threw herself into the jungle.
“That was a close one” Whooves said.
Twilight was just about to thank him for saving her life, but suddenly, they heard Rarity trying to talk
“Twi...” Rarity spoke in a soft and barely audible voice.
“Don't try to talk Rarity... You'll be fine!” Twilight bit her lip after she said that. She noticed the gaping hole in her throat that the crossbow arrow left.
“I'm not gonna make it, am I?” Rarity cried. Somehow being able to speak with her throat all tore up.
Twilight and Whooves looked at each other with concern.
“No, you won’t.” The Doctor said as he pointed his shotgun to the suffering unicorns head and pulled the trigger.
Rarity then was relieved from her pain as her beautiful white coat got colored red in her own blood.
Twilight gasped, but she quickly realized that it was best for her friend, and she's glad that Whooves did it, because she would never be able to muster it. She embraced him in a hug, sobbing against his shoulder.
“We better leave now. Who knows if any more ponies are playing the game?” Whooves said.
“No, wait.” Twilight objected as she pulled away from the hug. “We gotta bury Rarity first!” Twilight protested.
Whooves reluctantly agreed and they then proceeded to bury the white unicorn.
[2 PONIES DEAD- - -8 REMANING]
- - - - - - -
“Alright. I am still quite in shock from all this. There's actually some of our friends who really are playing this sick game?” The purple mare asked the brown colt.
“Yes. I have been keeping an eye on Celestia for the last year. She was acting odd already, and this didn't really come as a shock. It is true that Equestria is in a financial crisis, but the normal Celestia would never do this to counter a recess. Something has corrupted her. Anyhow, what we should do now is to find out which our allies are, and which ponies are playing… I trust you Twilight, I have been keeping an eye on you as well, you are after all Celestia's protégé, but I know that you can be trusted in this. Don't ask me why I have kept an eye on you by the way..”
Twilight needed some time to process all this. She finally said:
“Uh, alright, sure. So what's the plan?”
“We'll stay stealthy and confront ponies that we see that we can trust. Remember that some of your closest friends are playing, so never assume they aren't going to kill you.”
The doctor tried to give a calming smile to Twilight, and she repaid it.
- - - - - - -
Fluttershy was hiding under a table in an old shed. Even though she had emptied her bladder recently in the classroom, she managed to do it once again now.
She was cuddled up against the wall, holding her weapon high, it was an Uzi. She was panting frantically, wishing for home more than anything else, when suddenly, the door opened.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” Fluttershy exclaimed as silently as she could, whilst tears fell down from her cheeks. Why couldn't ponies just stay out of her shed?
She saw two pairs of legs right in front of her. The pony stood perfectly still for almost a minute until the dark figure bent down and presented its face.
“Eeeep!"
- - - - - -
… Derpy, is that you?”
Derpy moved closer to Fluttershy. She saw the terror and shock in the poor wall eyed mare's eyes. It was clear to Fluttershy that she was really frightened and lost.
“Don't worry Derpy! I'll help you. We'll survive this!” Fluttershy embraced her in a hug to comfort her.
The two ponies hugged for minutes, since Derpy just wouldn't let go. Fluttershy started to get a little scared by this. Unbeknownst to Fluttershy Derpy slowly moved for her saddle bag and opened it. She grabbed a shiny object out from her bag and slowly moved it behind Fluttershy's neck.
Derpy then released the hug and met Fluttershy's eyes. Derpy's lips slowly formed a smile.
Fluttershy looked really confused; she then felt a sharp object starting to drive through her neck.
She tried to scream, but the scythe had already separated her head from her neck.
A gush of blood streamed out from the yellow pegasus's neck as the body collapsed onto the ground.
Derpy got covered in it all of course, but she didn't mind. She took the Uzi that was lying under Fluttershy's body and planted it in her saddlebag. She stood up and licked her lips while exiting the shed.
[3 PONIES DEAD- - -7 REMANING]
- - - - - -
Bon Bon had been hiding in some shrubs as soon as she had been “excused” from the classroom. She had checked what kind of weapon she had gotten. It was a water gun. She'd have to load it with the water in the water bottle she got with her though.
She had been lying perfectly still in the bushes, in case somepony who might have a hostile attitude would walk by. She was holding a firm grip of the water gun, hoping to make any possible attacker’s believe that it's a real gun, in case of an attack.
But then she heard Lyra's voice: “Bon Bon! Where are you?”, she was sobbing with tears falling from her cheeks. Bon Bon sprinted towards Lyra and embraced her in a soothing hug.
“Heh... What do you got there, Bon?” Lyra asked.
“Oh, it's just a... water pistol... Yeah. My awesome weapon of carnage is a water gun, and it's not even loaded! Ha-Ha!”
The friends were laughing and had almost forgotten the serious pickle they were in.
“So what do you got?” Bon Bon said smiling.
“Oh right. I haven't checked it yet.”
Lyra stirred around in the saddle bag, and eventually pulled out a megaphone.
“Ha-Ha! At least we can get all the rampaging ponies who want to kill us to notice us.” Lyra said while examining the device closer.
“Wait... That's it! Lyra, you're a genius!”
“Huh? I am?”
“Yes! We could... Get all the ponies to us, and nopony would kill anypony if all are at the same place. And then we could make a plan to escape from the game!”
“I'm not sure that's a good idea Bonny, we don't know these ponies that much; we don't know if they'll turn against us. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you...”
“Awww, honey... But trust me on this. We got to keep on believing in the goodness of other ponies. I'm sure that it will work out just perfect!” Bon Bon gave Lyra a wink.
“Alright, let's do it! But we need a good open space for everypony to meet.”
“Let's go find it the...”
Bon Bon was interrupted by a loud voice that said:
“Good day my little ponies. So glad to see that some of you like to play. Here are the deaths up until now: Applejack. Well. You all know that, but we try to stay formal here. Second is Rarity. She had a rather unpleasant death as well. And the final pony is Fluttershy. Let's just say that she's “on a roll” Ha-Ha! Anyhow. This is the current death zone: B... 3! So please, stay out of there if you don't want to be blown into tiny pieces. That was all, Celestia out!”
Lyra's and Bon Bon's eyes met.
Bon Bon quickly pulled out the map, trying to figure out if they were safe.
“It's okay hun. We're not even close to the death zone. But let's go and find a good place to rally everypony up!
- - - - - -
Rainbow was tired of running. She's been running more than she's used to. She had to run, because Celestia had apparently paralyzed her wing muscles, and she was grateful that she did only that, and not chop them clean off or anything. All that was on Rainbow's mind was killing. She needed to kill to get her life back. She could picture herself flying around in Ponyville, doing all sorts of amazing stunts! But none of her friends were in her vision. They had to die for it to come true.
She knew about Rarity before the announcement that was about 45 minutes ago, of course, but it was good for her to know that Fluttershy was gone too. Not that she could be much of an obstacle, but the fewer, the better.
Her head was full of thoughts, she wanted to try and keep it that way, because her face hurt like hell! The blood over her face had coagulated, and it had a strange blackish red finish to it, and Rainbow looked more like a zombie pony then a living one. She didn't care though, and the pain just fueled her lust of blood even more. She hated everything, she wanted to kill everypony.
However, Rainbow Dash had seen a grayish figure in the vast distance. It must have been Derpy!
“That feather brain will go down easy!” Rainbow whispered to herself, smiling, whilst doing so. She ran towards Derpy while being practically stealthy.
Rainbow came to a stop when she saw the door of a small house close.
“Derpy must be in there.” Rainbow thought. She readied her crossbow, aiming it at the door.
“...”
She had been on standby for several minutes. Was Derpy gonna stay inside?
“Well, it might as well be easier then.” She thought.
She slid down the hill and trotted carefully towards the structure. Carefully opening the door and stormed inside.
It was only one room and there was nopony there. Rainbow was confused. She could have sworn that Derpy was in here.
Before she could react, she could hear the door behind her closing and getting locked.
Rainbow threw herself at the door, trying to get it to open, without any results. She looked out through the small window in the door. She then saw Derpy!
The wall-eyed pony just sat there on the grass, minding her own business. She seemed to be waiting for something...
Rainbow Dash was outraged!
“Get me out of here you foal! I'll kill you!” She was hitting as hard as she could on the door, but still, no effect.
She looked back onto Derpy. She was as blood covered as Rainbow, but she didn't look hurt.
“She must have been the one who killed Fluttershy then.” Upon realizing this, Derpy just got about 20 % more hazardous in Rainbow Dash's eyes. She was wondering what she might be planning, since she's just standing there. But she didn't have to think for too long.
“Hello again my little ponies! Why do you hate me so much? It seems as if you are trying to avoid each other? How can we get any progress with that attitude? So straighten up! Let's get the killings rolling shall we? Alright. Here's the new death zone: D 4. Don't disappoint me anymore ponies... Celestia out!
Derpy coughed to get Rainbow's attention. She watched as the blond mare unrolled the map, and came closer to the window with it.
Rainbow panicked! She was in the freaking death zone!
She looked in Derpy's eyes, full of pleading. Derpy just smiled and said:
“Goodbye my muffin!” And she started to walk away.
Rainbow collapsed onto the floor, it was too much for her.
Suddenly, her horse shoes started to blink and beep. Rainbow got horrified and tried her best to get them off of her.
She bit around her hoof, trying to get the metal straps loose. Her pain was intense, but she would do anything to get out of them.
Soon enough, the beeping had doubled in speed, and Rainbow was still gnawing on her hoof frantically.
Her tears streamed out as she thought about when Big Macintosh died the same way that Rainbow was destined to.
As she gnawed, she managed to get one hoof free! However, it was severely damaged. She'd never be able to walk on that hoof ever again...
She kicked the disassembled horse shoe away as far as she could. In unimaginable pain, she started to work on another hoof, but if she'd gnaw on herself any more, she'd pass out from the pain.
Eventually, she gave up. She lay down, and then started to regret all that she had done. She wanted to un-kill Rarity somehow. She wanted to have done the loyal thing and fight with her friends.
She had a peaceful smile on her face, picturing that all of her friends had forgiven her, and everything was going to be okay.
Then finally the horse shoes exploded and all of the small windows in the building were covered in blood, guts and blue fur.
- - - - - -
Number/Pony
#1 Derpy Hooves [ALIVE]
#2 Fluttershy [DEAD]
#3 Bon Bon [ALIVE]
#4 Applejack [DEAD]
#5 Pinkie Pie [ALIVE]
#6 Lyra [ALIVE]
#7 Rainbow Dash [DEAD]
#8 Rarity [DEAD]
#9 Twilight Sparkle [ALIVE]
#10 Dr. Whooves [ALIVE]
This was originally part of the first intended final chapter, but I'm splitting it here so I can post something new of this story for... about 6-7 months? So expect chapter three hopefully soon. |
TheRealCelestia | 520 | 1 | Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Spike,Twilight Sparkle,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Six Senses | incomplete | 17 | 3 | <p>Im new. So excuse me for any mistakes I make. So this is the first fanfic I have ever made, and if you dont like it, feel free to tell me. I enjoy criticizem on my work.</p><p>Plot: Luna had been suffering from strange dreams which involve the Evergreen Forest in a way that Celestia trys to figure out. Celestia enlists all of Ponyville to try and cure whatever is going on.<br/>But the dreams Luna have been having are no ordinary dreams. They will kill her in 2 weeks.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-16T01:20:19+00:00 | 2011-08-16T01:20:19+00:00 | 1,393 | “...And thank you, everypony, for this spectacular party!” Princess Celestia politely said to all the ponies that were leaving her castle. There were hundreds of ponies crammed inside of her castle, and Celestia tried her best to keep a straight face as she rushed them out. She didnt want to admit it, but after 8 hours of dancing and talking, Celestia was well worn out. It was quite clear the most ponies didn't want to leave from the look of sadness on everypony's faces. Celestia really wanted to let them stay longer, but she everytime she blinked, she nearly fell asleep. As Celestia looked to her side, she noticed Luna was absent.
She couldn't see her anywhere. Celestia decided that she would look for her later. She couldn’t make a scene and she needed everybody out now. As the last person walked through that front door, she sighed in relief and turned around to see if they were any die-hard party ponies left.
As she turned around to look for others, she found one of Twilight's friends staring up at her.
“Hi Princess!” Pinkie Pie screamed. Celestia was startled and jumped back, then that Twilight and her friends stuck around.
“Pinkie Pie! Get back here!” Twilight hissed. She looked at Celestia apologetically.
Celestia smiled and said “I'm so sorry, my dear pupil, but I'm afraid I can't stick around. You see, I'm terribly tired”.
“Oh! That’s fine. I don’t mean to impose! C’mon guys. We have to go.” Pinkie Pie looked heartbroken from the idea of leaving a party, but followed Twilight regardlessly. As the last of Twilight and her friends left, Princess Celestia shut the door with her glowing horn, and she looked around for her sister. She remembered telling Luna that she wanted her right by her side as all the guests left the castle.
Celestia searched around for her dear sister almost everywhere in the ballroom and decided to ask one of the guards for her. The guard told her she was in her bedroom for a large part of the party. Celestia quickly ran to her sister’s room, wondering why she left without even telling her. She found her lying on her bed in the dark. Celestia quickly flipped the switch and saw Luna sprawled on her bed, her entire body was convulsing with each breath she took. Her dark eyes were flowing with hatred and fear. Her face looked old and worn.
“Luna... Luna! Are… are you ok?”
Princess Luna looked at her with a frightened look. She hadn’t even realized Celestia was there.
“I-I'm f-fine.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Her sister looked at her with a look of disdain and hate, and then her face softened to a look of fear.
“Tia... I don't... I don't really want to talk about it. Can you please leave?"
Celestia understood her sister's request and shut turned around and walked
Tears of Celestias own nearly sprung to her eyes, but she shut off the lights and said, “Sweet dreams my dear, dear sister.”
As Celestia left the room, Luna quietly said to herself, “I don't think I will be having sweet dreams for a while.”
Luna looked up. She wasn't in the castle. She wasn't even in Equestria, but she knew where she was. She had to go through this dream every night. She wandered around. If she had to describe it, it looked just like the Everfree Forest. But at the same time, it didn't.
Everything was hazy, constantly moving, and the sky was black with red clouds.
Somehow it was all terrifying.
When she arrived in the dream it was one clear stone path that was straight and surrounded by tall oak trees. She could get off the path if she wanted to, but it didn't do any good. She tried that once, but she got lost in the unnaturally large expanse of oak trees, and had to spend a miserable amount of time in that forest. She even tried using her wings and horn, but it never did any good. Her wings were numb when she came to the dream, and she could never seem to concentrate enough to use her magic.
Luna never got the point of this dream until yesterday. She arrived there as normal, and decided to walk straight ahead. Most of the time, she just tried to find out what the point of the dream was and wandering through the trees, looking for clues.
But not this time.
She remembered it all. As she walked farther and farther, she started hearing noises. She couldn't tell what they were, she just felt sadness as the noises started to come. But when walked about a mile, she could see. They were screams. Screams of ponies. Terrible, terrible blood curdling screams.
She could smell blood whenever a scream echoed throughout the landscape. She ran to the source of the noise to try to help them, to see if they were even real, but she never found it. It kept going farther and farther away. She usually couldn't take it anymore and curled up in a fetal position and cried until she woke up.
But this night was going to be different. She put her head high and started to run as fast as she could. For a whole hour, she strained her legs in hopes of finding why she keeps being sent to this living hell each night. And then she started to hear the screams. They were unnaturally loud; the screams could have been coming from a pony right next to her.
She started to shed tears again, but she kept running. She tried focusing on the different things, like the pounding of her hooves on the stone walkway, or the way the wind made her mane flow in the air. But the screams started to become even louder, if that was even possible. She started to see small blood splatters on the stone pathway. Gradually they became larger until the gray stone became stained with pure red.
Luna couldnt take it anymore. She slowed down to a walk and looked down as the smell and sight of the blood and the screaming overtook her. She wanted to stop. Stop forever. Luna's heart was beating so fast it felt like it would burst out of her chest.
Luna looked up again. There was no end. It went on forever.
She stopped and stared at the expanse ahead. It went on forever. It was an endless walkway of hell, blood and torture. She wanted to stop and curl up again.
No. She could do this. She just needed a moment to collect her thoughts.
She looked up at sky. It looked terrifying. Red clouds dotted the sky up top, making it look like an absurd mockery of reality. But whenever the clouds didn't cover up the sky, the ugly black sky stared back at her and she could feel energy being drained out of her.
The screams were everywhere. She couldn't breathe. She fell into the stone walkway on the ground shaking, closing her eyes and begging to every god she knew. She screamed in fear, frustration and every negative emotion in her body.
Her eyes were filled with tears until the voices suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes. Her tears blurred her vision. She was back in her bed. The screams were now only echoes of what they were. She had come back to the real world.
In the morning, Luna crawled out of bed and wandered towards the royal kitchen. She squinted as the light of several pots reflected on her face and she made her way to the dining room where she found her sister.
Luna sat down and started to eat the hay that was given too her. Celestia stared at her as she chewed. As she finished her food, she looked up and mumbled “What?”
“Do you want to talk about last night?”
Luna looked at her and said, “As a matter of fact, no. I do not wish to talk about it.”
Celestia stared at her with a look of affection and said, “You know you're being difficult.”
Luna did not return the feelings and promptly left the table and went onto the balcony. Celestia quietly followed her.
As Luna stared at the expanse of land below her that was Ponyville, Celestia noticed a tear running down her cheek and she was biting her lip in frustration.
“You know... the sun sure is beautiful today.” Celestia mumbled to Luna.
Luna's face softened, then suddenly became full of disdain again. She whirled around and smacked Celestia across the face. Celestia recoiled in shock and Luna faced her. “STOP ACTING LIKE NOTHING IS WRONG, CELESTIA. JUST... JUST STOP. I SPENT 1000 YEARS LOCKED AWAY IN A PRISON BECAUSE OF YOU, AND YOU CAN'T JUST...”
Luna's face contorted with anger and hate as she looked at her sister.
She looked like she was about to say something, but instead just turned around and silently walked back into the castle.
Celestia looked at Luna with a feeling disappointment, not anger, as she walked away. Although it was clear that her sister was troubled with something, lashing out this way was certain proof. She stared down in the expanse of land that was Ponyville, wondering what had triggered such a violent eruption. Celestia played the scene over in her head. Then she realized something. Luna wasn't looking at Ponyville. She was looking at the Everfree Forest.
Celestia knew what she was about to do was cruel, but she had to know if her suspicion was right. She searched around for her sister and found her lying down in the library, reading a book. Celestia wondered if she really had to do this. She knew she had to, though. She cleared her throat and said, “So, Luna... I was wondering if we had any Cloverflower?”
Luna narrowed her eyes and mumbled, “No, I don't think we do.”
Why was Celestia talking to me just after a fight? thought Luna. She usually lets me cool down after we have a spat.
“Well, that's too bad. I sure am craving some! I guess I'll go send my scouts to the Everfree Forest to get some.”
Luna twitched as the word flooded her brain with memories of her dream. A walkway bathed in blood, the blood curdling screams of tortured ponies, the black sky, and the feelings of hopelessness and frustration.
No. I'm not going to let her drag my thoughts out of me thought Luna as she forced a smile. “Th-that's good. I-I have been craving some too.”
Celestia frowned at her for a second, then said, “Good! Well, would you like to come with me to the Everfree Forest to get some? You know how the food scouts are. They can barely recognize a dandelion from a slice of bread!”
Luna bit her lip as her eyes started to water. This time she realized that Celestia was clearly emphasizing the words “Everfree Forest”. Or maybe it was in her head. Her legs started to wobble and she started to breathe harder. “N-N-No! I-It's fine! You c-can go on without me. I have a b-book to read a-anyway...” she said as she weakly gestured at her book.
Celestia bit her lip as well. No need to go through with the rest of this. I already have my proof that whatever is wrong with her has something to do with the Everfree Forest. she thought as she gazed upon her beloved sister's face. She cried inside because of what was happening to her sister. She mustered up her courage and said, “Okay. I'll be in the Everfree Forest if you need me.” Celestia looked at Luna. She was shaking and her eyes were glassy. It's completely obvious now. She stared at Luna for a second and left.
Luna panted and tears poured down her cheeks uncontrollably. She was nearly hysterical. She didn't want these thoughts. She wanted them OUT OF HER HEAD.
Luna galloped around the room, knocking over tables and firing black lightning bolts everywhere from her glowing horn. She didnt even understand why she was wrecking a place she loved. All she remembered was her body filling upped to the brim with negative emotions. She jabbed her horn at the table, cracking it in half and setting it ablaze. She was so enraged, she was destroying things with her magic without even thinking about it. After she levitated almost 30 books and fried them to a crisp, she stopped and looked around.
. The entire library was was in ruins. Hundreds on books lay flaming on the ground, and Luna could feet the smell of burnt wood and paper in her nostrils. She bit back her tears and walked out of the Library, emotions bursting, and heart racing. Whatever remaining control over herself was cracked open as she left the behind the carnage of burning books and broken wood. |
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TheRealCelestia | 520 | 2 | Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Spike,Twilight Sparkle,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Six Senses | incomplete | 17 | 3 | <p>Im new. So excuse me for any mistakes I make. So this is the first fanfic I have ever made, and if you dont like it, feel free to tell me. I enjoy criticizem on my work.</p><p>Plot: Luna had been suffering from strange dreams which involve the Evergreen Forest in a way that Celestia trys to figure out. Celestia enlists all of Ponyville to try and cure whatever is going on.<br/>But the dreams Luna have been having are no ordinary dreams. They will kill her in 2 weeks.</p> | everyone | 2011-09-03T19:57:18+00:00 | 2011-09-03T19:57:18+00:00 | 1,599 | Princess Celestia was in her room as Luna wrecked the library, silently regretting over what she has done.She had searched all of her precious books for information about what is happening to Luna. Admittedly, she knew that she didnt have much to work with. She only knew two things, one:Its related to the Evergreen Forest. Two, whatever it is, it is slowly destroying Lunas mind. The Princess closed the book and sighed. “I could have found what I was looking for and not even realized it” she silently thought to herself. “I dont even know whats happening to her. Trying to look for things that I havent a clue about is just foalish. But... I...I need to help her in some way.”
Finally, Celestia's logical side won over her compassionate side and she slowly lowered the book down. Her horn glowed as she levitated it onto her small wooden shelf next to her bed. She got up, walked outside of her bright yellow room, and walked to the kitchen. She was so worried about Luna that she almost forgot lunch. As she walked past the library, Celestia saw fat globs of smoke slinking out of the library and she curiously sniffed the air. Immediately she caught the musky odor of burning oak. She quickly poked her head through the door. Celestias pupils grew 2 times bigger as she curiously opened the door of the library and peered inside.
It was a mess. Hundreds of books lay flaming on the ground, their pages torn and in pieces, and the antique book shelves were burning and cracking under their own weight. And in the center of the chaos, there was a large circular table that was cracked open. Celestia remembered that table. It was a gift from her father thousands of years ago. A large sun was supposed to be in the middle of the table. But now it was in pieces. It was clear to know who did this. Luna. Something in her snapped. Yet Celestia wasnt outraged or even sad. She was....scared. Scared for her sister. As she silently looked around the room she heard one of the royal guards scream for help.
Celestia quickly teleported to the source of the noise with her magic and looked in horror at the carnage around her. Dozens of guards were lying on the ground weak. They looked beaten. Covered with burns and their fur was wet with blood, the former strong,regal, and nobel soldier was reduced to a shivering body, clad in scratched armor. Hundreds more were crowded around something, Celestia guessed it was Luna, in the corner Out of the blue, one of the guards were knocked into her and knocked Celestia to the ground painfully.
Celestia quickly stood up, her left shoulder flooding with pain as her muscles tried to repair itself with magic. But her bone was broken, she needed to rest for this kind of repair. Walking around would make it worse and more painful. But she needed to stop this. As Celestia's vision blurred and faded, her horn glowed with a black tinge. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, all that was keeping her from slipping into sweet, peaceful sleep was the thought that hundreds will be massacred if she didn't do this. She licked her lips, put on a brave, peaceful smile and let her magic loose.
“Princess? Prince
ss?”
“Princess C-Celestia, please wake up..”
“ I..I need you....”
Celestia opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she could see Twilight and her dragon, Spike looking at her with watery eyes. As her vision slowly improved, only Spike had watery eyes. Twilight had tears flowing down her cheeks as she gazed upon the pony she considered her role model and near-mother.
Celestia herself allowed a couple of tears to flow from her eyes as he pulled Twilight and Spike close to her warm body, and as her wings slowly folded over them, Twilight smiled. Celestia was going to be ok. Everything was going to be just fine. As both of them slowly slid out of each others embraced, Twilights curiosity took over.
“Princess...what happened that ended you up in here?”
Celestia bit her lip as she looked around. She was in the royal hospital, and her left front leg was in a cast, also, her horn was surrounded by a wet towel. Celestia gingerly touched her cast and her whole body shuddered with intense pain. Silently she wondered why her magic didn't heal her body instantly. But then her memories came flooding back to her. She remembered Luna, killing or injuring hundreds of guards. She knew she had to stop her. But what she did was unforgivable.
Celestia had used black magic against her sister.
A handful of people knew about black magic, and only half of those handful of ponies could even use it. Celestia was one of them. Her learning of black magic was accidental. As a filly, barely older then Applebloom, she went searching around in her teachers room for something to eat. As she was opening drawers in search for something to chew, she stumbled across an awfully dusty and old book. It was titled, “BM, The Complete Guide”. As the cover was adorned with mystic gems and trinkets, filly Celestia's curiosity got the best of her, and she slowly opened the cover. Not knowing what terrible, and dangerous the spells were, she looked a small incantation labled, “Door to the Netherworld”.
“Huh? W-what?”
“Shh, Spike. Nothing..Are you ok? Do you need anything?” Twilight said as she plastered on a smile.
Celestia herself smiled and slowly shook her head now. She curled up in a small, cushy chair and looked up at her.
“ So...If you wouldnt mind me asking again....What happened that ended you up in her?”
Celestia bit her lip and looked the other way.
“ Is-Is it because Spike is here? I could tell him to leave.”
“ Aw, c’mon, I should know too!”
As Twilight and Spike bickered, Celestia wondered what to do. Would Twilight loath her for actually using BLACK MAGIC against her sister? It doesn't matter, she had to tell somebody. Why not it be her faithful student?
“Twilight. Spike.”, Celestia mumbled.
The duo quickly stopped arguing for a second and looked at Celestia.
“Y-yes Princess?” Spike murmured.
“Please stop arguing for my sake. I...I’ll tell you what happened.”
Twilight stared at Celestia with eyes at big as plates, and turned her ears towards her, while Spike crawled up onto a small green chair in the room and look at her aswell.
Celestia bit her lip as she looked at the pupil and her assistant.
“ T-Twilight...I used Black Magic against Luna.”
Twilights face didnt change, and instead of her eyes flowing with terror and hate at her teacher, they were instead filled with curiosity.
“ Whats Black Magic anyway?”, both Twilight and Spike said to the hospitalized pony.
In her mind, Celestias sighed with relief. Twilight didnt know about Black Magic. If she did, Celestia would have nearly cried, knowing that her pupil experienced the horror's of what Celestia had seen in the book. As she thought about how to explain the terrible thing that is Black Magic, Celestias head flashed back about 1000 years ago.
Filly Celestia could barely contain her excitement. Just like Twilight, when Celestia was young, she had an intense thirst for knowledge. Finding a book that was full of shiny jewels and words that she had never laid her eyes upon, made her squeal. As she stared down the spell called, “Door To The Netherworld.” Unlike now, when she actually read the description of the spell to avoid disastrous results, she simply read the spell with some bumbling effort, and concentrated.
“Aloo, Dijina Lan Dor Ki-”, Celestia quietly mumbled to herself.
“ Uh...Princess?”, Spike called out too Celestia.
“Whu-what?”
“You were about to tell us what this “Black Magic” is.”, Twilight said to her. Celestia's pupil looked her teacher with sadness and terror. She silently wondered why Celestia kept blacking out like that while she was talking to them. Were her and Twilight stressing her out? Or was it a side effect of a few of the medicines of the medicines she was given? Twilight banished the thought from her mind, she knew it wasnt a good idea to stress her out, but the thought of not knowing something would drive her crazy.
“Oh...Yes...Black Magic. Terrible thing, it is.” Celestia mumbled.
Spike frowned and looked at Twilight. She just shrugged and decided that she couldnt tire out Celestia anymore. She could deal with her growing curiosity in the morning. As much as it hurt her, Twilight closed her eyes and mumbled a sleeping spell. As the purple magic began to envelope Celestias still body, she tried to say something, but the magic passed though her pelt, and she slept.
“What?? Aw, c’mon Twilight, she was just about to tell us what this, “Black Magic” stuff is all about!.” Spike said with an angry face.
“ Spike....Look at her! She kept on blacking out whenever she was talking to us, obviously she was in no condition to talk to us!”
Spikes face didnt grow any softer, but he didnt ask anymore. As they were walking out, a nurse pony bumped into Twilight, and both ponies went tumbling to the floor.
“Oh dear! I'm so sorry Twilight! I guess I should look up from my clipboard more!”, the earth pony said as she hopped around, gathering up her papers that were flying around everwhere.
“Oh no Crossbeat! It was my fault! I was just...thinking.”
“Oh really? About what, my dear?”
“Err.....What happened with Princess Celestia?”
Crossbeats smile faltered, and she bit her lip.
“I...I....Ok, fine. Come with me, quickly!”
Twilight simply followed without further question, and as Spike hopped onto her back, he attempted to ask why she was just following her blindly, but he never got an answer.
Crossbeat lead them into a dimly lit room, filled with mops and other janitorial devices. “Okay Twilight...You see...Luna went hydra-crazy today.” Crossbeat said with a grim face.
“Wait, what? What does that have to do with Celestia?” Spike said.
“Spike, let her finish the story..” Twilight said while looking at Spike.
“ Thank you Twilight. So, Luna completly DESTROYED the royal library, then just went on a complete rampage against the royal guards. Then while the guards were being tossed around like dolls, Celestia came in and-”
“WAIT! Why did she attack the library and guards for no reason?!?” Spike yelled out.
“Spike....she’s going to get to that..” Twilight said while face hoofing.
“Indeed I shall. So Celestia just walks in and....something strange happens here. You see, Celestia cast a spell, but it wasnt an ordinary spell. All the guards and even some in Ponyvile, reported coughing up blood, feeling naesous or just feeling an absolute dread in their hearts. Nobody even saw what she did, they just felt it. But whatever it was, it worked. The second she cast it, Luna just went unconscious. It was a good thing she came in at that time! She could have destroyed all of Canterlot if she didnt walk in at that time.
Both Twilight and Spike just stared at her as Crossbeat finished.
With a half-smile, Crossbeat said, “ Spike, you can ask questions now.”
“YES! Okay, okay. So why did Luna attack everybody and the library, and why is Celestia in the hospital?”
Crossbeat looked at Twilight, she asked if she had any questions. Twilight just shook her head, no.
“Okay Spike. We have tried to ask Luna why she attacked, but all she does when we ask, is just put her head down, and say, “ I dont want to hear that word anymore.”, and the reason Celestia is in the hospitle, is first off, because her left shoulder was broken. We dont know the cause yet, but that is the least of our
problems. Um....Celestia’s horn was shattered. Before you ask, no, we have no clue why it broke. But we DO have some hope in restoring it. But its going to take a while.”
“HER HORN IS BROKEN??” Twilight almost screamed.
“ Relax! Unicorns horn can crack open easily if they do a spell that is too hard for them, and we know a way to fix it. But...an ALICORNS horn...We’re testing ways to put it back together, but its going to take at the very least, a week. In the meantime, we can get the leg fixed by tomorrow. Thank goodness she didnt her horn didn't completely break. Fixing her leg would take months without a bit of her magic getting through.”
“I see.. Well, thanks for the information Crossbeat! Can I visit her tomorrow?”
“ Of course you can! She wants to see you anyway! Also, remember, you didn't hear that stuff from me, right?” Crossbeat said with a smile and a wink.”
“ Sure we didn't Crossbeat!” Spike and Twilight said with a smile.
As Twilight, Spike and Crossbeat left the room, Crossbeat muttered something something about doing a surgery on a Pegasus’s wing, and left Twilight and Spike.
“Its getting a little dark...Do you think we should go home?”Spike said to Twilight.
“ I guess so... Not much else for us to do around here. C’mon Spike. Its a long walk home.”
Celestia lay in bed, pain flooding into her left shoulder. In almost 1000 years she hadn't experienced pain, as she was an Alicorn, all injuries were healed before she could feel them. To a normal earth pony, this would be a dull throb. But to Celestia, it felt like molten lava was being poured into her shoulder. The combination of the pain and overall stress she felt, triggered another flashback.
“Aloo, Dijina Lan Dor Kirang Dau-Dan Kie Raun!” Filly Celestia said with joy. As she said the words, her horn began to glow even brighter. It was like a small sun was hiding inside her horn. The words were complex and long, but she continued saying it, with certainty that she was doing it right. The spell was nearly one page long, and the words were becoming harder...but regardless, she kept saying them. “Araongana, Ratenay Yognao. Trappre Gramdi Dei.” Celestia said with dread. She felt sad all of a sudden. And devoid of energy. But something was pushing her along to say those words. She no longer had a will. The words become even worse, and were incredibly hard to say now. “ Rangsantodao, Zrehya Den Tadonraya.” The words became ridiculous, becoming impossible for her to even say. All she could do is try. And she did, until she reached the end. At that point, she lay on the ground, exhausted, from saying the words and the feeling within her. But it was over now. Celestia’s face changed into a giggle, knowing that the worse part was over. It wasn't.
“Finally! We’re home. That walk really drained me. Im gonna go look in the kitchen for some gems. You go ahead and sleep Twilight! Im REALLY hungry.
“Uh..Ok Spike. Dont stay up too long!” Twilight said as she walked into her bed. The oddly comforting sound of Spike eating the gems noisily, and the wind softly blowing over her mane, led her to peaceful sleep. |
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DoktorGapt | 521 | 1 | Tragedy | ... Lemme think of one... | incomplete | -1 | -1 | <p>Derpy's life is filled with tragedies, loneliness, and misunderstandings. And yet she stays happy and cheerful through all of it.</p> | everyone | null | 2011-08-16T02:08:26+00:00 | 66 | "Congratulations!" said the doctor pony. "You've given birth to a healthy filly pegasus."
Mr. Hooves looked at the little pony in Mrs. Hooves hooves. She had a grey coat and yellow eyes. Something seemed wrong with them. He just couldn't put his hoof on it. He decided to look at the wings. They were just stubs at her age. His eyes drifted again towards her eyes...
"What should we name her?" asked Mrs. Hooves.
"How about Derpy?" Mr. Hooves asked jokingly.
"I kind of like that name."
"I was joking."
"I know. But I think it sounds nice."
"Well if that's what you want, then that's how it'll be, love." Mr. Hooves nuzzled his wife.
"How are you, Derpy Hooves?" She said in a quiet, high voice. The little filly started laughing.
Mr. Hooves just couldn't stop looking at her eyes. The eyes, what was wrong with them? |
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littlerobotbird | 522 | 1 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2012-06-20T00:45:30+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:05+00:00 | 7,818 | [-|-Metanoia-|-]
[Arc 00 - Potency]
[o.0.o]
In the spiraling void before all things, there was but shadows and darkness.
Of these shades, the Queen rose in silence, hooves as large as an ocean, wings as wide as a valley and horn as tall as a mountain.
From the darkness she carved the land. First it was the size of a mere grain of sand, but it grew ever larger as more and more of the shades coalesced around the Queen.
As she continued her works, she gave birth to light in twain and from the light came everything that we know today.
From the dark sprang dirt and stone, valley and mountain.
From the mountain sprang water, flowing into a great ocean.
From the valley sprang tree and brush, forest and field.
From the field, the forest and ocean sprang creatures both large and small.
After the birth of all, the Queen receded from her works to rest, the light flowing into all places the shadows had left, forming two orbs that the land might never want for its touch.
The first was sun, the second moon, the Queen’s eternal daughters.
They watched the land, growing close to their mother’s works and, in particular, the ponies in their nomadic herds moving across the great prairies. And all was well for a while.
However, the ponies soon outgrew their prairies and conflict arose between the herds as the fields and forests were savaged by their appetites.
The wisest of the ponies went to the daughters, begging for respite from their wanton hunger..
The daughters thought long and turned to their mother.
The great and powerful Queen looked upon her daughters’ favored children and smiled upon them, giving them a piece of herself.
The daughters returned to the ponies with the gift of strength, hooves with which to shape the lands as they saw fit.
And so the Queen returned to her rest and the ponies flourished as, with this gift, they began to sow the land with seeds. The exhausted fields were revitalized with wheat and grain and all manner of edible things.
Soon after, the herds began to come together in villages and all was well for a while.
Then one day came the storms that they had once borne in the depths of the forests. They rolled across the land, destroying the ponies’ works, their villages and fields torn asunder.
Once more the wisest gathered, begging of the daughters some reprieve from the sky’s wrath.
Once more the daughters turned to their mother.
The great Queen looked upon her daughters’ favored children and smiled upon them, gifting them a piece of herself.
The daughters returned to the ponies with the gift of flight, wings with which to shape the sky as they saw fit.
And so the Queen returned to her rest and the ponies flourished as, with this gift, they calmed the storms and rebuilt. And so their villages became towns and all was well for a while.
Then one day came the beasts, from the dark place where the Queen slept, gryphon, manticore, chimera all besieged their towns.
For a third time more the wisest gathered, begging of the daughters some reprieve from the creatures.
For a third time the daughters turned to their mother.
The Queen looked upon her daughters’ favored children and smiled upon them, gifting them a piece of herself.
The daughters returned to the ponies with the gift of magic, horns with which to defend against the beasts.
And so the Queen returned to her rest and the ponies flourished as, with this gift, they tamed the wild parts of the land and rebuilt themselves even quicker then before. And so their towns became cities and all was well for a while.
Then came discontent, discord and strife, not from without but from within the herd. Pony of hoof, wing and horn all fought one another. Once brother and a sister, mother, father and children unto each other, now they fought in the name of their gifts.
For a last time the wisest of them, Earth, Pegasus and Unicorn, all gathered, begging of the daughters some reprieve from their pride.
For a third time the daughters turned to their mother.
But the daughters found naught but a whisper where the Queen had rested.
Her giant hooves with which the land and seas were carved had been given to the ponies.
Her wide wings with which the skies were shaped had been given to the ponies.
Her long horn with which the lifeblood of all flowed had been given to the ponies.
There was but one thing left for the Queen to give.
And so the once-Queen looked upon her daughters and smiled upon them.
[o-0-o]
“...she gave unto them her wisdom and vanished from the land”
As Fluttershy finished the story, her brow furrowed. It hadn’t exactly been the happiest of endings to that story or the most conclusive—albeit she presumed the next bits of the story were to be assumed to be the royal sisters taking over the mantle of ruling on behalf of ponydom, but still...
“So what did you think, Roby?” Fluttershy asked the blue crested robin that perched at the top of her mane, the bird letting out a guttural chirrup in response. “Oh, I don’t think it was pompous. That’s just her style with myths. Something in the translation from Old Equestrian, I think.”
The robin let out a discordant chirp before hopping down onto the book. Gazing up into the pegasus’s kind blue orbs, the bird scratched lightly at the cover and let loose a series of chirps and trills.
“Well...I don't particularly like the ending either, but we all know that things were better down the line?”
The bird tilted his head in thought a moment before a solemn, conciliatory tweet escaped his throat, pawing at the closed cover with a balled-up talon.
“There's a good birdy,” Fluttershy cooed affectionately before rising up and stretching her sore back.
Sitting on the ground for so long, even to do something as relaxing as reading to one of her animals, had the side effect of throwing her spine out of whack. As she finished stretching out the kinks, a few gentle pops echoed in the quiet meadow where they had been reading through the manual of fables for a solid hour or so. She then leaned her head down to the bird, allowing him to latch onto the end of one of the long pink locks of her mane.
“Careful now, Roby,” Fluttershy reminded the little bird as he clutched its talonful of mane with its diminutive claws. “Don't use your wings. I can crouch down more and you can climb up my back.”
The bird simply dismissed the notion with an aggressive chirrup, climbing up a particularly thick section of mane with its talons, making in to the top of the pegasus in good time.
“There you go.” She knew she hadn’t needed to worry; she had done her work on the robin’s broken wing and she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't so reckless or arrogant as to reinjure himself foolishly. He had a nest, a family and a life to get back to after all.
No need to worry at all.
The yellow pegasus found herself staring out at the meadow, almost wanting to bed down for the night. It was just so peaceful on the hill. The sun’s last fleeting rays of light feathering out over the horizon, she could already see the moon peeking over the mountains in eager anticipation of the night.
It had been a beautiful summer’s day.
Nearly a year had passed since the fateful day when Nightmare Moon had returned to wreak her terrible vengeance upon Equestria; a year since she’d met Twilight Sparkle and become a part of the Elements of Harmony; a year since she found herself suddenly, with five other ponies, a part of an indivisible friendship.
It hardly seemed like it could be only a year.
It was strange to be linked by... by... Fluttershy didn’t even know what to call it. Destiny seemed the right word, but ponies as timid as Fluttershy just didn’t fit into anything involving destiny.
Whatever you want to call it, I’m glad, Fluttershy thought, sighing happily as she began to stroll gently down on the hill, shutting her eyes and taking in the sounds of the approaching night.
She knew the path home by heart. She may have been close to the Everfree Forest, but she had no fears when she walked the meadows and forests that surrounded her cottage home. Here she was in her element, the gentle summer breeze coursing through the branches of the forest, the rustling leaves creating a soothing chorus to the falsetto singing of the nightingale.
Sometimes, if she listened to them long enough, she could almost sense the meaning in their harmonies, could nearly hear the words to their songs.
What are you singing about tonight? she wondered wistfully. What songs do you have for this—
“Hey, Fluttershy!”
The pegasus gasped aloud, eyes shooting open as the songs of the forest suddenly grew quiet.
“Fluttershy, you home?”
“Oh, darn,” Fluttershy exclaimed as she broke into a quick trot towards her cottage where she found a unicorn with her face pressed to the window, awkwardly balancing on one hindleg whilst she stretched a forehoof over to knock on the door.
“Oh, there you are, Fluttershy,” the unicorn smiled as she spotted the yellow pegasus's approach in the window’s reflection. Dropping back to all fours, she took a few steps towards the approaching pegasus. “Hope... I hope I'm not interrupting anything.” The unicorn smiled sheepishly, noticing the now desolate silence left in the wake of her yelling, the robin nestled in Fluttershy's mane letting out an chirp of annoyance. “Er, sorry...”
“Oh, it's okay, Twilight,” Fluttershy reassured, pushing the cottage door open before motioning her friend inside. “I must have forgotten you were coming over for tea. I was watching the sunset go down when I should have been watching the time,” she continued with an awkward chuckle, wearing her own, equally sheepish, grin.
“It's alright, Fluttershy. There's no reason for apologies,” the unicorn replied, trotting into the cottage. “I know this is kinda last minute. I just appreciate you saying yes.”
Fluttershy lingered at the doorway a moment, ears trained on the confused silence of the forest before it was broken by the off-key caterwauling of a sparrow.
There we go, she thought as the night chorus resumed, shutting the door with a contented smile.
[o-0-o]
“Wow, this is really good tea, Fluttershy. Even better than the tea I get from Zecora,” Twilight admitted in surprise after her first few, careful sips. “What’s in it?”
“Oh, not anything special, just rosemary with a bit of lavender really.” Fluttershy smiled softly, scratching at the back of one foreleg with the opposite hoof before glancing over the table at the unicorn, eyes lighting up. “The soil is really very rich near the edge of the Everfree Forest. It just seems like the herbs and flowers grow especially well here.”
“I always kinda wondered...” Twilight began before a sudden blush silenced her.
“About what, Twilight?”
“Well, you live so far from Ponyville. And so close to the Everfree Forest,” the unicorn started awkwardly, gesturing uncertainly to the forest out the back window. “I mean, I know you’re not the... the... uh...” she trailed off, her tongue seeming to be suddenly a few sizes too large for her mouth.
“Type to live in the middle of things?” the pegasus offered helpfully, refilling the tongue-tied unicorn’s cup.
“Well, that too… but you just don’t seem like somepony who would live so close to a place like the Everfree Forest,” Twilight explained, some of her confidence returning as she took another sip of the tea, the warmth helping to relax her. “I mean, you could live by one of the farms and still be close enough to your animal friends, right? This place just seems so remote and, well, don’t you get lonely out here all by yourself?”
“Well, I always have them to help with that,” Fluttershy smiled, motioning to the animals that filled in around them, suffusing the air with a variety of chirps, trills, squawks and squeaks.
Even her newest charge, the little robin Roby, sat outside a small birdhouse, seemingly discussing something of grave import with a small white mouse that had climbed up one of the numerous ramps that seemed to litter the cottage’s limited wall-space. Fluttershy's gaze hung on one particular animal before she continued: a small white rabbit that had taken to snoozing on the living room couch.
“And I am a little scared of the forest sometimes... but I couldn’t just abandon my home or my animals, could I?”
“Well, what about other ponies?”
“Oh, Twilight, I have plenty of company coming by. Rainbow comes by every Saturday and I always have my spa day with Rarity. Not to mention I always make sure to visit Applejack and Pinkie Pie when I’m running errands in town. And of course, you’re here right now,” Fluttershy rattled off with a bright, disarming smile aimed directly at her unicorn friend.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t always.” Twilight sighed at the admission, Fluttershy’s expression likewise turning dour.
“Is there... is that why...” Fluttershy struggled with her phrasing a moment, examining the suddenly sullen-looking unicorn. “You’re not here for tea and conversation, are you?”
“Yes I am!” Twilight said rather loudly, stamping a hoof on the table in affirmation before grimacing. “Er, yes and no, really. I am here for conversation, and the tea is lovely, but I do have an ulterior motive… of sorts. You’re not mad, are you?”
“Why would I be mad? I’m just glad you’re here, Twilight.” Fluttershy smiled before placing a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. “But if there’s something on your mind you certainly shouldn't keep it all bottled up,” Fluttershy said, taking on a gentle, almost motherly tone.
“Well, it's just that I've been here for almost a year now and I'm starting to realize that there's a lot more to all of you than I thought,” the unicorn started, her tea cup clinking against its saucer as the magenta hue faded from it. Slipping out from Fluttershy’s grasp, the unicorn began to pace restlessly in front of the table. “I feel like I've failed.”
“Failed. Failed at what, Twilight. You've been a wonderful friend since you arrived. I mean, maybe you were a little intimidating at first and there was the whole thing with the parasprites”—Twilight visibly flinched—“the incident with the Manehattan bakers”—Twilight halted her pacing and shuddered—“oh, and that day with all the noodl—”
“Oh, no, no, no, no, no... don't even mention that again. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at marinara sauce the same way again.” Twilight sat down with an audible thump, holding her hooves to her ears as though she could shut out the event, banishing it from history and memory with the simple gesture. “I'm just glad that Pinkie was there to pull my flank out of the fire on that one.” She paused before muttering under her breath, “Who would have thought such a small pony could even do something like that!” Twilight shook her head, fur ruffling from nose to tail as she tried anew to shake the memory. “Nothing like that, Fluttershy. Something more a bit more basic.”
“What did you mean then?” Fluttershy asked, taking a sip of her own tea as she looked at the unicorn with a look of thinly veiled concern.
“You remember why I'm in Ponyville in the first place, right?”
“Well, at first, it was to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration,” the pegasus began, looking to Twilight for affirmation before continuing, “and now to study the magic of friendship.”
“Right, exactly!” Twilight affirmed excitedly, hopping back to her hooves and trotting around the table, tea forgotten as the unicorn sat right beside a now somewhat flustered Fluttershy.
“I'm afraid I’m still a little lost, Twilight. You've written plenty of letters to the princess. And you've learned so much...” the pegasus mused as the cacophony of chitters and chirps in the background faded to a dull roar, the sun disappearing below the horizon fully.
“I have... but I feel like there's so much more I haven't learned. I've learned tons about how ponies act and react, how ponies feel—more than I ever did in all the years in Canterlot—but,” Twilight's face fell at her use of the most contrarian of conjunctions, “I don't feel like I've even scratched the surface. Not even of my best friends...”
“Oh, Twilight,” Fluttershy reproached her friend as gently as only she could, “most ponies spend entire lifetimes just trying to figure out just one pony. Did you expect to know everything in just a year?”
“You know... at first, I really thought I could,” Twilight chuckled at the apt reproach. “Everypony seems so simple at first... everypony has their role and I was really just looking for my own place, but then you all just keep surprising me.”
“How so?”
“Well... how about you standing up to that dragon?”
“Oh,” Fluttershy's authority wilted at the mention of the incident, the bashful pegasus staring at the floor. “That was nothing really. I couldn't let my friends get hurt while I just stood there, could I?”
“No... but I would have never thought that'd you'd make a full-grown dragon cry like that. I didn't even think you could get angry,” Twilight smiled at the memory of the demure pegasus staring down the dragon easily a hundred times her size.
“Well, sometimes ponies can do amazing things for their friends,” Fluttershy agreed nervously, the phantom itch on the back of her fore leg having returned with a vengeance.
“That's just it, though. I expected Rainbow to go and try and buck a dragon or even for Applejack to do it, but there you were, terrified of dragons and then threatening to tell one’s mother that he'd been a bad, bad boy.”
“He wasn't a bad boy,” Fluttershy corrected, a consistent blush seeming to have stained the pegasus's cheeks a soft pink. “He just made a bad decision.”
“There's the Fluttershy I know,” Twilight replied with soft chuckle before her face fell suddenly. “And that's just the problem.”
“Hm?” Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow.
“I don't feel like I really know any of you.”
“Oh, Twilight, don't be silly. Of course you know us. We're all friends.”
“I know, I know... we're friends. You all are my best friends. Heck, you might even be my only friends along with Spike,” the unicorn mulled over this fact a moment before continuing. “But I want to know you all better.”
“I shouldn't be surprised,” Fluttershy grinned as a deep reddish hue graced the unicorn's face. “That's who you are, Twilight.”
“Yeah, as Rainbow already told me, always the egghead.”
“Oh, she wouldn’t,” Fluttershy put on a play of shock, knowing that the brash, no-nonsense pegasus most certainly would.
“I know she didn't mean anything bad by it... and, she's right, I am an egghead. All my best friends before you girls were books. It’d figure that I'd start trying to study you.”
“That's you, Twilight, and we wouldn't have it any other way,” Fluttershy stated, giving the unicorn a friendly nuzzle.
“And Applejack said pretty much the same thing,” Twilight said softly.
“Oh...have you already talked to her about all this too?”
“Yeah... Actually, I've talked to pretty much everypony else about this.” Fluttershy's ears drooped slightly at this. “Oh no, nothing like that. It’s just been gnawing at me the last few days—it certainly wasn’t on any of my checklists—and I was trying to ignore it. I hadn't even thought of how to start and then it just kind of came up when I was at Rarity's this morning.”
“So, what did you find out?” Fluttershy asked, quickly forgetting any trepidation as curiosity filled her.
“Well, I certainly wouldn't have thought that Rarity and Applejack would have been friends when they were little fillies... they just seem so, so...”
“Opposite?”
“Yeah, who would have thought, right?”
“Nopony that’s just met them would... but they get along in their own way,” Fluttershy mused, brow furrowed in thought.
She hadn’t been privy to this bit of information either. It wasn’t the most surprising revelation, but still intriguing for the pegasus.
“In their own way for sure. Remind me to tell you about how my first slumber party went sometime.” Twilight chuckled softly. “Anyways, after I was done talking to Rarity, I bumped into Pinkie and Rainbow in the market and I just kind of started.”
“And what did you learn from them?”
“Well, I think I may have become Dash's unofficial biographer incidentally.” Twilight affected her best annoucermare voice. “Only pegasus to ever perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom and soon to be a world-famous Wonderbolt!” she announced with the requisite flourishes of her hooves. With a smile, she recalled the quite animated conversation she’d had with the rainbow-maned pegasus.
“On the other hoof, Pinkie was a whole other kind of conversation. I just couldn't get her to talk that much. Not about her fillyhood anyways. She just sort of kept steering the conversation away from it. I did manage to bribe her with cupcakes at Sugarcube Corner, but she just repeated what she told the Crusaders.”
“They told you?”
“Well, to be honest, I may have bribed Apple Bloom after talking with AJ.”
“Twilight!”
“Sorry, I was curious... figured she might have the 'inside scoop' so-to-speak,” Twilight replied, ears laying meekly against. “I was just curious.”
“Still, bribing Apple Bloom to learn about Applejack. It's not like Applejack wouldn't have told you herself,” Fluttershy said, giving the unicorn a stare any mother would be proud to have in her arsenal. “She’s not one to lie about such things.”
“I know, I know. Honest to the core, she told me. But still—after talking to Rarity—Applejack's not as forthcoming as I thought.” Twilight seemed a bit saddened by her findings, using the moment of silence that followed to drain the rest of her now lukewarm tea. “She might not lie, but she doesn’t always tell the complete truth. But I suppose everypony has their own secrets.”
“That... that is a little surprising,” Fluttershy murmured, her own cup entirely forgotten.
“And that's what I'm getting at,” Twilight stated, stomping a hoof for emphasis. “As close as I feel to you all, it’s like I'm just as far from the real you as I was at the beginning... and that's what I’m here to remedy.”
“Oh… so that's why you’re here?”
“Pretty much all of it… in detail.” Twilight paused for a moment as she set the empty tea cup down on the table, turning to look the pegasus in the eye only to find that Fluttershy's gaze was now firmly tethered to the wooden floor of the cottage. “Fluttershy?”
“Y-yes?”
“I really do want to get to know all of you... especially you?”
“Especially me?” the pegasus squeaked nervously, the beads of sweat forming on her brow dripping down to sting her wide open eyes.
“Yeah... you and Pinkie seem to be a biggest mysteries. Rainbow told me a lot about when you girls were in flight camp together, but beside that... well, that's really all I know. I know a little bit more about Pinkie from the Cakes... but you… you're like an enigma to me.”
“An enigma?” Fluttershy broke out into shudders at this last statement, giving Twilight a moment's pause.
“I-I don't want to press you or anything, though. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Tha-that might be for the best. I'm really not very interesting anyways,” Fluttershy stammered as her voice rose steadily in pitch, eyes tracing a particularly interesting fracture in the wood floor. “It'd just be a waste of your time.”
“You're my friend, Fluttershy, you could not possibly waste my time,” Twilight spoke quietly, the soft smile on her face translating perfectly into her words. “Rainbow Dash when she starts talking about how she saved all of Cloudsdales from Windigos as a filly, maybe.”
Fluttershy let out an involuntary chuckle but kept focused on the floor.
“But like I said, I don't want to make you uncomfortable. The last thing I want to do is to push any of you away after all.”
“I-I appreciate that, Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered, finally looking up into Twilight’s eyes. “Maybe I'll be... maybe I can talk about this another time... I just don't know if… well, it’s just a little out of the blue.”
“It's okay,” Twilight whispered, running comforting hoof down the pegasus's back, feeling the shudders coursing their way between her wings.
“It's not that I don't want to exactly...” She bit her lip, silencing her uncooperative tongue.
“I just want to know you Fluttershy,” Twilight began. “But I want you to want me to know you... or rather, I want you to be comfortable... or—”
“It's okay, Twilight... I know what you mean. I just don't know how to—Twilight? Are you okay?” Fluttershy found herself glancing up to greet a much paler looking Twilight.
“Ooo... feeling kinda light-headed all of a sudden,” the unicorn muttered, staggering to her hooves before bracing herself against on the table. “Was there something special in that tea?”
“No... just rosemary and a tiny bit of lavender. Nothing out of the ordinary,” Fluttershy replied, giving her own tea cup an accusatory glare. “You're not allergic are you?”
“I don’ think so,” Twilight wavered back and forth a bit before regaining her balance. “It's just a bit late maybe... haven't been sleeping so well...”
“Maybe I should walk you home then,” Fluttershy rose to her hooves, the quakes that had wracked her body having vanished entirely as she drew even with the unicorn, extending out a wing to support her friend. Allowing Twilight to use the her as a crutch, Fluttershy made her way towards the cottage door.
“Th... thanks, Fluttershy, I don't know what's come over me... maybe I should sleep in tomorrow. Midweek is usually... pretty slow anyways at the library.” Twilight tried to put on a reassuring grin, but managed only a grimace as a wave of nausea washed over her. “Hurk... oh yeah, a good night's rest in my own comfy, comfy bed...”
“And you'll be so nice and cozy in your snuggly wuggly bed,” Fluttershy smiled, grasping the door handle in her mouth, pulling it open as she bore the unicorn's steadily sagging weight.
Oof… maybe the hospital would be shorter from here… Or Sweet Apple Acres even, Fluttershy wondered silently, trying to shift the unicorn farther onto her back.
“Hee, hee... snuggly wuggly... you silly filly. I'm not a foal...” Twilight giggled as she closed her eyes, a dumb little smile making its way onto her face as the pair stepped into the cool night air.
“Of course you're not,” Fluttershy nodded, sweat building on her brow as the unicorn leaned more and more heavily on the pegasus. “You’re a big filly.”
“Yeah! I’mma big filly!” Twilight squealed excitedly, swaying wildly as she pumped a hoof into the air.
I don't think either of us are in any condition to get you anywheres, Fluttershy thought to herself as she gave the unicorn an extended look.
Twilight trembled slightly as she leaned against her friend, her brow darkened from sweat as her hooves struggled to maintain her balance. For the moment, the pegasus was the only thing keeping the unicorn from face-planting directly into the ground.
“Twilight?”
“Yeah, silly pony?” The unicorn giggled deliriously.
“You know... there's a really comfortable bed right upstairs. It's so very nice and soft... just the thing to make you feel all better,” Fluttershy offered, slowly steering them back towards the cottage.
“Tha sounds nice...but where would you sleep?”
“Oh, don't worry about me. I can always sleep on the couch,” she grunted, shifting more of Twilight’s weight onto herself, “or I could even bring in a nice, fluffy cloud to sleep on.”
“Oooo… a cloud, that sounds really nice an—Oof!”
Just as Fluttershy managed to get the cottage door open all the way, the weight became too much. The unicorn's hooves, unable to find purchase on the wood floor, slipped and left the pegasus bearing Twilight's full weight, sending the pair to the ground in a heap.
“H-h-heavy...” Fluttershy huffed, one wing pinned in an awkward position as the other was being crushed against the floor.
That’s going to be sore in the morning...
“Come on, Twilight,” she pleaded with unicorn. Twilight had apparently slipped into unconsciousness, Fluttershy only getting a half-mumble for her troubles.
“Fluttershy! Hey, Fluttershy!” a familiar voice called out from behind them in a rather unfamiliar, panicked tone. However, the Fluttershy simply couldn’t process it until she felt the unicorn's weight rolled off of her. “Are you two okay?”
Twilight gave a little giggle and a snort before falling silent again.
“You two have been sneaking cider without me? How could you?!”
“Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy gasped, thankful for the night air that filled her lungs before finding more questions to ask. “What are you doing all the way out here”—she sucked in a few more lungfuls—“at this time of night?”
“My Pinkie-sense, silly,” the pink earth pony submitted bluntly with a knowing grin, leaving the pegasus baffled.
“But nothing fell, and I certainly wouldn't call this”—she gestured to the collapsed unicorn—“a doozy, she just fainted...”
“Well, I did get a doozy... just not about here. It was… It is...” Pinkie stammered, drawing a knowing smile from the pegasus.
It was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie after all. She’d always had a knack for just being in the right place at the right time and Fluttershy certainly wasn't going to question it at a time like this.
“You can tell me all about it in a minute, but we should really get Twilight into my bed so I can take a look at her. I might have to send you to fetch Nurse Redheart too,” Fluttershy stated, casting a worried glance at the purple lump blocking the doorway.
The pink-furred mare nodded exuberantly before burrowing under the unconscious unicorn before rising with her balanced precariously on her back.
“So what happened?” Pinkie asked as she trotted into the main room of the cottage, Twilight murmuring in her sleep, sweat dripping from her forehead despite the cool breeze coming from the door. “And it better not be cider related.”
“I don't know... I think maybe she had a allergic reaction or something to my—”
Fluttershy didn't make it another word and Pinkie didn't make it another step as the cottage was suddenly filled with a blinding flash of magenta light, the pair finding themselves hurled outwards.
The yellow pegasus found herself thrown hard against against a window, the glass crackling underneath her from the sheer force, while Pinkie was nearly pitched through the cottage door. The pink pony's body pinned awkwardly against the door frame, half of her limbs whipping about under the influence of an unnatural wind while the other half struggled to hold her in place, scrabbling for something to grab or grip or hook on to.
At first, Fluttershy eyes screwed shut as she tried to look at the source of their distress, the wind tearing through her fur and feathers. The light was nearly bright enough to see even through her eyelids. Slowly she fought to open them before the wind snapped them wide open. Fluttershy's pupils expanded in horror as she stared at Twilight.
Her friend's eyes stared out at nothing and, more than that, they were nothing.
The unicorn’s once lavender eyes had been replaced by an unnatural pair of glowing white orbs. Twilight's gaze darted wildly as her body contorted strangely into seemingly impossible forms for any pony not made of rubber or at least double or triple jointed.
Bolts of magic shot out from her writing form, leaving scorch marks on the wooden floor. A stray bolt hit a tea cup and leaving a tiny ficus tree in its place before slowly the magic condensed to form a solid barrier of crackling magic around the unicorn.
“Twilight!” Pinkie yelled over the cacophony of snaps and crackles exuded by the display of unicorn magic before her. “Twiligh—”
The pink pony didn't get to finish as a fresh burst of tremors coursed through her body, Fluttershy watching as Pinkie vibrated along the frame and right out the door, disappearing with an audible yelp.
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy called after the earth pony, just barely able to hear a resounding thunk from outside, before turning her attention back to Twilight and their more immediate problem.
The sheer volume of magical energy set Fluttershy's fur on end as she felt herself being pressed hard against the window. She could hear the glass slowly splintering beneath her as she stared at her friend's floating form. She needed to get herself onto something more solid as quickly as she could. Then she had to get to Twilight somehow and do…
...something!
“Twilight!” Fluttershy cried out as she rolled herself carefully across the window and, legs shaking and wobbling beneath the strain of the magic bursts. She managed to rise to all fours, albeit shifted ninety degrees up from what gravity would normally allow. The pegasus panted, her legs constantly buffeted by the cyclone of magical energies that filled the cottage. As she looked around, she found the main room deserted, save for herself and Twilight.
I hope everyone's alright, the pegasus thought to herself as she stared at the spot where her couch was pressed against the wall, her lapine assistant, along with all the other animals, having disappeared from sight.
“Twilight?! Twilight, can you hear me?!”
If the unicorn could, she gave no sign of it, eyes continuing to dart every which way, blindly searching for something. The unicorn's face was a contorted into a mixture of fear and pain as her body twisted about beneath her, head and horn staying eerily still.
Gathering all her strength, Fluttershy began to inch her way along the wall, moving away from the front door and towards the kitchen. Twilight had ended up almost perfectly in the center of the room, leaving only one way to get close to the writhing unicorn.
“If you can hear me, Twilight,” Fluttershy yelled out as she tentatively tapped a hoof on the ceiling before, feeling the magical energies rolling over her in waves, “I'll be there soon!”
Okay, Fluttershy... remember... it’s just a hop… The pegasus rocked herself back and forth on her hooves. ...a skip...
Flaring her wings, she locked her eyes on her friend.
...and a jump!
Fluttershy brought her wings down in as powerful a stroke as she was capable of as she pushed off the wall with all four legs, twisting herself into an upright position just before the magical wind caught in her wings, unceremoniously slamming her right into the ceiling.
“Ooooo.....” she moaned as she lay, stunned, on the ceiling.
That was a really bad idea…
But it had worked. The same pressure that had pressed her against the wall was now working to keep the pegasus on the ceiling.
“Need to...” The pegasus huffed as she rolled over onto her hooves, rising unsteadily on them. “...practice landing.”
She could feel the blood rushing to her head as she crawled along a ceiling joist, using it to steady her steps as she drew closer to the unicorn. The arcane winds that tore at her grew steadily worse and more chaotic as she closed the last few feet between her and Twilight. Soon enough, she found herself crouched just above the unicorn, the barrier snapping at the pegasus with bursts of energy. Being so close, she could just make out the nigh imperceptible tendrils of energy that reached towards her from the magenta sphere.
“Tw-Twilight!”
“Fl-flu...” the unicorn stuttered as her white, sightless eyes turned towards the trembling pegasus above, breaths coming in stuttering gasps.
“Yes!” Fluttershy yelled back, her voice growing hoarse as she felt her energy slowly bleeding away as the tendrils of magenta energy grasped her. “I-I'm right here, Twilight.”
“Whuh... what's going on?” Twilight nearly whispered, sounding like a lost little foal. “Why can't I see you?”
“I have no idea,” the pegasus cried out, tears cresting her windswept eyes as she tried to lift herself onto her hind legs, wings adjusting to keep her balanced. “Just know I'm here, Twilight.”
“I... you're here?” the unicorn asked in obvious confusion as she tried to close her eyes to no avail. With a frustrated grunt, Twilight gave up, shaking her head back and forth before turning once again to face Fluttershy. “Wh-where are we?”
“You're still in my cottage,” she stated, trying to reassure the visibly frightened unicorn, her body at least seeming to have calmed since they started talking. “Everything's going to be okay, Twilight. Just focus on my voice and repeat what I say. ‘Everything's going to be okay.’”
“Okay, I... I trust you, Fluttershy,” the unicorn replied, biting her lip as a stray tear bled out of her eyes before flying off to splatter against the wall. “Everything will be okay... every will be okay...”
“Everything will be okay,” Fluttershy replied, hind legs shaking terribly as she stretched her upper body towards her friend. She grimaced as the winds buffeted her, threatening to send her tumbling back across the ceiling. “Every... thing...”—she reached a forehoof down, wings buzzing ceaselessly against the winds—”will… be...ok—” She snatched her hoof back with a cry of pain, barrier crackling.
“Fluttershy?!” the unicorn yelled, her body spasming as her face twisted into a look of worry, blank eyes glancing around the ceiling. “Fluttershy?! What happened?! Are you still there?!”
“Ev... everything will be okay,” Fluttershy repeated the mantra as calmly as she could, staring at the scorched tip of her hoof as tears blurred her vision and her body threatened to give out from the strain.
“Everything will be... will be okay.”
Fluttershy bit her lip hard as she reached her hoof out once more. She could feel the energy of the barrier, the crackling power that coursed through as it drew power not only from the unicorn, but everything around her as well. She could feel the scorching heat as with gritted teeth she plunged the hoof through the barrier. As her foreleg passed into the bubble of energy, time seemed to stumble for a moment, the winds slowing to a stiff breeze as Fluttershy felt... something...
There was a presence that tapped into her own energy as she stretched her hoof towards her friend. Suddenly, she was being watched from everywhere at once, unseen eyes examining her carefully and thoroughly.
Who do we have here? a soundless voice inquired, its tone curious and nonchalant as the phantom watchers circled her.
Everything will be alright…
Ignoring the strange voice, she made one last, desperate thrust towards Twilight and found her. Her hoof coming to rest on the unicorns mane, a thousand staring eyes watching the act as the storm returned full force, the energy of the barrier coursing through the pegasus, sapping her.
“I'm right here, Twilight,” she whispered weakly, the unicorn's body settling as the white glow began to fade from her eyes and, with it, the unknown observers fading away as well.
With a loud pop, both ponies dropped to the cottage floor in an unmoving heap, the magenta glow dispelled as the magical winds were snuffed at their source.
The cottage sat still for the moment, only the sounds of labored breathing to be heard within.
[o-0-o]
“Fluttershy! Twilight!”
The sudden cry stirred Twilight, drawing a long groan from the unicorn as a blur of pink and magenta appeared above her.
“Omigosh! I was so worried when I got thrown out the door. I was all like whoosh right out the door and then I hit the tree and I was a little woozy for a while and there was still all sorts of crazy coming out of here and—”
“Pinkie?” Twilight interrupted with a groan. “What happened? What are you doing here?”
“Well, I was sleeping upstairs at Sugarcube Corner when my Pinkie-sense started acting really weird! I vibrated right off my bed and almost went right out the win... dow...” Pinkie trailed off as a soft whimper emanated from the yellow-furred lump at her hooves. “Fluttershy?”
“It hurts...” The pegasus was curled tightly around herself, shuddering.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight exclaimed as her consciousness returned fully, rolling unsteadily onto her hooves, Pinkie helping to steady her as the pair looked down at the trembling pegasus. “What is it? What's wrong? What happened?”
“My... my... everywhere...” she muttered in response, struggling to uncurl enough to show the pair.
Pinkie knelt beside the pegasus and began running a steady hoof through Fluttershy's limp mane, her own sagging as she teared up.
“It's okay, Fluttershy,” Pinkie whispered with a sad smile. “Auntie Pinkie’s here.”
“I'm a... a...”
“A year older than me... yeah, I know,” Pinkie finished for her with a hollow giggle. “Auntie Pinkie's still here for you.”
“Twi... Twilight?”
“I'm here,” Twilight spoke softly as the pegasus's trembling turquoise eyes met her own.
Slowly, but surely the pegasus uncurled to reveal her injury. Twilight restrained a gasp as she saw her friend's hoof, the entire end of her leg looked like a solid cylinder of ash.
“I can't... I can't...” Fluttershy couldn't feel her hoof, but there was the pain: a throbbing, searing pain that ripped the breath from her and sent her thoughts scurrying away.
“I... I...” Twilight stuttered for a moment, her brain searching for something, anything. “A first aid spell?”
“Anything, Twilight,” Pinkie gave her affirmation, still trying to comfort the pegasus as best she could.
Twilight closed her eyes in concentration as she focused on the charred hoof. She held her breath as she tried to tap into her magic, opening an eye to find that few magenta sparks falling ineffectively from her horn before a sudden splitting headache overwhelmed her.
The unicorn groaned as she threw herself to the floor, hooves grasping at her temples to soothe the sudden ache. Tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, she reached a trembling hoof up to her horn before yanking it back.
“Ahh!” It was scorching hot to touch. As she glanced up at the spire of fleshy bone she could see wisps of smoke whipping away from its still white-hot surface, the smell of singed mane invading her nostrils.
“What's wrong, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, a hoof moving methodically through the pegasus's mane, a twinge of panic in her voice.
“Twili...” Fluttershy groaned weakly, her eyes blinking rapidly as if on the verge of fainting dead away, everything around her a multi-colored blur.
“I...I...” Twilight's brain was seemingly unable to process anything for a moment before a single phrase replayed itself in her mind. “Everything will be alright.”
“Ev—Every...”
“Everything, Fluttershy. Everything will be alright.”
“Everything will be alright… Everything will be alright...”
As she took up the steady mantra she could hear Twilight and Pinkie talking, but already everything was blurring into an incomprehensible mass. Soon she could only hear her voice… and another’s...
Everything will be alright... |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 2 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-10-18T19:12:49+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:12+00:00 | 5,224 | Wispy tendrils of fog rolled across the path in front of her, pushed on by some unfelt breeze.
Somewhere beyond the lazy gray wall of lowborn cloud lay the thatched-roof cottage she sought and beyond that lay the dark and mysterious depths of the Everfree Forest where nature, having been free from the influence of ponykind, had run rampant for hundreds upon thousands of years, leaving it a dangerously unpredictable and mysterious place.
As if at a crossroads, the young pegasus stood just off the path, fidgeting nervously as she peered at the grey mists swirling before her. Her traveling cloak clung uncomfortably to her sides in the humid morning. She beat her wings once, then twice as she shifted her saddle bags up to a more comfortable position on her back. With a forced shiver, she tried to rid herself of the morning’s chill and the dew that seemed to cover every inch.
"Maybe a day or two more..." she murmured to herself, blowing a limp strands of damp, pink mane out of her face. "Wait for the sun to clear away all this fog at least."
The pegasus stared for another moment, hoof pawing at the ground idly as though it held the answers to her dilemma just beneath its surface. She could feel a tremble of nervousness creeping up her spine, wings locked tight to her sides as she felt the urge to run building.
"Somepony out here?"
The little pegasus nearly fainted dead away at the sound of another's voice breaking the quiet stillness. Instead her hooves found purchase in the damp soil and she disappeared beneath the exposed roots of a nearby tree, landing with the quiet slap of watery mud.
She lay there, trembling as she listened to the squelching steps draw closer to her. She could hear them wandering towards her, their rhythm steady even with its gentle stutter. They stopped a moment and the pegasus could hear a soft, snorting chuckle issue forth from the mystery pony.
"Well, I reckoned I heard somepony out here," the smug sounding voice began from just above and behind her.
She twisted her head around to find the aged face of an earth pony mare peering down at her, a raincoat obscuring much of her.
"How many times you been out here this week, young one?"
The pegasus was speechless for a moment, her fear heightening at the realization before falling away beneath the spell of the old mare's smiling face.
"Just once or twice..." she admitted meekly, climbing slowly out from under the tree roots and onto solid, if damp, ground, hooves slipping on the muddy sides of her unsuccessful hiding place.
"Well, I do dearly hope that you weren't scared of little old me," the old mare chuckled, aiding the pegasus in getting back onto level earth and to all fours. Bringing the young one up to look her over with smiling, blue eyes that shone with a familiar warmth from within her hood. "So...what's a little filly like you doing out here all alone? Lookin’ for somepony in particular?"
"I'm not a little filly," she whispered in response, looking towards the fog bank that had tormented her mere moments ago, but seemed a welcome escape route.
"What was that?" the old mare asked, a hoof to her ear in an overt show of auditory inadequacy, the smile betraying her.
"I'm not a little filly," the pegasus repeated herself, louder this time.
"Well, you sure talk like one," the old mare smiled, letting out a short, rasping laugh, "You might want t’work on that, darlin'."
The pegasus meeped, seeming to sink into the ground at the reproach.
"An' as to my other question...?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," the pegasus suddenly stood upright, twisting back to grab something out of her saddlebag, "I-I am actually looking for s-somepony."
"Hopefully I kin help," the old mare offered as the pegasus dug around for a minute before coming up with a small letter clutched in her mouth.
"M spose't mee 'er," she began with her mouth full, the old mare freeing her soon enough, tucking the letter into her coat, "Sorry."
"No need for apologies, miss," the old mare dismissed the pegasus, motioning for the pegasus to follow her. "C'mon now. Can't have you catching yer death a'cold here."
"O-okay..." came the timid response, the pair disappearing into the fog bank.
Keeping close to the older pony, she soon found them at the cottage.
A few minutes more and the pegasus found herself sitting before a small table in the cottage's main room, sipping slowly from a cup of steaming hot tea. She shivered lightly beneath the warm blanket wrapped around her while the old mare cleaned up the kitchen. The letter lay forgotten for the moment at the table's center while the pegasus’s bags and the old mare's coat hung side by side near the door, dripping quietly.
"Hope you're enjoying the tea. Old family recipe," the old mare gave the pegasus a sly wink as she took her place at the table. She blew softly on her own cup before looking to the unopened letter. "Don't suppose you know what's in that?"
"No, ma'am," the pegasus admitted, pulling the blanket tighter around her. "This tea is lovely, though, thank you."
"You're very welcome, young lady. Good t’hear manners are still well an' good among you young'uns."
The pegasus merely blushed at the compliment, her eyes fixed squarely on her tea.
"Well, let's see what all this is about then, shall we?"
Shakily the old mare rose to her hooves, drawing the letter towards her. The pegasus found her gaze raising seemingly of its own volition, curious as to the letters contents as well. As the young one watched, the old mare's opened the letter, eyes darting over the page, her face curious at first, but slowly and steadily morphing into a frown before glancing up to meet the pegasus' blue eyes with her own.
"Well, I s'pose there’s a resemblance," the old mare muttered, her expression an enigma to the timid pegasus. "Got an awful lot of yer daddy in you… better or for worse, I s'pose."
"Th-thanks?"
“Lot more grown since the last time I saw ya...” the mare muttered to herself as the yellow pegasus shrank beneath the earth pony's examination. "Well, I s'pose we best get you settled in."
"Settled in? Here?"
"Well, yeah, girly. What did you think I was going to do?" the old mare looked at her with a look of incredulity as she made her way around the table.
"I don’t… What do you me—" she stammered, interrupted by the elder mare’s sudden embrace.
"Y’all didn't think I'd leave my only gran’daughter out in the cold, did you?"
"Granddaughter?"
"Oh, I know. It's been years an’ I’ve got quite a few more gray hairs in my mane, but surely you remember yer ol' granny, Fluttershy?"
The scene froze, Fluttershy's consciousness suddenly running cold as she looked up into her grandma's warm blue eyes. The pegasus could feel her breath caught in her throat, her body suddenly feeling as though she had sunk into a deep snowdrift.
She remembered the disbelief, the betrayal that she had felt in that moment. She remembered reading the letter herself. Reading it over and over and over again, looking for something that simply wasn't there.
But she ended up happy, right?
Maybe it took a month or two, but… she didn't need to feel those things anymore.
So why did she?
"Wh-what's going on?" Fluttershy asked, her words coming out in a burst of frosty air.
But no answer came.
No words came as the cottage grew darker and faded away along with the kind, old earth pony with the familiar blue eyes. Soon she was left in the dark, just as she had been then.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy, everythin'll turn out alright in the end.” She remembered her grandmother’s words, the even, wise tone she’d taken. “Even if it dun seem like it at first, things'll get better."
She could feel her granny's lips on her forehead that first night as she tucked the pegasus into bed, the warmth of the comforter surrounding her as she had gone to sleep, the sounds of the countless critters down the stairs.
Then, as suddenly as the warmth had manifested, it were gone and it their place was a pulsing ache. Fluttershy found herself writhing on the floor, clutching at her fore hoof as the burning ache flowed up her leg.
A soft chuckle echoed in the empty darkness.
"Things just aren't so alright in the end."
[o-0-o]
"Whoa there, girl!" Applejack shouted as she tried to keep the thrashing pegasus under control, deftly avoiding the panicked hoof whipping right at her head. "Yer fine! Yer fine, Fluttershy! Everythin's fine!"
Almost immediately the pegasus began to settle, staring up at the farm pony's reassuring smile before glancing around to find that she was in her bed, the morning sun filtering in through the window.
"Is she okay?" a nervous voice asked, drawing Fluttershy's attention to an oddly distraught Pinkie Pie, a tray covered with a kitchen towel balanced on the pink pony's back and thick bandage wound around her head.
"She'll live, but I don't want her tearing apart her bandages," Applejack replied, running a calming hoof down the pegasus's back. "How you feelin', Shy?"
"I...I'm fine. Why wouldn’t I be?" she whispered, trying to think of a reason for Applejack and Pinkie being in her bedroom. Then the memories came roaring back, a soft shudder rippling down her spine. "Is Twilight okay?"
"Twilight's just fine. I think she's a mite more worried about you than herself right now," the stetsoned pony answered, maintaining her smile as she continued, "Now how 'bout you tell me how yer hoof is doin'?"
"It...it doesn't hurt at all." Fluttershy drew the offending hoof to her face, finding it to be completely encircled in bandage.
"Hurt at all when I press it?"
Fluttershy merely shook her head, brow furrowed in surprise as the earth pony pressed tentatively against the mummified hoof.
"Wow, Applejack, you did great!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced towards the bed, the tray thankfully now resting on a bookshelf. The pink pony staring down at the pegasus with a bright smile, but Fluttershy found herself staring at the bandage on her head.
“What happened to your head?”
“Oh, this is from when I hit the tree,” Pinkie answered matter-of-fact.
“Hit the tree?”
“Oh, don't you worry none, Fluttershy. Us earth ponies got thick skulls.” Applejack tapped her own head with a hoof to demonstrate. “An' Pinkie's is even thicker than most.”
“Yes indeedy!” the pink pony exclaimed with a quick bounce punctuating her excitement over the apparent compliment.
“So, how did you...” Fluttershy's words trailed off, finding it simpler to just hold up her well-bandaged extremity.
"Years on th' farm," Applejack responded, chest puffing out in pride. "Gotta know some first aid if'n yer gonna work the fields."
"Thank you, Applejack," Fluttershy whispered as she continued to examine her hoof.
"Well, I reckon we best get them Nurse ponies to look at it afore I go above giving you a good, clean bill o' health, but you're certainly welcome," the farm pony said with a subtle curtsy before turning to the still eagerly bouncing Pinkie Pie. "But before that... what've you got for us, Pinkie?"
"Weeeeeelllll...Fluttershy doesn't have as many ingredients as I’m used to... so I had to experiment a little teensy weensy little bit, but I managed to make some deliciously scrumptious, oh so wonderful," Pinkie paused for effect as she made it back to the tray in a single bounce, tossing the towel away with a flourish to reveal, "muffins!"
"Er..."
Pinkie beamed with pride as her two friends glanced over the tray of misshapen mystery goods of dubious origins.
"Don't they just look delicious?" the pink pony asked before tossing an oddly speckled muffin into the air, catching it deftly in her maw before smiling at the pair, cheeks undulating with foodstuff.
"They look...um...nice."
"Yeah! They look, uh, nice, Pinkie."
[o-0-o]
It was nearly midday when the library door swung open to admit the pair of grumbling ponies.
"The rosemary an' birdseed actually weren't too bad, but what pony in their right mind puts raw fish in a muffin?" Applejack asked nopony in particular, Fluttershy giving a pained smile at her friend's confusion.
"Well, it is a delicacy in eastern Equestria...but not usually as a muffin, no..." the pegasus remarked, her stomach tumbling slightly as she dragged herself to one of the cushions set out around the center of the library's main room.
"S'pose that's just her way. Bein' all experimental an' the like." Applejack sighed as she flopped onto a cushion next to Fluttershy. “Thought fer a sec I was goin' t’have to ask Redheart for the stomach pump.”
"At least most of them were edible this time," the pegasus offered, trying in vain to defend the party-loving pony against both Applejack and her own cartwheeling stomach.
"There's that, I, uh, guess," Applejack murmured, a soft blush coursing over her face.
"Applejack! Fluttershy!" A voice above drew the two ponies attention from their gymnastically inclined interiors as a blur of purple and green descend the stairs. "Fluttershy, you're alright!"
"Well, of course." Fluttershy couldn’t help but blush as the little dragon looped his tiny arms around her. "Didn't Twilight tell you?"
"She made it sound like she exploded and almost blew your leg off!” Spike cried out, arms remaining locked tight around Fluttershy.
“Nothin' that excitin', Spike,” Applejack muttered as she rolled over on her pillow. “How's Twi doin'?”
“She's been all mopey ever since she got back… I don't think she's slept since, either,” the baby dragon explained, finally relinquishing his hold. “She's really worried about you, Fluttershy.”
"Oh, it wasn't anything that bad. It was just a bit of a burn...no worse than if I’d spilled hot tea on it," Fluttershy reassured the dragon, showing off her newly re-bandaged hoof. "Should be as good as new once the magical...um, what did Nurse Redheart call it, Applejack?"
"Huh?" the farmer pony asked, shaking herself out of a trance, eyes focused on the top of the stairs, "Oh! It was, uh, Residual Magic somethin’-somethin’. Transmissal Field?"
Spike and Fluttershy simply stared at the distracted earth pony for a moment, waiting for her eyes to wander, but the pair of green eyes stayed rooted to the spot, ears twitching beneath her trademark hat. Slowly the work pony rose to her feet, a determined grimace on her face.
"Well, ain't that just a right kick in the flank," Applejack broke the silence with a strong stomp of her hoof. "That unicorn ain't gonna make her feel any better that way."
Fluttershy gasped as the workhorse stomped by her and right up the stairs.
"We should probably go after her, right?" Spike asked, taking off for the stairs before halting at the first step. Turning to the injured pegasus, he motioned to her bandaged hoof. "Did you need any help?"
"Oh no, I'll be fine. You just hurry on ahead."
"Oh, okay." The little dragon took off like a shot up the stairs where Fluttershy could now hear a muffled argument.
Standing up slowly, the pegasus made sure to keep her weight distributed over her three good legs before stretching her still sore wings and hovering up the stairs.
[o-0-o]
"You just don't understand, Applejack." Twilight sighed, leaning halfway over her desk as though she were about to pass out then and there.
"What don't I understand? That you're being plumb idiotic?" Applejack retorted, steadying the unicorn as she swayed lightly. “You need your rest, Twi!”
"I know, I know... I should sleep, but I can't," she grumbled as Fluttershy crested the top step, touching down just behind the pair as Spike sat on Twilight's bed. "I have to know why this happened?"
"What do you mean, Twilight?" Fluttershy interjected, immediately drawing a gasp from the unicorn.
"Fluttershy! You're okay!" Twilight choked out, breaking out of Applejack's grip to wrap her hooves around the pegasus, squeezing her tightly.
"Of course I am," Fluttershy stated blankly, rubbing the unicorn's back with her bandaged hoof as a wetness spread where Twilight had buried her face into her shoulder. "But you really should be getting your rest, shouldn't you?"
"Oh, Fluttershy, I thought I really hurt you," Twilight whispered, trembling as she ignored the pegasus's question. "I'm just so glad you're alright."
"She's fine, Twi, but you ain't," Applejack grumbled, trotting over to the pair.
"Applejack's right, Twilight. You need your rest. Especially after using so much magic."
The unicorn suddenly sagged at the mention of magic. "Right...you're right, it's just..." the unicorn stammered as she released the pegasus from her embrace and trudged back to the desk. "I can't rest… at least not until I know why."
"Twi, I don't pretend to know all about magic and whatnot. I know that you blowin’ yer horn out has you stressed an' all, but—"
"It's not that. Not just that anyways."
"Well, then maybe you ought to explain afore I go runnin' my mouth," Applejack spoke bluntly, resting her forehooves on the desktop so that she could get herself eye to eye with the unicorn. "We're your friends, Twi. Don't go keepin’ us in the dark."
"It’s just... I'm scared."
"What are you scared of?" Fluttershy asked in a quiet voice, moving to the unicorn's opposite side.
"I—I'm not even sure," Twilight admitted, tears welling up in her eyes. "I haven't ever lost control of my magic like that. Not since I was a little filly... the Princess taught me how to control it and I just… I just lost it like that.” She tapped a hoof against the desk. “Celestia always warned me how dangerous uncontrolled magic can be… ”
“Any particular reason why?" Applejack asked, giving her space to vent. "I mean, maybe you were just overtired or stressed or somethin'."
"No, I was perfectly fine."
"An allergy, maybe?" Fluttershy chimed in, thoughts wandering back to her tea.
"No, I don't have any allergies except..." The unicorn sat up straight for a moment before slumping back down. "No… there wasn't any poison joke around the cottage."
"I dun think this would have been much of a joke anyways. Not that plant's M.O. either…" Applejack stated, rubbing a hoof thoughtfully under her chin. "Do you… wait, never mind."
"What?" Fluttershy and Twilight asked in unison, both turning to the farm pony who looked suddenly nervous.
"Well, you remember anything from when you lost control? Anything, y'know, odd?"
"Besides the obvious?” Twilight let out an insincere laugh. “No, not really… I just remember feeling like something was trying to…"
“Tryin' ta what?"
"Like something was trying to rip all the magic right out of me…" Twilight suddenly looked incredibly queasy, sweat running down her brow, her normally purple complexion taking on a noticeably greener hue.
"Oh… sorry, Twi. Didn't mean ta make you think about it… I'll, uh… go get you a glass of water," Applejack stammered out before dashing down the stairs to the kitchen, Spike trailing just behind the workhorse.
"Um, Twilight," Fluttershy began meekly, eyes locked to the floor.
"Fluttershy?"
"I felt the same thing when I was trying to get to you. It felt like I was being drained. And there were these things that kept grabbing me…"
"I...I'm so sorry, Flutter—"
"No, Twilight… I don't think it was you…"
"What do you mean? Of course it was me! It was my magic!"
"Well, it was your magic, but there was something else too…"
"Something else?" Twilight seemed to perk up a bit at this, but Fluttershy found herself staring at the floor as soon as she had met the unicorn's eyes.
"Yes… it felt like something was watching us…"
"You... you're right. I do remember that… I just thought it was my imagination though."
"I don't think it was a pony… and I don't know of any creature that could do something like this, but Twilight?"
"Yeah, Fluttershy?"
"It wasn't your fault. I'm sure of it."
"Thanks, Fluttershy… Maybe I shouldn't feel so guilty, but if you had gotten hurt…" Twilight trailed off, allowing her chin to come to rest on the desk's cool surface.
"No lasting harm, no need to apologize, Twilight."
"How can you say that? I nearly burned your hoof off!"
"My hoof is fine, no more than a first degree burn,” Fluttershy rebuked her friend, turning her bandaged hoof over in front of the unicorn, “I've done worse making soup."
"But it was still my magic that did it. Even if something else did it, I'm the one who lost control over it."
"Twilight!" Fluttershy yelled suddenly.
Twilight snapped her head around to look at the now agitated pegasus, the unicorn's eyes widening at the sight. "Y-yes, F-fluttershy?"
"It was not your fault. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes."
"Now I don't want to hear you blaming yourself anymore," Fluttershy commanded, staring the unicorn into submission. "And I want you to get some sleep. Do you understand me?
"Yes, ma’am," was all the unicorn managed before bolting up to her bed and slipping immediately under the covers, Fluttershy's ever watchful eye on her.
"Dang, Fluttershy, the heck was that?"
Applejack stood at the top step, baby dragon with a tray of water perched on his head in tow as the both of them stared at Fluttershy, slack-jawed.
"Oh… m-may have overdone it. Just a little." The pegasus simply blushed.
"An’ remind me to never get on your bad side."
Spike slid the tray full of water onto the newly vacated desk, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Didn't even know you had one...although I s'pose now I know why Applebloom keeps callin' you the Stare Master."
"Does she?" Fluttershy grinned sheepishly before breaking into a more genuine smile as she heard the telltale snores of a deep, restful sleep floating down from the bed. "We should let her get some rest..."
[o-0-o]
"I'll be with you in just a moment," came the sing-song welcome as Fluttershy and Applejack entered the Carousel Boutique, the jingling of the doorbell announcing them to the out-of-sight proprietor.
"May...maybe I ought to wait outside, Fluttershy," the cowpony stammered slightly, looking as though she were more than willing to bolt right through a wall if it meant freedom.
"Nonsense, Applejack," Fluttershy hushed her as from the back of the shop they could hear the hushed whisperings of Rarity and another pony.
The store fell silent a moment before the unicorn's perfectly coiffed mane came into view.
"Oh, Fluttershy!" Rarity exclaimed when she saw her pegasus friend, Applejack having slipped behind the pegasus. "Have I missed our weekly appointment, dear? I didn't think I'd been working for that long, but I have been a bit behind as of late."
"Oh no, Rarity, that isn't until tomorrow," Fluttershy said, peering over the unicorn at the back of the shop where she could still hear the stilted mutterings of the other pony.
"Oh, is it now..." Rarity laughed nervously, glancing over her shoulder. The unicorn's nervous air disappeared, however, the moment she spotted a familiar looking stetson half-hidden behind Fluttershy. "Oh, I see you've brought Applejack."
"Er...hey, Rares," the orange furred pony said with a awkward wave of her hoof before stepping out from behind her cover. "The shop… looks good."
"Thank you. Lots of hard work keeping it up, but I manage," the fashionista replied, eyes looking the farmer over.
The silence was deafening as Fluttershy could only look back and forth between the tongue-tied earth pony and the almost glaring unicorn. The only sound was the continued murmurings from the back room.
"Ahem… Rarity?" Fluttershy intervened just as it seemed Applejack would melt into a puddle of sweat.
"Oh...yes, Fluttershy?"
"There's something important we needed to tell you about."
"Yes?" the unicorn's face brightened for a moment, a knowing smirk appearing on her face as Applejack continued the self-appointed task of counting the number of nails holding down the boutique's floorboards.
"Something happened to Twilight last night..."
The unicorn's face falling to a momentary look of disappointment before being quickly overridden by a look of worry as she processed the words.
"Oh my, she is alright, isn’t she?"
"She is. She's resting at the library right now—"
"Won't be up fer a while, I reckon," Applejack broke in, her normal confidence having seemingly returned. "Not if Fluttershy's stare has anything to do with it."
"Applejack!" Fluttershy gasped, face flushing crimson.
"Fluttershy! You shouldn't use your… abilities on your friends!"
"Oh, pipe down, Rarity. She had Twi's best interests at heart. That pony's kept herself awake all dang night worried about what she did to Fluttershy," the work horse explained, Rarity's anger slowly dissipating, "Fluttershy just made sure she'd get herself some sleep."
"Oh, I see… And what happened to...?" Rarity began before looking down towards the pegasus's still bandaged hoof. “Dear, what happened to your hoof?"
"Oh, it's just a minor burn, really."
"Minor nothing. How could Twilight do something like this?"
"Slow yer gums there, girl. Twilight wasn't exactly in full control of ‘er faculties last night. At least, that's how I've heard it from Pinkie," Applejack continued, circling towards the unicorn, taking a sidelong glance at the back room.
"Oh… what do you mean she wasn't in control of herself?"
"She lost control of her magic—"
"Darn near tore Fluttershy’s cottage apart, too," Applejack quipped, jerking her head towards the increasingly flustered pegasus.
"Whoa!" came a familiar voice from the back room. "Er...I mean… nothing but clothes back here. Carry on!"
"Rainbow, that you?" Applejack called out as she made her way towards the back room, Rarity simply biting her lip as Fluttershy watched with a quizzical look.
"Nope! Nopony back here!" the voice replied as the farm pony disappeared from view. "I mean… uh, meow?"
"Well, that's a right fancy lookin' cat, ain't it?" Applejack laughed raucously as a soft groan emanated from the back.
"You tell nopony. No. Pony."
"Hmmm… maybe, what's it worth to ya?"
"What?!"
"Aw, I'm jus' kiddin' ya, Rainbow. This will be goin' in mah private collection, though." A flash illuminated the doorway for a moment before Applejack returned, a Polaroid tucked neatly into her hatband, developed side down. "Borrowed your camera for a second, Rares. I’ll gitcha a new pack sometime."
"Applejack…" Rarity groaned, rubbing her hooves over her temples as the cowpony simply grinned ear to ear. "Must you do this to my model?"
"Model?" Fluttershy muttered, feeling somewhat lost.
"Nah, just to that one," Applejack replied, her grin widening even further if that was possible as a very disgruntled cyan pegasus clopped dejectedly into the main room.
"I hate you, you know that?" the blue pegasus grumbled, a lacy under outfit still draped to her as she glared daggers at the work pony.
"Rainbow Dash, yer momma would be just appalled," Applejack began in mock horror. "Lettin' somethin' so trivial ruin such a gee-orgeous friendship."
"I will get you back."
"I know," the farm pony replied, pressing her face right into the pegasus's. "That's the fun part of this here relationship."
"Oh, it is on!" Dash grinned, the pair pressing their heads together hard as Rarity merely sighed and moved to remove her outfit from the equation of carnage to come.
"Um…" Fluttershy began, hoping to salvage the situation somehow, voice coming out as little more than a whisper.
"Rainbow, dear, hold still!"
"You think you got me good? This ain't nothing compared to what I'm gonna do!"
"Big talk for the filly in the frou-frouey frills."
"Girls?" Fluttershy interjected meekly, taking a step towards the competitive pair before scrambling away as the pushed each other back and forth.
"Frills! Well at least I'm not...the filly in the silly hat!"
"Hey! This is a mighty respectable hat!"
"Silly hat! Makes you look like a squatter. Hah!"
"That, missy, is a societal misconception!"
"Girls?"
"Will you both settle down, you're going to tear my work to shreds at this rate."
"Apples to apples, Applesmack."
"Oh, you wanna to feel a right good applesmack? How 'bout I give you a good buck?"
"Bring it on, ponygirl!"
"That does i—"
"GIRLS!" Fluttershy yelled, drawing the attention of a very red face Applejack, a newly disrobed Rainbow Dash and a sullen looking Rarity with a lightly torn outfit draped over her back.
"Er..."
"We have more important things to discuss right now."
"Fluttershy's right," Applejack admitted before turning to Dash, "Truce fer now?"
"Yeah, yeah. Truce, whatever," the rainbow-maned pegasus huffed as the two shook on it, Rarity returning from the back room sans ruined outfit. "So what happened to Twilight? She's okay and all, right?"
"She's just fine. She's really just very exhausted at this point," Fluttershy meandered, slowly wilting under her friend's curious stares. "But that's not the most important thing."
"So what is?" Dash asked as she took to hovering above the trio.
"The important thing is why."
"You got somethin' outta Twilight?" Applejack asked, scratching at her ear with an idle hoof.
"Well, I wanted to have everypony here," Fluttershy began before realizing they were still short at least one pony not in the know.
"Speakin' of which, where is that girl? Told her to meet us here after she worked her shift for the Cakes." Applejack glanced up at the clock to confirm her suspicions before continuing. "She should have been off by n—"
Applejack was cut off as the door to the boutique slammed with a blur of pink.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my," the blur repeated over and over as it looped around the room several time, dragging reams of cloth and other dressmaking supplies into a vortex before screeching to a sudden halt in front of a very red faced Rarity.
“Pinkieeee...” the unicorn moaned as the pink pony glanced at the wake she had left.
"Oh, um… sorry, Rarity."
"Just please be a tad more… collected, dear," Rarity said with an exasperated smile, her magic working quickly to tidy the shop in Pinkie’s wake.
"What took you so long, Pinks?" Applejack asked, holding her hat down as Dash made a half-hearted swipe for the photo.
"Oh, darn! I'm late, aren't I?" Pinkie chirped, bouncing in place with a nervous energy. "The Cakes kept me because they thought I was having a seizure!"
"A seizure?" Rarity cocked an eyebrow as the pink pony came to a full stop.
"I know, silly right? I would never steal anything from the Cakes and I don't think I have anything anypony else would want…" Pinkie muttered, putting a hoof to her chin, bemused by the thought.
"Oh, by Celestia…" Applejack gasped as she realized what Pinkie's scatter shot verbalizations had neglected to state outright, her sudden fright giving Rainbow the opportunity to pluck the photo from the farm pony's hat. "Pinkie, did you have another doozy?"
"Oh right, that's what I came here to tell you all!" Pinkie bounded into the air excitedly before pumping the air breaks and setting her hooves back on the floor. "Oh, we have no time to waste! Follow me!"
Without another word she was gone in a blur, the door to the boutique flapping back and forth as the remaining quartet simply stared at where she had been just a moment before.
"Ugh, Pinkie Pie..." Applejack groaned and as if by magic the bouncing pony appeared before them again, the door slammed open before her as she high-stepped in place.
"C'mon you silly fillies, get your flanks in rank and let's go go go!" the party pony commanded, looping around and grabbing Rarity by the tail and galloping off with her to parts unknown.
"Pinkie Pie, now really!"
Applejack and Dash could hear the unicorn's protests as the pair made off in hot pursuit of the galloping pink pony, Fluttershy just behind.
Soon enough all four found themselves outside of the Ponyville Library, Pinkie finally letting go of Rarity tail, the unicorn crashing unceremoniously to the ground, momentum no longer aiding her defiance of gravity.
"Er… Pinkie, don't mean to question ya, but nothin' seems wrong," Applejack said, earning a glare from Rarity as the unicorn waved her poor, mangled tail. "Nothing worth a doozy at least."
"It seems… quiet," Fluttershy whispered, eying the tree as though a hydra or an ursa were about to tear its way up from the roots.
"A bit too quiet..." Dash muttered darkly, flapping idly as she crossed her hooves over her chest. "Well, I'm bored."
"Give it a minute..." Pinkie urged, leaning towards the tree on the tips of her hooves.
Just before it seemed the pink pony seemed about to fall forward a sudden and familiar cry rang out from inside the tree, but, before anypony could enter to investigate, a familiar purple figure had burst from the upstairs windows in a flash of magenta.
"Twilight!" All five of the ponies shouted in unison as their friend tumbled down the dirt road just behind them.
For a moment the unicorn didn't stir, eyes still closed and face remarkably serene for having belly-flopped a good twenty feet into well-trodden dirt.
"Twilight, Twilight! Are you okay?" The silence that had grown was broken as Spike rushed between the five awe-struck ponies.
"Is she?" Dash echoed as the baby dragon placed a clawed hand to the unicorn's neck.
"Sh—she's got a pulse and she's breathing… Twilight?"
"Well, what in Tartarus happened? She was sound asleep when we left."
"Uh… I don't know. She was asleep and then her horn started glowing like crazy and she just launched right out the window!" the dragon rambled, staring down at the still slumbering unicorn as Fluttershy drew closer, trying to inspect for any damage.
"I don't think she broke anything..." Fluttershy murmured, finding herself with a knot growing in her throat as she ran her hooves over the unicorn's body, trying to feel for any telltale signs of injury. "We should probably get her to Nur—"
She wasn't able to finish as Twilight's horn lit up once more, body seeming to hover as it was pulled by the wayward horn. Fluttershy jerked back, terrified for a moment as Spike grabbed onto the foating unicorn's tail, trying to pull her back.
"A little help, guys!" the little dragon cried as, even with his claws dragging furrows in the street, he couldn't stop the unicorn's magical momentum.
"C'mon, girls, pile on," Applejack took the lead, tackling Twilight to the ground.
For a moment, the unicorn halted, but the victory was temporary. The glow increased and the unconscious unicorn began to move faster as Dash and Pinkie joined the pile, Fluttershy galloping up to grab the unicorn's tail, digging her hooves into the ground as she beat her wings furiously.
"Wait! I have an idea!" Rarity exclaimed from behind the group before taking off past them in a hard gallop. "Just keep her here, I'll be right back!"
"Rarity, consarnit! We need you here!" Applejack yelled after the fashionista as, even with the combined weight and efforts of four ponies and one dragon, Twilight was moving faster by the moment, heading—much to Fluttershy's dismay—straight towards the site of the unicorn's last loss of magical control.
"C'mon, Fluttershy, flap harder!" Dash implored, circling back from her spot on top of Pinkie to grasp at her fellow pegasi's waist, flapping her wings fast enough to make a hummingbird on a caffeine-drip look slow.
"I'm trying," Fluttershy panted, not used to the strain, hooves scraping across the street before she felt them suddenly freed from the dirt and her body flapping in the air as the unicorn's body short forward in burst of magic.
"What's the—?!" came the confused yells of various Ponyvillians as the sextet shot by, Twilight's glowing horn leading the charge through the market as various ponies dove for cover.
"Guys, I don't think this is working!" Applejack yelled back, Pinkie's tongue lolling out of her mouth as the wind whipped over them, a path a destruction and dazed ponies left behind them.
"Y'think?!" Dash found herself in the uncomfortable position of being completely without control as she clutched at Fluttershy while the other pegasus bit down hard on the tail in her mouth.
"Guys?" came Spike's terror filled voice, the baby dragon having latched onto Fluttershy's tail after losing his grip on Twilight's.
"Yeah, Spike?!" Pinkie asked, having thrown her hooves in the air as she sat atop the mobile unicorn's flank.
"I think we're gonna crash!" the dragon yelled, pointing towards Town Hall as it loomed in the distance.
"Well… that ain't good…" Applejack stated bluntly before grabbing the unicorn's ear with a hoof. "Twi, now might be a good time for you ta wake up!"
"Pease wake’p, pease wake’p, pease wake’p," Fluttershy repeated around the hair in her mouth as she screwed her eyes shut tight.
A moment passed and she could hear Pinkie, Applejack, Dash and Spike scream, the impact seeming to be upon them.
And then the screams faded to gasps and whimpers.
The wind that had been whipping through her wings disappeared and she felt herself hit the ground with a thud accompanied by three smaller and one rather large thud.
"What… what jus' happened?" Applejack cried out in confusion as she rolled off the now immobile unicorn, she reached up with a hoof and let out a sigh of relief as it found her favorite hat. "Are we dead?"
"Dead? I should hope not after getting myself all sweaty."
"Rarity? That you?" The work pony could hardly believe her eyes as she spotted the white unicorn standing just to their side with a rather pleased look about her despite the dirt stains on her legs and now thoroughly mangled coiffure.
"But what… how did you… did you just save us?" Dash stuttered as she got to her hooves, eyes threatening to roll out of her skull as she pressed a hoof to her aching forehead.
"Hmm… I suppose I did save you," Rarity replied with a smile.
"Rarity? The how? If y’don't mind."
"Oh, right. I saved you with those!" the prim unicorn replied with a flourish, motioning to Twilight's now darkened horn. Or, rather, what sat on her horn: a pair of rather intricately styled rings comprised of several dark gray bands twisted around one another, numerous sigils and symbols covering its surface.
"Ooo… it looks neato! What is it?" Pinkie chimed in, giving the ring a tentative proke with her hoof, a tiny magenta spark emitting from the ring.
"Calm down, dear, you'll chip a hoof at this rate," Rarity hushed her boisterous friend, the pink pony bouncing excitedly, before continuing, "Those, my good ponies, are inhibitor rings."
"What-now rings?"
"Oh, Applejack, you really should have paid more attention in class"—the work pony's face dropped into a grimace at the mention, Rarity's eyes widening slightly as well before she coughed awkwardly and continued. "Yes...so, as I was saying, an inhibitor ring is a practice device for adolescent unicorns. Something for us to overcome and practice with to improve both our power and fine control over our magic."
"So… you disabled Twilight's magic?" Fluttershy asked, curious as she examined the ring. Faintly she could see the telltale light of magic coursing through it.
"Well… not exactly. The ring only inhibits to a degree," Rarity began, her face shifting from her former pride to something more akin to embarrassment. "I'm honestly surprised that it worked on a unicorn of Twilight's caliber. It was somewhat of a long shot in retrospect. It’s good I thought to bring more than one."
"Y’don't say..." Applejack raised an eyebrow at this admission before glancing towards the town hall a mere thirty yards away. "S'pose we al jus' get lucky sometimes."
"Agreed," Rarity said as she circled towards Applejack, offering the work pony a helping hoof.
"Thank ye kindly," Applejack spoke softly as she took the proferred hoof. Straightening her hat, she took a look around, the ponies from the market had kept their distance thus far, all of them seeming dumbfounded at best. "Think they'd be used to this sort of craziness by now."
"I know. I'm completely used to it!" Pinkie agreed, giving the work pony a side hug before bouncing back to Fluttershy as the pegasus looked over the still unconscious Twilight.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy whispered as she shook the unicorn gently, drawing out a soft groan before her eyes flickered open.
"Fluttershy?"
"Twilight, you're okay!" Spike exclaimed, bounding over Fluttershy to wrap himself around the unicorn's neck.
"Of course I… why am I lying in the dirt in front of Town Hall?"
"Maybe we should get you back home before we start talking about it."
"And what's on my horn?"
"Twi, when we get you home. Don't make me use Fluttershy on you."
"Applejack!" Fluttershy gasped as the work pony simply chuckled, but the ploy worked as Twilight fell silent.
Letting Applejack pull her to her hooves, Twilight stood unsteadily for a moment before the septet began the walk back to the library, Applejack and Rarity flanking the purple unicorn somewhat uncomfortably before the slack-jawed stares of what seemed to be half of Ponyville.
"I swear, this town has just been getting stranger and stranger..." |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 3 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-10-18T19:13:10+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:18+00:00 | 4,421 | "So are you girls going to tell me exactly wh—HURK!"
Twilight found herself rendered breath deficient as Applejack gave the rope one last tug. The farm pony's rear hooves pressed against the side of the unicorn's bed as, end clenched in teeth as she pulled it the full length of her body.
Twilight was going no place nohow if Applejack had anything to say about it.
"Sorry, Twi, but we can't have you going off like that again." The work pony finished tying the final knot before dropping down to the floor, Twilight’s face having taken on a reddish tinge.
"But I can barely breathe!" the unicorn gasped as she craned up head up from her pillow, eyes bulging. Quietly, Fluttershy plied at the bonds with a hoof, straightening them into more manageable rows.
"Applejack, surely this is a bit extreme," Rarity chimed in as she looked over the scene, eyebrow firmly raised in the face of the earth pony’s derisive snort.
"You saw what happened, Rarity. Not that I don't trust your judgment"—now it was Rarity's turn for a derisive scoff—"but, like you said, we don’ know how well that ring of yours'll hold up."
"Speaking of which, what is on my horn?" Twilight broke in as Fluttershy worked the coil of rope down the unicorn's body a bit so that it would rest on her stomach rather than her lungs, the unicorn's hooves still left free to point at the rings.
"They’re inhibitor rings. I'm surprised you didn't know immediately..."
"Oh… and why exactly do I need them?"
"You lost control again…" Fluttershy muttered softly as she slipped a few bits of thin, soft fabric through the ropes to keep them from digging into flesh.
“You dragged us across half of Ponyville! Almost right through the mayor's office too!” Spike declared excitedly. “You should have seen every… pony’s…” His excitement was quickly replaced by embarrassment before the icy glares of his friends. “Er… sorry. A little claw in the mouth. Heh…”
"Oh…" Twilight's face fell, her head flopping down onto the pillow. "I was kind of afraid you'd say that..."
"Don't worry Twi, we're all here for you... an'... an' we'll just…" Applejack stammered, glancing around the room for some hint of an idea before her eyes finally brightened. "We'll send a letter to the princess. If any pony'd know what's going on, it'd be Princess Celestia, right?"
"I… I guess you're right," Twilight replied, managing a small, wry smile as Spike dashed over to the bed from his place on the window sill, the little dragon glad to finally be of some proper use.
"I'll go get you some water," Fluttershy murmured as Rarity levitated over the purple unicorn's quill and ink along with a small bundle of parchment.
"But what do I even say to her? ‘I can't control my magic and I don't know why’?" Fluttershy could hear Twilight ask frustratedly as she descended the stairs.
"Well, perhaps not in those exact words…" she heard Rarity chime in before the Fluttershy’s focus shifted to the Library's kitchen, where a very bouncy Pinkie Pie and a surprisingly monochromatic Rainbow Dash resided, having both gone to prepare a late lunch.
"Rainbow? What in Eqestria happened?"
The typically cyan pegasus looked confused for a moment before glancing down at her flour-coated flanks.
"Oh, Pinkie's teaching me how to bake!" the pegasus stated, puffing out her chest as she rolled out a bit of dough before her grin became a bit sheepish. "Annnnd a bag of flour might have gotten a little bit away from me."
"It was awesome the way you dove all the way across the kitchen to catch it!" Pinkie chirped, coat surprisingly clean given the state of the rest of the kitchen. "It was like one of those spy movies, except instead of a detonator it was a bag of flour! And instead of catching it, you blew it up!"
"Yeah. Well, I make everything look cool." Dash smiled before looking over to the pink pony in confusion. "Detonator?"
"Y'know, for a bomb”—Dash simply stared at the earth pony quizzically—“Those little round black things or, or the bundles of little red sticks that go BOOM!" Dash crashed back to the floor as Pinkie shot up between the pegasus and her ball of dough.
“Pinkie!”
"Well… don't let me interrupt," Fluttershy said, stepping carefully through the disaster area that Twilight's kitchen had become, grabbing a tray and loading it up with a few glasses of water.
"Stop doing that!" Dash exclaimed from the floor, wings fluttering in agitation.
"Doing what?"
"That! Whatever it is!"
"Bye, girls," Fluttershy bid farewell as she exited the kitchen, tray balanced between her wings as the bakers simply ignored her.
"Well, how can I stop it if you don't tell me what it is, Dashie?" Pinkie countered with a giggle.
"That thing you do with the appearing and the disappearing and, Celestia, I've got a migraine now..." Dash rubbed at her temples as she fluttered her way back onto all fours before glancing at the now emty entry to the kitchen. “Where’d Fluttershy go?”
“Back upstairs I think,” Pinkie replied, working an elbow into her dough with an almost manic vigor.
“She seem sorta… off to you since the thing with Twilight?”
“Hmmm…nope, seems like the same ol’ Fluttershy. And somepony’s dough’s looking all shaggy!”
“What?”
“C’mon, you got to work them ‘bows, Dashel!” Pinkie said, giving the pegasus a start as she seized her forelegs and began mashing them into the dough.
“I am! I am!” she declared, trying to shrug off the pink pony, but her eyes kept wandering back to the empty doorway. “Hm…”
[o-0-o]
Fluttershy was still shaking her head at the pair as she carefully made her way up, head to the side so she could keep an eye on her cargo.
"—that enough?" she heard Twilight ask, a block of silence following before Fluttershy made it to the top of the stairs in time to see Spike gripping the newly drafted letter to the princess. "Alright, Spike, send it."
"Can do," the little dragon replied and in a burst of green fire the letter disappeared into the air, off on its journey to Canterlot.
"So… now all we do is wait, I guess…" Twilight murmured sullenly.
The room was uncomfortably silent for a moment, the only sounds being those of the pair of ponies still arguing downstairs. As Fluttershy looked from pony to pony to dragon to pony, she saw the same look of helplessness on each.
"Maybe a distraction would help?" Fluttershy offered, shuffling the tray of water off her back and onto the nightstand.
“Oh, that sounds like a splendid idea!” Rarity declared, clopping her hooves excitedly. “We could make it like our slumber party!”
“Jus' with a few less trees through the window, eh, Twi?” Applejack replied, giving Twilight a nudge with her elbow, drawing a smile out the sullen unicorn.
“I guess a game might take our minds off all this,” the unicorn replied with a shrug. “I guess Spike can be my hooves for the time being.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Spike saluted, hopping up by the unicorn as Rarity began to levitate out several board games that had been stuffed beneath the guest bed.
“Let's see what we have here… checkers, chess, pony-opoly and Candyquestria?”
“Whoa!” Applejack yelled out as she was knocked aside by a sudden blur of pink.
“Did somepony say Candyquestria?!” the pink pony exclaimed, trotting excitedly in place. “Ooh, ooh, ooh! I love Candyquestria!”
“Pinkie, how do you always do that?”
“Always do what?”
“How do you always...” Rarity began before shaking her head. “Nevermind, I choose to accept that you are, and always shall be, Pinkie Pie.”
“Well, duh! Who else would I be, silly filly,” the party pony stated, drawing a laugh from the still fallen work horse.
“So, Pinkie, what exactly is Candyquestria?” Twilight asked, catching sight of soft blue glow before all light in the room suddenly disappeared as curtains were quickly closed.
Everything was shrouded in darkness a lantern clicked on to reveal the pink pony with a rather serious look on her face.
“Candyquestria, my little pony? Do you not know, do you not recall the legends of this most legendary and mysterious of places?”
Twilight opened her mouth, presumably to answer that no, she indeed did not know nor did she recall, but was quickly silenced as Pinkie continued, stalking about the room.
“Do you not know of the grand adventures, the great sorrows and greater triumphs to be had in this land, this most fabled land of Candyquestria?”
“N-no?” Fluttershy admitted from beneath Twilight's bed when she lay quivering.
“Then you also do not know of the mythical beasts that stalk these lands. The great treasures that lie in wait for an adventurer of great cunning and bravery. And it is a most cunning and brave adventurer whom you shall be if you choose to accept this most epic of quests. A hero to all ponykind.” As the party pony began to wrap up her speech, she strode on her hind legs to the side of Twilight's bed, the bound unicorn beginning to squirm beneath the ropes as Pinkie drew closer and closer.
“Uh, Pinkie?” Twilight squeaked out as Pinkie stopped just next to her, looking at her with a hard stare.
“You! Twilight Sparkle!” the pink pony decreed, pointing a hoof directly at Twilight whilst striking a heroic pose. “Do you choose to accept this role as hero for all of Candyquestria or let all fall into darkness and chaos?” Pinkie fell silent, hoof nearly pressed to the unicorn's nose as Twilight felt herself going cross-eyed staring at it.
“Um...yes?”
Immediately the curtains swung open, the room taking on its more natural warm glow as Pinkie, lantern gone, dropped back to her hooves.
“Yay! There's also candy! That's why it's Candyquestria instead of just Equestria. Get it? Candy, Equestria, Candyquestria! Or maybe it's because of copyright law...” The pink pony sat down on her haunches, pondering this a moment before bouncing right up again. “But still! There's candy!” she half-exclaimed, half sang out, clopping her hooves together excitedly.
“Candyquestria it is,” Rarity declared as the glow faded from her horn, earning a smug stare from Applejack as the work horse got to her hooves. “What? I told her I'd help her do her perform the introduction with proper style next time we played.”
Applejack merely shook her head as Fluttershy crawled out from her hiding spot. Pinkie tossed open the box and began to furiously set up the game's many pieces in a blur of hooves.
“Now,” Pinkie began as she finished her rapid set-up, a devious, almost sinister grin appearing on the party pony's face, “let us begin...”
[o-0-o]
“Seriously, Pinkie, how do you keep doing that?” asked a very frustrated, but now much cleaner and colorful Rainbow Dash as she resisted a growing urge to flip the board right out the window.
“Years of practice, Dashie me lass,” Pinkie replied with a nudge to the pegasus's ribs, drawing out a grimace as Dash begrudgingly moved her piece back a dozen spaces and out of the dungeon entirely. A good half-hours progress lost in the roll of a dice.
“That's like, the fifth time, though.” Dash pouted as Pinkie maintained her sly, all-knowing grin. “It just isn’t possible!”
“In the lands of Candyquestria, Rainbow, all things are possible,” the pink pony mused mysteriously as the rest of the ponies stared on with various levels of amusement written on their faces.
While most of them had been at least fairly successful in their own campaigns versus Pinkie's oft-times diabolical dungeonmastery, the rainbow-maned pegasi's strategy of rush all comers had been a bit of a flop, resulting in her avatar moving backwards far more often than not.
“Rainbow, dear, you really should try to pace yourself,” Rarity suggested, her own avatar having made it through to the third dungeon where much of the rest of the group resided, waiting for the impatient pegasus to finish the second.
“I'm a gonna have t’agree with Rarity on that one, sugar-cube,” Applejack smiled, taking a bit more pride than necessary in being out in front of the competition. “You're never gonna beat me at the rate you're goin'.”
“Oh yeah, then I'll just have to go faster,” Dash declared, eliciting a groan from Rarity as she rubbed a hoof on her forehead.
“That is exactly the wrong thing to do, Rainbow.”
“Oh I'll show you,” the impatient pegasus replied, ignoring the white unicorn's audible groan as Twilight and Fluttershy both choked back a chuckle.
The game had been going on for quite a few hours now and the purple unicorn's spirit's seemed to have greatly improved by the company and antics of her friends in spite of everything. They had broken only once for a late lunch that was surprisingly edible and even tasty considering the state Rainbow had been in when she brought it up to the rest, having been abandoned by her more experienced co-chef.
Since then, they had found themselves ensnared in the intricacies of Pinkie's particular brand of Candyquestria, which the pink pony had taken to raising to the level of ancient Equestrian theater with bouts of dramatic monologues and choreographed death scenes for the dungeon bosses. At the moment, with the sun beginning to set on Ponyville, the pink pony had taken to wearing a dark, flowing cloak and affected the persona of some devious dungeon master with a nigh unpronounceable name.
“C'mon, Dash, make your move,” Spike stated as the cyan colored pegasus mulled over the board, the dice balanced precariously on her hoof as she did so.
“I'm going, I'm going. Don't rush me,” she replied, ruby eyes focused intently on the board before her. She shook the dice lightly before juggling them with a hoof and rising dramatically onto her hind legs, eyes never leaving the board as she prepared her roll.
“Rainbow, roll alr—BRAAAAAP!”
A sudden and rather large belch seized the dragon, drawing everypony's attention as a scroll materialized in a burst of green fire and knocking him to the floor with the sheer force of it before another crash split their attentions.
“Aw, Rainbow, now the boards all messy,” Pinkie moaned, the rainbow-maned pegasus now splayed across the board, having lost both the dice and her balance.
She laughed nervously, before flapping into the air, many of the game's pieces coming with her only to fall back down in a series of soft clinks. “Um...new game?”
“Hold up there, Dash.” Applejack waved a hoof dismissively as Spike grasped the scroll and climbed back up to Twilight's side. “We best be seein' what the princess has to say.”
“Spike, if you’d please,” Rarity said with a flourish of her hoof as the five unbound ponies huddled around the little dragon, Twilight craning her neck so she could read the letter over his shoulder.
“Ahem. To my dearest, most faithful student Twilight,
“I regret that I cannot come directly to you at the moment in your time of distress. As there is a diplomatic crisis in Canterlot, my schedule is at present dominated by the affairs of state despite my wish to help you personally. I have no personal experience with what you have described, but I have passed along your exhaustive list of symptoms to my personal physicians.
“While they are uncertain of an exacting cause, they came to the conclusion that your magic's instability may be a stress reaction compounded by insomniac tendencies.
“I do hope that you are not upset with me for having taken the liberty of disclosing some of your old habits to the Doctor Sterling. I hope that I have not overstepped any bounds in having done so, but I know that you would most certainly be honest about this particular quirk, given the severity.
“The doctors have concluded that, with some proper rest and relaxation, you should find yourself and your magic back in optimal shape in several days time. Given some of the details you've included in your letter, it seems you may have been hitting the Equestrian Journal of Medicine a bit hard lately. I suggest you take a good long break from your studies in books and simply enjoy yourself with your friends as much as possible.
“Time permitting, I would like to come for a visit as soon as it is feasible. I hope that when I arrive I shall find you in better health and good spirits should you follow their advice.
“Your loving teacher, Celestia
“P.S. If the more eccentric symptoms worry you, perhaps you should take measures to keep yourself stationary while unconscious. Common sense may be common, but sense is sense.”
“Common sense, indeed,” Rarity quipped with a small smile as Twilight blushed a dark fuchsia.
“Well, if'n those doctors say so, I s'pose we just ought to get you a whole lot o' bed rest,” Applejack affirmed before looking around at the group of ponies assembled. “Maybe we really ought to have a slumber party. Keep you from goin' stir crazy an' all.”
“Ooh, ooh, a slumber party! I love parties!” Pinkie chirped, looking rather ridiculous as the once grim dungeon master hopped about like a filly on one too many cupcakes in her dark flowing robes. “I don't think I've ever had a slumber party… isn't it hard to party while you’re asleep?”
“I dun think most would be gettin' any with you around,” Applejack joked, the pink pony's bouncing having shaken off most of her costume by now. “Maybe me an' Rares take the lead on this.”
“I think we should make plans first,” Rarity stated, a worried look on her face. “Just so no pony wonders where we've gone. I've already closed the boutique for the day, but Sweetie Belle might worry if she drops by.”
“Oh and Gummy'll be wondering where Momma Pie is. I can't worry my little baby,” Pinkie said, the bounce in her step coming to a sudden halt.
“I best tell Big Mac and Bloom where I'm gonna be, too.”
“I haven't been to my cottage since this morning. I should at least have Angel watch over things while I'm here.”
“Alright, so we all go make our plans, then come right back,” Dash stated, brushing the last few bits of board game out of her hide.
“But, we can't leave Twilight here with just Spike to look after her,” Fluttershy reminded them, Twilight's face brightening up at the suggestion. “I'll keep Twilight company while the rest of you make your plans.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Let's get her started then,” Applejack said as the four ponies began to file down the stairs. “We'll be back afore you kin say ‘Appaloosa,’ Twi.”
“Thanks, girls,” Twilight smiled as they disappeared from view one by one, the door to library slamming home distantly.
Fluttershy flew up to the window overlooking the front of the library and waved a hoof at the departing ponies, Spike joining the pegasus on the window sill.
“Twilight, how are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked as she turned around to find the unicorn pressed flat on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Mostly fine, I guess...” the unicorn muttered as Fluttershy fluttered back, putting a worried hoof to her shoulder.
“Mostly?”
“Yeah… I mean”—the unicorn closed her eyes, liquid cresting her shut lids—“I'm really happy you girls are here and that you'll still be here, but…”
“But you're still scared?” Fluttershy offered as Spike leaned over the back of the bed, silently worrying.
“Yeah. I mean my talent is magic. My element is magic. I've practically lived, eaten and breathed magic since even before the Princess took me under her wing...” Twilight trailed off as she blinked the tears out of her eyes, Fluttershy carefully wiping them from her cheeks with a wingtip. “Thanks.”
“Think nothing of it,” the pegasus replied, giving the unicorn a soft smile before both fell silent a moment.
“It's just...” the unicorn began, biting her lip as she tried to find the words. “It's just losing control like this. I want to understand it… I want to know what is going on. I hate not knowing, not being prepared...”
“None of us do, Twilight. Nopony does, but it's one of those things every pony has to deal with sometimes, right?”
“I guess...” the unicorn muttered, unconvinced.
Fluttershy bit her lip, mind racing for an example to soothe her friend's worries. “Remember when you were researching Pinkie Pie?”
“Yeah, load of good that did… still don't know what makes that pony tick,” Twilight replied with a chuckle, brightening at the memory.
“I don't think any of us ever really will, but that's not my point. Sometimes we don't have to understand things in order to be able to deal with them. If we did, I think Pinkie would have driven a lot of ponies to the asylum… probably in her Pinkie-copter,” the yellow pegasus admitted, drawing a smile out of the unicorn.
“Give her time, I'm sure she'll manage,” Twilight joked. “That or she'll throw a party so big the universe will have a second big bang.”
“It'd be the funnest Armageddon anypony ever attended.”
“Have you two been looking in my diary?”
“Aaahhh!” Twilight yelled out as a chaotic pink mane appeared just behind Spike, sending the baby dragon onto the bed as Fluttershy merely looked on with eyes seemingly too large for her head. “Don't do that.”
“How did you know about the Ponygeddon?” Pinkie inquired, squinting her eyes as she leaned uncomfortably close to the unicorn's face.
“Ponygeddon?” Twilight laughed awkwardly, eyes whipping back and forth between the party pony and Fluttershy.
“So, you don't know?”
“Know about what?”
“I was hoping you'd say that,” she stated, giving Twilight and Fluttershy one last stare before reverting to her normal happy-go-Pinkie self. “It'll be the bestest, most awesomest surprise ever!”
“I'm sure it will be, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said as she and Twilight shared a sigh of relief. Pinkie, meanwhile, bounced in place, eyes screwed shut as she presumably imagined the universe-shattering awesomeness that would be the Pinkie Pie's Ponygeddon Party Palooza.
“Thanks, Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered as the yellow pegasus began to leave for her cottage, prompted by the collection of voices below.
“It was nothing, Twilight. Now, you just relax and we'll all be enjoying a nice, soothing slumber party in no time.” With that, the pegasus took off down the stairs, nodding to her returning friends before emerging into the dusk-covered streets of Ponyville.
As she trotted down the streets, Fluttershy found herself chewing her lip nervously, going over the advice she had just given her friend. She wasn't sure if she even really believed her own advice, but it seemed to have worked for the unicorn so they had to have been the right words. Hopefully.
It was the right advice… there might be plenty to be scared of though. Even if the doctors think its stress… Fluttershy thought to herself as she glided on the last dying thermals, watching as Luna's moon crept steadily into the sky. As the pegasus stared at the glowing white orb, she couldn't help but feel a shiver course down her spine. The feeling of those staring eyes returning, if only for a second before she shook the memories from her mind. It was probably all in your head, Fluttershy… everything will be fine in the morning. You'll see.
[o-0-o]
By the time Fluttershy had fed and taken care of her animals, the day had been subsumed entirely by the night. The glow of the street lanterns shining in the distance were the only sign of Ponyville as the yellow pegasus prepared to leave her home. She hoped in reliable paws.
"And you'll remember to change Mr. Mouse's sling, won't you? And check the splint on Ruby's wing?" Fluttershy asked nervously as she adjusted her traveling bag.
The little white rabbit—to whom she had entrusted the cottage and its inhabitants to—gave a sharp salute and a vigorous nod of his head.
Fluttershy knew the rabbit could be trusted. He ran a tight ship after all, lording it over most of the animals. With a surprisingly comforting, iron paw as well. She gave the saluting rabbit one last nuzzle before trotting towards the door.
"Okay, Angel, now you take care of yourself," Fluttershy began, turning to leave before looking over her shoulder at the rabbit now retreating up the stairs. "And I don't want to hear about any wild parties when I get back, mister."
The rabbit stopped dead in his tracks, turning to face the pegasus from the third step. He stood on his hind legs, giving his caretaker an aptly angelic grin beforing sign her promise to be a good little bunny scout. If an angelic halo could have appeared above the rabbit's head, it probably would have.
"Alright, Angel, take care." With that the rabbit vanished up the stair.
Fluttershy made her way to the door when something caught her eye—a titleless volume on her bookshelf, wedged between volumes of Bird Fanciers Weekly and Crochet Workshop Quarterly.
She plucked it from the shelf, tipping it open to reveal a hollow cut into the pages filled to bursting with letters. Pulling out one in particular, she slipped it into her bag.
It might make Twilight feel a little better, she thought, running a hoof over the other letters, the rest of them all unopened. Might make us both feel a little better.
Shutting the book and slipping it back into its hiding spot, she trotted out the door, shutting it softly, but firmly and taking off in the air towards Ponyville
As the the night breeze flowed beneath her wings, she swore for a moment that she could hear music playing behind her.
Perhaps the little rabbit would at least remember to clean up this time.
Smiling softly, the pegasus began to follow the lanterns that lined the streets of Ponyville towards Twilight's house, the library looming large in the distance.
"I hope I wasn't gone too long," Fluttershy murmured to herself as she realized that all the windows in the tree house had gone dark as were most of the windows in little town. As she made her final approach, she landed just before the entrance way to find it ever so slightly ajar, the smell of burning reaching her nostrils.
Maybe Rainbow tried cooking dinner for everypony.
Fluttershy made her way into the library, striding carefully into the darkened innards of the great oak.
“Hello?” the pegasus whispered into the dark, wings still half-extended as her body sent reflexive flight signals coursing through her body. “I—is anypony here?”
There was no answer as the pegasus made her way up the stairs.
“Rainbow Dash?” she asked in barely more than a whisper as she came to the second floor of the tree, not making it another step before her hoof hit something soft and warm. “Did you burn something?”
