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Kegisak
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1052
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Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-09-26T05:19:28+00:00
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2011-09-26T05:19:28+00:00
| 8,340 |
The Colour You Bleed
At the highest point of the tallest tower in Canterlot, Celestia stood proudly in the morning dim. She rose her horn, and as she did so the first light of dawn peaked over the mountains that surround Equestria on all sides. It spilled over her kingdom like a sea of gold, waking the citizens of the mountain villages first, then the farmers on the foothills and vast plains, finally falling upon the capital. The alabaster city gleamed, and Celestia smiled the sort of smile that only a pony who has worked her craft for millennia can manage. Far below her, in a lavish room of the palace a different pony smiled a very different kind of smile.
Blueblood stirred in his large bed, his grin presenting itself to the world even moments after he awoke. He rarely found cause not to smile, after all.
“Ire, are you out there?” Blueblood asked. The door to his chambers creaked open, revealing a tall, steel-gray earth stallion.
“Of course, your highness,” the pony said. “What do you require?”
“Oh, just making sure,” Blueblood said flippantly, rolling out of bed. “We can’t have you gallivanting off to do... whatever it is you do while auntie and mother aren’t watching you. What do you do, anyways?”
“Sleep,” the pony said shortly, “among other things.” Blueblood heard him mutter something under his breath, but ignored it. Instead, he trotted over to the picture window that let through his aunt’s sunlight, and sighed happily.
“She’s done well this morning, don’t you think Ire?”
“What?” the gray pony asked, snapping out of his mumbled rant. “What was that, your highness?”
“The sunrise,” Blueblood said. “It’s lovely.”
“I suppose so,” Ire said, “I see the weather pegasi are keeping the clouds clear today.” Blueblood shook his head.
“Oh Ire. All you ever think of is the weather, isn’t it? The weather, or the taxes, or polishing your armour.”
“It is my duty, sire. Speaking of my duty... I’ve requested that you don’t call me... Ire.”
“Oh, but your title really is such a mouthful,” the unicorn whined, “I can’t call you ‘Captain Sir Iron Towers’ every time I need you, now can I? Why, We’d take all day just to get ready in the morning. And besides, Ire fits you so well, don’t you think? No, I think I’ll just keep calling you Ire.”
“Very well, sire,” the captain said flatly. Blueblood looked out the window for a while longer, before spinning around.
“Well, what are we just standing here for, Ire?” he asked impatiently, “Why haven’t you gotten the chamber maids to get me ready this morning? We have business today, you know.”
“Of course, sire,” Iron said, bowing and backing out the door, “My apologies. I’ll fetch some maids for you right away.”
“Very good, very good,” Blueblood said, turning back to the window. Iron left the room, and sighed deeply. Standing right in front of him was a pair of earth pony mares.
“We, ah, though the prince might need us,” one of them said slowly, leaning away from the scowling captain. The stallion sighed again, and rubbed his eyes.
“Yes,” he said, “Yes, he wants to see you. But... let’s not go in just yet, alright?”
“Oh dear,” the other mare said, “Is his highness in a mood?”
“Of course he is,” Iron growled, “He’s always in a mood. The blasted brat is a mood.” The mares giggled, and Iron shook his head. “I don’t think I can take much more of that colt,” he said, “It’s just one more day, though.”
“One more day until what?” the mare asked. Iron looked down at her, as if he only just realized that the mares were still there.
“One more day until... I’m off rotation,” he said, “I’ll be back on the watch duty, and guarding his highness will be somepony else’s problem.”
“That’s a good plan,” the older of the mares said, “I heard the last pony they had guarding him full time had to retire early... something about him being worse than anything the westerners had. Shifting ponies out could make him at least bearable.”
“Is he really so bad?” the other mare asked, “I’ve never spoken with the prince... but he seems quite charming.”
“Oh he is, from a distance,” the older mare explained. “But once you actually talk to him, well... I suppose you’ll see.”
“Yes, we may as well,” Iron growled, “If we wait any longer he’s likely to be even worse when you speak with him.” He pushed open the door to Blueblood’s chambers, allowing the two mares to walk in. Blueblood had moved back to the bed, where he was lounging lazily.
“Ah, there you are!” the unicorn said, sitting up, “I was beginning to think you had run off...” he tilted his head as the two maids approached him, and asked, “You couldn’t find any unicorns?”
“Ah, we were just in the area, sire,” the older maid said, bowing to the prince, “And the captain asked us to help you ready yourself. We’re more than capable - “
“But you’ll take so long,” Blueblood insisted, “A pair of unicorns would be much faster, and then they could get back to cleaning up the ballroom for this evening.”
“There are more than enough ponies cleaning the ballroom, your highness,” Iron insisted, “These two will do for this morning.”
“Yes, we will,” the older maid said again, “I’ve helped your mother get ready a time or two. And, well, Lilac here may be new, but she’s a very quick worker.”
“Oh, very well,” Blueblood gave a long-suffering sigh. He stood in the middle of the room, and Lilac’s partner directed her.
“Fetch the brush and scissors from the dresser, will you dear?” she asked. Lilac did as she was beckoned, while the older mare went to Blueblood’s wardrobe and opened it. She selected a clean collar, and laid it out on the bed. Lilac had returned with the brush and scissors, and the pair went to work on the white unicorn. Lilac trimmed his fetlocks carefully, while the other maid brushed down his mane and coat. After a few minutes work the stallion looked presentable, albeit bare. Lilac fetched the collar, and with the older maids help it was soon around Blueblood’s neck, completing the handsome stallion.
“Well, I am impressed,” Blueblood said, inspecting himself in a mirror. Lilac smiled happily, but her partner just rolled her eyes. Iron tensed as well, to Lilac’s confusion. Then, Blueblood turned to the trio, and spoke again.
“I never would have expected you poor earth ponies to pull it off,” he said happily, taking Lilac’s hoof.
“Um... your highness?” Lilac asked, taken aback.
“You’ve done almost a good a job as any pair of unicorns could have!” he said happily, “Especially you, dear. Trimming those fetlocks must be no easy task for your kind. What’s your name?”
“I... ah... Lilac, your highness,” Lilac sputtered. She didn’t fully understand what was happening, but she felt vaguely insulted.
“Lilac... A lovely name,” the prince told her, “It suits you.”
“Um... thank you?”
“It’s just a shame you’re a peasant,” Blueblood said, “And a simple earth pony, at that. You’re a very pretty mare. ” Lilac simply stared, until her partner took a gentle hold of her shoulders.
“Thank you very much, your highness,” she said, “But we really must be going. We have more work to do, to be ready for this evening.”
“Oh yes, of course!” Blueblood smiled. The two mares trotted out of his room, and when they were in the safety of the hallway Lilac asked,
“What... just happened?”
“Blueblood just happened, dear,” her partner said. “I think Iron really must need that break, though. Blueblood was much better than usual today.”
***
Hours later Blueblood was in the palace’s garden, accompanied by the surly captain. The prince sauntered among the flower patches, occasionally stopping to inspect a rose or two.
“And here I thought you seemed so eager to get to your duties,” Iron sighed. Blueblood flipped his mane, and inspected another flower.
“My duty is to look as good as I possibly can for all the mares tonight,” the stallion told his bodyguard. Iron rolled his eyes behind the prince’s back.
“I thought you were pleased with how the maids did?”
“Oh they did well enough, I suppose,” the prince said, waving a hoof dismissively. “But I need a unicorn’s touch to be complete. I must be as beautiful as auntie’s sunrise for this evening - I’d hardly expect you to understand, Ire.”
“Indeed not,” the earth pony said coldly. Blueblood ignored him, and selected a rose from the bush. He bit off the stem, and tucked into his collar with his magic.
“There we are!” he said. “Perfect. What do you think, Ire?” the gray pony simply stared at him, blinking.
“I’m sure a... unicorn’s taste, is better than anything I could muster, sire,” he said. Blueblood sighed, and shook his head.
“You shouldn’t be so serious all the time, Ire,” he said. “It can’t be good for you. Why, my last guard -”
“Had to retire,” Ire interrupted, “I know.”
“Yes,” Blueblood said, his expression fouling, “Yes, he did. But he retired of his own choice. YOU might not get the same opportunity, Ire, if you do not keep your tone with me.” The two ponies glowered at each other for a moment.
“Yes, sire.” Iron said finally, “My apologies.” Blueblood nodded, and walked past his guard.
“Good,” he said, “Come along then. Let’s see how the ballroom is coming along.”
“Yes, your highness,” Iron said, following after the prince. The two entered the palace and walked in silence, save for the clip-clopping of their hooves across the polished floors. Iron stared daggers into the back of his lord’s head the whole way, but the unicorn seemed unaware of the seething anger emanating from behind him. Eventually the pair reach the ballroom, and Blueblood gestured to Iron to open the large doors. The earth pony did as he was beckoned, and Blueblood gasped in shock.
“Oh, no no no no no!” he cried. All of the servants decorating turned to stare at him. An old pegasus, apparently the pony in charge, walked respectfully up to the prince.
“What seems to be the matter, your highness?” he asked, bowing to the stallion. Blueblood ignored him, walking further into the ballroom.
“This is all wrong,” he exclaimed, “this won’t do at all!”
“What won’t do, sire?” the old stallion asked again, following the prince.
“This, all of this!” Blueblood said, waving his hooves about. “Ambassadors are coming from all over Equestria, all over the world tonight to present their best mares to court me. The ballroom MUST display me favourably for them! The colours are all wrong, and there’s no focus. Why, I’ll just blend right into the background!”
“With... respect, sire,” the old pony said carefully, “While it is true that mares may come to court you, the delegates are here for other diplomatic purposes -”
“Well, it won’t hurt those purposes if I am given the proper amount of attention, now will it?” Blueblood said, looking down at the pony, “Now fix it.”
“But, sire!” the old stallion objected, “It will take hours to change it now! We’d have to call in other servants, and, and...”
“Well, call in other ponies to work on it, then,” Blueblood said. “Just have it fixed for this evening. We are the capital of the greatest nation on the planet. We must look the part for our guests.”
“I... yes, sire,” the old pony said, defeated. He clapped his hooves together, and called out to the workers. “You heard his highness, we’re changing it. Misty, run down to the kitchens and see if there’s anyone else who can lend a hoof.” Blueblood nodded and turned back to his guard, whose expression could sour milk. The white unicorn seemed oblivious to this, however, and simple gestured for him to follow.
“Come along, Ire,” he said. “We should go make certain that none of the other servants have managed to mess up their tasks for this evening.
***
The day wore on, as days are wont to do. Before too long, Celestia returned to her tall tower and aided the sun in it’s descent below the mountains. A soft clopping of hooves came from behind her, and Celestia turned to greet her little sister. The pair slapped hooves, the signal for their trade-off that Celestia had taught her sister when she returned, and Luna took to the air. She lifted her horn to the heavens as the milky face of the moon rose into view, silhouetting the little princess. She landed back on the tower, ruffling her wings proudly as her sister chuckled.
“Are we putting on a show now, Luna?” Celestia asked. Luna smirked, and replied,
“I’m an artist, Celly. I’m allowed to be proud of my work.”
“You know, you could be even more proud of your work with a few ponies around to compliment you.”
“Oh... I don’t know,” Luna said, the confidence fading from her voice. “I think it’s best if I just keep my head down for a while. Let the whole... eternal night thing blow over first. Maybe a generation or two.” Celestia sighed, and jostled her little sister playfully.
“You have to come out of your shell eventually, you know,” she teased. “Come down to the party tonight, Luna. They’ll be all compliments, you’ll see. Nopony is afraid of the night any more.”
“Oh, please Celly.” Luna snorted, leaning over the balcony, “Compliments from pumped-up aristocrats? If I wanted compliments on my stars, I’d go find a sailor.”
“Some of those ‘pumped-up aristocrats’ are family, you know,” Celestia goaded. “You don’t even want to see your nephew find a nice mare?”
“Not my nephew,” Luna scoffed, “I wasn’t around while he was being raised. I’d have had a thing or two to say about it.”
“Luna,” Celestia started, but her sister simply rolled her eyes and flew over the balcony.
“I’m sorry Celestia, but it’s just not for me. I can barely stand being around normal ponies after so long, but them... it’s just so petty. It’s not my world, Celestia.”
“Alright,” Celestia smiled. “Have a good night, sister. I’ll see you again at dawn?”
“Of course,” Luna said. She flew in close, and nuzzled her sisters neck before taking off again. Celestia chuckled, and shook her head. She turned back into the tower and made her way down to the castle proper. It would have been much faster to fly, but she couldn’t be seen doing that in front of this crowd - heaven forbid nobility be seen doing something for itself. Some days she wondered if Luna didn’t have the right idea, avoiding the aristocracy like she did. Still, someone had to keep everything together. She entered the ballroom as quietly as she could, but nevertheless all eyes in the room soon turned to her. She made her way through the throng of ponies, approaching the head of the room where she sat, flanked on one side by her great-niece, and on the other by her slightly greater-nephew Blueblood.
“Good evening, auntie,” Blueblood greeted her. His mother did similarly. Celestia smiled at them both, and a voice piped up over the crowd.
“Attention! Your attention, please!” the voice said. The crowd managed to unstick it’s gaze from Celestia, turning to a unicorn in a finely crafted green suit - Equestria’s foreign affairs minister, the stallion who had made most of the arrangements for the evening.
“Thank you very much,” he said, “And thank you all for being with us here this evening. I know it must be difficult to travel so far for many of you. I’m sure you all understand the importance of this conference, of course - as you all know, we are gathered to deal with some issues of unrest among the countries along Equestria’s borders...”
Blueblood smirked to himself. Celestia had decided that the best way to deal with the issue was to unite the countries through marriage - not that she’d ever admit it to anyone, of course. That was why so many princesses and princes were attending. They would try to match up countries, and in a few generations Equestria and it’s surrounding countries would be one single, large kingdom.
Of course, everyone knew that Blueblood was the prize of the evening. Whoever married him, their country would merge with Equestria. It would be a great honour to become a province of the largest and most influential country in the world. Blueblood’s thoughts were interrupted as the delegates began to applaud, signaling the end of the minister’s speech. The ‘opening ceremony’ would begin, to let the nobility mingle amongst themselves, and meet their prospective matches before they would be bartered off the next day.
Celestia and Blueblood’s mother stood and walked into the crowd, but Blueblood remained seated at the front, his chest puffed out proudly. Iron stood behind him, looking around the room.
“Not going to mingle, your highness?” he asked, though not with any sort of enthusiasm. Blueblood flipped his hair.
“Of course not,” he said. “They will come to me, of course. “
“Ah. Of course.” Sure enough, a mare did break from the throng to approach the prince. She was a deep-purple unicorn, her mane the colour of wheat, and she was adorned with a beautiful green dress of wrappings.
“Good evening,” she said. Blueblood smiled handsomely.
“It is in indeed, miss...”
“Princess Golden Dreams,” she said, offering her hoof. Blueblood took it gently.
“Prince Blueblood. It’s delightful to meet you, princess.”
“Likewise, I’m sure. You are the prince of Equestria, I presume?” she looked him up and down, and gave a coy smile. “I hail from the kingdom to the west - Aloa.”
“Aloa?” Blueblood asked, “I hadn’t heard that the Aloans would be here.” In truth, he hadn’t heard who was going to be coming one way or another - he was only barely acquainted with the surrounding countries to begin with. Geography had not been his best subject. Still, the mare didn’t need to know that - and it seemed that he had touched on a conversation piece inadvertently.
“Oh, well,” she shrugged, “I didn’t want to, but Father insisted. He said that it was important to the future of the country...” she glanced at Blueblood again, and said, “of course, I’m quite glad I came now.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Blueblood said, puffing out his chest. A piano key sounded across the ballroom, and slowly the band that had assembled at the side of the room began to play their first piece of the evening. “Would you care to dance, Princess?” Blueblood asked, pumping every ounce of charm he had into his words. Golden Dreams fluttered her eyleashes at him, and smiled sweetly.
“I would love to, I’m sure,” she said. The two unicorns trotted onto the dance floor, where pairs of ponies had already begun to twirl to the band’s waltz. Iron didn’t follow the prince, instead remaining behind the thrones. After a while he moved more into the crowd, still skirting the walls of the room. He eventually came to sit beside a short, squat unicorn.
“He’s dancing with your princess,” Iron muttered, “Should we be worried?”
“With Goldie?” the unicorn chuckled, “Hardly. She no doubt sees him as just another dalliance. She won’t miss him at all.”
“Then everything is still ready?”
“As soon as all this winds down.”
“Good. I couldn’t bear to dote on that wretched excuse for a stallion any longer.”
“Now now, Mr. Towers,” the unicorn said smugly, “We musn’t speak that way about our superiors.”
“Oh well,” Iron grinned wryly, “I suppose I can wait a few more hours.” He stood up, and crossed the room to a position where he could better watch the obnoxious prince.
***
Blueblood spent most of the night with the Aloan princess. They danced for a while, then ate and chatted, then danced a while longer. Eventually the moon was high in the nights sky, and the Equestrian Foreign Affairs Minister spoke again.
“Thank you all very much,” he said to the crowd. Celestia stood by his side, adding the weight of royalty - not to mention divinity - to his words as he reminded all of the guests where they would meet the next day to discuss how to “quell the unrest”, as it was so euphemistically put. Blueblood could not help but grin. No doubt he would walk away from the meeting with Golden Dreams as his bride-to-be. Figuratively speaking of course; with mother and auntie there, there was no reason for Blueblood himself to attend the meetings. She was an excellent prize - beautiful, a tad dim, and Aloa was the second largest country in the region next to Equestria. Adding it as one of their provinces would increases the kingdom’s influence even further.
The guests began to file out of the ballroom, escorted to the chambers set aside for them by the palace guards. Blueblood bid farewell to his dance partner, and Iron came to stand beside him.
“An enjoyable evening, your highness?” he asked, a hint of humour creeping into his voice for the first time that day.
“I think so, yes,” Blueblood said smugly. “And where did you get off to, hm? Sleeping?” He cocked an eyebrow at Iron, an expression the earth pony knew well. He had begun guarding Blueblood when he was an adolescent, but the unicorn still made that same I-Know-Something-That-Can-Get-You-In-Trouble expression. Iron had to fight the urge to smile. He fought it so well, in fact, that any trace of a good mood faded from his face.
“I was watching from the sidelines, sire,” he explained. “I would not want to be in your way while you danced.”
“Ah, of course,” Blueblood said. “Well... I think this has been quite a day. I would like to retire for the evening, Ire.”
“Very well, sire,” Iron said, bowing. The two ponies left the ballroom, walking through the palace hallways. Pleased as he was about the evening, Blueblood couldn’t help but notice that many of the guards he saw were not wearing Equestrian armour.
“Why are all the guards dressed oddly?” he asked, trying to feign disinterest.
“They aren’t our guards,” Iron told him, “They came with the guests. Her Majesty thought a show of trust would help things along, so she gave all the guards the night off - save for the royal family’s.”
“Ah,” Blueblood said, “Very good. Well, as long as my chambers are well guarded, that’s quite alright.”
“Indeed,” Iron smiled. The two were silent for the rest of the trip, until they arrived at Blueblood’s chambers - which were not, as he had expected, guarded by Equestrians. Instead, the pair of unicorns that stood before them were dressed in plain steel armour, dressed with green and blue wrappings - Aloan armour. Blueblood took a short step back, but soon regained his composure.
“What is the meaning of this?” he asked. The two guards bowed, and one spoke.
“You were called for, your highness,” he said, “You are requested in a Aloan room for the night.” Blueblood stared for a moment, before an impossibly smug grin came over him.
“My my,” he said, “It seems I’ve made quite an impression on our guest the princess, don’t you think Ire?”
“It would certainly seem that way, wouldn’t it?” Iron agreed. The two Aloan ponies began to lead the prince, with Iron trailing behind. Blueblood stood proud and tall, too full of himself to notice where he was being led. After a while, the polished marble floors that the noblestallion was used to gave way to cobblestone. Still he seemed devoid of any thought other than his own greatness - until they stopped in front of a simple wooded door.
“This... is the princess’s room?” Blueblood asked, shying away, “This is a servant’s room!”
“Her highness is sleeping in the north quarter, actually,” the Aloan guard told him. “You will have different accommodations this evening.” The door opened, and the Aloans shoved Blueblood inside.
“What is the meaning of this!?” Blueblood shouted, whipping his head around. Another shove came from the darkness, throwing him to the ground. The door slammed shut, and a the room was illuminated by torchlight. The room was filled with a few Aloan guards, and the Aloan ambassador.
“Hello, Blueblood,” the ambassador said, his words oozing with a fake charm that Blueblood recognized all to well.
“You will address me by my proper title!” Blueblood said, getting to his hooves. He was shoved to the ground again - this time, by Iron.
“He was, you pompous oaf,” Iron sneered at him, “Or at least, by the end of tonight he will have. You’re going on a trip, colt. I’ll bet you can guess where.”
“W-why are you doing this?” Blueblood asked, leaning away from Iron. The ambassador cleared his throat.
“It isn’t personal - at least not for me,” he said, “But we need you out of the way for a while. Equestria has more than enough power, you don’t really need this conference. So you’re going to stay away until the negotiations are done, alright?”
“For the record,” Iron cut in, “It’s personal for ME.” The ambassador sighed.
“You won’t get away with this!” Blueblood shouted, “Auntie will know I’m missing, and -” A hoof in the ribs silenced him mid-sentence.”
“Shut up, colt,” Iron sneered, “We can’t have you yelling, now can we? You’d upset the other guests.” Blueblood coughed violently, and Iron grinned. “You know,” he said, “that was sort of fun. Can I do it again?”
“Be my guest,” the ambassador shrugged. “He doesn’t need to be in any sort of condition where we’re going to be taking him.”
“Goody,” Iron said. He kicked Blueblood in the gut again, sending the stallion writhing across the floor. He snorted gleefully, and ground his hoof into Blueblood’s ribs. The prince grunted in pain, and Iron pressed down harder.
“I take that back,” the ambassador said, interrupting the guard’s “fun”, “Stop that. The carriage isn’t here yet, and we can’t afford to make much noise while we’re in here. If one of your men finds us, we’re all dead - including you. You aren’t clever enough to talk your way out of this.” Iron snorted, and took his hoof off the prince, who groaned miserably.
“Well, have your men shut him up, then. You unicorns all think you’re so special, so prove it then.”
“My men are trained in combat,” the ambassador said coldly, “The best they could do is hold his mouth shut.” Iron shook his head, and leaned against the wall beside Blueblood. The room fell into silence, save for Blueblood’s occasional whimpers. The tension in the room was palpable as they waited. Even the room itself seemed to mirror the ambassadors sickly, worried expression. Iron simply scowled, picking something from the ball’s buffet out of his teeth. Suddenly, he felt Blueblood’s hoof on his leg.
“Iron...” Blueblood said weakly, “Iron, why are you doing this? Did... did they bribe you? Threaten you? Whatever it is, Auntie can help... “ Iron smirked, and leaned in to the injured unicorn’s face.
“They didn’t pay me,” he said, “They didn’t threaten me, or blackmail me. The only thing that I get out of this is a way out... oh, and you.” He flashed his teeth at the unicorn, and prodded him with his hoof. “Yes... ‘prince Blueblood, you get to hurt him’. That’s what they told me, colt. And you know what? I jumped at the chance. The chance to hurt you, you stupid, arrogant little princeling... you pathetic excuse for a stallion. They only asked me because I’m close to you, you know. Any one of the servants... anyone who ever has to deal with you, they’d all do the same. Every single pony in this castle would jump at the chance to watch you suffer.” He was nearly nose-to-nose with Blueblood now, a wide, malicious grin spread across his face. Blueblood’s eyes were wide with fear, and he tried to struggle backwards, but Iron stomped a hoof down on his mane to keep him in place. “You know why?” the earth pony asked, “You wanna guess? Go on, guess. I wanna know what you think ponies think about you. I wanna hear you say that they care about you, so It’ll be that much sweeter when you learn the truth.”
“T-they do care,” Blueblood said, his voice shaking, “I’m the prince. They all care about my well being. That’s their job...”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Iron chuckled, “It’s their JOB. Not one of them would care for you if they had any choice in the matter. They like your auntie, and they like your momma just fine, but you? They all HATE you. You’re just some worthless pile of flesh to them. Another nuisance to deal with in the day.”
“That isn’t true!” Blueblood insisted. Even he didn’t seem convinced by his words.
“Say that all you want,” Iron laughed. “But you know the truth every bit as much as I do. Hell, I bet that’s why your so full of yourself. You know that you aren’t worth anything. The truth is, I’m not just doing the Aloans a favour, I’m doing Equestria a favour too! Now your momma can just start over, have a foal who’s worth something!”
“Iron!” the Ambassador said sharply, “The carriage is here. Let’s go.”
“Good,” Iron said, straightening up, “As soon as we get away from here, we can start to make some noise. Load him in.”
Blueblood felt magic take hold of his body, lifting him into the air. The Aloan soldiers took him out of the back door, out into the palace’s back lawn. A large, plain carriage was waiting there, hitched to a pair of ponies wearing simple rags. Blueblood was tossed unceremoniously in the back, followed by Iron, the Ambassador and a half-dozen soldiers. The door shut, and a jerking let the passengers know that their transport had begun to move. Blueblood lay in the middle of the carriage, trying to chase Iron’s words out of his head, but they wouldn’t leave. He began to whimper again, only for Iron to kick him in the back.
“We’re not in the castle any more,” the guard sneered, “I can do that now. In fact, I think I’m gonna. Every time you whimper, you get a kick. And hey - I’ll get a kick out of that too!” he laughed cruelly, and Blueblood shuddered, suppressing a squeak. The cart rolled for about an hour, and Iron kept true to his word - whenever so much as a squeak escaped Blueblood’s lips, Iron would kick him violently in the back. Eventually the captain got bored - or Blueblood simply stopped making noise. Either way, Iron spoke up.
“Where are we?”
“Hm?” the ambassador asked, shaking away his tiredness, “We should be at the bottom of the mountains. We’re in Aloan territory now.”
“Close to the exchange point?”
“We’ll reach it in a few minutes, yes. Why?”
“Tell your ponies to move faster. I want to get there early. I want some time with the whelp.”
“Haven’t you had enough of him yet?” the ambassador asked, disgust clear in his voice.
“Just do it,” Iron scowled. The ambassador sighed, and commanded that they pick up the pace. They reached their destination within a couple of minutes, and Iron kicked Blueblood out of the back of the carriage. He looked around, and sighed happily.
“Shale!” he said, “Lot’s of shale here. That’s good.”
“Dare I ask why?” the ambassador asked.
“Shale is flat,” Iron said, as if that explained everything, “Get your ponies to take him over to that piece, there,” he gestured to a large slab. The soldiers did as they were commanded, while Iron stepped back into the carriage to get something. Blueblood couldn’t see what Iron was getting until he brought it around to the stone where the unicorn lay. The cruel earth pony carried an equally cruel-looking axe in his mouth, grinning fiendishly around the handle.
“Hold him down,” Iron said.
“What do you mean?” one of the soldiers asked. Iron glowered at the soldier, who shrunk back.
“I mean, Hold. Him. Down.” Iron said. The soldiers did so, pressing Blueblood against the rock with their magic. Iron dropped the axe of the slab in front of Blueblood’s face.
“Wha... what are you going to do?” the prince asked, his voice trembling. Iron grinned evilly.
“Guess,” he said. “Go on, guess.” His grin was so wide that Blueblood thought he could see every tooth in his mouth, and his eyes bugged out of his skull like even they wanted to leap out and attack the prince. His hot breath blew across the unicorn’s face as he chuckled. “I’ll bet you’ll do great. You’re a unicorn, after all... you’re so great. So superior to us ‘humble earth ponies’,” he quoted in a mocking imitation of Blueblood’s voice, “But you know we do try. And there’s a lot of things that we’re pretty good at... some things we’re even better at than you unicorns... but you’ll find that out soon enough.”
“Iron,” the ambassador cut in, “Is this really necessary?”
“Of course it’s necessary!” Iron roared, turning sharply on the fat unicorn, “You said yourself, we can’t risk having him seen while he’s in Aloa! It would tip everyone off, they’d know about your precious plan! Well, nopony’s going to recognize him now! They’ll all be looking for a unicorn, and they aren’t going to find one!” he whipped around, screaming at the soldiers, “HOLD HIM DOWN!”
They all flinched back, releasing the pressure on Blueblood just enough for him to struggle.
“Please, Iron!” Blueblood cried, “Please, don’t do this!”
“Oh, you’re begging now?” Iron gave a hissing laugh, “You think it’ll make up for all the crap I had to deal with from you?”
“I’m sorry!” Blueblood cried again, “I’m sorry Iron! I didn’t mean it!” He strained against the soldiers’ magic, writhing as hard as he could on the rock. His heart was frozen in his chest as he struggled, and he trembled violently.
“I said, HOLD! HIM! DOWN!” Iron roared. Magic slammed against Blueblood, pressing down on him so hard he could barely breath.
“Please, please don’t, Iron,” Blueblood managed to wheeze, “Please don’t do it...”
“Don’t worry, colt,” Iron chuckled, leaning in close to Blueblood and brushing his mane aside, “I won’t hurt a hair on the pretty little mane of yours.” He gave a barking laugh, and one of the soldiers looked away.
“Now, ‘Blue blood’,” Iron hissed, “let’s find out what colour you really bleed!” he took the axe in his mouth, and lifted it up, laughing through the handle.
The prince's squeezed his eyes shut. “Please, please please please please please!” he begged.
The axe came down.
Pain erupted in Blueblood’s skull. It felt like his forehead was on fire. It felt like his mind was on fire. He was vaguely aware of an explosion of colour, of Iron laughing hysterically, but he didn’t care. The pain was his world. It was his everything. It spread through his entire body, growing far and wide like the roots of a great ash tree. It felt like it spread even out of his body, into the bodies of the guards that held him down, and into the ambassador. They broke their hold, but Blueblood didn’t flail, or scream. He couldn’t. His entire body was on fire. His entire body was fire. Then it was ice, and then the air, and the earth. Then, for the briefest moment, his body was light. But the light faded, and there was only darkness. Blueblood’s world went dark, and soon, it disappeared.
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Kegisak
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1052
| 2 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-03T05:29:41+00:00
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2011-10-03T05:29:41+00:00
| 5,294 |
Chapter 2: In Which Pride is Preserved
The sun rose over Equestria with as little fanfare as ever, perhaps even less. Princess Celestia had other things on her mind – namely, the meeting between the delegates. The guests came in from all over the palace's more luxurious wings to a great antechamber near the center. It was used for various purposes throughout the year – to brief the guards for formal events mostly, but it occasionally was used to host plays and other such events. For charity of course, the princess would always tell the press. For today, however, it had been refurbished with desks and soft cushions, allowing the delegates to focus on center stage where the princess would host. She would refrain from debate, of course. The honour of representing Equestria would belong to her niece and nephew – if the young stallion would ever arrive.
Blueblood's mother paced near Celestia on the stage, fretting like only a mother can.
“Where is that colt?” She asked aloud, “I told him to be down here, didn't I?”
“You most certainly did, dear,” Celestia assured her. “ Many times, in fact. For all his other faults, Blueblood has never been a pony to shirk responsibility.”
“Huh,” Blueblood's mother scoffed, “You don't know him like I do. He'll do his best to dodge out of anything unpleasant, the lazy colt.” Celestia shrugged.
“Not if you use the words 'honour' and 'grace' enough.” She smiled knowingly. “And offering the odd treat doesn't hurt.”
“Nobility shouldn't need to be offered biscuits to do its job!”
“You never seemed to mind,” Celestia teased.
“Auntie!” Blueblood's mother cried, exasperated. “This is serious. How will it look if one of our delegates doesn't attend the meeting? How will it affect the debates?”
“About the same amount it will affect it to know that one of our delegates is a fretting mess of a mare,” the princess said, taking her niece by the shoulders. More delegates had begun to file into the room. Celestia smoothed her niece's hair, and put on the voice of confidence. “You mustn’t worry so much, Amethyst. I'm sure Blueblood is just sleeping in. I hear he had a late night last night.” She smiled sweetly. “Now go and take your seat, dear. Try to look composed for our guests. You'll have to be enough for the both of you, for a while.”
“Alright Auntie,” Amethyst nodded. “Thank you.” She left the stage and climbed the stairway, finding the seat that was marked with her cutie mark. Her son's cutie mark sat next to her, it's seat empty. Celestia turned her attention away from the arriving delegates for a moment, instead addressing the guard who had stood on the edge of her vision while she spoke with her niece.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Your majesty,” the guard whispered, taking a step forward, “I went to wake the prince like you asked... he was missing.”
“Missing?” the princess repeated. Neither her face nor her tone betrayed any sign of shock or surprise. The guard nodded.
“I'm afraid so. We checked with the Aloan princess as well – we'd heard from some of their ponies that he'd spent the night with her, but he wasn't there either. His bodyguard is missing as well. The guards who are still here are searching the palace as we speak.”
“I see,” Celestia said quietly. “Don't let anypony but our guards know about this.”
“Of course, your majesty,” the guard said, bowing again. “Would you like me to alert you when we find the prince?”
“No,” Celestia said, “Send him in if you find him, but wait until the meeting is over to give me your report.”
The guard bowed again, and backed off the stage. Most of the delegates had arrived now, and Celestia was beginning to regret insisting that they meet so early. Still, she couldn't afford to do anything about it now. All she could do for the next few hours was hope that the prince had simply wandered off somewhere.
***
Many miles away, Prince Blueblood awoke. Early morning sun filtered through his eyelids, and the smell of salt tingled in his nose. This confused him a bit, as did the fact that his bed jostled beneath him. He wondered crossly if Princess Golden dreams was dancing on the bed, and if she would kindly stop as it made his head swim – until he opened his eyes. He was not in his bedchambers. He was not in the visiting princess's bedchambers. He was not in anypony's bedchambers, unless that pony was very unfortunate indeed. He seemed to be in the back of a carriage. His head snapped up, and memories flooded back to him. The Aloan ambassador, his soldiers... and Iron. The guard was nowhere to be seen. Nopony was in the carriage with him, in fact. Blueblood wasn't sure whether he should be pleased about that or not. He was about to call out to his captors, when he heard a voice.
“Are you sure it's a good idea to take him this far away from Equestria?” It was Iron. The ambassador answered him.
“I'm not about to start taking advice from you, Iron, not after what you did last night. At any rate, there isn't anywhere secure enough on the mainland. There's a trade city just inside the peninsula, we'll be able to hold him there until this all blows over.”
“Hmph. Funny to hear you talk about security. He's bouncing around back there without any supervision at all.”
“I doubt he'll need it. It's not as if he's going to be able to do much now, thanks to you. I doubt he'll even be awake for a few hours.”
“I don't see why you're so sore about that,” Iron said. His tone had changed – the urgency was gone, and there was an arrogant quality to it. The ambassador harrumphed.
“It was unnecessary. If his aunt ever finds out we were the ones responsible, we'll be skinned alive.”
“I didn't hear you bring that up last night.”
“Like I was going to argue with you when you were swinging that... thing, around! It's not important now. We'll keep him until the conference is over, and send him back. Blame it all on rebels, or something.”
Blueblood crawled away from the wall, until he could no longer hear his kidnapper's voices. This is insane, he thought, they're going to kill me! A little voice in the back of his head told him that that was, silly, they'd never be stupid enough to kill him – his aunt would rain fire down on their heads. Still, that didn't change the fact that he needed to get out of there. He got shakily to his hooves, and inspected the door. He put his hoof against it and pushed experimentally. It was locked.
Well, that's no problem, Blueblood realized after a moment of panic, I'll just open it with my magic! He reared his head, trying to visualize the lock in his mind. Strangely, he couldn't picture it's inner workings. He furrowed his brow and tried again, trying to spread his magic over the lock, but nothing happened. No glow, no movement, not even the instinctive knowledge of an object that comes from handling it magically.
“What's going on?” Blueblood whispered to himself. His brow furrowed deeper. It must have been some sort of anti-magic. He tried again, straining himself, but to no avail. Eventually he sat on the floor, defeated.
What am I going to do? he moaned internally. He was going to be trapped in there until they took him into that city, and locked him up in some dirty old jail cell. He would probably have to share it with some smelly, decrepit old stallion, and they would only feed him slop and water twice a day. Or they would shackle him against the wall in rusty old chains, that would chafe and stain his fur. He would probably waste away to nothing before to long. He'd end up looking like some dirt-poor pony from some backwater farming village, his pristine white fur covered in dirt and slime. How awful!
Despite all that, he smiled to himself smugly. When this was all over, he would tell his auntie what they had done, and then they would get what was coming to them. They would see what happened when you wronged a prince, every single one of them! He leaned back, a bit happier than before, when he caught a snippet of Iron's conversation again.
“...Send a piece of him back.”
Blueblood's eyes bulged. He clasped his hooves over his mouth to keep from crying out, and crept closer to the source of the voices.
“Well... it would certainly complete the illusion,” The ambassador said.
“Exactly,” Iron laughed, “They'll know 'we' mean business. We might even be able to pull some Bits out of the deal.”
“We don't use Bits here, Iron. Anyways, I thought you didn't care about being paid?”
“Oh, I don't – being able to hurt that good-for-nothing brat is more than enough for me,” Iron said. His voice was filled with a cruel sort of glee, like a schoolyard bully. “But if I can pull in some money, well, that's a bonus isn't it?”
Blueblood's heart froze in his chest. Send a piece of him back? Just for a more convincing lie? All traces of his smugness were gone, replaced by a gripping fear. Iron's sadistic grin filled his head, laughing hysterically. Blueblood needed to get out of there, and he needed to get out of there FAST.
He moved back to the door as quickly and quietly as he could, and pushed against it as hard as he could manage. The lock held fast, and the door didn't budge. He strained against it with all his might, even daring to throw himself against it, but for nothing. He kept trying. He began to sweat, and his mane stuck to his face. His breathing was heavy, but he struggled to keep it quiet. He couldn't risk letting Iron or the ambassador know he was awake. Finally, after what seemed like ages of struggling and pushing, he heard a small splintering noise. He stepped back to inspect the door and sure enough, it had begun to break. It was only a tiny crack – the wood near the lock had worn against the metal – but Blueblood's heart leapt. He returned to his work with a renewed vigor, dragging his hooves across the worn wood and straining against the lock. Little by little the worn patch got larger and larger. Soon he could dig his hooves into it, hacking away chips of wood from the door. Splinters dug into his hooves, but he ignored the pain. All he could think about was Iron, imagining the big gray pony bearing down on him, holding him down and grinning like a madpony. Blueblood shuddered, and pushed against the lock again. It wiggled a bit in its mount, and Blueblood grinned. He shoved against it, rocking back and forth and pausing every so often to dig more wood out of the door. The more he pushed on it, the more it rocked. Eventually he started to hear a cracking noise as he pushed against it. He scraped his hoof against the door desperately, and dug a huge chunk of it out. As the piece of door fell, the morning light shone through. Blueblood gave the lock one final push, and with a weak crack it popped out of its mount. Ecstatic, Blueblood threw himself against the door. It swung open easily, and he tumbled out of the carriage – and right into a ditch.
The prince rolled down the steep wall of the ditch, grunting painfully as he landed in the bottom. He splashed into a puddle of stagnant water, but he didn't complain – he didn't make a sound. He lay there in the bottom of the ditch, hooves over his mouth and not daring to breathe as the sound of the carriage slowly moved away from him. Only when he could no longer hear the crunch of its wheels on the road did he allow himself to breathe a heavy sigh of relief. He lay in the ditch until his pounding heart finally settled, and in spite of himself he began to laugh. He had escaped!
I'm free! He thought to himself as he clambered up the side of the ditch. Now I just need to get back to the palace, and tell auntie about what Iron did to me, and...
Blueblood looked up and down the road. The only times he had ever left the palace before were for official appearances, holidays and the like, and he had certainly never left Equestria before. The environment was completely alien to him. The land seemed flat in all directions, except for the steep slope to the west. In the distance, Blueblood could see a shining line that bulged and sank along the horizon – the ocean. To the east, Blueblood could just make out the tips of a mountain range.
“Where in the world am I?” the prince cried out. He sat down on the side of the road, looking left and right. He knew he was in Aloa, at least. It may not have been much, but at least it was a start. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to remember any of his lessons from his geography tutor. Unfortunately, all that came to mind where the rude drawings he had made of his tutor. He did remember, however, that Aloa was west of Equestria – which meant home was east. Blueblood looked around once more, and sighed. There was nopony around.
“Well,” he said, getting to his hooves, “Mother and Auntie have probably sent out guards to look for me by now... but they aren't going to find me sitting on some dirt road in the middle of nowhere.” He set off east, in search of a town.
***
The sun reached its zenith, shining down on the world below. Without any trees growing in it's sandy soil, The country of Aloa was at the sun's mercy, as was Blueblood. The white stallion limped along the road, whimpering whenever he stepped with his bad hoof. Once the rush of adrenaline had left his system, the splinters in his hoof had begun the sting and ache unbearably. His hoof was burning, and the heat of the midday sun wasn't helping his temperament at all. Finally, he collapsed beside the road, whimpering miserably.
“This is it,” he moaned, “I'm going to die. I'm going to die out here, in the middle of nowhere in some stupid little country. Nopony will ever be able to tell my story. Ponies in the future will learn about Equestria’s princes, but will they ever learn about Prince Blueblood? No. Because Prince Blueblood disappeared one day, and got eaten by buzzards along some Celestia-forsaken road. He sighed, and flopped his head to the side. In the ditch beside the road there was a small bush, and for just a moment Blueblood thought he saw it twitch. His eyes narrowed, and he watched it carefully. Slowly, a tiny head appeared from behind it, staring at him. It was a foal.
“Hello?” Blueblood asked, pushing himself up. The foal ducked behind the bush again, and Blueblood stood up. “Hello?” he asked again, trotting towards the bush. He skidded down the side of the road, coming to a stop a few feet away from the bush. The foal squeaked and ran off.
“Wait!” Blueblood called after the foal. “Come back!” He tried to follow after it, but his hoof made him unable to keep up, so he just watched. The foal scrambled up the other side of the ditch, and darted over a hill on the other side. Blueblood followed slowly, pulling himself out of the ditch and limping up the hill. When he reached the top, he could see that the other side fell away, quickly turning to sand. A river cut through the landscape not far away, and the foal was running to what appeared to be a small house floating near the bank.
Ponies! Blueblood thought happily. He grinned wildly and dashed down the hill – or tried. He lost his footing in the loose sand and fell flat on his face, sliding down in an avalanche of soil and winding up lying on his back at the bottom.
“That seems to be happening a lot today,” He muttered as he righted himself. He shook the sand out of his mane, and looked up. He could see the foal, peeking from behind a round, older-looking unicorn mare. There were a few other foals nearby, as well as a pair of older colts, all staring at the prince. He stared back for a moment, before standing up straight and puffing out his chest.
“Good day,” He said in his most regal tone. The mare approached him, her foal still skirting her legs, and smiled broadly to Blueblood.
“Well, good day to you too, young colt,” She said happily, “You'll have to excuse my family, we don't tend to see many earth ponies around these parts. What's your name?”
“My name is prince Blueblood,” he declared, “And I am no simple earth pony! I am a pure-blooded unicorn!”
“Great,” a young stallion remarked, “He's crazy.” Blueblood scowled a the stallion and swelled his chest, preparing to verbally lash him, but the old mare cut him off.
“Mind your manners, colt!” she snapped. “That's no way to talk about our guest.” She turned back to Blueblood and gently took his head in her hooves. “Anyways, he ain't crazy... poor thing probably knocked his head, and he's confused. Look at all this blood. Come along colt, let's get you cleaned up. You look like you dug your way out of your own grave.”
“What?” Blueblood asked as the mare pulled him along. The foal now trotted alongside the prince, staring intently at him. Blueblood was pulled waist-deep into the river, where he finally saw himself in the water
The mare hadn't been exaggerating when she said he looked like he crawled out of the grave. He was caked in dirt and sand, turning his coat from a pristine white into a pale, smokey gray. Clumps of mud clung to him, and his mane was matted against his forehead. Any other day, any of that would have been enough to send him into fits, but he didn't even notice. All he could do was stare at his face.
His horn was missing.
No wonder the mare had thought he was an earth pony. There was no trace of it, just his straw-blond mane plastered over his face where his horn used to be. A dark line of dried blood ran down the center of his face, dipping down to the left past his eyes. The only hint that there had ever been a horn there. As far as anypony was concerned, he was just another earth pony.
“How... what happened to it?” he said to himself, “Where did my horn go?” More memories from the previous night came back to him. Right before he blacked out, he remembered the most bizarre feeling, and the most incredible light he had ever seen. He remembered the soldiers holding him down against the stone as Iron brandished his axe, laughing like a maniac. Blueblood shut his eyes, and began to shake violently. “Oh...” He whimpered.
A torrent of water falling over his head broke him out of his stupor. He coughed and spluttered, pulling his mane out of his eyes to see the mare magically pulling a large ball of water out of the river.
“Sorry about that,” She said cheerfully, dumping the water over his head again. “But if the water's too cold for you the best thing to do is just dive right in.”
“I'm... what?” Blueblood asked. The mare shook her head, and tutted.
“You must have knocked your head mighty hard,” She said, “But we can still get you cleaned up.” She levitated a cloth from the shore and dunked it in the water, saturating it. She began to scrub Blueblood firmly with it who, long used to having servants help him wash, allowed her to wash him without a fuss. Before too long she had managed to scrub him mostly clean. He looked at his reflection in the water once again. His fur was back to it's proper white colour and his mane no longer stuck to his clean face, but there was still no evidence that he had ever been a unicorn. He walked to the shore and sat down, sighing.
“There now, isn't that much better?” the mare asked him. “My name's Seagrass, by the way.”
“Hm?” Blueblood said offhandedly, “Yes, thank you miss.”
“So where d'you come from, Blueblood?” She pressed. She clearly noticed his depression. Blueblood sighed, and answered.
“Canterlot,” he said, “in Equestria.”
“Canterlot, eh? Can't say I know where that is, I'm afraid,” Seagrass admitted . “I know most everywhere there is to go along the Crate river, but beyond that I don't know much. Still, Equestria. That's a fair ways away from here. What brings a young stallion like yourself this far west?”
“I...” Blueblood began. He wasn't sure whether or not he should tell this old mare the truth. For all he knew, they could try to deliver him back to the ambassador, or try to squeeze anything they could out of Blueblood. There was no telling with these ponies. Finally, he settled on a lie.
“I was visiting someone,” he said, “but my ride home abandoned me, and now I'm completely lost.”
“Lost?” Seagrass said, shaking her head sadly, “Well, that's no good. I'll tell you what. My family and I are making our way upriver now. There's a town called Riverbank about a half a days trip east of here where we'll make port. We can take you about as far as that, and I'm sure you'll be able to find yourself a ride home from there. How's that sound?”
Blueblood thought about it for a moment. He didn't know if he could trust these ponies, but they were traveling away from Iron, which was good. It would certainly beat trying to walk all the way to the next town with no idea where he was going and a bad hoof. All in all, it was the best option. Blueblood nodded.
“That would be good,” he said. He had regained some of his composure, and he managed to at least stand straight and proud – if he couldn't look like a true prince, he could at least act the part, he resolved.
“Well, we'll be ready to head off again in just a few minutes. My husband's just off getting water.”
Blueblood looked back at the river. “There's plenty of water right there,” he pointed out. Seagrass shook her head, and laughed.
“We're too close to the ocean here,” she told him. “This water is brackish. Not good to drink. There's a wellspring nearby here though, so we stop by and fill top up whenever we pass.”
“I see,” Blueblood nodded, “So, you and your family live in this... boat?” He gestured vaguely towards the floating house. Now that he had gotten closer to it it looked less like a true house and more like a raft that just happened to have walls and a roof. Blueblood doubted it even had any rooms.
“That's right,” the old mare nodded. “We travel up and down the river. We're traders, mostly, but we ship as well. The river moves better than most mailponies can on their own, after all.”
“I don't see how that's possible,” Blueblood scoffed. “The pegasi can fly faster than any river can move.”
“Yeah, if there were any pegasi around,” the young stallion from earlier snarked again. His mother glared at him, and explained,
“We don't have many pegasi in Aloa, or earth ponies like yourself... it's mostly unicorns here, really.”
“Really,” Blueblood said. Now that he thought of it, all of the guards that had captured him had been unicorns, as opposed to the mix of races in Equestria's service. Seagrass looked like she was about to say something else, when she suddenly looked over the princes shoulder. Blueblood turned around to see a large, silvery-blue unicorn stallion coming over the hill with two large barrels floating around his head. The colts both ran to the stallion, who Blueblood presumed to be their father, and helped him bring the barrels down the sandy hill.
“Hey, sweetie,” The stallion said gruffly, setting down the barrels and embracing his wife.
“Hello Seastone,” Seagrass said, “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” the unicorn laughed, “Water never gets any lighter. Good thing I've got these stout colts around to help their old stallion out, eh?” He ruffled the mane of the colt nearest to him, and turned to Blueblood. “Speaking of,” he said, “looks like we've managed to pick up a new one, eh?”
“This is Blueblood,” Seagrass said, introducing the prince to her husband, “We're taking him up to Riverbank.”
“Oh are we now?” Seastone asked, smirking at Blueblood. “Well, it's nice to meet you, Blueblood – bit of a funny name, that.”
“It's a very old, and very respected name,” Blueblood said sharply. Seastone raised his hooves apologetically.
“Alright, well, I don't know many earth ponies – I wouldn't know.” He held out his hoof to Blueblood, who took it carefully. Seastone shook firmly, causing Blueblood to wince in pain as the splinters in his hoof shifted around.
“Oh, dear!” Seagrass cried, taking Blueblood's hoof immediately, “What happened to your hoof?”
“Splinters,” the prince told her. The mare tutted, and began pulling him towards her home.
“Colts, help your father bring in the water,” she called back to her children, “I'm going to see what we can do about this.”
Blueblood wrenched his hoof away from Seagrass, and stood up tall. “I can walk to your home myself, thank you,” He said. His pride had taken enough hits today – he didn't need some old mare treating him like a foal on top of everything. Seagrass frowned at him, but didn't say anything. She simply led the prince inside, letting him limp off the bank and onto the shaky foundations of the raft.
Blueblood had been right about the home – it was made of a single room. There was a large round table in the middle, several hammocks slung up along the corners and a wood-burning stove, but aside from that it was decidedly spartan. The pair of young stallions came in with the water barrels, followed by their father and all the other children. When they were all packed into the same room Blueblood was able to count them easier. Aside from Seagrass and Seastone, there were three colts and two fillies. The two colts who carried in the water were the eldest, and the foal who Blueblood had seen in the bush the youngest. The two fillies were in the middle, both looking about the age to get their cutie marks soon. After he saw that the water was placed properly, Seastone left through a small door in the front of the home, and Blueblood felt the craft lurch into motion moments later.
“What's he doing?” Blueblood asked.
“Who, Seastone?” Seagrass asked. “He's moving us with his magic. It's the easiest way to go upriver. We're fighting the current the whole way up. Downriver is much easier, we can just drift along.” She lifted Blueblood's hoof carefully, and inspected it. “Hmm...” She said, squinting, “You sure got a lot of them in there, didn't you?” She asked. “What were you doing?”
“I'd rather not say,” Blueblood said. Seagrass shrugged.
“Ah, well. Everypony's entitled to their privacy.” Her horn lit up, and one of the splinters loosed itself from Blueblood's hoof.
“YEOUCH!” the prince cried, jerking his hoof back. The older colt stared at him, and Seagrass rolled her eyes.
“What, haven't you ever had a splinter before?” she asked. “They hurt. Don't be such a foal, otherwise I'll never get them out.”
“I was not being a foal.” Blueblood look away from her, embarrassed. “You just... caught me off guard, that's all.”
“Well then,” she smiled, “I'm going to pull out your splinters. There – on guard now?” Blueblood nodded. Seagrass's horn lit up again, and she began to pull out the many, many splinters. Blueblood winced each time, but he did manage to keep himself from yelling. After a while, the white stallion became aware of the fact that he was being watched. The older colts and fillies had retired to the corners of the house to play a game, but the youngest colt was sitting across the table from Blueblood, staring at him.
“That's just our Sandy,” Seagrass said, plucking out another splinter, “Don't you mind him. He's never seen an earth pony before.”
“I... don't mind,” Blueblood said. Sandy was an appropriate name for the beige colt. He dipped his head below the table a bit when Blueblood looked at him, so the stallion pretended to look away, watching the foal out of the corner of his eye.
“Does he talk?”
“When he wants to. Not that that comes around much. Mostly, he just likes to watch. He's a clever colt, don't let the quiet fool you. There's a lot going on in that little head of his.”
“Hard to imagine,” Blueblood said. “He's barely moving.”
“He ain't moving,” Seagrass said, tapping her forehead, “But his head is. Just you watch. I bet he'll be nothing but questions later tonight. You know how foals are.”
“No,” Blueblood said, “I never really met any foals.”
Seagrass plucked a splinter, and paused. “How can you have never met a foal before?” she asked. Blueblood shrugged.
“I don't have any siblings. I've seen foals around, but none of them ever talk to me.”
“Well, that don't seem right to me,” she laughed, patting his shoulder. “You seem like a nice enough lad. Maybe a little funny still, but nice enough.” Blueblood raised an eyebrow at this, but Seagrass continued, “You'll probably get your first time tonight, just you wait. You're all done.”
“What?”
“Your hoof. All the splinters are gone.”
“Oh,” Blueblood said, inspecting his hoof, “So they are.” He tried to put his hoof down to test it out, but magic took hold of it before it reached the ground.
“Ah ah ah,” Seagrass said, waggling her hoof at him, “Sorry, you aren't quite done yet.”
“What?” Blueblood asked. “But all the splinters are gone. You said it was done.”
“Well the splinters are gone, yes,” Seagrass said, “But the hoof could get infected. We need to put something on it.”
“Oh, fine,” Blueblood sighed, sitting back down. Seagrass went to a cupboard and returned with a small jar. She scooped out some of the contents and began to massage it into Blueblood's hoof. It felt cold, and it stung a bit, but Blueblood didn't complain. Finally, Seagrass wrapped some bandages around his hoof and put her hooves together.
“There you go,” She said, “All better.”
Blueblood inspected his hoof. “It feels much better,” he said.
“I'm glad,” Seagrass said, smiling at him. She stood up from the table and trotted over to where her children were playing, joining them. Blueblood stayed seated at the table. He stared at the bandaged hoof, turning it over and looking at it from every different angle. He wasn't quite sure why. He knew he should be angry that this had happened to him, but he wasn't. The only thing he felt was tired. He rested his head on the table and looked around the room. Suddenly, he realized that Sandy wasn't sitting across from him anymore. He wasn't playing with his siblings, either. He didn't seem to be anywhere in the room. Narrowing his eyes, Blueblood leaned down, and peeked beneath the table. Sure enough, there was Sandy.
“Hi,” the little colt said quietly.
“What are you doing down there?” Blueblood asked.
“You said you were a prince. Mama and Papa said that you gotta be lower than a prince to talk to them. So I'm under that table, so I'll be lower than you.”
“Well,” Blueblood said, tilting his head, “You don't have to be under the table to be lower than me. You can be lower than me anywhere in the room.” He hadn't expecting such a young colt to understand royalty – though calling it understanding would be a bit of a stretch.
Sandy shuffled out from under the table, and sat beside Blueblood, staring up at him. The prince was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Are you really a prince?” The colt asked suddenly.
“Of course I am,” Blueblood answered.
“Seaweed doesn't believe you,” he said, “I don't think momma does either.”
“Well, they wouldn't know, would they,” Blueblood said, rolling his eyes, “They don't care about anything outside their lives. I'm the prince of Equestria.”
“Where's that?”
“It's... east of here,” Blueblood said vaguely.
“Where east of here?”
“I don't know. East. It's in the mountains.”
“How come you don't know where it is?” Sandy asked, tilting his head quizzically. “Shouldn't a prince know where his country is?”
“Well I've never been here before.” Blueblood looked away from the colt. “And I didn't see where I came from. So I just know Equestria is in the mountains east of here. Why are you so curious?”
“I've never seen a prince before. Or an earth pony. What's it like, being an earth pony prince?”
“Well, I can tell you what it's like to be a prince,” Blueblood said, puffing out his chest like a songbird. “You have everypony's utmost respect. They'll do anything for you, and never complain about it to you. There are a few responsibilities, but most of the time you get to do whatever you want. Nopony is allowed to question you, either.” He paused, and his brow furrowed for a moment, but he shook his head and continued.
“I don't know what it's like to be an earth pony, however. I, am a unicorn.”
“Really?” Sandy asked. “Then how come you don't have a horn?” Blueblood's head sank.
“Well... It's a very long story,” Blueblood said, “I don't think that a foal would understand.”
“I'm not a foal!” Sandy objected, “And momma and poppa say I'm smart! I'll understand!”
“It's not about being smart,” Blueblood scoffed, “It's about... jealousy. Somepony was jealous of me. Anyways, I'm not going to talk about it any more than that.”
“Well... okay,” Sandy said. “I'm gonna go play now. Do you wanna play with me?”
“No, thank you,” Blueblood said, “princes do not 'play'.”
“Okay,” Sandy said. He got down from his chair and ran over to his siblings and mother, joining in their game. Blueblood watched him for a little while, then continued to stare at his injured hoof.
***
“Dinner time, dear,” Seagrass called out the front door. A grunt of recognition came from outside, and Seagrass let the door swing shut. She turned her attention to the foals, who were already seated around the table.
“Did you all wash your hooves?” She asked sternly.
“I did!” Sandy piped up. The two fillies nodded as well, but the older colts begrudgingly stood up and washed their front hooves in a bowl of water taken from the barrels.
“And you, Blueblood?” Seagrass asked, “Did you wash your hooves?”
“Of course,” The prince said, turning up his nose, “I do have my manners, miss.”
“I'm sure you do, dear,” Seagrass said. As her husband entered the room and washed up himself, the mare placed a package in the center of the table and unwrapped it. It contained several sticks of a hard, green substance. Seagrass passed them around to her children, who began to suck and chew on them. She gave one to Blueblood, who simply stared at it.
“What... is it?” Blueblood asked.
“It's seaweed,” Seastone answered. His son looked up for a moment, before shaking his head and returning to his meal. Blueblood sniffed it, and gave it an experimental nibble. There was a salty taste, but it was overpowered by a pungent, pickle-like flavour. Blueblood pulled a face, and stuck his tongue out.
“Bleagh!” He said, “That's awful!” Seastone and Seagrass both laughed.
“I take it you've never had seaweed before,” Seastone said, “It's sort of an acquired taste.”
“How in the world would you acquire it?” the prince asked, “I'd think starvation would be preferable.
“If you don't want to eat it, I'll take yours,” Seaweed piped up. Blueblood seriously considered giving it to him for a moment, but his stomach growled fiercely.
“No,” the white stallion said. He took another bite out of the tough plant. It was almost as difficult to actually take a bite out of it as it was to stomach the taste. The plant was dry and extremely stringy, and Blueblood could hardly grip it with just his hooves. He set it on the table, deciding he would just pick it up with his magic. He focused on it, mentally reaching out to it, but nothing happened. He stared at it furiously for a moment, before it dawned on him. He no longer had his horn – and no horn meant no magic.
“Something wrong, Blueblood?” Seagrass asked him. He shook his head.
“Nothing's wrong,” he said firmly. He picked up the piece of seaweed again, chewing on it furiously.
It doesn't matter, he thought to himself weakly, It doesn't matter. You are still the prince of Equestria. You can still be proud of that, at least. It doesn't matter.
The family chattered happily as they ate, though Blueblood stayed quiet. He stood tall and straight, chewing his food silently. Sandy managed to stare at him even more intently than he had before, Somehow. When the meal was finished the family washed their hooves gain, and settled in around the table to chat more.
“We'll pull into Riverbank in about an hour or so,” Seastone said. “A breeze cropped up, I set up the sail so we'll drift right in. How'd you like that seaweed, colt?”
“I've certainly had better meals,” Blueblood said flippantly, “But it was alright, I suppose.”
“Well...” Seastone replied, raising an eyebrow, “I'd imagine most ponies have. But we've been low on food lately. It's been a couple of weeks since we made port. Seaweed'll keep forever – good thing too, since most ponies will go for as long as they can before eating it. So... I don't think I ever heard where you're from, Blueblood?”
“Canterlot,” he replied, “The capital of Equestria.”
“Ah,” Seastone said, nodding, “I hear a bit about it from other traders, but I've never been myself. I hear it's a nice city.”
“It's nice enough,” Blueblood said, “But I spend most of my time in the Palace. Much nicer than any city.”
“Really? So, you're a servant? A guard?”
“Hardly,” Blueblood scoffed, “I am nobility.”
“He's a prince!” Sandy piped up, “That's what he said when he came, that he was prince of Equestria!”
“Pff, he was loony when he showed up,” Seaweed snorted. His father cuffed him on the ear.
“Seaweed, none of that. We should be good hosts to our guest.”
“Right, right,” The young stallion scowled, “Sorry, 'your highness'.”
“That's quite alright,” Blueblood said gracefully, “It would hardly be fair of me to hold commoners to the same standards of class as nobility, after all.”
“Well...” Seastone said quietly. He exchanged a look with his wife, then stood up. “I'm going to go and make sure we don't drift past the town. It was... interesting chatting with you, Blueblood.” He trotted out the door, shutting it tight behind him. The room fell into silence, and Seagrass coughed.
“So, um, Blueblood,” she said carefully, “When we met you mentioned you were here visiting someone. Was it a matter of state?”
“Sort of,” Blueblood said, his head dipping slightly. “It's rather complicated. I'd rather not talk about it.”
“I understand,” the mare said. Once again, the room became silent. One by one the colts and fillies drifted away from the table to their corners to play, until it was just Seagrass and Blueblood sitting. Seagrass looked around awkwardly, and asked, “I hope you don't mind if I leave you here?”
“Not at all,” Blueblood said. Seagrass nodded, and left the table gratefully.
Blueblood sat alone by himself for the short remainder of the trip. He tried his best to look proud and important, despite the fact that he was doing little more than staring into space. He had felt better for a while, but once again he was beginning to feel tired.
I'll have to find an inn when we arrive, he thought, It's been a... taxing day, after all. Slowly, he felt the raft begin to slow down, and eventually stop. The door opened up, and Seastone poked his head in.
“We're in Riverbank now,” he said. The family piled out onto the front deck of the raft, Blueblood included. Night had fallen, and most of the town seemed to be asleep. The river cut right through the center, with cobblestone banks on either side.
“There's no dock?” Blueblood asked.
“There are some deeper in the city,” Seastone said, “but I figured you'd want to get off as soon as you could.
“Well, that's very thoughtful of you,” Blueblood said. He smiled at the family earnestly, and he felt the tiredness slip away a little. “You should consider ferrying passengers more often. You certainly aren't the worst company I've had lately.”
“I... don't think that's going to happen,” Seastone said.
“Well, there's probably good money in it,” Blueblood offered, “You could probably afford to upgrade your home a little bit too, make it more comfortable.
“Thank you for the advice,” Seastone said, patience clearly waning from his voice, “Now please, if you're ready to go?”
“Well, I suppose so,” Blueblood said. “But, how am I supposed to get to shore? Do you have a plank, or something?” He looked around for something that would get him to the shore, until he felt magic grip his body.
“I'll give you a lift to the bank,” Seastone said shortly, “unless you'd prefer to swim.”
“I think I'd prefer the lift,” Blueblood answered. “You ponies really do know how to be hospitable, don't you?”
“Well, we do try dear,” Seagrass said sweetly.
“If only we had better guests,” Seaweed snorted. Blueblood glowered at him.
“And goodbye to you too, you rude little colt,” he said. “I hope your parents manage to teach you some manners one day.”
“You're one to talk.” The colt stuck his tongue out. Blueblood huffed impudently, and looked to the colt's father.
“No, I'm with the colt on this one,” Seastone said flatly. “If somepony invites you into their home, you should at least be courteous enough not to insult them. I'd think 'nobility' would know that. Now, kindly get off my boat.”
Blueblood drifted over the edge of the boat, and the magic let go, plunging him into the river. He broke the surface, spluttering and flicking his mane out of his eyes. He swam to the shore and scrambled out of the freezing water, coughing and spluttering.
“How dare you!” He shouted at the retreating raft, “How DARE you!? What did I ever do to you, huh!?” He scowled at the ship, and shivered angrily. “Rotten peasants,” he harrumphed, turning around. Out of the blackness, a piece of seaweed came whizzing and struck him in the back of the head.
|
Kegisak
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1052
| 3 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-11T08:36:21+00:00
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2011-10-11T08:36:21+00:00
| 4,926 |
Chapter 3: In Which Hope is Lost
The trade city of Newport came alive early in the morning. Unicorns bustled around the city, setting up shops in the bazaar, making deliveries and preparing for the day ahead. For some ponies, this business was more urgent than others.
The ambassador paced restlessly in the safe house. His black mane was disheveled, curling aimlessly across his face without it's usual tie, his eyes sunken and half closed. He hadn't slept, and it showed. Iron sat at the table in the lavish main room, watching him. Unlike his partner, Iron didn't seemed to be upset in the slightest. The only indication that he was even awake was his eyes, narrow and peering, watching the ambassador move back and forth across the room. Back and forth, back and forth...
“What are you just sitting around for?” the ambassador snapped, whirling on the guard. Iron shrugged, and folded his hooves in front of his mouth.
“What do you expect me to do? Help you wear a hole in the carpet?”
“You could offer an idea! Prisoners are your area of expertise, not mine!”
Iron glared daggers at the plump crimson pony. “Are you trying to blame this on me?” he asked dangerously. “I already gave you an idea. That idea was 'tie him up'. But you don't take my advice, remember?” The ambassador took a step back, and retorted.
“There's no point in blaming anypony right now. Right now, we need ideas.” The ambassador sat down, and put his head in his hooves. “You know the prince better than anypony. What would he do after he escaped? Run? Hide?”
“Go looking for the closest person who can deal with his problems for him,” Iron said.
“So you think he'd go for the nearest town?”
“Eventually,” Iron shrugged, “but not at first. I don't think he'd go anywhere for a while. He'd probably just sit and bawl until somepony came to help him.”
“So what does that mean for us?” The ambassador sighed. A maid came into the room and set a tea tray in front of him.
“Your tea, ambassador Letter,” she said respectfully. The ambassador nodded gratefully, and dismissed her. He poured himself a cup of tea and sipped at it, musing aloud.
“That road might not be busy, but somepony would have passed him,” he said. “He would have made it to some sort of town yesterday.”
“Well, that's great,” Iron said, scowling. “At least we've narrowed it down to what – three, four towns? How long is that going to take us to search?”
“The farthest likely town is a days trip west,” Letter said, “Anything between that and Equestria is pretty much barren. There's another small city between here and there. It'll take all my guards maybe two or three days to search it, before they can move on.”
“All your guards?” Iron asked, slamming his hoof on the table. Letter's tea set rattled on its platter. “Three days, for all the guards? Do you know what will happen if Celestia finds out about this?”
“I know exactly what will happen!” Letter snapped. “Celestia blames Aloa, and we get boiled alive for causing all this!”
“Well, then maybe you could spare more than ten bloody guards!” Iron roared, slamming his hoof on the table again. “You should have dozens on this! Hundreds! We need that brat found NOW!”
“We can't get hundreds of guards on this,” Letter seethed, “We can't get ANY more guards.” He took a sip of tea to calm himself, while Iron stared.
“What do you mean, we can't get more guards?” he asked. Letter remained silent, sipping his tea. Iron's face slowly creased more and more into a scowl, becoming the picture of rage as it dawned on him. “This wasn't your king's idea, was it?”
Letter set his tea down carefully, and looked away. Impossibly, Iron's expression grew even more furious, until it seemed to glow red. Heat seemed to radiate off of him, like his namesake metal had been put in a fire. He roared, and struck Letter's tea set off the table.
“You IDIOT!” he berated the ambassador, throwing him to the ground. “We'll both be boiled alive if that colt makes it back home! And for what!? Some petty ambition? What, you thought this would put you in your King's good books?”
“So what was your reason?” Letter shouted back, getting to his hooves, “You just wanted a chance to hurt the prince? Which one of us is worse, then?”
Iron roared wordlessly, like a mad beast, and reared up. His hooves struck Letter hard, throwing him across the room.
“Don't you DARE try to turn this on me!” he snarled, “This was your idea, not mine!” His head was held low to the ground, like he was ready to charge at any moment. Letter swallowed, and slowly got to his hooves.
“Look, this isn't helping us,” he said cautiously. “We can't go to the king now. We need to get started searching for him if we want any chance of finding him.”
Iron's chest heaved heavily, but it began to slow, and before long he regained his apathetic exterior.
“You're right,” he said, “Gather the guards. We'll set out as soon as they're all ready. As far as we know, the brat could be asleep on a carriage back to Equestria by now.
***
Blueblood woke slow, and hard. For just a moment, he seemed to be aware of everything at once. The texture of the stones beneath him, the bristling of his fur as it played in the wind, and the coolness of a small puddle of water near his hooves. Even the soft hooffalls of nearby ponies seemed like drumbeats. He could feel where his horn had been, burning like a hot coal had been pressed against his head. Slowly though, the world returned to a manageable level, and Blueblood groaned.
He hadn't managed to find any sort of inn last night, and he had not been willing to lower himself enough to ask another family for help. He wasn't even sure if that would work at this point. In the end he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion, falling asleep in a gutter. Somepony had at least been kind enough a drape a newspaper over him while he slept. The prince picked it up, and looked at it. It had been opened to the classifieds. He scowled and pitched it away, sitting up on the street corner. The cold wind coming in from the river nearby pierced through him, chilling him to the bone and causing him to shiver violently. He got to his hooves and made his way away from it as fast as he could.
So far Riverbank had not been kind to him, but he was confidant all that would change. All he needed to do was find somepony who could get him out of this Celestia-forsaken country, he thought, and then this nightmare would all be over. He would be back home, back where he rightfully belonged. The only question was, where could he find somepony to bring him home.
He was wandering the town aimlessly. He needed a plan. He needed directions, and he knew it. But he wasn't about to just stop and shame himself in front of some commoner, so he continued to walk tall and proud through the city, until he came to a dead end alleyway. He scowled, turning to leave, but he heard a voice come from deeper in the alleyway. It was laughing at him.
“You lost, son?” the wheezing voice asked. Blueblood turned casually, looking for the source of the voice. It seemed to be coming from a pile of garbage – but as Blueblood came closer, he saw that it was simply a very grimy stallion.
“Hardly,” Blueblood said, looking down his nose at the pony, who laughed again.
“So what, then, you just came in here to take a look at the scenery?” he asked, grinning at the prince with a mouth almost completely bereft of teeth.
“Maybe I just felt like going for a walk, and seeing where it took me,” Blueblood replied curtly. “What difference does it make to you? I'll be gone soon enough.”
“Same difference it would make if someone wandered into your house, son. This here's my home, and I ain't sharing it.”
“Well, I have no intention of staying in some dirty old alleyway,” Blueblood said. This homeless pony was patronizing him, and it was infuriating. “I won't even be in this silly little town, as soon as I can find a way back to Equestria.”
“You're looking to get to Equestria?” the old pony asked. Blueblood sighed.
“Yes, I am,” he said. “Not that it's any of your business.”
“Well, if you're looking to get out of here you won't find it in any old alley,” the stallion said, shakily getting to his hooves. Blueblood resisted the urge to gag as pieces of refuse fell off the old pony. “You can probably work out a deal with some shippers, though.”
“Shippers?” Blueblood asked, peering carefully at the old pony. If there were any shippers taking their goods into Equestria, it certainly wouldn't be out of the question for them to take him along. They'd certainly oblige once they realized who he was – they would no doubt be rewarded handsomely. If this old pony knew about any of them, he was at least worth putting up with for a few minutes.
“I doubt you know where any shippers even are,” The prince said. The old stallion snorted.
“'Course I do,” he said. “They'll all be down by the docks in the middle of the town, getting stocked up for today's trip. If you hurry, you might be able to catch one of 'em before they leave.”
“What direction are the docks?” Blueblood asked urgently. He had no intention of spending a minute more in this country than he absolutely had to.
“Middle of town, just like I said. You earth-pony types don't listen too good, do you?”
“WHERE is the middle of town?” Blueblood asked impatiently. “And I am not an earth pony – I am a unicorn.”
“Huh, right,” The stallion wheezed, “And I got a boat to sell you. You just follow the roads, even a dope like you isn't going to miss it. The docks are a hub, and the streets are just spokes and wheels. Now can you get out of my alley?”
“With pleasure,” Blueblood sneered as he turned away from the dirty pony. “Enjoy your squalor.” He stormed out of the alleyway, glad to be away from the filthy pony. The way that he looked down on Blueblood – him! Some lowly homeless pony, looking down on a prince – infuriated the white stallion. He tried to shake it off, just another unpleasantness he had to deal with in this whole ordeal. He escaped from the area around the alley quickly, ensuring that the pony wouldn't follow him, and found a bench to sit on. His hoof was beginning to ache, and he felt exhausted, despite having woken up mere hours before.
Clearly, he thought to himself, cobblestone does not make a good bed. He slumped forward, to tired to hold himself upright on the bench, and looked around.
The entire town seemed to be shining. It didn't compare to Canterlot's alabaster buildings, of course, but the rough sandstone of the town at least made it feel very clean. If it hadn't been for the situation surrounding it, Blueblood might actually have been impressed. As it was though, it was just another reminder of how far away from the comforts of home he was. He straightened up, steeling himself for the coming conversation with the shippers and dock workers, and set off.
Blueblood hated to admit it, but the old pony in the ally had been right. The streets were very easy to navigate. He walked along a gently curving road for about a quarter of an hour before he came to a long, straight street. Further down the street he could see ponies packed together, bustling along. This, he assumed, must be the path to the docks. If it wasn't, he would at least be able to find somepony competent enough to give him proper directions among the crowd. He walked own the street proudly, despite the lack of onlookers, slowly making his way towards the docks. When he finally did arrive, he found his way blocked by a tightly packed crowd of unicorns. He cleared his throat, trying to draw one's attention, but nopony turned around. He tried again, louder. This time, a young stallion in the back turned around.
“What do you want?” he asked sourly. Blueblood turned his nose up, and spoke.
“Move aside. I need to find a shipper.”
“Yeah, you and everypony else here buddy,” the stallion said. “The shippers just got in, and they're unloading. You'll have to wait your turn like everypony else.”
“Oh no, I'm not here to buy. I need to find a shipper who will give me a ride to Equestria.”
The young unicorn turned around again, looking more carefully at Blueblood this time. “An earth pony, huh?” he said. “I guess that explains why you want to go to Equestria. Alright, try and listen a bit more carefully this time.” He began to speak louder and more slowly, saying, “The docks are packed. Nopony's getting anywhere near the shippers until the ponies in front move out. It doesn't matter what you're looking for. You got that, rocky?”
“Yes,” Blueblood said patiently, “I got that.” The unicorn turned around, and Blueblood made a rude face at him. It was hardly becoming of a prince, but Blueblood was in anything but a princely mood. He wanted to tell the unicorn who he was, who he had just finished insulting, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference. Nopony would believe that he was prince Blueblood, not without his horn. He sighed sadly, and sat down. The exhaustion was seeping through his bones. He wanted to just lie down, curl up and go to sleep. He forced himself to stay up, though. He forced himself to keep shuffling forward with the crowd, little by little making his way towards the shippers.
Just a little bit further, he kept telling himself, Just a little bit further. Just need to talk to the shippers. They'll understand. They'll take you home, and you'll be back where you belong. It won't matter to the servants if you've got your horn or not, you'll still be the same old Blueblood. He sighed again.
“Hey, keep it moving, stone-head!” a wheezing voice shouted from behind him.
“Sorry,” Blueblood muttered, shuffling forward. He looked back, and saw the old pony from the alleyway standing behind him.
“Oh, it's you,” the old stallion laughed. “So you managed to find your way here after all, huh?”
An intense heat flared in Blueblood's gut, filling him up and threatening to leap out his eyes at the filthy pony. He glared and stood straight and tall once more, turning his nose up.
“Of course,” he said haughtily. “And just what are you of all ponies doing here? I thought this was supposed to be a market – you know, for ponies who have the money to buy things?”
“Go stick a vegetable in it, colt,” the old pony said, “A stallion's gotta eat.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked, sneering, “I would have thought you somehow didn't need to eat. You certainly don't seem to feel the need to bathe.”
The old unicorn snorted, and tapped his hoof impatiently. “The day I take criticism from some empty-headed earth pony -”
“You aren't in the situation to be arguing criticism from ANYPONY,” Blueblood cut him off, “let alone me. But by all means, don't take my criticism. Just go back and eat some of that garbage in your alleyway – or did you need all that to sleep on?”
The dirt stallion snarled at Blueblood, but didn't make a move to fight. He turned around, flicking his tail impatiently.
“I don't feel like listening to some rock-head try to be clever,” he muttered, “I'll go find somewhere else to wait.” He trotted off with his head slung low, leaving Blueblood grinning smugly at the back of the queue. Or at least, he tried. The victory over the old stallion felt hollow. He was the prince of Equestria, after all. He shouldn't have felt the need to prove himself to anypony, let alone some old bum, and ordinarily he wouldn't have. But he had anyways. The thought of some dirty, grizzled old unicorn, living in a back alley of some two-pony town, thinking that he was better than Blueblood absolutely infuriated the prince. He turned his back on the homeless pony, as well as the empty feeling, and rejoined the queue silently.
***
Amethyst stirred gently in her bed. She stretched, groaning happily, and looked out her window. It looked like it was already mid-morning, to judge from the sun. She sighed.
The day before had been tiring, to say the least. The debates had gone on the whole day, and without Blueblood there she had needed to fight twice as hard to see Equestria represented fairly, Celestia never once lifting a hoof in her favour. Amethyst loved and respected her aunt immensely, but she would admit there were times the ancient goddess's devotion to her morals was just a bit irritating. The purple princess had fallen asleep almost as soon as the meeting had ended. She vaguely remembered her personal guard helping her back to her chambers, but nothing more.
“Oak?” she called out, sitting up in her bed. The door to her chambers creaked open, revealing a heavily built, red-brown pegasus. He smiled gently at her, and entered the room.
“Yes, m'lady?” he asked.
“What time is it?”
“It's about... ten o'clock, your highness,” the guard said. “I'm sorry it's so late. I hadn't wanted to wake you – you had a busy day yesterday, after all.”
“That's alright, Oak,” Amethyst assured him. “Auntie's giving us all some time to recover after yesterday. The meeting went on much longer than any of us were expecting, of course.”
“Of course,” Oak nodded. “How did the discussions go?”
“Well...” Amethyst sighed, “they could have been much worse. We've made an alliance with Errebia to the northwest, but they're very small country. I'm worried that our influence might be waning, Oak.”
“But, we're still the largest country in the region, aren't we, highness?” Oak asked, tilting his head. Amethyst smiled weakly at him. She loved it when he tilted his head like that. He looked so honest when he did it, so eager to listen.
“For now,” she told him, “But Aloa is growing dangerously. Their princess is betrothed to the prince of Mihaan, now. Those are two big countries, Oak. Neither of them like us very much.”
“You're worried about them gaining allies against us?”
“I'm worried about them trying to,” Amethyst said, shaking her head. “These conferences are supposed to unite our countries, but they're beginning to feel like an arms race. If this keeps up, we could be looking at war. That's the last thing we want.”
Oak put his head down, and took a few cautious steps toward his lady. “I'm sure it will work out fine,” he said encouragingly. “You'll find a way. I have faith in you, Amethyst – ah!” He blushed. “I-I mean, your highness.” Amethyst giggled.
“Oh, Oak. I've told you not to worry about that. Thank you for the vote of confidence.” She got out of her bed, stretching slowly and making a happy noise. Oak looked away as she trotted to the window, pulling the curtains more open.
“I don't want to think about politics today, Oak,” she said, “I just want to relax. You must be famished, why don't we go and get some breakfast?”
“As you wish, m'lady,” Oak said, bowing to her. Amethyst laughed, and shook her head at the humble pegasus.
“Well, I wish you would escort me down to the kitchens for a nice biscuit and a cup of tea,” she said. Oak lifted his head, and smiled at her. The pair trotted out into the halls, making for the kitchen. They were mostly silent, Amethyst trying her best to forget about the conference and take in the beautiful morning, but they occasionally broke into conversation. When they did reach the kitchen they didn't stop for long. Instead, Amethyst suggested that they take their breakfast out into the courtyard to enjoy. They spread a blanket, and lounged happily beneath Celestia's bright sun.
“Aaah,” Amethyst said, laying on the blanket, “this is exactly what I needed after yesterday. Isn't this nice, Oak? You never seem to relax, this must be wonderful for you.”
“It's... nice,” the guard said shyly. Amethyst had managed to convince him to take off his heavier armour while he sat with her, and he felt rather bare. Amethyst smiled slyly to herself.
“Hopefully tomorrow will be better at least,” she said, resting her chin on her hooves. “Blueblood will be in there with me for sure this time...” she sat up suddenly, looking at her guard. “That reminds me actually,” she said, “I meant to ask about him when I called you. Where on earth did that colt get off to yesterday? I know Auntie sent off some of your stallions to look for him, didn't she?”
Oak coughed awkwardly, and looked away from the purple princess. “Well... yes,” he said, “yes, she did.” Amethyst raised an eyebrow at this. Oak was always shy with her, but this was different. He had never been so deliberately coy with her before.
“Well?” she asked. “You must have found him. What was he up to?” She smiled suddenly, thinking that she might have an idea why Oak was being so shy. “I know for a fact he wasn't with princess Golden Dreams...”
“No,” Oak said slowly, “no, he wasn't. He, ah... I'm very sorry, your highness.”
“Sorry?” Amethyst repeated. She leaned in to Oak, suddenly very concerned. “Sorry for what?”
The guard closed his eyes in shame, looking away from his princess. “We searched the entire palace and surrounding area for him,” he said quietly. “We couldn't find him at all. Prince Blueblood is missing.”
***
Finally, the crowd around the docks had begun to disperse, allowing Blueblood in. The smell of salt and sweat hung over the air. Chatter buzzed through the whole region like flies, humming wherever the prince could wander. Ships bobbed alongside wooden docs stretching out of the shore, heavy-set workers loading and unloading crates and barrels. Ropes and pulleys hung everywhere, even away from the ships. The whole thing was an alien sight to the prince, fascinating and strangely inviting in it's novelty.
Blueblood trotted through the minimal crowd that remained, looking for a suitable pony to take him home. His search took him all across the sizable neighborhood until finally, nearly directly across the river from where he had begun, he saw a unicorn unloading crates marked with the royal seal of Equestria. He had clearly been there once, Blueblood thought, and he could go back. The prince could make it well worth his while.
“You there!” the white stallion called out. The boatpony looked up from his work, and trotted down the gangplank. As he got closer Blueblood could see that he was wearing the distinctive Aloan wrappings, marking him as a native.
“Well, blow me down,” the unicorn stallion laughed, “An earth pony in Aloa. What can I do for you, son?”
Blueblood ignored the comment about his race – he had long grown tired of correcting ponies who had no intention of listening to him. Instead he smiled, trying his best to be friendly – or at least, what he imagined to be friendly.
“Hello, ah... old stallion. I notice you've come from Equestria,” he said, gesturing to the crates still aboard the unicorn's boat, “I need you to go back.”
“Back?” the boatpony asked. He scratched his neck awkwardly, saying, “I don't know I can do that. I just got back from Equestria, see, and I was shipping deeper into Aloa. Gotta make it to the capital soon, before my cargo goes off. Carrying grain, see?”
“Oh believe me, that won't be an issue,” Blueblood told him, smiling smugly. “You'll be shipping something far more valuable than mere grains, and you'll be rewarded for it.”
“Oh?” the unicorn asked, suddenly quite interested. “So what do you need shipped that's so important then, huh?”
“The most important cargo you've ever shipped by far,” the prince said. He felt his pride returning, and his chest swelled as he told the shipper his cargo. “Me.” The shipper simply stared at him for a minute. He looked back and forth between Blueblood and his boat once or twice.
“You?” he asked finally. He seemed unconvinced. Blueblood frowned.
“Yes, me.” the prince said curtly.
“So what, you expecting me to believe you're rich, or something?”
“'Rich' does not do my position justice,” Blueblood told him. “I have access to more money than a pony like you will see in your entire life.”
“That so?” the boatpony asked. “You sure don't look it.” Blueblood sighed.
“Yes, I'm afraid I've been looking decidedly common as of late, but I assure you it's through no fault of my own. It's been a... tiring time, and I'd really just like to go home.”
“And home is Equestria, huh?” the boatpony nodded, “Well, that makes sense. Don't really see anything but unicorns 'round these parts.”
“So I've heard,” Blueblood said, “and seen.” The unicorn chuckled.
“So what brings you out west anyhow?”
“I don't think you'd understand,” Blueblood said. The prince still wasn't entirely sure that he understood. All he knew was that Aloa wanted him out of the way of the negotiations – for all he knew that could just be an excuse that Iron concocted to mess with his head. The guard had seemed to revel in hurting Blueblood, both physically and mentally. Even now Blueblood could almost feel the earth pony's cruel grin on him, still hear the lies echoing in his mind. They all hate you... any one of them would have done the same as me... the prince closed his eyes, and shuddered.
“You alright, son?” the sailor asked. Blueblood's eyes snapped open, and he immediately regained his composure.
“Yes, I'm fine,” he said quickly. “But it's... well, it's politics. You wouldn't be interested at all.”
“Politics affects me more than you'd think,” the unicorn said, “Try me.”
“I'd rather not,” Blueblood said. The unicorn gave him an unimpressed look.
“You know, son,” he said, “you're doing an awful fine job of dodging around all this. I'm having a hard time believing you've got any kind of money at all.”
“What?” Blueblood asked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, a little bit of proof would be nice. I'm not just going to risk my entire shipment rotting if there's nothing in it for me, now am I?”
“And you don't trust me?” the prince asked, offended.
“You don't seem to trust me,” The boatpony replied, “You won't tell me why you're here, all you'll tell me is you've got more money than you know what to do with, and I haven't seen a single silver of that.”
Blueblood frowned. Once again, he had no idea if he could trust this pony or not. He was clearly only concerned with filling his own purse. Still, Blueblood had no other choice. He looked around suspiciously, and leaned in.
“Very well,” he said, “I'll tell you who I am, so you know that I can repay you.” The sailor nodded, and leaned in as well. “I am Prince Blueblood,” the prince said conspiratorially. The sailor peered at him, and burst out laughing.
“Hah!” he laughed, wiping his eye. “That's a good one. Look colt, I can respect you not wanting me to know who you are, but I still need real proof – just a sack of bits, or anything.”
Blueblood scowled. He hadn't even thought that he might need to give an advance. He didn't have a single bit on him – Someone had taken all his money when he was unconscious. This was going to be much more difficult than he had first thought. He decided to try again.
“It wasn't a joke,” he said, putting on his best royal airs. “I am Prince Blueblood of Equestria, nephew of the sun goddess Celestia. Our coffers run deeper than the deepest ocean, and -”
“Look, colt,” the sailor said, his humour fading, “I may not be an Equestrian, but I've been to Equestria. I know about the royal family – they're unicorns. Have YOU even been to Equestria?”
“Of course I have!” Blueblood said, beginning to become frustrated. “I was born and raised there! I am who I say I am!”
“Well, you say your a unicorn. And I don't see no horn on that thick head of yours.” The boatpony seemed to be losing his temper as well, but Blueblood didn't notice. All he could think of was his own indignation, how much trouble he had been caused because nopony believed him. He WAS prince of Equestria. He WAS nobility.
“I AM a unicorn, you oaf,” he hissed.
“Unicorn my hoof!” the boatpony shouted back. “Where's your horn, huh unicorn? You ain't got one, because you ain't a unicorn!”
“Yes, I am!” Blueblood yelled again. The boatpony growled, and shook his head.
“Do you honestly think I'm buying any of this? I'd heard you earth ponies were supposed to be thick, but you're just crazy. Look, colt, I've got work to do. I'm not going to take you to Equestria – you can go find somepony else who might fall for your game, but I wouldn't count on it.”
“Oh, Shut up!” Blueblood shouted, his temper finally snapping, “Shut up, you giant, stupid... PEASANT! How would you know if I am who I say I am? You're just some filthy, salty sailor! Ponies like you wouldn't know class if it ran up and bit you! I shouldn't have to take your petty, stupid insults! I AM Prince Blueblood! I AM a unicorn! And I demand the respect I deserve!”
“The respect you deserve?” the unicorn asked, smirking. “Alright colt, fine. But remember, you asked for it!”
Blueblood felt an invisible hand take hold of his body, lifting him off the ground. He struggled in it's grip, shouting at the boatpony to let him go, but the sailor didn't comply. Some of his crew members had gathered around now, coming out from below decks to join the growing crowd that Blueblood's shouting match with the unicorn had attracted. Some of them leered and laughed at the struggling prince, some simply watched with a quiet smugness. It infuriated Blueblood. He struggled harder as the sailor bobbed him up and down in mid-air. He was turned upside down, spun around, and finally pitched over the water. He sailed through the air, plunging into the river for the second time in as many days.
He landed head down, the hard surface of the water knocking the sense from him. For a minute, the only thing he knew was the cold darkness of the water. He didn't understand which way was up. To him, there was no up, only an airless void. He thrashed madly, trying to find some way out of the endless water, until his hoof finally broke the surface. He managed to spin around, breaking the surface and gasping for breath.
The crowd was still laughing. Some younger ponies had already begun to mimic the show, repeating his words in taunting voices and throwing rocks into the river. Blueblood flung insult back, in between gasps for breath. He thrashed his hooves, trying to pull himself back to where he believed the shore was. His mane stuck in his eyes, plastered against his forehead by the water, and his coat was sopping wet, dragging him down. Eventually, he managed to reach a dock. A pair of unicorns helped him out of the river, but he shook them off, storming away from the docks. He fumed, stomping down the town's cobbled streets until he could no longer hear the laughter and jeers of the sailors, and sat down.
He was completely sopping wet. His mane clung to his face like glue, and the river water chilled him straight to the bone. He shivered, his teeth chattering, and muttered oaths at the town under his breath.
He cursed the ambassador for dragging him away from his home. He cursed the family on the river for bringing him to this stupid town. He cursed the sailor for humiliating him in front of everypony, and for putting him in his current state. He didn't know who else to curse, but he tried anyways. He lashed out mentally, cursing everypony he knew. He cursed all his servants, for not being good enough at their jobs. He cursed Princess Golden Dreams, for being the princess of this stupid country. He cursed his auntie for not rushing out to save him. He cursed whoever had built the carriage that brought him out here. He cursed the lockmaker who made him dig the lock out of the door and get splinters in his hoof. He cursed whoever made seaweed first. He cursed every sailor all over the world, and anypony who had even thought of shipping things. He cursed himself for even thinking that somepony might help him. He was alone in this country, and he was a fool for ever thinking otherwise. He put his head in his hoofs, closing his eyes and trying to imagine what it would be like when he finally made it back home.
He imagined all of the servants in the castle lined up in the foyer, all ecstatic to see him again. They had all been so worried about him. The castle just wasn't the same without the prince around.
He imagined his auntie wrapping her wings around him, telling him that he was going to be okay, and she could fix his horn, give him back his magic. Even Luna was there, and she spoke him too.
He imagined his mother holding him tight. She must be so worried about him. He missed her dearly. It broke his heart to think of how afraid for him she must be. He sniffed, blinking back tears. He told himself that it was just because of the cold. He couldn't afford to be weak now. He was all alone here – he would have to get back on his own. His mind started to work, concocting a plan. He could see the mountains of Equestria in the distance. They couldn't be too far away – a few days walk, maybe? He would need to take supplies with him. That would mean he'd need food, and saddlebags. If there was a shipping dock in this town, surely there must be a marketplace. Maybe he could barter for food. His planning was interrupted, however, by a voice.”
“...Hey there.”
Blueblood looked up, to see a young green stallion staring back for him. He was looking gently at the prince, concern clear in his eyes.
“Are you alright?” the stallion asked Blueblood. The prince wasn't sure how to respond. After what had happened at the docks, he was set never to trust another Aloan in his life. He wanted to tell the pony to buzz off, to leave him alone, but he didn't have the energy left. He just hung his head.
“I guess that's a no?” The pony said. Blueblood was silent. The green unicorn looked around awkwardly for a moment, then sat beside him. They were silent for a while.
“What do you want?” Blueblood asked suddenly.
“What?”
“What do you want? Do you want to laugh at me too?”
“No,” the unicorn said, “No, I-”
“Then what do you want? Maybe you've just never seen an earth pony before, and you wanted to see one up close, huh? Is that it?”
“I just wanted to see if you were okay!” the young stallion protested, “Really! Look, I... it wasn't right what those sailors did to you. I mean, even if you did insult them, they shouldn't have thrown you around like that. It's not like you could fight back.”
Blueblood grunted. He still wasn't sure what to think of this pony, but a little light of hope shone inside him. Maybe there was somepony here who would help him. If this stallion could help him out at all, Blueblood would love him forever. He would bring him and his whole family to the court, and have them knighted and rewarded. The unicorn smiled at him.
“Look,” he said, “You shouldn't be sitting out here, soaking wet. I'll take you back to my house, and you can dry off. You can even spend the night, if you don't have anywhere else to stay.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked carefully. The young stallion nodded.
“Really,” he said. He stood up, motioning Blueblood to follow. The prince did so, trailing gratefully after the green unicorn. They walked through the streets of Riverbank, weaving in and out of side roads and shortcuts through alleyways. Blueblood looked around at the scenery as they walked. He wasn't familiar with the town, of course. Nor was he familiar with slums – to him, this entire town was a slum, and degrees meant nothing. But still, he was beginning to grow concerned. The cobbled streets gave way, replaced by the same sandy dirt that carpeted the rest of Aloa. The stone of the houses became less clean, less ornate, becoming mere slabs of stone mortared together to form shelters.
“Is this... where you live?” Blueblood asked.
“Nearby,” the unicorn told him. He didn't seem to be nervous at all, so Blueblood decided to trust him. He knew he could hardly judge common towns, after all.
He had been wrong, of course.
The young stallion turned a corner, Blueblood following close behind. They had turned into a tight alleyway, blocked at one end. It was similar to the alley in which Blueblood had found the old bum, but this one was clear of garbage. It was far from clean, however. Flecks of black painted the walls, dried pools along the ground. The whole alley smelt fowl, and the high walls on all sides blocked out the light.
“Uh... I think we've taken a wrong turn,” Blueblood said. The young stallion shook his head.
“I didn't,” he said, “You did though. I'm sorry about this.”
“What?” Blueblood asked. His question was answered by a large unicorn who stepped into the alley, silhouetted against the light from the street. The green unicorn trotted up to him.
“Thirty percent,” he demanded.
“Fifteen,” the dark figure replied, not missing a beat. The green pony made an unhappy noise.
“Twenty-five?”
“You gonna help us get it from him?”
“...Twenty?”
“Yeah, fine. Just keep watch.”
The green unicorn nodded, and stepped out of the alley. Three more ponies took his place, blocking the entrance completely.
“Who are you?” Blueblood asked, taking a step backwards. “What do you want?”
“Doesn't matter who we are,” one of the ponies said. The group began to approach Blueblood slowly, spreading out as best as the tight alley would allow.
“We want your silvers,” another pony said.
“My... what?” Blueblood asked, “I haven't got any money. Somepony already robbed me!”
“Heh,” the leader said, “We don't hear that one often. But we hear it enough. We'll see if you've got any money or not, pretty colt.” The group moved further into the alley, pushing Blueblood back. The closer they came, the more the shadows shrunk away. As the leader came into view, Blueblood's heart froze solid.
There, standing at the front of the group, was an enormous steel-gray unicorn. His face was plastered with a wicked, cruel grin, and there was a manic sort of look in his eye. The look of a pony who's been in too many fights, and enjoyed them all too much. The other unicorns didn't matter. His horn was invisible to Blueblood. All he saw was...
“Iron,” he whimpered. The unicorn ignored him. The prince scrambled back through the alley, moving almost as fast backwards as he could forward, driven only by a pure, primal fear. His back thumped against the far wall, holding him still. The gray pony was coming for him faster now. He spun around, scrambling against the wall for some sort of hoofhold, something that would get him out of the alley and away from his horror. He found nothing. He heard a crunch behind him, and he turned – there was the pony, grinning wildly mere inches away from Blueblood's face. The prince flinched away, sinking into a corner.
“Please!” he shouted, squeezing his eyes shut, “Please, please don't hurt me Iron!”
“Give us your money,” the pony said. Blueblood's heart had begun to pound in his ears. He could hardly hear what the pony was saying. Laughter echoed in his mind.
“I haven't got any!” he wailed. “ But I can get you some! Lots! Auntie... I'll tell auntie! She'll give you all the bits you want Iron, if you just don't hurt me!”
He felt a hoof in his ribs. He sunk to the ground, clutching his gut. The next hoof hit him in the face.
“I'm sorry!” he cried, “Oh, Celestia, oh Luna, I'm so sorry Iron!”
The blows rained down, again and again. Blueblood screamed out for help, calling for his aunts, calling for his mother, calling for anypony who would listen. But help never came, only more strikes. The specter of Iron in his mind lay into him, laughing madly, screaming lies and insults. Blueblood lay on the ground, sobbing and screaming, consumed by his nightmare. He didn't even notice when the unicorns stopped beating him, and checked him for money. They said something about a ripoff, then walked away like nothing had ever happened, leaving the sobbing Blueblood in the alleyway.
|
Kegisak
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1052
| 4 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2012-05-01T06:18:03+00:00
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2012-05-01T06:18:03+00:00
| 5,155 |
Chapter 4: In Which a Stallion Dies
The day was beginning to wind to a close, the sun dipping low along the western horizon. In the east the moon had already begun to rise, its faded form cast in hues of pinks and oranges by the twilight. To most ponies this was merely an oddity; a quirk of the sun and moon's orbit, or a mistake on the part of the little goddess of Equestria. The servants of Canterlot palace, however, knew that this was no mistake. The early coming of the moon meant that Luna wanted to spend time with her sister. Most of them had retired to their quarters, or returned to their homes in the city. Nopony wanted to disturb the sisters.
The halls of the palace were silent, save for the heavy hooffalls of the one pony who did want to disturb the princesses, echoing through the halls. This pony had had a very busy, and very stressful day. It was a day that she was supposed to have spent relaxing, but instead she had spent it running around the palace, trying to wring information out of any guard who would speak to her. Those had been few, and she had become more and more bedraggled as the day went on. Now, her mane was disheveled. It had been tied hastily to keep it out of her eyes, but the tie was beginning to fail. Her eyes were completely still as she walked, dead-set on the large, ornate door at the end of the hall. They did not betray the panic and chaos that raged behind them.
“Auntie!” Amethyst cried, throwing open the door to Celestia's bedchamber. She stormed inside, marching up to the two surprised princesses.
“Amethyst,” Celestia said after a moment, “Good evening.”
“Ah, yes,” Luna said as well, shying away from her niece, “Good evening.”
“Yes,” Amethyst said, trying to calm herself, “Yes, I'm sorry. Good evening, Auntie Celestia... Auntie Luna.”
“I assume there is some reason you've decided to join us tonight?” Celestia asked. Luna peered over Amethyst's shoulder, commenting,
“No doubt it has something to do with why a trained guard can't seem to keep up with you.”
Amethyst glanced over her shoulder quickly, seeing an exhausted looking Oak standing just inside the door. She shook her head, and turned back to her aunts.
“Yes,” She said, “I... Auntie, where's Blueblood!?”
“Blueblood?” Luna asked, looking between her sister and niece, “What's happened to him?”
“That's what I want to know!” Amethyst cried again, “I try to have a relaxing day, and what's the first thing I hear? That my son has gone missing!”
Celestia peered curiously at Oak, who looked at the ground.
“I'm sorry, your majesty. I know you asked me not to tell, but I... I couldn't keep it from her. She deserved to know, your majesty.”
“Oh, and my own Auntie was trying to keep this from me now!?” Amethyst demanded. She tried to glare at her aunt, but she couldn't muster it. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. “Oh, Auntie, what's going on? Why won't anypony tell me anything? What's happened to my son, Auntie?” She threw herself onto the grand pillow on which the princesses sat, pressing her face into Celestia's neck. The goddess cooed to her niece, and wrapped a comforting wing around her.
“My sister and I were just reading a report from my student – you remember Twilight Sparkle, don't you?”
“Of course I do, Auntie,” Amethyst said quietly. She had met the unicorn once when she was a filly – but even if she had not, there's was no way she could have forgotten about her aunt's prized pupil, savior of Equestria twice-over. She didn't see what that had to do with anything, though. She knew that Celestia was old and wise – far older and wiser than she could even imagine, let alone hope to be – and she knew that she always had a reason for everything she did, but she still couldn't how obtuse her aunt could be. Especially in a situation like this.
“Why don't you sit, and listen to it with us?” Celestia asked softly. “It might help you to relax.”
“Oh, auntie,” Amethyst said, before her aunt shushed her.
“I insist,” Celestia said. She levitated a scroll and opened it, beginning to read aloud.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I'm not very proud of what I have to tell you today.
Everything seemed to be going wrong this week. Applejack's special batch of cider went bad in the tank, Rarity's fabrics had been torn up, and ponies all over town were running into problems – apparently, problems with some fillies. Of course, we turned to the most obvious suspects – Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They told us that they were innocent, but we refused to believe them – until we caught another pair of fillies red-hooved.
I learned an important lesson today. I learned that no matter how obvious something may seem, and no matter how clear the course of action appears, there is always more than one side to a story. I learned that you shouldn't jump to conclusions – especially when it comes to something important. You need to be patient, and find out what really happened. It may be very different from what you think, and jumping to conclusions can hurt a pony's feelings very badly.
Your Faithful (and repentant) Student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Celestia set the letter down, and smiled.
“There, you see?” she asked. “Don't you feel much calmer now? Twilight really has a way with words – I always love reading her letters at the end of a long day. They help me wind down. I always tell her she should try her hoof at fiction, but the dear prefers to read – I suppose it's just as well, she's already found her cutie mark.”
“Yes, she's very good,” Amethyst said impatiently, “But auntie, what does this have to do with Blueblood? What's happened to my son?” Celestia sighed.
“Oh Amethyst, I'm very sorry,” she said, nuzzling her niece gently. “We don't know what happened to him.”
“You don't know?” Amethyst choked out. He eyes had begun to water, but she blinked back the tears, refusing to allow herself to cry.
“No,” Celestia shook her head. “We know that Blueblood went missing two nights ago. He was seen leaving the opening ceremonies in the evening with Captain Iron, but he wasn't in the palace the next morning. Beyond that, we don't know what's happened to him.”
“Oh, my Blueblood,” Amethyst whispered. Her mind was moving a thousand miles a minute, trying to think of something – anything – that would point them to her son.
“The Princess!” she cried suddenly. The princesses peered at her oddly, and she explained, “Princess Golden Dreams. I heard one of the guards mention that she invited him to her chambers after the opening ceremonies. The Aloans must have done something to him!”
“Yes, we're looking into it,” Celestia told her, “But we don't know for sure yet -”
“Don't know for sure?” Amethyst cried, jumping up, “Auntie, what else could it have been!? You were there at the conference – Aloa is gathering allies against us! Auntie, they're preparing for war, and they've kidnapped Blueblood to use as a bargaining chip!”
“We don't know that for sure,” Celestia said, trying to calm her niece, “We're looking into it.”
“You don't need to look into it,” Amethyst shouted, tears springing to her eyes once more, “you need to go to Aloa and make them give my foal back!”
“Amethyst!” Celestia said sharply. The purple princess shrank like a filly who had been caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. Celestia's expression softened, and she wrapped her wing around her niece once more. “Oh Amethyst, weren't you listening to the letter? We mustn’t jump to conclusions – if we're wrong, the Aloans will take it as a deep insult, and the divide between us will grow even deeper. We need to investigate it further, so we know we aren't wrong.”
“I'm sorry,” Amethyst sighed, “You're right. But... oh Auntie, I'm just so worried. My little colt is somewhere out there... he's probably alone, and afraid... he's never been on his own before.”
“I know, sweetie,” Celestia said, “I know. We'll find him, don't you worry. We'll bring him back. You'll see.” She nuzzled her niece, pulling her close. Amethyst didn't resist, letting herself be pressed tightly against her auntie's warm body. She was warmer than any other pony could ever be, and she rocked Amethyst gently, humming a lullaby in her ear. Soon the purple princess's eyes drifted shut, and she fell asleep, wrapped in the goddess's wings.
Luna had been silent all the while her sister and niece had talked, looking on softly. It was hard for her to be around other ponies after 1000 years of solitude. Everything about them – all their feelings, all their little quirks and traits – they all seemed so surreal to her now, and so magnified. Emotions made her uncomfortable, because she couldn't remember how to react to them, or express them.
She and Blueblood rarely spoke – almost never, in fact. Something about the stallion got on her nerves. There was just that quality about him... she couldn't put her hoof on it. It was like, whenever he walked into a room he expected every head to turn. It was hard enough for her to navigate a conversation with a normal pony, to weave around all the little twists and spins that they put in a conversation to make it go their way without getting flustered. But he was a master of it – any time the conversation was going a way he didn't like he could just give it a little tweak, and it was right back where he wanted. If she could have put a word to the feeling, she might have said it frightened her. Now, however, she felt something very different. This was a feeling she remembered, a feeling that had kept her company for very, very long time. She put her head down, closing her eyes and looking away from her sister. She felt guilty.
***
Blueblood moved slowly through the streets of Riverbank. He wasn't sure just how long he had been laying in that alleyway, but it was late in the day now. The sky was beginning to show tinges of twilight, and the air was growing cool. The stallion shivered – and wondered just how much of that was the cold.
He was feeling better now. At least, he was feeling stable. He could think again. In the alleyway, fear had gripped his mind and refused to let go. It had steered his thoughts, tricking his eyes. He hadn't understood what had been happening, all he could see was Iron. Now he understood. He knew that it hadn't been Iron in the alley – it was just some unicorn. If it had been Iron, there's was no way he would have still been walking free. Part of him wanted to be mad – at the stallions for mugging him, at the pony for leading him into the trap, at himself for being foolish enough to fall for it – but he couldn't muster the energy. All he could feel was a deeply rooted shame. He had been an idiot to think that that pony really wanted to help him. Especially here – here, where everpony had magic except for him. If there was anypony here who didn't look down on him, it was because they considered him a novelty.
Huh, Blueblood thought wryly. Common ponies, looking down on a prince... because they think he's too common. He tried to find a sort of bitter humour in that – he knew it was there. But the feeling burnt out quickly, leaving only more shame.
That was what bothered him more than anything, was the shame. He felt ashamed because he had no magic. He felt ashamed because commoners were looking down on him. He felt shame because, time and again, he had looked like a fool in front of those same ponies. He had given them all reason to look down on him.
Even just now, laying on the ground in an alleyway, crying and screaming like a foal in front of those unicorns, all because of some specter. Some imaginary pony. He may as well have been screaming about the gluemaker, for all it mattered. He sighed, and sat in the middle of the road.
An all-consuming sort of exhaustion wore at his bones. He felt almost as if he had been hollowed out, like all that was left of him was a thin layer of skin and fur. If it hadn't been for his hoof, he might have believed that. It ached miserably. After two trips into the river the bandages had long since come off, and whatever Seagrass had rubbed into it had washed away. Still, he was almost glad of it. At least it was something real. Something palpable. Everything else about this experience was beginning to feel surreal, like it really was a nightmare after all. He just needed sleep, he told himself, that was all. Real sleep, in a real bed. Not in a gutter, or on the floor of a carriage. He peered into a small puddle on the ground before him – he certainly looked like he needed sleep. His eyes were red from tears, his face sunken. His coat had begun to turn gray again, bruises starting to show through, and his mane hung limply over his forehead. He turned his head back and forth out of habit; he wasn't inspecting himself at all. He knew he looked terrible, but he felt far, far worse. As he twisted his head once again, his mane fell away, revealing the place where his horn had once been.
He stared at it strangely. All that was left of it was a red wound. He wondered vaguely why it didn't hurt at all. It certainly looked like it should have – but he was hardly a doctor. He sighed again and brushed the mane back into place, covering the red spot. Then, he set out in search of a warm bed.
As the sun slipped below the horizon, he still hadn't found any sort of inn. He was beginning to think that this town didn't have one at all. Perhaps all the travelers in this country were like the ones he had met, they made their homes on their boats and didn't need an inn. Still, he pushed on, forcing himself to keep walking. Just down the street, just around this corner, maybe something would come his way. Surprisingly, given the nature of his journey, he was right.
He hadn't found an inn, but he had found something just as good. It was a marketplace. Most of the shops were closed up, of course, but many of them still had their awnings open. If nothing else, Blueblood at least wouldn't be rained on tonight. He would be able to get supplies tomorrow as well, to prepare for the trip back home. He would still be sleeping on the hard ground, but he was too exhausted to care at this point. Choosing cart with a large awning, he lay down beside it, groaning miserably. To his weary body, even the cobblestones felt like a fine mattress. He fidgeted once or twice, trying to get comfortable, and bumped the cart next to him. An apple that had been left out shifted from its place, dropping off and rolling in front of his nose. Blueblood stared at it like it would bite him.
Serendipity was being unusually kind to him this evening. Everything had gone wrong for him since he came to Aloa. He had been wounded, dumped in a river, humiliated, and generally dragged through the mud. But now he had found a near abandoned street, an uncovered cart full of apples, and one had just fallen in front of his face. He couldn't leave it there – it would spoil on the ground overnight. Surely whoever owned this shop wouldn't be happy to see food had been wasted. Surely he wouldn't miss one single apple. Blueblood reached out and took it awkwardly, fumbling with it in his hooves. He could smell it – it smelled sweet, and juicy. He hadn't had anything to eat all day, not since the seaweed. He was starving – his stomach begged for food. But even so, he wasn't sure he could eat the apple. It wasn't his – he had everything taken away from him, but did that make it right to take something away from another pony? Even if he was starving to death? He could always pay for it in the morning – he would throw in a bit extra for the shopkeeper when he bartered for supplies, to make up for it. He probably wouldn't even know the difference. He sat up, still staring at the apple. There wasn't a mark on its surface. It was perfect.
Well... Blueblood thought, I do need to get home... I'm royalty after all, my country needs me. That's worth a simple apple, isn't it? He gulped, and looked to the left and right. There was nopony around. A faint smiled crept into his lips as he raised the apple to his mouth, taking a bite.
It was magnificent. Even the sound of it, that hearty crunch, filled him with glee. A part of him in the back of his mind scoffed at the idea of relishing such common food, but he ignored it. He had been right about the apple – it was so juicy that it leaked, dribbling down his chin and across his hooves. It was sweeter than any candy he had ever tasted. It was perfect. This apple was the best apple in the world – and the worst.
“Hey, you!” a voice shouted. Blueblood swiveled his head left and right, looking for the voice, until an apple core struck him in the back of the head. He turned to see an extremely angry unicorn standing in the doorway of a building behind the cart.
“Just what do you think you're doing, huh?” the unicorn demanded, marching up to Blueblood. The white stallion looked at the half-eaten apple in his hoof, and the cart, and the furious pony bearing down on him. His mouth hung open.
“Is that my apple?” the unicorn demanded.
“I... I... um,” Blueblood stuttered. The unicorn pulled the apple away from him, inspecting it.
“It is my apple!” he said. “You thought you could just help yourself because I wasn't around, huh? You dirty thief!”
“No, that's not it!” Blueblood exclaimed. “I'm not a thief, honest! I just-”
“Then what was it?” the unicorn asked sternly. Blueblood withered under his glare, trying to come up with an excuse. He couldn't. He felt the unicorn's magic take hold of him, and he sighed. He knew was coming. Another swim in the river, no doubt.
Strangely, though, the pony brought him inside his house. He was placed on a stool, and the unicorn called for someone to help him. A mare came into the room, and the pair inspected him critically.
“I found this pony trying to steal our apples outside,” the unicorn stallion said. The mare looked him up and down, nodding.
“He sure does look the part,” she said. “Grubby, shaggy, looks like he hasn't eaten in a while. You eaten in a while, colt?”
“N-not much,” Blueblood said. He leaned away from their gazes, but the mare circled him.
“Hm. So you figured you could just help yourself, then?” she asked. Blueblood didn't answer. There was no point. She huffed at him, and walked towards the door. “Well, we know what to do with thieves here,” she said.
***
Being a guard in Riverbank was normally quite easy. The only issues that ever cropped up were at the docks or in the slums, and the ponies there always preferred to do things on their own anyways. Most of the time, work as a guard was restricted to filing paperwork, or detaining the occasional drunkard. There was never any work after dark, either.
Well. Almost never.
A severely less-than-please guard stood glowering at the white earth pony before him. It was a bit of a stretch to imagine that this pony had ever been white, though. He looked like he had been dragged through the mud, in more ways than one. It was clear that he was at least trying to stand up straight, but all he managed was a miserable slouch.
“So,” the guard said impatiently, “You've caught this pony stealing from your cart, have you?”
“Yes officer,” the merchant nodded, glaring at Blueblood again, “he was halfway through one of my apples when I caught him. Probably would have stolen more if I hadn't caught him.”
“I wouldn't have,” Blueblood insisted. “That one just fell in front of me. I didn't think you would miss it, and I was hungry, so-”
“So you stole it!” the merchant said sharply. The guard sighed. It was just one stupid apple – but the law was the law, after all.
“So you want to press charges?” he asked, “Over one apple?”
“...No,” the merchant admitted, “but I want him to pay for that bloody apple!”
“Well, colt?” the guard asked. “You heard him. Pay for the apple, and we can all go home happy.”
“I can't,” Blueblood sighed miserably. “I haven't got any money. I haven't even got a place to stay tonight! I was just trying to sleep under his awning so I wouldn't be rained on, and the apple fell in front of me! It was just one apple!”
“Oh, easy for you to say!” the merchant piped up again, “It wasn't your apple! How'd you like it if I stole something from you, huh?”
“Look, there has to be some way I can pay you back!” Blueblood insisted. The angry unicorn was beginning to get on his nerves. He wanted this unpleasant business to be over as much as anypony, so he could go and get some rest, but there was nothing he could do.
“You can pay me back by paying for the apple!” the merchant shouted. Blueblood was about to shout back when the guard stepped between the two.
“Enough!” he shouted. “The colt obviously isn't going to pay you. I'll take him back to the guard house, and we'll have him searched and interrogated. If he's got the money we'll send it back to you.”
“And if not?” the unicorn demanded. The guard sighed, and said,
“Then he'll be put in prison.” The merchant stared for a moment, and nodded, apparently satisfied with the outcome. Blueblood groaned internally as the guard's magic picked him up. He was carted out the door, where the guard set him down. For a moment Blueblood thought that the guard might be planning on letting him go, but he felt a tug around his neck.
“Come on colt, let's go,” the guard said, “Don't make this any harder than it has to be.”
“It's already harder than it has to be,” Blueblood moaned. “Please, can't you just let me go? It was just one apple, and I was starving. I haven't hardly had anything to eat for two days, and I woke up in a gutter this morning -”
“No, I can't just let you go,” the guard sighed. “The law's the law, colt. You stole, we gotta take you in for it. That's how it works.”
“But I haven't got the money to pay for it,” Blueblood told him, “that's why I had to steal it in the first place. I can't go to prison – I need to get home!”
“I thought you said you didn't have anywhere to sleep?” the guard asked. He was clearly only talking for the sake of having something to do, disinterest clear in his voice.
“I'm not from here,” Blueblood said, “I need to travel back home – it's important!”
“The law is more important than you, colt,” the guard sighed. Blueblood groaned again, in place of an objection.
“Look, it isn't so bad,” the guard sighed. “At least you won't have to sleep out on the street tonight.”
“What?”
“You won't have to sleep out in the street tonight. You'll be in a cell, but at least it's a bed, right? Better than a gutter.”
“You're going to give me a bed to sleep in?” Blueblood asked incredulously. The guard looked back at him strangely, like he had just asked how many hooves a pony has.
“Yeah,” the guard told him, “if you need one.” In spite of his exhaustion, Blueblood began to grin. It wasn't much to look forward to, but at least it was something. A real bed. He spent the rest of the trip in silence, keeping up as best he could with the guard, in spite of his sore hoof. The reached the guard house within a few minutes, whereupon he was led inside and sat down again, this time on a small seat in front of a desk. The guard sat behind the desk and took out several pieces of paper.
“What's this?” Blueblood asked, “Where's the bed?”
“Soon, colt, soon,” the guard told him, shuffling through the papers. “I need to ask you a few questions, first. Clear up this whole thing with the merchant.”
“Oh...” Blueblood said, his head sinking. He wasn't sure that he even had the energy to do that, but he tried to straighten back up. It didn't work.
“Now,” the guard began, “The merchant's report says he found you stealing one apple... is that right?”
“Yes, it is,” the white stallion answered.
“And he claims that you refused to pay for the product?”
“I didn't refuse,” Blueblood objected, “I can't. I was robbed earlier today – and once before that!” The guard slumped, and gave him a you-aren't-making-this-easier-for-either-of-us sort of look.
“You refused to pay for the apple?”
“Yes,” Blueblood sighed, giving up.
“So. Are you going to pay for the apple now?”
“I can't pay for the apple,” Blueblood repeated. The guard nodded, and scribbled something onto his papers.
“Would you mind if we searched you?”
“What?” Blueblood asked, leaning back. His hooves instinctively went up, covering himself. Even if he had been raised to be used to servants helping him clean, there were just some things a gentlecolt did NOT let others do. Searching sounded like it was one of those things.
“We'll just give a pat-down, see if you're hiding any silver. It's nothing invasive.” The guard looked at him gently. Blueblood nodded slowly, and got to his hooves. The guard circled around the desk and gently prodded the stallion, searching through his mane for any hidden purses. He paused when he saw the great red mark on his forehead.
“Eesh,” the guard commented, “What happened to you?”
“I...” Blueblood said weakly. Part of him wanted to tell this guard what had happened to him, who he was, and why he needed to get back home so badly. The guard seemed nice – maybe he would believe Blueblood. But, the white stallion knew it was a bad idea. If the ambassador wanted him gone, he likely wasn't too popular in Aloa. Even if the guard actually believed him, he could kiss his chances of ever seeing home again goodbye.
“I got in a fight,” Blueblood lied, “I don't really want to talk about it.”
“If you insist,” the guard shrugged. “So, you haven't got any silver on you. That means you can't pay.”
“That's right,” Blueblood said, “But I can still pay it off. I could trade something for it, or work it off...” he looked entreatingly at the guard, who shook his head.
“It doesn't work that way, colt. Silvers or nothing.”
“Then...”
“Prison.”
Blueblood moaned, laying his head on the desk. “For how long?” he asked.
“A few months, maybe?” The guard said. “It's not a severe crime. But really, it depends on what sort of a mood the Duke is in when he sentences you. It's not like we can just get you off on a fine.” Blueblood groaned again.
“Fine... can I just go to sleep now?” he asked. Maybe in the morning he would be able to come up with something approaching a plan. The guard just shook his head.
“We're almost done here, don't worry. I just need to see your citizenship, so I can get everything mailed off tomorrow.”
“My what?” Blueblood asked weakly, looking up at the guard, who frowned at him.
“Your citizenship. You know – name, cutie mark, this thing?” his horn lit up, and the medallion that bound his wrappings floated off in front of the prince. On the back of it was inscribed the guard's name, a date that Blueblood assumed to be his birth date, and a small copy of his cutie mark.
“I... don't have one of those,” Blueblood told him. The guard sighed.
“Well, just give me your name, date of birth and cutie mark. We'll get you from the records.
“No, you don't understand,” Blueblood said. “I told you, I'm not from here. I'm not Aloan.” The guard raised an eyebrow at this.
“You aren't a citizen?”
“No... I'm Equestrian.”
The guard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well,” he said, “If you aren't a citizen there's nothing we can do.”
“Nothing you can do?” Blueblood asked eagerly. The guard stared at him again. It was clear he did not have high opinions of Blueblood's intelligence.
“No, nothing we can do. Foreigners aren't treated with the same laws. We can't send you to prison, we just eject you from the populace.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked, suddenly as ecstatic as his exhaustion would allow, “You mean you're going to kick me out of the country!?”
“Close enough,” the guard said, shrugging.
“That's fantastic!” Blueblood exclaimed. If he had an ounce of energy left, he would have jumped up and clapped his hooves together. As it was though, he simply gave the guard a very tired, but very earnest smile. “Do you need anything else?” the prince asked. The guard shook his head.
“Naw,” he told Blueblood, “there's no point now. You just get some sleep, colt. You'll need it. The next few days aren't going to be very kind to you.”
“Trust me,” Blueblood chuckled, “Compared to what I've been through, anything will be an improvement.”
The guard shrugged, and got up from his desk. He lead the prince to a wing in the back of the guardhouse that was comprised of several cells packed tightly together. Each cell contained a small sink and toilet on one side, and a cot big enough for a single pony on the other. The guard ushered Blueblood into a cell across the room from the door, closing and locking the cell door behind him. Blueblood wished the guard a goodnight and flopped happily onto the cot as he doused the lights. He sighed, snuggling into the hard, lumpy mattress. For a moment, his mind was consumed in a war between exhaustion and excitement. He was finally going home! It was amazing how just a few short days had seemed to stretch out into an eternity for him, but the nightmare was finally over. He began thinking of all the things that he would do when he got home – hug his mother and aunt, greet his servants, and then have them help him to relax. A nice hot bath, perhaps, and a proper pedicure to fix his hooves. A trim for his mane, as well. He would also ask a pegasus to try and find that merchant again, so Blueblood could repay him for the apple. That could wait, though. The bits weren't going anywhere.
It seemed as though his excitement had the upper hand in the battle, but exhaustion had been there longer, and it was a crafty foe. It overcame the excitement quickly, and Blueblood drifted to sleep. It was the best sleep he had had in a long while, completely devoid of dreams or stirring. It was the sleep of the dead; more than that, it was the sleep of an inanimate object. He was so still that when he re-awoke, he was stiff for lack of movement. Among other things.
Despite his peaceful slumber, his awakening was anything but. He was completely unable to move – his body felt like it was made of stone and steel. In his half-awake state he imagined that he could feel every tiny piece of air brushing across his skin. The place where his horn had been felt tight, and tingled strangely. It was almost pleasant, in stark contrast to the rest of the experience. Every fiber of the mattress gouged into him, every sound was a drum in his ears. Light pierced through his eyelids, blinding him and filling his mind with white. He was, for a brief instant, acutely aware of everything in the cell room. Soon though, the feeling subsided, to be replaced with a pleasant tiredness. The sort of tiredness that comes from sleeping too long, rather than from not sleeping enough. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Waking to that... feeling, was strange, but he was getting used to it at least. So, despite the harsh wake-up, he was in a good mood.
Now that the world was once again tolerable, he could make out sounds coming from the main room of the guard house. He tried to open the barred door to his cell to go and see who was talking, but it was locked tight. Frowning, he decided to call out to the guard.
“Hello!” he shouted. “Guard! Can you hear me out there?” The sounds from outside paused, and the door across from him opened up. The guard from the previous night entered, standing aside for two stallions.
The two stallions stood in the doorway for a moment, the light of the main room haloing around them. The first pony was a small, lithe beige unicorn. His mane was a dark shade of blue, sweeping handsomely across his face and down his neck. About his neck and shoulders he wore heavy wrappings of a deep, rich blue, similar to his mane. He moved constantly, bobbing to the left and right, showing Blueblood his cutie mark – a silver coin on a tongue. As he moved closer Blueblood could see that he was not actually that small – he was perhaps only a few inches shorter than Blueblood – but he was dwarfed by the pony who was with him: an enourmous, deep purple unicorn with jet black hair. He too wore wrappings, but his were creme-coloured and much more extensive, covering his flanks as well.
“This is the one you told us about?” the first pony asked. His voice was almost surprisingly smooth, and had a rich quality to it. The guard nodded.
“Aye,” he said. “Took him in for robbery last night.” The blue-maned unicorn nodded, moving back and forth in front of the cage.
“Get him out of there,” he said finally, “I'll need to have a better look at him.” The guard nodded, and unlocked Blueblood's cell, opening the door. The purple unicorn moved into the doorway to the main room silently, completely blocking it off. Blueblood stepped out of the cell, eyeing the beige unicorn carefully. For his part the beige unicorn ignored this, instead circling around him. His head bobbed up and down, and he occasionally made small grunting noises. He reached out and prodded Blueblood's side.
“Excuse me?” the prince said indignantly, jerking away. The unicorn smiled at him gently, and explained himself.
“I'm just doing a basic inspection,” he said, “You know, see how strong you are, getting a decent look. I'm not going to bite, you know. You don't need to worry about little old me.”
“Well...” Blueblood said, glancing suspiciously at the unicorn. The beige pony simply smiled back at him. Somehow, in spite of all that had happened because of trusting the ponies of this country, Blueblood relaxed. “Alright,” he said, “inspect away.” He straightened up, lifting his head proudly for the unicorn.
“Now, that's what I like to see!” the unicorn commented, “Nice and confidant.” He moved closer to Blueblood, prodding him gently in the sides and legs. Blueblood flexed for him as he prodded, and the unicorn smiled. He inspected Blueblood's face and mouth, before moving onto his hooves. He tapped each one gently without incident until he came to the injured hoof – Blueblood flinched away before he could even touch it.”
“Well, that's no good,” the unicorn tutted. “What's the matter with it?”
“I... hurt it,” Blueblood said, “a couple of days ago. It's still sore.”
“We'll have to get the doc to take a look at it,” the large unicorn commented from the doorway.
“My thoughts exactly,” the little one nodded, “We can't have him going lame.”
“Thank you,” Blueblood said happily. Finally, ponies were starting to treat him properly. Perhaps the guard had looked him up while he slept, and realized who he was. He decided to ask. “This seems like a lot of trouble to go to for escorting somepony out of the country, though.”
“Out of the country?” the beige unicorn asked. He looked to his partner, who scratched his chin.
“Well,” he said, “Mihaan has good sales lately, but they're a long ways away. El'bia has decent trade, but the country isn't exactly rich... We'd turn a better profit on him on the peninsula. He looks like he'd be good for a noble.”
“What?” Blueblood asked, confused. “I thought you were escorting me back to Equestria?”
“Equestria?” the beige pony laughed. “No way, they've got no trade! No, colt, you are now in the service of the happy hooves trading company!”
“The happy... hooves... trading company.” Blueblood said slowly. He recalled vague stories of ponies being press-ganged, but he had always assumed they were myths. Is that what was happening to him here?
“That's right,” the beige pony said cheerfully, “We'll take you upriver and on to the peninsula, find a nice big city full of rich ponies, and set you up on auction!”
“Wait...” Blueblood said again. Slowly, the pieces fell into place in his mind, and he realized what was happening. “What!?” he cried, leaping away from the unicorn. “You're going to SELL me? To who? Why?” His head whipped around frantically, and snapped to the guard. “You!” he cried. “You told me you were just going to kick me out of Aloa!”
“I told you you were getting ejected from the populace,” the guard said ambivalently, “You just assumed.”
“Why... you... I... how can you do this?” the prince asked, backing away from the ponies before him, “I'm a pony, just like you! You can't just sell me like, like I was some apple!” His heart was pounding in his chest, but none of the unicorns appeared to care much. The beige unicorn approached him again, still smiling happily.
“Oh, now don't be that way son. That's just the way things work. It's the law -”
“But you said I was immune to your laws! I'm not a citizen!”
“Most of our laws don't apply to you,” the guard corrected, “but we have special laws. If a foreigner commits a crime, they work of their debt to the country. Trust me colt, private service is a lot better than public. At least you won't be working down in a mine somewhere.”
Blueblood's eyes darted madly. He had been so close! He had almost made it home, and now this? He needed to escape. He wouldn't be locked away again, tossed in the back of another carriage to be carted off to who knows were for who knows how long. He needed to get out of there and get home, but how? There were no windows in the room, and the giant unicorn blocked the only exit. Blueblood thought that he might be able to surprise him, get the drop on all of them. He allowed himself to be backed into a corner by the beige unicorn. The unicorn came closer still, offering him a friendly hoof, and Blueblood lashed out. His head struck the unicorn under his jaw, stunning him. Blueblood's ears rang from the impact, but he ignored it, dashing for the door instead. The guard started, leaping out of Blueblood's path, but the giant pony held firm. His horn lit up and Blueblood felt his hooves give out from underneath him. He crumpled in mid-stride, a tangled mass of legs and pony, and skidded to a stop still feet away from the door. The giant just shook his head.
“Now, there's no need for that,” the beige unicorn said as he picked himself up. His smile had dimmed a little, but it was still present. “Running isn't going to do anything for you now – we've got the cart parked out front anyhow. You'd just have been running into more of us, and not all of our ponies are as gentle as big ol' Crown here.” He patted his partner's shoulder gently, and leaned down in front of Blueblood. “There's nothing you can do now, son. You broke the law, this's the punishment. Just think of it like prison – 'cept if you do a good job, nopony's gonna try to beat you, right? So it's better than prison!”
“But I shouldn't have to go to prison in the first place!” Blueblood objected. “I was just a stupid apple! Look, please, there has to be some way we can work this out!” He lay his head down on the ground, and shut his eyes. “I just wanted to go home,” he said sadly. The unicorn shook his head, and sighed.
“Then you shouldn't have nicked the apple. I hope you know, colt, it isn't personal.”
Blueblood looked up at the unicorn. He was still smiling, like that was supposed to make him feel better that he was about to be treated like a commodity. It wasn't personal – was that supposed to make it easier? He scowled at the beige pony, who seemed to ignore him.
“Help him into the cart, Crown,” the beige pony said. The giant called Crown nodded and picked Blueblood up, placing him on his wide back. Whatever he had done to Blueblood, it has stopped his legs from working. They all moved into the main room, and the beige pony took a sackful of silver out of his wrappings, giving it to the guard.
“All of it?” the guard asked, surprised.
“Yup,” the unicorn nodded. “He's a good one. Young, strong, good-looking – and an earth pony! That'll look exotic, good for a price spike.”
Blueblood seethed on Crown's back. He had gotten sick of that – calling him an earth pony. Treating it like it was some sort of novelty. “I'm not an earth pony,” he growled at the unicorns. The beige one looked at him in surprise. He trotted over, and took hold of Blueblood's head.
“Hmm...” he said, turning it left and right. He brushed away the mane and rubbed Blueblood's forehead, raising his eyebrows in shock. “Well, blow me down,” he said, “You're right!”
“What?” Blueblood asked. He hadn't expected anypony to believe him.
“Yeah – crown, have a look at this! There's a hard patch on his head, right where a horn should be!”
Crown set him down and did the same as his partner, rubbing Blueblood's forehead. “Well I'll be,” he said, “Look at that. You can't hardly see it at all. If he hadn't told us, we never would have known.”
“What?” Blueblood asked again, “But... the wound! There was one there just yesterday!”
“That doesn't surprise me,” Crown said, “I've seen a few de-horned unicorns before. The wound always heals unnaturally fast. Probably something about the leftover magic, who can say? They always heal right up in a day or two.”
“Boy, somepony must have really not liked you,” the beige unicorn commented. Blueblood scowled at him, but he was speaking with his partner.
“So what do we do with him?” he asked. “Can we still sell him as an earth pony?”
“Well, he won't be as strong,” Crown replied, “but they probably won't know the difference.”
“Aye, but what if they find us out? We could get it for false advertisement...”
“Nopony will know – what, they're gonna believe him? Anyways, even if they do we can always just give them a refund. No big deal, he'll sell for enough for being big.”
The beige pony contemplated this for a while, then nodded. “You're right,” he said, “earth pony it is!”
“Fantastic,” Blueblood growled, “So it'll be official now, then? Everypony's been calling me that since I got here, may as well be.”
“Looks like it, son,” the beige pony said as Crown picked Blueblood up once again, “I'd get used to it if I were you. Or, hey, get it out of your system. Either way, owners don't tend to like their slaves correcting them, so I wouldn't go around advertising your, ah, condition.” Blueblood just growled in response.
The two unicorns carried him outside, where a large wagon was waiting for them. He was dumped unceremoniously in the back, and the door was shut. He lay there on the straw-matted ground for what seemed like ages, consumed in thoughts of his indignation. Anger flared up within him, accompanied by that same hollow exhaustion he had felt yesterday. Eventually feeling returned to his legs, and he could stand and move again. When he did, he noticed for the first time that there were other ponies in there with him. Many of them ignored him, staring sadly at the floor. A few looked at him sympathetically. Most of them just looked... gray. Like sadness had literally washed over them, dulling their coats and sagging their heads. For a moment, Blueblood felt afraid. Would he end up like these ponies? Just some sad shell being carted off from sale to sale? Would it even go that far? Maybe he would just get sold to one owner, and be stuck there for his entire life, serving under some rich unicorn. How would they treat him? Surely they wouldn't respect him – they would treat him like a servant, or worse. He began to pace nervously, moving to the windows at the sides of the wagon. He peered out, and noticed that they were passing through a crowd.
Dozens of ponies flowed around the wagon like water, paying it no heed. Did they even know what it was for? What was happening to the ponies inside it? They were simply commoners, Blueblood thought. Surely they couldn't know what went on. Then Blueblood had an idea. If they didn't know what had happened to him, then he would tell them. It would never stand – he was a pony, flesh and blood just like them. They would never let another pony be bought and sold like this.
“HEEEY!” he shouted out the window, “HEEEEEEEEY! HELP ME! These ponies kidnapped me, and they're trying to sell me as a slave! Help! Go get somepony!” he paused for breath, but nopony seemed to be paying attention. He tried again, harder. “Please!” he cried, “I need your help! They're going to sell me to somepony! Please, You have to help me! I'm a pony just like you, you can't let them do this to me! Please, please help...”
Out in the crowd, a mare looked at the wagon. Blueblood's heart leaped – somepony had heard him!
“Yes!” he cried out, “Yes, yes, please help! Go and find somepony who can help me! There are other ponies in here to!” But the mare simply frowned at him, and looked away. Blueblood's mouth fell open. “Hey...” he said, “Hey, hey! Wait, come back! Please, don't just leave me in here!”
“Oh, sit down you stupid colt, nopony's going to help us.” The voice was familiar. Blueblood turned to see the old pony from the alleyway. For a moment, Blueblood wanted to ask what he was doing there, but he didn't want to give him anymore ammunition. He knew what was coming.
“So, they got you too, huh?” the pony laughed. “Shoulda' figured. What'd you do, piss off the wrong pony? Or maybe you harassed those sailors at the docks, huh? Or were you just so stupid they picked you up so you wouldn't hurt yourself?” He gave a wheezing laugh, and Blueblood slid down the wall, taking a seat.
“Why do I keep running into you,” he asked nopony in particular. “What do you want?”
“Well, I don't know. Misery loves company, doesn't it? Maybe it's just nice to see you brought down to your proper place.”
Blueblood snorted. “My proper place. What, beside you? This isn't my proper place, you old goat. My proper place is in the palace in Canterlot, beside my mother and aunt. Not here in some... dank old wagon with a smell old pony.”
“Well, if that's your proper place why ain't you there, huh?” the old pony asked pointedly, “How come you're in here with a dirty old pony like me?”
“Haven't we done this before?” Blueblood asked disdainfully, “I don't feel like doing this again. You obviously don't care to listen.”
“Huh, listen to some rock-headed earth pony? What would you even have to say, huh?” the old pony laughed again. “No wait, let me guess, let me guess. You'd say, 'I'm not an earth pony, I'm a unicorn!'”
“Well, at least you can learn,” Blueblood said. He tried his best to stay angry at the pony, but the exhaustion was creeping over him again. He fought it down, trying to become indignant, if only for the sake of having something to do. Not that the old pony made it very hard.
“Looks like you don't, though,” the old pony wheezed. “Still trying to feed everypony that same stupid story. You really believe it, don;t you? It'd be sad, if it weren't so damn funny.”
“Like you know what's funny,” Blueblood said, “Have you looked in a mirror lately – now there's something funny, the look of you. I don't suppose you would have though, not many ponies throw away mirrors.”
“If you're so high and mighty, how come you don't have any better jokes, smart colt?” the ancient stallion taunted. Blueblood fumed, and barked at him.
“I shouldn't have to – you aren't worth the effort! You don;t just sleep in trash, you ARE trash! You deserve to be in here, at least!”
“Maybe I do,” the pony shouted back, “At least I've got a reason! What's mr. high-and-mighty's reason, huh? I bet it ain't so fancy, I bet you done got caught stealing something!” Blueblood glowered at the old pony, who burst out laughing, knowing he had hit his mark.
“Haw, you did! You got caught stealing, cause you ain't got no money! How can you be classy if you ain't got no money, huh? If there's one thing I know, it's you ain't worth nothing on your own, colt! You gotta have money to be fancy. You ain't got that, and you're just some old bum like me. So where's your money? Where's your fancy fortunes? You're just some common trash like me! You deserve to be in here just as much as I do, what do you think about that?”
“YOU SHUT UP!” Blueblood screamed, leaping to his hooves, “You shut up, you stupid old bum! I'm not like you! I'm NOTHING like you! I don't sleep on piles of garbage, I don't beg for scraps, and I don't taunt my betters! I've never done anything so degrading in my entire LIFE until I came to this pit of a country! I AM ROYALTY!”
Tears rimmed his eyes. Some part of him wanted to stop shouting, to stop fighting. Some part of him didn't believe in what he was saying any more than the old pony did. Perhaps some part of him really believed that he was some common pony who had gone mad, and his whole life was just his imaginings. Or maybe some part of him thought that he did belong in here. But he couldn't stop fighting. He couldn't stop fighting that little part of him, and he couldn't stop fighting the pony before him. He needed to fight, he knew that. If he ever dreamed of seeing his home again, he needed to fight. He shook his head, and yelled again.
“I am Prince Blueblood of Equestria! Go ahead and laugh, I know none of you believe me! I don't care! I know who I am, why should I care about your damned opinions? The opinions of slaves, of beggars and commoners? What do they mean to me? I'm better than any of you will ever be! Before I got dragged out here... before I got dragged out here, I was everything that any of you ever aspired to be! I was better! I was a prince! The nephew of a goddess! And now here I am, off to be sold... all because stupid, selfish ponies like YOU can't handle the fact that I was better than you! Well, I was wrong. Some ponies deserve to be slaves – all of you! I've done NOTHING to deserve ANY of this!”
“Don't you dare say that,” Another voice piped up. Blueblood looked to the source of the voice. It was young mare – scrawny, all knees and elbows. She looked like she had barely gotten her cutie mark a few years ago, but more than anything her most vivid feature was her eyes. They were filled to the brim with raw, seething hatred.
“Don't you dare tell me I deserve this,” she yelled at him. For a moment he was speechless, taken aback by this little pony. “Don't you dare tell me you've done nothing to deserve this. You know what? I believe you! I believe that you're prince Blueblood, and you know what? I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! How many of you do you think I've ever served under? I was BORN a slave! Do you think I deserved that? You think I deserved to be raised on rags and scraps, under pissheads like you? You think I deserved anything I got? I've known nobelponies before, and you know what? I believe you're one of them. Because you're just like them. You're a spoiled, selfish brat!”
“That's... that's not true!” Blueblood objected, but the little pony kept on screaming.
“You shut the fuck up! Do you know how long I've wanted the chance to tell one of you this? You aren't as great as you think you are! You aren't some gift from the goddesses to ponykind, you're all just foals with power! Every single one of you! You're all completely self centered! Here you are, whining about how your going to get sold off, well you know what? You'll be fine! You'll get sold to some pony who's just as evil as you are, and you'll get along famously!”
“N-no,” Blueblood said quietly. The ferocity of the little pony stunned him. It completely quelled the anger he had worked so hard to build, leaving only that hollowness. Only now it found a strange, cold companion. “No,” he said again, “I'm not... I was never that bad. I never had any slaves -”
“Oh sure, not in name maybe. But you had servants, didn't you? Well, we had servants too, and you know what? They were treated just the same as I was! You treated your servants like damned slaves, and they just bent over backwards and took it! I'll bet you didn't even notice half the shit they had to put up with from you, did you? All the crap you demanded on a daily basis! Do you have any idea how much they hated you? Well!? Do you!?”
“No,” Blueblood said, shaking his head, “No, that isn't true!” his mind returned to Iron's words – they echoed in his mind even as the filly lay into him.
“Yes it is, don't you lie! You know it, don't you? You know how miserable you were to them. Well guess what, Blueblood? You're one of them now! So don't you dare stand there, yelling at us like you're some kind of saint. Don't you dare talk to me like you're better than me. You aren't any better than anypony is this wagon, not any more. As far as their concerned, we're all the same – just another slave to buy and sell. But you know what? I know the truth, and so do you. You aren't better than me, or any other slave. You never were. You're WORSE. You're an arrogant, self-centered, spoiled, selfish, stupid pony. You're a waste – a waste of a perfectly good pony. Somepony else could have been born instead of you, somepony worthwhile, but they weren't. You were instead. Congratulations.”
“No,” Blueblood said, “no, no, no, non, no, no!” He lay on the ground, covering his ears and scrambling away from the screaming filly. He curled into a tiny ball, covering his head and crying out, “No, no, no, no, no! That isn't true! None of it is true! They didn't hate me... Iron was just insane! It wasn't my fault! I said I was sorry, but he didn't listen! He wasn't mad at me, he was just insane! He was a psychopath, that's why he did it! He just wanted to hurt somepony! The ambassador didn't hate me, he just had plans! Auntie didn't hate me, that isn't why she never talked to me, she was just shy! They didn't hate me! Nopony hated me!” Tears ran down his face, and he sobbed. The filly had stopped screaming at him, but he didn't care. He hadn't been listening anyways. He had sunk into his own mind, flashes of memories dancing around him, taunting him. He remembered Iron's irate tone, the tone he always used when Blueblood was around. He remembered the chambermaid's stunned expression when he had tried to compliment her. He remembered all his servants exasperated expressions when he had asked things of them. But surely they hadn't hated him? He had never given them cause to... had he? Had he truly been so horrible? He never wanted to be... but did that mean it was natural? He was a terrible pony without even realizing it?
“No,” he cried again, sobbing, “No, that can't be it! I'm not a bad pony... I'm not, I swear... I swear... oh...” He broke into unintelligible sobs, unable to form words around his screaming. But in his mind, he could still lash out. He cursed the ambassador, for taking him away from his comfortable illusion. He cursed the family on the boat for giving him a chance to be miserable to them. He cursed the old pony for not getting through to him sooner. He cursed the sailor and the muggers for beating him, and he cursed them for not beating him hard enough to kill him, and spare him from this. He cursed everypony. He cursed his servants for listening to him. He cursed his aunt for fooling him into believing that he was important enough to get away with what he had done. He cursed everypony who had ever talked to him, and not told him what he was doing. He cursed himself, for being miserable. For being selfish, and stupid, and cruel. He cursed himself for ever denying what he was, for ever fighting it. Still sobbing, he leaned against the wall. The filly was right. He was never going to make it home. This was his home now, and he deserved it. He cursed himself, and he cried.
Then, he gave up.
|
Kegisak
|
1052
| 5 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-26T05:30:34+00:00
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2011-10-26T05:30:34+00:00
| 5,076 |
Chapter 5: In Which an Exchange is Made
“...Anything?”
“Nothing. Nopony's seen anypony but unicorns. You?”
The brown-furred guard shook his head. His partner grimaced. The two had spent half the day talking to ponies in the market, asking about a white “earth pony”, but to no avail. Now it was the middle of the night, and they couldn't put it off any longer. They were going to have to tell Iron.
Of course, they only HAD to tell Ambassador Letter. It was he that they answered to, after all. It was rare to see the ambassador without the surly gray pony nearby these days, though, and he seemed almost to control the crimson unicorn. There was no way they would be able to speak to Ambassador Letter alone unless they were very, very lucky – and right now, neither of them felt very lucky.
They moved slowly through the streets of Dune. It was one of the few inland cities this close to the coast, and it lived up to its name. The cobblestone streets were coated with a fine layer of white sand, piling up against buildings and sliding across the streets. The guards hated coming out this far east. The east was for ponies as arid as the climate. Most of the ponies that Ambassador Letter had dragged out here agreed, they much preferred the peninsula. Amongst themselves, at least. None of them dared complain in front of Iron.
The earth pony was growing more unstable every day. He screamed, he shouted, he broke things – often with only the slightest provocation. One guard swore that he'd seen Iron start howling with absolutely no provocation at all. If he was trying to frighten the guards into obedience, it was certainly working - every last one of them was petrified of the pony. Of course, the most frightening prospect was that Iron wasn't trying to frighten them at all, but was simply insane. The guards considered this possibility as they stood in front of the ambassador's door. One of the guards, a wiry yellow stallion, gulped.
“Maybe,” he said slowly, “maybe we can do another pass? Somepony might have found something out while we were searching elsewhere?”
“That's a good point,” his partner commented, nodding. “It's a fair-sized town... he could have easily slipped past us before.” The two exchanged a hopeful glance. Their hope was short-lived, however, as moments later the door swung open from the inside. Iron stood before them, staring down ambivalently.
“You're back,” he said, standing aside for them. “Come in and give your report.” The unicorns nodded nervously, and stepped inside.
Ambassador Letter had booked several rooms in a local inn for their stay in Dune, and he had chosen to stay in the largest. The room was luxurious, swathed in red curtains and featuring a large table set up in the center, where Letter currently sat, pouring over maps and papers. He looked up from his work, and nodded to the two soldiers.
“Good evening, stallions,” he said quietly. The soldiers saluted to him, and Iron cleared his throat loudly. Letter nodded, and asked, “Now... your report? Did you find the prince?”
“Well...” the yellow stallion said, his head sinking, “no. We saw no sign of Prince Blueblood while we were searching the city.”
Iron growled, and began to pace in front of the pair, who shrunk back visibly. “Did you ask the citizens?” he asked sharply. “Did anypony see a white earth pony?”
“N-no sir,” the yellow stallion said again. “None of the ponies we asked reported seeing any earth ponies.”
Iron growled again, much louder. The soldiers backed away from him, but he remained relatively calm. “How many teams are there left?” he asked the ambassador. Letter looked down at his papers.
“This is the sixth team,” he said, “We have two more teams coming in.”
“The we'll have covered the whole city?”
“As best as we're able.” The ambassador sighed.
“What do you mean, 'as best as we're able'?” Iron asked, stomping over to the table. “The best we're able to do is search the whole blasted city! Every sand-infested inch of it, until we find that sniveling whelp!”
“That's exactly what we're doing, Iron,” the ambassador said. If he was as afraid of Iron as the soldiers, he hid it admirably. There was not a hint of tension in his voice. Even Iron seemed relaxed by it.
“There's really only so much we can do, sir,” the yellow stallion piped up, “We don't have enough ponies to search the city effectively – we could be missing the prince by inches for all we know.”
Letter buried his face in his hooves, and gave a retracted sigh. The two soldiers froze up as Iron turned slowly, staring at them.
“What,” he said flatly. The yellow stallion took a step backwards, trying in vain to placate the earth pony.
“I-I only meant, sir, t-that we're doing the best that we can. I m-mean, we need to be thorough, to make sure he doesn't slip past us, and, and, we don't have a lot of ponies, s-so it's going to take a while...” He cringed, closing his eyes. His partner hooked a hoof around his neck, flattening him just in time to keep the candlestick from hitting his head.
“MISSING HIM BY INCHES!?” Iron roared, his eyes burning brightly with rage, “MISSING HIM BY INCHES!? You idiots mean to tell me that he could be right under your blasted noses, and YOU STILL WOULDN'T SEE HIM!?”
“N-no sir!” the other soldier shouted, barely dodging a flung chair, “That's not what we mean! We're doing the best we can, we just need time to make sure he isn't here!”
“IDIOTS! MORONS! INCOMPETENTS!” Iron screamed, bucking another chair which exploded into splinters, “For all we know the prince could be back in Equestria already! We haven't got bloody TIME for this, we need to catch him NOW!”
“We're trying, sir!” the yellow stallion parroted, getting to his hooves. Iron snorted, lowering his head and charging the pony. The poor unicorn hardly had time to react before Iron rocketed across the room, taking him full in the chest. He was thrown backwards, striking the door and blowing it off its hinges. Broken door and pony both fell out into the street, skidding across the sandy cobblestone. His partner dashed out the portal, just barely avoiding a kick. He grabbed the moaning yellow stallion and ran, as Iron yelled out after them.
“BRING ME BACK THE PRINCE, YOU IDIOTS! EXCUSES AREN'T GOING TO SAVE US FROM CELESTIA, AND THEY AREN'T GOING TO SAVE YOU FROM ME!”
The unicorn ran like mad, his friend sprawled across his back, flopping weakly. Eventually he stopped, gently rolling the yellow unicorn onto the ground. His breath was shallow, but at least consistent.
“Are you alright?” he asked the yellow unicorn.
“I'll be fine,” the stallion said, “It just hurts to breathe, a bit.”
“That doesn't sound alright to me. I'm going to find you a doctor. I remember seeing one when I was searching.”
“That would be nice.” The yellow unicorn laughed weakly. His friend picked him up again, slinging him over his chocolate-coloured back. The brown pony carried his partner through the streets, trying to find the doctor’s office again.
“Hey...” the yellow soldier said, “Sorry.”
“Sorry?” the brown pony asked, turning to give him an odd glance. “What are you sorry for?”
“For setting Iron off,” he explained. “We almost made it out of there unscathed.”
“You're the one who got hurt, not me,” the brown pony said, laughing faintly. “Anyways, you didn't set Iron off... not by much, anyways. One of us could have standing too close to him and he would have done backflips.”
The yellow pony laughed, wincing as pain shot through his chest. “Where's that doctor, again?” he asked.
“Don't worry,” his partner told him, “We're almost there.”
“That's good... I'll be honest with you, mate. I think I'm gonna need to be in as good shape as possible, if this keeps up.” The brown pony nodded in agreement.
“Aye... I don't like this, not one bit. I didn't sign on to get thrown around by some psychotic Equestrian.”
“Heh,” the yellow pony chuckled, “Don't think I signed on for any of this, come to think of it. You remember them telling you we were gonna cause a war in briefing?”
“Think it might'a come after after they served biscuits.” The brown pony laughed.
“Aw, man, they served biscuits in yours?” The two laughed as best as they were able, in between the yellow pony's grunts of pain. He shook his head, and sighed.
“Seriously though... I don't remember hearing about any of this. I thought this was gonna be a vacation – escort the ambassador to Equestria, relax for a few days in the palace, then come back for regular duties. Nopony ever told me about kidnapping the prince.”
“Me either,” the brown pony agreed. “And they won't give us any backup... we should have a hundred ponies out looking for the prince, not just the ten of us.”
“I don' like it,” the yellow pony said again.
“Well, don't you worry. We'll be done with it soon enough. Here, there's that doctor.”
“Fantastic,” the yellow pony said, looking up. He frowned. “Looks like we've got a bit of a wait first,” he added.
An enormous wagon was parked outside of the office. It looked like it could easily fit a dozen ponies in the back, with room to spare. The back doors of it were bolted tight, and the pair of soldiers could hear muffled talking coming from inside it.
“...would be much easier if we were doing this at my work station,” said a pony, likely the doctor.
“No can do, Doc. We can't hold on to them while you're working, and we can't have them running away. 'Specially not this one – he'll be worth a pretty penny on the auction.
“Slaves?” the brown pony asked. His friend nodded.
“Sounds like it... I don't know about you, but I think my gut is a bit more important than some slave. Can you put me up under that window there? I'll see if I can't get their attention.”
The brown pony complied, standing tight against the wall. His partner stood up, balancing himself on his back hooves on the brown pony’s back. He was just tall enough to peek over the windowsill, and he peered inside.
It was dark in the wagon, but he could make out the shapes of several ponies. In the center three sat close together – two slim figures around a heavily slouching third. The first two were likely a slaver and the doctor – as he stared longer, the yellow pony confirmed this. In the darkness of the wagon, the doctor's white jacket stood out. Her patient stood out as well, with his pure white fur and light blond mane, sitting with his back turned to the window. The doctor was fussing over his hoof, inspecting it carefully. She reached up and forced the pony to look at her, revealing his face to the yellow unicorn as well. His jaw dropped.
He slid down the wall of the wagon, grinning excitedly to his brown partner. “We're going to get out of this a lot sooner than we thought, mate!” he whispered. His friend gave him and odd look, and he exclaimed as quietly as he could, “The prince's in there!”
***
“This would be much easier if I didn't have to force you to do everything, colt,” the doctor said irritably. Blueblood didn't seem to react. The doctor sighed.
“Look, colt, just work with me here,” she said, pulling Blueblood to look at her.
“...Sorry,” Blueblood said weakly.
“Give me your hoof, colt,” the doctor ordered. Blueblood complied, lifting up his injured hoof for her. It felt like it was made of lead, weighing hard upon his shoulder. It threatened to pull him down onto the floor, and he desperately wanted to follow it. He didn't care that his hoof hurt, he just wanted to sleep forever.
The doctor inspected his hoof carefully, twisting it left and right. “Hmm...” she said, “It doesn't look so bad. The wounds are closing well, but there's a bit of swelling. How does it feel? Does it hurt?”
“A bit,” Blueblood said. “It aches.”
“Is is a sharp pain? Like pin-pricks, where the splinters were? Or is it dull, and spread out?”
“Dull pain,” Blueblood said simply. The doctor sighed again.
“I need more details, boy. Describe it for me.”
“I... don't know,” Blueblood said, “It's a small pain. It stops just above the hoof... it just aches, all the time.”
“Does it throb?”
“No.”
The doctor nodded. “It's probably alright then,” she said. “It doesn't seem like it's infected... it'll probably clear up by the time you make it to market.” She turned to the blue-maned slaver beside the pair, and told him, “I'm going to give him a salve anyways. I'll rub it into the hoof and bandage it up, to make sure it doesn't get infected.”
The slaver nodded, and led the doctor to the wagon's door, knocking on it. There was a metallic noise from outside, and the door opened up, revealing Crown. He helped the two into the street, and bolted the door tight again afterwords. The three unicorns circled around the wagon, and saw a pair of stallions - one brown, and carrying another yellow stallion on his back.
“Pardon me, miss,” the brown unicorn carrying his friend said, “but I think my partner needs some help.” His partner, a yellow unicorn, smiled awkwardly from his friend’s back.
“Yes,” the doctor said, “yes, of course. Come into my office, I'll have a look at him. I just need to take care of another patient first.” She led them into her shop, leaving the two soldiers in the lobby and taking Bit and Crown into her office.
“There's a much more pressing problem than the hoof, you know,” the doctor said. The blue-maned pony nodded.
“I know... the behavior, yes?”
“Yes. There's something wrong with that pony.”
“He's just been sold, you know,” Crown pointed out. “I'd be more surprised if he was taking it well.”
“Well is one thing,” the doctor said, “but he should at least be something. I've never seen a pony look so empty before. It's like he's dead.”
“He was strong when we bought him,” the blue-maned unicorn noted. “Stood nice and tall. Proud pony, that one was. Even tried to make a break for it. Got me good on the jaw, too.” He rubbed his jaw where Blueblood had struck him, smiling. The doctor ignored this.
“All the more reason to be concerned,” she said, “You just picked him up this morning – and he's already like this?”
“You think it's a sickness?” Crown asked. She shook her head.
“Not any that I've seen. I've got no idea what's happened to him.”
“Then why bring it up?” the purple giant asked. “Why the concern?”
“She's right to be concerned, Crown,” the slaver pointed out, “A weak slave will never sell. Tell me, oh wise doctor, is there anything we can do?” The doctor raised an eyebrow at this.
“Why do you always flatter me, Bit? I would tell you anything I know anyways.”
“It's what I do, my dear,” the pony called Bit said proudly, bowing his head. “But, do you know of anything we can do to keep him strong?”
“Just make sure he keeps eating. It's none of my business what you do with your slaves, but... just watch him, Bit.”
“I shall do my best, doctor dearest,” Bit replied. She sighed, and nuzzled him.
“I'm serious. It doesn't look like he's holding on very hard. Make sure he gets a good master, in a good city.”
“We pass through Port Ponzance in a week's time,” Bit said, “We'll put him up there.”
“Good,” the doctor nodded. She rummaged through one of her cupboards, retrieving a small jar and a roll of bandages. The three unicorns went back outside, and Crown let the two into the wagon again. Blueblood was sitting exactly where they had left him, slouched over in the middle of the wagon. The doctor applied her salve and wrapped the bandages around his hoof silently. Blueblood never fought her – he hardly moved, just passively observing her as she worked. When she was done, she patted his shoulder.
“Get some sleep, colt,” she told him. “It'll help the hoof. Alright?”
“Alright,” Blueblood said, nodding weakly. He curled up on the floor where he sat, despite it lacking the straw bedding that lined the walls of the wagon, where all the other slaves slept. The doctor sighed, and left the wagon.
“Take care of him, Bit.” The slaver nodded solemnly.
“I'll do my best, “ he said. The two exchanged a heavy glance, while Crown stood in the background impatiently. Soon enough the slaver broke their gaze, and bid the doctor farewell. The two stallions returned to the front of the wagon, and before too long it lurched into life, setting off to its new destination - Port Ponzance. The doctor stood out in the street, watching the wagon leave. She shook her head, and returned inside.
“Right,” she said to the soldiers waiting for her, “let’s take a look at you.”
***
The wagon trundled slowly across Aloa. The trips seemed to take years, centuries. Then again, perhaps it was just Blueblood. He spent the entire trip slumped in the corner of the wagon, staring idly out the window. He hardly felt anything – not the bumps and jostles of the wagon across the old roads, not the poking of the old straw against his flank, nor the rough texture of the wood. He didn't feel sad, or angry, or anything. All he felt was this incredible, all-consuming emptiness. Sometimes he felt hunger, or thirst, and at those times he could convince himself to eat a little. At the very least he kept himself from wasting away in the wagon. The other slaves paid him no heed, instead talking amongst themselves. In his more lucid moments, Blueblood imagined that they resented him, if they believed that he was who he had claimed to be. He hardly blamed them; in those times he resented himself, as well.
A few days into the trip the wagon came upon a delta, as the massive Aloan river opened to the ocean. Blueblood could see it, looking out of the wagon's window. He had never seen anything like it. Equestria existed in a valley, mountain peaks creeping along the horizon in all directions. He had grown up always seeing those mountains, and for many years he couldn't even understand that there was anything beyond them. The ocean had no mountains along its horizon. There was nothing there, just water as far as the eye could see, and further still. Something about it pierced through Blueblood, stirring something in him. It wasn't much, but it was there. Just a hint of a feeling. He turned his face away from the window, shutting the feeling out. He didn't need to feel, he told himself. Not anymore. It would be easier if he didn't feel.
The wagon made its way into a town on the edge of the delta, and rolled up to the docks. The slaves were herded out of the back of the wagon, and out into the light. After spending days in the dark wagon the light hurt Blueblood's eyes, and it took him a while to realize what was happening. There was an enormous boat waiting for them there. Bit and Crown spoke with the captain, and then the slaves were shepherded on board, and into the ship's hold. After a while of mulling around the slave ponies eventually took on a similar arrangement to the wagon, as least as far as Blueblood was concerned. He once again found himself with a corner to slouch into, and a porthole to look out of. It was through this porthole that he could see the dock drift away from them, and watch the ocean stretch out.
They were on the ocean for days. The slaves’ diet changed from one of boiled gruel into one of pickles and seaweed. Soon the hold came to smell permanently of the briny foods, as well as of vomit from the weak-stomached ponies. Blueblood rarely felt ill on the trip, not ever filling himself too much. The longer the trip went on, the thinner the white stallion became. He ate less and less, and stopped even reacting to the slavers when they brought him his food. All the other slaves would scrabble at their food when it was put in front of them, but Blueblood just stayed slouching in his corner. Sometimes the other slaves would fight over who got the meal he left untouched. Blueblood never said a word.
Eventually, after days of staring out the window and seeing nothing, Blueblood was aware of land in the distance. As he watched it creep closer he could see pillars rising above the city, like the towers of Canterlot. For the first time in many days he stirred from his funk, enough to really, truly see the city for which they were headed.
It was different from the other towns Blueblood had seen in Aloa. Where they had been constructed from rough sandstone brick, hastily mortared together and supported with petrified wood, this city was made of sandstone alone, the dusty rock somehow polished into a yellow gleam. The buildings were no longer made as simple shelters, but were designed with purpose. Pillars sprouted out of the water around the harbor, meeting in arches high above the ship's masts. Stone docks stretched out into the water like mighty arms, scooping up the ships that came in. Much like the docks in Riverbank, these were populated by gruff, heavy looking unicorns, and adorned with ropes, pulleys, and other such instruments. Piles of boxes swung through the air on cranes, and great nets full of seaweed were piled onshore. Peering down out of the porthole, Blueblood could see ponies in the water, half-submerged as they bickered with the sailors on the docks. Blueblood almost wondered what they were doing in the water, for a moment.
Their ship pulled into port, and sound of the bosun barking orders at his sailors could be heard from above decks. Blueblood saw a rope drop in front of his porthole, no doubt to be tied and secure the boat. There was the sound of heavy hooves clattering around, as had been the soundtrack for the entirety of their trip at sea, and then there was silence.
The other slaves stirred uncomfortably on their hay beds. Silence meant that somepony would come for them soon, come to ferry them onto their next location, or their next means of transportation. Blueblood just sighed quietly to himself, slumping back into his corner.
Before too long the hold’s hatch was pulled open, and Bit descended. He was accompanied by a slightly ill-looking Crown, who looked around the hold irritably.
“Welcome to Port Ponzance!” Bit declared happily, clapping his hooves together. One or two of the slaves looked at him oddly, and he continued.
“For many of you this is just another leg of your journey,” he said, “But for some of you this will be your new home, probably for a long time. Port Ponzance is a rich city, full of rich unicorns – I don't doubt that some lucky few of you will find yourselves a nice master here, and I also don't doubt you'll make them all very happy – we wouldn't want to get any complaints from our valued customers, eh?” He smiled around the room, but the slaves didn't react. He kept smiling anyways, clapping his hooves together once more. Several sailors came into the brig, carrying a line of chains. The slaves were all buckled into it, with Blueblood at the front of the line, and then they were marched off the boat and onto the docks. Bit led them up to a tired-looking pony levitating several clipboards, and spoke to him.
“Good afternoon, my good pony!” The unicorn looked up from his clipboards, peering down the line of slaves.
“Looking for the auction house?” he asked.
“As a mater of fact, we are,” Bit told him. “would you be so good as to direct us?”
“Head north until you reach the market lane. Then head east. The house is the building with the giant wooden stand out front, you can't miss it.”
“Thank you very much,” Bit said, nodding to him. He nodded distractedly, and the slave line set off.
Blueblood was feeling strangely lucid in this city. Perhaps it was that it reminded him of home, with plenty of ponies bustling through the streets, trying to look important and powerful. Blueblood shied away from them instinctively. In every one of them he could see himself, leering back at their inferiors. He looked down, trying not to pay attention to them.
It was much easier when the reached the market lane, absolutely packed with ponies. He could hardly see the slaves behind him, nor Bit and Crown in front of him. His only direction was the tugging about his neck, the unicorn's magic keeping him moving along. It was here that Blueblood began to notice things about the ponies of this city.
Amongst all the ponies that packed the street, every single one of them was a unicorn. Some horns laid bare, but some had been adorned with golden rings and jewels. Every single one of the ponies was swathed in richly coloured wrappings, thrown about their neck and chests, tied with medallions. Some ponies wore their wrappings simply about their necks, but others covered their flanks, and wrapped about their middles. Some shopkeepers even let them hang loose in front of their legs. Blueblood looked around with something between interest and confusion, catching snippets of ponies haggling, chattering, or just walking and sitting about. He had little time to observe, however, as he nearly dragged through the crowd by the slavers. They soon reached their destination – an enormous building, all domes and arches and pillars. A great set of steps lead up to a set of double doors, the entrance to the beautiful building. They did not use this entrance. Instead, the slavers lead them around the side, and to the back. There was a much smaller entrance there, probably a servant entrance of some kind. Rather than the grand, yellow-tinged building that Blueblood had been expecting, the door opened into a tight, dark corridor. Crown turned back to the slaves, warning them sternly not to speak or make too much noise, and then they were lead inside.
Blueblood did his best not to rattle his chains as he followed after the two slavers. He could hear a soft echo through the halls, the sound of a pony’s voice. He couldn't make out what it was saying, but it didn't matter. It soon faded from hearing as the slaves were taken deeper into the building. Soon even the rough hallways that they had entered into seemed good compared to where they were. Dank, hardly used hallways, supported by mildewed wood. They were led down a set of stairs, and found themselves in their final destination. Before the line stretched a long hallway, doors on either side. They were told to march down the middle, and then stopped. Blueblood could hear Bit and Crown speaking from the stairs.
“I'll go talk to them, get everything set up,” Bit told his partner. “You make sure they all get into their cells proper.”
“Alright,” Crown said. Blueblood could hear the sounds of Bit ascending the stairway, and of Crown approaching. The giant passed Blueblood, turning to stare at the line. His gaze was withering and contemptuous; the gaze one might use on a dirty, naughty pet. He glared at them silently, as if he were trying to lash them with his eyes alone. Behind him Blueblood heard the chain rattling, and supposed that it must have worked. He simply stared back, though, his expression as empty as ever. Crown snorted, and spat at his hooves.
“Listen up,” he said harshly, “I know some of you are new here,” he gave Blueblood a heavy glance, and continued, “so I'm going to tell you the way things actually work here. Bit is a good master to you. Somehow, he's managed to convince me to be the same. But in my household I saw how slaves are really treated.” He leaned into Blueblood's face, and asked him, “What's your name, colt?”
“What?” Blueblood asked quietly. It was the first time he had spoken all week – it felt strange to speak. His voice was soft, and he sounded dazed. Crown stomped, and asked again.
“What's your NAME, colt?”
Blueblood was silent for a moment, as if it was hard for him to say the name. In a way, it was. “B-Blueblood,” he said. Crown smirked, and swiped his hooves out from under him. Blueblood came crashing down, driving his face into the ground. The ponies behind him on the chain were dragged down as well. They all got to their hooves, and the mare behind Blueblood tried to help him up, but Crown stopped her.
“Let him get up on his own,” he said. “If he can't, then he's no good to anypony. May as well just leave him to die.”
Blueblood got to his hooves slowly, not saying a word. Crown spoke again.
“What's your name, colt?”
“Blueblood...” the prince said again. Crown reared up, bucking him in the face. A small trickle of blood came down his forehead, but Blueblood stayed up this time.
“Wrong answer!” Crown shouted. “You're a slave, colt! I don't give a damn who you were before – whether you were some bum we picked up in an alleyway, or whether you were a bloody prince! You're a slave now. And slaves. Aren't. Ponies. That means no pony names. Forget who you were before – this is who you are now, and who you will be for the rest of your miserable little lives. This is your lot. I suggest you learn to deal with it. Now...” he smirked at Blueblood again. “What's your name, colt?”
“I...” Blueblood said, looking down, “I don't have one...”
“That's right,” Crown said. “That goes for the rest of you, too!” he shouted at the slave line, “You aren't ponies anymore. You're slaves. An object, something real ponies buy and sell. I suggest you all get used to it – and bowing to your new masters, while you're at it. You all got that?” There was a subdued mumbling from the slaved line, and Crown scowled. “I said do you understand, slaves!?” he shouted.
“Yes, Master,” the slaves said. Crown nodded, and drew a key out of his wrappings.
“Good,” he said. “Bit is talking to the auctioneer now. We're setting up a time for you all to get sold. We'll cart you up on stage there, one by one, you show off a bit for the buyers, and we find someone nice to buy you. Got that?”
“Yes Master,” the slaves echoed again.
“That's right. We'll see you all on your best behavior up there – we'll get someone to clean you up first too, so you at least look a little bit less filthy. Now, get in your cells.” He unlocked Blueblood's collar, shoving him into the cell on his right and locking the door behind him.
The prince slowly picked himself up off the floor, looking around. He barely even understood why – he should have just slunk into the corner as usual, but he didn't.
There was a window high along the wall; too thin for even a foal to squeeze through, but barred nevertheless. A thin strip of light streamed through, illuminating the cell. It was constructed out of the same dusty sandstone as the rest of the building, and held up by old wooden pillars. The floor beneath his hooves was dirt, specked with bits of straw from a pile in one corner. Blueblood walked slowly over, and sat down.
He kept looking around the cell, despite there being nothing else to see. For the first time in days, he felt something. Just a small kernel of something, buried deep inside him. It slowly grew and grew, and with it came a thought. Those felt strange too, after so long without them. Lucidity. Awareness. Blueblood had been avoiding it, but now... now it came with relief.
I'm not a pony anymore, he thought. I'm not Blueblood anymore. He blinked. Just like that, the thought was gone. The damage was done, though; more came in its place. Thoughts about the cell, thoughts about Crown and Bit, thoughts about the other slaves on the line. He wondered if they would be alright. He wondered about the little filly who had shouted at him. He sort of wanted to find her – to thank her. It felt so strange. So surreal. The thoughts in his head grew more and more numerous, and louder. Soon it was hard to focus on anything through the thoughts. He just kept looking around the cell, every notion and idea flooding into his head. He thought about the beam of sunlight playing through the dust. He thought about the colour of the walls, and of the dirt. He thought about the feeling of the hay beneath him. He just... thought. Soon, though, the thoughts subsided. In the end, only one was left.
I'm not Blueblood anymore.
It was a strange thought, that much was sure. He wasn't sure what to do about it; he simply kept thinking.
My entire life... none of it means anything anymore. Everything I've ever known, everything I've ever been... He narrowed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Good, he thought. Blueblood never did anything worthwhile... Blueblood was a bad pony. Stupid. Selfish. Greedy. I... I don't have to be him anymore. I can be a good pony... He looked down.
“No...” he said, “I can be a good slave. That's... good enough, right?” He sighed weakly, and slouched again.
The sun passed through the sky as the day wore on. Blueblood watched the little beam of light through his window, observing it silently as it crept across the dirt. As he watched its hue turn pink, he heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs.
“Cleaning time!” he heard Crown's voice call out. There was the metallic sound of the doors unlocking, and all the doors were flung open. “Get out here!” Crown called again.
Blueblood poked his head out of the doorway slowly. He saw the other slaves creeping out into the hallway as well, all staring at Crown standing at the base of the stairs. He was flanked by servants, each levitating a tub of water above their head.
“Get in line!” Crown barked. The slaves did as they were told, and Crown nodded to the servants. The tubs floated out over the slaves and upended themselves, pouring the water over the grimy ponies. Blueblood was drenched, nearly buckling under the torrent. The water was freezing – it hit him like a brick, setting his teeth chattering instantly. He spluttered and pulled his mane out of his eyes, only to see a servant standing before him, brandishing a washcloth. The servant took hold of the white stallion and began to scrub him down furiously. Though this servant was much rougher, it reminded Blueblood of being home again -
No! He thought, squeezing his eyes shut, I'm not Blueblood anymore! He kept his eyes shut, allowing the servant to scrub him down entirely. In the end his fur was matted and his mane tangled, but at least he was clean. The servant dragged a comb across him roughly, doing his best to straighten Blueblood up. Crown walked up and down the line of slaves, inspecting every one. He paused in front of Blueblood, seeing him still slouching weakly. He shook his head, but didn't say anything.
“Alright,” he declared when he was finished inspecting all the slaves, “Back in your cells! Get some sleep, and try not to get yourselves too dirty. The auctions start first thing in the morning.”
Blueblood shuffled back into his cell, ignoring it shutting roughly behind him. He returned to his bed of straw and sat down
Tomorrow it was, then. Tomorrow he would meet his new master, and begin his new life. Tomorrow he would be allowed to completely forget who he ever was, and start over. He wasn't certain how to feel. He wasn't sure whether he should be relieved, excited, or frightened. In the end, he fell back on what he had come to know – nothing. He let the feelings slip away from him, returning to the comfortable numbness. It had treated him well so far, and it would continue to do so. He lay down, closing his eyes, and eventually he drifted into oblivion.
The morning brought feeling back to Blueblood with a vengeance. Once again he felt that same holistic sort of feeling – an almost divine awareness of his cell and its inhabitants – what few of those there were. When the painful alertness subsided he realized that it was mid-morning. He had slept longer than normal, exhausted by the effort of thinking and feeling again. He also realized what had woken him – two ponies were talking outside his cell. He slowly shuffled close to the heavy wooden door, and he found he recognized the voices – Bit and Crown, arguing under their breath.
“...So what are we supposed to do with this one, then?” Crown asked.
“What do you mean, what do we do with him? We sell him, of course.” Bit sounded on edge.
“Don't be stupid. You know as well as I do he'll never sell in his state.”
“And why not? Look, he hasn't even lost much weight. He's still plenty strong – and those ponies out there will think he's stronger still because he's an earth pony.”
“Aren't you the one who was worried they would be mad when he wasn't strong enough?”
“IF he wasn't strong enough. But he is. Look at him! He's built like a farmer!”
“But he carries himself like a washcloth. Who's going to buy a pony who can barely hold himself up?”
“Well, what do you propose we do with him, then?” Bit was clearly on edge now. Blueblood almost imagined he sounded nervous.
“We call in the doctor.”
“The doc... the doctor. You want to call in the doctor. The specialist.”
“That's right.”
“Are you insane!?” Bit shouted. Blueblood could almost hear him composing himself, and returning his voice to a whisper. Blueblood had to lean against the door to hear them speak, now.
“Look at him! He's massive. He'll sell like-”
“I have looked at him. Have you? Look, the mane, the coat, the features – the colt is made for it. Just imagine what he'll look like when the changes are done – think of it. He'll go for SACKS of silver.
“And what are we supposed to do in the meantime, huh? And what if it goes wrong? We've got a perfectly good laborer right here – and you want to give it up for a chance at a personal slave?”
“Chance nothing – he's practically a guarantee. He'll slim out, we'll grow the mane, give him a chance to put some fat on -”
“So he'll look like a mare. So why don't we just sell a mare – we've got plenty. And some of them look pretty good.”
“But a mare is what they're expecting – he'll be exotic.”
“Exotic? He's an earth pony – exotic ponies have new things, not missing things. If we want exotic, we go for a pegasus.”
“That's not what I meant, and you know it. We could take him all the way to Ys – you know how the nobleponies get up there.”
“Yeah, I know – and I want nothing to do with any of them.”
“Look, we need to be willing to set aside our personal feelings for the business.”
“I know that just as well as you – I sell ponies to rich idiots, for goodness sake. But this is too far – I refuse to mutilate that poor pony and sell him to some KINK!”
Blueblood tore his ear away from the door as he realized what the two had been talking about. He scrambled backwards, retreating against the far wall. He knew that these ponies were far from kind – they sold others for their own gain. He refused to believe that there was anything good in a pony like that. This, though... this was insane! It was one thing to sell a pony as he was, but gelding? He swallowed hard. He couldn't believe it. They would geld him, and sell him to some old pervert. He had believed that whatever life stretched out in front of him, it was what Blueblood had deserved. Even still, this? No, not this. Not even Blueblood had deserved this. He squeezed his eyes shut, and curled up. For a little while, he had been allowed to think that there was some sort of fairness in the world – that he was getting exactly what he had deserved. He didn't deserve this, though. Nopony did.
The door to his cell swung open, revealing Bit and Crown. Blueblood looked up at them, fear clear and bright in his eyes.
“Your turn, son,” Bit said. “Auction started while you were sleeping... has anypony ever told you you snore?” Blueblood didn't answer, looking away from the unicorn's smile.
“Please don't...” he whispered. He didn't know why he even bothered. It hadn't worked before, and it wasn't going to work now that he was a slave. He shuddered as he felt Crown pick his up, slipping an iron collar around his neck. He could hardly walk as they dragged him along; his legs felt like jelly. Still he walked with the slavers, as if he had any choice. They led him up the stairs and through the halls, finally into a large, nearly empty room. There was a set of double-doors along a wall, and Blueblood could hear a deep, clear voice through it. He ignored it, however, shying away from Crown and Bit as much he could. The giant purple pony didn't react, but Bit shook his head sadly. Blueblood lay down, quivering.
So this was it, then? This was his ultimate fate. A toy in the hands of some sick stallion, a pony so impossibly worse than he had been. Perhaps he had deserved this – after all, he could no longer deny he had earned everything up until this point. Every wrongdoing he had ever committed, heaped back upon his head the instant he left the comfort of his palace. Not a single pony had ever done anything to him he hadn't earned in full, and this was just the rest of it. Maybe it really was what he had earned.
“You're up, colt,” Bit said quietly. Blueblood whimpered softly, and tightened up. Bit shook his head, and tutted.
“It won't be so bad, colt. I promise. Keep your chin up out there, and everything will work out for you in the end.” Blueblood scoffed in his mind. All that would work out was he would be punished for what he had done. Bit coaxed him to his hooves, and led him to the door.
“Look, son,” he said, “I just want you to know... none of this is personal. It isn't some sort of divine retribution, it's just... it's just bad luck.” The doors swung open, and Blueblood was blinded by a brightly shining light. “Stand proud out there, colt,” Bit said. Blueblood was led into the light, and he felt his chain being affixed to the floor. Eventually his eyes adjusted to the light, and he could see a crowd standing before him. He was on a stage, and they were all lined up row by row, staring at him.
There's a crowd? Blueblood thought miserably, Well that's just perfect, isn't it... They're all here to watch. One final humiliation... he sighed. The final humiliation of Prince Blueblood. Maybe they'll screw up, or let me just bleed out up here. Get it all over with.
He heard the sound of a heavy strike beside him, and looked over. There was a unicorn dressed in elegant wrapping, hovering a gavel over a podium.
“The next item is a stallion; approximately 20 years of age. Subject has never been previously owned, and was a foreigner before purchase. As you can see, he is well built, and strong. He is also quite handsome – his coat and mane mesh very well, as well as complimenting most colours, both in decoration and dress. Subject is very presentable for company. He is well suited for both personal attendance and heavy labour. Also note: Subject is an earth pony. As many of you know, earth ponies are extremely strong and resilient, much more so than unicorns. In addition, this makes an excellent talking point for guests. A full known history can be disclosed upon purchase if requested. Bidding will begin at 150 Silver.”
What? Blueblood thought, peering oddly at the pony, What is he talking about?
“Get him to face forward,” a pony called out, “I want a better look at him!”
“Subject, face forward,” the pony commanded. Blueblood did as he was told, still trying to puzzle out what was happening. He had been so certain they were sending him to a surgeon... had they really decided just to sell him as he was?
“Again, bidding begins at 150 Silver. Do I hear 150 Silver?”
“150 Silver!”
“I hear 150 Silver. Do I hear 175 Silver?”
"175”
Blueblood stared incredulously at the crowd. They were. The slavers had decided to sell him as it was. Relief spread over him, but he didn't allow himself to relax. He looked over these ponies in the audience, staring up at him. He wasn't sure how to feel. Seeing so many ponies all focusing on him again made him remember the palace, and formal events in the ballroom. He would walk in, and all heads would turn to him. True, this was a much different context, but the thought still scared him. He felt a hint of pride in his chest, and it terrified him. Pride was something that Blueblood had – he wasn't Blueblood. He didn't want to be Blueblood... he couldn't be Blueblood anymore.
“300 Silver!”
“325!”
“I hear 325 Silver, do I hear 350? 350 Silver?”
“375.”
“375 Silver, very impressive. This stallion has the right idea fillies and gentlecolts, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Earth Ponies just don't come along every day now – do I hear 400 Silver?”
“400 Silver!”
But how could Blueblood be proud of this? The ponies may have been looking up at him, but they were still looking down on him. They were still treating him as a novelty – and worse, as an object. They only wanted him because he was interesting. Because he would be something to talk about amongst the other aristocrats – Blueblood knew how it was. The palace had once hired a crippled pegasus, and Blueblood had used him as a talking point for another noblemare. He shook his head, banishing the memory. It was what Blueblood had done. He wouldn't be Blueblood any more.
“500 Silver!”
“550.”
“600!”
“700.”
“800 SILVER! DON'T you touch me again...”
But Blueblood... Blueblood would never have been proud of this. He would have been furious – livid. They only cared about him because they thought he looked strong, or novel. Not because he was important. A noble couldn't be proud of that... but a slave could.
A slave could be proud of being stared at. He could be proud that ponies thought he was unnaturally strong. He could be proud that they thought he was interesting enough to show off to other ponies. He could be proud that he had sold for the most, and had the richest master. He shifted his stance, bringing his front hooves together beneath him and spreading his back legs out. His chest swelled, and he lifted his head high. His mane fell across his face, his right eye just poking out from between his bangs. He gave it a subtle flick, draping it over his left shoulder. He flexed his muscles – just a bit. Just enough to be seen. He knew that the ponies in the crowd could see it. A pony who was strong. A pony who would do what they said, no matter what the task. Powerful, obedient. Noble and proud, as befitting one of their households. They looked at the stage, and not one of them saw the spoiled Prince Blueblood. They saw a white earth stallion with the straw-blond mane. They saw a pony with no name – They saw a good slave.
“1,500 Silver.”
“I hear 1,500 Silver – do I hear 2,000? 1,750 Silver? 1,600 Silver, do I hear 1,600 Silver? Going once... going twice... SOLD! To the elderly gentlestallion in the back.” The gavel swung down, echoing through the auction house. The white stallion had been sold. The guards returned onto the stage, unchaining him and pulling him back into the preparation room. He passed another pony on the way back in, a bundle of nerves. The two ignored each other, both intent on their own destinations. A grinning Bit approached the white stallion.
“Well done, son, well done!” he said happily, “I told Crown we could sell you... and at 1,500 Silver, too! You've made us wealthy, colt... you'll do well, I promise. Who knows, you may even make it to management like me some day! That was some display you put on there, let me tell you.”
“Thank you, master,” the pony said, bowing his head to Bit. Bit smiled, and patted his shoulder.
“I'm not your master anymore, son. C'mon – let's go meet him now. Wouldn't want to keep him waiting, would we?”
“No...” The stallion said slowly.
***
Iron glared furiously at the ambassador.
“Why did you make me stop!” he hissed, struggling to keep his voice down among the crowd of rich ponies.
“Because you bid over what we had,” Letter told him patiently. “We're on limited funds right now. Even if we had won, we wouldn't have been able to keep him. And then he would know that we've found him again.”
“How can we not have enough money?” Iron interrogated the ambassador. “You take your funds right from the king!” The red pony sighed.
“Yes... right from the king. If I were to suddenly withdraw 1,500 Silver, don’t you think somepony would be a little bit suspicious?”
“We could have stolen him, then! Killed the guards, and run off with the little sod in tow! A clean getaway, and then we drag him back, wipe his memory and drop him off!”
“Do you really think it would have been that simple?” Letter asked disdainfully. Iron seethed violently at him, but managed to retrain himself from true violence – barely.
“At least it would have been something, aside from sitting around here on our flanks! At least getting killed by guards is better than what Celestia will do with us!”
“Well, there's no point in arguing about it now,” Letter said, “It's not as if he's going anywhere.”
“No...” Iron growled, shaking his head, “No, you're right. He's stuck, just like us, the little rat. But I don't trust him... he shouldn't even have made it this far.”
“You have a proposition?”
“Watch him,” Iron said, “For now, until he tries to get away. Then we can snatch him up.” He smiled, an almost perverse degree of joy in his wicked grin. “We watch him.”
***
The stallion and Bit were alone in a room, Bit looking around randomly. Apparently, he had expected the stallion's new master to be waiting for them. His unspoken question was answered by a rhythmic series of shuffling thuds, growing steadily nearer to the door. Soon the heavy door was pushed open, and the white stallion caught the first glimpse of his new master.
The auctioneer had referred to him as an elderly gentlestallion, and while this description had been somewhat accurate, it most certainly did not so him justice. His coat was a deep shade of forest green, and he held himself straight and tall. Despite the aqua wrappings draping limply around his shoulders and flanks there was a military air about him, but more than that it was the straightness of pride, and of a bizarre sort of peace. The unicorn had a near-blank expression on his face, the only trace of emotion a faint furrowing of the brow. It was impossible to tell if it was a scowl, or merely concentration.
While he was old, elderly was perhaps a bit too far. Some wrinkles creased along his face, and his mane had gone white, but he looked like a father more than a grandfather. Strong, calm, and confidant.
“Good morning, sir,” Bit greeted. The stallion bowed to him as well, but his master seemed intent on ignoring them both. He approached the stallion slowly, and the source of the shuffling became evident. The unicorn before them walked with a heavy limp – he barely even used his right-front hoof, jerking forward and landing heavily on his front-left whenever the time came to use it. His hoof was still strong enough to shoo Bit away, however, and he did so. Bit bowed respectfully, and said his final farewell to the white stallion.
“Good luck, son,” he said, and left the room.
“He your father?” the old unicorn asked. The white stallion blinked, and answered him.
“No, master. He was my previous owner. My slaver.”
The unicorn nodded, grunting. “The auctioneer said you've never been owned before. You seem to be well enough into it – I haven't been conned, have I?”
“No master.”
The unicorn stared at him again. He sighed, and shook his head. He began to slowly circle the white stallion, limping his way along. The stallion took his pose from the pedestal again, but the old unicorn simply scoffed.
“Don't bother, colt. I've already bought you, you can cut the act.”
The stallion looked at him with an odd expression, but he managed to relax. A feeling of heaviness returned to him somewhat, but he ignored it. The old stallion nodded thoughtfully, and made his way back to the stallion's front.
“Hm,” he said curtly. “You have a name, colt?”
“No, master,” the stallion answered. The old unicorn paused, and peered oddly at the stallion.
“What do you mean, ‘No, master’?”
“I... I'm a slave, master. Slaves don't have names...”
“What am I supposed to call you, then?”
“You can call me whatever you like, master,” the stallion said, looking at the ground. His master regarded him impassively, the only hint of an expression a slightly raised eyebrow. After a moment of silence, he spoke again.
“What’s the name your parents gave you, colt?”
“I...” The stallion said. He almost answered Blueblood. Part of him wanted to answer Blueblood, certainly. It was the name he was comfortable with, but... was it really his name?
Blueblood had been a horrible pony. He had been arrogant and selfish. How long had it taken him to even think of other ponies when he was kidnapped? It took days! Blueblood wasn't a pony he should want to be again... and he didn't. He didn't want to be Blueblood. He wouldn't be Blueblood, never again. That name wasn't right, it wasn't his. His blood wasn't blue. He wasn't special. He was just like everypony else.
“Red,” he said. “My name is Red.”
|
Kegisak
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1052
| 6 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-30T08:00:34+00:00
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2011-10-30T08:00:34+00:00
| 4,766 |
Chapter 6: In Which Home is Found
From her tower in Canterlot palace, Princess Celestia could see everything in her kingdom. She could see the ponies taking their lunch breaks in the capital, eating at restaurants and cafes, or just sitting outside and enjoying the spring air. She could see the little villages in the valley, with all their little ponies going about their days. She could see the vast swaths of farmland, ready to be tilled and sowed with seeds for the year's crop. From the other side of the tower she could even see over the tip of the mountains, and look out at the ocean, far in the distance. Despite all that she could see from her tower, one thing that she could not see was her younger sister, Princess Luna.
Celestia sighed, and shook her head. She had had to lower the moon herself, this morning. Luna had not arrived in the tower to bring it down. She wasn't worried by this, of course. She trusted her younger sister completely; she knew that the little princess would never dream of trying to bring about eternal night again. Not when there were so many ponies who reveled beneath her beautiful stars.
This was not the first time Luna had gone missing since she had returned, either. Every so often she would fly away to visit some little village, or see a new country. Sometimes she would even tell Celestia before she left. She had been alone for so long, though, and she had troubles remembering that sometimes, the ponies you care about like to keep tabs on you. Celestia could forgive her for all that, of course, but it could still frustrate her. Particularly now, with all that had happened recently.
The palace's spies had been investigating the Aloan delegates all week. So far, none of them had found any clues as to what had happened to the prince. If anything, the Aloans seemed more confused as to the prince's whereabouts than she was. The only thing that the spies had managed to glean was that the Aloan delegates were insulted Blueblood had not attended the meetings. As far as Celestia could tell, they were either being admirably tight-lipped, or they had had nothing to do with Blueblood's disappearance at all.
Perhaps that was the most distressing prospect, the idea that nopony knew what had happened to Blueblood. It had weighed on Celestia's mind all week, but she hadn't wanted to share it with anypony. One way or another, she knew it would wind up getting back to her niece. Poor Amethyst had been inconsolable all week long. She had put on a brave face for the delegates and the meetings, though; Celestia was so proud of her. The princess sighed sadly, and stepped back inside the small room in her tower. It was a second home to her; a place she could come when she didn't want to be disturbed by anypony. Usually. This week had been a little different than most weeks. There was a knock on the door.
“Come in, Oak,” she said. The door creaked open, and a tired auburn pegasus stepped inside. He wasn't wearing his armour, and his mane was loose. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. He probably hadn't.
“Good afternoon, your majesty,” Oak said, bowing slowly. Celestia tutted, and levitated a pot of tea from nearby the fireplace.
“Have a seat, Oak,” she said. “And have some tea. You look like you could use it.”
Oak took a seat on a plush cushion across for Celestia. For a moment he looked like he was about to decline her offer of tea, but in the end he took the cup she offered happily. He sipped at it gingerly, while Celestia watched.
“How is she, Oak?” Celestia asked suddenly. Oak looked down.
“She's asleep right now,” he said. “Today's meeting really wore her out. She's putting on a strong face for all the other ambassadors and nobles, but... she spends most of her free time fretting, these days. I'm...” Oak shook his head, and said, “I'm worried about her, your majesty.”
“I know you are, Oak,” Celestia agreed. “That's why I trust you to look after her.”
“Thank you, your majesty,” Oak said, bowing slightly. “But... is there anything I can tell her? Do we know anything new about her so – about the prince?” Celestia shook her head.
“The Aloans don't know anything. Or if they do, they aren't letting on.”
“Not to be rude, majesty,” Oak said, “but can't we just... ask them? Interrogate a guard?” Celestia shook her head.
“They all have diplomatic immunity while they're here, so we can't arrest them. Even if we just asked outright, Aloa would take it as an insult. They'd be up in arms over it... and we can't just say the prince has gone missing, otherwise if Aloa did kidnap him they'd run before we had the chance to do anything.”
Oak shook his head weakly. “This politics thing makes my head spin, Majesty.” Celestia smiled.
“You aren't the only one, Oak. But we do what we must.” Oak nodded solemnly.
“Has there been any word on Captain Iron Towers, either?” he asked suddenly. Celestia shook her head, peering at him.
“No,” she said. “We've heard nothing from him. We believe he's been kidnapped along with Blueblood.”
“Has anypony been chosen to take his place yet?”
“No,” Celestia said, “It's hardly the most opportune time. Why do you ask, Oak?”
The pegasus pony straightened up as best he could, and said, “I'd like to request to be promoted to acting captain of the guards, your majesty.”
Celestia peered at him oddly. This sort of behavior was very unlike him – Lieutenant Rowan Oak had never been a pony to take advantage of a situation for his ambition. In fact, he had never been a terribly ambitious pony to begin with. He had even turned down several promotions – he had been appointed as Amethyst's personal guard because of his loyalty and skill more than his position in the guards. He had always seemed perfectly content in his role, until now.
Celestia shook her head. “I can't do that, Oak. If anypony where to be elected acting Captain, it would be the second-in-command. You know that.”
“I know your majesty,” Oak said, “but... please, I ask you just this once. I would step down immediately once this ordeal is over with, go back to being Princess Amethyst's guard.”
“Then why do you want this promotion so badly?” Celestia asked. Oak looked down ashamedly, and fidgeted.
“I...” he said, “I just... I want to do more.” He looked up, gazing earnestly into the princess's eyes. She saw nothing but an overwhelming passion in those eyes, slick with tears. “I want to do more to help. If I were acting captain, I could organize the spies. I could come up with something... some plan to help us find out what's happened to the prince. I just... I feel so useless right now. Ameth-” he shook his head and blinked, saying, “I'm sorry – the princess, this is hurting her so much. She hardly sleeps any more, and when she does... she has nightmares, your majesty. Horrible nightmares. I hear her, sometimes, screaming in her sleep. And I just wish that I could do more for her.” He looked down, shame and pain clear on his face. “I'm worried, Your majesty. I want to stop her hurting.”
Celestia smiled faintly. Out of all the guards, Oak was the one she felt that she could trust the most. That was why she had asked him to be assigned to Amethyst. It seemed sometimes like it was impossible for him to lie – he wore his heart on his sleeve more than anypony she had ever met. She could understand why her niece found him so endearing. She reached out, and put a gentle hoof on his shoulder.
“You can do something for her, Oak. You can be there for her.” Oak looked up, and Celestia smiled at him. “We'll take care of this,” she told him. “You just be there for her. That's all we can do, right now.”
Oak nodded. “Thank you, your majesty,” he said. He finished his tea and stood, moving for the door.
“Thank you, your majesty,” he said again. Celestia nodded, and he left. He trotted carefully down the long, winding staircase that made up most of the tower – despite the tea his head was beginning to nod. Soon enough he made it to the main floor of the palace, and returned to Princess Amethyst's bedchambers. He opened the door just a crack, peering inside – the princess was still fast asleep. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him, and went to take a closer look.
In spite of her slumber, the princess's face was still creased with worry. She stirred occasionally, mumbling something incoherent beneath her her breath. Oak sighed, and sat beside the bed.
“It's going to be alright, Amethyst,” he whispered. “You'll see...”
In her sleep, Amethyst sighed. The worry slowly faded away, and a gentle smiled blessed her face. Oak smiled as well.
I hope... he thought. He blinked, his head dipping a bit. His head was getting a bit fuzzy. He leaned against the bed, resting beside the princess. The bed was amazingly soft, and the silk sheets felt wonderfully cool. He hadn't slept in ages, worrying over the princess. She was asleep now, though, and he could relax. He shifted, nestling his head deeper into the bed. His eyes fell shut and he slowly drifted off to sleep, leaning against the bed there.
***
Blueblood's master lead him outside the auction house. The white stallion had to walk slowly to keep pace with the old unicorn, limping as he did, but the two made it outside soon enough. It was a bright day outside, the sky clear of in spite of the lack of pegasi here. The market lane was much more sparse today; hardly any ponies were about, in fact.
There was an old cart at the foot of the stairs, a heavy chain anchoring it to a pillar. Blueblood's master limped down the steps, approaching it. Blueblood followed him, staring at the ground and being careful to stay a step behind his master. The old pony dug a key from the folds of his wrappings, and unlocked the chains. He took the chains in his mouth, dragging them into the back of the cart. When he was done, he turned to look at Blueblood.
“Help me in,” he said, beckoning for the white stallion to approach. Blueblood did as he was told, coming closer. The old unicorn put a hoof on his back, and one on the edge of the wagon, pushing himself up carefully. Blueblood stepped in closer, pushing his master up further, who grunted and swung over the edge of the wagon. He settled in, laying down, and peered over to his slave.
“Stand in front of the wagon,” he ordered. Blueblood nodded, and complied.
“Yes master,” he said quietly. He stood between the two wooden bars protruding from the front of the wagon, and set his chest against a third flat bar that connected the two.
“I'm done here for today,” his master said. “Take me home – head north. I'll tell you where and when to turn.”
Blueblood nodded, and started to walk. He strained at first, pushing forward to move the old wagon. Once it had started to move, though, it wasn't so bad. In fact, it wasn't too hard at all after a while. He set off up the street, wagon in tow, until his master called up to him.
“North is the other direction,” he said. Blueblood winced.
“Sorry,” he said, turning the wagon around slowly. Facing the right direction now, he headed off again.
The trip through the city was an easy one. Whichever day this was – Blueblood found he couldn't remember how much time had passed now – it was clearly not one where ponies liked to venture out of their homes. There were hardly any of the wrapped unicorns he had seen the previous day out and about, and those that were out didn't seem too keen on mingling. They kept a wide berth of the wagon, not looking at either of the ponies in it. Blueblood gave them no heed either – they were not his master, he told himself, so he didn't need to worry about what they thought of him. He told himself that every time one of them passed, staring directly forward. He had to fight not to look down, or shy away from them as they passed.
“Turn left here,” the old unicorn in the wagon said. Blueblood looked down the road to the left of him. It was a long, wide and straight road. Blueblood could see an enormous wall at the end of it, broken by a wooden gate almost as tall as the wall itself. The gate was swung wide open, revealing the open country beyond it. Blueblood slowly looked back at his master, who raised an eyebrow at him.
“I don't live in the city,” his master said. “I live by the river. It's a fair walk, so you'd best get started.”
“Of course,” Blueblood said, turning down the long road, “I'm sorry, master. I didn't mean to question you.” His master grunted softly, and Blueblood could hear him shift in the back of the wagon. Blueblood risked another peek backwards, and saw that his master had turned away from him, looking down the other side of the street. It led to the harbor, and Blueblood could see the ocean framed between two of the enormous pillars that surrounded the port city. He turned back, trying to concentrate on the road before him.
It doesn't matter, he told himself, there's nothing down there for me. It doesn't matter one of the ships down there could take me home... He shook his head, and set it firmly ahead.
No! He told himself, they can't take me home! THIS is my home. I'm Red now – not Blueblood. My home is with my master.
He let his neck fall, sighing to himself. His legs were beginning to ache a bit from pulling the cart, but he ignored it. They were almost out of the city now, and Blueblood could see a guard standing by the gate. The guard nodded to them as the passed.
“Have a nice day,” he said. Blueblood didn't answer. He heard his master mumble something to guard, but couldn't make it out – he doubted the guard had understood it either.
He looked around idly as they moved away from the city. Port Ponzance appeared to be surrounded by farmland, giant swaths of fertile fields on either side of the road. The path was rolling and hilly, slowly moving upwards as it made its way away from the coast. Fortunately for Blueblood it never got too steep, or difficult to pull the wagon. Soon they had passed the many farms, and moved into more open countryside. The landscape around the road turned into enormous dips and bulges, dotted with patches of thick, lush trees. The road passed by one such patch of trees, and Blueblood got a better look at them – they were unlike anything he had ever seen. Their bark was segmented, like scales, and their leaves were enormous and flat. Blueblood stared up at them as he passed. The leaves didn't cast true shade, not the way he knew it – the just filtered out the light, turning it green as it fell upon him. He looked back, watching the patch of green as it move across his coat, and he found himself meeting the eyes of his master. The old pony had shifted positions again, leaning on the front rim of the cart and resting his chin on his good hoof. He watched Blueblood with an impassive expression, the green light of the leaves darkening his already green coat even more. Blueblood turned his head back to the road sharply, lowering it. He couldn't tell what the old unicorn was thinking when he watched him. He couldn't tell if his expression was irritated, or just blank. It made the white stallion uncomfortable, when he saw it. So he stared forward, trying to make himself as small as possible. He heard a quiet sigh from his master, but ignored it.
They continued along the road for hours. The landscape had flattened out for a while, but it had started to slope downwards again. The patches of trees had become more dense, forming into thick woods, the road beginning to wind down as well. They had long since left any pretense of paving, the smooth stones falling away to dirt at a crossroads an hour or so back, but now it had begun to dwindle even further. Blueblood tugged the cart up one of the hills that made up their gradual descent, and as he came over it he saw a gap in the trees. In the distance he could see a thing line of blue cutting through the landscape – another river, down the middle of the peninsula.
“The River Aloe,” his master commented, seeing it as well. “We'll reach home in a few hours. Turn right up here.”
Blueblood saw the turnoff coming, and nodded. “Yes master,” he said, turning onto the road. The path thinned even more, and there were a pair of ruts in the path. The wagon wheels slipped into it, shaking its contents. Blueblood heard the chain rattle along the bottom, and his master grunt.
“Sorry master,” Blueblood said, looking back at him apologetically. His master raised an eyebrow at him.
“You keep saying that,” he said. Blueblood stared back at him, unsure of what to say.
“You say 'sorry master', and 'yes master', and 'alright master',” the old pony continued. “Why?”
“Because...” Blueblood said slowly, “because you're my master. You bought me, so...”
“You never asked my name,” the old pony interrupted him. “Do you not care what it is?”
“N-no, I...” Blueblood said. He turned away from the old pony, looking down. He wasn't sure what he should say. “I... you're my master, and... I...”
“I have a name,” the old pony said again. “I asked yours. So why didn't you ask mine?”
“I-I didn't want to be rude...” Blueblood mumbled. “It wasn't my place to ask...”
“Speak up, Red,” the old pony demanded. Blueblood winced, and answered again.
“I didn't want you to get mad at me!” he said, “I didn't know if I was allowed to ask!” He looked back through half closed eyes. The old unicorn was staring at him strangely. He couldn't decipher the expression – it was like the old pony was judging him, but there was something missing, if that was it. He remembered – Blueblood remembered, he reminded himself of the distinction – the expressions of the nobleponies who judged each other. There was always some degree of arrogance in those gazes. But there wasn't one here, even though the old pony was regarding a slave. He was just... watching the white pony. Like he was sizing him up. Blueblood stopped walking, captivated by the old pony's gaze.
“Ask me my name, Red,” the old pony said. Blueblood blinked, and lowered his head.
“What... what's your name, master?” he asked slowly.
“White Brook,” the old unicorn said simply.
“Do you... would you like me to call you that, from now on?” Blueblood asked. Brook shrugged vaguely.
“No... call me what you like,” he said. He and Blueblood shared a gaze for a moment, staring back and forth underneath the green light filtering through the leaves. Brook looked away. “Home is still a long ways away,” he said. “You should get moving.”
“Oh!” Blueblood said, turning around again, “right... sorry.” He set off again, pulling the heavy wagon along the old road. The road dwindled even more as he walked, narrowing until the sides of the cart brushed against the foliage. Blueblood's legs were aching, but he pushed on. The bush around them grew thicker and thicker, the enormous leaves stretching out and hiding the sky, casting a green light over everything on the path. Blueblood stumbled once or twice over roots stretching into the path, but he never fell. He pulled on, though the muggy air in the bush made his mane cling to his neck. He blinked the sweat out of his eyes, pressing on. Brook never spoke – Blueblood wasn't certain if he was even paying attention, or if he was just staring off into space. It wasn't his place to wonder, he told himself, but he wondered anyways. He couldn't judge anything from the old pony's expression. He - no, he told himself. Not he. Blueblood – had always been good at judging expressions, and moods. Blueblood had been good at figuring out what ponies were thinking... and how he could use it. It wasn't Blueblood pulling that cart, though. He told himself that, over and over. It wasn't Blueblood. It was Red. It was Red who shook his head, chasing the thoughts of Blueblood's life away. It was Red was starting pulling harder, despite the burning in his legs and the aching in his hooves. Not Blueblood. He told himself that, over and over, until he almost believed it.
Eventually he managed to shut the thoughts out of his mind. It wasn't hard, once he started to focus on the burning in his legs. He pushed on, pulling the cart down the narrow road. The sun swam across the sky as he walked, dipping in the west. Just as the sky took on a hue of orange, the bush started to clear.
“We're close now,” Brook commented idly from the wagon. “Should make it before sundown, easy.” Blueblood nodded, and pushed on. Brook had been right – the bush continued to thin out, and the path widened a bit as well. The green world gradually parted, allowing Blueblood to see the orange sky for the first time in hours. It was a welcomed change of pace, to say the least. Blueblood took the wagon through a turn, and he finally saw their destination.
The woods dropped of just a little ways away. A few trees still dotted the landscape, but for the most part the land in front of them was clear and flat. Blueblood could see it start to drop off and begin to roll again in the distance. His new home was much closer, though. The path lead just a few hundred feet away, to a large wooden house. Blueblood pulled the cart down the path, taking a better look at the house as they approached.
It was two stories high, a fairly simple home. A balcony stretched out from the top floor, casting shade over a porch on the bottom. It looked much newer, compared to the rest of the house. The wood was old, but it looked sturdy. Windows peppered the west side, letting light into the building. Not too far away there was a shed, in much poorer shape that the house. Vines and moss crept up its sides, covering the door. They were probably the only things holding it up; it leaned visibly to one side. Blueblood looked around the open field, taking in more of the scenery, and he noticed a patch of soft, brown earth.
The soft earth stretched out beside the home, a few dozen feet square. As he got closer Blueblood saw that, despite being softer than the other ground, it still looked as though it hadn't been touched in a few months. He blinked. It looked like a very small farm, he realized; one like the ponies outside Port Ponzance had been working, only it hadn't been touched yet.
While the little farm and the house were in good condition, the rest of the field looked much like the shed; unkempt, and overgrown. Weeds of all sort sprouted everywhere, and trees dotted the landscape. Nearby the house an enormous stump was rooted, almost the size of Blueblood himself. Blueblood just looked around as he walked, taking it all in. Despite the clearing, the house may has well have been built in the deep wilderness. As if declaring this, that this place still belonged to the wilderness, an enormous river cut through the landscape not a hundred feet away from the home. Deep, wide and incredibly, unbelievably blue. Blueblood stopped, just staring at it. It was breathtaking. Behind him, Brook chuckled. Blueblood looked back at him, and saw that he too had been staring at the river.
“The River Aloe,” he said. “She cuts right through the whole peninsula.” Blueblood followed his gaze, looking back at the river. The pair stared at it for a few minutes in silence, before Brook cleared his throat loudly.
“Come on, Red. Take the wagon up to the house there. Just around the side will do.”
“R-right,” Blueblood said, tugging the cart to life again. He pulled it around the side of the house, settling tight against the structure. Brook nodded at this, and Blueblood ducked out from under the bars. He stepped away from the wagon gratefully, but Brook caught his attention again.
“Just going to leave me stranded up here?” he asked. Blueblood cringed, and trotted back to the cart.
“Sorry, master,” he said, offering the old unicorn his hoof. Brook took it, leaning against the younger stallion as he sat along the edge of the wagon.
“Careful now,” he said, “give me your shoulder.” Blueblood did as he was beckoned, and Brook slung his bad hoof around the stallion's neck. Planting his other hoof firmly on the wagon, he swung himself over the edge, slowly lowering himself to the ground. “There we go,” he said, three of his hooves on the ground and the fourth, bad hoof still around Blueblood's neck. He looked to the west, peering critically at the rapidly falling sun.
“Come on Red,” he said.“Let's head inside.” Blueblood nodded, and followed the old pony around and into the house.
The light in the front room was weak, the sun as low in the sky as it was. Blueblood peered around the main room, squinting through the darkness. His eyes eventually started to adjust to the low light, and he found that Brook had gone off somewhere. Blueblood looked around, not wanting to be too far away from his master if the old unicorn needed his help. He soon learned where his master had gone, however, when he saw a glimmer from a nearby room, and the entire house was filled with light. The sudden brightness stung at Blueblood's eyes and he crouched down, covering them in pain. He uncovered them again when he heard the familiar shuffling gait of the the old unicorn approaching. He took one hoof off his eye first, peeking around the other. Brook was standing above him, staring down with one eyebrow raised.
“What are you doing?” he asked simply. Blueblood stood, and answered shyly.
“I, um. The light hurt my eyes,” he said. Brook nodded.
“I should have warned you,” he said, “I just needed to get close enough to the middle of the house to light them all at once.”
“Oh, no,” Blueblood said. “It's not a problem, master.”
“No?” Brook asked, looking back at the white stallion. Blueblood flinched, and took a step back.
“No, I mean... if you want to, next time, but... I won't mind if you don't...” he said, looking away. Brook sighed, and shook his head.
“We'll see,” he said simply. “Welcome home, Red. Have a look around. I'm going to fetch something.”
“Alright,” Blueblood said, as his master limped away. The white stallion stood in the centre of the room, looking around. To his left an old staircase lead up to the second floor, disappearing behind a bend. An old chandelier hung from the ceiling, but it was neither ornate nor particularly safe looking. In all likelihood the only thing that kept it from falling was the fact that there was nothing on it to weigh it down. The rest of the home was little better, with mostly bare wooden walls. There was only a single door in the main room, where Brook had gone through, so Blueblood deiced to climb the stairs instead.
He hadn't thought of it while he had been standing on the main floor, but Blueblood's legs ached. It was his feeble attempt at climbing the stairs that alerted him to this – it was slow going, and a bit painful, but he reached the top soon enough. Like the balcony outside, the second floor looked much newer than the ground floor, though its decorations were no less spartan. Once again it was plain wood walls, the wood was simply more fresh.
Blueblood found himself at the end of a small hallway. There were three doors along the hall – one on either side, and one on the far end. Blueblood crept down the hall slowly, peering at the doors. He took the one on his right first, gently prodding it open and peering inside.
It appeared to be a bedroom. A bed, which he assumed to be Brook's, was pressed into the corner beneath a window. The fading orange light of the sunset poured through it, casting a beam across the room and onto Blueblood. He looked down, noticing once again the colour it cast over his coat. He entered the room slowly, looking to the left and right. The room was spacious, with an old, soft-looking rug in the centre. The walls were lined with bookshelves, full of ancient-looking volumes. Blueblood walked up to one of the bookshelves, reading one at random.
“The Soul of the Hoof,” Blueblood read aloud, “by Silver Tongue.” He tilted his head, and read another. “Gold leaves, and other collected works... The Stallion Who Was Thursday... A Book for all and None... All's Quiet in the Eastern Sky... The Stranger...” He stepped back, shaking his head. Most of these books he had never heard of. He could only guess that they even were books based on the fact that he did recognize a few titles. He had never read any of them, though – he had only the vaguest idea of what they were about; old, dusty books about old stallions sitting around and talking.
He looked at the other bookshelves – they were filled with similar books. Poetry, philosophy, 'classical literature' – Blueblood wondered vaguely if Brook had really read them all. He shook his head again, and backed out of the room. There was nothing else to see in there, and as he backed out he chastised himself.
They're Master's books, he thought to himself, It's not your place to question, or snoop. You're a slave now – don't pry, don't question. He nodded, the thought set firmly in his mind, and turned around.
The door behind him was much more worn, signs of hoof-scratches evident on the brass handle. Blueblood sat for a moment before opening it, wondering if he should go through. Brook had told him – ordered him – to look around, though. He gulped, and pushed the handle down, swinging the door open.
There was no room beyond the door. It lead onto the balcony that he had seen from the path. The balcony was wide and nearly clear, save for a chair and small table near the railing. Blueblood trotted out, looking at the view.
It was wonderful – no, wonderful didn't do it justice. It was perfect. The river lay across he landscape like a ribbon, gleaming in the evening sun, turning its waters a sort of purple. Beyond its far bank Blueblood could see the forest start up again, every bit as wild as the path he had dragged the cart along not long ago. He could see the landscape dip and bulge in the far distance, stretching on into the haze of sightlessness. A gentle breeze played against Blueblood, sweeping his mane across his face and tingling his coat. He leaned over the railing, and sighed. It was fantastic. He wondered what it was like for Brook, living here. Did he see this sight every night? Blueblood wondered if it ever got old... Blueblood has always loved looking out over Canterlot in the evening, watching the white city gleam and turn to gold. He shook his head sharply, jumping back from the railing and covering his eyes.
“No,” he said aloud. “No. That isn't my view. It isn't my world. I'm different now. I'm not Blueblood anymore... Canterlot isn't my home. Not my home... not my home.” He looked out from under his hooves, staring sadly at the vista before him. “This is my home now,” he whimpered. “It's... it's better this way. It is.” He told himself that, over and over. It was better to start over. He had been terrible before, an awful pony. How could he ever make up for everything he had done, in his entire life? He couldn't. He had to start over. He had to put his past behind him, forget about all the bad things he had done. He would take his punishment, and start over with it. He had heard something about that once – some old, outdated religion. Reincarnation? Karma, perhaps?
He stood up, and retreated from the balcony. It was too hard for him to look at it – it reminded him too much of Blueblood. He tried to shut Blueblood out of his mind, tried to be Red, and turned to the third and final door.
“Home,” he said definitively, pushing to door open. The latch was old and hard, and the door creaked loudly when it opened. It seemed like nopony had come in here for a long, long time. Years, maybe.
Inside the room was a desk. It was a plain looking writing desk, with an old stool, quill and ink, and a set of parchments. Blueblood trotted into the room, taking a closer look. The parchments were all yellowed and curled up, and the ink in the well was dried. There was a window in front of the desk, but it was coated in thick dust. Looking around, Blueblood saw more writing materials – blank scrolls, journals, spare quills. Brook must have been quite the writer, before. There were more bookshelves, too, but Blueblood didn't bother looking at them. He assumed they would contain much the same content as the bookshelves in Brook's room. Something else caught his attention.
A pair of letters sitting on the desk, sealed with wax. There was no stamp on the wax, just a red blob sealing the letters. For a moment, Blueblood considered opening one of them, but he knew that his Master would be angry if he did. This room was old, and unused – the master probably wouldn't approve him being in there at all, he thought. He turned around, preparing to leave the room.
Then he saw the solider.
There, hiding in the shadows of the room. An Aloan soldier. The armour gave it away – silver, gleaming in the light that streamed through the windows. It was swathed in decadent green and blue wrappings, tied with a golden medallion, depicting a river delta – the symbol of Aloa. Blueblood couldn't see the soldier's face, obscured by shadow. The armour covered the rest of its body, plates along the legs and sides. Even the horn was covered, tucked inside a dangerous-looking blade.
Blueblood started, and fell backwards. The soldier loomed above him, tall and imposing. He shuffled backwards, knocking over scroll stands and quills in his quest to get as far away from the soldier as possible, as fast as possible. The soldier didn't move any closer, just standing and staring.
Why isn't he doing anything? Blueblood screamed in his mind. Why is he just standing there? Isn't he here for me? Isn't he with Iron?
He pressed himself against the back wall, his mind racing. No, no, he isn't here for me, he thought, he can't be! He's here for Blueblood! Not me, not Red, Blueblood! I'm not Blueblood anymore, so they can't hurt me anymore! I'm not! I didn't do all those things that made Iron hate me, I didn't get kidnapped by the Aloans, so he can't be here for me! He isn't here to hurt me, he isn't! I'm not Blueblood! I'm Red, I'm Red, I'm Red, he isn't going to hurt me! Please, please, please auntie, don't let him hurt me!”
He told himself that, over and over and over, practically begging himself to believe it, to believe that the soldier wasn't there to hurt him. He was so intent on convincing himself that he wasn't Blueblood, that he hadn't been that awful pony and that the soldier wasn't here to hurt him that he didn't even notice that he had been screaming.
“Red!” Brook shouted, suddenly beside the white pony. Blueblood hadn't heard him coming up the stairs, or even down the hall so impossibly fast. Not that this meant much; even as Brook shouted at him, Blueblood barely heard.
“Red! Red, what is it?” Brook shouted. “What's the matter, Red?” He took a hold of Blueblood's shoulders, shaking him. Blueblood clung to the old stallion, still staring dead at the soldier. Brook followed his gaze, spying the figure in the darkened corner of the room. He set himself between Blueblood and the figure, shouting again.
“Red, calm down,” he shouted, but Blueblood payed him no heed. Brook kept shouting, but Blueblood wouldn't listen. Eventually Brook took hold of him and dragged him out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He stood before the cowering stallion, and slammed his good hoof down, shouting, “RED!”
His voiced bellowed, echoing through the house. Blueblood stopped screaming, and looked up at the green unicorn.
“It's alright, Red,” he said quietly. “It's just armour. Nothing to be afraid of.”
“W-what?” Blueblood asked slowly. His mind was beginning to come back to him, but the image of the soldier in the study was still fresh in his mind. Brook crouched down, looking him in the eyes.
“Armour, Red – it was only armour. It can't hurt you. You're fine.”
“I... I...” Blueblood said, as more and more of his mind came back, “I... armour?”
“That's right,” Brook said. “Just my armour.”
The two sat on the floor for a few minutes, while Blueblood tried to stop shaking. Eventually, he looked up at his master.
“You're a soldier?” he asked softly. Brook sighed, and looked away from him.
“Once,” he said simply. “A long, long time ago. But not any more. I haven't touched that armour... haven't looked at it in years.”
“But the armour... it was so clean.”
“Spell on it,” Brook said. “Repels dust, rust – anything, really. Keeps it clean.” He stood sharply, saying, “That's enough. No more talking about that.” He turned, and trotted back to his bedroom door, opening it.
“Come in here, Red,” he said. Blueblood stood shakily, and walked to the door. The room had changed just a bit since he had last seen it – a blanket had been folded and placed on top of the bed.
“There's nowhere else for you to sleep,” Brook said. “You'll have to sleep in here.” Blueblood blinked, and nodded, stepping inside. He took the blanket off the bed and pulled it to the rug in the centre of the room. He tugged the blanket over top of himself, and curled up on the rug. Brook stared at him from the doorway, and sighed. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. With a flick of his horn he doused the lights – all the lights in the house, probably. The only light left was the final lights of day, slipping away through the window. It was no longer orange or red, having turned blue while Blueblood was in his master's study. Brook limped across the room, settling into his bed with another sigh. Blueblood peered at him from the floor.
“... Master?” he asked quietly. Brook shifted in his bed, looking over at the stallion.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I'm sorry,” Blueblood said.
“For what?”
“For... for being frightened by your armour,” the stallion said, looking down in shame. Brook stared at him. Blueblood couldn't see his expression, silhouetted by the moonlight as he was, but Blueblood imagined it was that same odd expression he always looked at him with.
“You can't help that,” Brook said finally. “There are things we can't control. Don't apologize for them.”
“But... I'm sorry you had to come snap me out of it,” Blueblood persisted. Once again, Brook was silent. He shook his head, and lay back down.
“It's been a long day, Red. You've had it hard. Sleep now. You start working in the morning.”
“Alright, master,” Blueblood said. He lay his head back down, shifting into a more comfortable position – he found it easy on the old, soft rug. Despite the scare not long ago, it was not long after he closed his eyes that he felt the hand of sleep pulling him down. He let it take hold of him, and before too long he drifted down into oblivion.
|
Kegisak
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1052
| 7 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-11-06T09:26:07+00:00
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2011-11-06T09:26:07+00:00
| 4,948 |
Chapter 7: In Which Something is Kept
Blueblood stirred gently in his sleep. He mumbled to himself, wordless sentences spoken to nopony. His legs twitches gently, and his brow creased. The prince was dreaming.
He was out in the field around his master's house. A iron collar was strapped around his neck, weighing his head down. He walked aimlessly around the field, pulling out weeds. His master watched him from high above on his balcony, stretching up into the sky until Blueblood could no longer see the top. Occasionally he would shout down commands, demanding that Blueblood do some inane task or another. Sometimes he was told that he had missed weeds. Other times he was told to dance for his master's amusement. Once he was simply ordered to hold still, and a small glass of water fell down from the great tower and struck him in the head. It didn't matter what it was; no matter what the command, no matter how humiliating or degrading, Blueblood did as he was told. New weeds always sprouted up whenever he pulled one, his master always had new demands. The weeds stained his fur, colouring it a deep crimson. After working for ages, his entire coat was red. Still he worked, pulling up every weed he could find, obeying every command. The collar wore him down, and his body ached, but he worked. He would work forever.
On the corners of his vision, a figure stood. He couldn't make out the details of it. It stood stock straight and tall and was so white that it shone, even amongst the fur-staining weeds. Whenever Blueblood turned to look at it, it darted away. But it was always there, staring at him.
Blueblood continued to work, and the weeds grew higher around him. Their stems stretched into the air, reaching past his head. All he could see was a swaying world of plants. He pushed through them, blundering blindly for his masters tower, but he could not find it. Then, he saw a movement in the weeds. He headed for it, thinking it might be his master with another order for him. The weeds parted, and Blueblood saw that it was not his master, but the figure that had been watching him.
The figure was a stallion; a tall, proud unicorn with a pale blond mane. His features seemed twisted and distorted, as if he were melting. It peered at him strangely, an enormous, cruel grin plastered across its face. It spoke at him, but it didn't speak in words. All that came out of its throat were garbled noises, like a cooing mother, mixed with arrogant laughter, and crying. Blueblood found he could understand it, though.
What are you? It seemed to say, leaning in to look at Blueblood. Blueblood tried to answer, but the collar was tight around his throat, keeping him from speaking. The figure jiggled, like it was laughing, and leaned in again, tilting its head. Its grin widened, becoming impossibly large.
You aren't better than me, it said. It seemed to laugh again, and took a step toward Blueblood. He stepped back, but the figure followed him. You aren't better than me, it repeated. Its face was almost pressing against Blueblood's. He started to shake, and he turned and ran.
The figure pursued him through the weeds, calling that same garbled message after him. You aren't better than me! It seemed to laugh as it chased him. Blueblood looked over his shoulder at it. It was only walking, but it was managing to keep pace. It twisted its head left and right, and its smug smile stretched off its face. You can't leave me, it called out, I'll catch up to you! Blueblood squeezed his eyes shut, and kept running.
The field of weeds kept growing higher and higher. It seemed to stretch on forever as Blueblood pushed the plants down to run. The iron collar weighed him down, threatening to pull him down onto the ground. It seemed to get heavier with every step that he took. He stumbled through the weeds as the figured slung taunts and jeers at him. Suddenly, the weeds fell away. For a moment, Blueblood was relieved – until he realized that he had run over the bank of the river.
He plunged into the water, dragged down by the collar. He struggled against it, but it wouldn't come off. He was starting to run out of breath, air leaking out of his lungs as he fell deeper and deeper into the bottomless river. Its blue-green waters were getting darker, until there was nothing but blackness – except for the figure.
It had followed him into the river, becoming nebulous in the water. Even down here it shone. Its body stretched out in all directions, but that grin was still there in the centre. Even underwater, it spoke to him.
I'll catch up to you, it said. A long, spindly limb stretched out from its centre, reaching for Blueblood. It stretched, longer and longer, longer than any limb should ever be. You can't leave me, it said again. Its voice terrified Blueblood, and he tried to swim deeper into the river to escape it. It followed after him, its single limb stretching after him.
Blueblood's lungs were empty now, but he still swam further down. His legs were turning to stone, and he couldn't swim any longer. He twisted around, and saw the figure still stretching after him. It was almost upon him now, nothing but a sick, twisted grin, and a hoof reaching out to grab him. Blueblood trembled in the deep as the hoof took hold of his shoulder. It washed over him, oozing across his body like taffy. He wanted to cry out, but he couldn't speak. The figure washed over him, completely covering his body, and pulling him in. It wrapped itself around him, and the world went black.
Then, it was awash with light. Blueblood stood in a brilliant white world. Behind him was a golden throne fit for a god, inlaid with jewels and plush cushions. Ponies were chained to it, despondent and weak. The throne was at the top of a gigantic staircase, that seemed to stretch into the clouds below. There was nothing below them, save for white. From that same white great marble pillars erupted, framing the scene before Blueblood.
Crowds of ponies stood before Blueblood, prostrating themselves. A voice rang out over them, made of those same laughs and cries that the figure spoke in. This time, to his surprise, Blueblood recognized the voice as his own. He didn't mean to, but he was speaking.
None of you are good enough, he said to the ponies before him. I am greater than all of you. You shall all serve me. You shall serve my whims, and what you say means nothing.
He felt his head turn, once again without his volition, surveying all of the ponies. There were Earth ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns before him. None of them mixed; they were all grouped together. He swung his hoof at the pegasi, and demanded the dance for him. They did so, and he heard himself laugh. Then he swung his hoof at the earth ponies. He didn't command them, instead simply berating them. He called them weak, and worthless. Then, he turned to the unicorns, and he saw that not all of the ponies were separated. In the centre of the unicorns there was a single crimson earth pony. Blueblood walked towards the earth pony, cowering amongst the unicorns at the edge of the staircase. As he approached, Blueblood saw that the red pony was wearing an iron collar, and was dripping wet. He stood before the red earth pony. He stood before himself, cowering on the floor.
The red Blueblood looked up at him, fear clear in his wide eyes. Blueblood looked into them, and he saw himself. A white unicorn, horribly twisted and distorted. The only clear feature was his grin – arrogant, cruel and petty. He tried to stop himself, but he raised his hoof, and put it against the red Blueblood's forehead, right where his horn had been.
You are not better than me, he said, and pushed. The red Blueblood tumbled down the stairs, falling endlessly.
Blueblood's eyes snapped open.
As always, he felt that same painful awareness. By now he was able to ignore it though, and he lifted his head slowly, peering sleepily around the room. Light spilled through the window, falling across Blueblood's blanket in a broad line. Looking over his shoulder at the window, Blueblood confirmed what he had known the moment he awoke: his master was gone.
Blueblood stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He noticed that the door to the balcony was opened just a crack, and he nudged it open further. Poking his head through, he found his master, leaning over the banister and staring out over the river.
It was a beautiful scene. The river gleamed in the morning light; its glare hurt Blueblood's eyes a bit, but he kept on looking. The light seemed to bounce all across the field, casting everything in a brilliant, clean white. In spite of the wilderness, or perhaps because of it, the world seemed pure. Blueblood walked out further onto the balcony, and his master looked over his shoulder.
“Morning, Red,” he said simply, turning back to the scene. “You came to join me?” Blueblood lowered his head, and took another shuffling step forward.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
“What for this time?” Brook asked. Blueblood looked down, pawing at the floor nervously.
“Sorry,” he said, “for waking up late.”
“It's hardly late,” Brook said dismissively. “Sun only came up an hour ago. Plenty of time left in the day.”
“But,” Blueblood said again, “If you wanted to, you could have woken me...” Brook was silent.
“Come here, Red,” he said. Blueblood did as he was told, walking up beside the old unicorn. Brook didn't look at him, still staring out over the field. Blueblood sat beside him, following his gaze. Occasionally he would look back at his master, who still remained silent. Once again, he wore that curious, empty expression.
“I could have woken you,” Brook said finally, “but I didn't.” Blueblood blinked at him, expecting more, but the old unicorn had returned to staring. Blueblood stared too. He looked out over the river, over the forest in the distance, but he didn't really see. His mind was returning to his dream. Though the field bore only the vaguest resemblance to the one he had seen while he slept, it still reminded him of it. It reminded him of that strange white figure, grinning at him amidst the weeds. He shook his head, chasing the frightening thoughts away, and his master spoke again.
“It's good you slept in,” he said, getting off of the banister. “There's a lot of work to do. You'll need the energy. Let's get breakfast.” Blueblood nodded, and Brook lead him back into the house and down the stairs. He pulled a pair of buckets connected by a rope out of a cupboard, and gave it to Blueblood. “Fill these in the river,” he instructed, “then bring them back here.” Blueblood nodded, and slung them around his neck.
He trotted out the door, and down to the river. He hadn't been close to it before, but now that he was he saw that it was nothing like the river that flowed through the mainland. While that had been deep, and dark, this river seemed almost crystal clear in comparison. Its waters had a faint aqua hue, but he could clearly see the river bed, even in the middle. He took a few steps into the river, and watched the sand kick up in a cloud around his hooves.
He had expected the water to be chilly, but that was not the case. It was warm; nearly the perfect temperature. There were lakes and pools around Canterlot, but he had never gone swimming in any of them; Mountain water was much too cold for him. He stooped down, letting the buckets around his neck fall into the river and be filled up. When he tried to stand up straight again, however, he found that it was not so easy. The rope dug into his back, weighed down by the heavy buckets of water, and he made his way back to the house. He tried to walk steadily, but the weight of the buckets made his gaunt rough, and some of the water sloshed out of the buckets and onto him. They were still mostly full when he arrived back at the house, but not so full that anything spilled over.
“Bring them here,” Brook called from one of the back rooms as Blueblood entered. He followed the voice and found his master in a small room containing a meager table, a few stools and a wood-burning stove, fire already burning. “Good,” Brook said. “Pour one of the buckets into that pot.”
Blueblood did as he was told, though not without some difficulty. It was hard to grip the bucket between two flat hooves and it often jostled in his grip, spilling water over the floor. He looked at his master shyly, who didn't seem to be paying attention, focusing instead on the state of the fire. Blueblood finished filling the pot soon enough, and Brook turned around. He nodded impassively at the reasonably-full pot, and gripped the handle in his mouth, setting it onto the stove. He opened a cupboard, pulling out a heavy sack. He looked between it and the pot for a moment, before sighing. His horn lit up slightly – if he hadn't been watching, Blueblood wouldn't have even seen it glow – and the sack lifted off the ground. It drifted effortlessly over the pot, and poured oats into the hot water. Brook put it back in its cupboard, and turned back to the pot.
“Come here, Red,” he said idly. Blueblood joined him at the small stove, staring at the pot. “You know how to make oatmeal?” Brook asked. Blueblood shook his head.
“No, master,” he said. Brook raised an eyebrow at him, but gestured toward the pot with his bad hoof.
“You'll learn,” he said. “It's easy. Just boil the oats in water until it starts to thicken. Think you can managed that?” Blueblood nodded, and Brook did so as well. “Good,” he said. “Then you'll do that every morning. Get two buckets of water from the river, and use one to make oatmeal.”
“What's the other one for?” Blueblood asked.
“Washing up,” Brook told him. He dipped his hooves in the second bucket, washing them in demonstration. He scrubbed his bad hoof carefully, gently rubbing the dirt out of it. Blueblood watched him for a moment, before the green unicorn nodded towards the stove. “Watch the meal,” he said, “don't let it burn.”
“Right,” Blueblood said, turning back to the pot, “sorry.” He watched the pot bubble on the stove, stirring it occasionally with a wooden spoon that Brook had given him. After a while the mixture started to turn into a sort of paste as the oats blended with the water, and Blueblood took the pot off the stove. He almost scalded his mouth, and he dropped it onto the table, splattering the oatmeal.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. Brook shrugged.
“There are bowls in the cupboard,” he said, “and spoons. Get two out.”
“R-right,” Blueblood said, trotting over to the cupboard. He found the spoons and bowls as Brook had told him – oddly, there were more than two. There were five bowls and spoons, as well as five forks, knives, plates and cups. He found this odd, but ignored it, taking the bowls and spoons in his mouth and bringing them to the table. He set them down, and ladled the pastey oatmeal into them. He was about to sit down to eat, when Brook coughed.
“Was up,” the old pony said. Blueblood grimaced, and walked to the bucket of water. He scrubbed his hooves, and returned to the table. Brook peered at his now-spotless hooves, and nodded. “Good,” he said. “Go ahead and eat.”
Brook took hold of the spoon in his good hoof. With a time-honed skill that Blueblood wouldn't have expected of the unicorn – or any unicorn, for that matter – he ate his breakfast. Blueblood tried to do the same, but he has not used to using utensils with hooves. He fumbled with the spoon, unable to keep hold of it without any digits. Eventually, he resorted to sticking his face into the bowl.
Just another thing to get used to, he told himself, probably better for a slave to eat like this anyways...
He tried to convince himself that he wasn't Blueblood once again, but in truth his heart wasn't really in it. His mind kept going back to his dream. He didn't understand why. It was just a dream, after all, but something about it bothered him. Maybe it was the figure's strange, oversized smile that made him uncomfortable, or the way it sucked him in. Maybe it was all those ponies that had bowed before the figure. Whatever it was, he had trouble focusing on anything else. It seemed to be autopilot that got him though his meal, as he was done before he knew it. His master wash finished as well, staring idly at him.
“Done?” he asked. Blueblood nodded slowly.
“Yes,” he said. Brook nodded as well, and stood up from the table.
“Wash up,” he said. “And wash the bowls and pots. Then meet me outside.” Without waiting for a reply he limped past Blueblood, and out of the house. Blueblood did as he was told, washing the excess oatmeal off the bowls and his face, and then followed after his master.
Brook was standing around the side of the house, staring at the shed. Blueblood walked up slowly, and Brook peered over his shoulder at the white stallion.
“We need to get this shed opened, Red,” he said. “I'll give you a hoof with the vines.” He trotted up to the old structure and bit one of the vies surrounding it, tearing it off. Blueblood did the same, and he immediately had to wonder if Brook was a bit more than he seemed. The old unicorn seemed to be ripping the old plants off effortlessly, but Blueblood struggled to tear his vines. They eventually came loose in a single chunk, and Blueblood tumbled onto his back, the mass of plants still clutched in his mouth. Brook paused for a moment to stare at him, now draped in a net of vines.
“Can you get up?” he asked. Blueblood struggled under the vines, but eventually found his way upright.
“Y-yes,” he said, his head low, “yes, sorry.” he trotted back to the shed, shaking off one of the vines that had wrapped around his hoof, and returned to helping Brook.
With the one mass of vines gone, the rest of the job was much easier. The other weeds and plants tore off in Blueblood's mouth, and there were some where he had to do little more than bite down on them to tear them away. In the end the shed was bare, leaning dangerously to one side. Blueblood reached out gently, prodding open the door. The entire structure gaze a whining creak, and shuddered visibly. Blueblood grimaced, but pushed the door open more. For a moment, it seemed fine. The door swung cleanly on the hinges, nothing to stop or slow its path – except for the wall of the shed.
The door struck the inside wall, and the shed shuddered again. It leaned even further, and a loud groan was heard. Both Brook and Blueblood leaped back as the shed came crashing down, boards breaking and splintering. A few of the larger things in the shed stuck through the mass, but most of it was lost in a pile of old, rotted wood. Brook sighed, and Blueblood's head sunk.
“Sorry, master,” he said. Brook prodded one of the planks, which splintered easily.
“It's not your fault,” he said. “This shed was old. The vines held it up, but it wanted to fall.” He shifted a few pieces of lumber around, and shook his head. “We'll need a new one,” he said. “That means new wood.”
“Would you like me to get some, master?” Blueblood asked. Brook shook his head.
“I'll take care of it,” he said. “You need to get to work. First, clear all this. You need what's under there.”
Blueblood stepped closer to the pile of wood, shoving the broken planks aside. It was easy, but there was a lot of wood to go through, it seemed. After a minute of shoveling, Brook told him to stop.
“There,” he said, pointing a piece of metal sticking through the rubble. “That's what you need.” His horn lit up, and the piece of metal started to rise through the rubble. As it rose, Blueblood saw that it was not a small tool like he had imagined. The metal formed a large, curved v shape coming to a sharp point in the front. It was connected to a pair of wooden bars with a heavy collar attached.
“What is it?” Blueblood asked. Brook held the device in mid-air, staring at his slave.
“You've never seen a plough before?” he asked. Blueblood looked between his master and the plow.
“No,” he said slowly. Brook blinked at him, but didn't comment. Instead, he levitated the plough and walked around the house. Blueblood followed him, and the pair circled around to the patch of rough soil. Brook set the plough down, the metal v pointed into the ground. “Come here,” he said without looking at Blueblood. Blueblood did as he was told and Brook took a hold of him. He steered the stallion in front of the plough, and dropped the collar around his neck.
“You use a plough to till the soil,” Brook said. “Walk.” Blueblood looked back at Brook, who stared at him expectantly. He gestured for Blueblood to move. The stallion nodded, and started to walk, only to stop dead when he reached the end of the rope connecting him to the plough. He tried again, pulling against the rope this time. The plough twitched, but the earth didn't give way. He looked back at Brook, who had raised an eyebrow at him. Despite this clue, the unicorn's expression was as indecipherable as ever. Blueblood looked forward again, and shook his head. He took a step back, then pushed forward as hard as he could. This time, he felt the plough behind him budge, just slightly. Encouraged by this meager success, he strained against the ropes. Little by little he felt the plough behind him shudder into life, dragging through the dirt. He grunted loudly, head down and heaving hard, and the plough started to move faster. Soon, he was able to take a step forward. Then another. Before long, he was trudging slowly through the field, the plough dragging behind him. Brook limped along beside him silently, watching him work. It took him a while – he wasn't sure how long exactly, though it felt like ages – but he eventually reached the far end of the small patch. He stopped, beaming at his master. Despite his heavy breathing, he was proud of what he had done, however meager. Blueblood wouldn't have been able to do that, he thought to himself, but Red had. Brook nodded to him.
“Good,” he said. “That's one row done. “I'll turn it around for you.”
“Why?” Blueblood asked. “How many are there left to do?” Brook levitated the plough out of the ground, setting it behind Blueblood once again.
“Fifteen should do,” he said. “Maybe twenty.” Blueblood stared at him blankly. Brook stared back for a moment, before nodding at the plough. “Well, get moving,” he said. Blueblood fought the urge to sigh, and pulled against the ropes again.
It took hours, but Blueblood finally managed to plough the entire patch of land beside the house. The earth was soft and brown, squishing under the two ponies' hooves. Brook took the yoke off of Blueblood's neck, and the two ambled away from it. Blueblood's legs ached miserably, but he didn't say anything. He was stumbling a bit though, and it did not escape Brook's notice.
“Sit here,” he said. Blueblood did as he was told, letting his weary legs rest. Brook sat beside him staring out at the river. The two were silent, save for Blueblood's occasional grunts as she shifted around to keep from hurting his legs. In the end he flopped onto his side, splaying his legs out across the grass. Brook peered sidelong at him, but his gaze soon returned to the river, not saying a word. Blueblood closed his eyes, feeling the breeze wash over him gently. The ache in his legs began to numb, and he felt it becoming difficult to open his eyes again. He could hear is master breathing rhythmically beside him. He felt peaceful. The midday sun warmed him, and he felt his mind lull softly.
Then, in a flash, he saw the figure from his dream again, his arrogant grin too wide for his face. Blueblood's eyes snapped open, and he jerked violently.
His master was still sitting beside him, but the sun seemed to have moved along in the sky. He blinked, looking around. He saw that the rubble of the shed had been cleared in the distance, piled neatly, and that there was an axe sitting beside Brook. He shied away from the axe for a moment, before realizing what had happened. He lowered his head ashamedly, and started to apologize.
“No sense in working you to death,” Brook cut him off. “Everypony needs a break.” Blueblood nodded silently. He was still ashamed that he had fallen asleep. He berated himself mentally.
That isn't good, he thought, It isn't what a good slave would do... it's something that Blueblood would do! And I'm not Blueblood... right? He shook his head softly, chasing his doubts away.
“What did you dream about?” Brook asked. Blueblood blinked at him. “You were twitching,” Brook said by way of explanation, “what did you dream about?”
“I... don't know,” Blueblood lied. “I don't remember.” The grinning figure still made him uncomfortable; afraid, even. He didn't even want to remember it, much less talk about it. So he put it out of his mind, and stood up on shaky legs. Brook stood as well, gathering the axe with his bad hoof.
“We'll rebuild that shed,” he said. “We need a place to keep the plough out of the rain.”
“Alright.” Blueblood nodded. Brook limped back to where the shed had been, Blueblood following along beside him.
“Some of the boards we can reuse,” he said, gesturing to a pile of planks. Unlike the rest, old and rotted, these looked fresh. Blueblood pressed a hoof against one to test it. It felt sturdy enough. “Most,” Brook continued, “are rotted through. I gathered more wood while you were out, we can cut planks out of those. The nails are all still good, we can use them.”
“How do we start?” Blueblood asked. Brook levitated the axe, over to a small log that stood upright. The axe spun in mid-air, slamming into the log and shearing in half with a snap. One half of it fell away, but the axe spun around again before the second half could fall. The result was a thick plank of wood.
“You keep giving me logs,” he said, “I'll cut them. I'll tell you when we've got enough.” Blueblood nodded, and trotted to a stack of logs nearby. He grabbed one off the top, fumbling with it between his hooves. He eventually managed to set it upright, and Brook swiftly chopped a plank out of it. Blueblood grabbed the plank and put it aside, replacing it with another log. It was slow going at first; Blueblood had trouble grasping the logs between his hooves, and even more trouble setting them standing up. Brook never spoke, focusing on his work. The axe spun swiftly and precisely, hacking through the wood in an instant. It always cut along the grain of the wood, no matter which way Blueblood set the log.
Eventually, Blueblood began to pick up his pace. Through practice, he became more accustomed to working with his hooves. In all the time since he had lost his horn, he had never once tried to use them for any work. He tried not to think of the time when he had his horn – that was Blueblood's time, and no matter what he felt about it he would not be Blueblood any longer – but he knew that back then he had used his hooves even less, if that was possible. He had always prided himself on having manual dexterity above ordinary ponies. He had been proud of what his magic allowed him to do. Now, though, he had no magic to help him. As they neared the bottom of the pile of logs his hooves moved more dextrously. He and Brook had developed a rhythm; place, cut, move the plank. Though he still fumbled occasionally, Blueblood was able to place the logs almost as fast as Brook could cut them. He shoved another plank aside and reached for a new log, only the find that none found his grasp.
He turned around, looking at the place where the log pile had been. There was nothing there, save for a few pieces of logs that had been knocked over by Brook's axe. He looked to his other side, seeing the large stack of planks. Then he looked to Brook, who rested his axe on his shoulder. A slight smiled played across his lips – Blueblood thought it might have been the first he had ever seen from the unicorn.
“We've got enough now,” he said. “Good work, Red.” He put his axe on the ground, and took a plank in his band hoof. He limped to the round ground where the shed had been, and beckoned for Blueblood to come closer.
“The shed will have two layers,” he said, “to keep it steady. The first thing we need to do is drive the planks into the ground.” He set the edge of his plank on the ground, balancing it carefully, then put his weight on it. The plank sunk into the ground halfway, and Brook stepped off. “Set yours right up against mine,” he said. Blueblood grabbed a plank off the pile of old lumber, but Brook shook his head. “Those are too weak for the base,” he said. “Take one of the new ones.” Blueblood nodded, and took the new plank. He imitated Brook, driving his plank into the soft ground. Brook inspected it, and nodded.
“Good,” he said. “Do that for about... ten planks.” Blueblood did as he was told, driving the planks into the ground. When he was finished, his master instructed him in setting down the rest of the shed's perimeter. In the end, while it had no door to speak of, it seemed like it would be a good-sized shed. Brook took another plank and set it along the ground, inside the perimeter. He drove a pair of nails through it, connecting it to the outside plank.
“You line these up,” he said, “and I'll nail them together. You can use the old planks now.” Blueblood nodded. One by one he set the planks up, and Brook nailed them together. They started to build up, higher and higher.
As they gradually reached up, someone began to bother Blueblood. “Master?” he said slowly. Brook looked around the half-built shed at him, a pair of nails hanging in mid-air.
“Yes?” he asked shortly. Blueblood lowered his head.
“Well,” he said quietly, “I just... why are we using the old wood?” Brook blinked at him.
“The wood is good,” he said. “Why wouldn't we?”
“Because,” Blueblood said, shrinking away. “The old shed broke. The wood... it can't be any good, if it broke, right? That's why were making a new one. The old one was bad, so we need a new one.” Brook stared at him for a while. While they had been working a sort of life had come over his face, if only just. It was draining away now, though, and his face returned to that strange, impassive expression as he regarded the slave. Eventually, he spoke.
“The shed was broken,” he said. “But the wood is still good.”
“But it broke,” Blueblood said again. “Isn't that what you do with broken things? Replace them?”
“Sometimes,” Brook conceded, a hint of sadness in his voice. “Not always. Just because something is broken, doesn't mean it's worthless. No matter how badly something is broken, there's always something worth saving.” He circled around the shed, and told Blueblood to hold out his hoof. He put the nails on the stallions hoof.
“See those?” he asked. “Those came from this shed too. But they're still good. No rust, and plenty strong. You see? Even though the shed was broken, there are still parts of it that can be salvaged. You don't have to through out the whole thing.”
Blueblood stared at the nails in his hoof. Brook nodded at him, and said. “Always remember. Nothing is ever to broken to save. No matter how bad it is, you never just replace something.”
The words hit Blueblood like a punch in the stomach. He sat down, still staring at the nails in his hoof. He didn't understand what he felt, or why he was feeling it. All he knew was that he felt. He felt an intense tightness in his chest, like worry. He felt somehow empty, like there was something that was missing. He didn't know what it was, though.
Maybe I miss home? He thought idly. He blinked and shook his head. No! He thought, I can't miss home! I am home! I have no other home! I'm not Blueblood! Not anymore! Never again! He shook his head, and he began to tremble slightly. For some reason, some reason he couldn't understand, he remembered the figure from his dream.
“Red,” Brook said, shaking Blueblood from his daydreams. The white stallion blinked at his master, who was levitating another pair of nails. “Let's get back to work. I want this shed done tonight.”
“R-right,” Blueblood said. He tucked the nails into his mane, and joined Brook in working.
***
Blueblood was silent for the rest of the night. He and Brook finished building the shed without incident and moved the plough inside, as well as a few other tools. It seemed that they finished just in time; clouds began to form overhead as the sun set, and the two stallions barely made it inside before the downpour began. Blueblood cooked a meager meal at Brook's instruction, and then returned to the bedroom. Brook did little to stop him; he spoke just as little as his slave that evening. Blueblood didn't know when exactly Brook went to bed himself; he had fallen asleep long before. All he knew is that when his eyes opened blearily, Brook was still sleeping.
The old pony snored gently on his mattress, face towards the door. Blueblood crept downstairs, careful not to wake him, and got ready to make breakfast.
Blueblood's sleep had not been a restful one. He had been plagued by visions – not proper dreams or nightmares, just images. Snatches of sounds, and pictures. Among them the figure from his dream the previous night featured prominently – staring, staring at him with that its enormous, twisted grin. It shook in that odd imitation of a laugh it had, and taunted Blueblood. You aren't better than me, it had said, over and over. Blueblood tried hard to shake the image out of his mind, and set about his work.
After he finished preparing the oatmeal, Blueblood crept back upstairs and woke his master. The pair ate their meal in silence, as they had done the evening before. When they were done, Brook took him outside again. He brought him around the back of the house, and spoke.
“You're going to plough this,” he said. Blueblood looked at him, and Brook waved his bad hoof at the land. “The small plot of land you ploughed yesterday is enough to feed me, for a while,” he continued. “But not for you. So you're going to plough enough land to keep us both fed for the whole year.”
“How much land is that?” Blueblood asked quietly. Brook waved his hoof again.
“From the back of my house to that stump should do,” he said. He gestured to the gigantic stump Blueblood had seen when he first came to the house, sitting at almost the size of a pony. It was a long ways away from the house; the resulting plot would be several times the size of the small farm he had ploughed yesterday.”
“Y-you want me to do it today?” he asked slowly, peering at his master. Brook didn't look back at him, but shook his head gently.
“No,” he said. “You'll work until your done. That won't be done today.” He left Blueblood staring at the land, and went to the shed. He returned carrying the plough above his head, and set it down behind his slave. Once again he slipped the yoke over Blueblood's neck, and nodded to him. “Get to work,” he said. “I'll be on the balcony if you need me.”
“Right,” Blueblood said, but Brook had already left. Blueblood watched him limp away for a while, before he turned to his work.
As he had the previous day he threw himself against the ropes that connected him to the plough. It was much harder to drag the plough through solid ground, though. He tugged and strained for a long time, but the plough finally started to trail after him. It cut through the thick, wet ground, slowly following behind Blueblood. As he strained, he found his mind wandering. There was little for him to focus on as he pulled the steel wedge through the ground, so all he could do was think. Once again the figure from his dream was on his mind. He didn't understand it. He didn't know what it was, or why he was so afraid of it. He didn't understand the things that it said to him. He tried to write them off as just the simple ramblings of the subconscious, but he couldn't shake the cold, empty feeling that he had when he thought of what it said. You aren't better than me. You can't leave me. I will catch up to you. He shuddered and pulled harder, his head down.
Try as he might, though, he couldn't escape the cold feeling in his gut. He thought of what Brook had said to him when they were building the shed, but that just made him feel worse. It made him feel sick. Worst of all, it made him think of Canterlot.
If anything was worth keeping, it was his memories of home. He thought about his family – about his auntie Celestia, who used to fly him over the city when he was a foal, and sneak him cookies when she thought his mother wasn't looking. He thought about auntie Luna, and how he had tried to talk to her when she came home, but she had never liked to speak to him. He thought of his mother, and his heart ached. He remembered returning to her after a long day with his tutors when he was little, worming his way into her warm embrace and sitting there. He remembered playing with her in the palace's courtyard. The sick, empty feeling in his chest only got worse the more he thought of her.
“It doesn't matter,” he said aloud, “It doesn't matter anymore. It's better this way.” He squeezed his eyes shut, and pushed as hard as he could with the plough. “Equestria can have a better prince now,” he told himself, “and I can be a good slave. I don't have to be Blueblood. I'm not Blueblood! I'm not! I'm not!” He threw all his weight against the ropes, practically running with the plough behind him. He told himself, over and over, that he was Red. He told himself that he was not Blueblood. He couldn't handle being Blueblood, couldn't handle all that Blueblood had done. He didn't want the guilt anymore, he didn't want to be worthless. So he ran. He ran from his past. He ran, as much as he could, through the field, dragging the plough through the earth behind him. He didn't watch where he was going. Suddenly he felt the line behind him jerk and tumble, and he heard an awful, metallic scraping noise. The sudden shock threw him to the ground, and he felt the plough jump out of the earth. He had suffered a few scrapes from his tumble, but he was no worse for the wear. When he turned around, however, he saw that the same could not be said for the plough.
The metal wedge lay on its side on the field, thrown up by the enormous stump. It's edge had a great dent, and a gash ran along the left side, tearing the plough open. Blueblood stared at it, open-mouthed. Even he, with no knowledge of farming experience, could tell. The plough was broken.
“Oh, no,” he moaned. He walked slowly over to the remains of the plough, and looked at it carefully. The wood was cracked, but not broken. The metal was fairly thin – he might be able to bend it back into place, he thought .After all, he had broken it in the first place. He pressed his hoof against the thin edge of metal that had been torn up, and pushed as hard as he could. It bent, just slightly, and he smiled weakly. He pushed again, trying to press it back into place. As he pressed though, the edge bit into his hoof.
“Ah!” he cried in pain, pulling his hoof back. A thin red line ran across it, a small trickle of blood coming out. He stared a the blood, and at the plough. “Gotta fix it,” he concluded quietly, and started to push again. The metal bit into his hoof, cutting deeper, but he ignored the pain. He pushed against the torn metal, hammering it with his hoof and moving it back into place bit by bit. Soon, the edge had been pushed back down. The two edges still didn't meet, and there was still an ugly cut between them. Blueblood sat down, and moaned again. He felt like he was going to cry.
“Great,” he said to himself. “Just great. This is another thing Blueblood screwed up!” He pounded on the plough, cursing the stallion he used to be.
“Worthless!” he cried. “Worthless! There's nothing good about him! I'm not him anymore! I'm not! I'm Red now, and this is why! He never did anything good, he just broke things, just like this!” He put his head in his hooves, still cursing himself. “Worthless,” he whispered, “stupid, selfish, and worthless...” He heard a familiar shuffling gait, and looked up.
His master was trotting towards him across the field. Perhaps he had heard the commotion, or perhaps he simply wanted to check on Blueblood's progress. Either way, fear gripped Blueblood's heart. Brook would see what he had done to the plough, and he would be furious. He would probably beat Blueblood, or take his food away. He vaguely recalled the other slaves on the boat talking about what their masters had done to punish them, and his mind filled with all sort of elaborate terrors. Flogging, or cutting him with a knife, or throwing him down the stairs. Brook was a unicorn, and Blueblood would never be able to fight back against his magic. He could only imagine what the old pony had in store for him. He tensed up, visibly shaking as his master walked up to him.
“What happened?” Brook asked.
“I-I... I broke the plough,” Blueblood said quietly. Brook inspected the tool, and looked at the trail it had left. It had sliced through the ground neatly, even cutting through some of the stumps roots. There had been a large rock trapped in the roots, though. The plough must have struck it, and been dragged along a hard edge as Blueblood ran past. Brook hummed, scratching the beard that ran along his chin.
“Hm,” he said simply. “Hm.” Blueblood shrunk away, shaking like a leaf. Brook took a step towards him, and the white unicorn cowered before his master.
“Please,” he said weakly, “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... Please don't hurt me, master. I-I, I won't do it again, I'm so sorry, please...”
“Hush,” Brook said softly. Blueblood squeezed his eyes shut as Brook reached out to him. Images of Iron flashed through his mind, and he quaked in terror. He tried to fight them down, telling himself that it wasn't Iron, and this had nothing to do with the earth pony. It was he, Red, who had made this mistake, and it was Brook who was going to punish him for it. It didn't help much, but he kept himself from crying out.
He felt the heavy yoke slip off his shoulders.
“How's your neck?” Brook asked. Blueblood slowly opened his eyes, and saw the old pony holding the yoke in his front hooves. “You must have fallen.”
“W-what?” Blueblood asked slowly. Brook reached out, and Blueblood flinched away. The old pony put his bad hoof on Blueblood's neck, rubbing it gently.
“Are you hurt?” he asked. Blueblood stared at him. The old soldier looked almost concerned. Blueblood didn't understand what he meant.
“I...” he said, “I'm fine. I'm not hurt.”
“Good,” Brook said. He turned back to the plough, and Blueblood slowly stood up.
“Master... I'm sorry,” he repeated. Brook didn't look at him.
“It's alright,” he said. “It wasn't personal. It was an accident.”
“But... I broke the plough,” he said, “It's the only one we have...”
“It's not so bad,” Brook said, still not looking at the stallion, “It'll be fine.” Blueblood blinked at him. He didn't – couldn't – understand what the old pony was talking about.
“It's... broken,” Blueblood said. “We need a new one.”
“Who says?” Brook asked. He almost seemed to laugh. He turned around, facing his slave. “This one is fine.”
“But it's broken,” Blueblood said again. “We can't use it. It won't work.”
“Yes, I know. You've said that.” Brook looked between the plough and the slave, and told him. “We can fix it.”
“But, it's so badly broken,” he said, “It's torn open.”
“Didn't I tell you, Red?” Brook asked. “Nothing is ever too broken. Something can always be salvaged.” The words hit Blueblood every bit as hard as they had the last night.
“But how!?” he objected. “Look at it! How can we fix that?”
“It won't be easy,” Brook conceded.
“Then why bother?” Blueblood cried. “Why not just replace it? Or, or, if we want to salvage it, just melt it down and start again?” Brook looked at him a bit sadly, and shook his head. He was silent for a while, but eventually he spoke.
“This is different from a shed, Red,” he said. “A shed is just wood. You can get wood anywhere. Some things are harder to come by. Here, look at this.” He turned around, beckoning Blueblood to take a closer look at the busted plough. “What do you see here, Red?” Blueblood looked between the plough and Brook, the sick feeling rising in his stomach.
“I see...” he said, “I see a broken plough. It's got a gouge in it. It's worthless.”
“That's wrong,” Brook told him. “It's broken, yes. But it isn't worthless. Everything has worth. The metal is still good. The wood is still strong.”
“But why is it so important to fix it? If the metal is still good, why not just smelt it into another? Why can't we just start over?”
“Starting over takes a long time,” Brook said. “We'd have to melt the metal, then forge it again. Some things don't just come along every day.”
“But... but...” Blueblood felt his chest begin to ache, without knowing why. Brook continued speaking, rubbing his hoof over the old metal.
“I'm not saying it will be easier,” he told the stallion. “It won't be. It'll take a lot of work to fix it. But it's worth it.”
“How?” Blueblood asked. “How is it worth it? What's so special about it that we can't just start over?”
“It's one of those things you can't make easily. Those things are the most important to take care of. Even when they're are broken, they're still worth a lot. All their parts, everything somepony went through to make them. We have to make sure they last. By repairing them, and with a bit of help, we can even make them better than they were before.” Blueblood swallowed hard. He felt like someone had out his gut, and replaced it with ice.
“Those things are the most important things of all,” Brook said quietly. “So we can't just make another one. It won't be the same... things like ploughs. Things like books, and houses... and ponies.”
“What?” Blueblood asked, blinking. Brook didn't look at him. He just kept running his bad hoof across the plough, back and forth.
“A plough is like a pony. Even when a pony is broken, you can't just throw it out. We have to try to fix it. It's worth a lot, even then. No matter how bad it seems, a pony is never worthless, Red.” Blueblood just stared. He swallowed hard.
“Why?” he asked. “Why are you telling me this?” Brook sighed.
“I don't know what happened to you, Red,” he said. He looked away from the stallion, and paused for a moment. “I don't expect you tell me. But you were broken, weren't you?”
“I-I...” Blueblood said. He wanted desperately to lie, and say that he was alright. But he couldn't. Not anymore. “I was.”
“It doesn't matter how badly broken a pony is,” Brook said. “You can't just be a new pony. I know you want to sometimes, Red. I know... but you can't. You just have to deal with being broken.”
Blueblood had begun to shake again. He was terrified, but it was a new kind of fear, one he didn't understand. “I... no!” he said. “I'm not broken! I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me!” Brook didn't turn around, but he shook his head. Blueblood spoke again, trying to convince him. “I was broken before, but I'm not anymore! Blue... the old me, he was broken! But Red isn't broken! Red is fine! I started over, I can do it! There's no reason why I can't, I'm doing fine.” A strange sort of pain wracked through his body. His heart hollow, and cold. This time, Brook turned around. There was even less of a hint of an expression on his face than usual.
“You are who you are, Red,” he said. “No amount of wishing can change that. You're still broken.”
“No I'm not!” Blueblood screamed. “I'm not broken! I'm fine! I'm better now! He... He was stupid! He was stupid, and he was selfish, but I'm not! I'm good! I can be a good slave, I can do what you tell me to! I can follow orders, I can make you happy! Please, please just let me be a good slave!” he begged. The pain was intense, and incredible. His chest felt as if somepony was trying to rip him apart from the inside out. “I won't be stupid anymore, or selfish, or, or worthless, I promise! I won't be worthless anymore.” He shouted miserably, repeating himself. “I don't want to be worthless!”
“You aren't,” Brook said quietly. “You are worth something.”
“I don't want to be the old me,” Blueblood whimpered, “I don't want to...”
“I know, Red.” Brook sighed, and put his bad hoof on the stallion's shoulder. “I know it hurts. But you have to accept it. You're broken. You're bad. But remember. No matter what you did, you will never be worthless. And there will always be something worth saving. That's why you can't start over. No matter how much you want to.” He closed his eyes, and turned away. Blueblood still lay on the ground, sobbing. The image of the figure from his dream came again. He couldn't leave it. It caught up to him.
He's...he's right,” Blueblood realized I never changed. I was never a new pony. Just the same stupid, selfish Blueblood. The same idiot pony, just trying to hide from how awful I was. Gods... I couldn't even take responsibility for how bad I am... He looked up into his master's empty expression sadly. The pain had passed now, but he still felt hollow.
“I'm sorry,” he said quietly. “You're right. I... I'm broken. I'm stupid, and selfish, and I'm broken.” Brook nodded slowly.
“Head inside,” he said. “You'll be cleaning the house until I've fixed the plow.”
“Okay,” Blueblood said quietly. He stood slowly, and walked past his master. He looked over his shoulder once, but the old pony hadn't moved at all. He had sat down, and seemed to be staring into space. Blueblood turned back, and headed inside.
I'm still the same Blueblood, he thought sadly, Still stupid. Still selfish. Still broken.
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Kegisak
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1052
| 8 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
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<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-11-14T07:31:58+00:00
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2011-11-14T07:31:58+00:00
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Chapter 8: In Which A Crime is Remembered
It was raining.
It had been raining for nearly a week straight, all throughout the peninsula. Most ponies were able to go about their ordinary days regardless; rain was simply what happened in Aloa in the springtime. Farmers still tended to their fields, unicorns in the cities still walked to their jobs, or to do their errands. Some of them pulled their wrappings up over their heads into a hood, others let the cool water drizzle down their face and neck. None of them gave any ill regard to the weather. As far they were concerned, this was all ordinary. Even the rare unicorn who didn't care for the rain knew that at least they had a nice, warm house waiting for them when they got out of the rain.
One pony, far away from any city, considered this wryly. He had a yellow coat, partly covered by his blue-green wrappings. They wound around his body, covering his limp blue mane like a hood. He sat, perched on a log, shivering miserably and staring through a gap in the trees. His name was Wet Mane, and he was not a happy pony.
A week ago he and his partner, who now slept nearby, had been sent out into the middle of the woods to watch over two ponies. They couldn't let the ponies know that they were there which meant that they couldn't set up a proper camp for the risk of being seen. They couldn't even build a fire; the smoke would give them away in an instant. So Wet sat on his log, scowling out from between the trees. Beside him, his partner rolled over, and opened his eyes.
“Morning, Brig,” Wet said. Brig, a tough-looking brown unicorn, sat up. His blanket fell off of him, and he immediately began to shiver as well.
“Cripes!” he said, wrapping the blanket around him. “Yeah, good morning to you too.” Wet smiled wryly.
“I didn't say it was good,” he remarked. Brig snorted in response. He got to his hooves slowly, being careful to keep the blanket wrapped around him, and walked to a tree nearby. There were seven scratches etched into the tree, marked clearly against the rough bark. Brig yawned, and dragged his horn along the tree trunk. He etched another mark into it, bringing the count to 8, then went to join Wet on his log.
“Anything happen?” he asked.
“Guess,” Wet said. “They haven't gone outside since he broke the plough. They've both been in there since the rain started. Like any sane pony would be.”
“If any sane pony would be inside,” Brig asked, “why are we sitting out here?” Wet blinked at him a few times.
“I'm gonna say,” he said slowly, “not wanting to die?” Brig mulled this over, then shrugged.
“I suppose,” he said, “I think we're still crazy either way. I'm too tired to care right now.”
“You're tired?” Wet asked, chuckling humourlessly. “You were just sleeping.”
“Not for an hour, I wasn't,” Brig laughed, “I was trying to get back to sleep, and not listen to your teeth chatter.”
“Oh, well I'm sorry I woke you up then, your majesty,” Wet mocked. Brig snorted, and punched him in the shoulder. Wet rubbed himself, and continued. “Anyways, it's just as well. It's about mid-morning now.”
“Is it?” Brig asked. Wet nodded. Brig shivered again, and pulled the blanket tighter around him. “Cripes,” he said, “this is all crazy. Why the heck are we sitting out here on our flanks, soaking up the rain and watching some princeling do nothing all day?”
“Because we don't want to die, remember?” Wet said. Brig paused, and grunted.
“Oh yeah,” he said, “right. Speaking of not wanting to die, what's White Brook up to?” Wet shrugged, and strained his eyes to look through the trees.
“Same as ever,” he said. “He's just... standing out there.”
“He's just standing?”
“Yup.”
“What... is he practicing or something? Keeping the rain from hitting him?” Wet shrugged.
“Nope,” he said. “He's not using magic at all. He's just standing out in the rain, staring.” He and Brig shared a glance, before shrugging.
“Well, at least he's not staring at us,” Wet said. Brig nodded in agreement. The two unicorns continued to stare through the gap in the trees at the house in the field. Brook stood on his balcony, heedless of the rain. He seemed to be staring a million miles away, out over the river and the forest beyond. The two soldiers wondered what he was doing, what he was thinking about. Brig thought that perhaps he was trying to keep his mind keen and sharp through meditation. Wet imagined that he might be reliving his great adventures, pining for his youth. Whatever he was doing, they both thanked the heavens that his focus was squarely away from them. Between Iron and White Brook, neither stallion could decide who's wrath they would less like to be on the receiving end of.
The rain was only falling harder now. An enormous raindrop fell from a leaf above Wet's head, dropping squarely onto his nose and splashing his his face. He stared miserably at the wet patch on his face, and found himself laughing in spite of their situation. Brig looked at him oddly, but Wet just kept on laughing. He couldn't not laugh. It was the only thing that kept him sane amidst all that had happened in the past few weeks.
He and Brig had been medium-level guards at the Aloan capital before all this. When they had been assigned as part of Ambassador Red letter's personal guard on his visit to Equestria they thought that is was going to be a holiday; lounging in the palace as honoured guests of one of the richest nations in the world while Letter was in the meetings. Instead they had found themselves dragging the prince into a carriage, taking him to Aloa. Wet had nearly been sick when Iron forced them to hold the poor pony down so he could cut his horn off. Even now, the unicorn didn't like to think about it. Since then the pair had been dashing from city to city, following after the prince. It was exhausting, and what was it all for? To keep some psychotic earth pony at bay. There were times when Wet felt guilty about it all. In the end, he was only chasing after the colt for his own safety, but that's what all the soldiers were doing. Each one of the ten guards were terrified that they would be the one to finally send Iron over the deep end. But what could they do? Wet stopped laughing, and looked at Brig.
“You know,” he said, shivering, “I don't think my name has ever been more appropriate than it is right now.” Brig chuckled, and he opened up his blanket, offering half of it to Wet. The yellow unicorn scooted in gratefully, and the two wrapped the wet blanket tightly around them. It didn't help much, but at least it was something. Wet sighed, and chuckled again.
“Hey Brig?” he asked.
“Yeah?” his partner asked.
“Have you ever been much of a betting pony?” Brig glanced at him. The chocolate-coloured pony had been partners with Wet for a long time, but he still had troubles deciphering what Wet was thinking sometimes. Wet was younger than he was, and he had always had an energy to him. Wet was always thinking about their orders. He always thought about everything; about the orders given, about how to carry them out, about what the result would be. Brig preferred simplicity in his career; take orders and follow them. Despite this he had to admit that Wet's method worked well for him. So well, in fact, that it had begun to rub off on Brig. More and more often he found himself wondering after his superior's motives – especially lately. He didn't like the way Letter and Iron talked. He didn't like Iron acting like he was the one in charge, and he especially didn't like that it seemed to be the case. Iron was unstable, that much was clear. Taking orders from a pony like Iron made him nervous. He couldn't predict Iron at all. For all he knew the earth pony could go off at any moment, and that made him worry for his and Wet's safety. For once, Brig thought he knew what Wet had on his mind.
“Not really,” he said. “If I'm going to be having things decided for me, I'd rather at least a pony be doing it.”
“Yeah, me either,” Wet agreed. “So I've been thinking. What are we doing gambling, then?”
“What do you mean?” Brig asked.
“I mean, we're playing the odds just by sitting out here. So why are we doing it?”
“Now hold on,” Brig said, “I'm pretty sure we already had this conversation. Except I was the one asking why we're sitting out here.”
“No, no,” Wet said, waving his hooves. “This is different, hear me out here. If White Brook catches us out here, we're screwed. But if we got back to Iron with nothing, we're screwed, right?”
“Right,” Brig conceded reluctantly. He didn't much like where this conversation was going. But then, he hadn't liked where most of this situation was heading. He, like his partner, could see the ordeal rapidly going south. But they were soldiers. They followed their orders; what else could they do?
“And I mean, it's just a matter of time, right?” Wet continued. “We can't just sit out here forever. Either we go back to Iron, or White Brook catches us. So we're basically betting that the prince does something before either of those things happen.”
“I... guess so,” Brig said.
“So why are we just sitting here?” Wet asked. Brig sighed.
“We're soldiers, Wet,” he said.
“Yeah, I know,” Wet said, “they give us orders and we follow them. But come on, Brig. We don't have any control here. You said it yourself – if something is going to happen, I'd rather it was a pony who decided it.”
“Well, what are we supposed to do, Wet?” Brig asked. “I don't like this any more than you do, and you know that. But we have a duty to the Ambassador. It's not like we didn't know we'd risk our lives now and then.”
“This isn't just risking our lives, Brig,” Wet persisted. “This is practically suicide. Seriously, we shouldn't have to take this mission! Do we even know that this is what the King planned?”
“Well if it is, then we couldn't show our faces if we defected,” Brig said. “This is our job, Wet. We're not just going to run off somewhere. And where would we even go? We're soldiers. Not much we can do without someone to give us orders.”
“He's doing just fine,” Wet said, gesturing to Brook. “Look, Brig. It's more than just the whole death on the line thing. You're right, I've been in more dangerous situations. It's just... none of this sits right with me. Seriously, this is huge. Why is there only ten of us on this? The entire kingdom should be in on this. We should be marching up to White Brook's door and telling him that his slave is a prisoner of the King.”
“Do you want to give it a try?” Brig asked sourly. He looked over to Wet. The stallion had a clear expression of worry on his face.
“That isn't what I'm saying, Brig,” he said. “We should be getting out of here. Cut and run. Iron isn't here, he isn't going to know.”
“But we'll know, Wet,” Brig sighed. “I don't like this either. But we're soldiers. Our duty is to Letter, and if he wants us to take orders from Iron, then our duty is to him too. We just have to deal with that... now come on. I don't want to talk about this any more... let's talk about something else.”
Wet sighed. He would let it go – for now. He was about to make a joke about the weather, when he noticed that it was no longer raining over top of them – but only over top of them. The rain began to fall on them again, and the pair heard heavy wing beats landing behind them. They looked over their shoulders, gaping at what they saw.
“Oh no,” the figure said, with a voice as clear and cold as ice. “We think you should keep talking about that. And We think you should very seriously consider what your friend has to say.”
***
Blueblood knelt in a large room, just off to the side of the entrance to Brook's home. The furniture was shoved against the walls, allowing him to reach almost all of the wooden floor. Beside him was a bucket full of soapy water. He took hold of it, and splashed it across the floor.
Blueblood had spent the entire week cleaning the inside of Brook's home. The old pony hardly spoke to him, only doing so to give commands. A part of Blueblood worried that he had somehow offended his master, but he didn't think too much about it. He didn't think too much about anything. The white-maned stallion was running him ragged; he had spent almost a full day on each room in the house, and the house had a lot of rooms.
The first time Blueblood thought he had finished cleaning a room, Brook had seen it and immediately ordered him to do it over. It had taken some time, but the slave eventually managed to find out exactly what the silent pony wanted, mostly through trial-and-error. His master demanded perfection from him. The rooms were all immaculate; the wooden floors cleaned and polished, the walls washed spotless and the stains and dust washed out of the furniture. Blueblood's muscles ached from all the hard work, but he never complained. Not that he had much chance, even if he wanted to; Blueblood never saw his master most of the time. The unicorn would spend his days either staring at the river, or reading in his bedroom. He came to see Blueblood's progress at the end of the day, and would either approve or disapprove of the slave's work. Strangely, he never once went into his study to read. Blueblood had tried to enter to clean it, but it was made clear to him that this room, as well as another room on the main floor, were forbidden.
Blueblood gave a protracted sigh, and took up a well-worn cloth in his hooves. He pushed it through the puddles of water on the floor, scrubbing them clean. The wood was covered in years worth of dust and mud, and cleaning it wasn't easy. The stallion's shoulders ached and burned as he worked the cloth back and forth over a particularly stubborn stain, but the ache didn't matter. He felt it constantly now; a dull, hollow throbbing in the middle of his back. It felt as if somepony had taken something out of him. He felt exhausted almost constantly, now. He wasn't even sure if it was the work that was doing it to him anymore, or if the empty feeling was natural.
Just like the spoon and the axe, he had had trouble maneuvering the cloth with his hooves alone at first, but as with everything he slowly grew accustomed to it. He no longer fumbled with the rag, no longer tumbled off balance when he used his front hooves to work. Learning to work with his hooves was shaping up to be much easier than he had expected. Before long he would be almost as good as he had been with his magic, he told himself. Truth be told, he wouldn't have been much better with his magic, even if he could still use it. He had hardly had to clean himself before, let alone another pony's home.
He thought about this listlessly as he scrubbed, just how much his life had changed. He no longer tried to tell himself that he was different from before. That too was a surprisingly easy habit to drop. Now, in retrospect, he imagined he had never really believed that he could start over. No, this was no new life for him. This wasn't a chance to start over. This was his punishment, and he deserved it. That was the truth of his situation: some higher power had finally chosen to punish him for all the cruel deeds he had committed.
Blueblood sighed, and straightened up. His back snapped and popped as he did so, and he rolled his shoulders slowly. The room still had a long ways to go; most of the floor was still covered in grime and the walls were coated in dust. There was a small window facing the river as well, but the outside world was obscured from the inside.
The room seemed to be a den; there were a few chairs and sofas lining the walls, all of them dirty, worn and stained. On the west wall there was an old stone fireplace coated in ash, and every bit as dusty as the walls and floor. Blueblood looked around for a moment, thinking about where he would start. He decided to work his way towards the fireplace first, then work his way out from there as a way of keeping his bearings. Not that it was wholly necessary; he could clearly tell what parts of the floor he had and had not washed. He bent over again, setting his hooves on the rag and scrubbing his way westward.
Hours later, he had made a lot of progress with the room. The floor was spotless, as were the walls. He hadn't touched the fireplace, furniture or windows though. He would get started on them soon, after he had brought Brook his lunch. It was almost noon now, and Blueblood ambled out of the den and into the home's meager kitchen. He retrieved an old loaf of bread and a block of cheese from the cupboard, and took a pair of slices off of each; one thick slice, and one thin slice. He arranged the cheese slices on top of the bread, and set both on a platter. He carried the platter up the staircase, and knocked on his master's bedroom door.
“Come in,” Brook said. Blueblood nudged open the door, and stepped inside.
Brook was laying on his bed, a large book laying open in front of him. His mane was still wet, and Blueblood guessed that he had only recently come inside to read. The old pony went out to stare at the river every morning, rain or shine. Sometimes Blueblood thought that he would have faced down a hurricane to watch the river. He could believe it, when he looked into his master's face. With the faraway eyes, and that same passive expression no matter what happened, Blueblood could see him walk into a storm without an ounce of fear. And he could see him winning. Brook was staring at him now, his head held straight up. It was intimidating, and Blueblood lowered his head under the unicorn's gaze. He trotted across the small room and set the platter on the edge of his bed.
“I brought you lunch, master,” he said quietly. Brook nodded at him, and took the smaller slice of cheese and bread. Blueblood blinked at him, and noticed that he had a letter opened on top of his book. It looked like it had been delivered very recently.
“Eat up,” Brook said. “You'll need your strength this afternoon. I want the room you're working on finished as fast as you can. I'd like to spend the evening in there.”
“Yes, master,” Blueblood said. He took his cheese and bread, biting into it. The food was certainly not as lavish as what he had eaten in Canterlot, but there was something about it that he liked. It wasn't delicious, but if Blueblood had known the word he might have called it “hearty”. The cheese crumbled in his mouth, and the bread was soft and chewy. It, like all the food he had learned to prepare from Brook, was surprisingly filling. He and Brook took their lunch in silence, the old pony staring out the window into the rain. Blueblood looked away from him, trying to focus on his meal. When he was finished, he got to his hooves respectfully.
“Do you need anything else, master?” he asked. Brook shook his head, without looking at the slave.
“No,” he said. “Go back downstairs and finish cleaning.” Blueblood nodded, and took the platter. He trotted back downstairs and deposited the platter in the kitchen, washing off the crumbs. Then, he returned to cleaning.
The fireplace was difficult to clean. He tried to scoop the ash into a bucket, but it coated his hooves and spilled over the floor. He wiped his brow, leaving behind a thick black streak. He sighed sadly, knowing that he would need to wash himself later, along with the rest of the room and the dirt patch on the floor. He dragged the bucket full of ash outside and deposited it, returning to his work. With the bulk of the ash gone all that was left was to scrub the stone clean. This proved easy, aside from the soot shaking off and into his fur. Once this was done, he turned his attention to the furniture.
The chairs and sofas were wooden, with thick sacks of stuffing serving as cushions. Blueblood dragged the sacks off of their frames, and set them aside for a moment. He cleaned the wooden frames, then thumped the cushions with his hooves, shaking the dust out of them. Once he was done he returned them to their frames, and looked around, groaning. He had shaken enough dust out of the cushions to coat the floors again.
“Way to go,” he mumbled to himself. He shook his head, and knelt down once more.
It was not long before the floor was clean again. Blueblood panted softly as he looked it over, rubbing his brow. He had worked his hardest, just like Brook had demanded. This room, if anything, was even cleaner than the others. The walls and floor were spotless; they almost gleamed in spite of the old wood. No amount of dust shaking would make the ancient furniture look new, Blueblood knew, but he had done the best he could without being able to wash them out. They would never have dried in time while it was raining outside, he had learned that lesson early on. There was a small chair in another room that was still a bit soggy.
The fireplace looked as good as new. There wasn't a hint of ash on the old stone – most of it having taken up residence in Blueblood's coat, turning him a light gray colour. The only thing that was left to clean was the grimy window.
Blueblood stared into it. The only thing that he could see was dust. He could barely tell that it was a window, in fact. He dragged the tip of his hoof across its face, taking a small pile of dust with it. At the very least, it left a line of clean window. It would be easy enough to wash. Blueblood dipped his hoof in his water bucket to clean it off, then took up the cloth. He splashed it against the window and dragged it across, laving a thick line of clear glass. He peered through it, and saw the river in the distance, obscured by the rain. He blinked once, and squinted. He thought that he saw something on the river, as well. It looked almost like a house seated atop a boat.
“Red,” he heard Brook call from the stairs. “Is the room done?” Blueblood started, and scrubbed the rest of the window hastily.
“Y-yes master!” he called. Brook stepped into the room, and raised an eyebrow at him. Blueblood looked down, and it was only then that he realized just how dirty he had become. He looked ashamedly at his master, who shook his head.
“Come with me, Red,” Brook said. Blueblood trotted out of the room after him, and followed his master outside. The rain was pouring as hard as ever, and it wasn't long until Blueblood's coat had been cleaned. The white pony spluttered in the downpour, but Brook didn't seem fazed by it.
“We have company,” he said simply, walking straight ahead. As Blueblood followed after him, he saw that he had been correct about the river. A boat with a large shelter in the middle floated near the river bank, a large stallion standing out in the rain with a thick rope.
“Help him with that,” Brook said. Blueblood nodded, and approached the stallion. Even up close it was difficult to make him out in the rain. Blueblood took hold of the rope in his mouth, and he thought he saw the figure nod to him gratefully. The two ponies strained with the cord, pulling the boat closer to the shore. The stallion levitated a heavy stake and planted it into the ground, before making a gesture Blueblood didn't understand. The unicorn shook his head after a short pause, and wrapped the rope around the stake, lashing it tight. He shouted something to Brook over the rain, and the old pony nodded. He flipped his head and his horn lit up. Another rope and stake floated off the deck of the ship, tying and planting themselves in the bank in half the time it had taken Blueblood and the strange stallion. He shouted something else, and Blueblood caught a snippet of it.
“...Soaked to the bone in all this!” Brook nodded, and leaned in to his slave.
“Go back inside!” he shouted. “Get something for us to dry off!” Blueblood nodded and dashed back into the house. He resisted the urge to shake himself dry as he stepped out of the rain, and trotted into a small storage room. One shelf was lined with old blankets that could be used as towels. He grabbed a bunch in his mouth, and dragged them backwards into the main room. He heard Brook limp inside, followed by several other pairs of hooves. Setting the blankets down, he turned and spoke quietly.
“I brought blankets, master, to -” He stopped dead, staring at the ponies before him. His legs began to tremble, and he found that he had to sit down. The hollow feeling in his back turned to a sharp pain, and for a moment he forgot to breathe.
Brook had stepped aside to let in his guests, all of whom were sopping wet from the rain. There, in the door of the house, stood 7 unicorns. There was the unicorn that Blueblood had helped bring in their home; a silvery-blue pony. Beside him stood a round, yellow-green mare with a sand-coloured colt hiding between her legs. There were a pair of young stallions and a pair of fillies with them as well. The mare blinked at him, until Brook spoke.
“To use as towels,” the old pony said, finishing Blueblood's sentence for him. Blueblood remembered what he was doing, and turned around.
“Y-yes,” he said past the lump in his throat. “I brought blankets. You can dry off with them.” He took the blankets in his mouth again and dragged them closer, handing them out. He tried his best not to look at the ponies, but he found himself exchanging a glance with the mare. His stomach lurched, and he moved past her quickly. He could feel her staring at him, until her husband took gentle hold of her shoulders.
“Seagrass,” he said, wrapping a blanket around her, “are you cold at all?”
“No,” she said slowly. “No, I'm fine. Thank you, dear.”
Blueblood had finished handing out the blankets, and he stepped back from the group. He hadn't brought a blanket for himself; he shivered gently along the wall of the room. In truth, he didn't know how much of it was shivering, and how much of it was nerves. Seeing this family again made him sick to his stomach. He stared at the floor, trying his best not to look at them, but he could feel Seagrass's eyes on him. She remembered him, he knew. The rest probably did as well. Remembered him insulting them.
“Here,” Brook said, cutting through the awkward silence. “The den is clean. We can sit in there.” He turned back to Blueblood, and said, “Red. Fetch some wood from the kitchen for a fire.”
“Yes, master,” Blueblood said, happy to have an excuse to get away from the family for a few moments. He trotted into the kitchen while Brook lead the family into the next room. There was a small pile of dried logs; Blueblood thought they would be just enough to build a meager fire in the fireplace. He gathered them all, balancing them on his back, and walked back to the den.
He moved as slowly as he could. If anypony had asked, he would say he didn't want to spill the logs. There was not far between the kitchen and the den, however, so he still made the trip in almost no time at all. He crept into the room, and saw the furniture gathered around the fireplace. Brook and the family had all wrapped themselves up in the blankets, and Blueblood's master looked over at him idly when he walked in.
“Ah,” Brook said, “good. This will warm things up.” He gestured for the salve to walk over to the fireplace, and stood as Blueblood approached. He took the logs off Blueblood's back, arranging them in the opening. When he was satisfied with their positioning, he took a step back. He paused for a moment before his horn lit up, and there was a small flash in the fireplace. Blueblood peered in, and he saw that his master had lit a small flame on one of the logs. The flame spread, and before too long there was a crackling fire in the pit. Brook took his seat once again, and Blueblood stepped away from the group, skirting the walls and looking down shyly.
“So, Brook,” the silvery pony said. “What can we do for you? You've got to be short on something, all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. We might just be shipping something you need.”
“Oh, I don't doubt it,” Brook said, smiling faintly. “But it's raining outside, and I have company. I'd rather not think about business right now, thank you Seastone.” The stallion laughed, and grinned at the old pony.
“Well, that's more than fair enough,” he said. “So how have you been? It's been ages since we saw you last... things are a lot different here, aren't they?”
“Different,” Brook mused, “different. A bit different, I suppose. It always is.” Seastone nodded knowingly.
“How's the hoof?” he asked. Brook shrugged.
“Not terrible,” he said. “But I'm not as young as I once was. I need... help, these days.” His voice was quiet, and Seagrass looked over the old pony's shoulder. Brook turned around as well, peering at Blueblood. The white stallion looked up meekly, in case his master wanted something of him.
“I went in to town a while ago,” he said. “This is Red.”
“...Hello,” Blueblood said softly. He had begun to shiver gently again. Seagrass looked at him softly.
“Hello, Red,” she said. “You look cold. Are you alright?”
“Yes,” Blueblood said, “I'll be fine... thank you, miss.” He pawed at the ground uncomfortably, hoping that that would be the end of it, but the mare continued.
“Why don't you come sit over here by the fire?” she asked. “You're soaking yet. You didn't even get a towel for yourself. Come over here, colt.” Reluctantly, Blueblood got to his hooves and crossed the room. He took a seat beside the small couch that Seagrass and Seastone sat on, sitting between it and the fireplace. He could feel the heat of the flames right now, and they helped a lot. He slowly stopped shivering as the heat permeated through him, but he still felt sick; worse, if anything.
“There, isn't that better?” Seagrass asked sweetly. Blueblood nodded.
“Yes,” he lied. “Thank you.” Seagrass looked at him for a moment longer, before turning back to Brook.
“Is he...” she asked, the unspoken question hanging in the air. Brook nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “I found him in an auction house. I wasn't expecting much, but there he was. Very lucky.” Seagrass didn't reply, instead looking at her husband. The stallion didn't say much either. There was silence for a while, before Brook spoke again.
“So,” he asked, “how about you? How have you all been doing, hm?”
“Oh, we've been getting by,” Seastone said, clearly grateful for the change of subject. “It's been a lot of the same old, you know. Back and forth, back and forth. We've had a chance to stop in to a couple of cities, though. Getting the kids out a bit more.”
“Sounds like fun,” Brook said, turning his attention to the couple's children. “So you lot have been out in the cities, eh? Getting into trouble?” The fillies giggled, and the little yellow colt shook his head vigorously.
“Nuh-uh, Uncle Brook,” he said happily. “I've been making sure they stay safe! Papa asked me too.”
“Did he now? Brook asked. Blueblood saw a smile creep across his master's face as he spoke to the colt. “And you've been listening to your papa?” he asked. The colt nodded again.
“Uh-huh! I followed after Seaweed and Rocky, to make sure they didn't get in to any trouble!” The young stallions rolled their eyes, and their parents chuckled warmly. Brook seemed to chuckle as well, though Blueblood couldn't be sure. It almost felt surreal to see the normally cold unicorn being kind to the family. It made Blueblood's back ache even worse. He was finding it hard to stay upright, now. He wanted to lay on the floor, but he kept himself from doing so, though his head drooped heavily.
“So what has you out in the cities?” Brook asked. “I thought you liked to stay with smaller folk, like me?”
“Oh, we do,” Seastone said. “And we still ship to them. But somepony asked us to make a delivery to outer Ys a few weeks back, and ever since then we've been getting bigger and bigger loads! We've even taken a few passengers on, now and again. It's good Silver. We're thinking of expanding the home, you know.” He chuckled shyly, and Brook smiled openly at him.
“Good for you,” he said. “Moving up in the world. You know, I think this calls for a celebration. I don't get many reasons, these days.” He gestured to Blueblood, who sat up.
“Red,” Brook said. “I want you to go down to the cellar. There should be an old green bottle near the door. Bring that up, and fetch a few glasses as well.
“Yes, master,” Blueblood said, getting to his hooves. He trotted out of the room, and it felt like a hand around his heart had relinquished its grip. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, despite the still-present ache in his back. He walked through one of the side hallways, which led to a dreary staircase carved out of the earth. Blueblood walked down it slowly, sighing dejectedly to himself again.
He took his time in the cellar. Not that it was difficult to take his time; in the pitch blackness of the cellar he had a difficult time finding the bottle Brook had pointed out to him. Even when he found it, though, he found himself sitting in the dark for a while longer. Sitting near to Seagrass and her family made him feel ill. There was always a painful tightness in his chest and stomach. It was a feeling that he was becoming more and more familiar with lately, but it still hurt. Especially when he saw her looking at him. There was a sort of sadness in her eyes that he couldn't make out. Was it pity, perhaps? Regret? Just thinking of what he saw in her eyes sent a stabbing cold pain in his guts. The rest of the family wasn't much better. Even the young stallions, who had seemed so rightfully disdainful of him the last time they had met, looked at him sadly. He climbed the stairs again, the dusty old bottle gripped in him mouth. He fetched the glasses from the kitchen, and headed back. As he padded slowly towards the den, he could hear them talking.
“Brook,” Seagrass asked. “About Red. Is he... I mean...”
“Sweetie, we shouldn't,” her husband cut in. They were both silent, then, and Blueblood heard his master sigh.
“She has every right, Seastone. It's not ideal. But I'm getting old... I can't do everything around here anymore. I needed help.” Blueblood paused outside the room, as much out of a strange compulsion as choice.
“You could if you wanted,” Seagrass said. “Is it really that hard for you?”
“Sometimes. Sometimes are better than others. But I could, if I needed too...”
“Then why? Or, why not hire a servant?” There was a long silence, before Brook spoke again.
“I don't always pull out that bottle to celebrate,” he said. His voice was quiet, reserved. “But I haven't done it since he's been here.” There was another silence, and he spoke with more of the confidence that Blueblood remembered. “He'd still be out there,” he said. “I'm no noble, you both know that as well as anypony. This is good, though. He's a good slave. He works hard, he does what I ask, and he doesn't complain. I'm lucky to have him.”
Blueblood swallowed hard, and stepped into the room, cutting the conversation off. The three grown ponies all looked at him, and he set down the bottle and glasses.
“Here you are, master,” Blueblood said, taking a step back. Brook nodded, and opened the bottle. A thick, pungent smell filled the room, and Brook breathed deeply. He poured the drink, deep brown and clear, into the glasses, and Seagrass and Seastone each took one. The three ponies each took a glass – Seagrass and Seastone with their magic, and Brook holding it lightly in his hooves – and lifted them gracefully. Then, as one, they drank deeply.
“Thank you, Red,” Seagrass said gently. The white stallion took a step backwards as he felt his heart tighten again, and he lowered his head.
“No,” he said. “It's alright.” He sat down, away from them again, and looked around.
He noticed that the children had left while he was in the cellar. In all likelihood they had gone off to play whatever game they had played while Blueblood was on the river with them. He climbed onto one of the couches carefully, watching Brook to see if the old pony had any objections, and settled in. The three ponies chatted idly, like old friends. Blueblood ignored them, for the most part. He felt more exhausted than usual, but he tried not to let it show. More than anything else in the world right now, he wanted to climb the stairs and settle onto the rug in his master's bedroom, but he knew he needed to stay in case Brook needed him. So he lay on the sofa, staring out the window.
The rain was only coming down harder now, pounding against the glass. It was so hard he couldn't tell if it was day or night anymore. The steady pounding of the water droplets against the glass provided a backdrop to his master's conversation, threatening to lull him to sleep. He set his head down, and tried to take his mind off of the creeping feelings that came from being around the family.
He focused on the sounds of the rain, and after a while little else got through to him. He lay with his eyes open, not seeing, not hearing, not comprehending. He didn't realize that the steady beat of the raindrops had been joined by little hoof-falls until he felt the couch jostle slightly. He blinked, and looked down.
Sandy, the little yellow colt, was leaning against the couch and staring up at him. “Hi,” he said.
“Hello,” Blueblood replied slowly. He glanced around the room, and saw that his master and Sandy's parents were watching the pair idly. Sandy, however, didn't notice.
“You work for Uncle Brook, don't you?” he asked. Blueblood rubbed his neck shyly.
“Yes,” he said. “Sort of. He's my master, he... Is master really your uncle?” Sandy thought about this for a moment.
“I don't think so,” he said finally, “'cause he's a lot older than mama and papa. But they always call him my uncle Brook anyways.”
“I see,” Blueblood said. He searched for something else to say, but couldn't find anything. Sandy continued to stare up at him, questions clearly running through his mind.
“How did you get out here?” the colt asked suddenly.
“I'm... sorry?” Blueblood asked.
“We gave you a ride, remember?” Sandy asked. “To Riverbank. You said you were going east. So how come you're out here?”
“I...” Blueblood said. The colt clearly didn't understand his situation, and he wasn't sure of what he could say to explain it, or if he even should. “I... It's sort of complicated,” he said sadly. Sandy blinked at this, but moved on to his next question.
“I'm Sandy,” the colt said. “Do you remember me?” Blueblood looked away from him as he continued. “Mama and Papa gave you a ride, and I talked to you.” Blueblood felt his stomach twist painfully.
“Yes,” he said. “I remember you.” He remembered acting smug and haughty, and looking down on the curious little pony. He remembered insulting his family and his home, and spitting in the face of their generosity. He may as well have yanked on the colts tail, as far he he cared. Sandy, however, seemed oblivious to the treatment Blueblood had given him in their last meeting, and continued asking questions.
“Do you ever play with uncle Brook? He plays with me, sometimes.”
“N-no,” Blueblood said, looking carefully at his master. The old pony had regained his neutral expression, his eyes occasionally flicking to the pair as he tried to uphold a conversation with Sandy's parents.
“How come?” Sandy asked.
“Well... I work for the master. So... I guess I just always work. I don't really play...”
“That doesn't sound like fun,” Sandy said. Blueblood put his head down.
“Maybe not,” he said. “But it's... it's alright. I don't mind.”
“But don't you ever play?” Sandy asked. “You can't have to work all the time – there can't be that many chores in the whole wide world! You aren't working right now.”
“I have to stay close to master,” Blueblood said, “so I can be there if he needs me for anything.” Sandy dashed away from the couch suddenly, trotting over to the old crippled pony in his chair.
“Uncle Brook?” he asked, leaning up against the old pony's flank. Brook looked down at him, sipping from his drink.
“Hm?” he asked simply.
“Do you need Red right now?” the colt asked. Brook scratched his beard for a moment.
“No,” he said, “I don't believe so. Why do you ask?”
“I wanna play with him!” Sandy said. His mother spoke up from the sofa.
“Sandy dear, can't you play with your brothers and sisters?”
“None of them wanna play with me,” the colt said sadly. “Seaweed and Rocky are just talking, and the fillies are playing filly games.” he stuck out his tongue, and his mother smiled.
“Well, alright,” she said. “If Uncle Brook says it's alright for you to play with Red, then you can.”
“Great!” Sandy said. He turned back to Brook and looked up at him pleadingly. Brook smiled faintly at him.
“You can play with him, Sandy. I don't think I'll need him tonight.”
“What?” Blueblood asked. The yellow colt took hold of his hoof, trying to pull him off of the couch.
“Go play with him,” Brook said. “I don't need you right now. I'll be fine without you around for a few hours.”
“Uh, well,” Blueblood said, getting down from the couch, “If you're sure, master...”
“I am,” Brook said. “You could use a break. Go play with the colt, Red.” Blueblood gulped, and did as his master commanded. Sandy beamed, and bounced out of the room, followed by a very reluctant Blueblood.
True, he was glad to be away from Seagrass's sad eyes, but something about the little colts enthusiasm and inability to recognize what was going on made it all the worse. Blueblood followed the colt as he bounded through the house, into another large room. It was one that Blueblood had cleaned a few days ago, but there wasn't anything in it. It, like many other rooms in the house, was completely bare. Sandy, it seemed, thought that this was the perfect room to play in. He turned on Blueblood, who sat down, and put his hooves up on the stallion's legs.
“What do you wanna play?” the colt asked.
“I, um,” Blueblood said, unable to move lest he shake the colt. “I don't know. What do you like to play?”
“We could play a game my papa taught me, where we try to fool each other,” Sandy said. “Or we could play prince and knight. I really like that game!”
“Okay,” Blueblood said cautiously. “That doesn't sound bad. How do you play it?”
“I'll be the prince,” Sandy said, “and you're my knight! You have to protect me from the bad things that try to hurt me. Unless you want to play the prince?”
“No,” Blueblood said quickly, shaking his head. “No... you can be the prince. That's alright.”
“Okay!” Sandy said happily. He trotted to the wall of the room where he sat, straight upright and looking as regal as a colt possibly could. “Come before your prince, Sir Knight,” he said in his best princely tone. Blueblood approached him, and sat in front of the proudly-staring colt.
“Kneel, Sir Knight,” Sandy commanded.
“Yes, Master,” Blueblood said, kneeling. Sandy huffed at him.
“You're not supposed to call me master,” he said. “You're supposed to call me 'my prince', okay?” Blueblood blinked.
“Oh,” he said, “I'm sorry, um, My Prince.”
“That's better, Sandy said. “You can stand now, Sir Knight.” Blueblood did as he was told, standing up. Sandy rose as well. “Do you promise to protect me, Sir Knight?” he asked.
“I... do, My Prince,” Blueblood said quietly.
“Do you promise to fight anypony who tries to hurt me, or any monsters?”
“I do,” Blueblood said again, more sure this time. This felt more comfortable, to him. Being commanded by the colt, instead of praised. Sandy smiled at him.
“Then you can be my champion,” he said, “and you can fight for me.” Blueblood knelt again.
“Thank you, My Prince,” he said.
“Stand, Sir Knight,” Sandy said, and Blueblood stood. All of a sudden, a look of fear came over Sandy's face, and Blueblood looked over his shoulder. There was nopony, nothing in the room with them, but Sandy still pointed and looked afraid.
“Sir Knight!” he said urgently. “A kraken is attacking the castle! Fight it off!”
“What?” Blueblood asked, looking around.”
“The kraken, Sir Knight! One of its tentacles are right behind you!” Blueblood looked around at the empty room, standing awkwardly. Sandy watched him, before huffing again.
“You're supposed to fight the kraken,” he said sourly.
“But there's nothing there,” Blueblood said. Sandy tilted his head at him.
“I know that! But you're supposed to pretend,” he said. “You're no good at this.” Blueblood lowered his head.
“I'm sorry,” he said. Sandy patted his leg comfortingly.
“It's okay,” the colt said. “I'll show you how.” He got up on his hind legs, tottering unsteadily, and started to wobble away from Blueblood. “The kraken's got me!” he shouted. “Help me, Sir Knight! Use your sword!”
“My sword...” Blueblood said. He looked around himself awkwardly, Sandy still tottering away unsteadily. He set his head, and cantered over to the little colt. “I'll save you,” he said, unsure of himself.
“Use your sword to cut the kraken's tentacle off!” Sandy told him. Blueblood nodded, and swung his head in front of the the colt. Sandy dropped to all fours, and jumped away.
“You did it!” he said, doing a little dance. “But look out! There's another tentacle behind you!” Blueblood spun around, lashing his head out, teeth clenched as if he held a sword between them. Sandy laughed and shouted encouragement, clapping his hooves together. He continued to shout out instructions, warning the stallion of “tentacles” coming to snatch him up.
“Stay close to me, My Prince,” Blueblood said, swinging his head around again, “so I can protect you from the kraken!” Sandy darted in, sticking beside Blueblood as he swung and circled. He laughed giddily, jumping up on Blueblood's back and holding on to his mane as his knight bucked and bounced around the room.
“Be careful of the fallen tentacles,” Sandy warned him. “Their blood is lava!” Blueblood smiled in spite of himself, and began to make wide hops over the old stains on the floor.
“Haha!” he whooped theatrically, cutting down another imaginary tentacle and flipping his mane out of his eyes. Sandy leaned past him, pointing at the window.
“There, Sir Knight! Do you see the kraken's face?”
“I see it!” Blueblood exclaimed. “I'll run across its tentacles to attack it!” He dashed to the window, Sandy laughing excitedly and bobbing on the big stallion's back. “Yah!” he shouted, swinging his head at the window sill.
“Take that, kraken!” Sandy shouted. “Make the finishing blow, Sir Knight!” Blueblood nodded, and spun around, leaping into the air as he did so. His body twisted in the air, and he gave a shouting laugh.
“Eat my blade, fiend!” he shouted. As he reached the ground once more he thrust down his hooves, striking hard against the floor. He reared his head to strike, and a brilliant light came from the window. A few moments later an ear-splitting boom came, shaking the house. Sandy yelped, and leapt off of Blueblood's back. The white stallion stopped, watching the little colt flatten himself against the ground.
“Hey, what's the matter?” he asked. Sandy peaked out from under his hooves.
“It's a storm!” he said. “With lightning, and thunder!” Blueblood tilted his head quizzically.
“Yeah,” he said, “but... so? It's just a little storm.”
“I don't like storms,” the colt whimpered. “They're loud, and scary, and they make the house shake bad. Papa said we can't go out in a storm, or we'll fall off the house!”
“But,” Blueblood said, “you aren't in a boat. We're on land, away from the river. You can't fall off out here.”
“But it's still loud and scary,” Sandy said. He got off the floor and dashed over to Blueblood, worming his way between the slave's legs. “You're my knight,” he said, “so protect me!” Blueblood didn't say anything. A gigantic lump had raised in his throat, and his chest felt instantly tight.
“I... I...” he said quietly, “no, I...”
“You promised to protect me,” Sandy said, hugging his leg. “You promised. So protect me from the storm, okay?”
“Oh... okay,” Blueblood said. His guts felt like ice, but he sat down, putting a hoof against the colt's back. “I'll... protect you from the storm, My Prince,” he said. Sandy hugged his leg tighter.
“You don't have to call me your prince anymore,” he told Blueblood quietly. “You can just call me Sandy.”
“Alright.” Blueblood gulped. They sat in silence for a while, before the colt spoke again.
“...Red?” he asked.
“Yes?”
“How come you changed your name?”
“What?” Blueblood asked, blinking.
“When you were with us, you said your name was Blueblood. How come Uncle Brook calls you Red now?” Blueblood looked at the colt, a strange pain in his chest.
“Because...” he said, “because... I don't know. I thought that I shouldn't be called Blueblood anymore, for a while. I was wrong, though... but I guess it just stuck.”
“How come you wanted to change your name?”
“I don't know...” Blueblood said, “I guess it just... it hurt to be Blueblood. So I didn't want to remember anymore.” Sandy looked up at him. Blueblood knew that the colt could see the sadness and pain on his face.
“Do you still remember, though?”
“I do,” Blueblood said sadly.
“I'm glad,” Sandy said, “I know Papa and Seaweed didn't like you, but I did. I thought you were neat. I'm glad you're still Blueblood. You're nice.”
The colt's words struck Blueblood's heart like a knife. No I'm not, he thought. I'm not nice. Your dad was right about me. He wanted to cry, but he didn't. He couldn't. He sat in silence, an intense and indescribable pain in his chest. He wanted to apologize, to tell the colt that he was wrong, and that he was a worse pony than the child could imagine, but he couldn't. It still hurt to be Blueblood. It still hurt to remember, and he remembered more clearly than he ever had before, with the shaking colt in his hooves, but no words came to him. Thunder continued to crash, and every time the colt would jerk and squeal. But every time, he shook and squealed just a bit less. Soon, he wasn't shaking at all. When the pain in his chest subsided, Blueblood spoke again.
“Sandy?” he asked quietly, unable to raise his voice any more. The colt didn't respond, so Blueblood shook him gently. He still didn't move, save for his sides slowly rising and falling as he breathed. He had fallen asleep. Blueblood choked again, and picked him up slowly. He trotted back through the house, and into the den.
The rest of Seastone and Seagrass's children had returned, and were lying all over each other on the couch. Blueblood guessed that they must be asleep as well, from the hushed tones their parents and Brook spoke in. The three ponies looked over at Blueblood when he entered. He lowered his head sheepishly.
“There you are,” Brook said. “We were wondering where you two got off to.”
“We... were playing,” Blueblood said. “Sandy got scared when the thunder came. I think he's asleep now, though.” Seagrass slipped off her seat, and walked over to the slave. She took her foal gently, and smiled at his sleeping form.
“That sounds like our Sandy,” she whispered, rocking the colt gently. “Thank you, Red.” She put him with his siblings, and he settled in between Seaweed and one of his sisters, sighing happily in his sleep. An eye crept open for just a moment, set on Blueblood, but closed soon enough. Blueblood looked away from the colt sadly.
“They'll be staying with us tonight,” Brook said. “There's no way they're getting back out to their home in this weather.”
“Should I set up a room for them, master?” Blueblood asked quietly. Seastone shook his head.
“The kids are already asleep,” he said, “No need to move them all. We'll be fine in here. You did a good job cleaning it, colt.” Blueblood nodded to the compliment.
“I'll...” he said, “I'll get some dry blankets.” He stepped out of the den before the unicorns could object, and went back to the closet, grabbing the remaining blankets off the shelf. There were only enough for the children, so he quickly went upstairs and into the master's bedroom. His blanket lay on the rug, neatly folded right where he had left it. He brought it back down, adding it the the pile, which he brought into the den.
“Here you go,” he said. Seagrass smiled at him, and pulled the blankets over her children, before gently kissing them each good-night.
“Thank you, Red,” she said to him. “You've been a lot of help this evening.”
“No,” Blueblood said. “No, I -” Seagrass wrapped him in a hug, cutting him off. He tried to swallow down the lump that rose in his throat, and found himself blinking back tears.
“You're a good stallion,” she told him quietly. “I'm sorry this had to happen to you. But Brook is a good master.”
“N-no...” Blueblood said again, “I-I... I'm...” Seastone came over too, and put a hoof on Blueblood's shoulder.
“You keep on being good, colt. I'm sure somepony'll smile on you someday.”
“No, It's okay,” Blueblood insisted. His heart was beginning to race. His back ached fiercely, and he felt like somepony had emptied him out; like he was just a shell of a pony. He felt cold, but burning at the same time. Seagrass let go of him, and looked at him sadly. The stallion looked away from her, and quaked. His heart pounded in his throat, making it hard to breathe.
“Red,” Brook said. “I don't think I'll need your services tonight. You may go to bed.”
“A-alright,” Blueblood said shakily. He took a step back, and bowed to the three ponies. “Th-thank you,” he said quietly, and he left. He trotted quickly across the main room and up the stairs, before anypony could stop him, and went into the bedroom.
As always, the only light in the bedroom was the dim light from the window above his master's bed. He was glad of the dark. He didn't want to see anything right now. He didn't want to hear anything, or feel anything. He wanted oblivion, but he settled for the dim light, the patter of the rain and the soft rug. He lay down and curled up, shivering gently without a blanket to keep him warm. His chest still ached from seeing the family.
Seagrass, Seastone, and Sandy. They were all wrong about him. He wasn't a good pony, like they thought. He was just doing what a slave should, because that's what he was. He was a slave. He was a slave because of how awful he had been. They didn't know about all of the horrible things he had done. They didn't know about the awful, burning pain in his chest when he saw them and when he remembered what he had done to them, and they didn't understand that he deserved every bit of what happened to him. He shuddered on the rug. He deserved the stomach-churning hurt. He deserved to be a slave. He didn't deserve their sympathy, or their forgiveness, or even their pity. He deserved punishment, he told himself, and that was what he was getting. Because he was an awful pony, he told himself. Because he had been cruel, and because he had never thought of anypony but himself.
He curled into a tight ball, alone with his feeling of pain and sickness, and slowly drifted into the oblivion he so desperately sought.
|
Kegisak
|
1052
| 9 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-11-20T09:07:35+00:00
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2011-11-20T09:07:35+00:00
| 5,283 |
Chapter 9: In Which a Stallion is Good
Celestia's sun rose slowly in the eastern sky, casting its light over the dampened world. Port Ponzance, far out of the shadows of the mountains, gleamed. The brilliant rays set the sea ablaze with light and caught the tiny droplets of water left from the previous night's storm, turning the dusty yellow sandstone to gold. Even the streets seemed to glow as the light spread through them, illuminating every dark corner and hideaway of the city. Ships pulling in to port needed no foghorns, no lighthouses; only the glow of the coastal city.
Though ships moved steadily in and out of the busy port, it was earlier still than most ponies would be up. Only a sailor or a soldier would be awake at this hour. Such it was that an inn in the centre of the city saw several ponies awake; very, very awake.
The former captain Iron Towers stalked up and down a room the size of a modest house. His normally short-cropped mane had begun to grow in, splaying wildly across his face and neck, and a ragged line of fur had begun to form along his chin. There was a wild look in his eyes, dead set on the two soldiers that stood before him. There was a tiny bit of spittle at the corners of his mouth. In spite of all this, he still held himself straight upright and with a distinct military air, as if it was something ingrained into his very being. Wet Mane, one of the soldiers before him, thought that he looked remarkably calm – a thought which absolutely terrified him.
“So,” Iron said finally, still pacing. “If I understand this right: you abandoned your post, left the pony that could decide whether or not we live or die unwatched, and returned to me with your tails between your legs – all of this, because you were chased off by a single pegasus.” There was a barb on the final word that made Wet cringe.
“Well, sir,” he said carefully. “It wasn't one pegasus. She said 'we'... she had others with her.” Iron stopped pacing, eying the nervous unicorn.
“Did you see any of these other pegasi?” he asked pointedly.
“I... we did not, sir,” Wet admitted.
“Then how do you know,” Iron said, walking up to the soldier, “that you didn't fall for a bluff?”
Wet swallowed hard. He didn't have an answer for that. True, there was the lightning that had chased them out of the forest the night after the pegasus had visited them, but those were few and far enough between that it could have easily been the mare chasing them on her own. True, it had followed them almost to the city, but there were storm clouds all across the countryside, and that was by no means rare. Fortunately for him, the ambassador spoke up.
“I think we have a more pressing concern, Iron,” Ambassador Letter said. Iron turned to glare at him.
“Just what could be more important than looking after the whelp?” Iron asked. Letter spoke softly, doing his best to placate the unstable earth pony.
“The fact that somepony knows that Blueblood was there.” he said. Iron stopped dead, staring at him. It looked as though his mind was struggling to make the connection, but nothing was coming. Letter spoke again, explaining. “It was a pegasus. We don't have pegasi in Aloa. Somepony knew that the prince was there, and that somepony wasn't an Aloan.” A flash of recognition shot through Iron's eyes, and he ground his teeth. Wet could feel the anger radiating off of the gray pony. His eyes flicked to his partner beside him, who looked every bit as nervous as he did.
Wet and Brig had had a very long discussion about what they were going to do, after they had been chased out of the forest. Wet hadn't wanted to come back. He had tried everything, every argument he could think of to convince Brig that they should just run. Brig, for his part, had held firm. Nothing Wet had said would even budge the chocolate-coloured pony from his position. Their duty was to Letter, he had insisted, and to the crown. That meant no matter what, they had to return to the ambassador. Going back to the forest wasn't an option. That had been the first thing they tried, and that was what had lead to the impromptu thunderstorm in the woods. In the end Wet had given in, and they returned to the city just before the sun rose, to find Iron waiting for them.
He didn't seem to sleep at all. Perhaps that was what made him so dangerous, what had robbed him of reason. Even now, standing in the room with him, Wet wanted to just leave. In fact, he wanted it now more than ever. He risked another peek at Brig while Iron seethed with his back to them, and he could see that Brig too was having second thoughts about returning.
“Somepony knows,” Iron repeated, beginning to pace again, “somepony knows. They know we've got the whelp... how do they know? How do they know!?” His hoofsteps were heavy, pounding through the room. The ordinarily soft clip-clop had been replaced by a deadly thudding as Iron slammed his hoofs down on the stone floor. He whirled on the two soldiers. “How do they know!?” he demanded of them.
“Iron,” Letter said quickly. “They wouldn't know.” He lifted a teapot and poured it into a small porcelain cup, which he pushed in Iron's direction. “Have some tea,” he said. “It will calm your nerves, and help you think clearly.” Iron glowered at him, and marched over. His face erupted into a picture of rage, and he slammed his hoof down on top of the teacup. When he lifted his hoof again there was a clear mark on the table, and the porcelain had been reduced to powder.
“I DON'T NEED TEA!” he roared. Letter leaned back defensively and Iron took a few deep breaths. “My head is perfectly clear,” he said callously. “What's wrong with yours? This could be the end of us – if we're lucky. Celestia could have us strung up in dungeons, torturing us until we're old and gray! This pegasus could damn us, you IDIOT. We need to find her, and put her in the ground!”
“We don't know that the pegasus is Equestrian,” Letter said quietly. Even he looked nervous beneath Iron's furious gaze, now. The ambassador's leash on Iron was straining. “She could be from Mihaan, or Acmippo for all we know.”
“Then how did she find out about it,” Iron said, a dangerously quiet edge to his voice, “and why does she care? She's Equestrian, and she'll bring the blasted princess down on our heads if we let her get away!” He spun on the two soldiers once again, and marched up to them. The wild look into his eyes seemed to glow with a primordial flame, an intense anger beyond thought or reason.
“You two,” he hissed at them, like an adder in the grass. “You two left because of her. You two find her again. Pull her down to earth, and make sure this never gets back to Equestria. Got that?” Wet took a step back, and Brig spoke up.
“With respect sir,” he said, looking dead ahead, not a trace of fear in his voice, “she's a pegasus. We can't fly. How are we supposed to catch her?” Iron ground his teeth.
“You're unicorns, aren't you? You all think you’re so great, so blasted clever. You find a way to do it – make a trap, build something that can fly, shoot her wings off with your precious magic for all I care! Just get rid of her. Have. I Made. My. Self. Clear?” He growled angrily at Brig, who saluted.
“Perfectly, Sir,” he said. Iron didn't acknowledge him, simply turning away from them. He moved to walk away, but he stopped when Wet spoke up.
The lieutenant didn't know why he was speaking. He didn't even mean to – all he knew was, he found himself voicing all of his concerns to exactly the wrong pony.
“Sir, I don't think there's anything we can do. For all we know she could be back in Equestria as we speak! I think it's time we left it alone – run for the border, or ask the king for protection. I -” As he spoke, Iron's back hooves lifted off the ground. Brig tensed, leaping into his partner and checking him aside. Iron's hooves lashed out with lightning speed, striking Brig square in the face. There was a deafening CRACK, and Brig was flung across the room. He struck the far wall with a meaty slap, and dropped to the ground. Wet stopped in mid-sentence, staring open-mouthed at his partner. He shook momentarily, before dashing over to the brown pony.
His neck was bent at an unnatural angle, his jaw slack and eyes wide and unseeing. Brig was dead.
“Brig?” Wet said. “Oh gods, Brig...” He put his hoof on the corpse, shaking it gently, as if he didn't quite believe that Brig was truly dead. “Brig,” he said again, “Brig, Brig, Brig...” Iron turned around again. His expression was one of absolute, almost divine rage. His mouth hung open, ragged breaths rolling across his teeth and tongue. His eyes were bugged open, filled with mindless, directionless malice. His entire face was distorted, as if it were some horrible mask, some mockery of a pony face. It was almost a caricature of rage. There was nothing else in there. No regret, no compassion, no fear. He stomped across the room, and Wet thought he could feel the entire inn shake with every step. The gray pony put a hoof down in front of him, cracking the floor.
“We can't run,” he said, his voice unnervingly quiet for his disposition. “We can't hide. We can't escape. She is the goddess of the sun. What part of that don't you idiots get!? The GODDESS of the SUN! NOT THE OCEAN, NOT THE FORESTS, NOT THE MOUNTAINS OR THE DESERT OR THE ROCKS! You can RUN from the ocean. You can RUN from the trees. You can run from all of them, but you can NEVER RUN FROM THE SUN!” He was inches away from Wet's face now, screaming at the top of his lungs. “She WILL find us! And she WILL kill us! So if you want to live to see old age, I suggest you get out there and FIND! THAT! PEGASUS!” Wet bolted, galloping out the door and down the street. Iron roared wordlessly. He lashed out, bucking the wall and leaving two deep cracks in it. He galloped to the table, flipping it over and smashing the ambassador's tea set. The fat red unicorn fell backwards, scrabbling away from the mad earth pony. Eventually, lacking anything else to destroy, Iron began to settle down. He breathed heavily, peering around the room, before his eyes fell on Brig's body. He stared at it for a long time, and when he finally spoke he had returned to his more composed, detached tone of voice.
“Letter...” he said. The ambassador got to his hooves, and brushed himself off.
“Yes?” he asked. He too had returned to his cool mood now that Iron had calmed down. The gray pony walked over to Brig's body, still staring at it.
“That soldier was right... the pegasus could already be in Equestria. We need a backup plan.” Letter took a few steps forward, tilting his head curiously.
“You have something in mind?” he asked. Iron hummed softly. He put a hoof on Brig's neck, straightening it out with a snap.
“Get your soldiers in here. One of you clever unicorns must know a disguise spell.”
***
“Easy now, colts. Easy... easy...”
Seastone and his two eldest sons slowly lifted a crate off the deck of their home, using their magic to shift it over the edge and onto Brook's cart, which waited for them on the bank. It settled down with a soft thud, and the three unicorns shoved it forwards, among two other crates there. The first crate contained vegetable seeds to plant in the gardens once they were completely tilled, and the other several bottles of a dark red-purple drink. The third crate, the one that had just been put on the wagon, was full of dried fruits.
Brook stood on the deck of the house boat beside Seastone. The stallion turned to him, and asked, “That everything, Brook?” Brook took one last look around the wares that Seastone and his sons had brought out, and nodded as well.
“I believe so,” he said. “Thank you, Seastone.” The two shook hooves gently, and Seagrass came out of the house carrying a small bundle.
“One more thing before you go, Brook,” she said. “We passed through a small town on our way here, and they had a bookstore. I know how much you like to read these days, so I thought I'd pick something up for you.”
“Thank you,” Brook said. “How much was it?” Seagrass smiled, and shook her head.
“It's a gift,” she said. “No charge.” Brook smiled faintly as well, and took the bundle from her.
“Thank you, Seagrass,” he said. The mare hugged him, and stepped off the boat while Brook reached into his wrappings to pay Seastone.
She trotted onto the bank and around to the front of the wagon, where Blueblood sat quietly.
“And thank you, Red,” she said. Blueblood looked at her shyly. Sleep had helped to rid him of some of the sick feeling, and he could at least bear to be around the family now.
“No... it was nothing, miss...” he said, pawing at the wet ground. Seagrass smiled sweetly, and wrapped him in a firm hug.
“You don't need to do that, dear,” she told him. “You were a wonderful host. You should be proud of yourself.” Blueblood looked away from the mare. That was still something he couldn't do. “Sandy is still sleeping like a foal. I can't believe you'd never talked to a foal before we met you. You're wonderful with children.”
“Oh...” Blueblood said, surprised by the compliment, “thank you, miss...” He swallowed, thinking once more about the night he shared with them in their home. “And... I'm very sorry for insulting your family...”
“Oh, hush,” Seagrass silenced him. “You have nothing to apologize for, Red. We all make mistakes sometimes. You shouldn't have to carry them for the rest of your life.” Blueblood looked at her sadly, and her husband called out from the deck of the boat.
“We're all ready to go, sweetie,” he said. Seagrass nodded, and called back.
“Of course. I'll be right there.” She hugged the slave firmly again, and trotted back to her home. She climbed aboard just as Brook clambered off into the water, careful not to put too much pressure on his hoof, and Seastone withdrew the lines that kept them tied to the shore. Their home began to drift away, the light breeze catching its sails and helping Seastone as he pushed it along. The stallion and his wife waved from the deck, and Brook waved back to them calmly. He sat on the bank watching them leave, and when they drifted around a bend and out of sight he turned back to the white stallion sitting by the wagon.
“Take this back to the house,” Brook instructed. “I'll show you where to put it all away.” Blueblood nodded, and put himself against the bar at the front of the wagon, setting it in motion.
The ground was soaked from the rainfall the last night, and the wagon's wheels had sunk in while it sat. Blueblood pushed hard, digging his hooves into the ground as well, but even still it wasn't as hard as it had been to pull it the first time, or to pull the plough through the earth. A week of pushing a ragged cloth through inches of dust and dirt had done him a lot of good, something that even now a faint burning in his muscles could attest to.
It was a short trip from the river the the front of the house, even with the heavy wagon holding him back. They had only brought it so he hadn't had to make three trips for the heavy crates. Once he had it set outside the house, open back towards the door, Brook began to give him instructions.
“Take the fruits into the pantry,” he said, and Blueblood brought out the crate. It was awkward work without any help; he pushed it to the edge of the cart, the rim of the crate sticking off the edge, and from there he had to worm it out and onto his back. He slid it very carefully onto the wooden floor of the house, and from there it was much easier to push it around. He found himself thankful that his master had made him clean the floors so thoroughly; the crates slid easily along the clean wood. Once he had deposited the fruits amongst the other foods in the pantry he returned to the door, where Brook was waiting with another set of instructions.
“The seeds go in the storeroom,” he said simply. Blueblood nodded, and unloaded the seeds. This crate was harder that the last, being much bigger with all the different kinds of seeds that they would need to plant to last them the year. Once again though, Blueblood managed to lower it to the ground, and push it into its place in the store room. The next crate, however, would prove to be much more difficult.
“The drinks go in the cellar,” Brook instructed him, “where you found the bramby last night. Be careful with it.”
“Yes, master,” Blueblood said. He lowered the crate onto the ground, wincing as he heard the bottles clink and clatter inside. Most of the trip was simple, pushing the the crate along the ground. Brook sauntered along beside him silently. Soon enough, they came upon the earthen stairs that lead down into the cellar.
Blueblood peered down the staircase. There as an inky blackness at the bottom, obscuring the damp room. The stairway was short, but the steps were small and steep. He thought for a while about how to best approach the task. He would never be able to do it the same way he had brought it down from the wagon; there simply wasn't enough room. He wouldn't be able to get it onto his back, and he didn't even bother thinking about using magic. In the end he walked around the crate, back to the staircase while Brook watched him blankly. He lay on the ground, wrapping his front legs around the crate, and began to inch backwards. Soon he was laying across the stairway, the crate just on the edge. Brook reach out, putting his hoof on top of the crate as it wobbled on the edge of the top step.
“Master?” Blueblood asked, looking up.
“Making sure you don't lose your balance,” the old pony replied. Blueblood nodded, and began to creep backwards down the stairs. Brook followed after him, keeping his hoof out in case the crate ever started to tip in Blueblood's grasp.
When they were halfway down the steps, Blueblood reached his back hoof out, feeling for the next step down. He found his footing, and started to lean back. His hoof slipped off the ledge, sending him flying down the rest of the stairs on his stomach. He lifted the crate instinctively, keeping it clear of the stairs that rushed past. Brook limped down the staircase as fast as he could, joining the groaning stallion in the dank cellar.
“Red,” he said sharply. Blueblood got to his hooves shakily, and lifted the lid off the crate. All of the bottles inside were still intact, and he breathed a shallow sigh of relief.
“The drinks are all alright, master,” he said weakly. Brook looked in the crate idly, then looked back at the slave.
“...And you?” he asked slowly. Blueblood blinked at him. “Are you alright?” Brook repeated.
“Oh,” Blueblood said. “Yes... I'm fine,” he lied. His stomach hurt fiercely, and his ribs felt like a pony had bounced off of them, but he didn't want to complain in front of his master. Instead, he apologized. “I'm sorry, master,” he said, starting to move the bottles from the crate into the shelf.
“For what?” Brook asked.
“For...” Blueblood said, stopping. “For almost breaking the bottles,” he said finally. “I already broke the plough... I'm sorry I almost broke the bottles too.” Brook stared at him, and sighed.
“I'm going up,” he said. “When you're done here, put the empty crate in the store room, and come see me. I'll be on the balcony.”
“Yes master,” Blueblood said quickly. Brook started his slow ascent of the stairs, and Blueblood returned to shelving the bottles.
Once he had finished, he took the crate back upstairs as his master had asked. It was much easier without all the bottles in it; he found he could just hold the rim in his mouth and carry it up the steps easily. His ribs still hurt, but he ignored it as he tucked the crate away and headed up the stairs. He found that the door to the balcony was ajar, so he nudged it open further and stepped outside.
Brook was laying at the edge of the balcony in a long chair. Unusually, he was not staring out over the river, but at the bundle that Seagrass had given him. The old cloth that had wrapped it was spread open, and in the centre there was a single, small book. Blueblood approached him slowly, and the old pony looked up.
“The Fall,” he said simply. Blueblood stopped, and blinked at his master.
“What?” he asked.
“The Fall,” Brook repeated. “The book. That's its title.”
“Oh,” Blueblood said. Brook looked back at the book, running his hoof gently across its cover.
“It's about guilt,” the old pony said. Blueblood's stomach lurched.
“W-what would you like me to do now?” he asked quickly. Brook was silent for a moment, before speaking again.
“You know the stump in the back?” he asked. Blueblood swallowed, and nodded.
“The one I... broke the plough on?” he asked.
“Yes,” Brook said. “I want you to get rid of it. Take the axe from the shed and chop up its roots. When you've done that, come and speak with me.” Blueblood nodded, and went back inside. He left the house, walking across the squishy ground to the shed, where he gathered the axe and headed out to the stump.
In the week since he had last seen it, much of the dirt that had been tilled around the stump had been washed back into its place by the rain. Blueblood sighed and set the axe down, setting about uncovering the roots of the stump. He found it surprisingly easy to shift the wet earth; it was no longer hard as it had been when he first tilled it, softened by the saturating rainwater. He dug at it with his hooves, pulling the mud aside and revealing the roots of the great stump bit by bit. As he dug, he began to realize that the roots ran deeper and father than he had imagined. He was lucky to have even cut through as much of them as he did before striking the rock. Once he had dug as far as he cared too, he sat down, staring at the immense task before him.
Roots sprawled through the earth like a massive nest of snakes; twisting and writhing over top one another, and slinking deeper into the earth. There seemed to be hundreds of them there, with hardly any gaps in between. Blueblood groaned, but picked up his axe.
“No sense in putting it off,” he mumbled, brandishing the tool. He lifted it above his head, and swung it down as hard as he could. The keen blade hacked through a pair of the roots, and for a moment Blueblood thought it might not be so bad after all. He had cut through a few roots in one swing, he told himself, so surely the rest could not be that difficult. He almost permitted himself a smile, until he lifted the axe again.
Beneath the two roots he had cut, more roots snaked away. His face fell, and he took a few more careful swings, tossing away the chips. Sure enough, beneath the layer of roots he could see there was another. He didn't doubt that there were several layers of roots making their way down. He sighed miserably, but lifted the axe again.
He swung the axe, again and again. At first he tried counting how many times he swung the axe, as a way of passing the time. Before too long, though, he had lost track. The rhythmic swinging of the axe and the steady hacking sound of the roots were droning, almost maddening. It would never stop so long as he didn't stop, and he couldn't. Before long it was almost a compulsion. The chopping filled the air, wearing the rest of the world away. Blueblood knew nothing but the chopping; nothing but the burning in his shoulders as he swung the axe once more, nothing but the shake in his hooves as the axe struck down and nothing but that maddening noise.
More than once it culminated in fury on the white pony's part. He looked desperately for something to blame, and every time the blame fell squarely with himself. He lay into the roots with vigour, breaking the rhythm of his chopping with a bout of irregular, ragged hacking. Those moments soon left him, though, and he returned to his familiar empty feeling, and the regular, steady chopping. Something inside of him was withering, as he cut.
The axe struck down again, and Blueblood stopped. He could hardly hold it anymore. His hooves shook when he tried to lift it, wobbling dangerously. He released the handle, peering at his hooves. They were red, and blisters were beginning to form. Even when he wasn't holding the axe they shook. He sat down, looking at the work he had done.
There was a deep trench around the stump. He had managed to cut through most of the roots, all save for the tap root at the bottom. The trench was nearly as deep as he was tall; sitting down in it as he was, he couldn't see over the top edge. He sighed sadly, and leaned back against the wall of dirt.
His hooves screamed. His ribs ached from the fall down the stairs, only aggravated by the constant lifting and dropping of his front legs. For the briefest of moments, he wondered what he had done to deserve all this.
You know what you did to deserve this, he told himself, squeezing his eyes shut, You were a wretched pony, that's what! This, all this, is the least of what you deserve! The dull, empty aching in his back returned to him, as did the tightness in his chest. He listed off his crimes in his mind, reminding himself of all the things he had done to deserve his punishment. He lifted his head to the sky and opened his eyes. Over top of him, standing on the edge of the trench, was Brook.
“Master,” Blueblood said. His eyes went wide, and his heart seized in his chest. The old pony was silhouetted by the sun, now high in the sky, and so Blueblood could not see the old unicorn's expression.
“Red,” Brook said simply. Blueblood scrambled to his hooves, heedless of the stinging, and apologized profusely.
“I-I'm sorry, master!” he said, “I was just... I wasn't taking a break master, I swear! I just finished cutting the roots, a-and I -”
“I came to see how you were doing,” Brook interrupted him. “You were taking a while.” Blueblood swallowed, and apologized again.
“I'm sorry I was too slow, master,” he said, closing his eyes and bowing his head. He climbed out of the trench, and dared to peek at his master. The old pony was still staring at him blankly, save for a single raised eyebrow. “I'm sorry,” he said again weakly. Brook sighed, and Blueblood winced.
“No,” the old pony said. “There are more roots than I expected. Good work.”
“W-what?” Blueblood asked, looking slowly at his master.
“Good work,” Brook repeated. “You don't hear well, do you?”
“I... I'm sorry, master,” Blueblood said. He expected the old pony to berate him, but he did not. Instead, he turned and walked back to the house.
“It's midday,” Brook said. “You should eat. I will make you lunch. You need the rest.” Blueblood stared after him, not sure what to say. Brook stopped, and turned around. “Coming?” he asked. Blueblood shook himself, and ran after his master.
“You don't need to make lunch, master,” he said, “I'll do it. I-I don't need to rest at all, I can do whatever you ask. I-I can still make lunch for you...”
“You will do whatever I ask?” Brook said, without looking back. Blueblood nodded.
“Yes, master,” Blueblood said. “Anything you order me to do, I will. I don't need to rest.”
“I want you to rest,” Brook said. Blueblood stopped again.
“B-but master,” Blueblood said, “I can make lunch. I don't need to rest, I... I...” His stomach twisted itself into a knot. It was a feeling almost the same as fear, but different. The same feeling he had felt when Seagrass had looked sadly at him, or when Sandy had wanted to play. Brook stopped as well, and turned around slowly.
“I order you to rest,” he said simply. “Are you disobeying my orders, Red?” His tone was hard as stone, but there was no malice to it. There was simply firmness; the voice of a commander. Blueblood cringed, and hung his head.
“No, master...” he said quietly. Brook nodded, and continued to limp. Blueblood followed him into the small kitchen, where Brook instructed him to sit at the table. He did so, laying his stinging hooves and chin gently on the tabletop. He watched Brook move around the tiny kitchen, setting a pot to boil and adding in various ingredients: strange things that he had never seen or didn't know the names of. The stinging in his hooves started to go down, and more and more he found himself focusing on the twisted feeling in his belly. He shut his eyes, trying to drive the feeling away, but it wouldn't leave. It was eating away at him.
“Eat,” Brook said. Blueblood opened his eyes, and saw that a bowl had been put in front of him. He peered inside it. It looked like some kind of soup, but with nothing in it but broth. He looked as his master, who held the bowl in his hooves and drank from it. Blueblood decided to do the same, setting his hooves around the wooden bowl. The heat radiated through, burning his hooves, but he ignored it. He lifted the bowl to his mouth, and drank.
The broth was thick, almost like sludge. It hit his stomach and seemed to solidify, turning to stone in his belly. It seemed to settle the awful feeling though, something he was grateful for. He sighed, and drank again. The thick broth tasted of vegetables, despite there being none present. There was also a vaguely sweet taste to it, which Blueblood enjoyed. He drained the bowl in a few gulps, and set it down.
Brook had already finished, and was staring idly at his slave. Blueblood's head sank, almost touching the table again. “Thank you, master,” he said quietly. Brook nodded silently at him, and stood.
“Wash the bowls,” he said. “Then come meet me outside.” he left Blueblood sitting in the kitchen, staring at the place where his master had sat moments before. He washed the bowls as his master had asked, and went outside.
Brook had returned to the stump, this time with the chains from the back of his wagon. He had also removed the yoke from the plough, and had it waiting. Blueblood approached him, head low, and Brook turned around.
“Red,” he said. Blueblood walked alongside him, looking at the chains and yoke. Brook didn't wait for him to ask what he would be doing. “You've cut most of the roots,” the old pony said, “now you just need to pull out the stump.” He lifted the yoke, slipping it over Blueblood's neck. “I'm going to chain you to it,” he said idly, “then you just walk. Like with the plough. Got that?”
“Yes, master,” Blueblood said quietly. Brook's horn lit up faintly, and the chains came alive. One end of them wound themselves about the Yoke around Blueblood's neck, as well as securing his torso for extra grip. The other end snaked into the trench, wrapping itself around the enormous stump. Brook nodded, and took a seat. Blueblood stared at him shyly.
“Master,” he said. “You're going to... watch?”
“Yes,” Brook said. “I want to make sure you're doing this alright. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No!” Blueblood said quickly, his head tucking between his shoulders fearfully. “No, master. I'm sorry.” Brook didn't acknowledge his apology.
“This will be difficult,” he said. “You had best get started. Walk.” Blueblood nodded, and moved forward.
He hit the end of the line in a few short steps. The chains went taught, rattling as they shook in the air. Blueblood was stopped dead, but he still pushed forward. Soon the chains were too tight even to shake. They hung in the air, perfectly straight, chaining the stallion to the wood. He pushed forward regardless.
For a long time, he didn't move at all. He pushed more and more every second, but the stump didn't budge. He held his breath, straining forward with all his might, but for nothing. Soon he could no longer hold his breath. He couldn't push any more. With a gasp, the chains went slack, and he dropped to his knees. He knelt, rump in the air, panting. Beside him, he heard his master move. His eyes snapped open and he saw that the green unicorn had stood, and was limping slowly towards him.
“I'm sorry master,” he grunted, getting back to his hooves. “I'm sorry. I'm fine, I... it won't happen again, I promise.” Brook stayed standing for a moment, but he lay down once more. Blueblood set his head forward, and walked against the chains again.
He didn't put everything he had into it, this time. He was steady. Steady, like he had learned to be with the plough. He pushed hard, constantly.
The soft earth was beginning to shift beneath his hooves, sliding around like muck. He dug into the ground, leaving ruts that grew deeper and deeper. He put his hooves against the back of these ruts, using them to push off of. The chains behind him were as tight as they had ever been. He breathed heavily, seething through clenched teeth. His eyes were squeezed shut, pushing every bit as hard of the rest of him. Every muscle in his body burnt, crying out, but he ignored them.
I don't need to rest, he told himself furiously, and I don't deserve to! This is what I've earned, and now I have to do it! Harder!
He put his head down, throwing himself against the yoke. Behind him, he could swear he felt the stump budge. He dared a look at his master. The old pony was simply staring at him, and for a moment Blueblood imagined that he saw the old pony's eyebrow twitch. To what end, he could never tell, but it sent chills down his spine, setting a spinning and tumbling feeling in his stomach, like a thousand little insects flying around. He set his teeth and pushed all the harder.
Once more he put everything he had, everything he was into pushing. The sick, twisted feeling in the pit of his stomach was like a furnace, spurring him on. He pushed to escape from it. He pushed to be there with it. That feeling became all that mattered to him. His hooves screamed out as the blisters burst, the pus and blood mixing with the dirt and stinging in the open sores. His ribs cried in agony as the chains tightened, pressing against them. They squeezed the air out of him, and his breath came in shallow wheezes. The yoke dug into his shoulders, biting into his flesh. He was in pain, but he pushed on. He needed to. He had to. He deserved too.
“Argh!” he wheezed involuntarily. He threw his head up, scowling in pain and effort, and kept pushing. Brook leapt to his hooves.
“Red!” The old pony said, limping over with surprising speed, but Blueblood ignored him. He felt the yoke cut into him, felt the blood running down his shoulders. “Red!” Brook shouted again. “Stop!”
“No!” Blueblood cried, “I don't need to!”
“Yes you do!” Brook demanded. “You need to stop. You're hurting yourself!”
“No I'm not!” Blueblood cried again. He still strained against the chains, heedless of his master's shouts. The chains tightened around his sore ribs, and he felt the bones burn. It was like each of them had become a stick of fire. Even still, it didn't compare to the feeling of his stomach being torn apart form the inside. He felt like he was going to vomit whenever his master spoke, but he tried to work past it.
“Red!” Brook barked. “You will stop this NOW! That is an ORDER!”
“No!” Blueblood cried. “No, no! I can keep going! You told me to pull out the stump! I'm going to pull it out, just like you told me to!”
“No you are not!” Brook shouted. He clenched his teeth, and his already shaggy and loose mane flew in his eyes. His entire body shook as he roared at his slave. “I am your master! You will do as I say, and you will stop hurting yourself THIS! INSTANT!”
“NO!” Blueblood screamed. “I don't need to!” Brook's face slipped, and his expression became one of fury.
“Stand! Down! NOW!” he roared. The words seemed to be amplified by some unseen force, echoing through the clearing. Birds in the forest flew away, and Blueblood's mane flipped as if blown by a great wind. The white stallion set his teeth, and threw himself against the chains. They synched around his ribs like a noose, digging into the flesh.
There was a great, resounding snap, almost as loud as Brook's shouting.
Blueblood screamed. He collapsed to the ground, and the chains wet slack. Behind him, the stump slowly leaned forward, toppling into the trench.
“RED!” Brook shouted, dropping beside his slave. Blueblood writhed in pain on the ground, screaming breathlessly. He thrashed his limbs like a madpony. Brook moved in beside him without even flinching. Blueblood's hoof caught him in the nose, but he hardly seemed to notice. His horn lit up with a blinding flash, and the yoke was thrown from Blueblood's neck. The chains that wrapped around his body exploded, flying away in individual links. Blueblood took in a deep breath of air, and winced in pain again. Before he could lash out Brook grabbed hold of his limbs, pinning them against his side. He was shaking, seething with rage. His horn lit up again, and for a moment Blueblood was blind. When his eyesight returned to him, they were back inside the house, on the floor of the main room.
By now, much of the pain had subsided. Blueblood's body still screamed at him, but the pain had paralyzed him now. He lay, perfectly still, breathing deeply. Brook got to his hooves, still furious.
“Idiot!” he shouted at the figure on the floor. “You stupid, stupid colt! What were you thinking!? Hurting yourself like that... did you even think what would happen!? Did you!?” He paced around the room, ranting almost as if he didn't care that Blueblood was there. “What if you're too hurt now? What if I need you, and you can't be there? You can't serve me, because you're hurt! You apologize for almost breaking things... things! What about you, then? Why don't you apologize when you're almost hurt!? WELL?” He loomed over Blueblood, watching the stallion wheeze. He chest puffed, in and out, in and out. He sat down slowly, and his breathing became normal. “Stupid...” he said, “stupid colt...”
Blueblood's pain had subsided now. His chest still ached, and his hooves still stung and bled, but they weren't bad. He looked into his master's face, and he thought that he saw sadness. The sick feeling returned to him in full force. It felt as if he had eaten a live animal, like a cat, and it was trying to claw its way out from inside his belly. He thought he would vomit, puke all his guts out all over the floor. Brook shook his head, and limped away slowly, leaving Blueblood on the floor.
The stallion lay there for longer than he knew, wallowing in his sickness. The sight of his master's pain haunted him as he lay there. He fought back tears. They were coming now, along with the sick, painful feeling, and he didn't understand why. More things came with them. He felt cold inside. He felt empty. The aching in his back filled his entire body. He felt like he was a thin piece of skin stretched over ice. A hollow, empty imitation of a pony. Soon, he heard his master's shuffling limp. He braced himself to be yelled at again, or to be punished. Instead, the felt himself slowly lift off the ground. A pillow slipped below his head, and a blanket drifted over top of him. He looked over, and saw his master.
The old pony had regained his passive expression. He was silent as he covered Blueblood, making him comfortable on the floor.
“You stupid colt,” he said again. He levitated a bowl near Blueblood's face, and he saw that it was full of soup. His heart lurched in his chest, and a lump rose in his throat.
“Master, I -” he said, but Brook interrupted him.
“Shut up,” he said. “Eat. You need to eat. You'll feel better.” Blueblood stared at him, but nodded silently. Brook fed him the soup, spoonful by spoonful, and Blueblood took them peacefully. With every spoonful he had to fight back another fit of tears. When the bowl was empty Brook set it on the floor, and shook his head. Blueblood couldn't fight the sick feeling for long.
“Master, I'm sorry,” he blurted, before Brook could stop him.
“You should be,” the old pony said. “It was a stupid thing to do. You were stupid. You should have stopped. You should have asked me for help, or said it was too hard.” He swallowed hard, but sat upright.
“But...” Blueblood said, “you asked me to do it. I was just doing what you asked.”
“I never asked you to hurt yourself, Red,” Brook said firmly. Any trace of emotion that there had ever been was gone from his voice now. He stared straight ahead, not bothering to look at his slave. Somehow, this only hurt Blueblood more.
“I'm so sorry, master,” he said. “Please... I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me... please don't punish me.” Brook was silent. He stared straight ahead. His eyes were unfocused, staring a million miles away. Blueblood couldn't tell what he was thinking.
“Why would I punish you?” he asked finally. Blueblood just stared at him. His eyes watered, but he blinked back the tears.
“Because...” he said weakly, “because I keep screwing up. You ask me to do things, and I mess them up! You wanted me to clear the shed, and I broke it! Then you asked me to plough the fields, and I broke the plough! You asked me to dig up the stump, and I hurt myself and you got mad at me! Why wouldn't you punish me!? You have every reason to!”
“No I don't,” Brook said. His eyes drifted down to Blueblood. “I have no reason to punish you.”
“Yes you do!” Blueblood insisted. The feeling in his gut only got worse and worse. It was driving him mad. He rolled over, grunting painfully, and propped himself up on his hooves. “You ask me to do things, and I mess up! That's all I ever do! So why don't you punish me?”
“Red,” Brook said slowly. “You're going to hurt yourself again. Lay down.”
“No!” Blueblood said. “Why do you care so much if I get hurt? I'll work anyways! Why don't you punish me?”
“Do you want me to punish you?” Brook asked. Blueblood stared at him. The question struck through his heart like an arrow. He began to shake, and the ice in his veins turned to fire. It burned him alive from the inside. The pain was incredible. The aching ribs, the stinging hooves, were nothing compared to this. He didn't cry, but he desperately wanted to. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to curl up, and just stop.
“YES!” he screamed. “Yes, I want you to punish me! I deserve it! So why won't you!?”
“Because you don't deserve it, Red,” Brook said simply.
“Yes I do!” Blueblood screamed again. “Why are you so nice to me!? Why don't you ever punish me, why do you let me rest and make me food!? Why me? Why me, instead of some other slave, somepony who deserves it? Why me, instead of some little filly? Some little filly, who's been a slave for her entire life, and never did anything to deserve it like I did?” Tears streamed down his face now, but he kept screaming. “Why couldn't you have bought one of them? You could have let me go to some... to some noble pony! Someone who would treat me like I deserve! Somepony who would beat me when I screw up, somepony who would punish me! Why did she have to go instead? She never did anything... I deserve to be punished master, not her! She deserves to be here, with you! Somepony who won't punish her even when she's bad! So why!? Why did you have to buy me, instead of her!? And why won't you punish me!?” Blueblood screamed, wailing at the old pony. Brook just stared at him.
“You don't deserve to be punished, Red,” he said again. Blueblood screamed, slamming his hoof on the ground.
“Yes I do!” he said. “You don't know me! You don't know what I've done! I deserve it!”
“You think you deserve to be punished, Red?” Brook asked, getting to his hooves.
“Yes! Gods, yes!” Blueblood said.
“You think you deserve to be beaten. You deserve punishment, and pain?”
“Yes!” Blueblood cried again. Brook stood in front of him, staring solidly into his eyes. He set his bad hoof, normally held slightly in the air, flat on the ground. Blueblood stared in awe and fear, tears still pouring down his cheeks, as Brook put his weight forward. He leaned on his bad hoof, putting as much of his mass on it as he could.
“You think this is what you deserve, Red? Pain?” Brook asked coldly. “I've felt this, Red. I've felt this so much. And I've been where you are right now, Red. What you are feeling, that hurt in your chest? That is so much worse than any pain could ever be. It is the most intense hurting you will ever feel in your entire life. It is the worst punishment anypony could ever suffer, and nopony deserves to go through it.”
“That... That's not true!” Blueblood wailed. “I deserve it! I deserve it, and I deserve worse! You don't understand, master!”
“Don't I?” Brook asked. “Then tell me. Tell me what you did, Red. Tell me what you did that's so awful that you deserve to feel what you feel right now.” Blueblood sobbed, breathing in choking gasps, and he spilled his guts to the old pony.
“I was horrible!” he cried. “I was stupid, and, and I was selfish! I never thought about anypony but myself! I thought the sun and the moon revolved around me!”
“So?” Brook asked.
“How many lives did I ruin!?” Blueblood screamed. “Do you know? Do you know how many ponies I made miserable because of what I did to them? And all because I thought I was so fucking special! I'm not, and I never was! I was only ever a horrible, horrible pony! Scum!” There was bitterness in Blueblood's words now, and he was screaming at himself more than he was telling his story. The feeling poured out of him like the tears that poured down his face.
“I was bad!” he repeated, “I was so, unbelievably bad! I was... I was...” He broke down into sobs, and lay on the floor. He cried into the pillow, and for a while there was silence. Then, Brook spoke.
“Is that it?” he asked. Blueblood looked up into his face.
“I... I'm bad, master. I'm a horrible pony,” Blueblood whimpered. Brook shook his head.
“No you aren't,” he said simply.
“Yes I am!” Blueblood screamed again. “All I ever did was make ponies miserable! How can I not be bad!? How can I be anything but bad? How can I not deserve this? I have to be bad... I have to!”
“But you aren't,” Brook said, shaking his head.
“That's not true!” Blueblood cried, burying his face in the pillow. “I have to be bad! You're lying!”
“Red, look at me,” Brook ordered. Blueblood managed to force himself to look up again, and he saw Brook, laying on the ground in front of him. Some sort of softness had returned to his face. For just a moment the most empty, harshest pony Blueblood had ever met became the warmest.
“Red,” he said. “I spent so much of my life as a soldier. I saw so many bad ponies. Some of them I fought along side; ponies who only joined the army for the killing and the violence, or to feel strong. Sometimes they were my commanders, telling me to slaughter ponies because they hated them. Sometimes I was lucky enough to fight against bad ponies, maniacs who needed to die in order for there to be any good left in the world. And do you know what all of those ponies had in common, Red?” Blueblood sniffed, and wiped tears from his eyes.
“W-what?” he asked. Brook reached out, and put his bad hoof on Blueblood's shoulder.
“Not a single one of them knew that they were bad. They all thought what they were doing was right, or good, or even just justified. A bad pony can never tell when they're bad, Red.”
“But... everything I've done,” Blueblood said. “How can that not be bad?”
“All the things you've done, Red?” Brook asked. “Were they really bad? Would a bad pony stay with a foal who was afraid? Would a bad pony work himself to the bone to make an old stallion happy? Would a bad pony give up his blanket for another pony, or hurt himself trying to follow orders? Would a bad pony sit here and cry because somewhere a slave is being treated worse than he is? Why would a bad pony do any of the things you've done, Red? How could they?”
“They... they have to be. I have to be,” Blueblood said. “Please... please. It has to be me. If I'm not bad... if it isn't because I'm being punished... then why is this happening to me? Why is it all happening, unless I'm bad?” He shut his eyes, and whimpered miserably. Then, all of a sudden, he felt arms around his neck. He opened his eyes, and he saw that Brook had wrapped him in a hug. Tears sprung into his eyes again, and he began to cry anew.
“Sometimes it isn't personal, Red,” Brook said. “Sometimes things just happen. But believe me when I tell you this. You are not a bad pony, Red. You are so much better than you understand. You just need to see it.”
Blueblood cried. He cried for what felt like hours, sobbing into Brook arms. He cried, and he cried, and he cried. After a while, it seemed like he had finally run out of tears. He sniffled, refusing to let Brook let go of him.
“I'm sorry, master,” he said. “I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry...”
“I know, Red.” Brook said. “I know you are. That's why you're good. Because you're sorry.” Blueblood sniffed.
“Even if...” he said, “even if I'm not bad... I was still so selfish. I was so stupid, and so cruel. How can a pony like me ever be good, master?” Brook nuzzled him gently, and his horn lit up. Blueblood heard a noise from behind him, and he turned around.
Brook had used his magic to open the door. Beyond it, Blueblood could see the evening light. He could see the path out into the woods, and the river sparkling in the distance.
“Red,” Brook said. “If you believe you can't be good. If you really, truly believe it, then leave. I won't stop you. I'll go to town tomorrow, and I'll buy another slave. I'll treat them well, and never beat them, or speak harshly to them. I'll be better to them then I was to you.” Blueblood swallowed hard, but Brook continued. “But I believe in you, Red. I believe you can be good, that you can be so much better than you could ever understand. If you believe in the you that I see, then stay with me. I can help you be good. I promise.”
Blueblood stared at the open door. For a brief moment, he could see more than just what lay beyond its frame. He could see freedom. He could see coming back when Brook was sleeping, and robbing him blind. He could see selling the treasures in the city, and using the money to buy a ride back to Equestria. He could see his mother, and his Aunties, and putting this all behind him. He could see his old life again. Everything he had ever had. He would be respected again. He could buy a doctor to make a fake horn, even if he couldn't use magic. He turned back, and he saw his master, looking at him with soft, warm eyes. He sat down, and bowed his head to the old green stallion.
“I want to stay with you, master,” he said softly. “I want to be good.”
|
Kegisak
|
1052
| 10 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-11-27T20:22:58+00:00
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2011-11-27T20:22:58+00:00
| 4,933 |
Chapter 10: In Which Care is Given
There was silence in Canterlot Palace, save for the steady sound of hoofsteps. Princess Celestia's golden horseshoes tapped gently on the marble floor, keeping time like the ticking of a clock. She paced back and forth across the room, not saying a word.
She had been preparing to raise the sun when she had received the news, getting as far as rousing herself and getting cleaned up when the acting captain of the guards had rapped gently upon her door. He had told her what happened, and she had immediately gone silent. Luna still hadn't returned to the palace, and so the princess had nopony to confide in. She couldn't tell her niece, obviously. Not yet. The only ponies who could know were her guards, and now was exactly the wrong time to show weakness in front of them. She sighed.
“When?” she asked pointedly. The acting captain, one of her personal pegasus guards, saluted.
“We found it... pardon, him, early this morning, Your Majesty. One of the maids, Lilac. She found him, called us, then I came to you.” Celestia nodded.
“The filly... how is she?”
“Shaken,” the pegasus said. “But she'll be fine.”
“Have you had time to inspect him yet?” Celestia asked, still pacing. The captain shook his head.
“Not yet, Your Majesty. I sent another guard to fetch the doctor while I got you, but they're under orders not to inspect him until you arrive.”
“Very good,” Celestia said, finally standing still. “Take me to him.” The pegasus saluted, and opened the door for his princess. He led her through the palace's winding hallways. They were completely devoid of ponies this early, save for the odd industrious servant checking for something to do. In times like these Celestia's ancient mind became jaded, and she wondered idly if an earth pony they passed straightening a tapestry might be looking for a raise. For an instant she considered having his pay docked, but pushed the thought away. It was only stress talking, she reminded herself. Even she was not infallible. Today, more than any other, was a day to remember that.
Their path took them down into the less-traveled wings of the palace. The marble floors and walls gave way to simple, dank cobblestone. It seemed appropriate; compared to the opulence of the rest of the palace these hallways seemed almost oppressive. Celestia was beginning to grow impatient of her guard's short-legged strides, and the tips of her wings twitched irritably. Fortunately, they soon came to a small door, and the pegasus stopped.
They entered the room. It was one of many that lead outside, all for various purposes. This was one of the rooms that received packages. Ordinarily these packages contained food, or cleaning supplies and the like, but Celestia gathered that a special delivery had come in this morning. The young mare Lilac was still there, wrapped in a blanket and speaking softly with another guard. Celestia trotted up carefully.
“Are you alright?” she asked comfortingly. Lilac looked up at her, and smiled weakly.
“Yes... thank you, Your Majesty. I think I'll be fine. But...” She paused, and looked down. “I'm very sorry,” she said. Celestia shook her head.
“Thank you,” she said, “but don't worry about it. This is not the first time this has happened to me. I'm a big girl.” She smiled sweetly to the mare, who smiled back. Celestia looked over the mare’s head at the group of guards huddled around the back of the room. There was an unarmoured unicorn with them, who Celestia recognized as the palace's doctor. She walked up to him, and ruffled her wings. The doctor tuned around, and bowed.
“Your Majesty,” he said quietly. Celestia nodded politely to him.
“Have you taken a look at him, yet?” she asked. The doctor shook his head.
“Only a cursory inspection, Your Majesty. I was told to wait until you arrived and gave your blessing to give a full review, as... well, I'm sure you know the procedure.” Celestia nodded once again.
“Yes, of course,” she said. “What do you know so far?” The doctor shook his head, and shrugged.
“Very little,” he admitted. “I know what happened, but I don't know when. It could have been weeks ago, or earlier this morning. I won't be able to tell any more until I take a closer look. Did you want some time alone with him first, Your Majesty?” Celestia tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“Perhaps,” she said. “Something about this doesn't sit right with me.” She hummed to herself, running through scenario after scenario in her mind. She lived through weeks in instants, watching each new turn of events unfold. Many of them led to somewhere close to here, but never quite here. She rubbed her eyes, and looked up. Something else strange occurred to her.
“Oak!” she said. The red-brown pegasus sitting across from her bowed.
“Your Majesty,” he said softly.
“Why are you here, Oak?” Celestia asked. The guard lowered his head shyly.
“I... the princess was sleeping soundly, so I thought I might be able to have breakfast. I heard miss Lilac scream, and came in here. I... have been too caught up to return to Her Highness yet.” Celestia struggled to maintain her composure. If Amethyst woke without Oak, she might go looking for him, and she might find the trail leading her here. That was the last thing Celestia wanted.
“Go back to her now, Oak. She mustn’t find out about this yet. Is that understood?”
“But Your Majesty,” Oak objected, “she should know about this, don't you think? I mean, she deserves to know. To hear it from you, not from a guard or a rumour this time -”
“That was not a request, lieutenant,” Celestia said sharply. Oak – and several other guards nearby – winced. The goddess took a deep breath, and spoke again. “She will,” she said. “I promise she will. But not yet. Something is wrong here, Oak. I want to make sure that somepony isn't trying to fool me. It... feels wrong.” Oak's expression became puzzled, but he saluted regardless.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said. He fluttered across the room, but before he reached the door it swung open on its own.
“Oak!” Amethyst said gratefully. “Thank goodness. I've been looking for you. One of the servants said he saw you come down this way a while ago... where did you run off to, Oak?” The lieutenant leaned away, trying hard not to show his nerves. Celestia did so as well, hiding her emotions much better.
“Ah... I went to fetch breakfast, Your Highness,” Oak said quickly. “I wasn't expecting you to be awake so soon.”
“Yes...” Amethyst said, “yes, I... had another nightmare. But that's not important. I'm awake now. What's for breakfast, hm?” She smiled widely, trying to put on a brave face for her guard. She looked over his shoulder, but he shifted to block her vision.
“N-nothing here, your highness,” he said. “Just a package arriving.”
“Really?” she asked, looking over Oak's other shoulder. “It must be some important package, with so many guards – and Aunt Celestia! What are you all doing here?”
“Nothing, dear,” Celestia said coolly. “Why don't you and Oak head outside? I'm going to be raising the sun soon, I'm sure it will be lovely to see. It's a very clear morning today.”
“Maybe in a minute,” Amethyst said. Her brow was beginning to furrow slightly, and she was looking past her nervous guard with interest. “What are you all looking at back there? And why have you got the doctor with you?”
“I-it's nothing to worry about, princess,” Oak said, waving his hooves. Amethyst ignored him, quickly stepping around the flustered pegasus. He tried to stop her, but she marched on heedlessly. Celestia sat in her path resolutely, and the mare marched straight up to her aunt.
“What is it, Auntie?” Amethyst asked pointedly.
“Nothing.” Celestia said, every bit as sharp.
“Then why won't you let me see it?” the purple mare asked again.
“Because it isn't worth seeing,” Celestia said. The two stared at each other in silence, an unspoken line of communication passing in the way that only family can manage. It was Amethyst who spoke first, and her voice was filled to the brim with fear.
“Auntie... what's wrong?” Celestia sighed, and stepped aside. Amethyst walked past her, peering at what the guards and doctor had been gathered around. The doctor took a step back, sighing sadly.
Amethyst took a slow step forwards. “N-no...” she said quietly. She stepped forward again, lifting a quivering hoof into the air. “No,” she whimpered again. “No, no, no, no no no!” She began to scream, and covered her head with her hooves. “NO!” she screamed, almost begging. “NO! No, please, please gods no! Oh gods, why!?”
The guards, the doctor, and Princess Celestia had all been gathered around a box. It was short, only a few feet high, but it was long, and packed with straw. Inside it was a unicorn stallion. His coat was white, and his mane the colour of the straw surrounding him. He was turned on his side, so everypony could see his cutie mark: a six-pointed compass rose. He didn't breath. He didn't move. He was dead.
“Why!?” Amethyst cried again. She threw herself onto the body, sobbing and writhing as if she were in pain. Every scream stabbed Oak in his heart. He walked slowly to the crying princess.
“Amethyst,” he said quietly. The princess looked up at him, tears staining her face. For a moment he shared a sympathetic glance with her, and she threw herself into his hooves. He swallowed, but sat down with her and let her cry.
“Oh gods, why?” she sobbed again. Nopony spoke. They let her cry, respecting her loss. Nopony in the room would ever tell another soul what had happened, they all knew that. The princess would have to be strong for her country. She would have to lead it well, and never let this touch her. She would need to put on a brave face for the other countries. She would have to be nobility. But for now, she was allowed to be a mother, mourning for her child.
“Oh, my foal,” she moaned, her tears finally spent. “My poor, poor foal... how could this happen?” She sniffed, and looked up. “How could this happen, Auntie?”
“I'm so sorry, Amethyst,” Celestia said.
“Couldn't you have done something?” the purple princess demanded. “Couldn't you have stopped this? Why didn't you!?” Celestia hung her head in shame.
“I don't know,” she admitted. “You're right. I could have done something. But I didn't.”
“And why not!?” Amethyst demanded angrily. “He was your nephew, Auntie! He was... he was my foal, and now he's gone... I told you we should have gone after them! If you had just listened to me, my foal would still be alive! Now he's dead, and IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY!” She screamed, and began to cry again. Oak held her, letting her sob into his shoulder. Celestia sat silently,
“I don't want to be here anymore, Oak,” Amethyst said eventually. “I can't be here anymore. I want to go.”
“Of course,” Oak said. He helped her to her hooves, and led her to the door. Before they left Amethyst looked over her shoulder, staring at her aunt with hate-filled eyes. Then, she was gone.
The room was silent. The acting captain of the guards shuffled his wings, and spoke.
“Your Majesty,” he said, before Celestia interrupted him.
“She'll be fine,” she said quietly. “She's scared right now. Heartbroken. She has every right to be angry with me.” She closed her eyes, and sighed. “Leave me alone with him,” she said. The pegasus saluted, and all the ponies slowly filed out of the room. Soon it was just Celestia and the body. She turned around, and looked at it carefully.
The eyes had been closed – thank goodness for that. He looked almost like he was sleeping, lying there in the straw. She ran a hoof over him gently and found a strange lump in his neck, like the bone wasn't aligned right. She furrowed her brow, and looked closer. There was something wrong, she could tell. It didn't look right. It didn't smell right. Even the air around it tasted just ever so slightly off.
She hummed to herself quietly and looked over her shoulder, confirming that the door was shut tight. She turned back to the body and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. A smell filled her nose like nothing else in the world. It was like smelling fire, or electricity. It almost had no smell of its own, instead smelling of everything else at once. She could smell the mortar between the stones. She could smell the moss and mildew, and the stones themselves. She could smell the old wood in the room. She could smell saltwater.
She felt her mind spreading out, touching everything in the room. The tiny, imperceptible currents in the air playing across her coat, the subtle grit of the stones beneath her hooves. She became aware of every single object in the room with her, no matter how small, and her mind joined with them. She could hear the faint whispers of the long-dead wood that supported the walls, and the steady chipping of the masonry where the cobblestones were born. The room came alive to her, and she became a part of it.
When she reopened her eyes, the world was different. Tiny flecks of gold hung in the air like dust in a sunbeam. They swam, shifting in strange currents and forming ancient and eldritch shapes and symbols. She saw the entire room at once, as if she had left her body and were floating in the air. She smiled in spite of herself; this was not a sight she saw often anymore. She focused her attention on the body. It was swathed in gold, the flecks dancing across it's body like ponies at a festival. A fleck clung to every single hair in his coat and mane.
“Magic...” she said softly. Her horn lit up, and the stallion in the box began to glow as well. His fur seemed to bristle, and the golden sparks dashed away from him, flying into the air and sinking into the walls and the wood. Bit by bit, hair by hair, the white of his coat melted away. It was replaced by a deep, chocolate brown. Within moments her nephew disappeared, and in his place lay a new stallion, bare of any gold. And yet, he was not new at all. Celestia remembered him, from weeks ago. A soldier. An honoured guest. An Aloan.
The princess breathed a sigh of relief. She would have to find Amethyst later, when the unicorn had calmed down. For now, though, Celestia had business to attend to. The sun was late to rise, and she was going to have a very busy day. There was much to do, much to prepare for. She would have to leave the castle soon, to visit an old friend. A very, very old friend.
***
Blueblood and Brook walked out of their home and into the darkness of the morning. Blueblood looked around idly, while Brook moved in the direction of the shed.
“Bring the cart over, Red,” he said quietly. Blueblood nodded, and headed around the house to fetch the old pony's wagon. He pulled it around, leading it over to Brook where he sat by the shed. Brook had already propped the door open, and was looking at the broken plough inside.
“Are you going to be alright with this?” he asked Blueblood. The white pony eyed the plough, and nodded slowly.
“I think so, master,” Blueblood said. He wrapped his hooves around the plough, and began to walk slowly backwards. He kept the plough on its good side, and it slid along the ground easily enough. When he reach the cart he leaned back, lifting it off the ground slowly. He grunted with the effort, and Brook lifted his hoof slightly.
“Do you need help?” he asked. Blueblood grunted, and put it back down.
“I... might,” he admitted. Brook nodded, and his horn glowed faintly. With the help of Brook’s magic, Blueblood managed to lift the heavy plough up, and put it in the back of the cart. He leaned against the edge, panting faintly. Brook walked up to him.
“I'm okay,” Blueblood said softly. He stepped away from the cart, and Brook nodded. With Blueblood's aid the old pony climbed into the back of the wagon, and Blueblood moved into position to push it once more. “Do we need anything else, master?” Blueblood asked. Brook shook his head.
“No,” he said. “We just need the plough. We can find a place to stay, and things to eat in the city. We'll buy supplies while we're there too. But for now, this is all we need.” Blueblood nodded, and turned around. “Don't push yourself,” Brook told him. “Let the rib rest.” Blueblood nodded again, giving a shy smile to the old pony. He set off, pulling the cart back to Port Ponzance.
The week since Blueblood had hurt himself had been a strange one. As always, Brook hardly spoke. In spite of this the old pony had always seemed to have something to do. He wouldn't let Blueblood do anything, and when Blueblood asked he had simply stated that Blueblood needed to rest.
Blueblood’s rib wasn't hurt bad. It had bruised where the chain pressed into it, but the pain was dull, and the bone probably wasn't hurt at all. Brook had been silent to these objections, however, and Blueblood had been to shy to push them. So he had simply sat on the balcony, or in the bedroom if it rained. When he was on the balcony, he found himself more and more looking out at the river, and the forest beyond it.
At first, it had simply been something to do. Blueblood had felt guilty about not being able to work at first, but the view had been able to take his mind off it a little. The more he looked, the more it was out of curiosity. He wondered just why his master chose to spend day in and day out staring. As he stared, the reason began to unfold before him.
It was not simply that the view was beautiful, though that was certainly true. The more he saw it, the more he began to see in it. He began to notice the trees in the distance rustling, and the glint of the light off the water changing subtly as the river rippled in the wind. Even when he didn't focus, he could allow his mind to wander. It was peaceful. At times he fell completely into his mind, forgetting about the world around him.
When it rained, and he sat in the bedroom, he found himself reading. Brook had found him sitting in the middle of the room one day, and silently placed a book of poetry in front of him. It had taken Blueblood a while to grow accustomed to reading the measures, but when he did he found that he enjoyed it.
While the week had not been a hard one on Blueblood, it had not been perfect. Brook had fallen into silence the morning after Blueblood had hurt himself, and Blueblood couldn't help but tiptoe around the silent stallion. In truth, he still found it hard to accept all the help that Brook gave him. At least now, though, Blueblood had recovered enough that Brook would allow him to work again.
When the two ponies next spoke to one another, the sun was high above them in the centre of the sky. In spite of its late rise, it shone brightly. It had not rained recently, but it threatened to again. The air was heavy with humidity, and pearls of sweat were forming in Blueblood's mane.
The road had widened out, and the last of the trees had fallen away. Blueblood pulled the cart through rolling hills now, and the road fell away from them on one side.
“Stop,” Brook said. Blueblood did as he was told, and looked back. He was panting slightly, and he had been holding his tongue out to cool himself off, but he closed his mouth shyly.
“Is something wrong?” Blueblood asked. Brook shrugged.
“Let's take a break,” he said simply. “Cool off for a while.”
“... Alright,” Blueblood said. He offered his master a hoof down from the wagon, and the old pony took it. He eased himself onto the ground with Blueblood's help, and trotted down the hillside. Blueblood followed after him, looking back at the cart.
“Shouldn't we stay with the wagon?” he asked. Brook laid down on the grass, and sighed as a breeze blew through his mane.
“It will be fine,” he said. “There's nothing in it worth stealing.” Blueblood nodded, and sat beside him. A gentle wind blew over the hills. It cooled Blueblood, chilling him where he was damp with sweat. It felt good, after hours of pulling the cart.
“The breeze is nice,” Brook said, breaking the silence. Blueblood looked over at him slowly.
“Yes,” he agreed quietly. “Is it... always this humid?”
“In the woods? Yes.” Brook said. “Out of the woods the dry season is much better.” Blueblood blinked at him.
“Dry season?” he asked. Brook stared back.
“Where are you from, Red?” he asked suddenly. Blueblood lowered his head a tad, and answered.
“Um, Equestria, master,” he said. Brook nodded.
“I was there... once. It's different. We have two seasons here: wet, and dry. We're at the end of the wet season. In a month or so the dry season comes. The rain stops for half the year, then comes again near the end.” Blueblood thought about this for a moment.
“So... during winter?” he asked. Brook shrugged.
“I don't know,” he said.
“Oh,” Blueblood said, “right. I'm -”
“Don't apologize,” Brook cut him off. Blueblood paused for a moment, trying to hold back another apology. He saw the corners of Brook's mouth twitch up for just a moment before the old pony recovered himself. The old unicorn hummed idly, and lay his head on his hooves. Blueblood turned away from him, looking at the view before them.
The land fell away from them in the distance. Hills bobbed up to the left and right, and as the forest reclaimed them it seemed almost like an ocean on land, the dips and rolls immeasurably slow waves playing along its surface. Far away Blueblood could see a thin strip of the River Aloe cut through it, breaking the flow before the land faded into the mists of distance. It still felt surreal to Blueblood, seeing the horizon. It felt like it went on forever.
A breeze cropped up, blowing Blueblood's mane in his eyes. Through the golden strands he could see the forest in the distance shift, its leaves rippling in time with one another. He lay down, and sighed. In spite of himself, he smiled.
“It's beautiful,” Brook said simply. Blueblood looked over at the old pony. He still stared forward, head resting on the backs of his hooves. The breeze blew through again, sending another ripple through the forest. “Perfect,” the old pony said.
“Yes...” Blueblood said quietly. “It's nice.” He looked back at the vista, and was reminded of Brook's own view from his balcony. A question came to him mind, but he struggled to ask it. “Master,” he said slowly. Brook's eyes flicked towards him.
“Yes?” the old pony asked.
“You watch the forest from your balcony a lot,” Blueblood said, still slowly. Brook nodded. Blueblood's brow furrowed, and he continued. “Does it ever... do you ever get tired of it?” Brook hummed again, and scratched his beard calmly.
“No...” he said finally. “No. Every time I look at it, I see something new. Something I didn't notice before. It changes every time.” Blueblood thought about this. Perhaps Brook had simply watched for longer, and knew the forest more intimately, but Blueblood couldn't imagine being able to notice the subtle changes from day to day.
“You've been looking too, haven't you?” Brook asked. Blueblood blinked in surprise.
“Y-yes,” he said. Brook nodded.
“Do you think about things, when you look out there?”
“Yes,” Blueblood said again. Brook stared into the distance. His eyes had a far-away quality to them.
“What do you think about, Red?” he asked. Blueblood looked out at the scenery for a while, thinking.
“I... don't know,” he conceded. “I guess I just... think about whatever comes to me. Everything.” He lowered his head, but Brook smiled faintly.
“Everything,” the old pony repeated. He sighed, and Blueblood thought he could hear peace in that sigh. “Everything is a good thing to think about,” Brook said. He lay his head on his hooves again, that faint smiled still on his face. Blueblood looked at him for a moment, then turned away. Another breeze came, playing through Blueblood's mane. He stared out at the forest before them, and he smiled as well.
***
Hours later, Blueblood hauled the cart up to the walls of Port Ponzance. The enormous gates that broke the wall were still wide open, but a pair of guards stepped into their path. Blueblood was nervous for a moment, but the guards ignored him, nodding instead to Brook in the back of the cart.
“Afternoon, sir,” one guard said. “What brings you to Port Ponzance?”
“A bit of trade,” Brook told him. “I need a plough fixed up. Do you need my medallion?”
“No, that's alright,” the guard said. “No need to do everything – you've got a slave with you, I doubt you're trying to sneak in.” The two guards stepped aside, and Blueblood pulled the wagon through the gates. The guards nodded to Brook once more, still ignoring Blueblood. Brook nodded back to them faintly.
“Master?” Blueblood asked, after they he had walked for a while longer. Something had been on his mind since they spoke to the guard at the gate.
“Yes?” Brook asked. Blueblood looked back at him, lowering his head slightly.
“How did the guard know that I was your slave? Do you really not have any earth ponies in Aloa?” Brook shrugged.
“Few enough,” he said. “But that isn't how.” He ran his hoof along the cloth wrapped about his shoulders, and tapped the medallion tying them gently. “These,” he said. “This far out, everypony wears wrappings and a medallion. Only slaves don't.”
“Oh...” Blueblood said, nodding. That meant that everypony who saw them knew that he was his master's slave. Not so long ago, that would have made him happy. Longer ago than that, it would have made him livid. Now, he didn't quite know how to feel about it.
It was late in the afternoon now, and much of whatever bustle the city might have had was beginning to die down. The streets were still full of ponies, but it was not as packed with them as it had been when Blueblood was first brought here. Brook told him to head back to the market lane, and he complied. The wide lane was easy to find, especially since the spoke-like road from the gate brought them right to it.
The street here was more populous, and Blueblood often found himself nodding apologetically to groups of ponies who were forced to break around the large wagon. In truth, he wasn't sure of exactly where he was going. Brook never gave him any cue to stop, so he simply kept walking. The market street seemed to stretch on forever, bending and curving just enough that Blueblood could never quite see the end of it. Just as his legs were beginning to grow sore from the day's walk, Brook spoke.
“Turn right here,” he said. Blueblood nodded, and turned into a small alleyway. It tucked between the sides of two shops, leading away from the stores and merchants. The alley began to narrow gradually, and before long Blueblood was starting to wonder if he would be able to keep pulling the cart. The walls of the buildings on either side stretched high up above, hiding the low sun and putting the two ponies into darkness. In the distance Blueblood saw a point of light. He kept moving towards it; not that he had any choice. The walls kept creeping close and closer, and as they reached the other side of the alleyway Blueblood would have sworn that the wagon nearly scraped along the walls.
He stepped out into the light, and blinked. His eyes had adjusted to the dark of the alleyway, and the open sunlight was blinding. When he was able to open his eyes again, he took a look around.
They were in a large open square. The ground was paved with old, loose cobblestones. The buildings were pressed together, walling the square off save for a few narrow streets like the one they had just come through. The buildings stretched two or three stories tall each, and on the second stories Blueblood saw wide balconies, similar the one on Brook's home. Also like Brook's home the places beneath the balconies were shaded porches, sinking back into the shadows before the buildings proper began. The buildings cast a large shadow over half the square, but the half that was still lit shone gold as the waning sun cast orange upon the yellow sandstone.
No building seemed to have the same purpose as its neighbor. Several were undecorated, and Blueblood imagined that they were homes. Others had stands set up out front, selling various goods. One had long, rich sheets of cloth hung from its rafters and laying folded on its bench. Another was covered in metal implements – kitchen utensils, farm equipment, even simple lengths of chain. The air around the house behind this stand seemed to shimmer, and Blueblood could see a thick plume of smoke rising up from its chimney.
“There,” Brook said. “A forge. That's what we need.” Blueblood nodded, and pulled the cart over to it.
The shimmer in the air had been heat – as Blueblood drew close he could feel it radiating outwards. He saw a red glow coming from the window inside, and guessed that the forge must be just inside.
With Blueblood's help Brook clambered down from the wagon, and limped over to the door. He rapped on it sharply, making a deep thudding noise. There was silence for a while, then the door creaked open.
A gigantic stallion stood before the two, golden-brown of coat and with a fiery red mane and tight silvery wrappings. “Hullo,” he said gruffly, grinning at the pair. Blueblood stared at him – he had never seen a pony quite so full-looking. The smith was almost as wide as his door frame. Brook, however, did not seem surprised.
“Hello,” he said, nodding respectfully. “Are you the blacksmith who made these tools?”
“That's me, yeah,” the smith said, beaming proudly. “You need something forged?”
“Not forged,” Brook said, shaking his head. “I just need a repair done.”
“Well, I can repair whatever you have for me!” the smith said. “What do you need fixed up?” Brook limped back to the cart, gesturing for the smith to follow. He did so, brushing past Blueblood without a thought.
“Managed to break a plough,” Brook said offhandedly. “Need it fixed up before we can get back to work. Dry season is coming soon.” The smith leaned over the side of the cart, humming knowingly. He inspected the plough, nodding to himself.
“You weren't kidding that you did a number on it,” he said. “Cut it the whole way through. Well, I can fix it right up. It won't come cheap, though.”
“I can afford it,” Brook said simply.
“Well, no offense sir, but I don't know that.” The stallion shrugged, and Brook sighed.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, I suppose that's fair.” He unpinned the medallion tied to his wrappings, and handed it over to the smith. The smith turned it over, inspecting whatever was on the back. As Blueblood watched him, he saw the stallion's brow raise in surprise.
“White Brook?” he asked incredulously. “The Raging River? Commander of the -”
“Yes,” Brook said sharply, cutting him off. “That was... a long time ago.” The smith gave him the medallion back, and grinned.
“It's an honour to meet you, sir. I'm... sort of surprised that it's just a plough. From you, I would have thought your armour or something...”
“It's been a long time since that armour did anything that would need repairs,” Brook said. “Nearly twenty years. I'm just a farmer now. Is that all you need?”
“Oh!” the smith said. “Yes, of course. I'm sure you'll be able to afford it easily. I'll even give you a discount.”
“No,” Brook said. “That won't be necessary. I have more than enough.”
“That's very generous of you, sir,” the smith said. Blueblood watched him oddly. The way that he spoke to Brook – it was like he was meeting his childhood hero. His tone was almost reverential, and Blueblood could see his head bobbing humbly as he spoke. It was subtle, but Blueblood understood what it meant exactly.
“Actually,” Brook said, “I hate to ask this. We just came to the city, and don't have anywhere to stay for the night. Is your home large enough for two guests?”
“Oh yes,” the smith said, beaming. “I'd be honoured if you would stay with us while you're in town. I'm sure my wife would be as well.”
“Hm,” Brook said, nodding. Blueblood wasn't certain, but he seemed to be losing that sense of calmness about him. He seemed slower, duller somehow. He took a step towards his master, but the old pony lifted his head and looked towards him. “Red,” he said suddenly. “Can you take the plough into our host's forge, and put away the cart?”
“Yes, master,” Blueblood said, nodding to him. He reached into the back of the cart, dragging the heavy plough out. The smith didn't move to help him, instead waiting until Blueblood managed to pull it out and get it onto the ground. When he had, the smith opened the door into his house and held it.
“Just bring it in here,” he said. Blueblood nodded, and began dragging the plough backwards along the ground. The smith watched him as he did so.
The inside of the house was sweltering. Blueblood had been right; the forge sat in the opening of the house, right beside the window. It seemed to be a small foyer, as there was another door just feet away from them. He dropped the plough by the forge, then returned outside to the cart.
“Take that thing around the back,” the smith said. “You think you can find the way around our house?” Blueblood nodded silently, and began to pull the cart along. It seemed light as a feather without the heavy plough and his master in the back. Before leaving the square he risked a glance over his shoulder at his master. The old pony was sitting by the fountain, staring off into space. It was much like when he would look out over the river, but was different somehow. Blueblood stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head and pulling the wagon into another alleyway.
The path around the smiths house was simple to find; it was a simple gap in between the back of his building and another, leading to a tight square. Blueblood was forced to climb over the cart to get back out, which took a bit of time. When he returned to the front of the house, Brook and the smith had disappeared. Blueblood nudged the door to the smith's house open gently, poking his head inside. The forge was empty, so he did the same with the next door. There he saw his master, sitting at a table with the smith and a much smaller mare. Brook spotted him, and nodded gently.
“Come in, Red,” he said. The smith didn't pay any attention, but the mare stared at him in shock. Blueblood stepped inside, but went no further than the door. He stood awkwardly, pawing at the ground as the mare gaped at him.
“Um... is something wrong, miss?” he asked her. She closed her mouth as if she had just realized she was staring, and turned to her husband.
“A... a foreigner?” she asked incredulously.
“My slave,” Brook said simply. “Red.” the mare stared at him again, but looked at least somewhat more comfortable this time.
“Oh...” she said, “I see. That makes more sense.
“Yes,” Brook said again. He seemed more succinct than usual, to Blueblood. He was almost certain something was wrong now, but he couldn't imagine for the life of him what it was. His wondering was interrupted as Brook beckoned him to come closer. “Come sit down, Red,” the old pony said. Our hosts have offered us dinner.”
“Ah, yes,” the mare said, standing up from the table. “It's almost ready, I think.” she stepped away, going to a stove along the wall. Blueblood sat at the table beside his master, and looked at him carefully. Brook gave him a strange glance, but his eyes soon snapped back to the smith.
“So,” the golden pony said, “what brings you into the city? Just the plough?”
“Yes,” Brook said, nodding slowly. “Just the plough, and gathering a few more supplies. We'll be able to start planting soon, but we're running out of food in the meantime. Need to be able to last until the first crop comes in, and the traders don't come by often.” The mare returned, levitating a large, steaming pot of stew. She laid down bowls, and began to ladle the stew into them. She heaped it into Brook's bowl, smiling sweetly at him as she did so, but when she came to Blueblood she spooned in a meager portion of broth and a few token vegetables. Blueblood thanked her regardless, but he could see Brook eying his bowl.
The mare poured herself a bowl, and sat beside her husband. “So?” she asked. “Shall we?” Brook hummed, and reached in front of Blueblood. He took away Blueblood’s bowl, placing it in front of himself, and giving Blueblood his bowl instead. Blueblood stared at him, but Brook simply nodded.
“Yes,” the old pony said. “Let's.”
There was a strange air hanging over the meal. Brook seemed to sag, if that were possible. The smith and his wife, however, were exuberant. Pride seemed to emanate from them, and they beamed at Brook from across the table. The two feelings seemed to meet in the middle, fusing into a strange sort of awkwardness. The smith's wife, for her part, seemed blissfully unaware of this.
“So is it true?” she asked. Brook looked up at her, and she continued. “That you live out in the middle of nowhere, all on your own?”
“No,” Brook said. “Red lives with me. But I used to.” The mare rolled her eyes faintly – Blueblood barely saw it – but she continued.
“Why?” she asked. “Why not live in a city?” Brook shrugged.
“You can't farm in the city,” he said. “I like the woods.” His words were soft, and he didn't seem to be looking at the mare directly. Blueblood was silent as he ate, watching Brook out of the corner of his eye. It was still barely noticeable, but he could see it more clearly now. His shoulders had gone slack, and his neck hung forward just slightly, his eyes cast barely downwards.
“But you could always live just outside the city, couldn't you?” the smith asked.
“Hm.” Brook said shortly, cutting off the conversation. There was silence for a moment, before the smith coughed.
He struck up another conversation, this one directed away from his guest. Brook joined in occasionally, giving his opinion, but he never seemed to lose that slacked quality that Blueblood noticed. Still, he chatted politely with his hosts, and the four ponies ate together. The already low sun dipped lower as they ate, and it was almost dark by the time they had finished.
The smith leaned back in his chair, patting his belly happily. “Ah,” he sighed. “That was wonderful, sweetie.”
“Oh, no,” she said, “it was nothing. If I had known we would have company I'd have made you something better, sir.”
“Nonsense,” Brook said. “It was delicious.” The mare smiled coyly.
“Well, thank you sir,” she said. “Why don't I go light some candles – it's beginning to get dark in here.”
“That sounds like a good idea. We'll clear things up in here while you do that,” the smith said. His wife trotted into another room, and he turned to Blueblood.
“Why don't you clear up these bowls, hm?” he asked. Blueblood nodded, and stood, but Brook stopped him.
“Red,” he said shortly. Blueblood paused, and the smith looked at the old green pony in surprise. “You're my slave,” Brook continued. “Not his. You don't have to clean up if you don't want to.”
Blueblood stood still, looking between his master and the smith. The air in the room was heavy, the tension palpable. Blueblood could almost feel the smith's confusion. Brook simply stared at the golden unicorn, his hooves folded in front of his face. From the smith's perspective Brook's expression must have been more impossibly difficult to read than normal. Blueblood was torn on what to do, for a while, but eventually began to gather up the bowls.
“These ponies were kind enough to let us stay with them,” he said quietly. “This is the least I can do for them.” Brook hummed, and nodded.
“That's very polite of you, Red.” he said. Blueblood lowered his head, and smiled. He gathered the rest of the dishes silently, carrying them to a basin of water. He washed them quickly, stacking them neatly on the counter. The mare returned, carrying a few lit candles, illuminating the room.
“There we are,” she said, placing the candles on the table. “How's that, sir?” Brook nodded politely to her.
“It's lovely,” he said. He got to his hooves, however, and grunted softly. “But,” he said, “I'm sure you two would hardly want to spend a wonderful evening like this with an old stallion in your way.”
“Oh no!” the smith insisted. “It's not a problem at all, sir! We'd love to spend the evening with you. I'd love to hear some of your old stories.”
“No, no,” Brook said tiredly. “I insist. I know what you young pony's are like. Besides, I'm not as young as I once was. I can't go forever like you can. If you would show me and Red to our room, We'll be out of your manes.”
“Oh... well, of course,” the golden stallion said. He stood, and trotted into the next room. Brook limped after him, and Blueblood followed alongside his master. They walked through a living room, and the smith showed them into a small bedroom.
It was well-kept for what must have been a simple guest room. There was a medium-sized bed in the corner, tucked in beside a wardrobe. Across from these there was a stool and a writing desk. There was a board with several strangely carved pieces on it, all neatly in their places.
Brook limped inside the room, looking around. “I hope this is alright, sir,” the smith said, bowing his head slightly.
“Yes, thank you,” Brook said. “But, do you have a blanket you could spare for Red?” The smith blinked, and tapped his hoof on the ground.
“I think we might,” he said, stepping out of the room. He returned in a few moments with a thin sheet, which Brook took gratefully.
“Thank you very much,” he said. “Enjoy your evening.”
“No, thank you,” the smith said. “Enjoy your sleep. I hope everything suits you fine, sir.” He bobbed his head again before he left, closing the door behind him. Brook sighed deeply when he left. Blueblood thought that he was looking a bit less tired than before, but he still seemed so much older than normal.
“Do you know them, master?” Blueblood asked. It didn't seem like that was the case – the smith had been amazed at who Brook was, for whatever reason – but it seemed odd that they would take them into their home if they didn't. Perhaps that had something to do with how Brook was acting.
“Hm?” Brook asked, straightening up slightly. “No, I don't know them. I've hardly ever needed anything forged before.” Blueblood's brow furrowed.
“Then... why would they take in strangers for the night? Are you... famous?” Brook snorted, and smiled humourlessly.
“Famous,” he said. “Hm. Yes, I'm famous... in a way.” He gave a protracted sigh, and slumped forward again. Blueblood lowered his head, and took another step forward.
“Master,” he asked quietly, “what's the matter?” Brook sighed again, and looked at the white stallion. He rubbed his eyes, and smiled faintly.
“No,” he said. “It's nothing. I'm sorry if I seemed short, but... 20 years is a long time. Sometimes things change.”
“That's not...” Blueblood said quietly, but decided not to finish. If his master didn't want to talk about it, Blueblood would respect that.
“No,” Brook said again. “That isn't why they took us in. I forget, sometimes, you are Equestrian.”
“Why?” Blueblood asked, tilting his head.
“Culture,” Brook said simply. “Aloans are much closer to one another than Equestrians. We have to care for each other. It's how we started. So, if an Aloan needs a place to stay, they can just ask another to spare a room. Most houses have a guest bedroom like this one.”
“Is that why you don't have inns?” Blueblood asked. Brook nodded.
“We have some, but only for large parties, or rich ponies. But yes, travelers will just stay with locals.” Blueblood thought about this. It seemed to make sense – until he remembered the mare's reaction to him.
“But,” he said, “the smith's wife...”
“We care for Aloans,” Brook said again, perhaps a bit sadly. “Aloans. Nopony else.”
“Oh...” Blueblood said. Brook shook his head. He looked at the desk, and Blueblood followed his gaze. He was staring at the game set on it.
“Do you play?” Brook asked him.
“What?” Blueblood asked.
“Casualty. The game. Do you play?”
“N-no...” Blueblood said. “I... think I've seen it before, but I've never played. I don't think I know how.”
“That doesn't surprise me,” Brook said. “It's a common game. They say the gods invented it to settle disputes before kingdoms and armies.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked. Now that Brook said that, he remembered where he had seen it before. He remembered seeing a set in auntie Celestia's bedchamber. The set had been cast from gold and silver as opposed to simple painted stone like this one, but the pieces all looked the same. Brook stood, limping over to the set. He touched it gently with his bad hoof, then turned back to Blueblood.
“Would you like to learn?” he asked. Blueblood tilted his head, but smiled faintly.
“Yes,” he said. “I would.” Brook nodded, and lifted the set off the desk. He brought it over, and sat on the floor across from Blueblood.
“Do you know anything about it?” Brook asked. Blueblood shook his head shyly.
“No,” he said. Brook nodded.
“The goal is to capture your opponents throne.” he tapped a gold-coloured square on the edge of the board. “At the same time, you must lose as few pieces as possible. You can capture your enemies throne, but still lose if you lose too many pieces.” Blueblood tilted his head, his brow furrowing.
“Why?” he asked.
“The game mimics a war between two kingdoms,” Brook explained. “If you capture your enemy’s kingdom, but you don't have enough ponies to hold it, then the victory was worthless. Every piece is valuable. You cannot waste any of them. Do you understand?”
“I think so,” Blueblood said. “You can't sacrifice a piece to get ahead. You have to respect all of them, because they're all useful in the end.”
“That's right,” Brook said. “Some of the pieces move differently from one another, but each is useful. You must use each one to its utmost potential to win.” Blueblood nodded.
“I understand,” he said.
“Good,” Brook said. “Now, this piece is your infantry...”
Blueblood slid an infantrypony onto the golden square on Brook's side of the board, and grinned widely. “I won!” he said happily. Brook shook his head.
“Look again,” he said. Blueblood looked down at the board, and his mouth fell open. He barely had any pieces left – less than half as many as Brook. The old pony had cleared a path for him, then systematically destroyed his force while Blueblood had focused on pushing ahead.
“You lose,” Brook said. Blueblood laughed weakly, and flopped his head down.
“Yeah...” he said.
“You need to pay attention to everything on the board,” Brook said. “You can't afford to lose sight of your army, just because you've broken away from the fray. You were too focused on capturing my throne, and you let me take your units.”
“Yeah...” Blueblood said again. “I... really messed that up, didn't I?” Brook nodded.
“In a real war, my forces would have been enough to rebel from the inside. This kind of loss is the worst kind. If you had taken my throne and won, I would not have been able to start another war. Now though, I could rebel and rip apart the country from the inside. When a game is lost like this, both sides have lost in the end.” Blueblood stared at the board, and he suddenly understood just why Brook had beaten him so badly. While Blueblood had seen it as a game, Brook had treated each unit as an actual soldier on the battlefield. The white pony bowed his head.
“I guess... I'm not that good at this.”
“No,” Brook said. “You did very well.” Blueblood looked up.
“Really?” he asked. Brook nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “You were able to get a piece through my defenses. You read my line and found a gap. That's good, for a beginner.” Blueblood smiled proudly, and rubbed his flushing face.
“I... thank you, master.” he said. Brook nodded.
“Did you enjoy it?” he asked. Blueblood nodded as well.
“Yes, master,” he said. “It was... fun. And interesting.”
“I'm glad,” Brook said. He stood up slowly. “It's getting late... we should probably sleep now.” Blueblood nodded slowly. He stared at the board in front of him. The pieces were all where they had been when he lost the game, in strange positions around the board. His were haphazard, but looking at it now Blueblood could see a sort of organization to Brook's pieces.
Brook had treated the pieces like actual soldiers on a battlefield. Blueblood had treated them like pieces of painted stone. He hadn't played the game properly; he hadn't cared about his units.
“Master?” Blueblood asked. Brook turned to look at him.
“Yes, Red?” he asked. Blueblood looked up at him, smiling shyly.
“Before we go to bed... will you play one more game with me? I'd... like to try it again. Properly, this time. I promise I'll be better.” Brook walked over, and lay down. A warm, earnest smile spread across the old pony’s face. His horn lit up, and all the pieces slid into their places.
“I know you will,” he said.
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Kegisak
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1052
| 11 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-12-05T05:25:12+00:00
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2011-12-05T05:25:12+00:00
| 4,969 |
Chapter 11: In Which an Expedition is Made
Miles away from Port Ponzance, miles away from any city in Aloa, a vast forest spread across the land. Strange tropical trees sprouted from the ground in droves, keeping the land safe from any ponies who might try to build there. The forest stretched on for miles and miles, across hills and over the mighty river that cut through the peninsula. The world inside it was a deep blue-green, painted by the moonlight filtered through the leaves far above. Every tree seemed the same; a pony could get lost in the forest forever if they weren't careful.
Wet Mane had not been careful. He had run through the forest blindly, following the flying pony. Now, he was lost. He trudged slowly between the trees, and sighed.
“Great,” he said. “Just great.” He stopped, and sat beneath a large tree that looked exactly the same as all the others. He had lost the pony's trail hours ago, and now he was completely lost. He had no idea how deep into the forest he was, or which way to go to get out of it. The earth here was bare of any grass, and the pools of rainwater all around were stagnant. If he couldn't find his way out soon, he would be every bit as dead as Brig.
He sighed again, and thought about his late partner. He wished that he had fought harder to convince him. He wished that he had been able to talk Brig out of returning to Iron. Wet had known that the gray earth pony was insane; they both knew it. Even so, they had gone back anyways, and for what? For their duty? If they were both going to die, what did duty matter?
Wet slid lower down the tree, lying on his back in the dirt and rubbing his eyes. He hadn't stopped to rest for hours; days even. His body ached, and demanded sleep and sustenance. He might not be able to feed himself, but sleep was something he could provide. He shifted again, getting as close to comfort as he could on the hard ground, and drifted to sleep.
In his slumber, Wet Mane dreamed. The dreams came in flashes and snippets, never a solid image. He dreamed of feelings; feelings of fear, feelings of despair, feelings of oppression. He saw the vague image of a great spectre: an enormous pony, stretched and distorted like a painting that had been left in the rain, with a ghastly grin. Wet tossed and turned, as if he were trying to run from the strange pony in his mind, but could not escape. No matter where his mind turned the spectre was always there. Throughout it all he felt another presence as well. It was subtle and faint, skirting along the edges of his consciousness, but it was always there. It kept the spectre away from him, but never came to him directly. Even as far away as it was though, he could always feel it, as deathly cold as ice.
Wet's eyes snapped open. The world was dark. The moon had slung low, and twilight was coming soon. The yellow unicorn's eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, and as the did he realized that there was a pony sitting across from him. Her coat was an amazingly deep blue, and almost seemed to sink into oblivion. It was like looking into the night sky. She blended into the night almost perfectly, and her bright azure eyes seemed to glow. She stared at him, silent and unblinking. As if to formally announce her presence, she shuffled her wings quietly. Wet stared at her, open-mouthed.
“You...” he said slowly.
“Me.” she answered, her voice piercing through the night. Wet just stared, but finally managed to recover himself. He jumped to his hooves, and his horn lit up. A band of magic appeared around the mare, pinning her wings to her sides.
“You're coming with me,” he said firmly. The mare spread her wings, dissipating the magic about her middle without a trace of effort. Pain shot through Wet's mind, but he shook it off. “Stay where you are!” he said.
“No,” the mare said. She beat her wings powerfully, and took to the skies. She flew in circles above Wet's head, higher and higher. She paused for a brief moment, hovering and staring down at him, before taking off flying. Wet chased after her, dodging and weaving between trees and hopping over fallen logs and roots. He managed to keep pace with her as she flew among the high branches, but only just. More than once she would stop and sit on a branch, as if she were waiting for him. He grit his teeth, and ran faster. The mare was taunting him, but he would catch her yet. Brig was dead because of her, and he wouldn't let that be in vain.
He pumped his legs harder and harder. He was starving, and exhausted, but he kept running. A singular goal kept him moving forward: catch the mare. She weaved through the branches ahead of him, egging him on. His horn lit up, tossing a rock at her from the ground. She dodged it deftly, spinning in the air around it. Wet scowled, and launched another spell. Bullets of hardened air flew at her, but she dodged around them just as easily. She didn't even seem to be trying. She turned around, beckoning him closer, then disappeared through the trees. Wet growled at the darkness, and dashed after her.
He weaved between a tight line of trees, and when he left them he saw open air. He gaped, slowing to a halt. The trees fell away into sparse clusters before him. Grass began to sprout up, and not far away he could see a small stream. He ran to it, forgetting his quarry instantly. He slurped up the water greedily, drinking his fill. He sat down, and looked around. The blue mare was nowhere to be seen. He had lost her again.
“Well...” he said sourly, “at least I'm not in the woods anymore.” He stood up and began to graze, filling his empty belly. Grass was hardly the tastiest meal he'd ever had, but hunger is the best seasoning.
Glad as he was that he was no longer lost, he wasn't sure what to do. If he tried to return to Port Ponzance, he'd be killed. He had no trail on his quarry, and no idea where she had gone. Perhaps she had returned to wherever she came from, or perhaps she was content to simply toy with him for a few more days. He lay down on the grass, grumbling to himself.
“You know what to do,” a voice said. Wet whipped his head around, but there was nopony there. For a moment, he thought that he had imagined it.
“I know what to do, huh...” he said. The option was clear, of course. He could always run away. Head for the hills somewhere, and never look back. They couldn't kill him if they couldn't find him. Maybe he'd spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder for somepony after him, or maybe not. At least he'd be alive for a little bit longer.
He rolled onto his back, and looked up at the dark sky. Brig had died in defense of his duty. Shouldn't Wet be willing to do the same? He grunted, covering his eyes.
“Duty,” he snorted. “Duty to a madpony. Gods, what did I get myself into?” He heard a rustling noise, and uncovered his eyes. He sat up, and he saw the winged pony sitting staring at him, as she had done in the forest. He jumped to his hooves, binding her once more with his magic. She didn't react.
“I've got you now!” he said.
“You do, unicorn,” she replied calmly. “But why?”
“I'm going to take you back to my commander,” Wet told her. “He'll probably kill you. It's not personal... It's just my duty.”
“Duty to a madpony?” she asked. There was a wry edge to her voice. Wet gritted his teeth, and did his best to ignore it.
“It's you or us,” he said. “If you don't die, we'll all be killed.”
“They'll be killed,” the mare said. “Who says you have to die, unicorn?” Wet narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Any other pony would have been trying to talk their way out of this, but she didn't seem to care one way or another from her tone. Like she was content to live or die.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“You already know the answer,” she said. “Run.”
“Run?” Wet scoffed. “And abandon my duty?”
“Your duty to a madpony,” she said again. “You wanted to run once. Why didn't you?”
“Because... I had a-”
“Duty,” the mare interrupted. “What do you owe them?” Wet blinked.
“I... I... Iron will kill me if I don't bring you back!”
“You uphold duty to a pony who would kill you?” the mare asked. “Enough to kill a pony who saved your life?”
“Who... saved my life?” Wet asked.
“I did,” the mare answered. Wet released her, and stepped back. She was right. She had lead him out of the forest. If she hadn't, he would have starved to death. She had saved his life.
“He doesn't care about you, unicorn,” the mare said. “You owe him nothing. You aren't protecting him, you're protecting yourself. So run. An innocent pony should not have to die to protect another.” Wet sighed.
“I'm not going to kill you,” he said. “You can go.”
“Of course you won't unicorn,” the mare said, almost humorously.
“I have a name, you know,” Wet said. The mare raised an eyebrow.
“I don't recall you asking my name,” she said. Wet sighed again.
“What's your name, p-”
“I don't recall saying I would tell you it, either,” she interrupted him. She spread he wings, and took to the skies again. “I know you won't kill me,” she said. “I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about the prince.” She beat her wings, flying higher and higher until she faded into the blackness of the sky, leaving Wet staring upwards blankly.
***
The smith's anvil rang out as his hammer struck down, sounding like the peal of a bell with each strike. It shot through Blueblood's mind sharply, shaking him to life. His eyes popped open, and as they adjusted to the dim light he remembered where he was.
He lay in the middle of the guest room, wrapped in the thin sheet that the smith had provided for him the previous night. The game set sat a few inches away from his nose; the pieces were still placed haphazardly about the board. Blueblood and Brook had wound up playing it several times before they had finally gone to sleep, but Blueblood had never managed to even come close to winning. Every time after the first Brook had shut down both his offense and defense, cutting through and taking the throne as soon as he had enough of an advantage over Blueblood to win.
Blueblood wasn't actually sure when they had stopped playing. He didn't remember ever deciding to go to sleep, and he certainly didn't remember pulling the blanket around himself, but there it was. He looked at his master, who was still fast asleep on the bed, and smiled faintly.
Blueblood stepped outside the guest room, closing the door gently behind him. He trotted to the kitchen, where the sound of the hammer was much louder, and poked his head in. The smith's wife was there, and she looked over at him.
“Yes?” she asked pointedly. “Did you need something?”
“Master is still sleeping,” Blueblood said quietly, trying his best to ignore her sharp tone. “I thought that I might bring him breakfast. Do you have anything you could spare?”
“Oh, of course,” she said. She got up from the table and trotted over to the counter, where half a fresh loaf of bread sat. “Here,” she said. “I'm sure he'd appreciate this.”
“Thank you,” Blueblood said quietly, taking the loaf from her. When he brought it back into the guest room, his master had already begun to stir.
“He gets to work early,” the old pony murmured to himself. He peered over at Blueblood, who had just entered. “Good morning, Red.”
“Good morning master,” Blueblood said, bowing slightly. “I brought you breakfast.” Brook smiled faintly, and sat up.
“Thank you,” he said. Blueblood gave him the loaf, which Brook tore in half. “I don't suppose you got anything for yourself?” Brook asked, peering at the white pony. Blueblood smiled sheepishly, and lowered his head.
“Ah... no, master,” he said. Brook shook his head, and handed half the loaf to Blueblood, who took it gratefully.
“Thank you, master,” Blueblood said. Brook nodded, and bit into the bread. Blueblood followed suit, and smiled. The bread was still warm, and perfectly baked. The crust was crisp and crunchy, and the bread was soft and chewy. It tasted of herbs, tingling faintly on Blueblood's tongue. He hummed with pleasure, chewing happily. Brook's faint smile grew a bit larger, and he took another bite out of his bread.
The two ponies finished their breakfast soon enough, and Brook trotted out with Blueblood trailing close behind. They went to into the front room, where they found the golden-brown pony hunkered over his forge. The sound of his hammer striking over and over was deafening in here, and Blueblood had to cover his ears. Brook ignored it, tapping the gigantic pony's shoulder. The smith stopped, and turned around.
“Ah, good morning sir!” he said. “I hope I didn't wake you – I know it can get loud sometimes.”
“Oh, no,” Brook said, shaking his head. “I wasn't expecting you working this early, though.”
“I like to work early,” the smith said, smiling proudly. “I do my best work early, I think.” He shifted aside, showing Brook what he had been pounding in the forge.
He had been working on the plough, hammering the torn edge back into place. He had managed to get most of it aligned; a narrow crack ran down the side of the plough like a seam.
“Looks good,” Brook said. “Looks like you'll be finished soon. We'll be able to get out of your manes, then.” The smith sighed, and shook his head.
“I'm not so sure about that,” he said. “I've got it realigned, but just trying to melt the edges back together isn't going to work. It'll be far to weak. It'll break again the minute you try to plough anything with it. I need to melt down some more steel to bond it, but I'm all out of scrap.”
“So you don't have any more metal for it?” Brook asked. The smith nodded.
“That's right. I'll need to get more metal. That'll take a while.” Brook looked at him.
“Can't you just go to the market?” the old pony asked. The smith shook his head.
“No,” he said. “They don't sell good steel there. There's a small steel mill across the city that has good steel, I'll need to go there, but it’ll take all day to get there.” Brook thought about this for a moment.
“I imagine you have other things to do?” he asked. The smith shrugged.
“Well...” he said, “you're my only actual order, but that might not last. And I've got another side project I've been working on to sell. Not as important as your plough though, sir.” Brook nodded.
“Don't worry about getting that steel,” he said. Both the smith and Blueblood looked at the old pony. “Red and I needed to gather supplies while we were in town. I can gather food on my own. Red can go and fetch your steel for you.” The smith blinked.
“That's very generous of you to offer, sir,” the smith said. “But if you need your slave I couldn't take him from you -”
“I just said I don't need him, didn't I?” Brook said. “I managed before I bought him. I'll be fine.” He turned to Blueblood, and nodded to him. “Red,” he said. “Will you be able to fetch steel from the mill?” Blueblood nodded.
“Of course, master,” he said. He was a bit surprised that Brook wanted him to go out and get it, but he didn't argue. He knew that he could do it, at least, and he trusted that his master would be fine on his own, so he was more than willing.
“Good,” Brook said. He turned to the smith again, and asked, “Do you have any saddlebags for him?”
“I... think so,” the smith said. “Let me just go find them...”
The smith had returned before too long with the saddlebags. Blueblood had put them on easily enough, and he and Brook headed outside. The old pony had paused for a minute, going inside to retrieve something, leaving Blueblood alone in the square.
He sat on the edge of the fountain, staring over the top of one of the buildings. The sun had only risen an hour or so ago, and its light was still creeping its way into the boxed-off collection of homes and shops. It had rained last night, but most of the water was already gone, either draining off into the ocean or turning into a thin mist that hovered just above the ground. The air was warm, and relatively dry for a coastal city. Blueblood breathed deeply, taking in the morning air.
He had never stopped to do this back in Canterlot. He had paused momentarily to appreciate the beauty of a morning, to be certain, but he had never soaked it in like this. He had always rushed along to something that he had managed to convince himself was more important. He could barely remember what any of those things had been, now. He couldn't imagine what he must have thought was so important. Hard as he tried, he could never picture just what he had done in those days. He imagined that he simply spent most of his time sitting around, or waiting for something to entertain him. He sighed to himself, and shook his head.
He heard shuffling hoofsteps behind himself, and turned around. Brook had returned from inside the smith's house. He carried no saddlebags of his own; he had told Blueblood that he would take the wagon into the market, and had been silent when Blueblood had asked how he would do that. Instead, the old pony carried a thick, folded cloth.
“Master,” Blueblood said, nodding to him. Brook nodded as well.
“I have this for you, Red,” he said. Blueblood tilted his head, looking at it.
“What is it?” he asked. Brook unfolded it, stretching it wide for Blueblood to see. The cloth was long and thin, like a scarf. It was a beautiful crimson red, as deep and vivid as a rose, and seemed to shine and shimmer magenta where it caught the light.
“It's a wrapping,” Brook said. “I bought it for you yesterday... so you would be able to go through the city. This way, nopony will know you're my slave, and they'll leave you alone.”
“Master...” Blueblood said quietly. He stared at the cloth, running his hooves over it gently.
“I thought the colour was... appropriate,” Brook said quietly.
“Thank you, master,” he said. He smiled widely at his master, who smiled back.
“Here,” Brook said. “Let me tie it for you.” He wound the cloth around Blueblood's neck deftly, years of practice guiding his old hooves. It felt strange; tight around Blueblood's neck and draping over his shoulders, but it was warm. When he was done, Brook took off his medallion, and used it to bind Blueblood's wrapping.
“You can show this to the mill workers when you buy the steel,” Brook told him. “They'll recognize the name, and know I'll be able to pay him back.”
“O-of course,” Blueblood said, looking at the medallion. It was solid gold, and gleamed in the morning light. It bore the insignia of Aloa: Two small island and one large island arranged triangularly in the mouth of a river delta. It was one of the few things that Blueblood remembered learning about Aloa. The country was deeply proud of its origins as a fishing colony, one which had eventually spread out over the entire Aloan peninsula, as well as a small portion of the mainland.
“But, master,” Blueblood said. “How will you be able to buy supplies without it? Won't they need to see it as well?” Brook smiled.
“I have other ways of identifying myself,” he said. “But I came to Port Ponzance prepared. Silver is all the identification most will need.” He gave a small smile, and put his bad hoof on Blueblood's shoulder. “Do you know where you're going?” he asked. Blueblood nodded slowly.
“I think so,” he said. “The smith told me the name of the steel mill. He said it's west... I can ask for directions if I need them.” Brook nodded.
“That's good. Be well, Red.”
“Thank you master,” Blueblood said. “You too.” He and Brook exchanged a final nod, before the old pony turned away and went to retrieve his wagon from behind the smith's home.
Blueblood headed west, just as the smith had instructed. The westernmost exit of the square was a narrow alleyway, nearly identical to any of the other alleys leading outward. As he travelled along the cobblestones seemed less well-worn, and older. The gap between the buildings began to narrow, the darkness deepening. Blueblood looked up at the thin stretch of sky, high above him. It cut in like a line of sapphire, bright against the darkness. The buildings stretched at least three stories up here.
Soon the cobblestones faded away, and the street began to wind. Blueblood found himself making turn after turn in the narrow back alleys as he came upon sharp bends and three-way corners. The cityscape seemed to shift and mutate as he walked, like some perverse discordian labyrinth. He trotted through wide and clean streets, and through narrow and dirty streets. Most were vacant; once or twice he spied a pony in the distance, but they had disappeared before he could call out to them.
He had no idea if he was even going west anymore, or if he had been turned around and was now heading east. He had no idea where he was in relation to the square where the smith lived, or to anything at all. The only thing he knew was that he was far enough away from the port that the streets didn't even slope enough to give him a hint at his direction.
He trudged through the endless maze of alleyways, feeling for all the world like a mouse in some absurd experiment. He hoped that he would at least stumble across a major street, or find somepony who would help him soon. He found himself at another wall, and groaned angrily. He turned right without even stopping to consider the choice, and found himself heading into another tight street. It twisted and turned sharply, but it kept its cobbled ground. He came across no other streets while he walked. This path was completely closed in. At the very least the houses here were lower, and he didn't feel so much like he was trudging through a pit. He turned another sharp corner, and saw a pinprick of light ahead of him. His heart leaped, and he dashed towards it. Perhaps it was a main street, he thought to himself. Finally something away from the claustrophobic network of back alleys, where he could find his bearings properly. A place where he could find another pony who could give him directions. He galloped down the tight street, and into the blinding light. For an instant he couldn't see, his eyes having long since adjusted to the gloom, but as he blinked away the blurriness the scene was revealed to him.
Instead of a street like he had hoped, Blueblood found himself in another simple square. The ground was dusty, and the air was still and dry. Like the smith's square, this one was completely boxed in by homes. Unlike his, there were no shops to be seen. The doors to the stone houses were tucked away in the shadows of their balconies, as if hiding from Blueblood. The windows on the second stories were either dark or had their shutters drawn. The square seemed to be abandoned.
Blueblood sighed, and trudged slowly to the fountain in the centre of the square. He sat on the edge of it, resting his head in his hooves.
He would keep walking soon enough, of course. But for now his hooves were tired, his legs were tired, and he was tired. He was tired of the winding corridors, and the hundred same-coloured buildings surrounding him on all sides. He sighed despondently, rubbing his eyes. He sat there was a few moments, before straightening up again.
No point in just sitting around here, he told himself. I need to keep moving if I ever want to find that mill. Just as he was preparing to get to his hooves, he felt something bounce off the back of his head.
“Ow,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. The object that struck him had bounced over his head, and now landed at his feet. It was a leather ball, about the size of his head, and it made a soft ping noise as it bounced along the ground. Blueblood reached down, and picked it up.
“Hey mister,” he heard a young voice yell from behind him, “sorry about that!” Blueblood turned around, looking to the source of the voice. A small group of colts had run into the square, probably playing some foal's game.
“Can we have our ball back, mister?” a big colt in front asked. He stood ahead of the group, probably their leader.
“Right,” Blueblood said. “Sorry.” He tossed the ball across the square and it sailed perfectly, lading in front of the colt. “Actually,” Blueblood called out to them, “could you help me out? I think I'm a bit lost.”
The colt looked at Blueblood strangely, and another foal tapped his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He seemed to consider this, and gestured to the other colts. They all huddled closely together, Blueblood staring at them awkwardly from the fountain. Every so often a scrawny colt would poke his head out from the group, making Blueblood smile. He looked like a flamingo with his pink fur and his big, ungainly headed seated on top of his scrawny neck. Eventually the group broke their huddle, and their leader trotted toward Blueblood, the ball floating above his head.
“Okay mister! We'll help you if you play with us first!” Blueblood blinked at him.
“Play with you?” he asked carefully. The colt nodded, and grinned widely.
“That's right!” the little red pony said. “You have to play with us first.”
“Um...” Blueblood said, “well... alright. What are you playing?”
“Keep away!” the colt shouted gleefully. His friends darted around the square, and he tossed the ball over Blueblood's head. Blueblood watched it sail past him, and a colt plucked it out of the air with magic. Blueblood stood up, getting ready for the next pass. Instead of tossing it over his head like he expected, the colt whipped it to a friend at his side.
The colts tossed the ball in haphazard and unpredictable ways, making it impossible for Blueblood to follow where it went. He dashed to and fro across the square, trying to get closer to the prize, but for nothing. After a few minutes of this, another colt sent it sailing over the white stallion's head. Blueblood grinned, and leaped into the air.
“Aha!” he shouted, reaching out for it. For just a moment it looked like he had it; the ball was inches away from his grasp, and headed right for him. Suddenly, it began to glow, and jerked away from Blueblood's hooves. The colts all laughed as Blueblood came back to the ground, staring in confusion at the ball.
“Haw!” the leader of the colts laughed, levitating the ball. “What's the matter? Can't you use your magic to catch it?” Blueblood stared at him.
“I... don't have magic,” he said quietly. The scrawny pink pony laughed, and called out to his friend from across the square.
“See? I told'ya!” he said. “He's an earth pony, like my Pa told me about! No magic at all!” The other colts laughed, and started to toss the ball again.
The leather ball zigged and zagged across the square, making it even harder for Blueblood to catch it, if that were possible. It spun and wove in impossible paths, dancing out of Blueblood's grasp every time the colts let him get close to it. More than once the ball would spin around him, just to ping off the back of his head. Blueblood dashed after it, but the colts always managed to keep it out of his grip.
Blueblood was beginning to get frustrated. The ball was hitting him more and more, and it was very obvious that the colts were just making fun of him now. He felt like he wanted to shout at them, but he didn't. He finally just sat in the middle of the square, glaring sourly at nopony in particular. The colts laughed harder, tossing the ball at him, bouncing it off his head and shoulders. He sighed dejectedly, less frustrated now than just tired. The colts clearly found this hilarious. A poor earth pony, unable to keep up with their magic. Blueblood had one thing they didn't though: patience. The colts weren't even using their magic now, just kicking the ball at him. Blueblood waited until the leader took his turn, kicking the ball and that back of Blueblood's head. The white stallion whipped around, catching the ball inches away from his face.
“Gotcha!” he shouted, grinning at the gaping colt.
“...Wow,” the colt said slowly. “That was SO COOL!” Blueblood blinked at them, but the colts all ran forward, crowding around him.
“That was awesome!” one of the colts shouted. “Earth ponies really are super fast and strong and stuff!”
“Oh,” Blueblood said, still surprised, “no, I'm not that strong, or fast.”
“You mean earth ponies get STRONGER than you!?” another asked incredulously.
“O-of course,” Blueblood said. The colts were swarming around his legs now, bombarding him with questions.
“Are earth ponies really all armoured?”
“How much can you lift?”
“Can you really make a tree grow in seconds?”
“Can you make an earthquake by stomping really hard?”
“Hey!” Blueblood said, waving his hooves. “I'm sorry, but I need to go. My master needs me to get some steel... do you know how to get to the White Hot steel mill?” The colts all looked among each other, and their leader shook his head and shrugged.
“Sorry, mister,” he said. “Our parents don't like it when we go too far. We've never heard of it.”
“Oh...” Blueblood said. “Well... that's okay, I guess.”
“Sorry mister,” the gangly pink colt said again. The colts had begun to move away from Blueblood, taking their game into another alleyway.
“Goodbye!” the leader called back to him, waving his hoof excitedly. Blueblood smiled, and waved back.
“Goodbye,” he said. When they were gone he put his head in his hooves, and sighed again. It had been fun, playing with the colts, but it hadn't exactly gotten him any close to the steel mill. He sat on the ground, thinking to himself. If he tried hard enough he could at least find west again from the open square. It wasn't much, but it was something.
“That was pretty sweet of you,” a voice said from behind him. Blueblood yelped, and spun around. The voice had come from a mare, sitting in the fountain.
Her fur was a vivid, icy shade of blue, complimented by her deep emerald eyes. Her mane was blue as well, and seemed to be tipped and tinged with a golden colour, like a lapis lazuli. She sat half-submerged in the fountain, leaning on the rim and cradling her head on the backs of her hooves. Blueblood swallowed.
“Um,” he said quietly, “I'm sorry miss, I didn't know you were there. H-how long were you watching?”
“Just a few minutes,” she said, smiling sweetly at him. “You were pretty cute with those colts. Friends of yours?”
“Oh... no,” Blueblood said. “I didn't know them... I was just asking for directions.” The mare laughed, her voice like bells.
“Well, you're an awfully patient pony,” she said. “Most ponies I know would have cuffed them on the ear after sitting through barely half that.”
“They're just foals,” Blueblood said, taken aback by the prospect of hurting them. The mare laughed again, and leaned against the edge of the fountain.
“Well, you're sweet,” She said. “What's your name?” Blueblood smiled in spite of himself.
“Red, miss,” he said. “And... yours?” The blue mare smirked, and held out her hoof.
“Azure,” she said. Blueblood walked up to the fountain, shaking her hoof gently.
“It's nice to meet you, Azure,” he said. He titled his head, and asked, “But, if you don't mind me asking... why are you sitting in the fountain?” Azure laughed again, and water splashed out of the fountain, spraying Blueblood in the face. He spluttered, shaking the water out of his mane and face, and when he looked back he saw a finned tail sticking out of the fountain as well.
Blueblood gawked at Azure. Leaning in, he could see where the tail had come from. She had no back hooves; her body blended seamlessly into the flipper. Halfway down her body her fur seemed to harden, morphing into fine, sparkling scales. A fin protruded from her back, and on where her flank would be was the image of a scroll.
“What's the matter?” Azure said, laughing and waving her tail at Blueblood. “You've never seen a sea pony before?”
“N-no,” Blueblood said, shaking his head and breaking his gaze from Azure's sleek body. The sea pony mare leaned on the fountain again, reaching out and brushing Blueblood's forehead. He winced away but she ignored him, patting his head where his horn used to be.
“Well,” she said, “I've never seen a unicorn without a horn before. So I guess we're even.”
“O-oh,” Blueblood said, “I'm actually an earth pony...” He swallowed again, lowering his head. Azure's smile only widened.
“You're all earth ponies to me, Red,” she giggled. “What makes you so special?”
“That's, um, my species name,” Blueblood lied. The mare had a very magnetic personality, and he wasn't certain whether to run, or move closer. “We don't have any horns... or any magic.”
“Well, that hardly seems fair,” Azure said. Blueblood shrugged.
“It's not so bad. We're stronger. I guess.” Azure smiled, and rested her chin on the ledge of the fountain.
“I'll bet,” she said. “You look pretty tough. Say, didn't you say you were looking for something?”
“Hm?” Blueblood asked. “Oh, yes... I'm trying to find a steel mill on the west side of the city... I think I'm lost, though. I'm... not from here.”
“I'll bet I could take you there,” Azure said, straightening up. “I'm a messenger. I know the city like the back of my hoof!”
“Really?” Blueblood asked. “Thank you, miss. That would be wonderful!” He paused, and his eyes narrowed. “But...” he said, “how are you going to take me there? And... how did you even get into the fountain?” Azure giggled, and leaned forward. She wrapped her hooves around Blueblood's neck, pulling him close to her.
“Watch,” she said gleefully. She leaned back in the fountain, forcing Blueblood to lean over the edge.
“W-wait!” Blueblood said as he was pulled over. “I-I'm not a good swimmer!” Azure ignored him, sinking into the water. She pulled Blueblood down with her, submerging him in the fountain. He held his breath, blinking in the dark water. Azure giggled, her voice echoing strangely in the deep. She pursed her lips, and blew.
A bubble of air formed as she blew, expanding around Blueblood even as he stared at it in confusion. It encircled his entire body, expanding even further. Soon a very confused Blueblood was lying on his back, on the base a large and slippery sphere. He could breathe perfectly, and he wasn't even wet anymore. Azure swam to the top of the bubble, and laughed at him.
“You land ponies all look so funny underwater,” she said playfully. “You make the best faces.”
“...What?” Blueblood asked, still not sure what had just happened. Azure laughed harder, her peals of laughter resounded by the water.
“It's magic,” she said. “Don't worry, you're safe in the bubble. You'll never run out of air, and nothing can pop it until I let it go.”
Blueblood struggled to right himself, eventually finding his way back onto his hooves. Azure swam around the bubble in playful circles, apparently taking the opportunity to inspect Blueblood from every angle. Blueblood reached out, prodding the bubbled wall. It stretched where he poked it, squeaking like wet rubber. It felt thick, somehow.
“Wow,” Blueblood said, “this is amazing!” Azure smiled, swimming to his front and putting her hooves against the bubble.
“Well, thanks,” she said. “But if you think that's impressive, wait until you see this!” She swam to the top of the bubble and set her hooves against it, beginning to push it down. The sudden movement dropped Blueblood on his bottom, and he slid back down onto his back. Azure grinned at him from on top of the bubble, and swam faster.
The bottom of the fountain seemed to be a well. It stretched deep down, and the light faded more and more the deeper they went. For a moment Blueblood was nervous that they would sink completely into blackness, but he soon realized that there was light below him. He couldn't roll over to view it, but in a few moments he didn't need to; they had reached the end of the fountain. Instead of stopping, the bottom was open. Azure pushed the bubble through the hole, and Blueblood gaped slack-jawed at what he saw.
The light from below had come from several open pools at various places in the city, and from several giant crystals. The crystals seemed to protrude from the bottom of the city itself, glowing softly like blue moons. Some stuck out in sharp clusters, others stretched all the way to the sea bottom below.
Port Ponzance was supported by hundreds of gigantic stone pillars, stretching from its foundations to the sea bed like the legs of a great colossus. The pillars were perfectly square, and Blueblood could see door-shaped gaps peppering them. Sea ponies would swim in and out of these holes every so often, waving to each other happily. They were like buildings, breaking up the gigantic, blue-tinged world. It was as if there was an entire other city built beneath the ocean, giving thousands of sea ponies a secret place to live. Blueblood could see specs of light coming from shafts like the one he and Azure had just come through; no doubt more fountains, one in every square in the city.
Sea ponies of every size and colour swam past. There were sea ponies almost as big as the smith, trundling past without a thought as other sea ponies darted around their enormous bodies, and flocks of colts and fillies who darted through the water, giggling and squealing. Every sea pony's sounds carried for miles, blending together into a soft hum; a choir of millions.
On the ocean floor more sea ponies swam, tending to fields of strange crops and herding stranger fishes. Blueblood stared at it all breathlessly. He couldn't think of a single thing to say. Azure drifted beside him, smiling.
“So?” she asked. “What do you think of your first sea pony city?”
“It's...” Blueblood said, unable to find words past his rapture, “It's beautiful...” Azure swam circles around Blueblood's bubbles, laughing her beautiful laugh. She eventually settled on top of it, resting her head in her hooves.
“Isn't it? I see your city every day, but it's just never the same. Too straight, too even. Too mechanical.” She drifted down until her face was in front of Blueblood's, upside-down in the water. Her mane flared out, the golden flecks sparkling as they caught the light. “Forget what they tell you up there, Red. This is how Port Ponzance really got started.” She kicked out her flipper, starting to push Blueblood through the city.
“Really?” Blueblood asked.
“Oh yeah,” Azure said. “They all think that Port Ponzance got started as a trading hub a few hundred years back, but why do you think that was? It's all because of us.” She weaved Blueblood through the pillars deftly, barely even paying attention to where she was going. She would dance around the bubble as she spoke, spinning it to make turning easier.
“We've lived down here for years longer than they did. They started coming here because we gave them protection, you know. They would give us stuff like gold and silver and food, and in return we would keep them safe.”
“Who's ‘them’?” Blueblood asked. Azure was below him now, and she grinned up wickedly.
“Pirates!” she said gleefully.
“Pirates?” Blueblood echoed. Azure giggled, and swam away from the bubble.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “All the worst pirates came to Cape Ponzance, back before it was a port. Captain Kit, Red Beard, Calico Jackal; all the best of the worst. They all went a-pillagin', then came back here to share their loot with the sea ponies! Eventually they started setting up permanent residence and selling their loot to inland ponies, and it just sort of became a trading hub after that. Of course these days they like to say that it was a few merchants who had to weather a storm in here, but I know how it really happened.” She grinned at him, and winked. “But don't go spreading it around, 'kay?” Blueblood grinned back, and nodded.
“Don't worry,” he said, laughing. “But how do you know all this?”
“You think a messenger doesn't learn a thing or two?” Azure asked slyly. “I hear lots while I'm making my deliveries.” She swam forward sharply, bumping the bubble with her hip and pushing it forward, knocking Blueblood over again. “Speaking of,” she said, swimming back up to the bubble, “I've got a pony to deliver! Now, where did you say you needed to go again?”
***
Blueblood and Azure drifted up a wide fountain, surfacing in the centre of a wide-open square. The buildings here were different than in the square where Blueblood had met Azure: they were much larger, and very clearly not homes. They were in an industrial sector somewhere deep within the city.
Azure popped Blueblood’s bubble, helping him onto the edge of the fountain. “This is your stop,” she said sweetly.
“Thank you, Azure,” Blueblood said. She nodded at him, and leaned on the edge of the fountain.
“Don't thank me just yet. You probably don't know how to get back from here, do you?” She smirked as Blueblood blinked and lowered his head sheepishly.
“Um...” he said, “no, I don't.”
“Well, don't worry,” she said. “I'll take you back to where you're staying once you've got that steel.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked. “You'll wait out here for me?” Azure giggled, and splashed water at him.
“I'm not exactly going to get up and walk down the street,” she laughed. “I’ve got nothing better to do; today’s my day off. I'll wait out here for you. Just don't keep me waiting for too long.” She smiled coyly, and Blueblood smiled shyly back at her.
“Aheh,” he laughed awkwardly, “I'll try. I'll be right back, Azure.”
“I'll be waiting,” she said. Blueblood trotted away from her, chancing a quick glance back. She was resting on the edge of the fountain, leaning on one of her hooves and smirking.
The steel mill was obvious; it was an enormous, plain stone building with gigantic metal towers stretching up behind it. Blueblood trotted up to the doors, knocking on them politely. He waited for a moment, but no answer came. He knocked again, but still nopony came out to greet him, so he pushed open the door, peeking his head inside.
It was clear why nopony had answered him, at least. The mill was full of an amazing din, as if an infinitely long piece of metal was being scraped across a spike. The constant screeching droned over the entire interior, but annoying as it was the workers inside seemed to ignore it.
The mill was filled with big, bustling unicorn stallions, all trotting around with some place to be. Some were levitating gigantic bubbling cauldrons of molten metal, others were inspecting ingots on a factory line. Others still were pressing and molding the steel into strange shapes. Blueblood trotted cautiously into the fray of the building, skirting around the edges of the room. Ponies rushed past him, ignoring him completely. He kept his head low, afraid to venture further into the building lest he find himself in somepony's way. A nagging feeling in his gut was telling him, over and over, that he shouldn't be here. Still, his master had given him a job and he needed to do it. He swallowed hard, and ventured deeper into the strange chaos of the mill.
Strange machines swung too and fro, and more than once Blueblood had to dodge out of the way of a hefty unicorn with a large load. Shouts of “One side!” and “Watch it!”flew, and Blueblood ducked apologetically to each.
“Sorry,” he said, dodging another irritable unicorn, “sorry...” He ducked onto a catwalk, and took the moment of peace to get his bearings. The mill was even more chaotic in here, almost completely packed with bustling ponies. As he looked around, Blueblood spotted one pony who didn't seem to be working. He was a great, steel-gray stallion, standing on the centre of a catwalk and looking over the workers. Blueblood approached him, trotting up carefully.
“Um,” the white stallion said slowly, “excuse me...”
“I'm busy,” the stallion said sharply. Blueblood winced and took a step back, but tried to catch his attention again.
“I'm sorry,” he said, “but -”
“I'm busy!” the pony snapped again, whipping his head around to face Blueblood. He paused and looked Blueblood up and down, stopping to focus squarely on his forehead. “Oh,” he said. “An earth pony. Well. Look, colt. I've got work to do, here. I need to make sure none of these idiots manage to kill themselves. I don't have time to deal with you. Go find somepony else.” He enunciated the last sentence slowly and clearly, as if he only half expected Blueblood to understand. “You got that?” he asked.
“Yes,” Blueblood said quietly. “But, I'm sorry, but -” The gray stallion groaned.
“I. Do. Not. Have. Time. For. You,” he said, leaning close to Blueblood. Blueblood shrunk back, crouching low as the stallion leaned over him. “What part of that don't you get, Rocky?”
“I just need to buy some steel,” Blueblood said quietly. The stallion sighed.
“Look, I don't care what you want, colt. I've got work to do here. Sales isn't my problem, so get out of my mane! Scram!” He brandished his hoof as if he was about to strike Blueblood, who darted backwards.
“Okay!” Blueblood yelped. “Okay, I'm sorry! But... can I just ask a question?”
“Whaddaya want!?” the stallion barked. “ I already told you I don't do sales, didn't I? Or did you forget that already? Now beat it Rocky, before I kick your rump out of here myself!” Blueblood wanted to shrink back again, but he forced his legs still. His heart was pounding in his chest, but his master had given him a task. He needed to see it through.
“I know that,” he said, mustering some confidence. “I just need to know who will sell me some!” The gray stallion scoffed at him.
“Why should I care who you find to sell you something? It's not my problem. Gods, I'll bet you even forgot to bring any silver, Rock-head!”
Blueblood frowned. His fear was beginning to give way to something else. This stallion reminded him vaguely of the old homeless pony he had met in Riverbank: dismissive, rude and gruff. It frustrated Blueblood, just a little bit.
“N-no,” he said, still holding his head low, “I didn't bring Silver, but-”
“Well, there you go then!” the stallion shouted. He was clearly angry now, and he waved his hooves theatrically. “Look, Rock-head! If you don't have Silver, then it doesn't matter one bit who I send you to! Your not going to be able to buy any, so stop wasting my time and get out of here! Seriously, dense earth ponies!”
Blueblood frowned. The angry pony still frightened him, but with every word he was fanning the flame of frustration in Blueblood's belly more and more. The white stallion breathed deeply, and stood up straight. He did his best to put on a confident face, but he didn't think that it was working. The gray stallion just scoffed at him.
“Oh, what?” he asked harshly. “You think you can intimidate me into giving you steel? There's dozens of unicorns here, rocks-for-brains, just in case you can't count! You'd be done in a minute if you tried anything. Get out of here Rocky, you aren't fooling anypony.”
“Stop calling me that!” Blueblood said. The gray stallion just stared at him with a dull, unimpressed expression. “Please, stop calling me Rocky, or Rock-head, or rocks-for-brains,” Blueblood repeated. “My name is Red. And I may not have brought Silver, but I brought something just as good.” He unclasped Brook's medallion, sticking it in the gray stallions face. the rough unicorn read it, and his eyes bulged.
“White Brook?” he asked incredulously.
“That's right,” Blueblood said. “I'm White Brook's s... servant. He sent me to get steel. So I need to get steel. Who can I buy some from?”
“U-um,” the stallion said, suddenly very humble, “yeah... right this way, I'll take you to somepony who can sell you some steel...”
Blueblood smiled. He felt like a weight had just been dropped from his chest. His legs were weak, and his heart still pounded furiously, but he felt good. He followed the gray stallion, showing his medallion to a clerk and fetching four steel ingots. He packed them into his saddlebags, then trotted happily out of the mill.
Azure was still waiting for him in the fountain, and she smiled as he returned.
“Well now,” she said, “that's more like it! You've got you steel?”
“Yeah!” Blueblood said happily, sitting on the edge of the fountain. “Thanks, Azure.” Azure blinked at him.
“Me?” she asked. “Why are you thanking me?” Blueblood blinked, and pawed at the ground sheepishly.
“Um, well... you brought me here, and waited for me,” he said. “So, I guess... thanks for that? I guess I’m just in a good mood right now,” He grinned, and Azure stared at him.
“You're welcome, Red,” she said, giggling. “Are you ready to go back?” Blueblood nodded.
“I think so,” he said. Azure smiled. She flicked her tail, propelling herself up to Blueblood's height. She leaned close to him, wrapping her hooves around his shoulders.
“Well then,” she said, “we'd better get going. It's a long trip back; you made it pretty far before I found you. Lots of time to talk, you know.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked, smiling shyly.
“Oh yes,” she said. She leaned back, pulling Blueblood into the fountain with a splash.
***
It was late in the afternoon when Blueblood and Azure resurfaced in the fountain in front of the smith's home. The bubble raised to the surface, and Blueblood jumped out with a pop. He landed on the edge of the fountain, and turned back to Azure. She leaned on the edge beside him, smiling up at the white pony.
“This is your stop,” she said. Blueblood grinned at her.
“It is,” he said. “Thank you, Azure.” She giggled.
“Oh, don't worry about it Red,” she said. “It's not like I had anything better to do. Besides, it was fun.”
“Well,” Blueblood said, chuckling faintly, “I guess this is goodbye, then.”
“I guess so,” Azure said, sighing dramatically. Blueblood shuffled his hooves.
“Goodbye, Azure.” he said. She smiled sweetly at him.
“Goodbye, Red,” she said. “Maybe I'll see you again some time?”
“Maybe,” Blueblood said. She smiled, and sunk into the water. Blueblood watched her sink down the well until she slipped out of sight in the darkness. He stepped down from the edge of the fountain, and turned around.
Brook must have been watching for him. The old pony was limping across the square, now. Blueblood smiled at him, and trotted over.
“Master,” he said. Brook nodded to him.
“Red,” he said simply. Blueblood unclasped Brook's medallion, and gave it back to him.
“Here, master,” he said. “Your medallion.” Brook took it, attaching it to his own wrappings, and sighed.
“Thank you, Red,” he said. “It was nice to be at least somewhat anonymous, for a while. But it's nice to have it back.” The two stallions smiled at each other, and Brook gestured to the fountain.
“Who was your friend?” he asked. Blueblood looked over his shoulder.
“Oh,” he said, “Azure? She's... a sea pony. She helped me find the mill, after she found me playing with some colts.” Brook raised an eyebrow at this.
“Playing with some colts?” he asked. Blueblood shrugged, and chuckled sheepishly.
“Well,” he said, “I... sort of got lost. They said that they would give me directions if I played with them, so I played with them a while. Then Azure found me, and took me to the mill, and back here.”
“Sounds like you had an eventful day,” Brook said, smiling faintly. Blueblood smiled shyly.
“No, it was nothing exciting,” he said. Brook smiled wider, and nudged Blueblood with his nose.
“Well... it sounds like you were pretty good, to me,” he said, chuckling faintly. Blueblood stared at him, but Brook didn't seem to notice. “Come on,” the old pony said. “Our hosts have almost finished preparing dinner. We shouldn't keep them waiting.”
He began limping his way back to the house. Blueblood was still for a moment, still staring. A slow, earnest smile broke across his face, and he trotted after Brook.
|
Kegisak
|
1052
| 12 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Colour You Bleed
|
Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
|
2011-12-12T06:06:23+00:00
|
2011-12-12T06:06:23+00:00
| 5,060 |
Chapter 12: In Which a Garden Grows
It was a dull morning in Canterlot. The sun was high above the white city, its light pale and weak. It seemed to meander more than journey across the sky, as if it were tired or distracted. It did not help that the city's weather team had determined today the perfect day for cloud cover. The city was cast in a dull, almost gray pallor. Thin clouds drifted through the streets higher up the mountainside, creating a thick fog. Ponies all across the city mulled about their tasks, as listless as the sky itself.
Canterlot Palace stood in stark contrast to the rest of the city. The very air around seemed alive; ponies within all bustled about, consulting one another on their tasks and looking for something to do. There seemed to be a vaguely disorganized air about it, but nopony gave the slightest hint of urgency or concern. They moved briskly about their tasks, existing in a subtle state of panic.
Celestia had not been seen in almost two days. Those ponies who dealt with her prayed that she would return in timelier fashion than her sister, who had not been seen in nearly a month. The Palace could operate on its own for a time, but issues were piling up and they needed the goddess.
Princess Amethyst trotted briskly through the hallways, a scroll sealed with the insignia of Aloa clutched between the teeth of her bodyguard Oak. The two ignored the servants, trying their best to look as if they had somewhere to go. In truth Amethyst had no more idea what should be done than the rest of the staff; she simply needed to put on the face of importance and competence for her ponies.
The pair found themselves in the royal family's wing, and they turned into Amethyst's bedchambers. The princess flopped onto her bed, and sighed.
“Oh, gods,” Amethyst moaned. Oak sat respectfully away, silent as Amethyst continued her moaning. “First Auntie Luna, and now her?” she complained. “Where on earth has she gone, Oak?” Oak placed the scroll on the floor.
“I don't know, your highness,” he said. Amethyst looked back at him, and sighed sadly.
“Would you even tell me if you did, Oak?” she asked. Oak looked down, ashamed, and Amethyst sat up. “I didn't mean it, Oak,” she said. “I'm just tired. I'm sorry. Do you know what the staff thinks?”
“Most of them don't ever see Her Majesty,” Oak said. “They wouldn't know the difference. But everypony knows something is happening – they can feel it in the air.”
“Do they know what is happening?” Amethyst asked. Oak shook his head. She sighed, and flopped back onto her bed again. “Well that's a relief,” she said. “At least I'm not the only one in the dark this time.”
“I'm sorry, Your Highness,” Oak said.
“Don't be, Oak,” Amethyst said, shaking her hoof weakly. “I know why you did it. I know why Auntie wanted you to do it. I'd have done the same.” She rubbed her eyes, and sat up. “Besides, it's not important anymore.”
“Princess?” Oak asked. Amethyst gestured to the scroll in front of Oak.
“My duty is to rule when my auntie cannot,” she said. “Unless she decides to show up right now, we need to seriously consider what might be inside that scroll.”
“Then perhaps it is best I decided to cut my trip short,” a voice said. It was soft, and warm, but there was an edge to it. Amethyst and Oak both turned in its direction.
Celestia landed on Amethyst's balcony, and entered the room. The purple unicorn gawked at her for a moment, before leaping off her bed and running into the goddess's embrace.
“Auntie!” Amethyst exclaimed. “You're back! Oh, thank goodness.” Celestia pressed her neck against the unicorn's, sighing.
“I'm afraid I may as well be gone for the next few minutes,” she said. “Come with me to my chamber, Amethyst. You can tell me what's wrong after I have some tea.”
“Of course, Auntie,” Amethyst said, nodding. Celestia strode out of the bedchamber, Amethyst and Oak following as closely behind her as they could. The goddess's long legs propelled her across the marble floors, forcing the two mortal ponies to trot to keep up with her. The three ponies made their way through the hallways in silence, heading up the tall, thin spire to Celestia's room. The alicorn threw open the door, flopping gracelessly onto her enormous pillow even as her teapot came alive and set itself to boil.
“Auntie!” Amethyst cried, running to her. “What's the matter?” Celestia smiled weakly at her.
“Politics, dear. Politics are the matter.” With Celestia's encouragement the tea brewed itself within moments, and she poured three cups. She passed one to Amethyst and Oak each, taking hers and drinking from it gratefully. Amethyst and Oak were silent, watching her as she drank. When she was finished she set her cup down and sighed.
“That,” she said, “is much better.” She looked up, and smiled at her niece. “Now, what's this letter you're so concerned about?” Amethyst nodded to Oak, who produced the scroll. Celestia took it, levitating it in front of her face. She turned it around, fixing her eyes on the seal. She sighed again, and her neck drooped.
“Of course,” she said.“He would reply as soon as leave. When did this come in?”
“Just yesterday, Auntie,” Amethyst said. “What's the matter?” Celestia shook her head, breaking the seal.
“We'll see,” she said. “Perhaps it will actually be news, and not just a retread of our conversation.” The scroll unfurled, and Celestia began to read.
To Her Highness Majesty Celestia of Canterlot, Queen and Goddess of the sun in the sky...
Celestia sighed, skipping over her paragraph-long official title and on to the body of the letter.
Your Majesty, I wish to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest condolences for your troubles at this time. I understand that a death, or even a loss in the family can be devastating, even for one such as yourself. If my own daughter Princess Golden Dreams had gone missing I know that I would certainly be distraught as well.
I also understand that the timing of this unfortunate incident is by no means ideal. With the treaty meetings just beginning at the time of your loss, I understand your frustration from a political standpoint, and I sympathize with your feelings that the incident is foul play. Equestria lost a large amount of sway without the Prince attending the meetings, and I'm certain that his talents with speech and persuasion would no doubt have turned the tide of the proceedings much more in your favor than was the case.
All that said, your accusations against my country were both unfounded and deeply offensive. Neither myself nor anypony in my court had seen your nephew since the night before the incident occurred, and to accuse them of conspiracy goes beyond offensive. It is an insult and an affront to my culture and my country, and thus to myself personally.
I will remind you Princess, that it was you yourself who invited us into you castle. My daughter and ambassadors were polite and humble guests in your home, and had done nothing to invite your scorn. I am acutely aware of the nature of Aloa and Equestria's relations in the past; however I had believed we left the war on equal and friendly terms. If this is not the case, and you have so little trust for us that your first instinct is to blame us for your troubles, then I would advise in the future you do not bother with the facade of friendship.
I will say again that the loss of Prince Blueblood is deeply troubling. If the nature of his disappearance is indeed one of foul play it bodes ill for all of our families, and even if not you still have my deepest sympathies. However, the court and country of Aloa have had no hand in this, and I sincerely hope that this is the end of the issue between our two countries.
Yours,
His Majesty Ocean Gold II, King of Aloa.
Celestia sighed, laying her head against the pillow. “I thought as much,” she said.
“What did the letter say?” Amethyst asked. Celestia shook her head, re-rolling the scroll.
“Nothing I haven't heard before,” she said. I suppose it explains why Ocean was so irate when I visited him, if he thought I had already heard all this.”
“Heard all what?” Amethyst pressed, leaning forward. Celestia shook her hoof.
“It's not important,” she said. “Let me handle it.”
“No!” Amethyst shouted, slamming her hoof down. Celestia stared at her in shock. Oak simply lowered his head.
“I'm sick and tired of this, Auntie!” Amethyst shouted. “You've been keeping me in the dark for weeks – first that my son had gone missing, and then that he was -” she stopped, choking, but continued, “that he was dead, and now this. A letter came to us from Aloa, Auntie. An official letter from the king. What's happening, darn it!?”
“Amethyst,” Celestia said, “I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to do this, but... I don't want any of this getting out. I haven't told anypony about any of this yet. The incident is bad as it is, we can't have word of this getting out to the populace -”
“Word of what!?” Amethyst interrupted. “What is this about!?” She glared at her aunt fiercely. The goddess was too tired to hold back her emotions, and shame was clear in her eyes. Amethyst's mouth fell open as she slowly came to the realization. “It's about Blueblood, isn't it?” Celestia sighed.
“I'm sorry, Amethyst,” she said slowly. “I should have told you sooner... that stallion we found wasn't Blueblood.” Amethyst's face lit up for just a moment, before screwing into a picture of fury.
“Dammit Auntie!” Amethyst shouted. “Again? He's my Son! I have as much right to know this as anypony else – more right! Why won't you ever tell me what's happening!?” She jumped to her hooves and started to march out before Oak leapt up as well, catching her gently. She looked at him sadly, and he gestured back towards Celestia. The alicorn was holding out the letter for Amethyst.
“Nopony knows yet,” Celestia said. “But you're right. You deserve to know. I won't keep any secrets from you anymore. Here.” Amethyst took the letter slowly, and read it. When she was done she looked up at her aunt, speechless.
“The stallion was a disguised Aloan soldier,” Celestia said. “The body is with the doctor. He's the only one who knows anything, and it isn't much.”
“So it was them?” Amethyst asked. Celestia shook her head.
“I still don't know for sure,” she said. Amethyst brandished the letter.
“What do you mean we don't know for sure?” she asked fiercely. “He's obviously lying!”
“I went to him directly, Amethyst,” she said. “Blueblood wasn't in the palace.”
“Then they must be keeping him somewhere else!” Amethyst said. Celestia poured another cup of tea, and set it in front of her.
“Please Amethyst, try to be calm. I've considered that.”
“How do you expect me to be calm when somepony has my son hostage?” Amethyst barked. Oak put a hoof on her shoulder gently.
“Princess,” he said softly, “please. This isn't helping right now. Please calm down.” Amethyst glared at him, but her expression softened.
“You're right,” she said finally. “You're right. Thank you, Oak.” She drank her tea, and Celestia continued.
“I spoke with the King himself,” Celestia said. “He was... less than pleased with my visit, and made it fairly clear he had no intention of discussing it further with me. It could be fear, but he's never been fond of me at the best of times. I found Prince Tidus as well. He didn't know anything about it, but knowing him he simply might not care.”
“So...” Amethyst said quietly. She had been in this situation once before, almost twenty-five years ago. She was young then. Now she had more experience, and she knew what was coming. The question hung in the air, and everypony in the room knew what it meant. Celestia sighed.
“Now we wait. We sneak, we spy, and we plan.” She smiled weakly. “Now, we are politicians. Very, very careful politicians.”
***
Many miles away, the sun was of little concern to the citizens of Aloa. The sky was overcast; a thick, flat gray sheet hanging high above their heads. Light filtered through weakly, casting the peninsula in a dark gray pallor. The clouds were empty, at least, and the air was dry. It would not rain today. Many farmers were taking this opportunity to plough and plant their seeds before the dry season came upon them. The heat would be nothing to sneeze at, then, and the farmers all wanted the hard work to be through.
Brook and Blueblood sat on the balcony of Brook's home, looking out over river. They had returned home the previous night, several months worth of food and a beautifully forged plough in tow. The sun had been low in the west sky when they had returned, and Blueblood had been exhausted from the trip back. Even as the pair ate their breakfast in the open air, Blueblood still yawned widely.
“Tired?” Brook asked. Blueblood shook his head.
“No master,” he said. “I'm just... still waking up. I'll be fine.”
“If you're still tired from yesterday, you don't have to work.” Brook said again.
“I'm fine, master,” Blueblood said. “Really. I'll be able to work easily. The new plough looks like it could cut through anything.” Brook nodded.
“We should eat up, then,” he said. “We'll need our strength.”
“We?” Blueblood asked. Brook nodded, but did not elaborate. The two ate their meal in silence, staring out over the forest.
Blueblood had missed the view. The city had been nice, but it had felt claustrophobic compared to this. He sighed happily as a breeze whipped up, rustling the leaves in the distance. When Blueblood and Brook had finished their breakfast they returned into the house, depositing their dishes in the kitchen. Then they made their way out to the shed, bringing out their freshly-repaid plough.
Blueblood had not exaggerated. The plough was exquisitely forged, a keen edge running down its middle. The metal gleamed almost in spite of the dim light, as if it were proud of its own polish. Brook lifted the plough magically, and brought it out to the field. Blueblood slipped on the yoke, and followed after him.
The old pony set the plough on the ground, and Blueblood stood in front of it. He felt his master hitch him to the plough, but the old pony spoke before Blueblood could begin walking.
“Do you remember where you were ploughing before?” he asked. Blueblood nodded slowly.
“You said from here to the stump, up to the back of the house.” He turned back to look at his master, and asked, “Right?” Brook nodded.
“That's right. Take it easy, this time. We'll make it in plenty of time.” Blueblood smiled at his master, and nodded.
“Alright,” he said. He began to walk, settling easily into the hard resistance of the plough. There was soft rumbling noise from behind him as the earth was shoved aside, falling into small hill on either side of the trench Blueblood had created. He found a steady pace, and soon enough the weight of the plough seemed to disappear.
He almost found himself laughing at how easy it was. Compared to taking the cart all the way home filled to the brim with supplies, and to pulling a pony-sized stump out of the ground, this was as easy as carrying a foal on his back. A wide grin spread across his face, and he picked up his pace slightly.
“Don't go too fast,” Brook said from behind him. “Keep it steady. We want the trench to be as even as possible.”
“Right,” Blueblood said, slowing down again. “Sorry, master.”
“It's alright,” Brook said. “You're doing well.” Blueblood smiled wider.
The pair reached the far end of their new field in hardly any time at all, and Blueblood slowed to a stop. He turned around to look at his master, and saw the old pony's horn fading. Blueblood blinked at him.
“Yes?” Brook asked, catching Blueblood look.
“Were you just using magic?” Blueblood asked. Brook nodded.
“I was pushing the plough,” he said. “Helping you along, to make it easier.” Blueblood lowered his head. So it wasn't that the ploughing had been easy, he thought to himself, but that he had had help.
“You... didn't have to do that, master,” he said. “I can pull the plough just fine on my own.” Brook smiled, and put his bad hoof gently on Blueblood's shoulder.
“I know you could,” he said. “But you won't be saying that when we're done here.” His horn lit up again, and the plough lifted into the air. Blueblood trotted beside the line he had just ploughed, and Brook placed the heavy plough down behind him.
“Ready?” the old pony asked. Blueblood nodded, his head still low. The pair set off again, cutting another line into the earth.
The task remained easy, for a while. After a few hours though, Blueblood's shoulders began to feel stiff, and sore. He ignored it, pulling on. They cut line after line into the earth, criss-crossing back and forth across the field behind Brook's home. Line by line they made their way closer and closer to the old house, and closer and closer to being ready to plant. Blueblood pushed on. He knew that it was important that they finish as soon as possible, so he never complained or asked for a break, even when his master offered them. He didn't need them, at least as first. But line after line the ache in his shoulders grew steadily worse, becoming a dull, hollow burning.
The sun was low before Blueblood knew it. He had no idea just how many lines had been cut into the earth, but they were only a few yards away from the house, now.
“How are you feeling?” Brook asked. Blueblood had sat down, and was panting faintly. He looked back at his master and smiled.
“I'm fine, master,” he said weakly. Brook nodded, but did not seem completely convinced.
“Do you think you can managed a few more lines?” he asked. Blueblood nodded, getting back to his hooves.
“Of course,” he said. Blueblood set the plough behind him, and they were off again. His shoulders ached fiercely, his sides and flanks joining in now. He throbbed with every step, but it wasn't a bad pain. It wasn't sharp, and he didn't feel as though he was being hurt, simply that he was working hard. He let the burning drive him forward, as if it were and engine deep inside him.
“Just two more lines,” Brook said as they turned around again.
“Just two more lines,” Blueblood echoed, nodded slowly. He dragged the plough along, feeling his master push harder. Together the pair cut another line into the hard earth, turning around for one final push. Blueblood stared dead ahead, marking the end of the field as a finish line in his mind. He pushed himself on, refusing to give up before they reached the goal. Finally, after an entire days worth of pulling, Blueblood reached the end. He dragged the plough to the end of the field, finishing the job entirely. He dropped to his knees, sighing in relief. The aching in his muscles felt like cheering, as if his body itself was congratulating him for finishing. He breathed deeply, grinning from ear to ear.
“Are you alright?” Brook asked, walking up beside him. Blueblood looked up at the old pony, still beaming.
“I'm fine,” he said. “Just tired... thank you, master.” Brook smiled as well, and sat beside him.
“You did well today, Red. Rest up. I'll cook dinner tonight.” Blueblood laughed weakly, and nodded.
“Thank you master. I don't think I'd make anything good right now anyways.” Brook smiled wider, and helped Blueblood to his hooves. Together the pair slowly made their way inside the house, finally taking a seat at the table in the kitchen. Blueblood practically lay on top of it, his chin and front legs resting on the old wood. He almost fell asleep as Brook worked, the old pony making his way slowly too and fro across the kitchen. Brook made a strange brew, and while it cooked he boiled and ground potatoes into a thick dough, making a heavy bread out of them.
Brook served the meal with little fanfare, and the two stallions dug in. The meal was thick, warm, and hearty. It seemed to fill Blueblood with every bite, the savoury stew blending with the heavy, tasteless bread and sitting heavily in his belly. The tiredness seemed to sink away from his muscles as he ate, and when he was finished Blueblood leaned back, sighing happily. Brook had finished as well, and set his spoon down.
“Did you enjoy it?” he asked. Blueblood nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “It was delicious. Thank you, master.” Brook smiled, and Blueblood thought that he saw the old pony's head lower slightly.
“Would you...” Brook said slowly, “like to learn how to make it?” Blueblood sat up, blinking at his master. “I just thought,” Brook said idly, “there would be less to do once the field has been planted... you'll need something else to do.” Blueblood lowered his head as well.
“I'd love to, master,” he said. Brook smiled at him. Blueblood tried to smiled back, but instead he found himself yawning widely. His entire body ached when he yawned, his stiff muscles begging for rest. He stifled his yawn with a hoof, laughing sheepishly.
“Some other time,” Brook said. “It's been a very long day... why don't we get some sleep, hm? There's still much left to do.”
“Alright,” Blueblood said. “That's sounds nice.” He and Brook shared a faint smile, before climbing the staircase and heading into the bedroom. Brook clambered roughly into his bed, while Blueblood settled onto the old, familiar rug. He nestled into it, pulling the blanket over himself when Brook spoke.
“Red,” he said slowly. Blueblood looked up at him. The old pony was seated upright in his bed, looking down strangely.
“Yes master?” Blueblood asked. Brook's brow furrowed imperceptibly.
“It isn't very comfortable sleeping on the floor, is it?” he asked. Blueblood looked down at the rug, blinking. It had been hard getting used to it at first, but by now sleeping on the hard floor just seemed natural to him.
“It's not so bad,” he said, but Brook shook his head. The old pony got out of his bed, and beckoned for Blueblood to stand up.
“Come with me,” he said. Blueblood stood, not completely sure of what Brook wanted. The green unicorn left the room, Blueblood following along beside him. The two walked slowly down the stairs, and Brook led Blueblood to an old door in a small wing of the house. Blueblood recognized it vaguely as one of the rooms he had cleaned, but he couldn't remember which. Brook pushed it open, standing aside for Blueblood to look in.
The room was nearly empty inside, save for an old bed tucked into a corner beneath a window. Blueblood took a step inside, looking around. There was still an old rug on the floor, but nothing else.
“It used to be a guest bedroom,” Brook said, walking in behind Blueblood. “When I was young... but I don't tend to entertain guests these days.” Blueblood turned to him, and his his master looking somewhat wistfully around the room. He turned his gaze to Blueblood, and smiled. “How would you like for this to be your bedroom from now on?” he asked. Blueblood stared blankly at him.
“My... bedroom?” he asked. Brook nodded.
“That's right,” he said. “I... don't have much furniture for you. But it would be your room... if you want it.” Blueblood stared at him, dumbfounded. He swallowed back a small lump that had begun to rise in his throat, and smiled.
“Of course,” he said. “Of course, master. Thank you.” Brook nodded slowly, his head lowering again.
“Then it's yours,” he said. He smiled faintly. “Now... you should go to sleep. We'll plant seeds tomorrow, if you feel up to it.”
“Of course,” Blueblood said. “Thank you, master.” Brook nodded and left the room, closing the door gently behind him,
“Goodnight, Red,” he said just before he shut the door.
“Goodnight, master,” Blueblood said. The door closed with a click, and Blueblood was left alone in the darkened room. He was too tired from working to think much of it. Instead he simply climbed into his new bed, settling beneath the heavy wool covers. They were warm, and amazingly soft. He sighed happily as he sunk into the thick mattress, and he soon fell into a deep, fast sleep.
***
Days came and went, blending into one another like grains of sand on the beach. The sun rose and set with perpetual rhythm, the steady beat of Blueblood's life. Every day while the sun was in the sky he would work the fields, Brook watching and helping where he could.
The rainy season lasted barely a few weeks, soon turning over to the arid heat of the dry season. Every day Blueblood would have to cart water over from the river to keep the crops from withering and dying. With his help they persisted, surviving in spite of everything. At first Blueblood had been worried: he was terrified that he might not be able to help them enough, and they would perish and die. For weeks he waited for the rough earth to show any signs of life. Soon, though, his patience was rewarded. A sprout emerged from the ground, its brethren following close behind.
Blueblood watched them as they grew, a strange new feeling welling in his chest. He had never felt anything like it when he had lived in Canterlot. It felt warm, as if the sun itself were in his belly, glowing down onto the plants.
In the evenings Brook and Blueblood sat on the balcony, watching the forest in the distance as if shifted and changed. They talked more and more as the weeks went by, but they were comfortable in silence as well. Some days they wouldn't say a word to one another, simply enjoying each other's company.
Blueblood stirred gently in his bed. His mind was slowly coming alive, and with consciousness came a familiar feeling. It was no longer painful, simply peaceful. He let the thoughts, feelings and impulses flow through him.
He felt the soft tickle of the sheets against his fur, the old fabric full of loose hairs that brushed gently against his coat. The morning warmth seeped into his bones, aided by the early sunlight. Even without opening his eyes he could almost see it, shining around the room. Blueblood could feel the wood breathe as it warmed. He could feel the subtle currents in the air, and hear the soft rustling of the leaves outside his window.
Blueblood rolled out of his soft bed, trotting into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Brook joined him shortly, and when the two were finished eating they went out to tend the field, as they had done every day. Where other days always seemed to have plenty to take care of, however, today there seemed to be little to do. They were finished their tasks well before noon, and they returned inside.
“What would you like me to do now?” Blueblood asked. Brook looked thoughtful for a moment.
“...Nothing,” he said finally. Blueblood stared at him.
“Nothing?” he asked. Brook nodded.
“The fields have been watered, and weeded. The house is clean... there's nothing for you to do.” Blueblood sat down, thinking about this. This was the first time in weeks that he had had nothing to do. There had always been something, some small task to keep him occupied. Tending to the field, cleaning the house, organizing his master's books. He had never had nothing to do, before. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself.
“There's really nothing you need me to do?” he asked again. Brook shook his head.
“Not for today. I'm sure something will come up soon enough. What's wrong with taking a few days off?”
“Well,” Blueblood said, “nothing... I suppose.” Brook smiled, and put a gentle hoof on his shoulder.”
“You deserve a rest,” he said. “You've worked hard. There's not going to be much to do until we can harvest.” Blueblood nodded, and Brook trotted past him.
The white stallion thought about all the things that he could do with his new-found free time. He thought about sitting out on the balcony, or about reading. He found himself wracking his brain for anything else that he could do, but nothing came to him. Try as he might he simply couldn't bring himself to do much of anything. He sat in the main room of the house for a while, trying to muster up the motivation to start reading something, but nothing came to him.
In the end he began to wander the house. He had a strange compulsion to do something – anything – but he couldn't actually bring himself to do it. Occasionally he would stop to brush a bit of dust away from the wall, but they never really needed it. He was simply trying and failing to occupy himself.
He wandered back into the main room, where he found Brook headed through to the kitchen.
“Red,” Brook said, “you've been quiet. I thought you were reading.” Blueblood shook his head.
“No master,” he said. “I wanted to, but... I don't know.” He shrugged, and hung his head. Brook peered at him strangely.
“Is it really this hard for you to rest?” he asked. Blueblood sighed, and shrugged.
“I don't know,” he said. “I'm sorry master, I just... I just feel like I should be doing something.” Brook tilted his head thoughtfully, and tapped his chin.
“Hm...” he said slowly. His expression turned distant, and contemplative. Blueblood had seen him look like this before, but he had never been able to figure out just what he was thinking about. The old pony never spoke of the conclusions he came to, or even what the question had been.
“I think...” he said finally, “I may have something for you to do.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked. Brook nodded slowly.
“Perhaps. Come with me.”
Blueblood followed after the old pony as he climbed the stairs. To Blueblood's surprise the green unicorn ignored both the balcony and his bedroom, limping down to the door at the end of the hallway. He seemed to slow more and more the more he walked, as if there was something on the other side of the door that pushed him away.
Brook sat in front of the door, staring at it silently. Blueblood couldn't see his expression from behind him, but he could see his shoulders tense gently, and his head dip almost imperceptibly. He reached out with his bad hoof, setting it against the old door, and pushed.
The door swung open with a deep, rusty groan. Dust spilled out of it, swirling into the air. Brook sighed and stepped inside, followed shortly after by Blueblood. The room was still exactly the same as it had been when Blueblood had come in here before. Thick dust still caked everything in sight, from the ancient wooden desk to the yellowed scrolls and books. Soft yellow light filtered weakly through the grimy window, creeping across the desk. Even the two letters, still carefully sealed, sat in their places. Not a thing had moved.
As Blueblood mentally took stock of the room, something occurred to him. His heart pounded faster and faster in his chest as he continued to map out the room in his mind. If nothing else had moved, that meant that the armour was still there as well. It was only a few feet away from him. He could feel it in the corner. His legs trembled as he slowly looked over.
He had been right. It was still there, gleaming silver. Blueblood jumped back, bumping into his master.
“Red?” Brook asked, surprised. Blueblood ignored him, stumbling back and falling on his rear. He shook all over, his eyes set dead on the armour. It seemed to emanate dread, as if it were angry with him. When he looked at it, he remembered. His mind skipped back through weeks and months. It was as if they had never passed at all, and he was still right there, laying on that slab of rock at the base of the mountains. He could feel Iron's cruel gaze on him, hear his mocking laughter. It rang in his ears like some hellish choir, vibrating through his entire being. His heart pounded like a drum, keeping time with the hideous laughter. He squeezed his eyes shut, lowering his head.
“Red?” Brook asked again, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “Red? Red! Can you hear me, Red?” Blueblood was shaking violently, but he managed to open an eye.
“Red,” Brook said. “What's the matter?” Blueblood tried to speak, but his teeth clattered together every time he opened his mouth. He could see the armour over Brook's shoulder, still staring evilly at him.
“T-th-th...” Blueblood struggled. He turned away from the armour, closing his eyes again and gesturing limply at it. Brook looked over his shoulder, and understood.
“Red,” he said softly. “Red, you have to listen to me. It's armour. It's empty. It can't hurt you. You're safe.” Blueblood stopped shaking as much, and he managed to open his eyes again. “It's only armour,” Brook repeated. “Nothing but iron. It can't hurt you.” Blueblood winced again, but he breathed deeply.
“It can't hurt me,” he repeated.
“That's right,” Brook said, nodding. He sat with Blueblood, placing his hooves gently on the white stallion's shoulders. The two sat together until, slowly but surely, Blueblood's shaking subsided. His heart slowed, and the fear that gripped him faded. He still felt its cold hand when he looked at the armour, but he could bear it now. He got to his hooves, slowly and shakily.
“I'm sorry Red,” Brook said. “I shouldn't have brought you in here. You don't have to clean it-”
“It's alright,” Blueblood said. “I... I'm sorry master. I'm fine.” Brook looked carefully at him.
“Are you sure?” he asked softly. Blueblood nodded faintly, not completely sure himself. Still, he would do as his master asked him.
“Yes...” he said finally. “But... master, will you... stay with me? While I clean? And... talk to me?” Brook smiled, sighing faintly.
“Of course,” he said. “I'll be right here, Red.” Blueblood nodded and smiled weakly. He set about cleaning the room, starting by opening the small window. A soft breeze blew in, stirring up the dust.
“What did you use this room for, master?” Blueblood asked, trying to fill the frightful silence. He needed noise, now. Something to take his mind off the armour in the corner. Brook looked around the room almost dreamily.
“It was my study,” he said. “I would... study, I suppose.”
“What did you study?” Blueblood asked.
“Magic, mostly.” Brook replied. He limped slowly to one of the bookshelves, taking out one of the thick volumes. “There were other things too. Construction, agriculture... I needed something to fill my time...”
Blueblood looked up from his cleaning. Brook was looking somberly at the tome in his hooves. The old pony sighed, brushing the dust off it gently. Blueblood tilted his head. “To fill your time?” he asked quietly. Brook nodded silently.
“Sometimes... you become accustomed to something. Then it leaves, and you don't know what to do. I had to find something else to do, after I...” He set the tome down, tapping his bad hoof against it gently. “I needed a hobby, they told me. I started learning how to build... this place used to be much smaller. I expanded it as much as I could...”
“How?” Blueblood asked. Brook looked at him strangely, and Blueblood lowered his head. “I mean...” the white pony said quietly, “how could you add to your house, on your own?” Brook smiled humourlessly, brushing his hoof over the book.
“Magic, of course,” he said.
“But... I never see you using magic,” Blueblood said. “It seems like it would take a lot of power...” Brook shrugged limply.
“I don't use it anymore...”
“Why not?” Blueblood asked. Brook was silent for a long time, but eventually sighed.
“You don't use a sword to pick your teeth,” he said. Blueblood stared at him, unable to grasp what the old stallion had meant. Brook didn't give him a chance to consider it, however.
“There's a lot of dust here,” Brook said. “Why don't you go get a rag and some water?” Blueblood nodded slowly, and trotted out of the room. He felt a weight lift off him as he moved away from the armour, but there was still another strange weight there. When he returned Brook had placed the old volume back on its shelf, and seemed to be staring a million miles away. His eyes shifted slowly to Blueblood as the stallion entered, setting immediately to work.
Brook was silent for a long time. Blueblood managed to clean up most of the floor before the old pony spoke again.
“Red...” he said quietly. Blueblood looked up from his work. Brook was staring into the distance again, but this time he looked tired, and old. “What happened to you?” he asked. There was an edge to his voice, like he was in pain. Blueblood blinked.
“What... do you mean?” Blueblood asked. Brook gestured weakly to his armour, gleaming in the corner of the room.
“Why... does it frighten you so much? What happened?”
Blueblood looked slowly at the armour. He didn't shake when he saw it, but only just. He looked back at his master, every bit as slowly. The old pony seemed ancient, now. His head hung ever so slightly, his neck sinking between his shoulders. A hard lump raised in Blueblood's throat when he tried to speak. His heart beat hard in his chest. For a moment, he thought about lying. He trembled gently when he even thought about what had happened to him; he didn't think he could bear to say it aloud. But he looked at Brook again, and he couldn't lie.
“I... I'm not from here. Soldiers took me here, and... they hurt me.” He shook, but tried his hardest to fight it down. “They hurt me,” he repeated. “And... I don't know. I just couldn't... be, anymore. They... took...” He was shaking, again. He couldn’t fight it anymore. His heart felt like ice, whenever he thought about it: whenever he remembered that awful, incredible pain. “I’m sorry...” he said weakly. His breath was shallow, and ragged. “I’m sorry master... I can’t, I... I...” Brook Put a hoof on his shoulder, and hung his head.
“Don’t,” Brook said. “I understand. you don’t have to.” Blueblood swallowed, and nodded shakily. Brook sat with him until he had stopped shaking, and when he had Brook spoke.
“I'm sorry,” the green pony said. Blueblood stared at him.
“Why?” he asked. Brook sighed.
“Because I was a soldier, once,” he said. “I must frighten you... I'm sorry.” Blueblood stood slowly, and shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I'm not afraid of you, master. You were a soldier a long time ago, but not anymore... right?” Brook chuckled slowly: a dull, empty laugh.
“Yes...” he said quietly, looking at his desk. “Not for a long time... almost 20 years.” Blueblood put down his rag, and inched closer to the old stallion.
“What happened?” he asked. Brook reached out, taking the two old letters from the desk and peering at them. He was quiet, almost contemplative.
“It's true, isn't it?” he asked to nopony in particular. “Equestria does wear blinders on its borders.” He shook his head. “The same thing happened to me that happens to every soldier some day. 20 years ago there was a war... I was hurt. Too hurt to keep fighting... they gave me enough Silver for the rest of my life, and then some. Then, I came out here. I added to my home... making it what I thought it should be. I thought I would spend the rest of my life studying magic but... in the end, I never did.” He looked around the room, concluding, “I haven't been in this room for almost as long, now. Almost 20 years.” Blueblood swallowed, and took another step closer. Brooks face seemed empty, now. Blueblood hadn't seen him look so empty in a long time, almost as long as he had known him. In fact, he had only ever seen that expression the moment he first met his master. It hurt Blueblood, seeing it again.
“Why not?” he asked. Brook sighed.
“Because...” he said, “because you don't use a sword to pick your teeth.”
“You said that before,” Blueblood said. “What does it mean?” Brook stared at him. He looked around the room, and finally down at his hoof. The old pony closed his eyes, and began to hum to himself.
He hummed softly at first, but he grew louder and louder. It was steady, slowing rising and falling in a beautiful rhythm. As he hummed, Brook's horn began to glow. Like his voice it was soft, but grew brighter and brighter. Slowly but surely, the room began to stir. Dust lifted itself off the ground, particles encased in blue light flying through the air like a hurricane. Spilled scrolls rearranged themselves, and fallen books returned to their shelves. Blueblood watched in awe as Brook took control of everything in the room without even a trace of effort. He simply hummed to himself, calm amidst the chaos. In an instant, the once-filthy room was pristine. Brook opened his eyes, and spoke gently.
“Red... I want to show you something,” he said. “Will you come with me?” Blueblood stared, open-mouthed, and nodded.
“Of course, master,” he said. Brook nodded, and limped out of the room.
Blueblood followed him down the stairs, and into an old wing of the house. Blueblood could clearly see the changing wood. This was the oldest part of the home, only a few rooms big. Blueblood looked over his master's shoulder as they walked. They came to a stop in front of the one room Blueblood had never seen, the one room he had been barred from entering.
Brook was silent. His hoof hovered in the air, trembling slightly in front of the handle. Finally, he reached out, pushing the door gently. It swung open smoothly, and Blueblood could see inside.