“Mmm...five more minutes, Sweetie Belle...” came a familiar moan as the soft and warm something rolled over and grasped Fluttershy's hoof.
“Rarity?”
“Huh, whuh?” came the less than dignified reply. A short cough later and the room was suddenly covered in a soft blue glow as the unicorn's horn flared into life, revealing her confused face. “Oh, Fluttershy. What happened? Why am I on the floor?”
The pegasus didn't reply as she surveyed the scene, all of her friends lay scattered, unconscious, around the bottom of the second story awkwardly with the exception of Applejack and Twilight. Ignoring the confused fashionista for a moment, Fluttershy lifted herself into the air and gasped at what she saw curled up next to Twilight's bed.
“Applejack!” she cried out and shot to the earth pony's side.
The earth pony was shaking terribly, a bit of smoke rising off her coat, glowing eerily as it was lit by Rarity’s magic.
“Fl-fluttershy? Where's Twi?” the work horse asked, trembling she clutched her barrel with her hooves.
“She’s...” Fluttershy let out a second gasp as she saw the empty bed, the ropes laying on the floor, their singed ends still smoking. “She's gone!”
“Twilight's gone?” Rarity cried out before scrambling to her hooves and up to Twilight's bed, taking up the burnt rope in her magic. “Where could she have gone?”
“She was goin’ for… the stairs… bunch of you j-just kinda dropped when she went by y’all… I-I tried to tackle 'er… but she had this weird glow about her...” Applejack explained through clenched teeth as she tried to roll to her hooves, Fluttershy acting as a willing crutch.
“Applejack, what happened to you?”
“S-same as yer hoof I r-reckon,” she replied, tipping over and slumping down against the bed to reveal a long, ragged burn running along her underside. “Th-think it's mostly just the shock of it. Hurts like the briar fulla brambles though.”
“I-I'll go see if I can fetch some bandages,” Rarity asked, her complexion having taken on a rather green hue.
“I should have some in my bag,” the pegasus stated bluntly as she shimmied her saddlebags to the floor. “Rarity, I could use your magic.”
“Of course, dear,” the unicorn seemed less than sure, but she held her ground as Fluttershy’s supplies cascaded onto the bed.
“C-can't waste no time… we gotta go after Twilight. Somethin' bad’s got into her,” Applejack pleaded as Fluttershy began to set cool wet cloth over the wounds, sending shivers through the work pony.
“I know, Applejack, but we've got to get you ready to first...” Fluttershy trailed off as she noticed the smell of burnt wood amidst the scent of branded flesh that threatened to overwhelm the pegasus gag reflex. Glancing down, she could see a distinct trail of hoof prints, glowing a soft blue in the glow of Rarity's horn. The unicorn glanced down, following the pegasi's gaze.
“It seems she's left us a path to follow at the least,” the unicorn stated before moving to follow the trail, pausing a moment to relight the bedside lantern with her magic before trotting down the stairs.
“G-good… now we just got to git to following it,” Applejack stated as she tried to roll to all fours only to have a yellow hoof pin her in place with a surprising amount of strength.
“We're getting you bandaged first, then we wake up all our friends, then we all go after Twilight,” Fluttershy commanded.
Applejack tensed before relaxing fully beneath the hoof with a sag of her shoulders.
“If it's any consolation, it doesn't appear that she was in much of a hurry,” Rarity called from the front window and from their vantage point, Applejack and Fluttershy could see the evenly spaced hoof prints disappearing into the dark of Ponyville, each pair spaced a hoofstep or so apart at most.
“Alright, get me fixed up so we can go sort this mess out.”
Applejack sighed, lifting herself onto the bed so Fluttershy could begin her work.
As she bandaged the earth pony, hooves working off muscle memory, her thoughts drifted to the wayward unicorn.
In the morning, Twilight... Everything will be better... You'll see. |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 4 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-10-18T19:13:29+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:24+00:00 | 4,318 | "I still can't believe I got taken down by Twilight," Dash muttered as the quintet of ponies made their way to the outskirts of town "That is just so not cool."
"Rainbow, dear. I rather think we have bigger things to worry about at the moment," Rarity chimed in, leaning down as her horn glowed steadily, illuminating the tracks of smoldering hoof prints.
"'Sides, she didn't really ‘take you down’ so much as she put you t’sleep."
Applejack winced as she walked, still tender as Pinkie acted as mobile crutch. Rarity had had some knowledge of first aid spells, but nothing up to the task of the earth pony’s long burn. The best she’d had was a spell she often used for pricked hooves, quickening the scabbing process on the burn. So Applejack simply shrugged it off, took the spell and a roll of bandages from Fluttershy, and had them on the trail quick as she could manage.
"Still… that so is not going in my bio," Dash stated flippantly as she flapped sullenly along just above the group.
“Thinkin' about a biography, Rainbow? Right now?" Applejack asked, obviously exasperated.
"Well, yeah, Twilight's ghostwriting it and she's the one who's missing, so of course I'm thinking of it," the pegasus's voice cracked slightly at the word missing. Even if she lacked the words, she was worried too.
"She'll be okay, Dash," Fluttershy stated as she ascended to her fellow pegasus's altitude.
"Hey, I'm not worried. She's got Rainbow Dash on the case," she declared, any worry scurrying to hide behind bravado before the she descended to just in front of Applejack and Pinkie, hovering backwards. "We'll be laughing about this by morning, right, girls?"
"That's more like it, Dashie!" Pinkie chirped, but even the party pony seemed in a less than partying mood, her usually poofy hair seeming to have lost quite a bit of its bounce. “We'll all be back in time for pancakes!”
"Yeah, this'll be fine. As long as we're all together…" Dash trailed off as her eyes darted ahead to the glowing tracks.
The group fell silent as they made their way into the outskirts of Ponyville, the path now lined with shrubbery and trees rather than the buildings and fences of the town proper. Fluttershy found herself flapping along silently, staring up at the moon. The night air felt rather cold around the yellow pegasus's body, the warmth of the summer’s day all but gone. With a sigh, she dropped until she was hovering just a few feet off the ground.
I hope Spike won't be too worried when he wakes up…
He had thankfully slept through the whole ordeal, having settled down long before Twilight…
Long before her magic had once again been tapped into and manipulated.
Whatever sleep spell she had used, it had been a fairly strong one and had been especially effective on the already sleep-deprived dragon. Nopony had been able to wake Spike so they had left a note next to him on the bed instructing him to send their letter detailing the most recent happenings to the princess as soon as he stirred.
Fluttershy meeped as her teeth came down on her tongue, thoughts turning to images of Spike waking to find himself alone. How worried and scared he would be.
I hope we’re back before then.
“You okay?”
Fluttershy let out a second meep, dropping involuntarily to her hooves as a rainbow-colored mane suddenly filled her vision.
“You tryin' t’scare her half to death or somethin', Dash?” Applejack asked as she and Pinkie passed the pair.
“She's fine,” Dash retorted, helping her fellow pegasus back to her hooves, draping a comforting wing over her. “You are fine right?”
“Y-yeah…” Fluttershy stammered for a moment, hoof still tender as limped steadily onward. “I'm just worried about Spike… he'll be all alone when he wakes up.”
“Nah, we'll grab Twi and be back in time for breakfast. I'll even cook!” Dash exclaimed, drawing a smile from the yellow pegasus.
“Think so?” Pinkie chirped back, bouncing in reverse now alongside Applejack.
“Yeah, this'll be easy as pie!”
“Easy as lemon meringue?”
“Um, sure, Pinkie Pie,” Dash answered. “Anyways, we just got to be cool and confident.”
“I daresay, words from the Book of Dash.” One could hear the smirk in Rarity’s voice alone. “You should consider it as an epigram.”
A quiet gasp brought the group to a halt, Rarity's horn going dark for a moment as they all stared at where the trail had led them. Before them lay the Everfree Forest. That much was certain and perfectly benign, but it was not merely that fact that had brought everypony to a sudden and complete halt.
They had found themselves at a very specific entrance to the forest of fables and campfire tales. An entrance that they had used before. One they had used as a group—a complete group—just the summer prior.
“Well, that's more than a lil’ forebodin', ain't it?” Applejack muttered as she leaned away from Pinkie, trying to stand under her own power. A grimace seemed to have been permanently etched on her face, but she stood.
“You remember, too?”
“This is the path we took to the castle? The Royal Pony Sisters’?”
“Ooh… that's kinda spooky…” Pinkie cringed uncharacteristically, seeming to physically deflate, drawing a look of concern from her fellow earth pony.
“C'mon, Pinks, whatever happened to all yer singin' 'bout ‘gigglin' at the ghosties’ an' all? Everfree’s never scared you none,” Applejack remarked, her attempt at a comforting smile twisting as she tried to put a hoof on a now shivering Pinkie Pie.
“Yeah… but that ghosty was a just a nasty, meany snoot… I don't like this new one,” Pinkie declared in an oddly quiet voice before, out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash appeared before her.
“Pinkie, will you snap out of it?!” the rainbow-maned pegasus growled, snatching the pink pony into the air and shaking her violently.
“Dash!” Applejack cried out.
“Snap out of it!” Dash demanded, giving her one last good, hard shake before dropping her down onto her own hooves.
“Weren't that a lil' much?” Applejack asked, eying the cyan pegasus uncertainly.
“Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy murmured as she just stood there for a moment, swaying back and forth slightly as her eyes danced in their sockets.
“Bbbrrrreeeee!” A tremor went from the very tip of her little nose to the last hair in her tail. Her mane and tail puffed out the moment she stopped shaking. “Whew! Don't know what got into me there. I was all sad and dumpies for a minute, then Dashie shook me and, poof! All better! Oh! Do you think there'll be candy apples this time?”
“There's the Pinkie Pie I know,” Dash laughed as the pink pony began to trot excitedly in place, Fluttershy and Applejack sharing a sidelong glance at the party pony's recovery.
Applejack could only give a half-hearted shrug of her shoulders in response. It was Pinkie Pie. Nopony knew just what made her tick.
“What're we waiting for, then? Let's get these rears in gear!” Pinkie declared, sidling up a nearby tree. Clutching it with her hind legs, she thrust a fore hoof dramatically at the foreboding forest. “We shall confound scary at every turn! Onwards! To adventure, me ponies!”
[o-0-o]
By contrast to their prior journey to the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, the trek through the Everfree Forest an uneventful and eerily quiet one. Even the forest seemed brighter and more welcoming beneath the bright light of the full moon. Paths seemed wider and less claustrophobic. More akin to leisurely stroll through the White Tail Woods than a dangerous sojourn into the deadly unknowns of Everfree.
Easily the worst of it was the smell of scorched earth and wood where the Twilight’s trail led. The smell invaded their noses and hung thick in the air, but still, they were thankful for the uneventful journey. The scents of flowers and plant life mitigated the acrid scent to a degree.
“It's so… quiet…” Fluttershy murmured as she carefully ducked beneath a low hanging branch, tendrils of smoke flowing from its scorched surface.
“I know… could hardly make it a step last time without somethin' or other croppin' up to take us down…”
“It does seem rather… peaceful.”
“No Nightmare Moon this time, I reckon.”
“Not such a bad thing though, is it? Nice and quiet.”
“It's jus' sort of… unnerving…”
They had made down the cliffs without so much as a pebble tumbling by them. They had traveled through much of the rest of the forest without hearing even the hoot of an owl much less the roar of a manticore. The trees even seemed to be in a more friendly and less animate mood beneath the bright light of the moon.
They had just passed by the river, now calm without any flamboyant sea serpents stirring up its depths with a moustache emergency. The forest seemed to thin just out as a deep fog began to roll in, casting a deep gray hue over everything. Soon enough they came to what had been their final challenge on the journey.
“Well, bridge ain't collapsed this time at least,” Applejack muttered as the group stared over the chasm to the crumbling castle beyond.
“You're welcome.” Rainbow smirked before flying over the bridge, stopping midway over the gap before returning with a look of disappointment, “Actually, maybe don't thank me after all.”
“Oh?” Rarity tweaked an eyebrow.
“It looks like Twilight burned through half the boards on her way over,” Dash replied as Rarity took a few tentative steps towards the bridge, the glow from her horn lighting the smoke that curled up from its wooden planks. “It might be sturdy enough if we go over it one by one really, really slowly… but it looks like it's about ready to collapse.”
“Aw, horse apples.” Applejack hurled her hat down in disgust. “Knew there'd have to be at least one curve ball. Too dang quiet.”
“I could try and carry you over,” Dash suggested as the earth pony set her now dusty and bent stetson back on her head.
“Dash, don't take me the wrong way, but yer a lot quicker flier than you are strong”—the rainbow-maned pegasus bristled a moment before letting out a sigh—“an' I don’t think Fluttershy's hoof’s good enough to be able to help you there.”
“Then what's your idea?”
“Jus' gimme a minute, I'm thinkin'…” She began to stride back and forth, glancing across the chasm before turning to look about their side of it.
“Maybe I should go scout ahead?”
“Safety in numbers, darling,” Rarity muttered sadly as she stared over the gap at the castle. “Whatever has gotten into our dear Twilight is obviously not friendly. We simply cannot have anypony getting hurt while we’re separated, can we?”
“I guess not.” She plopped down onto the ground, propping her head up on a hoof as she glared daggers at the faulty crossing. “I hate waiting…”
“What if we—” a sudden tremor cut off the pink pony's speech as she bobbled and vibrated over the ground for a solid five seconds before coming to a stop, bug-eyed and dizzy. “Wow… now that was a doozy.”
“What abou—” A loud crackle filled the air, cutting off Dash as the night sky was lit by a familiar magenta glow. “Well… horses apples.”
“We have to get over there now, Appleja—”
A loud crack silenced Rarity as she turned to find the work pony, a grimace on her face and her hind hooves on a tree.
“Less talkin'. More buckin',” she stated through gritted teeth as she prepared her hindquarters for another buck of the old tree again.
“What are you… oh!” Rarity's eyes lit up with realization as she saw the lean of the tree. It looked to be just long enough as well. “Pinkie, help Applejack. Rainbow, Fluttershy, see if you can push it from the top. I have an idea.”
“Okie dokey loki!” the pink pony agreed, bouncing over to Applejack's side. Her bucks were less skilled than the farm pony’s, the tree shuddering perceptibly beneath their combined might.
Fluttershy and Rainbow flew up to the top of the tree, pressing themselves against it, feeling it bow just slightly beneath their hooves.
Meanwhile, Rarity's horn glow softly. The bright blue glow of her magical influence came to encompass the entire length of the tree. The air became filled with the snaps of branches and twigs as they were cleanly snapped off and discarded by the unicorn's magic, falling like snowflakes into the foggy chasm.
“I think it's… gonna give,” Applejack yelled out through a battery of pants and wheezes.
Below, Fluttershy could hear the telltale cracking of wood that signaled the end of the tree's defiant uprightness.
With a final tandem buck and a sonorous crack, the lower trunk split, leaving the pair of pegasuses feeling the tree fall from them. Applejack and Pinkie stumbled backwards after their next buck collided with only empty air.
“Oh dear, I didn't think this through quite all the way,” Rarity muttered idly as the entirety of the tree, glowing bright blue with her magic, crashed down towards the gap.
“Rarity, the hay you…”
Rarity could hear the work pony, but couldn't respond as she was jerked forward by her magic. The tree wasn’t falling straight enough and it was looking to take the unicorn, scrabbling hooves and all, with it into the abyss.
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” she gasped as she dug her well-manicured hooves into the dirt, the edge of the cliff coming up awfully quickly.
“Whoa there!”
Rarity’s momentum quickly halted as Applejack grabbed ahold of her tail. Sweat beaded on the unicorn's forehead as she tipped the tree towards its proper place, its weight continuing to pull her forward as the work pony pulled her the other way, Pinkie, Dash and Fluttershy having each grabbed a hold of Applejack.
With a solid thunk, the tree settled into place, a makeshift bridge next to now impassable one. Rarity released her grip on the tree and felt herself yanked immediately back onto a less than soft pile of ponies.
“You alright, Rares?” Applejack asked in between gasps of air.
“Well, I do believe my tail's seen better days.” The fashionista chuckled as she waved the mangled appendage idly before her “But I seem to be in one piece.”
“Figures you'd focus on somethin' like that,” Applejack said with a grin as she pushed the unicorn off her.
As they both stood, simply letting the silence be for a moment, the rest of the ponies were resigned to the ground for the moment.
“Thank you, Applejack,” Rarity said, giving her friend a tired smile and a gentle hug.
“None need, Rare. It’s what friends are s'posed to do,” Applejack replied simply.
“Aww… that’s cuuuute,” Pinkie murmured as she lay on the ground, head in her hooves as she looked up at the pair, both ponies rolling their eyes.
“Pinkie, can you get off me already?” Rainbow inquired, annoyed at the pair of hind legs keeping her pinned to the dirt, Fluttershy letting out a soft giggle as she squirmed out from under the party pony's midsection.
As the rest got to their hooves, Applejack trotted over to the makeshift bridge, giving it a tentative shove. She tried to haul herself onto the log, but after a few fruitless attempts she turned to her friends.
“Um… might need a little help.”
“Applejack!” Rarity cried out as she looked over, trotting quickly to her side. “You're bleeding.”
“Oh… well, would y’look at that,” the work pony muttered as she looked down to find that her bandages were stained with dark bands. “Guess apple buckin' and scabs ain’t a good mix.”
“We've got to treat those, Applejack.”
“Nah, don't have the time. I'll feel it in the morning, but we've got to keep moving.” She jabbed a hoof skyward towards the unnatural magenta glow rippling above the old castle. In the distance, they could see the castle tower lit up with a similar, but much brighter glow. “Might not be a morning if we don't keep going.”
“What do you mean?” the unicorn inquired, head lowered and panting as the strain on her magic finally caught up to her.
“Just a feeling, Rarity, just a real bad feeling.” Straining, she hefted herself onto the tree with a bit of help from Rainbow Dash. Slowly, the group made its way over the makeshift bridge to the glowing ruins.
[o-0-o]
“It’s kinda pretty if you look at it long enough,” Pinkie offered as she helped Applejack up the winding staircase.
“Pretty creepy if you ask me,” Rarity muttered in response as she and Fluttershy leaned against one another for mutual support, Dash having taken over point duties.
“It's still really quiet. But I guess we're not all yelling for Twilight this time,” the cyan pegasus said as she flapped carefully up the stairs, keeping herself just below the numerous support arches.
“We could hear them when we were running up last time,” Fluttershy whispered, cringing at the memory of the dark mare's wicked laughter.
“Yeah, she was all, ‘The night will last forever! Bwah-ha-ha!'” the pink pony began, lowering her head as she attempted to affect the tone Nightmare Moon had used a year ago. “And then Twilight was all ‘The elements of Harmony are right here!’” Her head popped up once again, the shift leaving Applejack grimacing. “And then black snooty was all scared and we started glowing and those little rock things started floating around us, and we shot out a big, ginormous, spectacular double-helix rainbow beam of good stuff and everything got really loud and then really quiet, and, and—” The party pony stuttered momentarily before she found herself halted by a familiar hoof planted itself squarely in her maw. She proceeded to murmur confusedly around it before falling silent with a blush, blue eyes meeting the Applejack’s grimace.
“We were all there, sugarcube. Don' need no reminders.” Applejack smiled as she removed her hoof before falling to all fours with a wince. “Especially if'n we have ta do something like that again.”
“You don't think Nightmare Moon is back, do you?” Rarity asked as the group slowly began to trek up the stairs once more, Rainbow Dash looking down at them with a look of obvious impatience.
“I don't think so… but something about all this don't sit right. Too familiar…” Applejack winced at an unnatural breeze washing over them, the top of the stairs seemingly just around the next bend. “Besides the obvious with Twi's magic goin' all screwy.”
“I think we're almost at the top,” came the rainbow-maned pegasus’s exclamation before she zipped around the last curve. “Um… we've got a problem.”
“Oh my…” A scattering of gasps and murmurs escaped them as they caught up with the rainbow-maned pegasus.
The ancient throneroom was cast in a soft magenta glow that seemed to coat every available surface, giving the entire place an otherworldly quality. Motes of congealed magic hovered in the air like dust. There was an electricity in the air that seemed to tug at the flesh and fur. Fluttershy felt as though every part of her body was being pulled or pushed by some unseen force and, glancing over at Pinkie, she could see that she wasn't alone as the pink pony's mane had become a mohawk of sorts, every individual hair seeming to stand on end.
“Twilight?” Applejack almost whispered.
The unicorn lay unconscious at the back of the room near a pedestal upon which the ancient throne of the sisters had undoubtedly sat, horn glowing weakly as soft sparks lept into the air before fading into the soft ambiance.
“Careful,” Fluttershy said quietly as the work pony strode quickly towards her fallen friend on quiet hooves, the rest of the group just behind.
Her body was surrounded by scorch marks, only some of which seemed to be new. One could just make out the shadows of some older stains of black that had blurred and faded through time.
“Twi?” Applejack repeated as she crouched down low to the unconscious unicorn, pressing a hoof gingerly before outright shaking her. “Twi?! Can you hear me?”
“What was that?!” Pinkie broke in, her eyes wide and her body twitching with a nervous energy.
“What was what?” Rarity asked before the answer came in a soft tremor that ran through the floor, the white unicorn finding herself struggling for balance. “What is that?!”
“Dash, get over here an' help me with her!” Applejack demanded as she grabbed at the fallen unicorn's tail, the rainbow-maned pegasus joining her as they dragged her towards the stairs.
“Twitchy-tail! Twitchy-tail!” Pinkie cried out and in a blur of pink she joined Applejack and Dash in yanking the still unconscious unicorn off the platform mere moments before a sizable chunk of ceiling smashed down right on the spot.
“Dash!” Fluttershy cried out as the collapsing stonework hit the ground with a thunderous crash, sending debris into the air, obscuring the scene.
“Are you all alright?” Rarity asked, coughing fitfully as the sudden shaking halted, the dust already beginning to settle
“Seem t’be.” Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie emerged alongside Twilight in a twisted heap just outside the now rubble covered platform. “Good goin' by the way, Pinkie.”
“Come now, Twilight. This is no place to nod off,” Rarity stated, shaking her gently as she could.
“Mphlgrobchemp…” the unicorn grumbled incoherently.
“Well, at least she’s mutterin’. Hey, Rainbow, help me get her on my back.” Applejack motioned to Dash as she shook bits of debris from her wings.
“Applejack! You loco in your coco? You're injured!” Pinkie bumped her gently aside in a moment of earth-shattering lucidity. “Dashie, if you’d please,” the pink pony stated with a very lady-like curtsy towards a thoroughly bewildered Rainbow Dash.
“She’s right. Fer the best, Dash,” Applejack said with a slight groan before turning to look at Rarity who had gone slack-jawed and wide-eyed. “What, weren’t expectin’ me to delegate?”
“No… that.” The rest of the group followed Rarity’s eyes to the pile of debris that littered the platform.
The glow that had once filled the entire room like a swarm of fireflies now converged on the pile of twisted stone. Individual chunks began to collect and meld together as the fallen stonework flowed like liquid under the influence of the wayward magic. Fluttershy looked to Twilight only to find that the purple unicorn still unconscious, horn dark. When she looked back, the pile of material had seemingly begun to shape itself by the influence of some unknown player.
“Ladies, p-perhaps we had best be on our way,” Rarity stammered as the entire group simply stared, unmoving, at the seemingly living mass of stone and glass.
Stone continued to knit itself together, the pile rising higher and higher in room as it became a long, mostly cylindrical construct. Pieces of the floor were absorbed in its quest for growth, the liquid mass leaving gaps in it as it drew itself upwards.
“Um… why ain't we left?” Applejack said idly, still unable to look away from the growing monster before them, hooves moving backwards slowly.
“That's… big…” Dash said, looking over her shoulder as she pushed an entirely rigid Pinkie Pie back towards the stairs, unconscious unicorn still unawares on the pink pony's back.
“Ponies…” came a sudden echoing voice that brought everypony to a halt. “You little…insignificant ponies…” The stonework had seemingly solidified, the voice echoing from the serpentine statue left behind.
“Wh-who's there?” Pinkie asked nervously, staring up into the snakes face just in time to see a pair of glowing eyes materialize in a burst of magenta light, magic curling like smoke from it as the beast began to move.
“Oh, little ponies…do you not recognize me?” the snake hissed as it drew up to its full twenty feet of height, filling the room to the ceiling with its bulk. Its silvery, metallic fangs glowed as magic dripped from its mouth with every word. “Do you not remember your victim?”
“Wh-what're you talkin' 'bout? I dun remember facin' no snake demon,” Applejack stammered as the group backed up as one. Fluttershy found herself rooted in place next to the stairs, quietly resisting the urge to flee as her friends drew closer and closer.
“A pity. I did so hope that you would remember before I destroyed you all.”
With that the snake sank low, its long tail whipping out along the side wall and crashing into the stairway arch.
“Fluttershy!” Dash cried out as an explosion of dust obscured the yellow pegasus from view, the snake rearing once more.
As the dust cleared a very dazed Fluttershy stumbled to the ground in front of rainbow-maned pegasus, the world spinning around her. She muttered incoherently as Dash rushed to her side. As Rainbow knelt by her friend she looked over shoulder, glaring at the snake.
And it smiled back, stony tongue tasting the air.
“Oh, little Rainbow Dash. Feeling powerless are we?” the snake laughed, a smirk on its stony features as every word dripped with spite. “Feeling ever so helpless?”
“Oh, I'll show you helpless!” the pegasus yelled before launching herself at the snake.
“Rainbow, you idiot!” Applejack yelled as Fluttershy shook her head clear just in time to see the cyan pegasus charging the monstrosity.
“Helpless this!” Dash called out as she turned and gave the snake the hardest buck of her life.
As Fluttershy watched, the cyan pegasus froze at the full extension, eyes going wide as a crack echoed throughout the room. Fluttershy could see a look of incredible pain show up on her friend's face.
She had, after all, just tried to buck a solid stone.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, oh my goodness, Celestia, ow!” Rainbow cried out as she flew away from the snake in a twisting, fluttering flight.
The serpent looked upon her with utter amusement, a dark chuckle escaping it.
“Dash? Izzat you?” Twilight murmured, drawing Applejack's attention as the unicorn’s eyes fluttered slowly open.
“Twilight, you're awake!” Pinkie declared as she glanced back at her luggage.
“Applejack? What's going—Snake!” The unicorn yelped, nearly back-flipping off of Pinkie as she saw the stone serpent. Twilight promptly found her hooves scrambling wildly away from the beast, eyes wide open at the sight of it until she hit the wall.
“Twilight, get a hold of yourself!” Rarity said, grabbing the fleeing unicorn, Twilight's hooves still pressing against the wall so hard that she might disappear into the cracks.
“Yeah, we've got a mite of a problem here,” Applejack said, eyes on the laughing stone serpent.
It was laughing quite boisterously at this point, apparently charmed by the ponies’ antics.
“Well, now that we're all together and awake. Perhaps it would be best if we end this while the night is still young,” the snake said, teeth bared and glowing in the night.
Its silhouette cast a long shadow over the five huddled ponies, Twilight's eyes shimmering with fear as the snake's glowing orbs met her own.
In the middle of the stare-off, Dash continued to flap about haphazardly, cursing her herself out rather loudly.
“Now…which pony would like to be destroyed first?”
“Oooh, me! Me! I love firsties!” Pinkie yelled out, bouncing towards the snake without a shred of fear.
“Pinkie, are you crazy?” Twilight yelled out, bug-eyed and trembling.
“That's what they tell me!” the pink pony answered cheerfully in her sing-songy voice, bounding straight to the base of the snake as it stared down with malevolent mirth.
“Well, since you're so eager,” the snake hissed through a fanged smile, rearing up as the little pink pony simply stared up at her impending doom, a cheerful smile always on her face.
“Pinkie, what the hay are you doing?! Run!” Applejack yelled out, setting off the rest of the ponies, each urging the party pony to move, to run, to skip, to jog, to do anything.
“Pinkie! Get out of there!” Dash demanded, pain having faded enough for her to hover, wings flapping somewhat out of unison. She struggled to maintain her altitude as she watched the pink pony simply stand below the monster.
“Nah, I'm good.” Pinkie just smiled.
The snake reared to its full height, head scraping against the ceiling before it struck. With lightning precision, the snake’s fanged maw came crashing down on her as everypony averted their eyes, unable to watch as the monster struck the ground with a thunderous crash.
“Pinkie?” There came a sorrowful echo as Fluttershy whispered her friends name, the snake rising back from its strike, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.
“Pinkie Pie?”
The dust cleared to reveal an empty crater where the pink pony had been.
“Now, who wishes to be next?” the snake inquired before letting loose a malevolent laugh before there came a sound, the serpent's glowing eyes going wide and its jaw snapping shut.
“Aww…silly snakey! You’ve got to finish what you start first!”
The snake twisted about to find the party pony still quite alive and in one piece, resting on its back with a mirthful grin plastered on her face.
“You shouldn't skip anypony, now should you? Isn't much of a party if everypony's arguing over who's first.”
“What?! But how did you?!” the snake stammered as it flipped between the crater and the pink pony bouncing excitedly on its back. Jaw hanging loosely, it had to collect itself for a moment before it glared down at the source of her irritation with fiery eyes. “Never mind. Now, hold still.”
“Well, that doesn't sound like much a game.”
The pink pony pouted, lower lip thrust out as the snake reared back once again before snapping down.
“Can't party standing still!” the pony shouted as she skidded down the beast's back and out of danger, the beast crying out in pain as its fangs sunk its own rocky hide.
Jerking back almost immediately, a burst of magic issued forth from the wound as it glared daggers at its bouncing prey.
Back by the now collapsed stairwell door, Fluttershy and Applejack approached Twilight as the newly awakened unicorn clutched Rarity's leg like a filly during her first thunder storm. The white unicorn simply ran a hoof through her friend's mane, trying in vain to soothe her as she would her little sister.
“C'mon, Twi, you got to get a hold o' yerself! You know all about magic creatures and the like, doncha?!”
“Oh, Celestia, it's a giant snake! A giant snake! Why did it have to be a giant snake?!” The unicorn was inconsolable, eyes screwed shut tight as she shook.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered, giving the quaking unicorn a comforting nuzzle.
“Y-yeah, F-f-fluttershy?”
“We need you to get a hold of yourself right now, okay? So we can make everything better.”
“O-okay, I'll try…” She didn’t release her hold of Rarity, but at the very least the tremors coursing through her body quieted. “W-where did it come from?”
“Near as we can tell... you”—the unicorn's eyes widened at this tidbit of information—“or yer magic at least.”
“Well, th-that might explain why it's a snake,” the unicorn mumbled before slowly opening her eyes to stare up at the beast.
Fluttershy followed her gaze to the pink pony bounding around on the snake’s back. The snake maintained a quick pursuit, but seemingly anytime it was within striking distance of the little pink mare, she slipped away to reappear somewhere else in a hot pink blur. The snake merely growled and hissed at its prey, any former eloquence lost in its growing frustration with the time and space defiant pony.
It seemed she had the battle well in hoof, but it was obvious, even from a distance that even Pinkie Pie had her limits and was fast approaching them. She had given up any quips she had been using on the monster in favor of focusing on her escapes.
“Oh, Celestia, my hooves,” Dash moaned as she collapsed onto her side, keeping her hindhooves elevated off the ground. She pushed her upper torso up as she berated herself. “Why did you try that? Seriously, why?! What the hay were you thinking?!”
“Rainbow, are you—er…oh dear…” Fluttershy stared in disbelief at her fellow pegasus's rear hooves in blatant violation of proper bedside manner.
She could see the cracks in the hooves, the flesh already swelling around the injury, giving them a rather purplish hue.
“Can still fly at least,” Dash laughed in exasperation before turning her attention to Twilight.
The unicorn was deeply embroiled in her study of the creature as it dove and weaved about itself in its pursuit.
“I think I know what it has to be.”
“Care to fill us in?”
“It's a golem.”
“A whatem now?” Applejack merely scratched her head in confusion.
“A golem.” She closed her eyes. “A magical creature created from the binding of magic around a normally inanimate object. In this case, the stonework of the castle,” Twilight answered succinctly, releasing her hold on Rarity and rising to her hooves. “But usually golems are mindless servants. They can't speak or even think without a master controlling it.”
“So we just need to find this master then?” Rarity queried, the worry on her face growing by the moment as she watched Pinkie skid down the serpent's, doubling back as the snake twisted on itself.
“It looks more complicated than that,” Twilight replied. “I think it's its own master.”
“We have to attack it somehow,” Applejack muttered. “Any ideas, Twi? Ain’t lookin’ like brute force'll do it.”
“Definitely not…” Dash mumbled as Fluttershy looped a bit of spare bandage around the cyan pegasus's hooves. It'd at least cushion them somewhat until they could get some proper medical care.
“I… I think I know how to, sort of, short circuit it, but I need time to focus. You'll have to distract it… somehow.” The unicorn looked at her friends as she finished, eyes full of worry.
“I'm not sure how much time we can give ya, but we'll give it our darnedest,” Applejack stated with a tip of her hat before turning to face the serpent. “C'mon, ladies, we got ourselves a little pink pony in need of some back up.”
“Hey, it looks like we've got a real party now!” the aforementioned pink pony yelled in a ragged voice as the snake readied itself for another shot at its prey. But it found its attention drawn away by the three additional ponies in its peripheral vision. The creature hissed loudly as it turned to face the new threat, neglecting to notice Pinkie charging up its back.
“C'mon you overgrown grass snake! Free eats!” Applejack yelled up at the monster, grinning maniacally. “Get ‘em here!”
The serpent grinned as it reared back to strike at the work pony, never hearing the hooves running up its spine.
“Don't forget about me! Peekaboo!” Pinkie called out as she reached the snakes head, jamming her forehooves into its eye sockets.
The serpent roared in apparent agony before a burst of energy blasted Pinkie, sending her flipping through the air.
“Pinkie!” Dash cried out, lunging through the air at the earth pony, catching her just short of the ground, the pair crashing into the corner in a tangel of hoof and wing.
“Uggh, don't let me do that again. Not very fun…”
“Pinkie…you are so…random…” Dash gasped out as Pinkie simply grinned.
“Make-outs later, girls!” Applejack yelled out, dodging the snakes tail as it came down hard on the floor. “Rarity, what are you waiting for? A monogrammed invitation?”
A hoof immediately plugged the pink pony's mouth, a frown showing up on her normally happy features before Dash removed it.
“I don't even have my bag, silly Dashie,” the pink pony muttered darkly before bouncing to her hooves and subsequently collapsing face first into the floor. “Though I wish I had my socksies…”
“That doesn’t look good.” Dash looked over the scorched ends of Pinkie's hooves before turning to look for somepony with a more medically valid opinion. “Fluttershy!”
“Dash?” Said pegasus looked over from Twilight—the unicorn having slipped into what appeared to be a deep, meditative trance—as the snake twisted and struck at Applejack in the middle of the room. “Oh, Pinkie!”
“She needs help and I've got to get back in there!” She zoomed off as soon as the yellow pegasus made to move to Pinkie's side. “I'mma comin’, AJ!”
“Well, hurry it up then!” Applejack cried out as she scrabbled over and through the serpent's coiled body, desperately avoiding the snapping jaw. The work pony wasn’t in any condition to take the beast head on and had taken Pinkie’s example, using its own body against it, making the snake loop about itself.
“Hey, snakey! Why don't you pick on somepony that's up to speed!” Dash yelled out as she banked hard around the serpent's head.
It let out an annoyed roar, but returned to its hunt for the work pony.
“Hey, don't you ignore me!”
“Rarity, c'mon, do something!” Applejack yelled out as she skidded to a stop before the snake's glaring eyes, having been worked slowly into the corner of the room.
“I am!” the white unicorn finally answered, her horn glowing a blinding blue. “Be ready!”
“Ready for what?!” Applejack cried out in panic as the snake flitted its tongue out at her, but suddenly the work pony found herself calm as she spotted a shimmering blue streak along the ceiling. “Um… snake monster, sir?”
The creature merely hissed in response, eyes dancing with magical energies as it glared at the little work pony, flicking tongue nearly knocking the earth pony's stetson to the floor.
“Y'all might wanna look up.”
As the snake glanced up, a large section of the roof came crashing down right on its head, Applejack scrambling through a section of coil. A blur of blue collided with the scabbling work pony just as the head impacted the floor, sending up a cloud of debris.
When the dust settled, the snake didn't move, its head covered in debris as Applejack laid, half-crouched on the safe side of the serpent's coil, Rainbow Dash nudging the earth pony to her feet before hovering herself just off her hind hooves.
“Are you okay, Applejack?” Rarity huffed as she helped the work pony over towards Twilight, the blue glow fading from her horn.
“Yeah…that must one heck of an eye you got though,” Applejack replied, motioning her head towards the now collapsed section of ceiling. “You find a stress fracture or somethin'?”
“No, I'm afraid I actually couldn't find one actually,” the unicorn chuckled, flushing with embarrassment. “So, I just pulled really, really hard.”
“Hah! Got a bit o' workhorse in that fancy-pancy unicorn exterior after all,” Applejack joked as she collapsed next to Twilight.
“So it seems,” Rarity admitted tiredly as she laid down next to the work pony. “I don't think I've used this much magic in a day since… well, I don't believe I've ever used so much.”
“Is it dead?” Dash murmured aloud as she flew over the top of the snake, not seeing any movement, but still unsatisfied.
“I surely hope so.”
“Do we…poke it with a stick?”
“Don’t think we’ve got a stick big enough, Rainbow.”
“What do you think, Twilight?” Rarity asked. “Twilight, dear?”
The purple unicorn remained completely oblivious to the world, brow furrowed and eyes closed in a deep trance
“Should we wake her up?”
“She's not asleep, Rainbow…she must still be working on her spell,” Rarity murmured as she studied the purple unicorn with a careful eye. “I don't know if we can wake her or not…it could set off the spell prematurely.”
“Don't s'pose you happen to know what kind of spell it is.”
“My magical knowledge is far more… rudimentary. I haven't the faintest idea what she could be working on. And that makes me more than a tad nervous,” the unicorn admitted, glancing around the ruined and now thoroughly destroyed throne room.
It looked as though the room were more or less in a state of slow collapse and simply needed a push in the wrong direction before it would.
“Considering everything we've dealt with today, one more mishap is the last thing anypony needs.”
“Amen to that, sister.” Applejack chuckled, enjoying the feeling of the cool stone through her bandages. “Hey, Fluttershy. How's Pinkie doin'?”
“She should be just fine…same burns as the two of us. They'll be tender for at least a bit,” Fluttershy replied as she wound the last of the bandage roll around the pink ponies well-toasted left hoof, its partner already well and bound.
“I'll be back and partying in no time!” the pink pony exclaimed with a bright smile, “How about you, Dashie? How're your hoofsies?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, in a minute,” the pegasus mumbled distractedly in response, drawing ever closer to the fallen serpent.
“Rainbow, your bandages are loosening,” Fluttershy stated as she finished her bandage job on the party pony.
Pinkie immediately half-limped, half-skipped over to the rest of the group as Fluttershy joined Rainbow Dash in the air.
“You should be careful around it.”
“Hey, I am being careful. Not like I’m jabbing it in the eye or anything,” the cyan pegasus retorted as she circled high above the stony body. “It's not even glowing anymore.”
“Still…it makes me nervous…”
“Fluttershy, your own shadow makes you nervous.”
“Hey, that's not…entirely accurate,” Fluttershy retorted weakly, drawing a chuckle out of her fellow pegasus.
“You and that dragon though. Got to give you props for that.” Rainbow smiled at Fluttershy as the yellow pegasus rubbed over her bandaged hoof idly.
“Only after you kicked him in the face…you really should have apologized you know.”
“Hey, I wasn't the one polluted the air in Ponyville with stank morning breath,” the rainbow-maned pegasus said as she glided down to the ground.
“It still wasn't very nice of…” Fluttershy words stuck in her throat as her hoof began to throb and burn strangely.
“Nice, you want to talk about nice? That dragon was a jerk. Puffing smoke right in Twilight's face when she was just trying to explain things”—Fluttershy's eyes grew large, voice not responding to her brain's cries—“popping Pinkie's balloons and…well, I can't really blame him for chasing away Rarity, but…whoa…you feel that.”
“R-Rainbow?” Fluttershy managed to choke out, the sound of rocks falling echoing in the distance as the pegasus hovered in place, the pain throbbing in her skull drowning everything out.
“What's goin' on?!” Rainbow cried out as the floor beneath her shook violently,before she looked up at the Fluttershy… and the giant, glowing eyes right behind her. “Oh, horse apples…”
“Fluttershy!” Applejack cried out, the three aware, earth-bound ponies noting that their monster was not only alive, but mobile and angry.
“Rainbow…” Fluttershy groaned softly, her wings flapping weakly as they threatened to give out at any moment. Her head throbbed, her eyes teared up from the pain as she felt a breath of arcane wind flow over her.
Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air as Fluttershy turned towards the breath, eyes growing wide as she stared at the dripping fangs, the eyes of the beast always upon her.
She couldn't look away, couldn't move, could do nothing but hover as the snake roared towards her. As the serpent's gaze broke with hers she found control too late, curling around herself defensively down only to feel something soft impact her, sending them careening through the air.
Eyes opening a moment, she saw rainbow mane as the world spun about behind it. Then they hit the ground hard and both lay, immobile.
“I will not be cast away so easily! Not again!”
The serpent roared towards the immobile pair of pegasi, its massive bulk hitting the stone so hard the pegasi were momentarily weightless, surrounded by shards of stone. Fluttershy found herself tumbling limply. She saw Dash's mouth moving slowly, so slowly, her hoof reaching out as wings struggled for control.
And then there was the pain.
A pain that drove away all perception.
That drove away all but itself.
The magically charged fangs ripped into her.
Their searing heat scorched the flesh, forcing out all thought.
She was lifted high into the air, a blur of cyan sliding down the glowing fangs to join the yellow blur of her own body.
Her world was filled with pain and the laughter of the beast within and without.
Then there was a blinding flash.
And then there was nothing but silence and dark.
[o-0-o]
She awoke to a dull ache, the ground beneath her at an odd angle as she felt herself sliding ever so slightly. She struggled to lift her head, feeling a heavy weight press down on her. Rolling her head she could just make out a blue lump laying atop her. Beyond it she could see the snake’s rocky corpse, the remnants of its head glowing a bright white as thunder crackled overhead.
She heard the faint echoes of voices.
Weakly the pegasus lifted her one free hoof and tried to stir the blue lump, but as she pressed her bandaged extremity to it she felt something cling to her hoof. Something wet and sticky.
“Rainbow?” she whispered weakly, staring at the stained bandage as it dripped.
There came a cry from the distance, a blur of purple and white and orange and pink dashing towards them as Fluttershy found her vision swimming.
She could feel them near her, a hoof on her back as the world seemed to tilt and sway unnaturally. The stars high above even seemed to sway it the open windows as the floor rumbled.
No…don't go to sleep… Have to stay awake… Her head fell back to the floor. Her body just felt so weak.
Her head throbbed, the pounding growing louder as she realized somepony was talking to her.
It brushed a hoof through her mane, glowing as it whispered to her, telling her it was all going to be okay. It would all be okay.
But things just aren't okay in the end, are they, Fluttershy? |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 5 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-10-18T19:13:45+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:29+00:00 | 4,638 | [-|-Metanoia-|-]
[Arc 01 - Perturbation]
[o.0.o]
"—get her so she don't fall off again."
"I am trying, Applejack!"
"Try faster, then! They ain't lookin' good."
"…"
“…”
"There! That should hold well enough."
"Twi, now you jus' keep concentrating and we'll all get through this."
"Okay… I can handle this…"
"You can, Twi. We know you can."
"How far do we have?"
"A hard gallop…a good half-hour to go…"
"We can't go that fast, Applejack."
"We'll jus' have to go as fast as we can…"
"Twilight, can you last that long?"
"She has to."
"…"
"I’ll be fine, Rarity."
"…"
"Sun's almost up… do you think Spikey's woken up?"
"…"
"Ah dunno, Pinkie… I hope he is an’ the cavalry’s comin’, but I don’t know.“
"How's Rainbow?"
"Not terribly well… Fluttershy's not much better… "
"…"
"Considering what happened, we should be thankful that they're breathing…"
"And we gonna keep them that way, Rares. We're gonna get through this."
"…"
"Hey, what's that?"
"What's what?"
"That, over by the mountains."
"Dunno… Looks like it’s moving whatever it is. Oh, by the stars, Is that…?"
"Spikey woke up! Spikey woke up!"
"Lil' dragon came through after all."
"Rarity, can you signal her somehow?"
"Working on it."
"Twi, jus' keep doin' what yer doin'."
"…"
"Princess."
"…"
"I fear what my past has led to… Come."
[o-0-o]
As the light of the new day filtered into the cottage, Fluttershy awoke slowly to gentle knocking. She found herself with hardly the energy to stand, much less answer the door.
The knocks persisted a moment longer before she heard the jangle of the doorknob and a musty smelling breeze blew over her.
“Fluttershy?”
She looked up, cringing at what she saw.
“It’s time.”
[o-0-o]
It was overcast, but not rainy that day.
The sun's feeble attempts to burn away the clouds seemingly thwarted by some presence… or perhaps the lack thereof as a grayish glow was cast over the field.
It was still early in the afternoon. In the distance, the market was only just winding down. Many of the shops would be preparing for the night shift while others prepped for the afternoon and night rushes to come. School fillies and colts would be hurrying home from school, excited for the freedom that the final bell brought.
In Ponyville, life went on all the same.
In the field just beyond, it could never be again.
The soft light of the occluded sun set a somber mood for the proceedings.
Five ponies stood beside the sealed casket, all prepared to be lowered into the warm earth at the flip of a lever, but none of the five was gifted with the courage to allow its finality. Not just yet at least.
Fluttershy stared at the casket with burning eyes. The plainly colored wood and static seeming to her the antithesis of the once-pony it housed. Plain and stationary... anything but…
She could feel something eating away at her thoughts as she was less and less able to even look at the casket.
It was almost incomprehensible, despite its concrete presence before her. It was as inconceivable as it had been the week prior or a week prior to that. It was something that couldn't be and shouldn't be.
To lower it… would be to admit it.
To admit that the fiery and brash pegasus was gone. That everything that had been her was now confined to memory.
Fluttershy found herself staring resolutely at the ground just before the casket, her head throbbing terribly as she spotted the jagged scar in her peripheral vision. It cut across her chest and abdomen, just barely visible beneath newly sprouted fur. A shudder went through her as she remembered that night and her gaze shifted, unable to look at the evidence before her. Instead, she looked to her friends for comfort.
A few feet away sat Pinkie Pie… but there was no bounce in the pink pony. None of the usually endless energy.
No, she sat quietly, body sagging as if it were on the verge of collapsing into itself. Even her mane seemed to have lost its luster, falling in limp curls about her shoulders as her tail pooled likewise on the grass. She wore a thin, black veil over her face, but still Fluttershy could see the tears streaming down the earth pony's face. In her mouth, she clutched a single black balloon that drifted languidly overhead.
Hoof on Pinkie’s back, Applejack stood staring at the casket quietly, her face unreadable. Her hoof simply moved in a comforting circle on the pink pony's shuddering back as Applejack drew the earth pony closer.
Beyond them, Twilight stared at the casket, wide-eyed as a few stray tears dripped down her face. A small stack of note cards lay forgotten on the ground in front of her. The dewy field claimed the bottom of the stack as tears wore at the top.
Next to her, Rarity sat, an almost perfect facsimile of Applejack with a comforting hoof wrapped around her fellow unicorn. Her face was bereft of tears, but still, her blue eyes shimmered with her restraint, whispering near silent comforts to Twilight.
Her tears could be shed later. For now she had to be stronger.
Glancing back to the casket, Fluttershy could feel her stomach quietly twisting itself into knots, her heart thudding inside her throat.
She wanted to break apart.
To cry and sob and curse…
But she didn't.
She couldn't.
As she drew a hoof away from her eye, it was dry to the touch.
Silently, she wished for a rain storm to come and aid her farce.
But it was overcast.
Not rainy.
Quietly, she slipped away from the group, away from the damnable casket, and trotted sullenly up the hills surrounding the field.
Soon enough she found a tree under which to rest, an enormous willow that overlooked everything. From there, she could see the small gathering of ponies, but it all looked so much smaller… so much further away. So much more distant.
This isn't how things are supposed to go… She stared up at the protective cover of the tree, its limbs drooping towards the ground as if attempting to comfort the pegasus.
With as much strength as she could muster, Fluttershy gave the tree a hard buck, face contorted in frustration.
The tree hardly moved. The only sound was the quiet rustling of leaves in its upper branches as the Fluttershy collapsed to the ground. Her hind hooves throbbed, momentarily distracting her as she felt the coolness of the damp grass.
For a moment she remained still, her eyes focused on the individual blades of grass just before her muzzle. She watched as they twisted and bowed beneath the soft, cool breeze, a chill coursing up her spine.
She wondered…
If she could just focus on the grass before her, would she have to think about anything else?
If she focused on just a single blade of grass... if she just focused on something so insignificant…
Maybe she could simply push away everything else.
“Fluttershy?” A soft voice broke her train of thought.
“Applejack…” Fluttershy muttered in response, her eyes drifting up to meet the work pony’s worried gaze. Fluttershy could she the tell-tale signs in the orange pony's eyes: dark circles, redness, the slight snuffle in her voice…
“How you doin’?” The question hung in the air. The answer was obvious, but steeped in relativities.
It was silly question, but more than that it was an empty question.
“Not good.”
“You want to talk? Might help.”
“Not really…”
Nothing was said for a moment as Fluttershy returned her gaze to a single stalk of grass. She could hear her hooves come closer before something warm pressed against he. Fluttershy looked over at her friend laying beside her, an oddly serene look on her face.
Applejack's eyes were closed, the breeze coursed through her mane, stetson having been left elsewhere for the day. She seemed to be empty of thought, mouth curled into a nearly imperceptible smile as she took in a deep breath of air.
“It was my fault,” Fluttershy mumbled out as she lowered her gaze once more.
“Nope,” came the monosyllabic response.
“I froze. I’m the reason—”
She found herself with a hoof to her lips, not in malice or annoyance, but just… there.
“Not even another word on that, ‘Shy. Nopony in their right mind would look at all this and blame you.”
“But—” Fluttershy began as the hoof was removed.
“No buts. Ain't nopony's fault 'cept that monster’s,” Applejack interrupted, giving the pegasus a hard stare before her green eyes softened. She glanced over to the three ponies still below. “That's goin' fer you an' Twilight too.”
“It wasn't her fault… she wasn't in control of—”
“And you were?”
“I...”
“Fluttershy? What's really botherin' you?
“It’s…” The words stuck in her throat the moment she tried to vocalize them. She stared into the work pony's eyes, watching herself mirrored in them.
“There’s something else… ain't there? It isn’t feelin’ responsible…”
Fluttershy didn't answer for a moment. She simply closed her eyes, trying to capture that momentary serenity that Applejack had, but all she felt was cold.
Opening her eyes once more, she rubbed at them, trying to rid them of the soreness she felt. As she removed her hoof she glared at it as one might a traitor to the kingdom.
“Why can't I cry, Applejack?”
“What d'ye mean?”
“Why can't I cry?” the pegasus simply repeated, looking to the orange pony with bloodshot, but perfectly clear eyes. “I can cry when one of my animals dies… I can cry when I'm scared… Why can't I cry for her?”
“I dunno, Fluttershy,” Applejack admitted, hooking a hoof around the now shuddering pegasi's shoulders, drawing her closer. “We all end up grievin' in our own way…”
“You'd think that would be mine…” Fluttershy muttered with a pained chuckle, crossing her forehooves before resting her head atop them. She stared down at the distant casket, vision blurring as her focus shifted between it and the stalks of grass before her.
“Maybe… maybe y'think Rainbow wouldn't want you cryin' for her… maybe you think she'd want us all smilin' and celebratin' her life.”
“Maybe…”
“Jus' that it doesn’t much feel like a time fer smilin'… does it?”
“No… it doesn’t.”
“Things get better, Fluttershy… it might be a long time afore they do… but they do.”
“I remember the first time you told me that…”
“Were a long while ago… wish it were longer…”
Fluttershy didn't answer. She simply stared off into the distance, looking beyond the field before them as the shivers faded from her body.
[o-0-o]
The cottage was terribly quiet when Fluttershy came home that evening.
Most of her animals had moved on. Injuries mended and sickness abated, they went on their way and out of her life. Many more would soon be migrating or beginning their long winter hibernation.
The cottage once so lively would become a lonely, quiet place.
Letting the door click shut behind her, Fluttershy began to slowly trudge into the cottage, head bent as she went.
Everything was oddly immaculate, not a single thing out of its place. Angel must have been busy during the day. The little rabbit was in his bed beside the couch, legs twitching slightly as he slept deeply, no doubt dreaming of endless alfalfa fields.
Fluttershy allowed herself a little smile as she bent down to give the bunny a light peck on the head.
You're a good bunny, Angel…
As she drew closer to the bookcase, however, her smile soon disappeared. Poking out from between somewhat organized stacks of books on plants, herbal remedies and animals, there was her secret book, canvas-bound portfolio, its woven cover worn and torn in several places. Most ponies would have dismissed it at first sight, the papers it contained yellowed and warped by the years.
To Fluttershy, it was a collection of memories. Memories hastily taken and haphazardly organized. Walking slowly and softly as to not disturb her slumbering assistant, the pegasus gripped the bindings in her mouth, drawing it from the shelf. She bit down hard as she felt the papers within shift, threatening to slip from its grasp.
Into the kitchen she went, slipping it onto the table before taking a seat before the folio. The fading light of the sun cast a soft yellow light over its well-worn contents.
Maybe I should leave this for the morning, part of her argued silently, eying the book as one might eye a predator in the far distance, wary yet curious. But… maybe it'll make me feel better… maybe Applejack was right…
Tipping open the cover with a tentative hoof, Fluttershy slowly spread out the contents of the portfolio.
There were certificates she had earned from her school days in Cloudsdale, a scattering of hoof-paintings from her foalhood as well among class assignments. Most of it, however, was made up of magazine and newspaper clippings.
One in particular caught the pegasi's eye.
“Unexplained Phenomenon Near Cloudsdale,” the article heading read, a picture of a grayscale ring of light taking up much of the page.
The sonic rainboom didn't quite work in the black and white of newsprint. Perhaps that was why it had remained an old mare's tale even after. The article speculated on many, but didn't commit to any explanation. The reasons ranged from natural phenomenon to the test of some sort of super weapon to Princess Celestia having a bit of fun at her subject's expense and even to the second coming of some long-forgotten harbinger of doom.
I wonder if Dash ever read these, Fluttershy wondered silently, a sad little smile on her face as she silently giggled at the absurdity of some of the explanations. She would have loved to see their faces at the best young fliers’ competition.
Her eyes slowly meandered the article as she thought back to that day at flight camp. She didn't think she'd ever felt such a wide range of emotions in single day, not before and not even after.
The embarrassment she had cowering before those bullies…
The fear during her long fall from the clouds to earth…
The joy when she discovered not only her talent, but her calling…
Fluttershy ran a hoof over the picture, tracing the arc of the rainboom with the tip. It hadn't been the first time that she'd met Rainbow Dash… but it was the first time they'd actually talked to one another...
[o-0-o]
The afternoon long since been subsumed in the soft dark of early evening when the little filly heard the voice calling for her.
“Fluttershy?!” the familiar voice cried out, sending a few of her animals scurrying away in a mad panic. “Hey, Flutters, you out here?!”
“Rainbow Dash?”
“Hey, Fluttershy!” the rainbow-maned filly appeared, wings buzzing as she coasted lazily around a tree, a grin plastered on her face. “I was wondering where you went.”
“I've been down here mostly…” she whispered, nudging the little rabbit that had pressed itself comfortably into her side. “Time to go, sweetie.” She smiled at the rabbit as it took a few tentative hops towards the forest brush before vanishin with a nod from Fluttershy.
“Was I, uh, interrupting or something?” Rainbow asked as she landed, staring at the animals as they looked back with glares. “These yours?”
“Well, no… I mean sort of,” Fluttershy stuttered for a moment, glancing around at the animals as they stayed at a distance from the cyan pegasus. “She's not here to hurt anyone. Promise.” Rising to her hooves, she nudged Rainbow towards the scared pack of animals, “See?”
“Uh… Hi?” Dash gulped slightly as the animals glared daggers at her.
“She could be your friend too.”
“Um… friend… right…” Dash laughed nervously as a surprisingly large mass of woodland critters came out of the forest, from the brush, the trees, the sky, the water… seemingly from every conceivable direction they came to inspect the new pegasus in their midst.
After a moment, they seemed satisfied, but still scattered back into the forest, a little bunny thumping out a goodbye before disappearing for good into the brush.
“Bye…” Fluttershy whispered as the last of them scattered before the growing dark, the forest falling into silence.
“Uh… sorry 'bout that, Flutters.”
“It's okay. I'll see them another time,” the yellow filly muttered in response, pawing at the soil with an idle hoof before turning to Rainbow. “What are you doing down here?”
“Well, I'm supposed to be your wingpony, right?”
“That's just something the councilors made up. It doesn't really mean anything… you said so yourself.”
“Yeah… I kind of did, didn’t I?” She dug into the soil distractedly, staring at the furrow she was making. “Bluh! I'm just no good at this kinda stuff.”
“What kind?” Fluttershy asked with a genuine curiosity.
It was the first time she'd see the brash pegasus struggling with her words. Usually Rainbow's words were out her mouth before even first thoughts had the time to cross her mind.
“Y'know… apologies and junk…”
“Apologies?” Now Fluttershy was well and truly surprised. “Apologies for what.”
“For being a jerk!” Rainbow exclaimed angrily, but it faded quickly. “I haven't exactly been all that nice… but then I saw those bullies making fun of you and…”
“Yes?”
“I dunno. I just didn't like it one bit. I hated it!” she stated resolutely before turning to face Fluttershy eye to eye. “I'm not like that, am I?”
“Well… not really… I mean I don't think you are.”
“Aw, cripes… I haven't been much of a wingpony for you, have I? I mean you can hardly fly and I just ignore you.” The spiky-haired pegasus let out a frustrated yell as she delivered a hard buck to a nearby tree. “I suck at this.”
“It's not your fault…”
“But it is, Fluttershy! It really is. I don't see how it can't be.” Rainbow grasped the yellow pegasi's shoulders with her forehooves, a wife grin on her face. “But I'm gonna fix it.”
“Fix it?”
“Yeah, we're gonna have you flying like a pro in no time flat!” She lifted the pair up into the air, Fluttershy’s wings flapping in a panic. “You ready to train?!”
“Uh… I don't know… I mean…”
“I'm not hearing a yes.”
“Well, I mean it'd be lovely, but—”
“Ain't any buts here 'sides all the flank I'm gonna have you kicking. You're my wingpony, Fluttershy, and it's past time we got you up to snuff.”
With that, Rainbow pulled the gangly yellow pegasus up into the air above the trees and let go. Fluttershy was unsteady at first, blushing furiously as she tried to make sense of what had just happened, but as she looked at the pure determination on her... wingpony’s face she felt herself relaxing, the fluttering of her wings growing steadier, more relaxed… more natural.
It was the first of many such lessons as Rainbow worked to make good on her promises. It was still a good while before the Fluttershy as comfortable in the air as she was with all four hooves on the ground, but Dash held up her end.
Through almost all of flight school she was there for Fluttershy anytime she needed her.
And then one day, she was gone.
[o-0-o]
Looking up from the article, Fluttershy stared at the living room, the silence of it seemed so wrong. It was just so large… so empty…
Shaking her head to clear the unwanted thoughts, she returned to her piles of memories, flipping through to find a few more clippings. There were quite a few more involving Rainbow Dash. News of the Junior Speedsters exploits in Equestrian Athletics Quarterly, including the naming of a certain filly as pony to watch.
She even had a few clippings of the Wonderbolt's activities, mostly tryouts and acquisitions, but there had been no mention of her friend in these. As a filly, Fluttershy had always assumed Dash's place in the Wonderbolts had been preordained by Princess Celestia herself. The rainbow-maned filly had certainly done the job of convincing her of its inevitability…
This isn't how you said it'd be…
With a cry of frustration, Fluttershy brought her head down onto the table with an audible thunk that echoed through the kitchen.
She didn't want to think like that. She didn't want to think about the future. She didn't even want to think about the present.
She wanted back the past, undiluted by what had happened, still somewhere in her mind in pristine condition.
Oh, Rainbow… I'm sorry… Fluttershy willed the tears to come, but still, she found herself staring out at the moon as it hung high in the sky with vision unobscured.
With a soft sigh, the yellow pegasus got to her hooves, pushing the pile of scraps back into the portfolio before closing it gently. Slowly, Fluttershy crept into the living room. She looked from the stairs to the basket in which Angel slept, the rabbit's face scrunched up, nose sniffing at some smell only he knew.
With a soft smile, Fluttershy made up her mind, lifting herself up onto the couch next to the rabbit's bed. Tucking her legs under herself and curling her tail around protectively, Fluttershy watched the little bunny slumber, the slow rise and fall of the his chest, the intermittent twitch of a whisker or leg at some unknown fabrication of his dreams.
“Good night, Angel Bunny,” she whispered as she closed her eyes, waiting for the peace of sleep to come.
[o-0-o]
“C'mon, why don't you just fly away? Can't you fly?” the mocking calls fell upon the gangly pegasus as she cringed beneath their verbal onslaught.
Blue eyes staring through her feathers, she watched as the pair of young colts circled above, laughing as she cowered on an isolated cloud.
“Afraid you're gonna fall? What kind of pegasus are you?” one of them asked her mockingly, drawing up close to the pegasus filly.
She simply stayed quiet, tightening her wings around her, hoping in vain that they would simply disappear if she couldn't see them.
“C'mon, um… Klutzershy!”
“Heh heh, Klutzershy…”
“Yeah, I know, that was a good one, huh?”
“I think it could use some work,” a familiar voice broke into the chatter between the bullies. The little filly could feel the cloud she was on sag slightly with the weight of an additional pony. “Maybe you should go work on it somewhere else.”
“Oh, yeah, and what're you gonna do about it, lady?” one of the bullies demanded defiantly before a sudden, high-pitched yelp filled the air.
“My hoof, your face… do you really want to see what I'll do about it, you little cloud-biting punk?” the familiar voice inquired in a sweetly no-nonsense tone.
“N-n-no, ma'am…” the bully stammered out before the little filly heard the mad scramble of panicked wings.
After a moment or two, the telltale flapping of wings faded, leaving only the gentle sounds of the high currents.
“Fluttershy? Honey, you okay?” the voice asked as the little yellow pegasus slowly retracted her wings, revealing the absence of the bullies and the presence of somepony new and very much welcome.
“T-thanks, Mom…” the little pegasus squeaked out, tears streaming from her eyes as she immediately attached herself to the mare's leg.
“Shhh… shhh… everything's fine now, ‘Shy,” the mare whispered, running a hoof through the filly's mane before sitting down and lifting the little pegasus up. “Momma's lil' girl's gonna be just fine. Now ain't she?”
“Yeah,” the little pegasus answered with a soft giggle as her tears finally ran dry.
“Now, you remember what I told you, right?”
“Yes…” the filly muttered, looking down, shame-faced.
“You've just got to be more assertive, Fluttershy. Colts like that just keep hounding you forever if you're not willing to stand up.”
“I know… but they were just so… And I was… scared.”
“I know, Fluttershy… you've got a lot of your daddy in you, but you've got me in there too,” the mare spoke softly, giving the little filly a tight hug.
Fluttershy clambered up onto the almond-furred mare’s back.
“Now, how 'bout we get our hooves back on solid cloud. Flight Camp can wait another day.” She smiled back as she flared out her wings.
The little filly cried out happily as she clung to her mother's neck, burying her face into the auburn mane as the wind whipped by. Screwing her eyes shut, she relaxed into the familiar scent of her mother's mane.
She felt so safe there.
So secure.
As she opened her eyes again, however, she found herself gripping nothing. The scent vanishing into the black void that surrounded her.
“Mommy? Mommy, where’d you go?” she called out in a panic, voice echoing ceaselessly in her mind before, with a whimper, she laid down, cringing before the all-encompassing dark.
[o-0-o]
“—n-need to s-see her…”
“Hold her down for Celestia’s sake!”
“Where is she? Have to see her…”
“Where is that sedative?”
“Right here, doctor.”
“What are you waiting for? Administer it!”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“N-need… need to… where… Flutter…”
“Calm down, Miss Dash, calm down.”
“Doctor! Her eyes are o—oh my goodness.”
“What is… oh dear…”
“Nurse!”
“Yes, doctor?”
“Get me another sedative and some gauze.”
“…”
“Nurse, are you—Yes? I’m sorry, but we’re in the middle of—”
“…”
“Yes, I know the risks, but are you certain that is wise?”
“…”
“I'm not questioning your knowledge, milady, but it could…well, it could kill her.”
“…”
“Yes, ma'am… Nurse? Administer it.”
“Fl…fl…”
“Calm down. It'll be okay… you're both in good hooves.”
“Fl—”
[o-0-o]
Fluttershy awoke with a start, falling off the couch and onto the thankfully soft rug below as her legs scrambled in a mad panic.
“Whuh…what?” She lay on the floor,confused and panting as she waited for her heart to stop thudding so loudly in her chest.
She stared around to find that the sun was down now, the cottage bathed in a soft dark as the thinnest rays of moonlight streamed in through the windows.
Outside she could hear the faint chirps of crickets and the hoots of an owl in the distance.
And there it came again.
A soft tapping noise as if somepony rapping at the cottage door.
For a moment, Fluttershy found herself paralyzed, unsure of whether the noises were real or the product of her still sleep-addled mind. She glanced over to find Angel still slumbering peacefully, her confusion only deepening. She looked away to stare at the cottage door and waited for a sound, any sound.
Then it came again: a soft rapping at the door followed by a series of unintelligible words.
Rising slowly to her hooves, Fluttershy crept along the floor, wings locked tight to her sides as she trembled with a nervous fear.
“Flu-er-hy,” the muffled voice called through door.
Fluttershy's ears perked at the sound of her name, fears abated before they were replaced by confusion.
“Who would be out here so late?” she whispered to the empty room as she drew herself up from her low crouch, walking more confidently to the door.
“Fluttershy, are you there?” the voice called as Fluttershy pressed an ear against the door. It was a familiar voice, feminine, yet having a juvenile, boyish sort of quality to it. “Fluttershy? It's really cold out here.”
“Who's there?” Fluttershy barely choked the words out, her throat suddenly parched as she pressed an ear to door.
Her eye darted between the table and the couch as a part of her mind tried to determine which would be the better, quicker hiding place.
“It's me, Fluttershy. Can you let me in… it's cold,” the voice replied.
That same familiar voice…
“O-okay…” the yellow pegasus stammered as she grasped the door, letting it swing open slowly before she let out a loud gasp.
There before her stood a cyan pegasus, her mane marked by every color of the rainbow, that omnipresent smirk plastered on her face.
Without a thought, Fluttershy slammed the door in the apparition's face and dove beneath the table.
Fluttershy trembled, hooves wrapped around a leg of the table she hid beneath. She drew her wings around her, feathers vibrating as she tried to block out the world and retreat into their darkness.
A voice groaned just outside the door.
“Nopony's there… nopony's there…” she muttered quietly, but the voice remained. “There's no such thing… no such thing…”
“Oh… mah nose…” the voice moaned out.
Only, it seemed different somehow.
It was now younger… not the voice of a full grown mare nor even an adolescent. Folding her wings back slowly, Fluttershy crept over to the window and peered out before, with a gasp, she flung the door open.
There was no cyan pegasus. No shock of rainbow hair. There wasn't even a full grown pony. She watched her writhed in the dirt, an orange hoof pressed to its nose as a fuschia tail twitched.
“Scootaloo!” Fluttershy darted to the little filly's side. “Oh, Scootaloo, I'm so, so sorry.”
“Mah nose…” the little pegasus squeaked out as she rolled from side to side in the dirt.
“Oh my goodness.” She quickly scooped the little filly up into her forehooves and hovering them back into the cottage.
[o-0-o]
“Okay… now just keep your head tilted back,” Fluttershy spoke softly as she gently coaxed the filly's head back until her eyes stared up at the ceiling. “There you go. Better?”
“Unh hunh…” Scootaloo confirmed, a hoof keeping a bit of tissue pressed to the end of her muzzle, a small pile of them having accumulated beside her on the kitchen table.
“I am so… so sorry,” Fluttershy reiterated for what was likely her fourteenth apology in the last minute, shame having all but been etched on her face.
“S'okay…” the little orange filly murmured quietly, keeping her head tilted as Fluttershy worked on cleaning the scrapes that littered her patient's back.
“Now, this might sting a little, but just keep your head up,” Fluttershy warned before pouring a bit of iodine over her back. She could see Scootaloo tense, but otherwise she stayed perfectly still. Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow at the filly, drawing a slight shrug from her.
“Wasn't always so awesome with my scooter,” she answered the unasked question with a somewhat embarrassed grin, her voice having taken on a distinctly nasal quality. She maintained her grin for only a moment before her face took on a confused look as her eyes looked over her shoulder at the elder pegasus. “So… um… why did you slam the door in my face?”
“Sorry… it's just…” Fluttershy stammered slightly, her voice raising an octave even as her volume shrank. She was silent a moment as she sponged off the excessive iodine and began to bandage it. “I was startled. I thought you might be… I thought you were…” How to admit to a filly that you were scared of ghosts.
“Yeah?” Scootaloo asked, her voice filled with curiosity more than anything else.
“I thought you were Rainbow Dash for a second,” Fluttershy admitted softly, her movements slowing at the name.
“Really?” the little pegasus asked, initially excited by this case of mistaken identity.
“You remind me of her when she was younger… you sound a bit like she… used to…” Fluttershy offered, trying to comfort the little filly as a ring of tears formed at the bottom of the little pegasi's eyes.
“That's cool…” the filly replied morosely.
“Here, let me see that tissue,” Fluttershy asked, removing the bloodied paper before examining the little filly’s upturned nostrils. “I think it’s all dried up. You should be able to lean your head forward.”
“T-thanks, Fluttershy. I'm sorry I startled you.”
“I forgive you, Scootaloo. I just can't believe I slammed the door on you like that…”
“It's okay, I've done a lot worse… and I guess it's kinda my fault for being out here so late…”
Fluttershy was quiet a moment, trying to find the least accusatory means of asking. “Why are you out here so late, Scootaloo?” She helped the little filly hop down onto the floor, both walking into the living room where a fire now roared in the hearth.
“I-I couldn't sleep…”
“But why are you all the way out here? Your parents will be worried sick about you.”
“I… I had a question I needed to ask you.”
“It couldn't wait for the morning?”
“No… well, probably, but… I-I don’t know…” the little filly stammered as Fluttershy led her towards the couch she’d pushed in front of the fireplace. The perfect place for a shivering filly to warm herself. “I just really needed to ask you… an-and—”
“Scootaloo, it’s okay. I'm not mad,” Fluttershy whispered, a few stray tears trailing down the little pegasus's face as she trembled.
“It's just… she's just gone!”
Fluttershy bit her tongue, remaining silent a moment as the little pegasus stared up at her, face streaked with tears, beggining for answers that Fluttershy simply didn't have. With a soft sigh, Fluttershy lifted herself onto the couch next to the shivering filly, wrapping a wing around her.
“I know, Scootaloo… I know…”
“It's just… I never got to…” the filly choked back a sob as she nestled in Fluttershy’s grasp.
“It's okay, Scootaloo, it's okay,” Fluttershy hushed the little pegasus, nuzzling her gently as she felt the warm tears cascading across her side.
“I just wanted to know,” the little filly paused a moment, trying in vain to compose herself, wiping the tears from her eyes as best she could. “Did Rainbow even like me?”
The little filly stared up at Fluttershy with such a broken look…
She seemed as though she were made of something so fragile, so delicate that the softest breeze could crumble into dust.
Oh, Scootaloo… Fluttershy found herself without an answer, the little filly's wide eyes seeming to swallow her whole with their pleading.
Finally, Fluttershy took a breath, dimly realizing that she'd been holding it. She pulled the little filly close to her, wrapping her wing tightly around the little pegasus before pressing her head to the filly's.
“You were like a sister to her, Scootaloo,” Fluttershy whispered before she lowered her head, staring into the fire. Its warmth seemed so distant compared to the little thing pressed against her.
“T-thanks, Fluttershy,” the filly choked out, managing a wry smile as she buried herself into the older pegasus's side.
“You should get some rest… things look better in the morning,” Fluttershy murmured as she watched the flames flicker and dance in the hearth, listening to the soft sound of the filly's steady breaths.
Things will be better in the morning, Fluttershy… just get some rest. |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 6 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-10-18T19:14:02+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:34+00:00 | 3,354 | "I can sleep later…"
"Dang it, girl. You ain't doin' anypony any good keepin’ this up. It’s been three days straight for Celestia’s sake."
"Mmf… Later."
"…"
"…"
"Dang it… fine…"
"…"
"Twilight?"
"…"
"You okay, sugarcube?"
"Just talked to the nurses…"
"What'd she say?"
"Th-they don't know what to do. It's been weeks now and sh-she just doesn't seem to be getting any better. She just… she just won't wake up…"
"It's okay, Twi. We’re all scared."
"It's all my fault… I-I—"
"Not this again… Twi, don't make it so I have t’buck sense inta ya. Weren't nopony's fault. Nopony's, got it?"
"I could have been stronger or smarter or… something…"
"Can't go changin' the past, Twi. Hindsight ain’t somethin’ t’focus on at times like this."
"But…"
"We need you here, Twi. Here and now."
"I know…"
"…"
"…"
"We’ve got to keep strong… for her."
"I know…"
"…"
"There's something else…"
"What’s that?"
"They're hiding something."
"What would they be hiding?"
“…”
"Twi?"
"I’m not sure… but there's something that they're not telling us…"
“She wouldn't do that… would she?”
“I wouldn't have thought so… but I've known her long enough to know when she's keeping something from me. But about something so serious…?”
“…”
“It’s just…”
"…"
"…"
"H-hello?"
"Room's private, mister."
"I was told this is where—"
"What are you doing here?"
“…”
"I came to—"
"To see her?"
"Y-yes…"
"Get out."
"What's all this about, sugarcube?"
"Just get him out."
"I… I'm s—"
"It's too late for that."
"…"
"Y'know what? I'm getting some air… and if he's still here when I get back…"
"…"
"You don't deserve her, you know? You don't even deserve to look at her."
"…"
"…"
"The heck was all that?"
"…"
"I'm sorry, sir. She's not normally like that…"
"No, she was right. I’m years too late here. I’m sorry… I’ll go."
[o-0-o]
The little filly watched her friend shrink into the bustling backstreets of Cloudsdale. The smile she had worn faded slowly as the cyan pegasus had vanished from sight, slowly replaced by a frown.
She was supposed to be happy, wasn't she? Happy for her friend's new success? Her new opportunity?
After all, it wasn't everyday that a filly, not even graduated from flight school, was selected to join the Junior Speedsters. It was the opportunity of a lifetime… at least in foalhood. Another step towards her goal.
The Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash would go on and on about the stunt ponies. It was destiny and nothing was going to stand in the way of her becoming the top flier in all Equestria.
Her excitement had been infectious, sweeping up Fluttershyin its grasp with ease.
It served as a sharp contrast to the fear they had shared just hours earlier that day.
"Oh, Celestia…"
"Rainbow? What's wrong, Rainbow?"
"It was just a little prank… they wouldn't would they?"
"Wouldn't do what?"
"You don't think they're going to kick me out do you? Over a little prank?"
"Well, the teacher seemed pretty mad, but you've been so much better lately…"
"I know, but you haven't seen my record. Lots and lots of red ink…"
"Oh…"
"Yeah."
"Why did you do it?"
"Hoops dared me."
"And you listened to him?"
"He called me a chicken."
Fluttershy simply stared.
“Chickens can't even fly! Well, not very far, but still!”
Fluttershy’s stare grew to a disappointed frown.
"Yeah, I know. Be better than them. It just really got under my fur."
Fluttershy simply sighed. "When are they calling you in?"
"After last bell. Can you stick around? Please?"
"Um, usually I get picked up… I don't think my mom would…”
Rainbow eyes were wide and teary as she stared at her.
“Well… I'm sure she'll understand helping a friend."
"Well, you should probably get to your class. Wish me luck."
"Good luck, Rainbow."
With that she had disappeared into the class, leaving Fluttershy to collect herself. She bit her lip as she strode back to homeroom, worried for both herself and her friend. What in the name of Equestria would she have done without Rainbow as wingpony? She certainly wouldn't have made it as far as she had. She'd already repeated flight camp twice before after all.
Sure, Rainbow usually played fast and loose with the rules—she was unusually prone to demerits and even an outright citation or two—but her heart was in the right place.
The school could see that, couldn't it?
Hours later, though, the pegasus lived up to her moniker as she tore a rainbow-hued path from the school's entry doors to where her friend waited by the gate, smiling from ear to ear.
"Omigoshomigoshomigosh! Fluttershy!"
"What is it?"
"It is the best thing ever!" Rainbow yanked her up into the air, twirling the pair about.
"What? What?!"
"I just got picked to join the Junior Speedsters!"
"That's great news, Rainbow." Fluttershy’s eyes were wide as she was set back down on solid cloud, her tone muted.
"I know! I thought I was going to get kicked out for sure. Then the principal walks in with the head of the Junior Speedsters herself. The head, Fluttershy! I got picked by the head of the Junior Speedsters. A former Wonderbolt picked me!"
"That's great."
"I know! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy. I get to leave for their camp in a week. Can you believe it?! I'm going to be a Junior Speedster! Oh, I am so rubbing this in some faces!"
"Rainbow…"
"No time, Fluttershy, time for face rubbings!"
And with that the spiky maned pegasus was gone, a tumultuous wave of excitement left in her wake.
"A week?"
The words took a moment to settle in for Fluttershy. She promptly sat down as she came to the realization. It plied at her nerves even more than Rainbow’s possible expulsion.
It was the best and the worst all wrapped up.
"Fluttershy?"
She stayed quiet, mood tipping between fear and joy.
"Fluttershy? You okay, honey?"
"She's going away, Mom." Fluttershy turned to her mom, the elder pegasus with a comforting hoof stretched over the wall to rest on her shoulder.
"Oh, ‘Shy, she's not going away forever. This is just… a great opportunity. But she’ll be back soon enough."
"I know… but she's going away."
"She'll be back, Fluttershy. You two are friends. Heck, you act like sisters. And she's not the sort to abandon anypony, trust me."
"But…"
"Don't worry, you've still got a week with her and you'll see her afterwards. Junior Speedsters is usually only a year anyways. Plus, you'll see her whenever they break camp. First break’s coming up at the beginning of summer."
"How do you know?"
"Hey, your momma’s a dreamer. I followed the Speedsters when I was younger. I was even invited to a tryout or two.” Her mother smiled down at her, eyes lighting up. “Hey, how about we follow along. They usually have Speedsters news in the papers. Maybe we could try a scrapbook or something so you can follow her even when she's not here."
"Th-that might be nice."
Her mom had been right in some ways. Following her friend had helped. It had helped for years, but she wouldn't see her friend in the flesh again for years after that last week.
"I'll miss you, Rainbow," the little filly muttered as the world seemed to come to a halt about her, the words hanging in the air as the school began to shimmer and fade from view.
The image of her friend leaving remaining as everything else disappeared into a black fog. She stared a moment longer as the cyan filly vanished fully, leaving her in the silent darkness as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry…"
The suddenness of the interruption caused the little filly to jerk her head back and forth in search of a source. She spun around to find her the cyan pegasus sitting there.
Not as she had been all those years, but as she remembered her.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I didn't think I was leaving you like that. I really didn't," the mare whispered quietly, an idle hoof scratching at the nonexistent ground beneath them.
"It wasn't your fault. It was an opportunity. I understood that eventually. I shouldn't have taken it how I did," Fluttershy replied, taking a tentative step towards her friend, her still gangly, uncertain legs trembling as she did so.
"I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have abandoned you like that. I mean, I'm supposed to be a loyal friend, right?"
"You are… were." Fluttershy stumbled with her words as she sat down in front of her friend, pressing a diminutive hoof to the mare's cheek as she stared up. "Why'd you have to go?"
"Isn't how either of us thought it'd go, huh?" Rainbow admitted.
Her cheek felt so warm to Fluttershy. So alive. Fluttershy could even feel the warmth of the tears that dripped from those ruby eyes, the gentle shifting of flesh beneath the soft cyan fur as she tried to fight them back. Fluttershy looked into those rose-colored eyes and saw only her friend. Not a memory, but her friend.
Fluttershy embraced the other pegasus, wrapping her hooves tightly around Rainbow's middle. She pressed her face into the soft fur of her friend's chest, letting the tears fall as they may. She could feel the hooves embracing her in turn, squeezing her delicately, as one might a child.
And they simply stayed that way a moment in a comforting silence. Fluttershy snuggled in closer. She wanted to hear her friends heartbeat the way she had listened to her mother's when she'd been younger. The steady rhythm letting her know that everything was alright. Everything would be alright.
As she opened her eyes, blinking the tears from them, Fluttershy tightened her hold. A sudden fear coursed through her.
"What is this, Rainbow?"
"Hm?"
"Is this real? Am I just imagining this?"
"I don't know… does it matter?"
"Maybe not…"
Neither said anything for a while as Fluttershy screwed her eyes shut. They simply stayed, unwilling to risk breaking the dream.
"Fluttershy?"
"Mm?"
"Are you mad at me?"
The question echoed. It was no longer Rainbow's voice that spoke. It was no longer the mare's embrace that comforted her. There was an older voice now. A familiar voice.
The comforting warmth of her friend was replaced by a sharp, abrasive cold.
"I…"
The words stuck in her throat as she grasped for the cyan pegasus only to find herself grasping at blankets and sheets, the feeling of fur replaced by fabric.
"Fluttershy? Are you mad?" the voice was older, but somehow it sounded as though it came from a young colt rather than a full grown pony. It spoke as a broken creature does, a desperate creature… a pitiful, frightened, desperate creature.
As the little filly opened her eyes, she stared with tear-stained vision at the bedroom from her childhood. It was night, the room enveloped in a darkness broken only by the soft orange glow of the streetlights outside. The soft tapping of a hoof on the door echoed painfully throughout the room. In vain, she tried to burrow into her bed, perhaps hoping that she might disappear beneath the sheets and end up somewhere else.
"Fluttershy, please don't hate me," the voice begged, the tapping of the hoof slowing to a stop before she could hear a him slip to the floor. "Please…"
She could hear the soft gasps of ragged breath just outside the door as, body shuddering, she buried her tear-stained face face into a pillow, answering softly for nopony to ever hear.
"But I do…"
[o-0-o]
As the first rays of the new day filtered into the cottage, Fluttershy awoke slowly. Her eyes burned gently as she rubbed a hoof across them as memories of the previous night burbled to the surface.
"It's morning, Scoo—" Fluttershy cut herself off abruptly as she lifted her wing to find nopony there. She stared at the spot a moment, sleep still slowing her thoughts.
It was strange. There wasn't even an indentation in the cushion. As she ran a hoof over the spot, she felt only the coolness of the fabric. Looking around herself, she found that the couch was back in its usual spot beside Angel's basket.
"Angel?" She whispered, a shiver coursing down her spine as she carefully hopped down to the floor. She could hear the telltale sounds of wood scraping against wood coming from the kitchen.
At a quick trot, Fluttershy made her way into the kitchen to find the little rabbit hard at work preparing breakfast on the counter, his fur stained with tan batter as he stirred it furiously.
"Angel?"
The little rabbit turned and gave the pegasus a curt, welcoming nod before returning with greater gusto to his work. Fluttershy drew closer, leaning her forehooves on the counter before continuing the conversation.
"Angel, do you know where Scootaloo went?"
The rabbit stopped stirring a moment before turning to look at the pegasus with an eyebrow cocked in confusion.
"Scootaloo. Little orange pegasus? We had a sleepover not too long ago?"
The rabbit nodded, but maintained his look of incredulity. With a few quick movements, the rabbit had dropped his work and had a paw pressed to the pegasus's forehead.
"Oh, Angel Bunny. I'm not sick."
Angel nodded slowly, but kept the paw on her head before signing rapidly with the other paw to the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy let her eyes widen in surprise as she grasped the rabbit's meaning.
"What do you mean nopony?"
The rabbit repeated his signs, ending with a forceful squeak of affirmation before waving a paw towards the living room for effect.
"Nopony other than me has been here all night. But I slammed a door in her face. Didn't that wake you up?"
The rabbit shook his head before again repeating its prior gestures.
"But what about the…" Fluttershy trailed off as she glanced back at the kitchen table. It was completely empty, the bandages and tissues from the last night gone. "You didn't?"
The rabbit simply shook its head before letting out a worried squeak, nuzzling the pegasus affectionately.
"I… I'm fine, Angel. I just had a very odd dream," Fluttershy mumbled in response, a tiny shiver coursing through her as she truly felt the morning's chill. "So, what are you making?"
The rabbit gave an excited squeak before tilting the bowl towards the pegasus to reveal the orange and rather chunky mix within.
"Carrotcakes?"
Angel gave an affirmative salute before beaming at the pegasus excitedly.
"That sounds lovely."
The rabbit returned to his work with a newfound vigor as Fluttershy sat herself down at the table. She held her head in her hooves, trying to keep the feeling of pressure contained within her skull as it began to throb.
There was not a sign anypony had been sitting on the table the night before. There were no signs that anypony beside herself had been in the cottage.
Maybe I should go see somepony. Talk to somepony…
[o-0-o]
The thick, overcast skies of the previous day remained as Fluttershy walked slowly through the largely empty streets of Ponyville. Even as she strolled through the market, where ponies typically gathered en masse for the proper exchange and purchase of their everyday essentials, she hardly saw more than a dozen ponies.
It seemed that the townfolk had made themselves scarce. Hardly a dozen stalls were set up, including a familiar apple cart.
"Hey, Fluttershy," Applejack greeted her, dropping her usual salesmare’s grin in favor of a softer, more genuine one. "We missed you this morning. Feelin' any better today?"
Fluttershy simply stayed silent as she came to the cart, hesitating as she thought over the morning and the night, but most of all the memories.
“No. Not really."
"It's alright, Fluttershy. Things jus' take time is all. Nopony’s gonna rush you."
"I know. You already said so," she replied, perhaps a bit more curtly than she had intended. "Sorry…"
"No need to apologize. You're hurtin'… We all are…"
"How's business today?" Fluttershy interjected, a change of topic seeming to be for the best.
"Well"—Applejack hesitated a moment, Fluttershy glancing away from her questioning gaze—"things are a mite slow today. Was gonna try an' show Apple Bloom the ropes, but, well, you can see for yourself."
"Oh." Fluttershy followed her friend’s gaze to find the aforementioned filly curled up in a bushel, napping peacefully.
"Don't s'pose things would be none dif'rent were she awake. And don't have the heart to wake her anyways," the work pony mused, giving the sleeping filly an affectionate nuzzle.
"She looks peaceful," Fluttershy whispered, watching the gentle rise and fall of the filly's chest before turning to look at the sparsely populated market square.
Her thoughts were scattered and confused as her gaze roamed the square.
Like Angel said, it didn't happen. Was just an odd dream…
As if on cue, an orange blur powered across the market on a scooter, red wagon in tow.
"Well, ain't peaceful much longer," Applejack remarked with a roll of her eyes, smile returning to her lips. "Hey, Scoots. Sweetie Belle."
"Is Apple Bloom around?" Sweetie Belle asked as the scooter and wagon rolled to a relatively soft stop, skidding to a halt in front of the apple cart. At least they hadn't had the quite spectacular dismount they'd had the previous time Fluttershy had seen them.
"Huh? We crusadin' today?" came a tired, confused voice from the opposite side of the cart, Fluttershy watching as the little red-maned filly braced herself on the apple basket as she got her hooves under her proper.
"Never-ending crusade, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo stated rather bluntly, grinning in determination.
"But doesn't it end when we get our cutie marks?" Sweetie Belle asked, the pegasus filly simply sighing in exasperation at the question.
“Well, duh,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "But until then. Never. Ending."
"Oh…"
"Um… I'd really like to, guys, but—"
"Aw, Applebloom, you ain't gonna miss nothing round here, I reckon," Applejack interrupted with a playful nudge to her little sister, "Y'all can skedaddle an' go questin' or crusadin' or… whatever. Jus' be careful… I don' want to see y'all makin' the paper again."
"Thanks, AJ! We'll be good!" the filly gave her sister and hug before jumping into the wagon.
As the little yellow filly fumbled with her helmet, Scootaloo trotted over to Fluttershy, the older pegasus having shrunk behind the cart a bit, trying to pacify the ache that rattled around in her skull.
"Fluttershy? You okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine," she lied, giving her best smile, which immediately drooped at the little filly's look.
"You don't look fine."
"I'm not actually," Fluttershy whispered honestly.
"Yeah… it sucks," the little filly stated, face falling for a moment before brightening right back up. "But she wouldn’t want us like that, right? Being all mopey and junk?"
"No… Probably not."
"Um, Fluttershy?"
"Yes?"
"Did Rainbow ever…" The filly scratched at her head with a hoof as she struggled to find the words before falling silent, looking up expectantly to the older pegasus.
"She liked you a lot, Scootaloo. You even remind me of her when we were younger… I think she probably thought the same."
This drew a small smile out of the little pegasus before she walked back to the wagon, now with the full complement of crusaders in tow.
"Bye," the little orange filly waved before her wings began to buzz, the wagon lurching forward, departing for parts unknown.
It wasn't real… so what was it?
"Somethin’ on your mind?"
"Hunh?" Fluttershy sat up straight as Applejack's question broke her from her thoughts. "Oh, I'm sorry… I was just thinking…"
"Doin' a whole lot by the looks of it. Do you want to… talk 'bout it?" Applejack asked, voice tinged with nervousness.
Fluttershy bit her lip before moving closer to her friend. "It's just… I keep remembering her, but not always right…"
"Not sure I follow, sugarcube."
"I had a dream… I think. Scootaloo showed up in the middle of the night and I thought she was Rainbow Dash for a moment…"
"You sure she didn't? Show up, I mean… not the other thing."
"Angel said there wasn't anypony else at the cottage last night… and Scootaloo didn't seem to remember it if she had been. It just seemed so real… and it was… nice. We talked about Rainbow a little bit."
"Huh…" Applejack stared out at the market a moment before turning back to Fluttershy with a reassuring smile. "Reckon you're under quite a bit of stress. Mind tends ta play tricks sometimes… you gettin' enough sleep?"
"More than enough, I think. The birds started their migration so they don't wake me early anymore."
"Well, maybe you’ve just got a bit of cottage fever. Can't be too healthy to be cooped up, all alone."
"Maybe you're right."
"Should probably try spending some time out on the town. Might be a bit boring around these parts fer a few hours more." Applejack grimaced as she glanced around the largely deserted market. "Maybe try Rarity’s. Two o' you could have lunch or something. Probably do you better than watchin' stand here like a statue."
"That—” Fluttershy began, fighting to mask the disappointment in her voice.
"An’ after I’m all done here, how 'bout I come by yer cottage? I can be by right after I drop this here cart off?"
"Oh, that sounds lovely," she replied with a tiny smile. It would be nice to have somepony over at the cottage.
"Alright, I should be there 'round sunset or so. Only got a few deliveries this afternoon," Applejack stated, giving Fluttershy a wide smile and friendly bump with an elbow. "We'll make a good ol' time of it."
"Thanks, Applejack."
[o-0-o]
"Darling! How are you?"
Fluttershy was surprised by how readily Rarity dropped her work when she had walked into the boutique. It was as though she'd been looking for the excuse.
"Oh, I'm fine."
"You don't look fine, dear," Rarity mused as she pulled the pegasus into the back room of the boutique where the dressing room was set up alongside a pair of plush couches.
"Is it so obvious?" Scootaloo had seen right through it after all.
"Perhaps not to the average laypony, but I am your friend. Besides, I know it hurts." Rarity smiled as Fluttershy suddenly noticed the thick bags that hung beneath her friend's bloodshot eyes. She'd been crying. Recently too.
"None of us are fine."
"Nor can we be expected to be. For all her brashness and arrogance, Rainbow was a part of all of us," the unicorn murmured, putting a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "A part to you especially."
"Me?"
"Well, naturally, darling," Rarity began with a smirk, even as the beginnings of a tear formed in her eye. "You knew her long before any of us did. I daresay you were quite a bit closer than either of you let on."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, suddenly wary of the direction of the conversation.
"Only that you two have always been rather… Oh how to put this…"
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow as she stared at the pondering unicorn.
"Well, you know how I have my Sweetie Belle."
"Yes." Fluttershy found herself less wary and more confused.
"Well, you know how frustrated I can be with her at times?"
"Yes…"
"But still, for any frustration she shall cause me I wouldn't trade her for the world… do you follow?"
"I think so? Maybe… not really."
"Well. I think that was the relationship you had with Rainbow… To be perfectly frank, I can't see it any other way," Rarity admitted, drawing the pegasus into a brief embrace. "For all your differences… you were family to one another."
"Maybe…"
"Not maybe, darling," the unicorn replied, grasping the pegasus's shoulders in her hooves as she looked her directly in the eye. "You balanced one another. With all her attitude, she was never the best with talking things out with other ponies. Likewise, you've always had that shell of yours to retreat into. You've always been a calming presence for her, and she a get-up-and-get-going sort for you."
"And now she's gone."
"But not forgotten. She's still here, Fluttershy," the unicorn said, pressing a hoof to Fluttershy's chest. "She'll always be in there."
"I know you're trying, Rarity… but I just don't know."
"Perhaps something to clear our heads. A trip to the spa might do the trick. We missed our usual time last week. Perhaps it would do us both some good to simply relax." Rarity offered with a soft smile.
"Maybe…" Fluttershy trailed off with a soft nod of her head.
Perhaps it would do some good. If only to rid herself of the headaches that had been plaguing her of late.
"Well, no time like the present then," Rarity stated, maintaining her grin as she dropped to the floor with an audible clop and hurried them right out the door.
[o-0-o]
"It has been quite the while, hasn't it?"
"It's been years…"
"It's remarkable to think about it… so many years. So many fond memories," Rarity sighed as she soaked beside Fluttershy in the spa's hot tub. They had opted for the most basic of treatments. It wasn't a time for the usual after all. This visit was purposeful. Purely practical. Albeit she was certain Applejack would have snorted at the idea of a practical spa visit.
"Feels strange. Talking about it like this…" Fluttershy mumbled, leaning on the edge of the tub, head resting on her fore-hooves as the warm waters relaxed her.
"I know… seems like only yesterday that we met, doesn't it?"
Fluttershy merely nodded as her eyes began to feel heavier and heavier. She breathed in the warm spa air, the scent of lotus blossoms permeating it.
“Odd to think it was such a long time ago. Relatively speaking of course.”
“Of course…”
It was so relaxing. So warm and peaceful. Perhaps this was the right idea. Her head certainly felt clearer as she let herself drift, the gentle lapping sound of the water lulling her to sleep as the unicorn chatted on.
[o-0-o]
It was so warm. So peaceful. The homey smell surrounding her. Soft hooves carefully traced the contours of her body, alternating between scrubbing, rubbing and tickling as the foal giggled in her mother's grasp.
A simple song filled the air alongside the slapping water as Fluttershy squirmed in those loving hooves.
"Oh m'darlin', oh m'darlin'," the older pegasus sang softly as she spread the foal's tiny wing, drizzling warm water over the feathers before repeating the process with the other. "Oh m'darling, Fluttershy..."
A high-pitched giggle flung from the pegasus foal’s lungs as her mother scrubbed over her stomach, still thick with baby fat.
"Thought you lost and gone forever… darling Fluttershy," she sang as she lifted the tiny, dripping foal from the tub, bundling her into a thick blanket before moving to sit on a thick woven mat.
"Sky?" a voice called out from somewhere behind the pair, the infant falling silent as her mother turned towards the door.
"We’re in the bathroom," she called back.
There came the soft sound of a door opening and closing gently.
"Is she asleep?" the voice asked in a soft, nervous tone as the infant's eyes scanned for the source of the new sound.
"No, she's just quiet… you know how she is."
"Oh… sorry."
"Just come over here, Dewy," Sky Skimmer ordered with soft chuckle and the infant gave a soft smile as a pair of turquoise eyes came into view, looking down on her warmly.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" he whispered, running a careful hoof through the infant's short mane before laying down next to them.
"Yeah. Kinda makes everything else not matter all that much, doesn’t it?" she replied sadly before leaning down to kiss Fluttershy's forehead.
The infant's eyes screwed themselves shut of their own accord as she felt the soft, caring lips upon her… the warmth of the blanket wrapped about her… the gentle eyes watching her. So much love surrounding her…
And then, Fluttershy felt cold.
As she opened her eyes again, she found herself staring at mound. Somepony's hoof was wrapped around her shoulder, but she could only stare at the mound of newly piled dirt as the words of comfort went unheeded. She didn't bother to look up as the gentle rain soaked through her mane and the simple outfit she wore.
She could feel her hooves sinking slowly into the new mud as the hoof left her shoulder. The parting words were lost in the gentle din of the rain. She couldn't cry… she wasn't supposed to cry.
That's what granny had told her. She was supposed to be happy… to be happy because that's how she ought to be.
But she didn't want to be happy. She didn't want to be content with just memories. She didn't want to think about being happy again. She couldn't think.
"Hey… yer her, um, gran'daughter, right?" a nervous voice broke through the quiet rainfall, startling Fluttershy as she crouched as if from a blow.
"Uh-huh…" she mumbled in reply, expecting just another empty condolence.
"Just wanted to say…" the voice stumbled over her words as the pony drew closer, hoofs sloshing in the puddles.
"I know," Fluttershy interrupted, seeing the muddy hooves halt beside her out of the corner of her eye. “I know what you’re going to say.”
"Oh, well, even so, I'm sorry fer yer loss… Really I am."
"I'm sure you are." She just wanted them to go away. To leave her alone with her thoughts… with her memories.
"I am…" the voice said curtly as though some ancient honor had been tarnished by Fluttershy’s implication. "I… I know what it's like…"
Fluttershy didn’t reply, her blood simmering beneath the surface.
"It gets better after a while. It don't go away… but it gets better."
"Does it?" Fluttershy asked softly, a mix of anger and incredulity as she turned to look up into the solemn face of a stetsoned mare. The pegasus stared into the other pony's eyes a moment before the anger drained from her.
"Eventually… it does."
Fluttershy looked down, sniffling.
A hoof wrapped around her shoulders, drawing them closer.
"Who did you lose?"
"...my parents."
"Oh…"
It was silent for a while as Fluttershy found herself unable to look up into the mare’s eyes again. She couldn’t look at that pain again.
"It still hurts a lot… but you keep on goin'. For them if not for yourself."
"But… how do you? I don't even know what to do…"
"My granny used ta be real close t’her… she was still in that old cottage by the forest, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Still helpin' animals an' all?"
"Yeah… I helped her with them sometimes. A lot towards the end,” Fluttershy murmured before shifting herself to reveal the trio of butterflies on her flank. “My special talent is working with animals even."
"Well, seems you've got an idea, then."
"But I can't possibly run it all on my own… it's so big an-and there's so many…"
"S'alright, sugarcube. Ain’t expectin' you t’do everything yourself. How 'bout I come by and help you…"
"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that."
"You ain't askin'. I'm offerin'. Name's Applejack," the stetsoned pony offered a hoof, giving the pegasus a reassuring smile.
"Fluttershy," she replied, finding the work-worn hoof surprisingly gentle as they shook.
Both ponies cringed as a crack of thunder rolled across the field, the drizzling rain only seeming to worsen.
"Maybe we all ought to be gettin' out of this rain. The Acres are a bit closer than yer cottage I reckon. We can get you nice an' warmed up there."
"That sounds… nice." Fluttershy smiled as the work pony led her away from the grave.
"What neighbors, and friends, are s'posed ta do, Fluttershy," Applejack stated, flipping her hat onto the pegasus with deft jerk of her head. "It'll keep the rain out of yer eyes. C'mon."
Fluttershy allowed herself a little smile as she adjusted the stetson, following the slow trot of the farm mare. She closed her eyes, following the sounds of Applejack's sloshing hoof steps as she thought to herself a moment.
Maybe the farm mare was right and it was what Granny had meant for her. Maybe it was how she was supposed to go on… how she was supposed to keep Granny going on.
"Applejack?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"T'ain't nothing, darling."
"Huh?" Fluttershy intoned, eyes snapping open.
"Oh it's nothing, darling. Really, it was my pleasure," the white unicorn stated with a certain satisfaction as she positively beamed at the flustered pegasus.
It certainly wasn't what Fluttershy had expected when she had strolled into the boutique looking to have a hole in her granny's old coat properly patched for the upcoming winter.
"Um… but about my—"
"Oh darling, you mustn't wear that old thing, you need something to help you shine!" The unicorn gesticulated excitedly as she levitated the coat onto a nearby hook. "And now that we've got you hair done to properly frame that wonderful bone structure…"
"What?"
"It's a compliment, darling. Go with it. You really do have a model's physique you know."
"I… um, thank you?"
"Think nothing of it, darling. You really should try the spa sometime," the unicorn stated, levitating all sorts of makeup and other items of beautification as she curved around the slightly cowering pegasus. "Ponyville may be a small town, but the sisters have all the refinements of a pair of first class Manehattan resort. It's a surprise we've been able to keep them from being snatched up!"
"A spa might be nice… but I don't really have the bits for something like that."
"You simply must treat yourself to it sometime. It is worth every bit, I swear. A pony of your beauty absolutely must go…" The unicorn trailed off momentarily as she ran a bit a eyeliner carefully around her subject's eye. "Oh! In fact, we could go together!"
"I couldn't let you do that."
"No excuses, darling. Rarity Unicorn does not let fabulosity such as yours go to waste. It would be positively criminal," the unicorn stated as though it were Princess Celestia's honor and the fate of Equestria on the line, stature and face suggesting a moment of genuine import before she broke into the excited smile of a little filly. "Besides, I've wanted somepony to go to spa with. Oh, we will be the best of friends!"
"Friends?"
"Of course, darling, two fabulous ponies like ourselves should most certainly be acquainted and by the state of your mane I am most confident that you are in need of a friend such as I," Rarity finished with a flourish, flipping a mirror around to reveal Fluttershy's reflection.
The tangled mess that had been her mane was straight and flowing now, several flower blossoms weaved through the strands of hair. Her once dull yellow coat now almost shimmered in the soft light of the boutique, even her cutie mark seemed to glow with a newfound brilliance. The make up Rarity had used provided only a subtle accent of the pegasi's natural features… a bit of blush on her cheeks mixing with the rampant blush she felt.
"I look… nice…"
"Oh, I do hope you mean more than simply nice, dear. You look absolutely fabulous if I do say so myself." The unicorn beamed knowingly as her magic quietly straightened a few stray hairs."Of course, when you start with such a wonderful base… well, I can't say I'm not more than a tad jealous. You are, as they say, a natural beauty…" She held for a moment, waiting for the pegasus to chime in.
"Fluttershy."
"Charmed to meet you, Fluttershy. I am certain we are going to be the best of friends, you and I."
Fluttershy couldn't help but smile as Rarity turned her from side to side, showing off every detail of the new and, as the unicorn might have put it, fabulosified Fluttershy.
"Thank you, Rarity," Fluttershy whispered as the shop began to darken and the unicorn faded away. The pegasus closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of the memory before she felt something familiar surround her.
It was so warm. So peaceful. Those soft hooves on her body. The giggle of a little foal. The splash of water. A simple song filled the air.
"Oh m'darlin', oh m'darlin'…"
But the light had faded. The hooves had vanished from her sides.
"Oh m'darling, Fluttershy…"
The warm water had gone cold as the foal slipped below the surface. Cold eyes stared through the water as she sank deeper and deeper. Deeper and deeper.
"Thought you lost and gone forever…”
Deeper and deeper into the endless dark.
“… darling Fluttershy…"
[o-0-o]
She awoke shuddering and wet. She shivered, partly from the inhospitable cold, partly from the unexplainable fear that coursed through her. Frightened turquoise eyes darted about the empty room she found herself in.
She couldn't remember coming in here. She certainly couldn't recall a reason for her to be alone in an abandoned building. She couldn't even recall having left on an errand that would have required such a detour.
“Hello?” she whispered as she rose from the floor, body soaked and shivering in the cool, stagnant air.
There was no answer as she walked on hoof-tips towards the only visible door in the room. She glanced at the window to find that the sun was going down rapidly.
It would be dark soon. She had to get home. She was supposed to meet somepony there. She was no longer sure who, but there was somepony waiting for her, she was sure of it.
“Anypony here?” She nervously grasped the door ring with a hoof, opening it with a slight shudder as even cooler air rushed in around her. “I'm going to leave now… if that's okay with you…”
Quickly and quietly, she slipped out the door. As the door slammed shut, she began to gallop. Hooves striking the ground hard as she made for home, something in the air. The streets of Ponyville were deserted as she ran past, dark windows lining the houses, unlit lampposts lining the streets. She ran without a care for this strange happenstance until she came upon a certain building.
It was an old shop, done up to look like an old merry-go-round from some long-forgotten state fair, but utterly devoid of color. Its windows seemed to stare back at her with empty husks.
Then the building gave a shudder and a shake, a loud crack driving the pegasus back to her hooves.
She just wanted to be home. Away from all this strangeness.
She didn't look back to see the shop and the world twisting behind, the shop collapsing, roof, walls and windows into a heap that was soon absorbed into the dark.
She simply kept up her gallop, Ponyville streaming past.
As her hooves brought her to the comfort of her cottage and the door clicked shut behind her, the darkness became complete.
The moon did not rise.
The stars did not appear.
The waking world simply vanished into the dark. |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 7 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-10-21T05:26:33+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:41+00:00 | 2,883 | “...never thought about it much. Not nearly as much as I should have. I… I should have thought about it then. In between, sure, but after... I just didn’t. I'm sorry I wasn't there when… you know. I should have been there. You shouldn't have had to go through all that by yourself…”
“...”
“Y'know... I went to your house afterwards. You weren't there anymore. I had to hear it from some jerk at the weather factory what happened.”
“...”
“I... I didn't mean it like that. Sorry. I don't think you ever told me either though. You just changed the subject or I'd get distracted or you'd distract me. Makes me wish I had a bit more focus, y'know?”
“...”
"Yeah, of course, you'd know. I think you knew me better than I knew me back then. Knew how to work me too. Maybe I should be mad, but I can't be mad at you. Dunno if anypony could.”
“...”
“Think you freaked me out a little at the gala… Don't think I ever expected to see that... or you with a stallion's voice... or staring down a dragon... this last year's been pretty weird, huh?”
“...”
“Twilight said I should keep talking like this, but I'm running out of things to say. I'm not good at this stuff. I... I just want you to wake up...”
“...”
“Please, just wake up...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“I'm sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours are almost over, Miss.”
“Can I stay, please?”
“I'm sorry, hospital policy.”
“I'm sure it wouldn't violate the policy if we have a moment to say good night, will it?”
“...”
“...”
“No, ma'am... that'll be just fine.”
“...”
“Thanks, Rarity...”
“Go say good night, dear.”
“...”
“...”
“Good night, Fluttershy... see you in the morning...”
“...”
“...”
“Ready to go?”
“Yes, nurse, we're ready.”
“Right this way.”
“...”
“I know you can hear me, knave. Know that we shall find a way. I promise you that. My debt to this one will be paid in full.”
[o-0-o]
“Sometimes, after a big ol' storm like the one we had last night, y’gotta get out there in the forest and track them critters down,” Grammy dictated, Fluttershy trotting close behind her.
She trotted slow, careful to keep the old earth pony in front of her as much as possible. Head bowed, her mind raised the specters of threat from every shadow to be found amongst the trees, every crackle of leaf or twig. With a quiet murmur of fear, she shrank down, slowing to a crawl as thunder rumbled in the distance.
Grammy, however, simply smiled as she looked back at the shaking pegasus. “Can't be gettin' scared o' yer own shadow there, Fluttershy.”
“I'm not scared of my shadow, Grams.” She bristled as much as possible, hoping the artifice of confidence would be enough. As she crouched lower to the ground, wings half-unfurled as her body prepped itself to flee—by air or by ground didn’t matter—honesty slipped from her at the crack of a twig. “I'm just scared of what's out there.”
“T'ain't nothin' t’be afeared of here, young’un. This ain't Everfree proper,” Grammy articulated, stopping to nudge the pegasus back to her hooves, wearing a knowing grin. “'Sides, you can always fly away... yer ol' Granny's gonna be the one runnin' fer her poor ol' life.”
“Oh, I'm sorry...” Fluttershy shrank down again, avoiding the earth pony's gaze.
“Cripes, girly, I'm jus' makin’ fun,” Grammy muttered, putting a hoof to her head before motioning Fluttershy close. “Y’really do have yer daddy in you. Couldn' ever spot ‘im a joke neither.”
“Really?”
“Darn straight. Did my best with that boy. Figure her turned out mostly alright.”
“But... why did he—”
“Fluttershy.”
“Yes?”
“What'd I tell you 'bout that question?”
“Not to ask it?”
The elder mare grimaced. “T’be honest, I jus' can't answer it. Ain't nopony able t’answer for another one like that.”
Fluttershy's face fell as she leaned heavily against her grandmother, pressing her head beneath the elder pony's chin.
“But I just don't understand. We were doing alright together... weren't we?”
“Were you?”
“I thought so...”
“Fluttershy?”
The pegasus glanced up into the softening eyes.
“Now, I want you to be perfectly honest. If not with me, then with yourself.”
“...We weren't.” Fluttershy stared down at the damp path below.
“Well... I can't pretend to understand it neither.” She lifted the yellow pegasus's chin so that they could look at one another eye to eye. “But I can tell you that yer daddy loves you. He truly thought this was for the best.”
“Maybe...”
“Ain't no maybe. We gonna git a smile on that pretty little face or my name ain't Grammy.”
“But it's not—”
“Hush, darlin', we gotta get back to the work at hoof. What're we out here for again?”
“Searching for injured animals?”
“Good to know you were listenin'.” The old earth pony tousled her granddaughter’s mane. “Now, how 'bout you get to checkin' ‘neath the brush on that side. They get skittish when they’re scared. You've got to be gentle with 'em an'... aw, heck, look who I'm talkin' to.”
“Okay, Grams.” Fluttershy gave her best smile, a small little thing.
“Thatta girl.” The old mare chuckled, nudging her on her way.
Fluttershy trotted over to the side of the path to root around the brush, her grandmother doing the same for the opposite side.
She had a difficult time believing her grandmother. To be sure, Fluttershy felt comfortable with her. She knew her to be sincere and genuine, but, still, she didn't want to believe anything at the moment.
She wanted to be confused.
It was confusing and she had the right to not understand.
Her hoof struck something soft beneath the bushes before she felt a sudden pressure. Drawing it from the brush, she let out a gasp as a tiny little bunny dangled from it by its teeth.
“Oh!”
Instinctively, she shook her hoof rapidly, trying to dislodge the rabbit. With keratinous scrape, the bunny flew off and crashed to the ground some distance away with a loud squeak.
“Oh, no! Oh, I'm so sorry, little bunny!”
“Fluttershy, what're y'doin'?”
“I-It bit me and-and I threw it and... Oh, no, are you okay?” She felt as though she might hyperventilate as she fluttered closer to the stunned lagomorph.
As soon as she was within a foot of it, the rabbit leapt to its paws, holding its paws up threateningly. It growled and hissed and spat angrily as it hopped from foot to foot, daring her to come closer.
“D-Don't be scared, little bunny. Everything will be fine,” Fluttershy cooed as she made herself as small and non-threatening as she could, lowering herself until her belly dragged on the cool, wet soil.
Ever so slowly, ever so gently she crept forward, extending a hoof in friendship.
A hoof that the rabbit immediately smacked away with a powerful jab of his leg before bopping the pegasus on the nose with a forepaw.
Fluttershy cried out in surprise, recoiling from the feisty little creature, nose as well as her pride stinging. “That wasn't very nice.”
“They ain't always,” came sage wisdom from her grandma, the old mare undoubtedly suppressing a chuckle.
“You shouldn't be mean, little bunny.”
The rabbit simply stuck out its tongue, blowing a raspberry before resuming its stance.
Fluttershy frowned, but kept up her attempts, reaching towards the bunny once again. “Come here, little guy.”
It hopped back a step, continuing to bounce from leg to leg.
“Gotta be tougher.”
“Come here now?” Fluttershy could hear the sound of hoof meeting forehead behind her.
The rabbit simply took advantage of her confusion to jab at her with his leg, connecting solidly with Fluttershy's cheek.
“Hey!” she cried out as something in her just snapped.“That wasn't very nice.”
The rabbit began to stick his tongue out again, but quite suddenly found itself frozen in place, vision filled by a pair of glaring turquoise eyes as its tongue flopped limply from its mouth.
“You shouldn't be mean to other creatures. It's not nice,” Fluttershy stated in an oddly motherly tone as she glared down at the now petrified rabbit. “You especially shouldn't be mean to creatures that are just trying to help you. Now what do you have to say for yourself?”
The rabbit fell back, stunned. It lay on the ground for a moment, even after she had taken a step back, holding her glare steady. Slowly, it rose to its paws, squeaking out a stuttered apology.
“Good. Now you should run on home now, um, if that's okay.” Her tone faded as her normal demeanor bubbled to the surface, cheeks flaring a brilliant pink. “Go on, mister.”
The rabbit didn't move, a blank look on his face as he stared up at her.
“Shoot, Fluttershy. Don’ know where you got that stare from, but dang it if it ain't useful,” Grammy said, clopping her hooves together in a slow, quiet applause.
“Stare? Oh, I'm sorry. I don't really control it. It just kind of happens sometimes... when I get, uh... mad,” Fluttershy excused herself, sinking down in embarrassment as the old mare trotted up.
“Sorry nothin’! That was a bit of the ol' remarkable. I can see why this is your talent. You've got a gift for 'em... even the little, ornery ones.”
The bunny stuck his tongue out at the older mare before cowering beneath the pegasus's shifted gaze.
Grammy let out a chuckle as she watched him pull back. “You best be gettin' along there, rabbit.”
“Your family is probably worried sick about you...” Fluttershy whispered, blinking her eyes to rid herself of the burn.
The bunny didn't move, however. It just stared up at her with the same unreadable expression.
“Don't you remember where your home is?”
The rabbit's look didn't waver even a bit as the pegasus looked into his eyes.
“You don't have a home, do you?”
The rabbit nodded quietly before hopping up to the crouching pegasus, nose twitching. He gently patted her nose in apology before nuzzling against her hoof.
Granny wasn’t smiling anymore as she placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s back. “It happens. Nature's got its nasty habits and storms ain't any different.”
“But we won't leave him here, will we?”
“Well, he dun look injured,” Grammy scratched at her chin thoughtfully. “He’s gonna have to pull his weight if’n we bring him back.” She turned to the rabbit. “I don't give free rides, rabbit.”
He gave a sharp salute, standing tall as the old mare scrutinized him, feet locked together in a position that seemed quite unnatural for his anatomy.
“He'll need a name. ‘Shy? What’re you thinkin’?”
Carefully, Fluttershy examined the rabbit a moment. A soft beam of light bore down on the bunny through the storm ravaged canopy of the forest. His soft, white fur shined brightly amidst the dull brown of the forest, his presence in it seeming almost celestial as the sunlight caught him just so.
“How about… Angel?”
[o-0-o]
Eyes slipping open slowly, Fluttershy awoke to her head throbbing mercilessly as the harsh, orange sun poured in through the window.
Immediately, she snapped her eyes shut again, fumbling for a pillow to cover her as she waited for the ache to cease. Her hoof found blanket and she immediately buried herself in the comforting dark.
Ugh... what happened last night? Did I drink something? I don’t normally, right?
Confusion roamed her thoughts as she quietly willed herself back to sleep where her the ached might be mitigated. But sleep was not forthcoming, and she reluctantly rolled off the couch onto her hooves. She kept the blanket draped over her head, however. Opening her eyes naught but a sliver, she began to trudge towards the door only to stumble to the floor.
Sighing, she lifted the blanket off her head to find her hind hoof tangled in a basket filled to the brim with blankets.
She must have left it out last night for some reason. Then forgotten about it when she’d fallen asleep on the couch.
With a groan, she stood back up, grasping the basket in her mouth as she made her way to the kitchen for some breakfast, feeling her way around.
Maybe I'll go see Twilight today... maybe she'll have something for this headache... a spell, a potion, tea, something.
Some company might do some good.
[o-0-o]
“Twilight?” Fluttershy called out softly as she stepped nervously into the Books & Branches Library.
The streets of Ponyville had been all but deserted, the loneliness of the town putting her on edge.
The state of the library itself didn't help matters.
It seemed that some phenomena of highly localized tornados had torn through the shelves. Most of the books were now stacked in disorderly piles around the main floor with further stacks trailing up the bookcase, loose papers and other debris scattering across the floor as a breeze blew in the open door.
“Fluttershy?” came a familiar voice from the library's hidden-away kitchenette. A little dragon jogged into the foyer.
“Oh, hello, Spike... is Twilight in?”
“Well... yeah... but it's not real pretty up there,” the little dragon said, jabbing a claw towards the ceiling before glancing around. “I guess it isn't really any prettier down here though.”
“It is a little, um, messy. Is something wrong?”
“Twilight's been a little... stressed. She keeps talking about going back to the beginning and stuff like that,” Spike answered with a soft sigh, his shoulders sagging as the sigh blossomed into a yawn. “Been keeping me up with harmony this and harmony that. Can't follow a word of it to be honest.”
“Can I see her?”
“Knock yourself out.” Spike stared at the mess of a main floor before them. “I've got my claws full down here.”
“Thank you, Spike,” Fluttershy whispered, giving the little dragon a quick, friendly nuzzle before carefully making her way up the cluttered stairway.
“Just be careful, Fluttershy. She’s a little... off,” Spike called after her as she crested the top of the stairs.
The second floor was in an even more chaotic state than the ground floor had been.
Several desks were piled high with papers, quills, ink jars, veritable skyscrapers of books and equipment the pegasus wouldn't have thought out of place in a medical laboratory. Between the desks were even larger stacks of books, having been arranged into haphazard rows. She couldn't even see the other side of the room for the dense maze of literature before her.
Fluttershy could hardly even comprehend the number of books.
I don't think the library even has enough shelves for this many books…
Somewhere within, Fluttershy could hear muttering. It wasn't an unfamiliar sound to the pegasus, having arrived in the library to find Twilight deep in her study many times before, but the rate and tone of her friend's speech were worrisome.
“Twilight?”
Fluttershy had been around the unicorn enough while studying to know when she was submerged in it. This somehow seemed beyond that. It was more akin to her rampant anxiety at a visit from Princess Celestia.
“Twilight, are you um... busy?”
“Oh! Fluttershy? Good, you're finally here!” Her voice came from somewhere across the room. It sounded as if she were calling up from a papier-mâché well. Fluttershy could hear a scramble of hooves and the shifting of papers echoing off the walls.
“You were expecting me?”
“Well, where else would you go?” The voice drew closer now. Fluttershy wandered carefully through the stacks as they precariously leaned and swayed above her. “Well, maybe SugarCube Corner, but really, where else is there?”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow as she glanced through the stacks, trying to hone in on the unicorn's voice.
“Not important! You're here. That's good. We can fix everything now,” Twilight rambled on, appearing around a corner, nearly bumping into the pegasus as she gave a start.
“Goodness, Twilight! What happened to you?”
The unicorn's mane was a ragged mess, her teeth ground against one another subconsciously, her breaths came in ragged, frustrated gasps as she stalked towards the pegasus.
“Oh, nothing. Just been busy. Oh so busy. Busy, busy, busy,” the unicorn muttered as she stood, her eyes seemingly unable to look straight ahead as they darted about the room. “But that's not important. Like I said... we can fix this now.”
“What?”
“Everything's going away. Can't you feel it. This place isn't stable anymore,” she stated, waving a hoof about demonstrably, knocking over a nearby stack. “Too much doesn't make sense! Too much is missing. We have to fix it and we have to fix it now.”
“Stable? Fix... Twilight, are you feeling okay?”
“Never better! Well, that's not true. I've been better. But I'm sane, if that’s what you’re asking. I know I am! Even if I disappeared last night. Poof! Right into the aether! It was only for a little while though. I got better!” the unicorn yelled out suddenly, panting as she grabbed Fluttershy suddenly with a flare of magenta magic. “Here, walk with me,” she muttered, dragging the pegasus through the stacks quickly.
“Twilight, what are you doing?” It was a minor miracle that the stacks of books held their composure as the pegasus was roughly yanked about.
“We've got to get moving. No time to chat!”
Fluttershy could feel a familiar panic settling over her, wings flaring in panic as she struggled against the unicorn’s aura.
“Twilight, you're not making any sense!” Fluttershy stated as they stopped in front of another desk, more organized than the three near the stairs, only a few papers laid on its surface in a neat stack.
“You know I'm not crazy, right? You feel it too?” Twilight demanded, spinning to face the pegasus as the aura faded away. “We're all just barely here. We have to get her back! It's the only thing that makes sense right now.”
“Get who back? Rar—” Fluttershy was abruptly cut off by a sudden, piercing pain, her next words forgotten as she rubbed at her temples. Every spike of pain reminded her why she’d come to library in the first place. “Get... who back?”
“You see! You feel it! It's happening. You know it! Even if you don't,” Twilight mused, her crazed tone fading as it was replaced by a more familiar, collected tone.
“What does that even mean?” Fluttershy asked between pained gasps of air, having slumped to the floor as she clutched at her head with both her forehooves. “What are we even fixing?”
“I-I don't know how to explain it. I just know that she's the key!”
“Who, Twilight?”
“Rainbow Dash!”
“She's… she’s gone, Twilight.”
“But we can get her back! We have to get her back. This all started with her and this is ending without her. Ergo, we have to get her back. It's a perfect plan, Fluttershy!” The unicorn clopped her hooves together excitedly as she dumped various books onto the table, the harsh glow of her horn filling the dark stacks of books with magenta light.
“No it isn't... that's insane. She's... she's dead. I don't want to admit it, but she's dead! She's gone and we just have to... we just have to deal with it.”
“No!”
“Twili—”
“No. I will not go gentlly into some damn good night! I won’t! I will go down fighting. It will not get us,” Twilight growled before turning her eyes upward, eyes narrowing as she screamed at the ceiling. “You hear that, whatever you are?! You stupid jerk!”
“Who are you talking to?”
“I… don't know... doesn't matter,” the unicorn muttered darkly, a sudden air of defeat settling around her.
Fluttershy simply watched the unicorn breathe for a moment. Twilight’s anxiety fading as she raised her head, a gleam of determination shining in her eyes. “Just wait here, I'm going to get some things.”
“And then what?”
“Then we're going to go get our Rainbow back.”
“Twilight?” Fluttershy called out worriedly as the unicorn disappeared back into the maze of books, the sound of hoofsteps fading until she was alone in silence. “Oh, Twilight...”
Fluttershy breathed deep, trying to slow her heart, but the musty air choked her. In defeat, she slumped to the ground. Somewhere in the room a clock ticked the minutes by, echoing throughout the room as Fluttershy's ears twisted about, listening for some sign of her friend.
Perhaps she had gone downstairs. That could explain her crushing absence.
But at the very least, the pain in her head had faded, her thoughts coming unimpinged as she rested her head on her hooves.
Why isn't anypony else here?
Twilight was losing her mind... maybe she already had.
Fluttershy wouldn't have pegged her as being the one to snap. She always seemed to be the logical one. The calm and collected one. Maybe the... whatever it had been, had shaken her confidence. Maybe Twilight had needed somepony to help her through everything. Maybe...
Oh, Twilight... I'm sorry. I should have been there for you the way—
Another headache cropped up as Fluttershy struggled to finish the thought.
She tried to remember her grandmother... the first funeral the pegasus had ever been to.
She remembered the empty, hollow words from ponies she had hardly known, ponies she hadn't even been sure had known her grandmother in the slightest.
But somepony had been different.
Somepony that had been sincere.
Somepony had been honest in their empathy.
Fluttershy's stomach twisted into knots as she rubbed a hoof in circles on her temple, the coolness of keratin soothing her aching head.
Who? Why can't I remember?
She thought back to her second funeral.
It had been overcast, the softened light of the sun setting a somber mood for the proceedings as five ponies stood beside a sealed wooden casket. She remembered the coolness of the day. She remembered leaving the funeral, watching it continue without her from a nearby hill.
Then... nothing else.
Pinkie Pie was there... Twilight was there...
The ache returned full force as she tried to sort through the confused images of the memory. An earth pony, a pegasus, a unicorn and...
Hadn’t there been five ponies?
Had it really just been the three of them...
I hate like this, she thought quietly to herself, head buried in her hooves.
Thinking about it was getting her nowhere fast. All it seemed to get her was a headache. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the dull ticks of the distant clock.
I just want to go home...
[o-0-o]
The room was dimly lit, a single lantern hanging above an occluded window providing the sole source of light. Fluttershy clutched a spoon in her mouth, the filly pegasus running it clockwise around a pot, steam rising in ghostly wisps from it as the magically derived flames crackled softly beneath.
Their kitchen was simple, utilitarian, hardly large enough to house a small refrigerator and a single-burner stove with a sink between them, but she made due with it. It served their needs well enough. She couldn't ask for more.
“It's a’most ‘eady!” she called around the spoon, glancing over her shoulder at the darkened living room.
The soft flicker of their second lantern cast the room in a soft glow as the last rays of the sun filtered in through the apartment’s front window.
She could make out the form of a pony sprawled on the small couch that dominated the living space, but the pony remained silent, stirring only slightly at her update.
With a soft sigh, she returned to stirring, allowing herself a small smile at the scent of boiled vegetables wafting from the pot. It was his favorite. It always cheered him up before... even when it was one of the bad days.
Carefully, she slipped the spoon from the pot and tossed it into the sink, slipping it expertly through the slit between the sink lip and the cutting board that served as makeshift countertop. With a hoof, she pried open the cupboard, grasping a pair of bowls in her mouth and setting them down on the cutting board.
Grabbing a potholder with her mouth, she lifted and tipped the pot carefully over the bowls, doling out the soup in two equal portions. She set the pot down and clicked off the stove.
“Soup's done,” she called softly into the living room, eliciting a quiet grunt from the pony lump.
Fluttershy gripped the cutting board in her mouth, balancing the bowls cautiously as she walked around the still packed boxes that littered the outside walls of the apartment. Skirting her way around the maze of boxes she had come to know by heart, Fluttershy made her way to the front of the couch.
A small coffee table the only other piece of furniture in the living room, the lantern's light revealing the piles of mail and newspapers that littered it. Fluttershy let a pained grunt as she balanced on three legs, using a hind hoof to clear one corner of the table before setting down the cutting board.
She'd have to tidy things up later.
“Daddy?”
The motionless heap breathed soft and shallow. He'd fallen asleep.
She had hardly the heart to wake him.
He worked hard. He was tired.
But he still needed to eat.
The months had begun to show, the skin on his underside ran taut over bone.
“Daddy… it's time to wake up.” She shook him with a gentle hoof, a pair of blood-shot eyes flickering open slowly, glowing dully in the lantern's light.
“Oh... hey, Fluttershy. I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep,” he stated sleepily, rubbing at his eyes with a hoof as he swung his body into a proper sitting position, a few pops issuing forth as he stretched out.
“It's okay. I know you're tired,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile as she pressed herself beneath his chin, giving him a long nuzzle, drawing a tiny chuckle from the older pegasus.
“Not too tired, Shy-Shy,” he replied, looping a forehoof around the young mare's shoulder. “Not ever for my baby girl.”
“I know, Daddy,” she murmured before slipping from his sidelong hug to push the table towards the couch.
“Oh! You made dinner,” the bleary-eyed pegasus realized, nostrils flaring as he took in the scent of the freshly prepared soup. “It smells wonderful.”
“Thank you. It’s your favorite.” Fluttershy blushed lightly at the compliment as she settled onto the couch. With a soft grin, she nudged her father gently. “Go on. You must be starving by now.”
“Oh... I am... I just want to enjoy the smell of my daughter's cooking for a moment,” he stated, extending a wing over the smaller pegasus, beaming at her, “Don't let me hold you back though.”
“Okay...” She gripped the rubberized edge of the bowl with her lips, tilting it back slowly. She sipped the still-hot broth, the occasional carrot or bit of celery slipping into her maw.
As she set down the bowl again she became keenly aware of her father's eyes. Turning her head to the side, she found her father staring at her with a sad little smile on his face.
A too familiar smile.
“Sorry...” He lowered his gaze, choosing to stare at the wisps still steaming from his own soup. He lowered his head until it rested atop his hooves just off the edge of the couch. He blew weakly at the still hot soup, watching as the steam danced before him. “You remind me of her so much...”
Fluttershy stayed silent. She never quite knew where it would head. But she knew enough
“You're beautiful, Fluttershy... just like your mother...” He looked up at her.
No, not at her. He was looking through her... at somepony else. But that was okay.
“I'm sorry...”
“You should eat your soup before it gets cold,” Fluttershy replied, nudging the older pegasus towards the soup, but he caught her with a hoof, bringing her into a tight hug.
“I'm so sorry, Fluttershy...”
“I... I forgive you, Daddy...”
“I know you do...” He chuckled sadly as he held her tight, a dampness forming on her mane. “She wouldn't want it to be like this, right?”
Fluttershy didn't say a word.
She simply stayed silent, staring at the hooves looped about her father as she felt his breaths draw in raggedly, body shuddering as he embraced her.
“She wouldn't want it to be like this...”
[o-0-o]
Fluttershy’s eyes opened slowly, mind fuzzy as she took in her surroundings.
She was in the library, stacks of books crowding in on her from all sides.
Her head thudded as she tried to recall why she had come to the library in the first place. She had come to see Twilight about something.
Why did I come here?