Along the far wall of the room was an enormous bed. It looked large enough for a half-dozen ponies to sleep in; it took up nearly half the room. The only other things in the room were a small, old shelf, and a hearth in the corner.
Despite Blueblood never having entered the room, and never having seen Brook go inside, it was spotless. Everything was placed neatly and free of dust, as if it had been preserved in wax. In spite of the cleanliness, the room seemed bleak, and old. Brook stepped inside, looking around wearily. He sat in the centre of the floor, gesturing for Blueblood to follow him in.
“Red?” Brook asked.
“Yes?”
“How many plates are there in the kitchen?” Blueblood blinked.
“F-five,” he said.
“And how many bowls?”
“Five,” Blueblood replied again.
“There are also five cups,” Brook said. “And five forks, and knives, and spoons. But there are only two ponies living here.” He stood, walking to the small shelf. He picked up a picture frame, and returned to Blueblood, holding it out gently. Blueblood took the picture carefully, and looked at it.
There were five ponies in the picture, all unicorns. Two of the ponies were older: a deep green mare with a blue mane, and a pure white stallion. Gathered around their hooves were two colts, and a filly. The filly was pure white, like her father. One of the colts was white-coated, with a deep blue mane. The final colt, sitting in the centre of the picture, was a deep green foal with a brilliantly white mane. Blueblood looked up from the picture. Brook was looking down tiredly.
“This is the home my family lived in,” Brook said. My father raised me to be strong, and to love my country.” He unpinned his medallion, and removed his wrappings slowly. He turned to the side, and for the first time Blueblood saw his cutie mark. It was a powerful ocean wave, taking the shape of a shield. “I was a gifted magician... and I wanted to use my magic to protect my country. When we were old enough, my brother and I joined the military. They taught us to use our magic as a weapon. I took to it well... I learned how to use all sorts of spells. Spells for cutting, for crushing, for destroying...” He shook his head, putting the picture frame back. “You don't use a sword to pick your teeth. Somepony could get hurt.”
Blueblood sat in silence. He didn't know what he could say. Brook was silent as well. His face was still and empty, his eyes focused miles away. He slouched just enough for Blueblood to see; just far enough for Blueblood to understand.
“What happened to them?” Blueblood asked quietly. He hadn’t needed to ask; he knew the answer. It almost felt as though it needed to be asked. Brook sighed, as if he too understood what needed to be done.
“My parents were old,” he said. “They passed on peacefully, in their bed. My sister died when we were young... she fell in the river during the rainy season. We saved her, but it was too late. She fell sick, and died. My brother...” Brook shook his head. “My brother died in that war, 20 years ago. He was killed in the last battle I ever fought. Magic... I came back here... I built up our home. And now...”
“And now it's empty?” Blueblood asked. For some reason, he understood. Perhaps it was the nature of growing up in a palace. Hallways upon hallways, filled with nothing and going nowhere. But at least there had been ponies there, if he had cared to talk to any of them. Brook had had none of that. The old pony nodded.
“And now it’s empty,” he said. “An empty home in the middle of nowhere... with an old stallion that nopony cares about anymore.” Blueblood lowered his head, and stepped closer.
“That isn’t true, master,” he said. “There are still ponies who care about you.” Brook looked at him strangely, and huffed.
“Are there?” he asked. “Like the smith? Ponies don't care about White Brook the farmer, Red. They care about White Brook The Raging River. I'm not The Raging River anymore.” Blueblood shook his head.
“No,” he said. He nudged Brook with his nose, and nuzzled him gently. “I care about you, master. I care about White Brook the farmer.”
Brook was still for a long time. Even as his bad hoof slowly inched upwards, wrapping itself around Blueblood's neck he was silent. Finally, he spoke. “Thank you, Red,” he said. The two ponies sat on the floor in silence for a long time. They didn’t need to speak; they didn’t want to. It was peaceful in the silence, and they were happy. Brook's horn lit up, and Blueblood heard a clattering from behind him. When he turned he saw a Casualty set assembling itself. He look back to Brook, who was smiling warmly.
“When I was little,” he said, “my father taught me to play Casualty... it's been a while since we played, hasn't it?” Blueblood smiled.
“It has,” he agreed. “Can we play again?” Brook nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “I hoped you’d want to.” The set drifted between the two ponies, assembling itself and setting down. “Would you like to move first?” Brook asked. Blueblood grinned, and reached out. Before he could make his first move, however, and ear-piercing whistle sounded. It was long, and shrill, like a warning siren. Blueblood dropped to the ground, covering his ears against the deafening noise, but Brook jumped to his hooves, his head snapping to the source of the sound. His entire body tensed, and even after the whistle stopped he stood stock-still, his bad hoof set squarely on the ground.He was still for a moment, but relaxed slightly.
“Who is that?” He asked slowly. Blueblood rubbed his ears.
“That was a pony?” he asked. Brook hummed to himself, and began to limp away. Blueblood jumped up, following after him. the two ponies left the house, trotting towards the riverbank. There was a sea pony in the river, carrying a waxy mailbag with him.
“White Brook?” the sea pony asked respectfully. Brook nodded slowly.
“I am,” he said. “Who are you?” the sea pony shook his head.
“Just a messenger, sir.” he said. “I’m sorry.” He reached inside his bag, retrieving a scroll and handing it to Brook. He nodded respectfully once again as the old stallion took it, and swam west without another word.
Brook stared after him, looking between the rapidly disappearing sea pony and the scroll. He sat on the shore, humming to himself again. Blueblood blinked at him. He thought that there seemed to be an edge to Brook, but he couldn’t put his hoof on it. It made him nervous.
“What's wrong, master?” he asked. Brook turned over the scroll, showing it to Blueblood. It was sealed with red wax, stamped with the insignia of Aloa.
“It's from the King,” Brook said quietly. He unsealed the scroll slowly, and read it. Blueblood waited in silence, holding his breath. He had no idea what the King might want with Brook, but the thought of it frightened him. His heart pounded in his chest as Brook lowered the scroll. The old pony was silent, staring into space. His eyes drifted to Blueblood, and he sighed sadly. Blueblood swallowed, pawing at the ground nervously.
“...It's a summons,” Brook said simply. “I'm being summoned to serve as a general. Equestria has declared war on Aloa.”
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Kegisak
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1052
| 13 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-12-22T23:03:10+00:00
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2011-12-22T23:03:10+00:00
| 4,590 |
Chapter 13: In Which the Truth is Learned
All across Equestria, ponies rose. Farmers on the great plains went to tend their crops, craftsponies and merchants went to run their shops, and foals rose to get ready for school. Each and every single pony who woke looked to the sky in curiosity, and all for the same reason: though every pony across Equestria was rising from their nightly rest, the sun had not. A thin line of yellow and orange could be seen along the eastern horizon, telling the ponies of the sun's imminent ascent, but the fact remained that it was late. Still, most ponies did not concern themselves with it. It happened now and then, they all told themselves. The Princess must have simply been busy.
It was true Princess Celestia had been busy. For weeks she had been in almost constant contact with the Aloan Royal Court, but a week ago the letters had stopped coming. Celestia had shut herself in her room. The only ponies who visited her were her niece, the captain of the guard and – most worryingly – several retired, high-ranking members of the guard. No other ponies saw the princess during that week, and rumors flew in her absence. It was never the same rumor twice. Sometimes it was that Celestia was ill with a strange disease from her visit to Aloa. Sometimes it was that she was simply too frustrated from her communications to talk to any other pony. Sometimes the rumors were about her interesting choice of companions. In the end, only those ponies who had visited her knew exactly what was happening, with the curious exception of the palace blacksmith.
Princess Amethyst had visited him regularly over the week, always on her own. Rumors flew about this too, as rumors are wont to do. These were always quelled shortly, however, usually by the princess's diligent bodyguard Rowan Oak. He always seemed to be around when they were spoken, swooping in to defend his princess. As the week wore on though, he found himself more and more doubting his own words. Amethyst had not trusted even him with her secret. He had taken to wandering the halls in worry, in fact. He roamed the opulent palace, trying not to hear the whispered rumors, trying to shove them from his mind. He was in the public wing when he was approached by the acting captain of the guards.
“Lieutenant!” the captain barked. Oak jumped to attention, saluting smartly.
“Captain!” he said respectfully. The captain saluted as well, and both pegasi stood at ease.
“The Princess is asking after you, Lieutenant,” the captain said. Oak ruffled his wings.
“Ah, Princess Celestia, Captain?”
“Princess Amethyst, Lieutenant,” the captain said, a sarcastic edge to his voice. “The mare you are supposed to be guarding?” Oak blinked, and saluted again. It was the first time she had summoned him all week; she had always been too busy before.
“O-of course, captain!” Oak said. “Where can I find her?”
“In her chambers,” the captain said. His serious expression faded into a sly smile, and he shuffled his wings knowingly. “Remember, Lieutenant – I don't want to be hearing about any sort of... untoward conduct. Am I understood?” Oak's face flushed, and he pawed at the ground before saluting.
“Yessir,” he said quickly. The captain smirked again, and Oak flew off, headed for the Princess's chambers. The royal family's wing was deserted as always, giving him time to straighten himself up. He preened his feathers, laying them neat and smooth, and took off his helmet to brush his mane. He sat in front of the princess's door, his heart pounding in his chest, and knocked respectfully.
“Who is it?” Amethyst asked from inside the room. Oak cleared his throat, and spoke.
“It's me, Your Highness: Oak.” There was a clinking and clattering sound from inside the room, before Amethyst spoke again excitedly.
“Oak? Wonderful! Come in, come in! And close the door behind you!” Oak swallowed, and quickly stepped inside, shutting the door tight behind him. He almost forgot to; his jaw dropped when he entered. He was not sure what he had been expecting – or perhaps hoping for – but this was most certainly not it.
Princess Amethyst stood in the centre of the room, clad from head-to-hoof in golden armour. It fit tightly around her body, imitating the unicorn guards' armour. There were, however, distinct differences. The mail was much looser on the sides, and the saddle had been replaced with Equestria's banner: the sun and moon set tightly alongside one another. A long silver scabbard stretched along her side, containing a basket-hilted rapier. All in all, the princess would have been very imposing if she were not so ungainly in the heavy metal. Oak stared at her, open-mouthed.
“What do you think?” she asked proudly, prancing lightly. The joints of the armour snagged, and she came to a jolting halt. She almost fell over, but managed to keep herself upright. Oak recovered himself, and shook his head.
“Your Highness, what in the world is all this?” he asked, dumfounded. Amethyst sighed at him.
“It's armour, of course. How does it look, Oak? Do I look ready for a battle?”
“Ready for a battle...” Oak said, still clearly stunned. Amethyst shook her head, and marched slowly and carefully over to him. More than once she stumbled, but she never quite managed to tumble over. She sat in front of him, and Oak shook his head once more. His face screwed up quizzically, and he searched for the right words to voice his concerns.
“But Your Highness... why!?” he asked finally.
“You remember what auntie said, don't you Oak?” Amethyst asked. “You remember what the last letter we've received from Aloa said?”
“Of course I do,” Oak said. “They've declared war against us. We're going to have to fight them, or apologize for insulting them-”
“We have not insulted them,” Amethyst said sharply, “and we are not going to apologize! They have my son, Oak, and we are going to get him back from them! One way or another!” She huffed, and put her hoof down firmly. The armour clanked quietly, and Oak sighed.
“I'm sorry, Your Highness. But... what does that have to do with all this, unless...” He looked at her entreatingly, as if he were begging her to make him wrong. A horrible, tremendous fear gripped his heart. “Your Highness... you aren't seriously considering going out to the war, are you?”
“No, I'm not considering it,” Amethyst said. Oak sighed with relief.
“Thank goodness,” he said. “Your Highness, I couldn't imagine-”
“I decided that I'm going to the war a long time ago,” Amethyst interrupted him. Oak jolted, and coughed hard.
“Your Highness,” he said sharply. He paused, holding himself back. He knew it wasn't his place to criticize the princess; it was his place to protect her, regardless of what she did. But he knew that if she went to the war, there was a chance that she would not be coming back. Even the thought of it killed him, stabbing through his heart like a cold blade. He couldn't bear to see her hurt, let alone subjected to a real war. He had only seen a few months of the last war with Aloa, but it had been horrible. If she saw any of it, then the Princess Amethyst he knew, the princess he cared so deeply about, would never come back. Surely keeping her from it would be protecting her, he thought to himself. Perhaps it was not his place to question, but he could afford to stretch the rules this one time. He steeled himself for the princess's fury, and spoke.
“Your Highness, are you insane!?” he asked. Amethyst scowled at him, and stood up with difficulty.
“For wanting Blueblood back?” she asked, turning away from Oak. “Apparently, I am.” Oak followed after, still trying to reason with her.
“Your Highness, you don't know anything about war! You don't even know anything about fighting!” Amethyst spun upon him, a smile suddenly back on her face.
“But you do!” she exclaimed. “It's perfect, Oak, you can teach me! Then I'll be ready!” Oak just shook his head.
“No... Your Highness, I'm not going to teach you how to fight. I won't help you with this.”
“Why not?” Amethyst asked. “Do you think I won't be able to?” Oak was silent. Amethyst fumed, and her horn lit up. She attempted to draw the rapier from its scabbard, but it got caught, and she struggled with it. Eventually she managed to draw it out, brandishing it dangerously.
“Well, then you can help me!” she said. “Make me good enough!” Oak looked at her sadly. He stepped inside the blade and thrust out his wing in the blink of an eye. The sword was shaken from Amethyst's magical grip, flying across the room. Oak looked at Amethyst entreatingly. She looked between him and the sword, and huffed.
“I'm doing this with or without you, Oak,” she said decisively. “You can help me, or you can step aside.”
“I'm trying to help you, Your Highness,” Oak said. “Please! We need you here, where you can manage the war.”
“Auntie will be here,” Amethyst said dismissively. “She won't need my help.”
“Let her go out there!” Oak pushed. “She'll be worth a thousand of you on the battlefield! And you'll be here, and safe!”
“Auntie wouldn't set hoof on the battlefield,” the princess said. “Not unless Tidus comes out.” Oak winced and tried again.
“And what if Tidus does show up?” he asked. “What if you're there when he arrives? He won't care who you are, Princess! If you go out there...” Oak looked down, and pawed the ground. “If you go to war, you'll be killed, Your Highness.” Amethyst stomped her hoof down.
“Don't you think I know that!?” she yelled. “I'm not some little filly anymore, Oak. I'm willing to do what I have to to save my son. If that means that I die, then so be it.”
“But what about him?” Oak asked. “What happens if he loses his mother? You... you have ponies who care about you, Your Highness... Amethyst. We couldn't bear to lose you.”
“And I couldn't bear to lose him, Oak,” Amethyst said. She was quiet, now. She picked up her rapier, sliding it back into its scabbard. “Last time... last time I was young. I wasn't ready. I'll be ready this time, Oak. The Aloans already took Winter Star away from me. I won't let them take Blueblood too.” Oak looked at her sadly.
“But what good is it if you aren't there anymore?” he asked. “Do you think Blueblood wants to lose his mother too? Do you want him too?” Amethyst stared at him, silent. She tried to keep a brave face. She tried not to let her emotions show. Hard as she tried, though, she was more like Oak than she would admit. She couldn't hold herself back. She sniffed sadly, and leaned against her bodygaurd's chest.
“I don't want to lose my foal, Oak,” she whispered. Oak slowly wrapped his wings around her, comforting her.
“You won't,” he said. “I promise you, they'll bring back your son. But please Amethyst... don't go. Stay here, where you're safe. Give him somepony to come back to.” Amethyst sniffed again, and Oak could feel her nod slowly.
“You're right,” she said. “You're right. But I still need your help, Oak.” Oak opened his wings slightly, looking down at her. She looked up at him, and smiled. “I need you to help me be strong,” she said. “Just for now. Just until they bring my foal back to me.” Oak smiled back at her.
“I'll do my best,” he said.
***
Brook limped slowly out of his home as the sun began to rise. He levitated a large trunk above his head, and Blueblood followed him out with two smaller bags on his back. The pair of stallions moved silently around the house, depositing their luggage in Brook's wagon. Brook sighed, staring out at the river. Blueblood sat beside him silently, his head low. The two sat in silence, taking in the view one last time. Today they would go into the city, and find a ship. They would go to Ys, the capital city of Aloa, where Brook would serve the king as a general. Blueblood pawed at the ground while they sat. He had fallen into silence last night; they both had. The situation frightened Blueblood, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. As it happened, he didn't have to.
“What's the matter, Red?” Brook asked. Blueblood's head sank.
“I... I don't like this, master,” he said. Brook nodded solemnly.
“I... do not like it either,” he said. “But it is my duty to Aloa. If the King asks for me, I must respond.”
“But you can't be a soldier again!” Blueblood insisted. “Your hoof... they can't make you fight, can they?” Brook shook his head, and put a reassuring hoof on Blueblood's shoulder.
“They won't make me fight, Red,” he said. “A general is a tactician. I'll organize campaigns, and order troops. I won't be on the field unless the war comes out here.” Blueblood sighed with relief. That, at least, was one worry gone. Brook coughed quietly, and spoke again. “Of course, I'll need somepony to help me, still,” he said. “Somepony I can trust. They'll probably try to give me a pony in the capital... one of theirs. I would like... somepony I know better to help me.” Blueblood looked up at him, blinking.
“You want me, master?” he asked. Brook nodded.
“Of course I do,” he said. “But they won't accept a slave in the capital. Where are your wrappings, Red?” Blueblood nodded, understanding.
“They're in my room, master,” he said. “I'll go put them on?”
“Please,” Brook said. Blueblood dashed inside, going to his room. His wrappings sat folded on the small table beside his bed. He had not worn them in a few months, but they still had a beautiful sheen to them. He ran his hoof over the soft cloth, relishing the texture. He wound the cloth around his neck, and returned to his master.
The old pony was seated in the back of the wagon, smiling down at him. Blueblood smiled back, and trotted in front of the wagon to push it.
“Don't bother,” Brook said. “We won't go fast enough. Climb in.” Blueblood stared up at him for a moment, but nodded. He clambered into the back of the wagon, settling in beside his master.
“Master... how are we going to get to the city without somepony pulling the wagon?” He looked over the side, and as he did he saw the wagon's wheel spark with magic. He looked back at his master, whose horn had begun to glow.
“I don't care for magic,” Brook said, “but that doesn't mean I can't use it.” His horn dimmed, and the wagon lurched forward. It rumbled to life, rolling out past the house on its own. Blueblood looked over his shoulder, watching the house slowly drift away. Brook looked back as well, and sighed. The house fell away, the wagon picking up speed as it traveled. Soon they were deep in the forest again, the old house far out of sight. Blueblood sighed, and laid his head down. Brook nodded knowingly, but remained silent.
Neither Brook nor Blueblood spoke for the trip into the city. Brook stared dead ahead, focusing on steering the wagon and keeping it moving. The wagon moved much faster than Blueblood could ever have hoped to pull it, and they were out of the forest in just a little under and hour.
Blueblood used the silence to think, and ponder the situation. His worry over Brook had been part of what bothered him, but it was not the only thing by far. The more he thought about it, the less he could avoid coming to the conclusion that he would be fighting a war against his own country.
Some old part of him wanted to shove the concerns aside. After all, it thought, Equestria was the most powerful nation on the continent. Aloa wouldn't stand a chance in the conflict. Even as he thought that, though, he doubted it. What if Aloa really could win the war? What if they took over Equestria? Or what if Equestria took over Aloa? He couldn't imagine what option would be worse. He thought about the outcome, and he could see rebellion. Just like in that first game of Casualty, the losing country might rebel, tearing itself apart from the inside. Aloa was too proud to be subjected to the rule of another, and Celestia would never allow her citizens to be put under Aloa's hoof. Blueblood shuddered at the thought. Even if it were not that bad, he knew the costs would be immeasurable. How many ponies would die in the battle?
Why? he asked himself. What could possibly make Auntie declare war? She wanted peace more than anything... He lay his head on the edge of the wagon, pondering the war. None of it made any sense to him. Auntie had wanted peace. That was why she had organized the summit. It just didn’t make sense for her to declare war. Even if it had been propaganda, and the Aloans had been the ones who declared the war it still baffled him. The Aloans would have no reason to declare war, unless something had gone poorly at the meetings.
Then it struck Blueblood. something had gone wrong at the summit. One of the delegates had been missing - him. He had been kidnapped by the Aloans.
Did auntie find out? he wondered, a sudden tightness in his chest. Does auntie know what happened to me? But if she does... why hasn’t she come for me? Unless she has... He knew what Celestia would have done first. She would have asked the king about him. And if the king didn’t have an answer... would she keep pushing? Would she believe him?
Would auntie really go to war over me? he thought. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew that she would. Both Celestia and his mother would go to war over him. The thought of it made him feel sick in the pit of his stomach, was the knowledge that all that death and devastation was done for him. Hundreds, thousands of ponies would be killed all because of him.
The wagon arrived at Port Ponzance by mid-morning. The gates were flung wide open, with ponies trailing in and out almost constantly. Ponies with wagons, ponies with crops to sell, even just ponies with nothing more than the wrappings about their necks all corwded along the road..
Blueblood sat up, looking down at all of them. Brook shook his head sadly, and Blueblood looked curiously at the old stallion.
“Recruits,” Brook said without being asked. “If war is coming... the kingdom needs recruits. Some of them will be young ponies looking for adventure. Some will want to protect their country. Some just won't have anything else to do.” He sighed, and shook his head again. Blueblood felt the familiar pain of guilt, but it didn't have time to fester as it had before. They soon passed through the gates, and were plunged into a sea of ponies moving about within the city’s walls.
Stalls had been set up along the streets, hawking various wares: gaudy jewelry, crops, advertisements for armour and weapons. Recruitment offices had set up stalls on every corner, and lines of young stallions zig-zagged across the streets to fill out the forms. Vendors shouted out advertisements, their voices blending together into an almighty din. There was no words, only noise. Blueblood could hardly hear himself think, and Brook was having a difficult time maneuvering the wagon through the crowd. He propelled it forwards, gently nudging at the ponies in his path until they moved out of the way.
The crowd seemed to mostly be gathered around the gates. Most of the ponies dispersed as they made their way deeper into the city, but the hub road to the docks was still far from empty. Still, Brook was able to move the wagon briskly through the streets, and Blueblood could soon smell the familiar, salty scent of the ocean. He could feel the wagon pick up speed as they began to roll down a steep hill, and in the distance Blueblood caught a glimpse of the ocean again.
It was the first time he had been truly lucid when he saw it. He hadn't appreciated the beauty of the spectacle before, but now he realized just why ponies gravitated to it so. It was magnificent, a sheet of blue stretching out for miles and miles. The morning light reflected off it like a mirror, gleaming brilliantly for the world to see. As they drew closer the the docks Blueblood could see ships pulling in and out of the harbor, passing by the enormous pillars in the water. He only vaguely remembered the ocean gate, but something seemed different about it. He squinted, peering at the top of arches. There seemed to be tiny figures moving back and forth across them.
“Are those...” he asked slowly, “ponies?” Brook looked and nodded.
“It's war time now,” he said. “Things are changing. The gates will be ready until the war is over. Those ponies will lower barriers over the arches if an enemy is coming, to keep them away from the city.”
“Oh...” Blueblood said. “Would they really attack a city full of innocent ponies?” Brook shrugged.
“You'd know better than me... but we can never be too careful. We can't risk the ponies here being hurt.” Blueblood nodded and lowered his head sadly. As if it weren't bad enough that soldiers could be killed over him, was there really a chance that innocent ponies could die? He moaned quietly to himself. Brook looked over at him carefully.
“You've never seen a war before, have you?” he asked. Blueblood shook his head.
“No...” he said. “The one you told me about last night... it would have happened when I was a foal.” Brook stared silently at him.
“Red... how old are you?”
“21 years old, master,” Blueblood answered. Brook nodded.
“It would have ended a year after you were born, then,” he said. “Not enough time to see it... they really didn't teach you about it?” Blueblood shook his head, and Brook sighed. “I don't blame them,” he said quietly. “I wouldn't want to remember either...”
The wagon slowed to a halt as they pulled up to the docks. Blueblood got out and helped Brook down, the old pony levitating his luggage out of the wagon. He placed the two small bags on Blueblood's back, carrying the trunk himself.
“We'll find a boat here,” Brook said. “Something nice and comfortable. You've never been out to sea before, have you?”
“Once,” Blueblood said quietly. “When I was... well, when I was being brought here. I don't really remember it well.” Brook nodded.
“I see,” he said. “We'll get a big ship. Nice and comfortable. Besides...” The old stallion gave a sly smile. “It'll keep us away from Ys that much longer.” Blueblood smiled faintly as well, and the two trotted onto the docks.
The docks were in chaos. The scent of salt in the air was accompanied by sweat as large, burly stallions dashed about madly. The cranes, ropes and pulleys were all constantly in action as crates full of supplies were loaded onto ships. Large stallions in armour trotted importantly to and fro, and Blueblood shied away from them all nervously. Brook was careful to keep close to him, leading him through the hectic crowd.
Eventually they broke through most of the hubbub and onto a less populated section near the bank. Blueblood saw dozens of sea ponies sticking out of the water, bickering with unicorns or tossing packages out of the water to ponies on ships and docks. Sailors ran up and down gangplanks and across decks, prepping their ships to sail or tying them into port. They barked orders back and forth, devolving into shouting matches between ship captains as they tried to have their commands heard over one another. The very air itself seemed ripe with tension. Everypony here was preparing, and they all knew for what. They all dreaded it, but they were preparing for it nonetheless. There was a somber air beneath the panic; Blueblood could feel it.
Brook limped slowly along the bank, inspecting each of the ships using some criteria that Blueblood couldn't even guess at. He followed after the old stallion quietly, observing the ships as they went past. There were small vessels with a single mast, and larger boats with three or four. Brook stopped in front of one three-masted boat. There was an ancient, grizzled unicorn sitting on the bow, giving orders to his crew. Brook headed up the dock, calling out to the old pony.
“Ahoy there!” he shouted. The ship captain looked down at him.
“Ahoy at you,” he called back. “We're about to ship out, You'll have to make it quick!”
“Where're you headed for?” Brook asked. He was beginning to slip into a naval dialect similar to the sailors on the dock, and Blueblood imagined that he must have been used to sailing when he was a soldier. Aloa had an unparalleled navy, after all.
“We're going to Ys,” the captain said. “Shipping steel. Good business for it out there, now.”
“You might be interested in shipping a couple of stallions out there?” Brook asked. The ship captain scratched his chin thoughtfully.
“Might do,” he said. “Might do. You come on board, we'll talk it over.” Brook nodded, and set the trunk down beside Blueblood.
“Will you stay here with the luggage?” he asked. Blueblood nodded, and Brook limped up the dock and onto the ship. The captain disappeared from sight, no doubt taking Brook into his quarters to barter over prices. Blueblood shrugged the bags off his back, sitting on the dock. He peered over the edge and into the water, staring at his reflection.
He tried to tell himself that there might be another reason for the war. If the Aloans were willing to kidnap him, it was possible that they would do even more for power. It was also possible that they had done something after Blueblood had been gone that caused it. No matter how he try to reason though, he couldn't shake the awful feeling in his gut that this was all his fault. He sighed miserably, staring at the water. His reflection seemed to rippled and distort, and to his confusion another face seemed to be replacing it. It looked like a mare – a mare with an icy blue coat and mane.
The face burst out of the water, a sea pony following along behind it. She leapt up, grabbing Blueblood around the neck.
“Surprise!” she shouted. Blueblood jolted, falling backwards and pulling the sea pony out of the water. She laughed hysterically, flopping her tail on the dock. Blueblood lay on his back, spluttering in shock. The sea pony dragged herself over to him, resting her chin on her hooves. “Hiya, Red!” she said excitedly.
“I... wha... Azure?” Blueblood asked, dumbfounded. Azure giggled happily at him.
“So you do remember me! For a minute there I thought you'd forgotten!”
“No,” Blueblood said. “No, I... you remember me?”
“Of course I remember you, Red,” she said. She reached out, brushing away his mane and feeling his forehead gently. “You're sort of a hard face to forget around here.” Blueblood smiled in spite of himself, and chuckled.
“Thank you,” he said. “What are you doing here?” Azure grinned, and patted her flank.
“I said I was a messenger, didn't I?” she asked. “There's load for me to do, now. Everypony wants a message sent to the sailors, or the shippers, or the soldiers. Sometimes they even want me to hand something off to get delivered in another city. It's crazy here, Red.” He eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here? You're not... shipping out are you?” a look of concern flashed across her face. Blueblood rubbed his neck.
“Well...” he said, “my master's been called to Ys. To... serve as a general.” Azure sighed, and laughed.
“That's a relief. I'd hate to think of you going off to war.” She propped herself up on her elbows, and tapped her chin. “Did you say your master was summoned to be a general?” she asked. Blueblood nodded.
“That's right,” he replied. Azure's eyes widened.
“That's amazing!” she said. “You'll be living the high life in Ys, you know. Good for you!” She punched his shoulder playfully, and he grinned.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Azure said. “I've been there once or twice. It's an amazing city, and if you're working for a military stallion during a war? I'll bet you've never seen anything like it.” Blueblood smiled.
“Well,” he said, “I think I might have. But it sounds nice anyways.” Azure grinned at him. Blueblood was about to say something else when he heard his master call out to him.
“Red!” Brook called, appearing on the bow of the ship. “The captain is letting us travel to Ys with him! Bring the luggage on board!” Blueblood got to his hooves, nodding.
“Yes, master!” he shouted back. He turned to Azure, and smiled at her. “I have to go now, Azure,” he said. “Do you need some help getting back into the water?” Azure laughed, and rolled off the docks.
“Of course not,” she said, breaking the surface again. She leaned against the dock and smiled up at the white stallion. “You have a good time in Ys, okay?” she said. “Don't work too hard.” Blueblood smiled back at her.
“Sure,” he said. Azure winked at him and sank back under the water, and Blueblood ginned wider. He grabbed the bags, placing them on his back, and began to push the heavy trunk along the dock.
***
Azure swam between the docks, ducking under the surface and bobbing up to look for the recipient of her delivery. She had been around the dock for almost a quarter of an hour before she had seen Red, searching for the unicorn she had been told to find. She hated being at the dock when it was this busy. There were always too many ponies for her to be able to find any one in particular, and looking at all the magic gave her a headache. Even whistling probably wouldn't work; if she was heard at all she doubted that the unicorn that heard her would care enough to point her in the right direction. She sighed, floating on the surface of the ocean when something caught her eye.
She rolled over and swam closer to get a better view. For a moment she thought she had imagined it, but she had not. There was another earth pony on the docks: a tall, powerful-looking stallion with a steel-gray coat and mane. His mane was long and unkempt, and a ragged beard ran along his jaw. He had a fat red unicorn with him, and the pair were followed by a small pack of soldiers. The earth pony stomped down the dock, growling to his friend.
“...Lost him!” Azure heard him say as she approached. “How could we ruddy lose him!? He's the only earth pony here, and we somehow managed to lose him! He's pure white, the idiot should stick out like a sore hoof!”
Azure's eyes bulged. Could these ponies be talking about Red? She drifted closer, but something about the earth pony felt wrong to her. There was an edge to him, like there was to a soldier. He felt different from other soldiers, though: less disciplined, and more dangerous. The sort of pony who would start a fight over literally nothing. The very air around him seemed unstable. All of a sudden Azure felt a deep, pressing fear in the pit of her stomach, and she knew she needed to hear what they were saying. She swam beneath the dock, sinking until only the top of her head was above the water, and listened intently.
“Calm down, Iron,” the red unicorn said, trying to placate his friend. “We haven't lost him. We know where he's going, and we know what ship he got on.”
“I know that as well as you, you fat idiot!” the pony called Iron hissed. “What I don't know is, why did we let him get away!? Why didn't we just grab him then and there?”
“Iron please,” the unicorn said, more urgently. “Keep your voice down.”
“Oh, like any of you unicorns is going to care what some earth pony has to say.” Iron scoffed. The red unicorn shook his head.
“Anyways, we couldn't just grab him here. We're surrounded by other ponies, and he was with White Brook. We'd have been caught in seconds!” Iron scowled.
“You keep using that name, White Brook. As if he were somepony I was supposed to care about.” The unicorn sighed.
“Equestrians,” he said. “You were a palace guard, Iron. You would think you of all ponies would know who White Brook is, and why he's dangerous.” Iron snorted again.
“Dangerous,” he said dismissively. “All I see is an old crippled unicorn. Nothing dangerous about any of you pin-heads.” The unicorn looked like he was about to argue, but Iron spun on him in a flash, stomping his hoof down. The dock they were on shook, and the red unicorn clammed up. Iron scowled, and hissed under his breath. Azure had to swim directly beneath the pair to hear him.
“It doesn't matter who or who isn't with him,” the gray pony said. “He's gone. What are you going to do about it, Letter?”
“If you had listened,” Letter said quietly, “you would know I have a plan. They took a large boat. We know what it's called, and where it's going.”
“So?” Iron asked harshly. Letter rubbed his brow.
“So,” he said, “We take a small boat. We'll get there much faster. Then we can wait.”
“Ah,” Iron said, his voice taking on a cruel, gleeful edge. “A surprise attack. We jump him on the docks.”
“In private,” Letter corrected. “Ys is full of small, tight side streets. We get them in there, and then -”
“I kill them!” Iron hissed happily. Azure gasped, and the two ponies above her stopped. Her eyes bulged as she realized that they had heard her, and sank into the water. Iron looked over the edge of the dock, scouring the water for some sign of a pony. Luckily for her, Azure's eyes and ears were built for the water. She could see him clearly, but he would never be able to see her. His eyes twitched nervously back and forth, but he slowly turned back to his partner.
“Take care of White Brook first,” Letter told him in hushed tones. “Kill him before he knows you're there. Otherwise, you won't get a chance.”
“Don't tell me how to kill ponies,” Iron growled. “I know how to kill ponies. Let's find a boat.” Letter sighed, but nodded. The two set off, their soldiers following after them cautiously. Azure waited until they were all gone before she resurfaced. She swam too and fro nervously, thinking what she should do.
The ponies on the dock had very clearly been talking about Red. They might not have said his name, but who else could they have been talking about? A pure white earth pony didn't come along every day. She chewed at her hooves nervously for a moment, before diving underwater. She zipped in between the other sea ponies swimming below the docks, passing through the checkpoint and into the open ocean. No ship, no matter how fast, could sail faster than a sea pony – especially not her. Her delivery forgotten, she set course for Ys.
***
The trip to Ys was a long one. Port Ponzance was located near the middle of the peninsula, and the capital was at its very tip. The trip would take them just over a week, the captain had told them, and that was if they had good weather the whole way. For all the warnings he had about rough weather and storms, though, the grizzled captain was almost supernaturally talented at navigating them away from anything but smooth waters.
Blueblood spent most of his time on the deck. He would often watch the sailors working, and he found himself being put to use more often than not. The gruff sailors would send him running about the decks tying off knots and doing simple tasks like cleaning the deck. Brook watched silently from the sidelines of it all, occasionally giving Blueblood advice and encouragement.
When the sailors had nothing for him to do, however, Blueblood would sit at the bow, looking out over the ocean. He had never seen anything like it before in his life. It stretched for miles in every direction, a perfect blue world. At times Blueblood couldn't even tell where the sea ended and the sky began. It was as if they were suspended in some endless void, completely alone. Their only visitors were brief glimpses of tiny ships along the horizon. Brook and the crew were tense during these moments, and after they all sighed in relief as the ship passed for the second time, Blueblood understood. War time was different from peace time. They couldn't trust any ship that they saw to be a friend; Equestria had allies on the sea, now. Every ship they saw could attack at any moment.
An attack never came, though. The first half of the trip at least had been peaceful and beautiful. Blueblood lounged at the bow, staring out into the endless ocean. His head seemed to swim with each and every dip and swell of the ocean. It felt as if his mind flew through the air each time, stretching out over the ocean and into the beams of the ship with each pass, like some foal's toy. It was difficult to concentrate with it, even as accustomed to the feeling as Blueblood was.
Though the view was magnificent, it did not concern Blueblood at the moment. His mind was occupied with other things: dark thoughts of suffering ponies. He wracked his mind desperately for something that he could do to avert it; something he could do to stop the war before it started. For all he knew the first battles could have been fought already. He tried to think past the absurd feeling and focus, but nothing came to him. He sighed, and heard a familiar shuffling sound. Brook limped up beside him and sat down.
“Red,” he said, nodding. Blueblood nodded as well.
“Master,” he said. Brook stared out over the ocean, a vague smile creeping into his lips.
“It's beautiful, isn't it Red?” he asked. “The ocean.” Blueblood looked over the ocean as well, and nodded.
“It is,” he said. “It's... I've never seen anything like it.”
“Equestria is in a valley, isn't it?” Brook asked. Blueblood nodded.
“Most of it. Some of it is on the slopes, though,” he said. Brook nodded knowingly.
“It must be strange seeing the ocean, then,” he said quietly. “You said you don't remember your trip here... did you ever see this?” Blueblood shook his head slowly.
“I don't think so,” he said. “They... kept us in the hold. It's nice though, the view.” Blueblood sighed again, leaning on the railings.
“What's the matter, Red?” Brook asked. Blueblood could hear the hint of concern in his voice, beneath the stoicism. It made him smile, just a bit, but not because he felt better.
“I... don't know,” he said. “I think I'm worried.”
“About what?”
“About... all of this. The war. I'm worried about the war.” Brook peered at him carefully.
“If your worried about me, Red, I already told you I won't be in danger.” Blueblood shook his head.
“It's not that,” he said sadly. “I understand that. It's... it's just the whole thing. It feels wrong, I suppose.”
“...You feel bad fighting against your own country?” Brook asked. Blueblood sighed.
“I guess,” he said. “But I'm worried about everything. Both the Aloans and the Equestrians... I just wish that I could stop it all.” Brook nodded solemnly.
“All we can do is try to end it quickly,” he said. “But I'm glad you’re concerned, Red.” Blueblood looked up at his master, who was smiling down at him. “It means you understand.” Blueblood smiled back at him. The ship bucked over a swell, and Blueblood's head swam. He blinked, stumbling and putting his hoof to his head. For a moment, tiny flecks of light swam through his vision like fairies, blinking in and out of existence. He shook his head, and Brook put a hoof on his shoulder to steady him.
“Are you seasick?” the old stallion asked. Blueblood blinked again, and shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I don't think so. I've felt like this before... just not when I've been awake, really.” Brook blinked at him, and Blueblood saw his eyes narrow faintly.
“Not... when you've been awake?” he asked. Blueblood nodded.
“It's how I feel when I first wake up... It's a strange feeling. I guess I'm just not used to it.”
“What does it feel like?” Brook asked. There was a strange hint of something Blueblood couldn't identify in his voice. He looked strangely at his master, but tried to explain the feeling.
“It's like...” he said slowly, “it's like I'm not inside myself anymore. Like I sort of... drift out of my body. I can feel my body beside me, almost. I can feel other things, too... everything feels much more intense. Sounds are louder, and things like that.” He paused for a moment, trying to articulate the bizarre feelings. “It feels like I'm everywhere at once,” he said. “Like I'm not just myself anymore, but...” Brook was staring at him silently, a strangely hurt look in his eyes. Blueblood lowered his head. “I'm sorry,” he said. “It must sound weird...”
“It's like you're a part of everything,” Brook said suddenly. “You're not just you anymore, you're a part of something much bigger. A part of everything.” Blueblood blinked.
“Y-yes,” he said. “That's... that's exactly what it's like. Have you felt it before?” Brook nodded sadly. He reached out with his bad hoof, brushing away Blueblood's mane.
“Red...” he said. His voice was quiet, and hurt. “I'm so sorry Red... those soldiers. You said they took something from you...” Blueblood blinked. He felt his legs start to tremble, and his heart start to pound. Brook put his hoof against Blueblood's forehead gently, right where his horn had been. There was a soft scraping noise, and Brook hung his head. “Oh, Red,” he said. Blueblood felt a lump rise in his throat.
“Master?” he asked quietly. Brook pressed his neck against Blueblood's, wrapping him in a tight hug. Blueblood began to shake. Brook knew. Even the thought that his master knew, that anypony could know, brought the memories rushing back to him. He shook violently, but Brook never let go of him. Strangely, Blueblood couldn't hear Iron's laughter. He couldn't feel himself being pushed against hard stone, and he couldn't see the cruel spectre of a mad earth pony before him. His shaking subsided, and he hugged Brook.
“I'm so sorry, Red,” Brook said. “It must have been awful... no wonder you were so frightened.” Blueblood shook his head slowly.
“It's... alright,” he said. “I've gotten used to it. Being an earth pony isn't as bad as I always thought it would be.” Brook let go of him, and brushed his forehead again. “Master?” Blueblood asked.
“Yes?”
“How did you know I was a unicorn?” Brook smiled faintly.
“That feeling you described to me... you aren't really an earth pony, Red. You're still a unicorn.” Blueblood blinked at his master.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“That feeling was magic,” Brook told him.
“Magic?” he asked. “But... my horn is gone. I can't use magic anymore.” Brook shook his head. He brushed his hoof along Blueblood's forehead, but said nothing. Blueblood blinked at him, tilting his head quizzically, but the old pony seemed to have forgotten he was there. Brook turned to look out over the ocean, his eyes taking on a faraway quality, and he sighed sadly. Blueblood stared at him, but decided to leave the old pony be.
Blueblood grew more and more concerned by Brook's strange silence as the day wore on. True, Blueblood had never known him to speak much, but there was something different about this. He almost seemed to be on edge. Blueblood told himself that Brook was simply worried about the upcoming war, as he had been. The old stallion sat on the bow, staring out over the ocean endlessly. There was a strange tension about him. Not the tension of a pony who was expecting something to happen, but different somehow. He rested his chin on his hooves limply, but his shoulders seemed tense. His eyes had a faraway look, more so than Blueblood had ever seen.
The sun eventually dipped in the sky, and Blueblood left his master at the bow. He was beginning to feel concerned by the old unicorn's silence, but he told himself that he was just worrying. After all, Brook had seemed tired like this many times before, and nothing had ever come from it. Even as the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon took its place in the sky, Brook didn't move, save perhaps for his head tilting up to watch the stars.
Blueblood had retreated to the cabin the captain had offered them on the boat. It was small and cramped, but Blueblood didn't mind. He and Brook slept in two hammocks slung up along the walls. It was a strange way to sleep, swaying along with the ship. Blueblood rubbed his eyes, climbing into his hammock and beginning to unwind his wrappings when the door opened.
Brook stepped into the room slowly. He didn't close the door behind him, stepping just inside. Blueblood stared at him. There was a pained look in Brook's eyes. His neck hung slightly, and his once-tense shoulders were slack. He looked exhausted and beaten. His eyes set on Blueblood, then cast to the floor. He sat and sighed heavily. Blueblood froze, his wrapping held in his hooves. Concern welled in his gut. He had never known Brook to ever show his feelings before. The old unicorn looked up at him, and Blueblood could finally see what was in his eyes. It was a familiar, dull light.
“Prince Blueblood,” Brook said quietly. Blueblood's breath caught in his throat. He stared at Brook, wordlessly and breathlessly. Brook looked at the floor weakly, as if he were trying to nod but did not have the energy. He reached into his wrappings slowly.
“Prince Blueblood,” he said again. “That's your name, isn't it?” Blueblood blinked.
“I...” he choked. Brook sighed, and straightened up slightly. His voice regained some of its calm strength, but it was still hurt.
“As of today, you are released from your service to me,” he said. “You are a free pony now. But before I set you free, I have one more task for you.” He withdrew his hoof from his wrappings, producing an old letter. He placed it on the floor, sliding it forward. “Read this,” he said. He stood and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Blueblood stared at the letter on the ground. He felt as though he were in shock, his heart thudding gently in his chest. He slowly climbed out of the hammock, and walked to the letter. His legs trembled, but he ignored them, picking up the letter.
The letter looked ancient, written years ago. The parchment was dry and yellowed, crinkling softly in Blueblood's grasp. It was sealed with a blob of red wax, unmarked by any seal. Blueblood recognized it instantly. It was one of the two letters he had seen in Brook's study. He gulped, and carefully broke the seal. The ink inside was faded, but still legible.
Prince Blueblood.
My name is White Brook, and I believe that you know who I am. If you are reading this letter, however, it means that you are old enough to at least know what I have done. I am deeply sorry.
What happened was a mistake. I was angry, and foolish. I know that this does not make it right. Perhaps by the time you read this I may have done something to redeem myself, but nothing would make what I have done to you right. I took your father away from you, and what is worse I thought nothing of doing it. I do not have the right to apologize to you. I do not have the right to beg for your forgiveness. I do not even have the right to address you. You must hate me, and I cannot blame you. Even still I want you to know that I am truly, deeply sorry for what I did, more than words could ever describe.
-White Brook.
Blueblood stared at the letter. He read it again, and again. He almost didn't understand what he was reading; his mind was blank. He set the letter on the ground, his hoof trembling faintly. Almost without realizing it, he opened the door and stepped out onto the deck.
The air was cool, and crisp. The night sky was astoundingly clear, and the moon full. Stars swam across the sky in clusters and pools, painting a masterpiece on the dome above the world. Blueblood walked across the deck silently, oblivious to the beauty. He found Brook, seated at the bow. The old pony's head hung low, his shoulders slack. Blueblood sat down beside him. Brook looked over his shoulder weakly, and he sighed.
“I'm so sorry,” he said. His voice was hushed, almost a whisper. Even so, it was perfectly clear in the silence of the night. Blueblood didn't know how to respond. He blinked at Brook, who turned away, ashamed. Blueblood approached him slowly, and found his words pouring out.
“How long?” he asked. “How long did you know?” Brook closed his eyes.
“From the beginning,” he said. “The first moment I saw you. I tried to tell myself that I was wrong. I didn't want to believe it, but... you look so much like him. I remember it so clearly.”
“What happened?” Blueblood asked quietly. Brook sighed. He shook faintly, as if even the act of remembering it pained him.
“The war I told you about... the war 20 years ago. It was between Equestria and Aloa. I... had a squad under my command of a dozen unicorns. I was... a very different stallion then.” He sighed weakly, but continued. “We had information that the palace was putting on a celebration. The defenses would be weak... we were told to attack it directly. We camped in the mountains for weeks, waiting for the celebration.
“The informant let us in when the time came. We thought that it would be easy: get in, get out. We were... we were sent to take a hostage, as a bartering chip.” He looked slowly at Blueblood, who was barely breathing. “We were ordered to kidnap you,” he said.
“The informant had second thoughts. He called for the guards. I... killed him, but it was too late. The guards heard, and they came for us. We fought our way through them, but most of my squad died. I didn't care. I had a mission.” He seemed to cringe at the thought of it, slouching deeply. “I was a different pony then,” he said again, almost as much to himself as to Blueblood.
“Those of us who were left, made our way through the palace. There were four of us... we lost two more in the hallways, but we made it to your chamber. The last soldier with me was... he was my brother. My little brother. He was under my command.” He smiled humorlessly. “I remember talking to him before the mission. He was excited to be a part of it. He always looked up to me.” He shook his head, and continued recounting the tale for Blueblood. “Your father was waiting for us in the room. He... killed my brother. Ambushed us when we walked in, and broke his neck. It was a lucky shot, he didn't mean to do it. But... I was furious.” Brook was trembling, now. “I murdered him,” he said. “I murdered your father in cold blood. I'm so sorry.” He closed his eyes, turning away from Blueblood
The pair were silent. Blueblood stared breathlessly, and Brook stared at the floor. Blueblood slowly walked forward, and nudged Brook with his nose.
“Master,” he said finally. Brook shook his head.
“I'm not your master anymore, Blueblood,” he said.
“Yes you are,” Blueblood said.
“No I'm not. I set you free. You aren't a slave anymore. You're free to... do whatever you want.”
“That isn't why I'm calling you master,” Blueblood said. Brook looked at him slowly. Guilt was clear in his eyes. “You taught me,” Blueblood said. “That's why I call you master.” Brook stared at him silently, his face still sunken. Blueblood pawed at the deck, but looked squarely into his master's eyes. “I never knew my father,” he said.
“Because I took him away from you,” Brook said.
“Master...” Blueblood said, “you've given me so much. Anything you took away from me, you gave me back.” Brook blinked, and Blueblood could see him swallow.
“How?” he asked. “What I did was horrible. How can you forgive me so easily?”
“Because I never knew him,” Blueblood said. He leaned forward, pressing his neck gently against Brook's. “How can I miss somepony I never knew? But master, I care about you. You helped me when I needed it, and taught me what I needed to know. You aren't the same pony who killed him. You said it yourself.” Brook looked away again.
“I said I was a different pony,” he said. “But that doesn't change what I did. We can't just forget who were, Blueblood.”
“But we can be better,” Blueblood said. Brook turned to him again. “You taught me that, master,” Blueblood said. “You taught me so much.” He looked up at Brook, smiling warmly. A slow smiled spread across Brook's face, and his eyes glistened.
“Did I?” he asked. He nuzzled Blueblood gently. “I think you learned better than I did...” He pressed his neck against Blueblood's, sighing sadly. “Oh, Blueblood,” he said. “I'm so sorry. I didn't even care when I did it. But then Celestia came...”
“You fought Auntie Celestia?” Blueblood asked, dumfounded. Brook chuckled faintly.
“It... wasn't much of a fight,” he said. “She broke my hoof, and crippled me. She stopped the war all on her own. She stormed Ys, and dropped me in front of the king. She called Prince Tidus, and threatened to burn the country to the ground if the war didn't end.” He shook his head. “They thought I was some sort of hero. But when I went home... It was so empty, without my brother. I wrote those letters. One for you, and one for your mother.” He sighed once more. “I'm so sorry, Blueblood.” he said. Blueblood smiled, and hugged the old stallion tight. Brook hugged him back gently.
A warm breeze blew through, filling the ship's sails. Blueblood breathed deeply, taking in the night with his master. He finally saw the stars. They were amazing, a million tiny dots in the night sky. He could see galaxies, stretching across the sky like trails of dust. Blueblood sighed happily.
“Master?” he asked.
“Yes?” Brook replied. Blueblood looked up at him, smiling warmly.
“I forgive you,” he said.
|
Kegisak
|
1052
| 14 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Colour You Bleed
|
Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2011-12-28T09:25:50+00:00
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2011-12-28T09:25:50+00:00
| 5,020 |
Chapter 14: In Which Roads Converge
The sky over the open sea was brilliant. A million tiny points of light were suspended above, reflecting off the still water and turning the ocean into a universe suspended in nothing. If it were not for the large ship cutting through the waters and disrupting the illusion, one might think it went on for eternity. The only sounds were those of the softly rippling sails, and the snores of the night sentry.
The boat was a large, four-masted vessel, bound for Ys. It was transporting soldiers: dozens of strong young stallions ready for the impending war. The ship was commanded by veteran officers, but most of the soldiers were fresh recruits. Only a few had been in active service before that night. As such, most of them had not yet adjusted to military life and were fast asleep, exhausted from manning the ship under the rough instruction of the captain and boatswain. Only Wet Mane was left awake, sitting on the aft deck.
Wet leaned against the rails, sighing quietly to himself. His voice seemed to blend with the wind, becoming an element of the night as any other. He stared a thousand miles away, as if he were trying to see the port he had left days earlier. That was not why he was up, however. He couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept well in months, now. Not at night. He could sleep during the day, but at night he could feel eyes, constantly watching him. He knew who they belonged to, who had followed him from the forest near Port Ponzance.
He smiled humourlessly. It was ironic, he thought to himself. He had been sent out to chase her, and she had chased him across the country for weeks. She would appear before him, occasionally. Sometimes she would even speak. He still had no idea what she wanted. He scratched his chin, and looked up.
The moon was full, casting a beautiful pale light over everything Wet could see. She would probably visit him, tonight. He heard the sound of ruffling feathers, confirming his suspicion.
“I thought I might see you tonight,” he said without turning around. The winged pony said nothing, and he sighed. He looked over his shoulder, asking, “It's gonna be another silent night, huh?” The pony was sitting across the deck from him, watching silently. Her eyes still shone like stars.
“Not if you don't want it to be,” she said. Wet shrugged.
“If I'm gonna be out here anyways,” he said, waving his hoof idly. “May as well have company.” The winged pony nodded, trotting closer. Her blue coat seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, and Wet smiled at her.
“Some night, huh?” he asked. The mare smiled faintly, and nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “It's alright.” Wet chuckled.
“So what brings you out here, miss?” he asked.
“You know why I am here, unicorn,” the mare answered. Wet shook his head, sighing. He leaned back against the banister, folding his hooves.
“Honestly?” he asked, as much to himself as to the mare. “I don't know. Keeping an eye on me? Trying to teach me something?” He smirked, and chuckled. “Maybe you just like being around me?” he asked. The mare just stared at him. He sighed. “When are you going to leave me alone?” he asked.
“When you reach the border,” she answered simply. Wet scoffed, what little goof humour he had fading.
“Well, that's going to take a while,” he said. “Can't say where I'll be deployed. Could be across the border, could be an outpost somewhere in Aloa. Either way, there's still plenty of time before I get sent anywhere. You might actually like Ys. Very pretty. Very noble. You seem like the noble type.”
“No,” she said. “I do not care for nobleponies.” Wet sighed.
“So much for making conversation,” he said. The winged pony turned to him, ruffling her wings.
“You are avoiding the issue,” she said. “As you have for weeks.” Wet groaned, resting his face in his hooves.
At the end of the day, he knew what she wanted of him, at least vaguely. She wanted him to run away, to leave Aloa behind. That was why she had followed him for weeks now. That was why he could feel her watching him every night. The question was, why? He didn't understand why she cared so much about him, why she was so determined to see him out of Aloa.
“Look, I'm leaving the prince alone,” he said. “Isn't that what you wanted?”
“It was,” the mare said, nodding.
“Then why are you still following me?” Wet asked. “Why is it so important that I get out of Aloa to you? Why do you care about what I do so much?”
“The prince is safe,” she said. “I trust this, for now. But you are different.” Wet rolled his eyes.
“Oh, what? I'm not safe?” he asked. “Who am I in danger of?” The mare took a step closer to him.
“Yourself,” she said. Wet stared at her.
“Myself,” he repeated. The mare nodded.
“You are dedicated,” she said. “This is admirable, but what are you dedicated to?” Wet blinked at her.
“My duty,” he said.
“So you always tell me,” the mare replied. “But what is your duty to? To the kingdom? To the ambassador? To the pony that killed your friend?”
“What are you trying to get at, here?” he asked sharply. He didn’t appreciate being reminded of what had happened to Brig. The mare stepped closer again. She was uncomfortably close to him, now. Their noses almost touched when she leaned in. Her eyes shone from beneath her light blue mane, a beautiful piercing blue.
“Why are you so dedicated, unicorn?” she asked. “What is worth endangering yourself by following these ponies for?”
“I...” Wet said, leaning away from her. She moved in, staying close to him. “I...” he said again.
“Why do you fight, unicorn?” she asked. Wet gulped.
“Because... it's what's right,” he said. The mare tilted her head.
“Killing ponies is what is right, to you?”
“Not killing,” Wet said, shaking his head. “Protecting. I want to protect ponies... and to do the right thing, so that ponies won't have to die pointlessly.”
“Ponies like your friend?” the mare asked. Wet sighed sadly.
“I guess,” he said. He turned out to the sea, looking away from the mare. “Maybe for ponies like Brig. Maybe just for ponies in general.”
“And this is enough for you?” the mare asked again. “You could have run at any time. You wanted to, once. You could have left Aloa, and began again. They never would have found you. You duty to what is right is enough to forget your duty to yourself?” Wet hung his head.
“I guess it has to be, doesn't it?” he asked. “It's not like I can run, now.” He leaned against the railing, folding his hooves and laying his chin on his legs. The mare sat in silence as he stared, thinking about his life as a soldier.
He hadn't joined because he had wanted to do the right thing, or to protect ponies. He had joined because he wanted adventure, and because he was proud of his country. Pride was what he had been taught since he was a colt, and it had always been enough for him. It was only lately that he had decided he wanted to protect ponies, since Brig had died. It was what had kept him from running. It was the only thing left connecting him to what he was. He hadn't been lying. It had to be enough for him, now. Everything else was starting to slip away. So, he clung to that duty, for all it was worth. It was not as hard as he had expected, in the end, but it wasn't easy. He sighed, and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a hoof touch him.
He opened his eyes, and saw that it was the mare. She had slid her hoof beneath his legs, placing it over his heart. He stared at her, and she looked back at him.
“I have seen what happens,” she said quietly. “I have seen what happens when duty becomes corrupted. You believe you are only doing what you have always done, what you have always wanted to do. But in the end, you are not. Your duty is not to your king. It is not to the ambassador, or to the pony who killed your friend. Your duty is to what you believe in first. If you allow yourself to forget why you do what you do...” She shook her head. “I have seen what can happen first hoof, and it is not good.” Wet stared at her, then looked down at the hoof on his chest.
“I still don't understand why you care so much about me,” he said. The mare shrugged faintly.
“You have the power to protect many more ponies than you can imagine,” she said. “I believe that you can do it, if you have the opportunity. I am giving you that opportunity.” Wet looked up at her, blinking.
“How?” he asked. The mare leaned in to him, whispering in his ear.
“You already know,” she whispered. “You know why the war is happening. You know how to stop it. Never forget that you are fighting to protect ponies. Protect the prince, Wet Mane. Protect both our countries.”
Wet stared blankly for a moment, before his face screwed up with fury. He swung a hoof at the winged pony, but she was already beyond his reach. She had leaped into the air, taking to the skies. He fired bullets of air at her, but she dodged around them with ease.
“Equestrian spy!” he shouted at her. “You started this war, not us! We won't back down to you, and I won't let you use me for your damned country!” His words didn't matter. The mare was already gone.
Wet scowled at the empty air, breathing heavily. The sentry had been jolted awake by his shouting, and was now looking around dumbly. Eventually Wet's breathing slowed, and he sat down. He sighed sadly and hung his head.
***
Brook and Blueblood sat on the deck of their boat. The sun had begun to rise in the east, its light barely penetrating through a thick blanket of fog. The sailors eased about their morning duties slowly, staying out of the way of the two stallions. Brook dipped his bad hoof into a small bowl in front of himself, filled with a red paste. He lifted his hoof slowly, touching it gently to Blueblood's forehead where his horn used to be. The paste stained his fur a vivid, crimson red.
“There,” Brook said. Blueblood blinked, staring at his reflection in another bowl of water. Brook dipped his hoof in it, cleaning off the excess paste, and Blueblood looked up at him.
“Close your eyes,” Brook told him. Blueblood did as he was told, and Brook continued to speak.
“Do you feel it?” he asked. “The mark on your forehead. It's a part of you now, every bit as much as your horn was. You know where it is, instinctively. Find it.” Blueblood concentrated, focusing on the feeling on his forehead. The paste was still wet, and felt cool against the stump of his horn. In the blackness behind his eyes he tried to focus on that cool circle. The bobbing movement of the ship made his mind reel, and concentrating was difficult. He opened his eyes, and shook his head.
“I can't,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I can't concentrate... my head feels too fuzzy.” Brook reached out, putting a hoof on Blueblood's shoulder.
“That's alright,” he said. “That feeling is good. Try again, and don't fight it this time. Just let it happen.” Blueblood wasn't quite sure, but he trusted Brook. He closed his eyes, and tried again.
“Don't concentrate too hard,” Brook said softly. “Know that the mark is there, and let it happen. Be aware of it, and let everything else fall away.” Blueblood breathed deeply, trying to do as Brook instructed. He felt the coolness, even as it started to subside. He could feel the rest of his mind relaxing, the thoughts drifting away. Even still, his mind reeled sickly as the ship swayed and bucked, and he could feel himself leaning dangerously.
“Don't fight the feeling,” Brook coached. “Let it happen, but don't give in to it. Let my voice keep you steady. I'm right here with you, Blueblood.” Blueblood barely nodded in recognition of his master. He could feel himself falling into the mark, and as he did the bucking and swaying only grew more intense. Every twitch was an earthquake, every creak of the boards a cacophony in his ears. The breeze bristled his fur, each individual strand like a tree trunk in his skin. It was amazing, and at the same time excruciating.
The mark and the reeling feeling seemed to be competing, and he wasn't sure which one was winning. Brook spoke soft encouragements constantly, but Blueblood had stopped hearing him. Only the faint mumble of his voice told Blueblood that Brook was still there at all. The feeling was becoming stable, and his mind was completely empty, save for the mark.
All at once feeling seemed to slip away from him. The mark became everything, and at the same time nothing. The reeling feeling was replaced by an almighty awareness, as if he were a part of everything around him. He could feel each and every hoofstep of the sailors, each subtle shift of the wind. He could pinpoint each noise, and tell exactly what made it. He could even feel the water moving beneath them. It was as if they were an extension of himself, or rather that he was an extension of something else. Just another piece of something greater than he could ever be. Even among himself he could feel everything; he was perfectly aware of every part of his body. Even the mark on his forehead felt like another limb.
“Blueblood,” Brook said. His voice rang in Blueblood's ears like an echo in a cave. “Open your eyes,” he said. Blueblood did as he was told, and gaped at what he saw.
Golden particles flew through the sky in bizarre currents and eldritch patterns. The particles clustered around everything, buzzing like tiny insects and flowing in and out of every object. The ocean seemed to be coated in them. Blueblood looked at Brook, who shone with gold. They clustered about his horn, shifting and flowing in a spiral pattern. Blueblood looked on in awe, a slow smile spreading across his face as he realized what he was seeing.
“...Magic,” he said, enraptured by the lights. Brook nodded.
“Most unicorns think of magic as something they create, and form,” he said. “But magic is everywhere, all the time. We simply use what's already there.” Blueblood saw the magic around his horn buzz into life, swirling into a great vortex that channelled down to the bowl, lifting it off the ground. “We use our horn as an instinctive channelling point,” he said, “pushing our magic through it, and taking in more.” The particles around his horn stilled, but before the bowl had chance to drop another stream formed around Brook's hoof, catching the bowl in the blink of an eye. He smiled, and said, “But that is not the only way. You can use your magic through anything, as long as you can focus on it.”
Realization dawned on Blueblood, and he looked at his reflection in the bowl of water. There, right in the middle of his forehead, was the crimson dot. The magic danced around it like fairies in a circle, bunching in and bulging out. He smiled faintly.
“As long as I have something to focus on,” he echoed. Brook smiled faintly, and nudged the bowl forward.
“Lift the bowl,” he said. Blueblood looked up at his master, and nodded.
He stared at the bowl, concentrating. In truth, he wasn't quite sure how. He focused on the mark, trying blindly to push magic through it. He saw a few of the golden particles tremble. Encouraged, he focused harder. He remembered Brook's advice, however, and tried to remain calm. The gold particles shook in front of his face, and as he focused more he pushed outward. A small, weak stream began to form, moving out of his forehead. It was the same as using magic with a horn, but he had to focus on the mark as well. He pushed his mind through it, trying to reach the bowl. The stream moved inch by inch, finally reaching its target. Blueblood grinned, and pushed harder. The stream gripped the bowl weakly, and it began to shake. He pushed as hard as he could, and the particles trembled violently. All at once the particles scattered, dropping the bowl. Blueblood gasped, and the particles started to disappear from his sight. He looked around wildly, watching sadly as they faded away. Brook smiled warmly at his sad expression.
“It's alright, Blueblood,” he said. “You did well.” Blueblood smiled shyly, and lowered his head.
“Thank you, master,” he said quietly. Brook's smile widened.
“We can try again,” he said. “This time, relax. It's like seeing the magic in the first place. Don't force it, just let it happen.”
Blueblood and Brook continued to practice as the morning wore by. The small bowl wobbled and shook, and sometimes it even lifted off the deck by inches. It was like learning to use magic all over again. Blueblood struggled to grasp it even a little; the golden flecks in his vision made it hard to focus, and his mind was becoming exhausted from the effort.
“Why don't we take a break?” Brook suggested as the bowl fell to the deck once again, rattling gently. Blueblood sighed and nodded. Brook smiled gently and limped to the bow, Blueblood following along. The sun was rising higher in the sky, its warm rays burning away the fog. A thin mist still obscured the distance, but everything on the ship was clear now. The sailors moved about with greater urgency, and Blueblood and Brook found themselves in relative peace at the bow.
Blueblood rested his chin along the railing, staring out into the mist. Brook sat beside him silently. His stoic expression had begun to fade, and Blueblood could see a hint of happiness on his old face. It made Blueblood smile as well.
The sun continued slowly along its arc, and as it went more and more of the fog burnt away. By noon it was almost all gone, and in the distance Blueblood thought that he could see a hint of something. He squinted, peering closer. Sure enough, a hump of land was poking out in the distance.
“Land, ho!” a pony in the crow's nest shouted down. “12 degrees port!” The soldiers bustled to life as the captain emerged from his quarters, barking orders harshly.
“We're almost at Ys, you unicorns! Get to work, you don't want to look like a lazy batch'a diamond dogs, do ya? Come on, look alive for the docks! Drum up some business for us hard-working Aloans! Rig up those knots, get the sails ready for port! Helmsman, start taking us starboard!” Blueblood stared at the sailors scurrying about, and turned back to Brook.
“We're coming close to Ys, now,” Brook said before Blueblood could ask. “Appearances count for a lot in the capital... I guess you understand that.” Blueblood nodded a bit sadly.
“Yes,” he said. “But why did he say to go starboard? I thought he said the land was port?” Brook nodded, and Blueblood became even more confused.
“The land is the tip of the peninsula,” Brook said, as if it explained everything. “The westernmost point of the Aloan landmass.”
“Then why are we going around it?” Blueblood asked again.
“Because it is not the westernmost point of Aloa,” Brook replied. He gestured in the direction the ship had begun to turn, and Blueblood looked curiously. In the distance, he saw a faint structure. The ship moved closer and closer, and the structure grew. Within minutes, Blueblood realized what it was.
It was an enormous city, miles away from land. Ships were sailing in and out of it in all directions, passing though tall arches in a miles-high wall that circled around the city. Just like the wall at Port Ponzance, unicorns patrolled along the top of the wall, staring carefully down at the ships that passed through.
They sailed closer, and Blueblood got a better view. The gate was made of a brilliantly polished white stone, rising from the water in pillars as thick as a small ship. Blueblood gazed up, following their path into the sky where they arched and met.
The ships mulled about in what seemed like traffic, constantly flowing around one another in an attempt to get closer to, or away from, the gates. Ships of all sizes moved in and out amongst each other, only stopping for the checks at the gates. Platforms stretched out across the water like miniature docks, ponies moving on and off of them, inspecting ships that came through for any suspicious cargo. Blueblood watched silently as one of the guards came aboard. They went into the hold, and returned nodding their heads. Then they inspected the sailors, all lined up and saluting smartly. Finally, they came for Blueblood and Brook.
Blueblood felt his heart start to beat fast as they approached, but he tried his best to remain calm. The guards looked them up and down impassively.
“Can we help you?” Brook asked. The guard inspecting them blinked, but spoke.
“The captain tells me that you aren't part of his crew.”
“That's right,” Brook said. “We're passengers.” The guard nodded.
“I'll need to see both your citizenships.” Brook looked slowly at Blueblood.
“My assistant doesn't have one,” he said. “He's new.”
“A slave?” the guard asked. Blueblood saw one of Brook's eyebrows rise faintly.
“Assistant,” he said again, an edge to his voice. He untied his medallion, handing it to the guard. The guard inspected it, and his eyes widened.
“General White, sir,” he said, saluting. “We've been expecting you. We, ah, thought that you would be on a military ship. My apologies.”
“That's alright,” Brook said. “You were only doing your job.”
“Thank you, sir,” the guard said, nodding. “We can arrange a ferry to take you directly to the palace when you make dock, sir.”
“Does the King need to see me right away?” Brook asked. The guard thought for a minute.
“I'm afraid I wouldn't know, sir,” he said. “But we haven't had many military ships come in yet, and none have left for deployment. I can only say that we're still preparing, I can't say how far along we are. Sorry, sir.” Brook nodded.
“If the King wanted me there, you'd know,” he said. “We won't need a ferry. They can bring my bags to the palace. Red has never been to Ys before. I'd like to show him around before we go to the palace.”
“Of course, sir,” the guard said. “I'll send a sea pony ahead to the docks. Somepony should be along to take your luggage shortly.” He shifted uncomfortably, and asked, “Your assistant... is he a foreigner?”
“From Mihaan,” Brook lied. A look of relief came over the guard’s face.
“Oh,” he said. “I see. Well, you can never be careful at war time, can you?” he asked. He saluted sharply, and Brook nodded.
“No,” Brook said. “Thank you.” He saluted back weakly, and when the guard had left he sighed.
“I suppose I'll have to get used to that again,” he said. Blueblood tilted his head as the ship began to move again.
“Get used to saluting?” he asked. Brook nodded.
“Saluting, and ‘Sir’, and being looked up to.” He shook his head, and quickly changed the subject. “I'll show you around Ys today,” he said. “You won't have much time to see it... so you might as well take a little time to enjoy it.” Blueblood smiled at him.
“Thank you, master,” he said. Brook smiled back.
“You're welcome, Blueblood,” he said. Their ship sailed inside the gates, and Blueblood and Brook looked out at the docks across the water.
Wooden docks stretched out like spokes, poking out in a long and slow curve. They went on for as long as Blueblood could see in each direction, and he imagined that the docks must have circled around the entire city. He leaned over the railings, taking in the sight and grinning. Ships weaved around each other and in and out of the docks with ease, navigating the large gap of water between the gates and the city. The water here was clean and clear, and he could see almost to the bottom if he looked hard enough.
Sea ponies dashed about beneath the water, breaking the surface occasionally to call out to the docks or berate a careless ship. Some of them were delivering packages and letters as they had in Port Ponzance. Blueblood half-expected to see Azure pop out of the water and wave at any moment. He smiled to himself, laughing at the thought that she might have come all the way out here.
Their ships sailed through the open water for several minutes, searching for an open dock, and eventually they found one. The pulled into port, throwing lines down to dock workers who hastily tied them, securing the large ship in place. A gangplank was laid and dock workers began to board the ship even as the crew started bringing the cargo on deck. The iron and steel was prepared to move, but Blueblood and Brook were oblivious to the preparations. They had already retrieved their bags from the small cabin they had been rented and were walking down the gangplank. A young, sleek sea pony was waiting to take the pair’s luggage, and after they had given it to him, Brook and Blueblood walked off the docks as quickly as they could.
They had to weave their way around the heavy dock workers, making their way towards the streets inch by inch. Finally they were at the arching white gate, and they passed into the city of Ys. Blueblood gaped at what he saw.
To say that Ys was different from Port Ponzance would be understatement to the degree of insult. There was no comparison. The dusty yellow sandstone of Port Ponzance was gone here, replaced by gleaming alabaster. Every inch of the city seemed to glow; hardly a speck of grime or garbage existed. Blueblood imagined that the inner sector of the city must have been immaculate.
The streets were narrow, barely three ponies wide, though the buildings were far from tight-knit. Great canals cut between streets in a massive grid, with arcing bridges connecting the gaps between streets. The water in the canals was so pure as to be invisible. Blueblood could see sea ponies pass by. They waved to him when they saw him staring, as they waved to one another whenever two passed. Blueblood could see that many of the buildings stretched down in to the water as well. Two cities existed here, one on top of the other.
Brook took Blueblood deeper into the city, smiling warmly as the young stallion gazed excitedly at the wondrous city on the water.
“You like like a tourist,” Brook chuckled. Blueblood lowered his head, smiling sheepishly.
“You're probably right,” he said, chuckling. Brook smiled.
“It's alright,” he said. “It's a beautiful city, isn't it?” Blueblood grinned, nodding.
“It's amazing,” he agreed. “I never really stopped to look at Canterlot... I don't remember if it's anything like this, but Ys is beautiful.” Brook’s smile faded slightly, but he nodded happily.
“I'm glad you like it,” he said. “Sometimes I think this is why we're so proud of ourselves. This is where Aloa began, you know.”
“It is?” Blueblood asked. Brook nodded.
“So they say. They say that this is the place where the first king met the first sea pony. They say the sea pony showed him a gem deposit underwater, here, in exchange for food. The king sold the gems, and shared his wealth with the sea pony. Their fortunes grew, and they started to spread into the peninsula. The palace is built in the centre of the city, where the gems were found. It's also the place where Prince Tidus first accepted Aloans as his children.”
Blueblood listened to the story intently, nearly walking over the edge of the street and into the water. A sea pony shoved him back onto the street, laughing cheerfully. Blueblood smiled, and thanked him as he swam off.
Blueblood and Brook made their way deeper into the city, Brook occasionally pointing out something interesting, or explaining a bit of history. They passed a flat square filled with statues of famous ponies: great kings and legendary warriors. Brook took Blueblood to a park as well, a great island of grass in the centre of a gigantic pool. A half-dozen bridges stretched out to the island, each aligned with a street. The park was walled with buildings, arranged circularly around the pool.
Blueblood took in every detail, Brook smiling happily all the while. The two enjoyed themselves deeply, revelling in each other’s company. They were so happy that they failed to notice a pony who had shadowed them from the docks: a tall, powerful pony with dangerous eyes.
They sauntered down an empty street, warm smiles across both their faces. There didn't seem to be another pony around at all, save for the stallion who had been shadowing them. He crept through side streets and alleyways, steadily making his way closer and closer. He moved silently despite his heavy frame, always checking carefully if they had noticed him. They moved along, ignorant of his presence. A slow, cruel smiled crept across his lips. He had been looking forward to this for a long time. He would kill the old one first. Not because he was dangerous, like Letter had said, but because it would mean Blueblood would know he was there. It would give the princeling time to be afraid. Time to beg, just like last time. The powerful pony grinned madly, and dashed at the pair.
The water exploded beside Blueblood, causing him to jump back. For a moment he didn't know what was happening. All he could see was a spray of water, and a flash of blue and gold. He followed the flash unconsciously, and only afterwords did he realize what he had seen.
Azure arced out of the water gracefully, spinning in the air. She coiled herself into a tight ball, suddenly stretching out and bringing her tail down hard. There was a meaty thud as her tail struck the pursuer’s head, and he dropped to the ground heavily. Blueblood gaped, and Brook dropped into a ready crouch. Blueblood blinked once, twice as Azure returned to the water, breaking the surface.
“Red!” she shouted.
“Azure?” he asked, dumbfounded. He looked at the pony she had struck, and his heart skipped. It was Captain Iron Towers. Blueblood stumbled back, falling to his rump. Iron got to his hooves, shaking his head and growling fiercely. He set his eyes dead on Blueblood, and a evil grin crept across his mouth.
“Hello, princeling,” he hissed. Blueblood trembled, shuffling away from the gray pony.
“I-I-Iron?” he asked, his voice trembling weakly. Iron's grin only widened as he took a step closer.
“That's right, brat,” he said. “Miss me? Because I missed you. I've been looking forward to seeing you again.” Blueblood shook violently.
“Iron, I... I... please, Iron,” he said weakly. His voice was failing him. Iron gave a barking laugh.
“Please?” he asked, mockingly. “Please? Oh, yes please. You want to know what I'm going to do with you, colt?”
“Nothing,” Brook said. He stepped between the two ponies, staring intently at Iron. “You will do nothing to him,” he said again. Iron paused for a moment, and Brook addressed Blueblood and Azure without turning around.
“Filly,” he said. “Do you know where the palace is?” Azure blinked, but nodded.
“I do,” she said.
“Take Blueblood there,” he said sharply. “Both of you, get out of here. Go to the palace. I'll meet you there.” Azure nodded, and turned to Blueblood.
“Red,” she said. “Follow me.” Blueblood didn't respond. He was still shaking and breathing heavily. Azure jumped up onto the street, taking a hold of him. “Red!” she said. “Listen to me! We have to go!” He still remained silent, until Brook spoke.
“Blueblood!” he said, his voice commanding. “Get out of here! Now!” Blueblood blinked, and shook his head.
“Master,” he said quietly.
“I'll be fine,” Brook said. “Get out of here now.”
“Oh, like hell you do,” Iron said, stomping towards the white pony. Brook moved in his way again. The old pony danced deftly in spite of his handicap, always taking up the gray pony’s space, but always staying out of his reach. With Azure's help, Blueblood managed to get to his hooves, and she pulled him into the water.
Iron roared with fury, lashing out at Brook. The old pony skipped backwards, widening the gap between them.
“You made me lose him, you daft old pin-head!” Iron yelled. Brook did not respond, staring coldly at the earth pony. Iron lowered his head, pawing at the ground as if he were about to charge.
“Damn unicorns,” he growled fiercely. Brook's eyes began to glow gently, and he spoke. His voice was soft, but clear in the silence. It was strong, and there was a dangerous edge to it.
“Are you the one who hurt Blueblood?”
***
It took Blueblood a long time to recover. Azure swam through the city streets as fast as she could with Blueblood's bubble in front of her. Other sea ponies leaped out of the way, shaking their hooves after her. Blueblood trembled inside his bubble, but he slowly came to his senses. He shook his head slowly, rolling onto his front and looking at Azure. She smiled at him weakly.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I... yes,” Blueblood said. “Azure, we have to go back.”
“What?” Azure asked.
“We have to go back for Master.” A dire urgency creeping into his voice “You shouldn't have let him stay behind like that; Iron will kill him!”
“If this stallion is so dangerous, why do we want to go back, exactly?” Azure asked.
“Azure!” Blueblood shouted. “Please! I don't want Master to get hurt. Iron was after me, not him. We have to at least help him!”
“Your master is fighting him to protect you,” she said, as if she herself were unsure. “You think he wants you to go back there and get yourself in trouble?” Blueblood leaned against the bubble wall, gazing into her eyes. She could see fear, there. More than that, though, there was a deep concern.
“Please, Azure,” he said. “My master was there for me when I needed him. He's the only reason I'm worth anything. I'd never forgive myself if he was hurt...” Azure lowered her head slowly, looking away.
“That pony...” she said. “He was nuts. I got a look at his eyes... He terrified me. I've never done anything like that before.”
“I know,” Blueblood said. “Believe me, I know... but that's why we need to go back. Please, Azure, I need to help him. Please...” Azure looked into his eyes slowly, and sighed.
“Alright...” she said. “For you. But... who are you? Your master called you Blueblood. And that stallion called you princeling... you're not just some servant, are you?” Blueblood hesitated, and hung his head slowly.
“No,” he said. “I'm not. My name is Blueblood Star. I'm... the prince of Equestria.” Azure stared, and Blueblood winced. There was silence for a moment, then Azure swam around the bubble. She set her hooves against it, pushing it back towards where they had left Brook.
“Azure?” Blueblood asked.
“You wanted to go back to your master, right?” she asked. “I don't really care where you're the prince of. Nopony rules the ocean, after all.” She smiled at him, and said, “I liked you when you were Red. That's not going to change now that you're Blue. I just wanted to know who you really were.” Blueblood stared for a moment, then smiled back at her.
“Thank you, Azure,” he said.
Azure pushed the bubble back down the canals, back to where they had left Brook. Blueblood's heart thudded in his chest all the while, half-expecting to see Iron standing over Brook's body at any moment. He was so worried that he almost didn't notice Brook limping down the street as they swam past. Luckily, Azure spotted him and shoved Blueblood's bubble up onto the street, popping it.
“Blueblood?” Brook said, surprised by the prince's sudden arrival. “I told you to go to the palace. What are you doing here?” Blueblood threw his hooves around Brook's neck, hugging him tight.
“Master!” he cried. “Thank goodness! I was so worried... I came back to help you fight Iron.” Brook stood stock still, stunned by Blueblood's worry. He relaxed, and smiled.
“That stallion?” he asked, chuckling faintly. “He was nothing. I scared him off with no trouble. But... thank you, Blueblood.” Blueblood let go of Brook, and sat on the street. He smiled back weakly, and Brook spoke again.
“Who was that pony, Blueblood?” he asked. Blueblood's head sunk between his shoulders.
“He... was my bodyguard,” he said. “He kidnapped me, and brought me here.” Brook nodded solemnly.
“We need to go to the palace,” he said. “Right now.” He turned to Azure, asking, “Can you take us both there?” Azure nodded.
“Of course,” she said. “I can take you both no problem. Just hop in here and I'll make you a bubble.” Blueblood and Brook both slid into the water, and Azure blew a large bubble around them.
She moved slower with two ponies to ferry, but she was still much faster than they would have been on the streets. The canals stretched straight into the city, the same as the spoke-like streets in every other Aloan city. Within minutes, Blueblood could see a tall structure starting to poke above the horizon. It was a palace, and the very definition of opulence. It was every bit the rival of his home in Canterlot, made from gleaming alabaster and marble, with gold and silver trim along its doors and towers. Great spires stretched into the skies, and its base was set firmly on the sea bottom. It was marked with holes like a honey comb, with sea ponies swimming in and out like underwater bees. Blueblood imagined they carried messages and packages as Azure had, but he could only guess at their contents. He didn't give them much thought, however. His mind was elsewhere for most of the trip.
Though the danger of Iron had passed, the earth pony still weighed on Blueblood's mind. The very fact that he was in the same city terrified Blueblood. Iron could strike from anywhere, for all he knew. Would he be forced to live the rest of him life in constant fear of Iron, now that the evil earth pony had found him? He knew that the thought was ridiculous – he would be safe in the palace, of course. Even still, just the thought of Iron being near chilled him to the very bone. He tried his best to shake the thoughts from his mind as they approached the towering structure.
A pair of lightly armoured sea ponies swam into their path, crossing tails armed with three-pronged spikes to bar their entrance. Azure slowed to a stop, swimming to the top of the bubble.
“What business do you have in that palace?” one of the guards asked forcefully. Brook stood, staring strongly back at them. Blueblood noticed one of the sea ponies shrink back slightly under his gaze.
“I am General White Brook,” he said firmly. “War is my business in the palace.”
“Ah...” the guard said, “of course, sir. We'll, ah, need to see your identification, of course -” Brook tore off his medallion impatiently, showing it to them. The guard nodded and moved aside.
“Would you like somepony to escort you to your quarters, sir?” he asked.
“No,” Brook said sharply. Even Blueblood found himself flinching slightly at the force of his voice. “I will see the king.”
“Ah, sir,” the guard said, “I'm certain the king will be pleased to greet you, but he's holding court right now. Perhaps if you waited until he was finished -”
“NOW,” Brook said. The guard flinched, and nodded.
“O-of course, sir,” he said meekly. “We'll send for somepony to take you to the court...”
“The mare will take us,” Brook said, gesturing to Azure. She looked down in confusion, as did the guard.
“Me, sir?” Azure asked. Brook nodded.
“You saw Iron,” Brook said. “We'll need you in the court. Another voice is always good with politicians. It's the only way we can hope to drown them out.” He saluted to the guards, who had moved aside fearfully, and Azure swam them inside.
The underwater tunnels in the palace were much different from the city canals. They were completely dark save for the soft blue light of crystals placed intermittently through the tunnels, casting a strange pale glow over everything.
Brook would occasionally offer directions to Azure, pointing her along the path to the throne room, but beyond that, the trip was silent. The only ponies they encountered along their trip were busy-looking officials, swathed in wrappings that flowed strangely in the water. Brook sat tensely for the entire trip, never making a sound. Blueblood looked at his master carefully, wondering just what had him so tense. Perhaps he was as afraid of Iron as Blueblood, the prince thought to himself. Perhaps that was why they were going to see the king so urgently, to tell him about the earth pony's presence in the city.
Whatever the cause of Brook's intensity, Blueblood was afraid to ask. The stress of seeing Iron again was finally starting to fade, and with the calmness came a sort of exhaustion, as well as a sense of dread. The danger was over for now and he could rest, but he could not help but feel something worse was on the horizon.
The tunnels were beginning to widen as Azure pushed them along, and they were becoming better-lit as well. They occasionally passed by small windows in the ceiling, no doubt portholes into a palace courtyard. Soon the tunnel began to slope gently upward, and it opened into an enormous room.
The room was every bit as large as the throne room in Canterlot. A large platform took up the middle of the surface, bridges snaking their way along to the walls. The platform was supported by enormous, engraved pillars. Sea ponies weaved through the pillars in a line, but Brook paid them no heed.
“Surface,” he said. Azure looked at him oddly, but nodded and did as she was told. She pushed the bubble apologetically around the sea ponies, bringing it to the edge of the large platform.
The room above the surface was every bit as ornate as below it. It too was lit by phosphorescent crystals, casting a faint aqua hue over the room. The walls were decorated with intricate carvings, some merely decorative and some telling ancient stories of Aloan heroism and history. The figures on the carvings seemed to come alive, dancing along with the warbling light reflected off the water. It cast bright lines across everything in the room. The room felt ancient and regal. In spite of all the differences it reminded Blueblood deeply of Canterlot Palace. For the first time in months, he felt a twinge of homesickness.
At the very head of the platform were three massive thrones, one in the centre dwarfing those two that flanked it. In the centre throne sat a large, regal-looking purple unicorn with a golden mane, swathed in blue-green wrappings. An ornate crown swirled around his head, curling up his horn. It was cast with gold and inlaid with curling silver, an enormous and beautiful pearl in its centre. In each of the thrones at his side sat a mare, one of whom Blueblood recognized immediately as Princess Golden Dreams. The unicorn Blueblood presumed to be the king stared at them, looking decidedly unhappy.
“What is the meaning of this!?” he demanded, slamming his hoof on the arm of his throne. “Open court does not mean that ponies may barge into my throne room whenever they please. Explain yourselves!” Brook stepped forward, and bowed.
“Your majesty,” he said graciously, “I am White Brook.”
“I know who you are,” the king said harshly. “The day you and I last met is very clear in my mind. I may have invited you here, White Brook, but I did not intend that you come to greet me the very instant you arrive at my palace. I hope that you have a much better reason for this interruption than that alone?”
“I do, your majesty,” Brook said. “I hope to do the same thing today as I did last time.” The king paused, and leaned forward. All traces of anger seemed to be gone from him, replaced by a keen and cautious interest.
“You intend to threaten me with death by fire?” he asked. The guards along the walls of the room readied their spears, but the king waved his hoof dismissively at them.
“I intend to end a war,” Brook said. Blueblood blinked, and stared at him. The old pony suddenly looked as though he were in a deep pain. The king leaned back in his chair.
“You intend to stop the war?” he repeated, as though he were musing over the statement. “I believe your job is to win the war, White Brook, not to stop it.”
“You may be right,” Brook conceded, “but I wish to try just the same. If I can stop ponies from dying, I will consider it a victory.” The king rubbed his chin gently.
“Are you even aware of the cause of the war, I wonder?” he asked. Brook looked at Blueblood sadly.
“I believe that I am,” he said. “I believe that the prince of Equestria has gone missing.” The king raised an eyebrow.
“Indeed he has...” he said. “Celestia seems to believe that we are responsible for his disappearance. Tell me, Brook, how you know this?” Brook sighed, and looked at Blueblood again. The wall he kept in front of his emotions was gone, and all Blueblood could see was an overwhelming sadness. A lump rose in Blueblood's throat as he looked at his master. The old pony turned back to the king, and bowed his head. His voice was deeply pained when he spoke.
“Your Majesty... may I present Prince Bluebood of Equestria,” he said. The hall went silent as the king slouched back in his chair. Brook's head hung weakly, and Blueblood stared at him. The silence seemed to last for hours, nothing happening save for Blueblood and Brook's silent exchange. A slow realization washed over Blueblood, both grim and strangely wonderful. The old pony looked as tired as he had ever been. He seemed ancient, like a zombie. Blueblood could feel his heart pounding in his throat. The silence was broken by the king scoffing.
“I do not know what you have done since you were in Equestria twenty years ago, Brook,” the king said, “but I am beginning to rethink my choice of you as a general. That pony is not the prince. He isn't even a unicorn.” He nodded matter-of-factly, and sat back. Brook rose his head, and straightened up some.
“I... know what it looks like,” Brook conceded, “but he is not an earth pony...” He trailed off weakly. He seemed as though he himself were not convinced. It was as though he wanted to be wrong. Seeing his master so weak made Blueblood's heart ache. He stood, almost without realizing it, and walked to his master's side. He looked across the room fiercely, and he remembered.
He remembered life in Canterlot Palace. He remembered dancing with princesses, and giving orders to servants. The memories pained him, to be true, but he held on to them. They helped him. He puffed out his chest, and stood straight and tall.
“He is not lying,” Blueblood said firmly. “I am Prince Blueblood Star, son of Prince Winter Star and Princess Amethyst Star. The goddesses Celestia and Luna are my aunts, and all of Equestria mine to rule by birthright, as long as the sun and the moon shall traverse the world's sky. Even in the heat of the sun I shall not whither, nor in the dark of the night shall I be afraid, for their heat and their mystery are my sword and my shield.”
The words came with practised ease. Blueblood had been made to recite them countless times as a foal, until they were burnt into his memory. It was the Equestrian oath. The royal guardsponies were sworn in under it, albeit a slightly different version. He had been told he would recite it only on his coronation day and matters of grave importance, and this seemed to be the latter. He stood proud and tall, trying not to tremble under the king's appraising glare.
“Let us entertain the notion that you are the prince,” the king said. “What has brought you to my throne room sans horn, hm? What course could possibly lead the proud and powerful unicorn prince to stand before me as an earth pony?” Before Blueblood could speak, another unicorn called out to the king. All eyes turned to him: a single soldier, dressed in simple silver armour. He was not one positioned along the walls, but stood at the door as if he had come to seek an audience. His coat was a bright yellow, and beneath his helmet Blueblood saw a limp blue mane.
“You majesty,” the soldier said, stepping forward to join Brook, Blueblood and Azure, “I can answer that.” The king glowered at him.
“More interruptions!” he growled. “And just who are you?” The soldier removed his helmet, and bowed.
“My name is Wet Mane, sire,” he said. The king raised an eyebrow.
“Wet Mane? You were one of the soldiers sent with Ambassador Letter, weren't you? One of the ten missing soldiers?”
“I was, sire,” Wet Mane said. “That is why I know how the prince lost his horn. Because I held him down while it was cut off.” The room fell into a hushed silence, and Blueblood winced at the memory. His heart pounded as the pony recounted his tale..
“Ambassador Letter had us kidnap the prince,” Wet said. “We were told it was under orders from you yourself. We took him to the border of Aloa and Equestria, and an Equestrian guard cut his horn off with an axe. We tried to keep take him to a safe house in Dune, but he escaped. We've been running across Aloa for the past five months searching for him.” There was silence in the hall, save for the nearly audible scowling of the king.
“Bah!” he shouted dismissively. “Words. Anypony can play act, even a dense earth pony. This is just an Equestrian trick to get us to lower our guard.”
“Wait!” Azure offered, joining in. “He’s telling the truth! I saw a pair of ponies talking at the docks in Port Ponzance! One of them was called Letter, he must have been the ambassador!” She propped herself up on the edge of the platform, leaning in intensely. “They were talking about killing Blueblood - they called him the prince!”
“Lies!” the king roared. “Guards! Arrest this spy, and his treasonous companions as well!”
The guards all readied their weapons, and Brook jumped to his hooves. He and Wet Mane stood at the ready, preparing for an attack. The guards all mulled tensely along the walls and bridges, some brave ponies creeping forwards. Brook whipped his head around, challenging the guards. They had all heard of him. They had heard legends of his skill and prowess in battle, and they could all see that he had lost none of it.
Blueblood looked fearfully at the guards approaching them. He wracked his mind for some way to convince the king of his identity. His mind raced, desperately grasping. He felt a familiar urgency, deep in his gut. As far away as he was, he was so close to home now. Now, when it truly mattered. He was so close that he could almost see the gleaming marble of the palace, smell his mother's sweet perfume again, and it was slipping away from him.
“You Majesty,” he called, stepping forward, “please! Surely there is something I can do to prove myself to you! A secret of the Equestrian royal family, a family heirloom! Send a letter!” The guards were creeping closer, becoming more brave. Blueblood was grasping at straws, now. The king refused to hear him, brushing aside any suggestion. Then, Blueblood noticed the princess.
Princess Golden Dreams, one of the delegates from Aloa.
“Princess!” Blueblood shouted. “Princess Golden Dreams! Surely you remember me? At the summit in Canterlot, on the night of the opening ceremony! We danced for the whole night, surely you must remember me!” The princess stared at him from across the hall. For a brief moment Blueblood thought he saw a flash of recognition across her face, and he dared to hope she might remember him.
“I danced with a unicorn that night,” she said. “Not some... simple earth pony. I am a mare of pride, you know.” Blueblood's heart sank. He felt the last bit of hope slipping away. He felt his home growing more and more distant. Then he felt something else.
Perhaps it was how much the strange hall reminded him of home. Perhaps it was seeing a look of fear slip through Brook's normally stoic exterior. Perhaps it was even the haughty and arrogant expression of Princess Golden Dreams, so closely mimicking his own from all those months ago. Whatever it was, Blueblood felt something he had not felt in a long time. He felt a tiny fire flare up in his belly.
There was no indignation. There was no arrogance, no false sense of entitlement or worth. There was no ego. There was only the fire. It wasn't anger, not yet. It was fuel, like a stove or an engine. He was still nervous, there was no denying that, but the flame pushed him on. He took a step forward, heedless of the guards.
“Is that what I am?” he asked quietly. “Some simple earth pony? Tell me, princess, because I am so simple. What do you mean?” The princess raised an eyebrow at him. One or two of the guards turned their focus to him. He knew why. It was the same reason all heads turned when he had walked into great halls. He remembered more than just his oath. He remembered presence. He may have been quiet, and he may have been gentle, but he had presence. Perhaps it was because that his words were so quiet and gentle, amidst the tension of the guards, that they heard him. “Could you mean that I am some dirt-farming pony from some strange foreign land?” he asked. “Or do you simply mean that I am stupid?”
Even as he spoke, some part of him deep down trembled. Some small part of him was afraid of what he was doing. He was becoming his old self again. He breathed deeply, trying to keep himself calm, and humble. He rebelled against it, fighting to keep the little fire from becoming anger. He would not be the same. He would not be the old Blueblood, never again. The princess opened her mouth to speak, but he didn't let her. “I have been both of those things, Your Highness,” he said. “I have farmed the earth. I have been stupid.” He paused, feeling a wave of coolness wash over the fire. “I have been very stupid. A long time ago. But right now, I am neither of those things. Because a simple earth pony could not remember the colour of the dress you were wearing that night,” he said. He stood up strong and tall. The guards barely moved now, all eyes on him. “It was green. It was beautiful, falling across your body like a waterfall. You wore a perfume that smelled of lilies, and told me that you loved to waltz.” He looked her dead in the eye, and said, “I am the pony you danced with, Golden Dreams. I may be a simple stallion, now, but I am a unicorn. I am Prince Blueblood Star.”
The room was silent. Princess Golden Dreams slowly lifted a hoof to her mouth. For a moment she looked as though she would speak, but it was the king who broke the silence.
“SPIES!” he roared, spittle flying from his mouth. “Talk all you want, I don't see a unicorn here! This is just some Equestrian trickery, and I will not stand for it!” He leaned froward in his throne, almost standing up as he yelled. “I will not stand idly by and let Equestria bully its way into my country! I WILL protect my ponies, and my culture from you! GUARDS!”
The guards came closer, more confidant. Wet Mane’s horn began to glow, and Brook danced nervously. The old stallion’s horn never lit up, no matter how close they came. The guards inched closer and closer, surrounding Blueblood and Brook. Sea pony guards emerged from the water, cutting off Azure as well.
“Wait!” Blueblood cried desperately, still trying to win over the furious king. His heart leaped into his throat suddenly, springing into panic. “What if I could prove to you that I was?” The king didn't answer, but Blueblood tried anyways. He tried as hard as he could, focusing on the mark Brook had drawn on his forehead. He felt a strange tingling sensation, but the guards ignored him. He focused with all his might, desperately trying to make some magic – any magic – happen.
Closer and closer the guards came, spears outstretched. Blueblood began to shake, and he could feel his heart pounding furiously in his chest. Brook tried to keep between him and the soldiers, but there were too many. Blueblood's mark bristled faintly. Each hair turned gold, and a sparking glow came off them. Each single strand swayed in some unseen breeze, as if they were a part of a great, invisible current. Blueblood could feel himself reaching out: a tiny, weak strand of magic. It rippled and spluttered, dying feet away from his head. He gasped, and tried again.
“I am a unicorn,” he insisted, pushing himself into the mark. “I am Prince Blueblood Star!” The king stared, suddenly silent. He looked on in awe at the tiny, weak magic emanating from Blueblood’s forehead. His eyes darted about, and an expression of disbelief came across his face.
“It can’t be,” he said quietly. “You can’t be a unicorn. You can’t be Blueblood.” His brow furrowed slowly. “There must be some trick,” he said. His expression grew furious again. “This is just some Equestrian trick! Celestia is just trying to get me to let my guard down! I will not stand for her coming in and trying to rule my country! I will not have her trying to rule over my ponies! I refuse to be fooled by some... cheap parlor trick!”
“Is that what it is?”
Then there was silence. For just a moment, everything seemed still. Nopony moved. Even the rippling lights along the walls seemed to freeze in place. The world was still, and silent, save for a single voice. It was strong, yet soft, and ancient. It seemed to come from everywhere at once, echoing through the hall as cold and clear as ice.
“Why do you blind yourself, Ocean Gold?”
The king's eyes bulged, and he sank into the back of his throne. The water in the room shifted and bulged, as if there were some enormous creature swimming beneath it. It stilled in an instant, as if it had become glass, and once more there was silence. Then, slowly, a figure rose from behind the king's throne.
It was an enormous, aqua sea pony, the biggest Blueblood had ever seen. It dwarfed every other pony in the room, easily twice their size. A horn protruded from its forehead in a perfect tight spiral, decorated with a crown even more ornate than the king's own. The most beautiful wrappings Blueblood had ever seen draped across his shoulders, shimmering with every colour of the rainbow and tied with a medallion made from solid mother-of-pearl. It was decorated with an emblem that Blueblood had never seen before: some bizarre, almost living symbol made of twists and curls that seemed to shift and warp as the mother-of-pearl shimmered in the trembling lights.
The pony’s mane hung in heavy dreadlocks, each a living, swirling eddy of white water. His eyes were a piercing pale blue, locked dead on Blueblood. A long flipper swung out of the water, wrapping around the throne. The sea pony looked down impassively on the king, who seemed to be trying to become one with his chair.
“P-Prince Tidus,” the king said weakly, suddenly devoid of his rage.
“I know you do not share my and my kin's eyes,” Tidus said slowly, “but is it truly so difficult for you to see? Horn or no, there can be no mistaking this pony.”
“You mean,” the king said, “this is really Blueblood?” Tidus nodded. He left the throne, gliding across the open floor to Blueblood. He inspected him carefully, and his eyes glowed briefly.
“Yes,” he said. “This is a unicorn. I recognize his face: he looks like his father.” Tidus smiled faintly at Blueblood. “Do you remember me, foal?” Blueblood gaped at the divine figure before him and shook his head slowly.
“I'm... sorry, Prince Tidus,” he said, “but I don’t.” Tidus nodded.
“I visited you when you were born,” he said. “I always visit when Celestia's family has a new foal. She is a good friend of mine, you see. We met when she and her sister took the sun and moon.” Blueblood blinked at this.
“Really?” he asked. “But that was thousands of years ago.” Prince Tidus nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “Time goes by so fast, it seems.” He turned back to the king and nodded. “There is no doubt in my mind,” he said, “that this pony is Blueblood Star. Celestia visited me as she did you, Ocean Gold. All she wants is him back. She meant no insult. Why must you place my children in harm's way with your pride?”
“I...” the king said, shrinking back, “I had no idea that he was here! I thought that he might have been kidnapped by somepony else! Or, or, that he had simply run off! It was Celestia who persisted, your divinity, not I!”
“The loss of a loved one is stressful,” Tidus said, “even for creatures such as she and I. All she wants is her foal returned to her.”
“O-of course,” the king said weakly. “I'll arrange for a transport immediately. The fastest ship. We'll send him straight down the River Aloe, right up to the mountains. He'll be home within the month.” He smiled hopefully, and Tidus nodded.
“This is good,” he said, turning back to Blueblood. “You must be pleased to be going home, foal.”
In truth, Blueblood was still having trouble believing it all. After everything that he had been through, he had given up on ever seeing his home again. A slow, earnest smile spread across his face.
“I'm going home,” he said. “I'm going home!” He turned to his master excitedly, saying, “Master, this is wonderful! I can finally go home! Isn't this fantastic? I'll be able to see mother and Auntie again. You can give mother your letter – I'm sure that she'll forgive you if she knows how sorry you are, master. And she'll want to thank you for helping me, I know she will. We can get your chambers set up in the royal family’s wing. Canterlot is a wonderful city, and you'll never have to worry about anypony recognizing you at all. It'll be... it'll be...” Blueblood's smile faded as he saw his master's expression. The old pony still looked ancient, and pained.
“...Master?” Blueblood asked. Brook lowered his head faintly.
“I can't go with you, Blueblood,” he said. An incredible pain struck Blueblood, as if somepony had run him through. His mouth hung open limply, but he closed it and swallowed.
“You can't...” he echoed. Brook nodded slowly. “Why not?” Blueblood asked. He didn't need to ask. He already knew the answer. But he needed to hear it. It was as if it wouldn't be real until he heard it from his master.
“I'm the general of Aloa,” he said. “I would never be allowed in Equestria. Even after you end the war... I couldn't.” He sighed weakly. Blueblood nodded slowly, his expression slowly fading, just as Brook's had. The two looked at each other slowly.
To any other pony it would seem as though they were simply staring in silence. Nopony in the room knew just what was happening, save for them. Nopony understood the nature of the silent exchange. Nopony noticed Brook's expression become pained with loneliness, nor could they see Blueblood fighting against tears. They only saw two silent ponies, staring. Blueblood took a step forward, pressing his neck gently against Brook's. Brook sighed, and wrapped a hoof around him.
“Be strong, Blueblood,” the old pony said. “Be strong for your ponies.”
“I’ll try, master,” Blueblood said. “For you.” He nuzzled Brook gently. “Can you... at least come with me to the border?” he asked. “I want you to be there with me.” Brook smiled. His smile was like the sun, bright and full of an amazing, all-encompassing warmth.
“Of course I will,” he said. The king sat up in his throne, and scoffed.
“My general!?” he demanded. “Go to the border? Unacceptable! I need him here, in case the Equestrians attack in the meantime. Or what if you're attacked at the border!? I won't have it. White Brook will stay here.” Both Brook and Blueblood stared at the king in horror, but Tidus turned on him. His gaze was like ice; it seemed to chill the very air.
“Perhaps,” he said coldly, “your general might escort Blueblood as a body guard. As a show of good will between the countries, of course, and to keep him safe on the trip?” The king sank back in his chair.
“Ah... of course,” he said. “Excellent suggestion, Prince Tidus. Brook will escort the prince as a show of good will. To the border, of course.”
“Very good,” Tidus said, his tone warming considerably. Blueblood smiled, and pressed his neck against Brook's. It broke his heart to know that Brook couldn't be with him, but he was determined to make the most of what time they had left. The throne room was silent, and warm. Wet Mane stood, stepping forward.
“Your Majesty,” he said to the king, “I would like to go with the prince as well.” Once again, all eyes turned to him. The king raised an eyebrow.
“You are one of the ponies who kidnapped the prince to begin with,” he said after a moment. “Why would you want to escort him? For that matter, what makes you think you would be allowed to? You are responsible for causing an international incident.” Wet bowed his head ashamedly.
“I believed that we were acting under orders from Your Highness,” he said. “Even so, what I helped do to Prince Blueblood was horrible. I want the chance to make it right.” he raised his head, and spoke with more confidence. “Iron still has eight soldiers with him. They're all terrified of him, and will follow any order that he gives. If any one of those ponies comes close to the prince, I'll recognize them faster than any other soldier. Iron might still be able to find him. He could try a sneak attack at any time.” The king folded his hooves in front of his face, considering this. Azure drifted to the edge of the platform, leaning on it and speaking up.
“He’s found them already,” she said. “That Iron pony tried to attack them in town today.” Wet turned around in shock.
“Iron is in Ys?” he asked. Blueblood nodded.
“She's right,” he said. “He was the one who attacked us.”
“If he's this close, that's all the more reason for me to go with the prince,” Wet insisted. “Iron is completely insane. He'll try to kill the prince as soon as he's out in the open, and he doesn’t care if the soldiers are killed. I don’t think it even matters to him if he lives or dies.” Prince Tidus peered slowly at the king, and for once the king did not shrink beneath his gaze.
“I understand,” the king said. “If this Iron is so dangerous, getting Prince Blueblood out of Ys is top priority now.” He nodded to Wet. “You will escort him to the border. If you keep him safe, you will be absolved of your crimes.” Wet bowed.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said. The king nodded.
“You will all sleep in the inner sanctum tonight,” he said. “I will arrange for a ship to take you to Equestria first thing tomorrow.”
|
Kegisak
|
1052
| 15 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Colour You Bleed
|
Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
|
2012-01-05T01:16:41+00:00
|
2012-01-05T01:16:41+00:00
| 5,164 |
Chapter 15: In Which a Battle is Fought
As midnight touched Ys, the city was silent. Hardly a single pony stirred in the night, tucked snugly in their warm beds. The wet season was on its way, and the ponies of Ys could already feel its damp chill beginning to creep into the air.
The moon was full and bright in the sky. It seemed almost unnaturally bright, as if it were trying to shed as much light as it could. The white stone buildings gleamed a faint, otherworldly blue, the moon's light reflecting off of them like mirrors. In the dark pool of the ocean, the city shone like a beacon. The gates were lowered along the outer walls, warding off all but the most important of ships. It was like a gigantic tortoise: protected from the outside by a great shell of white stone.
Guards crept within the city, sweeping the streets in twos and threes. They carried no torches; not because they were unnecessary, but because they did not want to be seen. They slunk through the streets, quietly making their ways into the homes of ponies and rousing them from their beds.
They were searching for a pair of ponies. One, they had been told, was a short red unicorn, plump of frame and cautious of demeanour. The other pony they searched for was a steel gray earth pony with a mad, dangerous glare.
The red unicorn paced around a small hut on the docks, barely big enough for the ten ponies which resided within. Eight were dressed in armour, skirting nervously along the edges of the building. None of them wanted to move too far into the building, for along the far wall sat the gray earth pony. He stared dead ahead, squinting in one eye from a deep cut above it. The wound had not been covered, and a rough scab ran along it. He glared fiercely at nothing in particular. His eyes were full of an almighty rage, burning like hellfire. His gaze had nothing but contempt and hatred for all he beheld. The red unicorn would stop occasionally and peer at the earth pony.
“Blast,” the unicorn said. “Damn and blast.” The earth pony's eye twitched faintly, and the unicorn stopped pacing. He stared back, trying to maintain some semblance of coolness and superiority, but he felt himself failing beneath the gray pony's withering glare. He tried to shake the feeling.
“I told you to kill Brook first, Iron,” he said. “I told you he was dangerous. But did you listen to me? N -”
“YES,” Iron interrupted. “I did. I tried to kill the old pin-head first. I wasn't expecting that... thing.”
“That thing...” the ambassador said, rubbing his eyes. “You mean the sea pony? You are a trained soldier, Iron. I would have thought you could handle a single sea pony mare...” He looked back at Iron, and took a cautious step back. Iron's glare had intensified, and he seemed to radiate an ungodly heat.
“I can handle a single mare,” Iron hissed. “I can handle some idiot princeling. I could have handled some crippled old goat. He didn't even try to fight me, the coward.”
“Oh didn't he?” Letter asked. “Then where did you get that wound?” Iron scowled deeper.
“He just tossed me away,” he said. “He probably thought that was all it would take. The building was hurt worse than I was.” Letter sighed, shaking his head.
“White Brook wouldn't... never mind,” he said, shaking his head. “We have bigger things to worry about right now.” Iron got to his hooves slowly and walked past the ambassador. The red pony tensed as Iron moved past, but the earth pony merely began to pace the room.
“Bigger problems,” he said coldly. “Bigger problems.” He peered back at the ambassador. “There are no bigger problems,” he said. “The prince needs to die. The old pony will die with him. Those are our 'big problems'.” He smirked cruelly. “Not big at all.”
“Forget about those,” Letter said. The rising of a single eyebrow was all that changed on Iron's face.
“Forget about that?” he asked, his voice taking a harsh edge. “Killing them is what we've been trying to do. It's what we've been trying to do for months. Why would I just forget about that?” The last words were a hissing growl, the message of disapproval clear to everypony in the room. Several of the soldiers winced, pressing themselves against the walls. Letter faltered, but smoothed his curly mane and continued.
“Because we have a bigger problem right now, Iron,” he repeated, hoping to calm the irate pony down. It didn't work. Iron growled fiercely, and Letter pressed on before he could interrupt. “They went to the palace. They have to have told the king about what happened. We missed our chance to take back the prince.”
Iron was silent for a moment. His expression was completely blank, but his eyes were still brightly ablaze. His breathing began to come in ragged wheezes, and he trembled.
“WHAT?” he roared. All of the soldiers flinched back, and even Letter stepped away from the mad pony. Iron's shoulders heaved as he struggled to contain his rage. He marched across the room, his hooves thudding like sledgehammers against the wooden floor until he was practically nose-to-nose with Letter.
“What do you mean, we lost our chance?” he demanded, hissing through clenched teeth. Spittle flew from his mouth, and his eye twitched faintly.
“I mean,” Letter said, trying to back away, “we can't attack him. He'll be surrounded by guards! They'll either keep him in the dungeons or escort him back home – one way or another, there's no way we'll be able to get close to him now. We're lucky if there aren't soldiers out there searching for us as we speak! We can't just run out and attack him!”
“Why not?” Iron seethed. “Because you clever unicorns are there protecting him? Bah! You all think you're so dangerous because of your magic. I can handle anything your little king can throw at me.” He leaned in to Letter's face, inches away. Letter could feel Iron's hot breath against him, ragged and shuddering. “I am going to kill the prince,” he said slowly. The fire from his eyes seemed to be creeping into his voice, giving it a terrifying, empty quality. Letter fought to keep from trembling, and stepped away from him.
“You can't,” he said, trying to regain his composure. “These aren't just civilian unicorns, Iron. These are trained soldiers. Attacking them would be suicide!”
“Not for me,” Iron hissed. He turned away from Letter, stalking back and forth across the room. The soldiers shuffled out of his way along the walls, giving him room to move where he pleased. Letter rubbed his eyes, and ran a hoof through his mane.
“Iron,” he said. “Listen to me. The prince made it to the palace. The king knows about what we did. We're probably wanted for treason and inciting war, and if the prince is still bitter about you cutting off his horn he could find much worse things for us to be found guilty of. Both Celestia and Tidus will want to get their hooves on us. We can't go after him. He's won. We need to get out of here, now!”
Iron stopped dead in the middle of the room. All of the soldiers had shifted away from him; nopony in the room could see his face. All they saw was his shoulders begin to tremble, and his head sink.
He spun in an instant, leaping across the room as he did so. His hoof caught Letter in the jaw, sending him flying to the floor.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” Iron roared at the unicorn. His face was a perfect expression of fury. Nothing else existed there. Nothing else could. His mouth hung open, teeth bared and tongue lolling out. His eyes bulged, threatening to leap out of his skull and attack Letter. They were consumed with rage, months of madness and hatred boiling in his mind like searing pitch. He roared wordlessly, stomping his hooves. The wooden floor splintered beneath the blows, and the soldiers tried to sink into the walls.
Letter struggled to get back to his hooves, his jaw aching fiercely from Iron’s blow. The gray pony put his hoof against Letter's chest, pushing him to the ground. He stared into Letter's eyes, the red pony trembling in fright.
“What. Did. You. Say?” Iron asked again, slowly this time. There was no less of an edge to the words.
“W-we need to get out of here,” Letter said. “There's nothing we can do! We have to run, Iron, or they'll find us for certain! We'll be flogged, skinned alive, dipped in boiling oil!” Iron didn't seem to hear him, pushing his hoof harder into the fat pony's chest.
“You said he won,” Iron growled. “The princeling has NOT won! He's a spoiled damn brat! A nuisance! I WON'T LET HIM GET AWAY! I'LL FIND HIM, AND I'LL KILL HIM! HE WILL NOT GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU FAT! COWARD!”
“Iron, please!” Letter pleaded, trying vainly to reason with the mad pony. “We'll be killed! We have to get out of here! A ship is going to the Eastern Islands in an hour! We can board it, and they'll never find us. We won't be in danger. The prince doesn't matter any more -”
“COWARD!” Iron roared in Letter's face. “You fat, stupid coward! If it wasn't for you that prince would have been dead months ago!” He took his hoof off of Letter's stomach, stalking across the room. “You told me to wait!” he snarled. “You told me to wait for when the time was ready. I could have killed him when they were dragging him across the country! I could have killed him at the auction. I could have marched into the old pin-head's house and killed them both right then and there! IT WAS YOU!” He spun on Letter again, and the ambassador scrambled away from him. Iron marched forward, backing Letter into a wall. “IT'S YOUR FAULT HE'S STILL ALIVE!” the gray pony yelled. “AND NOW YOU WANT TO JUST RUN AWAY?” He reared up, and Letter flinched.
For the briefest of moments, Letter thought he would die. He thought that Iron would bring his hooves down, crushing him into oblivion just as he had done to the poor soldier months ago. At least he wouldn't suffer, he thought to himself. The moment stretched longer and longer, and Letter realized that he was not dead. He peeked an eye open, looking up at Iron.
The gray pony was still reared in the air, but he had stopped. There was a puzzled expression on his face. He seemed to be pondering something. He put his hooves down slowly, and Letter saw him start to smile. It was small at first, but it grew quickly. An idea was forming in Iron's mad mind, and a perverse grin crept across his face. It was the most purely cruel thing that Letter had ever seen, and it terrified him to his very core.
“Run away,” Iron said slowly. “Run away! Go on, fat stallion, run away!” He gave a barking laugh. “Run onto your boat! I don't need you!” He walked up to one of the soldiers along the walls, who shrank away from him. “All I need is soldiers,” Iron said. “Soldiers who can follow orders... like you all, right?” The soldier gulped, and saluted weakly. Iron grinned, and looked at the rest of the soldiers. They all saluted as well, and Iron turned back to Letter.
“Run away, fat stallion!” he laughed. “We'll take a boat of our own. Your precious king will let his guard down eventually. The prince will be alone.” He leaned in to Letter's face once more, grinning evilly, and said, “I know exactly where it will be.”
***
Blueblood woke slowly in Ys Palace. The bizarre feeling he knew so well was more powerful than ever before, here. It was as if he could feel every gentle shift in the air, every smooth thread in the soft silk sheets on the plush bed. He could even feel the cold marble floors outside. He struggled to sit up in the oversized bed, yawning widely.
The apartment he had been given was beyond lavish. Blue and green silk clothes were draped over every available surface, and all of the furniture was made of expertly polished and worked mahogany. Mother-of-pearl ornaments decorated the room, and the paintings of masters hung on the walls. Compared to his spartan bedroom in Brook's home, it all seemed so excessive. He rolled out of bed, brushing his long mane into place, and walked to a window.
It was still dark outside. In the distant east, Blueblood could see a line of orange light peeking over the horizon. He sighed, and shook his head. He would board a boat soon, and in less than a month he would be home. Part of him was excited. He would, after all, finally be able to see his mother and aunt again. Thinking of his poor mother, how worried she must be over him, broke his heart. He wanted desperately to tell her that he was alright, and that she didn't have to worry.
More than excited, though, he was frightened. A lingering fear had come over him after the discussion in the throne room. He had ignored it while they made plans to return him home, and he had ignored it during the feast Prince Tidus had insisted be held in his honour. He had managed to ignore it long enough to fall into a fitful slumber, but he knew he couldn't avoid it for much longer. Soon he would have to face the fear. If not on the boat, surely he would confront it the moment he left Brook's side. He would face it the moment he set foot in Canterlot Palace, perhaps for the rest of his life. For now, though, he could ignore it again. A light rapping came from his door. Blueblood beckoned for the knocker to enter, and a young maid peeked in.
“Your Highness Prince Blueblood,” she said quietly. “I'm sorry... were you already woken?” Blueblood shook his head.
“Not by a servant,” he said. “I woke on my own. May I help you?”
“I was told to tell you that the ship is ready, Your Highness,” she said, bowing. “It is prepared to leave whenever you are ready. Would you, ah, like me to fetch somepony to help you get ready?”
“That's alright,” Blueblood said, walking away from the window. He lifted his wrappings from the small desk beside his bed, winding them around his neck. “I'm ready to go.” He walked up to the blinking maid, and the pair were silent, staring at one another. Blueblood smiled awkwardly.
“I'm... afraid I don't know my way around the palace,” he said quietly. “Could you lead the way to the ship?”
“Oh!” the maid said, jumping. “Yes, of course Your Highness. I'm very sorry...”
They trotted through the decadent hallways, silent save for the soft clop clop clopping of their hooves across the floors. Eventually the maid lead him into a large room with a wide canal cutting straight through the middle of it, leading into the city and out to the ocean. A small, two-masted vessel floated on the water, and several ponies were gathered around it. Most were the ship's crew, readying the boat to sail, but there was also a small group of soldiers. They were accompanied by the king, Wet Mane, and Brook. Prince Tidus and Azure sat in the canal as well. Blueblood approached the ship, thanking the nervous maid. She darted off to attend to her other duties, and Blueblood joined the group at the boat.
“Good morning, Blueblood,” Brook said, nodding. Blueblood nodded back, and smiled.
“Good morning master,” he said. The king nodded as well.
“Prince Blueblood,” he said. “The ship is just being prepared now. It will take you to a small village east of the Equestrian-Aloan border.”
“Riverbank?” Blueblood asked. The king nodded.
“Yes... how did you know?” He raised an irritable eyebrow, careful not to let Prince Tidus see it. Blueblood rubbed his neck.
“It was the first town I came to,” he said. “It's as far east as I know. And I suppose it seemed appropriate.” The king peered strangely at Blueblood, but continued.
“You'll be accompanied by a small company of guardsponies, as well as a few other small ships. From Riverbank you'll board a trade carriage. The trade routes are kept open during war time, so it should bring you all the way to the palace.” Blueblood nodded.
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty,” he said. The king sighed heavily, and shook his head.
“No,” he said slowly. Out of the corner of his eye Blueblood saw Prince Tidus smile faintly. “When you see your aunt again,” the king continued, “tell her I wish to apologize for being so strong headed. I didn't want this war either.” Blueblood nodded.
“Of course,” he said. A husky sailor, the captain of the boat, trotted down the gangplank.
“We're ready to set sail,” he announced gruffly. “We can ship out any time, Yer' Majesty.” The king nodded.
“Good,” he said. “Tell your sailors to be ready, then. You sail immediately.” The captain nodded, and trotted pack aboard the ship. Wet Mane turned and gave an order to the soldiers, who all marched aboard after the captain.
As the soldiers climbed aboard, Blueblood noticed Azure staring at the ship intently. She was chewing on her hoof, using the other to balance herself as she leaned on the bank of the canal for a better view. Blueblood found himself watching her hesitantly as the ponies boarded. He was the last to step on the gangplank, and he turned away from Azure.
“Wait!” she called out. Blueblood paused, and turned to her. She rubbed her neck awkwardly, asking, “Can I... talk to you?”
“Of course,” Blueblood said. The king gave an impatient sigh, but Tidus turned to him sharply.
“Ocean Gold,” the god said, “may I speak with you as well?”
“Ah... of course,” the king said. He and Tidus moved away from the two young ponies, leaving them alone. Blueblood walked up to the bank where Azure leaned. She pulled herself out of the canal, sitting so she was at the same height as Blueblood.
The golden tips in her mane gleamed in the morning sun, and her eyes seemed to sparkle. She rubbed her neck nervously as Blueblood sat beside her.
“So...” she said, “Blueblood... or I guess I should call you Your Highness?” Blueblood shook his head.
“Please don't,” he said. Azure giggled. Her laughter was like bells, even when she was nervous.
“Alright... I guess you really don't seem all that princely.” Blueblood smiled shyly.
“I don't really feel it either,” he said. They smiled sadly at one another for a moment, sitting in awkward silence. Finally, Azure sighed.
“I guess this is goodbye, isn't it?” she asked. Blueblood nodded.
“It is,” he said. “I don't know if I'll ever come back to Aloa.” Azure's eyes cast downwards, and for a moment Blueblood thought that she seemed disappointed. “Azure?” he asked. She looked up, and he pawed the ground. “Why did you come to Ys?”
“I heard that pony talking about you,” she said. “The one who tried to... attack you. He said that he was going to kill you. I came to warn you.”
“But why?” Blueblood asked. “You must have known he was dangerous. Why risk it for a pony you hardly know?” Azure laughed quietly, and smiled.
“It wasn't for a pony I hardly know,” she said, nudging him gently. “It was for you.” Her smiled turned shy, and she looked away from him. “I... I dunno. I know we only met once or twice, but...” she looked back at him, and smiled wider. “I guess I care about you,” she said. Blueblood smiled warmly.
“Thank you, Azure,” he said. “I care about you too.” Azure giggled, and threw her arms around Blueblood.
“I'm gonna miss you, Blueblood,” she said. “Will you write to me when you get home?” Blueblood paused for a moment, before hugging her back.
“I'll try,” he said. “But how will you get it?” Azure held him at arm’s length, and smiled.
“I'm a messenger,” she said. “I'll find it. Don't you worry.” They hugged again, and Azure jumped back into the canal.
“Goodbye, Blueblood!” she called, waving from the water. Blueblood waved back from the gangplank.
“Goodbye, Azure,” he called down to her. He trotted onto the boat, and the gangplank was raised. The sails were unfurled, and Prince Tidus returned to the ship.
“Are you ready?” he asked. The captain of the ship nodded.
“Aye, Your Majesty!” he called. Prince Tidus reared his head, and his horn lit up. The water beneath the boat swelled, and Blueblood was almost thrown back as the little boat rocketed out of its dock. A swell ran behind the boat, pushing in powerfully through the city, and out of the port. It nearly skipped across the waters onto the ocean. Its trajectory was unstoppable and unchangeable, pointed directly at the tip of Aloa.
For a brief moment Blueblood thought that they would crash, but as it reached the great land mass, the ship began to slow, and the captain spun the wheel to the side. The ship shifted to the side, sliding deftly into the river delta. The sailors scrambled about the ship, working to dodge the tiny craft around the small islands in the delta. All horns were alight as the boat shifted and rocked. They seemed to miss each island by inches, and after a few nerve-wracking moments they found themselves on the peaceful water of the River Aloe. The boost the prince had provided still carried the boat swiftly down the river, now with the added power of the wind in its sails. The sailors all laughed heartily as Blueblood picked himself up off the deck. As far as they were concerned, the worst of the trip was over. They slid into a steady pace down the river, following the path it cut to Riverbank.
The days came and went without incident on the boat. The sun and moon rose and fell across the sky, seeming swifter every day. The time almost seemed to pass too quickly for Blueblood. He knew that with each passing day they moved closer and closer to Riverbank, and to Canterlot. With each passing day he grew more and more afraid of what returning home would bring. He couldn't help but think of how he had acted in the throne room at Ys. True, it had been to prove who he was, to stop the war. True, he had had every right to be upset. None of that changed the fact that on that day, standing in the throne room of Ys and addressing the princess of Aloa, he had been overwhelmingly noble.
He hadn't thought of his life in Canterlot for months. He hadn't felt the pangs of guilt when he thought of how selfish he had been in so long he had almost forgotten about them. Now that he approached his home once again, though, he couldn't fight the rising feeling of fear in his gut.
A week passed aboard the boat. Blueblood spent much of the time sitting along the banisters, watching the scenery. His master joined him, sometimes. The old pony seemed more quiet than ever during the trip, and Blueblood could see that he was in pain. No doubt he felt much the same as Blueblood. When they did sit together, they were almost completely silent.
Brook sat with him now. They were staring over the edge of the ship into the passing forest. They had seen strange creatures creeping through the trees, and beautiful ponds and waterfalls in the depths of the wild woods. Blueblood couldn't help but think of how much there must have been left to see from Brook's home. He sighed, and shook his head. This forest reminded him of Brook's home to a strange degree. In fact, the two seemed almost the same. He narrowed his eyes, and watched more closely. As the ship rounded a slow bend, Blueblood's eyes bulged.
There, not a hundred feet away from the river, was Brook's house. It seemed somehow ancient, now. The beams seemed to sag beneath their own weight, and the building had taken on a dull, gray quality. Blueblood's heart sank as he watched it drift past. This would be the last time he would see the old house. The place where so much had happened to him, and he would never see it again. He swallowed.
“The crops...” he said quietly. “I think they're ready to be harvested.” Brook looked silently out at the house. He nodded slowly.
“I think you're right,” he said. The two stallions watched the house as they drifted by. Blueblood found himself craning his neck to see it for as long as he could. Eventually the ship rounded another bend, and the house slipped out of sight. Blueblood stared after it for what felt like ages. He could feel his heart rise in his chest. It was as if all the time he had spent in Aloa was trapped in the old house, trailing away from him like a thread on a bolt of cloth. All the time he had spent with his master, all he had learned and all the good he had done, slowly slipping away. Fear crept into his heart, fear he could no longer run from.
“Master?” he asked quietly. Brook turned to him.
“Yes?” he asked. The old pony's voice was quiet, and sad. Blueblood swallowed.
“I'm afraid,” he said. Brook sat up a bit straighter.
“Are you afraid of Iron?” he asked. “We won't let him hurt you, Blueblood. I won't let him.” Blueblood shook his head.
“That's not it,” he said. “I... I know I don't have to worry about Iron.” He lowered his head faintly. “I'm afraid of going back to Canterlot,” he said. Brook blinked at him.
“Aren't you happy to be going home?” he asked.
“I am,” Blueblood said. “I... I want to see my mother again, and my aunts. But...” he found it difficult to say out loud. Brook probed gently.
“Are you afraid they won't recognize you?” he asked. Blueblood shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I'm afraid of... of...” He looked up at his master. The old pony was waiting patiently for him to finish. Blueblood swallowed. “I'm afraid of me,” he said. Brook tilted his head quizzically. Now that Blueblood had finally admitted it, he found his fears pouring out to the old pony one last time.
“I know you don't want to believe me,” he said, “but before I met you... I wasn't a good pony, master. I was just a spoiled brat. I took from everypony, and never gave anything back. I was stupid, and selfish, and ignorant.” He leaned against the banister, running a hoof over where his horn used to be. “I remember the day that I was kidnapped,” he said. “I remember everything about it. Do you know what the very first thing I did was? I insulted a maid for being an earth pony.” He shook his head ashamedly. “I was... I was everything wrong with nobility. My mother is a wonderful mare. She'd never be as bad as I was... I don't know how she could even stand to look at me. I know that I can't run away from who I was, master. I know that I have to accept what I did... but I don't want to go back to being like that.” He looked up sadly at the old pony. There was an expression of pure understanding on Brook's face. It was the look he had always given, Blueblood realized. From the very moment they had met Brook had understood him perfectly.
“You taught me everything,” Blueblood said. “You taught me how to be good. You taught me how to see beyond the tip of my nose, and how to work hard. I owe you everything master, and...” He sighed. “I don't know if I can be good without you. I'm afraid if I go back to Canterlot I'll just be Blueblood again.” For once, Brook didn't pause. He didn't stop to think, or hum to himself. He nudged Blueblood's face with his nose softly.
“I taught you something else, too,” he said. “I taught you that broken things can be fixed.” Blueblood looked up at him. The old pony brushed Blueblood's mane aside, and shook out two small iron nails. He held them in his hoof, showing them to Blueblood.
“That shed we built together is still standing,” he said. “It still has pieces from the old shed, pieces that we salvaged. That plough you broke is still good too. Both of those things were broken, Blueblood. But now they're fixed, and they're stronger than they ever were before.” He smiled warmly at Blueblood. “When I bought you, you were broken too. You hated yourself for what you had done, and you wanted to run away from it. But now? You're so strong, now. You're fixed, Blueblood.”
“But is being strong good?” Blueblood asked. “You saw me in Ys, how I acted to the princess.”
“You stood up for yourself,” Brook said.
“I was angry with her,” he said. “I hated how she looked down on me because she thought I was an earth pony. I was so close to snapping at her. I was so close to being the stupid pony I used to be.”
“But you weren't,” Brook said. He brushed Blueblood's mane, smiling warmly. “What you said wasn't cruel, Blueblood. It wasn't stupid, and it wasn't selfish.” He pressed his neck against Blueblood's gently, and laughed. “The old Blueblood you're afraid of? He wouldn't have held back. But you did. You're stronger now than he ever could have been.” He smiled, and the white stallion found a slow smile creeping across his face in turn.
“You are a good pony, Blueblood,” Brook said. “You were always a good pony, you just needed to see it. I believe in you.” Blueblood laughed, and pressed his head against Brook's chest.
“Thank you, master,” he said. “I'll miss you so much... but I'll try my hardest to be good without you.” Brook smiled and nuzzled him gently.
“You will be,” he said. He paused, brushing Blueblood's mane gently. “But we still have some time together... I saw that the captain has a Casualty set in his cabin.” Blueblood looked up at his master, grinning.
“Do you think he would let us play?” he asked. Brook smiled.
“I think so,” he said.
The next week was at the same time the happiest and most painful week of Blueblood's life. He and Brook played Casualty almost relentlessly, only pausing to rest their minds. In these times they would watch the scenery pass over the bow together, or read books that Brook had packed.
Brook played circles around Blueblood at Casualty, as it always had been. As day after day passed, though, the white stallion began to improve more and more. The margin by which Brook won was smaller with every game. Blueblood was always focused intently on the matches, determined to do his best. Bit by bit, piece by piece, he built and improved his strategies.
The days passed as they ever had, and the ship moved along the river. It reached the mainland, leaving the Aloe behind and shifting into the muddy Crate River. They passed small settlements and tiny, ramshackle houseboats along the river as they made their way to Equestria, and Blueblood could see mountains rising in the distance. It was not long before they reached their destination: Riverbank.
The small ship pulled into port without a fuss. The docks were almost abandoned, most of the sailors having shipped out to Ys to lend their boats to the war effort, or to train as military ponies. The only ponies left at the docks were shipping boat crews and the dock managers.
The ship and its accompaniment slipped alongside the rough wooden docks, and the sailors began jumping down to secure them. Blueblood watched over the railings, Brook at his side. The two stallions looked on sadly as the gangplank was lowered.
A Casualty board lay in the front of them. The pieces were scattered in irregular formations about the board. Brook sighed, and looked down.
“Your move, Blueblood,” he said. Blueblood blinked, as if he only just remembered that they were playing, and looked down as well. After a moment's thought he moved a piece, and Brook made his move in response almost instantly. They moved their pieces back and forth only a few more times before Brook set a knight on Blueblood's throne.
“I win,” he declared. Blueblood looked down at the board, and laughed.
“No real surprise, I guess,” he said. “I'd hoped I would be able to beat you at least once... I guess not.” Brook smiled faintly.
“Would you have rather I'd let you win?” he asked. Blueblood smiled, and shook his head.
“Never,” the white stallion replied.
The activity on the docks had slowed, and Blueblood saw the other soldiers disembarking from their ships. The soldiers aboard their boat were preparing to move out, as well. Wet Mane had them standing in a line, and with a salute they all marched down the gangplank and onto the docks. Wet turned away from the soldiers, trotting slowly to Blueblood and Brook. Blueblood shied away slightly. He had gotten more used to Wet in the weeks past, but in truth it was still a bit difficult to be so near to one of his kidnappers. Still, Wet was kind enough, and he almost seemed to tiptoe around Blueblood, as if he himself were afraid of the prince. He stopped at a respectful distance from the pair, and removed his helmet.
“General White Brook,” he said, “Your Highness. The carriage is waiting for us just outside the city. I'm sure they'd like to get going soon... I'm sure we all would.”
“Yes...” Blueblood said slowly. “Yes, of course.” He glanced back at Brook, and asked, “Could you... give us a moment alone?” Wet nodded.
“Of course, Your Highness,” he said. He trotted down the gangplank, leaving Brook and Blueblood alone on the boat. Blueblood looked down at the board, and sighed.
“I'll miss you, master,” he said. Brook nodded slowly.
“I'll miss you too, Blueblood. It will be lonely without you at home.” He sighed sadly, and looked away. Blueblood smiled hopefully.
“Once the war is over, you could always move to Canterlot,” he suggested. Brook shook his head.
“I couldn't,” he said. “I couldn't face your mother or aunt after what I did.” Blueblood smiled sadly.
“I understand,” he said. “I still believe that mother would forgive you... but I understand.” He leaned forward, pressing his neck into Brook's. “Will you write to me?” he asked.
“Of course,” Brook answered. Blueblood chuckled gently.
“And will you actually send the letters this time?” He felt Brook chuckle as well.
“Yes,” he said. He leaned away from Blueblood, and reached into his wrappings. He pulled out the second letter from his study, and gave it to Blueblood.
“When you see your mother,” he said, “will you give her this?” He smiled faintly, and said, “I should finish what I started.” Blueblood took the letter.
“I will,” he said. “I'll send you her reply.”
“I... appreciate that,” Brook said softly. The two ponies were silent for a while, neither moving. Finally, Blueblood threw his forelegs around Brook's neck. Brook laughed and did the same.
“Thank you so much, master,” Blueblood said. “I'll miss you.”
“Be strong,” Brook said softly. “Be strong for your ponies. Be strong for your country. I know you can do it.”
“Thank you, master,” Blueblood said. The two ponies stepped away from each other, and Blueblood turned to walk away.
“Wait,” Brook said suddenly. Blueblood turned around and saw Brook reaching into his wrappings once again. He pulled out a package, and gave it to Blueblood. “I want you to have these,” he said. “A gift.” Blueblood smiled, and took the package gratefully.
“Thank you, master,” he said. “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Blueblood,” Brook said quietly.
Blueblood trotted across the ship and down the gangplank. Wet was waiting for him there. Most of the soldiers had gone, save for two or three.
“The rest of the soldiers are sweeping the town,” he said. “They're checking to see if Iron and the other soldiers are hiding somewhere in Riverbank.” Blueblood nodded slowly. He wasn't keen on being reminded that Iron could be nearby, but he knew he had to be strong.
“Either way, we should be enough,” Wet said. “If Iron shows up we'll concentrate on him. The other soldiers won't be fighting too hard, and they'll surrender when he goes down. Are you ready to go?” Blueblood nodded again. He breathed deeply, and stood straight and tall.
“I'm ready,” he said. Wet nodded, and gave the order to move out. The four soldiers surrounded Blueblood in a diamond formation, with Wet at point. They trotted across the dock and onto one of the town's many spoke streets.
They walked in silence, for the most part. Blueblood could see all the way down the street to a small opening in the distant wall. The streets seemed deserted; Blueblood assumed that the soldiers sweeping the streets had shooed the citizens indoors.
The guards' heads were on swivels as they walked, searching back and forth for any signs of trouble. Even Wet looked to and fro, although his heart did not seem to be in it. In fact, he seemed almost nervous compared to the others. Blueblood thought that he might be worried about Iron as well, but he was proven wrong when Wet spoke suddenly.
“Your Highness?” the yellow unicorn asked. Blueblood blinked at him.
“Yes?” he asked. Wet looked over his shoulder, and Blueblood saw a familiar gleam in his eye.
“I... wanted to apologize,” Wet said quietly. Blueblood simply stared, and Wet turned away. “What I did to you was horrible, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I still wanted to apologize anyway.” Blueblood still stared, blinking. He wasn't sure what he should say. He wasn't certain if he had forgiven Wet, or if he even could. To say what Wet and the other soldiers did was horrible was an understatement, to be sure, and Blueblood didn't know if such a thing could be forgiven. All he knew is that, in spite of it, he didn't feel any real malice towards the yellow pony.
“You were only following orders,” he said quietly. “I forgive you.” He saw Wet smile faintly, and the soldier coughed gently.
“Your Highness?” he asked again.
“Yes?”
“May I ask you a favour?” Blueblood tilted his head quizzically.
“A favour? What could I do for you?” he asked. Wet lowered his head.
“Iron... killed one of the soldiers. He was my friend.” He sighed sadly. “After I left, I heard that his body was sent to Canterlot. I don't know if it's true or not but...” Blueblood smiled as he trailed off.
“I can look into it,” he said. Wet smiled back at him.
“If he is there,” he said, “could you bury him? His name was Brig... he was a good pony. He deserves a proper burial.”
“I will,” Blueblood said, nodding.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Wet said. Blueblood shook his head.
“No... it's nothing,” he said. Wet smiled back anyway.
The small procession returned to silence, trotting quickly down the street. They were getting close to the wall, now, and the street was widening out. There was a small square just before the gate. As they approached it, Wet Mane slowed. Blueblood peered worriedly at him, and the other soldiers stopped as well.
“Did anypony else hear that?” Wet asked. The soldiers looked around.
“This is the direction the first group went,” one of the soldiers said. “It was the first area we swept. If anypony was here, we'd have found them.” There was a soft murmur of agreement from the other soldiers. None moved, however, and they fell into silence. A swift breeze whistled through, and Wet's head turned sharply as a small metallic noise came from an alleyway. It was quiet at first, but it grew louder. Finally, a silver helmet rolled out of the alleyway, coming to a stop and Wet's hooves. The yellow pony stared at it, fear in his eyes, and took a step away from the alley.
There was a throaty chuckling, and a pony slowly faded into view. His dark fur blended with the shadows of the alley, but there could be no missing his eyes. They burned with an almighty hatred. Even the wound above the left eye seemed to glow with hellfire. It curved downward at a sickening angle, like a furrowed brow. He flashed a gleaming, toothy grin, giving him the look of a madly wry jester. He moved closer, the shadows melting away to reveal a steel gray earth pony.
“They found us,” Iron said, laughing. Blueblood felt his legs tremble, and he shuffled back. More soldiers appeared from other alleyways, surrounding the small party. Wet's soldiers surrounded Blueblood, ready to defend him. It was Wet who acted first.
“Attack Iron!” he shouted. “Take him out first!” The gray earth pony laughed, and a soldier darted towards him. An ethereal axe appeared beside the unicorn's head, and he swung it at Iron's neck. The earth pony reared back, the blade of the axe swinging harmlessly under his belly. He brought his hooves down hard on the soldier's head, caving in his helmet. He laughed heartily.
“I've got one of those too!” he cried. He reached behind himself, retrieving a sharp axe from its holder. He charged on the soldiers, laughing madly around the handle of the axe.
Wet's soldiers moved away from Blueblood, forming a defensive line. Wet fired bullets of air, but Iron dodged around them with no difficulty. The other two unicorns both unleashed geysers of flame, trying to trap Iron for Wet to attack. The earth pony simply tightened himself into a ball and leaped through the flames. His thick armour protected him from most of the heat, only singing the tips of his mane. They smoked, creating a trail of mist as he ran towards them. He swung his axe into one of the soldiers, cutting through his armour like it was butter. The soldier was felled, and Iron turned to buck to the other. The soldier was sent flying, leaving only Wet at Blueblood's side.
Wet roared, rearing his head, and the earth below Iron's hooves erupted in a mass of dust and spikes. Iron leapt from spike to spike, dodging their keen tips deftly and using them to leap high into the sky. He leaped into the sun, and Wet squinted to find him. The yellow pony's eyes bulged, and he flung himself to the side just in time to avoid the axe than spun down from the heavens. It embedded itself in the ground, Iron landing shortly after it. The earth pony never skipped a beat, rocketing after Wet. He caught the unicorn with a headbutt in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards. Wet tumbled across the ground, coming to a still stop nearly a dozen feet away. Iron laughed cruelly.
“You thought that that would be enough for me? Hah! You damned pinheads are all the same, so damn sure of yourselves.” He looked around cruelly at the felled soldiers, sneering. “What's your precious magic worth now, huh? NOTHING!” He laughed madly, stomping his hooves and kicking up dirt. Blueblood scrambled away from him, but Iron danced after him. He grabbed Blueblood's tail in his teeth, flinging the stallion across the street.
Blueblood struck the wall of a building heavily, falling limply onto the ground. He coughed, getting to his trembling hooves. He tried to run again, but one of Iron's soldiers blocked his path. They moved in on him, pressing him against the wall. Iron retrieved his axe from the ground, and was approaching the group.
“You aren't worth anything anymore, princeling,” he said darkly. His brow furrowed, morphing from perverse glee into an almost unholy rage. “You were never worth anything. Do you know what happens to worthless things? They get thrown out.” He gave a barking laugh, even through his fury. “That's what happened to you, princeling. You got thrown away because nopony wanted you, and now I'm going to finish the job.”
Blueblood shook violently, his heart pounding in his chest. Iron stood above him like a monstrous spectre, malevolent and untouchable. His laughter echoed in Blueblood's ears, his scarred, distorted face the picture of death itself. Blueblood tried to press himself into the wall.
“I-Iron...” he said weakly, but his voice failed him. His words died in his throat.
“Going to beg for you life?” Iron yelled. “Go ahead, beg! It won't make any difference, but at least we'll all know what you are! Just some spoiled damn brat! A weakling! A coward! Everything you ever had, handed to you on a silver platter!” He glowered at Blueblood intensely. “I HATE you,” he growled. “I hate you so much. I've waited for so long to kill you... before I kidnapped you. I wanted to kill you for so long, and now there's nopony here to stop me. No fat, stupid ambassador to tell me the time isn't right. No aunt to protect you. Nopony. Nopony cares about you, princeling.” He leaned in close, hissing in Blueblood's ear. “Nopony ever did.” He roared with laughter, rearing back. Blueblood tried to scrambled away, but he felt the soldiers' magic take hold of him. It pressed him against the wall, holding him still as Iron drew back his axe. For a moment the world was silent. There was no sound, save for Blueblood's heart pounding in his ears. Iron seemed to move in slow motion, rearing back. Blueblood could see madness in his eyes.
There was a soft sound, like a droplet of water hitting a pond. Iron stood still for a moment. The soldiers stared blankly as he began to rise into the air, drifting away from Blueblood. Iron roared madly, flailing at Blueblood.
“DAMMIT!” he roared furiously, twisting in midair. “Let me down! I'll kill the prince yet!”
“No, you won't.”
All heads turned in the direction of the soft voice. Blueblood peeked around them, and in the middle of the street he saw a single, old stallion: White Brook.
He moved slowly down the street, an expression of pure determination on his face. He seemed almost young to Blueblood, but he moved like an ancient, tired pony. Iron screamed, thrashing in mid-air.
“Kill him!” he roared. “Kill that damned unicorn!” One of the soldiers stepped forward, his horn lighting up. His magic took hold of White Brook, but the green pony didn't seem to care. He glance impassively at the soldier, who clutched his head and began to scream. The magic around Brook disappeared, and the old pony stood straight and tall as the soldiers looked on in fear and awe.
His voice was quiet, and gentle, but it seemed to come from everywhere at once. “You all know my name,” he said. “Your parents have told you stories of me.” His eyes began to glow softly, and his mane seemed to drip with water.
“The armies of El'Bia speak of me in hushed tones. The warrior bards of Acmippo sing songs in my honour. I was the pony who protected you when Equestria attacked. I stood along the border as the hoards amassed, and I fought alongside the greatest mages this country has ever seen to hold them at bay. I led the attack on Canterlot Palace. I killed the crown prince of Equestria. I did battle with the goddess Celestia, and I lived to tell the tale. I am White Brook!” he declared. “I am the Raging River! And I will NOT let you hurt my colt!”
The dripping of his mane turned into a mighty torrent, a waterfall of white water. He reared his head and the torrent came alive, whipping across the street. Its tip was the head of a mighty dragon, snaking across the dusty ground. Iron's soldiers tried to dodge and run away, but the dragon caught them one by one, slamming them into walls and swallowing them whole. In moments the soldiers lay limply on the ground, unconscious or worse.
Brook turned his attention to Iron, the mighty water dragon ripping him out of the air. He flung the earth pony against a wall, but Iron recovered at the last moment. He sprung off the wall, leaping at Brook. The ancient pony hopped away, dodging Iron's mighty blow. The dragon snaked around for another strike, but Iron grinned madly. He whipped his head backwards, flinging the axe at Blueblood. Brook's eyes bulged, the dragon changing course suddenly to catch the axe. Iron laughed madly at the distraction, rearing up. Blueblood watched in horror as Iron's hooves met home, sending Brook flying down across the street. The world seemed still for a moment. Brook didn't move, didn't even twitch. Blueblood forgot to breathe, watching his master. An incredible pain came into his heart and he gasped weakly, like a fish out of water.
Iron howled madly, laughing at the ancient body at his hooves. “DAMN UNICORNS!” he screamed. “YOU ALL THINK YOU'RE SO DAMNED GREAT! YOU'RE NOTHING! I'M THE GREAT ONE, NOT YOU!” He laughed cruelly, turning back on Blueblood. He trotted slowly down the street, as if he was savouring each hoofstep closer. Blueblood sat on the ground, unable to move.
“That's it, colt,” Iron laughed. “The last pony who would have ever wanted to protect you, dead. I'd say you should just give up and kill yourself, but that would deprive me of the pleasure.” His grin was the embodiment of cruelty. His entire body glowed with a perverse joy, as if the hellfire in his eyes had spread, and filled him up. He stood imposingly over Blueblood, laughing hysterically.
“I WON!” he roared to the heavens. He reared, preparing to strike.
Blueblood moved without thinking. A mighty fire raged in his belly, driving him like an engine. He threw himself forward, driving his head into Iron's exposed chest. The earth pony was flung backwards, landing on his back. He lay for a moment, stunned, giving Blueblood time to recover.
His head pounded from striking Iron's solid chest, but he he stood strong. He shook, not because of fear, but because of an incredible anger. He had watched his master die, and he had seen the pony who did it. Iron got to his hooves, glaring violently at Blueblood. Blueblood couldn't tell whether his wide-open mouth was a grin, or a scowl. Whatever it was, Iron screamed at him.
“YOU THINK YOU CAN FIGHT ME?” he roared, whipping his head wildly. “YOU THINK YOU'RE A MATCH FOR ME?” He screamed wordlessly, charging at Blueblood. The white stallion leaped out of the way just in time, and Iron pounded his hooves against the building. Two deep cracks appeared in the wall, and Iron ran after Blueblood again.
Blueblood's heart pounded in his throat. The terrible fear of Iron was starting to rise again, and he tried his hardest to keep away. He had been stupid to attack Iron, he knew, but there was nothing else he could have done. Iron came close, and Blueblood lashed out with his front hooves. They caught Iron in the face, giving Blueblood just enough time to scramble away. Iron roared wordlessly, barrelling after Blueblood. He moved with frightening speed, driving his head into Blueblood's back and knocking him away. The white pony struggled upright, rolling out of the way of Iron's hooves as they struck down.
“I thought you wanted to fight!” Iron yelled. “Come here and fight me, colt!” He lashed out, bucking at Blueblood, but the prince ducked under the blow. He scrambled into the square, trying desperately to get away from the boxed-in streets. He had more room to run from Iron, here. He dodged away as the mad earth pony chased after him, only barely escaping. Iron caught him with a glancing blow, sending him spinning into a shop set up along a building. Iron launched himself at the shop, and Blueblood managed to throw himself away from it just in time. The tiny wooden stand exploded, sending shrapnel flying. Iron stood in the wreckage, flailing his head in search of Blueblood.
The prince had hidden behind another stall in the confusion. He covered his head, trying his hardest not to make a sound. Iron prowled the square, looking for any sign of him. The earth pony called out furiously, trying to egg him into battle.
“What the matter, princeling?” he called. “Waiting for somepony to come and save you? There's nopony coming, you damned brat! Come out here and face your death like a stallion, it'll be the first time in your life you've been one!”
Blueblood ignored him, his chest heaving. The gray earth pony was insane; even if he wasn't one of Equestria's best warriors, Blueblood would have never stood a chance against his savage attacks. He was going to lose this fight, and he was going to die. Equestria and Aloa would go to war, and both countries would burn. He breathed heavily, and shook. The fire in his gut was going out.
“There's nopony left to save you, colt!” Iron yelled again. “Even your precious White Brook is dead now! Hah! The old pin-head thought he was so damned special! Where is he now, huh! Dead on the ground!”
Blueblood pinned his ears against his head, trying to block out the taunts. He needed to escape, somehow. He needed to save Equestria and Aloa. He needed to get home. If he ran out of the stall, Iron would see him, and kill him. If he stayed there, Iron would find him eventually. He heard the splintering noise of Iron bucking another stall into oblivion, and the gray pony laughed madly.
“You're nothing!” Iron yelled. “Nothing without somepony to clean up after you! Nothing without your master! Worthless!”
The words pierced through to Blueblood. For a moment, he thought that Iron was right. He had never believed that he could be anything without Brook. He had never dared to believe that he could be a good leader, or even a good pony. But Brook had. Blueblood closed his eyes and breathed deeply, calming his pounding heart
He stood suddenly, leaping onto the counter of the stall. The flame in his belly flared into an intense fire, its heat raging through his entire body. His eyes were set dead on Iron, full of an intense determination.
“If I'm nothing,” he said, his voice strangely calm, “then why are you so concerned about me?” Iron's head snapped to him, and the gray pony roared madly. Blueblood hopped down from the counter, charging at Iron. Iron set his hooves, charging as well.
The two ponies met in the middle of the square. Their chests struck one another powerfully, sending dust flying. Blueblood had expected to be flung back by the blow, but he had merely been stopped, as had Iron. For a moment they stood, necks interlocked, pushing vainly. Iron began to push Blueblood back, lifting him off the ground. Blueblood lashed out, slamming his head against Iron's. The gray pony didn't react, simply growling deeply as he pushed. In his lashings, Blueblood bit into Iron's wound. The scar opened, a fountain blood spraying out. It splattered on Blueblood's face and Iron reared back, screaming in agony.
“BASTARD!” he screamed, slamming his hooves down. Blueblood dodged out from beneath them just in time, and Iron turned into a flurry of lashing limbs. He was striking out blindly, trying to wipe the blood from his eye and to see again. Blueblood stared at him. There was no reason to his attacks, only fury. It took him a moment to see it, but Blueblood understood. Iron truly was insane, little better than an animal.
Iron finally managed to clear his eye, and he turned on Blueblood. He charged wildly, and Blueblood skipped to the side. He bucked out at the passing Iron, but the soldier dodged to the side. The buck was only a glancing blow. Whatever else was wrong with him, Iron's training still controlled his instincts. Blueblood had the advantage of reason and strategy, however. He goaded Iron into charging, skipping out of the way and attacking as he passed.
Around and around they went, moving through the square like dancers. Blueblood's heart thudded in his ears, and the fire rocked through his body. He could feel the blood pumping, feel his mind racing. Iron was screaming wordlessly, spittle and foam flying from his mouth as he charged. Blueblood turned, bucking him in the face. The earth pony flew backwards like he was a foal, tumbling across the cobbled ground. He jumped to his hooves, stomping madly. His hooves cracked the cobblestone, and he swung his head.
“YOU THINK YOU'RE WARRIOR?” he cried. “JUST BECAUSE OF SOME LUCKY BLOWS?” He charged at Blueblood again, and this time Blueblood met his charge. Once again they pounded against one another, dust flying away from the force of the impact. This time, however, it was not Blueblood who found himself skidding backwards.
The white stallion pushed as hard as he could. For a brief moment he was reminded of ploughing the fields at Brook's home. He pumped his legs steadily, working through the mad pony's strikes. He reared his head, throwing Iron to the ground. Iron rolled out of the way of Blueblood's stomping hooves, jumping upright again. His voice was like the screaming of a monster.
“YOU AREN'T BETTER THAN ME!” he screamed. “NONE OF YOU DAMNED UNICORNS ARE BETTER THAN ME!” He lashed out madly, catching Blueblood with a glancing blow. The unicorn hopped way, trying to distance himself from the mad pony.
Blueblood was getting tired. He was strong, but he was no earth pony. He was running out of steam, and Iron could keep going all day. While Blueblood was panting for breath, Iron was not even winded. The mad earth pony drove on, refusing to be beaten. He dashed at Blueblood, and the unicorn was too slow to dodge away. One of Iron's hooves caught him full in the face, sending him reeling backwards.
Blueblood's head swam as he stumbled back. Iron laughed evilly, taunting him. Blueblood could hardly hear his words, though. His ears rang, and his head ached furiously. He was only barely staying conscious, now. He fell to his knees, and Iron laughed even louder. The earth pony lowered his head, pawing the ground and preparing to make one final charge. He rocketed forward, and Blueblood's world went still.
Everything slipped away from him. All he knew was what he saw, and the furious aching in his mind. The fire still rocked through his body, concentrating on the centre of the ache. It felt like fire. It felt like ice. It felt like the air, and the earth. His mind reeled, and he took control of the reeling with practised ease, almost through instinct. His mind spread across the square, and the golden light of magic flooded his vision. He could see the flow of it, twisting and curling around the world. Light fled from broken stalls, joining strange new currents and drifting in strange patterns. Blueblood's mind swam, and he couldn't focus on any one part of it. So he focused on all of it.
There were no separate parts, he realized. It was all one single, flowing current. Shifting and twisting and warping, a single flow that moved in and out of everything. He watched Iron charge across the square, the magic swirling across his body and around his hooves. It rejoined the great current, moving through wood and stone, and into Blueblood's body. He reached out instinctively, taking hold of the current around Iron's hoof.
The earth pony stopped dead in mid-run, falling flat on his face. Blueblood's grip around his hoof was impenetrable. It was as if the current was a part of him, like another limb. He lifted it slowly, pulling a furious Iron into the air. Blueblood felt the fire blaze through his body, and he reared his head. His entire body shone with golden light, each single strand of hair bristling with a sparkling glow. The current flicked, rocketing Iron into the air.
Blueblood crouched down, setting his eyes on Iron in the sky. He could feel the current shifting around his hooves, curling into a tight spring. He leaped up, flying into the air. He caught up with Iron instantly, and for a moment the two sat, suspended in the air, unable to move. The current shifted as Blueblood willed it, taking hold of Iron again. A great whirlpool appeared in the air, spinning them both in a tight spiral. Blueblood let go of Iron, flinging him at the ground. He landed with a deafening crash, breaking the cobblestone and throwing up dust. Blueblood landed softly across the square, where it opened into the street. He was facing away from Iron, staring at his master.
The old pony's body still lay limply on the ground. The fire flared brighter in Blueblood’s gut as he thought of what Iron had done. He noticed the earth pony's axe, not too far away. He retrieved it, returning to Iron.
The gray earth pony lay on the ground, moaning. The fall had broken him, but it had not killed him. He struggled limply, unable to move as Blueblood approached. He looked up at the unicorn weakly. His eyes were still full of hatred and disdain, but he was smirking.
“You found my axe,” he said. Blueblood stared coldly down at him.
“You killed my master,” he said. Iron laughed weakly.
“I did,” he said. “What are you gonna do about it, huh? You gonna kill me?” Blueblood glared at him. He was going to kill Iron Towers. He knew that. Everything that had happened to him had been Iron's fault. Losing his home, his horn, being sold into slavery. His master's death. The war between Equestria and Aloa. It was all Iron's fault. He deserved to die. Blueblood hesitated.
“Well?” Iron asked. “Aren't you going to kill me? Or do you want some time to gloat, you damned unicorn?” He wheezed, struggling in vain to get up. “You think you're better than me? I would have killed you dead if it weren't for your damned magic. Does that make you better than me? Your magic?” He made a noise that was like laughter and coughing at the same time. “Just do it, bastard,” he said.
Blueblood tightened his grip on the handle. He wanted to kill him. He wanted desperately to kill Iron, so why couldn't he? It would be easy. All he had to do was lift the axe, and let it fall.
“Maybe you don't want to just kill me, huh?” Iron said. “Maybe that's too dirty for you. Don't want to get your hooves dirty, huh?” He wheezed, and grinned madly. “You know what I like about axes, Blueblood? They're versatile. You can do so much with an axe. You can take revenge. You can dispense justice. You can make your way in the world.” His smile disappeared. “Call it what you want,” he said, “just stop looking at me like you're better than me. Damned unicorns... think you're so great. Just do it already!” Blueblood closed his eyes, and lifted the axe.
“DO IT!” Iron screamed.
The axe came down.
There was silence, for a moment. Iron stared at the axe inches away from his nose, a look of disbelief on his face.
“I want to kill you,” Blueblood said. “I want to kill you so badly. But that's something the old Blueblood would do. I won't be like him. Never again.” He closed his eyes, and turned away. “Nopony deserves to die,” he said. “Not even you. It isn’t personal.” He walked away, and Iron screamed after him.
“YOU THINK THAT MAKES YOU GREAT?” he howled. “YOU THINK THAT MAKES YOU FUCKING GOOD? YOU AREN'T GOOD, YOU LITTLE BRAT! You can walk away, and you can pretend that you did good, but you and I both know what you are! YOU'RE A SPOILED GODDAMN BRAT!” He struggled madly, reaching for the axe at his nose. Blueblood looked back, flicking his head. The axe flew away from the screaming earth pony, embedding itself high on the wall. Iron screamed at him, thrashing madly and gnawing on the ground.
Blueblood walked slowly down the street. A few of the soldiers were beginning to come to, but Blueblood ignored them. He trotted slowly to the body of his master, lying on the ground. The green pony looked so old, lying there. He was alone, away from the other bodies. Blueblood knelt by him, nuzzling him gently.
“I knew you could do it.”
Blueblood blinked. Brook shifted gently, leaning up to nuzzle Blueblood back.
“I knew you could be good,” he said.
“Master?” Blueblood asked in disbelief. Brook smiled weakly.
“Of course,” he said.
“You... you’re alive?” Blueblood asked. “Iron... I thought he killed you!” Brook laughed.
“I fought a goddess,” he said slowly. “I'm a lot harder to kill than that.” He lay his head back down, wincing faintly. “Gods, I feel old. I stopped being a soldier twenty years ago.” He laughed weakly, and shook his head. Blueblood pressed his neck against the old pony's.
“I'm so glad you're okay, master,” he said. Brook smiled, and stroked his mane.
“I'm glad you're okay too,” he said. “But you have to go now. The carriage home won't wait forever.” Blueblood smiled weakly.
“You're right,” he said. “you're right.” He sniffed, nuzzling Brook one last time. “I need to make sure you'll be okay, master,” he said. He looked over his shoulder, looking among the soldiers who were getting up. Wet was the first to his hooves, and he trotted over slowly.
“What happened?” he asked fuzzily.
“Iron attacked,” Blueblood said. “He's in the square. He can hardly move.” He turned back to his master, saying, “Master needs a doctor.” Wet nodded.
“I can... ask somepony for directions to one. You need to get to the carriage, if it's still there.” Blueblood nodded weakly. Brook reached up and nuzzled him.
“Go on,” he said. “I'll be fine. Right now, your ponies need you. Be strong for them.” He smiled warmly. “I know you can do it, Blueblood. I'm so, so proud of you.” Blueblood smiled, tears in his eyes.
“Thank you master,” he said. He got to his hooves, and dashed down out of the city. The carriage was waiting for him, two nervous ponies ready to pull it to Equestria. He greeted them excitedly, hopping into the back.
The carriage trundled slowly up the mountains, leaving Blueblood nervously in the back amongst its wares. His mind raced, but strangely he couldn’t tell just what he was thinking. There seemed to be almost too many thoughts at once, blending together into a strange cacophony of images and notions. It was as if it was only now occurring to him just what had happened, and what was about to happen. His heart began to thump sickly in his chest, and an incredible nervousness gripped him.
He worried about Brook, wondering if the old pony would be alright. He wanted desperately to see his mother again, and to feel her embrace. He thought about what he had done to Iron, and about what he had refused to do to Iron. He trembled, and he wasn’t certain whether it was nervousness or excitement.
In spite of how slowly the carriage moved, the trip seemed to pass in moments. The sun dashed across the sky, and before Blueblood knew it, night had fallen. He had managed to calm his mind, and now all that he thought of was how badly he wanted to see his family again. He would miss Brook deeply, he knew, but as the carriage came to a shuddering stop, he couldn’t help but smile. After all this time, after everything that had happened to him, he was finally home.
Blueblood leaped out of the back, dashing to one of the servant entrances. The pony who had been pulling the carriage called something out to him, but Blueblood couldn’t hear him. He pounded on the door and a young mare opened it slowly, peering out at him.
“I'm sorry,” she said, “but we weren't expecting any ship... ments...” she squinted at Blueblood strangely. “Have we met?” she asked. Blueblood smiled, and offered his hoof.
“Not properly,” he said. The mare shook his hoof gently. “I'm afraid I don't have time for a proper introduction,” he said, “may I come inside?”
“Uh... why?” the mare asked. Blueblood looked at her entreatingly.
“Please,” he said. “It's important.” The mare stared for a while, and she couldn't help but nod. “Alright,” she said, opening the door for the big stallion, “come in.” Blueblood smiled, and trotted inside.
“Thank you, Miss Lilac,” he said. Lilac spluttered, but Blueblood had left the room before she could say anything.
“How did he know my name?” she asked to nopony in particular.
Blueblood trotted swiftly through the palace, his red wrappings trailing behind him loosely. They were beginning to come undone, but he had not taken the time to tie them again. He had not had time to worry about it. He had much more pressing concerns.
He remembered the palace. He recognized the old paintings and tapestries hung along the walls, the layout of the ancient building burned into his mind like a map. He found his hooves guiding him almost automatically to his destination. He swept past several surprised servants, pausing only to nod apologetically to them. Eventually he made his way deeper and deeper into the heart of the palace. He found himself in front of a large set of double doors, guarded by several pegasi guards.
“Halt!” they declared, barring the doors with their wings. “Her Royal Majesty Princess Celestia and Her Royal Highness Princess Amethyst Star are attending a war meeting with the generals.” Blueblood paused, but stood straight and tall.
“I need to see m - Princess Amethyst,” he said firmly. The guards paused for a moment, looking between one another.
“You can't see her,” they said. “Not until the meeting is done.” Blueblood stared past them, at the door. Much as he wanted to stop the war before it began, he knew that there would be plenty of time between the end of the meeting and the beginning of the battles.
“Alright,” he said. “I will wait for them.” He took a step back, sitting in front of the door. The guards stared at him strangely and they discussed what to do.
“We have to ask you to go,” one guard said. “You can seek an audience with Her Highness at open court tomorrow. Not here.” Blueblood shook his head.
“I need to see her as soon as possible,” he said. “It can't wait until tomorrow.”
“Well, it's going to have to,” the guard said firmly. He moved forward to shoo Blueblood away, but he started as the door behind him creaked into life.
The door swung open gently, revealing Blueblood's mother and aunt, flanked by several rough-looking ponies in ornate armour. The group took a few steps forward before pausing. They stared awkwardly at Blueblood, who stood expectantly.
“Ah, You Majesty,” the guard said. “I apologize for the stallion, we were just telling him that he had to leave. He insists on speaking to you.” Celestia waved her hoof, staring silently at Blueblood. His mother stared, open-mouthed. Blueblood blinked awkwardly, and noticed himself in the polished marble walls.
It was only then that he realized how different he looked from the pony who had disappeared half a year ago. Gone was the toned muscle and barrel chest, and the finely styled blond mane. The haughty expression had disappeared, replaced by a quiet, gentle face. His mane hung long, draping over his muzzle and across his neck wildly. He had grown large and thick from months of farm labour, and the red wrappings hung limply across his shoulders. His aunt and mother probably didn't recognize him. With the blood of another pony spattered across his face, he probably looked some strange transient, or worse.
“I...” he said, “ah...” He fell silent, staring awkwardly at the two noblemares. Amethyst stared at him. There was a strange look in her eye, like she was trying to understand something. It was as if she were staring at some long-forgotten language. She took a slow step forward, tilting her head quizzically. A look of understanding came over her, and of hope.
“...Blueblood?” she asked quietly. Blueblood smiled widely. His heart soared, and he swallowed.
“Hi, Mom,” he said. Amethyst dashed across the hall, throwing herself at Blueblood.
“Oh, Blueblood!” she cried happily. “You're back! Thank gods, you're back!” She held him tight and he laughed, sitting down with her.
“That's right, mom,” he said. “I'm home. It's alright.” Amethyst was crying with joy, fawning over her son.
“Oh, my foal,” she said. “My little foal! I can't believe you came back. I thought I'd never see you again. I thought they’d taken you away from me, just like your father!” Blueblood stroked her mane gently.
“I'm back now, Mom. You can stop this all.” Amethyst stared at him, and he smiled warmly.
“The Aloans aren't the ones who kidnapped me, Mom,” he said. “It wasn't their fault. Please, stop the war. I don't want anypony die over some mistake.”
“I...” Amethyst said, “I...” her voice slipped away, and she sobbed happily into Blueblood's shoulder. Celestia walked slowly over to the pair, wrapping them in her wings.
“I'm glad you’re safe, Blueblood,” she said quietly. “You were all we wanted back. The war is over.”
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Kegisak
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1052
| 16 |
Prince Blueblood,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Colour You Bleed
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Blueblood is kidnapped, and dumped in an unfriendly neighboring country.
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complete
| 470 | 8 |
<p>Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.</p>
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teen
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2012-01-05T01:16:57+00:00
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2012-01-05T01:16:57+00:00
| 7,284 |
Epilogue: In Which the Sun Sets
The sun rose slowly in the eastern sky. Its light was full of warmth and happiness, washing over the Equestrian Valley like a golden wave. It washed down through the mountain villages, over the great plains and fields, finally falling on the beautiful city of Canterlot. Its alabaster buildings shone magnificently, and somewhere deep within the palace an ancient pony smiled the sort of smile only somepony who has worked their craft for millennia can manage. Elsewhere within the palace, a young stallion stirred.
Blueblood sat up slowly in his bed. He blinked blearily, and yawned. He leaned back to stretch, but found himself falling backwards into the soft mattress again. He sighed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was having trouble adjusting to sleeping in such a large and soft bed. The silken sheets felt bizarre against his fur, and he sank deep into the mattress when he slept. He yawned again, rolling out of the oversized bed.
He trotted across the room, trying not to make too much noise on the marble floors. He made his way to a large vanity desk across the room and sat down in front of it, looking at the various pieces of ostentatious jewelry and clothing laid out. Chief among them was a large, golden crown. It had been crafted by the finest jeweller in Canterlot, summoned specifically to have it made. It was trimmed with silver, and in the very centre there lay an enormous garnet. Blueblood sighed when he looked at it. He had insisted that the stone be red, one of the few things he had managed to win the jeweller over on. The tiny mare had been remarkably stubborn about her design. At the very least Blueblood had convinced her not to craft the garnet into a false horn.
He set the crown aside, glancing at the other objects on the desk. There were several small hair decorations, which he passed over. Various suit necks and collars lay out, and there were more in the wardrobe by his bed. He passed these over as well, running his hoof across a beautiful red cloth. He shook his head, and picked up a brush. He ran it through his hair a few times, keeping it in a vague semblance of place, and stood up. He trotted to his door, pulling it open slowly. On the other side there stood a very surprised-looking maid, her hoof raised to knock.
“Ah, Your Highness!” the maid, a little blue unicorn, said. “I, ah, came to help you get ready this morning.”
“Oh,” Blueblood said. “I'm sorry. I didn't really need any help.” The maid blinked at him.
“You are, ah, already ready, sire?” she asked. Blueblood blinked, and looked down at himself. True, his appearance was not as lavish as it had been in the past, but he was still presentable.
“Yes,” he said. “I thought that this would be alright for today. Is something the matter?” The unicorn waved her hooves apologetically.
“No sire!” she said, “I'm very sorry!”
“That's alright,” Blueblood said. “Have you had breakfast yet? You should take a break.” the maid blinked at him.
“That's all right,” she said. “I'm... sure I can find something else to do...” She took a step back, and Blueblood nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “Have a nice day.”
“You too?” she said, confused. Blueblood smiled at her, and trotted away.
He walked quietly through the hallways, smiling and nodding good morning to any ponies he passed. It had been nearly a month now since his return to Canterlot, and many of the servants were still growing accustomed to the prince’s new behaviour. They gave him strange glances, and whispered to each other about what had happened. He found that he didn't mind the rumours. He had found two young stallions discussing him once, and he was surprised to discover just how strange many of them were. Most of the kingdom believed that he kidnapped by bandits, for ransom. Some rumours even said that he had been captured by a dragon, who had eaten his horn. He had surprised a old maid by laughing when he'd heard that particular rumour.
He entered the kitchens quietly, dodging between scurrying chefs. They were preparing the day’s meals, of course, readying breakfast for the servants and nobleponies alike. Blueblood slunk up to a stove, sidling alongside a heavy-set beige pegasus.
“Mornin' Highness!” the pegasus said. Blueblood smiled.
“Good morning, Peanut. I don't suppose you have time to join me for breakfast?” The pegasus laughed heartily, and shook his head.
“No can do, Highness,” he said. “We have to keep working to feed all those big ponies like you up there.” He grinned, giving Blueblood a good-natured nudge. “Why, you alone could keep one of us busy all day, in your prime.” Blueblood chuckled.
“Well, I'll lessen the load for you,” he said. He poured a small sack of grain into a pot of water and cream, preparing a pot of porridge for himself. Peanut tossed a small hooffull of spices into the pot, winking at Blueblood. The unicorn thanked him, and had his breakfast silently among the chefs.
When he was done he ventured once again into the palace, this time making his way to the garden. He spent most of his day there, walking among the flowers and watching the animals play. Around mid-afternoon a young soldier came galloping up to him, panting heavily. He was an earth pony, his coat a pale orange. Morning Light, he was called. He was not much older than Blueblood himself, but had already begun to move up in the ranks of the guards. He was a talented fighter, Blueblood had been told when the stallion was assigned as his new bodyguard, and extremely vigilant. Blueblood had also happened to notice that he was very prone to worry.
“There you are, Your Highness!” the guard said. Blueblood had been watching a small pigeon hopping across the ground. The bird was brave enough that the guard's approach had not scared it away, and Blueblood smiled up at the earth pony.
“Hello, Light,” he said. Morning Light caught his breath, and pawed the earth.
“I've been looking for you all day, Your Highness,” he said.
“I'm sorry,” Blueblood said. “I thought you must have had the day off. You weren't outside this morning...” Light blinked shyly.
“I... had taken a break,” he said. “I thought I could get breakfast before you woke up. I didn't know where you had gone after that. I tried the auditorium, the gallery, the servants’ wings -”
“I was just out here,” Blueblood interrupted before Light could continue to list off the places he had been. “I'm sorry, Light. I hadn't meant to worry you.” Light sighed.
“No,” he said, “I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. But I wish you wouldn't go off on your own. Something could happen to you.” Blueblood smiled wryly.
“I appreciate your concern,” he said. “But I doubt I'll run into much worse here than I've been through before.” He smiled up at Light. “I was just watching the birds,” he said. “Would you care to join me?”
Such was life for Blueblood now. The days came and went without incident or event. He often wondered just what he had found to do in the days before he went to Aloa. He found himself more and more wandering Canterlot Palace's vast hallways, desperately searching for something he could do. He offered to help the servants, but he was invariably turned down. Some days he sat on open court with his aunt, but many ponies were far too preoccupied with their farms and homes to concern themselves with the princess. It was harvest season now, after all. The last of the crops were being brought in, and prepared for the inevitable onset of winter.
He wondered how Brook was managing his little farm. Surely he would have more than enough food to last him through the winter, now. He and Blueblood had exchanged a few letters, but it wasn't the same as being there with him. He wished that he could see the old pony again. He tried to invite him to come to the palace, but Brook wouldn't budge. Blueblood's mother had refrained from commenting on the old pony. Her response to his letter had been one of strange silence.
So Blueblood wandered the halls. Some days he would sit in the library and read. Some days he would go into the gardens, as he had today. Some days he would even venture into the city, striking up conversation with the citizens. He had found a wonderful doughnut shop where the students of Canterlot University liked to eat, and he had taken a shining to it.
Now, though, the evening was fast approaching. Blueblood wandered the halls of Canterlot Palace alone, Light having been dismissed for a break. Blueblood found himself moving higher and higher through the palace, eventually finding his way to his aunt's great tower. He climbed the staircase up the tower, peeking his head inside. It was completely empty. He thought for a moment of turning back, but he noticed that the door to the balcony was open as well. He closed the door behind him gently, and trotted out onto the balcony.
The view was magnificent. All of Canterlot stretched before him. All of Equestria, in fact. He could even see over the tips of the mountains to the west. He strained his eyes, thinking that perhaps if he looked hard enough he could see Aloa again. All that was there were the mountaintops, though. He shook his head, and sighed.
He heard the door creak open softly, and looked back. Luna had entered the room.
“Auntie Luna,” Blueblood said as the little goddess came to join him on the balcony.
“Blueblood,” she said quietly. Blueblood smiled faintly.
“It seems a bit early to raise the moon, doesn't it?” he asked. To his surprise, Luna smiled.
“I suppose it is,” she said. “I like to come up here early sometimes. The view is wonderful, isn't it?” Blueblood nodded.
“Yes...” he said, “it is.” He looked out over the view, savouring the cool autumn breeze on his face. Both ponies were silent for a long time. Eventually Blueblood stirred awkwardly, leaning against the banister.
“So,” he said. “Auntie Celestia tells me that you were gone for a long time.”
“Yes,” she said. “I took a small trip. I hear that I was gone almost as long as you were.” Blueblood smiled contemplatively.
“About six months,” he said. “That's some trip.” He peered over at her. “Where did you go?”
“I went out of the country,” she said. “The world is so much different now from the world I knew. I like to explore it. To visit other countries, and their ponies.”
“Really?” Blueblood said. “I thought you didn't like other ponies?”
“I don't like being worshipped,” Luna replied wryly. She smirked and said, “But it is the work of a moment to apply a simple disguise. Most ponies can't tell the difference between a pegasus and an alicorn without her horn.” Blueblood laughed.
“I know what you mean,” he said. “What were you doing for six months, though?” Luna shrugged.
“A lot of things, really,” she said. “I visited a few friends of mine. I had a favour I wanted to ask of one of them. He's an old pony, very nice.” she shook her head. “He and I used to talk until dawn. Then I looked after somepony else for a while.” Blueblood peered at her, smiling.
“Sounds like you had a bit of a better time than me,” he said. Luna smiled, and tilted her head.
“I suppose,” she said. “But you had an adventure. There's so little adventure to be had, when you're as old as I am.” Blueblood nodded.
“I guess it’s all back to normal now, though,” he said. “No more war... I’m home again... Iron’s trial is almost over. They just have to decide whether to put him in prison, or an asylum.”
“And the ambassador?” Luna asked. Blueblood shrugged.
“They haven’t found him yet,” he said. “There’s a dock worker who thinks he either went to the eastern islands, or Ashantimare.” They fell into silence again, watching the sun begin to sink along the mountains. Suddenly, Blueblood spoke.
“Auntie?” he asked. Luna peered at him. He was leaning on the banister, wringing his hooves. “What's eternity like?” Luna blinked at him. “I mean,” he said, looking up into the sky, “What’s it like to live forever? So much changed for me, so fast. None of this feels the same anymore. It's all so strange. Alien, almost.” He sighed, and rubbed his eyes. “I'm afraid,” he admitted. “Could it happen again? Will it always keep changing like this? In another six months will I look back on myself and wonder who I was?” Luna stared at him silently for a moment.
“Perhaps,” she said. “But then, perhaps not. When I was a little filly, millennia ago, these mountains were wild and dangerous. A great forest creeps over the home that I knew a thousand years ago. Countries that I do not know have risen, and countries that I knew once no longer exist.” She shook her head. “Things change,” she said. “It can be frightening... but you learn to accept the change. You can never fight against it. It simply happens.”
“How can you stand it?” Blueblood asked. “Knowing you could wake up one day and be somepony completely different?” Luna smiled sweetly at him.
“I am true to myself,” she said. “I found something that I loved more than anything. I always work towards that, and I never let it slip away from me. No matter how much I change, I always have that. I will always be Luna, if I am nothing else.” She looked out at the sky, and Blueblood followed her gaze. The sun brushed along the tips of the mountains in the west, turning them to gold in the twilight. “There's nopony pulling the strings,” Luna said. “Things just happen. It isn't personal... so it's up to us to make it personal.” She smiled faintly, and Blueblood found himself smiling as well.
“Thank you, Auntie,” he said. Luna smiled.
“You're welcome,” she said. A sly smile crept across her lips, almost imperceptible in faint light. “You know,” she said, “I've been talking to big sister. After how poorly negotiations with Aloa went, she's thinking of sending an Ambassador.”
“Really?” Blueblood asked. Luna nodded.
“Oh yes... she's trying to convince me to go, but I'm not certain that I'm really cut out for it. Politics isn't really my world anymore... and besides, I don't know anything about Aloan culture. I think it should be somepony who's spent time in Aloa before.” She smirked at Blueblood, who began to smile. “Do you think you know anypony like that?” she asked.
“I might,” he said. “Thank you, Auntie.” Luna smiled.
“You're welcome,” she replied. She flapped her wings, lifting off the high balcony. Blueblood watched her fly into the night, and left the tower. He trotted silently through the emptying halls of Canterlot palace, returning to his room. Light was waiting for him at the door, and Blueblood bid him a good night. Before the white stallion went to his bed, however, he stopped by his desk. There was a small package on it, wrapped in a soft old cloth. He opened it, smiling gently as the sun set.
Inside was an old book of poetry, and two small nails.
Author’s note: So that’s that. It’s been a hell of a ride, for me. I just wanted to throw out a few ‘thank you’s here, now that it’s all done.
Firstly, A huge thank you to both Vimbert and Vanner of the Ponychan /Fic/ board, my reviewers. You both helped this story along enormously, keeping me on the right track and helping me polish it up. I know that, without you, this story would never have been half of what it is now.
Thanks to everyone on the TVTropes Pony Fanfiction thread for being a test audience, and for offering advice and critique when I asked.
An especially huge thanks to BillyColt for sticking around and giving me someone to talk at when I needed to work through a block or a stubborn idea, and for inspiring me on with music and your own story.
Finally, and most importantly, thank you. You, reading this now. All of you. Everyone who commented, or even just read the story. I’ve never done anything of this magnitude before, and you guys were a huge source of drive and inspiration for me. Thank you all, and I hope that you enjoyed it.
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-07T03:54:09+00:00
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2011-10-07T03:54:09+00:00
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It was just one of those nights. The stars were out, shining brightly behind the ambient, glowing moon. Most ponies sleep at this time because of the work and play that the day brings. Twilight Sparkle was not one of thse ponies. She loved the night, the moon, the stars, and the serenity that came with it. She could spend hours in the night studying or practicing astronomy.
But tonight she just watched the stars. So much had happened recently that it felt nice to be able to just relax. Being the thinker that she was, her mind raced no matter how much she wished she could just lay back and enjoy the evening. Her body was just too alive for her to be able to just sit there. Figuring that it might do her some good, she took an idea she read in a book to relax. She went on a leasuly walk through Ponyvile.
As she wondered through the town, she felt both uneasy and relaxed at the same time. The dead quiet of the town was startling, but after everything that happens around Ponyvile, it was nice for the town to seem semi-normal. As she reached the edge of town she started to slow down. The beauty of the countryside at night was breath taking. The hills had a wonderful glow from the moonlight and the sky was so clear, atleast compared to Canterlot. All the while she was walking further and further from her home. After a while though, she started to hear something. It was not very loud, but if she listened close enough she could just faintly hear it.
Intrigued by the sound, Twilight decided to find its source. After wondering for a good amount of time, Twilight found herself near Fluttershy's cottage. As Twilight neared the cottage, the sound slowly became more defined. It was the sound of pain, it was the sound somepony filled with dispair. When Twilight heard this, she found the urge to go to the source to find a way to end the pain it was in. With the urge in her heart taking control, Twilight walked up to Fluttershy's cottage and looked in the giant front windows.
There on the couch was Fluttershy, her head in her hooves, her body shaking with the sobs she was emmiting. The sight of this broke Twilight's heart. Fluttershy was the gentlest and kindest pony she knew. What would cause her to breakdown like this? For a while, Twilight just stood there lost for words, het mind racing at all the possible things that could cause her friend to cry. Slowly, Fluttershy's body stopped shaking and her breathing slowed, signifing that she had fallen asleep. Twilight, not wanting to disturb her friend's sleep, left. On her way back to the library, her mind raced with thoughts about this newest development. Her mind was starting to slow down by the time she reached Ponyvile, almost completely stopped by the time she reached her library home, and as she reached her bed she only had one thought in her mind.
'I have to help Fluttershy.'
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-07T03:55:33+00:00
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2011-10-07T03:55:33+00:00
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The sun broke through the window, beams of light brightening the room. With a groan, Twilight got up. Her hooves felt like led and her eyes just couldn't stay open, slowly drooping. For a moment she just sat there, her mind still half locked in a sleep-like state. Then, with a start, she remebered what she saw last night.
Twilight hooped out if bed, and began to rush to find Fluttershy. As she passed a mirror though, she caught sight of the bed mane and paniced look in her eyes made her slow down. Taking in the shocking image of the feral pony in the mirror, Twilight stopped and took out her brush.
After spending the time to compose herself, Twilight trotted out of her library home. Ponyvile was a completely different scene from the one she experienced last night. The market was full of ponies buying and selling goods. Ponies were stopped in conversation, the birds were chirpping, the sun was shining. Twilight began her journey through town, smiling politely at the ponies who passed her. Though the town was busy, Twilight managed to get through the crowd with relative ease. She let out a sigh of relief, and then she proceed to head towards Fluttershy's cottage.
After traveling through the rolling hills that surrounded Ponyvile, Twilight reached her destination. Slowly she approached thedoor to the cottage, figuring out just what she would say to Fluttershy. She did not want to scare the timid pony back into a corner, but at the same time she wanted answers. When she raised her hoof to knock on the door, she noticed the lack of activity around the cottage. Twilight paused, thinking about this oddity, before she proceed to knock. After a few moments of knocking, Twilight waited patiently, only to be left sitting outside the cottage. After waiting a few minutes, she got up and left.
Twilight began wandering back towards town, her mind even deeper in thought then on the trip to the cottage. The thought of Fluttershy going missing starting to bring back that sense of panic she had experienced earlier that morning. Begining to fear the worst, Twilight ran back to town, all the while her mind racing through the horrible possiblities of events that could be happening to Fluttershy at that very moment. These thoughts only added full to her fire, causing her to gallop at full speed through Ponyvile, with other ponies just able to jump out of the way. Then, suddenly, she couldn't move.
Twilight found herself being held in place by a rope that had managed to be wraped around her hooves while she'd been running at a rediculous pace. Looking behind her she saw an orange cowmare that was responsible for her stop of movement.
"Now hold up there sugarcube. What in tarnation got ya so worked up that yer practically tearin' up Ponyvile from its foundation?" Asked Applejack. Applejack had been leaving her stand in the market for an early lunch break when she heard the ruckus that Twilight was causing in her rush.
"Applejack! I don't have time for this! I have to find her!" Twilight shouted at Applejack before continuing to struggle against the knot when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Slowly, Twilight looked up at the orange earth pony.
"Twi, Ah want ya to listen here. Before ya continue destroyin' the town Ah want to know whats got ya so worked up." Applejack said slowly, making sure the captive mare was litening to her and not trying to escape. Slowly Twilight took a deep breath.
"Applejack, it's Fluttershy. She's gone missing. She's not at her cottage and I don't know where to look." Twilight said while she tried to calm down just enough to get Applejack to let her go.
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-07T03:56:22+00:00
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2011-10-07T03:56:22+00:00
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Applejack paused, surprised at Twilight's panic over Fluttershy being away from her cottage. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, which effectively gained Twilight's attention.
"Twi, you do realise that today is the day that Fluttershy goes to the spa with Rarity, right?" Applejack stated. Upon hearing this, Twilight stopped struggling. She felt stupid. She had freaked out over nothing all because she forgot about Fluttershy's weekly spa day with Rarity. While she mentally berated herself on forgeting that piece of information, Applejack untied the purple unicorn. After Applejack was done, Twilight stood up and began to laugh nervously.
"Well now that was sure foalish of me." Twilight said, trying to break the awkward tension that had begun to form. Applejack just looked at Twilight, trying to figure why she had been so worked up about Fluttershy not being home. A few more moments passed, nothing being said between the two mares. Finally Applejack broke the silence between the two.
"Now sugarcube somethings on yer mind, Ah don't know what it is, but ya need to get yer head cleared. If ya need somepony to talk to, ya know Ah've always got time for a friend." Applejack told Twilight, the concer evident in her eyes. Sighing, Twilight looked down.
"Don't worry Applejack, I'm fine. I just needed to borrow a book on animals."Twilight lied," I can just get it from her later."
"Ya sure?" Applejack questioned, not entirely buying the lie.
"I'm fine Applejack. Anyway, I've got to get back home, plenty of books to read, spells to cast." Twilight replied, her eyes looking anywhere but Applejack.
"Alright then, Twi, Ah'll see ya around." Applejack said before heading back towards her cart.
Twilight let out a sigh of relief, glad that her encounter with the orange earth pony had ended without her making a bigger foal of herself. Silently, Twilight headed back to her library home.
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-07T03:57:08+00:00
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2011-10-07T03:57:08+00:00
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Twilight relaxed for the first time that day. She was glad to be home, to finally be able to get her mind off of last night's events. Even though she was still worried about Fluttershy, she was certain that it would be better now that Fluttershy was with someone she could confide in.
Slowly Twilight got back into her usual routine of studying for hours on end. When she finally took a break to satisfy the thunderous growls coming from her stomach, the sun had already set and the moon was begining its ascent into the sky. After eating a simple sandwich, Twilight stopped by her balcony, looking briefly out at the night sky. Her mind began towander when she suddenly took in a sharp breath. Fluttershy came to mind, causing Twilight to begin to worry again. Deciding that she could wait no longer to get her answer, Twilight left her library home.
Once again, Ponyvile was the quiet, empty husk of the town it is during the day. But now was not the time to focus on that. Twilight needed to know what could possibly bring tears to the eyes of her gentle pegasus friend. Time passed quickly as Twilight went through the town and surrounding area towards Fluttershy's cottage. Once again Twilight heard the noise, the sound that broke her heart, the sound of Fluttershy crying. Twilight's pace only increased when she heard it. Within minutes Twilight reached the cottage, and inside the same scene was unfolding. There on the couch was Fluttershy, tears staining her face, sobs wracking her whole body. As the crying continued, Twilight's heart broke further and further. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She walked up to the door and knocked. Inside, Twilight heard a small squeak, followed by the sounds of the pegasus composing her self. Then the door opened just a crack.
"He-hello,Twi-twilight. Wh-what are yo-you doing out at th-this time of night?" Spoke the timid mare that stood behind the door.
"Fluttershy, I came because i found you crying last night. Today I tried to find you, only to be reminded of the fact that today was your and Rarity's spa day. But it really had me worried Fluttershy. What in Equestria could cause you so much pain. Why didn't you tell anypony? You should know that we are all here for you. So please Fluttershy, tell me what is wrong." Twilight pleaded at the pegasus. For a few moments, Twilight was worried that Fluttershy would hide away whatever was the cause of the pain. Then, their eyes locked, both seeing the emotions deep within the other's heart. Twilight saw the happiness and joy that she had come to know of Fluttershy. But she also saw something she did not expect. She saw anger and distrust. The strongest of all, though, was pain. It was like a dam that was overflowing. It hurt Twilight to see that the timid mare had so much pain.
Fluttershy was seeing something entirely different. She saw the curiousity that Twilight always had, along with the confusion that usually came with it. But she also saw so much more. There was happiness, pain, hope and, most of all, compasion. That was the one that hit home for Fluttershy. The fact that somepony cared enough to come to her and help her with her problems was foreign to her. At that, Fluttershy broke down in front of Twilight. Shocked and worried by the sudden breakdown, Twilight rushed to Fluttershy's side and pulled her into a hug. Slowly Twilight led the pegasus to the couch. Once they settled down on the couch, another wave of sobs shook the pegasus's body. Twilight started to rub circles on Fluttershy's back while whispering words of comfort to the pastel mare. The two ponies sat there, many feelings and emotions passing without a word being said. After a bit of time, both ponies drifted off into the land of dreams.
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-07T03:58:17+00:00
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2011-10-07T03:58:17+00:00
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Twilight's eyes fluttered open as Celestia's sun lit up the room. As she opened her eyes, the wall infront of her was not one she reconized. Where her mirror would be, there was a fireplace. Not to mention the walls were a different color. Twilight started to panic, fearing that somepony had ponynapped her, when something soft nuzzled into her side. She turned her head to see Fluttershy curled up next to her. Twilght felt herself begining to blush. She was torn between moving away from this slightly embarrassing situation and letting the beautiful mare keep sleeping peacefully at her side. As Twilight pondered this, she remebered Spike, who was probably just waking up at home wondering where she was. Twilight got off the couch when she heard a noise behind her. Turning around she saw the timid pegasus looking at her shock in her eyes. Fluttershy started to blush, which made Twilight think of how cute that looked. They both began to stare at one another, the tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Eventually Fluttershy spoke.
"Um thank you Twilight, it means a lot to me that you were um there for me." She stammered out. Twilight looked at the mare for a quick second before regaining her train of thought.
"Its no problem Fluttershy. I am sorry that I woke you though. I just need to get back home. Spike didn't know about my trip out here, so he'll probably be worried." Twilight replied.
"Twilight, could you not tell anypony about this, if that's ok with you. I really don't want the others to worry" Fluttershy said quietly.
"Sure thing Fluttershy. I won't tell a soul." Twilight told the pastel mare. Smiling she began to head out the door when she felt a pair hooves wrapped around her. Looking back she saw Fluttershy hugging her, a smile on her face.
"Thank you Twilight." Fluttershy whispered. They stayed there for a moment before Fluttershy let go, both of the ponies missing the warmth that the other brought. Silently Twilight made her way back towards town.
As Twilight walked back towards Ponyvile, her mind began to wander. Her thoughts constantly goingvback to the sight she had seen this moening. She thought about how right it felt, how happy it made her. She then began to think about the pegasus herself. How sweet and caring she was, but how she could be strong when she needed. The more Twilight thought of the mare, the faster her heart beat. As Twilight was walking, lost in thought, Rainbow Dash flew overhead. She had been clearing the skies when she saw Twilight. Slowly she flew down in front of the unicorn. As she landed infront of Twilight, the unicorn was so lost in thought that she walked strait into Rainbow Dash's flank. After recovering from the embarrassing collision, Twilight looked at the cyan pegasus.
"Geez Twi, you've got to watch where your going. What could possible have you so distracted that you ran right into me, unless you meant to. Cuz I know I'm amazing, but I don't fly that way." Said Rainbow Dash in her usual boasterous tone. Twilight just stood there for a moment, figuring out exactly what just happened before blushing.
"Whoops, sorry Rainbow, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going. I just have a lot on my mind." Twilight said before blushing again at the thought of Fluttershy. This blush did not escape the notice of the pegasus.
"So who's the lucky stallion?" Questioned the cyan mare. The question caught Twilight off guard, causing her to start to panic, worried that her secret would be spilled.
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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hiatus
| 43 | 1 |
<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-08T18:30:02+00:00
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2011-10-08T18:30:02+00:00
| 3,088 |
"Um well, you see, uhhh........" Twilight stammered out, trying to come up with a reasonable answer to Rainbow's question. Although not uncommon, mares liking other mares was still slightly looked down upon and Twilight definantly did not want to lose any of her friends because of it. As Twilight mulled over the possiblities, Rainbow Dash was trying to come up with a reason as to why Twilight was hiding something. Trying to get the unicorn's attention again, the weatherpony began waving her hoof infront of Twilight's face.
"Yoo-hoo, Twiiiiillliiiiight? Are you there?" Rainbow Dash said with mild annoyance in her voice. When the cyan pegasus spoke, Twilight quickly came back to reality. She quickly looked around, checking if anypony was nearby. While she had been lost in thought, Twilight had come to the conclusion that if she would tell anypony about her preferences, Rainbow Dash would be the best option, because of her loyalty and her supportiveness.
"Well you see, the pony I like is not exactly a stallion." Twilight said with a blush. Rainbow Dash just stood there for second. Twilight began to panic, worried that the cyan pegasus would be disgusted with her, or would begin to degrade her where she stood. But instead of doing any of those things, Rainbow Dash began to smile.
"Is that what had you so worked up? Sheesh Twi, you think I care about you liking stallions or mares? As long as you don't hit on me, we're golden." Rainbow Dash said nonchilantly. At this Twilight smile and hugged the cyan pegasus.
"Oh Rainbow, you don't realise how much this means to me. I was so worried that you would ridicule me, or beat me up, or ridicule and beat me up. But now you said it's fine!" Rambled a relieved Twilight. She was just happy that atleast one of her friends would stand by her. Slowly she realized that she was still hugging the cyan pegasus. Blushing she pulled away muttering apologies.
"So anyway Twi, who's the lucky mare? And, as I said before, I may be awesome, but I don't fly that way." Rainbow Dash said as she floated lazily in the air infront of the lavender unicorn. Twilight blushed before looking away. Rainbow Dash just smiled at her, waiting for the answer. As Twilight slowly thought up of some way to getting out telling Rainbow Dash that she was starting to crush on Fluttershy, an energetic pink pony hopped on over. Humming to herself, she made her way over to the pair of mares.
"Hi Rainbow! Hi Twilight! I just saw you two standing over here talking and I was like 'I bet that they are planning something', then I thought that maybe it was a party, but then I realized that was silly because you would get me to help if it was a party, well except for that one time where you all threw me a surprise party, which was super dooper awesome!" Pinkie Pie said in her usual overexcited manner. While she said this, both Twilight and Rainbow turned to look at her, trying to keep pace with the movement of the pink pony's mind. Eventually they caught up, looked at each other, and with a slight nod from Twilight, they decided to tell the energetic earth pony.
"Well Pinkie, we weren't planning a party. I was just talking to Rainbow Dash about who we had crushes on." Twilight said with a blush. Looking at the party pony, she saw that Pinkie was still bouncing in place with a big smile on her face.
"Oooohh, who is it? Is it Big Macintosh? Or Carmel? or -"Pinkie began to guess before Rainbow Dash shoved a hoof in her mouth. Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie with an annoyed look before speaking.
"Well Pinkie, If you would wait a few second, I'm sure Twilight would be able to tell us." Rainbow Dash told the pink party pony, beginning to become impatient from waiting so long to find out. Silently, Pinkie nodded, and they both turned to Twilight.
"Well the pony I like is um Fluttershy..." Twilight said while rubbing her hoof on the back of her neck. Rainbow Dash had a surprised expression, expecting somepony more bookish, while all Pinkie did was smile.
"Oh Twilight, I'm so so so so happy for you! Have you told her yet? Are you two in love? Cuz then I could throw you a party! Then everypony can see how cute you two look together and be all happy with you!" Pinkie told Twilight, getting a small smile from her.
"Well you see that's the problem, I can't exactly find the right way to tell her. I mean there is nothing about it in any of my books and I just don't know what somepony should do in this situation." Twilight said while beginning to worry, realizing that she had no clue on how to tell the timid pegasus about her feelings. She thought over all the possibilities of things that she could do to tell Fluttershy without scaring her. Rainbow Dash just looked at her with a smile and began to form a plan.
"Twilight, you've got nothing to worry about! You'll have the best pick up pony in all of Equestria helping you. And Pinkie too." Rainbow said with a cocky smirk on her face.
"Really? You would do that for me? Oh thank you so much!" Twilight exclaimed pulling both ponies into a big hug.
"Alright Twi, enough with the hugging. Now let's head back to your home to begin to plan it out." Rainbow Dash said while squirming out of the hug. Slowly the ponies all began to head back to Twilight's library home to plan out her next move.
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A/N:
Sorry that it took so long ya'll. Life just kinda got in the way.
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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hiatus
| 43 | 1 |
<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
|
2011-10-10T22:31:43+00:00
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2011-10-10T22:31:43+00:00
| 2,557 |
Hey everyone. I kinda just felt to give ya'll a quick warning. The next chapter might be slow to come out. The main reason is for the fact that I am hitting some writers block, but atleast not in what I think is the traditional sense. I know where I am taking the story, I know what is going to happen, and I know what's happening at the start of the next chapter. The main problem is that when I start to write it, my words get tangled and I start to try and skip the scene, but it is needed. I just need to focus and spend the time to do it. So once again I am sorry but the next chapter probably will be delayed, unless the inspiration fairy decides to pay me a visit. Also if anyone would like to proof read this story, it would be greatly appriciated
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1053
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Main 6,Spike,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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hiatus
| 43 | 1 |
<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
|
2011-10-17T02:00:24+00:00
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2011-10-17T02:00:24+00:00
| 2,589 |
Twilight sighed as she closed the door behind Rainbow and Pinkie. They had exhausted Twilight with all their crazy ideas of telling Fluttershy her feelings, but she had shot them all down. They had varied from a bouquet of flowers to dropping out of the sky while fireworks went off in the background. Twilight had dismissed almost all of them, although the flowers idea did appeal to her. But now she just worried about how she was going to say it. It would have to wait though, Rainbow had warned Twilight of a major storm being made at the moment. It was going to be strong and would last most of the night. It made Twilight worry a little about Fluttershy because of what she had witnessed over the last few nights. But there really was nothing she could do, at least until she figured out exactly how to tell Fluttershy her feelings. She began to think over all the possibilities again, making lists for the pros and the cons. She worried over all the things that could go wrong, slowly making her worry more and more about what could happen if Fluttershy turned her down. Then she remembered what Rainbow had told her.
"Twilight no matter what you do involving Fluttershy, you should know that she does look to others for strength. If you want to even stand a chance with her you have to show her true strength, which also means that you cannot freak out about things like this. You just need to trust your instincts and hope for the best."
Twilight sighed, letting her mind begin to wander, now that it was no longer harbored down by thoughts of rejection. She slowly sat down to catch up on her studies. She began to read, enjoying the the quiet companionship of her books.
Suddenly, Twilight just barely heard the sound of somepony knocking at her door. Curious, she looked up from her book, seeing that several hours had passed. It would have been a little after sunlight if it wasn't for the storm that covered the sky. Slowly she got up from her desk and walked over to the door. When she opened the door, it revealed a disheveled Fluttershy, who appeared to be having troubles standing. Fluttershy looked as if she was barely standing, her hair was covered in grim and twigs, her coat was covered in splotches of filth and she was completely soaked. Twilight was shocked at her appearance.
"He-Hello Twi-Twilight. Th-there's som-some thi-thing I re-really ne-ne-ne-need to tell y-yo-you." Fluttershy managed to force out, her ability to stand faltering. She had traveled through the storm to Twilight's library to finally get something off her chest. She had spent all day building up her courage to finally tell Twilight how she really felt. When she had finally built up the courage, she left her home immediately to tell Twilight. But when she had arrived at the edge of Ponyvile, the storm had hit. Her house was further away from the library when it hit, so Fluttershy had decided to forge ahead through the storm. As she traveled through the storm, she had been battered with all sorts of garbage and dirty that was thrown around by the wind, and it stuck to her with the help of the torrential downpour occurring around her. Multiple times during the trip, Fluttershy had been knocked into a building, or any kind of structure, by large gusts of wind. It had taken all her strength to continue forward, but she needed to get to the library.
Twilight took a step back to make room for the beat up pegasus. As she opened her mouth to speak though, Fluttershy fell forward, passing out on the spot. Twilight rushed forward, barely catching the unconscious pony before she hit the ground. Twilight struggled, but managed to pick her up and carry her over to her couch, setting her down as carefully as she could. Her body was beginning to run on autopilot, her mind too frantic to be of any use right now. Spike walked into the main room and gasped as he saw Twilight pacing around the couch where the pastel pegasus was laying.
"Twilight! What happened?!?!?!?" Spike shouted. Twilight jumped when she heard the little dragon, her ability to process coherent thoughts returning to her as she turned to her assistant.
"I don't know Spike. I was studying when I heard her knock on the door. I opened it, she told me that she needed to tell me something and then she collapsed." Twilight said while forcing her panic back down. " What should we do Spike? The storm is just too strong for somepony to travel out in, but if we don't get her help, she could get even worse. I mean we do have a first aid kit but I don't know how much help we can be. Maybe there's a spell that I could use."
"Twi, are you ok? You seem to be freaking out." Spike said as he watched Twilight start to look around frantically, using her magic to pull books off the shelf, reading a few pages before throwing it away from her. Spike had never seen her treat books with such disregard, so he figured something must seriously be wrong. He slowly approached the frazzled unicorn before he tentatively put a claw on her shoulder. She snapped her head towards the dragon, her irises much smaller than normal.
"Yes Spike?" Twilight asked while cocking her head to the side, sending shivers down Spike's spine. She looked like she should be locked up.
"Well, you see Twi, I just thought that maybe we could just teleport to the hospital? I mean that would avoid going through the storm while still getting her in some experienced hooves." Spike said slowly as to not aggravate the purple pony. She looked at him with a blank look on her face before she realized what he had said. She rushed over to the unconscious pony on her couch, carefully putting her on her back. Twilight closed her eyes, took a deep breath and focused on the spell. Her face began to scrunch in frustration before she winked out of the room in a bright pink flash.
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A/N: Sorry that took so long yall. I just could not figure out how to start this one. But once I got it going it flowed out. I'm thinking that there will probably only be about two more chapters. Anyways thanks for all the support and stuff. The next few should not take as long though.
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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hiatus
| 43 | 1 |
<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
|
2011-10-23T09:20:41+00:00
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2011-10-23T09:20:41+00:00
| 2,556 |
Fluttershy woke up with her whole body aching. She tried to open her eyes, but the light was too bright for her to handle. She let out a small squeak as she shut her eyes tight. The small glimpse of the room had revealed that it was white and fairly bare. As she slowly relaxed her eyelids, she heard the rustling of somepony moving near her. As she listened she heard a mare speak.
“Fluttershy? Are you awake?” the voice asked before sighing, “No, I guess not. I hope her dreams get better. It was sad to see her lie there so lifeless, then to the nightmares that drove her to scream out loud, it must have been terrible.” Fluttershy recognized it almost immediately as Twilight's voice. It hurt Fluttershy's heart for her to hear the unicorn so down trodden. When Fluttershy heard this, she slowly opened her eyes again, squinting against the light.
"Twi-tw-twilight?" Fluttershy asked meekly, her voice barely a whisper. It hurt her so much to speak, her chest like it was aflame. As she slowly looked around, she noticed that it was a hospital room. How she got here was beyond her. She had been at Twilight's door, ready to spill forth her heart when the world went dark. Next thing she knew she was waking up here, in this bright stark room.
When Twilight heard the pegasus mare's voice, her heart shot skyward. It made her happy to hear the soft voice that made her heart flutter. As she turned to look at the mare, her very being hurt to see the gentle pony in such a condition. Fluttershy's body was nearly covered from head to hoof in bandages. She had traveled through a storm that nopony in their right mind should have gone through. The storm had been worse than the one that caused her impromptu slumber party with Rarity and Applejack. When Twilight showed up suddenly at the hospital with Fluttershy on her back, she had scared most of the ponies in the hospital, which was luckily not that many. The doctors had approached Twilight to see what was wrong with Fluttershy, she had struggled so hard to not be separated from her injured friend that she had to be sedated. When the unicorn had come to, she found that Fluttershy was in surgery. Also while Twilight was out, her other friends had been contacted, as the storm had cleared up by this time. It became apparent that some serious damage had been done to the pastel pegasus when Twilight had seen how much time the doctors had spent working on Fluttershy. When the doctors came out of the operating room, Twilight had bombarded them with questions. From what she had managed to get out of the doctors, Fluttershy had bruised a few ribs, broken one leg and a wing. This was serious injury for one pony to suffer from, and Twilight could not imagine what had driven Fluttershy so much to seek her out that she would put herself through this. Slowly Twilight came back to the present, looking at the battered mare that lay in the hospital bed beside her.
"Oh Fluttershy! Your awake!" Twilight cried to the pony in front of her. She had tears in her eyes, but that did not matter as she enveloped her in a hug. It felt so good for her to be able to hold the pegasus in her hooves. Fluttershy, although enjoying the hug, was still in no condition to move so much. Slowly she spoke again, trying to avoid as much words as possible to not make her chest hurt as much.
“Um, Twilight? As much as I am enjoying this hug, um, if it wouldn’t be a bother if you could please let me go? Please? Well if that’s ok with you.” Fluttershy said tentatively to the unicorn currently holding her. Twilight blushed as she slowly let go of the injured pegasus, her cheeks a shade of pink when Fluttershy stole a look at her. Finally after having a few moments pass between the two ponies, Twilight decided to speak.
“Fluttershy, what in Equestria drove you to the point that you braved through the rain, lightning and thunder to reach my house when you could have been safe at home with all of your animal friends?” Twilight asked with a perplexed look in her eyes as she watched the pegasus look around nervously. Finally with a sigh, Fluttershy took a deep breathe before she said what had been on her mind since that morning when she woke up cuddled up with Twilight.
“Twilight, I like you.” Fluttershy managed to say as she looked up at the purple mare. Twilight’s eyes widened for a moment before she thought of what all that statement could mean.
“What do you mean I like you? As a pony,? As a friend? As something more?” Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side as she secretly hoped that this meant what she thought this meant.
“As something more.” Fluttershy squeaked out, shrinking back into her bed as she feared for Twilight to crush her hopes where she sat. But as it turned out, she got the opposite response. Twilight began to smile at her with a look of joy singing out on her features. Twilight quickly pulled Fluttershy into another hug.
“Oh Fluttershy, you do not know how happy it makes me to hear you say that. I feel the same way! The only reason I didn’t tell you is because I had been worrying that if I said something like that to you, you would run and hide, and then we wouldn’t be friends and our friends would try and make it work out but eventually there would be a split because of the fact that it would be awkward for them to hang out with one of us while the other isn’t there.” Twilight said rambling again. She heard a small squeak come out of the gentle pony in her arms before she realized that her constantly pulling Fluttershy into hugs was probably not that good for her recovery. But truth be told, Fluttershy did not feel a thing this time around because of the happiness that flooded her body. She was soaring through the sky because of what Twilight had just said. She felt the same. It was a small simple sentence, but it meant so much to both ponies in the room. They slowly pulled back, looking into each other’s eyes, seeing something that they had only dreamed about. Both ponies knew that it was not an easy road ahead of them, but as long as the other was by their side, they were willing to face it, because in the end it all would be worth it.
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A/N: Hey yall BL here. Sorry that took so long. These intros are just holding me up. When I get past them, I'm able to pump out line after line after line after line after line. But anyway I just put this in here to let you know that this is the second to last chapter. Soon this story will be coming to a close. I'd like to thank yall for being great bout this. Sad fact is this is my first story, and I'm liking how its turned out, so I guess it was worth it. Anyway peace to ya'll. BL out
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Main 6,Spike,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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Alone in the Night
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While stargazing Twilight discovers something she never expected to find.
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hiatus
| 43 | 1 |
<p>While enjoying the night sky,Twilight Sparkle discovers a friend in need. What does this entail for her friend and herself? Could this reveal a side of herself she's never explored and strange feeling arising? Only time will tell.</p>
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teen
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2011-11-01T06:15:40+00:00
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2011-11-01T06:15:40+00:00
| 2,417 |
Hey everyone. Another note on the story. I'm sorry to say this, but it's going on hiatus until I can find my drive to do the rewrites that I have planned. So sorry if I got anyone's hopes up about an update, its just I'm not in the mood to write this story. Sorry once again. Feel free to message me about anything on your mind, I'll try and help ya if I can.
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Hereward
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1055
| 1 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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Land of Giant Ponies
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An experimental spaceship accidentally takes some humans to Equestria.
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hiatus
| 81 | 15 |
<p>Based on Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants. (But only just.)</p><p>When a state-of-the-art propulsion system on board a new spaceship goes haywire it brings the ship and all humans on board to Equestria, but the scale of this magical world is not what most would expect.</p><p>What safety is there for people in a world where even mice tower over them? Can they find a way to get back to Earth? Will they even want to?</p><p>May contain ultra-soft vore.</p><p>This is my first work on this site. Constructive criticism will be helpful.</p><p>Assistance in writing provided by two others who shall remain annonymous until they request that their handles are given in acknowledgement.</p>
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everyone
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2011-09-28T11:13:42+00:00
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2013-05-23T19:15:47+00:00
| 7,400 |
Anshar Station, Earth Orbit
4th May 2099ce
They had all come; every volunteer for the SS Horus' maiden flight managed to reach the space station. Crew and passengers had all volunteered for this was an experimental spaceship, which was intended to cut interplanetary journey times from a minimum of weeks to a matter of hours. The propulsion was simple enough, utilising the 100% energy conversion of a matter-antimatter reaction but, due to concerns about the time distortion at high speed, this was redesigned so the reaction would be split over multiple points around the ship through complex and precise computer calculations. This was, in fact, the very first warp drive, though it was currently only designed for fractions of the speed of light; its fastest designed speed was 0.03 light speed.
The station commander looked over the profiles for the crew and passengers. The passenger profiles weren't very promising but this maiden voyage was somewhat risky so they actually had to pay them for the privilege; as for those with a criminal record they were given this as a chance to make a new start.
Still, there was no turning back. They were all checked through, their baggage set in the cargo hold. Then departure procedures began.
"All systems checked at normal." Capt Hewlett announced. "Request clearance for launch."
"Roger, Horus." The station's docking control room reported. "You're cleared for departure, course 116-234 solar."
"Roger, ready to taxi, over." The magnetic clamps were released and the Horus activated its stabilising thrusters, lining up with the bay doors. When they opened the ion drive fired and it began to steadily move out into open space. Station crew and residents watched through airtight bulletproof windows as this brand new ship began its voyage to Mars, which was currently 500 million miles away from Earth. The aim was to prove that the antimatter warp drive was an effective solution to the problem of planetary alignment.
The onboard computer was thoroughly programmed to deliver the appropriate matter-antimatter bursts in the right locations to create a wave in spacetime that the Horus could surf, however computers have been known to crash. A small error in the programming was going to have dire consequences.
---
The Horus' ion drive carried it in an elliptical orbit around the Earth resulting in a gravational slingshot to send it out of the local planetary control zone. As they passed the Lunar orbit Capt. Hewlett made a momentous decision.
"Ms. Pugh, lay in course for orbital insertion around Mars." Upon receiving his order she punched in the coordinates for the computer to follow. "Mr. Knowles, engage the warp drive." The first officer reached hesitantly for the safety catch on the warp control, disengaging it and pulling the release lever for the drive to activate. High energy was immediately detected towards the front and back of the ship as the pre-programmed system began to operate; for a while things seemed to be going well as their speed crept up, accelerating constantly. Jubilation began to fill the entire vessel as it became clear that they were going faster than ever. But then, something went spectacularly wrong.
As the Horus approached 0.007 the speed of light a burst of energy occured only seven feet off the mark in front of the ship, but this tied in with an accurate burst occurring where it was supposed to only six inches further off from this point. The result caused a rip in spacetime, which the Horus was thrown right through. To an outside observer not much else happened as the rip re-sealed with only a slight gravitational twitch that could easily be mistaken for an asteroid due to the lack of a concentrated area of matter in the vicinity, but all fourteen people on board the Horus were now totally cut-off from their universe. The dimension they entered was so different to their own that it could boggle their minds as everything they knew about physics became obsolete.
"Status report!" Capt. Hewlett announced.
"Warp drive has gone offline." Knowles reported. "External sensors read high ablation conditions."
"What?!?"
"We're in an atmosphere." Pugh reported. "At our current speed the outer hull will be breached in three minutes."
"We decelerated substantially." Knowles added. "And are still decelerating. Recommend we activate emergency braking thrusters and reduce our angle of descent to 1.4°.
"Make it so!" Capt. Hewlett announced. "Knowles, you have flight control." Acknowledging this Knowles took hold of his flight controls and engaged the braking thrusters.
"We'll be out of the ablation zone in twelve minutes." Pugh informed them. "Reduction in speed and angle indicate hull breach likely to occur in seven." This was of major concern for the crew.
"Place escape pods on standby." Capt. Hewlett informed them.
"Captain," Knowles reported, "Only two pods reported at green. Four have their entry hatches jammed and the remaining two have faulty flight control."
"There's only room for four in each pod." Hewlett remarked. "Doctor, you'll have to supervise the loading." Dr. Rabett got up from his duty position and struggled against the force of intertia as he made his way to the cabin.
Unfortunately, by the time he got there it was too late. Panic had set in and one of the two functioning escape pods had been launched. The doorway to the other was being fought over by two passengers as Tabitha Marsh stood nearby, looking frantic as she held her daughter close while holding her son by the hand so he wouldn't get involved. He made his way towards them but, before long, both Laura Pollard and James Benson pushed by each other into the pod and set it to launch, automatically shutting the remaining six passengers off from any escape.
"Okay, everyone!" Dr. Rabett announced. "Please return to your seats and adopt standard crash positions." This time they complied. A head count showed that it was Harry Brann and Angela Shane who had taken the first escape pod. With this made clear he made his way back to the cockpit.
"Two minutes to hull breach." Pugh reported. "Three and a half minutes before we drop below plasmasonic speed."
"I'm opening the flaps." Capt. Hewlett announced. "With any luck it will increase our deceleration." Just as soon as he did this there was a sudden metallic *clang* and a major jolt. In a matter of seconds the ablation ended.
"You did it, sir!" Knowles cried out.
"It may have worked a bit too well." He answered. "Even with the flaps it should've taken us at least another minute."
"Indeed so, sir." Pugh confirmed. "According to these readings we should still be in the plasmasonic zone." It was bewildering to them all that they were still travelling at a speed higher than the standard high altitude cruising speed when the ablation had finished.
"Well," Hewlett remarked, "Since reentry appears to be complete let us commence a study of this planet." He and Pugh did the systems checks and made sensor sweeps while Knowles continued with his well-practiced landing procedure and Dr. Rabett went back to the cabin to check on the remaining passengers.
"This doesn't add up." Pugh commented. "According to this we've still got five miles to go before we reach the surface when the atmospheric pressure reads that it should be two miles."
"This is incredible!" Hewlett declared. "It's so much like Earth but is clearly not Earth. None of the landmasses equilbrate to those of Earth even if we look at possible time travel and continental drift."
It took another seven minutes while they were pondering over readouts that seemed to conflict with one another before they were two miles from the surface, travelling at Mach 1.2 by this stage.
"Good gracious!" Knowles almost shouted as he made some wild maneuvers. "Either the trees are impossibly tall or there are some pretty drastic changes in the topography."
"Check coordinates 45, 6, 89." Pugh reported. "The apature radar indicates soft landing conditions. Can you get us there?"
"I'll do what I can." Knowles answered as they dropped to subsonic speeds. It took just two and a half minutes; at 220mph the ship's emergency buffers were deployed and it hit soft bare soil once it had decelerated to 140mph. The shock of impact was reduced to a deceleration rate of 25mph/s before it came to a stop. The cockpit was lodged under some mud, the remaining pods were scattered on impact and the cargo hold had been breached, sending some of the luggage all over the place. Worse still, the matter-antimatter reactor had somehow been drained and the only power systems available were solar batteries and the ship just wasn't built to take off from a planet's surface without an effective supply of hydrogen at least.
Everyone was marooned.
|
Hereward
|
1055
| 2 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Land of Giant Ponies
|
An experimental spaceship accidentally takes some humans to Equestria.
|
hiatus
| 81 | 15 |
<p>Based on Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants. (But only just.)</p><p>When a state-of-the-art propulsion system on board a new spaceship goes haywire it brings the ship and all humans on board to Equestria, but the scale of this magical world is not what most would expect.</p><p>What safety is there for people in a world where even mice tower over them? Can they find a way to get back to Earth? Will they even want to?</p><p>May contain ultra-soft vore.</p><p>This is my first work on this site. Constructive criticism will be helpful.</p><p>Assistance in writing provided by two others who shall remain annonymous until they request that their handles are given in acknowledgement.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-12T18:35:29+00:00
|
2013-05-23T19:42:47+00:00
| 7,334 |
Twilight Sparkle started at a sudden sound. With this interruption in her studies she looked out the window to find that there was nothing in the sky that was new, which was unusual since every time she heard such a sound before a rainbow would always follow. She mused.
"What makes a noise like a sonic rainboom but doesn't produce a rainbow?" Struggling to deduce what it could be she put aside her current reading material and sought out a book on anything, even something mythical, that could explain what she heard but didn't see.
Of course such a boom didn't go unnoticed by other ponies. Applejack was just performing a quality check on her apple crop when she heard it, causing her to look into the sky too.
"What in...?" She exclaimed. "Hey, Rainbow Dash! You don' need t'go showin' auf yer rainboom jus' whenever yer feel!" Just then she noticed the absence of a rainbow. "Wait a minute. If thar's no rainbow then..." She stood still, putting a hoof to her head as she tried to fathom what was happening. "Do ah drop ev'ythin' an' go lookin' for the cause o' tha' sound or shall ah jus' carry on 'til Twiligh' or somepony else comes t'ge' meh?"
Speaking of Rainbow Dash, she was just shifting a few clouds when the boom reached her ears, making her look round for the source.
"Okay!" She declared. "Who's stealin' my best trick?" What made Rainbow Dash's experience significantly different from Twilight's and Applejack's was she caught sight of something in the distance when she looked towards Whitetail Wood; one moment she saw a silhouette the next it glinted in the sunlight. Even from so far away she could tell it wasn't a pegasus because it was too long and short to be any kind of pony. Her first instinct was to go and investigate but was interrupted by a query from another pegasus regarding a raincloud.
Pinkie Pie and Rarity actually remained none the wiser at this point. Rarity was so wrapped up in her work and was at a fairly substantial distance to actually register the sound and Pinkie Pie was making too much of her own noise to hear it. However Fluttershy, in spite of being reasonably far away, heard it at a level similar to Twilight.
"Oh!" She peeped. "Rainbow Dash? Was that you?" She looked out of her window towards Sweet Apple Acres but could see nothing out of place, no streak of colour across the sky. "H...hello? Is... anypony out there?" She rested her forehoofs on the windowsill looking to and fro.
Twilight browsed through a book on the subject of supersonic speeds, having already given up on a tome of little-seen animals; she could identify matters on the effects of breaking the sound barrier and how sonic rainbooms were limited to pegasi but nothing she could find explained hearing the boom unaccompanied by a rainbow. With no other option available she decided on field research; she would go out and comb the area around Ponyville for anything out of the ordinary, with the possible exception of the Everfree Forest.
---
"Mayday, mayday!" Harry Brann called over the radio. "Can anyone read me?" The pod he and Angela had took didn't land particularly steady, indeed she had been knocked unconscious for a few minutes and was only just coming round. Harry tried a few more frequencies as she found her bearings.
"W..where...? What happened?" Angela Shane asked her surroundings.
"It doesn't make sense." Harry remarked. "There's no white noise and no cross-transmissions no matter what frequency I use."
"Oh, yeah." She groaned. "That #*€¬/^£ fancy spaceship went and crashed on a planet. Them $*>>/^` scientists and their bloomin' new-fangled fancy-schmansy thingamijigs."
"It's no use moaning about it." Harry interrupted. "What's most important is we try and contact someone." Angela then sat down on a seat that hadn't been dislodged by the impact as he continued with his 'mayday' call. "I guess," He said after a couple more minutes, "That the radio broke when we landed."
"So," Angela remarked, "Shall we have a look out?"
"Only through the window." He answered. "There should be an emergency beacon that'll help people find this pod and I don't know if it's safe to breathe this planet's air."
"What of it?" She retorted. "There's plant life out there, the sky's blue. That means breathable air, right?"
"Even so," He returned, "This might actually be a new planet, the first Earth-like planet beyond our solar system, so I don't want to risk catching an alien disease."
---
James Benson was the first to recover from the shock of the impact, he noticed Laura Pollard slumped over a spare seat and daylight shining through a small window. He stood shakily and considered his position. He had three real options. Stay with Laura and wait for a rescue party, leave the pod to get help for Laura or to abandon her and go find some civilisation. It didn't take him long to decide that Laura wasn't his concern. He reached for the hatch and released the seal, but it took him another three minutes to open the hatch. He had just jumped out when Laura came to. It surprised him to find that there was a lot of tall green grass around him, not one blade less than 10 feet, but he wasn't duanted as he believed that it was Earth except that he was in a wilderness. Convinced that he could either find civilisation or a helpful tribe he pushed on into the 'thicket'.
Once Laura found her bearings she looked all round her as the pieces of her memory slipped back together. She soon realised what happened to James when she saw that the hatch was opened and decided that she'd be better off waiting for someone to find the pod, at least she could formulate a story to give her the most benefit. She sat and looked out at the jungle-esque expanse wondering where she was. Was it Earth or had they found an Earth-like planet?
---
"Ookayy," Twilight mused as she stood in the town square, "That boom came from a Southward direction, I think." After going over the layout of Ponyville and the surrounding countryside in her head to determine the best place to start a seach she trotted off to Sweet Apple Acres.
"Hey! Twilight!" A blue flash passed in front of her eyes before Rainbow Dash came to a stop at her side. "Did you hear that?"
"If you mean the sonic boom, then yes." She answered with a hint of bother in her voice.
"Yeah, I couldn't figure it out either." Rainbow Dash babbled out. "I mean, not only was there no rainbow, but some silhouette was moving off in the distance."
"Really?" Twilight was most intrigued by this piece of information. "Where did you see that?" Rainbow Dash hesitated.
"Err... I can't really remember. I had to help somepony with a raincloud and by the time I got a chance to get a better look it was gone." Twilight gave her a quizzical look. "But I think it was off in that direction."
"It's not much," Twilight muttered, "But it's a start."
"Hey there!" Pinkie Pie suddenly greeted as she popped out of nowhere; even after all the times she did this it still startled Twilight.
"Pinkie Pie?" She queried. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," She replied as she sat in front of the two, "You see..." Just then she started shaking all over.
"Oh." Twilight remarked in understanding. "There's a doozy afoot."
"Oh, no." Pinkie answered. "It's not a foot. All I can figure is..." She was interrupted by the shivers again, "It's gonna be at Sweet Apple Acres." Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at one another in a serious manner before they galloped off to make sure nothing was wrong with Applejack. "Hey!" Pinkie called after them. "Wait up!"
---
Angela was getting restless. She had been stuck in the pod with Harry for, what he determined to be, half an hour but she was sure it was much longer. There was blue sky outside, in the distance lush flora swayed in the breeze. As far as she was concerned it was perfectly okay to open the hatch, breathe in natural air and stretch her legs. Just then a strange sound resonated through the pod. At first it seemed like thunder but no dark clouds hung in the sky outside and all instruments were set to a resting state. The perculiar low-pitched sound seemed to be getting stronger and was occurring in regular bursts.
"What the $*£(**% ^£(( is that?!?" She remarked. Harry was tired of her loose use of language but he began to make a deduction based on the most logical solution.
"Earth tremors, I'd say." He answered. "We could be in an area of high seismic activity."
"Thank you, professor." She remarked. "Thing is how many earthquakes occur like that?" Harry wondered why she didn't seem too bothered about their situation but he realised that, for once, she had actually made a good observation. An earthquake or tremor always has a continuous rumble and thunder never repeats as quickly as this. By this time they could feel the vibrations attributed to the sound. "Sounds like my brother coming downstairs."
---
"Whatever it is," Twilight remarked once they reached Sweet Apple Acres, "There's nothing to indicate a doozy just yet."
"Hey!" Pinkie cried. "Therrrre's Applejaaack!" Sure enough they had come far enough to see Applejack checking over the apple trees.
"Well," Rainbow Dash figured, "She must have some role in this. Come on, let's say hi!"
"Hey, Applejack!" She turned to the newcomers with a feeling of slight surprise.
"Hi gals. What brings y'all here?"
"Pinkie Pie's got the shivers." Twilight answered. "And you remember the last time Pinkie got the shivers?"
"You sayin' we're gettin' a doozy round these parts?" Twilight nodded firmly.
"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as her eyes wandered about the orchard. "AJ, some of your apple trees sure do make some weird-lookin' apples."
"I beg yer pardon?!?" She replied, the annoyance in her voice notwithstanding.
"Well, have you ever seen an apple like that before?" All four of them looked at the 'apple' in question. Its shape was almost exactly like an apple but the skin was a dark grey and there were unusual little protrusions just noticeable here and there, also a few spots glinted in the sunlight like tiny crystals.
"I... don't think that's really an apple." Twilight remarked.
---
The vibrations seemed to have stopped. Harry was feeling smug about the idea that it was just earth tremors and Angela was getting rather bitter, viewing him as a smart alec and also desiring a stiff drink for the peculiarity and inconvenience of the whole situation was provoking her into stress.
After a couple of minutes the vibrations returned, stronger and more frequent than they had been; they grew stronger and stronger until they suddenly stopped again. It didn't seem like twenty seconds when the earlier ones had gone on for a few minutes. They barely had time to figure on these latest shockwaves when the whole pod shook, causing them to tumble about. Once everything had settled, although they seemed to be off centre, they did what they could to stand when the sunlight was suddenly blocked. Looking out one window they could see grass in bright sunshine and, looking up, clear blue sky could be seen through gaps in the tree canopy. Angela was the first to look towards the opposite window.
Angela stood staring for a couple of seconds and then briefly screamed in surprise and alarm. When Harry looked he became transfixed as his instincts said he should be terrified while a separate part of his brain reminded him that there was no escape at this time and still another said that what he was seeing was impossible. There, completely filling the window, was an enormous sky-blue eye staring back at them.
---
Almost as soon as Twilight had identified that what they were looking at wasn't an apple Pinkie suddenly got this major jolt before settling down. After checking herself over her eyes locked on the object lying on the grass.
"That's it!" She declared. "That's the doozy!" Before any of the others could respond she cantered over to the object in question and scooped it up in her hoof. Twilight walked forward with Applejack and Rainbow Dash following cautiously; well Applejack was being cautious, Rainbow Dash was being constantly pushed back slightly with one of her hoofs as a non-verbal reminder not to get overeager. "Ooooh." Their pink companion practically squealed as she held it up to her eye.
"Pinkie," Twilight asked, "Could you please restrain yourself now and again?"
"You ponies have just gotta see this." She declared, not registering Twilight's words. Curiosity getting the better of her Twilight came closer to get a good look at the... 'sphere', for want of a better word. Applejack held back for now while Rainbow Dash took to the air and hovered almost directly over the sphere, not getting too close for the sake of Twilight's rather 'slow, steady' way of checking things out.
"It's... very interesting, Pinkie." Twilight commented. "I would like to investigate further but, why has it got you so excited?"
"Look closer, Twilight." She answered, holding it towards one of her shiny mauve eyes. "Look real close at a glinty part." Twilight couldn't fathom what Pinkie was going on about. Had this happened some months earlier she'd have dismissed it as Pinkie's wild excitability but, what with the parasprites and 'Pinkie sense' she had witnessed, she decided to buy it anyway. She looked hard at a 'glinty part', almost as though she was looking through a telescope, and gasped. There, inside the sphere, were two tiny bipeds. They were close to the 'window', Twilight now identified, cowering as they kept looking out the window opposite. From her position she could only see one of Pinkie's shoulders, which told her that Pinkie's own scrutinising had terrified them stiff.
Twilight now realised a multitude of things as she observed the occupants of the sphere: What she had to do now. What these creatures were. So many things now filled her mind as she slowly withdrew her head.
|
Hereward
|
1055
| 3 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Land of Giant Ponies
|
An experimental spaceship accidentally takes some humans to Equestria.
|
hiatus
| 81 | 15 |
<p>Based on Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants. (But only just.)</p><p>When a state-of-the-art propulsion system on board a new spaceship goes haywire it brings the ship and all humans on board to Equestria, but the scale of this magical world is not what most would expect.</p><p>What safety is there for people in a world where even mice tower over them? Can they find a way to get back to Earth? Will they even want to?</p><p>May contain ultra-soft vore.</p><p>This is my first work on this site. Constructive criticism will be helpful.</p><p>Assistance in writing provided by two others who shall remain annonymous until they request that their handles are given in acknowledgement.</p>
|
everyone
|
2012-08-23T17:03:21+00:00
|
2012-08-23T17:03:21+00:00
| 7,185 |
"Great Celestia, Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed. "This must be the most incredible find in the past thousand years of Equestrian history."
"Whoopie-doopie!" Pinkie responded, almost sending the occupants of the sphere on a rollercoaster ride. "We discovered a whole new kind of bug."
"They're not bugs," Twilight informed her three friends, "They're humans."
"They're what?!?" Applejack double-checked as she trotted up behind Twilight.
"Humans." She repeated.
"Wait," Rainbow Dash interrupted, "You've read about these... humans?"
"Only as a myth." She answered. "The descriptions were sufficient for me to identify them but they were always thought of as a simple old pony tale; hardly anypony knows about the old tales these days, even the literacy teachers in Canterlot."
"There're seriously old tales about lit'le critters tha' ride in balls?" Applejack asked.
"Not exactly." Twilight replied. "The myth says they're actually about as tall as Princess Celestia on average and they have a natural tendency to selfishness and innovation. I'm not too clear on the details of their society in that myth but I think there was something about strong speciesism."
"Whoa, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash reacted. "Spesha-what?"
"Speciesism." She answered. "The belief that some kinds are better than others just because those kinds are different."
"Oh." Said Applejack as a thought crept up on her. "Like how it was with... Zecora." Her eyes fell onto her hoofs.
"Sort of," Said Twilight, "Only much stronger."
---
Harry and Angela were dumbfounded. They had been looking out at the shifting scene of Pinkie's body for long enough that terror was being replaced by confusion and curiosity. Not a single sound emanating from the giant equines' mouths passed into their own airspace thanks to the pod's airtight seal. However Pinkie Pie's excitable attitude meant that they would regularly experience a serious amount of turbulence that made it difficult to keep their feet. After the last surge of tumbling Harry could now see Twilight's neck out the other window, making him attempt to rationalise the whole situation.
"What the $&£*(^% ^£() are these monsters?!?" Angela blurted out.
"All I can figure at the moment," Harry deduced, "Is that we're on some alien planet populated by very tall and strong beings that come in as many colours as jelly beans. Presumably this planet has a significantly lower gravitational pull than Earth so such creatures can exist. This would also explain the lack of injury we have experienced."
"Okay, professor," Angela responed, "Now what the $&£* do we do?"
"I guess there's nothing we can do," He answered, "Except wait. Wait to be rescued. Wait and see what these... things will do."
---
"Uh, Twi?" Applejack inquired. "Whatch'ya intend t'do with these... humans?"
"I've been giving that a good deal of thought," She answered, "And, as I see it, the following will have to be done: One, these humans must be kept under observation, for their good as much as ensuring that they make no trouble. Two, I must inform Princess Celestia of this remarkable find, then she could give us a sage decision on what we should ultimately do with them. Three, I must do research in the hopes of discovering why they're so much smaller than they are said to be in the myth."
"Hey, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie interjected. "Can I keep them? Even just one of them? Please, please, please!"
"Hold on there, nelly." Said Applejack as she held Pinkie Pie back, causing her to drop the sphere. The tumbling inside was very rough for the occupants but Twilight's hoof intervened and made it little worse than a combination of a rollercoaster ride and travelling on a bus with standing room only. "Twiligh' said they gotta be kept observed. Now, no offense t'ya, but I doubt you could always keep yer eye on them."
"Oh Applejack," She replied, "I'm not stupid enough to shove them into my eyes. Anyway Twilight would still have to stop observing them if she's gonna do research and inform the princess."
"Wow!" Rainbow Dash declared. "That's awfully perceptive for yer, Pinkie."
"I'm sorry girls," Twilight spoke up, "But I can't determine whether letting Pinkie look after even just one of them would be a good move. 100 percent observation is not strictly necessary as any of us could probably place them in a secure environment while other things take precedence."
"Well," Rainbow Dash mentioned, "I'd be happy to take'em for safe-keeping but I don't know if they can stand on clouds."
"And I don' think I could look after'em," Applejack put in her two bits' worth, "We've got quite enough on our plates as 'tis."
"Do you think we could at least pay 'em a visit now and then?" Pinkie asked.
"Seems to be the most prudent option yet." Twilight commented. "Okay girls, leave it with me." With that she levitated (or telekinetically lifted) the pod and began walking back home when she paused. "Oh, one more thing. I'd appreciate it if we kept this quiet for a while. I'm sure some other ponies will learn of this but I'd rather let Princess Celestia be the first to know." They nodded in reasonable understanding as Twilight departed.
"Well," Applejack remarked, "If that's all I'll jus' get back to ma work."
---
From the window facing Twilight Harry and Angela couldn't see her horn but her forehead, upper eyelids and some hints of her eyeballs and the hairs hanging from her mane were in clear sight; the scale was breathtaking but Harry was too preoccupied with attempting to logically deduce why they were being held level with this being's forehead.
"Why doesn't it carry us at chest height?" He muttered. "What kind of anatomical form would make it easier to carry something just above where its nose is likely to be?"