“Something about a headache, wasn't it?”
Looking over her shoulder, Fluttershy found a unicorn stallion sitting in a rather odd position, his back to the wall and rear hooves crossed as he held a book in his forehooves.
“How...?” Fluttershy sputtered, shaking her head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs from her thoughts, “Who are you?”
“They're very realistic.”
“What?”
“The books, my dear. Very realistic. Quite good really,” the unicorn muttered, turning the book towards Fluttershy and flipping through the pages. “See. Real text even.”
“Well... it is a library...”
“I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe just wood bound up as books or somesuch. Or perhaps there would only be text so far,” he mused, returning the book to a stack and grabbing another with his magic. “Ah! Another one. And it's one I remember. Ah... a Mr. Thomas, I do so adore your poetry. Gryphons have such a way with words. Warrior spirit, perhaps. Have you read it?”
“Y-yes... I believe so,” Fluttershy stammered as the book was thrust into her face, the pages flipping by as she shrank back from it.
“Ah, well, I suppose that explains it,” the unicorn muttered, snapping the book shut before tossing the book back atop a nearby stack. “Hm... how boring.”
“Uh...”
“Oh, not you. I assure you.” The unicorn gave a respectful nod of his head. “It is rather nice to have some company for a change.”
“Company?”
“Quite right.”
“What do you m—”
“Fluttershy!”
“Twilight?” Fluttershy twisted her head to see that her friend had returned, a pair of saddlebags full to bursting with papers and books draped across her back.
“Who were you talking to?”
“I don't know his na—” Fluttershy began, turning back to find that the stallion had vanished.
But he was just...
“Fluttershy?”
“Didn't you see him?”
“See who?”
Maybe Twilight isn’t the only madpony here...
“Nevermind, not important. We've got to get back to the beginning of all this, Fluttershy. That’s where we fix this,” the unicorn stated curtly, levitating one of the saddlebags onto the pegasus. “Now or never.”
“Where?”
“You'll know when we get there, c'mon,” Twilight muttered, horn glowing as she pulled the pegasus back through the maze of books and down the stairs towards the door before stopping.
“Twilight? Where are you two going?” Spike asked as he peered down at them from a ladder, a stack of books balanced in his claws.
“Ready, Fluttershy? I don't know what will happen when we leave here,” Twilight asked nervously, a hoof on the door as she ignored the query.
“You go outside, duh,” Spike stated, cocking an eyebrow at the ragged librarian.
“Spike... just… shut up.”
“That wasn't very nice.”
“There's no time for nice, Fluttershy,” the unicorn pleaded, motioning toward the library door. “We need to go.”
“Okay... I'm ready, Twilight...”
“Okay, let's g—”
She didn't get to finish as the door was flung inwards to admit a blur of pink, Twilight slamming into a nearby, thankfully empty bookcase.
“Ohmigosh! Fluttershy! I'm so glad I found you! We have to go! Nownownow!” Pinkie yelled out, trotting in place before hoisting the thoroughly confounded pegasus onto her back and taking off down the street, Twilight's scream of frustration following them. |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 8 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-12-19T08:49:18+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:47+00:00 | 3,229 | “Pinkie, what're you doing?” Fluttershy demanded, voice strained as she waited for the world to stop spinning.
After a haphazard tour of what had seemingly been every backstreet, alley and byway in all of Ponyville, Pinkie Pie halted suddenly in front of Sugarcube Corner, Fluttershy rolling off her and onto the ground with a soft thump.
She lay there for a few moments, watching Pinkie vibrate with a nervous energy, eyes darting around. Fluttershy could hardly recall the last time she had seen her friend in such a state, the earth pony's usually unruly curls seeming all the more chaotic as strands poked out at every angle.
“Oh, please,” Pinkie begged under her breath.
“Pinkie, w-what're we doing here?” Fluttershy slowly rolled onto her hooves, legs trembling as she stood.
“Shhh!” Pinkie hushed, hoof to the pegasus's mouth as she glanced about. “It might hear you…”
Fluttershy looked around.
The streets had been all but abandoned during their marathon gallop from the library. Even now there was nopony to be seen, much less feared. Slowly the pink hoof left Fluttershy’s lips, but Pinkie continued to scan the street.
With a satisfied hum, Pinkie beckoned the pegasus to follow her into Sugarcube Corner. Eyebrow fully cocked, Fluttershy did as she was bid, following her into the darkened confectionery.
The front was clean but empty, looking abandoned despite the stocks of cakes and other treats out on display. The lack of anypony sent a chill through Fluttershy’s wings. Usually the store would be filled with ponies picking up desserts or putting in orders. The Cakes seemed to be missing as well, the kitchen silent and dark as Pinkie led her through the storefront and into the dining area of the shop. Pinkie held up a hoof as she halted. After looking out the side windows, she darted into the kitchen and back before once again motioning for Fluttershy to follow. Slowly, they made their way up the stairs to Pinkie's flat. Once again, they halted while the pink pony darted over to a pink door with a heart-shaped window in it, peering intently through the oversized peephole.
It was mostly dark with only the soft light of the overcast day casting shades of gray over the normally bright and colorful room. It looked as though Pinkie had set up a party, but as Fluttershy stared at the pink pony, she knew it wasn't so. Nervously, Pinkie dashed all over the room, inspecting every corner and crease of it before she hopped onto her bed, bidding Fluttershy to do the same.
“Pink—” Fluttershy immediately had a hoof lodged in her face as the pink pony glanced up worriedly at the ceiling and the balcony that ran around the outer wall of the room.
“I… I think it's gone…” she visibly cringed a moment at her words before relaxing, dropping her hoof.
“What's gone?”
“I can't say.”
“You can't say?”
“Exactly. If I say it, it'll know.”
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Because I'm scared, Fluttershy,” she whispered, looking down at her hooves as if she expected them to fall off at any moment. “I'm scared. I know I shouldn't be, but I really, really am…”
“Well it is a little dark, but you could turn on th—”
The hoof again found her mouth, but gentler and without the panic. Pinkie simply shook her head before dropping the hoof to the bed.
“Fluttershy... I want you to remember. I want you to remember me. I want you to remember all of us before everything is gone,” Pinkie pleaded, prostrating herself before the pegasus, hooves pressed together as she gazed up with watery eyes.
“Pinkie… I don't understand. We're not going anywhere,” Fluttershy ran a hoof through the earth pony's mane, her thoughts returning to Twilight. It was too much to ignore.
Something isn't right…
“That's okay. Just…” Pinkie shivered as she sat up again, her unruly hair sagging as she looked into Fluttershy's eyes. “Do you remember the first time you were here?”
“Of course. When I came to Ponyville for the first time.”
“And I was so super excited”—she punctuated the sentence with a happy bounce—“I was all ready to throw you the biggest, bestest bash ever!”
“But you didn't,” the pegasus replied with a soft smile.
“No. You didn't seem up for a big ol', humongoginormously awesome Pinkie Pie party so we had a small one.”
“Yes. It was nice.”
[o-0-o]
It had been the first time she’d ever set hoof or hair in any city other than Cloudsdale.
Needless to say, she was nervous, but she was a full-grown mare and determined to prove it. If not to others, than to her self at least.
“Come now, Fluttershy, there is nothing to be frightened of. I'm sure they're all very nice ponies,” she reminded herself as the pegasus taxi took off into the air. As soon as her hooves had hit earth, she’d felt a shudder of excitement and fear course through her. It seemed that she’d arrived during the busiest time of the day.
The Ponyville market bustled with activity, the young pegasus mare glancing about the masses of ponies flowing through the market square. Instinctively, she cowered within the swirling mass before shaking herself of the fears that danced in her head.
"You are a mare now, Fluttershy."
She took a deep breath and stood tall, looking for somepony that might be of help.
“Um… excuse me…”
The passing colt ignored her or simply didn't hear her over the crowd noise before vanishing into the swirling throng.
“Ma'am.”
The purple earth pony went on scolding her child, the foal tugging disobediently at his mother's tail, begging for a some elusive treat or toy.
“And now we're going straight home, are you happy?” The now sulking colt winced at his mother’s disappointed glare as she pulled him away and into a wall of pulsing bodies.
“Um… sir?”
The trotting stallion simply barreled on by, pulling along his cart as he spared nopony a second glance, a path seeming to magically open before him.
Ears folded back and head stooped low, Fluttershy began to pick her way carefully through the crowded market, seeking a peace that surely resided beyond them. She felt the beginning of a tremble as she drew closer to the edge of the market, pressed in on all sides by scores and scores of ponies until she was swept up in a mass of departing market-goers.
Oh, dear…
Her throat constricted and her breathing became shallow as she found herself half-submerged in, half-dragged by the mass, even with the bustling market fading behind them. As she glanced over her shoulder, seeking some avenue of escape, she found her vision suddenly obscured by a mass of fluffy, magenta hair as she crashed into somepony.
“Whoa,” somepony cried out in a high-pitched voice as Fluttershy stumbled and collapsed in that fog of hair, somepony struggling beneath her.
“Oh my goodness… I'm so somwry—” Fluttershy tried to apologize, but accidentally chewed on a tuft of the magenta cloud that smelled of…
Cotton candy? No… cupcakes? Cotton-candy cupcakes?
“Well, that's a silly way to greet somepony,” the other pony snorted as Fluttershy continued to extricate herself from the deliciously-scented fluff. "You know you're supposed to say ‘hi' to ponies from the front, right?" The pony giggled.
“I'm sorry. I-it was an accident. I-I wasn't watching where I was going an-an-and oh my goodness, I'm so, so sorry,” Fluttershy begged as she finally disentangled herself enough to find a pair of jovial blue eyes staring back. Soon Fluttershy and the smiling earth pony were largely alone in the middle of the street, the crowd keeping on their way.
“Oh, you're new aren't you? No wonder I've never had a greeting like that,” the pink earth pony spoke excitedly as she got to her hooves, helping Fluttershy back to hers as well. “Don't you end up scraping your knees a lot though? Seems like that'd hurt if you did it every single time. Although, you're a pegasus… so maybe you guys do it in the air. That'd fix the knee-scraping.”
“I'm sor—”
"But doesn't that scare you? Having everypony sneaking up on you just to say ‘hello’?"
"Well… we don—"
She gasped as realization dawned upon her. “It's like a prank! Ooh, a prank every time you meet somepony new! That’s awesome!" She beamed, giving Fluttershy a playful nudge. "You got me good."
"I didn't mean to—"
“Oh, wait, but you're new!” Fluttershy's apology was cut off once again as the pink pony bounced up and down in excitement. "That means I have to throw you a party! It'll be so much fun and Pinkamena Diane Pie knows fun! What do you say?”
"Oh… um, I don't know…" Fluttershy mumbled reflexively, brain still struggling to follow the stream of words. She had shrunk down as much as she could before the seemingly boundless energy of the pink pony. "I'm not really much of a party kind of pony…"
"Everypony likes parties! I should know. I'm Ponyville's official party pony!" she continued, seemingly unaware of Fluttershy's protests.
"Official party pony?" The question set off a temporary, blessed silence as the pink pony put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully.
"Well… maybe not official official—the mayor still needs to read over my proposal and send it to the city council and maybe call a referendum—but I'm definitely the party pony for the job if said job even exists, which it totally should!" She puffed out of her chest, beaming at the pegasus with more teeth than any equine perhaps ought to be able to.
“Oh… um…” Fluttershy stumbled over her words, her momentary hesitation drawing the pink pony to a halt. “Well, I don't really know you and—”
“Oh, that's easy,” she interrupted with a snort, thrusting a hoof towards Fluttershy. “I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie Pie, but everypony calls me Pinkie Pie. Pleased t’meet'cha.”
“Oh…” Her voice dropped as she realized the protest's apparent flaw.
She stared out from behind her long mane at the pony with a mix confusion and an odd sort of fear. She wondered idly if Pinkie Pie was always like this. And, moreover, if anypony could possibly be like this.
"So, what's your name? If we’re not gonna be strangers, I need to know your name too. Otherwise this is like… one-way strangers and that’s just silly."
"It's, um… Fluttershy," she whispered defeatedly, taking up the pink hoof in her own.
“Y'know should really talk louder, otherwise nopony will be able to understand you, Umfluttershy.” The pink pony gave an involuntary snort. “Oh, sorry, sorry! It's a very nice name. Never heard of anypony with a name like that. Well, except for Mr. Geddonwisitt, but he was kind of a grumpy, meanie pants. I mean, I said I was sorry about the wall… and the door… and the stairs. You seem nice though, Umfluttershy.”
“It's, uh, just Fluttershy. Sorry if I'm talking too quiet. I'll try and talk louder,” the pegasus said meekly as she was pulled to the side of the street, a cart rumbling by a second later.
“Oh! Fluttershy, sorry! I don't always listen so well. The Cakes say all the words go in one ear and out the other.” Fluttershy idly wondered if the self-proclaimed party pony fancied the title of dessert-whisperer as well as said pony nudged her along the sidewalk. “Actually, a lot of ponies say that. That I talk too much and I don't realize it, but I don't think I talk too much, do you?”
“Well, no offense, but maybe just a little?”
The pink pony's face fell, the pegasus immediately casting her eyes downward at the sight.
“Sorry…”
“Well. Maybe they're right. They'd be the ones to know… especially the Cakes. Oh, but no time for apologies! We've got to get a party set up for you so all of Ponyville can get to know you."
“A-all of Ponyville?” Panic seeped into Fluttershy's voice, the mere thought of it sending a shiver through her.
"Well, what better way to introduce you, and have lots and lots of fun than a party? And as the unofficially official Ponyville greeter and party pony it is my solemn duty to make sure you are well-greeted and having a blast!” Pinkie declared, puffing out her chest once more as she halted them to turn and smile at the pegasus.“Well, nopony's said anything so far, so maybe it isn't my solemn duty. But, that'd be so exciting, wouldn't it? It'd be like the bestest job ever! Ooo! Except for official cupcake tester! Wouldn't that be a great job?”
"Yes?"
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun! We'll have games and cake and candy and piñatas.” She counted off the needs on all four hooves, teetering on her back a moment before looking up at Fluttershy. “Gotta have piñatas. They're like a game and candy all in one!” She popped back up onto all fours. “Oh, oh and lots and lots of ponies for you to meet and talk and have fun and be the best of friends with!"
Fluttershy's eyes went wide at the mention of crowds of ponies to meet, her stomach twisting into knots. “Oh, well, I don't know if I'd want to go to a such a big party. I don't really like crowds all that much,” Fluttershy admitted quietly, already soft voice growing quieter and higher in pitch as she folded to the ground.
Pinkie Pie, however, fell oddly silent for a moment as she gave the pegasus a sidelong stare. “But… everypony likes a party,” she stated softly.
Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably before self-proclaimed party pony as the pink pony's eyes trembled. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy parties… It's just that… um…”
"Oh…?" Her previously bubbly persona seemed to have been subsumed by a dark cloud. Even her poofy mane seemed to sag as her eyes watered.
"I just don't like big parties. I… I get nervous in crowds. Ponies always tell me I’m a little too… shy…" Fluttershy admitted with a deep blush.
Pinkie remained oddly quiet a moment more, eyes narrowing. Then her eyes cleared up slowly as she reached a hoof to pat the pegasus on the head.
“Aw… nopony's sad at a party. Parties are for happy times. Nopony's sad when they're partying,” Pinkie declared confidently even as the pegasus cringed. “Buuuuut, maybe we'll just have a small party?”
“I should really be getting…” Fluttershy trailed off as she looked up into the Pinkie's eyes, a bright smile having returned to her face. “Okay. Just a small one…”
“Yay!” Pinkie cheered. “Oh, you haven't been to Sugarcube Corner yet, have you?”
“No I—”
“Oh, right. New to town, huh? Of course you haven't been there. Duh,” Pinkie continued, slapping her forehead with a hoof before yanking Fluttershy to her hooves and dragging her off through the streets of Ponyville. “We should totally go to Sugarcube Corner. It's the bestest place in town. Everypony should visit! Oh-oh! We can have the party there, too!”
“Um… yay?”
[o-0-o]
“Oh, Pinkie!” a somewhat portly, blue earth pony mare exclaimed as Pinkie skid through the swinging door of the rather thematic Sugarcube Corner, a flour-coated, rose-colored mane bobbing as she poked her head over the counter.“You should really slow down a little, dear. You're likely to run somepony over going so fast.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Cake. I'm just really excited!”
“Well, I can see that,” Mrs. Cake replied, noting the bouncing pink pony's obvious enthusiasm before glancing over the excitable pony to see a huffing, puffing yellow pegasus sprawled behind her. “Oh, who's your friend?”
“This is Fluttershy. She's new,” Pinkie stated, grabbing up the pegasus into a bone-crunching hug as she beamed at the matronly confectioner. “We're going to have a 'Welcome to Ponyville Party.'”
“H-hi,” Fluttershy gasped out, still at a loss for oxygen after having been pulled and then dragged through what must have been half of the town. As the rest of her breath was being squeezed from her, her eyes spun in their sockets. Everything had blurred into a series of muddied images and shouts from her excitable firecracker of a tour guide.
“Would you like a glass of water, dear?” Mrs. Cake asked, cocking her head to the side as she motioned for Pinkie to settle down.
With a quick apology, Fluttershy was released, allowing the pegasus to stand somewhat uneasily. She sucked in as much air as she could as Pinkie continued to rattle with barely restrained energy.
“Th-that would be lovely,” she whispered, legs shaking from the strain. She’d run more in the last hour than she ever had in her life. She thought for a moment she might collapse or that her sore hooves might disintegrate.
“Pinkie, dear, why don't you go upstairs and straighten things up while I get your friend here something to drink.”
“Ooh, great idea!” Pinkie exclaimed before disappearing into the kitchen in a blur of pink, a cry of panic issuing from the kitchen. “Sorry, Mr. Cake!”
Fluttershy watched the pink earth pony slip into the side of the storefront and zoom up the stairs.
“Carrot, dear, are you alright?”
“I'm fine, honeybuns… just startled is all.” A tall, earth pony stallion poked his head out of the kitchen. “Pinkie seems excited today. Oh, who's this?” he asked, peering at Fluttershy with a warm grin.
“This is Fluttershy. She's new in town,” Mrs. Cake answered as she pushed up the counter flap, motioning for her to follow.
With a thankful smile, Fluttershy complied, walking unsteadily into the back, legs feeling as though they were made of marshmallows… overdone marshmallows.
“Carrot, would you mind watching the front a moment?”
“Of course, Cup. Oh, but keep an eye on the layer cake, they shouldn't be more than a few minutes more,” Mr. Cake replied, exchanging his dirtied baking smock for a cleaner apron as he stepped up to the register.
Fluttershy moved on into the kitchen, following Mrs. Cake.
The kitchen was quite large, far larger than any kitchen Fluttershy had been in before. An enormous oven took up nearly an entire wall by itself while the rest had long runs of counter top. A refrigerator sat to one side with a sink in the middle and a smaller more conventional oven opposite them. An outline in the floor hinted at a basement pantry below.
It was relatively clean too. Only a corner of the countertops showed any sign of use, but the smell of freshly baked goodies was overpowering. Fluttershy found herself in awe, wishing she had brought a cookbook or two along with her from Cloudsdale.
“Are you okay, dear?” The worried voice snapped Fluttershy out of her reverie as she found herself sitting at a small table tucked away in a corner of the room, a glass of water sitting in front of her.
“Oh, sorry. Your kitchen is just so… you have a very nice kitchen.” Fluttershy kept her focus on the glass of water.
“Oh, do you enjoy cooking?”
“Oh, very much yes. I mean, I'm not anything special, but I enjoy it all the same,” the pegasus said, her excitement tempered by a fierce blush.
“Well, if you'd ever like to try anything, I'm sure I could offer you the run of the kitchen sometime. With supervision of course.”
“Oh, that'd be simply wonderful,” Fluttershy exclaimed excitedly, wings giving an excited flap, her blush somehow deepening as she smiled up at the earth pony across from her.
“I do apologize for Pinkie Pie. She can get a little bit… well, let's just say, she can be a bit overzealous,” Mrs. Cake said with a gentle smile as Fluttershy gulped down the water, reveling in the pleasant coolness of it running down her throat.
“Well, she seems nice.”
“Oh, the poor dear. I know her heart's in the right place, though. She just needs to learn to tone it down. Just a bit.”
“Maybe a little.”
An awkward silence descended over the kitchen as they stared up at the sounds of moving furniture emanating from the second floor among other, less readily identifiable sounds.
She swore for a moment she heard the deep, throaty call of a tuba and the high-pitched screech of some well out-of-tune, stringed instrument.
“So, what brings you to Ponyville, Fluttershy?”
“Oh, I'm here to meet somepony. Family actually.”
“Oh… are you feeling quite alright?”
“Oh, never better,” Fluttershy replied a little too quickly as she plastered on the biggest smile she could manage.
“Well, let me tell you one thing,” Mrs. Cake said, leaning close as if to disclose a deep, dark secret. “If anypony can cheer a pony up, Pinkie Pie can. If you’ll let her,” Mrs. Cake whispered before standing up from the table. “And I think both of you could use a friend right now.”
Before Fluttershy could think of a response, Pinkie came bouncing down the stairs, smiling ear to ear as she came to stop, her frizzy mane filled with bits of streamer and confetti.
“C'mon, Fluttershy! It's time to par-tay!” Pinkie decreed, grabbing Fluttershy by the hooves and springing up the stairs as Mrs. Cake looked on with a smile.
“You two have fun now.”
[o-0-o]
“And you had a lot of fun, too,” Pinkie whispered with a smile, some of her usual joviality having returned as they reminisced. “We played pin the tail on the pony, hoofs and horseshoes, truth or dare, danced 'til our hoovesies hurt, had a pillow fight, snacks, cake, punch, cupcakes”—the pink pony took a gasp of air—“and a piñata! It was great.” She slumped down with a soft, contented sigh.
“Your parties are always the best.”
“Even the small ones.”
“You did a wonderful thing for me too. I certainly wasn't looking for a party when I first got to Ponyville. I didn't even think there would ever be a reason to again.”
“Hey…” Pinkie whispered, brushing a tear away from Fluttershy's face. “When you've got Pinkie Pie, everyday is a reason to party. If only because we're all still around.”
Fluttershy chuckled weakly, staring at the pink pony with incredulity. “Since when did you think about things like this?”
“Well, I do have time for things besides parties, pastries and prankings, I'll have you know,” Pinkie stated with look of mock hurt that quickly broke down into a shared bout of giggles. “I know, it really is all about the three P’s. This really isn't my place though, is it? At least, not usually. But I think I might be the only one left to do it if Twilight won’t… or can’t.”
“Pinkie… what's happening?”
“You can feel it too, right?”
“Something's wrong… I know it.”
“I know. I'm scared of it too, but maybe… maybe we can just enjoy this right here. Maybe, if we just stay, we'll be okay,” Pinkie offered as she drew Fluttershy closer. “Remember after the party?”
“Of course. I don't think I could forget it so easily. Could you?”
“No… don't think I could.”
[o-0-o]
It was approaching midnight when Fluttershy awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar town.
Normally, this would have sent her into a right panic, but there was something about the room, an undeniable, radiant sense of joy, a sense that things would be better. A sense of undeterrable optimism, really. It was part of the reason she’d ended up staying for the night.
It had been dark by the time the two-pony party had wound down. Not so dark that Fluttershy couldn't have gone out to find lodgings of her own or even to track down the cottage that was her ultimate destination in town.
It was dark enough that she was inclined to accept her host's demand. If only for the sadness in the Pinkie’s eyes at the mere mention of leaving.
“Pinkie?” she muttered confusedly as she looked over to see the silhouette of a pony in a window.
“Oh, Fluttershy. You're up?”
“Um… yes, I guess I am,” Fluttershy replied, rolling out from under the comforter and onto the floor, the quiet clip-clop of her hooves echoing in the dark room. “What are you doing awake?”
“Oh… should be asleep, shouldn't I? Have to get up early and help the Cakes open the shop and all.”
“So… why are you awake?” Fluttershy asked as she drew up to the window beside the pink pony, now able to see her in the moonlight.
Her mane seemed to be wavy and long now, her bush of a mane replaced by a much straighter, simpler look. Even the bright pink of her fur seemed somehow washed out in the night.
It felt as though Fluttershy was looking at an entirely different pony than the one she had just danced and played games with so few hours before.
“I just couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts running around my noggin. You know how it is.”
“Would you like to talk about it?” Fluttershy asked, a hoof scraping anxiously against the floor as Pinkie glanced towards her. “I mean, only if you really want to, but it might help.”
“Maybe…” the pink pony whispered sadly. She was unsure, that much was clear from the way her gaze flitted between the moon outside and the floor at her hooves. “Fluttershy?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you a question?” Pinkie shuffled her hooves, eyes firmly glued to the bottom of the window now. “Besides that one, I mean.”
“Of course,” Fluttershy replied, stooping down slightly as she tried to get a good look at her face.
“Are we… are we friends, Fluttershy?”
“Well…”
Fluttershy hesitated. After all, she had only just met this pony. And she certainly hadn't come to Ponyville looking for friendship…
Could one even be friends after so short a time?
It seemed so unlikely, but somehow she had an answer. She didn't understand it, but she had it.
“I think we are.”
“Thanks for saying that. Even if you don't really mean it,” the pink pony whispered with a sad smile.
“Pinkie, I think I do mean it. Honestly, I don't really know why or how, but it certainly feels like we're friends, doesn't it?” Fluttershy argued, drawing a confused look as the earth pony finally looked up at her with watery blue eyes.
“Maybe that's what Papa meant,” Pinkie whispered almost inaudibly, wiping her eyes with the back of a hoof before looking up at the pegasus, a little smile slowly growing on her face, “So, how do you like Ponyville so far anyways?”
“Well, I was a little scared at first. There were just so many ponies around. I really am glad that I ran into you,” Fluttershy admitted, returning the smile in earnest. “But, um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you crying?”
“To be completely honest, I'm kind of new to Ponyville too.”
“So, the unofficially official greeter thing…?”
“Well, like I said, nopony's said anything else, so until further notice, right?” Pinkie replied with a giggle, some of the life returning to her. “But yeah… I just kinda made that up on the spot. Didn't mean to fib like that.”
“Well, you were pretty convincing. Especially the party pony part.”
“Oh. Well…” the pink pony began with a laugh, twisting so her cutie mark was plainly visible. She tapped the trio of balloons emblazoned on her hip. “That wasn't a fib, not even a little, itty-bitty one. Pinkamena Diane Pie is one-hundred-and-ten percent all party pony!”
“Oh, I couldn’t argue with that. No pony but a party pony could have thrown such a fun party.” Fluttershy giggled softly, glancing over at her own cutie mark.
“So, what do the butterflies mean?” Pinkie asked, her gaze having followed the pegasus's. “Do you like to catch them?”
“Not really,” Fluttershy muttered, giving the earth pony an incredulous look. “I like animals. I have kind of a special connection with them.”
“Ooh… like a superhero!”
“A what?”
“Y'know, a hero… only more super… -ry… -ish.”
“Oh, I'm not really hero material. I mean, I like to help if I can, but I'm not brave or courageous or anything like that…” she trailed off, blushing furiously at the pink pony's take on her talent.
“Aww, you're just a little shy… Hey! Fluttershy!”
“What?”
“No, I mean, Flutter-shy. I just got it! That name is perfect for you!”
“Um… thank you?”
“You're very, very welcome.” Pinkie sprang forward, her energy returning in force as she grabbed the very surprised Fluttershy in a tight hug.
“P-Pinkie?”
“Yeah?”
“I think you're crushing me,” Fluttershy grunted through gritted teeth, her wings pinching together terribly.
“Oh, sorry!” Pinkie blushed as she immediately relaxed her grasp, letting the pegasus breathe. “I'm just excited.”
“I can tell.” Fluttershy chucked weakly out, sucking in deep breaths.
“Are you excited?” Pinkie asked, a bright smile seeming to light the darkness as Fluttershy regained her breath.
Fluttershy didn't answer for a moment, looking away from the grinning pink pony to peer out into the dark streets of Ponyville. The moon shone brightly, casting a soft blue glow over the town. The Mare in the Moon herself seemed to stare down at them. A shudder coursed through the yellow pegasus as she glanced from the window back to the pink pony beside her.
Her smile hadn't wavered at all.
“I think I am,” she said and gently hugged the pink pony back.
[o-0-o]
Fluttershy held her eyes closed as the memory faded away, well-aware of the hooves clasped about her.
As she opened her eyes slowly, she found herself in Pinkie's room once more. Only different now, if subtly.
It was as though somepony had flipped on the lights.
The room shone as brightly and vibrantly even in the dark. Brighter than she had ever seen it before day or night. It was done up properly for a party, too. A long table took up the center of the room, crowned with a towering behemoth of a cake that seemed like it could likely hold a pony or two within its sugary depths.
On top of each plate was a hat, each covered in a different design. As she looked over them, she spotted one with her own cutie mark emblazoned on it, several pink butterflies. There was one with pink balloons for Pinkie and another with star-bursts for Twilight…
Quietly, the pegasus looked over the remaining three plates in confusion. Curiously, one was covered in apples and another with diamonds, while the final plate was missing its hat.
Maybe…
Maybe Pinkie had been in the middle of setting up the party…
“Pinkie… what's all this about?” Fluttershy whispered as she felt the pink pony squeeze her tighter. “What's wrong?”
“Oh, lots of things, but they don't really matter in the long run,” she replied in a shockingly even tone, grip tightening even as she glanced up at the pegasus with a strange little smile.
“Pinkie?”
“You'll remember, Fluttershy. I know you will. Even if you don’t for a little while. And then we can have this party with all your friends,” she whispered, eyes filled with sorrow in spite of her bright smile.
“Pinkie, I could never forget my friends,” Fluttershy reassured her, but Pinkie simply shook her head, that same odd smile remaining.
“You will, but that's not important,” she replied, burying her head into Fluttershy shoulder. “You'll remember… that's what's important. I know you will…”
“What do you mean? How could I forget you… or Rainbow… or Twilight… or…”
Fluttershy felt a knot lodge firmly in her stomach as she stared at the table. Something was wrong there.
Six plates… six ponies…
She could feel the headache returning as Pinkie relaxed her grip, allowing the pegasus to stand up.
“It's coming now,” Pinkie stated bluntly, drying her eyes with a hoof. “You need to get out of here.”
“What's coming? Why can't you tell me?”
“Oh, Fluttershy,” Pinkie whispered, a hoof to the pegasus's cheek, “Don't worry about it. You've got to go.”
“To go?” Fluttershy echoed as Pinkie roughly shoved her toward the rear balcony. “Pinkie, what are you doing?”
It was night now, all of Ponyville under a thick blanket of darkness as Fluttershy's hooves scraped noisily over the wooden platform. Methodically, Pinkie pushed her to the edge of the platform before stopping. There was a foreign look of coolheaded determination on Pinkie’s usually jovial features, but there was fear in those eyes.
“Flap those wings, Fluttershy… it's time to go,” Pinkie stated simply as she gave Fluttershy a rough shove.
Fluttershy’s wings flared instinctively as her hoof scraped the edge of the platform. “What? Why? Pinkie, tell me what's going on?”
“No can do, Shy-Shy,” Pinkie said with a wry grin before giving the pegasus one last, hard push into the air.
Fluttershy slid off the edge of the balcony, her wings catching her as she hovered just off the platform, confused as a sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.
“Pinkie?”
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Twilight’ll take good care of you. See you later, okay?”
“Fluttershy!” a new voice shouted out, startling her.
But before she could look for the source she felt something grab her, yanking her away.
Pinkie waved weakly at the pegasus as Sugarcube Corner slowly shrank.
“But Pinki—Twilight?” she gasped out as she looked down to find the unicorn galloping below, her magenta aura surrounding Fluttershy.
“No time to explain, we need to go! Now!” Twilight yelled out as Fluttershy lowered to the ground, hooves breaking into a gallop as they met earth. “Follow me!”
“Where? Why?” Fluttershy stuttered as she galloped beside the unicorn, chancing a quick look back at Sugarcube Corner, “What about Pinkie?”
“It's too late, Fluttershy… She knew—”
A thunderous crack split the silent air. The sky lit up as Fluttershy jammed her hooves into the dirt and spun to look at Sugarcube Corner.
“Pinkie!” she screamed as the top of the confectionery split and collapsed in on itself, the bottom floors alight with flame. “Twilight! We have to go back for her!”
“No!” the unicorn denied her, pulling back on the pegasus with her magic.
“Twilight! We have to!”
“It's too late! We have to keep moving now or it will have all of us!” Twilight grunted with exertion as she dragged Fluttershy away.
But Fluttershy’s hooves dug in hard, her vision filled by flames.
“Let go!” Fluttershy screamed at the unicorn, but Twilight was unmoved, dragging her further and further down the road. “What kind of friend are you?!”
“The kind that's keeping her friend safe!” Twilight roared back, pulling the pegasus from the dirt and pulling her forwards until the two were nose to nose.
“You're letting her die, Twilight!” the pegasus accused, glaring daggers at the unicorn.
“Who, Fluttershy?!” Twilight demanded, voice choked. “Tell me who?! Say her name!”
“Pin—”
The pain sliced through her consciousness, sending her to the ground, hooves on her head. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think for a moment before the pain faded. She felt the magic around her relinquish its grip, allowing her to look back at the inferno that had been Sugarcube Corner.
With a final shudder, the roof fell completely, the façade, blackened by the merrily dance fire, falling into a heap as the darkness seemed to wrap around it.
“Wh-what's going on?” Fluttershy whispered in terror as the flames began to dissolve, the ruins of the confectionery… her friend… everything disappearing into the dark.
“Everything's going away. We have to go,” Twilight spoke softly, lifting the pegasus to her hooves with a burst of magic. “We have to run, Fluttershy.”
“Where?”
“To where this all started, Fluttershy,” Twilight answered.
Fluttershy stared for a moment as the building was subsumed by the dark.
She turned and they ran.
They ran through the empty streets, the night sky darkening further and one by one the stars were extinguished, the black shadow creeping over the moon before it too drowned in the dark.
They could but gallop.
They galloped as hard and fast as they could, the glow of Twilight's horn lighting the path as the sky vanished.
On they galloped. Until their hooves ached and their legs burned. Until they had left Ponyville far behind.
Through the blackest of nights held back only by the soft glow of unicorn magic.
They galloped for the cottage.
They galloped for the Everfree Forest beyond.
They galloped for the abandoned castle beyond that where this had all begun. |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 9 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2011-12-27T00:19:54+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:26:56+00:00 | 2,768 | "—uncertain that we should be shouldering so much risk."
"But is it not worth the risk, sister?"
"…"
"Are we not indebted to her? To all of them?"
"I don't deny that! But the risk to us—to Equestria—should anything happen to the Elements… I do not know if one pony can be worth that risk."
"…"
"Please, don't look at me like that, Luna."
"How should I look at you, sister?"
"…"
"…"
"You know where our responsibilities lie. It is not as though nothing is being done. I have top minds looking into it. They simply need time."
"More time than we have, sister."
"Luna?"
"I had aeons, sister, aeons of memories. It took years for it to affect me and years longer for it to take over. You couldn't have known before you did."
"…"
"I doubt she has more than a decade or two’s worth. She will not last as long as I."
"How long?”
"Perhaps a few days, perhaps even a week. She is a bearer and perhaps that may aid her."
"I… I will see that their efforts are redoubled."
“…”
“…”
"Celestia?"
"I know you believe yourself indebted, that you must do all in your power to aid her, but we must think of Equestria. Please do not think me cold for saying such."
"I… I do not."
"…"
"But if these top minds have no answers?"
"…"
"…"
"Then we will trust in the Elements."
"…"
"…"
"Sister?"
"Yes, Luna?"
"Thank you."
"…"
"…"
"You should rest, Luna. The sun shall rise soon."
"Just a bit longer."
"…"
"…"
"Good night to you, sister."
"And good morning to you."
"…"
"Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t know anypony was in here or I would have knocked."
"You needn’t apologize. You perhaps have more claim to be here than I."
"Princess?"
"She is your friend after all."
"And yours too… in a way."
"You’ve been studying the Elements again?"
"How did you… nevermind. Yes I have. Anything that might help."
"My sister still seeks to understand them as well. They reside in the hooves of her most trusted advisors as we speak."
"Princess Celestia believes that they can help?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. She is merely being diligent in her caution. As is her duty as ruler."
"Caution?"
"You know what afflicts your friend, do you not, Twilight Sparkle?"
"No. Actually I don’t. I have guesses and theories, but nothing concrete."
"…"
"Why haven’t you told us?"
"…"
"…"
"I am sorry for this, Twilight. I should have seen to it that you of all ponies were informed, but the risks this information carries—"
"Princess, I’d much rather you tell me than explain why you shouldn’t."
"…"
"…"
"I see Lady Applejack has influenced you a great deal. Rather blunt in your dealings with royalty, are we not?"
"Princess—"
"Please, let these formalities fall aside. ‘Luna’ shall suffice our need for expediency."
"Alright."
"…"
"…"
"I fear embarrassment may rob me of my tongue… but may guilt allow my conscience speech. Twilight, your friend's affliction is somewhat my own doing."
"What?!"
"Not my own creation, but certainly of my own doing. My own will… or lack thereof."
"You’re not making sense, Luna."
"I’m certain you have a theory, wise though young Twilight Sparkle."
"…"
"…"
"Nightmare Moon."
"In a sense… I was Nightmare Moon… she was—is—a part of me. The darkest part of myself."
"I… I still don’t understand."
"Do you know why I became Nightmare Moon? Do you recall the legends?"
"Uh… just that you became jealous of Princess Celestia… that you were angry that ponies would play in her day and shun your night. But I assume it wasn’t that simple… was it?"
"Indeed not, though what you said does not ring false. Even now I shoulder some… resentment for my sister’s place in the hearts of our ponies. But I would not be so careless and callous as to rend from our subjects her life-giving sun. An eternal night is careless at best, a damning of the world at worst…"
"…"
"And still I attempted it not only once, but twice."
"You… or Nightmare Moon?"
"We are one in the same, Twilight."
"But she wanted eternal night…"
"And to some extent, so do I. But I know what insanity it is. I have the wisdom to be satisfied with the way things are."
"But… not then?"
"No, I ceded control to another. Of my own free will, I allowed my mind and body to be corrupted by the nightmare’s ancient power. And it is this same power that afflicts your friend."
"Then surely the Elements of Harmony—"
"Could save your friend?"
"Yes."
"It is possible. I believe as you do, but with a bearer the befallen one…"
"But couldn’t it? Even with—"
"I do not know. Celestia does not know. I scarcely hope that even her brightest minds could ever truly know without trying. Even if we had the time."
"Had the… How much time does she have, Luna?"
"I fear not much longer. I have seen the affliction from the other side. Its curse is insidious and swift. Even weakened as it is."
"But you survived it… and if it's weakened then—"
"I am an alicorn, Twilight Sparkle. I have lived for thousands of years and become stronger over those many millennia. I do not wish to be so blunt, but, compared to me, she is but a newborn foal unsteady in her first steps. It moves so quickly and—I am afraid—it will devour her if left unchecked."
"I… I…"
"There is little more to say, Twilight. We can only wait and hope for now."
"But we have to do something."
"I agree… and we shall. I promise you at least that."
[o.0.o]
It was a sunny day.
The last morning before their performance at the Summer Sun Celebration and Fluttershy found herself wondering how exactly she’d let herself be talked into performing before the whole town. Not to mention in front of the Princess of the Sun herself!
She’d have to learn to be more assertive when it came to Rarity’s requests. Just a Rainbow had been telling her for years.
But for once, she wasn’t nervous. Anxious to be certain, but brimming with confidence in her avian friends. They had worked so hard and so long to prepare.
Even if there were still a few well-intentioned show-offs among them.
Off-key and off-rhythm, one in particular, an adolescent blue jay, belted out his part of the song with far more gusto than necessary, desired or remotely tolerable.
"Oh my," Fluttershy mused quietly to herself, nervously glancing aside before addressing the songbirds. "Um, stop, please, everyone."
The birds fell immediately silent, but Fluttershy could see the little blue jay puffing out his feathers, proud and wholly ignorant of his aural malfeasance as Fluttershy flew up and hovered before him.
"Um, excuse me, sir," Fluttershy began, shocking him from his proud stance with surprised chirp. "I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off."
The bird nodded happily, Fluttershy smiling at the gesture before hovering away from the tree.
He was a good bird, too prideful at times, but she knew his heart was in the right place.
"Now, follow me, please. A one. A two. A one-two-three—"
"Hello!"
A voice broke in, shaking her concentration and sending her birds scattering away as she gasped in surprise.
As Fluttershy turned, she found an unfamiliar, purple unicorn on the ground below, a sheepish grin now forming on her face as the birds’ screeches slowly quieted.
"Oh my. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten your birds," the interloper explained nervously. "I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful."
The unicorn’s sheepish grin became a reassuring smile as Fluttershy floated to the ground, her heart still beating from the shock.
She was thankful for the compliment, but found herself actively avoiding the unicorn’s eyes, pawing at the ground nervously for want of something to occupy herself as she glanced up sparingly.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn stated, friendly grin hiding an obvious nervousness that Fluttershy took no comfort in. “What's your name?"
"Um… I'm Fluttershy," she mumbled in reply.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Uh…" Fluttershy began softly, instinctively shrinking away from the unicorn before repeating herself even more softly.
"Didn't quite catch that."
She veritably squeaked her name from behind her long, pink mane, letting it cover the blush she felt burning her cheeks.
"Well, um, it looks like your birds are back," Twilight stated nervously, soft chirps filling the silence behind them. "So I guess everything's in order… Keep up the good work."
Fluttershy squeaked out a thanks, standing stone-still as though her body had solidified into a yellow statue.
As she watched, Twilight retreated to talk to somepony—no someone—by a bush. A tiny, adorable—
"A baby dragon!" she cried out excitedly, nervousness forgotten as she rushed over, knocking Twilight out of her way. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's so cute."
"Well, well, well," his smug voice echoed, but there was nothing there.
There was no baby dragon.
There was just a empty spot beside the bush.
As she looked back, the tree was empty despite the trills and chirps she heard… distantly.
But still, there was a purple unicorn on the ground, picking herself up in a daze, as she stood a blankness seemed to fill Fluttershy’s vision, the unicorn fading until—
[o.0.o]
"Fluttershy!"
She awoke with a start, eyes wide as a pair of hooves shook her mercilessly.
"Wh-wha—Twi-ilight?" she stuttered confusedly as she took in her surroundings.
They were at the cottage again.
It was empty now. The walls were completely bare of everything that was supposed to be, only the barest essentials left.
Fluttershy lay on the ground as the purple hooves lifted off her flank, snapping back to their very frightened and frazzled looking unicorn owner.
"Oh, thank Celestia. You’re awake." Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.
"Of course I am. You woke me up," Fluttershy stated bluntly, staring up at Twilight from her side. Slowly, she rolled to a more comfortable position on her belly as the unicorn trotted over to the front window. "You were shaking me really hard too…"
"Oh, sorry about that," Twilight muttered distractedly, staring out the front window before moving on to the next and then the next. "It's just I could feel it happening and I got kind of well… terrified."
"Feel what happening?"
"I was just… fading away. Like a candle about to be blow out in the wind. I don't know how else to explain it," her voice echoed from the bathroom before the unicorn darted towards the cottage's back windows in the kitchen.
"That's…" Fluttershy hesitated to call the explanation insane if only for reasons of propriety. "I don't even know what that is, Twilight."
"That's fine." Twilight flopped to the ground next to the pegasus. "I think we ought to be confused. None of this really makes any sense. I mean, it's not exactly normal, right?"
"No… it’s not."
"But as long as we're still here, there's still a chance to fix it."
"But what are we trying to fix? It seems like everything that's wrong is wrong in my head!"
Twilight was silent a moment, her eyes darting around the cottage as if the answers would be found there, mixed into the woodwork.
"You… may be onto something there, Fluttershy. I think you might’ve gotten it."
"What? Gotten what? I feel like I understand less than ever!" Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow at the purple unicorn, Twilight grinning at her with an almost maniacal look of excitement.
Maybe Twilight really had cracked, but—
"Exactly!"
"Exactly what?"
"That! What you were just thinking. You think I've cracked. You might even say that I've gone 'loco in the coco,'" Twilight explained, her voice twisting strangely at the last word as she rubbed her forehooves together, "And it's true. We have gone crazy. Together!"
"Twilight you're making… sense."
"No, Fluttershy, you're making sense! You get it, right?"
"I… maybe? I think so… but…" Fluttershy grimaced at the mere thought of it. It seemed even worse than if everything was real. "I don't know any other way to explain it."
"And neither do I!" Twilight yelled with a triumphant jab of a hoof. "And that's why it fits! I don’t have a single idea that you don’t! Doesn't that make you just ecstatic?"
Fluttershy chuckled. "You're just glad that you understand it. Isn't that right?"
"Exactly!" she declared, throwing a hoof around Fluttershy. "I am Twilight Sparkle after all! well, sort of her."
"But if this is all in my head then—?"
"What's going on out there?" Twilight finished the thought, excited smile fading away. "I don't know, but I don't think that we're alone in here. Can you feel it?"
"I… No, I don't think so." Fluttershy looked down, trying to think back over the past few days, but only able to manage a few disparate images, little more than distinctly colored blurs. "I don't remember much of the last few days. I just have a strange feeling about them."
"Do you remember me?"
"Well, of course I do, Twilight."
"Right. Right. Otherwise I wouldn't be here… probably."
"I… suppose so."
"Okay… let's just think about this logically then."
"That sounds like Twilight."
"Yes, well, thank you for that. But on to more pressing things," Twilight stated with a confident stomp of her hoof.
"I… I guess we start with what we know."
"Yes! We should, shouldn't we?" Twilight intoned happily as she took up a quick pace, back and forth in front of Fluttershy. "So what do we know so far?"
"Well, this is all in my head somehow."
"So we're in the subconscious… maybe a dream of some kind."
"But things are off and I've been having headaches. I do remember those…"
"Alright, headaches and things being different than they should be. The obvious symptoms."
"Symptoms?"
"Well, assuming this is some kind of illness," she stated matter-of-factly, taking a wayward glance out the window.
"Um, I don't really know anything else."
"C'mon, Fluttershy, think!" Twilight snapped her head around, glaring at the pegasus.
"I'm trying to!" Fluttershy cried out, closing her eyes as she rubbed her hooves against her temples.
"Okay… okay. Well just… think about what you do remember."
Fluttershy was very silent for a few moments as she tried to relax herself. She simply focused on her breaths. In and out. In and out.
"I remember the…" She didn't want to say it, but it was the clearest one she had. "I remember going to her… her…"
"Her funeral. Rainbow Dash's funeral."
"Yes," Fluttershy whispered quietly. "I remember you being there. You and some other ponies. A…"
A pink earth pony with a balloon, quiet for a moment, laughter subsumed by sadness.
An orange earth pony, trying her best to console her friends, comforting without empty words, with only honesty.
"But I can't see them…"
"Just try, Fluttershy. That's all I'm asking," Twilight whispered as she set a hoof on the pegasus's back.
"Okay."
A unicorn, her tears would come later, for now she would be generous with her strength.
And there was Twilight, prepared as always, even when nopony could be for the loss of a friend.
"Twilight, it's not working…" Fluttershy trailed off into silence as she found them no longer in her cottage, but in a familiar field, her voice choked by the lump in her throat.
"I think we may have stumbled onto something," Twilight muttered from somewhere to her side, but the pegasus wasn't listening.
There, far below the willow beneath which the pegasus lay was the funeral, just as she remembered it. Only—
"Twilight… they aren't there."
"Yes they are! They're just… oh…"
Down below, there was a group of ponies.
Five ponies.
Only they were like no ponies that Fluttershy had ever seen before.
They seemed to the barest shadow of a pony—no mane nor tail nor coat of fur—just a body and the base structure of a pony left.
"Wh-what are they?"
"I don't know."
As Fluttershy rose nervously to her hooves, the purple unicorn began to trot down the hill.
"C'mon, Fluttershy, just… stay close."
"Okay," Fluttershy replied in barely more than a whisper as she followed close on her friend's hooves, peering around the unicorn as they descended.
As they drew closer, more details of the strange ponies became visible. Moving to the left of the shadow ponies' side in a slow circle, they could see only gaping white eyes on their otherwise featureless faces.
One shadow had a pair of wings that seemed to be in a constant state of disintegration, filtering away in the breeze only to reform the next moment to be blow away again. Another pair of them had horns that followed suit, the unicorns appearing to lose and gain their horns with each gust. The last of them had hooves that seemed to leech into the soil before returning with quiet crackle in perpetuity. Really their only means of distinction between one another.
"Um… hello?" Twilight called out as they approached the group, Fluttershy's eyes darting between her friend, the shadow ponies and the familiar casket. "Anypony home?"
"Tw-twilight…" Fluttershy squeaked audibly as the shadow ponies turned to stare at them in unison. They remained silent, however, looking with eyes that pulsed gently with that strange white light.
"They don't seem particularly aggressive." Twilight swayed from side to side, watching the five sets of sightless eyes following her every move. "I'm not sure they even have the capacity for aggression. They seem kinda… dumb."
"Oh, you shouldn't make fun of ponies like that…" Fluttershy stated simply, eyes refocusing on the casket.
"Fluttershy?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"I don't think they're actual ponies," Twilight stated as she waved a hoof, the shadow ponies following her hoof-tip. "I don't think they'll be offended."
"Twilight, can we go somewhere else… please?"
"Hm?"
"I… I really don't like it here. I want to go somewhere else," Fluttershy spoke in barely more than a whisper.
"They aren't going to hurt us, Fluttersh—" She glanced over her shoulder at the trembling pegasus, following her gaze to find the heart of her perturbation. "Oh…"
"I hate this memory."
"Fluttershy…"
"Why couldn't I forget this one?" Fluttershy asked, glancing up expectantly at the overcast skies above before burying her head in her hooves, screwing her eyes shut. "Why can't things just go back to normal?"
"F-Fluttershy?"
"What?!"
She opened her eyes to find that the grassy valley they had been in had been replaced by something new.
"Fluttershy, where are we?" Fluttershy looked to find Twilight standing over her.
Twilight seemed smaller than usual. Her voice higher.
They were in a room that was familiar to the pegasus. The comforter, the bed, the windows, the door, even the voices just outside…
"Fluttershy, you okay?"
"Twilight, why are you a little filly?" Fluttershy asked dumbly, the unicorn cocking an eyebrow as she took a step back.
"What do you mean, I was always a…" Twilight looked down to find that she was no longer a full-grown mare before she glanced up. "Huh. You're different too."
"What?" Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder to find that she’d been affected as well. Her body was that of a young filly, gangly, awkward legs and all. Slowly she stood on her disproportionately long legs, wobbling slightly as the bed bowed beneath her.
"Er… can I touch the floor?" Twilight asked nervously, eying the cloud floor of the room, reaching over the side of the bed to test it with a hoof.
"You should be fine, I think. This isn't real after all," Fluttershy replied before watching as Twilight hopped tentatively off the bed. As her hooves contacted the floor, the unicorn bounced slightly, a smile forming on her face.
"Oooh… it’s all squishy and nice." She let out a rather juvenile squeal of delight as she gave an experimental hop.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy watched the little unicorn bounce up and down.
"Oh, I almost wish I was born a pegasus. You guys get to do this stuff all the time!"
"Twilight, are you feeling okay?" Fluttershy was used to the unicorn being somewhat excitable at times, but this seemed excessive, especially as the unicorn bounced about, delighted squeals filling the room. "Twilight?"
"What's up, Fluttershy?" She landed with an enormous smile on her face, body buzzing with filly energy.
"Um, well, you seem a little… excitable. If you don't mind me saying so," Fluttershy muttered as she lowered herself off the bed, a knot reforming in her stomach as the pair of familiar voices bickered outside.
"Oh! Serious business. Right. Sorry," Twilight muttered, grinning sheepishly as she halted her momentum.
"It's okay. I don't think it's your fault."
"Yeah, it's just that being like this," the little unicorn gestured to her now more diminutive form. "I just feel so excited! I don't even know why."
"Maybe it's the way you told me your cutie mark story"—Fluttershy’s brow furrowing in concentration—"I remember when you finished the story you wouldn't stop jumping around the table. I didn't think you'd ever stop. Seemed as though you were probably a pretty excitable little filly."
"Well… okay… but where are we?"
"This…" Fluttershy paused as she looked around the room.
The voices from the next room were muffled by the walls, but she knew what they were talking about, she knew what came next.
"This is where I grew up in Cloudsdale… with my parents…"
"Oh, so this is what a cloud house looks like on the inside?"
"Pretty much, not all of them are so nice though…" Fluttershy hopped off the bed, but made no move to go further.
Twilight didn't reply as Fluttershy stared at the floor, idly manipulating a bit of cloud with a hoof, shaping it into a little pony reared up on its hind legs, wings flared behind it before she pressed it back into the floor with a quiet sigh.
"Do… do you want to talk about it?"
"There's not much point. I'd just be talking to myself anyways." She sniffed a little before stepping to the door. "You'll hear soon enough anyways…"
"Fluttershy?"
"Just follow me…"
"Oh. Um, okay then," Twilight muttered submissively as they slipped into the hall.
The voices were more distinct now. Her bedroom was upstairs and the voices down, but the tone was undeniably one of frustration. As they neared the end of the hall and the top of the staircase, they could finally distinguish the voices as belonging to a male and a female.
As Fluttershy peered down from the top step, she could see her parents…
Just as she remembered.
The living room below was mostly empty—a dining table and a long flat couch the only furniture—as they faced each other.
On one side, there was a male pegasus with yellow-cream fur and with a short brown mane, a pair of turquoise eyes stuck in what seemed a perpetual weariness that belied his age.
On the other side, there was a female pegasus with an almond colored coat, auburn mane and tail flowing nearly to the floor, a pair of red-brown eyes glaring angrily at the other pegasus as her tail flicked in agitation.
"It isn't fair! You know it isn't. None of this is right!" she growled, jamming her muzzle directly into his face.
"Of course it isn't fair, but that doesn't make this wrong, Sky," he replied in a soft tone, nearly bending backwards as she pressed further towards him still, perhaps a step away from bowling him over proper.
"This isn't about that. You know it isn't…” she trailed off with a huff, stepping away as her wings trembled at her sides.
"But how can't it… It always comes right back to it."
She cursed under her breath, head lowering. "Don't make this about that. We tried and we're still trying…"
"We are. You even said it was for the best…"
"I know what I said. You don’t have to tell me. This isn't about her anyways."
"Then what is it?"
"I—just… sit down, okay?" She put a hoof to her head.
"Are you ready to talk then?"
"Just—give me a second…"
He did as bidden, sitting down on the couch.
"Alright, all the time in the world," he said with a wry smile, drawing a soft half-chuckle from her.
"Dammit, Dewy, at some point you're going to have to just let me be angry."
"No… I don't think I will," he smiled genuinely at her as she turned with a wry smile of her own. "I don't like you angry… or sad."
"Yeah, well, ain't you just a sweetheart…" she muttered, blatant sarcasm undercut by her soft smile.
"I'm yours, Sky."
"Will you just stop being so nice and sweet?" She stomped a hoof in frustration as she turned to face him fully.
He simply stayed silent this time as she stared at him.
Her eyes were filled with frustration and an odd, radiant sadness.
"Ready to be quiet?" she asked with a trembling voice.
He didn't answer with words, he simply nodded, sitting up on the couch as straight as he could as she let out a soft sigh.
"I had… I had dreams, Dewy. Lots of dreams…"
"I—"
A hoof found his mouth as soon as it opened. He stared at it a moment before slowly nodding his head, the hoof leaving his mouth as she stared him down.
With a sigh, he drew a hoof across his lips before crossing his heart with it.
"Good," she stated simply before she sat down next to him on the couch.
Both were silent for a spell before she continued.
"I know you know,” she began, “but I had dream dreams. And not one of them included any of"—she paused a moment to wave a hoof at the sparsely furnished room—"this. This wasn't in the plans! I wasn't supposed to be settling. I mean, someday, yeah, but now?"
"I…" A quick look silenced him once more.
"This wasn't supposed to happen like this. I wasn't supposed to be settling down with a foal… and a stallion to take care of me. I had… I have dreams. Dreams I'm never going to see through and it's eating away at me. It feels about that way too…"
"That way?"
She didn't hush him this time, merely chuckled sadly at the question.
"It feels like I've got something inside, eating away at me. Like you could cut me open and there wouldn't be anything there any more. I feel hollow, Dewdrop. I feel empty and it's killing me." She glanced up at him as his forehooves trembled nervously, unsure of whether to wrap around the mare or stay put. Eventually he drew her close, wrapping a wing around her for good measure.
"You shouldn't feel empty, Sky. You shouldn't have to," he muttered, seemingly unsure of his words.
"I know… and that feels like the worst part of it."
He merely cocked his head, staying quiet as she pressed her head against his chest.
"Heh… you smell like soup," she laughed a trembling, sad mockery of a laugh.
"It's ready any time, y'know," he shared in the laugh, looking down with worried confusion.
"I know it is and I know you are," she muttered. "And that's what makes it so terrible. As much of a screw up this all is, I should probably be thanking my lucky stars. A beautiful little filly… a loving stallion for the both of us… and all I can think of is my stupid dreams."
He bit his lip, glancing away for a moment, wing shuffling her closer as he turned his gaze to the floor.
"Am I a bad pony?"
"What? No…"
"Then why do I feel like this?"
"I… I don't know," he admitted, keeping his eyes on the floor as she tilted her head up. "I think it just means you're a pony. Not a bad pony. We all have dreams…"
"Yeah… sure…"
"Hey, I have dreams too."
"Dewy?"
"Yeah?" He looked down, their eyes meeting as she gave a soft grin.
"All this"—she motioned to the room with a wing—"is your dream. You're the one who's cut out for this life. You're the one who wanted the Equestrian dream, two foals, a wife, a nice house and a good job. All we need is a pet and a convertible chariot and we're good."
"Isn't—”
"Ain't it enough?" she supplied the rest and he simply nodded. "I wish it were… I just feel like I'm suffocating here. I want to spread my wings, but I can't… I'm a pegasus… meant to be free in the sky."
"I'm a pega—"
"I didn't mean it like that… I wouldn't anyways. It's just too… claustrophobic." Slowly she slipped out from his wing, dropping to the floor and striding uncertainly for the door. "I… I just need to go stretch my wings or something."
"When will you be home?" he asked in a soft voice, wing still stretched over the empty space where she had been.
"Soon. I'll… I'll be home soon," she whispered, glancing up the stairs and freezing as her eyes met the soft turquoise of her daughter’s. "Hey there, Shy-Shy."
"Momma?" Fluttershy whispered, staying at the top of the stairs, her hooves wrapped around the top railing.
"You… you should be getting your rest, Shy. Little fillies need their rest," she muttered, hoof on the doorknob as she smiled up at her daughter.
"Are you leaving?"
"Just for a little while. I'll be back before you wake up tomorrow," she promised as the door cracked open, the glow of the streetlight casting a soft orange glow over her. "Jus’… just go back to bed and Daddy'll be right up to tuck you in."
"I'll… I'll be up in just a moment, Fluttershy." He nodded along as she slowly edged the door open fully.
"Oh… okay…" Fluttershy murmured, the tears in her eyes invisible in the shadows as she retreated out of sight, still listening.
"By morning, right?"
"Just need to stretch my wings. Don't worry so much. I know what I have. Not gonna do anything too stupid. I can't be that much of a screw-up…"
A half-hearted chuckle filled the air, trailing into silence before Fluttershy heard the door click shut.
"See you in the morning… Sky Skimmer…"
Hurriedly, Fluttershy dashed back to her room, yanking the covers over herself. She lay in bed, quietly listening for her father's hoofsteps. Eventually she heard him before her bed sagged with his weight.
"Daddy?" Fluttershy choked out in a quiet voice.
"Hey, Shy," he whispered as he rubbed a hoof on the little pegasus's back, trying to massage away the tears.
"Is Momma mad at me?"
"Oh, Fluttershy… Nopony could ever be mad at you. Mom's just a little confused right now. She just needed some air."
"Is she coming back?"
"Of course, she will. She loves you, Fluttershy. Couldn't keep herself away if she tried."
"Y-you pr-promise?"
"I promise, Fluttershy. Cross my heart and hope to die."
"Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"
"…Of course, Fluttershy," he murmured in response, rolling off the bed before flaring his wings, quietly hovering over her. He gathered the trembling filly in his forehooves, blanket and all, before hovering down the hall, setting her down on his bed before crawling in himself.
"Th-thanks, Daddy."
He was quiet for a moment as he shifted around beneath the comforter, freeing his forehooves to wrap around the bundled up filly, drawing her close. She could feel his soft breaths on the back of her mane as he leaned down to softly kiss her forehead.
"Sleep well, Fluttershy. Tomorrow will be a better day."
The air seemed suddenly cold, his warm breath vanishing as she felt a pair of eyes watching her, the comfort of the bed lost as she shuddered.
"Fluttershy?" a familiar voice echoed in the room.
The pegasus twisted around to find the purple unicorn looking at her with sorrowful eyes.
"She didn't come back did she?" She looked on the verge of tears.
"No… she didn't…" Fluttershy set her head back down, closing her eyes as warm tears stained her cheeks. "H-he lied…"
[o.0.o]
"—ajesty?"
"Yes… I am quite sure."
"But, if only we had a bit more time to examine the dangers."
"Time we do not have, councilor."
"Your majesty, with all due respect, I hope you are looking at this as a Princess of Equestria."
"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?"
"Merely suggesting that you are not looking at this objectively."
"Oh?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"…"
"You are the regent of Equestria, your majesty. The leader of all ponydom in fact. To act so rashly is… is…"
"Unbecoming."
"Perhaps worse than that."
"Perhaps… perhaps…"
"Then can we call off this foolishness. To so willingly risk the elements… even for a conduit."
"A hero, I believe you mean."
"Even for a hero, Celestia."
"Ah, dropping pretense, you're finally learning."
"Celestia, please, as your friend, I only ask that you think long on this."
"I have, my student, I have."
"Former student now, Celestia."
"We are never truly more than students."
"A wonderful sentiment, I am sure."
"Then let us speak without pretense or sentiment then."
"Yes… let’s."
"…"
"This is stupid."
"Oh?"
"This is stupid and foolish. Even for you."
"…"
"…"
"You know I could send you to the moon for that."
“Bylaws may even require it."
"Indeed."
"…"
"…"
"Please… think! Think carefully. As a friend, I ask you."
"…"
[o.0.o]
"Fluttershy?"
A worried voice echoed in the darkness as Fluttershy stared into the shadowy abyss. She could feel a hoof shaking her gently, trying to break her from her mental stupor, but she simply lay there, unmoving.
"Fluttershy?"
"He lied…" Fluttershy murmured, no joy nor sorrow in her tone as she spoke.
It was simply a fact to be stated and recognized.
"He couldn't have known, Fluttershy."
"He lied…"
"He couldn't have known what was going to happen… he didn't lie."
"He promised she'd come back… she didn't…"
"Fluttershy…" The hoof left the pegasus as she drifted into the darkness, closing her eyes.
"Snap out of it!"
"Whuh?" Fluttershy felt a set teeth grasping at her wing, pulling her head from its place buried in cloud in a less than gentle manner.
"C'mon! Everypony's already left!"
As she trembled she felt the frustrated glare of the cyan pegasus on her back. "I-I'm s-sor—"
"I-I'm s-s-sowwy…" the rainbow-maned filly mocked her. Eyes narrowed, she stared at the trembling Fluttershy.
"B-but…"
"No. I don't care if you're sorry. I don't care if you're scared!" she paced around Fluttershy, ruby eyes always on her. "Nopony cares! Don't you get it?!"
"I… I…" Fluttershy stammered, tears welling up her eyes.
"Oh, don't even start that!" Rainbow pressed her muzzle to Fluttershy's as if to stare the tears right back into their ducts.
"Rainbow… It's just so…” Slowly, Fluttershy peered over the edge of the cloud before skittering back immediately as she saw the ground so far below. "High."
"But you, for Celestia's sake, you're a—uugggh!" Rainbow cried out in frustration, doing a short loop in the air to burn off some of the built-up aggravation. As her hooves made contact once more with the cloud, the rainbow-maned pegasus stood still, the frustration in her eyes replaced by confusion as the pair fell silent.
For a moment there was only the soft howl of the jet stream, Fluttershy's pink mane blowing in front of her eyes as she peered out from beneath her hooves at her disappointed wingpony.
"I'm sorry…" Fluttershy muttered quietly, turquoise eyes staring out from within the protective shelter of her hooves.
"Yes… yes you are," Rainbow replied coldly. She glared at her fellow pegasus a moment longer before sitting down firmly on the cloud, entwining her fore-hooves in a clear sign of frustration.
Fluttershy merely looked down at the fluffy white beneath her, digging out a small hole through which she could spy the ground so far below. With quiet meep, the yellow pegasus curled into a tight ball, burying her face into her hooves and mane.
"You are sorry, Fluttershy… so… so sorry."
With a gentle gust, she felt the other pegasus take off and suddenly she was alone on the cloud, the idle winds her only companion.
"Fluttershy?" A hoof, pressed to her flank, shook her gently. "Fluttershy, where are we now?"
"Twilight?" Fluttershy lifted her eyes from the protective darkness of her hooves to the softly smiling face of her unicorn friend.
"Yeah… still here, Fluttershy. I'm not going anywhere." She paused for a moment to look around and, as the unicorn stepped away, Fluttershy found herself in a familiar place. "Though, it looks like we have. Where are we now?"
"It's… it's Cloudsdale."
"Well, I guessed that much, but which part. This isn't the coliseum or the weather factory. Kinda looks like a school," Twilight mused as she examined the building in front of them.
"Well, it is a school. It's where they hold Summer Flight Camp every year too. And it's where I…" Fluttershy trailed off into silence as she looked over her body. She was still a filly rather than a mare.
It felt strange to be so young again, all the ancient fears and worries flooding back. She could see the gate where she'd been dropped off for the first day of flight camp, the thought of that day sending a shudder through her.
"Fluttershy? You okay?" somepony asked, but they seemed distant as she stared at the gate.
"Oh, you must be Fluttershy. Pleasure to meet you," a large pegasus mare intoned, smiling as she peered over a pair of horn-rimmed glasses.
Fluttershy shrank back from the mare, burying herself into the auburn mane beside her, refusing to meet their gaze.
"Fluttershy," came a slightly shocked voice, Fluttershy following the mane's motions as the pony attached to it sat down, wrapping a hoof around her. "Sorry… she's just a bit… well, shy."
"Fitting name."
"Yeah…"
"It's a very pretty name too. Wouldn't you say so, Fluttershy? It's quite a lovely name."
"M-maybe…?" she mewled quietly from within the protective curtain of her mother's mane before she slowly found herself lifted up.
"And she's a pretty lovely one too, isn't she?" Her mother stared at her with a bright smile and shining eyes, drawing out an elusive smile on her daughter’s face.
"Okay, Momma."
"I'll be just inside when she's ready, Miss…?"
"Sky Skimmer."
"When she's ready, Miss Skimmer."
"Okay," Sky muttered in reply as she rocked her daughter back and forth in her forelegs. "You're getting way too old for this, ‘Shy."
"Nu-uh."
"Yuh-huh," she replied, a soft nuzzle belying her disagreement. "Momma bird can't have her babies in the nest their whole life."
"But I'm not a baby bird, Momma."
"No, but you are my baby," she declared before attacking the filly's belly suddenly with a devastating raspberry.
"M-mom!"
"Remember, never leave your belly exposed or the raspberry monster'll getcha!" she mare warned before diving back in, a fresh round of stuttering laughs filling the air.
"Momma!"
"What?"
"We're at school…"
"Hey, if you're gonna be a foal, Shy-Shy, you're gonna be my foal," she smiled gently as she set Fluttershy back down on her hooves and stood up.
"I'll always be your foal, momma."
"Of course you will, but you still got to be your own mare."
"Bu—"
"No 'buts' about it. Every pegasus goes through flight school. I did it, your dad did it and now you're gonna do it. It's just a part of growing up, honey."
"I know…" the little filly muttered dejectedly, staring at her hooves.
"Don't worry, ‘Shy. I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends."
The voice faded as Fluttershy glanced up to find the shimmering image of her mother fading away into the darkness.
"Momma!" she cried out.
Fluttershy lept for the mare, but her hooves were left grasping nothing as she fell hard onto the compacted clouds beneath. The image twisted away like smoke in a breeze as a sudden cold took hold of her.
"Momma, come back…"
"Fluttershy?"
"What is it, Twilight?" The pegasus sniffled as she turned to look at the unicorn.
They'd been left alone by the fence.
The school now lay shrouded in an infinite darkness. The sky and ground below Cloudsdale had vanished with the memory, the hollow structure of the school all that remained as a frigid wind coursed over them, her tears cold as they drifted down her cheeks.
"I… I don't think we can stay here, Fluttershy," Twilight stated nervously, eyes fixed on the school as it began to crumble and tear.
"Why not… it's as good a place as any…" Fluttershy slumping to the ground.
"We need to go. Right now."
"Why?"
"Because if we don't go—”
The unicorn was cut off as the building shifted with a thunderous crack, the front of it falling away and through the cloud ground before the rest tilted into the newly punched hole, disappearing into nothingness.
"Go where?"
"I don't know!" Twilight yelled out before sinking down next to the pegasus. "I… I don't know, but we can't just stay here. It's coming."
"Let it… maybe then this will all make sense."
"Look around!" Twilight commanded, waving a hoof towards the gaping hole as the far end of the fence slowly peeled away into it with a rattle. "There won't be anything left when it gets here."
Fluttershy stayed quiet, watching the fence as it slowly slipped away into the hole.
What is wrong with me?
"I don't think it's normal, Fluttershy," Twilight answered. "I think it's doing this… whatever it is."
"But why?"
"I don't know, but you can't let it. We both know that."
"O-okay…" Fluttershy mumbled as she rose unsteadily to her hooves. "But how do we get out of here?"
"Just give me a second to think," Twilight replied, trotting over to what remained of the fence before running a hoof thoughtfully over the gate, bits of the cloud that formed it peeling away in her hooves before drifting lazily away.
"What are you thinking, Twilight?"
"About what you were thinking…" she mused mysteriously before turning. "What were you thinking about, Fluttershy?"
"It was… um…" A gentle pain at the back of her head made her wince as she tried to remember. "I think it was… it was mom… and my first day at flight camp."
"What else?"
"And… and…" The pain only increased as she thought back.
"Snap out of it!"
The words were like a slap of cold water against her face.
"The first time I met Rainbow Dash…" Fluttershy visibly winced as Twilight set a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "It, um, wasn't a very nice memory…"
"That's okay, Fluttershy, but I think we have a plan now."
"We do?"
"Yep!" The unicorn trotted away with a visible bounce in her step. "Tell me, what's been consistent this whole time, Fluttershy?"
"Um… nothing really. Just some… unhappy memories."
"Exactly!"
"Exactly what?"
"Memories, Fluttershy, memories! They're the key. That's what’s been off… that's what's missing! That's why you can't remember—"
Fluttershy buried herself into her hooves at the high-pitched scream the came from between Twilight’s slowly moving lips. The blinding pain split the pegasus's skull as the world blotted out for a moment, nothing but pain and a yawning void of darkness as her vision swam.
"Fluttershy! Fluttershy, are you okay?" Twilight asked worriedly, grabbing her as Fluttershy shivered in pain, breaths coming in ragged gasps.
"N-n-no… I'm not… it hurt…"
"It's okay, Fluttershy. We'll sort through this. We'll get them back somehow."
"A-all our friends?"
"Yes, I promise…"
"O-okay…" She struggled back to all fours, Twilight nudging her up. "S-so we kn-know it's memories n-now… wh-what do we do with them?" she asked, voice coming out in halting stutters as she prayed for the throbbing pain to fade.
"Think about it. We're in your head. This is your mind. These are your memories. Even me!" She punctuated each statement with a gentle nudge of her hoof, a smile growing on her face as she hefted the pegasus up.
"So… whatever it is—"
"Is playing on your terms."
"Okay… so what do I do?"
"Er… I don't know? We use that somehow…"
"Oh… right. Well, we keep visiting memories, right?" Fluttershy lowered her head in thought as they walked slowly away from the growing chasm behind them.
"Yes."
"An-and we end up following them. So, maybe I just have to remember someplace… a better place."
"A better time might be good too," Twilight said, head twisted to watch the ever-expanding void. "I don't think we have all that much left in this one."
"Okay… just give me a moment."
Fluttershy leaned heavily against Twilight as they continue their slow walk, closing her eyes as she tried to think of a memory. She thought back to that morning, to waking up in the emptied cottage, to the all-encompassing darkness…
"Fluttershy! Don't think about that! It just makes it grow faster!"
"Oh… sorry…"
With a grimace on her face, she tried to think back to her fillyhood, her foalhood ever, a scattering of memories coming out in a jumbled mess of images and voices. She could feel sweat beading on her brow as she tried to sort through them.
She was standing behind a rock, terror coursing through her as bits of it fell away to reveal—
The pain returned at the mere thought, not as strong, but enough to drown out her thoughts, driving her back to the present.
“Something earlier maybe…”
“Okay…”
“You're pathetic… I can't believe I got saddled with pegasus that's afraid of heights… what kind of pega—”
“Not that one either!”
“Oh… um…”
She screwed her eyes shut, before opening them again. Glancing back, she stared at the gate, watching as it crashed into the abyss, the clouds behind them beginning to sink into it as they trudged slowly away.
But her thoughts weren't on the gate… they were on the comforting scent of her mother's mane… of boiled carrots and celery… of a soft, loving embrace…
[o.0.o]
She had come home from flight school to find her father alone, the door to their cloud house left slightly ajar. He'd lept up excitedly for a moment before settling back down onto the couch.
"Sorry, Shy. Thought you were your mom for second…" he trailed off, but his excited grin never left his face as he patted the cushion beside him.
"I'm not that big, daddy." Fluttershy replied, hopping up onto the couch and pushing into a hug.
"You so sure?" He looked her up and down, a look of incredulity on his face. "You look like you're almost full-grown mare to me."
"Daddy…" Fluttershy laughed before giving quick a quick, familial peck on the cheek. "I'm not full-grown."
He paused a moment, running a hoof through her mane before giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "How's school been, ‘Shy?"
"It's been… alright."
"How's your flying?"
"It's getting better… Rainbow's been teaching me!" she exclaimed, a sudden excitement in her voice as she flapped her wings hard, launching herself into the air somewhat unsteadily before rising into a hover. "See, Daddy?"
"I see you, Fluttershy," he replied with a smile, watching the violent beats of her still-developing wings as she buzzed around the house. "Just be careful of—"
Fluttershy found herself in a sudden daze as her head smacked into the light fixture that dominated the center of the ceiling.
Birds dancing around the corners of her vision, the little pegasus felt her wings beat out of rhythm before halting their motions as she fell a few feet right into a pair of careful hooves.
"Gotta watch where you're flying,” he whispered, face contorted in worry as he hovered them into the kitchen. Setting the stunned filly down on the kitchen table, he dug through the icebox and emerged with a bag of ice clutched in his teeth.
"I'm… I'm okay…" the filly pegasus stated as she shook her head, trying to clear away the birds that pirouetted merrily at the edges of her vision.
"Well, let's do this just in case then…" He placed the ice bag gingerly onto a rather sensitive part of her skull. "Doesn't look too bad…"
"Th-thanks, Daddy…" she whispered as her vision slowly cleared, head throbbing distantly. Taking her forehoof in his own, he placed her hoof atop the bag.
"Alright, now just keep on that for a bit… should get the swelling down…"
"Swelling? What happened?" a worried voice asked, causing her father to flair his wings in surprise, nearly knocking the ice pack off.
"Sky?" He turned to the mare, soft bags ringing her eyes as they peered into the kitchen with worry.
"What happened to Fluttershy, Dewdrop?" she asked curtly, stalking over to the table.
"Sh-she just got a little over excited about flying… bumped her head on the ceiling light," he replied, withering a bit beneath the power of the mare's focused glare.
"S-sorry…" Fluttershy mumbled softly, adjusting the ice pack. “I didn't mean to…”
"It's not your fault, honey. We all get a little excited sometimes," he hushed the little filly, giving her a soft nuzzle as the stare slowly softened.
"Your daddy's right. We all get a little too excited sometimes." Her mother fell silent a moment, Fluttershy watching as they shared a curious look. "Are you okay?"
"I feel a little better already," she muttered, lowering her eyes the floor before returning them to her mother, glowing with excitement. "Oh, but you should have seen me!"
"She's got a bit of her mom in her, that’s for sure," the male said, putting a hoof on the filly's back. "Think she's got a natural flier in there… shoulda seen her buzzing around like a hummingbird."
"It was great, Momma!"
"I'm sure it was, baby," her mother replied with a forced grin as she brushed Fluttershy's mane away from her face.
"How"—her father bit his lip before continuing—"how did the try-outs go?"
"Oh… that can wait for now," she answered with a soft chuckle, lowering her head slightly as if trying to duck the stallion's gaze. "How was school today, Shy?"
"It was good… Rainbow's been helping me out lots!"
"Rainbow seems like a good sort. You ought to invite her over sometime."
"Really, that'd be wonderful," Fluttershy said, a face-straining smile now thoroughly plastered on her face.
"Yeah, how about this weekend maybe?"
"Really? This weekend, this weekend?"
"Of course." Her mother nodded, the same half-smile on her face, but the filly couldn't see it through the sudden wellspring of anticipation that flooded through her.
"I'll ask her first thing tomorrow!" Fluttershy declared excitedly, the pain of her head forgotten as the ice pack was quietly lifted away.
"Alright, doesn't look like anything major… you're good, Shy." Her father helped her off the table and to the floor. "Just be extra careful when you fly indoors, okay, little lady?"
"Okay, Daddy."
"Alright, why don't you go sit in the living room while your mother and I make something for dinner," he said, nudging her towards the living room with a not so subtle brush his wing.
"Okay," Fluttershy replied, trotting into the living room and plopping down onto the couch, grabbing a magazine from beneath the table.
Wild Equestria it was titled, the cover a picture of a mother manticore nestled with her young, a rather adorable sight considering the creature's reputation. As she began to leaf through the magazine, the kitchen remained quiet for a few minutes.
Soon enough, however, it was filled with the sounds of clanging pots and pans, a steady rhythm of cupboards opening and closing. Fluttershy lay on the couch, half-reading, half-resting as the smell of boiled vegetables began to fill the room.
With the smell, however, came the hushed voices as she listened in without really meaning to.
"So… how did the try-out go?" he broke the silence, keeping as casual and nonchalant as possible.
"How do you think?" she hissed back.
The kitchen fell quiet again save for the sounds of cookware, a knife striking a cutting board in a steady rhythm.
"It… it didn't go well. I’m sorry. I don't mean to snap like that," she answered herself with a soft sigh.
"I know you don't."
"Yeah, well… I still shouldn't be like that."
He didn't reply, seemingly focused on preparing the food.
"Dewy, say something."
"Just… just don't worry about it so much. We'll be alright."
"I know we will. It's just… nevermind…"
"No, tell me."
"It just kills me, y'know?"
"No… I don't. I really, obviously don't."
"I… I don't know how to explain it. At least, not without sticking my hindhoof in my mouth six ways from Sunday." She laughed a nervous, stuttering laugh.
"Still aren't getting out of talking. You can't keep on keeping on like this…"
"I know I can't. One day things'll get better and everything will be sunshine and rainbows… some manure like that, right?" Her voice cracked, seeming on the verge of tears as she tried to chuckle at her own words.
"Yeah… something like that."
"Y'know… before all this, I wasn't all the happy."
"And now?"
"Gettin' to that…"
"Alright."
"Before all this, I wasn't happy. Didn't much care to think on it."
"Then…"
"Then I was scared. Terrified. Not so much about it… but about everything besides it. I had a plan. I was gonna follow in Daddy's hoofprints. I was all set to too…"
"First in your class, former co-captain of the Junior Speedsters… all lined up… I know…"
"Then I messed up… messed up bad…"
"It wasn't so bad…"
"Not talkin' about us, featherbrain." A laugh belied the insult. "No, I messed up before that. That’s why I ended up meeting you in the first place. Betcha didn't know that part, didja? Huh, smarty-smart-smarty?"
"One point to Sky."
"Yeah, well, I think I damn near got myself blacklisted. Turned out I didn't, but now…"
"…it feels like it's too late."
"Something like that."
"So, what were you thinking when…"
"Complete terror, what else?"
"Ah…"
"It's not like that, Dewdrop. It hurts that you think so."
"I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, well, the silence is damning and all that rubbish…"
"Shh! ‘Shy's right there… language."
"Don't shush me, Dewy… just don't."
"Just… keep it down…"
"I don't have any regrets there. Get that through your skull… No. Regrets."
"Then why do you do this to yourself?"
"Do what?"
"Set yourself up for disappointment. You're gonna be moping around here for days."
"Hey, at least I'll be around for Fluttershy."
"That isn't fair."
"No… it ain't."
Their voices disappeared, the sound of the tea kettle going off blotting them out for a time as Fluttershy read through a rather horrifying description of a dragon that had made its den in the mountains near Fillydelphia.
"Heck, I don't know… could do me some good."
"What do you mean?"
"Sunshine and Rainbows, Dewy. If ‘Shy's friend lives up to her name, I'll have both over the weekend. We can make a day of it. Go to the fair or something. How come we don't go to the fair anymore? Shy's always liked the animals…"
"Yeah, she does, but you remember why we don't.”
"Oh, right…"
"B-but… I dunno, maybe things will be better now… we're all a little older."
"Yeah… more mature or something, right?"
"Something like that… Hey, Shy!"
"Daddy?" The filly jolted up from her half-sleep on the couch, peering over at the kitchen to find the table already set.
"Time for dinner, honey."
Fluttershy simply stared at the pair as they sat down around the kitchen table. The perfect tableau of a pony family before her.
But something lingered there, formerly unseen… formerly unheard.
"Fluttershy…?”
Formerly unnoticed.
“Hey… Fluttershy?"
Formerly ignored.
[o.0.o]
"Hey, Fluttershy?" A voice broke her concentration as she stared at the empty kitchen before her, Twilight off to the side, waving a hoof in front of her face. “Fluttershy? You there?”
"What happened?"
"Well… I think it worked… but I think this one might be only a temporary fix," she stated, pointing a hoof behind the pegasus towards the front end of the house.
As Fluttershy twisted around to look, she gasped.
Behind her, where the front of the house should have been was a blank white. Not a white cloud wall nor even the lack of a wall and overcast sky outside, but just a lack of anything.
It was empty space and, as her eye drifted to the edges of this patch of non-existence, it appeared to be growing. As she looked, the corners of the room bled away, tiny grains of existence whipping away into the white abyss.
"My goodness," Fluttershy said quietly, darting from the couch to hide behind Twilight, the unicorn merely giving a soft snort at the pegasus's antics.
"Fluttershy, we've got part of this puzzle now. We don't need to be afraid of that."
"We don't?"
"No, we don't," she reassured the trembling pegasus. "We just have to figure out a way to use this to our benefit… then figure out a way to get her back."
"Rainbow Dash?"
"Precisely."
"What do I do then?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Twilight asked, eyebrow cocked as she glanced over her shoulder.
"Um… no?"
"A memory of your parents brought us here… so if you can grab a memory of Rainbow Dash—a fresh one—maybe—"
"Maybe we'll find her!” Fluttershy interrupted, eyes glowing with hope. “You really think so?"
"I do, but who knows?" She shrugged, looking at the pegasus with a different pony's familiar, devil-may-care grin. "It's worth a shot, right?"
Fluttershy summoned all her courage as slipped out from behind Twilight, staring at the crumbling memory in front of her.
“Okay… Let's go.” |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 10 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2012-03-18T06:40:51+00:00 | 2014-08-25T03:39:31+00:00 | 3,333 | “—has been cleared and court has been canceled for the evening.”
“Excellent.”
“Milady?”
“Is there more?”
“Yes, milady. Councilor—”
“Wishes for me to reconsider once more?”
“Yes, milady.”
“Tell him that I have long considered it and apologize for our inability to come to a more mutually agreeable outcome.”
“Milady?”
“He'll know exactly what I mean.”
“…”
“Don't look worried. He's nowhere near as scary as he acts.”
“To you, perhaps, milady.”
“Just mention Whinnyapolis to him. That’ll straighten him out.”
“Duly noted.”
“…”
“And as to the other preparations, your majesty?”
“Have them brought here and send for the conduits.”
“When do you wish to receive them?”
“As soon as possible.”
“…”
“You are excused.”
“…”
“…”
“Your majesty?”
“Is there something on your mind, Miss Duster?”
“Er… well, yes. Though I fear it is not my place to say.”
“You may speak regardless.”
“Thank you, your majesty.”
“…”
“I wish to give my thanks. The young miss deserves as much… I think so at least.”
“…”
“Good luck, your majesty.”
“…”
“…”
“To us all…”
[o-0-o]
“C'mon, Fluttershy! We totally need to try the zipline again!”
“I-I don't know, Rainbow. It's really more for the younger ponies, isn't it?”
“Yeah, the ones that can't fly yet, but c'mon, it's still fun!”
“I-If you say so.”
“Then, c'mon. While the line's still short!”
A pair of cyan hooves met yellow-coated flank as Fluttershy was pushed towards the line, a sheen of nervous sweat on her forehead as her hooves dragged furrows in the cloudy street.
Her stomach had only just caught up with the rest of her body mere moments prior and already they were going again?
She gulped they drew closer to what was surely becoming the bane of her existence. Or at least the bane of the last half-hour as they queued up for the fifth of sixth time.
As Rainbow bounced excitedly in line, Fluttershy glanced back to where her parents had sat down on a patch of cleared out cloud. She could feel her heart leap into her throat watching their expressions, but, try as she might, she couldn't make heads nor tails of them. They sat beside one another, flank to flank as they spoke, never looking at each other.
Her mother wore an unreadable smile, eyes on Fluttershy and Rainbow. Her father's expression was nearly blank, watching on the wandering crowds that marched up and down the fair boulevard.
“Hey, Fluttershy, you okay?”
“Oh… I'm fine…” Fluttershy replied, her concentration broken.
“You sure?” Dash examined her idly. “You look a little bit greener than usual. Like, neon lime or something. Doesn’t look so good.”
“Oh, maybe I'm just a little, um, queasy.”
“Queasy? From this?” She jabbed a hoof in the direction of the zipline.
One end was anchored to Cloudsdale, the other end attached at ground level far below. The sight of the rope stretched out so far below sent an involuntary shudder through Fluttershy by itself, her wings ruffling nervously.
“It's just… really far…”
“Aww… c'mon, ‘Shy,” Rainbow said, hitting Fluttershy softly in the shoulder with a friendly hoof. “I thought you were over that. I mean, c'mon, a pegasus afraid of heights, right?”
Fluttershy didn't answer, turning away from her friend and shuffling nervously. She knew she shouldn't be afraid of heights. She was a pegasus after all.
The air was her meant to be her element, her domain. It was just that, everytime she looked down from Cloudsdale…
“Hey… it's cool if you don't want to do it again,” Rainbow offered, giving her a reassuring nudge. “I mean, you did look a little sick after the last one. Maybe you've, uh… got a bug or something.”
“Maybe.”
“Wanna go sit down for a sec?”
Fluttershy simply nodded, her eyes watery as she was led out of line to a nearby, clear patch of cloud. The pair sat down, Fluttershy stretching herself out flat on the ground. Her eyes trailed back to her parents, watching them through the gaps in the meandering crowds.
“You sure you're okay?” Dash asked in a strangely quiet tone, drawing Fluttershy’s eyes away. “You've been kinda quiet all day… even for you.”
“I'm okay.”
“Hundred-percent sure?”
“Yeah,” Fluttershy replied stoically, closing her eyes as she listened for the soft breeze.
“Fluttershy. I know I'm not the best at this kinda junk, but if you want to talk or whatever, I'm still here. I'm your wingpony after all.”
“I know you are…”
“Fluttershy?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
Fluttershy's eyes immediately snapped open to find the purple unicorn before her, a filly just like herself.
“Twilight? Who the hay’s Twilight?” Rainbow echoed as she shifted her gaze from Fluttershy to the unicorn. “You know her?”
“Y-yes…” Fluttershy replied, staring at the filly unicorn standing before her with a smile on her face.
“I think we did it, Fluttershy!” she yelled out excitedly, bouncing like… well, like a little filly, circling around the pegasus pair.
“What? What'd you do?” Rainbow asked, scratching her mane with a hoof as she tracked Twilight’s excited bounces. “Am I being pranked or… hey, wait a second…”
“We did it, Fluttershy! We did it!”
“Wh-what'd we do, Twilight?”
“We did this!” Twilight stopped bouncing, motioning around with her hooves. “All this! I'm not supposed to be here, Fluttershy! Not like this and not at all! We're figuring it out!”
“We are?”
“Of course we are, silly,” she replied with a bright smile, giving the pegasus a quick, friendly nuzzle before returning to her bounces.
“Wait…” Dash intoned, staring at Twilight, eyes on her forehead.
“What is it, Rainbow?”
Rainbow turned to Fluttershy. “She's a unicorn.”
“Well… of course she is…”
“You're friends with a unicorn…”
“Well, yes… so are you.”
“Okay, gonna ignore that for a sec. You're friends with a unicorn?”
“Yes, I am.”
“A unicorn in Cloudsdale.”
“Yes, Rainbow.”
“A unicorn… walking around Cloudsdale. Am I the only one seeing the problem here?”
“Oh, Rainbow, just because she's a unicorn doesn't mean she…” Fluttershy trailed off as her eyes went wide.
She spun to locate Twilight, but she found only a filly-sized hole in the cloud street below which she could hear a distant, wailing scream.
“Where'd she—”
“Twilight!” Fluttershy didn't hesitate, diving through the cloud with a powerful flap of her wings.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight called out as Fluttershy stretched herself out fully and folded back her wings, the winds tearing at her.
She could feel the chill of the high altitude as she pierced through them, chasing the string a filly-sized holes through the scattered clouds. The glow of the setting sun cast a yellow hue over the cloudscape that stretched out as far as one could see. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the royal castle in Canterlot in the distance, the moon peeking out from behind it. One eye on her target, she stared at the moon at the very edge of her vision, feeling something strange.
An odd presence drew her attention as a dark stain stretched across the lunar body. The mare in the moon stared as Twilight's flailing form loomed larger.
Larger and closer.
“Fluttershy, quick!” she heard a voice yell from behind her.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness…”
She heard the familiar scream as they shot downwards, eyes tearing up as the wind snapped at her face. Far below, as the ground rushed up to meet them. A familiar cliff side in the middle of the Everfree growing large in her vision.
Twilight's piercing scream brought Fluttershy back to her goal as she grasped one of the unicorn's hooves—
—and Rainbow Dash grabbed the other.
“Phew…” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she found herself supported securely by the pair. Suddenly, she slipped a bit from Fluttershy grasp and quickly they lowered towards the ground.
“Sorry, girls. I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two.” Fluttershy blushed nervously, Twilight's eyes on the cliff face as they descended.
As they reached the ground, setting the unicorn down safely, Fluttershy turned to face her friends.
Or what remained of them…
“Twilight?”
“I know…”
Fluttershy looked to find it was just three of them, a trio of blank, wisplike pony statues standing beside them. She could feel the cold chill as darkness descended on them, the light of afternoon blotted out by the eternal night that Nightmare Moon had promised.
“Is somepony going to explain what’s going on here?” a brash voice demanded, drawing both ponies attention.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy gasped out, immediately tackling her to ground and squeezing her tight. “Rainbow, you're here!”
“Yeah, I'm here! But where the hay is here and… oh…”
“What is it, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked worriedly, allowing Rainbow to slip from her grasp and roll to her hooves.
“I think, uh… I think my brain just caught up or something… and…”
Rainbow shook her head furiously, hitting it with a hoof a couple times for good measure. “What's going on here, Twilight? One second I was back in Cloudsdale… as a little filly. Now I'm in Everfree with you girls and back to being a mare.”
“I don't really have the specifics to be honest,” Twilight replied, scratching at the back of a foreleg, “but, as far as I can tell, none of this is real… even us.”
“You, me and Fluttershy?”
“No. Just you and me. We're in Fluttershy's head judging by the memories.”
“Um, girls, if you wouldn't mind?” Fluttershy interrupted timidly.
“What's up, Fluttershy?” Twilight smiled brightly, excitement hardly contained.
“Can you not talk like I'm not here… if that's okay.”
“Sorry. This is just a bit complicated and well… weird. Really weird.”
“Wait, so, we're in your head?” Rainbow asked, bringing her muzzle within a few inches of Fluttershy's, examining Fluttershy head as if looking for an entrance, peering deeply into her ear canal.
“It seems so.”
“But you're here too?”
“Y-yes.” Fluttershy shrank back, knocking away the cyan hoof attempting to pry open her ear.
“How does that make any sense? I mean, I feel real”—Dash paused to chomp down on her foreleg, letting out a loud yelp—“and able to feel pain.”
“Rainbow, you're not dreaming. Don't be silly.”
“Well, if I'm not me, then where am I? The real me, I mean—” She staggered back as a pair of yellow hooves wrapped themselves around her, a bundle of pink and yellow burying into her chest. “Er… Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy didn't answer. She simply held on tighter, cyan fur dampening with tears.
“Fluttershy? Twilight, what's wrong with her?” Dash asked, the tiniest tremor underscoring her voice.
“Um… Rainbow Dash… I don't really know how to put this but you—the real you—died.”
“What?”
The cyan pegasus sat down hard, taking Fluttershy with her.
Fluttershy pressed herself into her friend's chest harder as she felt an awkward hoof brush through her mane.
“It's okay, Dashie… you're here now,” Fluttershy whispered, choking the tears back as she squeezed as hard as she could.
“I… guess…” she croaked out in response, running her hoof down Fluttershy's back in jerky, unsteady motions. “Kinda can't breathe, Shy.”
“S-sorry…” Fluttershy released her, sitting down next to her and leaning against her friend's shoulder.
“So, um, how?” Rainbow asked before coughing softly. “How did it happen, I mean? Was it awesome?”
“Really, Rainbow?” Twilight asked incredulously, cocking an eyebrow at the now smirking pegasus. “You just found out you’re dead and that's what you want to know?”
“Hey, if it happened, it happened. No use in being sad about it forever.” Rainbow shrugged, hoof continuing to run down Fluttershy’s back. “And besides… I'm curious.”
“Well, you're Rainbow Dash alright.” Twilight chuckled, trotting over to the cyan pegasus to give her a friendly nuzzle. “Good to have you with us again.”
“Yeah… with you where though?”
“You don't recognize it?”
“Well, yeah. That's the cliff where… Ah…” Her face fell as she looked from the cliff to the motionless statues beside them. “The night we defeated Nightmare Moon?”
“Exactly.” Twilight motioned to the night sky, the moon lighting the cliff face, its surface devoid of the gray silhouette for the first time in a thousand years.
“Sooo, if this is a memory, what does that make us?”
“Er… well”—Twilight tapped a hoof against her chin—“I guess we're memories too, but I’m not sure to be honest.”
“I think…” Fluttershy began before falling silent, eyes flicking between Twilight and Rainbow.
“Spit it out, ponygirl,” Rainbow said with a gentle smile and roll of her eyes. “It's not like we're going to make fun of you. And we're not real anyways.”
“Well, um, like Twilight said, I think you two are memories or a mash of them,” Fluttershy whispered, brow furrowed as she thought back on all that had happened in what felt like only a scant few hours.
“Hmm… a conglomeration of memories given mild sentience… sounds like a legitimate theory, Fluttershy,” Twilight commented with a slight grin. “Better than anything I could’ve come up with, though, I am you in that case, so I guess it's exactly what I could’ve come up with.”
“Okay, so we're glomerated memories given sentences,” Dash motioned with a hoof for Twilight to get on with it. “So, what're we doing here?”
“Well… I figured that we needed to look for you.”
“And besides my exceedingly amazing awesomeness, why?”
“Um, well, since all this started with you… I thought it might end with you too.”
“Okay, then, you've got me. Now what?”
“I don't know?”
Rainbow promptly fell back to the ground with a sigh of exasperation.
“What are we trying to do, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked with a genuine curiosity, remembering the unicorn's panicked words at the library.
“Well… we needed to find Rainbow. I honestly thought something would happen when we did”—her tail flicked in agitation—"but apparently not.”
“Back at the library, you kept talking about going back to where it started too.”
“Well,” Twilight began with a chuckle, “I don't think we get much more beginning than this night… and…”
“Oh…”
The thought had struck both at the same moment, Rainbow staring at them with curiosity as they fell completely silent, just staring at one another as a pair of grins slowly formed.
“Uh… either of you gonna give a pony a break here?”
“Rainbow, don't you get it?” Twilight asked, an undercurrent of excitement in her voice.
“This all started when we went to the old castle,” Fluttershy continued.
“Old Castle? Where we beat Nightmare Moon?”
“And the snake golem too!” Twilight added.
“Snake what-um?”
“Big, giant snake made of stone. You were bit by it.” Twilight stared, Rainbow seeming entirely nonplussed. “You tried to buck it right in the face! You don't remember that?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nope, but that sounds like kind of an awesome way to go.”
“Do you remember bucking a dragon in the face?”
“Yeah. Still don't know why you let him off like that though,” Rainbow stated with an indignant huff. “He was still a jerk for taking a nap there.”
“What's the last thing you remember before now, Rainbow?”
“Um, I went over to Fluttershy's cottage… she was showing me how to make soup from scratch,” Rainbow answered, drawing a smirk out of Twilight. “What? My parents are coming to Ponyville for a visit! I’m supposed to entertain them or whatever…” She continued, a soft blush creeping its way over her face.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight turned from Dash to Fluttershy only to find her curled up in a trembling ball.
“Y-yes…?”
“Fluttershy, you okay?” Dash asked, eyes widening.
“F-fine…” she whispered through chattering teeth, fearful eyes darting between the pair as they looked upon her with concern. “P-please… Please don't make me remember it…”
“Er…”
Twilight tapped a hoof as Rainbow placed hers on Fluttershy's shoulder.
“What don't you want to remember?” Dash asked, her voice seeming distant.
“Fluttershy… I think you have to.”
“No… I don't want to. Rainbow's here. If I remember… she might… she might…”
“What's she talking about, Twilight?”
“She doesn't want to remember you dying, Dash…”
“D… does she need to?”
“I think she might…” Twilight whispered in reply. “There's something keeping her here, Dash. Something real bad. It all started with that… If we go back to the beginning, that beginning, then we might be able to figure out what's going on before it's too late.”
“Too late?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh…” Dash was quiet a moment before she burrowed underneath Fluttershy and standing up, leaving a shocked yellow pegasus draped her back.
“Rainbow?” she gasped out, kicking her legs softly as she tried to slide off of her friend.
“Fluttershy. Are you listening to Twilight?”
“Y-yes…”
“Do you understand?”
“Yes…”
“Alright,” Rainbow muttered, dipping her head to allow Fluttershy to slip onto her own hooves. “I'm not going to abandon you. I might be a memory or conglomeration or whatever the hay Twilight said, but I am still Rainbow Dash, got it?”
“Yes… thank you.”
“Okay. Now, I want you to listen to me carefully. If there's something here, something bad, then you—we are gonna have to do something about it,” she spoke carefully, rose-colored eyes staring down Fluttershy. “I'm not going to have my best friend from Cloudsdale sitting around moping while mind worms or whatever eat her brains.”
“Mind worms?” Twilight snickered a little, drawing a smile from both pegasi.
“First thing that came to mind. Sue me.”
“I think you read too many of those science fiction comics, Rainbow,” Fluttershy muttered, a small smile growing on her face.
“Well, I read a lot of them with you, if you remember.”
Fluttershy simply smiled at Rainbow for a moment. Even if she wasn't the real real Rainbow Dash, she was real enough.
That thought alone relaxed her.
“Alright, so what's the plan, egghead?” Dash asked, breaking the happy silence that had taken hold.
“Well, we need to get to that castle,” the unicorn began, staring off into the forest. “Or rather, we need to get to that moment. If Fluttershy can remember it, we should get there in no time at all. It worked to get to you.”
“Okay,” Rainbow murmured in response before glancing over at Fluttershy.
The ease Fluttershy had felt was all but gone at Twilight’s words. Her body immediately felt on the verge of collapse at the merest prospect of remembering it.
“Fluttershy, do you think you can at least try?”
She didn't answer, her throat feeling scarcely wide enough for air to pass much less words. Slowly, she shook her head, eyes lowering to the dirt.
“Um… backup options?”
“We try it manually,” Twilight stated with a solid stamp of a hoof.
“Manually?”
“We get to the castle and hope for the best. This is the night we beat Nightmare Moon. Maybe that will, I don't know, trigger a memory or something.”
Fluttershy glanced up, staring at the grinning unicorn for a moment in silence. Glancing around, her eyes fell on the trio of motionless statues around them.
“Twilight, what about everypony else?” Rainbow spoke up, following Fluttershy's gaze.
“They… they're already gone,” Fluttershy answered, something unfamiliar welling up inside her. “But we'll get them back. Won't we, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow simply smiled in return, giving Fluttershy a soft nudge.
“Absolutely.”
[o-0-o]
“—is requesting to see you, your majesty. I'm afraid his fears were not assuaged by your words.”
“By all means… see him in.”
“Right away, your majesty.”
“Oh, before you go.”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“What is the status of the elements?”
“They will be here within the hour. His lordship was somewhat particular about their handling and care.”
“As is his wont.”
“…”
“And the conduits?”
“Within the hour as well. They seemed quite excited by the prospect when it was broached. If you'll allow me, they seem to be a confident group.”
“Indeed, they’ve made Equestria proud.”
“Ma'am?”
“Merely thinking aloud, my subject.”
“Shall I see his lordship in, your majesty?”
“…”
“Right away, your majesty.”
“…”
“…”
“It is good to see you once more, my student.”
“Former student.”
“…”
“Perhaps you’re right, Princess. I worry too much about this… but somepony has to. The powers we are toying with here—”
“Are ancient and dangerous as I am well aware. I am a well-traveled mare, Dawny.”
“Dawny, you majesty? I would like to think I’d outgrown that name by now.”
“Indeed you have… And yet Dawny you remain. How about that?”
“Princess…”
“…”
“Celestia? How can this game continue? You know the risks as well as I do. In fact, you know them far more intimately than any ever could. They—”
“Speak your piece, Dawning. Do not spare me words if you wish to hold my respect.”
“They cost you, Celestia. They cost all of Equestria your sister for a thousand years. Can we so easily repeat that mistake?”
“You speak of this with certainty.”
“As certain as I can possibly be given the circumstances.”
“What I did a thousand years ago, I cannot regret it. I may lament it. I may sob and weep over it, but I cannot regret it. I did the right thing… for Equestria.”
“And what of now? How can this be right for Equestria?”
“You reveal your ignorance, Dawny.”
“It is not willful, I assure you.”
“…”
“What else have you kept to yourself?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Perhaps you cannot believe in my methods. Perhaps you believe in your knowledge, but these are things that are beyond any living pony save the alicorns. The forces we are dealing with are more ancient than any book in the archives, stretching farther than any line a pony can lay claim to.”
“Then please, by all means, illuminate me.”
“I may be the Princess of the Life-Giving Sun, but even I know that there are shadows best left in darkness, where the light of curiosity should not travel. I do apologize, Dawning. I do not wish for you to have to toil so in ignorance. I know how it eats at you.”
“…”
“I merely ask for your faith, Dawning.”
“Faith, Princess?”
“Yes, I assure you, I recognize the irony well.”
“And you bid it all the same.”
“…”
“Upon one condition.”
“…”
“…”
“A bold move. You pique my curiosity, my student.”
“Please, keep yourself safe.”
“Don't I always?”
“Celestia, I don't think Equestria can bear another such loss.”
“Equestria or yourself?”
“…”
“…”
“Good luck, Princess of Equestria.”
[o-0-o]
“And I think we've officially entered 'Creepytown Junction,'” Rainbow declared, rapping a hoof against the stone face of a manticore, reared on its hind legs and snarling silently. The statue glared at her as she made faces at the odd echo of the memory.
“'Creepytown'… right…” Twilight murmured in response, examining the sextet of statues facing the petrified beast. “It’s more strange than anything else.”
“Errgh…” Rainbow groaned as she pressed against the monstrous statue, sending it tumbling over to the ground with a thunderous crash. “And the deadly manticore is defeated by the one… the only… Rainbow Dash!”
Fluttershy watched in amusement as Rainbow took a victory lap around the valley before landing atop the fallen beast, giving it her best heroic pose.
“Rainbow… really?” Twilight groaned, a hoof pressed to her forehead. “This is serious.”
“Hey, just trying to keep the mood light.” Rainbow shrugged, hopping off the statue and pressing towards the darkened forest. “Let’s keep her movin’ then, ladies.”
Twilight and Fluttershy quickly trotted up, keeping close together as the forest canopy blotted out the night sky and the light of the moon with it.
The forest seemed somehow even darker than Fluttershy remembered. A steady, chilling breeze blew through, but the branches did not stir nor did the leaves or bushes. The muddy, sinking soil of before was now hard beneath their hooves, their steps echoing ceaselessly in the strange forest. The chill sent tremors down her spine as she pressed herself tightly against Twilight.
“Hey, Twilight. How ‘bout you work some of your magic? It's kinda getting too dark to see in here.”
The purple unicorn started at Dash’s sudden interruption of her thoughts, sending crimson flushing across her face as it was revealed in her magenta glow.
“Right. Good idea…”
Like the manticore before it, the forest seemed to be made of stone, the branches unmoving as Twilight's horn cast its light. As Fluttershy brushed up against a bush, she felt the hard leaves scraping at her coat, several snapping off with sickly crack.
“Why’s it like this?” Rainbow asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“I don’t know… I still remember what happened that night. All of it… It certainly wasn’t like this,” Twilight replied, waving across the petrified brush around them, hooftip sending the brittle leaves scattering to the hard ground.
“Maybe we’re getting close,” Fluttershy offered hopefully, steering herself and Twilight around the brush as much as possible.
“Hey, I think I see something up ahead!” Rainbow called out, shooting ahead excitedly with a flare of her wings.
With hardly even a glance, Fluttershy and Twilight galloped after her only to grind to a sudden stop.
“Deja vu…” Twilight muttered darkly as the trio stared at the monstrous trees, wickedly malicious grins abounding as the petrified forest menaced them quietly.
“Hey, check this out.” Rainbow beckoned them closer, standing before a quintet of statues in the middle of the trees.
These statues were different from the last ones. Now they had faces, frozen in silent screams.
Fluttershy walked beside them, inspecting them as she would an injured creature. She stopped at one in particular of the statues, a pegasus with a long mane.
“That’s me,” she stated simply, drawing Twilight's attention.
“Yeah, that should be. And that'd make this one Rainbow Dash,” Twilight muttered, motioning to the second pegasus statue just beside Fluttershy. “And this would be me or—”
Fluttershy dove to the ground, a choked cry of pain issuing forth from her throat. It felt as though somepony was dragging a rusty fork across her eardrum, Twilight’s voice drowned out by the high-pitched squeal.
“Fluttershy!”
Dash and Twilight were at her side almost immediately, lifting her to her hooves as she panted heavily. Rivulets of sweat ran down her forehead as the shock faded, leaving only a quickened pulse.
“Fluttershy, what happened?” Dash asked, lifting the other pegasus's head with a gentle hoof. “You okay?”
“I-I d-don't th-think so…” Fluttershy replied in stuttered whispers cut between sputtered pants and gasps as they led her away from the statues.
“It… It doesn't want you to remember…” Twilight stated.
“Remember what?”
“Us… them.” Twilight jerked her head towards the statues.
“How the hay does that work?” Dash replied in frustration as the trio moved beyond the covered meadow.
Fluttershy watched as they passed by a sixth statue, a bouncing mane topping it. No scream on its face, but instead a jovial grin.
“You'll remember, Fluttershy… I know you will.”
Fluttershy winced at the twinge of pain, however fleeting, but she felt better as they passed by the laughing pony.
“I-I… I think I'm okay now…”
“You sure, Fluttershy? We don’t mind or anything.”
“I'm… I'm sure,” she replied, their hooves leaving her reluctantly.
Letting Twilight and Rainbow Dash walk ahead a bit, Fluttershy stood and turned back to the statues. She looked at them, looking from statue to statue before her gaze settled on the final statue once more.
“I will…”
[o-0-o]
“—may not be too late… I do not wish a repeat of the past.”
“Nor do I, Sister.”
“You know that I do, don’t you?”
“Celestia?”
“I do regret that day… I regret everything about that day.”
“…”
“I regret everything about the months—the years—leading up to that day.”
“It was not you at fault, Celly…”
“Hmm… Celly…”
“…”
“I think that's the first time you've called me by that name since your return…”
“I…”
“Do not worry, Luna. I know I was not the best of siblings…”
“…”
“…”
“Celly, I am sorry if I have been distant. I simply—I did not wish to be a burden on you nor your kingdom. I thought it best if I… If I…”
“I cannot blame you for your anger, Luna.”
“And I cannot blame you for your actions, Sister. You did what was right. I was not myself. I understand that and I accept the blame.”
“…”
“Will they arrive soon?”
“Within the hour.”
“Good.”
“…”
“Let us begin then.”
[o-0-o]
“It's kinda squishy. Liiiike… a mattress full of gelatin maybe?” Twilight stated with an experimental bounce on the strange surface.
“Or an overripe nimbus,” Rainbow added as Fluttershy tapped inquisitively at the motionless river, the surface sinking before rebounding almost immediately.
“If you don’t want to walk on it, you two could always just fly right over,” Twilight offered from the center of the river, bouncing up and down slightly as she trotted back towards them.
“Might be for the best,” Rainbow stated as she landed by Fluttershy, following her gaze to the frozen sea serpent beside them.
“He looks sad.”
“It was a mustache, Fluttershy. He was clearly overreacting,” Rainbow deadpanned, rolling her eyes at the well-coiffed sea serpent. “Still can’t believe how we calmed him down.”
“You mean”—Fluttershy glanced back at the sextet behind them, a puddle of water surrounding them as a unicorn stepped forward—“generosity?”
“What was that?”
“N-nothing…let’s keep going.”
Fluttershy flapped her wings, hovering just above the ground before fluttering across the unmoving river to join Twilight on the other side.
“We’re getting closer. Feel any different?” Twilight asked, kicking her hooves as she tried to flick off some of the congealed water clinging to her.
“A little bit… maybe, I don’t really know.”
“It’s okay. We're going to get through this together,” Twilight said, turning to find Dash still on the other side, examining one of the statue ponies carefully. “Rainbow Dash! You coming or not?”
“Oh, yeah… Coming!” said pegasus shouted back before shooting across the river in a quick, rainbow-hued arc.
“What were you looking at?”
“Don’t you mean ‘who?’”
“Oh…”
“It’s weird. I remember them… but I don’t.”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
“I mean… if I’m a construsive memorial given stridence or whatever, I should have all your memories, right? All three of us should share the same memories.”
“That’s the uh… theory,” Twilight responded.
“Then why do I remember them when Fluttershy can’t? What the hay does that mean?”
“Hopefully it means that they’re still here somewhere…”
“It means we can win,” Fluttershy finally spoke up as they crossed into the forest once more, a look of determination crossing her usually passive features.
“Hopefully… yes.”
“Hey, Fluttershy’s right. We find this—whatever it is—kick its flank and everypony goes home happy,” Dash declared with a wide grin, mirroring Fluttershy.
“In a manner of speaking, yes. That’s the hope,” Twilight said, a smile creeping onto her face. “Just don’t get cocky. We don’t even know what we’re dealing with yet.”
“Aw, Twi, quit being such a wet blanket.”
“I am not a wet blanket. I am being practical.”
“Practical… wet blanket. To-may-to, po-tah-to.”
“Rainbow, be nice,” Fluttershy requested softly, smiling gently as the pair glared at one another. It was a comforting sight amidst the dark, stagnant woods.
Just up ahead, Fluttershy could see the tiniest sliver of light, a familiar chasm laying just beyond the edge of the woods.
“Hey, I think—”
“There it is!” Twilight shouted excitedly, bolting towards the gap in the forest. “We made it!”
“Twilight! Wait up!” Rainbow shouted after the galloping unicorn before her eyes went wide, shooting after her.
“We're almost there! We're going to—Whoa!”
“Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped as the unicorn disappeared over the cliff edge, followed shortly by a rainbow colored blur.
“What's with you and falling off things today?” Fluttershy heard Rainbow ask as she hauled the now furiously blushing Twilight back up onto the cliff.
“I… uh… forgot the bridge was out,” she admitted sheepishly, glancing over the side of cliff before letting out a relieved sigh. “Thanks, Dash.”
“No prob. Rainbow Dash don’t leave her friends hanging.” Rainbow puffed out her chest before deflating slightly. “Huh, bit familiar, ain’t it?”
Fluttershy and Twilight simply nodded as Rainbow trotted over to the edge, glancing down at the bridge’s remnants. Her eye traced the mess of wood and rope as it disappeared into a bank of fog.
Retreating from the edge, Rainbow stretched her wings before turning back to face her friends.
“This won’t take long,” she said, giving her wings a few test flaps before launching herself backwards over the cliff edge. “Back in a flash!”
“Be careful!” Twilight shouted, eying the fog nervously.
Less than a second later, Rainbow appeared at the other end of the chasm, rope clutched in her teeth. Working quickly, she hauled up the bridge, tying one end of it off on the rocky post.
“Great job, Rainbow!” Twilight shouted over the gap, testing the bridge with a hoof before stepping out onto it.
“No prob! Was even faster than I thought I’d be!” Dash called back before tying off the other half of the bridge and turning back. She grinned as Fluttershy stepped out onto the bridge. “Not even a chall—”
Fluttershy and Twilight gasped as, with a rush of wind, the thick fog shifted to separate them.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy cried out, ears drooping as she disappeared from sight.
“C'mon, Fluttershy!”
Twilight plowed ahead, preparing to charge through the unnatural mist, only to hit a wall when she reached it, bouncing back and onto her rump.
“Twilight!”
Shaking the cobwebs from her head, the unicorn lept to her hooves and strode back, more cautiously this time, to the fog bank.
“Rainbow!” Twilight called into the fog. “Rainbow, are you okay? Can you hear me?”
Fluttershy walked past the panicked unicorn, pressing a hoof to the wall of fog. It felt completely solid. Contrary to the river water, it had no give to it at all.
“Rainbow?!” Fluttershy shouted into the barrier, pressing an ear to it. “Rainbow, are you there still?!”
At first, she heard nothing at all. Then she heard a muffled voice followed by hooftaps from the other side.
“I’m still here”—she paused for a moment—“What happened?”
“I… I don’t know,” Fluttershy said, voice cracking as she ran a hoof across the barrier, searching for a hole, a fissure, a crack—any sign of weakness. “Can you fly over it?”
“Oh… good idea! Jus’ a sec!”
There was silence for a moment before Fluttershy felt a vibration surge through the barrier followed by a series of swears that brought a soft blush to her face.
“Where did Rainbow even learn those?” Twilight asked as she leaned against the barrier.
“I, um, have no idea where she would have, um, learned those,” Fluttershy muttered, cheeks flaring as ever brighter pink as she avoided the unicorn’s curious eyes.
“Rainbow, are you still okay?” Twilight called out, tapping gently.
“Yeah… I'm fine,” came the blunt reply. “Except for my pride and my skull… just fine.”
“What happened?”
“It didn’t work,” Rainbow declared bluntly.
“Well, I know that much!” Twilight yelled angrily.
“Twilight!”
“This is serious, Fluttershy,” Twilight hissed back, her eyes growing wild with fear. “This is not a time to be joking!”
“Calm down! Jeez… I’m fine here,” Rainbow interrupted, drawing the pair’s attention back to the opaque fog. “Just feels like I just flew into a cliff face. It’s kinda weird here, but I think I’m safe. Don't worry.”
“Weird?” Twilight looked from the barrier to Fluttershy, eyebrow quirked as she quivered nervously.
“Rainbow, what did you mean by ‘weird’?” Fluttershy asked, throat threatening to rend her voice from her.
“There’s… It’s…”—she fell silent a moment before continuing—“I dunno. It’s like there’s just nothing here. Just a whole lot of white.” Rainbow’s confusion sent a shudder through Fluttershy as she recalled the empty white eating away at her fillyhood home. “Think I’m just stuck for now. How’s it on your side?”
“Like a brick wall,” Twilight replied, hoof clacking against the barrier as she stamped in frustration. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she brought her hoof back to examine it. “Owwww…” she hissed in pain, shaking her now throbbing hoof. “Yeah, think we’re stuck here too.”
“Well, why don’t you two look for a way around,” Rainbow suggested. “I’m pretty sure I’m good for now.”
“No, no, no… we can’t do that,” Fluttershy stated softly, glancing from the fog bank to Twilight. “We can’t abandon her!” Her tone was high-pitched and panicked.
“Fluttershy, maybe if we look, we’ll find a way to get her out of there,” Twilight offered, setting a hoof on her shoulder. “There’s no sense in just waiting around.”
“Twilight’s right,” came Rainbow’s voice from the other side, “you need to keep going if you’re gonna figure this out.”
“But—”
“No, 'buts.' I need you to be tough right now.”
“Oh… okay…” Fluttershy muttered softly. “But what about you? What if something bad happens? I… I…”
“Nothing’s gonna happen. Worst thing, I'll be bored. Besides, even if something did hap—”
Fluttershy cut her off with a frightened squeak before muffling it with a hoof.
“Even if something bad does happen, I wouldn't be gone… not really.”
“But…”
“She's right, Fluttershy.”
“Listen to Twilight, Shy. She'll help you get everyone back.”
Fluttershy pressed her ear to the barrier, staring into the fog with bleary eyes. She could just make out her silhouette, just a vague outline in the swirling mists.
“You've got to deal with this thing.”
But something was off… the silhouette seemed to be growing, getting darker.
“Rainbow?” Fluttershy whispered, voice choked as the shadow grew.
Rainbow couldn't hear her.
“That’s the important thing right n—”
A flash of lightning split the skies, blinding Fluttershy as the accompanying thunder vibrated the wood beneath her hooves violently.
She could hear Twilight yelp as they were sent sprawling back across the bridge, tumbling along the planks. Fluttershy grabbed at the ropes to keep from slipping over the side. She lay there, sprawled out, forehooves wrapped tight around a bit of rope as the tremor ceased as quickly as it had come.
“Fluttershy, you okay?” Twilight asked as Fluttershy’s vision came back to her.
She nodded weakly, struggling back to her hooves before nearly losing her footing as she glanced back at the fog bank.
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cried out in a hoarse voice, half galloping, half flying to the fog barrier. “Rainbow! Rainbow, say something, please!”
“I… It…” Twilight was at a loss as she stared at the fog.
It was no longer a natural white. It was no longer as it had been moments ago, the color from her memory. The strange fog had taken on an angry red color, swirling violently before them as if a tornado raged within.
Fluttershy stood, her legs threatening to give out as she stared at the silhouette within the fog.
“Rainbow…”
The motionless silhouette of the pegasus seemed to be just on the other side, unawares as an enormous shadow loomed over her, seeming to fade and reform constantly.
No… no… no…
Fluttershy sat, petrified and helpless as she watched the shadowbeast rear up.
“Rainbow!” Twilight cried out as the beast came down with a thundering crash, sending ripples through the bridge and Fluttershy back to her knees. Through watering eyes, the yellow pegasus watched the beast fade away.
It faded, leaving the shadow of the pegasus behind.
A wickedly curved spike driven through it.
“Rainbow… please… say anything…” Fluttershy whispered through choked sobs, hooves sliding down the barrier. “Please… not again… not again…”
The cold breeze blew.
Somewhere in the distance thunder rumbled and the skies above shifted rapidly above them as it began to rain.
A sprinkle became a shower became a pounding downpour as the angry red faded back to its natural gray.
Fluttershy was numb.
She stared at the motionless silhouette on the other side, heart ready to burst at its seams. Her breath came in sharp, shuddering gasps as she weakly pressed a hoof to the impenetrable bubble. She mouthed the name as the syllables were rent from her, threatening to from her altogether. Nose itching from the acrid rain, a deep shudder ran through her.
“No…”
Fluttershy felt an almost imperceptible tremor course through her.
“No… no… no…”
The yellow pegasus sniffled softly, trying to wipe the rain out of her eyes with the back of her foreleg.
“No, that isn’t fair!”
Fluttershy glanced back to see Twilight’s horn aglow, the boards rattling beneath her as the unicorn charged at the bubble.
“Give her back!” Twilight screamed at the barrier.
Fluttershy gasped, falling to the side as the charging unicorn struck the bubble with a thunderous crack before skidding back a few feet and tumbling onto her back.
“Twilight?”
“It isn’t fair!” she cried out, seemingly oblivious as she righted herself and charged the barrier once more.
“Twilight! Stop!” Fluttershy cried out as the unicorn was sent flying back violently.
The fog barrier cracked with angry, mocking arcs of electricity, the same color as Twilight’s magic as the unicorn tumbled back across the bridge a good ten feet from the sparking orb.
Twilight groaned as Fluttershy immediately rushed to her friend’s side.
“Are you okay?” she asked, watching as rain struck the groaning unicorn, sizzling away on contact. Tentatively, the pegasus laid a hoof upon the unicorn only to yank it back, an arc of electricity scorching her hoof. “Twilight, say something?”
“It’s… it’s not… it’s not fair…” the unicorn choked out between tears, clutching her body as it shuddered unnaturally.
“Twilight, can you hear me?”
“N-not fair…”
Fluttershy watched as the rain deepened, wicking away into the air in a steady flow of steam. Biting her lip, she sat down beside the shuddering unicorn, reaching a hoof steadily towards her chest, ignoring the pain as the minuscule arcs of magic lanced across her hoof. Soon enough, she could feel the unsteady rise and fall of her friend’s chest as well as the steady flow of the arcane energy.
“Tw-Twilight…” Fluttershy whispered, drained as she struggled to heft the unicorn onto her haunches.
“Flutter… Fluttershy?” she mumbled in return, swaying in Fluttershy’s hooves as the harsh breeze threatened to send them tumbling off the twisting bridge. “You're still here?”
“I’m here, Twilight… it’s okay…”
“No, it’s not… how can you say that?”
Fluttershy didn’t reply as she felt herself slide down onto her haunches, leaving her staring into the unicorn’s half-closed, violet eyes. Twilight stared at her, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the rain as a distant rumble of thunder filled the air.
“It took her… it took her again…” Twilight stated bluntly.
“It isn’t fair…” Fluttershy murmured, her heart sinking into her stomach.
“It took her and we… we couldn’t do anything…”
“It isn’t right…”
She felt it, an indescribable warmth—
“Why are we so helpless…”
—building deep within of her.
“We… we aren’t,” Fluttershy stated. “We aren’t helpless.”
“It took them all. What are we supposed to do? What can we even do?”
It was a burning, wonderful light—
“We get them back.”
“But without her—”
—filling her being completely.
“We go on…” Fluttershy whispered, eyes shut. “We go on and finish what we started. We get them back—all of them—and we face whatever did this…”
“But… it’ll destroy us…” Twilight trembled at the thought. “It got her! If it got her… what chance do we have?”
“It didn’t get her, Twilight. It can’t because we won’t let it,” Fluttershy declared as she opened her eyes, pushing the unicorn to her hooves before rising herself.
Fluttershy took a step towards the still crackling barrier, its depths swirling violently as its color shifted again.
From gray to brilliant red, it soon settled on a mocking cerise.
But Fluttershy no longer saw the mist’s colors. Her eyes were focused now. She saw through it. She saw past the fog. She saw it.
“You won’t win!”
“But how will—”
“You hear me, you big, dumb meanie! You won’t get my friends!”
The light filled her absolutely, filling every fiber of her being, radiating into the aether and beyond.
“You won’t get Twilight or Rainbow!”
It was a light that could not be contained—
“You won’t get Pinkie—”
—could not be concealed—
“—Rarity—”
—could not be denied—
“—or Applejack!”
—that could not fail.
“You won’t win! I won’t let you! Do you hear me?!” Fluttershy yelled at the barrier before her, glaring with barely restrained rage. “What do you have say?!”
The fog within shifted from its former hue, deepening to a seemingly infinite black. She could see it within as it reared before her, blotting out the rains and sky as the shadow threatened to crash down upon them, upon everything
“Fluttershy?” Twilight murmured worriedly as the gray storm clouds were blotted out by the beast.
However, her eyes focused not on the vanishing skies, but on the soft light now encompassing Fluttershy.
A soft, pink hue that seemed to come from the pegasus’s very being.
“Fluttershy, you’re… you're glowing.”
She didn’t respond, grinding a forehoof against the bridge plank as she prepared a charge. With a feral snort, she galloped towards it, wings flared wide as she drove at the barrier.
“Get out of my head!”
As she made contact with the barrier, head lowered, time slowed to crawl.
In awe, Twilight watched the pink light that now surrounded the pegasus concentrated at the foremost point where Fluttershy had hit. The light grew and grew until it filled the unicorn’s vision, obscuring the black fog from view before it simply burst in a cacophonous explosion.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight cried out in panic.
The pegasus was sent hurtling backwards as an angry roar filling the air. Flaring her horn, Twilight grabbed the pegasus with her magic only to find herself being flung backwards with her, the pair landing in a heap on the cliff edge.
“Oh, by Celestia! Fluttershy, are you okay?” Twilight scrambled out from the pegasus. She wasn’t moving. Gently, the unicorn shook her friend. “Please be alright… please, please, please…”
“Mmmrph… Twilight… what happ— oomph!”
Fluttershy suddenly found herself at a loss for oxygen as Twilight’s hooves wrapped tight around her.
“I thought it got you! I really did!” Twilight buried her face into the pegasus’s shoulder before slackening her grip. “Are you okay? What just happened?”
“I… I don’t know. I just got…” Fluttershy trailed off as she turned to look at the bridge, jaw slackening at the sight. “Di-did I do that?”
At the chasm before them, the fog had been blasted from the bridge. The swirling black steadily whipped away in the wind as glowing flecks of soft pink light fell like snowflakes around them. Fluttershy scrunched up her face as one settled on her nose, tingling gently.
“It’s… so warm…” she remarked as it whipped away in the gentle breeze, staring up in awe.
Even the clouds that had covered the sky had dissipated, leaving a crisp, clear night to behold as a thousand stars twinkled overhead.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight came alongside the pegasus as they both stepped towards the bridge.
“Yes, Twilight?” Fluttershy replied, somewhat distracted as she idly traced the wandering paths of the pink orbs as they descended from the sky.
“You remembered…”
“I… I did…” Fluttershy murmured in response, looking down at her hooves as she thought for a moment. “I did! I did, I did, I did!” she exclaimed, drawing Twilight into a happy embrace before she hopped excitedly from fore to hind hooves.
“I think we really have a chance, Fluttershy!” Twilight stated, smiling from ear to ear.
“I think…” Fluttershy’s face fell as she glanced across the bridge at the strange gray statue just on the other side of the bridge.
Both fell silent, Twilight following her gaze. Slowly, they walked across, path still cast in a pink light as the tiny orbs continued to float down around them.
Fluttershy felt warm and cold at the same time, her stomach twisting as she knelt before the odd statue. It was a pegasus pony laid out on its side, a wickedly curved fang pinning it to the ground. Its eyes were half-lidded, face twisted into a pained grimace, hooves and wings splayed out awkwardly.
“I… I won’t let you down, Rainbow…” she whispered, kneeling down and resting her head on the statue’s chest “I promise.”
“You can do this, Fluttershy. We know you can,” Twilight stated, staring up at the swirl of magenta light marking the tower.
The tower where it all began.
I won’t fail you, Rainbow… |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 11 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2012-03-19T09:17:25+00:00 | 2014-08-26T04:31:13+00:00 | 1,755 | “…ain’t goin’ no place, y’hear? No matter what.”
“…”
“You wanna say something ‘fore we get started?”
“…”
“…”
“We’re here, Fluttershy. All of us are here…”
“…”
“…”
“Tha’s alright, Rares. Let it out…”
“…”
“She ain't lookin' too good, is she?"
"Applejack!"
"Sorry, I'm just…"
"We all are."
"…"
"…"
"Madames?"
"Oh, sorry… didn' see y’there…"
"That is quite alright."
"The princesses ready?"
"They should be here momentarily,milady."
"Thank y’kindly."
"Madames."
"…"
"…"
"Y'hear that, 'Shy?"
"This'll all be over soon."
"Yeah. We'll be back in Ponyville lickety split."
"…"
"Jus' you wait, 'Shy."
"…"
"Jus' you wait…"
[o-0-o]
The door to the ancient castle swung listlessly from its groundings as the pair entered the roofless room. The grand night sky cast a soft blue over everything as Fluttershy stared at the empty shrine at the center of the entry hall.
“The Elements. They’re already gone…” Twilight said, clearly disconcerted their absence as she ran a hoof over the shrine’s base.
“It must be farther along then we thought,” Fluttershy muttered, distracted and more than a little antsy.
As she studied the vines creeping over the columns that had once held up a long gone roof, she could hear the quiet pitter-patter of rodentine feet from somewhere ahead. Somehow, the sound set her at ease as she glanced from the lonely shrine to the tower sitting beyond the broken stained-glass windows lining the hall.
“Twilight, where are you?!”
“Look!”
The tower remained alight with the soft, magenta glow as Fluttershy and Twilight exited out the back of the entry hall.
The exterior stairs had long since crumbled away and so they found their way to another point of entry: a stairwell that spiraled upwards to reach the old throne room.
“Feels so strange to be here…” Twilight mumbled as they began their ascent, hewing close to the central column.
“How come?”
“Just, I’ve never actually come this way. The first time I teleported up with Nightmare Moon. I wasn’t even awake the second time,” she reminisced, brow furrowed as she trotted. “Nothing I’m going to get my tail in a twist over. Just thinking out loud.” Twilight fell silent with a soft blush, smiling reassuringly at Fluttershy.