"Whatever." Angela moaned. "Right now I don't think I $&£*(&^ care what it's gonna €&£(*% do."
---
"Just a few minor injuries, captain." Dr Rabett reported as he re-entered the cabin. "I've administered first aid; they should be right as rain in a few days."
"Thank you, doctor." Capt Hewlett answered. "Systems status, Mr Knowles?"
"Emergency battery power sufficient for habitation for another four days, ten if we can breathe the atmosphere and a month if water recycling can be taken offline. Fusion reactor has undergone emergency shutdown, restart circuitry seems to be fried, so the ion drive cannot be operated. Warp drive totalled, no antimatter available."
"And the Horus wasn't built for planetary take-off." Capt Hewlett remarked. "I guess we must inform the passengers; it looks like we've got to modify our schedule." He chose his words in such a careful way, using a couple of euphemisms but stressing them in such a way so the other three knew what he meant.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Hewlett declared as he stood at the front of the cabin, "I regret to inform that we have apparently crash-landed on a newly discovered planet. The good news is this planet seems to strongly resemble Earth in terms of its... conditions. The bad news is that this ship cannot take-off again. I ask you all to remain calm and I'm sure, if we all put our heads together, we can find a way to a) cope with the situation and b) to get back home." Nervous muttering arose from the remaining seven passengers. "Doctor, see if you can scan the planet's atmosphere for unknown microbes. Specifically determining if any of them are pathogenic."
"It will take some reprogramming of the spectroscope but I'll see what we can come up with." Dr Rabett responded.
---
By the time Twilight reached the library Harry had been able to observe some circumstantial aspects of the world's civilisation. Out of the window opposite Twilight he could clearly see buildings that suggested a late-medieval/Tudor society, which both fascinated and unsettled him; however every time Twilight passed in sight of another pony he would be looking through the window in front of her forehead. Angela, on the other hand, sat sulkingly in the middle of the pod sparing the odd nervous glance out of the window at Twilight. Now, as Twilight ferried them over the threshold of her home, they both got a better look at her. They watched as her great purple eyes past the window before seeing her muzzle loom before them, bewildering Harry as to what kind of creature would have such a face structure. Considering the difference in proportion between her eyes and muzzle he believed that her kind evolved in an environment with very little dust and was primarily nocturnal. When they were floating around the level of her collar they had seen her neck and shoulder but were still none the wiser as to her true genus.
Harry could clearly recognise the interior as a library but the overall wooden decor seemed rather fanciful, almost impractical by his sensibilities.
As Twilight went up the stairs she called out. "Spike! Are you around?" There came a quick pitter-patter from below and behind her, causing her to pause just as the pod was levitated just above the ceiling of the main room. The door to the basement opened and Spike stuck his head out.
"Hey, Twilight!" He answered. "I was just filing some scrolls."
"Good lad." She replied. "I'm gonna have a special project going on in the spare room, so I'd appreciate it if you treated it as off-limits." Spike flinched slightly but quickly settled.
"Sure thing, as long as you don't leave your books in there when you're through with them. It would be awkward to go looking for something you wanted if it was somewhere I wasn't allowed."
"No worries, Spike." Twilight giggled. "We can set up an In and Out arrangement by the door." With that she carried on up the stairs.
Harry thought of the next floor as being nothing more than an extension of the library as the bedroom remained out of sight from the pod's window. As Twilight ferried them towards a discreet-looking door both he and Angela became rather nervous, like a paratrooper going on his first mission after all his training (i.e. knowing what was likely to happen all along but only really feeling the dread at the last minute). Neither of them knew what Twilight's intentions were as she opened the door. The space beyond was dim, little light seemed to be entering that room. For her finds the low light was an ominous portent.
|
Hereward
|
1055
| 4 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Land of Giant Ponies
|
An experimental spaceship accidentally takes some humans to Equestria.
|
hiatus
| 81 | 15 |
<p>Based on Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants. (But only just.)</p><p>When a state-of-the-art propulsion system on board a new spaceship goes haywire it brings the ship and all humans on board to Equestria, but the scale of this magical world is not what most would expect.</p><p>What safety is there for people in a world where even mice tower over them? Can they find a way to get back to Earth? Will they even want to?</p><p>May contain ultra-soft vore.</p><p>This is my first work on this site. Constructive criticism will be helpful.</p><p>Assistance in writing provided by two others who shall remain annonymous until they request that their handles are given in acknowledgement.</p>
|
everyone
|
2012-03-18T17:05:58+00:00
|
2013-08-04T12:41:35+00:00
| 6,926 |
Twilight's spare room was at odds with the overall layout of the library; it was a long narrow room that dog-legged a third of the way in and a window almost directly opposite the door. Originally it was for surplus storage, like when a delivery of books arrived but hadn't been catalogued, but Twilight had converted it into a private study area for her 'special projects'. Indeed its lack of use was highlighted by its rather spartan arrangement but a conspicuous lack of dust and suchlike showed Spike's dedication to keeping the whole place tidy. She set the pod down on the desk and obtained a quill and parchment from a small storage area left for the purposes of notetaking and set them off to her right, almost right on the edge. With that she then got some ink from under the desk and prepared to begin a possible thesis. She began to write:
The Discovery and Analysis of Tiny Humans
I, Twilight Sparkle, along with my friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash have discovered a most remarkable find in the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. To wit a metallic sphere one apple in diameter with microscopic windows allowing Pinkie Pie and myself to observe the contents of the hollow object, which turn out to be humans. Scientific name: Simians Superstitiotus It is undoubtedly incredible as these humans are much smaller than those of legend; current estimate places them at just one clip tall.
Twilight paused in her writing. Her gaze fell square on the sphere as she pondered about her next move. Options included finding a way to open it up and interact with the humans more directly or to observe their behaviour within the confined space. She knew further studies would have to be carried out before she could continue her thesis.
---
James Benson had been pushing his way through the tall thick grass for a fair amount of time; already the isolation was taking its toll as he started and flinched at every anomalous sound. The strain of walking in an alien environment was really getting to him when, to his relief, he came upon what appeared to be a fresh water lake the size of Rutland Water, albeit with surroundings and topography that had more in common with a waterhole in the savannah. Eagerly and without any qualms over possible contagions he leapt forth and thrust his head into the water at the 'shore', drawing in a big gulp to quench the thirst that had been building to sore levels.
Satisfied with his long drink, James lay back and looked up at the few clouds, which hovered over his location. He looked and looked and looked, yet against all his sensibilities they didn't move, disperse or change shape; even in apparent stillness clouds should still move in the high skies where the air never seems to stop. His mind struggled with the apparent lack of common sense in these skies but, in doing so, he failed to notice a great white mass approaching through the grass.
---
"These readings," Dr Rabett remarked, "It's incredible. Not only are there no alien pathogens but there's no sign of high-risk pathogens that we're familiar with. Furthermore there're strong indications that there are zero toxic chemicals; even Earth's atmosphere contains tolerable levels of potentially toxic substances."
"What do you make of it, Knowles?" Capt Hewlett asked.
"Well," He answered, "Best guess would be that we're on some kinda Earth-like planet that resembles Earth without man, or where man hasn't industrialised."
"So," Hewlett deduced, "If there's intelligent life it'll be pre-industrial."
"Maybe even tribal, sir." Capt. Hewlett paused in thought for a while.
"By all accounts we'll have to scout out the area and see if we can... negotiate or something with the natives if there are any. If all else fails we should be able to find essentials." With that he led the crew back into the cabin.
"Ladies and gentlemen," He announced, "This is a situation. We have crash-landed on what our instruments indicate is an extra-solar planet with highly Earth-like conditions. The vessel can maintain reasonable electrical power by use of our solar panels but certain mechanisms will have to be compromised, including standard life-support. Fortunately we have detected no alien pathogens in the planet's atmosphere so we can breathe. In order for us to survive and to make attempts to get the Horus flight-worthy again we must all club together and arrange scouting parties to gather supplies." There was a stew of murmuring as the remaining passengers got to grips with the news.
"Sir," Ms Pugh spoke up, "Maybe we'll be able to find the four who used the escape pods during our scouting."
"Good point, Ms Pugh. In the meantime let us consider how best to assign everyone to what kind of scouting."
---
Twilight reached a conclusion. She'd need some research material, which would mean asking Spike to bring some books, but she also did not wish to look away from the sphere as she wasn't sure if the humans had any way of getting out of their own accord. She got another piece of parchment and set it on the other side of the desk and began writing.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I write this letter to you with ambivelence regarding the subject matter. Earlier today Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and I found a metal sphere the size of an apple at Sweet Apple Acres and, upon close examination, contains two humans who are approximately one clip tall. Though this may sound incredulous I am confident in assuring you that this is no joke!
Discounting my friends who I've mentioned earlier in this letter, nopony else knows about this. Currently I have the sphere in my custody and the humans have not yet exited either of their own accord or by my own efforts. I will not open the object prior to any instruction that you may provide, but I won't hamper any effort of theirs to get out though they will remain in custody for now.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
With that Twilight sealed the scroll and, with great care, levitated the pod and scroll as she made her way to the door, not wishing to leave the pod out of her sight. She opened the door by hoof and moved the scroll out.
"Hey, Spike!" She called; it wasn't long before he put in an appearance. "Send this scroll to the Princess, please." A flash of green affirmed his response. "While you're out there could you get 'The Equestrian Almanac of World Mythology' and 'Neurobiology for Small Animals'?"
---
Laura sat on the threshold of the hatchway to the pod, looking out into the jungle-esque expanse of grasses. She was getting rather bothered by the lack of any sign of civilisation, surely someone would've noticed the whole tumbling down. The conclusion she arrived at was that she was on an Earth-like world that was devoid of intelligent life; with that she swung herself back into the pod and began to salvage the meager supplies of food and water, packing them into a standard-issue shoulder bag. With James having gone off on his own there was plenty left for her.
The drop to the ground was rough but not hazardous in any way. She circumnavigated the pod in search of any sign of habitation but could find none. A quick sideways glance at the Sun suggested it was early to mid-afternoon, but since it was likely that she was on an alien world she couldn't be totally sure. After having a quick bite and a drink she made the decision to head in the direction of the Sun, keeping her eyes down to avoid being blinded by the light; her aim was to only look all around once she was in shade before making any further decisions.
---
"Okay," Capt. Hewlett decided, "Knowles, you keep command here with the doctor, Miss Marsh and her children. Ms. Pugh, you take Mr. Holland and scout away from the position of the Sun; I will take Ms. Cowling and Ms. New and scout towards the Sun. Remember to keep tabs on your compass bearing, that way we can determine the alignment of the planet's magnetic field when compared to ours and ensure that we can return to the ship effeciently." Breaking the news to the passengers wasn't all that effective though. Charles Holland was reluctant to wear the rucksack provided and Sheila Cowling was constantly trying to barter her way out of carrying more than she wanted; Jenny New did end up with a bit more than intended as a result but the Captain was helpful to her as Ms. Cowling's scamming nature did not fool the hardened space pilot.
When the hatch opened they found themselves staring into woodland that held them in a state of awe; the trees were massive and towered so high that they couldn't hope to reach the lowest branch, furthermore they were so well-spaced and had so little undergrowth between them that it was like a delightful scene out of a fairy tale. The two scout parties lined themselves up with the opposing ends of the spacecraft, which had landed with the nose pointing to the South-East. To everyone's relief there was a freshwater lake only fifty yards or so North-East of the crash site and the doctor only took ten minutes to determine it as safe to drink, astonished at the blatant lack of pathogens.
Captain Hewlett led the two women due South-South-West upon locating the Sun. They hadn't gone a quarter of a mile before they found themselves climbing over a giant tree root in the effort to maintain as direct a path as possible. As they hiked through the woods they found it hard to find anything worthwhile as there were no nuts, berries or fruits on the ground and the woodland was extensive enough that, even though it wasn't particularly dense, they could see nothing beyond it.
Officer Diane Pugh led Charles North-North-East in reaction to the captain's choice of direction. While they had it easier on the muscles since there were no tree roots in their path they had to deviate more in order to bypass the lake but they were just as unlucky in finding food or anything of particular interest.
"Don't worry," Will Knowles attempted to reassure the Marsh family, "They'll be back. We agreed that once the Sun's on the horizon they'll turn back regardless and they do have torches. With all the preparations what could possibly go wrong?"
Need I say any more at this juncture?
|
Hereward
|
1055
| 5 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Land of Giant Ponies
|
An experimental spaceship accidentally takes some humans to Equestria.
|
hiatus
| 81 | 15 |
<p>Based on Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants. (But only just.)</p><p>When a state-of-the-art propulsion system on board a new spaceship goes haywire it brings the ship and all humans on board to Equestria, but the scale of this magical world is not what most would expect.</p><p>What safety is there for people in a world where even mice tower over them? Can they find a way to get back to Earth? Will they even want to?</p><p>May contain ultra-soft vore.</p><p>This is my first work on this site. Constructive criticism will be helpful.</p><p>Assistance in writing provided by two others who shall remain annonymous until they request that their handles are given in acknowledgement.</p>
|
everyone
|
2012-12-26T20:31:06+00:00
|
2013-08-04T12:48:20+00:00
| 4,749 |
James Benson was sharply woken from his doze that the warm afternoon sunlight had brought over him when something soft and furry enveloped him, applying such pressure as to make him briefly believe that he'd been pushed between two mattresses. He barely had time to get over this when whatever he'd been engulfed by started jolting about in every which way.
This went on long enough for it to feel like forever before it came to a stop long enough for James to find his bearings. He was suspended in a vertical position within a warm soft furry encasement that appeared to be white/cream or something like that. Suddenly he felt the sensation of a rapid ascent that took all of two seconds and then was shaken up and down for a bit; when this stopped he heard a sweet feminine voice that also had a bizarre tone that suggested a level of potential power that the speaker was not wont to wield.
"What is it, Angel?" The voice asked someone else who must've been out there. "Are you okay? Have you found something?" James suddenly felt his world turn upside down and descend in one moment before he went back into a sense of horizontal, as he was before all the shenanigans started except that down was now in front of him, and then the portion of furry 'mattress' that was pressing on his back lifted away and brighter light reached him.
Woozily James lifted his head, only seeing the vague suggestion of wood in the distance as he groaned from the rollercoaster ride he'd just been through. He hadn't had ten seconds when a shadow descended on him. He turned towards the source but still didn't feel like raising his head so could only see a wall of yellow beyond the 'mattress'.
"Sweet Celestia!" The female voice, now uninhibited by the furry clasp he'd been in, almost boomed in the fashion of being too close to the subwoofer at a disco. "Where did you find such a thing?" James slowly turned over onto his back to get a better look at what he was lying before. He only had a second to stare in shock at the huge face of a bright yellow ungulate with absurdly oversized turquoise eyes, or at least completely out of proportion with the rest of her face, but aside from it clearly being the female who had spoke he couldn't yet determine what kind of ungulate she was. "The Everfree Forest?!?" She looked at him for a few seconds with some rather negative vibes that made him cringe.
A sudden descent made James look the other way to see a giant beady-eyed rabbit gesticulating with one paw, making him realise that the 'mattress' was, in fact, that very rabbit's other forepaw. James lay in shock turning his head between the pink-haired ungulate and the beady-eyed rabbit as he now understood just how small he must be by the standards of this strange alien world. One thing was bugging him awful, though. If this was an alien world why did a native species speak English?
"Oh," The ungulate thundered, "Not the Everfree Forest. *phew* Sweet Apple Acres? Almost? Nearer? Water? A pond? Aha!" James covered his ears in response to her outburst. "The pond that's half-a-furlong to the South-East." The rabbit, which James now deduced was who the ungulate had called Angel, nodded vigorously.
---
Laura Pollard was happy to find a good portion of shade at last and looked up to see what provided it. A behemoth of a tree towered before her, so high that she struggled to see the fruit growing on it, which she finally recognised as apples.
"Did wonder if they grew on trees." She remarked. Looking back she found that the pod was no longer in sight, making her wonder just how far she'd come. Feeling lethargic she figured it was time for a rest but managed to persuade herself to rest against the base of the mighty apple tree that stood before her. The reason for her lethargy was not just the distance she covered but also because of a slight remnant of her old addiction. She grabbed a quick bite from the emergency rations and focused on the final stretch to the tree.
Once she was in arm's reach of the trunk Laura lay with her back to it and gazed up at the shiny apples in wonder and longing, musing over the potential they had as a food source when compared to Earth apples. The combination of natural tiredness and drug withdrawal eventually made her doze off.
---
Harry and Angela were still unclear as to the biology of their captor, for all they could see were the purple eyes, the light purple coat, the indigo hair and the stout muzzle. Any time their pod was shifted they struggled to keep their feet.
Twilight peeked inside the sphere once again in the hopes of finding some more behavioural aspects that she could catalogue but, to her disappointment, every time she looked inside the humans would just cringe and stare back. Until she received a reply from the Princess she couldn’t think what else to do. She reexamined her notes.
“There must be something I can do to continue this study.” She thought out loud.
“Have you tried interacting with them?” Came an all-too familiar voice from over her shoulder. Twilight turned round.
“Princess!” She cried out, going into a respectful bow with an almost anxious touch. “May I ask why you came so swiftly?”
“When I received your letter,” She answered, “I knew I had to come and see for myself. I know you wouldn’t just make it up.” She lifted the sphere up to her eyeline.
For Harry and Angela the scene shifted in such a way that, while the bodies of their captors were still unknown, they could now see that this alien race of giants had protruding muzzles that moved in a most bizarre fashion, completely contradictory to their understanding of facial anatomy, although Angela didn’t give a penny what the term was.
“Incredible.” Breathed Celestia. “Real live humans here in Equestria. Never have I heard of such a thing.”
“Um, Princess?” Twilight guessed. “You don’t think the myth came from before Equestria, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, Twilight, humans have never existed in this world before. The myth partly stems from my own study of other dimensions, which includes one where these are the dominant species. That’s why the myth’s so vague; it has no basis in pony history.”
Harry and Angela meanwhile had been watching the whole conversation from inside the relative safety of the ship.
“Well I’ll be...” Harry tried speaking, his voice breaking up.
“What?” Angela sighed. “Where’d the big white one come from?”
“Well...if this is supposed to be a primitive society...I think we’re looking at a...well...”
“Jesus Harry! Slow down, in English - preferably with subtitles.” Angela snapped. The man was clearly exasperating her.
“Well...for simplicity’s sake... I suppose it’s their version of a Pharaoh.” Harry told her simply.
“So these oversized things worship their queen?” Angela assumed before giving a brief laugh. “What is it about such backward lands that makes them give so much *£@#<>\ power to one whatsit?”
“Our ancestors weren’t too dissimilar.” Harry mentioned. “Don’t be so condescending, especially if we get to communicate with these fascinating creatures.” She huffed at these words.
---
Laura woke in a state of confusion as shockwaves passed under her in a steady rhythm. *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* Once she got her bearings she remembered all that had happened. Recalling the fact that this was an alien planet the first thing that came to her mind was ‘dinosaurs’. Eventually the strength of the giant footfalls were such that she could barely stand until they abruptly stopped. Confused she glanced about until she saw a most surprising and alarming sight.
Off to her right, at a distance of about 25 yards, was a huge beige column six or seven times higher than she was; on top of this a mighty column covered in red hair/fur rose up into the sky. Craning her neck she was shocked to discover that it was a brightly coloured horse, or something like it, over 50 times as tall as she was.
Big Macintosh took a quick look at the trees in his vicinity before he gave a satisfactory nod and looked for a windfall to keep his hunger at bay. Suddenly he heard something; a sort of distant high-pitched squeal of fright but from a direction that most certainly couldn’t have been distant. Looking in the general direction he identified slight movement between the shadow of the tree and an area open to the sunshine.
|
Hereward
|
1055
| 6 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Land of Giant Ponies
|
An experimental spaceship accidentally takes some humans to Equestria.
|
hiatus
| 81 | 15 |
<p>Based on Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants. (But only just.)</p><p>When a state-of-the-art propulsion system on board a new spaceship goes haywire it brings the ship and all humans on board to Equestria, but the scale of this magical world is not what most would expect.</p><p>What safety is there for people in a world where even mice tower over them? Can they find a way to get back to Earth? Will they even want to?</p><p>May contain ultra-soft vore.</p><p>This is my first work on this site. Constructive criticism will be helpful.</p><p>Assistance in writing provided by two others who shall remain annonymous until they request that their handles are given in acknowledgement.</p>
|
everyone
|
2013-08-06T17:47:51+00:00
|
2013-08-06T17:47:51+00:00
| 5,650 |
Big Macintosh crouched down to get a better look at this strange bug. It seemed to be bipedal and was making frantic noises that had a pony-esque tone to them.
"What are you?" He queried in his simple monotone voice. It turned its back on him and fought its way through the grass; in just one minute Macintosh's hoof barred its path. He was surprised to find that it hardly moved since insects and suchlike were typically very fast for their size.
Laura was struck tharn in response to her predicament. A massive talking horse had taken a frightening interest in her and she was determined not to be treated like a bug, however it seems that her relatively small size gave her no real advantage in speed. Cornered by a huge hoof she turned to see his great head zooming in towards her; the sight of such a colossal creature taking an interest in her resulted in an instinctive backing up right against the giant's hoof. In no time at all her view was filled by his muzzle, every twitch of the lips clearly evident. She scrunched her eyes shut and squealed.
"Don't eat me!" The giant pony withdrew his muzzle a little and provided her with a good look of the underside of his chin.
Big Macintosh was stunned. Whatever this thing was it could talk even though its voice was so feeble he could barely hear what it was saying. However he could determine that it thought he was a predator in spite of the fact that he was undoubtedly a pony. He replied in a relatively soft voice but it still seemed to intimidate this tiny creature.
"Don't be scared." He said. "I don't want to hurt you." With practiced skill he rapidly whipped his hoof round and scooped it up, eliciting a squeak of surprise and alarm as he lifted it up to his eye level as he sat down. "Have you never seen a pony before?"
Laura was gobsmacked as she found herself actually sitting on the hoof of a giant talking pony who didn't seem to be thinking the situation as being particularly drastic. Nevertheless she couldn't visualise any situation where she'd survive if she didn't obey her equine captor.
"I...I know of ponies, but none of them are talking titans." She braced herself for fear of being squashed.
"And what are you?" He boomed, almost blowing her off his hoof with his breath.
"H...h...human." She answered.
Big Macintosh thought things over. This tiny creature was evidently female, she was no bigger than one of his teeth, she could speak Equestrian, she apparently never heard of ponies being able to talk, she seemed unused to being so small and from what he could see of her there was something monkey-like about her.
"Please stay calm." He whispered. "My family will do what we can to help you." He tilted his hoof, once again causing her to yelp, and plopped her onto his muzzle. "How did you learn Equestrian?" He asked as he stood up to take her back home with him.
"How come you can speak English?" She chanced, causing him to cock an eyebrow. They spoke the same language but called them by different names?!?
Capt. Hewlett led Jenny and Sheila through the woods in pursuit of the sun. So far there was little of any consequence to be found; the trees seemed to be oversized versions of maples, chestnuts and oaks and now and again there was movement in the canopy above, which seemed to be caused by something resembling a squirrel. Eventually a significant break occurred and they stood looking out over a wide barren stretch of land at another load of trees in the distance.
"Those plough lines look funny." Jenny New remarked. "Almost like giant wheel tracks." Hewlett looked about him all of a sudden.
"Giant wheel tracks..." He mused, "Giant trees. Of course, this whole world is on a giant scale. I'm not sure how it can function on this kind of scale since there seems to be little difference in the gravity but it can be the only explanation."
"So what are we gonna do?" Sheila Cowling asked. "If this is a world of giants then how might we negotiate with them?"
"Looking at these tracks it could well be a pre-industrial civilisation." He answered. "If we offer them the chance to modernise perhaps they'll be more reasonable."
"Perhaps." Jenny pointed out. "If not we could well be up the creek without a paddle."
Meanwhile Diane Pugh and Charles Holland returned to the SS Horus with a gallon of water to test and, hopefully, process for consumption. The five who had remained at the crash site were relieved to see them but were disappointed that all they had to offer was water.
James Benson was now sitting on a giant pincushion upon a coffee table with the massive yellow ungulate constantly watching over him, almost as though she was a giant nurse looking after a bite-size patient. The rabbit that had caught him was sitting in the background, nibbling on a carrot with a rather smug look on its face.
"What are you?" The female behemoth asked. "Are you hurt? Is there anything I can get you?" James was amazed at how she seemed so frantic when she could dispose of him so easily.
"I...I'm a human." He replied. She now gasped with such power he was almost pulled of the 'cushion.
"You can talk?!?" She practically roared. "I didn't know something so small could talk like anyone else. Human?" She lifted a hoof to her chin, betraying to him the fact that she was of an equine nature. "I've never heard of a human before. What do humans eat?" There was a long pause as James thought over what he typically ate as well as what society constantly pestered him to eat.
"Meat, fish, grain, fruit, veg, nuts, berries." Before he could come up with any other food group his host raised herself to her full height on all four legs.
"Oh. You're omnivores." With that she trotted away with James staring at her gargantuan bobbing body swiftly moving into another room. He felt even more vulnerable now as he was concerned by the way that rabbit kept looking at him; at least the horse-thing was not-only capable of talking in English but also seemed to be genuinely concerned for his well-being. James figured that if he played his cards right she'd keep him safe and sound, believing that calling her 'master' would get him into her good books. Before he could dwell any more on that he heard her hoof-falls returning before her head appeared round the corner of the nearby chair, casting him into shadow. She held a basket in her mouth, which she set down beside him before moving round to curl up on the chair, placing her chin level with his eye-level.
"I got a selection of foodstuffs from the pantry." She told him. "If you can't get into the basket from there just tell me and I'll put you in myself." James looked up at the hamper provided. It seemed to be seventy feet up to the brim and he certainly didn't want to chance it; he strolled towards his host and said.
"Beg pardon, master, but I fear that I daren't chance a seventy foot climb up your basket."
"Oh, okay." She lifted a hoof up to the table top and waited for him to climb aboard. "But my name's Fluttershy, not Master." James was surprised by this reply.
"Are you sure you don't want me to call you 'master'?" He asked as he sat upon her hoof.
"Only if you really want to." She answered. "Um, do you have a name?" By the time he found the gall to answer she already held him level with the brim of the basket.
"I'm James, James Benson." He cautiously stepped off Fluttershy's hoof and struggled to balance himself on the raffia.
"Oh, that's a cute name." She replied. "Can I call you 'Jamie'?" He looked up at her building-sized eyes as if to say 'are you serious'.
"You're the giant, Miss Fluttershy." He answered. "You can call me what you like." Such an answer made Fluttershy well up with joy. The sight of her enormous face curl up so made his heart melt like ice in the sun. This was fixed as he yelped from tumbling over the edge and into her gift basket.
Harry and Angela stood back as they listened to the door of the pod hiss and clank as it unlocked without permission. Two painfully long minutes passed when, suddenly, the door opened. An enormous magenta eye peered in through the opening, a strange tingling sensation engulfed their bodies and they felt themselves floating towards the door; they found themselves incapable of fighting this strange energy and in a matter of seconds they were out in the open right under the gaze of the two alien titans.
Picking themselves up Harry and Angela now got their most comprehensive view of their captors so far. The first one was a tall light purple creature built like some kind of horse with a horn poking out from her mane, reminding Harry of the old myth about the unicorn; it looked down at them with apprehensive fascination, its eyes shimmering with an intelligence at once familiar and alien. The other was beyond giant where they were concerned and held itself in a most regal manner, confirming the idea that it was a figure of great influence amongst these creatures, it also radiated an aura that came across as a force beyond comprehension, very nearly making Harry believe he was in the presence of a god but his scientific cynicism held that thought back. Nevertheless Angela felt as though she was in the dock awaiting trial as this magnificent being scrutinising them with a compassionate but slightly judgemental air.
Princess Celestia knew from her multiversal studies that humans were fully capable of speech as mortal ponies would understand it but she couldn't be sure what language the two now standing before her spoke, so she did the only thing that would clear things up rapidly. Putting on her most diplomatically appropriate expression she spoke.
"Hello. Kon·nichi wa. Bonjour. Jamboyra. Hola. Guten Tag. Zhini privet. Hao. Hrunghaha. Wloophimil. Grétan. Cyfarch. Avete. Geia sas. Hej. Nhryiun."
The sound of the gigantic equine's voice caused them to step back a few paces but Angela was the one who opted to take shelter behind Harry.
"W...What the $@*\ was that?" Angela blurted out. Resulting in a cocked eyebrow from the massive regal figure rising before them.
"I think she's trying to tell us something." Harry answered. "Beggin' your pardon, miss." He called up. "But what is it you want?"
Princess Celestia's muzzle curled up in puzzlement. They spoke perfect Equestrian but seemed to have mistaken her plethora of greetings as a whole sentence. She decided to clear things up.
"Excuse me." She replied. "But I was merely extending the greetings of Equestria; it's just that I wasn't sure what language you spoke so I opted to use a standard greeting from a selection of languages that I've had experience of sapient races using." She neglected to point out that she knew other languages that no one alive at that time could even pronounce save for her sister and, presumably, Discord.
"I hope my companion hasn't caused offense with her loose tongue." The miniature figure answered. "We are humans from the planet Earth, but it seems we became lost during an attempt to fly at speeds much closer to that of light." Twilight was most bewildered by this biped's account and couldn't help but make a few notes on the matter.
"But this is Earth." She stated, thusly making her tiny guests approximately as confused as herself.
"My dearest Twilight," Celestia answered, "You may find that in worlds occupied by beings that speak the same language they'll name their home-worlds the same as their linguistic counterparts in spite of being in completely different places." Now the three of them within earshot of Princess Celestia's statement had to stop and consider the full implications of what she had said.
|
Uros
|
1056
| 1 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
|
The time of the Grey Knight.
|
The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
|
cancelled
| 61 | 29 |
<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
|
mature
|
2011-09-26T20:12:00+00:00
|
2011-09-26T20:12:00+00:00
| 3,277 |
Chapter 1: The foreshadowing of change.
Note from the author (From now on NFA):
Hello everyone and welcome to my new fanfiction. I want to say right now that this NFA is going to be probably large and NOT necessary, so feel free to scroll down after reading this little part:
I don’t own MLP FIM, its story or its characters, they are copyright of Hasbro (And they better make the right decision and let the following do things right) and Lauren Faust (Have her deviant art gallery if you don’t have it already :3 http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/ ). I own, however, this fictional story and the OCs that are in it. Also for the official characters go here: http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Characters as I doubt I would honor them with a description.
Once that is taken care of we can move to onto less necessary things, but ones that I want to get out of the way right away, so read on if you like but don’t feel obligated to.
I hate, and I mean HATE, MLP the original show. It was much like the f*censored* Carebears show: Make it cute until you puke, and not in any kind of good sense, if there is any out there. The stories were lazy, the characters were clichés, the ponies were obnoxious and the humans… I would’ve skinned them alive. However my friends poked me to see MLP FIM, so believe me when I say that sent them to hell a few times, but they promised me that it wasn’t like the usual ‘girls’’ cartoon. In fact they bought me when I heard it was made by Lauren Faust, but I had some prejudice thanks to the first cartoon. Of course I finally saw it; I am not made of stone…
And I liked it.
I mean, man, there is no cliché in the characters as they are complex (At least way more than the usual in most cartoon or movies), the story is good and even with it being filled with some chapters that are more or less stand alone it is very well done. The development of the characters is interesting, there are some very nice mental breakdowns you wouldn’t even think to see in a kid’s cartoon as well as some nice moral advices that almost nobody really want to hear because the truth of what you should do burns most minds. So take it from someone who prefers to see IT, The Thing, Alien and loads and loads of… mature stuff.
This show is golden :3 And I hope the 2º season is not ruined because Hasbro made Lauren Faust stand down.
Now though, why did I force all this on you guys when you wanted only to read something? Well, I said I hated MLP the original show, but after watching the new one I began to create my own ideas as I always do… and the most prominent came down to be one that most people do not seem to enjoy: Mix a human in here. I know what I said of the first MLP show but I did enjoy the idea of an ADULT in here as I planned adventures and other things. I don’t know if you will like this as much as I did as I was writing it, but I hope for the best even if it may not be the most interesting or novel idea, I wanted to try and so here is the first chapter. Let’s see how it goes from here :3
***
Sunny day, flowers everywhere, happy talks, a beautiful landscape and a rustic village to both. Over the last three months Twilight Sparkle had been accustomed to the sight of the perfect village, it had been a revitalizing experience to go from Canterlot to the village of Ponyville, also granted her some friends too. The problem she had as she walked down the road to her house was that after those three months she had discovered something that practically discouraged her.
Having adventure after adventure forced you to learn and develop faster than anyone would’ve thought.
In three months most things that had happened were parties, having her friends and learning facts about life that made it all the better, but sometimes a monster or a little adventure sprung up and gave her a fast forward in magic skill or practice for things she was yet to gain confidence in, only to master them quite fast. It was the most exciting experience in her life besides the finding of her friends and them all together, but it made her feel insecure as with her little body and young age she was not ready to escalate so fast with such power, it would only harm her and her friends.
That is why she had devised a plan! She knew that Nightmare Moon could control monsters or even create some dark creatures with her powers, Twilight had asked Princess Luna about it since Celestia could, maybe, not want anything to do with it and, while the young Princess was ashamed of it, she had said that creating or summoning creatures to help and protect was indeed quite easy if you knew how. The ways of doing it were easy enough: Form a convocation circle with chalk (Make sure it is closed or it may backfire), concentrate in the creature you want to summon or create and use all your power without extenuating yourself, stopping if you think it could make you faint as something dangerous could come out of such mistake.
She was excited, partly because it was a new spell to try, partly because she knew what she wanted to summon and, in good measure, because she knew this was very, very dangerous. There had been some nasty monsters, most of them Fluttershy had been able to subdue and the rest had been fought thanks to the Elements of Harmony (She still had problems believing it was her and her friends), but at some point the luck would maybe take a turn and they would fail, or worse, get someone harmed. Twilight didn’t want to think of the worse but it had been a beautiful life for so long that something horrible was due sooner or later.
However she would prevent it! She had a plan and she knew just the thing to make sure that even if something bad was going to happen it would only be able to be a scare and maybe nothing else. However first she had to get home with the book that she had asked Princess Luna for, hopefully with none of her friends catching up with her. She needed this to be a secret.
“Hey Twilight!”
Tarnations.
Twilight turned to see her friend Spike running towards her with a muffing in each hand. The little dragon had grown nothing, but it was common for them to take long so while he was highly intelligent he was still simply a baby. Even as worried as she was now Twilight had to laugh inwardly as she thought ‘A baby with a bit of an hormonal problem’ with a chuckle almost escaping her lips as she thought back at the time when Spike had told her about his ‘secret’ (As secret as dragons love gold) crush on Rarity.
“Where are you going so inconspicuously?” He asked with his face covered in chocolate and muffin remains “Usually when you go to see the princess or have a talk with her you go tell all the girls about it”
“Oh, it is nothing Spike, I only wanted to do something to have the day free and spend some time with the girls after telling them. I don’t want to cut it short and do my duty just after telling them” She gave the best and most convincing smile she could. It technically wasn’t a lie as she had been encouraged by Princess Luna to summon a friendly creature to help them if needed, so she was sincere “You know I have to do what the princess tell me, besides it shouldn’t take very long”
“Oh… alright” Spike munched on the muffins and gulped them down, cleaning his hands and mouth before mounting Twilight “Then let’s go! I will help you so you finish faster whatever you have to do; I am number one assistant after all”
“T-thank you Spike” Twilight grimaced a bit as she turned back to head home again “But you shouldn’t worry, this will take no time at all I promise. I don’t want to keep you away from whatever you were doing earlier”
“Nah, I am full and besides Pinkie Pie is preparing something so I don’t want to get in the way, besides I think I already took enough of her sweets” He belched loudly “Ups, sorry”
“Heh, no problem Spike” Twilight just smiled, he was indeed a big baby. Hopefully that would mean he wouldn’t mind what she wanted to do.
Fortunately she didn’t have to worry for too long about anything else than getting things done. Spike had always been her friend and he would help her no matter what, she knew he would and she knew this would end well with her achieving what she hoped for. The problem is if the legends she had been reading about held truth about these creatures or were really only myths.
*** Earth ***
It was a rainy Sunday, the sound of the storm, the droplets hitting his window and loud music hitting his hears, for him it was perfect. J, as he liked to get called, was simply enjoying the day at his home now that his little and big sister had left for his father’s and his mother had left a few minutes ago to the store. It was so rare to enjoy the sound of the rain and such loud music in his bed like this without being yelled at, or punched, or pounced or, well, basically anything you could imagine.
Twenty five years old, bald already (hereditary, heh), coffee colored skin, one meter sixty eight cm in height, normal build, green eyes and quite a bright mind with many evil ideas brewing (Mostly fantasies, he was a good guy). He was a normal guy that liked heavy metal, black or camo clothes, had fantasies about being a knight in medieval times or being the hero of some game… fine, he was not normal, he was a bit weird like many geeks before him and he was completely fine, besides, his room already told enough about him.
Big room with a bed that had bed sheets from Star Wars, one self filled with figurines from TLOTR, Warhammer, Star Wars, Transformers and more, another one full of comic books and traditional books, a third one full of Manga, Hentai, Anime, Sci-Fi movies and Action and Fantasy ones. In one lateral there was a cupboard that had so many games stuffed inside that it was about to explode even being as tall and twice as wide as a man. That was the legacy of a geek.
However that was one side of the room, the side where he had the part of personality that was his and his alone. In the other side there was a bow, an axe, a shield, a medieval armor and a couple of paintball guns. His mother was a soldier and she loved any kind of way she could explore warfare as she wanted to be prepared for anything, in fact she wanted to be so prepared that she tried to get her children and husband to imitate it. Let’s say that J was the only one that enjoyed, or simply tolerated, such a thing.
Still that he was the only one to stick with his mother didn’t mean they mingled all that well together…
*Knock, knock*
As life was about to force him to remember.
He got up with a groan and turned down the volume as he walked towards the door, grunting as he saw that his mother was looking at him with a disappointed look.
Annemarie, his mother, was a tall black woman with long black hair, red eyes and a muscular build that made her son dwarf in comparison as she almost reached the meter ninety of height. A rough life and an even rougher character forged from it granted her very few moments where she would allow a smile over a stoic or even scornful face that otherwise would be beautiful. No one would even imagine she and her ex-husband had a kid when they were nineteen, in fact no one would ever imagine that Annemarie was further away from her twenties.
“I found this” She growled as she showed a photocopy of a picture to her son “In your sister’s room”
“So… what about it?” His mother forced the picture on his hands. It was a drawing of all the main characters in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic “Fuck. This again?”
“Son, I have enough of a problem thinking of you as a weak geek that spends most his time at home playing games and watching porn” Annemarie said with a loud groan “I have even a bigger one accepting that you are a damn furry and that you would love to bang an animal” This made J open his mouth, but his mother forced it shut with a hand “But that you love this fucking girly cartoon?! You are turning up to be a pansy and I won’t allow you to drag your sisters into it!”
Finally J got his mother’s hand away and decided he wouldn’t shut up this time “First of mom: I am a geek, I like my games, my comics, my figurines and my PORN and I still can break an adult man’s arm with ease even if he is taller than you and weights two times as much as I do, you trained me for that since I was young” His mother seemed about to explode but he continued “Second: I am a furry because I love the idea, I love the fandom and I love animals. I wouldn’t bang an animal, not now, not ever, if I do something with someone I want that person (or whatever) aware of what she is doing and with the chance to say yes or no, I would never force myself on anything without consent and as such I wouldn’t do it with an animal thank you very much” By now his mother was obviously doing her best to repress her anger, she was about to explode in the worst way possible but she was doing her best to resist until the end “And what is your problem with this cartoon? It had good story, characters that aren’t stereotypes, deep personal isues and it even makes a guy enjoy simple and innocent things. What is your problem with what I do for Christ’s sake!?”
“That when you were young you did it perfectly” She said, relaxing a bit which only meant it was about to get deep, in a bad sense. J only sighed and rolled his eyes as he thought ‘here we go again’ “You were a warrior, a survivor. We all went to the forest one summer and a storm got us all separated, we almost lost you and your little sister in there when she ran screaming and scared only to fall in the river and get dragged deeper into the forest. You helped her survive for almost a week: You healed her wounds with herbs, you hunted with stick and stone and you even build a small house for her to rest. From there onwards you were strong of body and strong of mind… then this!” She pointed at his room, pushing him away so she could enter his room and open her arms to simply point at everything “You got into games, into fantasy and into all this shit that got you mushy and weak over time. You got into that weird fandom of yours and you changed, you…”
J cut his mother waving his hands fast and hard. He was losing it by now “I changed because I hated what I did back then. I had to kill innocent things for food; I had to see how cruel I could become when I was not even ten years old. I love you and what you did for me, I became strong and capable, but I don’t want to be that, I want to be my own person instead of what you wanted me to become” He saw that his mother was getting red in anger, but this was normal by now and this talk had been done ad eternum so he wasn’t all that worried “However I still love you and I still use what you showed me. Isn’t that enough? I am studying and I am going to have a career someday when I finish, what else do you want?”
Annemarie had a twitch in her eye by now, she was squeezing her fists close and it was obvious she had lost it.
“What do I want?” She said in a soft way “I want my son back, the one that loved me but also obeyed me in whatever I said. I want my little soldier that would someday follow my footsteps and that would make my family proud. I want my kid, my flesh and blood, to do as it is told like it should be for I am your mother and I know what is best for you” She turned and, with one powerful motion, threw the three selves down with a loud crunch “AND THIS SHIT IS CORRUPTING YOUR MIND AND GETTING YOU AWAY FROM ME AND YOUR DUTY!”
There was silence for a while in which J had practically a neutral expression as he looked as mostly his last fifteen years crushed thanks to his mother. At the same time a realization struck Annemarie as she saw what she had done, she felt worse than ever and she only wanted to try and say sorry as she got closer to her son, only to be pushed away.
“So that is it eh? After that day in the forest dad was fed up with you, he left you and we three had to get a few days with each other, but not together anymore. Incessant discussions after I began to do things I liked but you didn’t, a yell here or there, maybe a few days of punishment being alone or without some things. We had a lot of problems since I tried to stay with you all the time, I love you mom, even with your rants and your nutty ideology… But this overreacting for no good reason?” He pointed at the wreckage that was his room “And what you said? Did you lost it altogether? Did you really want a little toy soldier out of me? Or was it that you thought I would end up leaving you at the drop of a hat like dad did?”
“Son, please” She begged.
“No, no please” He growled “It is not that you broke things that were important to me, I am mad not because of the monetary value, but for the history and the tales the told of my life and who I am, things that I held dear for lessons or times past. You and anyone else can think I am sick, stupid or whatever, but I am me and nobody will make me change anything I do or like” He turned and didn’t gave a look back “I tried to make you proud when I was a kid and I tried to make you proud when I was growing even if I did things you didn’t approve. I always tried to do as you wished only to see you happy again, but it seems I wasted my efforts” He sighed and shrugged, not caring anymore “I will come back whenever I feel like it”
With that he walked away and left Annemarie as she felt on her knees, crying. Since the divorce she had been taking medication, but a first day prior she had stopped after… something went awry. She had been getting worse and she knew she would explode, however this was not the outcome she had hoped for. She had been raised the same way that she had tried to raise her son and her daughters, she had fought all her life and while she had tried to not make the same mistakes her parents did it was obvious that to this day was it was hard for her to say that she did something right, if anything.
This way of life was the only one she had ever known of. The only thing she hoped now was that she wouldn’t do something stupid, at least stupider than this.
*** Equestria ***
“Are you sure about that, Twilight?”
Spike sat on Twilight’s bed as she drew a circle on the floor of her room. She didn’t know what to expect but right now there were no Pegasus on Ponyville so there were less chances of someone seeing whatever happened here in case that the summoning is ‘flashy’ or the creature indeed is like the legends say.
“Are you saying that there is any other creature as intelligent as this one and that is NOT going to eat us?” Twilight gave a smirk towards Spike as she finished the circle.
“Not really, but as a dragon I do know many things” Spike seemed a bit uncomfortable “For example: You know that there are many realms or dimensions, that is why there are so many and so different monsters everywhere as with the magic in this world a lot of creatures that are magical may drift here from other worlds or realms” Twilight nodded “I know I am not as bright as Princess Celestia or Luna, or probably you” At that Twilight blushed a bit “But every dragon inherits some natural knowledge from their ancestors, and the creature you want to summon is… dangerous, very, very dangerous. If you summon the wrong one you will end up harming everypony you know”
“I… the legends say…”
“The legends aren’t always legends, you showed that to everypony when Nightmare Moon came, didn’t you?” Spike cocked an eyebrow, inquisitively looking at his friend “I am sure that all the horrid things in those books were as true as all the marvels and the joy they could create, something simply TELLS me it is true. I don’t want to change your mind, I only want you to take care and concentrate in what you want to summon as much as possible”
“…” There was silence for a while, but Twilight was decided to do it “Only creature I found that would be as versatile and as dangerous, but also as loyal was an adult dragon. Do you think any adult dragon would help us fight monsters when they were once regarded as so? Because they still are in some places”
“Doubt it” He said flatly “Some dragons are very nice, but most of us haven’t been born with a caretaker like you, most of our kind lives with their own and it is commonly ‘Be strong, be the best and get a big hoard’. Friendship and helping others usually don’t mingle well if there is not a lot of money and jewels mixed in and this little village couldn’t afford it”
“I guessed as much” She sighed a bit and sat in the cold floor “But it is the best plan I have. I don’t know how much things will be as nice as they are now…”
“You are worrying too much Twilight” Spike chuckled “But if you want to summon a human to help you protect the city let me tell you something that is nagging at my mind, it may be wrong since it is ancient knowledge if I am right, but it seems of importance”
“Well, then say it. It may be important Spike, and if not, it at least will be some extra information to look about” She was getting nervous, but at least she still was cool about it.
“It seems when you transport a creature from another world or realm it gets stronger, but it also has to be in very dire condition” He rubbed his chin a bit with one paw while the other went to scratch his head as if he was forcing the thoughts out “That is how some of the most ancient creatures of this world are so strong in comparison to others of their species that are younger and seemingly more capable: They were empowered when they came here”
“So… how strong could a human be?” Twilight was a bit worried of what the result could give her if it wasn’t a good outcome.
“Hmm… don’t know” Spike shrugged “I suppose a human is weaker than a pony, they don’t have the same anatomy you do, but they are versatile so I suppose they would be as strong as any other pony with the benefits of their race only being augmented”
“Then in the worst case we may be able to hold it down, no?”
“Depends… most humans aren’t magical as far as this little voice in my head is concerned, so if they aren’t magical the magic will not harm them as much, or help them as much, which means you would be at a disadvantage”
“Just wonderful” she groaned “But maybe it is all the better if whatever comes is magical and we do need its help. Now though, I wonder, why does it have to be in a very dire condition?”
“Dunno, it is a nagging feeling about needing the creature to want to be here and owing you for it, I suppose, I am not sure” He gave an innocent smile as he blushed a bit. For once he was being very smart without messing up something “But I am sure you don’t want to bring someone that wants to be here for something else and not under your control if it is a bad guy by any chance, right?” Twilight nodded at that “Then remember to concentrate. I will be prepared in case it is not friendly”
Spike posed like if he was a superhero as his mind drifted to how cool it would be to save somepony (And how effective in the sense of getting Rarity to like him of course). Twilight couldn’t help but laugh silently; it was too easy to read her friend.
However laughs and other stuff would have to wait. This was the first time she hadn’t done something ‘by the book’ and she didn’t want it to backfire. She wanted to have it done, to ensure there was some extra protection and to make more than sure than she was simply being paranoid, in which case if she summoned someone in a dire condition then the only outcome of this escapade would be that she saved someone’s life.
‘I can live with that’ She smirked as she thought so, concentrating as the circle began to glow with a purple light. If she was wrong and there was no need to invoke this creature then, as said, she would save it if Spike was right, in the other hand she was all too sure that this human would be needed at some point. She wasn’t sure if she was scared of what she was doing or knowing that it was necessary to bring a dangerous creature to Equestria, but her gut hadn’t let her down once and this time she was wishing it did.
“Here goes nothing” She whispered, forcing her horn to spark with power as the circle’s glowing grew in intensity with the magic power being pumped into it.
*** In Earth ***
J had been out in the rain for the latest fifteen minutes. He had calmed down quite fast; the rain was pouring down his hood, which relaxed him, he had Motorhead pumping hard in his ears and he DID understand what his mother had gone through and how hard it was for her sometimes. A few days ago she had tried to talk with his sisters and his father to try and get together again, something that was very hard for her to do as she was not someone to admit she had done ever wrong at all, but the result was… well… It made it worse and he knew that what had just happened would force the rest of her sanity down the drain or help her.
He had been trying to help her any way he could since his father dumped her after that day. He knew that it was his mother’s idea to go out there every time they could and practice survivalism, it was a nice skill and would help almost anywhere if the worse come to happen, it wasn’t HER fault that rain poured down so fiercely that the storm scared his sister and they went lost downstream. J knew his father missed his mother as much as she did miss him, but he feared of what would happen if his mother didn’t change, in fact after so many years his fear was confirmed more and more for how things had gone.
*Sigh* ‘This is pure shit’ He thought.
*Splash!*
Looking down he could see a couple of frogs leaping from where he was to the river bellow. Unlike his little sister he hadn’t gone hydrophobic after that event years prior, that was the reason he loved the little town where he and his mother were: It had a nice river and an old wooden covered bridge. It went towards a pond that was half an hour away where the forest began, one of his favorite spots thanks to the wildlife coming there most the time even when he was around.
‘Maybe the reason my mother worries so much about my little ‘fandom problem’ is because I have always been better with animals than persons’ He chuckled as he thought about that ‘I want to be a veterinarian for some reason, ‘asides it is nice of course’
Thanks to his mother he hadn’t been all that good with people, but a lot of time in nature had left him finding it better to be with animals for the most part. Don’t get me wrong, he did like his friends, but an animal usually liked you or didn’t, it couldn’t lie, they would show what they felt for you right away and you had to do something VERY stupid or VERY daring (and helpful) to make them change their mind, something that would show right away. He appreciated the truth they gave away so easily, something that humans usually did not.
‘Fuck, I am weird, my life is weird and I make no sense’ He chuckled at that as he rubbed his temple ‘Why couldn’t I be more like a normal person? I wouldn’t have these problems and I wouldn’t have to be wondering when, better say IF, I am going to go back home’
He turned to watch the little city that had been his home. His mother had moved in this small (Technically speaking) and secluded city simply because: A) It was far away from his father. B) It was close to the base she was stationed. C) In these kind of places it was hard to have any kind of event, and she didn’t want ANY kind of event, least of all that happened to her little one.
Of course it is always at the worst moment when things decide to go down the drain, and in this case it meant that J didn’t turn out fast enough to see the car that was skidding along the road towards the bridge thanks to the heavy rain and probably a drunk trying to drive.
The last few words he could say before it all went dark were pretty simple and specific.
“Oh fuck me…”
*** Back in Equestria ***
“Come on Twilight! You can do it! Only a little more!”
Spike had been cheering for Twilight the past fifteen minutes, but it had helped little to nothing. The incantation was hard to pull off with a normal monster; Twilight had come to realize that way too late, but to bring something from other world here? It was the hardest thing she had done, ever, and it was hard on her as she knew she would be unable to do any magic for a while after she finished, if she did pull this off at all.
The circle had form a small portal of white light two minutes ago, but no image had come to form within it and nothing came out of the little thing even with all her power going straight to finish this fast and efficiently. She was sweating a bit and her horn felt like it was on fire, demanding for her to scratch it and bothering her almost enough to force her attention away from the spell.
‘A bit more… come on… a bit more!’
Suddenly a explosion of light forced Twilight to close her eyes as she heard Spike yelling and falling from the bed, then a wet sound of someone hitting wood fast and very, very hard, maybe even a breaking sound to both. For once she was scared. Had it work? Did she summon the creature too late? Had the sound meant that the one she had summoned had… suffered for her tardiness? Or was it Spike that had hit the ground hard because she had fumbled it? Maybe it was something worse, maybe…
“Hey! We have someone!” She heard Spike yelling.
She finally opened one of his eyes to peek, only to gasp in surprise.
There he was, or at least she thought it was a he: A big man, lying on the ground with his back against the wall of her tree home. He wore some kind of clothes, she thought they were called trousers and shoes with… some kind of jacket? She had heard that some of the dogs that took Rarity back then used this kind of equipment when they weren’t digging underground but strolling near the surface (Rarity had forced some manners on them).
The human was, though, not as she had supposed it would be: He was tall, probably two times taller than her? It at least was as tall as Princess Celestia, but the legends said there were humans so huge that would dwarf Celestia easily, so this one could be considered a runt if she wanted to be harsh, but she wouldn’t go that far. The creature was, though, not strong in the looks, maybe well rounded, but not strong, didn’t have any weapons, armor or anything like the things in the legend, it looked… more civilized.
It was NOT the result she was hoping for. She heard music coming from a device the human had, she saw that everything that he had was very well done, which either involved magic or great skills, and was obviously out in the rain without a care in the world for all she saw, so it also meant that at least they had good medicine to ward from common viruses and other nasty and bothersome things.
Twilight had gotten someone from a place with very intelligent and civilized beings, she-messed-up. She was hoping for a barbarian like human like in most the legends, or one of those ‘medieval’. Thanks to all that Spike had been telling her while the spell was being made (She had to get her mind away of the tiring or burning sensation she felt) he was sure that with magic they would probably follow her, and if she had saved them then they would be honor bound to help her make Equestria safe which also would mean they would get a happy life in this lovely world. But she hadn’t thought it would be like this. What if she had crushed this guy’s life by error then? She would’ve done something HORRID.
“Eh… Twilight?”
The voice of Spike finally tore her away from her little paranoia as she looked at the little dragon checking on the downed human as he hadn’t moved a muscle since he came here.
“He is… he isn’t breathing”
*** First Chapter Finished ***
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Uros
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1056
| 2 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
| 61 | 29 |
<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-09-26T20:19:35+00:00
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2011-09-26T20:19:35+00:00
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Chapter 2 – The forging of a deal, the start of a story.
Nighttime at Ponyville, the only creature awake at this hour was today at the palace, waiting for Princess Celestia to grant him the ability of speech as the princes had promised her student, Twilight Sparkle. Today the little village was sleep with nopony up at this late hour, all eager to wake up for the next day, the work and the excitement that it would bring.
“Oh god what are we going to do?!”
Well, the previous statement is obviously not true. Today Twilight had been feed up with a nagging feeling that she needed more protection, a bigger and probably far dangerous help than anypony would’ve wanted, but one she simply thought was necessary: A human; the most dangerous creature that ever existed thanks to its mind, its capability to adapt and its destructive power, but also capable of feats thanks to its many feelings and its sense of duty and loyalty.
And the only one in Equestria after god knows how long (If it ever existed there) seemed to be in the worst condition.
“Twilight, relax!” Spike forced his friend to remain quiet.
For those that don’t know: Twilight Sparkle is intelligent, capable and quite the leader as well as a good friend and always thinks the best of everyone else. The problem is that she is way too naïve thanks to the lacking of her social skills and that she is unused of her plans not working, in fact her mind is almost incapable of admitting to itself that it has failed and, in this case, she had been running all over her tree house for nearly a minute before her dragon friend, Spike, could stop her.
“Let’s call Princess Celestia, she may know what to do!”
“Celestia?” Suddenly Twilight stopped; a little tear down her cheek as she was still in shock of what she probably had done “Nonononono! Let’s call Luna! Yes, yes, let’s call her! Spike, write this please” She said in a hurried tone.
Spike simply nodded, he had seen his friend like this in a few other occasions, but this time it was serious, not for the breakdown, but because someone was hurt, so he prepared pencil and paper and nodded to Twilight.
“Dear Princess Luna” Twilight began, now calm and collected, at least of the six friends Twilight was the fastest to recover from these… problems “I want to thank you for your help and your counseling in the matter I had at hand when I visited you earlier today. I am sure I will be bothering you right now as tonight you told me you would be mapping the stars, yet I am sorry to say that there has been a problem with the summoning and I need your help. I am still not in the level to know if there is any healing magic, if at all, but as one of the two Princesses I hope that if there is any, you have within your power the ability to help me right now. With my thanks: Twilight Sparkle”
“A bit too formal if you ask me” Spike told her as he sent the message “For once you could cut down to the chase, this is something serious you kno…”
*BURP!*
“That WAS fast” Spike took the new letter and opened it “‘I am teleporting right now, open the door for me please’ Huh?”
*Knock, knock*
At lightning speed Spike was already at the door, opening it for the young Princess Luna to get inside the house with a worried look.
“What happened? How did you manage to pull it off? I was just kidding! I promise I was just kidding! I thought you would pass out as much and then try to call for something different I SWEAR!” She was frantic; the dark colored pony girl was obviously terrified of whatever could’ve happened.
Wide eyed, Twilight didn’t know what to say, she simply pointed at the second level where her bedroom was and where the human was laying still, unmoving but, luckily, breathing now, even if it was a very slow and ragged breath.
Luna ran up the stairs, her jaw hung open when she saw what was in front of her, but soon regained her composure as she got closer, inspecting the human with care. Twilight and Spike, meanwhile, got up again, hoping that they hadn’t been too late on their actions and that the man was indeed ok, though Twilight was sure that at least the human had something broken.
“You… you pulled it off, for real” She said, her horn sparkling with a magic aura that much resembled Nightmare Moon’s hair, something that startled Twilight and Spike even when they tried not to show it “Relax, I am going to check him up, give me a moment”
With that said the blue magic aura, as beautiful and dangerous looking as the sky itself, enveloped the human whole.
*** J’s mind ***
“So… cold”
In a blank space, devoid of anything, J float like a lifelessly puppet amongst the emptiness that was… whatever was after life. He felt cold, pain and loneliness all over his whole being, not able to see further away than that fatidic moment when the car, and the scared occupant, went right against his face. A scream, closed eyes and then… nothing else.
“This… sucks” He said between shivers. He was not the kind of guy to fear death, nor welcome it mind you, but he had hoped for more to it than an empty blank space.
However as that thought filled his head he finally felt gravity, falling down to give a loud “UGH!” when his back collided with soft grass and soil and his whole form was enveloped in the chilly breeze that runs at night. When J opened his eyes he was finally dry, somewhat warm and felt good for some reason as his body seemed to relax at the sight of a tree and the beautiful clear sky at night.
“Oh, this is better” he smiled, not really caring to search for an explanation as he got his hood back up and took a nice spot under the tree to lie. Whatever had happened could wait, he felt like taking a nap now that there was no pain and cold.
*Ehem*
A voice caught his attention almost immediately, but he was feeling lazy and he didn’t even try to acknowledge it as a silly smile was plastered in his face. As much as he liked a rainy day, he loved a clear night, so it was normal that he wanted to enjoy it letting his lazy bum side take over, besides if he had bit the dust he didn’t care for whoever was here, there was all the time in the world.
“I said, EJEM”
This time J did give a glance, a small one mind you, as he lifted his hood just enough to see the muzzle of something he did know very well only a few inches from his face.
“OH SHIT!”
In a fast motion, faster than he ever thought possible at least, J got up, got wide eyed as he confirmed what he had saw and then climbed the tree to hide between its leafs and branches from the thing he had just seen. Under the tree, however, Luna was wondering if she had to be amused, laugh, cry or get infuriated at that reaction; she did not foresee that kind of reaction from anypony, much less that language.
“Umm… can you get down, Mr. human, sir? We need to talk” She called as cutely as she could, even giving puppy eyes in case he could see her.
“No way in hell, I thought I was dead but it seems I am either just unconscious and suffering from delirium tremens or I am just NUTS and in coma” J said, sticking his head out for her to see “So no, thank you very much, Princess Luna’s fantasy”
“I am not a fantasy” Luna tilted her head, then went wide eyed “How do you know my name?”
“Of course you are a fantasy, and I know your name because Lauren Faust and Hasbro made you, silly” He said, taking this as the funniest thing ever, probably even losing it a bit as it was obvious his mind had suffered quite a shock “You are in my head, fantasies and such are supposed to know what the viewer knows… or it isn’t so?”
Again Luna tilted her head in confusion “Teeeechnically you are in my mind sir, yours seem to be out of commission right now, it seems you were hit pretty hard, twice to be exact if what I feel is correct” She tried to be gentle saying it, but there was a limit as to how easy you could tell to someone that they were pretty ‘roughed up’ “But that name, Lauren Faust, does mean something, I think I heard my sister say it once or twice since I got back”
It was J’s time to tilt his head, he finally let go of his little fear and reorganized his mind, took a firm hold of the branch and dropped down to the ground right next to Luna, whom now saw that maybe she had been too close to a creature that dwarfed her by quite a lot. In fact right now, in the point of view of J, Luna looked much like it had done in the series, but he saw himself the same, not cartoony or anything, probably it was perception, but what was true is that he was two times taller than the pony.
“You… didn’t look so big before I got in here” She said with a little shy gulp “I suppose I have gotten a bit unused with time”
With a chuckle J sat down “Better now?” Luna nodded “Good, now, can you do something to show me that this is real?”
“I can heal you up and wake you up if you wait for a bit” She tried to smile gently at J even though she was blushing, though it was mostly because of worry and being nervous thanks to the fact that she was in the weakest place possible. If the image of his mind decided to attack her she would have a very hard time.
“Sounds good to me” He shrugged, lying down on the grass again “I am not going to be a frigging cliché and freak out again, as I see it if I am where I think I am then I doubt I have a way to go back”
“Cliché? What do you mean?” She got closer to J “Hmmm wait, I think I can prod on your mind, let me check it out if you don’t mind…”
“No, don’t..!”
It was a second, a single second, but J could see that Luna’s face was drained of color in just that much. Whatever she had done she had seen way too much and way too fast, not only of things he wished NO ONE to see, but of facts that he would’ve wanted to keep hidden if he was really where he thought he was.
“Jon…”
“Don’t! Call me that, please” He growled as he shook her up very gently, just enough to make sure she did not have any connection “Don’t do that again, don’t look in there, if I am really in Equestria for some reason I DON’T want my life biting me in the ass, got it?”
“B-but how?” She was bewildered and even I she wanted she could hardly say what she wanted to say “I don’t know what to…”
“Any questions you have I will answer when I am awake, so no prodding my mind again ok?” He said, scuffling away from her in embarrassment “I think I messed things enough by now”
Luna nodded, looking down, unable to utter another word as she let her magic do the trick outside of their minds. They just sat there for a while; it hadn’t been longer than a minute even if for them the time seemed to stagnate in a way that it had been more than a few hours. Luna unable to say anything as she blushed, trying to digest the things she had seen, and J unable to say anything as he was embarrassed of the horrors (to call them something) that Luna probably saw in his mind.
Most people have dark secrets or parts of their minds that they have locked away, J had it all open, and it was the only reason why he didn’t consider himself a good man; He had many skeletons in his closet and many dark secrets that he couldn’t forget. Most people preferred to not look back and to forget what history had to offer, or to forgive themselves and then let go. No matter what you had thought of J before, he did neither of those two things; he had everything he had done always present and he felt bad (to put it mildly) for every ‘failure’ he had.
“So… umm…” Luna finally broke the silence, looking him in the eyes, or trying to “How would you like to live in Equestria?” She tried to offer a sincere smile.
“I would love to” He replied drily, trying to hide his face with his clothes even though he seemed to try a sincere and warm tone with his voice “If you think it is alright after what you probably saw”
“My sister forgave me for some things I did and that you are aware of, I am in no position to judge” She rubbed the ground with the tip of her hoof with a sad look “I know no one is perfect, you only need to control yourself”
At that J looked up “I never went to know what DID happen” He chimed in quite fast “It is a story I would love to know, if you were willing to share”
Luna looked at him and blushed again, this time not by fear or anything, not even thanks to some of the things that she had seen in his mind and that would make even someone older than her and her sister blush! But because it had been the very first time in one thousand years that someone wanted to know what she thought of what had happened, of her side of the story. It felt… warm, it was good in some way she could explain that someone else but her sister would care to know about it and maybe even befriend her finally after so long.
“You want to know my story?” Luna asked, stumbling on her words, J only nodded “I could tell you, but it would take a long time for me to do so and you are almost ready to heal and get out of this ‘dream’”
He nodded, not wanting to press the matter for now, though Luna saw he would do it latter for sure. The man seemed to be inquisitive and she DID know he was very curious; it was part of his being alongside everything else she had seen. Some of what she now knew disturbed her, more than a little mind you, but she knew that this man was very nice deep down, maybe to a fault, and that he tried his best when he needed be. Everyone had a dark side, she knew very well, but the fact that he seemed to suppress it most the time spoke volumes of the young man knowing that if he wanted he could do many things that nopony should feel good with, but that humans would usually be too happy to pull.
“Would you want to come to the castle with my sister then? I could begin my story there, and my sis would need to know about you anyway, she could help you somehow so you are still in your world someway” At that she tried to smile the best she could. She had seen what had happened before J got here and she knew that the man tried to hide it, but he wanted to cry as the only thing he regretted was how he had left his mother “I am sure there will be a way, if you want to try”
“Sounds good” Was the only thing he said.
Again Luna found herself poking at the earth with her hoof while J tried to relax his already troubled mind. This hadn’t been the best beginning for anything, in fact, counting the fantasies the man had, it was the worst thing that could come to mind right now except… wait, forget it, this was worse than most but still not a demolition of his chances and hopes, only a total wreckage.
“I am going to heal your more serious wound, it will be only a minute, see you in the real world” Luna finally smiled genuinely as she said that phrase, a phrase she heard in his mind, but she couldn’t recall from what or why, still it made her smile a bit.
In a puff of sparkly dark blue smoke she waved a hoof and left while J only nodded, barely in time for her to see. He wasn’t feeling well, he felt sick, and this feeling would grew as he knew that now there was a huge problem: Luna could read minds, probably something a goddess could do, which mean that Celestia could too. He wasn’t afraid of being banished or anything, but he felt remorse, he would need to lie to everyone else but the two princesses and if he wanted to tell the truth he knew that Luna would recommend against that, the face she gave after that single split second was enough to make him sure of that.
“I feel like shit, again. This is the worst start I could’ve had coming here”
“Understandable” A maybe eerie and yet sensual and feminine voice chimed in “After all, you had your life severed and were forced to a new home without a good reason. Makes you think of something in special, right?”
Turning his face, very slowly, J found himself face to face with one of the creatures that would make this world, this peaceful and lovely place, into a nightmare, and what other name than the fitting Nightmare Moon? No need to be furry, no need to be any kind of naughty, you only needed to see her to think of her as beautiful… and quite dangerous. From the TV to the real thing there was no change, except that in person, even before a human, the ‘demoness’ looked capable of doing anything if she wanted to.
“In your case at least it saved your life. In mine however it was just a torment that lasted more than you may think of” Nightmare Moon sat besides J, the idle chatter almost unbelievable as she was talking of a punishment than most fans of the series had used as an excuse to call Celestia the so common nickname of ‘Trollestia’ “Of course it was our fault back then, Luna and I. Even if I want to say that it was her fault it wouldn’t be fair, I encouraged her to do a few things that stressed her and got us in the position we ended up”
“Pardon me, but I don’t quite understand” J was baffled and halfway speechless, but keeping silent probably wasn’t a good idea.
“Oh dear, don’t act silly, I have seen all in your head unlike my little Luna and I know you are not stupid nor so innocent” The mare smiled, much like a predator “But I will let her tell you about it later, hope you make the right decision later on, ta ta”
“Wait, what…”
*Poof!*
“…decision?”
Suddenly J found himself covered in wet clothes, under the gaze of two ponies and a baby dragon, as well as being wet and cold.
“Fffffff…” He growled “I don’t like being a cliché”
“What are you talking about, J?” Luna wondered a bit worried before she went wide eyed “You were left in my mind when I got out?”
“J? Is that his name?” Twilight cut Luna off, though she apologized afterwards but was the best save J could wish for “Sorry Princess Luna, I was just curious”
“Truth be told, it is Jonathan” J told her as he tried to sit, only to wince as he felt his right arm giving him the worst pain he had feel in years “Something… is not right”
“You had many broken bones” Luna told him, forcing one hoof on him so he would not move “Your arm was the worst and I have little magic left, but my sister could patch you up. Not many ponies do know about healing magic and I doubt there is one in Ponyville”
“Here people like to do everything with their skills, Princess Luna, there is practically no magic in the village” Twilight confirmed “I am sorry though, this is my fault, I had to do the summoning faster…”
“Twilight, I don’t want to be harsh but I have to repeat it: I was hoping to discourage you” Luna cut off of Twilight’s words, knowing she was going to go in a spiral of sorrow for the pain she supposed was her fault “In fact you saved J from a more than assured death with your spell, a spell that you didn’t even know the incantations or runes for, you simply used the basic summoning circle and practically WISHED for it to happen” She offered Twilight a gentle smile “I knew why my sister took an interest in you when I meet you and you helped me, but this only reinforces my theory that you can change many, many things with your power”
Everyone in there knew that this was supposed to make Twilight feel better, but the pony simply looked down in shame. She had messed up either way, she had taken someone that she had not hoped for, and what was even worse! She had done it almost too late. Maybe it was because she had been too paranoid and tried to do something too big for her own good? It was impossible for her to accept that she had done any good with such a mess.
*Thud!*
“Ow!”
J took Twilight away from her melodrama as he tried to get up. The roof of Twilight’s room was way too low for him and he ended adding another bump to his head, but at least that made Twilight give a shy smile as he rubbed this new source of little pain.
“Well, that was stupid” He tried to offer a gentle smile “But don’t mind that. Twilight, you helped me no matter what you want to think about it: You saved me, even if it was almost too late, you did your best, and I thank you. Whatever you want to ask for that I would try to grant… though I can’t do much” J couldn’t help but chuckle. In Earth he could do many things. Here? Well, here he could do little that he knew of.
At least with that Twilight did smile, even if it was only a bit “Thank you, but I don’t find it fair to ask for anything now. I had hoped to get someone more… barbaric, someone that wouldn’t mind being here, someone more like the legends in this” She used her magic to transport a book by the name of ‘The Most Dangerous Creatures That Ever Lived’ with the face of a human (In a drawing much like the Inca) in gold over the cover “I had hoped for a savage that would be honor bound and happy to live in such a magic place fighting monsters or defending us. I am sorry I messed it up”
“What is done is done, don’t delve on it too much” J had to smile at the irony of counseling he was willing to give, and that he knew was the best, but not willing to accept himself “I don’t know if I can help you how you wished, but I promise to do my very best” However as he said so he tried to move his right arm, groaning in pain “When I am healed of course”
Luna had to nod as he gave a frown of little disgust. She had been, at least partially, evil, but she didn’t like any kind of wound or pain, which was why she was grateful for something that her sister had made after their… little discussion back then. Of course she didn’t know if the human had any magic in him, the fact that he lived in a world of technology didn’t mean he was unable of the magic feats that the wizards of his species could do in presence of real magic.
“So are we ready to go now?” She asked with a bit of a hurried tone. Her healing power had done wonders, yes, but any movement could undo her work and J would be back as how he was when he arrived here.
J nodded, but Twilight tilted her head a bit in wonder “Go where?”
“To the castle of course” Luna smiled gently “J’s bones are weak and need to be mended a bit more. He doesn’t have the protection WE have thanks to my sister”
“What is that you have that I don’t?” J wondered out loud, blushing a bit as he noticed everyone looking at him “Eh… was meant to be a thought, not spoken out loud”
“Since you are new allow me to illustrate” Spike commented getting on top of Twilight’s bed with a big book that read ‘The Many Gifts of the Sun’ “After the war was done and the evil Nightmare Moon (Forgive me, Princess Luna) was banished to the moon, Princess Celestia saw that the pain caused was too much to bear, not for only a goddess, but also for the people and even the monsters. Many died back then, and while it was sad, it was a lesson that had to be learnt so it could give something in return for everypony”
“Back then there were now monsters rampant, evil creatures and diseases” Twilight chimed in, happy to show her knowledge even when Spike simply gave her a look of ‘Dude, it was my moment’ “The Princess managed to create a fast spell to protect everypony and creature from real harm, making knocks, cuts and the like be all but a little pain and never a real wound. She also used a great deal of her power to make every creature vegetarian, or at least partly, which is why there are so many fruit trees everywhere so no monster or creature decides to eat meat again. This is not perfect and sometimes the magic in every creature doesn’t work all their lives, but it is the best that Princess Celestia could ever do to her kingdom”
“So I am in the land of vegan monsters?” J asked with a hint of a chuckle “Seriously?”
“Not really” Luna said with a hint of sadness “A lot of monsters have regained their appetite for meat after generations, but luckily they often fight amongst other monsters and nopony is harmed. The dragons never were affected and the most dangerous and unintelligent prefer meat even over jewels. Luckily the one we have here is very nice” Luna chuckled as she patted at Spike as the little baby dragon blushed “But more about that latter, shall we go now? I don’t know how much your body will remain healed”
Everyone nodded, but Luna asked J to sit down so they all could bundle together easily. Teleport was easy for one, mildly hard for two and very hard for three. Four was hardly possible but with the help of Twilight they could do it easily, more so knowing that Luna could transport huge amounts of people if she wished too. The problem they could face was the human’s size.
“Why would my size be a problem? I still count as one” He said, blushing a bit with Luna in his lap.
“Because I want to take you directly to my sister’s room, a room that is not used to such large guests” She replied cutely “Now stay put”
“Are you calling me fat by any chance?”
*** Princess Celestia’s Room ***
It was late, very late, but Celestia could hardly feel the need to sleep today, so she simply shipped some tea instead, reading a book under the gaze of the stars. Today felt a bit too weird for her taste, much like a foreshadowing very long ago, one that sent the world she knew into darkness so fast that she had made the worst mistake of her lifetime, and that was saying a lot. Right now she only felt the need to call her sister and hug her, but as the first tears began to roll down her eyes she advised herself against it.
‘It wouldn’t be right, we already cried enough’ She thought bitterly ‘I don’t want to mess it up again’
*Poof!*
“Fat?! HAHAHAHAHA!”
Celestia had to spit the tea she had in her mouth as she saw her sister appear in front of her, not alone by the way as her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her pet and assistant dragon, Spike, were there too. Luna was snorting and laughing at some joke she didn’t understand, nor could she even if she wanted, as an enraged scowl took place in her face as she saw who had her little sister on its lap.
A human.
There he was smiling and blushing a bit like if he was an innocent creature with Twilight and Spike at his side, probably not getting whatever joke as Luna had done, but laughing nonetheless. However for Celestia whatever had happened meant nothing, there was only one thing she was concerned and it was that a human WAS-TOUCHING-HER-SISTER.
She was a goddess, and the goddess of the sun, so it was not anything to laugh at when it is said that she could move at blinding speed to place the tip of her horn right against the human’s throat.
“Leave-my-sister-on-the-ground” She said with a deep hiss that Luna hadn’t hear in almost a millennia and that neither Twilight nor Spike had ever heard from the usually collected and regal Princess of Equestria.
A stunning moment, a flashing light and an action she was unable to understand, but Luna had pushed her, her own sister, away from the human. It had been a simple spell and she had been all but prepared for the shockwave that her little sister had thrown at her with force just enough to ensure that her magical (and very sharp) horn was away from the throat of the human.
“Luna? Why are you defending him?” Celestia asked, unable to understand what had happened.
“Sis, he is ok” Luna said wide eyed thanks to her sister’s reaction before “Relax, please”
The Princess couldn’t believe what her sister was saying, much less after so much time. Surely one thousand years was not enough to forget about…
“Please sis? I took a peek in his mind, I know you made me promise not to, but I had to” She tried to smile cutely even when her face turned to worry “He has nowhere to go and his body is damaged, please sis heal him”
Grumbling Celestia sat, yet her gaze was still on the human before her “If you say so, sis”
There was silence for a while after that. Luna moved away from J with Twilight and Spike following suit, only to ensure that Celestia didn’t think something was wrong yet again as she finally decided to use her magic to slowly mend J. What was really a few minutes looked like hours as the only thing that broke the silence was an occasional cough from J (Whom was still quite cold mind you) or a quite loud nudge given by Luna that almost throw her sister on the side as she was caught in surprise.
The reason for Celestia to take so much time (And not notice her sister) was that there was a little talk that had been going on even without any of the present realizing it. She had connected with the human’s subconscious and was dwelling deep within his mind. She had made sure to practice such an art that she did hate herself, but that she thought would come in handy some day. It was not that she did not believe in the words of her sister, it is that, want it or not, Celestia was more mature and after so many bad moves on her part she had come to get used with deception or any kind of hidden wild card in anypony.
“I don’t like what I see” She finally said, relaxing her expression “But I cannot say you are the worst I could imagine. I am, though, disappointed that my own sister gave my student such a prank like counseling and that my student didn’t know better” She was not harsh, but Celestia made sure to let everyone know that she was not pleased “But I must commend her on saving you. You don’t seem like a bad man but you do have quite a dark side that I wish not to see in my kingdom again”
“I am sorry” He said meekly, not daring to get his voice louder than Fluttershy, in fact Celestia had to admit that the man had spoken even in more a whisper like way than the yellow Pegasus mare “If there is a way you can turn me back to where I was then I would be happy to, I don’t want to worry my mother”
“Even wanting to, I can’t” Celestia had a bit of a sad tone, but she still showed her serious face “You are bound here by the one that summoned you until your task is complete and you want to go. I can, however, create a copy of you in a few days to send it to your world to make sure you have no reason to… convince my student to return you”
This time J looked at Celestia with something that everypony could decipher as pure hate. It was obvious that what Celestia had implied was something that J hadn’t liked, at all, something understandable as even Luna and Twilight were looking at Celestia practically speechless.
“Do you think I could do what you suggest?” He asked with his tone darker than any of the mares (and dragon) present could imagine, except for Celestia who seemed to be pleased at the outcome “I suppose I could do what you think then? I suppose humans are regarded as the worst creature in existence if the book Twilight showed me was truthful in what I suppose it says. I can guess it goes easily with tales of how we can easily betray as well as how we can be the most loyal creatures in existence” Celestia simply nodded and J smiled grimly “Which means you hadn’t believe squat from what your sister told you and decided to take a dive in my mind. I am correct again?” Again another nod “Then tell me this Celestia: What do you want to know?”
“What would make you snap and how to end it” Celestia was blunt and quick.
“Sis?” Luna tried to nag at her sister “What do you mean?”
Not taking her eyes from the human Celestia began to speak “In his youth he saved his younger sister, I am sure you saw that with a little poke at his mind, Luna, but you didn’t saw that he had to kill a lot of animals by himself to support his sister and himself until they were found” Celestia was blunt and descriptive as she told it “Nor did you see, I am sure, that as he grew he tried to become nicer, and maybe a bit different if you want it mildly put, but deep in his memory there are many fights and many victims of his rage. When someone he held dear suffered or someone annoyed him to the point of exploding in rage he was very, very dangerous to anypony near him. The worst case was when he was eighteen and a bully got him nine months straight, making fun of him until he exploded, sending him into a coma with most his bones broken after a fight. The young man took half a year to come back and be able to move” Her look was of utter disgust and she didn’t even try to hide it “Under too much pressure, or faced with danger to someone he loves, he is ruthless and efficient in what he has been trained to do since he was young”
“Nice of you to tell it all” J groaned, ashamed “But if you know what would make me snap, then why ask?”
At that Celestia got up, still a serious look on her face as she paced around the man very, very slowly, not missing an inch of his form to see his reaction to whatever she said.
“Because you have a dark side inside of you that only erupts when you want to defend those you hold dear, or that invades you when you have been pushed too far” She said, making J cringe in a way she seemed to enjoy as the young man obviously HATED that fact “You could kill anything, maim anyone or destroy whatever was in front of you if that dark side of yours got hold of you. The best intentions usually make the worst things happen. I know about that first hoof”
“Does it have anything to do with the tale I wanted your sister to tell?” J tried to change the subject, and even though Celestia gave him a glare that could kill, she nodded “Then why not share it? At least a bit of it. If you say you have dark within you and you don’t like mine, then I want to know about it firsthand myself”
“Just because my sister promised you and because you did swear to help the one that invoked you doesn’t mean I will share my tale with the likes of you” She spat, quite angry “While I admit that you don’t seem to be the worse your kin has to offer you still aren’t welcome here as far as I am concerned. If it wasn’t because my sister seems to think you are good and that my student has your word, a word I know you wouldn’t break, I would end your life now no matter how nice you could be, so don’t stretch my kindness too far”
“Sis” Celestia turned to her sister, whom was now almost crying “Stop, please, be nice. You promised me it was all in the past. He has nowhere to go and you know it. Offer him a pact if you don’t believe in him but please, stop, you are scaring me”
Celestia sighed, nodded and took ink and paper with her magic as she sat beside her sister. It didn’t take long, but the furious movements of the pencil as Celestia wrote were a bad sign for any that knew her. She had been obviously quite angry at the sight of a human and even with now three figures quite afraid of her, or at least reluctant to talk to her, she had only worsened her mood thanks to her previous actions.
With a final movement the pencil lied on her table and the once beautiful room dimmed in light, soon turning almost dark except for vibrant lights that seemed to come from everyone present. Celestia had a bright sunny glow, Luna a dark stellar bright, Twilight had sparks of magic floating around her and Spike seemed to glow multicolor as gems would if a batch of them were washed with light. J, however, seemed to be circled perpetually by a black and light glow, dancing in tandem around him.
“Read it out loud” Celestia commanded in a gentle, yet strong tone as she gave J her writing.
“As you wish, Celestia”
By each second he was less happy about being here, in fact this was going halfway to hell, if it wasn’t because at least some of the ponies seemed nice to him. However he supposed at least a bit of information would be given if he complied. He got up and tried to act dramatically enough.
“By the deal presented to me I give my word to serve thee
that whom has given me what I seek is the one who holds my very self
in this day I swear the law uphold for my benefactor my life holds
I will not break my word for any reason for my life ends if I commit treason
with these words I make my promise that only for the sun and the moon my will rise”
“Done, now what?”
There was no time for an answer it only took a moment for everyone to realize that the lights came back and that J was enveloped by sparkles much like those that Twilight had just a moment ago when the lights had faded. He didn’t even have time to curiously touch the sparkles as all of them, five in total, flew a slight distance away before slamming against his head, arms and legs with such force that he didn’t even felt pain. Everything in his body was numb.
“Ugh… what kind of train hit me?” He groaned, looking at the ceiling as the world around him spun.
“Sister!” Luna cried out “I said a pact! What have you done?” However Celestia didn’t say anything.
“Princess… wasn’t that a bit too hard? Why did you give him something that would hurt him now?” Twilight, practically silent until now, couldn’t comprehend how her teacher was being so… so nasty for a lack of a better term “I have never seen you like this. What happened for you to hate someone so much? You have always been kind, to the point of crying for a few days when Princess Luna came back for what you had to do, and I didn’t even get to hear the story. Tell me why, please…”
The pleading look on Twilight made Celestia finally crack, but she didn’t change her firm tone.
“It is all in the story” Celestia said openly “And much like in his world; story may not always be truthful to everypony. Dark things are buried deep within its cracked walls; such an important thing should not always be told. Sometimes it is for the best to forget, in others it is the worst thing possible, but I will begin the tale tonight so you all begin to understand what happened”
Celestia got up and, with magic flowing from her horn, left her hair envelop the whole room as J came back to the world of the conscious. Soon the veil that had formed of multicolor sparkle turned into a solid pink color of translucent, crystal like, appearance.
“One thousand years ago things were very different than today, in fact, they were unlike any you would ever imagine my faithful student” She began, her tone back to the sweet angelical voice that Twilight had ever known and that of which her sister had gotten used to “However it was not in any kind of good sense. There were problems and it was as much my fault as it was the fault of something else. No matter that I was younger, it is no excuse for the mistakes I made, however I made them and that is what is important, yet to this day I don’t fully understand how it came to happen”
An image formed on the veil, a form covered in metal that had a visor in the face from which red eyes looked at the ones present with hate. By its side soon many kind of creatures, monsters of all kinds, congregated to look towards what once had been the castle of the two sisters.
“Whatever the case, the monsters had rallied under one single banner many years ago, when a crisis was hitting our nation with nearby factions having problems and some needing our aid. The reason why I hate your kind” Celestia looked at J with teary eyes “Is because if it wasn’t for them leading these creatures, the pain that everyone would’ve had to bear would be much less excruciating and me and my sister would be happy today with many more species than the ones that exist now”
The metallic creature took away his helmet and showed a jovial young man with red short hair and blue eyes, though the helmet still had the red eyes and black mist pouring from it. He took one hand to his side and patted the flank of a Manticore, it nodded and the monsters all moved away with the young man.
“So let me illustrate you all; let me give you a lesson in history, how the worst day of Equestria began”
*** End of chapter 2 ***
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Uros
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1056
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Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
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<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-09-26T20:25:13+00:00
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2011-09-26T20:25:13+00:00
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Chapter 3: Once Upon a Dark Night – Part 1
Celestia sat atop of her tower, watching the sky happily as the first month of her reign ended and the second began. Her mother had passed the powers to her and her sister as it had always been done before and now the old mare and her sister, Celestia’s aunt, were enjoying the benefits of such a long and fruitful time of peace. Many ponies preferred to think that their ‘gods’, their princesses or princes as they were called, lived forever, but Celestia had to be thankful that it was not true.
You see, anypony can live from fifty to two hundred years more or less, as far as the story book told of course, but most ponies didn’t live much more than one hundred. Everypony could live two hundred years thanks to the magic, and old age didn’t ever show until the last five years of their lives. Every creature in the world had this kind of power thanks to the good magic that enveloped it, but to live forever? That hadn’t happened and Celestia knew that it would turn people mad, if nothing else. That every goddess or god of the sun or the moon looked the same was simply thanks to the powers that were shared down from generation to generation. It had been strange that her father hadn’t inherited the power of the moon from Celestia’s grandfather and instead it had been her mother’s sister, but it worked out in any case and nopony had minded it.
Still it had a bleak side for her; this meant that Celestia could only enjoy one more year with her mother and aunt. Yet fate thought it was funny if she was not going to have such luck thanks to the illness that had taken them to be confined in bed, not only that but that the problems that had arose all over their domain and the nearby countries made sure to keep her away from her family in her last days. It was not so bad if you thought that it was tradition to let the last days of the ‘Elder Gods’ as they were called, to be left in quietude and to relax as they saw their eternity go away to, in the near future, see themselves vanish from thin air into their rightful rest.
That part didn’t bother Celestia, what bothered her was that many magical creatures were angry that others were trying, again, to expand borders or business where they were not welcome. For example: The Diamond Dogs were unhappy about dragons digging for gems in their territory, and while the gems regenerated quite fast the dogs were way too possessive. The humans were displeased that orks, trolls and other pseudo humans were pressing against the unified borders to break free while others were violent against their brethren instead of asking for a kingdom for themselves. Magic critters like Parasprites were multiplying in the north and some of the cities of fellow ponies, and even their cousins, the horses and donkeys, were suffering from the ravenous creatures.
It was true that not all problems would bother Celestia and her little sister anytime soon, but a lot of diplomats did come to ask her for help, or ‘better’ yet, ask her mother and aunt as only the other ponies or equines wanted to think of their goddesses as such mythical creatures with such fervor. It was getting on her nerves.
“I have to ask yet again, noble Princess Celestia, that you lend us your aid”
She sighed and turned, Celestia was friends, and very fond, of the human that had came to visit her. It was Sebastian: A blonde young man with grey eyes, strong constitution and always behind his sinning golden colored armor or regal blue clothes. He was the first son of the king of the humans, Yomeron, a man that tried to rule every nation of his kingdom as gently as possible, not caring for species and not minding any differences, he, as his son, only tried to do the best for everypony else. She was grateful that Sebastian was such a nice friend, but lately he had become way too worried, much like his father.
“And what I am supposed to do? Should I send my knights forth to force your people to stand down? Would you think it fair for my ponies to be hated? If I had another kind of aid to offer I would, my friend, but I don’t know what to say” She looked down quite sad “I am sorry Sebastian but with the realm of the Diamond Dogs getting aggressive against the Dragons my ponies are already trying their best, that is if we don’t even count the hordes of Parasprites eating our food, forcing us to import things that sometimes don’t even MAKE it here before they are eaten by those little critters” Celestia sighed, those things were giving her such a headache that she was going to make sure that, once they were gone, a spell was on her head to forget those things once and for a ll.
“But… but…” Sebastian whined as he sat in a nearby chair “I don’t know what to do, and father is getting sick from all this stress. What should I do, Celestia? I don’t know what the best course of actions is and your kingdom is the only one that doesn’t try to roast or fight us if they see us looking at them the ‘wrong way’”
“Which mean ANY way, right?” Celestia chuckled gently “It is what happens when you let an adventurer from your kingdom to travel to the Dragon cities and boast in the bars how he could slay a feral dragon with his battleaxe” Sebastian could only cover his blushing “It is not so bad, your cousin came back only with his rearguard charred and the dragons do know your kind is nice, they just hold grudges a long time. Just relax; it will be alright if you try to talk to them and make them see that having different kingdoms would only create more problems”
“Thank you, Tia” He smiled, nodding a bit. Tia was an abbreviation of her name that only friends very close to her could use without her frowning “But it is true. In one or another way I will help my father with this problem. I thank you for your patience, Tia, no matter how busy you are, you always have time for me” He smiled, offering a hand to the goddess.
Hand that the goddess was happy to ‘take’ with her hoof in a kind of handshake “Always a pleasure, my dear friend. Take care and see if you can bring that stubborn brother of yours next time too, ok? Luna is really bored and with her antics to such a level I can’t nearly control her”
“That is another problem altogether” Sebastian groaned “He is again hunting in the wilds, I doubt when he is going to come. Figures the only time my father is willing to hear my little brother he goes missing”
“Oh well, had to happen I suppose” Celestia gave a little chuckle “Always wanting to be daddy’s right eye and when he can he is not present. He is going to rant for days when he comes back then”
“Be sure of it” With a smile Sebastian finally bid his farewell and walked out of the room.
*Sigh*
Celestia simply let herself fall to the ground. He was now alone and so she could relax and drop the façade. It all was getting to her nerves in such a way she could not express in front of anyone. She had to show herself as powerful, commanding and sure of herself, in other words: A goddess. Her mother had asked her to do that and it was going to happen no matter what, however it was tiring and taxing.
Day by day she saw how the sun went down and how it rose every morning, she did this work together with her sister, half the day for one and half for the other, but even so the little ritual that got it working was done by each of them separately. At first Luna had hated it, saying that nopony loved her night as they loved Celestia’s sun. It worried Celestia at a time as it had been only half a month and the already reclusive girl that was her sister now was to look powerful and imposing, she had to be loved by everyone and she had to at least try to make some friends, but seeing the reaction of the young filly made it obvious that Luna would do no such thing.
So a sister did what a sister should: Show her sister where she was right or wrong. One night, half a month ago, Celestia took Luna to the nearby village where ponies of all ages had parties at night, explored the beautiful sky or simply enjoyed the creatures that were out under the bright gaze of the stars. They all were more than happy to see the goddess that granted them such marvelous things and mad their life all the better. Still, while Luna was flattered she only said thanks to everypony and flew back towards the castle.
It worried her, Celestia didn’t know what to do to get her sister to go out and get any friends. The only one she had was the younger son of Yomeron, Caustros, but after she became a goddess the young human had not visited even once. It was not weird for him to stay away in the forests testing his power to impress his father for months at a time; normally Celestia was more than happy as she could spend more time with her sister that way, but now? Now it had been half a month with her sister utterly alone with not even the staff of the castle willing to put with her magical pranks and little antics all over the place. She didn’t know what she was going to do, if she had messed the dungeon again someone was going to complain and Celestia knew she would explode if that happened.
Thinking about it… why did they have a dungeon? It had been never used for anything more than storage. Oh well, it simply meant extra work, she was simply grateful it was not hers to do, she was already stressed enough.
“Princess, are you there?” The voice of her counselor, Yohoofrich, called from outside the room “I have the papers that need filling so we dispatch help to fight the Parasprite infestation and to calm down the Dragons and Diamon Dogs”
“God!” Celestia took the closest cushion with her magic, brought it close and began to scream and bite at it in frustration for a few seconds “Ok, ok, I am ok” She told herself before opening the door of her room with her magic “Let’s see what you have for me, Yohoofrich”
*** Luna ***
“I didn’t mean to get the place like it is, I promise!”
In the first floor of the castle it was a mess beyond words. Blue sparkly water very similar on its colors to the sky at night was dripping from every wall, drenching the once white walls and halls with water that left parchments of blue, watered down paint or irregularities in the few sections of the castle made with wood. Where the paint hadn’t been removed, exchanged with the colored water or watered down to an ugly grey, the rocks had moved out of place or water bugs had raided the place quite fast creating quite a little plague, scampering only after the servants came to clean it all.
“I am sure you didn’t” A young brown mare with a servant’s tiara told her “But… we would like if you asked us before you try to give out decorations in the castle, if that is ok with you Princess Luna”
“Ok…” Luna sighed, looking down in defeat “But… I am sure I can help!” She smiled, wanting to at least help cleaning up her own mess.
“No!” The mare almost yelled, which attracted the attention off the other near twenty servants “I mean, dear Princess Luna, we have our cutie marks that mean we are here to SERVE you” The Mare showed her cutie mark that basically was a maid’s dress “You don’t have to waste your godly powers helping us, in fact you already used a lot taking so much water from the nearby river to do this” The mare tried to smile “And we need you to bring the night, so rest for now”
With another sigh Luna nodded “Ok…”
Luna simply turned tail and went away at a slow sad trot ‘I messed up, again, and sis is going to get angry, again’ She thought, a small tear running down her cheek as she walked outside towards the garden where a few ponies were hanging ‘Each time I try something it is the same ‘Luna you are our goddess of the moon, you have to relax to bring us the night’ or ‘Luna don’t do this, there are specialized ponies for it’ and such things’.
She sighed again, and for the looks of it, the day was going to be like that for a very, very long time. It didn’t help that most the ponies scattered as she approached, it probably was nothing but Luna was quite the paranoid right now. ‘I am sure they don’t like me, even the ponies that like my night don’t like me. My only friend is my sister now. Where is Caustros? Where is…?’
‘I am here, Luna’
The sweet voice of an older mare came to her as she took a place under a nearby tree with a little pool of water right under its base. There, the face of the mare one day would be known as Nightmare Moon was present, yet this time it had a gentle crown made out to resemble a star and her expression and eyes were normal and gentle, not the almost crazed one that she would exhibit one thousand years later.
‘Oh Nightmare Moon’ Luna was already halfway crying ‘What should I do? I don’t get to befriend anyone, I DON’T want to. But my sister says I should and even if I could I would need to go alone at night’ She said within her mind ‘What should I do? I am afraid, alone and… and I think I am losing it’
‘Dear, dear, relax’ Nightmare Moon said with a gentle smile ‘I am what you hope to be one day, remember? You can’t be all scared of your own night can you? You can enter the dreams and minds of others to defend yourself if needed be, my sweetie, and there I can help you. I am sure you won’t need any help, you need to believe in yourself and make new friends” The older mare said with a bright smile.
‘I know, I know” Luna looked down, defeated ‘But I don’t want to…’
Luna couldn’t help but blush as she heard Nightmare Moon laughing ‘Look at you dear, afraid of making new friends that love your nights. It was harder to get your human friend that it would have to make fellow pony friends, but you were always so reclusive’ Nightmare Moon gave her a sincere smile ‘Don’t you think it is time to stop talking with imaginary friends and going out there to get real ones at last? I know it would make your sister very happy’
‘But I don’t want to have more friends’ Luna said finally ‘I am happy with Tia with me only, I don’t want anyone else’ She shook her head ‘Caustros… wasn’t planned. He came to our kingdom once when he was little the first time he ran away from home and he enjoyed the night my aunt made so much that he didn’t notice when he walked over me’ She didn’t want to but she chuckled wholeheartedly ‘We fought the whole night calling each other so many things. I thought we were going to hate each other, I did hate his guts at least…’
‘And look at it now’ Nightmare Moon giggled ‘He is your best friend besides Celestia, and it won’t change if you make more friends my dear. If you fear to change for good then what would happen if things change and you don’t want them to? You have to look at the future with a big smile and hope. Come on, go ahead’
Finally Luna smiled, nodding as she got up with a plan already. The festival in honor of the moon was going to be tomorrow, but she had an idea that, hopefully, would sit well with her sister and she would enjoy a day off thanks to that.
For once the usually gloomy princess Luna was bright and happy, running inside the castle yet again only to trip and dance all over the place in a comical way as she tried to dodge everypony that was cleaning her previous mess, yelping “Sorry!” after “Sorry!” until she finally connected personally with the wall near the stairs. Dizzy, but still happy, she ran upstairs to meet her sister.
She discovered that the water, when she had failed to concentrate, hadn’t only splashed all over the first floor and the bashement where the dungeon/storage had been half flooded, but the second level too as well as the base of the stairs towards her sister’s tower.
Speaking of which, down the stairs was coming a bright yellow pony with brown mane, moustache and tail that had a monocle as his cutie mark. It was Yohoofrich, her sister’s advisor and someone that had worked with not only Luna and Celestia’s mother, but also knew from his father about their grandfather and so on as his family had always served the gods and goddess of sun and moon. It was his job to be rude and demanding until the new goddesses knew how to do their job to ensure the safety of their kingdom, but to Luna he was the worst flank she had ever seen.
“Hello Yohoofrich” She said coldly, not caring to hide her disdain.
“Good day, ‘Princess’ Luna” He returned the stare to his supposed superior “I gather that this colorful water is thanks to you, as I have told to your sister” This made Luna shiver and lose her previous confidence “I hope you understand I am doing this for your own good, your own father gave me this task” He said quite bluntly as he walked past her “It is very bad, and I know, that the powers of the gods force the pairs to be sterile until they have only twenty years left my dear Luna, and even worse than they had you late instead of twins as it usually is, but understand that we need a MATURE goddess of the moon” He turned to give her a gentle and pleading look “Please understand that if I am severe it is only because it is my job, I, as you, have to think of everypony else. I don’t want to force your childhood away, but unlike your sister you have to mature fast now. Excuse me…”
Luna’s world sunk. Now she had to speak with her sister, but not about what she had wanted to. In fact now she would have to talk to her and say how sorry she was, not that it was a lie, but she knew that Tia had been in the verge of a breakdown with so much to do and being unable to see their parents and aunt. Customs could get bent for all she and Tia cared, but even so Celestia was the one with the heavy duty and only Luna could visit the family now.
‘This is going to suck so much flank’ She thought, looking up the stairs to a glaring Celestia whom was looking at her with disapproval.
With a very shy smile Luna climbed the stairs, not even daring to look at her sister until she was one single stair away, moment which she used to sit and look up, gulping down as she drew her breath “Sis I…”
“Luna, I am very disappointed” Celestia cut in quite brusquely “Not only had I hoped that you would behave after all this time, but I know that you are bored and want someone to talk now that I horn deep in work. Yet instead of doing as I advised you and finding some friends you play childish pranks that make our fellow ponies as work taxed as I am, something that I am NOT happy about” Luna could see that for some reason her sister had now small bags under her eyes, maybe the work was taking the best of her? “I know you miss me but doing these things only help to give me MORE work and MORE frustration, frustration that I DON’T NEED”
“I… I am sorry sis… I only wanted to help, to give the castle a nice look as I was not sure going out at night out of the castle to find anypony new” She said, looking down in embarrassment “I thought if I gave the castle the look of the night some of the ponies that enjoyed it could come here where I am more comfortable”
“I appreciate that you are trying at least something, Luna” Celestia said warmly “But you should try to be a normal sociable girl my dear sister, not trying to do the things the other way around. People won’t come to you here dear, you have to go to them, you have to go out and experience it”
“Thanks sis, I came to that realization earlier already, which is why I thought” Luna scrapped at the stairs before looking up “If the Moon festival could be a whole night? I mean, the whole day turned to night so everyone can appreciate my night in all its glory? Maybe then I will be able to…”
“Absolutely not!”
Luna backed away, almost falling down the stairs as she heard her sister yell at her. Once she looked up she saw the enraged face of her sister once again looking tired and disappointed like if she saw her like little more than an annoyance.
“Do you know what you are proposing? The extra problems you would cause? The harm it would do!?”
Backing down as Celestia clopped forward, Luna simply tried to talk to her sister as her eyes went full of tears “B-but Tia! I didn’t mean anything bad with it! I only wanted to…”
“If this was like the other planets I would let you do whatever you want Luna, but our world’s magic forces us to make it turn! What you said was beyond stupid if we don’t follow the natural order” Celestia spat “I have heard you say a lot of silly things, all of them funny and even cute or lovely when you played, but this is selfish and would hurt a LOT of people and ponies. I will NOT let you do such a thing EVER, so if you want to meet friends you can go at night wherever you want, but do NOT mess with the order of things” With a tired sigh of disdain Celestia turned “When you begin to think about what you say then we will talk again. I have work to do sister, so go play along and behave this time”
Crying now, Luna turned and ran down the stairs, sobbing after her sister had said such things to her. If she had looked back she would’ve seen her sister crying too, but one of the things that Luna hadn’t know back then, and one she would never know, was that one of the things that Yohoofrich had to talk about with her sister was that both her mother and aunt had gone to their rightful rest just minutes before their father, who had passed away by the sadness of the loss and his age.
Celestia hadn’t mean to yell at her sister, nor to call her names of any kind, but she was stressed, she was sad and she wanted nothing more than to feel the embrace of her mother again, something that she would never ever enjoy until her time to rest came. With all of this she did hope to make her sister angry though, angry enough to hate her for a few days if needed be, it would all be little to pay so when she told her sister the news she would be angry with her, and only with her, for holding the truth away from her as well as for slashing at her to release her anger.
For the eldest sister it was better this way; she would probably have to suffer the rage of her sister, but after she had calmed down it would be ok… right? She was sure that after his sister took all her anger at her she would only be a little filly that wanted to cry and embrace her big sister once again, she hoped so at least.
In truth Celestia would never know if this would’ve played out as she hoped. At the time she was hardly thinking clearly with the work pressing everywhere and forcing her to suck her own tears. She hadn’t even noticed that, even crying and moping under the same tree from earlier, Luna had brought the night in time after many, many hours of lament and anger.
‘Luna, I am so, so sorry’ Nightmare Moon told her, the pool from before was now bigger thanks to the tears shed by the young filly ‘I had really hoped for the best. If I had known that your sister would be like that…’
‘You are me! You should’ve known!’ She cried silently, the poor Luna broken now ‘I had to know! Why did I try to talk sis into that? It was stupid and it still is! I would harm people simply because I am a reclusive coward! No one is going to ever like me’ The young filly mopped, crying louder now ‘I am a waste of a goddess of the moon!’
‘Please Luna, don’t say that’ Nightmare begged ‘You will be a great goddess of the moon some day! You just need to give yourself time and be strong. This night is young, go out and play with someone! I am sure there are hundreds of ponies out there that would give anything to be with their goddess of the moon’
“Stop!” Luna finally screamed, stomping on the pool “I am not what I should be! I am not Moon Goddess and I am not a princess” She cried, running without a course “I am just a young pony that is good for nothing! I want my mom!”
Luna strode away, not intending to go so far as to get to the linden of the forest that surrounded the castle and the village, however right now she was not afraid and not in the mood for caring. Right now all Luna wanted was to find a big and dark enough hole to rest in until all had passed or until she was no more, she practically didn’t care for which.
In the future this well maintained forest would turn to be the Everfree Forest, a natural area where monsters dwell. However on these days it was simply a forest where animals lived in peace near the village that surrounded the sisters’ castle. Right now Luna wished it was otherwise, she wished for a monster to come out and get her, to harm her or do at her whatever it wished. She simply didn’t care anymore.
In hopes for finding either a suitable end or simply to find a place to cry herself to sleep Luna walked deep into the forest, not minding brushes or branches that scratched her or made it harder for her to move. Right now her young mind was full of guilt, betrayal and anger. Guilt at trying to be what she wasn’t and either harming or bothering those around her somehow, betrayal at her sister for tossing her asides in favor for her work and anger at everypony for looking down at her like simply the object that brought them their night.
Finally Luna, not looking where she was going, stumbled on a big fallen branch.
“WOAH!”
Falling down a slope, luckily not harming herself as she bounced on the grass, Luna found herself looking at her beautiful star filled nightly sky.
‘Sigh’ “I don’t know what I am doing. I should go back and tell sis I am sorry instead of doing this” Luna was full of regret as the last tears in her left her eyes “I am a stupid little foal”
A chuckle came from somewhere nearby, taking Luna’s interest and making her get up with a quick jump. She knew hat voice, or she thought she knew, she hadn’t hurt herself but maybe she had gotten a bump in the head, speaking of which… Yea, she still had her little crown. Celestia would’ve chewed her flank if she had broken it.
“Well, you always were quite headstrong and you couldn’t control your own emotions. At least you could pay attention to an old friend instead of that old thing, no?”
Paying attention again to the voice that was now in front of her she saw a lone group of rocks and a human figure lying against them. Covered in a black cape and clothes as well as boots, the figure was practically invisible under the shadows if it wasn’t for the rocks and the grass giving it away under the moonlight. Luna was used to this form though, she had seen the young man with those clothes sneaking around her and her sister’s castle a lot of nights, practicing stealthy moves only to give them a surprise visit from time to time. At least this time he had it right to hide his muscular form into a more slender one with the cape and a more rigid leather cover, though Luna didn’t want to know where he got that leather from.
“So why not come closer? I am sorry to say I can’t move, nor see”
Caustros’s voice was gruff in comparison to his older brother, but his personality was sweet and even playful sometimes. It seemed his situation was either dire or very serious, but he didn’t seem to rush or show any anxiety. In fact Luna heard him laughing gently as she got closer to take a look under the hood, only to see a few droplets of blood running down his frown.
“I had been almost a month with my friends searching for a darn hydra until we got the thing near here. I would like to say that we got away easily but… eh… until I get my bones mended and my eyes back I will refrain from boasting” He said with a wide smile that showed two missing teeth “But we did manage to prevent the thing from hurting any innocents. Sorry Luna, but I won’t be able to see your first Lunar Celebration”
“What is wrong with you Caustros?” She practically barked, sitting beside her friend as she was unsure if she could do anything else without harming him “You are hurt, you should worry about that and not my first Lunar Celebration!”
“Hey, I promised you that I would be there with you, didn’t I?” He said, moving slightly to try and ‘look’ at the source of the voice “I am sorry to break the promise, it matters more to me than my harm. Yago is going to bring me one of the potions your royal unicorn medic has by tomorrow and Innot has gone get some herbs to heal me since there are no more monsters around here to worry about. Relax Luna; I am more worried about YOU than I am about ME”
“You won’t change it seems” Luna couldn’t help but smile gently. Caustros had been like that always and the only thing he had always wanted was his father’s favor, something he never got, but he had a very caring personality “But don’t worry about me, I am only… a bit angry after my sister and I had a discussion, it is nothing major. Why were you hunting a single Hydra though? I doubt a single monster was a danger to anypony”
Caustros took one of his hands inside a pouch on his side, groaning as he moved only to bring out a bit of a dark blue thing. It was partially liquid and moved around as if it was alive, but didn’t seem much more like paint or maybe a very soft skin that moved thanks to the wind and Caustros’s shivering.
“The thing was covered in this. We don’t know what it was but it seemed to heal the monster, making It very bold. When we felled it most of this disappeared, but a bit of it got attached to me” Caustros showed the arm he was using as best as possible, letting Luna see a dark blue parch of skin “I don’t know if it is good or bad, but it did heal me quite a lot, otherwise I am ashamed to say I wouldn’t be here now”
Like if it was indeed alive the blob jumped straight at Luna, making her yell in surprise and try to dodge the thing, only for it to land on her cutie mark of the moon. In a moment the ‘cloud’ in her cutie mark turned even darker to an almost pitch black color. Out of instinctive fear Luna tried to take it away with Caustros aiding however he could, but the thing had glued itself in there.
In the end the blob embedded itself on Luna’s rear, healing the little scratches she had from the previous running through the forest at a cost that neither of the present knew of. She gave her friend a pleading look but even if Caustros could see it was obvious that the young man had the same problem and the same inability to solve it.
“It is stuck in there, it won’t let go of my skin” She said in a defeated tone “What is it? Why does it heal me?”
“We don’t know” Caustros told her “With luck it only heals, but I can’t promise you anything… Maybe your sister knows? I cannot move but I would like to ask her tomorrow. Why don’t you return to her and ask? If it is something bad you at least could get it off from your body fast if you fly to the castle”
“But will you be ok?” She asked in concern.
Caustros simply chuckled and waved it off “Remember I worry about you more than me Luna, go get it checked out. I will see you tomorrow if all go well”
It looked like Luna wanted to force him to comply, but she had to be serious for once and think straight. She was a filly, not a full grown mare like her sister. As a goddess they looked almost like horse alicorns, at least when grown, right now Luna didn’t have the strength to carry Caustros even if she wanted to, nor did she know if with all day crying and how tired she was after raising the moon she had enough to transport her friend. She simply nodded in the end and flapped her wings to get into the air.
In the ground two new figures came from the surrounding forest only moments after Luna flew away towards the castle. They were barely visible as they kept close to the shadows of the forest. The only thing that could be said about them was that they were neither pony nor human.
*** Celestia ***
Now Celestia was more than worried, she was frantic! The whole day Luna had been away and no one had seen her, not that anyone had looked for her young sister, she was sure that everyone was happy to get the young goddess out of their backs for a day if they could. It was exactly THAT the thing that made her angry and even more worried. She hadn’t intended to get her sister so angry that she would think of trotting away in the middle of the day! She thought she had all under control!
Well… she had to admit that her plan consisted mostly in HOPING for it to happen right thanks to how well she knew her sister, but she had no proof of what the young one could do under pressure this big for her young mind. If she had messed it up she would NEVER forgive herself, in fact if something else happened to her she would lose the little family she had left! How could she do such a thing?
“Princess!”
Celestia practically jumped in place as she looked at her side. She calmed down seeing Yohoofrich looking at her with concern, almost like a father as the colt had been like family to her as she grew, that is why he was the only one allowed to her room right now. He felt as bad as Celestia when he heard that Luna was nowhere to be seen, but both of them had thought that the young filly would come back at some point when the night was up. Now he was trying to maintain his cool to a degree, failing miserably at Celestia’s eyes.
“Calm down, you look about to explode” He pleaded “She will be back at some point I am sure”
“I can’t calm down Yohoofrich!” She almost cried out “My sister is not here! She is the last thing I have from our parents and I keep feeling something… bad… I know something horrid is going to happen and I don’t know what it is! I CANNOT CALM DOWN!”
“Princess please” Yohoofrich tried to calm her down “Being this worried WONT change a thing and will only cause you more problems. Please calm down and sit, things will be alright soon”
“Don’t you see Yohoofrich?! It won’t be all right!” Finally losing it, Celestia looked like she had lost all her confidence and her calm demeanor. She was nervous and insecure to such an extent where she was almost a mind wreck “I know something horrid is going to happen and I know that part of it is going to happen to my sister! This can only get even worse!”
“Princess!” It was the first time in years that Yohoofrich had every yelled so, almost by instinct, Celestia stopped dead in her tracks to listen to her counselor “You need to keep a cold head and think straight, please. I know that you had tried to get your sister angry at you knowing that she would bicker and pick a fight with you instead of mourning your fathers, at least at first. I am sure your intentions were good, but you may have overdid it this time thanks to the pressure and the situation we are in” Gently and with care Yohoofrich began to caress Princess Celestia’s flank, pushing slowly so she would lie down and relax “But if you give in to the pressure NOW then the problems will multiply, you need to keep cool and everything will be…”
*CRASH!*
“… alright?”
“Princess! We have a situation!”
Two Royal Army colts had barged in with a third coming in right behind them. Unlike in the actual time these colts looked like they had bronze armor breastplate and helmets with red feathers, though if we had to talk about red, we should mention the red stain that the last pony had all over his white fur thanks to the wounded he was carrying.
Prince Sebastian was clad in his silver looking armor, though it was battered to such an extent where the full plate equipment that was so much alike the knights of the middle ages in Earth was now more like scrap and broken pieces of grayed out metal as well as parchments of blood everywhere. His chest had a missing chunk of the armor and a nasty swipe of a claw mark had left a wound much too disheartening for the young man while puncturing wounds could be seen all over his body. Even his face had been scarred with a cut that seemed to have taken his left eye if the hit had been too deep.
“We found him during our patrol of the borders” One of the colts explained, trying to regain his breath “The medicines and potions don’t work, not even the magic from your personal medic! We don’t know how long he has if you don’t do something!”
“You foals!” She practically yelled, widening her eyes at the outburst “No, no, sorry, please forgive me that my colts, but simply lie the prince here” She offered one of her cushions, the young man needed it now “But you HAD to have taken him here first. Prince Sebastian is a null human; he can’t produce magic of any kind and CAN’T absorb any magical effect for long. The potions and the mage only helped him temporally”
“We are sorry your majesty” The colts lowered their heads as the one carrying Sebastian left him on the couch “If you need us for anything we will be at the ready”
“I do need you for something: Go the my medic and ask him to prepare the most powerful rejuvenating potion he can make. I know of a thing that will take his null state away, but he needs to talk and be able to withstand a very powerful shock. In his current state I doubt he is able to do any of those, now go please!”
The colts gave a quick nod and went trotting away at full speed. Celestia feared that no matter how fast they were, her friend would probably not last long enough. Now that she could see him without anypony obstructing her view she had to admit… he looked quite worse than she thought, but was still alive for some reason. She didn’t have time to lose then, she took a pen and a paper and began to write as Sebastian took a firm hold of her front leg.
“C-celes… Nigth…” He groaned, opening his only eye just enough to see a blurry that he recognized as the alicorn princess “Night... mares…”
“Nightmares?” Yohoofrich wondered out loud “That sounds like one of those old mare’s tales with monsters. Princess Celestia, he is hallucinating from blood loss and… Princess?”
Celestia’s eyes had reverted to such a size that they looked like tiny dots of blackness. Something had scared her to such an extent where she was mumbling nonsense as she looked down at her friend with a paper having been raised with her magic and a pen halfway writing something down.
“Night… night… nightmares?” She babbled “Nightmares… here?”
“Princess? What are you writing? What is happening?”
“Monsters, horrid monsters are coming” She said in a half whispering voice full of fear “They are coming and my sister is out there…” Celestia gulped, tears building in her eyes “Yohoofrich! Sound the alarm! We need to get everypony ready to search for my sister and to get everypony else to safety!”
“B-but what are you going to do with Sebastian then princess?” The counselor asked with worry.
“I am going to give Sebastian the spell of Bounding” She said as she got her pen to work again “I know his father will be angry, but it will give him inner magic and we will be able to heal him”
“But it also will bind him to YOUR command princess” Yohoofrich said cautiously “I don’t know how that will sit with the king…”
“It is either that or I will lose a dear friend today” Celestia barked “I want him healed and my sister back. Whatever it is that nightmares are doing here, they are the cause of my foreshadowing. I won’t let them get my friends and family, not now, not EVER”
Celestia wiped the tears away from her eyes and sent Yohofrich away to do what she had asked him to. This was going to be the longest night she had ever seen, and probably the worst.
***
After that the scene collapsed and everyone was back in Celestia’s actual room. Twilight was pale, almost white, after she saw the blood from and wounds while Spike was speechless and Luna simply didn’t want to look. The only one more or less intact in a psychological sense was J as Celestia had a face that showed no real emotion whatsoever.
“That is the first chapter of me and my sister’s story” She declared in a monotone “I cannot tell you all more than the humanoids would disappear from this world later on. It is quite easy to guess as there are no more here, however as to how that happened in the end? You all will wait to see it. I have to say, though, that the next chapter of this tale will have to wait maybe a few days and it will also be bloody, yet it won’t be the last for you all to see” Celestia sighed with a deep frown “However I had hoped that as much I would have to show it to you, my faithful student” She gave a gentle nuzzle to Twilight, helping her regain her color “Without adding a human to the mix. I had thought that the spell I bound to the dragons would give any of them former memories of their ancestors to discourage anyone from delving into the myths of humans if they got to interested. How is that you got away from Spike’s if I can ask?”
“Uh? Oh! Well, Spike didn’t try to stop me princess, but he did seem to have a spurt of… intellect if you want to call it that” Twilight told Celestia, still wondering about that herself.
“Oh, then it backfired” Yet Celestia chuckled gently as she looked at Spike “You see Spike, while your kin could not get affected even by me, as dragons are extremely resistant to magic, I could make a deal with them to grant their descendants the intelligence of their ancestors in exchange of them helping prevent any other human like creature to ever exist here, which mostly meant making sure that nopony was too curious with these spells and myths. However Twilight is a mother figure to you, so your duty was mostly to her and not to me”
Spike blushed a bit, letting out a short laugh “Heh, but I hope it is not bad?”
Celestia shook her head with a smile “Certainly isn’t my dear Spike, but the results leave something to be desired” She said giving another look at J “Still I hope this is both satisfactory and helps you all understand what that spell did to him”
“That he will have to serve you?” Spike asked in wonder.
“It means that he has magic now running through his veins too” Twilight added as a matter of fact.
“And also that if I piss her off I die” J cut in, making everypony but Celestia gasp at his bitherness “I would’ve expected such a low blow from a fellow human in this situation of power, but from you? I believed you were better than this Celestia, I thought that you were better than everyone thought you were in the internet. Most people called you ‘trollestia’ and I see why NOW”
“Do you think me a foal, little boy?” She practically growled, getting up and making her sister, student and the young dragon move away as J also got on his feet “You still have not seen it, but what will happen in my tale will almost doom our world and certainly will doom your kind and many others thanks to actions YOUR people did. I won’t believe you are good until you prove it, and to make sure it will BE done I will make you OBEY both Twilight and ME” She stomped the ground to make emphasis on that “When you prove yourself I will be more than happy to ask for forgiveness and will take my command away from you, but…” Celestia gave a predatory smirk, much like Nightmare Moon had done before her as J waited in Luna’s mind “If you prove to be a danger for anypony that doesn’t deserve it, a case I find most unlikely, I will make sure to see your kin eradicated from Equestria again”
“Then I hope you are up to kneel and beg” J said smugly “Because if I can’t go back home I am here and I am not going to go away. I will be the best guest you ever had and I am going to kick monster ass while at that”
While the air seemed to vibrate with conflict, it seemed things had calmed down to an extent. However it didn’t seem like Luna shared that opinion.
“I think you two better make up now” Luna almost commanded, though she was still a bit shy thanks to all of what had happened recently “Tia, we are going to leave you two alone and I hope that you two can talk this off. This time try to calm down ok? Take this as a new beginning, please?”
“Alone? But Princess Luna!” Twilight whined, she wasn’t sure of what to think of her teacher right now, but this was not an idea she liked.
“I said alone” Luna pushed Twilight’s flank with her head, taking the young mare with her towards the door as she opened it with her magic “Come Spike, my sis has to mature a bit yet again”
“Uh…”
Spike looked at Twilight being dragged away with a gruff expression and then to Celestia and J glaring at each other. Seeing how it had gone the young dragon though it would be better to give them some space, at least that way his scaly rear wouldn’t be in danger.
“See you soon Princess Celestia, J” He gave a little bow and ran for the door which closed after he followed Luna and Twilight outside.
Again the silence came to fill the room, however this time Celestia took a quick peck towards the door and then gave out a loud sigh, sitting down and doing something with her horn so the walls suddenly glistened with the light of the room as if they were made out of crystal.
“I am sorry for my outburst earlier” Celestia said in her usual gentle tone “But once you hear the rest of the story you will understand why I am like this. I do not like what I saw in your mind and I would urge you to NOT touch any of the girls first and foremost, do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal clear. I don’t want to fuck this up if I have to live here Celestia, this is not my world, I understand I don’t have to mess with it” J groaned as he tried to get the stubborn princess to hear him “I did pretty bad things in my home, I don’t want to repeat them here”
“Like when you killed that man?” Celestia gave him a cold glare “You had your reasons and that man would’ve done something despicable, but you didn’t have to kill him” J was now beyond ashamed and Celestia, for once, didn’t felt good for managing to shot his hopes down “I don’t want us to be enemies if you will be the one to protect Twilight J, I was going to design someone for the same task but since you are here thanks to her, I want you to protect her and her friends. If I was so brutally honest and bent on making you explode is because I don’t want what happened back then to repeat itself again and I certainly don’t want to do what I had to” The princess looked away in shame as memories began to flood in again “Immortality has left my sister and I once we were reunited, but I have had a premonition before she ever came back: We need the Elements of Harmony and we need them ALL. Something bad is going to happen again and I didn’t only want them together to get my sister back, but also to protect Equestria”
“You mean you knew of this and you just manipulated them for your own ends?” J wasn’t accusing, he was outright saying what was blatantly obvious, and something that was all the easier to believe with the nod of Celestia.
“I didn’t know it at first, but when I saw that Twilight had the cutie mark of pure magic on her I was sure to have discovered the embodiment of magic in a pony” Celestia sounded happy and almost cheery, but her face didn’t give it away as she looked sad “I went in a small quest when to find the other elements, only to find them so close to the castle. I didn’t want to but I did read their minds and saw they would perfect friends for my little student, however she was too much like Luna” She sighed, feeling worse than ever “So much that for a time I almost replaced Luna with her. I will never confess that to Twilight, but Luna is a girl too smart for her own good. However that is irrelevant, what is relevant is that you defend them since instead of my guards you were summoned by my apprentice. I will need for you to help each one of them to overcome their ‘other’ when the time comes”
“I am not happy to hear about this Celestia, I thought this was all about friendship and harmony, not to manipulate others no matter how good the motive” J was more than upset yet again, he liked the show for all he thought it was, but to see and hear this? He was disheartened to say the least “But if you ask for me to protect them for the good of Equestria? To help them fight their ‘other? I need a better reason than simply you being the one with the least around my neck”
Celestia gave him a glare, but did understand what he was saying “I may have used them, yes, but I do want them happy. I have made many mistakes the first hundred years that I was separated from my sister; in fact you could say I went a bit… insane… I did worse things than you could ever do and Canterlot, Equestria, the new one, was a way to forget and to begin anew. I don’t want those dark days back and if you are the one to ensure that the Elements of Harmony do their job again to protect us and prevent happiness from being erased from this world? Then so be it, because I won’t let anyone down again and if I have to hold your life as ransom I will do it”
Tensions hadn’t risen nor downed at any time during the talk, in fact it had gotten to the point where it was obvious that neither of them were going to like each other even with J wanting to and with Celestia TRYING to. They had views of each other that were too conflictive with what they wanted to see or hear.
“What is this ‘other’ you talk about though? If I am going to work for you on this at least I need to know”
“The ‘other’ is what you are thinking it is” Celestia gave a small smile “And yes, I keep on reading your mind even after finally healing you dear, I am not going to lose control even once. But since you do want me to explain, let it be quick and blunt: Each one of the Elements of Harmony have a powerful good quality that conflicts, to some extent, with their personalities. Being one element means that what you want sometimes they will have a huge conflict within themselves, you saw it in the series when they had a breakdown”
At that J had to shudder; each of the girls had at least one breakdown thanks to their element and/or personality. In order it was like this:
Apple Jack was too headstrong to be sincere in asking for help at first and it taxed her health and almost her mind at least once. It was obvious that she also could have a problem as the same way her honesty had been blocked away from that episode of her life only to try to maintain her word of doing it alone she could probably keep secrets from her friends if she thought it was better. This was something that J hoped not to find as for him the worst thing to do was lying one way or another to a friend.
Rarity was too generous and pleasing for her own good and it could get her to realize her mistake too late to fix it, moment where she found out that it had backfired, no one had ended up happy and she felt like a total failure (both literally and in the fashion sense). While not greedy Rarity did forsake her kindness at some extent if she found something she wanted, going as far as to envy their friends’ success or not noticing how much vanity she had with her.
Rainbow Dash was loyal to a fault, but her problem was that she had too much of an ego and it could get hurt somewhat easily, something that could get her into a nervous breakdown and into an overjoyed rush of happiness when something went well. If her ego got the better of her she could forget her friends and turn her personality 180º degrees in the worst case scenario, but her loyalty SHOULD prevent it.
Next was Pinkie Pie, probably one of the worst but not the worst of all. She had an obvious fear of her closest friends leaving her and her mental breakdown was probably the most dangerous of all, but also easily solved when she realized that her friends hadn’t tried to get rid of her or evade her as she thought. Still the element of Laughter could also be the element of Insanity if Pinkie Pie lost it for a long period of time. She was one of J’s favorite ponies and he could identify with the happy mare quite easily, however it also meant that he knew the extent of Pinkie Pie’s possible hostility if something went awfully wrong.
In the verge of being the most dangerous was Twilight Sparkle now. It was not that the only breakdown shown in the show was bad or anything, in fact it only showed the fact that under pressure when her mind was proven wrong and wrong again she would crack and ask for the impossible. The problem was her power and what could happen if she ever lost it in such a way that she thought it could be better to do things ‘right’ and get rid of the things that got in her way. With her social skills being so… inadequate it was not impossible to think that she would resort to that if it called for such measures in her head.
Now, the worst? The worst was his second favorite: Fluttershy. She was too shy and adorable to do anything wrong, in fact it was obvious that if it was like her usual life she wouldn’t get angry, EVER. However as shown in the show a few times (Specially in the last episode of the 1º season) she could get fed up with something and stare down whoever was harming her friends or, in the worst case scenario, lose it completely and try to force someone (At least the critters) to love her. She was a time bomb that could explode at any given time for she was the most delicate of the group.
“I will ask Luna to help you get in their dreams, but for it to work you must be close to them, almost as a best friend. I don’t want to use you in everything without telling you about it if we are to someday trust each other J, but I know that even if I ordered you to not do it you would still befriend every one of the six friends” For once Celestia smiled genuinely “If you prove to be better than I had thought then I will sincerely ask for your forgiveness and even to do anything you want in exchange”
“Anything?” J gave out a wide smile while looking at Celestia.
“Y-yea… why?” Now she had a nervous smile on her face. She probably hadn’t meant so say what she did.
“Then I would ask you for…” Celestia lost her nervous smile and simply gave him a cold glare, the dramatic pause was enough to tell her that he was kidding, she had read that much “… my pc and my games as well as a way to get internet? If I am going to be here I DO want my daily dose”
In short: Apply hoof to the face.
“Yes, yes, I can” Celestia finally giggled “But you cannot use the messenger or anything else. That is going to be for the new J living there ok?” J nodded in understanding “It will take a lot of time though, probably by the next time we can talk about my story you will have gotten friends here and probably shown me that you are competent and trustworthy” Suddenly she gave a face that screamed ‘Oh! I almost forgot’ “Also I have to tell you: Mages here don’t work like you heard in most your tales and your movies. You will find out when you need to, but remember that you have to use your new skills to defend people all right? Otherwise I will know”
“You know I won’t do it, you have been prodding my mind long enough” J seemed annoyed by now, though not angry like before “Before I go though, you said you had a premonition of shorts no?” Celestia nodded at the question so he continued “Twilight said she had one too, that is why she thought she should get a human. In fact I thought she was kidding and she just thought that the ‘most powerful creature’ should be the one to protect the ponies in Equestria, but I am not sure now”
“She said that? Hmmm…” Celestia turned out pensive for a few seconds “I will have to look into it latter, for now I think you, Twilight, Spike and Pinkamena should let Luna teleport you back and spend the night talking if you find yourself with energy or it”
From out of nowhere in the room a pink blur landed on top of J as he was tackle hugged to the ground. On top of him he could see the hyperactive pink pony giggling like mad before bowing before the princess for a second.
“It is no fair! How did you know I was here?” She asked after the little ceremonial pose.
“Dear, that you have your own way with magic without a horn doesn’t mean I can’t feel it” Celestia chuckled as she gave her a pat “Now though, don’t tell your friends about it ok? And you don’t need to swear it I know you won’t”
Pinkie smiled happily “Of course I won’t, besides, now I got a new friend! One of the bronies that watch our show! It will be much fun, you know what? Because we will throw a party this weekend and you” she poked at Celestia with a giggle “Are invited to it so we all can say hello to our new friend”
“This is getting sooo weird” J sighed with a little smile on his lips.
“Oh, then you will have to see what will happen tomorrow!” Pinkie giggled out loud “You are going to be so cool, I promise”
J preferred to not make any sense of it and simply nodded, letting Pinkie drag him away as she took a firm grip of his clothes with her mouth and throated away from the room only to get some gasps from her friends and Luna. Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle as she thought that, maybe, she had been way too harsh with the young man, and still she had to make sure they all thought she hated him. The plan had to work or there would be no happiness left in Equestria after this.
“I hope you know what you are doing letting him come Lauren” She sighed to herself as she got comfortable to sleep finally “For all our sakes”
*** End Chapter 3 ***
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Uros
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1056
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Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
| 61 | 29 |
<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-09-26T20:30:10+00:00
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2011-09-26T20:30:10+00:00
| 1,710 |
Chapter 4: Born to be a knight.
Night had been what one could think of a blast now that Twilight thought about it. Right after the talk and discovering that Pinkie Pie had been there the whole time (Which had made her haw touch the floor if you were to get her to tell you the truth) Luna had taken them to the library with her teleportation, bid her farewells to everypony and left them to discuss what they had seen. At first Pinkie had wanted to throw a small party for J, seemingly not caring for all the news that had befall upon them, Twilight wanted to sleep and think it thoroughly with a clearer head.
J made his opinion known pretty easily by entering the tree house and lying on top of one of the many piles of books that Twilight had left behind after her latest study. She would lie if she said that she didn’t blush at the realization that she had let herself go a bit as there were mountains of books everywhere, but at least it did help to make Pinkie Pie head out to sleep, even if she did so with a pout and puppy eyes.
Right now the sun was slowly getting up and she hadn’t had any sleep all day. She was way too worked up about last night, not only was it true that she had managed to summon a human, but it seemed that humans and more creatures lived here, in Equestria, a long time ago. What had the princess done then? Why there were no records or other humans in this world now? Had there been more than a little war between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon as the princess had told her? Or was this all a lie? For once Twilight found herself questioning her teacher, her first and, for a long time, only friend.
However if we put all those questions aside, what was she going to do now? She had, no matter how she looked at it, one powerful creature (technically) under her control (again, technically). She was unsure of what to do with him. What if she was wrong and there was no real need of him in the end? She was sure that after a while he would be happy here, if he wasn’t already, but she was worried that she may have condemned him, no matter how much she tried to tell herself that she had saved his life as she had been told. For her it was simply always in her mind, she was always telling herself that she had messed things up, in fact she wasn’t even supposed to make it happen and it had been basically a ‘prank’ of shorts from the young princess.
“I messed up big time” She thought out loud.
Ruffling in her bed for a few more minutes didn’t seem to calm her anymore than she was, meaning that she wasn’t, at all. Twilight had to accept that she had messed up and relax, even with J seemingly perfectly ok with it she wasn’t so sure about how true his feelings were. Hay, if she had been thrown into a weird place like him she would be out there throwing a tantrum and so freaked out she would blow the place up by accident if anything at all got her too scared.
*Gurgle*
“Just perfect, my stomach has a mind of its own yet again” She gave a heavy sigh and just got away from the bed.
Down the stairs and to the kitchen, at least that was no different than everything else today or… well, yea, it kind of was. You would hardly ever think you would see a human in your kitchen eating a hay sandwich, for Celestia’s sake, you wouldn’t even think you would EVER see a human in the first place as it was unlikely you KNEW about them.
J just gave her a shy smile and a little wave of his hand. The man had taken his clothes off and washed them, Twilight could see them outside over one of the branches. She was thankful that at least the man had decided to keep on his shorts and probably clean them later once he had something to cover his privates. Sadly it didn’t leave much to the imagination when she saw his body covered in scars here or there and many signals of old wounds or maybe beatings. She didn’t have to know about medicine to understand that it did seem that J had quite the unpleasant life.
“I hope you don’t mind I took some of this?” He asked as he pointed at the bread and hay “For some reason it tastes like… like… I don’t know how to put it, but the smell was pleasant. I suppose whatever Celestia did to me it did turn me into some kind of ‘vegan’” Even after the last night the young man seemed to be quite happy. Twilight did hope it was true, but at least it made her smirk.
“Don’t worry; I have plenty more from where that came from. Also if the Princess did what I think, umm… let’s say you better don’t try to eat meat anymore, it could be bad for your tummy, to put it mildly” The mental image of what could happen made her cringe and give away a weird smile “Otherwise you should be more than fine now that you are healed, at least I hope”
“Perfectly well, thank you” He gave her a sincere smile and showed that he could move quite well, though it was quite obvious he was, at least, shore “I can’t say that I will be running a marathon anytime soon, but I am fine”
“The important thing is that you are ok” Twilight smiled gently as she used her magic to put together a sandwich of her own so she could calm down her hunger “Of course I don’t know what to do now. How could I break the news to Ponyville? To my friends it will be easy, I doubt Pinkie Pie is going to keep quiet since this isn’t supposed to be a secret. I am not sure what to do now”
“You think too much all the time Twilight” J chimed in with a grin “Why not relax and let it play out? Remember that while books are important, as well as planning, some things have to come naturally and there is no way to get prepared for it”
“You do seem to know about me quite a lot. I had the impression that I was missing out on something important yesterday and I still get it” The mare had an inquisitive look and she didn’t seem to be the one to drop it anytime soon. At least she could admit she liked him being honest and, also, that he was quite intelligent. Her friends were perfectly fine but a cultured mind to talk to was rare “So care to share before anything else happens? Because this seems the perfect time for an interruption”
“Twilight, are you sure you want me to tell you about what I know?” The human asked with a raised eyebrow and a serious look.
“Pretty sure thank you” She gave a big smile with an assuring look on her face “If we are going to work together we need to know everything, right?” However as he gave her a deadly serious look she wasn’t so sure “Right?”
“Depends. I don’t know how you would take that in my world you girls are a series of cartoons we see on TV, pretty much like you saw that tale when Celestia used her mane to tell it” J wasn’t sure of how Twilight was taking the news, but if she asked she did deserve the truth “More or less you are all a fantasy in my world, a tale for young girls that, ironically, worked better with grown up men because you all, this world, the history behind it, was better made than almost anything that the people had come up with in the latest years” He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at that “It is funny when you think about it, but in your case I suppose you don’t know if to laugh or to simply cry”
“I think I am going to puke” Twilight replied flatly “We are… not real? How? Why? I don’t know what to say now!” She seemed to be ready to lose it yet again.
“Hey, relax Twilight.” He placed a hand on her head to rub her mane gently. “In my word you were supposed to be a fantasy, but I am here and I am alive am I not? There were theories about anything we did or imagine being real, that humans were able to see other worlds and creatures with their imagination. I am not sure if believing it or not, mostly because I don’t understand it though it is true that I saw your girls in that cartoon and that I am here now. Whatever the people in my world think it doesn’t matter for you are real”
“I h-have to calm down, I don’t know what to think.” She was pale and her stomach seemed eager to spill the recent ingested contents right now “I am going to be sick.”
“Relax Twilight, I took it better coming to a place I thought was fantasy than you knowing that in my world we THINK you are a fantasy” J couldn’t help but smile as he kneeled to give Twilight a little hug. He knew that the lavender unicorn enjoyed the contact of her friends and he hopped that this would calm her down. “Come on, don’t think about it ok? Relax, please, I don’t want you sad”
“It will be hard not to” She gulped down her nausea. “I mean, you can’t lie to me, I am sure of it, my spell and Princess Celestia’s own should prevent you to, not that I think you have any reason to” Twilight at least thought she was sure of it “Don’t mind them thinking we are not real or anything, but it is NOT comforting to know that humans are seeing my life in another world”
“Heh, it is not the worst of it all believe me, and I would never lie to you Twilight” J couldn’t help but snicker as he got up to finish his food, even though Twilight was giving him quite a weird look “You don’t want to know, really Twilight, please”
“What can be WORSE than what you told me?” Twilight wasn’t sure if it was because she was naturally curious and inquisitive or if she really thought there could be no worse (Or weird) than the one he had told her already.
Man, was she wrong.
An hour and a half later Spike would get up to see J sitting near the entrance door, fully clothed, while reading a book to hide his ashamed face while Twilight, blushing fiercely and unsure of what to think this time, busied herself getting every book in its place. Spike wasn’t sure of what had happened, he simply shrugged and went to fetch himself some food.
“We shall never speak of that again, ok?” Twilight said as fast as Spike was out of the room.
“Eeyup” While ashamed about what he told Twilight, J was still up for a joke, at least he could imitate Big Mackintosh quite easy. Twilight, thought, gave him a serious glare “Ok, ok, I promise I won’t” He chuckled.
“Thanks” Twilight sighed, relieved
“But again, you should relax Twilight, sooner or later they will ask, and one of the things I hate the most is liars” He spoke with a very sincere face and maybe even a bit of a harsh tone “I can either tell them I can’t say because you asked me to, or tell them the truth”
Twilight bit her lips “Is there no other way? I don’t know how they will take it”
“I can show them most the things once Celestia does send me what I asked her for, though now that I think about it I don’t know how she is going to get it to work” J shrugged though, knowing that Twilight hadn’t a clue about what he was saying “But at least we have a few days until that and afterwards they won’t want to know as much as you did with some luck. Decided what to do in the meantime yet?” He tried to change the topic.
“First of? I am going to ask Rarity to make you more clothes” The velvet mare gave a little blush “If we ever get any mark from a fight even with Princess Celestia’s incantation our fur doesn’t let it show. I wouldn’t want anyone seeing how much pain you had to bear, not all people understand it and I know you don’t want to give them any reason to ask”
“No, no I wouldn’t” He admitted plainly.
After that Twilight had to admit that the silence that took the place was eerie to say the least. She had wanted to ask but at the same time she was all too sure of the outcome of any question regarding those scars as the questions would be either dodged or simply not answered. It had been made clear that any question she made he would answer trustfully, even if it pained him, or not answered outright if she allowed. Of course she could command him to answer, but she did want him to be happy here as there was no way for him to come back to his place, forcing him to do something was not what she wanted.
Princess Celestia didn’t like him, but she was not one to lie, besides she offered to make a ‘copy’ of him, much like one of the legends she had read about a ‘reborn’ pony that had been given life again by the princess for his services. If she knew enough about the supposedly fantastic incantation she was sure that her teacher would use a small part of J (A bit of blood, hair or something, there is no need for real harm) to give ‘a new life’. She was unsure of how it would work if the person was still alive, but Princess Celestia was the best magician in Equestria. At least he would have no reason to worry about his mother and that satisfied Twilight to some extent.
“So what do you think about it now that you are calmed down?”
J cut her train of thoughts suddenly, making her drop some of the books she had been piling up by instinct after so many years spent in a library. At least that made her giggle a bit, she knew she should stop spacing out when she was thinking of something too hard.
“Sorry, what do you mean J?”
“Well I did tell you about the fanfiction, fanart and other things, as well as the pairings and… the rest” He tried not to say out loud and it was obvious that Twilight was thankful as she was blushing profusely “So… what is your opinion about that?”
“I… don’t know?” She gulped, rubbing her hoof against the floor “I mean, I suppose the fanfiction and art about us as homage are nice, even if I don’t like the idea of people watching my life without me knowing, I do have secrets and a ‘private life’ you know?” Twilight’s blush only grew brighter “But the pairings? The… the… the ‘adult’ stuff? I suppose they are free to do whatever they want; it is not like it is us for real, but… I am a bit embarrassed to think about it”
J couldn’t help but chuckle as he left the book in the floor “I know about that, I mean what is your view on such ‘adult’ stuff” He gave away a bit of a naughty grin at Twilight’s reaction “I am curious about how your kind sees relationships and the like, nothing else, however I can understand if you don’t want to share the information after some of the things I said”
“Oh… Oh!” Her blush only intensified “Don’t worry about that but, well… I… don’t know? I mean, I had never thought about it. Ponies don’t have any kind of prejudice you know? We can marry or not, be with anypony we like as far as it is a mutual feeling and we don’t worry about sexes or any other thing. Usually a pony will marry another if they have a kid, but it is not really necessary” Finally Twilight calmed down a bit, she wasn’t as worried now as the question wasn’t as personal, of course it would be a lie if she told you she didn’t feel a bit silly “We are content having friends or some very close companions, I do not know if it is like your species does it where you live”
“It is nothing alike, and I do mean nothing” Twilight tilted her head in curiosity “I mean that where I am from people don’t see ‘gay’ people or ‘bisexual’ people like they are ‘normal’, you know?” J was adamant of putting emphasis to those quotes “What I want to say is that a gay or bisexual person is a person, that is it, you should respect them and that is it, yet a lot of humans do hate them with a passion that is worrisome, much like they hate other people that don’t share their religion or that has different skin or that simply has been born in a different country. Unlike here, where you may have dark creatures or monsters, in Earth everyone is a monster, or hides one within. Even the most nice friend you got could someday turn or you and without even hitting you, simply speaking, could do you so much harm that you wish you would be dead for any kind of disagreement or when they found out something you like that they hate” He gave a long and tired sigh as he finished “That is why I like it here, even the worst are much best than what I have in my world”
Twilight’s eyes were by now filled with little tears. She was not so emotional most the time, her upbringing focusing in magic, studies and such had still an effect on her that simply meant she didn’t feel as much in some things yet. Of course she had shared happiness a lot with her friends, she even had a nervous breakdown like everypony else, but actual sadness? She hadn’t had any of that since she almost blew it when she was young, even the few sad moments these last three months had been only so brief that they had made an impact, but only to show a good and warm lesson in the end.
In this case it was different. She was intelligent enough to know, even with a lesser social skill than most, that J was speaking from experience. Who knows what he could answer her if she asked the question she wanted to ask before? Maybe she would hate to discover the answer, but if she was going to befriend him and she had shared some of her opinions after he told her the truth, then she wanted to know the WHOLE truth.
“Do you know it from seeing, reading or… from personal experience?” She asked finally, taking his attention once more “Are those scars…?”
“As I told you before, I am a furry, I also explained to you what it meant” J went right away to the talking, his tone plain as it was obviously something he didn’t like to talk about “In some places it is hated with fervor, in others it is as common as it gets and nobody cares. Some people would actually try to justify brutality with the rumor about us being… some very nasty things. Even after years it is still very bad, but much like the gay people or the ones that had AIDS, it will pass with time” He chuckled and waved it off as if it was nothing “But yea, some are from that in special, mostly the impact blows as I got in a fight in school once when I had a supposed friend of mine find a picture that was simply a furry fursona from a mutual friend. I got an expulsion after I had broken my ex-friend’s fingers in his right hand when he got most of the worst bullies after me and my other buddy” He chuckled a bit with a very sad look. Twilight thought she saw a tear running down his cheek before he pried it off “After that though, we found a lot of people that weren’t in the fandom but did think of it as a great place to find beautiful artwork and promising artist or writers. My friend even got a proposal to work in a new cartoon movie, though I don’t know how it is going for him as haven’t seen him in a month now, I suppose his schedule is tight”
“About the cuttings you have not to worry Twilight, most of them are from training with my mother as sometimes we go a bit overboard and the practice equipment can break and indeed cut when forced. However some are not, like this one” He showed his arm where he had a nasty cut going from the elbow to the shoulder “A girlfriend of mine was a lesbian, but didn’t had the heart to tell it to the boy that had a liking to her, in fact he found her with the one that is now my friend’s ‘bride’” He chuckled a bit at that “I still don’t know why but it sounds weird ‘Bride and Bride’” He smiled halfheartedly “But personal humor asides, the guy took it bad, and I mean BAD with capital letters. I think when he found out something in his head snapped because the next day I got a call from my friend saying there was a madman with a knife that had broken in her house and was yelling what he would do to her so they would be together forever” J covered his arm and gave Twilight a sad look as he left the end of the story to her imagination “I break my back for my friends Twilight, literally, even though most of them ended up leaving the city I was living with my mother in hopes to find a better place where there were less closed minded companies”
“Are you angry with them for doing that?” Twilight was definitely sad after what she had heard. She supposed there were way worse things in his world, but se preferred to not think about it “They did leave you even if they had good reasons…”
“Of course I am not angry” He gave her a gentle smile this time, looking cheery again “Though I will indeed miss them now…” In a moment he turned sadder than Twilight. J was obviously thinking about his world and things he would never do again. Even thought he knew that living here would be a dream come true, almost no one ever thought of the price to pay “But I am sure that if Celestia does what she says they won’t have to worry about me, nor will my mother, dad or my sisters, so it is ok. I can begin anew here and at least I think I have a friend” He gave a wink to Twilight, smiling again. She supposed he was good at giving such facades but at least what he said was true.
“Don’t doubt it, you got a friend here” She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she gave him a hug.
Twilight was sure that J still didn’t know how the ponies could do it and it was really weird him out a bit, so she made sure to weird him as much as she could if it made him smile. For some reason it made her laugh gently, soon cheering him up and exchanging that face to a happier one as he begun to laugh wholeheartedly, rubbing her mane and keeping her close in the hug. She didn’t know it, but even thought J had his favorite pony as Pinkie Pie in all aspects (The funny, the cute and the friendly), he never say he didn’t like any of the other girls, and this was being quite hard for him to be this close to one of the most innocent creatures he had known without trying to take that innocence away. Probably she wasn’t that kind of ‘innocent’, but compared to him she was a saint.
“You know you are blushing, don’t you?” Twilight chimed in with a big grin.
“Oh I am?” It only made him blush all the harder “I suppose it is a different thing being near someone I had wanted to meet as well as giving her a hug to calm her down than and actually giving her a hug when she wants to give it willingly” He waved one hand dismissively, but neither did break up the hug “Besides… you technically are my hero now you know? I have survived a lot of things, but yesterday would’ve been my last if it weren’t for you”
Now it was her time to blush slightly.
“You are just saying that to flatter me” She gave a gently chuckle “I know I messed up, no matter if I did help, though I am grateful that even with a mess being made I could help someone”
“No, I mean it” J pulled her off a bit to push her head up gently enough so she could look him in the eyes. The young mare was being too headstrong with the supposed mistake. She took very hard each failure and it was showing “You saved me, it wasn’t your intention but you did. You could’ve probably summoned someone else in their dire need but it was me, mistake or not, and for that I am the most grateful man. I owe you my life and I want you happy for that, so no matter what you ask or what you want to do you have my loyalty Twilight, I won’t let you down and I certainly won’t let you be sad for this”
She couldn’t look at him in the eyes for a few seconds, but in the end she had to believe what he was saying and stop thinking of what she did as a messed up episode on her life, another mistake the supposed unicorn of magic had made. Twilight blushed and nodded as she looked at him.
“Thanks” She said getting a bit closer again “That-that does mean a lot to me…”
For once she didn’t care that all over her was slowing down as she thought, she had to make sure that this was alright for she had been thinking about it since he begun to open to her like a book.
He had been nice even with her being sure of that she had messed it up, she had been friendly and even with him probably being capable of ditching her or doing anything he wanted, he had been nice and had stayed with her. She was sure that if the human had wanted, if J had desired for it, even with broken bones he could have escaped from Princess Celestia being as tired as she had been yesterday if he was as powerful as she supposed. His loyalty was not only for a debt, he liked her genuinely and wasn’t put off by anything on her, even when he knew of the past of his race here and that it would be all but a gentle ride if someone else knew about it, he stayed, with her.
J had made her feel better by assuring her of what she had done had been the right thing. Hay, he had shared a truth he knew would not sit with her well, but he had done because she wanted to know and because he thought her as a friend and that she deserves every little bit of information she wanted to know. He had her dark side, as anypony else, he had been done ‘bad’ things, but the kind and friendly side that he had showed her seemed sincere and she loved it, she didn’t care if she had darkness inside. If they ‘cured’ Princess Luna she knew J could be ‘cured’ too. Besides, J liked every one of her friends, including her, at least for their characters, their personalities and little things that made them unique. It meant that if he didn’t like any of them physically, he at least did like them for who they truly were, not what they were, it was something far more important to her.
All those reasons were enough for her. It was right, and all she had told him was true: Ponies had no problems with these things, they were very open and they loved friendship of any kind. Twilight was more than sure that if the others liked him they would share her opinion in this matter.
Kissing him was a good idea.
“Twilight? What are you… hmmp!”
J did neither struggle nor push her away, she was still embracing him and he hadn’t taken his arms away either. It only made it feel all the better for Twilight as she pressed in, finally kissed him in the lips and found not only that he didn’t mind, but that he took her closer as they shared the kiss happily. She had to admit she was a bit ashamed as she had been almost sure he wouldn’t refuse, but J was one of the first males (or females for that matter) to catch her interest at all. This was not her first kiss, but it was one of the few she really enjoyed.
It was also so different. While sitting and with her body against his he was barely taller than her, there was not so much size difference like this and she enjoyed it as she pressed her body against his. It felt warm and maybe even a bit alluring as he stroked her mane and her back slowly. Twilight had never thought how different it would be from a pony to something different, probably because the only intelligent kind of creature she knew of were the Diamond Dogs (besides dragons) and they had more like paws than hands like a human in comparison, but the slow and delicate work that J could do with his? She thought she could melt right there.
For J, however, it was something different.
He loved it alright, for him these Ponies, like to most people that watched the series, weren’t animals, nor were they persons, he could not say what they were for sure but he knew that if anyone else could do this, it wouldn’t be wrong. They were intelligent, could decide what to do and chose not to do anything they thought was wrong. If Twilight wanted it, he was not going to deny her at least a kiss like this. He thought it was maybe too fast, he didn’t know what this could bring, but he couldn’t care as much as he should. This was bliss.
Still, there was a problem.
‘I think this is exactly what I told you not to do’ A voice spoke in his mind, but he didn’t break the kiss. Of course the other kind of need sink down quite quickly as he found out who’s voice was it.
‘Celestia?’ He thought in worry as he opened his eyes wide, luckily Twilight was seemingly enjoying it enough to close hers and let it all play out.
‘If it wasn’t because you didn’t force anything I would smite you right here right now’ While this was not a change from yesterday to J, the goddess was meaning it to its full extent this time even without an angry tone in her voice. She wasn’t doing it in spite of him, but because she worried about Twilight ‘I don’t want you harming any of the Elements of Harmony, much less Twilight. If you do so I will make sure you suffer for it, understood?’
‘But I didn’t do anything!’ He thought bitterly. He hadn’t seen this coming but hell would freeze if he broke the kiss until Twilight wanted. That would hurt her feelings, he knew it very well ‘I was simply trying to be nice and sincere with her. I do want her to like me as a good friend if I can, not because you told me to, but because it is what I want. I… I hadn’t foreseen this happening and I am sorry, but I do not mind this result’
‘And that is exactly what she and the others will like, much like anypony else’ Celestia sounded halfway to happiness and halfway to an angry rage now. She wouldn’t tell him but this was dangerous ‘I know that your good side will appeal to them, we do not look for physical traits most the time Jonathan, we seek for the character, the personality, the soul, that we want’ She cleared for him ‘Besides, you give away pheromones and every one of the six friends will know that you like them, probably to the point where they will know that you do LIKE them in that kind of way. We are not animals and we don’t act on such instincts, but I do not want any broken hearts, not even yours, so make it clear to everypony because they will not get as angry or sad as if you lied to them’
‘I won’t lie to them, but this may hurt Twilight anyway…’ He closed his eyes, pressing on the kiss. He wanted to think of anything tut the conversation now.
J couldn’t help but let a tear escape his eyes as Twilight finally broke the kiss and pushed away gently. He didn’t need to force it as he did look happy and she looked even happier, so telling her it would be better to not go further than that would hurt both of them if he messed up. For him it had never been a problem to think with the correct brain all the time, however J did have a girlfriend or two, as well as a few chances that begun with such a kiss. He hated with all his being every failure and every ‘goodbye’ he had. He wished, practically begged Celestia it wasn’t like that this time. If nothing else he didn’t want to lose a friend over this.
‘She will understand, tell her what you think is right’ This time her tone was gentle, like the good princess he had seen in the cartoon ‘I am sure she will understand if you do it gently and don’t push her away. I know you will do well, for your own well being’ It was not threatening, but the truth. If he messed up Twilight would all but hate him in the worst case.
“I am sorry” Twilight said finally with a huge blush and a smile on her face as she gently cuddled against J. At least she was the one to begin this potential drama “I didn’t mean for that to happen so quickly, but… you are so friendly and nice, not at all what I had wanted to summon and at least” She gave a sincere smile “If nothing else, THAT in special makes me happy. You stayed with me, you told me the truth when I asked you for it even when you knew it could change my view of you, you didn’t even try to get away from Princess Celestia even if she was maybe a bit too rough with you and you know the dangers that the story of your kin has here, yet you stay loyal to me” She gave him a nuzzle “I like that, very few ponies except my friends had ever shown me that kind of friendship. I am sorry if I weirded you out, I know you told me ponies are small horses in your world and not… not like us”
“It didn’t weird me out Twilight” J replied with a smile, giving her a little kiss on the cheek that bought her some confidence back “But it does worry me”
“W-what? Why?” She asked, worried now that she might have done something she shouldn’t, that from being ‘forgiven’ one mistake she would gain another one much worse.
“It is not something bad Twilight, but I do worry that you like me” He sighed “Celestia told me that your kin likes personality and how one is, not what one is, that is much like me but is exactly that what I find a problem” While J wasn’t sure if he could tell Twilight about the whole thing, he did hope Celestia didn’t mind him giving out some vague information that wasn’t a lie “I doubt you are as new as the cartoon may have given out to a relationship or… other things, but that you liked me so fast may mean that your friends may like me this way too if how I am allures to them” J blushed a gave a chuckle “I am not bragging though, I am not the prettiest thing in existence Twilight, nor the most charismatic or friendly, however I try to please my friends and make them happy as well as like me. Much like Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy I only want my friends to like and love me and I will do anything to protect them and ensure they won’t abandon me, even if it didn’t worked well on Earth here it may have some unexpected results in here thanks to how things run” J sighed and shook his head, he had to forget about it as soon as he could but for now he could distract himself gently rubbing Twilight’s mane to comfort her “However here it may also include another kind of more personal love, and I don’t know if you all would be ok with that” He chuckled “Hell, even being a male of a species that enjoys that kind of things I am not sure if I would like it with such chances of hurting someone. I could hurt your feelings or your friend’s, I wouldn’t be able to live with that here, ever”
This time she had to bit her lip. Twilight wasn’t all that sure of what to say to him. She did hope that no one in his world had seen that in a few occasions the six friends had shared ‘very close friends’ as he had put it, in Equestria it was not uncommon for that and no one was ashamed of it (as far as it was in private), but how would he react if he was presented the chance? And in fact, how would any of her friends react? How could she? In a single day she had felt him as a close friend and she had liked him, his character and how sincere he was as well as how kind when he could be. In a way it was what you could call love, but it was too soon to say if it was true or just the fixation with something new, dangerous and exciting.
It was not something common for a pony to feel possessive of another, even when it was their mate; Pinkie had confirmed it MANY times as Mrs. and Mr. Cake had some ‘parties’ of their own. If she was indeed in love she would know with time, but in the meantime that he and her friends knew each other and maybe had some interactions (or something else) together didn’t bother her. It could definitely be a problem in the future, yes, but with luck this would take time to mature and she was going to be sure to not be so foolish again, for the sake of her new friend and her five best friends. He told her to let things run its natural course before, she was sure to give it a try.
The beautiful things had to take time to mature, and she was not going to be the one to rush things. For once she had someone different and she didn’t have any books to tell her what to do, only her conscience saying that she should let things run its course and tell the truth.
“I understand your worries” She said finally, granting J the chance to breathe again. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle a bit as she saw how nervous the young man had been “I would like to talk with you about this matter latter on, with more patience and being calm. It is unlike me to lose it like that and I should have asked you first, but I assure you that as far as you do not force anything and you are sincere me and my friends will be more than happy to comply” Twilight gave him a kiss on the lips that obviously both of them enjoyed, though she had yet to finish “Sharing is common in Equestria in all its senses, J, if any of my friends like you that way you will be welcome with each one of us with the level of trust or… companionship each one of us shows to you. If you do feel something STRONGLY for any of them however, you should tell, and if you are uncomfortable with anyone or any of this you should tell too”
He nodded and took her again in a gentle hug “I will, I do like the idea… but I don’t see it happening and working. All my life I have tried to find the one for me Twilight, failing miserably each time. I am not sure how it will play in here”
“Better than HER past tries I am sure”
The voice of spike made both of them jump in place. The young baby dragon had been placing the books in their places like nothing was happening during the whole ordeal. He had the same stoic face he had in the cartoon when he was working and didn’t seem all that impressed or interested on what Twilight had been doing with a completely different species.
“I mean, you know she is an egghead and you haven’t thrown her away already, that is a lot more than most the guys she was hooked up with” Spike chuckled.
“Spike!” A huge blush appeared on Twilight’s checks.
“Come on Twilight” Spike gave her a serious face for once “Everyone of your friends tried to hook you up with someone, none of them worked, granted that none of your friends have a boyfriend or girlfriend either, but at least they all could find someone that matched with them more or less, at least for a time” At that he gave a little laugh as he turned to his usually jovial side “Come on, even I tried to get you a date and you scared the poor colt away. You know I see you like a good friend, even a mother, more than my boss Twilight, and I want you happy. I know you don’t need a colt for that but I know you feel lonely when your friends are away, you want something else”
She gave a nervous smile as she looked at both males in the room. Twilight wasn’t sure of what to say and didn’t want to mess up again, but she didn’t want to rush it and mess it up either. She had no plan and her mind was getting too worked up while part of it went back to the kiss.
“As tempting as it may be I will respect Jonathan here” She smiled as she said his whole name, though he didn’t seem to like it very much. That gave her another thing to wonder about so to keep her mind busy “So first I will let him meet everypony else and see how it goes, ok?” Twilight tried to give her most sincere smile, but she was more than obviously nervous.
“Thanks” J gave her a little hug that took her by surprise; though you wouldn’t see Twilight complain “I just hope I didn’t mess up Twilight, I would hate to hurt… anyone’s feelings” However the three on the room knew that the phrase hadn’t been said as he had thought it.
Spike was going to say something more when a knock made everyone in the room jump. Someone was coming to the library? There was no time to hide J without a good excuse to make anypony outside wait for Celestia knows how long.
“Y-yes?” Twilight called, hoping for the best. In other words: Someone she could turn down.
“Twilight? Are you in there? I have something to tell you… umm… that is if you are not busy?”
Oh hay, it was Fluttershy. Way to jinx it Twilight.
“Of course Fluttershy, come right in” Sighing in defeat, Twilight signaled Spike to open the door.
She couldn’t tell Fluttershy to wait or go away, she would think that she had bothered her in any of both cases and would walk away quite quick. The shy Pegasus girl was one of the nicest, thought Twilight had to admit she found quite irritating the fact that she would let anyone push her around like that and that Fluttershy was never up to the challenge except if someone else was in trouble. Yet she was such a good friend… how would she take the little news she had to share? And more important, what would she want now? As far as Twilight knew everypony had some plans for today but Pinkie Pie.
When Spike finally opened the door a pair of fillies before Fluttershy could even mutter a word. The first was a young blue pegasi with grey feathers at the end of her wings as well as white short hair that was ruffled both in the tail and in the head. The second one was also blue, but was a little unicorn that looked a bit younger than the pegasi, also she had a red like mane with small dots of white hair running through the middle of her hair and tail, and both gently combed to look fluffy and cute.
Neither of them had cutie marks and both practically barged in yelling for help while Fluttershy tried to calm them down. None of them had even noticed J as he was still as a statue, probably everypony in the room thought that he was just that as Fluttershy seemed to be in such a mix of sadness and worry that she didn’t seem to care while the pair of young fillies were wailing at Twilight without making any sense between their mixed screams.
“Please I can’t hear anything!” She cried out when they all wouldn’t quiet down. The yell at least got the three to relax, though both fillies were crying and Fluttershy seemed about ready to “Now, slowly, tell me what is the problem”
The fillies only cried louder, so it was Fluttershy who talked “These little girls came to me today at morning, one of my bird friends told me he had seen the girls and a group of carts hiding in a cave in the Everfree Forest to guard from the horrible storm that hit us that day. He said no one came out at morning, so he thought they all had decided to rest there…”
“But?” Twilight didn’t like one single bit where this was going already.
“Well, you know that most big creatures are the ones that live in the caves, but they prefer to hunt under the rain or at night, so he thought nothing of it, but… umm…” Fluttershy soon had her eyes filled with tears. Someone so sensible usually was sad easily, but this time it was obvious she had a good reason “But when he came back today he found these fillies running away, screaming in fear and covered in blood and gasses” The yellow pegasi was crying and sobbing hard “My bird friend bought them home and I used the potions you made for me in case any of the creatures near the forest was too strong and evil to talk to, they are healed and clean but they…”
“That monster ate our friends!” The young pegasi cried out “Mommy and daddy made us run away while they distracted it, but they didn’t fallow us, we heard screams!” She wailed.
“I want mommy back!” The young unicorn cried as she hugged her sister’s flank.
“Please girls, calm down…” Twilight bit her lip; the sudden change from a happy (yet awkward and shy) moment had changed to one of sheer horror “How many ponies were in those carts?”
“It was… It was the Circus Fly-Off” Fluttershy sobbed.
Oh-Celestia.
“But that circus had at least forty ponies! No creature, no matter how big, should have attacked them if they were in a group! They had even powerful magicians and one of the strongest Earth ponies I have heard of besides Apple Jack!”
“Uncle Hard Hoof was the first to go” The young unicorn mumbled under a now ragged a broken voice after so much crying “The monster got all of our family…” She sniffled, unable to cry anymore.
Twilight couldn’t help her tears by now. It was not only that the circus had been famous even when she was young, she had attended once when they came to Canterlot, it was that if it was true there had been a lot of good lives lost to a wretched monster. If Princess Celestia had battled them long ago Twilight wondered why she had left them alive, though a second after questioning herself that horrid thing she realized that she probably had to do something as horrid with the humans as eradicate them. Even if monsters were dangerous they didn’t deserve such a fate, however it was hard to think of that if so many ponies had perished.
“But then… what do you want me to do?” Twilight was sad and nervous beyond belief, if they had been attacked so long ago it was a miracle that these fillies were still alive, in fact she very much doubted that their parents were still on this world now.
“Twilight”
Almost screaming is how she found herself as J’s hand was placed over her shoulder, though Twilight was the one to take this little movement the better since the two fillies and Fluttershy moved away, even more scared than before.
“Do you have any weapons a human can use? Or maybe you know of some near here? This is going to be my first day on the job”
He had a stoic face, very much like if he was made of stone. Twilight didn’t know why but all the nice on him seemed to have been locked away for now, it was still there, but instead of taking the news like Fluttershy or she had done he had a look that told how much anger he was suppressing. While something told her that he wouldn’t do anything stupid, or to harm them, it was blatantly obvious that he was also decided on making sure whatever had done this wouldn’t do it again.
“I-I think I have. Princess Celestia told me this library had a basement where there were very old things that some ponies had locked away after Canterlot had been created” She used her magic to slowly move one of the selves that Celestia told her about, revealing what seemed to be a hidden stairs “We can go and take a look”
“Twilight umm… what is he?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at the human in front of her. She was still crying and sniffling, but her worry about what she had in front of her was also gnawing at her pretty deeply.
“A friend” Was all that Twilight responded “Spike, can you escort both fillies to The Mayor? She has a good way with kids and may be able to get them some help” Twilight looked at both fillies “I am sure my friend will try his best to find your parents. Wait for us to come back and try to rest, ok?”
Both kids gave a nod, still crying as Spike signaled them to fallow him. Twilight knew Spike was not the most friendly baby dragon ever, and he was a bit rude, something that seemed to have changed little after the intelligence spurt yesterday, but he was as much as a caring being as her other friends. He would do a good job, probably he would make sure to keep them company until she came back.
Once they were gone she sighed and got off J “Ok everypony, let’s go down here…” Besides, this would be as good as it could get to explain J to at least one of her friends.
*** Castle of Canterlot ***
Celestia had been watching J all day; in fact she was going to do it every day at any chance she got either like this or with the link she had with him after the pact was made. She had to make sure it would all end how she had hoped. Today there were no duties, no schedules and no nothing, she was supposed to be relaxing but after yesterday she could not, she hated lying to everypony, including the human, though what had happened a little while ago had left her a bit disheartened. If things didn’t go right Twilight could end up feeling… well…
“Tia, we need to talk”
Though she knew that Luna would come to talk sooner or later, Celestia had really thought she would come sooner, not by teleportation to catch her red hooved like she had done now, but sooner anyway. For some reason it seemed to disappoint her little sister to see her not surprised, even more so to see her spying on the human and now two of the elements of harmony without losing a bit of concentration.
“I suppose you have questions?” Celestia chuckled while she continued her vigil. After all she had a mirror like screen to see what happened near J and she could look at her sister without losing too much detail.
“Why are you spying on him?” Luna asked, maybe a bit worried.
“Making sure all goes well, of course” Celestia didn’t change her expression as she said so.
Luna had hoped that her sister took it a bit more seriously, maybe that she would at least stop her incantation, but it didn’t seem to be going to happen any time soon.
“What was that?” Celestia gave her an ‘excuse me?’ look “Why the over the top charade yesterday? Why so angry? I know you are not like that, at least not anymore sis. I can believe… maybe I would understand that at first you would be shocked and angry, and by the way I know the shock was genuine, but the rest? You were too harsh on him for no good reason!”
“Then I did a good job with that facade” Celestia gave a guilty smile as she looked down, quite ashamed “I didn’t want to go overboard, but it was necessary, I needed everypony thinking I hated him and that I would be so willing, with some pressure, to give help him and give him what you had promised. It is not like what I did with you that time so long ago, that was unplanned and I was literally angry, depressed and hardly thinking rationally, this time I have a plan. One doesn’t live one thousand years without picking something up dear sister” She gave her a gentle smile this time, patting her side so Luna would sit down.
When she did Celestia formed another little mirror, showing her the scene where she had worried herself to such an extent that she had to stomp in and act. While she was unsure of how long she would have to act like she was hateful or at least resentful of what humans did.
“It was… fast?” Luna gave out a little chuckle as she saw the kiss unfold, though that didn’t took her questioning look as she turned at Celestia again. Her big sister sighed and continued.
“It is a bit of a byproduct” Her sister told her as she watched the two mares and t he human reach the stony underground of the library “A summoner that calls for a companion usually gets attached to them very personally, though most times they are monsters or other creatures that do not care that much for it beyond loyalty. In this case it is way too different as , while his good side will probably attract almost any mare (or maybe colt) that he meets if they are in contact with them for long and get to know him to some extent, Twilight is quite the different matter and it needs TACT” Her look of concern was genuine and Luna had to sigh inwardly as she had seen that in her sister only for three other creatures, one of which was her “If it goes too fast it can end badly and in obsession or something else entirely. I am sure that this little romantic stunt will probably happen with one or more of Twilight’s friends thanks to how they all are, so I want to make sure that Jonathan and Twilight are both ready for it and that he understand how things work here. I didn’t enjoy meddling in my student’s affairs, I want her happier than she is, but I had to step in so this wouldn’t ruin what I did yesterday”
“What do you mean sis? Your act yesterday was a farse, but I didn’t see what it could do” Luna wasn’t impressed nor surprised, however she hadn’t had any hopes for her sister to tell her outright what she had done “I thought you said you weren’t going to lie anymore…”
“Nor do I want to, but this case is very special”
While the group traveled through the little dungeon Celestia used the other mirror to show three sheets of generic armor, one made out of gold and silver, another of common but beautiful metals and another one made of what seemed to be black stone. Each one of them had a shield and a sword as if they had humans inside; it was so life like that Luna didn’t look impressed as they all moved within the image.
“You see, if it had been a normal human that is either good or bad by nature I would’ve minded it, my dear sis. I admit I had been rough before I read his mind, but after that I became much, much more worried than I thought possible” The metal armor took a step back and the other two faced each other “Thanks to what Twilight had done, Jonathan had been turned into a Knight. Do you remember how the stories go from our time dear?”
“Umm…” Luna gave a nervous smile “No?”
“Knew it” Celestia gave her a gentle nuzzle before she explained the old lore “The Knights were those humans that displayed loyalty to the best mages of our time back when they existed, it was even possible to get other humanoids as knights, even the Diamond Dogs if they were intelligent and loyal enough, though they have reverted to a bit of a savage state in this age” She gave a sad sigh, obviously concerned about that “There were, as for everything else, different kinds to identify them”
The golden armor lunged forward with its sword trying to connect with the dark one.
“The most common and loved of our time, the ones that made most of the myths that exist today, were the Order of Lore: Loyal, determined and always on the side of the law and the people. They were usually the only ones to appear within our old kingdom thanks to us, ponies, being loyal and friendly by nature. No human with dark intentions would ever submit to serve our nation when our royal family had power” Celestia looked like she had her mind wandering back in time for a while “Back on our days we only got one, and too late”
The dark armor, not caring for Celestia’s explanation, took a step aside when the golden one lunged. It used its knee on the golden one’s chest, making the other fall before he crushed it chest plate with a boot. Luna was sure that if the thing had a voice it would’ve laughed as it cut the helmet away with one single slice.
“The Knight of Onyx was unique back then, but it was the complete opposite of the Golden Knight: He was ruthless and crazy, he commanded the monsters that attacked us and he was behind all the chaos. He was the reason why all ended up… like this” She looked down and begun to cry openly “The reason of why we lost so much”
This took the younger sister by surprise as Luna hadn’t seen her sister cry in a long time, she had been sure to hide her tears from her as she showed her the whole story three months prior. Whatever was crossing her mind now was something painful, as painful as what had happened so long ago. However she soon realized what it was and her concern grew as it was the real reason of why she did hate, at least partially, the humans to this day.
“Tia?”
‘Don’t go back! You can live as long as us now! Let me heal you! Come back…!’
“Tia, are you ok?” Luna gave her a nudge “Don’t think about it, please. I don’t want you sad, you already have enough on your back trying to be who you aren’t… and you still have to tell me why you do it”
“Sorry dear, sorry” Celestia wiped her tears and cleared her throat as the last armor came from behind the victorious Knight of Onyx to impale the armor with one powerful trust, thus breaking also the mirror with a dramatic but almost inaudible crunch “Some of our unicorns weren’t truly nice, nor were they really evil, they stood in the middle and did what they thought was right. The Grey Knights were the humans or humanoids with carefree spirits back then, they weren’t common and weren’t special, but their actions most the times either saved or doomed people”
Celestia absorbed the remains of the mirror with her horn as she took control of the remaining one, showing the group again as they found a door in their part. The underground had turned gloomy and Twilight had her horn sparkling with magic as she talked to Fluttershy who now seemed more at ease near J.
“Jonathan is going to be a Grey Knight; I have no doubt of it. It means he will do what he thinks is good, however he has a great problem within his mind that may turn his neutral sheet to something darker” Celestia gave a gentle cuddle to her sister, nuzzling her under her wing as she explained herself “He can’t let go of everything he has done, he is too self conscious of his actions and he knows he can lose his temper so easily that he won’t care who was the cause and who to harm if the right buttons are closed. If he is lied to, he will lash out at least verbally, if his friends are in danger, he will protect them no matter who is the one threatening them, it can go to the point of killing the opposition” Celestia lied her head gently over her sister’s as she took both crowns away with her magic “I wish things don’t go that badly, that is why I wanted him intimidated so he knows it won’t be accepted here if things go grim. He has to learn to control himself and he has to learn to wish for a happy life without violence, however he grew up with training and taught how to be a soldier from his world. His mother is a good woman, but she was unable to teach him properly as she hadn’t had a proper teaching of how she should use her own talents”
“You think he can be a danger then?” Celestia gave a nod to her younger sister “But he looks so nice, I know he IS nice” Luna tried to beg to her sister.
“I know he is, but he has to learn to forgive himself first so as to live with what he did and to hope for the best. However for a long time the only things happening to him had been bad: Losing friends slowly but steady, sometimes by betrayal. He also got lucky a few times and found someone he could call a girlfriend, someone he hoped was the one for him, only to lose her way to quick for one reason or another. It didn’t help him any how unlucky he was as he had the ones dear to him hurt while he saw his mother’s pain”
The sun goddess closed her eyes slowly. She was so sad about the man in so many ways she wanted to cry. She had seen sadness so big once and it was hers. While this wasn’t, by her standards, so cruel and he hadn’t suffered for that long, for a human it could be enough of a motive to do something drastic. She wanted to believe that what she did was the right thing, but it was hard for her to do so even knowing that this was the best case scenario. In fact Celestia had her doubts that when J was finally told about this he would not punch her square in the face. She knew she would deserve it, but no matter how she looked at it, this wouldn’t be fair no matter how necessary it was and it pained her heart even if she wanted to turn it to stone like many years ago.
“Unlike us he was not going to have a happy ending, no matter how positive he was all the time: he knew there would be another one to push his buttons, way too many sad moments and just too much pain for him to bear. His hopes for a happy end were running so short that he had thought of ending it all, I saw it in his mind. The only thing keeping him away of such an end was his family” She tried to give her sister a smile as she looked down at her “At first I thought that he would try something this night right away, however after what happened before I do know he is not going to do anything so foalish” At that the smile on her muzzle grew, but ever so much “Maybe, with luck, he will give himself some more time and see that what he learned during his life could benefit us all. However there is the problem that this is the time for him to learn the Duties of a Protector, and he is going to be burdened with more than just loyalty towards someone for both his life and his friendship”
“And what is that sis?” Luna rested her head on Celestia’s forelegs, relaxing at last now that she knew that her sister would, with some luck and a gentle nudge, drop the façade the next time she saw J.
“You didn’t saw it but I was here Luna: There is a monster that has… ended many pony lives. It spared only two young fillies, and I am sure he did that to call the attention of the Elements” At that Luna sprung on her hooves, looking at the mirror intently as the door was finally opened “This is the first time he is going to see something that cannot die, not only that but that it want the death of everything else or the complete control of everything that moves. He is going to have to fight against the worst our world has to offer and I can’t help him, I can’t help him or the ones alive where he is going to go even if I want to. I saw what had happened too late and the thing is waiting for the Elements and their protector”
“Can’t you help him? Why?! If you are talking about ‘that’ thing then I don’t want any harm to anypony else” Luna had her eyes watering now. The last time she had even thought about ‘that’ thing those images came back “No other creature would have harmed ponies, maybe one, maybe even done something horrid to one, but more? No matter how big that is not hunting and it is not protecting one’s territory. There is nothing else I can think of that is capable of being cruel by nature”
“Even if I could I won’t do anything Luna” Celestia tried to give her sister a pleading look, but hers was one of such sadness that she could hardly change it, much less when Luna pushed away from her in a bit of shock “If I can use any power to help what they are going to find there, I will do, but if it is impossible to bring them back… then… Then I hope for him to learn a valuable lesson and to take care of what he thinks is just” She saw how her sister opened her mouth to protest but Celestia stopped her “Sis, this thing has to be done. He has to put his will in saving not only his own life, but those he finds dear, for other reason than fear and instinct. He has to forge his new character and has to show his determination to be better, not only to me but to his own self. If he fails we will lose him forever… and I will step down to save Twilight and her friend Fluttershy”
“…” Luna looked down at her sister with a cold stare “Would you let him die?”
“If he doesn’t change? Yes, I don’t want to, but it could bring something horrid in the future or keep Twilight and her friends alive and happy” Celestia was crying profusely now, not caring to maintain her façade anymore.
Celestia hid her face from her sister as her cry was too much for her to bear now. The many outcomes she had seen. All of them made someone else sad, but two showed pure destruction and misery, and some showed almost perfect bliss. She wasn’t sure of what to do, she only knew that she had to help this happen, or the future was going to be one of those bleak ones. But here she was, knowing that whatever she did she would harm people dear to her, her subjects, friends or family. How could she chose the right thing when none of them looked like they would fit on her desires of a perfect and blissful future?
“I am sorry sis, but I don’t want to lose you again, not you not Twilight and not her friends” The sun goddess sobbed “I know you probably hate me now, I am no better than all those years ago when I yelled at you. I thought I was in control and I only ended messing up everything, not only that it seems like I am going to mess up again even when this is the only thing I can think of. I am a horrible, horrible pony…”
She stopped once she felt her sister give her a hug. Celestia was still sad and crying, but she knew Luna only wanted her to smile again as she took her close.
“I am sorry you will do what is right sis, I am sure you want to do the best for everypony so I will be here with you to help if I can. I don’t want to leave you to do everything alone again this time. If you say it is the right thing to do I will support you to the end” She gave her sister a gentle kiss on the cheek and wiped her tears away with one wing “But promise me that if it is needed, if he is in danger but he can change somehow without this, you will help. I know he is good inside and he will forgive his past shins and change if we nudge him in the right way. Please sis, for me?”
The sun goddess nodded, smiling a sad smile “I promise, I promise my dear sister” She tried, but Celestia couldn’t stop crying.
She knew that if the ‘thing’ made him doubt what he had found, what he now thought he loved, he would be gone way too fast for them to do anything. Luna would be a great help if needed, at least she would offer support, but if J’s resolve wasn’t strong enough he would be no more, and not by her hoof, he would end all of this thanks to his own insecurity and the belief that he was not worthy of this. It was not how Celestia had wanted it, she thought this creature would take much longer to act, in fact she had hoped it would do so without harming anypony, not like this.
If J died the connection between Twilight and him would break and Twilight would need much help nursing a broken heart again. If he survived, then the attraction wouldn’t dwindle, so her only desire if today things turned out alright was that they two worked it out very slowly and that Twilight would learn to control her feelings. She was young and, much like her friends, a bit too hormonal driven as they all were young mares that wanted somepony to love them. It would be the next problem to avert but Celestia knew it was time away, a long time, if it ever happened.
She was able to see the last bit of the group underground as J took his new possession Celestia simply let go of the spell, her mental connection with him more than enough for the time being. Now she only wanted to enjoy this hug with her sister and to clear her mind. She was going to be sincere with him the next time he came to the castle and she needed to tread carefully or if she had made any progress and he had survived it all would end in nothing but a sorrowful night.
‘Goddess’ She thought, still sad as she looked at the sun ‘This is so hard, even after so long…’ She hid another tear that rolled down her cheek ‘I miss you… it would be so easier with you here today’ Hiding her sadness Celestia gave her sister another gentle kiss, trying to smile as she waited for the young man’s upcoming confrontation and the future of the Elements of Magic with… or without a Protector.
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Uros
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1056
| 5 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
| 61 | 29 |
<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-09-26T20:51:11+00:00
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2011-09-26T20:51:11+00:00
| 1,283 |
Chapter 5: The Duties of a Protector – Dark Blood.
NFA: Hello everyone. I want to thank those that reviewed to this point :3 I really NEVER EVER thought I would have any review as I am quite accustomed to getting none in the past, or maybe some flames… you know, that is depressing for a writer. Anyway, I am here to say thanks, give some notes, comments and continue on working as well as to ask a question, not to complain. This is a big NFA so it may take a while, but read it please.
First things first: With thanks out of the way let me tell you:
[These are for Reviewers in Fanfiction.net. I will also do for those here or in DA... though the latter is pretty much guaranteed to not get any comments :p]
A Ugly Faic: He is going to survive obviously… at least for now that is. The state, however, is what should worry you :3 And I do not mean physically.
Nobodyreallyimportant: Well, she has been a ruler for one thousand years and counting, she should be good at giving nudges without being noticed, or making it so blatant that you don’t think it is her. I do not want to portray her as bad or a tyrant, but the impression is there until all is told.
Solrac III: Of course there is information that is being held back :3 I have been writing for 13 years now, I know good ways to make something interesting and Celestia, or anypony else, is not going to tell everything right away (Much less Celestia, duh x3). As for multiple pairings? Well, I am not a romantic writer if I must say, I have made a LOT of adult stories but have never touched love much and this is my first try, though I do want to explore the romantic side that this may have since, so it may be like that :3
Now in the side of notes: While this story is mostly about Adventure and Fantasy in the world of Equestria, there may be some adult teemed moments, namely:
The swearing I love to put in my stories. I grew up with it and I see swearing as a pretty inoffensive way of venting. The one doing it will be Jonathan, so there is not much to it.
Sex, if I finally put it in here, is a much bigger issue for most. I grew up with a pretty open mother and father that, to this day, have no problems talking with me about everything. Sex, as I understand it, is a good way of bonding and sharing physical contact between friends that desire it when they both want to. I think that people misunderstands quite a lot the term of open relationships but I do like the concept of them, so I don’t see it as a bad thing here though if I do it I will mark those sections like HELL so if any of you don’t want to read you can avert them.
This is not the sharp frigging point of the iceberg though, not my friends; the little thing that is going to make it bleed is the horror, gore and etc… sections. I do not plan in making many of this, with luck there will be few and then it will be done, however think that I openly said that Jonathan’s duty includes trying to help the girls in their heads to help them with their darkest side. Now mix that idea with Pinkie and Fluttershy plus what you saw in the series and the fact that I make serious stories (For the most part) and have experience with horror, monsters and such. Those two are the ones I have the most defines of how their dark side would be, with Twilight and Rarity going not far behind.
Those sections will not be pretty and you all will have to sit through them, so I want you to understand that when you see a *** [Some kind of WARNING message] *** under the title it is something more serious than you may think. On the other side we have the sadness that will also be a part of the story, while I don’t like to give spoilers away I need to tell you that it is going to begin HERE, so you have been warned.
I am sorry if some of you do not like this and want to stop reading by now, but it is how I had intended this to go from the start. While I am a writer that does plan little so it is more interesting to write, I do make the guidelines and go along with them until the end, so this is something that is going to happen and there is no point in discussing it because I won’t change my mind in this dark stuff.
Got it? Then onwards to the story! I was going to ask about submitting this to Equestria Daily but seeing that there is a no porn/gore rule I am pretty frakked. Yea, porn is not for sure but gore it is going to happen sooner or later, even if only a bit (I hope) and because it is necessity… Yet they frigging uploaded Cupcakes theme, all of fucking it. When you wrap your mind around it you give me a good reason. (Full on rant given if you poke me about it, but it is fucking huge)
*** ***
It had been right the instant when they began to walk down the stairs when Twilight had felt the pang of magic all around her. The seemingly infinite stairs were lighted from nowhere with enough light around them to see perfectly well in what should have been pitch black darkness, and she knew the only pony with dark vision was Princess Luna, so this was forcefully a magic incantation from old times. However she had much in her mind as they walked down, one thing was to explain Fluttershy what her newest friend was.
“So… umm… what are you? If… if you don’t mind me asking that is” Fluttershy walked besides Twilight to ensure she was as far as possible from J as she could.
Twilight found it a bit funny as Fluttershy had always been the best with creatures, maybe not battling or knowing them (Though the last was probably not as true as Twilight thought), but she was indeed the best treating with them. If they had a non understandable language Fluttershy could easily talk to them, if they did have one it didn’t matter because Fluttershy could calm down a dragon just by talking to it if she had the courage. That she walked away from a human only made Twilight more nervous than she was as it was obvious that Fluttershy knew how dangerous a creature could be by simply taking a look at it.
“I am a human, something that doesn’t exist in your world” J had a bit of a monotone and Twilight thought she knew why.
She hadn’t seen his face when the fillies had entered her house, but she was sure that the hate she knew he had was from the fact that these little girls had suffered something far worse than he had: They had… they had probably lost their parents. Twilight didn’t want to think about it but they probably were now alone in the world. That creature had taken away their parents, their friends and their way of life. For J it had been a different childhood but he had enjoyed his family until the last moments, to see something so young and so innocent being torn apart.
‘It had been too much, too much for his good side to bear’ Twilight sighed mentally. J was not innocent, not like she or her friends were; she had to keep telling herself that even I she didn’t want to believe it, not after what had happened before. She wanted to believe that there was enough good to salvage him and make him happy again, however seeing such sadness, such cruelty, unfolding where he thought he could be safe? It had made a tear in his mind’s preconceptions.
“What is a human?” Fluttershy perked her ears up and looked questioningly at her friend.
“It is a hominid creature like the Diamond Dogs: Walks in two legs, has arms and hands, a complex internal system and a very versatile brain” Twilight blurted out, showing her nervousness as she had given away to her rambling “Eh, sorry Fluttershy. They are a species from another world you could say, I summoned him yesterday thinking we would need help since it seems more powerful creatures and more complex problems seem to follow us as of late”
“I see…” Fluttershy still didn’t seem to want to look at him “But he seems so… dangerous now. Is it safe for us or other peaceful creatures?”
“Oh believe me Fluttershy, he wouldn’t dream of harming us” Twilight couldn’t help but let a gentle chuckle escape her lips at that. If there was one thing she was sure of is that he would NEVER harm them, however the look of wonder in her friend made her explain a ‘bit’ of the truth “As his summoner he can’t do something that I command him not to, also Princess Celestia made sure that he would not need meat and that he could feel magic. He would never want to harm us and even in the impossible chance that he did, it wouldn’t end well for him” As she gave him a look to see if he had reacted Twilight wasn’t sure if to be sad, angry or simply let it go, but it seemed like Jonathan hadn’t even paid any attention to her.
“Are you ok Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered, which was a hay of an accomplishment given her usual tone.
“I am... worried” Fluttershy noticed the pause her friend had made when she was about to talk, but she said nothing “He is acting different than I had hoped. He is focused on this and I don’t know if it is good”
“Why so? Didn’t you say it was safe?” Fluttershy gave J a look as he had taken a few steps in front of them “I mean, I don’t know what to think… but if you say he is nice…” She hesitated saying the last part and, unlike her, Twilight did say something.
“He IS nice, don’t doubt it” She almost raised her voice, making Fluttershy take a step back “Sorry, sorry Fluttershy” Twilight pleaded giving her a hurt look, she hadn’t meant to almost yell at her “But he has been only a few hours with me, maybe I can’t even say it has been a day, and I have only seem him angry to an extent” The young mare gave J a look as the light began to dim “I think seeing the two young girls so fearful and alone has hit him hard…”
“I think I can understand” Fluttershy looked away a bit ashamed “It is the first time I am willing to ask somepony to… to hunt down something” The nice yellow mare pegasi let a few tears roll down her cheeks as she thought about the young fillies hurt, covered in blood and screaming for their parents “I have heard of creatures eating each other for food, I… I can accept that… t-to an extent” She sniffed, unable to imagine such a thing “It is the n-natural way of l-l-life… but to kill so many innocent ponies? It is not h-hunting, it is simply horrid”
Twilight tried to comfort her friend, but she didn’t know what to say. The monster they would go to hunt probably was massive, mad and bloodthirsty if it had attacked so many ponies and got them all but the young ones. In fact she couldn’t help but think about it as she finally got Fluttershy to stop walking so she could give her friend a hug to try and help her to calm down.
Why had the monster left two fillies run away? It didn’t make any kind of sense if you stopped enough to think about it with a cold head. The thing had these ponies under its watch for a week, which meant that the cave probably was deep enough and had food and water or all the ponies would’ve ended up dead in three days, five tops, without water since the caves are usually cold and humid enough to help fight dehydration, but only to an extent.
The creature also had the obvious knowledge of its home and the skill to hunt anything it wanted with ease as well as the intelligence to target dangerous targets first, this had dawned to her as the girls had said that the strongest earth pony had been the first to die: Hard Hoof, a pony that was one head taller than most ponies and could even break an apple tree in half with one strong kick. It had been Apple Jack’s idol when she was young, at least as far as her friend had told her.
By now it could be simply that she was giving it too much credit, but the thing had, without even getting near them, hurt three of the six friends in this city, and it looked like it was almost specifically. The fillies had gone to Fluttershy, Fluttershy brought them to her and the news dawned like the coldest of rains upon her. When Apple Jack was told of this she would probably be enraged, not only for her hero from when she was young, but because she hated anyone getting harmed in a much different way than Fluttershy.
It only made her wonder how many of her friends would be hateful of such a creature with a single action from its part. Twilight couldn’t help it as she felt the color drain from her: She was sick and still wanted to puke like this morning when J told her the truth, however this time it was for a different reason as she realized she was going to head straight to a monster that seemed to be wishing for her and her friends to come specifically.
“Girls, are you alright?”
The sobbing from Fluttershy came to a stop and Twilight relaxed just enough to turn and look at her newest friend. He still had a harsh expression, but he was truly concerned for them both and it showed, something she was grateful for.
“Yea, Fluttershy was…” Twilight wanted to be gentle with what she said, but it was obvious that Fluttershy was depressed beyond belief for once.
“I suppose you hate the idea of the ponies from the circus harmed… or worse” J didn’t need to see her nod her head to know the answer, but he let her do it anyway so as to go slowly and to let her relax a bit more “I also bet that you hate the idea of going there to hurt the creature that did it”
This time Fluttershy did more than nod “Not hurt… stop it” Her tone was but a whisper “I don’t want anyone harmed by that thing again. It-it could do horrible things in the forest! More than this time, if that is even possible” She looked away, sad and without capacity to understand how something could be so cruel. Not even a dragon in full rage had made so much damage in ages “I haven’t… I haven’t desired to harm a creature in all my life” Fluttershy sniffed “But this thing is going to hurt or kill innocent ponies and creatures. I would never let that happen”
“Then relax”
Twilight saw how J took a gentle change of his expression as his hands went for Fluttershy. He rubbed gently her neck and made sure that she was looking at him in the eye.
“I have never enjoyed violence Fluttershy, but I suppose I have used it as a solution in times where I should have used my words” His voice was sad and even with obvious embarrassment he was looking at Fluttershy straight to the eyes, much like he had done with Twilight “I made mistakes in my life, a lot of them cannot be undone, but I made them for things that happened to me and when I thought I had no other choice. I suppose it doesn’t mean anything here but I cannot let go, I refuse to, until I see that those things are the past and that I am different” He gave her mane a gentle stroke and wiped Fluttershy’s tears gently “I wish to use the strength I have now to help you all, I won’t harm anyone that does not deserve it, and in this land it is very hard that such a thing comes to happen. However this creature seems to be pure evil and I cannot abide it, I don’t care if it is wrong this time for I am going to go there and save anyone I can, taking down the thing so it doesn’t do this again”
He sighed heavily and looked down for a moment. Twilight knew that Fluttershy would find it very weird, not that anypony else would not do so, but to J it was going to mean more than her friend knew. How she would take it is what worried Twilight, as well as how J could take her response.
“Will you hate me if I have to kill that monster for what it has done?”
There it was, said and done. Fluttershy was startled by the question, not because she couldn’t figure that he was going to face the beast to kill it, but because she didn’t thought that the human that she had just meet was asking if she was going to hate him for doing what was needed.
It was a known fact that Fluttershy was a coward to an extent and that she hated violence with a passion, she wouldn’t even approach something that got her scared and so usually nopony gave her much credit or heard her out outside of how to take care of animals. This time she seemed willing to come and found out someone that was concerned on what she thought of what he was going to be forced to do when almost nopony asked her as it was hard enough to get her to talk or to simply hear her speak. For her it was a shock and she didn’t know how to respond properly.
“N-no of-offense but… why do you care?” She asked in a hushed voice, not much louder than her usual tone “I barely know you…”
“Because it is important to me” J told her with a shy look “Twilight summoned me, I am bound to her, and I know in the little time that we have been together that I am her friend” For some reason that last word didn’t come out as he had planned it, at least he hopped that the quick glance he threw at Twilight wasn’t noticed by any of the two mares “It means I cannot go back to my world and that I will have to live with her, be with her whenever she wishes and thus, be with all of her friends, including you” His look was sad now, but by now it was only to an extent. He had to live with the fact that he would not go bath and both the good and the bad that came with it “I may miss my home but this is my new one and she saved my life, so I am going to repay her helping while I create a new life for me and maybe make new friends… with you all if you want” He sighed. It was not how he wanted to meet the shyest of all the ponies, but he would have little time after this “If this is how we are going to meet I don’t want to make a first bad impression, yet in my first day here I will have to do what Twilight summoned me for: fighting off monsters that are dangerous, and in this case, kill this one. This will have consequences, and one I don’t want is you hating me for it”
“I… understand”
Let’s be honest here: This was not the worst way to meet Fluttershy, not if J thought about it. However this was as bad as it could get in the range of ‘messed up’ and he was almost sure of the outcome: Fluttershy would pull away and distant herself from the violent human before her. It would make sense that, even with the need to do so, Fluttershy would find his willingness much too obscure for her usual demeanor and her love for nature.
It didn’t make much sense to him that she was now hugging him as gently as if he was wrapped in cotton candy.
“I don’t like the idea of harming anything… I have never liked it” She half whispered, though it was one of her louder tones “This… this is a monster… not a creature of the forest. Even hydras and dragons don’t do this, I… I don’t know what to do this time” J could feel that the poor mare was crying again on his shoulder “I only ask… can… can I wait outside of the cave when we arrive? I don’t want to see it”
“Ssssh… relax” J tried to comfort her gently as he looked pleading at Twilight for help.
“You can wait outside of the cave Fluttershy, we may need a medic and you know how to heal both ponies and any animal in the forest” Twilight said with as much of a gentle tone as she could, also broken and sad by this point “But I hope it is not needed and that we can go out of that place as… as happily as we can, knowing what we will find”
“Thanks…” She said finally, pushing away from J “And I understand what you say… I can be your friend if you want, I mean, if that is ok… I have seen bad ponies, and how others didn’t mind hurting those they could” Fluttershy gulped, not wanting to remember those things “But you don’t seem like those ponies, so I would like you as a friend too if you will live here”
For the first time after the news J smiled, his somber and serious look fading away as Fluttershy said those words. It seemed to be contagious as the mares soon turned up with a brighter mood; at least Twilight as Fluttershy was still shocked for all that had transpired that day.
“You don’t know how much that means to me, thanks Fluttershy”
Twilight had to chuckle a bit as Fluttershy recovered that little smile she used to have until she came through her door. She knew her friend wouldn’t be alright for a while, but making a new friend and seeing how he worried for others even when he didn’t know them was something that could connect with the yellow pegasi. It was obvious that humans were way more complex than ponies sometimes, or simply that J had enough experiences to have the right words in most cases, something that he didn’t like, Twilight was sure of that.
Her train of thoughts broke as, suddenly, the lights went out, they had been dimming the whole time but only now it was noticed that the darkness had enveloped them all when Fluttershy finally gave a little cry of fear. While that made both J and Twilight laugh a bit, warming the mood some more, Twilight had to admit that right now she could find anything scary with all the news, so she used a little of her magic to shed light over the place and see that, for some reason, they all were at the bottom of the stairs. It was impossible by all means that from taking one step after another they hadn’t noticed that, for some reason, they had reached the bottom.
“This is weird…” She said with a worried look “I had sensed magic here, but this is different”
“Weird? This makes me think of a game of my time that had stairs that went up and up until you got all what it asked for” J had to admit that old Super Mario 64 got to him at some point “Maybe we did something? Wait for the lights to fade?”
“I don’t know… Is there something here to give us a clue?” Twilight took a look around, but all she could see was what seemed to be a door a short distance away, out of the range of her light.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy called for her in a scared tone “We entered through that? Was it so close?”
Twilight and J turned to look up the stairs, only to see that the secret door was practically closed, but no really that far away, maybe thirty steps at most. It was all a mystery on itself, but when Twilight tried to open it with magic to let in more light the door closed with a loud *SLAM*. Even with dread over them nothing else happened as the light had already faded and they knew there was a knob at this side of that door, so either with their hooves, magic or with J they could get it open.
At least she hoped.
“Well, whatever it happened, it means we have to continue” Twilight tried to sound confident, but she wasn’t, at all “I saw a door there, let’s check it out”
Turning again, everypony saw the door not so far as before, probably because the light now was all coming from Twilight’s horn and they could see their surroundings a little better, but little else. It was of a blue/green coloration, probably eaten away by only Celestia knows how long, as there were a few patches of black, holes and… rust? Twilight got closer and tried to use her magic to peel some of the paint, only to get a little shock on her horn.
“Ah! That stung” She wimpered, hiding behind J out of reflex as she knew of some materials that would do that to an unicorn “That thing is made of Lunar Metal” Twilight seemed a bit afraid of the thing now, something that caught the attention of both Fluttershy and J “It is made with meteorites that sometimes fall from the sky at night and can zap any unicorn that tries to use magic near it. If the owner of whatever has been created with metal doesn’t want a specific unicorn inside they will get these kinds of zaps, though they can be worse”
“Want me to open it then?” J asked as he examined the door, finding a nice, yet rusty, know at the perfect size for a person “It does seem like someone wanted this for a guy of my size”
“Would it be dangerous?” Fluttershy chimed in with worry “This is scary and we don’t know what could be in there…”
“Hey, if I have to wander towards the wolf’s mouth let me say something:” He offered a nervous smile as he took the few steps needed to grip the knob “What is the worst that could happen?”
And then he opened the door.
Nothing happened.
“Oh hell, that was a relief, another cliché adverted” He smiled while looking back, noticing something on the back of the door “Heh, want weird? This is weird… Twilight, could you give me some light?”
“But the door will zap me again if I come close” She whined.
It was not that Twilight was scared of anything like this, but her training had shown her how much it could sting and how long the Lunar Metal could absorb a unicorn’s magic (even for the Element of Magic herself). J only gave her a reassuring look and motioned her to get closer as she pointed at a rusty metal plate that was now on both the front and the back of the door. If he was sure of it then she had not a reason to doubt her friend, however she did hope it would sting little to nothing this time.
As she got closer the metal slate changed to bright silver like color with no rust, something that picked her interest as she got close enough to read what it said.
“Property of Knight Jonathan” At first she was speechless, but then she simply laughed gently “Ooooh, who made you a knight?” Twilight smirked, noticing finally that she had not been zapped “Hey, I am ok…”
“I don’t understand a thing, but if this says it is mine you can go in any time you want Twilight” He gave her a smile and she blushed slightly “Now thought, let’s see what is in here”
Twilight stepped forth just a moment, walking back as she heard the whine of her friend Fluttershy whom had stayed behind. Offering the yellow mare a gentle smile she got her cowardly friend to come back to her side just as J walked forward thanks to the light that was being shed over the darkness. Twilight had to admit that Fluttershy had many talents, but her fear got the better of her, which this time meant that they were losing precious seconds each time she was scared of something.
When the pair of mares got inside they could see a perfectly smooth floor made out of grayed out wood as well as many stands covered in dust in what once had been a huge main room that seemed to be able to hold a gathering of maybe twenty ponies or so. It was pretty much as big as Sugarcube Corner, but not as colorful. It was shaped like a diamond with the blunt top being where they were now and the tip ending on a door with two at its sides and two at both sides on the middle section of the room. Literally it seemed to be a perfect place for meetings more than anything.
While the light was pretty dim even with Twilight trying her best, J had taken a look at every door and then had tried to even open all of them as Twilight and Fluttershy took a look at everything they could. In the end they got close to J as he found the only one that could be opened being the one at the other side of the entrance door. He didn’t seem to notice or care, but as the mares got closer they found a grey and heavy sign in the door that said ‘Jonathan’s Room’.
“This is way far too weird” Twilight spoke up as she and Fluttershy got in the room to find J looking at a sphere so bright that it lighted the whole room up. It was behind a glass that made the light look blue, much like light at night when there were no clouds.
The place was much smaller than the main room, but it still had a few stands, dusty and rusty equipment that ranged from armors to some form of clothes, some weapons she didn’t know and pictures, a wardrobe, cupboard and a few bookcases here and there with also some devices covered in dust nearby as well as a ragged king sized bed. To her it meant nothing but curiosity, to him they were part of his life and he had no time, nor the right mind, to delve on it.
“I don’t know this all appeared here” He said, catching both mares by surprise “I mean you girls had gone slow and haven’t noticed” He chuckled, rubbing at the glass “But there are many weird things here, many things from my world, many memories… There are a few I don’t know off, like this, and this” J pointed at the glass and the orb, then tossed a book to the bed.
Twilight picked the book from the bed and read out loud “The order of the Knights: Protectors of Equestria” She have it an odd look and looked at Fluttershy whom only shook her head in confusion.
She opened the book and passed pages quickly in search for any kind of clue of what was all of this. Most things she found at first was of history she had heard not of, probably before the one thousand years story that happened after both sisters had their fight (one story she now wanted to hear more about) and some back-story of the ‘Protectors’. As interesting as it was in her quick search for information she found nothing about that orb or whatever was doing this here, in Ponyville.
However it didn’t take her long to find the mention on an orb of light in the ‘Squires to Knights’ section, so she read out loud “Spheres of Magic are crafted by unicorns when they share a bond with a humanoid so the former gains the latter as their defender and the whole town they reside in. These protectors are called Knights and are gifted with the capabilities to use magic and to gain some kind of cuttie mark in their backs when their link to their companions and the whole of ponykind is strengthened. A squire is how every Knight begins after touching a Sphere of Magic as it is the moment where they gain their first weapon and shield as well as their armor, equipment that will only appear when it is needed and that will grow in strength as the Protector does its duty”
“That sound ominous” J chuckled as he lifted the glass away from the sphere, letting bright white light envelop the place “Let’s see if it is true”
Touching the sphere a bright flash flooded the vision of everypony, forcing Twilight to close her eyes alongside Fluttershy and even J as the light got him much latter than it should. When it faded enough and the eyes of the mares had recovered they opened to show the new room.
It lacked mostly everything but the bed, all that once occupied it was gone, even in the outside all that had once been covered in dust and rust was now gone like it had never been there. However now there were lights, candles and little orbs of magic that served as permanent light sources in perpetual dark areas that at least Twilight had seen, courtesy of Princess Celestia (In fact it was one of the easiest spells to make as to see at night and read more comfortably). The room was repaired and well maintained, as if it was new, with the door painted in a vibrant blue with the dark green metal sinning vividly. Both mares wondered how that had happened, but it seemed something else was changed alongside that.
The clothes J wore had turned into a grey metallic look; they even looked as tough as real metal, to the point where there were bolts allocated in the joints with layers of metal in the weak points and even a pair of gauntlets and reinforced boots had taken the place of the clothes that were there before (Or in the case of the hands, that weren’t). Even the hood had changed and now was a metal coif that covered J’s head with ringmail and a little visor to let him see through it with ease even thought it would be pretty impossible for something to get in without a huge amount of force or precision.
All in all, for what Twilight had seen in her books of mythology, he was like a real ‘knight’ even if his ‘armor’ was little more than metal that looked like cloth. He only lacked the weapons… the ones that, almost on cue, appeared in both of his hands.
On his right hand a long sword, much like a long gladius made out of brilliant almost silver like metal, appeared. It had a brightly colored golden hilt with an amethyst on its base with the blade being decorated with what seemed to be the wind blowing in the form of white streaks that crossed it from bottom to the tip of the sword. On the left hand he got a round shield, not much bigger than the commonly seen in games as it was made little and round for easy blocking of incoming attacks in hand to hand combat. Its grey metal was adorned with green laurel leaves imprinted on it to make a crown with a little spark of magic in the middle, much like Twilight’s.
And then, much like they came, they went. It only took a little flash this time but they were replaced by J’s normal clothes with the weapons and gauntlets disappearing on thin air as a little pair of bright silver rings came to rest on each one of his index fingers.
“Oh man… I feel frigging dizzy” He said, falling on his rear as Twilight supposed the flash had left him seeing the world spinning around him.
“But are you ok?” Fluttershy came closer to him, giving him a nuzzle.
“Yea… only dizzy as hell. I see the world spinning around me” J groaned, trying to get up.
Twilight gave out a little sigh of relief as she heard him. She wanted all but to see her new friend hurt from all of this and also didn’t want him unable to come with her. Even if he would be unable to move Twilight was going to go to that cave, she needed to and she knew that today all of her friends were occupied for one reason or another. Rarity had to go with Apple Jack to Canterlot as both had an order from Princess Celestia (One for dresses and another one for food specifically) while Rainbow Dash was at Cloudsdale preparing a new trick. As for Pinkie… well… she was preparing J’s party and in this situation her goofiness could harm her more than help her friends out.
“Then if you are ok, should we go now?” Twilight left the book in the bed as she turned “I do not want to pressure anypony but if we are to maybe find someone…” She cut her words there as she heard a whimper from Fluttershy “Then we better go now”
J only gave a nod as he groaned, still half blind and feeling lightheaded to an extreme. Fluttershy helped him get up tried to fly low to help him walk a few steps until he regained his vision fully. This would be a long trek and even if she was a bit worried around him he was going to be needed by the end of it.
*** Canterlot, Celestia’s Quarters ***
“You got it all, Miss Augusta?” Celestia asked from her throne to the pony with a generally grey color “I designed you specifically for this task because I have to go right away to an important meeting alongside my sister. We will be back by nightfall if everything goes well, but you must arrive to Ponyville in a few hours and remain with the Mayor until we go there in person to ask for you to come back”
Octavia, with her Cello strapped on her back and a little note strapped to her side, nodded. Celestia knew that Octavia would not say so out loud in her throne room, in the street or even in private, she was way too serious for such a thing, but she hated the assignment she had been given.
At that Celestia had to suppress a smirk. She was manipulating things again, but again it was for a greater purpose, though she doubted some of the girls would enjoy her meddling, much less Octavia. While the young mare wanted to be a famous musician (And she already had quite a success mind you), she still wasn’t satisfied with how good she was. She had lost it at the Gala, her first appearance in such an important festivity, and she hated it, in fact she hated somepony in special.
“Your majesty, I know it is not my place to ask, but why me?” Celestia was genuinely surprised when Octavia finally used her sweet voice to ask such a bitter question, not for her tone, but for the angry feelings that were hiding behind it.
“Because I know you want me to have faith in you dear, you want to be a famous musician some day and I know you have endured much to get so far, however you have yet to finish one very important quest to show me that you ARE indeed worthy of doing this” For once Celestia was glad to say things as they were without hiding anything or bending it too much, she felt liberated with such freedom “And knowing your story Miss Augusta, I think you should make peace with yourself because I am going to make sure that somepony in special is back here very soon to attend to your solo”
Even with her usually stoic expression the young musician gave her a hateful look for a single second. It was not uncommon, they loved her, all her subjects, but sometimes they did hate to hear her decisions, much more so when it was the ones they knew were good but didn’t want to hear.
“I suppose that if I beg you to elect another messenger but me it will be futile” Octavia gave a look of defeat to the princess.
“I am sorry my dear, but all my closest friends and advisors have duties. Even if I sent the letter myself it would not arrive in time seeing the actual state of things in Ponyville, something you will learn when you arrive and that will also help your current problem” Celestia gave the young mare a pleading look “Please Miss Augusta, I would be more than grateful, and you may get something unexpected from your troubles that will be much more rewarding than any fame you may wish to bring back money to your parents”
“If you say so, your majesty. Then excuse me and I will be in my way” Octavia bowed, waited for Celestia to nod and then walked away.
Celestia watched the grayish pony walk away as she gave out a heavy sigh of tiredness. This was all going way too fast for her previous plan, and yet she had to have this delivered the way she had planned to help one of them. She had to wonder if the rush of things would do any harm even without the luxury of time to worry about it…
“Tia, are you ready yet?” Her sister chimed in from her side to bring her out of her wonder just as Octavia crossed the gates “We need to go now or we are not going to make it on time while saving power”
“Yes, yes I am Luna, I was just wondering…”
“It will be alright” Luna nuzzled her sister “Just relax it and let’s see how it goes. In the worst case scenario… it will still help your plan, and I hope it does help them”
“I don’t know Luna; I just don’t” Celestia gave a sad look to her younger sister “After so long I thought we could live a normal mortal life happier than this, without problems… I don’t want to bring this to him even if I basically told him it was my order” She bit her lip “I wonder… I wonder if this will harm Twilight too. I have rushed things just to ensure they go as I think they should”
“After you told me about all you saw? I would hate to see them hurt as much as you would sister… but if it is true? I don’t know what else to do Tia, you are the one that always managed the kingdom and who studied under mom and aunt. If you think it is the right way then… what else could you do?” Luna trailed off, not wanting to say more.
“I don’t know what I could do, and I do know this is the best way” The goddess looked away, ashamed “But I don’t have to like it, not anymore. These are not the dark times, we should not hope it is only a few hurt, or worse” Celestia got up and walked away with her sister “We should have none hurt, as unlikely as it sounds now. That is what I should have been worrying from the start, there is no future if it has such a price”
Luna said nothing this time. She knew that after that thing came back it was obvious that there were going to be some cases where ‘hurt’ would be the best case scenario if something went wrong. The only thing the young moon princess hopped for was that the Elements and their Protector could at least stop this one for a time; Celestia would take it on her own hooves to stall the thing after that.
*** Everfree Forest ***
Sadness ahead
Surprisingly the trek had been quite shorter than any of them had thought. Once J had regained his sight and balance he had been on full march and they all had been able to trot their way to the cave quite fast thanks to J’s constant training and his stamina as well as for the girls’ natural muscles that made them able to run for a long time. Even thought they were a small distance away from the cave right now they needed to regain their breath and make a plan.
The cave on itself was HUGE; at least the opening was big enough to fit a house inside. In the mud there were dried marks from charts on the outside, as if the ground itself wanted to show that others had gone in. The outside was muddy and dark, yet you could see the stones and how fragile the thing was since it looked about to break down on itself. One had to wonder how anypony would risk it going inside such an obvious hazard, no matter how was the time; of course the storm a week back was kind of a little monster on itself…
“It looks like it would want to eat me” Fluttershy gulped down, her imagination flowing with whatever creatures could dwell there.
“We agreed you would wait here Fluttershy” Twilight assured her “If Apple Jack or Rainbow Dash were here they would accompany us, but you should not go in such a dangerous place, even less with what we may… see” She gulped down “Will you be ok here?”
“I will, I promise” Fluttershy gave a gentle nod as some birds chirped nearby “Some of my bird friends are around here after the news hit, if something comes I will be warned in time, but I hope I don’t have to leave you guys…”
“It will be alright, just stay safe” Twilight gave her friend a gentle hug as she tried to digest the fact of what she was about to do “I hope we have something good to share with the young girls when we get out of this”
“Me too Twilight” Fluttershy looked down as her friend broke the hug “I hope all goes well in there… will you look after her?” She asked to J with almost teary eyes.
“I will die before I let anything happen to her, I promise with my life Fluttershy” He practically bowed. It was the first time he was going to have to do this and if he had to with Twilight or any of the others nearby he would not change his ways of old “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I will not hesitate if it is needed”
Fluttershy, not really knowing what to say about it, simply nodded and gave a shy smile. She had never had to see someone so willing to die for someone else, in fact with her friends she had only seen some violence at best, even the royal guard wasn’t expected to give their lives away for Celestia as there was no prospect of such a danger that Celestia would be in danger and nopony else was up to be a danger to the others.
As she looked towards the cave however, she could swear she saw something lurking in the darkness, looking outside, for them.
“I suppose we should go then” Twilight broke the eerie silence “I will light my horn and we will walk in together. If there is something waiting in there it will be far easier for us to fend it off if we are together. It is obvious this thing went for the strongest first so the others would get scared and scatter thanks to what the fillies told us, so there should be a lot of places to hide or some tunnels inside for some of them to survive for almost a week”
“For the looks of it I could guess even a sub level” It was not that J knew much of caves, it is simply that he had played too much Diablo and even in Equestria a ‘bad’ thing would have a little domain for itself “If we are unlucky there will be even a few little new creatures in there after so many… accidents came to pass in here”
“How are you so sure?” Twilight looked at the cave with renewed fear.
“Power attracts those that seek it one way or another. If there are other monsters that want to hurt ponies then they will seek one that does so openly, like in this case” J explained, this was lore of any kind of game or story “It is all an assumption mind you, but with all the fantasy books and movies we have in our world? This looks pretty much the case for either a harsh welcome by a powerful creature or a lengthy trek killing not so powerful monsters that have little love for anything that gets near their home”
“I don’t know for what I should be cheering now” The mare of magic offered a nervous smile “The fillies didn’t mention anything about smaller monsters though, so I do hope it had stayed like that” She took a deep breath and faced the cave again “Let’s go”
“Stay safe” Fluttershy whispered as the pair walked towards what she was viewing as certain doom, however if there was anypony still alive in there… she could only wish them the best of lucks.
After that it was time for darkness. Getting close to the cave seemed to give off a humongous shadow over the pair as they approached.
For Twilight it translated in insecurity: The plan had been shaggy and quickly placed together, wait… who did she want to lie? It was not a plan, it was a general idea of how to make one of them survive long enough to take a look at whatever was inside if the thing ambushed them right on the spot. She didn’t know what to do, what to think, what to prepare or what she would be able to manage in the case that they found wounded. Deep inside of her mind there was a little filly that had tried all her life to be the most intelligent and capable, but only had managed to seclude herself from the real world and real experiences to find out old dusty books with things she probably would never ever understand if she found in person or if she had to live them. The only thing she could think was her family now and how few of them were there… as well as how few times she had seen them for the past years.
In the case of J, he was scared beyond belief: Violence, yet again, had called at his doorstep. He would have to harm or kill again to protect life, something that he didn’t want to, but that he would have to do. It made him squirm when he thought no one was looking, it wasn’t because he feared he had to do this, it is the fact that deep down, sometimes right on the surface of his being, he enjoyed that violence. He felt a surge of power when he was doing the things he did with only a little pang of guilt. For him it was good, but he felt bad afterwards… would it feel good again, or would it make him sunk deeper into his state of self loathing? Whatever the case he had promised Fluttershy that he would use her strength to help, if not for Twilight or for Celestia, he had to keep that promise and do his best.
Once they entered the cave it made itself evident that the few seconds that had taken to cross the line between safety and danger had been way too much for them and their minds. The first thing that J did was to look at the sides and then, very quickly, upwards. Again he hated the idea of being killed like most characters in the movies or horror games and was quite pleased to see that only stones and mud covered the huge walls of the enormous space. Luckily there was nothing except that there were a huge amount of cracks on the ceiling of the cave.
‘This smells bad’ He thought with a little growl escaping his lips.
Twilight, however, could only shake as she used her magic to light the whole area, forcing her mind to the maximum. She was afraid, afraid beyond belief as she thought back to the fillies; she wanted so much to see someone alive here that she didn’t take real notice of something that moved next to her. It was no surprise then that she screamed in fear as she saw a pony skull fall from somewhere that J had passed to look at as he focused on the ceiling. As it crashed right at her side the thing creaked, opening its maw as hideous laughter filled the air, practically freezing Twilight as the inhuman sound rotted in her mind. The only thing that both of them did was to jump at the scare, even more so as a tentacle shot out from the skull and struck the ceiling, breaking the already unstable surface and throwing a hail of stones downwards.
“Twilight, move!” J cried, pushing Twilight away just in the nick of time as he ended up receiving the blunt of the incoming force on his side, burying him alive.
It took Twilight a moment to recover, but when she did she could only see the entrance being covered in rocks and J missing from the scene and the huge entrance collapsed, covered in rocks that didn’t let even a single sunray through.
“J-Jonathan! Are you there?! J! Answer me!” She screamed frantically as she tried to dig where she thought J should be.
“Heheheheheeeeeeh…”
Twilight jumped, startled, as she turned to see the skull from before rising slowly under the blackened tentacle as it filled it whole, creating soon yellowish mimicries of eyes and a dark blue tongue that looked as sick as the soon formed body that came together with bones and a dark meat as well as putrid fur that were more a way of mockery than a real pony body. Not even the mythical zombie was so horrid to the eye as this thing.
“Worrying for a creature of old… when you ssshould worry about you?” The mimic spoke with the jaw opening and chattering with its teeth even when the voice didn’t seem to come from it “Sssuch obviousss missstake from an Element… it isss a pity you didn’t bring your friendssss… it would’ve been fun indeed” The voice was tired and ancient, but had an evil tone that wasn’t helped by the undead puppet.
It turned out to be even worse as more of those creatures came from the shadows towards the light coming out of Twilight’s horn. Now the façade had dropped and the darkness that remained showed what was left of the circus: Its carriages and even some of the ponies. There were little more than bits and pieces of what once had one of the best, if not the best circus that had existed, while the ponies were left but to the bone… or maybe the number of dark creatures in front of her. It was a horrifying sight that didn’t get any better as they began to talk.
“And to think…”
“That I…”
“Worried ssso much…”
“To catch you…”
“Ssso much planning…”
“Ssso much pain…”
“Ssso many new… sssoulsss”
The voice kept on coming from random directions, sometimes from one of the creature as they chattered and sometimes from empty objects or even from her own mouth as it hang open without speaking in her actual shock.
“To think that you and I want the sssame…” The one in front of her said “Control… we want control… To make sssure nopony isss harmed ever again… To confront thossse that caussse pain…” It chuckled darkly as every creature took a step forward “You know what I am, Twilight Sssparkle… I am Krabtopobosss… The Contro, as are you… And I am what your mind… desssiresss the mossst!”
Without another word the closest to Twilight lunged at her, its body soon growing bone spikes and even changing to create tentacles and ragged, horrid appendages. Twilight used her magic to push the creature away, however what she had intended with her spell was to make it crash to the ground as she had tried to multiply gravity without control. What could have very well caused the thing to flatten against the ground with a sickening crunch, an idea that seemed to be delightful to her frighten mind, had failed to achieve its goal.
“Ooooohohohooo… Very well played, Twilight Sssparkle… but without the other elementsss… your magic doesss not work” The creature walked towards her this time, obviously unscathed after the attack “If you had that human… it could be… different… However asss it ssstandsss… you are… my next hossst”
Another of the creatures came closer “But I wonder… Why fight me?” The creature said with what Twilight could only imagine was a smile as it forced more ‘substance’ onto its face for the expression “You want control… control over all thingsss… You desssire to protect everypony… Let me in, and I will grant that wisssh to you…”
Twilight only backed away, unable to say anything as she felt utterly alone and helpless for the first time in such a long time that it seemed a whole life to her. She could not deny that in her most wicked dreams she had found the urge to control, maybe to usurp Celestia’s power? They were nightmares, the worst she had ever had, something she wanted no one to know and that this creature seemed to be most aware of.
“No! I want nothing like that!” She finally cried out as she backed away from the creature until her rear touched the fallen rocks “You killed my friend! You will have none of me!”
“Sssuch a pity… you would have made a… decent hossst for a while” All the creatures said in unison “Your losss… you could have ssseen your aunt and cousssin… one more time”
“W-what?”
No response and no hesitation came from the creatures as one of them lunged at her again, this time not even surprised or seemingly affected by the weaker magic coming from Twilight thanks to her confused and scared state of mind. For her it all became a blur of slow motion, much like what happened when she thought deeply about something.
As the creature approached she could not help but think back to her friends, how happy she had been with them and how happy she had been under Celestia’s wings as well as with her little Spike. It had been marvelous to study under her teacher’s gaze, befriending her sister after the events three months prior and having her friends sharing a life together with fun and adventures during the best three months she had ever had in her life.
All of it coming to such a sudden end just after seeing how strong she was; summoning a creature that had been eradicated from the surface of Equestria one thousand years prior, befriending him and even sharing a kiss. Maybe in the future it had only meant friendship as they had stated, but it is in moments like these where you wonder what could it be in the future, one you would not have anymore.
With all of it accounted in her mind she looked back at her mother and father, how little time they had shared together after the studies began, how she missed her mother’s magical lullabies that made her sleep dreaming of the stars and how the security her father offered made her feel warm and safe even in the darkest of days.
She was not prepared to die, she did not want to, but seeing the creature so close now Twilight knew that her pitiful strength compared to a Earth pony would just grant her a few seconds of bittersweet time at most. It was not worth the pain to just die a moment afterwards knowing that the best of her efforts would simply be a glimpse, a failure, in this battle that no mortal mind could win.
“LEAVE HER ALONE MOTHER FUCKER!”
Dust and rocks came out flying in what seemed to be a simple explosion when J came out from under the rocks that had supposedly crushed him. He had his ‘armor’ on him, the weapon and shield prepared and, even being covered in dust, rock and blood, he charged towards the creature that was about to hit Twilight, delivering a powerful blow to its neck in the nick of time.
However this was not one of the movies he had told her about, nor games or the like. He had been fast and almost dramatically saved her, but even if the hit meant the creature was probably dead and that she was safe it didn’t mean she was unharmed, in fact she had to use all her will to not scream thanks to what happened afterwards.
The body of the creature slowly disintegrated as the connection between head and body became severed by the blow from J’s sword, but as it still held intact one of the tentacles lased at Twilight’s flank, hitting her whole left side. It hurt like if a hundred needles were being pushed through her. Luckily the spell from Princess Celestia helped as there was no visible wound, unlike what was obviously not J’s case as the light from her horn showed blood coming from the joints in the legs, some of the chest and even down his face.
It didn’t seem to bother him though “NONE OF YOU LAY A HAND ON HER OR I KILL YOU ALL!”
“Sssuch a wassste of sssuch a wonderful sssoul…” Was all that the creatures said as a light blue ball of light escaped the only bone intact from the defeated creature; the skull “Couldn’t you have died in peace?... It wasss the tranquility you desssired… I granted it to you, why ssslap my generosssity in return?... Humansss, alwaysss the worssst of creaturesss… I don’t know how the Order could sssummon sssuch a foul beassst”
“Don’t like me? Then get used to me, I am here to stay” J croaked with a weak voice.
Twilight, now in pain, had to lie down to calm down. She could only see as another of those creatures jumped against J’s form from the side, only to have its lower jaw and body cut down with a slash, followed by a trust towards the skull of another monster that charged at him.
Whatever this creature was, it stopped the puppets. It had lost three… ‘bodies’ in a rapid succession of unplanned events and it was obvious that the remaining ones, twelve as far as Twilight could count, weren’t up for the task. The thing had said it had lost a soul with the first one and, as if on cue, two more blue orbs erupted from the remains of the other two that had been destroyed a moment ago. Twilight didn’t know what it meant, but three loses against one single enemy didn’t seem good odds no matter what.
However she had to be truthful here: It had been three bodies lost, but J was in no condition to repeat that feat again, in fact she didn’t need magic to see how harmed he was. She could see his left arm dangling lifelessly, probably broken. His legs were shaking and in this moment of pause he coughed, blood spurting to the ground. Probably this all meant that he had internal injuries, more broken bones and his lungs were filling with blood or something else.
It was far too hard for her to comprehend how it was that he was standing, but between the magic bound made by a goddess and his supposedly upgraded body capabilities through the summoning, Twilight didn’t see it so impossible. Who did she want to lie? The best case scenario she had in mind was for him to drop dead at any moment now, he had lasted way too much and he had even saved her for certain death once. For all she cared the debt was paid and she wanted nothing more for him to run, but even if he would obey such an order from her he was trapped here too.
“Your body can’t sssussstain you much longer…” One of the thing said, growing closer “Lie down… lie down and let me finisssh you quickly… or sssuffer far more than you wisssh for”
“I hate liars” J spat with as much strength as he could “I promised… I promised I would defend her with my life it such thing came to pass… I will do so… until the last consequences” His breath was ragged, his legs shaky. He could barely held himself together “You cannot… you cannot tell me to abandon her and succumb. I won’t, I won’t do… and I will give my life… if I can try to save the ones still here”
“Oh but you want to ssstop” Another of the creatures came close with the voice picking up a dark chuckle.
A third one flanked J until he drew his sword towards that one, pushing it away “What isss to you anyway? Ssshe isss a ‘new friend’, nothing elssse… only a burden, an enchantresss that took you away from real friendsss and family… Why pledge loyalty… when you didn’t want thisss asss much asss you sssay?”
“Lies! I wouldn’t want this if I knew they lied to me” J coughed some blood, almost kneeling, standing back up as another creature approached “She has been sincere… she has been… and I will honor my word!”
“And what sssays you haven’t been lied to?” It chuckled darkly “For all you know… Celessstia made everything up… Sssend a copy of you to your world? Sssuch nonsssenssse” All the creatues laughed darkly “Ssshe would need to lossse the bit of immortality that ssshe hasss left… Who would do that if they had a sssane mind?... Ssstop lying at yourssself… you know… I am right… I am order… I know of control”
“And you are a monster, a monster that killed for no reason!”
J sprung forward, slashing one single time to cut through three of the creatures just before the fourth kicked him in the gut, sending him back against the stones with a dry *THUD* and snapping of bones. Twilight couldn’t help but feel sick as the man swallowed the pain, didn’t offer even a grunt and held tightly on his weapon and shield, getting up as best as he could to place himself between her and the nine remaining creatures that now grew closer.
“I kill… to protect… I kill… to control… I kill… becaussse it isss… what I ssshall do… for all eternity” They all said in a chorus of voices, all the same but all different “Sssoulsss controlled… protected… I keep within me… For sssuch a long time I… hungered for it… You don’t know… what isss to be banissshed from… reality… You don’t know… what it isss… to be exterminated… jussst becaussse of… what you are… jussst… because we did… the only thing we were…. sssupossed to do…”
“There are always options” The breath and voice of J were beyond ragged. He was about to fall down.
“That isss why you hate yourssself… isssn’t it?” The creature said in a serious tone, for once not mocking him “You think… you could have prevented all… thossse wrong decisssionsss? You… you are a worssse monssster than usss… You want to do sssomething… but you only do what you know… You want to be rightful… and you only create more wrongsss… You sssicken usss… You aren’t… necessssary… only a pessst!”
All of the creatures charged towards J whom could only defend himself to the best of his actual capabilities. Twilight tried to use magic, only pushing the creatures away slightly with each one of her attacks. However with each frustrated attack one of the creatures fell down and the soul escaped, not that it seemed to bother the others anymore as J kept on swinging his sword until only four remained.
Still, by that time the human could not go anymore and he finally collapsed in the ground as Twilight couldn’t use her magic in time, granting her protector the painful blows and cuts from four shagged monstrosities that only stomped, lashed and tried to cut him with their appendages and malice. J could only cough and mutter curses, not willing, and not capable, of going down even with that onslaught. His body was too though to die too soon and his mind too headstrong to give on it in any case.
His bones, however, didn’t work that way. The armor held him intact, but with the pain coursing through his body and his bones broken he would move no more.
“Sssuch a pity” The creatures pushed away to reveal the battered body of J. Amongst the seemingly perfectly kept armor and weapons his body was covered in blood and his time was already short “Brother could have ssseen to you ssso nicely… it isss sssuch a wassste to let you die… Alasss you didn’t sssucumb… if anything, I have to praise you for your loyalty… or condemn your guilt”
Three creatures stayed besides J while another one came closer to Twilight “Asss for you… my little Control… You and I will be… very clossse in a sssecond”
*CRASH!*
“I don’t think so, Krabtopobos!”
Light poured in from the outside as the rocks that once blocked the entrance flew away, disintegrated by magic that came from both goddesses as they came to the rescue. Twilight could say that she had never missed her teacher so much than this day, nor had she wanted to run towards her and hug her like she would to her mother.
In a flash of multicolored light Celestia made her body feel rested and recovered, the pain gone from her flank and the fear erased from her mind. The same thing could be say about J’s bothered body, though he didn’t make any kind of movement for the time being. In her usual fashion Twilight couldn’t help but seek a reason that, in this case, would mean the body on itself was probably still feeling the trauma even if the magic had taken rid of it.
Luna, on the other hand, threw three dark spheres towards the creatures near J, dismissing whatever possessed the bones just before throwing a dark light at the remaining one before Twilight, encasing it on a dark translucent crystal of some kind from which the creature tried to escape to no avail.
“You have no right to do thisss!” The creature spat “The Element isss mine! I webbed thisss trap for her! Begone you wretched light!”
“Shut up you monster!” Luna shouted just as she helped J on his feet, though the poor man looked about to fall down again “You have done enough as it is to even speak up!”
“My sister is right” Celestia’s frown was meet by fear from the creature; Twilight noted “You were supposed to be imprisoned after our last meeting. This time I won’t be so gentle with you, forty more souls to your count are forty too many”
“You can’t! You wouldn’t harm anyone!” The creature roared.
“You harm my subjects, you receive what you deserve” Her eyes turned white and within the prison of the creature another made out of pure light appeared, slowly closing in on it “Don’t think I don’t know about your stalling. Your real body will be petrified when this one succumbs. When I find you I will make sure you don’t awake a second time”
Yelling and squirming, the creature tried to escape even as the trap squeezed it until… Twilight had to think about something else as she heard the yells. It sickened her, but she thought this was a just punishment for such a wretched creature. Once it came to pass she looked up at her teacher whom had a sorrowful face.
“I am sorry… should I have known about this sooner I would have prevented it, but the creature was well hidden. If I hadn’t a connection with Jonathan I would have never found out until it was too late. I thought I could reach this location faster and it was again a mistake on my part” Twilight could swear Celestia was about to cry “I am ashamed of my failure towards those that believe in me”
“Princess Celestia…” Twilight had a lot of questions, also wanted to check on J and to know what had happened, but one thing pressed her the most “I am sorry but I have to seek for survivors”
The goddess nodded and took but a second, letting her magic flow through her horn and towards the surroundings. A light gushed towards the carts and one through a crevice she hadn’t seen before. Soon it was all over the place as Luna waited patiently with J at her side, she seemed to be offering him support and telling him a few things as her horn was pilling up bones and creating what seemed to be graves, a dark and dirty job that Twilight didn’t wish the young princess would do.
“I found three ponies… One of them is long gone, probably right after the young fillies escaped” Celestia took away the attention from her sister and brought Twilight back to her “Another has… just passed, I am sorry” She hung her head low “But the third is alive, even if barely. I doubt she is going to make it”
“Can… can you bring them here Princess?” Twilight asked. She had at least arrived in time to find someone, but not how she had hoped for. She wanted to at least her what he or she had to say for the young ones if the surviving pony was one of the parents.
“Yes, give me a moment”
The light from Celestia’s horn soon focused in the crevice, almost as if it solidified, illuminating it like if the sun was inside the cave. It soon took out three ponies it transported over it insubstantial ‘body’, gently taking them near the cave entrance to let them lie gently over the ground in front of Twilight. The first thing she could notice was that they were intact, thanks Celestia, but after her initial concern was taken care of (She didn’t know how longer she could go without losing her lunch) the horror struck her again.
The first one was a pony she knew very well from three months prior: it was Trixie. She had her clothes on, even if a bit ragged, some spots on her fur were showing patches of red that she didn’t want to even inspect, but it was obvious that whatever had happened to her it had taken her life not long ago as she wasn’t breathing but at least she didn’t look as bad as… what was left of the others in this place.
However horror came to despair as she saw the other two and heard the coughs of one of them.
“Aunt Proud Nightsky? Uncle Fire Flight?” Her voice broke down as she recognized the unicorns before her.
Her uncle, Fire Flight, was a unicorn with light yellow mane and blue fur that had a cutie mark of a magic wing, almost transparent. He was one of the masters of levitation in Equestria and had courted her mother’s sister, Proud Night, at the same time as her father had courted her mother. He was a very nice pony and while she had seen him as scarcely as her aunt, he was a very dear memory to her. Now seeing him battered and broken before her… the only thing that could make this slightly bearable was that at least he was intact, though it was obvious that something important had been broken and he had died probably without pain.
“Twilight… it is so good… to see my niece at- at least once more” The sweet voice of her aunt called to Twilight, making her turn her gaze away from her broken uncle with tears already forming on her eyes.
Proud Nightsky was called so thanks to her dark blue mane and almost pitch black fur as well as the clouds hiding a couple of stars as her cutie mark. Unlike most unicorns she could blend with darkness almost at will, being that the only kind of magic she could use for some reason that her mother had never explained to Twilight. However she was very warm and nice any time she came to visit and had been the one to give Twilight her first book. Now, after a couple of years after her last visit, she had her mane roughed, a couple of bold spots on her fur and some deep wounds and nasty bruises, but her opal colored eyes were still looking at her with the same candid glow as the first day.
“I am sorry we couldn’t… get to see you at Ponyville with your friends… I got our boss to get us there after our last job… but it seems we took a detour we should have evaded…” She coughed a bit of blood as Celestia tried to heal her with her powers “Your majesty, please… don’t waste your strength with me… bring my daughter back, please… is the only thing I want… if you can’t give me that back… let me die”
“Your daughter?!” Twilight blurted out, her eyes as big as they could get as little streaks on her chest showed the few tears she had been able to shed.
“Never… told you?” Proud asked with a faint smile “You know Twilight… when you were born… I was besides my sister… in labor… with your cousin… You two were born the same day… but you had a little… defect…” She coughed again; she was closing her eyes slowly, forcing them awake as best as she could “You absorbed your cousin’s magic… part of it… as well as mine and your mother… We didn’t know if that… could happen again… but your uncle and I decided… it was time to move away only… only in case. We loved you as much as our daughter… but we feared for what could happen to you… or to our little Trixie”
She tried to get up bur promptly fell down with a slight groan. Even though her wounds were more than obvious she didn’t seem to feel much of it. Twilight couldn’t help but cry at how obviously close her aunt was to her death.
“She… grew well… don’t you think?” Proud let go a tear as she looked towards Trixie, getting Twilight to look at her with wide eyes as her aunt pleaded to Celestia “Ple-please… your highness… bring her back… I lived a long life… she deserves the same… Her kids need her…”
“Her kids…” Twilight’s mind wasn’t able to wrap around all the information it was receiving, not fast enough at least.