Slowly they made their way up, the ceaseless echo of their hooves filling the stairwell.
Soon, a magenta glow began to creep down the stairwell and Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel a tingle of fear crawl up her spine as a cool breeze flowed down around them.
The thought of what might lay just beyond the last curve of the stairs…
She could hardly even bear to think of it.
“Twilight?”
“Yes, Fluttershy?”
“What do you think will be there?”
Twilight was quiet a moment, lowering her head in thought before glancing back up at her friend. Her smile was gone.
“I don’t know.”
“Oh…”
“I don’t know, but I know that I believe in you. And I know that you believe in our friends. I don’t think I need to know anything else right now,” Twilight whispered, giving Fluttershy a reassuring nudge. “I’ve just got a feeling.”
“A feeling?”
“Yeah. That they’re here for you. In here, out there… I just know that they’ll be all around you, lending their strength,” Twilight stated, smiling sadly for a moment before turning her attention back to the steps before them. “Maybe that’s kinda silly, but, either way, I always know that things will work out somehow when we’re all together. And we’re always together, Fluttershy, even when we’re apart.”
“Maybe.” Fluttershy stared at her ascending hooves. “They aren’t gone. They’re still here, out there. They wouldn’t abandon us. They never would.”
“Absolutely, Fluttershy.” Twilight nodded.
Steadily, the glow increased in intensity as they mounted the stairs, growing to fill the entirety of the curved stairwell as the drew nearer to the top. Then they could hear it, softly at first, but growing in volume.
“You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me!”
The voice boomed in her mind, its familiarity sending a quiver of fear down both ponies’ spines.
“Now you will never see your princess, or your sun.”
Twilight gave a visible shudder the throne room entrance came into view.
They rounded the last bend and gasped at what they found.
“The night. Will last. Forever!”
Maniacal laughter rang out in the deserted throne room.
“Where is she?” Twilight hissed as though the volume of her voice would control the appearance of the night mare, her head low as they entered the room proper. “You heard it too, right?”
Fluttershy simply nodded, glancing around the room with wide eyes and trembling hooves.
The room was just as she remembered, like the entry below only more complete.
But there was no Nightmare Moon.
Not even a statue of the corrupted alicorn graced the empty hall. The room lay completely bare save for the rogue vine that had climbed its way steadily into the room over its many years of neglect.
“She should be here. It only makes sense…” Twilight trailed off as she made her way to where the throne would have sat a thousand or so years prior, hooves moving at a quick clip. “She was right here.”
Fluttershy remained silent as she moved slowly towards the unicorn.
Something was off.
A heaviness in the air. A cold chill running down her spine.
It hadn’t been so foreboding even when they had been hot on the trail of the ponynapped Twilight Sparkle and her captor, the infamous Nightmare Moon.
Of course, she had been surrounded by—
“Fluttershy! Come look at these.”
Her reverie broken, Fluttershy looked to the empty pedestal at the back of the room as Twilight waved her over, a small smirk growing on her face.
“What is it, Twilight?”
“Look at these markings.” Twilight took a step back from the pedestal.
There, in a nearly perfect circle, was a sextet of scorches lining the edge of the pedestal’s top.
“They look—”
“New. Exactly. Feel them.”
Fluttershy ran a hoof over the nearest mark, her eyes going wide as she felt an odd warmth course up her hoof, a rather familiar warmth in fact.
“What does this mean?”
“I don’t know, but I think we’re in the right place to find out,” Twilight stated with a confident grin. She led the pegasus from the platform and back to the entrance. “It’s been here, Fluttershy. Recently, too.”
“What do we do then?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we just… wait?” Twilight shrugged, settling down beside the stairs.
“We can’t just wait. There has to be a way,” Fluttershy stated, fur bristling even as her stomach twisted into knots, hardly able to believe the words coming out of her mouth. “There has to be a—”
“Way to draw it out?” Twilight asked, face stern as they looked into one another’s eyes.
“Y-yes?” Fluttershy felt her heart sink.
“You know how we can.”
“I… I can’t,” Fluttershy whispered.
“It worked once before,” Twilight stated calmly. “I don’t like it either, but I don’t like the idea of just sitting here and doing nothing even more.”
Fluttershy’s voice was lost for a moment, managing only a soft squeak of discontent.
She couldn’t let the unicorn do it.
She simply couldn’t.
“No… we can find another way.” She couldn’t look the unicorn in the eye as she spoke.
“We have to try.” Twilight laid a hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder.
“No…” She shrugged off the lavender hoof before sinking to the floor.
“It’s the only thing we know works…”
“Please… just no…”
“Fluttershy…”
“We’ll find another way!” Fluttershy yelled suddenly, Twilight jumping back a solid foot as the pegasus’s tear-stained face glared up angrily.
Twilight simply stared for a moment.
Her breaths came in hard, ragged gasps, her eyes bloodshot, wild and desperate. After a second or two, the pegasus slipped back to the ground, eyes closing as the tears ceased to flow.
"I… I don't want to be alone…" Fluttershy spoke in little more than a whisper, the room blotted out by her thick pink mane as it flowed in front of her muzzle.
Soon, the only sound in the room was the nervous shuffle of hooves drawing nearer until Fluttershy felt them embrace her.
“You won't be alone, Fluttershy.”
[o-0-o]
“We're almost ready.”
“Good… good…”
“…”
“I am glad that you've decided to attend, my student.”
“I thought it best that I observe. Just in case the worst does come to pass.”
“…”
“…”
“So little faith.”
“You would know best, milady.”
“And such insubordination as well. I fear I’ve taught you too well.”
“…”
“…”
“I believe in you, milady. But all this. Just too much is unknown.”
“Indeed.”
“I stand by my prior assessment. The risk—”
“Is high. Your fears are understandable. There is a great deal of fear to be had, toiling in ignorance, but this is a burden that were—are forced to bear.”
“Forced?”
“…”
“I fail to see how we are being forced in any way. This is not a necessary risk in the least. There are other conduits. Perhaps it would take time, but surely it would mitigate the danger if not your conscience.”
“There may be… greater dangers in not taking this risk.”
“…”
“…”
“What aren't you telling me, Celestia?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Your majesty!”
“…”
“M’lord?”
“…”
“Are they prepared?”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Let us begin then.”
“Yes… let’s.”
[o-0-o]
Fluttershy trembled in Twilight's grasp; the hooves were warm, but devoid of any comfort as she found her thoughts playing the moment over and over in her head.
If it had done what it had to Rainbow Dash, what were the chances that Twili—
“It's a chance we need to take,” Twilight whispered softly, her chin resting atop the pegasus's head as her hooves held tight. “I… I'm scared too. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I'm not what's important here. You are, Fluttershy… you are.”
“But… I can't do this alone…”
“You won't be, Fluttershy. Remember, even if I'm not here, I am. Dash had it right. You’re what matters here. Not Rainbow Dash. Not me. Not Pinkie or Rarity or Applejack. Besides”—she paused a moment as Fluttershy tilted her head up to look—“I know you'll remember us. I know you'll win because I know you.”
Fluttershy lowered her gaze to stare at the empty room around them, glancing at the pedestal at the center of the room.
She recalled the corrupted alicorn standing at the room’s center. She thought back to the night she had sealed her friendship with not only Twilight, but the others as well. Ties that had previously looped between them by happenstance and chance were solidified and tightened. She could feel the warmth she’d felt that night as she looked from the deserted pedestal to Twilight's smiling, confident visage.
“O-okay. You’re right. We can do this.” She slipped from the unicorn's hooves and rose to her own.
“Know we can, Fluttershy,” Twilight said in response, rising and trotting over to the pedestal. “Okay… right about here.” She positioned her hooves carefully before looking back at the still trembling but determined pegasus. “Ready?”
“Well, no… but I know we have to,” Fluttershy said with a wry little smile. “How are we doing this?”
“I figure if you stay by the door and I stand here,” Twilight began, motioning to her hooves, “then we might trigger the memory.”
“And you think that will work?”
“It's worked pretty well so far,” the unicorn stated with a shrug of her shoulders.
As Fluttershy watched on, Twilight stared intently at the center of the platform.
She stared.
For a few seconds…
…then minutes…
“Twilight?”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing is happening,” Fluttershy stated bluntly, shifting from forehoof to forehoof nervously.
“Yeah… I can see that,” Twilight replied before falling silent, glaring at the faulty platform. “Stupid rock.” She growled audibly before perking back up. “Maybe if you go down the stairs and come back up?”
“Um… I'd rather not,” Fluttershy admitted, sweeping an idle hoof across the floor. “If you wouldn't mind…”
“Fluttershy…”
“Okay,” the pegasus agreed in little more than a murmur, trotting towards the staircase.
She paused a moment at the top to glance at Twilight.
“It'll be alright, Fluttershy,” her friend reassured her, the soft smile belying the nervous tremble of her body. “I know it will.”
Fluttershy didn't speak, she simply nodded before trotting down a few steps until the room was out of sight.
“Twilight!”
“Yeah?” the reply echoed off the stone walls.
“I don't think this is working!”
“Just give it a minute!”
“I don't think it's—”
A harsh shriek issued forth from the top of the stairs, Fluttershy's eyes going wide as the fur on the nape of her neck stood on end.
“Twilight!”
An evil laugh filled the stairwell as they ran up the stairs.
They’d recognized the shriek. The thunderous crash of hooves on stone that followed had only fed the doubts and fears, but they were compelled onwards. They felt something. Something that permeated the very air.
“Don't worry, Twilight, we're here,” Pinkie called out as they pressed on.
“Don't worry, we'll be there,” Applejack hollered as well.
A chorus of hope for the lone unicorn as she faced the threat of Nightmare Moon.
Alone, but not for long.
“You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that?”
They arrived at the top to find Twilight in a standoff with the corrupted alicorn. The dark visage of the alicorn spoke of a rage barely contained as they took flanked their newfound friend.
“Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!”
As she spoke, the remnants of the elements began to shake and shudder and glow at the dark alicorn’s feet.
“What?” Nightmare Moon reared back in surprise as they lifted into the air all around her.
“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty!”
A few of the remnants broke away to encircle Applejack, glowing a soft orange as they did so.
Fluttershy glanced at to the main concentration to see another grouping of shards peeling away.
“Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness!”
She flapped back as the now pink glowing shards surrounded her, arcing around her almost protectively.
“Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter!”
Pinkie bounced up excitedly as a group of blue shards surrounded her, Fluttershy smiling softly at her infectious excitement.
“Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of Generosity!”
The usually talkative fashionista blushed as a ring of purple shards surrounded her.
“And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of Loyalty!”
Rainbow simply hovered, her determination unwavering as red-glowing shards flew around her, glinting dangerously.
“The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us.”
“You still don't have the sixth Element!” Nightmare Moon sputtered, a subtle fear tinging in her voice. “The spark didn't work!”
“But it did. A different kind of spark,” Twilight corrected the alicorn before turning to her allies. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me… when I realized that you all”—she turned her focus back to the alicorn—“are my friends!”
Fluttershy gasped as a ball of light formed just above them.
Rays of blinding-white light flooded down as a new element, the sixth, descended just above Twilight as the dark alicorn could only shield herself from its light.
“You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the… the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of… Magic!”
Fluttershy felt a warmth invade her as the shards surrounding her no longer simply glowed with the light, but were imbued fully with it. The gray stone became pink crystal as she felt their energy flowing through her every cell and fiber. She closed her eyes as the pink crystals shot towards her, opening them once more to find that they had formed a singular crystal that now hung about her neck in a clasp formed from the aether.
As she closed her eyes again, however, she did not find herself staring into the familiar dark, but, like a babe opening its eyes for the first time, she saw the world anew.
She saw her friends as they surrounded her, but not as mere unicorn, pegasus or earth ponies.
She saw them not as ponies at all, not as mere corporeal beings that could be brushed aside by the threat before them.
She saw the light of their very being made visible. The glowing silhouettes of their auras reaching out to touch her own as they all flowed together around the Twilight’s magenta silhouette before forming into a ball of pure light as they all lifted into the air.
The pure ebbed and flowed together into a rainbow of light that coursed upwards before swirling around the now screaming alicorn.
Her cries increased in volume as Fluttershy could feel the energy being drained from her, the fuel for something she couldn’t explain but implicitly understood. She could feel something building as the rainbow formed a brilliantly colored tornado around the dark alicorn.
And, as she looked over, she could make out the black silhouette of its form within the vortex, but beyond it, she could see the faintest outline of another aura, an aura of midnight blue within the black shell.
Finally, Fluttershy felt it coming to a head, the alicorn’s cries fading beneath the sound of the whirling magic. But something was wrong… something was off.
She could hear it.
Softly at first, but growing by the second until it filled Fluttershy’s mind and subsumed her thoughts in fear.
Laughter.
It was laughter.
Dark, knowing laughter.
Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open in time to watch the rainbow twist and shift before exploding outward, sending the ponies scattering across the room. Fluttershy tumbling back along the floor before collapsing in a dazed heap.
With a groan, shelooked up to find that the rainbow vortex remained, swirling about the dark alicorn as her laughter filled the hall.
“Did you honestly believed you could defeat me so easily?”
Fluttershy watched in horror as the colors bled from the rainbow and vanished into the gray air, slowing as the energy was taken from it.
“Oh, you poor… poor little foals,” the voice calmly reproached them, speaking as if to a child whose ice cream had fallen into the dirt. “So much faith. Broken so very easily.”
Fluttershy trembled as the vortex halted, leaving a gray swirl that began to chip and crack. Panicked, she glanced from the disintegrating rainbow to her friends as they lay, scattered and struggling.
“Oh, my sad, pathetic, little ponies…”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as the rainbow crumbled to reveal the dark alicorn.
Or rather, what she had become.
“Perhaps now you will know…”
An audible gasp rose from the ponies as it rose from the ashes of harmony. Wisps of pure darkness curled up from its pitch-black form as it stepped forward, smiling with glinting teeth that would’ve seemed more at home on a dragon or a manticore than anything remotely equine in nature. It looked upon them with cruel, draconic eyes that seemed to pierce, sending a shudder of fear through Fluttershy as she struggled to her hooves.
“This ain’t right… this ain’t how it happened…” Fluttershy heard Applejack’s voice echo softly beside her.
A deep, rumbling laugh echoed in the hall as the nightmare strode towards them. Fluttershy could feel her knees trembling as the floor began to shake and, with a cacophony of cracking stone, the room tumbled apart around them as the nightmare filled it fully.
The deepest dark filled the sky above them as the beast stared down at them.
“Now you will know your folly!”
Fluttershy gasped as a trio of shadowy tendrils lashed out around her. She watched as they struck at and then through her friends. One by one they cracked and burst apart in bursts of light that were soon consumed by the dark.
For a moment, Fluttershy was silent.
Then she felt it building in her constricted throat.
She screamed.
She screamed as the last of them faded.
She screamed as the tendrils lanced towards her.
“Fluttershy!”
She screamed as they tightened around her neck, choking the voice from her as she was thrust into the air.
All she could do was kick her hooves futilely, trembling wings clasped to her sides as she stared into those terrible, slitted eyes before her as their color shifted.
“Fluttershy! Hold on!”
She could hear the yells as the beast’s gaze pierced her with its now red eyes. She gave a shudder as her limbs went limp, the air cut off. She could feel everything starting to slip, the image before her swirling and fading the longer she stared.
“Let her go!”
The crackle of electricity filled the air as the nightmare let out a bestial roar, shaking her to the core.
She felt the beast’s grip slip from her and soon enough she felt stone beneath her hooves once more.
“It could have been gentle, you know…”
She heard it whisper in her mind, the voice seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Gasping and choking, she stared up at the now smirking nightmare.
“Get away from her!” Twilight yelled, drawing the nightmare’s attention as her magic concentrated around her horntip. She growled as her horn arcced with arcane energies, moving to fill the space between Fluttershy and the nightmare.
“So sad,” it remarked, simply shaking its head, the omnipresent smirk remaining as it feigned its sympathies. “This could have been so much easier if you’d just been cooperative. Nopony had to be hurt.”
“Liar!” Twilight hissed, bits of magic shooting off her horn as she wielded it like a torch against the darkness before them.
Fluttershy could say nothing, her body refusing to comply. Whether it was to flee or fight, it didn’t matter. She could only stare at the beast, trembling with an all-encompassing fear.
“Well, if you shall cling to these”—the nightmare leaned dangerously close to Twilight—“silly little apparitions, perhaps I will simply have to rid you of them.”
The nightmare shot forward, the magic surrounding Twilight’s horn dispelling as the unicorn ducked the beast’s snapping jaw with a frightened yelp.
“Twilight!” Fluttershy managed to cry out as a tendril of darkness snaked forward to grab Twilight’s neck and hoist her into the air.
Legs kicking against the incorporeal shade, she was lifted up to eye level with the nightmare.
“What a sorry apparition you are. Strange that you’ve survived this long.”
“D-don’t hurt her,” Fluttershy stammered out. “P-please… don’t.”
“Do you hear that, my little apparition? Do you hear how pathetic your master is?” the shadow asked the flailing unicorn as its form twisted and shifted, the once equine shape losing its definition as it grew larger and longer. “Perhaps you should have learned from her.”
“Fluttershy…” Twilight gasped out as she was lifted higher and higher.
“Please… please don’t…” Fluttershy choked on the words, tears flowing freely.
“Fluttershy… don—”
The beast grinned wickedly, a pair of monstrous fangs now protruding from its maw as it choked the life from its victim.
“Fluttershy… don’t give… don’t give in…”
Fluttershy found herself unable to reply, feeling her frightened eyes upon her.
The beast merely laughed as it lowered the unicorn towards Fluttershy.
“Oh, what shall you do, little pegasus?” it rumbled with a mocking laugh, the grin widening as it became more and more defined, scaly tail wrapped tight around the unicorn’s throat.
I won’t let you down, Twilight… any of you…
The serpent’s laugh filled the hall as it looked upon her with malice-filled eyes. Its body coiled as it reared to its full height, the throne room groaning as it expanded impossibly to accommodate the beast’s massive girth.
Slowly, the beast brought Twilight down to Fluttershy’s level so that they might look one another in the eye.
“Perhaps you need a moment,” it said, black tongue flicking out.
“Flutter… shy,” Twilight choked out, voice strained. “I know you ca—”
“Twilight!”
Fluttershy’s cry mixed with the echo of the snap and, with a soft thud, the body hit the floor just before her. Her neck was twisted at an odd angle, lolling, eyes still wide open.
“Oops, too late.”
“Twilight.” She stared at the now motionless unicorn, shuddering as she brushed a hoof across her side.
She felt cold… so cold…
Slowly, before Fluttershy’s eyes, the colors faded, leaving behind a cruel, stone representation of the unicorn.
“Oh, this just won’t do,” the snake cooed, trailing a coil cautiously over the stony remains. “We certainly can’t leave her in such a state. It simply wouldn’t do.”
The beast pulled back, Fluttershy moving to grab the unicorn before it slammed its tail hard into the ground, sending Fluttershy back onto her stomach and the statue into the air.
“No!”
Fluttershy made a desperate to dive for her, but, as she skidded across the floor with a powerful flap of her wings, she watched it crack and break apart.
Trembling, she felt the ash settling around her, a small pile accumulating in the soles of her forehooves before the horn hit, shattering completely.
She simply stared for a moment, eyes burning as she felt the bile bubble up in her throat.
“Tell me, little one.” The snake curled about the trembling pegasus, its voice cooing gently as Fluttershy felt its tongue tasting the air around her. “How long do you wish to play this game of yours?”
Fluttershy was silent, the snake’s breath scattering the ashes across the floor as she could only watch.
“Or rather,” the serpent’s voice filled with a cruel sneer as it encircled her, “how much longer can you keep playing this game?”
The pegasus whimpered, eyes screwed shut, as the serpent’s tongue flicked through her mane, tasting her apprehension, her fear, her cowardice.
“Such a weak, pathetic specimen. Are you certain you’re even a pegasus?” the nightmare asked with a smile, lowering itself to eye level as it shrank to a more manageable size. “Hardly even a pony. Perhaps something in the rodent family would have suited you better. Perhaps even a hermit crab.”
Fluttershy curled tighter around herself as the nightmare shrank to a pony-sized serpent. She could feel the coolness of the scales as they sapped the warmth from her. The light dimmed and the throne room faded away until it was just Fluttershy and the nightmare, suspended in darkness.
“Now… your friend on the other hoof…”
Fluttershy’s ears perked, shivers ceasing even as the coils tightened.
She felt it once more.
“Rainbow Dash. There was a specimen of a pegasus. So bold. A bit arrogant, but a pony that could get things done,” the nightmare mused as Fluttershy’s eyes opened to stare at the distracted serpent. “That could have been a challenge. Some sport at least.”
Fluttershy felt it growing within her, a familiar feeling.
“But alas, we have poor, pathetic little Fluttershy. Truly is a fitting name for you, isn’t it?”
”Stop talking about her…”
“What was that?” the snake asked mockingly, uncoiling slightly as it looked at her. “Does the poor widdle Fwuttershy have something to say?”
“Stop talking about her,” Fluttershy growled, eyes shut as a few stray tears curled down her cheeks. “You don’t have the right.”
“Oh, and who will be stopping me, little one?”
“I will,” Fluttershy whispered, eyes opening to reveal a pair of glaring turquoise eyes.
“Hmph,” the nightmare snorted, unfazed by the pegasus’s stare. “You must be kidding.”
“You won’t win,” she stated, the edges of her eyes beginning to glow, a soft pink light filling them.
“Oh, this again,” the snake mused, drawing back as Fluttershy stood, her body filling with strength. “Perhaps this will be a bit more interesting.” The snake chuckled as it rose again, its mass increasing once more to fill the blown apart throne room, the light casting away the darkness.
“We beat you once. We can do it again,” Fluttershy whispered, taking a solitary step towards the serpentine monster as her wings flared aggressively behind her.
The pegasus’s natural turquoise eyes had been subsumed by the pink light and she could once more see the beast, not as it appeared, but as it truly was: a formless shadow that pulsed and throbbed with darkness. She traced the flowing black tendrils that extended from its body, linking it to the shifting throne room.
“Oh, this will most entertaining,” the nightmare remarked, voice no longer coming from its serpentine mouth but the room itself, the stones trembling with its deep, rumbling bass.
“You don’t scare me,” Fluttershy stated, her conviction wavering ever so slightly as she heard the stonework groan, threatening to collapse around them.
Spiderwebs of cracks shot through out the stonework as a deep, throaty rumble surrounded the lone pegasus.
“But you should be.” The tremors of the beast’s laughter shook the room to its very foundations as the shadow expanded ever larger before, without warning, it cracked apart. “Only a mad pony wouldn’t be…”
The room split right down the middle, the walls and windows snapping into twisted shards that burst outwards, leaving only the barest structure remaining as a few stray columns and the entrance were still rooted to the relatively intact floor by vines.
Fluttershy glanced about, eyes wide as the forces of gravity seemed lost to this world, bits of the former room hovering as remote islands in a sea of endless dark.
“For you see, dear Fluttershy,” the serpent began, “you are in my domain now.” |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 12 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2012-08-30T21:07:58+00:00 | 2014-08-28T04:13:20+00:00 | 1,866 | “Something about all this jus’ ain’t sittin’ right.”
“Doesn’t matter… we have to do this.”
“I know. Doesn’t make this feel any better though. Can’t say I’ve ever seen her look so worried… either of ‘em.”
“I… none of that matters. We know what we have to do. We’re here. Let’s do it.”
“I don’t mean nothin’ like that. Just feels like we’re missin’ things, y’know? Like they're keepin’ somethin’ back.”
“…”
“…”
“I know… same here.”
“…”
“…”
“Are you two ready?”
“As we’ll ever be.”
[o-0-o]
Debris fell like hail around her as the snake smashed into and, with a flex of its massive coils, through the column.
Fluttershy skittered along the floor before lifting back into the air as it pulled itself from the ruined stone and dust. It let out a rumbling growl as it turned to face, scaly lips twisted in a grin.
She had only time to gasp before raising her wings up high to sink beneath the serpent as it coursed by just above, scaley underbelly scraping against her wing tips. Mouth agape, Fluttershy watched as yard after yard of monstrous beast flowed overhead, her wings working in slow flaps as she studied its fleshy armor..
It seemed endless.
“You are in my domain now.”
“It doesn’t matter where we are! You won’t win!” she yelled as the serpent looped around itself to face her.
Fluttershy could feel the dread threatening to overwhelm her as she studied the the long, thick fangs that hung from its maw, dripping with a black sludge.
“You won’t win! I won’t let you!”
The beast merely laughed, sending a shudder coursing down her spine. She wanted to run, to flee far from this room, but she pushed down the fears and held her head high. Swallowing hard, she held her ground as it reared to attack again.
It lunged, serpentine body cutting through the air as she felt the familiar power building. She didn’t move save to maintain her altitude as it drew nearer and nearer, maw spread wide. The gaping black of its open throat threatening to consume her, she merely stared down the approaching doom.
At the last second, she rolled over in the air, dropping beneath its hurtling form only to flare her wings to her hind hooves to bear before bucking the beast right in its expansive underbelly.
Its angered roars filled the air as it reeled back, fading into the darkness. Where her hooves had hit, the scaly flesh had split in a glowing red light as a thick black liquid dripped from it.
Fluttershy lowered to the ground with a few powerful flaps of her wings, her hooves crackling as her body radiated a pink light. She couldn’t help but feel confidence bloom at the beast’s apparent pain, the dark tendrils that had attached it to the room receding back to bind its wound closed.
“Hmph… Old tricks.” The beast grimaced before renewing its grin. “How about we try something new?”
It lashed out with a trio of shadowy tendrils, sending bits of floor flying into the air, carving deep divots into the stone where Fluttershy had just been. The pegasus could only weave her way through the hail of debris before something slammed into her from the side, sending her careening back through the air. With a cry of pain, she smashed into the top arch of the entry and plummeted to the floor, slamming down with an audible thump.
Hacking and coughing, she rose to her hooves, one wing hanging limp at her side while the other trembling at her side. Eyes on her unsteady hooves as she took a few stumbling steps towards her opponent. At a tremor of laughter, she peered up to find the nightmare shifting once more.
“Perhaps this will be more to your liking.”
It let the words hang in the air as the shadows encircled it, snapping and cracking as they knit into a broad torso. A pair of tendrils stretched down to form arms from which a pair of wicked talons sprouted. Behind it, Fluttershy could see the changes continuing, sinewy muscles built up into a pair of spires that thrust out from the beast’s back, skin forming between long fingers of bone soon wrapped in taut, black flesh as they formed the wings of a—
Dragon… Fluttershy thought to herself, legs already quaking at the prospect.
“Oh… but, of course, my dear little Fluttershy,” it growled, once blunt muzzle lengthened into the long, curved snout of a true dragon. It grinned, now with a new mouth filled with dripping, razor-sharp teeth and, with a snort, shadowy flames shot from its nostrils. “What kind of host would I be if I didn’t indulge my guests’ deepest fears?”
Oh, Celestia—
"Cannot help you here, I’m afraid,” the new-formed dragon declared with an insidious smile, wings flaring as its lower body finished forming, a pair of wicked talons stepping forth, dragging furrows through what little remained of the floor. Whatever remained of its serpentine body swayed across the floor in long lazy sweeps as spikes jutted out along its length.
Fluttershy scrabbled back, just missing the stairs as she pressed herself against a bit of wall. As the nightmare strode forward, teeth shining in the halflight, she felt the strength draining from her.
“Even less of a challenge then I’d thought,” the dragon breathed, dark, purple flames punctuating each word as it drew nearer. “Let us make this quick then.”
Fluttershy swallowed hard as it loomed large before her. Smiling, it began to draw in the air as if to suffocate her, a fireball growing at the back of its throat. However, behind the dragon, something caught her attention: a familiar whistle.
Both glanced over to find a brilliantly shining, orange silhouette charging as a long glowing lasso hurtled at them. The dragon’s eyes went wide as the rope ensnared its muzzle and, as Fluttershy watched with mouth agape, yanked it down towards the flying hind hooves of the orange pony, hitting a clap of magic
The nightmare fell back with an enraged growl as the rope dissipated into nothingness, leaving a ragged crack across its jaw.
“You bring them here?!” the dragon yelled out, fire spilling over its teeth as it lept to its talons.
Who?
Another, curter whistle drew her attention, the orange mare beckoning her towards the stairwell. In her shock, she didn’t move, the dragon letting out a massive roar that rang through her skull. With a gasp, she looked to the dragon only to find her vision filled by a massive purple flame coursing towards her before something slipped about her middle and pulled her roughly into the stairwell.
Eyes still looking back, she watched the flames hit, a large section of the archway simply ceasing to be as it was struck. She cringed as the dragon let out another ear-splitting roar, finding herself thumping hard onto the orange silhouette’s back as the dragon pursued.
Instinctively, she grabbed onto the pony for dear life as it reared up and shot down the stairwell. The dragon stopped at the top, its bulk too much for the curved stairs, and vanished from sight around the bend.
It seemed for a moment that its pursuit had ceased as its angry cries were replaced by the steady echo of the orange pony’s hooves. Fluttershy felt her nerves calmed by constant clatter of keratin on stone as it galloped down the stairs.
“Who are you?” Fluttershy whispered as she peered at the orange silhouette. She swore she felt it staring back, radiating a comforting warmth despite any discernible facial features. Save for the whipping mane and tail, it was a blank slate of an earth pony.
Not wholly unlike the statues they had come across…
Soon, however, the relative calm was interrupted by the renewed roars of the nightmare reverberating through the stone walls of the tower. The silhouette galloped closer to the inside track of the stairs as sound began to focus just beyond the outer wall. Staring out at the windows as they whipped by, she spotted the dark shadow of the beast drawing ever closer.
“Watch out!”
The outer wall burst inwards as a dark scaled talon grabbed for them, the pair slipping beneath one before having to leap the first talon’s sibling as it crashed through just in front of them. With a well timed buck of its hooves, the orange silhouette sent them hurtling forward and sent the dragon reeling.
Looking back at the debris that had been the outer walls, Fluttershy watched the silhouette of the dragon pass by again, sending tremors through the stone steps.
With a cry of fear, Fluttershy pulled back on the orange silhouette, flaring her good wing. The silhouette’s hooves scraped loudly against the stone steps, seeming to turn to berate the pegasus before it saw what Fluttershy had, the stairwell in front of them crumbling as the dragon’s claws ripped open the stairwell.
“Nowhere left to flee, little one!” the dragon roared as its head plunged into the newly enlarged tunnel of stairs. Its red eyes were alight as smoke curled up from its lips.
The silhouette simply glared at the hulking beast, hoof pawing at the stone step upon which they’d stopped.
“Oh… no…” Fluttershy groaned, hooves wrapped securely around the orange pony’s neck and eyes wide as she stared into the gaping maw, ready and able to swallow her whole.
And then, she felt a rumble coming from the orange silhouette as it faced the dragon, the orange mare’s tail flicking in agitation.
“Hmph, another brave one,” the dragon smirked, its noxious breath flowing over them, choking the air as the stairs seemed to dim and fade away. “Will you so readily sacrifice? I wonder…”
The orange pony stomped a hoof aggressively, making as if to charge the dragon. The nightmare simply grinned, smoke soon replaced by licking flame as it prepared to meet the silhouette’s challenge.
“No, no, don’t!” Fluttershy cried out as she peered around the orange pony at the dragon.
Suddenly, she felt a wave of calm coursing through her, the orange pony swiveling its head to stare back at her. She could almost see a wink on its featureless face, a look that said everything would turn out just fine before turning back to the dragon.
The silhouette gave another brazen stomp of its hoof, snorting before it reared back on its hind legs and charged.
The nightmare quirked an eyebrow, its omnipresent smirk widening before, with a stone-shaking roar, its flames filled the stairwell.
Fluttershy screamed as they charged the approaching flames, clutching the silhouette tight as it barreled down.
And then her scream faded as they veered suddenly to the inside of the stairwell, the silhouette galloping up the inner wall a few steps before flinging itself and Fluttershy over the encroaching flames towards a window.
“No!”
Fluttershy could hear the dragon cursing as they broke through what remained of the ancient glass and tumbled into the darkness.
Flapping her good wing in a panic as they spun uncontrollably through the air, Fluttershy stared back as well as she could to watch the dragon pulling its head from the ruins of the stairwell, stone and dust falling about it. What little remained of the tower crumbled before her eyes, leaving naught but an ashen-colored cloud where the old castle had once been.
“You will not get away from me!” the dragon roared from somewhere within the gray cloud.
“Oh, please, please, please,” she squealed in fright, invoking anypony able to aid them as she clung to the orange silhouette, tears streaming as the winds whipped them from her eyes.
Oh, please, Celestia, Luna, anypony!
Fluttershy prayed silently, burying her face into the back of the orange silhouette as she fought their descent. Her flaps became steadier, her wing spread more fully as she gained some measure of control. No longer were they tumbling through the air; they were now dropping like a stone into the seemingly infinite dark.
Oh, please just let us land someplace soft…
Fluttershy could feel the silhouette tense the moment before they hit with a loud squelch.
What?
The pegasus found herself suddenly surrounded on all sides by some mysterious goop pressing in on all sides. Her grip slackened as she began to extricate herself from the strange slop. In a half-panic, she swam in the direction she hoped was up, hearing her hooves slap against the thick liquid as she breached the surface and threw herself over the lip of a large tub.
Grape juice?
She could taste the fruit on her tongue as she blinked her eyes open to find that they had indeed landed in a mass of half-pressed grapes, watching as the juice sloshed over the side of the oversized barrel. Glancing over the side of the barrel to the ground, her eyes went wide as her inexplicably smiling savior stood in the middle of an expansive apple orchard.
“A-ap-Appleja—”
A draconic roar filled the air, the trees shaking beneath its onslaught.
Before Fluttershy could even glance towards the beast, she felt something loop around her waist again and yank roughly from the tub to land back on the orange pony with a loud “Oof!”
“There will be no escape for you!”
Fluttershy cringed the orange mare shot forward into the orchard, following a well-worn main path through the trees. Hooves secured once more, Fluttershy looked back to find the nightmare descending upon them, wings seeming to fill the sky as dark flames poured from it. The beast dove towards the trees, eyes glinting with malice.
“Right! Right!” Fluttershy cried out, pulling on the silhouette's neck as the dragon cut a fiery swath through the orchard.
The orange pony did as beckoned, dashing right even as it gave the pegasus a quick and dirty look, but Fluttershy simply stared back at the full-grown trees being reduced to ash and cinders. She could only breathe a sigh of relief as they disappeared into the orchard proper, the orange mare weaving through the trees in a random pattern.
Did we lose it?
She glanced skywards, trying to spot some sign of the beast through the thick rows of apple trees. She felt an anxious calm settle in her as their gallop slowed.
“I think…” Fluttershy trailed off as she slumped down. “I think we're alright n—”
She cried out in shock as an apple tree speared the land before them, sending Fluttershy to the ground as the orange pony reared back.
“Surely you didn’t think it would be easy,” the beast cooed, a tree clutched in each claw as it hovered, an amused smile on its scaly features. “Now, be good little ponies and hold still!”
Fluttershy froze momentarily as the dragon bore down, but, with a quick nudge from the silhouette, she rolled to her hooves and took off alongside it. They galloped to the main orchard path, the orange pony leading her through the densest rows of trees.
“Oh, good! I was so hoping we could make a game of it!” the beast growled as it continued to hurl trees at them.
Fluttershy gasped, wind whistling through the branches of an apple tree turned projectile as it hurtled towards them. She felt something slam into her side, pushing her into another row as the tree spiked the ground between her and the silhouette, the tremors running through their hooves.
“Yes! Yes!” Tree after tree shot through the air at the fleeing ponies as the beast’s mocking laughter surrounded them. “Scurry like rats!”
Fluttershy found herself dodging and weaving through the orchard, the tremors becoming constant as projectile after projectile impacted the earth. By the time they made it to the main path, she was gasping for air.
“We… can't…” Fluttershy spoke through staggered heaves as she followed the silhouette down the middle of the road. “Can’t… hide…”
They were utterly exposed as the dragon reached the break in the trees, following them easily now that they had ceased their bobbing and weaving, and began following the linear path of the road. Fluttershy groaned fearfully, glancing back to see the dragon’s wide grin, hefting a rather sizable tree in a talon.
“We have to move!” Fluttershy veritably squeaked out, trying to push the orange pony back towards the tree line.
But It didn't break for the trees.
It wouldn’t break for the trees.
It simply maintained its line straight through the orchard, glancing back at their pursuer with a determined glint in its absent eyes.
Fluttershy felt oddly at ease beside the pony and soon ceased pushing it, content to gallop flank to flank with it. But, with the dragon so close, she couldn't help but tremble at the thought of what approached. She could feel her wings snapping up to her sides, legs threatening to give out each time they hit the hard-packed earth.
“Oh… you make this far too easy, Elements,” the dragon spoke as it hovered closer, fist wrapped tightly around the tree.
Fluttershy glanced from the orange silhouette to the dragon, biting her lip so hard that a distinct coppery taste filled her mouth. She looked to the silhouette with fear written plainly on her features, waiting for the other horseshoe to drop.
“We have… to get off… the path,” Fluttershy gasped out, watching the silhouettes well-furrowed brow. It had to have a plan. But before she could ask, a roar interrupted her thoughts as she snapped her head around to see—
Oh, no… Fluttershy mewled silently, staring at the tree now hurtling straight for them.
She could only think to hurry her gallop before she was pulled from her hooves. She landed on her rump, dazed and confused before she felt the glowing orange rope tighten about her stomach.
“What are you doing?!” Fluttershy demanded, voice panicked.
The silhouette simply stared at the dragon, hooves planted solidly in the dirt as they watched the tree hurtle towards them. Fluttershy scrabbled for footing before the mare gave a subtle tug of the rope, glancing over as if to plead for her trust.
Fluttershy just stared in return, body trembling as she realized what was to happen.
Please… she mouthed the word, choked by fear.
Just before impact, the orange mare reared up, the rope tightening about the pegasus as she was pulled hard towards the orange mare. She cried out as she was sent flying in a wide arc, first towards the incoming tree before the orange silhouette slammed her hooves down and sent Fluttershy careening through the rest of the loop and away from the dragon.
No…
Hurtling through the air, Fluttershy stared at the orange mare as the tree impacted.
[o-0-o]
“Something’s wrong.”
“…”
“Something’s wrong. We need to call this off.”
“…”
“Princess?”
“…”
“Celestia?”
[o-0-o]
Fluttershy watched helplessly as the tree struck, the orange mare bending and warping around the cracking and splitting wood before it shattered in a burst of white light.
“Applejack!” she cried out, the orange motes of light that remained slowly dissipating into nothingness.
With a dark chuckle, the dragon’s focus was once again upon her, locked onto her as she hurtled down the path. The dragon brought its wings down heavily and swooped down through the crumbling orchard, the once green and vibrant foliage faded to a deathly ash as the nightmare flew overhead.
As her senses returned, Fluttershy strained open her wings, able to manage little more than a controlled glide from the beast.
“Alas, poor Fluttershy. Abandoned once more,” the dragon mocked, one of its claws dipping into the orchard to pluck another tree from the earth, the leaves and bark of the tree cracking away in its grasp until nothing but an ashen spear was left. “How does it make you feel? To have them sacrificed so.”
“Shut up!” Fluttershy snapped, wings traveling in slow, wide arcs as the dragon continued to gain ground.
Below, the orchard was fast running out, the trees that had once seemed endless fading away into an all-consuming dark.
“Give up, little one,” the dragon cooed. “Surrender yourself and this could be so much easier for all involved.”
“I said shut up!” Slowly she lost altitude as the wind tugged at her battered wings.
I won’t give up… Out of the corner of her eye she could see the feathers slipping from her wings. She was bound to lose control at some point, but until then she simply stayed her course.
And then she could feel it drawing closer, its hot breath coursing through her fur as she closed her eyes, waiting for the worst to come. And then…
[o-0-o]
“This isn’t normal…”
“…”
“…”
“No. It isn’t.”
“But you won’t stop it.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“…”
“…”
“Because I can’t.”
[o-0-o]
…nothing.
No rush of air, no impact.
Not even wind rustling through her wings.
“What?”
Fluttershy could hear the disbelief in the nightmare’s voice as she opened her eyes to find herself surrounded in a soft blue aura.She found a unicorn standing beside her as she was lowered onto the ill-defined soil. A well-coiffured mane fell beside the purple silhouette’s horn as it glowed a soft blue in the darkness before fading.
“Th-thank you,” Fluttershy stammered out uncertainly before a rumbling laugh broke in.
“Oh, how sweet you make this,” the nightmare cooed, dropping heavily to the ground. “So willing they are to sacrifice.” It plucked up a second apple tree in its free claw, bark and leaves burning away. “Is that something you will allow?”
Fluttershy simply stayed silent as she turned to face the beast, backing away slowly as the purple silhouette interposed herself between pegasus and nightmare.
“So be it, little one,” the nightmare mocked before leaping back into the air, hurling first one spear and then the other with a roar.
Fluttershy’s heart leap into her throat as she grabbed onto the purple silhouette, trying to force it back.
“We have to go!” Fluttershy grunted in exertion as she pressed futilely at the stoic, purple silhouette. It simply wouldn’t move as Fluttershy’s hooves slipped against the black earth, sending her collapsing to the ground.
The silhouette simply let out a dismissive little scoff, standing tall before the falling projectile, horn flaring into life.
Even as she buried herself beneath her hooves, Fluttershy felt something hurtle forth from behind them followed moments later by a thunderous crash. But there never came the the impact that she had expected.
Peering out from between her hooves, she watched a set of now very badly dented ponyquins drop to the dirt with a clang. As she stoo, she found that the twin spears had embedded themselves in the dirt to either side of them.
“What?” Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. “Where did—how? What?”
“With the—and the—What?”
The purple silhouette simply huffed at the shared confusion of pegasus and nightmare.
“How did yo—”
A shudder coursed through the ground, interrupting her questions as her hooves splayed wide for balance.
The dragon growled as it took a step forward, flaring its wings wide.
The silhouette did not back down, however large the nightmare swelled, a half-dozen or so ponyquins coming between her and the dragon.
“Let us proceed then, Element,” it bid cooly as Fluttershy glanced between it and the silhouette before something caught the corner of her eye.
There, in the dakness behind them, something shimmered.
“What is tha-AaaaAaat!” Fluttershy’s whisper turned to a yelp as she was yanked onto the back of the already galloping silhouette, its ponyquins haphazardly flung at the nightmare.
Roaring in frustration at the sudden turn of mood, the dragon batted away the ponyquins as they ran towards the shining something in the dark. The beast lifted into to the air to pursue, hurling curses and flames after the pair.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy could see the shimmering tear bend and warp until it was recognizably a door. With a push of its blue aura, the silhouette slammed it open to reveal a long hallway that seemed to go on forever as it arcced out of sight. She could hear the sound of its hoof hits shift as muffled dirt gave way to the echoing tap of the hard tile.
Turning back, Fluttershy saw the nightmare hurl itself after them before the door slammed shut in its face.
They stopped for a moment, watching the closed door as the nightmare’s muted roars sent trembles through the hall. They persisted a moment longer before the door bent and vanished back into the darkness, sealing them in silence.
“Oh… Oh my goodness…” Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief as she slipped down on the silhouette’s back.
The silhouette was silent, even as it broke into a steady trot.
Fluttershy glanced around the long hall to find it strangely devoid of detail, dark save for the light of hanging lanterns. Gradually, the silhouette slowed again to a stop, ears twitching in an agitated manner.
“Where are we going?” Fluttershy asked, but received not an answer from the unicorn as it glanced around. “I guess I’ll just walk on my… own?” As she moved to dismount, she found herself unable to, a soft blue glow holding her in place. The unicorn turned to face her, shaking its head.
“Are… are we safe here?” Fluttershy asked, tightening her grip slightly.
The silhouette glanced down, shaking its head again before continuing its quiet trot down the seemingly endless hallway.
Then there came a tremor, the only sign of it being the sudden sway of the lanterns overhead.
Then there came another.
And another.
A lump caught in Fluttershy’s throat as a chill coursed down her spine. The purple silhouette turned and Fluttershy followed its sightless gaze back down the hall from which they had come. Around the bend they could see a glow that intensified as the tremors grew worse.
“Oh… no… no, no…” Fluttershy muttered ceaselessly, head throbbing as she sensed it, the purple silhouette moving backwards as it kept its eyes on the glow.
Above, the lanterns swung wildly, their flames clinging to life within their glass enclosures.
“Come back, Fluttershy.”
They came on a chilling wind that blew through the hall, a chorus of whispers. One-by-one, the lanterns flickered and went out. A soft blue light filling the hall as it quickly replaced the warmth of the lantern light.
“Don’t abandon them, Fluttershy.”
The floor trembled, cracking and splitting beneath the silhouette’s hooves. Fluttershy found herself lifted down just behind the unicorn.
“Don’t leave them, Fluttershy.”
They echoed in the constricting hallway, the walls seeming to pulse and throb around them in time with the pegasus’s heart, the ceiling bowing as if ready to collapse in on them.
Fluttershy’s focus shifted between the silhouette and the encroaching dark.
The voice came from everywhere at once, issuing forth from the walls and ceiling and floor, only to echo softly at the back of her mind in the same moment.
“Don’t leave us, Fluttershy. Stay with us. Don’t abandon us like they did…”
[o-0-o]
“I- I am fine…”
“You are not!”
“…”
“Luna?”
“Yes? What is it? What can I do?”
“You don’t feel it, Luna?”
“No… no, sister, I do not.”
“…”
“…”
“Milady… what is happening?”
“Exactly what is meant to.”
[o-0-o]
“Don’t abandon us like they did…”
The words hung in the air as the hall stilled. The lanterns burst into life once more and Fluttershy was alone with the silhouette again, its horn dimming as it glanced about the hall.
“W-we sh-should k-keep m-moving…” Fluttershy stammered, hooves uncooperative as she stood, stuck to the spot and staring into the darkness.
The silhouette stepped past the rooted pegasus, pushing the pegasus along with magic before she found her strength.
“Fluttershy…”
Her eyes went wide as the voice echoed, spinning around to find nopony there. Glancing over her shoulder at the silhouette, she found it still walking steadily away, unaware of the voice.
“Fluttershy… where are you, Fluttershy?”
The silhouette’s magical grasp released her as she took a few tentative steps, trailing the silhouette by a few yards.
“Fluttershy… where have you gone?”
She slowed a moment, glancing from side to side, eyes wide but her her heart quiet.
“I thought you were lost, Fluttershy…”
Something in the voice was familiar, all her fears seeming to drain away.
“But now I’ve found you…”
She stopped in front of a familiar door.
“Come in, Fluttershy.”
The door swung open unto darkness—
“Come in, my darling Fluttershy.”
—and into the darkness she vanished. |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 13 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2012-08-31T00:18:02+00:00 | 2014-09-15T02:32:46+00:00 | 1,190 | “Oh, Fluttershy? Fluttershy? Where are you, Fluttershy?” the voice sang the questions sweetly. “Where have you gone? Where could you be?”
“There you are!”
Fluttershy squealed as hooves hooked about her waist, dragging her from her hiding spot beneath the couch and into the air, spinning her around the room before drawing her into a familiar embrace.
“Awww, you found me!” she cried out in faux disappointment, pouting dramatically.
“Well, you shouldn’t leave your tail hanging out then,” came the reply, complete with a hearty laugh.
“My…” She quirked an eyebrow.
She hadn’t considered her long pink tail at all, the tip still resting just in front of the couch, making it obvious where she had been hidden.
“Oh… well…” Her once-dramatized pout edged gently into reality.
Dissatisfaction, however, was soon buried by a sudden fit of laughter as her pursuer blew a big, wet raspberry right on her exposed belly.
“M-oooom!” she cried through the sudden onslaught of the dreaded giggles, her mother coming up for air to give her a moment’s respite.
“Oh no, Fluttershy!” she cried out in mock horror. “It’s the dreaded giggle monster come to get you! Rar!” With that, the pair of auburn eyes dipped and a fresh set of fits seized the little filly as she squirmed in her mother’s grasp.
“Qu-quit it, m-mom!” came the stuttered cries of not-yet-surrender.
Her mother halted momentarily, glancing up with a cat-like grin before pressing her assault once more.
“Pl-ea-ease!”
Another brief respite as her mother looked up.
“Please whom?”
“Please, mom!” Fluttershy responded immediately.
“Hmm… not sure….”
“Please, ma’am!”
“That’s a girl.” Her mother gave a curt nod, rolling off the filly and up onto the couch. “Ready for bed then, squirt?”
“But I wanted to wait for daddy,” Fluttershy murmured, staring at her mother with a big, begging eyes. “Just a few more minutes?”
The elder pegasus hummed. “Alright, a few more minutes, but he’s not off work ‘til really late, honey. Sure you can make it?”
“Oh, I’m not tired at all,” Fluttershy replied with a nod.
“Alrighty, ‘Shy. So what should we do while we wait then?”
“We could play a game… maybe. If you want to, I mean,” the little filly replied, stumbling over her words.
“Sure thing. How about…” She trailed off for a moment, eyes rolling over the nearby bookshelves. “Oh! How about we play Weather Wars? Your little friend seemed to really enjoy that one.”
“Oh… um… maybe…” Fluttershy mumbled as she recalled her rainbow-maned friend’s veritable repertoire of victory celebrations.
With a few precise flaps, her mother zipped over to the shelf, grabbed the game and was back before Fluttershy could muster a more proper protest.
“Oh… seems we’re missing some of the pieces…” She dug around in the box for a moment, the rattle of plastic rather muted. “A lot of the pieces.”
She looked up to find her daughter’s head hidden behind a wing, the bright red of her blush filtering through the feathers.
“Um… sorry…”
They had spent the better part of an hour tracking down pieces after a particularly exuberant shuffle sent the game, board and all, scattering out the window. They probably hadn’t even found half by the time the sun had set and they were called inside.
“Well… so much for that game.” Her mother was quiet a second, eyes searching the cloud home before settling on the staircase. “Oh! I have a great idea!” she shouted excitedly, shocking Fluttershy out from behind her wings. “Wait right there!”
In a flash, the older pegasus was up the stairs.
Fluttershy could hear mumbles issuing forth from the bedrooms. Then a loud crash, Fluttershy wincing at the sound, followed by a long string of words that brought an even heavier blush to the little pegasus’s face.
A moment later, her mother trotted happily down the stairs.
“Tah-dah!” she declared with a flourish, clutching a large bucket in her mouth and looking somewhat more disheveled than usual as she set it down.
“What’s that?”
“What do you mean? You don’t remember the last time we were out at Grammy’s cottage?”
Fluttershy thought a moment and shook her head.
“Oh… well, I guess it has been a while,” her mother murmured, tapping a hoof on her chin. She shook whatever deep thoughts from her mind and glanced down. “It’s a bucketful of clay!”
“Dirt?”
“No! Well… yes, technically, but a specific kind of dirt. You really had a real tal”—she paused a moment, tongue stuck out in concentration as she tried to work the lid with her hooves before giving up and gripping it with her teeth to yank it open—“talent for it too. Just need to add a bit of water,” she hastily interjected as Fluttershy scrunched up her face at the dry, powdery mass inside the bucket.
Fluttershy gave the grayish clay an experimental sniff as her mother clomped into the kitchen.
It had a nice smell to it, a familiar scent that directed a pleasurable shudder down her spine.
By the time her mother had returned with a pitcher of water and a few large towels on her back, Fluttershy had relaxed a great deal, smiling at the pleasantly earthy odor.
“Ha! Knew you’d remember.”
Fluttershy sat up, smile replaced by a grimace. “What’re the towels for?”
“So your father doesn’t”—she drew a hoof across her neck and gurgled dramatically—“me.”
Fluttershy stared at her mother, wide-eyed.
“So we don’t make a mess of things is all. Sorry,” she apologized with a sheepish grin. “Don’t think your daddy would appreciate us smearing dirt all over the living room, right?”
“Oh… of course.”
She recalled the last time her mother’s friends had come for the evening, leaving the living room a mess. A strange silence had hung over the house for a full week, broken only by iterations of ‘Fluttershy, tell your father this,’ and ‘Fluttershy, tell your mother that.’
“We certainly don’t want that,” her mother stated, giving Fluttershy a quick, assuring nudge before dumping the pitcher into the bucket. “C’mon, let’s get to it.”
“What do we do?”
“Well, first we need to mix in the water, I think…” she muttered uncertainly, jamming her hooves into the watery clay with a soft sploosh and a squelch.
“Can I help?”
“‘Course. Hop up.”
Fluttershy jumped onto the coffee table cautiously. Peering into the bucket, she watched the mare’s forelegs working the now grey-brown mixture. Tentatively, she reached her hooves in, her mother pulling away as Fluttershy’s hooves sank into the muck with a delightful squelch. She couldn’t help but giggle at the feel of it, the coolness wonderful on her hooves.
“Good idea, huh?” Her mother grinned. “Almost thought you should have been born an earth pony the way you took to Grammy.”
Fluttershy didn’t reply, far too busy working the heavy lumps of clay, the water seeming to disappear as the lump took shape.
“Alright, looks like you’re done. Now for the fun part.” Her mother pulled away an area rug, spreading out the towel on the cloud floor itself, weighting the corners with whatever was close at hoof.
Then, rather unceremoniously, she dumped out the lump onto the spread towel.
“Now we create! Muah!” She let out a single deep laugh akin to those Fluttershy had heard from the scientists in those monster movies her parents didn’t know she’d seen with Rainbow Dash.
“Create what?”
“Whatever we want to…”
[o-0-o]
“Hey… Fluttershy…”
A pair of hooves shook her gently, eliciting an unhappy grumble as the pegasus merely turned over in her seat.
“We’re here, ‘Shy. It’s time to wake up.”
“Buh. It’s too early…” the little filly muttered, curling up even tighter to shut out the encroaching sunlight.
“It’s past noon.”
“…more sleep…” she demanded blithely, trying to roll over only to flip herself out from her seat and onto the cloudy surface of the parkway. “Wha?”
“We’re at the fair,” the voice cooed, a hoof hefting her up before flicking a stray tuft of cloud from her mane. “Told you you shouldn’t have stayed up so late.”
“Oh… but we were just having so much fun… and Daddy was—” She broke off for a moment as the words stuck in her throat. “Did Daddy come home?”
“Yeah… tried getting you up for breakfast so you could say goodbye, but you well all tuckered out,” her mother chided her gently, lifting the filly onto her back. “He ended up having an early shift so we thought that you and I could have the day together.”
“Just the two of us?” Fluttershy perked up at the notion.
It’d been months.
“Just the two of us.”
Fluttershy smiled as her mother tossed a few bits the cabby’s way, the surly-looking pegasus snatching them out of the air as he took off for another fare.
“Well… somepony’s huffy today,” her mother muttered. “Well, won’t be letting anything ruin today now, will we?”
“Nope!” Fluttershy chirped excitedly.
“That’s m’girl!” Her mother grinned, giving the little filly a nuzzle. “So what should we do first? We could try some of the booths or the concession or one of the rides! I heard they were preparing an awesome cour—” She halted, craning her neck up to stare at something. “Oh…”
Fluttershy followed her gaze, her stomach doing a preemptive flip.
“Oh… my…”
[o-0-o]
It was a much greener Fluttershy that wandered out of the flight course, followed by her ecstatically gushing mother.
“And then the loop! Hit that going full-out!” she yelled excitedly, giving Fluttershy a crunching hug that only exacerbated the little filly’s gymnastically inclined innards. “And he thought that yer momma didn’t still have it. Well, we showed him, huh?”
Fluttershy managed only a weak nod, hooves uncooperative as she staggered forwards, trying to match her mother’s excited trot.
“Hey… you alright, ‘Shy?” A hoof appeared at her side to steady her.
“I’m—urp—fine…” she replied, choking down a bit of bile.
“Maybe we’ll um… do something a bit calmer now,” she offered, bringing the smaller pegasus to her side so that she might serve as a crutch. “Something with a few less G’s.”
“That sounds… nice.” Fluttershy blushed, her gaze stuck to the cloudy surface beneath them, watching to make sure her hooves contacted the surface properly. “Sorry I didn’t do so well, Momma…”
Fluttershy felt her crutch vanish for a moment as her mother halted rather suddenly. As the little pegasus looked back, her mother’s face was obscured by her mane.
“Momma?”
There came no reply for a moment, just steady breaths as Fluttershy moved to her side.
“Momma… something the matter?”
“Yeah… lot of things,” came a half-choked, chuckling reply. “But none of that right now, okay?”
Fluttershy fell quiet as she slipped beneath her mother’s mane. Looking up into her mother’s face, Fluttershy bit her lip at the bitter mix of humor and sadness found there.
“It’s supposed to be our day, ‘Shy. That means its your day too.” She paused. “Your day especially.”
“It’s okay. I just like it when you’re happy.”
“I…” She straightened up, hugging the little pegasus tight before brushing her own mane from her face. “You’re a great kid, you know that?” Her eyes were red but no longer teary. “So how about we find something we both like. Might be good for us both to just slow down and enjoy the day.”
Fluttershy smiled in response before glancing about. "Oh! How about the weather ride?” she asked, gleefully tugging towards the familiar attraction.
“You sure? It’s kind of a little filly ri—” She cut herself off as Fluttershy gave her a look. “Fair ‘nough. Let’s go.”
As the pair took off, neither noticed the world behind them tearing at its seams, a soft blue light cutting through the clouds as what was forgotten vanished into a gray mist.
[o-0-o]
“Ooooh…. my head…”
“…”
“Did it work?”
“I… I do not know.”
“Fluttershy? Can you hear us, Fluttershy?”
“…”
“Wait… what’s happening?”
“Tha… that can’t be right.”
“…”
“Princess?”
“…”
“Fluttershy?”
[o-0-o]
Minutes later, the pair were locked securely into a car, Fluttershy grinning excitedly as her mother squirmed a bit in the less than mare-sized ride.
“Do we need this?” she asked the attendant, gesturing to the bar pressed into her stomach.
“Regulations, ma’am,” the pock-marked colt replied blankly, moving on to the next car as theirs departed the station.
“Bah on your regulations,” she muttered darkly, Fluttershy giggling.
“Oh, momma. It’s not so bad.”
She continued to squirm beneath the bar. “I hate being trapped like this.”
“Shh-shh! It’s starting!” Fluttershy hissed as they came to first part of the ride, an excited stallion’s voice crackling to life.
“It is a question that had baffled ponykind for thousands of years,” the voice declared in a masterful show of practiced excitement. “How to create and maintain weather for all the ponies of Equestria! Back in the pre-alicorn era, before the reign of our dear princess Celestia…”
The voice rambled on, unimpressed upon by Fluttershy’s excited gasps at the spectacle around her nor by the hardly stifled groans of her companion fidgeting with the cart.
“There has got to be a latch or a button or a—Ha!” She spotted the emergency latch, sending the bar into an upright and blissfully open position. “Much better. I tell ya, whoever designed this did not have ponies in mind. I mean, who sits like that, honestly? Anypony you know?”
“Nope,” Fluttershy replied with a smile as the elder pegasus stretched out.
“Definitely didn’t have pegasi in mind.”
“Won’t we get in trouble?”
“Aww… what’s the worst they’ll do? Kick us off? Nopony’ll notice before we’re at the end anyways,” she stated before lowering her voice. “‘Sides, between you an’ me, I’m thinking that colt was a few droplets short of a raincloud.”
“Mom!”
Fluttershy rolled her eyes, but even she had to admit it. It was far more comfortable without the bar. She took a more natural position as she stared out at the displays.
They’d arrived at one of the largest scenes: a scale model of the whole of Equestria lay about them, complete with slowly moving weather systems the PA droned on about.
She swore that she could even see a pony or two moving about if she squinted real hard. It just seemed so small from where she sat.
“Big, huh?”
Fluttershy looked over at her mother, an eyebrow cocked.
“Well… the model too, but I meant the real thing.”
“Oh… yeah…”
“I mean, just look at Cloudsdale.”
Fluttershy glanced to the left of giant spire that was Canterlot Castle to the floating city of Cloudsdale. She could make out the coliseum and the city proper. She could nearly even make out the block upon which they lived.
“And just think, we’re tiny little specks somewhere in there.”
“Yeah…”
Their car passed by a particularly nasty-looking patch of weather, their narrator talking about weather wrangling as a squadron of tiny mechanized pegasi intercepted the storm.
“Makes you think.”
“I guess…” Fluttershy muttered, her eyelids beginning to droop as the narrator’s excited drone faded to a steady, soothing tone.
“I’ve been thinking, ‘Shy, I think… ‘Shy?”
Fluttershy merely yawned in response.
“Still sleepy?” her mother asked, scooting over to heft the smaller pegasus up into her hooves. “That’s okay, baby… we can always talk later.”
“You can talk now… if you want.” Fluttershy stifled a yawn as her eyes closed, her mother’s hooves swaying her gently back and forth. “I’ll listen…”
“It’s alright… we’ll talk later. Just relax.”
Fluttershy snuggled into her mother, digging her head into the soft chest fur, wings fluttering as she got comfortable.
“Momma?”
“Yeah, ‘Shy?”
“Can… remember when you used to sing?”
Her mother was quiet a moment. “Yeah?”
“Can you sing to me?”
“Yeah, I think I can do that.”
“Thanks, Momma,” Fluttershy whispered.
She coughed and began to hum, voice cracking slightly before she began the song proper.
“Hush now, quiet now,
Time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
Time to go to bed…”
Fluttershy’s eyes closed fully as the song went on, the dull drone of the narration vanishing, leaving her with only the lullaby. Memories of a bygone time bubbled to the surface, a feeling of peace she hadn’t felt in years returning.
“Hush now, quiet now,
Time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
Time to go to bed.”
Unbeknownst to the little pegasus, something had shifted around them. The model Equestria had changed. The once blurred edges of the models had crystallized. The once plastic trees and magical apparitions had been replaced by something truer as, up from the Everfree Forest, there rose a shadow.
“Drifting off to sleep,
The exciting day behind you.
Drifting off to sleep,
Let the joy of dreamtime find you.”
Up from the forest the beast rose, attacked and pestered by a blur of red. In a distant corner of her mind, she could hear the familiar brow, her brow creased as a cold sweat broke out along her. The skies above swirled with the strange clouds, crackling with an arcane light, glowing a deep magenta before, with a flash, the light cut through the dark.
The echo of a scream filled her ears just beneath the song.
“Hush now, quiet now,
Time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now,
Time to go to bed.”
The car ground to a stop, the lights above dimming as the ride was filled with the magenta light. The thick cloud walls that blocked the ride from the rest of the fair bulged beneath the influence of a soft blue light before they suddenly burst inwards, Fluttershy shooting up as tearing winds ripped through the ride.
“Hush now…”
“Momma, what’s happening?!” Fluttershy cried out, burying herself further into her mother’s grasp, staring up with frightened eyes at the seemingly oblivious pegasus, her eyes closed as she continued her song.
“…quiet now…”
Their car heaved to the side violently, the magical track it had been following vanishing along with all the other cars beyond them, bursting into shadowy motes.
“Momma!”
Hooves slipped as both were sent careening from the car, Fluttershy’s undersized wings beating hard just to keep herself steady as her mother’s grip vanished.
What’s happening?
No longer was she above a model Equestria.
She was hundreds of miles above the real thing, her mother tumbling down through a hole in the clouds as storms raged about them, tearing apart what remained of the ride’s facade.
“…time to lay your sleepy head…”
Fear coursing through her, Fluttershy instinctively folded her wings and dove.
Her mother seemingly locked in her position, an automaton’s hoof running through a now absent mane as the song gently rose to greet Fluttershy.
“Hush now, quiet now…”
“Mom!”
Fluttershy rushed towards her mother, hooves outstretched as tears were torn from her eyes to join the chilling rains .
“It’s time to go…”
She grasped at her mother, hooves missing once… twice… before they found her the third time, looping beneath the elder mare’s shoulders.
“Mom! Please wake up!” she begged, pulling and yanking at the frozen pegasus. Her wings beat as hard as they could, but were unable to slow, much less stop, their descent. “Please!”
As she cried out the second time, she clutched her close, a strange warmth filling the filly. A pink glow flowed out from daughter to mother.
“Wha? Fluttershy?!” her mother gasped, eyes wide and panicked, her hooves immediately grasping at her daughter. “What’s happening?!”
“I d-don’t kn-know!” Fluttershy choked out, still beating her wings as furiously as she could.
Glancing down to see the ground rising to meet them, her mother immediately flared her wings wide, clutching Fluttershy to her chest before angling them slowly out of their dive. They glanced over the top of Everfree, leaves and branches whipping at them as her mother dodged around clawing treetops, trying to level them off properly.
Her mother yelled something over the roar of the storm, the winds buffeting them as the rains finally caught up with them, sending them deeper and deeper into the dense woods.
“There! There!” Fluttershy shouted, spotting the familiar patch of grassland.
Just beyond her cottage… her—
Her mother cried out as they were dragged downwards by an added weight, sending them both tumbling to the thankfully muddy ground.
All was quiet for a moment, just the distant thunder and rains settling around them.
“Fluttershy! Baby, are you alright?”
“I-I think so…” Fluttershy whispered as she carefully disentangled herself. “Are you…”
Fluttershy’s mother didn’t reply, simply staring at the filly turned mare in disbelief, eyes tinged with tears.
“Y… you got big…” she muttered, words almost lost in the howling storm.
Fluttershy looked at herself to find that her mother was indeed right, her lanky filly form replaced by her… well, by her normal body. A strange sense of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach.
“Mom… we have to go…” she whispered, frightened thoughts dancing in her mind.
“Go? Go where? And what happened? You were so small and now you’re… big and I…” Her mother choked on her words, grasping Fluttershy tight to her as fear filled her voice. “I-I remember. Oh, Celestia…”
“Mom, we need to go. We need to run!” Fluttershy implored, fighting the older pegasus’s fearful grasp.
“I’m so sorry, Fluttershy. I’m so, so sorry…” Fluttershy could feel the warm tears as her mother buried her face in her chest. “Please forgive me…”
“I… I don’t…” Fluttershy murmured in confusion, awkwardly patting her sopping mane with a hoof, but there came no reply.
The storm began to slacken even as the darkness around them grew thick. Fluttershy watched in horror as forest edge darkened and then swelled, shadows stretching towards them like a hundred grasping hooves.
“We have to go! We can talk a little later, but for now we have to go.”
Fluttershy dragging her mother back from the shadows before suddenly being halted by a sudden cry of pain.
“Mom!”
Her mother collapsed to the ground, twitching and writhing in agony.
Fluttershy’s eyes darted over her, seeking some source for her distress, but she found none.
“What’s wrong?!”
There was no reply, just a groan as the darkness crept forwards slowly.
Fluttershy begged and pleaded, pulling at her mother’s hoof even as her own hooves struggled in the mud. She stared down at her mother’s heaving chest and then, aided by a flash of lightning, she saw it.
There, a tiny tendril of shadow running into her mother’s chest from the inky black shadows.
“I-I’m sorry, Fluttershy…” she gasped out, half-buried in the muddy earth as Fluttershy slipped and landed with a wet plop in the muddy field.
“I won’t leave you, Momma…” Fluttershy clutched her tight, watching through tear-streaked eyes as the formless shadow drew fully from the forest, a wall coming towards them.
“I… I’ll find you, Fluttershy… I promise…” her mother whispered, blackened eyes fluttering and hooves clutching blindly at her daughter.
“You don’t have to find me. I’m right here, Mom,” Fluttershy muttered blankly as the dark crept up her mother’s hindlegs. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You need to,” she whispered, voice distorting strangely. “It’s getting cold…”
“I’m no—”
Fluttershy was cut off as the dark hit them, sending her falling back out of instinct, hooves slipping from her mother’s.
“Mom!”
She made a run at the dark barrier, but was yanked back roughly.
“Lemme go! I have to get her!” Fluttershy cried out, looking down to find strands of blue glowing thread laced across her body. “What are you doing?!” She glared at the purple silhouette just behind, the presence of another silhouette, this one a soft blue, only serving to deepen her frustration.
“Go… Fluttershy… go…”
Fluttershy struggled against the magical bonds to no avail, limbs twisting against it weakly until the thread dug painfully into flesh.
“Save her, please!” Fluttershy begged the silhouettes, her body slackening.
The purple silhouette looked to the blue before staring off into the dark. It seemed frustrated as it levitated the now limp Fluttershy onto the blue silhouette’s back.
“Please…”
With a determined huff, the purple silhouette moved into the dark, horn glowing as a thousand needles materialized from the aether to flank it. It turned back momentarily, nodding to the blue silhouette before its horn ignited with magic, a shower of needles plunging into the dark.
Fluttershy shuddered as the roar once more filled the air, the shadow writing as it rose into the air, the blue silhouette taking a few, cautious steps backwards.
“Oh, please no…”
Fluttershy watched in horror as the inky black began to collect a meld into something cohesive, something recognizable. She didn’t have long to watch, however, as a wispy branch, held by a shimmer of magic whipped the blue silhouette’s hindquarters, sending it into a mad gallop.
“No, wait!” she cried out helplessly, watching at the dark formed into a enormous, clawed fist and, as it slammed to the ground.
The unicorn silhouette dodged it as once, rolling aside beneath a second before the third hit and it burst apart, purple motes of light settling around it.
No… not again. Not this again…
She had little time to think as she struggled against her bonds.
“We can’t leave them!”
But the blue pony only galloped harder towards her cottage, reaching it as the dragon’s roaring head burst the shadows.
We can’t just abandon them… we have to go back…
Her silent pleas went unbidden as they rounded the cottage, Fluttershy’s eyes going wide at what she found where her chicken coop had been.
“A… a cann—” Fluttershy gasped as the blue silhouette bucked its rear, sending the bound pegasus up and into the enormous cannon’s barrel, sliding down to the bottom. “Oh, no, no, no, no…”
A small hatch near her head opened to reveal the blue silhouettes featureless face. Somehow she could feel it’s smile as it nodded its head rapidly ‘yes, yes, yes, yes.’
“I can’t! This is crazy!”
The silhouette paused a moment as if to ponder the pegasus’s words before turning back with that same implied grin, nodding vigorously as if to say ‘Yes, and very much yes’ before grasping at the binds around the pegasus, breaking them with a good, hard tug of its teeth.
“Bu-but my wings!” she sputtered out, lifting a limp wing to demonstrate.
The blue silhouette simply gave her a friendly noogie before slamming shut the hatch.
Fluttershy sat in the dark, hooves pressed against the slick innards of the cannon as it began to shift, the cranking of gears echoing through the firing chamber. She watched as the sky shifted around above her until the cannon was pointed directly at the moon.
All was still for a moment before there came a gentle ratta-taptappatap-tap-tap from the cannon wall.
Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t move.
Then it came again, the melody familiar.
Is… that’s… Fluttershy lifted a hoof hesitantly to the cannon’s side.
The melody repeated once more and the pegasus finished it off with the last two notes.
Wait a—
In an explosion of streamers, confetti and what appeared to be a rather large birthday cake, Fluttershy hurtled from the cannon, screaming as she arced towards the moon.
Twisting about in the air, her half-extended wings and her momentum keeping her steady, she looked back at the rapidly shrinking cannon.
No…
She watched the shadow dragon loom over the oblivious silhouette, the blue mare’s hooves waving excitedly as it bounced on its hindlegs.
No no no no no!
It shattered, the beast’s massive clawed foot piercing cannon and silhouette in one go.
Fear rippling through her, Fluttershy spread her wings painfully as she reached the top of her arc.
Her attentions turned to her inevitable destination deep within Everfree. Her wings already cramping, she began her descent, the roaring winds lifting the loose feathers and down from her as she tried vainly to control her flight.
A sudden burst of lightning nearby startled her, wings snapping shut instinctively.
She plummeted, a familiar sight rising to greet her.
The beginning…
Out of the corner of her eye, a blur of red wings hurtled towards her.
[o-0-o]
“Please, Fluttershy… please wake up…”
“…”
“A moment…”
“What?”
“Jus’ do like she says, Rainbow…”
“I… but… okay…”
“…”
“Fluttershy… if you can hear us… we have something to tell you…” |
littlerobotbird | 522 | 14 | Fluttershy,Main 6,Original Character,Other,Rainbow Dash,Alternate Universe,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Metanoia | When Twilight begins to lose control over her magic, our six heroes hunt for answers. | hiatus | 89 | 1 | <p>When Twilight finds herself suddenly losing control over her magic, our six equine heroes find themselves drwn back to the site where they became the Elements of Harmony to confront an ancient creature, older than Equestria itself.</p><div class="bbcode-center" style="text-align:center"><p><b>[Status <10.01.2014>]</b><br/><i>Arc 00, Arc 01 edited; Interlude in progress</i></p></div> | teen | 2012-08-31T06:01:53+00:00 | 2014-09-15T04:17:40+00:00 | 1,910 | With a crash, Fluttershy burst through a castle window with the red blur, tumbling to the floor in a heap of wings and hooves before sliding to a stop against the far wall.
Everything was silent a moment, the sound of heavy breaths filling the room as the storm’s din slowly faded.
Coughing and sputtering, Fluttershy shoved the red silhouette off angrily, it trotting away a few steps before looking back at the huffing pegasus.
Wh-why would you… how could you do that? she thought, the words subsumed in frustration.
“Why did you all take me away from her?!” she yelled at the silhouette, voice shrill and broken. “Why did you abandon them? Why did you make me abandon them?!”
The silhouette didn’t reply, simply cocking its head to the side as it stared past her at the magenta silhouette on the other side of the room. The unicorn’s focus was on the stairwell entrance, however.
The throne room again.
Dusty, dirty, empty… a void…
It seemed as though it had never been touched.
Any damage from the previous battles forgotten by the ancient walls, restored to—what one could only state with bitterness—its former glory.
“Why did you…? Why?” the yellow pegasus mewled softly, her eyes welling up with tears as the anger faded away, the dark weight of defeat settling upon her.
“Indeed. Why?” the voice boomed from the entrance, Fluttershy diving instinctively behind the magenta unicorn. “She was so much happier… how could you do such a thing? Separating a child from its mother like that. Haven’t you a heart, Elements?”
Fluttershy cowered behind the magenta silhouette, shivering as the beast manifested. Darkness bled through every crack and crevice around the entrance, its draconic form soon filling the room entirely, the red silhouette taking to the air.
“She would have been so much happier.”
It was hurt, body suffused with decay. The shadows that comprised it seemed to drip away into nothingness in a constant cycle as the shadows around them flowed into it as if a lifeline.
Even its mocking laugh seemed pained now.
“But you had to ruin it, didn’t you? A joyful reunion of mother and daughter…”
With an audible growl, the red silhouette shot like an arrow at the beast, slamming into the side of its head, sending it crashing down into the wall.
It lay, stunned for a moment as the stony structure heaved and crumbled beneath its weighty impact. With an unheard roar, the red pegasus came around for another blow, but as the silhouette came around, hooves at the ready, it was snatched from the air by a shadowy claw formed from the aether, a wispy tendril of darkness linking it to the beast.
“You think me defeated, elements!” it roared out its frustration. “We have only just begun, younglings.”
“Let her go!” Fluttershy cried out, adrenaline flooding her veins as she lept from behind the magenta unicorn.
“You think you may command me, weak little pegasus?” It smirked and smashed the red pegasus into the floor.
It lay there, unmoving as the dragon turned to her.
“Do you think yourself in control here?”
“I… I…” Fluttershy sputtered as her courage quickly drained away.
“You think you have the strength? When so much of it has been borrowed?” the beast inquired as it drew closer, picking the red pegasus up and slamming it back down with each and every step.
“St-stop!” Fluttershy cried out as she watched the limp red form being driven hard into the stone.
The magenta silhouette slipped between Fluttershy and the nightmare, much to the beast’s amusement.
“Borrowed from the Elements… from your friends… from these fleeting memories…”
Fluttershy ducked down, unable to bear the nightmare’s gaze even as a shimmering shield materialized about them.
“What will be left when they are all gone.. when you are truly, utterly abandoned.” It paused its stride momentarily, dripping grin growing wide. “I do wonder… what will be left of you?”
The magenta silhouette stood strong, hooves planted firmly as the shield glowed brighter.
“Let us see then—”
Dropping the red pegasus, the beast raised a clawed fist and brought it down on the shield with a thunderous crash.
“—what—”
Once more, the shield held as the ground began to crack and bow beneath them.
“—is—”
The ground crackled and the shield began to splinter and crackle, the magenta silhouette falling to them ground, horn sparking as it struggled to maintain.
“—left!”
The shield burst apart, the magenta silhouette crashing into Fluttershy, the pair tumbling onto their backs.
Fluttershy groaned as she struggled back to her hooves, staggering to the unicorn’s side.
“No.. don’t leave…” she gasped out as she grasped the motionless unicorn before it crumbled away in her hooves.
“Let us finish then, young one,” the beast stated in a tired, exasperated tone. “Let us be done with this nonsense.”
It raised its clawed fist to strike but suddenly found itself knocked back by a blur of red streaking back through the window. The beast growled from the ground as the red silhouette lit upon the ground just before Fluttershy. It postured itself against the beast, forehoof scraping at the floor in threat.
“Such persistence, Element. Must we continue?” the beast asked blithely, lifting itself from the ruins of a column with a rumble of frustration. “What do you hope to gain?”
[o-0-o]
“Time…”
“Beg yer pardon?”
“Time… we need time…”
[o-0-o]
Trembling, Fluttershy watched the red silhouette dodge the nightmare’s swiping claws, circling to strike the nightmare with a rising hoof to the jaw.
Quickly, the silhouette retreated from range as a blade of shadowed flame sliced down from the ceiling. It waited for an opening and charged the beast, looping around a stream of flame before crashing right into its exposed throat with a shoulder. The nightmare choked, fiery blast ceasing as it collapsed to all fours before the red silhouette sent it crashing back with a well-timed blow to its chest.
The silhouette flipped back in the air, looping towards Fluttershy and looking by all accounts ready to deliver a final Strike before, with a whiplike crack, the nightmare’s tail sent the red shade retreating once more before the back of one of the beast’s claws caught it, sending it crashing through a window.
“And now, little one,” it hissed, drawing closer on trudging claws to Fluttershy’s corner of the room, “this can be over.”
The nightmare slunk along the floor, lower half breaking down into incorporeality as its top half seemed to bend and ripple.
Even with it weakened so, Fluttershy could only cower, tendrils of shadow pressing her to the stone.
“Now…” it gasped out through gritted teeth. “Submit.”
I won’t, I won’t, I won’t, I won’t, I won’t, I won’t, I won’t, I won’t… she repeated over and over in her mind.
“Submit!” the nightmare demanded as she felt the cold of it closing around her.
No, no, no… she replied silently, curling around herself as tightly as she could.
“SUBMIT!” the beast roared, not in words, but in Fluttershy’s head as her hind hooves kicked at the suddenly missing floor, desperately trying to flee. “SUBMIT!”
“NO!”
Her eyes snapped open as she felt something coming. The tower had faded, an all-consuming dark everywhere, but as she peered into the dark, she saw the bright flash of red cutting through.
She saw through the dark, through the nightmare.
The red struck the nightmare full force, the nightmare’s form shattering before her eyes. The darkness swept away as the red pegasus skidded along before her, a pair of familiar eyes staring at her from beneath the red light.
“It’s time to wake up, Fluttershy…”
“Rai-Rainbow?” she whispered hoarsely.
“C’mon, Fluttershy… you can do it…”
“Is it… are you…?” She reached a hoof towards the other pegasus, but something caught her eye.
A coil of shadow… snaking across the floor…
“It’s time, Fluttershy…”
Fluttershy felt cold, all the colors fading away, the red of the element the only light as the beast molded itself into a familiar form.
Rainbow… please… please… please… she begged silently, body stiff and unmoving. Please…
It struck, shadowy fangs piercing through them. She felt the burn once more, watching as red light poured from the newfound wound.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t think.
She could only watch as the light bled away. She grasped weakly at the silhouette, at the cyan pegasus, at her friend as they lay on the floor.
Distant voices echoed, unintelligible and unwanted as her hoof grasped for the other mare.
“Rainbow? I’m sorry, Rainbow… Please don’t go…” She cried softly as she clutched at her friend, something thick and wet pooling between them.
“Fluttershy?” came the soft whisper.
“I’m… I’m here…” she replied, eyes dimming as the color drained from the other pegasus.
“No…nopony else…”
“What?” Her eyes fell shut, feeling so heavy. Her breaths coming in staggered gasps as she drew her friend close with weak hooves, unwilling, unable to let go.
“Nopony else needs to hurt.”
Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open and her blood ran cold.
“Nopony else needs to be hurt because of you.”
Fluttershy watched as a twisted smile crept across the pegasus’s monochromatic face. The usually rose-colored orbs a dark gray, the pupils shrunk to tiny pinpricks.
“Nopony needs to be hurt trying to protect a sad little weakling like you.”
Fluttershy scrambled back, her wound sealed as they were returned to the throne room once more.
“I would have thought that this would have made you happy.” Rainbow shook her head as she walked closer, shadows bleeding from its abdomen, fomenting in the back of its throat to lace each word. “Where’s your Kindness?”
Fluttershy simply stared in shock at her friend, pressed back as her innards twisted with the urge to vomit.
“How cruel it is for you to keep doing this to your friends… Tsk-tsk, Fluttershy…”
Then something broke.
“To lead them so foolishly…”
Something deep inside.
“To give them up so selfishly…”
Something deep inside her simply—
“To sacrifice them.”
—snapped.
“How could you—”
The gray pegasus didn’t finish as she was slammed to the floor by Fluttershy, her hide glowing a deep, dark pink.
“How dare you!” She lifted the other pony up only to slam her down with a snarl, stone cracking beneath the blow. “How dare you do any of this to anypony!”
She raised up, face twisted in a mask of rage, anger seeping from every fiber of her being.
“I hate you!”
She slammed down, forehooves pressed together, on the other pegasus’s face, hooves hitting home with a sickening crunch.
“I hate you!”
Again.
“I hate you!”
And again, the feel of cracking bone reverberating up her hooves.
“Just go away!”
A final time her hooves came down before she collapsed, sobbing beside the mangled mash of her best friend.
I… I…
She couldn’t think as she stared at the body.
Its face was unrecognizable, a gaping hole set in the center of its abdomen from which shadow still pumped.
She felt suddenly hollow. She felt so empty as pinkish motes of light blew from her by some unfelt breeze.
I can’t…
She didn’t move as she felt the familiar cold sweep about her.
I can’t anymore…
She let it invade her until she was awash in it, an ocean of darkness.
I just ca—
Her thought was interrupted as a sudden wave coursed over her.
Followed by a familiar, earth-shaking noise.
That’s… familiar…
She watched it through the window, a rainbow wave of light coursing towards them, lighting the dark.
Why is it so familiar…?
She watched as it hit the room. The stones disintegrating beneath its might, tearing the throne room to pieces.
It’s so beautiful…
Then it hit. An indescribable pain shot through her. It felt as though she was being torn apart, every hair and feather ripped from her at the root.
She was cast down, falling into the pit of infinite blackness. She felt something lift from her, the cold seeping from her.
Flying away, passing back just behind the wave of light as it abandoned her to the dark.
Why are you going?
She could hardly think, her wings wavering at her sides as she plummeted towards infinity, yellow feathers twisting up through the air as they peeled from the rapidly diminishing limbs as if to mark the way back.
Why do I feel so sad?
She watched in confused fascination as a trail of tears whipped from her eyes, flowing upwards with the feathers as her vision began to fade.
Oh… Who are you?
The last thing she noticed—
Where are we going?
—a glowing, pink pegasus plummeting towards her, its hoof stretched towards her.
[o-0-o]
[End Arc 01]
[o-0-o]
[Epilogue]
[o-0-o]
“Ughh.... my head...” Rainbow Dash groaned as she rubbed her aching skull with a forehoof. She could only stand part way before a sudden twinge of pain shot through her abdomen and she dropped to a crouch.
Well... that hasn’t gone away...
Gently, she was hefted to her hooves proper by a stone-faced Applejack. Glancing over to where Pinkie and Rarity lay, she found them half-conscious on the floor of the large bedchamber turned hospital room.
Twilight, on the other hoof, was already at Fluttershy’s side, eyes darting across the pegasus’s prone form.
“That had to work, right?” A nervous tremble coursed through her as she tried to shift her weight onto her own hooves, the necklace hanging heavy around her neck. “The Elements certainly took enough out of us.”
Applejack merely rolled her eyes, shifting the cyan pegasus closer before helping her limp towards where Fluttershy lay, still tucked into her bed, still unconscious.
“Did it work?” Twilight asked suddenly, voice devoid of emotion.
“I... I do not know,” came the worried reply. The moon princess looked on, the royal sisters having stayed to the back of the room during the operation along with their advisors.
“Fluttershy? Can you hear us, Fluttershy?” Rainbow croaked out, brushing against her hoof.
But Fluttershy was silent. Still silent.
Rainbow pressed her head to Fluttershy’s, whispering softly.
“Wait... what’s happening?”
With a surge of excitement, of hope, Rainbow rose up to find that something had indeed happened.
But not anything good as the color drained from the unconscious pegasus.
“Tha... that can’t be right,” Applejack remarked, voice cracking as she stared at the line of gray that seemed to be slowly, but surely making its way across the pegasus save for one spot.
It’s... it’s working... Rainbow stared as the Element of Kindness glowed a dull pink, Fluttershy’s usually soft yellow complexion remaining, if only just there. Isn’t it?
“Princess?” Rainbow turned to face Luna, eyes pleading for something, the merest shadow of a hope.
But Luna simply watched, the silent observer, her expression remaining impenetrable.
Rainbow turned back to her friend, hoof brushing against the golden surface of the element, touching another hoof to the element about her own neck.
“Fluttershy?”
Please, Fluttershy...
“Please, Fluttershy... please wake up...” Pinkie whispered, the pink pony appearing beside Rainbow, a bleary-eyed Rarity at her side.
They stood in silence, five friends locked together by failing hope as a pall of helplessness was cast over them all.
“A moment...” Luna cast a shield spell, gently pressing back the five elements from their sixth.
“What?” Rainbow demanded, her voice missing the edge of anger and indignation she desired.
“Jus’ do like she says, Rainbow...” Applejack said, hefting the cyan pegasus back.
“I... but... okay,” Rainbow mumbled, feeling the defeats accumulate.
The moon princess passed into the bubble she had created around the bed and to Fluttershy’s side, bending her head down to the unconscious pegasus.
“Fluttershy… if you can hear us… we have something to tell you…” Luna trailed off into whispers, eyes focused and determined as the rest could simply look on.
Slowly, the shield spell collapsed to a single point of blue light at the tip of her horn as she touched it to the Fluttershy’s chest.
“Princess Celestia?” Twilight murmured as she watched, her mentor slipping to her side.
“Yes, my student?” Celestia replied, voice seeming detached as they looked on.
“Have…” Twilight choked on her words, swallowing the lump lodged in her throat before continuing. “Have they failed before?”
Celestia was silent a moment, content to simply place a hoof on her charge’s shoulder. “Yes…”
“Time...” Luna finally spoke aloud.
“Beg yer pardon?” Applejack asked as the five friends crowded back around the bed.
“Time… we need time…” Luna replied, looking forlorn as she stared at Fluttershy, hoof tapping at the edge of what remained of Fluttershy’s color.
“Well, how do we get more?”
“We…I do not know.”
“C’mon, Luna, think!” Applejack demanded with more anger than she’d perhaps intended, pushing.
“We are playing at powers beyond your comprehension, Lady Applejack,” Luna hissed in reply as she pressed back against the earth pony. “It... It is a will I can scarcely comprehend either...”
“I… I’m sorry. We’re all worried... An’...” Applejack tipped her hat back, trailing off into silence.
“Wait…” Luna murmured, her horn lighting once more as she took a few steps backwards.
“What? What’s happ—”
Twilight was cut off as her question was answered as the Element of Kindness burst forth with a blinding pink.
A beam shot from the element, striking each of its peers in turn—Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Magic and finally Loyalty—before the magic arced back its beginning: the Element of Kindness.
“The hay!” Applejack cried out as they were pulled roughly into the air, the room alight with a familiar kaleidoscope of colors before the five dropped to the floor in a chorus of painful thumps.
The room faded into darkness before something audibly burst, dust filling the air.
Rainbow coughed, sliding along the floor towards the nearest pony, a hacking and sputtering Twilight Sparkle.
“You alright?” the pegasus asked, tapping a hoof to the unicorn.
Twilight choked down a cough, but nodded her head before calling forth her magic, an arcane wind blowing through the room to clear away the dust. The trio of windows along the wall bursting open with the aid of yellow magic as the fading sunlight streamed into the room alongside fresh air.
A combination of light and dark blue magic brought the magic-powered ceiling lights back to life, the ornate chandelier flaring brightly before settling on a more normal luminosity.
“Everypony okay?”
“Everypony seems to be in one piec—” Rarity cut herself off, letting out a gasp as her eyes trailed towards Fluttershy.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow, ignoring the aches of her body, hurdled Twilight to grasp the pegasus. “You’re awake!”
“It worked!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly as the quintet crowded the conscious and confused pegasus.
“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy whispered, looking down at the rainbow-colored mane buried into her chest.
“Yeah, ‘Shy?” Rainbow twisted around to look up.
“You smell.”
“You really could use a bath, darling,” Rarity replied, voice giddy as she hugged the yellow pegasus tight before her nose wrinkled as well. “The both of you actually.”
“Baths later! Hugs now!” Pinkie declared with a joyful giggle, her seemingly elastic hooves ensnaring the whole group.
From afar, Luna watched with a genuine smile plastered across her face, a familiar wing closing over her.
“I... I am so, so very happy, sister,” Luna whispered, pressing into her elder sister as joyous tears fell.
“I know. I am as well,” Celestia replied, nuzzling her younger affectionately, wiping away the tears with a wingtip.
Behind the royal sisters, a deep grimace upon his face, stood a grey-blue unicorn with a disheveled, silvery mane that belied his noble dress.
As he watched on in rapt fascination, what remained of the Element of Kindness floated away on the evening breeze.
[o-0-o]
The cave was alight with the crystals’ strange glow.
Set into the walls, they formed orderly rows and, though they were all at of differing levels of growth, there was an intentional quality to their arrangement as they cast an strange pink hue over the cave walls.
Once upon a time, the cave had been a natural formation. Its purpose left to the wonts of time. But now, it was orderly and new, its luminosity only growing in the presence of its guest.
Meanwhile, the mare stared at it, a gouge into the stone wall of the cave, a wound torn deep within the earth. It rippled and bent before her eyes as she walked forward on unsure hooves stung by the coolness of the cave floor. Curiosity and caution wrestled in the depths of her mind as she drew nearer to it.
Slowly, deliberately, the wound expanded and she spotted something beyond it, shining in the darkness. She reached a hoof, feeling something resisting her.
She drew back, examining her hoof as the shadowy appendage rippled before her eyes. She turned towards the crystal-covered walls, catching the barest hint of her reflection, a pair of glowing eyes glinting off its polished surface.
Turning back to the hole, she pressed her hoof to the barrier, staring nervously at the point of contact. Screwing her eyes shut, she pressed through first her hoof and then the rest of her before she felt it...
The warmth… the light…
She opened her eyes to find herself standing on a sandy peak, an infinite desert spreading before her.
In the far distance, a spire reached up, up into the brown sky, its tip aglow with a warm, beckoning light. |
mimezinga | 523 | 1 | Fluttershy,Rainbow Dash,Scootaloo,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Ten years Flat | complete | 68 | 2 | <p> A grown up Scootaloo has to deal with her ghosts and the legacy of a nearly unreachable master</p> | everyone | 2011-08-16T09:54:55+00:00 | 2011-08-16T09:54:55+00:00 | 3,269 | A nice fair
It was a warm morning in Ponyville, the sky was clear and the sun was almost at its zenith. A small crowd of ponies was gathering outside the town in a large field, there were a lot of balloons all over the place, colored banners and tables filled with sweets and beverages, in the middle of the fair there was a platform with a big flag of the Thunderbolts. Looking at the happy atmosphere and all the fun the ponies all around were having it was hard to believe the real reason of that celebration.
"Captain, we're out in half an hour."
"Aw, who's late this time? We'll lose the perfect light!"
"There are still things to prepare, cap…"
"Alright, alright… half an hour it is…"
Scootaloo closed the suit and put on the glasses, then looked at herself in the mirror. With the blue and yellow uniform the only thing you could see from her was the purple of the mane and tail. She now was a full grown pegasus, maybe a little shorter than the average filly but once in the air that didn't matter.
"Um… cap…"
"What now, Silverspeed?"
"That's not your jumpsuit…"
"Yeah, I know."
Scoot glared on her image in the mirror, looking at the small cloud with a rainbow lightning depicted on the flank of the uniform. She knew this was against the rules but she wasn't famous for sticking to them, she was famous for being the best flier alive… well, still alive…
"I think I'm fine with this, today…"
"But…"
"But we won't be late for the show, go and tell the others to hurry up, we are the mane event!"
"Very well cap, on my way!"
personal ghosts
Scootaloo went back at the mirror looking again at her reflex when another pony appeared right behind her, but this time she didn't turn back and just started talking to the newcomer.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"No you don't, it's a suicide… trust me kiddo."
"I'm not a kid, Dash! you can't stop me today, I have my wings, you know?"
"Yes, but you're wearing my uniform…"
Scootaloo kept looking in the mirror. She knew that there was nopony behind of her, it was in her head. Rainbow Dash died ten years ago, she was no more, but still she haunted Scoot in her mind… it was ten years today… the orange pegasus shivered and replied to her own hallucination.
"Your uniform? It was in my locker…"
"Sure, because you inherited mine…"
"Oh yeah? Then… then…"
The image of Dash in the mirror broke into pieces for some second, disappearing and then reappearing on the side of Scootaloo just a few inches behind her ear. Rainbow Dash was smiling sadly, Scoot could feel her scent in the air but she knew it was just a delusion… she was just arguing with herself...
"Then now this uniform is mine! And even the show is mine! I'm the captain, I take decisions here!"
"Yes, but you're afraid…"
"No I'm not! I tried this a hundred times, I can do a sonic rainb-" Scoot corrected herself "I can do a Redshift Dash even backward!"
"Yes, I know that, kiddo. I trust your skill…"
"Then what do you want from me if you trust my skill?"
"I want you to promise that you'll do just the Redshift Dash."
Scoot went mute, under the uniform she was sweating and it wasn't for the heat… how could she hide something from a ghost of her mind? How could she lie to herself that bad and hope that it could work? Maybe she… no! It was now or never, she had to do it, she had to free herself from her ghosts… and speaking of them…
"I'm doing it…"
"You're afraid! In this condition you'll be lucky enough if you don't screw the routine!"
"Dash's right, Scoot… you should-"
"Oh gimme a break!" yelled Scoot in frustration.
A second pony appeared in the mirror. She was a pink and purple maned unicorn foal with a white coat, another ghost from her past. Sweetie Belle technically was still alive, sure, but when Rarity went to Canterlot she followed the sister… well… it was a really bad moment for Scootaloo, with the death of her hero and Sweetie going away, she drowned in her own desperation. No matter how much Applebloom tried to help her, in the end they left each other… after that last break up Scootaloo had to learn to fend for herself again, nopony could blame her if she began to speak with mirrors, right?
"Now let me concentrate about the show, I need to be left alone!"
"Well, kiddo… after all you are already alone, aren’t you?"
Scoot blinked for a second, when she opened the eyes the only thing she could see was the reflected image of a purple maned pegasus wearing somepony else's spare jumpsuit. The captain of the Thunderbolts sighed and went to her saddlebag taking from it a couple of blue feathers bound together with an old blue ribbon, then opened the uniform and tucked that strange talisman inside the suit, closing it again.
"Show must go on…"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The show
From the sky the fair outside Ponyville was just a tiny dot coloured with ribbons and balloons. Scoot made a couple of loops and launched herself in a fast dive while the rest of the squad was doing the usual number with the smoke. The routine was just going smooth and clean, she glanced for a moment at her back to ensure that they were making the Rising Sun, it was time for her first real stunt. She spotted a pony with a purple hat in the crowd, it was perfect… Scootaloo gained some more speed while all the crowd was cheering at the patrol in the sky, as usual they didn't notice her coming and in a second she was flying away with the purple hat in her hoof. A roar from the crowd confirmed that the number was a success, she headed back to return the hat to a white unicorn.
"Scuse me ma'am, I think this is yo-"
"Scoot?"
Scootaloo stopped for a moment, looking better at the pink and violet mane of the unicorn...
"...Sweetie?"
"Wow, you're amazing you are… um… wearing Rainbow's uniform?" Sweetie bell hesitated some second, this gave to Scootaloo the time to recover from the surprise. The pegasus couldn't stop in the middle of the show, especially of this show.
"Yeah, sort of… sorry Sweet, gotta go, there's a number running! wait for me we'll catch up later!"
"Wait Scoot, what does this mean? Aren't you going to…"
The voice of Sweetie Belle faded in the air while Scootaloo gained again some altitude. It was time for the Redshift Dash, her personal variant of the Sonic Rainboom. The rest of the squad did the usual opening, making the circles with the clouds and all the rest while the captain kept gaining altitude.
"Just the Redshift Dash, okay? Stick to the routine."
The voice of Rainbow Dash took Scootaloo unprepared, but her resolve now was strong. The pegasus grinned while she kept flying higher and higher.
"Trust me, it will be fine."
"No it won't!… don't let that happen again…"
"Let me do my work Dash, go back in my head!"
"I can't! It's suicide! You… you don't need to do this!"
"Did you?"
"I… it was different! I was… I was certain that it would work! I was stupid!"
"Very well then, I am certain that it can't work, at least I'm not delusional"
"Listen to me, this is NOT cool!"
"Back in my head, right now! I need to focus!"
Scootaloo glanced down, it was really high and the air up there was cold, she inhaled deeply feeling the fragrance of distant snow, then smiled.
"Show must go on…"
Dive with me
Technically the Redshift Dash was the same thing of a Sonic Rainboom, but the rainbow thing was the effect of the really odd mane of the original performer and it was quite what made the Rainboom unique in it's kind… well, that and the fact that nopony till then was able to break the sound barrier.
The only pegasus fast enough to repeat that feat was Scootaloo, but the day she did her first Sonic Rainboom it was somehow disappointing. It wasn't a rainbow, it was just purple! A big purple circle vanishing in a red mist that left a red trail… well, it couldn't be called Sonic Rainboom, obviously, so Scoot decided to call it Redshift Dash, in part as a tribute to the departed former captain of the Thunderbolts, in part because… well, because it was red…
But today it wasn't going to be a Redshift Dash, nor a Sonic Rainboom… oh no, it was the real legacy of Dash, the Chromatic Rush. Her last show, the closing number.
While diving Scootaloo felt the pressure of the air on the uniform, she kept accelerating while the memories took her in that very same place ten years ago.
Dash trotted proudly around with her blue jumpsuit on, she smiled and threw away the goggles: Dash never used them, she wanted to feel every bit of the speed. The crowd roared when she flew up in the sky hitting a couple clouds and leaving a rainbow behind her, it was one of her classical opening moves. Rainbow was the best flyer ever and was well aware of it. Scootaloo was always amazed at every show, they were never the same, there was always something new. It was like living a dream, the best dream ever, every time.
The air began to create a barrier in front of Scootaloo, she grinned and kept accelerating, the ground was still far down below. It was soon, she had to catch the perfect moment, it was a matter of a single instant and Scoot had to seize it, she needed to feel the wind. Slightly moving the head she let the wind beat on the goggles, on a first moment they seemed to weight like stones, but as soon as the air found a way under them they flew away disappearing in a shiny point above Scootaloo.
Rainbow was leaving a white trail behind her, then the figure of the diving pegasus was surrounded by a bright lance of light, in a matter of seconds the sky was going to explode in a ring of colors, Scootaloo smiled in awe and expectation, but when the ring exploded it was wrong, it was just… violet.
The wind was heavy, Scootaloo felt like she had a thousand razors cutting her eyes. It was perfect, it was what she was looking for, more speed! The barrier was now as thick as a wall, Scootaloo already went against that wall and won a lot of times… but not today, it wasn't the plan, she wasn't going to break the wall, oh no...
After the first ring exploded in a violet light the whole crowd just stared in silence, they couldn't say anything, it was completely unexpected! How did she… a second ring exploded, it was just a moment after the violet one, but to Scoot it seemed to last for ages. This one was blue.
"Now!"
Scootaloo opened her wings and began to spin on herself. She had to maintain a straight trajectory and stay conscious, all in the same time while spinning like crazy at the exact speed of sound. It was suicide, it was the last number of the show, it was the last step between her and the master.
A green ring flourished while the boom of the first ring reached the crowd, it was too fast to be understood with the reason, but rationality was something for the eggheads. Scootaloo just looked up in the sky and let the wonder take away her heart while a fourth yellow ring was exploding in the air.
"no! That's wrong! Somepony stop her!"
The voice of Fluttershy raised in the complete silence of the crowd, but seemingly nopony listened to her, not even Scootaloo.
The barrier was still there, all around Scootaloo and to her surprise it wasn't a barrier, it was… something else, like a space of calm between anything before the speed of sound and everything past that, the eye of the cyclone... She knew it! It was working! The world around her was all red and was quickly becoming orange, from the inside the colors were inverted? This realization made Scootaloo grin.
"Look at me, Dash! I'm like you!"
"No kiddo, that's not enough! You have to be better than me or you are going to be dead!"
The next ring exploded in an orange light, the first one was still bright while it expanded all over the sky covering the sun, the whole world went violet, then blue… a ring as red as fire appeared in a lightning, Scootaloo wondered what color could be the trail of Rainbow after that awesome number, she held her breath waiting… and nothing happened.
The world was spinning in colors, it was already blue. Now Scoot had to stop the spin, pass trough the wall and then slow down. She could feel the wind, it was possible! she just needed to follow her instinct.
Scootaloo was still there when the sun began to go down. Twilight Sparkle walked near her, the orange filly pegasus was staring at the sky, her eyes were red and her face was covered in tears.
"Scoot, it's becoming dark… please, go home…"
"no… she's coming back, I'm sure! She's the best!"
Twilight already had her load of tears but there seemed to be always room for more sorrow…
"I… please, Scoot… you can come back tomorrow and wait for her… okay?"
"I must wait for her now! She might need help… I can't leave Dash alone..."
Scootaloo inverted the wings trying to contrast the spin, she was overwhelmed by the pain. It was too fast! She had to do something right now, but what? The world was violet, everything seemed so far…
"No! I… won't… surrender!"
Again the pegasus tried to open the wings, the pain was terrible but she grinned because she already drank the bottle of pain down to the last drop, this one in comparison was nothing.
Rainbow felt the terrible pain in her wings, she couldn't stop the spin, the world all around was turning red and white, but she couldn't just go like that, she was almost there! It was the most awesome number ever, it was everything she wanted, it was… a good moment to leave the show, maybe… in the end, if this was the best number ever, what was left after that? Suddenly she felt tired, very tired…
The world was going black, Scootaloo was almost out from the violet it was now or never, but she already knew that there wasn't enough time to stop the spin… nevertheless she had to try it, maybe if she opened her wings wider she could slow down fast enough… maybe she would simply explode in a flurry of feathers like Rainbow did… with a hoof she reached her lucky charm, the two blue feathers that Fluttershy gave her the day after the fair. She asked Scoot to swear that she would become as great as Dash... well, this was ironical, wasn't it?… suddenly Scootaloo heard the sound of wind and feathers going wild, like a strange Doppler effect.
Rainbow caught for a moment something in the blinding white of the vortex, there was somepony flying not far from her… what the hay was going on? It was the Black Mare, maybe? So the foal stories were true, after all… but she always figured the Black Mare as some skeletal pony with a black hood, that one was blue and had something yellow and violet on her…
The sound of the feathers suddenly was followed by a bump, Scoot hit something in the middle of a supersonic maneuver and did not explode? What the hay was going on!
"Take my hoof! We can stop the spinning if we can catch each other!"
Scoot heard a voice from... where? Rainbow Dash talking again? Oh, a great moment for having hallucination, but it made sense after all. She was supposed to have some sort of supernatural experience while she was dying, right? Scootaloo simply smiled sadly, but the voice insisted.
"There's no time, mate! Grab… My… Hoof… Now!"
Scootaloo opened her eyes wide, Dashie called her… mate? This could not be possible, this must be… that voice, it didn't came from her head, it was from somepony that was really there! Rainbow Dash was really there? impossible!
"We are going to crash! Move... that... lazy... hoof... for Celestia's sake!"
Scotaloo couldn't believe she was really doing this, trying to reach something that she didn't even know if it was real in the middle of a supersonic dive just some instant before hitting the ground... oh well, after all what could ever go wrong? she stretched the leg but in that position she couldn't maintain the control of the trajectory for more than a...
"Gotcha!"
Something suddenly grabbed her, for real, she felt the pain when her leg was dragged away with the rotating movement and half a blink of an eye after she bumped face to face with something… soft and blue...
"Hold on mate! this is going to be soooo awesome!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheers
The sky exploded, literally. Now the six rings were aligned and all of them had roughly the same diameter. When the last one finished its blooming a lightning erupted from both extremities of that strange tunnel. All the rings of light in the sky discharged bolts of electricity like a gigantic ethereal dynamo, in a couple of seconds the light from that phenomenon was so bright that everypony had to close their eyes.
When the crowd opened the eyes again, a rainbow trail was crossing the sky at the speed of sound and was followed by a red one, there were clearly two different trails in the sky, but after that incredible show nopony cared for the details. Sweetie Belle was jumping all around screaming "She did it! She did it!"
Not very far from there, where there wasn't so much crowd, a yellow pegasus smiled and looked up in the sky. She knew it, Dash never died in that incident ten years ago, she lost herself somewhere... or some -when-, maybe... Rainbow just needed somepony that could go there and help her to come out. The problem was that nopony was half a good flier as Dash... nopony but one pony, but that orange filly needed time to learn and the only thing Fluttershy could do was encouraging her... it took ten years flat, but the seed that was planted at last bloomed, Scootaloo just flew into the jaws of death and got Dash back. This was so incredible that Fluttershy had just one thing to say to celebrate such a moment...
"Yay!" |
|
kits | 524 | 1 | Cutie Mark Crusaders,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Chancing Canterlot | complete | 90 | 3 | <p>When three fillies decide Ponyville doesn't hold the answer to their quest, what are they to do?</p> | everyone | 2012-02-02T21:52:14+00:00 | 2012-02-02T21:52:14+00:00 | 2,977 | The section of Whitetail woods near the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres was usually very peaceful. Aside from the occasional crash landing courtesy of Rainbow Dash, not many ponies came this far out. The normal sounds of the forest were further dampened by a heavy layer of snow.
A punkish, confident voice cut through the singing of birds and the sibilant hiss of wind through pine needles, "Are you two ready?"
"I don't know about this..." a melodic, more hesitant voice followed.
"Don't you wanna get yer cutie mark?" insisted yet a third voice.
"Well yeah. But I just don't know about-"
The second voice was cut off as the first rang out again, "Trust me, this is gonna be awesome."
"Well ok," the hesitant one acquiesced.
"Three... Two... One..."
The three voice rang out in harmony, startling the curious creatures that had gathered to watch the three fillies.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, TOBOGGAN SLALOMERS! YAY!"
The cloud of snow kicked up only moments later could be seen clear across the wood and all the way into Ponyville.
Three very dejected fillies sat immersed in warm suds up to their necks. All three shared a similar expression: Eyes half-lidded in annoyance, mouths pulled down into a sulky frown, and ears flat against their manes.
"Ah thought for sure we'd get our cutie marks for honey gathering," the yellow filly's twang carried notes of disappointment.
"I think a pine cone collecting cutie mark would've been really nice," the pink and purple maned unicorn filly added.
"What're we doing wrong you guys?" The orange pegasus asked, using a hoof to wipe away the bubbles threatening to roll into her eyes from her purple mane. "I mean, that ski jump we built had to have counted for something!" Her wings vibrated spraying droplets of water as she stressed "something".
"Now girls," a cheerful voice cut off the round of complaining before it could even have a chance to begin. Twilight Sparkle was smiling as she levitated a brush to scrub the soapy water into a particularly stubborn patch of tree sap caked onto Applebloom's coat. "I know we've been over this, but you can't force your cutie marks to appear. You'll get them-"
"When the time is right," three voices finished the sentence with the purple unicorn. The corners of three mouths turned further downwards as three sighs escaped from the young crusaders.
"You know girls", Twilight continued on, the cheer never leaving her voice, "maybe you should-"
Twilight stopped mid-thought as a loud knock sounded from downstairs. She turned her head towards the door and called loudly, "Spike! Would you get the door?" No answer was forthcoming.
The knocking came again. Twilight snorted. "Excuse me girls. I'll just be a minute. You just stay right there." With that she trotted out of the bathroom and down the stairs.
The door gave off a squeak as Twilight opened it. The three fillies leaned forward, straining to catch snippets of the conversation. "Oh hi, Applejack. What can I do for you?"
The earth ponies voice didn't carry far enough for the crusader's to make out clearly, but Applebloom thought she heard her name. "Oh yes. She's upstairs with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo." The, after a short pause, "yes, tree sap again I'm afraid."
Applebloom had heard enough to determine that she was the subject of this conversation. She swung one stubby leg over the edge of the tub.
"What are you doing?" Scootaloo asked incredulously. "Twilight told us to stay here!"
"What do 'ya think Ah'm doing? Ah'm gonna hear what they have to say." The yellow filly finished her climb out of the tub, ignoring the disbelieving looks of Sweetie and Scoot. "Besides, if we're sneaky-like, she won't ever know."
The two tub-bound fillies shared a glance with each other and slowly smiles bloomed on their faces. "Cutie Mark Crusaders! Secret Agents!", they whispered. The two soon followed Applebloom.
The trio of fillies walked on the tips of the hoofs, care to avoid the telltale clopping of normal walking. Had they stopped to really listen, they would have realized that they weren't any quietter than normal. In fact, due to the poor balance the tips of their hooves provided, they were actually a great deal louder.
Making it to the doorway, undiscovered, the trio leaned out, straining to hear what the two ponies were talking about.
"-shy's too busy, what with those sick bunnies and all. And Rarity just got a big order for those fancy frou-frou dresses. Big Mac and Ah really need somepony to watch her while we're off in Canterlot. Granny Smith can't hardly keep up with her anymore."
"Oh, I'd be happy to watch her while you're away! It won't be any trouble at all."
"Well thank'ee kindly, Twi. I'm sorry about this being last minute and all. We just wanted to head on out early. You've sure taken a real load off mah mind. Well, Ah'll come in for just a minute to let her know she's staying here tonight."
It wasn't until they heard the door creak closed that the Crusaders realized the conversation was over. The three fillies hastily made their way back to the tub, stopping only to check their flanks to see if anypony had acquired a spyglass or perhaps an inconspicuous hat as a cutie mark.
No such luck.
With downcast expressions, they climbed back into the tub. It was while they were mulling over the unfairness of it all that Sweetie Belle noticed something.
"Oh no!" she exclaimed, the fear in her voice nigh palpable. "Look!" She raised a trembling hoof towards the door and the puddles of soapy water that had pooled where they had all been standing.
"Well that explains why we didn't get our secret agent cutie marks," observed Applebloom. Her voice carried more of an air of annoyance than fear.
"What are we gonna do!" Scootaloo's voice held far more desperation that Sweetie's had. "If Twilight finds out we didn't listen, she might banish us!"
Both Sweetie and Applebloom started at that. "Whatever gave ya' that idea?" Applebloom was far more curious about the origins of this fear than the punishment they might receive for not heeding the purple unicorn.
"Well, she worries about that kind of thing all the time. Why would she if it wasn't something she'd think to do?" Both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom mulled this over for a moment. Their ruminations were cut short by Scootaloo. "We've got to figure out a way to explain-" she paused, searching for an appropriate word. Finding none, she merely gestured with both forelegs, "-this".
"A typhoon?" offered the unicorn filly.
"An outta control raincloud?" suggested the young farmer.
Scootaloo's brow was furrowed in concentration. Her friends could nearly see the gears turning behind the daredevil's eyes. They heard, or imagined they heard, an audible click as her eyes grew wide and her expression brightened. Both fillies leaned closer, the excitement Scootaloo was projecting infecting them as well.
Scoot's expression became sinister; a huge smile stretched across her face, showing nearly all of her teeth as she locked eyes on the pair of suddenly taken aback fillies. Slowly, she raised one hoof towards each of her friends' heads. Their eye's crossed as each tracked the hoof coming to rest upon their foreheads. Scootaloo's wings buzzed as she lifted herself, allowing her weight to force the other crusader's under the white foam.
Four limbs flailed, splashing water over the edge of the tub, as she held the two under the water for a brief movement before relinquishing her advantage. As soon as she did, the two popped up sputtering.
"Scootaloo!" protested Sweetie Belle.
"What did you do that for?" Applebloom angrily questioned the young pegasus.
Instead of an answer, smile still fixed upon her face, the orange filly swept both forelegs forward creating a wave of water that washed over the two fillies and spilled a prodigious amount of water into the bathroom floor.
Applebloom was the first to realize her co-crusader's plan. Her face lit up as she proceeded to create an enormous wave of water with which to strike back at her tormentor. Seeing the water pooling under the tub, the light of realization clicked on in Sweetie Belle's head. She too joined in the water fight.
It took Twilight Sparkle several moments to return to the bathroom. What she saw was an epic struggle being waged. Scootaloo and Applebloom had teamed up against Sweetie the Scourge and were attempting to drown the notorious scally-wag in lightly-floral scented, bubbly water. The dreadful Sweetie was holding her own, her magic was nowhere near the level needed to manipulate fine objects or to lift more than a ball of yarn, but she only needed it to wildly produce waves and torrents.
"GIRLS!" Twilight yelled in her shock, "What are you doing?!" Rather than anger, the young librarian's voice held a hint of panic.
"Applebloom!" The orange earth pony yelled upon seeing the mess.
The three fillies froze in the midst of their naval campaign, Applebloom circling her forelegs as she attempted to stave off gravity's cruel embrace. Good and evil could wait. The three had momentarily forgotten the reasons behind the water fight and their enthusiasm had lead them to go above and beyond the call of duty. The expression of shock, couple with the horror of getting caught that only foals know, painted the young ponies faces and served only to deepen their deception.
Applebloom caught her balance.
Silence ruled for the moment.
"Well?" questioned the purple unicorn.
Applejack made do with a glare.
As one, the crusaders bowed their heads, "Sorry Twilight," they murmured.
Twilight's face shifted into a bemused grin. "Oh girls. It's alright." Her horn glowed as a cabinet opened and several towels floated out. "But you are going to clean this mess up."
"You're darned tootin' they are! Ah can't believe you'd do something like this! Ah've half a mind to-"
"Oh Applejack. It's no big deal. The same thing happens half the time I manage to get Spike in the tub." Twilight turned her attention back to the three fillies, bringing the towels closer, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure they'll do a great job cleaning!"
If anything, the look of horror settling upon the the cornered crusaders was more deep and profound than it had been mere moments ago.
The three fillies slowly trudged out of the library some time later. They stopped outside and each hitched her leg and check her flank.
"Still no cutie mark," Sweetie Belle stated, her voice was filled with equal parts disappointment and relief.
"Aw, who'd want a spill cleaning cutie mark anyway," Scootaloo added.
"That's it!" Applebloom's exclamation was punctuated by a little jump. "We've tried everything there is to do around here and we've asked everypony in Ponyville how they got their cutie marks, and ain't none of it done a lick of good!" The yellow filly kicked at the ground.
"But Applebloom, what else can we do?" The opal coated filly begged.
The young pegasus followed her unicorn friend, "Yeah. It's not like we'll get anywhere if we just sat around in the club house all day!"
Applebloom locked gazes with Scootaloo. Her eyes had narrowed and shone with sudden resolve. Scootaloo was struck speechless by the air of determination her friend was emitting. After a moment, Applebloom turn her head to meet Sweetie's gaze as well. Her commanding presence quieted the two fillies. "If we've done everything we can do here in Ponyville, and we talked to everypony about their cutie marks, than Ah reckon we'll just have to find a new place to crusade." Applebloom gazed off into the distance. "Mah sister and brother are taking a heapin' load of apples to some fancy party or other in Canterlot. Ah plan to be on that cart with 'em." She steadfastly refused to notice the dropped jaws and large eyes her friend were suddenly in possession of.
"But, Applebloom-" Sweetie started.
"You can't-" Scootaloo began.
Applebloom didn't move except for her eyes which seemed to pin both unicorn and pegasus in place. "Ah'm gonna be on that cart, with or without ya. Ah'm not lettin' anything keep me from mah cutie mark."
It was a moment before anypony made a sound. Applebloom, silent while waiting on her friends, all the while a sinking feeling that she would soon be alone grew within her; Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of Applebloom's plan.
The silence was finally broken by a melodic voice, "How are we going to do it?"
Applebloom's lips curved up into a smile.
Sweetie Belle's world jumped. She bolted upright out of her makeshift bed and smacked her head on the top of a crate of apples. The cart lurched again, throwing her into a no-longer sleeping Scootaloo.
"Wha-", the awakened filly started before being shushed by Sweetie. The pearlescent filly raised one hoof to her pursed mouth. Scootaloo could barely make out the unicorn's eyes in the dim lighting.
Applebloom, awakened by the noise, yawned and sat up. The inside of the crate had looked so different last night. She looked out of a small crack, one of the many panels AJ had designed to hold apple-based foods for display, and attempted to judge the time of day. It was nearly nine o'clock! Why, she'd slept half the morning away!
She stiffened, her mane and tail bristling; she hadn't awoken so late since she was a very little pony. How can it be so late! They'd discussed it at great length: while they were being stowaways one of them had to be on watch the whole time in case Applejack or Big Mac decided to inspect the cart. They'd spent all evening planning this operation.
Getting out of the library had been the easy part. The mare watching me, one Twilight Sparkle, was easily fooled by my fake snoring. I was careful. I was quiet. I shouldn't have bothered. Spike's own snoring would mask any noises I may have made sneaking out of the library.
Once outside, having confirmed that I hadn't got a sneaking cutie mark, I hightailed it back to the Clubhouse. Sweetie and Scoot were already waiting for me. The two fillies were decked out in their capes. Those capes marked them as Crusaders to any eye that cared to look. Soon, I too would be wearing mine. I had left it off. The gold lining reflected moonlight and drew attention. But soon, I would want the attention.
I pulled my own cape tight about me and spoke quietly, my hushed voice's gravelly quality emphasized by the low volume. "Were you followed?" I asked my two partners. My co-conspirators took a half step back. Their mouths dropped open and their eyes held equal measures of fear and wonder. After a moment both of the fillies indicated that they had not with a slight shake of their heads.
"Why're you talking so weird?" queried Sweetie.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" wondered Scootaloo.
I rolled my eyes. My voice returned to its normal timbre for a moment, "Duh! This is how ya talk when you're being sneaky." My explanation placated my companions. I grumbled again, "Come on. We need to hurry. Applejack and Big Mac will be up soon. We need to be in position before the dawn."
We arrived at the barn shortly before dawn. The light in the kitchen proved my fears were well founded. If they caught us now, we'd never get to Canterlot. It was do or die time. I pressed myself up against the wall of the house, pushing my body as close as I could to the rough wood. I was short enough to just fit under the lit window. I could hear voices inside. The farmer, the muscle, and the matron were in the room. I stopped breathing. My heart almost froze. If I could have stopped it to save the sound of its beating, I would have. In a heartbe-
My partners in crime had joined me by now. They mimicked me, pressing themselves almost flat against the barn wall. Slowly, carefully, we moved towards the open barn where the packed carts awaited.
The plan was perfect in its simplicity. I knew that the farmer would want to bring every last apple she could to the city, but if she was going to sell them, she'd need her apple stand. It was small and cramped, but three fillies ought to be able to fit inside it while it was closed. Sure enough, the mare had hitched it up behind the train of loaded cargo carts.
We gathered around the latch to the apple stand. This was the moment of truth. If she or the muscle had packed this cart with apples, we were sunk. I reached a hoof towards the handle. It seemed like it was a mile away. My hoof touched the handle. I looked towards Wheels. Her eyes begged me to continue despite the danger. Needing more reassurance, I then turned to the Dame. She looked nervous, but she gestured with both hooves, urging me to open the door.
None of us had a choice really. It was this or remain blank flanks forever.
I pressed down on the latch.
Scootaloo was on her knees. Her face pressed right up against the crack between the doors, staring at the passing scenery. Her wings fluttered. Her tail twitched. She shifted her hooves.--Again. She'd been cooped up in this wooden prison for hours. Why is Canterlot so far away! She looked upwards, as if to ask Celestia's sun. But all she saw was the wooden board supporting the counter-top.
She heard a thump from up ahead and sighed. Her sigh was mirrored by the two others who shared her confinement. On schedule another thump, this one closer. Four more and I'll have to brace. The thumps continued at regular intervals, getting closer with each sounding. When she heard the sixth one, she braced her front hooves against the top of the cart.
The cart shook as the wheels hit a pothole or a large rock. Nopony hurt her head this time, they'd learned that lesson rather quick.
Scootaloo returned her gaze to the snow covered country side slowly passing by. And there's not even anything to look at! She kept her opinions to herself. They'd had a close call already after somepony had gotten a little too sensitive.
Bored, bored, bored, BORED!
Scootaloo lost her balance and fell to the side as the cart came to a lurching halt. "Ow," she muttered, hearing a similar exclamation from her earth pony companion. She forced herself back into a sitting position rubbing a hoof on the side of her head. She noticed Applebloom seemed to be nursing her nose; Sweetie Belle had been lying down at the time and had escaped without injury. The orange filly glared at the board she'd smacked into as if blaming it for her sore head.
"What do you think is going on?" Sweetie whispered.
Scootaloo just shook her head. Probably just something else to make this torture last even longer! Again, she kept the thought to herself, whining just wasn't cool.
"What if it's bandits?" The opal unicorn asked, voice half-filled with excitement and half-filled with fear.
"Or trolls," Applebloom happily added.
"Ssshhh you guys. Listen!" The pegasus could hear voices.
"...high time we took a break an had ourselves some grub. Ah'm plum tuckered out."
"Eeyup."
"I'll just go and grab those pies Granny made for us. Ah'm glad she insisted we take two!"
Scootaloo looked curiously at Applebloom, her vibrant yellow face had become pale, her checks had gone slack, and her eyes had grown wide. The young speedster followed her gaze to a cabinet set into the side of the cart.
She looked up at Sweetie, the young unicorn glanced at her and gave a small shrug. She was half-way through returning the gesture when she froze, realizing what Applebloom was fearing.
"Just what in tarnation did ya' think you was doing?" They stood stiffly, lined up alongside the train of apple carts. Their gazes fixed solidly on the ground in front of their hooves. Applejack paced back and forth in front of the fillies and continued her lecture with half-lidded eyes. "Of all the hay-brained, thick skulled things you gals have pulled-" Applejack stopped and fixed her younger sister with an angry glare. "And to think what poor Twilight is going through right now. Ah've more than half a mind to turn back now, apples be darned." She resumed her pacing, "And you two, what do ya' think your families are going through now? Just leaving off on some wild adventure without telling nopony! What in the hay were you thinking?"
Sweetie was the first to break the silence. "We were just trying to find..." Her voice became too low to hear.
Applejack continued to glare at them.
Applebloom spoke up, "We just wanted... We thought that we might, if we tried in Canterlot... We might get," there was a pause, "our cutie marks."
Applejack's expression softened a bit at the explanation. Much of the anger left her eyes as they reformed into their normal, round shape. "Oh girls. It ain't the place that's gonna get ya' your cutie marks." Her eyes narrowed a bit again, "But what y'all've done to Twilight and your parents is going too far." She turned to her brother. "Ah'm afraid we're not gonna be able to deliver this bunch of apples, Mac. One've us has got to take these three back to Ponyville before somepony works herself into a fit."
Big Mac didn't say anything.
"But-" began Scootaloo, raising her gaze from the ground to look up at Applejack. She was echoed by Sweetie and Applebloom who were likewise staring at Applejack.
"Now don't ya go but-ing me young ladies. Y'all have ponies that are worrying their manes off this second over you. And Ah don't mean to let them worry a second longer than they have to. It'll probably take Rarity hours to get her fancy 'do back in order."
The three fillies' gazes slowly sank back down to the ground as Applejack spoke. Applebloom mumbled something.
"What was that? You'll have to speak up."
The little earth pony raised her gaze to meet her sister's. "Ah said, if you wanted to let 'em know where we were quick, you'd take us to Canterlot."
Applejack raised and eyebrow, "How do ya figure that'd let 'em know quicker than taking y'all back with me?"
"You're always going on about Twilight's letters and how she sends 'em everyday. Couldn't you ask the princess to let her know where we were?"
Applejack's other eyebrow shot up. The thought had obviously never crossed her mind. "That-" she began, "that make a heap of sense, little sis." Now all three crusaders were looking up with hope-filled eyes at the pony who held their fate in her hooves. Applejack massaged her chin with a hoof as she looked upwards in contemplation, "Ah reckon' that would be the fastest way to let her know."
"And you get to deliver these here apples on time too!" Applebloom nearly glowed with excitement.
Looking down at her sister Applejack frowned a bit. "Don't go getting no funny ideas. When we get to Canterlot, y'all gonna stay put with me and Mac. Ah ain't gonna let ya' run wild through the city. Ah'd prefer it still be there tomorrow."
"But we're going?" Scootaloo excitedly asked.
"And we're gonna see the castle?" Sweetie added.
"And we're gonna meet the princess?" Applebloom interjected.
Applejack nodded hesitantly, as if she was trying to find the catch.
A chorus of YAY's greeted her gesture.
Applejack laughed. "Sure as sugar you're gonna see the princess. In fact, Ah think Ah'll let you explain what your doin' in Canterlot to her yourself!"
Today was going to be so fun. Sweetie was sure that she could find some way of getting a cutie mark in Canterlot. Her sister was always going on about the number of clothing stores, outlets, and boutiques that dotted the Capital. She just knew that she'd find somepony that could help her figure out how to sew like her sister. She'd get that cutie mark yet.
The door to the Carousal Boutique slammed open, punctuated by a flash of sunlight and a dramatic lens flare. Temporarily blinded by the bright light, Rarity's mouth dropped open in shock as she let out an overly dramatic gasp. When her eyes had adjusted to the brightness she beheld the most fashionably dressed filly in Ponyville.
Sweetie Belle posed in the doorway. The three hats, all pinnacles of their respective styles, perched one atop another on her head demonstrated her success and commitment to style. Her shoes, heavy boots made of glass, were set against the silk stockings, each one a different, vibrant color.The red and gold of her crusader's cloak perfectly matching the green, purple, and pink of her ball gown. Both were positioned to show her newly acquired cutie mark. The diamonds shone with perfect inner clarity, the rubies stood out brilliantly against her white coat, the emeralds matched her eyes, and the sapphires were so realistic, for a minute Rarity thought they were part of the dress.
"Sweetie Belle! You're back! And so fashionable too!"
"You're not mad for me running away?"
"Oh no! Not when the result is something as marvellous as this! And your cutie mark is just so delightful! Oh be a dear and help your sister out, I'm trying to design this dress and am completely out of ideas. Surely a pony with your fashion sense can help. Please?"
Sweetie laughed triumphantly "Ha! Ha! Ha! Of course I shall help you! For I. Am. Sweetie Belle!"
Today is going to be the funnest day ever!
Canterlot was going to be so awesome! Ponyville was nice and all, and Rainbow Dash's presence there made it awesome too, but there was no way it could stand up to Canterlot. It was so big! And it had not one, but two princesses living there. Are two princesses cooler than one Rainbow Dash? She wondered. Shaking her head to clear it of such disloyal thoughts, she concentrated on what she was sure of. There is no way I can be in such a cool place and not get an awesome cutie mark.
I know! I'll find somepony to teach me guitar! Then I can totally rock out and show Rainbow Dash how cool I am. Scootaloo's wings fluttered in excitement and anticipation.
There was a knock on the cloud that served Rainbow Dash as a door to her totally awesome cloud palace. Curious as to who could be visiting her here, she pushed the cloud aside.
The guitar riff was wicked-cool. It blew Dash's mane and tail straight back behind her, making it look like she was in full flight. But neither the volume nor the intrinsic awesomeness of the music made the blue pegasus's eyes widen in wonder.
Before her stood a whole new Scootaloo. Her purple mane, twice it's previous size, was puffed up with strands going in all directions, looking like a giant ball of fluff. It hung halfway down her legs and added a full two hoofs to her height. A white vest with metal studs stood out against her orange coat. The guitar she was holding had two necks, each with 12 strings, the top was cherry red and it blended into a cyan sunburst. The black leather pants she wore had an enamel depiction of her cutie mark, a totally awesome guitar under a rainbow, surrounded by lightning bolts, all on a field that looked like an explosion. A pair of sunglasses completed the ensemble.
"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!" Rainbow sputtered. "Scootaloo, that is so awesome!"
Scootaloo's smirk deepened. "I know it is baby. The Scoot's all about rockin' cool."
"You totally have to hang out with me now! Oh! How about I give you some flying lessons?"
Scootaloo looked over the top of her shades, "It's a date."
Canterlot is going to be totally awesome.
Applebloom watched in awe as the group crested the final hill and walked under the shadow of the gates of Canterlot. This place is just so huge! She couldn't help but stare at everything in wide-eyed wonder. Surely there wasn't anything in all of Equestria that couldn't be found within these walls. With the shear number of apples they were bringing, there was no way she wouldn't get her cutie mark.
She stood in the kitchen back home. Her sister and her brother watched on.
"There's no way we're gonna get all these pies done in time!" Wailed AJ.
"Eeyup."
"Don't you worry about a thing, sis. I've got this." Applebloom turned her head and drew the large spatula she wore on her back. Closing her eyes, she inhaled, held the breath, and then exhaled. She stepped on the edge of a large platter loaded with apples, flinging them into the air. AJ and Big Mac gasped in awe.