Celestia, though, simply nodded “I can, while I have no immortality now my dear Nightsky I still can give something in exchange for what your dear niece did for my sister three months ago. Now talk to her… I am sorry to say your time grows short and… and that this will be your last time together” She turned so nopony would see her cry again. There had been many mistakes, many things she hadn’t foreseen, this was going to hurt her beloved student, her friends and probably many more that she didn’t want to have pained by her actions.
“Y-your cousin… did a pretty… stupid things seven years ago… much like… most of us as young… mares” Proud told Twilight with a little smile as she focused on her again “A young… pegasi came to the circus… and… they… they connected… very well” She smiled as her eyes looked back to the past “However he… he left when he learned she was pregnant… Trixie couldn’t take it, she… she gave birth to her twins and left” Proud swallowed, not wanting to cough anymore blood because she knew she would not stop this time “The little pegasi, we… we called her Final Test for how… how she did incredible things again and again… even when she was just a filly. Her sister was so… so small… she looked so little… ma-maybe it was… for what happened when Trixie was born… she could not conceive… a good unicorn” Proud coughed, stopping herself for a moment “We called her Rain Berry… We took them as our own daughters… Trixie came back by chance three months ago and… and we took her back, but she didn’t want to tell the young ones… They call her ‘aunt Trixie’ and I had to see her pain everyday… Please Twilight… take Trixie with you… if the Princess brings her back… I want her to have a family again”
“I p-promise aunty, but please don’t go…” Twilight begged between sobs “Please don’t leave…”
Proud could do little but laugh gently “My dear… I have to… You always asked me to stay… whenever you caught me alone…” She offered her niece a little smile “But for once I can say I can’t… without an ulterior motive… I am sorry… I am so sorry that… that we had to go away every time… but now… please… Take care of Trixie… and your little… nieces… good-goodbye… my little Twilight”
With that Proud Nightsky finally let her eyes close, coughed one last time and… simply stopped breathing.
Shock took root inside Twilight’s mind. She couldn’t cry, she didn’t want to; she didn’t want to believe this, her mind refused to. She just stood there, unable to do anything as her eyes were flooded with tears that refused to go down her cheeks. The young mare simply stared at both her aunt and uncle, even when Luna brought them to their final rest besides the bones of everypony else. Inside her mind she thought this hadn’t happened, that it was just the near death experience that had wanted her to go back to her parents and her friends to share more time with them and much less isolated in her library with those dusty books. For her this was much worse that she had ever imagined, something that was killing her inside as her feelings didn’t find the strength to vent out and cry.
Twilight didn’t notice it, but the time passed quickly. Celestia took no less than three hours with her magic to do what she had promised to: bringing back Trixie. The young blue mare could only cough at first, but to Celestia it was at least a relief to hear her breath and to see that she was alive and sound, even though Celestia had barely enough energy left to heal her whole and she would have to rest for a day or two.
However it felt bittersweet.
To her this was not how it was supposed to go; it was going to be a lesson to J. For him it was to be willing to do what he hated only when it was absolutely needed, to understand that his strength would help save people, something that she was unsure the man had learned after it ended up like this. Instead she had to look at the only survivor of this mess, giving her back her life in exchange of something she would never use anyway but that she would miss as much as she missed… It didn’t matter; it would serve her right as it would be a remainder that she was the one responsible for this mishap. If she had done things right Twilight wouldn’t have had her little premonition, J wouldn’t be here and her family would still be intact.
J, on the other side, was the one that seemed to take it the best. While Luna had tried to cheer him up telling him that he had done everything he could he simply had thought of this as a failure. He knew that there was nothing else to be done but he was now supposed to do what he hated to help, only to find that it had done nothing, absolutely nothing. Triexie was going to be ok? Such an outcome was not enough. It is not that he hated the character in the cartoon; it is that he now had to live with the fact that he could save one of three, three possible survivors, not one. Not only that but Celestia, as little as he liked her right now, was going to sacrifice something to bring Trixie back. He had failed Twilight, had failed t he survivors, the young fillies and even Celestia as he had taken too long to come and was defeated too easily.
By the time any of them were back to any kind of normality Luna had already taken Fluttershy to the cave, now as clean as she could’ve made it using the carts and the stone around to make a little burial ground. The young yellow pegasi could hardly contain her sadness and an obvious nausea, but she held there for her friends.
“Will they… will they be alright?” She asked to the moon goddess.
“My sister will be for sure, give her a few days. She knows it is not her fault but she will take this hard… the thing that did this took… took something from her a long time ago” Luna shook her head to not think about it “Jonathan will have to come to terms that he did all that could and that it is what matters. He used his strength and his training to take and deal punishment from those that harmed the weak and that could not defend themselves, even though for him it is a lesson that may not be learned easily” She gave a glance towards Twilight “Twilight is… she is something different. We will have to see”
“I am sure she will be… given enough time” Fluttershy was unable to take a single step towards her friend. She needed time and she knew it, besides it would only hurt her more if she saw that Fluttershy was practically crying too “But it is going to get dark soon, they all need to move when Princess Celestia is finished”
“I am done” Celestia said without looking away from Trixie “I had finished a while ago but we all needed time” She gave a loud sigh “This was not how it was supposed to happen. I never knew about this creature coming back until it was too late and I didn’t know we would take so long to get here by flying. Had I know about this when it happened a week ago everypony should be safe, however as it stands now…” She gave a look of pity towards Trixie whom had just lost everything she had in her life but two girls that didn’t know who their mother really was “I don’t think I deserve to be the goddess of the sun anymore”
“Tia, you did what you could, we both did and so did Twilight and Jonathan” Luna pleaded to her sister “Please, calm down… I am sure we will find any other thing like this one if they are roaming around”
“She is right your majesty”
Twilight had left the spot where she had been standing for the past three hours, her mind finally wrapped around what had happened and her desire to go back to her home and rest overcoming her need to cry. She would have plenty of time for that when she was alone; in fact she was hoping that Spike would remain with the young ones until she felt any better. The reason was pretty obvious as they all saw her distraught face and how barely her emotions were in check.
“You did all you could. I am just sorry because I couldn’t be here sooner myself…”
“My dear student, the duty to protect Equestria is of my sister and me. The Elements of Harmony, you and your friends, should only intervene when it is needed” She looked back at the human, still away, now looking at the makeshift graves with a somber look as the armor and weapons had been gone a long time by now “I knew since I meet him that he could be a danger. When I learned of this I wanted him and you to investigate and to see if this could change him, to make him see he is needed and that he should change his ways to not think he is guilty of all what he had to do, or at least to forgive himself… I had never thought it would end like this. It was enough pain for everyone to know that we lost good ponies here, but for you to know that you lost part of your family… I doubt I could feel more useless and cruel now”
“You did what you thought was right, your majesty” Twilight bowed, but her tone was a monotone without much feeling now “I know you, like anypony else, does not always make the best decisions, I also know you sometimes hate the ones that you have to take, I was with you when some of those came to happen. I would have been pained by this one way or another, at least in this case I could help…and I saved part of my family”
“It is still not enough to redeem myself Twilight. I did something very wrong today hoping for the best…”
“Princess, don’t worry” Twilight got closer to give her teacher a gentle nuzzle, even if Celestia felt it empty and forced “I know you did what you thought was the best. However I would… I would like to have the next few days to myself”
“Don’t worry, you can take as much time as you need” Celestia returned the nuzzle to her young student and looked at the sun as her internal clock told her that it was time for her sister to rise the moon “However you should be on your way. Let Miss Fluttershy help you with Trixie on the way back as Jonathan will have his own bones still too weak to support both of the weights” Turning just to give Fluttershy a gentle look she continued, as she was not willing to let Twilight escape her field of vision as worried as she was “I trust you can take care of the young Trixie until she recovers?”
“Of course, Princess Celestia” The shy mare let out a barely audible reply, mix of fear and mix of respect “But… umm… what should I tell her?”
Turning yet again Celestia saw how J finally turned, his eyes red and his face wet. Probably the poor young man had it with this and how the world he thought was practically perfect had been messed up. In fact Celestia thought that he was probably blaming himself by this point, even if he knew perfectly well that even in the series that he saw this world was never as peaceful and perfect as he thought. To pop such a sweet and innocent hope to someone that had lost most of them was… cruel, at best.
“I wouldn’t worry about that. There will be one to take care of such a thing, you just keep her safe” Fluttershy nodded at the request of the princess “Now though, pick her up gently and try to not use much magic while handling her. She needs to take it very slowly and the incantation does not react kindly to other magic”
She saw Fluttershy nod, Twilight took some time but nodded at her teacher before walking besides Trixie, lifting her with the help of a quick spell so both could carry the unconscious mare on their backs. They left the cave soon afterwards with Fluttershy trying to drag her friend away of the place that had been the witness of something she wished she didn’t know.
As she looked back at them Celestia almost missed J passing in front of her, however once he was almost outside of the cave she cleared her throat and caught his attention, making him stop and turn to show the face that now gave all but the nice smile he had sported for most his stay in here. This close it was obvious he had cried, that his eyes were bloodshot and that he probably felt the pain of not the blows from before but his extremely guilty conscience.
“What do you want?”
“To talk” Celestia wasn’t hurt by his harsh and bold tone and demeanor, he had earned the right to show it “Luna, leave us and make sure Twilight is well… at least as much as she can be now”
Nodding, Luna took off as she began to raise the moon in the sky. The stars watching as the events unfold before them, seeing how two powers in doubt of their own actions came to clash in a way they hadn’t since they had meet. One single day now looked like a little eternity with how much had happened in so few hours.
“Jonathan, I am sorry for what I have done to you” Celestia began, trying to look at the human and make eye contact, but she wasn’t capable of “A single day, it took a single day to make me hate my decisions of what I did and what I have done. I am sorry for the pressure and hate I have showed you, I had thought of you as a danger, as someone that would not forgive himself and that would succumb to dark temptations if they came to pass… When the young fillies told you about a monster powerful and daring enough to attack such a big circus with so many powerful and skilled ponies I knew of what it was, yet instead of going to help right away I let you prepare and take your chances against this creature as I thought it would be the perfect chance to force improvement on you, or to get rid of you right away”
J didn’t say a word, he simply stared at Celestia. She was incapable of looking at him but he was more than capable to glare daggers at her form. He had hated himself for being so slow and useless; to have to use what he hated to try and then fail to save ponies… and Celestia could have been here, maybe not on time to save them three, but on time to save two of them. She could have made this easier for Twilight and, even if he hated to be so selfish, for him.
“I do not know what it will take for you to forgive me; I can take my deal away from you and break it without harming you if you want. I will even grant you a single wish you desire if you say the word as far as it doesn’t harm anypony” She finally dared to look at him in the eyes “Just… just forgive me please… I didn’t want to do what I did… I just feared for Twilight and everypony in Ponyville, you have to understand…”
“Princess” J cut her off as he walked right in front of her face “If you are sincere, tell me: What did you give to bring back Trixie? Tell me what happened and then, maybe, I will decide if you are to be forgiven”
“What did I give? Why would you want to know that?” Celestia didn’t know what to say, if she did say the truth he would consider it to be not enough.
“What would you sacrifice for your subjects? You wanted me here to learn a lesson and the only reason I haven’t slapped you in the face was because at least Trixie could be saved” His demeanor was calm and his voice even, but the look in his eyes did say something else altogether “From Canterlot you took more time than us, you would have found no one alive, yet you came to ensure that you saved us at least, and for that I am grateful. However there was no warning, there was no insight of what we could see here. You didn’t tell me what you knew and it almost cost Twilight not only her family, but her life. For me that is a form of lying, something that you know perfectly well what means to me”
His accusatory glare hurt Celestia more than any physical harm that she had expected from him, something that made her rise in a mix of guilt and anger.
“I would sacrifice everything for them” She said, stomping the ground as she got serious, glaring at him “I would spill my own blood if that was necessary. I love everypony like if they were my children, for I have seen them grow, wither and die, I have lived a whole age seeing how they loved and how their feelings were broken, returned and how things played for them. I am as old as half of your written story and wise as I am I would give my hooves to ensure that it was changed so my sister and I would have lived our lives and died of old age long ago instead of still having all this bitterness burning on my mind” She glared at him, her eyes watering fast “You want to know why I didn’t tell you? It is because what you found here was what made your kind do what it did, it is because a Nightmare got the key piece on the move, because humans that have darkness in their hearts are what could destroy Equestria. If I had told you, then you wouldn’t have fought against it as you should. You would have been lost to the nightmare and you would have taken Twilight’s life before plunging this world into darkness again”
Now, crying, Celestia didn’t want to stop. If she was going to spill it then better that he knew all that he needed to, even if it hurt her to remember all way too soon than she had wanted to. Telling her sister had been a depression all on itself, one that she had to hide, but one that she didn’t want to revive again. And so she locked it back in her mind until yesterday. Seeing how the man in front of her was losing her cool was enough to know she was making an impact, but she wanted more than that for the memories flooded her and the pain and guilt in her soul demanded more from her.
“When that happened I didn’t lose simply my sister, my only family and one of my three friends” She said with tears in her eyes “I lost the only pony that had known me since I was young and then I lost my love! Do you know what I parted ways here?! I parted ways with the only thing that I will never be able to share with the one I had loved! I am barren until the day I die, for I have no one to share it thanks to one stupid man!”
As if a ton of bricks had hit him, J found himself on the ground with Celestia towering in front of him. She was crying and looking at him defiant, not with hate but with the look of someone that had lost almost all that she had dear in life with the tiniest of sparks keeping her together. She had now lost ponies to an ancient evil that seemed to signal that whatever had happened in the days of old could happen again. With him as the first piece in the board the princess had been reliving sadness, coupling with her latest failure as she harmed her young student and made him feel worthless in his new life.
“Does it seem enough of a sacrifice to you? I had to live my life alone, rebuild a nation from its ashes and condemn a whole species so the Nightmares could be banished, so the rest of us could live” Her voice breaking, her eyes and cheeks full of tears “The humans that lived here were gentle and nice… only one turned to be cruel and he took everything away from me” She cried, her hair veiling her sad expression.
“I… I am sorry Celestia… I didn’t know” J got up; approaching the crying goddess slowly and insecure of what to do “I know you had your reasons to hate me…”
“No, no I had none” She sobbed, getting her hair out of the way “I should stop living in the past and question the what ifs… much the same as you should do” The sun goddess calmed herself, looking straight at him “Even with this I know you won’t change, not yet, you need time. I am sorry about my outburst but you deserved to know… and I didn’t saw any kind of way around it but to let my feelings come out this way” She tried to smile again, only showing sorrow from a thousand years of survivor’s guilt “But I hope you understand now that what I asked you is not only to save yourself, but to save my little student and her friends. They have darkness within that will call for the Nightmares and I need you willing to redeem yourself or you will not redeem them. They, and my sister, is all I have left” J turned his head away, but Celestia made him look at her again “Take your time Jonathan, I have never asked something impossible, no matter how many mistake I have made. I just hope I make no more in what is left of my life”
“C-Celestia… I… don’t know if I can” J tried to look away, but once more Celestia forced him to look at her “I made so many mistakes, I didn’t even save the ponies here, I almost let Twilight get killed and I was too harmed and scared to do anything” His tone was bitter, his face sad and without more tears to cry “I was broken… and you had to save me… even when I thought all I would do was hate you” He embraced the goddess, unable to cry but feeling a mix between happiness and sadness “I am sorry… I shouldn’t have hated you for that; I should’ve known you did that for my own good… I was… I was just… bitter and angry at all that had happened”
“We both made mistakes, some of them paid dearly” The goddess returned the favor as she wrapped her wings against him “But your duty now is not to be sorry. I want you to ensure Twilight comes out of this as best as her young mind can”
J pushed gently to break the embrace. He felt like he didn’t deserve such a thing for so long. Maybe someday he could play innocent and share a day with the goddess and her sister, plus all the friends together if he did things right. Now though… a few seconds and a few tears was as much as he felt like he deserved.
“I will Princess. She is my friend… I would do anything for her” He assured to the goddess with a serious and calm face, at least the best he could offer.
Celestia simply smiled, relaxing as best as she could “Thanks Jonathan. Then go back with them, help her through the night… You don’t need the powers of a goddess to know this is going to be the worst night in her life” As much as she wanted Celestia could not break the sadness on her voice or in her expression “Also, take this” With a small flash of light a little pouch popped out in front of J “Use it tonight, she will need it. The spell is easy and will only last a day if she doesn’t want it permanently”
Looking curiously at the bag J had to ask “What does it do?”
“Depends on what she wants” Was all that Celestia had to say “Now go back, me and my sister will make this a decent place of rest for the poor souls that lie here. It will take some time, but we will make a safe road towards Ponyville so when it is time you all can come to visit them”
Knowing he would get nothing else from Celestia, granted that he had received much more than he wanted or hoped for, J nodded. It would be a long walk home and the night sky, for once, didn’t calm his thoughts.
*** Back at the Library ***
The trek back home had been… sad, to say something. Fluttershy had been trying to cheer up Twilight to no avail and J had been little help as he knew not how to get the little egghead away from what had happened. Once they got out of the forest Twilight had helped Fluttershy take Trixie to her home, leaving her in the sofa on the first floor as without magic it would be way too dangerous to handle Trixie in fear of what could happen if the magic from Twilight and Celestia reacted, also it was risky to let J, whom was still fragile, hold her and take her upstairs.
After that they had said their goodbyes, or at least J had, and left the cottage back to walk towards Twilight’s house as the moon slowly rose in the sky. Whether it was blind luck or something else the two of them made it back to her house without anyone’s nose poking out to catch a glance of the human. It had been two days now and he hadn’t been discovered, but tomorrow, he felt it, he would need to walk away from the tree house for a while, alone.
Once inside her house Twilight didn’t care about anything anymore. She let out a loud sob and began to cry, she didn’t notice that Spike was not there and that J was trying to give her any comfort, she simply got away and went to her room, climbing the stairs with J following close behind her to ensure that the young mare didn’t fell as she wobbled like she was drunk under the tiring and painful sensations she was feeling.
The bed, for once, felt so small and lonely for her as she got between the sheets. It was then when she saw that, as she had hoped, Spike wasn’t there. After all of this and when she got something she wanted Twilight couldn’t help but felt even worse. Now her night would end up being as lonesome as she had hoped at first, but it was not until now when she understood how much needed someone there with her, to help her, to understand her, to have a shoulder where she could cry.
“Twilight…”
Wide eyed, Twilight turned to see that, even without noticing him; J had followed her and was kneeling in front of her bed. A look of concern washed through his tired face and even those bloodshot eyes from his crying were now sad again, but not for what had happened but for concern towards the young mare.
“I know you may want me gone but… Celestia wanted me to use this on you tonight” He pulled the little pouch, opened it and, after seeing a silver like dust, poured it over Twilight as it spread all over her bed “She said that the effect depends on what you want. I do not know if it will help you as what you want may be… impossible to achieve for this but…” He got closer and gave the mare a gentle embrace “I hope I can help”
As he hugged the broken Twilight the bed expanded, growing until it filled the whole upper level just enough to be large enough to hold two people, people, not ponies Twilight noticed. She wanted someone, not somepony, to be with her tonight because Fluttershy had an important duty to fulfill now and because she had her Knight and Protector. She couldn’t help but give a faint but sad smile at how corny it sounded, yet it gave her a little warm inside her now cold and sad body. Finally she looked him in the eyes and simply said.
“Sleep with me tonight” She begged with teary eyes “Don’t leave me alone…”
Surprise, amazement and maybe fear crossed J’s eyes as she heard Twilight. He looked at her and could only see her eyes pleading with al her soul for him to stay. No friend of her seemed to be available and the only shoulder she could cry on, that she seemed to want to cry on, was his.
He had endured this short but traumatizing endeavor with her and there would be none better than him to understand what she was going through. She had lost people very dear to her and, to J; it meant that she had her soul torn away. It hadn’t been the intention Celestia had when she had left both Twilight and him go there, but J had to admit that the harm done to the loving mare would take time to heal, intentional or not.
J got up gently, not taking his hands from Twilight until he showed her that all he wanted to do was undress. It didn’t take long and he was soon in his shorts, something that at least made his friend smile a bit as she looked away embarrassed. To him it meant the world that it lightened her mood even a bit. He had never been able to stand around to see a friend hurt and not be able to help them smile. When Twilight gave that little smile it brought back some of the warmth he had once felt when he had been swarmed with friends. Maybe, with luck, he could someday feel it again if he did as Celestia asked him and found a way to forgive himself.
In a quick motion he got into the bed, letting Twilight look at him again. Sighing sadly she moved forward, cuddling against her newest friend for comfort and warm as she let her sobbing take her again while drenching J with her tears. She felt somewhat happy to have someone with her tonight, but the loss would be bitter for a long time, much more if Trixie or the young girls reacted badly.
“I don’t *sniff* want to *sniff* lose my family” She let out as she tried to held together “Oh Celestia *sob* this is… this is *Sob* the worst day of my life”
“Sssssh… relax, let it all out…” J had been in this position before. It was not a solution anyone wanted, but crying until slept got you usually made the tension dissipate to an extent.
And she indeed cried, for hours. The night was young still but Twilight would continue crying until the moon began to descend, slowly giving way to prepare for a new day. J didn’t move from where he was; he embraced his friend and held her close, letting her vent until she was so tired that slept got to her. Only then did he close his eyes and pulled her tightly against his body.
‘Whatever the cost, I don’t care what it is. Neither you, nor your friends will have to cry like this ever again’ He swore within his mind, anger rising inside of his very being.
*** Chapter 5 End ***
As you have seen, this chapter has drama, my first try at drama to be precise. I hate it, I hate it with PASION, but a good writer knows that drama is necessary when making a serious story. As much as I prefer to laugh over crying (Well, yea, like most people) I made the story knowing I would hate making some of it, like this section here. I am going to be sincere and tell you all that it took me a real long time, for my taste, to write this section as I tend to get as much in character as I can, so yea… I cried…
I like to expand the story of the characters, mine of otherwise, if their story is vague and open. I thought that I had to strengthen Twilight’s character, and so I gave her this. I felt like an asshole as I wrote this, but at the same time it felt right for the story to go this way, it is what I thought was fitting and how I could explain more things while getting some more in motion. I do hope that no one is angry at me for all of this, but after all of this being done it will either make you wish for more… or it will make you all stop reading it.
Until next time.
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Uros
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1056
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Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
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<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-10-02T21:10:55+00:00
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2011-10-02T21:10:55+00:00
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Chapter 6: Meetings, friends and dark nights.
NFA: Hello again everybody. This NFA will be quick as I have a few things to say so everyone remembers the basics: This story does NOT necessarily follow fanon or maybe even cannon analogy. I do my best to please everyone but I have to stress this out because of things I have planed and that will happen that do NOT stick to what is believed by fans or assured by the creators of the show as this is, after all, a fanfiction. Why do I tell you this? You all will see in this chapter… also I should warn you of the next beforehand, but you will know what it is about in due time.
Now onto the reviews :3
Solrac III: You will have to wait at least one or maybe two chapters for the next insight in Celestia’s story, but it is going to happen soon I assure you :3 Now, I began to write at the age of 10 after eating most the books my father and my grandfather had at that point, one of my favorites being TLOTR. My first published story in the whole net was one in AGNPH… so not telling much about that. Now I haven’t had anything published for a few reasons:
1º And most important is that I do not finish anything because I get bored if no one reads it but me, it is depressing to see the work you want others to enjoy but that you have to keep for yourself.
2º I don’t have any kind of title, I may be a good writer to some extent but I suck at Spanish and it is required (I am Spanish so…). Also I am a lazy bum and dropped out of college because when I was younger I had both problems and was pretty stupid, so no one would, for now, even think about publishing anything I make.
3º Do you think what I make could sell :p? I am not a normal writer in the sense that I do not mind porn or other ‘weird’ things in my stories. I find sex normal and something that would happen in most situations given the right circumstances, as well as that I try to be unconventional if I can and for the past few years (I would guess around 11 or so :p) people have been drawn to a boring self repetitive and replicant life (I mean in books, movies, series). Imagination, the one that sells, seems to be dead to me so I am all but sure that I wouldn’t sell :p.
It is my opinion though, doesn’t have to be yours or anyone else.
Nobodyreallyimportant: There is always more to say until The End >:3 And I wouldn’t even get Twilight dehydrated ^^ not yet and not by crying at least :3.
Jiropracter: I do my best on taking those little mistakes away, but I am used to some words making sense in my head. My friend, a grammar nazi of the best quality ;3, usually helps me out with it :3 But I cannot push him anytime I finish a chapter as it is a load of work, luckily he is a brony and for now he likes my story so he does take a peek when he can.
Also as a side note: I may need someone to read the chapters after I finish them and then correct any spelling errors I may have overlooked as well as for the accent of some characters. Reason? As I said I do my best with grammar, but my job and only job is to create this story and make it enjoyable. It includes good writing, but while I try to make it the best I fail miserably since I am used to say some words in a way it makes sense to me and the stupid Word doesn’t want to put those big ‘FUCK ME LIGHTS’ (As Spoony says) where the big mistake that may make this crumble is located.
If anyone wants to volunteer, please, send me an email or a private message and make sure that you CAN do it because when it is about writing I am as serious as I can be even if I am as silly as Pinkie Pie whenever I can afford such a thing.
Mini note: I write Apple Jack simply for the diminutive AJ, I know it is Applejack ok?
*** ***
After the past events it had been a surprise for Twilight to wake up and find that the birds outside were singing at her like every day. She had indeed thought that this day would be rainy and depressing, not to see some of the damned cute animals out of her window happy as if nothing had happened. Twilight didn’t want to, but she had to take a look nearby to see most of the usual morning birds by her window with Owlowiscious perched on one of the tallest and better covered as so to sleep. At that Twilight couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness as she had left her little pet owl out of her home yesterday, though when she came back she was all but thinking of anyone else.
*Snore*
The poor mare went wide eyed when she remembered that yesterday she has shared her bed with someone, in fact she was a bit ashamed to say that she hadn’t even feel his arms and chest against her back, but J had been with her the whole night. In fact as she turned she had to admit that he probably had slept little to nothing: He had bags under his eyes and seemed to have a couple of bruises, pretty new if you want to know, over his chest. She couldn’t help but give a little smile at the thought that during her sleep full of unrest she had kicked her newest friend, yet he had remained with her as she had asked him to.
She didn’t feel like she had the heart to break free from him, besides she felt warm and comfortable, even if a bit embarrassed, between his arms and being pinned against his chest. This was the first time someone had spent a night with her and she hadn’t seen her bed empty the next morning except when it was a very close friend, of course she had never suffered like yesterday and she could tell that J had felt as bad as her, at least o an extent. She had to be thankful, but she also wanted to be alone right now no matter how good she felt to have someone close to her.
Gently, so as to not wake him, she pushed away and stared at her now huge bed ‘Princess Celestia said the effect of that powder would do whatever I desired… Stargaze Powder maybe?’. She shook her head; she had to stop thinking so much and stay sharp, moreso now that all she wanted was some morning coffee, to eat something and… solitude? Twilight wasn’t sure, but she was right on track: She wanted to NOT think anymore, not for a while at least.
Before she got off the bed she turned, gave her friend a little kiss on the forehead and thanked him for being there with her. Afterwards she took off towards the kitchen, only to stop midway and sit, alone, in the main room of her house where all her books were located.
‘So many books… The first time I don’t feel like reading any of them, or caring for them’ She thought as she looked around.
Books now made her think of her aunt, a memory that she didn’t want to have within the limits of her mind, that was the reason why she didn’t want to think at all, yet as a bright mind that is what it made this endeavor quite difficult: She was thinking, all the time. For Twilight using her mind was the equivalent as most writers or artists as they were always forming new ideas no matter what while Twilight was always thinking of new things to do, new ways to play with her friends and solutions to end her social awkward position as an egghead or assure no one had a hard or bad time. It is not that it was bad, but she knew that not all her friends (Or all ponies in general) liked how she rambled on things sometimes.
Now though, she couldn’t care less.
*Knock, knock*
She sighed and, with an apathetic voice, she said “Come in”
From her position she could see perfectly who had knocked and who came in, but she didn’t even care to get up and open the door for her. The Mayor of Ponyville came in without her usual bright smile that she sported around this beautiful town, thanks to her position in such a secluded place the mature mare had more reasons than not to smile everyday at how well and how nice the place was, as well as its inhabitants. Today, though, she was followed by two fillies that could only but look down with sadness.
“I am sorry to come at you after such a horrible day you had yesterday my dear” The Mayor spoke with that gentle grandmother like tone she had “But Princess Luna came to tell me and the young girls about what had happened and… well… She thought you would hate to break the news to the fillies, about everything” She added with a shy look towards the young librarian.
“Then… I suppose I don’t have to be the one telling?” Twilight had to let a sigh of relief escape her lips “That is… a comfort, somewhat”
“I know I talk for everypony in Ponyville, dear Twilight, when we say we all feel for you in this. I have told the messengers to tell everypony to leave you be for a few days, they all will only know that you lost your aunt and uncle in an accident recently so no one will ask many questions” With her tail she nudged gently at the two fillies “However we still have this little problem”
Both young ones gave a few steps forward, practically sitting under Twilight’s tired gaze even if they didn’t take a look to see eye to eye. The young girls were obviously distraught and, if they knew everything, hateful to some extent. Twilight could see the tired and red eyes from the young girls, guessing pretty easily that yesterday they had cried themselves to sleep, probably more than once too, and that the news had been hell on them. Still she had to tell Princess Luna how grateful she was as the young mare didn’t believe herself capable of telling the girls.
“Are… are you going to be our new mommy?” Rain gave her a shy and saddened look “Are you, aunt Twilight?”
A sudden realization came down over Twilight. Like the coldest shower of her life she felt the fact that she had to take care of these young fillies all by herself now, if anything else just by the fact that she had been the one to help to try and bring their ‘parents’ back. It was simple too, as Trixie was for the young girls little more than their aunt, if they felt that she deserved to be their ‘aunt’ at least that is.
Trixie, whom Twilight had discovered to be the only daughter of her uncle and aunt, had left the circus where she had been born when her ‘mate’ knew of her pregnancy, something that seemed to break Trixie apart. Twilight couldn’t understand how someone would abandon their young ones to their parents and flee to never be seen again. Then she came back to her family, unable to tell her young ones who was their mother, the mother that abandoned them, was now back with them.
‘Not that it mattered after yesterday though’ Twilight thought with a grunt, knowing that the harm was done already and it had only been aggravated.
It was then when Twilight understood that, while she had lost her uncle and aunt, something that would pain her for a long time, the fillies had lost their ‘parents’ and their ‘family’; the whole circus and the ponies that worked in there. How could Twilight make up for that? It wasn’t her fault that it happened even if she knew that it did happen because her aunt had gone out of her way to go and see her to her new home, only to find her demise. The thought was a bittersweet memory she would probably never forget for the rest of her life.
“I… I don’t… I don’t know what to say” Twilight, breathing hastily, tried to do her best in a situation that could only make her lose the bit of cool that she had gained during a night of unrest “I-I am no mother, I don’t even know how to be a normal pony sometimes” Ashamed, Twilight looked down while it was now the fillies that looked up “I am a egghead, I have spent most my life with books. How could I be a good mother? Wouldn’t you want Trix…?”
“No!”
Twilight was startled at the young pegasi’s response. Final was not crying and seemed as tired as her sister, but she was obviously also angry and had hate in her eyes, one that no young filly should have.
“She abandoned us when we were born because our ‘father’ left her” The young pegasi practically spat the word ‘father’ “If she didn’t want to be our mother she should have NEVER returned. I don’t CARE what she wants and I DO NOT want her as my mom. You at least had the guts to fight until the end” Final had a spark of hope and respect when she said that “Every one in our family did, Trixie only tried to hide all the time! I don’t want to see her again”
Rain took a step back at her sister’s outburst. The young ponies were mentally more capable than humans one year after they had been born; sometimes earlier thanks to something they had in common from the animal kingdom with their fast development. So at seven years of age both girls were probably at the same level than the ones that lived here, such as Apple Bloom (Whom was also around that age as far as Twilight knew). It was perfectly ok for Final to give her opinion quite vocally, it still stung though.
“I understand that you don’t like your real mother like that after what happened” Final growled something about ‘Real mother my flank…’, but Twilight continued “However I do not know how to care for you two, I would do a horrid job at this, I am not prepared to be a mother” She sniffled a bit, not about to cry again but sad about this situation as well as about to get a headache from all this shi…
“I can help you”
The Mayor had to take a step back as J came to the same room as them. While she had been told about the human she had not seen him, though she had made preparations so everypony knew that a ‘creature’ was going to stay within Ponyville and to not fear him (Not that she thought some of the girls wouldn’t do the usual when he was seen the first time). The fillies on the other hand had seen him earlier, and even if it wasn’t the case they were cured from fear for life by now, they wouldn’t care much if they saw a Manticore in front of them, roaring and looking at them like food. At least the young man had the clothes on or the results could have been a bit different and for the worse.
“Jo…” Twilight turned to tell him something, but he stopped her.
“I am not proposing anything Twilight” He cleared, remembering the talk they had yesterday, giving her a knowing look “But I told you that I would be here for anything you wanted. I have four spare rooms in the basement so they can sleep there and I can help you take care of them. I grew up with both a younger and an older sister, I know how this goes” J tried to give her a little smile “If you want my help in this too that is”
She had to give a smile. Twilight was sure that all her friends would offer her the same help and she would be glad, maybe feeling bad for accepting such a thing was stupid, but she hated to depend on someone, no rely as friends do in some cases, but depend. Maybe her mother could help her here, but both her father and mother hadn’t had enough time to go out of Canterlot in so long… She definitely couldn’t count on them, not because Twilight didn’t want to, but because by now her mother would know about what happened to her sister and she… she would be in a worse state than her.
“I appreciate the help Jonathan, I really do” Twilight smiled at her friend “You have been a great help these past two days…”
“It is what I am for” He smiled back and gave a little bow before looking at the young ones “Would you like me to help too?”
“We would?” Rain Berry gave her sister a quizzical look. Final Test simply nodded with a bit of a stoic face “I suppose we would…”
“You almost died; Princess Luna said so” Final lowered her head a bit “She said you were protecting aunt Twilight until you couldn’t even lift a finger and that you were crying as they buried our family. You tried to help mom and dad so you are ok with me” The filly looked away, probably overly proud to show any other feeling.
“Thank you girls” J went to the secret door and opened it to show the now bright and beautifully crafted stairs “Down there you will find a door, behind it, a room. Pick any of the four rooms in there except the one with my name, if you want you can share one to be together”
The fillies nodded and walked downstairs, leaving the adults alone for a while. The Mayor was unsure of what to say in this situation and an awkward silence came as J got close to Twilight, sitting by her side to gently rub at the still sad mare. At that The Mayor had to suppress a smile as, even after such bad things had happened, she couldn’t help but think hat something good came out of it, as it always does.
“Where is Spike?”
The question from Twilight got The Mayor out of her little fantasy as she stopped seeing things and focused in what was in front of her.
“Well dear, Spike took care of the girls even when I couldn’t anymore” The Mayor said with a light smile “He is a very diligent young boy, I don’t understand how it is that he doesn’t have any more friends. Anyways, when I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore thanks to my work and the girls, he stayed up. I suppose he didn’t go to bed until the sun was almost up, so I left him sleeping… I hope you don’t mind?”
“He has learned from a good mom, if you could say that” J gave Twilight a smile, whom simply blushed a bit “You can say whatever you want Twilight, but you can do a great job. Not only I but your friends too will help you with this”
“And I thank you all, I know they will offer whenever they get to know of my situation” The young mare sighed “But Spike was something else: A dragon is born much more intelligent and they hunger for more knowledge as well as for gems even if Spike does grow bored from time to time. Rain and Final are a pair of fillies that grew in a circus and are accustomed to large crowds of people and a large ‘family’. How will I be able to provide them with that with how I am?”
“Dear, you could do easily” The Mayor chimed in with a big smile “I know by personal experience that kids feel much worse with these kinds of events, but at the same time venting their fear, anger or sadness lets them come back stronger and faster than an adult” She got closer to the young librarian “I know you will take at least a few days, if you are strong enough to recover so fast, but the girls will recover much faster. I am not saying that any of us is insensitive my dear, but it has never been in the nature of anypony to wallow in sorrow with these kind of events, it is just how life goes, and it always gives something in return, you only have to seek it out” Even with her words Twilight didn’t seem to change much at all “Dear, you have a lot of friends and everypony in Ponyville, I promise you that these young fillies will be cared and loved here as much as they were in the circus. They will not have the kind of family they once knew, but they will certainly never be alone. The only thing you have to do is to take care that they don’t wander too close to Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon” The Mayor cringed at the names “I don’t know why those girls never learn that what they do are going to cost them if they don’t change”
At least that made Twilight snicker wholeheartedly. The pair of young fillies she had known and they were the most superficial and prissy ponies she had ever known, not counting Prince Blueblood that is. If she had to raise the two young girls she would make sure that those two didn’t bother her again, however it was not only that problem the one nagging at her.
“I thank you Mayor, but I am also worried about Trixie now. What will happen to her when she knows about this?” She sighed in defeat, knowing that no matter how many good things came out of this she was not going to allow any good feelings to make her feel good for that long “I lost something dear to me, but she lost more. I don’t know how I will make this family stay together”
“You should not worry about that now Twilight, you should worry about returning to happiness before it harms you and those around you” J took her friend close to embrace her gently “You know I hate my friends sad for any reason, and I do know how bad it can hurt someone to lose their family”
“I know, thanks for worrying” Twilight gave him a little nuzzle, sighing happily as she cuddled with him.
Much like with Spike, Twilight felt confident and comfortable near J. However with Spike it had been obvious, at least to her, that it was motherly love that she felt toward her assistant and, for a long time, only friend. She had raised Spike and she felt proud that, while a different species entirely, he was growing to be a proper and friendly dragon.
With J it was mostly the fact that he seemed to be more than willing to please her friends to a fault: He was willing to get in harm’s way, it was impossible for him to lie and he wanted no sadness befitting one of his friends no matter what. It was obvious that if he got friendly with any other pony he would be like that with them as well and that made Twilight feel comfortable whenever she had him nearby. Unlike with Spike, though, she had to admit she was worried of him too…
“But I would like to be alone for a while…” She pushed him away with a little pang of regret, however she did thought it was for the best. Twilight simply wanted to be a lone now; she did not feel able to turn her mood.
Hearing that seemed to sour J’s mood quite a bit, but he did recover quite quickly, if not because he understood that Twilight needed some alone time simply because it would probably help her to talk with the young fillies once they came back from the basement. It was not all that bad also, J had to talk with the other Elements and with some luck they would all be in Ponyville.
“That is not advisable my dear” The Mayor retorted to Twilight’s little plea “I will stay with you and we will talk with the young girls once they come back. Your friends came back first hour in the morning after they delivered what they had to the palace in Canterlot and Rarity is housing a guest. I was going to ask him to leave us to talk already, if that was not a bother, but I am by no means leaving you alone knowing the mood Trixie was when she woke up”
“Uh? What mood? I thought Trixie wouldn’t wake up in days” Twilight was, indeed, confused. She thought that the magic from Princess Celestia, even being as powerful as it is, would take more to bring back Trixie.
“She hasn’t changed her attitude much I am sorry to say” The Mayor gave a tired groan “Or so says Fluttershy whom had been caring for her all night long, only to get yelled at when Trixie woke up. She was in tears when she found Rarity, her guest and I walking towards her shop before I took the girls to come here. I doubt Fluttershy would leave someone unattended even if she was hurt very badly, so I suppose Trixie is in a good physical condition…”
“But?”
J had gotten up already, letting Twilight talk with the Mayor as he fetched himself something to eat. Whatever was going to be said was a family matter now and as much of a friend that he wanted to consider himself to Twilight, he had been with her three days now and had no rights to give his opinion in this. It was better to let her talk alone.
He never said anything about not paying attention to what they said though. It was his duty to be alert he supposed.
“While her character seems to be only bitter and more egomaniac than before, Fluttershy is sure that since your last encounter with her she has grown spiteful beyond belief towards you. As far as she told us Fluttershy thinks that she may calm in a few days, but right now it seems that Trixie would prefer to bite anyone that got close enough instead of simply talking… if you can consider the yells needed to make Fluttershy cry, talking that is”
“It is only normal” Twilight’s voice sounded, again, sad “She lost her parents, the ones she once called family until she escaped and she, I am sure, knows that her own daughters don’t want much to do with her, if anything at all. I am not sure what Trixie had to do to back then, but Final Test seems to hate her and I doubt Rain Berry is much better in that regard” A loud enough sigh made J shudder as he took a few apples for himself “I am surprise she is still sane, or at least as sane as she can with all that happened to her recently. Yet I don’t know why you worry about me so much Mayor, I am… perfectly fine”
“Dear, have you looked yourself in the mirror?” A flash like sound (Much like the ones used in movies or cartoons) was heard before Twilight gave out a little yelp “A few meters away and you look fine, up close you seem to have had the worst night of slept possible, your eyes also seem to be a little bloodshot and with everyone knowing what happened it will be easy to link all that and your messy hair so they will ask questions I am sure you don’t want to answer. I can couple this with the fact that you do not plan in doing anything, at all, until you feel better, which will not come if you sit on your flank for a few days” J heard a gentle petting, probably The Mayor trying to cheer Twilight up “Trust me dear, I have a lot of experience in these matters, for good or bad, so I am not going to let you down. Princess Celestia would have my flank if that happened” The Mayor let out a bit of a nervous giggle.
“I suppose there isn’t a way to convince you against this?” Twilight gave such a loud sigh that J thought books would fall from their places.
“Sorry dear, but I need to help you, if not for the Princess’ orders because you have done much for us and are a very nice and great pony yourself. You do not deserve to be in such a sorrowful state and if there is something I CAN do it is talking people to change their minds for the better of everypony, including themselves” By that time J took a bite of an apple, happy to hear that Twilight was going to get some help and that The Mayor was headstrong enough to convince her “When someone in special LEAVES to meet the rest of the elements, of course”
*COUGH!* Oh fudgecakes…
*** Less than ten minutes afterwards… ***
‘Get out there and meet the others! You need to smile again too young man’ “What a mare” J growled with a little smile as he walked down the street.
He had to admit that his mood had brightened considerably after he saw Twilight smiling at The Mayor like she was some kind of grandma that was trying to cheer the youngsters of her household. It didn’t help at all to his seriousness the fact that once he had stepped out of the tree house the first pony he had meet almost eye to eye was Lily. There is no need to describe the ruckus that fallowed afterwards.
Of course the place was deserted and everypony was looking at him through windows before closing them with a loud slam, or taking their foals inside while giving him glares that would scream murder (If the ponies were evil enough to do so). All in all he was about to laugh his ass off as compared to the second day of his new life this one was being the happiest one so far, it even included an unconscious Lily in front of him right now.
J couldn’t help but pick her up with a little groan, making a lot of ponies gasp dramatically as he rolled his eyes, took his earphones and got the music going as he approached one of the houses with the mare he recognized as Bon Bon looking at him with fear but, luckily, with her door open even as he got close enough to grab her (if that had been his purpose that is).
“You know where she lives?” He asked, though Bon Bon did not reply, only stared with her mouth open “Would you mind if I left her with you then?” Bon Bon nodded at that, maybe quite too fast “Good then. I’ll leave her to your care; also do me a favor” J couldn’t help but smile “Tell her to stop fainting so much, it is a running gag but come on…”
With that he left Bon Bon wide eyed as they all looked at her, then at Lily and then at the human again. It was true that The Mayor had sent word that ‘something’ was going to be living in the city now, but they didn’t know what this thing was and why it was hearing music so strange to them. The only pony to ever pay some kind of attention that was not of shock, fear or a kind of strange curiosity was one specific white unicorn that was already running towards him.
Vinyl Scratch, on all her glory (Which meant with her unkempt mane and huge smile) kept on trotting behind the human, using her developed ears (For music that is) to hear the beautifully strange songs that the creature in front of her had in that device. While she was curious about the human she was even more curious about the device that was playing that music as the creature in front of her looked around, seemingly looking for a way to reach a certain boutique a bit faster.
“Hey you!” The voice of Vinyl was happy and vivid, much like the one you would expect from maybe Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie but with a melodic touch to the mix “Hey! Pay attention!”
J hadn’t noticed the mare, not until she had shoved his legs with both hooves. Luckily Vinyl was very light and as an unicorn she was all but strong, so it only came as a shove to J whom turned back to see the mare smiling at him triumphantly.
J arched an eyebrow as he looked down at the mar who, to him, seemed about to pounce him for something “Yea?”
“Can I have that device?” She chirped “I want to hear that music; I NEED that music, please? I haven’t heard that ANYWHERE and I WANT it” Vinyl took her glasses away with her horn and showed the cutest puppy eyes she could, something that was an utter FAIL when one of her lentils fell down to reveal a brown eye that she squinted at the felling “ACK! Hay! Not now!”
J couldn’t help but chuckle “I am sorry but I am not going to give you this” Only in case he did hide it as he knew that magic wasn’t to be trifled with, even though he was sure Vinyl wasn’t going to steal from him “I have things to do and I also need distraction for a few reasons…”
“Is this about what happened to Twilight?” Vinyl seemed to have a casual tone as she took her lentil back with her magic “What are you doing? If I help can I have that for a while, please?”
His face turned sour and serious “You are quite insensitive, you know?”
Silence reigned. Vinyl obviously had ‘heard’ about what had happened, just like The Mayor said, but she didn’t seem to take it as seriously as any other pony would.
“Of course not, I feel for her” Vinyl seemed genuinely hurt “But she still has her parents, unlike me who had to grow alone after I escaped from mine” She said with a bit of a scowl “I live to be happy and to best my talent every day of my life. I don’t have time to be sad, I never want to be sad, that is the reason I am friends with Pinkie” She gave a little smile “We both know that the best remedy is a smile, no matter how much you want to cry. We both know about this by personal experience”
“I see…” J had to look at Vinyl with more care. It was obvious that from the cartoon to the real world there were a lot of differences. He had to wonder how many there would be yet “But I won’t part ways with this, not until I get something from someone though”
“Then come to my home when you are done?” Vinyl pleaded.
“What?!”
“Come to my home? I will accompany you until you finish whatever you are doing. I REALLY want that music; I can take it from your device to my disks quickly. Pleeeeeeeease?” Her huge smile and cute red eyes finally won over the supposedly much tougher human.
*Sigh* “Fiiiine…” He groaned “But you better don’t break it, and so as to avoid you touching it in any way you aren’t allowed to use your magic until we are in your house. So don’t prod in my pockets!”
“Promised!” She smiled, saluting happily “And since you seem to want to reach Rarity we should go this way” Vinyl chuckled gently “That you are big enough to look towards it is such a giveaway”
Vinyl trotted down the pat quite fast for most ponies, J had to suppose it was because if she was friends with Pinkie Pie the two of them had to have shared a few secrets (As to how could a Earth pony teleport?!). At least Vinyl did help since not even two minutes after they got together the boutique of Rarity was in front of them.
“Well, I must admit you did help me out” J kneeled a bit to ruffle Vinyl’s mane, making her laugh a bit “Tha…”
“GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”
“…nks?”
“I know that voice…” Vinyl lost her smile as both J and her own attention went towards the boutique.
The yell came from within, the voice though; J couldn’t make out, much like Vinyl’s own if it wasn’t because he had seen her. The only thing he could make out was that, unsurprisingly, it was female (As it seemed at least 80% or so of the population was female), but also quite gentle even when the anger and hate, if he had measured it right thanks to his experience, were dripping from it like if it had been drenched for that exact moment.
If by instinct or something else J didn’t know, but he ran towards the boutique with his arms stretched as if to catch something, only to see the words open and a flying pink blur being thrown at him. It stung, well, it did hurt right away, but when he crashed down, letting out a loud yelp as his ass connected with the ground, he had to admit that the laughter from Pinkie Pie made it all the better.
“Honk!” She smiled, poking his nose with her hoof.
“Pinkie! What happened in there?!” J blurted out as best as he could with his mouth half full with that hoof, something that seemed to make Pinkie giggle even more “Seriously please, what happened?”
“Oh it is nothing; my sister was acting up” She said with a little smile “Hello Vinyl!”
“Hello Pinkie” Vinyl sat right besides them like if this was normal “What is the occasion? How is that she is here today?”
“Dunno” Pinkie shrugged “She still doesn’t want to talk to me, so I didn’t pay attention to her if she was going to be a mean meanie pants again, like you told me” The pink mare smiled “So I went to talk with rarity, but it seems that my sis thought I was doing it to bother her, so when she tried to get me I dodged her for a while until I saw J here” She gesticulated as if she had been in a bar fight much to J and Vinyl’s amusement “When my sis charged at me I jumped out of Rarity’s boutique all dramatic like so J would get me!” She gave her usual carefree smile, making J roll his eyes as he tried to suppress a laugh.
“The nerve that mare has” Vinyl laughed “You should ask her to relax a bit you know? She will live longer”
“Don’t you dare talk about living, you wretched caricature of a musician!”
Everypony (and J) turned their heads to see the serious face of Octavia whom was in front of Rarity. The musical pony seemed to not notice the look of displeasure, the worst she could feel towards anypony, that the dress maker was giving her. With her gaze fixed on Pinkie Pie Octavia moved forward, not caring for those around her and seemingly not even minding the human that she should have noticed as he was as blatant and out of the norm as the sun touching the ground before her, then again… Pinkie was over him and she had been on top of weirder things and toys.
“You know what happened and you don’t share that knowledge, I respect the Princess’ orders much like anypony else but this is a family matter and YOU are in the middle of it all” Octavia threw daggers at Vinyl with her eyes before turning to Pinkie “And YOU! I shall remain here by order of the Princess, but I do not want you near me EVER, understand me? I.Do.Not.Want.You.Close!”
*Cough*
“And what do you…!” Octavia turned and finally noticed, to her dismay and surprise, that there was something under Pinkie that was all but a pony “Want?...”
“I do not know of the story behind this” J began, taking Pinkie gently off him with a giggle coming from the pink pony as she was placed on the ground “But if I hear you yelling at Pinkie Pie AGAIN for whatever reason” The sword appeared in his hand, much to his surprise and to the ponies, though he fought back the surprise and gave more emphasis to the effect by lining the sword against Octavia’s face. The only one not so surprised was Pinkie as she said ‘Oh! Dangerous!’ “We will have a problem that neither one of us wants, got it?”
Confusion, anger, fury and sadness flashed across Octavia’s eyes and face as she started at the sword and then at the creature in front of her. She looked ready to do something too brash, something that would probably meant a sad ending for somepony more than someone, but she soon calmed down to an extent, regaining her composure with a serious and cold face that seemed to have been perfected during many years in a way no pony would want to if they had the chance to chose.
For a moment everypony had to back down as J seemed like he was going to plunge the sword against Octavia or that, in the more probable chance, that she was going to lunge at him. When she calmed down it was time to look at J in different ways.
Rarity was horrified at what someone she thought was serious and classy had said and tried to do to Pinkie (which in fact wasn’t much, but such outburst were beyond her in most normal terms). Now though she feared for whatever this creature could do to her friend’s sister, no matter how harsh and brash she had been a moment ago. It was in her nature to think of others and she felt frustrated at not knowing what to do.
Pinkie simply chuckled gently as she knew her sister wouldn’t do anything towards J. She was a very angry mare when it meant Pinkie, but the pink mare was more than sure that this would calm her down in a way. Of course she had to offer a half serious face at this! Not that Pinkie got it right of course, as always she knew, more or less, how things would turn out and it was going to be good for her big sis.
Vinyl said nothing. She simply sat there and watched things unfold. Much like Pinkie she knew that Octavia wouldn’t do a thing and, for what she had seen, J wouldn’t do anything either. She was the calmest of the group after Pinkie, simply looking and taking mental notes in regard of something no other pony present knew.
J, unbeknown to the ponies, was in a dilemma. How did the sword materialize if he wasn’t in danger? That was a question that he wanted to get answered quickly, in fact he felt himself about to lose it as he shuddered at the thought of what could have happened. It was simply not what he had wanted to do! He just felt angry, angry at the pony that seemed to want nothing but to see Pinkie disappear, yes, but it was just anger and he knew how to manage it. However there was a hunch, something that told him that either he could stop this and ensure that Octavia did not berate at Pinkie anymore or that something was going to happen.
At that realization he had to hold a shudder as he took the weapon away from Octavia, letting everyone sigh in relief.
He did not.
The last time J had a ‘hunch’ that he had to act this way it ended badly… like the one before that and on an uncountable number of occasions that he couldn’t let go. Why was it happening now though? Why did he felt it was necessary to intimidate such a cute pony? Why did he mingle in family affairs when he wanted none to get in his? It was not like him, it was not like how he did things, this made no sense in his mind and the more he thought about it the more he wanted to find an excuse.
He didn’t know that Octavia was Pinkie’s sister, not until now at least, nor had he thought that if he got to know her family it would be like this: With one of them giving glares at pinkie that would freeze hell. Was there any reason beyond that to prompt the sword forth? He still didn’t know how this magic worked but there had to be a reason... a reason that didn’t involve the violence his mind was prodding forward, wanting him to implement drastic measures in this. The only thing it gave him was a pang of guilt and sadness as he saw that, even with what had happened the other day, he had changed nothing.
Or maybe it did change something…
“Sorry” He began, still with a serious face and with regret slowly overtaking not only his voice but his features “I do not know what came over me…”
“Oh I do” Octavia blurted out with her composure still as intact as it could be, serious face giving away nothing now and dry tone staying as neutral as it could “It doesn’t matter if you are a different species, you just love the laughter and love the parties, you love a life where seriousness and hard work are paired with a little smile and with the fact that you can slack off to enjoy ‘the little things’” She looked coldly at Pinkie “You think that life is a laugh Pinkamena, but I still think you are a murderer. It was because of YOU and your parties that mother and father agreed to go to the ‘lively forest’ and it was because of YOU that our sister had that accident”
“Octavia, you don’t kno…” Vinyl tried to stop her but she lifted a hoof with a bit of a scowl.
“That Princess Celestia told you to not tell anypony I may believe Vinyl, we have known each other since I began practicing with my talent and you are a nice pony I trust and am friends with because you have never let me down” She sounded calm and almost ashamed for what she had said before, but only to an extent as she looked at Vinyl “However I will not believe that my sister is alive until I don’t see her in front of me. As far as I know she died in the forest and I won’t believe otherwise until I see her in front of me again” With a look of disgust towards Pinkie she continued “For me it is not our sister that is dead, but you too, Pikamena, I do not want to see you ever again. If it wasn’t because of what Princess Celestia asked me to do I wouldn’t even be here, in fact if I had to set a hoof in here it would be to deliver the message and then get out” Octavia gave a loud grunt and turned “Speaking of which, don’t go anywhere, creature, I have a message for you”
Leaving in a fuss, Octavia went back to Rarity’s boutique, leaving everypony outside looking at her as she trotted with the head raised high in distaste for what she had seen and how everyone rose to defend her sister when she knew perfectly well what was behind that smile. She did not care about their explanations or reasons, she had her own and that is the only thing she cared for. She couldn’t let go of the memory, it taunted her every day of her life, and so did Pinkie. She couldn’t…
“Let go” J let go of the air in him with those words, looking down with a sad frown.
“Are you ok darling?” Rarity trotted towards the pink mare, a concerned look over her face “This has been… quite different”
“Oh I am ok silly, why wouldn’t I?” The characteristic giggle from Pinkie was there, even though those that knew her enough (in this case everyone around said pink pony) felt something different about it “But I wish my sis would let it go, she is too serious”
Rarity didn’t say anything about that, she just turned towards J “And you! You…” Rarity wasn’t really all that sure of what to say to him as J turned to face the white unicorn mare “Why did you took that sword” She pointed her hoof at the weapon “And placed it against Octavia? If you are friends with Pinkie I would have at least expected some kind of respect towards other ponies, not a brute”
The looks that Rarity threw at J hurt, he was feeling kind of sad again as well as ashamed. The weapon, for whatever reason, took that as a sign and banished in a bright light leaving behind the silver ring as J looked away.
“I don’t know” He said truthfully “It-the weapons is supposed to appear when I am in any kind of danger. I do not know how it got out, nor do I know why I felt compelled to intimidate Octavia”
J gulped down, something inside of him just told him how much he had messed it up and it made him want to cry. He had changed nothing; in fact he probably had just blown one of his chances away with what he had done in front of Rarity. The feeling simply made him sake in place as he thought what could happen if he were to do such a thing again, or in fact, if he could control what he felt when he did so.
“Well at least you seem to be sincere” Rarity made sure to be in front of him so he would look at her “But don’t do that ever again, a gentlecolt should be more than a brawler like you seemed back then. However I must admit my displeasure at such a brutish accusation towards my friend. Pinkie is a random and maybe… special individual” Pinkie only giggled at Rarity’s nervous grin “But she is no murderer, it is against her personality. I may not like what you did but I do feel compelled to show that awful mare to spread lies about my friends. If it wasn’t because I have left Fluttershy at the spa to accompany Octavia to my home I would give her a piece of my mind right now”
“You don’t need to; I already know what you think”
That was fast. At least that is what everyone thought as they saw Octavia came back with her cello strapped on her back and a note in her mouth that she promptly delivered to J.
“I expect nothing from those that seem to know my little sister so well” She said with venom dripping from her voice as she said ‘sister’ “So I will be on my merry way to any kind of residence I can afford with my bits” Octavia turned and began to walk away “Good day everypony”
“You wait there and stay put”
Everypony turned to look at J whom had opened the letter and had now three sheets of paper in his hands, all of them the usual size of Celestia’s letters and with a certain glow as they floated in front of J’s face.
“This thing says that I should read it out loud for everypony nearby, so no one moves”
J cleared his throat as Octavia sighed, turned and sat in front of him besides Rarity whom now had quite a hard blush on her face. She was a lady so being caught saying things of someone on their backs was quite embarrassing to say the least, though everypony else (included Octavia) didn’t seem to mind that much.
“Dear Jonathan” He began “If you are reading this then it means you survived yesterday’s endeavor and that you are a step closer to change. I am confident that this note you will read only in front of few ponies and that those that hear this will be important in the future, so they should know that the story given to the ponies in Ponyville was a lie so as to not spread fear and also to ensure no one but a selected few will know of the return of the Nightmares”
The girls all around him exchanged glances, well, except Pinkie who seemed to get surprised, yes, but also that seemed to know perfectly well what the Nightmares were. J thought it wasn’t only for what she saw when she ‘came along’ with that little vision Celestia had shared as Pinkie always seemed to have a perfect knowledge of everything, or at least of some obscure things other ponies didn’t know about.
“For that reason, and because you are now the only Knight of Equestria, I hereby name you the Lord Knight and give you the order to protect Ponyville as well as its inhabitants. By today, if not tomorrow if any problem arises, you will receive the first pay towards your cause. You have been granted powers to recruit others to your order and they will only respond to me or, if in a mission, to the Elements of Harmony. How these recruitments should be conducted and how it shall work is explained in the next two pages, pages that only you and Twilight Sparkle shall read”
With that finished J got to the next page, picking the first up and making it lose its magic as it stayed in his grasp willingly. Meanwhile the girls had turned into chatting, past confrontations or disagreement forgotten, mostly because the only that seemed to know was Pinkie Pie and after the Parasprite incident everyone had agreed that when something they didn’t know appeared (and they meant that Twilight didn’t know and hadn’t mentioned in her whole stay here), then they should hear Pinkie out if she had anything to say.
“I tell you guys! If there are Nightmares we are in deep, deep trouble! I mean a sea of trouble, well, if trouble was like water and if we could swim in it, but you got what I mean, right?!” She was greeted by stares from the three mares around her “Ugh! Nightmares are… dark thingies! Yea, that! Dark thingies that… umm… how was it? Oh yes! Dark thingies that are the ‘manifestation’” Pinkie gesticulated heavily at that “Of bad things like… fear!” She gave out a too realistic roar that probably would’ve made Fluttershy or Dash fall flat on their flanks “They try to corrupt ponies or other creatures and then use them to harm others, I swear!”
“Not that I don’t believe you, Pinkie” Rarity gave a weak smile, one that turned into a frown as Octavia whispered ‘I don’t’, to her friend “But it sounds too horrible to be true my dear, I haven’t heard of such a thing in all my life and we all know that I do risk my beautiful form greatly when I go hunting for gems to some of the most dangerous places in Equestria” Her melodrama was, as always, impressive if J had to give his opinion “So where else but in the rocky mountains and deep caves where I find such beautiful things could a beast like that hide? I doubt there is a place more fitting if we don’t count the wretched Everfree Forest”
“There are places” J let that lingering as he took the remaining pages and folded them all back inside the envelope to carry them easier “That is why I am here as Twilight had a ‘premonition’, you could say, of more dangerous creatures coming to cause havoc. Basically what we found yesterday in the forest was one of these”
There was an eerie silence for a second as the girls digested that information.
“Does… does that mean that it was that creature…?” Rarity asked, wide eyed and unable to finish her sentence as J simply nodded, knowing what she was going to ask “B-but then… why is Twilight alone?”
“For the same reason I was quite jumpy as I saw Octavia angry at Pinkie: She is shocked” There was no other way to put it, except to say that probably company was all but what Twilight wanted. Also he hoped that it was for that reason that he went, well, medieval on Octavia.
“But then shouldn’t we go with her?” Pinkie tilted her head. She didn’t seem sad at all because she either knew already of the truth once the Nightmares had been mentioned or because her nature was simply unable to get sad except with something extreme.
“Not really” J thought back at how shy and distant, to put it mildly, Twilight was even with The Mayor and him offering her some help and company “Since she is with The Mayor she already has someone, besides this morning she had another surprise, not bad, but quite a handful” He sighed, rubbing his temple in thought “Look girls I wouldn’t mind to go there and cheer her up, but the only reason I am telling you this is because I want you all to know so you don’t go there when all she wants is to be left in peace. None of you have the skills to talk her out of it, she doesn’t want help” He paused for a second and took some air, awaiting for the girls’ reaction once she said the last thing “So what she needs is someone to help her realize that she NEEDS it” The two friends looked up at him questioningly.
J understood that Pinkie was mostly acting; she always knew what was going on and, if she didn’t, it was because somehow she knew it was in her best interest (And in her friends’) to let it play out. If the pink mare had been in the dark about this then she would be depressed and with her hair down, J knew that much.
In Rarity’s case it was mostly that the Element of Generosity had within herself the need to simply give away to make others happy, to be unable to go and give the help that her friend needed was maybe too much for the white unicorn. She, however, waited patiently for J to make enough sense as to convince her OR to decide she had had enough and that she would go no matter what.
“You have to understand that Twilight, before meeting you two and the other Elements, had only her family, so unlike any of you” And with this he also got Vinyl and Octavia back in the conversation “She never talked with anyone if she could help it, in fact she only got Spike for most her life. You all had your family and/or, at some point, friends, no matter what had happened between any of you or within your own family” This made Octavia and Pinkie exchange and awkward stare “I do not know Twilight’s full story, I have been here only two days, but with how she cried yesterday and for the few words she said when I made sure she slept… I fear that the pain in her mind may be enough to maybe make her do something stupid if she doesn’t go slowly”
He felt weak, his body wanted to sit down and think of a way to help, but he knew that if it had been his mood the thing that had drawn the weapon and those thoughts and that hunch... Better not think about it, he could make a grave mistake and Twilight would hate him if he did so. Bringing worried friends to try and cheer her up could either make her happy again or stress her out too much. This was not a movie and it certainly wasn’t that friendly cartoon he had seen, here ponies could get harmed or worse, sad and depressed or maybe in a worse mental state.
Messing this world more would not only harm it, but it would also shatter the view he had of it in a definite and cruel way. He wanted all but that to ever happen.
“Then… should we give her some time?” Rarity had to ask and to attract the human’s attention. The look of sorrow in his face had showed her that he was, indeed, sincere and that he was as worried as everypony of the Mane six would be.
He shook his head a bit and nodded, trying to get his mind away from any kind of thoughts “Yes, yes, give her a few days. If things go alright she would be ok by the time Pinkie throws my welcome party” J turned to face Pinkie who had lit up again with a bright smile “If it is still on”
“Of course silly” She giggled as she jumped to poke him in the nose “I know Twilight will be happy soon enough. It is very rare that anypony grieves too long, we are not made to be grumpy” Pinkie couldn’t help but giggle, her sister simply sighed and rolled her eyes “I will make sure it is a simple party and also will make sure the Princess is there” She gave J a wink “If she is still not back to her old self Princess Celestia will surely help”
‘Yea, I hope so’ “I am sure that will help” J tried to smile but it didn’t come to pass this time “Forgive me though; I don’t want to think about it all that much right now. Yesterday had been maybe much more than I thought I could bite”
“With what you told us it is obvious it would’ve been a lot for anyone darling” Rarity was not in her usual serious but cheery mood, however she at least was as normal as it could get right now “If you want to relax at least a bit maybe you would like to come with me to the Spa? Fluttershy is still waiting for me and it is a good and quiet place if you want to share more of what you know. Celestia knows I would like to be prepared for when I see my poor friend again”
At least those words made him give out a smile. Rarity had seemed about to kick him off and he would then probably lose one of the six he had hoped to have as friends. Granted he had flunked up with his first impression and that he would not hate her if she had done, but this for him was a blessing.
‘Maybe I owe Celestia a praying or two?’ He chuckled inwardly. As a ‘soldier’ he believed in nothing else but training and being prepared, even after so long of hearing his mother’s preaching daily.
“Well it has been a nice and… very curious chat but it is my cue to leave” Octavia finally reared up and decided to go away. This was turning to be nothing like she had expected and it had much more drama than she cared for.
“Wait a second”
Octavia gritted her teeth, putting a straight face as she turned to face the human again. He was getting on her nerves by now and it was quite hard for anypony, except her sister, to do such a thing so quickly, if ever. However this time J was sporting a sincere regretful expression as he offered his hand to her.
“I am sorry for what I almost did Octavia, no matter why, there was no reason to try and intimidate you” He began “But I do mean that you should not yell at your sister, believe me when I say that family is something precious no matter how much it may hurt sometimes. You have to do your best with them before you find yourself they have grown distant to a point where you can’t relate to them or...” Looking up, Octavia could swear that J had his mind on another time and another scene that was taking his full attention for a few seconds “Or to find out that you don’t have them anymore”
A glare that could freeze the North Pole was exchanged, however Octavia sighed in defeat “I forgive you, if that is what you want”
“I don’t want you to forgive me, Octavia” That caught the mare by surprise to say the least. Why would he say those things but to get her to forgive him? “You are going to find only friends of Pinkie in this village, so no matter where you go to live until Celestia comes back you will have to deal with weird looks if they know the truth or if someone overhead your fight. I am offering you one of the rooms in the basement where Twilight lives as it is mine now and it is the quietest place you could get, as well as neutral ground if you will”
“Ooooh! Tavi you have to say yes and make up” Pinkie giggled at her sister’s surprised face.
“Don’t call me Tavi!” Octavia blurted out before offering her hoof to J whom did his best for a good shake “I gladly accept your offer, and I do mean that you are forgiven. I suppose I should not berate my sister such as I have” There was no need to say that those words were forced and pretty obvious, but the best one could get from Octavia right now.
Pinkie simply giggled as she jumped up and down with Vinyl and Rarity at least giving out a little smile. At least, if nothing else, Vinyl now would not need to worry about Pinkie getting into any problem with her sister and Rarity would only need to worry about Twilight when she came back.
“Well guys I’ll see you tomorrow” Pinkie chimed in with a grin “I need to go make preparations for the party already. I will make sure the party is GREAT, but I will tone it down so Twilight can be relaxed ok?” Vinyl and Rarity gave her a nod while J simply smiled offering thumbs up “Then see ya later alligator!” She chirped, bouncing away.
As everyone waved her away J got up “Vinyl, could you guide Octavia to Twilight’s house?” The DJ unicorn gave a little smile and nodded “Then do so please, but knock to make sure you two can go in. Tell Twilight to show you the secret entrance and that is it, I don’t know if she will react badly to that but I feel obligated” He got down and whispered “Because of my manners and because someone doesn’t have a single bit on her”
Octavia gulped down a bit, blushing as her angry and serious demeanor both banished. It was not that she had no money, it was that when she had found out that Rarity was offering a ‘famous musician’ a home during her stay as well as food as a favor for the Princess… well, would you want to bring money to someplace you don’t like if someone offers you a free stay? She wouldn’t, personally she felt bad about the idea of taking advantage of the generosity of somepony now that she had calmed down but what was done was done.
“I… thanks” She muttered with a sweet and gentle voice unlike what she had before.
“No need to” J assured her “I did a stupid thing, no matter what happened yesterday and how much I want the ones I know to never cry like I saw Twilight do. I shouldn’t have done what I did, I owe you this much”
Octavia looked up and offered a smile. He had given her one of the worst impressions she had ever had from anypony, yet he had done her no harm and even when she had been a harpy (Even if her sister deserved it, at least so she though) he had been sorry and had offered her a place to stay. It had been much more than most ponies had done for her as only Vinyl or Celestia had ever been so attentive and had tried to correct mistakes they thought they had done.
Maybe it didn’t help that most the times she was depressed and that she tried to erase such an awful feeling with liquor when she had the chance. For that she was glad that she hadn’t brought any kind of money as, after this, a drink was looking to be so promising for tonight.
‘However I may not need it’ She thought with a little smile “Still, thanks for what you did. It means a lot to find someone that is willing to give you a second chance, no matter whatever they did to you or what they promised” Octavia looked up at him “I… I may be willing to consider things with my sister… maybe…”
That made him smile as they parted ways with him following Rarity and with Vinyl signaling her to get moving. Octavia had to smile too, it had been a bad day at some point but it now looked like it could end well. However Octavia wasn’t sure if she had been truthful with that last statement.
Pain went deep down in her mind; maybe it had been because she had been used to the cold shoulder treatment or because all her life it had been about being serious and her family only. Maybe it had been for that reason that when such a thing happened to her sister she had been…
Devastated? Horrified? She wasn’t sure. Unlike Pinkie both sisters felt at home in the rock farm. Octavia at least loved the hard work, the gentle love from her sis and their parents and the effort it took to get all running. She had never connected with Pinkie and she had been jealous when their sister had preferred to spend time with Pinkie when she found out her cutie mark.
Why had she betrayed her? Why did she turn to Pinkie? Octavia didn’t know the reason then and she didn’t know it now. She only felt enraged because she hated those parties; she hated to see a hard day’s work going down the drain only to have some laughs. It pained her to see that her parents only grew to like them less and less because Pinkie obviously was not going to go on her life as a rock farmer and to have a mate as well as kids as they had hoped for her.
In fact she hated what had happened that day.
When her parents had brought them all and their last load of rocks for Ponyville so long ago Pinkie left, looking for the liveliest place in town. There she found it: Sugarcube Corner. A young pair of ponies regented such a sweet place that even Octavia had liked, until she discovered that Mr. and Mrs. Cake had found out how good Pinkie was with sweets and how much her little sister loved that place.
Pinkie begged to her parents to move to Ponyville. She wanted to make sweets, to throw parties, to be happy all the time. It disgusted Octavia, it was a waste of time and it only angered her more when she overhead their sister voicing her opinion that it would be ‘nice’. Octavia had said her own opinion back then and there, already raising hostilities between Pinkie and herself. In retrospective it had been a bad move, but their parents refused to leave Pinkie there.
As they approached a big tree house (Literaly the tree being said house) she had to sigh and look down. It did take her sister some time, but she took any free time she got to trot back and forth between the farm and Ponyville. In a few years she finally had the age to tell their parents that she would be staying in Ponyville with Mr. and Mrs. Cake as her teachers in the art of sweets, yet she promised to visit anytime she could.
And so she did, until things went awry.
‘I should really stop thinking about this’ Octavia groaned as Vinyl knocked at the door ‘Let’s give a smile, if Princess Celestia’s prized student is here and in such a bad state… Well, I can sympathize for real, but I suppose I would only depress her more if I talked’ The door opened and Octavia turned back to her serious face in hopes to avoid any kind of conversation ‘Let’s keep the façade, it is better this way, it is better to not talk, to not think’ She moved again when Vinyl finished talking with The Mayor and Octavia had only to give a polite salute ‘If anything let’s wait and practice. Music is like a good drink as it takes my mind away. Let’s simply… think about music, let the mind fly. Work for your dreams as hard as you can, as you ever did’ Those last words in her mind weren’t for her, but for someone else.
*** Castle of Canterlot ***
For the first time in a long, long time Celestia was sick, well, it wasn’t really a sickness as the goddesses, even without immortality, could not get really sick. However she had the biggest migraine known to man after a night of sleep and a forceful and tiring sun rising in the morning. Even in the quietude of her private chambers she felt the pang of pain now and then.
‘Stupid duties’ She grumbled, sipping a light soup that her mother had taught her to make whenever her head gave away to the pressure ‘I wish I didn’t have to do this every day, for once in my life I want to definitely be a normal pony’
She had been crying the whole night as she had seen what J had been through, his thoughts, his nightmares and the pain he felt as he held Twilight close in an embrace she could hardly describe without giving out a warm but sad smile that only worsened her pain. Celestia had to admit she was not sure that J would, maybe, develop such a liking for Twilight as the princess was hoping for, in fact she had taken all into account and Twilight maybe was one of the least possible with Apple Jack, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash being the most probable choices if he ever found a partner.
‘Look at me, playing matchmaker in my head’ Celestia giggled; drinking some more with a little smile as the warmth of it made her feel better ‘It has been too long hasn’t it? I am getting old all of sudden and I want my little ponies to be happy’
“Sister?” The voice of Luna at least bought some comfort to her mind as she turned to see her entering her chambers quietly “I have feelt… something” Forget the comfort, Celestia was worried now and the migraine returned.
“What is it Luna? Has something happened?” Celestia tried to get up, but any kind of movement and effort simply made her groan and stay put.
“Don’t get up please” Luna got closer and nuzzled at her sister “It is… I think one of them is going to get a nightmare today. Jonathan will need to get in her mind, I am sure she will allow them without even knowing but…”
“You fear for his sanity and safety?” Celestia had to give a smile away even with the pain still tearing at her. Her sister nodded and cuddled so they would be together “You like Jonathan, don’t you?”
“It makes me remember someone” Luna said in a whisper.
“You only friend?” Luna nodded “Would you want me to ask him…”
“Not in that way, nor did my friendship ever go that way with him sis” Luna gave a bright blush “It is… I only had three friends back then sis. I now only have two, and one of them is new. I don’t want to lose anyone again, not like that”
Celestia couldn’t help but let out a giggle at that “I know dear, but I had to make sure. It seems he is already having some kind of effect on some ponies so I have to make sure where everyone stands. As for your worry… don’t” She gave her sister a reassuring smile “He has survived once, he will do so again. He is going to change, even though…”
“Sis?”
Celestia had a worried frown in her face as she thought back at something that had happened today. She had felt something, a feeling that was quickly replaced with over extensive thought into a matter that should have been clear for her to decipher.
“Nothing dear, I think he had an outburst today, probably from yesterday’s pressure. I know I shouldn’t worry but it was something traumatic” She shook the thoughts of her head and took a ship of her soup again “I suppose we shouldn’t worry if he doesn’t have another in a while”
Luna gave a little nod and rested her head against her sister “Then should I help him tonight?”
“Too dangerous” Celestia said maybe all too quickly. Luna knew in nightmares she was vulnerable and her sister was not up to lose her again, this time permanently “Send him some help, but do not get in the middle. I do not want either of them seeing you or you may not escape until he or she wakes up”
With a nod Luna tried to relax. She wasn’t sure whom but one of the Elements had seen or felt something that had made her… unstable. She wasn’t sure how to explain it but tonight she knew what J would see but would not remember: A chamber with six doors and the most horrid landscape ever.
The only thing the lunar goddess could do was to hope. She wasn’t sure how a human would react, but any pony would probably lose their soul inside the wretched traps of darkness. For now though, she knew that J was probably meeting the other Elements and, hopefully, making friends.
‘I hope someday I can make more myself’ She gave a sigh as Celestia took her under her wings ‘Tia wants me to be happy. Three months had been enough’
*** The Spa ***
The walk had been nice, interesting if Rarity could say so, as well as J. She had asked questions and, while none had been too personal, they did get her to know how he had been drawn here and what he had to do as well as the story Celestia had told him. Since the Princess had not said at any time that it should be a secret from the Mane Six he didn’t feel bad for sharing and it did help Rarity comprehend a few things while also promising to share it with the others so as to not bother Twilight with details and so he would not need to tell it again.
“It had to be horrible to be there and have to fend off those… things” Rarity sounded disgusted beyond belief “I can only imagine what it had to be for poor Twilight, the poor dear”
“Things could have gone… better” J had to admit, as they approached the Spa to see the twins wide eyed at the company that the fashionista had today “But it could have gone worse, much, much worse” He saw Rarity shudder at the thought of such an eerie end.
“Don’t ever mention that again darling, it is a dark thought” She sighed as she got closer to one of the twins “Good day dears, is Fluttershy still in here? Has she calmed down a little?” Both sisters gave a nervous nod, making Rarity smile “Good then, many thanks dears. I will go then with my friend if that is not a problem”
The twins didn’t seem to want to give an answer or, well, do much more beyond staring at the human so Rarity simply shrugged and went in with J fallowing close by.
Usually Rarity would have taken her time doing quite a few things, but today she only wanted to go to the pool and find her friend to talk with her as she had also seen at least the end of what had happened and had taken care of the young fillies that were now in Twilight’s house.
When she looked back at J she saw him smiling a bit, probably thanks to the calming odor from the Spa and all the relaxing creams, herbs and other compounds used here. Fluttershy had told her that everything was natural and safe the first time they came here, not that she had any need of these things since her natural and careful lifestyle made her naturally appealing, soft and beautiful, but the pegasi loved to be with her and the Spa was the perfect excuse. Rarity had to admit that without her shy friend the group would have had quite a lot of fall outs, much like if Twilight wasn’t here.
As Rarity thought of that J had his mind wrapped around other matter altogether, even if he wanted all but to think about it.
How would the others react? Right now he was going to see Fluttershy and maybe have a nice chat, however the fact that he didn’t have, but wanted; to meet the others was making him nervous. He did manage out a smile and a calm face but inside he was squirming beyond belief.
What had happened before bothered him, even if he had been able to make it ‘right’. Well he had been able to because the pages Celestia sent him had a little extra in the form of ‘I assume Vinyl Scratch will be near Octavia when you receive this letter, so I would like to ask you to befriend them both and also to ensure that Octavia resides with you in your new house. I cannot explain as of yet why I need you to do this favor to me, but I am sure that if you as Pinkie you will know of her relationship with the musician and how… it goes’.
That hadn’t made his mind up; it was how she treated her own family. J wasn’t sure of how much truth her words had, but she did seem to hate Pinkie, her own sister. While he disliked his own mother’s soldier quirks he also loved her dearly, as well as his sisters and his father. It was much like with his friends, but in a deeper and probably more dangerous level if it was possible. Now that he thought about it…
“I did something stupid” He muttered as they reached the pools in the Spa.
“What do you mean J? Something happened?”
He noticed, maybe too late, where he was and where Fluttershy was resting: She was comfortably lying against the border of the little pool (Even after watching the series he wasn’t sure how to call it, was it a little Jacuzzi?) with her wings spread and her expression quite calm, even if she had small bags under her eyes and a glint of sadness that appeared from time to time.
“Hello Fluttershy” J got closer to the pegasi, kneeling in front of the little pool to give her a gentle pet that the pegasi seemed to need “I… I got angry today. I suppose after yesterday I was going to do something stupid, but I didn’t think it would be against someone”
“But you didn’t hurt anypony… right?” The shy mare gave a little pleading look.
“Of course not” He assured with a big smile, one that dropped quickly “But it was stupid, stupid and dangerous…”
“Relax darling”
Rarity had taken a little towel around her hair and was now joining her friend, enjoying the little show at how the human did seem as nice as he had tried to appear to Rarity. It was, thus, true that his outburst had been because of the pressure of such events in two days, events that took him away from home and threw him in another world that forced him to have a new life. If she had asked him further and some key things he would know all the truth, at least he hadn’t lied and Rarity knew that much.
“You were under such pressure I am amazed it didn’t escalate into violence. Not that I think you would do such a thing as you have been a gentlecolt in our talk. I, however, don’t know how I would have reacted to such events, even more if I had seen Pinkie’s sister yelling at the only mare I have seen laughing and happy under all circumstances after such an ordeal” Rarity relaxed against the little pool and sighed “I must commend your control my dear, though you would indeed need to perfect it as I don’t know what could happen if this repeats in the future (Celestia prevent such a thing)” She offered him a sincere smile “I would hate to lose such a friendly new face”
“The good thing is that you didn’t harm anypony” Fluttershy sighed happily “That is nice”
He gave a weak smile and nodded, even though he still felt ashamed to the bone.
“You still seem tense darling” Rarity got closer to Fluttershy “J has told me all about what happened dear, but do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really…” Fluttershy went deeper under the water to hide her face a bit, yet she did resurface to talk after a quiet moment “But it is… it is simply that I feel bad” She looked down at the water, making it swirl with a hoof “I stayed back because I feared of what could be in there, because I didn’t want to see any creature harmed… I only was useful to carry Trixie and nothing else” The shy pegasi began to cry “And the only thing I did good was to make her angry and yell at me” She sniffled, pushing down until her eyes meet the water so as to not show her tears.
“Darling, darling… it wasn’t your fault” Rarity got closer to give a gentle embrace to her friend “You did all you could there, or do you really think you would have fared any better in there with such a monster?”
“I don’t know” She half cried in her high pitched tone “I never wanted to hurt anything… maybe I was wrong? That thing… that thing did something horrible. Those poor fillies…”
“Fluttershy” J took her chin and lifted her head so she would look both at Rarity and him “You did the right thing being out there. If you had been there…” He took the hand away and looked in any direction but theirs “You did the right thing, you got out of harm’s way. You took Trixie in and I know if there is someone capable of making her relax and calm things down it is you”
Fluttershy nodded but looked away quite fast, though she did meet Rarity’s gaze so to hide her embarrassment and obvious discomfort she would have to face away entirely, something she couldn’t do in fear of bothering her friends or raising more questions towards her.
“I will be fine, I promise” She said finally with an awkward smile “But… how are you?” The question seemed to make J retract some from where he had been by instinct “Do you feel alright?”
“No, no I don’t” He said with a loud groan “I told you it was important to me to be friends with you all, I wanted to be here and make myself change, to have everyone happy” Looking down he tried to hide how glassed his eyes were now as he finally let it go “Do you know how hard it is to let go of family? Twilight saved me as she summoned me here; it was a mistake on her side, but a miracle on mine. In exchange I lost my mother when she was feeling down for a discussion we had. I also lost my sisters and my father as I had little to no connection with the rest of my family and most my remaining friends were already out of town. Celestia is going to solve all of that somehow, but not for me. I will remain here with no one… only you girls, if you want to befriend me. That is why I told you it was important to me Fluttershy, it is because I will have no one else but those close to Twilight” ‘Those I think… that I think I know already’ He thought, fearful of saying the whole truth for the questions it would entail.
J didn’t feel like crying, not anymore. During his stay he had cried quite a lot already and, unlike some, he felt proud of it. Showing emotions was one thing most men tried not to do, it was the same with J during a time but he finally cracked and changed to what he was now. Crying was not funny and was not something he liked: His head ached, he felt impotent to do whatever he had tried before and, most of all, he felt a failure. However crying cleared the mind and he left the sorrow and anger behind after a good time spilling tears.
That he was happy for crying would be lying. The fact that he was proud of being able to, however, was true.
Yet this time was not for his tears “I cried” He lifted his gaze again and looked at both mares with a little sad smile “I cried yesterday after those events, you saw me Fluttershy” The shy pegasi gave a nod “However tonight I realized that I was not crying for the dead, but for Twilight” In a sad tone and with a pitiful attempt to smile he continued “Twilight asked me to sleep with her, she did not want to be alone and I didn’t want her to do something stupid nor be alone and in sorrow, so I complied” Looking back he found a mixture of happiness, rage and sadness in such a recent memory “She kicked in her sleep after the tears took her strength again. I was enraged to see her like that and so I found that I didn’t cry those that had died, but for the lost Twilight had sustained, for her pain and for the sadness that she would have more than those of Trixie and the fillies”
Silence dawned for a few minutes afterwards. J knew that what he said would probably sound like a certain topic or feeling to the mares, as well as to make him feel either insensitive like a monster would in the sense of those that had departed and the fate of Trixie and both Final and Rain or to see him as a compassionate man that feel for the one that saved his life and brought him here, treating him as an equal and a friend.
‘A good friend, one that didn’t throw him away once he messed up like yesterday’ He thought with bitterness.
“I don’t want to think it is what it is not” J broke the silence with a serious face “She befriended me almost after I got here, she had no complexes, and she didn’t even hate me after I… failed to save her aunt and uncle…” A light smile crossed his lips as he thought of the next “She has been the best friend I have ever had. Anyone else would have moved away or made sure to never see me again. I may feel for Trixie, the fillies or the deceased, but I do so all the more towards Twilight, towards my friends…”
To him such words gave away a pang of guilt. Did he think that the few friends he still had in… where he lived before were not so good friends? He was unable to decide what words to say. In that place not much happened as he knew, but the worst always seemed to go for those that didn’t want it and didn’t seem like they deserved it, which usually meant him and anyone around him.
J had to think ‘Would I have done differently if I was in their place?’. He had no answer right now, at least none that didn’t make him look like a total jerk to put it mildly.
“But it is beautiful, darling, at least in a way” Rarity caught his attention with a warm smile even in the dark of the conversation “Things were… harsh, to say something, but you stayed by her and made sure to comfort her. She may need time now and The Mayor may be able to help her better than any of us could, but you must make sure she IS well enough. I doubt any of us four can do the same as you can, dear”
“Us four? I know we talked with Pinkie and that Fluttershy is here, but that counts as three…”
*Poke, poke*
*Sigh* “I am going to turn and there will be two mares behind me, right?” He asked with an annoyed grunt. At least Fluttershy finally gave a little chuckle as she nodded alongside Rarity ‘God, why you hate me so?’ All his pleading to NOT be a cliché were for naught it seemed as when he turned he saw Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash sitting there “Allo ladies”
“Hello there partner” AJ gave a little smile, being the one of the pair that seemed to be open and outright warm to the human “Ah thought Rarity here would make this last longer than it did”
“Well, it is not polite to spy, even if in such a blunt way my dear” Rarity gave a huff and smiled gently “Besides I was curious as to why you two were in here, I thought both of you loathed this ‘girly’ place”
“Damn straight we do hate this” Dash blurted out “But we heard someone had made Fluttershy cry and that the little pushover was here” She stated with an angry scowl “I am sorry Fluttershy, but I have tried to tell you so many times: Not everypony is going to be friendly. Remember what happened with Gilda?” Though Dash seemed angry she did also seem hurt as she mentioned her ‘former’ friend.
“I am sorry…” The yellow pegasi looked down “I thought Trixie would be more… cooperative”
“Don’t need to say no more sugar cube” AJ gave her a sweet smile “After what we heard there is no need to excuse her, though ah am going to have a word with her after she calms down” That was said with a bit of an icy tone.
“Don’t, please” Fluttershy begged all of sudden “She had lost a lot… Just give her some time, ok?”
There was a group sigh as she said that. Everyone but J had joined in for it as each one of them had been on the receiving side of Trixie’s ego when she ‘made an example’ of them all so everypony knew how ‘great and powerful’ Trixie was when she came to Ponyville three months ago.
“If ya say so sugar cube” Apple Jack gave a little nod before turning her head to J “Now though, ah think we have a talk here” She gave a little smile and offered her hoof to him “Ah am Apple Jack, though ah think Twilight probably mentioned me and my partner here Rainbow Dash” Dash simply gave a little nod, still with a serious face “Ah want to say it is maybe not the best way to be greeted here if ah can say so, ah wasn’t there but for what ah heard it was hell so… If ya want a friend ah will be happy to be one”
“Yea, like, what she said” Dash offered her hoof too “But you better don’t make my friends cry and make SURE the egghead is back with her usual goofy smile and babbling in record time, got it?” Finally she gave a little smile, broken down in less than ten seconds “Wait, what are you…? ACK!”
‘Screw the hoof’ J had thought, much to Dash’s dismay as he embraced both ponies, making Apple Jack laugh loudly as Rainbow Dash tried to escape from the grasp of the ‘crazy guy’ as she shouted, squirming about until she gave up with a grumpy face, growling something about ‘Not cool’ and ‘This is so unfair’. At least it did cheer everyone’s mood considerably.
“Sorry, this does mean a lot to me” J had warmed up back to how things were before the events of yesterday, probably only for a while but it was better than nothing “Thank you”
“Ah think ya are all right if ya helped my friend back there as best as ya could” AJ smiled “Ah am sorry for not being there for her when ah could have helped, but better not think of things past, right? Just… make sure she is back soon ya hear?” Her voice obviously turned down to a sad tone, but even if it wasn’t so J did need no encouragement to nod.
After that the conversation turned away from sadness to simply a friendly chat where every mare asked J whatever they wanted to know. Luckily nothing REALLY bad or compromising came and their curiosity was satiated while J himself asked them some questions about things he was curious about.
First he asked Apple Jack about their parents and such. He made sure to be vague when he mentioned about her story and Apple Jack assumed Twilight had told him a bit about everyone, which made it easier for the rest too. As she told him her mum and dad were in their own plot of land and had sent Apple Bloom, Apple Jack and Big Mac here to keep Granny Smith as she had contracted a very rare disease that made her age at the same rate that a human would, meaning that she would probably not live past 80 or so which in human years meant to die around 40 or earlier.
She told him about the Grand Galloping Gala where she had hoped to get enough bits to pay for the first part of the rehabilitation to cure her and her most damaged part to regenerate; the hip. However when it blew Apple Jack had been depressed for a while. AJ tried to smile afterwards and said that she didn’t want any of her friends sad, though she had to admit it was partly because she didn’t want to see sadness, not to be sad herself. It was a bit egoistic, or so she said, but her friends did reassure her that it was normal and if it came to happen it would be much like what had happened to Twilight.
Speaking of family Rarity told everypony that her parents would probably visit from Fillydelphia in a week or two, as well as those of Rainbow and the others (Except for Pinkie’s and probably Twilight if her mother was as bad or worse than her daughter). It seemed that the girls had all their birthdays few days apart and since all families had been, or were, friends with each other they had decided to try and make of this a new tradition.
At that Rainbow tried to say nothing, but it seemed that, as far as J could hear from the little talk between her and Apple Jack, that there was some animosity between some of the parents.
“Ah only say to let them short it out Dash” Apple Jack had said “Ah reckon it is better that way”
“Yea, tell that to my mother, her hoof and Rarity’s dad” The rainbow manned mare said with a dejected sigh “I hope they don’t something foalish after so long”
“Ah know they won’t” AJ chuckled “All of them will be too occupied looking at Twilight’s new ‘assistant’ there to do something they may regret”
It went on smoothly after that with mostly some curiosities here and some there, hearing of their adventures from them was much more interesting than the cartoon and he didn’t have to feign surprise as there were some things different in their tales or at least more detail.
In truth he was having fun with friends for once in such a long time that he didn’t even notice that night was approaching so fast. Simply talking and sharing a few things had felt to him like the best drug, putting it bluntly; he had a high right now. The day had began as pure shit by his standards, had turned up to be a bit funny thanks to Lily and her overreacting, then went down again thanks to his outburst at Octavia…
‘And seems like it is going to end like this’ He chuckled as Dash told him of the ‘worst’ accident she ever had, which mostly included a lot of tree sap and following Apple Jack around the apple orchard because a little spat they had.
“Miss Rarity?” A sweet and calm voice caught the attention of everypony present towards Lotus and Aloe “I am sorry to interrupt but it is time to close… and Miss Vinyl is waiting outside for someone like if she was a statue”
“Oh, we probably stayed far too long my dears, I am sorry” Rarity blushed a bit, embarrassed at the fact that they had taken the bath and then simply stayed talking “I will make sure to repay you girls next time, just think of something I could do for you two and consider it granted”
The twins smiled and nodded “Thank you, Miss Rarity. We do need a few gems to renew some of the Spa’s decoration if you were so kind as to provide us next time you come here”
Rarity returned the smile and nodded, guiding everypony outside as they chatted a bit more. J had to admit that while everyone seemed easy around him, they did also seem a bit wary except for Fluttershy. While nothing too compromising had been said he had also been sincere with everything he had been told and, of course, not everything was good. Probably it was not any better that he put it a bit darker than it really was, in fact his opinion was still affected by self guilt from yesterday and thinking that what he said was the whole truth did not help.
Whatever it was though, the nature of the ponies was set to be friendly and forgiving most the time, so much like with Octavia everypony was happy to have someone new here. The only one that seemed really troubled was Dash for whatever reason, though Rarity was obviously worried sick for her friends and Apple Jack had been caught without her smile from time to time. Fluttershy was sad for obvious reasons and she was the only one J could say was ‘normal’ in this situation.
No matter how much fun it could be to have someone new or how open the girls seemed to him, it was obvious that with what had happened, what had been told and with one friend between a fine line between coming back ok or maybe never coming back the mares were in as high spirits as possible, just… not fully, not until Twilight was back and happy. They could, as much, play a bit of pretend and try to be as happy as they could.
‘Tomorrow will be a better day, I know it will be better’ J told himself, unaware if it was simply a self inflicted lie or hopes that it indeed was better than today.
“Well it has been nice but it is time for us all to go to our homes dears” Rarity brought J back to reality as they all got out of the Spa “I hope to see you again tomorrow J, and that you bring good news”
“Me too” J assured “Maybe tomorrow I can be with any of you girls? I would like to have more time and to know you all better”
“Ah have to pick some things up tomorrow so ah will not be available” Apple Jack rubbed her chin with a hove “Ah think ah will have ma sis running amok then, and after today ah swear you are going to cross paths with her in no time”
“I will be taking care of the weather, yesterday I took the day off so I have work to do” Dash flapped her wings and gave a little wave “In fact I have to go take a rest right now. See you next time!”
Everypony gave her a quick goodbye before Rainbow disappeared in the sky.
“I will be at my house taking care of Trixie” Fluttershy said with a meekly voice, more than usual I mean “Before she was so… grouchy I left her a lot of food and anything she may need so she didn’t have to move much. I doubt she even tried to get away so I am not that worried… I fear what she may say when I get back though”
“I’ll go with you dear, that is, if Apple Jack doesn’t mind taking care of Sweety Belle tonight” Rarity offered; glad to see her friend nod “Then it is settled darling. Though this changes the plans for tomorrow dear J, if you can’t visit Fluttershy’s cottage that is”
“I’ll go, I promise. I want to see how Trixie will be doing and… maybe get her to move with Twilight when she is recovered. For now I will see where…” He felt a thug on his jeans and looked back to see Vinyl’s smiling face “Oh, nothing then, found her”
The three mares nodded and waved their goodbyes between little smiles as they dispersed. At least J could say that, while not 100% perfect, it had been a more or less good day with new friends made and also the fact that he had the luck to know in person every single mare of the Mane Six. It was like a dream come true and for once in his life he was about to squeal like a girl.
*Thug, thug!*
Well, when there was nopony around that is.
“Ok, ok” He gave a little smile as he turned “I gather you have been here a lot” She nodded “How is Octavia? And Pinkie?”
“Octavia turned to her near mute self again after we got to Twilight’s place” Vinyl gave a little chuckle “She is only so open and talkative when her sister ‘drives her nuts’, the rest of the time you will have to be alone with her to get even what you could call a conversation” Vinyl couldn’t help but poke her tongue out “Pinkie is… a bit depressed, but give her a night of sleep and tomorrow she will be her usual random self again”
“I hope I didn’t cause her that little depression…” J began, but Vinyl did cut him in time.
“She is like this every time she tries to see her parents, receives her letters returned or when she sees her sister. When she came back from the Grand Galloping Gala she was the same because she thought she fudged her sister’s best chance at being famous” Vinyl shook her head with a little giggle “The little foal is always too worrisome for her own good. People don’t understand that she is so random because she doesn’t want to think all that much, though she is as smart as Derpy or Twilight”
Vinyl got up from where she was sitting and began a little trot towards her home after that. She seemed awfully eager and it did left J with his thoughs as he wanted them to be.
He had learned many things from the girls and had decided that what everyone had seen in his world was a toned down or child friendly adventure of what the Mane Six did here. They hadn’t spilled any spicy or sad details, but they had been implied. So he wondered: Why the Mane Six and why not the entire story? If they were real as this demonstrated, if this was no fantasy, why not showing the entire story?
‘Because it would be way too much for your people to accept that other worlds, other species, do exist’ He heard the voice of Celestia in his head ‘Very few can find these places, you are lucky. Probably no other human will ever place a foot in Equestria after you ever again’
‘But… how is it possible? Why do we see this? I mean…’
‘Lauren Faust IS an Alicorn you know?’ She said with a little chuckle ‘She is, in fact, a human, the only one with such an innocent mind that I could touch. When she slept or when she played with her Little Ponies when she was young I brought her here, at least her soul, her innocence. I shared my stories and she watched as this world grew, she even helped me in the last years.’ The alicorn princess smiled inwardly as she said that, as if bringing back a sweet memory that seemed so far away yet had been lived not so long ago ‘We shared our story during years, Jonathan, she was a magnificent artist and an equally magnificent person, a good friend. So when this all happened, when the Elements of Harmony’s final destiny finally came, she offered to share our story with your world in hopes that any of you could see the same marvels she enjoyed when she was young’
‘I guess it backfired a bit?’ J chuckled.
‘You could say that’ J didn’t have to see her to know she blushed ‘I mean, come on, Molestia? Trollestia? Your kind has a wicked sense of humor’ She gave out a warm hearted chuckle ‘However if they change maybe that about you being the ‘last human’ to ever get here could change too. As for now I only hope that you will change enough my friend, I still fear it may have been a mistake’
‘What? Why?’ Now J was nervous again ‘Why do you say that Celestia? I know I haven’t changed as fast as you had hoped but…’
‘Jonathan, I am unsure of what it is but there is something that has changed, and not for good’ She stated bluntly ‘There is… something weird going on, something that I had not foreseen. You are no innocent my dear, you are no Alicorn, not a pony of any kind. You came here corrupted and if someday you ever want me to change you, then you have to be as pure as Lauren, yet that will mean you will stop being yourself. Still, that is not what worries me’
‘Then what is it? Why are you scaring me like this now?’ J was about to scream the words, for once scared for his new friends, however not because someone or something else could do them harm.
It was because of what he could do if Celestia was openly saying she was worried.
‘I am not sure Jonathan, I wish I knew’ She sighed tiredly in defeat ‘But when you confronted Octavia I had hoped for talking, maybe yelling. The anger that rose within you and that made you use your now latent magic was… unpredicted. It was not in the ‘schedule of things’, as I like to put it’ A few seconds passed as Celestia remained pensive ‘I am not sure of what, but you didn’t get here, to this world, with what made you do that, however in my thousand years of age I haven’t seen nor felt such a thing’
‘What can I do then?’
‘Sleep, and don’t fear, but tonight you walk in the realm of nightmares’ Celestia sounded hurt as she said that ‘If it is something that is destined to engulf you, then I will know by tomorrow. Where you are going to go I cannot help, nor can my sister, not even Lauren can, and she has offered her help’ That made J feel warm for some reason, in a way Lauren was his little heroine for giving the bronies MLP FIM, to bring them the story of this beautiful world that she had experienced ‘However she never was seen by anypony, never in her whole stay. That cannot change, not even to help you, also Luna could be harmed in such a place so I can’t risk her getting in and helping you. If yesterday was harsh test, this will be even worse, something that will tax you in a way that would take away something that means much more to you than your own life’
There was silence for a few seconds as he and Vinyl approached one of the many houses in Ponyville. The only thing different in the outside was the big note that was exactly the same in Vinyl’s flank and that was adorning the entrance of her house.
‘Be careful Jonathan, I was too harsh with you and I still haven’t forgiven myself for that. I want you back, my sister wants you back. You are much like the only friend she ever had’ Celestia offered a warm smile that J could see even through this was telepathic, the goddess of the sun was simply that gentle and nice ‘I want all but to see any of my fellows sad ever again. Please, be careful and come back Jonathan. If Lauren made it possible for you to come here thanks to what she did, then I want to believe that there is enough good in you to remain here, to make someone happy’
“And this is my home! Watch out, it is sparkly”
The statement caught J too late as he refocused in the scene before him, only to find a wave of music and a bright flash blinding and deafening him for a few seconds.
Once he opened his eyes he found himself before the bright entrance of what seemed to be a huge disco, though in fact it was simply the main room of the building that had a few disco balls and an ample collection of stereos with music and lights dancing around thanks to both interesting decoration.
The floor was, literally, a dance floor that filled the whole main room except for the exact middle where a round table with four chairs lied comfortably. There was not much for the chairs or the table, in comparison to the rest of the room they were as normal as they could get.
Vinyl got in and switched something, letting the music die down and the lights becoming more like the normal white ones a ‘normal’ house would have. It didn’t change the fact that the multicolor floor and the disco balls were, alongside the walls, giving it a very specific look.
“Hey, my life is a rave” Vinyl gave a light chuckle “Come on in”
“I can see that” J smiled as he did his best to fit through the doorway “I had thought your house looked plain on the outside”
“Do you know how much it would take to change the exterior? I am not made of bits” She poked her tongue out “I wouldn’t mind though, it would be a lot of fun” She gave him a pleading look then.
“Oh, you want this, don’t you?” J gave the poor mare a mischievous grin as he brought his Ipod in plain view. Vinyl simply nodded as fast as she could “Ok, let’s see how much you take”
“Thanks!”
With her magic Vinyl took J’s Ipod and, before doing anything else, she examined it up and down. She bought the headset to her ears and with her nose she pushed a button, letting the music fill her mind as she smiled to herself before trotting towards one of the doors in the room.
J, wanting his music back when Vinyl was finished, fallowed the mare to the best of his capabilities. While the house was not big and only the main room seemed prepared to be one huge everlasting rave, the rest of the house was tidy and white as far as he could see. Of course the problem was that, while it was small, Vinyl was fast as heck.
“Stop running damn it!” J coughed after they had arrived to the 2º floor “Frak… you know… you are… pretty fast”
“Courtesy of Pinkie” Vinyl beamed “Now, it won’t take much” She said with a bright smile.
J hadn’t even notice that they had reached one room that had posters with many pony bands, a lot of albums with music and even some little trophies and pictures with Vinyl on them. One of such pictures was of Vinyl, Octavia and Pinkie in a happy hug, at least happy for Vinyl and Pinkie.
Once he was able to breathe normally J got up and checked the picture while Vinyl used her magic to do… something with one of her disks while holding the Ipod on the side.
“How long have you been friends with Octavia and Pinkie?” He asked, hoping that the white unicorn wouldn’t mind talking while she did her thing “You seem to know them very well”
“Since I got away from my parents, at least Pinkie” Vinyl commented with a little shrug “I meet Octavia two years later when she moved away from her parents as they sold the Rock Farm”
“They sold their way of life? Why?” He placed the photo down and got closer to Vinyl, sitting beside her on the mare’s bed “For what was said before I thought they couldn’t live without it”
“They couldn’t, but the guilt was pretty big as far as I know” She said nonchalantly, changing the disk and getting a new one quickly “I suppose that is what you get when you accidentally ‘murder’ your daughter”
“WHAT?!”
While Vinyl continued with her task J had turned pale as if the blood had drained from his face. As he had thought before: The day had been pretty shity, then turned up good… but after the talk to Celestia and now this? God, what else did he miss? What did Lauren hold back if she had been here and saw all of this? There were many secrets.
“Pinkie’s parents had been fed up with her for a long while. It is not that they didn’t want their daughter to be happy and to do what she was born to do, but they wanted her to be serious about things, they wanted to show her that doing what she did all time could be very dangerous” Vinyl gagged as she was disgusted “They paid a young dragon a nice amount of gems to give her and her sister a good scare at the last party Pinkie did for them. It was supposed to go smoothly as far as her sister told me, since SHE did know of what would happen”
“Her sis… why don’t you tell me her name? Would be faster and I wouldn’t need to guess, it is not a time for secrets” J grumbled, this was simply something that he thought would annoy him further.
“Because, like me, she is not the same pony as she was” Vinyl gave him a predatory glare that he hadn’t seen in any pony ever “I was escaping from my home when I found her body going down a river that was in the forest. Pinkie and I didn’t live that far from each other as there was a village near her Rock Farm, the forest nearby was where they threw the party and where the dragon was attacked by… something, I don’t know. Being a young dragon some creatures could face him, but whatever attacked him only made him angry, chased Pinkie and her sister until they were near the river and then left Pinkie alone while her sister had distracted the monster to what almost was her demise”
She changed the disk again as J watched her wide eyed. She was treating this as if it was everyday’s business! Something smelt fishy here and if it was any more obvious it could be cut with a knife, literally.
“When I found her downstream Pinkie’s sister was between the path of being drowned or ending up with blood loss. I could do nothing, I was little more than a filly back then, but Celestia came to help” Vinyl’s eyes sparkled as she took her glasses away “She healed her and helped us with a wish for each. We wanted practically the same: To enjoy a free life. She gave me those lentils and a change of my whole color to be a new person, a new pony. I changed my name and so did my friend with Celestia’s blessing, though she left and asked me to tell her parents and her sisters that she would be back when the time was right. Haven’t heard much of her ever since, much less seen her”
“Why didn’t she go back right then?” J wondered of why she did it, where she went and how she was now. Maybe she could help bring the other two together.
“Are you kidding?” Vinyl couldn’t help but to give a weak smile “When I found out about Pinkie I came to Ponyville, not a day after the events. She had been cast down by her sister and her parents were in a depression, not able to look at her. The poor thing thought they hated her, but asides from Octavia they didn’t, they simply felt so guilty they didn’t even think they deserved her little girl for they mess-up” Vinyl sighed as she changed the disk again “I must admit I think their idea was pretty stupid, but if nothing had happened to the dragon then Pinkie probably would have been scared enough so they could ‘teach her a lesson’ and the other two would maybe remain in the Rock Farm with their parents as they wanted it to be. I am not sure, the only thing Pinkie’s sister told me was that they were desperate, they didn’t want to lose their little angels to the world”
“I know of stupid coming from parents to make their little ones do what they think they should, you don’t have to tell me” J shuddered at some of his memories.
“I must say I saw Pinkie’s sister again, but once I told her about how things were… she didn’t want to come back. She said she would when all of them could forgive either themselves or, in Octavia’s case, Pinkie” Finally Vinyl placed the disks down and gave the Ipod back to J “I know you were rough with Octavia, but when she is dealing with Pinkie the only thing you can do is scare her or she will go on and on until Pinkie leaves crying when she finally loses it or until Octavia’s mouth runs dry. I hope it doesn’t repeat itself while you are here, as well as to see them smiling together for once” Vinyl gave a bit of a sad smile “Now though, thanks for the music”
“No need to, what you told me was a nice payment for it, as well as the help this morning” She gave him a gentle smile “I hope to catch you again soon Vinyl, but I should be going. I think tonight it is going to be hell…”
“I am surprised that you will even try to sleep after what you told us” Vinyl said matter of fact “But I hope to see you soon too, and try to make Twilight smile again, ok?”
J nodded and gave him a little petting, making the mare chuckle as he got out, waving his hand at her. With a content sigh she got closer to the picture J had in his hands before.
“I wish he could make you smile too” She said, rubbing a hoof against Octavia’s figure in the photo “I have missed your smile so much, Tavi…”
*** Back to Twilight’s house ***
Luckily from where Vinyl house was it only took a little trek to get to Twilight’s tree. The door was open and the place was quiet, only The Mayor was there, sitting and reading a book, though no one else had waited for him today.
“Oh, welcome back young man. I thought you would come here with the tail between your legs quite faster than this I must admit” She gave a sincere smile though the blushing was obvious “I am sorry for doubting you there, but you should know I had my reasons”
“If they include that I was worried for Twilight, I must admit I was entranced with the girls, Mayor” He admitted sheepishly.
“That is good” The Mayor giggled “For the record, call me Coral my dear, I know everyone call me The Mayor but the title wears you out after so many years”
“Alright Coral” For some reason the name didn’t quite fit to J.
“My real name is Golden Letter dear, but my friends called me Coral all the time back then” She gave a little smile “But enough chit chat, you should be tired and I am here to say that Twilight and Spike, as well as the twins and Miss Octavia are in their bedrooms. The little girls also told me that they chose to have one single room for them and that one of the closed doors opened to show a kitchen when they were hungry. I don’t know how that room of yours works my dear, but it still has one surprise left it seems”
“Thank you ma’am” The Mayor blushed at that as if to say she wasn’t ‘that old’ “Anything else you would like to tell me? I am tired, but, believe me, not so willing to go to sleep”
“Well yes, in fact something came down here” The Mayor took a little envelope from where she was and gave it to J “Derpy said it was very important. It does have the royal seal after all, so it should be”
J, wondering, opened the thing up. It had a little note and something else inside.
“This is the official decree where the order of the Knights in Ponyville is founded. Residence: Twilight Sparkle’s Library. Members: 1. Founder: Grey Knight Jonathan. Paladins: None. Squires: None. This magic note will stand by the Mayor’s residence and will be updated whenever it is needed” J read out loud before the paper banished in a blue light “Well, that is interesting” He chuckled, taking a look at a fine and delicate card that was also inside the envelope “Grey Knight’s card. Bit count: Five thou-WHAT?!”
“Five thousand bits?” The Mayor went wide eyed “I… eh… considering the news dear… I would ask you to come by the main hall tomorrow” The Mayor bitted her lower lip “I am ashamed to ask for something shellfish but I would like to ask you for a favor young man, would you at least hear me out?”
“Uh... yea… whatever” J couldn’t help but scratch the back of his neck, a bit nervous. He didn’t know how the economy worked but if a pie was four bits (from the series), then five thousand… why so much money? “I’ll go, I think after this I do need to sleep a bit”
“I understand dear, I hope you don’t mind if I take my leave to” The Mayor went straight for the door “I have some things to think about myself”
The Mayor closed the door behind her and J suddenly found himself alone. He gave a tired sigh and began his walk down the stairs and towards his room as he thought about all that happened today. He didn’t know what to make of it and, seeing the money he technically had in his hands now, found even less sense as to what to think of this day. Was it good? Was it bad? Was it the worst thing up to date? He was not sure of what to think, but between what almost happened to Octavia, meeting the Elements briefly, knowing of Pinkie’s story and some details of the girls he never knew of, as well as Lauren’s story here, he was overwhelmed.
Once he reached his bed it simply came to him, a sudden realization: The shock of a day could be his last one.
He thought ‘What if I survive? More days like this one? Is it any better than the life I had before? If I had any thought of this being a fantasy, being a lie, being a… a cartoon for children… it all was washed away with that Celestia told me. Now here I go, willingly walking down the path to the maw of one of those dark creatures, practically begging for it to devour me alive so I help to bring darkness to this world. Is this what I want?’
Lying on his bed, the light dimming slowly, he let out a tired grunt as he didn’t even want to take out his clothes. What would he do? What good was he? Messing things up in Earth, messing things up in Equestria, it was all the same but here it had been two people dead, two ponies, and one good friend harmed.
‘What good am I?’ He rubbed his eyes, not wanting more tears.
By then he was unable to feel the darkness embracing him, forcing his consciousness away, swallowing him to its depths as his room was all but a pitch black mess of glaring eyes within the shadows they formed around themselves.
*** The Other Side: Nightmare Realm ***
‘And lo, he of weak mind and body, crowned knight lord of the weak, savior of the just, pawn of the light. Lo he as he walks willingly the path of darkness to find the demon of madness, to fight the sweetest pain there is to gain. How much further will this champion, champion between darkness and despair and that which opposes them all, walk under the unrelenting onslaught of the ever-changing beast? Such a harsh path for such a tired and weakened soul that is so afraid…’
J opened his eyes, startled at the vacuous voice that seemed to echo from all around him. He saw darkness, a small glimpse of light all around him and metal, nothing else. He was unsure of where he was, but he was sure that there was nothing good in here.
“Twinkle, twinkle little star”
A voice came from nowhere in particular, leaving a trail of giggles on its wake.
“I so wonder what you are”
Another fit of giggling, this time darker, came from just in front of his face. J blinked and, suddenly, he saw Pinkie’s right where nothing had been: Sitting before him
“Hello Jonathan, ready to play?” The predatory smile and the slit in her eyes made it obvious that this wasn’t Pinkie, not the one he knew at least, not what was real.
‘What the fuck is happening here?!’
*** End of Chapter 6 ***
I am going to go and say it: I am not all that happy with this chapter. Reason? Heat, 30 degrees to be precise. I am a person that enjoys COLD, sweet, merciful COLD. These weeks I have been making this chapter I have been suffering from this heat AND school so my creativity had been impaired quite a big deal.
I knew what I wanted to make, and I did make it, but I am NOT sure that it is how I envisioned it. I did change whole pages on the fly after a few re-reads so you can see where I am going. I did, however, think of Octavia as Pinkie’s sister practically from the beginning, though I wasn’t really sure to implement it in the story until last chapter came along… So… random :3?
There are also other things here, like the meeting with the Elements, that were heavily edited. I thought of making it larger, more detailed and warm, but after the fight with Octavia (If you can call it that) I was not so sure. The chapter was growing large (Right now it is around 21 pages, if not 22 pages in size EIGHT!) and there were many details implemented, with loads upon loads that will be implemented in fallowing chapters as time progresses.
The background with the story I gave to Octavia, Pinkie, her parents and her MIA sister will be important latter on, as well as other things that will happen and that have happened already, only saying. Thankfully the forgiving and warm nature of the ponies in Equestria made it possible to draw a sword towards someone and get forgiven, somewhat, though in the future this will have some repercussions, don’t think everyone is as nice as I make them appear.
I am sure there are questions about Lauren and other things, but those will be answered in due time, you, though, can guess as much as you like. The worry should come now from the fact that I am going to use the Dark Side of one of the girls, namely: Pinkie.
I haven’t read cupcakes; I won’t read cupcakes, I FUCKING DENY IT’S EXISTENCE (Sorry for the outburst). However I do see Pinkie’s inner fears as pure madness, anger, hatred… However more of this in the next chapter, if you have the stomach to read it that is. It is going to be dark, cruel and probably filled with gore. This is not Pinkie, it will NEVER be the Pinkie I love so much, it is simply her inner darkness, what she could become if there was something so brutal as to break her mind.
Yet such is the destiny of this story: To find the darkest fears of the girls, what they would hate to become, and to destroy such darkness… Or to fail, it may depend as the story progresses as I haven’t yet decided for a happy or a dark ending. Time, and you as well, will tell.
See you in the next chapter, if you have what it takes to continue reading this adventure.
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Uros
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1056
| 7 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
| 61 | 29 |
<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-10-09T21:14:01+00:00
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2011-10-09T21:14:01+00:00
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Chapter 7: Dark Side – Pink Asylum 1
Well everypony, this is where things turn quite grim in the story. It won’t be something common, but this does turn the rate up for mature in Fanfiction.net, in FIMfiction it is already listed and mature and in DA… well DA is DA.
Also: Still searching for a volunteer that wants to make sure my mess-ups are not so messy. I cannot stress the fact that I am bad at editing this grammar to make it as perfect as I want.
*** WARNING ***
The first two parts of this chapter contains scenes of gore and, if I do it right, horror that should not be read, much less imagined, by those that cannot take it well. I will not be held responsible for anything that happens to those that do read this.
“Are you ready uh? Are you? Are you?” The pink mare bounced up and down around J, only visible to an extent.
Not thirty seconds had passed, but J was scared shitless for once in his life. There was no other way to put it: Darkness enveloped him and he could only see a seemingly happy Pinkie Pie that threw him glances much like a cat would do to a legless mouse as the thing was used as both amusement and, after the predator was bored, food.
Right now he heard nothing but the mare that looked, but was not, Pinkie. Her tone was odd, not as cheery or as friendly as it had always been, nor was her jumping and bouncing that of such a cute creature, but more of one that tried to make sure to stay over the prey it was circling with those eyes keeping tabs on him every-single-second.
“Oh… you don’t want to play” J felt a pang of regret and sadness as he heard Pinkie say that. She stopped in front of him with her mane down and a regretful look.
“Hey Pinkie, I do want to play, but it is too dark” He kneeled down with a smile to give Pinkie a gentle caress “I am just… surprised”
“Oh, of course!” She perked up immediately, grinning widely and showing what J did knew as her usual smile and cheery tone, yet still something was off “But there is no light in here, dummy, you have to follow me!”
Bouncing away, Pinkie suddenly generated light of her own, showing J the way down a corridor covered in grey and brownish metal plates. It was eerie, to say the least, when J followed her only to see small lights (much like the ones he had in his ‘home’ now) popping up to the sides to show countless doors where nothing but darkness could be seen.
From time to time a corridor popped here or there, simply being there, the same as the one he was walking in right now. There was no difference, all was monotonous and exactly the same, sometimes it even seemed that the scenery repeated itself as in an infinite loop with only just the small change needed to keep him from thinking it was something else and not only his worried imagination picking at him.
However it was bound to happen, he did know it, and the scenery would change. He was in a nightmare, he was sure for the few times he had ever dreamed it was a dream walk, it was always dream walking when he had luck and his mind drifted away like this. It meant he was aware that he was asleep and in a dream, a magical world that, unlike Equestria, wasn’t real. The fact that he could see ripples in the air around Pinkie Pie was a perfect sign of it.
It was not only the fact that she was weird when she talked, but things around her… changed slightly, like around everything that seemed important but wasn’t real in his dreams.
Once, long ago, he dreamed of the scene that made him change, the one that made him almost unable to ever dream when he slept: When he had to kill that boar. In that scene the creature, huge and monstrous, went for his sister when he could do nothing for her, nothing at all… It was a traumatic experience that took something dear from him back in that day.
But then he saw it, what most people could describe as the essence of a nightmare if they could even wake up with the full memories of the encounter: Black energy, probably a suggestion of the mind, rippling through the creature that was instigating his fear. It made all around it change for its benefit, altering the field so J could not reach his sister, so he could not stop the creature, not, until he could control his actions during the dreams.
However, to control oneself’s actions during a dream there must be a sliver of innocence, and back then there was none. That made him remember what Celestia had said about Lauren and that, for him to change like she did, he would need to change who he was.
In fact this made him remember that it was not until much later until, finally, J could dream again. This time his mind was clearer and, after many visits to the psychologist, he didn’t feel the monster he thought he had been that time when he trembled at the sight of the dead boar before a glint of his adult mind forced him to carve the poor thing apart for food.
For a kid, innocence is hard to lose, much more to recover if it happens. When J did lose his he also lost the right mind to dream, much like many do thanks to traumatic experiences. Recovering it was only possible thanks to the good doctor and his sister. The doctor helped him overcome part of the guilt, the only time it happened, and his sister made him relive that nightmare one more time when, after so long being nervous around her, she asked to help with him one stormy night.
This time though, he got the thing away from his sister.
Maybe, now that he thought about it, this was why Twilight had made that ‘mistake’? There were few dream walkers for there were few innocent people left in the world, at least few with part of an innocent mind. As he looked around, seeing the now colorful walls as Pinkie, or her shadow at least, guided him towards a pink colored door he had to admit something to himself, something he didn’t like.
‘For all the shit I went through, I would prefer it to be an accident’ He thought bitterly ‘I don’t want to think there interest from someone mixed in this, but… it is too much of a coincidence that Celestia asked me to do this just when she met me? She did read my mind, I suppose it showed her and she didn’t know until then but…’
He shook his head and looked down at Pinkie as he was about to enter the room. The smile on the pink pony was so gentle and caring, yet it was as if it was forced and behind it was such a scowl that simply showing it would harm, or do worse to, J. The mare was twitching, but not in her usual way, and the ripples in the air weren’t black or dark, but sure as hell they weren’t natural. Whatever would happen, because something was going to happen, would be BIG and NOT good.
So entranced he had been with Pinkie’s weirdness, those things that made her so obviously different, that when he reached the door something that would happen to any human happened to J thanks to having his eyes and attention somewhere else.
*KLONK!*
“AUCH!”
‘Seriously, watch your step. These are ponies, not humans, not in height anyway’ A voice sang inside his head, one that seemed to come from anywhere it wanted inside and outside his head at the same time, echoing as if a drop of water inside an empty cave it was.
“Duly noted” He said out loud with a groan, rubbing his forehead until he heard laughter, sincere and happy Pinkie Pie laughter.
When he looked towards Pinkie he saw the mare, but not the ripples, not the differences, no nothing…. There was nothing different this time, it, she, was Pinkie Pie. She was rolling in the ground, chuckling and giggling, even snorting a bit like a piggy and just laughing all the more with such antics until she got up, got closer to him and poked his nose.
“Honk!” She giggled “Are you alright? Sorry but I hadn’t had such a super-duper laugh in a long while”
J simply gave her a little smile “I am ok, no problem, only” He rubbed his forehead again, groaning at the feeling “It stings”
“I am sorry to hear, but come in, take a sweet and relax for a while” Pinkie gave him a cute smile “I don’t have anything for the aching head, so we will pass the time”
With a bright smile Pinkie hopped inside the room with J fallowing her soon enough, not too fast though as he dared to glance back, only to see that the walls of metal and all around him was changing, very slowly, to resemble Ponyville. It was a beautiful scene under a perfect blue sky empty of clouds that was watching over a peaceful town that, while easy to the eye, seemed empty like if it was a ghost town even with how much it looked like the real one.
‘The most complex one I have seen…’ He thought, thinking about all the dreams and those nightmares he had. When something ‘good’ happened, then the scenery changed accordingly. If something bad, on the other hand, came to happen…
‘You don’t want that happening’ J heard the voice from before as it invaded his mind again ‘Believe me, I am on your side, but I cannot help you here, so make sure you do not mess up’
‘I would thank whoever is in my head this time to give some information without much dilly dalling’ He growled, getting inside the room with Pinkie Pie ‘Else it is going to be hell’
When he got in, without the voice saying a single thing, J was glad to find that nothing had changed in Pinkie and, to round things up, the room was in fact Sugarcube Corner! The first floor with the main room to serve customers or to throw parties was filled with balloons, sweets and other foods that would make anyone’s mouth water. It did smell delicious and looked past that simple word. If you want some more information on J then let’s give you one of his weak spots: He had the biggest sweet tooth in history.
Then, if you take into consideration his sweet tooth, plush that this was a dream and he knew it, you can excuse him if he jumps, lands on the huge table set up for this and begins to devour pies, cupcakes, muffins and even half a cake before giving out the loudest belch he had ever heard (Or produced, for that matter).
“Wow, you were hungry” Pinkie giggled, snorting a bit “Did you like them?”
‘You better compliment my friend’ The voice in his head chuckled darkly ‘We don’t want our little friend showing her other face just yet’
‘Just yet? You told me I wouldn’t like if…’
‘I say many things’ The voice interrupted ‘You better only keep in mind one: I want you to succeed’
“They were great Pinkie” J admitted with a big smile since, in all fairness, it was true… or it would be if knowing he was here made any feelings less real than for those that didn’t know better “But I think I got too much, my teeth are going to ache if I don’t clean them”
“Oh don’t worry” Pinkie gave a smile “After what the Princess did you don’t have to worry about that. We only clean them to keep our breath fresh” She flashed her white and perfect teeth to him.
“That is so cute” J chuckled wholeheartedly “However I must ask you, all of this was for me?” Pinkie nodded with a smile, taking a muffin for herself “Where are the others? You always have everypony ogling such sweet things”
It was night imperceptible, almost as soft as if a sponge fell to the ground, however J was much more used to be alert like if death itself was stalking him during his dreams, that is the only reason that made him notice and turn.
‘Congratulations, you fucked it up in record time’ The voice spoke with a loud laugher ‘Not even I could have made a bigger mess. I am amazed! You only took two, and a few lines from the third if you allow me to say so, so you are a champion my friend’ J didn’t even understand what the voice was saying, simply because the important bit of information that he did understand and was true was also his main problem.
He had fucked it up, royally.
Pinkie’s pupils had turned into tiny dots, her mane had flattened out and her tail had fallowed its example. There were vestigial tears in her eyes, but they ran dry so quickly it wasn’t natural, as if they had been absorbed back from lack of feelings to simply let them out. Not that it was the weirdest thing however, as soon those ripples of dark energy emerged again, expanding in a black flash that blinded him for a few seconds.
Once he opened his eyes again he saw that he was still sitting in the table, yet this time the table was a pure mess: Rusted, with remaining food in a putrid state, maggots, flies and what seemed to be some kind of bones that had been left behind until they lost their original coloration. All the sweets were gone too, replaced by eyeballs in the case of muffins, still beating hearts in the case of cupcakes, ribcages full of the organs they once held instead of the pies and, god, the cake…
Made out of bones was the cover, with meat and blood as the icing and organs as the sweet insides of what had been a sugar coated white cake filled to the brim with chocolate and cream. J could even see that the little sugar apple on top had changed to be a little eye that was watching him. That thing even blinked once with what seemed to be a transparent eyelid before it jumped out with what would be the optic nerve being used as a makeshift feet.
“Nobody comes here anymore, they never do” Pinkie called with the saddest voice he had ever heard. However Pinkie was not there anymore.
Looking around J found himself entranced as he stared at walls of metal covered in rust, at least those he could stand to look at, the others were made out of skin and covered in blood. It didn’t look like pony skin, but it was no more disheartening or any less sickening as he looked upon the crudely tanned hide, only to see, from time to time, an eye looking at him or a smiling toothy mouth.
The seer disgust simply made him look all over, admiring, and fearing, this gory nightmare.
“I am always alone here… with nobody to talk with me” Pinkie’s voice sounded as if she was about to cry “When I saw you, like when I saw my friends the first time they came here, I was glad” Her tone took back some of its cheery tone for a second “But I knew it wouldn’t last”
When he looked towards the entrance from where he came he saw her: Pinkamena Diane Pie. In his world, with what the people had created as ‘fanon’, the real name of Pinkie had been labeled as an alter ego: An excruciatingly sadistic, murderous and dangerous creature, a cannibal pony. He had never read the story, he didn’t like gore or drama, but it did seem that if he had, then this would probably worry him the same, if not more.
Pinkamena sat there, a sad smile on her lips as she looked at him with those dead, beady eyes she had now “I… thought you would stay…”
“I never said I wanted to go away” J tried to salvage the situation, but then he felt something.
Touching his chin he took away a b it of meat. Rubbing his hand against his mouth he could see blood. When he burped again he could feel the coopery taste and even inside his belly he could feel the meat, twitching and moving, as if it was still alive.
He threw up; one of the things he most hated about his biology and it was the only thing he wanted to do right now.
‘Not helping your case’ The voice, as a chorus, chastised him.
‘Shut up, I want to die’ J growled within his mind, his belly emptied of… whatever he had consumed before.
Hearing a sniffle was all it took for J to stop himself trying to puke his own guts out. It was not that the taste was horrid; it was that something inside of him wanted him to throw up the meat, to take it out of his organism. However the sound of Pinkie’s sadness brought him back to her as Pinkamena lied before the door, crying on the floor.
A cry that soon turned to laughter.
“Oh my gosh! You should have seen your face” She said, standing on her forelegs as she made a face herself, mocking his pain “Do you know what you did?” Pinkamena asked with a wicked smile “You turned me into a happy idiot for a second there” The smile faded as she growled, practically spitting like a cat as she hissed the words out “You made me think this hell is a happy place! That there are some out there that care for me! Do you think how hard is to wake every morning to see everypony out there, looking just at the sweets and thinking I am a stupid mare that just does what she do to be… random?”
She stomped with one hoof, crushing one of the metal tiles so hard that a two by two square of them bent over like if a demolition ball had bashed them at full strength.
“Do you know why I didn’t slit your throat when you got here?” Pinkamena gave him a glare that could melt steel if she wanted to “Because I DID thought you would be my friend. I may not be a princess, but I was born different, I was born in a way I can see ‘things’” She let it hanging, not bothering to explain anything “That is the reason as to how I know what is going to happen every day or how I know some things… Do you know what happens when I don’t know? Do you know what happens when this… this sense doesn’t work?”
Out of nowhere a few things materialized: The imaginary friends that Pinkie had when she tried to do ‘that one party’ when her friends had been getting her own surprise birthday party together. Mr. Turnip, Rocky, Sir Lint-a-lot and Madame LeFlour, all four of them with their own dark ripples that equaled, if not surpassed, those of Pinkamena. Whatever these things had been in the surface of Equestria, within Pinkie’s mind they were much more, and dangerous.
“I see things as they shouldn’t… I… I feel like the only friends I have don’t like me…” She sniffled “Everypony knows me, but only they are my friends, and Vinyl…” Suddenly her eyes turned bloodshot “That BITCH! She knows where my sister is! She won’t tell me just because that darn Celestia said not to! Why the FUCK does that whore thinks she is!?”
Pinkamena stomped again with full force, shaking the room and making J roll over the mess he had made. IF not sickening and grim, the scene was at least as dark as it could get… or not.
Mr. Turnip, a simple bucket full of turnips just a moment ago, turned into the first monster of the mind: A giant turnip opened in two from top to bottom, showing an enormous number of serrated teeth and tentacles within its fleshy insides as roots formed from the rest of the turnips in the basket, ‘sacrificing’ themselves to form a pair of hulking arms that doubled as locomotion means while the weird and separated body was joined by a muscle that originated from a huge eyeball that stood in the middle, as if floating between both parts of the body. The bucket had melted not long after, covering bottom of the ‘roots’ to make it a ‘clawed’ appendage from which a purple ichor was oozing nonstop.
Rocky turned next: The lower rock forming a six legged base , much like a spider of some kind, with the middle one forming a sphere with an eye on the middle and a couple of small finger like stones floating around it. At first the middle one seemed weird as hell, not dangerous like the rest but simply weird, until those ‘fingers’ sharpened the ‘nails’ making the little flying rock field death ground when they began to spun around at such a speed that was hard to simply see. When the top one changed though, it was not a head, what was formed was more or less it was a kind of a crown; the normal cartoony like crown that every king has in kid stories… though this one turned to look at J and gave a ‘smile’, bending its anatomy to show itself as it was the teeth of the monster.
“You know what it is to be nopony in reality?!” Pinkamena thundered, growling as the other two ‘imaginary’ friends grew within the dark ripples, ready to transform “To simply make ponies smile at your parties and then leave thinking THAT is all you are?! A FUCKING PARTY?!”
The third creature, Sir Lint-a-lot, transformed in more of a gaseous form than a consistent one. J was unable to understand how a little eyeball had formed from the lint, much less how the yellow gaseous material, semi solid for the looks of it, worked and how it had transformed, but the result was there: A big mass of a creature, a little eye floating with blood basically covering all but the black of the eye and a rancid smell coming from it like if the thing was putrid. The creature moved away just slightly and the gaseous body touched one of the skin covered walls, dissolving it.
“How the fuck do you think I could be sane and friendly when they all see me as a simple airhead? You know how hard it was to lose everything I had? To then put on a smile and throw a party the next day after I lost my family?! DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!”
As Pinkamena walked forward Madame LeFlour finally went along with her change. The sack that had the flour burst, though it soon formed the chest of a woman, skin, muscles, bones… all from a sack of flour that was not enough to form it completely, just bits of it here and there, with most of it being as much a parchment of meat with a bone and maybe some skin, not even the breast formed completely. The rest of the body, though, was a paste of white, dense liquid that ran all over the body as if it was partially solidified blood before it turned yellow, forming factions on the face, claws on the hands and the feet and a wicked smile on the mouth where serrated black teeth rested. The only human like of the bunch, probably for a reason that J couldn’t take away from his head.
However those thoughts simply banished as he felt a hoof push against his face, slamming it on the rusty floor.
“You came here, all worried, thinking of what was happening” Pinkamena said with a wide grin “Then you made me laugh, made me… HER” She spat with an angry scowl “But you know what? I am going to give you a chance, Jonathan, we are going to play”
“P-play?” He tried to ask, his mouth filled now with his own blood.
“Yes, play” Her predatory smirk lasted just enough for J to be entranced on her, not noticing the hoof going straight for his stomach.
The impact sent him away to the other side of the room, in fact the *KRUNCH* probably had been his back and a part of the wall, he was not sure. The thing is that as painful as it looked it was dulled, much like the tastes, but to a greater degree. He had been dismembered quite a few times in these nightmares, even killed, he was no hero and only if the nightmare had happened before or if it ‘wanted’ him to win he would… otherwise it was nasty. In real life however? In real life he had broken bones, cuts and more, so it all added up to him being quite insensible to pain.
And no, it was not a good thing.
“I will hide somewhere, you search for me” She said with a little dark giggle as J opened his eyes “My friends search for YOU, and if they catch you and you can’t escape” From somewhere in her mane Pinkamena drew a knife, looking at it with a professional eye “Then you lose”
Panting, J tried to get up, only to feel his leg get stuck against the wall, giving him such a REAL sensation of pain that he had to scream out in such a guttural and bloody way that anyone would think he had been bisected right there.
“Oh, and I forgot” A sweet but murderous chuckle broke from Pinkamena, forcing J to open his eyes again as he had closed them, wishing the pain away like the first time he had felt it “There is someone you should WOOOOOORRY about”
“Jonathan…”
If to this point you, or anyone else, had thought of J as an emotional wreck of some short, then you would probably be right. However if you thought of him as someone capable of showing no fear… well, his white face and cold sweat would probably make you rethink it, much more so as the feeling made him unable to even feel his other leg being pinned down. The reason?
Sarbo.
That the word doesn’t mean anything to you, that it doesn’t MEAN anything, doesn’t have anything to do with the fear. What had to do was the thing that owned the name, the thing that had been his little fear when he had been young, then his personal boogieman and, finally, his ‘reaper’.
“I am here… for you…”
AS empty as the void and as cold as the space should be, those were the aspects of Sarbo’s voice: Devoid of everything, full of death. At first, when he was young and still had his full innocence with him, probably even before he had reached his sixth birthday, J dreamed up with a pair of cute red eyes when he was engulfed in darkness. His first ‘nightmare’. Back then Sarbo only looked at him, trying to scare him, but it never came to happen.
He never saw it again, but he did, though, name ‘him’. When he recovered from the ‘event’ that made him lose all the innocence a child has, when he defeated his first nightmare, Sarbo returned. This time those ruby eyes had a big gapping mouth under them and Sarbo seemed able to take him with something that was hidden in the dark. Back then the creature, Sarbo, had to be huge, draconic like even, because J never had a chance and it was one of the reasons he became so numbed in dreams.
Now? Now he was like in his last years in Earth: Sarbo, the dark machine.
As to why he had decided to name his personal death like that, J didn’t know, but it did fit. Sarbo was, for a lack of a better word, a golem. Its head was a helmet, much like it would be for a crusader in Europe in the middle age, but with the lower pat, the mouth, shaped like if it was the mouth of a dragon. It should be close, pure plate reinforced and tight together; however the metal was creaked, forming a huge mouth that gapped with blood red light coming from inside and steam escaping from holes that seemed to have little tendrils of metal inside. And the eyes… those red lifeless but brilliant eyes… they looked vivid and warm, but behind them one would find a simple purpose and desire: Pain.
Its chest was empty; in fact what you could call a chest was simply a broken armor that showed the mix of metal and meat. The still live muscle and the non beating hearth probably where there to give the thing a scarier appearance as, if it was like any other nightmare it only was what J made of him: A machine. However it did serve to frustrate his attempts at cutting his metal body in two as the flesh made it almost impossible for him to break it apart as, somehow, it managed to regenerate back.
The arms and legs though, they were dual. Dual means, in this sense, that they were pretty much like human legs and human arms, but also that the creature could, with a screeching sound similar to snapping bone and tearing flesh, realign them, change them, SHAPE them to change legs to arms, feet for hands and so on. In this case the mechanical monster now had the two legs transformed into a form more like a dog with metal huge claws, one in each, going though the floor while his hands had what seemed to be a pair of meat grinders in each, both pairs crushing J’s legs against the ground.
“Don’t leave… a friend behind…” Sarbo gave a wicked smile before it simply… disappeared from view.
“Your friend got here when you did” Pinkamena said with a little smirk “He seems to want to play with you SO much that I invited him over” She got closer and used the knife on J’s already destroyed legs. The feeling wasn’t anything like when Sarbo did it though, something that seemed to upset her so the only thing she did was to take a little sheering in her hand and stab J in the chest, emptying it “Wake up and the game begins”
And with that the world went dark.
*** Undetermined time afterwards… ***
‘Being the main character sucks’ J groaned in his mind as he tried opening his eyes.
It was easy to open them, not so easy to look around and see that the room had now a blue like light that gave it an even eerier look as some kind of music seemed to envelop it. The nightmare, whatever it had turned out to be (For him or for Pinkie, he was not sure), was using psychological and physical means to make sure to try and harm him, or outright do it.
‘Get used to it, chump’ The voice from before came back, after all the shit, it came back ‘I know you are destined to, maybe, succeed. I know you are going to take away all this dark, after all, I told you that I want you to be the hero and achieve all these good deeds you want to do. The problem is: You are not the main character of this story, don’t lie to yourself, you are just here to clean the horse crap and then… who knows? Will you live or will you die?’ There was a dark chuckle within J’s mind ‘I want you to succeed, whatever happens afterwards I haven’t looked at for I don’t really care’
‘That is comforting’ J grunted as he tried to get up. It came as no surprise that, since he still was in the dream realm (Or nightmare) his legs were perfectly fine again. They did hurt a lot though ‘So I am a peon in this little endeavor’
‘A knight’ The voice said, matter of fact.
‘Whatever’
‘Listen up fool’ The voice grew in power ‘I am the nightmare of Insanity, I am Mneuthan, and I am here to make sure Pinkie Pie is her random and crazy self for all her life’
“WHA…!?’
‘I am NOT like the rest of my ilk. I do not hurt my hosts physically or mentally, I do, however, make their inner minds, their dream personas, mad’ It said with a grim tone ‘However I make sure that they never have the power to never surface and harm anypony. It is the way I feed, the way I continue existing’
Suddenly a red puff of smoke appeared in front of J and, from within the cloud, a creature appeared.
It was a simply floating stone face, much like a human maybe? J wasn’t sure as it changed shapes quite fast though the old dramatic masks used in theatrical representations were most prominent. The reason it was hard to tell is because the thing was exuding red fumes wherever it went, making it hard to see. At least it was fairly easy to perceive a tail made of twenty little tendrils of black color with little sparkles of light that are almost imperceptible except when they moved really fast, leaving small trails of light when the creature is in the darkness if the fumes don’t obscure them.
‘This is me, me, before they corrupted me’ The voice sang within his mind ‘Pretty nice right? Such a simple yet obscure body, so pretty and so hideous at the same time and for the same people’ It giggled ‘This is what you could say, the mind of Pinkie is: A random form, obscure and complex yet happy and simplistic in a way. Anypony could think of this form in their heads, it is horrid and dark in a way, but there are worse and most complex things’
‘What the fu…’
‘Do you think she is happy?’ It snapped at J ‘Do you think Pinkie has been happy lately? Since before you moved here something dark has been pulling at me, at her… I said I do not harm my host, I have had many unlike my ‘family’, but I have never harmed them, not when I had my own free will’ At that the voice turned dark and devoid of life ‘I know the others are coming, slowly but steady, they are getting close. At some point I will have to show you the monster that I am before you fight the monster that YOU are’ J tried to ask but the stone face in front of him aimed all of its tentacles against his face ‘Shut up and listen! I am supposed to embody insanity, but here I am, doing my best to retain the little bit of seriousness and of my sane mine to warn you: Do what you must, harm none doing it! Do you understand what I am saying?’
‘I-I do’ J gulped down, almost falling down on his ass as he was pressed against the metal wall.
‘Oh I doubt you do’ The face hovered against him as the tentacles retracted ‘Harming them physically would be hard, you wouldn’t do it even if you life depends on it. Harming their feelings however… that will happen’ The voice of Mneuthan was filled with distaste ‘I have little time, but I can guarantee you that, when this ends, some will hate you and you will be hard pressed to remain friends with everypony’
‘But I want to have them as friends! I want to do things right I… I don’t want to make the same mistakes I did when I was in Earth’ He mumbled, almost whispering, as he looked away.
‘Some things here will be easier, I can assure you, but some will look much, much harder’ Mneuthan floated away from him slowly ‘The feelings of ponykind are much stronger than those of humans. The humans of your world have lost much of their sensitivity thanks to the things you have done during your history and, as such, you do not have the problems ponykind have. Yes, they do recover soon from loss, but it is a defense mechanism to ensure they are happy as sadness can tempt them to be… dangerous to others, much like Pinkie’s dark side has’
‘Then what do I do? I do not want to harm any of them’ He couldn’t help himself. He was afraid to die now as he had what he wanted in Equestria, but at the same time he was afraid of harming his new friends… How to make sure none of those two things happened?
‘I know that you will beat the darkness in this world, I know it and have it stored in my mind. However I… I also have seen… have seen so many possible results… but never looked at them, never cared to spoil the surprise’ Mneuthan’s mask gave out a weird smile ‘Why, it would be so fun to see how awkward it will be when you tell Pinkie you like her’ The thing snickered ‘Or how weird I would be to tell Rarity you hate makeup but that you find her sexy? Even more! How would Twilight react if you told her it was the first kiss that you didn’t regret having? Awkward moment if I have seen one I bet, even more if she told you it was the same way for her’
*TWUNK! TWUNK!*
‘Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit…’
The ‘hands’ from what had been the mutated body of Mr. Turnip were protruding from the wall, each one barely an inch away from J’s arms. He had taken too long, he was supposed to be running and searching since he woke up. This conversation had taken too much time and it seemed that the ‘guest’ of honor had bored the pink mare.
‘Such huge amount of possibilities’ Mneuthan giggled as it rolled in the air, slowly disappearing ‘Telling Fluttershy how much you would love to cuddle her at night, asking Rainbow Dash out because you like her strong attitude, helping Apple Jack in the farm in hopes to simply stay with her for a while… Wouldn’t it all be great to do so many things? I am DYING to see how you will do all of it without harming them all at once. I wonder how this lovely mess in your head will play out in real life’ with a final chuckle Mneuthan faced him with a little smirk as it faded away.
Whatever had happened, Mneuthan had obviously lost whatever control it had left over what sane mind the nightmare of Madness could have. The problem was that if it was the Nightmare and that it had some control until now, then it meant…
*KRAK!*
“I am here for you” A croaking voice emanated from behind him, forcing him to turn and see that it did meant it.
The nightmare had resumed and the creature that would be Mr. Turnip was there, with its hands firmly on the fleshy ground behind the wall. It was like the nightmare ended right in the wall, but behind it there was a void with flesh expanding just a few inches away from the wall, tentacles making sure that the monster out there was not going to fall to the emptiness of the dark.
“The game is on… don’t disappoint my mistress” The creature growled as it cracked the wall with a roar, opening enough of it to step into the room.
‘Fallow the tracks…’ A sweet and gentle voice told him. It was female and sweet, but it was neither Celestia nor Luna.
‘Tracks? What tracks?’
J was seeing everything go in slow motion. The adrenaline had finally kicked in, in fact it was the first time he felt it in his dreams or nightmares like he had felt in real life. That… that was a problem, this was bad.
‘RUN YOU IDIOT! IF YOU DIE HERE YOU DIE FOR REAL!’
Never in his life had his mind simply screamed at him as it did then. The creature in front of him had just moved its semi organic appendage so fast that even in this ‘slow-mo’ it was being fast enough to guarantee that this time the wound he would get was going to be fatal.
As if on impulse he jumped backwards, stumbling to the ground and seeing bright reed hoof prints in the metal tiles that went straight to the now opened rusty door.
J heard his breath as he got up, his earth pumping blood so loudly that he could swear his eardrums were going to explode by the rhythmical sound beating at them without pause. From behind him he could hear the scratching of metal being bent and cut down thanks to the huge claws of the monster as it screamed something intelligible, distorted by J’s actual perception thanks to the natural cocktail that made his mind and body act faster than it should.
It took him a moment to notice that the creature was lumbering towards him, but, luckily, not fast enough. He had turned his face just enough to see the claw pass a single inch away from him, in fact that was a lie. Right across his eye a burning sensation came to rest when two deep gashes cut through his upper left side of his face in a diagonal direction. It didn’t hit the eye, but in turn did cut a small bit of his nose.
The pain felt real; in fact it felt so real that he thought, no, he was sure that those wounds would be there when he woke up. It was… it was simply something he felt inside.
‘If I don’t move I am really dead’ His eyes, for once after so long, were filled with tears of fear as he looked down to the eager ‘mouth’ that was practically the whole monster as it salivated ‘I need to move… MOVE!’
And move he did. As if all his strength was pushed right towards his legs J ran, ran for his life fallowing the hoof prints through the door, never looking back in fear of another attack as he watched the twisted corridors filled with blood, meat walls and even pure floor made out of something… alive. Whatever nested within Pinkie’s mind had twisted this part of her to such a degree it could hardly be called a mind anymore.
‘I need to run, I need to… to… god’
One, two, three corridors, uncountable doors and so many twists he could take. The music that was hammering at him had returned as the adrenalin stopped pumping in his bloodstream. Something was making him tired, nervous, afraid.
J took a hand to his wounds. They weren’t really all that deep, but they would leave a little scar. The problem was the pink ooze that they were exuding. It feel thick and it bubbled, as if it was caustic or venomous, though knowing that it came from an aberration it was probably the most plausible thing.
‘I-I am going to die’ He thought, his insides churning again as he felt the need to puke as strongly as when he felt the meat within his system ‘Oh god… when I finally do care for… for what is happening… when I finally enjoy living… why?’
‘Fallow the hoof prints, don’t falter’ The same sweet voice spoke again, forcing him to take step after step again.
J was unsure of what was happening to his body. He looked back and forth, to the sides as well as up and down. Everything was spinning and he saw things… so… so horrible things. Yet he kept on going as he heard voices and saw the scenes unfold.
He remembered that game he played on Newgrounds first, that is how it began. The music, the music crept to his ears and he knew he was hallucinating, but he saw… he saw THEM.
It all started moving when one of those rusty doors opened inwards, crumbling as the cadaveric figure stepped forward. He couldn’t be sure, much less as the world was spinning around him and the colors changed whenever they pleased, but J could swear there was a bit on green in… her?
“Someone new… a visitor?” The voice was vacuous and it reverberated like a gurgling from someone that was drowning while trying to talk “No… not a visitor… We are not at home… We are… somewhere else, again”
The creature turned around to look, showing its blackened form, red eyes and its jagged skull as well as putrid and rotting flesh. Most bones had turned black and while they looked fragile something made J understand that even if he had the courage to put his sword to use (and the right mind to score a blow) the thing would not feel it. It had remnants of hair in both had and tail, but them too were black except for hints of green that somehow where really present.
“We are here again… who brings us here? Why am I the only one that notices what goes on around this place?” The tone was not frustrated, nor was it angry. The thing was just questioning it as she shook her head.
As she looked back and forth the creature finally sighed, looking at J with pity before she shook as if it was an uncontrollable emotion that was rushing through its decrepit body.
To J this was going beyond surreal. If this thing was the one he had seen in that game, if they were REAL too and not something made up in Pinkie’s mind, then they, well, her, would try to get him. However the ‘zombie’ was there, shaking as he tried his best to stay on his feet.
‘Move. She will not be like that for long, you are in danger’
However J did not move, whatever was in him was making his thoughts clouded by the second. Instead he looked around, seeing that he was against one of those rusty doors. It was like most cell doors with a little space to see from. Inside the room, the ‘cell’ there was somepony, or at least what looked like somepony.
It all took was a blink but then the pony was right there in front of him.
It, she, was Octavia. Well, at least she looked like Octavia. Her face was… sucked, as if she had not so much meat in her. Her hair was white and seemingly falling out constantly. The eyes were half dry and the pupils small and discolored. Yet the creepiness of the scene came from the smile.
The joyous smile she bore in her face, one that was plastered there as she decayed.
Whatever it was, it happened so fast that J could hardly explain it. First her skin peeled off, showing the muscles behind until they… burned out, turned black and then showed even the dark bone as a red glow overtook the form of Octavia as her hair darkened and died with her skull soon showing jagged teeth and a mischievous smile.
“Stay with us, we want friends here…” She said with a voice J had never heard.
Then she struck.
A broken hoof shot forward, hitting J under the nose as he tried to move away a second too late. He felt his skull resent the impact, yet the painful sensation came from the burning feeling he had in his lips. J couldn’t help it as he touched, only to see his skin slowly, extremely slowly but oh so steady, dying as putrefaction grew over.
“W-what?”
“One of us… a friend” The voice from the first ‘zombie’ caught his attention as he turned to see her, the red glow in her eyes and all over her had taken over “All we want is friendship. Stay with us…”
“A friend…” Another voice called from his side.
“Someone who won’t spoil the party…”
“That is normal… that is not corrupted…”
“He lacks the marks…”
All around him there were zombies. Creatures of disjointed bones, decayed meat and bright red eyes looking at him with the longing for something they could not comprehend anymore. All of them different yet horrid, all of them with madness in their looks, as if something else had been there before and it still was, yet there was no way for it to surface and take over.
“But he can get them… if we don’t protect him he will be cursed…”
“Come with us, we’ll protect you… forever…”
‘Run! Run or die! They won’t stop now!’ The voice in his head had lost the gentle tone, scared for the life she had tried to protect.
With the world still spinning around him J got up, finally growing in courage or in fear just enough to push his body against the metal wall and simply dig his fingers against the next fleshy section, forcing his body with all his might so as to jump over the monstrous abominations that were closing on him.
The adrenaline quickly pumped back inside of him, but this time something had changed. His hearth had stopped, there was no beat and his lungs didn’t accept the air he tried to give them. As J looked towards the bright hoof prints he could do little but see as the darkness of the decaying disease spread over his fingers to reach his hand, and then stop. The left side of his face had stopped oozing the venom as the curse had spread out, covering it and turning half his vision into a red zone where dark treads of something lingered as he saw things very differently from a moment ago.
Yet he ran.
He was not going to let this nightmare have him, not without a fight at least. As he turned the next corridor he threw a glance to the creatures going after him. All of the zombie ponies were fallowing him, maybe no more than six or seven, but all of them snarling the same words over and over, viciously trying to get at him in such a way that they tore away with the corridor, bringing the blackness of the nightmare with them.
Right and left the darkness expanded, slowly creeping its way under J’s legs as he ran, feeling the burn all over his body even when he knew that the corruption had stopped consuming his face after practically disfiguring him. It was strenuous and his heart, even now that he thought it stopped, seemed about to explode by the fear that raced down his mind.
‘I am going to die for fuck’s sake!’ He cried within his mind, the stench of the monsters behind him intoxicating his lungs with each step he made, each new one feeling harder to achieve, his body numbing slowly.
‘Just a little more!’ The voice pledged ‘You are close! Come in!’
A sudden turn of the hoof prints made him crash against one of the fleshy walls for just a second, though a second was all they did need.
‘Madam LaFleur’s’ body busted the wall as if the creature had been expecting him to bump there all along. With its slick hands the feminine form drew him in into a sickening kiss in which she tried to bite away part of his face, yet was stopped by one of the charging zombie ponies as it collided against its form. The luck, though, didn’t even gave J a chance to breathe in as he felt to the ground because the creature that once had been Sir Lint-a-lot appeared from within one of the nearby cells, corrupting all around its form, much like the flesh of J, as soon as it appeared.
‘NO NO NO NO! STOP!’
He scurried away, the curse flooding through his veins as his vision finally turned red and his raged bread finally stopped. The burning was getting most his arm and all of his head, yet he still managed to move, to run, ignoring the sensation that his decaying body was giving him as he saw a door opening at the end of the corridor. A single little spark of light waited for him within the room and, even if it was another dreadful end that awaited him the hope for it to end in him surviving was overwhelming his broken body.
The last creature finally appeared. Smashing its way through the floor with the crown of stone ‘Rocky’ showed its innumerable clawed fingers and the rock/eye that seemed to be the control of gravity of such madness. Every single digit and part in the creature was dripping blood from whatever was underground, and while the monster seemed to be stuck it didn’t make any difference as the rocky fingers just flew towards J with murderous intent.
His flesh was punctured, his veins were cut, he even felt something go through his chest from the front and through the back, but the pain was no worse than the fear, in fact the sounds coming from behind made him ignore the former to such an extent that when Rocky was close enough to bite him, tearing away his good arm, J didn’t feel a thing as he jumped over the monster.
What caught his undying attention, what made him continue, was the door, the door he was growing so close to reach.
However this was a nightmare, one where he had lost control and that was not even his to begin with. Getting to a safe haven was not going to come so easy even if he was already dead.
“Where are you going?”
A feminine gurgling voice took him over just as he grabbed the frame of the metal door, as his already broken shoulder, lacking the arm, was grabbed violently by a pasty claw. LaFleur was faster than she looked.
“We haven’t finished playing” She hissed in his ear as he yanked him backwards.
“LET GO! LET GO OF ME YOU BITCH!”
The other creatures were closing in so fast that J’s struggling with only one arm served for nothing more than to bother the vaguely female figure as it inched closer, producing a worm like tongue to lick at his neck as her teeth got ready to bite down.
“Relax… enjoy your stay here…”
“Get out of here you monster!”
LaFleur had almost sunk her teeth inside J’s neck, yet she hadn’t yet done so simply by the surprise that was seeing a young filly of grey fur and two tones of yellow in her mane and also yellow as her whole eye color. She seemed tiny and fearful, but also determined as she turned to show her magnifying glass cutie mark. At first the empty eye sockets in her head shrieked in disbelief, then banished, alongside her whole face, as the little filly flashed a powerful light.
The monster was vanished, but whatever had been pushing J forward had evaporated as the flash turned the darkness into light for a second.
J felt the burn all over his upper body. He could swear that, by now, his skin and most his flesh had liquefied to a black substance that ran down the remnants of his body as his red eyes scanned what was left of him in a drunken daze of pain, his body’s last attempts to maintain him alive and the insane amount of adrenaline that was left in the few still functioning sections of his body.
He managed to take a few steps forward, hearing the monsters behind him as he looked at his hands; they were decayed and consumed, sporting black claws of what once had been bone with also some muscle of skin, or what was left of it in their actual state, connecting them together, making them work by either magic or some other dark means.
“Close the door or they will get you!” The young filly yelled.
By now his mind was all but right, however he didn’t need to do anything as a simple glance towards the door was all it took for the thing to close by itself just as a hoof shoot straight for his face. The slam and the crunching sound were sickening as the yells and cries from the monsters on the other side banged at the door, trying to bring it down by any means necessary.
J, however, could hardly notice it as he came crashing down on the metal floor.
The little he could feel now was all sickness. His vision was changing all the time as it went from his normal one to a redder and obscured one with little tendrils of blackness creeping over the surface of his eyes. He, his dream persona at least, was dead. J was not sure if this meant he had failed or if this meant he was really going to die. Right now he could think of anything coherently by the fear of whatever he was going to turn and who he could harm.
He coughed, probably by reflex, he wasn’t even sure he had lungs anymore and what escaped his mouth were a gurgling sound and a putrid stench as he began to cry.
“Why?... WHY?! WHY AFTER I AM HAPPY SOMEWHERE?! WHY THE FUCK!!!!!!!”
“Relax” The filly said with a smile as she crept closer, seemingly not afraid of the mutilated and decayed human “I can help you”
Again a shooting light washed all over, illuminating all around just for a moment, however it felt warm this time. When J opened his eyes again he was whole; his arm, his skin, his feeling and his mind. All was back where it should and the young filly was smiling.
“Hello, I am Ruby” She offered a cheery smile as J finally noticed that her eyes weren’t yellow, but that they were filled with light “And you meet my… the ones I thought were my friends”
“Is… nice to meet you Ruby” J was too shocked as he felt himself all over with his own hands. Whatever pain or wounds he had sustained were gone; all but the new scratch in his face “But… why are here zombie ponies? Why are you here?”
“I… don’t know” The little filly said with a little whine. In fact she was almost the size of an adult, probably she would be if she had lived a few years more, but if indeed this was like that game and it was real and not a dream… Ruby was as alive as J had been a moment ago “Something drags us here sometimes. Lately it has happened a few times and I am more scared than ever”
“That is because you should” The form of Pinkamena appeared out of nowhere besides both of them “You were supposed to be enjoying the show! I was having so much fun and you spoiled it! Now I know why Grayhoof did what he did. You are a party pooper”
Ruby’s eyes watered as she heard those words, something that made Pinkamena giggle.
“A monster for them and a party popper for me” She growled between gritted teeth “Get out of my sight!”
With a wave of her hoof Pinkamena vanished the ghost of Ruby from her nightmare as if it was nothing.
“Always so easy to banish ghosties with a little laugh” The mare said with a little smile before looking at J with murderous intent “However a cheater is much harder to take care of”
“Cheater? B-but I did nothing” J backed away from the mare “I just ran!”
“You stopped the timer! I don’t know what you did but you woke up and you stared towards NOTHING for ten minutes! None of my friends could move, why is that? What did you do?” She growled as she got closer, drawing her knife out “I do not eat meat like those crazy stories tell, but I do have a thing when it comes to see how much anypony can last with me” Her smile was predatory; her eyes filled with madness “Now tell me, what did you do?”
Tonight’s fear had simply ruled J’s mind. He had never thought of himself as a real hero, but more as a soldier. Hardly had he ever been afraid but inside of his own dreams, much like here. However this night had almost made him soak his own pants and the look that yearned bloodshed in Pinkamena’s eyes gave away all the little courage that the young Ruby had brought to him.
“I told you to watch out for him, yet you only watched out for yourself” Pinkamena stopped as she said that, rubbing the knife with a hoof “However if you don’t talk, I am sure he will be more than glad once you are done for”
A metallic sound brought J to attention, but all too late. From the shadows a pair of clawed metallic hands gripped at his arms while mechanical legs crushed his own as they enveloped flesh and bone as if blades of liquid metal were trying to fuse with him.
“Together…” The monster whispered in his ear as he lined his metallic/organic chest against his back.
“NO! DON’T DO IT!”
Immediately he felt the oh so familiar pain against his skin as Sarbo began to tear him apart with his metallic body as it spread through his skin, forcing them to join together. This was the time when he always woke up, when he always felt the most excruciating pain in existence: When his own being, his own soul, was being ripped apart by his own reaper.
The scream of anguish that fallowed only made Pinkamena giggle like a maniac as the two bodies slowly joined as one.
*** Equestria ***
WARNING is over.
“Wake up! Wake up please!”
J opened his eyes, gasping with his body on fire as he saw the darkness of his room. Somehow he had woken up as someone shook him violently, practically yelling in his ear. He would have loved to thank whoever had woke him up, but with the pain and the feelings that he had within he could only do one thing to thank that pony.
Push it away and puke his guts out as he pushed half his body out of the bed.
“By Celestia! What has happened to you?!”
Between raged breaths J finally gave a look towards whoever came to try and wake him up. In fact there were not one, but two ponies: Twilight and Octavia were there. The look in Octavia was of disgust, horror and fear. The one in Twilight turned the disgust away to replace it with concern as she held J’s clothes with her magic, cleaning red stains all over them with what she could spare and making J realize the mess that had been on his bed before he woke up.
“Octavia heard yells coming from your room and found you BLEEDING all over” Twilight said in a desperate tone “When she finally woke me up your door was CLOSED SHUT. I had to use all my magic to break in and then you… you weren’t bleeding all over but dear Celestia…”
Twilight couldn’t continue talking, but J did felt something particularly weird in his back, asides the pain. He was afraid to touch, but his curiosity as to what had happened, what had carried over (If anything) from the nightmare to this world. What was happening to him to worry Twilight so much? That was what he wanted to know.
First, and out of instinct, though, he touched his face. The wounds over his eye and across his nose were there, healed but rough to the touch, as if they had turned his skin into something stronger. He didn’t know how to feel about that, but the fact that, for some reason, they felt like the corruption when it was spreading over his body did not make them look any more tantalizing than they were in that nightmare.
Then he felt what was on his back. His other hand had touched it and it seemed to be a circular wound that left some of his skin much like the wounds on his face, however it didn’t burn as he touched it, it didn’t give away such pain. The thing is that it did felt weird, as if a shooting tranquility got him as he rubbed at it, yet it was worry some as the more he touched the more wounds like that first one he found. In total there were eight, separated by a few inches but all of them on his back.
“W-what the hell happened to me?” The fear from before came back to haunt J “Oh fuck… oh fuck… I need a drink. I want to forget this”
“What happened Jonathan? Why are you… why were you?”
“I… I need a shower first… I need to relax, to get a cold head” He rambled as he tried to get up clumsily “And then… and then I want to get drunk”
As if he was a zombie J got up and walked away, his body now awash with new wounds that seemed to heal fast and not leave a mark except for the eight spheres like wounds on his back and the cuts on his face.
Twilight could only look as he walked upstairs, practically nude and leaving a slight trail of blood as each time she or Octavia called for him the human did not even simply turn his head towards them. It was as if his mind was elsewhere or that he was simply numb towards the world. In the end they simply waited in an awkward silence outside Twilight’s bathroom until J finished his shower.
*** Fifteen minutes afterwards… ***
Twilight was glad that J had recovered a bit of his cheery character after the shower. She had done the same after hours of talking with the mayor, not an easy feat mind you; however he did seem distant as he got dressed in front of the watchful eyes of both her and Octavia. Why Octavia wanted to be there and offer any kind of support to the man that literally got her at sword point was a wonder to Twilight, but she had seen maybe worse things being forgiven in her lifetime.
Or maybe it was the story he had been telling them.
It was still nighttime, probably not later than three in the morning, but it was late. Luckily the girls were still sleeping, probably still so tired from yesterday that the commotion had not been enough to wake them up. All the better because as Twilight pestered him with question he did stick with what he said ‘I can either tell them the truth or nothing at all’, because he was not going to lie.
Celestia, she wished it was a lie.
How he described the nightmare, how he told her about the job Celestia had asked him for, how Octavia went wide eyed as she heard of what her sister had in her mind and how torn she had been since the day that their missing sister went away… as well as how she felt deep inside about Vinyl Scratch’s secret.
The monsters, the fear, the situations, it all was depicted with such realism in his words as he kept on dressing very clumsily and slow that Twilight could swear he was still feeling the pain as he muttered a curse when his body was touched until it became accustomed. The part about the zombie ponies and the ghost filly caught her attention, but Twilight was going to say nothing, she had promised Apple Bloom and Zecora.
But how Pinkie acted, how such a good dream he had turned it to be when he accidentally bumped against the door’s frame at first and… how it twisted itself like if Pinkie had lost her mind? That had been horrid. She was sure that J was hiding something from her, but after what she heard she did not press matters much. The whole experience seemed to turn J into another person; someone afraid of being alone and so afraid to die that he was trembling at the slight provocation.
He had been as direct with her as he said that, a lot of times during his life, he had wanted to die. Even when he came here he had wanted to. When he became depressed he was a danger to himself because of so much shit in his life that he sometimes thought everyone would be better without him, in fact this nightmare seemed to make him think that was exactly what should happen at some point: He would serve his purpose and then disappear.
That had earned him a good ‘slap’, as he had called it, when she lost her temper and hit him in the face. There had been some yelling and he had been ashamed, but Twilight thought she needed to get it out of her system as the frustration since yesterday had been way too much for her and, besides, he needed to come back to the real world. She could not talk for her friends, but Twilight knew that if J went away she would be sad again; probably if it wasn’t for him she would be dead or worse now.
There was only one thing that didn’t change during this whole talk: He wanted to get drunk. He admitted that he hated alcohol (for some reason Octavia flustered as he said that, though Twilight didn’t pay it any heed), and that he suffered horrible hangovers when he took it, but he was afraid of going to sleep and in his actual state he would be so broken by the morning that the hangover would be preferable if he could sleep a bit.
“I know of a bar” Octavia finally spoke after the whole night being silent except when she went to wake up Twilight “Each time I had to be in the village I ended up there after I crossed Pinka… Pinkie every time” She hesitated on saying Pinkie’s real name after hearing J’s tale “If you are hell-bent on drinking yourself to an stupor there is no better place”
“Would be appreciated, thanks” J mumbled as he finally got his clothes in place “I don’t want to remember this as clearly when the morning comes” He growled “I am sorry for my stupidity and… making you clean my blood and the puke Twilight” He bowed slightly, mostly so she couldn’t see the regret and shame on his face “And Octavia” He turned to face her “Thanks for waking up Twilight, otherwise…” He ran his hand across the wounds in his face and touched his back “Just… just thanks, I owe you a lot”
Octavia gave a bit of a shy smile “Don’t mention it” Then got up and walked outside “The bar closes at four in the morning, so we have only an hour if you do want to go there”
J simply nodded, even if Octavia couldn’t see it. He did, however, get closer to Twilight to, then, knell down and give her a big hug.
“Thank you Twilight… you saved my ass as much as Octavia”
Twilight wasn’t sure what to say to say the truth. She felt happy for her friend being ok, well, as ok as he could be really. However it was the sensation that gave her, the feeling of his tears as they splashed against her fur. He was crying and trembling as he held her down gently yet so hard.
“I thought I was going to die… I dint, I didn’t for once want that to happen” He tripped over his own words as he talked, his whole body shaking “I was scared, I felt everything: The pain, the death, my body going numb as it happened… I-I just want it to go”
“I promise it will be all right” Twilight tried to smile, but her nervousness and the feeling of dread coming from him didn’t let her do more than simply return the hug.
“How long?” He asked, his voice shaking “When those things come I will have to do this with every one of you every-one” His voice crumbled, some more tears escaped “I will have to see what you girls would turn out to be if I FAIL. How could anyone want to harm you?” J was whimpering. He looked all but like he had been until now “What if I fuck it and I fail? What then? I will leave you all down and… god knows how… I can’t even go to sleep now for god’s sake! I can’t even face the damn dark alone! I… I just want to be drunk and forget this night ever happened” He pushed away slowly, not daring to look at twilight “I… I am a coward”
“No, no you aren’t” Twilight closed in and lifted his downed head with a gentle smirk “You did your best, you fled in that nightmare because anyone with half a mind would have done so. You didn’t know what to do, so you did the best you could even if you were scared. You went in, you got something from it (even if we aren’t sure what it is) and you survived your first meeting with the nightmares in their own world” Twilight cleaned his tears with a bit of her magic “I promise you Jonathan: You will not let us down”
J wiped away the leftover tears and nodded, smiling a bit, yet the dread of the night would hardly go away “Thanks Twilight, I shouldn’t be like this after what happened yesterday. I should be helping you recover your usual self”
Against her best judgment Twilight gave him a kiss. He was surprised as their lips meet again and Twilight felt a mix of regret and joy as she did so. When he mentioned that the events she could deny no longer that she still felt like crap, yet she didn’t want to bring it up now as he too was pained… but it was also that Twilight knew she felt strongly towards Jonathan. He had risked it all to save her and seeing him in this state brought fear to her mind, fear of losing the man as he had been before, of seeing him depressed and, probably, of seeing him as a danger.
It made him think of the easier exit available, and the only she knew was to give him a kiss. Yes it sounded cheesy and as corny as her books would get, but it felt good. This time he didn’t get her closer and she didn’t press, but the kiss did visibly relax him and, Twilight had to admit, it did help ease her mind too. It simply felt… good. It was a kiss to someone she knew that did care for her enough to risk his life for her.
However she did push away, gently, after a few seconds. She had wanted it as a way to escape from the direction the conversation was going in, not to… well… Twilight hadn’t done this kind of things with such a selfish purpose in all her life and she felt bad for it, but it at least did seem that it did more good than bad.
‘Don’t lie to yourself’ Her mind told her with a scolding tone.
“Uh…” At least J was surprised and he seemed to smile for a moment. That, at least, did make Twilight think this hadn’t been such a bad thing “Twilight… I…”
“Don’t say anything” She gave a shy smile as she blushed “But listen to me: You need to calm down. I… I am not as good as I should be; I know these things cannot be helped but… I still feel bad. However I want you how you were yesterday, how happy and courageous you seemed to be. If you do think this is the best course of actions then, please, do it but do it without any regret and without a single tear spilled there. Everypony need to see a confident and powerful creature that will serve as Ponyville’s protector, ok?” Twilight chuckled, but blushed deeper as J gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks Twilight” He whispered before getting up and walking out towards Octavia.
Twilight, once he left, blushed brightly as she rubbed the cheek that he had kissed.
‘You are an idiot’ Her mind told her as she began to giggle.
***
J got out and saw Octavia giving him a secretive smile while sparing a glance towards where Twilight was inside the house. He blushed but said nothing, instead Octavia just got up and trotted away slowly with him fallowing close. Neither of them said much, well, in fact nothing at all, they only spared a fast glance at each other from time to time as they walked through the deserted town until they reached a different building from the rest, a bar with a sign that read.
‘Berry’s Liquors’
The outlook was that of a normal house, yet there had been add-ons such as a little room on the side that was obviously handmade as well as a second floor and a flat room. There was also a trapdoor on the side of the house; probably it went to a cellar. For a small village this little place looked more than ready.
“If I say my liver is going to resent this but that I don’t care, how would anyone react?” He asked to no one in particular.
“Like most people that know Berry Punch, so by drinking and not tasting” Octavia let out a little giggle “I would advise you to make sure you are ready though, if you still want to drink yourself stupid”
“I am, I am sure I do want to” J sighed “Just… I forgot to pick any money” Because five thousand bits in a card was not going to cut it.
“Berry knows me, I will ask her to put it on my tab” Octavia blushed maybe a bit too much “I am considered a regular here”
“I see…” J simply nodded at that “Seems not only I think this is a good idea, eh?”
Octavia looked down as she neared the door “It is an easy way to get the sorrow away”
J had to give her that, a good drink washed away all, but it did give you regrets anyway, and doubts. Octavia opened the door, let the calm music and the shooting lights wash over him and got in. He went after her shortly after.
Inside the building the lights were dim and there was quiet, but quite loud, music playing while mares, and some stallions, drank away the night. There were some that he knew from the series, the so called ‘background ponies’, as well as some he didn’t, however mostly there were only mares and only so few colts.
And every eye was on him.
As if he had not been weirded and scared enough for tonight. He simply paid them no heed as he walked towards the bar where a dizzy Berry Punch awaited with a bit of a silly smile.
“Whut iz et gona be? *Hic*” She asked with a bit of a giggle as Octavia gave her an inquisitive look at which Berry blushed.
“I thought you told me you were going to cut it down at night” The grey mare stared at the poor Berry.
“Eh… I… Hehe…” Berry took a bottle from somewhere under the bar and gulped down whatever was inside. She made the most pained face J had ever seen “Oh Celestia… That tastes like cra… OH MY GOD WHATE ARE YOU?!”
J grimaced as he felt the stares of every single pony dawning on him once more.
“I am a human and eeeh…”
“He is going to be Celestia’s designed guardian here” Octavia cut him out with a little smile “I delivered him the letter that assigned him as the ‘Knight’ for the village since there had been quite a few creatures sighted on the forest and the princess thinks it is right to have another powerful ally in town”
“Yea, that” J grimaced at the lie, though technically it wasn’t a lie “But I have had a bad night and Octavia said this bar was good. Do you have something strong AND sweet?”
“For someone so big?” Berry looked him up and down “I have something, wait here” She took off as fast as light, leaving the bar. Everyone was speechless for a moment, then shrugged and went back to talking.
It seemed everypony had relaxed and had turned back to their talking. J couldn’t help but smile a bit at that, at least the ponies weren’t giving him cold stares or were disgusted at him, probably thanks to the diversity of creatures that roam this land. That made things easier and, in fact; he could relax now, comfortable in such a crowd as there was surely no bad thing that could befall him in such a crowded place.
Octavia gave him a concerned look but he waved it off with a little smile. She nodded and gave him a chair that, while designed for a pony (So quite small for him), proved to be quite comfortable as he sat down. Until Berry returned all he had to do was to either eavesdrop on whatever conversation picked his interest (There were way too many girls gossiping) or talk with Octavia.
The latter, though, would not be possible. Just as he turned Octavia had picked up a conversation with some pony he didn’t recognize, of course he didn’t even take much notice of the colt but since there were few in the town he was sure to get his name (And his looks, if he had appeared in the series) in the morning. What did perk his attention though, did come from a pair of mares talking.
“But Goldy! You can’t go! What will I do with you on Manehattan?” He heard a very rich voice with a regal touch to it and he turned.
There were two mares talking heatedly besides him, in fact it seemed like they hadn’t even noticed him more than was necessary, not even cared to be exact.
One of them was a grey mare with pure white hair in both her mane and tail. She was perfectly well groomed by the looks of it and had the looks of someone that hadn’t had to lift a fing… a hoof in her whole life. Her eyes were a bright shade of purple and over her body she had a fine dress with silver buttons and other extras that didn’t serve much more purpose than to make it look fancy. One could say she had practically a silver dress made fit for a gala. It didn’t, however, hide a silver looking mark, much like a spoon, that was engraved on her flank.
The other was of a dull pink color with velvet mane and tail. Her appearance was regal, her sapphire eyes cold and her dress, sparkling as if it was made out of gold, gave away how much the pony was concerned with her appearance. On her head she had a little garment, much like a crown, that was made out of platinum and adorned with many different gems finely crafted in such a way that they looked like a perfect part of the construction. She didn’t reveal her mark but probably it had to do with the ‘name’ of Goldie.
“Do not call me ‘Goldie’, Silverlight, we are amongst peasants, call me Royally Golden my dear” ‘Goldie’ called with a bit of disgust “If it wasn’t this where the carriage is going to be in an hour I would’ve never set hoof here. I do not understand how you can come here with your mate once a week, though I must compliment that drunkard that is Berry Punch; she can make a decent drink, magnificent if I can be so frank”
Silverlight sighed “Whatever you say Royal” The mare simply looked away “But what will I do without you here? You are one of my few friends and everyone is going to take vacations once summer starts. I have to remain here and Silver Spoon is going to be alone if you don’t let Diamond Tiara with me. You know my servants will treat her as well as yours”
“Nonsense” Goldie cut her “Your servants are of high quality but my daughter goes nowhere without my supervision. I know that you don’t want your daughter hurt and neither do I for she is a fine young lady” The mare turned almost tender there for a moment “But these business have to be taken care of and Diamond Tiara needs to learn the trade, she is way too self centered to care for more than tease the peasants, as much as they deserve it. I will be back in a month at most, I am sure if this does not please you my friend, but me, my mate and my daughter will go to Manehattan”
Just then the door opened and a huge black colored pony with a servant’s suit came in.
“My lady, the carriage is here” He said in a deep and rough voice.
“Thank you Coltinant, I will be on my way in no time” The colt nodded and stepped out. At least now all eyes were fixed on Goldie “Then my friend… see you soon”
Goldie gave Silverlight a quick kiss and walked off. J didn’t know what struck him as weirder: How easy everyone took that two married mares with children shared a kiss in front of them or the sigh of relief from everyone as she was out of sight, because the conversations were more livery and now people even laughed.
The only negative thing was that Silverlight slunk down against the bar with a sad look.
“Damn prissy idiot” She sighed, taking a glass filled with a bright pink substance and downing it fast “Will never learn”
“Are you ok miss?” J’s question caught her out of guard and she practically fell to the ground as she looked at the human “Sorry to bother you, but you did seem quite troubled after your friend walked away” How was he worrying about someone else after all he wanted was to drink himself stupid was beyond J’s comprehension right now. Well, he was a stupid and warmhearted fool after all…
“And what do you care for you… what were you?” Silverlight asked, only to receive that ‘human’ word as his answer. It was all the same for her as she didn’t know what it meant “Whatever, and yes, I am sad. What do you care for? It is my life and I am half drunk” She sighed, taking a look under the bar to pick a bottle with the same liquid as she had drank a moment ago “I think tonight I will buy a whole bottle”
“Well you seem troubled and I don’t like to see people so, I have already seen it more than enough these past days” J tried to whip the memories away as they came “And the thing that seems to bother you more than anything is that your daughter will be alone now that you friend is gone, right?” Silverlight gave him a look that screamed with warnings “Do not get me wrong here, I live under Twilight Sparkle’s rule, to call it something, in the local library. She is a well read mare and I think she needs her mind occupied these days. She is taking care of two young fillies that are going to be living with her for… a while” At that he stumbled but Silverlight didn’t seem to mind “They are going to need friends after coming here and maybe your daughter could help with that? If it works it is a win/win situation for both my friend, as she will see the fillies happy, and you, because your daughter would have somepony to play with”
Silverlight seemed to ponder for a bit before she simply took the bottle with her mouth and chugged down until it was depleted. She threw it away (With the typical *CRASH* and yell, though nopony seemed hurt as J looked back) and gave out a so inaudible and gentle belch that it either meant she was a pro or that she was so gentle mannered that even her burps were made for frigging royalty.
“I’ll think about it” She said finally “I don’t think I have any other choice however. My daughter drives everypony away, like Goldie and her prissy girl” She scowled at her reflection in one of the many bar’s stands “Sometimes I hate that I was born with riches. All that gave given me are problems”
“Everyone has problems; some worse than others” J told her as Berry Punch finally came back “Mine right now are worth getting knocked out by whatever makes me forget”
Berry placed a bright, so bright it gave of light it seemed, bottle over the bar. With a bit of skill with her hooves she took one small glass and filled it to the brim before giving him a little smile.
“That is Everfree Apple Dread, I don’t know why I called it like that… oh wait, I do remember” She snickered “Because it is made from apples and a few healing herbs from the forest! However the mix makes it an alcoholic and so sweet beverage that… WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING?!”
Ignoring the glass J had taken the whole bottle and was downing it down like, for a lack of a better world, a ‘baws’. The taste was sweet, but the liquor didn’t seem to have any kind of sugar on it as the feeling was ‘dry’ in a sense, even though it went down so easily it could be water to him in all but such a taste and a felling as it was being swallowed. When the bottle was empty he left it on the bar, took the shot and drank it too.
Everypony was looking at him with eyes big as dinner plates.
“T…that shot could take a colt down” Berry said before her mouth hung open.
“It was sweet, I liked it” J said with a small chuckle, feeling lightheaded all of sudden “But I think it was a bit too much”
*KLUNK!*
His head hit the bar and he began to snore loudly.
“I think I liked the plan of the wrong pony” Silverlight mumbled before imitating J’s behavior as the alcohol in her took the rich pony to the dram realm.
“Nopony could drink more than a shot” Berry mumbled as she made sure that Silverlight would not fall down before doing the same with J “Your friend is a pro at this, Octavia”
“He needed it, and I do too, do you have the normal Apple Dread?” She asked, giving J a glancing smile. He looked cute when he was sleep; in fact he looked happy “I would want a few shots myself”
“Of course, at least this won’t send you into a coma” Berry gave out a little chuckle as she served her friend “Consider it free, this was a real something. Tonight had quite the surprise for me”
“Tell me about it” Octavia measured the clear but green liquid in the glass as she took it near her mouth with her hooves “Today had quite a few surprises for me too” Then he simply took the shot and gave out a carefree smile ‘It may be bad, but it feels good’
*** End of Chapter 7 ***
As you may have guessed by now, this story is going to have a lot of mini stories inside. It serves a purpose and, in fact, was thought to be like this not from the start, but as I kept on writing chapters. I thought that the story I had developed [Yea, ‘developed’… Do you know that I write things ON THE FLY? I NEVER plan anything, except in some occasions like some of the things done in this story and it is just because my mind is working nonstop when I am writing!] would be too fast, way too fast… in fact if I tried to keep up this ‘fast’ writing it could probably be 16 or 20 chapters long, however I want more than that.
This is the first story in nearly… how much, eight to ten years? Yea, probably, but this is the one that I want to go along until the end. I mean it, and it is going to be huge IF I PULL IT THROUGH. Believe me the only reason I do not have anything published is not the fact that I do not have a nice paper that says I am intelligent and that I am good at some given task, it is because when I write I usually get bored. This? This is entertaining, this is NICE.
Yes, I dislike the fact that I will have to write drama here and there, I dislike how some things turned out, but I enjoy the overall feeling it is giving out and how things are moving along. That is why I want to give most the characters a little push in how I envision things could have been for them and how it could be. For that matter I would like to congratulate the creator of ‘The Story of the Blank Flanks’, Donitz, as when I was preparing to write this chapter I finally got around to play his game (Remember, until recently I hated MLP, so I literally threw that game to the back of my mind not wanting to play it. Fuck, it is scary).
I wanted to give somepony a bit of story in here and that story gave me the inspiration. I would like to keep everything in here as original as possible but… damn, this is something I have to exploit, sorry. It was a great game and I FEEL like I need to expand such a creepy story because it also would SERVE a purpose in here and because I enjoyed it so much for a 5 minute long game. This does mean, though, that there will be more horror in some of the latter chapters, but I promise it will end well if… you all want to.
That brings me to the next matter at hand: You all will pretty much decide the theme of the ending. I would NOT do this, normally, but I want your opinion. As I said this is the first story I want to finish since I first took this seriously. The thing is, well… this is the first in a long time that had people fallowing it and LIKING it. I want to give you guys the chance to do something, to influence it. So the nice or sad ending depends on what you want to see. I mean, you can decide if you want Equestria without any human or… that at least one stays.
I, personally, already want a nice ending :3 But it is not only up to me now.
You all take your time, this is going to stay and last. I doubt you will see less than the already mentioned 20, in fact if I extend it nicely it should have 30 or up to 40 if I can keep up with it. Of course if I keep writing like this it may not reach that length because each chapter now is going to have 10k to 20k words, hopefully not more (Because I take from 1 to 2 weeks per chapter).
Also: I won’t update in Deviant Art until my friend finishes the drawing for this :3 If he does as I asked him it is going to be frigging awesome x3! Shame he stopped reading because he can’t see drama, horror or the like in FIM, something that I understand very well. Of course as a writer is my duty to write what I enjoy, and I enjoy this story I am making.
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Uros
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1056
| 8 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
| 61 | 29 |
<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-10-29T22:25:48+00:00
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2011-10-29T22:25:48+00:00
| 1,371 |
Chapter 8: Public Relations.
Finally someone jumped to the fray :3 Nobodyreallyimportant and Destruc2 are going to be t he proofreaders for my stories ^^ I will thank them in every chapter from now on cause they are awesome 83 so without further ado:
Thanks to the proofreaders Nobodyreallyimportand and Destruc2.
Also, about some reviews:
The ending is, literally, the ending. It means that when it ends it will have a good or bad ending. The nightmares have a predestined ending and not all can be turned for good, at least not the first time around (Some will), but Pinkie is the one that I think has the best psychological functions, capabilities and developing as she is already technically insane, but in a good way, so her nightmares will be harder to overcome while the others may not be so bad… technically. You all will see in due time :3.
I also want to say that I do wish for a happy ending, but this story is like most I work with: It grows on its own, I basically write it when inspiration hits me, the guidelines I lie down basically do not count for shiz if it wants to go somewhere else, which is why I think I have some quality to write: I do not force things, I have it in my head and it flows alone, I only need to get it catalyzed properly and grind it down until it is good enough once the initial chapter has been laid before me (Which is why this one took around 16-17 frigging days. I had it basically done in 7 and then keept on adding things or correcting others).
Mind you that this has also a negative effect: I have basically envisioned the whole thing in my head and it also has spawned stories after all this happens…
If it ends happily.
However I won’t push it and the decision is still for you all to make, though after how dark things are going to be at some points (Though there will be a 50% dark 50% light and happy action) I do hope you all want a good ending :3 Be as it may be though, I will keep on working. Thank you.
Sidenote: Subconscious voice, this: ‘Hello!’ in J’s mind is courtesy of Nobodyreallyimportant :3 I found it funny and quite interesting so I left it there ;3 could add something in the future ^^.
From the desk of nobodyreallyimportant (more of a cardboard box, really)
Hi all, I would like it to be known that I voted for a good ending. I hope I edit to you all’s expectations.
Onwards to the story!
*** WARNING ***
This chapter contains ‘mature’ content. If you can’t depict what it means… eh… when the next warning appears be mindful of what you read. It is technically not required to read it but if you don’t mind such a thing I would advise you to do so ;3.[/b
“I have to quote a very nice phrase from a very nice flash game,” J voiced before he even opened his eyes, “My whole me hurts”
“Accurate phrase and detailed enough.”
When J finally opened his eyes he saw the bright light of the sun coming through one of the windows that were on the walls of Berry’s bar. Interestingly enough he had no migraine, the sun didn’t hurt him, but… literally, and I mean it, everything hurt right now; every-single-cell. He could feel the pain in every nerve of his body and the only reason he could find of it was the magic that Celestia had granted him, the one that made sure to protect him from minor harm, sucking out the ‘venom’ that was the alcohol by not so kind means.
It took him some time to understand the situation he was in, though: He was in the bar, alright, but he also was NUDE and was lying on one bar table under the sunlight that was so bothering him so ‘gently’ so as to not dozing back to sleep. He could also see most his clothes around with his blurred vision, though most of them were now floating, cleaned and being folded by a white unicorn he thought he remembered; of course the bright red spots on her cheeks weren’t there the last time. J also saw another pony, a brown mare with glasses and… ooooh shit.
“Uh… Mayor, He groaned, rubbing his face and eyes as he tried to get up, not minding his lack of clothes as much as his lack of balance.
The Mayor seemed flustered as J got up, but she simply gave a smile as Berry Punch walked around, getting Octavia and Silverlight from more or less the same positions as J from other tables around the bar, though they weren’t in the same situation as him. It was good to be a pony if you wanted to go around nude.
J finally caught notice of his particular predicament though as he felt his head clearing, so he literally picked the darned round table he had been lying over and used it to hide his privates with the biggest blush he had ever sported in his life. He could be a total pervert sometimes, like most males of any species, but this was probably far too much, more so in a land where he was the weirdest thing alive. Besides, he had never enjoyed the things he did while drunk… and this was already leading him to think he had done one of those.
“Sorry to bother you dear, but it is almost time for dinner and Berry would like her bar empty, so she called Twilight but she seemed to have had a bad night…” The Mayor trailed off, not wanting to add more to it.
“I-I understand what you mean.”
J still blushed furiously until his underwear came to him, floating and surrounded in sparkly light. He was fast enough to drop the table and get them on before being seen again. Such an interesting scene also included him falling face first on the floor.
When he heard a very characteristic giggle J could do little more than to blush even more. The reason? Well because he thought she would giggle or scream her lungs out to be truthful. And who, you may be asking, is the one he thought would do such a thing? Well…
“H-hello Rarity… eh heh heh… um, how much did you see,” he asked between shudders as he took every piece of clothing that Rarity sent his way to cover up everything.
J wasn’t sure if he felt most embarrassed about his maleness being seen or his wounds, though the latter was most worry than embarrassment to be perfectly truthful. For him it meant that there could be problems if Rarity asked something that he wasn’t too fond of right now, at least he would want to get it explained slowly and without any of the girls prodding more than he wanted.
“Long en… I MEAN! I saw quite a lot… Oh darn,” the alabaster unicorn was all red right now as she looked away. “I… I just came here to pick you up after the Mayor had a word with you. Fluttershy finally got Trixie to calm down, but poor darling won’t even give us a piece of her mind right now, I think she just secluded herself in her own mind”
“I see,” J got all his clothes on, shaking the embarrassment from his head. “Well then, what do you want Coral?” The name still sounded quite weird in his mind as he referred to the Mayor.
“Well dear, I wanted to wait until later in the day to talk with you about what I said yesterday, but…” She looked him up and down, “I am honestly not sure if you will be able to stand up for the whole day. Don’t get me wrong my dear, but what you took would have made anypony visit the infirmary for a week or two”
“Needed it, regardless,” J couldn’t help but hide his blush. “Yesterday night was… it was worse than anything you can think of.”
“But I can think of something my dear, that is why I am here.” The Mayor sat with a serious look in her face. “I wanted to ask if you will use those five hundred bits for anything, and I need an answer now.”
J’s mouth hung agape. Ok, it was not as serious as he thought but, damn! Receiving the money? Strike one in weirdness. Strike two, though far from weird; was the entire fucking HORRID night. And then this question? That was weird, in fact for some reason he felt angry. He had lived hell in a few days and now he was being asked for money after going through the worst night in his life.
Basically his answer was, “Girl… what the fuck?” That made all the (aware) mares gasp. “I am sorry for being so rude but, seriously? You are asking me for money? I do not know what you want it for but yesterday night I lived HELL! No, wait, that isn’t exactly precise, let me rephrase it for you; last night I DIED once and almost DIED twice. You don’t have to understand it, in fact if you ask Celestia and she thinks you should know, then you will know and you will understand. But seriously; why the money? Why?! Is there something so important that I have to be asked for such a frigging thing after drinking my ass out just to try and FAIL to forget what I had to do yesterday?!”
The outburst made him feel bad, but his mind was hurting from so many places that he feared of it rupturing and him going insane. It was not the fact that there was danger in his new ‘line of work’ or the nightmares, it was the sudden change from something so nice and lovely that was living with the ponies, to something as horrid and dark as to fight for your life against monsters that no imagination could create even in his world. It just felt so wrong that he could hardly comprehend it, and it was treating to tear his poor humanity asunder.
Simply put: Too much too fast.
“Granny Smith is dying,” the Mayor snapped with her eyes empty and her look down.
J felt like he had been crushed mentally at those words. His previous line of thoughts was cleansed and something clicked in his mind. ‘Stop worrying about yourself for a moment, you prick!’
‘That… felt like a ton of bricks’ He thought at his internal monologue’s tone. It wasn’t the first time it scolded him and it wouldn’t be the last “What do you mean by that?”
“Her sickness has advanced to third grade. She is basically sleeping most the day away and Apple Jack has told me that she sometimes forgets things. I looked in every book of medicine that Twilight had during our stay at her library yesterday, I also asked Redheart about it a while ago before it came to happen, but it seems the only explanation they have is that the sickness is in its final phase,” The Mayor was talking without much of a feeling in her voice. “I have been her friend for fifty years, we haven’t even reached our seventeenth birthday together”
She gave a little dark chuckle as she walked towards one of the windows in the bar to look outside. With a sigh she rubbed the glass with one hoof, giving a sad smile to the passing ponies that didn’t acknowledge who was in the now closed and quite dark bar.
“You know, she, I and Mrs. Cake are the oldest ponies in here” The Mayor didn’t look away from the window even for a second “Most people leave once they reach our age to live the rest of their lives in other towns, much like Apple Jack’s parents whom left after Apple Bloom reached her first year of age, my own parents and most ponies here, including my daughter,” She gently chuckled at that bit of information. “This place is VERY quiet and peaceful my dear, but it is the only Annie, Gretel and I would have as our home” At that the Mayor couldn’t help but give a little laugh. “And if you are wondering; Annie is Mrs. Cake and Gretel is ‘Granny’ Smith. They took long to get used to being called Mrs. Cake and Granny Smith mind you, as much as I took to get used to being called Mayor”
The Mayor tore her gaze away from the street and instead bore holes in J’s mind as she tried to read him and every reaction of his. Her looks had changed ever so slightly, but were clearer than anyone would think. She was angry, but understood, in fact it seemed she understood better than Rarity did as her gaze would glare daggers, but it also had sadness for him and maybe pity.
“I know more than you think my dear, Princess Celestia is a great friend of mine as she is of my father for some reasons that I don’t really know. I do know, however, whose dangers you had to survive yesterday night and, in fact, I do understand how bad you could take this little request as from being practically slaughtered in your sleep, FEELING every second of it, would probably make anyone want little more than solitude or, maybe, some recognition” J looked down, appalled and frankly ashamed “To be asked for such a pitiful thing as is money I would understand some infuriation, however do understand that I do not ask it for greed or any other purposes my dear, I ask because I know how to heal Granny Smith and because what you have is what I need.”
At that he perked up, even Rarity came closer and Berry Punch did nothing to hide her curiosity on the matter.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, my young boy, that I have been saving since I first knew of Gretel’s sickness,” The Mayor stood there, firm and quite defiant for an older mare “Annie and I both look older because we exposed ourselves to it WILLINGLY when it was developing and still contagious so we could spend as much time with her as we could until she simply looked and felt old enough to be unable to do so anymore.” Even with her firm stance The Mayor looked like she had been stabbed at that. “The treatment costs thirty thousand bits, one thousand for every unicorn needed for the incantation and the preparation. No natural medicine can help here and Princess Celestia cannot grant such personal favors for others would want her to help with this, in fact doing this would drain the dear princess of a week’s worth of capabilities to rain the sun, leaving her little sister with the burden of reign and to raise both sun and moon without the thousand years of practice her sister had.”
“But… thirty thousand? One thousand for every unicorn,” Rarity was stumbling a bit with each word as she looked from J to The Mayor. “If Princess Celestia would use so much power that she would be out of it for a week… h-how are thirty unicorns going to supply so much power? I-I never heard of something like that.”
“The payment is, in truth, one hundred.” The Mayor said clearly “Nine hundred are expenses for medical care, healing tonics and one month worth of their healing job as they will be confined in bed, spent from the magical use. I was lucky with that deal because every unicorn has been waiting years to heal Gretel, they all are friends from this city that moved away, yet they all want to help, so they lowered the price to one fifth of what it would be originally.” Rarity gasped and Berry fell down as she heard that “Yes, it is quite a sum, but it is so because there are chances that one of the healers gets the disease instead of curing it. The longer we wait now that it is in the last phase the riskier it will get. If it goes like this for a few more weeks there will be no chance, neither I nor Annie or Gretel wanted to tell Applejack or the others about this but…”The Mayor was silenced as she saw something in front of her.
It was the card, no, the check that Celestia had sent with the amount of money he had for his new ‘organization’.
“Have it, call them all as soon as you can,” he said flatly, his look somber.
“I… thank you, young man,” The Mayor tentatively took the card with her hooves and smiled at him. “I wasn’t sure… I didn’t know if you would give so much money away. I had to work for almost thirty years to save those twenty five thousands… this is a lot of money.”
“I don’t care about money, I never have,” J was blunt. “I am sorry about the yelling, I had to know that if you wanted it, then there was a reason for it, and a good one. However I do want to ask you something in exchange…”
“Ask away,” The Mayor was positively cheery now “For this I would do anything, I can’t wait to see Gretel back again. We have so much to talk and so many things to do.” Rarity couldn’t help but giggle at how dreamy the Mayor had turned out.
“Well, I don’t want much if I am to say the truth. I basically would like it if you can keep track of the money Celestia sends,” J basically begged for it. “I am not good at storing money, when I have it I spend it, I don’t see much use in simply hoarding even now that I may need to do so,” He scratched the back of his head as he blushed. “And… well, since I still feel a bit ‘open’ from the alcohol from yesterday I would… eh… like to ask if you know how well interspecies relationships could turn if you, say, mixed ponies and humans?”
Silence was king for a whole, awkward, minute.
Berry had busied herself taking Octavia and Silverlight to the bathroom while the question lingered in the air. Before it was broken both mares came back, tumbling a bit while giving out groans and trying to hold onto each other mostly because otherwise they would fall to the ground and snore the day away. It did take them a few minutes to notice that there were other ponies in there. Well, a few minutes and two buckets of water from Berry.
Rarity and The Mayor were a much different story.
Whether Berry had preferred to say nothing and walk away (She knew J from his… interesting acting at night, that was it), Rarity had been flustered beyond belief and her imagination was running rampant, much more after she had seen him NAKED. It was not full of lewd thoughts though, she did think about a few possibilities but, to be truthful? She was thinking about WHO (even though she had an idea) could have perked his interest and how it could play out. So many sappy romances had that effect on her.
The Mayor was red too, but she had a bit of a smile on her. She could hardly help but to think about Twilight and how close the two of them had been the other day. Maybe it wasn’t her, but The Mayor did doubt it, in fact she was quite sure it was her, as J would discover later. Looking over at Rarity she also thought that there could be others mixed in this, not that it would be so weird with so few stallions and so many mares. Both mares and colts ended up with the ones they loved, sex wasn’t that important, species wasn’t that important, what was important was love and friendship in these relations, were them permanent or flings from time to time.
However…
“Of course I could help you, dear, but I would prefer if you came to the Town Hall latter if you feel yourself able,” she finally said. “I am not the most knowledge pony my dear, but I do have a life full of experiences. Still that would be better to discus in private you know? I do like to be open with everypony and our society is, as far as Twilight told me about yours, quite more open, but we do like some privacy and THIS may need it. I do doubt you want everypony knowing the specifics about this request…”
“I…” He stopped, taking a long breath as he looked at the now expecting eyes of the mares around him. “Yeah… Yeah I will go to the Town Hall. First, though, I want to go with Rarity, and then meet Silver Spoon in the library, if she’s going there” He looked back at Silverlight.
“Yes, I will send her in a few after she is out of school,” Silverlight groaned. “Thank Celestia I convinced Marion to stay at home, at least my mate has some decency I seem to lack.”
“Hey, your oldest friend is a prissy and bitchy ‘queen,’” Berry stated as she walked behind the bar to prepare some mixes. “After all the discussion yesterday it is a wonder you didn’t drink three times more.”
“Thank you Berry, that makes me feel so much better,” Silverlight grimaced.
“What did I miss,” Octavia grumbled, a huge headache storming her head.
“Not much,” Berry assured her. “Though yesterday you and the nice guy were playing so much that it was a wonder how you don’t remember about it. In face it was impossible to get you away from each other and Silverlight wouldn’t stop looking. I got lucky enough to get everypony but you three out of here” Her tone was firm, gentle and warm, like always. Berry Punch was used to the things happening in her bar, but this did make her blush and giggle a bit when no one looked.
That granted them both another load of stares. First at J and then at Octavia. What had happened last night?
As if sensing the question Berry simply took one glass she was cleaning up and, while looking at it with expert eyes, said, “After Octavia took four shots she began to feel ‘funny’, like most would with what she took. With what she made me take I couldn’t get that ‘warm feeling’ for a couple of hours, so I made sure she didn’t try to hump the walls.” Berry snickered and Octavia blushed profusely. “However, you,” She pointed at the human, “Got up a bit groggy not much latter afterwards. You got to beg her to forgive you about what you did (or whatever) when you two met, I don’t know what it was all about, but she said she would if you made it worth her time.”
Both Octavia and J blushed to such an extent where the mare’s fur turned red all over her face and J could only try to look away in a bit of shame.
“I don’t know who was worked up the most, but there was a lot of kissing and… touching all night long.” There were some giggles as Berry said that. “Silverlight woke up when it was already going and she insisted on keeping it GOING, if you understand what I mean, clapping at the event.” Berry chuckled as the rich mare blushed heavily, not giggling anymore. “I honestly couldn’t keep up after six in the morning, so I went to my room to make sure my little girl was still asleep and to get some rest myself. I don’t know if something else happened here so don’t ask me, but I promise that there was at least two hours of fooling around on your part.”
Octavia couldn’t keep on with this anymore; she got up and walked away, embarrassment plastered on her face. Nopony knew of it but she had thought that, even with how rude it had been how they had meet; J would be a nice person to have as a friend, one sincere friend at least. What he had done to make up for his harsh meeting had touched her so… not even music and concentration on her task could clear it away. Maybe it was because she was starved for someone that was genuinely good, or because he had made the effort to reunite her with her sister, maybe even because he ‘put her in her place’ after she went full auto on her sister! SHE DID NOT KNOW! However, to let it go like that… to get drunk and… well…
“I’ll… I’ll see you later, Jonathan,” She said meekly as she finally went out of the bar.
Silverlight was fast to follow Octavia, both because she was getting so red that she didn’t know what to say and because she had seen what time it was so she would need to hurry to get everything planned if she wanted free time to speak with her daughter about the possibility to have new friends. Second thoughts about sending her to the library were there after she heard what she heard; of course she had been drunk that night too, so she wasn’t someone to talk.
“So darling… can we get going?”
Rarity finally found her voice, even as quivering as it was. This had the potential to be such a drama! She was intrigued and fascinated, whatever was going to happen would be IMPRESIVE. Of course she felt slightly bad for J, and only slightly because this would all go well on the end, she was SURE of it, but the joy of being part of this kind of story made her feel so… so complete. She had always wanted to be on her love novels SO much, it was the type of fiction she loved the most so it didn’t matter if she was just an observer, she would enjoy this all the way. Of course she had to stay focused now; she had a friend that needed cheering, another that needed help, and then there was Trixie.
The latter was still not too nice to her eyes, much less after the last night she had to spend with her, but when she broke down into tears it had made her pity the poor creature. She was so afraid and alone… It was like she was seeing her sister after their parents had decided that it was time for them to leave the two youngsters in charge of their family business in here. It felt a bit like betrayal at first, but it was how things were around Ponyville, at least for most ponies.
“Yea, yea we should go,” J answered finally, rubbing his eyes. “When would it be a good time to go to the Town Hall?”
“Anytime you want is fine dear,” The Mayor gave a little smile. “Today there should be little to no work, there is nothing special going on. I will need a few hours to redact the letters and sent them all though, so you can take your time doing your things.” she gave out a little giggle. “You seem like you need it at least.”
“I do, I do,” J shook his head and gave a little groan. “Thanks for… everything, I suppose, Berry”
The mare gave a wave and a little chuckle “No need to, but next time we will see how much you can drink without getting knocked out, for now…” She looked shocked as she heard steps down the stairs. “GET OUT OF HERE! I don’t want my baby girl scarred for life!”
*** A quick escape later ***
“You know darling, I don’t hold anything against you for… a wild night, if you want to call it so,” Rarity and J had walked away of the bar quite fast, giving the Mayor a quick goodbye before they heard, “Mom… where is that nude creature? He looked funny.” The reaction from J had made Rarity snicker loudly as the poor human tried to outrun his shame to no avail.
“I feel stupid,” he retorted. “I feel rested, also quite hurt, but rested nonetheless. I was hoping for that, not for the… what happened tonight when I was drunk, much less to lose it and yell at Coral like that,” his face felt somber for a second.
“Slip ups do happen darling, not everything can go as planned,” Rarity tried to assure him with a sincere smile as they walked away from Ponyville. “Besides, it did sound like you were fighting those things Pinkie called Nightmares, right? At least Mayor Mare seemed to refer to them.”
J shuddered and froze.
“Darling? Are you alright?” The worried look on Rarity burned in J’s mind, but he didn’t move “Jonathan?”
“I would like to let what is in my mind, remain in my mind,” He said, resuming his pace.
“But… if I asked,” J had passed the now quiet Rarity, yet the words made him stop again, “would you lie to me?”
Again he froze. “I could either tell you or… not tell you,” He admitted like he had done in the spa. “You know that.”
“Would you deny me the information then,” She asked; genuinely hurt. “I thought we had made good acquaintances yesterday. You seemed nice and chivalrous. Even if it was something horrible you could tell me, if that would help you…”
“If I told you, then you could maybe hate one of your friends,” J’s words were fast, cold and maybe hurtful, but also the truth “What I experienced yesterday night was a nightmare… inside one of you,” He said, Rarity trembled slightly. “Would you want to know what horrors I lived there? Who was it that the Nightmare had as host? The thing doesn’t seem to want to hurt any of us, but it is there and, to sustain itself, it had to corrupt a bit of one of your friends.” Looking back J saw Rarity’s more than worried expression. “Still, do you want to hear about it knowing the risks it entails?”
Rarity doubted for a second, but she did come beside him to answer, “Yes, I want to.”
The next fifteen minutes were very slow and tense.
Rarity had turned her color, that of a cute marshmallow (as some would call it), into a bleak mockery of the perfect white from before. Her hair seemed to get wild as she heard the story, her cheeks were green the few times she felt bile coming up and she didn’t even mind the few times that dirt got over her hooves or even her tail as she let it drop to the ground. While she didn’t have the best of relations with Pinkie she did have her as a great (albeit random) friend, one that would cheer anypony up.
To see what had been done inside of her mind, to hear that Celestia said EVERY one of them had such a travesty inside of their minds. She had to ask why that happened, why he was in that horror and how could he say he would do it again if it was needed.
The thought of saying ‘No’ the next time he asked her if she wanted to know had popped into her mind a few times after that.
“I woke up to discover my face marked with this,” he touched the leather like skin in his face. Still it was not much, but it felt weird, “and the marks in my back. I am not sure what could happen if I make another mistake on this line of duty again.” J sighed as the walk towards Fluttershy’s home came to end for the cottage was now in sight. “I… would thank you if you didn’t mention this to Fluttershy. She would be unable to sleep for a long time if she knew of such a horror happening to two of her friends, even if I am new and… don’t really think I deserve the worry.”
“You do my dear, you do,” Rarity said in a weak voice as she tried to regain her usual manners after the shocking tale. “I do believe you did your best, in fact, since you came you seem to have been doing so with your life on the line every time”
The excitement she had felt before in the bar at what could be a sappy novel in real life had turned to amazement at the courage of the human. She knew that he had much more in hiding that he had told her, but for some reason Rarity was sure that she wouldn’t like, maybe wouldn’t even comprehend what it was. She wasn’t sure why, she simply knew that the truth could probably be harder to swallow than what she had already heard, which was no small feat.
However to see such a knight, aptly named so, willing to protect Twilight and the others, the whole Ponyville in fact, made her feel warm inside. Was it because there had never been a real knight for a long time? Not a real hero? Fighting monsters was hard task, and there were some very nasty ones as well as good monster slayers to control them; however this was a different range of things. Creatures that went to your head to corrupt and devour you, that… that was horror in pure essence.
And she LOVED the idea of such a colt (Or a man) with such valor to confront them.
Now that she knew more about it she couldn’t look at the human with any ill intention. Yesterday she had felt a bit obliged to be nice, today morning, seeing Octavia and him ‘happy’ together she had been genuinely nice. Now? Now she saw him in shining armor like some short of hero.
But she did also see a grim side of this.
“But I do fear… that if you do that again you may die,” She said in a sorrowful tone. “You are risking it all, I can understand that you feel compelled to do the right thing darling but… why?” Rarity stopped as she watched him tense. “Why all this? Why so many risks? I know if you asked the princes she would take away her orders and would seek for another solution. Why do you have to live these horrors alone?”
“I am not alone” J flexed his fingers and, to his surprise and Rarity’s, the sword appeared “I am not now, I have friends and I have a purpose. I am away from home and I am in a world that is nicer, cleaner… the only stain here is me.”
For some reason J had turned quite dark after the talk, he felt as if all this was his fault somehow even knowing it really wasn’t. It was normal though, the past night still hung on him.
“If I do this right, then I may believe I made up for all the wrongs I did before I got here,” his voice was dreamy at those thoughts, “and I will be at peace knowing I cleansed what is dark within me.”
“That is stupid and you know it,” Rarity spat. “You have to let it go, please,” She begged “Celestia can take care of this, maybe even we can do if the Elements are needed.” She was genuinely concerned about him, enough to get close and thug him to get down. “Please? I… you have done much already, you have saved Twilight, you have tried to do the same within Pinkie’s mind… it would be horrid if they lost you because you felt compelled to sacrifice yourself to simply felt at peace.”
“You worry about me,” That made J chuckle and obviously lighted his mood.
Rarity, in turn, became flustered. “You are a decent person and a knight to boot, and I do mean so literally, darling,” She said in a defensive tone. “If there were more like you there would be much less wrongdoing everywhere. I DO like that about you and I DO appreciate what you have done in a way you can’t imagine. Until Twilight came all of us six were pretty much divided my dear, if any of us were lost…” Rarity gave a somber look towards Ponyville and then towards Fluttershy’s house. She seemed to grow sad at the thought. “It… I don’t know what I could do. All of us had friends back then, except Twilight, but we did not share such great friendship together as we have now. It would be the most painful lose any of us could endure.”
J nodded, knowing well what she meant, “I promise I’ll do my best, it is why I am here.”
“But I don’t want you to,” Rarity practically sounded hurt as he did all but get it. “If you told all of us what you saw, if you told all you would need to do, I bet they would want you to get away of such a duty.” She gave him a gentle nuzzle, “I am generosity my dear, but what you do goes much too far even for my taste. It is pure sacrifice and you are hay bent on doing if it that is the cost you have to pay. That I find it endearing, as I know anypony would, does not mean I, or anypony else, would want you to do it ever again”
“Is that so?” J couldn’t help but chuckle, “So you wouldn’t want the guy that you like to get killed?”
Rarity blushed at that and J knew it had been quite mean, but come on; you have to admit he did need to think in ANYTHING else but what had been occupying his mind until now. This kind of fun would probably mean he would get it later if Rarity had the chance to pay him back in kind, but it was not really anything he was worried about, in fact he had been at least slightly relaxed by such a petty thing. “Don’t look at me like that Rarity, I am sorry but it was a prime chance to relax and laugh a bit,” J admitted with a light chuckle, getting up and giving the white mare a gentle stroke over the neck, which made her shiver. It did seem that his hands worked magic with everypony (Experience: Twilight, now Rarity and… probably Octavia?), mostly because they had nothing like this and only dragons or Diamond Dogs seemed to have this kind of appendage and the intellect to use it without murdering someone. Well… scratch that, just dragons. “I promise I will make up for that, I don’t want to embarrass or get you angry”
“Oh, I will hold you to your word, mister knight,” Rarity grinned with a bit of mischief in her voice as she began to walk towards the hut again. “However, right now you will have your hands full trying to cheer up Trixie in any way, so it wouldn’t be good to get you distracted.”
They continued for a little while until they reached the hut, of course there had been a lack of problems since the day had started so they did have to show their ugly face right now, or at least it was basically all too easy for J to think something would happen with Trixie being there, Fluttershy probably having two nights of sleepless vigil and, maybe, Rarity wanting a little payback from his act. He was used for things to mess up, as said; it would be natural… just as natural as the reaction of most the animals that were around Fluttershy’s hut at least.
Except for Angel bunny, whom was guarding the door like if he was a knight on his own, all the birds and most the wild animals that were around the hut went away when J approached enough for them to be sure that he was going inside Fluttershy’s home. J had realized quite easily that they hadn’t done it because they were cowards or because they didn’t care for the one that treated them and usually made sure they were alive, well fed and free of illness, it was because humans are, by nature, predators, killers and scavengers, or, in few words, dangerous creatures. Ponies here were as intelligent as humans, or more, but they were good natured and the animals didn’t have to fear them.
That the critters hadn’t seen a single human in millennia didn’t mean that they had forgotten about them. They, however, knew that if the human was with a pony, one that was friends with the yellow mare, then Fluttershy would be ok. Of course the fact that J had the sword still in his hands could probably also deter the poor woodland critters from having much courage in this endeavor and probably be quite skeptical of him being benevolent towards them.
When Angel gave J a glare that was as, if not more, dangerous than what he had lived near the Nightmares, the fear seemed to control the magic that forced the sword out and called it away. It was not until then when J finally noticed it had remained in his hand as he approached Fluttershy’s hut. Why? He didn’t know, but as Rarity looked over him with curiosity J felt the need to have his sword back, something that seemed… imperative.
“Angel? Why won’t you come in?”
The thoughts in his head banished as he heard Fluttershy’s voice. For some reason that made Angel seem relaxed, though the bunny still looked one of the most dangerous creatures he had ever seen in Equestria. In any case that changed as Fluttershy opened the door and hugged the poor bunny until he tried to escape and breathe.
“Here you are you little cute thing,” She said in her usual cheery and ‘loud’ voice as the poor bunny tried to flee for his life. Fluttershy only let go of Angel as she looked at the pair that stood by her door, still the bunny did look pissed, “Oh! Hello, I thought you would take longe.r”
“Yea, I woke up a bit early it seems.” Suddenly J felt heat spread over his cheeks, “Ah… sorry to make you wait, I assure you there won’t be any problem like that again”
“Indeed there won’t,” Rarity gave out a light chuckle as she came in, throwing J a naughty glance that made him blush harder.
‘Peeeeeeeeeeeerfect’ He groaned mentally as Fluttershy shrugged and went inside, letting the door open for J, whom was busy nagging his mind about the most recent events to try and clear up everything in his head ‘Twilight seems to like me… wait, seems? I think I did something really well or either stupidly wrong to get kissed twice by her so, let’s be realistic here; ‘Seems’ doesn’t ‘seem’ an option anymore.’
Getting inside the hut J tried to wash away the thoughts for a moment so he could see the room that the series had showed many a time. It was mostly unchanged, in fact it seemed pretty much a perfect copy, but there was a huge table in front of the sofa where a bundle was covered by a blanket. Trixie, if he was not mistaken.
‘Ok, let’s think in whatever else I can think of but Trixie.’
He quickly took his attention away, there were MANY ways he could mess this up and he was not willing to think of them even if they tried to creep their way inside of his mind.
‘You should stay calm,’ a voice chimed in, much to J’s initial distaste. However this time not Celestia, but Luna, as J recognized the tone with her next words. ‘Trixie has been under too much stress, almost more than a pony can handle. If you aren’t confident she will notice it and ruin your chances to make her calm down at all.’
‘But it is not so simple,’ J gave a concerned look towards Trixie as he approached, only to sit in front of the table as both Rarity and Fluttershy were at the sides. ‘What should I do? I try to get over what happened yesterday and today I have THREE new things to worry about! How the hell did I get to be liked by Rarity and… and Octavia? I know I am not the best drunk ever, but to do… whatever I did? I don’t want to harm Twilight’s feelings after…’ He gave a huge mental sigh, ‘and that is something else entirely, what should I do with her? What should I say? She is the one I have been with since this all began and I… I like her, but I do not know how I will mess up this… relationship? I don’t know if it is something like that, at least not yet.’ If this had been a face to face conversation J would look by now as defeated and sad as one could be. ‘Then there is Silver Spoon… I know it is a minor problem but I think I may have messed up. The kid could make both Rain and Final the most miserable girls in Equestria.”
‘First let us talk about the most urgent problem you seem to have,’ Luna spoke out with a gentle tone in his mind, ‘all of the Mane Six share a very deep magical bond Jonathan, much like you do with me and my sister now.’ J thought that she had tried to mean something with that, but he failed to get a grasp on it. ‘The feelings,’ she continued, ‘each of them feel towards anyone will magnify if they find things they like towards them, so if one loves you and other simply likes you, the feeling will grow towards the one that is stronger.’ That made J felt a pang of something inside of him, though he knew not what it was, ‘This means that if Twilight loves you and, for example, Miss Rarity likes you as a friend but harbors longing feelings towards you, then she too will love you if the feelings are deep and sincere enough. Remember, though, that free love is something important in Equestria so you should not feel ashamed as no one else will be.’ Saying it was easy, but J thought that it would be hard to apply it. ‘I wanted to use me and my sister as examples, however we both find you a friend. Twilight… she seems to have bonded with you more, something that will make the others feel for you more and more, though not as much as Twilight does, at least not now.’
‘But… what I am to do? I always tried to seek for the ONE, not the MANY,’ that almost made him chuckle inwardly, almost, because this was far too serious and because his head was hurting with so many worries. ‘If this was a peaceful time I would not mind, maybe… in fact… in fact maybe I would let my perverted side out, if you don’t mind me saying so,’ Luna only chuckled and J could feel her blush, ‘But right now? Right now I am worried that this may make things complicated.’ He let out a sigh, one that seemed to stir Trixie up as soon she pushed her muzzle away from the confines of the blanket. ‘Talking with her and hoping to NOT mess everything up, alongside making sure the fillies have their first friend here, is eating my frigging mind Luna! And I am sure there are more problems to address that I forgot.’
Finally Trixie showed her face, sad and seemingly broken enough to not show much more emotion than the bloodshot eyes could, meaning that she had shed enough tears to fill a lake. However she didn’t seem much worse than Twilight had been, the problem was that she had not the luck of Twilight and she had no one to talk to, at least no one that she WANTED to talk to, as Fluttershy had already shown yesterday.
‘About the fillies… just relax,’ Luna’s voice sent a wave of relief towards him for some reason, ‘I, as the princess of the night, know of the nightmares of others, my dear Jonathan. I saw the one you had to survive through as much as the ones that the poor Silver Spoon has lived through since she knew that her best and only friend was going away for a time.’ At that she sighed gently and continued with a sad tone, ‘There are many more things that will happen, they all will test the limits of you, Jonathan, and I am sorry.’ Luna half whispered to him, ‘Celestia says there will be some tranquility after all that has to happen today happens, but it may last only a day or two until it gets bad again, though I think you may even have a week to relax. I ask that you do your best and that enjoy whatever you can since Celestia and I will let you be, so you have the mind all for yourself. I hope that tomorrow you feel better in mind and body so we can talk some, Celestia is eager for this weekend and to attend to that party Pinkie’s planning.’
J simply grimaced a bit at that, it was not that he didn’t like most what had been said, but he was unsure if after all this he could relax for a few days or a whole week, the thought simply seemed too alien to his mind right now. Trixie saw this and she looked at him as defiantly as possible, thinking it had been directed at her. By the time that J noticed it the harm had been done.
“So you are the one that saved Trixie from death’s clutch, are you not?” Trixie gave a weak but angry tone. Her throat seemed to be hurt as each word made her wince a bit, “May I beg for the reason as to WHY did you throw Trixie to this fate?”
‘Good start, if I say so myself.’ “I did nothing of that, in fact I arrived too late for you if that makes you feel better,” For some reason J had been way too harsh, he felt like it at least, but it was the truth. “The only one alive by then was your mother, and I couldn’t save even her,” J tore his gaze from her and looked down. “In fact if it was not for the princesses I would have lost both myself and Twilight. Celestia was the one that, by your mother’s plea, saved you.”
“Hmpf,” Trixie lifted her muzzle as if in defiance, “I don’t care who did it, you went there and brought only Trixie back. I do not like that.” She spat with a low growl. She was obviously not as strong as when she first awoke but she sure as hell had a bitter mouth.
“Trixie, please, we talked about this,” Fluttershy begged with as much of a demanding tone as she could muster. “He did all he could there. Would you have preferred to…?”
“Yes, I would have,” Trixie scolded, “Trixie’s mother and father died protecting Trixie! I should have done something… Trixie doesn’t deserve to live.” The mare sniffled but no tears came down. She had spent them all. “They protected Trixie to the bitter end… that giant monster almost got Trixie and Trixie’s dad had to sacrifice himself for Trixie’s sake.”
Silence dawned and two scenes unfolded.
On one side Trixie simply threw away her cover and turned so to not look at the human as her tired form gazed towards the Everfree Forest. Survivor’s guilt or maybe something else, Trixie was no expert on the matter and none of the present besides her knew really how bad she felt, not like she cared enough to tell them. She had lost all she cared about a second time and she had been saved by a ‘monster’ and that dammed Twilight. She knew nothing of why her parents had tried to make her forgive that blasted mare, but these past days it was all she could think about thanks to the wound that hurt most deeply to her right now.
On the other side was J, with a completely different mindset than before. He no longer worried about what had dawned to him today in the morning as he was too focused on how to save the barrier that now seemed to separate Trixie from him. It was not that she did matter to him, it was cruel but she was not his friend and, as much as he hated to admit it, to him she was not that important. It is not that he knew nothing of her from the series; it is that the pain Trixie felt was also within Twilight and the fillies as well as the Mane Six in some way thanks to their friend feeling like she was. For him Trixie was something he had to fix so his friends could be alright. Cruel? Yes, probably, but no one said he was perfect in any way, in fact he would be the first to deny such claims.
‘But… what am I saying?’
The realization that he had helped the Mayor mostly for this reason, even if it had been subconscious, hit him hard, much like if he had been thrown a ton of bricks. The pain that Applejack would have felt if Granny Smith died would hurt not only her, but her friends too. He did not care about money and he had felt bad about the outburst, he was sincere in that, but J had to admit something: He did not care, he DID NOT CARE, about anypony else but those he had known already and that were friendly towards him. This now included, besides the Mane Six and the princesses: The Mayor (Coral), the fillies Rain and Final, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Silverlight (Somewhat) and Berry Punch (Again, somewhat).
It basically meant that he cared little to nothing about most Equestria? Yes, he had to admit that he did not care much. In fact like when he was on Earth he tried to keep a small circle of friends and not mind the rest of the world. ‘I have to change this,’ J finally thought. ‘I am the nicest I can towards my friends, but it seems I have turned so cold towards everyone else…’ He stared at nothingness for a moment before wondering, ‘Have I been like this all the time?’
Maybe it had been in a subconscious level, but he had to admit that he had already told this to the Mane Six before and they hadn’t said anything too to him for that. However this was hurting him inside now that he figured that such a thing would be cruel in here. Again… what did he do in Earth? Well, as said he did care for his friends and his family, nothing else. In Earth there were bigger assholes than in here, maybe he could defend his ideas and his ways with that back in his place but…
But in Equestria… what? Were all so bad as in his world?
Equestria tried to be all about love, friendship and kindness. Celestia had made sure it was so, probably because of what had happened in the past. But if that was the case, then who was he to bring any kind of hatred? He already hated himself enough, and that too had to change at some point, maybe. So how could he care not for the well being of such innocent creatures as the ponies? They all cared for each other, even if they hated each other’s guts, a perfect example would be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. If they saw each other in problems the most probable outcome was that one side would help the other, though grudgingly.
“Trixie… Would you like to come with me to see your daughters?”
“WHAT?!”
Even if her voice was hurt Trixie had turned and had yelled to the limit of her lungs, her face aghast with anger and worry.
“I am here to help, and even if they say things that may hurt you it is my belief that you should talk to them,” J tried to look at Trixie in the eyes but he didn’t feel like deserving to do so right now. He felt like a prick, at least until Rarity came to his side and rested her body against him. It was a gentle gesture, and she gave a sweet smile, but J could only return a serious, albeit more relaxed, look towards her.
“They think you are a coward, they think that you did hide behind your parents,” J continued, but tried, this time with all his will, and not because he felt bad, to not look at her for he knew that she would shed tears even if she had none left to do so. “I don’t want anyone hurt anymore. I had enough of that already and my sanity can’t take much more of this,” In fact his mind was about to burst with so many new plots and twists, so many fears and so many possibilities all brought in one single sphere of thought to his already occupied mind. “I want to help, but you have to come with me to Twilight’s house.”
“TWILIGHT!”
‘Oh… I fucked it up, didn’t I?’
‘Yep, you seem to have an affinity for that, don’t you?’
“Why does that stupid mare have more luck than I?! WHY DOES SHE HAVE TRIXIE’S KIDS!?” Trixie began to cry slowly, lying down as she covered her head with her hooves, “WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO END BADLY FOR TRIXIE BUT GOOD FOR THAT BLASTED MARE?!”
“Because it did not end well for Twilight either,” Rarity boomed finally with a scorn in her face and a powerful, yet quiet enough tone. “Do you think it was any better for the poor dear? That is your and HER family that had been torn apart”
“What does the stupid mare care for Trixie’s family?!” Trixie yelled from under her own hooves’ cover, “She has everything made up for her! Trixie had no fancy princess or goddess or… whatever to look for her!”
“Your parents are… were Twilight’s aunt and uncle,” Fluttershy told Trixie as she got closer to the mind broken pony. The blue mare stopped sniffling and cursing under her breath at those words. “She… she was pretty hurt… I haven’t seen her as broken as that day. Trixie, you should go, if not for her, your cousin, you should go to see your little girls.” Fluttershy gave Trixie a gentle caress over her neck as to try and, somehow convince, Trixie to calm down. “I do think… I do think you should forgive Twilight, she did nothing wrong to you, ever,” At that Trixie gave her a scowl, but a weak one at least. “But if nothing else, you should talk with your girls… or do you want them to think badly of you all their lives?”
Even if she mumbled from time to time or when she tripped over her words, Fluttershy had a way to make sure anyone that DID hear her would fallow her advice, for it was, more often than not, sound. Trixie tried to say something against it, to give a retort of some kind, but each time she tried to open her mouth she winced, probably at the pain from yelling earlier and at the thought that, sooner or later, she had to go see her little girls.
“They know I am their mother, right?” Trixie finally sat back on the sofa with a sorrowful look back on her face, “I understand… if they hated Trixie… I went away for seven years, how could they think of Trixie as their mother? I left them with mom and dad when I should have been there for them.” A little tear escaped her dry eyes, if this had been any other moment she would be crying rivers by now. “How can I face them? How can I… how can I forgive Twilight? She took away Trixie’s girls… she was braver than Trixie, she did better than Trixie…”
“She did never better than you,” Rarity had to chime in as a look towards J showed her that the human, as resourceful as he had was, could hardly think of something now, ‘Too much in his mind, the poor thing,’ she thought before she continued talking, “Twilight is a great unicorn and a magician, a great PONY. Your problem is that your ego gets you carried away my dear, if you were to be, let’s say, gentler and nicer, things might work out better.” She tried to offer a smile, though it was not as sincere as she wanted it to be. “The harm that is already done cannot be mended, but darling, think of all the good you could do for Twilight, for your little fillies, and for yourself if you tried to turn over a new leaf as a better pony.”
There was a moment of silence as Trixie looked away towards the Everfree Forest one more time. “Give… give Trixie one day… that is all she asks,” she didn’t say much more, simply she took the blanket and went into hiding under it. “Trixie needs some time to think,” was heard between mumbled words and whimpers.
“Trixie,” J finally found the strength to talk again, which granted him the attention of every mare in the room, even if Trixie didn’t even try to get out from under the blanket, “the more time you take, the worse it will be. I don’t want to pressure you but… are you sure that you want to wait?”
A few seconds went by. Everyone was quiet.
“I need time… I… please… Let Trixie be,” she begged, the mare didn’t even change positions under the blanket; she was probably brokenhearted and mind fucked by now.
Fluttershy shook her head and gave J and Rarity a pleading look that simply asked for them to leave. Trixie was still in very bad shape and if the yellow pegasus thought it was good to let her be for a while more then maybe it is what they would have to do. Rarity simply nuzzled J to get up and get going as the white mare was not as good at making people feel better as Fluttershy was, something that now was required and that she had more than noticed the past day.
J felt…well, he felt nothing, or not much at all. He had done his best but it was obvious that Trixie was in a state of mind that he could only make worse right now. He had to force himself to be better than he was now, that he had ever been, to gain more tact and to simply have a better way with people. That until now he had done it ‘right’ was a miracle and he knew it, Equestria simply handed it to you in as much of a silver plate as you could ever ask for.
That would hardly last much longer.
As he got up Rarity gave him a gentle smile once again. This time J reciprocated, he was feeling little, but he had tried to make rights from some wrongs and had noticed a new thing he had to change. While the visit hadn’t been what he had hoped, it had been an advance towards something better, if he used it well.
“Please,” Trixie poked her muzzle from under the blanket for a second, “tell them… tell the fillies… that mommy loves them, that mommy is sorry. For everything.”
J was about to walk away when Trixie said that. It was not that he didn’t feel bad for her, at least now he did(Which was not saying much in his favor, but at least was something). However, as he stopped to consider it, he realized the idea was not a good one, at least Final would probably hate it, not because Trixie said it, but because she didn’t even dare (At least as the filly would put it) to go and tell them face to face. Rain probably would take it better as the little unicorn seemed to be more on the shy side and she didn’t seem as harsh as her sister with Trixie. Probably the best thing to do would be to tell Rain first and then see if the little girl could do anything to warm up her sister about it.
“I’ll tell them,” he said finally, “at least I’ll tell Rain, but Final wouldn’t take it kindly if you didn’t go yourself, even then she may not take it very well, but at least if you show her some courage she will warm to it a bit more than if I told her myself.” It felt harsh but also was the truth “I do hope you will go and talk to them tomorrow. Even though I think Final won’t welcome you yet… it is better than to wait for her to forgive you if you don’t show up. Will you really go to Twilight’s house?”
After he left the question lingering in the air J left. It was not like Trixie was going to answer and much less that he thought she would answer, in fact she would not say anything for the rest of the day, no matter how much Fluttershy tried her best to talk with her about anything. Whatever that could get her to do something but hide under the blanket. Until the next day Trixie would simply think of what she would say when she saw her young girls again.
*** A few minutes later, nearing Ponyville again ***
“I was cruel back there,” J stated as they walked back to Ponyville.
J and Rarity hadn’t shared a word until then after that ‘interesting’ and brief visit. Rarity had thought that things would go smoothly and that Trixie would probably recover a bit. The outcome hadn’t been exactly that, but at least that obnoxious mare had quieted down much more than she had originally thought. What bothered her was that J didn’t seem to be in the same shape as yesterday, in fact he wasn’t in the same shape as a few minutes ago and it wasn’t only for the nightmare he had to live through.
“Something on your mind,” Rarity didn’t look at him; they simply continued walking as she wasn’t sure if she would like what she would see; his face full of concern and self loathing. She had seen it earlier and she wasn’t sure how to help, it did hurt her more than she would let through, “You weren’t as rude or as harsh as you may think dear. You were simply direct and sincere, much more than most ponies I know at least, if we don’t count my closest friends of course”
“I was not rude, I was simply not caring,” he said bluntly enough to make Rarity cringe. “I didn’t care for anyone I hadn’t meet and befriended, in fact I didn’t even care for Celestia until she was sincere with me when Twilight suffered her loss.” J sighed and stopped, leaning against a lone tree near the road as he looked towards Ponyville. “That is one of my problems, one I tried to hide so much that even saying it didn’t make me realize I should change it; if I don’t know someone well enough for my liking then I don’t care about them at all. However I try my best to look nice, nice enough so I indeed fool myself even when I told you and the girls that I practically did not care, and this was the other day at the spa,” he simply rubbed his forehead in thought. “Too much denial is too much. I… I may have been worrying for the wrongdoings of old for so long that I didn’t see the ones I do wrong every day.”
“You are worrying too much,” Rarity simply waved at him and continued walking, forcing him to follow close by to hear her. “You have arrived here not long ago and you have already faced many dangers. How soon would you like to change a whole life worth of doing what you do with the pressure you are under right now? If you do want to improve yourself, then I’ll be honest darling; simply don’t try to rush it.” She smiled gently at him “I know you want to do your best and to be the best po-, I mean man, you can be, but if you worry too much you will only hurt yourself and anyone close to you, and I have to wonder, would you want Twilight seeing you hurt for being too headstrong and thinking any change deserves a sacrifice?”
‘Easy for you to say such words,’ he thought bitterly. ‘I have to become the person I should be or I am probably dead, not so easy when you don’t even know the time you’ve got left.’
‘You know, your whining is getting tiring. Dude, you need to chill.’
As they crossed the limit between the road and Ponyville, J relaxed. ‘But what she said is true,’ his thoughts drifted to the things he had done already, his worries and the pain they were causing him already. ‘Too much pressure, too much worry. I could have done things better if I took it easier, if I calmed down.’
‘Give the man a cigar, he had an important revelation.’
He didn’t even pay attention to the ponies he had to avoid (Well, more like they had to avoid him) when he and Rarity headed towards the library. At least Ponyville was accustomed to him by now; a good night of gossip could do many things and was a magic all on its own.
‘I think I am going to do NOTHING with what is left of today and then tomorrow I’ll do the same thing, more so if I have a week with no worries.’ He visibly relaxed and even let out a smile, ‘Besides Pinkie should have the party ready soon as Luna said, and I can’t wait to see her and not what I had in my mind yesterday. I bet she can make me laugh somehow.’ J chuckled, catching Rarity’s attention for a moment.
“What is it dear?” She asked with curiosity, “I thought you were going to be, as Pinkie puts it,” she made her best attempt to emulate the pink pony’s demeanor, “a Mean meany Mc meanypants!”
“Just thinking,” He admitted. “I think I have to relax a bit, I may not want to, if I have to say the truth, but I do see that I need it. If I keep on worrying too much I am going to slip up, the problem is that such a thing wouldn’t hurt only me; it would hurt many ponies, including all of you.” At that he looked up towards the fashionable unicorn’s house. “I don’t like to think that I am important, but I was with her when all this happened, so until she is fine again I will do my best to not mess up things, and afterwards? I will do even better”
“That’s a good start,” Rarity gave a little chuckle as she looked at him and then at Twilight’s house with a little glint in her eye. “I will not lie darling; I know not of what you are going through, in fact I have yet to lose someone so I don’t even know how Twilight is faring and would hardly comprehend it. I do not know of how horrendous it is to do what you do against those monsters, those… nightmares… at least not much more than from what you have told me. However I do know that you two now need to take things slow.” She gave a knowing glance towards him, “You do not have to change my dear, what I have seen makes it obvious that you are somepony that is very, very good, though you do have a very dark side, much like anypony else.” Rarity simply shrugged as she said that, nopony was perfect, “However you do want to change, which is good. The thing is that with all the pressure you seem to want to try and force it.” She gave him a serious look, “doing so will guarantee you failure. If you try to force it like you have been doing the only thing you will earn is more problems, both in mind and body.”