Eye's still closed, Applebloom gave a loud battle cry around the handle she held in her mouth. Spinning, she whipped the spatula around in a complicated pattern, slicing every apple as it fell and defty directing each slice into a waiting pie crust.
Satisfied that the apples were done, she shoved the tool under a large ball of dough. She flipped that around and then up into the air, cutting it into perfect pie tops, complete with vents. Dropping the spatula, her hooves became a blur as she crimped the edges of the pies.
With a single powerful kick, and another cry of "ki-ya!", she shoved the pies into a waiting oven and slammed the doors closed. Turning to her dumbstruck audience, she gave a formal bow.
Yes. There was no way she was gonna leave here without getting her cutie mark.
"It's not fair!" Scootaloo whined.
"Yeah! Ya' can't keep us locked up in here like criminals!" Applebloom objected
"And I didn't even get to sew a single dress yet", Sweetie added.
"Well it ain't that I don't trust ya' to stay put, it's that I'm sure you could manage to get in heaps o' trouble without moving an inch." The three fillies were trying to use that sad-pony look on Applejack, but she had prepared for it by looking away. "Don't y'all cause no trouble for the princess!" She called over her shoulder as she shut the door. There was a loud click and they knew their fates were set for the day.
The room they'd been confined to WAS very large. It had a number of solid, sturdy book cases. It reminded them somewhat of Twilight's library, but had a more ancient feel to it.
"What are we gonna do now?" Scoot's wings shivered in frustration. "We came all this way and we're not even going to get a chance to find our cutie marks!"
"We could try to get a jail breaking cutie mark," Sweetie pointed out.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that, were I you," a new voice rang from deeper in the library. A new, somewhat familiar unicorn walked out from behind a bookcase. She had a deep, lavender coat and silvery-blue hair. She smiled at the three. "The guards would be most upset, your sister might not take it kindly either." There was something odd about her, but none of the fillies could put a hoof on what.
"But we need to get out, so we can find our cutie marks! Ah need to find a baker and a kung-fu pony!"
"And I need find out how to make a stylish hat!"
"And I need to find a cool, rock'n'roll pony!"
The mare looked taken aback. But then she smiled again. "Oh? Why don't you tell me about it?" The mare settled down as the crusaders eagerly began to recount their numerous adventures.
"Well, you certainly are dedicated! I don't think I've ever heard of anypony trying half so many things!"
"And we STILL don't have our cutie marks!" Applebloom hopped a little to punctuate her explanation.
"We've asked everypony in Ponyville how they got theirs! And-hey! How did you get your mark miss?" Sweetie asked, her eyes lighting up in excitement.
The mare looked very confused for a second.
"Yeah tell us! Maybe it'll help us get our cutie marks!" Applebloom insisted.
"Well, I'll tell you. But I doubt very much that it'll be of use. You see, I got my mark the first time I raised the moon."
That took a moment to sink in.
"Princess?" The three horrified fillies exclaimed as one.
Now Sweetie realized what had bothered her. The mare before her had a horn and wings. How she missed that she didn't know. And she was too petrified to think over much about it.
"We're sorry!" Applebloom blurted out.
"We didn't realize!" Scootaloo's voice cracked.
"Please don't banish us!" Sweetie ducked her head as if to hide her eyes.
Luna rolled her eyes. "Girls. I'm not angry. If anything I've enjoyed our chat. Now if you'd settle down, I'll tell as many stories as I can remember. Maybe one of them will inspire you to find your special talent."
Nervously, the three fillies lay down and gave Luna their full attention.
"Now, the first story I'm going to tell you is about a pony I knew a very long time ago. She was a pegasus and her name was Surprise..."
"Rise and shine! Sleepyheads!" Applejack barged into the room the three crusaders had been led to when their eyes had begun to droop. "It's time for us to head on back to Ponyville!" The excitement in her voice was wholly out of place for this time in the morning. It was still dark outside after all.
"Come on sis, just a few more minutes," Applebloom begged.
"No can do sis. We've got to get an early start so we get back in time for Pinkie's 'welcome back stowaways' party."
"Pinkie's throwing us a party?" Scootaloo stopped pretending to be asleep. "Really? A party just for us?"
"Heh. Well it's a party for the three of you, but everpony's gonna be there. You know how her parties can get." The three crusaders nodded. "Now, let's get moving and you can tell me all about your night."
The four walked out of the room, letting the door swing closed behind them.
"Well at first we were gonna try to break out of here-", Applejack didn't say anything, but she did suddenly seem more interested in their story.
"And then the princess told us that we'd worry everypony if we did something like that-", Applejack's eyes grew wide as Sweetie Belle uttered "princess".
"Princes-" Applejack began, but she was cut off by Scootaloo.
"And she told us all these stories about ponies getting cutie marks-" The orange filly hopped excitedly, her wings fluttering.
"You-" Applejack was cut off again, this time by her sister.
"And now we have all sorts of new things ta try! Like lumber jacking!"
"And interior decorating!"
"And fire eating! I've never done anything as awesome as eating fire."
Applejack's eye's grew wider with each suggestion. She glanced from one filly to another, as they spoke. "Now girls-"
"Hey! Maybe we can have another sleepover tonight! I bet we could get a lot of crusading done!"
"Now wait just a min-"
"Yeah! We can build a flume, or TWO flumes and race 'em! The barn would be the perfect place to build 'em."
"Hold on-"
"And then we could ride down it. That would be so totally cool!"
Applejack looked over at Big Mac, the fear in her eyes mirrored that in his. "We're doomed, ain't we?"
"Eeyup." |
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BrightIdea | 525 | 1 | Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Friendship's Gate: Tales of the Pony Coast | Equestria and Baldur's Gate! What a Combo! | hiatus | 9 | 2 | <p>Her adoptive father killed before her eyes by a mysterious, vicious armored pony, Mage Twilight Sparkle is thrust into the dangers of the Pony Coast as a diamond shortage threatens to spark war between the magnificent port city of Friendship's Gate and Amane. Who is it that wants her dead and wants the land plunged into bloodshed? Does it have to do with who her mother was? The dead goddess Nightmare Moon! Twilight is determined to find some answers but along the way she will face many dangers, most of all knowing who is friend and who is foe.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-24T00:40:25+00:00 | 2011-08-24T00:40:25+00:00 | 2,825 | Now where to begin, perhaps something about the abyss and how it looks back?
Nah.
Having been inspired by Pony Ages: Origins by Omegapony11, I have started the next Bioware title to become a FIMfiction with the we all know and love with the classic Baldur’s Gate series. I am doing my best to graft together the Baldur’s Gate series and MLP: FIM together which in some cases is harder than it looks (mostly the pony puns). Though I don’t want to give anything right away, besides the explanation for the title it is a playoff of the Baldur’s Gate expansion pack, BG: Tales of the Sword Coast, so I could stick Pony in the title.
Note that while I have created a few characters all respective characters and settings either below to My Little Pony: FIM owned by Hasbro or to Baldur’s Gate Series to Bioware or Wizard’s of the Coast entertainment.
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Prologue: Leaving Home
“When shadows descend upon the lands, our divine ladies will walk alongside us as equals.
The Lady of Murder shall perish, but in her doom she shall spawn a score of mortal fillies and colts. Chaos will be sown from their cantering.
In the Year of the Barn…”
-Excerpt from the Prophecies of Celestia.
Nestled atop the cliffs that rise from the Pony Coast the fortress of Bridlekeep houses the finest collections of books and knowledge throughout Equestria. Strict and secluded, it is a place of study and isolation from the dangers and quarrels that are daily life in the lands of Equestria. Bridlekeep is also home for one Twilight Sparkle, who has lived there ever since she was a newborn filly under the guardianship of Gorion, Bridlekeep’s wisest sage as his ward. Under his tutelage she has learned of the oldest of lore and the most magnificent of magic. It is true Gorion has always spoken true with Twilight on all matters, except for one thing: Twilight’s parentage.
As of late clouds have appeared on the horizon, with rumors and tales finding their way even into the libraries of Bridlekeep, with word of a shortage of diamonds throughout the troubled Pony Coast. The blame for this shortage being hot potatoed between the magnificent, port city of Friendship’s Gate and its rival Amania, further south. At first thinking herself and Bridlekeep beyond the political struggles of the outside world, Twilight has been surprised by Gorion’s command to his ward to lift her head out of her books and make preparations to leave Bridlekeep. Heeding Gorion’s words, the young unicorn has found herself at the Bridlekeep Inn.
It is here that her journey will begin, which will turn out to be a most unexpected and unplanned journey beyond Twilight’s own imagination.
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“Welcome! My old tavern’s as clean as a unicorn’s ar-“
“Winclomp! I know how clean your tavern is! I helped you clean yesterday!” the lavender pony said as she trotted to the brown and balding innkeeper of the Bridlekeep Inn. Leaning over the bartable separating himself from Twilight, the innkeeper’s mischevious grin refused to leave his face even under Twilight’s no-nonsese stare. Even before Winclomp began speaking, Twilight mentally prepared herself what came next.
“Oh right…thanks again for that little Twilight Sparkle…so! Come to visit ye old pal Winclomp have ye? Now don’t forget the 5000 gold bit entrance fee as per local custom”
“Oh Winclomp” Twilight’s eyes made a long, slow roll across the room “Your always such a big kidder, your jokes seem to get funnier the more I hear them…perhaps less often than usual…less and less so…”
“Haw! You got me Twilight Sparkle!” his large, brown coat shaking with barely contained mirth of a pony that didn’t get out of a chair counting coins very often, “Your always a sight for sore eyes, all these monks here have all their flanks up tight but your always welcome here! Gorion did good raising you I think. So is there anything you be needing? Room? Drink? Sword?”
Trying not to let her already strained smile slip any more than it had, the young mage concentrated on her horn, soon magical energies lighting it brightly. Almost immediately a piece of paper floated up from her saddlebags to the proprietor of the Inn which he eyed thoughtfully while Twilight spoke “Gorion has instructed me to gather up supplies for a journey!” the lavender unicorn’s face a mix of excitement and uncertainty, her voice and speech becoming higher and more rapid paced as Twilight continued “I mean it’s the first time I’ve ever been out of Bridlekeep, I think since I was a baby and even then I can’t remember back that far, so I had no idea what I need. I mean I’ve read hundreds of books describing what a hard and violent place it’s like outside of Bridlekeep but they never explained what I would need! So after a detailed search through several of Polo Stamp's guides I have come up with this bullet list which I am more than sure will cover what I will need!” Twilight finished her monologue with a sharp inhaling of air, slightly purple in the face.
Looking over the list Winclomp’s gaze narrowed with every line, after a minute he turns back to Twilight, asking her, “So…how much did Gorion give ye to fleece me?”
“Oh about 100 gold bits!” Twilight says cheerfully, levitating a bag of coins onto the bar, Winclomp’s ears perk up at the sound of gold hitting his table but he suddenly frowns and shakes his head “If ye be wanting half the loot on this list ye will be needing more gold bits then this!”
“W-what? But I need everything on the list how else will I survive out there in the unforgiving wilderness?” Twilight’s eyes going wide, rubbing her hooves together nervously.
“Don’t worry young one! Here I will get ye a few of the things on this here list, then you can use them to go around Bridlekeep and see if ye can scrounge up some more gold bits with odd jobs and the like!”
“Really? Thanks Winclomp!”
“Not a thing at all, think of this as me going away present to ye, after all Ye-Know-Who will miss you terribly…”
“Yes, yes I know but there is nothing I can do!” the mage giving a guilty look “ Just give my hopes that I-Know-Who will be safe and happy while I am gone, ok?”
“Ye have yourself a bargain, Miss Twilight!”
After Winclomp disappears into the back of the Inn, Twilight’s eyes wander over the common room of the Inn glancing to a green, robed monk, the monk stands off to the side in one corner of the room. The monks of Bridlekeep tend to the everyday maintenance and caring of Bridlekeep’s libraries, and have always been helpful to Twilight’s inquisitive nature. Trotting over to the monk hoping to practice what she learned from “Polo’s Guide for Idle Conversation With The Peasantry”, she opens her mouth to speak but the unicorn is interrupted when the monk suddenly snaps his head up from under his robes shouting out “IF YOU WISH TO PAUSE THE GAME YOU CAN SELECT THE MENU IN THE CORNER TO THE…the…the...oh” looking around bleary eyed, the monk shakes his head and trots out the door, mumbling to himself “…got to get more sleep and less studying the holy manuals…” Bewildered for a moment she shakes herself of it as Winclomp returns pulling out a small cart of objects “Here we are Little Sparkle!”
Ten minutes later the lavender unicorn wears a purple mage’s robe with black highlights that match her mane perfectly, covering from neck to flank, a light enchantment provided by Twilight caused her cutie mark to appear on the cloth above the flank. This mage’s robe would provide slightly more protection than an ordinary robe and Twilight knew some enchantments that would allow her to change the color if she ever wanted or needed to. Reaching into the cart, Twilight’s magic revealed a fighting quarterstaff that with careful application of her powers Twilight found she responded with her magic, as well as the small set of sharp looking daggers that uncomfortably reminded the filly that she would be facing dangers beyond her imagination outside of the walls of Bridlekeep.
When Twilight moved to the rest of the contents of the cart which included everything from magical healing potions to camping gear Winclomp held up a hoof “This equipment is a lot more expensive than just a new set of clothes and a stick! I know a few ponies around here could use some help with chores and errands. Whatever you can bring back we will call it even, what ye say?”
Twilight smothered the grimace of annoyance on her face, pouting just a little “If at most I am only going to get a few coins more why have me run all over Bridlekeep?”.
Winclomp shakes his head, giving a wry smile “I was thinking it would be a right good chance to say goodbye to your home…”
“Ah, that would be a good reason…” Twilight says looking slightly embarrassed, face dropping down and rubbing her hind legs against one another “Alright, Winclomp, I’ll be back soon don’t sell any of it while I am running around! Please!”
“Don’t ye worry…well…only worry if some fancy, schmancy noblemen offers me a pair of gold pantaloons!”
---
For Twilight it turns out the young unicorn didn’t have to go far to find someone in need of her help, coming face to face with her magical peer, Moon Dancer, the blue maned unicorn racing over to Twilight and taking her by the shoulders “Twilight! There you are! I need your help! I’ve lost my copy of ‘A History of Equestria’ and I can’t seem to find it anywhere!”
“Calm down Moon Dancer!” using her magic to teleport herself a foot away from the frantic blue and white pony, Twilight gave Moon Dancer a hard stare, “Have you looked where you usually lose things? In your saddlebags? Under your pillow? Next to your breakfast oats?”
“YES!” Moon Dancer cries hopping from hoof to hoof, looking around nervously “You know I can’t stand that annoying clomp and clamp of hooves on old wood floors so I took the book somewhere on the grounds to read! Oh please help me Twilight Sparkle! I have to find it soon or else…”
“Hmmm” hums the lavender pony, rubbing her chin with a hoof “Well I could help you look for it, but I have to leave with Gorion very soon, so I’ll be running around quite quickly and it would be a lot of work making use of my deduction skills…”
“Oh! I have this gem I could give to you as payment! Winclomp may pay you something for it! Please Twilight! I don’t want the monks yelling at me again, remember what happened when I took that one-of-a-kind copy of ancient Minaturven cooking recipes to read in the bath and the steam made the words run off…”
“Alright, Moon Dancer I will see if I can find it but don’t get your hopes u-“
“Oh! Thank you! Thank you, Twilight! I’ll be back in a short while; I have a hoof job appointment to keep! Shouldn’t take long! Bye!” Moon Dancer races off, leaving Twilight in a choking dust cloud of kicked up dust and dirt.
“What? That’s why she needed to find it so soon? Grr…Twilight sometimes your just a little too trusting of someponies…”
Fortunately, Twilight knew where she could most likely find the errant book in question, and it was only a short walk away. Along the northern wall of Bridlekeep to the cow stables she found Drippy and Moorelia. With a coat of dark blue and grey, Drippy had a rain cloud cutie mark on his flank, a symbol of his ability to care for others…so much so he breaks out in crying fits over the tiniest thing whether it is sad or happy. Only the cows like Moorelia never minded his company, Twilight thought because they liked to be listened to by anyone. Arriving at the cow stables Twilight saw Moorealia didn’t appear to be in one of her famous talking moods by the green complexion of her face or the thermometers stuck between her lips as she lay in a pile of hay. “Oh-h, O-h Twi-twilight! Its ter-r-r-bile! *Sob*” Drippy moaned out when he saw her coming.
“What seems to be the problem, Drippy?” coming to a halt at the edge of the puddle of tears that was quickly becoming a small pond around the earth pony’s feet.
“I-it’s *sob and snort* Moorelia! Sh-she’s come down with a te-terible cold! Or maybe it’s her allergies…b-but either way j-just look how aw-aw-awful Moorelia is!” Drippy said with a trembling lip, ca gush of tears soaking into his handkerchief, Moorelia for her part manages a ragged “Moo…I think…it was something…I ate dearie…moo-ooooh”
“That’s terrible” Twilight said, frowning and moving through the puddle to pat a comforting hoof on Drippy’s shoulder “Have you called the High Cleric? Shouldn’t he have a spell that could cure her sickness?”
“Ahuh” Drippy manages to say between sobs “B-but he-he’s away at a bronyvention of his order in Saddledeep! He-he won’t be back for a few days and-and just look at Moorelia! Wh-what- *sob*“
Before Drippy could soak Twilight in geyser of tears, she quickly places a hood on his mouth, the mage moving fast to cheer him up “Ah! Uuuh…wait! Doesn’t Mule have a healing potion?”
Drippy’s eyes widen, nodding throughfully, “Th-that’s right! I remember hearing him say his parents in Barngost sent him a p-package of sickness potions because the sea air makes him s-sea sick! Oh-oh-oh Twilight! Could y-you m-m-maybe…?”
“Not a problem Drippy…just PLEASE…stop crying…”
“*Sniff* D-deal! Oh! I am so happy I-I could j-just-“
“PLEASE! No. Crying. Period! Though you could help me too” Twilight dips her head towards the cow stables, “I know Moon Dancer often leaves some of her things here and I think she may have left a book here…if it hasn’t been washed away that is”.
“She d-did! Its-it’s right there in the hay” pointing to a pile of hay that was surprisingly dry, though from the way Drippy was going Twilight wasn’t too sure how long that would be. Using her magic Twilight concentrates on the pile of hay, and in a few moments ‘The History of Equestria’ rises up from the pile of hay with only a few pieces of hay stuck in the pages. Lifting the book into her saddle bags the lavender pony turns back to Drippy and Moorelia, “Well I guess I’ll be right back with that potion for Moorelia, just please Drippy don’t go anywhere right now…like into the library”
“*Sniff sniff* You got it Twilight! Just h-hurry back soon I-I don’t know h-how l-long I can s-stand to-to see Moorelia l-like th-this…it’s just so-so te-terrible! I mean-“
Twilight was already off heading down the eastern outer wall before Drippy could finish his sentence.
It didn’t take long for her to find Mule; as usual he was not far from the gate to Bridlekeep, as far away from the sea air breeze as he could be, and sleeping on duty rather than keeping watch at his post. Finding him wasn’t the problem though; Twilight was always a little scared to talk to Mule because while he was just a regular earth pony and not one of the real, terrible, marauding mules he had a gruff personality that often ended with the guard pony getting his sword stuck into things standing close to him after a temper tantrum. The pony was lounging at the top of one of the stairways leading up to the wall next to the only gateway in or out of Bridlekeep, somehow managing to get comfy enough to fall asleep even though he was covered from nose to tail in full plate mail armor.
“M-mister Mule…guard-sir…could y-you wake up a moment…please?” Twilight managed to say between clenched teeth, creeping up the steps to the sleeping Mule. Suddenly, Mule made a loud, nasty snort in his sleep, angry and mean enough to shatter Twilight’s nerves and make her scramble back a few steps downward. After a few minutes of Mule not charging down after her, Twilight managed again to crawl back up the stair, this time using her magic to levitate her quarterstaff slowly and carefully toward Mule as he slept.
“Easy, Twilight…remember to concentrate…just a soft tap on the...shoulder should get his attention...” using her horn magic Twilight pushes a sliver of magical power into the levitation spell to just tap Mule but instead of tapping Mule on the shoulder her quarterstaff slams forward into Mule’s nose!
“THE HAY??” Mule growls as he jumps up from his sleeping position, his long sword in his mouth and hoof rubbing at his bruised and red nose glaring around with payback in mind.
“Eep” Twilight tries to duck down the stairway again but that tiny eep and movement catches Mule’s attention, before Twilight can make a dash for it, Mule is on top of her his eyes two barrels of blood shot anger, his voice coming out like a dragon’s roar and making Twilight slip down a few more steps.
“WHY DID YOU JUST HIT ME?”
“I...I...I…”
“I WHAT? Answer me before I-“
“Mule! Stop frightening the poor filly this instant!” a new voice enters Twilight’s ears, looking down a wave of relief washes over Twilight as a yellow coated unicorn with the cutie mark of a pair of quills on his flank trots up the stone stairway, Editor! Her transmutation magic teacher!
“Bu-but Editor! She hit me for no good reason and-“
“This is Twilight Sparkle, has she ever before had reason to attack you without any reason? Instead of shouting at her why don’t you ask her kindly? “
“Humph” snorting, Mule turns from Editor to Twilight; while he narrows his eyes Mule takes his sword out of his mouth and begins to roll the handle between his hooves. “Alright what is it that you want girlie?
Letting out an inner sigh, Twilight is relieved that Editor is one person Mule is afraid of, an incident a few years ago occurred when Mule was throwing a tantrum, Editor polymorphed Mule into a chicken for an entire day. Coughing to clear her throat, Twilight does her best to offer a smile while looking Mule in his terrifying eyes “I-I came to ask you for one of your healing potions. M-moorealia is sick and Drippy is flooding the stables. I was wondering if there was anything you could need done to part with one of your healing potions?”
“Hmmm, so you want one of these?” Mule asks, pointing with his snout to a potion hanging on his belt.
“Y-yes. I need one of them, please.”
“You’re wondering if I need anything done so I could give you one of these?” Mule asks a grin on his face as he cocks his head to one side.
“Yes, that’s what I am asking…um Mr. Mule”.
“Well let me think a moment if I need anything done…hmmm…Oh! I know…oh wait, NOPE! I don’t! Hah!” Mule shouts rearing back on hind legs and laughing loudly enough to cause a flock of nesting geese just inside the walls of Bridlekeep to take flight.
To take flight right through where Mule is laughing his flank off, crashing into the guard pony and making him lose his balance “Wow! No…no…NO!” he shouts falling backward and sending his sword flying out of his hooves and down just outside of the twenty foot walls of Bridlekeep. All three ponies look over the wall’s edge to see it land blade first in the dirt down below, out of hoof’s reach.
“Oh no…” Mule mutters, sounding nervous and unsure for the first time “If Gate Keeper sees me without my sword he’ll have me pulling book shipments from the gate all the way to the inner sanctum libraries for a month!”
“Oh really? That would be unfortunate for you…but luckily we have here a fine student of Bridlekeep’s best teachers of the magical arts, who as you have noticed is very adept at levitating spells.” Editor says a smug look on his face as he waves a hoof at Twilight Sparkle.
Mule’s face falls as he looks between his sword and Twilight, stuttering “But…but…but…”
---
“Well that turned out rather fortunate for me.” Twilight Sparkle ponders as she leaves the Bridlekeep Inn, a new saddlebag of holding on her flank carrying all the supplies on her bullet list from earlier.
It was a simple job to levitate Mule’s sword back to him, and under Editor’s gaze he even muttered a ‘thank you’ as he handed over one of his potions, managing to find himself busy with guarding the wall. Editor bid her good luck in her journey with Gorion and soon she was handing the cure sickness potion to Drippy but luckily Twilight was already cantering off before he could soak her new robes in a shower of tears and thanks, even passing a few gold coins to her between sobs! True to her word, Moon Dancer was back in front of the Bridlekeep Inn, squeezing the air out of Twilight for finding her book and rewarding Twilight with a Moonstone gem, which to Winclomp covered the rest she owed him for the supplies. Wishing her safety, Twilight was out the door before he could get her to comment on another joke when a pegasi, a unicorn, and an earth pony walked into his inn…
Soon Twilight found herself walking through the inner courtyard, a peaceful area of Bridlekeep filled with beautiful flower gardens and ponds surrounding the inner sanctum and library, a massive marble stone keep that rose above the inner and outer walls that surrounded the keep. It was here on the front steps of the keep that Gorion had told Twilight to meet him, Twilight was about to turn the corner to the front doors of the keep when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.
“Twilight Sparkle! Twilight! Hey it’s me Spike! Don’t leave yet!”
“Don’t worry Spike I’m still here…” sighing as she turned around to watch the purple and green scaled, baby dragon speed through flowerbeds and stone ponds to get to her, waving his arms and only tripping twice on his way over.
“Twilight! I couldn’t believe it when Winclomp told me the news! You’re going on a journey with Gorion that’s amazing! Look Twilight I need to tell you something important and its-“
“Oh, I get it Spike, your jealous of me that I’m going out of Bridlekeep! I know you’ve always wanted to get out of these walls. Well, if you want I could talk to Gorion and see if-“
“No, that’s not it at all! Stop treating me like I’m a little baby dragon!” The little baby dragon crossing his arms over his chest and looking a little wounded in his pride.
“Spike your only a few-“
“I know how old I am, I can count with my fingers and tail, but if you don’t want to hear what I have to say now, fine I can tell you when you get back from your oh so exciting and fun journey! Good day!” turning around Spike storms off the way he came, kicking up water and flowers as he goes.
“Oh Spike, someday you’re going to have to learn to act more grown up” shaking her head Twilight turns the corner to see Gorion waiting for her on the steps of the keep.
“Well my child, I was afraid I would become a fine, aged statue before you arrived” Gorion jokes giving Twilight a smile which for a moment she can see is filled with pride, joy, and sadness. With a white mane and dusty brown coat that reminds Twilight of the paper she would find in books written centuries past, Gorion reminds her every bit of a scholar from the traveling robes he wears to his cutie mark of a golden book, its pages open and shining golden rays of light outward.
“Don’t worry, I am sure one of the monks would put you somewhere nice in the shade” Twilight says with a soft smile, trotting up the steps to Gorion showing off her new saddlebags of holding. “I have everything and anything we might possibly need for a journey!”
Gorion chuckles and neighs, looking over the contents as Twilight pulls out her list, “That’s all well and good, I hope you are ready to leave as soon as possible, I’m afraid we are more vulnerable the longer we stay at Bridlekeep” .
“I’m sure I have everything we could need…exactly what Polo said we should need, but this is Bridlekeep, what could possibly harm us here?” Twilight asks, hiding back her own immense curiosity as she studies Gorion’s face for any emotions.
“While it is a fine fortress of solitude, even a finely woven pony fly net will let a single pony fly past it. No we must leave here for we risk our safety and that of those around us” Gorion says, alarming Twilight as his face become graver and pony serious with every word.
“I’m…” Twilight begins to say, stopping for a moment before taking in a deep breath and holding her head high “I’m ready for whatever is out there!”
“Good, listen carefully. If we are ever separated, it is imperative you make your way to the Friendly Hoof Inn. There you will meet two friends of mine, they have long been so and you can trust them. “
Without another word, Gorion turns down the steps of Birdlekeep, Twilight turns to follow but pauses for just one moment to look up at what has been her home ever since she could remember. Silently hoping to see Bridlekeep again soon she turns to follow her adoptive father out into the world and whatever awaits for her. |
BrightIdea | 525 | 2 | Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Friendship's Gate: Tales of the Pony Coast | Equestria and Baldur's Gate! What a Combo! | hiatus | 9 | 2 | <p>Her adoptive father killed before her eyes by a mysterious, vicious armored pony, Mage Twilight Sparkle is thrust into the dangers of the Pony Coast as a diamond shortage threatens to spark war between the magnificent port city of Friendship's Gate and Amane. Who is it that wants her dead and wants the land plunged into bloodshed? Does it have to do with who her mother was? The dead goddess Nightmare Moon! Twilight is determined to find some answers but along the way she will face many dangers, most of all knowing who is friend and who is foe.</p> | everyone | 2011-09-05T02:08:37+00:00 | 2011-09-05T02:08:37+00:00 | 1,373 | Now where to begin, perhaps something about the abyss and how it looks back?
Nah.
Having been inspired by Pony Ages: Origins by Omegapony11, I have started the next Bioware title to become a FIMfiction, the classic Baldur’s Gate series. I am doing my best to graft together the Baldur’s Gate series and MLP: FIM together which in some cases is harder than it looks (mostly the pony puns). Though I don’t want to give anything right away, besides the explanation for the title it is a playoff of the Baldur’s Gate expansion pack, BG: Tales of the Sword Coast, so I could stick Pony in the title.
Note that while I have created a few characters all respective characters and settings either below to My Little Pony: FIM owned by Hasbro or to Baldur’s Gate Series to Bioware or Wizards of the Coast entertainment.
-
“When shadows descend upon the lands, our divine ladies will walk alongside us as equals.
The Lady of Murder shall perish, but in her doom she shall spawn a score of mortal fillies and colts. Chaos will be sown from their cantering.
In the Year of the Barn…”
-Excerpt from the Prophecies of Celestia.
-
There comes a time when everypony knows that they are going to die, whether from sickness or mortal wounds in mortal combat or being digested, slowly by a dragon. Red Mane, on the other hoof was doing everything in his power to deny this acceptance through sheer will and running faster than death. Running through the building, adrenaline pumped through his veins and despite wearing full plate mail armor the red manned pony had been keeping the chase up for well over an hour but it was also a fact that he had nowhere to run. Racing through the Iron Stable building Red Mane learned that every door was locked and every window was fitted with iron bars, as it was at one such window which he had desperately tried to pry open, a hoof wrapped in iron smashed into his face splitting skin on his face and his sword into pieces.
Spitting the broken weapon from his mouth, Red Mane dodged another blow aimed for his skull, which instead harmlessly punched a hole in the wooden floor, and fled for his life. No matter where he went in the seemingly deserted building The Monster followed him, howling its amused and hungry laughter. The laughter was the worse, the demonic chuckle echoed in every room and hallway; it was like The Monster was everywhere at once. Fatigue and the sickening cry of the beast were taking its toll on Red Mane, especially because he knew this chase wasn’t an honorable battle…no…It was a hunt…and the monster enjoyed every bit of Red Mane’s terror.
Mouthing prayers to the Divine Goddesses, Red Mane turned a corner, ducking just as a spiked, iron hoof smashed into the space where his head had been a moment before.
“Hahaha, it will be over soon, don’t run from what is your destiny!” growled the monstrosity, its voice filled with a conviction that Red Mane believed spoke no lie, but truth of his destiny. Before the monstrosity could turn the corner, Red Mane had already bolted back down the corridor to the stairway, climbing up the next floor and he did not stop there, climbing skywards. Quickly losing count of how far he had gone Red Mane paused to catch his breath, shaking off a coat of sweat from exhaustion and terror.
“Nothing was making sense tonight, there had been a dozen other mercenaries that had answered the advertisement for hired hooves, but why me?” Red Mane mumbled, thinking back to earlier when a servant had told him one of the company bosses had wanted to interview Red Mane personally. Lead off from the rest of the herd, Red Mane had been drinking a cup of apple cider when he felt a shadow cover him. Looking up he had seen the iron covered hide of the monstrosity and bolted away, soon being cornered It had spoken to him in riddles about dead goddesses and blood. It, the hired hoof still was not sure if it was a pony even though its form vaguely resembled one, had been very insistent on the blood part.
Moving to continue the adrenaline in Red Mane’s veins drain away, his hooves felt like they were made of stone and his armor now weighed down on his body. Struggling forward he moved toward a small stairway that looked like it lead to the rooftop. Inching to the bottom step, Red Mane crawled on his belly, muscles straining to take a single step. Then something occurred to Red Mane, freezing him in place at the bottom of this last stairway, finally realizing that he hadn’t heard the creature’s laugh or sensed its presence for minutes.
‘Where-?’
The bottom stair on the floor below him creaked.
Red Mane flew up the stairway; panic and madness took hold of his mind, if he had to escape he would jump off the building if he had to! He wouldn’t, couldn’t let that MONSTER get ahold on his mane. Topping the stairway Red Mane collides with the last barrier for his the last hope for freedom: a wooden door. Pushing on it Red Mane soon found that the door wouldn’t a budge an inch, it was locked!
“Nowhere to run now my little pony”
“N-no! No! Stay back!” Red Mane shouted, eyes darting away from The Monster as it lumbered, slowly and purposely up the stairs towards him. Heart racing, Red Mane did the only that that made sense to his panicking mind, using his entire body he slammed into the doorway again and again until a satisfying cracking of wood forced the doorway free. Red Mane’s eager momentum carried him out into the rain of the dark and stormy night in Friendship’s Gate. Collapsing onto the wet, stone rooftop Red Mane’s strength left, reducing him to crawl across the rooftop, the wind blowing the door shut again,
“Heh…hehahaha! Your mine.” The Monster’s sinister laughter cutting through the thunder and rain of the night , turning Red Mane caught full sight of the monstrosity as rather than pushing open the door it used one of its iron hooves smash the wooden doorway into splinters. Its bulk so large it had to stoop down to get through. Caught fully in the light from inside of the building Red Mane saw his constant pursuer in full light, wishing to the goddesses that this was just a nightmare with every step it took toward him. Red Mane’s hunter had no weapon, because its entire body from head to flank was covered in a dark metallic armor that protruded dangerously sharp spikes along the shoulders and vambraces, even its hooves were covered in gauntlets. The Armored Figure’s face was covered by a demonic, smiling skull helmet, but behind the helmet Red Mane sensed rather then saw a sadistic smile. Facing his worst fears he wanted to run, so he did, scrambled on his battered limbs towards the rooftop edge; if he had to he would jump...better then let this thing get ahold of him. His plans were thwarted as Red Mane discovered iron fencing along the roof edge, tipped with spikes. The revelation that there was no escape finally cracked his sanity, tears streaming down his face he pushed on the fencing desperately with his hooves. Red Mane cried out “P-please! N-no you can’t do this
“Hahaha…” the Armored Figure laughed, shaking his head while pointing a hoof to Red Mane “You will go first, and I will be the last” laughing again as he strode towards Red Mane like a unstoppable avalanche of death.
Red Mane didn’t even know what he was talking about, he looked frantically around the rooftop between him and the Armored Figure for an escape, his mind reasoned there had to be some other way, but instead his eyes fell onto his doomsayer’s cutie mark…and everything made sense. He felt a sudden wave of understanding and calm wash over him that lasted for only a moment, but finally this night’s plot made sense. The Armored Figure’s hoof ploughed Red Mane across the face sending him to the floor in agony and rupturing blood.
Red Mane couldn’t move, his senses scrambled by the excruciating pain, but he didn’t have to as the Armored Figure bent down and wrapped both of its iron covered hooves around his neck, then slammed Red Mane through the metal fence to dangle in midair. Gagging, Red Mane choked, the Armored Figure’s demonically strong grip clamped on his neck, which was the only thing keeping Red Mane from falling. Mind racing and vision blurring Red Mane tried to plea “Please! I-I know who you want…there are others I can show you! Ple-ahgrugh”.
The Armored Figure continued to laugh manically, crushing Red Mane’s windpipe slowly, out of options he weakly beat against the maniac’s arms and looked into this murderer’s face. Red Mane’s eyes fell deeper into the Armored Figure’s soulless eyes, the doomed pony stared into the abyss and death stared back into Red Mane’s soul. Letting out a death gurgle, Red Mane’s own eyes shot open wide as his neck snapped underneath the crushing pressure, his mouth hanging uselessly open. The Armored Figure took in and enjoyed the sight of life going out of Red Mane’s eyes, savoring every moment. Sarehavok, howled into the night sky in bloodlust before Red Mane’s corpse was heaved over the side plunging into the darkness below.
Red Mane would be the first of many.
Prologue: Leaving Home
“I can’t believe your going away, Twilight” Spike said from the tabletop, lunch was over and the Bridlekeep guards who had swarmed the Bridlekeep Inn were long gone, leaving Spike to clean up the leftovers. “Gee, I think Mule took a bite of his plate…”
“Honestly, I can’t believe it either, Spike. I have never been out of Bridlekeep, at least not since I was a little filly…” Twilight replied, clopping her back hooves nervously. Twilight looked back and forth between Spike and the saddlebags of holding hanging next to Winclomp, the Innkeeper, as the latter stuffed Twilight’s equipment into the magical saddlebags. She had ordered from the old earth pony camping equipment, survival gear, healing potions, the latest maps and more that several guides such as ‘So Your Going On a Journey: Here Is How Not To Be Eaten By a Ogre’ had recommended her. The young mage was determined that he journey would go by the book; she already wore the recommended apprentice mage’s robes. Her unicorn magic shifted their color from dull brown to purple and black to match her mane, the same magic allowed for her cutie mark to appear on her flank. Concealed pockets of minor holding contained her quarterstaff and several daggers. Her bulleted list told her everything was prepared for a journey…she just wasn’t so sure if she was ready in spirit.
“Oh, it’s not so bad little Twilight Sparkle. I mean I haven’t been out of Bridlekeep in a few years, but I’m sure that flesh eating ghoul has been caught. O’ course I never heard they buried it neither…” Winclomp commented while stuffing a tent pole into Twilight’s saddlebags.
“G-ghoul?” Twilight asked, shivers crawling up her flank. Her fear of the undead or semi-undead was almost as bad as snakes or even alligators!
“Hehehawhaw, oh no worries lass, there haven’t ever been ghouls in these parts.” Winclomp laughed, a joking grin plastered over his face, which grew wider as he continued “No, worse we get here be wolves, bears, and…pony-eating parasprites”
“Para-whatsit?” Spike asked, hopping down from the table carrying a stack of plates. For a moment the plates teeter and totter before a magical glow shifts them into a straight position in Spike’s claws, Twilight’s horn settles as a lavender glow disappears.
“Careful ye little lizard.” Winclomp eyes Spike as he closes the flaps to Twilight’s saddlebags, his gaze slowly turning back to the young filly “Aye, mark my words Twilight Sparkle, saw ‘em carry off a pony into the trees and-“
“Now I know your lying!” Spike interrupted in a outburst of laughter “I think they would consider you a main course meal, well unless they were smart enough to know you were too heavy to carry off…” Spike said between chuckles of laughter, ducking into the back kitchen with his load of plates. Winclomp snorts loudly, his flank livid as he places the saddlebag onto Twilight’s back.
“I’m sure whatever is out there, parasprites or not, Gorion will be able to handle them” Twilight says quickly to diffuse Winclomp’s anger. “It’s just that Gorion…hasn’t told me why we’re leaving Bridlekeep. I mean I am sure he has a good reason for it, he always does but…” Twilight’s voice trails off with a sigh, she REALLY wasn’t sure about leaving Bridlekeep. Its safety and books were all she ever needed or wanted in Equestria. Adventure…from what she read in her books wasn’t safe and didn’t leave much time available for reading. The unicorn mage was sure she could handle whatever the Pony Coast threw at her, but it was Gorion not seeing fit to trust her with why they were leaving that bothered her the most. What secrets would he keep from his apprentice and adoptive daughter?
“Oh, don’t fret about it, young one” Winclomp comforts, moving his heavy bulk around the Inn bar to place a hoof on her shoulder “Gorion’s got a good head on his shoulders, I don’t say that about most ponies. Wherever you go the Bridlekeep Inn will always have a room open ‘fer you!”
“Thanks, Winclomp” Twilight smiles softly at the older stallion.
“I mean after all, with your magic to help the Inn is always spotless. Spike’s good but he can be a lazy one, and whenever you put your horn to shine, my ole tavern’s always as clean as a unicorn’s ar-“
“Twilight Sparkle!”
Both ponies look to see the doors to the Inn fly open as a particularly older unicorn passes through them. Compared to Winclomp’s dark, brown mane this new pony’s is much brighter, almost like flame. Twilight’s smile grew just a tad wider as her teacher, Fire Mane, strode up to her. “Teacher!”
Despite being at the pony age where he constantly needed his staff to move around Fire Mane’s mane still looked as if he was alight with fire from his youth. Some of his other students often commented that he probably had a stash of flame-dye mane potions. One of Bridlekeep’s most powerful mages was also well known for his…fiery temper when he heard any of these rumors.
“Twilight Sparkle! I can’t believe the words that have reached my ears! Gorion is taking my star pupil away from me? You’re the only one who listens to what I have to say! You don’t blow up my classroom with every other spell!”
“Now, now Fire Mane” Twilight says, blushing at the praise from her teacher, “Moon Dancer is as good at magic as I am. I’m nothing special…”
“Bah! Moon Dancer is what I prefer to classify as an ‘air head’. I am afraid it’s a terminal illness that I can do nothing to help! You though, I could have you doing transport spells between here and Friendship’s Gate in another year of studying…”
“Duh, Twilight’s going to be better than Element Master one day!” Spike adds on to the praise, popping up onto the bar table.
“Please, Element Master is the most powerful wizard in Equestria! I’m sure I will be a competent mage, but Element Master is on a whole another level… I just hope this journey won’t interfere with my studies” Twilight rushes to say worried that their hopes were a little too high at the thought of being comparable to the great and powerful Element Master.
“Ah, yes. Be careful, rumors that bandits are thicker than a swarm of parasprites on the Pony Coast these days. War may even erupt between Friendship’s Gate and Amania.”
“War?” Twilight’s ears perked up at that, from her books she knew well of the rivalry between the two powers on the Pony Coast, but she hadn’t heard anything about a war.
“Aye, a unnatural diamond shortage in the Amania mine” Winclomp chimes in, as Innkeeper he knew more about rumors true and false then anyone in Bridlekeep. “Folks in Amania are blaming Friendship’s Gate ‘fer sabotage while Friendship’s Gate is blaming Amania ‘fer all these bandits. Terrible ’fer business is what I think on this mess.”
‘War? Bandits? Parasprites? What is Gorion thinking about going on a journey with all this craziness going on?’ Twilight began to think but quickly quashed such thoughts, she had the utmost faith in her adoptive father…yes, there had to be an important reason why Gorion wanted to travel. Whatever it was she would find out and-
“Anyway, my soon-to-be-gone pupil, the truth of the matter is on my way to see you I did see Gorion, and he bides you to come quickly. A storm is on the horizon and he wishes to make departure, post-haste!”
“Gosh! Look at the time; I really should be going then. I didn’t think I’d be here this long…well I don’t want to keep Gorion waiting so…” Twilight says between lifting her saddlebags onto her haunches and taking several steps towards the doors before turning to the two ponies (and dragon) that had been the closest thing to a family in Bridlekeep outside of Gorion “I’m sure I won’t be gone very long, maybe a fortnight at most, but still take care everyone…”
“Hehe, ye don’t have to worry about me, worse comes to worse, Spike here burns down my Inn. Again.”
“Hey! That was years ago and I had a nightmare…” Spike glares at Winclomp.
“Twilight Sparkle” Fire Mane interrupts Winclomp before he can open his mouth, taking a step towards his former student with a soft smile “I have given you all the words of magic and ancient lore that I know of, what comes next will be up to you but know that you won’t do it alone…I know you won’t be for long” finishing his cryptic speech with a wink.
‘Don’t worry Fire Mane; I’m sure Gorion will be there every step of the way to keep me safe” Twilight thinks, inclining her head in respect to her former teacher. Turning to Spike she sees the young dragon twists his tail in his fingers, looking away from Twilight. Before Twilight can say her goodbye Spike suddenly straightens up and bounces over and onto Twilight’s back, declaring for all to hear “What kind of…uh…employee of the Bridlekeep Inn would I be if I…I…uh…didn’t…see Twilight off to the gates? Huh? A bad one! So, Winclomp I’ll be back later to finish the dishes and my chores, yea that’s right!”
“Spiiike, you know you can’t weasel out of your chores just like that and-“ Twilight starts off before Winclomp inclines his eyes upward and raises a unoffending hoof.
“Oh, nonono its fine with me!” Winclomp interrupts a grin on his face and a wink to Spike before returning behind his bar “Since we don’t give those little chocolates on pillows, the Bridlekeep Inn comes with a personal send-away-er! Think nothing of the service at the Bridlekeep Inn, aye?”
“Very well, come along Spike you can say goodbye to Gorion. I am supposed to meet him in front of the inner sanctum.” Twilight says, with one last nod to Fire Mane and Winclomp. Twilight pushes open the doors to the Bridlekeep Inn with Spike hanging onto her mane. Though Twilight could not see it, Spike’s eyes speak of something heavy on his mind.
Soon Twilight found herself walking through the inner courtyard, a peaceful area of Bridlekeep. Filled with beautiful flower gardens and ponds surrounding the inner sanctum and library, a massive marble stone keep rising above the inner and outer walls that surrounded the keep of Bridlekeep. It was here on the front steps of the keep that Gorion had told his young ward to meet him, and Twilight was about to turn the corner to the front doors of the keep when Spike finally spoke up.
“H-hey Twilight, stop for a moment I need to talk to you really quickly before you see Gorion” hopping down from Twilight’s backside, he turns to face her, once again twisting his tail between his fingers. “Twilight…I couldn’t believe it when Winclomp told me the news… you’re going on a journey with Gorion…I mean that’s amazing but, look Twilight I need to tell you something important and its-“
“Oh, I get it Spike” Twilight interrupts, a knowing smile on her face, a smug look as if she had figured out exactly what the purple dragon wanted to say “Your jealous of me that I’m leaving Bridlekeep. I know you’ve always wanted to get out of these walls. Well, if you want I could talk to Gorion and see if-“
“No, that’s not it at all! Stop treating me like I’m a little baby dragon!” The little baby dragon crosses his arms over his chest and looking a little wounded in his pride.
“Spike your only a few-“
“I know how old I am, I can count with my fingers and tail, but if you’re not going to take me serious…then what I have to say can wait. I can tell you when you get back from your oh so exciting and fun journey! Good day!” Spike turns back toward the Bridlekeep Inn, steam billowing from his ears as he tramples the garden flowers.
“Oh Spike, someday you’re going to have to learn to act more grown up” Twilight sighs, shaking her head and thinking she had her young dragon friend figured out. Turning the corner thoughts of Spike are put aside as her adoptive father comes into view, Gorion waiting for her on the steps of the keep.
“Well my child, I was afraid I would become a fine, aged statue before you arrived” Gorion jokes upon her arrival giving Twilight a smile, which for a moment she can see is filled with pride, joy, and sadness. Gorion’s white mane and dusty brown coat more than often reminded Twilight of the paper she would find in books written centuries past, including his cutie mark of a golden book, its pages open and shining golden rays of light outward.
“Don’t worry; I am sure one of the monks would put you somewhere nice in the shade” Twilight jokes with a soft smile, trotting up the steps to Gorion and nuzzling his neck softly. Any onlooker could see that Twilight adored her adoptive father. “I have everything and anything we might possibly need for a journey!”
Gorion neighs, “That’s all well and good, I hope you are ready to leave as soon as possible. I’m afraid we are more vulnerable the longer we stay at Bridlekeep” .
“I’m sure I have everything we could need…exactly what my books said we should need, but this is Bridlekeep, what could possibly harm us here?” Twilight asks, hiding back her own immense curiosity as she studies Gorion’s face for any emotions or clues.
“While it is a fine fortress of solitude, even a finely woven pony fly net will let a single pony fly past it. No we must leave here for we risk our safety and that of those around us” Gorion replies, his face become graver and pony serious with every word, alarming Twilight.
“I’m…” Twilight begins to say, stopping for a moment before taking in a deep breath and holding her head high “I’m ready for whatever is out there!”
“Good my child, listen carefully. If we are ever separated, it is imperative you make your way to the Friendly Hoof Inn. There you will meet two friends of mine, they have long been so and you can trust them. “
Without another word, Gorion turns down the steps of Birdlekeep, Twilight turns to follow but pauses for just one moment. Looking up at what has been her home ever since she could remember. Silently hoping to see Bridlekeep again soon she turns to follow her adoptive father out into the world and whatever awaits for her. |
BrightIdea | 525 | 3 | Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Friendship's Gate: Tales of the Pony Coast | Equestria and Baldur's Gate! What a Combo! | hiatus | 9 | 2 | <p>Her adoptive father killed before her eyes by a mysterious, vicious armored pony, Mage Twilight Sparkle is thrust into the dangers of the Pony Coast as a diamond shortage threatens to spark war between the magnificent port city of Friendship's Gate and Amane. Who is it that wants her dead and wants the land plunged into bloodshed? Does it have to do with who her mother was? The dead goddess Nightmare Moon! Twilight is determined to find some answers but along the way she will face many dangers, most of all knowing who is friend and who is foe.</p> | everyone | 2011-09-26T01:45:00+00:00 | 2011-09-26T01:45:00+00:00 | 1,258 | Chapter One: Ambush
The storm began no sooner than when the last rays of sunlight slipped under the horizon. Twilight Sparkle and her adoptive father Gorion were soon wet, but thankfully not drenched. Even so, every clap of thunder and brilliant flash of lightning made Twilight’s heart skip a beat. The fact that the traveling pair were walking through the forest rather than the main road away from Bridlekeep irked Twilight’s sensibility. Immediately after they had left the sight of Bridlekeep Gorion had ordered Twilight to duck into the forest, Gorion casted aside her own barrage of questions with a few short reassurances that he knew what he was doing.
Not even quoting what she had read in several volumes on the dangers of hazardous weather conditions, that all conclusively stated that one should not stand under a tree during a lightning storm would change Gorion’s mind. “Do not worry; a little lightning is the least of our worries tonight, my dear. Let’s hurry and find shelter soon, the night can only get worse” he reassured Twilight as they picked their way down from the hills surrounding Bridlekeep. The inescapable feeling that whoever was chasing her adoptive father was powerful enough to make him worry continued to gnaw at her insides, though she was determined to protect Gorion, Twilight wanted to know what was going on. Seeming to notice Twilight’s conflicted emotions the older pony gave her a comforting smile.
It did nothing to comfort her. If anything it did the opposite.
“Gorion, you mentioned that Bridlekeep was no longer safe…you had enemies. Who are they?” Twilight asked hesitantly as the pair came to an open clearing in the woods. Gorion did not miss a step as he crossed into the open clearing, which was actually occupied by a series of stones arrayed in interlocking circles, some monument from Equestria’s long forgotten past. Normally, Gorion would have been captivated by anything older then himself; his attraction to artifacts matched the young mage’s own love of books.
Gorion didn’t give the stones a moment’s notice; looking to Twilight instead he spoke reassuringly once again “I’ll explain everything when there is time”. Turning his attention back to his front, Twilight made to ask him one more time, but Gorion suddenly stopped in his tracks, holding a hoof up to signal to Twilight to stop. The older unicorn’s eyes scanned the dark woods on the other side of the clearing, and for a moment Twilight thought that Gorion had found nothing when he relaxed and let out a soft sigh.
“Were in an ambush.”
Those words ran through Twilight’s mind, her veins suddenly freezing over in fear at the importance of her adoptive father’s words. The voice that came next was not Gorion’s and its owner’s words sent a chill up Twilight’s flank as dark figures stepped into view.
“How very perceptive…for an old man”
That voice! It was deep, and was laced with sweet promises of bloodshed…and for a moment Twilight’s head swam with thoughts of unleashing sweet, sweet murder… The group that stepped out from the tree line shocked those thoughts from her, the one who had spoke…he looked like a armored monstrosity of twisted dark iron and he stood not much shorter than the two monsters that stood to either side of him. At least she knew what they were, and Twilight’s textbook mind took some comfort as she recalled everything she knew about ogres…
“This dah git ye want smashed?”
“Dun’t forget smushed! Hahaha!”
Standing close to ten feet tall, their skin was a off color that reminded Twilight of what a pony would throw up if they had baked-bads poisoning. They also stood on two legs! Two! In their upright positions they both were covered in a badly stitched mesh of fur and leather, but besides the twisted facial features and large crooked teeth as they grinned, she worried about the large clubs they smacked into their palms like they were eager for a fight.
“Quiet! You imbeciles!” the Armored Pony growled, looking away from Twilight and Gorion as he focused his bone chilling gaze from one ogre to the other, and both ogres cringed taking a step back and screwing their mouths shut. Snorting his disgust, his anger disappeared as he turned back toward the traveling pair; from under his skull-like helmet Twilight could see an ecstatic grin on his face, especially when he focused on Twilight. The Armored figure spoke again, doing so offer he offered a hoof towards Gorion, but Gorion rebuffed him with a narrowing of his eyes “You know why I’m here. Hand over your ward and no one will be hurt. If you resist it shall be a waste of your life…”
Twilight gasped, the Armored Pony wasn’t after Gorion…he was after HER!! She was so shocked she couldn’t begin to think of what she should ask Gorion or this mysterious monster but she snapped back to attention as Gorion spoke, using his horn to levitate the dagger from his belt as he did so. “You are a fool if you believe I would trust your benevolence! Stand aside and I promise you and your lackeys will be unhurt.”
Even as Gorion’s horn flared with crackling, magical energies the Armored Pony threw back his head to the sky and laughed, stamping one hoof into the ground before turning back to Gorion, an eager grin on his face. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Old Man. Kill them!”
The Armored Pony pulled a MASSIVE looking broadsword from his belt, Twilight was amazing he could lift it like it was a toothpick in his mouth, but she soon had other things on her mind as the two ogres were eager to carry out their master’s orders. Clubs raised they roared their bloodlust as they charged toward Twilight and Gorion, but Gorion was not about to let them get any closer to his ward. Raising his horn and shouting a string of archaic syllables, magical energy wrapped around Gorion’s horn for a moment before exploding outward as the spell took form!
The first ogre was flung backward as dozens of small, red magical missiles shot out from Gorion’s horn to impact all over the ogre’s body, burning its skin and opening wounds all over its massive frame. “Raaarrrggh” it shouted in pain, impacting on the ground several feet away with an earthshaking thud as its face sizzled and melted from a magic missile’s direct impact. The second ogee did not fare much better, almost in hoof’s reach of Gorion it was stopped by a blasting thunderbolt that struck it directly in the chest. This close Twilight could see the electrical energy flood through the ogre’s body and the smoke of its burnt, meager body hair but instead of falling backward this ogre simple slumped to its knees-still quite dead.
“Twilight! Look out! Run child and don’t look back!” Gorion suddenly shouted before preparing another spell. Twilight had been so distracted by the ogres that she had failed to see that the Armored Pony had another companion or minion in his group: a short, filly, unicorn bedecked in what looked like black silk and chainmail armor. She had been standing in the shadows of the ogres all along, and she had been casting her own spell. A spell that conjured a flaming arrow that flew through the air to hit Twilight square in her left shoulder. Twilight gasped and screamed in pain as the arrow stuck with its red hot, metallic tip sinking into her as it burned her robes and flesh. “Go, Twilight! Go now and do not look back!” she heard her mentor’s voice shout again as his spell flew across the open glade, a golden orb exploding in the air at the mysterious unicorn’s head, causing the enemy magic caster to drop dead asleep to the ground.
What could she do? Twilight took a hesitant step backward, the movement causing the wound to flare up and send waves of pain coursing through her skull. Tears filled the young mage’s eyes as she saw her mentor meet the Armored Pony’s sudden charge towards them, sending wave after wave of magical missiles at the monster who just seemed to shrug it off and laugh in bloodlust as he swung his gigantic sword. What could Twilight Sparkle do?
No matter how fast Twilight Sparkle’s mind scrambled to think of what she could do, there was only one option and she did it.
She obeyed her adoptive father’s wishes and ran into the forest, the stream of tears from her eyes mixed with the droplets of rain that fell from the dark sky. As the darkness of the night swallowed her, Twilight heard a loud yell of pain from far behind her only for it to be drowned out by thunder.
Twilight Sparkle was drowning in blood and darkness, it was pulling her in. The forest floor had given way to this pit of blood and death, covering her in the spilt life energy of those who had died in the forest. It flowed from the animals, those killed recently by bandits, those killed in conflicts lost to history, and from Twilight’s adoptive father. She screamed out Gorion’s name as she tried to climb up the side of the pit, but her hooves kept slipping on the red soaked walls.
“Twilight Sparkle.”
The young unicorn’s hopes suddenly flared as she heard that familiar voice! Gorion! He was alive and he was coming to save her! To take her back to Bridlekeep, give her a bath, make a nice dinner, tell her of his adventures through Equestria as she slowly fell to sleep. The wound in her shoulder suddenly burst from under skin as she used every muscle in her body to push up the side of the pit. She cried happy tears as she saw a familiar outline appear above the lip of the pit.
“Twilight Sparkle…” said the voice
“Gorion!” Twilight cried out, reaching a hoof towards the outline.
“Twilight Sparkle…your just like your mother.”
The outline of Gorion’s twisted and changed, first becoming the outline of the bloodthirsty Armored Pony then changing again to a mysterious and dark shape of a female alicorn, and finally a long and mismatched body shape that looked to be a mesh of different animals. It was absolutely chaotic, reforming constantly between this last shape and a shapeless mass. All she could see from the outline were its eyes; yellow with red pupils-one the size of a small saucer the other the size of a pinprick. The outline seemed to grin and reach toward Twilight, but she screamed, pushing away from the not-Gorion and falling backward into the blood pit, its words echoing over and over.
“Your Mother. Your Mother. Your Mother. Your Mother. Your Mother.”
Then Twilight heard her name and woke up. |
BrightIdea | 525 | 4 | Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Friendship's Gate: Tales of the Pony Coast | Equestria and Baldur's Gate! What a Combo! | hiatus | 9 | 2 | <p>Her adoptive father killed before her eyes by a mysterious, vicious armored pony, Mage Twilight Sparkle is thrust into the dangers of the Pony Coast as a diamond shortage threatens to spark war between the magnificent port city of Friendship's Gate and Amane. Who is it that wants her dead and wants the land plunged into bloodshed? Does it have to do with who her mother was? The dead goddess Nightmare Moon! Twilight is determined to find some answers but along the way she will face many dangers, most of all knowing who is friend and who is foe.</p> | everyone | 2012-04-04T16:38:06+00:00 | 2012-04-04T16:38:06+00:00 | 787 | FG:TPC- The Ponies You Meet On The Road
by King of Malta
“Twilight! Wake up! Wake up! Please, please wake up!”
“I don’t know about this one. She looks like she is in Dead-town to me. I say we check her pockets for anything useful.”
“Nonsense. Her breathing is just fine, see? Now, Spike be a dear and prop her mouth open just a tad. Ah there we go, this will make everything all better.”
If Twilight’s mind had not been so numb she would have thought to herself how interesting it was as her senses one by one came back to life from the void of nothing she had been before. Such a internal monologue would have followed as thus:
‘Spike? Is that you? I can’t see or feel or do anything! I don’t know what’s going on. Wait, she thinks I’m dead? Granted I’ve never been in a state of mind…or lack of…like this before I’m ninety-percent certain I’m alive just…not well. Besides it would be quite impossible to take any of my things, their all enchanted to-Oh My! That feels great! I mean it feels like magical energy flowing through every cell of my body. I wonder if she used Charmluck’s spell of Cure Wounds or possibly Swifthoove’s spell of Up-and-At-Them? Well, given the time it would take to cast both AND that she would need a channeling device for-oh wait. I can feel again! I can smell and…someone needs a bath.’
Though in this case, Twilight for the first time in her life thoughtlessly opened her eyes and sat up. As her vision returned she opened her mouth to speak-only for Spike to slam her into the ground again with a surprisingly powerful hug.
“T-t-wilight I-I thought you were dead! I…I followed you and…I followed you and saw what happened.” The baby dragon’s words and his hug grew tighter, Twilight could feel as his gaze looked off guiltily “I saw…you hurt and Gorion…Gorion…”
“Dead, Spike. Gorion’s dead, Spike. I know.”
Twilight’s body froze, the memories of last night flooding into her mind, but the warmth of Spike quickly melted her body and soul. Returning the hug a single tear slipped out and down her snout…soon followed by another and another. The damn had burst inside of her and she couldn’t…no, she didn’t want to stop as her grief poured into the world. She pushed away the pain deep inside of herself, relieving the baby dragon of his instead.
For as long as she had been alive it was Gorion that lead her. He had always been there when she needed help with a bully or got in way over her head with a her studies. As she grew, so did he, his body getting older, and Twilight had easily pushed away any thought that Gorion would one day no longer be in her life. He had told her often enough that it would look strange for a mare of her age to be accompanied by a old stallion like himself. He always pushed her to make friends, joking as he asked her what she would do on a road with no friendly company. She had always told herself that Gorion would be there for her, he was too powerful and too big of a person in her life to fall down.
Yet here she was. Alone…except for…
“Rarity, a pleasure to meet you Twilight Sparkle though I do wish it was under more desirable circumstances,” the other Unicorn says as she flicks back her purple mane and offers a pleasant smile which turns to a dark frown as she continues “I mean a green dress! I would under more desirable circumstances never be caught dead in this old thing but, the lovely violet silk ensemble l wore just the other day was ruined. My…dear, dear, dear, and dear…acquaintance here was a tad brutish in dispatching some bandits and one of them spilt all his blood over my dress! It was…the worst…possible thing! I mean-“
“Yea, yea, yea. You’re lucky you didn’t end up dead in that dress,” Rarity’s rainbow manned partner interrupted, flexing her wings from underneath studded leather armor. Turning to Twilight she winks “Your lucky too that ole Rainbow Dash found you lying by the road. Your dragon friend here passed riiiight by you. He seemed distracted.”
Rainbow Dash tilts and nods her head in Spike’s direction, and from the corner of her eye she can see him staring intently toward Rarity with a dopeish grin on his face. For her part Rarity doesn’t seem to notice Spike’s gaze, only staring daggers at Rainbow Dash and preparing to say something else but, Twilight interrupts her as she weakly attempts to stand on all her hooves.
“Now darling, you shouldn’t do that so soon. Here take this” Rarity says with concern on her face her horn glowing with magic, she lifts a blue potion bottle from saddle bags neatly laid out on the ground behind her.
“A healing potion? N-no I’m fine. The one I believe you gave me earlier was enough.” Twilight replies with a shake of her head.
“Now, now. Take it. I have plenty and you’re in more need then either I or Rainbow.”
“Hey! It will take us forever to get to Amania if you keep on giving away our healing potions to every single egghead in trouble” Rainbow Dash snorts, flapping her wings and hovering off the ground several feet. The twin short swords in her belt are easily noticeable.
“Wait. You two are going to Amania?” Twilight asks tilting her head as she looks between the two, her eyes narrowing as several thoughts spring into her head.
“Yeah were going to Amania. Someone has to figure out this whole iron and gem shortage before the whole Pony Coast goes to Nightmare’s Moon.” Rainbow Dash shouts waving her arms out.
“Yes. You see our employers…a respectable guild of concerned merchants…are concerned as to the root of this iron and gem shortage.” Rarity interrupts Rainbow Dash before she can continue ranting on.
“Wait, gems are in shortage too?” Twilight asks flexing her legs and finding most of her strength has returned to her. She might need it if these two turn out to be bandits or worse…
“Yea, ponies just say its iron but, the bandits have also been hitting magical gem caravans heading to Friendship’s Gate all of a sudden. No magical gems and a war between Friendship’s Gate and Amania means our bosses can’t sell them at high prices to Saddledeep, they can’t create new magical spells or weapons, and can’t feed their precious dragons to-“
“So you see Twilght,” Rarity says throwing a serious glance at Rainbow Dash that means ‘Shut Up’ in three living and four dead languages “We should part ways soon if we are to solve this crisis in good time but, I have an…iiiideeeaa! Why don’t you come with us to Amania?”
“Wha-“Rainbow Dash begins to say before Twilight cuts her off.
“What? Why me? A stranger you just met on the road?”
“Ah yes a stranger that we met and SAVED on the road. Who should owe us a debt of gratitude? After all, if we don’t stop Friendship’s Gate and Amania going to war its likely you and everyone elsse on the Pony Coast will be affected in the most terrible ways. What else do you have on your schedule that could be more important than that?”
“I can think of one thing…” Twilight says looking off into the forest from where she had run from last night.
-
“Wha-what are they doing to Gorion’s c-corpse?”
“Eating him. I hate, hate, and hate gibberlings.” Rainbow Dash answers Spike’s question before flying off into the sky overhead, both her short swords draw in her hooves.
Twilight Sparkle is stunned by the sight before her. Hoping to bury her mentor’s body so that his soul may find peace in the afterlife she is instead met by a writhing and howling horde of fur and flesh. Stepping into the clearing she had just been to hours ago was hard enough for Twilight as Gorion’s last moments from last night played over and over endlessly in her mind. To see a dozen filthy, gibbering, howling, monstrous, blue and black furred beasts tearing at the flesh of Gorion and the two dead Ogres broke something precious within Twilight. Even Spike on her back cringes and hides behind her mane, never thinking that his first sights of the world outside Bridlekeep would be anything like this.
“TWILIGHT! SPIKE! Please darlings, SNAP OUT OF IT. They’ve noticed that they are entertaining company NOW.” Rarity shouts to both of them while waving a floating dagger surrounding by her own magical energy before pointing back at the gibberlings. Half of their numbers have turned their beady, red, and hungry eyes toward the two ponies and baby dragon. They break off from the feast, stepping over each other as they howl out in a primal hunger. Most of them don’t have any weapons to speak of just their blood encrusted claws but, three do have small daggers and one swings the torn off leg of Gorion as they charge.
“Spike,” Twilight whispers as the sight of Gorion’s leg jolts her out of her near fatal paralyzation. With an almost unnerving sense of calm her mind begins to concentrate on a certain spell while her mouth moves on “Roast them.”
Twilight releases her spell at the gibberlings a ball of energy forms at the tip of her horn and shoots outward turning from pure energy into a ball of black and brownish liquid which explodes at the feet of the charging gibberlings. Immediately their charge disintegrates as they slip and slide in the grease, practically wallowing in the grease as they try to use one another to get out of the area affected by the spell. Before they can though Spike inhales and then exhales, a spout of green flame leaping several yard to ignite the entire pile of gibberlings into an inferno of roasting flesh. Unknown to Twilight the screams of the gibberlings’s agony brings feelings of relief also, carnal emotions of excitement and thrilled pleasure she knows is sick and depraved.
‘It is almost like sweet music’ she thinks to herself as her eyes begin to tunnel vision fixed on the gibberling’s deaths. She is suddenly shaken out of her trance when she hears Spike call out to her, his voice somehow sounding like it is far away instead of right behind her.
“Twilight! Snap out of it! There are more of those things!” Spike says urgently, shaking Twilight’s mane in his claws. Twilight comes back to the world like a suffocating fog has been lifted from her mind; she shakes her head for clarity surprised to find tears rolling down her cheek. She ponders what were the tears for, tears of joy or sadness at what she had done?
“Don’t worry dear, Rainbow and I have them.” Rarity calls trotting around the finally silent patch of green fire with her horn blazing with built up magic. As the fires die down Twilight can finally see that Rainbow Dash hadn’t been lazy all this time. Of the remaining gibberlings three dead from multiple stab wounds from which Rainbow Dash had delivered as she hovers above and zipping around the gibberlings.
“Nyah, nyah. Got no wings. Can’t catch me” Rainbow Dash taunts them as she literally flies circles around their heads.
“No need to be such a showboat. Let us end this little party.” Rarity says as she releases her magic, the light blue of her magical energy becoming a sickly green as she releases three of the same spells in quick succession toward the remaining three gibberlings. The magic strikes each one directly and the effects are immediate as they stagger and croak weakly as if drained of life. Twilight can even see patches of their dirty black fur become white before they topple over dead as a dead gibberling.
“Where is the fun in killing them instantly with magic? That has no style or coolness.” Rainbow Dash says to Rarity as she drops back to the ground, rolling her eyes as she begins to push around the remaining gibberling corpses.
“Oh yes, you certainly are the one to be giving types in style with that ugly, leather pigskin while looting those hideous things.” Rarity retorts, rolling her eyes and turning away from her companion. “Twilight do you see what I have to put up with? I deserve more elegant company then this…Twilight?”
“She’s with Gorion.” Spike answers her, walking to Rarity’s side as he points to Twilight.
Kneeling beside her mentor Twilight takes in fully the gashes and chunks of missing meat from his corpse. She thought it would have been impossible but, the gibberlings had yet to touch Gorion’s face which despite the damage to his body makes Gorion looks as if he was simply sleeping. Her gorge rises in her throat not from the sight of Gorion but, remembering the feelings of pleasure and excitement at killing the gibberlings. ‘Gorion would be ashamed of me if he knew what I was feeling and thinking’.
“Spike…Rarity…Rainbow Dash,” Twilight finally says after several minutes of silent vigilance. All three turn to Twilight, even Rainbow Dash holding her tongue as she sees the sadness in Twilight as the Unicorn turns to them. “I think…I know… Gorion wanted to stop this. To stop war from breaking out between Friendship’s Gate and Amania. I’ll go with you to Amania on two conditions: we go to the Friendly Hoof Inn to meet Gorion’s friends he was to meet with after we bring Spike back to Bridlekeep.”
“What!? Twilight no I’m not leaving you.” Spike cries out running over to Twilight and hugging her tightly.
“I’m serious Spike. Your too young and the world outside Bridlekeep is too dangerous for you.”
“I’m serious about staying too. Twilight, if this war happens Bridlekeep will be caught in the middle and if I don’t help and you all fail I’ll spend a thousand years feeling guilty I couldn’t stop it from happening.”
“He is right,” Rarity chimes in pointing in the direction of Bridlekeep “The war would be terrible and I do believe Bridlekeep has a policy of not letting anyone entry unless they have a priceless book and a policy of death to anyone who steals from their library”
“Ah. Heh. You saw those in my bags.” Spike says blushing red.
“Spiiiike! You didn’t steal books did you? Why?” Twilight says shocked that Spike would break such a rule.
“Well, they weren’t anything big or important just…spell books for you…so you could continue to study your magic…” Spike says to his feet as he looks down away from Twilight’s accusing gaze.
“Spike…” Twilight softens immediately, giving Spike n affectionate nuzzle. “Alright. Fine you want to come to our possible doom? Okay. Just…stay behind me when we fight and stay away from any tavern bars.”
“Really? Thanks Twilight!” Spike latches onto Twilight again. She sighs and turns toward Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “Do you agree to my other condition? We head to the Friendly Arm Inn first?”
“Well, it would give me a chance to get new clothes and clean my dirty ones.”
“Your part of the party now. I’ll watch your back and keep my hooves off your purse the entire time!”
Confident that they will stick to their word and not try to kill her or Spike she turns back to Gorion using her magic to gently lift his body to prepare a grave. As Gorion’s corpse moves a pouch trapped underneath his corpse and untouched by the gibberlings falls off to the ground. Twilight curiously picks up the pouch with her magic and opens its contents to reveal a simple piece of paper.
“From the prophecies of Starswirl the Bearded?” |
Wheller | 526 | 1 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-09-04T20:49:17+00:00 | 2011-09-04T20:49:17+00:00 | 2,215 | Chronology notes:
Stop! You are reading the Fifth story in the series started by The Kindness of Strangers!
Please read The Kindness of Strangers first!
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/389/
The second part of the story is Putting the Pieces Back Together found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/407/
The third part of the story is Midnight in the Heart of Equestria found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/419/
This story is the direct sequel to Tomorrow is Always a New Day found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/433/
To Each Their Own
Chapter 1
Busted.
That was really the only way to describe it. Sergeant Percy Tebbs, commander of M3 Light Tank 105 “Lord Stuart” was not exactly trained as a mechanic; at least that’s not what he’d been trained as by the South Island Army. He did know his way around an engine block. Enough to know that there was no way for him to fix the Lord Stuart, not with what he had here.
The problem was that Sergeant Tebbs was not on South Island. No, he was a world away, lying under the Lord Stuart in the quaint Equestrian town of Ponyville covered in snow. He couldn’t exactly hop over to the motor pool and get the parts he needed.
Well, that wasn’t accurate, theoretically he could, but it would be a very, very long hop.
“Bloody hell!” Tebbs called out in frustration,
“Something wrong?” a feminine voice from behind him asked. Twilight Sparkle had been doing her best to assist Tebbs in his vain attempts to fix the engine after it had blown up for driving around burning the wrong kind of fuel. Tebbs appreciated the help that she had given, but she was a pony, a pony that didn’t understand how the Lord Stuart worked.
“I can’t fix the engine,” Tebbs reported, pulling himself out from where he was working. “Not with what I have here. I need replacement parts, and the only place to get them would be a from a SIM supply depot.”
“Where’s the nearest one of those to here?” Twilight asked.
“Karlu Karlu, Northern Protectorate, South Island,” Tebbs reported.
“Oh,” Twilight said. “Well, we could always make it run on magic!”
“Oh, so you’re a comedian now? That’s funny. Real funny,” Tebbs smirked at her.
“Percy, I’m being serious. Watch,” Twilight said, her unicorn horn began to glow, and Lord Stuart’s wheels began to turn. The tank drove itself a few metres and stopped suddenly.
“Bloody hell!” Tebbs called out in astonishment. “How the hell did you do that?”
“Magic!” Twilight replied enthusiastically. “Unicorns are known for magic... do they not have magic users in South Island?”
“Well, yeah, but what they do is all trick of the eyes and smoke and mirrors... they don’t do that!” Tebbs exclaimed. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to have my tank powered by a living being. It wouldn’t be right to use you or anyone who volunteered in that way. Not to mention if we came under attack from Gryphons... well we signed up to fight them, you didn’t. It just wouldn’t be right.”
One of Tebbs other crewmen, the youngest, Trooper Willoughby hopped around the corner onto the High Street, where the tank had been sitting since breaking down two weeks prior. Trotting besides him was Vinyl Scratch, the other unicorn who they had given a ride to Ponyville from the Hoofson Bay Area, after they had rescued them from hostile Gryphons, of whom South Island was at war with.
“Hey Sarge! Did the tank move!?” Willoughby cried out in astonishment. “Did you fix it?”
“No, Willoughby, I didn’t,” Tebbs said, giving no further explanation. “Something I can do for you trooper?”
“I’ve been talking to Vinyl here, about the other matter you’ve asked me to look into?” Willoughby said.
“Getting back in touch with command,” Tebbs said. “It’s not a secret here Willoughby, these are friends.”
“Yes, of course... anyway, Vinyl here says that she has a friend that’s a radio broadcaster in a city called Manehattan, one that she could convince to let us use to contact Regimental Command, let them know the Gryphons didn’t get us on our way back from bringing the ponies home,” Willoughby said.
“Sounds good to me, you volunteering trooper?” Tebbs asked.
“Of course sir. I know the Regimental frequency and all the updated channel codes. Sending anyone else wouldn’t make sense.”
“Well then, permission granted!” Tebbs said. “Hop to it!”
...
Vinyl Scratch was walking down the High Street of Ponyville, her saddlebags full of provisions that she would need on the month long walk to Manehattan. She had her own reasons for wanting to go back. She had an old friend that needed an apology.
Vinyl had had a problem with drugs in the past, Octavia, her best friend had gotten on the wrong end of one of Vinyl’s drug induced rages, and they’d had a falling out.
Vinyl had gotten clean, and she knew that she owed Octavia an apology, but until recently, she didn’t have the nerve to do it. It wasn’t until she met Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, on their way to the Hoofson Bay Area that she fully realised that friends were worth it. Even if this didn’t end well for Vinyl Scratch, she had to try. She owed it to Octavia.
“Vinyl Scratch!” a mare’s voice called out.
Vinyl turned and looked, standing at the other end of a side street stood a mint green unicorn and a crème coloured earth pony. Vinyl had been introduced to them as Lyra and Bon Bon.
“’Sup cool cats? What can Vinyl Scratch do for you?” Vinyl said as she crossed over to where the two ponies were standing.
“We heard that you’re going to Manehattan!” Bon Bon exclaimed excitedly.
“That I am,” Vinyl said. “What of it?”
“We were wondering... if it would be all right, if we tagged along with you?” Lyra said, smiling, practically pleading with her eyes to go.
“Sure thing! If there’s anything I’ve learned it's that travelling is way boring if you’re going by yourself. We’re talking about leaving end of the week, so gather up food and warm clothes, any camping gear you got are sure to be useful.” Vinyl said grinning.
Lyra and Bon Bon practically exploded in excitement; they thanked Vinyl and rushed off to start preparing for the journey.
Vinyl grinned; their enthusiasm reminded her of her.
Vinyl continued down the road, and came across the oddest sight in the world. A Larger Red earth pony, and yellow one clad in a hat and vest were standing talking to a grey and blonde maned Pegasus. Vinyl had been introduced to these ponies as Big Macintosh, Braeburn, and Derpy Hooves respectively. Apparently, Big Macintosh was a rare sight in Ponyville, so any time he was here was something of a special occasion.
“I really appreciate this Big Macintosh, this package is supposed to be huge! There’s no way I could get it to Manehattan by myself.”
“’S really no trouble at all Miss Hooves, Applejack’s gotten a lot better lately, and there ain’t much work on the farm tha’ she can’t handle anymore,” Big Macintosh said.
Vinyl made her way over to the group and bid them hello. “Hey there kids! I couldn’t help overhearing that you’re all going to Manehattan?”
“Howdy do Miss Scratch!” Braeburn said, tipping his hat at her.
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh said simply.
“There’s a really big package coming through the post office on its way to Manehattan at the end of the week,” Derpy explained. “It’s way too big for me to get it there on my own. Big Macintosh and Braeburn agreed to help me get it there.”
“Ain’t that something? Just so happens that I’m going to Manehattan at the end of the week too with Lyra, Bon Bon, and one of the kangaroos, maybe we should travel together?”
“Sounds like a fine idea to me!” Braeburn said. “Don’ you think so cuz?”
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh said simply.
“Radical,” Vinyl said with a grin.
...
The week drew to its end, the ponies had gathered their supplies, the package that Derpy Hooves was supposed to deliver had arrived, and the group had gathered at the edge of town, getting ready to depart. Braeburn had just finished hitching Big Macintosh to a pull cart with a large wooden box loaded in the back; they had agreed to take turns pulling it.
Lyra and Bon Bon were excited beyond reason, each of them had dreamed of someday visiting the bight and big city of Manehattan, taking in the culture of it. Vinyl had equated it to her own fillyhood, noting the excitement was similar to that of a rare trip to a sweet shop.
Vinyl had taken the lead at the edge of the road between the limits of Ponyville, and the country side.
“All right Fillies and Gentlecolts! And Marsupial! Make yourselves ready for excitement and adventure, because we’re going to Manehattan!”
Trooper Willoughby smirked at Vinyl; the Unicorn was certainly the odd one out.
There was a round of cheering, mostly from Lyra and Bon Bon, which was interrupted by another pony, clearing their throat.
Standing a few metres from Big Macintosh’s wagon was an azure unicorn of which Vinyl had not been introduced to, clad in a wizard’s hat and cape, saddlebags visible.
“Trixie would like to ask... if she may come with you,” the unicorn, having identified herself as Trixie said, Derpy waved at the Unicorn, who smiled and gave a small wave back.
“Well sure thing cool cat!” Vinyl said. “So long as the entire town doesn’t decide in the next five seconds that they want to come along, the more the merrier!”
“Thank you,” Trixie said quietly.
The group of ponies, plus one kangaroo, began their walk (or in the case of the kangaroo in the group, hop.)
They had a long way to go, their journey had just begun. |
Wheller | 526 | 2 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-18T04:04:21+00:00 | 2011-08-18T04:04:21+00:00 | 1,820 | Chapter 2
The caravan of ponies had stopped for the night in a small wooded area that ended up being the same spot that Vinyl Scratch, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle had camped in their first night together on their way to the Hoofson Bay Area. Though it didn’t look the way Vinyl remembered it, as it was now covered in snow. Vinyl’s internal compass would be leading them along the same path that she and her friends had taken nearly a month prior.
The year was drawing to a close, tonight was New Year’s Eve. Year 1001 of the reign of Celestia would be over in a few hours. Despite the naming convention, Princess Celestia had ruled Equestria for much longer than 1001 years; however the current calendar had measured when she ruled Equestria alone. Upon Princess Luna’s return, there had been much talk of resetting the calendar to mark the new age in Equestria, something which both princesses protested, the current calendar had been the most accurate ever devised.
Trooper Willoughby hadn’t known about it being the end of year. The calendar used in South Island was different. The biggest difference being the second month of the year, February had 31 days in it, rather than the Equestrian 28, it also counted 372 days instead of the Equestrian 365 and the year began during the autumn equinox rather than at the end of December. As to be expected, the kangaroo was rather apathetic about the New Year. Most of the ponies ignored him.
Big Macintosh and Braeburn had brought along several bottles of Sweet Apple Acres best cider for the occasion. Trooper Willoughby abstained himself from drinking any, the ponies might be able to sit back and relax about their situation out here in the wilderness. This was their home, they weren’t afraid of anything lurking out here, but for the kangaroo, this was unfamiliar territory, he kept his ears open and his eyes up front. They weren’t expecting trouble, but Willoughby’s time as in the Cavalry had taught him that trouble always came when least expecting it.
The ponies of their expedition were quick to crack jokes about Willoughby being wound up too tightly. Maybe they were right, maybe he was just being paranoid, or maybe they were just naive. Willoughby was a soldier first; he’d seen things that would send these ponies to the loony bin. He’d seen things that the gryphons had done that these ponies would never believe, so yes, he was on his guard, but that’s what kept a soldier alive in the field, and if that made him wound up too tightly, then so be it.
“Try not to hit the stuff too hard everypony,” Vinyl Scratch said seriously, “We’ve got a lot of walking to do tomorrow, and you’re all going to regret it if your hung-over.”
Vinyl had abstained from the cider as well. Parties, drugs and alcohol had at one point been her life. She knew what drink could do to a pony, and was not interested in going down that path again. She’d caught the others off guard with her abstinence from the cider. After all, Vinyl Scratch was easily the most laid back and carefree of all of them.
That said. There were still a high number of Ponies that did indeed regret their actions the subsequent morning. Lyra, Bon Bon, and Braeburn had each had more than their own weight in cider and slowly trudged along behind their more sober fellows.
“Tried to warn ya!” Vinyl said with a grin. She had the most experience with hangovers.
“Ugh... can somepony just get a really big rock and bash me over the head with it?” Lyra said as she walked. She’d had the most out of all of them. Her head felt like it had split wide open, and she was slowly trudging in the rear.
“Drink water Lyra! Keep Hydrated!” Vinyl said with a grin. Lyra did not particularly appreciate the advice.
Trooper Willoughby had positioned himself a few metres behind Lyra. He only half listened to the banter between ponies up front, rather keeping his excellent hearing focused on other things. He couldn’t help but notice how quiet winter was. South Island was temperate all year round. The outback was never this quiet.
They stopped every few hours so that every pony could take a break, Water wasn’t a problem as they were standing on all the water they’d ever need. When several canteens ran out, they’d start up a fire and melt the snow down for more.
At one such occasion, Willoughby pulled Vinyl aside.
“I don’t want to cause a panic...” the trooper said. “But someone else needs to know, we’re being followed.”
Vinyl’s grin faded. “Are you sure?”
“Positive, winter here is quiet, real quiet. You can hear everything if you pay attention. It’s sneaky, and it’s not leaving any tracks, but something is definitely following us.”
“Maybe it’s a straggler who wants to join up with us?” Vinyl suggested enthusiastically, preferring it to not be anything else.
“No. They’re making every attempt to not be noticed. I’d like to think that too, but it’s not realistic,” Willoughby said. “Take everyone forward, I’m going to fall behind and set a trap for it.”
Vinyl nodded, knowing full well that she wasn’t going to dissuade him. “Be careful.”
Willoughby nodded, he hopped off into the tree line and with a powerful jump he made his way into the branches of an evergreen tree, hidden from view from anyone or anything that would come this way.
He opened the rucksack that he’d been carrying, and slid out its contents, a long metal tube which had a small slot sticking out of the side. A kangaroo submachine gun. He slid one of the box magazines into the slot, it clicked lightly, and he pulled back on the cocking handle. He didn’t intend to have to use the silenced submachine gun, but one should be prepared for the worst.
Trooper Willoughby had picked a tree alongside the road; his target would have to come along besides this tree in order to continue following them. Soon enough, his pray passed into view.
Willoughby leapt from the tree, landing in front of their stalker and brandishing his silenced submachine gun at it. “Hands where I can see them,” he said coolly.
“I... don’t have hands...” their stalker said.
Willoughby saw that this was indeed true, their follower was a pitch black unicorn stallion, amber eyes peering out at him. Willoughby took this in stride. “Identify yourself.”
“My name is Nightshadow. I’m an apothecary from Ponyville.”
Willoughby raised an eyebrow.
“An apothecary is a...” the unicorn began, but was quickly interrupted.
“I KNOW what an apothecary is. I’m wondering what an apothecary is doing following us, trying to make damned sure that we don’t notice,” Willoughby said plainly.
The unicorn didn’t have an answer.
“What’s stopping me from putting a bullet between your eyes right now?” Willoughby asked.
“Nothing, I suppose,” the unicorn said. Willoughby cocked his submachine gun, the unicorn’s eyes widened in fear. “No! No wait! Wait! I know something that you need to know, but I need you to swear that you won’t hurt me before I tell you!”
“How about you tell me, and if I think it’s good enough. I’ll let you turn around and walk home, no hard feelings?”
The unicorn gulped with fear. “There... there’s a gryphon in this forest. This one is insane! It... It attacked me; it leapt from the trees and tried to attack me. I got away, and I’ve been trying to hide my tracks to keep it from getting me. ”
“A gryphon huh?” Willoughby said, “Well, that certainly does change things,” he gestured in the easterly direction towards Ponyville with his submachine gun. “Go on then, get! Oh... and Nightshadow was it? I catch you following us again? I’m going to put a bullet between your eyes. Get me?”
The unicorn nodded, fleeing eastward. Willoughby would never see him again.
...
Night fell and the group made camp. Willoughby had refused to talk about what he’d found in the forest, not even to Vinyl, saying that ‘she didn’t need to know.’ Trooper Willoughby was the stubborn type, and Vinyl knew that she wasn’t going to be getting any out of him.
They spent the night telling stories and finishing off the last two bottles of cider, best to get rid of it sooner, rather than later, Big Macintosh had mused. After all, an empty glass bottle weighed less than one full of liquid.
Despite once again not having any, Willoughby did manage to convince the two empty bottles off the draught pony. Figuring he could find some useful purpose for them.
Willoughby had been known by the crew of the Lord Stuart as “The packrat” his unwillingness to get rid of anything that might be useful at some undetermined point in the future, possibly years. This had been quite the joke with their squadron. Say what they will, Willoughby was also famous of being able to jury-rig something useful out of the most unlikely things. Knowing him, he could probably turn the cider bottles into another pair of binoculars.
Instead, however he had a much different idea for the cider bottles. In his tent, he’d opened up to the last page of his journal, ripping it out, and scribbling down a note and stuffing it into the bottle. The river that they’d been following flowed east, they were heading west. If they ran into trouble, with the gryphon that the black unicorn had warned them about, he’d throw the bottle into the river and if it came to that, hopefully, someone in Ponyville would find read the note inside.
Willoughby hoped it would never come to that. If he had to use the message in a bottle, then they would all be dead. |
Wheller | 526 | 3 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-19T21:59:48+00:00 | 2011-08-19T21:59:48+00:00 | 1,767 | Chapter 3
Derpy Hooves checked her compass again. She loved this compass; it had been given to her as a gift when she’d gotten her job with the Ponyville post office. She always had it with her when she travelled. It had also gotten her into trouble.
Two years in a row, during Winter Wrap Up, Derpy had been in charge of gathering up the birds that flew south for the winter, she was never allowed to go get them again, the first year she accidentally went west, the second she went north. Mind you it wasn’t actually her fault, somepony of whom she’d never learned the identity had slipped a magnet into her saddlebags both years, causing her compass to always point south, regardless of what direction she’d actually been facing. She’d figured it out both times before she’d gotten too far, and always made course corrections, but it was still time wasted, and time wasted caused winter to end late. It could have happened to anypony. But it happened to her because she was different.
Derpy always kept a positive demeanour and a smile on her face regardless. Even when she was hurting on the inside, things were better now. She’d made friends of Lyra, Bon Bon, and even Trixie! Trixie in particular was always quick to come to Derpy’s aid whenever somepony gave her a hard time about something. Derpy would do the same for her if it ever came up... but it never did, Trixie had been living in Ponyville for nearly a month now, but most of the residents shunned her, many of them refused to acknowledge her presence, or even serve her in the shops. Bad blood from the Ursa Minor incident was still present.
Derpy had wandered over to where Trixie was walking. “It’s just like old times you know!” She said smiling at the Unicorn.
“I only wish. Helping the ponies of Ponyville was a cakewalk with what I have ahead of me.”
Derpy frowned, but Trixie gave her a smile in return. “Derpy, you’re a great friend, and Trixie is very happy to have you... But I’m just not ready to share what I need to do yet. But I promise you that when I am, I will come to you.”
Derpy smiled at the unicorn. She loved the feeling of being appreciated.
...
When they stopped to refill on water, Derpy couldn’t help but notice that Trooper Willoughby was agitated about something.
“Mister Willoughby?” Derpy asked him.
The Kangaroo turned to look at her. “It’s Trooper, actually, but you don’t need to worry about that. You can just call me Willoughby, miss...?”
“Derpy Hooves! That’s what my momma named me!” Derpy said enthusiastically.
“My mum named me Benjamin... but I don’t really like it,” Willoughby said. “Is there something I can do for you...? Derpy?”
“Oh, um, I just noticed that you looked like something was bothering you. So I wanted to see if I could help!” Derpy said.
“Oh, no, I’m fine. I’m just keeping my guard up, Military trains you to do that, it’s saved me and the rest of the crew of M3 Light Tank 105 dozens of times,” Willoughby said. He was lying through his teeth, and Derpy knew it. Something was up, but the Pegasus mare decided not to press the issue further. If Willoughby was lying, Derpy figured that he had a good reason to do so, even if she didn’t like it.
“Well okay, but if you change your mind, come talk to me!” Derpy said cheerfully. Willoughby gave her a small smile, and informed her he’d do that, another lie.
...
Lyra was happy for another break. She sat down in the snow, her head still pounding.
“Big Macintosh? Is all the cider gone?” She asked the red draught pony who had unhitched himself from the wagon.
“Eeyup,” he said simply.
“Good,” Lyra said. “I want to know how that Berry Punch can continue to drink that stuff and put up with how you feel the morning after.”
“In her case, she continues drinking it the morning after,” Bon Bon said. The two of them chuckled slightly, but clutched their heads in pain, laughing hurt.
Berry Punch was, of course, the town alcoholic. None of the ponies in the caravan, in this rare case counting Vinyl Scratch and Trooper Willoughby who weren’t from Ponyville, had ever seen Berry Punch sober, and if not for her, Derpy would be the laughing stock and prime embarrassment for the town, even though Derpy didn’t actually come close to being that bad with her behaviour.
Lyra shook the thoughts about Berry Punch from her head, which proved to be a mistake as she had literally shaken her head, and again clutched it in pain. There had to be something that anypony could do to get her back to normal. She made her way over to Vinyl Scratch, and opened her mouth to ask her a question.
“There isn’t anything to do about it. It has to go away on its own,” Vinyl said, she’d practically read her mind. “Hangovers are poorly understood in medicine by design.”
Lyra understood why.
“I do have something special that might help you though,” Vinyl said, grinning at her.
Lyra perked up, her eyes grew big in excitation.
“Don’t drink,” Vinyl said, and with that her grin got wider.
Lyra scowled at her.
...
Big Macintosh helped hitch Braeburn up to the wagon. Big Macintosh was getting tired, and Braeburn had insisted on pulling it for the next couple hours, despite the fact that he was hung-over from the night before.
Big Macintosh however was perfectly fine, he did make the cider himself, so he knew just how much he could handle. The others not so much, he’d tried to convince Braeburn that he could pull it for another few hours, but the Appleloosan had stubbornly insisted on pulling it. Big Macintosh mused to himself that stubbornness was a trait of the Apple family that he’d somehow missed out on.
The caravan rolled on. It was only the second day of their journey, and they weren’t anywhere close to the edge of the Whitetail woods, the forest that they were currently wandering through. Of course, their progress was slowed by the snow, not to mention that they were a relatively large group, and in about five kilometres, Big Macintosh would be passing a big milestone in his life. The furthest he’d ever been from home. He’d never really been that interested in the world outside Sweet Apple Acres, he’d always been preoccupied with farm work, but with no work that needed doing, now that Braeburn was pulling the wagon, his mind was ticking away. He suddenly found himself curious about the world outside Ponyville... and even Equestria itself.
Big Macintosh knew that only two members of their expedition had ever been outside Equestria before, Vinyl Scratch, and Trooper Willoughby. Heck, Willoughby was a kangaroo! Big Macintosh didn’t know exactly where South Island was in the world, but he figured that it had to be as far from Equestria as you could possibly get.
Trooper Willoughby had taken up march in the rear of the caravan, though this was likely not by choice. Kangaroos weren’t exactly the best at moving at this pace. They hopped, and when they did, it was at a much faster pace than this. Big Macintosh had seen the kangaroos hop around Ponyville several times. Big Macintosh was sure that Willoughby could probably make it to Manehattan on his own in a few days, assuming he knew the way, which he likely didn’t. Big Macintosh allowed himself to fall behind to speak to the kangaroo about the world outside.
“Some snow huh?” Big Macintosh said, he’d noticed that a light dusting of snow began to fall. The pegasi dumped snow every so often to keep the stuff on the ground fresh, and in about an hour, their tracks would be gone. “It’s too bad that we’re going to miss the Winter Wrap Up this year. I been hearing rumours that it’s going to be tough this year.”
Trooper Willoughby looked at Big Macintosh oddly. “Sorry? ‘Winter Wrap Up?’”
“Ya know when we change the seasons, plough away all the snow, get the fields planted? Do they not do that where ya’ll are from?” Big Macintosh asked.
“It doesn’t snow in South Island,” Willoughby said plainly.
Big Macintosh was surprised by this. “Ever?”
“Nope, well, it does in the mountains. But not right now, it’s the middle of summer,” Willoughby said. “We’re on the other side of the equator; your winter is our summer.”
Well, that did answer one question. Big Macintosh now had some idea of where South Island was, kind of obvious considering its name.
“Where abouts in South Island are ya’ll from?” Big Macintosh asked, realising instantly that he was not likely to have heard of it.
“Townshend, Kingsland.”
Eeyup, not a clue.
“I thought you said that you were from South Island?” Big Macintosh asked.
“I am. Kingsland is a state in the Commonwealth of South Island. There’s also Western South Island, Southern South Island, Victor, and New South Welara... You have no idea what I’m talking about.”
“Eeyup.”
Big Macintosh ceased his line of questioning shortly after that, and took a place farther up in the caravan. He did learn one thing so far, the world outside Equestria was big, and confusing.
Very big. |
Wheller | 526 | 4 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-21T01:38:42+00:00 | 2011-08-21T01:38:42+00:00 | 1,649 | Chapter 4
Lyra was feeling much better now. It was a week into January, and she finally felt back to a hundred per cent. Bon Bon, who hadn’t had as much as she did, had recovered the day before. It was a good thing too, because the easy part of their journey was nearing its completion.
They were a day from the edge of Whitetail Wood. From here, the quickest way to Manehattan was across open countryside, walking the road would add another month to their journey, as it bobbed and weaved around the countryside. Trooper Willoughby had been extremely annoyed with the lack of a simple and efficient road system that lead to the city, he heavily criticised the road to anyone who would listen, and continued even when nopony was listening.
Lyra was only half paid attention, randomly catching words that she was unfamiliar with, such as federal, motorway, dingo, Kambera, and National One. Eventually, Willoughby’s ranting ran out of steam, and the kangaroo returned to silence.
Thank Celestia!
“Something tells me that he’s been walking around with more frustrations than that,” Bon Bon whispered to her. Lyra nodded, she had a point. Willoughby was a kangaroo after all; he was different in pretty much every way except for diet. They were all herbivores here.
Willoughby had insisted on taking march up front, when Lyra asked him why, he had refused to give her a straight answer.
“He’s hiding something,” Lyra said. “I don’t like it, how well do we really know any of these kangaroos anyway?”
Bon Bon shrugged. “I’ve spoken to McNair and Vickers. McNair seemed all right, Vickers was weird. He kept going on about the ‘thirty seven’ like he was in love with it... whatever that is.”
“37 millimetre anti-tank gun, It’s the main armament on our tank,” Willoughby called out from the front of the line. He turned around and looked at Lyra and Bon Bon; he pointed to his left ear and said: “Really good ears.”
While he didn’t call Lyra and Bon Bon out on anything, it was enough for them to shut up about it. He’d clearly heard the entirety of their conversation, even though they’d tried to be quiet about it.
...
They walked a few more hours, almost there. Almost out of Whitetail Wood, Willoughby had become visibly more agitated. He wanted out of these woods, and Lyra was at her wits end about it. He’d refused to tell them what was going on, and at their last water stop, Lyra planned to confront him about it.
Derpy agreed with her that something was up, and agreed to Lyra’s plan of action.
Lyra walked up to Willoughby, a scornful look on her face, she was getting answers from this marsupial.
“Tell me what you’re keeping from us. Right now or we’re not moving a millimetre further,” Lyra said.
Lyra looked to Derpy, who nodded at her, Braeburn, who had been the one pulling the cart at the time, detached himself and sat on the ground, indicating he wasn’t going anywhere.
Willoughby grew flustered, he looked towards Vinyl Scratch for support, but to his dismay, she sat down too. None of them were moving until he talked.
No point in keeping it a secret any longer, he needed them to get to Manehattan, and they didn’t know it, but they needed him for protection. These ponies had all been brought up under the impression that the world was a safe place. He was about to shatter that delusion for them.
“All right,” Willoughby said with a sigh. “You want to know what the secret is? There’s a gryphon in these woods.”
Vinyl Scratch stood back up in surprise and shock, she was the only one of this group of ponies that fully understood what that meant.
“We need to go, and we need to go right now!” Vinyl said, panic filling her voice.
A rustle came from the trees, everypony held their breath. Willoughby silently slid the kangaroo submachine gun from his pack, pointing it towards the point of the rustling. He raised a finger to his mouth, parsing his lips and gave them an inaudible shush, and stepped quietly towards the tree line.
A figure leapt out of the trees, roaring loudly and charging down the kangaroo. Willoughby pulled the trigger, filling the air with a series of quiet pop! noises that sent the gryphon reeling, it screamed in pain and rushed back into the tree line.
“I’m going after it,” Willoughby said. “Everyone stay here.”
The kangaroo hopped off into the tree line. They stayed put.
...
Night fell, and several hours later, Willoughby returned to find that the caravan had made camp just off the side of the road, hardly an ideal spot, as the area was thick with trees.
Lyra looked up from her spot, watching as Willoughby approached the fire. “Did you find it?”
“No,” Willoughby said plainly. “I followed the blood trail as far as I could, but it dead ended... I don’t think we have to worry about it anymore though.”
Lyra raised an eyebrow. “How do you figure?”
“I shot it, a lot, the rate it was losing blood, that thing will have been dead a few hours by now.”
Lyra gasped in horror, as did everyone else sitting around the campfire.
“No more secrets,” Willoughby said. “That thing wasn’t a gryphon, not anymore. That was pure wild animal.”
“How did you know it was here?” Lyra asked.
Willoughby frowned. “I was... warned,” Willoughby explained to them his meeting with the apothecary, Nightshadow, who had followed them to warn him of the impending danger of wild gryphon, including the part about threatening to shoot the unicorn should he continue to follow them.
“That creep?!” Bon Bon exclaimed shuttering in anger. “I’ve seen him around town. I’ll be going somewhere, and he’ll just be there, eyeing me up.”
“Ah seen him wanderin’ around the farm at night sometimes,” Big Macintosh said. “Out in the far fields, light ‘o his horn glowing like somethin’ else. Seen him through mah binoculars, every time I go out there, he’s done gone, like he knew ah was comin’ and then I’ll go into town ta confront him, and can’t ever find him.”
“He’s always at Twilight Sparkle’s Library,” Derpy said, “He tells her about getting letters from his brothers, but I’m the only mailpony in Ponyville, and I’ve never delivered anything to him.”
“Trixie has spoken to him on several occasions,” Trixie said. “Unicorns have the ability to detect magic that resonates in other unicorns. Every time I’ve spoken to him, I couldn’t pick anything up.”
Vinyl looked at the other ponies and frowned. “Hey, just because somepony is odd doesn’t mean something’s wrong with them!”
Derpy in particular looked extremely guilty, she was practically in the same place Nightshadow was, and here she was bashing somepony she didn’t know. Just as everypony else did to her.
“Vinyl’s right,” Willoughby said. “That unicorn helped us... and I know that the first thing I’ll be doing when we get back to Ponyville is finding him and apologising.”
Everypony else nodded.
“We should all turn in, we lost a lot of time today, so we need to get up early and try to get back on schedule,” Vinyl said.
Everypony agreed, each of them said goodnight to the others and turned in.
...
By nine o‘clock the next morning, the caravan had gotten back on schedule, they had exited Whitetail Wood and were now crossing open countryside on a beeline for Manehattan.
Big Macintosh and Braeburn were having difficulty with the cart, but refused to admit it.
Willoughby had never particularly paid attention to it before, but now that they were crossing open countryside, it had become a major hindrance.
“What’s in the box?” he asked Derpy when they stopped for the night.
“I don’t know!” Derpy reported. “I never know anything about what I’m carrying. It would be illegal for me to open a package that’s not mine.”
Willoughby understood the reasoning behind it, he respected it, after all, the post office in South Island worked the same way, but something didn’t feel right about it. Here was this big wooden box that they were supposed to be transporting across hundreds of kilometres of open countryside that no one knew anything about, that was suspicious to him.
A great debate was going on inside the mind of Trooper Willoughby; his naturally suspicious mind was getting the better of him. The package had to be legitimate, after all, who was insane enough to try and use the post office to carry out some clandestine, malevolent agenda? Despite his rational mind’s attempts, it had lost. His curiosity had gotten the better of him.
He had to know what was in the box. |
Wheller | 526 | 5 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-21T04:37:55+00:00 | 2011-08-21T04:37:55+00:00 | 2,114 | Chapter 5
It was safe to say that Trixie did not have the best endurance of the caravan. In fact hers was probably the worst. Her hooves ached from the constant walking, she slept poorly at night, and she was constantly tired during the day.
She did not complain, however as she might have done in the past. No, she had made the choice to go with them by her own free will; she figured that she had no right to complain. Derpy had noticed the lethargy in her unicorn friend, and she asked her if she was all right. Trixie of course, said that she was fine, and thanked Derpy for her concern, however misplaced.
Truth of the matter was that she was anything but fine. She had a secret, and she had intended to keep it from everypony else even after they had arrived at Manehattan. Things had changed, however at the edge of Whitetail Wood. After Trooper Willoughby declared that there would be no more secrets from him, she decided that it was best to follow his example. She would tell them why she was going to Manehattan.
“I’m dying,” Trixie said, sitting around the campfire that evening, she’d gathered everypony, plus one kangaroo, and informed them that she had an announcement, did she ever.
Everyone was silent, unsure of how to respond to such a statement. Most of the caravan didn’t know Trixie all that well, but the declaration had still caught everyone off guard. Trixie looked perfectly healthy.
“I’m dying,” Trixie said again. “From a genetic condition known as Lighthorn’s Syndrome, only affects Unicorns. It causes our magical abilities to deteriorate, and as a Unicorn’s life is linked to magic, its absence renders us without an immune system. We get an infection, and then we die.”
Lyra instinctively grabbed her horn, causing Trixie to smile at her panic. “It’s not contagious.” Lyra let go, feeling foolish.
“I have a year, two tops, and then I’ll be gone. I’m the last of my family. My mother died of Lighthorn’s, my father committed suicide. I’m going to Manehattan to visit their graves for the first time, and the last.”
Derpy’s mouth fell open, her friend was dying. She’d never had a friend die before. She shook the thought from her head, Trixie wasn’t dead yet, she was still very much alive.
“Trixie wasn’t going to tell you. Ever, but the good Trooper changed her mind. If we’re going to be travelling with each other, we can be honest with each other,” Trixie said finishing her story.
Vinyl Scratch smiled at her. “Well if we’re all going to be honest with each other...”
Vinyl recounted to the caravan tales of her past history of drug and alcohol abuse, the wild club scene, being used by ponies to get a fix, using others to get hers. She recounted the last time she had seen her friend Octavia, her best friend in the world, and she’d blown her friendship with her for drugs.
“So I’m clean now, and I’m going back to give her the apology she deserves,” Vinyl said, finishing her tale.
Big Macintosh spoke next. “Mah sister went to live in Manehattan with mah Aunt an’ Uncle Orange when she was jus’ a filly. Ah was always jealous o’ her for tha’ Ah was the oldest, Ah wanted to be the one out there, makin’ a name fer mahself in the big city. When Derpy was lookin’ for somepony to help her get the package to Manehattan, Ah couldn’t say no. Ah had to go.”
Braeburn spoke next. “Ah got kicked out of Appleoosa. Ah got involved with the Mayor’s daughter, he was real protective o’ her... More like suffocatin’ her if ya’ll ask me. Big Macintosh just happens to need help on his farm out here, and Ah come straight to Ponyville, couldn’t have been at a better time... Ah never told anypony that story, not even you ‘Cuz, ‘cause I was afraid you’d be ashamed o’ me.”
Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other and frowned. “Those all put our reasons to shame. We just wanted to go because we thought it would be fun,” Bon Bon said, frowning at the others. “Maybe that’s the problem.”
“The real reason I wanted to do this?” Willoughby said. “Someone needed to go, but I wanted it to be me because a kangaroo doesn’t belong in a pony town. I felt useless back there. Out here, I got a purpose. Benjamin Willoughby can actually protect people, instead of having to work a radio all day.”
Derpy spoke last. “I want to prove I can actually do things without messing them up. Everypony thinks I’m stupid back home, I’m not! But no matter what I do. No matter how hard I try, everypony still thinks the same of me. So I took to taking really difficult delivery jobs to prove I can do things... but then I got this one, and it was more than I could chew. I couldn’t do it myself, so here goes another chance.”
Everyone looked at each other; they all let out a sigh of relief as if each of them had a huge weight lifted off their shoulders.
“We should all probably get some rest. We have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow,” Vinyl said. Everyone agreed, and they turned in for the night.
...
Vinyl Scratch opened her eyes. She was lying in her Manehattan apartment, inside the sheets of her luxurious 180x200 centimetre bed. She blinked, her vision coming into focus after being blinded by sunlight filtering in though the windows. She discovered that there was no one sleeping next to her. A highly irregular event in her home, she sat up and looked around her home. There was no evidence that anypony had been here last night except for her. Her one night stands usually left behind something, but no, not a sock or anything.
Did she even go out last night? She couldn’t remember. Actually her entire memory was a little fuzzy at the moment. She knew her name was Vinyl Scratch, she remembered how to read, and write, small things about her lifestyle, actual memories though? Not getting anything.
I must have really hit something hard last night. Vinyl thought to herself. She got up and made her way to the shower, turning it on and allowing it to warm up for a moment. She looked into the mirror, her red eyes looking back at her.
After her shower, Vinyl entered her apartment’s kitchen, using her magic to whip her up a bowl of oats, adding milk, she used her magic to grab a spoon and float a spoonful into her mouth.
The spoon, such a simple thing, Vinyl thought, yet it was a symbol of status for a Unicorn, as they were the only race actually able to use them. A hoof couldn’t exactly work a spoon, a fork, or a knife, but a unicorn’s horn could a simple device with a simple purpose.
Vinyl Scratch, it is too early in the morning for you to be philosophical, shut up and enjoy your stupid cereal! She chuckled to herself, and finished her food in peace.
Vinyl finished with breakfast, she donned her goggles and was about to leave her apartment for the day when she realised something important. She didn’t know what the date was. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do today. Likely, today was one of her numerous “goof off” days, where she’d run around town doing whatever her heart desired, and then come back here, get ready and pick a club to go to tonight, but on the off chance she actually had something that needed doing today... no best not leave yet.
Thump!
Vinyl turned around, had something fallen off a shelf? She searched the entire room, but found that everything was in place.
Thump!
There it was again. Now she checked the windows, making sure that nothing was going on outside, like somepony cleaning the windows and just making noise. Nothing.
Thump Thump!
Now it was getting annoying. Vinyl searched every square centimetre of the main room. Nothing.
Thump Thump Thump!
What if it wasn’t in the main room... the bedroom! Maybe somepony had spent the night after all.
Thump Thump Thump Thump!
She was sure she had discovered the source. The chest at the end of her bed, was... somepony inside it? How could they have possibly gotten in there?
Vinyl slowly opened the chest, inside, a grey unicorn colt with eyes that matched leapt out at her, tackling her to the floor.
“Let... me... out!” the unicorn said. He raised his hooves up, bringing them down on Vinyl’s head.
Vinyl Scratch woke up screaming. |
Wheller | 526 | 6 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-21T23:40:32+00:00 | 2011-08-21T23:40:32+00:00 | 1,885 | Chapter 6
The entire camp was thrown awake by Vinyl Scratch’s screaming, everypony (plus one kangaroo, who had drawn his submachine gun) exited their tents to find Vinyl Scratch looking at the wooden shipping box, her eyes twitched slightly as she looked at it.
“We have to open the box,” Vinyl said, looking back at Trooper Willoughby.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” the kangaroo said, lowering the submachine gun and producing a crowbar from his rucksack, pack rat he was indeed.
“No!” Derpy cried out, “You can’t open it!” She looked at Big Macintosh and Braeburn for support, but it soon became clear that she wouldn’t be getting any.
“Ah kept gettin’ this funny feeling ‘bout that box when Ah was pullin’ it,” Big Macintosh said plainly. “Ah want to know what’s in it too.”
Braeburn merely nodded in agreement.
Derpy looked to Lyra and Bon Bon, they merely shook their heads. The more Lyra thought about it, she too had felt uneasy when she was around the box, but when stepping away from it, she’d seemed to forget, at least until now when everyone had called attention to it.
Trixie too proclaimed a bad vibe from the box, the few times she’d gone near it.
Derpy gave in; there was simply no way to stop it now that everyone in the group wanted to open it up.
“All right... let’s see what you hold,” Willoughby said, placing the crowbar at the gap between the lid and the actual box itself, with a quick downward thrust, the lid of the box popped off, sending it clattering to the ground.
They all heard a howling noise, and a cloud of grey smoke burst forward from the box, making a distinctive noise that none of them had ever heard before.
Docka-docka-docka-docka-docka!
The grey smoke dove back down, smashing the cart and throwing Willoughby clear. The smoke then did the unthinkable; it roared at them and flew off heading west towards the distant tree line of the Everfree forest.
Derpy and Trixie both backed away from the rest of the group, who had rushed to help the fallen kangaroo.
“Was that...?” Trixie asked, not needing to finish her sentence.
“No,” Derpy said, shaking her head. “Similar... but just different enough. Now I want to know, who was sending a Smoke Monster to Manehattan?”
...
Willoughby had ended up being fine, insisting that they continue on in spite of his minor injuries.
Vinyl felt horribly guilty, but she wasn’t sure why, she wasn’t happy that Willoughby had been hurt, but he was fine. She couldn’t help but feel that she’d unleashed something that was better left locked away.
“How does a cloud of smoke roar at somepony?!” Lyra exclaimed.
“Better yet, how does it smash a cart?” Bon Bon asked.
No one had any answers for them. Derpy and Trixie kept silent about the similar smoke creature that they had seen in the past. They had agreed that it was something best kept between the two of them. Only one other pony knew of it, and they had no idea where he even was.
To Willoughby’s delight, their pace had quickened, they could walk much faster and further during the day, and they didn’t need to stop as much, likewise, they had been able to reduced their water and food consumption, they’d still have a week’s worth of food for all of them by the time they’d reached Manehattan, roughly estimated by some quick math, done by Big Macintosh to everyponies surprise. Though they probably should have expected it, Big Macintosh was a farmer; if anything he knew how to keep track of food.
Discussion of the Grey Smoke continued, no one, not even Derpy or Trixie had any idea what it was, and even they threw in a few ideas of what it could be, casually leaving out any mention of the Black Smoke. Of course, it wasn’t as if either of them knew anything about the Black Smoke at all. Derpy had seen it twice; the first time was when it was chasing a future iteration of herself, Trixie, and her absent friend, the Doctor. The second time was when it healed Pinkie Pie, bringing the pink party pony back from brain death. Behaviours completely opposite of each other, so she had no idea what the Black Smoke was, or what its intentions were. Maybe it was peaceful, and their future selves had done something to agitate it? She had no way of knowing, it hadn’t happened yet.
Trixie had not seen it personally, instead, having relied upon Derpy’s descriptions of it.
Eventually, Vinyl Scratch declared that such talk was pointless, they had no idea what the Grey Smoke was, nor could they find out any time soon.
“Sorry everypony,” Vinyl said apologetically. “Not trying to be the man here... but we’ve got more pressing concerns to deal with right now.”
“She’s right,” Derpy said, she pointed a hoof to the clouds off in the distance. “There’s a big storm coming.”
Off in the distance, dark clouds were forming, very unnatural for this time of the year. Trooper Willoughby took out his binoculars to take a closer look at them; they were a sort of greenish colour.
“Fuck,” Willoughby swore, everyponies ears burned. “We do not want to be outside when those things start dumping. Those are hail clouds.”
Derpy frowned; she was pegasi, and more familiar with weather patterns than the rest of the group. “This area is under the management of Cloudsdale, why in Equestria would they make hail?”
Willoughby looked at the pegasi in confusion. “Oh... don’t tell me, ponies actually make the weather.”
Derpy nodded in affirmation.
“Fecking bullshite,” Willoughby muttered under his breath. “All right, clearly someone in Cloudsdale made a mistake. We need to find a cave or something and wait it out. Large hailstones have been able to rip holes in our tanks access hatches, so imagine what one would do to us.”
This statement took most of them aback, only Vinyl Scratch had seen kangaroo tanks in action, everypony else had assumed that the metal monstrosity that had driven into Ponyville was indestructible.
They formulated a plan of action, they would split up, each of them going out in various directions, and report back here in three hours about any prospects that could shelter them from the inbound hail. At the end of those three hours, almost everypony reported back that they had found nothing.
It was Lyra and Bon Bon however; the two most unlikely to be useful on this trip, though nopony would have admitted it to them who reported finding a small cave a kilometre to the northeast. It also turned out that Lyra knew an exceedingly useful spell that allowed her to cast a beacon spell on a rock or something so that she could find it again. Trixie in particular was impressed, that was a very useful bit of magic.
Lyra led the way to the cave, which actually turned out to be much larger than Lyra and Bon Bon had described, but it would certainly make do. They had arrived not a moment too soon, as it started hailing outside. Now it was time to sit and wait.
They built a fire, Willoughby and Big Macintosh had thought ahead, and gathered up plenty of wood while they were out searching, they had enough to last them a few days, after that, well everyone just hoped that the hail wouldn’t last that long.
Vinyl Scratch had taken to exploring, light from her horn shone brightly as she walked around the cave, looking at the walls and the high ceiling.
“This cave is not a natural formation. Look at the walls; they’re too smooth, too even. Someone dug this.” Vinyl said.
Willoughby brought out his submachine gun. “Which means someone might live here,” he said, he opened his bag, bringing out a roll of tape, and a small hand torch, attaching the torch to the barrel of the submachine gun, and he clicked it on, shining light into the cave.
“Vinyl Scratch? I could really use that horn of yours. My light isn’t as good as yours,” Willoughby said.
Vinyl agreed, and the two of them crept quietly through the cave system for the next several hours. Eventually returning to the group and reporting that they had found nothing.
Willoughby had been worried about gryphons, they’d already run into one in Equestria, there were likely to be more.
Vinyl on the other hand wanted to make sure that the cave wasn’t being used by a hibernating Ursa.
“Good news everypony!” Vinyl reported with a grin. “Crisis averted!”
Everypony slept easily that night. |
Wheller | 526 | 7 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-22T04:51:02+00:00 | 2011-08-22T04:51:02+00:00 | 1,558 | Chapter 7
Morning... or at least, that’s what it should be. Vinyl Scratch opened her eyes to find that it was still dark. She lit her horn brightly, causing everypony to wake. Willoughby was already up, standing near the entrance of the cave, holding his submachine gun towards the opening, shining the torchlight that he’d attached to it.
In place of entrance, there now sat a thick white wall, Trixie and Lyra lit their horns as well, fully illuminating the cave as if it were daytime.
“I don’t suppose anypony bright a shovel?” Willoughby asked. No such luck, most ponies weren’t exactly built to use one.
They were snowed in, hail had turned out to be the least of their problems, there had been a blizzard last night, and now here they were trapped in a cave with no way out. Fortunately, no one panicked.
Much.
“What are we going to do!?” Lyra said, her voice becoming hysterical, “We can’t melt that! There isn’t enough magic between the three of us for this!”
“Chill out everypony! We’re going to be fine!” Vinyl said cheerfully, Willoughby would notice that she was struggling to maintain a positive demeanour, but he didn’t think any of the other ponies noticed. “I got a plan!”
Vinyl divided the ponies into three groups, group one, consisting of Lyra, Bon Bon, and Derpy would explore the cave system, looking for any alternate exits, group two of Trixie, Big Macintosh, and Braeburn would take to another direction and look for anything they could use to aid in their escape, while group three, consisting of Vinyl and Trooper Willoughby would stay here, and organise their things to see if they couldn’t make something to help them. The ponies split off, each of the groups unicorn’s lighting the cavern as they made their way into their search.
“You don’t actually have a plan do you?” Willoughby asked.
“Not a single idea,” Vinyl said frowning. “Lyra’s right about one thing, we don’t have enough magic to melt this much snow... and even if we did, we’d drown ourselves in the process. At least this way, we can keep everypony calm and focused on prospects other than dying of suffocation, starvation, or freezing to death.”
...
Vinyl Scratch had been right about one thing, these caves were not natural. Trixie, Big Macintosh, and Braeburn had discovered another section of tunnels that someone... or something, had taken desperate measures to keep hidden. Tunnels that Trooper Willoughby had not been able to search the night before, simply due to the fact that there was a giant boulder blocking it, Trixie had noticed the slight gap between boulder and the subsequent tunnel, and attempted to push the boulder out of the way. It did not budge, were she not suffering from Lighthorn’s, she might have been able to move it by herself, but in the advanced stages, she was lucky to be able to life half her own mass. Likewise, Big Macintosh and Braeburn were strong ponies, but even the three of them working together was still not enough.
If they had any chance of moving the boulder at all, the entire group would have to try.
...
“I don’t think we should open it.”
Everyone looked at Derpy, who stated it again, her voice not wavering. “Everypony does remember the last time we opened up something we shouldn’t have, right?”
“I would ordinarily agree...” Vinyl said calmly. “That it was a rash decision to open the crate, and I certainly wouldn’t want to make the same mistake again, however, in this case I don’t think we have much of a choice. It’s either this, or we starve, suffocate, or freeze, to death.”
Derpy tried to remain adamant, but she quickly gave in, she didn’t want any of these things to happen to anyone, they were her friends, and while she was still mad at them for opening the crate, she couldn’t just deny them her help because she was mad... could she?
No, that wouldn’t be right. Derpy agreed to help.
The three unicorns reached out and grabbed the boulder with their magic, and at the same time, the others pushed on it, they all struggled to move the boulder away from the blocked tunnel, they all pushed as hard as they could, and finally it budged. They rolled it over and blocked one of the other passage ways with it. Now they could all go into the new tunnel.
Vinyl lead the way, the magic from her horn glowing and illuminating the tunnel, it was much smaller than the other passage ways, Willoughby had difficulty manoeuvring in it, but the ponies were just small enough not to be hindered. They reached the bottom of the tunnel, and it levelled out into a new, wide open room that was naturally lit. Snow piled up in various corners underneath holes in the ceiling, and to their delight, they discovered at the other end of the large room was an opening to the outside.
To their horror, a faint warbling noise and a light ticking noise filled the quiet air.
Ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka!
A plume of thick black smoke rolled into the cave. Everyone froze in fear.
However the Black Smoke did not approach them. It didn’t get out of their way either. It just held there, unwilling, or maybe even unable to move closer.
Vinyl tried advancing towards it, and for her effort, the Black Smoke roared at her.
Vinyl quickly stepped back, not wanting to agitate the creature any further.
“Look!” Lyra said, pointing a hoof at the floor near the exit. A line of grey powder spanned the opening, touching both walls; the black smoke was seemingly unable to cross it.
“We’re not getting out this way,” Willoughby said plainly. “And I’m not particularly interested in letting that in here.”
Derpy however didn’t listen and stepped forward, the Black Smoke did not roar at her like it did with Vinyl.
“Hi there!” Derpy said cheerfully. “Do you remember me?”
The ponies gasped at Derpy, quietly shouting for her to come back.
The Black Smoke merely warbled at her.
“I remember you, you helped me,” Derpy said. “You helped Pinkie Pie, she was sick and you made her better.”
It continued to warble.
“So... if it’s okay with you, we’d really, really like to leave. This is the only way out. Could you move aside? Please?” Derpy asked, smiling at the Black Smoke.
It let out a howl and flew away from the cave opening at high speed.
Ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka!
The ticking noise became fainter and fainter, until they could no longer hear it.
Derpy turned around and smiled at her companions, who were all looking at her, mouths wide open in shock. “We can go now!”
...
“How the hell did you know that would work?” Willoughby asked.
“I didn’t!” Derpy said cheerfully. “But I had to try.”
They were back on course, they had looped around and were now heading northwest on a course that would take them around the Everfree Forest and on the westward towards Manehattan.
Derpy told the rest of the group what she knew about the Black Smoke, which was still very little, casually leaving out the parts about the Doctor. She explained visiting Pinkie Pie when the pink party pony was in a coma, and that she became brain dead, but that the Black Smoke had come to heal her. She explained, mostly to the naturally suspicious kangaroo that she so happened to be travelling with, that she’d not brought up the Black Smoke before because she really didn’t know anything about it. Something that was not a lie in the slightest, Willoughby eventually accepted the pegasi’s explanation, and they spoke on the matter no further.
Despite the rough week and a half opener into their journey to Manehattan, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. Crossing open countryside had yielded no problems; they had not been attacked by rampaging gryphons, or smoke monsters, or encountered any real difficult obstacles along the way. They had advanced to about a day away from Manehattan when Vinyl Scratch began joking that they were due to be attacked by a dragon or something. Spirits had been kept up, and despite getting every possible delay that they could hit in the first week and a half of their journey, they had arrived in Manehattan not only on time, but actually half a day ahead of schedule.
The caravaneers had made it. They had planned to spend the next week in Manehattan, resting up and accomplishing the things they had set out to do. Even Big Macintosh, the rugged draught pony, was excited for a chance to sleep in a real bed.
Business first, Vinyl Scratch lead Trooper Willoughby to her friend’s radio tower, while Derpy, Big Macintosh, and Braeburn reported the destruction of the package they were meant to be carrying to the main post office (casually leaving out that they had opened it.)
Vinyl Scratch and Trooper Willoughby rode the elevator to the top of the Imperial Tower, the tallest building in all of Equestria at nearly 500 metres tall. Not counting the Royal Castle in Canterlot, this was taller by the simple fact that it was on a higher elevation.
“You know, I should have probably warned you of this before.. I haven’t exactly been on the best of terms with this friend. We had kind of a falling out a while back... I was coming to this city because I owe her an apology.”
Willoughby looked at her. “You’re not telling me this until right now? What is wrong with you?”
“I get asked that question every single day!” Vinyl said, grinning at the kangaroo. “Every. Single. Day.”
They exited the elevator, walked across the room, and knocked on the only door on the floor.
A dark grey coloured earth pony opened the door and popped her head out, looking over the grinning unicorn, and uneasy kangaroo standing in front of her.
“Vinyl Scratch?” Octavia said, her voice filled with confusion.
“Hey! How ya doing O?” Vinyl said grinning at her.
“What do you want Vinyl?” Octavia frowned at the unicorn, giving her a deadpan look of annoyance.
Vinyl’s grin faded, and she donned a more serious expression. “I know you’re still mad at me, and I’ve come to apologise to you, I’m off the drugs, been clean for four months, would have come by sooner, but I wanted to be able to prove to you that I could stay off them.”
Octavia smiled. “Please, come in.” |
Wheller | 526 | 8 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-22T20:27:03+00:00 | 2011-08-22T20:27:03+00:00 | 1,881 | Chapter 8
Vinyl Scratch and Octavia showed Willoughby into the transmission room. The set up was slightly different from what he was used to, but Willoughby assured them that he could manage just fine.
Vinyl and Octavia excused themselves, giving him privacy to speak to his superiors, and time for them to talk as well.
Willoughby tuned the radio to the coded frequency of Regimental Command, giving him a direct line to field headquarters in the Hoofson Bay.
As this was a civilian frequency, he took steps to make sure that no one in Manehattan could listen in. Anyone who tuned to this radio station would get nothing but static until he was done.
“I’m not familiar with this frequency, identify yourself,” said a voice on the other end of the radio.
“Hello Op, how’s the grass today?” Willoughby asked, what seemed like nonsense was a coded response, so that those broadcasting on unfamiliar channels would know that the source was legitimate.
“My my! Benjamin Willoughby! There’s a voice I thought I would never hear again... and for your information, the grass is still covered in gods damned snow!” the voice replied, causing Willoughby to chuckle.
He was speaking to the Operator, the most senior radio officer in Regimental Command. He knew every kangaroo in the regiment by their voice. Every single one.
“It’s a good thing you called when you did, Command was about ready to update Light Tank 105 to Killed in Action, we were all afraid that the gryphons got you on your way back from taking those ponies home.”
“Nah, we’re all fine. We had engine trouble just as we pulled into the town of Ponyville. Engine’s shot. Cause is lack of regular winter maintenance, and loading improper fuel.”
“I’ll pull the work logs and make sure whoever was in charge of your tank learns the importance of proper winter maintenance.”
“I would appreciate that Op,” Willoughby said. “I’m also sending you a list of parts Sergeant Tebbs needs via wireless. He’d prefer you just send a new engine block all together, but I told him it would never get through Equestrian Customs.”
“Will anything we send? CSI doesn’t have any relations with Principality of Equestria, any time CSI has tried to get something in, it either never arrives, or gets sent back.”
“I’ve been informed by one of the ponies we took back that she has significant pull with their leader. Anything that CSI addresses to ‘Twilight Sparkle’ will make it though,” Willoughby said.
“Heh, and I thought my name was out there. Major Thaddeus Braxton isn’t anywhere close to being off the wall as that... Give me a report on the second objective.”
Willoughby froze, he’d completely forgotten about it.
“Trooper?”
“I’m not sure I feel... comfortable, reporting that sir.”
“I figured as much, but it’s not up to me, hell, it’s not even up to the Colonel. This comes down right from the top.”
“All right, I don’t have much that’s useful though... I can debunk some rumours. Rumour No.1: Equestria has a huge army that no one can possibly defeat. Everything I’ve seen says that it couldn’t be any further from the truth. Equestria has almost no standing forces to talk about; they didn’t know what a tank was when we rolled into town. Rumour No.2: Equestria has a weapon of mass destruction that they’re willing to use on anyone who stands against them. Highly unlikely, almost every pony I have met is appalled by the mere thought of violence. I had to use my gun once when we were here and they weren’t happy about it. Rumour No.3: Equestria is ruled by living gods who could smite any enemy that tried to attack them... I don’t know about this one, everypony seems to think that this one is true. I’d have to do more digging and get back to you.”
“Thank you Trooper. I got your list, and we’ll have the parts shipped out to you as soon as we can... Stay safe Benjamin.”
“You too Op.”
...
Vinyl Scratch joined Trooper Willoughby in the elevator on their way down.
“How was your talk with your friend?” Willoughby asked.
“Oh... heh, we didn’t actually do that much talking...” Vinyl said grinning at him.
The kangaroo facepalmed, he was going to be living with images in his head that he’d rather not have thought about.
“How was your talk with your commander?” Vinyl asked.
“I didn’t talk to my commander... I talked to someone else,” Willoughby said. “Legally speaking, I can’t say anymore than that.”
“Cool, that’s cool.” Vinyl said, she began humming a tune, but stopped short. “Why can’t you have a name that goes with ‘secret agent’ in a melody?”
Willoughby chuckled. “Being constricted by the War Secrets Act doesn’t make me a secret agent Vinyl Scratch.”
“I bet that’s what you say to all the mares who figure you out,” Vinyl said with a grin.
...
Trixie and Derpy were standing in the snow of Manehattan’s central cemetery. Before them were the graves of Trixie’s parents.
Tears began to flow from Trixie’s eyes, prompting Derpy to give her a hug, and a pat on the back in encouragement.
“Hello mum, dad,” Trixie said, choking on her tears. “I’m sorry that it took me so long to come here... I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there at the funeral... both your funerals. I convinced myself that I had better things to do.”
Trixie dropped to the ground, planting her face down in the snow, her crying intensified. “Dad, I’m most sorry to you, I could have done something, when mum died I should have been there for you, you needed me, but I was hurt too and instead of doing the right thing I ran away. I ran away when you needed me the most. If I had been there... maybe you wouldn’t have hung yourself to get mum back. Maybe you wouldn’t have needed to. I’m so sorry.”
Trixie raised her head up to the third plot beneath the headstone that was reserved for her. “I’ll be joining you soon. Our family will be back together as it should have been. I just wish I hadn’t been selfish, and that we could have been a family when we were all still here.”
Trixie rose to her hooves.
“Goodbye mother, goodbye father. I’ll see you both soon.”
Derpy gave her friend another hug, and helped wipe the tears from her eyes.
“It’ll be all right Trixie, I’m sure they forgive you,” Derpy said with a smile.
Trixie returned her smile. “Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me Derpy Hooves, you are the best friend I have ever had.”
Derpy smiled, and the duo left the cemetery for the last time.
...