“I know, I know,” they finally reached Twilight’s doorstep as he gave a heavy and tired sigh, “but what can I do Rarity? I have to come to terms that I am not in my home anymore, that here my life can be the best, what I always wanted, but also that it comes with the price to put that life on the line and, if I mess it up, those of my friends too.” Rarity feared that J would simply bash his head against the sturdy tree house when an exasperation frown crossed his face. “I am not innocent, I am not even as nice as I try to be. I am just lucky from being here and I fear that I am not going to be enough for this. In most stories the good guy always wins… but this is not like most stories and I am not sure if I am the good guy, in fact I fear that what I am is the bad guy that has yet to discover he is such a thing,”
Rarity simply smirked at that. It was a serious matter, of that she was sure, but it was looking so much like some of the novels she read from time to time…
“Darling, you should take it slow. I promise we all will help you in anything you need, you are our friend and Twilight thinks you are important, of that I am sure” There was a glint of something in her eyes as she said that “Speaking of which, I am not sure if it is right for me to go in there. I wouldn’t want to make her feel bad if I said something wrong, that would be the WORST-THING-EVER,” she blushed as she said that in such a tone that she was almost yelling, “Uh… forget I said those words my dear.”
“Would be quite hard to forget that,” A voice chimed in from between the pair. When they looked to see whom had talked they saw Twilight standing there with a little smile, “especially since you are the most dramatic mare in all Equestria”
“DARLING!”
Right then and there J would have laughed his ass off, quite literally at that, at the scene that unfolded as Rarity pounced at her friend, pushing her into the tree house. Poor Spike never saw it coming as he found two horned heads flying towards him, fast. Three fillies were there to see the whole thing and laugh wholeheartedly while a single adult mare tried to make sense of what was happening in here.
“Did I come at a bad time?” Silverlight asked out loud as she placed a hoof under her chin.
There were some mumblings coming from the white mare as she embraced her friend, of course Twilight wasn’t much better with conversation as she fought not to swallow Rarity’s mane. J simply gave a little smile as he got in the house, freeing Spike from under the weight of the two mares (Though if it was only Rarity he would hardly have minded).
“Nah, but she hadn’t seen Twilight in a few days, you should understand how she feels right now,” he said with a gentle smile as Silverlight took the hint. “At least in her case she won’t miss her for so long, in fact she won’t have to miss her from now on…”
“I know where you are going with this, I will be fine,” Silverlight assured him, “and thanks for caring.” She would have felt quite stupid if she discovered he didn’t, at least not as much as he supposed he had to, but at least a bit was better than nothing. “I am good because it seems my little girl is fine with the choice I made.”
The young grey filly, Silver Spoon, was there with Rain and Final, J noticed it only when she flustered a bit and looked at him like if he was some kind of monster before her mother gave her a little smile and a nod. She seemed to want to say something, or maybe to move, however she did nothing as she rubbed her left foreleg against the right one in embarrassment, much to Final’s dismay as the pegasi finally pushed her forward with a gentle shove.
That act of courage and friendly demeanor made J catch a glance of the girls. They did seem to be more cheerful than the past days, probably as the nightmare had said ‘A defense mechanism’ so none of the ponies would be sad for long. However, it did catch his attention that the fillies seemed happier and, in fact, more colorful than before as they seemed to be full of energy, or at least Final was that lively while Rain seemed to still remain as quiet as always.
However, of the fillies, the one that was really changed was, in fact, Silver Spoon. While being the same as in the cartoons, the filly had bags under her eyes of such a size that could make anyone think the worst, her mane was messy and her glasses a bit dirty, much like her fur and even her necklace. If it wasn’t because J was sure that the girl had been a mess before coming here, as it was obvious she had ‘suffered’ a quick makeup session, one would think she was always like this, or worse.
“Hello, I’m Silver Spoon,” Usually a follower and not loud spoken (If she had to go first), Silver Spoon’s voice was meek and timid, as well as very fragile. It was obvious that the poor filly had been, for a time now, suffering from a breakdown “I… I suppose I have to thank you for this? I mean… us three?” She looked back at Final and Rain for approval. Old habits die hard.
“Yea, we do,” Final said in her assertive tone. One thing that hadn’t changed was that the young pegasi was much too serious, direct and sure of herself. Silver Spoon nodded and continued, “I… I wouldn’t have made any friends on my own. Didn’t want to go out at all and such…” It was obvious that she wasn’t all that used to saying ‘thanks’.
Final didn’t continue, she had seen her sister lowering her face again and it had taken her attention away. Such a thing soon took everyone else’s attention too, much like if she was the focal point of a disaster. Unbeknown to all, Rain was not made for the life in the circus, she hated the spotlight, or any kind of ‘light’ to be truthful, but she did miss everything she had known until that day, something in special if she were to be asked.
“I understand,” J gave a little nod to the girls. “Could I borrow your Rain for a second though? She still seems like something is nagging her and we can’t have that, can we?” J gave out a light chuckle as he picked the very small unicorn up and carried her away towards the kitchen for some privacy.
None followed him, in fact the scene relaxed down in the main room and some idle chatter took place as he walked away with the little filly. She trembled at first, but soon simply nudged against him and sighed happily as she was held close.
To J this had come as a surprise. When he saw the young filly like that he thought of two things; A chance to talk to her without her sister nosing about and the care he had felt so long ago when his life took a turn for what you could call the worst. She looked so hurt and helpless that, from within his being, he simply had wanted to comfort her and make her happy if he could do so. In fact he would never say it, but on them he saw both his sisters.
Of course he had something to tell her too, so keeping a little secret would be easy.
“Rain Berry, why are you so gloomy?” He asked after taking a seat near the entrance of the kitchen, “I know you ponies recover very fast, no matter how sad the situation is. I am sorry if you don’t like me worrying when this is a family affair,” ‘At least of what little family you have,’ he thought before continuing, “but I don’t want any of you sad, it will only hurt you more, something of which we already had our fill for a lifetime.”
“It’s… not so easy for me,” Rain had such a whisper like voice that she was almost identical to Fluttershy in how hard it could be to hear her if she felt shy or afraid. “I miss grandpa and grandma… and yes, I know, sis didn’t want to hear it when they told us they weren’t our daddies, she is too headstrong and has many… dark emotions, but I did hear granny and grandpa.” She sighed long and hard, looking sad, “I miss mom...” She gave a little whimper as she tried to embrace J with her hooves, her face burying in his chest, much like if she feared he would go away and leave her alone. “I always wanted to meet her, to know why she left… however, when I did, she didn’t tell, she simply came back and… and didn’t treat us like her daughters. I want my mom, not ‘aunt Trixie.’”
This did catch J by surprise, at least a bit. He knew that the girl didn’t look as convinced as her sister when she said she wanted nothing with Trixie, but like this?
“I thought they had said nothing…”
“They told us only once, but sis didn’t want to hear it and they thought it would be better to not bring it up again,” Rain sniffled. “I… I suppose she took it badly that mommy went away, leaving us behind. I don’t know why she kept telling me she wasn’t my mom, but I am sure it had to be a good reason, right?”
“I don’t know why she did what she did. I went to see her today, but we didn’t talk much,” however he did have something to say, “she did say, though, that she is sorry, and that she loves you two.”
At that the young filly turned from gloom to vibrant happiness. She hugged J hard enough to take the breath away from him even with her young age and small stature. The girl was indeed so happy that she could be heard mumbling words of thanks and some other things under her breath. Clearly she had been waiting for something like this and was hard pressed to refrain from being so happy.
“However,” He coughed, catching a bit of his breath after Rain relaxed a bit, “I don’t know how your sis would take it, much less if I told her that Trixie wants to come here tomorrow if she is able.” After all he wasn’t sure if she would indeed come or not.
“Oh…” that made the young filly stop with her antics and look down in worry, “I… don’t know? Sis still feels bad because mommy had to hide behind granny and grandpa, in fact I am not sure how she doesn’t feel… well… hate for what she did.” At that she looked away in shame. “I… I must admit I think it was…”
“They asked her to,” J assured her, cutting her line of thought and bringing her gaze back up. “They were her parents, I am sure they wanted her safe and they protected not only her, but you two too. If I could say what I think though, my money would be that both your sis and mom suffer from an illness of the mind right now, one that is making them feel in certain ways that will not only hurt them, but each other too.”
“What do you mean?” Rain quirked an eyebrow, a bit confused by his words and very worried for her sister and her mother.
“Your mom and sis have survivor’s guilt. They feel bad because they survived and your grandpas did not, though Trixie shows it feeling sadness and shame in that she did nothing and your sister probably hides it in that she hates your mother since she thinks that she had to die, or at least to do something, so your grandpas could be alive today.” J sighed and gave Rain a gentle caress over her neck, making the young filly relax and sigh in contempt at the touch. However J knew that it was not enough to make her relax after what he had said, “I don’t want to worry you any more Rain, I just am sincere with what I think”
“You don’t make me worry,” She admitted, nuzzling his hand for some scratching since he tried to take it away. “I know things will work out. Granny always told me that there is no door closing without a window opening, I try to be cheerful since… well… I cannot do much magic or anything special at all.” Rain gave a meek smile, blushing a bit as if she had told of a secret she wanted to keep hidden, “I am just a very small pony, one that has a useless horn, but I am very smart”
“We will have to wait and see,” J scratched his newest marks idly, something that would, in time, denote anxiety to those that knew him well enough. It was mildly in concern and because he wanted to know what Rain meant by her horn; however he didn’t feel like it was the right time to ask.
“I will wait, I know sis will be glad mom is back, in time,” Rain practically chirped in happiness. “I only hope she takes it well at first, she can be very mean if she is angry”
“Like all big brothers and sisters,” He chuckled and thought back to some of the most… interesting times with her sisters, Namely when they teamed up to tie him up or beat him in mock fights, their upbringing made it simply look fun to them, “but things are hard and you have to understand that you have taken it better than your sister. Final does not like Trixie, she doesn’t seem to want her as a mother, at least for now, so I am pretty sure she will be angry whenever Trixie decides to come here, so give her time, ok?”
Rain nodded and gave him a gentle hug before hopping down to the floor. With a little smile she waved back at him and ran towards Silver Spoon and her sister. At least the girls would now be able to try and develop a little friendship that, with luck, would flourish with time. The idea made J jealous, as he would probably lack the time to have such a simple life as them (Or a life at all, if it all went to the worst case scenario), but he discarded such a dark feeling as he saw them smile at each other.
‘At least the kids will have a good day,’ He thought, resting against his seat, not caring much for the hunger that was slowly eating at him. It took a whole minute until his stomach roared out in displeasure,. ‘I think my stomach has some problems eating only fruit and hay lately,’ That thought made him chuckle, “Oh geez, look at me, worrying about everything there is to worry and then some” He groaned, not noticing that he was talking to himself, “I am a mess, aren’t I?”
‘well when you bring it up like that…’
A familiar voice invaded J’s thoughts, “Well, all things considered…” Twilight had barged inside the kitchen a minute afterwards Rain went out; she had said nothing as she simply wanted to eat something and not to disturb her friend after Rarity had told her of what seemed to be the problem today. It was not that bad if you thought about it; he simply had too much on his mind and was stressed to be the best he could in everything, only to find it too much for him in so little time.
It made her think of herself in that regard. They weren’t that different. The mare had seen him doing his best to do exactly that, though, the best he could, but he was trying to change many things at once.
First he was trying to control his rage, quite easy if you take your time.
After that he was trying to be more caring towards everypony, a huge task when he had been shunned by his own people either by his choices and decisions or by his own right when his darkest side took over and he got into a fight.
Not only that, but he also was trying to be more open, friendlier and to take chances when in his world he would hardly ask anyone the hour in thoughts of that person lying to him.
If you couple that with what had been happening these past few days… well… She hated to swear, but if it was in her head she could say ‘What a mindfuck’ without too much of a hassle.
“Har-de-har-har, Twilight,” she couldn’t help but chuckle at his comic look as he said that, “You know I do my best with this.” He looked towards the main room to see Silver Spoon praising at Rarity while her mother admired her little filly’s sudden change and happiness. “I hope all I am doing doesn’t end up exploding in my face. I am trying too hard to do everything right, I may be very well forcing it.” Twilight heard the deepest sigh coming from him. “It never spelled anything good for anyone when they did things just like me.”
“And you know I thank you for such a thing, forced or not,” Twilight admitted while taking an apple and munching on it diligently. “If it was not for you I would be a clump of sadness right now, I owe you a lot.” She gave a little blush as she finished her apple in quite a hurry, “Of course it does help to see the girls happy, which is also of your doing and… should we talk about Octavia?” In her voice there was a hint of naughtiness that J wasn’t sure that he liked.
“Err… I much prefer we wouldn’t,” He tried to hide his face. It was becoming something quite negative that, unlike most guys, he had zero capacity to hide his feelings. The only thing he had changed from his mother’s training and it had to bite him in the ass.
“Jonathan, you want to change and I want to talk about that with you, but if I may be so blunt? That is one of the easiest things you can change and I would advise you do indeed change it right away, Jonathan,” Twilight’s face grew serious, as much as her tone, at least it was enough to force J out of his blushing stupor so he would look at her again. “I do not mind that you did something with her, even if it was more than only fooling around, touching and kissing, hay, in fact why should I be bothered?” She giggled nervously at that. “Look, I know we said to go slow and the like but… I… I dunno. Even after you told me that the one you liked the most was Pinkie Pie… I think we ended up being close too fast, but I do not complain. The thing is,” she went closer to J and, without as much as asking, hopped onto his lap, “I know you like me, maybe not in a deep way, not yet at least” At that she blushed profusely. “But you do… and I like you too, a lot,” she gave him a gentle kiss in the cheek after those words, trying to harness enough courage to keep talking. “You have helped me more than any colt, well, male had ever done, in fact more than any mare (best friends excluded of course). The few times I had a coltfriend it has been a few days, or even hours, a little play in the hay and little else…”
He still blushed, but he still took Twilight in a tight embrace “That is why I don’t want to have those kinds of messes; I was drunk, I wanted to get drunk, not to maybe fu-” Twilight placed a hoof on his lips to silence him gently.
“I told you we all share and we all have fun with whoever we want. If you two would want it, then just do it.” She chuckled a bit “Though I would like if you told me beforehand if we… you know… grow closer?” Twilight blushed and gave a shy smile as she took the hoof away from J’s mouth, “I mean, it can happen, I would hardly believe that is possible but it can, in fact my books says that, with what has happened, we have a 63.095% chances of getting together if we-MFFF!”
Her blush grew hotter as she felt J kissing her. She had been rambling and he had just kissed her, not to shut her up, not to make it stop, simply because he had to admit that it was cute when she grew so worried that her mind just slipped and went into overload, much more if it was because she was feeling so shy. However this time Twilight noticed that there was something quite different with the kiss.
In part it was much like when he drew his sword and didn’t notice it had remained, refusing to go away. It was something asking for this, something deeper and that he neither recognized nor liked, but also felt good. J had simply wanted a kiss at first; one to reassure Twilight, specifically one deep and nice, but in the end he wanted it to be simply a kiss… not to start playing with her tongue and pull her closer with his arms, much less his caressing as he touched her underbelly and her neck as if teasing her. He wasn’t going to lie; he liked the feeling, and Twilight didn’t seem to want to push away so she had to like it too.
‘Yes, I love le sexytimes!’
What was not exactly of his liking is where the hand was slowly creeping its way to.
‘Aww…’
Before it would escalate any further he pushed away. He tried to do it very gently so as to not give the wrong impression while he forced his hand out of the way so he would caress Twilight’s flank before the intention was anymore obvious. “Heh… sorry,” J blushed heavily. “I… uh, I think I still feel a bit randy, and with all the nervousness and with my mind wanting so much to relax that it wants maybe a more direct approach…” He mumbled, still feeling the long tongue of Twilight playing with his. It seemed the ponies had quite the long tongues, much like equines in his world, which made him wonder…
“You don’t have to apologize, I liked it,” Twilight gave him a sensual look, which made him gulp, “but you did seem surprised with the kiss, at least it seems something caught your attention. I think you would need to visit the Mayor before we… ah… take it a step closer.” Her wink was as mischievous as her smile.
“What do you mean,” J gulped down, his blush growing.
“Oh she already guessed out that we were at least CLOSE friends, well, not as close as she had openly told me but it seems we are nearing that point.” She snickered a bit as J looked away in embarrassment. Had he been that obvious?
‘ Yes, yes you were.’
“The Mayor is a very nice mare,” Twilight continued’ “she has initiated some of the colts and even some of the mares that were too shy. It is not something she has to do but everypony here knows she does it, in fact she once told me she enjoyed a very wild life until she decided to settle down here as the mayor and that when she came here everyone was very accepting, enough to let her continue.” A little snicker escaped her lips. “I think everypony wanted a mayor that wasn’t stuck up like the last one, at least for what I have read”
J arched an eyebrow at that, “Oh? If she enjoyed that kind of life… why would she settle down?”
“Granny Smith got as bad as you saw in the cartoon that showed part of our lives,” Twilight’s cheerfulness seemed to go away for a bit. “Miss Cake called the Mayor and she came here to finally settle down and be with her friends, both she and Miss Cake watched over Granny Smith since that day.” Then Twilight smiled again, “Of course you know some of it, she came here to tell me you had given her something that would get everypony she had called on the ready to cure her,” her smile broadened, “So everything will be fine! Though I made her promise she wouldn’t tell AJ yet, I want a surprise for her.”
“Yeah…” J chuckled gently and, relaxing against the seat, snuggled Twilight close against his chest, “At least it seems I have made two things right in my time here: I have helped Coral and I have helped Silver Spoon. With some luck that filly will turn to be nicer in no time.”
“And what about me?” Twilight asked with glitter in her eyes, looking maybe a bit disappointed that he didn’t talk about her.
“I have helped you, Twilight,” He caressed her mane with a gentle touch, “but you can hardly lie to me with that look. I know you are still as hurt as Final and Trixie are. The only one that seems genuinely ready to heal is Rain Berry and you know that.” Twilight did, in fact, look away as he said that, only to have J take her muzzle back as gently as he could. “It only means I have to try harder, and I will try harder until I make you happy,” He smiled, giving her a gentle squeeze, “No matter what it takes and what I have to d- wait,” J blushed as he remembered the bit about the Mayor.
“Or who you have to do,” Twilight giggled, regaining part of her humor. “Relax about it Jonathan, you are already making me more than happy, but I think if you want to do something with me in the future…” Her cheeks flustered at the idea “You first need to know about how we do it and… well I‘m not the best mare to ask or practice with. I know that to you it probably sounds more than weird, no matter if you like the idea, but I would advise of you to reconsider; not everything can be learned by books and, even if you don’t believe me, this is usually taught in person.” She looked hid her face against her chest as she blushed fiercely, “There is no book for this and I… uh… I tried to get one when I was younger. The whole of Canterlot knew of my ‘curiosity’ back when I was just hitting puberty.”
J snorted and burst out laughing, making Twilight look at him with a bemused look, “What? Did you think I wouldn’t laugh? I am a knight and a gentleman, but you should know by now that I hardly hide what I feel.” He stuck his tongue out, “I mean, it has been pretty obvious since I came here.”
“Of course I didn’t hope you wouldn’t laugh, that would be pretty dumb,” Twilight snickered. “You are as blunt as a pile of rocks, which is a nice feature if I may add.” She grinned and pushed herself up enough to be face to face with him. “I like you and how you are, Jonathan, I hope you know that. You are sensitive, maybe too much, but after you told me about your life I see it as normal, if not a bit undertone as you are quite strong of mind in some things but weak in others, which is also a good thing.” Twilight heaved a quiet sigh, “You do your best, but you push yourself too hard, you are hardly the forgiving person and you compensate trying to be the best friend and the most dependable person you can. Only four days and that much has been made clear… yet you want to be even better.”
“I must be better,” J tried to look away but Twilight’s eyes were taking his full attention, as if she had put a spell on him, ‘Heh, just like the song,’ he thought before he shook his head. “I need to be better, for everypony”
“And you will be,” she assured with a little smile, “However I am sure Rarity told you already; don’t push yourself too hard, it would end badly.” Twilight’s smile faded, “I… I know I wouldn’t be able to live it if something happened to you, you have done so much for me already, duty or not, that I want to repay you somehow.” She let go of a sigh as her face grew closer to his. “I want you to be with me, if you would like… tonight”
“B-but,” J gulped down as he tried to back away through the chair in vain, “W-what about The Mayor? I… don’t know if I can do such a thing twice a-and… didn’t you say I have to learn first?” He blushed as Twilight pushed closer. This was getting to be too much.
“I don’t mean to do it like she is, she is going to teach you, in part for me, in part for you, both as a friend as to return a favor,” Twilight said, practically mouth to mouth now with a grin plastered in her lips. “I want to sleep with you again, that you hold me again. I want to feel safe, like you made me feel when that horrid day took place…”
She pushed closer, practically kissing him but by less than an inch, her looks pleading and her voice sweet. However J could do little but worry ‘I-I should say something’ He thought as he gulped down ‘B-but I can’t!’
‘Just like every male in existence. I am no exception.’
“I want you to love me…” Twilight finally whispered.
A second of silence as Twilight finally kissed him and…
“HELP!”
The kiss was forcefully broken as the pair took notice of the trembling filly that ran across the kitchen like a grey blur that was followed closely by a yellow one close behind her.
“Ah will help ya’ alright! Get back here ya’ git!”
The shouter’s accent and the small size, yellow fur and reddish mane were none other than from Apple Bloom.
If the two had been paying attention to what happened outside of the kitchen and their little so called privacy, they would have known that someone had knocked at the door: The Cutie Mark Crusaders, well, all of them but Scootaloo. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle wanted to ask Twilight to give them some magic ointment for Scootaloo as the young chicke- I mean pegasus had a little ‘accident’ as they tried a new possible cutie mark stunt.
There is not much need to say what happened once Silver Spoon was seen other than how quickly the poor filly had been turned white from her normal grey.
So engrossed had the pair been that they hadn’t noticed the yelling and the discussion that had taken place no longer than a minute ago. It was going well at first thanks to Rarity and Silverlight, until Silver spoon feet confident again and said something she shouldn’t have, mostly because her pride demanded her to do so.
What a surprise it would be for the filly to see that neither her mother nor her new friends backed her up as she called the ‘simpler’ pony filly a few chosen words of hers. It was only because Silver Spoon had quite the agile feet that her face had not the mark of a hoof imprinted onto it as Apple Bloom chased the prissy filly all over the house until she cornered her in the kitchen.
“And there ya’ go, ah am going to pay you back fer all the times ya’ done something tha me and mah friends had to suffer from ya and yer prissy lil’ friend” Apple Bloom almost growled as she came closer to the cowering Silver Spoon “Prepare ta get roughed up! YAAA… uh?!”
Apple Bloom had lunged with all the intentions of giving Silver Spoon a new face, luckily enough Twilight had gotten off J so he could get up and pick the yellow filly out of the air a few inches away from Silver Spoon’s cowering, limp body.
‘Last minute save,’ J chuckled to himself as he held onto the filly with all his might. Even for one so young she had quite the muscle strength. “Relax there, ok? Why are you trying to rough poor Silver Spoon up?”
“Wh-what in tarnation are you?” Apple Bloom looked terrified for a bit, but soon she shook her head and answered, “She called ma parents something that ah ah’m going ta make her regret!”
“I suppose that was to be expected,” J left out half a growl under his breath; this had been seen coming a mile away. “Here little one, she lost her only friend, I asked her mother if she could come here to make friends with the fillies in the main room since they have lost… something very dear to them not so long ago and they now live with Twilight and me.” The filly had been paying attention to all but at the last bit she tilted her head in confusion “Just… ask Twilight later, ok? However, I would thank you if you try to be friends with Silver Spoon…”
“What?!”
“And help her being less of a prick, ok?”
Apple Bloom lifted a hoof to complain until she saw Silver Spoon’s scowl at the idea. That made it all the sweeter for the little filly as it would be a nice payback and maybe she would get her to stop her antics, leaving a lot of breathing space for them all.
“That doesn’t sound like haft a bad idea mind ya,” she grimaced as J left her on the floor, “Ah’m Apple Bloom, who are you?”
“I am J… Jonathan” J seemed to shudder as he said his own name “Call me J; I will be living with Twilight from now on.” He tried to hide a blush as he turned, “However, meetings are for tomorrow, I have to go somewhere.” ‘Before I decide not to, because I am having trouble doing anything right now,’ he thought. He groaned under his breath before Twilight stopped him with a pleading look, “Sorry Twilight, if I don’t go to the Mayor I assure you that I will have trouble wanting to leave.” He offered a little smile and the mare blushed.
“I’ll see you tonight.” she asked with a shy tone.
He chuckled and kneeled in front of her, “You can count on it.” He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and then went out towards the biggest ‘normal looking’ building of Ponyville.
For Twilight it was a moment of glee as she squealed happily, jumping up and down much like pinkie and practically yelling “YES” again and again with happy thoughts. She was sure that, be it more or less, J had been taken back by what she had done, but at least it was obvious he seemed to feel something for her almost as much, if not as much, as she did for him. For her such a thing was all that mattered right now.
“Gee Twi, ah didn’t know ya had it in ya to get somepony so weird,” Apple Bloom giggled as Twilight got surrounded by everypony in the house. Twilight didn’t much care for any comment right now. She was, at last, happy again.
*** Back with J after a quick walk through the city…***
***WARNING! ADULT CONTENT AHEAD! BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU READ! IN OTHER WORDS: SEX AHEAD!***
From the cardboard box of nobodyreallyimportant
Oh my gawd, don’t look little children (and you stuck up pricks that I know are out there).
Onwards!
‘I have to make a mental note for all the buildings’ J though in embarrassment as the Mayor’s secretary, Raven (or at least The Mayor had called her Raven), typed a few things away. Her black mane, white body hair, grey eyes and big glasses not so impressive compared to other ponies, but her serious demeanor did make her stand out.
He had arrived in less than five minutes to the building, still as weird looking (to him) as ever. The inside, though, was pretty plain in comparison to the outside. A huge rug had its domain on the first floor with a big chandelier in the ceiling that would surely lit the place if it was dark, though right now it gave no light and one could see the golden light shine in from the windows and reflect off the many mirrors and some of the paintings that were spread all over the building’s walls. The decoration was rich, that was true, but it looked normal.
Asides those things there were also a few other points of interest if this was your first time in this building. First we have the twin stairs that were at each side of the 1st floor and that went towards the 2nd, as it seemed to be divided in two parts (as it was big enough to be compared to one or two houses on its own it was not weird). In the first floor there were also rows of sitting places on both sides of the main hall with a little stage halfway towards the back and a single door that lead to a room at the end besides the little office where J was now.
“How much longer will the Mayor be in there,” he sighed out loud as he leaned against the wall.
“She already sent the cards a while ago, she is having a conversation with one of the unicorns that came to visit a while ago so he can coordinate with the rest,” Raven had a businesswoman tone with a bit of an uppity hint to it. She seemed nice but first and foremost there was her work, and then everything else; at least that is the impression she had given to J. “The Mayor should be ready in a few mi-”
“I am readyyyyy,” the Mayor said in a sing-song voice as she practically bounced the little office.
“Scratch that,” Raven sighed, picked up her equipment away and walked away slowly. “I will take my leave now, if you do not mind.”
“Oh, are you leaving Raven?” The Mayor chuckled as she gave the fellow mare a gentle slap on the flank, “I thought you were going to join on this.”
Raven threw the Major an icy glare, “I must let you remember that I am your secretary, Coral, not a toy.” She rubbed her flank and lifted her muzzle. “I came here from Manehattan because you asked for the best help you could get and because your daughter is my friend, however my family does not allow such freedom as you are used to so I plead you to refrain from these advances. Good day to you.” With a final goodbye she went away.
There was a moment of silence afterwards, broken only by the hall’s exit closing a minute afterwards and the Mayor’s laugher filling the place when she was sure that Raven was finally gone. “That girl is too young and too stuck up,” Coral couldn’t help but to wipe away a little tear of mirth. “You know, her family sent her here so she would relax a bit after she finished her studies? Some of the younger ponies think we should change our ways because they are ‘amoral.’” She snorted, “With how little males there are out there we would be done for if we started marrying and remaining faithful as they say. These kids nowadays…”
“Eh… Coral?” He tried to be gentle interrupting the mare.
“Yes dear?”
“It isn’t that I wouldn’t like to hear about it but… umm… I am already kind of worried about my own thing right now,” he gulped and looked down, red coloring beginning to spread all over his face.
“Oh, of course,” The Mayor simply chuckled and waved a hoof as she went out of the office. “Follow me, dear.”
After getting out of the small office J had little time to ask the Mayor anything as she was already in the left side of the stairs, trotting upstairs with a little smile and singing something under her breath. It looked like the mare was quite happy about something, but even as he got closer to her J had little time to say anything.
“I can guess that Twilight has told you about my little story?” She chuckled, not waiting for a response, “You know, I don’t mind that people talk about how eh… wild I was when I was young you know? I am young at heart dear, and even if I look a bit old for some I do have quite a life to live, one much happier now that I know my good friend will come back in good spirits after so many years.” The Mayor didn’t even stop to open the door, simply pushing it out of the way as she reached the top of the stairs.
The room he followed Coral to ended up being little more than a plain room with the typical sofa, table, two chairs and little else, it was even sparsely decorated with just enough to make it look appealing to the eye as otherwise it would be classified as Spartan, though the plain white color and few pieces of furniture here and there were below what most ponies would get. There were also two doors, one probably heading to a kitchen and the other towards the bedroom, probably the one Coral was heading to as she stopped for nothing with her little tale.
“As I told you earlier, few ponies remain here all their lives. I was very much one of those that went away when they were of age, but I wanted to come back someday after I had enjoyed everything Equestria had to offer me,” she passed a little armory where J could see a finely crafted bow and a brown cloak. “Why, I did even hunt some of the dangerous monsters there were back in my time when some of them went out to torment villages around the world, but mostly people remember me for my ‘lively’ parties,” Coral snickered as she opened the door that, indeed, lead to her room.
Unlike the main room, the bedroom was painted in blue, had a huge bed (in human standards it could probably fit an ogre or something), a lot of furniture and a single door that led presumably towards a bathroom. There were also a few exhibits with equipment that ranged from armors to weapons, trinkets, staffs and also bones, teeth or the like from some creatures that probably would eat J alive if he tried to do something about them.
“I must admit that at first I was quite ashamed of being known exactly for THAT reason, but over the years I came to enjoy it,” The Mayor hopped on the bed and, with a hoof, took her glasses to leave them on the little table besides the bed to give J quite the look “While Equestria is quite liberal a lot of ponies feel shy towards the act of… well, having sex, at least they do nowadays and I do not know why that is.”
J gulped at the view as his most perverse side took control over his mind, something deep down asking him to go there and… well, the rest was obvious. However as Coral said that J couldn’t help but think that, if he came here and their lives were partially shown in Earth, maybe some of the influence was being carried over here by the same magic that could pull him onto this world. He would need to ask Celestia later, as influence being transferred (One way or another) could be pretty damn harmful towards either world.
“So I suppose that is why, once I got my cutie mark” She showed her flank with a grin “Most thought that I wouldn’t be only the Mayor, but also a kind of… teacher if you will. Believe me I did not mind it at all, and I still don’t.” Coral gave out a wholehearted chuckle, “Besides I never was too fond of keeping to myself and I like to play at any time to both relax and keep my muscles in check as, if you don’t know, mating is the best exercise as every single muscle is used during the act.”
“Once you got your cutie mark?” J interrupted her, “Does that mean you didn’t get it until you came back?”
The Mayor simply chuckled, “Dear, none of us, not I, Gretel or Annie got our cutie marks until we hit our thirty years or so, when Gretel finally fell to the sickness.” That made Coral look sad for a moment, but now that it was ‘solved’ she recovered quickly. “It is funny you know? We were, technically, the first Cutie Mark Crusaders if you think about it.”
At least that made J smile, “You should share that with the actual Cutie Mark Crusaders then, they could use your little help.”
With a little smile The Mayor simply patted at the bed, giving him some space on her side. J got the message and simply walked forward, sitting in the bed with a huge blush. Basically she had said that it had been enough idle chatter.
“Are you still nervous,” she asked with a gentle and concerned look as it had been more than obvious that J maybe wasn’t as ready as he had once thought in his home world. “It would be the first time I have failed at one of these initiations my dear, but if you feel uncomfortable we can talk about who you like and nothing else, that is-”
“No, it’s not that.” he cut her off, placing a hand on her belly to caress her gently. It was not something ‘else’, but more to reassure her and his own self that all was going well. “I… I-I do… I do like Twilight,” J finally confessed, swallowing quietly, “but if you know all that Celestia knows-“
“I do dear, you don’t need to keep secrets,” she quickly assured him.
“Then you should know that I already know a lot, if not all the ponies around here,” he let out a huge sigh as he looked at Coral with pleading eyes, “and I like the characters of the Mane Six, much more now that I know them in person. What will I do then? I am attracted to HOW a person is, not how they look or what they are… what will I do if I hurt any of the six’s feelings? What if I find another pony that I like that is not them? That is the ONLY thing that is eating at me right now, I don’t want my ‘job’ messing with me while everything bad is ‘at bay’, at least for now.”
“Dear, on that term you have no control,” the Mayor said as she got up and took a few steps on the bed, soon lying on top of his chest and most his lower body as she gave him a bit of a dirty wink. “In Equestria it has always been free love, even in the oldest of times. We have a low ratio of male population and, for what Twilight had told me, we have none of that strange technology you talked her about, artificial insemination was it?” She waved it off “We have to do it the old fashioned way if we have to have kids, but there are very few males as Equestria is composed mostly of magical stuff, no matter how much nature it has. This means that we need a bigger and more capable intellect, at least us ponies do, so our species evolved to have many, many more mares than colts over the time, which forced our ‘morals’, as you humans would put it, to be different than yours,” She snickered a bit before she planted a quick kiss on his lips, something that made him blush, “And since we live for so long we have time to explore a lot of nice things over the years. We have limits of course, but I am sure you know how it goes. Both or more parties have to agree to what is going to happen, have to know what it is all about and must be willing and knowing of everything that is going to take place. There are no more rules than that.”
‘Greater intellect? That sounds sexist man, You gonna’ take that?’
J thought about that. It was true that in the cartoon there had been few males if compared to females, at least in most cases (In fact he could count around 3 to 1, if not 4 or maybe 5 to 1 females to males), so it would make sense that, to survive, one stallion had to copulate with more than one mare.
Since they live a lot it would also be quite difficult to remain ‘faithful’ to the same person, no matter how strong the bonds, as over time one would get ‘bored’ of it no matter what. It is sad but it is true. This would also encourage loving couples to play with others as it is obvious there is no taboo about the same sexes and the like playing part on all of this. Although, that did make him wonder what kinds of taboos do exist.
Finally J decided to come back to the world of the living and ask her “Coral?”
“Hmmm? What, dear?”
What J saw caught his attention as he suddenly was amazed at how easily he could doze off from things like this happening to him. The Mayor had basically turned 180 degrees and was offering him a perfect view of her privates, though they could be hardly seen right now for some reason. It was not all, though, as she had obviously taken her time unzipping his pants with her mouth and was smirking naughtily with the zipper still in her mouth.
“Eh… oh… umm…” J blushed like there was no tomorrow, a bulge came to occupy his now unprotected shorts in mere moments. “I-I was going to ask you about the taboos that exist in here and all that, since I don’t know if they are the same as in my world…” He gulped as the Mayor’s hooves began rubbing at his bulge with little to no shyness towards the act.
“Well, let’s see,” she kept on playing with his still hidden member, “we have a lot of natural medicine so as to not get pregnant, so, as far as it is consensual and everypony knows what it is going on and has the chance to put a stop to it at any time? We do not much care as far as it is done in private.” She chuckled a bit as she relaxed gently, playing with her tail so she could hit at his nose playfully. “So bondage, incest or anything the like is not frown upon, as well as pairings with other species and such,” the last made her giggle as she seemed to look back in time at something in special. However she waved it off fast and returned to the matter at hand.
“Why, I know of a few mares that had foals with a dragon or a diamond dog thanks to the magic in us granting us the change. They had none of the parent’s traits in most occasions except for their eyes or character, so it is no big deal,” the Mayor gained a thoughtful expression before continuing, “Rape or the like, even if it is role-play, is quite frowned upon, though. Bondage or other kind of restrictive plays are allowed, but nopony would like to see others forced to do anything, or harmed, and that kind of role-play has sometimes gone from play to literally being what it had been intended to. Also it is a crime to do anything with fillies; our bodies hit maturity around the time when we hit ten years, though a late bloomer may reach twelve before her body grows to its fullest since the magic makes us grow a bit randomly thanks to our longevity, but until a filly or foal grows to a mare or colt it is not allowed to do anything with them,” she had stopped her playing as long as she did that, her tone and face quite grim.
For J it was ok in general; meaning that it was pretty hard to swallow. A lot of things that would probably make you an outcast here are, in fact, normal in Equestria. Did it make any sense? Did it bode well with what he knew of the land? Well… yea! I mean, love, friendship, understanding, forgiveness and all the things that are so scarce in Earth are common in here, they take precautions and make sure everyone enjoys from a party, to a conversation or a deeper and close bonding such as the intimate act of sex.
Whereas a human would call this all a bizarre caricature of what they thought was the ‘holy’ union of two people, or whatever else you would like to call it, a pony would call these things normal day to day life.
“Don’t get me wrong my dear,” she cleared the tension with a little giggle, “those things happen very little, if at all, luckily.” The Mayor shuddered at the thought. “Kinks and others though? That is more common, though for it to happen inside the family it is quite hard as it is forbidden by law to inbreed as it seems that magic doesn’t allow the foal to develop very well.” At that she shrugged, “Still you can fool around with your family if you like, as far as everything is consensual and you take precautions, otherwise it is quite a problem for anyone involved.” With that done she began to undress him with both her hooves and mouth; quite effectively, mind you, “That is more or less everything you need to know. Make sure everyone wants it, that there is no one underage and have fun! If you think you are going to do it at least”
“Well,” he chuckled nervously, “I think we are about to.” In fact, by the time he said that, he was almost unclothed. The only thing that still kept him somewhat decent was his boxers, and with the quite big bulge it was obviously not much for decency mind you.
“W-wait… I think there is something wrong in here,” J blushed heavily as he took a peek under his last line of defense towards nakedness. “Oh god…”
“What is the matter?” Coral finally took the last clothing with her hooves and pushed it away, “It is quite nice down here, what is wrong?” She chuckled with a bit of a naughty glint in her eyes as she eyed the piece of meat in front of her.
While most of J’s body was detailed with old wounds and scars from his life, his lower body (At least his privates) was pretty impolite and unharmed (Any man worth his salt would protect that before anything else you know?). The problem any human would sooner or later see is that for a guy his size 11 inches were pretty much something quite abnormal… not that he would have noticed earlier since all that had happened to this point had made him burn everything in his body to the point where he didn’t even need to go to the bathroom, heck, he hadn’t even had a shower yet!
Speaking of which…
“I-I need a shower, yes, that is it,” he gulped down. “Haven’t had one since I arrived here, I need to clean up if we are going to do something.”
Technically it was not a lie. The shower yesterday had been to clean the blood and today he probably still had the smell of alcohol, yet his reason to consider yesterday’s shower as null was simply: He had been worried out of his mind, he was shocked in fear, hell, he didn’t even notice his maleness being so big! He was like a robot and had simply stared blankly at everything as she took away his pain and the shock.
J tried to smile and appear sincere, however if he was successful or not the Mayor didn’t seem to mind as she just got off the bed and quickly went to open the bathroom door to show quite a nice shower (Almost human sized) and other equipment obviously made for pony use.
“Haven’t had any fun in here for a while dear, so if you don’t mind…” Coral grinned as she turned the hot water on and got inside, letting the water splash down her mane and undoing her hair as it covered her face partially. “I wouldn’t mind some clean play to be your first, if you don’t mind the cramped space”
Without any kind of clothing on him it was quite obvious that J was aroused, not only by the obvious erection mind you, but by the fact that he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Coral, whom was lying against the white wall of the shower with her hind legs spread as she watched him intently. The Mayor could only laugh under her breath, trying to keep her composure as best as she could, but she had to admit it had been a long time since anyone had came here to learn how proper ponies do things, much longer had it been when someone from another species had tried to seek guidance for the same.
“I don’t bite dear, but if you don’t want to come here I would understand it,” she said finally, not yet moving an inch. “You come from a completely different culture, I would expect you to be reticent, but as I have done with others I will do with you. If you refuse my little teaching, then I won’t bring it back up ever again, and you do not know anything about how ponies do it..” Coral gave out a little giggle as she leaned herself against the wall to expose more of her privates to J. She was having quite the fun with this little charade, “If you ever want to know how gentle or rough you can be, where to touch and what to do, I assure you no one else but I will gladly tell you. I do not blame you if you chose to walk away now my dear, in fact I had expected you would, but I sincerely can’t say which is the better option. To accept this kind of teaching or to wait until you think it is the right time with someone you hold dear.”
“This is the sex with more talk that I will ever have,” J simply facepalmed with a groan. Coral started laughing her flank off thanks to that.
“So you are going to come in or what?” She tried to hold her laugher just enough, “Doesn’t seem like your ‘little’ friend wants to go at least.”
“The problem is that ‘my little friend’ was half this size the last time I saw it,” He blushed at that. “I mean, I was not hung like a horse the last time I had… uh… some alone time.”
Coral simply arched an eyebrow, “Dear, you got teleported to a new world for you, infused with magic, defeated monsters and even traversed a nightmare; and you are surprised of such a little thing as probably magically enhanced genitalia? I think your priorities are a bit off.”
“Heh, yea, I suppose I simply worry about everything,” J rubbed his head with a sheepish grin on his face. “I think I should finally disconnect and just act until this peace is broken then.”
“What do you mean by that, dear,” the Mayor was unsure of what to make up of that, at least until J took his place inside of the shower and his maleness was placed right in front of her face, at which point the colors of the Mayor finally turned a bright red.
“Ooooh I see,” She chuckled, taking one hoof carefully towards the phallus. “Then, allow me to start…”
Truth be told, J hadn’t expected to come as forward looking as he did, in fact he had almost hoped to slip on the surface of the shower, hit his head with something and avoid this awkward situation. Mind you that with him being as open minded as he was, the Mayor looked like quite the mare, or if you find it very hard to digest like that. She was quite a beautiful woman. In fact she was mature, a milf, what you could call an idol as if she had been human, then you probably would have had in front of you a woman on her 30s, probably around 35 or so, with smooth features, perfect hair and a figure to kill for. So… what was the problem?
Well the problem is that, even if you are a furry or something similar, you would face the fact that you, indeed, were going to do it with a completely different species, that any other human that saw you would call you the worst things that you could imagine and that, deep down, you probably liked this because it looked and felt taboo as hell.
And man, did it feel good.
“Oh god!”
It had been simply the touch of her hooves and it already felt like he hadn’t had any in years, literally. Instead of bony, harsh or simply extremely thought, the touch felt gentle and warm as the hooves seemed to grip at his member much like they would if they were hands, probably by simple magic or something else, he didn’t care as he felt sensitive enough to simply cum from the pleasure that the rubbing of his whole maleness was giving him.
That was, of course, before the Mayor finally took the teasing to the next level and she used her long tongue over most the underside of his length, showing both that it probably was true that all the horses had quite large tongues and that Coral had enough skill to envelop it around his member, squeezing it gently as she moved too slowly put the tip of his member inside of her muzzle with a sultry smirk plastered on her face.
“You are… a frigging… tease,” he groaned, gripping the borders of the shower while panting.
“The word you seek is skilled my dear, skilled” She gave the tip of his shaft a kiss as she said so “Now hush! I am going to show you how far a pony can take it”
All of sudden she took one of her hooves away as well as the tongue, giving him a bit of a sultry smile before she opened her mouth and took the whole thing inside in one fast motion. It felt like a vice grip on his member as the whole thing was being massaged by Coral’s mouth and throat to the point of making it almost a perfect fit in which he could not escape the feeling of that tongue enveloping as much of his member as it could. The Mayor began to bob her head up and down, forcing a hiss of pleasure to escape from J’s mouth after he was able to breathe again.
She kept on a very slow pace for what J had thought was something between hell and heaven as Coral made sure to squeeze his shaft the whole way down with her muscles expertly moving so as to touch every single inch of his meat to the point where she was basically sucking him dry. The worst, or best, was when she stopped her bobbing and simply centered on his cockhead, licking it whole with her tongue and squeezing it gently with her mouth as she looked up at him while the water splashed down on them.
‘Such a frigging tease! GOD!’
‘You know you love it, now shut up and enjoy it.’
The Mayor took the shaft away from her mouth with a loud *POP* and a giggle, giving it a light lick with her tongue before turning her back at him and resting on the shower’s floor. “Since you seem to hold your own well enough dear, why don’t you come to me? I am sure you want some ‘revenge’ for that lesson I just gave you,” the mare looked back with a big smirk and winked at him.
“Oh… it is on.” The poor guy didn’t know he hadn’t blown his load by now, but he was sure of one thing. This kind of revenge would be fun. Since he wasn’t the biggest apple on the tree in Earth, J had made sure to know how to touch a girl the right way for the times he had been with one, so if Coral wanted him to take revenge, he would give her hell in a sense.
“What is taking so long dear? Don’t you- waaaAAAAH!”
He didn’t know why, but her pussy was now perfectly visible and it was quite obvious that Coral was aroused as it didn’t take him more than a few seconds to find her clitoris and give it a light rub with one of his hands. The other hand he used to prod her wet lips just as she began talking. It made J chuckle a bit, but he didn’t stop or falter as he pushed two digits inside Coral’s tunnel, prodding and touching around very gently, searching for an especially sensitive zone as he made sure that sensitive button of hers was attended at every moment.
“You… tease,” she panted, her mouth agape as those fingers of his pushed further inside of her until the hand could go no further or it would get inside of her. “Come on… we are flexible…” Coral moaned out in need, “put it inside.”
“All in due time,” J snickered, rubbing his body against Coral’s back, positioning himself so he would go inside shortly after taking the hand away. “Weren’t you the one asking for me to get some revenge?” he practically purred as he finally found the spot he was seeking for, “you wanted it, now take it!”
By now, if someone was in the main hall, the cry of ecstasy from the Mayor would have made them come running to check on what was happening. Luckily none came and the only thing that was going on was the huge orgasm that Coral was having as J did his best to rub her G spot with both his fingers, not caring anymore about the tease but to get her spent and pleased so when he would get in she would simply want more even if she could not stand on her four legs.
He didn’t know why he was so aggressive sexually as he had been tame the times he had an encounter in Earth, nor did he know how it was that he hadn’t came yet after Coral’s blowjob, he only knew he wanted her pleased and full of a little something else. It only made him chuckle and grin with lust, much as if he was in simple need to mate as if an animal, when the Mayor practically begged under her mumblings and moans for him to mount her. So, finally with a grin on his face, he took the hands away to get a firm grip on the shower’s edge and on Coral’s hips before he slammed his dick into her.
Surprisingly, the head went in right away accompanied by a shared moan by both J and Coral, though it was small compared to the huge scream of pleasure that came afterwards as J had thought the mare would squeeze him in place, or that the girth would be too big, not that Coral would let him push and push until practically three fourths of the whole thing were deep within her and he had not filled her up!
“G- god! How far can I go,” he practically squealed as the Mayor pushed back, taking the thing balls deep.
“Dear… you should know,” she panted, groaning as she moved her hips to tease him while he was within her as her muscles clamped down, “that we ponies… are more than… what meets the eye… now… Do it hard!”
The Mayor didn’t have to ask twice, when she asked was when J rammed himself back and forth once, making sure she could take it all and simply enjoying the feeling of tightness as every single inch of his member was enveloped in pleasure.
In no time he was pumping in and out, panting as the water splashed down on them and pulling himself on top of Coral to share a passionate kiss as she filled the mare again and again, only pushing out to make her change her position so she would be face to face to him when he took her again, filling her to the brim with his cock once more.
There were no words besides grunts and moans as J took Coral’s hips to ram harder and faster inside of her, simply panting between moans as he tried his best to hold as much as possible as the feeling of pleasure was overwhelming him the more he lasted and the harder he tried to please both her and his own self. She only seemed to enjoy it and suck him in harder, her need as obvious as his own.
“C-cant… can’t hold…,” he gasped out between his moans.
“Then let it go dear! Release it,” Coral screamed, another orgasm hitting her.
J didn’t need any more encouragement. He buried himself inside of her one more time and let out basically a howl of pleasure as she clamped down on him, sucking him dry as he shot wave after wave of seed inside of her depths, making both of them spasm in the pleasurable throes of orgasm, finally lying against each other as J did his best to not let his weight down on the now spent mare. Not that he was in better shape than her.
“G-god… I haven’t had one like that… in a long time,” J got enough strength back to pull Coral up and in turn lie down with her on top. The water’s relaxing effect and her hot and soft body adding an especially nice edge to the feeling of the afterglow. “Is… is it weird that I think I liked it more with a pony than with a human?”
Coral simply chuckled tiredly, giving him a kiss, “I doubt you liked a human as much as you liked one of our ilk, my dear.”
He simply blushed slightly, not sure enough about it to call it a compliment or something else.
“I mean that you probably were less inclined towards your own kin, darling,” she gave him a friendly smile. “It happens here too, but as far as I know in your world it would have been impossible to explore such a thing without being persecuted.”
“Well… that I cannot deny,” J could only smirk as he moved slightly, making both of them moan as it seemed something wanted to stay up. “I mean… I am still aroused! I couldn’t even last this long with any human girl I knew…”
“It is part of the magic of the princess, dear,” Coral finally took his member out with a heavy sigh of both relief and pleasure as she let the water was down on her body as she looked up at the shower. “She told you she didn’t want to do you any harm, in fact she changed her magic so to ensure that, if you survived, you would find happiness in here” At that she gave him a gentle but a bit sad look “I don’t know why she was so gloomy, I haven’t seen her like that in all my life; I only hope that after this you know a few things about us ponies, if you succeed.”
“If I have to be sincere,” He chuckled as he pointed at his shrinking cock, “I think I have learned that this feels fucking good, if you excuse my dirty words.” She only chuckled and waved her hoof towards him. “But seriously, if it is about anatomy? I have learned quite a lot”
“Which was basically my objective,” she interjected with a quick smirk, “you see, asides the fact that you need to get used to our customs, you need to know that, unlike your women, we like both tender and caring as much as rough as demanding.” Coral gave him a dirty wink “To be a good lover is very hard in Equestria, it is another reason why there are mostly lone mare mothers out there, or pairs composed of mares. Colts hardly watch out for their partner’s pleasure except if it is two stallions together, if you get my drift, my dear,” J simply blushed at the thought. “However you did use your hands and did your best to hold out as much as I did which, I must admit, was impressive”
“Tell me about it,” he couldn’t help but look a bit appalled. “I thought I was going to lose it once we began but… I don’t know. I wanted more to hold until I could mount you. It is like these feelings I have been having as of late; demanding, alien and scary, yet natural, warm and… right? I couldn’t explain”
‘Can you even hear me? It’s rude not to respond, you know.’
The Mayor pondered about that for a moment as she looked J up and down, scanning him for something. “Dear, I think that the problem here is simple. The magic basically gave you a bit of what you would have if you were a pony,” she said with a light smile “You are stronger, faster and… more endowed as you have noticed. You came here and Equestria fused with you as much as it could, a lot more once Princess Celestia gave you her gift. Since in your world the ponies are… something different,” she seemed very unlevered as she said that. “I suppose that you are feeling some animal like needs mixed with all of this, it could explain why you are feeling so antsy and part of why the situation is overcoming you.”
“Oh” Was all he could say as he pondered about that “Do you think… I should talk with Celestia about this?”
‘Yes, you probably should.’
“Probably,” Coral nodded gently, “but right now… do you fancy some food?” She snickered as J heard his own stomach growl as if it was a monster, “I think at least a part of you does not agree with all you have done, dear”
J simply smiled and nodded; soon following Coral out of the shower once they cleaned up a bit more. Most the day would pass talking about Equestria, some of her customs, behavior (both in and outside the bedroom) and the nations that were within this big magical world.
For once he felt relaxed and, as he noticed, after the sex his mood had relaxed and he felt rejuvenated as if he had taken a burden off of him. Maybe Coral was right about him having maybe a part of animal within him after all this ordeal? It wouldn’t be so surprising after all, the spell was complex, the situation was complex and magic world against non magical creature didn’t mix as well as anyone would’ve thought. Whatever it was, right now he felt like a million dollars’ worth.
***WARNING END!***
*** Later, as night came to claim most ponies’ consciousness… ***
The talk had taken quite a lot more than he had thought and now the night had claimed its place with the moon standing triumphantly where the sun should’ve been what he thought had been simple moments ago. The chilly wind was whispering to him as he made his way to Twilight’s house. Only a few words being heard tonight from within the remaining houses with some lively joy inside as the families with foals or fillies had to restrain the kids so they would go to sleep since the week had ended and they would not go to school in the following two days.
Jonathan, for once thinking of himself with his full name, simply thought about what would happen now. He just had had an intimate encounter with the Mayor, he had learned of what was normal and what was not in this world regarding to ‘privacy’ and relationships (Something that, even if he dared not admit it, he still needed to wrap his mind around) and less ‘intimate’ things such as about the nations and how it may be possible for him to have a bit of an animal (Its essence, that of a pony or a horse, at least) within him. Truthfully he felt better than ever even after the time that had passed since his release, something that sincerely had caught him off guard as he had thought his mind would return to the mess it had been a while ago after he had been so carefree for a few hours.
To be fair the only thing that occupied his mind now was…
“How was it?”
Enthralled as he was in his own thoughts; J had not seen that he was close to Twilight’s house than he had thought, in fact we could say he could taste how close he was.
*THUD!*
‘*sigh*’
And feel it too.
“FFFF… This is going to cost me someday, I know it,” he groaned, looking to his side to see Twilight giving him a nervous smile, as she waited in front of the library with the door open as if she had swung it so violently it had almost came out of its place. “Twilight? Is everything ok?”
“Yes, yes it is. why wouldn’t it be ok,” Twilight’s voice seemed sad and her face showed nervousness beyond belief. Her smile crumbled slowly before she simply trotted towards him for a hug. “I am nervous for Celestia’s sake,” she whispered in a squeak. “I don’t know why, but I couldn’t help it after you were gone one hour! I… I think I may feel too clingy, that I may be simply needy of someone that understands what I am feeling,” she sobbed. “I… I fear I don’t feel what I think I feel. I fear that what I think I have towards you is only desperation coming at me and forcing me to seek someone to comfort me.” By now Twilight was looking away, ashamed of the idea that had been eating at her mind after the joy from before vanished. As always she thought about things too much, and once she was almost sure she was going to fail someone she crumbled, and sometimes she endangered others. Twilight simply felt horrible as she thought that.
“Sssssh…”
She heard him whisper at her, embrace her and take her chin up so he could give her a little kiss. Soon her worry washed away as she felt her cheeks flush and her whole body warm up after hours of hiding her feelings from Rarity, the fillies and Spike. Her self- loathing vanished, her doubt erased, and her worry evaporated as she felt tranquility overtake her mind before he pulled away.
“All will be fine,” He promised her. “For now… I think someone wanted me to have me in her bed tonight,” J winked at her. “A good cuddle and a good night’s sleep will help you as much as I can.”
Twilight smiled brightly through flushed cheeks as he took her up in her arms and carried her over towards the bedroom where he undressed and she waited, for he would end up in her bed, which had remained big for she wished him to be there. Minutes after they embraced each other the sleep had crept up on them, taking both their minds to the dreamscape where, after half a week of uneasy sleep, they enjoyed happy dreams at last.
However someone wanted to give a message.
“Such a beautiful couple,” the voice was loud, but ethereal, as if no one could heard it even as it was right in front of the resting bodies of both J and Twilight, “I wonder if it will end as happily as this scene, though I don’t count on it as much as I count in something else.”
The room was dark, unnaturally so. The only thing that was able to be seen was the window while the light didn’t even creep inside the room. Everypony, including the sleeping Spike, couldn’t even wake up as the darkness engulfed the room. Even if they were aware in their dreams it would have been for naught as whatever energy was this prevented them for getting up.
“After all, as simple as this is, it could change everything.” Finally a hint of a feminine accent could be heard, but only for a brief second “Still… that is why I am here, right? I need to say thanks, even if it changes things for the worst”
‘Indeed, one shouldn’t let debts go unfulfilled’
A small glimpse of light broke through the darkness and a glint of black hair and dark colored metal reflected dully as the form of a mare, bigger than anypony else, sighed and nodded before getting close to the bed for a simple deed. She nuzzled J, took something from her head and left it on his side of the bed before giving his forehead a kiss.
“Thank you… thank you for all, d…”
A bright magical flash overtook the scene as the mare disappeared from sight, a single perfect tear falling to the bed, over a bright and shiny obsidian gemstone that shone through the moonlight. It was lined with gold and silver and, in cases, what seemed to be platinum. Some words could be seen engraved on the rock that read:
“To my beautiful Diana,
Even though this gift would only mean I would never love you as you deserved, know that I will always have you in my heart and that I will be always with you. Your… Jonathan, I will….”
At some point the stone had something else written on it; however it had been smashed and cracked something powerful and the rest of the message had been lost.
What did this mean? Sadly only time would tell…
*** End of Chapter Eight ***
Well…
LARGEST-CHAPTER-EVUR!
I struggled with every-single-scene. I wrote it: 12 pages in length. SHORT! I didn’t even put everything I wanted in there! Edit: 16 pages. STILL SHORT! And these scenes suck! *Rewrite a hell of things* AHA! This is it… wait, something is missing… 19 pages? Nah, still not all the content I wanted.
THERE! ALL DONE! Whew, I think I did well enough? *re-reads* Yep, all in place, man, I think it took a long ti- 17 days? Seriously? F*** ME!
I haven’t been so stressed in my whole life: A whole week with exams, then a Monday with another one waiting for me with its beady eyes looking to get my rear unprotected. Man, I haven’t flunked so many in a row in a LONG TIME. This comes to bite me back time and time again. I was way too nervous and I took my time with this while also doing the same with school. Though for various reasons I can assure you that, even if you don’t like this chapter for some reason, it has been done much better than my studying, promise.
Now onto less stupid and ranting things that I need to adhere:
SEX! Yes, sex. Look, I know I have thrown myself to the lions here, but hear me out: This story takes place in Equestria, where a dragon can have a crush on a pony and everypony is like “Ok, whatever, good luck sport!” and other species wouldn’t be too different. Also this world is all about understanding, safety, happiness and FUCKING MAGIC, do I need to clear anything else? Yes, I do: The fetishes, kinks or anything else are, most probably, seen as perfectly fine as far as it is consensual and you take care, why? Because, seriously, these are not human minds, these are ponies, and they want to be happy so… why would they hate anything if it didn’t harm them or anyone they cared about? Just have fun and make sure everyone involved wants it ;3
So yea, I do not plan on showing all I said or get too perverse with naughtiness mind you, but once I thought about it, really, I didn’t see a single problem with the thought that all of this could be perfectly normal, I mean… MAN! There are gay animals out there and they don’t fucking mind! Then, why would they mind sexual deviation if it didn’t harm them? Answer is: they don’t.
So love me or hate me, but I think this makes perfect sense, magic world or not.
Also: Spooky apparition at the end! Hah! In your face XD… wait, that doesn’t make sense.
From the cardboard box of nobodyreallyimportant
So… Much… Editing… Man, I hope I did a good job.
If I didn’t, well… have a drink in apology. （ ^_^）o自
Have a nice day everybody. So long.
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Uros
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1056
| 9 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The time of the Grey Knight.
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The most dangerous creature is summoned by Twilight Sparkle thanks to a dark foreshadowing.
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cancelled
| 61 | 29 |
<p>Months after the events of the first season Twilight Sparkle realizes something after she had a foreshadowing of the future. Worried, she finally does what she thinks is right and tries to summon the supposedly most dangerous creature known: A human.</p><p>[Note for the readers:<br/>This story is pretty tame in most chapters, but it has its fair share of everything. Warnings are inside the chapters as they are required. The characters marked arent the only ones that will appear in the story]</p><p>You can also fallow my story, if you like, in Deviant Art or in Fanfiction.net :3 My name doesnt change (As much it is Uros Osium Tokker or Uros Osium)</p>
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mature
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2011-11-24T22:38:31+00:00
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2011-11-24T22:38:31+00:00
| 1,300 |
Chapter 9: The harp of times past.
At least, a tame chapter ^^ I am going to outright say that the next few chapters (Except one in particular) are going to be nice, or so I hope, depends on how much I develop each of them and if they are more or less than I had hoped. There will be no violence (Except maybe a fight or two), drama (I hope), and much less gore or sex in here, only more character development and friendly stuff :•3
I think the conflict generated by now is enough to keep up tensions for a while, so as every good conflict has, this one has made everyone earn a little rest and some peace. However with me peace means new problems, though they aren’t so serious if compared to the others I have already laid in front of you.
This all means that, while I seem to portray J as the main character, there are others and all their stories add to the total of things and it all sums in the end to see how and why things turn on that way. With that said, we do begin with J, but because it is required…
Also, for a very large review :3 there is also a nice answer:
This is for Shadowfire117
The bad ending… I am really thinking about it mind you. I keep on thinking only in the good ending and I SINCERELY hope people want it, yet I am a man of my word whenever I can keep it, so I would feel bad if I took this away, even if I feel bad now for giving the chance to the readers. Do not get me wrong here, I do respect the choices and likings of everyone but each time I try to think of the ending with drama I… I have problems. Being ‘in character’ when I write I tend to imagine as lively as I can, so… you can understand my dilemma, I hope.
Now, about the realistic part? Heh… I think someone got me wrong here :3 It is realistic, yea, but to an extent. This is a world of magic where amazing things can come to happen, so it is not THAT realistic. So what is the problem here?
The problem is that Jonathan is from a different world and he sees things differently, he feels like he doesn’t deserve what he is getting and will only think otherwise if he sees himself change, something that may be easier or harder, or literally impossible. He has made mistakes, he had tried to force things to be right when he had made them wrong, only to worsen them and, ultimately, he took lives away more than once in his desperation. He is a pessimist, for he has known only one side of the story most his life, the one that is told by those that hurt others, be it willingly or not.
The magic in Equestria makes things go well for those who wish for them and who think they deserve them because it would do well for all. If J does not see that he will ultimately fail, as would any other creature in Equestria, as did Nightmare Moon. (This, of course, is how I envision things, not how they are, I suppose :3)
Now, how about the knights? Except the Onyx knight the others were good, whole or in part, because even with humanity back then every creature was good to some extent, the monsters killed only because that was their nature and they needed to eat. The Onyx knight was… well… you will see what it was in chapter 10 or 11, depends on how fast I develop things.
Thanks for the review and, already, sorry if this response isn’t what you weren’t hoping for, but I did answer things how I think them so I hope you do not mind :3.
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Also, on a side note, I do like review you all! I am as much an artwhore as I am a reviewhore :p as far as it is a review made with some sense and tact. As said before I got my share of flaming so if you want to say something, both good or bad, I hope you are backed up with some sense there. I kill myself to try and develop a nice story and I only want to know why it is being enjoyed or why NOT (though I am hopeful the second case scenario is not that common).
This being said, I have to stress it all out again: I do not own MLP and yadda yadda yadda, nor do I base myself as much in fandom as I do in what I judge correct or what I create. Also I try to use as many official characters as I can :3 (Thank the latest chapter for Rarity’s parents being added and not some OCs :3… Also Rarity’s hair when wet x3… DO NOT JUDGE ME 83!)
Lol, drama queen x3.
From the Cardboard Box of Nobodyreallyimportant
***
It had been hours since he had gone to sleep, in fact J was sure that he was nearing the end of his dream as he rested near the shore of a lake under the moonlight in one of his preferred dream settings that he so carefully tried to bend to his will each time so as to perfect the picture to the extent it was today. With him lying on the soft grass and sighing after the first dreamscape had been made in this new world, he could only rest and appreciate how beautiful it all was.
A huge crystalline lake, a dense forest surrounding it, a big full moon on the sky and dozens of stars shinning back at him. The perfect embodiment of calm as the crickets sang their song and the water moved on its own to simulate the sound of the sea when times were calm.
He would never believe there was something better than this.
“Enjoying the night?” a voice called out, one he had heard only once before when he got here.
J only turned his head to see Nightmare Moon walking slowly towards him until she sat down and laid back, her face inches away from his. If she had wanted to, being of the same ilk, if not the exact same, as Luna, she would probably had whatever she wanted from him and after yesterday he could imagine quite a lot of things. However the mare didn’t seem to look at him in longing for any kind of thing, at least none he could understand right now as her face did show some kind of emotion he could not describe even if he wanted or tried to.
“Yea, yea I am,” he said, finally. “I hadn’t needed to form a dreamscape since I was very young. It took me the whole night”
“And you have done beautifully; if you don’t mind my compliments,” Nightmare Moon gave a lighthearted chuckle. “I hadn’t seen a pony or a human with such a mental capability in one thousand years”
“Yeah, well I tend to dwell in my mind a lot, or at least, I did,” J said as he looked towards the moon. “It was one of the few ways to be happy. Now I don’t really need it, I think, but I would like to have someplace to go if my mind gets saturated or if I need to calm down.”
“Already trying to escape reality?” J shot her a cold glance but Nightmare Moon simply chuckled, meaning it as a joke.
“Maybe…”
“You should use the free time you have to relax, Jonathan, you will need to put everything in your head in proper order,” The mare on the moon told him with a sincere smile. “I guarantee you that I actually want you to do at least some things right, if not all.”
J simply arched an eyebrow as he looked at her with an inquisitive glance, “Why?”
“I am dying, and unlike any illness in Equestria, mine can’t be cured,” Nightmare Moon was as blunt as a pile of rocks, but she was still smiling nonetheless. “Luna knows, Celestia knows and now YOU know”
The human had only one reaction. His jaw hit the floor and rolled away.
“Why are you telling me this then,” he asked, bewildered. “What do you hope to accomplish that way?”
“Is it always like that with ‘villains’ and humans, right? You have to get something from everything,” she snorted, her smile disappearing. “If you do not remember it clearly enough, then let me allow to tell you that I was Luna’s friend and advisor before things turned grim. Why, you will even find what happened and why I turned like that soon enough,” she grumbled a bit, but unlike the first time she appeared in front of all the brony community and the whole Equestria, she was nice and only slightly offended. “However it is true that I do want something from you, and I would understand that you told me to go screw myself, if you don’t mind me sounding so unladylike”
“Then what are you waiting for?” he asked in a dejected tone. Whatever this was, it most likely wouldn’t be good. “You pretty much barged in here uninvited, I was unfriendly to you, and you were brash with me. Shot away, things wouldn’t be worse than now.”
“I want you to bear my essence.”
There was one simple thing that the dreamscape had lacked until this point, one thing that J had always had ready and, in fact, working when he was in one of these ‘homes’ of his. It was a little thing called music.
It only took Nightmare Moon seconds to get closer before she embraced J, sharing with him her own emotions with whatever magic she was using. He wasn’t sure of how it worked, but J could swear he felt the sadness, one worth more than a thousand of years, envelop him as Nightmare Moon gave him a taste of how she had felt since the day when she had, for reasons still unknown to him, forced her best and only friend, her ‘mother’, Luna to the moon.
The mood seemed to fit with the one given by one certain song from a very specific game: Mardek, the OST: Sorrow.
As the harp began its melody Nightmare Moon backed away from him, yet the music continued even as J felt his previous mood returning to him as the feelings evaporated like they were nothing.
“I never was a real creature, only an essence created by a powerful alicorn. She, Luna, was as much my friend as she was my mother in a certain sense, but in the material plane I was nothing,” Nightmare Moon got up and looked up towards the moon, the music slowly approaching its crescendo before she continued, “and I will be less than nothing in a few days. Luna has been cured, she has been accepted and I have been rendered a bad memory she doesn’t want to have anymore. Without her support, I will cease to exist. And yet, I was never real, so there will be no sadness once I depart.”
“Some would be saddened.” J chimed in with the music taking away some of his happy thoughts, but mostly the one crushing it to a certain point was Nightmare Moon herself.
The mare was basically smiling, even thought she had said that she would basically ‘die’, or if she was counted as a psychic essence; destroyed or dissipated. However she seemed to bear no sadness and have no regrets, at least none past the only one she had that troubled her mind.
“I know, but it is for the best,” she admitted, her smile not leaving her face. “I told you that I hoped for you to make the right decision in time. That time is now. Will you let my essence reside within your body and mind; or will you let me dwindle away when the time comes?”
J would have liked to think about it more, but the music and the feelings he could sense were coming from Nightmare Moon along with his own would hardly let him think about it in peace.
“Will it have any drawbacks for me or anypony else?”
The black mare shook her head, “None. I will live through you and, in fact, may have this, my form, infused on your soul and mind so I will be ‘alive’ in a sense. I can even act as a confident for you, if you so want.”
“Anything else?” J frowned. He wasn’t buying it now. There had been something in Nightmare Moon’s words that somehow seemed… lacking. “I think you are hiding something.”
“And I will continue to hide it until the right time,” that was a firm, and quite harsh, reassurance as Nightmare Moon stomped the ground with a hoof. “I am giving away my life and I do not mind it if you refuse, but I have only one hope, a single gleam of survival, and it is going to remain with me to the bitter end.” Those words had been as harsh and maybe as violent as the first time the mare had appeared in the show, “I am sorry but I won’t tell you, I… I can’t tell you”
There was a long silence as the music stopped and J got up from where he was lying on the ground.
“You expect me to make the right decision when I do not know everything?” his tone was firm, his expression harsh and for some reason he wanted to turn away and wake up. He didn’t, and Nightmare Moon couldn’t take her eyes away from him as he walked besides her to rub at her ethereal mane.
“You can remain here if you want,” J offered her a little smile. “Yesterday I said I would change my ways at last, and I will begin by caring more. You can live within me, if that is what you wish.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, unsure and, uncharacteristically of her, worried, “You don’t know everything…”
“Nor do I need to,” he admitted. “If it was something bad then I would probably have Luna here biting your head off, or more likely I would be awakened by Celestia somehow. They aren’t here, so I am pretty sure it can’t be too bad,” for a moment he looked worried enough at the thought of ‘Trollestia’ waking him up to say “Gotcha.” It was silly, though, and after a moment he couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of such a thing.
“The only thing I ask for is one you may know already,” he sat down and let out a tired yawn, indicating that he was going to fall asleep here and, return to the real world, “Be sincere with me in everything, as I am with anyone.”
Sadly J wasn’t able to last long enough to see Nightmare Moon nod or not, in fact if she had tried to say something after he asked for such a little thing, then J would have not heard it. He simply fell back and banished towards the real world, leaving behind a speechless Nightmare Moon whom was wondering if what she had done was the right thing.
It had been not so long when she had returned to her own mind and that the sane personality she had finally overcame what had overtaken her so long ago. The truth was, depressing though; she was her own self again, immaterial and insubstantial, but she was back to how she began. Did she miss a physical body? No, she didn’t, but she did miss the feeling of kinship with Luna, one that was now gone and that, after Discord had tried to take over and Luna had recovered her powers, had shown her how dire her situation was. The mind that had created her didn’t want her inside it anymore.
One thousand years on the moon was enough to make one do nothing but think; effectively making such a long time seem much shorter than it really was. It all simply meant that they had, mentally, spent much less time than Celestia waiting for their freedom, but they had been arguing and battling in one single shared mind for the time that they waited.
‘And I have no family now…’ Nightmare Moon looked down, dejected.
“Has he agreed?”
The voice of Luna took Nightmare Moon’s attention, but just a part of it as by now she had wiped the sadness and memories away and she was looking forward to the maybe not so distant future.
“He has.”
“I honestly thought he wouldn’t,” Luna admitted, sitting in front of Nightmare Moon, though still quite far away in the dreamscape. “In fact I had expected him not to.” She had a neutral and quite expressionless tone, “I hope you did nothing ‘special’ to get him to comply with this.”
Nightmare Moon snapped to attention and gave Luna the most distasteful glare she could. While Luna had had no magic in her but that of a normal unicorn until the last celebration, now she could either appear as her ‘real’ form or her more ‘regal’ (Or godly) one. She, more often than not, went out simply as ‘Luna’ after that night, but even with such a ‘cute’ and gentle form in display she did have a very dark and powerful side after spending such a long time battling her inner demons.
And Nightmare Moon was tired of being that specific demon Luna wanted to expel.
“I guarantee you, PRINCESS, that I did nothing, in fact I didn’t even tell him what you told me I should keep to myself, even if I was tempted to simply do so to give you a huge ‘SCREW YOU’ that I cannot force out simply for a lack of a middle finger,” She pointed her hoof towards Luna to emphasize her point. “But he had asked me to be completely sincere with him and I will be, for I am in him now and not in you.”
“Much like a demon then, Nightmare Moon,” Luna retorted with a hateful glare, “A deal is sealed and you take what is ‘rightfully’ yours afterwards. Know that I have done this simply for the time we shared as friends, an old debt I no longer want to have hovering over me. However, if you do something other than what we agreed on I will destroy you”
“Don’t be so almighty with me, Luna,” Nightmare Moon chuckled. “You are plotting now instead of your sister, she at least tells Jonathan of her plans now. You on the other hoof…”
“I am not plotting,” Luna spat, not looking towards her dark reflection anymore. “I am getting rid of you and, hopefully, giving you a second chance I hope you don’t ruin like before.”
Luna vanished after that; Nightmare Moon’s only reaction to such an abrupt thing was to snort and smirk, “Seems I am the demon, yet you still retain some of that darkness within you, don’t you, dear Luna?” For the first time she let out a half hearted laugh, much warmer and ‘human’ than the one she gave the first time when she was back after one thousand years. “I will still perish in a sense; yet in the future I may be a better pony than you. Mark my words, Luna” She looked into the ether, knowing full well that the princes of the night could still hear her “Watch what you do more than what others do.”
*** Minutes before: In the real world of Equestria ***
Twilight had awoken with a shudder for some reason. It was not too late in the morning, in fact it was around… 8:30? What perfect timing! She smiled as she saw the clock, but she practically beamed after she finally felt the arms of J wrapped around her, which brought up the best and the worst of this morning.
She sighed, ‘I don’t wanna get up… But I guess I have to.’
She forced herself apart from J and turned to give his forehead a kiss.
‘Thanks for everything…’
Gently jumping away from the bed; she felt… empty. Since the incident, mere days ago, when she was not as close as she could to J she felt empty, fearful and alone. When Rarity came to her she felt happy too, until she too went away. Maybe she only wanted her friends close? Those she would readily call her family? Those she loved? Maybe the need for someone didn’t mean that she was clingy towards J, but that she did love him and wanted him closer than anypony else.
‘After all… only Fluttershy was there with me too, but we both know that I like the idea of having a whole family too much.’ Twilight chuckled at that, ‘I think the only one in my circle of friends to think like this is Rarity, so she would understand if I talked to her? Maybe it would be a nice thing to do today, that way I will force myself away from the library.’
Suddenly, something fell of the bed and hit the floor with a loud clattering noise. There was the sound of it rolling across before it touched her hoof.
Twilight looked down to see the same stone that had been delivered the past night. She could even read the words without need to take the stone up, yet once she did… her curiosity and worry chimed in like a pair of vultures. With her magic she made the stone levitate, with her hooves she touched it, and with her inquisitive mind she searched for a meaning that would satiate her worries.
Yet what she found was something else.
***
She no longer saw the library; in fact there was only a whirlpool of blackness with a little grey area where she saw a hoof and a hand together. It soon turned to a clearer color, almost white except for a lavender hoof and a hand she knew was from Jonathan.
“Will I ever see you again?” She heard her own voice, yet it was broken and sad.
“I… I doubt it.” J’s voice followed promptly with the same feelings, if not much darker ones, permeating those words. “I… you…”
“I know. I… understand.” Twilight’s voice echoed, laced with sadness. “But… but she will miss you too.”
“I-I am sorry Twilight.” There was a deep breath and Twilight could swear she saw tears falling down on what little she could see of the scene. “I don’t want to do this…”
“Sssssh…” She heard her own sniffs and then a kiss. “I understand… I can’t leave her… she will be hurt enough once she knows what you have to do.”
“Thanks, Twilight.” There was a long silent moment before the hand disappeared from the picture. “Goodbye.”
***
Twilight let go of the stone for a second, luckily her magic was still holding it by instinct and she avoided further harm to the already obviously damaged garment. However the wellbeing of the stone was the last of her worries now as she hid it under the bed in pure instinct.
‘Another vision? Why? Why of THAT?’
She shuddered as she looked around, only to see that J was still asleep and that, like most days when she woke up this late, Spike had already been gone for a while. I only left her with a few precious minutes to worry about whatever this meant.
‘Is he going to leave me in the future? Is… is he going to love somepony else more than me? Will he leave her too? It… it is… it is very much possible’ She ended up sighing as she walked the stairs down to the main floor of the library ‘He is human after all, maybe in the future there will be a way to return to that ‘Earth’ of his’ She basically spat the name in her mind ‘Maybe… maybe I displeased him somehow? I mean, my visions seem to be precise to this point so this may be the truth that lies within the future, yet I don’t know the reasons. What will happen that will push him away? Why will he leave me?’
Yet, before she opened the door towards the main room, she chuckled and offered a nervous smile to nopony but herself.
‘I am being ridiculous! It may not even come to happen! I mean, even Luna and Celestia had visions, or so the princess told me, and not all of them came true! So maybe this will not happen after all,’ she cheered a bit and finally opened the door so the sun from the windows would illuminate her smile. ‘I am not going to worry anymore. I just KNOW we will have some peaceful days now and I SO want to spend them being happy, I’ve had… enough sadness for a lifetime.’
“I feel fucking gooooOOOSHIT,” J’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
*WHAM!*
‘Well, if nothing else, he knows how to cheer someone up in the morning.’ Twilight fought not to laugh as she looked back to the almost nude figure of J lying on the ground, groaning as he rubbed his chest and face after meeting the floor face first. She would need to remember to change the bed’s disposition or this would probably repeat itself a few times. “Had a good night’s sleep? Because asking how you are feeling seems silly to me right now,” she chuckled as J sent her a killer look.
“Good enough, I suppose,” he groaned, getting up and walking over to get his clothes. “I would have liked a much better wake up call, but it is good enough. At least you weren’t in the bed or I would have dragged you down with me,” J snickered at that, “now that would’ve been awkward.”
“I reckon it would, yes,” Twilight chuckled nervously as she rubbed one of her forelegs. “But nothing of that right now, I think a good breakfast is in order, even more if Spike has been cooking with help of Owlowiscious.” At least she hoped the poor owl had been helping Spike, he did cook well, but so soon in the morning? She would hate to see diamond bits in her bowl, “If you are hungry after making sure my floor was so clean that is.”
“Oh ho, are we feeling funny this morning,” J chuckled as he got dressed, Twilight cleaning his clothes with a bit of magic as she nodded. “Well as ‘filling’ as your floor was, I think I could eat something else, yes.”
“Good then,” Twilight gave out a smile, though it was forced and it showed, “Then let’s go fill our tummies”
“Twilight.”
The mare froze. The tone had been gentle, but mostly a whisper, almost as if in fear to speak. Twilight looked back, only to see that J was advancing slowly towards her with a concerned face she had not seen since that day.
“Are you ok?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
It took a second for her to react, but Twilight could only let out a half smile with sad eyes looming over J as he came closer to embrace her, his concern sincere and his worry very real. Yet that was all she needed and, with a deep sigh of content, she embraced him back.
“I worry too much, probably like you,” she confessed. “I cannot help it, not after such a change. I have been against Nightmare Moon and Discord; I will probably be against something else after this… But this was the first time I lost someone only to gain someone else, in fact not only one, but many,” Twilight didn’t know if she was hurting him, but the more she talked the stronger her grip became. “I now fear for the little girls, I fear for my cousin, I fear for you,” she felt him tense up and nuzzle at her gently, bringing her up as he took her in her arms. “And… it is silly, we haven’t even truly made anything to be together, not yet at least… but I fear you may leave me.”
“I promise you,” Twilight finally tore her head from where she let it rest against his shoulder so as to see the gentle smile J was giving her, “the only way I would ever leave you is if I died, Twilight.” That made her smile, but also sent a shiver down her spine. “Now don’t worry your pretty egghead self about that.”
‘Well, that killed it,’ she gave him a stern but playful look.
“And let’s eat something,” with a wink she took her towards the kitchen.
She nodded and simply let him take her away; Twilight Sparkle was, basically, in pure bliss. If the things that had took place a few days ago hadn’t happened at all she would truly admit she was in some kind of heaven; she had her friends caring for her more than ever and she had a male for herself in some way, she also had fillies of her own, though that last part made her sad again as she thought of the price to pay and that they weren’t really of her own to begin with.
At least she hopped that the girls had fun in the barn with Apple Bloom… and that Silver Spoon did behave as she promised.
*** Apple Family’s Orchard ***
Silver Spoon was in HELL!
Well, not really, but by Celestia this was humiliating! When her mother had taken her from school, taken her to their manor and then cleaned her up as best as she could in such a short amount of time Silver Spoon had been SCARED out of her wits, not that she would admit that to anyone though. Once she knew of her mother’s plan though, she relaxed.
New FRIENDS! She had practically turned her mother deaf with such a loud “SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” when she heard the news, mostly because, if she had to say the truth, she felt terribly lonely.
She loved Diamond Tiara deeply as a friend, they had grown together after all with Diamond Tiara’s mother being the heir of a family of miners that, once Ponyville had been established, pledged to the local noble to mine in the nearby mountain, only to find a deposit of gems that, like in any other place, replenished itself regularly thanks to the magic lingering in there. That local noble had been family of Celestia, VERY distant mind you, but family of the alicorn nonetheless… and it had been Silver Spoon’s ancestor.
Much like her mother, Silver Spoon had inherited the corresponding cutie mark and, as such, the obligation of being a lower noble, but a noble nonetheless. She had to be proper, she had to be with members of the society that were up to her standing, and the only other family in Ponyville that was rich and had attained such a rank was the Goldie family.
Though unlike their ancestor, the Goldie family had not always ‘Gold’ in their name (Diamond Tiara was an example), they did always have a name motif that had to do with precious metals or jewels. They had grown to be refined instead of the filthy miners they had once been, also they had grown to like the finer things in life and it seemed that in the blood of the family lingered a disdain towards the common pony.
Something Silver Spoon could relate to and that, as of late, was putting her at odds with her mother.
Yes, it was true; Silver Spoon saw those with less education, manners and form to be less than her but, who would say otherwise in her position? She had a gifted brain; if she desired to train she would even have a gifted body, all thanks to her blood. Everypony else had less than she did and still could be as good, like Diamond Tiara had shown her. The only thing that the grey filly did not have, and that she knew of, was the capacity to give speeches, to be forward, to not be… frightened when alone.
‘After all,’ she sighed inwardly, ‘most bullies are cowards, aren’t we?’ That made her cringe, but it was true. ‘I wonder… do I dislike them enough to be a bully after this?’
Silver Spoon finally looked to her side and, as she did, she saw the room in the barn all lit up as the wind opened the window slightly. Before this the red barn room had been mostly obscured except for a small tendril of light that went all the way besides Silver Spoon’s bed, the reason as to why she was awake.
The room was beautiful, at least for a commoner; Red and white wooden planks making the walls, door and window frames, uncolored ones for the ceiling and the floor. Sparse furniture, but a lot of beds, since the Apple Clan was usually so numerous than two or three couldn’t cut it. The room was also very spacey, almost as much as Silver Spoon’s own, but much more filled with necessities instead of with toys.
And that is what made Silver Spoon loathe this, yet also it was exactly what made her think.
She hated how plain it looked, how… poor. The filly had grown to embrace eccentric things, or something out of the ordinary, to be happy having a LOT of things and, sadly, few people around. She had grown to be of the nobility and could hardly understand how ‘normal’ ponies could see fun or beauty in things that, to her, were so lowly that she wouldn’t spare them a glance.
It was only because Cheerile was an old friend of her mother that Silver Spoon had initially accepted to learn in a public school so as to not anger her mother (And because she didn’t yell at her like some private teachers). The second reason was because Cheerile was the sister to Berry Punch and Scootaloo’s mother, Whirlwind, a former Wonderbolt, that Diamond Tiara had decided she was a ‘prestigious enough teacher’ for her too (No one in Ponyville would usually admit it, but Berry Punch had invented most the actual beverages that were common at adult parties).
So, why did she like Rain Berry and Final Test? Well, she hadn’t seen her friend for a time even before she went away because her mother had been trying to prepare (or better say, force) her to learn about how their family did business. Silver Spoon had simply been STARVED for someone that would like her, someone that would talk to her… and because both fillies weren’t quite like the rest it made the grey filly all the more interested after seeing them.
Pegasus and unicorn sisters? Believe her when she says that it was rare, in fact she could compare Scootaloo to them, why? Because a filly usually grows like the mother as the mares have the strongest genes, unlike in some species. Rain was small and meek while Final was quite bigger, stronger and had a lot of character. Silver Spoon filled right in the middle of them both, so when Rain returned the other day feeling happy and open she had changed little, but now she would talk and would make Silver Spoon feel in place as both of the girls were quite smart and each of them had some topics she liked.
Rain liked poetry and was good at writing, a noble art, though she was very shy and liked to fantasize a lot, so she could create many, many things within her head to surprise Silver Spoon, and that had been in less than an hour! Final was a bit more crude, but she knew enough of gymnastics and the body that she could maybe grow to be one of the first pegasi stronger, and yet more knowledgeable, than an Earth pony. They weren’t brutes or stupid fillies, and they had told Silver Spoon of their loss, so even if she was mean she would not make fun of them.
They had bonded, as strange as it sounded to her, and she liked it.
And then Apple Bloom had to come by and messed all up… or rather Silver Spoon had messed it up.
While Diamond Tiara disliked the common ponies almost by instinct, Silver Spoon disliked the Apple Clan because they were rich, in fact they were richer than most nobles, like the Carrot Clan, Orange Clan or any other family of farmers: They were rich, they had to live up to their end, but they could chose whether to stay as farmers or to do something else entirely, segregating from the clan and earning a cutie mark that had nothing to do with the fruit, vegetable or plant their family cared for.
Silver Spoon could not.
It was her legacy, her duty, and her curse. She had been born with her cutie mark already on her flank, much like a lot of the noble families.
‘It isn’t fair,’ she said to herself, letting a tear run down her cheek. Luckily she didn’t have the glasses on and she wiped it off quickly, ‘I have to be like this, I’m forced to! Why does Apple Bloom get to have more friends and more adventures and a happier life than me? She has to work all the time, she has to earn her keep, while I have all the time in the world and all the money I will need, that my family WILL need until Equestria is no more… if that ever happens’ Silver Spoon sighed and leaned back on her bed, ‘I hate her, I hate her and her friends… and now my new friends hate me too.’
She had told Apple Bloom what she thought of her and her family right there, thinking that Rain and Final would back her up, hay, she even thought Rarity and her mother would back her up!
How foalish of her.
Rain had cringed at the names and Final had scolded her with a stern look. Rarity had said “And I thought you at least had some manners, young lady,” while her mother basically agreed and added “I thought she had, expect to be grounded for a few days, missy.”
Apple Bloom, of course, said that there won’t be any need of comments or punishments… because she would give her enough punishment!
It had been only by the… creature’s intervention that she hadn’t been hurt. Rain and Final had been talking with Apple Bloom near her about the ‘human’, how he had killed the monster that got their parents and how he was making sure Twilight would be happy again as well as to protect Ponyville from now on.
However they had said nothing to her, so Silver Spoon hadn’t had the courage to open her mouth. Even after Apple Bloom invited them all to the barn it had been her mother, and not the filly, who had said that she would go.
‘Funny punishment, mother,’ Silver Spoon gritted her teeth in anger.
She had to admit that the Apple Family had been nice enough after that, even Rain and Final had shrugged her words and forgiven her of such an act she had done so early in their newfound relationship as friends, but she had to promise to never say something like that ever again (in front of them at least) since they had also made friends with the little yellow work pony.
To her it was NOT fair, it was not fair that Apple Bloom was now friends with her two new friends and it was not fair that they had ‘forgiven her’.
She began her life in a position she didn’t like, she had to be proper and she had to be ladylike, yet her mother basically had escaped those duties after she had grown up and had received her parents’ blessing so she would watch over Ponyville while they retired like every single generation before them. Of course her grandparents, like their parents before, came back a time afterwards to see if their daughter was doing ok as per tradition.
Seeing her being friendly with the plebe infuriated them to no avail, in fact Silverlight had told her that her father hadn’t punished her because she was pregnant at the time. Yet their rage had been felt and so they had taken care again of the family’s nobility, the money and, in fact, everything… until Silver Spoon was born.
They had given an ultimatum then. They would have another child IF Silver Spoon wasn’t what they were expecting for the bloodline, and they would judge once she reached maturity (Ten years of age) no matter if she had developed into an adult or not. Afterwards they had left and, as far as Silverlight told her, her mother had given the rudest of gestures to her father.
However, pushing away how much her mother loathed her father, their words basically meant that the younger sibling would inherit the family title and her mother would be disowned.
As far as her mother had told her, this had only happened once in their family’s story as there was always one single foal, this also included in the family traditions that she, Silver Spoon, would HAVE to marry her mate when she grew up, even if she didn’t like him. Her mother had been very lucky in that aspect as Silver Spoon knew for a fact that her grandmother didn’t stand her grandparent, but both of them were stuck up as hay and that made them stick like glue… sometimes.
And so here she was! Forced to live a life she both enjoyed and detested, while someone as rich and as powerful (technically) as Apple Bloom went to school, did some chores for her sister and then had all the time in the world to go ‘cutie mark questing’ with her friends whenever they liked.
Even Diamond Tiara had been luckier than Silver Spoon in that regard, though she had gained it a few months after birth when she stole a little diamond from her mother because she liked the glistening gem. Diamond Tiara was good with them and she seemed to like to cut them in beautiful shapes, though she wasn’t just limited to diamonds and could cut all gems. One of her dreams was, in fact, to someday carve statues of the princesses from giant gems.
Diamond Tiara had a very special talent, even if she was naturally stuck up (enough to blind anypony but Silver Spoon to her good traits); yet Silver Spoon both loved and hated her for it.
‘This is not fair… not fair at all,’ she quietly sobbed, ‘I don’t want any of this! I want my friend back! I want my new friends! And I want to go out, and play and get dirty in the mud, and get scrapped when I fall! I want to be a normal filly!’
Yet Silver Spoon could not, she would not, both because she loved her lifestyle, because she loved her mother and also because she feared a life of mediocrity as a commoner, with her luxuries inaccessible to her and with such uneducated and uninteresting ponies to be the ones she would need to call ‘equals’.
A nightmare and a dream, two in one, yet… which side would be stronger over time?
Whatever it was that her future was hiding from her, Silver Spoon knew that she enjoyed being a bully because she thought that anyone that befriended Apple Bloom deserved the treatment. They could have befriended HER instead of the yellow work pony! A more beautiful, educated and obviously gifted pony that only lacked the character to be outspoken and charismatic like Diamond Tiara.
And yet here she was, basically alone except for the new girls in town… and technically befriending the mare she hated the most.
“This sucks,” she whispered quietly, her voice quivering as she cried silently so she would wake up no one else “I hate it.”
“Silver Spoon” Rain Berry, the one sleeping besides her, muttered as she awakened halfway. She was barely whispering and the other two fillies didn’t seem to notice “Is something the matter?”
“Yes, yes it is,” she whimpered, making sure her voice was not too loud. “You two are going to hate me now because I can’t STAND THAT PONY!” Even with her whispering voice it was obvious that she was angrier than ever as she pointed a hoof towards Apple Bloom.
“Why?” A simple question, but it had no easy answer.
“Because she is what I cannot be,” Silver Spoon let her tears run, “I have to be a proper lady or my grandparents will disown me, my mom and my dad. I have to ‘the pinnacle of pony society’ or some… some garbage like that.” The little filly wiped away her tears, “But I also don’t like normal ponies, I don’t like how they are comfortable with what they get, that they don’t seem to want to improve, that they are… not the best, none of them tries.”
There was a few seconds worth of silence as Rain digested that, “It sounds to me that you are angry, but not at her or at the other ponies”
Silver Spoon simply turned her head towards Rain with a questioning look on her face.
“I mean, look, we come from a circus and you like us,” she smiled gently. “Yea, I usually buried my head in every book I could get, and I can’t use magic, so I am pretty weird… probably why you like me.” Rain snickered, “But I think that it is not all, you liked me because, after I told you all that, you saw I had to do things, a lot of them, to be the best I could, to be something like you… and that, I think, is the problem.”
“How so,” Silver Spoon was glad that there was another filly with the mind of an adult (Or almost) like her, otherwise this conversation would’ve been quite awkward… well… more than it was already.
“Well, I could be wrong, I mean, I had a lot of people around me, but I knew them all my life, so I never had much experience with anyone ‘normal,’” she chuckled. “However that means I did only have one sided views of them, they were my family, but everyone in the circus had a problem or another. One of them, the ballerina, was the daughter of a noble from… oh, I don’t remember.” Rain placed a hoof on her chin. “She was called Diva Loba, never saw her cutie mark and we never talked much, the others said she had ran away from home because her mother wanted her to be something she didn’t like, more or less like you, but in your case your mom doesn’t seem to want you to be so ‘regal’ or something.”
“My mom is usually with the local brewer or with one of her two sisters,” Silver Spoon sighed. “She has a lot of friends, I had one until yesterday, and she is gone for a while…”
“But that is because you live in a way you don’t like,” Silver Spoon tensed up as she looked at Rain. “You say you don’t like Apple Bloom, but you really don’t like yourself.” Rain poked her tongue out playfully “It can be solved easily. Don’t act like you think you should, act like you want to! Here, try this, lets sleep a bit more and after breakfast we go out and play. You don’t get all uppity and we all get dirty and sweaty.” The little unicorn snickered at her friend’s expression, “I know it sounds kind of wrong but I assure you, you will have fun.”
The idea hit her and it was… appalling, to say the least, yet it also was delightful in so many ways. For a fact she knew that Applejack was a very mature mare for her young age (It couldn’t be more than 25), while her sister, of 7, and was mature in a certain way that only infuriated her. However they two shared what Silver Spoon could not: Freedom and friends. Now, however, one new friend was offering her a chance to do exactly that thing.
‘Even if for some damned miracle my grandparents see it,’ she took her glasses and got on her hooves. ‘I won’t care… I WON’T!’
“Today I will have fun,” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
“Ah heard ya! Now let me have ma sleep,” a pillow flew across the room to hit Silver Spoon square on the face.
“Why you… oh, rodeo pony you’re going to get it now!”
Apple Bloom had been awake for a while and was smirking even as Silver Spoon lunged towards her with both her and Apple Bloom’s own pillow in her hooves.
“Let’s go to war!”
*** Four hours later, in a certain pastry shop ***
“Thanks again Bon Bon, you always help me with these,” Pinkie Pie smiled at the mare in front of her who waved a hoof in embarrassment.
“I’m always glad to help you Pinkie,” she said with a small smile. “Besides, yesterday you seemed to feel kind of down so this is the least I could do.”
Sugarcube Corner was empty at this hour of the day in Saturday, not because no one wanted pastries, but because if there was any party planned (Not one of those surprise planning’s Pinkie had all the time) the final touches were being made this day in most occasions. Of course after yesterday, well, not many people would like to come. Don’t get me wrong here, everyone loved the Cakes and Pinkie, but to see her depressed as she had been yesterday…
It hurt a lot of people, and it hurt very badly.
So now Bon Bon, both a competitor and a friend to Pinkie, had decided that she would give Pinkie the best medicine: A huge bag of candies of her own making.
“Yeah… thank you and I’m sorry for being depressed yesterday,” Pinkie looked down for a moment, looking somewhat sad again before she perked up. “But I had a visit from Rarity in the night and she assured me all was ok, so I’m not sad anymore.”
Bon Bon looked worried once Pinkie had said that, “Rarity came over? What was the problem Pinkie? Why were you so sad? You didn’t say anything to me yesterday.”
“Oh… do you know of the new guy in town,” Bon Bon nodded, though she looked towards the door as if a bit scared. “Well, you can say we got in an… an argument, yeah! That’s it” She smiled nervously, “It was my fault though, much like when I’m making a party and it has too many pranks”
“Pinkie, that only happened once,” Bon Bon gave her a hurt look, “and I don’t mind anymore, you know it’s all ok now.”
“I didn’t mean it like that Bon Bon,” Pinkie poked her with her hoof. “I know things are ok between us, I mean that, like I got you angry at me for a day, I did with him.”
“Ah, I see,” Bon Bon nodded, “But all is ok now, no? I mean, he looked kind of scary the other day…”
“Its fine, I swear,” Pinkie chuckled. “In fact I got a party prepared for tomorrow already! Want to come by?”
“I better not” Bon Bon had a bit of a hurt look on her “You know how much Lyra talks about those supposedly fantastic creatures?” Pinkie nodded with a grin plastered on her face “Well… since that human came her she seems thrilled to get to know him, I am kind of envious, you know?”
“Oooooooh,” Pinkie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why would you be worried? Lyra has been with you since I meet you! I still think I saw it earlier than you two.” The pink mare winked at Bon Bon, making the poor mare blush.
“Heh, thanks Pinkie… but I still say I won’t come,” she seemed adamant on that and simply turned towards the door. “It is not that I fear she is going to go with him or anything, but we have been together almost nine years and we haven’t been with anyone else once in all that time,” Pinkie didn’t need to see Bon Bon’s face to know she was smiling. “I know we are an odd pair to remain faithful to each other like that, but… she is all I have in more than one sense. I think it would hurt a lot to see her with someone else.”
“I know what you mean Bonnie,” Pinkie gave a little smile even if her friend wasn’t going to see it. “Thanks again for the candy! I will bring you some muffins after the party, I promise.”
“Thank you Pinkie, see ya around,” Bon Bon waved a hoof and went out of the shop towards her home.
After she was gone, Pinkie sighed. She still felt down, but after she had a talk with Rarity and got to know how bad Jonathan was feeling, she felt she needed to do something. The poor pink mare knew that she needed to make a very special party for him to repay his kindness. He was, after all, trying to extract the bad she had inside.
Anyone less knowledgeable than her, less experienced in both the real and the surreal, wouldn’t know of the Nightmares or a lot other monsters in the world. Pinkie did, she liked to study them. In fact she liked to study EVERYTHING! Why? Because if she knew what could happen at any moment she knew when to throw the bestests parties of the whole world! When it was appropriate for her to do so, of course, you wouldn’t want to throw a party in a bad moment and get the people angry or sad instead of happy.
Still she usually didn’t know what happened inside of her head when she slept, in fact she was no dream walker, the only dream walkers in Equestria were all unicorns thanks to their magic, and even so they were very low in numbers (Yes, she had checked). However the other day she had been awfully aware of what had traversed her mind and, while she was happy that the outcome had shown her how caring and how friendly her new (and only) human friend was, it still sent shivers down her spine.
‘And it doesn’t help that there are sick stories in his world,’ her gaze hardened as she looked nowhere in particular.
There were a few very, very sick stories where they, she or her friends, were the protagonists. Some were fun, some were horrid and some did give her nightmares of the biggest caliber, but it seemed that they all had something that was true. Inside of each of them there was a little lump of darkness, one that nopony but them had.
If this wasn’t one of the few things she took seriously, she would laugh at how weird it was that different worlds or realities had so much in common. Of course if she didn’t take this seriously, then she would have to think seriously about Vamponies and other things that weren’t real and that she had seen only when she warped through space and time in the background (she was a very learned mare indeed). Though Zomponies on the other hoof… you had a real and very, very nasty thing right there.
The bell of the entrance rang and Pinkie was forced back to reality just in time to see the four girls coming inside the pastry shop.
“Why did ya hafta tell ma’ sister the truth,” Apple Bloom whined. “Ah would’ve liked her ta think her idol was still up an’ kickin.’”
“Well, she asked,” Rain answered timidly as she shrank behind her sister’s form. “I don’t like to lie; and Jonathan would have told her when she asked. Besides, all of them are going to hear it once Twilight tells them what happened and all.”
“Ah… well, yeah, Ah suppose your right,” The young work pony sighed a bit before cheering up again, she didn’t want to look sad in front of the pink pony. “Allo Pinkie!”
“Hey there girls,” Pinkie giggled. “How are you today? Something you want?”
“Sis sent us here ta get her candy apples,” Apple Bloom said with a little smile. “She’s feeling a bit down now after some bad news.” There was a quick glance towards Rain.
Pinkie could tell that she wasn’t angry at Rain, in fact she knew why and how of all of this was happening, so she did understand. Apple Bloom was quite a lot like her sister in that if someone did hurt her friends, even by accident, she would get quite testy for a while towards that pony.
She shook her head before responding, “Of course!” In a second there was a big basket full of candy apples for the little filly. “Miss Cake had them prepared before I woke up! Your sis does like a lot her candy apples every week and also…” She rummaged under the counter with a little grin before showing a little bag of cupcakes, muffins and other pastries, “I did these yesterday when I was feeling a bit down, I intended to eat them but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to it.” She snickered a bit and pushed it towards the girls, “If you want them you can have them.”
The four fillies cheered as Apple Bloom took the candy apples and passed the pastries and other delicacies to Final, whom didn’t even try to hold herself down as she rummaged for one cupcake with red frosting.
“Hey! Leave some for the rest of us,” Silver Spoon whined.
“Not like I’m going to eat everything,” Final muttered between bites as she eyed the bag greedily. “I mean, there is a lot!”
“You COULD.” Silver Spoon giggled at Rain’s retort to her sister, though Final wasn’t as happy to hear that little comment “What? You are a pegasus, you eat a lot and you burn it fast! Don’t act like you didn’t eat a whole cake yourself at that party.”
“You are so mean sometimes,” Final faked being hurt as she took a donut and began to chow down.
Pinkie couldn’t help but chuckle at the girls as they forgot about everything and demolished the poor pastries. ‘So nice to be so carefree,’ she giggled to herself. ‘I wonder how long until the girls notice I am more serious than I look,’ Pinkie simply poked her tongue out, laughing at her own serious acting before the bell that signaled another visitor took her attention.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner,” she said between giggles before she found out who it was and what face she had. “Dashie? Why the long face? You never come here looking so worried.”
Rainbow Dash seemed to have one of the angriest faces Pinkie had seen her with, and that meant a LOT coming from a fellow prankster like Pinkie. She had seen Dash angry to the point of bursting a few times, but here she seemed to have more or less no emotion at all, like the time she had been angry at her dad after a discussion she had with him. It felt like…
“Give me a few of those cupcakes Pinkie, I don’t want to talk.”
The girls looked up at Dash as she passed them without so much of a glance, normally Rainbow would ask Apple Bloom about Scootaloo if she wasn’t around, even about Sweetie Belle if Rainbow was really cheery and wanted to hear the latest problem the young unicorn had been in. However, today Rainbow didn’t even notice about the new girls she hadn’t seen before, even if she wasn’t as excited about new ponies in town like Pinkie she did like to know about everyone so everyone knew about HER.
“Well I only have three of the special ones Dashie, I didn’t thought you would want any before the party tomorrow,” Pinkie eyed her friend with a bit of a worried look before she took a little tray with three rainbow colored cupcakes she made for her. These cupcakes were made mixing a LOT of flavors in one single pastry, something strong, sweet and filling, like Dash liked them “I hope it is enough.”
“That’ll be fine, thanks,” Rainbow simply mumbled those words before she took one of the cupcakes and began munching on it with a bit of distaste in her face. It couldn’t be the flavor (Pinkie had eaten one before Bon Bon came and didn’t eat the rest thanks to the bag of candy in front of her right now), but it seemed that even her favorite sweet wasn’t cutting it for Rainbow today.
For the girls that hadn’t know her, or that didn’t know much of her (*couch* Silver Spoon *cough*), Dash looked positively like someone you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. Her face turned into an even deeper scowl as she finished the cupcake. Her eyes were a bit bloodshot and her wings flapped randomly, sending little shockwaves of air that threw the poor Rain on her side when she tried to get close. Whatever had happened, Rainbow was in a sour mood no one would want, much less if it involved being near her.
But Apple Bloom did know of Dash and this was all but normal.
“Miss Rainbow,” she got closer to the angry pegasus whom simply spared her a glance, “What has happened?”
“Not your problem kid. Beat it,” the adult pegasus simply used her wing to push the young filly aside.
“B-but what is the problem? I have never seen you like that, if Scoot was here she would…”
“DON’T TALK ABOUT THE RUNT!”
Rainbow had dropped the second cupcake she had picked up and turned to give Apple Bloom a death glare, almost baring her teeth at the filly like a predator.
The poor filly was scared, more than even Rain whom cowered behind her sister together with Silver Spoon. Apple Bloom wasn’t sure what to do. Whether to flee or to cry seemed to be the only options, but for once she was not all that sure of how to react to someone’s words and actions. Not even Pinkie was sure of what to do, as this was much, much different of what the poor party pony had thought would happen with her friend.
“Where were you yesterday? Oh yea… You took the medicine from Twilight, gave Scootaloo some minor relief, and then presented to her the new girls and told her of those stupid little plans to turn the prick there,” Dash pointed at Silver Spoon, “into a decent filly,” Rainbow Dash spat with distaste. “Good way to give her some happiness before she was screwed over!”
Apple Bloom was backing away from Dash by now, slowly and carefully, fearing what the rainbow manned pegasus would do, “W-what do ya mean?”
“YOU LEFT HER AFTER THE DOCTOR TOLD HER SHE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO FLY, EVER!”
The news hit everyone very much like if a tidal wave had suddenly washed away Ponyville, which in this case meant the same to Apple Bloom as she had been robbed of something very dear to her. Her friend’s happiness.
Whenever Scootaloo talked about Dash she always said that she was her fan because she thought, with great pride, that they were a lot alike. Dash never let anyone down, never quit and always tried for her best, even if it looked like it was a lost cause. The young pegasus filly always dreamed of how she would someday fly and was ashamed that at her age she wasn’t able to do much more than support her weight a few seconds in the air, though she marveled at how fun and how daring she could be by giving speed to her scooter when the gang went around in their cutie mark crusades.
Apple Bloom had never understood why Scootaloo looked at Dash with such longing, granted the pegasus was her sister’s best friend, had a great character and was willing to do anything for her friends (except when napping). Now, of course, she understood.
After Discord and Nightmare Night it had been obvious that Scoot had been gradually getting less playful from time to time and that she had even missed a few days in class. Her mother and her father had told Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom that Scootaloo sometimes got sick because.. How did they explain it?
“You see,” Apple Bloom remembered Scoot’s mother talking to her, “Most times the young foals take mostly after the mother, like your friend Sweetie Belle or you, so they have a better complexion to be a pegasus or a unicorn.” At the time she wasn’t aware, but as she remembered the scene she saw Scoot’s mom with a very sad expression. “I married a Earth Pony, and yes, I know it is weird to get together in marriage but… we both loved and still love each other too much to be healthy,” that made the scene perk up a bit, but only a bit. “However my family is linked to Earth Ponies a lot. You know, my sisters are Earth Ponies themselves, so Mush had the better genes and… Scootaloo only gained some of mine.”
So, what she could understand meant that Scoot was so strong with her body because she was more like an earth Pony than a pegasus?
“B-but…”
“NO BUTS! You left her alone when she needed you,” Dash walked towards Apple Bloom. Whatever the reason for her being so angry about this, it was obvious she wasn’t going to hear anyone out. “She is the only one that seems to take what I want seriously, to see me succeed and, even if it is a bit selfish, the only one that is proud to be my first fan! I could only encourage her, make sure she even did like her mother and joined the Wonderbolts someday…” The blue pegasus’ expression changed to one of sadness and pain, “I am her idol, not her friend… not… at least not her best friend,” when she said that, she eyed Apple Bloom with malice. “Her best friend left to enjoy time with new buddies!”
Rainbow Dash took a step forward then, scaring Apple Bloom enough to scramble towards the door of the pastry shop as the other fillies moved away. There was little she could do and Rainbow Dash was basically out of it, as it showed when Pinkie tried to talk to her and even pull at her tail; ending up in a crate of chocolate as Dash flicked her tail in such a way that the party pony was hurled away like a ragdoll. The only thing Pinkie could do afterwards was pop her head out of the crate and struggle to free herself from within the sweet mess as she stared at what was happening.
The scene only made Apple Bloom more terrified about her situation. She thought about turning and running until she could run no more, but if she had learned something about Rainbow Dash with all the time she and her sister seemed to quarrel over anything they both were good at, is that if she was determined to do something, she would do it.
Now, the question was: What did she want to do now?
“I am going to show you what happens to those that betray their friends…” The tone was not the one Dash had before; it had changed to a deeper, harsh tone. Not by much, but it was there. Her face also had turned into a mockery of glee as she approached Apple Bloom, her smile much like what a predator before sinking its teeth into its prey. Apple Bloom couldn’t take it anymore, she closed her eyes, turned and…
And then, in a flash, Dash turned her back on the filly and bucked.
*CLANG!*
The metallic sound was met with Apple Bloom’s muffled cry as she rubbed her muzzle as, just as she tried to bolt away, she had crashed against something hard. Once the filly opened her eyes she saw the towering form of J, clad in his armor, looking down at her with his eyes as the only thing she could see of him.
However he soon turned his gaze somewhere else, “Whatever has happened, I think what you were about to do was beyond uncalled for, Dash.” J was looking directly at the cyan pegasus.
“Dash! What were you doing!?” Pinkie’s yell caught the blue mare’s attention for a moment and, thankful to see the face of Dash returning to normal, Pinkie pushed the remains of the crate aside “What got into your head? Did you turn loco on me?”
“I-I don’t know,” Dash’s voice became normal again, her eyes faded back to their usual color, though they were still a bit red. Not evil red, buy the bloodshot redness that indicated she had been crying a lot. “I felt so angry after talking with Scootaloo… I felt so… so betrayed,” she sighed. “I thought I could help the girl get on the clouds, I mean, there are a lot of mixed pairs out there, I never thought it would happen to poor Scootaloo… she reminds me of myself at her age.” The cyan mare looked down, “I suppose I simply was blinded by rage after I heard about how she only wished that she was better so she could meet the new friends and rub it in Silver Spoon’s face.”
“HEY!”
Everyone chuckled a bit and Pinkie felt relaxed, though there was still a problem. She knew enough to be sure that, if there was no immediate threat, Jonathan would’ve had his clothes back by now. Then… why was he still in armor and so readily looking?
“Jonathan? Is… has Rainbow calmed down? Can I come in?”
Like glass breaking, that was what it sounded like when Dash’s eyes turned to the previous color and she looked at the human with hate fueled rage. Pinkie wasn’t sure what she should do, in fact, she had no time to do much of anything as Dash whirled around to face the human, scaring poor Apple Bloom from under his protection.
“YOU! This is your fault! After you came here all this SHIT happened to us,” it was not the first time Dash had sworn, but it threw her, and everypony else, back a step, “and you got Twilight to like you! You got everypony to like you! Well, you know what? YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!”
With all that said and done Dash reared for a second and then launched herself forward like a guided missile, even leaving some dust and a trail of rainbow like energy at her wake.
For Pinkie, J and everypony else, all of this was happening in slow motion, though everyone knew what was going to happen as Pinkie noticed that, even in his position, Jonathan was not going to move the shield fast enough. Truth be told, with the speed Rainbow could manage on a takeoff she could easily lift Jonathan and carry him away, which was going to happen with no doubt it seemed.
Pinkie wanted to do something, to get in the way or to scream so Twilight could prevent this, but she had to be realistic as she knew her ‘skills’ could only be used for fun or something that was linked to her element. This was not a moment for laughter, even though she knew it would not be a moment for crying either, only one to get serious for a moment. Yet there was one precious word that she didn’t have to say, but that everypony old enough was thinking would define this scenario quite well, one that J himself felt more than inclined to say.
“Well fuck.”
*** A few minutes earlier ***
“I can’t believe Spike threw me out of the library! And much less that YOU helped him to do it!”
J was chuckling as he looked away, making comments on how nice the day was going to be as he evaded the violet unicorn’s stern glare. Of course, why wouldn’t he be smirking? He had picked Twilight on his arms and had ‘guided’ the mare out to take a stroll towards Sugarcube Corner after Spike had told them that he could take it no more.
Twilight was not angry, only a bit edgy, so it had been perfectly clear for her to vent it as she had tried to educate J on everything she could. Her mind was basically overloaded as she tried to think of a sensible explanation of what she had saw, what she was feeling, and how to break it all on him. It was quite a problem because, and believe me here, it would be hard to simply tell this simple thing to the guy you were turning to be more than fond of; “I know you are going to leave me.”
Yea, that would be FRIGGING perfect after she had managed, somehow, to gain someone that liked her because of how she was, not what she was. She had found some of the males she had been hooked up with wanted only to meet Celestia, or to see if the privileges that Twilight had could be ‘shared’, but they didn’t stick much longer after they found out that it was not what they thought. Others had found it nice to have a rut in the hay with a pretty egghead, but definitely her character wasn’t what they had wanted of her…
Now though, now she had found someone that liked her because she was smart, he also thought she was funny on her own way and, well… she WAS a bit clingy, but not in a weird way, and J had confessed that the other girls he had been with had wanted little of him but the little money he often had or simply sex, so they were more or less alike. Of course she would hardly fool herself there, because to think that it was all would’ve been wrong.
He had admitted that he liked her, but that he also liked the other girls as all of their personalities appealed to him. It was not bad, but she had hopped Jonathan would take a special liking to her, which he did, but she still wanted something more.
‘You have to think about something else,’ she thought with a groan, ‘like, why do you worry too much? You already said it was possible to be wrong! Come on, enjoy this a bit will you?’
With a little and silent chuckle she shook her head as she looked back up to see J staring at Sugarcube Corner. Curious as to why J would turn his face into that image of seriousness he had until yesterday night, Twilight took a look and saw her.
Like if she was drunk, Rainbow Dash walked towards the pastry shop, not even caring to evade any incoming ponies. She simply shrugged through them like they were little to nothing. A few glittering points were falling from her cheeks here and there, Twilight knew they were tears, but not why she was crying.
“That’s weird,” Twilight muttered; concern lacing her voice but still unsure of what she should do, “should we check it out?”
“Well, we were going there anyway,” J replied as he picked up the pace, “but something smells rotten.”
Twilight just nodded and sped up her trot to a canter now that they had seen Dash. She had never seen Rainbow cry except when she had ‘betrayed’ them that time with Discord, or when she broke one of her wings after trying to get her Sonic Rainboom on one of her latest practices. Now though, it looked like the former option could be more valid for this.
There were multitudes of conjectures she could make of course, three months knowing her best friends let her glimpse their thoughts, so she could easily summon a dozen reasons as to why her friend would be crying. None of them involved Jonathan suddenly covering his whole body in the armor that the magic was supposed to provide when there was some danger close by and ready to pounce at somepony.
“Jonathan?”
They had reached Sugarcube Corner much faster than she thought, probably because her mind was spending her time on something else, namely wondering what the HAY was going to happen if J was in his armor.
“What is the matter?” Twilight was getting nervous when they reached the door. “You know what? Never mind, I am going to check on this myself,” she muttered, but was stopped before she could take a single step forward.
“No, you don’t.”
Twilight was halted by J’s shield. She looked upwards to see his worried gaze. it feel good to see that he was worrying about her, but the feeling was washed away when she heard a crash and Rainbow Dash’s menacing tone.
“Wait here until it is safe,” It was a request, not an order, so Twilight nodded and leaned against the side of Sugarcube Corner as Jonathan went in.
It couldn’t have taken more than a few seconds, but for Twilight the time had twisted to a painful crawl, so when she heard that something biological had collided with something metallic (her mind was basically thinking in technobabble by this point) it sent a warning message across her mind so hard that it literally was a miracle that she remained put.
‘What is going on?’ She shuddered at the thoughts that formed in her head; she didn’t even let a minute pass by before she asked, “Jonathan? Is… has Rainbow calmed down? Can I come in?”
Unbeknown to her, she had messed up. A moment afterwards she heard a yell, what sounded like discussion and…
“JONATHAN!”
It had been pure instinct. She had jumped in shock as she saw Jonathan being dragged into the air by none other than Rainbow Dash.
“Twilight! Twilight!” The violet mare saw Pinkie running outside, “something is wrong with Dashie! She is angry and- and sad and-”
“PINKIE,” Twilight all but screamed, “you tell me on the way ok?! Dash got Jonathan so we are going to help.” It was then when the fillies poked her heads out of Sugarcube Corners, Apple Bloom scared out of her wits, “girls, go call our friends now, tell them to follow the rainbow, ok?”
There was a small nod from most of them. All except Silver Spoon; who looked like she had joined the group in the worst and strangest of moments.
*** Back in the present with J ***
‘Ok, let’s recap today,’ Jonathan thought as they passed over a field at full speed, ‘I made my dreamscape, still don’t know how I did that after so many days of restless sleep. I had a good time with Twilight not to mention a nice breakfast. It’s not even midday yet and I am in trouble so… what is the keyword again?’
“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!”
‘Aaaah, yes, that’s it. You got this.’
He didn’t know what the hell was wrong with Rainbow Dash. Ok, that was a flat out lie. Rainbow Dash was almost as crazy as Pinkie Pie, but in a more subtle and harsher way. The girl was a flamboyant tomboy; she loved to make sure that everyone knew she was the best. While she could be a lazy ass and act like a grumpy old man (or woman), Dash was always loyal, friendly and also quite gruff with her words. She usually meant well, in her own way.
So yeah, that she had almost beaten Apple Bloom and was now carrying him (around 150 kg of weight plus all the armor? He wasn’t that big of a nerd, so he wasn’t sure) at such a speed that should probably break a normal human’s spine was out of any kind of contest he could summon to his mind. What was happening here? All he knew about this pony was an angry girl sometimes, but not THIS violent towards someone that hadn’t done anything wrong.
‘Hey Vinnie, you’re not asking the proper guy.’
‘W… ok, my mind is fucking broken,’ he groaned as he grasped the situation fully.
He had his sword, he had his shield, he was geared up and Rainbow had both hooves shoved right through the armor in his chest. repeat: SHIT.
‘That’s right, buddy boy, its m- listen to me, Dammit!’
For some reason, though, the metal wasn’t puncturing him, so he was not wounded and he was almost sure the clothes (Well, armor now) would repair themselves by magic once Dash took her hooves out. Speaking of which, the rainbow maned mare had her eyes practically red with black dots where the iris and pupil should be. It was weird as fuck to J, but more questions than answers were expected at this point.
‘If only you had decided to LISTEN TO ME!’
However questions were a second rate problem right now, his imminent crash, on the other hand, was a first grade FUCK.
Dash had decided that the outskirts of town, near the road that went towards Apple Acres, was a good enough place to land, and by that I mean going straight downwards at such speed that the only reason she wouldn’t create a sonic rainboom was because she was too close to the ground.
‘This is going to hurt like hell.’
‘LET ME TAKE OVER YOU, YOU MORON!’
The impact had the same as thunder, probably felt the same as getting hitting by lightning too, but J could hardly tell as the world went black.
*** Inside Jonathan’s Mind ***
[UPDATING…]
[GENERATING TERRAIN…]
The dreamscape was perfectly still, there was peace in here, at least as much as there can be in a pained mind. It had changed little since J had created it, but that was how the dreamscape. It all stayed still, forever.
However there were things that could destroy it. A great mental shock, changing something major in the overworld (reality) and, obviously, death would dissolve it.
The first reason was simple. A dreamscape is a place where a dreamer, usually one that is quite aware of his condition, can create anything. A shock hard enough to the mind can destroy it, the same for the second reason as major changes usually create stress, make one feel insecure and, in the less than probable chance that it doesn’t happen, the mind becomes wrapped in a lot more things that are usually more important than comfort in an artificial world.
For obvious reasons, the third is not going to be made part of this talk.
Now, why is this all important? Well, because normally the dreamer would appear standing in a safe place in the dreamscape; NOT FALLING FROM THE SKY INTO THE FRIGGING LAKE!
[SPAWNING…]
*SPLOOSH!*
“*GASP!* FUCK! That was harsh.”
It had been a second of immersion thanks to the force of his will helping him get back on the surface, though being greeted by a smirking Nightmare Moon floating inches away from you would not be what most would call ‘gratifying’.
“You know, you should watch your mouth a bit more,” she chuckled, “as well as yourself. As long as I share my essence with you I die if you cease to exist.” To be on the receiving end of a hard stare from what could be called the demon queen of the moon was not as menacing as J had thought, mostly because she would hardly do anything to him as far as he knew, “Also I would like to address a problem I did not foresee within your mind.”
“A problem? What problem? If you are worried because I am crazy it is quite late for that,” despite his situation J couldn’t help but chuckle. Better to laugh than to cry.
“Oh, I’ll make you cry, be sure of it.”
On the shore, near the forest that surrounded the dreamscape, a dark figure melted out of the darkness began to approach. It seemed to have no legs, but it was roughly the same height as J, maybe a bit taller, not as broad shouldered and with lanky arms that ended in four digits. Its face was devoid of any form or detail except for two beady red eyes.
And it was fast enough to reach him in seconds, pulling him out of the water and throwing him towards solid ground. Luckily, in the dreamscape one could not feel pain because, otherwise, he was sure a bone or two would’ve been broken. He realized with a growing sense of unease that his armor didn’t seem to follow him into here.
“You were so happy to let me take over when that damned warthog almost got your sister,” the voice echoed from everywhere as if it spoken from a massive crowd of people surrounding him, but once J opened his eyes he saw only the shadowy figure right over him. “We have lived through many insane fights, and until we got here you enjoyed letting me have control so you didn’t feel that bad after it was over. Why have you stopped? WHY AM I TRAPPED HERE AND WHY DON’T YOU HEAR ME ANYMORE!?”
While the voice, once it was so direct and so emotional, sounded familiar, J was not sure about this thing. It was a humanoid? Yea, weird as hell, but humanoid… so it probably wasn’t from Equestria. Right there and then he stopped his line of thoughts though, he only had one question.
“What the fuck are you?”
The thing laughed, sounding much like nails on a chalkboard. “What am I?! For fuck’s sake,” it chuckled, rubbing what you could suppose was its chin with one hand, “you have been fucking insane most your life and you don’t recognize the voice in your head? You disappoint me, kiddo.”
“Hey, I may joke that I’m a little insane, but that’s it, not even when I think I AM insane am I serious,” J got on his feet with a groan, turning to look at the shadow in front of it and how its legs seemed to be replaced with a ghostly tail. “Besides, just what do you mean about the voice in my head?”
“Are you fucking kidding me, kiddo?” another unearthly laugh filled the dreamscape as Nightmare Moon took a seat beside J before the figure pointed at the human, “You are fucking crazy, your mind is broken in so many pieces that I’m impressed that you have enough willpower, unlike others before you, to keep me from taking control of this body altogether.” The darkness where its mouth should be ‘opened’ to reveal an empty red void “Which is to say, that you are damn lucky to still have any control at all.”
“Just… what the fuck are you?”
The J’s question made the creature chuckle as dark music began to play in the dreamscape: Autumn days.
“I, I am you,” it responded. “I am humanity in its purest form, what it has made of itself in history. I am the darkness that fills every pore of the damned creatures that populate your species, a demon, if you will. I am, in one world, survival… which for your kin means little more than evil nowadays,” it chuckled. “I have no gender, I have no form, I am what you make of me, but in many ways I am much more than you, while being much less.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, mostly because I can’t make sense of your spiel,” J groaned as he rubbed his eyes.
The creature groaned in disappointment “Fine, then let’s go with this, shall we? Let me explain,” the thing smiled again, something unnerving and horrible. “I am you, a part of you that most people lock away. I am your survival instinct, your hate, your desire and your lust. I am what forces you to be better, what makes you desire to defend yourself and those you hold dear, the thing that wants you to fuck like an animal, the one that wants you feeling both the worst and the best,” It chuckled lightly. “I almost got out, once. The Russians were conducting an experiment to see what would happen if they deprived people from sleeping. The subject’s personalities disintegrated and I took over. The Russians panicked and killed the subject’s bodies before I was able to do anything.” The creature sighed before continuing, “You can call me Lathro, and remember one thing; you won’t get rid of me. I, my essence, will pass down from mother or father to son and daughter. The children of your children, all of them, will have me as their curse and their angel, much like you and. Every. Single. Other. Human. Alive,” the creature poked him J the chest with each word.
“That’s crazy,” J spluttered after a moment of shock, “something is very wrong here…”
“No, it is not,” both turned to look at Nightmare Moon. “When humans still lived in this world they knew of their inner demons, they adopted forms in their dreams to try and lure them to do ‘bad’ things,” she didn’t need fingers to quote that word, J knew what she meant by ‘bad.’ “However until the end no human in here was successfully tempted, I imagine with the calming magic that Equestria exudes had a positive effect on them. You, on the other hoof,” she pointed at J, “have been shocked with it, so your animalistic needs and darker side are just as empowered as you are,”
“You heard that Jonathan, agreement straight from the pony demon’s mouth. It seems you won’t be able to write me off as a hallucination or a bad dream anymore,” the figure chuckled. “So now… let’s get to fighting.”
“Fighting? You mean… fighting Dash?”
The dark figure nodded.
“Hell no, fuck you,” J yelled.
With a disappointed sigh Lathro snapped his fingers.
*** Real World: Equestria ***
J let out a pained yell as he was thrown back in his body, not even a millisecond after the collision with the ground, but now he felt EVERYTHING. The pain, the pressure and the force as Rainbow moved away from him in slow motion, letting him bounce from the sheer force he had been hit against the ground with.
The laces of pain were unbearable, but much worse was seeing how the sky was spinning as your body bounced from the ground, turned nearly 270º and faced a hoof that was speeding incredibly towards your face until it made contact.
Helmet or not, that HURT.
*** Back inside J’s mind ***
Again Jonathan appeared from somewhere else aside from his usual standing position. To be specific: his form appeared in the woods, suffering the force of the kick that had hit him in the real world, crashing through the forest until he found himself lying where he had been before leaving his mind.
“As long as Nightmare Moon has magic I can stop time and make you see reason, Jonathan,” the voice of Lathro was composed and calm this time, “We have around five minutes left of it though, so I do ask that you let me return fight her or we are basically screwed.”
J, however, did not get up, did not look at him and, almost, did not answer. “But… I don’t want to hurt them,” his voice was hoarse and he felt on the brink of tears because he was simply powerless, “and much less let YOU hurt her. If you are my worst side, then you are as responsible as I would be for…”
“Yes, I am, and I don’t care,” Lathro groaned, becoming bored with this. “Either you fight and we have the rest of the time in peace here or you let Rainbow Dash kill you if your friends aren’t fast enough.” With a chuckle he added, “Besides, I thought you would like to purge the piece of Nightmare she has in her.”
J only gave the shadow an empty stare as he wondered what he meant by that.
“*Sigh* Look at this,” Lathro tore at the dreamscape, forming what seemed to be a mirror to the real world. “Exactly… here.”
The creature pointed at Dash’s forehead where a mass of something began to move slightly as it was touched from within the mind of the human. J couldn’t really tell what it was though; it only looked a shade darker than Dash’s fur, so it was quite hard to see. However a closer examination did reveal a small piece of… something that was covering Rainbow Dash’s eyes and part of her mouth.
“I don’t know why and I don’t fucking care how, but a bit of a nightmare seems to have embedded itself into Dash. If you want to be on good terms with the other ponies, which includes sex, more adventures and the like, something I WANT happening, then you have to save her sorry hide,” Lathro grinned maliciously. “However you don’t have to get me wrong here, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get me wrong in fact. I want you to save her because your life is basically tied to the Mane six. You help them, they help you, everyone is happy and I get what I want.”
“You’re an asshole,” J growled between gritted teeth, “and I had you in me the whole time? I understand why I was how I was now…”
“No, you don’t,” the shadowy creature grunted as he grabbed J’s arm to pull him closer, “I am part of you, do you understand what it means? That it is you, only YOU, who ultimately decides what to do. I will try to make us survive, my best interest is only to SURVIVE, with any kind of extras such as a nice girl on your bed or the excitement of a fight simply being secondary, but appreciated.” With a grin Lathro again opened the fabric of the dreamscape, “So this is basically a survival test where we work together and you come to terms with the fact of WHO you are. You fight, you subdue her, you place the tip of your sword on her forehead and the magic burns the nightmare that is spreading on her. Afterwards we are rewarded by being friendly with everyone and, maybe, some good pony flank,” the smirk on the creature intensified. “So there you GO!”
With a loud yell J felt Lathro launch him towards the opening in the dreamscape, effectively returning him to the real world once more as the shadowy creature chuckled.
“Idiotic creature,” It snickered. “Far too good for its own damn good. Wonder how long I will be able to remain here if he keeps trying to change…”
“Hopefully not too long,” Nightmare Moon stomped with indignation. “I thought I would never see such a dark thin within a human’s mind. In fact I thought it would be impossible, yet here you are”
“Do not try to be righteous with me, sister. Now that you are here I can look back at all the dark desires and hopes you had in your little head both BEFORE and AFTER,” Lathro grinned as he approached Nightmare Moon, gently touching at her from all sides as his darkness spread to envelope her. “But relax… I approve of what you are planning; in fact it is the same thing I want, what I NEED. Who would’ve thought that a pony would be the one thing to help me out with that little goal of mine.”
“You are a sick, sick being,” the black mare growled.
“Hmph,” The shadow receded from her, “If survival means being sick, then both of us are beyond saving.” It spared a glance towards the mare before disappearing, “Remember this, princess. You are goddess no more as far as we share this body.” After nearly dissipating only a reverberating chuckle could be heard, “and remember something my dear, something you should have already thought once you came here and found me out.”
Its eyes were the only thing visible as Lathro drew closer to the once goddess of the moon.
“We are in this together, or he will know of your little plan.”
*** Back in reality, again ***
The pain resurged through his mind as J found his body crashing down against the soft ground, trashing around as he made contact with the earth after the savage kick Rainbow Dash had given him. J couldn’t stop the rolling over the ground, much less the bouncing, he could only grip at his weapon and shield as strongly as possible because, even if he didn’t want to believe it, he thought that anything he left behind would be used by the cyan mare to end him quicker.
Once the force subsided and he came to rest on the ground, his body pained but not broken, J did his best to get up fast and on the ready. It was only thanks to that, and only that, that the shield came to protect his face as Dash came at full speed to give him another kick.
*CLANG!*
“OW! OW! OW! FRIGGING HAY!”
Dash had connected with way too much force. She hadn’t broken anything but her hoof felt on fire after the shield had absorbed such a strong force. Her nerves basically told her to stop all motion and sit down, her mind only backing up those natural thoughts as she feared of being harmed, in fact it showed on her face so much that J thought he was seeing someone that was more of a bully, scared of getting what she thought she deserved, but wanting to continue as she had done if she got away with it. It was a look he had seen since he was young, so he could easily read it.
However, he shook his head and tried to push at Dash’s back, between her wings, with the shield, “Dash, stay put.”
“GET AWAY FROM ME,” she bucked with all her might, catching J between his legs in a very private area.
“FFFF-ACK!”
Right there and then J had to remember something: This was no fancy story. He had seen much and had done a lot, but in reality this little fight wouldn’t end with him, only warm him up. Even in pain, as he looked at Rainbow, who was still on the ground and seemingly unable to fly by the pain she herself was feeling, he saw that the mare was fighting whatever was in her and she would not end him, though her body would probably do whatever was in her hooves to give him a lot more bruises.
The gist of that was that Rainbow Dash didn’t want to hurt him; however what was forcing her to do this was maybe way too strong for the pony at this moment. She needed help, no matter how much she hurt him, and she was basically pleading him for help even if her face showed rage and fear in unison. The only thing he could do was to pin her down and force what was inside of her to leave.
“I am going to send you back from where you came,” Dash muttered with a loud growl, “and then everything will be as it should,”
“Don’t be stupid,” J tried to get on his feet again, he had the determination but his privates were in pain even with the armor having blocked the devastating kick. “If you do that you will only harm your friends.” He turned his gaze upwards to look at the azure mare in the eyes “Do you want to see Twilight sad again? Do you want to be hated by one or more of your friends?” Dash recoiled a bit. “Do you want to hate yourself for what you want to do?”
“N-no… I-I don’t…”
Whatever had tried to grab a hold of Dash was either weakened somehow or it couldn’t fight the pure loyalty of the mare to such an extent. Her fear to betray her friends, to harm them, to scare them for real or to see them crying was too much for poor Dash. She could be mean, she could yell a lot, but she could not force pain upon them and she would never do something that ensured someone else was going to be miserable because of her.
And so her eyes became hers again, her face returned to normal and the dark shade in her face ‘jumped’ away, landing on the green grass, hissing at the sun.
“I… I… W-what happened,” she groaned, suddenly falling flat on her belly, “I was… talking with Scootaloo… I remember crying and then…”
A stabbing sound, a loud cry of pain and Dash remembered what she had done.
“OH CELESTIA,” she looked towards J whom was stabbing his sword angrily into what had been inside Dash. The thing had been screamed, but was now dissolving into nothing. “What is that,” she asked.
“A Nightmare, or part of one,” he grunted as the armor dissipated, revealing his body anew… though he had a few bruises all over, “And now it is gone.”
The blue pegasus blushed as she looked at him, “It may be gone, but your face is going to get me ashamed for a while.”
J simply chuckled as he touched the bruises on his face, wincing in pain as he did such a stupid thing. “Well, could be worse,” he sighed with a smile, “at least the crotch had stronger plating. Don’t know whose magic I have to thank, but hell, it did a good job.”
“Yea… about that? Don’t mention it to anyone,” Dash blushed heavily. “I am never going to live this down, it is very hard to say ‘I am sorry’ for my type, you know?”
“Why Dash, it took you a long time to remember such a fact?”
Both looked towards the new voice. One of them was impressed and had to wonder about a little possibility right away, because it was outright needed. The other was slack jawed and could barely mutter a single word, not sure of what to say.
Whatever it was, though, would soon be meet by the rest of the Mane six as they finally approached the scene.
*** Fluttershy’s cottage ***
It had been little more than five minutes ago, maybe six, maybe seven, but it had been a very short time… one that appeared, for the mare and the filly within the cottage, to be an eternity.
Rain Berry was shuddering a bit, but she did well hiding it on her small form. She had told Fluttershy about what had happened and the yellow pegasus had left in a hurry, saying a lot of ‘sorry this and sorry that’ to the cause of the poor filly’s anxiety.
Trixie, of course, wasn’t much better.
For a long time now she had been trying to get out of the big picture and fade into the darkness. She had been doing her best to stay away of everything, even her parents, until that fateful day… if it wasn’t for someone else, though, she would probably done much, much worse than simply fading on the background. Trixie simply shuddered at the though, because if she had done that then she would be even in a much worse position as she would’ve left her little girls alone.
‘Not that Final wants Trixie as a mom though…’ She thought, dejected.
“Mom,” Trixie snapped back to attention, looking at her little girl as she approached the sofa where she rested since yesterday, “when are you going to come back? I miss you…”
“Sorry dear I… Trixie’s mind is taxed,” Trixie whined as she looked away. “Too much in Trixie’s mind to think clearly, many, too many messes made.”
“You are giving me excuses mom, you know I am way smarter than that,” The little filly looked at her mother, hurt. Trixie knew she would feel worse if she looked back at her. “Mommy, I just… I just want to know why you went away, why you didn’t want to tell us… why you still won’t tell me.”
“Because it would show I was selfish, very, very selfish,” Trixie admitted, lying back on the sofa, “I initially ran away to find your father, but it changed after a while.”
“How so?”
Rain was looking at her intently as she approached, jumping gently on the couch to nuzzle against her mother’s front legs, smiling gently. They both knew it had been a very bad week, that there had been horrid things happening, that they had lost a lot and also that still some problems were surging now (Luckily not towards them), but Rain was happy to be with her mother, to know that there was at least some family that she had not lost.
“You see… your dad was a noble you know? One of those rare ponies that have some of Celestia’s blood in them, but he only shared the part of the unicorn and, for a time, wanted to be away from his family. I never knew how he found Trixie interesting at all,” Trixie blushed at the memory. “However his parents were spying on him and Trixie, so when they found out I was pregnant… they did all they could to take your dad away.”
“But… why? If dad didn’t want to be a noble, why did their parents want him to be one?” Rain could not help but think back at the talk she had with Silver Spoon in the morning.
“Because they wanted him to, because they thought I was an affair, because Trixie’s person was not a noble herself. They are the kind of nobles more common my dear and I don’t like them,” Trixie sighed tiredly as she nuzzled at her little girl, enjoying her smile. “It… was the hardest thing to do, leaving you and your sister behind, but I wanted to find him. Trixie’s conscience wouldn’t let her do anything else for I wouldn’t live with a peaceful mind if I didn’t do all I could to make us a whole family.” She seemed to be courageous and decisive on her words, but once she finished that sentence she slunk down under her mattress so only her head was visible, “But once I did… I… Trixie was not for him anymore.” She sighed, “His parents had gotten him into a wedding they had planned since his birth, if he left with me he would have nothing and, knowing his parents, they would come for Trixie and her kids.”
“But then you found him soon, right?” Trixie nodded, though she was a bit surprised that her little girl would care little about her father. “Well, he could have decided to come, grandpa and grandma would’ve protected us all, but if he didn’t want to, well, I don’t much care,” she smiled as she gave her mother a hug, “I’ve got you and that is good enough for me.” Trixie couldn’t help but smile as she hugged her little girl back “But mom… why did you take so long then?”
Trixie opened her eyes wide and looked away, letting Rain go from her embrace as she looked past time and space now, basically remember to the day when she made the worst mistake of her life.
“I… had issues,” She admitted with a tired nuzzle to her little girl. “I thought I could change his mind for a time, it didn’t work obviously and only got him angry after a few months. I felt bad, alone… Trixie’s mind didn’t take it too well and it didn’t help Trixie at all, so I grew angry, lonely, and desperate for praise and for a way of living to show I could be great, that Trixie’s family would be what anypony could desire!” Trixie had gotten on her lower hooves, standing up on the sofa and opening her front legs like if they were arms so as if to embrace the whole picture in her mind, “Trixie supposes she lost it then, Trixie’s mind was too tasked, too… broken. Trixie’s brain told her she could do anything she wanted because Trixie’s magic was the best there is! Of course, Trixie’s heart already told her that it was too late for such a thing and that she should go back to her family. I was stupid and tried to mix both, running across Equestria, making a name of myself and, basically, making everypony hate me because of how boastful I ended up being.”
Trixie sat down, resting tiredly against the back of the sofa, “Trixie ended up thinking of nothing else but Trixie’s reputation, she wanted to be the best magician ever since Trixie was a little filly! But Trixie knew her specialty in magic served only for show, she was not going to be any kind of unicorn mage anytime soon.” She couldn’t help but chuckle sadly at that, “Trixie spent years doing what she thought was right, only to see that she had transformed herself into a,” she gave her little girl a shy smile, “into somepony I disliked. Trixie doesn’t know how to admit to Twilight that she helped Trixie out of that… though the end was almost all too true for Trixie back then, three months ago.”
“What do you mean by that mommy? I… I don’t think I understood that.” Trixie could see how her little girl was eyeing her with a bit of fear.
“After the Ursa Minor incident Trixie tried to go around and perform a few more times, but everyone laughed at Trixie and she was never taken seriously anymore,” She looked outside towards the forest once more, “It is funny, Trixie was saved in the forest before she did something very stupid, then Trixie found her family again after so long and… well, she supposes Trixie deserved what happened later.” Trixie hugged her little girl closer to her and spoke in the first person again, “I didn’t intend such sadness to befall you, my dear. I am so sorry.”
“Mommy…” Rain snuggled back, hugging her mother with all the love she could.
“But… But promise I will make it better now, I only wish I could thank the one that helped me back then,” Trixie gave her little girl a kiss on the forehead, “But I don’t know where she should be right now”
Rain perked up almost immediately, “Who helped you?”
“Oh, it was very weird if I have to tell you the truth my dear, I mean, I never thought one of her kin would help one of mine out.” Trixie seemed a bit nervous as she said that. “But… well, if someday she comes here I would like you to call her auntie, ok?” Rain nodded with a smile. “Ok, then dear, I hope someday you met your gryphon auntie…”
*** Back again with J and the Mane six ***
“GILDA!?”
Everypony looked at the gryphon, carrying heavy bronze plate armor on her chest, sides, between her wings and also covering her neck with flexible plates. The talons were reinforced with mail that ran all the length until they meet with the main armor and Gilda’s face was almost covered entirely by a helmet.
“Yeah Dash, my name hasn’t changed.”
The gryphon gave her old friend a wink and took a large poleax from the ground where she had left it. With the front head, the one similar to an ax, being made of silver like metal that resembled a beak and the second part, the one of the lance, resembling a talon forged in black metal, Gilda simply looked what one would call…
“Badass,” Rainbow chuckled as her friends stood to attention behind her and J, still waiting for an explanation and now wondering why this gryphon was back, “But… how?”
“That for letter, Dash, now I have business here,” she pointed towards the human, “With him, to be specific”
With no more words, Gilda jumped to the air, the poleax heading straight at J’s head. He could simply sigh, exasperated, as he thought.
‘Why me?’
*** Chapter 9 End ***
This was a very, very simple chapter that I wanted so the plot would advance. It has nothing overly complicated or overly fancy, not even a hard to do battle and such, besides it will get complex again in the next (and number 11) again. I hope everypony had a good time reading it :3 I wanted to make easy chapters for a while and this was basically the first of the batch.
See you next time ^^ also: I am turning this to be like Vampire the Masquerade, or at least its damn politics. How? I drop a lot of hints and I try to make no sense ^^ I love mind games :3
Note: The ‘Russian’ part of the background for Lathro in this story is made by the guy in the cardboard *snickers*. If you like it give him some credit ^^ If not, well, you can think of it as a flat out lie since Lathro will do that pretty much a lot. He is a jack of all trades, which includes he is basically there to fool everyone.
From the cardboard box of nobodyreallyimportant
Aggghhhh… the editing for this chapter is finally done! I hope you enjoy it.
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The Conversion Bureau: Change of Life
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<p>Robert Parker is a 24 year old ex-web developer living in New York city. In the wake of the conversion movement, he has seemingly lost everything. Haunted by the same nightmare every night, he soon realizes that he must make a choice.</p><br/><p>To those unfamiliar with the Conversion Bureau: it is a scenario created by an author named blaze in which Ponies either appear in the human world or have lived beside humans without incident for millennia. One day, in the face of all the damage humanity has done to its world, the ponies offer a solution: undergo conversion to become a pony and allow the world to be inundated with Equestria's influence: thus healing it and bring forth a golden age. </p><p>Many different authors have taken many different approaches to this idea, all of them are worth checking out. </p><p><a href="http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html</a> (The current thread)<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html</a> (The compilation post on EQDaily. *NOT UPDATED*)</p>
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The Conversion Bureau
Change of Life
Part 1: A Brand New Day
“Wait!” He cried out feebly.
His lungs burned, his entire body ached, yet no matter how hard he ran he couldn’t catch up to them.
“Don’t go! Don’t leave me behind! Please!”
Tears stung his eyes as he tried to chase after the retreating forms. He knew all of them, and yet they were as strangers to him. He could recognize them, but he could no longer remember their names.
He had to reach them, before they all disappeared, before they walked out of his life and memory forever.
But his body refused to function correctly; it was like trying to swim through molasses or run through quicksand. And soon, the shadows that he had so desperately called out to, that he had tried to follow, faded from his vision.
Defeated, he fell to his knees and wept. Now there was nobody left; now he was all alone.
‘But you don’t have to be.’
...He knew that.
‘The choice is simple.’
…He knew.
‘Then why is this so difficult for you?’
…that answer escaped him. He knew what he would have to do if he wanted to reach them, it was a simple choice…yet he could not bring himself to make it. He gazed at the yawning chasm of darkness before him. They were all there, beyond the shadows, waiting for him. He could hear them calling his name, reassuring him that he would be safe, that he had the strength within himself to cross the chasm if he truly desired it.
Fear filled him and he had to avert his eyes. He couldn’t. It was impossible. The darkness would swallow him up and he would never escape.
‘The choice is simple’
The ground began to give away under him.
‘You still have time’
He screamed into the abyss as he fell.
‘We’re waiting for you.’
------------------------
“GOOOOOD MOOORNING NEW YOOORK! This is 106.1 WFM bringing you the latest hits all day EVERY day, and what a BEAUTIFUL morning it is! Partly cloudy with a high of 78, leading into some showers for the early afternoon which should clear up –“
Robert slammed the snooze button of his obnoxious radio alarm. Groaning, he sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The dream, that Goddamned dream, it was always the same. In the past, he would wake from it screaming, drenched in cold sweat, but after having it every night for the past several months he had grown used to it.
Bleary eyed, he grabbed one of the loose cigarettes that littered his night stand and lit it. He had quit smoking after he graduated from college, but like a lot of things, that had changed. To simply say that a lot had changed however would be a gross understatement. Everything changed after the bureaus opened.
He took a long drag and glanced at the digital clock, 7:30am. He sighed and swung himself out of bed. Keeping the lit cigarette in his mouth, he shambled to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.
Really, he had no reason to be up so early. He worked from home, or at least he had tried once his media design job in Manhattan had fallen through. He hadn’t been fired, in fact while he was employed at FUTUREMEDIA he was a lead designer in the web development department. No, FUTUREMEDIA had fallen to the same fate that virtually all forms of human industry were now suffering, and that was a lack of employees.
In the first two weeks, roughly fifty thousand people had enrolled into the Brooklyn Conversion Bureau. By the first month, that number had tripled, and ten more facilities were opened across the boroughs. Now, six months later, New York City was home to less than a million people, an eighth of its former population. As the people left, so did the companies, if they didn’t just fall through like his.
He poured himself a bowl of cereal and a glass of OJ and shuffled into the living room; he set his meal down, and paused briefly as his reflection came into view in the far mirror. His short brown hair stuck out at odd angles, his unshaved face framed two dark, sunken brown eyes. He looked like shit, not that he really cared. Stifling a yawn and grinding the butt into the ashtray, he reached for the remote and after turning on the 30” flat panel, flipped to the news.
An attractive red headed anchor came onto the screen; just under her on the scrolling ticker the words “New Population Estimate for NYC falls below 900k” could be seen.
“-bringing the new total of remaining humans in the city to approximately eight hundred and fifty thousand. With me today I have Pat Maitland, leader of New York City’s HLF chapter, to say a few words.”
Robert sighed; he had just about had enough with hearing about this whackjob and his little club.
The HLF, or the Human Liberation Front, was a radical humanist organization that directly opposed the presence of ponies on American soil, and saw the conversion process as abhorrent. Shortly after the first bureaus were established, protests were a common occurrence. People were still ignorant as to their true purpose, and thus were fearful. As the weeks, and eventually months went on, the public became more and more accepting of the facilities and ponykind in general. The protests became less and less frequent until only the most resolute humanists remained. These remaining individuals established the HLF.
Robert wasn’t too fond of them.
Of course this hadn’t always been the case, in fact near the beginning after he had lost his job…among other things to the conversion movement he briefly considered joining the HLF. That was until the reports of violence began to come in. It began when a young man, who had been on his way to a conversion bureau in Missouri, was abducted by a particularly radical sect of the HLF and lynched. Although this had been the most nationally recognized event, it wasn’t the only act of violence committed by the group. However the HLF had some very affluent members in their ranks, members with enough disposable income to legally outmaneuver any direct charges against the organization as a whole.
Robert had decided to look at the situation objectively. Here were the HLF, who spewed hate speech and did everything in their power to make people fear ponies, and conversion even moreso. Then there were the ponies themselves, who promised nothing but peace, happiness, friendship, a new life…and all for free.
Of course he could not fault the HLF entirely, there was a bit of merit in their ideology, specifically their desire to preserve human culture and history, and how they had managed to unite humans across all races and creeds. But like most ideologies things were often lost in translation, and more often than not the message was distorted altogether in a mess of hatred and fear.
Robert debated shutting off the television and just getting on with his breakfast, but decided against it. Hell if he got bored he could at least check out the anchorwoman.
“Pat, last time you were with us you speculated that the city’s human population would stabilize at two million, but this hasn’t been the case, any idea why?”
“Pat” was a short, balding man who looked to be in his mid-forties. Maitland cleared his throat and began to speak.
“The fact of the matter is- well really there are two reasons. First, the quadrupeds have been using very underhanded tactics, specifically targeting families with their campaigns. Why try to convert one human at a time when you can get say, a wife or husband and by extension their spouse and children? Second, despite the Human Liberation Front’s best efforts to reinforce a humanist attitude through demonstrations, PEACEFUL demonstrations I might add, we are getting stonewalled at every turn. Our most recent protest at the Brooklyn Bureau was broken up by law enforcement! It’s completely unconstitutional!” Throughout his rant, Maitland’s face had grown progressively redder and it seemed like he would go on if he wasn’t interrupted by the anchor.
“Before you continue, I would like to welcome another guest speaker in the studio today, one who no doubt wishes to argue those points.”
Robert raised an eyebrow. This was new. Usually when Maitland took to his soap box on television, he did so unopposed.
The broadcast switched to a different camera, the new angle revealing a third individual seated at the table with the anchor and Maitland. The purple unicorn bowed politely to the anchor. “Indeed I do. But first I would like to thank you for having me.” The anchor smiled. Maitland’s expression clearly soured.
Robert’s eyes went wide; maybe this would be worth watching after all.
“Now before you present your rebuttal to Mr. Maitland’s claims, would you be willing to introduce yourself and your purpose here in New York for our viewing audience?”
The unicorn smiled brightly. “Of course! My name is Twilight Sparkle. Me and my five colleagues have been tasked by Princess Celestia to tour the Bureaus around the country and speak about life in Equestria and as a pony. For the next week and a half I will be at the Brooklyn center giving seminars to those undergoing the conversion.”
“I see. Now, your response to Mr. Maitland’s claims?”
“Right. Firstly however, I would like to mention that we find the term ‘quadruped’ to be quite offensive. It is a slur that paints the picture of some unintelligent animal, which we most certainly aren’t. The correct vernacular, Mr. Maitland, is ‘Ponies’ or ‘Ponydom’ or ‘Ponykind’ when referring to our species as a whole. After all, we could just as easily refer to humans as bipedal hairless apes, but we know better.”
Maitland’s face grew even more crimson from either embarrassment or rage, both would have been understandable responses on his part, after being told off so briskly by a three-foot talking pastel hor- er, Pony. Robert couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Now, regarding your first accusation, about our ‘campaigns’ as you put them, I would first like to set the record straight in saying we have hardly deviated from our initial Modus Operandi. From day one we have offered ponification freely to all who would accept.”
“Then how do you explain your organization’s recent advert?” Maitland shot back.
“If you are referring to the commercial that has recently started to air advertising The Bureau’s services, I fail to see how we ‘target’ families as you claimed.”
The camera view changed briefly and centered on the anchor. “To those watching at home, we will be showing the advert in question after this segment, and encourage anyone willing to share their thoughts on the topic either by phone (at this a toll-free number super imposed itself near the news ticker), or by web. But getting back on topic; your response Mr. Maitland?”
“In your ‘commercial’ you tell people that they should discuss conversion with their spouses and families, that they should even stop by the center themselves for ‘counseling’, and through all of this you have bright, happy, even borderline religious iconography and sentiment at play in the background. Do you mean to tell me that this wasn’t a blatantly misleading push to try and convince human parents to convert their children?”
“Mr. Maitland ponification is a very serious decision and we at the bureaus understand that. We are merely suggesting that those who do have families and wish to undergo the process be responsible and think of the well-being of their loved ones first. In the beginning there were a very large number of people who simply severed ties with everyone they knew and signed up for conversion. Such actions painted the bureaus in the light of a cult. Actually, I distinctly remember that your organization ran very strongly on that idea for a while.”
Robert nodded sagely. He remembered the legal battles, how they went all the way to the Supreme Court. The lawyers representing the bureaus filed cases of libel and slander against the HLF, and in almost every instance had won.
“For those wishing to undergo the process who have families, we merely suggest that they come to the bureau and speak to our advisors with their families present, so everything is on the table and they can come to a rational decision. As for the supposedly ‘misleading’ sentiment of the advert, I can assure you nothing is misleading about it. Ask anyone who has undergone the process and they will tell you they are happier than they have ever been. I will admit, the advert is a bit…flashy, that would be the handiwork of my colleague Rarity, whose talents are heavily invested in aesthetics. Oh, and regarding the religious iconography, I assume you mean the Royal emblem. That is simply the sigil of the two sisters, the sovereigns of our nation and the driving force behind our movement.”
“You claim that it is a political watermark, yet aren’t those two sisters the patron deities of your kind? You believe that they, in fact-” Maitland made an exaggerated show of waving a hand in the air. “-raise the sun and moon?”
Maitland, despite being skilled in the ways of political debate, couldn’t fully hide the sneer on his lips.
Twilight, who throughout the debate had been very level headed and diplomatic, allowed only the slightest trace of a glare to enter her features.
“Yes, it is true. Both Celestia and Luna are our sovereigns as well as our Goddesses, and yes they do in fact raise both the sun and moon over Equestria. However since we departed from our homeland we have learned much, including that the laws of nature are fundamentally different outside the boundaries of our nation. And, if I am to correctly guess what you are suggesting, no, humans undergoing the procedure are not required to make any change to their faith that they are not comfortable with.”
“That seems oddly convenient, so am I to assume there are now Christian ponies living in Equestria? Jewish ponies? Islamic?”
At this Twilight’s face softened, and her smile returned.
“Equestrian society, despite being steeped in both myth and magic, is in fact largely secular. An individual’s beliefs are their own, and nopony, not even Celestia herself, has the right to deprive someone of them.”
Maitland’s sneer fell away, and his sour expression returned. Robert however smiled. Although he wouldn’t outright consider himself an atheist, he disagreed with much that the established religions preached. It also left a bad taste in his mouth when the religion card was pulled in any sort of political arena; church and state were supposed to be separate for a reason.
The Anchor used the brief pause to interrupt. “As fascinating as this vein of conversation has been, I do believe you still need to respond to Mr. Maitland’s second accusation Ms. Sparkle, regarding the supposed infringement on his group’s freedom of speech?”
“Of course. The Bureaus all around the United States adhere to all the ordinances and laws regarding peaceful protests and demonstration…so long as they remain peaceful.”
Maitland scoffed. “The HLF’s demonstrations have always been non-violent.”
The anchor intervened. “While it is true that the majority of your protests are non-violent, there have been reported incidents of protestors accosting, even physically assaulting people wishing to enter the bureaus, how do you explain this?”
“Any individuals involved with such activities bear no affiliation with the HLF.” Maitland answered flatly.
“Yet, last week, at your protest of the Brooklyn Bureau a man was pelted with rocks as he tried to enter the building. Those arrested not only claimed to be members of your group but that they even walked beside you to the demonstration site.” Twilight replied coolly.
“There is no evidence linking-“
“Surveillance videos would beg to differ Mr. Maitland.”
The human seemed to lose a bit of his bravado at this, some sweat dripped from his receded hair line.
“And there is the evidence linking the HLF to the attempted bombings of two Bureaus in the south.”
“Are you actually suggesting that-“
Twilight waved a hoof dismissively. “Not at all Mr. Maitland, I am merely responding to your accusation. The bureaus always cooperate fully with law enforcement in regards to protests, so long as the protestors also obey the law while doing so.”
Maitland had lost much of the crimson flush he bore earlier, and appeared very pale.
“I think that is a good spot to wrap up this debate. Mr. Maitland, your closing statement?”
The human took a moment to regain his composure and then spoke.
“We at the HLF support those who choose to remain human, as well as those who are opposed to conversion. We are merely a vessel for those who lack a voice during these dark times, we are not terrorists, and we are not zealots. We will continue to strive for a future worthy of humanity, if anyone wishes to be a part of that future, all they need to do is call upon us.”
“Miss Sparkle?”
Twilight smiled. “We will continue to offer ponification with open hooves to those who are ready to enter a new world, to begin a fresh start. All you need is the courage to take the first step, and you will be welcomed…um, that’s all, thank you.”
The camera view switched back to the red-headed anchorwoman. “Stay tuned for the advert mentioned in today’s debate.” The camera zoomed out and the picture faded to black.
---------
A picturesque image of a beautiful countryside veiled in the darkness of night came into view.
Equestria.
The view panned over the landscape as idyllic flower filled fields, forests of green etched with azure rivers, and white shores could be seen bathed in the orange glow of an approaching sunrise.
Home of ponykind for thousands of years, our lands have known nothing but peace and harmony.
The sky grew brighter as humble hamlets, sprawling towns, and grandiose castles were shown.
Truly, our nation is a utopia, a diamond in a very-
Images of human war and strife flashed in rapid succession across the screen
Very-
Dictators addressed congregations, cities were torn apart in bloody revolution, and forests were slashed and burned.
VERY-
A mushroom cloud exploded over the pacific, staining the sky black with its violent sun-like radiance.
Deep rough.
But you need not live in fear any longer!
The view returned to Equestria, specifically a magnificent castle-city built into the side of a mountain. Behind the city’s ivory pinnacles the sun rose into the sky, illuminating all.
For a new day has begun! Soon, your world shall be healed, and will resemble our fair nation of Equestria.
We know that the majority of humanity is blameless for the state of your world, that you are simply victims of circumstance.
We know this-
A large, imposing building materialized through the previous scene. A banner hung over its entrance with the words ‘CONVERSION BUREAU, ALL WELCOME’ in large purple lettering.
and we are finally ready to help.
Quick, upbeat music began to play as the view switched to the inside of the bureau.
Here at this Bureau, and others like it around the country (and soon the world!), we prepare you for your first steps into this new age.
A family entered the scene from off-screen, and walked together to the welcome window. Smiles plastered firmly to their faces.
In order to adapt, mentally and physically, to the radical changes that the world will soon undergo, humanity must cast off its current form-
The mother disappeared through a set of double doors.
And be reborn
A yellow Pegasus galloped gleefully back out, and she was immediately brought into a group hug by her husband and two children, together they soundlessly laughed and cheered. The music grew louder as the image changed back to Equestria.
All you need is the courage to take the first step.
The yellow Pegasus stood proudly on a hill overlooking a verdant valley, her now earth pony husband and two filly children at her sides.
And your reward will be paradise.
The music and image faded into an imposing emblem of two horned and winged ponies, one white and one midnight blue, chasing each other with the sun and moon across the sky.
Paid for in full by the royal house of Canterlot.
---------
As the advert ended Robert shut off the television. The second part of the commercial had reached out to him in a way that made him uncomfortable. He pulled out another cig from the pack on the table, his breakfast all but forgotten. As he lit it his eyes drifted to a nearby end table, upon which half a dozen pictures lay face down. Reaching out to the largest one, he turned it over and gazed at it longingly.
He, his mother, father, brother, cousin, and best friend Michael were smiling. Robert and Michael were garbed in their graduation vestments, their faces split in broad grins, and their eyes sparkled with an ambition to seize the world for all it was worth. As the first tears fell, Robert was painfully reminded why he kept these pictures face down.
None of the people in them were still human.
He placed the picture back on the end table, and briefly reminisced. His brother had been the first, being the family’s progressive he wanted to be at the forefront of the revolution. After his conversion he disappeared, supposedly moving to Equestria. He only sent one post card, from a place called Ponyville, and then dropped off the face of the earth. Then his cousin entered the program together with his fiancee. They too had vanished without a trace. Next, and most painfully, were his parents. They tried to rationalize their decision with him over the phone, claiming that they wanted to find his brother, and that Robert himself should consider ponification so that they could go together. He had hung up without saying a word. Finally, there was Michael. Robert and Mike were both the last in their respective families to be converted, and throughout the ordeal supported one another. One day, Mike had stopped by, dropping off his impressive record collection, claiming he wouldn’t need it anymore, and then he too had vanished.
All of the people in Robert’s life were gone. He knew what he would have to do if he wanted to see them again, but he couldn’t. How could he just cast off his human form so easily? Didn’t his family understand? Didn’t his friends? How could they have just-
Robert’s train of thought ended abruptly when he remembered a seventh photograph, one that he had received not even a week ago. Reaching under the couch, he retrieved a large envelope and hesitantly pulled out its contents. There was a single picture and a note. Seven smiling ponies were framed in the photo; on the note were six simple words:
Please come home
We are waiting.
Robert placed the picture and note on the table. He wiped his eyes and took a long drag off his smoke.
‘Home.’ He thought. ‘How could they consider that place home. Didn’t our lives before mean anything? How could they have just left it all behind…?’
Still, up until he had received the envelope, he had been certain that his family had forgotten him, left him behind in the crumbling world of humanity. And loath he was to admit it, it had brought him comfort. They were still there, and he was still in their thoughts. Yet they seemed so far away, unreachable across the chasm that was ponification.
He sighed and stamped out his cig. Memories aside, it was time for his morning routine. He looked down at his now soggy cereal and frowned. Draining the orange juice, he placed the bowl and glass in the sink and turned to the large sliding glass door in his living room.
With trepidation he walked up to it and, taking a deep breath, threw aside the blinds revealing a sight that would have left him speechless a year ago.
There, dotting the New York City skyline, were thousands of pegasi, their forms framed in the rising sun.
******************************
New York City:
Population: Approximately 850,000 humans….
9,500,000 ponies and growing every day.
|
|
Hurricane Puncher
|
1058
| 2 |
Applejack,Original Character,Other,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rainbow Dash,Rarity,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Change of Life
|
incomplete
| 161 | 33 |
<p>Robert Parker is a 24 year old ex-web developer living in New York city. In the wake of the conversion movement, he has seemingly lost everything. Haunted by the same nightmare every night, he soon realizes that he must make a choice.</p><br/><p>To those unfamiliar with the Conversion Bureau: it is a scenario created by an author named blaze in which Ponies either appear in the human world or have lived beside humans without incident for millennia. One day, in the face of all the damage humanity has done to its world, the ponies offer a solution: undergo conversion to become a pony and allow the world to be inundated with Equestria's influence: thus healing it and bring forth a golden age. </p><p>Many different authors have taken many different approaches to this idea, all of them are worth checking out. </p><p><a href="http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html</a> (The current thread)<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html</a> (The compilation post on EQDaily. *NOT UPDATED*)</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-27T11:08:01+00:00
|
2011-09-27T11:08:01+00:00
| 5,044 |
The Conversion Bureau
Change of Life
Part 2: Sky Bound Savior
Robert finished shaving and gave himself the once-over in the mirror. He looked a bit more presentable, if only just. Throwing on a t-shirt and jeans, he returned to the living room to prepare the next part of his routine. Against the far wall rested a futon mattress, a throwback to his college days that he didn’t have the heart to get rid of, even if it lacked a frame. Moving the coffee table, he laid the mattress in its place and glanced over at the clock; 8:15.
‘Good, I still have a bit of time before she gets here.’
He grabbed his smokes and slid open the glass door leading to his balcony. The weather report that had woken him earlier was way off. The air was dank with humidity, and combined with the morning sun beating onto the balcony the temperature felt closer to 85 than the high seventies. Lighting up yet another cigarette he took a seat on the plastic lawn chair (the only piece of furniture on the balcony) and gazed out across Manhattan.
Pegasi could be seen as far as Union City. Some seemed to be flying with destinations in mind, and others looped and darted about aimlessly, appearing to just exult in the joy that was flight. Robert had to admit, the ability to fly was a pretty strong draw for the conversion movement. The governor had thrown a fit when the first requests to remove the no-fly zone over the city came in. However, as the number of humans in the city dwindled, so did the opposition to the bill, and he had no choice but to relent.
Robert had begun to slip into his own flight-filled fantasies when he heard the door of his neighbor slide open. A light brown Unicorn with a black mane emerged, two cups of coffee levitating above his head. Stifling a yawn the pony addressed Robert in a sleepy tone.
“Morning Rob.”
“Morning Mr. Miller”
The pony scoffed and levitated a cup over to Robert, who took it with thanks.
“Rob, we’ve been neighbors for three years.”
“Heh, sorry. Morning John”
“That’s better.”
Whenever Robert had spiraled into darkness, and believed everyone he cared for to be gone, he would always be reminded that wasn’t the case when he came out onto his balcony each morning. John Miller had been Robert’s neighbor for as long as Robert had lived in the fifty year old Brownstone, and the two became close friends. They often spent their mornings like this, shooting the shit while enjoying John’s premium home ground blend. It was a tradition that persisted even after John’s ponification.
John maneuvered his floating mug to his lips and took a gulp. “So, did’ja catch Maitland crash and burn in that debate earlier?”
Robert laughed. “Yeah, it was painful.”
“I’ll say. Plus that newcomer was pretty easy on the eyes.”
Robert grinned, it was too easy. “The Unicorn?”
The pony glared. “Smartass. I don’t care if they say your ‘tastes’ change after the conversion, for me sex will always walk on two legs not four.”
Robert chuckled. “Yeah, that red head is a bombshell. What happened to their original guy?”
“Apparently he got ponified and they needed someone new. Fucking miracle that they were able to land someone like that though. Slim pickings these days when it comes to humans.”
“I’ll say.”
The two sat in silence for a while. Drinking their coffee and, in Robert’s case, smoking. John broke the silence when he spied the mattress behind the glass door.
“Oh man. Still?”
Robert drank the last of his coffee and turned to John. “What?”
John tilted his head towards Robert’s door.
“Oh. Yeah. Almost every day.”
John laughed heartily. “You’ve got a thing for her.”
It was Robert’s turn to glare. “She’s a horse.”
“Pony.”
“Whatever. It’s like you said, sex walks on two legs not four. She’s just a friend.” He held out the empty mug to John who levitated it out of his palm with a grin.
“Hey man you never know. They say that it’s different for everyone…maybe your ‘tastes’ will change a lot more quickly than mine.“
At this Robert shifted his gaze back to the pegasi in the sky and shrugged. Immediately he heard the sound of two ceramic mugs shattering on John’s balcony. Robert turned and found the pony staring at him wide-eyed.
“The hell is up with you?”
“The hell is up with YOU? In the past anytime I would even graze the idea of you heading to the bureau you would look like you wanted to strangle me. Now all I get is a shrug? Did something happen?”
Robert shrugged again and returned to looking at the pegasi. “A lot of things I guess.”
“Is it your family?”
Damn. John could always see right through him. Robert refused to confirm John’s assumption though, his pride wouldn’t allow it.
“It’s…a lot of things.”
John stared at Robert for a few long seconds before levitating the shards of the broken mugs into a tiny trash bin on his balcony.
“Look-“ He began. “-Nobody is making you get converted, and nobody is making you stay human. The choice is yours, as well as any reasons you have for making it or not. Whether or not you go through with it, my coffee and I will still be here.”
Robert sighed, and turned to John with a smile. “Thanks man, that means a-“ Robert gasped. “Oh shit, you have the time?”
John glanced back into his own apartment. “Almost half past eight.”
Robert’s head whipped skyward. He could already see the prismatic trail appearing from behind a far skyscraper. He took one last quick drag from his smoke and flicked it off the balcony.
John shook his head and grinned. “Alright lover boy I won’t keep you from your date.” He turned towards his door and stole a quick glance back at Robert. “Tell her I said ‘Hi’” he added with a wink, and then disappeared back into his apartment.
“Har Har.” Robert replied to nobody. He turned to his door and slid it open, then looked back to the trail of refracted light. The cloud of pegasi was already beginning to split in order to accommodate the multi-colored missile streaking towards his building.
Robert had many, many reasons to despise the ponies and their movement. In fact he probably had more reasons than most people still living in the city. Yet for all the reasons he had to be full of hatred, there was only one responsible for the fact that he wasn’t.
And it was hurtling towards his balcony at over a hundred miles an hour.
As the kaleidoscopic blur drew ever closer, Robert could see two pastel blue wings flare out and its speed slow considerably. He held out his open hands expectantly, and as the blur screamed past him four envelopes fell neatly into them. What followed could only be described as a cannonball hitting a pillow as the mattress broke the fall of the supersonic flyer and was slid all the way into the kitchen. Robert walked into his living room just in time to see the rainbow-maned pegasus pop her head out of the crumpled mattress.
“TIME?!” She yelled.
Robert glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “8:30 on the dot. Nice job!”
“YESSSS!” The pegasus cheered. Dislodging herself from her down-filled prison, she flew to the center of the room and pumped her hooves in victory. “Best flyer of Equestria?! Try best flyer ON EARTH!”
Rainbow Dash. The fastest living thing to ever grace the skies of Equestria and the world beyond. She was currently serving as both a mail-pony and a weather control expert in New York, and had been delivering Robert’s mail for the past three months. The two had met under…less than desirable circumstances, specifically when on the first day of her route Rainbow Dash obliterated his sliding glass door and was injured as a result. A lot happened between that day and the present, and the two now spent the majority of their free time together. Rainbow brought some much needed color into Robert’s life, while Robert alleviated her crushing boredom. However strange their meeting had been, their friendship ran deep.
Robert laughed as Rainbow Dash continued her midair victory dance. “You never get tired of that do you?
“Psh. You’re just jealous. AND a sore loser.”
Robert sighed. A while back, shortly after the door incident, Robert had extended a challenge to Rainbow. If she could get his mail to him by 8:30 in the morning, he would have to buy her lunch after she got off her weather duties. Robert had originally planned the challenge just to spite her for breaking his door, but he had severely underestimated her speed and desire to win. She never lost. Not even once. However over the time they had known each other, the challenge had lost much of its competitive feeling (for Robert at least), and was now just the way the two began their day together.
Robert threw up his hands in resignation. “Yeah, yeah I know. You win yet again Dash. Come on back when you’re done with weather patrol and I’ll-“
“Oh! I actually have the rest of the day off.”
“Really? What about your other stops?”
Rainbow blinked and nosed through the two saddle bags on her sides. “Nope, looks like you’re the last on my route.”
“Huh.” Robert scratched his head. Usually after Rainbow Dash had dropped of his mail, she would have a few more stops and then her weather duties. This worked out almost too well for Rainbow, as she would be done with work by noon; the perfect time for, as she liked to put it, her ‘victory lunch’.
Robert was about to ask why she had the day off but noticed the disarray of his living room. The mattress lay in a heap in his kitchen, some pictures had been knocked off the end-table, and a few chairs had fallen over. Dash noticed Robert looking about with disdain and smiled sheepishly.
“Uh...hehe…my bad”
---------------------------------------------
Robert finished moving the coffee table back to its original place and slumped into his couch. Rainbow hovered over and sat next to him.
“So, what do ya wanna do? We’ve got the whole day.”
“Hrm…no idea.” Robert said as he reached for the remote. The TV hummed to life as the News channel materialized onto the screen. A recap of the earlier debate was being broadcasted, showing highlights of Twilight and Maitland’s exchange. Rainbow Dash’s expression twisted into a scowl.
“Ugh. I HATE that dweeb.”
“You and I both, but you should have seen it Dash. He got bent over the political table earlier and by that Purple Unicorn no less.”
The highlight switched to the part of the debate where Twilight had skillfully shot down Maitland’s attempt at turning the exchange into a holy war. Rainbow began to laugh uncontrollably at seeing Maitland’s beet-red face.
“HAHAAA—OH MAN THAT’S GOOD! Next time I see that egghead I have to congratulate her!”
Robert blinked. “You know Twilight Sparkle?”
Rainbow stopped laughing and turned to Robert with a look that screamed ‘Really?’
Robert thought for a minute, and then brought a palm to his face. “That’s right; she’s one of your friends from Equestria.”
“Uh. Yeah. How could you have forgotten?”
Robert sighed as his expression became sullen. “Sorry, there’s been a lot on my mind.”
Rainbow gasped and lunged at Robert taking his head in her hooves, a look of mock-concern on her very close face. “Oh no! You’re spiraling again! Come back to me Rob; don’t go back to being a wishy-washy dweeb! My heart can’t take it!”
“Dash-”
She began to shake him back and forth as she yelled at the ceiling. “Oh what will I do, what will I do?! My friend is going to become a boring-
“Dash.”
“-uptight”
“Dash!”
“-pitiful”
“DASH.”
“-excuse for a lame-o again and there is nothing I can do! Oh woe is me! Woe is-” Rainbow was cut off as Robert grabbed her hooves. She looked down and saw an expression of extreme annoyance on his face. Rainbow blinked, and then fell back onto the couch laughing. Robert folded his arms with a glare.
“Hehe, sorry man I went a little too far with that one.”
Robert looked a bit dejected. “I’ll say.”
“Oh hey come on” Rainbow said as she jabbed him playfully with a hoof. “You know I hate it when you’re depressed, and nothing gets you out of a funk quicker than getting you riled up!”
Robert sighed, she had him there.
“Plus-” she added as she wiped away a tear from her magenta eyes. “-It’s hilarious!”
Robert shot her a mischievous grin. “Is that so?”
Rainbow froze. “H-hang on, I know that look. What are y-”Her sentence was cut off as Robert pounced on her. Sounds of hysterical laughter filled the apartment as Robert began to tickle her mercilessly.
“HAHAHA- NO ROB, STOP, I CAN’T- HEEHAHA!”
He didn’t let up. “Make fun of me huh? Take this, and that, and this!”
“HAHAHAHA- STOP, STOP PLEAAAEEAAHAHAHA!” Rainbow Dash squealed and squirmed about, her hooves flailing wildly.
Robert grinned. “Surrender and I will!”
“AHAHA OK, OK HEEHAHAA I GIVE, I GIVE!”
The two friends laughed as they wrestled for a bit longer on the couch before finally collapsing, completely out of breath. Robert chuckled heartily as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Rainbow was taking a bit longer to recover, breathing heavily and coughing.
“Jeeze.” Rainbow said between gasps. “I should never have told you that I’m ticklish. Don’t you ever get tired of doing that?”
“Nope.” Robert said with a smirk. “It’s hilarious.”
Rainbow shot him a look, and for a few moments they simply stared at each other…before bursting out into another fit of laughter.
These were Robert’s days with Rainbow Dash. Through all of his pain, loss, and the uncertainty that pervaded his heart, Dash had managed to bring happiness back into Robert’s life. She had stuck with him through these dark times, even if all he could give her was his company and a free lunch, and he had become a better person for it. She had saved him.
Eventually the two calmed down enough to go back to watching the TV, though the anchor was now covering a different story. Robert flipped through the channels, hoping to find something interesting to watch while they figured out what they wanted to do. Eventually he gave up, placing the remote on the table with an exasperated sigh. Most of the major networks had shut down, leaving very little to watch besides the news and public programming.
“Hm. Well I can’t think of anything, and it’s only ten to nine.” Robert said rubbing his eyes. He turned to Rainbow Dash and noticed her staring intently at something near the balcony door. Following her gaze, Robert saw an upturned photo and piece of paper.
He had forgotten to put them back in their envelope.
Before Robert could even move, Rainbow Dash was already in front of the door, the photo and note in her hooves. She tilted her head in confusion as she studied the picture.
“That’s weird. This was taken in Ponyville, but I don’t recognize these ponies.”
Robert said nothing. He kept his eyes locked on the wall, his face devoid of emotion.
“ ‘Please come home. We are waiting’? Robert who are these ponies?”
He remained silent.
“Rob-“
“My family.”
Rainbow looked shocked. “What?”
“They are my family Dash. My parents, my brother, my cousin and his fiancée, and my best friend; they all got ponified and moved to Equestria.” Robert said without looking at the pegasus. “I don’t know who the seventh is.” He added.
Rainbow tried to process what she was hearing. “I thought you didn’t know what happened to them? That they just disappeared?”
“For a while I didn’t. But then you delivered this-“ He found the envelope that had contained the photo and note and held it up to Rainbow Dash “-last week.”
The pony’s mouth hung open as Robert strode over and took the two items from her hooves, replacing them in their envelope which he laid down on the table.
“I…I didn’t even notice the return address Rob. If I had I would have-“
“I know. I know you would have warned me. It’s alright.” Robert sat back down on the couch, his head in his hands. Rainbow fluttered over to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder. For a while the two remained silent. The only sound in the room the ticking of the clock on the wall.
Eventually Rainbow broke the silence by clopping her hooves together in a pony equivalent of someone snapping their fingers. “I got it!”
Robert pulled his head up and turned to the Pegasus.
“Let’s go to the park!”
|
|
Hurricane Puncher
|
1058
| 3 |
Applejack,Original Character,Other,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rainbow Dash,Rarity,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Change of Life
|
incomplete
| 161 | 33 |
<p>Robert Parker is a 24 year old ex-web developer living in New York city. In the wake of the conversion movement, he has seemingly lost everything. Haunted by the same nightmare every night, he soon realizes that he must make a choice.</p><br/><p>To those unfamiliar with the Conversion Bureau: it is a scenario created by an author named blaze in which Ponies either appear in the human world or have lived beside humans without incident for millennia. One day, in the face of all the damage humanity has done to its world, the ponies offer a solution: undergo conversion to become a pony and allow the world to be inundated with Equestria's influence: thus healing it and bring forth a golden age. </p><p>Many different authors have taken many different approaches to this idea, all of them are worth checking out. </p><p><a href="http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html</a> (The current thread)<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html</a> (The compilation post on EQDaily. *NOT UPDATED*)</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-27T01:37:23+00:00
|
2011-09-27T01:37:23+00:00
| 4,738 |
The Conversion Bureau
Change of Life
Part 3: The Big Horseapple
Robert locked the door of his apartment and walked down the hall to the elevator. Most of the doors he passed led into vacant apartments, others were inhabited by ponies. He was the only human left in his building.
He hit the call button and, as he waited for the elevator to arrive, he turned to a nearby window…and started to crack up. Dash was fluttering just outside of it making a multitude of funny faces at him. As the elevator arrived on his floor with a ‘ding’, he pointed down at the Pegasus with a grin. Rainbow nodded and darted out of sight as Robert entered the elevator and hit the button for the lobby.
Central park was a few blocks away from his apartment, so the walk wouldn’t be long. Rainbow always volunteered to fly him wherever they went, but the idea of hanging off of the Pegasus’ front hooves while she flew at speeds that boggled the mind didn’t sit very well with Robert. The elevator descended at its painfully slow pace until it finally reached the lobby. As the doors slid open, Rainbow was already hovering in front of them on her back with her hooves behind her head.
She made an exaggerated display of stifling a yawn. “Man that thing is so slow. I still don’t know why you won’t let me fly you down.”
“Because I’d like to get to the ground floor alive?”
“You really think I would drop you?”
“Of course not. But I don’t think I’m ready to fly that fast outside of an airplane.”
“Psh. You don’t know what you’re missing.” She replied with a grin.
The two friends left the lobby of Robert’s building and walked into the light of the rising sun. As they exited the twelve story brownstone, ponies of every type and color could be seen. Earth ponies and unicorns trotted along the sidewalks, while pegasi flew above. It was a site that, while Robert had grown used to, still managed to seem totally alien.
Rainbow stretched her wings and basked in the morning light. “Ahhhh. What an awesome day.”
Robert however, tugged on the collar of his shirt and wiped his brow. “Says you. It isn’t even summer yet and it’s sweltering. Weather report was totally off this morning.” He turned to Rainbow with a cocked eyebrow. “Would this have anything to do with you not having weather duty today?”
The Pegasus shrugged. “Dunno.”
“Dunno? You mean you really have no idea? I thought this was your field of expertise.”
Rainbow let out an exasperated sigh. “Rob, you know that the city’s weather patrol doesn’t actually control the weather. We can’t. Well, not yet anyway.”
“Yeah. Something about the magic of Equestria not having reached the eastern seaboard yet?”
“Pretty much. All we do is train newfoals who will serve on the real weather patrol when it’s finally needed. Still-“ Rainbow looked up into the sky. “-this is pretty bizarre.”
The two began to make their way down Amsterdam Avenue towards central park. Robert had to admit, it felt very, very odd being the tallest sentient being within probably twenty blocks, but it did have its advantages, for one, actually being able to see over the masses. But this ‘advantage’ also had an unwanted effect; everywhere he went nowadays he was the center of attention, one of the remaining few of a dying race. Heads would turn, stares would linger, and whispers between ponies heard as Robert and Rainbow continued to make their way down the street.
‘Wow. A human!’
‘So rare in the city nowadays.’
‘What’s he waiting for? Is he a part of the HLF?’
‘Don’t stare honey it’s rude.’
‘Isn’t that Rainbow Dash? What is she doing with that human?’
Robert’s shoulders slumped. Rainbow cast glares at the ponies whose gazes lasted longer than a few moments. “Just ignore them Rob.”
“It doesn’t bother me. Really, I’m ok.” Robert lied. He felt like a freak. In this city, where had had been born, raised, schooled, and worked, he felt like a stranger, like his presence was wrong somehow. This wasn’t new, he dealt with it anytime he and Dash went anywhere, but it still shook him to his core.
“They’re all just jealous of your height I bet.” Rainbow said with a grin. “And those.” She added gesturing to Robert’s thumbs with a hoof.
Robert chuckled. “I’m sure they are.”
And just like that Robert’s mood brightened considerably. He could always depend on Dash to lift his spirits. He even felt himself walking straighter, his head raised just a bit higher. ‘Yeah.’ He thought. ‘Let them talk all they want. Why should I give a damn?’
Robert glanced over to the hovering Pegasus with a smile, ‘Thanks’, which she returned, ‘No problem’. At times like this, words weren’t needed to convey trust; their friendship was deeper than that.
‘Mommy, are that pony and human girlfriend and boyfriend?’
The comment, which came from a nearby green filly with a blue mane, caused the two friend’s eyes to go wide and they stopped for a moment. They turned to the little pony, who immediately shrank behind her mother’s legs.
The mother, a blue earth pony with an orange mane and tail, flashed a nervous smile towards the pair.
“I am so sorry. She’s young and- w-well I mean, if you two are then- w-what I mean is-” The flustered mare shook her head and turned to her daughter. “Turquoise, apologize to the nice mare and human.”
“What? They were making kissy-face just now!” The little filly cried defiantly.
“Turquoise.” The mare said sternly. “Now.”
The filly, with downcast eyes, stepped forward and bowed her head. “Sorry.”
Rainbow fluttered down to the filly and smiled. “Hey kid don’t worry about it. We all make mistakes.”
Turquoise nodded solemnly and looked up at the pegasus. She blinked, and then her face broke into a huge smile. “OHMYGOSH YOU’RE RAINBOW DASH! THE BEST YOUNG FLYER OF EQUESTRIA!” The filly cried, bouncing up and down in joy.
Rainbow grinned; she lived for moments like these. “THE one and ONLY!” she replied, striking a pose.
“OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!” Turquoise screamed, running circles around her mother. “MY FRIENDS WILL NEVER BELIEVE IT! THEY’RE GONNA BE SOOO JEALOUS!!” She stopped suddenly with a look of realization. “Wait…that’s right, they won’t believe it.” Tears began to brim the young pony’s eyes.
Rainbow began to panic. She hated seeing her fans, especially little filly fans, cry. She scratched her mane, trying to think of something to calm the little pony. Then an idea struck her. “I got it!”
Turquoise stopped sniffling and looked up hopefully. Rainbow reached back and plucked a single pastel blue feather from her wing with her teeth. Leaning down, she stuck the feather behind the filly’s ear.
“There. Now ya got something to remember me by and something you can show your friends.”
Turquoise gasped as tears once again filled her eyes, this time from joy rather than grief. “Oh thank you Dash, thank you! I’ll never let it out of my sight!” She jumped up and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck before darting back to her mother. “Mommy, mommy, how does it look? Do you think Gem and Sprinkle will like it!?”
The mare smiled lovingly and nuzzled her. “I’m sure they’ll love it honey. Now why don’t you go on ahead, your father is waiting.”
“Ok!” Turquoise took one last look of adoration at Dash before running up the block.
The mother watched her daughter for a moment before turning back to Rainbow.
“I can’t thank you enough. She’s been having a hard time adjusting to this city ever since we moved from Fillydelphia.”
Rainbow chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck. “Don’t worry about it, always happy to meet a fan.”
The mare smiled and turned to Robert, who until now had been quietly watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and nostalgia as he remembered meeting his childhood idol at Yankee stadium so many years ago.
“Again, I’m sorry about what my daughter said. She still doesn’t understand humans too well. Really most of us Equestrians don’t. When she saw you two together she probably jumped to conclusions.”
Robert waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Personally I thought it was adorable.”
The mare laughed. “Well, I should be going as well.” She turned to leave but stopped and turned back to the human. “I’m sorry I don’t believe I got your name.”
Robert smiled and walked forward, extending a hand. “Robert, Robert Parker. And yours?”
The mare lifted a hoof, which Robert shook. “I’m Sunset Waters, and it was a pleasure meeting both of you.” She turned and trotted up the block a bit before turning back with a smirk. “Oh, and Robert?”
Robert tilted his head at the mare.
“You better treat her right.” And before Robert could even begin to protest, she cantered out of sight after her daughter.
Robert sighed. Did he and Dash really look like a couple? He was getting a bit tired of people and their wild assumptions about their relationship.
Rainbow fluttered back over to Robert giggling. “What a little cutey. Did you see her face after I gave her that feather?” The mare’s departing words had obviously gone right over her head.
Robert smirked. He had almost forgotten Rainbow’s weakness to cuteness.
“Yeah. I keep forgetting that you’re a celebrity.”
At this Rainbow immediately tried to regain her composure. “Well duh. I am awesome.”
Robert smiled. “Yeah.” He said. “You sure are.”
Rainbow blinked and looked away as a slight blush filled her cheeks. “T-that’s new.” She stammered. “Usually you would say something like ‘Yeah, yeah’ or ‘No need to keep reminding me’ or you would just laugh.”
Robert grinned. He almost never saw Rainbow blush. Seeing her like this, it was like seeing a completely different pony. She looked…vulnerable? That was one word Robert could never connect to Rainbow, who prided herself on being tough, unshakeable even.
Robert scratched the back of his head, trying to find the words. “It’s just, when you were with that filly, it reminded me of when I was young.”
The Pegasus cocked her head to the side. “How so?”
Robert gazed up into the sky, a look of nostalgia on his face. “When I was eight, my dad took me to my first ball game at Yankee stadium. They were playing their most hated rivals, The Red Sox. The pitcher for the Yankees threw a no-hitter.”
Rainbow looked nothing short of completely lost. Robert couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry I forgot you don’t know much about human sports. In baseball the object of the game is to score the most runs. The team at bat has to hit the baseball thrown by the pitcher, then try and run to as many bases as he can. If a player catches the ball before it hits the ground, or a player on base tags the base with the ball, or the runner himself is tagged then he’s out. If the runner reaches home without getting out, he scores a run. A no-hitter is a game where the team pitching doesn’t let the opposing team score a single hit, much less a run. It happens very, very rarely.”
Rainbow seemed a bit more interested now. “Wow, so then what happened?”
“After the game, my dad and I were leaving the stadium, and I saw him; the pitcher. I ran up to him, and just like that little filly, gushed about how cool he was, how my friends would never believe that I met him, and, just like that feather, he gave me something to show them.”
Robert took out his wallet, and pulled out the autographed baseball card that was his most prized possession. “This, right here, is the proof that I met my role model. He could have just taken my compliments and left it at that, or even blown me off completely. But he didn’t, he left me with this. You see Dash, like him, you are a role model, probably to millions of little colts and fillies like the one we met today. You went the extra mile, and gave her something precious.”
Rainbow blinked. “A feather?”
“A memory. One she’ll never forget.” Robert said as he placed the card back in his wallet.
“That’s why I had to agree with you. What you did just now represents a part of who you are. You are awesome Dash. So awesome.”
Rainbow’s blush, which had receded as Robert reminisced, returned in full force. “H-hey come on. It’s not that big a deal really.”
“Oh but it is.” Robert said with a smile. “You’re a big deal. You are, after all, The Best Young Flyer on Earth.”
Rainbow turned to hide her violently blushing face and said something Robert could barely make out.
“Hm?”
“Thank you.”
“Sorry, didn’t catch that.”
“Thank you.”
“I can’t-“
“OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD I SAID ‘THANK YOU’! WHY ARE WE EVEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ON SOME RANDOM SIDEWALK?! CAN WE JUST GET TO THE PARK?!”
It was then that Robert realized that they hadn’t moved since they encountered the mare and filly that started this entire conversation. Ponies all around them were giving them strange looks.
“Oh…right, sorry.” Robert said sheepishly.
The two started walking again (with Rainbow on hoof to avoid being seen by Robert) towards central park.
“Uh…hey, Rob?”
“Yeah?”
“How come you never told me that story before, with the baseball player?”
He smiled. “Because until now, I didn’t have a reason to.”
----------------------------------
As the two friends turned a street corner, Central Park came into view.
“Finally! Between that filly and your little reminiscence I didn’t think we’d ever get here.”
Robert gasped as a look of mock-hurt came to his face. “But I thought you liked my little story”
Rainbow glowered at Robert for a moment before turning to cross the street.
“Dash! Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow froze. For a second, Robert thought she was about to explode as she turned to the source of the voice.
“Oh for the love of Celestia what-”
Rainbow gasped when she saw the familiar white unicorn and her trademark styled purple mane.
“RARITY?!?”
Robert was at a loss for words as Rainbow crashed into the newcomer, wrapping her in a hug.
“Oh darling it’s been far too long!”
The two ponies separated for a moment as Rainbow turned to Robert. “Rob, I’d like you to meet Rarity, one of my best friends from Equestria.”
Robert walked forward and took the hoof of the pony with a smile. “Robert Parker. A pleasure.”
“Oh so this is the infamous Robert. She writes about you all the time you know.” Rarity said with a coy smile.
“H-hey c’mon Rarity, not all the time.” Rainbow retorted sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.
Rarity giggled. “Mhm. Whatever you say Rainbow Dash.”
Robert could feel a warmth rise to his cheeks. Rainbow had never told him that she wrote her friends, much less that she wrote about him.
“OH YEAH!” Rainbow’s outburst brought Robert back to reality. “What are you doing here at central park?”
“Actually I was looking for Twilight Sparkle, apparently there is this cozy little library around here that she’s taken a liking to.”
“Oh well, alright then we won’t keep you. Me and Rob were just going to hang out in the park.”
“Uh-” Robert interjected. “Hey Dash, I know you haven’t seen your friends in a long time. If you want to maybe, I don’t know, catch up with them for a bit I totally understand.”
Rarity shook her head vigorously. “Oh no dear it is quite alright. We are all currently staying at the Brooklyn bureau, and-” A coy smile rose to her lips. “- I wouldn’t want to keep you two from sharing time together.”
Robert was again about to protest when Rarity let out a small gasp. “That’s right!” She turned to Rainbow. “Darling there is something I need to speak to you about, something most urgent.”
Dash blinked and cocked an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“Um…” she turned to Robert with an apologetic grin. He sighed, getting the hint.
“Alright then, I’ll leave you two alone for a bit. When you’re finished Dash lets meet at the entrance to the park.” With that, he turned on his heel and began to stroll down the block parallel to Central Park.
------------------------------
Rainbow was about to call out to Robert’s retreating form when she felt Rarity pull her down a different street.
“Hey! Rarity what’s this about anyway?”
“I’ll explain everything soon dear. Why don’t we talk about it over some lunch? I heard about this lovely little café only two blocks over.”
“Actually me and Rob usually-“
“Nonsense my dear! We haven’t seen each other in such a long time, I insist.”
Rainbow sighed. It was true though, she hadn’t seen any of her equestrian friends in almost half a year and it might be nice to catch up.
The two ponies eventually made it to a small restaurant. Rainbow’s eyes went wide when she read the placard out front; “The Big Horseapple”.
“What the hay?”
“I know Dash. Apparently it was previously a human restaurant, and when the owners got ponified they changed the name to…this little play on words.”
“Don’t they know what that means?”
“I…I don’t think so. But nobody is really complaining, their food is simply to die for.” Rarity said with a smile.
The two ponies nosed their way through the door into the café. The majority of the clientele were ponies, but a few humans could be seen in the darker corners of the room, some with laptops, others watching the mounted flat-screen T.V on the far wall with confusion.
Rainbow and Rarity found a table near the door and sat down. Rarity levitated her menu while Rainbow Dash made do with nosing through her own.
After a few moments a perky teal unicorn with a white mane cantered to their table.
“HI THERE! Welcome to the Horseapple! My name is Diane and I’ll be your waitress today. Can I start you off with something to drink?”
Rainbow blinked at the human name, but realized she was obviously a convert. “I’ll just have some water.”
“Chamomile tea for me please.” Rarity said while still studying her menu.
“Got it, I’ll be right back with that.” Diane cantered out of sight.
As Rarity continued to telekinetically fuss with her menu, Rainbow glanced at the television that most of the humans in the café were watching…
---------------------------
Whenever Robert would walk down the city streets alone, he liked to play little games in his head. One of his favorites was spotting the immigrants out of the masses of converts. As he approached a crosswalk the stop signal began to flash on the other end. The ponies closest to the street immediately stopped out of reflex. These were the converts. Most of the ponies behind them ended up walking right into them, not actually aware of the purpose of a crosswalk. Despite the fact that there almost no cars on the roads anymore, a lot of the ponies just stood there looking around in confusion, unable to reign in their herd instinct. These were the immigrants from equestria.
Robert chuckled as he stepped through the cluttered mass of confused ponies, and joined the converts in walking across the street. He needed something to keep him amused when Dash wasn’t around; this was just one of his ways of staying sane.
After another block of walking, he found it. Between two high rises, a small building stood out from the rest of the surrounding area. It was a quaint two story affair, red brick, with a brown roof and a sign in front that read ‘H.C.P.S Center of Literature.’
The HCPS, or Human Cultural Preservation society, was a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation of humanity’s collective history and culture. Founded shortly after the secondary bureaus were established in the city, the HCPS was everything the HLF could, and should have been. A far cry from the HLF’s xenophobic practices and doctrine, the HCPS welcomed humans and ponies alike into its facilities. They served as hubs for the appreciation and proliferation of human culture, for humans who wanted to remember their race’s accomplishments, and for ponies who wanted to learn more about the species they were welcoming into their own.
Robert ascended the stairs and entered the library. The woman at the front desk smiled.
“Hello again Mr. Parker. Will you be checking anything out, or just browsing?”
“Browsing, I won’t be here for too long.”
With that, Robert walked past the front desk and into the library area. Hundreds of shelves extended to the far walls in rows. Ponies could be seen trotting through the rows, books in their mouths or being levitated by magic in front of them. There were a few humans, some reading quietly at tables or perusing the shelves. The library itself was two stories tall above ground, and three below. Robert’s favorite sections were on the first level though so he hardly ever went to the other floors.
As he reached the fiction section, he took a deep breath and slowly walked down one of the rows. He loved it here, the smell of books always made him at ease. With the loss of his career and the many changes that had occurred in his life, Robert had rediscovered a solace in reading. He ran his fingers across the innumerable spines of the shelved books as he walked, eventually reaching the end of the row which opened up into a reading area with a few chairs, a table, and a television.
Usually this area was empty, but today it had a sole occupant sitting at in of its chairs; a purple unicorn.
Robert froze as he recognized the purple Unicorn from the debate; Twilight Sparkle. The pony, who had been telekinetically flipping the pages of her book, looked up to Robert in surprise.
“Oh! Um, hello.”
Robert tilted his head to the side. “Hi…aren’t you Twilight Sparkle? I saw you on the news.”
A blush rose to Twilight’s cheeks as she looked away with a smile. “Y-you saw that? It really wasn’t anything amazing.”
“I disagree.” Robert said while taking a seat at the table across from Twilight Sparkle. “I think Maitland needed to be put in his place, and the way you handled him throughout that debate was excellent.”
Twilight’s blush deepened. “Thank you…um...” He extended a hand to the bookish pony. “I’m Robert Parker, pleasure to meet you.”
As the two shook…their respective appendages Twilight’s face lit up. “Wait, would you happen to know-”
“Rainbow Dash? Yeah, she’s a really good friend of mine.”
Twilight clopped her hooves together enthusiastically. “Oh wow! Rainbow’s told us all about you in her letters.”
Robert chuckled. “Nothing good I imagine.”
Twilight shook her head. “Nononono, Rainbow always-” Twilight stopped when she saw the grin on Robert’s face. “Oh, I get it.” She giggled awkwardly.
“So, Rainbow and I were actually on our way to central park when we ran into your friend Rarity, and she told us you’ve taken a liking to a nearby library. Would this be the one?”
Twilight nodded. “The HCPS’ massive repository on your species’ literature is incredible; it dwarfs the selection of almost any other library I’ve visited!”
“And how do you like human literature?”
Twilight glanced around at the multitude of shelves. “It’s fascinating. Learning the English alphabet was a bit hard, but it has been very rewarding. I’ve learned so much about your people and their history.”
“Nothing good I imagine.” Robert repeated darkly, testing her.
Twilight’s smile fell slightly. “I will admit most of humanity’s history is full of violence…and atrocities. In fact most of us who first came from Equestria were warned about that, warned that you were savages.”
Robert remained silent, but the look on his face spoke what was on his mind.
Twilight quickly waved a hoof in front of her. “That’s what we were warned about. What I, and almost all of us have learned, is that this is not true.” Twilight’s smile returned in full. “Your race’s history is rich, and has just as many good parts as bad ones. I was enthralled by my readings of the renaissance period, the age of discovery, mankind’s first journey into space and then the moon, the list goes on Robert. Your species has accomplished so much, and while I may not speak for every pony in Equestria, I for one am very happy our two races have finally come together for the future of our world.”
He studied Twilight carefully, her words and smile seemed sincere enough, and she was a good friend of Rainbow Dash. He sighed, and returned Twilight’s smile.
“Thanks Twilight, that means a lot.” For a while the two sat in silence, unsure of what to say. Robert tried to think of something to break the awkward silence. He glanced at the book in front of the unicorn. “What are you reading?”
Twilight levitated the book in front of Robert so he could read the title. “The Lord of the Rings huh? Great choice.”
“I agree!” Twilight chirped happily. “I’ve never been one for fiction, but your race’s works have proven to be amazing reads!”
“If you like Lord of the Rings, you should try Discworld, it’s a pretty good fantasy series.”
Robert and Twilight continued like this for a while, completely lost in conversation. They talked about their favorite books, recommending books to each other, and about literature as a whole. Eventually their conversation was interrupted by the television next to the table humming to life. Robert looked up to see the woman from the front desk, remote in hand.
“I’m sorry you two but I just got a text message from my grandson to turn on the news. Apparently something strange is happening.”
Robert and Twilight turned to the television. It was an emergency broadcast, featuring the same redhead anchor from earlier.
“For those just tuning in, meteorologists are stumped in the face of a strange weather phenomenon taking place across the east coast. Let’s go to Steve for the weather report.”
The camera panned to a man in a blue suit standing in front of a Doppler map.
“Thanks Jamie. Now, earlier, we were expecting these cold fronts here to move in by midday and bring some showers by the afternoon. But, as you can see-” He waved his hand over the line of green hovering near the middle of New Jersey. A time lapse from 5 am to 8 am time showed the lines of green slowly moving towards New York. From 9 am onward however, they came to a halt and advanced no further. “-the fronts have…stopped, and this is not an isolated incident.” The map zoomed out to show the eastern seaboard. “Temperatures as high as eighty degrees are being seen in Maine, and across the east coast all predicted weather patterns for today have failed to occur. Instead every state along the coast is experiencing the same weather; sunny skies and summer-like temperatures.”
Robert was at a loss for words. This explained the unseasonable weather, but something this grandiose, this widespread was beyond comprehension.
“The National Meteorology Coalition is still investigating the matter, but believes that the phenomenon does not pose a threat to safety. We will be updating hourly with any developments we may hear, until then, enjoy the weather!"
“Thanks Steve. Tune in tonight for-” the television went black as the library greeter shut it off. Ponies and humans alike that had gathered throughout the broadcast in the reading area were now dispersing.
“Now that’s just bizarre.” the older woman said while scratching her head. “But if it’s safe, I’m not complaining, my bones just can’t take the rain like they used to.” With that she strolled back to the front desk, leaving Robert and twilight to themselves.
Robert just sat there dumbfounded. Twilight however was still gazing at the television, her expression unreadable.
------------------------------
Rainbow turned away from the flat panel. “Huh. That’s…that’s really weird. What do you think it is Rarity?”
Rarity said nothing as she rested her menu back on the table. Her horn flashed and all sound in the café died. Rainbow’s eyes went wide as she wildly looked around the restaurant. “What the hay? Rarity what was that?”
“A spell taught to me by Twilight. We cannot hear them, and they cannot hear us; to them we simply appear to be whispering.” Rarity said proudly, before regaining her serious tone. “Rainbow dear, I need to talk to you about something.”
Rainbow Dash glanced at her friend warily. “Alright…shoot.”
“Dear…how do you feel about Robert?”
Rainbow blinked. “He’s a really good friend of mine.”
Rarity nodded. “Obviously, and I’m sure you care about his well-being yes?
“Of course! Rarity what’s this about?”
Rarity sighed. “Dash, has Robert appeared to be…sick in these past few weeks?”
Rainbow looked away. “…no, not really.”
Rarity sighed. “You aren’t a very good liar. I’ve only spoken to him for a few minutes, and even I could tell he looked under the weather.”
Rainbow winced. She didn’t want to admit it but Robert had been looking progressively more haggard over the past month; his hair a bit more disheveled his eyes a bit more sunken. He had lost much of the spring in his step, but he had never complained about it so Rainbow never asked.
“Has Robert ever complained about strange dreams? Nightmares?”
Rainbow slumped further. “He…he’s had this recurring dream, says it’s about his family, but he never went into details.”
Rarity nodded. “Dash, why hasn’t Robert undergone ponification?”
Rainbow swallowed hard. She was dreading this question. Rainbow had only brought it up with Robert once, and he had nearly lost it. Ever since, she never brought up the Bureaus or his family again.
“…he has his reasons.”
Rarity sighed. “Rainbow, you need to talk to him about it.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No. He doesn’t like talking about it, last time I did he was so angry-”
“Rainbow…Robert is dying.”
She froze. “W-what the hay are you talking about?!”
Rarity gestured to the flat panel. “Twilight told me about it earlier. Apparently the magical energy from Equestria is spreading, much faster than was anticipated. The east coast has slowly been inundated with it but not at a fast enough rate to cause harm to the humans; that apparently changed roughly a month ago. There have been reports of…erratic behavior in the humans, and unexplainable health problems. At some point either yesterday or early this morning, the amount of magical energy along the eastern seaboard reached a critical level, enough to begin affecting the environment. That is why the weather has changed.”
Rainbow was speechless. She felt sick, she felt angry, and she didn’t know how to react to all of this. She glanced at some of the other humans in the café; some of them were sweating, others were very pale, some had their heads on their tables in apparent discomfort.
“Dash…unless Robert undergoes the process or leaves the city, he is going to die.”
“Why…why weren’t people told sooner Rarity?”
Rarity looked down sadly. “The bureaus didn’t want to panic the remaining human populace. They will probably release the information to the news tomorrow, and urge any remaining humans to either undergo conversion or evacuate New York.”
Rainbow said nothing. Rarity extended a comforting hoof placing it on her shoulder.
“Dash sweetie, we know how much you care for Robert, it sounds like he’s treated you very well, and that you two have come to depend on each other. Any friend of yours is a friend of all of us Rainbow, and we wanted to tell you so you could have the chance to maybe change his mind.”
Rainbow slowly placed a hoof on Rarity’s; she smiled with tears in her eyes.
“Th-thank you Rarity. Really…thank you.”
Rarity smiled.
------------------------------
Robert mulled what he had seen on the television over in his mind. He had heard that the world would eventually change to resemble Equestria, could this be related to that? If so why was it happening now? What would this mean for people still living in the city?
Robert's thoughts were interrupted by a dull throbbing through his skull, and a ringing in his ears. He leaned back and rubbed his eyes, hoping it would pass. This was starting to happen more often the past few days, and he was beginning to think it may be more than a persistent migraine.
Twilight glanced at Robert worriedly. "Robert, are you alright?"
"I’m fine; I’m just a little tired. Plus I didn't have much of a breakfast."
Twilight tilted her head, she didn't look too convinced. "Has this happened before?"
"Occasionally." Robert said while continuing to rub his eyes. The throbbing was getting a bit worse, the ringing a bit louder.
"Has it gotten worse recently?"
Robert stopped rubbing his eyes and stared at Twilight. "...Do you know something Twilight?"
Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not making eye contact with Robert. “I do. Robert there is something you need to know.”
With that Twilight’s horn began to glow, and a translucent dome appeared over the table they were sitting at and then vanished.
Robert jumped in surprise. He wasn’t a stranger to magic, hell his neighbor did it every day, but this was something totally different. He soon noticed, with shock, that all sound in the library had vanished.
“Twilight…what…what was that?”
“A globe of silence spell; nobody will be able to overhear us.” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “Now, Robert can I ask you a few questions?”
Robert nodded slowly. “Alright.”
Twilight took a deep breath, as if steeling herself, and looked Robert straight in the eye.
“Robert…how do you feel about Rainbow Dash?”
That had come out of left field. “…what?”
“How do you feel about her? You two are friends right?”
“Of course…but what does this have to do with-“
Twilight raised a hoof to silence him. “In time. This needs to come first.”
“…yes me and Rainbow Dash are friends.”
Twilight smiled. “That’s good…but…you know she can’t stay here in New York forever right?”
“Well…I mean, yeah, I knew she would leave New York eventually but not for at least a few months.”
Twilight shook her head. “No Robert, Rainbow has responsibilities, like controlling Ponyville’s weather. Apparently the pony who replaced her is doing a…subpar job. Rainbow will be journeying back to Equestria with us in a week and a half.”
Robert felt his blood run cold. A week and a half? Robert had grown so used to having the Multi-colored pony in his life, the thought of her leaving it…and in such a short amount of time…
Robert ran a hand down his face.
“Robert…are you okay?”
He leaned forward and rested his head in his hands on the table. “Sure.” He said sarcastically. “Just fine…”
Twilight sighed. “You couldn’t have thought-“
“I know.” Robert interrupted. “I knew she would have to leave at some point…I just didn’t think it would be so soon…she just never told me when...”
Twilight smiled sadly. “It sounds like you’ve really come to depend on her. “
“You have no idea…if I hadn’t met her I really don’t know where I would be right now. “
The unicorn nodded. “Robert, it’s the same way for her.”
Robert blinked, and looked up toward the pony.
“In her first few letters, Rainbow always mentioned how much she hated this city and the people in it. We were all worried about her…until she met you. After that happened her letters became much more cheerful…she was herself again. She always mentioned how much fun she has spending time with you, how you helped her to see the city in a new light…how she was able to be happy again.”
Robert felt himself smile, knowing that he had made as much of a positive impact on Rainbow’s life made him feel better.
But, he knew there was something else, so he decided to change the topic.
“Thank you for that Twilight…really thank you…but can you tell me about that weather phenomenon now? What does it have to do with me?”
The unicorn nodded. “Very well, I do owe you that.”
The pony looked Robert in the eye. “Robert have you, and be honest, been feeling ill lately?”
Robert sighed. “A bit, it’s mostly headaches, fatigue, and this ringing in my ears.”
Twilight nodded sagely. “I see, and when did this start?”
“…about a month ago, it’s gotten a bit worse though.”
“Have you been having strange dreams?”
Robert balked. He didn’t feel too inclined to tell her about his recurring nightmare, but if she did know something…
“…Yes…a recurring dream.”
“How often do you have this dream? How long have you had it?”
“Every night for the past several months…but it has gotten a bit more vivid…”
Twilight frowned. “Robert I’m sure you’ve heard how your world will eventually mirror that of Equestria, and how humanity in its current form will not be able to survive the change.”
A chill Ran down Robert’s spine.
“Are…are you saying-”
“I don’t know Robert. There is no way to be sure, but your symptoms sound similar to other cases.”
Twilight nodded towards the television. “What is occurring right now is your world’s environment reacting to the magical energy of Equestria. Apparently, early this morning, the amount of energy here in New York, as well as the entire eastern seaboard, has reached a critical level.”
Twilight gazed at Robert sadly. “If you continue to be exposed to it your mind and body will progressively deteriorate until…” Twilight shook her head.
Robert blankly stared at the pony in front of him. Was she serious? He was going to die? Go insane? Both? He felt the world spin as the painful throb in his head intensified. This was too much, too fast.
“This is insane…” Robert gasped, trying to regain his composure. “First you tell me one of…no…my best friend will be walking out of my life in a little more than a week, and then that if I remain here in the city I have spent my entire life, I am going to eventually die?”
Twilight looked away with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry Robert. We never wanted it to be this way; we wanted humans to have more time to choose…”
“Can it be stopped?” Twilight shook her head grimly.
“I don’t get it…if the entire world is going to be eventually saturated in this energy what does that mean for people who choose to remain human?”
Twilight wiped her eyes. “Shield cities will be established all over the world. Within them people will be safe from the energy of Equestria. I don’t know the specifics, but apparently the same human/pony joint think tank that came up with the ponification technology has discovered a way to shelter widespread areas from harm.” She smiled at Robert. “I could get a recommendation from the Princess to give you first priority residence as soon as the first one is built. It’s the least I could do for such a good friend of Rainbow Dash.”
Robert leaned back in his chair. The thought of leaving New York didn’t sit very well with him…but he could probably adapt, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Twilight studied the human’s face. “…Leaving the city isn’t what’s bothering you is it?”
Damn it. Transparent as always.
“…Its Rainbow Dash isn’t it?”
Robert said nothing. Twilight took his silence as a confirmation.
“Robert…there is always conversion.”
Robert felt his jaw involuntarily tighten. His gaze bored into the pony before him; Twilight felt herself shrink slightly under its intensity.
“It really isn’t as bad as the HLF has made it out to be. Think about it Robert, you could remain in the city if you wanted, or you could come to Equestria to stay close to Rainbow Dash.” Twilight took a deep breath. “And I’m sure there are people in your life that have undergone the procedure you would like to see again…am I wrong Robert?”
“…how long?”
Twilight blinked. “What?”
“How long do I have?”
The unicorn scratched the back of her head in thought. “Given the slow development of your physical symptoms and mental degradation…and the fact they will be accelerated now that the Equestrian energy has reached the mainland…roughly two weeks before you would need to be hospitalized…and a few days after that point before death.” She sighed. “Of course that is a very rough calculation, and we do not have much evidence to go on. It appears every human is affected differently; you could succumb to the energy sooner or later than the projected time.”
Robert stood. “Thank you for everything Twilight. It’s been a pleasure.” He turned away from the table, but glanced back at the Unicorn. “I’ll be sure tell Rarity how to find you if I see her.”
As he began to walk towards the exit, he could barely make out Twilight wishing him good luck before he passed through the boundaries of the silence spell and the sounds of the library filled his ears once more.
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Hurricane Puncher
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1058
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Applejack,Original Character,Other,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rainbow Dash,Rarity,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Conversion Bureau: Change of Life
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<p>Robert Parker is a 24 year old ex-web developer living in New York city. In the wake of the conversion movement, he has seemingly lost everything. Haunted by the same nightmare every night, he soon realizes that he must make a choice.</p><br/><p>To those unfamiliar with the Conversion Bureau: it is a scenario created by an author named blaze in which Ponies either appear in the human world or have lived beside humans without incident for millennia. One day, in the face of all the damage humanity has done to its world, the ponies offer a solution: undergo conversion to become a pony and allow the world to be inundated with Equestria's influence: thus healing it and bring forth a golden age. </p><p>Many different authors have taken many different approaches to this idea, all of them are worth checking out. </p><p><a href="http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html</a> (The current thread)<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html</a> (The compilation post on EQDaily. *NOT UPDATED*)</p>
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teen
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2011-09-27T02:19:02+00:00
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2011-09-27T02:19:02+00:00
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The Conversion Bureau
Change of Life
Part 4: A trot down memory lane
Rainbow Dash trotted back towards Amsterdam Avenue after her lunch with Rarity. Her friend had helped put her at ease, and she had resolved to talk to Robert about his condition. Nevertheless she still felt anxious; what if he immediately shot her down? What if he became so outraged he didn’t want to be her friend anymore?
The Pegasus shook her head. “Nah, there’s no way that would happen.” She said to herself chuckling nervously.
Even if that didn’t happen though…what if Robert still refused to be ponified? What if he chose to stay here in the city? What if..
She shook her head even more violently. She would not let that happen. Even if she had to grab him by her teeth and fly him out of New York, she would never let Robert die. Despite her conviction, Rainbow felt a weight in her chest that she couldn’t quite place, and an unease that refused to leave her mind.
She looked up into the clear blue sky; at times like these flying helped clear her head. She would do a few laps around Manhattan and be at central park in ten seconds flat. She crouched low, and with a mighty push of her legs and flap of her wings, was airborne.
Immediately, Rainbow noticed that something was different. Pegasi were beings of the sky, it was in their nature to be able to feel things about the air, the winds, the clouds; and one of the things Rainbow had hated about her new home was how dirty the air in New York was. Now however, the air felt…it felt just like home. It was clean, it ran through her coat and feathers just like it did in Ponyville, it even smelled like back home. For a few blissful moments Rainbow allowed herself to glide into the heavens, not a care in her-
At some point either yesterday or early this morning, the amount of magical energy along the eastern seaboard reached a critical level, enough to begin affecting the environment. That is why the weather has changed.
Rainbow’s eyes snapped open. Of course, the air didn’t feel like home; New York City was technically becoming home, as was the rest of the east coast and soon the entire world. At this revelation, the pegasus’ thoughts immediately returned to her human friend. Flying around the city obviously wasn’t going to make her feel better; she needed to talk to him, to make sure he would be safe.
With a heavy sigh she turned sharply toward the expanse of green below her.
------------------------------
As Robert left the library he dug into his pocket for his smokes. After everything he had just heard he damn well deserved one right about now. Outside, he lit the cancer stick and took a long drag, relishing the numbing sensation of the nicotine across his brain.
He may have left Twilight looking like he had a plan in mind, but in reality he had no idea what to do. In a week and a half Rainbow would be gone; in two he would be dead. The gravity of the situation began to dawn on him as he sat down on a nearby bench.
He had sworn to himself, sworn that he would never get ponified; sworn that he would keep his human form and some semblance of his former life at any cost. Yet now, in the face of ‘any cost’, his oath was beginning to seem very hollow. He could remain human, never see Rainbow again, and either die or flee his home to live in a shield city. Or…the alternative; swallow his pride and relinquish his current form…then he could stay in New York…he could see Rainbow…he could even see his family again…
Could it really be so simple? Could the answer have been before him all this time and he had just been too stubborn to see it? Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it sounded, after all his neighbor claimed to have never felt better after undergoing the process.
And yet…some unexplainable feeling gripped him, a dark wall erected itself between his train of thought and the idea of conversion. It was impossible, he couldn’t do it. The mere idea of becoming a pony was so…so…what? What? What was it? Why couldn’t he fathom the idea? Something was holding him back, preventing him from making such a logical and simple choice. Disgust…no…anger…no, he had made peace with their kind and their goal…what…what was it?
He knew the emotion, he knew the reason, from his dreams, but in the waking world it refused to come to him. He could remember everything from his dream except the one feeling that had completely and utterly filled him as he stared across the chasm, beyond the veil, at the shadows of those who had gone before.
Why?
What was stopping him?
What was the feeling?
Why couldn’t he remember?
Why-
“OW, FUCK!” Robert whipped the cigarette to the ground in anger. He had been sitting on the bench for so long lost in thought that it had burned down to his fingers.
He licked his burned finger absentmindedly as he stood and began to make his way toward central park. He needed to talk to her, to make sure that he was still sane…
------------------------------
Rainbow fluttered down to a bench in front of the entrance of the park. She glanced around, and seeing no sign of Robert, decided to just sit for a while and collect her thoughts.
How was she going to do this? It was no secret that Robert didn’t want to become a pony. So the only other option would be for him to leave New York.
…but that wasn’t enough. She didn’t know why, but the idea of never seeing Robert again made her heart sink to the bottom of her chest. They were friends…but she had grown close to the shaggy human…she didn’t want to lose him in any sense.
The pegasus looked up into the bright afternoon sky. She recognized these buildings, from the night they had met…and like the breeze that flowed through her Rainbow mane, she allowed the memories to come to the surface.
------------------------------
The chilly air nipped at her skin as she rocketed through the twilit sky. It had been another hard day at work and she needed this evening flight to get her head together. She snorted derisively as she took a wide arc around a skyscraper.
The hay did they know? She was the greatest flyer in all of Equestria; she didn’t need to follow their stupid protocols and regulations. Plus, how was she supposed to know that doing loops around the George Washington Bridge was prohibited?
“So lame.” She said to herself through clenched teeth. “Those newfoals are never gonna be good flyers being held back like that.”
It had been two weeks since she came to New York City, and she had hated almost every minute of it. The people were rude, the air was filthy, and these newfoals were just so…green. Everything had to be explained to them; from how to flap their wings to where they were supposed to do their business. It was exhausting dealing with them day in and day out, and today she decided to mix it up a bit by taking the converts to the borough bridges for some more… “advanced” maneuvers. Management hadn’t liked that one bit. This was her second strike; one more and she would be fired.
She dipped low, her hooves skimming the trees planted along the streets. This elicited many gasps and cries from the humans that walked the sidewalks below, much to her satisfaction. She grinned and pumped her wings harder as she streaked towards an office building only to pull up at the last moment before impact, flying vertically parallel to the building’s window-covered face.
“So what if I’m hard on them?”
She flew faster.
“They need a good teacher.”
She climbed higher.
“And I am the best.”
She was nearing the roof of the skyscraper.
“I don’t need anyone or anypony in this stupid city!”
She crested the edge of the roof…and was met by the large lightning rod that rested upon it. In a snap decision she rolled right and narrowly missed colliding with the object.
“Whew.” The pegasus exhaled in relief. It was true what they said in the Junior Speedsters; ‘Never fly angry.’ But Rainbow Dash hadn’t really taken that lesson to heart. Flying always helped clear her head; she may take to the skies angry, but she always landed in good spirits, and tonight was no exception. The near miss with the lightning rod had given her a thrill that helped to push the day’s hardships from her mind.
Weaving into another corridor of buildings, she accelerated and began to climb. Humans in the surrounding skyscrapers could be seen gaping in awe as the Rainbow streak screamed past their windows.
Eventually the pegasus ascended far beyond the tops of the skyscrapers, and was greeted by the site Manhattan’s multitude of buildings, their windows stained by the reflected pinks and golds of the setting sun. If only she could stay up here until she had to return to Equestria, if only she could just fly forever and never return to the ground.
If only she could just meet someone who wasn’t a total lame-o in this Celestia-forsaken-
“WOAH!” Rainbow Dash was taken by surprise as a large gust of wind came off the Hudson and caught her wings. Immediately her flight path was thrown awry and she began to spiral toward the ground. Her vision whirled, her sharp descent painfully obvious as she tried furiously to right herself. Pumping her wings in desperation she managed to pull out of her death-roll and level herself off-
-Just in time to see her own shocked reflection in the sliding glass door before her.
“Oh horseapples.”
-
The first thing she became aware of was the pain. Pain was good; pain meant she was still alive. The second was that she was laying in hundreds of pieces of broken glass, and under them what felt to be carpet. Slowly opening her eyes, she hazarded a look around. She had crashed into what appeared to be a human living room; a light box in the corner, pictures on the end tables and hanging from the walls, and a coffee table mere inches from her head. Thanking Celestia her momentum had stopped before she could split her skull open on the piece of offending furniture, she shakily rose to her hooves, wincing at the pain that shot through her extremities.
She inhaled sharply through her teeth and looked down, dozens of bleeding cuts adorned her chest and forelegs, and she could feel a dozen more on both her back and stomach. She was about to flex her wings for any damage when she suddenly became aware that she wasn’t alone in the room.
“What the FUCK?”
Rainbow whipped her head in the direction of the curse to see a human standing near a hallway. He was roughly six feet tall, brown eyes and hair with a well groomed beard and short haircut. He wore a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants that ended at flip-flops. But the most alarming feature of this human was his face, which was currently twisted in shock and rage. She groaned inwardly. She didn’t need this, not tonight.
“Are you KIDDING ME?”
“Ugh…look I’m sorry dude-”
“Sorry? Sorry?! I just lost my fucking job now I have to replace my goddamned sliding glass door. Do you even know how much those cost? Or do they not have them in ‘horsey-land’?” The human spat while finger quoting ‘horsey-land’.
The pegasus gritted her teeth, partly in pain, partly in shame, but mostly in anger. These humans were all the same, only thinking about themselves, never about anyone or anything else. She took a few shaky steps forward.
“I said I was sorry dude. It was an accident. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go.”
“What?! You break my shit and then leave? I thought you ponies were all about kindness and friendship and all of that horseshit.”
That was it. Rainbow, who had been turning to leave through the broken door whipped around, ready to give this human a piece of her mind.
“LOOK YOU-” She began but gasped as pain, like a lance of fire shot down her side. She fell over as the muscles in her side and flank seized up, assaulting her brain in mind-numbing agony.
The human, who had until a moment ago looked like he was going to throttle the little pony, now wore an expression of mild concern. Through her hazed vision she saw the human’s eyes wander over her body, obviously now seeing the full extent of her injuries.
“Hey…hey are you alright?”
“Fine.” She seethed through gritted teeth. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out from under her as she fell once more.
“You aren’t fine.” The human said while taking a few steps forward. Rainbow immediately tried to stand once more and move away from the human, only to stumble painfully into the wall and slide back down to the floor.
The human advanced further and Rainbow began to quiver. This was it; she had heard the stories about humans, what they were capable of. For a brief moment she thought she was going to die at the hands of this monkey, and over a piece of glass no less. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
The sound of another sliding glass door opening could be heard outside, and Rainbow felt the human walk past her onto the balcony.
“Hey Rob, everything al- HOLY SHIT what happened to your door?!”
Oh great. This was the last thing she needed. Now everyone would know, know that Rainbow ‘Crash’ blew her Conversion bureau assignment two weeks in. She would be a failure, to her friends, to her princess, to her kind. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes from the combination of pain and humiliation.
“Uh…some punk-ass threw a rock or something.”
The pegasus’ eyes snapped open. What? He was covering for her?
“Seriously? Kid must have had some arm to hit your door all the way up here.”
“Yeah…anyway I have to get back inside and clean up. I’ll see you tomorrow Mr. Miller.”
“John!”
“Right, hehe, John.”
Footsteps, then the sound of the door closing could be heard as the human, Rob apparently, walked back through the shattered door and looked down at the Rainbow-maned pegasus. Their eyes met, Rob’s deep brown peering deeply into Rainbow’s pained magenta. For a while he seemed to be lost in thought before briskly walking to the hallway and then out of sight.
He was letting her go? It was now or never. Rainbow Dash tried to stand once more, to get outside and escape, but her legs wouldn’t respond, only shooting pain met her feeble attempts to move.
The human came back into the room, a white case with a red cross on the cover in one hand and a bundle of towels in the other. He carefully laid the towels onto the couch and placed the white case onto the table before turning to the pony.
“Looks like you won’t be going anywhere for a while.” Rob said while walking over to Rainbow Dash’s prone form. He knelt down in front of her.
“Can you stand?” She shook her head meekly.
The human gently wrapped his arms around the pony’s body and lifted her into his chest. She struggled weakly as he carried her over to the couch and laid her down on the towels.
“W…what are you doing?” Rainbow asked in a worried tone.
“Cleaning you up. Humans have enough trouble as it is nowadays, can’t have you dying here in my apartment; it wouldn’t look good.”
“I don’t need any help!” she spat defiantly. The human merely shook his head and knelt down in front of the couch, looking over the injured pegasus’ body once more.
“You’ve got at least two, maybe three dozen cuts, and judging by your pain severe bruising. Trust me, you need help.”
Rainbow was about to retort when she noticed that the human’s once white t-shirt now bore large blotches of crimson; her blood. Was she really bleeding that badly?
Rob took one of the towels, which he had apparently dampened and covered in soap, and gently began to clean the cuts on her side as well as her now stained coat. The pony winced as he went about his work, slowly and deliberately washing the wounds and the areas around them.
“…why are you helping me?”
“I told you already.”
“I mean really.”
The human shrugged. “You’re hurt. That’s reason enough.”
Rob gently rolled the pony onto her stomach, careful not to cause her any pain.
“But…what about your door?”
The human glanced at the shattered portal. Shards could be seen strewn all over the carpet as well as the balcony. Cold wind was beginning to blow in from the night, chilling the room. He gave a weary sigh.
“It’s a door. It can be replaced.”
He continued his work, carefully cleaning the wounds on her back. Rainbow felt the damp cloth near the base of her wings, where they connected to her shoulders and felt another surge of anxiety.
“My wings-”
“What?”
“My wings…are they alright?”
She felt the human gently lift each wing and extend it to its full span. “Any pain when I do that?”
She weakly shook her head.
“Then I’m going to guess they are alright. They don’t look injured and seem to still have all their feathers.”
The pony let out a long shuddering sigh of relief. If she had lost her wings…she may as well have died in that crash. Her wings made her who she was, to lose them would be the same as losing her purpose.
Rob slowly rolled the pony onto her other side, cleaning the wounds on the opposite end and, rolling her back onto her stomach, began to clean her forelegs. ‘He’s being very gentle’ Rainbow thought absentmindedly. She had been in flight accidents before, and never had the nurse ponies that treated her been so careful.
Eventually the human finished cleaning the wounds on her forelegs and turned back to the coffee table. He opened up the white case and pulled out some anti-bacterial spray and a bit of gauze. The pony eyed the human medicine warily. “What are you gonna do to me?”
“Relax. I have to disinfect the wounds before I bandage them.” Rob replied while spraying the gauze with the antiseptic. “Now, this is going to sting a bit, so try to bear with it.”
He began to wipe down the cuts and abrasions on the pony’s back, who hissed and kicked her legs weakly. Ponyfeathers that did sting. The pony elicited small gasps of pain and groans as the human methodically went about his work. After carefully cleaning and bandaging her sides and back, he moved onto her forelegs.
“So-” Rob began, trying to spark some conversation. “-I’m going to guess you’re actually a convert?”
“What? What makes you say that?”
“Well the convert pegasi aren’t very good fliers at the start, so-”
Despite her pain, Rainbow was able to shoot the human a glare that could cow a manticore.
“Oh. Alright my bad, so you’re an immigrant…this happen often?”
“No.” The pegasus replied harshly. “I got caught off guard by an updraft. That’s all.”
“Uh-huh.” Rob replied half-listening as he began to bandage the wounds on her legs. “Where you from?”
“What?”
“Where are you from, if you aren’t a convert?”
“Uh…Equestria duh. Or as you said: ‘horsey-land’.”
“Heh…sorry. It’s just been one of those days you know?”
“Tell me about it.”
The two looked at each other and for the first time shared a smile before Rob turned back to the task at hand.
“So…where from in Equestria?”
“Ponyville.”
Immediately Rainbow felt the human stop his ministrations, she glanced up to see that his expression had become hardened.
“Uh…you alright dude?”
“What? Oh…yeah. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.” Rainbow scoffed. “You got a problem with Ponyville?”
“…no.”
“....If you say so.” The pony replied, apparently unconvinced.
Rob finished working on her forelegs and began to turn her onto her back. Startled; Rainbow Dash shot Robert with a look of annoyance. “The hay you think you’re doin’?”
“You’ve got a lot of cuts on your stomach, I need to treat them.”
The pony stared at Rob for a few long moments before relenting. “Fine. But no funny business or ill buck your head off.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” The human deadpanned.
Rob took the damp soapy cloth, which Rainbow noticed was stained a dark crimson by this point, and repeated the process that he had used on her sides, back and legs. He then turned back to the medical case and retrieved some fresh gauze and bandages. Spraying the new gauze with the antiseptic he turned back to the pony.
“What brings you to New York?” The human asked as he pressed the gauze to the first wound.
Through the fresh haze of stinging pain she felt, Rainbow managed to grunt out an appropriate response.
“None of your beezewax.”
“Har har. No seriously, why? From what I’ve heard your country is supposed to be paradise, why come to this overcrowded and polluted city?”
The pony was silent for a moment before replying. “Because I had to.”
“Had to? Why?”
“It’s my duty, or something.”
“…come again?”
The pegasus sighed in annoyance. “Me and my five friends were sent by our princesses to the human world to oversee the first bureaus and learn about human culture.”
“Wow. Sounds like quite an honor.”
“Pfft. Yeah, real honor. I hate this city.”
The human, who was now half way down her stomach stopped for a moment to frown at the pony.
“Really? How long you been here?”
“Two weeks.”
“Psh. That’s not entirely fair now is it? You can’t see everything New York has to offer in two weeks. It takes a while to feel the soul of this city, its pulse, and once you do I’m sure you’ll change your mind.”
“The people are rude.”
“Only because they have to be. Once you get to know them they are fine people.”
“The air smells.”
“Comes with the fact that it’s a city. We don’t have magic here in the human world, only industry. You’ll get used to it, it gives the city character.”
“There’s nothing fun to do.”
“Oh now that’s just not true. Have you been to Broadway? Central Park? Any one of the hundreds of clubs and restaurants? Again once you’ve been here long enough you’ll see how much fun New York can be.”
“…you love it here don’t you?”
“Kind of obligated to.” Rob said with a chuckle. “I’ve lived here all my life.”
“Seriously?” the pony asked in disbelief.
The human shrugged. “Yeah…is that weird?”
“Not really…but I don’t think I could have grown up here.”
He smiled. “Well when it’s all you know, you don’t really think about anything else. I don’t think I could have grown up in the country, or even the suburbs. I’m a city boy and always will be.”
That made sense. Rainbow had grown up in Cloudsdale, and it took some time to adjust to the terrestrial Ponyville. Maybe…maybe she’d learn to see New York through this human’s eyes…maybe.
The pony decided to change the subject. “You said you lost your job…we’re you a doctor or something?”
The human shook his head. “No…worked with computers. I volunteered at a few animal clinics in college though and managed to pick up a few things.”
“…how’d ya lose your job?”
“The Conversion movement.” Rob replied curtly as he finished patching up her stomach.
“Horseapples.” Rainbow scoffed as she rolled back onto her side. “What do we have to do with that?”
Rob sat back against the coffee table, rubbing his eyes. “A week after the bureaus opened half of our office got ponified. Eventually the higher ups at corporate decided that our branch, as well as the entire company could no longer be feasibly maintained and well…I got sacked…”
“Oh…I’m…sorry I guess?”
Rob snorted. “Not your fault really.” He glanced at the pony, and grabbed the soapy cloth once more.
“What, there’s more?”
…“Yeah, you have a few cuts on your face.” He said as he extended a hand toward her.
Rainbow shrunk back reflexively, but, looking away, relented and allowed the human to cradle her cheek as he began to wipe down the wounds she couldn’t see. For a while the pony said nothing, save the occasional groan of pain. Eventually her magenta eyes fell upon the human, who wore a look of focus, and yet also serenity. Gone completely was the hateful curse spitting being from earlier and in its place was…this man, this plain unassuming man that, despite having every reason not to, was helping her.
Rob placed the bloody cloth back on the towels and reached for the anti-septic covered gauze.
Rainbow winced as he began to carefully disinfect the cuts on her cheeks.
“Don’t worry I’m almost done.”
“I sure hope so.” The pony said through gritted teeth.
As the human finished disinfecting and bandaging her cheeks, he carefully swept her multicolored bangs up to clean her forehead. Rainbow noticed that he was smiling.
“What you smilin’ about?”
He blinked in surprise and chuckled. “Oh, it’s nothing really.”
“Yeah right, what is it?” The pony pushed in an annoyed tone.
Rob shrugged. “I just noticed that you have very pretty eyes.” His smile broke into a grin when he saw the blush that rose to her muzzle.
“W-what you tryin to pull?”
“What? Nothing, it was just an observation that’s all.”
“You hittin’ on me or something?”
“Again, it was just an observation, no need to get bent out of shape.”
“Cuz if you are-“
“Im being serious!” The human said with a smile. “We humans don’t have a very large selection when it comes to eye color.” He explained as he began to bandage her forehead. “We’ve got Brown, blue, green, and variations of those three. You ponies seem to run the entire spectrum, and I just thought that magenta eyes are in fact very beautiful now that I’ve seen them up close.”
The pony looked away, still blushing. “Yeah well…whatever.”
The human chuckled again. “So…you got somebody?”
“What?! Listen here-“
“And done!” the human exclaimed with a triumphant smile.
“R-really?”
“Yep. Isn’t it funny how conversation helps time fly?”
The pegasus blinked as it hit her; the questions, the jokes…he was helping her cope with the pain while he fixed her up and as much as she hated to admit it…it really did make the process go smoother.
Rob sat back against the coffee table. He reached across its surface and picked up a small box and an even smaller plastic device. Opening the box, he pulled out what looked to be a white paper cylinder with a brown end, which he placed in his mouth. He ran his thumb across the top of the plastic object, and to Rainbow’s surprise, a tiny flame erupted from it. The human lit the end of the paper cylinder and seemed to inhale through it; he pulled the lit cylinder from his mouth and exhaled a large plume of smoke toward the ceiling.
“I thought you humans didn’t have magic?”
“Hm? Oh. This?” Rob asked holding up the plastic object. “This is just a lighter. It’s filled with flammable liquid which comes out when you hit this small red button. When you run your finger along this wheel it creates a spark that lights the fluid, making the flame. No magic, just technology.”
“Oh…what…what are you doing exactly?” Rainbow asked as she wrinkled her nose at the smell of the smoke.
“Smoking.” He replied wearily as he threw the small box and lighter back onto the table. “Terrible habit…very unhealthy.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“I’m addicted.”
“Addicted? It smells bad and it’s unhealthy, why would you be addicted?”
He shook his head. “Just been…one of those days.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” The human said as he stood. He glanced toward the door with a frown. “I’ll be right back.” With that the human walked into the hallway and out of sight once more.
Rainbow laid her head down onto the couch cushion, her head was spinning with questions and the dull throbbing from her body. These were humans? This was nothing like she had heard before she came to this city. Humans were mean, savage, and they killed without mercy. Part of the conversion movement’s purpose was to save the humans from themselves, from their own nature. Yet…everything she had just experienced seemed to point to the contrary. She had destroyed a human’s property, inconvenienced him, offenses that humans were known to harm and even kill each-other over. Sure he had been mad, and for good reason, yet rather than hurt her, or even kick her out of his home…he forgave her…treated her wounds…and even let her sleep on this really comfortable-
“How do your muscles feel?”
The question snapped Rainbow out of her dozing thoughts. The human was standing in the room again, and he had placed what appeared to be a large black cushion against the broken door to block the cold air from coming in. The floor had been swept clean of the broken glass…even the bloody towels that she had been resting on had been exchanged for clean sheets, and a pillow under her head. She must have fallen asleep.
“What?”
“Your muscles: they hurt right?”
Rainbow tentatively extended one of her back legs and winced.
Without a word the human reached back into the white case and pulled out a small pouch. Tearing it open he pulled out two small pills and walked over to the pony. He knelt down and gently lifted her head.
“These will help with the pain; they’re sugar coated so you’ll be able to swallow them without water.”
Rainbow nodded wearily and opened her mouth, into which the human popped the two capsules. She swallowed then with a bit of effort as the human lowered her head back down to the pillow.
“Now just rest. We’ll see how you feel in the morning.”
“Alright…”
The human turned to leave.
“Wait!” Rainbow called weakly.
He looked back to the pony.
“…thank you.”
Rob smiled. “Good night.”
As the medication dulled her pain, Rainbow Dash slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.
-
Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened slowly as the first rays of sunlight fell upon her face. The first thing she became aware of was the lack of pain. The second was the blanket she didn’t remember falling asleep with. The third was the human sleeping in the recliner next to the couch.
She stood up and stretched; there was still some soreness but she would at least be able to move. She gave her wings a test-flap; they were fine as well. The human let out a loud snore, eliciting a giggle from the pony. Taking the blanket in her teeth, she fluttered into the air and gently laid it on top of the man who showed her so much kindness the night before.
“Thanks.” She whispered into his ear, to which Rob gave only a sleeping mumble in reply.
Trotting over to the large black mattress, she nosed her way through it and the door frame, walking onto the balcony. The crisp morning air felt refreshing and she flared her wings out to feel the breeze against her feathers.
“Hm? Who are you?”
With a start, the pony turned to the neighboring balcony and saw a middle-aged man wearing a brown robe holding a mug of coffee.
The older human’s eyes wandered over the multitude of bandages on the pony, then to the broken door.
“Ah…I’m going to guess you’re the ‘rock’ that flew through Robert’s door?”
Rainbow looked away sheepishly, but felt a prick of anger flare up when she heard the human let out a deep guffaw.
“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.” She said as her face tinged red with embarrassment.
“Oh I’m not laughing at you.”
“What?”
The human took a gulp of coffee before answering. “It’s just that he never changes, that Rob.”
The pony tilted her head. “How do you mean?”
“He’s always trying to help people…and apparently ponies.” He walked over to the railing and extended a hand. “Name’s John. John Miller.”
Rainbow tentatively extended a hoof, which the human gripped and gave a quick shake before turning back to the rapidly brightening skyline.
“He’s always been like that. He puts up a cold front, but he’s a real saint when you can get through to him.” He glanced back to the pegasus. “And it looks like you did just that.”
“I didn’t ask him to help me.” Rainbow said.
“Yeah but I’m sure he wouldn’t take no for an answer right?” John took her silence as a confirmation.
“Figured as much.” He said with a sigh. “He really needs to look out for himself more.”
“What do you mean?”
John took another gulp of coffee before continuing. “He’s in a really bad way right now. Just lost his job…”
“Yeah he told me...”
“…and his family.”
“Wait, what?” Rainbow asked in shock. “How did he lose his family?”
“Apparently they all got ponified; Parents, brother, cousin…and his best friend came by yesterday to drop something off before heading to the bureau himself.” He smiled sadly at the pegasus. “He’s all alone now.”
Rainbow was at a loss for words as she glanced back at the mattress. Not only his job but the movement had taken his family too…
For a while the two stood in silence, John gazing out across the city, Rainbow staring at the ground lost in thought.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why did he help me?” Rainbow asked, peering at the aged human. “If the Conversion movement took so much from him why did he help me?”
John shrugged. “It’s just the way he is.”
Rainbow said nothing as she turned toward the skyline, her expression a mix of confusion but also resolve. “Can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Tell Robert that…I’m really grateful for everything…and that I’ll be seeing him soon.”
Without waiting for a response Rainbow Dash took to the skies. As she turned toward Brooklyn, she thought about the Manhattan mailpony position that had just opened.
------------------------------
“Rainbow Dash?”
Hearing her name, Rainbow snapped out of her dream-like reverie to see Robert standing before her.
“Oh! Heya.” She said with a smile.
“Hey…you alright?”
“What? Oh! Yeah hehe, was just thinking about things.”
“Huh…alright, shall we?” Robert answered as he gestured toward the park that lay just ahead.
The pegasus glanced to where Robert was gesturing, then back at him, then back toward the park.
“Right! The park. Yeah.” Rainbow replied with a smile.
Rainbow fluttered off the bench and the two friends made their way into Central Park.
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Hurricane Puncher
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1058
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Applejack,Original Character,Other,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rainbow Dash,Rarity,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Conversion Bureau: Change of Life
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incomplete
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<p>Robert Parker is a 24 year old ex-web developer living in New York city. In the wake of the conversion movement, he has seemingly lost everything. Haunted by the same nightmare every night, he soon realizes that he must make a choice.</p><br/><p>To those unfamiliar with the Conversion Bureau: it is a scenario created by an author named blaze in which Ponies either appear in the human world or have lived beside humans without incident for millennia. One day, in the face of all the damage humanity has done to its world, the ponies offer a solution: undergo conversion to become a pony and allow the world to be inundated with Equestria's influence: thus healing it and bring forth a golden age. </p><p>Many different authors have taken many different approaches to this idea, all of them are worth checking out. </p><p><a href="http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html</a> (The current thread)<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html</a> (The compilation post on EQDaily. *NOT UPDATED*)</p>
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teen
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2011-09-27T03:10:09+00:00
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2011-09-27T03:10:09+00:00
| 4,615 |
The Conversion Bureau
Change of Life
Part 5: Acperience I
Robert and Rainbow Dash strolled down one of the park’s many paths, glancing about and taking in the scenery. Ponies could be seen everywhere, some rested on blankets, others galloped about, obviously overjoyed that they had an open expanse in which they could run. Robert noticed that there weren’t any humans in sight.
“So, how was your lunch?” Robert asked.
“Hm? OH! Um, it was...awesome, yeah, awesome.”
Robert quirked an eyebrow. “You sure you’re alright?”
“Uh, psh, yeah. I’m always alright, duh” The pony shot back nervously.
“Right...”
The pegasus was obviously distracted, but Robert didn’t push the issue. His own mind was abuzz with his recent encounter with Twilight Sparkle and the revelations that he had been made aware of. He knew he had to tell Rainbow what he learned, but was at a loss as to how best to approach the topic.
As the pair crested a small hill, Robert caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye.
“HEADS UP!”
However the warning came too late as the red blur streaked straight towards Robert’s head. His eyes snapped shut, bracing for the inevitable impact...but it never came. Opening his eyes, he was greeted with a relieving yet extremely comical sight. Rainbow was fluttering at eye level, a red Frisbee hanging out of her mouth. The pony cast a baleful glare in the direction from which the offending disk had been thrown. A navy blue colt with a silver mane and tail stood a few feet away, breathing heavily with a look of embarrassment on his face.
Taking a few more deep breaths, he flashed Robert a sheepish grin. “Sorry bro, my friend has a real sucky throw.”
“Yhhh wll, yw shld be mwr crf-” Rainbow spat the plastic disk to the ground. “Yeah well, you should be more careful dude.” she repeated with disdain. The colt shrunk a bit under her gaze.
“Yeah I know sorry again bro.” The colt mumbled apologetically.
“Hey no harm no foul man.” Robert said while stooping down to grab the disk. With a practiced flick, he sent it sailing over to the colt who caught it in his mouth.
“Thnnks bwo!” The colt called before turning tail and galloping back down the hill towards his friend.
“Seems like a nice kid.” Robert said thoughtfully.
“I guess. Bit of a featherbrain though.” The pegasus replied with a snort.
“Thanks by the way.” The human said with a smile.
Rainbow giggled. “Don’t worry about it. Nothings faster than me, ‘specially not some dumb Frisbee.”
Laughing, the two friends made their way further into the park.
“So, now that we’re here, what do you want to do?” asked the human as they continued walking.
“Um...hm...well...” The pony stopped and scratched her head. “I guess we could find that huuuge oak tree we like to sit under.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Robert replied with a grin.
The ‘huuuge’ oak tree was in fact one of the largest trees within the park. Standing almost one hundred feet tall, it had become their favorite hang-out when the weather started to become a bit more comfortable. Rainbow had found it during one of her fly-overs of the city, and practically begged Robert to go there with her to check it out. She often mentioned that despite how large it was, Equestria had bigger. Making their way through a copse of trees, they saw their destination in the distance; a gargantuan oak crowning a particularly large hill.
“There it is!” Rainbow cried with glee as she shot a few feet into the air. She stared at the tree for a few seconds before turning to Robert with a face full of mischief. “Race ya.” she challenged with a grin.
“Ah...I dunno Rainbow, you’ll beat me for sure.”
“Aw C’MON!” The pony whined. “You could at least try dude.”
“Ehh...” Robert looked around, and his eyes widened they caught glimpse of something else in the distance.
“Hey, why don’t you head on over. I just need to go grab something.”
“Wha-” Rainbow began but Robert had already begun to jog down a different path, toward the distant fence of the park.
“Psh. Fine.” Rainbow sighed dejectedly to no one. With a flap she sailed toward the tree.
------------------------------
Robert reached his destination slightly out of breath. Before him, on the sidewalk parallel to the park’s fence, sat a veritable relic of city life; the last of a dying breed: the rare and elusive hot dog stand.
His stomach roared in approval as he approached the cart. Licking his lips, he eyed the smorgasbord of processed meat and condiments. The cart’s proprietor, who had been ducking behind the cart as Robert approached it, stood up to meet his customer.
“Holy Shit! Alvaro!” Robert exclaimed in surprise.
“Well, if it isn’t Robert.” Alvaro greeted in his thick accent.
Alvaro Reyes. He ran one of the most successful hot dog stands around central park, and Robert had always been a frequent customer.
“I haven’t seen you in forever man! How are things?”
Alvaro flashed one of his trademark smiles, though Robert could tell it was shadowed by fatigue. “Well. Things are well.”
Robert glanced around. In the past this hot dog stand would be crowded with people, especially on such a nice day.
“Ai, so you’ve noticed.” The older man sighed. “Not much business for a hot dog peddler when the entire city’s goin’ vegetarian. Mierda, you’re the first customer I’ve had in almost three days now.”
Robert frowned. “Damn, sorry to hear man.”
“Ey, is’alright. Now what can I get ya?”
“The usual, hold the mustard, and light on the relish.”
As Alvaro went about preparing Robert’s order, he let out another long sigh. “Thinkin’ about just closin’ up for good ya know? Meat’s a dyin’ industry now. Soon its all gonna be bakeries and vegetarian markets.” He handed Robert his order.
“Have you tried veggie dogs?” Robert asked with a grin.
Alvaro let out a guffaw. “Yeah; didn’t go well at all. Something about the texture and taste still being like meat didn’t sit very well with the little horsies.”
Robert frowned. “Shit...I’d really hate to see you go man, your stand was always the best.”
“Muchas gracias mi amigo; that means a lot.” Alvaro leaned forward with his elbows on top of his cart, glancing around at the buildings, and the ponies that milled around them. “You wouldn’t believe the looks I get from them, like I am scum or sometheeng. Yo estoy muy cansado of all of it.”
“Hey, just try to ignore them man, we all have to make a living.”
“Si...but I don’t think I am going to make it here, not anymore.” Alavaro sighed, his smile all but gone. “Hate to say it, but you’re my last customer Robert, here in New York anyways.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Si. Me and a few primos will be making our way west. We’ll settle in each town that hasn’t been hit by the bureaus yet, and then when we reach the west coast, if there isn’t anyone else we can sell to, we’ll just go and get it over with, sabes?”
Robert looked down to the ground. Another one gone. He wondered how many would end up losing their livelihoods before this was finished. Then, a question came to mind.
“Just curious, how come you haven’t already? Underwent conversion I mean.”
Alvaro’s smile returned. “Most likely the same reason you haven’t yet Robert.”
With that, Alvaro folded a few of the flaps on his cart and collapsed the small canopy that hung over it. Taking this as a cue to leave Robert turned back toward the park.
“Take care of yourself Alvaro.” He called back toward the cart.
“Si, eres tu mi amigo! Nos vemos en otra vida!”
‘Another life huh?’ Robert thought to himself as he entered the park once more.
------------------------------
Rainbow sat in the shade of the large tree, looking out across the park. There were ponies everywhere; all of them engaged in some form of recreation or another. Some tossed balls and Frisbees around, others were flying kites, or at least trying to get them airborne in the sputtering breeze.
‘You have to talk to him Rainbow’
The pegasus groaned and rolled onto her back, staring up through the tree’s numerous branches and the sunlight that filtered through them. Why did this have to be so hard? She knew she had to just come out and ask him, that it would be better to just get it over with.
She closed her eyes, feeling the grass beneath her, hearing the rustling of the leaves in the tree. She could feel herself begin to doze off...
“Ahem.”
Her eyes snapped open. Robert was standing over her with a half-eaten hot dog in his hand and a grin on his face. The pegasus leapt to her hooves, her face red. “What took ya so long.”
“Sorry, was catching up with an acquaintance.” Robert replied as he sat. “Hope you don’t mind.” he said as he waved the hot dog. “I haven’t eaten anything all day.”
“No, its fine.” the pony replied as she sat back down. Her nose wrinkled as the smell of the meat reached her nostrils. “Blech. How do you humans eat that stuff?”
Robert grinned, pointing to his canines. “Theesh help.” He said through his teeth before wolfing down another bite. He then slowly extended the hot dog towards the pony, offering her a bite.
Rainbow made an exaggerated show of sticking her tongue out in her best impression of nausea. “Every time I smell that stuff I gag.”
“Yew don’t know what you’re mishing.” Robert said through the last mouthful of his meal.
His hot dog finished, Robert laid back on the grass. The shade of the oak helped to fend off the day’s oppressive sun, and he too soon felt drowsy. Stifling a yawn, he turned to the pegasus. “You’re being really quiet. Are you sure you’re alright?”
Rainbow, who had appeared lost in thought, perked up. “Yeah, I’m fine. Really.” She replied with a strained smile.
Robert sat back up. “I don’t believe you. You know you can talk to me about anything right? Did something happen at lunch?”
Rainbow didn’t answer immediately, instead she looked up at the cloudless sky. She had to say it, this needed to be done. “Actually Rob there’s...there’s something...”
Robert leaned in closer. “Yeah? What is it?”
“Something...something I want to...to...”
“What?”
“To...show you. Yeah! Show you! A new trick I’ve been working on!”
She groaned inwardly. Why did this have to be so hard!
Robert cocked an eyebrow. “You sure?”
“YEAH! See, It isn’t really down pat so I was a bit worried about showing you that’s all.” She replied with a nervous laugh.
Robert seemed unconvinced, but relented. “Alright then, whenever you’re ready.”
“ ‘kay! Trust me, this is gonna blow your socks off!” With that, she shot into the air. Once she was high enough, she released the sigh she had been holding in. Maybe being in the air would help to collect her thoughts.
------------------------------
Robert sat back, his eyes glued to the sky. He watched as the pegasus dipped, spun, and soared high above the hill where he sat. Rainbow’s tricks always fascinated Robert; the way she moved, how fast she was, the death-defying acts, it always blew him away. Watching her like this helped him to forget about the problems in his life; he could just lose himself in her hypnotic aerial performances. With every hairpin turn, every barrel roll, every dive; Robert’s mind drifted, and eventually his imagination placed him up there with her, flying, soaring...living.
Rainbow’s tricks had begun to draw a crowd; dozens of ponies sat at the base of the hill to get a better look at the performance. ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ could be heard as well as cheers as Rainbow continued to dazzle the crowd with her skill. Eventually, with a final flash (which Robert distinctly remembered was the ‘Buccaneer Blaze’), Rainbow floated back down to the hill. The crowd went nuts as she waved a hoof.
“Thank you, thank you; You are all too kind!” The pegasus yelled with a smirk.
With the show over, the crowd dispersed; returning to their previous activities. Rainbow turned back and trotted up to Robert. “So, whad’ja think?”
Robert grinned. “Awesome. As usual completely awesome...but...”
Rainbow’s bravado-filled smile faltered slightly. “...but?”
“Well, you said you had something new. Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing, but I’ve seen all that before.”
The pony scratched the back of her head. “Yeah...I, uh...really haven’t been able to work on anything new for a while...”
Robert tilted his head to the side. “Then why did you lie?”
The pegasus swallowed hard, and trotted up next to the human and sat. Taking a few deep breaths she looked at Robert, her face filled with resolve.
“Do you enjoy watching me fly Rob?”
The human blinked, and smiled. “Always. You know that.”
The pony nodded slowly. “Have you ever wanted to fly?”
Robert let out a long sigh, and looked back up into the sky. “I think every human dreams of that. Just the absolute freedom of it, no longer being chained by gravity, just flying among the clouds.” He smiled.
“It is probably one of the greatest fantasies of humans everywhere...myself included.”
The pony nodded slowly again. “Have you...ever wanted to fly with me?”
Robert slowly turned back to the pegasus. “...I...suppose I have...yeah...why are you asking me these things Dash?”
Rainbow closed her eyes. It was now or never. “Rob...why won’t you undergo conversion?”
Wham. The question slammed right into Robert’s chest with the force of a bullet.
“W-why are you asking-”
“Tell me.” Rainbow pleaded, now standing. Her magenta eyes filled with emotion. “Please tell me why.”
Robert ran a hand down his face. “I don’t really want to talk about-”
“TELL ME!” Rainbow screamed as she stamped a hoof.
Robert gazed at the pegasus for a long moment before slowly shaking his head. “I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer-”
“WELL ITS ALL I’VE GOT ALRIGHT!?” he yelled, standing. “I-I don’t know why Dash! I really don’t! Every time I think about it I just...” He shook his head violently. “I just can’t.”
Rainbow stamped her hoof again in exasperation. “Rob...when I was with Rarity she...she told me something, something about you. I know you’ve been feeling sick Rob, I know about your dreams...Robert you’re-”
“Dying.”
The pegasus froze in shock. “W-what?...You...you knew?”
“When I left you and Rarity, I went to the HCPS library down on Madison. Twilight Sparkle was there. We started talking...then we saw an emergency broadcast on the TV about the weather...and she told me everything.” He brought a hand to his forehead. “Despite everything she told me...I...” He rubbed his eyes. “I can’t...conversion...evacuating...I just can’t.”
Rainbow stood there, her face a mixture of shock...and growing anger. “You can’t? You can’t?! Robert you are going to die. Die! Don’t you even care?! About yourself?! About me?!”
The human snorted. “I don’t really see where you factor into this.”
What? That...that’s not what-
Rainbow shrunk back, a look of hurt on her face. “The hay do you mean I don’t factor into this?!”
Robert turned toward the pony, his face a mask of indifference. “Twilight didn’t just tell me about my condition. She told me that you were going to be leaving, to return to Equestria in a week and a half. Now, tell me, you ask if I care about you, but if you really cared about me why wouldn’t you tell me about that?”
No...No! What is happening?! I-
The pegasus stood there, wide eyed and mouth agape. “Oh...Oh Celestia Rob...I-I-”
“Forgot? Psh. I’m sure you did. I guess it just wasn’t important to tell me right?” Robert’s face was beginning to twist into the hateful visage from the night that they met.
“No! Robert I-”
“Now that all you’re friends are coming back, I guess it must be weird for you to be hanging out with a human right? Better I just go ahead and get converted so it doesn’t ruin your image.”
“NO! Robert that’s not it at all!” Rainbow cried, looking like she was on the verge of tears.
Stop it. Stop it! For God’s sake why is this happening?!
“Save it. You don’t care. You never did. I was just something to keep you amused until your real friends came to sweep you back to your fairy tale of a home.” Robert spat.
STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP! WHY AM I SAYING THESE THINGS?!
“ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!” Rainbow screamed. She was trembling now, trying her hardest not to break down right there. “I don’t want you to die! I...I want you to stay with me Rob!”
It was out. The weight of that last statement hung heavily in the air around the pair on the hill. Rainbow continued to gaze at Robert, almost pleadingly, waiting for his response. Robert peered back into the eyes of the pony, but gone was the warmth in his eyes, gone was the mirth, the kindness; in their place only a fathomless emptiness. Robert turned on his heel and began to walk down the hill. When he reached the base, he glanced back at Rainbow.
“Go home Dash.” he commanded flatly, and with that, he began to make his way across the park, leaving the hurt pegasus standing there in the shade of the oak tree.
------------------------------
Twilight sparkle trotted down Madison avenue, her saddlebags filled to the brim with books, her thoughts still filled with the encounter she had just had. She hoped Robert would reconsider conversion, for both his and Rainbow’s sakes.
So lost was she in her thoughts that, as she turned onto another street, she didn’t even see the pony right in front of her.
-WHAM-
“Ugh...I’m so sorry I-” Twilight gasped when she saw who it was she bumped into. “Rarity!”
Shaking the stars from her vision, the alabaster pony stood shakily to her hooves. “Twilight! I’ve been looking for you!”
“Really? What is it?”
“Apparently we received a correspondence for you at the Bureau, from the Princess!”
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “Then there’s no time to lose! Take my hoof, I’ll teleport us there right now.”
Rarity lifted a hoof, but stopped.
“What? What is it?”
“There’s something else. I spoke to Rainbow Dash earlier, at lunch. I told her about Robert.”
“R-Really?! That’s crazy, I just met Robert at the library! I told him about his condition!”
Rarity gasped. “T-they said they were going to the park, Rainbow Dash promised to talk to him about it...”
Twilight swallowed nervously. “Do...do you think she managed to change his mind?”
At that moment, a prismatic streak exploded into the sky from behind a nearby building. It soared over the pair, and for a single second, Twilight and Rarity could see the look of anguish on the pegasus’ face before she rocketed out of sight toward Brooklyn.
“Something tells me...no.”
------------------------------
Why?
Why?!
Why did it turn out like this?
Rainbow Dash streaked through the corridors of skyscrapers, her vision blurred with tears. Nothing had gone right, but she should have seen this coming. She should have approached it more gently, instead of barreling headlong into it just like everything else.
Soon, the large thirty story building that was her destination came into view. Shooting straight up; she made a beeline for a window on the top floor. Nosing it open; she glided through the window into her room. Wonderbolts posters adorned every wall, pictures of her friends sat on her nightstand.
Sullenly, she trotted to her bed and laid down. She just wanted to disappear, everything to disappear. Glancing at the nightstand, she reached for a particularly large photo. Taking it in her hooves, she gazed at it as her vision began to blur once again. It was a photo of her and Robert standing in front of the statue of liberty. Robert had one arm around the pegasus, who had struck a pose the moment the picture had been snapped. They were both smiling.
The picture shook violently in her hooves before falling with a dull thud to the floor. There, in the darkness of her room, Rainbow Dash did something she hadn’t allowed herself since she was a filly.
She cried.
------------------------------
It was late in the afternoon now; the sun had begun its slow descent into the west, illuminating the sky and city with vibrant pinks and golds. It was a beautiful sunset that was reflected upon the waters of the Hudson. Ponies and humans alike all across the city sat in admiration of it. Some with loved ones, others by themselves. Truly, such a magnificent sunset hadn’t been seen by the denizens of New York City in many years. But the beauty of that sky; its color, its radiance...none of them reached the eyes of one human who was slowly making his way toward his apartment.
To him...the world was gray. Everything lacked color, life, meaning...
Why?
Why?!
Why did he say those things? He hadn’t meant any of it, the words had never even crossed his mind, yet his mouth had said them. He didn’t even agree with anything he had said, he never once thought that Rainbow Dash didn’t care.
So why was he walking back to his apartment, alone, in a world so gray?
He reached the door to his building just as the sun had finally dipped below the horizon. Entering the lobby; he saw a few ponies going about their business. A few of them acknowledged him with a smile, or a wave, or a ‘Hello’...but he didn’t even respond. He pushed the call button for his elevator, rubbing his eyes. The pain in his head was coming back, as was the ringing in his ears. He just wanted to get back to his apartment.
The elevator reached the ground floor, and as the doors opened, he thanked the powers that be that it was empty. Slowly, the elevator made its inexorable climb to his floor. He leaned against the wall, his head in his hands. Why had he even gone to meet with Rainbow at the park? It had been urgent...he wanted to talk to her to see if he was still sane...
After what had happened, it was painfully obvious that he wasn’t, not anymore.
The elevator reached his floor as the throbbing in his head elevated into rolling waves of pain. Stumbling, he made his way down the hall to his door. Digging into his pockets; he fumbled for his keys.
“Hey, Rob! How was your date?”
He turned slowly, and saw the brown unicorn in the door frame of the neighboring apartment.
“Shit...Rob are you alright? You look like hell.”
He said nothing as he turned back to his door, finally finding the right key, and opened it.
“R-”
-SLAM-
And then all was quiet, all was still. He stumbled into his living room and looked around. White walls, neutral colored furniture...clean, orderly....lifeless...gray
Gray...everything was so gray...where had the colors gone? Where had the control over his life gone? He took a few unsteady steps before falling to his knees. His head felt as though it would split open, the ringing was shattering the silence. Not just the colors now, but the entirety of his vision began to melt away.
He didn’t care. Not anymore. He just wanted to disappear, for everything to disappear.
He got his wish as he fell forward, never feeling the impact with the ground.
------------------------------
“Wait!” He cried out feebly.
His lungs burned, his entire body ached, yet no matter how hard he ran he couldn’t catch up to them.
“Don’t go! Don’t leave me behind! Please!”
Tears stung his eyes as he tried to chase after the retreating forms. He knew all of them, and yet they were as strangers to him. He could recognize them, but he could no longer remember their names.
He had to reach them, before they all disappeared, before they walked out of his life and memory forever.
But his body refused to function correctly; it was like trying to swim through molasses or run through quicksand. And soon, the shadows that he had so desperately called out to, that he had tried to follow, faded from his vision.
Defeated, he fell to his knees and wept. Now there was nobody left; now he was all alone.
‘You’re not alone.’
The darkness of the void shrank away as a prismatic trail of light streaked overhead. It soared high into the rapidly vanishing shadows before shooting straight down, past him, and towards the chasm.
“No…NO! DON’T GO!!!”
He felt his body suddenly free of its dysfunction and gave chase.
The void grew bright as the rainbow reached the edge of the chasm. He was right on its tail, he was so close.
“PLEASE!!”
The multicolored streak arced high into the air over the abyss, but stopped. It coalesced into a sphere which quickly morphed into a four –legged winged form. It shone with prismatic radiance, the color of the light changing as rapidly as it beat its wings. It turned its head back toward the edge of the chasm.
“Please…” he cried. “I’m…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…” he fell to his knees. “Don’t leave me too…let me be with you…let me stay with you…please…”
The translucent figure tilted its head at this, it gazed upon him expectantly… It was…waiting for him?
He shakily rose to his feet as the figure turned away and began to slowly fly across the expanse, taking the light it held with it.
He began to run as the darkness started to close back in. He pushed his body to, and beyond, its absolute limits. He barreled toward the edge of the chasm and…
He jumped. He extended his hand before him as he sailed towards the figure of light.
He was so close. Just a bit more.
His momentum began to slow.
Just a little more.
His hand was about to reach the object of his desperation.
He stopped, and the cruel dominion of gravity claimed him, dragging him down into the now pitch black abyss, away from the glowing figure and the world above…
And into the void.
He couldn’t breathe. The shadows were choking him, laughing at him, ridiculing him for his weakness and failure.
Why…why couldn’t he be with her…why couldn’t he soar with her to the other side?
He fell deeper. The shadows began to claw at him, tearing at his skin, biting him. They whispered things that had no meaning but still tore away at his soul.
Why…why was this happening…?
The darkness began to twist and mutate, he could hear something breathing near him. The shadows that assaulted him suddenly dispersed, leaving him floating in the writhing blackness…or was he still falling?
Why couldn’t he wake up?
The nothingness peered at and through him; it studied him, judged him…and found him wanting.
He was drowning; the darkness was flooding his lungs, stealing his breath.
He sank deeper into the void as pieces of himself began to float away. He gazed up through the darkness, high above the luminescent form could still be seen, barely a pinprick of light now. It was no longer alone. Six others now surrounded it, like a small constellation of stars.
Liars. They had told him he could reach the other side. He made the leap…wasn’t it enough? He reached for them, trying to call out to them through the darkness that was choking him but it was futile.
Nobody could help him. Nobody could save him. Not now, not anymore.
And just like that the specks of light, his last hope, vanished.
The darkness had him now, and it gleefully reminded him of that fact by tearing more away from him. Memories began to float away…then pieces of his mind…then his soul…finally his heart, the last thing to remain out of desperation to reach the glowing figures…
Then there was nothing. Only heaviness…an almost peaceful serenity similar to death…
But he still existed. In the darkness he floated, swaying listlessly upon the dark tides of shadows…
‘Not yet.’
The void screamed, and he, now a part of it, screamed as well. Something tore at it, clawed through it, trying to reach him.
The darkness writhed and swelled, then vanished completely as he fell beyond its expanse, into an area beyond thought, beyond time.
Whispers. Voices. They spoke to him through a veil that lacked form and color, words that lacked sound and meaning, names of things that never, and yet had always existed.
They spoke of events that held no place in the pages of history, of people that had never been born yet had helped to shape the very fabric of reality. They spoke of beings so powerful and grandiose that their very existence was impossible.
All the while, shapes without form bearing colors without hue danced in front of his vision. They twisted and contorted, forming eldritch symbols whose purpose was lost, that spoke of things best left forgotten. This was different from the void that tried to erase him.
It was worse.
The whispers were no longer whispers as their volume grew. They began to shout at him, in thousands of octaves in thousands of dead tongues spoken by beings long dead. The symbols glowed in colors indescribable, every pulse of color and light hammered another lifetime’s worth of incomprehensible knowledge into his mind. Reality was beginning to have no meaning as he felt his very existence unraveling into the madness that was this place as he soonbecameawareofconceptsthatwerebeingmademanifestbeforehimthathadneverbeenponderedbeforeevenbytheancientscholarsofoldnopersoncouldevenbegintodescribethatwhichwasbeingpresentedhereinthespacebetweenexistenceandnothingnessasthecocophanyofinsanitycontinuesitsgibberingdroningchorusofidiocyandthestarsthatlaybeyondthewallsoftheuniversecontinuetowheelaboveandbelowtheindividualthathasbeencastbeyondallthingswhonowbythispointrealizesthattheentiretyofahistorythathadneveroccuredwasbeingplayedbeforehimlikeabrokencinemaprojectorandthechorusofmoronscontinuedtodroneonlikeadamagedrecordinanoldtimespeakeasysomewhereinchicagoduringprohibitionwhichwasanotherprodcutofhumanity’sfoolishfearoflackofcontrolofthemselvesandwasmerelyanexcusetoherdthecattlethatwastheinnumerablemassesofsheepthatnolongerthoughtforthemselvesbutinsteadblindlyfollowedwhateverauthorityandsocietytoldthemsuchasnormsandideasthathadtobeagreedwithandadheredtoifoneweretomaintainapresentableimageamongtheirfellowswholikehimwerealsoslavestotheconstructofauthorityputintoplacebygovernmentswhodidnotwan’ttheirpeopletofeelfreelikewindsintheskyorthebirdsthatflewinitorthepegasiortheearthponiesthatranupontheplainsortheunicornsthatpracticedcraftslongforgottenthatwerecondemnedbyreligionsthatpreachedservitudeandsufferingfortherewardofaparadisethatlaybeyonddeathbutwhatifsuchaparadisecouldbereachedwithoutservitudeordeathbutbyasimplechoicetocastoffeverythingthathewasandembraceafutureofhappinesstogetherwiththoseheloved
What was left of his heart was breaking as the revelations crashed against it like stormy seas against a cliff face.
Shewrappedherself,saying,ThouknowestmykingdomagarmentAndhehim;butallhiswrathwasintheirheadofthefirstbornManassehFor,[saidhe],theangelofthewholeearth:andstoodbeforeallthathewastheplacewherewerewithrigor:andthecityofCanaanAdathedaughterofthesevendaysAndMoseswasintheEgyptianspursuedasoneofIshmaelbecausetheirkneadingtroughsbeingmalesbutuntoyourownforyouandBenjaminthatEsauthykindredandhathwithheldthyservantsandthereinthewiseknowthatitstrue
What remained of his soul screamed as the cacophonous din roared into it.
apienCurabitursedmolestiesagittisequusCurabiturnuncFusceullamcorperMaurismagnanequequis enimnuncacturpissedportaetscelerisqueporttitorullamcorperrisusvehiculavitaetortorEquusUtmolestiemollisorciequusSedeubibendumacdictumequusconsectetuerAliquaminloremtortornonfelisMaecenaspretiumdoloquamultricesiaculisPellentesquelaoreetfermentumEquusVivamussempertellusUtbibendumafaucibuorcimolestienullainturpisvitaemassaequusDonecullamcorperligulaplaceratelementumodioetultricesmagnaNulladignissimPhasellusatbibendumaposuererisusMorbirisuseuanteQuisquecondimentumEquusDonecsollicitudinfringillaMorbifacilisisfaucibusorciconvalliseu
The last vestiges of his conscious mind shattered as the madness tore through it unforgivingly.
The last things he saw as he was absorbed into the hive mind of insanity…a rainbow mane…blue wings…magenta eyes filled with tears…
‘I want you to stay with me.’
The world of madness and the void that lay above shattered as he felt himself torn upwards through the fabric of his unconscious mind. Like a rush of ice cold water he was ripped into the waking world, and as he broke the surface of the ocean of dreams, he took a gasp of the air of the waking world
And screamed.
Long and loud, his anguished terrified cry reverberated off the walls of his living room. He was shaking uncontrollably, covered in an icy sweat.
It was so real. Everything had been so real. The things he saw, he learned, he knew them and yet could not remember them.
He couldn’t remember what they had said.
He looked around, his vision was blurred. His head throbbed, his chest was heavy. He clamored to his feet, but the shaking wouldn’t stop. Was he having a seizure?
He recoiled at the shadows that jumped out at him from behind the blurred furniture; they leered at him, threatened him, he needed to get away. His equilibrium was all but gone as he took a few shaky steps only to slam into a wall. His stomach churned and twisted, and with every spasm of his body he could feel acidic bile jumping up his throat into his mouth.
Like a drunk he staggered to the door that he vaguely remembered lead to the bathroom. He wouldn’t make it to the toilet. He flipped the light switch and, after glancing at his blurry reflection, leaned over the sink.
He vomited. Long yellow ropes of bile and the few remnants of what he managed to eat the day before filled the sink as he wretched. It felt like hours before the heaving subsided. He ran the water for a moment, washing it down and wetting a piece of toilet paper which he used to wipe his mouth.
He stood there, head still hung over the sink, his hands gripping the sides of the counter to keep him from just falling over. He was no longer shaking and his vision had begun to finally clear…
“You know it’s better to leave the water running.”
He froze.
“So you don’t clog the drain.”
His head snapped toward the door; no one.
“Try again.”
At this, he noticed something in his peripheral vision…something wasn’t right about his reflection.
“Goood…you’re getting warmer.”
He slowly turned toward the mirror.
“Warmer.”
His reflection was coming into view.
“You’re red hot.”
He gazed fully upon the mirror…and recoiled.
“Bingo.”
The reflection within was not his. In its place was instead a twisted facsimile. Its skin bore a sickly pallor; the veins underneath were as black as death. Its face bore horribly sunken cheeks stained with ink-black tears. It gazed upon him with yellowed pupils surrounded by sclera stained with jaundice. It grinned at him with a yellow snaggletooth smile.
“Heya Bobby.”
Robert felt himself shaking again. “What…what the hell is this? Who are you?”
The doppelganger brought a bony hand bearing long, stained fingernails to its chest. “That hurts Bobby…c’mon, don’t ya recognize me? Don’t you recognize…yourself?”
“No…no you’re not me…this isn’t real.”
“Oh but it is Bobby.” The creature replied. “You aren’t asleep anymore friend…you’re wide awake now…so either this is real…” The smile turned into an evil, toothy grin. “Or you have officially checked out-” It tapped its head. “Up here.”
“I…I’ve gone insane?”
“Well you are having a conversation with yourself in the mirror Bobby, that can’t be healthy now, can it?”
Robert shook his head furiously. “No. No you aren’t me.”
“And why is that so hard to believe?” The doppelganger asked. “I know everything about you Bobby, your dreams, your regrets, your failures…I know all of them.”
“That’s not-”
“I know why it was you always had to avert your gaze from the chasm-” The reflection interrupted. “-and why it is you were finally able to jump.”
“…Rainbow.”
“Yesss.” The mockery grinned. “The little pegasus that you have come to like sooo much…dare I say, something more?”
“You’re wrong.”
“Am I Bobby boy? Am I? I know you. I am you. You can hide nothing from me.” The reflection moved closer. “You hide behind your self-imposed punishment, you carry it like a cross, use it as an excuse to push everyone away from you.”
Robert shook his head. “No.”
“Yesss. The truth is you enjoy suffering. You love playing the martyr, even if it’s for a cause you don’t champion, let alone know.” The doppelganger leaned forward, its face almost pressing against the glass. “The truth is you are afraid. You are a coward Bobby, a child. You fear the responsibility of stepping up and changing your life; you would rather suffer alone, even die, then face the remote possibility of being proven wrong. You fear that all that you have suffered through, all that you have placed upon yourself will be for naught if you take that first step; that everything you had lived through before would have been pointless. And, you know what friend?”
Rob stared at the ghoul as its expression grew even more sinister.
“It is. IT WAS! Your suffering has been pointless! You are not some tragic man living through the end of his race out of some duty to his people. You are not a hero holding out for some hope that things will go back to the way they were. You aren’t even a man too stubborn to let go of his pride. You suffer because you are afraid. You push others away and lie to yourself because you are afraid.” Its yellowed eyes narrowed. “And you pushed away the one person, the one pony, that you remotely cared for, spurned her kindness, made her feel absolutely worthless because…you…are…afraid.”
“NO, NOO!” Robert screamed, clutching his head in his hands. “THAT’S NOT- I DIDN’T-”
“IT IS. YOU DID.” The doppelganger yelled gleefully. “I know! EVERYTHING, I know. And…you want to know why? I mean really, why?”
Robert, shaking, looked back into the mirror.
“I am that which causes you to avert your gaze from the chasm, from the truth.”
He could hear screaming, as if from far away.
“I am that which made you suffer alone in isolation for all these months. I am that which made you say those terrible, terrible things to your one, last companion in this life.” The facsimile continued, its voice becoming shadowed by multiple octaves. The screaming grew louder.
“Can you guess what I am…Bobby boy?”
His head throbbing, his heart pounding, and with tears in his eyes Robert slowly shook his head.
“I am your fear. I am born from everything you despise about yourself. Your hatred, your failures, your fears…all of them helped to create me and, in that way, I am you...I am what you have allowed yourself to become. And…”
The reflection drew even closer.
“Because of that…”
It raised one of its gnarled hands.
“I SHALL RULE YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS!”
With this proclamation the reflection, as if it were merely an open window, shot its hand through the mirror and with unnatural strength, wrapped its bony fingers around Robert’s throat.
His hands shot up and wrapped themselves around the wretched thing’s wrist. He thrashed, he struggled, but try as he might, he could not extricate himself from the ghoul’s grasp. The screaming, now sounding as if it was coming from right behind the walls, was deafening in his ears as blinding pain filled his head.
“That’s it-” The doppelganger cackled. “Fight, struggle, resist. It is futile to rail against the inevitable; it is too late now, far too late.”
The edges of Robert’s vision began to darken as his brain was steadily deprived of oxygen. This was it; he was going to die to his fear…his fear…
He was afraid. Now…then…he had always been afraid. Afraid to let go of what he knew and embrace something that could be better, afraid to trust those around him with his problems…afraid to listen to the ones he loved….
‘Dash…I’m…I’m so sorry…’ he thought as oblivion drew ever nearer.
“That’s it Bobby.” The reflection cooed sickeningly as its chokehold grew even tighter. “Just let it go…let it all go…close your eyes…sleep…”
The strength in his arms faded and they fell limp to his sides.
‘Mom…Dad…Sam…I’m sorry…I’m sorry I couldn’t make it home…’
His vision faded completely.
“Just let them go Robert…” The ghoul called into the darkness. “Let them all go…and stay here in the blackness… forever.”
Nothingness consumed him…nothingness and the screaming…his only companions now…nothing was left…nobody was left…not even himself.
And then…a voice.
‘I thought that…maybe…we could all go together Bobby…to where Sam is…me, you and your father…’
The void shrunk back. Like a dark tunnel, a pinprick of light could be seen in the distance.
No…these were memories…
‘I don’t need these anymore man…here…you take them…maybe you’ll get more use out of them since you won’t be getting ponified.’
The light grew as he felt himself moving towards it.
‘Hey Rob, can you do me a favor? I need you to watch my place for the next week. Decided to go and just get it over with you know? Maybe it won’t be so bad. Don’t worry though, I’ll be back; this city’s been my cradle, my home, and it will be my grave.’
The darkness was all but gone as the light filled his vision.
‘Are you an idiot?! I don’t want you to die! I want you to stay with me Rob!’
He wanted to live. He wanted to live and stay with her, to see them all again, he needed to live…to live…he needed to breathe.
The world swirled back into view once more as he took a long shuddering breath and life-giving air filled him. The doppelganger snarled.
“Now? Now of all times you find your fucking balls?”
His right hand clenched itself into a fist.
“You think she’ll take you back? Huh? You think they’ll forgive you? HUH? DO YOU?!”
He drew his fist back.
“THIS CHANGES NOTHING BOBBY! I RULE YOU, I ALWAYS WILL; YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE! YOU’RE A COWARD AND THAT WILL NEVER-“
-CRASH-
The mirror, and the ghoul that lay within it, shattered into a million pieces as Robert smashed it with all of his might. The glass cut and stabbed deeply into his hand, the pain raced up his arm and into his brain.
He gasped and looked down…only to discover that he had in fact been strangling himself with his own left hand.
There was no more screaming…all was silent…all was still…as Robert allowed himself to back into and slide down the wall behind him.
And there on the floor, among the innumerable pieces of the shattered mirror…
Robert cried.
------------------------------
John Miller yawned deeply. The coffee pot on the counter bubbled away, preparing his favorite drink.
“Today we are seeing a huge difference in the forecast from yesterday.” The weatherman on the television droned. “Those cold fronts have apparently decided to finally make their way over to New York, bringing a whole bunch of rain and scattered thunderstorms here…and here. Temperatures will be dipping back into the low 70’s and high 60’s, and a severe storm watch for all boroughs and Nassau County is being issued from four to ten pm.”
The coffee finished percolating as John looked up at the clock on the wall; 7:30 am, Rob would be on the balcony by now.
Levitating the pot and two mugs, he absentmindedly filled each one, adding a bit of sugar and milk, while he watched the television.
“Stay tuned for any changes to the forecast. Diane.”
A different anchorwoman from the day before came into view as the camera switched from the weather map. This one was a bit older than Jamie, but was still fairly attractive.
“Thank you Steven. In other news it appears the weather phenomenon from yesterday has subsided, and across the East Coast the climate has returned to normal, but for how long? Find out in our special report-”
The television flickered off as John brought a hoof down on the power button of the remote. The sliding glass door to his own balcony was bathed in a dim glow before being slid open. Cantering onto the balcony, he gazed out across the skyline; dark patches of clouds were already beginning to move in over the city, and the dank smell of humidity hung heavily in the air. It was going to rain, and soon.
Then, along with the humidity, another smell reached John’s nostrils; cigarette smoke. With a wry grin he turned to his neighbor’s balcony. “Should’ve known you’d be out here already Rob.”
Robert, however, gave no reply. John could see his legs, but the rest of his body was being obstructed by the small dividing wall that partially separated their two balconies. John trotted toward the railing.
“Rob? You alright?”
As John stuck his head over the railing to get a better look, his eyes went wide and it took almost all his willpower not to drop the two mugs he was levitating behind him. Robert was indeed already on his balcony…he sat in his deck chair hunched over, still wearing his clothes from the day before. A cigarette hung loosely in his lips, which were surrounded by a heavy 5’0’clock shadow. His left hand rested on one of the arm rests of the chair, but his right…John’s eyes drifted downward…
The two mugs exploded onto the deck floor, scattering coffee and pieces of porcelain.
Robert’s mangled right hand hung limply at his side. Pieces of mirrored glass stuck out at odd angles and a small pool of dried blood lay underneath. At the sound of the shattering mugs, Robert slowly turned toward the unicorn, gazing at him with empty, almost soulless eyes bloodshot from crying.
“Hello John.” He greeted flatly.
“Rob…Rob what the- Christ! Your hand! Rob what happened?”
Rob lifted the hand, looking at it emotionlessly before letting it fall back at his side. “I had a bad dream.”
“What?! Jesus Robert you need to get to the hospital!”
Robert turned back to the skyline. “What’s the point?” He took a long drag from his cigarette. “It wouldn’t change anything…”
John, at a loss for words, carefully maneuvered over the shattered mugs back into his apartment. Reaching out with his magic, he brought his cell phone to him from across the room. Flipping it open, he was about to dial 911…but something stopped him. Something, deep down, told him Robert didn’t need the hospital right now.
Against his better judgment, he laid the phone down on a nearby table, and instead cantered into his bathroom. Nosing his way into the cabinet under the sink, he retrieved a white case with his teeth. Trotting back onto the balcony, he telekinetically slid a small plastic table on his deck over to the railing and, using it for a boost, clumsily made his way over the small gap onto Robert’s balcony.
He slowly walked to Robert, whose gaze was still locked onto the sky. Placing the case down, he used his magic to open it and levitated antiseptic and bandages out, as well as a pair of tweezers.
At this, Robert looked back to the Unicorn. “What are you doing?”
“Fixing your hand.”
The human shook his head. “What’s the point?” Robert repeated. “It won’t change anything.”
Ignoring him, John nosed his arm onto the unoccupied arm rest, and took stock of the damage. There were deep gashes across his knuckles, and three large pieces of glass were embedded into the backside of the hand.
“Fuck Robert, what did you do to yourself?”
“I punched my bathroom mirror.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s right.”
“…what?”
The human merely shook his head. Sensing this wasn’t going to get him answers, John decided to get on with treatment. He wasn’t a doctor, but he had worked as an EMT for fifteen years in the Bronx. Carefully, he lowered the tweezers to the first piece of glass.
He glanced up at Robert, and for the first time saw just how haunted the young man looked. His eyes were even more sunken than usual, his face was gaunt and pale, and his expression seemed to hover between sorrow, fear, and regret.
“Rob, Rob you with me?” John asked with concern.
The human slowly turned towards the unicorn and gave a weak nod.
“Alright, now…this is going to hurt…a lot.”
Robert merely shrugged.
With a deep breath, John clamped the tweezers around the piece of glass and, with another glance at the young man’s face, pulled it out of his hand.
Robert didn’t even flinch.
John was relieved; it looked a lot worse than it really was. The glass had only dug less than a quarter of an inch into the hand, and if the other two offending pieces came out as easily, he probably wouldn’t need many stitches.
Repeating the process on the other two pieces revealed similar results, and after checking for any lingering shards, John began to disinfect the wounds. He noticed Robert begin to wince ever so slightly as he doused the gashes in antiseptic.
The next part would be tricky; wrapping the wounds. Focusing with all of his might, John began to weave his magic over the roll of bandages, willing them to unravel and wrap themselves correctly over the wounded hand. His eyes were screwed tight as he worked, feeling the progress of his ministrations through his magic. Eventually he opened his eyes, and noted with relief that he had managed to successfully bandage the entirety of Robert’s hand. It would have to do until the young man could get proper treatment.
For a moment, John noticed a strange feeling near his flanks, but dismissed it as there were more pressing matters at hand. He closed the first-aid kit after replacing the antiseptic and unused bandages and looked up at the human.
Robert still bore the same haunted expression from earlier, but a little light had returned to his eyes.
“Thanks.” He said with a small smile.
“No problem…” John levitated the first-aid kit back onto his own balcony and turned back to Robert.
“Now what the hell happened to you Rob?”
The young man shook his head.
“Rob, tell me. Did something happen yesterday while you were out?”
Again, nothing.
“Dammit Robert something happened to you. You look like you haven’t slept or eaten in days, you punched your bathroom mirror for some reason, and what’s this about ‘him’ being right? Who’s ‘him’?”
Robert brought a hand to his face, as if in pain.
“ROBERT-“
“Me.”
“...What?”
“He is me.” Robert said as he leaned down bringing his hands to his head. “John I think I’m losing my mind…”
The unicorn trotted in front of Robert and sat down on his hindquarters, staring at the human intently.
“Tell me. Tell me everything.”
Robert looked up, deep into the blue eyes of the Unicorn before him…and did.
He recounted his dream of madness, how he felt himself slipping away, only to be brought back into the waking world at the last moment. He described the mimic in the mirror, how it was the manifestation of his fears, how it tortured him, tried to kill him…how it was him.
“…and then I punched the mirror and everything stopped.” Robert finished.
John sat there silently, obviously trying to process everything he just heard. Robert stamped out his cigarette and leaned back in the chair. He looked much better, obviously needing to get everything that happened off his chest, but John sensed there was something else.
“That isn’t all of it, is it?”
Robert closed his eyes, obviously struggling to find the words.
“Rob, you’ve come this far, finish it. Tell me.”
For a moment Robert remained still, before reaching into the pack of cigarettes that lay nearby and pulling another out. He lit it, taking a long drag and exhaling the plume of smoke above the unicorn’s head, watching as the humid breeze caught it and dispersed it into the air.
“Yesterday, Rainbow Dash and I decided to head to central park.”
John nodded slowly, urging him to continue.
“We met a unicorn by the name of Rarity, who is one of Rainbow’s friends from Equestria. She invited Rainbow out to a quick lunch to catch up on things, so I decided to head down to the HCPS library while they ate. I met another unicorn, the same one from yesterday’s interview, who coincidentally is also a good friend of Rainbow Dash.”
“Really? She was at the HCPS?”
“Yeah. Apparently she likes human books.” He took another drag. “We got to talking, about how she saw the human world, about the differences in human and pony literature, and then we were interrupted when the librarian turned on the television. There was some sort of weather phenomenon being reported by the weather service.”
“Yeah, I saw that today on the news. They said it passed though.”
“Huh.” Robert looked out into the overcast sky. “So it seems. How odd.”
“What?”
“Twilight got really quiet after we watched the report.” Robert continued. “Started asking me questions about my physical and psychological health…”
John winced. He wasn’t blind; he began to see the changes in Robert before anyone else.
“Apparently my headaches…my dreams…they were related to the phenomenon.”
“How?”
Robert paused, ashing his cigarette and then taking another puff.
“The magic of Equestria has been seeping to the United States over the past several months and apparently the night before yesterday it hit some sort of threshold, because the environment began to react.”
John’s eyes went wide. “So, the phenomenon-“
“-was caused by the levels of magical energy in the atmosphere.” Robert interjected. “But…this brings another problem.”
The unicorn tilted his head. “What problem?”
Robert snorted. “I’m sure you’ve seen that advert for the bureau.”
“More times than I care to recall yeah.”
“Then you know what they keep warning us about…how humanity won’t survive the changes to the world radiating out from the Equestrian continent.”
John felt his mouth go dry. “Wait…wait a goddamn minute Rob, are you saying-“
“I’m dying John.” Robert answered with a strange smile. “In a week and a half I’ll need to be hospitalized…in two I’ll be dead.”
A frozen silence permeated the air of the balcony. John stared disbelievingly at the human before him, who in turned gazed back at him with that strange smile.
“…why the hell are you smiling?” John finally spat, standing. “If- if that’s true shouldn’t you be more concerned? Shouldn’t you be getting things in order? What the hell is there to smile about Rob?!”
Robert arched a brow at the pony before him, as if John’s change in demeanor had only been half-expected, as if he was overreacting.
“Damn it Robert this is serious!” The unicorn exclaimed while stamping a hoof angrily on the porch.
“Shouldn’t you be packing up? Leaving New York?”
Robert shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”
John’s mouth fell open, dumbfounded. “Then…then are you-”
“Look. I know it sounds…weird…but that isn’t what caused all this, I mean it’s a part of it but…there’s more.”
John snorted in aggravation. “Rob-“
“You wanted to hear all of it right?”
The pony’s eyes narrowed before he sat back down. “Fine. Let’s hear it.”
“Right then…” Robert took a deep breath. “After I heard about my ‘situation’, I met back up with Rainbow and we got into the park. At first everything was fine; she did her tricks, I watched, grabbed a dog and just relaxed against that hug oak. She eventually landed; we started talking…then she mentioned my condition. Apparently Rarity also knew, and told Rainbow everything at lunch. Well…one thing led to another…ponification got brought up and…”
“…and?” John asked, eyes wide.
Robert brought his hands to his head once more, this time in shame.
“I lost it John. I started just…saying things, things I didn’t mean, it was like something was…talking through me. I told her she obviously didn’t care about my feelings if she wanted me to do it. I said that she obviously felt weird hanging out with a human now that all of her friends were coming to New York…and when she told me that she was only worried about my wellbeing …I told her to just go home and left, just like that I left her there…Christ John I’m a monster.”
John’s gaze softened as the young man drew shuddering breaths, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. It was time.
“Do I really have to say it Robert?”
The human lifted his head from his hands, confusion in his bloodshot eyes.
“You love her.”
The human blinked, then violently shook his head. “No-“
“Stop it.” John was standing again. “I’m not going to let you do this to yourself. You need to admit it Robert.”
“But I-…she’s just a friend.” The young man retorted, his eyes darting about in obvious distress.
“Bullshit.” The unicorn stepped closer. “Tell me Rob, why do you wake up in the morning?”
“What?”
“What compels you to get out of your bed? You have no job, your family is gone, you haven’t had any ambition to do anything since you were fired from work. Yet, every day, you manage to get yourself up and face the world…why? And if you say it’s to have a mug of my coffee every morning than I really do think you’ve lost your mind.”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Bullshit Robert!” The pony’s snout was practically in the human’s face. “You have a reason. It brings you your mail every morning, you take it out to lunch every afternoon, and you spend almost all your free time with it.”
“John-”
“Say her name Rob, say it.”
Robert’s shoulder’s slumped in defeat. “Rainbow Dash.”
John took a few steps back and nodded in approval. “That’s right. Robert I may only be your neighbor but even I can tell that pegasus is your everything.”
Robert covered his face with a hand. “But…but even if I…did…its wrong isn’t it?”
The unicorn snorted. “Why, because she’s an animal?”
“What?! No, that’s not what-“
“Look at me Rob. I’ve been your neighbor for three years. Look at me, John Miller, and tell me; do you see an animal?”
Robert peered at the pony for a long minute before shaking his head.
“Exactly, I’m still your neighbor, species shouldn’t matter. Ponies are sentient, free-thinking beings, and are the closest things to humans on this planet. And, in case you haven’t noticed; the definition of humanity has become distorted. The lines between mankind and ponykind are starting to blur so much that they are virtually nonexistent. What is humanity if someone can be human one day, and a completely different species the next? ”
Robert nodded slowly, obviously mulling it over in his head.
“Besides-” John continued with a grin. “-I’ve heard hundreds of stories about this very circumstance. Spouse undergoes conversion, other spouse doesn’t for their own reasons, yet the two remain together happily. Your situation is a little different, but not by much.” His grin became a bit more mischievous. “I’ve even heard that such couples manage to stay…intimate.”
“Ugh okay John you’ve made your point. I don’t want to hear about that.” Robert said while rubbing his eyes.
John chuckled; he could tell the young man’s defiance was steadily crumbling in the face of logic.
“Still…even if it’s…acceptable, what would she possibly see in me? John she’s told me about the adventures she’s gone on, the things she’s done. She’s fought mythical creatures, harnessed some of the most powerful magic ever conceived, she was the first pony to fly faster than the speed of sound…and the craziest part? She doesn’t think any of that is a big deal! Her crowning achievement in life is to one day join the Wonderbolts, the most famous flying team in Equestria, and she’ll get in for sure! In the face of all that, what could she possibly see in an unemployed chain-smoking web designer just barely hanging on?”
John blinked. “Well she’s stuck around this long right? There’s gotta be something she likes about you.”
Robert shook his head despondently. John sighed.
“Alright then, let’s try this. What do you see in her Robert?”
The young man sighed, sitting back in the chair. “Where do I begin? She’s…brave…strong…confident…she doesn’t give a damn what anybody thinks about her, she just faces everything head on with this energy that I can’t even begin to describe. She’s funny, and a real softie once you get to know her. She’s…she’s everything I can’t be and so much more I just-”
“Couldn’t help but fall for her?”
Robert visibly tensed, his eyes locked on brightening morning sky. John could tell something had finally clicked in the head of the human. The young man brought his hands to his eyes, which admittedly looked comical with one of them completely wrapped in bandages.
“Rob, it’s alright man, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“It’s not that.” Robert responded thickly. “What do I do now John? After what I said…how can I-”
“Go get her man. Talk to her, apologize, and for God’s sake tell her how you feel.”
“What if she doesn’t feel the same way?”
John nudged the human with a hoof, and Robert removed his hands from his eyes to stare at the Unicorn before him.
“There’s only one way to find out right?” the pony said with a smile.
The young man gazed at his neighbor for a few moments before standing and walking over to the railing of his balcony. He looked out across the city and the distant rumbling of thunder could be heard.
“Look. Go to her, settle this, then come back and we can talk about your-”
“Actually-” The human interrupted, turning back to John. “-I need you to do me a favor.”
The pony tilted his head. “Sure Rob…what is it?”
------------------------------
The skies had opened up minutes earlier, bringing sheets of rain down upon the city. John stood on his balcony, sipping a new mug of coffee as he watched the rain. Leaning just a bit over the railing, he could see a figure garbed in a long dark green poncho with a bag tightly strapped to its back making its way down Amsterdam Avenue, toward Brooklyn.
He smiled, draining the last of his coffee he turned back toward his door, and for the first time noticed something was different about his reflection. There, on his flank, a large red cross could be seen; his brand new cutie mark.
“Well...guess today really is a red letter day.”
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Hurricane Puncher
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Applejack,Original Character,Other,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rainbow Dash,Rarity,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Conversion Bureau: Change of Life
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<p>Robert Parker is a 24 year old ex-web developer living in New York city. In the wake of the conversion movement, he has seemingly lost everything. Haunted by the same nightmare every night, he soon realizes that he must make a choice.</p><br/><p>To those unfamiliar with the Conversion Bureau: it is a scenario created by an author named blaze in which Ponies either appear in the human world or have lived beside humans without incident for millennia. One day, in the face of all the damage humanity has done to its world, the ponies offer a solution: undergo conversion to become a pony and allow the world to be inundated with Equestria's influence: thus healing it and bring forth a golden age. </p><p>Many different authors have taken many different approaches to this idea, all of them are worth checking out. </p><p><a href="http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html</a> (The current thread)<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html</a> (The compilation post on EQDaily. *NOT UPDATED*)</p>
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2011-09-28T23:03:23+00:00
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2011-09-28T23:03:23+00:00
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The Conversion Bureau
Change of Life
Part 6: Acperience II
“Wooo! New York at last! That flight from Houston took foooreeeveeer!” Pinkie Pie chirped as she bounded along.
“Ah’ll say.” replied an exhausted Applejack.
“Still, catching the Red eye? You could have just taken a later flight.” Twilight remarked.
The three ponies were making their way down the hall on the top floor of the Brooklyn Conversion bureau. This floor was reserved for residential staff, and Rainbow Dash’s room was at the very end. Applejack had spent her assignment in Texas, overseeing the construction of the Houston Bureau and taking in the culture of the Lone Star state. Pinkie Pie however hadn’t remained in one spot for any extended period of time; she had journeyed all across the United States and visited almost every major city in the country. Her final destination just so happened to be Houston, so she and Applejack elected to share a flight to New York.
“Thats what ah said.” sighed the cowpony. “But this one just had to get ‘ere as, what did’ja say, ‘Super speedy weedy deedy possibeely’?”
The bouncing pink earth pony giggled. “Well duh! I couldn’t wait to see our friends!”
“Ah could’ve.” Applejack grumbled. “Maybe another few hours...”
“Well, you guys are here, and that’s all that matters right now.” Twilight said with a strange smile.
Stifling a yawn, Applejack glanced at her unicorn friend. “So, you say she was cryin’?”
Twilight stopped half-way down the hall, her head hanging low. “She wouldn’t leave her room at all yesterday. Rarity and I tried to get her out to at least have some dinner but she refused.”
Pinkie’s permanent grin vanished for a second. “Well that's no good at all is it?” But then it returned in force. “I know! Lets throw her a-” Her trademark suggestion was cut short by Applejack’s hoof.
“Sugarcube there are some things a party can’t solve, and ah think this is one of ‘em.”
Twilight nodded despondently as they continued down the hall. “Seeing you guys will probably brighten her mood though.”
Eventually they reached their destination; a door emblazoned with a rainbow lightning bolt.
Twilight sparkle knocked on the door to Rainbow Dash’s bedroom. “Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie Pie just came in from their flight and they are dying to see you!” she called through the door.
No response.
“Maybe she ain’t there?” questioned Applejack’s trademark southern drawl from behind.
“Well Dashie doesn’t usually get up this early usually she sleeps in till like ten or eleven or even twelve! Like, this one time, she-” Pinkie’s rant was cut short with a wet squelch, most likely Applejack’s hoof in her mouth.
Twilight raised her hoof to knock again when the door flew open revealing a very groggy, very disheveled blue pegasus.
“Dashie!” Pinkie cried as she darted forward and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow’s neck. The pegasus chuckled as she wearily returned the hug. “Heya Pinks. How was your trip?”
Twilight and Applejack’s eyes widened at the can of worms Rainbow just opened, and just as Pinkie was taking a huge lungful of air to describe every last detail of her time around the US Applejack quickly wrapped a foreleg around her neck, pulling her away. “There’ll be time for that later Pinkie.”
Rainbow smiled as the cowpony trotted up to her and the two friends shared a neck hug. “Heya Sugarcube, how ya been holdin’ up?”
The pegasus smiled weakly. “Alright, I guess.”
Applejack stepped back and peered into her friend’s eyes. They looked as tired as she felt; bloodshot, with dark bags sagging beneath. It looked like she hadn’t slept a wink.
“Ya sure? Cuz ya look like heck Dash.”
“Yeah well, so do you.”
“Ah was up at midnight ta catch a flight. Whats yer excuse?”
The pegasus shifted in discomfort, her eyes cast down at the floor. “I didn’t really sleep well. That’s all.”
Applejack frowned. “Rainbow, Twilight called me yesterday. She told me the gist of what happened between you an’ Robert but none of us know the whole story.”
The pegasus shot a glare at the purple unicorn, who shrunk away. “I’m sorry Rainbow. Its just you were so upset, I was worried. We all are.”
Rainbow cast a look of disdain at her friends. “Its not important. We had a falling out, its over.” At these words her eyes ever-so-slightly brimmed with tears, which she wiped away quickly with a hoof. “Besides-” she continued. “-its better this way.”
Pinkie tilted her head. “You really mean that Dashie? It sounded like you guys were so close.”
Rainbow shook her head. “Well we aren’t, not anymore. I just want to move on...”
Suddenly a door a little ways down the hall burst open, and an alabaster unicorn, her mane in rollers, came galloping out. She reached the group, breathing heavily. “So sorry I’m late, my mane was just an absolute mess.”
“Rarity!” Pinkie squealed, bounding toward the unicorn intent on wrapping her in a hug. Rarity quickly backpedaled, laughing nervously. “Pinkie dear it is wonderful to see you, but do you think we could hold off on the hugging until my rollers have set?”
Pinkie tilted her head before nodding feverishly. “Okey dokey lokey!”
Applejack nodded to Rarity. “Hey.”
“Applejack! So good to see you as- oh dear you look terrible!”
The earth pony snorted. “Don’t remind me.”
A loud thud brought everypony’s attention back to Rainbow, who had slammed her hoof down. “Okay, seriously, what’s this about?!”
The assembled friends glanced at each other nervously. “Rainbow-” Twilight began. “-we...we want you to tell us what happened yesterday.”
“Its not-”
“It is important.” Twilight pushed. “We have never seen you like this before. Please Rainbow, we’re your friends, you can tell us anything.” The other ponies nodded in agreement.
Rainbow Dash looked to each one of her friends, her magenta eyes peering into their own. After what felt like an eternity she let out a long sigh. Turning back toward her bedroom she beckoned the others to follow her.
Once they were all inside, Twilight shut and locked the door with her magic.
------------------------------
Pinkie bounded up and down on the bed with joy, while Applejack took stock of the room itself. The numerous Wonderbolts posters hardly surprised her, but what caught her eye from the floor did. She leaned down to get a better look but before she could see what it was a blur of blue swept it away. Rainbow Dash clutched the large picture to her chest for a moment before placing it face down on the night table. “That’s private.” she mumbled.
Twilight and Rarity stood near the door, whispering to one-another. Rarity then stepped forward. “So...Dash-”
“Right.” Rainbow sighed, slumping to the floor. As she did, thunder tolled over the city foretelling of an oncoming storm.
“I met him yesterday at 8:30, just like every morning. We sat around and watched the news for a bit, then decided to head to the park. We got caught up in a few things before we actually got there.” Rainbow swallowed as the same icy feeling that had filled her when she was told about Robert’s imminent death weighed heavily in her chest.
“Like what?” Pinkie chirped from the bed.
Rainbow’s eyes shifted toward Twilight sparkle, who shrugged apologetically. “I didn’t tell them about him.”
“Whats all this about Robert?” Applejack asked, perching her stetson on top of a bedpost.
Rainbow screwed her eyes shut, shaking her head.
Rarity cleared her throat and, together with Twilight Sparkle, filled Applejack and Pinkie Pie in on the phenomenon, and its effect on humans. Once they were finished Applejack stood there mouth agape, while Pinkie had ceased her bouncing and now sat legs folded on the bed.
“Land sakes...” the cowpony murmured. “So...so Roberts-”
“Dying.” Rainbow choked. Everypony’s attention was now glued on the shivering blue pegasus.
“We...we got to the park...and started talking...I promised myself I would talk to him about it and maybe convince him to undergo conversion...” She balked. Remembering the whole experience was too much. She began to feel her eyes burn from the tears she was holding. Suddenly, she felt a foreleg around her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she saw that all of her friends were now around her, with Applejack’s hoof draped over her.
“Its alright sugarcube, we’re all here for ya. Keep going.”
Taking a shuddering breath, Rainbow continued. “I...I asked if he liked watching me fly...he said always. I asked if he...maybe wanted to fly himself...he said it was always a fantasy of his. I...I...I asked if he maybe wanted to fly with me...and he said yes! But...but when I asked why he wouldn’t get ponified...he said he didn’t know. So I pushed a little further...and he...he...” She couldn’t, it was too much. Rainbow Dash broke down in Applejack’s arms. “He he just blew up!” She cried in between sobs. “He became a totally different person and...and h-he t-told me I didn’t m-matter, that I didn’t care, that I was only trying to make him get ponified for my own benefit...and when I told him that I...that I wanted him to st-stay with m-me he just...he just-”
Rainbow sobbed into her friend’s shoulder. Everyone stood there in shock, most of all Applejack. She was at a loss for words, seeing her best friend completely fall apart like this was beyond anything she was expecting, and over a human no less!
Rarity was the first to speak. “I...Rainbow I’m so sorry, I didn’t think he would just go off on you like that. He seemed so nice, like a gentleman!”
“Yea well, he obviously ain’t.” Applejack spat. “Of all the nerve. Sayin’ them things even though she was worried ‘bout his wellbein’. Nuts ta him ah say, you don’t need someone like that in yer life Dash.”
Pinkie nodded in agreement. “He sounds like a real grumpity grump meany pants.”
Twilight however seemed to be piecing something together in her head. She leaned down and gently nudged the crying pegasus. “Rainbow, you said that he became a completely different person?”
Rainbow Dash looked up at the unicorn, her eyes bloodshot and full of anguish. She nodded.
“Like someone just flipped a switch? It was instantaneous?”
The pegasus nodded again.
Twilight Sparkle stood back up, her expression that of deep thought. “It couldn’t be.” She whispered. “Its too soon...” She turned away and began to pace around the room. Now everypony’s attention was drawn to the purple unicorn.
“Twilight dear what is it?” Rarity asked.
Rainbow gazed at her bookish friend pleadingly. Did she know something about Robert?
The unicorn stopped and turned back to her friends. “We don’t know much about the onset of the symptoms in humans, only their progression. What we do know is that the illness manifests in two ways; mental instability and physical degeneration. When I was speaking with Robert, he mentioned he had strange dreams, as well as physical pain. He told me that the dreams had been going on for several months so I assumed that they were unrelated. Initially, I believed that meant his symptoms were advancing at a very slow rate and that he had some time before he would need to take action...but...”
“But?” Rainbow asked fearfully.
Twilight frowned. “I may have completely miscalculated the rate at which his mind was deteriorating. In other humans, split personalities began to manifest themselves, followed by crippling hallucinations. Sometimes these other personalities would gain control over the main consciousness of the individual, and as if a switch had been flipped in their head, the change was always instant. A human could be friendly one minute and become a complete sociopath the next. We still don’t know why this happens. We think it may be because the human mind is incompatible with magic, and the emergence of the various psychoses is almost like a defense mechanism, but it ends up having the completely opposite effect and merely drives the poor human to even further depths of insanity.” Twilight concluded.
The other four ponies stared at Twilight blankly. She let out an exasperated sigh.
“Robert is going crazy because of the magic! That is why he said those things!”
Rainbow’s eyes went wide at this. Applejack snorted derisively.
“Sounds like yer just makin’ excuses for his behavior.”
“Its true!” Twilight insisted. “The pattern is the same, its always the same! But for some reason its happening much faster to Robert, and I don’t know why!”
Rainbow was standing now. She flashed over to Twilight, her hooves on the unicorn’s shoulders. “Whats going to happen?! How long does he have?!” She shook her violently. “Tell me!”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know Dash! The only way I would be able to find that out is if he was here! I could run some tests and do a psychological evaluation.”
“But Dear-” Rarity interrupted. “-If he were here wouldn’t it simply be easier to ponify him?”
“If ya ask me he don’t deserve it.”
“Applejack!” Rarity gasped.
“Well its true!” the earth pony retorted. “Ah don’t think someone like that should be near Dash, or any one of us for that matter.”
“But Apple-”
“Hes a bad influence! Sure he may have seemed nice, but hes human, whats more hes city folk. Humans are one thing, but city folk can never be trusted, they’d sooner throw ya under a carriage if it meant them gettin’ ahead. How can we be sure this is really cause of some sickness? Maybe he was always like this. Maybe-
“YOU’RE WRONG!”
The scream drew everypony’s eyes to the blue pegasus.
“You’re wrong...he isn’t like that...”
“Rainbow?” Rarity asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Rainbow Dash fluttered over to the nightstand where she had laid the photograph. Taking it in her hooves she gazed at it as she spoke. “Robert isn’t like the other people in this city. He never has been. He’s nice, and friendly, and he isn’t afraid to help people or ponies.” She turned to her friends. “Sure, he has his flaws. He gets down on himself a lot...and he lacks confidence, but that’s never stopped him from always-” She looked back to the photo. “-being there for me.”
Her friends glanced at one another. Was she going where they thought she was going?
Rainbow’s eyes glistened as a smile came to her face. “He always makes me laugh, even if its at his own expense. He cheers me on in everything I do...he believes in me. Every day I’ve spent with him has been...well, awesome.” She laid the photo upright back on the nightstand. “That’s why I believe Twilight Applejack; Robert wouldn’t say those things unless something was very wrong.” Her smile fell. “And something really is wrong, isn’t it Twilight?”
Twilight nodded grimly. “But, there is some good news.”
Rainbow perked up visibly at this.
“Yesterday I recieved a correspondence from the princess. She heard about the plight the humans were facing, and decided to take action. Last night Princess Celestia teleported here in secret and cast a spell. A very powerful spell. Its purpose was to shield all humans as far as four hundred miles inland of the east coast from the effects of the magical energy.”
Everypony gasped. “The princess is here?!” Rarity asked.
“Yes. She is currently resting in an undisclosed location inside of the city.”
“So- so the humans will be alright?! Robert will be alright?!” Rainbow asked, her eyes filled with joy.
Twilight smiled weakly. “Yes...and no. Most of the humans will be alright...but there will be a few who have sustained far too much damage from the energy for the spell to truly benefit them. I...I think Robert may be one of these unfortunate few. His mind and body will no longer be poisoned, but they may have deteriorated beyond the point of no return.”
Rainbow’s short-lived relief was crushed immediately. Her head hung low.
“There’s another problem.” Twilight continued. “The spell won’t last forever. It will last roughly two weeks, that should be enough time to either get all of the remaining humans within the area of the magic’s influence evacuated or ponified.”
“So...its hopeless?” Rainbow asked meekly.
Twilight shook her head. “If we can get Robert here as soon as possible we can get him converted in time before he is lost. Again, I feel his actions yesterday were influenced by his illness; so he may actually be open to the idea.”
“Tch. Yeah, or ya know, he ain’t.”
Rainbow whipped around, her eyes flashing. “Alright AJ. What is your problem?”
“Ah don’t think you should be around someone like that is all.” Applejack replied nonchalantly.
“You’ve never even met him!”
“Ah don’t have ta. The effect hes got on ya is proof enough he’s no good.”
“Effect? The hay is that supposed to mean?!”
“The Rainbow Dash ah know wouldn’t be reduced ta cryin’ all night over anythin’.”
“Well then maybe you don’t know me!” Rainbow Dash retorted hotly, advancing on her friend. “Maybe I’ve changed a bit! You wouldn’t know though would you? You wouldn’t know because you weren’t here!” She turned toward the rest of her friends with tears in her eyes. “None of you were here!!”
“Rainbow-” Twilight began.
“YOU WEREN’T HERE!” The pegasus screamed, causing her friends to withdraw. “Every day. Every day I had to deal with things that I had to face alone! Humans who hated me for what I was, or ponies who only knew me for what I could do, not one person or pony ever tried to know me for who I am!” Tears were flowing freely from her eyes now. “Robert was different, he actually got to know me! He accepts my strengths and my faults as parts of who I am! He was alone, just like me! We were alone until we found each other!!”
She couldn’t stop the tumult of words flowing from her mouth. She didn’t even try; it was all true. Everything that had been building over the least few months was spilling out of her being like somepony had twisted open a faucet.
“But the one thing, the one true thing that makes Robert so awesome is...is that he reminds me of all of you! Everyday I saw pieces of you in him. He helped me to cope with all of you being gone...but now...now-”
Rainbow was cut off by a very peculiar sound. A sound that really had no place there in that raw moment of explosive emotion. Laughter. One by one each pony in the room turned toward the bed. Pinkie Pie, who until that moment had been unusually quiet, was now practically bawling her eyes out in raucous snorting laughter; her legs kicking in every direction.
“What...what is so funny Pinkie?!” Rainbow seethed.
After a few moments the pink pony managed to calm down long enough to speak.
“It sounds like you’re in love Dashie!”
Despite the laughter preceding it, the statement carried no ill-intent or ridicule; it had been a simple, innocent observation.
The room went silent. Everypony turned to the blue pegasus, waiting for a response. Rainbow’s mouth opened and closed mutely, her eyes wide.
“Why do ya look so shocked?” Pinkie chirped as she hopped off the bed. “I don’t really understand everything Twilight was talking about, but Robby sounds real important to you! Real important. So I was thinking, but then I realized you must be in love! Its like soo obvious!”
The blue pegasus continued to stare at her pink friend, mouth agape. Her brain blazed at fever pitch, grasping for something, anything to say in response to Pinkie’s accusation.
She could find none.
A million thoughts were running through her head, but only one truth stood resolute in her heart.
She couldn’t deny it.
Rainbow’s face was soon flushing a violent crimson, her magenta eyes jumping to each of her friend’s faces. Pinkie looked ecstatic, as always. Twilight was staring with a cocked eyebrow. Rarity’s expression was unreadable; hovering somewhere between shock and thoughtfulness. Applejack however...
“Yer kiddin. Yer kiddin right Dash? A human?! Yer kiddin me right?!”
Rainbow cast her eyes to the floor. There was simply nothing to say.
The cowpony’s stare bored into her pegasus friend for a few long agonizing moments before she retrieved her stetson and slammed it back onto her head. “Ah wont accept this...” she spat before storming to, and out of the door.
A chilling silence pervaded the room. Twilight gave Rainbow a strained smile. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“I’ll come too!” Pinkie chirped. The two ponies left to follow Applejack, leaving a blushing Rainbow and a pensive Rarity alone.
For a while neither said a a thing. Rainbow Dash was sitting on the floor still in a state of half-shock over the events that had just occurred, while Rarity’s gaze was still locked on the door.
“Is it true?” the unicorn asked without turning toward her friend.
“I...I...guess...yeah...” Rainbow replied in a daze. The words felt alien to her; in all the time she knew Robert she never thought that their relationship would become anything more than what she believed it to be. She didn’t know when it happened, or how, or why...but she couldn’t deny that she felt something deeper than friendship for the tall, scruffy human.
Rarity wheeled around to face the pegasus, her face now full of conviction. “Then go to him.”
“Rarity?”
The unicorn cantered up to Rainbow. “Go to him.” she repeated. “Given the circumstances you may never get another chance.”
“But...what about AJ?”
Rarity sighed. “That mare is...she is just very set in her ways dear. She will come around, and even if she doesn’t this is your choice, your life...your love; you can’t let the reservations of another dictate your actions.”
“...what about you?”
The unicorn smiled. “Darling I have spent my entire life waiting for my Prince Charming, I just couldn’t live with myself if I allowed you to let yours slip away.”
Rainbow Dash smiled and wiped her moist eyes. The rumbles of thunder were becoming more frequent now, and the patter of rain could be heard upon the window. Standing, the pegasus rested a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Thanks Rarity...I...I’m going to go and bring him back. I swear.”
Rarity beamed. “I know you will.” Then she wrinkled her nose. “Do be careful in all of that icky rain though.”
Rainbow grinned and fluttered to the window. She undid the latch with her teeth and nosed it open. The room was suddenly filled with humidity of the storm outside. She flared her wings in preparation, but balked for a moment.
“Hmm.”
“What is it Rainbow?”
“There’s something about this storm...”
“What?”
“Huh?! Oh, yeah. Just, ya know, getting a feel for the air. I’m heading out!” Rainbow replied with a quick grin.
Rarity smiled. “Good Luck Rainbow.”
With a jump, and a flap, Rainbow sailed through the window into the stormy sky.
------------------------------
Eight a.m. The morning grind, made all the more loathsome by the storm that raged above. Even after the conversion movement had left its mark (or scar as some would say) upon the city the groggy, frantic drudge of the morning routine hadn’t changed, though its participants certainly had. Gone were the sounds of traffic; beeping horns, revving engines, and the flung curses of disgruntled commuters. In its place; the innumerable clops of hooves upon pavement.
Ponies of all colours and ages milled through the streets. The fallout of the bus service and cab industry, combined with the lack of cars still in use left virtually every street, bridge, and crosswalk of the city clear of traffic. Most of the equines wore umbrella-hats or rain coats, and those without could be seen darting under awnings to avoid the downpour.
One avenue however was different. The ponies were there, just like every other street. They were in the process of commuting to their destinations or getting their foals ready for school...just like every other street. What made this particular avenue unique was the shadowy bipedal figure currently striding down it briskly.
Heads turned and whispers were exchanged as the human waded through the masses. Humans were a rare enough sight as it was, but seeing one so early? The conversion movement had all but destroyed human industry; those that remained were rarely compelled to leave their homes much less have a reason to be out and about in the morning. The human’s appearance certainly did not help matters. It wore a long dark green poncho, its face veiled in shadows cast by the poncho’s hood. Only the dim glow of the lit cigarette hanging from its mouth gave any clue as to its appearance: a face of stubble, dark eyes, and an expression of intense focus. Together with a hand wrapped in bloody bandages it was an intimidating sight, and ponies shied away from the man, giving him wide berth like one would do when seeing a raccoon out in the daytime or a stray dog.
But if the human cared he didn’t show it. His gaze was locked straight ahead toward the entrance to the one last functioning means of public transportation in New York city; the subway. As he reached the staircase to the terminal, the man took one last drag from his cigarette and flicked it into a nearby trash bin. He cast a look straight up into the sky, and then disappeared underground.
***
“So you’re going through with this then?”
Robert threw a few loose shirts into the bag on his bed. “Yeah.”
John let out a long whistle. “Never thought I would see the day.”
The human grunted as he tightened the drawstring of the duffel. “So...how does this usually go?” he asked without turning to his neighbor who stood in the doorway to his bedroom.
“Well, you check in and fill out some forms. Pretty basic stuff, Just medical history, occupation, your short and long term goals.”
Robert scratched his head. “That seems unusual.”
“They say its to help you find a job after you undergo the process.”
“Hrm...guess that makes sense.” the human relented. “So...you check in and then what?” he continued.
“They get you assigned to a room and you attend the orientation. After that you are given a list of seminars to attend during the week you spend there. Its apparently different depending on where you plan on living after you check out; ponies moving to Equestria have to attend seminars pertaining to history and social norms while those who aren’t relocating have to learn about how human society will change with the conversion movement.”
“And then?”
“Well, after your week is up, they call you down to the ponification rooms and...well I think you know.”
“Huh.” Robert replied dumbly. His eyes wandered to his nightstand where his laptop and cell phone rested.
“No go.” John sighed. “Electronics are prohibited.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Something about fear over HLF insurgency.”
Robert grumbled. He would have liked to at least had his laptop to remain in touch with the outside world. His phone he could care less about; he hadn’t had anyone he needed to call in months. He glanced out of his window; the first drops of rain could be heard hitting the glass. Striding over to his closet he pulled out a long dark green poncho with ‘SECURITY’ emblazoned in yellow on its back; a purchase from a seedy thrift store in the South Bronx. He slipped it on, not bothering to change his clothes.
“Not even gonna freshen up?”
Robert strapped the duffel over his shoulder. “I brushed my teeth. They’ve got showers there right? Besides, I need to get there asap.” He finally turned to the unicorn. “How do I do that?”
John sighed thoughtfully, his eyes on the ceiling. “Well, if you take the subway from Amsterdam, the D-line will take you to the Brooklyn bridge. Head across that, then take the C to Prospect Park. The bureau is just east of there: it was the University Hospital before the movement.”
Robert blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah, something about hospitals having the necessary facilities for the bureaus. Makes sense I suppose; they can house large numbers of people and they are stocked with medical equipment.”
“...oh.” Robert replied softly.
John sighed and trotted up to the human, laying a hoof on his knee. “You gonna be alright?”
Robert took a deep breath. “Yeah...I think so. Thanks for helping me get my head together John.”
The unicorn frowned. “You sure?”
Robert rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m nervous. I don’t know how I’m going to approach this John, how I’m going to fix this. What am I supposed to do?”
“Just like I told you. Go to her and tell her how you feel.”
“Still-”
John’s expression grew stern. “Go to where ponies are. You won’t have to look very long. Its alright to be afraid Robert...because this part won’t be like a fairy tale. Real life doesn’t fit into storybook pages that were written for it...”
Robert was taken aback by the profound statement. “Wow...John that was-” Then it him like a ton of bricks as he brought a hand to his face. “Goddamn it.”
John burst out laughing. “I’m sorry man it was too easy, the poncho just makes it- Oh wait!” He levitated a Yankee cap resting on the nearby dresser onto Robert’s head. “Perfect!”
Robert whipped the hat off his head at John, who jumped away laughing. John’s laughter was infectious however as Robert soon felt himself joining him. The two friends laughed and laughed, a cathartic gesture for Robert in the face of all that had happened over the last day.
Eventually they regained their composure and it was time for Robert to leave. He made his way out of the bedroom, John right behind him, toward the front door of his apartment but stopped in the living room. He took a long look around, at his couch, at the sliding glass door, and the pictures that lay on the end-table. Then he remembered something. He strode over to his couch and reached underneath, retrieving a large manila envelope. Reopening his duffel, he packed it away with care and turned to his neighbor.
“Well...guess I’m off. I don’t have much in the pantry but you’re welcome to anything you find.”
“You’ll be fine.” John reassured. “See you in a week.”
“Yeah...see ya.” and with that, Robert strode out of his home; taking the first steps towards his new life.
***
He descended the first set of stairs into the Amsterdam subway platform. The air was thick with humidity, as it always was in the subway on a rainy day; bright fluorescent lights cast large halos against the mugginess. Reaching the landing he noticed that the row of turnstiles that once separated the ticket offices from the platform had been removed. He pulled out his metro card for a moment before casting it aside and making his way down the remaining stairs.
As he reached the platform he glanced around; no humans, very few ponies. He had heard once that most ponies have an aversion to being underground, so these were probably converts. Walking forward, he took a seat on a nearby bench and rested his bag in his lap. The distant roars of the metro calmed his nerves a bit, it was one of the last sounds of his old life, of the time before.
He shook his head. He couldn’t be thinking like that, not now. He had resolved to leave the time before behind and embrace the future.
The future...
He sighed, and began to think about what he would be facing in his immediate future. A blue pegasus with a prismatic mane came into his mind’s eye.
‘How am I going to do this?’ he thought.
‘Dash, I’m so sorry about-’
‘Forget it. You’re just a dweeb anyway.’
‘Dash I love-’
‘Ew! What makes you think I’d even wanna date a human?’
‘I want to stay with you!’
‘Well I don’t wanna stay with you, not anymore. Just leave me alone!’
He groaned as his head fell into his hands. It was no use, he would just have to put all his cards on the table when he met her and hope it turned out for the best. It was an old habit of his; when he knew he would be facing a tough decision or a heated argument he would play out both sides of the exchange in his mind. Sometimes he would be pleasantly surprised at the actual outcome, and other times crushingly disappointed. He could only pray that his meeting with Rainbow Dash would be of the former.
He was drawn out of his thoughts by the telltale roar of the incoming D-line. Gathering up his bag, he approached the gap as the train slowed and eventually stopped at the platform.
------------------------------
The elevator car reached the lobby of the bureau, its doors releasing its only passenger.
She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t even fathom it. Her best friend had fallen in love with a human, and a city human no less. She had already been hurt once, didn’t she know better?
The orange earth pony’s thoughts raged as she made her way into the lobby; a sparkling, clean area meant to mirror the conversion movement’s intentions and vision, a place to put incoming humans’ minds at ease. The elevators lay beyond the security check-in that lead all the way to the building’s doors in an area whose floors were of the most pristine marble, that had large green plants in almost every corner and pieces of art on every wall. The shape of the lobby funneled to the receiving desk; a dark lacquered wood piece. But there was a dissonance in the otherwise pleasing aesthetics of the lobby. It came in the form no less then a dozen security cameras covering every square inch of the lobby and the security check-in as well as the five inch bulletproof glass that protected whoever was manning the receiving desk.
Applejack clopped wearily through the deserted lobby. She was tired, she was aggravated, but most of all she was hungry. She hadn’t had a bite to eat since yesterday afternoon and it was making her already poor mood even worse. She resolved to grab some breakfast and maybe catch a few hours of sleep before-
“Applejack!”
The cowpony groaned inwardly. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie caught up to Applejack and began walking on either side of her.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you think that was just a bit...harsh?” the unicorn asked haltingly. Applejack sighed.
“Ah don’t feel like talkin’ bout it right now.”
“But Rainbow Dash is your best friend AJ! She needs you, all of us, right now more than ever!” Pinkie exclaimed.
They turned a corner into another corridor, which led to the cafeteria. Applejack stopped and turned back toward her friends.
“Ah don’t like it. Ah don’t understand it neither. Why a human?”
“Why not? Before yesterday it sounded like he really makes her happy! Isn’t that what matters?” Pinkie chirped.
“I have to agree with Pinkie. Rainbow seemed much happier having Robert in her life while she was here in New York.”
“Ah can’t believe you two are alright with this.” Applejack huffed.
“Well I will be the first to admit that I’m a bit surprised, but I don’t see the harm in it. Besides, pony-human couples aren’t unheard of-”
“Yeah, between tha converted ponies and humans; and ah don’t know if you’ve noticed but they ain’t looked too kindly upon. This is Dash Twi, our Dash. Are ya really alright with her facin’ that sorta persecution’?”
Twilight didn’t answer.
“And furdermore, Ah still think this Rob is no good. She deserves better Twi. She shouldn’t haf’ta settle for the first human ta show’er a bit of kindness, specially one that’s so unstable. Tell me ah’m wrong Twilight.”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know Applejack. Its true that inter-species relations are heavily demonized in human media, and maybe there are better people or ponies out there for Rainbow, but she chose him and its her decision.”
Applejack’s gaze bored into the purple unicorn for a few long seconds before she turned tail and began to make her way down the hall. “Where are you going?” Pinkie called to her.
She looked back. “Look, ah know you never seem ta get tired, ever, but ah’m plum exhausted and starvin. This is a lot ta take in, and ah don’t think ah’m in the right mind to be dealin’ wit’ it right now. Ah’m just gonna grab somethin’ ta eat and a few hours rest, maybe then ah’ll be a bit more...agreeable.”
With that, the cowpony turned and made her way to the cafeteria, leaving a concerned Twilight and crestfallen Pinkie Pie behind in silence.
------------------------------
He must have zoned out on the subway, because the next thing he knew Robert was already halfway across The Brooklyn Bridge with yet another cigarette screwed in between his lips. Hundreds of ponies were hoofing their way across either heading to or from Brooklyn. Seeing anything other than bumper to bumper traffic on this bridge would have been a completely alien sight months ago. The inter-borough bridges which had for so long carried millions of vehicles across the Hudson now served as glorified foot- hoof bridges.
The rain had temporarily abated, and Robert removed his hood. He stopped for a moment and peered across the water. That was when he noticed something rather odd. It was no secret that the Hudson River was befouled and polluted, and had been for decades due to human industry. The river’s murky brownish-green hue had been proof enough of that. Yet, even under the dark stormy sky, the river which had for so long seemed to mirror humanity’s impact upon the natural world now seemed to glow with a clear azure shine. Its usual murkiness now replaced with a clarity one could only see in places like the Caribbean.
He glanced around, none of the passing ponies seemed to notice or care. This also seemed unusual. The majority of these ponies were converts, so such an unbelievable phenomenon should have at least turned a few heads. He turned back toward the river-
“...what the fuck?” he whispered breathlessly as his cigarette fell out of his mouth.
The river had returned to its normal state, leaving no sign or trace of its changed appearance. A loud boom of thunder overhead sent a few ponies on the bridge skittering as a fresh downpour of rain fell from the sky. Robert flipped his hood back on and continued his trek, now at a much brisker pace.
------------------------------
“Woah!”
Rainbow Dash hadn’t been prepared for the ear-splitting crack of thunder that surged down from the upper atmosphere. She quickly righted her course with a roll, momentarily glimpsing the expanse of the Hudson beneath her, and continued her flight toward Manhattan.
Her coat was quickly becoming drenched from the storm but she didn’t care. She needed to get to Robert, and fast. A determination burned in her heart, the likes of which she hadn’t felt since the night she and her friends faced Nightmare Moon. Had the weather been a bit more amicable she would have even tried a Sonic Rainboom, but the storm threw too many unwanted variables into the mix for her to feel comfortable attempting such a complex maneuver. The rain and wind were already impeding her enough as it was, trying something like that could be extremely dangerous.
“Ugh, why did this have to happen now!” she yelled into the sky in exasperation. She gritted her teeth in frustration as the rain continuously obscured her vision; she was kicking herself now for forgetting her flight goggles.
As an updraft hit her wings, the same uncertainty that she had felt before taking flight gripped her. Immediately the sensitive pin feathers in her wings began to flood her brain with information about the storm.
Winds heading east at roughly twenty miles per hour, with gusts of up to thirty miles per hour. Cloud to ground lightning almost nonexistent. A quarter of an inch of rain per hour at the current rate of precipitation. This storm...it felt so-
Structured. This storm had been built.
“...What the hay is going on?”
She surged forward, tightening her frame to minimize wind resistance. She had to hurry. She had to reach him.
------------------------------
Robert had finally made it to Brooklyn.
He didn’t need any maps or directions from here; he knew Brooklyn like the back of his hand. Which made sense as he had lived here virtually his whole life, only moving to Manhattan after graduating from Fordham.
It would be two blocks of walking to get to the subway then another two after reaching prospect park to reach the bureau. His pace slowed a bit as he took in the sights of his old neighborhood. Everything had changed. Being the first borough to see a conversion bureau, the changes that now permeated the city had radiated out from it. Old delicatessens and markets that he remembered visiting for years were either boarded up or had been changed into more pony friendly establishments like bakeries and candy shops.
With the absence of construction crews capable of handling the needs of up-keeping the various buildings, sidewalks and roads, many of them had fallen into disrepair. Not so extreme as to warrant them hazardous and thus mark them for demolition, but their condition had certainly deteriorated. In other parts of the borough nature had begun to reclaim the concrete jungle with vegetation becoming overgrown in some places and trees being left to damage roads and sidewalks even further with their roots.
Robert couldn’t help but notice how his old neighborhood now reflected himself; the old was being swept aside to make way for the new but it still managed to linger. He wondered if after everything was said and done if any part of the city itself would be recognizable to those who had lived in the world before, if any part of himself would be recognizable to the being he was going to become.
So lost was he in his thoughts that he had already reached the subway entrance without realizing it. He took a few steps towards it but a store across the street caught his eye. ‘High-Fliers’ glowed in neon lettering through the gloom of the rain, and pony mannequins wearing flight suits and goggles were on display in the windows. Before he could stop himself, he felt himself crossing the street and entering the establishment.
It appeared to be a sporting-goods store aimed directly at pegasi. Flight suits hung on wracks near the back of the store, while glass cases containing various eye-ware and other flight-assisting tools lined the walls. Posters featuring the Wonderbolts and other flight teams that had earned recognition were pinned above the cases.
An older pegasus stallion with a grey coat and white mane looked up from behind the counter.
“Good Morning, welcome to-” he began with a smile but stopped when he noticed the species of his would-be customer. “Oh...um, pardon me but are you maybe looking for a different store?”
Robert stared at the pony as he removed his hood. “No.”
“Oh, alright. I- Sorry its just we never get humans in here. How can I help you?”
Robert slowly walked forward, scrutinizing the contents of the cases. Goggles of every size, color, and function were on display. Clip-on altimeters and airspeed indicators lay in separate cases, as well as in astronomically separate price ranges. He turned back toward the goggle case.
“Ah, find something you like?” the pegasus asked. “Maybe for a ponified friend of yours?”
Robert turned around and faced the proprietor.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
------------------------------
Robert’s brownstone came into view as she sailed past a skyscraper.
“Finally!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
She dipped low and shot like a missile toward his balcony, flaring her wings on the approach and landing softly. He wasn’t outside; that wasn’t a good sign. She shook the excess water off her coat and trotted slowly up to the sliding glass door and attempted to peer inside. The blinds were drawn shut.
She took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this. She tentatively raised a quivering hoof to the glass...a few seconds passed...then a minute...then five...
“ARGH!”
She groaned in exasperation and began to pace back and forth in front of the door. She had been in such a rush to get to Robert that she hadn’t even thought of what to say. How was she going to convince him to come with her to the bureau? What if he shot her down again? What if Applejack was-
She mentally slapped herself. She hadn’t come this far just to lose faith in the human that she...loved. That’s right; she loved him. She hadn’t come to convince him, she had come to save him.
She took another deep breath and raised her hoof, then let a few knocks fall upon the glass.
“Rob?” She called.
No answer.
She knocked again. “Robert? Its Rainbow, I need to talk to you.”
Nothing.
She knocked harder. “Rob! I know you’re in there! Come out and talk to me you dweeb!”
She grit her teeth in frustration and knocked hard enough to rattle the entire door-frame. “ROB!”
The scream reverberated through the glass into the dark apartment, and was left unanswered. She took to the air, ready to check his bedroom and kitchen windows when she heard the neighboring sliding glass door open and the clop of hooves onto wood.
“Well, well. Fancy seeing you here again.”
Rainbow turned toward to the neighboring balcony to see the brown unicorn levitate a cup of coffee to his lips. He glanced at her.
“I assume you’re here for Robert?”
“Yeah...but he won’t answer.” Rainbow replied crestfallen. She landed on John’s balcony.
John sighed. “Rob...hes a mess right now.”
The pegasus’ eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Where do I begin...he told me about what happened between you two yesterday-” At this Rainbow shifted uncomfortably. “-and apparently it did a number on him. Had the craziest goddamn dream I’ve ever heard. Hallucinated some sort of monster in his mirror and nearly broke his hand...said he felt like he was going crazy...”
Rainbow tensed. It was just like Twilight had said. “I need to see him.” She took a step toward John. “Now.”
“You can’t.” John replied flatly.
“And why the hay not!” Rainbow spat.
“He isn’t here.”
Rainbow froze. “...what?”
“Yeah. Packed a duffel and left here about 45 minutes ago.”
Rainbow felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. It couldn’t be. It couldn't be. He wouldn’t just leave, there was no way.
John gazed at the pegasus while taking another long gulp of coffee. “You seem surprised. You knew what was happening to him, if he didn’t do something he would have died. You should be happy.”
Rainbow’s legs fell out from under her as her eyes began to burn from tears. “No...no I- it- it isn’t enough...just...just him leaving isn’t enough...I....”
John quirked an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
Rainbow shook her head as she brought her hooves to her eyes. She had been too late, he was gone.
She took a few shuddering breaths. “Where did he go?” she asked hoarsely.
John sighed as he looked up into the stormy skies. “Last I saw he was making his way to Brooklyn-”
Wait.
“-asked me to watch his place for the next week-”
She slowly removed her hooves from her bloodshot eyes and peered at John.
“-also told me I’m welcome to whatever I may like in his apartment. Something about there only being a one in three chance of him having any use for it when he got back.”
Rainbow slowly stood, her gaze never leaving the brown unicorn. John drained the last of the coffee from his mug and turned to the pegasus with a grin.
“...He-”
“Yep.”
“He’s really-”
“Uh huh.”
“Y-You’re not joshing me right? Cuz if you are I’ll-”
“Word of God.” John replied as his grin grew.
“...ohmygoshhmygoshhmygoshhmygoshhmygoshhmygoshOHMYGOSH!” Rainbow exclaimed as her face broke into a wide grin. Her heart was doing back-flips in her chest in sheer joy.
John laughed. “Ya know, you can catch him if you hur-”
He never got to finish his sentence as the rainbow-maned pegasus blasted off into the rainy skies. He watched her rainbow trail disappear behind a far skyscraper.
“Yeah...they’ll be just fine.”
------------------------------
Twilight trotted dejectedly to the security desk. She hoped that maybe Applejack was just in shock over what had happened and that she and Rainbow Dash would reconcile; she hated watching her friends fight. She reached the small door that lead into the enclosed area behind the desk and undid the latch with her magic. As she stepped inside she was momentarily surprised to see Pinkie Pie already manning the station.
“Oh! Hey Pinkie, where did you go?”
“I got a bite to eat, then decided to watch the security cameras!” The pink earth pony chirped. She could never stay in a bad mood for long, that Pinkie.
Twilight yawned and took a place next to Pinkie. “The bureau doesn’t open for another two hours, so there probably wont be anyone to watch.”
“Says you! I’ve been watching the ponies on the sidewalk and its hilarious! They are all so stuffy and grumpy in the morning. You’d think after becoming ponies they’d be a bit more chipper!”
Twilight shrugged. “Just city life I guess, Canterlot was the same way. I mean, not as technologically advanced but the mindset. Everypony just sort of-”
The unicorn blinked.
“Twilight?”
Reaching out with her magic, she adjusted the position of one of the cameras through the control console. The view on the screen shifted upwards slightly and a shadowy humanoid figure came into view. It was standing across the street, staring up at the bureau.
“Who is that?” Twilight whispered.
“I dunno but its...creepy.”
The two ponies jumped as the door opened, revealing Rarity sans hair curlers. “There you two are.” She hissed. Squeezing her way in the alabaster unicorn addressed her friends in a hushed tone. “What happened with Applejack?”
Twilight sighed. “Shes refusing to accept it, and I don’t think she’ll be changing her mind anytime soon.”
“How’s Dashie?” asked the pink earth pony.
“She left.”
“What?!” Twilight and Pinkie cried in unison.
“Not so loud!” Rarity chided. “But yes, she left to try and bring Robert here, to be converted.”
“And you let her go?!” Twilight asked incredulously.
“But of course! Its none of our business to try and stop her from pursuing love. Twilight dear I thought you of all ponies would-”
“Its not that!” Twilight hissed. “There’s a storm outside! Its not safe for her to fly right now. Plus Princess Celestia said that they would officially announce the existence of the phenomenon within the hour on national television! There could be a human backlash, and if Rainbow is out there when it happens-” She shook her head. “Besides, right now Applejack-”
“What about me?”
The three ponies behind the desk jumped and wheeled toward the door. A still very fatigued Applejack stood right outside with a scrutinizing glare.
“Oh! Oh, um nothing darling its nothing, nothing at all!” Rarity replied nervously.
“...uh huh.” The cowpony deadpanned, obviously unconvinced. “What in tarnation are ya’ll doin in here anyways?”
Applejack squeezed behind the desk, now making the space that could comfortably fit two ponies very crowded.
“We- we were um...” Twilight began. Her eyes darted up to the security monitor. “Ah! Right, that human! Its been standing there watching the building for a while we were just a bit concerned...”
Applejack squinted at the screen and let out a snort. “Ah’ll take care of this.” With that she turned and left the small room, making her way toward the doors of the bureau.
“Be careful!” Twilight called after her. She let out a long sigh of relief.
Rarity glanced at the monitor. “My...that is a bit unnerving, why is it just standing there like that?”
“Lets take a closer look!” Pinkie sang as she reached out and slowly began to turn a nob on the console. The picture on the monitor began to zoom in on the figure’s face.
“Its a man.” Twilight pointed out. The picture zoomed in further.
“He...looks familiar.” Rarity noticed haltingly.
The picture zoomed in further still...and the two unicorns gasped.
------------------------------
The subway ride had been uneventful, and no other strange hallucinations had occurred during his trek to his destination. Here he stood, before the building that had caused him so much fear, so much grief; The Brooklyn conversion bureau.
The bureaus of New York city hadn’t seen the same ‘sea of cars’ phenomenon that other areas had. Instead, the transportation department began to assign parking garages to house the vehicles that had been left behind. Eventually every parking structure and lot within Brooklyn and the majority of those in the other boroughs were filled to capacity with abandoned vehicles, their entrances sealed with chains and security personnel. Thus, the area around the building was clear.
‘Wow...they certainly made some...additions’ Robert thought to himself.
He remembered the bureau, but not in its current state. Back when it was the university hospital, it had had only been fifteen stories tops. Now it stood at roughly thirty, making the building appear even more imposing. The bureau, and hospital before it, was actually split into two separate buildings connected at the base by the first floor.
‘Still...its ironic isn’t it?’
It was ironic. So god damned ironic that it belonged in a bad novel or a crappy drama. This building was significant to Robert in more ways than one. It was in this very building twenty-four years ago that he had been born kicking and screaming into the world. How ironic that his human life should end within the same building it began.
That's right, his human life would be ending, he would be finally undergoing the conversion that he had for so long avoided, for so long despised. The revelation hit him like a freight train and he felt his legs turn to lead. The world swayed around him, and despite standing perfectly still the vertigo caused his stomach to do flips. He grit his teeth, fighting back the nausea. He hadn’t come this far to give up. Taking a deep breath, he made his way across the rain-slick street toward the bureau.
As he made his way up the stairs leading toward the door, he felt his legs become even heavier. Fighting the urge to turn and run, to give up, he took each step one by one, each one becoming more difficult than the last. He kept his goal firmly in his mind, the image of his sky-bound savior burned in his mind’s eye lending him the will to keep climbing. Finally, he made it to the top, the doors were right before him...as well as a pony. A pony wearing a cowboy hat.
What.
“Woah there sugarcube.” The cowpony warned. “Bureau ain’t open fer another few hours, come on back then.”
...What.
“...the hay’s wrong wit’chu? Ah said we’re closed, come back later!”
Robert shook himself out of his daze. Sure now that this wasn’t another hallucination he cleared his throat. “Pardon me, but I’m actually here to see someone- somepony.”
The orange mare glared. “Maybe you ain’t hearin’ me-”
“Shes a member of the staff.” Robert interjected. “She’s a pegasus. Her name is Rainbow Dash.”
The pony stiffened. “...and just how do ya know Dash?!”
Robert immediately noticed how the pony used ‘Dash’ when referring to Rainbow. She was obviously close to her...but how? “Shes a...friend of mine. Please, I need to speak with her; its important.”
The pony’ eyes narrowed. “She ain’t in no state to be talkin’ wit a human. So why dont’cha just Come. Back. Later.”
That was not a request. Robert felt his resolve waver in the face of the pony’s stubbornness and the reminder of just what put Rainbow in such a state. Despite this, he held his ground.
“No. I need to talk to her. Now.”
The pony grit her teeth and took a few steps forward. “And just what is so darn important that ya need ta bother her?!”
“I came to apologize...among other things.” Robert replied coolly.
“Apologize? Just why would’ja need ta-” The pony’s eyes widened. “Wait a consarn minute.”
At the same time Robert began to piece a few things together in his own mind. Cowboy hat, southern accent, freckles...
“Are you Robert?!”
Applejack. A tough, stubborn pony who was fiercely protective of her friends. Robert swallowed hard, this was going to be rough.
“Yes, and I came here to apologize to Rainbow for the way I acted yesterday. Please, you need to let me see-”
Robert didn’t have time to finish his sentence as the earth pony reared up and came down with a thunderous slam, the resulting shockwave sent him tumbling backwards and almost down the stairs. He fell with a wet ‘thud’ onto the stone top-step, his duffel becoming unfastened and rolling down the stairs. Applejack advanced upon him.
“Do you even know what shes been like?!”
“Wait, please-”
“Shes fallen ta pieces over tha things ya said!” She advanced further.
“Let me just-”
“Just what? Ya think you can just smooth all this over wit an apology? You city folk are all tha same!”
She was standing over him now. A blinding flash of lightning etched his retinas and outlined her figure against the dark sky. “All hat and no cattle.” she hissed, eyes narrowed.
Robert gasped as Applejack brought a hoof down on his shoulder. The blow wasn’t hard enough to injure him, but she was exerting an amount of force that betrayed her diminutive body.
“Twilight says yer sick or somethin’. That yer goin crazy or some noise. Personally, ah think shes right. Ah think you’ve been sick long before we ever came to yer world. What other reason could there be?”
Robert grit his teeth as the pony put more force behind her hoof, it was starting to become painful.
“Ah’m gonna let ya in on a little secret pard’ner. Shes too good for ya. She deserves better than some nobody human. What could ya even give her? What do ya even have ta offer her?”
What? What did that even mean? Unless...unless-
“That’s enough, Applejack!” a voiced called through the gloom. Robert looked up to see Twilight, Rarity, and a pink earth pony who he could only assume was Pinkie Pie standing in the entrance to the bureau.
Applejack removed her hoof from his shoulder and whipped around to face her friends. “No it ain’t!” She yelled. “He needs ta understand just what he did ta Dash!”
“Applejack hes here! He came of his own free will! What do you think that means?!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Ah wont accept it! Hes no good Twi! Ah don’t know what his angle is but hes up ta somethin’! Hes got ta be!”
“And just what would that be?” Robert asked as he got to his feet. His gaze bored into Applejack. “What could I be up to?” he asked icily.
“W-well...” The cowpony stammered, her green eyes darting about.
“I’ll wait.”
Applejack glared at Robert. “It don’t matter! You’re-”
“You’re right. It doesn’t matter. None of this matters. The only thing that matters to me, right now, is Rainbow Dash.”
“Why you-”
“Now I am going to ask again.” Robert continued. “May I please speak to Rainbow Dash?”
“Yes. You may.”
Robert froze. He slowly turned around, and there fluttering a few feet over the stairs was the pegasus he had been longing to see.
“Dash! How long have you-”
“Long enough.” Rainbow replied. Her gaze drifted to Applejack. For a few long seconds neither said a thing to the other. Applejack looked away in shame.
“Dash-” she mumbled. “Ah, ah was just lookin’ out fer yer wellbein’”
“I never asked you to do that.” Rainbow replied coolly.
“But that’s what friends do!” Applejack cried desperately.
“And I think you’ve done enough.” replied the pegasus looking away.
“Rainbow...”
Rainbow Dash didn’t answer, her eyes were locked elsewhere.
Applejack’s head hung low as she turned and dejectedly made her way back to the doors of the bureau. She cast one more venomous glare at Robert before pushing past Twilight and Rarity back into the building.
Twilight released the breath she had been holding. “Robert I am sorry about that. She-” A white hoof came up and silenced her. “Mmph?!”
Rarity shushed her and nodded toward the human and the pegasus that faced each other on the stairs.
The rain stopped, but the distant rumbles of thunder remained. Robert took a deep breath. This was it, this was what he had been waiting for. It felt like his heart was beating a mile a minute in his throat, but he managed to start.
“Rainbow-”
“Your hand.”
“What?”
“What happened to it? John said you nearly broke it or something.”
“You talked to-” he shook his head. “Its a long story Dash...it happened last night...a lot of things happened last night.” He descended a few steps. “Dash, about yesterday I- I’m sorry. I am so sorry. That...that wasn’t me. I mean, it was a part of me but-” he brought a hand to his face. This was going to be hard. “There’s something wrong with me Dash. I didn’t mean a word of what I said but I couldn’t stop myself from saying it...it was horrible, like being trapped in my own mind...”
Rainbow crossed her forelegs against her chest. “It really hurt me Rob, the things you said...”
“I know. I know Dash and I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve any of that. You...you are the best thing to ever happen to me.”
Rainbow’s ears perked at this and she turned to fully face Robert.
“Applejack is right. I am a nobody Dash. I have nothing to offer someone as amazing as you, and before you entered my life I was even less than a nobody. All of my past goals, achievements, dreams...they are nothing now that the world is going to completely change. The one and only thing about my current life that I can say I am proud of, that gives it purpose, is the fact that I have you in it.”
Rainbow’s face tilted forward slightly, causing her wet prismatic bangs to obscure her eyes. She appeared to be shaking.
“And you do deserve better Rainbow. There are tons of other ponies or even people that could show you so much more. But...but I am willing to change, mentally and physically to be deserving of you. I want to stay with you Rainbow, to be with you, and God willing fly with you too.”
And in that one, clear moment, there was no need for poems or sonnets, no need for grandiose declarations or flowery prose. Just three little words.
“I love you.”
Rainbow inhaled sharply, her entire body seemed to be quivering. A ray of sun broke through a cloud, illuminating the stairs where they stood. Slowly, deliberately, Rainbow Dash looked up to Robert, her magenta eyes were wet with tears and a trembling smile was on her lips. Robert was taken aback; seeing her like this...she was- gone?!
Rainbow disappeared before his eyes as she darted straight up, then came down like a missile towards him. He hardly had any time to react before-
------------------------------
Mackenzie Lewis was having a bad day.
‘Do freelance photography they said, You’ll win a pulitzer they said.’
Jack-offs, all of them. It was his third month as a photographer and he hadn’t been able to land any good shots, which was surprising since the Conversion movement’s effects on human society seemed like such a ripe subject.
His partner Jack Gardener sat across from him at the small table at the cafe across the street from the conversion bureau. He was nursing a small latte while cycling through the images of his own camera.
“This sucks.” Mackenzie spat. “I can’t believe there are no fuckin’ shots to be found. Not a one.” He glanced at Jack’s camera. “What are you lookin’ at?”
“My own work. You should be focusing on yours Mack, that’s why we came here isn’t it? Something about the masses enrolling to get ponified being a ‘Fuckin’ Goldmine?’”
Mack groaned and brought his head down on the table. “Shut it. How was I supposed to know the place wasn’t going to be open for another two hours.” He turned his head over to look back at the entrance to the bureau...and noticed something going on.
“Hey...somethings going on up there near the doors.”
“Hmm?” Jack replied while not looking up from his camera.
Mack squinted, it looked like some sort of altercation but he couldn’t make out what was being said. He bent down and dug his camera out of his bag. He zoomed back in on the doorway, and noticed that a pegasus was now there, fluttering behind the two figures near the stairs, a group of other ponies now stood in the doorway.
Mack lowered his camera. “Hey Jack-”
“Mhmm...” he replied, completely absorbed in his own photos.
“This looks important!”
“Then you should shoot it right?” Jack replied nonchalantly.
Mack raised his camera again. A sunbeam had broken through the storms and illuminated the two figures on the stairs, a human wearing a green rain poncho and a rainbow-maned pegasus. The pegasus suddenly shot straight into the air and came down toward the human. He zoomed in further as she descended, just in time to catch-
“Holy shit!”
*Snap*
*Snap*
“Hm?” Jack looked up at the sounds of the shutter-clicks. “You get something?”
“Ooh yeah, you could say that.”
He turned his camera around to show the image on the small LCD screen. Jack set his own camera down and took Mack’s. He gazed at the picture for a few moments before smiling and giving Mack a thumbs up.
There, on the screen, a perfectly timed shot of the rainbow-maned pegasus locking lips with the human could be seen. The pegasus had her forelegs wrapped around the human’s neck, while the human was cradling her head in his hands. The sunbeam radiated through the pegasus’ mane and flared wings, giving her an almost angelic appearance.
It was a one and a million shot, and they were going to make sure everyone had the honor to appreciate it.
------------------------------
Their lips parted as a cloud obscured the momentary sunlight. Robert didn’t know what to expect from kissing a pony...but it hadn’t felt bad, or weird, or even furry like he thought it would. Their eyes met, both glistening with emotion.
“Me too.” she whispered as she buried her face into his neck.
Robert ran his hands down her back, under her wings and brought her close, holding her against him.
“You’re shivering.” Robert noticed.
“Featherbrain.” came the muffled reply. “I flew through the rain all the way to Manhattan to find you.”
Robert smiled as he gently rubbed her back. His heart was racing, he felt light-headed, but he couldn’t have been happier. For the first time, in a long time, the future seemed as bright as the sun. He knew now, holding the pony he loved, that he was ready to take his true first step into his new life.
Behind the two lovers, Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight were all in varying degrees of emotion. Rarity’s eyes were wet from happiness, Twilight looked relieved, while Pinkie-
*PFFFFFBBTTHTFFTTT* “IT’S SO BEAUTIFULLL!!!” Pinkie cried while blowing her nose with a comically over-sized handkerchief. She gasped, immediately ending her sobbing as she cast aside the handkerchief. “You know what this calls for?!!?”
“Ahem.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Before that, don’t you think they should get out of the rain? Besides I have much I need to discuss with Robert.”
Pinkie’s exuberance deflated. “Fine. But I’m starting to think I’m not gonna be able to throw a party in New York!”
Robert and Rainbow Dash turned toward the door, and together made their way inside with the others.
Robert couldn’t remember a time where his legs had felt lighter.
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Hurricane Puncher
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1058
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Applejack,Original Character,Other,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Rainbow Dash,Rarity,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Conversion Bureau: Change of Life
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incomplete
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<p>Robert Parker is a 24 year old ex-web developer living in New York city. In the wake of the conversion movement, he has seemingly lost everything. Haunted by the same nightmare every night, he soon realizes that he must make a choice.</p><br/><p>To those unfamiliar with the Conversion Bureau: it is a scenario created by an author named blaze in which Ponies either appear in the human world or have lived beside humans without incident for millennia. One day, in the face of all the damage humanity has done to its world, the ponies offer a solution: undergo conversion to become a pony and allow the world to be inundated with Equestria's influence: thus healing it and bring forth a golden age. </p><p>Many different authors have taken many different approaches to this idea, all of them are worth checking out. </p><p><a href="http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ponychan.net/chan/fic/res/53616.html</a> (The current thread)<br/><a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/conversion-bureau-compilation.html</a> (The compilation post on EQDaily. *NOT UPDATED*)</p>
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2012-02-17T01:16:54+00:00
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2012-02-17T01:16:54+00:00
| 7,590 |
The Conversion Bureau
Change of Life
Part 7: Threshold to the Future
The storm continued to rage outside, the flashes of lightning illuminating one of the sky-walks that connected the upper levels of the two bureau buildings. Against the brilliance, a single shadowy figure could be seen. It was a white pegasus with a black mane and a shield for a cutie mark. His stature was tall and proud, his face stoic. He paused briefly to look out across the city, before turning with a snort back towards his destination.
He passed through the double doors into the east building and made his way down the hall. He stopped just outside a door in the very middle and gently knocked.
“Yes?” A soft, lilting reply came from within.
“Its Silver.”
“Come in.”
‘Silver’ gently turned the knob of the door with his hoof and trotted into the room. Immediately after entering, one could see that the dimensions of the room did not match up with how much space rested between the two neighboring doors. The walls stood at least fifty feet apart, while the ceiling (which was adorned with a particularly large print of the royal sigil) was almost twenty feet high. The room was decorated lavishly, vibrant decor adorned the walls while plush body pillows littered the floor. In the corner of the room, a unicorn mare with a green mane and yellow coat was seated in front of a laptop. She was frantically manipulating the keys with her magic, her face scrunched up in concentration. She looked up from the screen towards the door.
“Ah, just a moment please, the Pr-”
Silver glared.
“I-I mean Ms. Corona is just finishing her preparations. She will be with you shortly.”
The stallion nodded and turned away, choosing to remain near the door and face forward while the mare resumed her work on the laptop. The minutes crept by, with only the disjointed clicks of laptop keystrokes to break the silence. Eventually, Silver noticed movement at the far end of the room, and a unicorn mare with a white coat and pink mane stepped into view, seemingly from nowhere. Silver bowed deeply as she approached. The mare stopped a few feet short of Silver, and nodded to him with a warm smile. Silver rose to his hooves.
“I have finished my sweep of the bureau Ms. Corona. There is no suspicious activity to report.”
“Very good.” Corona replied. “Thank you for all of your hard work as always Silver.”
“Its my duty Ma’am.” Silver replied dismissively, yet he stood just a bit taller, a bit prouder. The change was not lost on Corona who giggled softly. The mare behind the laptop cleared her throat softly, calling the attention of the two other ponies.
“I just received a message from the press, their crews will be here within a half hour.”
For a fraction of a second a look of anxiety crossed Corona’s face, but was quickly swept aside by her usual serene expression. “Very good. I will make my way down to the first floor and wait for their arrival.”
“I shall accompany you.” Silver stated taking a few steps toward the unicorn before him.
Corona shook her head. “That won’t be necessary Silver.”
“Ms. Corona-”
“You said yourself there was no suspicious activity, so I should be just fine. Besides-” Corona turned toward the other mare. “-there is something else I need you to do. Something of great importance.”
As if on cue, the room was filled with a strange thrum. The green-maned unicorn’s horn began to glow with a different color, and seemed to be vibrating. She blinked in surprise before closing her eyes and appearing to whisper to herself. The silent conversation continued for almost a minute, with the mare’s face contorting into a variety of emotions before the glow faded and she let out a long breath. She turned to the others.
“There is apparently a human here already, wanting to enroll into the bureau.”
Silver tensed. “The bureau isn’t open for another two hours. Send them away.”
“Its apparently a special case. Twilight Sparkle herself requested that he be allowed entrance.”
“I don’t care.” Silver huffed. “I am currently in charge of security while Ms. Corona is here, and I say-”
“Silver.” The pink maned unicorn interjected. “Grant her request.”
The stallion balked. “But- M’lady-”
“Consider it a matter of great importance.” Corona entreated with a smile.
Silver stood silently for a few moments before sighing. “As you wish.” he acquiesced with a bow. “I will personally oversee his clearance into the building.”
“Thank you Silver. You are dismissed.”
With that the pegasus rose to his hooves, and with a nod to the secretary mare, swiftly exited the room. Corona turned toward the other mare.
“Please inform Twilight Sparkle that her request has been granted. I am off to prepare for the press conference.”
The secretary nodded and her horn began to glow. Corona quietly made her way out of the room, the door closing itself behind her.
------------------------
“Well?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously, peering at her violet friend.
Twilight opened her eyes as the glow upon her horn receded, and smiled at the pegasus. “They are going to allow Robert in early, but only after hes been cleared by the head of security.”
“Woo Hoo!” Pinkie cheered, hopping almost three feet into the air.
Rainbow sighed in relief. “Thank Celestia...”
Twilight smiled a bit more knowingly than she may have wanted, but Rainbow didn’t seem to notice. Rarity cantered up to Rainbow Dash, her expression positively glowing. “Isn’t that wonderful Rainbow? Robert is going to be alright!”
The pegasus smiled and pulled her other unicorn friend into a neck hug. “Thank you Rarity.” she whispered.
“Of course darling.” She pulled away. “But I only gave you a little push, you were the one who made it happen, and I must say I am very impressed!”
Rainbow Dash quirked an eyebrow. “Impressed? Why?”
“Oh don’t play coy dear.” Rarity replied with a coquettish smile. “That kiss was absolutely breathtaking! It could have been right out of a play!”
Rainbow’s face immediately flushed and she looked down to the floor. “Y-yeah...well...y’know...”
“Oh how romantic!” Rarity swooned. “Two souls, brought together by fate, letting nothing stand in the way of their love! Oh its simply marvelous!”
“Kind of laying on a bit thick there Rarity.” Twilight chided softly.
Rarity pouted at the purple unicorn. “Oh hush. I am allowed a bit of fun before work now aren’t I? Besides, this is a wonderful day for Rainbow! We should be happy for her!”
Hearing the combination of ‘wonderful’, ‘happy’, and ‘day’ Pinkie Pie began to grin widely, almost unnaturally so. Twilight glowered at the pink earth pony. “No Pinkie. No parties. We have a lot of work to do today.”
Pinkie huffed in annoyance. “Well I think Rainbow Dash should be the judge of that.” She turned to the pegasus. “Come on Rainbow don’t you and Robby wanna part-ay?”
Rainbow gave no reply. She was still looking at her hooves, her face bright red and a dopey smile on her lips. Rarity tittered knowingly.
Pinkie hopped in front of Rainbow and leaned in close with a scrutinizing expression. “Uh, helooooo?”
Rainbow glanced up at Pinkie then jumped back in surprise. “Woah! Uh, sorry I was kind of- um thinking. Yeah...”
Pinkie cocked her head to the side. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“The party!” Pinkie cried, throwing her hooves up in exasperation.
“Party? What party?” She looked to her other friends. “There’s a party?”
Twilight and Rarity giggled, which proved to be infectious as soon they were all laughing together just like old times. Pinkie Pie decided it would be best to find Applejack, and the other ponies agreed waving her off as she bounded toward the elevators. It was as Pinkie disappeared from view that Rainbow Dash realized someone was missing.
“Wait...where’s-”
The doors to the building swung open, and the sound of soggy footsteps drew the attention of the ponies in the lobby.
------------------------
The elevator doors slid open and Silver walked into the hall. If he was going to process this human, he was going to need some assistance. He cantered briskly down the hall to a door near the end and knocked. Three knocks, two knocks, and then three more; the code he had established with his subordinates. The door was briefly lit in a lime green glow and swung open, revealing a large green coated unicorn with a red mane standing at attention.
“Good Morning sir.” The green unicorn greeted with a salute.
“Good Morning.” Silver replied. The unicorn stepped aside allowing Silver into the room. It was a fairly spartan affair, with no decoration to be seen and a pair of bunk-beds bearing neat, neutral colored bedspreads resting in the corner. Another large unicorn, yellow with an orange mane, was already standing at attention next to the beds. The green unicorn telekinetically closed the door to the room before taking his place next to his fellow.
Silver said nothing, and instead took stock of the room. Everything appeared in order, but he had not gotten his position by shirking duty. He ran a hoof over the desk that lay opposite of the beds, and lifting it to his snout he found no dust. The desk itself was empty of any clutter, save for a single bit, which he took into his teeth. He then trotted over to the beds and flipped the coin onto the lower bunk, nodding in approval as it bounced back. He then repeated the test on the higher bunk, which yielded an identical result. He returned the coin to the desk and turned toward his subordinates.
“Good. At ease.” The unicorns relaxed their posture but kept their eyes forward. Silver cleared his throat. “I have just been informed that there is a human requesting early admittance into the bureau. Normally we would turn him away, but both Twilight Sparkle as well as Ms. Corona have decided to allow him entry.”
He allowed the information to sink in as he paced back and forth in front of his charges. “While I trust the judgement of Ms. Corona completely, protocol still needs to be observed. In my years of service I have found that a single lapse in vigilance, even the smallest, can lead to disaster.”
“Permission to speak freely sir?” asked the yellow unicorn.
“Granted.”
“How do we know he is not an HLF insurgent?”
“We don’t. That is why we are going to process him to the fullest extent possible. You two will be tasked with clearing him personally, while I will be running a background check.” He turned to the green unicorn. “You will be searching his belongings.” Then to the yellow unicorn. “And you will be searching his person. When I say searching his person I mean search. I’m talking deep. I don’t want a single inch of him, inside or out, to go unchecked.” The yellow unicorn’s expression soured slightly, but he kept his eyes forward. “Is that understood?”
“Sir yes sir!” the two unicorns chorused, to which Silver merely nodded. If he could, he would do all of this himself. However searching an individual for any potential threats required a finesse that only unicorn magic could accomplish, its why he chose these two in particular out of the rest of his outfit.
“Suit up. I want you ready in two.”
At once, two foot lockers that rested under the beds were coalesced in green and yellow light respectively and swung open. As the unicorns donned their security gear Silver trotted to the door, turned the knob, and exited the room.
That human was going to be in for quite the surprise.
------------------------
Robert sneezed as he placed the last of his soaked clothes back into his duffel. He had been mere seconds from entering the bureau when he realized that his duffel had fallen down the stairs as a result of his encounter with Applejack. He had told the others to wait inside while he went to gather his things, only to discover that half of his belongings had fallen out onto the rain soaked sidewalk. To make matters worse, he had almost been finished replacing his clothes back into his bag when a gust of wind caught the manila envelope containing the picture and letter from his family and carried it down the street. He thankfully managed to catch it before it could land in a puddle, and placed it in the dryest, or at best the least wet part of the duffel.
Yet despite the dampness of his clothes, Robert’s spirits hadn’t dampened in the slightest. The events that had taken place not even ten minutes ago were still fresh in his mind, and recalling them made his heart swell and warmth fill his chest.
With a dopey grin he shouldered the bag and made his way back up the stairs. He reached the doors and reached for the handle, but hesitated slightly. This was it. By opening these doors, by crossing this threshold, his future would be determined in an instant. For one fleeting, and almost sickening moment, the thought of turning around and never turning back crossed his mind. He shook his head and squashed the idea instantly. It would not win. The fear would not win. He wouldn’t let it. He gazed through the glass doors, and saw Rainbow and her friends laughing. Rainbow Dash...laughing...happy...beautiful.
That was all he needed. With a deep breath he pulled open the doors, crossed the breezeway, and entered the bureau proper. Immediately upon entering however, Robert was confused. Before him lay two sets of conveyor belt x-ray machines, as well as two body scanners. Was this a conversion bureau or an airport? Then it hit him, these were more than likely security precautions against the HLF.
His wet footsteps had drawn the attention of the three ponies in the lobby. Applejack was noticeably absent, as was Pinkie Pie. He felt a pang of unplaceable guilt in his chest, but it dissolved instantly upon seeing Rainbow’s smiling face.
Robert grinned apologetically. “Sorry I took so long, some stuff fell out of my bag...”
“Oh dear!” Rarity gasped. “Are your belongings alright?”
“Eh.” Robert shrugged. “Most of my clothes are soaked, or getting soaked right now.” He sighed. “I don’t suppose you have laundry services here do you?”
Rainbow trotted over to Robert with a grin. “I wouldn’t worry about it dude. They’re gonna let you in, like, right now!”
Robert blinked. “That’s cool and all but I’m still going to need clothes aren’t I?”
Twilight stepped forward. “Actually Robert we were in all likelihood going to try and have you ponified immediately.”
He felt a dagger of ice pierce his heart. Now? As in, right now?
That’s unfair.
It was. He was nowhere near ready! What happened to a week of seminars? Of preparation?
They should understand.
They should. It was too soon. He needed to prepare himself. How could they do this to him right now?!
You should leave.
Yeah, he should! He should just turn around right now and-
He stopped that thought dead in its tracks. No. You aren’t going to win. I’m here. This is happening. Better it happen now than never.
Your courage will fail you.
I’ll be the judge of that. Leave me.
Never...
“Rob?! Rob are you alright?!”
His awareness returned. Rainbow was on her hind legs, her fore-hooves on his chest. She, and the other ponies wore expressions of concern. He shook his head furiously and looked down into Rainbow’s eyes. Those beautiful magenta eyes. He smiled and held her close. “Yeah...yeah I’m ok...”
Twilight trotted to the pair and smiled apologetically at the human. “I know it may seem fast but there is a good reason. We’ll discuss it after you are properly situated.”
He nodded slowly. “Alright...”
Rainbow fell back onto her hooves, but her face still bore a look of worry. “Are you sure you’re okay?
Robert knelt down to be at eye level with her. “Yeah...yeah. Its just, I thought I was going to have a little bit more time to...just soak all this in y’know?”
The pegasus gulped visibly. “You...you aren’t regretting, y’know...this are you?”
Regret? He searched his heart...his mind...he saw the beast leering at him, waiting for its chance to wrest control of the reigns and plunge him into further despair. He searched Rainbow’s face, her concern, the naked fear in her eyes...
He leaned in close and rested his forehead on hers. “Never. I meant what I said Rainbow. Sure its happening...faster than I thought it would, but if anything this is for the best.”
Satisfied with that answer, Rainbow Dash smiled and moved her head to the side, rubbing her cheek against his. “But...” he whispered into her ear. “I am a bit scared.”
“Don’t be.” Rainbow replied softly. “I’ll be with you through all of it, I promise.”
Her words filled his chest with an indescribable warmth, a warmth whose fires chased the monster away. He slowly pulled away and gazed into her eyes, eyes that were filled with love and mirth. He reached out and caressed her cheek softly. Between them a spark was ignited, a connection reached; the moment was too right. They slowly drew closer to one another, their eyes closing, their lips-
“Ahem.”
And just like that the moment shattered. The couple gasped and flinched away from each other as if hit by an electric shock. Everyone present whipped their heads toward the source of the interruption. A large white pegasus stallion flanked on either side by equally large unicorn stallions, one yellow and one green and both wearing kevlar vests, stood a few feet away. The two unicorns glanced at one another behind the pegasus’ back, and Robert felt his cheeks flush.
Rainbow glowered at the pegasus.
“Oh, hon-es-tly!” Rarity whined, stamping her hooves with every syllable. “Silver why must you ruin everything?!”
The middle stallion stepped forward, ignoring the outburst, his grey eyes peering at Robert with an almost uncomfortable intensity. “As you...already know I suppose, my name is Silver. I am currently the head of security for this bureau. I assume you are the early arrival?”
Robert nodded and stood. Silver turned to the unicorn on his left and nodded towards the duffel. The bag was coalesced in a pale green light and lifted away from Robert toward one of the x-ray machines. The green unicorn cantered to the machine and began to telekinetically manipulate its settings, and in a few seconds it thrummed to life.
Silver trotted up to Robert, which gave him a scope as to just how large he actually was. While most ponies only came to at or slightly above hip height, the stallion before him stood almost as tall as his lower chest. His size, in concert with his toned musculature gave him an intimidating presence.
“Before we continue, I will enlighten you regarding a few rules here at the bureau. First, no electronics. Period. This means no cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, tablets, nothing. Do you have anything of the sort on your person or in your bag?”
Robert shook his head, mentally thanking John for the early warning.
“Good. Second, while you are here you will not be permitted to leave the premises. The exception being your decision to drop out of the program.”
“I understand, and I have no intention of leaving.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rainbow Dash smile. This wasn’t so bad, he could do this.
“Fine. Third, no alcohol, tobacco, controlled substances or weapons will be permitted within the bureau. If you have any on your person say so now. If they are found in your possession later you will be immediately ejected from the bureau without question.”
Oh. Fuck.
“Do you have any substances or weapons on your person?”
Robert was sweating profusely. “Uh...well...”
Silver glared.“I will say this again. None of the aforementioned items will be permitted in this building. If you have any on your person relinquish them. Now.”
Robert’s eyes darted all over the place before falling on Rainbow. Immediately words of wisdom, heard long ago from his father, dredged themselves up from his memory.
Son, love is a lot of things. That includes compromise. One day you will find the love of your life, and if you want to keep that love, you will need to make compromises. Some will hurt more than others, and others still will seem impossible. Just remember, if that love is strong enough, true enough, you will be able to overcome anything.
He took a few deep breaths into his charred, ash-laden lungs. He could do this. Besides...he was getting ponified immediately, and the process was supposed to cure all human ailments including the heaviest of drug addictions. He could do this. He could do this.
Robert reached into his poncho and pulled out five unopened packs of cigarettes. Twilight and Rarity gasped, Rainbow grinned broadly.
“Good on ya Rob. I knew you could do it.” Robert gave her a weary smile.
The yellow unicorn levitated a small dish from the inactive x-ray machine, the one used to hold wallets and other small personal belongings, over to Robert. With only the slightest hesitation, he dropped the packs into the tray.
Robert sighed. He knew he was better off without them, that they were killing him, but giving up a crutch that helped carry you through the worst of times was still rough. He noticed however that the tray was still hovering in front of him, both Silver and the yellow unicorn staring at him. Robert brought a palm to his forehead and reached into his front pocket, pulling out a half empty pack and added it to the others.
“Is that all?” Silver asked, an eyebrow quirked.
Robert was about to nod before bringing his palm to his face yet again. He whirled around walked over to his bag, which still rested against the x-ray machine. He opened the duffel and dug through its wet contents, pulling out four more packs. At this Rainbow joined the others with an expression of mild shock. “Holy bucking Celestia Rob...”
“Yeah I know...” Robert replied gloomily as he placed them with the others in the now overflowing tray. Silver and the unicorn glanced at one another, before returning their gazes back to Robert.
“You know-” Silver began.”-there have been issues in the past with individuals attempting to smuggle banned substances into the bureaus. They would try to get them past security, sell them to the other bureau residents, then drop out of the program with a nice profit.” His gaze bored into Robert, who frantically waved his hands in front him.
“They were all for me, I swear to God. I’m a pack-and-a-half a day smoker, and I thought I was going to be here for a week.”
Silver blinked. “What do you mean you thought you were going to be here for a week?”
Twilight roused herself from her shock and spoke up. “Um, actually Silver Robert is going to be ponified immediately.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, um, that is...”
Silver stared at the lavender unicorn before a look of understanding crossed his features, followed shortly by disdain. “I see. Very well, but I will need to speak with you at length Lady Sparkle.”
Twilight’s ears folded down and she nodded dejectedly. Robert looked back and forth between the two ponies in confusion. Was she not supposed to tell him about his condition? Silver turned to the yellow unicorn. “Place those aside for now, we will have maintenance incinerate them.” He turned back to Rob.
“Where was I...oh yes; the rules. The three aforementioned guidelines are the most important. Obviously things like violence or gross misconduct will also have you ejected. You will receive a pamphlet detailing more. Now, remove any metal objects from your pockets and place them within this tray.”
Robert found a now empty tray floating before him and he complied placing his wallet and keys into it. He also removed his shoes and belt without being told to do so and placed them on the x-ray’s conveyor belt alongside his bag. The yellow unicorn, levitating a metal detecting wand trotted up to him.
“Please remove your coat and place it on the belt.” Robert complied, removing his poncho and giving it a few shakes to remove the excess water before folding it and placing it next to his shoes. Once that was done, the belt began to move and carry his belongings through the x-ray. The unicorn then began to move the wand over his body. Finding nothing on his person, the unicorn returned the wand to a holster on his vest and led Robert to the body scanner. A few moments later he was on the other side, apparently cleared.
The other ponies, taking a separate path through the checkpoint, met Robert as he was putting on his shoes. Twilight smiled apologetically. “Sorry about all the fuss Robert, but you can never be too careful.”
“Hey its no trouble, humans go through this all the time at airports.”
“Still, it would be nice if it wasn’t necessary.” Twilight sighed.
Robert nodded, and turned to grab his coat and bag, only to find them levitated out of his reach.
“Pardon the inconvenience.” said the green unicorn. “But due to the nature of your enrollment and early arrival, your belongings as well as your person will need to undergo additional searching.”
At this, Robert felt a strange almost electric feeling ripple through his body. Looking down, he was shocked to see his body enveloped in a yellow light. He turned his head and saw the yellow unicorn, his expression impassive. “Remain calm.” he sighed. “You need to be searched further, in private.” To Robert’s horror, he felt his body become rigid and unresponsive. His arms and legs were glued together by the yellow aura, as if they had been bound by rope. His body pivoted on his heels and slid all the way to a door on the other side of the lobby. The door swung open, and with one last horrified glance at Rainbow Dash he was pushed inside. The unicorn followed and shut the door behind him.
------------------------
Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle all stood in shock, unable to speak. Rainbow was the first to snap out of it and in seconds she was in Silver’s face.
“What the BUCK was that about ‘Silver’?!”
Silver’s stoic expression wavered only slightly as he frowned. “Protocol Lady Dash. I assure you he will be unharmed.”
“Protocol my FLANK!” Rainbow snarled. “What possible reason do you have to put him through this?!” She shot a hoof toward the green unicorn, who was magically removing all the contents from Robert’s bag and sorting through them.
“Precaution. Hes being allowed early admittance during a particularly dangerous time. We need to be absolutely sure he isn’t connected to the HLF.”
From across the lobby a muffled yell could be heard. Followed by monotone instructions to remain calm.
“He isn’t!” Rainbow screeched, her rapidly fraying nerves made all the worse by Robert’s scream. “I’ve known him for months! We hang out all the time!”
“Be that as it may, protocol is protocol. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a background check to run.” With that, Silver trotted to the collection tray and took Robert’s wallet into his mouth before cantering toward the security office.
Rainbow was shaking violently, her face red with rage. Rarity trotted over to her and gently patted her on the back. “Calm down love. Calm. Down. Robert will be fine.”
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!!”
“Sir. Please remain calm. It will be over soon.”
“What are you...no. NO. OH GOD JESUS WHY?!”
It took both Twilight and Rarity to magically restrain Rainbow from blasting her way into the room to try and rescue Robert. This went on for roughly a minute longer before the door swung open, revealing a shaking, traumatized Robert and a weary yellow unicorn. The two slowly made there way back to the group, with Robert walking in apparent discomfort.
“Look, if its any consolation man I didn’t want to do that either. Orders are orders.” said the yellow unicorn apologetically.
Robert merely nodded, his expression vacant. Rarity and Twilight released their hold on Rainbow who barrelled into Robert, almost knocking him over.
“Are you alright?! Rob?! Speak to me!” she cried, clutching him desperately.
“Fine.” Robert replied hollowly. “I’m...fine...”
“What happened to you in there?!”
“I...never want to talk about it.”
Rainbow cast a baleful glare at the yellow unicorn who sighed. “I had to do a...thorough search using magic. Silver’s orders.” he glanced at the green unicorn. “Hes clean by the way.”
“Yep, nothing here either.” the other security officer replied, placing Robert’s belongings back into his duffel.
Rainbow glared down the hall. “That Celestia-damned-”
“Rainbow.” Robert interjected. “Really, I’m alright.” He ran a hand through her mane affectionately before placing her on the ground.
The pegasus cast a worried gaze at Robert before sighing. “Are you sure?”
Robert peered off into space. “I could sure use a smoke right now. Lets leave it at that.”
Twilight winced at Robert’s pain. “I retract my previous comment. Sometimes...you can be too careful.”
“Indeed.” Rarity agreed with a nod.
Robert shuffled over to his belongings, and replaced his belt around his waist. He reached for his keys and wallet only to notice that the later was missing. The human turned to the green unicorn, who shrugged. “Silver took it for a background check.”
“Of course he did.” Robert said with a sarcastic chuckle as he ran his fingers through his hair. The human was clearly at wits end, and Rainbow was about to try and comfort him when the clopping of hoof beats announced Silver’s return. Robert’s wallet was still in his teeth, and he had a folder tucked under his left foreleg. He mouth-threw the wallet to the human, who caught it ease and placed it in his back pocket.
Immediately, the green and yellow unicorns stood at attention side by side. “Sir, he has no contraband in his possession.” The yellow unicorn reported.
“Fine.” Silver acknowledged. He turned to Robert. “For all intents and purposes you are clear. I do however have a few questions for you, which will need to be asked in private.”
Rainbow was about to protest when Robert gently laid a hand on her head. “Its alright Dash. I’ll be fine. You guys should head over to the ponification rooms. Ill met you there when this is done.”
“But-” Her protest was cut short by a finger on her lips.
“I’ll be fine.” the human repeated before bending down, with a bit of difficulty, to peck her on the cheek. Rainbow’s face flushed deeply as she turned away. “Alright...” she acquiesced.
“Your belongings will be waiting for you once you undergo the process.” Silver said with a nod towards the yellow unicorn, who levitated Robert’s bag and coat off of a nearby table. He gestured to Robert and the green unicorn to follow him and together they made their way down the hall out of the lobby.
------------------------
They walked in silence through the building’s many corridors. Robert eventually lost track as they made their way down stair cases, hallways, and passages. Eventually, they reached a solid steel door, which the green unicorn opened. Silver turned to Robert and nodded towards the open room. With a sigh, Robert complied and strode inside.
The room was slate gray, with only a steel table, a chair, and a bright overhanging light being its only furnishings. It was an interrogation room right out of an NYPD precinct.
‘From bad to worse. Perfect.’ Robert thought gloomily as he made his way to the table. Behind him, the door shut with a loud metallic thud as the two ponies took their places across the table from him.
“Please, have a seat.” Silver offered motioning towards the chair.
Robert eyed it hesitantly. “I think I’ll stand.”
“Suit yourself.” Silver replied dismissively as he placed the folder onto the table. “Before we begin, allow me to enlighten you about the situation. Ms. Corona, liaison to Princess Celestia, has decided that you are to be allowed in early. Due to recent HLF activity, we must be absolutely sure that you pose no threat to anyone here at this bureau.” He nodded to the unicorn. “Let me formally introduce you to my subordinate here.” At this, the green unicorn stepped forward. “This is Agent Evergreen. He serves under me as my...information gatherer. You see, his magic specializes in determining truth. I am sure you have heard of a polygraph test?”
Robert nodded.
“Think of this as a much more precise version of that. I will be asking you a series of questions and you will reply truthfully. If you lie, Evergreen will know which means I will know. When that happens, we are going to have problems.”
‘When that happens. Figures.’ Robert thought irritably. He wasn’t going to let this stuck up bastard intimidate him, after all he had nothing to hide. Wait...
“If that’s the case then why the fuck did I have to be searched?! You could have just done this from the beginning to know I wasn’t a security risk!”
“Temper, Mr. Parker.” Silver warned with a smirk. “I pride myself on being thorough. Once this is done you will be free to use the bureau without anymore harassment, barring any revealed information that could refute your previous claim of course.”
Robert merely glowered at the pegasus.
“Well then-” Silver began as he nosed open the folder on the table. “-lets get started.” At this, the green unicorn’s horn glowed to life and the room was briefly filled with a strange ringing. Robert winced and dug a finger into his ear.
“First, let me say that I was surprised to see you didn’t bring your driver’s license.”
“Don’t have one.”
Silver paused and glanced up from the folder on the table. “Is that so? I was under the impression that every human over the age of eighteen possessed one.”
“Well I don’t. Never needed one. Too much of a hassle to drive in the city.”
Silver glanced at the unicorn, who nodded in confirmation. “Very well.” Silver conceded. “Just be grateful you had the presence of mind to bring your social security card and a valid photo I.D.”
“Whatever.”
“Moving on.” Silver continued. “Allow me to verify your personal information, to make sure there aren’t any discrepancies of course.”
“You mean to make sure it isn’t falsified.” Robert spat.
“Yes that too I suppose, but those are your words not mine.” Robert merely glared in response.
Silver cleared his throat and began to read off of the page in front of him. “Robert Alexander Parker, age twenty four, born to Phil and Mary Parker in New York City-” he blinked in surprise. “-in this very building no less! How interesting.” He paused to look up at Robert. “Do you verify this to be true so far?”
“Yes.”
Evergreen confirmed it with a nod.
“Attended PS 114 for high school, and graduated with honors from Fordham University.”
“Yes.”
Again, Evergreen nodded.
“No prior arrests...citations...or fines. My, my Mr. Parker your record is spotless.”
Robert crossed his arms with a shrug. “What can I say? Up until the Conversion movement I led a very uneventful life.”
“Indeed. However most security risks, like HLF insurgents for example, share records almost identical to yours; whether it be through falsified information or just no prior history of civil disorder.”
“So I am a potential threat because I have a clean record?” Robert asked incredulously.
“You seem intelligent enough to understand Mr. Parker. When insurgents, of any dissident faction, need to act abroad it is much more preferable to have an unstained history. It makes them harder to detect, to track or...to route out.” Silver stated calmly, with slightly more emphasis on the last part. Robert merely smirked.
“Sounds like you’re just being paranoid.” he scoffed.
“Perhaps Mr. Parker, perhaps. But as I said before I pride myself on being thorough.” Silver replied placidly. “By the way, would you be willing to confirm the previous part of your record?”
“Of course. I have no prior arrests, citations, or fines.”
There was a pause, and Evergreen nodded in confirmation.
Silver shrugged. “I guess that’s all for your background.” he stated simply as he flipped another page in the folder. “Now...we get to the issue.”
‘Here we go...’ Robert thought wearily.
Silver cracked his neck before fixing Robert with a stolid gaze. “Robert Parker. Do you have any current or prior affiliation with the dissident faction known as the Human Liberation Front?”
“No.”
Evergreen nodded.
“Have you ever engaged in any criminal actions or gross misconduct against a bureau, its staff or inhabitants?”
“No.”
Again Evergreen confirmed it to be true.
“Have you, in the past at anytime, considered joining the Human Liberation Front?”
Robert felt his jaw clench involuntarily. Silver quirked an eyebrow at his hesitation.
“...yes.” Robert admitted bitterly. Evergreen blinked before nodding in confirmation.
Silver’s eyes widened slightly. “Is that so? Care to elaborate as to why?”
Robert sighed. “I was angry. My design firm went under because of the movement, and everyone I knew got ponified and disappeared. I thought the HLF could have helped me to...shit I don’t know. Get revenge? I know that sounds bad, believe me, but I changed my mind immediately when I heard about the violence, the killings.”
Silver nodded slowly and turned to Evergreen. The unicorn’s eyes were closed, he seemed to be scanning every piece of what he had just heard. After a few long seconds his eyes opened and he nodded to his superior. Silver turned back to Robert.
“I commend your honesty Mr. Parker as well as your change of heart, which I assume-” He slid the second page within the folder across the table to Robert. “-is due in no small part to her?”
Robert picked up the paper, which revealed it to be a black and white print out of he and Rainbow Dash walking side by side down a sidewalk.
Robert glared at the pegasus. “How did you get this?”
“Surely you know? Rainbow Dash, as well as her five other compatriots, are national treasures. Heroes who time and time again have saved our world from evils beyond your imagination. However, they are young and lack the maturity such an elevated station demands. Did you really think we would allow them to scatter into your world without any sort of protection? Supervision? We have been watching them Mr. Parker and all they interact with. That includes you.”
Robert grit his teeth. “You never needed my identification for a background check. You probably had one done before.”
“Several actually. None of them revealed anything of actual consequence.” Silver admitted nonchalantly. “Most of what you experienced in the lobby was an act. My apologies.”
Robert felt his teeth grind in anger. In the face of everything he had been through and the revelation that was beginning to dawn on him his rage was starting to boil over. “This was never about the HLF...”
“Yes and no. As I have said before countless times, I pride myself on being thorough. You should be relieved; through the background checks, the surveillance, and this little exchange I can say with absolute certainty that you aren’t-”
Robert brought his fists down onto the table with a thunderous slam. “THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS IS FUCKING ABOUT. JUST COME OUT AND SAY IT!!!” He screamed at the pegasus.
The sudden outburst caused Evergreen to flinch away from the table. Silver however appeared unfazed and didn’t move an inch.
The seconds ticked by in silence. The passage of time stretched unnaturally from the tension in the air. Finally, Silver sighed.
“Very well human. You seem to now understand the purpose of this meeting, so I no longer see the point in deception.” His grey eyes peered coldly into Robert’s enraged brown. “Your relationship with her is inappropriate.”
“Why?!” Robert spat.
“Differing species aside, her destiny is one of glory. She and her friends will go on to do things that you could never hope to accomplish, much less comprehend. You are holding her back.”
“BULLSHIT!” Robert roared. “I came here to be ponified! So the issue of my species is irrelevant! And do you think I don’t know how amazing she is?!” He leaned across the table. “I know she’s incredible, that in comparison I’m pretty much nothing. But, you know what?” He leaned in even closer, his face now inches away from Silver’s, his voice barely above a whisper. “She doesn’t care about that. She accepts me, loves me for who I am and I love her. That will never change. Ever.” With that he drew back from the pegasus, who now bore the slightest trace of a grimace across his muzzle.
The tense silence returned, with the previous exchange still ringing in the air. Evergreen glanced back and forth between the human and his superior as they stared each other down. He had never seen Silver this furious. Sure, to an outsider he appeared to be calm, but to Evergreen who had served under him for years the almost imperceptible snarl on Silver’s lips spoke volumes on his barely controlled anger. The human’s visage was equally intense if not more so. The tension in the room was beginning to become unbearable when Silver suddenly turned to Evergreen.
“Well?”
The unicorn stared blankly at his superior for a moment before realizing what he meant and refocused his magic, scanning the human’s previous words. Finding only truth within them he nodded slowly.
Silver turned back to Robert, and after a few long seconds released the breath he had apparently been holding. His expression returned to its usual impassive state.
“Very well. It would appear I cannot change your mind.”
“You’re damn right.” Robert snarled defiantly.
Silver allowed only the smallest trace of a smirk to enter his features. “You’ve got a fire in you boy, that much I’ll give you. You pass.”
Robert blinked in confusion.
“Really-” Silver continued as he gathered up the folder and placed it under his foreleg. “-I have no right to decide whom she loves. No...I gave that up long ago...”
Now Robert was extremely confused. “What?”
Silver turned to Evergreen. “Escort him to the ponification floor. Afterwards, report to Ms. Corona that Robert Parker has been completely cleared for early admittance. Then I want you to meet back up with Sunburst and prepare for what we spoke about earlier.” Evergreen merely nodded, too confused to give a verbal reply.
Silver turned and made his way to the door, which the dazed unicorn magically opened. He partially exited the room and stopped.
“One more thing Mr. Parker.” the pegasus said without turning around. “I know it was your condition talking...but If you ever hurt my daughter like that again I will stomp your head to a pulp.” With that, Silver exited the room proper and vanished into the dark hallway.
Robert and Evergreen stood motionless, not fully grasping the previous statement. Then, as it sunk in, their eyes widened simultaneously in shock.
Robert slowly fell into the chair he had refused earlier, his previous anger and bravado deflating like a balloon. He turned to the unicorn.
“Did...did you-”
“No.” Evergreen replied, just as shocked as Robert was. “No he- he never spoke about his family. Ever. I honestly thought this was a normal interrogation...”
“Huh.” Robert replied blankly.
Yet again silence reigned in the interrogation room, its occupants too stunned to do much else than process the revelation they just received. Eventually Evergreen turned back to Robert.
“We...we should-”
“Yeah.” Robert replied. “Yeah lets go...”
Robert rose to his feet and cast one last look at the picture on the table before following the green unicorn out of the room.
------------------------
The hum of the elevator served as fitting background noise to Robert’s thoughts. The ponification floors were halfway up each tower of the bureau and they were currently ascending the east tower, supposedly to where Rainbow and the others were waiting for him.
He replayed his encounter with Silver in the lobby for the countless time, trying to remember Rainbow’s reaction. She had seemed displeased to see him, but that could have been due to the interruption of their...moment. Did she not recognize him? Did she not know who he was? Rainbow never talked much about her parents, only that her father had left when she was small and her mother was forced to raise her alone in Cloudsdale. It was a painful subject so Robert never brought it up.
The ‘ding’ of the elevator signalled their arrival as the doors opened. “The ponification floor.” Evergreen stated matter-of-factly. “The waiting room will be down the hall and to the left.”
“Alright. Thanks.” Robert replied as he exited the elevator.
“Good luck Robert. Something tells me you are going to need it.” Evergreen called through the closing doors.
Robert stood alone in the hall, his head abuzz with what had occurred in the interrogation room. If Silver’s words had been true, then that would mean he had gained the approval of Rainbow’s father...which was good. Yet, knew he was going to have to confront Rainbow about this eventually and that set his nerves on edge. He had no idea how he would even begin to approach such a subject.
Fuck he needed a cigarette. Bad.
At some point during his reflection his legs had carried him right to the door to the waiting room. Upon realizing where he was, what he was about to walk into, all other thoughts were pushed from his mind. He stood motionless before the door, his blood rapidly filling with ice. He could almost see the chasm from his dreams superimposed before him, through this threshold.
This...this was it. This was really it. All he needed to do was open this door and-
Your courage will fail you.
He gasped, clutching at his chest. The icy dagger was twisting deeper into his heart.
You are weak.
Be quiet.
You will break.
Be quiet!
You will never make it to the other side.
Leave me!!
Succumb.
His breath refused to fill his lungs. He could feel his throat begin to close as stars filled his vision.
You’ve got a fire in you boy, that much I’ll give you. You pass.
His vision returned in full as well as his breath. He took several long gulps of air and, bolstering his courage, opened the door and entered the waiting room.
“WHAT THE HAY DO YOU MEAN HE HAS TO WAIT THREE DAYS?!!”
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Octavia,Soarin,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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All The Right Notes
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Soarin' and Octavia.
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hiatus
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<p>Soarin' the Wonderbolt was forced to go into Ponyville and pick up more apples, after eating them the night before. While trotting down Ponyville's main square, he hears music being played in one of the houses nearby. He walks over to where he heard the music, peeks inside the window to find the most beautiful music and mare he has ever seen.</p>
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everyone
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2011-11-27T08:24:57+00:00
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2011-11-27T08:24:57+00:00
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Soarin' was immediately woken up by the sound and vibrations of Spitfire. By the way she was yelling, he could tell she was a little mad.
"Soarin'! Wake up!"
He looked up at the annoyed pony with a glazed look in his eyes. He hated being forcefully woken up.
"Wh-what do you want? Not sure if you noticed, but when a pony closes his eyes, he most likely asleep."
"Well, for starters, you were, and are still late to practice today, and you ate all of the apples in the storage. You need to go into Ponyville and pick up 3 dozen apples from Sweet Apple Acres."
Soarin' grunted. He didn't like going into town, people always swarmed him asking for autographs and whatnot. Sure, he had the occasional run-in with his friend Rainbow Dash, but that was about it. He rolled his eyes and agreed to do it.
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He glided into town, still tired from being woken up abruptly. He slowly landed by the library, and trotted towards the main square.
Wow, this place is packed today. He thought. Why was it so busy on a Tuesday? With it being so packed, he was barely noticed by civilians, making him less tense.
He walked towards the end of the square when he heard something: music. He enjoyed it, even though it was just a whisper. He followed the sound of the music to find it was in a typical Ponyville house. Soarin' sat outside for about 3 minutes, taking in the music, loving every minute of it.
Oh, this is amazing! Who is making this beautiful music? He slowly perched his head up on a windowsill close by and peered inside the home, awestruck by what he saw. He saw a grey pony, that was holding a stringed instrument. He had no idea what it was, but he didn't care. All he cared about was the fantastic music being played from the instrument.
He had his head there on the windowsill for about 10 minutes, when she finally noticed him there. She jumped, and squealed.
"Oh I'm sorry ma'am. I was just listening to the music you were playing from your...." He drifted off, he still had no idea what it was.
She gave a small giggle at the blue pony in her window. "It's a cello, and thank you for your compliment, um."
"The name's Soarin'!" He said triumphantly. "And yours is?"
"I'm Octavia. Pleased to meet you Soarin'. So you really enjoyed my playing?" She blushed.
"I do! I'm not a big fan of that type of music, but man, that's really good."
She giggled again, and he smiled at that, "Thank you. It's nice to know that somepony likes my music."
He nodded and gave her a big grin.
"Well, I gotta go get some apples for the crew." She looked confused when he said 'crew'
"Uh, who's 'the crew'?"
"The Wonderbolts. You know, best fliers in Equestria?" He felt a little cocky, but whatever.
"Oh yeah, I didn't recognize you without your uniform on. Anyways, good bye Soarin'. I hope to see you again" And with that she gave him a smile that made his heart melt. He smiled back and headed off in the way of Sweet Apple Acres. He wasn't sure, but he sorta liked Octavia. Not because of her music, although that was a big factor, but because she was beautiful, and she seemed really sweet.
All the way to Sweet Apple Acres, Soarin' thought of Octavia and her wonderful music. He was so in thought he didn't realize he bumped into the pony in charge of selling apples.
"Whoa watch out there sugarcube. What in tha hay are yah doin' bumpin' into things?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just thinking."
"It's quite alright. Now, what can ah do ya fer?"
"I'd like 3 dozen apples please."
"Whoa, quite a big order yah got there. Why do yah need 3 dozen apples?"
"Just, some friends."
"Alrighty then. Hey Big Mac! Ah need 3 dozen apples!" She yelled at her brother who was half across the farm.
Soarin' waited about 5 minutes for the apples to appear.
"Thank yah kindly Mac."
"Eeyup." Said the large red colt, and he went away to finish with his chores for the day.
"That'll be 10 bits."
He put the bits on the stand and picked up the 2 bags of apples. They were a little heavy, but he didn't mind it. He thanked Applejack for the apples and she simply nodded. And with that, he was off to go back to Spitfire to give her the apples.
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"Oh it about time Soarin'! What took you so long?" Spitfire said with her full mouth.
"Uh, nothing much, busy day in Ponyville." He kept Octavia from her. He's tell her soon, but all he wanted now was to see her again. "Well Spitfire, I'm going back into Ponyville for a bit. Gotta get some.... um.... hoof polish! Yeah, hoof polish." He was a terrible liar.
"O-ok. Well, see you in a bit." She still had her mouth full. Spitfire had already eaten 4 apples, and Soarin' smiled at that. She was a good friend.
He flew off towards the main square, hoping that Octavia would still be home. He was also hoping she was still playing her cello, so he could listen to her amazing music. After searching countless houses, he finally found Octavia's. He could tell because she was humming the same tune she was playing earlier.
He knocked on the door and watched as the grey pony opened it and gave a little smile.
"Ah, Soarin' was it? When I said I wanted to see you again, I didn't mean so soon. But, whatever. What do you need?"
"Well, I was hoping that I could maybe take you out for dinner tonight. The weather patrol has it scheduled for a clear sky. So what do you say miss Octavia?"
She chuckled, smiled then softly said, "Sure, I'd love to. You seem like a good colt Soarin'."
He had a big grin on his face.
"Shall we go m'lady?" She blushed at him trying to be formal.
"Alright, just let me grab my bag."
Soarin' waited at the front door feeling jittery. Sure, he's performed to thousands of people as a Wonderbolt, and he's hung out with Spitfire a lot of times, but he's never liked her as much as he likes Octavia. She arrived and they started heading towards a nearby restaurant. Being a Tuesday night, it wasn't that busy, so they got a table pretty quickly. They sat down at their table and ordered drinks. Octavia was the one to ask the first question.
"So, Soarin', what's it like being a Wonderbolt? I bet you get a lot of people asking for autographs." He nodded.
"Yeah, it's great, plus it's a lot of fun, doing tricks and whatnot with a bunch of friends."
"That's pretty cool. I've been to one of your shows, and you guys looked fabulous."
He chuckled and thanked her.
"What about you Octavia? How long have you been playing the cello?"
"Well, I've been playing for about 10 years now. I got my cutie mark when I took up the cello. From the first note I loved it. It just felt right..." She put a hoof on his, "...like tonight. It feels right."
Now it was Soarin's turn to blush. He felt it too, his face felt like it was burning. He smiled though, he couldn't care if she noticed it. He liked her, a lot, and that proved that she liked him, a lot.
They got their food, and ate it, telling each other stories and more about themselves between bites. They had a great time, laughing, and just enjoying their time together. Before they knew it, the restaurant was starting to close, so they got up and Soarin' took Octavia home.
When they got there, they looked at each other and smiled. Octavia leaned in a kissed him on the cheek.
"I had a really good time tonight Soarin'. You're a real good colt." He smiled.
"So did I, it was a lot of fun. And thank you."
They bid each other a good night and she closed the door. He smiled and sighed, then panicked realizing he didn't pick up and hoof polish. He just shrugged it off and headed home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When he got to his house, Spitfire was helping herself to food items in his kitchen, he just smirked and walked in.
"Find what you're looking for?" Spitfire jumped.
"Soarin'! You scared me!" She looked at him confused, "Where's the hoof polish?"
"Oh, yeah. Well you see... um..." She cut him off.
"Soar, no need to lie, I know you were out with that mare. I was a bit skeptical about the whole hoof polish thing so I sorta spied on you. You seemed like you had a good time with her." He felt relieved. "So what's her name?"
"What? Oh, her name is Octavia, and she plays the cello. She's amazing at it, and she's really sweet."
"Yeah, she looked that way. Well, I'm off to bed. G'night Soar!"
"Night Spitfire." And with that he too went off to bed.
He couldn't sleep for hours, he was thinking about her.
"Good night Octavia." He whispered to himself, and he drifted off to sleep.
|
404error
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1060
| 2 |
Octavia,Soarin,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
All The Right Notes
|
Soarin' and Octavia.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 1 |
<p>Soarin' the Wonderbolt was forced to go into Ponyville and pick up more apples, after eating them the night before. While trotting down Ponyville's main square, he hears music being played in one of the houses nearby. He walks over to where he heard the music, peeks inside the window to find the most beautiful music and mare he has ever seen.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-11-27T16:19:00+00:00
|
2011-11-27T16:19:00+00:00
| 2,414 |
"....Now do a barell roll!" Spitfire yelled at her blue friend. They've been practicing all day, and he just wanted to see Octavia. It's been 3 weeks since their first date, and they've been happy ever since. Soarin' has improved with his flying skills, and Octavia has improved immensely in her cello playing. He'd go over to her house at night, and sit down and listen to her play. He loved it. He loved her, but was afraid to admit it. What if she didn't love him? What if she only liked him a lot? He's gotten close to telling her, but he chickened out, afraid of what she might say. But all of that was going to change tonight. He asked his friend Rainbow Dash to have the night to be clear of clouds. He was going to take her to a small hill outside of town and tell her he loves her. Spitfire has helped him with his confidence in the past couple days, pretending she was Octavia. He got a kick out of that. She really was a great friend.
"Alright Soar, I think you've done enough today." Soarin' had a huge grin on his face.
"Awesome, I'll be back later." And with that he was off to Ponyville.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Soarin' arrived at her house, Octavia was playing her cello in the living room. He knocked on the door, and she smiled, knowing who it was.
"Hello Soarin'. How're you today?" She said in her usual calm voice.
"I'm doing pretty good, just got done with practice."
She chuckled, "I can see by the uniform." Soarin' looked down and realized that he didn't change out of his uniform.
"Oh, uh, yeah." He gave a nervous laugh.
"Won't you come in? I'm making a pot of tea right now."
He nodded. He loved her house. It was filled with pictures of her childhood and famous cello players. They got to the kitchen, and he sat down, waiting for his cup of tea. She brought them their tea, and they talked for a bit. She also brought out some apples and they munched on that for a while. After talking in her house for about 2 hours, Soarin' had to get ready for that night. He was still pretty nervous, but excited.
They said good bye and she gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he smiled at it. He truely loved her. He started flying towards his house when he noticed Rainbow Dash putting clouds in the sky. It was almost night time, and he was worried she forgot about what he asked.
He flew over to her and calmly asked, “Hey Dash, what’s going on? I thought there was supposed to be a clear sky tonight?”
She shook her head, “Sorry Soarin’, weather patrol changed their plans. Won’t be a clear sky until tomorrow night.
Great. Just great. I was nervous enough, but now I have to wait a day. He complained in his mind. He didn’t want to make Rainbow Dash upset so he just went with it. He slowly flew towards his house, sad that he couldn’t tell Octavia how he really felt.
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“What?! There was supposed to be a clear sky TONIGHT!” Spitfire yelled. She wasn’t in the relationship, but she helped Soarin’, and he was grateful for that.
“Yeah, I know...” Soarin’ looked down. “I guess I have to wait.”
“Ugh, fine. So where did you say you were taking her again?”
“Come with me.” Soarin’ walked towards the door of his house and they headed off out of town. He took Spitfire to the hill he talked about, and it was perfect.
She looked at him and said, “Octavia is a lucky mare to have you Soarin’.” He blushed.
“Thanks Spit, I wanna make this a night we both won’t forget.” He looked up and saw that the weather patrol were finishing up the clouds. “Let’s get back home, it’s going to start raining soon” Spitfire nodded and they headed towards Soarin’s house. Soarin’ was still a little upset about the rain, but it gave him more time to make it even more perfect. Oh, I know, I’ll wake up early and pick up some flowers. But what kind of flowers does she like? I’ll just get some roses. He smiled as he crawled into bed. He lost all nervousness and was excited to tell that special grey mare that he loved her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Uh, hi yes, I’d like a dozen roses please.”
“Oh, and what for lad?”
“Uh, family member. She’s a big fan of roses.” The storekeeper nodded and brought out a dozen roses in a flash. He paid for the roses, smiled, then thanked him for them. When he walked out of the store, the morning felt crisp, and fresh. The rain from the night did wonders for the day. He walked through the main square of Ponyville, wanting to visit Octavia, but went against it. He had to put the roses somewhere safe. Not many people were in Ponyville (or awake) so he decided to stroll around town. He had Wonderbolt practice in a couple of hours, and needed a time waster. He walked around taking his own tour of the town. He visted Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, and the town hall. This is a neat place, I can understand why Octavia would live here.[i/]
After a while, he decided to head home and get ready for practice. He got a quick shower, and had some breakfast. He was ready to tell her that he loved her. Only.... 10 hours away.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A couple hours have passed, and practice was over. He got out of his suit, cooled off for a bit - it was a hot afternoon that day, and decided to see if Octavia was home. He stepped out of his door and flew off towards Ponyville. He was hoping she was home, so he could invite her to the hill that night. Sure enough, she was at home reading, while humming a tune. He knocked on the door, and she answered with a smile.
“Hello Soarin’, how’re you?” She asked in that calm voice that Soarin’ absolutely loved.
“I’m fine. So, question. You doing anything tonight?”
“Uh, no not really? Why?”
“I’ve got this place we can go to outside of town where we can be all alone. It’s pretty cool.”
She blushed. A night all alone with Soarin’? “Um... o-ok. That sounds great.” She grinned at the thought.
“Cool, I’ll pick you up around 8ish?”
“That works. I’ll see you then.” He nodded and smiled. He started to get nervous again, but pushed it aside. Tonight he was going to tell her. He started to trot off towards the food cart across the square - he could smell the pies from a mile away, when he bumped into Rainbow Dash. It was obvious she was aware of Octavia.
“So, Soar, who was that?” She asked with an evil grin on her face.
“Oh, uh, Octavia? She’s just a friend...” He started to get nervous.
“Uh huh, looked like you two were happy. Like EXTREMELY happy. Is she your.... Marefriend?!”
“Uh, n-no. Why would I have a maref.....” He saw the disbelief in her face and just confessed, “Ok, yes. She and I have been going out for a couple of weeks now.
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! This is so cool!!” He smiled. He expected that kind of reaction from her.
“Well, I’m going to get one of those delicious apple pies and head home. Later Dash.
“See ya Soarin’!”
He got his fresh pie and enjoyed every bite of it. Those ponies at Sweet Apple Acres do a dang good job of these pies. And with that he was off to get ready for his date with Octavia.
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“Ok Soar, you ready for this?” He slowly nodded. “Alrighty, grab one of those roses and head out, it’s almost 8.”
“Alright Spit, I’ll see you whenever.” She said good bye and he walked out of the door. He started to flap his wings and he flew towards her house.
It took a good 5 minutes for him to work up the courage to knock on the door, and when he finally did it, he felt relieved. She opened the door, and they greeted each other with open arms. Octavia gave him a small kiss on the cheek, and they started walking towards the hill. Along the way they talked about random things, such as, family, friends, and whatnot. They arrived at the small hill and Octavia just gasped.
“Oh... this is so romantic.” She looked at Soarin’ with a loving look in her eyes. “Thank you Soarin’. This is fantastic.”
“That’s not the only thing.” She looked confused, “L-look Octavia, I know we’ve only been going out for a couple of weeks, b-but... I just....-” She cut him off with something he never thought would happen. They kissed for what seemed like forever, and when Octavia broke the kiss she looked at him and said very softly, “I know Soarin’... I love you too.” He blushed. His face was burning up, he thought he had a fever. They looked at each other and smiled. Octavia leaned in and they kissed again, feeling as right as the first one.
The two sat on the hill for a long time before she started to get sleepy. He walked her back to her place and they stood on her doorstep just looking at each other.
“I love you Soarin’.”
“I love you too Octavia”
They kissed one more time and she went inside. Soarin’ was smiling all the way through the main square. He flapped his wings and headed home. When he got back, Spitfire was still awake, eating more from his fridge, but this time she heard him walk in. She nearly tackled him.
“So, how did it go?! Did you tell her?!” Spitfire was almost jumping at this point.
“Yes, I told her... sorta.”
“Sorta? What do you mean sorta!? It’s a yes or no question!”
“Well, we kissed and-” He was cut off by a screaming Spitfire
“You guys kissed?!?!” He nodded.
“Yes, we kissed, then she told me she loved me.”
“So everything went well. Good. Now go to bed, tomorrow we have a performance at the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“Oh, is that tomorrow? So THAT’S why Ponyville has been packed lately. Alright, well night Spit.”
“Night Soar.”
He walked upstairs to his room and plopped down on his bed. The whole night raced through his head. He couldn’t believe any of it, especially kissing her. He slowly drifted off to sleep, mind still racing. As he fell asleep, a smile came on his face, thinking about Octavia. The mare he loved.
|
404error
|
1060
| 3 |
Octavia,Soarin,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
All The Right Notes
|
Soarin' and Octavia.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 1 |
<p>Soarin' the Wonderbolt was forced to go into Ponyville and pick up more apples, after eating them the night before. While trotting down Ponyville's main square, he hears music being played in one of the houses nearby. He walks over to where he heard the music, peeks inside the window to find the most beautiful music and mare he has ever seen.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-11-27T16:25:25+00:00
|
2011-11-27T16:25:25+00:00
| 1,561 |
The next morning was warm, but had a nice breeze to it. It also was very quiet, the square was empty, save a couple of ponies doing morning walk, and the skies were clear. Soarin’ woke up feeling his best. He had to, the Gala was that night and he needed to be refreshed for the performance. He walked downstairs and saw Spitfire, once again, helping herself to anything out of his fridge. He saw her pull out, milk, eggs, and what looked like sausage. She quickly glanced at him and jumped.
“Wow, you sure are quiet walking down those stairs.” He chuckled.
“Hah, uh, thank you? Anyways, what’s going on?”
“Well, you need to eat something before practice today. We’re going over the routine that will be happening at the Gala tonight.”
“Oh, go ahead and make you something, I’m going into town. I’ll be back later.”
“Going to see Octavia?” He chuckled again.
“No, it’s too early for her to be up, plus she’s playing at the Gala tonight, so I’ll be taking her up there.”
“Alright, be sure to be up there around 7 tonight to get set up. Practice starts at 10.” He nodded as he walked out the door, heading towards Ponyville.
He took his time, just gliding towards middle of town. At this time, ponies were either, still asleep, or getting things ready for the gala: dresses, suits etc. and Soarin’ was kinda glad it was empty. He wasn’t in the mood to wait 10 minutes to walk a couple of feet to get something to eat. He landed in the middle of the square, and headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. His stomach growled even more the closer he got to the farm. I really hope they have their pies out. I’m in the mood for one. He thought, and sure enough, they had fresh baked pies being loaded onto a cart.
He walked over and kindly asked the orange pony loading the pies onto the cart, “Um, may I buy one of these pies?”
“Dontcha think it’s ah little too early fer pie?” She looked at him, he had a frown on his face, and with a smile said, “Sure thing sugarcube. That’ll be 3 bits.”
He put the bits down and looked at the pie with a very excited look. He grabbed the pie and walked back to the square. He figured with it being so quiet and empty, he could sit at a bench and peacefully eat his pie.
Soarin’ got to a bench and set his pie down next to him. He looked up at the sky, noticing that the skies were clear of clouds and pegusi. He started eating his pie when he saw somepony step out of her house. She stretched and looked over at him. She smiled, and he smiled back. She trotted over to him and sat next to him, still looking at him. She put her hoof on his and they kissed.
“Good Morning Soarin’. Didn’t expect you to be awake so early.”
“Mornin’ Via,” She gave a shy grin at the nickname he gave her. “I have Wonderbolt practice in a couple of hours and needed to do something to pass the time.”
“Well, you could come over, and we could have one of our 2 hour long talks that seem to happen all the time.” She was right. Soarin’ visited her nearly every day.
“I’d like that. Just, let me finish my pie. This is delicious.” She giggled.
Soarin’ finished his pie and they walked over to Octavia’s house. He could smell the tea being made in the kitchen. He loved her tea. It always made him feel better. They walked into the kitchen as the tea was just finishing. She poured him a cup, and herself and they sat down.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A couple hours passed and Soarin’ just realized the time. It was almost 11.
“Oh no! I’m late for practice!” He yelled.
Soarin’ quickly got up, gave Octavia a kiss and headed off to practice. He flew so fast he almost lost control when he got to practice.
Spitfire was furious with him, “Soarin’, you’re late. AGAIN! What were you doing?!”
“Uh, um, I was with...” He was cut off
“Oh save it. You seem more occupied with her than us. Need I remind you that the gala is TONIGHT?” He shook his head.
“Look Spit, I’m sorry, I lost track of time. Let’s just go over the routine.”
She paused for a couple of minutes then said, “No. If you’re going to spend most of your time with her, then you’ll miss the performance tonight.”
He looked at her, and scoffed. “Fine. I’ll still be showing up to the gala with her.”
“How, you aren’t performing with us.”
“I was able to get a ticket for Octavia, until I learned she was playing, so I kept it, just in case.”
“Whatever. Just go away, we’re busy.”
He then started to fly back to Octavia’s house. He was angry. Why can’t she just be happy with us. She was the one to urged me to do anything. Thinking this made him angrier. He needed to cool down, and fast. He reached Octavia’s house and banged on the door. She opened up the door to see Soarin’ like she’s never seen him before.
“Soarin’? What’s wrong love?”
“Spitfire’s furious at me for being late to practice. I’m not performing tonight because of it.”
“Oh...” She felt partially at fault for making him late. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine for losing track of time. Can I stay here until the gala? I’ll still be attending, but not performing.”
“Sure, come on in. I was getting ready to practice for the gala. I can’t wait for you to hear it.”
Soarin’ sat down in the living room and waited for Octavia to return with her cello. He was still mad at Spitfire, but he deserved it. At least to him, it wasn’t time wasted. It was with her.
She came in with her cello and started to play. He was immediately captivated by it. "Wow, this is beautiful." She saw the pleasure in his face and she smiled.
When she was finished with her song she shyly asked, “So, did you like it?”
“Like it? I loved it! I especially loved that one part....” And as he described it, she couldn’t help but stare in his eyes. She loved him - alot. Whenever they were together, she felt happiness like she’s never felt before.
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek gently as he was talking, and he smiled and chuckled. She returned the smile and they kissed. He was calm now. The whole Spitfire incident was behind him. Now he was with the mare he loved.
“I love you Via.”
“I love you too Soar.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They spent a couple more hours talking in the living room, with Octavia playing some songs here and there, and Soarin’ loved every minute of it. They both looked up at the clock and noticed the gala would be starting in 2 hours. Octavia rushed to get everything set up for her performance that night, and Soarin’ went back to his place to get an old tuxedo he had. I’m surprised I still have this.
He turned around and saw Spitfire standing at the doorway.
“What?” He asked coldly.
“Look, Soar, I’m sorry for what happened earlier, but you have to realize you can’t be late to practices for big events.”
“Yeah, I know. Like I said, I lost track of time. I didn’t even expect her to be awake.”
She sighed. “Alright, everything’s cool with us?”
“Yeah, I guess.” They both chuckled.
“Good, get your Wonderbolt suit on, we’ve got one practice before our performance, and I think it’s easy for you to learn.”
He frowned, “Oh, uh, well since I wasn’t performing, I told Octavia I’d watch her perform. It’ll mean a lot to her.”
She sighed again, “Fine. But come to see us at least once during the night. It’d be weird to not see you during a performance.” He laughed.
“Alright, will do.”
Spitfire turned to leave, and Soarin’ got into his tuxedo and walked out of his house. He flapped his wings and headed towards Octavia’s house to pick her up and head for the gala. He knocked on the door and saw the dress she was wearing. He was in awe at what he saw.
She saw his expression and smiled. “So, what do you think of my dress? I asked Rarity to make it for me.”
“I-it’s beautiful. I’m speechless.”
She blushed. “You look just as handsome in your tuxedo.” He grinned.
“Thanks Via. So you all ready for the gala.”
“Yes, I’m a bit nervous, but I’ll get over it. I’m excited to see Beethooven again. He’s such a good pianist.”
“Ha, alright. Let’s head off.”
She climbed on top of him for the first time, getting ready for her first flight with Soarin’. He flew at a comfortable speed for the both of them, allowing her to get more suited to flight. They didn’t talk most of the way up, mainly because Octavia was scared out of her mind. Luckily the flight didn’t take that long. She got off of Soarin’ shaking. He laughed.
“Not used to flying eh?” Without skipping a beat she shook her head. “You’ll get used to it as days go by. It can get pretty cool when you’re above the clouds.” She was still frightened, and he walked her to where she will be performing.
When they arrived at the hall, Beethooven was already playing his music, along with a tuba player. Soarin’ asked Octavia to dance to the music being played, and she blushed.
“I’m not a very good dancer.”
“Neither am I, but let’s do it.”
The two got close and started to dance in the empty hall. The two performers noticed them dancing and played a slower song. Octavia put her head in Soarin’s shoulder, and he kissed her on the forehead.
He whispered, “I love you.”
She whispered back, “I love you too”
The two ponies shared a kiss, and Octavia had to get on stage and get ready to play. Soarin’ waited patiently for the performers to start playing, and he started to get excited. Octavia got on the stage, picked up the cello, and started playing. The other two picked up on what she was playing, and Soarin’ loved it. They sound great together. This should be a great night.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 hours passed, and most of the guests arrived to Canterlot for the gala. Soarin’ noticed Rainbow Dash and her 5 friends with her, and gave them all a wave.
Between two songs, Soarin’ told Octavia he had to go see the Wonderbolts do some tricks.
“... I promised Spitfire I’d be there.”
“Alright, have fun. I’ll be here for the rest of the night.” She laughed.
Soarin’ walked to where the Wonderbolts were performing, and saw the performance. He thought they looked good, and wished he was with them, but he was glad he was there to support Octavia.
He was able to watch most of the performance that was left, then he turned back and went back to the hall where Octavia was playing. He stayed there the rest of the gala, listening to the music being played from the three instruments. Even though there was only three performers, it still sounded really good. He enjoyed every song that was played, some more than others.
By the time they finished playing, most of the guests had left, the gala pretty much over. He waited for Octavia to get finished with everything, saying good bye to the other performers, and congratulating them on a job well done.
They smiled at each other and Soarin’ said, “You guys sounded REALLY good tonight. But then again, you always sound good.” She blushed.
“Thanks Soar.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Well, I’m ready to go. Are you?” He nodded. “Great, let’s get going.”
When they got outside, Octavia climbed on his back again, expecting for the ride to be fast. They were both tired, so Soarin’ took his time flying from Canterlot to Ponyville. Since they were so tired, the flight was, again, quiet. Soarin’ noticed Octavia yawn every once in a while, and thought he could go a little faster to get her home. She was too tired to argue with him going faster.
They arrived at her house, and she climbed off. The two ponies looked in each other’s eyes and kissed.
“Good night Via, I love you.”
“Good night Soar, I love you too.”
And with that, Octavia went right to bed. Soarin’, flapped his wings and went straight home. He couldn’t wait to get in bed. He got to his house, and for the first time in a while, Spitfire wasn’t raiding his fridge. Seeing no distractions, he took off his tuxedo, and climbed into bed. He drifted off to sleep pretty quickly, but before hand, he thought about Octavia, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face, remembering the mare he loved.
|
404error
|
1060
| 4 |
Octavia,Soarin,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
All The Right Notes
|
Soarin' and Octavia.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 1 |
<p>Soarin' the Wonderbolt was forced to go into Ponyville and pick up more apples, after eating them the night before. While trotting down Ponyville's main square, he hears music being played in one of the houses nearby. He walks over to where he heard the music, peeks inside the window to find the most beautiful music and mare he has ever seen.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-04T02:36:50+00:00
|
2011-10-04T02:36:50+00:00
| 1,502 |
Sorry about the late chapter. The weekend was hectic, and I didn’t have a chance to write it. And, like I said, had a huge brainfart on what to write, but anyways, here it is!
The blue colt walked very quietly through the empty Ponyville. It was only 8 in the morning, and most ponies were asleep, and Soarin’ thought it would be a great chance to get something that was extremely important.
He trotted over to the jewelers, and opened the door. There was only one pony in the store, and that was the owner.
The store owner smiled at the colt and warmly said, “Welcome to my shop. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Oh, actually I was wondering if I could get something custom made?”
“Sure thing. What would you like, ring, necklace?”
“Necklace.”
“Alright, and what would you like it to be?”
“Uh, I’ve drawn what it looks like.” Soarin’ handed him the drawing of the necklace.
“Alrighty then. I can have this done by either Friday or Saturday. “
“Sounds good!”
“Mmk, your total comes to about 20 bits. Being custom made and all, price will be a little higher.”
He placed the bits down on the counter,”It’s ok, I understand. Thanks a lot!”
“No problem at all!” And Soarin’ walked out of the door. He flew towards his house, in hopes on getting a nap before practice. He got inside his house, and before he could make it 2 steps up, he was intercepted by Spitfire.
“Oh, Spitfire, wasn’t expecting you to be up so early.”
“I could say the same thing about you. Why did you go into Ponyville?”
“What? No reason at all.”
She could see him starting to get red.
“C’mon. There’s a reason, and I want to know it.”
“You sure?” She nodded. “Positive?” She nodded again. “Ok, I’ll tell you, just come here.” She got closer and he whispered in her ear, “No. Reason.”
She pouted. “Fine, but I will find out. Just you wait.” He just rolled his eyes.
He walked up the stairs and plopped in his bed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Soarin’, wake up! We’ve got practice in 20 minutes!” Hearing this, Soarin’ shot out of bed so fast, he fell face first on the floor.
“Nice one. Anyway, get a quick shower and put your suit on.” He nodded.
Soarin’ took a very quick shower, and got in his suit. “Alright, let’s get going.” They walked outside and headed for practice. The fly there was pretty quiet. but when they almost got there Spitfire questioned him again for that morning.
“So... What were you doing this morning?”
He sighed. “Fine, if you really want to know, I was getting something.”
“Ooooh what?”
“Something. Look, were already here. Let’s get practicing!”
“Grr fine. But I will know!” He chuckled.
A couple hours into practice, Soarin’ really wanted to see Octavia. She was the only thing on his mind, and he almost messed up on some tricks. He was tempted to come up with an excuse to go see her, but decided against it. He was a part of the team and they needed him, so he went on through all of practice.
At the end of practice, he was the first to leave. He desperately needed a shower after a long practice, but he also wanted to see Octavia.
After he got his shower, he walked out of his house and headed towards Octavia’s house. On his way there, his stomach started to growl, so he went and got something to eat. He spotted a pie cart being wheeled in, and flew right towards it. His mouth was watering as he got closer to the cart.
“I’ll take one pie please!” He said with much excitement. The pony behind the cart nodded and handed him a pie. He grabbed the pie, and almost forgot to pay for it. He found an empty bench and sat down, enjoying his pie.
It didn’t take him long to finish the pie, and when he took the last bite, he smiled. He turned to his left and started walking towards Octavia’s house. He arrived, and knocked on her door, only for her to almost immediately open the door.
“Well that was fast.” They laughed together.
“Oh yes, I was going out for a bit to pick up somethings. Would you like to come along?”
“I’d love to.”
“Alright, let’s get going.”
They stopped by Rarity’s shop to pick up a shirt, they stopped by Sugarcube Corner to get something sweet, and they got to the jewelers. Soarin’ started panicking. He didn’t want her to find out about the necklace. He took a deep breath and walked in, seeing the store owner from that morning.
The owner noticed Soarin’ and smiled. “I know you. You came in earlier and orde-” He was cut off.
“Hey, uh could you not talk about that?”
“Sure thing, but why?” Soarin’ glanced back at Octavia who was looking at some bracelets, and didn’t notice them.
“You see, I ordered the necklace for her. Anniversary is coming up, and I wanted to surprise her with that.”
“Oh, ok gotcha.”
Soarin’ went back to Octavia’s side and saw what she was holding.
“Oh Soar look at this bracelet. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah, it is. But not as beautiful as you.” He kissed her on the cheek, and she blushed.
“Thanks Soar. I love you.”
“I love you too Via.”
Octavia walked up to the counter and placed the bracelet on it.
“Hi, yes, I’d like to buy this bracelet please.”
“Alright, that’ll be 15 bits.” Octavia had a distressed look on her face.
“Shoot, I only have 10 bits.” Soarin’ walked up and placed 5 bits on the counter.
“Nope, you have 15 now.” He chuckled.
“Oh, thanks Soar, you’re too kind.”
“No problem at all.”
They walked out of the jewelers, and Soarin’ took Octavia home. They stopped at her doorstep and they kissed.
“I had a lot of fun today Soar, thank you for coming.”
“Sure thing Via. I had fun too.”
“Well, I got things to do around the house, so I must get going.”
He chuckled. “Alright. See ya.”
“Good bye.”
Octavia went inside her house, and Soarin’ went back to his house.
When he got there, Spitfire was, once again, going through his fridge.
“Hey Soar, you need to go shopping. You’re running out of food!” He laughed.
“Yeah, here’s an idea, you get the food, and I’ll raid YOUR fridge.” They shared a laugh.
“So what have you been up to?” She asked, mouth full of a sandwich.
“I was with Octavia, you know, the usual.”
“Yeah, shoulda guessed.”
“What about you? What have you been up to?”
“Well, other than eating your food... Nothing really.” He smiled.
“Seems like a productive day.” She laughed and nodded, mouth still full. “Well, I think I’m going to take a nap. I’m still a little tired.”
“Alright. See ya later” He gave a tired nod as he walked up the stairs. He laid down in bed and fell asleep right away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He woke up a couple hours later, and noticed that it was dark. He sat up in bed and just stared out his window. Wow, is it already night? He thought, still confused on how long he slept. He shrugged off the thought and walked downstairs. He looked at the time, and saw that it was 9. Spitfire had gone to bed early that night, and he was bored. He debated on going into Ponyville and finding something to do, or go back to sleep. He decided on going into Ponyville, and headed off.
When Soarin’ arrived, everything was quiet. It seems that everyone went to bed pretty early. He took this time to walk around and find something to do. He saw a resturaunt open and went to get something to eat. He hadn’t eaten anything except for that one pie earlier. He ordered, got his food, and took his time eating it. He was still a little tired, but not enough to make him fall asleep.
When he finished his food, he walked back outside and saw nothing but lights. It made him feel relaxed. He sat on one of the many empty benches and just looked around. I wish Octavia were here. She’d love this. And without skipping a beat, a certain grey pony walked out of her house, and noticed Soarin’ sitting alone.
“Oh hello Soar, wasn’t expecting you here this late.”
“Yeah, I had a nap, and can’t fall asleep. So, here I am!” She giggled.
“I was about to go on a walk, would you care to join me?” He nodded. “Great, let’s go.”
The two ponies walked through Ponyville talking, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. They passed all the buildings, shops, homes, everything when they got to a place they both recognized. It was the hill they declared their love for each other. Octavia blushed, as the two ponies embraced on top of the hill. She was happy with him, and vice versa.
“I love you Soar.”
“I love you too Via.” They shared a long passionate kiss on the hill, and when it broke, they walked back to Octavia’s house.
When they got there, Octavia looked tired, and so did Soarin’.
“Soarin’, you look tired, why don’t you stay here for the night?” This caught him off guard.
“Seriously? You sure?”
“Of course I am. I’ve got room in the house for just an overnight stay.”
“Alright, I guess that could work.”
Soarin’ walked in the house, and followed Octavia to her room.
“I don’t have an extra room, so you’ll be sleeping in here.” They walked in and Octavia asked, “Floor or bed?”
“Uh, the bed will do nice.” She giggled.
“Alright, well let’s get some sleep, you look like you could fall asleep any minute.” He chuckled.
“So do you!” And they shared a laugh.
Octavia climbed into bed first, then Soarin’ and she snuggled up against him. He put his arm around her as they slowly drifted off to sleep. Before he fell asleep, Soarin’ kissed Octavia on her forehead and whispered in her ear, “Goodnight love.” He closed his eyes, and fell asleep with Octavia in his arms.
|
404error
|
1060
| 5 |
Octavia,Soarin,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
All The Right Notes
|
Soarin' and Octavia.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 1 |
<p>Soarin' the Wonderbolt was forced to go into Ponyville and pick up more apples, after eating them the night before. While trotting down Ponyville's main square, he hears music being played in one of the houses nearby. He walks over to where he heard the music, peeks inside the window to find the most beautiful music and mare he has ever seen.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-17T04:38:09+00:00
|
2011-10-17T04:38:09+00:00
| 1,544 |
Sorry for the late chapter. If you red my comment below you’ll see what was going on. D: Well anyways enjoy this!
It's finally up!
Soarin’ woke up the next day, arm still around Octavia and smiled. He kissed her gently on the forehead, and just laid there. Many thoughts were racing through his head about their anniversary. It would be 3 months on Tuesday, and he was excited to see her expression when he gave her the gift he was getting specially made for her. That gift being a necklace with her cutie mark as the main design, with S & O on the sides.
He looked down at Octavia as she started to wake up. She noticed that she was in the arms of her love.
She smiled up at Soarin’ and softly said, “Good morning Soar.”
He gave a smile back and said, “Mornin’ Via.” The two shared a kiss.
Octavia got closer in Soarin’s arms and they laid in bed for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the time alone. It was quiet in her house, and they liked it. Octavia was the first to get out of bed and she walked out of her room and into the kitchen.
She yelled back at Soarin’ who was still laying in bed, “Do you want breakfast?”
“No thanks, just a cup of tea will do nice.”
“Alright.” And Octavia got started on the tea and breakfast.
Soarin’ slowly got out of bed and stretched. He looked at the time and saw that it was 10 past 9. He had practice in 50 minutes, and had to hurry to get back home and get ready. As he walked out of Octavia’s room, she stopped him and handed him his cup of tea. She was smiling at him, and he couldn’t say no to it. He walked over to the kitchen where Octavia was finishing making her breakfast, also sipping on a warm cup of tea. I can be a little late to practice. He thought. Right now he was with Octavia, and nothing could go wrong.
The only sound in the house was Octavia’s breakfast snapping and sizzling on the stove, and she was the one to break the silence between them.
“So, Soarin’ our 3 months is coming up. I’m excited for it, I know it’ll be just grand.”
Soarin’ couldn’t help but grin. “Yes it will. I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong on that night.”
The two ponies looked at each other smiling until Soarin’ said, “I love you Via.
She blushed, “I love you too Soar.”
He finished his tea, and only had 20 minutes to get ready for practice. He told Octavia and she understood, so she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and he was out the door headed home.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Practice took longer than expected because the group of ponies were trying to perfect a single move. Spitfire got fed up with it and told everypony that they would try it again the next day. Soarin’ quickly got home and got a shower. The day had been cold, and a nice warm shower had been good on his coat. He just let the water run across him, thinking about Tuesday. He would pick up his gift either later that day or the next day, and everything would go as hoped. He was planning on having a romantic picnic in a field that he and Rainbow Dash had found just outside of Ponyville, he was planning on giving her the necklace after eating, then going back to her place just to talk. He was starting to get really excited. Tuesday was only a couple of days away, but to him, it would feel like a lifetime.
Soarin’ got out of the shower, noticing an extreme temperature change. He shivered a few times, but quickly adjusted to it. He dried off, and walked downstairs. Spitfire had already helped herself to food, and was eating it on his couch.
“Hey, don’t you have your own food?” He jested. She looked up at him with a full mouth, and gave a big grin.
“I do, but I already ate all of mine.” Soarin’ shook his head.
“Silly little Spitfire, go to the market and pick some stuff up. I have things to do today.”
“Like?”
“Just, things.” Spitfire still wasn’t leaving.
“Like?!”
“Things!”
“LIKE!?”
“Ok, I’ll tell you. Just come here.” She walked over to him and he whispered into her ear, “Things.”
Spitfire just pouted. She gave up, she wouldn’t win this argument, “Fine, I’ll be going. And when I get back, something will happen!”
Soarin’ just chuckled at her empty threat, “Ha, okay Spit! I’ll be on guard.” He said sarcastically.
Spitfire pouted again, “You’ll see!”
He waved a hoof in her direction, and she stormed off. He really didn’t have anything planned, he just wanted to be alone for a bit. He grabbed an apple from the counter and plopped on his couch. It was quiet throughout the house, and was only broken every once in a while by a large crunch from his apple. He enjoyed the silence there. It gave him time to just relax and not have to worry about the Wonderbolts or anything else. Of course Octavia was on his mind, she had been ever since the day they went on their first date. The more he thought about her, the more he wanted to see her, so he finished his apple, picked a flower from a nearby vase, and headed towards her house.
He glided towards Octavia’s house when he saw a bunch of ponies circled around something loud in the middle of the square. Curious he changed course and went to the noise. He arrived at what looked like a stage, and saw a blue mare on the stage.
He overheard one of Rainbow’s friends talking about the pony on stage, “Ugh, it’s that Trixie girl again! Gosh, didn’t she learn her lesson the last time?”
“Yeah, everypony knows Twilight is the better unicorn around here.”
Soarin’ walked closer to the stage and saw the pony gloating about how she was the better unicorn, and that Twilight Sparkle should try to beat her in a magic competition. He watched as a purple pony trotted on stage and valiantly accepted her offer.
“Well well well Ms. Sparkle. When and where should this competition happen?”
“How about right now?” He could see her getting angry.
“Pfft. Please, I need my rest. It’s been a LONG day providing entertainment for these ponies. How’s Tuesday sound to you? I’ve got performances everyday but Tuesday.”
Twilight gave a grin towards Trixie, “Sounds like a plan.”
The two mares gave a ‘hmph’ and Twilight walked back to her Library, while Trixie went back to her performance. He just shrugged and walked away from the stage.
Soarin’ knocked on Octavia’s door, and she opened it up and smiled, “Hello Soarin’. How was practice?”
“Took longer than expected, but it happens.”
She chuckled and asked, “Won’t you come inside? It’s a bit chilly outside.”
He nodded and walked inside the house.
She directed him towards her couch, “Here, take a seat, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Hearing this made Soarin’ get this large smile on his face. He sat down on the couch and waited for Octavia to come back. She got back to the living room, holding her cello. She started playing this beautiful song that Soarin’ loved at the first note. He closed his eyes and took in the music, smiling as he did this.
She finished the song, and Soarin’ opened his eyes looking straight at her, “That was THE most amazing song ever. What’s it called?”
She looked away shyly, “It’s called The One I Love. I wrote it myself.” She was blushing as she was saying this.
“Oh really? I bet I know what it’s about.” He gave an affectionate smile at Octavia.
She was blushing so much that her face felt like it was lava. She giggled and said, “I love you Soar.”
“I love you too Via”
He got back up, walked over to her and gave her a passionate kiss. Soarin’ started caressing Octavia in his hooves, as they moved to the couch. They sat down and Octavia broke the kiss. The two ponies looked at each other, smiling, and kissed again. This time Soarin’ broke the kiss and they sat together in silence, with Soarin’s arm around Octavia. They found themselves yawning and drifting off to sleep. Soarin’ gave a small kiss on her forehead and they slowly went to sleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The two ponies, woke up around 9 at night. They had realized they slept through the whole day, and decided to take another walk through Ponyville.
They walked for about 30 minutes before Soarin’ heard something he thought he would never hear, “Hey, could we maybe take a fly above Ponyville? I bet it looks amazing from up there.”
Soarin’ stood just looking at Octavia until he finally said, “Uh, sure. Just climb on my back and we can do this. Just remember, it gets colder as you fly higher.”
Octavia climbed on his back and he stretched his wings. She grabbed hold of his neck and he started to lift off the ground. Octavia, still not used to flying, was terrified. Soarin’ looked back and saw the terror in her face, and landed back on the ground.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
She gave a small nod, and almost had a death-grip around Soarin’s neck. He gave a couple of gagging noises and she loosened her grip.
“So-sorry. I was just a little scared there.”
He chuckled, “It’s ok. Get ready!”
Soarin’ lifted himself off the ground, and Octavia almost screamed. This would take some getting used to. They flew around Ponyville, admiring what it looked like from the sky. Octavia was most fascinated by the giant cloud city outside of Ponyville. She still couldn’t believe that he lived there.
They visited the giant tree library, Rarity’s boutique, Sugarcube Corner, and other places, and Octavia was just overwhelmed by the sights.
“Thi-this is beautiful Soarin’. I can see why being a pegasus is so cool. The sights at night are just absolutely marvelous.”
“Yeah, I like it. Plus it’s cool to see a storm while being above it.”
“Haha, I can only imagine.”
Octavia started yawning, and they decided to head back to her house. Soarin’ was too tired to head back to Cloudsdale, so Octavia let him sleep in her bed that night again. They got settled in her bed, and they kissed each other before falling asleep.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The days leading up to Tuesday were normal days. Practice, seeing each other, and enjoying the company of one another. But when Tuesday came around, things weren’t as normal.
“Happy 3 months Via!”
“Happy 3 months Soar!”
The two ponies shared a passionate kiss in her kitchen, and they sat down to eat. Octavia had made them breakfast, and Soarin’ took the day off from practice to be with her all day. The night before he went and got the specially made necklace from the jewelers and hid it in his pocket. He started to get so excited, he almost pulled it out.
“So Soarin’ where are we going on our anniversary?”
“I picked out this awesome place just outside of Ponyville.”
“Oh, you always pick the most romantic spots.”
It was true. He always found these nice little spots where they couldn’t be bothered. It was always nice to have those.
“So Via, what are we doing today?”
“Well I was hoping for the morning we could just hang around here, then during the afternoon go have a nice lunch. I’ve got a gift for you, but it’s a surprise!”
“Haha alright. Sounds good. I can’t wait for your surprise.”
They smiled at each other and gave a small kiss. Today was going to be the best for both ponies.
The day seemed like it was as fast as lightning. The lunch was great, they decided to take a romantic walk through Ponyville, and now it was time for the special spot. Octavia climbed on Soarin’s back as he glided towards the spot he and Rainbow had found. She looked at it in complete awe.
“Oh Soarin... It’s magnificent!”
“I knew you’d like it.”
“I do. I love it.” She looked at him with loving eyes, “I love you Soarin’”
He returned the look, “I love you too Octavia.”
They sat down on the grass and Soarin’ looked down at Octavia’s gift to him.
“Via, I really like this necklace you got me. I’ll wear it everyday.” His gift popped into his head, “Oh! Which reminds me.” He pulled the necklace he had specially made for her out of his pocket, “I got you this.”
He walked over and put the necklace over her head. She looked at it’s design and smiled.
“This is my cutie mark. And, what’s this?” She noticed the S & O on the sides of her cutie mark, “Soarin’... This is just.... Amazing.” She felt tears welling up.
Soarin’ walked over to her and put his hoof around her. He pulled her face up to meet his and they kissed. The two of them held the kiss for as long as they could before breaking it. They sat on the hill for hours, looking up at the night sky that Luna made. It was clear, with every star shining at its brightest. The moon was the most impressive part of the night sky, being as bright as all the stars combined.
Soarin’ was the first one to break the silence with a simple question, “Hey, wasn’t there a magic competition going on tonight?”
Octavia just shrugged and they went back to enjoying the night together. Nothing could ruin this moment for the two of them. Everything was just perfect in their lives. Octavia started yawning, with Soarin’ yawning not to long after her. It was almost 1 in the morning, and he needed his sleep for practice tomorrow.
Octavia climbed on his back one more time, and they flew towards Octavia’s house. It was starting to become a habit for Soarin’ to simply walk in and sleep in her bed at night. They liked waking up to each other in the morning. They liked knowing that they were there for each other. That night was the best night of their lives, everything going smoothly, and perfect. Soarin’ and Octavia gave each other one last kiss before falling asleep in each others arms, tired after the greatest day ever.
|
404error
|
1060
| 6 |
Octavia,Soarin,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
All The Right Notes
|
Soarin' and Octavia.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 1 |
<p>Soarin' the Wonderbolt was forced to go into Ponyville and pick up more apples, after eating them the night before. While trotting down Ponyville's main square, he hears music being played in one of the houses nearby. He walks over to where he heard the music, peeks inside the window to find the most beautiful music and mare he has ever seen.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-11-03T19:41:27+00:00
|
2011-11-03T19:41:27+00:00
| 1,308 |
UPDATE!!!
Howdy folks. Just thought I'd let you know why the chapters haven't been coming in lately, and it's because, school. New marking period, blah blah blah stuff like that, SOOOOO, I'm hoping that I can get a chapter in each weekend. So, thought I'd just let you know why it's taking like 2 weeks for a new story :P. Sorry!
Next Chapter will most likely do with Nightmare Night and stuff like that, and I could REALLY use a pre reader, because as some of the comments say, I'm missing words here and there. So if you would like to pre read, go ahead and send me a PM, and I'll give you the password.
I WILL be going back through the old chapters and fixing everything, but like I said, with school, it might be a little slow, so yeah.
Thank you for taking your time to read this, and be sure to rate it and comment. I love criticism and could use some tips to make this better!
|
The Lovely Penguin
|
1071
| 1 |
Main 6,Romance,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Sewing the Red Thread of Fate
|
Rarity tries to woo Fluttershy and makes a mess of things.
|
incomplete
| 12 | 4 |
<p>Rarity pictures the perfect relationship with Fluttershy, but is unsure of how to go about admitting her love to her. She decides to make her a new dress, but things don't quite turn out as planned...</p><br/><p>Special thanks to Catspajamas on DA for the preview pic.</p>
|
everyone
|
2013-08-26T16:26:37+00:00
|
2013-08-26T16:26:37+00:00
| 592 |
Rarity paced around her workshop, deep in thought. Sure, there were dresses she was supposed to be making, but she couldn’t concentrate on any of them right now; they weren’t due anytime too soon anyway. It bugged the designer to leave so many projects unfinished, but there were more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. “Oh Fluttershy, how do I even go about asking you? You’d run away the instant you found out.” The white unicorn was actually glad that her friend wasn’t there to hear that; the situation was delicate, and Rarity wanted to break the news to the pegasus pony in just the right way. After that show Rarity had put on of dreaming about the perfect marriage with Celestia’s nephew –of course she had made the whole thing up: Luna most likely didn’t have any children- how could she go about admitting something like this?
It kind of hurt her pride thinking about it, but she had already resolved to live with the consequences. She was sure most of her friends would still stay by her, but…what about Fluttershy? Would she accept? Would she even stay her friend after a proposal like that? She knew the pegasus was awfully shy (as the name suggested, amusingly), but could Rarity help it if she liked her? And being the hopeless romantic that she was, she couldn’t stand seeing her friend every day without telling her what her true feelings were.
Fluttershy was just so attractive: her lovely yellow coat, her delicate pink hair, those shimmering turquoise eyes… Of course, Rarity liked the other mare for more than just her good looks: she was fair, graceful, kind –more than just a little, given she was the Embodiment of Kindness-, and she shared her affinity for dresses…she was quite ladylike, actually (when she wasn’t panicking at least). Every time Rarity saw the pegasus she felt a pang in her heart at the romance that could be, but most likely wouldn’t.
Not unless she took action. “Idea~!” the dressmaker sang out as inspiration struck. “I’ll make her a new gown! Something from the heart. Something ravishing, perhaps with…yes…ooh, yes!” She’d work out the exact details on how to admit her love to Fluttershy later; this dress would be a start, though. She quickly set to work gathering the needed supplies and assembling the garment, being careful to select fabrics with just the right color and texture to suit Fluttershy’s form. Rarity’s best materials weren’t spared as she worked late into the night to make sure everything was perfect.
* * *
“Hello, Rarity. You said you wanted to see me?” The yellow pegasus with flowing pink hair smiled as she greeted her friend, looking a bit inquisitive as well. She was rather soft-spoken and looked almost fragile, but Rarity liked that about her. She was delicate and graceful.
“Fluttershy! Welcome. Yes, please do come in.” Rarity led her guest inside and shut the door. She wished she had time to look more presentable, especially to Fluttershy, but truth be told the unicorn had just woken up. She tried not to seem tired.
“Shall we head towards the fitting area? I’ve made a lovely new dress for you that I think you’ll find simply smashing!”
“A- a new dress? But didn’t you just make me one for the Grand Galloping Gala?” She seemed confused, maybe a bit nervous now, but she looked cute when she was that way.
“Ohoho, yes, but I don’t need an excuse to make more dresses for my friends! The idea simply came to me and I couldn’t just waste it. Now, try this on and tell me what you think. Don’t be shy! The sizes should be right since I just measured you not too long ago.” Having reached the fitting room Rarity magically levitated the dress she made and handed it to her friend.
“I’ll be waiting~.”
“Um…okay…”
After a minute or two Fluttershy timidly emerged in her new outfit. It was blue and green -to accentuate her lovely turquoise eyes- with a white hem adorned with aquamarines; the whole thing cut off a little below her cutie mark. You’ve really outdone yourself this time! Rarity thought to herself.
“Oh, Rarity, it’s beautiful!” Fluttershy gushed, her face beaming, “It matches my coat so well, and the stitching is excellent! Plus, the material is really, really comfortable.”
Fluttershy indeed looked quite fetching in the garment, if Rarity did say so herself. “Darling, I’m glad you like it so much.” She beamed.
“Like it? I love it!” In a fit of courage the yellow pegasus rushed over to Rarity and planted her lips firmly on the unicorn’s.
Rarity’s eyes widened in shock, but then she kissed back, blushing. This was indeed a pleasant surprise. Rarity could feel the other pony’s long and soft pink hair touching her face, her tongue playing over hers, probing into her mouth. Rarity responded with her own tongue, feeling a tingling sensation between her legs—
“I-I’m not sure about this, Rarity.”
Rarity snapped back to reality.
“I don’t know, this one kinda seems more revealing than some of your other designs.” Fluttershy eyed her new garment nervously, a frown forming.
“What? Nonsense! If you’ve got it, flaunt it, dearie!” Rarity quickly responded after her initial confusion, trying not to be nervous, herself. Fluttershy had to like it!
“I- I don’t think I’d be comfortable wearing something this short in public, though…”
“It’s not like you were wearing anything before.”
“Bu-but…this seems to emphasize my-”
“Besides," interrupted Rarity as she gazed at her friend idly,” I think you look absolutely beautiful in it!” Realizing what she just said, Rarity quickly added, “Imagine all the eyes you’ll turn.”
“I don’t really want that much attention…”
“Don’t be silly! Besides, if you really don’t like it, I’ll take it back, no trouble at all.”
“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try something new just for a little bit, but…I still don’t see why you made a second dress just for me. I mean, what about the others?”
How was Rarity going to explain this? Should she really just tell Fluttershy how she felt right there and then? She looked at her friend again: the dress did accentuate her legs and flank, showing them off nicely (it was closer to a skirt, really). Her flowing silky pink hair cutely framed her shy face. Those beautiful sea-green eyes shook slightly, looking at her. She felt she could get lost in them…
“R-Rarity?”
“Oh, uh…” She had to tell her. She couldn’t suffer in silence any longer. “Consider it a gift, then...I just couldn’t bear to see my favorite pegasus without something decent to wear for casual attire.”
“Favorite…pegasus?” Fluttershy looked at her quizzically now.
“Well…” Rarity’s heart was pounding loudly. It was now or never. If she did this, there was no going back. “Fluttershy, this isn’t easy for me to say, but…I like you.”
“Well, I like you too, Rarity…I like all of my friends. They’re nice.”
Rarity bit her lip. “No, I mean I think you’re cute.”
“Cute? As…as in…Wait, you l-like me…r-romantically?”
Rarity couldn’t do anything else but weakly smile and nod.
As the realization hit Fluttershy, the pegasus looked shocked, hurt, and confused, all at once. She just stood where she was for a minute, unsure of what to say and simply squeaking meekly. Tears formed in her eyes and she ran, barreling out of the studio.
“Fluttershy, come back!” Rarity started to chase after her friend but thought better of it before face-hoofing. “Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have told her yet!” she said with frustration and despair in her voice, “This is exactly what I was afraid would happen.” The unicorn fell back on her haunches and hung her head, tears starting to build up in her own eyes as the fantasy she had imagined came crashing down around her.
* * *
Rarity stumbled out of bed feeling terrible. She had spent the whole night doing little more than crying and imagining how she had made Fluttershy feel. Her mane was a mess, and her eyes were red and puffy. The tear stains plus the lack of sleep for the second day in a row certainly weren't doing anything for her complexion, either. How could it be noon already? Thank Celestia it was a Sunday. She groggily thought this to herself as she slowly went about her daily routine.
A little while later the unicorn pony looked much more presentable, albeit still a bit worn. Sure she was looking better, but she was certain she wouldn’t be making any dresses for a while. Rarity decided to collect yesterday’s mail and see where she’d go from there. “Bill…bill…junk mail…muffin…junk mail…What’s this?” Amongst all the plain white envelopes was one that stood out: it was pink, and didn’t have any addresses or postage: there was simply her name written in large, fancy, glittery letters.
Her initial suspicions were confirmed upon reading the first couple of lines of the letter. She had seen love letters before, and this one had all the signs. She read the whole thing:
Dear Rarity, ever since I first met you I knew there was something special about you. Your eye for detail, your natural talent for making dresses…I never realized it before, but there’s just something so attractive about it. I guess this isn’t something you’d be expecting from me, especially since we’re such close friends but…I like you, and more than just as a friend. I appreciate how generous you are to all of us, especially me. I cherish all the time we’ve spent together, and I’d like to spend more. I think you’re elegant and beautiful.
Rarity paused. It was from Fluttershy! She had run off when she was unsure of how to respond, but after she was able to collect her thoughts better, she could say how she actually felt! The unicorn quickly read on:
I’m sorry this all seems so abrupt, but I’ve been holding these feelings inside for so long, and I only now feel I can let them all out. Please don’t be judgmental. I know you’ve said you want to marry a dreamy stallion, but I’d like you to give us a chance. Even if things don’t work out…I hope we can at least stay friends. I just wanted to clear the air and let you know how I truly feel.
Love, Twilight Sparkle
“Twilight?!”
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 1 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-27T16:25:36+00:00
|
2011-09-27T16:25:36+00:00
| 3,731 |
“I simply cannot see why you insist on dragging me to these loud, smelly holes in the ground!”
“It's called a nightclub Octavia and it wouldn't hurt for you to expand your musical palette would it?”
Octavia humphed in reply. The grey earth pony, with her conservative, pulled back mane, couldn't abide anything that didn't comply with her refined tastes. True musical quality wasn't something you could recreate electronically.
Even before they had entered the club they could hear the pulsing beat, Octavia felt that the walls would collapse with the sheer level of sound awaiting them, her two companions, male and female twin pegasus ponies with chestnut coats and identical blonde manes, however, couldn't wait to get inside.
“I've heard they have a special guest DJ playing tonight,” the male, Bass Clef said, turning to his sister.
“Oh yes, I heard that as well, I wonder who it will be?” The female, Treble Clef replied.
Octavia rolled her eyes, 'How could such talented classical musicians lower themselves to modern standards?' She thought the word 'modern' with a particular disdain, “Whoever it is, I imagine I will wake up morning next with a headache, regardless.”
Treble Clef giggled, “Since when was your cutie mark a rain cloud?”
It was a mark of their friendship that Octavia didn't just up and leave right then, but a night with her friends was a night with her friends, wherever they decide to spend it. Instead, she smiled politely and joined the queue outside the nightclub. The nightclub itself was in one of Canterlot's more respectable areas, a fact that Octavia liked to ignore in order to justify her distaste, it was also run by a reputable member of society known for his philanthropy and being a stickler to following health and safety guidelines. These factors, not forgetting the music and atmosphere, were the reasons why it was so popular.
Octavia was too stubborn to see that though.
As the line thinned, Octavia's attitude didn't improve, the 'noise' as she would call it, was getting louder and louder yet, even with her keen ear for music, she couldn't hear anything reminiscent of melody or form or structure to the song, it just simply was.
“Philistines,” she muttered under her breath, luckily, Bass and Treble Clef were too busy watching the queue go down that they didn't hear her.
When they were finally able to enter, with a menacing glare and stern nod from the bouncer, Octavia followed the twins politely. There was a narrow corridor leading from the entrance, with every step that they took, the music got louder and louder, building up until they reached the end of the corridor where an open door covered in silver strips of plastic was the only obstacle separating them from the inner sanctum. Each pony passed through the door and were met by a never ending crescendo of techno-rave majesty, Octavia looked in physical discomfort, which she probably was, her sensitive ears were never acclimated to anything louder than the crash of timpani.
This never ceasing, unstoppable beat reverberated around her skull, it seemed like her brain was vibrating, she couldn't think straight, even her thoughts were being drowned out by the music. The twin pegasi didn't seem to mind though, soundlessly, or perhaps Octavia just couldn't hear what they were saying, they waved her over to a table just on the edge of the dance floor.
“It's not so bad once you get used to it, right?!” Bass Clef yelled, despite him being centimetres from Octavia's ear, she still had trouble hearing him.
The vibrations had now migrated to her stomach, it churned and boiled under the intense pressure until Octavia stood, hoof over her mouth, “Bathroom!” She said quickly, rushing towards a neon sign on a side wall that read 'Toilets'
Jumping into a vacant stall, Octavia finally let go and relaxed her throat, a rush of vomit burning her mouth as it made a bid for escape. Everypony in the bathroom heard the tell-tale sound of vomit on porcelain, one even gave a sympathetic chuckle as if to say, 'I've been there buddy.'
Octavia didn't appreciate the sentiment.
Wiping her mouth, she flushed the toilet and exited the stall to wash her hooves. There was only one pony stood at the sinks, she had a white coat which shone cleaner than the surrounding bathroom and a spiked dark blue mane with neon blue stripes, “Had a little too much to drink?” She asked, turning to look at Octavia with a smile.
“I don't drink,” Octavia dead-panned, “What's with the sunglasses? I can barely see in there.” Octavia pointed a hoof at the bathroom door, the music had been severely muted by the thick walls.
The unicorn used her magic to lift a towel to her hooves, drying them before answering, “You don't need your eyes to enjoy good music.” The pony opened the bathroom door, the music getting suddenly louder again, at the last moment, she turned once more “I'll see you around, or maybe I won't.” As the bathroom door closed and the music became dulled again, Octavia took a deep breath and washed her hooves before leaving to sit with her friends.
“What took you so long?” Treble Clef asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Octavia replied, looking sheepish, she'd rather not divulge the fact that she'd had a conversation with someone she had met in the bathroom.
“Not trying to hide were you?” Bass Clef said, grinning.
Octavia gave a disarming laugh and stared at the stage area in front of them, there were two stacks of speakers either side of a set of turn-tables. A large, greasy haired pony was approaching the microphone, “Who's that?” Octavia asked.
The twin pegasi shrugged, “Nobody I recognise.” Treble said.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” The greasy haired pony shouted, his voice magnified through the speakers, the music had been turned down so it seemed almost silent in comparison, Octavia sighed at the reprieve, “Put your hooves together for the queen of the decks... DJ P0n-3!”
When the announcer mentioned 'queen of the decks', a massive roar went up from the crowd, even Bass and Treble Clef were applauding madly, Octavia didn't hear anything after that.
The lights suddenly cut, the entire nightclub was dark, but it had silenced everybody, it was like the anticipation had stolen all the sound from the room. A strobe light kicked on above the turn-tables, a unicorn pony could be seen through a veil of mist billowing from the back of the stage, her spiked hair began glowing a neon blue as more lights kicked on around the club, all pointed towards the stage, her white body flashed all manner of colours. In almost slow-motion, an illusion conjured by the strobe light, the DJ, who Octavia now recognised, put a hoof onto the decks and music exploded through the speakers.
A slow beat, almost like the beating of a heart, began pulsing through the club, cheers erupted in small pockets of ponies and several whistles could be heard. The drum beat was soon joined by something Octavia recognised, the gentle sweeping sound of a double bass, the music was quickening, get faster and faster, Octavia could feel herself being pulled forwards in anticipation.
“Good evening, Canterlot.” The DJ said, it was a calm, collected voice that, combined with the background beat, seemed ethereal, like a strange kind of magic, “This is music.”
It was a simple statement, but the audience had become deathly quiet as she said it, the moment the word had finished being spoken, the speakers exploded once more, a solid wave of sound impacted everyone present, the double bass had been replaced by a rapid pounding that made Octavia's stomach vibrate again, but it was a good feeling, it was a hungry desire that gripped her, she wanted more.
==
As the DJ signed off and exited the stage, Octavia sat stunned in her seat, her years of studying classics and developing an ear for the finer parts and structure of music that could only be satisfied by a well crafted composition counted for nought at the moment. All of her preconceptions, all of her judgements and verdicts on modern music had been shattered by one show and the pony who performed it. The decks were here conductor's baton and the equipment was her orchestra, never before had Octavia heard music filled with such emotion.
After the applause died down, Octavia only stopped her standing ovation due to the raised eyebrows of the twin pegasi, “Well well, Octavia, it seems your trip here wasn't entirely wasted.”
Octavia sat back in her seat and grinned sheepishly, “I suppose it wasn't.”
Bass Clef coughed, “And who are you to thank for dragging you here?”
“The both of you,” Octavia replied, rolling her eyes.
“And what have you learned?” Treble Clef asked.
“That I shouldn't condemn an entire genre due to preconceptions and lack of knowledge.” Octavia gasped as she was suddenly sandwiched in a hug, “And that I should listen to my friends more often,” she added with a laugh.
When her friends detached themselves from her, Octavia looked at both of them in turn, “Now how do I go about purchasing a copy of that performance for my own personal perusal?”
Treble Clef looked pensive for a few moments, “I'm not entirely sure, but if you're willing to brave the security, we could have a word with the DJ herself.”
Octavia scratched her chin with a hoof, 'yes, maybe that would work,' with an emphatic nod, the three stood up and marched towards a door in the far left corner of the club, marked 'Backstage'. Annoyingly, the door was mobbed by ponies, a security pony was keeping them at bay, but he knew that if he didn't calm them down, things may get out of hand.
“Keep it cool and I'll see if I can't get her to sign some autographs, that sound fair?” The security pony shouted, it must have worked because the crowd immediately backed off, murmuring and tittering amongst themselves. The security pony had disappeared behind the door when Octavia arrived, “We can't hope to have a private word with her in this crowd,” she moaned, “If only I had known, I would have asked her in the bathroom.”
Treble raised an eyebrow, “What was that?”
“Oh,” Octavia blushed, “That's why I was so long in the bathroom, I met the DJ, although I didn't know it at the time, we made polite conversation and she left, obviously to start the show.”
“You met her? Actually talked to her? What was she like?” Treble couldn't contain her disbelief.
Octavia thought for a second, “Normal I guess, a little mysterious and slightly carefree. That's to be expected though, who reveals every last essence of their character to someone they've just met, especially one in the bathroom?”
Treble Clef's eyes were alight with glee, “That is so cool, you're so lucky!”
There was a sudden flurry of movement as ponies around the group began to jostle them every which way. The crowd cheered as DJ P0n-3 appeared at the door, flanked by security staff, she gave a genial wave to her fans and made an offer to sign a few autographs, despite the security ponies warning, the crowd didn't want to form a queue and flocked around the DJ, who didn't really seem to mind.
“Excuse me?” Octavia said, trying to get the unicorn's attention, “Excuse me!” she repeated, a little louder, it still didn't get her anywhere. It left Octavia feeling a little dejected, she had discovered this magical new part of herself and the one pony who she could talk to about it couldn't even hear her pleas, despite being only ten feet away. Sighing to herself, Octavia turned away to go back to her seat when a groan sounded from behind her, apparently the DJ had stopped signing autographs.
It was all Octavia could do to stop herself from sighing again, when she felt the tap on her shoulder, she couldn't keep it in any longer, “What is it Clef?”
No one answered, Octavia furrowed her brow and turned, stood behind her was a hulking mass of pony, mottled green like a moss covered boulder, “Pony wants see ya,” he grunted, Octavia barely made out the words, “Follow me.”
“Okay then.” She squeaked, she didn't dare try anything with the brute nearby, 'who is this 'pony' and why do they want to see me?' thoughts of her fate circled around her head. She was lead through the backstage door which lead onto a long corridor, immediately to Octavia's right was a door marked 'To Stage', but she was taken past this until they were stood outside of a door which had a small gold star painted onto it.
The big, green pony grunted again, angling his head towards the door. Octavia took the hint, she pushed the door slowly open, it looked like a simple dressing room, vanity mirror sat atop a desk on one side of the room, comfy couch on the other side and various amenities littered about the place to make it comfortable.
“Hey there!” It was her, the DJ, sat in front of the vanity mirror dabbing at her horn with a wet-wipe, “Let me just get rid of this stage glitter, it looks great but it's hell to get off.”
“Oh, hello, I didn't think that you noticed me out there, I would have left if you hadn't sent for me.” Octavia took a cautious step into the dressing room, making sure to close the door behind her.
“I heard you, I just didn't want to disappoint the rest of my fans, I wanted to talk to you again anyway.” She turned around in her seat to look at Octavia, “Is it all gone? The glitter?” she turned her head back and forth to give Octavia a better view.
“Yes, clean as a whistle.” Octavia mentally slapped herself, 'You are in the presence of a star, idiot! Be cooler!' Gathering herself, Octavia continued, “I suppose it's hard to see the glitter with those sunglasses on.”
The DJ laughed, “I doubt I'd be able to see it anyway, sunglasses or not, visual impairment is a bitch. Doesn't stop me from doing what I love though.”
“Oh,” Octavia's voice died in her throat.
“It's okay, I don't mind it, so you shouldn't either. As you've seen, I can get around just fine, with my finely tuned senses and a little magical help, it's almost as if I can see anyway.”
Steeling herself, Octavia made to change the subject, “So, your stage name, what does it mean? I'll admit that 'Pon Three' went over my head a little.”
The DJ let out her loudest laugh yet, but it wasn't mocking, merely amused, “It sounds like it went over you head a lot.”
Octavia looked confused, “What do you mean?”
“The three is meant to be read as an 'e', you see the number three is a backwards capital 'e'... almost.” The DJ walked over to the couch and sat down there instead, “It's supposed to be read 'Pon-e' or pony. It's just a little play on words... and numbers. Why don't you sit down?”
“Thank you,” Octavia muttered, “Now I feel rather embarrassed, although I have to admit I'm new to the club scene, I've never really appreciated this style of music until I heard you play the show. You've actually had a pretty large impact on my life, I'm a musician as well, you see.”
“I suppose I should properly introduce myself then, I'm Vinyl Scratch, it's good to meet you.”
“Octavia, likewise.”
Each offered a hoof, both shook politely.
“From the moment I met you I could tell you were a little different from the usual fare that attend my gigs. You don't drink, you're softly spoken, you threw up and you didn't seem ill, so I'm guessing you were just nervous or maybe a little scared.”
“I was raised with the classics and taught from a young age that the only music worth listening to is classical. Listening to your music though, I could feel a raw passion and a whole host of other emotions flowing through it. I was moved more than the first time I heard a Tchaiklopsky composition and it confuses me. My brain is telling me that I should listen to my father, but my heart is telling me that I'm taking a step in the right direction with you.”
Vinyl was a great listener, nodding and 'mhm'ing in the all the right places, “I can see where you're coming from, would you like me to tell you a story? I assure you it's relevant.”
Octavia nodded politely.
“I was born visually impaired and back then, they didn't have the kind of treatments we have today, so I was just kinda shoved to the side, my parents were given some special guidelines on how to raise a kid with sight problems and that was that.” Vinyl shifted awkwardly in her seat, Octavia could see that she seemed rather uncomfortable speaking about this, which made her feel all the more privileged that Vinyl would confide in her like that.
“As a unicorn filly, I had a tiny, untamed spark of magic, at first I was resentful of the fact that I had this magic, but no real sight to view my magic or what I had performed or whether I had performed it correctly at all. As you might be able to tell, I wanted to prove myself, to show everyone that I was just like them, I hated being 'that blind filly'. It took me a few years, but I managed to accept my condition, so my eyes were bad, that didn't mean my ears were or that my magic was, I worked and worked until I finally figured out how to use magic to help my eyes. With that, I had patched a hole in my weakness, soon enough I could function with reasonable normality.” Vinyl straightened up, she was obviously proud of this point in her life.
“Of course, around this time, new treatments had emerged which would help ponies like me, but despite my parents pleas, I refused to undergo the surgery. I told them that I didn't want to chance anything getting worse when I was getting along so well, I told them that I didn't need my sight when I had such good replacements. As a filly, you probably know that my mind wasn't entirely on overcoming adversity, I also had the trouble of my decidedly blank flank to deal with. At the time, I had hoped that turning the corner with my sight would have done it, but no, I got pretty depressed then, what was a blind filly to do in this world? I thought to myself.”
“It all changed when I heard soft music coming from a neighbours house one day, it was a classical piece, I don't remember the name, but I distinctly remember being able to hear each instrument playing and understanding the composition, I could see clearly in my mind how the music should work, I began having ideas, perhaps giving the flautist a larger role, downplay the harpsichord a little. I remember telling myself that if I was in charge, I could do it so much better, call it hubris if you will, but it was at that moment that I knew what I needed to do with my life, that's when this little sucker appeared,” She patted the music note on her flank appreciatively.
“I actually studied classical music for a while after that, but it never excited me the way this does, tearing up the decks with full control of the sound never fails to put me in the mood for having fun. I guess the moral of the story is to follow your dreams, you can try listening to other ponies, but if it isn't what you want to do, then it will never work out. Do what's in your heart and follow it to it's end, if it leads to a place you like, then just keep on walking, if it doesn't, then you can always tug on another string.”
Octavia smiled, “That was lovely, thank you.” She stood suddenly, remembering her friends, “I'm sorry, I have to go, my friends will be worried sick.”
Vinyl nodded her head, “Of course, it's me who should be sorry, keeping you from your friends. Take this with you though,” a small card with an address on it appeared by Octavia's side, floating with the help of Vinyl's magic, “Just in case you ever want to meet up for a coffee or anything.”
Octavia bowed low, “I'm not entirely sure why, but it seems after tonight and meeting you, I'm not the same pony who walked in here with a scowl on her face. I'll make sure to visit, if you aren't too busy of course.” She opened the door to the dressing room and exited, leaving Vinyl Scratch to her own devices.
The unicorn pony slipped off her sunglasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose with a hoof, her bright red irises scanned the room for a few seconds before she put on her sunglasses again. It had been an eventful day, but she saw a kindred spirit in Octavia, with the right improvements, the demure mare could have her own unique rhythm and Vinyl Scratch knew just where to start.
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 2 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-28T12:37:33+00:00
|
2011-09-28T12:37:33+00:00
| 3,105 |
I know there are numerous debates that rage over exactly what instrument Octavia plays, but for the sake of this fic, I've made it so she plays a Double Bass. There will be reasons why I chose the Double Bass, so it's not a choice made out of ignorance.
And as you've realised if you read Part 1, I run a version of Fanon where Scratch is Partially Sighted, not entirely blind. I just prefer it for character development reasons.
And now we return to our regularly scheduled reading
Part 2
Octavia woke up that next morning, not with the headache she had predicted, but with a sense of anticipation.
She looked over at the clock eagerly, it was seven-fifteen.
Despite the night she'd had, her natural body clock had insisted she wake up. She grimaced, unless they had to be, very few ponies would be awake at this time and Vinyl didn't seem to be the pony who would wake up early for the sake of it. Octavia thought about that for a few moments whilst climbing out of bed, folding the covers back and flattening them out as she did, 'Vinyl's night probably went on for a few hours more after I left.'
“I'd probably seem like some crazy stalker if I turned up at half past seven in the morning, anyway.” Saying it out loud seemed to validate her indecision, Octavia grabbed a nearby brush and straightened out her mane and tail, she turned to leave but spotted her bow-tie sitting on the desk near her bed, 'After breakfast. I don't want to accidentally stain it.'
Breakfast was much the same as every other day, she'd fill a bowl with various cereals and eat in relative silence, she earned enough bits through her work to buy her own place in an up-scale area of Canterlot, not that the apartment itself was any good, it was just in a good area. Sometimes she wondered if she should get a room-mate, if only to stave off the boredom of being alone. On occasion, she would play some music to make the apartment seem less empty, but after last night, she didn't feel like listening to anything in her collection and in her excitement about meeting Vinyl, she had forgotten to ask about getting a copy of the show.
Octavia sighed, she had finished her breakfast, attached her bow-tie, making sure it lay neat and tidy around her neck, but was at a loss as to what she should do for the morning. She had already decided that no matter what, she was going to visit the address she had been given the night before and she had settled on twelve o'clock as a respectful time to arrive, but what to do in the hours that separated her from midday?
She sat on her couch looking out of the window for a few minutes, but it didn't look as if the clock was moving, she got up and flicked through her bookcase, nothing tickled her fancy, the clock had barely moved. Octavia sat on the couch again, this time at the other end and stared out of a different window, the scenery was pretty much the same, except she could see the castle through this window, the princess would be up, having raised the sun not too long ago, this small realisation placated her tension a small bit. Bored again, Octavia's eyes fell on the bookcase once more before she dragged her gaze away, she could look through her music collection, even though she knew it by heart.
Octavia collapsed onto the couch again, this time in the middle, her tiny living room held little else to entertain her... except, maybe her double bass. She could spend hours playing on it, but not here, the acoustics were terrible. Octavia sat up immediately, yes, that's what she'd do.
Five minutes later, Octavia had a saddlebag tied to her waist full of whatever she might need whilst she was out, the piece of card with Vinyl's address was in it's own side pocket. Next came the hard part, the large, heavy string instrument. Luckily it was stored in it's own personal protective case, with attached wheels. That didn't make it any easier when it came to not dropping it, she had stairs to contend with, honest to goodness stairs.
Considering the case was taller than herself, even when she stood on her hind legs, it was a miracle that she got it down three flights of stairs without any major incidents, a security pony sat behind a desk gave her an appreciative nod as he watched her struggle past. Octavia even put on a show of having troubles, but no 'can I help you?' or even 'good day madam' escaped his lips, apparently reading Modern Stallion is so interesting it takes precedence over helping your fellow pony.