Lyra and Bon Bon were sitting at a bakery and coffee shop on Fifth Avenue in downtown Manehattan; they were sitting outside, quietly sipping their coffee. Manehattan wasn’t as glamorous as they’d thought it was going to be. Everything was more expensive, and they’d almost wished that they’d never come along at all.
They didn’t need to be anywhere but home to have fun and enjoy the company of friends.
But it was the friendship that they’d made with Vinyl Scratch, Trixie, Big Macintosh, Braeburn, and Trooper Willoughby that made it worthwhile.
“I think I’ve figured it out,” Lyra said finally.
“Oh? Do tell.” Bon Bon said.
“Happiness isn’t a place you can go, Happiness is a trip that you go on with your friends. Wherever you end up isn’t important. As long as you’re with your friends, you’ll never be lost,” Lyra said.
Bon Bon smiled. “I can’t imagine ever going somewhere without you Lyra.”
“Same here,” Lyra said returning the smile.
The two ponies embraced each other, not noticing, and certainly not caring that everypony else was staring at them. They didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they had each other. |
Wheller | 526 | 9 | Bon-Bon,DJ P0N-3,Derpy Hooves,Lyra,Trixie,Adventure,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | To Each Their Own | For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. | complete | 31 | 5 | <p>For each their own reasons, a group of ponies (plus one kangaroo) band together in order to travel to the distant city of Manehattan, a two months round trip journey. However when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the group of practically strangers must band together in a desperate fight to survive.</p><p>The fifth in a series started by The Kindness of Strangers</p> | teen | 2011-08-23T03:59:11+00:00 | 2011-08-23T03:59:11+00:00 | 1,766 | Epilogue
Sitting at the edge of a pool of water in the middle of the Everfree forest was a glowing figure, a semi transparent pony with grey hair, a grey mane, and blood red eyes.
What made this pony different from all others was that he had both a Unicorn’s horn, and a pegasi’s wings. He looked deep into the pool of water, but he could barely see his own reflection.
“My my my, how the mighty hath fallen,” called a snarky voice from behind him.
The grey pony turned and looked at the source, appearing from a cloud of black smoke were three pitch black ponies, with amber eyes looking back at him.
The grey pony smirked. “You act as if you have not lost anything either. Nightmare Essence, the Herald of Chaos Undivided has his consciousness split in three, by six mares barely old enough to be called such. On the very day that he escapes from a thousand year exile on the moon, no less. Tell me, what is more embarrassing? The Paragon of Order’s body being destroyed? Or your fate.”
“Silence,” Nightcaller harked at him.
“Clearly, you did not have the fortune to inherit the wit I’d come to expect from the Herald,” The Paragon of Order said just as snarky as Nightcaller’s opening volley had been.
The grey Alicorn ‘rose’ to his ‘hooves.’ “My lack of body is of no consequence. I can always make another... Can you put yourself back together?”
Nightcaller and his brothers gave no answer.
“I thought not,” the Alicorn said. “It matters not, Order and Chaos and Sun and Moon will make do with what we have now. My plans do not require you as you where.”
“We shall never willingly participate in your plan, Overdrive, and neither will Sun and Moon.”
“Oh, trust me Heralds. I know this all too well; fortunately your cooperation is also not required. Now be gone with you. We have nothing further to discuss.”
“We never thought we’d agree,” Nightcaller said, he and his brothers disappeared back into shadow, leaving the Grey Alicorn to his planning.
He turned back to the pool of water. Floating face down as the body of a gryphon, holes riddled throughout her body.
“Yes. You shall do nicely. Soldiers must do as they are ordered.” |
BronyOfSteel | 528 | 1 | Original Character,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Conversion Bureau: The Breaking Point | incomplete | 13 | 7 | <p>The Human Liberation Front has been pursuing its agenda of pony genocide for nearly five years and the time has finally come for their endgame. As events rush towards an inevitable climax, Cpt. James Miller will hold the fate of two races in his hands as he and the rest of the Internal Defense Initiative strive to prevent a cataclysm that would mean final victory for the HLF in its five year war against Equestria and its converts.</p><p>A Conversion Bureau fic.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-17T05:04:00+00:00 | 2011-08-17T05:04:00+00:00 | 2,477 | It was a cool night in New York, calm, serene or at least it should’ve been. ‘Carl’ was impatiently tapping his finger on a desk as he looked out the window of the small apartment complex that was utilized by the Human Liberation Front as a nexus for ammunition and storage in this part of town. Of course ‘Carl’ wasn’t his real name but it was the one the men here knew him by, he was here to oversee the purchase of particularly valuable commodity from a Russian contact of the HLF. The exchange had gone over smoothly enough as the price was agreed upon well before the meeting had taken place. Fifty million American for something like this was a bit expensive, but the contents violated about thirty international laws and half of the second Geneva Convention, possession of the object alone could mean a life sentence.
A young man stepped inside the office Carl had commandeered “Sir, we’ve just received a communique from central.” He said extending his hand which held a piece of paper. Obviously all communications between cells of the HLF were coded and translations were required before any message could be read.
As he turned to take the message from the kid he noticed a small red dot playing over his face a split second before it vanished in an explosion of blood. Carl immediately threw himself to the floor as he heard the report of gunfire and the noise of combat from below him. He swore to himself as he grabbed the steel briefcase and gun from the table he had been keeping them on and dashed out the door and down the hallway. He emerged into a small alleyway two buildings down as the fighting continued between HLF and whoever had decided to raid the complex. He started sprinting down the alley away from the shootout. Those members of the HLF were nothing more than fanatics and there were plenty to replace them; he on the other hand was not quite as expendable to the organization. As he ran down the alley of the slums he failed to notice the shimmering outline of a humanoid figure watching his escape.
The alleyway eventually opened up into a large seaside area overlooking Manhattan bay. Carl finally slowed to a stop on the edge of the water panting as he went over in his mind any relevant information the members he had just abandoned might know. No one here knew his real name and all they were aware of was that he had come here to purchase something of great value, they had no idea what it was or the reason for buying it. Deciding that he was safe for now he let out a large breath looking out over the water at the skyline of this once great city. A scowl began to appear on his face as he saw the numerous pegasai flying among the buildings. These ponies thought they could just come and destroy everything man had ever accomplished out of some illusion of kindness? Not if he and the rest of the HLF had anything to say about it. A noise behind him snapped the HLF member out of his reverie; he immediately panicked and fired three quick rounds in the direction of the noise. There was nothing there, but his eyes kept sweeping the area regardless. Carl felt as an iron grip clamped down on his arm right above the wrist, he looked back to his arm just in time to watch in horror and pain as his wrist was snapped before his very eyes in the invisible grip of his assailant. The gun clattered to the ground as he clutched his now useless right hand to his chest.
“Adaptive camouflage?” he asked the air, knowing he’d been had.
“Yep.” Responded a male voice behind him, Carl grimaced as he suddenly felt a prick on the right side of his neck, he was unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Captain James Miller disengaged the AdCam as most called it making himself easily visible once again. He had been slightly worried for a small time that his intel was off and all they would find here was a typical HLF safehouse but this man on the ground in front of him had proven that worry to be groundless. He turned slightly as he heard approaching footsteps,
“Jesus Captain you certainly did a number on him.” Said his immediate subordinate Scott Baker. “Assault team’s wrapping things up at the safehouse, we even managed to take a couple alive this time.”
“Anything interesting turn up there?”
“Not at first glance, no. But we’ll have a better picture once forensics gets through with the place.”
“I doubt they’ll find anything, but this guy on the other hand,” James said as he bent down to pick up the briefcase. “might just have something of value. Let’s get him back to HQ.”
Headquarters was located in the financial district of the city in one of the many modern skyscrapers that had been built in the wake of cheap robotic labor. James spent most of the ride back in silence, instead choosing to file his report via his neural net as he had to get going soon. As the team dismounted the vehicles in the garage beneath the structure he tapped baker on the shoulder. “Hey would you take care of processing these guys for me? I’ve already filed my report with the director and I need to get back home.”
Baker nodded. The captain had been working “off the clock” so to speak tonight, but he had wanted to oversee the raid personally as several months of work had gone into it. “Sure thing boss, see ya tomorrow.”
James, having taken care of all official business for now, headed over to his own car, a blue 2008 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, an inheritance from his father who was an avid car buff. As he drove through the practically empty city streets he was thinking over the latest report on the state of the city, the most optimistic estimates put the human population of New York at 200,000 but of course years of experience had taught him to never believe the optimistic ones. At least the street lights were still working, not that he needed them, his right eye was totally cybernetic, a replacement for his natural one that he had lost early on in his career to a lucky shot from a mafia enforcer he had been tailing. All in all James Miller was still mostly human compared to many others in his line of work, besides his eye, musculature enhancements, and military grade neural net he was still totally organic. He was a fairly unassuming man, brown hair and eyes certainly didn’t distinguish him from the crowd at all, of course there weren’t any crowds really left for him to blend into, having two legs when everyone else has four kinda gives you away.
He pulled into the apartment building where he lived with his sister as both their parents were currently living in Equestria somewhere; James could never remember the name of the city. As he walked through the lobby, he wasn’t too surprised to see a couple ponies coming and going even at this hour, New York was still the city that never sleeps. He took the elevator up to his floor and entered his apartment as quietly as he could so as not to wake the other occupant of his home, as always he failed miserably.
“Late night huh?” Said his sister Mary’s voice from the couch.
“Yep.” James said as he looked through their fridge. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
“I have tomorrow off.” She said from right behind him, “You should take it off too, you’re working too hard again.” There was a note of concern in her voice.
James turned to fix his sister with a cynical look. Mary now stood at about his waist ever since she had undergone conversion; she was a light green unicorn with a white mane who had decided to stay in New York with her still human older brother while their ponified parents both moved to Equestria. “Well maybe it’d be a little easier for us if you guys weren’t so good at your jobs. We’re short staffed as it is without us losing a guy every few weeks that then takes us a month to replace.”
Mary rolled her eyes at that; she worked as an administrative assistant at the New York bureau. “Uh-huh sure, blame us for being so convincing. I just wish I could convince you as easily as them.” She had been trying to get James to undergo conversion for nearly a year now, and he still refused to go.
“Don’t worry; I’m sure one of these days I’ll cave. You’re too damn persistent for me to resist forever.” James continued to rummage through their fridge, he was absolutely starving and tended not to trust his sister with getting him take-out anymore, not since she had ‘forgotten’ he didn’t eat daisies the last time he had asked her to pick him up something. Failing to find anything that resembled meat he gave up and just grabbed two apples. “Is it really that hard to find meat anymore around here?” he asked as he walked over to and collapsed onto the couch.
“Have you looked around lately? There’s no one left to sell it to.” Mary said as she lay down next to him she paused for bit as he continued to eat his meal of fruit. “Hey James?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m meeting up with some of my Equestrian friends for dinner tomorrow and I’d really appreciate it if you actually came this time. They’ve all wanted to meet you for a long time now and I kinda want to show them that my older brother actually exists.”
James sighed, she was guilt tripping him and he knew it, didn’t stop it from working though. “Fine, I’ll come.”
“That’s what you said last time.”
“I mean it this time.”
“You said that too.”
James buried his face in his hands as he tried to think of a way to fix this whole situation. “What else do you want me to say Mary? I’m sorry I had to bail on you those other times, I really am. But my job isn’t as cut and dry as we’d both like it to be, stuff comes up that they need me for and I can’t just ignore it.”
Mary looked down as the words sunk in, she knew her brother worked directly for the government, and whatever he did it was it was both highly dangerous and important. But it still didn’t change the fact that it stung to have her older brother whom she held in such high esteem leave her hanging when she was just trying to have her friends meet her family.
James saw just how crestfallen his sister was and he immediately felt the guilt of bailing on her triple. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Look I’ll make it up to you; I’ll call in every favor I can to make sure I’m there tomorrow, OK?”
Mary looked significantly happier at this development “OK, just remember you have to call me by my Equestrian name tomorrow.”
“Ah erm, well about that….”
She just looked at him disbelief, “You forgot what it was again didn’t you?”
“No, well not really it has something to do with the sun right?” He offered weakly.
She rolled her eyes again, “its Radiant Dawn FYI. And you’re going to have to start remembering it eventually, it IS my official name now, you’re the only one that still calls me Mary.”
“I’ll call you Radiant Dawn around the same time you convince me to get converted, until then you’re still Mary to me.” He said as he ruffled her mane. “Now you best get some sleep sis, you’re not meant for these long nights.”
“And YOU need to stop having so many of them, I’ll go to bed when you do.”
“I was actually planning on doing that right now.” He said as he stood, he then locked up for the night and headed off to his room after making sure his sister went to sleep.
James undid the front of his jacket and un-holstered his M1911 Colt .45, it was a bit old fashioned compared to many of the newer guns that had been developed recently but he preferred the classics. He lay down on his bed after undressing and turned off the lights before finally taking the last few minutes to access his personal messages via the net. There was already one waiting from the director.
ENCRYPTED USING KEY: *********
DECRYPTED USING KEY: *****
’Your report is, as always, impeccable in detail Captain. The forensics team is already going over the evidence seized from the safehouse, and they are currently analyzing the contents of the briefcase you retrieved from the HVT. Baker and the others currently have him in medical care for the wrist you broke and are planning on interrogating him as soon as he is conscious again. You on the other hand, have tomorrow off on my orders; you’re burning yourself out on this James, Baker will handle the case for tomorrow.’ – Director Moore.
Well, Mary will certainly be happy with that. He thought to himself as James switched off his neural net. I’m beginning to think she’s right about me working too hard on this, I mean when even the director thinks I’m going to far…
James rolled over as he settled down to sleep; deciding it didn’t really matter in the end anyways. One way or another, this would be his last case.
Roughly 500 miles away in an underground complex sat a man who appeared to be in his fifties. He sat in an ornate chair facing the only source of illumination in the room, a hologram of the planet earth that was constantly updated to show the advance of Equestrian influence. Behind him a door opened into the room spilling in white light, a second man advanced through it coming to stop halfway to the older one in the chair. The one in the chair turned his head slightly indicating to the intruder that he should speak, “Sir, we have just received word that one of our New York cells was raided tonight. It would appear Mr. Anderson has been compromised along with the package.” His message delivered the younger man departed leaving the room shrouded in darkness once again.
The lone man steepled his fingers as he thought about the impact this would have on the organization as a whole. It was certainly an annoyance but it was nothing more a setback in the grand scheme of things, a replacement for the lost package could be found easily enough. The thing that concerned him most was what their enemies would do now that they had discovered what the HLF was interested in. The man known to many simply as “Jeremiah” knew that there was only one true threat left in the US government and that was the Internal Defense Initiative or IDI. Undoubtedly it was they who had raided the cell, they were ever present as a thorn in his side and had even come close to ending his life nearly a year and half ago, he unconsciously fingered the scar on his face that he had acquired on that fateful day. Yes, the IDI were indeed formidable opponents, but would they be able to stop the HLF’s final plan? That was the question that truly mattered. The fate of two races and the world itself would be decided quite soon, and that decision would rest either in their hands, or the HLF’s. |
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BronyOfSteel | 528 | 2 | Original Character,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Conversion Bureau: The Breaking Point | incomplete | 13 | 7 | <p>The Human Liberation Front has been pursuing its agenda of pony genocide for nearly five years and the time has finally come for their endgame. As events rush towards an inevitable climax, Cpt. James Miller will hold the fate of two races in his hands as he and the rest of the Internal Defense Initiative strive to prevent a cataclysm that would mean final victory for the HLF in its five year war against Equestria and its converts.</p><p>A Conversion Bureau fic.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-28T07:39:21+00:00 | 2011-08-28T07:39:21+00:00 | 1,961 | James awoke the next morning a lot later than he usually did; he rarely slept later than eight or nine o' clock despite how often he would be working until the wee hours of the morning. He felt like he had wasted enough of his life sleeping in college and high school. He groggily looked up at the window of his room, from the position of the sun it appeared to be a little after noon. James' gaze then wandered over to his nightstand where the culprit of his unintended sleep-in sat, someone had disconnected his alarm clock. He sighed as he rose out of his bed, Mary must be really concerned about this if she's starting to use magic to sabotage me. Then again, he had slept all the way up until this point in time giving her argument that he was overdoing it even more credence.
He emerged from his room into the kitchen where his sister sat reading the paper while sipping some coffee. It had taken James a while to get used to seeing Mary use magic, but like everything else that had changed with the coming of the Bureaus, after a while it became normal. She looked over at him with a smug expression on her face. "Well look who's finally up."
"Yeah, yeah. Just be thankful I have today off or I'd be really pissed. You can't just turn someone's alarm off Mary."
"Hm, well my magic says I can." She said as she levitated a second cup of the steaming liquid over to him.
"Thanks." He said sitting down at the table and taking a long drink of the caffeinated beverage.
"So you have today off huh?" Mary was incredibly shocked at this, James almost NEVER had or took a day off. It was such a rare occurrence that she had actually forgotten to give him her victory speech about how she was right about him.
"Yep, I suppose miracles do happen from time to time." He said as he stared off into the distance. "So what're your plans for today?"
"I was going to go shopping with one of my friends from the Bureau, but that was before I knew you'd have today off."
He looked over at her, "Well don't let my having the day off disrupt your plans."
Mary bit her lower lip, "But… I-"
James cut her off, "Look, I'm going to be spending the evening with you and your friends anyways. How long have you been planning on going shopping with your friend?"
"Nearly three weeks." She admitted.
"Ok then, go enjoy your day and we'll spend the evening together. Besides I've got my own stuff to take care of."
She gave him a look of mock disbelief. "My brother actually doing something that doesn't have anything to do with work!" she gave an overly dramatic gasp. "I don't believe it!"
"Ha ha ha." He responded deadpan as he stood from his chair and gave his little sister a hug. "Have a good time out there, and I'll see you later." As he released her from the embrace he ruffled her mane to the point where it looked like she had just woken up.
"Really? Now I have to go brush it again."
"Then don't mess with my alarm again." James said laughing as he headed back to his room.
By the time James had showered, shaved, and dressed Mary had already departed, leaving him a note telling him to be back by four. He locked up after retrieving his sidearm, he never left home without it, and took the elevator down to ground level. It was an absolutely beautiful day in New York; it was just cool enough for him to wear his jacket without sweating like a pig. He had found New York to be quite enjoyable, but then again he had only moved here after the bureaus opened so he had no idea how it was before that. James decided to walk to his destination rather than drive as walking typically helped him unwind better than driving. As he walked down the street the ponies milling about around him gave James a wide berth. Just like Mary using magic, the stares and general wariness that ponies gave him was something James had gotten used to.
He looked up into the sky as he headed towards his destination noting the large amount of pegasai flying among the towering buildings. The city had never appeared to be so full of life before, compared to the glum facade of an unemployed town of broken dreams that it had been prior to Equestrian contact. Funny that he should be thinking about that particular notion as he arrived at his destination, a graveyard situated between two large buildings. Before heading in he stopped at a flower store across the street and bought a simple wreath. He walked down the rows of graves already knowing where the one he sought was located even though it had been months since he was last here. James stopped in front of a fairly plain gravestone and spent a good ten minutes just staring at it lost in thought. Finally he knelt down and laid the wreath on the grave before turning to leave.
James arrived back at his home just as Mary was finishing up getting ready for their dinner. "Oh great you're here." She said as she continued to check her reflection. She turned back to James giving him a look down. "You're planning on going out in that?"
"Says the one who spends ninety-nine percent of the time naked. It's not like the dinner is super formal or anything, right?" James retorted with a slightly annoyed look on his face, even after being a pony for nearly a year and a half, his sister still thought she could give him fashion advice.
"Suit yourself." Mary said nonchalantly. "So where were you for the last two hours?"
"Oh, you know, just walking around, thinking, nothing much. How was shopping with your friend?"
Mary's face lit up at the question. "Oh it was FANTASTIC! There was a whole new line of saddles that we hadn't heard about before that were unveiled! Rarity and I were just amazed at the new designs coming out of Equestria…"
James just continued to smile and nod at his sister's story, letting the information wash over him while his mind concentrated on something else. It was this sort of mental multitasking that made him such a good intelligence officer and was one of the many reasons he had been recruited by Director Moore into the IDI. As his sister talked James noticed just how happy she was. She had been like this ever since she had undergone conversion, as if the process changed more than just her body. She had never been a melancholy person to begin with, but it was hard to still be human in the rapidly ponifiying world and not be affected by it. Hell, most humans nowadays were either miserable or consumed with hate with their situation in life. Even James sometimes had trouble not feeling like an outcast in this town of thirteen million ponies. But now Mary had friends, a job she loved, and her older brother who she had always been close to. She had every right to be happy. James however, had only entertained the idea of conversion as a fantasy. Something that lay eternally out of reach, as he had decided long ago that such a thing was not meant for men like him. But now, with everything coming to a head so quickly the very real possibility of him finishing his work lay before him. And he had no idea what he would do should that happen. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. He thought to himself as his sister finished her story.
"So do you think I should go out with my new saddle?" She asked a hopeful expression adorning her face.
"Well if it's good enough to impress your fashionista friend Rarity, then by all means go ahead and wear it. That's what you bought it for right?"
"Thanks! I'll be right back." She said smiling as she headed off to her room.
James sighed as she left, picking up a bit that Mary had left on the table and examining the small coin. He had never quite figured out how they could use currency like this with hooves instead of hands, but so long as it worked it didn't really matter. "So how do I look?" his sister's voice piped up from behind him.
He turned around to find her wearing a pale pink saddle with a short skirt that complimented her light green coat pretty well. "As a member of an entirely different species? Great."
Mary stuck her tongue out at him. "You know there aren't going to be too many human girls left around here soon James.." She smiled wickedly "Might as well start entertaining the idea."
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, anyways we should get going." He said as he picked up his keys from the counter.
The two exited their apartment building a few minutes later, walking together to the restaurant Mary had picked for tonight's dinner. She was admittedly a little nervous about her friends meeting James. The worry that he wouldn't like them or they wouldn't like him kept bouncing around her mind no matter how hard she tried to stop it. The nervous feeling must've worked its way onto her face as she suddenly felt James' hand on her shoulder. "Mary relax, I'm sure I'll love your friends. Now stop worrying, please."
Mary smiled slightly, James, as always knew exactly what to say to help assuage her fears, an ability born of many years of being there for her. "Thanks, I guess I'm still a little nervous about this whole thing."
"That just means that this dinner is important to you and you want it to go perfectly, nothing more, nothing less. Frankly, I'd be concerned if you weren't a little nervous about it." He removed his hand from her shoulder and the two resumed walking down the street "So what's the name of this place again?"
Mary looked away slightly embarrassed "Well, um it's called The Big Horseapple."
That got a raised eyebrow from James, he wasn't a pony and even he knew what that phrase meant. "You're serious?"
"Yeah, apparently it was opened by a couple of converts who had no idea what it meant. But by the time they found out the name had already stuck."
James had to laugh at that, some things never change.
In the sub-basement of IDI headquarters two men looked upon a large holographic screen that dominated almost an entire wall of the room. In the center of the room, hooked up to an interfacing unit sat an unassuming silver canister, the one that had been retrieved from the HLF. One of the men, who was sitting at a terminal in front of the screen began to type out commands at a pace that was typically inhuman. "You're sure about this?" asked the second one who stood behind him watching as he input commands.
"Of course director, I know a nanite containment capsule when I see one." The first one responded in a slightly insulted voice.
Director Moore picked up on the annoyance of his head technical expert, but decided to let it be for now. As the man typed the machinery that was connected to the canister began to function and started to drain the canister of its contents. "Well it's confirmed that thing was definitely holding nanomachines. Beginning AI analysis and interface with nanite governing protocols." The doctor typed in even more commands, bringing the processing power of the IDI's resident contender-II class AI to bear. The AI, codename: MERCURY served as the IDI's institutional mainframe and was primarily used to coordinate the logistics of the IDI and to monitor HLF communications. Once MERCURY began its dictated task, commands and protocols began rolling up on the screen. As the commands streamed across the display the AI's voice began to drone from the speakers mounted above the console.
FOREIGN NANOMACHINES DETECTED…
INTERFACE INITATED… SUCCESSFUL
NANO-FORM ANALYSIS UNDERWAY….NANO-FORM PROFILING COMPLETE…
PROFILE CONSISTENT WITH ATTACK NANITES
COMPATIBILITY REGISTER ENABLED…
PROCESSING…
NANO-CATALYST VIABILITY ASSESSMENT UNDERWAY…
ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETION: 6 HOURS- 25 MINUTES -35.4 SECONDS
The doctor turned from his console to look back the director, "and now we wait."
Moore nodded, "Good work doctor, inform me of any developments immediately, I'll be up in my office." And with that Director Moore exited the lab, leaving the doctor to sip coffee and monitor the AI for the next six hours.
James and Mary finally arrived at the restaurant, it was a quaint unassuming place, but according to his sister they had some of the best salads in town. Guess we'll find out. He thought to himself as they headed in.
In the entrance sat a blue earth pony who was currently manning the podium where customers were shown to their tables. She was looking down at something on the podium when James and Mary walked in. "Name?" she asked without looking up.
"Hi, my name's Radiant Dawn, I had a reservation for four at 8 o'clock." Mary answered striding up to the earth pony while she looked around the room for her friends.
"Hang on one second…. Ah here we are. Apparently the rest your party arrived earlier with additional customers so we've given you a table in our-"The earth pony had finally looked up and noticed James who was trying his damndest not to be annoyed at the look the earth pony was giving him. "O-our private dining area. Can I help you sir?" she asked in a slightly afraid voice.
"He's with me." Mary said her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Oh…." The earth pony said while she processed that tidbit of information. "….Well come with me then, your table is this way." She said sheepishly as she led the two into an adjacent room, embarrassed at her behavior. The room she led them to contained a few large tables but only one was currently occupied, around it sat six ponies, all of whom had stopped talking and looked over at the newcomers.
"Dawn!" a purple unicorn shouted out and rose to greet her, closely followed by the rest of the group.
"Twilight! It's so good to see you!" Mary said as the two hugged each other. She looked over Twilight's shoulder at the rest of the group who were all smiling at their friend. "I thought the rest of you had all moved back to Equestria. When did you all get back?"
"Well they're just visiting for a few days, and when they heard that I was having dinner with you, they all wanted to come." Twilight said as she released her friend from the embrace. As she finished speaking she looked behind Mary at James who had been watching this whole exchange silently. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"
"Oh, right!" Mary said and she scurried back to her brother's side, she had gotten so caught up in the moment she had forgotten to introduce James. "Everypony, this is my older brother James. James these are my friends, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie." She said as she indicated each pony.
"Pleasure to meet you all." He said as he extended a hand towards Twilight who happened to be the closest.
"Same here" she said shaking his hand with her hoof. "Dawn's told us so much about you. She talks about you all the time."
"I-I do not!" Mary said in the most unconvincing way possible.
"Oh come on dear, there's no point in trying to deny it. Besides if I had an older brother like him, I'd be talking about him non-stop." Rarity said looking James up and down.
James laughed "Well I can only hope I live up to the hype."
Once James had finished speaking something pink, large, and smiling suddenly appeared from above him. Grinning at him upside down it suddenly shouted, "HIYA! I'm Pinkie, nice to meet ya!"
"Nice to meet you too." He said returning the smile, How the hell did she get above me?
"Pinkie, get down from there!" Twilight shouted
The pink pony looked up from her perch on James' shoulders with a disappointed expression on her face, "Aw come on Twilight!" but after seeing the look Twilight was giving her, she jumped down reluctantly.
"Jeeze Pinkie, you are so random sometimes." Rainbow Dash piped up from the rest of the group.
"Random's a good thing, keeps life interesting." James said smiling down at the pink pony.
Pinkie immediately perked up at this, "I like you, I think we're going to be great friends!"
"I get that feeling too." He responded as he continued to smile. It always astounded him just how friendly Equestrians could be when you talked to them.
With the introductions finished the group of eight finally took their seats at the table. "So James," Rainbow Dash said as menus were brought out to them. "Dawn told us you work for the US government. What exactly do you do for them?" she was leaning forward, almost eager to hear the answer.
"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." He answered in a completely serious tone as he looked over the menu.
"R-really?" Fluttershy stammered out in a quiet voice, she was beginning to sink lower in her chair.
Mary shot James a look, and he immediately realized his mistake, "No not really, it's just a joke you know, spy games and all that stuff."
"O-oh, okay." Fluttershy said visibly relieved at his answer.
"So then what DO you do?" Dash pressed.
"Oh nothing much, I just try to make some sense out of the whole mess that is the world today." Technically, he wasn't lying by telling them this; a large part of his job was doing just that.
"Is it really that bad?" Twilight asked.
James smiled slightly as he looked up from the menu at her as their waiter approached. "The world's always been a complicated, chaotic place Twilight. Truth be told, Equestrian contact and the conversion bureaus that followed actually make things simpler, but not by much."
After that, the waiter finally came to take their orders. James silently lamented the lack of alcohol and meat on the menu, but at least some of the items they offered sounded tasty enough to distract him from that glaring issue. He ended up ordering a Caesar salad, one of the few things still sold in New York that he actually liked. Mary and the rest of the group got themselves an assortment of flowers and other plants.
Once their orders were placed conversation started up once more. Rainbow Dash and Applejack somehow started an argument over who was better, the Wonderbolts or some famous Equestrian rodeo team. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Mary were talking about how things were going back in Ponyville, as that was where Mary had undergone her training after being converted. Fluttershy was trying to tell Mary about some new arrivals but Pinkie was doing a top notch job of derailing the whole conversation into a completely different topic. And Rarity and Twilight had involved James in a discussion about US- Equestrian politics and policies. While Rarity was fairly well spoken about most public matters, it was Twilight that really caught James' interest. Her points and opinions were incredibly well thought out and thorough, he was quite impressed with her.
"You know Twilight," he said as he took another drink of his coke, "I don't think I've ever met someone quite as intelligent on these matters as you."
"Thanks." She said looking away, embarrassed but pleased with the compliment.
"So Dawn, where's Velocity?" Pinkie pie piped up from the conversation next to them.
James' head swiveled around to them upon hearing the name, he had heard about everyone else many times beforehand but this one was new.
"Well he couldn't make it tonight Pinkie." Mary said quickly, as if she was trying her hardest to sweep the question under the rug.
"Oh well that's weird I would have figured your co-"was as far as Pinkie got before Mary shoved her hoof over her mouth.
"So who's this Velocity exactly?" James asked glaring directly at his sister.
Before Mary could even begin to respond Rainbow Dash interrupted her from across the table.
"Oh he's Dawn's coltfrien-OWWW!" She shouted clutching her lower left leg in pain as Rarity had kicked it in an attempt to shut her up.
James' eyes narrowed, "So you have a colt friend huh? Planning on letting me know anytime soon?"
Mary started doing her best impression of Fluttershy and began to sink lower and lower under table all the while avoiding her brother's gaze. "Well you know I could never find the right time, and I didn't want to upset you the few times I do get to see you…" she said in a quiet voice.
Upon seeing just how upset his sister was, James' expression softened, "Look, Mary I'm not angry at you."At this she gave him a skeptical look, to which he just responded by smiling "I'm really not, actually I'm quite happy for you. But I would like to hear about him later."
"O-okay." Mary responded, her mood considerably brightened by this turn of events; she had feared the worst when James had found out about Velocity. But her brother had surprised her yet again, taking the information in stride." Oh and James?"
"Yeah?"
"I thought you said you were going to call me by my Equestrian name tonight." She said smiling.
James smiled back, "Sorry, my mistake."
The rest of the dinner proceeded without incident, James actually found himself enjoying the food for once. Mary hadn't been lying when she had said this place had some of the best salads in town. After everyone had finished eating the group spilt off into smaller segments, Rainbow Dash had challenged James to a hoof wrestling contest. Unfortunately the blue Pegasus couldn't quite beat him one-on-one so Applejack got involved and the two both began to try and push the human's arm over. Pinkie then came over and started cheering both sides on in equal measure, thoroughly confusing the participants as to whom she actually supported. Rarity and Fluttershy had moved off into a corner and were discussing something in hushed tones, probably something to do with Rarity' fashion business. And finally Mary and Twilight sat together at the table watching Dash and Applejack try in vain to beat James, whose arm sat a half-inch over the surface of the table but refused to move any further even after Dash had resorted to jumping on it.
Mary smiled at the spectacle before them. "I sure hope they realize soon that the only way they'll win is if he lets them. Otherwise we're gonna have two completely exhausted ponies on our hooves."
"Is he really that strong?"
Mary smiled thinly, "James is still mostly human, but he does have a few cybernetic implants, those two could yank on that arm all day and it'd only move if he wanted it to."
"wow." Was all Twilight could say in response.
A few moments went by in silence before Twilight finally broke it, "Dawn, why hasn't James undergone conversion yet?"
Mary continued to watch her brother in front of them, "He has his reasons."
Twilight wanted to know what they were but it was obvious that Mary wasn't about to tell her so she let it go. In front of them both Rainbow Dash and Applejack had collapsed to the floor exhausted, still having failed to defeat James in the hoof wrestling competition. He leaned over the table to look at where they lay panting, "Call it a draw?" he asked grinning.
"Fine, but next time I won't go so easy on you!" Rainbow shot back between breaths.
"I would sure hope not." He said as he walked over and helped the two ponies to their hooves.
Soon after Twilight and the others thought that it was getting late and decided it would be a good idea to head back to their homes. One by one they said their goodbyes and left the restaurant, soon it was just James, Mary and Twilight.
"Well Dawn, I think it's time that I left too." Twilight said as she and Mary hugged each other. "And James it was really great to finally meet you, I hope I get to see you again soon." She said to the human extending a hoof once more.
James took it, smiling "I sure hope so too."
And with that James and Mary left, walking together back to their apartment. "So what did you think?" Mary asked her older brother almost the second they exited the building.
"I think you've got yourself a great group of friends Mary. I haven't had such an enjoyable night in a long time."
She smiled at this.
"But I would like to hear about this coltfriend of yours." He said as they continued to walk.
Mary's smile faded a little "I met Velocity back in Ponyville right after I had gotten converted. He was there as a flying instructor for the freshly arrived newfoals and we ran into each other one day, literally. He offered to buy me lunch to make up for it and things just kinda took off from there." She looked over at James who was listening intently. "I never thought I'd see him again but then six months ago he moved to New York. We got in contact and then started seeing each other."
"So how long have you two been going out?"
Mary bit her lower lip as she looked at the ground, "A few months."
James' brow furrowed at the response and he looked forward once again.
Mary stopped walking "James please don't be angry with me I know I should have told you sooner its jus-"
James held up a hand silencing her. "I'm not angry Mary." She continued to stare him down, knowing otherwise. James sighed as he relented, "Ok, I'm angry, but not with you."
Mary's expression changed to one of genuine confusion
"Mary, I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with myself. I've been a horrible brother as of late; I haven't been there for you like I should have been. Instead I've been drowning myself in work while you worry about me. I mean you've had a coltfriend for the past three months and not only did I not notice, you were too nervous to tell me because you didn't want to ruin what little time I spend with you. We used to be so close and then I..I.." He was clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles started to turn white. "I fucked up…. I'm sorry."
"No, no you didn't. I do think you work too much, that you're burning yourself out, but you're doing it because it's what you believe is right and there's no one else who can do your job. I should have told you about Velocity ages ago, you deserved to know more than anyone else. I was just so scared that you might freak out and push me away." She said quietly as she gazed at the ground "James, you're the best older brother I could ask for, don't ever forget that." With that Mary walked up to James and wrapped him up in a hug which he returned. "I love you big brother.."
"I love you too, sis."
Later that night, back at IDI headquarters MERCURY was just finishing up its analysis of the HLF nanomachines. The doctor who had been intently monitoring the AI's progress watched as the last few commands were carried out and the results displayed.
COMPATIBILITY REGISTRATION COMPLETE…
NANO-CATALYST VIABILITY ASSESSMENT COMPLETE….
COMPATIBILITY WITH DNA PROFILE ONE…. SEVENTY-NINE PERCENT…
COMPATIBILITY WITH DNA PROFILE TWO…..ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT…
"Wait, this can't be right… that would mean this is…" The coffee cup he had been holding slipped from his nerveless fingers and shattered on the ground as his mind processed what the AI was telling him. Anyone else would have asked for a verification of these results but the doctor already knew that the AI had 99.9% accuracy in its calculations. He pushed a button on the console before him which gave him a direct, secure line to the director's office. "Director Moore? You might want to get down here sir; I think you're going to want to see this…" |
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BronyOfSteel | 528 | 3 | Original Character,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Conversion Bureau: The Breaking Point | incomplete | 13 | 7 | <p>The Human Liberation Front has been pursuing its agenda of pony genocide for nearly five years and the time has finally come for their endgame. As events rush towards an inevitable climax, Cpt. James Miller will hold the fate of two races in his hands as he and the rest of the Internal Defense Initiative strive to prevent a cataclysm that would mean final victory for the HLF in its five year war against Equestria and its converts.</p><p>A Conversion Bureau fic.</p> | everyone | 2012-07-10T07:49:31+00:00 | 2012-07-10T07:49:31+00:00 | 1,934 | To say that James Miller was in a bad mood was a bit of an understatement, his mood was as far from good as one could possibly get. He had been roused from his sleep by a priority-1 FLASH message from the director at three in the morning on the day he was supposed to have off. That wasn't what had actually put him in the state of emotion he was currently in, he was quite used to having to interrupt what most would consider 'normal' sleep patterns for a multitude of reasons. No, it was the information the director divulged to him upon arriving at IDI headquarters that had put him in this mood. He still remembered the cold pit he had felt form in his stomach the second his brain had processed the implications of that information.
Now he was standing in Director Moore's office several hours later waiting for the President of the United States to arrive. The two occupants looked towards the entrance as there was a knock on the door. Director Moore paused for a second before speaking, "Enter."
In strode President Jack Hargreave followed by two unanticipated guests. James and the director did their best to hide their surprise at who had just entered the office. Standing next to the president were the two Equestrian princesses, Celestia and Luna.
"Jack, you didn't inform me th-" Director Moore began
"Arthur, you said that the intel you had would be of great impact to the Equestrians, they have as much a right to hear about it as I do." The president interrupted. Director Moore's eyes narrowed at this, but he held his tongue in check. "In the meantime, Princesses Celestia and Luna, this is Director Arthur Moore and Captain James Miller, the head and second-in-command of the IDI respectively." the president continued.
The director opened his mouth to speak but then stopped and looked directly at Celestia. "I can see you want to ask something Princess, it would be best to get it out of the way before we begin."
The Princess of the sun nodded. "Director it would mean a lot to my sister and me if our personal students could hear what you have to say. They are our closest subordinates and usually are trusted to act in our stead."
Director Moore turned the request over in his head several times. There had been a saying back when he had been director of operations at the CIA, that the chance of a secret being blown is square to the number of people in on it. However, if the Princess was telling the truth it didn't really matter whether or not they heard it here. "Very well your majesty, however I must impress upon you the necessity of secrecy with this information. Should it become public it could very well spark panic."
The princess nodded once more and then turned to the doorway she had just walked through, "You two can come in."
In walked two unicorns, one a deep midnight blue with a multicolored mane and tail, the second was none other than Twilight Sparkle.
James' eyes widened slightly at seeing her, but other than that he betrayed no other emotion at the sight of the two students. Twilight, on the other hand, was much less subtle about it. A surprised look covered her face before she had the sense to force it back to a neutral expression. If the princess had noticed Twilight's surprise she gave no indication. "Gentlemen, this is my personal student, Twilight Sparkle and my sister Luna's student, Midnight Shadow." She said indicating the two young ponies, both of whom were unnerved by the stares of the three humans in the room.
With the introductions finished the president turned back to Director Moore, "Now Arthur, let's hear what you have to say."
"Two nights ago at 0200 hours Captain Miller here led a raid on a HLF safe house located in Brooklyn. This raid was part of a larger operation whose objective was to ascertain the whereabouts of leaders within the HLF. The raid was conducted on the intel that a known courier for senior leaders of the HLF was currently staying there for some unknown reason. The raid went off without a hitch, the safe house was neutralized and the high value target, now known as a 'Mr. Anderson', was apprehended and is now in custody." Director Moore continued
"Have you interrogated him?" the president asked.
The director nodded to James, it was his show now. "Yes sir, but these men are nothing more than glorified messenger boys for the HLF, everything he knew either we were already aware of or was useless. However, what this man was in possession of was of much greater importance." James reached over to the briefcase sitting on the director's desk and opened it, showing the room its contents. Watching the different reactions in the room was indicative of how different the two species were, the president's expression hardened at the sight of the canister contained within while the ponies, with the exception of Midnight, just looked confused.
"A silver canister?" Luna asked in disbelief "That's what he was carrying that is so important?"
"Umm Princess? It's not just a canister." Midnight piped up from his place beside his mentor.
James smiled slightly, "You're a convert aren't you?" he asked the dark blue unicorn.
Midnight nodded nervously at him, "Y-yes sir, I was one of the first back when the bureaus first opened." All this secret government agency stuff wasn't his bag at all.
James arched an eyebrow at this, a human convert being personal student to one of the Equestrian princesses? That was sure interesting… "Anyways, Midnight is correct, this is no ordinary canister. What you see before you is in fact a nanite containment and transport device."
"Nanites?" This time it was Twilight who was confused.
"It's another term for nanomachines, microscopic, programmable machines that are typically utilized in the medical field, able to manipulate the body on a cellular level."James answered, "The ones that he was transporting however, were much more sinister in nature than normal nanomachines. They were genetically targeted attack nanites, programmed to attack cells with a very specific DNA profile, namely Equestrians."
"And what happens when they come in contact with their target?" Celestia asked, her expression as serious as anyone had ever seen.
"Upon entering a body with a compatible DNA profile the nanites begin to replicate and proceed to attack any and all cells with the same DNA profile, causing systemic necrosis and massive organ failure. Death occurs typically in two to three minutes."
"And what about ponies? I thought out bodies were resistant to your cybernetics and nanomachines." She continued.
"Normally you'd be correct ma'am; pony physiology does generally reject and break down any and all artificial implants, including nanomachines. However because these nanites have such simple programming they can replicate at a rate theoretically faster than your bodies can expunge them."
"Why was this never considered a threat or a weapon before? I never remember getting a briefing on these nanite weapons." The President asked.
"Because the facilities to manufacture nanomachines are incredibly expensive and very secure, in the US alone there are only two facilities capable of producing nanites like these, and all are under strict government control and security. Regardless they're detailed to produce ponification serum anyways. Our guess is that these nanites are Russian in origin, as the Europeans lack the proper facilities to produce these in a timely manner. Also sir, it is worth noting that in producing these the Russians have violated international law, attack nanites are explicitly banned by the second Geneva Convention."
"And what would the impact of these weapons be?"
Director Moore answered that question. "With an air burst detonation, the nanites could cover twenty square miles, infecting all Equestrians in the area. In essence Jack, you're looking at an area denial bio-weapon beyond your wildest dreams."
The President just looked shocked at the information he had just heard. James remembered the same expression adorning his face when he had heard it earlier. President Hargreave sat down on one of the seats Director Moore had in his office for visitors, "Jesus…."
"Is Equestria safe?" Celestia practically demanded of the young captain, her gaze almost enough to pull the answer from him.
James returned the glare with one of almost the same intensity; the princess was impressed that he didn't even flinch. "Yes, in all likelihood Equestria itself is safe, the inherent magic present there will prevent the nanites from functioning. But every city outside of its boundaries is a potential target."
"I see…" the princess said quietly as she looked away.
"So why haven't the HLF used these nanite things yet? I would have thought that if they got their hands on a weapon like this they would've used against us at the earliest opportunity." Luna asked.
"Well these nanites aren't fully programmed yet Princess, while they have a lot of their basic code already written, the specific locking protocol has yet to be implemented."
"So how much longer before these nanites are ready to be used?"
"Judging from the batch we retrieved, our estimates put it at a couple weeks at least and that's with an AI equivalent to ours, which they don't have. A more likely timeframe is a month."
The President nodded mutely at this news, a thoughtful expression adorning his face for a few seconds before he spoke once more. "Arthur, could you leave us for a few minutes? I need to speak with Captain Miller alone."
The Director nodded at the request, standing from his desk and walking out.
The President continued to look at the office's left wall, continuing to ponder the information he had just received. "James I'm sure you're well aware of why I'm speaking to you. You have been the true leader of the IDI these past few years…"
"Sir with all due respect-"James began.
The President finally turned away from the spot on the wall he had been boring a hole through with his eyes for the past few minutes and fixed the younger man with a cynical look. "James, I've seen the reports and it's fairly obvious to me that we would never have gotten as far as we have without you." He walked over to the polarized window behind the director's desk. "I came into this presidency knowing that it would be a difficult one, a failing economy and the brink of war. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to have an entirely new race appear just off our east coast, I most certainly never expected the red plague and for these equines to offer at the time the best option to survive, an offer many accepted." He paused for a few more seconds before continuing once more. "James, you all are the best we have, the last hope humanity has to prevent itself from committing another grave sin. A hundred years ago we witnessed what some of us are capable of when good men stay silent; we cannot let that happen again. Captain Miller, take care of it."
"Yes, sir."
The president then looked at something over James' shoulder and he turned to see the Princess of the sun seeming like she wanted to speak again. "You have something you wish to say Celestia?"
"Yes, while my sister and I have the utmost faith in your agents' abilities, this is a threat that is pointed solely at us, not you. And so we would request that one of our students act as an observer here for this next month so that we are kept well aware of all ongoing developments."
The President frowned slightly at this, normally he would have flatly refused but then again this was a situation of extreme danger to their race. "…Very well Celestia ONE of your students may be here as an observer, on the condition that Captain Miller keeps an eye on them."
The Princess smiled, "Thank you Jack." She then turned to the two younger unicorns in the room, who had been watching silently this whole time. "Midnight?"
The unicorn seemed to pale underneath his blue fur at the mention of his name. "Y-yes Princess?"
"While you are the logical choice to be the one we have here as our observer as you are a former human, you have only been my sister's student for the past few years while Twilight has been mine for almost her entire life. This is one situation where I feel like experience outweighs practicality, Twilight will be our observer here while you take over for her at the bureaus."
Midnight looked visibly relieved at the news, while he didn't relish taking up Twilight's work in addition to his own, he had had enough excitement for a lifetime already.
"Well that and you need to keep working on your magic, that room you tried to teleport into still needs to be repaired." The princess continued.
If it was possible for the unicorn to have paled even more he would have. A week ago he had finally graduated to trying teleportation magic, and with his initial try he had (unintentionally) destroyed one of the princess' favorite rooms when he tried to teleport. At the very least Celestia had said she'd never seen quite such an explosion from anypony else's teleportation spell.
With that Celestia turned to her personal student but before she could say anything Twilight spoke up, "Princess, why me? Certainly a member of the royal guard would be a better choice." Her voice almost shook with nervousness.
The princess smiled and walked over to the purple unicorn speaking in a reassuring voice, "Twilight you are one of my most trusted subjects and the one that I've been closest to for many years. I need a pony that I can trust explicitly and if need be to make decisions that will affect the world. You are the only one who I would entrust with that great responsibility." She turned her head to look over at James, "and besides, it seems to me that you already are familiar with Captain Miller."
The president looked over at him quizzically, "Is this true James?"
James mentally sighed, goddamnit…"Yes sir, she's one of my sister's friends, we met just last night."
Celestia beamed, "Perfect, In addition Twilight I think this will be an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about the human world. Captain Miller seems like a fine man and I'm sure he will take care of you while you're here."
Twilight's nervousness seemed to finally recede, "I understand how important this is, I won't let you down princess."
Celestia just kept smiling as the princess gave Twilight a neck-hug, "I know you won't." she turned back to Luna, "We should be on our way sister, we have a lot to do to prepare for this."
"Oh and Midnight?" Twilight piped up as the ponies turned to leave the room.
"Yes?"
"You can use my office over at the bureau if you like, but if you screw up my filing system again, I'll re-upholster my apartment with you." She said in a cheerful voice.
Midnight smiled nervously, she was joking… probably, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind Twilight, in the meantime, good luck."
"Thanks." Twilight responded as the other ponies in room departed.
The president turned to James once more as the princesses departed, "Captain, you have your orders, Godspeed."
"Thank you, sir." And with that James turned to leave, indicating to Twilight that she should follow.
As the pair left they passed Director Moore who was heading back into his office. The quizzical look he gave Twilight as she walked by him moved on to James, who just shrugged and jerked his head back towards the office.
A few seconds later they were riding the elevator to the main floor where the IDI was located. The ride was in complete silence until quite suddenly James reached out and jabbed the stop button on the console of the elevator, which complied immediately and slowed to a stop. He then turned to Twilight, leaned up against the wall of the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest and finally broke the silence, "Mary never mentioned anything about you being the personal student of the Princess." He said, his eyes studying her.
"She never said anything about you being some secret government agent either." Twilight countered.
"That's because she doesn't know." He said flatly
"Oh."
He sighed and uncrossed his arms, "Look, I know we only met last night but I have a favor to ask of you."
"Which is?"
"Not a word of this to my sister."
"Why?" Twilight didn't like lying to her friends, least of all Mary, whom she considered to be one of her best ones.
"To protect her from herself, you know how she is; she worries about me enough without the constant thought of me going on dangerous assignments running through her head. She's happy and I don't want to ruin that for her."
Twilight stood there thinking hard about what James just said before finally speaking once more, "Fine."
"Good." He said, for the first time since she had first seen him this day James visibly relaxed, he had been slightly worried Twilight would refuse his request and truth be told, he had no idea what he would've done had she done so. He then reached out and restarted the elevator's descent. "In that case, let me be the first to welcome you to the IDI." He said as they reached their floor.
"Just what is the IDI? I've heard of plenty of human government agencies but this is the first time I've ever heard of this one." Twilight asked as she continued to follow James down the hallway.
"The Internal Defense Initiative is a top secret, joint venture between the CIA, FBI, and NSA founded three years ago. Our aim is to exclusively combat the rise of major domestic terrorist groups within US borders following Equestrian contact, namely the HLF."
"What about the PER?"
James let out a short laugh, "The PER isn't a threat Miss Sparkle. The HLF kills humans and ponies equally; all those self righteous converts do is create more of your kind, not really worth our time. Besides they don't fall under our jurisdiction, that's your guys' job."
The two finally reached the door at the end of the hallway, a panel located the right side emitted a small blue light for a few seconds before text appeared on the screen.
BIO-SIGNATURE CONFIRMED: CAPTAIN JAMES MILLER…. –ACCESS GRANTED-
"What is this place?" Twilight asked as the doors slid open to reveal a technophile's dream, the latest cybernetics were scattered around the room in various states of repair and modification, hooked up to computers that would make most universities green with envy. In the middle of all this sat a young man, younger than James, with his back to them frantically working away at a terminal.
He turned around to face them as the doors slid shut behind the two, "Ahhh, so now I see why the Director's in such a foul mood right now." He walked over to them and extended a hand to Twilight, "Dr. Gerard Thomas, Head Technical Expert here at the IDI, I keep most of these guys working."
"Twilight Sparkle, pleasure to meet you." The purple unicorn responded taking the hand with her hoof.
"So the Director's in a bad mood huh?" James asked as Twilight shook the doctor's hand.
Dr. Thomas rolled his eyes, "If there was a way to bite someone's head off through the net, that man would be the one to discover it." He walked back over to the terminal. "All he said was that we'd have an outside observer for the next month or so, I never expected it to be an Equestrian. Now, Miss Sparkle if you could take a couple steps to the right, that'd be great, thanks."
Twilight complied with the doctor's request before asking, "Um, just what are you doing?"
"Recording your bio-signature for security purposes, every door in this facility is locked to anyone who is not in our database. This way you'll be able to move around here without needing someone to open the doors for you all the time." He answered as a scanner lowered itself from the ceiling and began to record Twilight's DNA and bio-signs. "So you got Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary to show you around huh?"
"James isn't scary." Twilight said matter-of-factly.
Dr. Thomas laughed as he turned around to face her, "Yeah that's what they all say until they see him…" his voice just trailed off as the look James was giving him could cow a rabid Grizzly. "Right! Well the scan is now finished so you two can get going around to the rest of the facility. And I'll have a detailed report on the nanites ready in a few hours Captain!" He said quickly as he ushered Twilight out with James close behind.
"Um, James? Just what did he mean? "Twilight asked, slightly flustered by their abrupt exit.
James rolled his eyes, "The doctor has a bit of a flair for the dramatic, I'm just good at what I do Twilight, let's leave it at that."
Mary arranged her pencils into another shape on her desk for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day, it had been slow at the bureau this week and she was bored out of her mind. Usually Twilight was here to help alleviate the boredom but she was mysteriously absent today. James had disappeared as well this morning, not like that was ever unusual but still she wished there were more mornings where she actually saw him.
"Knock, Knock" came a familiar voice from the door.
Rarity had to clear her throat a few seconds later before Mary noticed her and turned away from her latest distraction to the white unicorn in the doorway. "Oh, hi there Rarity. Sorry, it's just so slow today, I've been losing track of what's going on."
"I know the feeling."
"Do you have any idea where Twilight is? It's not like her to just not show up like this."
"I'm afraid I don't know much more than you do dear. I sent a letter to Canterlot reporting her absence, but all I got in return was a response saying she'd been called away on urgent royal business."
"Oh really? That's odd…" Mary said as she started to lose herself in thought.
"Well anyways, there is something I wanted to talk with you about."
"Which is?"
"Well, just how did James take you and Velocity? I mean we all saw him when he first found out, but I'm still a little worried that maybe he was just putting up a façade for us."
Mary looked down at her desk as she thought about how to answer that question, "He actually took it really well, a lot better than I had ever expected. He said he was really happy for me that I had found somepony. But… I kinda wish he had gotten angry or at least annoyed with me, would've made me feel a lot better."
Rarity was just completely confused at this statement, "But whatever do you mean Dawn? He's happy for you, why wouldn't you want that?"
Mary looked up from her desk but continued to avoid her friend's eyes, "James feels like me not telling him about Velocity is because he's failed as an older brother and that it's his fault that I didn't feel comfortable telling him."
Rarity walked up and put a hoof over Mary's shoulder, "Why would he say such a thing? You've always talked about him like he's the greatest brother ever."
Mary stayed silent for a few seconds before finally answering, "If there's one thing wrong with James, it's that he expects too much of himself. When he thinks he's screwed up or failed he's harder on himself than anyone ever could be."
"Well did you tell him that it wasn't his fault?"
"Of course I did. But even though it seemed like James believed me I know deep down he still considers it his fault and his fault alone."
Rarity felt nothing but sympathy for her friend, being an older sibling herself she could relate to Dawn's situation. But while she and Sweetie Belle were close, they were nowhere near the level of James and Dawn. In truth Rarity envied them, and that made this all the more important to her. "You know, I may have an idea for how you can help." She said quietly.
Mary turned to look at her friend almost pleading with her eyes for Rarity to tell her any way she might help her older brother.
"Be open with him, tell him about how your life is going, talk to him like you would before all 'this'" she said waving a hoof in the air, "But above all I think it'd be a good idea if he met Velocity, I think they'd actually like each other quite a lot."
"R-really?"
"Of course dear, besides you've been together for three months, I think it's about time he finally met a member of your family." The white unicorn said as she smiled.
"Thanks Rarity." Mary said matching the smile as she hugged her friend.
"You're quite welcome Dawn, but there is one other thing."
"Which is?" Mary asked as she released Rarity from the embrace.
"A certain Mr. Frost needs help figuring out his quarters with his new body, and I figured you could use the distraction." Rarity said, continuing to smile.
Mary groaned as she rose from the cushion she had been sitting on, Newfoals…
Author's Note:I'd like to thank Midnight for letting me have er, Midnight make a cameo in this story. |
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lilinuyasha | 529 | 1 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-28T02:24:16+00:00 | 2011-08-28T02:24:16+00:00 | 2,239 | The Legend of Rarity:
One pony band of time.
There is a legend...a legend of times long past...a legend that speaks of a colt...a colt who traveled through time...to save the forgotten land of Equestria.............
“Hello, Link. Wake up. The Great Blankflank Tree wants to talk to you! Link, get up! Hey, c'mon! Can Equestria’s destiny really depend on such a lazy colt?!”
Link sat up, yawned, and sat on his bed.
“You finally woke up! I'm Spike the Dragon. The Great Blankflank Tree asked me to be your partner from now on. Nice to meet you!”
Link was still unsure of what was going on.
“Hey! Listen!”
Link shot Spike a death glare, feeling like that phrase was about to become a big part of the rest of his life. Slowly but surely, he pulled all four hooves together, gathered his mind, and trotted outside to meet another day in the great Blankflank Forest.
Link stood outside on his balcony. Why did he get the tree with the ladder? Ponies couldn’t climb ladders easily...regardless, we stumbled his way down the ladder 3 hooves to the ground.
“Hey!”
Link turned around and stared Spike down.
“...um...we should get to seeing the Great Blankflank Tree!”
Link ignored him and went around trotting about the town. He leaped from ledge to ledge over the community pool, mysteriously gathering bits over his head and depositing them in his wallet, stored in a place even more mysterious. He trotted about the town, engaging in one-sided conversations with the locals. One of them mentioned something about “Z-targeting”. He wasn’t exactly sure what she meant, but he just smiled and moved on.
“HEY!”
Link sighed and turned to Spike.
“We should get to seeing the Great Blankflank Tree!”
Begrudgingly, Link agreed, and trotted over to the entrance to the Great Blankflank Tree. To no surprise, Whiny Guardian, the local whiny guardian, stood guard over the entrance guarding the Great Blankflank Tree.
“What business do you have with the Great Blankflank Tree? Hm? You ain’t even got a Drag...oh. Well STILL. Hey, no fair...your dragon is cooler than mine!” Whiny complained, ranting on about Spike.
“Look, Whiny, we need to see the Great Blankflank Tree”. Spike pleaded.
“No way. If I don’t see her, neither do you.” He Whined. “Unless you get a...sword...and shield! Yeah!” He though, thinking they could never find such items. “When you find those, come back to me, and I’ll let you through!”
Link turned around and trotted off the other direction.
“Er...he’s only the most Annoying Blank flank! Uh...heh...Yeah! Now let’s go find a sword and shield! I think you can buy shields at the store!” Spike said, releasing some helpful information Link couldn’t have possibly ever have thought of himself. Shields and other goods from a store? It didn’t make sense!
Link trotted to the store. He avoided the annoying filly sitting on top, screaming about “Z-targeting”. Once inside, he looked at assorted items arranged neatly on shelves. He saw a Blankflank shield.
“Yo Link, ya want something?” Said Haggle Barter, The shop keeper.
Link Looked at the shield.
“Ah, the blankflank shield!” He said, grabbing a blank piece of wood with absolutely no detail on it. “That’ll be 200 bits.”
“What?” Said Spike. “200? We can only carry 99!”
“Well then I’ll make it 50.” Haggle Barter said. “Just because you’re a nice guy and you’re bound to save the world someday.”
“Ahem...no spoilers?” Said Spike.
Link wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that, but he ignored it and pulled 50 bits from his mysterious storage place and plopped them on the desk.
“What’s that mysterious goo all over it?” Said Haggle.
Link shrugged.
“You don’t say much, do you?”
“No, not really.” Said Spike. “It was a tragic childhood accident...ever since he got that concussion from falling out of his house, he’s only been able to verbalize loud moans, assaulting screams, and vocalizations of agony.”
Link lightly hit Spike in the arm, hoping to tell him to be quiet.
“In fact,” Continued Spike, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he were genuinely retarded.”
Link left the store with the shield slung on his back, spike with a black eye.
“Ow...kay. I get it. Now let’s find a sword.”
Link trotted around Blankflank Village, occasionally rolling, since it moved him faster. Link spotted a pony on the farmland continuously doing backflips. Since he had nothing else to do, he engaged in another one-sided conversation with him.
“Hey, Link!” Said Jumpy. “How’ve ya been? Wanna know how to do a backflip? Just press z, move backward, and then press a!”
Link stared at him. He seriously didn’t understand this talk of A and B and Z and C buttons.
“Oh yeah, the sword you want is right through that hole.” Jumpy pointed to a rather conspicuous hole with huge, lighted arrows pointing to it. “You’d have to be genuinely retarded not to miss it!”
“Well...” Began spike. Link shot him a death glare. “He’s genuinely a really smart guy!!! heh...”
Link crawled through the tunnel, complete with lights, music, and annoying dragon creatures. Once on the other side, he was nearly trampled to death by giant rolling balls, Hoofiana Jones style.
After solving a rather easy puzzle, making more bits mysteriously appear above his head, and opening a giant chest in melodramatic fashion, complete with spinny moves and floating items, he crawled through the tunnel again , back to Jumpy, who never ceased jumping. He trotted over to Whiny, and engaged in yet another one-sided conversation.
“YOU HAVE A SWORD AND SHIELD?” He screamed, Whining again. “NOT FAIR!!! HOW COME YOU GET TO SEE THE GREAT BLANKFLANK TREE AND I DON’T?” Whiny continued for a good 30 minutes before he finally got out of the way and let Link through.
“Finally!” Said Spike. “Now we’re getting somewhere!” |
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lilinuyasha | 529 | 2 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-28T02:25:02+00:00 | 2011-08-28T02:25:02+00:00 | 1,497 | Link and Spike traveled a long, winding road before finally coming out in a great clearing, where a large, mystical tree, the Great Blankflank Tree, awaited them.
“Oh, Colt without a dragon......” Began the Great Blankflank Tree. “The time has come for you to learn your destiny...”
“Oh boy! I LOVE fortunetelling!” Said Spike.
The Great Blankflank Tree continued as if undisturbed by Spike’s interruption.
“...Let me tell you a story...” Said the Great Blankflank Tree, launching into a long, detailed story of the founding of Equestria.
“Long ago, the barren land of Equestria was nothing more than an empty wasteland. The world had no life...no water...just flat, empty land. Three goddesses descended from the heavens and brought life to the land. Celestia, the goddess of magic, brought form to the earth, creating continents, rivers, lakes, streams, mountains, valleys, and deserts. Trollestia, the goddess of courage, used her powers to bring life to the earth, creating Pegasi, Griffons, Earth ponies, Unicorns, and more. Molestia, the goddess of power, just sort of slacked off and made sexual advances on the other two, as well as the creations of Trollestia. Tired with her, the other two goddesses ascended into the air, forcing Molestia with them. The three goddesses, sisters, formed the twiforce. It is said that three people in the land of Equestria, the living incarnations of the goddesses, hold the pieces of the twiforce.”
The great Blankflank tree paused. Spike sat still and attentively.
“And as for you, colt without a dragon, have you not noticed your lack of a dragon? Long ago...you were brought to this forest and held hosta-er-safe. You are not actually a blankflankian, colt without a dragon...You are an Equestrian!”
Link was taken aghast by this new news.
“Didn’t see that coming!” Said Spike.
“Oh colt without a dragon...I have but one final request from you...I have been cursed by a terrible fate...even now, my life force is slipping...”
Link looked above him to see a green bar rapidly declining.
“I don’t have much time...please...fulfill my desires and come inside me...”
“WHAT?” Yelled Spike. “Great Blankflank Tree...that’s a bit personal!”
“Colt without a dragon...There is something deep inside me...a curse brought about by an evil person...they hope to control Equestria...Please, colt without a dragon...Come inside me...and set me free.”
Link nodded, awaiting some sort of magical portal to appear. Instead, The Great Blankflank Tree opened up his...Mouth? Link never noticed it before, but the Great Blankflank Tree didn’t move any sort of lips or orifice while talking. Come to think of it, neither did anyone else in the town.
“Quick,colt without a dragon...come inside me, with haste! Do not dillydally! Get inside me and do your business...”
“You’re not very good at those jokes, Great Blankflank Tree.” Said Spike.
“Regardless, enter me and destroy the evil within...”
And with that, Link and Spike entered the great Blankflank Tree’s mouth, hearing a noise behind them slightly resembling “suuuucker...”.
Link played it off and set off to destroy this “great evil”.
***
Once inside the Blankflank Tree, Link looked around. Not much seemed too sinister in the tree. He saw some giant spiders crawling around on one side of the wall, seemingly not doing much damage to the tree. Link noticed a small chest on one of the ledges. Without much hesitation, he trotted over and opened it. Inside was a slingshot. Link wasn’t exactly sure how well he could operate a slingshot with hooves, but nonetheless he kept it and stored it. Link then looked at his next task: A giant web closing up the floor. Up high above the ground, with ladders, was a ledge. Link looked at Spike.
“You kinda don’t want to climb those ladders, do you?”
Link shook his head.
“You’re one whiny filly, you know that?”
Link grabbed a hold of Spike’s tail as he began to climb the ladders.
“Almost...there...” Gasped Spike, exhausted from exertion.
With that, Link bit Spike’s tail and jumped off the ledge, aiming for the web, hoping to use gravity to his advantage. It worked, And the web broke, making sickening snapping noises. Link and Spike fell into a conveniently placed body of water. Both drug themselves to the edge of the water and settled down.
“Where are we?” Said Spike. For the encyclopedia of knowledge, he sure didn’t know very much. “Why is it so dark?”
Link looked around. It WAS very dark, and a pungent odor wafted about the room. Link wasn’t exactly sure what that smell was, but he sensed danger. In what he felt was the only sensible move, he looked up at the ceiling. There, stuck on the ceiling, as if by some invisible hand, was a giant Cheerilee. Link suddenly stood very still, not making any sudden movements.
“Pst...Link...That’s a giant Cheerilee. They may be huge, but their hearts are small. Try using your sword on her flank, her blind spot.”
Link still didn’t want to move. Alas, he, in a very awkward movement best not described within the contents of this tome, drew his sword and kept it clenched firmly in his teeth. He looked up at the Cheerilee, waiting.
“Sorry to ruin the intense cinematic moment, but should i wake it up?”
Link looked over at Spike, frustrated. He nodded and Spike let out a large, flaming green fire up at Cheerilee. Cheerilee roared, opening her one giant eye and staring down at the purple dragon. Spike ran behind Link for cover. Link sighed and readied himself. Cheerilee let out a loud, blood-curling roar and dropped to the ground. The fight was about to begin. |
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lilinuyasha | 529 | 3 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-17T05:47:16+00:00 | 2011-08-17T05:47:16+00:00 | 1,592 | Link galloped about the room, dodging attacks from Cheerilee, looking for an opening in her state. Spike kept up with him, screaming, crying, and hollering, making a loud ruckus. Link was annoyed, but he had far more problems to worry about at the moment. A tentahoof slammed down in front of Link, forcing him to stop. Spike let out a large whelp and ran off the other direction. Cheerilee looked and swung a tentahoof at him, slamming him against the wall, unconscious. Link look at the scene in awe. He stopped moving momentarily, staring at Cheerilee. Cheerilee didn’t do anything. She sniffed the ground, looking directly at Link. Link then realized: Cheerilee was blind. Link quietly dropped his sword and equipped his slingshot. He shot the wall on the opposite corner, forcing Cheerilee to turn around, exposing her flank to Link. Link picked up his sword and dashed at her, slicing her flank. Cheerilee Screamed in pain, turning around and swinging a tentahoof at him.
Link dodged quickly, rolling away as to reduce sound. Cheerilee stopped, sniffing the air. Link slowly backed out of her range. Regardless, She sniffed him, and swung at him again. He rolled again, quickly grabbing his slingshot and firing a Buckeye at the opposite wall. Cheerilee swung her tentahoof at that wall, and Link made another daring dash toward her with his sword, slicing her other flank. Cheerilee roared in pain, slamming to the ground with a satisfying THUD!!!!. Link took advantage of the opportunity to lunge forward and stab his sword into her head, rendering her further incapacitated. She screamed, hollered, and, in a blind rage, all puns intended, stood up and galloped about the room, before colliding headfirst into the wall,killing her.
A small blue light shone in the middle of the room.
“Ugh...What happened?” Said Spike, from the other side of the room. Link grabbed him and stepped onto the blue light.
Light surrounded him on all sides, warm and carefree. So carefree, he nearly urinated under the resilient warmth of the light. Before he knew it, he was back in front of the Great Blankflank Tree.
“Oh boy without a dragon...you have done well...the curse upon me has been lifted...but I am afraid i will not be much longer...Take this...”
The Great Blankflank Tree shook his leaves and a shining green stone dropped down in front of Link. He grabbed it between his hooves and stored it in his mysterious storage place.
“That is the Blankflank stone...” Began the Great Blankflank Tree. “With this stone...you can open the doors to the Temple of Time...But first...you must find the other two precious stones...One from the seaponies in the great Equestrian Sea...the other from the Diamond Dogs by brokeback mountain...Oh, boy without a dragon...my final request has been made...I must pass on...Did you understand?”
Link shook his head, hoping another explanation of the events would convince the Great Blankflank Tree to live. Eventually, he gave up hope and nodded. The Great Blankflank Tree slowly took his last photosynthetic cycle and passed on to Tree heaven. Link would have given him a proper burial, but her was far too large for that. with a tear in his eye, Link headed out of the forest to the great Equestrian plains.
Shortly before leaving, he heard a voice.
“So...um...you’re leaving?”
Link turned around to see Fluttershy, his best friend through the years. Link nodded.
“I knew it’d be soon...I knew you weren’t like the rest of us. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just...um...yeah. Please be careful, Link. I’ve always...” She trailed off.
“Here...I want you to have this...If that’s ok with you...” She said. Link nodded again and accepted her gift.
“I was going to give this to your for your birthday tomorrow...but it seems I’ll have to give it to you early...I hope that’s ok...”
Link nodded again. Fluttershy handed him a small instrument, like a flute, and looked away.
“Just...Just don’t forget about us...ok?”
Link looked at the flute.
“Be safe, ok?” Said Fluttershy, reassuring herself it would be ok.
Link nodded and trotted off into the great Equestrian Plains. Fluttershy looked at him until she could no longer. With a tear in her eye, she slowly trotted home. |
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lilinuyasha | 529 | 4 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T06:01:24+00:00 | 2011-08-18T06:01:24+00:00 | 1,447 | Link left the Blankflank forest behind and ventured out into the bright sun, shining resiliently across assorted lakes, rivers, plains, and mountains surrounding the area. He took a deep breath. Fresh air. He liked this area a lot. And so, he put on hoof in front of the other and started trotting forward.
Suddenly, a large WHOOSH came out of nowhere and a giant owl appeared in front of him.
“So, the boy without a dragon has matured...” It said.
“Huh? Who are you?” Asked Spike.
“I am many things...but you may call me Owloicious.”
“Huh...” Said Spike, on edge. Link sensed Spike didn’t much care for him...or her. He wasn’t exactly sure.
“You, boy without a dragon...Link, is it? Your journey has just begun.”
“Duh...” Said Spike, under his breath.
“Across the plains are the Equestrial mountains. A group of gem-hunting canines, called Diamond Dogs, have made their living there. The spiritual stone you need next is there. But be weary...Diamond Dogs will not just give up precious gems without cause...You may need to suck a few...er...do a few favors for them.” Said the owl, losing composure at the end.
Spike found a break in the narrative and spoke: “So we need to find these Diamond Dogs, suck a few favors, whatever that means, and then they’ll give us what we need?”
“Yes. Now go, Link, make haste!” Said Owloicious as she flew away, in a nondescript direction.
“That guy creeps me out.” Said Spike. Link sensed a rocky relationship between the two.
Link then turned his attention to the rolling plains in front of him. He looked for the mountains, way off to the west. He started heading in that direction.
Soon enough, he hit a small village. Ponyville, said a local sign. Link trotted in and looked for the entrance to the mountains. He was stopped short by a pink pony, smiling ever so happily at him.
“Hello...” She said. “My name is Pinkie Pie...proprietor of the Happy Mask Shop...Can i interest you in this fox mask?” She said, nearly forcing it in his hands. Link shook his head. “That’s too bad...come back if you change your mind...” She said, giving a creepy laugh as he trotted away.
“Man...what’s her problem?” Asked Spike. As if Link knew. Link located a winding trail to the mountains, guarded by a guard standing guard. Link approached him, attempting to get through.
“Uh uh...” The guard said. “Nopony gets through without the King’s permission. Dangerous things have been happening up there recently...so the royalty closed it off. Sorry kid. Come back with permission.” He said, standing firm.
Link turned around and trotted off the other direction.
“Well...guess we gotta go to Canterlot...” Said Spike. “Gotta get permission from the royalty.” He noted, defeated, as if abandoning all hope. Link nudged him a bit and trotted out of Ponyville, back to the Great Equestrian Plains. Spike dragged his feet a bit, but soon followed Link back out.
Link looked at the fresh, rolling plains again. He soon spotted Canterlot and took off in that direction. Suddenly, he was conscious of the time. Daylight was decreasing rapidly, and he didn’t like being outside after dark. He galloped as fast as he could to the gates. He knew he’d be cutting it close if he made it.
Link soon spotted the outline of Canterlot against the back of the setting sun. Link Pushed even further to make it. He was within a few hundred feet. The gates were rapidly closing. Link approched, jumped for the gates, and barely snuck himself over the drawbridge before the gate shut behind him. Link stopped a bit to catch his breath before continuing on into the bustling nightlife that was Canterlot.
Canterlot was a huge bustling city, the likes of which Link was not accustomed to. Many Ponies lined up each side of the town square, huddling beside shop stalls like angry mobs. One filly’s pet dog ran loose, causing chaos amuck the square. Link stopped, taking in its splendor, when he suddenly felt lighter.
“Hey!” Yelled Spike. “He stole some of your bits!”
Link took off after the pony Spike pointed at. Link was unsure how he managed to slip into his mysterious storage spot, much less why. The Blankflank Forest was such a nice place. Why did people feel the need to pilch here?
Link eventually caught up to the conniving culprit and concocted a crazy, morally questionable plot to exact revenge.
“Hey, man, I didn’t mean it! Take it back!” Said the thief pony. Link gave him a crazy, deranged stare, slowly pulling his sword out from his sheathe. The pony stared at him, scared. Link stomped one hoof and made the thief flinch, causing him to run away. Link gathered up the bits, put them back in his mysterios storage place, and trotted off toward the castle.
“That was a great filler chase scene!” Said Spike. “I’ve never seen a more useless cinematic sequence designed to add words to a story like THAT before!”
Link shrugged him off and continued on toward the castle. Several guards stood by a rail. Link approached them.
“Halt! Who goes there?” One of them asked.
Link stared at them.
“Uh...mute, eh? Regardless, the royalty is not seeing any visitors. Recent threats to the castle prohibit us from allowing newfoals in the castle. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.” Said the other one. Link turned right around and searched for a way around. Several vines lined a wall. Link grabbed ahold, putting all ladder fears aside, and climbed up. He came up on a ledge overlooking the small, petty guard station. Link followed the ledge onward, past the guard station. Once he felt pretty sure he was out of eyeshot, he jumped off the ledge a few hooves down to the ground. He scouted the guards along the castle. He made an assessment and slowly, stealthily, (Despite Spike making constant noises) traveled to the edge of the castle, swimming in the moat. He followed the moat to a small building next to a sleeping colt. Link put his hooves on the edge and pulled himself up.
Link looked around and saw a small bit of light coming from a water path that fed the moat. Link couldn’t make that jump himself. Spike couldn’t help him either. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure where Spike went. He must have dillydallied and got lost behind him. Link looked around. Several large, hefty crates lined the odd building, some sort of delivery. Link pushed them around as to get a ledge to jump from. Link then Climbed on top of them, got a galloping start, and jumped to the ledge. Soon, he crawled into the hole and found himself inside the castle walls. |
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lilinuyasha | 529 | 5 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-28T02:22:52+00:00 | 2011-08-28T02:22:52+00:00 | 1,398 | Link, now inside the castle walls, looked around to get a grasp of his current surroundings. He hid behind some bushes and looked inward, toward the courtyard. Several guards patrolled the area in a seemingly fixed pattern. Link planned his strategy and carefully and quietly trotted.
The first area wasn’t hard to clear. Link mostly stayed on the opposite side of the bushes the guards were patrolling. Link trotted past the area and surveyed the garden. Several guards patrolled here. Link looked around and found his answer. He crawled on top of the grape vines and carefully trotted across the top, jumping down and surveying the next area.
The next area was a fountain type deal, Not well guarded at all. Link simply snuck by the one guard and soon found himself in a private garden. Link looked around. Standing at the center of the garden was the most beautiful filly he had ever seen. White hair, a small, with horn, and a gentle purple mane completed her look. Link could only see her from behind...but she had a wonderful plot, too. Link slowly approached her. She was peering intently through a window, as if trying to see something. Link remained behind her until she turned around. She gasped at the sight of him.
Link, now inside the castle walls, looked around to get a grasp of his current surroundings. Link casually strolled the surrounding buildings, occasionally avoiding guards, and soon found himself in a private garden. Link looked around. Standing at the center of the garden was the most beautiful filly he had ever seen. White hair, a small, white horn, and a gentle purple mane completed her look. Link could only see her from behind...but she had a wonderful plot, too. Link slowly approached her. She was peering intently through a window, as if trying to see something. Link remained behind her until she turned around. She gasped at the sight of him.
“Oh goodness...you gave me a fright there for a minute. Say, just how did you slip by the guards? No matter. I have urgent business and perhaps you may be able to assist me.”
Link looked at her.
“Hey, wait up!” Link turned around and saw Spike running up behind him. “Sorry, I got caught up in busin...” He stopped, looking at the girl. “Hey...what’s your name?”
“I am Princess Rarity.” Began Rarity. “And who might you two be?”
“I’m Spike and that’s Link...but you can call me whatever you want...” He said, drifting off.
Rarity ignored him and looked at Link. “Link, hm? Not exactly the prettiest name out there but it will have to do. Say...can I trust you with a secret?” She asked, looking deep into Link’s eyes. Link nodded and let her continue.
“I feel something awful is about to happen across Equestria...and I feel that colt in there might have something to do with it. Please...look inside the window.”
Link looked inside the window, seeing what he presumed was the king, and a darker, sinister looking griffon with strange jewelry and piercings.
“That’s Gildadorf......” Rarity began. “My father trusts him...but i sense something evil about him...please...” She continued. “Keep this a secret from others. Can I trust you to do that?.”
Link nodded and turned around in the other direction.
“Oh wait!” Said Spike. “We need to get to Equestrial mountains!”
“Oh, yes. I forgot you need permission for that. Well...It may not be much in the way of proof...but I want to teach you this. Do you have some sort of instrument?”
Link reached into his Mysterious storage place and pulled out his rounded flute.
“An Ocarina?” Rarity began, producing one herself. Link nodded and let her continue.
“This song has been handed down in our family for generations...I feel something good will happen if I teach it to you.”
Link readied his instrument. Rarity played a little, simplistic tune. Link played along. Afterwards, Link wrote the song down so he could remember it.
“Goodbye...Link. May we meet again under better circumstances...” Rarity said, trailing off. Link then headed back towards where he came from, back to the fountain. Almost as he neared the door, fireworks started going off as if from nowhere, and a light blue unicorn appeared in front of him. She donned a cape and hat, each lined and outfitted with stars.
“The simplicity of youth...passing by in but an instant. Relishing these moments, where love blossoms...creates a better path in maturity.” She said. Link wasn’t exactly sure where she was going with this, but he listened anyway.
“My name is Trixie.” She said. “I am Rarity’s personal guardian. My people are a proud band of warriors....however, I am the last of my kind. I am a Sheika. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, the proud Warrior. Our kind has served the kingdom as personal guardians for generations. Peaceful times are drawing to a close. An evil is across the land...I can sense it.” She said. “Come. I will escort you out.” She said, putting one hoof in front of her and showing him the way.
As Link left the castle to go back to the Plains, Spike walked behind him, as if in a trance.
“Wasn’t she the most beautiful thing ever?” He asked. Link sensed there would be a bit of competition. Link rolled his eyes and headed back toward Ponyville. |
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lilinuyasha | 529 | 6 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-28T16:54:57+00:00 | 2011-08-28T16:54:57+00:00 | 1,692 | As Link rolled back into Ponyville, he was pestered by that Pink Pony with the masks again.
“Please, sir...” She started “Take a mask...it’s free...but if you sell it, be sure to bring it back to me...”
Selling masks? Why not. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be the only largely insignificant thing he’d be doing that would get him somewhere. She hoofed him the mask, a large, white mask with a faint resemblance to bunnies.
“That is Angel’s Mask...It is a favorite amongst children...” She said. And with that, Link left her to her to her business and traveled to the gate.
“Halt! Who...oh, it’s you.” Said the guard. “Did you come back with permission, kid?”
Link pulled out his ocarina and started playing the song Rarity taught him.
“Oh...the Royal Family Etude...” Said the guard. “Only the Royal family knows that...I didn’t recognize you, colt. Please, come on through. I’ll tell my son you said hello.”
The gates soon opened and Link trotted upward to Brokeback Mountain.
As Link strode up the mountain, several giant spiders attacked him. Not sure what the best thing to do was, he slashed at them with his sword until they all disappeared, from which he collected assorted goodies, including bits. He wasn’t sure why creatures would be dropping bits, but he accepted it and put them in his wallet.
Soon, he strode up towards towards the Diamond Dog’s domain. As far as he could tell, anyway. There were several giant holes in the ground, but one large, central hole from which anypony could get in as well. Link decided to try his luck there and hop in.
Link was suddenly sliding down a dirt path, unable to control himself. Spike was screaming at the top of his lungs like a little filly. Link was sure he felt some moisture after that.
Link and Spike soon crash-landed onto some hard ground, toppling over each other.
“Ugh, my head...” Complained Spike. Spike did a lot of complaining, and Link didn’t particularly care much for it. As Link pulled himself together, he spotted some canine feet. He looked up directly into the face of a Diamond Dog.
“You trying to steal gems! You must go!” He shouted.
“No, we’re not trying to steal your gems...” Said Spike.
“Then what you here for?” He said again.
“We need your spiritual stone...” Said Spike. At this, the Diamond Dog erupted into uncontrolled anger.
“WE CAN’T GIVE THAT UP, NO! IT IS OUR LIFESAKE, YES!!!”
“Calm down.” Said Spike “We need it to save the world, alright?”
“Hmm...” Said the Diamond Dog, contemplating. “Spot, Rover, come here.” At this, two other larger, sturdier Diamond Dogs appeared from the shadows. The first Diamond Dog turned to the other two and started whispering.
“Hey, are you guys done?” Asked Spike. The Diamond Dogs ignored him, whispering amongst themselves once again. Spike groaned and said it again a little louder. Again, he was met with blatant ignorance.
“HEY, LISTEN!!!” Yelled Spike. The Diamond Dogs turned around, a rather annoyed look on their face. Their under eyelid was twitching.
“Tell little one to shut up! We are conferring for options!” Said the leader. Spike groaned and settled down, defeated. Soon afterwards the Diamond Dogs turned to face Link.
“We may have worked out deal, yes? You meet with Cheif, Yes! Follow me!”
Link followed the head Diamond Dog through a large, central chamber with well lit interior, past a small corridor filled with large rocks, and into a medium sized room comparative to what he had seen so far.
“What is your business?” Said the chief. The other Diamond Dogs pleaded their case, whispering in his ear. The chief nodded and shook his head at random points, seemingly agreeing with them for the most part. After their conference was done, he dismissed them, leaving Link and Spike alone with him.
“I hear you need the spiritual stone.” He said. Link nodded and let him continue. “That spiritual stone,” He said, pointing to a red, glowing crystal behind him. “Is the pride of our community. We cannot just give it away, you see. We need you to do something for us.” Link put a hoof over Spike’s mouth before he blabbed off about how much work it would be. Link signified he was listening, and the chief continued. “Diamond Dog cavern, our main source of food and gems, recently came under infestation by a rather large, frightening creature. We sent our greatest warrior in there...but he did not return. We fear the worst. If you can go into Diamond Dog cavern and slay this beast, and see if our warrior is alive, we will give you the spiritual stone.”
Link nodded, assuring the chief he would take care of it. The chief has a shocked look on his face. He wasn’t expecting that from this earth pony. Yet, he undertook the job. “The entrance is also blocked by a large boulder. You will need to use these” He said, handing Link some bombs. “to blow up the rock. Good luck in there.” The chief turned his back to Link. “Feel free to join us for dinner.” He said. “The least we can do is feed you before you die.”
Link declined the offer and instead trotted out of the hole towards Diamond Dog cavern, obviously the one with the huge boulder in front of it. Link pulled 2 bombs from his storage place, lit them, and ran away from the blast radius. The rock exploded into several tiny bits, revealing a large hole in the side of Brokeback Mountain. A very unfortunate metaphor, but Link trotted inside the hole nonetheless and began searching for the fallen warrior and the terrible Beast. |
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lilinuyasha | 529 | 7 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-30T04:19:53+00:00 | 2011-08-30T04:19:53+00:00 | 1,352 | Link trotted in the cavern system, getting a glimpse of his surroundings, trying the glean a bit of where to go and what to do. This entire cavern was more of a maze than anything else. Link felt like Theseus in the Labyrinth.
“It sure is hot in here...” Said Spike, fanning himself with his claw. Spike did a lot of complaining. Definitely not a good ratio for how much he actually helped Link. Regardless, Link was stuck with him, and he couldn’t complain.
As Link walked further along the system, he was met by a fork in the road.
“Go left!” Said Spike. Link ignored him and went right, where there was light. The left tunnel was dark, and Link didn’t like the dark. As he trotted along, his front hooves slid out from under him, as the ground crumbled beneath him, looking over a cliff. Below, he saw gratuitous amounts of lava. Link couldn’t gain much traction and was slowly slipping. Spike grabbed his tail and pulled as hard as he could, bringing Link up from the cliff.
“That was a close one!” Said Spike. Link nodded at him, motioning his thanks. Looking around, Link noticed several smaller pillars that were within jumping range, leading to a small opening below. Link hopped to them one by one, carefully aiming so as not to fall. Link eventually hit the bottom and trotted through the opening, spotting another set of pillars. A thunderous roar resounded in the background. Something was angry. Link could sense it. If he could only triangulate the sound through the caverns, he could save the Diamond Dog’s food. What did they even eat? Link didn’t notice any vegetation in the caverns.
The roar resounded again, louder this time. Was the creature approaching him?
“Sounds like it’s getting louder.” Said Spike. “Shouldn’t we be trying to find it?” Spike once again offered useless commentary that Link already figured out.
Link Trotted and jumped the second set of pillars in a pretty much straightforward fashion, zigging and zagging as needed. Spike followed suit, making short work of it. Link finished that set of pillars and trotted off on a rocky path with an upward spiral, almost systematically carved. Link spotted a Diamond Dog up ahead. Link galloped toward it and approached it.
As Link approched the Diamond Dog, link noticed peculiarities about this one. He was well built, muscular. He had a brand on his left arm, possibly the mark of a warrior. Perhaps this was the warrior they had talked about. Link looked at him closer, to which his leg was suddenly grabbed by the Diamond Dog.
“Help...me...” He said. He was on his last push of life. Link knew he didn’t have much longer. Link motioned for him to get on his back and he helped the Diamond Dog upon him. Link then trotted the upward spiral until he came out on a flat surface. He placed the Diamond Dog down and motioned for Spike to take care of him. The thunderous roar erupted ahead of him, as well as shaking ground. Whatever it was, this creature was very large, imposing...and loud. Link readied his sword as he carefully trotted forward further into the cavern systems.
The roars he heard were getting faster, rapid, almost urgent. He navigated the cave system with ease following the sounds, until he approached a large clearing. the roar was loud, but Link saw no monster in sight. Link readied his sword and slowly trotted forward.
Suddenly, a giant manticore dropped down in front of him. Link was caught off-guard, falling back on his flank, dropping his sword momentarily before regaining his composure. The manticore raised its head, staring Link down. Link froze. Maybe it was blind, too. Link discovered he’d have no such luck as the manticore charged at him. Link rolled left, out of the way of the manticore, the opposite direction of his sword. Link quickly spun around and made a daring gallop towards it as the manticore charged at him again. It had a lot of speed for a monster that big. Link dove for his sword, grabbing it by the tip of the handle before rolling, narrowly missing the manticore. the manticore spun again, charging at Link. Link once again dove, evaluating his strategy against this creature. Link got an idea and galloped against the wall. The manticore charged at him again. Link rolled out of the way, letting the manticore smash its head against the wall. In its small, confusing moment of vulnerability, Link came up and stabbed it in the stomach. The manticore screamed primal fury, dripping blood. Link quickly removed the sword and galloped away. The manticore, slow to get up, Searched the room for the pony. Once spotted, it charged again.
Link prepared his strategy again, lining up against the wall. Expecting the manticore to hit the wall, he rolled out of the way. The manticore, smarter than that, stopped and swung a paw at Link, backpawing him across the room. Link Flew across the room, smashing hard against the opposite wall after rolling on the ground a few times. Link would have to develop his strategy differently. The manticore was smarter than the cheerilee.
Link watched as the manticore charged at him. Link readied his slingshot and fired a buckshot ball into the manticore’s eye, temporarily blinding him. Link then dashed forward and sliced his underbelly, making a notable incision under his belly. It wasn’t enough to cut through, but the Manticore felt it’s pain as he stumbled back, landing on Link’s tail. Link tried to wriggle himself free, but the weight of the manticore was too much for him. The manticore, now fully recovered from the shot, noticed the pony under him. He grabbed him and crushed him beneath his paws, before throwing him against the wall. The manticore, feeling he had defeated his prey, let out a victory roar. A smaller, more incessantly annoying noise followed it.
The manticore turned around to see a Diamond Dog, one he thought he killed earlier, charging at him with a...was that a dragon on his back?
The Diamond Dog charged the manticore. He flung Spike ahead of him to distract him. Spike clawed at the manticore’s face, moving just fast enough not to be caught, letting the manticore claw himself in frustration. The Diamond Dog, in the meantime, started clawing at the Manticore’s stomach, following the lines of an earlier scratch. He eventually broke it and ripped it open as far as he could, draining the manticore of life. The Diamond Dog stepped back, far away from the manticore as it fell to the ground, dead. Spike hopped off and ran over to Link.
Link lay as if lifeless where he was thrown. His ribcage was crushed, 3 of his legs were broken. Spike produced a red liquid out of his storage and fed it to Link. Link immediately felt better, a warm, happy feeling floating across him. He felt his ribcage mend together, his legs conjoin, and his head reform. Link slowly stood up on his own as Spike handed him his sword. Link nodded to him, a major appreciation. Spike simply smiled as looked at the Diamond Dog.
“Elixir of life! Old hag in Ponyville sells it!” He said. “ But first, we thank you! Come! See the chief!”
Link followed the Diamond Dog out of the caverns back toward the Chief’s quarters. The diamond Dog proceeded to tell the Chief about Link’s heroism, recalling the story, never once mentioning the Diamond Dog’s involvement in killing the manticore. Link thought this was peculiar.
“So, you have destroyed the beast?” Link nodded. “So it was a manticore...” He said, trailing off. “I was not expecting you to complete this job, honestly. I misplaced my faith in you. We are forever in your debt.” He said, reaching for a large, bright red stone behind him. “For that, we trust you with our spiritual stone. I have a feeling it will be in the right hands.” He said, facing Link. “You will forever be passed down in history. We owe our lives to you. Thank you.”
And with that, Link and Spike headed down the mountain, down towards Ponyville to stock up on the red elixir.
“Wait!” Shouted a voice from behind him. It was the Diamond Dog from before.
“I didn’t tell Chief about what I did, no. You were real hero, you were.” He said, smiling. “We can be brothers, yes?”
Link nodded and the Diamond Dog smiled, running off back towards his underground abode. And with that, Link and Spike actually left the mountain towards Ponyville. |
|
lilinuyasha | 529 | 8 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-09-05T23:19:35+00:00 | 2011-09-05T23:19:35+00:00 | 1,263 | As Link traveled down the mountain, passing the gate, the guard stopped him.
“Hey...is that an Angel’s mask?” He asked. Link had forgotten all about it. Link grabbed it and handed it to him. “My kid’s gonna love this! Thanks, buddy!” He said, handing Link 50 bits. Link graciously accepted them and turned around quickly to see the face of Pinkie Pie, the mask salespony. She smiled at him oddly, the smile she always wore.
“So you sold the first mask...” She said, chuckling a slightly creepy chuckle. “Good...good...Now...I’ll collect my part of the deal...” She said, collecting 20 bits from Link. “If you ever wish to sell another mask...find me.” Link nodded and she bounced off. An odd way to travel about, but she was an odd character. Link passed it off and looked for an old hag’s shop.
As Link traveled about Ponyville, looking at all the shops, He noticed a shooting gallery, homes, radio towers, a well, and...a shop! Link trotted in quickly.
As Link pushed open the door, a voice rang out from the back. “Hold on one second, be right there! My shelves, you see, are very bare.” Link looked around, noticing, as she said, empty shelves. Link did note that there were several red potions, like the one he drank in Diamond Dog Cavern.
Suddenly, a zebra appeared in front of him. “What can I do for you this day? Please, please...enjoy your stay!”. She spoke in odd rhymes. Link motioned towards a red potion.
“We’ll take one of the red potions.” Said Spike “It may come in handy later.”
The zebra took a look at Link. “You, oh you, I’ve gotten word! The Manticore you killed while bored?” Link didn’t think he was bored, but he went along with it. “That Diamond Dog you met, I owe him big, I shan’t forget. I’ll give you one of my precious red brew, no charge, my friend, I thank you!” Link reached out and accepted the potion.
“Anyways, My name’s Spike, that’s Link. Who’re you?”
“Zecora’s what I go by.” She said. She didn’t rhyme that time.
“Well, nice to meet you! Said Spike. We’ll probably be back around. See ya later!”
Link and Spike left the shop. He just had to collect one more spiritual stone, but was unsure where to get it. Seapony domain. But where exactly was it?
“Hey, listen...” Said Spike. “The Seapony domain is probably located by the waterfall in the plains. Let’s head there.” Spike said, producing one of his more helpful sentences. With that, Link trotted out to the plain.
As link trotted comfortably around the plain, looking for the waterfall, He noticed a small ranch. He trotted towards it, exploring the world a bit.
As he trotted in, a yellowish pony trotted past him, at full speed. She ran over to an apple tree, bucking it, making apples fall into assorted baskets. As she turned around, she noticed Link.
“Well Howdy! Didn’t see ya there, partner!” She said, extending a hoof. Link shook it and let her continue. “I’m Applejack! What’s your name?”
“He’s Link” Said Spike. “And I’m Spike.”
“Pleased to meetcha!” Said Applejack. “I’m just buckin’ the apples while my dad’s away. He went to the castle at Canterlot to deliver some apples. He probably took a nap again.” Link confirmed it and looked at her. “You know...” She said. “You don’t look like a Link to me. I think I’ll call you Sugarcube!” She said. Link looked at Spike. Both of them shrugged at each other. Link wasn’t white, and he was wearing green clothing. “You just look like a good thing, like a sugarcube, Sugarcube!” Link gladly accepted the explanation.
Link began to turn around to leave, But Applejack called out. “Hey! I uh...Don’t get very many visitors...It gets more boring than roadkill out here. Can I teach ya somethin’?” She asked. Link looked at her as she coughed. “I will sing to you the song of my people...” She said. Link prepared himself for a nightmare. As Applejack started to sing, It surprisingly wasn’t bad. Link pulled out his ocarina and played it back to her. “There ya go!” She said. A Loud “EEYUP!” resounded. Suddenly, a large, red Clydesdale galloped towards him, stopping in front of him. “Hey, Big Mac!” She said, rubbing his snout.
“Eeyup.” He said.
“Big Mac seems to like you. Maybe he’ll come in handy to you. Take him with ya...but be careful. I don’t wanna lose him. He’s my favorite.” She said.
Link accepted the offer but wasn’t exactly sure what to do with him.
“Can we ride you?” Asked Spike.
“Eeyup.” And with that, Link and Spike hopped on top of Big Mac and galloped away from the ranch, faster than Link could ever run. Link controlled him, looking for the waterfall. Link had never ridden another horse before. Horses riding horses...For some reason, “horseception” resounded in his mind. He put that thought away as the Seapony domain drew nearer to him. As he neared the river, Big Mac stopped suddenly. Link hopped down, as Spike asked him “You scared of water?”
“Eeyup...” He said, sadly.
Link graciously thanked him for the ride and trotted off towards Seapony domain. |
|
lilinuyasha | 529 | 9 | Applejack,Fluttershy,Original Character,Owlowiscious,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rarity,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! | hiatus | 17 | 4 | <p>Follow Link as he travels across the land of Equestria to save the land from an impending threat.</p> | everyone | 2011-12-29T01:15:34+00:00 | 2011-12-29T01:15:34+00:00 | 1,144 | Link trotted upstream, Looking out for an obvious domain. Spike trailed behind him, taking his sweet time.
“Can we go swimming, Link? I mean...we haven’t really ever taken a shower since this adventure started, you know...” Link didn’t even think about that aspect. Link motioned that he’d get his chance later. With that, Link and Spike continued upstream until they reached a large waterfall. Link tried to gallop through it but the current was too much. As Link pulled himself to dryer land, he noticed a strange engraving on a stone nearby.
“Only those who know the Royal Family May pass.” Apparently Seapony domain had its share of problems, much like the Diamond Dogs. Link brought out his ocarina and played Rarity’s song. The waterfall gracefully, mysteriously, and majestically opened up, revealing a passageway in which Link could see Seaponies. Link hopped over to it and trotted inside the domain.
As Link trotted about the domain, looking for someone in authority, the Seaponies stared at him. He didn’t detect anything malicious...just curious. Several of them whispered to each other whilst looking at him.
“Where are his fins?” He overheard one of them say. Link ignored them, seeing as they had obviously never seen an Earth pony before. Link trotted up a spiraling rock, past a shop, where he noticed a giant Seapony sitting before him.
“Hm?” He said, noticing Link before him. “Earth Pony? We haven’t seen any of you around for quite a while. Obviously you’re with the Royal Family. What can I do for you?”
“Well I’m Spike, and that’s Link.” Started Spike. “We need your spiritual stone to save Equestria. kthxbai.”
“Hm? Spiritual stone? Actually, we’re having a bit of trouble with it. Our grand Seapony, Steven Magnet, seems to have swallowed it. Even so, My daughter has gone missing in search of it. I do hope she’s ok...” He drifted off. Link knew he’d have to fetch her if we was going to get the spiritual stone.
“Want us to go in and search for her?” Asked Spike
“Would you?” He asked.
“We’ve done a lot already, might as well.”
“Oh, Splendid!” He said, scooting over to his right, revealing a small path towards a giant lake. “Please hurry...I miss her.” And with that, Link and Spike headed out towards the lake.
Once there, a giant Seaserpent lay before them. Maybe this was Steven. In front of him was a younger, cute Seapony with legs. She looked at him.
“Oh dear...Father sent you, didn’t he?”
Link nodded.
“Steven hasn’t been acting right lately...” She said, turning to look at Steven. “He used to be jolly, but now hes monotonous, depressed...” She said. “And because of that, so am I.”
Link rolled his eyes. Fillies always with their sad sob stories. Emotional appeals always trying to impress the colt...wait a minute...
“He and I are connected. What he feels, I feel. I have to go in there and find what’s upsetting him, and get our spiritual stone. Give this to my father.” She said, handing Link a note. She then dropped a fish to the ground, and Steven promptly opened his mouth. She went right in, Steven’s mouth closing behind her. That couldn’t be safe.
“That can’t be safe...” Said Spike. Link rolled his eyes again and turned around, trotting off towards the large Seapony. Link returned to him and handed him the note. After reading it, he became furious.
“She’s doing WHAT??? Oh, I hope she’ll be ok...IF SHE MAKES IT OUT ALIVE, I’M GOING TO KILL HER!!! After I make sure she’s safe, of course...” He said, battling with himself. Link rolled his eyes yet again and turned around to the lake, where he needed to catch a fish. He had to go in after her. It was the only way. |
|
Akailo | 531 | 1 | Crossover,Dark | My Little biohazard | hiatus | 8 | 2 | <p>Twilight Sparkle is called on to solve some Grizzly murders deep within the Everfree forest.<br /><br />When she comes across a mansion deep within the forest, evil things start to occur. Can she slove the mystery and save her firends, or is she doomed to be comsumed by the horrors that lurk its halls.<br /><br />Resident evil crossover so….. ZOMBIES</p> | everyone | null | 2011-08-20T20:00:08+00:00 | 960 | Chapter 1
"Are we almost there yet, just being over this forest is giving me the creeps," mumbled one of the colts, rolling his eyes as he glanced over the side of the chariot.
"We will get there when we get there, remember we have a mission to do, don't ever forget that," grumbled another colt on the opposite side of the chariot, not once taking his eyes off the maps they had of the Everfree Forest.
"Guys I think I see something," shouted the pegasus in control of the chariot. He was right, smoke could be seen rising from the thick canopy of trees just below them.
"Alright take us in, and for Celestia's sake be careful, I don't trust this place on the ground or in the air." As they started their decent the Everfree Forest earned its title yet again. Harsh winds began to swirl from all directions, a storm had appeared right out of nowhere.
"Damn it, guys hold on to something it's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride. I can hardly control this thing with all this wind," shouted the pegasus putting all his flight training to use.
"Hold on to something, we're going down!" he screamed before he lost control, plummeting into the sea of green below them.
*******
The sound of knocking could be heard throughout the whole of the library, which for being built into a tree, echoed the sound with surprising volume. At least that's what the purple unicorn who lived there thought, but most likely it was her mind playing tricks on her. After all she had been getting a lack of sleep the past few weeks.
Groaning, she hoped the noise would just go away so she could go back to sleep. Not going to happen, being princess Celestia's prized student, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle was always requested to help in times of crisis, and this was one doozy of a crisis that was gripping the small rural town of Ponyville.
It had all started just a few weeks before - ponies had started to go missing. At first no-one thought much of it, perhaps they had gone out of town to visit relatives or the like.
But that was the thing about Ponyville - it was small that everypony knew everypony. The chances of some pony just vanishing without telling close friends, it just didn't happen in the rural town.
Then the worst possible event occurred. The quiet Pegasus Fluttershy who lived on the edge of the Everfree Forest found the first body. It had occurred while she was tending to some of the animals that lived just outside the forest, being the closest thing the town had to a vet.
They say the scream could be heard all the way from the other side of town. When others arrived to help they found the first of many mangled ponies. These bodies were so damaged when found that everypony thought they had fallen prey to the many beasts of the Everfree Forest.
It was well-known that it was a place that was full of monsters who could easily eat a pony in one bite if provoked, so ponies were told at a young age to stay away from the forest.
However these ideas and theories were short lived, as when the bodies were closer inspected by the medical ponies tasked to find out what happened, to their horror they found the bite marks on the dead ponies were equine.
Murder like this had not occurred since the early days of the twin princesses rule over one thousand years before, when cannibal cults still existed. They believed they could steal the power of another pony by consuming their flesh in twisted rituals. However, such cults had long since been removed from the peaceful land of Equestria, by Princess Celestia herself.
Dragging her exhausted form from her bed, Twilight attempted to shake as much of the fatigue out of her body as she could before moving towards the door. Hoping with every fibre of her being that it wasn't going to be bad news. She knew better, but she could hope.
Opening the door she was greeted by the orange face of one of her best friends, however Applejack wasn't smiling. Bad news, Twilight sighed to herself before putting on the best smile she could, which looked more like a grimace, but Applejack knew she was trying at least.
"Hello Applejack, sorry for looking a mess, but you know how everything has been getting to me," Twilight said, trying to be as cheerful as she could muster.
"Aw it's ok sugarcube, we all know how this has been affecting you," Applejack mentioned, smiling as best she could considering the topic she was about to bring up.
Smile quickly melting off her face she began, "I'm afraid we found another one, same as the rest, half-eaten," shaking her head trying her best not to vomit at the idea of what they had found yet again. "I'm starting to think them cults you were talking about really might be back Twi."
"Oh Celestia I hope not. History tells us they took thousands of ponies under the cloak of shadow before they were caught and brought to justice."
Both just stood there in silence trying to grasp what might be happening in their little town. Nothing this bad had happened since the Nightmare Moon incident, and even then no pony got hurt.
Applejack was the first to break the deathly quiet which had covered the whole of the library, "Have you got word back from the princess yet sugarcube?"
Twilight sighed, "No I'm afraid I haven't, just the last letter saying she was going to look into it."
Just as she said that, as if by some twist of fate she heard a familiar burp from her small dragon assistant, which signalled a letter from her mentor.
Before she could even say anything, the small dragon, still half-groggy from the fact that he himself had only just woken up, came bounding into the room falling down the stairs.
"Spike, are you alright? You really should be more careful," Twilight said, half worried and half trying to stifle a small giggle at the antics of the small dragon.
Dusting him self off and sporting a half-crooked smile, the little dragon handed the letter to Twilight Sparkle before speaking up "I'm fine Twilight, but enough about that, what does the princess have to say?"
Giving a small nod Twilight began to open the scroll. Taking a deep breath she began to read:
Dear Twilight Sparkle, My faithful student.
As you well know, I told you that I was going to look into the bizarre murders which have been happening in Ponyville. Know that I am as worried as you, I hate to see any harm come to my subjects. In response to this we organised the best of the royal guard to go and check for clues in and around the forest.
However, we have lost all contact with the group and I am growing desperately worried. I hate to ask this of you, but I feel that the elements of harmony might once again be needed to help find out what is going on, so I request that you and your friends join a small group of my elite guard and try and find out what is happening.
This is a mission of utmost importance, as lives of many ponies could be lost if this isn't resolved soon. These guards will be in Ponyville later today, so please give them all the help you can.
And Twilight please you and your friends be careful.
Princess Celestia.
"Wow this sounds serious alright. Only one problem is Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity are all out of town right now," sighed Twilight a little bothered.
Normally the 6 members of the elements of harmony were in or around town most of the time, but these past few weeks had been stressful on everyone, some more then others.
Fluttershy being shy and quiet at the best of times, was a total wreck after finding the first body. All of her friends were worried about her, but hoped with time the experience would be far less traumatic.
However, they were not expecting to find more bodies in a steady fashion from then on. Fluttershy was becoming more and more of a recluse every time a new body was found. Her friends, desperate to help her, got together and thought it would be best if Fluttershy got away from town for a bit.
Rarity took it on herself to take Fluttershy to another town, about a days trip away, to visit a fancy spa. She had read about it recently and wanted to go too. Fluttershy, always enjoying their trips to the local spa's agreed to the idea.
It was just going to be the two of them, but Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie invited herself, rambling on about some ultra "Super-duper Cheer Up Party" she was planing for Fluttershy. Rarity didn't mind, and Fluttershy welcomed the extra company for her little trip. This was about three days ago, so they weren't going to be back for a while yet.
A few hours had passed, and all of the ponies that could be found were sitting around the big table in the middle of Twilight's library.
"So, do we know anything about these guards that are being sent?" questioned the new addition to the group, a sky blue Pegasus with the most remarkable rainbow coloured mane.
"Not much Rainbow Dash, apart from they are meant to be elite guards, so I'm guessing they are going to have a lot of training under their belts," remarked Twilight, wondering the same thing herself.
"Oh! Maybe they are like super secret agents, only sent on top secret missions or something! That would be like so cool!" Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to do spins around the room. Whenever she thought something cool was going to happen, she always acted like this. Even more so around her idols the Wonderbolts.
Rolling her eyes Twilight opened her mouth to say how silly Rainbow Dash was being, however before she could a knock came on the door making her jump.
Bracing herself for the worst, Twilight, horn aglow, opened the door slowly. To her surprise it wasn't another pony murder report, but three stallions towering at the door. Two of them were wearing the iconic golden armour of the royal guard, but the third was like nothing she had seen before.
"Greetings. Twilight Sparkle I presume," the middle one said in a low voice that made Twilight shudder to her very core. Instead of the golden armour of the others, the smaller earth pony was in some form of combat suit that fit his body like a second skin, it was coloured to make him hard to see in the dark and covered his cuite mark.
Over this he was wearing a harness with a radio and a badge attached to it. He bled an aura of mystery around him. His blonde mane was cropped short and pulled back and his eyes hidden by a pair of sunglasses.
"My name is Douglas, I'm a member of the Royal Investigation Unit. I was sent by the Princess to assist in the investigation of missing ponies in the area".
"Douglas? What the hay kind of name is that for a pony anyway?" shouted Applejack from the back of the room, and even though his eyes were hidden everyone in the room knew he was glaring at the earth pony right now. Applejack however, never being one to back down, glared back with equal intensity.
"My name is the least of our concerns at the moment. I thought there was supposed to be six of you, where are the others?" Douglas questioned, his eyes scanning the room.
"Oh they are out of town I'm afraid, and they won't be back until next week at the soonest," mentioned Twilight, hoping to remove the uncomfortable feeling in the room she began to move towards the new ponies in order to greet them.
However, before she could they had already barged into the room, carrying with them large crates with the royal symbol embossed onto the lids.
"Well I suppose there is nothing that can be done," groaned Douglas, annoyed that almost half of his unit was missing for this important mission, "This mission is far too vital to wait till the rest of you get back, so we are going to have to go as is."
"Woah hold on there, the Princess said that the Elements of Harmony were needed. That means we all have to be here. We are just going to have to wait," Twilight, not wanting to rush into anything without everything at her disposal, did not like the idea at all of going without the rest of her friends.
"The Princess also said this had to be done ASAP, and I'm not about to ignore a direct order Twilight Sparkle!" Douglas was practically growling at his point. He was not about to have his mission ruined by some inexperienced mares, even if the Princess did order him to take them.
Twilight could only slink back to the table after this, slightly shaken by his outburst. Not wanting to go against the princess in any way, she reluctantly agreed, as did her two friends, not wanting to leave her alone. Rainbow Dash was never one to give up the chance at adventure anyway.
"With that out of the way, have any of you three had any form of combat training? We have no idea what we are going to be up against. It's likely to be dangerous."
Shaking her head, Twilight was the first to speak up, " The princess taught me a few self-defence spells, for emergencies you know, but it's stuff like knock backs and the like, spells to stun."
Next in line was Applejack "Working on a farm ah have never had the need to do any fancy combat training, however ah can buck anything into next week if need be," she seemed to be quite proud of the power of her kick, and who could blame her? Years of Apple bucking had given her one of the strongest kicks in Ponyville.
"Combat training? Who needs combat training when you're the fastest flyer in Equestria? They won't even be able to touch me!" Rainbow Dash always loved to brag. She was one of the best athletes for miles around, which didn't help her ego at all.
However after all of this, their good feelings melted away when they saw the stallion face hoofing. "I can't believe this! the Princess wants to send a bunch of amateurs into harm's way without any kind of firearms training!"
He turned from them and began to open up one of the crates. It was full of smaller black boxes and grabbing a few he tossed them towards the mares, expecting them to catch them with no problems, that was, if the bragging was true from two of them. Much to his surprise they did all catch the boxes with relative ease and began to open them with glee.
This was short lived however, as when the boxes were finally fully opened looks of shock graced each mare. Each of the boxes contained a pole of metal that entered a small black box. At the side there was a rectangular hole in the side of it where a clip could be inserted, and a small hole on the top that looked like a jack of some sort was meant to be inserted.
Adorning the back of the device was two leather straps, about the size to fit around a ponies leg, this attached the device to just above the hoof so the hole on the end of the pipe could be aimed in front of the hoof.
"A...a...h...hoof pistol?" gasped Twilight, almost unable to talk because of the device in front of her, dropping the box onto the table in fear she tried to compose herself as best she could, "Is the princess expecting us to... k...kill somepony?"
Yet again Douglas face hoofed in disbelief, "We are going after cannibalistic murderers here, who would likely kill you before talking to you, and you don't expect to need to use lethal force?".
"No... I mean yes.... I mean, I didn't really think about it that way," Twilight stumbled over her words.
On the other side of the room, the other two ponies just sat there as if they had been forgotten. Both had reacted a little differently however. Applejack was looking at the device in her hooves as if the severity of the events were only just coming to light.
Rainbow, however, had already put it on and was playing around with it, pretending to aim and fire.
"So how does this thing work?" chirped Rainbow, appearing right in front of the combat pony with a huge grin on her face.
Blinking twice in disbelief, the brown earth pony stallion was taken aback at how eager she was to learn.
Coughing to get his composure back, he began to talk again, "Alright, I have a few other things you are going to need before you can use the pistols." Turning back to the crates he opened up another two. These, however, were full of harnesses that could be worn around the shoulders, a belt and some combat fatigues.
"You will all need to use one of these as well they have a few pouches which can be used to store ammunition, and they can be used to hold a small radio and other such devices."
While Douglas was rummaging in another crate all three of the girls began to equip the guns and suits which had been given to them.
"Hey, this is kinda cool!" Rainbow Sash remarked, looking at her new form in a mirror.
All three of them were now wearing blue combat fatigues with the leather straps on top, easily they could be mistaken for some highly trained army corps, if they didn't look so young that was.
"Ah, found them!" Douglas turned around with three headsets, or at least that is what they looked like to the passer-by. "These are how you use the hoof pistols I gave you, you attach the wire from the headset down the harness I gave you, into the gun itself at the small hole on the back."
He began to give out the strange headsets to the other ponies in the room, "When the gun is loaded, you aim at your target, and then bite down on the trigger on the headset, easy as pie."
"Wait a second?" questioned Twilight, "How is that meant to work, I've never heard of something like that before."
"That's because detailed information on these weapons are not given to the public for a reason. The Princess was worried that if shady people got their hands on these, then murders and who knows what else might start happening again. So they were kept for army personnel. However, there was a rumour of a leak a while back of this Tech getting out, so I hope we won't see any in the hands of the enemy."
"You still didn't answer my question. How is biting on this thing meant to do anything?" Twilight questioned yet again, when there was something new to learn she never let the chance pass her by.
"Ah, well, every pony has a small amount of magic in their bodies. Unicorns, however, are the only ones who can amplify it. However, this works by taking that small amount of magic, and using it to make a small spark. This spark in turn sets off the gunpowder in the firearm launching the ammo at the target." a large grin was forming on the earth pony, "Simple really."
********
After the suit up, the unlikely gang of ponies had begun to make their way into the Everfree Forest.
They thought it best to avoid the sky as much as possible, after thinking about what had happened to the last group who tried to go in via air.
"What are we looking for anyway?" Rainbow said lazily flying above the rest of the group.
"Anything out of the ordinary." one of the guards added before taking his spot back at the front of the group.
"Gosh darn it, this is the Everfree Forest, nothing is ordinary here," sighed Applejack before looking back at the road, giving her an idea of how far they had come.
A good few hours had passed before the group had found anything that really caught their attention. With some twisted stroke of luck they had managed to find where the chariot of the other group had hit the ground.
However, they didn't feel lucky when they got in close to inspect the wreck. The chariot was lifeless for the most part, with only one body to be found, which seemed to be the unlucky Pegasus who was controlling it at the time of crash.
Slightly bothered but no worse off, the group began to look around the area to see if they could find what had happened to the rest of the crew. Suddenly, low growls could be heard from the surrounding trees.
"What the hay was that?!" exclaimed Applejack, as the whole group began to take a defensive stance.
Too little too late, before anypony knew what was happening the creatures attacked. Strange dogs were rushing them fangs bared. They began to move in for the kill, jumping one of the guards by the neck, as the rest of the pack rushed in to take down the prey.
Swearing under his breath, the other guard began to aim his weapon at the beasts swarming over his now-dead partner, unleashing his whole clip into one of the dogs it fell to the ground lifeless.
All this managed to do however was gain the ire of the rest of the pack, who began to swarm him. One of the dogs had latched onto the pony's leg and brought him down just like the other guard, with total ease.
Douglas could see the fear in the eyes of the more under skilled members of his group, and muttered his own swear under his breath, turning to them he yelled as loud as his lungs would let him, "RUN!"
This had managed to snap them out of the trance that the gruesome sight had thrust upon them, as they turned and ran as fast as their hooves could carry them.
And then they saw it, looming in the darkness like a giant tomb stone.
"A mansion? Out here?!" cried Twilight, confused by the sight she saw, never stopping her gallop.
"Who cares why it's here, it's shelter from these things!" screamed Applejack back to Twilight as they began to make a beeline for the large doors at the front of the building, and with an ungodly loud slam everything went dark for a while.
***********
"Everypony alright?" groaned Twilight as she pulled herself to her hooves. Scanning around the room she could see Douglas and Applejack, but then horror stuck her. "Rainbow! Where is Rainbow Dash!" everypony else began to pull themselves to their hooves and search around the room. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.
Applejack then put a hoof on Twilight's shoulders, "It's ok sugarcube, she can take care of herself, you know she can. Ah think right now we had best worry where we are, and what in tarnation the creatures that chased us into here were."
Douglas nodded, "I agree we should get our bearings first, you girls check out that room over there, I'm going to check around here some more."
The two mares nodded in agreement as they began to move towards the left door from the great hall where they stood in at the moment.
"Wow, I can't believe something like this exists in the Everfree Forest," Twilight exclaimed, wide eyed as she began to look around the large dining room.
The room looked like it could seat one hundred ponies easily in one meal, and was incredibly ornate with antique furniture gracing the room.
Twilight had seen furniture like this before of course, but only in the biggest, most fancy houses of Canterlot where nobles lived.
"Perhaps they wanted privacy. Crazy if you ask me," Applejack snipped, as she began to check around the large room.
It was quiet in the room, as if no-one had lived here for months. Dust layered on the table and chairs in the room, and spider webs adorned the fixtures on the walls.
Dusty as it might be, Twilight was having the time of her life taking it all in. She had almost forgotten about the whole incident that brought them here in the first place. But one thing in the room had caught her eye, a grandfather clock. Regal and strong, it looked like a thousand years could pass and it would still be here. Strangely, one thing about the clock wasn't right. It was missing one of its hands.
"Strange..." Twilight muttered to herself in a quiet voice before being called over to where Applejack was haunched over on the floor, looking at something.
"Blood," Applejack said a coldness in her voice, which was rare for the earth pony farmer.
"You don't think?" Twilight exclaimed, a large amount of shock in her voice.
"Nah, no way Rainbow could have come through here without us noticing," she said, shaking her head, "But ah don't like it, I'm going to stay here for a little bit, see if ah can find what caused this."
"Alright, then I'm going to look through here, see if I can find any other ponies in this place."
Twilight began to move towards the small door on the side of the dining room, and began to open it. It felt like the slow creaking of the door lasted forever, sending shivers down her spine.
The door closed behind her with a thunk. As her eyes began to adjust to the darkness of the hallway, she began to walk down the dark cramped space. Twilight swore she heard something, like a soft wet crunching noise. It made her feel sick to her stomach.
As she turned the corner she could only stare aimlessly at the sight that lay before her.
A pony was sprawled on the floor, and another pony was towering over it head down. It dawned on Twilight what that sound was now, and she wanted to vomit even more. The pony was eating the other pony on the floor.
She lifted and aimed her hoof pistol towards the pony figure, and hoof shaking she tried to put on a brave face, and remember with all her being how the blasted contraption worked.
"Stop what you are doing! By order of Princess Celestia you are under arrest!"
It was then she felt her heart stop in her throat. The creature had taken notice of the pony behind it, letting out a low guttural moan it began to raise it head and looked towards Twilight Sparkle.
What she saw then she could almost never put into words for the rest of her life, and the fear she felt glued her to the floor. The thing that stood before was a pony, or at least it was once.
It had no fur on any part of its body and its skin was flaking off as if the pony was rotting from the inside out.
Its eyes, however, are what haunted Twilight the most. Whereas most ponies have colour in there eyes this pony did not.
Instead it had milky spots where its eyes should be, soulless and lifeless, as if the pony was dead and had been for a long time. Its maw was covered in a mix of blood of its victim that still lay lifeless on the floor and its own drool.
Once again that moan, it sent shivers down Twilight's spine. It began to move slowly, lumbering towards Twilight dragging its back leg on the floor.
Scared out of her wits Twilight just sat there, but realised that the thing was getting closer, and she had an idea what it wanted to do with her.
Doing everything she could to brace herself for what she was about to do she steadied her hoof with her other front hoof, and bit down on the trigger next to her mouth.
Bang...Bang...Bang, she would remember these noises forever. The creature had been stopped by the barrage of bullets, however it didn't fall, it didn't cry out, it didn't even look hurt. After a few seconds it began to move again, edging closer and closer to the now terrified unicorn.
Without thinking, Twilight sent a large magic pulse to knock the creature off its hooves which, thank Celestia worked. Before the thing had a chance to get back up she turned tail and ran as fast as she could to the door.
Slamming the door open as she dived through, this scared Applejack half the death, but Twilight for once didn't care, she had to get away.
"Applejack.....something.....hall..... MONSTER!" was all she could cry out before spinning around in fear as she heard yet another moan from the beast.
Applejack looked at the pony shaped creature wide eyed for a few seconds, before lifting her hoof pistol and unleashing a barrage of bullets into the form before her.
After what seemed like an eternity for the two ponies in the room, the creature buckled and fell to the ground, a large pool of blood forming below its now lifeless form.
Gasping, Twilight was able to find her voice again as she shot to Applejack and away from the thing on the floor. "AJ, what WAS that thing?"
"Ah have no idea sugarcube, but at least you don't have to worry about cults any more." |
|
Rex Ivan | 533 | 1 | Trixie,Twilight Sparkle,Comedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Seeking a Weakness | complete | 27 | 4 | <p>The Great and Powerful Trixie embarks on an epic journey of breaking and entering to discover the source of Twilight Sparkle's incredible magic powers.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T01:00:14+00:00 | 2011-08-18T01:00:14+00:00 | 2,280 | It was past dusk when the Great and Powerful Trixie leaned a ladder against the back wall of the Library tree house. Even though she had cast a disguise spell on herself, she had to be careful that no pony saw her actions. Getting arrested was the last thing she needed now.
Trixie crept up the ladder and onto the balcony. Using her Great and Powerful magic, she opened the simple latch lock, and stifled a giggle as she stepped inside. She had done it. She had made it into the home base of her arch nemesis. The distraction Trixie had set up for Twilight would ensure her absence for a few more hours, along with that baby dragon servant of hers. Finally, she would discover why Twilight Sparkle was so much more powerful than other unicorns.
She stood in the center of the room for a moment, chanting her incantation. Completion of the spell created a pulsing orb of pale blue light, which floated through the room. This specially made spell was created to direct the caster to the most often used magical artifact in the immediate vicinity. Trixie reasoned that this would no doubt be the central hub of Twilight's resources.
The spell lead Trixie through the library and into Twilight's bedroom, where it promptly slid under the bed and stopped. She thought it a bit odd that such an important secret would be hidden in so obvious and mundane a place. Twilight must be able to sleep easier knowing her prime source of arcana was close at hand. It also made sense to have it available for access while sleeping. That was careful planning, she had to admit.
Trixie reached under the bed to pull out a long flat box, nearly the same size as the bed itself. She also thought it strange that she could only detect a minor warding enchantment over the box. There were no arcane barriers, no invisibility shrouds, or even an alarm spell. There was just a small one that inhibited the invasion of ... dragons? Trixie studied it for a time, before understanding that there really was nothing else binding the box. Surely Twilight was a fool for only protecting her secrets with a layer of slightly enchanted cardboard. Trixie whispered a word and the blue orb floated up and increased its intensity enough to well illuminate the room. She smiled to herself as she pulled the lid off the box. Nothing could stop her now.
She immediately lost her smile as she looked down at the countless magazines stacked very neatly into every available space inside the cardboard container. “This ... This is ... “ She reached down to bring one of the issues closer, to make certain her eyes were not lying to her. “This ... there's no way ... “ Her brows furrowed together as her mind tried to process what she was seeing. She read the cover out loud just to reaffirm what she was seeing.
“Seventy-four pages of pure pony pleasure? This can't be right! What is all this?” She stared blankly at the archive before realizing just what this might mean. “My spell must be defective ... and Twilight is a pervert ... “ She stared unblinkingly at the lewd collection. “They're all mare magazines. Twilight ... likes dirty MARE MAGAZINES?! W-what ...?”
Her mind began to cramp as she struggled to take in the implications of her discovery. She continued to look down at the various issues spread out before her until one caught her eye. “No ... wh- ... no!” She reached over the sprawling collection and brought the offending document towards her. Adorning the cover was none other than Twilight Sparkle herself. She was clad all in black leather and was wearing a strange hat that looked like something stolen from a foreign military uniform. She had an evil smile with a riding crop between her teeth, while posed over some poor pony who was strapped into a straight jacket with a black bag over her head.
Trixie stared for a moment, then, with an almost involuntary motion, she opened the magazine. As she flipped through the pages her eyes were greeted with fillies attached to various devices that looked like they were made more for a torture chamber than anything else. When she finally got to section concerning Twilight she felt her mind freeze over. She blinked down at the title on the page before her. “The Twilight Hours of a Great and Powerful Playmate.”
The blue pony stared down at page after page of Twilight binding, abusing, and molesting a pony that looked like she could be Trixie's twin. She looked closer. It was more than just a close resemblance. Trixie had looked at herself in the mirror far too often to fail to realize that it was an exact copy of her in the pictures.
“What is going on ... “ She stared a moment longer before her reason returned to her. She put the still open book on the floor and began an incantation over it. The pages began to glow as her analysis spell went to work. The various forms and specifics of the spell within the book floated through her mind. Within moments Trixie knew exactly what sort of magic lay before her.
A sharp red hue crept into her complexion. This was dream magic. It was Twilight's fantasies recorded down on magical paper and compiled into magazine format. Her blush deepened as she looked back down at the various positions Twilight had imagined her being bound into. The machine she was attached to didn't even look like it would actually function with the physics of the real world.
As she picked up the book her eyes fell on the the remaining stacks still in the box. She suddenly felt that she had done something very wrong, even if it was to her arch-enemy. How many sleepless nights did the images on these pages represent? What other sorts of fetishes did Twilight have, and who did she want to share them with? From what Trixie recalled from her stalker reconnaissance spells, Twilight didn't have anything close to a love life. Mostly all of her days were usually spent in her books, and now it seemed that her nights too were spent the same way.
Trixie closed the book and placed it back on top of the pile before collecting the others she had shuffled through. Just then the front door of the library opened. Trixie panicked upon hearing Twilight's voice increase in volume as she entered her home. Trixie snuffed out her own light spell just as the lights turned on in the rest of the library.
“I don't care Spike. It was obviously written by some pony trying to pull a prank. I'm just glad we found that out sooner rather than later. We very well could have been following that trail till daybreak.” The door closed and hoof steps moved through the ground level, as Trixie fumbled to re-stack the magazines.
“You don't think Pinkie Pie would pull something like that, do you?” As Trixie put the last of the books back into the box, she heard something heavy being set down onto a table.
“She was my first guess but the whole thing didn't have her sense of fun to it. It all just seemed more like a task for the sake of taking up time. Well, whatever. I'm tired now, and I know you are too.” Hoof steps mounted the stairs, and Trixie scrambled to close on the box. The lid slid on and she shoved the box under the bed just as Twilight reached the top stair.
“Besides, I ... “ Trixie pulled her hooves out from under the bed at the same time she heard Twilight's gasp. “ ... who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” Trixie stood and turned to face her nemesis. Twilight looked honestly confused and alarmed. Her stare fell to the spot on the floor where Trixie had been sitting, and her eyes went wide. “What were you doing under my bed?”
Trixie locked eyes with the purple unicorn in an indignant glare. Surely, she couldn't have forgotten the most worthy rival she had ever faced in her life. Then she remembered the disguise spell she had neglected to remove. With a wave of her hoof she dispelled the illusion and stood tall in her full glory. “Ta-da! It is I, The Great and Powerful-”
“Trixie?! What ... what are you doing here?”
Trixie took a step forward while wearing her smuggest of grins. She decided it was time to use her superior linguistic techniques to bluff her way out of the situation. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has come to challenge you to a duel in the old order of-”
“Wait. WAIT! Answer my question. What were you doing here now, while I was away? And what were you doing under my bed?” This was not going as the Great and Powerful Trixie had planned. Twilight looked toward her bed again. “Did you ... what did you do? What did you see?!”
Trixie opened her mouth to speak, but a response failed her. Instead, a visible blush spread across her cheeks, and Twilight's jaw dropped to the floor when she saw this. “You SAW!”
“Um ... The Great and Powerful Trixie sees ALL! This is surely nothing you didn't already know. Unless you truly are the fool they claim you to be. Are you admitting to being a fool?” Trixie nearly stumbled as she walked back towards the nearest window.
Twilight's expression shifted into a combination of shock and indignation as she realized what Trixie was tying to do. She refused to have her mental train thrown off course by this nonsense. “You saw it ALL, didn't you?!” Tears started to well up in Twilight's eyes as her own blush deepened.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't know what you are talking about. She came to challenge you, and that-”
“What are you talking about Twilight? What did she see? ... Hey, are you alright?” Spike was at her side now with a look of deep concern, as he saw the tears running down Twilight's face.
“Get out! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!” The books on the shelf nearby nearly fell to the floor with the impact of Twilight's outburst.
Trixie flinched as she started to turn to the window. “AAH! OK! The Great and Powerful Trixie now retreats, but beware. She will-”.
“OUT!! NOW!!” With this Twilight launched a crackling black beam of lightning streaking from her horn towards the invader. Trixie barely had time to create an impact shield in front of her before being blasted out the window with such force that she collided into the roof of a small shop on the opposite side of the road.
Twilight stood seething, staring out the broken window which now had scorch marks adorning its frame. Spike stared up at her while huddling down, partially hiding behind a nearby chair. Twilight allowed herself to catch her breath before speaking to her apprentice. “Spike.”
“Yes, Twilight.” He didn't move from behind the chair.
“Do we still have that tome of memory erasure?”
“Yeah. I think it's-”
“Go get it. Now. Before she wakes up.” The little dragon ran down the stairs to retrieve the book, leaving Twilight to mumble angrily to herself. “Why?! Why did she go for the happy box? She could have searched for anything else. Hrm!”
*****
Trixie awoke to the stars. They were very nice. Her first thought was that it had been such a long time since she had watched the stars like this. Then events began to filter back into her mind. She sat up with a groan and braced herself against the roof waiting for the spinning in her head to stop. She opened her clenched eyes just as a lavender spark of light flashed a few feet in front of her. Twilight stood peering down at her, looking a bit annoyed.
“You're awake. That's too bad, but it does give me time to apologize for what I did back there. Emotions clouded my judgment. I usually make every effort not to just blow up like that.” Her horn started to glow as she levitated a book out of her saddle bag. “Considering the current situation, though, I think my agitation is understandable.”
“You know,” Trixie said as she attempted to stand, “it's not that big of a deal. I mean I have heard of lots of other ponies who are into ... uh ... things that, that are ... “ She lost her footing and slumped back onto the roof.
“Oh yes, there are. Many in fact. However, none of them are the star pupil to Princess Celestia herself. If word got out about my studies into the magic of pornography, it would reflect bad on both the Princess and myself.” Twilight flipped through the pages of the book as she spoke. “But no matter. Soon this will all be taken care of.”
“What are you going to do?” Trixie looked up at her with a twitching fear in her eyes. She had heard quiet rumors in the underground wizard's circles, just gossip really, of some of the stranger activities of the Princess and her underlings. She had dismissed them as rubbish initially, but with Twilight standing over her now, her imagination went wild with the various things that she had overheard.
“Hm?” Twilight sounded as if she had almost forgotten the battered pony laying at her hooves. “Oh, I'm just going to do a little magic. You know, since that's what I do.” She looked up from the book's pages. “I'll have to borrow a bit of this too.” Twilight's horn glowed again as the open wound on Trixie's shoulder bled out into the air. Trixie winced, and looked up to see her blood floating away from her in a thin stream. Twilight intensified her focus, and the crimson liquid was fashioned into a magical rune circle which remained suspended in mid-air. As Twilight began whispering the magical phrases from the book, a brighter glow erupted from her horn and infused it's light into the hovering circle. Suddenly a tight beam of light shot out from the circle's center and hit directly into Trixie's forehead. With an electric shock that sent her mane standing on end, Trixie fell unconscious without uttering a sound.
“OK, then. It's time to get you down from here.” Twilight looked down at Trixie for a moment, then looked around to see if her light show had attracted any unwanted attention. Satisfied that they were still alone, she leaned in close to the unicorn's head and sniffed deeply into her mane. She allowed a gentle moan to escape her lips as her eyes rolled slightly back. “Heh, alright then. Now it's time to get you down from here ... a shame we don't have a little more time.”
****
Twenty minutes later Trixie opened her eyes to find herself laying out in the street just below the library's balcony. Twilight Sparkle looked down at her. “Uh, Trixie?”
Trixie sat up and held her head. “Ooohh. What happened?”
“Well, while you were trying to break into my house your ladder apparently tipped over, and you landed on your head.” Twilight pointed to the ladder laying in the street a few yards away.
She looked up dumbly at Twilight again. “I did? It was ... what?” She had the distinct feeling that she was forgetting something. It was like a dream that began to fade away upon awakening.
“Yes, you did. You took a few gashes on the cobblestones, but my magic helped to heal you up. Now, honestly, I know you consider me your enemy, but really, Trixie, I'm not. I don't think it would be worth your while to try to break into my house again. If I hadn't returned from errands when I did, you might have bled out while every pony else slept.”
Trixie slowly stood, and allowed herself a moment to adjust to the position before speaking. “Of course you would say that. You, of all ponies, would want me to lower my guard. That's when you would swoop in and take your revenge on The Great and Powerful Trixie.”
“Revenge? Why would I possibly want revenge? Because you fell down and gave yourself head trauma?”
“ ... yes.” With that Trixie stomped down on the street sharply producing a thick white plum of smoke. Twilight coughed and sputtered as she trotted away to get clear of the haze. When the smoke cleared Trixie was gone.
“Well, I guess that went as well as can be expected,” Twilight said to herself. She spun around suddenly as she heard a clattering sound behind her. A rope was tied to one end of Trixie's ladder and was pulling it loudly down the street. Twilight followed the rope down the street and around the corner of a nearby building. She casually turned the corner to find Trixie pulling the rope with her mouth.
Trixie stopped for a moment and then glared at her. “It's a rental, OK? The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't wish to lose her security deposit.”
Twilight sighed and walked back to the library. She would have to remember to put a stronger protection ward on her research before something like this was able to happen again, and she was pretty sure that it was going to happen again, repeatedly. At this thought she allowed a broad grin to creep onto her face. Then, with a hop, skip, and a jumping hoof click, she entered her home for the night. |
|
DJLowrider | 534 | 1 | Derpy Hooves,Rainbow Dash,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Different | complete | 78 | 3 | <p>A despondent mail mare finds both comfort and a new sense of confidence thanks to a random act of kindness courtesy of Rainbow Dash.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T01:22:14+00:00 | 2011-08-18T01:22:14+00:00 | 3,023 | Rainbow Dash took a deep, refreshing breath of air as she stood at the edge of her home in the clouds. She'd taken extra care to ensure the weather was set just perfectly and now she had the rest of the day to herself. She slung her saddle bags across her back and fished out two small pieces of paper from inside. They were tickets to the Wonderbolts exhibition that was set to take place at the Cloudiseum in Cloudsdale that afternoon. She tucked the tickets back into the bag and quickly checked the rest of what she'd packed, which included some refreshments to enjoy during the show and a pair of sunglasses just in case the sun was a bit too bright where her seat was located. Satisfied that she had everything in order, she took flight and began heading for Fluttershy's cottage with the intent to invite her timid friend to join her for the show.
Dash was roughly halfway to Fluttershy's home when she heard what sounded like sobbing coming from behind a nearby cloud. There was plenty of time before the show would begin, so she changed course to see what was going on. She was surprised to find Ditzy Doo, one of Ponyville's mail mares, hiding behind the cloud and looking terribly dejected. Dash knew Ditzy well enough, though she wasn't part of the usual circle of friends she hung out with. Still, she hated to see ponies she knew upset for any reason. She approached the blonde-maned, gray mare carefully so as not to surprise her.
"Hey Ditzy," Dash said cheerily to announce her arrival. Ditzy looked around and, after spotting Dash as she landed on her cloud, she scrambled to her hooves and rubbed her eyes fiercely to try and get rid of her tears.
"Oh, hello Rainbow Dash," Ditzy replied, sounding far more glum than Dash ever remembered her being. "If you're looking for any mail you're missing then you'll need to ask somepony else. Today's my day off."
"I'm not worried about any mail, Ditzy," Dash assured her. Ditzy had a reputation for being a bit unreliable when it came to her mail deliveries, but it was nothing that had ever bugged Dash before. "I am worried about you, though. Why're you up here crying?"
"Oh…you heard that," Ditzy said, now seeming even more upset that she'd attracted such attention. "It's no big deal. Nothing I've never dealt with before."
"If you're trying to get rid of me you could do better than that, Ditzy," Dash told her.
"It's nothing somepony like you should worry yourself about, Rainbow Dash," Ditzy said, turning away from her. "And I don't want you wasting time on somepony like me. I'll be fine, really."
Dash pursed her lips and approached Ditzy again, looking her squarely in her reddened eyes.
"Okay, enough," Dash said gruffly. "What's this all about? Ponies like me? Like you? I'm used to hearing you talk about weird stuff, Ditzy, but this is just nonsense. What's gotten into you?"
Ditzy tried to avoid Dash's gaze, but the rainbow-maned Pegasus was nothing if not persistent. Ditzy finally sat back down and sighed heavily, realizing she wasn't going to be given a choice here.
"I was heading to Sugar Cube Corner to pick up some muffins for me and Dinky to have for breakfast for the next few days," Ditzy told Dash, studying the fluffiness of the cloud she sat on while she spoke. "I had just set out from home when a couple of other Pegasus ponies stopped me. They were a couple of ponies I know from my mail route, and they weren't happy about how I do my job. They…they said some pretty mean things to me."
"Like what?" Dash asked as she sat across from Ditzy.
"They called me things like…dumb. And useless. And…well, a lot of other things I'd rather not repeat."
"It's okay, I can probably guess," Dash said, inwardly feeling her anger rise.
"But the worst part was…then they said the same stuff probably was true about Dinky," Ditzy said with a few sobs interrupting her as she forced the words out.
"They did not!" Dash said in shock. Dinky Doo was a unicorn filly. More importantly, she was Ditzy's daughter, and Dash knew the mail pony cared for her more than anything in the world. Ditzy just nodded to Dash to affirm that it was indeed true.
"I'm used to ponies saying this kind of stuff about me," Ditzy told her, "but Dinky's nothing like me. She's smart and pretty and she's gonna grow up to be a great pony someday. I know I mess up a lot of stuff, but I try my hardest to do right by her. Hearing other ponies talk down about her…I just can't take that."
Dash was of half a mind to ask Ditzy who the ponies were who'd upset her so much so she could track them down and give them a piece of her mind, but remembered Twilight telling her once that revenge is never a good idea. She took a moment to calm her anger while Ditzy tried to get control over her emotions again.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," Ditzy said, still sobbing a bit. "I didn't mean to upset you too. I flew up here thinking nopony would see or hear me like this. I'll be okay, really I will. Just forget about all this and go enjoy your day."
"No way!" Dash said resolutely as she stood back up. "Nopony deserves to be treated like that, especially you Ditzy!"
"I'm nothing special, though," Ditzy said, still intently examining the cloud beneath her. "Not like you."
"Are you kidding?" Dash asked her. "Ditzy, you're just as special and important as I am, or anypony else for that matter."
"But Rainbow Dash, you're an amazing flyer," Ditzy said, finally looking up at her. "You won the Best Young Flyer competition. You're in charge of Ponyville's weather. You really are an amazing and important pony. I'm just a mail mare. There's nothing special about me."
"Hey, I admit I've done a lot of cool stuff, but there's something you do every day that's way more amazing than anything I've ever done," Dash told her.
"What's that?" Ditzy asked, truly curious about what Dash meant.
"You're somepony's mother," Dash said, smiling at her. "And you give it your all to make sure Dinky grows up right. No number of Sonic Rainbooms could ever compare to that in terms of awesomeness."
"You…really think so?" Ditzy asked, unsure of how serious Dash was being.
"Absolutely," Dash told her emphatically. "And what's more, you really shouldn't let other ponies make you feel like this just because you mess up from time to time."
"I know I shouldn't, but it's not easy when I'm so different from everypony else," Ditzy said as her eyes slowly drifted to their usual wall-eyed position.
"Tell me about it," Dash said, immediately identifying with Ditzy's sentiment.
"But Rainbow Dash, you're cool, not different."
"Heh, you kiddin'?" Dash asked as a half-smile creeped onto her face. "When I was a filly I got talked down to all the time."
"Really?" Ditzy said in disbelief.
"Oh yeah," Dash said, rolling her eyes. "For one thing, I used to be a major klutz. Well…I still kinda am for that matter. I may be good at flying, but landing still isn't my strong suit. It earned me the nickname 'Rainbow Crash'. I only ditched that after winning the Best Young Flyer Competition.
"And then there's this," Dash added, brushing her forelock with one hoof. "You have no idea how much I've been hassled over the years for the color of my mane and tail."
"No way!" Ditzy said in amazement. "Your mane is beautiful!"
"Thanks, but a lot of ponies out there think it's really weird," Dash told her. "It's part of who I am, though, and I'm proud of it. Ponies who'd judge me without knowing me aren't worth my time. The same goes for you. I mean, you don't really know these two ponies who insulted you, right?"
"I'm familiar with them, but I wouldn't call them friends," Ditzy admitted.
"And do they know anything about Dinky?"
"You know…as a matter of fact, they've never met her."
"Then why should you care what they think of you?" Dash asked rhetorically. "They're just a couple of jerks who want to make themselves feel better by picking on somepony who's different. Different isn't bad, Ditzy. It's not necessarily good either, but it's who you are. You should be proud of who and what you are, and remember that only the ponies who really know you are the ones whose opinions should matter to you."
"I…I never thought about it like that," Ditzy said, nodding in agreement. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I really feel a whole lot better now."
"I'm glad to hear it," Dash said as she trotted to the edge of the cloud. She stopped for a moment and looked back at Ditzy. "Hey, you said today's your day off right?" she asked.
"Well, yeah," Ditzy said. "Why?"
"I happen to have two tickets to see the Wonderbolts in Cloudsdale today," Dash told her. "You wanna come with me?"
"Me?" Ditzy said in surprise. "But…wouldn't you want to go with one of your friends, like Fluttershy?"
"If you came with me, I'd still be going with a friend, right?" Dash asked, smiling warmly at her.
"Rainbow Dash, I…I'd like to, but I can't just leave Dinky alone all day," Ditzy said, a hint of regret in her voice.
"I'm pretty sure kids get into the show for free," Dash told her with a wink. "We can swing by Twilight's house and get her to use her cloudwalking spell on Dinky so she can come along. I might even be able to sneak her in to meet the Wonderbolts face-to-face."
"You'd do all that for me?" Ditzy asked in surprise.
"Of course I would," Dash told her. "I may not know you all that well Ditzy, but I do know you're a good pony and I think I'd like to get to know you and Dinky a little better. Besides, something tells me you'd enjoy the Wonderbolts more than Fluttershy would anyway."
"Well, if you're sure, then…I'd love to go!" Ditzy said excitedly.
"What're we waiting for, then?" Dash said, spreading her wings. "Let's stop at Sugar Cube Corner to get those muffins first. Then we'll head to your place and pick up Dinky, get her all ready to visit Cloudsdale, and have one totally awesome day!"
Ditzy smiled and took off flying, only to feel a tug on her tail moments after she took off. She looked back down and saw Dash had grabbed her tail in her mouth. Dash quickly let go of her tail once she had her attention.
"Uh, Ditzy?" Dash told her as she pointed in another direction. "Sugar Cube Corner is this way."
"Oh, heh, I knew that," Ditzy said with a laugh as she changed directions in mid-air.
"Yeah, uh, you're still going the wrong way."
"Oopsie…"
Dash shook her head and flew up alongside her. "Just stick close to me, 'kay?"
"Okie dokie!" Ditzy said cheerily. "Hey, Rainbow Dash…can I consider you a friend now too?"
"Absolutely, Ditzy," Dash told her with a smile. "I'd like nothing better."
That day would go down as one of the best days Ditzy could ever remember. She got to see the Wonderbolts with her daughter Dinky, and Dinky even got to meet Spitfire and Soarin' and get their autographs. But more than anything else, it was a great day because she had gained both a new sense of confidence in herself and a fantastic new friend who would always be there for her.
The End.
Author's Afterword
Every once in a while a story idea comes along that while it's perhaps not the most original or significant, it's something you simply have to write anyway. This is the case with this short story, and if it perhaps seems a bit tame it's because my original intended audience for this story is not the brony fanbase. Rather, it's my own daughter.
Yes, believe it or not, I really am a parent. My profile bio here says as much. My oldest is my daughter, and it is through her that I was introduced to the show since I make a point of watching everything my kids watch. My daughter is also a high-functioning autistic child. Despite her social awkwardness she is a bright and beautiful young girl who I love immensely. Yesterday (at least it was yesterday as of the day I originally wrote this) she had a fairly rough day after being insulted to her face by one kid at her summer day camp, being punched in the leg by another, and having three of her five pet fish die.
The concept for this story came to me as I drove to work, and I burned through the writing pretty quickly. I printed it out and it was my daughter's bedtime story tonight. She enjoyed it quite well, and that was enough for me to know that I'd done a good job here. So now I'm sharing this story with everyone else. I'm not expecting rave reviews, but I do hope you find it enjoyable. Thank you for your time and consideration. |
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Fragezeichen | 535 | 1 | Main 6,Mayor Mare,Original Character,Alternate Universe,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | My Little Rebellion | incomplete | -1 | -1 | <p>When a sudden invasion tears Equestria apart, will the remaining ponies be able to set right what went so wrong?</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T03:03:12+00:00 | 2011-08-18T03:03:12+00:00 | 2,107 | (Reading guide: Flashback = *_* Scene Change = <_>)
My Little Rebellion Chapter 1 - Twilight Sparkle
Six years ago. That was when everything was normal. That’s when we lived in peace without many fears or questions. Blissful ignorance brought about by our cushy lives and simple existence.
We had never wondered about others out there, beyond the stars. We believed our great leaders, the Princesses, ruled over all, even the emptiness of space.
But we were wrong... They had come, in their massive ships and bearing horrific weapons capable of ripping through a pony in a single blast. Any attempt to resist them was met with deadly force.
What could we do? How could we fight back? Our magic was useless against them and soon, even our beloved Princess Celestia fell at their hands.
Our lives...are over....
*_*
The purple equine gave a sigh as she placed her quill and papers aside. The cage she laid in was as cold as ever and the dim candle nearby was slowly starting to fizzle out. What a pitiful continuance she was living, trapped within some military base who knows how many miles away from any sort of friend. At least her captors allowed her these writing tools, something to keep her sane.
How could this have gone so wrong? She thought to herself, examining her filthy mane and coat. How long had it been since her last bath? Two? Three months? She shook her head and slowly shambled to that poor excuse for a ‘bed’ they tossed into her cage last year. Maybe some sleep would make her feel better....
*_*
“Run! Keep goin’!” A sudden voice cried out. How could she even make it out with all the screaming? “Twi’! C’mon get up!” She knew that voice but she could remember. The blast seemed to take away her ability to focus. With little warning, an orange-yellow pony started yelling in her face, it’s usual cowboy hat gone somewhere.
“A-Applejack? W-what’s going on?” The bruised mare attempted only for the other to buck her up onto her back and race off. Twilight, from Applejack’s back, could see the devastation caused by the black monstrosity above, beams of light shot down from it and set fire to anything in it’s path.
“Applejack! Twilight! This way!” Another voice called, this one shriller and faster. Twilight looked up and saw the rainbow maned Pegasus yelling something at them as she carried another, this one bore a pink mane and her left wing was broken. “C’mon! We have to get to the forest!” She exclaimed before shooting forward. Applejack darted ahead, focusing on nothing but getting herself and the purple pony on her back to safety. This was not an easy task.
Left and right, denizens of Ponyville began being captured with nets from smaller creatures that came from the giant black beast. Rose, the flower pony. Lyra and Bon Bon. Even the postal pony Derpy fell victim to abduction.
“Quickly everypony! Into the forest!” A tan pony with a gray mane and tail instructed as she stood at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Despite her best efforts though, many others didn’t make it inside.
“How many of us made it?” A shivering filly asked looking up at the rather small group.
“I...I think this is it...” A stallion replied. Applejack sighed and fell to her side, Twilight rolling off and landing on the ground with a sudden thud soon after.
“Oh...pardon Twilight but...I’m plum tuckered...” The cowpony panted. Twilight shook her head and nodded.
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” She stood up and looked around, hoping to find her friends somewhere. “Did...did the others make it? Did you see them AJ?”
“ ‘Fraid not Twi’, I saw Rainbow And Fluttershy come this way before but...I didn’t see ‘em come in.” The wheezing mare admitted as she struggled to stand up, to no avail.
“Stay down AJ, I’ll look around okay?” Twilight asked much to Applejack’s dismay. She tried to get up again but her leg’s just wouldn’t allow her, eventually she gave up and nodded, letting her companion walk off by herself.
“What the heck were those things?!” A gruff voice shouted in a group of some of the older Ponyvillians. “They took my daughter right off my back!”
“C-calm down now Buck, we have to focus.” A blue mare with a pink mane whispered.
“Mrs.Cake is right Buck, we’re the eldest ones here, we need to figure out what to do.” Ms.Mayor spoke up, a visible gash on her cheek still bleeding slightly. “Obviously we’ve been attacked by some unknown creatures, and this is no ordinary attack either. It was planned and carried out in a most militarized manner.” The other’s blinked at the Mayor’s sudden serious tone.
“Militarized? You mean to tell me that our attackers are some sort of army?” Buck questioned suddenly.
“No doubt about it, an attack like that...I haven’t seen such coordination since the Llama Wars, and those were so long ago.” Twilight shook her head, she needed to find her friends, then focus on what to do. She prayed they were there, and safe, and with each other.
Quickly she asked around the collection of confused and beaten ponies, learning the fate of her friends. Pinkie Pie had made it out with Rarity into the mountains along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Big Macintosh and Applebloom and Granny Smith had been taken away while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy managed to make it into the forest.
“R-Rainbow! Fluttershy!” Twilight cried as she galloped her way to her friends. Though she bore a smile on her face, the two on the ground did not return such a gaze. Fluttershy laid curled up next to Rainbow, whimpering slightly as her left eye stayed closed for some reason and her left wing stayed limp at her side, broken. “F-Fluttershy?”
“She won’t talk, she was caught in a pretty bad explosion too.” Rainbow sighed, looking down slowly.
“Did she...did something happen to her voice?” Twilight asked, walking a little closer.
“It was Angel, If it weren’t for him, Fluttershy’d be dead by now.” The name made the yellow Pegasus cry out loudly. Twilight didn’t need to ask what happened, she already knew.
"Applejack is back this way, I’ll see if I can help her over here.” The purple mare stated as she began to turn away.
“What happened Twilight? What the heck just happened?” The rainbow maned pony cried out suddenly.
“W-what do you mean?”
“You’re the smart one right? Can’t you explain what all that was?!” Twilight blinked and looked away. Nothing in her books ever described something this fierce, this powerful. She didn’t know what to say to her scared friend.
“I-I can’t...I don’t know what it was...I’m sorry...”
*_*
“Oi! Wake up ya roddy lil’ git!” A voice suddenly commanded, forcing the sleeping mare awake. “Wot you think you’re doin’ huh? Sleepin’? Little twat’s like you don’t get ta sleep until I say ya can.” It was the jailer, the angry creep who’s only goal in life seemed to be to make Twilight’s captivity even more hellish. “I said git up!”
Twilight slowly stood up on her hooves and walked toward the cage door, looking up at her captor. He spat in her face and chuckled. “Oi, aren’t you a cute lil’ thing? Ugh, makes me sick just lookin’ at’cha. If I had my way, I’d skin ya and bake ya into a nice pony pie, but I can’t. Instead, I git ta watch ya all day, everyday. How wonderful eh?” The disturbed jailer casually declared. “Also, I git ta feed ya, meanin’ I git ta keep you alive! Isn’t that even better?!”
Twilight shook her head, it was the same thing everyday with him. He’d complain about her, spit at her, abuse her and then he’d feed her. A repetitive cycle of pain that she had been going through for six years. “Git yer food, ya little prick.” He said, pushing a tray through a slot on the floor. It bore some stale hay and water, like usual and like usual, she ate it. The sound of the jailer’s footsteps echoed as he walked away, muttering obscenities to himself, meaning the mare was alone again.
It was an odd thought to think she didn’t mind him talking to her in that way as long as he talked to her. To hear a voice meant she wasn’t alone, even if he did want her dead. She began to think about him a bit more when she came across something in her hay, a daffodil. A small flower that not only smelled sweet but also tasted sweet. Had he given it to her? That wouldn’t even be imaginable, but there it was, staring at her with it’s white petals and yellow center.
She didn’t eat it, it was too precious. Instead she placed it near her ‘bed’ where she could see it everyday, and with her jailer gone, she could return to her slumber.
*_*
“Alright everypony, the elders and I have come up with a plan. It’s nothing perfect but it’s all we got.” The Mayor announced suddenly. “We have to make our way to Canterlot, it’s the safest place in Equestria and perhaps Celestia could even stop and defeat our attackers.”
The younger ponies looked around at each other but there were no objections. “There is only one problem. Many of us are hurt and cannot walk, some of us must return to Ponyville and retrieve some carriages so that we may transport the wounded.” The group stared at their mayor as if she had just suddenly gone insane.
"You’ve gone insane!” Buck cried, pounding a hoof into the ground. There was a small clamor of agreement when the mayor spoke up again.
“Do you intend to leave our hurt friends behind then? I most certainly will not, even if I have to go alone.” The tan old mare said finally, turning away from the others and beginning to walk toward the ruined remains of Ponyville.
“Wait! Madam Mayor! I’ll go too.” A voice quickly spoke up, it’s owner, a thin green pony, galloped to the Mayor’s side. “My little sister, she’s hurt and I couldn’t possibly carry her myself... The only way would be a carriage.” The Mayor smiled and nodded, turning back to the rest.
“Anypony else?”
“Ah’ll go Ms.Mayor.” Applejack said, slowly standing up. Twilight blinked and stood in front of her.
“You can’t! You’re legs are too weak to walk let alone bring back a carriage!”
“You sayin’ my mouth is makin’ promises my legs can’t keep? That sounds like a challenge to me Twi’.” The cowpony declared as she slowly limped towards the Mayor and the smaller green mare, her legs wobbling along the way.
“Applejack...this is no time to let pride get in the way...I don’t want to lose you...” Twilight whispered, forcing the orange mare to stop.
“Ah’ll be fine Twilight, I’m always fine, remember?” She replied, giving an assuring smile. Twilight looked down, knowing she’d be unable to stop her friend from going.
“Then...Rainbow, can you go with them?” The purple mare asked, turning to the Pegasus with Fluttershy laying close to her.
“Well, I guess I could, but...Fluttershy would need somepony with her...” The frequent flier replied. Twilight nodded and made her way over.
“I’ll stay with her, don’t worry.” Rainbow looked up then at the sniffling Pegasus next to her with a nod.
“Alright, I’ll go. We’ll be fast right?” She asked as she stood up, the Mayor giving a nod.
“Of course, there should be some nearby, we won’t have to go very far. Though it’d be easier if we had a bit more help...Buck?” The Mayor called, turning to the black stallion who was turned away.
“Ugh...Fine, I’ll go...” He said finally, a hint of defeat in his voice. “Maybe...maybe I’ll run into one of those things, take it out and find my daughter...” He thought hopefully, slowly shambling forth.
*_*
Twilight shivered as she slowly awoke, looking around her cell with a sigh. What was a pony to do? Trapped for six years, no outside interaction, no exercise, nothing. Just being forced to remain sedentary in small, cold, metal cage. Her prayers had been unanswered for so long she had given up on making them. Her goddess was dead anyway, the magnificent white mare of the sun, destroyed by the invaders who had taken over. Only Luna, the younger princess, remained alive.
But why? Twilight thought to herself. Why keep Luna around? One day she’ll be able to fight back, won’t she? What was the point? The young mare shook her head and looked up, a small ray of sunlight was shining through the sad excuse for a window high above the room. Was that it? Was Luna raising the sun and moon? Is that why they need her?
“Oi, ya awake in there or wot?” The familiar voice asked, pounding on the wall. Twilight frowned at the door and looked away, deciding not to answer. “I said, are you awake ya git?!” The voice called again, frustration audibly arising. “A’ight then, I’ll just have to come in there and check eh?” Twilight blinked, he would be coming inside? For what? The sound of the 32 locks on the door began to open, one by one they were moved and the tumblers shifted until the knob on the door began to turn. “I’ve been given permission ta ‘decommission’ ya, oh what fun we’ll be ‘avin eh? Heh, heh, heh...”
<_>
“Alright, looks like that’s the base where one of the Element Hosts is being held. You guys ready?” A black-clad soldier asked her team, a strange mixture of ponies and the invaders. The group whispered in agreement. “Alright then, ponies, you head toward the right and make the distraction, free the captured and have them fight for us, we’ll go and free the Element Host.” The plan was set in motion quickly, the team splitting off and heading toward their assigned posts.
A battle was set to begin...
*_*
Success. The carriages had been brought to the wounded and the remaining ponies would be able to carry them toward Canterlot to safety. Hopefully. Despite Twilight’s warning, Applejack remained on her hooves, walking alongside the others as they made their way along the path towards the mountain capital, occasionally stopping to hide from oncoming patrols.
“They’re looking for us...It’s like they know they missed us or something..” Rainbow Dash whispered as the group emerged from another hiding spot. “That can’t be...right?”
“First rule of successful war Rainbow, know your enemy.” The Mayor replied, a stern look covering her face. The Mayor’s sudden change in attitude disturbed the rest, their once delightful, helpful, and kind leader had become something else, almost like a warrior.
“How do you know all this madam Mayor?” Twilight inquired, trotting up to the tan elder’s side.
“It was before your time Twilight, long ago when I was about your age, I fought in the great Llama wars. It was a trying time, constant fighting between us ponies and the Llamas of the dark side of Equestria.” The Mayor replied.
“You were in the Llama wars? I...I never would have guessed...but I suppose the knowledge does help here...”
“Indeed it does Twilight, I just wish I didn’t ever have to use this knowledge again.” The group carried on in silence, besides the occasional moan of pain from one of the ponies in the carriages, and all seemed to finally be going well. Canterlot was in sight, soon they’d be safe.
Quickly they rushed up the hill leading to a better view when they saw the fire. Canterlot set ablaze by the very monsters that attacked them.
“No...N-no...I-It can’t be...” Twilight stammered, slowly stepping back. From the distance she could see the very tower she used to live in fall to the ground before the rest of the area was consumed by the burning fury.
“It would seem our enemy is stronger than we once thought, and much more organized than we are.” Mayor muttered under her breath. She turned to the scared equines following her with her eyes reflecting the burning flame. “Now it would seem we are at war once more.”
*_*
“ALERT! ALERT! The base is under attack! Report to battle and defensive positions! This is not a drill! ALERT! ALERT!” The voice on the intercom repeated. The sudden sounds of explosions and gun fire startled the mare just as the door began to open.
“Wot the? Wots goin’ on out there?” The jailer cried out with a growl. “Ugh, you stay in there horse or I’ll make the remainder of your short life a living hell.” He commanded before leaving. Twilight quickly grabbed the door knob in her hooves and, with a little difficulty, managed to open it. Before here was a room she only saw once before, when they tossed her into her cage, it was dark, smelly, and oddly wet. Just like before.
Finally, I can make a run for it! Twilight thought as she began to race down hallways, narrowly avoiding being spotted by the enemy. Corridor after corridor, room after room, she ran and kept running until her legs felt like they’d burst open from stress. No! Please! Just a little further! I...I have to see the sun at least! Let me see the sun! She pleaded with her body, and to her surprise she managed to keep going, eventually bursting out through a window. The sun’s rays splashed over her, coating her in it’s warmth for the first time in six years. If only she could enjoy it.
“N-NOOOO! YEEAAAAAARRGH!” She cried as she began to fall, the window she had jumped from was unfortunately stationed near the edge of the cliff the base was built on.
No...to come so far...only to die like this? Why must fate be so cruel? She wondered. Her life began to flash before her eyes, when she first became Celestia’s student, how hard she worked to make her teacher happy. The things she did, the magic she learned, and most importantly, the friends she made. Applejack...Rarity...Pinkie Pie...Fluttershy... She began in her head.
“...and you too Rainbow Dash...” She said aloud, still falling towards the rocky ground. |
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Fragezeichen | 535 | 2 | Main 6,Mayor Mare,Original Character,Alternate Universe,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | My Little Rebellion | incomplete | -1 | -1 | <p>When a sudden invasion tears Equestria apart, will the remaining ponies be able to set right what went so wrong?</p> | everyone | 2011-09-04T15:28:21+00:00 | 2011-09-04T15:28:21+00:00 | 1,679 | Chapter 2: Break the Cutie
"Somepony call my name?" A sudden voice called out, almost drowned away by the rushing sound of the wind as Twilight continued to plummet to her doom. The falling mare blinked as she looked straight up at the blue object dashing towards her with such an incredible pace.
"R-Rainbow?" Twilight replied as the Pegasus snatched her out of the sky. Rainbow's familiar smug grin was plastered on her face, though age was apparent as well. Despite her cool demeanor as usual, her hair's color was fading and the usual sparkle in her eye had disappeared.
"The one and only! Did you miss me?" Rainbow Dash asked as she carried Twilight off into the distance.
"What do you think!?" Twilight shouted, tears filling up her eyes. The heroic Pegasus chuckled again as she landed nearby, panting slightly from the trip.
"Whew, it's been a while since I did something like that, looks like I still got it eh?" The purple mare, without hesitation, quickly raced towards her lost friend, taking her into the tightest hug she could muster, despite the Pegasus' objection. "H-hey! Calm down on the mushy stuff! We still gotta get outta here you know!"
"S-sorry, i-it's just...Rainbow...It's been so long..." Twilight whimpered, looking down and away. Rainbow placed a hoof on her back and smiled.
"Yeah well, it's over now right? C'mon, there's a place we can be safe while the rest help the other ponies escape."
"The rest? What do you mean?" Twilight questioned as she began to follow after Rainbow.
"The freedom fighters of course. I think six years has been long enough to be kept like this don't you? We have a plan to get rid of those guys once and for all." Twilight stopped in her tracks and looked over at the base she just escaped from, the sounds of explosions and gunfire still extremely apparent.
"We're fighting back? But how? We...We're not as strong as...them." The curious mare reminded her friend.
"Well duh, but that's why we got some of them to help us." As Rainbow said this, a figure emerged from the brush, one of the invaders.
"R-Rainbow!" Twilight shouted as she began to back peddle away. Rainbow Dash shook her head and sighed.
"He's on our side Twilight, don't have a cow." The invader, Twilight stared at him nervously. He looked like all the rest. Tall, standing on his hind legs while his front legs hung at his side, strange protrusions stemming off from where his hooves should have been. They had called them 'hands' or something similar. He lacked a coat of any kind, merely pink flesh and a tuft of a pitiful mane on the top of his head. His face was odd as well, as the rest of the invaders' were, it was flatter than a ponies, and his eyes were smaller. On his body he wore clothes, they always wore clothes for some reason, a tattered tan trench coat and a red scarf around his neck.
"Which one is that Dash?" The human asked. "She looks like the host of magic, is that right?" Rainbow turned her head and nodded.
"Yeah Marcus, this is Twilight, one of my best friends." Twilight looked between the two in shock and awe, two supposed enemies conversing in such a way. How could it be possible? "Honestly Twilight, we thought this is where Fluttershy was, my face when I saw you falling down a cliff instead of her!" She laughed as she made a surprised face, almost as if this had all been a joke.
"I...I need to lie down..." The confused purple pony admitted as she trudged forward.
"Oh, well, we'll be home soon! There's a carriage that'll take us there." Rainbow called as she trotted towards her.
<_>
"So, a group of freedom fighters have sprung up hmm? That's not good at all." Amongst the fire spread across the base, a man stood, staring at others. "And you were all unprepared for such an attack?"
"Y-yes sir, it was too coordinated. We lost the Element Host being held here I'm afraid." A soldier replied, his body burned in various places. The older man paced back and forth, staring at the men stationed at this base that now laid in ruin. He rubbed his beard and turned away from them.
"Do you know why we have those hosts locked up? Do you know why they had to be kept apart? Do you know that's the second host we've lost?!" He roared as he turned around, quickly punching one of the standing soldiers in his face, knocking him far back into a burning wreckage. His screams of pain were utterly ignored. "If the hosts are allowed to come back together then there'll be no stopping them, do you want that? Do you want us to be defeated by a bunch of animals?!"
"S-Sir, no sir!" The men cried in reply. The older man's left eye began to twitch as he cleared his throat.
"Well then, get your heads in shape. I want to find out everything about this terrorist group, these traitors working with the little bastards. I want to know exactly where they're going next." He commanded, the soldiers nodding and quickly about-facing, rushing off toward the way the rebels escaped.
<_>
"So, they rescued you that long ago?" Twilight asked from the carriage that was being pulled by a grey stallion. "And it took you that long to organize a plan to save me?"
"Pretty much, we aren't the biggest group, and we lose more everyday but once we rescue Applejack and the others, there'll be no way we can lose!" Rainbow Dash replied as she hovered next to the vehicle.
"But why are some of the humans helping us?" The unicorn asked nervously. "Don't they want us all gone?"
"Only the bad ones. The ones lacking in compassion." The human from before replied, a rifle strapped from his back. "Humans have lost their way. We're becoming the monsters we tried so hard to fight against but failed to beat. So the rest of us want to make things right, we want to live in peace with you Equestrians."
"Peace? That sounds pretty good to me, Mr...?"
"Just call me Red, everyone does anyway." Red replied, tugging on his scarf slightly. Twilight shrugged and nodded as she looked back at Rainbow.
"Do you know where the others are?"
"Well, we know where they are, but we don't know which is which. Like I said before, we thought this was Fluttershy's place." Rainbow replied, landing on the carriage and laying down next to Twilight. "We...well, honestly I wanted to save her first. I can only imagine what sick stuff their doing to her you know?" Twilight nodded. She didn't mind that she wasn't the intended target, she knew Fluttershy would have been the best choice but what had been done was done.
"Well, you can count on my to help in any way I can."
"That's kinda what I was hoping for, you're magic is the most powerful I've ever seen! Well, besides Celestia's..." As she said this, the equines walking with them bowed their heads, muttering something before returning to normal. "We uh, try not to talk about her much though. Anyway, here's the plan; we know where another of our friends is being held, but it's heavily guarded." Twilight nodded.
"Say no more, I know exactly what to do. An Invisibility spell right?" Rainbow blinked and chuckled.
"That'd work if we were trying to sneak in, but what I'm talking about is something a bit more flashy, a big bang!"
"A-an explosion? I don't know, I've never done anything violent with my magic before..." Twilight admitted nervously as she turned her head away.
"Hey, shouldn't be too hard right? Just concentrate and boom!"
"It's not THAT simple Rainbow, but...I guess I could try..."
<_>
The sudden explosion rocked the base as the rebel force burst inside, firing their weapons wildly at all opposing forces.
"ALERT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Rang the alarm as the unprepared soldiers attempted to take up arms, but before they could even try to pick up a weapon, the rebels took over the base. Anyone not killed in the crossfire, was captured and stowed away.
"Ha! I knew you had it in you Twi'! That was sweet!" Cried Rainbow as she and Twilight stood before the room where one of their friends was being held. The room was all too familiar to Twilight. It would seem that the bases were built similar to one another for ease of access. It smelled differently and the jailer here was lying face down dead in a pile of shrapnel outside the base, not that it mattered. Rainbow and Twilight walked toward the cage where a quiet sniffling could be heard.
"That...It has to be Fluttershy!" Rainbow declared as she forced open the door. Sure enough, there lay a crying yellow pony, covered in filth and incredibly thin. She wore two casts, one on her right foreleg and one on her hind left leg, and bruises decorated her body to no end, and, as if someone thought this image wouldn't be enough, a decaying corpse of a rabbit hung from the ceiling.
"W-what is this?" Twilight whispered, suddenly looking away from the scene. Rainbow walked inside, more worried about the fallen pony lying on the ground.
"Fluttershy? It's me...Rainbow Dash, we're gonna get you out of here."
"Get out of here?" Fluttershy whimpered back. "There's no getting out of here..." She looked away and softly cried, Rainbow looked back at Twilight who, rather than stay staring at the horror, was reading a document on the table.
"Twi', we gotta get Fluttershy outta here..."
"I know Rainbow but look at this, it's some sort of journal..."
Stubbs' Diary
Day 1: So far this job sucks, ever since I got stuck guarding that horse the others have been coming in here and abusing it to no end. I gotta admit, I feel sorry for it.
Day 14: Learned the thing's name was Fluttershy, poor thing was sitting in the corner whimpering some song about her friends. My heart is breaking in two right now, how can we be so cruel?
Day 20: I found a rabbit outside today and brought it to Fluttershy, it was the first time I had seen her smile, unfortunate that she had a black eye though, she could barely see...
Day 30: Heard news of a resistance movement today, I told the news to Fluttershy. She was too tired to really understand I guess, she had just survived another beating from the others. I hope those rebels come soon...
Day 35: Monsters! Cruel monsters! How could they kill the rabbit?! I'm starting to wonder just who the good guys are around here! I've gotta do something!
I've got a plan, the rebels will be coming here for her, she told me about the Elements of Harmony and how her other friends held them inside. The rebels will be coming for Fluttershy so I gotta make it easy for them. I managed to steal a map and gave it to Fluttershy to hold, it shows the location of the others, hopefully it'll help...oh please God let it help...
Twilight read of over the pages repeatedly and nodded. "Rainbow, the jailer here, he gave Fluttershy a map to the others! With that we find them easily!" She turned around to see that the Pegasus managed to get the other on her back.
"G-great, c'mon we gotta get moving now." She replied, rushing through the door and out of the base.
End Break the Cutie |
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Fragezeichen | 535 | 3 | Main 6,Mayor Mare,Original Character,Alternate Universe,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | My Little Rebellion | incomplete | -1 | -1 | <p>When a sudden invasion tears Equestria apart, will the remaining ponies be able to set right what went so wrong?</p> | everyone | 2011-09-10T23:38:33+00:00 | 2011-09-10T23:38:33+00:00 | 1,160 | Chapter 3: Saints
It hadn't all been like this. Equestria was a much nicer place. Ruled by a benevolent princess who cared for all her subjects along with her sister with a troubled past. The two maintained peace and harmony among the ponies who lived in the fertile lands. But then the Invaders came.
They arrived in massive black warships, bore devastating weapons and an seemingly insatiable blood lust. The ponies were no match for them. As hard as they had fought, their magic and other abilities were not enough to stand against the Invaders. Celestia, their great princess, believed they only had one hope to repel the enemy forces. The Elements of Harmony.
The Elements of Harmony, a magical gift. A powerful weapon. The Elements were created to keep peace and ultimately destroy anything that threatened the harmony of Equestria, the Invaders wouldn't be able to escape their power. At least, that was the plan.
*_*
"This is our last chance..." Celestia whispered as she looked over the seven ponies before her. The sound of explosions and aerial bombardments from the Invader's flagship echoed throughout the bunker. The collection of equines stood in a great circle, in between them a rainbow colored crystal glowed faintly in the darkness. "This is the last source of magic not captured by them." The crystal, one of the many scattered around, amplified Unicorn magic to astronomical levels as long as they were nearby, many magicians of entertainment carried a some in order to increase their powers. But this time they needed to increase the power of The Elemental Hosts.
Six ponies chose by fate, six best friends, six heroes destined to save Equestria. It would be up to them and their unbreakable friendship to call upon The Elements of Harmony and destroy the Invaders with one final push. At least, that was the plan.
"Are you girls ready?" A Purple unicorn asked her friends as they stood close the crystal, her horn glowing with a low glow. The others nodded and soon were lifted up along with the crystal upward into an ancient observatory. The bright sun shown through the various windows and it's beams of light collided with the crystal, streaming out into brilliant designs amongst the spherical walls. The six ponies of destiny soon entered The Element State, total singularity between them, a hive mind. Together they would turn the observatory into it's original use, a powerful cannon used in the Great Llama Wars. They would fire the Rainbow of Light, destroying The Dark Eve, the Invader flagship.
Back down below, Celestia and her younger sister Luna quickly stormed to the outside of the castle, watching in horror as their army was quickly decimated by the Invaders' superior forces.
"Lady Celestia!" An injured knight called, limping toward them. "The enemy is too strong *cough* they'll soon descend upon the castle in a matter of minutes!"
"Calm now Sentry," Celestia assured, "Twilight and her friends have arrived at the top of the Observatory, they'll be able to stop them." Sentry nodded and turned back towards the fight.
"We can only pray your majesty, we can only pray."
<_>
"So this is their desperation? They're going to fire a rainbow at us? How ludicrous!" General Dahm laughed as he sat on his throne. He looked toward the black pony with a malicious grin. "You've done well to provide me with all of this information Proditor." The stallion looked down sadly and turned away, slowly exiting the command room of the Dark Eve. "Make sure our inside pony is properly compensated Dalias, it's time to end this frivolously fruitless fiasco once and for all."
"Aether Cannon ready sir." An operator called. Dahm gave a fearsome roar of victory.
"Aim for that filthy bulb on top of the castle! Destroy their last hope and crush them forever!" He growled, pointing at the observatory. The operators at the controls nodded and inserted two keys, turning them caused a large black button to light up in a dark blue glow. "Fire."
<_>
"M-M'lady! S-something's happening with the enemy's ship!" a Knight called to Celestia who had just thwarted an Invader jet's attempt to blow up a group of pony knights.
"What? What's going on?" The large mystical mare shouted back before she noticed the black weapon opening up on the Dark Eve. "What...is that?"
The Dark Eve gave a sickening roar as it's underbelly opened up, revealing a massive core, then sudden silence swept across the battle field. All eyes, pony and Invader, stopped and stared at the Dark Eve as the core began to pull light itself inside, charging what would be an attack more devastating than anything either side had seen before. Luna stared in awe of the massive light absorbing machine as it started to open up, revealing a center rod with a silver sphere on it's end.
"S-sister! It's a weapon!" Luna cried, galloping toward Celestia in desperation. The elder princess looked up in horror as she saw the weapon being aimed at the observatory.
"Twilight..." She whispered before darting upward.
<_>
"This is it..." The purple mare whispered as she wore the Magic Crown. She and her friends hovered around the crystal at various heights, it's magic coursing through their veins. The observatory's ceiling began to open as it adjusted itself, aiming for the Dark Eve, but it was too late it would seem. As if in slow motion Twilight stared at the scene, a glorious white mare was hovering between her and a raging black beam. "Celestia?"
*_*
"So that's what happened huh?" A young colt asked with his head tilted, a young human girl laying against him.
"Yes little ones, Celestia saved my friends and me, but couldn't save herself..." Twilight whispered as she looked away from the small group of children huddled around her, eager to hear the tale of how she survived.
"But wha' happen to Luna?" A filly asked curiously. "Did she die too?" Twilight blinked and shook her head.
"I-I'm not sure what happened to her..." She admitted as Fluttershy walked into the tent.
"T-Twilight? Rainbow wants to see you..."
"O-oh, alright, i'm coming." the purple Unicorn replied, standing up, much to the protest of the children around her. "S-sorry little ones, but I'll be back to tell you another story soon." The children stood up and happily hugged their designated story-teller before quickly exiting the tent, Twilight following behind with Fluttershy.
"You're very good with their children Twilight..." Fluttershy whispered suddenly.
"T-their? You mean the humans?" Twilight asked, startled by Fluttershy who nodded slowly. "Well, I mean, they're all just kids right? They're not really different from our own fillies and colts."
"Only they grow up to be cruel, heartless, destructive, animal-hating, kill a pony without thinking twice, warriors..."
"F-Fluttershy! T-that's not something i'd expect you of all ponies to say!" Twilight exclaimed, cutting in front of the yellow and pink Pegasus. Fluttershy looked away sadly and continued walking. "Fluttershy...?"
<_>
"Oookay! So according to this map, Pinkie Pie is the closest, we should rescue her first! What do you think Chuck?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking up at a mustachioed man with a red beret.
"Hmm, thinking tactically, they would be expecting that so they'll probably fortify that base...but then that means they'll think we assumed that and instead went to capture a different base. Meaning yes, that's where we should strike." Chuck nodded, stroking his mustache.
"Couldn't you have just said that?" Rainbow asked with her head tilted. Chuck shrugged and went back to grooming his mustache when Twilight entered the tent. "Twilight! There you are, I wanted to tell you about our next plan!"
"Er, Rainbow I actually wanted to talk to you about Flutter-"
"Pinkie is here at this base on Mt. Really, Really High Up There so we're going to need a spell to get us all there quickly! Think you can manage it?"
"Um, well, I think so but Fluttershy seems-"
"Well, we can't take Fluttershy Twilight! She's not exactly battle ready. But you'll do fine!"
"But Rainbow, I think she's acting a bit-"
"So we're planning on attacking in a few days, that'll give us a chance to resupply and prepare our forces! That'll really get 'em!"
"Rainbow please, I'm trying to tell you something impor-"
"Oh by the way, have you met Chuck? He's a defected engineer and tactician, he's been a big help in our infiltration of those bases, he planned your rescue too!"
"Whassup?"
"Um, hello Chuck, and thank you but Rainbow I-"
"So, you'd better rest up so we can-"
"RAINBOW DASH! Please listen to me!" Twilight cried out, making everyone in the room stare at her.
"Whoa, Twilight, what's up?" Rainbow asked nervously. Twilight panted and urged the blue Pegasus out of the tent to somewhere more private. "T-Twilight? What're we doing out here alone?"
"Rainbow, there's something very important I have to tell you..." Twilight whispered. Rainbow blinked and blushed, looking away.
"Twilight, this really isn't the right time for any sort of confession...but I mean, I do kinda like-"
"I don't think Fluttershy is comfortable with the humans that are helping us." Twilight cut in quickly. Rainbow blinked and shook her head.
"E-er, wait, that's what this is about?"
"Yes, what did you think this was about?" Twilight asked, raising a brow. Rainbow, looked away with a whistle then cleared her throat.
"N-nothing. Anyway, what about Fluttershy?"
"I think she hates the humans..."
"What? Fluttershy doesn't hate anyone! I don't think she CAN hate anyone actually."
"True...but...I think we should be careful anyway. She's delicate and we don't want her getting scared." Rainbow Dash nodded and started to walk back toward the camp.
"No problem, I know just the thing that'll cheer her up." |
|
Rex Ivan | 536 | 1 | Derpy Hooves,Comedy,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Derpy on the Dark Side | complete | 10 | 1 | <p>During the nights of the full moon Bright Eyes contemplates her situation as the mail carrier of Ponyville. This takes place before the events of the first episode.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T01:14:28+00:00 | 2011-08-18T01:14:28+00:00 | 2,025 | Amblyopia – a condition of the eye in which the brain does not fully acknowledge the images seen by the effected eye. This commonly results in poor depth perception, double vision, and loss of sight. This condition is not correctable by artificial lenses and not caused by any bacteria or virus.
Strabismus – a disorder in which the two eyes do not line up in the same direction, and therefore are not aimed at the same object at the same time. This results in two different images being sent to the brain (one from each eye) which confuses the brain. This will eventually cause the brain to learn to ignore the image from the weaker eye. If the disorder is not treated, it is likely that the weaker eye will eventually develop amblyopia.
Neither of these conditions are in any way indicative of any disorder or malignancy of the mind.
+++++++
It was some time ago that Bright Eyes realized what she had to do. The moon had been her inspiration, or rather the pony imprisoned inside of it. She had realized it one night, as she peered simultaneously up at the night sky and at the bush in her back yard. Her thoughts drifted, as they almost constantly did, to various abstracts and historical stories and baking recipes. It was on that particular night that she was reminded of the stories her Mom used to tell her during their moments of bonding while chopping wood and knife juggling (not at the same time of course, that would be silly). Those moments never seemed to last very long or happen that often, but she so cherished them. Her mind wandered a bit, first around to the kitchen to get something to eat, then it washed up, and then started to go for a jog before remembering that it was supposed to be recalling the story of the mare in the moon. That fable had always particularly interested her, but for very different reasons than it did for most ponies.
Luna, the sister of the night, had been destined by her very nature to be confined to her solitude of watching over Equestria while all her beloved ones slept. She alone would see the full beauty of what she had brought about. It wasn't her fault that the bitterness and rage of being all alone had twisted her mind and heart into a schizophrenic pretzel-noodle. It was like when Bright Eyes would throw parties for herself and be the only one there: not really that fun at all. Why, she had a good mind to throw another one right then and there, just to prove to herself how much it would suck. She then thought better of it and refocused, this time on omelettes.
****************
The next night she found herself in the same place staring up at the same sky and suddenly found herself finishing her previous chain of thinking. It was not Luna's fault at all that she had to be imprisoned inside the moon, just as Bright Eyes was not at fault for her own appearance keeping her from any meaningful social interaction. It wasn't her fault that she was socially awkward from the isolation, or that her home happened to be hidden by the tall trees on the very outskirts of Ponyville so she that never had neighbors or visitors. It was definitely not her fault that she was never able to make that little cloth doll stop showing up on her doorstep no matter how far away she took it. Seriously, that thing was creepy as hell. It wouldn't catch fire either, or she would have destroyed it long ago. She finally decided to just toss it in a box in the back of her closet just to get it out of sight, but some nights . . . she was VERY conscious of it being there.
All this and more were not the things that she could control, yet they all conspired to keep her from being friendly with any pony other than herself. This was not at all bad, since she enjoyed being friendly with herself, but occasionally wanted some other pony to join in. It was then that it struck her that if anyone were to have the ability to see a running dialogue from the thoughts in her head, that the last few moments may very well be misconstrued in a way she did not at all intend. Well then, that would be even more reason than she already had to stay away from mind-reading wizards in ugly hats.
Her Mom never liked the ugly hat wizards. In fact, in her last days she never really seemed to like anyone. Maybe that was why she had moved all the way out to the very edge of town. Maybe it had something to do with her Dad. Bright Eyes was never really brave enough to bring that question up though. A shame she would most likely never know now.
To her credit though, her Mom did everything within the constraints of her failing strength to try to raise Bright Eyes as a thoughtful, sensitive, and kind pony. Unfortunately her illness had left the older pegasus grounded for almost as long as Bright Eyes could remember. Growing up, she had often dreamed of the two of them playing together in the clouds, and even now years after her Mom's death, she would have those dreams still. She would, at times, be instructed to go out to practice flying by herself. She had no qualms about this, but would always catch her mind wandering back to her flightless guardian. She simply couldn't bring herself to fly off and frolic around knowing that her Mom would be left there all alone.
In those last few days Bright Eyes had ended up having to provide only a minimum of care for her matron. She had kept nearly all of her ability to go about her daily routines right up till her last day. This was no doubt due largely to the restorative powers of the exotic plants and herbs she collected and raised in her green house.
Bright Eyes had always really enjoyed the fact that the sun windows in the ceiling of the attic allowed for the keeping of a large variety of odd looking vegetation. She used to go there and play jungle adventurer. In fact she had been doing just that on the day she discovered the secret room. Neither she nor her Mom knew why it was there, but there was a hidden door disguised as a plain old wall. Beyond it was a small room lined with bookshelves, all of which were crammed from floor to ceiling with old musty tomes and scrolls and charts. Bright Eyes loved the stories from these tomes. They were all so different from any of the other stories she would read. Since her Mom had taken it on herself to allow the merits of home schooling, these books and papers had been a major source of the education Bright Eyes received during her formative years. Sometimes, when her Mom would send her on trips to the market, she would overhear other ponies talking rather negatively about the outcome of home schooled ponies. Although she never said anything, she could not agree with them. After all, just look at how she had turned out.
Unfortunately many other ponies would not agree with her. Not only would they not agree with her, they would at times act downright mean to her. She pretended not to hear them, just as much out of politeness as out of fear for what they would do if she did speak up for herself. They would whisper and chuckle behind her back, and she would just trot on by and keep holding the tears in. She was the outcast, and this was not her fault.
“No friends,” once again she was looking to the night sky, speaking to only herself and the moon. “Very much like you, Luna, and I'm sure you felt it too. The contempt. The jealousy when you looked at your elder sister. The pain of eating pizza too quickly right out of the oven . . . or did you have the ability to turn pain off? Most likely not, since it drove you CRAZY.”
“I wonder if there was a point where you could have stopped yourself. If there was a point where you realized you were losing your self to the bad stuffs. It just doesn't seem fair that there are certain ponies born into this kind of situation. The no-friend situation.”
She breathed in a deep draw of the night air and then turned to enter her empty house. Closing the door she surveyed the damage caused by her recent tirade. She had become much better at controlling her rage. She no longer hurt herself anymore, and only one vase was broken this time.
“Oddly enough,” she again spoke to the only one who would listen, “I never have the guts to lash out my anger at the ponies really responsible for making it this way.” She pulled a chair into it's upright position and wondered why she even had a piece of furniture that she was physically unable to use. “And who would I lash against, Mr. Chair? The world? HA! We BOTH know it isn't any one single pony's fault. The difference between us is that I'M the one willing to admit it. One pony living all alone without a clue how to relate to any other pony, and every other pony more or less avoiding that pony since she avoids all the other ponies. Pony pony PONY!! AHAHAH!” The laughter was thick with bitterness, and she somewhat surprised herself at this.
“OK, so I'm sort of off-putting to look at. So what?” She stared at the chair again and began to frown. “Oh, don't you pull that crap with me, Chair. I DO try to talk with them . . . sorta'. They just don't at all understand. UG! Especially the little ones. I was never that cruel when I was that age. They can be so merciless. I realize that they have not learned what tact is yet, but there's no need for the harsh name calling.” She inched closer to the chair, looking down at it with a deeper frown. “You KNOW which name I mean. I don't have to say it here, and YOU can't make me!”
She rushed into the kitchen to open the refrigerator. After retrieving a stick of butter she trotted back to the chair and pressed it firmly into the fine red upholstered seat. “Ha! What do you say to that, Chair? Nothing, that's what! Because I buttered you up! Haha!” The victory was short lived though, as her mind wandered back to the source of her outbursts.
“But the mean little ones are only saying what all the others are thinking. No, it's not telepathocity. I can see it in their faces, in the way they refuse to look me in the -,” she felt the tears coming again. That ugly wave of sadness made a tension in her stomach and chest that felt almost like the gas produced from eating stink-weed greens. She recalled the stew she had made from them some weeks earlier. She had to keep all the windows open for days to get the smell out. She was just glad that it had been summer time then.
“Heh.” She made a raspberry sound with her tongue. “Heehee. PFFTTT! Hahaha! PFFFTT! HAHAHAHAH! PRRFFTTT!! I bet this would be double-fun while eating tacos!” She jolted once more into the kitchen.
****************
An hour later Bright Eyes found herself out in the yard staring up at the moon once more. The bad thoughts had again crept up on her as she stared at the waning orb in the sky. It had been like this for some time now. In the quiet hours, when distractions were at a minimum, she found herself reflecting on the mistreatment she had to endure from her peer-ponies.
She had found only one way of combating the insults and negativity, if “combat” was even the word for it. She simply went about her daily delivery route in a quick efficient manner making as little contact as she could with the rest of the town, and all the while fixing her face with a blank stare in preparation to pretend not to hear or understand any of the bad she knew she would be waiting along her route. Then she could count on coming back to her empty house, and trying to distract herself from getting bogged down in the rage and despair and soul-crushing loneliness that would come trotting out from the shadows.
She wondered at how long this would keep happening, or for that matter if there would be any reason it would stop. Maybe one day she would wake up and every pony would be happy to accept her as she was, even with her tourette syndrome. She was pretty sure that would never ever happen. If anything was going to change it would be from some pony taking control of her situation. What a marvelous coincidence that she was some pony and was right there in the middle of the situation. There had been plenty of bad that had been tossed at her that was not her fault, just as it was with Luna. She decided then that, just like Luna, she would have to take matters into her own hooves. She felt the twinge of fear that blossomed in her chest as she made that connection.
“It will be just fine,” she stroked her mane as she spoke her own comforting words. “What is the worst that could go wrong? I mean, things can't really get much worse, with the exception of having the house burn down and becoming a quad-amputee who is forced to stand out in the rain and endure the indignity of messing myself in full public view. No worries other than that.” Her gaze was fixed onto the moon. Shining bright and beautiful, it made her good eye start to water, and she thought again of such a shame it was that Luna's wonderful creation was usually completely missed by most of the population of Ponyville. She blinked away the tears.
“Fine then. This is where I start to correct things, and where I start to come out on top.”
******************
Her Mom's green house had been home to some of the most rare plants in Equestria. She had taken considerable effort and time to have them collected from far off places, many of which Bright Eyes had never even heard of till the packages showed up at the office. She saw it as her duty, the one task her that had been left behind, to keep the collection watered and well groomed as best she could. She had also kept the stack of notes and journals that her Mom had used to record all her experiments in horticulture and herbal medicines from over the years. The effects and the dosages were very specific. The one she was interested in now was the extract of the root of a particularly rare plant with a name she didn't care to learn to pronounce, so she just called it Ted.
The Ted root, when boiled down, provided a clear sticky liquid toxin that could be easily absorbed through the skin. The effects of this toxin were a temporary blindness that could last anywhere from a day up to about a week or so, depending on the dose.
Bright Eyes had discovered this journal entry only in recent weeks when the urge to see the familiarity of her Mom's writing and recite the contents of the books while wearing her Mom's burial dress had proved to be too much to resist. In the weeks that followed she had wrestled with the moral implications of taunting her gold fish with horseshoes and making up rhymes about how he had no feet. When she finally decided that this would have been too cruel, she decided to create a small quantity of the Ted toxin to try out on the tree in the back yard. She was both overjoyed and unnerved by the results. She was absolutely certain the tree couldn't see a thing. Now came the question of actually using it on the population of Ponyville.
How beautiful would it be to venture down to the market one day and find all her tormentors stumbling around in a discordant panic. They wouldn't have any way of knowing the effects were not permanent, and what wonderful chaos they would cause then. They would no longer be able to judge ANYONE by their appearance. This would be the lesson she would teach them all. She would open their eyes to their cruelty by shutting off their sight.
“Then I will be the ruler of ALL THE OCEANS!! MUWWAHAHAHAAHAH!!”
It would take effect about an hour after exposure, and it would be easy enough to disperse the toxin through the mail. Bright Eyes particularly enjoyed that part. She really did enjoy her job when there were no ass-clowns to ruin it for her.
The only problem would be that she would have to grow enough of the Ted plant to get a large enough quantity of the toxin to drug the whole town. That would take a bit of time, which was fine by her since she was working on becoming immortal anyway. It's a well known fact that the time which surrounds any pony who wears a wristwatch will lose its potency when the watch stops. She was now on the fifth wristwatch to have stopped of natural causes. By her calculations this would keep her the same age for the next 73 years. Her mind boggled at the thought of how many time pieces Princess Celestia must have at her disposal. Though she was the ruler of Equestria, so it really wouldn't be hard for her to obtain them. If worse came to worse she could just impose a clock tax, and take them from the general public.
*****************
It had been more than a month since she first sat out under the stars and made her declaration. It had been a day less than that since she had begun taking cuttings of the Ted plant to cultivate more little Teds. They grew fairly quickly when given the right amount of Ted care, but she still needed much more before she would be able to implement her plan. Based on the calculations from her abacus, another four months would still be needed. She thought on this as she again as she sat beneath the starry sky and stared up at her lunar muse.
“The story says that you'll be able to return after one thousand years. If what I read in the tomes is true that means you'll be coming back this year some time.” She paused for a moment and allowed the full weight of her statement to sink in. When that failed to happen, she let that weight slide off her back and land with a “moosh” sound on the ground.
“If it's really true, if you really are more than the fairy tale all the other ponies think you to be, then maybe I won't really need to do this at all. Maybe you will be able to harvest out revenge on the whole world in the name of all the outcasts.”
“Wow, I didn't know that I would become so vindictive that I wanted the whole world to suffer, but apparently I don't really care if it gets hurt or not. I wonder if this emotion is similar to what you felt back then, at that time, only yours was magnified by about a gillion.”
She stared in silence for a moment more and an empty place in her heart begin to ache. She knew that she was the bad guy here. She seemed to want it. She imagined all the damage that could be done by an eternal night. Eventually the entire world would grow cold and die. That couldn't be compared to the small hurt that she would cause with just a week's worth of blindness. No way, not a chance. How much could be done then, in her little circle of the world? How many lives would be crippled or ruined or even ended within the time? What would they finally do when they found out she was the one who had caused it. They would know eventually, she was sure of that. The Ponyville Police Department were not complete morons. They would find that the letters were what the toxin was being spread by, and it would only be a matter of time then. Then she would be punished. She knew this just as certainly as she knew she would be deserving of what ever they did to her once they caught up to her.
“But it needs to happen. I need to extract at least some measure of dance-dance from them. And they will hate me for it, just as sure as I am most likely sitting here talking to myself. Probably none of them will be able to see beyond themselves to what I was trying to show them.”
“Hmm . . . . Crap. So this is what the bad guy feels like. I wonder if either of us could be redeemed after deliberately committing such blatant crimes against friendship.” She chuckled to herself on this and wondered why it was that she seemed to still care about things like that. She paused and thought as deeply as she dared to on this matter.
“Perhaps I should just toss this whole thing away, just forget the plan and be a good pony, and go about the rest of my life enduring the rest of my life.” That thought made her cringe inwardly and out.
“No. That wasn't what you did, and you had every chance that your sister gave you. The only one giving me my chances is myself, and they all point down your same path. I have no excuse for backing out. I have . . ,” and she was about to say that she had no one to back out for, but stopped short of that. The dull ache shot through the empty space inside her heart again, more intense this time.
“Maybe. If there was still a chance for the outsider. If there was some way for a pony who had attempted so much against the forces of good . . . if there was a way for you to be accepted into the world again, then certainly there would be some place for me too. There would be some pony for me too.” Bright Eyes felt the tears running down her face now and made no attempt to stop them.
“I'll make you this promise Luna. If there would be any way that you could throw away the destiny that had been hefted upon you, then I will not give up hope for being able to escape my own. I will consider that I may still find a way to walk in the light.” She stared up at the moon a little longer, hoping to still believe she didn't have to do these things. She then promptly decided it was time for bed and collapsed down with an unceremonious 'thud' before falling into a very sound sleep.
******************
Bright Eyes awoke the next day, very early just as she always did, and rushed through her breakfast of juniper water and lime shavings. After a quick staggering dash into the closet to retrieve her mailbags, she was off. As her flight path zigzagged through the still dark morning sky she had the notion that, some day soon, she should take a picture of the dawn, in case one day it didn't happen. That way she would have her own personal sunrise that she could use anytime she pleased. Why, she could just have the sun rise and set thirty times in one day, if she wanted. It would be like making thirty extra days all crammed into one. The only problem would be that she would probably get fired for not showing up for work on all those extra days. Even if she tried it while she was already at work, there was still her route she had to consider. She liked to think that she could fly fast, but she knew she wasn't fast enough to do that much delivering in so short a time. Perhaps if she had not abandoned her plans to build the mail cannon. It would surely speed things up and was worth considering. She made a mental note of it, which promptly got lost in a stack of other notes that may or may not ever be seen by her mind's crooked eye again.
She looped around and down through the still morning mists, landing just outside the post office with a few minutes to spare. As she took out her magic marker to scribble her initials on a randomly chosen cobblestone block (a practice she enjoyed doing to mark the start of each new day), she happened to look towards the town's magic fortune-telling board, which was just outside the office. It had grown a new flyer over night. She enjoyed reading them since they always seemed to come true. She had tried fortune telling herself, but she never seemed to be able to get it right. Somehow this magic poster board always knew.
Today it announced that Ponyville had been selected to host the Summer Sun Celebration this year. She was somewhat excited on this, since she had always heard it to be a fun time. She also knew that the Princess would be there. She had never actually seen Princess Celestia live and in person, but had heard that she exuded an aura of sublime goodness, able to inspire even the worst of minds into throwing away their evil ways. She pondered the possibilities of such a thing. Perhaps she would allow herself time to dance that night away. She thought herself pretty good at the cha-cha as long as there was nothing in the way to stagger over, like a dance partner.
She refocused on her task. Now, it was time to deliver the mail. |
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Rex Ivan | 538 | 1 | Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Rainbow Dash,Rarity,Dark,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Cupcake's Day Out | complete | 11 | 1 | <p>"Cupcake is good at just about everything she does. It just takes a little practice, some hard work, and maybe a bit of luck! :) " </p><p>I wrote this when Hasbro decided to make the G4 Cupcake toy before making most of the ponies from the cast of the MLP FIM. The box art of the toy was a recoloring of Fluttershy, as an earth pony, and the description of her was the first line in the description here.</p><p>After writing this I later found out that Cupcake has been a MLP toy since G1, and been reincarnated through the toy line for every toy generation.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T02:08:32+00:00 | 2011-08-18T02:08:32+00:00 | 1,438 | CUPCAKE is good at just about everything she does. It just takes a little practice, some hard work, and maybe a bit of luck! :)
*****
Perfect. Her feats in the kitchen were always perfect. She was good at just about everything she did, but when it came to baked goods this counted doubly so.
“Oh my, Cupcake, you've gone and outdone yourself again. Why, I don't think any pony could stand up to your super special baking technique. Not even me!” Pinkie Pie was her usual jovial and animated self as she heaped praise upon the young mare. Pinkie reached her hoof over to sneak a taste of the cake's delicious looking icing. Cupcake swatted the pink hoof down and glared at it's owner. How could Pinkie Pie even THINK of trying to ruin such a perfect example of baking prowess? Pinkie's sunny expression suddenly began to strain just a bit as she lowered her hoof and held Cupcake's gaze for half a beat. It was then that the large white stallion behind her approached Pinkie with a stern and somber look about him.
“Oh, my heh heh, I'm sorry. That was totally my fault.” Pinkie looked over her shoulder and laughed nervously. “No need to over react. But see, there's nothing ruined, so we're still all having lots of fun.” She broadened her smile as the stallion shot her a narrow glance. “Fun fun!”
“Maybe you should get that packed up, and we can get going now.” He had stated it in such a matter of fact manner that Pinkie was certain there weren't going to be any other options.
“Oh! Right. I guess it's time you guys were on your way.” Pinkie quickly wrapped a colorful box around Cupcakes new creation. “Here you go Cupcake. All ready for travel.” She put the box in the mare's saddlebag.
As the two walked away from sugar-cube corner Pinkie waved after them. Cupcake leaned on the stallion's shoulder. Her Cloud Duster was the perfect pony. He was strong, tall, handsome and took no guff from any pony. This was very fitting for her since she was also perfect in every way. They walked on in silence down the main street. Cupcake couldn't resist leaning a little closer and blowing gently in his ear.
“That will be enough of that Cupcake.” His reply was low and firm. She giggled. He was so cute when he got embarrassed like this. She was about to plant a little kiss on his cheek when she saw their next destination: Rarity's Sewing shop. She giggled again and grabbed his hoof to pull him to the entrance. His stern expression deepened into a near frown as he glanced down at his own hoof in hers. He was so silly that way.
***************
As they entered Rarity looked up from her work. “Darling, you've come back at last.” She smiled. “I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you.” She glanced over at Cloud Duster who gave her a slight nod. Rarity turned again to Cupcake. “I have your new dress all finished. It's based entirely on the designs you gave me.” At this she leaned in towards Cupcake and whispered conspiratorially. “And I don't mind saying that I'm more than just a little jealous at the ingenuity and skill you put into them. It's just in the back room. I'll only be a moment.”
Of course she was jealous. Cupcake's designs were light years ahead of anything else Ponyville had ever seen. Not to say that Rarity was a bad seamstress, but she was more than just a bit behind the times in terms of what was new and in style. Cupcake, however, had created a dress design that would most certainly redefine the pinnacle of high fashion. She would have made it herself too, except that she had been so busy with all the exciting things in her life, she just couldn't find the time. Rarity was the only pony she knew who possessed both the skill and the supplies to do the job. At first Rarity had tried to suggest a few alterations to the design, but Cupcake insisted that only her original pattern would suffice.
“Here we are.” Rarity appeared from the backroom, using her unicorn magic to levitate the new dress gently onto a nearby table. “I just need to make some final measurements and get a dress fitting. Then I can make a quick hem to make sure it fits -”
“You don't need to do that. I'm sure it fits just fine.” Cloud Duster's deep voice set Rarity's face into a sudden portrait of surprise.
She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, and then slowly nodded. She looked back at Cupcake with a smile. “You know, he's right. Your design was so perfectly elegant that I couldn't imagine you wouldn't have taken into account every detail to make certain that your creation would fit you wonderfully. Would you like to wear it home, or should I wrap it up for you?”
Of course Cupcake chose to wear the fine garment then and there. It would be such a shame to have such a beautiful thing and not show it off to every pony in town.
“We can just have it wrapped up for now. She will have plenty of time to wear it later.”
Cupcake shot Cloud Duster a disapproving stare, which he readily returned to her. As they stared, Cupcake's eyes began to narrow as her mouth began to turn downwards. Cloud Duster held his stony detached gaze against hers. They stared for a moment longer before Rarity chimed in nervously.
“Oh, look at that! Such a windy day today.” She looked out the window. “I think your companion may be right. With all the bits of debris and dirt and leaves and dust, well, I simply CAN'T in good conscious allow such a masterful piece to go out in THAT. It's dry clean only you know. Here, let me wrap it up for you.”
She was right. Cupcake was a little embarrassed she had not considered the weather. Perhaps this is what Cloud Duster had been thinking of. Most likely though he just didn't want to be shown up by walking next to such a well dressed pony. After all, the only thing he had was that dull drab coat he always wore. She had tried to get him to exchange it for something more colorful, but he seemed insistent on keeping it. If there was one thing she disliked about him it was how boring he could be.
Rarity came out from the back room with the new dress neatly wrapped up in a parcel, which she placed into Cupcake's saddle bags. “There you go. I know that whenever and wherever you decide to wear it will make that place and time a special occasion.” They exchanged a quick hug and said their goodbyes.
***************
As road passed beneath them Cloud Duster looked sideways towards Cupcake. “I allowed a parting hug this time, but don't let me catch you making any close contact with any pony else today.” Cupcake frowned up at him once more, and stopped in her tracks. He stopped one pace ahead and then turned to face her. She was practically scowling at him now. “OK. That's enough for today then. Time to go home.” Cupcake stood her ground still frowning at him in defiance. “You're going go make this hard, aren't you?”
“Cupcake! Hey there!” Rainbow dash zoomed out of the clouds toward the two. “I heard you two were around and about today. I'm glad I found you. I was meaning to give you this.” Rainbow Dash reached around behind her to reveal the item she had tied to her back. It was a trophy cup that shined and glittered in the sunlight. “Now don't let it go to your head Cupcake. That was a one time thing. Next time I'll TOTALLY beat you.”
Rainbow Dash was hilarious. The race they had run a week before had ended in Dash's defeat, but she claimed to have tripped. Cupcake had not seen this, but wasn't about to spoil the proud pony's excuse. She liked Dash and wouldn't want to hurt her feelings. She also didn't really want to have to beat her again and erase all doubt of who was the fastest. She decided to not be too insistent on a rematch, and surprisingly Dash wasn't either.
“That is . . .” Cloud Duster leaned forward to examine the trophy.
“Oh you don't have to worry about this. It's from my own collection.” She winked at the large white stallion. “I think Cupcake here is more deserving of it than me.”
Cloud Duster looked closer at it for a moment then nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash handed over the glimmering declaration of triumph and let Cupcake look at it for a moment before it was placed into her saddle bags along with the rest of her day's accomplishments.
“Well then, I have to be leaving now. Got to practice harder if I want to beat you next time.” With that the pegasus flew up into the sky and out of sight.
Cloud Duster looked down at smiling pink pony. “I'm glad your feeling better now. Let's get going.” Cupcake looked over to him and sighed. He was right. The day was growing old, and they should get back before dusk.
*****************
The large iron gates swung shut as the two entered the court yard. A light tan unicorn stood waiting at the front door of the large estate. “Welcome back Cupcake. Did you enjoy your day out? Oh, I see you managed to pick up a few things. May I?”
Miss Fizz had been one of Cupcakes most trusted advisers since before she could remember, so much so that Cupcake considered her more of a friend than anything else. Cupcake always enjoyed showing her the fun things she was able to do and gather throughout the day. She reached in gently and, one by one, removed each item to present to Miss Fizz.
“Oh my, what a beautiful trophy, and is that cake I smell? I bet it will be delicious. What is this parcel? Here, come inside, and lets look at it in the light a bit better.”
The three of them entered the front room and Miss Fizz laid out each of the items on a table to look at them more closely. Cupcake allowed her to open the package to look at her new dress, as well as the box to see how beautifully the cake was decorated. “My, my! Look at all these wonderful things. I can tell you were the one to make the cake too it's perfect, just like everything you do, my dear.”
Cupcake blushed a little at the compliment. Few ponies could make her do that, but Miss Fizz was special. A word of praise from her made all the rest of the world inconsequential.
“Now then, my dear, would you like to try on this dress? I must confess that I would like to see you in it. Come, lets get you to the side room to see how it looks on you.” With that the two walked over to a small secondary room, and Cupcake changed out her old outfit for the new one.
“There now. Look at you. That's just so beautiful on you. Your design shines through wonderfully. Here, I will just get this old thing cleaned for you.” She draped Cupcakes older garment over her shoulder and they both walked back into the main hall. Cloud Duster was waiting with Cupcakes saddlebags and rest of the belongings she had accumulated though out the day.
“Ready whenever you are.”
“Oh yes, I think we're all ready, aren't we deary?” Cupcake nodded in agreement to Miss Fizz, and they all walked up the stairs together. “You'll have to wait for tomorrow to show of your dress to your friends, Cupcake. They've all gone to their rooms for the night. It's no trouble though, tomorrow will bring us all together again.” At this Cupcake was a little disappointed, but Miss Fizz was right. Tomorrow she would be up bright and early to greet her roommates.
They arrived at Cupcake's room and said their good-nights before she entered and closed the door. She placed her trophy gently on the window sill and laid out her cake on a nearby table. She decided to bask in the glory of her awesome creation a little while longer before going to sleep. She scooted up a small chair and sat down, resting her elbows on the table and holding her head in her hooves. As she looked at the pretty cake, she let all the happy memories of the day wander through her mind. She glanced out the window just then, and saw the moon beginning to rise. Looking down again at her cake as the moonbeams struck it, she saw the dessert in an even more beautiful light. Today had been a good day.
*******************
“Thank you, orderly. Here. Have this cleaned, she's going to need it tomorrow most likely.” Doctor Fizz handed over the orange jumpsuit that had been draped over her shoulder.
“Probably. The others won't stand for her to be wearing something they don't have. Even if it IS something you would rather burn than wear.” He noticed something on the jumpsuit as he took it. He held it near his nose before quickly recoiling. “UG! That's disgusting. I'm sorry Ma'am, I didn't notice that before. Should I have the boys roll out the hose to rinse her down in there?”
“No, no. I managed to get her mostly clean back in the locker room. Besides she seems to be more calm than she has been in quite some time. Lets not disturb that for now. Maybe the integration program is working. To be honest, I first thought Doctor Blueheart was just full of himself, but it seems that he may be on to something.”
“Ma'am, with all due respect, you can't expect some pony like her to be cured. I mean, she's not like some of the others here.”
Doctor Fizz shot him a stern look as her voice took on a hard edge. “I realize this, orderly. I get paid five times your salary. It's my business to realize things like this.” Her tone softened. “But that's the reason we have to try harder with this one. It's BECAUSE she isn't like the others. It isn't her fault she was born the way she was.”
She looked back into the small window on the cell door. “I just hope that we can manage to relieve some of the misery she goes through. If we could only get her transferred to Sunny Groves, that's where a pony like her really belongs. Not here.”
“Doctor, we all know that it doesn't matter where these ponies go. They won't change.”
She sighed and looked over her shoulder. “That's the sort of thinking that keeps them from being allowed to change. This one isn't a bad pony by nature. Did you know that her sister was in charge of waking the animals out of hibernation during Winter Wrap-up? If her initial up bringing and genetic line can make a pony of that caliber then I refuse to just give up on this one.” She fully turned around to face him. “And I expect you not to give up either.”
“Honestly Doctor, do you really expect that a pegasus who mutilated off her own wings would stand a chance of living a normal life?”
Doctor Fizz stared at him a moment, unable to retort. She turned back to the door again. “That was quite some time ago. She has improved since then.” She looked through the window a bit longer at the bloated disheveled wreck of a pony sitting in the dark. When the doctor spoke again her voice was devoid of emotion. “We will not give up on her.”
“Very well, Ma'am. If that will be all?”
“Yes, orderly. You may go now.” With that he departed. The Doctor looked on for a few moments longer before closing the window's shutter and going about the rest of her nightly rounds.
*********
In the dark confines of the little padded cell Cupcake sat in her ill fitting gown and smiled at the drooping mashed mess of what could possibly pass for a cake. She sighed with contentment and looked again out the window, past the tinfoil cup that sat on the window sill, at the rising moon and all the pretty stars. Today had been a good day, and tomorrow would be even better. Cupcake was certain of it! |
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Rex Ivan | 540 | 1 | Applejack,Rarity,Sweetie Belle,Comedy,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | On Retrieval of your Favorite Pet | complete | -1 | -1 | <p>Rarity takes Sweetie Belle to the Everfree Forest to correct a mistake and teach her a lesson on pet care.</p><p>This was written for an internet writing group using the theme "pet stuck in a tree". One of the suggestions for a starting situation was this: "Opalescence is stuck in a tree in the Everfree Forest and Rarity must deal with a pack of tree bound monkeys wearing dirty rags to get her pet back."</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T02:23:14+00:00 | 2011-08-18T02:23:14+00:00 | 1,357 | Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Jack stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest. The ever present gloom of dusk hung heavy in the boughs of the nearby trees, despite the early hour. Rarity sighed in relief as she looked toward one particularly large, ugly, and angry looking tree that stood nearby.
"Well, she's still there, at least." She turned to Apple Jack. "Thank you again, deary, for offering to accompany us."
"Oh, don't you worry none about that, Sugar Cube. S' what friends are for. But, um, ... should she really be comin' along too?" Apple Jack nodded toward the little white unicorn who now was practically hiding behind Rarity as she peered toward the forest. “After all, it could be dangerous for her.”
“She's going to have to learn about these things eventually, Apple Jack. It's better sooner than later. She has to be able to take RESPONSIBILITY for her actions.” She put emphasis on the word as she shot a pointed look toward her younger sister.
“Uh … I guess I can't really say that it's not my fault, can I?” Sweetie Belle had briefly considered using her tactic of trying to look very innocent and cute, but decided against it. This was something she was going to have to face up to it.
“No. You most certainly can NOT.” Rarity's tone came out harsh, causing her sister to wince. She paused briefly, allowing her tone and expression to soften a little. “Honestly, Sweetie, pets are more than just cute little toys to be left around for others to pick up after you finished playing with them. You must learn that they are living creatures, and need to be treated with the respect and love you would give to any other living thing.”
“Plants are living things, and we just leave them laying around all over the place.”
“Yes, but we tend to the ones that belong to us and don't allow them to run wild. The ones that already grow in the wild tend to themselves. Besides, pets are not plants, they have a mind and a personality, even if it isn't as complex and sophisticated as their owners.”
“Oh.” She looked to the ground for a moment before looking back to Rarity. “But you said they had to be punished if they did something wrong. I was just … just trying to keep her from running wild.” Sweetie Belle's eyes widened as she looked up at her accuser in earnest.
“Oh, my yes, they do indeed, but you must have the punishment fit the crime. You wouldn't simply chop a foal's head off if she accidentally broke something you told her not to touch, would you?”
“No. I guess not.” The little violet maned unicorn lowered her eyes to the ground.
“Of course not. The foal wouldn't have learned anything. That is the purpose of punishment: for the lesson to take on physical form, not to simply vent out your frustrations on the poor thing. Discipline must always be given in context, so as to let your pet know the reason for the punishment. Abandonment atop a dangerous tree is hardly a way to teach any lesson.” Rarity looked once more up into the tree. “Now then, lets see if we can't coax her down.”
“I don't know Rar, she looks pretty scared up there. Want me to just buck her down?” The orange workhorse was now studying an area on the tree's trunk.
“If it comes to that then we can do it, but first I want to try- Wait, what's that?” The fashionista perked her ears up. The other two ponies turned in the direction she was looking, and peered into the gloom of the forest. “It sounded like a … a small screeching noise. You both didn't hear it?”
Apple Jack was about to answer when suddenly she saw them. At first there were two, then four, then ten. “W-what in tarnation?! Are those baboons? What's that they're wearin'?”
“They look mean.” Sweetie Belle covered her nose with her hoof. “And the smell bad.”
“Oh no! No, it can't be! They're butt monkeys! Oh, they're horrid foul little things that wrap themselves in trash rags and roll in filth. It looks like they- WATCH OUT!”
The three ponies dove to the side as a disgusting glob of gooey material was thrown toward them. Apple Jack was the first to regain her bearings. She snorted roughly and stamped her hooves into the ground before running full force into the pack, hooves swinging. Rarity's horn began to glow as she concentrated on the fallen limbs nearby. The chunks of wood were soon rapidly moving through the air stopping only after meeting their targets with pinpoint accuracy. In a matter of minutes the fray was finished, the attackers running back into the forest wailing in fear and pain. Sweetie Belle found herself standing with her mouth agape at what she had just seen.
“Now then, … close your mouth please Sweetie, there are some terrible insects that roam the forest, and I would hate to have to spend bits on an emergency room visit that could have been easily prevented.” There was the soft audible sound of teeth clacking together as Sweetie Belle promptly obeyed her sister. “Thank you, deary. As I was saying: I think it's time to get her down from there, and since you were the one who ordered that she stay up there so long, I think it only fitting that you be the one to guide her down.” Rarity looked once again at her little sister. “It will be a good experience in trust for the both of you.”
“Um … ok.” Sweetie Belle stood at the base of the tree looking up. Her tone changed as she shouted up into the branches. “OK. It's time to come down now. I'll guide you through it. Just do what I say, and you'll be able to get down just fine.”
Apple Jack turned to Rarity and muttered into her ear. “This would be so much faster and easier if'n you just let me buck her down.“
“Oh, I wholeheartedly agree with you, but the lesson would be lost, and I think this one will be of distinct value in the future.” Rarity looked up again at the blind shaking form being directed by her sisters voice.
After a few tense minutes, Scootaloo safely reached the ground. Sweetie Belle wrapped her hooves around the leather clad filly as she admonished her, tears of relief welling in her eyes. “You SEE what happens when you don't obey me?! You brought that on yourself, you know.” She tried not to smile too much, even though she knew the pegasus's leather hood blocked all vision.
“SWEETIE! The punishment has already been served! You never give your pet additional insults afterward. It can cause confusion and lack of faith in your leadership. Now chain her to her leash, and lets get going.”
Scootaloo reached up to unzip the mouth of the face mask. “Did any pony bring some food or water? I was up there for a long-”
“Scooooot! You're not supposed to talk with the hood on.” Sweetie Belle's whine interrupted as she clamped the leash onto the metal ring in the center of her friend's collar.
“I know, but I'm really thirsty. I was up there all day, and now these wing bindings are starting to ache.” She shifted against the leather harness that pinned her tiny wings to her sides.
“Oh, well I guess we can loosen them up a bit.” As Sweetie reached to adjust her friend's harness she happened to glance over at her sister. Rarity was practically scowling down at her, and it was all she could do to keep from shrinking under the older unicorn's glare. “ … uh, I mean … Silence!” Sweetie's tone was now absolute, and her expression became a cold unreadable mask as she continued her commands. Scootaloo crouched down in fear.
“You KNOW you'll only speak when I SAY you can speak. For that matter, you'll eat or drink only when I say too! So since you're in the mood to make noise now, I'll allow you to make noise. You're going to cluck like a chicken all the way home. Now! Do it!”
“I'm sorry Mistress Belle.” Scootaloo mumbled, as her head hung to the ground.
“NO talking. CLUCK!” Sweetie Belle yanked the chain closer, pulling Scootaloo to her hooves.
“Buwaaak. Buk buk bu'CAWW!” She mimed a motion with her neck that looked strikingly similar to a chicken pecking for seed.
Sweetie Belle glanced briefly back to her sister who gave a slight smile and an approving nod. The young unicorn allowed herself a small smile in return before refocusing her attention on Scootaloo.
“There's a good little chicken. Come on now. I'll lead the way.” As she started forward she managed to tangle a foreleg in the leash, pulling both her and her companion to the ground. “Oof! … dumb chain bindings. Get up.” She shoved her hooded clucking friend off of her, and they continued on.
As the two friends clumsily made their way forward, Apple Jack turned to Rarity. “Remember when we were that age? Ah' tell ya, Rar, ah' can't help but smile at these young'uns. Not a care in the world.”
“Oh, my yes. It really was a much simpler time back then.” Rarity sighed as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. “I sometimes wonder how things would be different, if we had taken different paths.”
“There you go again, fuss'n all about things you can't change. Come on. Let's go catch up to them before somethin' else goes wrong.” Apple Jack smiled as she whipped her tail to swat Rarity on the backside.
The white unicorn yelped and blushed a bit, before grinning mischievously and giving a sly glance toward her friend. “Very well then. It IS almost sundown, and we both know how things get after sundown.”
“Ya' mean dark?”
“Well, yes, that too. Shall we?” With that, they both trotted to catch up to the two fillies, and, together, the group walked back to Apple Jack's cellar, where Sweetie Belle finally decided to let Apple Bloom out of her cage. |
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Rex Ivan | 541 | 1 | Pinkie Pie,Twilight Sparkle,Dark,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | A Pinkie Surprise | complete | 10 | 1 | <p>Twilight goes to help Pinkie Pie with party decorations, and Pinkie has an extra fun fun fun surprise for her ... BIG TIME!</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T03:02:03+00:00 | 2011-08-18T03:02:03+00:00 | 2,097 | A Pinkie Surprise
(it's the best kind)
Twilight trotted though town on her way to sugar-cube corner. It was a pretty sunshiny day, and she knew she would enjoy whatever it was that Pinkie Pie had planned for them. The birds were singing and the bees were buzzing. Twilight looked down at a lonely, half eaten honey muffin that lay broken apart in the street. “Looks like the bees really ARE buzzing around today,” she said to herself as she moved past the small insects zooming around the sticky pastry.
Twilight trotted up to the door to Sugar-cube corner and gave it a knock. She was greeted instantly with a smiling pink flurry that was her friend Pinkie Pie.
"Oh good, you got here just in time to help me get ready for the party!" Pinkie Pie left the door open as she bounced into the kitchen to check on the cakes. Twilight Sparkle entered making sure to step over the unfinished banner laying sprawled over the floor.
"Does she know yet? I was pretty sure you wanted this to be a -”
"SURPRISE!" Pinkie promptly turned to shoot off a confetti popper at Twilight, who merely widened her eyes before almost instantly regaining her composure. "Were you surprised? Were you, huh? Huh? Were you?" Pinkie bounced around in place as glittery powder and small twists of ribbon and paper settled over Twilight's head.
"Yeah, it was exhilarating." She blew upward at the chunk of streamer that dangled from her forehead. "But just to be clear we don't want Rarity to know about this right?"
"How could it be a surprise party if she did, silly Twilight-sniffing-highlights?" She she moved to take the cakes from the oven. "Now I'll leave those there to cool off, and you can help me get the banner ready."
"OK, sounds like a plan." They walked over to the red paper banner.
"I want it to look all glittery and pretty with bows and ribbons and stuffs that are pretty!"
"Uh, yeah, that sounds like a fitting way for a party banner to look."
"So, first thing's first, can you get that bottle of glue over off the shelf for me?"
"Yeah sure I . . . wait." Twilight's face froze as she looked over to the shelf that housed the party decoration supplies. Her eyes focused in on the small bottle of adhesive, and suddenly the whole of the rest of the world fell away. A chill frosted over her mind. It had been right there in her face for so long, and time and time again she simply missed it. She had attended Pinkie's parties for months now and for some reason she had just never bothered to finish the equation that was sitting in plain sight. In her defense she would have used magic where other ponies had used normal mechanical means, so it's only natural that she overlooked this one little detail. The sun shine seemed to grow suddenly dim, and Twilight imagined that she perhaps heard some pony screaming far away. It could have been her imagination, she was not sure. Then she suddenly wasn't sure about anything. She felt a grip of fear wrap her heart.
"Twilight?" Pinkie had been studying the banner for optimum fun layout, and only now glanced up to see the look of terror on her friend's face. She followed the direction of twilight's gaze. "Oh. You didn't know about that, did you?"
"What?! . . . er, um. What do you mean?" Twilight tried to remain calm as she turned to find Pinkie's face very near her own. A cold sweat broke across Twilight's brow.
"I sorta thought it was funny when you first came here and just readily accepted how we do things. Now it turns out you really aren't that observant after all. It just took time. But, geezy poo! It took you THIS long to make the connection? A lot of supposedly 'dumber' ponies found out within the first week? All those books have made your brain rot."
"Uh, Pinkie."
"Yes, Twilight?" Pinkie's glowing smile never faltered.
"I think I might have to go now."
"Oh, no you don't. This party won't throw it's self. You're going to sit right here and help me glitter up this banner. YOU can use the glue. It'll help you get used to- HEY! Twilight come back!"
Twilight was through the door before Pinkie could stop her. She got only a little farther when Pinkie stepped out the door of the bakery and shouted. The sound made Twilight stop in her tracks. It wasn't a whinny or a neigh or any other sound she had ever heard any other pony make. It was an indescribably foreign noise, and Twilight found her hooves unable to propel herself forward. She glanced back briefly only to be met once again with Pinkie's shining smile inches away from her own mouth. Twilight tried to scream but not even a whimper came out.
She was vaguely aware that the rest of the ponies on the street were now moving slowly towards her. Her head jerked from side to side. Earth ponies. They were all earth ponies. Where were the other types? Her mind seemed to run in every direction at once, and focusing on any one thought was like trying to gather up a large quantity of broken glass shards with raw bare hooves.
"Relax Twilight." The upbeat charm in Pinkie's voice was the same as it ever was. "I'm your friend. We're ALL your friends." The crowd had formed a circle around her that was quickly closing up. "And now we're going to have different kind of surprise for you. It's gonna be super fun! You won't ever forget it."
Twilight mustered enough strength to finally utter a partial phrase. "Celestia won't let-"
"Oh, my! You're acting like she never knew in the first place. Where do you think she sends all the pretty ponies who break their little legs? It's not just because we all can work together and can keep a secret REEEEALLY well. We also have a talent for it, you know. OOooOoOOoohh Twilght. You've seen THAT building, but you've never seen beyond the locks. It might be labeled as a 'specialty clinic', but it is much much more. You've never seen that back room, TWILIGHT! YOU'VE never seen ANY pony ever come out!"
Twilight's mind split further apart as the crowd moved still closer, and all she could think of was Pinkie's smile, a ghastly smile that she couldn't look away from. She was suddenly very aware of how disgusting the yellow color of Pinkie's teeth were, and how her red and swollen gums were slightly pulsating, and how chunks of sugary candy remnant were lodged in the oddly shaped gaps between each tooth. The sickeningly sweet odor of cakes mixed with rotting enamel began to turn her stomach, and when Pinkie spoke again the voice was a warped fracture of what it should have been. Twilight felt her mind beginning to leave her.
"But don't worry, FRIEND. Dear sweet pretty FRIEND. We all love you. And we're going to take good care of you. Then you can LOVE US ALL RIGHT BACK!" With that the crowd closed the circle.
- * * * *-
Twilight walked cautiously into the bakery. A week had gone by since last she had been there, and she tried to keep her emotions even as she closed the front door. “Twilight!” She winced at Pinkie Pie's greeting. Pinkie noticed this and her smile faltered a bit. She approached slowly but only as far as she thought Twilight might be comfortable with.
“Hey Pinkie,” she forced a half smile; Pinkie could tell.
“I'm sorry for . . . uh, you know.”
“For drugging me, you mean?” Twilight's voice caught a harsh edge to it.
“HA! Yeah , um . . . Heh heh, yeah . . . I mean, it's really not funny but . . . um . . . giggle at the ghosty?”
“Pinkie, I could have gotten seriously hurt. Or worse, I could have hurt somepony else. The doctors said that I was too clouded in the head to use magic, but what if I would have . . . I mean, I didn't even know what was real and what wasn't! Any number of bad things could have happened. Why do you even have party favors loaded with that sort of drug anyway? Or ANY drug for that matter?”
“Well to be honest, it was going to be a practical joke if Gilda ever came back. You know, shoot off a seemingly innocent confetti popper at her and then watch the hilarity ensue. I guess I got so excited about surprising you that I grabbed the wrong one by accident. In retrospect I probably shouldn't use something like that on a large, strong, angry Gilda with sharp claws, huh?”
“NO! No you shouldn't! I thought you had more sense than that.” Twilight glared down at Pinkie, who hung her head.
“I'm really sorry Twilight. I promise I won't use any of that ever again.”
“I certainly hope not. That whole experience was like having a nightmare you can't wake from. I'm only glad I can't remember most of it.”
“Really? Well then it couldn't have been all that terrible if it didn't make . . . an impression . . . sorry. Again, sorry.” Pinkie shrunk further down under Twilight's burning glare.
“You're not helping me want to forgive you, you know. Don't ever let me find out that you've used that on any pony else.”
“I won't do that, Twilight. I said I wouldn't. Besides, I used the last of it on you.”
“Well don't let me catch you trying to make any more.”
“Oh, I won't be doing that any time soon. Zecora doesn't have any of the mushrooms left.” Pinkie's expression lightened as she said this. Upon hearing the upwards inflection in her voice Twilight shot her a stare that would frost a window. Pinkie lowered her head once again. “I mean, no. I won't be doing that again. Ever.”
Twilight tried to fathom just why Zecora would let anypony have something like that, let alone Pinkie Pie. After a brief mental struggle she just decided to accept it with a sigh. “Well, I suppose that maybe one day I might eventually look back on this and smile. Years from now. Many years from now. Alright then, I accept your apology.”
“YAY!” Pinkie jumped up and down before wrapping her forelegs around Twilight's neck and dancing in a circle with her. The rest of their visit went in a typical fashion with fun chit chat and newly baked muffins and plans of the next party to be thrown.
As the sun began to set Twilight was saying her goodbyes. As she moved to the doorway to leave she passed the cabinet where Pinkie kept the party decorations. She recalled the initial scare that sent her down the road to a bad trip. She felt uneasy again.
“Hey Pinkie,” she looked from the cabinet to her friend, “What exactly is it that you use to make the glue?”
Pinkie blinked at her once and simply stared. Twilight began to feel quite upset before Pinkie erupted in laughter. “HAHAHA! Just kidding silly filly. It's a mix of honey and water mostly. Hee hee.”
“Oh, heh, you had me going there for a minute.” Relief washed over her as she turned to leave. “Goodnight Pinkie Pie.”
“Goodnight Twilight.”
Twilight skipped out into the evening towards her library home. She decided to go to bed early that night. It only occurred to her after she was safe and snug in her bed: throughout all the hot days of summer, she couldn't remember any of Pinkie's parties ever having problems with insects buzzing around the glue that held the decorations together. |
|
Lunar Deviant | 542 | 1 | Main 6,Nightmare Moon,Scootaloo,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Mare of the Skies | As Scoot's world crumbles around her she is faced with a choice no filly should have to make. | hiatus | 9 | 4 | <p>According to Lauren Faust, Luna wasn't evil in the first place as she became Nightmare Moon due to being possessed by some outside force which made her change. This force was torn from the princess and has not been seen in over a year until the most unlikely pony happens across it and discovers that history is not always as it is told, and as her world crumbles around her she is faced with a choice no filly should have to make.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T03:08:38+00:00 | 2011-08-18T03:08:38+00:00 | 1,854 | The sun had broken over the tops off the trees just a moment before and most of the birds were barely waking from their sleep and beginning to sing their morning Hymns. The morning had been cool and still and with the appearance of the sun, soft warming breezes began to slowly weave themselves through the trees and around the quaint homes of the little pony village. With its soft caress the wind shifted the wind vein on top of the Ponyville Library, creaking just slightly as if in protest to being roused from its own sleep.
The roads were empty aside from a seldom few ponies like Daisy and Rose, who always rose early to water their flowers before the heat of the day could rob their precious plants of a single drop of their morning drink. Along with them, in the town square was Applejack, getting her apple cart ready and stocked for the day to come. All of them enjoying the pleasant scents wafting from the open windows of Sugar Cube Corner as the Cakes finished up their early morning baking of assorted doughnuts and sweetbreads for the ponies soon to wake and arrive for a morning treat.
High above them the slow softness of the morning was pierced with the sound of flapping wings and the sudden appearance of a rainbow streak zooming through the sky above them. Turning and twisting and twirling the streak raced in jagged patterns above them, drawing the other ponies’ gauzes as it slammed into cloud after cloud, forcing the little white puffs to disappear in a powdery plume. With the last little cloud struck the streak slowed and turned into a Pegasi Pony, her coat blue and her mane and tail a mess of rainbow colors in very bad need of an introduction to a comb. Rainbow Dash panted from her exertions as she flew down and set down softly near Applejack’s stand, drawing a few giggles from the other ponies around the square.
“Well Howdy doin’ Dash, shouldn’t you be sleeping right about now?” Applejack teased with a grin, giving her good friend a playful nudge with a hoof and receiving an indignant huff from the Dash in response.
Dash shook her head, but a smile still crossed her lips and with her normal loud and rambunctious demeanor she shouted, just to be sure every pony would know, “Are you kidding?! Spitfire will be here today to talk about me getting into the WONDERBOLTS!” Dash couldn’t help herself but squeal just a bit before she continued, “I mean, I know I’ll get in once she sees my sweet moves, but I need the sky to be clear so she doesn’t miss a moment of my awesomeness!”
Applejack giggled at her friend’s exuberant display and with her normal almost-motherly concern she warned the blue pegasi, who had begun hovering above the stand, “Well that sounds mighty fine Dash. Just be careful that ya’ don’t overdo it, Im sure you’re good enough tha’ way ya’ are.” She assured her friend with a smile before reaching into her cart and pulling out one of the biggest, reddest apples in the bunch, tossing it up to Rainbow Dash with a little flare, “An’ don’ forget to eat beforehand. Can’t fly like that all day on an empty stomach.”
Dash smiled widely as she took the apple and quickly gobbled it down, licking the flavorful juice from her lips before drifting down just enough to use a hoof to noggie her friend fondly, “Thanks Applejack, I’m sure to blow her mind now!”
Rainbow Dash quickly performed two loops over her friend’s head before flying off quickly to whatever task had grabbed her mind next with a flourish and a rainbow colored blur. From the other end of the town another early riser saw the rainbow blur suddenly leave the town square and the sight spurred her to push her scooter faster towards town in the hopes of catching up with the exuberant pegasi. “Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Scootaloo called out, but her voice only fell on the ears of the other ponies, Dash was already too far off.
The young Pegasus filly pushed her little wings to the limit all the way into the town square, but stopped as Dash’s rainbow blur disappeared in the distance behind some of the rooftops. “Aw, man…” she lamented, pulling off her helmet and throwing it aside with a stomp, “Still too slow, comeon wings!”
Applejack watched the filly with the slightest looks of amusement. They were so alike, the three fillies that called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she thought, able to swap in her mind, Scootaloo for her own little sister, Applebloom and being able to see the same reaction. “Ah, dun worry yourself none Scootaloo, Dash is always flying off.” She tried to assure the little filly with the smallest of hip nudges before trotting off to the other side of the stall to retrieve the signs to stand up nearby while asking, “Besides, I dun think you’ll get much otta her today, what with Spitfire comin’ into town and everything.”
The information Applejack divulged got her a reaction she did not expect, however, when, with a look of dejection and surprise Scootaloo cried out in protest, “What?! But she was supposed to teach me to fly today!” With an angry growl Scootaloo kicked her discarded helmet, launching it underneath the apple cart where it rattled the produce as it bounced against the bottom and came to rest.
Applejack gave the young filly a pity-filled look while reaching a leg under her cart to fish out the helmet, “Look here sugar-cube, Ah’m sure she didn’t do it on purpose. She gets right well excited sometimes and things slip her mind, why ah’d bet ya if ya ask her tomorrow she’d be more than happy to teach ya!”
“I know… I just really wanted to learn today!” Scootaloo admitted with a frown across her face, taking her helmet back from Applejack’s outstretched hoof. Slapping it back on her head and strapping it into place she looked up to the older Pony and asked, “Maybe I should just find Sweetie Belle and Applebloom… Do you know where they are?”
With a smile and nod of approval Applejack responded, “That there is the right way to look at it, a full day with your friends. Ah left Applebloom with Sweetie Belle and Rarity last night, she’s still with ‘em last ah heard, over at tha’ library, Rarity was gunna help Twilight with some sorta prettifin’ or somin’…”
“Thanks Applejack!” was all the earth pony heard as her voice died with the little filly jumping on the scooter and flapped her wings fast as she could manage, zooming out of the town square with a loud buzzing sound, dodging deftly around other ponies that wandered the square, more and more filling the street.
“Yer welcome!” she called after the disappearing scooter before, with a chuckle, she put up her signs and then turned to greet Daisy, her first customer of the morning.
Scootaloo pushed her scooter faster and faster down the street like she had done on her way into town just moments earlier, but this time she was forced to do much maneuvering and even a few impromptu jumps to avoid hitting any pony. She could already see the tree that made up the library that Twilight had been occupying since her arrival in Ponyville over a year ago. Turning a hard left at the end of the street she rocketed her tiny scooter over the wooden boards of a bridge to get to the road that led to the front stop of the tree-building and as the tree got larger she could see through the window what appeared to be Twilight and Rarity which brought a grin to the filly’s lips. If those two were there, it was a good chance that her friends were within as well and she couldn’t wait to see them and get her mind off her disappointment with Rainbow Dash.
Softly Twilight closed the book she had been skimming and turned her head to the back of Rarity’s with a wicked grin. The two were lying on the rug in the center of the room and Twilight was lying with her front legs draped over Rarity’s back while Rarity levitated a pen to continue work on a new dress design on the parchment that lay open in front of her. Rarity had just about finished sketching the hemline of the dress when suddenly her left ear was wet, warm and a soft suction was being put on it which caused her concentration to fall apart and with an ugly squiggle across the whole parchment the pen fell and rolled off across the floor.
A shiver ran up Rarity’s spine faster than one of Dash’s sonic rainbooms and her lips parted to let a pathetic little squeak escape while her head leaned to the side and back slightly, giving Twilight even more access to the ear she suckled on while Rarity murmured in a happily melting voice, “Oh Darling, if you keep doing that I’ll go crazy.” To which she received the feeling of Twilight’s tongue sliding along the edge of her ear slowly and sensually. Rarity closed her eyes and bit her lip as she felt her body melt at the attentions Twilight was giving her.
Twilight giggled as she let Rarity’s ear free and whispered, “I love your kind of crazy though,” before moving to Rarity’s other ear and was just about to bite down on it the way she knew Rarity liked it, especially since Rarity had sifted her head to make Twilight’s job easier, when the front door of the library swung open with a bang.
Both ponies on the rug jumped up in embarrassed surprise, looking in the doorway at the little pegasus Scootaloo standing there staring at them with a smile on her lips. “Scootaloo!” Twilight began more loudly and forcefully than she had intended, but Rarity quickly picked up.
“Scootaloo, you know better than to just barge into somepony’s home when the sign says ‘closed’.” Rarity sternly said to the little filly as her horn began to glow with magic and her ruined sketch levitated and rolled itself neatly while the discarded pen flew back over from the far corner where it had been discarded.
Scootaloo’s smile disappeared for a moment at the sudden chastising, “Sorry, but I saw you two from the window and Applejack said Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were with you two so….”
Twilight and Rarity shared a look of embarrassment and something else more subtle and Twilight addressed Scootaloo, “I’m sorry Scootaloo, they left with Spike this morning, a chariot from Canterlot came to get spike so he could go see the Princess and they went with him, they’ll be back later tonight.”
Scootaloo’s jaw almost hit the floor, her eyes filling with a look of hurt combined from Rainbow’s thoughtlessness and, “You mean they went to Cantelot and didn’t even invite me?”
The little filly’s reaction caused Twilight and Rarity to become even more uncomfortable than they already were, thankfully though, Rarity made a case with her usual elegance, “Oh Scootaloo, they didn’t mean to leave you behind! They didn’t know Spike was leaving this morning and when he invited them to go with him it was heat of the moment. You know they would never leave you behind like that on purpose!” as she talked Rarity made her way to the doorway and placed a hoof on the young filly’s shoulder, trying to pull her inside as she suggested with a warm smile, “I know! How about you spend the day with us, Twilight and I were going to go to the spa this morning, and you can come too and get pampered! I’m sure a pony petty would make you feel just like a princess!”
Scootaloo ducked from under Rarity’s hoof, shaking her head vigorously with a loud, “EW! No!” which brought an amused smile to both Twilight and Rarity’s lips.
Twilight chimed in, “Are you sure Scootaloo? You never know, you might like it, and there are a lot of benefits, I have a few books on the subject if you want to read…” but her voice died on her lips as Scootaloo turned and with a loud buzz made a hasty retreat from the doorway. Looking a bit crestfallen Twilight let her raised hoof fall back to the floor.
Rarity laughed at the look on Twilight’s face as she pushed the door closed and this time made sure the bolt was pulled locked, “Oh, don’t worry darling, Scootaloo is just like Rainbow Dash; convinced her coat will fall out if she ever introduces it to a brush.” She assured her purple-coated companion. Walking back to the center of the room where Twilight still stood she pressed their noses together and with a smile murmured, “Now why don’t you finish what you started?”
When she first turned and zoomed off from Twilight’s door Scootaloo was only worried in avoiding a whole afternoon of girly stuff like pony petties and whatever else a pony like Rarity would do to her once she got her to a spa. Sweetie Belle was already borderline on how much girly she could take and she knew Sweetie’s older sister was much worse about it. Now that she was safely on the other side of the creek and rolling off towards the edge of town all the events of the morning came flooding back. With nothing else to occupy her morning except knowing she’d have to crusade for her cutie mark on her own she started to feel down.
Scootaloo’s feelings weren’t so much that she didn’t have faith that she could occupy herself more than feelings of rejection regarding Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. Spur of the moment or not she couldn’t believe that those two would go on such an awesome adventure and leave her behind. Scootaloo let out a heavy sigh as she turned her scooter around a bend and looked up to the sky.
Up in the cloud Scootaloo could see Dash flying around between them and finally settling on one. “Dash! Hey Dash!” Scootaloo cried, coming to a stop under the cloud that Rainbow Dash sat upon. For the first few cries there was no answer, but soon enough rainbow’s head popped through the bottom of the cloud and with a giddy smile on her face she called back, “Oh! Hey kid, what’s up?”
Forgetting about her missing friends Scootaloo smiled back up at Rainbow Dash, “Hey Rainbow Dash, you ready for those flight lessons?”
Dash thought for a moment, biting her lip, “Oh, yeah that was supposed to be today wasn’t it…” she murmured before sliding out of the cloud and hovering down just over Scootaloo. “Sorry little one,” Dash began with a pat on Scootaloo’s helmet, “But I gotta impress Spitfire, so I won’t have time to help you today.”
In surprise, even to herself, Scootaloo got mad, “Dash, you promised you’d help me before Spitfire was coming!” she yelled, stamping her hoof on the ground.
“Hey!” Dash yelled back indignantly, shifting her hovering to bring her head closer to the little filly, “I’m doing you a favor by giving you lessons, but I’m busy today! Don’t get angry at me that you can’t fly. When I was your age I already had a sonic rainboom under my belt!”
Small tears slowly began to appear at the corner of Scoot’s eyes as she stamped her hooves, unable to come up with a good angry retort. She looked down at the ground by her hooves and mumbled in a tone she thought would be low enough to not be heard, “But I thought you could be my sister… not a mean bitch…”
Dash’s eyes flared as she heard scoot’s words loud and clear from her spot hovering only inches away. Dash was trying to be nice, but she didn’t take name-calling lying down, and her impatience and short fuse weren’t helping the situation. “Hey! You know what? If you’re gunna be that way than you can forget about any lessons ever!” Dash yelled, her anger bubbling over, and with a swift kick of her hind leg as she turned about that connected with scoot’s helmet and sent it flying she added, “Maybe we can hang out when some pony else teaches you how to fly and grow up! Till then, enjoy being useless!” and with only a moment more to spur herself dash vanished through the cloud is a steak of rainbow colors, causing the rain in the cloud to fall as dash punched through it and vanished into the sky.
Scootaloo could only stand there stunned as the rain knocked loose from the cloud by Dash’s departure fell upon her, soaking scoot thoroughly as she stared at the spot that dash had been just a moment before. Emotions bubbled in her as she replayed the incident in her mind over and over, tears freely flowing from her eyes, but disguised by the rain that fell.
Now with her aggravation turned into regret and a feeling of betrayal it hurt even worse. As far as Scootaloo was concerned, this day was already the worst of her short life, and she what hurt worse was that she couldn’t stop herself but agree with Dash’s angry words; A Pegasus that can’t fly is about as useless as a fish that can’t swim. Scoot looked back at her helmet, lying in the road a good few meters away. “Rainbow Dash flies without gear and here I can’t even use a scooter on the ground without a helmet,” she mumbled to herself, turning her head away from the discarded protective gear with an air of disgust and climbed fully back on her scooter before deciding, “Dash doesn’t have time. My best friends leave without me. Now I know why… No, I always knew why.”
Scoot bit her lip at the end of her words, trying to hold in her sobs, and just barely succeeding as, with only a moment’s hesitation, her little wings began to move back and forth, flapping faster and faster until her scooter began to move forward. With a sudden burst of force she sent her scooter zooming once more along the road, tears slipping with more and more force from her eyes, half from the emotions bubbling within her and half from the wind blowing over her eyes, held fully wide as she attempted to keep her emotions in check.
Though Scottaloo’s eyes were held open wide, the little pegasus filly didn’t see the road, she didn’t see the houses passing by or the line of trees approaching. She didn’t notice the yellow pegasus tending her chickens outside her cottage nor did she notice as the road became a trail and the trees closed in around her. In her mind Scoot could only see dash’s face and single word repeating over and over “Useless”.
The light dimmed around the little filly even as the sun rose higher in the sky, bathing equestrian in the light of another beautiful day, a day that could not reach scoot through the thick branches of the trees of Everfree, not that if they had been able to hack their way through the foliage would she have noticed through her emotional fog. As she rode over the bumpy path, even jumping over a few gnarled roots in her way she mumbed to herself, “Why can’t I do anything right? I can’t get a cutie mark, I can’t fly, I can’t get Rainbow Dash’s approval,” as she spoke Scootaloo’s thoughts turned back to her two best friends and the wonderful time they must be having in canterlot without her, “Sweetie Belle has Rarity and Applebloom has Applejack…”
Scoot’s thoughts were stopped dead as she heard a voice that she didn’t recognize, one that was so vivid that she almost wasn’t sure if it was in her head or not, “But you have no one”. Flapping her little wigs frantically the other way she brought her scooter to a stop just inches from plunging into the river that cut through the forest, that in her moping she had failed to notice was in her way. The river held her amazed attention for a moment before she heard the voice again, “You just wanted a sister, with a goal to be as cool as Rainbow Dash and call her ‘sister’, not much to ask for…”
Scootaloo let out a scared squeak and jumped off her scooter, leaving it lying on its side in the dirt as she looked all around trying to find the new voice. She knew it wasn’t in her head, the tone was all wrong and sounded much older than any little filly Scoot’s age, “Who’s out there!” she cried into the trees which stood still and silent at her demand.
Though Scootaloo could not see anypony nearby, she heard the voice again, like its owner was right next to her, speaking softly and calmly, “Tell me Scootaloo, why do you cry?” the voice almost cooed like Scoot’s mother did when she was in a mood, but unlike when her mother did it, this voice made Scootaloo uneasy.
“I’m not crying, I don’t do that kinda girly sissy stuff!” She yelled into the trees even as the small drops drifted down her cheeks and fell to the dirt, as they had been doing unnoticed since Dash flew off.
“Pain is not ‘girly sissy stuff’ Scootaloo, why do you cry?” The voice answered and though Scootaloo didn’t see it her coat began to shimmer like it had just been sprinkled with glitter and Scootaloo felt a warmth like some pony had wrapped her up in a warm hug, it brought her a bit of peace as she let out a shuddering sigh.
Scootaloo shook her head as she stared at the dirt and spoke to the forest and the strange voice, “I don’t know… I just want….” Scoot had to stop for a moment as a sob almost managed to wrestle its way out of her chest and with a shuddering breath to steady herself, “I don’t want to be useless. I want to be appreciated like evey pony else… Even Applebloom and Sweete Belle have sisters that care, what do I have? I can’t even fly! What use is a pegasus that can’t fly?!”
The warm hug feeling lightened and the shimmering dimmed as the voice turned a bit ruffled at the filly’s words, “No pony can fly before they are taught, that is not your fault. Even so, is there no other manner in which you can be appreiciated.”
“Rainbow Dash won’t even give me the time of day because of it!” Scootaloo lamented and kicked a rock into the river, “I just want to be appreciated!”
The voice responded with a warm comforting tone, “If that is all you want I can help you. Every pony deserves to be appreciated.”
Scootaloo’ head rose up with a look of surprise and for the first time that day, hope, “Really? How?”
The voice chuckled and whispered in the filly’s ear, “Did you know that before the royal sisters presided over Equestria, Cloudsdale was a proud independent city-state?” Scootaloo shook her head, her eyes wide to this revelation, “The Pegasus race was a proud culture of the best fliers and the strongest warriors. Do you think that Rainbow Dash and the other ponies would appreciate you if you brought that old glory to Cloudsdale once more?”
“Yeah! Rainbow Dash would be proud to call me sister then!” Scootaloo yelled excitedly into the trees but then was overcome with a crestfallen expression, “But how can I do that? I can’t even fly.”
“I can help you with that.” The voice said as the sparkles left Scoot’s coat and coalesced into a floating, speckled purple cloud with two flat grey eyes, slitted like a dragon with no whites looking back at the astonished filly.
Scootaloo’s astonishment turned to horror as she began to connect the dots and realized where she had seen a cloud like this before. It was a year ago, during the summer sun celebration, she had cowered in fear of, “You- You’re Nightmare Moon!” She yelled and took fast steps back, that is until the eyes converged and looked down, an expression of sadness she would not have recognized from that frightening alicorn.
“That… is one of the names I have carried. One of many.” The cloud spoke without any discernable mouth. “I once attempted to help Princess Luna gain the appreciation she so desperately sought. The plan went awry and I became the convenient scapegoat for the princess. I was almost killed thanks to the elements of harmony and my crime was lending Luna my power so she could be happy.”
Scoot’s brow raised in skepticism and with a tone of confusion and disbelief she asked, “You mean you were just trying to make Luna happy? But what about all the bad stuff you did, what about the eternal night thing?”
“As you know Scootaloo, no pony is perfect. I gave Luna my power to gain the appreciation of the ponies of Equestria, but I can only lend my power, what it does is up to the heart of that pony. I wanted to make her happy, the bitterness in her own heart twisted that into revenge.”
“If that’s true how can you help me?” Scootaloo asked, stepping a bit closer to the cloud that had drifted close to the ground and looked almost ashamed of the events they were discussing.
The cloud turned it’s eyes up to the filly and spoke, “I can give you my power, it will let you fly, give you the power to help the pegasus race reclaim its honor with you as its leader, if that is what you desire, or just make you Rainbow Dash’s hero if that is the limit of your ambition.” As it spoke the cloud drew closer to Scootaloo and began to wrap itself around her as it added, “I just want to exist, I don’t have a physical body and if you share yours with me I will do everything in my power to make you happy. The way I see it I deserve to live and you deserve to be happy and appreciated. What do you say Scootaloo, can we help each other. Do you want to be a Wonderbolt with Rainbow Dash?”
Scootaloo looked at the cloud moving around her and with a smile forming on her lips at the prospect of being a Wonderbolt with dash she giggled, “That sounds fair! Let’s do it!” and with her words the cloud swirled around her rapidly, blocking the forest from her view before with a flash the filly and the cloud disappeared from the forest trail.
Scootaloo’s scooter lay forgotten in the dirt just feet from where the filly disappeared and only inches from the water’s edge. And only moments after she disappeared the group of Twilght, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire rounded the corner of the trail at full gallop, following the tread marks of the scooter with frantic looks on their faces. |
Dubs Rewatcher | 543 | 1 | Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Comedy,Random,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | The Socks of Wrath | Luna discovers the wondrous world of socks. | complete | 156 | 2 | <p>As you probably know, Princess Celestia is the foremost expert on the subject of friendship. But, when she ends up violating one of her own sacred philosophies, it takes Luna and a very bizarre piece of clothing to show her the light.</p><p>--------------</p><p>Received first place in The Grand Fan-Creation Contest. Received Honorable Mention in Happy Luna's Super Magically Fun Storytime Adventure Challenge. Received Featured status on FIMFiction (LOOK AROUND YOU).</p> | everyone | 2011-08-26T04:22:52+00:00 | 2011-08-26T04:22:52+00:00 | 7,096 | The Socks of Wrath
A fanfic by Dubs Rewatcher
Note: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, or any of it’s characters. That honor goes to Hasbro, The Hub, and a bunch of other people, I suppose.
The throne room wall exploded into a pile of fiery rubble as Princess Celestia fell in. Her eyes were bloodshot, her mane was tangled, and her body was surrounded by powerful magic energy. She hit the floor running, and barely avoided the black mass of magic that hit the floor beside her, causing the Sun Goddess to recoil and fly across the room into a stone pillar. With what little strength she could muster, she pushed away the rubble, and saw what she feared most. Luna. The dark blue mare’s horn was glowing and her eyes were pure white.
“It’s over, Celestia. I’ve won.”
TWO DAYS EARLIER
It was a bright, beautiful afternoon in Canterlot’s shopping district. Foals were running around as tired mares ran after them. Stallions helped customers try on clothes, or gave out free samples of food. Everyone was happy and carefree. At least, until Luna, Goddess of the Night, entered the scene. The effect was immediate. Everyone was silent within seconds. Ponies stopped mid sentence. Foals were shushed. The odd pony quickly checked the skies for falling explosives. Luna, the smile on her face quickly fading, began a brisk trot through the area with her head down. The crowd scrambled to clear a path for her. As she passed, she noticed that half the population had, on impulse, slammed themselves into the ground in something that resembled a very scared version of a bow. The other half, mostly mares, fainted.
Normally, she wouldn’t be in a place quite so... public without a legion of bodyguards surrounding her. The bodyguards weren’t her choice, of course. But after the Nightmare Moon incident, both her advisors and Celestia had thought it best. Luna knew they all had good intentions, and that’s why it was even harder to place that knockout spell on all her guards. She knew that if things were to ever get back to normal, she would have to live her life; and the first step of that was becoming familiar with the locals. She had been sailing high above the city, looking for a spot that was populated and large. While this place wouldn’t have been her first choice, it worked fine.
A young colt, face decorated by a giant grin, ran out from behind a cart that was selling different kinds of accessories and said: “Hi Ms. Luna! Come buy some-” Before he could finish, a gray stallion with a spool of thread adorning his flank pulled him aside by his mane. Luna could see a mix of anger, fear and exasperation in his face.
“ARMSCYE! Get back here, and stop bothering our fair princess!” He spun around and galloped towards Luna, growing shakier with every step. “A thousand apologies Your Highness, we’ll be sure to give him a good whipping later.” Luna was horrified. He couldn’t be serious. But, deep down, she knew he was. These people would give their lives for her without a second thought. They had seen what she could do...why risk it?
“I...I should say something, shouldn’t I?” Child abuse was illegal, after all. All at once, her administrative side took over without her consent. “You know, child abuse is a pretty serious crime, punis-” Luna clamped her hoofs over her mouth. “Oh no. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!! He’s already terrified, now look what you’ve done! Maybe he didn’t hear me, or...or...” But the damage had been done. The gray pony’s eyes widened. off in the distance, Luna could hear a mare start to bawl. “No doubt his wife.”
“I’m sorry, princess, so sorry, I’ll be sure to never think that again. Nope, never again. Why, what am I talking about? Think about what?!” He was growing more frantic by the second. “I don’t even know! But anyway, why would a being so far above us like you grace us with her presence today?”
“Well, Mr...”
“Mr. Placket Trim. Over there is my wife, Cross Stitch.” He pointed towards a white mare. Her bloodshot eyes were partially covered by a beige mane. Her flank was adorned with a patch of aida cloth. “And our beautiful son Armscye.” The blank-flanked colt was light gray with a brown mane. Luna could telling he was stressing how innocent the son was, to try and make her think twice about killing one of them.
“Well, Mr. Trim, you asked why I would be here today? Well, I-”
‘NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH YOU BEING HERE!” He started kissing her hooves. “It’s just strange that we would *mwah* get a visit, is all... *mwah* Not that I’m saying you’re strange, oh no sir. Just the opposite. We’re the strange ones. *mwah* You’re completely normal!” When he lifted in head up in between kisses to her hooves, Luna could see he had a large, obviously fake grin on his face. “Now, what can we do for you to make your time here all the more pleasurable?”
“For one, you can go back to your stall and stop treating me like I’m the big cheese.” On command, Placket hopped up and raced back to his stand. How was she supposed to learn about normal life is everypony was too terrified to do anything around her? She didn’t even like any of the stuff being sold here! Just as she was about to let out a shout of frustration and fly away, she looked back at the family. The family was in a tight embrace, thankful that no one was hurt. But that wasn’t what caught her eye; on the counter of the stand, hidden behind some dresses, was a bright pink blob. Her memories flashed back to her childhood. She hadn’t seen something this pink since her sister’s hair when they were younger. Changing direction in midair, Luna, in a trance, glided over to the stand and lifted up the package with her magic. They read: SUPER PRINCESS SOCKS 4 PACK. The...”socks” were a deep pink, and had small moons embroidered on the ends. Luna almost did a double take. Small MOONS?! Even if she didn’t know what a sock was, she did know these were made for her. “Excuse me!” The family, who hadn’t noticed Luna approach, jumped in unison.
“Oh, y-yes, Your Hi-Highness?” Cross Stitch said shakily. “I- Is there something you desire?”
“I was wondering, how much do these cost?”
“Oh, no charge. In fact, we should be paying you, for all you do!”
“Well, if you’re not going to tell me how much it is, then it looks like I’ll have to take matters into my own hooves.” Cross Stitch shrank. Luna’s horn began glowing with the light of an Alicorn at work. As she worked, People were bracing themselves. Windows were slammed shut, ponies were ushered inside. Those who were recovering from a fainting spell once again fell to the floor. Next to Cross Stitch, a small translucent sphere appeared. She braced herself for the worst; and was suddenly buried in bits. Luna smiled at Placket and said “That should be enough, no?”
As she lifted off, new socks in tow, she could hear the sweet sound of jaws hitting the ground.
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“As you can see here, if we were to expand the border size by just five inches on all sides, both the population size and the GDP would increase dramatically. On the other hand...”
“Five-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-eight.Five-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine. Six-thousand.” Celestia, desperate to pass time doing anything but listening, had taken to counting the ceiling tiles of her throne room. “Huh. I guess they really did build this place to my exact specifications. Now what? It might do me some good to pay attention. You know, Princess and all.” Celestia turned her head back to the bright yellow stallion in the middle of the room. Her first thought was that his cutie mark, an abacus, was more fitting than any other she had ever seen. It also explained why Luna had recommended him. Recently, she had gained a rather unsettling obsession with an abacus that had been given to her by Sundance, her assistant. “I really should talk to her about that.”
“It’s amazing how much an olive can do, isn’t it? But, I digress. I hope you enjoyed my presentation, Princess Celestia, and that you take my ideas into consideration. Thank you.” The pony bowed and walked out of the room, careful not to raise his head until he passed the great golden doors that marked the entrance of the room. Celestia, on the other hand, was too deep in thought to notice. No one dared to wake her up from her trance; at least, no one besides her sister. It took Luna running like mad into the court to wake her up. Celestia wasn’t at all worried about Luna when she heard about her escape; in fact, she already knew. If they thought she couldn't tell when such a powerful being left her castle, they had another thing coming. However, even if Luna’s escape hadn’t worried her, it made her wonder just why the Moon Goddess had felt it appropriate to knock out a legion of guards and slip out of the castle.
“My dear sister! You have some explaining to do...”
“Later, Tia! I have a question.” Luna levitated the pink package in front of Celestia. “What are these?” The white Alicorn, in turn, did all she could do not to burst out laughing. Just the thought; Princess Luna, master of all things dark and mysterious...buying bright pink socks?
“Those, my dear Luna, are socks. They are garments worn on the hooves to keep them warm and reduce sweat. They’ve only just come into style very recently, but they are still only a novelty item.”
“Oh. Well, what do you think of them?”
Celestia’s amused smile quickly disappeared. “I hate socks. Always have.”
“Really? Why? They’re so pretty!”
“I’m... not sure. They just irk me. I’ve never actually worn them...”
Luna was shocked. Celestia! Judging things before she tried them! That was against her entire philosophy! “But how can you say that if you’ve never tried them! I’m sure they’re fine.” Taking back the new socks, Luna proceeded to rip open the plastic that sealed them. Out came four brightly colored socks; one for each hoof. On the tip of each was a silver crescent moon. Luna slipped one on. All the hoof-pain that she had from the journey to and from the market faded into a warm, soft sensation. The cotton intertwined with her fur, as if the pink cloth was trying to merge with the royal leg of the moon-princess. Luna was transfixed. She had never felt anything like it. And...it felt good. Not just good. Great. It was one of the greatest things she had ever felt in her life (and considering she was an Alicorn, that’s saying something). Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. Luna had no words. Only bliss.
“...Luna? Are you alright?” The besocked Princess didn’t answer. Instead, she rushed to pull on the other three. It was euphoria. How in her own name could Celestia not love this?
“CELESTIA!” Said pony winced. Luna only used her full name when she was angry. “I demand that you try these, right this instant.”
“Hmph. No means no, Luna. Don’t be foalish.”
“Fine, Sister.” She said condescendingly. Turning away from Celestia, she proceeded to trot (wearing her socks, of course) to the balcony where she raised the moon every night. Her thoughts were clouded the entire way. “How could Celestia not like socks? And without even trying them! She could be missing out on the greatest experience of her life. I have to help her see the light somehow!”
Luna stepped out onto her balcony, and focused her mind. But, even with all her magic concentrated, she couldn’t break the thoughts. Jumping off the structure, the climbed higher and higher, guiding the moon in its eternal cycle with the sun. As she reached the apex of her climb, something snapped. She was going to make Celestia learn the magic of socks if it was the last thing she did.
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It had been a rough night for Luna. As soon as the moon raised into the sky, she rushed like a madmare to the Royal Library to start her nightly research. But tonight, her research didn’t include the tax code, or a history of border disputes. Tonight, she was focused on the soft, pink garments that graced her hooves. The librarian found himself flabbergasted, to say the least, when Princess Luna charged in, demanding every book they had on socks.
Strangely, they had quite a few.
SOCKS OVER THE AGES
SEW SOCKSWORTH: INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
ACCESSORIES FOR THE MODERN MARE
KNIT SOCKS: 15 COOL PATTERNS FOR TOASTY HOOVES
SOCKS A LA CARTE: PICK AND CHOOSE PATTERNS TO KNIT SOCKS YOUR WAY
Luna was ecstatic. Flitting around the shelves, a new book joined her every few seconds. She never imagined the possibilities! “Of course, it would be a lot easier if I knew how to sew, or knit...” she mumbled. Page after page, design after design! For the first time in ages, Luna went a whole night without thinking about how so few people were out at night, enjoying the stars. In fact, Luna already had plans for another constellation: The Sockus Major. The only thing she found in her search that dampened her spirits was that no one ever mentioned making a sock for an abacus. “Welp! Looks like I have my work cut out for me!” If she hadn’t been spiritually connected to the moon, it was likely that she wouldn’t have noticed it going down, and the sun beginning to take its place on the horizon.
“Have I really been up all night?” Suddenly, an idea formed in her head. She had to get down to the kitchen right away, and before Celestia.
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Luna and Celestia were sitting in their throne room. As the morning light hit the stained glass, a beautiful array of colored light hit the marble floor. All was calm. At least, for the moment. Right before Celestia’s eyes the light started shifting! The greens and blues all changed into pink; it changed into...socks! “LUNA!” Celestia screamed, preparing her magic, and spreading her wings. “We need to stop the socks!”
“No, Celestia.” Celestia looked to her sister’s throne, only to see empty space. The voice was coming from where the light had been! Luna raised an accusing hoof at the Sun Princess. “You are the socks.”
And then Celestia was socks.
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“OH ME NO!” Celestia screamed as she fell from her bed onto the hard floor. The impact woke her up; but not before she could launch off a spell that traveled across the room, only to hit a rather extravagant bust of Her Royal Highness, breaking it into hundreds of pieces. Shaking herself out of her groggy stupor, she put on a straight face, and stepped out onto her balcony. After raising the sun for millennia, it sort of becomes second nature. Even so, the Sun Princess found herself using extra amounts of energy to raise her celestial body.
After that was finished, she put on a poker face, years in the making. Walking out into the Great Hall, she began to talk to herself. “What would people think if they found out their leader was having nightmares about evil socks?” She muttered as the dining hall came into view. “Bad things, that’s what.”
But before she could enter, a navy blue unicorn came out. “Elle Cuisine?” Celestia asked. “What are you doing out here? You’re the head chef, and it’s the middle of breakfast.”
“Oh, Princess! I apologize, I had assumed that Princess Luna informed you: she gave all kitchen staff the morning off. Said that she ‘wanted to do something special.’”
“‘Special?’ Like what?”
“Once again, my apologies; I didn’t bother asking.”
“Oh. Well, thanks anyway. Enjoy your time off, Elle.” Leaving him behind, Celestia trotted into the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of Luna hunched over a stove. “Lu...luna?” Celestia asked, a hint of timidity in her voice.
Her mane was frazzled, and her normally turquoise eyes bloodshot. Complimenting the socks she was wearing was an apron, dark blue to match her coat(although offending gray and white splotches were present). Cookbooks were scattered around the many stoves, all of which were on, as if an afterthought. Luna didn’t respond immediately; in fact, Celestia figured that if the toaster hadn’t popped, minutes could have passed without discussion. At the sound of the toaster, Luna spun around, and almost jumped when she saw her sister. “Oh, hey Tia. What’s up?” Once again, Celestia winced.
Never before had Luna asked her “what’s up.” Maybe “how are you” or “what’s going on,” but never “what’s up.”
“...Nothing much. But, what about you? You look terrible. And what of the meal you have preparing?”
“Oh, I just had trouble sleeping.” Luna lied. As she was talking, Luna shuffled slowly over to a book that was open on a counter. She quickly grabbed it and blocked the title before Celestia could see it. Stuffing it into her apron, she proceeded: “And, you know, I figured the best pony in all of Equestria could use a little quality food.”
“Luna, you and I both know the strict qualifications needed for becoming a Royal Chef. If the food wasn’t of the highest quality...well, I’m not sure what would happen. It’s always been high quality.” She raised an eyebrow. “And, before now, I wasn’t even aware you could cook, or bake.”
“Don’t give me that look. Can’t you just appreciate a gift for once? Besides, I just finished. Come, sit down at the head table.” Luna’s horn quickly took on multiple layers of magic as she put everything onto plates and carried them into the dining room. Unbeknownst to her, Celestia was using magic of her own; gently lifting the book out from under Luna’s nose, she floated it towards her. The title read:
CRAZY COOL FOOD DESIGNS FOR CRAZY COOL CHEFS
A specific page had a small bookmark in the shape of a crescent moon in it. Celestia turned to it, and nearly dropped the book when she saw the chapter title.
CHAPTER 13: CRAFTING FOOD INTO CLOTHING SHAPES
How To Tell Your Legs From Your Eggs
“Calm yourself, Celestia. Stop jumping to conclusions. Stress isn’t good for your skin. Maybe it’s dresses, or something of the like...” She walked into the dining room, and was quickly blindfolded by Luna.
“No peeking! It’s a surprise!” Luna squeaked as she guided her sister to the head of the table. Celestia, already annoyed by the prerequisites just to sit at the damned table, quickly ripped off the cloth that was covering her eyes. Immediately, she wished she hadn’t. Her fears had been realized.
Every item of food, every crumb was in the shape of a square, with a small crescent at the end. Pastries were lined with pink frosting. Bagels. Eggs. Blintzes. Toast. Even the large pitcher that Luna was currently filling with orange juice. She looked up at Celestia. “Something wrong, Tia?”
There are few sounds in the world that can make you go straight from perfect hearing to deaf instantly. A train, up close. The roar of a dragon. Explosions. In the Equestrian Royal Guard, some unicorn soldiers were equipped with spells that could temporarily deafen the opponent. But what Celestia did at that moment had the ability to deafen, maybe even kill almost any being in the world.
She screamed.
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It had been a day since Celestia had rushed from the dining hall, and locked herself in her room. Nopony had been able to get in; Celestia had surrounded her room with the highest level security magic known to ponykind. Not even Luna could hope to make anything past a scratch. They were just going to have to wait it out. Even though she was out of practice, Luna was forced to adopt responsibility for lowering and raising the sun in her sister’s place.
To make matters worse, somepony on the staff had let news of Celestia’s self-placed imprisonment slip to the public. As if the public was waiting for a chance, riots broke out within minutes. Everypony was in a panic, most of all Luna. The Moon Princess hadn’t stopped pacing since it happened. Her worries only doubled when a small wisp of green flame appeared before her, and quickly developed into a piece of parchment. Opening it, Luna read:
Dear Princess Luna,
I know I don’t usually write to you, but since Princess Celestia seems to be somewhat busy at the moment, I find myself needing to turn to you. I must ask: just what is going on?
Everyone in Ponyville is in a panic, or at the very least utterly confused. Some say that Celestia fell off her balcony. Others claim that Nightmare Moon has returned, and is preparing to plunge us all into eternal night! Pinkie Pie offered the explanation that she must have exploded, but I sincerely doubt that.
The other Elements of Harmony and I have gathered together in my library, if you need us. You only need to respond with the affirmative, and we’ll be on our way to the Castle.
Fan of the Night
Twilight Sparkle
“DARN! The news spread farther than I thought.” Her top advisors had assured her that the national panic level was no higher than usual, but due to the circumstances, Luna doubted that. “That’s it; I have to end this.” With a burst of magic, the doors to her room were flung open. The guards stationed around her door jumped when they hit the walls.
“P-princess?”
‘Not now, Check Mate! I need you and Crack Shot to gather any troops you can find and station yourselves on all sides of Celestia’s room.” Her eyes narrowed. “This is an emergency.”
The Unicorn known as Check Mate gained a somewhat worried expression. “Of course, Your Highness, we’ll do that right away.” As the guards carried out her requests, Luna made her way to her sister’s room, charging her power along the way. By the time she reached the ornate wooden doors, her horn shone with a light as bright as her moon and Celestia’s sun combined.
She stood in front of the enchanted doorway, and braced herself. “I sure hope this works...” All at once, her horn went out. What had happened? For a moment, Luna stood stock still. It couldn’t have failed... and, in the same moment, she realized: it hadn’t. She could feel energy making its rounds throughout her body, gathering whatever it could. As quickly as it had darkened, it lit back up as a great stream of pure energy spilled out of it, completely obliterating Celestia’s spell, and the door along with it.
Stepping out of the smoke, Luna’s first sight was her sister. Wings spread, and horn flaring, Celestia was fearsome in every sense of the word. But, as Luna noticed, she looked almost broken. The fur on her face was wet with tears that came from her red eyes. The feathers of her wings were rustled. There was evidence of dirt in her flowing mane, which now looked unkempt. “What do you want?!” She shrieked in a hoarse voice.
“Celestia, stop being silly. You need to come out now. You don’t know how worried everyone is right now! They need you to lead this country; I just can’t do it by myself. I’m sorry if I freaked you out somehow, I’ll make it up to you.”
Luna had lost her half a sentence back. The Sun Princess reared up on her back-hooves and yelled: “‘Somehow? SOMEHOW?’ Don’t act like you don’t know what you did. Those accursed socks have taken over your mind! I warned you of their powers, and you didn’t listen!”
“No, you’re the one who didn’t listen! These socks are my best friends!”
“Well, Luna, I’m sorry to hear that...because now, you’re going to have to say goodbye to them.”
“Oh. It. Is. ON.” Luna and Celestia lunged at each other, magic blazing. They clashed, leaving nothing in their wake but a large area of cracked marble flooring. Higher and higher they flew, colliding with each other every few seconds. White and blue blurred together, speeds increasing by the second. Soon, they had reached the ceiling. It was impossible to go down without compromising oneself; there was nowhere to go but up.
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“Now, you guys are sure about this?”
“Sure as anything, sir. We heard the order right from the big lady herself.” Crack Shot replied. Currently, the two guards that Luna had ordered to gather troops were standing on cliffs outside Celestia’s room, surrounded by a platoon of soldiers.
“I concur with my partner, Corporal. Princess Luna gave us direct instructions to gather any troops we could find and station ourselves outside Princess Celestia’s chambers.”
“Well then,” Corporal Kickstart put on a giant grin. “looks like we’ve got a job to do. And I’ll do it, or my name isn’t Reginald Kickstart the Thirteenth.”
Crack Shot looked stunned. “Is that really your name?”
Kickstart glanced at him. “No. But, it sounds cool, right?” Check Mate had his mouth open to reply, but was cut short when the roof of Celestia’s room exploded. Immediately, Kickstart leapt into his battle stance. “Men, prepare to fire upon the assailant!” As the two figures leapt gracefully up out of the ruined castle, the soldier’s jaws dropped. Princess Celestia was being attacked by... Princess Luna?!
Kickstart’s men were in a panic. “What do we do, sir?” One soldier called out. “Who do we shoot?!”
The Corporal contemplated the question for a moment, before answering. “Fire randomly into the air, in their general direction.” Seeing Crack Shot and Check Mate’s confused faces, he responded: “This way, we aren’t actually shooting at anyone. If we hit, we have an excuse. If we don’t hit, we have even more excuses!” He pulled his hoof towards him in a cheering motion. “WIN-WIN, BABY!”
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The two Alicorns started to level out as they passed above the Royal Garden. The magically charged shots rarely crossed paths with the princesses, but even when one did, it just bounced off. It was very difficult to truly injure an Alicorn when they were at their peak. Horn-to-horn, hoof-to-hoof, the sisters fought. Every once in a while, a hit would pass through somepony’s defenses, and would make solid contact. Most of these came from Luna. Even if Celestia was older, she was mentally and physically exhausted from the day spent shaking crying, and having nightmares in her room. Slowly but steadily, Luna was able to kick her sister down into the woods.
As soon as Celestia hit the tree cover, she spun out of Luna’s grasp, and sped through the trees. Luna was close behind, just a tail-length away. Every primal instinct the Sun Goddess had was on overdrive. “GOTTA GET AWAY. GOTTA GO FAST. FASTER THAN HER.” She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to escape the race against her sister. It was too much, it was all just too much. Closing her eyes, and forgetting to pay attention turned out to be a bad move, as she careened into a grove of maple trees. Branches flew by, cutting her body. Sticky liquid slowly covered her. Celestia attempted to scream again, but it was cut short by a leaf that raced down her windpipe, as if fleeing the dark forest.
Soon enough, she exited the grove; only to find herself speeding towards the castle wall. This was easy enough. Celestia had been forced to do sharper turns before. She moved her wings in the appropriate motions, and swooped up. When she opened her eyes, expecting to see the morning sky, she instead saw...the castle wall again. Her wings: they were glued to her sides by tree sap! There was nothing she could do but break through the wall. She started to coat her fur and feathers with what little magic she had left, and braced herself.
The throne room wall exploded into a pile of fiery rubble as Princess Celestia fell in. Her eyes were bloodshot, her mane tangled, and her body was surrounded by powerful magic energy. She hit the floor running, and barely avoided the black mass of magic that hit the floor beside her. Celestia watched as the marble exploded, the sheer force throwing her away. Sent flying toward a large stone column, there was nothing she could do as her body ripped through the expertly crafted rock. It tumbled carelessly onto a shocked Celestia, robbing her of what little dignity, poise, and oxygen she had. With what little strength she could muster, she pushed away the rubble, and saw what she feared most. Luna, wearing those pink, frilly socks. The dark blue mare’s horn was glowing, and her eyes were pure white.
“It’s over, Celestia. I’ve won.”
“N...no. No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Celestia screamed. Luna, unfazed by her sister’s outburst, took the time to conjure a new item: a pack of socks. These were pink like Luna’s, but instead of a moon on them, they depicted a sun. The sun had a heart inside it, just as blue as the mare who held it. Celestia continued screaming as her sister slipped her feet inside the new garments. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooohhhh...
“What...what is this? My feet, they feel so...soft. And comfy.” Luna cleared the stone off of Celestia’s pure white body. “What did you do to me?” Luna only shook her head, and pointed down. Celestia’s eyes narrowed when she saw them, but, slowly, her face softened again. Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, Luna, my sister. I’m so sorry.” She started to weep, letting Luna place a dark blue wing over her body. “How could I have been so blind to the wonder of socks? Can you ever forgive me?”
Chuckling, Luna helped her sister off the ground, and looked her straight in the eyes. “Of course I can, Tia.”
The two besocked princesses smiled, and walked out into the morning light. It was time for them to face the world. Socks and all.
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Dear Twilight Sparkle, My Most Faithful Student,
I apologize for being unavailable earlier. Luna and I had some mishaps, but in the end, everything has turned out for the best. On a related note, I have something to share. Something that will most definitely contribute to your study on the magic of friendship.
Recently, I learned that a true friend doesn’t judge things before trying them. When you do, you could very easily hurt another pony badly. Or, in some cases, even yourself. I believe you experienced something very much like this recently, with your zebra friend. As you learned, not everypony can be figured out just by taking what you see at face-value. In most cases, you must get to know that pony, truly walk in his or her shoes. Only then can you find true empathy and understanding.
Wishing you the best,
Princess Celestia
P.S. Have you ever tried wearing socks? They’re surprisingly comfortable.
author’s notes:
Just wanted to give some acknowledgements.
First off: The character Sundance is not mine. She belongs to Andrew J. Talon, and his story “Progress.”
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/story-progress-luna-versus-microwave.html
Second: The characters Check Mate, Crack Shot, and Corporal Kickstart are also not mine. They belong to Sagebrush, and his story “In Her Majesty’s Royal Service.”
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/06/story-in-her-majestys-royal-service.html
One more thing: I have a quote I’d like to share. This is from the book “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah. When I first read it, I immediately thought of Luna.
“We must strive to be like the moon.” An old man in Kabati repeated this sentence often to people who walked past his house on their way to the river to fetch water, to hunt, to tap palm wine; and to their farms. I remember asking my grandmother what the old man meant. She explained that the adage served to remind people to always be on their best behavior and to be good to others. She said that people complain when there is too much sun and it gets unbearably hot, and also when it rains too much or when it is cold. But, she said, no one grumbles when the moon shines. Everyone becomes happy and appreciates the moon in their own special way. Children watch their shadows and play in its light, people gather at the square to tell stories and dance through the night. A lot of happy things happen when the moon shines. These are some of the reasons why we should want to be like the moon. |
Jabberspike | 544 | 1 | Pinkie Pie,Crossover,Human,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Joker Saves The Ponies | complete | 175 | 13 | <p>Batman wants to destroy My Little Pony and only the Joker can stop him.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T08:35:47+00:00 | 2011-08-18T08:35:47+00:00 | 7,501 | Pounding the walls of the Batcave, Batman roared in anger. His latest crime-fighting escapade had been successful, but it still left him furious.
‘Damn that Penguin!’ he bellowed, ‘Damn him to the fiery pits of Hades! What a miserable piece of criminal scum he is! Even his name is an insult! The Penguin! Penguins are cute and fluffy and I loathe all things adorable with every fibre of my being! The world is a lugubrious place of agony and suffering! What room is there for “cute”?’ Having said that word again, Batman held himself and shuddered.
‘Hey, keep it down!’ said Robin in the corner, ‘I’m trying to watch TV!’
Batman walked towards the Bat-TV. ‘What, pray tell, are you watching?’
‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!’
Batman snarled at Robin, saliva dripping from his mouth. ‘My Little Pony?! How could you? That programme is too bright, too funny for dark avengers of the night such as ourselves!’
‘What the hell, Batman?’ Robin said, raising an eyebrow, ‘It’s a good show! Sure, it may be light-hearted, but there’s some really good writing and character development!’
‘Robin, we’re comic book characters! Why should we care about good writing and character development?’
‘Look...’
‘Don’t talk back, worm!’ Batman punched Robin in the face, sending the Boy Wonder to the ground. With that, Batman jumped up and down on Robin as if he were a hat. ‘You have violated me by viewing this light entertainment! Look at that pony! She’s pink! Pink is the colour of Satan’s vomit!’ Then he picked up the Bat-TV and threw it down a bottomless pit.
‘Why’d you do that?’ cried Robin, picking himself up, ‘You know you’re going to miss Will and Grace now?’
‘I don’t care!’ Batman raised his arms into the air and screamed. ‘You have committed an unforgiveable sin against my code! You’re fired!’
‘Well, that’s just as well,’ replied Robin, making his way out, ‘I’m not being the partner of a guy who gets mad over an awesome cartoon.’
‘That’s it! Get out of here! Let’s see your precious little horsies help you now!’
When Robin had left, Batman left the Batcave too. Stomping through the Gotham streets, leaving large dents in the pavement, Batman searched the city for any crimes and wrongdoings. Of course, it didn’t take long for evil to rear its ugly head in this city, and sure enough, the Riddler just happened to be walking down the street. Upon seeing him, Batman dove for the green-clad one, pinning him on the ground.
‘What evil art thou planning, vile leprechaun?’
The Riddler raised an eyebrow. ‘I was going back home to watch TV, actually.’
‘What TV show are you planning to watch?’
A grin lit the Riddler’s face. ‘Riddle me this, when is a girl’s show not a girl’s show?’
Batman screeched again, causing lightning to strike. ‘You don’t mean...’ Just then, his super-sensitive Bat-hearing picked up something...familiar...
‘My Little Pony, My Little Pony...’
‘The bane of my existence, back again to torment me!’ Batman rose, leaving the Riddler lying in pain. ‘Whoever’s watching it must pay the price!’
Having escaped from Arkham once again, the Joker and his sweetheart Harley Quinn had retired to their favourite abandoned amusement park to unwind in their favourite abandoned funhouse.
‘Harley, my dear,’ said the Joker, ‘Shall we partake in some equine-related entertainment?’
‘Hooray, Mister Jay,’ replied Harley, dancing in excitement, ‘Pinkie Pie’s my favourite!’ To further punctuate her energy, she sang a portion of the cupcake song.
The two clowns switched on the boob tube and revelled in the theme song. At least they did until Batman came crashing in.
‘Joker! I should have known!’ Harley hid behind the couch as Batman breathed heavily.
‘It wasn’t enough that you crippled Batgirl! It wasn’t enough that you killed a Robin that actually had darkness in his soul! But this! Watching My Little Pony! This is the final straw!’
‘Oh come on, Bats!’ said the Joker, ‘Not only is this show funny...’
‘I detest funny!’ yelled Batman, breaking the television screen with his fist. ‘How can we laugh when there is so much crime and corruption in the world?!’
‘...but the characters have their own personalities and are relatable, and...’
‘Well, if My Little Pony is so great, why don’t you marry it?’ Batman turned to a still-shuddering Harley. ‘Hear that, Harley? He cares more for a stupid cartoon than you! Your love is a lie, but then again, is not all love a lie?’
‘Batman, please!’ said the Joker, ‘You really should give this show a chance!’
‘Never!’ yelled Batman, ‘In fact, you know what I’m going to do?’ From his utility belt of pain, he pulled out a trans-dimensional vortex. ‘I’m going to go to meet those My Little Ponies, and give them a piece of my mind! Their world will soon be as dark and empty as my heart!’
‘How could you?’ cried the Joker.
‘I’m Batman, I can do whatever I want! Let’s see how those well-developed characters do against my well-developed fists!’ So Batman stepped through the portal, and it disappeared in a second.
‘Oh no, Mister Jay!’ Harley squealed, ‘He’s gonna hurt the poor little ponies!’
‘Not if I have something to do with it!’ With that, the Joker grabbed his magic pogo stick and hopped on it until it teleported him to Equestria.
‘No.’
Already he was too late, as the once-proud buildings had been reduced to rubble, and the ponies no longer pranced and went about their daily business, but now writhed in the ground in pain.
‘Help me...’
‘Pinkie Pie?!’ Turning around, the Joker saw, under the debris of a collapsed building, Pinkie Pie struggling to escape. ‘No! Of all ponies, why you?’ wailed the Joker as he pulled Pinkie Pie out. ‘Speak to me!’
While Pinkie Pie may have been free, she still had lost her joy, her carefree ways. That loveable pony, reduced to a weak creature, barely breathing in Joker’s arms.
‘Are you “cute” now?’ Looking up, the Joker saw the fiend himself. Batman sat atop a fiery black throne, the souls of the damned circling him. ‘Now, Joker, like these pathetic ponies, you will bow before your new god!’
‘You heartless monster!’ screamed the Joker, ‘What has Pinkie Pie ever done to you?’
‘Exist!’ screamed Batman, ‘She and her joy and her laughter!’
Laughter?
‘Pinkie Pie!’ screamed Joker, ‘Remember how you defeated those ghosties!’
‘Huh?’ replied Pinkie Pie, slowly opening her eyes.
‘Laugh! Laugh!’
‘Silence!’ Batman’s voice echoed throughout Equestria, ‘There shall be no more laughter in this forsaken world! Only brooding and depressing poetry! I AM BATMAN!’
A titter.
‘What was that?’
Pinkie Pie had begun to chuckle.
‘That’s it, Pinkie Pie!’ The Joker joined in the laughter. ‘Laugh at the bat!’
‘No! I am dark and serious!’
‘Oh come on!’ squealed Pinkie Pie, jumping to her feet. ‘You dress up like a bat! That’s funny!’
‘No it’s not! It’s a reflection of my complex and tormented psyche!’
‘But,’ Pinkie Pie’s laughter grew ever louder. ‘You have your underwear on the outside!’
‘That joke is old!’ Nonetheless, all the ponies, even those under the ruins of their society, began to guffaw at Batman. As they did, Batman writhed and squirmed in his throne.
‘Yes! It’s working!’ Joker leapt up and down, pointing at the weakened monster. ‘Laugh harder!’
Laugh harder the ponies did, and the buildings annihilated by Batman began rebuilding themselves like Superman rebuilt the Great Wall of China in that one movie.
‘No! Be miserable!’ With the chuckling and the giggling growing ever louder, Batman shrunk into his throne. Shrunk literally, that is. His once-mighty muscles diminished, and his black costume became a light shade of blue. Painted eyebrows appeared on his mask, and his eyes were no longer pale.
‘We did it!’ The Joker leapt for joy, hugging Pinkie Pie. ‘We’ve saved Batman!’
‘Hmm, old chum,’ said Batman in a different voice, ‘I appear to be in My Little Pony, a show I congratulate for its productive messages towards its young viewers.’
With Equestria saved, Joker was declared their new national hero and thus a statue of him was built in the centre of Ponyville and Princess Celestia made him the new king...
‘Okay, that’s enough.’
Joker looked up and found himself not in the shining utopia of Equestria, but in his squalid cell in Arkham. The smell of cupcakes deteriorated into the whiff of urine and neglect, and there stood not Celestia, but his latest therapist, adjusting his glasses.
‘That’s not what really happened the last time you faced Batman, was it?’
‘It’s the God’s truth! Well, it would be if there was any justice in the world.’
‘Uh-huh. Sure.’
The therapist left, leaving Joker in his cell to amuse himself.
‘Cupcakes, so sweet and tasty, cupcakes...’ |
|
Jabberspike | 545 | 1 | Discord,Gilda,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Equestria | It never existed. | complete | 51 | 7 | <p>It never existed. </p><p>The events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic were all just the delusions of an insane young woman who has been in an institution for the past few years. Now Tara believes she has conquered these fantasies, but has she really?</p> | teen | 2011-08-18T08:46:47+00:00 | 2011-08-18T08:46:47+00:00 | 9,806 | More fireworks erupted, further illuminating their creator. As Trixie embraced her self-manufactured praise, Rainbow Dash, scowling, arose from the audience. Her wings beating quickly in frustration, she darted to Trixie. ‘So, Great and Powerful Trixie,’ said Rainbow Dash, ‘What makes you think you’re so awesome anyway?’
Trixie chuckled at the Pegasus before her. ‘Why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie...’ Twilight held her stomach at the use of that nickname. ‘...has magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded Ursa Major!’
Another burst of fireworks, this assortment creating the image of said Ursa Major in the sky. The roaring beast made the Ponyvillians look upwards in awe, Snips and Snails looking especially flabbergasted.
‘When all hope was lost, the ponies of Puffington had no one else to turn to, but the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in...’ The illuminated bear was soon joined by a little Trixie. ‘And with her awesome magic...’ The little Trixie waved its wand. ‘...vanquished the Ursa Major...’ With a spark of light, the little bear exploded, with even its own Trixie looking smug. ‘...and sent it back to its cave, deep within the Everfree Forest!’
While the other ponies stood silent from the spectacle, Snips and Snails both cried out, ‘Suh-weet!’ in unison. Hearing this, Twilight’s stomach plunged, but she hoped it wasn’t from jealousy. She turned towards Trixie, the latter standing in the same pose as the lion statues that lined Princess Celestia’s throne.
Snails leapt up to the stage. ‘Trixie truly is the most talented, most magical, most awesome unicorn in Ponyville!’
‘No,’ cried his fatter friend, ‘In all of Equestria!’
Twilight still attempted to raise her stomach, but it fell deeper at Spike’s protests. ‘How do you know?’ Using one of her easier, quicker spells, Twilight changed the dragon’s mouth into a zipper, reducing his rage-filled objections to frustrated mumbles.
Punctuating her point with another pompous giggle, Trixie replied, ‘It’s true, my enthusiastic admirers! Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville!’
Looking at her friends’ displeased expressions, Twilight told herself she should say something, but her mouth remained dry.
‘Don’t believe the Great and Powerful Trixie?’ she continued, smirking all the while, ‘Well then, I hereby challenge you Ponyvillians, anything you can do, I can do better!’
The crowd remained silent. ‘Any takers?’ No response. ‘Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who ever lived?’ The last few words were yelled, not said, and thus they deserved their own burst of fireworks.
After unzipping his mouth, Spike clutched Twilight’s legs, simpering in a way that made him sound almost as incoherent as when his mouth was zipped.
‘I can’t...’
Trixie came closer to her audience, and stared at Twilight like a strict teacher would a misbehaving student. ‘How about...you?’
Was that a memory, or a fantasy? No, it was a memory of a fantasy, remembering something she once fantasised about. Actually, one could call it a fantasy of a memory, a memory she would have liked to have. Would have.
Stretching her body on her bed, Tara looked around the room. She did not just look, she scrutinized. When she looked at the door, she described it in detail in her mind. The handle, the texture of the door, the hinges, the screws in the hinges. Then she pondered on where the door might have come from, and how it was made. It was a real door. A door that existed.
She had recovered. Cured. She no longer belonged here.
With that in mind, she stretched again, wrapping the cover of the bed around herself. If her time here was limited, she might as well savour it. While knowing she should leave this place if she had any chance of living a normal life, it had become home, in its own way. Certainly better than that childhood prison.
But she was in a mental institution. An asylum. It may not have been the dungeon she had read about in that one story, but it certainly wasn’t the place someone like her should be living. It was Clarice who sent her here after all. Fuck her.
As much as Tara liked her solitude, she wished for Spike – the real one – to sit on her lap, and let his fur tickle her skin, digging within to eradicate her worries. Spike the fat tomcat who, when she was young, had climbed up the tree outside her window, and leapt in. Upon landing on Tara’s bed, he raised his head up high, and young Tara thought he looked regal then, despite the tangled mess around his body. Clarice would never let Tara have a pet, so Spike became her secret.
Secret. The word once seemed to promise mystical, enlightening things, but now it stung, a warning for her to run. This institution had secrets, Marge had said, secrets that she didn’t like hearing but had to know.
Spike was a secret. The secret that lay under Tara’s bed, his purring washing away the day’s troubles. The secret that Tara would bring table scraps to. The secret that lay beside her as she read quietly to him. As she read the story, one she enjoyed, Spike would look at the book, observe the illustrations and comment from time to time. His reward for the care.
One carelessly opened door and he was no longer a secret.
‘What is this?’
Forced to come downstairs, Tara saw Clarice holding Spike by the scruff of his neck, her other hand also close to his face. Spike did not mew, but wriggled slightly, his eyes bulging wide. In an instant, Clarice’s previous name was deemed worthless.
Mother indeed.
The present Tara remembered Spike being dropped to the ground, yet remaining still. Present Tara remembered falling to the floor herself, the resulting migraine intensifying Clarice’s screams. Present Tara remembered what else happened to Spike afterwards.
Present Tara laughed.
Years, a decade even, after it all happened, Tara finally found a funny side to it. Whether it was Marge’s therapy or her own mind, she saw in the memories not the nightmare ogre she once feared, but a whiny brat throwing a temper tantrum.
Perhaps she died. That’s right, Clarice died and nobody noticed. She probably had a heart attack or fell down the stairs and nobody knew or nobody cared. Tara laughed again- under her breath, of course.
Clarice. She was afraid of that?
She let that begin the construction of Equestria?
Yes, after that incident, her focus on her studies began to wane. The studies she was forced to take for hours on end seemed to melt away, making way for a reality where Spike was still around, at her side, and she was studying because she wanted to. She had no time for socialising because she was better than those people outside.
That fantasy she had kept in her mind throughout secondary school, throughout high school but not university. Never had a chance to go there. All those years it stayed in her head, growing and stretching slowly, sprouting into a fully formed world. Tara thought up more residents, and slowly expanded the realm’s geography and politics. It was planning for a story she would never write, yet she let it play in her head over and over, it growing stronger each time.
One day she awoke and found herself in Equestria.
Not only did she find herself in a new world, but with a new mind, new memories. No longer did she remember the wrinkled harpy scrutinizing her actions, but now she remembered overcoming evil with her magic, galloping through fields to complete a mission, going on adventures with her friends at her side...
Yes, she had friends. Once she was a loner, but then she discovered that the wonder...the magic of friendship. The ponies that joined her on her many escapades were not just best friends, but the best friends. Rainbow Dash, the energetic go-getter. Rarity, the fashion queen. Applejack, the hardworking farm girl. Fluttershy, the nervous animal lover.
Wait, there was one more, wasn’t there?
Pinkie Pie.
How could she forget her?
Five friends for Tara...no, Twilight Sparkle. The smartest pony in Equestria, and the one most talented with magic. Once she feverously studied, but now learned to balance her reading with a healthy social life. With Rainbow Dash’s races, Applejack’s farmwork...
Pinkie Pie’s parties.
It was Equestria that sent Tara to his institution, and that had only made her fantasy elongate even further. She spent the next few years not in this sterile white room with its bed and table, but in a magnificent library, teeming with tomes of spells. She never walked through blank, oppressive halls, but rather she trotted under the gleaming light of glass buildings. She ate pony food, played pony foods, and Spike, oh yes, Spike was there too. The same old person he once was, but now more so.
Marge was there too.
Yes, Margaret Sandson, her psychiatrist.
Her.
That one day when Twilight Sparkle groggily awoke to find strange appendages on her hooves. Long tentacles and stubby lumps. Just like that incident with the ‘Poison Joke’, though now, more than her horn had changed. Her limbs had elongated and had become thinner, her face had twisted into something flat, and...
Her horn.
Oh no.
‘Where’s my horn?!’ she screamed as she forced her eyes open. No library, no hooves, no Equestria. Her legs, all four of them, now had these creatures attached, writhing and wriggling seemingly under her command. She was clothed, a white garment draped over her torso, leaving her new legs and arms exposed. This place...no books, no shelves full of spells, just four plain white walls surrounding her.
Her brain told her to scream again, but her mouth was unable to do so. Something about this room was familiar to her, so she knew she had to explore, and yet her body restricted itself to the bed. It was that philosophy wasn’t it? That when something unbelievable happens, it has to be a dream. She remembered the coming of Nightmare Moon, and how, when she made her glorious appearance, Twilight had briefly wondered if it were a dream.
Then she saw a member of the species she had become. This thing wore white like she did, only she wore a black skirt to go with it. This thing’s shape at first sent Twilight backing away, as it resembled a moving tree, but the more she gazed, the more natural this creature seemed.
The thing smiled at her. ‘Judging from that scream,’ she said, sitting at the foot of the bed, ‘you’re back in reality again. Hopefully, you’ll manage to stay there.’
And stay Tara did. She knew she was in reality, she knew every brick, every window, every floorboard of this institution were physical objects, she was a human and not a pony, and she truly needed, or had needed, help. To further solidify this reality, Tara thought back to Marge and her analyses:
‘When you became older,’ she had said, ‘you realised that you never really had any friends, but when you realised that, you feared it was too late to do anything about it, and you became riled when you attempted to make conversation. Thus you created your own imaginary friends to compensate for this.’
Oh, and what about ‘After observing your behaviour and listening to what you’ve been saying, I think I’ve figured out that your...’ That smile she usually had lessened. ‘...“friends” are actually different facets of your personality, most of which you have kept repressed. For example, you feel nervous talking to people, so you created Fluttershy, but your intelligence has given you a sense of superiority to them, which you try to use to compensate for said nervousness, leading to Rarity. You said you were forced to work hard as a child?’
‘Yes...’
‘You made a pony for that. Rainbow Dash, I believe, could be an answer to your lack of physical activity, or perhaps even sexual frustration.’
She didn’t mention Pinkie Pie though.
‘Look, Tara,’ Marge had said, sitting on the bed, ‘This is the third time you’ve re-emerged, and I hope you stay here with us. Look, I’ll be your friend, and I’ll help you make others too. That’s what we’re here for.’
That’s what they were here for.
True, Marge did let Tara mingle with the other inmates for a while, some of which had even lived in Equestria for a short while. Tara even managed to have a short chat with Gilda. Yes, Gilda actually did exist, but, needless to say, she wasn’t a gryphon or whatever she was in Equestria.
‘Hey, you’re that weird pony girl, aren’t you?’
Tara had chuckled nervously at that. ‘Um, yeah...’ Once again, she felt her body shrink, but at least it didn’t contort into an equine form. ‘B-but I think I’m over it.’
‘I’ve heard that a lot around here.’
Tara pondered for a while on what to respond with, but then began focussing on Gilda’s appearance. The same white garment she wore, under a mess of tangled blonde hair. No feathers, no fur, a nose and a mouth instead of a beak. Wait, if she remembers what happened in Equestria...
‘Hello?’
‘Oh...yeah...I guess you have.’
‘You weren’t with the ponies just then, were you?’
‘No,’ replied Tara, ‘I was just...remembering something.’
As painful as it was, she tried to remember her human childhood through the conversation, though she didn’t tell Gilda about it. Gilda did briefly mention her own mother, but Tara chose not to elaborate on those points. After they talked a while, both feeling somewhat enlightened, Gilda let Tara shake her hand. As she did, Tara described how the hand felt in her mind. How cold and smooth it was, the palm, how the fingernails looked chewed up. How it was not a claw.
When Tara had returned to her room that day, a sense of pride danced within her gut. She had actually talked to a physical human being, not a fictional pony, not a figment of her mind. A major step on her path to recovery. Who knows, she thought, fists balled with excitement, maybe she’ll be out of here soon. If that Clarice has kicked the bucket, she’ll have an independent life, a quiet life. She’ll get a nice, quiet job, perhaps at an app...ice cream farm. Or at a library. When she gets out, perhaps she’ll even have a party.
Just a week ago, Tara remembered, Marge told her that she was recovering very well, and that both of them would go on a day out. Tara would be able to see more of the real world, further immersing herself in it, and maybe she would even make some new friends while she was at it. All that she missed out on through her delusions, everything she never got a chance to fully experience, she would indulge in. Marge told her there was a nice coffee shop not too far from where the institution was, and there was another place that apparently sold the best donuts. One day out and Marge will be able to tell everyone else at the institution that Tara is perfectly sane and should be released.
It would be the best day ever. |
Jabberspike | 545 | 2 | Discord,Gilda,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Equestria | It never existed. | complete | 51 | 7 | <p>It never existed. </p><p>The events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic were all just the delusions of an insane young woman who has been in an institution for the past few years. Now Tara believes she has conquered these fantasies, but has she really?</p> | teen | 2011-08-18T08:52:19+00:00 | 2011-08-18T08:52:19+00:00 | 4,108 | Tara awoke early that morning, her eyes flashing open in a second. She was never a morning person, yet she felt a strange burst of energy upon her awakening. Despite this energy, she still stretched her legs, observing them as she did so. Her two legs, with ankles, heels, toes.
She was Tara Muschel, a twenty-five year old woman who once aspired to be an author, and was currently living in a mental institution. Her father died sometime when she was seven due to leukaemia, she had lived with Clarice most of her life, and never had a boyfriend. All of that really happened. Clarice, as sickening as she was, actually existed as an actual human being, with a skeleton, organs, and muscles. She wasn’t made of...whatever dreams are made of. Clouds, moonbeams, all that ethereal stuff.
Placing a hand to her chest, Tara listened to her heart beat. It was quicker than usual, but it was an actual heart, pumping blood throughout her body to keep her alive. Did she hear a heartbeat when she was a pony? Did it beat fast when approaching that dragon on the hill?
She actually didn’t remember much about that incident. It wasn’t clear enough. Good.
A laugh.
The sound had Tara scrambling out of her bed onto the floor. She lay on the floor, ready to hear a high-pitched ‘Oh, Twilight!’, but thankfully, she heard nothing of the sort. The laugh returned briefly, but now Tara noticed it was deeper than it first seemed.
‘Yeah, them loonies, eh? Never know what they’s gonna do next.’
Oh, those two orderlies. They always came in to restrain her, even when she wasn’t doing anything violent. Tara giggled slightly to herself, pondering on how lovely it would be to be rid of them.
‘’Ere, Bert.’ They were outside her room. ‘I ‘ear old Maggie’s takin’ out the girl who thinks she’s a pony.’
‘Really? Maybe she’ll take ‘er to the glue factory, eh?’
‘Or maybe to the track. I wonder if we’ll be able to bet on ‘er, eh?’
‘But still, I’ve seen the folks here think of themselves as weirder things. Weren’t there one bloke who thought ‘e was a cactus?’
‘Don’t be silly,Bert. Wasn’t a cactus, was a cowboy. ‘
‘Ah. Never got into westerns.’
What a pair of idiots those two were. Imagine what it would be like to have their thought process. They do have brains after all. What is their home life like? Did they ever mention that they were married? What do they watch on television?
She still felt the floor under her feet. She still felt the chill her room usually had. She could feel the smooth texture of the wallpaper with her fingers. Yes, her fingers. That’s what she used to pick things up, not magic or a unicorn horn. Marge had fingers too, and she was going to use them to open that door and set Tara free.
It took a shorter while than Tara expected, but in came Marge, carrying a pile of clothes.
‘So,’ said the doctor, handing the clothes to Tara, ‘do you think you’re ready?’
Something inside Tara’s mind found this question laughable, but she chose to respond with a single ‘Yes’ punctuated with a smile.
Marge left for a while to give Tara some privacy to dress, and she put on the baggy t-shirt and plain jeans as quickly as she could. After dressing, she took a minute to observe her clothes. Bland, nearly colourless, perfect.
All dressed up, Marge re-entered. ‘Are you ready to go?’
‘Of course,’ was Tara’s reply, and that was all that was needed to grant her a temporary exit.
‘Now stay close to me at all times,’ seemed to be the first thing Tara heard before she stepped outside. The walk down the corridor, past the machines and the moaning of certain patients, all of that was a dash, a quick sprint. Did her repressed energy and excitement for today cause her to run down the halls? No, if it did, she would have been tired by the time she reached the door. She may not have been tired, but she still found her body frozen.
Everything had begun to swell.
The sky – that overcast sky with far too many clouds – pulsated and seemed to throb to the beat of Tara’s heart. The road, even though Tara could see no end to it, stretched and elongated, promising the drivers a longer journey ahead of them. A van roared by, reminding Tara of a bear...who knows where that road leads...but what is that up in the clouds? She swore she saw two eyes, narrowing at her.
What a big world.
What an adventure.
‘Is everything alright, Tara?’
‘Great!’ Tugging on Marge’s arm, Tara began to run to the pavement, wobbling a little as she did so. Upon seeing someone walk towards the bus stop, she forced herself to come to a halt, much to the relief of Marge.
‘Don’t try and get too excited, okay?’ said Marge as they neared the traffic lights. Upon the sign turning green, they crossed, and Tara took a look at the nearby buildings. She saw a small house, a rustic thing sporting a dull brown coat and a chimney adding to the grey sky. Taking a look at it, she briefly imagined its construction, imagining grizzled workers laying down the cement and placing down the bricks. Those bricks being levitated by unicorn horns briefly entered her mind, but she briefly tossed it away.
The two continued their little stroll through the town until they came to a newsagent, which would be indistinguishable from the other brown lumps on the street if not the white sign outside. Both entering, Marge, oddly silent, bought a newspaper, along with a Mars bar, giving both to Tara as they left. The Mars was to help ease any tension, the newspaper was to make reality seem all the more solid.
The front page story was about how a protest on the streets, what happened when the police were brought in, and the amount of injuries and arrests the debacle resulted in. It was due to a new government policy...apple trees. Apple pie. Maybe if they all sat down and ate some apple pie they could have come to an agreement.
Oh, that’s not how real life works.
As she walked beside Marge, she took time to glance in the newspaper. The police managed to arrest several drug dealers and users the previous night. They probably didn’t need any Elements of Harmony for that. If they didn’t need magic, then neither did she. Keep walking, keep reading.
Turning her gaze from the newspaper, Tara saw a certain bright spot among the houses...no, it couldn’t be.
Pinkie Pie.
Prancing down the streets was the little pony herself, slowing down as soon as she gazed at Tara. On her face was that bright smile that had always lightened Twilight’s mood, the same way Spike soothed Tara.
No, she wasn’t smiling.
She was scowling.
Just then, Tara felt her foot dip in something, and turned down to see she had stepped in a puddle. Looking up, she saw Marge raise an eyebrow, and Pinkie Pie nowhere to be found. ‘It’s a good thing I brought you outside,’ said Marge, gesturing Tara to turn around the corner, ‘You need to get out more.’
They walked through the town, with its clouds yet to be cleared, the puddles staining the roads, and the emotionless people strolling along. Still, Tara looked about to further let her know that this was reality she was in, and for anything of interest. Occasionally she would take a look in the paper as she walked by. Oh look, some school held a fair for charity. Those kids earned something.
With only a few more steps on the pavement – with Tara once stopping to ponder on how some cracks were made – they arrived at the coffee shop Marge had spoken of. It was no brighter than the usual building found along this road, and yet it stood out, beckoning Tara to come within.
When Tara entered, however, she treaded slowly, as the entire room seemed to be shrouded in shadows. Two men sitting at a table looked like a pair of floating heads above disembodied hands. All it took, however, for Tara to go deeper was a slight push on the back from Marge. As Marge promised she would buy them both a cappuccino, Tara went to find herself a seat.
That one. It had to be that one.
Not too far from where Marge was ordering, and with a nice view of the window. Look, a window. This place isn’t all shadows.
‘What are you doing in this boring old dump anyway?’
Just when Tara had sat down. When she heard the voice, the chair had suddenly gained a firm grasp of her body, trapping her, forcing her to look at Pinkie Pie.
Another memory of a fantasy of a memory or whatever it was sprung into Tara’s brain. It was shortly before she re-emerged in the human world that she imagined Pinkie Pie – she was Pinkie Pie. She sat at a table, surrounded by inanimate objects, all speaking to her. Your friends had abandoned you, they said. You should leave them be, they said. Marge didn’t know about Pinkie, so Tara provided her own diagnosis. She wondered if it was her subconscious trying to bring her back to the real world. Like Pinkie Pie was speaking to imaginary friends, so was Tara, and if a fictional character talking to nothing is crazy, what about a real person doing so?
Yet when she looked at Pinkie sitting there, her expression strangely blank, Tara imagined the skeletal structure holding together this playful equine. Hearing Pinkie breath heavily, Tara thought of the lungs under that pink coat. Under that firm mane there must be a brain, working to give her all those wild thoughts.
Figments of the imagination can’t have minds, can they? Can something that comes from the brain have a brain?
‘Twilight!’ Tara remained silent, choosing to turn her attention towards Marge ordering their coffee. ‘Hey, Twilight!’ Not much of a queue, the coffee shouldn’t be long. ‘Hellooo, Twilight, have you got hay in your ears?’ Silently, Tara turned to Pinkie. ‘Why would you leave Ponyville for this boring old dump?’ Her eyes enlarged, transforming Pinkie into one of those twee little figurines Marge had in her office. ‘Don’t you want to be my friend anymore? And what about Rainbow Dash? Applejack?’
Clutching tightly onto the table, Tara knew she shouldn’t respond, yet her mouth hung open. Words pounded on her lips, telling her to let them free. Her mouth moved left, her mouth moved right, and Pinkie rested her head on her foreleg in impatience.
Then Marge arrived with the coffee.
Two cups, with little milk containers and sugar satchels. Tara turned her attention towards them, taking a long whiff of her cup. Hot, luscious, ah. Real coffee. As she dumped in the milk, she looked up, and Pinkie Pie was still sitting there, right beside Marge.
‘This place is so boring,
And the coffee’s sub-par,
I can’t even throw a party here,
Because it’s so bourgeois!’
Knocking over the chair, Pinkie began a miniature dance, folding her forelegs and letting her hind legs move in several directions. Tara wanted to turn her head to look at Marge, knowing that she wouldn’t acknowledge Pinkie’s presence, and yet something about Pinkie’s dance mesmerised her.
Was it a test? Yes, if Pinkie was her subconscious, then perhaps this is its way of telling her how stupid she was being. All she had to do was, in her mind, tell Pinkie to go away and Equestria would be defeated forever.
She closed her eyes and tried to shut out Pinkie. She thought of real, physical things, all she knew existed: the buildings, her room at the institution, clouds, cupcakes...
Upon opening her eyes, Pinkie was gone.
That sense of pride welled up in her again as she guzzled down her coffee. She took a look at Marge, who had a pleased look on her face. Yes. She had done it. How many of the other patients in that institution could do that? Gilda had been there longer than she had, and she’d likely stay longer still. Imagine how Clarice would feel, if she was still alive.
This coffee shop is far too dark. Maybe some balloons would lighten it up.
Was it the sense of accomplishment or the caffeine from the coffee she didn’t know, but Tara still sprung up from her chair, knocking it over, and dashing for the door. Though her appendages propelled her, they all began to feel numb. Letting the door’s ringing become a tune to accentuate this mood, she ran out onto the streets. Everything seemed much brighter than usual. Even the clouds had parted, the light of the gods beaming down upon Tara as she proclaimed her victory.
The best day ever.
‘What happened?’ was the first thing Twilight said upon rising, her eyes still closed.
‘Twilight!’
‘You’re up!’
Rubbing her eyes with her hooves, Twilight found herself in her bedroom, her friends beside her. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy. Wait...
‘You feeling okay, sugar?’
‘I think so, but...’ Twilight rubbed her head, looking about the room. ‘It all seems so...’
Rainbow Dash intervened. ‘We were collecting some special flowers for Princess Celestia, remember, and you fell near this weird plant thing?’
No, Twilight didn’t remember.
‘We got the flowers, but then we found you out cold. We asked Zecora about it, and she said the pollen from that plant can knock anypony out, and give them weird dreams or something.’ Rainbow shook her head. ‘Don’t really understand it myself.’
‘Di’n’t she also say some ponies used it to see other worlds?’ interrupted Applejack.
‘Yeah,’ said Twilight, a hoof on her horn, ‘I did have quite a strange dream...hey, where’s Pinkie?’
‘Oh,’ said Applejack, ‘She just went off to get some cakes for when you come to...which I guess is now.’ A moment of silence followed. ‘Something wrong, hun?’
Twlight shook her head, crawling onto the floor. ‘No, no. Everything’s fine. Say, isn’t the gala coming up soon?’
Her body shuddering, Marge looked over the unconscious Tara. Despite her cries, her protests, she couldn’t stop Tara running out onto the road and having that accident. Limbs were fractured, and she took a major hit to the head. She saw the irony or the appropriateness of Tara getting damaged in the head, but chose not to dwell on it. There were other things to dwell on.
Rainbow Dash.
She tried to ignore the white of the room, which seemed to flash and burn, and the beeping of the monitor, which began to sound like laughter. Instead, she looked closer at Tara’s face, beautiful in spite of its marks. It was what lay beyond those marks that made her shudder, a woman with intelligence and potential, reduced to a motionless shell, just another looney.
It seemed like she had recovered. It really did.
She’s probably off with the ponies now. |
Jabberspike | 545 | 3 | Discord,Gilda,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Equestria | It never existed. | complete | 51 | 7 | <p>It never existed. </p><p>The events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic were all just the delusions of an insane young woman who has been in an institution for the past few years. Now Tara believes she has conquered these fantasies, but has she really?</p> | teen | 2011-09-19T21:59:07+00:00 | 2011-09-19T21:59:07+00:00 | 4,099 | What a relief.
Images of that bland, brown world she was forced to visit flashed past Pinkie Pie’s eyes as she put the finishing touches on Ta...Twilight’s cake. Clouds that couldn’t be cleared, buildings as dark and imposing as tombstones and the inhabitants made Pinkie want to vomit. They all looked like elongated, shaved rodents, attempting to hide their shame with filthy rags or suits made of darkness. Pinkie didn’t vomit, however, she merely shuddered, holding herself with her forelegs. To think, Twilight had almost left Ponyville to stay there forever! And if she did, it would have been Pinkie’s fault.
That one incident, when she thought Twilight had figured it out again and that she would leave for good. When Spike had told her that Twilight didn’t want to be her friend anymore. If Twilight, and everything she had formed, had said that, then all would have been lost. Hence, she had that little mad tea party with all the rocks, the flowers and the turnip. While she did do that out of genuine misery, it was something of an act. If Twilight saw that, and she did too, she would realise how sad Pinkie would be without her, and stay forever.
Instead, Twilight seemed to take it as her subconscious telling her something, and had returned to the real world. It turned out before that, she was planning a surprise party, a little reward for Pinkie Pie’s friendship. Feeling guilt for letting this happen, Pinkie would periodically visit Twilight, transformed into the human Tara, only to be rejected. Just a figment of her imagination, said Tara. A crazy hallucination, said Tara and the doctors and everyone.
Pinkie had actually thought that going to the asylum was one of the best things that could possibly happen to Twilight. It created more inhabitants for Ponyville and Equestria; Princess Celestia, Snips and Snails, even that mean meanie-pants Gilda. Certainly Equestria couldn’t be destroyed if it can be developed.
Ah, development. A favourite word of Pinkie’s, even if she rarely mentioned it to the other ponies. She was the fun-loving life of the party because of it, and thus she revelled in her world receiving it.
Pinkie was actually one of Tar...Twilight’s first creations, created when she realised her love of creating worlds and their inhabitants. Twilight was very young when she scribbled down Pinkie Pie’s Ferris Wheel Adventure, a story created from things she had seen in her books and out and about. Pictures of ponies had enthralled her with their mixture of majesty and vulnerability, and she was sure that Ferris wheel would have been fun to go on.
Pinkie was the star of that story, but back then she was merely a cipher, hollow and without personality. The other ponies were the same, as dull as the world Twilight was forced to inhabit. Thankfully, Twilight had kept Pinkie in her mind for years afterwards, providing a little bit of sunshine on those dull days studying. Throughout that time, Pinkie grew, gaining thoughts, opinions and a character. As she developed, so too did her world. Away with the blank zombies of the Ferris wheel story, all replaced by the best friends you can think of.
So it was a good thing Pinkie managed to bring back Twilight. And what did she see in that world which could add to Pinkie’s? Something that will not only alter Equestria, but alter the ponies’ memories so it doesn’t seem like a change?
The others didn’t know. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and everybody else didn’t know they were part of a woman’s imagination. They all thought they were real, that Equestria was a physical place. Pinkie knew though, the knowledge allowing her to manipulate this world in ways others couldn’t. While the ponies knew she usually played the clown, they sadly didn’t know how grave her position was. They didn’t know how close they came to destruction.
There was a slight disturbance in her gut, but Pinkie chose to smile as she pranced on over to Twilight’s library. Peering through the window, she saw Twilight had woken up, her mind adjusting itself. All the ponies’ memories had begun to warp to fit Twilight’s recovery. They did have that surprise birthday party for Pinkie, and that other, boring world was the hallucination. The ponies adjusted their mindsets with Twilight; they were all Twilight, all Tara.
‘Oh goody!’ cried Pinkie as she entered, ‘Twilight’s awake!’
‘Yeah, Pinkie,’ said Twilight, plopping out of bed, ‘I had the strangest dream too.’
Pinkie stopped bouncing. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah, but...don’t worry about that.’
Of course Twilight wasn’t going to think about being Tara. Pinkie could actually feel her surroundings change in accordance to what Twilight saw. An upcoming Grand Galloping Gala. She didn’t before, but Rarity will remember making dresses for it. All the ponies will remember fighting over tickets.
And ‘Tara’ had been knocked into a coma too! Perfect! That way she’ll be even more immersed in Equestria. Twilight Sparkle will always be there to vanquish evil, impart lessons and aid Princess Celestia. Not to mention Pinkie would no longer see what Tara sees, having to endure that ugly world.
What if they pull the plug though?
That would be even better! Both the ponies of Equestria and the people in that world believed one would go to a better place when one dies, so if there is a benevolent force, surely he’d let Twilight stay with her friends forever? After all she had been through, hadn’t she earned it?
She had earned those adventures. She had earned her new friends.
She had earned a party.
Margaret had come to visit Tara every day ever since the accident. Not merely because she had felt responsible for the whole thing, but because Tara had been like a friend to her. She did like to think of all her patients as old friends, yet Tara had listened to her more than most of them. Perhaps it was because of the ponies she is undoubtedly with? Yes, they helped give her advice on how to live her life. It was almost a shame they needed to be vanquished.
And vanquished they would be, apparently. She was not alone in the room with Tara; head doctor Cawley sat beside the unconscious woman, waiting. His cold eyes behind the wide glasses shifting between Tara and Margaret made the room seem all the smaller.
‘I knew this would happen, Sandson,’ he said, shaking his head.
Margaret shook her head with his. ‘You keep telling me that.’
‘I knew this would happen, and yet I can’t believe it. I’ve been highly doubtful of some of your suggestions, so I should be less shocked about this then I am.’ He lifted himself off his chair, and paced around for a while before seating himself again. ‘I just hope this works.’
A while of waiting later, and in came the man who was supposed to solve all their problems. A rather portly fellow, who resembled Cawley himself in a way. Perhaps it was the glasses, or maybe even the similar comb over, but they could probably pass for brothers. In one hand was a briefcase, thick and dark. With his free hand, he shook that of Cawley, but Margaret chose to just stand there and nod.
‘Hello,’ he said, putting down his briefcase and removing his tweed jacket. ‘My name is Dr. Foster, but you may call me Thomas. Now then.’ He walked towards the peaceful Tara, hands hovering over her bandages. ‘This is our little lady lost in Ponyland.’
Margaret wanted to correct him on the term he used, but forced her mouth shut.
‘You have a lot of people like that at your institution, don’t ya, Cawley? I mean, just last week you told me about a guy who thought he was a chameleon in the Old West.’ With that, he chuckled. ‘But seriously, I have been researching cases like this, and I believe it may well be a little more complex than you might think.’
Cawley placed a finger to his chin. ‘How so?’
‘Most authors will tell you,’ said Thomas, waggling a finger in the air, ‘that their characters are like real people. And it goes without saying that most authors are insane. So, if Tara spoke about her ponies and her pony world as if they were real, than they might as well be.’
‘Are you saying there actually is another world in her head?’ asked Cawley. Margaret wanted to say something, yet her mind told her not to argue with this theory.
Thomas smiled as he opened his briefcase. ‘More or less. I believe it is not just the accident that left her that way; she is in a coma because she is currently living in the pony world. And if I destroy that world, she will return to us, hopefully forever.’
Margaret finally began to move and peered into the briefcase. A selection of drugs and syringes, all with a special label. ‘Discord?’ Looking up to face Thomas, she arched an eyebrow. ‘Is that really a suitable name?’
‘Of course it is!’ replied Thomas, spraying a small bit of saliva onto Margaret’s face. ‘There is, after all, a certain order in madness. Delusions need order to keep their own strange sense of consistency, so the madman will find it easier to believe. Sad as it is, we need to create chaos to break up that order.
‘This drug, when injected into the patient, will find her fantasy world and seek to destroy it. It will do this by not only increasing the central nervous system, but trying to look for certain factors that led to its creation and either nullify or weaken them. There is a chance the world will try to fight back, however, but hopefully, we will overpower that through periodic injections.’ Thomas held up a syringe to punctuate his point, but Margaret seized the arm that held it.
‘I don’t know about this.’
‘Oh, so after all you wrote about how this fairy world ruined a young woman’s prospects, you want her to stay there?’ Thomas smiled, revealing a row of yellow teeth. ‘Perhaps you meant for her to be knocked into the coma. Am I right?’With a chuckle, he rendered Margaret silent again.
‘Excuse me,’ Dr Cawley raised a hand, ‘What did you mean about the mind fighting back?’
Putting down the syringe for a moment, Thomas clasped his hands. ‘If there are several tiny personalities in young Tara’s brain,’ he explained, ‘At least one of them may have some objection to the drug. Heck, it might even have its own little form in her world. But hopefully, it will overpower those silly little creatures and help her realise what they really are.’ He took another look at the sleeping Tara. ‘The world will be at its strongest with her, um, condition, so this will be the perfect way to test this.’
Lifting Tara’s arm, Thomas jabbed her with a syringe, letting Discord into her.
Pinkie Pie knew the reasons behind what was in Equestria. She knew why her friends were the way they were, when specific elements were added and the true history of this world. When something new appeared, she had the explanation, yet did not reveal it. If playing a big game was the best way to make Twilight happy, then so be it.
The chocolate rain, however, she could not explain. Yet her craving of all things sweet overcame her common sense and she indulged in it. That’s the way she was created, after all.
At first she entertained the notion that this was Twilight’s way of thanking her for showing her a better way, but then came Twilight, boasting of a spell that would eliminate it all. That bright blue burst of magic failed to do anything, which did cause Pinkie’s stomach to fall, but she continued playing her part and continued feasting on the liquid chocolate.
Twilight, clever, clever Twilight, then decided to deal with this situation another way. Gathering up all the clouds and the animals and wrapping them all in a neat little package. That unease welling up in Pinkie’s gut swelled and throbbed harder, but the game couldn’t work without her being Twilight’s court jester now, can it? Off she went for more chocolate.
Just as she was pushed away by the long-legged beasties, Spike coughed up another scroll. Princess Celestia. With Twilight and those who complemented her running off to Canterlot, Pinkie ran too, her fear slightly being overpowered by a sense of excitement. Using whatever ability she had to make the trip seem shorter, they arrived at the castle, where Pinkie heard a slight voice.
‘I’ll play along – but only for a while.’
As Twilight burst open the majestic double doors, she, Pinkie and the friends were greeted by a worried Princess Celestia. ‘Follow me.’
Doing as she said, the princess and the six friends walked down a hall lined with stain-glass windows, all depicting a variety of scenes. Pinkie knew this was a new backdrop, and thus looked for explanations. The easiest explanation was that Twilight thought Princess Celestia should have a room like this, and thus unconsciously created it for her.
But who was this ‘Discord’?
A doctor at the asylum? A schoolteacher, perhaps? While attempting to search through Twilight’s memories, Pinkie took another look at Princess Celestia. There was something...not right about her. This wasn’t the Celestia of Tara’s usual dreams, and yet Pinkie could not put her hoof on what was different. All she could do at that moment was attempt to ease the tension through ‘Hey look, we’re famous!’
‘You six showed the full potential of the elements, by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe.’ Now that seemed more like the Celestia Pinkie knew, the one that gave Twilight every reason to stay in Equestria. Where on that Earth would she be able to do something as powerful as that? The monsters there aren’t defeated by friendship.
And there was the Twilight she knew, objecting to her love of chocolate rain. Always the wise one, that Twilight. One worthy of wielding the Element of Magic.
Oh yes, the Elements of Harmony, one of Tar...Twilight’s greatest inventions. Behind that door they were kept, and once that door was opened, they would be used once more. And not just for this ‘Discord’. They would be used time and time again on a series of great adventures, where courage would be proved, secrets would be revealed...
The elements were gone.
Her mouth hanging open out of genuine concern, Pinkie tried to remind herself that every good story needs conflict and tension, and it’s more than likely Twilight meant for this to happen. Yes, this wasn’t Ferris Wheel Adventure where the main problem was solved in a matter of seconds. The plot has just thickened.
A mocking laugh echoed through the hall.
‘Make sense? What fun is there in making sense?’ That stinging in Pinkie’s gut grew fiercer as she heard those words.
‘Discord! Show yourself!’
In an instant, the dragon-eagle-pony-whatever hybrid on the window came to life, a smug smirk on its painted face. ‘Did you miss me Celestia? I’ve missed you.’
A change had occurred. The ponies’ memories were altered to accommodate it. Yet Pinkie knew not the source. She was a part of Twilight though, so she looked through her memories of her past life, barely listening to what the monster was saying. Was it the coma or something Discord was doing she couldn’t tell, but she could not access any of Tara’s thoughts. She could, however, laugh at Discord’s little dance. Perhaps playing her role would bring back that ability.
‘What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?’
‘Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while,’ replied Discord casually, ‘Oh, I’d forgotten how grim you could be, Celestia. It’s really quite boring.’
Boring. No, nothing in Canterlot or Ponyville or Equestria was boring, not like where Twilight was forced to live in. Pinkie stared at Discord with a grimace unusual for her character.
‘So boring, Celestia, really!’ That pain in Pinkie’s stomach rumbled with every repetition of that word. ‘I’ll tell you my way.’ Thus he told a riddle, something Pinkie didn’t understand. Something about twists and turns. Maybe there were some things Twilight didn’t want her to understand. Clever Twilight did solve the riddle, pointing to the palace labyrinth.
Now that was certainly new.
So quickly the six ponies ran, treading slowly when nearing the gateway of the hedge maze, the flags fluttering proudly and the huge archway giving off an air of strange nobility.
‘We h-have to go in there?’ asked Fluttershy.
‘Nope!’ Rainbow Dash stood front and center, gesturing towards her wings. ‘Dopey Discord forgot about these babies!’ For a minute, Pinkie Pie thought of what would happen if either Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash had her responsibility. Fluttershy would probably collapse, but Rainbow Dash would carry those memories, the knowledge of the changes proudly. That world out there would be too much for poor Fluttershy to handle, but since Dash was a part of Tara that wished for release, she would have no problem.
Dash blasted into the air like a firework, looking about for the Elements, just before her wings vanished away. She fell.
Like Dash’s wings disappeared, so did Fluttershy’s. Then Twilight’s horn and Rarity’s horn. Pinkie stood, rendered speechless. This was supposed to be where Twilight could be who she wanted; why would she weaken herself? She reminded herself of the ‘conflict’ factor, but still scratched her head in frustration.
Then came Discord.
Heralded by another laugh and the archetypical flash of lightning, Discord finally appeared in the flesh. A mixture of different animals and creatures, all topped off with a twisted glare. ‘You’ll get them back in good time,’ he said before disappearing and reappearing next to Applejack. ‘I just want to make sure there’s no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our game. No flying...’ In a second, he pressed his face next to Twilight’s. ‘And no...’ He rubbed her cheek with his finger. ‘Magic.’
‘Leave her alone!’ Pinkie yelled by instinct.
Discord’s only response to her was to grin at her as if suggesting something.
‘The second rule is every pony has to play, or the game ends,’ he continued, his fingers forming a pyramid, ‘And I win.’ With another chuckle, he vanished.
‘Never fear, girls!’ Of course, Twilight wouldn’t let a creature like Discord get her down. ‘We have each other!’
‘Yeah!’ Rainbow Dash. ‘Like Twilight said, there’s nothing we can’t overcome if we all stick together!’
That rousing speech seemed to destroy Pinkie’s doubts as she entered the maze alongside her friends. They were all Twilight, all Tara; they all had to stick together.
New hedge walls appeared out of nowhere.
Pinkie was on her own.
No matter. They’ll never be apart long. Best to make lemonade.
Through the maze she pranced, knowing that Twilight was still a part of this world, still its saviour. Discord had to be her creation, it had to. She’d defeat it and continue with her fantasy. If Twilight made Pinkie happy-go-lucky, she’d be happy-go-lucky.
Thus she followed the balloon.
A clearing, filled with more of those smiling balloons, as well as a healthy dose of laughter. Not the demented laughter of Discord, a happy laugh, a laugh of joy. While a smidge of nervousness did creep up her spine, she still pranced, still tried to play her part.
She fell in the mud.
The laughter of the clearing grew louder, more vicious, with the balloons all surrounding her. The perfect cue for Discord to make his reappearance. ‘What’s the matter, Pinkie Pie? I thought you appreciated a good laugh.’
‘It’s different...’ Her heart sank. ‘They’re...laughing at me...’
Discord added his own little snigger. ‘Why are you trying to keep Tara here?’
Pinkie froze.
‘I mean, look at this!’ All the faces of the balloons – the most basic of cartoon expressions – transformed into the face of Twilight, the face of Fluttershy, the face of Rarity. ‘You try to keep her as Twilight, yet deep down, she knows you’re childish, you’re merely a remnant of an age that should be forgotten.’
In the reflection of one of the balloons, Pinkie saw her earlier self. One with cold eyes and inflated limbs, handing out popcorn and offering rides on the Ferris wheel. ‘That’s how you should have ended, you know. Just a cute little story some dumb kid made up. You shouldn’t have been dragged into her adulthood. That’s just silly!’
As much as her mouth hurt, Pinkie attempted to answer. ‘I just wanted her to be happy...’
‘Oh, did you now.’ Discord pressed his claws against his face. ‘I remember her thinking being cured of all this and leaving the asylum would be quite the accomplishment, but I guess hospitalising her is a much better solution.’ The balloons’ laughter grew louder, making Pinkie shrink away into the mud. ‘You’re nothing but a figment of her imagination. You can’t help her. What can you do except bounce about giggling, imparting Saturday-morning-cartoon lessons? This may seem odd coming from a guy who looks like I do, but I’m more real than you. I want to help Tara.
‘What if she does leave Ponyville forever, hmm? What if she does go back to that “boring, human world?” Why, she could actually do something for actual, physical people! Not ponies made of cotton candy and wibbly-wobbly dreams! She wanted to become a writer, didn’t she? If I succeed, she could write an autobiography, and actually share her troubles with actual people with actual brains. People who actually think!’
‘I...I am real.’
The laughter of the balloons and Discord reached its crescendo. Every single balloon now had Twilight’s face, then that of the human Tara.
‘You won’t make yourself a bit realer by crying,’ said Discord, stroking Pinkie Pie’s chin.
‘What are you g-going to do with me?’
Clutching his claws, Discord dreamily looked upwards. ‘“Twilight” may be considered a hero here, but how will she be remembered in her actual world? A cipher, like you were long ago? A failed experiment? Because of you, a psychiatrist is losing her job. Because of you, the doctors are wasting money on someone who should have left years ago. Because of you, a certain young lady will never reach her full potential.’
Lifting Pinkie out of the mud, Discord stared her right in the eye. ‘You and I both know you were meant to be a joke. Nothing more, nothing less.’ Pinkie continued to tremor, her once bright coat turning monochrome.
‘Poor Pinkie Pie, I thought laughter made you happy.’ |
Jabberspike | 545 | 4 | Discord,Gilda,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Equestria | It never existed. | complete | 51 | 7 | <p>It never existed. </p><p>The events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic were all just the delusions of an insane young woman who has been in an institution for the past few years. Now Tara believes she has conquered these fantasies, but has she really?</p> | teen | 2011-09-28T21:59:19+00:00 | 2011-09-28T21:59:19+00:00 | 3,224 | Feeling the cool floor under her feet, Tara held Marge’s hand as they entered the rec room. Tara had managed to immerse herself enough in reality, apparently, so now she was ready to talk to other people. Equestria was all just a way to compensate for a lack of human engagement, so if it was to be destroyed, Tara would have to socialise. She had tried before in the past, and that feeling bubbling up in her stomach back then had returned. Pausing when she saw her fellow patients lounging on a couch, Tara decided to try and listen to some of them.
There sat a pale woman, playing with her filthy blonde hair, and another, younger woman, clasping her hands as if she were praying. The latter looked up at the ceiling, and then the floor, before saying, ‘The doctors come with needle and thread, sew up all the cracks in your head.’
‘Zoe,’ said the blonde woman, sitting upright, ‘Cut that out.’
‘Gilda, she’s been very bad,
Got no love from mum and dad,
She’ll stay here forever more,
A dirty and disgusting wh-‘
‘I said cut it out!’ growled Gilda through clenched teeth, causing Tara to stumble into Marge’s arms. ‘You keep saying that fucking rhyme, and you really think I’ll learn something from it?’
‘Gilda!’ Marge cried, restoring order to the couch.
With that, Gilda placed a finger in her mouth, and forced her eyes to widen. ‘Sorry, Maggie,’ she said in a pseudo-innocent voice.
Raising an eyebrow, Marge continued, ‘Girls, this is Tara Muschel.’ The other patients waved. ‘I would like you to make her feel welcome around here, in case she...’ A brief chuckle, which made Tara shrink somewhat. ‘...drifts off elsewhere.’
‘Ah,’ said Gilda, ‘One of them.’ She then turned to Tara, reaching for her hand with a smile. ‘You know,’ she said, freeing Tara from Marge’s clutches, ‘They never execute nobody, you know. It’s all their fancy.’
While that line did earn Gilda another of Marge’s cynical glares, it slowed down the bubbling in Tara’s stomach. A quote from a book – one of her books, not those of Clarice. She sat beside Gilda, trying to match her smile. ‘Hey.’ That’s how she seemed to begin everything.
Looking up, she saw Marge nod.
‘So...you have a little world up there,’ Gilda pressed a finger to Tara’s forehead. ‘Tell me about it.’
Once more Tara’s throat had become reluctant, stinging at the question. She couldn’t very well tell Gilda about Equestria, could she? A magical land with ponies, real?
Pinkie Pie stood at the corner of the room.
‘Well, er...’ Tara’s hand movement had now matched those of Zoe. That young woman still sat at the end of the couch, staring at Gilda and Tara.
‘Gilda tries to make a friend,
She goes and drives them round the bend,
Then she...’
Immediately, ignoring the presence of a superior, Gilda seized Zoe’s wrist. ‘I told you, shut up.’ A quick slap from Marge,
however, and the grip was loosened.
‘Twilight!’ Pinkie had come closer. ‘That mean meanie-pants!’
Turning away from the miniature hassle, Tara mouthed ‘Go away.’
‘Oh, come on, Twilight. You don’t want to be with those weirdoes, do you?’ Her expression looked like that of Gilda a few minutes ago, only genuine. ‘What about your friends?’
While wishing to snarl ‘They’re not real’ at Pinkie and hopefully banish her away, Tara couldn’t bring herself to do so. Instead, she stood, and approached Pinkie.
That memory, not a memory of a fantasy or a fantasy of a memory or what have you – swam through Tara’s head before she awoke. Right before that, she remembered fighting Discord, which then segued into that scene. Looking back, she wasn’t sure how one led to another, but that was the way dreams worked, wasn’t it?
She had hands and feet. Fingers and toes. Pale skin, hair instead of a mane, no tail. The room she had awoken in was empty – typical of her awakenings, the asylum tried to break the ‘news’ carefully. It wasn’t even her usual room this time, yet her mind had registered reality quicker than usual.
Wait, didn’t she suspect it in her dream? Yes, Equestria did feel a little ‘lighter’ than usual, and she was sure she heard another voice, one that wasn’t Discord. A voice saying things like, ‘Oh, and Celestia takes the ponies to a hall with stained glass windows’, ‘Twilight should go looking in a maze’. A voice constructing what Discord sought to destroy.
Tara clutched her head, feeling the bandages and the scars. Discord was still there, still in Equestria, relishing his victory in his little game. An image of a forlorn Celestia overlooking her ruined kingdom flashed past Tara’s eyes, causing her stomach to twist. She couldn’t very well let Discord have his fun, could she?
A while later, in came two men, both having a strange resemblance to the other, that Tara was unfamiliar with. Marge wasn’t here, making Tara hang her head. The soothing voice of her psychiatrist always helped Tara welcome reality, calming her almost as much as...
What about Spike?
One of the men leaned over to face her, his reeking breath against her face. ‘What is your name?’
Drumming her fingers on the bed, Tara took a deep breath before responding. ‘My name is Tara.’
The man nodded. ‘And where do you live?’
‘I live in an institution.’
‘Are you a pony?’
‘No,’ she replied, forcing a laugh.
The man turned to the other. ‘So it seems Discord is proving successful so far...’
‘You!’ Tara suddenly growled, pointing her finger in the man’s direction. Upon getting a worried stare, however, her accusing hand shuddered before it returned to the bed.
‘She will need another injection or two before she completely returns to reality, but you and your staff can also help that,’ said the man before returning to Tara. ‘Pleased to meet you, my name is Thomas Foster.’
Tara gave no response except to lie down again, still awake.
After her awakening, time had begun to move rapidly, like...never mind. Tara used to find lying in bed when being unable to sleep an awkward and boring task, but now it strangely occupied her before returning to her ‘friends’ in the asylum. Foster returned, wielding a needle. Discord. ‘No,’ Tara groaned upon seeing it, wriggling a little.
‘Now, now,’ Thomas seized Tara by the arm, and she suddenly found herself paralysed. ‘This is for your own good.’ In went the needle. ‘There, there. Be a brave girl.’
In the corner, Tara once again saw Pinkie Pie, now blending in perfectly with the scenery around her. She didn’t have her usual bounce, but rather trotted slowly to Tara’s bed. ‘That’s right, Twilight,’ she said in a grizzly growl, ‘You don’t need us anymore, we’re all too silly, aren’t we?’
As Foster pressed down on the syringe, Pinkie faded away, making the room seem all that larger. What could she do?
Tara was then lifted from the bed and placed in a wheelchair, ready to reunite with her fellow mentally-impaired. As she was wheeled away from her bed, the loud squeaks gave way for another voice:
‘There once was a woman named Tara,
She made pony tales that did star her,
But it is pretty silly
To think you’re a filly,
So she threw away her tiara...’
Closing her eyes, she found herself as Twilight Sparkle once again, her fingers and toes and hands and everything gone. Yet she swore she still felt those things in her pony form. She had read about that once – phantom limbs, wasn’t it? Looking about, she saw the once-bright skies of Canterlot clotted up with thick clouds, and Discord laughing his ass off.
‘And what are you laughing at?’ Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere as per usual for her, but the voice she used was alien for her.
‘You ponies are just the most fun I’ve had in eons!’
‘You better think before you laugh at the pink!’ snarled Pinkie before shifting her eyes in other directions. ‘...Ie Pie!’
Twilight, remembering how it was Pinkie that led her to that coma, wanted to laugh at Pinkie like Fluttershy was doing at that moment. At last, no longer would Pinkie be able to bring her back here. Tara could recover, leave the asylum and have a semblance of a normal life, and Pinkie wouldn’t be able to interrupt it. And all the ponies, Celestia, and even dear Spike, they would be gone.
They would be gone.
‘Look at this, Twilight!’ said Discord, gesturing towards Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
‘Rarity,’ the washed-out Applejack said from behind Rarity’s “diamond”, ‘This here diamond of yours? Twilight said we should split it six ways,’ she continued while stroking the gigantic rock, ‘since we, er, found it together.’
Rarity lunged at Applejack, causing her to back away.
‘Girls!’ cried Twilight, running to the arguing Pinkie and Fluttershy, ‘Why are you acting like this? We need to stick together!’
Another laugh came from Discord, and Twilight almost jumped at his throat. ‘Now I certainly wouldn’t want friends like these, eh, Tara?’
With the mention of her human name, Tara blinked open her eyes to find herself not in the now-rotting world of Equestria – yes, her brain did feel like it was slowly eroding – but in the white rec room of the asylum, her wheelchair beside the couch. She was in front of the television, a taped episode of Doctor Who playing.
‘Hey, Pony Girl!’ While cringing at the nickname, Tara turned to see Gilda, smiling an actual smile. ‘You okay?’
‘I’m...’ Looking out of the window, Tara swore she saw a selection of strange visions. Dancing buffalo parading through the street, soap flooding the road...no, it wasn’t the outside streets, it was Equestria! Those beautiful skyscrapers, the intricate buildings, all levitating and turned upside down. ‘...fine.’
‘Uh oh!’ Gilda said in a bouncy voice, ‘You paused between the two wo-ords! Something’s u-up!’
‘No, really. I’m fine.’
‘That’s what they all say.’ Gilda chuckled, and Tara chuckled along with her. ‘Just now I heard you blathering about something breaking out of a statue.’ Moving away from Tara slightly, Gilda stood up. ‘You ever watch Gargoyles?’
‘What?’
‘You know, that old Disney cartoon. Been yoinks since I watched it, but it was about these gargoyles that would come to life every night and they’d battle evil and stuff. And there was this evil girl gargoyle who wanted to kill all the humans...’
Gargoyles...those stone monsters that perch atop certain buildings...that’s what the ponies were now. Fluttershy had lost her innocence; she was now akin to that pig-like monster Tara remembered seeing in that gardening shop. Though it was made of stone, Tara had imagined what it would be like were it alive.
It’d be like Fluttershy is now.
Why couldn’t she be more like Gilda?
Gilda wouldn’t let anyone jab her with a syringe. Gilda wouldn’t let Discord run amok. Gilda was confident, Gilda was firm. Not like pathetic little Tara.
‘Were you just in Ponyland?’
Not Ponyland, it’s called Equestria. Tara didn’t bring up that correction though, as she looked about the room. ‘Where’s Marge?’
‘Didn’t they tell you?’ Gilda looked at her hand before chewing up another fingernail. ‘She’s been fired. You know, after what happened to you.’
Oh, yes. That was right.
Tara sunk into her wheelchair, clutching its arms tightly.
‘Hey, chill. She was on thin ice anyway,’ Gilda said, placing an arm on a shivering Tara. ‘Yeah, all the other doctors thought she was a qua...’ Tara held herself, chewing on her arm. ‘Hey, cut that out. I’m trying to help you. Anyway...’
It was all because of Equestria, you know. You had to go and create that world and then wallow in it. Now look what’s happened. Why couldn’t you listen to your better side, Tara? Why did you go and do what Pinkie Pie wanted? Yes, Pinkie Pie wanted you to do that. She’s like that, all unpredictable and confused.
Nothing but trouble.
Why didn’t you just leave her in your childhood where she belongs?
In an instant, Gilda slapped Tara across the face, making her injuries sting all the more. ‘I said cut it out!’
Though that slap did bring her to reality, Tara shrunk away from Gilda, her eyes watering up.
‘Oh, oh, look at this. You’re crying now, just because I was trying to be nice?’
Lifting her arms away from her head, Tara attempted to look at Gilda. ‘I’m not...’
‘Of course you are!’ Gilda flicked her finger at Tara’s eyelids, collecting a tear. Sticking the finger in her mouth, she continued, ‘You’re still in your happy pony land, aren’t you? You know, where everyone is easily forgiven and they listen to your pity parties and all that crap.’ She leaned her arm on one of the wheelchair’s, and looked at Tara in the eye. ‘If you want to get out of here, you better jettison that.’
Seeing Gilda before her, Tara swallowed, attempting to form a response. Gilda wanted an argument; she wanted her to be firm, confident like she was. So, what to say? ‘Well...why are you still here?’
An angry grin instantly lit Gilda’s face. ‘Are you kidding? I love it here! And at least I acknowledge I belong here, unlike “These people are my intellectual inferiors, not like my imaginary ponies wah wah wah”.’
‘I don’t think you’re...’
‘Oh, listen to poor innocent Tara. Just...’ With a grunt, Gilda turned away, watching the television.
Tara looked about the room, still wringing her fingers. This is where Pinkie Pie would appear, accuse Gilda of being a ‘mean meanie-pants’ and Tara would become Twilight Sparkle again. Actually, at that moment, there didn’t seem to be anyone in the rec room except Tara and Gilda. Well, there were other girls, but they were engaged in their own errands. One played with her own hair, one looked at a window – not through it, at it – and another just stood there without movement. Zoe wasn’t even there – perhaps she had been released?
She still swore she saw buffalo dancing.
After a while, in came Foster, sporting a shit-eating grin as he approached Tara. ‘Are you feeling any better, Miss Muschel?’
Tara narrowed her eyes at her visitor. ‘Go to hell.’
‘Look,’ continued Foster as he held the handles of Tara’s wheelchair, taking her away from the rec room, ‘I understand you may find my experiment a little...how shall I say...distressing. But as long as it gets your head out of the clouds.’ He chuckled, making Tara squirm. ‘Poor choice of words, I know. I’ll be back tomorrow to see how you are faring.’
‘Why are you doing this?’ Tara asked as she was returned to her room.
After being asked that, Foster gave another laugh, this one smaller. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Tara gave no answer. ‘This isn’t part of some evil plan to erase people’s minds or something in that vein...though you aren’t actually the first person to think that.’
A moment of silence followed, with Tara adding a smile of her own, before Foster lifted her onto her bed, said ‘Goodbye’ and left.
Now left alone, Tara surveyed the room, expecting Pinkie Pie to arrive any minute now. She awaited the appearance of the pink pony like she would await a package she ordered, but Pinkie did not appear. No scowling pink pony came in to beg her back to Equestria or to remind her to save it. Vanquishing Pinkie before had led to this accident, but now she knew it would lead to no such thing.
She had won. She wasn’t a brightly coloured pony, she was a grey little human in a grey little world. Her mind had too much potential to be wasting it on thinking about...
Was that them? Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy all leering down from the ceiling, like gargoyles, not the cartoon those things from the buildings, stone demons like Discord...
She swore she heard someone approaching.
As soon as the grimacing ponies had vanished, the handle on her door had begun turning. Still weak, still flustered, she only lay there, shuddering as usual.
Slowly the door creaked open.
Bert the orderly entered.
‘Just remembered I was supposed to give this to you.’ Still shuddering, Tara took the card from Bert’s hand, awaiting him leaving. After he locked the door behind him, she looked at the card. A typical store-bought ‘Get well soon’, with a little cat on it. She opened it.
Gilda.
Not the human Gilda, the Equestrian gryphon. A replication of a doodle she had done during a therapy session. It was better than she remembered it being, and she shook her head at how she could have seen that so clearly. Beneath the obligatory message, a single ‘G’ was written.
Her would-be friend.
The card fluttered to the floor.
Once again she was Twilight Sparkle, her hands making way for hooves, her head filled with different memories. Now she stood on a chequered ground, surrounded by floating buildings and delusional ponies. Her purple mane drained of all colour, she walked away, all on her own. No friends, no Applejack, no Rarity, no Fluttershy...
No Pinkie Pie.
Who needed them anyway? Her first instinct was right; they were all crazy. Now that they had become vicious gargoyles, they were even more so. But who cares? They were merely a distraction, something to prevent her getting her work done. They couldn’t stop Discord, they didn’t want to. So, if they didn’t want to, why should she?
And speak of the devil.
‘Twilight!’ Discord squealed, a larger smile than usual lighting his hybrid features, ‘You’ve gotta see what I just did!’ His tone was that of an excited child showing a picture to mother, so perhaps that’s why Twilight could muster no fear or anger. Still, Discord directed her attention to a pony seasoned with pepper. A single sneeze, and the surrounding buildings fell down. No, not buildings – cardboard representations of them. That’s all they were. They were never constructed from brick and cement, merely with a thought.
‘Come on, Twilight Sparkle, you’ve got to get into the spirit of things!’ Discord raised his hands into the air, almost looking as if he were crucified. ‘After all, this is your new home!’
‘Not anymore.’
As Twilight trotted back to her library, she heard Discord’s ‘Yes!’ of victory. Ignoring it, she made her way to her bedroom, to dear old Spike. There he lay, claws clutching his stomach, writhing and squirming. Twilight froze as she listened to him murmur unintelligible gurgling, then she noticed the pile of scrolls lying proudly on the floor.
The letters she had written to Celestia.
Using her horn, she levitated the scrolls, unveiling their contents. As she stared at them, she didn’t read them, rather she lived them. The memories she used to have in this world all flurried back into her mind, which did cause a slight headache, but any pain was quickly soothed by what she saw before her. Once again, she felt the cooling waters surround her body, doing away with the ailments of the poison joke. Again she felt a wave of triumph after having escaped from the Diamond Dogs. Her brain immediately turned from the doubt Discord had sown, now pondering on her friends, their quirks and how their minds worked. Yes, her friends were real; they were born, had childhoods, and inside their heads, they have their own little thoughts. Those thoughts even taught Twilight a thing or two.
All those memories...
When Nightmare Moon was exposed for what she truly was, a victory that led Twilight to many more adventures. Going up a mountain to confront a sleeping dragon, which led to Fluttershy gaining a smidge more confidence...
Forced to work under the watch of Clarice.
That memory had crept back, and so did the phantom fingers and toes. This wasn’t a dream, Tara still felt awake. She could feel her soft bed against her skin, she could feel the chill of her bedroom. Yet she could also feel the magic emanating from her forehead, illuminating and revealing the scrolls.
Shaking her head, she found herself fully awake, yet still with that feeling of creating magic, and still with that urge to defeat Discord. The image of Discord played in her brain, a being made up of different creatures with unimaginable power, that was as alive and breathing as she was. A skeleton lay beneath the scales and fur, a heart pumped blood and he had a cunning brain to devise more horrific changes to give Equestria...
‘Still doing that, I see. You should really stop that.’
With that little voice, Tara sighed, twiddling her fingers again. She took a look down at the floor, to the open card. The picture of Gilda the gryphon, now somehow looking more like the type of creature that would terrify innocent Fluttershy. But Gilda’s not like that really, is she? Maybe the angry gryphon of Equestria should have a new name. Gretta. Goldie.
Oh look. Pinkie Pie. She doesn’t look too happy.
Despite still being monochrome, Pinkie Pie was the brightest thing in the room. That uncharacteristic scowl remained on her face as she looked around. She paced, her walking reminding Tara of a wind-up toy. When she laid eyes on the card on the floor, she shuddered and looked up to stare Tara in the face. ‘Oh, you still think we’re all just a joke, don’t you?’
Tara raised her head. ‘No. I don’t.’
‘After all we’ve been through,’ she growled, leaping onto Tara’s form, ‘After what you’ve seen...you still come back to this dump?’
Pausing, Tara looked upward for a while in thought, and then replied, ‘I’ll come back.’
‘Yeah, right!’
‘No, really, I’ll...’ With a sigh, Tara attempted to collect her thoughts together. ‘I know what you were trying to do. You...didn’t have to.’
‘Oh, really? I try to make you happy, and this is how you repay me? Did you prefer being with that old bat?’
Shuddering and wringing her hands once again, Tara attempted to search for an answer. She noticed herself fidgeting, and stopped herself, laughing slightly about her doing so for a figment of her imagination.
‘Aha! I knew it!’
‘Yeah...you know when you appeared to me here, I didn’t speak to you, because...’
‘Why? Because people would think you were “crazy”?’ That last word was emphasised with Pinkie circling her ear with a hoof, and her eyes becoming spirals.
Tara nodded, making Pinkie Pie gasp. ‘Still,’ added Tara, ‘I guess everyone knows I’m crazy, so...’ She spun her hand around, and then pointed at Pinkie, who had regained some of her colour. Forcing herself to take a good hard look at Pinkie Pie’s face, she tried to see her not as a delusion, not a lunatic, but as a part of her. Another Tara. Like Fluttershy was her timidness, Applejack her hardworking nature and Rainbow Dash being something pent up, Pinkie Pie had to be something. Her inner child? No, something more than that.
‘So does this mean you are going back to Ponyville?’ Pinkie Pie bounced, just once.
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘but only for a while.’
A smile crossed Pinkie Pie’s face, which then shrunk into a slight frown. ‘But you’ll come back, won’t you?’
‘Would you like me to tell you a story?’
Gradually, yet not too slowly, Pinkie had regained her coat’s colour, and was bathed in her namesake once more. ‘Sure! I love a good story, especially one with lots of action and...’
Pinkie disappeared. Back into Tara’s head, back where’d she stay.
Tara smiled.
‘Discord had flooded Ponyville with chaos, and sat back to admire his work...’ |
Jabberspike | 545 | 5 | Discord,Gilda,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Dark,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Equestria | It never existed. | complete | 51 | 7 | <p>It never existed. </p><p>The events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic were all just the delusions of an insane young woman who has been in an institution for the past few years. Now Tara believes she has conquered these fantasies, but has she really?</p> | teen | 2011-09-28T21:56:48+00:00 | 2011-09-28T21:56:48+00:00 | 4,200 | ‘I beat him,’ was the first words Tara had said that morning, when her peaceful sleep had been interrupted by none other than Thomas Foster entering the room.
As he closed the door, Foster arched an eyebrow. ‘What was that?’
Recollecting herself, fully awakening in a few mere seconds, Tara looked up to meet Foster’s eyes. ‘I said I beat it. I beat the ponies. I guess your serum worked.’
‘Ah yes,’ said Foster with a smile, ‘I was just seeing how it was holding up.’ He scratched the back of his neck. ‘I have been trying it on another patient, and it has resulted in violent night terrors.’
‘Didn’t you say it had to be violent at first?’
‘Ah yes,’ he said, with his smile returning, ‘But still, I am somewhat concerned.’
‘Don’t be.’
Foster approached, and asked, ‘Would you like to go outside for a while?’
With a nod, Tara was lifted into her wheelchair, and was wheeled outside into the gardens. A clean paved path framed by a selection of flowers seating neatly in brick pots, and benches baring various names. There was not a sound to be heard except for the squeaking of Tara’s chair- none of the hollers or loud nonsense she heard when she was trying to sleep, none of the blathering from doctors. She turned to pick up a flower and for a moment, began to think about some gardener planting it and tending to it. Then she tried to put it out of her head; flowers shouldn’t need analysis.
She never gave Equestria that much analysis either. Maybe she should have; then she’d have realised how silly it was to believe in it, and would have left the asylum years ago. No, she couldn’t give up Equestria entirely; if she still thinks about it but acknowledges it as fictional, it isn’t insane, is it?
Something crawled across her gut as she pondered on it. She’d become Twilight Sparkle again, and she’d stay that way again. While she did tell Pinkie Pie she’d try to balance reality with ponies, she just knew she’d lean too far in one direction again.
Pinkie Pie’s Ferris Wheel Adventure. Not enough seats for the ponies. One pony forfeits her turn. Problem solved. Why couldn’t this whole thing be like that?
‘I think we can ground you here for good this time,’ said Foster, ‘I didn’t trust Marge. I actually think she wanted you living your delusions.’ He chuckled, and Twilight chuckled with him.
‘I’d like to speak with Gilda again,’ she said, ‘I think we can still be friends.’
‘Indeed. And now that you’ve seemed to have made an agreement with your imagination, I think you can.’
While raising an eyebrow at that remark, Tara continued the conversation. ‘You know, I’ve always wanted to accomplish something...’
‘Yes, I know. And I think you are on the way to doing that. But remember that you have to stay here.’
‘Forever.’ Tara put her hands over her mouth.
‘What was that?’
‘Nothing.’ Tara smiled. ‘May I go back inside?’ |
Ebon Mane | 546 | 1 | Main 6,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore | The Cough | complete | 1,196 | 46 | <p>The mane six take shelter in a place that is, for now, safe from a disaster occurring outside.</p><p>This gruesome tale of violence and death is not recommended for colts, fillies, or the faint of heart.</p> | teen | 2011-08-18T08:55:50+00:00 | 2011-08-18T08:55:50+00:00 | 52,561 | In the darkness, somepony coughed.
"Who was it?"
Silence reigned.
"Who!?"
A dim violet light sprang into being. Twilight Sparkle's horn barely illuminated the cramped, windowless room and the six ponies within. A world of dark purples and inky blacks revealed itself, colors distorted by the monochrome aura of the magical implement. Shadows pooled in the corners, lurking just beyond the reach of the unicorn's spell.
Rainbow Dash watched as Twilight glared at each of their friends in turn. None spoke. Silhouettes danced along the walls as the unicorn moved her head, causing the light to jerk and shift. Pinkie Pie huddled near the barred door, eyes wide and uncomprehending as she stared off into an uncertain distance. The baker twitched slightly, squeezing the bag of flour that she clutched so tightly to her chest. On the room's only bed, Rarity lay next to Applejack, her head buried in the farmer's shoulder. The dressmaker shook as she sobbed quietly. Dash didn't know whether the unicorn's distress was because of their situation or because of their hygiene; the room reeked of unwashed bodies, and Rarity's mane, like everypony else's, was tangled and knotted and hung heavy with filth. Applejack, for her part, merely stared stoically back at Twilight Sparkle when the librarian's gaze turned to her.
And then those eyes were on Dash, and on Fluttershy. The two were locked in an embrace; it was the only comfort they had in the room. The weather pony found her voice when the other pegasus began to shudder, "What does it matter?"
Twilight Sparkle's brow furrowed, "Get serious, Dash. It's better for five of us to get through this than none of us. Coughing is the only warning we get."
Fluttershy's whisper carried well enough in the enclosed space, "Couldn't we...um... wait and see? It could just be dust or a cold. Please?"
"I really wish that we could risk it, Fluttershy," Twilight said, the sharp edge of her voice softening slightly, "But there's no going back once it reaches the final stage. You saw what happened out there. Do you really want that in here?"
Applejack sighed, then spoke up, "She's right sugar cube. It's not contagious until the end. We got a choice to make -one death, or six."
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth, "Isn't there anything that can be done? Can't your magic cure it? Stop it? Slow it down?" She paused, then added in a hoarse whisper, "Anything?"
The unicorn shook her head, "Even the Princess can't cure it. She can only contain outbreaks that do happen. Every carrier has to die. That's the only way the rest of us can be safe. The only way the rest of Equestria can be safe. You know that, Dash. Time matters here; why are you stalling?"
The weather pony's mouth worked, but no words came forth. Fluttershy's voice, suddenly confident, filled the gap, "I coughed. It was me." Rainbow Dash gaped at the other pegasus, eyes wide with shock and horror. The pink-maned mare turned to look at her and spoke, once again hesitant, "It's okay. It'll be okay. I couldn't live with myself if any of you died, and I could have prevented it. It's better this way."
Dash shook her head slowly, and whispered a single, "No."
Applejack's voice was grim, "Her mind's made up. It's a tough choice, but Fluttershy's got the strength of an ox, on the inside."
"H...how can we... how is she going to...?" The pegasus trailed off.
Twilight Sparkle sighed and slumped to the floor. "We don't have any weapons, and I'm not trained in combat magic. Even if I were, it can't be me. It has to be you, Dash."
"What? Why me?"
The unicorn looked away, "I know you well enough to realize that you'd never just stand aside and let one of us lay a hoof on your fillyfriend. Maybe intellectually you'd know that it's necessary, but your emotions get the better of you. Ask yourself, if it has to be any of us, would you really want anypony but yourself to... to...."
Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves. "You're right." The mare's voice was hollow. She took a step away from the other pegasus.
Applejack spoke, "Fluttershy, sit up and put your head up against the wall. It'll be a mite... a mite...," the mare choked back tears, "...quicker."
"I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash. I wish it could be any other way," Twilight said.
The rainbow-maned pegasus looked over her shoulder to meet the eyes of the mare she loved. Fluttershy had taken the Earth pony's advice. They stared at each other silently for a moment. Eventually, Dash found words, as insufficient as they were, "I'm sorry. I love you. I'm so sorry."
The other pegasus replied, voice shaking, "I love you too. And I forgive you. It's better this way. Just... make sure somepony takes care of the animals when this is all over. When everything is back to normal."
Rainbow Dash whispered, "I promise." She took careful aim. One buck. It would be quick. Fluttershy deserved that much, at least. When she was sure she'd connect, vision or not, she spoke, "Cut the light, Twilight. Nopony should have to see this." The horn's glow disappeared.
Years of running and kicking clouds had honed Dash's muscles. She reared up on her front legs, gathered all her strength, and kicked out. She connected, and a dull thud was accompanied by the sensation of warm droplets splattering across her flank. It was followed by a high-pitched moan from the agonized pony behind her.
Rainbow Dash reacted to Fluttershy's continued suffering without thought. She reared again and bucked repeatedly, steadying herself and adding force with swift flaps of her wings. On her fourth kick, the other mare's keening stopped with a sickening crunch.
The weather mare's hooves dropped back to the floor. She stood shaking, her eyes wide and her heart beating nearly out of her chest. Her fetlocks were drenched with sticky blood; she could feel it beginning to clot. She wondered despite herself whether the mess would stain, whether her coat would always bear the red residue of her deed. She wept quietly to herself.
Silence reigned.
In the darkness, somepony coughed. |
|
Rex Ivan | 548 | 1 | Main 6,Alternate Universe,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Rainbow Dash's April Fool's Prank | complete | 13 | 1 | <p>Rainbow Dash has planned the BEST April Foal's Day prank EVER, but will she be able to fool her target? More to the point, will her target even care?</p><br/><p>This was written for the EqD April Fool's Day fan fiction contest a few months back.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-18T19:31:39+00:00 | 2011-08-18T19:31:39+00:00 | 2,586 | Rainbow Dash's Awesomely Radical April Foal's Prank
It was one of the few days of the year that Rainbow Dash ever saw the need to wake up relatively early. There was no need of an alarm today. She was too excited to sleep. She almost wished there was something else to busy herself with, but all the preparations had been completed days ago. Everything was in place, and now it was only a matter of keeping cool and calm enough to convince everypony else.
Year after year April Foals Day had been the same old thing over and over again. She had fun certainly, but had also gained a reputation. They all expected it now, and that took a considerable amount of the fun away. Not all of it, of course, but it was never as cool pranking a pony who knew it was coming. That was the reason for her plan this year.
“Easy Dash. Just keep a straight face. You can do it ... hehehe NO! No laughing. Not even a smirk.” She sat at the edge of her cloud bed as she went through the motions of the techniques she had practiced for weeks now. “Not funny. Think sad thoughts. Think sad thoughts.” This was crucial. They all had to honestly believe that she had given up on practical jokes. It had been tough. She hadn't pulled any pranks for the last three months, and she made sure to drop casual comments every now and again about how she TOTALLY lost interest in that sort of thing. She couldn't help feeling sorry for Pinkie Pie, though. Every time she would mention how she had 'outgrown' practical jokes the pink pony would look just a little less exuberant.
“Don't worry, Pinkie. It's gonna go down just fine.” She muttered to her absent friend. “You'll see. This'll be the best prank ever, and everypony will be talking about it for years. No, decades! Then, after today, we can go back to our usual routine of having HEAPS of fun together.” She just had to make it through a majority of the day pretending to be as serious as she could, then the rest would go like clockwork.
“OK Dash. Everything is ready. Just don't crack up, especially at any of the other jokes that are going to be played today. They ARE going to happen. Be ready for it. They will be hilarious, but not NEARLY as good as yours. So you can't blow it. Chill. Just chill.” She looked out on the clear blue sky ahead with a completely blank stare, then allowed a more natural 'happy face' to show through. It couldn't be ecstatic, but if it was too devoid of emotion then she might be suspected of hiding something. Of course she WAS hiding something (and it was gonna be super cool), but nopony could know until the time was right. Her eyebrows lowered as a slight grin spread across her face. “It's gonna be the BEST PRANK IN THE HISTORY OF EQUESTRIA! MUAHAHAHAHA!” This declaration was punctuated by a lightning flash and a loud peel of thunder.
“Ack! I thought I took care of that.” Dash turned around in surprise to see a midsized bank of dark clouds floating her way. “Oh, noway you're gonna rain on my day!” She dashed off to disperse the offending weather pattern.
*****
After she had taken a bit of time to clear the sky once again, Rainbow Dash decided to do a fly over of Ponyville to see how the day was shaping up. She originally hadn't wanted to encounter any of her friends too early yet, but there was no way that they had missed her aerial acrobatics if they had been outside.
“Stupid raincloud. If you're the reason they start to suspect me I won't ever forgive you.” She grumbled to herself and the varying winds that passed by her. “That's right Dash. Get mad at the moisture in the air. Get mad at it, and don't think silly or happy thoughts. Serious face! Well, ok, not TOO serious, but serious enough.”
She flew around the town a bit until she saw her friends all gathered around in what looked to be a picnic. She suppressed a wide grin as she took in the prospect of all her possible targets in one spot at the same time. She decided it was time to reiterate the 'non-joking Dash'. She banked high then soared around in a wide arc towards the ground.
*****
“She's up there right now. Who knows what she's got planned for today.” Applejack had spotted Rainbow Dash from far off as she was clearing up the last of the mid-morning storm clouds.
Twilight Sparkle looked up from her sandvich. “Aren't you girls all making a big deal out of nothing really? I mean Rainbow Dash always plays pranks. It's nothing new.”
“Oh, no ... you're mistaken Twilight. It's much more intense than her usual pranks.” The look on Fluttershy's face was slightly more severe than her usual expression of concern.
“That's right Twi. This is your first April Foals Day in Ponyville. Her jokes get ramped up somethin' fierce today. Why, I still recall the year she fed dye into the apple trees irrigation systems, and all the leaves turned pink for a month.”
“What?!” Twilight was alarmed at this. “That's not like Dash to poison everypony.”
“Oh no, it didn't do anything bad. Just change the leaves a weirdo color.”
“Or there was the year when she substituted those bolts of water soluble cloth into my inventory. All the garments I made that entire week were tainted with the material. Then she arranged for a 'surprise shower' on April Foals Day. Honestly, if it had been any other day my reputation would have been ruined. Thankfully though, my customers understood that the joke had been played on me too.” Rarity paused to take a sip of her drink. “Still though, I had an atrocious time tracking down the dresses that weren't being worn outside that day. Recalls are just so horribly embarrassing.”
“Wow. I never would have thought she would go that far as to take the chance of ruining anypony's professional reputation just for a joke.”
“Oh, they're not just ANY jokes Twilight! They're massively super duper AWESOME-SAUCE jokes!” Pinkie Pie leaned in closer to Twilight as if she was unsure of whether or not the unicorn could hear her. “They're the best jokes of all time: the April Foals Day jokes! You just gotta go over the top for April Foals Day! You GOTTA!”
“Well, that may be, but acts of vandalism shouldn't be on the list of pranks. I mean, that's not something that everypony can enjoy. It's funny enough if you are an on looker, but I don't think it would be so entertaining to be on the receiving end of something like that.”
“Oh Twilight. That is why you have to make sure that YOU'RE not that pony being pranked, and the best way to do that is by pulling pranks yourself.” Pinkie pointed a hoof towards the desserts. “Like I did just now. See, these cupcake you all have been eating are just LOADED with laxatives. You really didn't notice that I was keeping away from them?” Her broad grin didn't waver in the slightest.
“What?!” Twilight's eyes went wide. All the other ponies sat in shock as Pinkie rolled around on the ground in a giggling fit. “Pinkie, you didn't ...”
“APRIL FOALS! HAHAHA! Of course I didn't. That would be mean, and you wouldn't trust my cupcakes again. I wouldn't want that.” All the other ponies breathed a sigh of relief. Applejack and Twilight chuckled nervously to each other. “But you see my point. You have to take the initiative.”
“So, I need to 'get' her before she gets me?”
“Oh no, not her.” Pinkie gestured up in the sky at the rainbow streak now closing in on them. “She will just pay you back a whole LOT more later on. She usually just picks one pony and sticks with them for the day on April Foals, and it won't be you since this is your first in Ponyville. That's how she works.”
“Oh, ok. So I should just prank other ponies then. Hmm. You know, I didn't really know that today was going to be a big deal. In Canterlot April Foals isn't really given much notice. I would have read up on some pranks if-”
“Hi guys.” Rainbow Dash landed lightly on the ground near the picnic basket. “A bit early out for a picnic isn't it? You wouldn't be ... planning anything, would you?” Her gaze shot to each of her friends in turn.
“What in tarnation are ya talking about, sugarcube? It's nearly noon.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her with a blank stare. “Oh ... I knew that. I was just ... uh ... toying with your minds to see if you would let anything slip.”
“Oh! I can't wait to see what you have in store for THIS year, Dash! Is it gonna be something made of wood? Or metal?! OR CAKE!! OH! No wait, don't tell me, that would spoil it! NO NO! DO tell me, I want in on it! Oh no, but that would ruin the surprise! Ooohhhh, I'm so conflicted!” At this Pinkie sat on the ground holding her head in her hooves and wobbling back and forth slightly.
“Oh Pinkie, don't be silly. I got bored with pranks a long time ago. They just seem so silly now.”
“Um ... Rainbow Dash ... are you in pain?” Fluttershy had moved to her friend's side.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Well ... it's just that ... you keep biting your lower lip and ... and you seem like you're about to burst into tears. Oh, I hope everything is alright.” She moved closer to Rainbow Dash. “If you need me to, I can fly back to my house to get my medical kit ... if you want, I mean ... “
“What!? Uh, I mean. No, no, that won't be necessary. Oh look at the time. I'm late for ... something. See ya!” With that the departing pony left a rainbow streak across the sky so quickly that half the leaves in the nearby tree were taken with her.
“Oh, yeah. She's up to somethin'. No reason she would be acting like that unless she was trying to hide it.”
“Yep-a-reeny-roo! I KNEW she was. It must be something BIG since she's been acting this way for a while now, and that means she's been planning it for a while now too! I'm really tempted to just go along with it and pretend that I don't know somethings coming, just to keep things EXTRA fun.”
“Now what 'extra' fun would there be with pretending you don't know, when you do actually know? Seems kinda' pointless to me.” Applejack grumbled in mild annoyance.
“I'll tell you later.” Pinkie smiled at her, and reached over to playfully push the brim of the work-pony's hat further down onto her head.
“I have to admit that I'm curious as to what she would do, but nervous at the same time. Some of those things seem like they would have a lot of potential to cause problems. How do you know when you are taking it too far? Help me out here girls. You all seem to be fairly well experienced with this sort of thing. Can any of you give me some pointers so I don't end up taking a prank too far?” Twilight looked from pony to pony as she made her request.
“Well,” Pinkie paused a moment to think, “you don't ever want to prank a pony who would take it too seriously, so a sense of humor is a must. Also, you don't want to pull any prank that would hit a sore nerve with a particular pony no matter how good of a sense of humor they have.”
“ ... no matter ... how good ...” Twilight muttered to herself as she magically transcribed Pinkie's advice into a notebook.
“Yeah, there are just some ponies that you don't want to bring up certain things with.” Applejack interjected as she picked up a cookie to chomp down on. “Like how you don't ever want to go and tell Rainbow Dash that Gilda was looking for her while carrying a card with a box of chocolates.” Her friends chuckled a bit at the imagery.
“Oh, heh heh, no, she would be rather put off from that, wouldn't she?” Rarity's smile went wide as the next thought came to her. “You know, also wouldn't want to steal volumes five through seven from Twilight's Encyclopedia Equestria set.” They all laughed slightly at this, except for Twilight.
“Hey! That's the 'E' section. Everypony knows that E is the most often used vowel. Just think of all the-”
“Twilight, dear. You're proving my point.” She put a hoof to her friend's shoulder while giving a gentle smile.
“Oh. Heh. Oops.” Twilight smiled sheepishly to herself.
“And you don't ever ever ever in a million bazillion years want to go up to Fluttershy and tell her a whole boat load of scary stories about pony hell right before bed time.” The other ponies laughed a little at this while glancing over towards Fluttershy to make sure she wasn't taking it too hard. Pinkie moved to her side and gave her a sideways hug.
“No ... no, you don't ... “ Fluttershy's expression was a mix of worry and amusement. “Oh, I have one . . . You don't ever want to set up a birthday party for Princess Luna and then don't invite anypony except her.” The ponies all stopped laughing and looked at her with a mixture of shock and concern. “ ... um ... because she would ... be there all alone ... “ Her friends exchanged awkward glances at one another. “Well, I said you shouldn’t ever do it ... “
“Yeah ... yeah, you shouldn't. That would be mean. I mean seriously, Fluttershy.” Pinkie Pie's arm was still around Fluttershy, but her face was as serious as she had ever looked. The yellow pegasus looked towards the ground and tried to hide behind her mane. Pinkie hugged her harder before leaning close to her ear. “April Foals. Hee hee.”
As Pinkie released her grip Fluttershy looked up with surprise and a bright blush spread across her face. The rest of her friends picked up on Pinkie's direction, and they all smiled as best they could. “ ... oh my, this must have taken an awful lot of planning to get me to say just the right thing at the right time.” She smiled back at them.
“Uh, yeah, it sure did, sugarcube.” Applejack chuckled nervously as she inwardly made note to congratulate Pinkie on her quick thinking.
The afternoon went on like this with each of the ponies sharing small pranks with one another while enjoying their day together.
*****
“Oh, look. We're out of pie. I could have sworn that I had another one around here.” Pinkie looked around hastily before addressing her friends again. “Stay right here. I'll go grab another.” She zipped off toward Sugar Cube Corner before any objections could be made.
Pinkie ran through the kitchen while saying hello to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and darted directly up to her room before they could respond. She opened her closet and dug into the trunk in the back.
“Here we go,” she giggled to herself, “They all think I haven't prepared for this. But they're wrooooooong.” She pulled out a burlap sack and slung it over her shoulder. She was about to leave when she heard a soft low humming sound from the closet.
“What? What's that?” She looked towards the back to see something moving. “A monster? There wasn't one there last night. Hey, you monster, you. Go haunt some other pony's closet.” The movement intensified. Pinkie could see that it wasn't actually anything in the closet that moved, but rather the closet itself that was twisting, shaking, and contorting out of balance with the rest of the room.
“AH! Oh, wow! How did my closet get to be all funky-bunky like that?” She leaned closer to look at the strange twisting storage space that was now beginning to emit light. “Hey, that looks pretty neat. I wonder if th-”
A sudden loud snap of the air and Pinkie was very quickly pulled into the twisting spiral of light. She vanished without a trace, and the vortex closed as silently as it came.
*****
The very first thing Pinkie noticed were the colors. They were so dull and subdued, like they had all been washed out with bleach. Everything was darker too, more awash in shadow, but more than that, it all looked like a strange dream-scape that she may have once remembered but wasn't quite sure.
She was in a room like no other she had been in before, but not because of its contents. Everything in the room had a quality about it that she could not place. If she would have chosen to recall it later, she would have described the sensation as being how she imagined a robot would feel after being granted the ability to feel emotions, except she was experiencing this through the eyes, instead of the heart. There were simply no words to convey the difference that every object in the room took on. By all rights these should have been perfectly normal everyday items, but there was something eerily uncanny about them. The way the many papers attached to the wall moved back and forth as being blown by a breeze she couldn't feel, or the dark wooden desk that sat at the far side of the room and the angle with which it projected outwards. All of it silently screamed at her of something so alien that she could never hope to accurately describe it.
As she walked slowly towards that desk her eyes focused on the chair that had its back towards her. It was not empty. As she moved closer she felt as though she were falling through the room towards that chair, but at any given time she could halt the momentum of that fall. She did not like this, not one little bit.
“I want to go back.” Pinkie broke the defining silence a few feet away from the occupant of the chair. “You brought me here, right? Send me back. I don't like it.” In truth it unnerved her more than she would want to tell anypony later on.
“You'll go back after we've had our talk.” The voice was even and gentle with a matter of fact tone. The chair rotated around, and Pinkie saw something she had never seen before but had always known existed.
“I know you, don't I?” Pinkie's heart skipped a beat as she realized her words were true on a level she could not quite grasp.
“Of course you do. I made you.” The woman stood up and brought up a hand to brush a strand of dark red hair out of her face. “I made you and all your friends and all of the world you know. My face is written in the subconscious mind of every creature in that place.”
“You're not Celestia. She's the only one who could say something like that.”
“No, I'm not Celestia, and she's not what you think she is. In truth, you now hold a power than she will never know. It's because you now stand outside of the fiction that I created. You are in the real world, and simply knowing that gives you a power over that fiction that no other being inside of it could possibly have.”
“Sounds like you've been hitting the poison joke a bit too hard, lady.” Pinkie laughed a little, but it came out sounding more nervous than she would have liked.
The woman pointed to the papers lining the walls of the room. Pinkie's eyes followed and for the first time she noticed that they were drawings of her and all her friends. They were drawings of all the various adventures they had together, and the ponies and other creatures they had met along the way. “Those are only preliminary storyboard sketchings. The final version is all done on computers, but you get the point.”
“Whoa. Stalker city! I mean, I used to have a crush on this one pony when I was little and I would make story-picture books about us, but it was nothing THIS elaborate. That looks just like me. You're good!”
“That would be the sort of reaction you would have, of course. You're mostly for comedy relief. You DO know what I am getting at, though. You understand completely, but your conscious mind isn't allowing you to accept it yet. The reality is there in front of you on those pages and all around you in this room. You and your world were never part of the real world.”
“It seemed pretty real to me.”
“That is because you are trapped in it and made of it. You're not just watching shadows on the cave wall. You are the shadows. Of course it would seem real from your perspective.” She moved to kneel down in front of Pinkie.
“If that were true then that would mean that none of what we all went through ever actually happened. It would mean that nothing we actually felt was ever real. That can't be true though. I have my own thoughts and feelings. I KNOW I am alive, and I am aware of the things around me. How could it be that all of that has never existed?”
“Oh, my dear Pinkie,” She reached out her arm to rest her hand on the pony's shoulder. “You have those thoughts and feelings because the audience projects them onto you. All that you are is either established in my outlines or exists in the heads of the viewers. In some cases it's even more loosely defined. You see, in this incarnation, I'm not even real. This scenario is just a fan based written work that was inspired by the work of fiction that features your character. It's all just an illusion inside of the imagination of the person reading these words. The only reason why the reader even sees me as human is because of the words in the above paragraphs. The truth is that we are both just a jumble of strung together ideas represented by a few typed out words. We don't even get pictorial accompaniment in this version. We exist inside their minds in a very basic form, and they will add all the little details that make the story worth reading. Those details could be anything at all. They could be anything from the emotions you're feeling to the color of my shirt. It hasn't been specifically stated what color my shirt is, so it could really be anything the reader chooses.”
“Don't be silly. That can't be true. Wh-”
“What color is my shirt?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“If this is real then my shirt actually exists separate from this written work, and therefore actually has a color. If this is not real then it won't have a set color outside of what the reader imagines it to be. If this is all a fiction, then we characters who are trapped in it won't have the authority to decide what color it is unless the writer gives it to us, and he's not going to do that. So tell me. What color is my shirt, Pinkie?”
“Your shirt is ... it's color is ... “
“Go ahead. It's right here. What color is it?”
“It's ... it's ... oh no ...“ Pinkie's brow furrowed. The woman leaned over and wrapped her other arm around the pink pony to hold her tightly. Pinkie returned the hug as best she could. “I'm not real ... NONE of it was ever real? All the adventures and the parties and my friends. OH NO! What about them? THEY were all fiction too?!” Pinkie continued to hold the embrace, and her eyes lost focus as she stared over the woman’s shoulder. Her mind spun slightly as she felt tears began to form in her eyes. She sniffed a little and pulled away far enough to look the lady in the face again.
“Why? Why are you telling me all of this? I could have been happy just going about my merry old Pinkie Pie way without any of this effecting me at all.”
“I’m telling you because I have to, Pinkie.”
“Why? Why on Equestria would you possibly need to tell me these things? Is our fake world in danger? Is there a way for us to break out of it and becoming real? Was it on some sick twisted whim? WHY?! Why would you upset the life of somepony so badly? Did I do something bad without knowing it, and this is punishment?”
The woman leaned down and held the pony again in her arms before turning her lips to Pinkie's ear. Then she whispered all of her reasons. She made certain that the little pony understood them completely, along with the all the implications they generated. As she finished her explanation, tears began to freely stream from Pinkie's eyes. She clenched them closed as she buried her head in her creator’s shoulder, and they both held fast in a hug that lasted quite a long time.
*****
Pinkie Pie slowly walked to rejoined her friends on the low grassy hill with the nearby oak tree. When she got there she gently placed the rhubarb pie down on the lumpy cotton blanket and seated herself quietly between Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. She realized that she must not have spent too long a time in that other place. The day had barely wore on since she had left. Or maybe time moved differently there. It didn't matter really. Rainbow Dash had shown up again, and the topic of conversation had, once again, changed to pranks.
“I'm serious guys. I really don't have anything up my sleeve. I'm not even wearing sleeves.”
“Right, Rainbow. The minute we start believing that is the minute we fall right into your trap.” Applejack couldn't help but smile at the blue pony's stubborn persistence.
“I think ... ,” All of her friends turned to look at Pinkie Pie as she almost absent-mindedly interjected her thoughts, “that one of the most cruel pranks that could ever be played, is if a creature that didn't ever exist was allowed to believe that it did. I think that would be the worst thing in the whole world.” Her friends stared at her as she stared blankly up into the sky.
“Sugarcube? Did you drink something out of sorts while you were heating up the pie?”
“No, I just started thinking again about the stuff we were talking about before.”
Rainbow Dash took this opportunity to move to Pinkie's side. “Yeah ... that would be pretty horrible wouldn't it. But that's sad to think about. Let's not talk about sad stuff on such a nice day. Instead, what about the BEST prank? What do you think that would that be?”
“I'm not sure Dash. What do you think it would be?” Pinkie kept her gaze to the sky as she spoke.
“I always thought it would be cool to get the pony you're gonna prank to think that the joke was going to be on some other pony. You could even pretend to let them in on it from the start, making them think that they weren't the target. You build everything up to go a certain way until you're sure they THINK they know what's gonna happen, and THEN you throw the actual prank at them. It'll pull them in a totally different direction, one that they might not have gone towards with if they had known what it was going to be from the start. That way it takes them by surprise, and blows them away with AWESOME!” Dash stood tall, proudly posing for the invisible cheering fans that were chanting her name in her imagination.
“What if you didn't want to blow them away at all? What if you just wanted to have a little laugh with them?” Twilight used her magic to levitate a slice of pie onto her plate.
“Huh?! ... Well, I mean ...” Rainbow Dash turned to answer her. “If you WANTED to do that, then you could be subtle about it, I guess. But what good would that be? I mean, if you went to all that trouble, why not just shout out 'April Foals!' when the time comes? You wouldn't want the prank to go unnoticed. Then it would be for nothing!”
“No, Darling, I don't think it would go unnoticed. I think you underestimate your target, just like you underestimated us, Mrs. I-gave-up-pranks.” Rarity shot her a smug smile.
“Well, heh heh, I guess I sorta did.” Dash looked away with a grin on her face. She then looked back to her friends with a partially worried expression. “But do you think a prank like that would work? I mean, if everything went as planned, then do you think that everypony would have fun with it? Because that's the important part. It's not nearly as cool if they don't have fun along with you.” She glanced towards Pinkie.
Pinkie giggled. “I don't see how they wouldn't.” She turned towards Dash as she stood up, a wide grin spread across her face. "I know I sure did. High hoof, partner." She held her hoof towards Rainbow Dash, who smirked as she bumped her own hoof against it.
The other ponies simply stared at the two of them. “But you know," Pinkie continued, "there is one surefire way to find out what they thought. You finish everything up, and then you ask them.”
With that they all agreed, and they finished up with the rest of their picnic. |
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</^\> | 551 | 1 | Derpy Hooves,Pinkie Pie,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Derpy's Eye | complete | 7 | 4 | <p>Cupcakes related.</p><p>Quote me on this: "it's a blarp."</p><p>...or, you know, just a half baked idea written in half a night.</p> | everyone | 2011-08-19T03:27:11+00:00 | 2011-08-19T03:27:11+00:00 | 4,365 | The following is based on BitcCloud’s take on Cupcakes : http://bitccloud.deviantart.com/art/Cupcakes-2-210509853?q=gallery%3Abitccloud%2F30204205&qo=7
Derpy’s Eye
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"…You know, it's pretty rude to keep your eyes closed." Derpy heard the clang of metal as Pinkie selected a new instrument. "I mean, I'm just trying to have a friendly conversation and you're acting like you're blind!" Derpy could feel Pinkie leaning against her chest.
"Am I ugly? Is that it? Or maybe you don't like the decorations, hm?" Derpy felt cold steel tracing shapes on the surface of her cheek. "Well?" Pinkie pressed the sharp point into Derpy's flesh, blood began oozing out instantly.
Afraid Derpy answered "The decorations!" She clenched her eyes even tighter afraid of another stab or cut from Pinkie. None came.
Finally after a short pause Pinkie said "I'll have you know I put a lot of work into these decorations!" Pinkie forced open one of Derpy's eyelids. "But if you don't like them then I guess you wont be needing these."
Pinkie forced a metal spoon into the corner of Derpy's eye. A thin Squirt of blood shot out and Derpy screamed. She began writhing as hard as she could against her restraints as the spoon went deeper. snapping muscle and nerves. Derpy could feel the metal scraping against the bone of her eye sockets. Derpy's tears were mixing with the blood and streamed down her face. Derpy's face was on fire as the spoon severed her optic nerve. A sickening sound of suction filled Derpy's ears as her eye was removed completely. Distorted screams and sobs filled the dark room.
"You know I haven't had one of these before." Mused Pinkie as she popped the eye in her mouth and began chewing. With her mouth still full she continued talking "A liwtle chewy, but ish prewwy gewd." Her words almost inaudible through the thick smacking sound the eye made as she chewed it.
</^\>
Derpy could only feel the intense pain that came from her eye socket. It hurt so much that she could barely hear the sounds of her detached eye being chewed to pieces. She wanted so badly to bring her hoof down to hold her face, to protect what was left of the hole in her head. Derpy pulled as hard as she could on the restraints in vein. The cuts in her arms grew deeper with every tug at the frame. Every second seemed to bring more agony, but she still had to try.
A swallowing sound signaled that Pinkie had finished with the first eye ball. “I should make some eye dumplings some day! No pony should miss out on this!” She raised the spoon again and brought it closer to Derpy’s face.
Time seemed to slow for the mare trapped on the metal rack. A few thoughts ran through her head as the spoon filled her vision. The thought of not having eyes anymore was a pretty scary thought. She wouldn’t be able to read the post cards, or see the sunset. She wouldn’t ever see her little muffin anymore. To see that smile that brought an identical one to her face, or to watch her grow up.
Sadness welled up in Derpy’s throat as her new thoughts arose. If she died today, Dinky would be alone, and motherless. But Derpy couldn’t let that happen. She had to be there for her daughter. Nothing could keep her from leaving her little muffin. Not even death.
“No.” she muttered, pulling harder on the frame. “No! No!!” she repeated again as the spoon came closer still. She shut her eye in concentration as she pulled for dear life against the restraints. She could feel the sharp edge of the spoon dig into the corner of her occupied eye socket. She shouted loudly, her shriek resembled a wild dog lashing out after being backed up into a corner.
Suddenly the restraints stopped resisting Derpy’s desperate pull. Her hooves came down on Pinkie’s shoulders hard causing her to collapse under the force, paralyzed for a moment. Just enough time for Derpy to free her head from the frame and let her body fall towards Pinkie’s on the ground. As she did, she landed a well-placed hoof on the murderer’s chest, knocking the wind out of her.
“Give me my eye back!” she shouted into Pinkie’s face. Though, she was struggling for breath, the pink mare tried to reach for the spoon that she had dropped on the way down. “Give it to me NOW!!!” Derpy shouted.
The air came rushing back into Pinkie’s lungs as she finally was able to find her breath again. She coughed a few times before rasping “It’s too late, you silly filly! I already ate it, remember?” Derpy just glared at her with her single eye. “I swear Derps, you can be so weird sometimes.”
Derpy delivered a swift punch to Pinkie’s gut, knocking the wind out of her again. Two more punches landed in the same place causing the pink mare’s intestine to react. Two coughs came out of Pinkie before she spat out a glob of white and amber-yellow onto Derpy’s face.
Derpy wiped the mess off of her face with a hoof in disgust. After examining it, however, she determined that it was indeed her eye ball, or perhaps what was left of it. Confident that Pinkie was still unable to move, she shifted her weight to free up her front hooves. She started clumping the mass together until it became a condensed form. She then proceeded to roll the form until it became more ball like. Though, it looked like a congealed mess of vomit and egg stuff, it was, for the most part, back to its original form. She admired her handy work for a few moments, turning the ball this way and that. Completely satisfied, she proceeded to stuff the thing into her empty eye socket. Much to her luck, it fit pretty snugly, staying firm in the hole.
“I take it back” Pinkie groaned “you’re not weird, you’re crazy” Derpy ignored her comment, focusing on undoing the clamps on her hind legs. “This town’s not big enough for two crazy mares…”
She was lucky enough to hear Pinkie’s threat, and moved her head to the side as a spoon cut through the empty air. She looked up and saw the pink mare clutching her abdomen while once again swinging the spoon towards her captive. This time it struck Derpy’s head on the crown, causing her focus to dissipate. She brought her fore hooves to grasp her head. In doing so, her arm collided with Pinkie’s and her weapon was thrown across the room.
“Oh, Come on! That’s not fair!” Pinkie shouted. Before she could complain any further, her head was held firmly by a pair of hooves. Derpy’s head came down on Pinkie’s and knocked her out. Derpy let the pink mare slid out of her hooves, and focused her attention once more on the iron clamps that were still held in place.
She grumbled as she finally broke free. This had been a really bad day for Derpy. On top of running into a tree and missing half of her daily route, she just had to be kidnapped by some crazy pony, who was disguised as a crazy pony, had her cutie marks cut off, as well as have one of her eyes cut out. As if destroying her identity wasn’t enough! She moved to the cart where the flaps of her hide lay. She picked one up, looking at the envelope cutie mark as memories of her days as a young mail carrier became vivid. A tear flowed out of her working eye. The skin might grow back, but her mark wouldn’t be the same. She wouldn’t have the mark of a mail mare.
She took the other flap of skin and made her way to the doorway. She didn’t want to spend another second in this Celestia forsaken place.
“I’m sorry, Derpy, but I can’t let you do that.” Derpy stopped in front of the door, glaring at the wood. The other mare came closer, undoubtedly, knife in hoof. “We have to finish this party. Stay awhile, have some cupcakes, rest for a little bit.” Pinkie was right behind her now. “Nopony needs to worry over one missing mare,” her voice filled with menace, “or perhaps the entire town!”
Pinkie’s mouth was abruptly filled with a grey hoof. Derpy brought her face right up to Pinkie’s.
“Look here, ‘party mare,’ you might be able to just have fun all the time, but some of us have things to do. I’m already behind schedule. Do you have any idea what it’s like to have the entire town coming to your door step because of a few late letters? They rip you to pieces! They eat your eyes and cut off your ass!” she shouted the last sentence, rage dripping from her words, “So, before you even think about pulling this kind of thing on me, think again!” She glared into Pinkie’s eyes, receiving a similar look back, but softer. The two stayed stared at each other, each refusing to take their eyes off of the other. That is, until Derpy’s destroyed eye rolled in her head, independent of her good eye. Pinkie shrunk back a little, but her expression was mostly unbroken. “The same goes for Dinky” Derpy said at length “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some mail to deliver.” She turned back towards the door. “…And an eye to fix…” The door opened wide, letting a bright light flood into the darkened room. Derpy stepped forward into the light, muttering one last thing.
“Confound these ponies…”
</^\>
“Mama! Mama!!” Dinky shouted, trying to get her mother’s attention. “Wake up Mama!”
Derpy had shook herself from the memory induced trance she was in. Her cheeks flushed in her embarrassment as she realized how long she was distracted. “I’m sorry, Muffin, what did you say?”
“Mama!” Dinky shouted in annoyence “I asked you about your eye! Why does it move so weird?”
As if on cue one of her eyes rolled in a different direction, ignoring the focal point of the conversation. She had gotten used to the odd feeling of the glass replacement rolling around in her head, but she still wasn’t used to the reactions it got from everypony else.
Her memories flooded her mind once more. She looked at her flank, where a newly adorned mark lay; 7 bubbles in a sort of column. Derpy missed her old cutie mark, but this one would do. Besides, Dinky loved bubbles, and Derpy loved Dinky. But remembering her old flank brought back one specific memory in all of her adventures. Since the event she hasn’t spoken a word to anypony. After all, she was used to crazy ponies all her life.
Her glass eye rolled again in her head, as though it were looking right at Dinky.
“It’s magic, my little Muffin. Magic and cupcakes…”
</^\>
Poetic metaphor for the term ‘Author’s Note’ goes here…
I know some of this sounds ridiculous or even unfair for Pinkie, but that’s just how this was rolling. BitcCloud had some ideas, and then I had some ideas. Sorry if you didn’t want your spring board stolen, Bit. I was just spit balling and adlibbing.
The story can be found at the top somewhere.
I don’t own My little pony, Cupcakes, BitcCloud (or his/her work), or any pastries. |
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