Octavia wheeled her case outside of the building, a taxi cart came rumbling by and she stuck out a hoof, the cart puller stopped, “You need help with that lady?” He asked, preparing to unhook himself.
“Yes please, driver. Be careful though, it's fragile.” Octavia climbed aboard the cart, preparing to secure the case once the driver passed it up to her. All credit to him, the burly, yellow pony lifted it with relative ease, his wide back providing ample room to carry such things. He lifted it to Octavia and she did the rest, lying it down next to her, “Canterlot Fillyharmonic Hall, please.”
The driver hooked himself back into the reins and began pulling the cart onwards, Octavia lurched backwards slightly as they took off, she made sure to keep a hoof on her double bass just in case.
==
It was almost eight o'clock by the time she set up her double bass in one of the rehearsing rooms, a small stool stood by the double bass on it's stand. Octavia got the bow in her hoof and sat down, bringing her other hoof up to the instruments neck, she began to feel each string in turn, almost like shaking hands with an old friend.
Gently, Octavia brought the bow across the strings, letting her muscle memory take over, before she knew it, she was playing a few choice classics from her collection.
Even as she was playing, her eyes closed and ears pricked, she couldn't focus, her mind kept slipping onto other topics. Octavia winced as she missed a note, then another, after a while she got disheartened and stopped altogether.
“Why can't I concentrate?” She sighed exasperatedly.
Of course, she knew why she couldn't concentrate, every time she thought about music, the face of that unicorn popped into her mind, her neon blue mane and big sunglasses proving ample distraction from following chord progression. Vinyl almost seemed mocking in how she just appeared, making everything more complicated than it needed to be.
Then something she said floated to the forefront of Octavia's mind, “tearing up the decks with full control of the sound never fails to put me in the mood for having fun.”
“Control.” Octavia repeated, “Maybe she was trying to tell me that I need to focus on creating original works instead of labouring under learning others.” She really thought she was onto something with this. Octavia carefully played a few random, complementary notes but winced as she recognised famous classical style and structure, “I need something new, fresh and innovative.”
Octavia's mind immediately drifted to last night's show and what she could remember of it, a remix as Vinyl would call it, it was a wobbly step down the path of originality, but it was one in the right direction.
She closed her eyes and thought back, her dawning appreciation as she recognised the gentle sweeping of the Double Bass, she tried her best to emulate the style. She could imagine the drums in the background, spurring her onwards as she built up to the crescendo, laying heavy on the bass before cutting into a faster, lower pitched version of the previous melody. On her own, it wasn't fantastic, but it made her feel good regardless, at least as good as the first time she learnt to play a classical piece note perfect.
For someone who was playing and improvising from memory, it was decent enough. After straining to remember anything else about the performance, she began adding to where she felt it needed adding to and trying to see if she could improve on her execution, as a classically trained player, trying to defy all of the conventions she had grown up learning was a difficult task.
So she sat, composing silently in her head. A scroll of paper on a nearby desk was filled with random notes and obscure shorthand pointing to various changes she had tried to make, any pony looking at it would probably see the deranged ramblings of a lunatic.
By the time Octavia had a solid few minutes of music down and accounted for, a rough guide hastily scrawled into her notepad, she looked up at the clock to see that it was already half eleven. Octavia shot up, she suddenly realised that she had built up quite the appetite during her stay and she'd need all the time she could get if she wanted dinner before heading to Vinyl's place. Octavia pulled her saddlebag on and rooted through the side pocket to look at the address, her heart fell, it was nowhere near where she was.
“Perhaps Vinyl will be nice enough to offer me lunch, it is after all, only good manners.” Octavia secretly hoped that Vinyl was a dignified mare behind closed doors and not the glorified party pony her image presents.
Carefully sealing her Double Bass back into it's protective case, she wheeled it back outside and waited for a taxi-cart to pass by, she didn't have long and the trip would take it's time. Of course, Octavia was working against a self-imposed deadline that didn't have any consequences if she was late, but she wasn't the kind of pony to be late, even if she was the one to enforce it.
As with before, the cart driver helped her get the instrument on board, after making sure it was secure, she told the driver where she needed to go.
==
Octavia knocked on the door, hearing a slight echo. The address had lead to a three storey building which had turned out to be a small apartment block, except that each floor was it's own apartment, a vast improvement over Octavia's tiny room.
Vinyl's apartment was on the top floor, it hadn't been easy lugging her Double Bass up those stairs, but she wasn't going to let it out of her sight, no sir.
After twenty seconds and nobody answered the door, Octavia knocked again, there was a brief rustling sound and a faint clip clopping of hooves. Octavia ran over what she was going to say in her head, 'nice and casual'.
The door was unlocked but only opened a few inches, caught on a latch, but there she was, her mane a complete bird's nest, “Who is it?” She asked, her voice was slightly raspy.
“It's Octavia, I was in the coffee, do you want to go for a neighbourhood?” She faltered slightly at the end, realising too late that she'd messed up.
Vinyl merely chuckled, “You sound like I feel. Wait there, I'll let you in.” The door shut and the chain rattled as it was taken off, opened wide, Octavia could see Vinyl's apartment properly. Not one to openly criticize, especially of someone who was fast becoming a friend but also someone who was visually impaired, Octavia kept it to herself that she thought it looked like a bomb had gone off. The front room was huge, yet it still looked trashed, the kitchen to the left had bottles lined up along the worktops, the living area just in front of her had various things littered between the furniture, even the massive window that almost covered the entire back wall had stains running up it several feet higher than should have been allowed. 'This amount of mess in my place and it would be up to my knees.'
“Sorry about the mess,” Vinyl said, walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge, “I had a little get together and it went on for a few hours longer than I expected, not had much chance to clean up yet.”
Octavia wheeled her Double Bass closer, she didn't want to lose it amongst the rubbish, “Are you sure you're okay, I mean, there are quite a few trip hazards.”
Vinyl appeared from the fridge, milk moustache barely visible against her white coat, she tapped her horn coolly with a hoof, “No need to worry.”
“I'm sorry,” Octavia flushed with embarrassment, “I just don't want you to get hurt.”
“A very admirable attitude, yet an unnecessary one.” Vinyl sat on one of the stools by the breakfast bar, using her magic to sweep away a layer of detritus, she lay her head on the table, “Could you perhaps get me an aspirin from the medicine cupboard in my bathroom, it's just through your door on the right, then turn right again.”
Octavia thought it best to help her, standing her Double Bass against a clean bit of wall near the door, she carefully stepped over empty bags of food and discarded drinks to reach a door on the side wall, there were only two doors on a small corridor, Octavia went through the right one and into a spacious bathroom. The bathroom was decorated pretty much like any bathroom Octavia had seen before, not that she had seen many bathrooms nor considered herself and expert on bathroom interior design. It was predominately white, with the odd black accent thrown in for good measure, Octavia found the medicine cabinet, a mirrored cabinet hanging above the sink and quickly found the bottle labelled 'aspirin'. She turned to leave and caught a noxious smell in her nose, she didn't turn around to see what it was.
“Here you go, Vinyl. You must have had a crazy night, huh?” Octavia returned to the living room to find Vinyl looking at her case.
“Not really, just a few people I know from the business, kinda threw it together last minute.”
'Not that crazy? I don't think I want to see her definition of crazy.' Octavia thought as her eyes widened a little in disbelief.
“So what's in the case?”
“That's my Double Bass, I was practising before I came over.”
Vinyl turned to Octavia, “Ha, I bet you liked the intro to my show last night then.”
Octavia laughed a little, “I liked your show in general, but yes, the intro did catch me off guard. That's actually what I was doing whilst practising, I was trying to emulate the opening, it took me a few goes but I think I got it.”
“Oh really?” Vinyl smiled appreciatively, “That's something I'd like to see” If she weren't wearing sunglasses, you probably could have seen that her eyes betrayed mild scepticism.
“Would you like to hear it? You're probably the only pony who could tell me if I got right or not anyway.” Octavia grabbed the case and began wheeling it over to the stool where Vinyl had cleared some of the rubbish.
“I'd love to, do you need any more room to set anything up?”
Octavia unzipped the case whilst it was still stood up, she pulled it out and leaned it against herself so she could get a comfortable grip, “I'm fine here, you just sit back and listen.” Octavia took one look at the notebook she had stored in the case to remember the melody and began to play.
Vinyl's first reaction was 'damn, she's not half bad' but as Octavia's impromptu performance went on, Vinyl amended that thought to 'damn, she's really good.'
Octavia finished and saw a visibly impressed Vinyl Scratch looking back at her, “You got all that just from memory?”
“It's been on my mind almost non-stop since last night, I just experimented until I thought it sounded right.” Octavia blushed again.
“It was damn near note perfect, that's quite the feat. Okay, so the piece I used wasn't overly difficult, but capturing it after one listen is still damn good, you have some real skill with that thing.”
“Thank you, but I'm nothing special, there are plenty of ponies better than me.”
Vinyl walked over and put a hoof on Octavia's shoulder, “If you help me clean up, I'll tell you a secret, I might even get you some lunch. Sound fair?”
“I suppose so, do you have a brush I could use?”
There were two loud bangs as doors to their right flew open, a brush being levitated by Vinyl's magic flew towards the pair. “Operation Morning After is a go!” Vinyl announced, raising a hoof in the air like she just didn't care. As Vinyl got started with the kitchen, using her magic to marshal the rubbish into a line before they jumped into a black trash bag, Octavia took to sweeping the living area, gathering the stuff on the floor into a corner where it would be easier to get rid of.
Soon after she had finished sweeping, Vinyl came over with a trash bag and Octavia swept the pile into the trash bag that Vinyl was holding open. “What's next?” Octavia asked, wiping her brow with a hoof.
“Just the bathroom really, but that isn't as big a job as this area.” Vinyl stopped to catch her breath.
'Using all that magic must have put a strain on her,' Octavia thought as she looked around the living area, it still wasn't spotless, but at least it looked liveable now.
“I think someone owes me lunch.” Octavia said, grinning.
Vinyl laughed good naturedly, “Fine, we might as well go for that coffee as well whilst we're out.”
==
Octavia and Vinyl were sat in a small café a short walk from Vinyl's apartment, both had a cup of coffee in front of them and both were waiting for their food to arrive.
Octavia took a sip of coffee, it felt good after the day she'd had, “I'm surprised, I thought somepony would have asked you for an autograph or something by now.”
“I'm a DJ, people recognise my music not me, it's a kind of anonymity I like. Of course, you're going to get ponies who know you by sight, but they're few and far between.”
“I think that's where we're different in a way, I have an ensemble, ponies hire us to play various events like formal balls. We, oddly enough, were hired to play at the Grand Galloping Gala this year, our music therefore is pretty much designed to slip into the background, so I have a better chance of being recognised for playing on stage than for my actual music.”
“You were at the Gala?”
Octavia blushed, “I didn't get to mingle much, I just played and got offered a few drinks and snacks. It wasn't exactly the best night ever.”
Vinyl laughed, “I personally think they sent me an invitation by mistake, but who knows, maybe one of the Princesses is a fan of my music. Gala's aren't usually my thing, but a party is a party, ended up being pretty interesting don't you think?
Octavia thought back, “I assume you mean the flying cake and all of the animals that got chased into the main foyer?”
“That's the one, my favourite was when that rainbow pony knocked all of those pillars down.”
Octavia looked rather serious despite the conversation, “I don't mean to criticise our leaders, but I thought it was awfully irresponsible of Princess Celestia to leave Luna with the duty of supervising the clean-up.”
“Perhaps one of the only times that ol' Luna has missed the moon, eh?” Vinyl joked.
Octavia giggled, “Quite.” Before she had a chance to say anything else, a waiter had arrived carrying their food, a simple vegetable salad for Octavia and a jacket potato for Vinyl, conversation ceased as they ate a fair chunk of their food. “So do you come here often?” Octavia asked, a piece of radish half way to her mouth.
“I'm not exactly the best cook, for... obvious reasons, so I tend to eat here a lot, yeah. They offer a wide variety of meals, it's close by and the food is delicious, even if I was a good cook I'd still probably come here.” Vinyl took a big bite of her jacket potato and a small sliver of butter ran down to her chin.
“You told me that you were going to tell me a secret if I helped you, so what was that about?” Octavia looked serious again.
Vinyl took time to lick up the stray bead of butter before answering, “It was something I was going to tell you later, but I don't think there's any sense beating around the bush about it, honesty is the best policy right?”
Octavia nodded in agreement.
“The thing is, I really like your sound, I want to work with you, collaborate if you will.”
Octavia almost choked on a carrot, “Wh-what? Me? Collaborate? My sound?”
“Yeah, I think we could have a great synergy, elements of the past and the future, combining to make something just as great, if not greater than either.”
“I don't think I can, I don't know anything about modern music!” Octavia protested.
“I do. I also know enough about classical music to be of some help to you, helping you adapt your style perhaps, expand your horizons a bit.”
Octavia was taken aback, this offer had come out of left field after all, “Say theoretically, I do decide to join you, how would we go about doing it?”
Vinyl finished the last bite of her jacket potato, “We'd meet at my place, I have recording equipment and it's where all my stuff is, we'd jam a bit, make some noise, test the waters, then see if we can make something a bit more concrete. Once we've got a few songs recorded, we start putting on shows and making some money. That's about what I have so far.”
“At least your goals are somewhat realistic, if optimistic.”
“Optimistic?” Vinyl said, incredulously, “Two talented mares like us, what could go wrong?”
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 3 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-07T21:52:11+00:00
|
2011-12-07T21:52:11+00:00
| 2,808 |
Okay, try number 2. I forgot to save it first time *facehoof*
In this chapter you get to see what other parts of Fanon I use. Once again, I do it for the sakes of the story so it isn't for no reason. I also invent a form of public transport.
***
Vinyl unlocked the door to her place and the pair entered, Octavia standing awkwardly around the entrance.
“Make yourself comfortable, sit down whilst I get you a drink.” Vinyl walked into the kitchen and began messing around with the refrigerator.
Octavia spied her Double Bass resting on the couch and swiftly moved to join it, she opened the case and had a quick check to make sure it was fine. She sighed in relief, Octavia closed it back up and began staring out of the window whilst waiting for Vinyl.
“I thought I said lighten up?” Vinyl's voice came from close by, she had walked over to the nearby coffee table and put the drinks down, “You like orange juice right?”
Octavia accepted the orange juice with a thank you, “I was just waiting for you to return, how was I not 'lightened up?'”
Vinyl sat down on a couch opposite Octavia, “Your posture I suppose, you look like you're in some kind of finishing school for rich fillies or something.”
Octavia laughed, “Finishing school? Me? My family never had the money for that.”
“So where did you grow up?” Vinyl asked, taking a sip of her orange juice.
“Rock farm.” Octavia mumbled.
“Say what now?”
Octavia sighed, “My parents owned a rock farm outside of Ponyville, I grew up there.”
It was Vinyl's turn to laugh, “How does a rock farm work?”
“My parents would never say,” Octavia admitted with a sigh, “There was no talking, there was no smiling, there were only rocks. We rotated the rocks between the fields surrounding the farm each day and that was that. If people wanted rocks they'd come to us.”
“Wow, sounds depressing.” Vinyl added.
“So depressing that my sister decided to leave home as a filly and abandon her duties, we aren't exactly on the best terms. Last I heard, she lives over a cake shop.”
The mischievous glint appeared once more in Vinyl Scratch's eyes, hidden by her sunglasses, “You know what we need? A holiday!”
Octavia began spluttering something about not having time, but Vinyl ignored it, “It's only for the weekend and I thought we could use the time to do some bonding and perhaps some market research if we have time between the getting-to-know-each-other.”
“Market research for what?” Octavia asked, she seemed slightly more receptive to the idea than before.
Vinyl threw up her hooves like it was obvious, “We want to know what the average pony on the street wants in their musical experience and taking some time off to experiment is a great way to find out. We need to get away from the city and into nature, you know... going back to our roots or something.”
Octavia narrowed her eyes, “What are you suggesting?”
“Ooh, I had a great time at a gig a while back, met some great ponies at this fashion show I was hired to DJ. It was some place in Ponyville, the air is really fresh out there, let's you clear your mind and shake the cobwebs off your brain.”
“Only for a weekend though, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, we don't want to interrupt anything going on, just break loose for a while.”
Octavia sighed, “Fine, so when should we do this?”
Vinyl somehow produced a calendar from behind the couch, “Well, it's Friday now and it's half past one, so if we catch a sky cab, we should be in Ponyville before three, easy.”
“Now!? I can't go now, I'm not ready!” Octavia almost fell off the couch in shock.
“You've got a bit of money on you and a few basic necessities, that's all you need. Think of it as your first lesson in cutting loose and enjoying life!”
“Who died and made you my personal life coach?”
“Your old personal life coach!” Vinyl got up off the couch and pointed an accusing hoof at Octavia, “You bored him to death with your boringly safe lifestyle!”
Octavia brought a hoof to her forehead, “I guess I walked into that one. If you honestly believe it will benefit the music, our friendship and my own scruples, then I say lead on little pony.”
Vinyl cheered, “Awesome, I'll go fill a saddlebag and be right back!”
Octavia sighed as she watched Vinyl march through a door by the kitchen, 'what have I gotten myself into?' She turned dejectedly towards the window again and began scanning the skyline she wouldn't see for a few days.
==
Vinyl had a hoof on Octavia's shoulder as they waited for their sky cab to arrive, almost as if to keep her in place so she didn't change her mind.
The Sky Rank was a large building on a fairly open tract of land on the outskirts of Canterlot, chariots of all sizes and styles were lined up and ready to take off.
When the pair were called forwards, they went through a back door in the waiting room and out onto the runway, two pilot pegasi greeted them, both wearing official flight suits and matching goggles, “I hear this is only a short flight into Ponyville, am I correct?” One of the pilots asked.
“Sure are Cap'n!” Vinyl answered with a giggle, Octavia blushed embarrassedly.
“Just follow us and we'll get you loaded onto the chariot, you have no luggage?” The other pilot asked.
“Only carry-on,” Octavia replied, “My companion thought it was easier that way.”
Together, the four ponies got locked and loaded into the chariot, with Octavia and Vinyl in the back and the two pilots making some last minute, pre-flight checks.
“Once we're in the air,” the first pilot said, “You'll want to hold on, I know you're secured by the straps but it's better for everyone if you just hold on.”
Octavia looked at Vinyl, obviously flustered. It wasn't exactly the most comforting thing to say when you're about to go flying through the air at breakneck speeds in an open top chariot, but as he said, they were strapped in, there was no turning back now.
“Wahoo! Let's get this show on the road!” Vinyl shouted. She was either fearless or just plain ignorant, Octavia mused.
With a lurch, the pegasus pilots began a simultaneous trot that drove them faster and faster until the edge of the runway loomed nearer, Octavia covered her eyes as the chariot flew over the edge, she could hear Vinyl shouting “Whee!” There was a small drop, but the pegasi caught themselves and were up and away before they could fall any further. Octavia risked looking and dropped her hooves, which immediately found the nearest surface to steady herself on, luckily, the ride was fairly smooth.
“This is so awesome!” Vinyl shouted, grinning like a loon.
Octavia's only response was a silent scream, her lungs didn't seem to want to work. She didn't have to wait for much longer though, the small town of Ponyville loomed below them, a mere suburb compared to Canterlot, but it had a rustic charm about it. Something about the place just made it look like a great place to live. This thought calmed Octavia down, she was still tense, but at least she could stand keeping her eyes open.
Vinyl yawned, it had only been ten minutes since they had landed in Ponyville, but she was already looking bored, “I'd forgotten how boring Ponyville actually is.”
Octavia furrowed her brow, “It was your idea to come here!”
“Calm down, Tavi-”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Octavia interrupted suddenly, “What did you just call me?”
Vinyl grinned sheepishly, “In the interest of saving time, I shortened your name.”
“From Octavia to Tavi? Isn't that a little redundant?”
“I don't think so, that's like half the syllables, are you aware how long it takes to say two syllables? Besides, it's cute.”
Octavia bristled, how Vinyl knew how to push her buttons after so little time together was nothing short of spectacular. 'Spectacularly annoying,' Octavia thought.
Vinyl suddenly stopped, looking around for something, “Why don't you have a look around town, I've got to see an old friend.”
Octavia jumped at the chance, “Okay then, I imagine a place like this has a fascinating history and culture. I may even find it as inspiring as you seem to think this place is.”
“Yeah, yeah, you go... inspire yourself, I'll find you when I'm done.” Vinyl turned, heading left down a wide open street, “It's a small town, it shouldn't take too long!” She called.
–
Octavia had walked for fifteen minutes, but she hadn't been able to find any shop that sold musical instruments, she found one that sold only quills and sofas, a bizarre combination of items, but no musical instruments. This was unfortunate, Octavia had always found playing her Double Bass as a massive source of comfort. As it was, Octavia had to hold onto the niggling in the back of her mind, the little squirming ball of annoyance that had Vinyl's face. How she had been talked into making an impulsive, unplanned trip to a place she'd never been, she'll never know.
Perhaps it was the sincerity in Vinyl's voice when she talked about music. Octavia had always found people like that, those who lived and breathed music, to be fascinating stores of knowledge that she could tap. She was a student, in essence, willing to learn from anyone who was willing to teach her. Everything Vinyl had to say was so new and interesting that Octavia couldn't help but take it in.
'That doesn't make her any less infuriating though,' Octavia thought as she wandered silently through Ponyville's quiet streets. Without realising it, Octavia had managed to walk herself into the town square, where the Town Hall dominated the majority of the skyline.
“Vinyl did say I should explore. No doubt the Town Hall has a fascinating store of local history, perhaps they offer tours.” Octavia said this aloud to herself, a passing lavender unicorn gave her a strange glance as she walked by. Octavia turned away quickly, feeling rather embarrassed, talking to oneself wasn't exactly the most sane thing to do. Octavia looked around at the unicorn, she had the sudden feeling that she had seen her before. She pushed it from her mind for the time being.
Octavia entered the Town Hall, marvelling at the wide open entrance hall, it had more than enough room for the entire town if it really needed it. Up above her at the end of the hall was a balcony, 'Used for making speeches perhaps?'
Several important looking ponies rushed by, all of them carrying documents of some kind, as Octavia watched them pass, a security pony approached and stood before her, “Do you need anything?” he asked.
Octavia looked up at the to see a cobalt stallion with a security badge affixed to his chest, “Oh, hello officer,” Octavia said, feeling slightly intimidated.
The security pony fixed her with a fierce glare, “Do you need anything?” He asked again.
“Oh, er... I was wondering if you offered any tours around the Town Hall?” Octavia forced a smile and added, “I'm sightseeing.”
The security pony raised an eyebrow, “You're new in town?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
The security pony chuckled knowingly, as though he was in on a joke that Octavia was unaware of, “There are no tours, there's nothing to see anyway.”
“Why were you laughing?” Octavia asked firmly.
“You'll see.” He replied cryptically.
Octavia turned tail and marched away, she wasn't very impressed with the security pony's attitude, “He could have just said they didn't offer tours instead of being a jerk about it.” Octavia seemed vaguely aware of a few ponies nearby, but she didn't seem to care about that right now. Her previous annoyance at Vinyl boiled over into her annoyance at the security pony and she was feeling rather on edge at the moment.
In a moment of weakness, Octavia began wishing that Vinyl were actually with her right now, annoying as she was, she always made for interesting company. She would probably make Ponyville's seemingly meagre tourist attractions look more fun at least. Octavia wasn't really paying attention to where she was going, her hooves just walked themselves along with the rest of the pedestrian traffic and when she looked up, she noticed that she was in a makeshift market of sorts. Various wooden stalls had been set-up along the sides of the street, there were stalls selling carrots, celery, oranges and other produce like...
“Apples?”
Octavia jumped, an orange earth pony had shouted at her from the stall, “Y'all lookin' mighty hungry there, no finer food than Sweet Apple Acres apples.”
Even Octavia had to admit that it was a tempting offer, she walked over to inspect the merchandise. Looking at the stall owner, Octavia had another feeling that she had seen her before, maybe it was the hat or maybe it was the apples, “Didn't I see you at the Grand Galloping Gala?” She hoped she was right.
The Earth Pony looked surprised, “Well shoot, Ah didn't figure you as a local, but Ah wouldn't have guessed you were one of those hoity-toity Canterlot types.”
Octavia laughed alarmingly, “I'm far from what you would call a 'hoity-toity Canterlot type', I was playing in the band that night.”
She raised an eyebrow, “All Ah know is, nopony seemed to care for my apples. The name is Applejack by the way.”
“It's nice to meet you Applejack,” Octavia smiled, “And if it's any consolation, I happened to think that your apple treats were fantastic. I'll take an apple fritter please.” Octavia took a few bits from her saddlebag and handed them over
Applejack took the bits and put them in a bag under the counter, “Thank you kindly,” she handed Octavia an apple fritter, “So what brings you to Ponyville?”
“I'm only in town for the weekend, my friend convinced me to go on a short vacation with her,” she took a bite of the fritter, “This is really good. Anyway, I'm just taking in the sights whilst she visits an old friend.”
Applejack chuckled, “Ain’t nothin' much to see in Ponyville, we've got pretty much what we need to keep on turnin' and nothin' else. It's a pretty nice place to keep on turnin' though, mind you.”
Octavia nodded in agreement, it was far more beautiful out here than it was in the hustle and bustle of Canterlot. “Me and my friend came out here specifically for a little inspiration actually. We, for want of a better term, are in a band together, so we're using this time to properly get to know each other.”
“Musician, huh? So what instrument do ya play?”
“I play the Double Bass.”
Applejack looked as though she was trying to picture exactly what a Double Bass was in her mind, “That's one o' those big, upright violins right?”
This made Octavia giggle, “I couldn't have put it better myself.”
Applejack looked as if she was going to object to that in some way, but thought against it, “So where are you stayin' tonight?”
“What do you mean?” Octavia replied, looking confused.
“There's nothin' in the way of hotels in Ponyville, so Ah figure you'll be stayin' with somepony.”
“Oh,” Octavia suddenly stopped, her mind trying to scramble itself back into line, “I imagine my friend has something planned, but I honestly can't say.”
Applejack gave a good-natured smile, “If ya find yourself stuck for lodgin', Sweet Apple Acres isn't that far outta town, we've got plenty o' room.”
“Thank you for the kind offer, I'll make sure to tell my friend. Small details such as sleeping often seem to slip her mind.” As soon as Octavia said it, she had to wonder if Vinyl had planned on sleeping at all. “Thank you for the food and the conversation, it really helped.”
“Don't mention it.” Applejack waved goodbye as Octavia made her way further into town.
It wasn't long after her encounter with Applejack that Vinyl Scratch finally decided to join her. Octavia had found a bench near a delightful looking fountain and took the time to have a sit down when Vinyl suddenly sat down next to her.
“Where did you come from and how did you find me?” Octavia asked, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart after the small shock.
Vinyl, rather infuriatingly, just tapped her horn and grinned knowingly.
“So, have you finished catching up with your friend?” Octavia asked, taking a deep breath to further calm herself down.
“For the time being, yes. For now however, I require your services at a little shop called Sugar Cube Corner.” Vinyl got up and started poking the grey mare with her horn to get her to move.
Octavia stood, if only to escape the prodding, looking a little confused, “What are you talking about?”
Vinyl shrugged, “They make delicious cakes, what more reason do you want?”
“Are you being mysterious on purpose?”
“I prefer the term 'enigmatic'.” Vinyl smiled mischievously and laughed loudly, scaring away several birds in the area. She span Octavia around and began poking her again until she started walking.
“Come on, Tavi, it's going to be fun!”
==
Turns out, it wasn't fun.
It was awkward.
For everyone.
So after being dragged half way across Ponyville to Sugar Cube Corner, Octavia was pushed into the little bakery and met by a tumultuous roar of “Surprise!” Then she locked eyes with the most exuberant pony in attendance, streamers caught in her mane, glitter everywhere and the party seemed to stop. Everypony noticed the serious expression on Pinkie's face, an expression that some in the room had never seen on the pink party pony before, it shocked them all into silence.
A purple-maned unicorn tried to ask if Pinkie was alright, but she was shrugged off. The earth pony choosing to walk slowly, as if dazed, towards the entrance where Octavia was, covered in streamers and confetti.
“Well... This didn't go as planned.” It was Vinyl who broke the tense silence, the other ponies seemed to drift away and quietly continue the party, “I'll just let you two have a little privacy shall I?” Vinyl tried to slip away into the crowd, but Octavia grabbed her by the tail, pulling her back and away from the party.
“What are you playing at?” Octavia said in a violent whisper, murderous intent in her eyes.
“Okay,” Vinyl admitted, “There's the slightest chance that I may have had ulterior motives when I proposed this vacation.”
Octavia almost exploded, “This was a set-up!?”
Vinyl backed away, looking apologetic, “When I heard the story about your sister and what you said about her, I realised that I knew who she was. So I felt I owed it to two of my friends, who just happen to be estranged sisters, by re-uniting them.”
“You know her? How?”
Vinyl grinned, “She throws the best parties in Ponyville, of course I know her.”
Octavia sighed, “Look, I can see that you meant well, but this just isn't something you spring on a pony.”
Vinyl attempted to respond, but a pink something interrupted.
“Don't I get a say in this conversation?” Pinkie had jumped, almost literally, in between the two ponies, she wore a goofy smile and said happily, “I'd much prefer it if you two were having fun instead of a boring old argument. Enjoy your 'welcome to Ponyville' party Octy!” She bounced away and poured herself and several other ponies a glass of punch.
“It's rude to ignore the host of a party, you know.” Vinyl said, trying to gauge Octavia's state of mind.
“It's better than sitting around and moping I suppose.” Octavia said, sounding defeated.
Vinyl smiled, “That's the spirit!”
“Once this party is over though, my sister and I will be having words.”
–
Octavia tried her best to forget everything and have fun, but Vinyl's betrayal (for Octavia had, perhaps melodramatically, began thinking of it as such) stuck in her mind and put her in the wrong mood for enjoying a party.
Not that the party was bad, far from it. The music was upbeat, Octavia saw Vinyl dancing merrily with a bunch of random ponies. The food and drink were good, at several points during the party, Pinkie appeared at Octavia's shoulder and shoved plates of food at her and refilled her cup with punch, she seemed too wrapped up in her hostess duties to stick around for too long however. Even the atmosphere was good, quite a few ponies Octavia had never even seen before had approached her to say hello and welcome. She was glad to see that Applejack had managed to get to the party, the earth pony seemed shocked that Octavia and Pinkie were sisters, “Like an apple being related to an orange,” she remarked.
When Pinkie announced that karaoke was going to take place, Octavia groaned, she couldn't sing worth a damn and the hostess would undoubtedly call upon the guest of honour to begin the festivities.
Sure enough, Pinkie called her name and asked her to come up 'on stage'. Immediately (and even though she wouldn't admit it) gladly, Vinyl appeared at her shoulder, “Wanna duet?”
“I'm not going to be able to get out of this am I?”
“Hell no.”
“Because you won't let me?”
“Hell yes.”
“Fine. Why do I always end up conceding to you?”
“Because, Tavi,” Vinyl said, matter-of-factly, “Deep down, you want to let loose and enjoy yourself, really deep down. I'm just a convenient excuse to make you feel better about doing it.”
Octavia looked up at her seriously, “I'm warning you now, I'm terrible.”
Had she not been wearing the sunglasses, Octavia would have seen the wink, but instead, all she got was the mischievous grin, “I've got more than enough awesome for the both of us, besides, I know the perfect song.”
–
Even Octavia had to admit that the karaoke was actually kinda fun. Vinyl got really into it by dancing and exaggerating her voice at the chorus, she was actually quite a good singer as well. With the help of her exuberance, Octavia managed to stop caring about what the crowd thought of her singing and instead just tried singing to entertain the crowd. Pinkie even jumped on stage with her own microphone for the final chorus.
Octavia left the stage to a rousing cheer, although she didn't know how much of it was hers, but she did know that she was finally starting to enjoy herself. Pinkie clapped a hoof on her shoulder and said, “Welcome to the herd, sister.” She turned away and dashed off, presumably because she had spotted something shiny, Octavia wasn't entirely sure.
A bit of searching lead Octavia to a table near the back of the room, Vinyl was sat alone, swirling a glass of punch with her magic, “Something wrong, Vinyl?” Octavia asked, wondering about her bizarre behaviour. Bizarre for Vinyl anyway.
“Can you not hear that?” She replied dreamily, not even bothering to look at Octavia.
“Hear what?” She spun around and she spotted immediately what Vinyl was talking about, a pegasus pony had replaced her on stage and was singing a fairly slow rock song, incredibly well. As soon as she thought it though, the song picked up and became slightly faster. “Who's that?” Octavia asked.
“One of Pinkie's friends, I think her song choice was appropriate, no?”
Octavia stared at her, looking blank, “I don't get it.”
Vinyl sighed, she kept forgetting about Octavia's lack of knowledge about anything that wasn't classical and several centuries old. “The song is by a band called 'Wings' and she's a pegasus pony. That may be as far as the comparison goes, but it would have at least got a chuckle amongst a more musically diverse audience.”
“I'm trying my best to learn, you know” Octavia replied defensively.
The unicorn took a sip of punch and stayed silent for a few seconds, “So what do you think?”
Octavia narrowed her eyes and sat down in the seat next to Vinyl, “Think about what?” Her eyes drifted towards the stage, “Oh, of the singing? She's very talented, but it seems quite raw, I'd say she hasn't had any formal training. Still better than you though.”
Vinyl took her eyes off the stage and glared at Octavia for a second, “So you agree with me.” Another sip of punch, “Part two of my question, what do you think about turning our duet into a trio?”
“A singer huh?” Octavia scratched her chin with a hoof, “I could be convinced.”
Vinyl slammed her punch into the table, a look of fiery determination in her eyes, a look obscured by her omnipresent sunglasses, “Perfect.”
==
>_< I dislike writing Applejack's dialogue. It's so hard to capture her Southern twang.
And if anypony wants to know, the song being sung at the end by Wings was "Band on the Run" because it's so kick ass it exists in Equestria.
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 4 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-07T22:02:37+00:00
|
2011-12-07T22:02:37+00:00
| 2,387 |
Sorry for the delay everypony.
Had some thing to deal with and new projects that demanded my time. If it makes you feel better, I've been slacking with various other fiction based duties as well, so it isn't just you ponies.
My awful time-keeping aside... Onwards!
* * *
“Daddy, can I-”
“Quiet Octavia. Work your legs, not your mouth.”
“But I-”
“We all need to do our duties, child. Hard work breeds achievement.”
==
“Octavia!”
The grey mare could hear her name being shouted, sung really, a strained note that wasn't entirely unpleasant.
“Tavi!”
The voice became more urgent and more annoyed.
“Wake up or I'll shave off your cutie mark.”
Octavia's eyes snapped open. Her head lay on a table in the corner of a dishevelled looking room, streamers and glitter and cake and popped balloons littered the floor. She seemed strangely disconnected to her own head, concentrating, she managed to find some measure of control over herself, that also meant she could feel the shooting pain in her skull. “Ow” she moaned, rubbing her head with a hoof.
“Come on, let's find a bed for you to rest in.” Vinyl Scratch appeared in her periphery, offering a helping hoof.
“Were you always that blurry?”
Vinyl laughed, “You're a hoot, you know that. Once you loosen up anyway.” She grabbed Octavia and helped her onto her hooves. Octavia stood shakily, but Vinyl held her in place. “Now march, we can't intrude on your sisters hospitality for too long.”
As they exited Sugar Cube Corner, Octavia suddenly remembered something, “Apples! We'll sleep... Apples!”
Vinyl was used to such behaviour, experienced in the way of partying as she was, “Of course. The Apples will help us sleep.” She found it best not to argue too much when they were like this.
“Follow me!” Octavia pulled herself from Vinyl's grasp and began an ungainly trot down the street. Despite the state she was in, she was surprisingly fast on her hooves.
Vinyl shook off the buzz she was feeling and kept as close to Octavia as she could. She didn't want to get in her way, but she didn't want her to get into any trouble, not that Vinyl was too worried, Octavia was a sensible pony. “Where are you going?” She shouted, no doubt waking up a few ponies.
Octavia continued trotting along the empty Ponyville streets shouting “Apples.”
It was enough that Vinyl seriously began to wonder whether she should grab Octavia and sort things out herself. It wasn't often that Vinyl had to play the role of babysitter, “Freakin' lightweight,” she grumbled. As Vinyl was wondering what to do, she didn't notice the fact that they were suddenly surrounded by apple trees. Octavia knew of course, despite her inebriation, she knew where she needed to go.
Sweet Apple Acres farm was just up the road. Octavia began banging on the door as soon as she reached it, Vinyl appeared behind her and tried to get her to stop, “What the hell are you doing?” She whispered violently.
Octavia turned to face her and attempted to look as dignified as one could whilst under the influence, “I'm finding us a place to stay.” She said this like it would be plainly obvious to the DJ pony.
“Why here? We passed plenty of places on the way.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, managing it slightly out of sync, “Applejack said so.”
“Apple-who now?”
“A friend.” Octavia gave up trying to explain to the unicorn and resumed her banging on the door.
When the door opened, it took a while for her hooves to stop, catching Applejack on the nose.
“What was that fer?”
“Sorry about that,” Octavia had to stop herself from giggling, “I need a place to-” and she fell asleep before she could finish the sentence.
Vinyl stepped in, looking apologetic. “I tried to make her stop, but she insisted.”
Applejack sighed and knelt down next to Octavia, “Help me get her up, we'll stick her in one o' the guest rooms. I guess she partook in one too many glasses o' punch?”
“You'd guess correctly. Although for her, one too many isn't that many at all.” Vinyl channelled her magic into helping lift Octavia, Applejack took the strain on the other end and they managed to find a small cot on the bottom floor to put her in. It was as simple as simple got, but a bed was a bed.
Applejack and Vinyl retreated into the sitting room, the former collapsing onto the couch whilst the latter hovered uncomfortably nearby. “Y'all can sit down, you know.”
“Thanks for your hospitality, I know it's not exactly fair for us to turn up so late.” Vinyl took a seat on a small chair.
“Don't worry, I said she could stay over an' that's knowin' how some o' Pinkie's parties end up.” Applejack turned over and lay down on the couch, her eyes closed.
“I'll just go find a room shall I?” Vinyl offered, getting up and walking slowly over to the corridor where Octavia's temporary room was.
Applejack flailed a hoof and mumbled something unintelligible before she started snoring.
“I'll take that as a yes.”
–
When Octavia opened her eyes, she immediately regretted it.
Her usually sharp, lavender eyes were bloodshot and refused to look at anything with the clarity they usually did. Even her ears refused to co-operate, amplifying every noise to terrifyingly painful levels.
“Feeling okay?”
Octavia cringed at her voice, “What the hell happened last night?”
Vinyl trotted over and jumped on her bed, causing the grey earth pony to hide under the covers, “You had fun,” she said simply, “Maybe it took a few glasses of punch for it to happen, but I saw you dancing and laughing, even your sister was impressed.”
“Why does my head feel like its being pecked by angry birds?” Her voice was muffled, but Vinyl caught the gist.
The unicorn took the chance to antagonise her friend further, poking the lump in the covers a few times and laughing, “You've never had a hangover before? I knew you were a lightweight, but teetotal?” Vinyl thought for a moment, “I can't even imagine that, I thought all musicians were on the sauce.”
“Not all of us. I thought the punch was non-alcoholic!” Octavia moaned, curling up even more.
“Come on Tavi, Applejack has a 'down home' hangover cure ready to go, you just gotta wake up.”
“I don't want to.”
Vinyl grinned, “I wasn't asking.” Using her magic, she lifted the covers from the bed and flung them into the corner, much to the chagrin of the earth pony now staring daggers at the unicorn.
Octavia began to shiver, it was cold without her covers.
“Let's get some food down you, it'll warm you up from the inside.”
“I'm afraid that if I eat anything I'll just throw it back up. My stomach feels rather... fragile, at the moment.”
Vinyl nodded knowingly, “I can understand that, but it's better to eat in the long run, take it from the expert.” Abandoning all pretence, Vinyl rolled Octavia onto her back using her magic and walked slowly out of the room carrying her. “You could stand to lose a few pounds you know,” she added.
Octavia was too annoyed and too lethargic to reply or care at the moment, so she just limply accepted her fate.
Vinyl deposited her on a chair in Applejack's kitchen, in front of her was a steaming pile of food and a strong cup of tea.
“Now eat up, that there's a guaranteed cure.” Applejack appeared in the door frame, leaning casually against it.
“How does that even make sense?” Octavia asked, poking at the food in disgust.
“The Apple family knows one thing, Apples. Can't buck apples if you're drunk... or tired.”
Vinyl sat in the seat next to Octavia, “I'd listen to her, we have a similar way of thinking. One of the first things you learn before taking on a profession is how to best rid yourself of hangovers to make sure you don't fail at said profession.”
Octavia took a precursory sip of tea, recoiling at the strong flavour, “I don't think I got that memo. Why don't you feel like this anyway Vinyl? And don't give me any of this magic crap.”
The unicorn was tempted to tap her horn mysteriously as she often does, but knew that she herself wasn't liable to accept crap when she had a hangover, “I honestly didn't have much to drink, shocking I know. Even still, my liver can handle it, whilst yours is still adapting.”
“Didn't have much to drink? But you... erm,” Octavia rubbed her head, struggling to recall whatever it was that Vinyl did, “Why can't I remember? You were doing something ridiculous, either way.”
“Something ridiculous you say?” Vinyl chuckled, “It honestly doesn't take much for me to do something ridiculous, that's just how I am. In fact, a DJ friend of mine dared me to play some terribly embarrassing music at a gig I was doing, just to see how people would react. Needless to say, I remixed that shit so well it sounded great anyway.”
Octavia lay her head on the table, “Not that I didn't enjoy your story Vinyl, but your mane is so bright that it's making my headache worse.”
“Oh, sorry.” Vinyl's horn glowed a bright blue for a second, her sunglasses lifting from her head and lying on the table. Octavia looked up feeling quite shocked, the sight was almost enough to cure her hangover right then and there. Vinyl's eyes were an angry shade of red and barely any of the pupil remained, leaving the iris to almost dominate her eye, if it wasn't for the whites, she'd look quite demonic. “I wouldn't really know would I?” She finished, sounding quite serious.
Vinyl got up and left the room, leaving her sunglasses and a dumbfounded Octavia behind.
“What's her problem?” Applejack said, walking over.
Octavia groaned at her insensitivity, “She's visually impaired and I go around insulting her appearance. Stupid Octavia, now she'll hate you.”
Surprisingly, Applejack chuckled, “Ah know a fair bit about friendship, not as much as apples, but ah'm learnin'. You may have hurt her feelin's, but ponies don't hate other ponies for bein' insensitive, once she realises that your temper's just a li'l short 'cause of the hangover, she'll forgive ya.”
“I hope you're right, Applejack.”
“'Course ah am! It takes a stubborn mule of a pony not to learn something about friendship in this town. Now sugar cube, ah think you should take these here sunglasses to your friend and make your peace.”
Octavia smiled, for a farm pony, Applejack was pretty wise when she wanted to be. “Maybe I should let her cool off for a while first... and maybe I should eat this food before it cools off.”
“The clear headed approach, ah like it!” Applejack winked and went to leave the kitchen, but turned just at the door, “Ah'll go see if ah can knock some sense into that unicorn friend o' yours.”
“Thank you, Applejack. Although, I'd suggest not actually knocking sense into her, that might make her mad.” Octavia smiled and started eating her breakfast, it wasn't really that bad once she'd taken a few bites.
–
Octavia would find Vinyl Scratch in the barn, staring balefully at a gramophone. It was playing an upbeat tune, but the low quality of the equipment made it sound tinny and distant, Vinyl didn't seem to mind either way.
“Vinyl?” Octavia coughed politely to get her attention.
The music suddenly stopped, making a scratchy sound before cutting away, Octavia realised she must have been controlling the device with her magic. “Yeah?” Vinyl didn't bother to turn around.
Octavia took the chance to move a few steps closer, “I'm sorry about earlier, I just-”
“You just forgot, right?” Vinyl interrupted, “Yeah, it's easy to do that when it isn't you.”
The earth pony chanced another few steps, but her shame kept her silent.
“I can almost forget sometimes myself, then someone does something to throw it back in my face and I remember that yes, my eyes are fucked up beyond repair. It's just tough to face that again and again with the realisation that you'll never truly 'see' your friends or your loved ones.” Vinyl brought a hoof to her face, but Octavia couldn't see what she was doing, “I count my blessings every day that I was born a unicorn, that I can cope as well as I do because I have magic on my side. I'd hate to see what my life would be like if I were any different.” Vinyl let out a sound that was half-sob half-chuckle.
“None of that matters, Vinyl.” Octavia finally managed to say, it caught the unicorn off guard, enough for her to turn and face the earth pony. Octavia couldn't help but notice her eyes, it was clear that she had been crying, but her puffy bloodshot eyes only compounded the shock of seeing them. Taking a deep breath, Octavia ignored them, “You make beautiful music that thousands of ponies enjoy, you're a delightful pony to be around and...” Octavia stopped, searching her own feelings for the words she wanted to say, “You've pushed the boundaries of what I thought I could experience. I can truly call you my friend.”
Vinyl gave a quick laugh, wiping away a few final tears, “Thanks, Tavi. I think you're just the pony I need, someone level headed enough to help me through the rough patches. I thank you for that.”
Octavia smiled and rushed over, “You left these behind, I thought you might want them.” She pulled out Vinyl's sunglasses and offered them to her.
With a glow of blue tinted magic, the sunglasses rose and placed themselves on Vinyl's head, making her look like the pony she usually was. Vinyl even gave a little smile to show the earth pony that everything was right in the world again.
“Jus' hug already!”
The two ponies looked around to see Applejack watching them from the barn entrance, she was chuckling encouragingly.
With a laugh, Vinyl and Octavia embraced.
“Now, I'm not sure about you Vinyl, but I could go for a quiet day today.” Octavia said, letting go.
“We could always go and see Pinkie Pie, isn't that what you wanted to do?” Vinyl replied.
Applejack laughed, “Quiet an' Pinkie Pie don' mix.”
“I'm sure my presence will keep her passive. If there's one thing I've learned about my sister, it's that she'll go to great lengths in order to forget her childhood, I honestly don't blame her.” Octavia stood and started to walk towards the barn door, “Seeing me is like a big slap in the face, her reaction at the start of my welcome party is proof of that.”
“So we aren't going to see Pinkie Pie?” Vinyl asked, sounding confused.
“Oh, we are, I'm not going to waste this opportunity because of some childhood awkwardness.”
–
After saying goodbye to Applejack, and receiving a parting gift of apple based food stuffs, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch walked back into town, looking for the shop they had left the previous night.
Vinyl was leading the way, she at least had an idea of where to go. Rounding a corner, they came face to face with a mass of ponies blocking the entrance. A banner hung over the entrance of Sugar Cube Corner which read, 'Free taste test! Vote for your favourite muffin flavour!'
When Vinyl inquired as to why everyone was stuck outside, the general consensus seemed to be that a grey pegasus pony had took it upon herself to be the official muffin expert and demanded solitude to inspect the product. Vinyl, not one to be stalled by mere lines, told Octavia to follow her around to the back door, which was thankfully free of ponies. The door was open, letting out the most delicious smell of baked goods.
A pink head appeared in the doorway looking frazzled and sweaty, a pink body followed it as it collapsed onto the floor.
Vinyl trotted over, looking confused, “You okay, Pinkie?”
“I've been up since the break of dawn in a hot kitchen baking muffins, it's not as fun as it sounds.” It was the way of Pinkie, and as such said a lot about her in general, that these rare moments of clarity made it sound like there was something terribly wrong.
“I'm glad to see that you put an equal amount of passion into your job than you do your parties. Hard work was never a trait I associated with Pinkamena.” Octavia stepped forwards and gave her sister an encouraging smile.
Pinkie sprang up, all fatigue apparently forgotten, “Hiya Octy!”
“Still using that old nickname are we?” Octavia gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Still using my boring old real name?” Pinkie countered.
Octavia took this chance to voice something that had been bugging her since the party, "What's this I've been hearing about you calling yourself Pinkie Pie?"
"Just something I made up," The baker scratched her head, "Didn't want to tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake my real name, so I just said the first thing that came into my head. There was a pie on the counter."
The grey mare laughed, "Pie suits you." She gave an honest smile.
“I kinda like Pinkamena,” Vinyl said, suddenly interrupting the two, “It has a steampunk feel to it. Note to self, explore steampunk musically, enlist the help of Octavia.”
Octavia looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow, Pinkie stood next to her in the exact same pose, when Octavia turned back to the pink earth pony, she noticed what she was doing. “Stop copying me! That always annoyed me when we were young.”
Pinkie giggled and snorted, “It's just a bit of fun, Octy.”
Octavia sighed, “Yes, you're right, harmless fun. I guess I'm still a little nervous about being thrown into this reconciliation.” She gave Vinyl a sideways glance. “It truly is good to see you again though, Pinkie. We may not have gotten a chance to bond so well as kids, but your upbeat attitude and cheery disposition were nice to have in that dreary place.”
“If I made you smile, then that makes me smile!” As if to prove her point, Pinkie put on the biggest smile she could. “I should really get back to work though, those muffins won't bake themselves... or can they?” Pinkie left the other two with that final thought before disappearing into the kitchen.
“Not that I doubt my sister's ability as a baker, but should we get as far away from this place as possible?”
“Most certainly my good pony.” Vinyl raised an eyebrow, “I've had an idea anyway, make haste Octavia!” Vinyl began a quick trot away from Sugar Cube Corner, Octavia hot on her hooves.
“So what is this idea?” Octavia shouted, trying to keep up with Vinyl's pace.
“I feel kinda bad about the whole deception thing when I dragged you to Ponyville, so I thought I'd actually do something musical to make up for it. This is going to help with that.”
Octavia made an appreciative noise, 'So this is what Vinyl sounds like when she's working,' she thought. If it was going to help the music, then Octavia was ready to do whatever she needed to do.
What she didn't know however, was that Vinyl's idea took them to Carousel Boutique, a fashion shop not too far from the bakery. Rarity, the unicorn custodian, seemed positively delighted to help Vinyl achieve her vision, making complements and suggestions where needed. Vinyl had a flair for design it seemed.
Octavia was being used as a model, she didn't entirely appreciate being measured and scrutinised.
“What fantastic posture!” Rarity would exclaim, “You would be the perfect model for my winter collection. So dignified, so elegant.”
Whenever Octavia would ask what she was being measured for however, Vinyl and Rarity would look at one another and share a smile. This annoyed her more than anything else because it could mean a multitude of things, perhaps it was another one of Vinyl's delightful jokes, or maybe she was being serious and it would look great. Octavia wouldn't call it a lack of trust in the unicorn, but more an over-abundance of knowledge about her habits.
As Octavia waited for something to happen, she took the opportunity to inspect the store. Rarity definitely kept it clean, nothing was out of order and every piece of equipment or piece of clothing was pristine. The unicorn herself seemingly embodied this fact, keeping her mane elegantly curled and her coat gleaming. If Octavia used a little imagination, she could see a striking resemblance between Vinyl and Rarity, yes they were both white unicorns, but they held themselves with the same kind of pride. It was then that Octavia thought that whatever Rarity wanted to do, it would probably end up looking good, you don't gain that kind of confidence if you aren't skilled.
“Thank you for your patience, dear. Come back in an hour or so and I'll have the design ready for fitting.”
Octavia was glad for the opportunity to move without being whined at, “Why weren't you getting measured?” The grey mare asked, looking at Vinyl, “Surely if this is for the music then it shouldn't just be me.”
“I already have my outfit, I assumed because you're so inexperienced at the whole 'having a social life' thing, you wouldn't have the necessary tools. Besides, I've seen Rarity's work, it's always a winner.”
Octavia made for the exit, figuring her work was done for now, neither Rarity nor Vinyl made any attempt to stop her, so she kept on walking. As she exited the shop, Vinyl pulled up along side her, “So what should we do now?”
“I wouldn't mind getting something to eat.”
“Sounds good to me.”
* * *
Huzzah! We're back in action, notes for this chapter.
Applejack isn't any easier to write
Pinkie Pie is equally difficult to write, I just don't trust myself to capture her personality properly, so she didn't get much screen time. At least her and Octavia have reached a place where they could be friends again.
Rarity wasn't that bad to be honest, I kinda liked writing her.
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 5 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-14T16:14:23+00:00
|
2011-10-14T16:14:23+00:00
| 2,414 |
After an uneventful lunch and subsequent return to Carousel Boutique, Octavia began to wonder what Vinyl had planned for her.
Rarity was stood before a curtain, grinning with ill-contained pride, “Your outfit is just beyond this curtain. You'll look positively darling in it!”
Vinyl nudged Octavia forwards, giving her that infuriating smile. Octavia played the role of polite pony and asked to see the creation.
The curtains took on a violet glow of magic, shifting back to reveal a dress horse covered in a rather fabulous looking outfit. Dark grey in colour, the dress was simple yet complicated at the same time, it turned from soft fabric at the top to a tough looking corset around the waist and ending in a mid-length, open front skirt that adhered to the contours of the dress horses body and tail whilst leaving the front near enough bare. To top it all off, a matching veil was draped across half of the dress horses face.
Octavia honestly had no idea what to say.
“Isn't it great!” Vinyl said, “You'll be needing it when we play our first show.”
“You already have our first show planned out? We haven't even practised together yet.” Octavia replied, relishing the opportunity to say something rather than gaping awkwardly at the dress.
Vinyl grinned sheepishly, “I, er... This is actually an old idea of mine, I've just never had the chance to make it work until I met you.”
Octavia raised an eyebrow, “So what's this plan of yours?”
“Okay, Picture this...” Vinyl bounced up and down a few times, obviously excited. When she calmed down a little, she draped one of her front legs around Octavia's shoulders and used to other to guide her gaze into the distance, “Darkness. Then a light fades in revealing Octavia, looking for all the world like a gothic aristocrat. Slowly, she picks up her bow and begins to play a haunting melody reminiscent of moonlit nights in the Everfree Forest. Vinyl fades in, adding to the melody with atmospheric rhythms before switching into a heavy bass drum, signalling the turning point of the performance. The melody begins to fade away, being replaced by a much more intense repetition of a similar yet modified melody that sets the scene for what is to come, a rousing monologue from none other than me.”
“A monologue?” Octavia questioned, looking slightly amused.
Vinyl looked slightly crest-fallen, but hid it well, “Yeah, everyone likes monologues.”
“If by everyone, you mean cartoon super-villains.”
“You've not heard the monologue,” Vinyl walked over towards Rarity, “Or the monologue set to our epic music. Either way, climb into the outfit or face the consequences.”
Octavia didn't look too threatened, “And what would these consequences be?”
“Oh, I'm sure two talented unicorns like ourselves,” Vinyl indicated herself and Rarity, “Would be able to come up with an absolutely magical solution.”
It took a long time to get Octavia into the dress, Vinyl apparently insisted that it be designed to be close fitting. It took almost as long for Rarity to make small adjustments to the dress once Octavia had been told to model it and make a few turns on a makeshift walkway. Finally, it took equally as long to get her out of the dress without damaging it.
Rarity said that she would personally wrap and box the dress so as not to damage it in transit. Octavia tried to talk her out of it, but Rarity insisted, saying it was the least she could do after all the bits they paid for it.
“Wait a minute.” Octavia turned to Vinyl, who was casually cleaning her hooves, “You bought me the dress?”
“I thought that much was obvious, you've been trying it on almost all afternoon.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, “I thought I was going to buy it after we'd sorted out the fitting. I never knew you had already paid for it.”
Vinyl didn't seem very bothered by Octavia's objection, “Look, the studio pays me far too much money for the music I put out, I honestly don't need a lot of it. Consider it an early birthday gift if it makes you feel better.”
Octavia found herself, once again, at a loss for words, “Thanks Vinyl, no one has ever bought me such a beautiful gift before.”
“Sounds like you just needed nicer friends.”
Octavia made to object, but when she really thought about it, she realised that she didn't have any friends outside of her work. Yes, she was friendly with them, Bass and Treble Clef especially, but they rarely interacted outside of work. Octavia hung her head, feeling dejected, “I guess I did.”
Vinyl realised what her remark had done a little too late, “I didn't mean to drag up any old stuff by saying that.” The unicorn tried to lay a comforting hoof on her shoulder, but Octavia shied away.
“No, you're right, I've never really had friends. They just put up with me because I work with them.”
“Hey, chin up.” Vinyl put on an encouraging smile, “You have me now, none of that other stuff matters.”
“How do I know you're just not keeping me happy so we'll work better together?”
Vinyl tried not to look shocked at this question, she very nearly managed it, she sighed and went on, “Would a fake friend buy you an expensive, custom dress and ask nothing in return? I'm sure there are plenty of cheaper ways to keep someone buttered up, why waste more money than you have to on someone you don't really care about?”
Octavia looked up, Vinyl had a rather round about way of getting to her point, but it was a comforting point nonetheless. “Just don't waste too much money on me.”
“I will make no such promise, I'll spoil you like the milk in my fridge if I so please.” Vinyl gave her a cheeky grin and Octavia chuckled happily.
“Aww,” Rarity had appeared behind them, elegantly wrapped box held with her magic, “If I didn't know any better I'd say you two were budding, young lovers.” She winked and gave a disarming laugh.
Vinyl rolled her eyes, Rarity was oblivious to this of course, “Is that the dress? Thanks, we'll be leaving now, lots to do. I'm sure you can relate.”
Rarity nodded, “Yes, I have commissions to work on. If you need anything else, remember Rarity and tell your friends.”
“Come on Octavia, we need to execute part two of our musical plan.” Vinyl pushed the earth pony from the store, looking somewhat miffed.
==
“Okay Vinyl, so what exactly is part two?”
“We find that pegasus from last night. It shouldn't be too hard, just look up.” Vinyl scanned the sky just in case.
“The one who you wanted to talk to about singing in the band?”
“Wow, good job, I thought last night would be one big blur for you.”
Octavia cradled her head, the ghost of a headache catching her, “It's mostly just the second half of the night, I can remember the start rather well.”
“Shame, the second half was pretty good. Pinkie started a game, covertly of course, to see who could hide her pet alligator in the most hilarious place to prank people. Our pegasus friend joined in now that I think about it.”
“Can't we just ask someone? I know she's blue, surely that narrows it down.”
Vinyl had her eyes firmly trained on the sky, “I know what she looks like and where she lives, it's nearby just in case you wanted to know.”
Octavia dialled the conversation back a little, looking slightly worried, “You know where she lives? How?”
“Not everyone can be as level-headed as me at a party,” Vinyl replied, looking around, “We got to talking and she told me, I've no idea why though, I didn't exactly ask.”
Octavia breathed a sigh of relief, it was always nice to know your friends weren't crazed stalkers. “I can see some kind of cloud house over there, no other way I can describe it really, it's a house that's also a cloud. Do pegasi live in those?”
Vinyl turned to face where Octavia was pointing, “Good eyes Tavi, there's only so much I can do with magic. It's very possible that's where she lives, see any other cloud houses around here?”
Octavia made a quick three-sixty spin but spotted nothing, “Clear skies all around.”
“Then let us away, the quicker we get this done, the quicker we can start.”
The two ponies stood underneath the cloud home, staring at the several metres of open air that separated it from the ground.
“Well, this is convenient,” Vinyl said, her voice layered in heavy sarcasm.
“She mustn't like visitors that much, how is a non-pegasus supposed to get her attention?” Octavia supplied, trying to mitigate the pegasus' apparent want for solitude. She looked over at Vinyl to see if the unicorn agreed with her. Apparently she wasn't listening because Vinyl was searching the ground. “Er... Vinyl, what are you doing?”
“Looking for rocks, a few of those will get her attention. Aha!” Vinyl floated a bunch of rocks with her magic, launching them through the clouds at random.
“Ow!” Vinyl had apparently hit something capable of feeling pain. The next thing they knew however, a rainbow blur flew out of the cloud home and zoomed towards the ground coming to a halt before the pair, kicking up dust as it did. “What do you think you're playing at!” the blur shouted, brandishing a threatening hoof at each of them in turn.
“Hey Rainbow. How was your morning?” Vinyl didn't falter under the pegasus' gaze, instead giving her a goofy grin.
“It was going fine until somepony threw a rock at me!” Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head.
“Chill sister, we're just here to talk.”
Vinyl's familiarity with the pegasus would no doubt help ease everything, so Octavia elected to stay silent and just watch.
Rainbow Dash let out a deep breath, it seemed to level her out at least, “I wondered what happened to you after the party, I woke up with Pinkie insisting I leave before the shop had to open. Something about muffins?”
Vinyl laughed, “Oh yeah, we've already spoke to Pinkie, she's been up to her neck in muffins all day it seems.”
“Yeah, so I only got back a few hours ago, not feeling my best after last night. Think I had a little too much.”
Octavia failed to suppress a knowing wince, “You and me both,” she said.
Rainbow Dash turned her gaze, giving Octavia a quick once over, “You're Scratch's friend from last night, right? I don't think I caught your name, maybe I just can't remember,” she laughed embarrassedly.
Octavia chuckled, if only to make the pegasus feel better, “It's Octavia, I don't remember a lot about last night either.”
“Rainbow Dash, fastest weather pony in Equestria, at your service.” The pegasus gave a mock bow before smirking. “So what did you want to talk about, I didn't do anything stupid last night did I?”
Vinyl took control of the conversation again, “You were delightful company, but it's only one part of last night we want to talk about. Karaoke to be exact.”
If this question came out of the blue, she didn't show it on her face, “Just some harmless fun, a nice rock ballad to get the party started. You know how it is.” Rainbow shrugged absent-mindedly, her answer sounded rehearsed, like she had to explain her karaoke habits to a lot of ponies.
“I do know how it is, I know that you were fantastic up there. You have a brilliant voice.”
“So is that all you wanted, to complement my singing voice? It not as if I put any practice into it.”
“And that's why I think you're great,” Vinyl showed an excited smile, it warmed Octavia to see how passionate her friend was about music.
“You have a raw talent that hasn't been tempered by formal training to pigeon-hole your skills. You're exactly what I've been looking for in a vocalist.”
Rainbow took a step back and spluttered, “What me? No, I suck and believe me when I say that I'll brag about almost everything. My singing voice was never one of those things.”
“I know what I heard. Now, you don't have to make a decision now, perhaps you take a trip back to Canterlot with me and Octavia and we have a quick jam session, you might find it fun.”
Octavia recognised that tone in Vinyl's voice, her silver tongue working it's magic. Perhaps it was magic, maybe she should ask one of the days.
Rainbow Dash looked hesitant, “I have a lot of stuff to do here, I can't just abandon Ponyville.”
“It's nothing like that, think of it like a little holiday, I'm sure you're up for one of those after last night. You come into Canterlot, you lay some vocals down over our music and see how well we gel. Even if you end up saying yes, you could even stay in Ponyville if you wished, the music is perfectly willing to work around your schedule.”
The conflict showed on Rainbow Dash's face, but Vinyl cut in to put a cherry on the top of her cake.
“Of course, my music gets a lot of attention, I have countless fans all over Equestria. In fact, I was talking to my friend Spitfire last week, she told me that they use my music in some of her Wonderbolts routines.”
“You know Spitfire, leader of the Wonderbolts, the greatest fliers in all of Equestria?” Rainbow looked manic.
Vinyl ignored it and kept a cool demeanour, “Sure, we go way back, met when we were fillies.”
“So... say I go with you,” the pegasus tried and failed to stay casual, “You could put in a good word for me?”
“Let me put it this way, Dashy,” Vinyl leaned in close, “I'd be eternally grateful if you said yes.”
Rainbow almost jumped out of her skin, but reigned it in, “I don't think a weekend away could hurt, I might as well give it a shot. I've got plenty of holiday hours saved up anyway.”
“Perfect. Now if you don't mind, you can follow us when we leave for Canterlot, I'm not paying for an extra seat when you've got wings.”
Octavia was impressed, Vinyl had total control of that conversation without making it obvious. What other talents she was hiding, Octavia was sure she would love to find out, the unicorn was seemingly full of secrets.
Vinyl wrapped up a few last details with Rainbow Dash and started to walk back into the town centre, beckoning Octavia to follow.
“Now that we've got that all wrapped up, how about we make the best of our last few hours in Ponyville.”
==
“Hey look, there's a library!”
Vinyl rolled her eyes, “If I wanted a nap I would have had one already.”
“How can you not like a good book?” Octavia asked, looking scandalised.
“I love reading, what with my partial blindness and such. It's a blast.” She dead-panned.
Octavia's voice caught in her throat, “Sorry.”
“Nah, it's okay, I just use it as an excuse to ignore bad reviews.” Vinyl grinned, letting Octavia know that everything was cool. The earth pony responded with a smile of her own.
“Okay then, seeing as you're apparently the master of fun, what do you want to do?”
“Don't rush me, I'm still thinking.”
Octavia let out a high-pitched laugh, “Don't tell me Vinyl Scratch doesn't know what to do for fun? Isn't that against your own personal laws?”
“It's not my fault!” Vinyl sighed exasperatedly, “Ponyville is giving me so little to work with.”
Vinyl stayed silent after that, walking slowly in any random direction her hooves dragged her. Octavia followed, if only because she didn't want to get lost alone. Her gaze fell onto the rolling hills and valleys that surrounded the small town, she spied several lakes and even an intimidating mountain in the distance. Octavia's eyes lit up with an idea.
“Vinyl,” she got the unicorns attention, thinking how she should word her question, “It's been a long day and I think it would be better if we just sat down and enjoyed the scenery. We won't be able to see anything like this when we go back to Canterlot, we'll be busy over there anyway, so can't we just slow down and have these few hours to ourselves?”
Vinyl looked over, for a second it looked like she was about to object and insist they go hang-gliding or some such nonsense, but she took a deep breath and nodded in agreement, “A rest sounds lovely, what do you have in mind?”
Octavia smiled happily, “I saw a lake nearby, we could sit under a tree and talk, watch the birds fly by, it'll be great.”
“Sounds... lovely.”
“You already said that,” Octavia grinned mischievously.
“Well, I would've preferred going hang-gliding or something, but sitting down next to a lake might be fun.”
“We'll make it fun.”
The lake wasn't very big, but it looked great in the late afternoon sun. Ducks were swimming between the lakeside reeds and a variety of insects flew across the surface of the water. Octavia had dragged Vinyl over to a spot under a tree and forced her to sit down and admire the beauty of nature.
“Not just the sights either, just listen to birds and the insects and the wind. It's like nature is putting on a concert just for us.”
“That is honestly the most stupid thing anypony has said. Ever.” Vinyl said in a deadpan.
“Don't be a grump, just because you aren't getting your way for once.” Octavia settled down next to the unicorn and playfully tapped her with a hoof.
“That's not the reason.”
Octavia smiled, “Oh really? And here's me thinking that your cutie mark should have probably been a silver tongue.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Vinyl asked, looking offended.
“Oh nothing,” Octavia said casually, “It's just that I've noticed you have a real way with words and you can be very convincing if you want to be. Poor Rainbow Dash never had a chance to say no did she?”
Vinyl narrowed her eyes, hidden of course behind her sunglasses, “You make it sound sinister, like I had ulterior motives or something. 'I only want you in the band so I can make love to you'” Vinyl mocked, putting on a fake voice.
“I never knew you swung that way.” Octavia couldn't stop herself from giggling.
“Hey, wherever Vinyl Scratch swings, she doesn't miss.”
“What is that even supposed to mean?”
Vinyl shrugged, “It sounded cooler in my head.”
“You're avoiding the issue. How exactly are you so persuasive? Is it just a natural charm or is it a little more, magic perhaps?”
“What do you mean, magic?” Vinyl nudged her own horn nervously, her smile seeming a little too forced.
Octavia rolled her eyes, “It's magic, I don't need to explain it.”
Vinyl sighed, backing up against the tree for support. She lifted the sunglasses from her head and folded them carefully by her side, “Okay, I'll tell you. Although I'm not exactly proud of it.”
Octavia lay on her stomach, propping her head on her front hooves, “I'm all ears.”
“So we've established that I'm partially sighted, right?” Vinyl began, watching Octavia nod in response, “And we've also established that I use my magic to help me 'see'. What I didn't establish however is that the magic I use is part of a branch of magic known as sensory magic, or any piece of magic that directly relates to a pony's senses. Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste and Touch, that kind of stuff.”
Octavia nodded along, keeping up so far.
“I assume you know that unicorns have magic which relates to their special talent. I learned how to use the spells that help me before I had even discovered my special talent, which is creating and playing music. I assumed that the sound aspect of the magic came easily to me because of my special talent and that I learned the 'sight' spells due to pure force of will. I learned one day through experimenting that I could control the other aspects of sensory magic just as easily as I could sound. It was only a matter of time before I figured out I could use magic to manipulate how other ponies perceive the sound of my voice, with that in mind, I can make myself sound good to them. It gets harder to do on a large scale, which is why I don't bother with it during performances, keeping that up throughout an entire song would probably kill me. One on one, it works brilliantly though. The other pony is hearing a pleasant voice so they're more open to listening to me and considering what I have to say. It's a cheap trick, I know, but it works.”
“So...” Octavia began hesitantly, plucking up the courage to ask her next question, “Have you ever done that to me.”
Vinyl smiled, her eyes flashing brilliantly in the late afternoon sun, “Honestly, no. I just know what you like to hear. I don't need extra help when you and me have this great synergy.”
“I feel it as well... the synergy I mean. How else can you explain two ponies becoming such fast friends?
“Maybe we were fated to be together,” Vinyl said, staring off into the distance.
“Perhaps we were,” Octavia gave Vinyl a gentle pat on the shoulder, “Sometimes I think the universe has a pretty good taste in music.”
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 6 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-26T14:32:27+00:00
|
2011-10-26T14:32:27+00:00
| 2,299 |
Vinyl had arranged an early morning flight back to Canterlot. Mostly because Octavia had insisted, “I have important business to attend to in the city on Monday.” The grey mare could be heard remarking.
Her white unicorn friend would reply thus, “How can I say no to that adorable face?”
If this mysterious visitor would have eavesdropped a little longer, they would have witnessed a small fight break out, as the earth pony tried with all her might to murder the unicorn in whatever inventive, brutal method occurred to her. They would have noticed the unicorn giggling madly as the earth pony tried, defending herself easily by glancing blows away with small bursts of magic.
Further investigation into the two ponies would have revealed a third, an orange earth pony wearing a Stetson. It would seem she played 'sheriff' to the pair, clapping both of them round the back of the head with her strong hooves. “Now you,” She pointed a hoof at the unicorn, “Mosey on back t' yer own room, some of us hafta be up at cock crow.”
The unicorn would try and fail to restrain her laughter, “Night, ma'am” She would say in a crude, southern accent, tipping her imaginary hat at the door.
Sheriff earth pony would roll her eyes and insist the other earth pony get some rest as well. The grey mare would nod respectfully and make her preparations for sleep.
==
Octavia felt oddly emotional as she bade Applejack goodbye for what could be the final time. The farm pony was, to put it simply, a very nice pony. Honest and friendly, Applejack was just someone you could get along with. She gave Octavia and Vinyl a hug each before getting back to work, humming a jaunty tune as she did.
“So...” Octavia began, looking at the box she was carrying on her back, “Will we be visiting our new rainbow friend?”
The unicorn took a few seconds to answer, apparently weighing it over in her mind, “We probably should at least tell her we're on our way back, it shouldn't take her as long to get to Canterlot so she can have a bit longer in bed if she wants.” Vinyl sighed, it wasn't obvious to anyone else, but she closed her eyes, they had begun to hurt again. “Could you do me a small favour, Octavia?”
“Hey, that almost rhymes.” The usually serious earth pony cracked a smile, but it was the one time that Vinyl didn't return it, “What's the favour then?” The unicorn didn't look much in the mood for jokes at the moment.
“I'm feelin' kinda drained, would you mind leading us to Rainbow's place so I can give my horn a rest?”
Octavia frowned, “Do you feel ill? Sorry, I mean, of course I'll lead the way but if you don't feel well I think you should tell me.”
Vinyl forced a smile, “Just a bit achy and lethargic, nothing a bit of rest can't cure.” Octavia didn't need to know about the headaches just yet, maybe in time. The white unicorn sighed happily as she dispelled her sensory enchantment.
“Just follow the sound of my hooves, okay. It shouldn't take long to get into town and then we'll get you home and back to bed.” Octavia smiled helpfully, but the gesture fell on deaf ears... so to speak.
“Octavia you naughty mare, aren't you even going to ask me on a date first?” It was a feeble attempt at changing the subject but the more Octavia thought she was okay, the longer she could keep her headaches a secret. It wasn't much at the moment, but she could feel them coming, 'Always pushing yourself too far, eh Vinyl?'
Luckily, Octavia decided to run with the sarcasm, “Was that a 'we are secretly dating' joke? How original.”
“You know me Tavi, I'm a committed kind of pony.”
Octavia barely contained a chuckle, “And here's me thinking that you were the love 'em and leave 'em type.”
“Hey, sometimes relationships don't work and the sooner you realise it, the better for the both of you. Besides, I hardly think you qualify to give out relationship advice.”
“I have a thousand pieces of advice about how not to initiate a relationship if that helps. For example, never stand outside your Cello instructors house and play the most romantic song you know, especially if his wife is home... and people are watching.” Octavia was glad that Vinyl couldn't see how embarrassed she looked.
“You fell for your Cello instructor? That's kinda sad. Anyway, I thought you played Double Bass?”
“A mare can't be multi-talented?”
“Pfft, transferable skills. Call me when you learn how to play the saxophone.”
“Fine, I'll just not talk.” Octavia held her head high in defiance. It was then that Octavia fully began to comprehend just how much of communication is non-verbal, it was a shame that she and Vinyl couldn't have that non-verbal link. The earth pony almost hugged her friend right there and then, stroking her mane and telling her that everything would be alright. As it was, she just seemed lost.
“But if you stop talking, I won't be able to follow your incessant whining.”
Scratch that, she's still the same old Vinyl.
Rainbow Dash was waiting for them when they arrived at her home, something that Octavia (and Vinyl once the earth pony told her) found rather odd.
“You're up early,” Octavia said in greeting, “We got up especially.”
Rainbow laughed rather unnervingly, “I didn't sleep! I've been waiting for you all night, drunk my weight in coffee. You guys sleep slowly.”
Now that Octavia was closer, she could see the dark rings under the pegasus' eyes and how jittery she seemed. Apparently deciding that standing still was too boring, Rainbow flew a few laps around her cloud house and landed again.
Vinyl took this opportunity to give the pegasus the run down on their plans. “Now Dash, we're on our way back to Canterlot, our sky-cab is scheduled to arrive soon and we thought that we should come over and tell you so you can meet us at the depot in Canterlot. You could probably get there faster by yourself, so you can stay here for a while if you want.”
“Are you kidding?” Rainbow looked scandalised, but perked up just as quick, “I'm coming with you guys, I don't wanna miss my opportunity with the Wonderbolts, I mean singing with you guys.” Rainbow's forced smile wasn't very convincing.
“Fine, just remember that there isn't room for you inside the chariot.”
“I'll need all that flying time to warm up anyway.” The pegasus looked between the other two quickly, as if expecting one of them to respond just as quickly as she did.
Octavia decided to speak up, “Okay then, now that we have all of that sorted out, we should be on our way to the landing point.”
“Yes, good idea Tavi. Just follow her Dash, she knows where she's going.” Vinyl turned towards Octavia and motioned for her to start moving.
They were quite the odd sight, the three of them. First of all you had the grey earth pony with a fairly large box on her back and an exasperated look on her face, then you had the white unicorn with her head down and generally looking sorry for herself, finally there was the cyan pegasus, zipping around the other two like a housefly that's had too much sugar.
They stopped in a large stretch of open flatland just outside of Ponyville where they had originally landed. Octavia and Vinyl sat down patiently, Octavia with her eyes towards the skies and Vinyl just laying her head on her front legs.
“This is taking too long.” Rainbow Dash had been still for perhaps five seconds before saying this.
Octavia sighed, “We got here early just in case, the chariot isn't scheduled for another ten minutes at least.”
“Ten minutes!? That's like... hours!”
“Just sit your feathery behind down,” Vinyl said, her tone was serious, “Be quiet until the sky-cab arrives or I'll make you go home.”
The pegasus did as she was told surprisingly. Vinyl did seem in one of those moods where you just don't want to mess with them, perhaps it was her threat that did it, Rainbow Dash seemed intent on being good at this so she could set up a meeting with the Wonderbolts. Octavia could understand it in a way, using one thing as a stepping stone to another thing, but where would that leave them? If Rainbow Dash got what she wanted and the Wonderbolts accepted her as a member of their flight team, would she have enough time to continue working with her and Vinyl or would she have to focus squarely on her flight training.
Just being around the pegasus told Octavia one thing about her, if it came down to a choice, she wouldn't pick being a vocalist over being a Wonderbolt. Which was quite sad actually, but Octavia had to trust Vinyl's judgement when it came to this. The unicorn had said it herself after all, Rainbow Dash was what she was looking for in a vocalist and from what Octavia could tell, she had been looking for a while. Vinyl doesn't seem like the type to just give something like that up.
When Octavia snapped out of her musings, she saw that the chariot was pulling in to land, she nudged Vinyl and told her the ride was here. Rainbow looked towards the unicorn as if asking permission to move. Vinyl couldn't see this of course, but Octavia took the hint and told her to follow close, Vinyl didn't correct her, so Rainbow nodded and stretched her wings ready for the trip.
“Let's just get this sorted shall we.” Vinyl sounded annoyed.
Octavia couldn't help but feel like she had to do something, 'Maybe when we get her back home, I should be able to find something to help her there.'
==
Vinyl unlocked her door with a quick burst of magic, even that simple act sent a shooting pain through her head, she fought to mask it before Octavia or Rainbow Dash could notice, they didn't need to worry about her.
The door swung open, “Make yourself at home, kitchen is to your left, bathroom is through the door to the right, couch is right ahead.”
The unicorn stood at the door and watched as her two new friends rushed in, Octavia had predictably headed straight for her Double Bass and was checking if it was alright. Dash was taking an aerial tour of the living room, poking her head into every cupboard and seeing what was through every door. Vinyl took her time closing and locking the front door manually, it was better than causing herself pain.
Vinyl crashed on the couch opposite Octavia, they were almost in the same position when she proposed the entire Ponyville vacation in the first place.
“Look Vinyl, you really need to get some rest, we can sort everything else out tomorrow. You can't rightly focus on work when you're as obviously strained as you are.”
Perhaps Octavia had noticed after all, “Thanks for the concern, but we need to deal with Jitterbug first, she needs the rest more than I do.”
Octavia looked up at Rainbow Dash, she was currently trying to open one of the windows near the top of the back wall, “I suppose, but what can we do? She's so pepped up she isn't going to go to sleep any time soon.”
“If she won't sleep naturally, then make her sleep unnaturally. There are some sleeping pills in my medicine cabinet, you know where that is, just grind two up in a protein shake and tell her it's to help for her Wonderbolts audition.” There was a small pause where Vinyl could imagine Octavia staring at her with that, 'did you really just say that' glare she has, “And don't worry, she won't remember much when she wakes up. Do this and I promise I'll let you fuss over me.”
Vinyl heard the sound of Octavia grumbling and getting up, “Okay, I suppose it's best to perform music when everypony has a clear head.”
“That's the spirit, drug our new friend and put her in my bed.” She may feel like crap, but Vinyl still knows when to crack a joke.
Octavia rolled her eyes and wandered into the bathroom, finding that it was sparkling clean, 'Vinyl must have a maid.' It actually smelled lemon fresh rather than... she didn't even want to think about it. The medicine cabinet was in its place above the sink and the sleeping pills didn't take long to find, they were in a fairly large bottle with a sleeping pony on it, 'apparently Vinyl needs a lot of these. Better take the bottle, Vinyl might want some.'
Pills in hoof, Octavia made her way to the kitchen and began rooting through the cupboards to find what she needed. After a minute or two of searching, she found a mortar and pestle, a large glass, a small packet of powdered protein shake mix, a lot of milk and a spoon.
She ground the pills into a fine powder using the mortar and pestle but left it alone for the time being. She poured the milk into the glass and made sure to read the instructions of the back of the powdered protein shake mix before adding it in. She carefully stirred the mixture, making sure not to spill any of it, once she felt that everything had dissolved, she added the ground up sleeping pills, added them to the mixture and stirred it once again. Admiring her concoction, Octavia smiled and turned to Vinyl, “I've done it!” she shouted, “Where's Rainbow?”
The unicorn merely pointed towards her left, at the door Octavia knew held Vinyl's bedroom. The earth pony took special care in picking up the drink, walking slowly towards the door which burst open unceremoniously as she neared it. Rainbow Dash had obviously finished her tour of the apartment and was looking for something else to do.
“Rainbow Dash, I have a drink for you.” Octavia called, balancing the drink so she didn't spill any of it.
The pegasus looked down, “Great, I was really thirsty after all that flying.” She zipped down and took the drink off of Octavia, downing almost three quarters of it in one gulp. “That tasted... really erm...” her eyes began to droop.
Octavia mock gasped, “You look tired Rainbow, perhaps you should have a rest, it's been so long since you slept after all.” She trotted up and offered her shoulder to the pegasus.
“Yeah... sleep would be good.” She yawned and her legs buckled slightly.
Together, they walked back through the door beside the kitchen area, coming onto a corridor similar to the one on the other side of the apartment, there were a few doors leading off of this one, Octavia took a chance with the first. She found a large room, walls almost blocked out by posters and pictures, it was messy and had a plush carpet leading up to a massive bed, 'This is definitely Vinyl's room.'
The two ponies made it to the bed, Octavia holding the covers back whilst Rainbow collapsed into it, snoring soundly, “Sweet dreams.”
The earth pony allowed herself a small smile before backing out of the room, she was glad to see that Vinyl hadn't moved. “So...” she began, before the unicorn interrupted.
“Yeah, yeah... fuss away.”
Octavia took a seat opposite her, “You've been acting funny since we left Applejack's. What's the matter and tell me the truth this time.”
“Are you saying I lied?”
“No, I'm saying you just withheld a few important details. I'm your friend, I deserve to know what's going on if it's something bad.” Octavia looked at the unicorn pleadingly, even if she couldn't see it.
Vinyl sighed, “I have a really bad headache.”
“But that isn't all is it?” Octavia got up and took a seat on the edge of the couch where Vinyl was lay, she put a hoof on Vinyl's forehead, the unicorn jumped slightly at her touch, but didn't complain.
“You're burning up.”
“I've just been pushing my magic a bit too much the past weekend, it happens, I just need to rest for a bit.”
Octavia frowned, 'how can someone be so blasé about their own health?' “Surely there's something that can help speed the process along, recharge your batteries so to speak. If it's happened before, surely you know of something.”
Vinyl shivered, “Well there is one... no, I shouldn't even mention it.”
“Vinyl, please. Anything you need, I'll get it for you.”
“I'm not sure it's appropriate,” she shifted uncomfortably, “I don't even know why I brought it up.”
“Vinyl.” Octavia glared at the unicorn so intensely that she was sure Vinyl could feel it despite her disability, “Anything.”
A sharp release of breath, “If you really want to know,” a deep intake of breath. “There are certain chemicals in a pony's brain, in earth ponies and pegasi they serve only to produce the feeling you know as happiness or pleasure, in unicorns it can stimulate the rush of magic, making them feel recharged.”
“So, I just have to make you happy?”
Vinyl winced, “It's not quite that simple, you can't just put on my favourite song and give me a nice meal, it needs to be an intense rush of pleasurable excitement, enough to force the magic to recharge. The chemical is a natural secretion so it does it by itself over time.”
Octavia looked confused, “So how do I go about 'exciting' you... oh.” The answer dropped into her head and with it, a fierce blush.
“Yeah...” Vinyl rolled over, facing the back of the couch, “That's why I didn't mention it.”
The earth pony wasn't about to let a little embarrassment stop her, “Why can't you just... you know, help yourself?”
There was a brief silence from Vinyl, “With this headache? I don't think I could get myself in the mood. It's always easier with somepony else though.”
Octavia backed away slightly, “Well... that's, er... good to know. Rainbow Dash left some of the protein shake, you could have that to help you sleep.”
Vinyl sat up slowly, purposefully turning away from Octavia, she staggered over to the kitchen and found the glass, draining it completely. “Yeah, I'll just go climb in bed, I'll be better in the morning, come by then.”
“Oh, I think Rainbow Dash is already asleep in your bed.”
The unicorn smiled weakly, “It's a big bed, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Lock the door on your way out, okay?” She had disappeared the door before Octavia even had a chance to say anything.
Staring awkwardly around the now empty living room, she got up to leave, but stopped herself when she saw her Double Bass and the box from Ponyville. 'I'll be back tomorrow, I'm sure Vinyl will keep them safe for me.' Octavia didn't have much of a choice, she walked over to the front door and set the lock before slipping out, her thoughts centred around the unicorn that had looked so vulnerable just moments before.
'And you left because you felt a little awkward. What kind of friend are you?'
“I have business to deal with.”
'You keep telling yourself that.'
* * *
Okay, not the most terribly exciting chapter ever to exist, but this story is Slice of Life for a reason. Life isn't always exciting.
There were some important things set up in this chapter though if you care to read between the lines and make a few assumptions.
Sorry about taking a while to upload this, I've had my time divided by a lot of projects (some new, but mostly revising Adored, which should be finished soon. I only have the last quarter to go)
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 7 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-04T16:42:35+00:00
|
2011-12-04T16:42:35+00:00
| 2,441 |
I've been ill lately, found it hard to get in the mood to write.
This chapter is rated Teen for scenes of Drunken Shenanigans and Crackpot Philosophy
* * *
Octavia felt dreadful as she entered the concert hall, which only made what she was about to do even worse. There was no way of avoiding it though, she couldn't very well focus on two demanding musical projects.
She knew that her band mates would be getting ready for practice and it would only be fair if she told them all together.
The main stage in the Fillyharmonic Hall was one of the most prestigious places a classical musician could ever hope to play in all of Equestria. Octavia could remember the day she got her acceptance letter vividly.
Her mother and father were waiting in the dining room eating a plain, nutritious breakfast, Octavia had come downstairs with her sister, Pinkie having already left home by this point.
“You have mail, Octavia.” Her father said, indicating a large envelope on the dinner table.
“It's stamped by the Canterlot Arts Council.” Her mother added.
Octavia could remember feeling tense, her muscles seizing up to the point where she found it difficult to sit down at the table. When she calmed down, the tenseness was replaced by a feeling of dread, 'what if I don't get accepted, what could I possibly hope to achieve after being rejected by the Canterlot Arts Council.' Her father had instilled a deep sense of pride into his offspring, Octavia had always performed her best in whatever she had done and if her best wasn't enough then she obviously wasn't trying hard enough.
“Open it.” It wasn't a request, there was no warming comfort in his voice to tell Octavia that even if she did get rejected, everything would be alright.
As an earth pony, Octavia had always found it difficult to perform precise tasks such as opening letters and with the added nervousness, it didn't help her concentration. When she finally managed to fumble it open, a fairly thick booklet fell out, a picture of the Canterlot Fillyharmonic Hall on the front, it seemed to be an information guide of some kind, but Octavia ignored it for now, she focused on the envelope and pulled out the letter.
Carefully unfolding it, her eyes dismissed all unnecessary distractions and instead looked directly at the first line of the letter.
...We are delighted to inform you that you have earned a place...
That was all she needed for the time being, disregard details, she had made it. Her ultimate prize was within her grasp, nothing could stop that now. “I've been accepted.”
Her father cracked a very rare smile, “Hard work breeds achievement, Octavia. I'm proud of you.”
And here she was again, just about as nervous as she was was back then. Except this time, instead of joining, she was leaving.
She entered the practice room and all eyes turned to her. One pony in particular, a light brown earth pony with an off-white mane, greeted her enthusiastically, “Ah, Octavia! We were wondering if you would arrive, no one has seen you for days.”
Octavia forced a smile, “Good afternoon Frederic. I can't stay for long, there's somewhere I have to be.” Octavia felt her mind going back to Vinyl's apartment, replaying their conversation in her head, reinforcing her guilty feeling.
A purple pony with a cobalt mane interrupted her train of thought, “What do you mean, 'somewhere you have to be?' What can be more important than your job?”
“That's what I've come to discuss.” Octavia took a few steps forward and looked at each of her three band-mates in turn, “I'm resigning.”
Beauty Brass, who had been casually practising breathing exercises with her sousaphone, let out a short trumpeting blast in shock. Harpo almost snapped a string on his harp and Frederic hit a series of uncomplimentary keys on his piano.
“Resigning!?” Frederic managed to choke out, he got up from his place at the piano and walked over, staring incredulously at his colleague, “Whatever brought this on?”
Octavia hated the looks of shock and disappointment on their faces, she hated knowing that she's let them down, “I'm sorry you had to hear it like this, but I had only just made the decision myself. I don't enjoy playing traditional music any more, it's like the will has been sapped from me. I got an offer to play with somepony else and I accepted, I can't focus on two separate projects, especially ones as demanding as they are, so I had to make my choice.”
“You didn't win.” Octavia turned away, she didn't want to see their faces any more.
“Octavia wait.” It was Frederic, “We may not be able to sway your decision if you feel the way you do, but I don't think any of us would want to anyway. Just know that, if you ever change your mind, you're always welcome here.”
Octavia looked at Frederic, the stallion who had taken her under his proverbial wing, provided her with expert tutelage, endless criticism and praise. He was as much a father to her than her biological one, “Thank you Frederic, I really appreciate it.” She looked over his shoulder at her former band-mates, “Thank you all for giving me the skills to perform and for giving me a chance. If it wasn't for you I probably would have gone insane a long time ago.”
Frederic placed a hoof on Octavia's shoulder, “Every bird has to leave the nest eventually, it's only natural. Just make sure your new nest is one filled with happiness.”
“I hate to do this to you all, I really do.”
The light brown earth pony smiled, his eyes watering slightly, “It will be hard to replace someone of your talent, but we'll manage. We certainly managed before you came along and we'll do so again. I, and I'm sure the band will agree, wish you luck in whatever you do and we'll follow and support your music wherever it goes.”
A rousing “Hear hear!” came from Beauty Brass and Harpo.
Frederic offered Octavia one last smile before she left, she returned it two-fold, her eyes threatening to fill with tears also.
Upon getting home, Octavia slammed the door to her apartment and crashed onto her sofa, she didn't bother going to her bedroom, instead falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The entire day up to this point had been exhausting for Octavia, both physically, mentally and emotionally. Waking up early and the trip home, dealing with Vinyl, quitting her old band, all of it seemed to combine in her head until she simply couldn't function any more. So for now she rested and hoped that it would do her some good, even if that good is only putting off her problems for a little while.
--
Across town, Vinyl could feel the sleeping pills wearing off. The sound of heavy breathing fell into her ears, she focused on it, listening for its pitch and tone when she heard something very interesting. There were two separate sounds in there, two completely isolated sets of breathing noises that would be indistinguishable to most ponies, but not for Vinyl Scratch. A combination of her natural talents and partial blindness have blessed her with excellent hearing and her mind was currently running through plans of how she could use this knowledge.
She wasn't an expert on pegasus anatomy, but she had read various articles on the applications of the anatomy of the trachea in singing. It was partly a factor in her choice of Rainbow Dash as a vocalist, a pegasus that was innately talented could be a force to be reckoned with.
Vinyl rolled over to face the pegasus and chanced a small bit of magic, her horn glowed slightly and Dash's outline in the bed appeared before her. Dash's breathing caused vibrations in the air which allowed Vinyl to get a good look at her face, 'If only circumstances were different. I wouldn't mind waking up to a face like that more often.' The DJ grinned and rolled out bed, shivering slightly in the cool air. She lifted her sunglasses onto her face before shutting off her magic to keep herself fresh, Vinyl opened the door to her bedroom, wincing as it creaked loudly. The unicorn looked behind her towards the bed, but it seemed that Dash hadn't noticed it.
When she entered the living room, she looked immediately out of the window, noticing that the sun was dangerously close to dropping behind the horizon. As much as Vinyl needed the rest, she really hated sleeping during the day, there was just so much she could have done in those hours and she had lost that opportunity. At that moment, her stomach rumbled and the sound of a door opening came from behind her.
“I thought I heard someone open the bedroom door, guess you were checkin' in on me.”
Vinyl chuckled, “Yeah, sure. Er... you hungry?” She asked, quickly changing the subject. She felt kind of bad that she had woken Rainbow Dash up, but it was convenient in itself, she could get something proper to eat now that the pegasus was awake.
“Don't know if you're aware of this, but us pegasi are pretty much always hungry.” Dash still seemed to be shaking the sleep off of herself, her wings were tucked close to her sides and she walked slowly and purposely, “Flying is hungry work and I suppose a faster natural metabolism probably helps as well.”
“Great.” Vinyl smiled, Dash seemed like her kind of pony, “I was about to go get some pizza, you in?”
“I never turn down free pizza.”
“I'll just go grab a few things and we'll be off, I can give you a mini tour of Canterlot whilst we're out.” Vinyl trotted over to a chest of drawers on the side wall and began rummaging through them to find what she wanted.
“Oh hey, where's that Octavia pony? I want to thank her for helping me out, I think I went a little crazy with the caffeine.” Dash stretched her wings and began hovering slightly to work her muscles back into motion.
Vinyl chuckled, pulling a leather pouch from the drawers and placing it on a stand where her saddlebags were resting. “Don't worry about it, caffeine gets the best of us. Sweet, sweet caffeine. I suppose Octavia went home, she said she had to do some stuff and I'd imagine that she'd have done it by this time.”
“You guys don't live together? I thought you did.” Dash flew over and sat on the couch, resting her back hooves on the coffee table.
“Nah, we only just met actually, the band just kinda fell together after a gig I played.”
“So it's just you all alone in this huge apartment?”
Vinyl paused, looking over at the cyan pegasus, “Well it sounds bad when you say it like that... but yeah.” She used her magic to secure the saddlebags across her back, “I don't mind though, it gives me room to relax after a hard day.”
“Don't take this the wrong way, but I've heard your music and Octavia doesn't seem like the kind of mare to go to one of your gigs.”
Vinyl laughed loudly, startling the pegasus slightly, “You're probably right on that account, but it's my understanding that she was dragged there against her will by some colleagues. She plays in this fancy band see, they actually played the Grand Galloping Gala this year.”
“Ugh. The gala...” Dash rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Ha. I just remembered, you were the one who knocked over those pillars. Classic.”
“You were there as well?”
“Yeah, wasn't much of a party until you and your friends turned it up a notch. Property damage in the castle, that's quite a story.” Vinyl angled her head towards the door and unlocked it with a flourish of her magic.
Dash got up and flew over, landing next to the DJ, “I'm just glad I didn't get jail time.”
Vinyl rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses, “Instead you get free pizza, how does that make you feel?”
Dash grinned, “Makes me feel like I should trash that place more often.”
==
Octavia's eyes burst open, she didn't know why or how, but she could feel something ominous stirring in the back of her mind. Somewhere, bad things were happening and knowing her friend, it was probably happening to or around Vinyl. Or worse, her Double Bass.
To the outside observer, Octavia's next step, which involved rooting around for some bits and charging out of her apartment, would seem illogical. The grey earth pony had come to rely on her instincts however, they were very rarely wrong, some might even say they were uncanny. Either way, Octavia had no doubt in her mind that something she wasn't going to like was happening in Vinyl's apartment. She walked out of her building to be confronted with the darkness of late night.
Luckily, Vinyl's apartment wasn't as far away when compared to the concert hall. She flagged down a taxi cart and tossed the driver an extra few bits to make him go that little bit faster on her way there. She rumbled along the near empty streets of Canterlot tapping her hooves on the side of the cart. The city had a notorious night life, but only in certain areas, Octavia had never seen the need to indulge in those kinds of pleasures and so had found a quiet place that was close enough to her work so that she didn't have to worry about being late, but far enough away from the night life hotspots that she could lead a relatively quiet life.
Then Vinyl trots into her life and she finds herself being dragged towards the lifestyle she didn't want. Worst of all, she finds herself enjoying it. 'Rushing off to make sure Vinyl isn't in any trouble. Are you just trying to ease your conscience or do you actually care about this unicorn?' Her mind conspiring against her wasn't exactly helping matters. It was perfectly okay for her to feel worried for Vinyl, they had become friends and despite the initial deception regarding the trip, the visit to Ponyville had done their friendship a world of good. It should be natural for her to be worried if she gets a bad feeling about her friends well-being.
“This is yer stop, missy.” The cart puller brought Octavia from her thoughts. The grey mare could see Vinyl's apartment building just in front of her.
“Thank you kindly, sir.” She handed over her fare and jumped onto the pavement, trotting swiftly into Vinyl's building. The security pony looked up but grunted in recognition. Octavia climbed up to the top floor and found Vinyl's door.
Octavia took a deep breath before continuing onwards, trying to compose herself so it didn't seem like she had rushed over. She knocked and the first thing she heard was loud music, a rhythmic electronic beat that seemed to shake the walls, then she heard faint giggling from the other side of the door.
There was a clicking sound of the door unlocking before it swung open, revealing Vinyl, whose mane looked a lot messier than it usually did, “Oh hey!” She turned and began shouting to someone else, “It's Tavi! She's back!”
The door Octavia knew lead to the bathroom burst open and a pegasus flew lazily over towards them, landing with a wobble, “Yeah, thanks for helping me earlier, it was super awesome of you!” She smiled with a manic euphoria that seemed a little much for an apology. “Oh, you have to come in!” She began laughing uncontrollably, clutching her side, “Vinyl bought so much pizza!”
The DJ joined in the laughter, laying a hoof around Dash's shoulder, “We trotted into the pizza place and we were like, I don't know what toppings I want. Then Rainbow Dash here said, why don't we get all of 'em?” She gestured as if this was the obvious thing in the world, “My mind was totally blown. All the toppings.”
“So many toppings!” Dash added with a grin.
“The pizza guy wouldn't give us a pizza with all the toppings though. So I bought five different pizzas, each with different toppings, then combined them here!” Vinyl pointed towards a positively grotesque creation on the coffee table, it was hard to tell where the toppings ended and where the pizza base began. Octavia could feel the disgust crawling up her throat. “You gotta try a slice, Tavi.”
The grey mare smiled politely, “No thank you Vinyl, I just came by to check if you were okay after yesterday and now that I know you're both... content, I can go home.” She tried to slip away, but Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the forelegs and dragged her towards the seating area by the huge window that served as Vinyl's back wall.
“At least have something, we've got so much left over.” Dash pleaded.
“Why did you think it was a good idea to buy so much pizza anyway?” Octavia questioned, turning to Vinyl who she knew could be liberal with the purse-strings when she wanted to be
“How else were we supposed to create this culinary marvel? Oh and I suppose we may be the slightest bit drunk.” Vinyl visibly swayed as she said this and unless Vinyl had installed moving floors, Octavia believed that this was probably the reason why they were acting as they were.
Dash jumped into the conversation, almost literally, she landed between Octavia and Vinyl, looking glad for herself, “Vinyl was giving me a tour of Canterlot, then we passed this club and Vinyl was like, it's so awesome in there, we should check it out. By this point I was still pretty hungry for pizza, but they had two-for-one cocktails! That's like, double your normal cocktail amount! So we had a few drinks, talked to a few ponies, listened to the awesome music, then we got some pizza and brought it back here. This part of Canterlot is way cooler than the stuffy old castle.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, “You only had a few drinks? Why are you both so... out of it?”
Vinyl stepped in and slumped next to Octavia on the sofa, “You get super drunk, super fast on an empty stomach. That's why we went to get some pizza.”
“Okay, that I can understand, but...” Octavia had a frightened look in her eyes as she gazed at the monstrosity before her, “Why did you have to make that?”
“Did you not hear the story? All the toppings, Tavi! All the freaking toppings!” Rainbow Dash sat opposite the other two and grabbed a slice of the unholy feat of pizzatecture, showing no fear as she sunk her teeth into it and actually sighing in pleasure at the taste. Vinyl grabbed Octavia's attention once more, “You wanna know what's not on that pizza?”
“A warning label?” Octavia quipped.
“This pizza shows those fat cats down at the pizza place that we don't play by their four topping limit rules. This pizza is freedom. Freedom from the tyranny of oppressive topping selection!” Vinyl had a look of utmost seriousness on her face, one that made Octavia hope to Celestia that this was the alcohol talking.
“This pizza is like life, you know? When you're just a little pizza base, no one knows what you're going to be or what you might achieve, then you get a little older and they give you a tomato purée education and sprinkle you with conformity cheese. This is where you define yourself though, you get your first topping, a special topping just for you, a topping that fits perfectly with who you are as a wee little pizza. Then.... THEY try to force toppings on you, they tell you which toppings to put on so they can shoehorn you into a little filing cabinet, make you nice and indoctrinated so you won't get any ideas about picking your own damn toppings. Then when you get too free, they try and limit you at four toppings, telling you it's impossible to make yourself unique... special.”
Vinyl reached down towards the table and grabbed a slice, holding it high above her head, “When they do, you tell them no. Tell them that you will have as many damn toppings as you please and there's not a damn thing they can do to stop you. Only then will you be free... and delicious.” She took a big bite, chewing through all of those toppings and emerging on the other side with a smile on her face, “Do it, Octavia. Take a bite... for freedom!”
The grey mare looked over at Rainbow Dash, she had just finished her slice and hadn't died yet, so it can't be fatal, at least not immediately. “Fine yes, give it here. Oh, Celestia why am I doing this?” She held the dough based metaphor in her hooves, staring at the amount of seemingly uncomplimentary toppings just scattered everywhere.
“That's it, one bite will set you free.” Vinyl and Dash looked on with interest, the pegasus reaching slowly for another slice without tearing her eyes away from the scared looking earth pony.
Closing her eyes, Octavia went for it, taking a big bite out of the pizza slice, within seconds her mouth had been assaulted by an array of flavours and textures that was weird beyond anything else she had ever eaten. She swallowed quickly and began to hyperventilate slightly, wondering whether she had seen the last of the pizza. “I feel... I feel...”
“Liberated?” Vinyl offered.
“Nauseous.” Octavia added.
“Dude.” Rainbow was taking the final few bites out of her second slice of freedom pizza, “I didn't think you could do it, but you made her eat it. That's impressive is what it is. How much do I owe you?”
Vinyl laughed, “Just take that damn pizza and make sure it goes nowhere near my mouth again, the lengths I go to...” She shook her head, but the smile on her face overrode anything else.
Octavia however was following this brief exchange and feeling her anger rising at every word, “You made me into a bet?”
“Yup.” Rainbow replied unabashedly, “Vinyl said she could make you voluntarily eat the pizza, I said that it was a load of horse-apples. Although to be honest, I just wanted more pizza for myself, this stuff is good.”
“How did you know I was going to come over?” Octavia asked, flaring up.
“Didn't.” Vinyl replied, “We were just about to contact you when you arrived.”
“It was like fate delivered you to us, so we could make you eat pizza.” Dash added.
Vinyl turned to the pegasus, “Woah. That's deep.”
“Deep dish.”
Vinyl burst out laughing, falling off the sofa and rolling onto the floor near the coffee table and it wasn't long before Rainbow Dash joined her.
Octavia rolled her eyes, she couldn't leave these two alone, not like this. It looked like it was going to be a long night.
* * *
So... that chapter was needlessly fun to write. I had intended to put a much bigger emphasis on Octavia story at the start of the chapter, but I kept getting stuck, so I switched to Vinyl and Dash. If you'll notice, Dash so far in this fic has been 1) Pepped on caffeine 2) been "just woke up" tired and 3) drunk. Will we see her in a normal state of mind at all? Maybe in the next chapter if she isn't too hungover.
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 8 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-16T23:44:47+00:00
|
2011-11-16T23:44:47+00:00
| 2,100 |
If you had asked Octavia one year ago, “What is the most horrible sound in all of Equestria?” She would have replied, “Modern music.”
If you had asked Octavia one day ago, “What is the most horrible sound in all of Equestria?” She would have replied, “Vinyl Scratch's gloating laugh when I begrudgingly admit that she's right about something.”
If you had asked Octavia right now, “What is the most horrible sound in all of Equestria?” She would reply, “Warm vomit hitting cold porcelain. Especially when I'm barely two feet away and holding the mane of the pony doing it.”
Earlier that morning, Octavia had been rudely awoken by a door crashing open and the stamping of hooves across the living room. Her eyes, still bleary from sleep, barely registered the white blur as it flew past her impromptu bed on the sofa. She had enough time to say “Buh?” and scratch her head before the blur had vanished though the door on the other side of the living room. Octavia took a few seconds to try and piece together what had just happened, but she didn't need long before she heard something that answered for her.
The sound of Vinyl Scratch emptying her stomach into the toilet.
She didn't even need to think about it consciously, her legs just climbed off the sofa by themselves and began a slow walk towards the bathroom. Octavia barely registered this, being preoccupied with shaking the sleep out of her eyes. She reached the bathroom however and Octavia decided she might as well ask how she was doing, “Vinyl?” She knocked quietly, only to be greeted by a retching noise, “Are you alright?”
Silence.
“Vinyl?”
“Does it sound like...” Retch. “...I'm alright!?”
Octavia furrowed her brow, “Vinyl, I'm coming in.” The grey earth pony grasped the door handle with her hooves and pushed it open, she immediately scrunched up her nose from the smell but carried on, spotting the white unicorn slumped over the toilet, electric blue mane everywhere. Octavia trotted over and sat down next to her, grabbing her mane and pulling it back to save it from the threat of splash-back. “Don't want to ruin your lovely mane do we?”
All Vinyl did for the next few moments was breathe heavily, spitting chunks of what looked like eggplant and an undigested slice of mushroom into the bowl. “Don't lie Octavia... you just... wanted an excuse... to run your hooves through my mane.” she panted.
“That's fine Vinyl. I'm sure you'd love to pick chunks of pizza out of your mane all by yourself, I'll just go shall I?”
Vinyl coughed, sending a fresh wave of pizza bits into the toilet bowl, “No, no. I was only joking, sharing a lovely joke with my favourite-est earth pony in all of Equestria.”
Octavia smiled gloatingly, “Only your favourite earth pony?” she said with a simper.
“Okay,” Vinyl pleaded, “I'd happily sell all of my Mumble records if it means you will keep holding my mane back.”
“Octavia is pleased, but er... who's Mumble?”
Vinyl struggled for a brief moment between the utter lethargy in her limbs, the very fact that she didn't want to get vomit all over her and shouting at Octavia for not knowing who Mumble was. Finally she submitted, feeling her body go numb, “Just some musician that I've collaborated with on occasion. It's not like he's one of my favourite artists ever or anything.” Vinyl could feel herself die inside as she said that, she could also feel the bile rising in her throat again.
“Why...” Retch, “...aren't you being sick?”
“I wasn't drinking last night. I don't know about you Vinyl, but I've always found that not drinking leads to less feeling like crap in the morning.”
Vinyl laughed mirthlessly, “I'm more inclined to believe it was the pizza. That thing was foul.”
Octavia chuckled, “I ate some and I'm fine, perhaps you're slightly allergic to something and don't know it. Well, maybe not allergic, but... intolerant?”
“Hey, is someone in there?”
Vinyl retched again, thankfully a dry one, “Go see what she wants.”
Octavia rolled her eyes and stood, walking slowly over to the door and opening it slightly, “Yes, Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus' polychromatic head appeared in the small opening, “What's going on in there?” She asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
Octavia scowled, “Vinyl is feeling sick after yesterdays antics, I'm trying to help her feel better.”
“You tell Dash that I hate her!” Vinyl's shout came from behind them, her voice sounded sore and angry.
Rainbow chuckled, “Hate you to!”
“No, I mean it! It should be you in here after all that crap you ate!”
“Speaking of which, do we have any of that pizza left? I woke up feelin' kinda peckish.” The pegasus had resorted to biting her hoof to stop herself from cracking up.
Octavia decided to step in before things got a little out of hoof, “Do you require the bathroom at all, Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus grinned, “Nope, just came over to snoop, you two are so cute together.” With a final mischievous grin, Rainbow Dash walked back into the living room, presumably to find some leftover pizza.
As she was prone to do, Octavia silently glowered at the jibe. It was as if everypony had collaborated one day and agreed to annoy her with constant taunts. The grey mare turned back to Vinyl, who had risked taking her head from over the bowl.
“I don't think I can throw anything else up, it's feelin' kind of empty down there.”
“Well then,” Octavia announced, helping the unicorn back onto her hooves, “You will need filling up.” It took a strange look from Vinyl for the earth pony to realise what she had said. “Really Vinyl, get your mind out of the gutter and let me make you some breakfast. I can make sure Rainbow Dash eats something better than cold pizza as well.”
Vinyl smiled, but it wasn't her usual smug grin, it was a genuine smile, one that reached right up to her red eyes. For once they looked endearing, even with them being bloodshot, “You know, Tavi. I don't say this very often, but I appreciate what you do for me, thanks.”
==
The three ponies were sat around the breakfast bar, which acted to separate Vinyl's kitchen area from the rest of the living room. Octavia and Rainbow Dash were sat on stools looking into the kitchen, Vinyl was stood at the sink, washing the dishes with her magic.
“I've been thinking Vinyl,” Octavia asked suddenly, “We've pretty much seen all of your apartment, but I've not seen anything here that has space enough for a recording studio.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow interjected, raising an eyebrow, “All I've seen is the spare bedroom, your bedroom, the bathroom and a cupboard full of junk. Unless you've got some kind of hidden doorway in here.”
“Really, Rainbow Dash, why would one even consider having a hidden-” Octavia was interrupted by the sound of plates splashing into dishwater.
“Oh my gosh, that would be so awesome!” Vinyl had apparently abandoned her duties and chose instead to sit opposite Rainbow Dash, the unicorn looked as excited as the pegasus.
“I know right? You'd be all, 'I'm going to the supply closet for a second' then whoosh! Secret mop activated switch!”
“What would I need to hide behind my secret door?”
“Confound you Vinyl Scratch! Focus for a moment will you!” Octavia shouted, cutting off the flow of the conversation before it got too far.
Both Vinyl and Rainbow Dash, looked over at the the earth pony, leaning back slightly to distance themselves from her accusing eyes.
Octavia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, making a gesture with her front hooves as if she was pushing something invisible down towards the floor, “Ahem, now that we're not tittering like school fillies, can we please continue with the conversation that occurred before the interruption. You know, the one about the entire reason we're here in the first place.”
Vinyl's mouth hung open whilst her brain tried its hardest to try and process what just happened. “Er... I'll just show you where the recording studio is, shall I?” The DJ jumped off of her stool and shook her head slightly, perhaps to convince herself that she didn't just imagine that.
Octavia watched her go, but frowned when Vinyl headed for the front door. “Why are you going outside?”
“That's where the studio is, it's in the apartment below this one.”
“Wait a minute,” Octavia hopped off of her stool and walked slowly towards the unicorn, “You own this apartment and the one below it?”
“Well, not technically, the recording company owns the building. The top floor is my apartment, the floor below that is the recording studio and the bottom floor is a bunch of offices.”
Rainbow Dash joined them by the door, staring quizzically at Vinyl, “You pay rent to your label?”
“Technically yes, but they pretty much take it out of my wages before paying me, so I don't have to worry about it.” Vinyl opened the front door and stepped out, staring at the other two, “Now are you coming downstairs or do I have to give myself a tour around the studio?”
Octavia had never paid much attention to the first floor of Vinyl's building in the few times she had been there. It was styled in exactly the same way as the rest of the building and didn't have anything there to differentiate it from any other part of the building, but when Vinyl lead them down there and opened up the door, Octavia found herself getting oddly excited.
Perhaps it was the fact that Octavia had never seen a recording studio before, her work with the ensemble was strictly limited to live performances, so she had never truly heard how she sounded as a player. This was an opportunity to gauge herself as a player of her instrument, rather than listening to the reviews of others.
Vinyl unlocked the door and ushered the other two into the wide open lobby, it was about half the size of Vinyl's living room upstairs, with a few sofas around the edges of the room. Before them was a reception desk, where a pony was sat, looking rather bored whilst flicking through a magazine.
“This is the lobby. Ponies wait in here and it's incredibly boring, as I'm sure Flash here will tell you.” Vinyl stood in the middle of the lobby, pointing towards the reception desk. The pony behind the desk put the magazine down, revealing a yellow pegasus mare with a messy, two-tone cyan and white mane. “'Sup Flash?” Vinyl asked, walking over towards her.
“It's been pretty peaceful today, so I came up here for a sit down. At least that way, no one can actually tell me I'm not doing my job.” The yellow pegasus laughed genially.
Vinyl turned back to Octavia and Rainbow Dash, “Flash here is the building's Odd-Job pony, if it needs doing, chances are she can do it.”
“So who are your friends, Scratch?”
“Oh, these ponies right here?” Vinyl waved them over, “Only two members of the greatest band ever.”
Flash stared at them, as if trying to see if she knew who they were, “These two work with Mumble?”
Vinyl's hoof collided with her face so hard that her sunglasses almost broke, “No, Flash. They're the new members of my band, I was hinting that we are the best band ever.”
“Does your band even have a name?” Flash rolled her eyes as if she's dealt with this before. “Or have you decided to skip making a name and go straight to shouting them out of the recording booth and telling them not to come back?” Flash grinned in a near perfect imitation of Vinyl Scratch herself.
The DJ unicorn however, was glowering in a way that Octavia had never seen before, “I'd rather we not talk about that.”
Flash leaned over her desk and began talking to Octavia and Rainbow Dash, “I like meeting new ponies regardless, even if I might not know you for long. My birth name is Shutterfly, but most ponies call me Flash, I'm a photographer in my spare time you see.”
Dash walked up and shook hooves, giving a polite nod. Octavia smiled, “Octavia. Charmed.” Then she turned to the unicorn, staring fiercely at her, “What's this about 'shouting ponies out of the recording booth and telling them not to come back?' Why don't you want to talk about it?”
Vinyl looked away hesitantly.
“No, Vinyl. We'll talk about this now.” Octavia could feel her assertive glow from earlier coming back. “Tell Rainbow Dash and I the truth. Are we just more ponies in a long line of failed attempts?”
“Fine, whatever. Geez, who put a bee in your bonnet?” Vinyl smirked, but it was forced and Octavia could see through it.
“I would say that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but I fell asleep on the sofa foalsitting you and Rainbow Dash.”
“Hey, don't bring me into this.” Dash backed away, leaning on Flash's desk, “I'm just as interested in her answer, but this is your lovers spat.”
Octavia shrugged off Dash's comment in favour of waiting for Vinyl to answer.
“You're right in thinking that you aren't the first ponies that I've 'auditioned' for spots in my band.” Vinyl walked slowly over towards a sofa and sank onto it, taking off her sunglasses and rubbing the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof, “Before, I just used to ask ponies to come over and jam with me for a while, but none of them had the precise talents I wanted, some were just down right wrong. After a while, I started getting angry with them, hence the shouting and ordering. Most ponies in the business think I'm unstable or impossible to work with because of it... Mumble hasn't even asked for so much as a sample from one of my songs for the past six months.”
“When exactly did you start this audition process?” Octavia asked, something Vinyl said had piqued her curiosity.
“About a year and a half ago and let me tell you, I've seen plenty of musicians pass through my doors, but believe me when I say that you two are the real deal. There is no turning back for me, no reconsidering and no more crazy. I'm going to show the whole music world that DJ P0n-3 is a visionary, I'm going to prove all of the critics wrong when they said that I'd lost my touch and most of all, I'm going to show everypony that I am most certainly not in a creative slump.” Vinyl had gotten back to her hooves. Her red eyes were filled with determination, eyes that focused on the grey earth pony, “Reassured yet?”
Octavia turned away, feeling the guilt well up inside of her.
“I am,” Rainbow Dash said, smiling, “You're a great pony to be around and I see no reason to doubt you.”
Vinyl gave her a warm smile before turning to the grey mare, “And what about you, Octavia? I hid that part of my past because I'm not proud of it, I'm not proud of what it says about me. I wanted to show you who I am because... I really respect your opinion and I wanted you to approve of me as an artist.”
“I'm being a closed-minded fool again.” Octavia felt a few tears escape her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away, “I shouldn't have doubted you like that, you... you deserve better than that.”
'Don't let jealousy get the best of you, Octavia.'
Then Vinyl did something that Octavia wasn't expecting, she walked over and lay a foreleg around her shoulder in a hug, “We both have things to apologise for, let's just call it even and keep going, shall we?” When she broke away, she was wearing her trademark Vinyl Scratch grin, sunglasses magically back on her face. “Now, I sure you're anxious to see where your Double Bass is, I got Flash here to carry it into the recording booth in preparation for today.”
“It was not easy, let me tell you that for free.” Flash rolled her eyes, sitting back down in her chair and flicking her mane out her eyes, “Why can't you play the violin or the fiddle or something?”
“I am actually quite proficient with both of those instruments, I merely prefer the Double Bass.”
“Yeah, tell that to my back, which I almost threw out carrying that monstrosity.”
“It is not a monstrosity!” Octavia flared, riding the assertive high she had been on all day, “It is a finely crafted work of art.”
Vinyl chuckled, “Yeah, er... we should get going Flash, lot's to see you know. See you later!” Vinyl pushed her friends hurriedly from the lobby and through a door labelled 'studio' before Octavia started saying things she might regret.
“This, as you can see, is the studio.” Vinyl announced, pointing at the various stations which helped record things and mix it when you're done. To their immediate right was a soundproofed room, which was made to look like a completely white, empty space with instruments and microphones seemingly floating in the void. Octavia found that image rather calming. The only way to see into the room was through a large window above a massive recording station, with dials and sliders and buttons as far as the eye could see. Octavia wondered how anypony could grasp exactly what each of them did.
“That, as you can probably tell, is the recording booth,” Vinyl pointed through the window, “That's where the music is all recorded on this massive thing. The various dials can isolate certain parts of the music and play them separately, it can lower the volume, make it louder, add effects, all kinds of things.”
Vinyl walked over to the other side of the small room, towards more huge machines, “Once it's done being recorded, the song gets sent over here where it's mixed and cleaned up ready for distribution.”
“So how do we get into the recording booth? I didn't see a door.” Octavia asked.
“Oh, there's a door just at the back of the room,” Vinyl angled her head towards the back corner of the room, “It leads onto a little corridor, then the booth is just behind that. Come on, I'll show you.”
Vinyl lead the way into the recording booth, holding the doors open for Octavia and Rainbow Dash as they got into position. Vinyl was stood behind a large machine that looked half keyboard half record player, she was already using her magic to mess around with the various knobs and dials. Octavia had rushed over to her Double bass, giving it a tender stroke along the body and making sure the bow was nice and taut. Rainbow Dash hovered slightly, wondering what she should do.
She could hear the sound of Vinyl and Octavia testing their instruments and making sure they sounded good and it made her feel rather self-conscious. “Er... should I be doing anything, Vinyl?” The pegasus asked, looking around the seemingly empty room.
Both Vinyl and Octavia looked up, immediately stopping what they were doing. “Oh, sorry about that Dash, just making sure I had the right settings on this thing. Why don't you try singing something you know, Octavia and I will try and follow with an appropriate backing track.” Vinyl nodded towards Octavia who returned the nod with a determination that said, 'I've done this before.'
“Okay, I suppose I know a few songs,” Rainbow replied nervously, “It's nothing special, but this is one that my dad used to sing to me when I was filly in Cloudsdale.” She cleared her throat and after a few practice notes, began singing.
One day soon I just know you'll see
Raise your head and smile for me
Laugh about your history
Learn just what you're meant to be
Vinyl and Octavia almost forgot what they were supposed to be doing, but with a quick incredulous look at each other, they smiled and Octavia began to play a soothing melody whilst Vinyl had somehow managed to create an atmospheric backing of blustery winds and rumbles of thunder. Slowly she began to fade it out in favour of a lighter melody to compliment Octavia's bass.
You sigh and always try to play it cool
But deep inside, you still feel like a fool
The world's so big, and you, you feel so small
Wondering if you should try at all
Octavia kept up her melody, playing where it felt the song should go, her mind working in the background whilst her creativity took full control of her hooves. Vinyl faded her melody and began messing around with a light drum beat, cutting it and looping it to play in the background whilst she picked up the melody again.
Well, Tomorrow's not til today is gone
Live the moment, don't take long
Smile for impending dawn
Forget the troubles you think on
Is it time to break the mold?
Are you doing what you're told?
Go ahead, you can be bold.
Live for living, don't be cold!
When your final days have come
Smile at the mile's you've run
Come on, have a little fun
Spread your wings your time has come!
Vinyl could feel the tone of Rainbow Dash's voice quickening, becoming more powerful, she began singing with a fierce passion that Vinyl matched with her drum beat. Octavia quickened her pace to keep up, her eyes closed in heavy concentration.
Sitting, hoping for the wings you've earned
Silent as the fire in you burned
Brush away the dust and ash
On your shoulders from the past
Smile at the things that last
Feel the beat, your dice are cast
Stroke of luck, or fate, rejoice
Now you finally have a choice
So prove them wrong, that much is true
Just wait another day
When Rainbow Dash had finished, Octavia and Vinyl took their cues and began fading out their melody. They looked around at each other, a new found respect in their eyes.
“That was fantastic you three. Perhaps I was too hasty in saying I won't know you for long.”
The voice came from an intercom by the side of the window. Staring at them through said window, was Flash, the yellow pegasus wearing a pair of large headphones that had apparently let her hear what was going on in the booth.
“You were listening in on us?” Vinyl asked, slightly incensed.
“I was doing better than that, I was recording you guys. I bet you're glad I decided to see what you were up to aren't you?”
“Without my permission!? Wait until I get my hooves on you!” Vinyl charged out of the recording booth, Flash could be seen untangling herself from the headphones and running swiftly away.
In the booth, a faint “You'd better run!” could be heard through the intercom.
Vinyl appeared at the window and put the headphones on, Octavia and Rainbow Dash hadn't moved since the unicorn had charged out of the room. “Sorry about that, I suppose I can be wound rather tight in the studio.” She laughed nervously, “So anyway... seeing as Flash recorded us, should we give it a listen? We might as well, right?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged indifference and Octavia nodded, “We'll be right out Vinyl!” She shouted.
Vinyl winced on the other side of the window, tearing the headphones off of her head, “You don't have to shout Tavi. The microphone is right there.”
Octavia looked up at the thing hanging from the ceiling, before blushing madly, “Sorry.”
As Octavia made to walk out of the room, Vinyl's voice blared from the intercom again, “Hey, Octavia!”
The grey earth pony turned to look at Vinyl, who looked oddly smug.
“I just noticed, you aren't wearing your bow-tie.”
Octavia reached a hoof up to her neck, but felt nothing, “I suppose you're right, what does it matter anyway?”
Vinyl tittered, “You look naked.”
Octavia brought a hoof to her face and sighed.
* * *
A few quick notes.
Yes. That is a reference to General Mumble, one of my favourite pony musicians (and with his album In General, one of favourite non-pony as well)
Yes. The lyrics towards the end are from the song The Wings You Earned by Tarby. Another one of my favourite pony musicians.
Also, Shutterfly/Flash does actually appear in the show (In Green Isn't Your Colour) and those are the two names given to her on the MLP Wiki. A picture of Flash. If you count all of her appearances in that episode, she's probably had about as much screentime as Vinyl herself... so yeah. I've become oddly attached to her character, she's fun.
Bonus, completely unrelated, one-panel comic! - The camera on my phone is pretty much the only way I can get this stuff onto my computer, so it isn't as good quality as it could be.
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Earl Grey
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1072
| 9 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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Friendship is Music
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Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
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incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
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teen
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2011-12-02T18:59:02+00:00
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2011-12-02T18:59:02+00:00
| 2,318 |
“I'll try and come back as soon as I can, it's been great hanging around with you guys.”
Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were stood in the middle of the formers living room, saying a quick goodbye to Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus' time in Canterlot was up for now, her superiors on the Ponyville weather team wouldn't allow her any more time off and she needed to go home.
Vinyl Scratch, the ever exuberant unicorn DJ, grabbed Rainbow Dash by the neck and rubbed the top of her head with a hoof, knocking the pegasus' already windswept mane even further into a mess. “Don't you worry about it, as I said before, we're okay to work around your schedule. After that session in the recording studio, I can't imagine anypony else I want heading my band.”
Octavia nodded, smiling her agreement, “You were fantastic Rainbow Dash, your vocal range is absolutely stunning, I don't mean to cause any upset, but I wouldn't have guessed it from looking at you.”
The cyan pegasus didn't look angry, “Nah it's fine, I love proving people wrong,” she flashed a victorious smirk, “Besides, I can't say that I didn't think you were a stuffy snob when I first got to properly know you. You have a heart of gold though and I know through watching you and Vinyl together that you're loyal to the cause, that's something I can respect.”
“Thank you,” the grey mare blushed slightly at the compliment, “I'm usually quite modest, but proving people wrong does feel rather good doesn't it?”
“Aw, little Tavi's learning,” Vinyl interrupted, knocking her in the foreleg with a hoof, “Soon we'll have her swearing and maybe even enjoying proper music.”
Octavia merely rolled her eyes, “It's been a pleasure getting to know you, I hope you return soon, Rainbow.”
Vinyl grinned, “What Tavi said.”
“Thanks guys, I can't wait to tell my friends about all of this, they'll be so jealous.” Rainbow smiled her biggest smile yet, “I should get going though, see you when I can!” Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and took off, flying towards the top of the back wall where an open window was waiting.
“Oh wait, Dash!” Vinyl shouted towards the pegasus, who was already half way through the window, but thankfully heard the unicorn, “I've got something to say to you and Tavi before you leave.”
Landing swiftly, Dash raised an eyebrow, “Oh, what's that?”
“I assume it's band related if you specifically need Rainbow Dash for it.” Octavia added.
Vinyl nodded, staring at each of her band-mates in turn, “Well... I've kinda come up with a name for the band. I was listening to a few old songs and one word jumped out at me, triumvirate. Three ponies of equal station working together, it kinda reminded me of us. Plus it sounds freakin' awesome.”
Octavia smirked, “Wow, Vinyl Scratch knows what triumvirate means, perish the thought.”
Vinyl merely glared at her, “So what do you think?”
Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, “I can't say I've ever heard of that word before, but I agree, it sounds freakin' awesome.” She grinned approval and held up her hoof for the unicorn to bump.
“And you, Tavi?”
The grey mare regarded her for a moment, “I feel that the name conveys an image of equality and solidarity. I like it.”
The unicorn smiled, “So we're all agreed? Triumvirate it is! Hooves in, ponies.” Vinyl held a hoof out in front of her, implying that the others do the same. Rainbow Dash joined in immediately, grinning just like Vinyl. Octavia took her time, her eyes saying 'do we have to?' but she relented and placed her hoof on top of Rainbow Dash's.
“Now what?” Octavia asked, genuinely dumbfounded.
“Now this!” She and Rainbow Dash threw their hooves into the air, taking Octavia's grey limb with them, the earth pony squealed in surprise before covering her mouth with the offending hoof and blushing embarrassedly.
Rainbow Dash clattered to the floor, clutching her side in paroxysms of laughter whilst Vinyl merely stared weirdly at the grey mare, “Did... did you just squeal?”
The earth pony in question was still vehemently covering her mouth, instead she nodded meekly.
Vinyl smirked, “So undignified,” she mocked, speaking in an exaggerated upper class voice, “So base, so vulgar. Such a noise is not befitting of a mare of your standing.” Then she joined Rainbow Dash on the floor, laughing maniacally.
“It's not my fault!” Octavia shouted, finally dropping her hoof, the blush remained however, “It just... happens... usually when I get taken by surprise. It's embarrassing enough without you two laughing at me!”
“Okay, I'm sorry.” Vinyl had gotten back up to her hooves, using one to wipe away a few tears that had formed around her eyes.
“Yeah, me too.” Rainbow Dash chuckled a little before putting on a sorry looking face which ended up not looking very sorry at all. “I should really be off now though, I'll try to be back as soon as I can, okay?”
Vinyl leant in for one final hug, “Don't worry about it, we'll still be here, don't lose your day job on our behalf, you'll make Tavi feel bad.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, “Say hello to Pinkie for me when you get back.”
“Will do!” With a final salute, she took off and dashed out of the open window, her silhouette staying visible for a few seconds before it turned south and away from Vinyl's building.
“I'm hungry, want some food, Octavia?” Vinyl asked suddenly.
The grey mare frowned, “Can't you at least take the slightest moment for some sentiment?”
The unicorn shrugged, “Not when I'm hungry.”
==
One quick but tasty dinner later, Vinyl and Octavia found themselves laying on the two couches under the large window. Each pony was rubbing their stomach in silent fulfilment and generally thinking about how their week up to that point had been.
Octavia was thinking how unlikely her situation was, one week ago she was dreading a trip to a nightclub with some work colleagues and now she was laying on a DJ's couch just thinking. Vinyl had told her to do it, that 'digesting food always gives her ideas', Octavia thought it was nonsense but agreed to it anyway. Any time Vinyl Scratch offers to be quiet for a while is an offer you can't refuse. Octavia looked over at the DJ, who was staring out of the window, she found that she had a certain respect for the unicorn, not that she'd ever openly admit that. She was a lot smarter than the image she puts across, her knowledge of music, all aspects of it, was exemplary and her attention to the structure of the music she produced bordered on insane.
Vinyl had said that she wanted Octavia to respect her as an artist and she really did. If it wasn't for her she'd still be, as Rainbow Dash so eloquently put it, a stuffy snob. She turned her head back, staring out of the window and sighing contentedly.
Just as Octavia sighed, Vinyl rolled her head over and took a long look at the earth pony, as much as she could see through the murk of almost complete blindness anyway. Octavia, putting it politely, was a strange individual, Vinyl thought. She had the body of a mare, yet she had a stunted mind full of unnecessary focus and dismissal. It was as if someone had gone to great lengths to condition her to ignore entire swathes of music. She was a fantastic classical musician, you can't disagree with that, but she could have been so much more if she had been allowed to make her own choices and use all kinds of musical knowledge to incorporate into her own unique style.
Vinyl was an avid follower of science fiction and she had seen the brainwashing trick countless times, Octavia was similar to the ponies who needed to be re-educated. It was up to Vinyl to be the heroic saviour and bring her onto the side of good.
Octavia always seems so distant, as if she's forcing her emotions away from herself in order to depersonalise her own little world. Vinyl sighed, she couldn't have had a very good childhood.
Maybe that's why Pinkie escaped when she could.
–
Knock knock
Octavia's small grey hoof tapped against the basement door, the sound echoing around the concrete room beyond it, “Pinkamena, Father says it's time for you to come out.” Octavia's voice was small and frail.
“I don't want to come out.”
“But you must, sister. Father instructed me to take you to him.” The grey earth filly looked pleadingly at the door, trying her best to reach the pony within.
“I hate Father, I don't want to see him.”
“Please, Pinkamena, I don't want to get in trouble with Father as well.” Octavia slumped against the basement door and pressed an ear to the wood.
“Stop calling me Pinkamena!”
“That is your name, what else can I call you?” The grey filly began pulling on the door handle, “Please, sister, don't get me in trouble just because you are.”
Click. Octavia fell forwards as the door opened, she lay on her back, staring up into the displeased face of her sister. The older pink filly's mane was relatively straight but was curled slightly towards the end, “Only for you, I'm not doing this for Father's sake.” She walked away, her head held high, but just as she reached the staircase to get to the main level of the farmhouse, she turned around, “You can call me Pinkie.”
Octavia rolled onto her hooves and took chase, hurrying up the staircase only to stop at the ajar door. She could hear her father's shouting from here and she didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. She carefully lay her ear on the door, making sure not to push it open accidentally.
“Why in Equestria would you commit such a foolish act, Pinkamena!”
“I wanted to make you happy for once!”
“There isn't any time for happiness, you will do your job to help put food on our table and you will learn the necessity of hard work. Parties and other such frivolous wastes of time should be of no importance to you!”
“Doing this made me happier than you've ever managed, it even helped me earn my cutie mark. I'm not going to say sorry and apologise for this!”
“What kind of example are you setting for your sisters? You're hurting them more than you're hurting yourself you know.”
“If I help them realise the world is a better place without you, then I'm not hurting them, I'm setting them free.”
Hooves stomped away and disappeared up the stairs to the first floor. Octavia took a deep breath and poked her head out of the basement door, checking to see if it was alright to come out. When she saw that it was clear, she rushed towards the stairs and climbed them swiftly, she wanted to see if her sister was feeling okay.
At the top of the steps, Octavia could hear a gentle sobbing coming from Pinkie's room, they grey filly rushed over and attempted to open the door, only to be met by more resistance. “Pinkie? It's me, Octavia, are you okay?”
The sobbing stopped and the door clicked open, Pinkie ushered her in and closed the door just as quickly. Pinkie's room was small, just behind the door, with just enough room to let it open all the way, was a small bed that reached all the way to the back wall. Lining the other side of the room was a small dresser and a cupboard. The room was decorated in a very drab style, it was clear that Pinkie's room wasn't the safe haven it should be.
“I heard what Father said to you, I don't think he was being very fair.”
Pinkie looked at her sister, her eyes were still watery and red from crying but a small smile was on her lips, “Then you agree with me?”
“Well...” Octavia had a conflicted look on her face, “I don't think it was fair that he punished you for throwing that party, it looked really fun. Father has our best interests at heart though, he wouldn't do this if he didn't think it was good for us.”
Pinkie growled, a look of deep frustration appeared on her face, “You've been brainwashed by him, the home schooling, the life lessons, the hard work, he's deciding your life for you instead of letting you choose for yourself. I hate that he's doing it, that's why I'm running away.”
“You're running away?” Octavia gasped and climbed up next to her sister on the bed, “Where are you going to go?”
“Anywhere but here, I've heard Mother say that Ponyville is the closest town, so I'll start there. I'll see what happens after that.” Pinkie got off the bed and grabbed a battered saddlebag, filling it with what little possessions she had.
“But I don't want you to leave, you're my best friend.”
The saddlebags fell from Pinkie's grasp and the pink filly turned to stare pityingly at her sister, “That's why I have to leave, a sister shouldn't be your best friend, she should be your sister. I've already had my fillyhood taken away from me, I don't want the same to happen to you.”
“What will I do when you leave, I'll be all alone.”
“Come with me then,” Pinkie had picked up her saddlebag and tied it around her waist, “We'll find a new home together, far away from this place.”
The conflicted look appeared back on Octavia's face, “I can't leave, Father relies on me too much to help.”
Pinkie sighed before opening the window in her room, climbing onto the windowsill and jumping out onto a nearby tree branch, “It's a shame Octavia. If you ever change your mind, come to Ponyville, ask about me and we'll be a proper family.”
And just like that she was gone, the pink filly that Octavia had looked up to was gone. She left a hole in Octavia's heart, one that she had tried to fill with classical music, one that had only now begun the healing process.
–
“I've just had an idea.” Vinyl sat up, looking over at the grey mare.
Octavia opened her eyes slowly, she had fallen asleep during their unofficial reflection period, “Huh? What?”
“Were you just asleep? Sleeping isn't thinking Tavi!” Vinyl got up onto her hooves and walked around the coffee table, knocking Octavia upside the head. “It's a good job I'm still on the ball.”
“I don't see a ball” Octavia mumbled, rubbing her head where Vinyl had hit her.
Vinyl hit her again for good measure, “It's a figure of speech and wake up!”
“I am awake!”
Vinyl's horn began flashing blue for a moment and a cup of steaming hot coffee came flying over towards the table.
Octavia stared at it incredulously, “Where did you get this from?”
“Stop asking questions and drink your damn coffee!” Vinyl walked away and began rooting around inside a nearby cupboard, her tail waving to and fro as she inspected the corners for anything she might have missed.
Octavia stared at the black liquid as it steamed away in it's little ceramic prison, she took a gentle sniff and recoiled immediately, “You don't have any tea, perchance?”
Vinyl's irritable looking head appeared from it's hiding place in the cupboard, “What's wrong with my coffee?”
“It's coffee,” Octavia stuck her tongue out, “I don't like coffee. I prefer tea, Earl Grey is my favourite.”
“I don't got no stinkin' tea, okay!”
Octavia sighed and rolled her eyes, “I am loathe to use this phrase, but it seems appropriate given the circumstances. Who has urinated in your coffee, Vinyl?”
Vinyl's electric blue mane quivered, the white head hidden within it's wild tresses had a look of shock upon it, “Did you, Octavia... just make a pun? A crude one at that?”
“I'll have you know that I possess a rapier wit.” The grey earth pony got to her hooves and put on the most haughty look she could manage, “I've impaled many upon it's razor sharp edge.”
“I thought you said you were modest, how's that for falling on your own sword?” Vinyl smiled at her rebuttal.
Octavia smirked in a perfect impersonation of Vinyl Scratch herself, “Rainbow Dash taught me how boring modesty can be sometimes. I've also decided that any time I can rub something in your face is a moment to cherish.”
“Oh Celestia, what monster have I created!?” The unicorn turned tail and galloped out of the living room, heading straight for her bedroom.
The grey mare smiled, casually checking a hoof to make sure it was clean and presentable, 'Octavia, one. Vinyl Scratch, zero.'
* * *
Welp, so much for me taking a break on this. Turns out trying to stop writing this for a while is hard work xD
So anyway, you might have read this and thought, "what the crap, Pinkie's dad liked the party in the Cutie Mark Chronicles flashback!" Well, with the kind of attitude I've given him in this fic, liking that party is the last thing he'd do. Octavia and as-of-yet-unnamed-other-sister did though (Octavia especially) so Pinkie still got her cutie mark for it, but she also got punished by her father for it. A spell in the basement apparently.
You'll also notice that I made a little more progress with the whole 'band' aspect on this fic. Yup, they have a name, it's official (well, official in terms of I made it up in the confines of my fic :P)
Poor Pinkie, at least she got her wish, Octavia did come to Ponyville and they did become a family again. I wonder if that's the last we'll ever see of the Pink Baker of Love? Only time will tell.
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 10 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-24T11:47:12+00:00
|
2011-12-24T11:47:12+00:00
| 1,830 |
Thud.
“Vinyl, open the door and talk to me, I haven't seen you for an hour.” Octavia thumped a hoof onto the door several times, staring at it as if to see exactly what the DJ unicorn was up to in there.
At the silence from within, Octavia thumped on the door once more and cried, “Vinyl!”
Just as she was about the give up, the door took on an electric blue glow and swung open, giving the grey mare a good look at the rather messy floor.
“Sorry, I had my headphones on.” Vinyl was sat on her bed, said headphones draped around her neck and a goofy grin plastered on her face.
Octavia stared at the headphones for a few seconds, looking at the wire that came from the bottom and following it towards a large stereo system on the wall adjacent the bed. There were two huge speakers either side of it, Octavia wondered why they weren't currently in use. “Vinyl, why were you using headphones when you have those speakers?”
The unicorn replied with a sheepish grin, “I, er... I knew you were still around and I didn't want to disturb you if you felt sleepy again, so I put my headphones in. The quality is still really amazing though, so I don't mind.”
Octavia took a moment to feel appreciative towards Vinyl's display of sensitivity before taking a few slow steps into the room, being careful not to disrupt the mess too much. She found herself at the foot of Vinyl's improbably large bed and perched herself stiffly on the edge, “What were you listening to?” She asked, trying to sound interested. She had to learn somehow.
Vinyl fidgeted with the headphones, taking them from around her neck and placing them softly on the bed. “Really? You actually want to take an interest in what I listen to?” She asked this with a hint of cynicism, but there was also a hopefulness in her voice.
“Of course, I want to understand your music... and with understanding comes research.” Octavia shifted a little closer and gave the unicorn a helpful smile.
“Oh, awesome.” Vinyl's face broke out into a wide, genuine smile and she began fumbling with the headphones and using her magic to manipulate the stereo system. “Promise you won't laugh okay, but I was listening to my own music. It makes me feel a little better about myself.”
The earth pony restrained a chuckle, “I've never had the opportunity to listen to myself play, not counting the other day, so I can't judge. Why would you need cheering up anyway?”
The unicorn slumped backwards, her head hitting the pillow below her, “I suppose I've just been feeling a little deflated since Rainbow Dash left. She was so high energy that today just seems... lethargic.”
“Aren't you glad for a moment of peace and quiet?” Octavia asked, now moving over towards the unicorn and settling at her side.
Vinyl rolled over, away from Octavia, “I had my weekly peace and quiet on the sofa earlier. Now I feel restless... I want loud things to happen. That's why I was listening to my music for a while, it solved at least one of the problems.” Vinyl looked up and saw, not the frown of understanding she expected, but a smile on the grey earth pony's face.
“Let's not tarry then.” Octavia got off the bed and walked over to the stereo system, unplugging the headphones and pressing the play button. For a split second before the music came on, that same smile was on her face, but then a wall of sound almost flung her across the room as Vinyl Scratch's music came flooding out of the speakers.
With her ears ringing and a dazed expression, Octavia didn't even notice the music turning off, nor Vinyl walking up to her and asking if she was okay.
The unicorn had sighed watching her friend get blasted onto the floor, with her magic she shifted the volume down and paused the song before climbing off of the bed and seeing if the earth pony was still conscious. “That perhaps wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done.”
Octavia merely groaned, her ears screaming in pain.
“Come on, let's get you up,” Vinyl extended a hoof and waited for Octavia to grab onto it, with a bit of strength and the aid of a little magic, Vinyl managed to roll her onto the bed. “You should think the next time you go messing with a DJ's stereo,” the unicorn grabbed a pillow and laid it under the grey mare's head.
“Ow.” It was all Octavia seemed able to say at the moment, understandable seeing as she had been standing next to something comparable to an explosion.
“Ow is right, you dozy mare. I bet your poor little ears are shouting at you in protest.”
Octavia managed to nod her head whilst grimacing, “How... how can you handle that... level of noise?”
Vinyl rolled her eyes, “Sound, Tavi. Sound, not noise. Also, I'm used to it, playing in clubs all these years have given me pretty awesome control over sound dampening spells.” She had raised her voice so the earth pony could hear her over the ringing that was no doubt filling her ears. “I know something similar that will help you, I'm going to, basically, turn your ears off for a while. It'll speed the healing along much faster, believe me.”
As much as Octavia wanted to run away screaming at the idea of Vinyl Scratch performing anything remotely medical in nature, the unicorn did have a knack for sensory magic, she most likely knows what she's talking about. Hopefully.
“Okay, hold still, this might feel a little weird.” Vinyl's horn began to glow with a sharp blue light, obvious motes of power flickering where her magic was strongest. Octavia did indeed feel weird, she began to feel disconnected to her ears, as if they didn't exist on her head. They were so numb that if she had reached up with a hoof and felt them there, she still wouldn't believe they were attached.
The grey mare had kept her eyes open throughout the entire process, watching Vinyl's face diligently as the DJ concentrated on the task at hand, there was some strain, but Octavia could see the effort she was putting in. It was reassuring in a way, watching the unicorn struggle for her expense and even though she couldn't hear anything, the look Vinyl gave her once she had completed the spell gave her all the comfort any words ever could.
Octavia opened her mouth and made a sound experimentally, she couldn't hear a thing. She tried again, only this time focussing on a simple sentence and forming the words with her mouth, “Nod if you can hear me.”
Vinyl nodded and gave her a helpful smile as well.
She screwed up her face in concentration, thinking clearly, “This is weird.” She tried to keep everything clear and simple so as not to mess it up. Luckily, Octavia could see Vinyl making a sympathetic face, so she had understood. However, she also made a face that seemed to show that she had realised something, held up a hoof in clear indication for the grey mare to sit still for a moment and dashed out of the room before Octavia could sit up and see where she had gone.
It didn't take her long to come back though, floating a quill and several rolls of parchment behind her. She was already scribbling out a message as she walked over to the bed, when she sat down, she lay it in front of Octavia for her to read.
“I watched a film about a situation like ours once called See No Evil, Hear No Evil. Freaking hilarious.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, any hopes of receiving an uplifting message about 'promising to help during this trying time' was, now that she thought about it, optimistic at best. The unicorn took up the parchment again and scribbled another message, her text was surprisingly neat and legible.
“At least you'll get your hearing back. Although they do say that Beethoofen still managed to compose and play despite being completely deaf.”
Underneath that message, Vinyl had drawn a crude smiley face, Octavia just had to laugh even though she had no idea how it would sound. Despite her situation and despite Vinyl's rather unorthodox way of cheering ponies up, Octavia felt that she was in good hooves.
All credit to her, Vinyl stayed by Octavia's side for the majority of the next hour or so, writing little messages to ask her if she needed any help. The grey mare actually had to ask for a little time alone, just to have a chance to chill out for a moment. She had decided to give in to the oppressive silence, there was no point in fighting it, better to sit down and take life slowly for a while rather than mess herself up trying to compensate.
So she found herself sat in the living room, staring out onto the Canterlot city skyline. Her eyes, as they often did in her own apartment, drifted towards Canterlot Castle and her thoughts began to linger on the two alicorn princesses who lived within its walls. She was lucky enough to have seen them with her own eyes, she was even lucky enough to be greeted before the start of the gala by the younger sister Luna. Octavia remembered how melancholy she seemed, her words were hollow and forced, her countenance even more so. Most of all, she remembered how she lit up when Frederic told her that they would be playing nothing but classical compositions in honour of her return. It was only a few musical scores, but the link that they made to her past were enough to remind her of a time when things were somewhat normal.
Octavia smiled at this memory, it was something she loved to look back on whenever she felt that her link to music was slipping away. It allowed her to remember that music is more than sounds played together to make a song. Music was an expression of emotion, of memories and of the mind.
To Octavia, music was much bigger then herself, it was literally everything. To Octavia, the oppressive silence was merely an elegy of emptiness, it would play to its natural end and the next composition would begin. She would have to enjoy the music whilst it played.
Lost in her thoughts, Octavia didn't notice the piece of parchment fall before her eyes immediately. It took a few moments and the parchment actually floating in front of her face for her to actually realise that she was being prompted to read one of Vinyl's notes. She didn't instantly begin reading, instead turning towards the door near the kitchen where Vinyl's electric blue mane could be seen poking around the edge.
Oddly, the grey mare found herself smiling at the unicorns discretion, any other day and she could expect to have Vinyl jump out in front of her and start announcing her thoughts. Turning back to the note, she began reading.
“So, I've been thinking. You spend pretty much all of your free time around here and I've really come to enjoy your presence in the apartment. So why don't you just move in with me? It'll save you plenty of time commuting, you don't have to pay rent on your apartment, you'll have plenty of room and not to mention an awesome room-mate. It'll just be easier.”
The note came adorned with multiple crossings-out where Octavia assumed Vinyl had trouble wording her request. It wasn't too hard to see why either, the unicorn was asking her to move into her apartment and live with her, that mustn't have been an easy thing to do. The grey mare took another look over at the door, Vinyl's entire head could be seen looking on, trying to gauge any reaction. It was weird to see the unicorn so worried about something, she seemed vulnerable, as if everything rested on Octavia's decision.
To be completely honest, Octavia didn't quite know what to say, sure she had only gotten that apartment because it was in her price range, sure it was small and cramped and no place to practice playing a double bass, but she had been there a long time. It would feel weird not going back there after a long day. Vinyl had brought up a good point though, she had been spending a lot of her time here with the unicorn. She could have been home right now, enjoying full use of her ears, but she decided to stick around and almost disintegrate her eardrums, but she still didn't feel like going back to her apartment. Maybe it was time to let the old place go, goodness knows it would more convenient and not to mention that gorgeous recording studio with it's divine sound room.
Octavia turned and concentrated, “Let me think about it,” She said slowly, enunciating the words carefully so Vinyl could easily catch what she said. Now, of all times, it was especially important to be heard properly.
The unicorn smiled politely, it obviously wasn't the answer she was hoping for, but it wasn't a no. To Octavia, it was practically a yes, she just wanted a chance to say goodbye to her old apartment first.
==
During the next hour, Vinyl could be found staring longingly at Octavia from across whatever room she happened to be in. After getting bored of the sight of her sighing and of her being a generally miserable pony to be around, Octavia finally cracked and told her that she wanted to see her apartment before she made a final decision. Vinyl had insisted in tagging along.
“Only to make sure you don't get hurt on your way. I assure you.”
Octavia didn't know if it was physically possible, or whether it was just the effect of reading them in Vinyl's voice, but even the notes seemed to mock her with Vinyl's signature gloating pride.
The unicorn in question was doing her level best to make Octavia get going as quickly as possible and when forced to be patient for any length of time, would inexplicably start bouncing on her hooves in a futile effort to convey a sense of urgency. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew whining incessantly would get nowhere with someone unable to hear, so she turned that excess energy in on herself. This realisation alone made Octavia smile, 'Perhaps I should stay deaf for longer than needed if it annoys her this much.'
With that final thought, Octavia walked slowly towards the front door, watching Vinyl mouth something that looked like exasperated relief with perhaps one or two expletives mixed in. To make her anger known, she even wrote a small note, the word “FINALLY!” in big capital letters, a frowny face underneath it.
“You do not know where we are going. Be patient.” Octavia spoke each word clearly, it most likely sounded like a monotone admonition, instead of the playful reprimand she had wanted, but she smirked nonetheless, walked out of the apartment and towards the staircase without looking back.
--
One quick taxi cart ride later, Vinyl was standing with Octavia in a part of Canterlot she had never seen before. The boring part. The grey mare was met with a raised eyebrow and a note reading, “You live here!?”
Octavia shrugged it off and motioned for the unicorn to follow her into the building. She nodded politely to the stallion behind the reception counter, Vinyl doing the same. Her apartment wasn't too far up, but the few short staircases served to drive a metaphorical silence between her and Vinyl. Obviously, being without hearing, there was silence everywhere, but she didn't feel as if Vinyl wanted to initiate her in conversation or look at her at the moment. This feeling lead her to become rather self conscious, her apartment was terrible, she knew it and now Vinyl would know it.
With all the worrying, she hadn't noticed her door coming up on the left, a less than shiny number eleven on the front. “H-here we are.” Even if she couldn't hear it, she could feel the nervousness. Octavia looked around and saw that Vinyl was lazily following, her eyes glued to the ground, she looked up when she heard Octavia speaking though.
Her face said it all, even through the sunglasses she insisted she wear outside, Octavia could see some kind of disappointment written there. With a sigh she opened up the apartment and allowed Vinyl to walk in. In here, there wasn't much room to move around.
The unicorn instantly began scribbling a note, “Why were you having doubts again?” Typical bluntness from Vinyl.
“Complicated.” Octavia sounded out each syllable, which probably made her sound like a foreigner, but it was too much to try and speak in full sentences at the moment. She knew that Vinyl wouldn't like her apartment, but she never would have guessed that she herself would actually feel ashamed of it.
'Little Octavia' it would say, 'Gets a taste of the big life and leaves us all alone.'
This apartment, for Octavia, represented independence. After moving to Canterlot upon entering tutelage at the Fillyharmonic Hall, she had been allowed a room in the campus halls, it wasn't much but Octavia was often too busy studying to sleep. The room was merely somewhere she could go to rest her eyes, it was never a home, just a rest-stop on her educational journey. Then she graduated and was offered a place in the orchestra, working her hooves to the bone until she was hoof-chosen by Frederic to be a part of his four-pony ensemble. She found work, money was finally something she could afford to throw around and so she bought her apartment, it was small, but it had a charm about it. As the ensemble became well-known on the Canterlot circuit and more work appeared, she was able to furnish her apartment properly, buy some things. They got the Gala job and even more work appeared. She was living in a dream.
As the grey mare stared at her apartment now: its frugal furnishings, the down-played decorations, the earthen theme, she realised that it wasn't her dream that she was living. This was everything that her father had hoped for her as an adult. This was what Pinkie ran away from. This apartment was the old Octavia, the one that had allowed herself to get sucked in to her father's teachings. Seeing Pinkie had changed Octavia in a way, truly there had never been a more independent mare than Pinkie Pie. She lived at her own pace and followed her own rules, yet she was as happy as happy can be. She had great friends and lived in a fantastic town.
What had Octavia achieved? Sensible living in a practical apartment that served only one purpose, somewhere to go to between work. This was never a home, it was cold and mechanical, much like her father. Vinyl's apartment had an energy to it, there was a warmth that reassured her whenever had been to visit. She enjoyed being around the kitchen and making dinner and she even enjoyed helping to clean up after Vinyl sometimes. Most of all, she enjoyed being in a place where the people around her cared about her because they wanted to and not because she was a useful commodity.
All of a sudden, she forgot why she was holding onto this old apartment; she wondered why she even had to think about it.
“Yes, Vinyl. When can I move in?” She hoped that she spoke with an air of dignified finality.
Vinyl grinned happily and walked over, laying a foreleg across Octavia's shoulder, “You don't have much stuff do you?” she wrote, a quizzical look on her face.
“Biggest thing I have is the double bass. Everything else is just books, music and a few clothes.”
“Do you have any boxes? We might as well take some stuff back now.”
“Utility closet, maybe.” Octavia indicated a small door in the corner of the room. Vinyl trotted over and began rifling through the closet with her magic, at the bottom she found two perfectly flattened cardboard boxes.
A note came floating over towards Octavia not too soon after. “You grab some essentials whilst I rebuild these boxes.”
Octavia nodded her agreement and made her way into her bedroom, looking around at the minimalistic furnishings and meaningless decorations. There was nothing really essential here, instead, Octavia began rummaging through the drawers, pulling out a few fancy bow-ties, a double bass maintenance kit and a bag of bits that she had hidden away for safe keeping. She also grabbed a few items of clothing, nothing too special, but just enough that she had something to change into if the need arose. With the meagre selection of items arranged on her bed, Octavia came to realise that she had very few possessions that were really hers. She had things, like cabinets and drawers, but there was little in her apartment which really reflected her personality. Now that her double bass had found a new home in Vinyl's building, there was practically nothing.
The grey mare exited the bedroom feeling slightly downtrodden and found her way into her bathroom. She began grabbing various products and cleansing items, lining them up in a large towel, which she rolled up and carried with her back to the bedroom. 'This is really depressing. Perhaps I can get some books to pad out the boxes.'
As if Vinyl could read minds, the unicorn emerged from the living room with two fully erected cardboard boxes in tow. A note floated over to the grey mare which read, “It doesn't look like you have much stuff, so I shoved some books in the bottom to make it easier.”
Laying her bedroom and things in one box and the bathroom things in the other, Octavia turned round to face Vinyl with a smile, “Thank you for this.”
Vinyl's face conveyed only one thing, 'no problem', and that was the most reassuring thing she could get at this moment in time. Octavia was glad that Vinyl could be here with her whilst she did this.
“I'll just take these boxes downstairs, you sort things out up here and come down when you're ready.”
Octavia thanked her once more and watched as the unicorn filed out of the apartment. What else was there for her to do? There was nothing else she could do here; there weren't any more boxes to put things in, so she just had to make sure the apartment got locked up. Of course, the landlord would have to be notified that she was leaving. He couldn't exactly complain, she had only just paid her next month's rent last week. That was if he was in the building or not; she'd catch him eventually though.
With those thoughts tidied up, Octavia took one last look at her apartment as it was now- a figment of her past life. A past life that was about to get tidied up and sorted so that she could move on to something bigger and better.
Octavia took a big, deep breath and locked the apartment door, heading downstairs to meet up with Vinyl.
* * *
Octavia Introspection! Thought I'd try it out now that I've pretty much obliterated the whole social interaction thing I had going on. Just gotta wait until Tavi's poor, little ears heal and she'll be back in business.
Also, the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that some older parts have 7th December next to them, I looked back through those chapters and did some house cleaning. Mostly to the Ponyville parts which included Pinkie Pie. Because of the whole, mini-story arc I've got going about Tavi's past and my own little set of events. I did add a few lines of dialogue to the part where the part where Vinyl and Tavi go to visit Pinkie when she's at Sugar Cube Corner's muffin tasting, being a super baker and such. Mad props to Pinkie's baking skill. Basically, it points out that Pie is in fact a name that Pinkie made up when she was found and taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Cake after she ran away. (I know that her mother calls her Pinkamena Diane Pie in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, but again, this is my own little interpretation of events) It has helped her to dispel any suspicion around her and the kill the link between her family and herself, obviously she let Octy back in because she was always nice to her.
I don't always sit up until 2am finishing editing and posting chapters, but when I do, I do it for Friendship is Music.
|
Earl Grey
|
1072
| 11 |
DJ P0N-3,Octavia,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Friendship is Music
|
Octavia can't stand modern music, although it's more due to ignorance than actual knowledge.
|
incomplete
| 45 | 3 |
<p>When Octavia is dragged to one of Canterlot's more respectable nightclubs by some work friends, she finds a whole new world of music that threatens to shatter her pre-existing theories about musical quality. All it takes is one pony, a DJ whose music transcends the barriers of conventional genre classification. Will Octavia take the leap of faith into the unknown world of modern music? And will the mysterious DJ be there to catch her if she falls?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-24T11:36:18+00:00
|
2011-12-24T11:36:18+00:00
| 2,353 |
It had been a few days since Octavia had grabbed those first few items from her old apartment. Ever since then, her room in Vinyl's apartment had begun to fill up with far too many boxes for her to stay there properly. She would have to wait until it could all be sorted out into the rest of Vinyl's living space.
In the mean time, she had been sleeping in her old apartment, feeling an odd sense of catharsis as she noticed that the place had a barren, empty look about it. This was the final day however, the landlord had said that this was as long as she could stay there, so Octavia took one last look at the place before leaving it for good.
Her smile was bigger than it had been for a long time as she walked away from the place, moving on from one part of her life to the next. The grey mare said a final goodbye to the security pony behind the front desk, who grunted from behind his copy of Modern Stallion.
“No change there then,” Octavia remarked, rolling her eyes.
It was a short journey to Vinyl's building, Octavia couldn't think straight due to her excitement. Today was the day that she would leave the past behind her and forge a new path for herself in the world. With Vinyl at her side, she was sure that it would be interesting.
Taking a deep breath, Octavia stepped through the front doors and smiled at the receptionist, a magenta unicorn wearing a smart looking suit.
The receptionist looked up at the sound of the doors opening and broke out into a large smile herself, “Ah, Miss Octavia. You're finally moving in today aren't you?”
“Yes, my lease ran out, so I'll be working hard trying to get my room ready to use by tonight.”
“That's nice,” The magenta unicorn scanned a few papers on her desk before looking up again, “Oh, I'll see about getting Flash to help you with the boxes. She should be starting her shift in about half an hour, I'll ask her then. Enjoy your stay.” The unicorn smiled again and got back to her work.
Octavia chuckled, it was good to have a nice receptionist for a change, one who actually wanted to engage in polite conversation. Taking her leave, the earth pony made her way to the top floor where Vinyl's- no, her door sat awaiting her. It was closed and Octavia went to knock, but it swung open soundlessly when she made contact.
“Vinyl?” Octavia called weakly, the living room was completely empty. One of the sofas was ruffled as if it had been sat on a lot lately and it's pillows were strewn across the floor nearby. It almost seemed as if a struggle had gone on there, Vinyl wasn't known for cleaning up after herself, but she wasn't a slob. The hairs on the back of Octavia's neck began to prickle and the breath was forced out of her as a shiver fell across her spine. She span around quickly and faced the kitchen, but her fears only worsened as she saw a half-finished glass of wine on the breakfast bar and a bundle of broken glass below one of the stools.
The grey mare backed away until she found herself near the door that lead to the bathroom, she slipped through quickly and tried to gather her thoughts. The short corridor was empty and just as she had seen it last, which helped to calm her down a little.
'Okay, door open, broken glass, messed up sofa, no attempts to clear it up.' Octavia's breathing picked up and she could feel her heart racing, that combination of events sounded ominous at best. A rational pony would worry somewhat but get down to the problem, which may end up being a big misunderstanding. Octavia was not a rational pony at the moment however.
'What if Vinyl's been kidnapped? No, the receptionist would have seen them coming up the stairs... What if she was kidnapped by pegasus ponies? They wouldn't need stairs...' The earth pony racked her brain, she had definitely heard of pegasi kidnapping ponies from top floor apartments 'But who would want to kidnap Vinyl? What enemies has she made? An angry, fellow musician... a spurned fan... crime organisations?'
Octavia shook herself, she needed to stop thinking like that. Vinyl was fine, she probably just needed to nip out and get something, yes, that was it. She took a calming breath and walked over to the bathroom door, pushing it open carefully, it was lemony fresh and looked fine, no sign of Vinyl and no sign of anything else. The earth pony backed out and braved looking into the living room again, the broken glass and messy sofa remained, but she put them out of her mind and walked quickly across the room.
Her eyes moved once over the large window that covered almost the entirety of the back wall, one of the top windows was open quite wide. Octavia went through the door before she could dwell on that fact too much. Once on the other side, the grey mare's eyes moved immediately to Vinyl's door, a deeper feeling however, switched her gaze over to her door, what if they weren't just kidnappers, but also burglars? Could they have taken any of her things?
Perhaps quite selfishly, given the situation, Octavia made her way over to her room and she pushed the door open quickly, she sighed happily when she saw that not a single box had been disturbed and it seemed nice and clean considering the general state of the room. Curiosity sated, Octavia looked towards Vinyl's door again, but she found herself unwilling to open it. The kidnappers may not have wanted to steal any of her things, but what if they were after something of Vinyl's in particular. What if she hadn't co-operated? What if they had gotten angry and... and...
Octavia didn't dare finish that line of thought. Plucking up her courage, Octavia walked over and grabbed the door handle, pushing it slowly open. The door creaked, but it wasn't loud enough to mask the obvious noises coming from within, there wasn't any time to stop now though, she flung the door open.
“Vinyl?” Her eyes were checking the floor on entry, hoping beyond hope that it wouldn't be a pool of blood greeting her. She looked up when she noticed it was clear, but her eyes fell upon a moving lump in the bed, far too big to be just Vinyl on her own. “V-Vinyl!?” Octavia's eyes grew to the size of saucers when the covers flew off. Her jaw was somewhere in the lobby and had no intentions of coming back any time soon.
Lay on the bed, blushing profusely was Vinyl Scratch. The yellow pegasus sat astride her, wings splayed dramatically, was none other than Flash, the pegasus she had been told was due in for work any time now. Octavia could feel her eyes shutting off, it felt oddly similar to when Vinyl did the same to her ears not too long ago, but the grey mare could tell there was no magic involved this time, at least until her brain stopped along with her eyes. Then she couldn't feel anything at all.
==
There was a pleasant breeze wafting past her face, it both cooled and soothed her. Perhaps she was merely imagining it, but maybe she was atop a hill on a misty moor, under the shadow of a poplar tree, playing a sorrowful tune on her double bass.
“Octavia, are you awake?”
Vinyl appears at the bottom of the hill, she's shouting something. Octavia has her eyes closed, lost in her music, but as she hears Vinyl, she focuses harder on the music and tries to tune out the shouting.
“You passed out, you seem fine though.”
The unicorn begins to scale the hill, continuing her shouting as she does. Octavia gives up trying to concentrate and throws her bow to ground, eyes trained on the approaching unicorn, “What in Equestria are you shouting about?”
Vinyl stops walking, now stood in front of the earth pony, “Wake up, please.” She has a deadly serious look in her eyes.
“Why do you keep saying that?” Before she can think on it however, Octavia opens her eyes to see Vinyl Scratch hovering above her, relief spreading across her face.
“Thank Luna, you're awake. I was starting to get worried for a moment there.”
The grey mare stared speechlessly for a few seconds, slowly coming to realise that she wasn't atop a hill on a misty moor, but was being fanned by Vinyl as she lay... come to think of it... “Where am I?”
Vinyl raised an eyebrow, “You're on my bed, you fainted.”
Octavia's eyes flew open wide again, “You're bed!? Where you... and... and...” She tried to sit up, but Vinyl forced her back down, giving her a stern look. Instead, Octavia settled with trying not to think about what she's currently lay in.
“Good, so you don't have memory loss. Also, for your information, I changed the sheets before laying you on them.” Vinyl began blushing slightly and looked over her shoulder, at what, Octavia couldn't see. “So I guess we have to talk about what you saw, which I'm sorry for by the way. I totally forgot you were officially moving in today.”
Octavia moved herself into a more comfortable position, wincing slightly as she did. Vinyl saw it and gave her a 'don't try and move too much' glare. “A little context might be nice, although I could do without too many details.”
“I wouldn't do that,” Vinyl smirked, “I don't want to corrupt your sweet and innocent mind.”
“I'm not that innocent.” Octavia remarked.
“Oh really? Sex.” Octavia tried her hardest, but the blush slowly turning her face from grey to crimson refused to stop. “I rest my case. Now, I'll just get on with the story shall I? First, background...”
–
The date. Yesterday.
The time. Late.
I was bored. More bored than a DJ unicorn in Canterlot should be, so I left the apartment and sought entertainment in the local watering hole. It may not have been the hive of scum and villainy I'd like to think it is, but it was criminal how dirty the toilets can get in there sometimes, so I let it slide.
I sit at the bar, my mind on other things. The bartender leans a foreleg on the bar and gives me a sideways glance, “You look like a mare with a whole mess o' troubles.” he says, his words tainted with regrettable truth.
I match his stare, knowing that I'd be unable to make him think otherwise, “You could say that. Whiskey sour... make it a double.”
“Serious drink, huh? You must want to do some serious forgetting.” The bartender readies a glass and begins pouring some bourbon into a cocktail shaker, followed by some lemon juice and sugar, finally he puts in some ice and shakes for a few seconds before pouring into the glass.
I stay strong, not giving into his bartender wisdom, “There's a lot I'd like to forget, today I'd just like to drink.” I take a small sip, feeling it slide down my throat, burning as it went. Taking my silence as a hint, the bartender moves away to the other end of the bar.
“Don't see you in here often.” A familiar voice greets me, I recognise it instantly.
“We must just come at different times.” I take another sip, feeling the seat beside me get filled.
“What are you drinking?”
“Whiskey sour,” I reply, turning to see Flash giving me a strange glance, “I hear pegasi aren't great at holding their drink.” I smirk and see that she does the same.
“I'd love to prove you wrong.” She shakes her cyan mane out of her face and whistles for the bartender, slamming some bits onto the table, “Two whiskey sours and keep 'em coming.”
When Flash said 'keep 'em coming' she really meant it, I finished my drink, waiting eagerly for my second. The bartender gives us a glass each and we look at each other, nodding before downing the lot. Our glasses are instantly refilled and we go again.
My stomach starts burning and I shake my head to try and clear my thoughts but Flash pushes another drink on me, her smile unfaltering. I couldn't back down now, Flash had already finished her third drink and I was lagging behind.
“Who can't handle their drink?” She jabs at me, grinning bigger than before. That did it, now I was determined to beat her.
My magic flares, her features thrown into sharp relief. The image lingers in my mind as we both take another drink. “So what brings you out here tonight?” I asked, my words slightly slurred.
She downs another drink, “Just lookin' for some fun, the drinks were a bonus.”
“Did you find any? Fun, I mean?”
“That depends on whether my fun says yes.” Flash winks, the smile she was giving me seemed more than just a friendly gesture, it seemed almost inviting.
I may be many things, but dense was not one of them, “I have an unopened bottle of wine back at my place, how about we continue our fun up there?” I throw a few more bits onto the bar and get up, feeling the floor sway beneath my hooves. I lean on Flash and she leans back, we laugh uncontrollably and walk out of the bar together. It wasn't far to the building, we got there quickly enough, the receptionist gives us a stern glare as we stumble in, but we just laugh some more.
We were barely up the stairs before Flash started kissing me, I kissed back just as hard. We were barely aware of our surroundings, making our way up the stairs and into my apartment seemingly on instinct. We collapse onto a sofa, bodies entangled, hooves exploring, I felt wings caressing my sides, the downy softness sending me into paroxysms of laughter. I roll off of her onto the floor, “That's not fair!”
“You're a unicorn aren't you? Level the playing field.” She kicks her wings up, flying a quick loop before landing near the kitchen, “Let's open that wine shall we?”
I bite my lip, watching her walk over to the kitchen, she sways her hips back and forth, her grinning face looking over her shoulder to gauge my reaction, “Like what you see?” She croons, her eyes flashing lazily at me. I climb back up onto sofa and watch her pour the wine, as soon as she fills the first glass, I use my magic to bring it over to me. Flash laughs and pours herself a glass, zipping back over with a lazy flap of her wings.
We sit quietly for a few moments, sipping the wine and trying to out-seduce the other in the process, my bedroom eyes aren't quite as effective as hers, but levitating the glass with my magic left my hooves free to do... other things. Flash stared, eyes wide. She finished her wine and flung the glass across the room, diving on me again, she's like a wild animal, kissing every part of me she can reach, moving slowly downwards, her lips lingering longer and longer on my stomach. “Save that for the bedroom.” I smirk as I see the small look of disappointment on her face, “I don't want to make a mess on the sofa.”
Her smile returns, a mischievous grin. She kisses my stomach one last time before getting up, her eyes never leaving mine. I realise that I still have a hold of the glass, I didn't finish it, but there was something sweeter waiting for me, so I set it down on the breakfast bar. I give Flash my best 'come hither' look and she follows obediently into the bedroom.
We didn't get much sleep, but when we did, it was mainly due to exhaustion. When we woke up the next day, we just started again...
–
“That's when you walked in.”
“Ruining a perfectly good pre-shift romp!” Octavia recognised the voice, it seemed Flash hadn't left.
“It's hardly my fault.” Octavia complained. She turned her attention to Vinyl, giving the unicorn an odd stare, “So what's going to happen now, with you two?”
Vinyl furrowed her brow, “What do you mean? Why does anything have to happen?”
Octavia craned her neck, looking at the pegasus sat in the corner, “She's still here, if it was just fun as you said, why would she stick around to watch me wake up?”
“You make a good point, Tavi.” Vinyl turned to the pegasus, an accusatory glint in her eyes, “Why did you stick around? You didn't have to and I get the feeling that you didn't really want to either.”
Flash squirmed uncomfortably, she got to her hooves for something to do but she couldn't escape Vinyl's question, “Is it so bad to want the fun to last a little longer?”
The DJ got to her hooves, moving away from the bed and standing next to Flash, “Of course not. Last night was really awesome and if you told me that I couldn't have that again, I'd be a liar if I said I wouldn't mind. Plus, I like you, that always helps.” Vinyl nudged her affectionately with a hoof.
Octavia felt good enough to sit up and watched the scene from her place on the bed. The grey mare liked to think that she had a pretty good handle on Vinyl Scratch, how to decipher her mannerisms and what not. In her honest opinion, she felt that Vinyl was telling the truth and that she was pleased to hear that her time with Flash wasn't going to be a one time thing. The two were a lot alike, both scared and thrilled by their feelings, both outgoing and both sharing a fierce competitive streak with the other.
“Don't you have a job to get to?” Vinyl asks suddenly. Flash stopped what she was doing, which was holding her head up against Vinyl's neck and she rushed over to the door of the bedroom.
“If anypony asks, I was flying by the building and you guys let me in.” She disappeared quickly, the sound of slamming doors in her wake.
“I can't believe I get to say this for a change, but you guys make a cute couple.” Octavia gave an honest smile, one which Vinyl couldn't help returning.
“Jealous?”
Octavia groaned, “You always have the perfect words to ruin my intentions, don't you?” She climbed off of Vinyl's bed and stretched her legs, making sure they were in working order. “I'm genuinely happy for you and you have to turn it into a competition.”
“All you had to say was yes.” Vinyl didn't try to be smarmy, instead she took an admittedly less travelled path and tried to be serious about it. “I know it must be hard for you, the way you were raised, how socially awkward you are... I get it, ponies just don't gravitate towards those kinds of personalities. Instead of standing there and waiting for them to come to you, try reaching out yourself. You'll find that ponies are more receptive to that.”
“One night of wild passion and suddenly you're a fortune cookie. What exactly did Flash do to you?”
Vinyl merely took a deep breath, “Now that I'm potentially in a relationship, I feel calmer, I no longer hate other ponies for merely existing. It allows me to dwell on the positives in life.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, “All this in the space of five minutes? Impressive.”
“Sarcasm isn't becoming of you, Tavi, be positive and I'm sure you'll find somepony soon. You're cute, you're talented, you just need to fix your attitude a little and you'll be fighting them off.”
The grey mare left the room without another word, leaving the unicorn with a confused look on her face. Octavia didn't know what annoyed her more, Vinyl's new preachy attitude or the fact that she was probably right. Either way, she walked into her own room and took her frustration out on the first stack of boxes she could find, emptying it's contents and arranging them into a series of neat piles.
'That's right Octavia, avoid your problems. You have no control over your social life so you retreat into your room where you can control the only thing you have left. Things.'
She worked obsessively, taking care to empty each box completely and put the contents into the ordered piles at her hooves. She still had a long way to go, something that suited her just fine, as long as she had to concentrate on this, she couldn't dwell on her problems.
–
Vinyl thought about following Octavia and trying to cheer her up, she looked awful mad. The DJ couldn't help but feel that she was partially responsible for the earth pony's mood. She walked into the living room and decided to begin making something to eat, if Octavia got hungry, then she could always come out and have something then.
It might make her feel better at least.
Knock knock.
“Door's open!” Vinyl shouted. The front door swung open and Flash appeared from behind it, looking around for the unicorn.
“I got told to come up here and help unpack some boxes.”
Vinyl couldn't help but smile, “I wouldn't bother Tavi at the moment, I think she's mad at me. You wanna help me make some dinner instead? I'm not that great for obvious reasons.”
The pegasus wandered over into the kitchen, staring at the bare worktops, “What do you want to make? I know the general cooking basics and some intermediate stuff but I'm no gourmet.”
“Simple but effective will do, I want it to be good enough that Tavi stops being angry.”
Flash nodded slowly before realising that she had another reason for coming back, she had to relay the message the receptionist had given her, “You have a visitor by the way, she's waiting downstairs.”
--
I had this finished the other day, but I wanted to give it one last look over before posting it. I also read over it outloud (well, in a hushed whisper because there were other people in the house) I read it in a rather posh English accent, it works.
Keep in mind that just because Flash technically is a character from the show, that doesn't mean this is shipping. I'd class it just as romance, because in my head, shipping and romance are different.
I've wanted to write that scene of Octavia walking in on Vinyl doing it with someone pretty much since this fic began. Fun hint, it was originally going to be Rainbow Dash, but I swapped it because overall, this doesn't upset as many plotlines. Plotlines such as, why is Octavia so mad? Who is this mysterious visitor? And many more that I haven't thought of yet!
|
Sakke
|
1073
| 1 |
Main 6,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Broken mind or dreams come true?
|
The mane 6 mysteriously appear in a bronies living room.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Zack was normal (by brony standard) until something weird happened.<br/>The mane 6 mysteriously appear in his living room and it appears that he's the only one that can see them.<br/>Has he gone finally insane or is it some weird magic?<br/>Time will only tell.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-09-27T16:34:20+00:00
|
2011-09-27T16:34:20+00:00
| 1,668 |
The rays of sunlight poured through the window. They illuminated a small room. The room was in a mess. There were clothes all over the floor, empty pizza boxes all over the place and random pieces of paper everywhere. The pictures were of all sorts of things: demons, swords, even a couple of steampunk-ish drawings. One thing that was on most of the drawings: cartoon ponies.
In your mind’s eye...
Something started to move under the covers of a bed that was in the corner of the room.
lives a memory hard to find. Blinded by sorrow...
A head rose from under the covers. It was very skinny and on top of his head was shaggy, light-brown hair.
and her cold voice sings a melody. Hear her sing...
The man turned his head towards the sound, with a grunt. Extending his hand from under the bedsheets, he crabbed the source of the sound. It was his phone, making sure that he wakes up early.
Hell frozen rain falls down.
And with those last words, he turned it off.
~~~~~~~~
A short, but skinny man rose from the covers. He sat at the edge of his bed as he ran his hand through his hair. He grabbed a pair of glasses from his table. He pu them on, instantly clearing his vision.
He quickly got up from the bed, putting on his usual grey pants, bright green shirt and red hoodie.
The man was clearly tired.
‘’Confound you ponies, making me miss my beauty sleep.’’ He said quietly to himself as he walked out of his room.
It had been 2 months since he became a brony. Going through pony threads on the internet was a regural part of his day now. He had stayed up late, again, not being able to leave Funnyjunk’s pony thread, that he loved. Watching people raging over closo, watching toonv post ace, loving poemspamminganons poems, being very happy when someone mentioned him and replying to roll games. The basic.
He ate some cereal and finally sat on his new couch that he bought. He lived in a small-ish apartment on the top floor of a 7-story building. His living room wasn’t anything spectacular. Two couches, a small table, a big-enough tv for him and an Xbox 360.
This room wasn’t nearly in a big of a mess as his bedroom. Just a couple of random things here and there. Like a sock hanging from the lamp or a book inside the couch. He turned on his TV and quickly went through the channels. He stopped, when he noticed that ‘That 70’s Show’ was on.
He quickly finished his cereal and he picked up his phone and backpack. He put his headphones on and he let the music drown out the music of traffic from outside.
He grabbed his trademark hat as he slowly made his way outside. He started walking down the street, his headphones still blasting with music.
He finally arrived at his destination, a large gray building, that must have expensive to build. He opened the door and after a couple of empty hallways, he stopped infront of a door. He leaned against the wall as he sighed.
‘‘Early again’’ he said to himself.
Soon another man stood next to him.
‘’Hi Zack!’’ said the other man. He was slightly taller than Zack. He had very short, brown hair and he had his usual green hoodie on.
‘’Hi Paul.’’ Zack said lazily, putting his glasses on more comfortably.
Soon after Paul arrived, came a man. He was taller Zack or Paul. He was wearing nothing but black. Black hoodie, black pants, black shoes, black T-shirt...
He walked right in between the two men.
‘’God-fucking-dammit!’’ The man said, obviously mad about something.
‘’What happened now, Tom?’’ Zack said half-heartedly.
‘’I lost my fucking car keys!’’ Tom replied, practically shouting.
Paul let out a slight chuckle as a huge grin appeared on Zacks face.
‘’How did you manage to do that?’’ Zack asked, still smiling.
‘’How the hell should I know?!’’ Tom replied.
‘Why do I even hang out with this guy?’ Zack wondered in his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~
The school day was quickly over, but it felt like an eternity. Spring break finally started!
Zack stopped at a little shop right across the street of his home. Now with his backpack filled with goodies, he walked home.
Zack took out his keys and tried to find the right key, until he heard a sound. It was the sound of something breaking.. and it came from his home. He put his ear to the door. He heard speech.
He quietly, with his hands shaking, opened the door. He could see that no-one was in his computer room, as it was the first room you come across. Nobody was in his bedroom either. Nothing in his kitchen either. That left his living room.
He quietly put his bag in the computer room. He armed himself with a baseball bat.
‘’Thieves, eh?’’ he whispered to himself. He started to sneak towards his living room.
He heard voices. They were definitely female. They sounded somewhat familiar, but Zack pushed that thought from his mind.
He was right at the edge of a wall. His heart pounding at his chest.
He finally entered the room. He opened his mouth wide open with shock.
On his couch was an orange colored pony, with golden hair, wearing a stetson.
There was a cyan colored pony with a rainbow colored mane, tangled in the pile of cables he had at the corner of his room. There was another pony, with a pink, fluffy mane and fur, bouncing on his couch, not even noticing him. There was a white one with a stylized purple mane just sitting on his couch. Lastly he noticed the lavender pony, with a purple mane.
Total silence.
To be continued...
|
Sakke
|
1073
| 2 |
Main 6,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Broken mind or dreams come true?
|
The mane 6 mysteriously appear in a bronies living room.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Zack was normal (by brony standard) until something weird happened.<br/>The mane 6 mysteriously appear in his living room and it appears that he's the only one that can see them.<br/>Has he gone finally insane or is it some weird magic?<br/>Time will only tell.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-01T12:54:59+00:00
|
2011-10-01T12:54:59+00:00
| 1,567 |
After minutes of just staring, Zack finally closed his mouth, his eye twitching a little. He lowered the baseball bat he was holding.
’Wait a minute...’ he thought to himself. ‘Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight sparkle and Flutters-’
‘Wait, where is Fluttershy?’He began looking around the room, not moving from his position. He finally spotted a speck of pink hair coming out from behind his couch. A faint smile drew to his lips.
‘’Uuhh.. Excuse me?’’ He heard a familiar voice ask. He turned towards the source of the sound.
It was Twilight Sparkle on the table.
‘’Where exactly are we?’’ she asked.
‘’Y- you’re in my living room.’’ Zack answered, his voice stuttering a little.
‘’Ok.’’
‘’In America to more specific’’
‘’I’ve never heard of this ‘America’’’ she seemed to be deep in thought.
‘’How.. did you get in my living room?’’ he asked.
‘’What? Oh, we really don’t know either. We just kind of... appeared here.’’
Zack mind was in chaos right now. Different fanfics, he has read where racing through his mind. He was overjoyed that his wish finally came true, but he doesn’t know how to deal with this. He thought up different scenarios about what would happen if they found out about the show.
He finally came to the decision, that he would simply try not to mention the show or the huge community it has created.
‘’Soo... who are you?’’ Zack asked. He tried to dodge the fact that he knew basically everything about them.
As soon as he had said those words, a rainbow streak flew across the room stopping right in front of Zack. Zack was now face to face with the fastest flier in Equestria.
‘’Hey!Why should we tell you, chump!’’Rainbow said with an annoyed tone.
‘’Hey! Who’re you calling a chump, chump!’’ Zack replied.
‘’Rainbow! We are the ones in his living room!’’ Twilight said loydly. Rainbow Dash backed away slowly, not taking her gaze off of him. Zack was returning the gaze.
Twilight stepped off the table and introduced herself:
‘’My name is Twilight Sparkle.’’ she said confidently.
‘’Uhh.. my name is Zack’’ he replied nervously.
The orange pony stepped from the couch.
‘’Name’s Applejack!’’ She said with a strong southern accent. She extended her hoof for a friendly hand/hoof shake. He grabbed her hoof.
After the strongest hand shake he had ever endured, the pink pony started bouncing right next to him.
‘’I’m Pinkie Pie!’’ she asked with an overly excited tone.
‘’Oohh. What are you? Where do you come from? Do you like cupcakes? I love cupcakes! The other day, I was trying to get Rainbow Dash to help me bake cupcakes, but she refused for some weird reason...’’
She kept on going on, Zack was just hopelessly trying to follow her. He was failing. Finally the white unicorn pony stepped up to Zack.
‘’I’m Rarity, but you can call me miss Rarity.’’ she said calmly.
Zack remembered from countless fanfics he had read and the show, that she preferred gentlemen.
‘’Pleasure to meet such a lady with such grace, miss Rarity.’’ he said. Like a true gentleman.
‘’Well aren’t you a gentleman.’’ she said.
The rainbow maned pegasus flew to eye level from Zack.
‘’I’m Rainbow Dash. Just the best flier in all of Equestria!’’ she said in a proud manner.
‘’Yea, I even heard that you pulled off the sonic rainboom.’’ Zack said with a smirk.
‘’Twice.’’ The pegasus pony added.
‘’Wait... where’s Fluttershy?’’ Twilight wondered outloud. A small squeek could be heard coming from behind Zack’s couch. He saw the shy pegasus peek out of the corner of the couch.
‘’I’m Fluttershy.’’ It was barely hearable.
‘’Didn’t quite catch that.’’ Zack said with a slight smile.
‘’Umm... I’m Fluttershy.’’ She said with a quiet tone, hiding behind her long, flowing mane.
Zack just sighed to himself.
~~~~~~
There was awkward silence after he cleaned up the remnants of a lamp, that somebody managed to break. Nobody knew what to say. They all just sat on the couches in total silence. It was Twilight who finally broke the long silence.
‘’Soo... what exactly are you?’’ She asked, looking up and down Zacks body.
‘’I’m a human male.’’ He said, resting his head on his hand.
‘’What? But I thought that humans were just a legend!’’ She yelled, startling poor Fluttershy. All ponies were now staring at Zack. He felt a cold drop of sweat on his forehead.
‘’We-ell...’’ His voice stuttered.
‘’Humans are very real here. We are the dominant species in this world. Let’s just say that talking, colorful, flying and magic using ponies aren’t very common here... because they don’t exist.’’
Zack continued, eyeing the ponies.
‘’Is it true that you humans can’t use magic?’’ Twilight asked with a bright smile.
‘’Wait a second partner.’’ Applejack interjected.
‘’You’re saying that we mysteriously appeared in a world without ponies?’’ She asked, looking at Zack.
‘’Eeyup!’’ Zack answered. Applejack looked at him with a weird look on her face for a second.
The silence was cut off by a sound. It was low, but audible. Someone was hungry! The growling came from all of the six ponies bellies. Zack noticed it, looking at Twilight, who had a slight blush on her face.
‘’Umm.. do you have anything to eat?’’ She asked politely, the blush on her face fading.
‘’Let me check.’’ Zack said as he rose from the couch. He walked to his bag, that he forgot, when he came inside. Let’s just say, that his groceries weren’t the first thing in his mind when he thought, that his apartment was being invaded.
He only found the bacon, that he bought. The manliest of foods, but he thought that the ponies wouldn’t be so thrilled to eat it.
He walked over to his fridge, the ponies in his living room observing his movements. He opened the door to find a bottle of Coca-cola, a pack of bacon, some putting and a rotten apple.
Great.. He thought to himself. I have to go to the store again..
He entered the living room, seeing six hungry looking ponies staring at him. Fluttershy finally coming out from behind the couch, now sitting next to Rarity on the couch.
‘’Sorry, I’m kind of out of food.’’ He said, knowing well that the ponies didn’t eat meat.
‘’I’m going to have to go to buy some.’’ He continued. The ponies started looking at each other.
‘’But...’’ Zack said, getting the attention of the ponies.
‘’I need you to stay here. Because there aren’t many talking ponies here, I don’t know how people will react to you.They probably would try to imprison you.’’ The ponies looks turned to worry.
‘’I need you to stay here for today.’’ continued.
‘’But you took us very well.’’ Twilight said to Zack.
‘’Well... yes, because I’m kind of the weird person compared to others.’’ He said, a drop of sweat appearing on his forehead.
~~~~~~~~
Zack went out the door into the outside world. leaving the ponies in his apartment. As soon as he left, Twilight sighed.
‘’What are we getting ourselves into...’’ She said quietly to herself. Pinkie Pie was going through the little cabinets beneath Zacks TV. Rarity was gagging at the living room. Imagine who’d she react to his bedroom. Rainbow Dash was slowly floating in the air, looking bored. Applejack and Fluttershy were just looking around his apartment.
After a long silence between the ponies, Rainbow finally spoke:
‘’This is so boring! This world sucks! I mean, just look out there.’’ She flew next to the large window behind the TV.
‘’They aren’t even keeping the shy clear!’’ The whole sky was colored gray. There were large rainclouds all over the sky.
‘’I could clear that sky i 19 seconds flat!’’ She continued.
‘’Remember Rainbow. We’re in a different place now. Maybe everything works differently here.’’ Twilight said to the rainbow maned pegasus.
‘’But this is so booring...’’ The pegasus whined.
~~~~~~~~
Zack came out of the store, bags filled with all sorts of goodies in his hands. He walked towards his home, when he saw something in the sky. A rainbow streak.
Oh no.. He thought to himself as he started to run toward his apartment. He quickly got to his home.
He opened the door. He set the bags down as he went into the living room. He saw a shocked Twilight and an open window.
‘’What happened?!’’ Zack asked, clearly starting to sweat.
‘’She left.’’ Applejack replied.
Zack darted toward the door. He was outside running towards the rainbow streak in the sky.
He ran in the street, running past some faceless and colorless people. It had started to rain.
There he was, running in the street in the rain after a rainbow streak in the sky. Running in a croud of people, not even paying any attention to him. All he could think of was all the things they would do to the ponies if they were found out. Experiments, interrogations... dissections. The thought of them dissecting Fluttershy sent shivers down his spine. He couldn’t let that happen.
He ran a couple of miles. Hi whole thought consisting of repeating: Ohgodohmanohgodohman. He tripped over his own foot, landing face first in the mud. He lifted his gaze from the ground. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. It was Pinkie pie, just happily bouncing down the street. He thought that that was it. They would get caught. Dissected.
‘’Come on silly!’’ She said with a happy tone. Not even noticing the people walking around them.
They didn’t pay any attention to him OR Pinkie. It was like they weren’t even there.
Zack finally lifted himself up from the ground, covered in mud. He kept a steady pace for the rest of the run. Noticing that people were paying no attention to the bouncing, humming, pink pony infront of him. They walked to a park, where Rainbow had flied into.
Zack lifted his gaze to the sky, searching for the pegasus. The next thing he saw blew his mind.
He saw a rainbow streak coming from the sea of gray clouds. Suddenly a loud bang was heard.
A giant ring filled with the colors of the rainbow filled the sky. Drowning ouy the gray clouds.
Zack could only stare at this amazing spectacle.
He sat on the wet grass. Pinkie sat right next to him. Pinkie cheered for Rainbow Dash, as Zack just sat there in amazement at the glorious spectacle of colors.
|
Kickass222urmom
|
1076
| 1 |
Adventure,Romance
|
Nothing Else But The Best
|
Zoarin seeks out the best flier to Challenge to a race and to see who really is the best.
|
hiatus
| 23 | 6 |
<p>Zoarin is a competitive flyer, he thrives to be the best flyer in all of Equestria. But one Pegasus stands in his way. Can he beat her and prove hes the best, or will he be second best for the rest of his life. Can he get the pony he loves to love him back?<br />(I am done with this story for a while, I need to finish my others first.)</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2011-09-28T00:19:57+00:00
| 1,065 |
Chapter 1
"Beep,beep,beep."
Zoarin opened his eyes slowly and turned his head toward the alarm clock.
The clock read 7:05 AM. The time he usually woke up.
He reached over with his hoof and hit the snooze button. He sat up in bed and stretched out his legs and wings, and let out a yawn.
He rolled out of bed and walked to the window. The sun was just coming up, a perfect day to do some flying.
He turned around and looked around his darkened apartment room. He lived in a small apartment building outside of Manehattan. It was small and cramped, but it was his home.
The room was always messy, he didn't see any point in cleaning. Nopony ever came around, and it made him feel more comfortable.
Zoarin walked over to his small mirror and looked at himself.
He was a fairly muscular Pegasus, but not to muscular. His man was midnight black and so was his tail. His coat was a grayish color, as was his eyes. His cutie mark was a lighting bolt with a gold star on either side.
He looked over to his desk to see the single picture frame on it. The picture was of his long time friend Neutral Star. They had known each other since they both started school, over sixteen years ago.
Last time he saw her was a year ago at the Best Young Flyer competition. They had trained for months together, and was prepared to win. They had flown better than they ever had before, but lost to a cyan colored Pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail.
After that, she left saying that she was going to train to become the best flyer. That day also made Zoarin realize something. He realized that he wasn't the fastest Pegasus as he had thought.
He became determined to be the best, which caused him to be sent to the hospital more often.
He shook his head and looked away from the picture and walked to his kitchen and looked though his small food supply.
As usually he had almost nothing left.
"I really need to buy food more often then just once a month." He mumbled to himself.
He rubbed his eyes with his right hoof and yawned again.
"Well, guess I could just go find some restaurant, again." He said while walking towards the door.
He walked out of the building and onto the ground. He was one of the few Pegasus who lived on the ground. The soft clouds never really appealed to him, he found the hard earth more pleasant to be on.
He looked around at the other ponies, all getting ready for the day ahead.
Zoarin never really talks to anypony, but he will always end up talking to a new pony every day.
He walked across the street to his favorite restaurant, "La Fillie." He liked the way the name sounds. They serve the best flower sandwiches.
He walked in and sat at his usual booth and sat back to relax.
"Well, looks who's back. My favorite customer, Zoarin. Let me guess, you want the usual order, right?"
Zoarin looked to his right to see Judy, the waiter for this restaurant. She was wearing the white uniform all the waiters were suppose to wear. Her man and tail was a bluish color and her eyes were brown. Her cutie mark was a notebook, which he though fit her since she always used a notebook.
Zoarin gave small smile, "Hey Judy, you know I can't resist the flower sandwiches here."
She wrote his order in her notebook and looked at him, "They are pretty good, but I prefer the hayburgers."
She turned and walked towards the counter.
Zoarin looked around at all the happy ponies eating. He slumped down into the booth and sighed.
He hated feeling so alone, every time he went out into public. Even though he had many friends, he still felt alone. Like he was missing something in his life.
He put his head in his hoofs and sighed again.
"Hey are you okay Zoarin."
Zoarin looked up from his hoofs and looked at the pony in front of him.
"Oh hey cotton, I'm fine just need to eat."
Cotton was a old friend of his. She was a kind pony, with a white coat and violet mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a hammer with a blue X besides it. He has no idea what it means or how she got it.
"Well then eat. I have never met a pony who would rather starve than eat." She said with a grin.
Zoarin laughed, he loved her sense of humor, "I just ordered my food, now I'm waiting for it to arrive. So how have you been Cotton, I haven't seen you for a while."
She slide into his booth and smiled, "Oh well, you know, places. I've mostly been in a small town called Ponyville. The ponies there are nice and outgoing. Unlike the ponies here."
"Sounds like a nice place." Zoarin said while looking at the counter, waiting for his food.
"It is, you should visit it sometime."
Zoarin looked from the counter to her, "You know I don't travel unless it will help me with my training."
"Well Zoarin, there are plenty of open sky to train in, and Cloudsdale is close by."
"You had me on the open skies, but you know I don't do well with clouds."
Cotton smiled, "You know that the Wonderbolts HQ is in Cloudsdale, right?"
Zoarin looked back to the counter, "I've seen them before, and I have hungout with them all before. I can join anytime I want, but I fly alone now."
Cotton let out a sigh and glanced around the restaurant. Then she smirked and looked back at him.
"Also while I was there, I met that Pegasus who beat you last year. You know the one with the rainbow colored mane and tail."
His eyes went wide and he looked at her, "Wait, she lives there. Whats her name."
"Rainbow Dash I believe."
Zoarin sat back and thought,"So that's her name, ummm fits her. Cute."
Just then Judy arrived with his flower sandwich and sat it down in front of him, "There you go Zoarin, enjoy."
Zoarin picked it up and took a bit out of it. He loved the taste of those flower sandwiches, and he was always deep in thought while he ate them.
"So Zoarin, are you going to go to Ponyville to meet her." Said Cotton with a small grin on her face.
He continued to chew his food and said between bites, "Well I guess..... I could go and... check her out to.... see how good she really is."
"Oh Zoarin, put down your food and talk clearly for once." Cotton said while laughing.
Zoarin put down the sandwich and continued, "I need to know how she was able to bet me, and how she was able to do that sonic rainboom."
She looked at him, "I though you could do a move just like that, didn't you call it the Sonic Zoarboom."
He looked away, "Uhhh yea, but like I told you the last time I performed it. I don't want to show it off like I'm better than everypony else."
"But Zoarin, you are better at flying than every other Pegasus. You need to drop your modest act and niceness for a while. Be your own pony for once, don't worry about what others think of you."
Zoarin thought about this for a minute, "Well she does have a point, how else could I prove that I'm the best if I don't even show off my best move."
"Sorry Zoarin but I have to get going, I need to go finish unpacking. Nice seeing you again, I'll come over some time."
"Okay, I need to get home anyway, I need to do a little cleaning."
She smiled at him, "You mean packing, I can tell you want to go to Ponyville to met this Rainbow Dash."
He looked at her and smiled, "You know me to well."
"Well duh, how else could I be your friend if i didn't know what you were like."
He shook his head and laughed a little, "Only you would know this much about me after so long apart. You should come over before I leave."
"Will do Zoarin. I'll come over tomorrow afternoon. See ya later." She said while turning to walk away.
Zoarin looked down at his flower sandwich and smiled. He picked it up and took the final bit. He stood up and walked over to the counter.
"Thanks Judy for the meal, here's the bits I owe you." He said while placing two bits on the counter.
"No problem, come again Zoarin."
He walked out the door and headed across the street to his apartment. He had to get ready for his trip to Ponyville and to the Pegasus who had beat him a year before.
|
Kickass222urmom
|
1076
| 2 |
Adventure,Romance
|
Nothing Else But The Best
|
Zoarin seeks out the best flier to Challenge to a race and to see who really is the best.
|
hiatus
| 23 | 6 |
<p>Zoarin is a competitive flyer, he thrives to be the best flyer in all of Equestria. But one Pegasus stands in his way. Can he beat her and prove hes the best, or will he be second best for the rest of his life. Can he get the pony he loves to love him back?<br />(I am done with this story for a while, I need to finish my others first.)</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2011-09-30T00:19:03+00:00
| 822 |
Chapter 2
Zoarin sat on the edge of his bed, looking down at the floor. He had packed his satchel with a few things he may need.
He sighed and fell back onto his bed. What was he suppose to do once he met Rainbow Dash. He couldn't just walk up and challenge her.
What if he lost again. He may be good but she is way better. She can do a Sonic Rainboom when ever she wants to. He could only do it if he was lucky, but he failed most of the time.
He sat up and stood up. He put his satchel on his back and started towards the door.
"I'll just figure that out once I get there." He said to himself before walking out the door and into the afternoon sun.
He looked around, a few of the ponies was out and about. He walked down the street, trying to decide if he should fly all the way there or just walk there.
He stretched out his wings, it would be a lot faster to fly there.
He jumped up and flew up a little, just above the buildings. He looked to the west, where Ponyville was. This was going to be a boring trip.
One hour later
Zoarin landed on the outskirts of Ponyville, he had never been here before.
The town wasn't as big as he had thought it would be. He had pictured a huge town with buildings every where. Instead he saw a small town with buildings close together.
He walked to the edge of the town and looked around at all the happy ponies walking around and talking.
"Cotton was right, the ponies here are more outgoing and friendlier than the ones back in Manehattan." Zoarin said to himself.
"Who are you talking to you crazy pony?" Said a very cheerful voice.
Zoarin turned around to see a pink pony with a big fluffy mane and tail. She was hopping up and down in place with a huge smile on her face.
"Umm, nopony. Just talking to my self." Zoarin said getting a bit worried. Nopony should be this happy.
"I know what you need. You need a party. Owww it could have games, dancing, and everything else. It will be the best party ever. Everypony will be there. Wait, I don't even know your name, mine is Pinkie Pie, what is yours." She said with almost impossible speed.
Zoarin looked at her puzzled, all he had heard was something about a party and something about pie. He took a step back from the bouncing pony, and looked around nervously. "Umm no I don't really want to go to a party, I'm here on business."
Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and frowned, "What do you mean you don't want to go to the party. Are you loco in the coco or something." But then the smile returned, just as fast as it had left, "Owww I know, your just shy about it, like my friend Fluttershy. She is the shiest pony I've ever seen, but she's also the sweetest pony I've met. You should met her, I think you two will get along."
Zoarin back away farther, what is wrong with this pony. "Oh hey look at the time, I'm late for, uhhh something. So I to go now before I lose my mind."
He jumped up in the air and flew up onto a cloud. He may not like clouds, but anything is better than listening to that pony.
He looked down to see that the pink pony was still talking, like he was still there. He slumped back onto the cloud and rubbed his eyes with his hoofs. "I hope not everypony here is like that, I can't live with that kind of torture."
"So as I was saying, you should really come to Sugar Cube Corner tonight. It will be fun, with games, food, dancing and everypony to talk to."
Zoarin jumped at the sound of the pink ponies voice, he looked around and saw her pop up through the cloud for a second then fall back through it.
He looked down to see that she was jumping on a trampoline to get to where he was.
"So are you going to come or not."
Zoarin sighed loudly and flew to the ground.
She jumped off the trampoline and hoped over to him. "So are you, uhh uhh uhh."
Zoarin rolled his eyes, "Sure why not."
She jumped high and let out a excited squeal, "YAY! I'll go set it up, oh this is going to be the best party ever."
She started to bounce away towards the town. Zoarin let out a sigh, at least she's gone now.
He started to walk towards the town. Everything here is so lively and happy. It made Zoarin wish he had never came to this little town. He couldn't take all this colorful surroundings for long, or the way to happy ponies. He like the city, where everypony would just keep to them selves and not bother anypony else.
Maybe he should just go visit his friend Soarin in Cloudsdale. They could just fly around for a while, he may see Rainbow Dash there.
He stopped walking and looked around. Where was he suppose to stay or sleep, he hadn't thought about that. Well it's either ground or cloud, but either way, he was sleeping out side. Let's go with cloud, that way I'm away from all the other ponies.
He looked around, all the ponies were still going about like they where before. He looked around and saw a forest, perfect. He could go there and put his stuff in a tree so nopony will find it.
He walked over to a tall tree and flew up to the top, he placed his satchel behind some of the leaves and then descended to the ground.
Time to head to Cloudsdale. He jumped up and headed in the direction of the city in the sky.
Five minutes later
Zoarin was flying above the tree line, looking at the scenery. This place may be different from the city, but it had a beautiful landscape.
As he was taking in his surroundings, a Pegasus flew past him at high speed. He looked closer to see that the Pegasus had a rainbow colored mane and tail.
"Rainbow Dash.."
He picked up speed and flew up next to her.
She looked over at him and gave a grin. Then she shoot ahead at a almost impossible speed.
So she wants to race, that was easier than he had thought it would be.
Zoarin picked up his speed again, matching hers. He looked over to see that she was still looking at him, "You think your fast. Well try and keep up with me."
Zoarin smiled a little, "Oh don't you worry about me, I think you will have trouble keeping up with me."
Her grin went to a laugh, "What ever flycolt. Lets see how fast you really are."
She sped up and was way ahead of Zoarin.
He wasn't going to be laughed at, not this time. He pushed him self to keep up with her, he was having trouble.
She picked up even more speed. How was this even possible, no Pegasus should be this fast. She headed straight up, and Zoarin knew what she was about to do.
She looked down and yelled, "You ready to lose your mind. Watch this."
Zoarin was getting a little angry, he had always thought he was the fastest Pegasus alive.
She went straight up and stopped, she looked down at Zoarin still trying to catch up. Once he was beside her, she smiled and looked down. "Ever heard of a Sonic Rainboom, I'm the only pony to ever do one. Nopony else has ever been able to do it but me. Now watch as I, Rainbow Dash, perform a Sonic Rainboom."
She angled her self downwards and flew straight down. Zoarin was now furious, she was to argent and confident.
He let out a loud yell of rage and plunged downward till he was next to her and matching her speed.
She looked at him and yelled, "Well well, looks like little flycolt here wants to play with the big fillies. Well lets just see how bad you can get hurt."
Zoarin was getting madder and madder by the second and her boasting wasn't helping calm him down. When he became this mad, he was likely to do dangerous things.
He pushed him self to his limit and she was still next to him. He could feel the pressure of a Sonic Zoarboom forming around him and her.
Rainbow Dash looked at him surprised, but then focused back on her own Sonic Rainboom.
Within seconds the two created a Sonic Rainboom/Zoarboom at the same time. The sky was filled with multiple colors and lighting bolts. Everything in the surrounding area was cast in a series of colors.
Zoarin looked behind him, he was surprised he was actually able to do it this time. He pulled up till he was heading straight ahead.
Once they both stopped, he looked over to Rainbow Dash to see that her mouth hung open in surprise.
"You were able to perform a Sonic Rainboom or what ever you call yours."
Zoarin looked around then back at her, with a proud smile on his face, "Well I guess I did, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it this time."
Rainbow Dash shook her head and held out her hoof, "Well it's nice to meet another great flier, my names Rainbow Dash, as you may already know."
Zoarin held out his hoof and shook her hoof, "My names Zoarin, I actually came here to see you. I wanted to prove I was the best flier in all of Equestria, but as I have found out. You are the best, I was having trouble keeping up with you in the beginning."
She laughed at this,"Well I would put you at second best. Nopony is better than me."
Zoarin laughed,"Yea, I guess I can live with being second best. There's no way I'll beat you."
Rainbow Dash smiled, "If you don't have a place to stay, you can stay at my house. It's a nice cloud mansion right outside of Ponyville."
Zoarin looked at her worried. He had not expected this.
|
Kickass222urmom
|
1076
| 3 |
Adventure,Romance
|
Nothing Else But The Best
|
Zoarin seeks out the best flier to Challenge to a race and to see who really is the best.
|
hiatus
| 23 | 6 |
<p>Zoarin is a competitive flyer, he thrives to be the best flyer in all of Equestria. But one Pegasus stands in his way. Can he beat her and prove hes the best, or will he be second best for the rest of his life. Can he get the pony he loves to love him back?<br />(I am done with this story for a while, I need to finish my others first.)</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2011-10-01T04:07:43+00:00
| 938 |
Chapter 3
"So do you want to stay at my place. I have plenty of room for you." Said Rainbow Dash with a smirk on her face.
Zoarin looked around nervously. What should he do? He could probably stay at her place, but he didn't like that idea, or he could sleep on a cloud.
"Uhh, I don't know. I was planning to sleep on a cloud. Uhh but thanks for the offer." He said with a nervous voice.
"My voice is better than just a cloud. I have a spare room that you can stay in." She said still with a smirk.
Zoarin was getting worried and more nervous. He hadn't expected this when he had came here. He had thought she would just laugh at him and leave.
He looked at her nervously, "Well, I prefer sleeping outside. Your a nice pony and all, but I want to just, ummm sleep outside on a nice cloud.
Her smirk grew bigger, "Oh well, if you don't stay at my place. Your nights outside won't be so restful." She pointed up towards a dark cloud. "If you get what I mean."
Zoarin looked at the cloud, then looked back at her, defeated. "Fine, I'll stay at your house, but only for a few days."
Rainbow Dash's face lite up with excitement, "Good, I knew you would see reason. Now follow me."
She turned around and started to fly towards Ponyville.
Zoarin sighed, "Why me?"
Ten minutes later.
Zoarin landed on the edge of the cloud that supported Rainbow Dash's house.
The house was a beautiful cloud mansion. With a few rainbowfalls around it.
Rainbow Dash walked to the door and opened it. She looked over at Zoarin and motioned for him to enter.
Upon entering her house, Zoarin could see that she wasn't a very neat pony, like himself. Everything was disorganized and there was a few pictures of her with some other ponies.
"Nice place you have here." Zoarin said while still glancing around.
"Thanks. Now I'll show you where you'll be staying." She said while walking towards the stairs.
Zoarin followed behind her, he didn't like this, but he had no other choice.
He followed her up to a room. The room had a single bed and a small desk in the corner. The walls were bare except for a single poster of the Wonderbolts.
"Here's your room, mine is right next to it, if you ever need something." Rainbow Dash said with a smile.
Zoarin walked in and let out a small sigh. This would have to do for now.
He turned around to face Rainbow Dash. "Thanks for the room, but I need to rest. It's been a long day for me, so can you please leave."
She shook her head, "Fine, I'll wake you up in a hour."
"No, just let me sleep till morning or until I wake up." He said a little annoyed.
She frowned and slowly closed the door.
Zoarin jumped backwards on to the bed and yawned.
He lay there for thirty minutes trying to sleep, when the door flew open and Rainbow Dash walked into the room.
Zoarin looked up and groaned.
"What do you want." He said with a little anger in his voice.
"I was in town and ran into somepony. I need you to come to town with me."
Zoarin sighed loudly and sat up, "Why?"
"It's very important come on, if you don't then you won't be getting any sleep for a while." She said with a smirk.
Zoarin looked down, "Why me?" He looked up at her. "Okay, let's just get this over with."
Fifteen minutes later.
They landed near a building that looked like a bakery.
Zoarin looked around, there was nopony around. He looked over to Rainbow Dash, who was walking towards the door to the bakery.
She turned around and smiled, "Come on."
Zoarin reluctantly followed behind her, "What do you need me for."
"You'll see, now go in the door. I'll be behind you." She said with a weird smile.
He walked into the building, just wanting to just go back to his room.
"SURPRISE!"
Zoarin jumped back in surprise and looked around at all the ponies in the room. There was streams all around the room and a banner that said, "Welcome to Ponyville, Zoarin."
Why did they throw a party for him just because he had just came to town. This was just to weird for him. He started to back up, but Rainbow Dash nudged him forward into the room.
The pink pony from earlier came trotting out of the crowd of ponies towards him.
"Hey there you silly colt. Where you surprised huh huh, oh I know you was surprised. Who wouldn't be." She said with an excited voice.
Zoarin looked around nervously, "Uhh I guess it's a nice party but I have to go."
He turned to leave when the pink pony appeared in front of him, "You can't leave, the party just started silly head. Now go enjoy the party, talk to some of the ponies here. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!"
He jumped back with her last words, why did she have to yell all the time. She was now the most annoying pony he has ever met.
"Okay, let's just get this over with." He said with a grunt.
"YAY! Now go have..."
"Okay, I get it, have fun." He said getting annoyed again.
She turned around happily and walking into the crowd of ponies.
This was going to be a long night. He walked over to a table with food on it, nothing but snacks and sweets.
Zoarin shook his head, where is the real food. He hated almost all things that was nothing but pure sugar or too sweet. It made him sick to his stomach, how could those ponies eat so much of it.
He turned from the table to see that a few of the ponies was talking and pointing at him. Uhhh, High School all over again.
"You look like your having fun." Said a familiar voice.
Zoarin turned around and his mouth hung open in surprise.
In front of him stood his long time friend, Neutral Star, the last pony he had ever thought he would see here.
She looked almost the same as the last time he had saw her. Her mane and tail was black with a red streak running through them. Her coat was the same color as his, grey. Her cutie mark was a star with wings.
"Neutral Star, what are you doing here. I thought you was training." Said Zoarin, still in shock from her being here.
"I am, I was just passing through when I noticed that banner with your name on it. So I decided to stay and see if it was you, wait what are you doing in a small town such as this one?"
"Oh, I came here to find that Pegasus who had beat us last year. Sadly I lost to her again, but you may have a chance though."
Neutral Star smiled, "Oh Zoarin, you haven't chanced a bit. Still thriving to be the best, even if it means you'll be in the hospital."
He laughed, "And you haven't changed much either, your still trying to be the best also."
She smiled and looked around, "We should go somewhere more private. There's to many ponies here, we can talk more later."
Zoarin looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was talking to a orange pony. "I have a room at a Pegasus's house, come on. We will have more privacy there."
They walked out of the bakery, ignoring the questioning stares from the other ponies.
One hour later.
"So then, once I was above the clouds, I knew I was going to be able to perform the trick. Once I was heading down towards the ground, I forgot to decrease my speed and slammed into the ground. That's how I got this scare."
He showed her a small cut below his right shoulder.
"Wow Zoarin, you are always hurting yourself." She laughed.
They had came back to Rainbow Dash's house and went to his room. They have been talking for an hour, about all the things they've done and ponies they've met.
Zoarin laughed, "Well of course, you know me. It's not a good training season unless I get hurt."
She smiled, "Of course, same with me." She glanced around the room, "I have to tell you something Zoarin."
Zoarin smiled, "What is it Star."
Neutral Star smiled again, "Two things, one is that you really need to have more fun." She pushed him slightly making him fall back on the bed.
He fell onto his back on the bed and started laughing. Then she jumped on top of him and pined his legs don't.
"And two, I've liked you for a long time, and tonight I'm going to show you how I truly feel about you."
Zoarin looked up at her in surprise, "Wait what?"
She leaned down and kissed him.
He was in shock but then slowly returned the kiss.
She pulled her hoofs off his legs and feel down on top of him and whispered in his ear. "Are you ready." She started to nuzzle his neck.
Zoarin looked up at the ceiling, then he rapped his legs around her mid section and whispered, "Yes."
She sat up slightly until her face was inches from his. She smiled down at him and kissed him again. "You ready for this, I bet your too scared to do this." She said laughing.
"Is that a challenge Star, you know I don't turn down challenges." He said with a smile.
"Okay then, let's do this." She said with a smirk on her face.
Zoarin smiled back, he had been waiting for this day for years. He pulled her closer to him, ready to begin.
|
Kickass222urmom
|
1076
| 4 |
Adventure,Romance
|
Nothing Else But The Best
|
Zoarin seeks out the best flier to Challenge to a race and to see who really is the best.
|
hiatus
| 23 | 6 |
<p>Zoarin is a competitive flyer, he thrives to be the best flyer in all of Equestria. But one Pegasus stands in his way. Can he beat her and prove hes the best, or will he be second best for the rest of his life. Can he get the pony he loves to love him back?<br />(I am done with this story for a while, I need to finish my others first.)</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2012-01-29T19:33:19+00:00
| 710 |
Chapter 4
Zoarin opened his eye's slowly and blinked up at the ceiling. He yawned and started to get up, but he was stopped by something attached to him.
He looked down to see that Neutral Star had her hoofs rapped around his mid section, and her head was on his chest.
He smiled to him self, she looked so cute while see slept. He also loved having her rapped around him like this. This is something he had only dreamed off, waking up to Neutral Star laying on him.
He laid his head back on the pillow and started to remember the night before. They had made love for a good three hours before they both passed out on each other. He didn't even know he could do all the things they had done, especially when they where doing it while flying. He didn't even know that was possible.
The night before had been fun, and he hoped to have many more like it. He started to try to get her off him, but she just tighten her grip on him. He sighed, but it was a happy sigh.
Then she started to move and she opened her eyes slowly. She looked up at him and smiled, "Last night was awesome, you were awesome."
Zoarin smiled back, "Hey, you wasn't to bad yourself. I didn't even know you knew all those positions."
"You would be surprised to know how many I know. I've been learning them for you."
He looked at her puzzled, "What do you mean?"
She laughed, "Oh Zoarin, clueless as always. Couldn't you guess that I've liked you all this time, since we met."
It was his turn to laugh, "I didn't catch on I guess, but I'm not the only one. I've liked you since we've met, and you never knew."
She shook her head and laughed, "Well damn, I should have figured that one out."
She leaned up and kissed him.
Zoarin returned the kiss then pulled back slowly, "You do know that I need to get up and stretch right?"
She laughed again, "That's my Zoarin, always needing to walk around.'
She slowly released him from her embrace and let him get up. He walked around for a second then stopped.
"Wait, does this make you my marefriend?" He asked a little confused.
She blushed for the first time, "Oh, well, I guess it does. So that makes you my coltfriend."
He smiled and walked over to her and hugged her.
She returned the hug, "Zoarin, I love you."
Zoarin pulled back shocked, "Star? You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that." He pulled her back into the hug, "I love you too."
She smiled and nuzzled his neck.
They stayed in his room for a few more hours, talking about what they should do, and a few other things.
Four hours later.
Zoarin and Neutral Star were walking down the streets of Ponyville. They were talking and having a good time.
"You mean you broke your wing trying to do a barrel roll." Said Neutral Star trying to hold back a laugh.
"Hey, my wing had been broken the previous month, it was still weak."
She started laugh, "That's my Zoarin, always trying to act tough."
"Who said it was a act." He said smiling.
"Oh Zoarin, I'll have to show you what it means to be tough."
"Your on Star." He said smiling again.
She shook her head and looked over him, "I'll show you next time we go to New Mane."
He laughed, she was always the confident one.
"Come on Zoarin, I want to check out this town before we head to Cloudsdale."
He smiled, but he didn't really want to head to Cloudsdale. Although he would like to see his friend Soarin again.
"Okay, let's hurry this up. For once, I want to go to a city made of clouds."
She laughed, "You still hate clouds? I remember when we went to the Best Young Flyer competition, and it took me forever to get you to land on the cloud."
He laughed nervously, "Oh come on, do you really have to bring that back up, Star."
She smiled, "Yes, you know I love picking on you from time to time."
He smiled, "Don't make me bring back up the time we where in High school, and you and me where trying to..."
"No, no. You win Zoarin, just please don't remind me of that time."
Zoarin smiled, victorious. "I knew that would work, now I think we've seen enough of this town. Lets head up to Cloudsdale now."
"Fine, I'll just end up making you land on the cloud anyway."
"Not this time Star."
Thirty minutes later.
Neutral Star landed on the cloud and turned around to Zoarin. He was floating above the cloud.
"Like I said before, I'm going to have to make you land on this cloud." She said with a grin on her face.
"Oh, well not this time. Watch this." He said while still hovering above the cloud. He dropped down on the cloud, and smiled proudly.
"Well, looks like my little Zoarin is getting braver." She said with a smirk
He shook his head laughing, "You know that I just don't like clouds, I'm not afraid of them."
She put her hoof over his neck, "What ever Zoarin, let's go see your friend. Then we will be going to my friends house."
He smiled, "Okay lets go, just look for a building with Wonderbolts on it."
They walked around for a while before finding a building with the banner that says, "Wonderbolts HQ."
They walked in and Zoarin was able to convince the secretary that he knew Soarin. She let them pass but didn't take her eye's off them.
They walked down the hall, all the doors looked the same. Except for the names above each one.
He looked around and noticed one said Spitfire. He stopped and looked at it.
"Hey, Star. Remember that Pegasus from Flight school, you know the one with the fire like mane."
She stopped and looked at the name plate, "Oh I remember her, me and her had so much fun. Is it okay if i stay here and chat with her?"
"Sure, I'll come get you before I leave."
"Okay, see you soon." She said before walking in the door.
Zoarin continued walking down the hall till he found a door with Soarin's name on it. He walked into the room.
The room was a medium sized room, with a every thing a bedroom and living room would have. There was pie tins here and there and a few more pie's on a table.
Soarin was laying in his bed, half hanging off. He walked over and laughed. He put out his hoof and knocked Soarin out of his bed.
Soarin feel out of the bed and hit the floor. He sat up and groaned, "Spitfire, I though I told you to stop coming into my room and waking me up."
"Well, I do have a mouth on me, but I'm not Spitfire."
Soarin looked over at Zoarin and smiled, "Hey Zoarin, long time no see. What have you been up to."
Zoarin sat down on a chair behind him and looked over at Soarin, "Oh you know. I've been living in Manehattan for the past year, training and stuff."
Soarin stood up and walked over to the table with the pies on it. "I should have known. You do know that you can still join the Wonderbolts, all you have to do is say yes, and I will get you in."
Zoarin smiled, "Not now, like I said last time we met, I'm not much of a team player. The only team I need is me and Star."
Soarin laughed, "You are either the stupidest pony I've met or smartest. Well I don't know about smartest, but still."
"We can go with stupidest pony." Zoarin said while laughing.
Soarin laughed and started eating a pie.
"I see you still eat apple pies. You are addicted to them Soarin."
Soarin laughed again and stopped eating, "Of course I'm addicted to them, who wouldn't be."
Zoarin grinned and looked around the room, "So, I see you still don't have a taste for decorations."
"Your the one to talk, I've seen your place. It is a mess and the walls are plane like mine.'
"True true, but at least I have a marefriend." Zoarin said with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, who might that be Zoarin. Is it that one mare, Cotton?"
"No, it's Neutral Star. You remember her, right? We all went to Flight school together."
"I remember her, I kinda always knew you two would be a couple."
"Now how would you know that, we never even acted like we liked each other."
"That's what you thought, but me and everypony else knew you two liked each other."
Zoarin looked at Soarin, "Oh what ever. Well we all know that you like Sp..."
The door to the room flew open and a Pegasus with a spiky mane walked in. He had a bluish colored mane and tail. He couldn't tell his coats color because he was wearing his Wonderbolt uniform.
"Soarin, we need you in the conference room. We are going to discuss letting that one Pegasus from Ponyville join us."
Soarin sighed and sat up, "Okay, I'm on my way." He turned towards Zoarin, "I'll be back in a hour or two. You should just look around Cloudsdale, it will be a while."
Soarin walked out the door with the other Wonderbolt.
Zoarin stood up and walked towards the door. Now what, there's nothing to do here. This city is as boring as anything.
He walked down towards Spitfires room. He knocked on the door and walked in. Star and Spitfire were sitting down at a table, talking and laughing.
They looked over at Zoarin, who felt a little out of place in a mares room.
"Oh Zoarin, it's so good to see you. How have you been?" Said Spitfire with a nice smile on her face.
"Hey Spitfire, I've been good. Been to the hospital a lot over the past year for broken wings,legs, and bones."
She smiled, "You were right Neutral Star, he still is the same Pegasus from high school. Always looking for a new way to hurt him self."
Zoarin let out a small laugh, "Well, I go because I'm training but that is true. I always end up in the hospital."
Neutral Star smiled, "Zoarin is always trying to..."
The Pegasus that had came and got Soarin walked in and looked over at Spitfire, "Come on Spitfire, its time to start the meeting on letting that Pegasus from Ponyville join the Wonderbolts."
Spitfire sighed, "Okay, I'm on my way. Just let me get on my uniform."
She stood up and walked over to the closet in the back of the room. She opened it to reveal a couple blue uniforms. She picked one out and slipped it on, and started walking towards the door.
Zoarin stepped to the side to let her pass.
"It was nice seeing you again Zoarin. Come back anytime you want." She said when she passed him.
"Will do Spitfire."
She walked out the door and closed it.
Neutral Star stood up and walked over to him. "Now its time to go see my other friend. Come on Zoarin."
She walked out the door, and he followed. This was going to be a long and boring afternoon.
|
LightningRod
|
1080
| 1 |
Gilda,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Unforeseen Circumstances
|
After the Conversion Bureaus opened, people picked sides. But what of those that didn't?
|
incomplete
| 14 | 8 |
<p>1 and a half years after the Conversion Bureaus first opened, everyone has picked a side. But an attempt is made on Celestia's life, by one of her own subjects. Who is this pony? Why does he think Celestia killed him? And what is his story? T for Mild Violence and Language.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-29T03:57:12+00:00
|
2011-11-29T03:57:12+00:00
| 3,172 |
Disclaimer As usual, I do not own My Little Pony, Equestria, The conversion Bureaus and anything else I missed. These are works of their respective owners. But I DO own any and all OC’s that I’ve created. Those that are owned by someone else will be mentioned here.
I gulped nervously.
Have you heard that old human story, the one where 300 Spartan soldiers went up against an army of millions, went up against a man who proclaimed himself a god-ruler? They all died in the end, but they stood up against their enemy, and proved that he could be beaten. Months later, he was driven back to his home, defeated in his campaign.
All because 300 men drew the line. All because 300 men proved that no earthly being can be a god.
Exactly what I’m going to do today.
I’m sitting in a cubicle, hooves tapping nervously on the desk in front of me. A pistol lies next to the computer. I know it’s loaded, I know that it will fire, yet I still get the urge to check it, to pull it apart and make sure everything will work. I know it will. I never went to sleep last night, constantly checking and re-checking the weapon. I want to check it again, but if anyone saw or heard the unicorn magic or its inherent glow, they would wonder what was going on, what someone would need magic for
on this wonderful day.
So I didn’t check it. The gun just sat there, accusing me of what I was going to do. I looked up. Above the edge of my cubicle I could see the flowing blues and green approaching slowly making their way from cubicle to cubicle. Down the hallway I could hear laughter, chatter and the sound of armour against the cheap, plaster walls that make up the thousands of cubicles in the large office.
The royal guards will be cramped against the walls, fitting themselves three wide in a space made for two. They will have little to no space to move, and will have to re-right themselves in order to do anything more active than walking. This I am counting on. It means that any co-ordination they have will be delayed, if only for a few seconds. This gives me the element of surprise. The 300 Spartans I mentioned? They won because they had the advantage; they lost because they lost it. I will have a few seconds to press my advantage. But all I need is one good second, and I will have succeded where 300 men had succeeded once before.
My mission is simple. To kill a god.
The ever-present sparkling hair moved closer. I was growing impatient, still wanting to check the gun. Fear, anger and above all, sorrow, bubbling around inside me.
The hair kept on moving closer, the sounds of chatter and armour growing closer. The emotions bubbling, thoughts turning themselves over, and over again.
I stilled my hooves, and took them off the desk. I got down from the chair planting my hooves on the ground. I reached inside of myself to grasp the magic that all unicorns had. This once amazing, impossible thing that I had come to use for daily chores. This was one, very non-daily chore The hair moved closer still, till it was about 5 cubicles away.
I heard more chatter, more armour.
I took a deep breath, and put my plan into action.
Suddenly I grabbed the gun with my magic and leapt out of the cubicle. While still in the air I moved the pistol’s iron sights between myself and my target, more specifically, my eye, and her face. She was smiling. In my direction. Time stopped for what felt like hours, but what must have been nano-seconds. I screamed out one word, putting all my emotions into it. The anger, the sorrow, the fear, the hopelessness.
“DIE!”
I wrapped my magic around the trigger and pulled.
BLAM, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM,
Click,
Click,
Click,
Click,
Thud
The gun, spent, dropped to the ground. I stared in disbelief; the bullets had simply stopped in mid air, about a meter from my target. They dropped to the ground. She was still smiling, as I drooped to my haunches, knowing I had failed. After their initial shock, the guards rounded on me. The one in lead ran up and turned around, delivering a back-leg buck directly into my face. It would have hurt, but my brain simply didn't want to comprehend anything apart from shock. The other two guards ran up to me as well, and held down my legs.
“We have captured the would be assassin.” One of the guards said.
She smiled and giggled. “Yes, I can see that.” She replied, still smiling.
As I was being held down, one of the guards noticed my tracking ring. It’s a small metal ‘glove’ of sorts, placed around the right fore-hoof of any human ‘ponified’ that is deemed untrustworthy, or that should be watched. Which is exactly what they were doing. They could be used to track anypony wearing one, and could be scanned with a special spell to read who the particular pony was, including name, relatives, and why they were tagged in the first place. Basically, a tracking chip, only much more stylish, and magic.
“Looks like we caught a HLF assassin!” yelled one of the guards, back towards her.
“Oh,” she said, still wearing that grin. Like it was a parade day held in her honour. "In that case, I think he and I should get together for a little chat. After I’m done here, of course.”
“Yes, Your Majesty” Chimed another one of the guards, before I was wrapped in unicorn magic and led away, off to the chariot landing located outside the building where I worked. It was reasonably large, about 200 feet(60m) in diameter.
I was put inside a decent coach, which the guards had acquired, and we took off. It would have been a comfortable experience, were I not trussed up with magic, and lain on the floor, while a unicorn watched over me.
For hours we flew, the guards occasionally swapping over duties. I was then led, blindfolded, through the castle of Canterlot, and into its dungeons. I was lead inside a room, and the blindfold was removed. The walls were stark grey, and a table and two chairs were set up in the middle. A large mirror was set in one side of the room. I checked myself out in the mirror, smiling at the thought of the unfortunate pony stuck behind what was obviously a two-way mirror.
A pony stared back at me. He had grey fur, a few shades darker than the grey of the walls. A yellow, short mane that was dishevelled and sticking up wildly adorned said ponies head, barely covering the short horn on his head. He turned parallel to the mirror, allowing me to glimpse his cutie-mark. A key with three barely noticeable co-centric grey rings extending out from the middle of the patch of skin, ending about where the key did. His tail was cropped short, and was the same yellow as his hair. He sighed and turned back from the mirror.
I approached the table in the middle of the room, and sat down facing the mirror, one fore-hoof supporting my face, while the other tapped at the table.
Not having anything to do, and not having had any rest for several nights, I simply laid my fore-hooves along the table, and fell asleep.
_\!/_
The table shifted slightly, as I was dragged from a fitful sleep. Not realising where I was I reached for my magic to slide my chair out.
‘Must’ve fallen asleep at the desk again.’ I wondered to myself.
Realising that I couldn’t reach my magic, I opened my eyes to take stock of my surroundings. My cubicle had been replaced with a solid room, with a big mirror.
‘That’s nice.’ I thought to myself, as my eyes wandered around the room.
They fell upon another pony, wearing what looked like a lab coat.
‘That’s funny.’ I thought. ‘I didn’t ask to get moved to our lab section. ‘
“Looks like he’s experiencing some of the side effects of the magic blocking, this’ll take just a minute.”
‘Side effects of what now?’ I thought, brain trying to churn through memories and information.
I felt a zap run through my right fore-hoof, and my brain kicked into overdrive, dozens of memories trying to force their way to the front.
I gasped as the realisation hit me. I had tried to, and then I had, so they.
I shuddered as I realised what kind of situation I was in. I had tried to assassinate the head of a country. A goddess made flesh.
Said goddess was now standing in front of me, a look of concern on her face.
“It doesn’t hurt, does it?” she asked.
“No” the pony in the lab coat replied. “Just a little shock from all the information coming through.”
The princess perked up a little at this. “Okay then. So who was he?”
With a sudden jolt, I realised what was going on. I tried to cover up my tracking ring, even though I knew it was futile. I knew that the unicorn’s magic would just slip through and over my attempts to hide it. As it did.
“His name is, well was, John McGraw. He was converted about two months ago. He was put under surveillance due to, hang on.” The unicorn furrowed his brows in concentration. “I can’t get into the reason, it’s probably something high end, but I don’t know, might just be a malfunction.”
“That’s okay Doctor. I’m going to spend some time with him, would you mind?”
“Of course not, your majesty” The doctor said, bowing deeply before retreating out the door.
After the Doctor left, Celestia’s smile broke, and she let out a deep sigh.
She sat down opposite me, across the table, looking straight into my eyes. Or they would be, if I hadn’t dropped my head to stare at the table.
This went on for several minutes, each side daring the other to make the first move. I Gulped nervously and stuttered out.
“H-hello, Cel- Cel- Celestia” I finally stuttered out.
“Hello John.” She said back.
“How h- have you been?” I managed to stutter out again, cursing myself for the lack of courage that I felt. Instead I just felt tired, and afraid.
“Reasonably well, considering one of my best friends tried to shoot me.” She said, a bitter, mocking tone coursing through her voice.
“Best friends?” I asked.
“Best friends!?” I repeated, louder, my voice raising.
“You. Killed. Me!” I yelled, stabbing my hoof at her with every word, as if I could stab her with some sharp, pointy, metal thing.
Celestia was taken aback at this.
“And yet you were the one with the gun.”
It was my turn to be taken aback. I had gone out with every intention of killing her. Then I realised something.
“Where’s my pistol?” I asked, in a small voice.
“It’s been confiscated” She replied. “Locked up in some old dusty archive.”
“Could- Could I get it back?” I asked, meeker still.
Celestia let out a chuckle at this. “Now why ever would you want it back? Thinking of taking another shot, eh?”
At this, I slumped down in my chair, utterly defeated.
Celestia’s voice rang out again, now with a hint of sadness. “Why? John.”
“Because you killed me.” I stated simply.
“And how did I do that?” she asked, her head leaning in closer.
I laughed out loud at this. “How did you, oh lord.”
“Look at me” I said, coming down from the sudden outburst. “I’m a pony”
“And?” Celestia asked.
“I was made into a pony.” I said.
“So?”
“By force.”
“What?” She asked.
“You should know, you gave the order yourself.”
“WHAT!?” She yelled.
“Or at least, that’s what they told me when I was being pumped full of chems.”
Celestia sat back down in her chair, having got out of it in the last outburst.
She tapped her chin with one gold-shod hoof and sighed.
“What happened to you John?” she asked “How did it happen?”
“I wouldn’t know.” I stated “I was knocked out when they did it.”
“I meant the days before that.” She said.
“I was in the Conversion Bureau.”
“Before that.”
“How much before?”
“A Day before you left.”
I sighed in defeat. “Okay then, what do you want me to say?”
“Just tell me everything.”
“Okay then” I Replied.
I turned around to the Security camera, and looked directly at it and stated simply.
“My name is John McGraw, and this is my story.”
|
LightningRod
|
1080
| 2 |
Gilda,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Unforeseen Circumstances
|
After the Conversion Bureaus opened, people picked sides. But what of those that didn't?
|
incomplete
| 14 | 8 |
<p>1 and a half years after the Conversion Bureaus first opened, everyone has picked a side. But an attempt is made on Celestia's life, by one of her own subjects. Who is this pony? Why does he think Celestia killed him? And what is his story? T for Mild Violence and Language.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-29T03:38:14+00:00
|
2011-11-29T03:38:14+00:00
| 2,210 |
An incessant beeping filled the air. John turned over in his sleep and mashed the alarm clock, until he found the ‘off’ button. He yawned and stretched in bed, then rolled out and made his way to the small ensuite connected to his room. He undressed, and took a quick 5 minute shower, before towelling off, pulling on a fresh pair of pants, and moving over to the mirror to shave.
As he looked into the mirror, he came face-to-face with a man he barely recognized. He was thin, not gaunt, but getting close. Well-toned muscles made up his body, with a network of old scars and not-so-old closed wounds along his arms and bare chest. John lathered up his face, and dragged his razor lightly along it, removing the dark brown hair from his chin and upper lip.
After shaving, he exited the small bathroom, and pulled on a white shirt, before pulling a military jacket over it. The jacket was dirty, and from the various patches across it, had seen a lot of duty. It had no badges or tags on it, apart from a red, three-pointed heart on the right shoulder. He trudged over to the dresser, grabbing a pistol off the top of it. The pistol was an old one, a M1911 from WWII. Other models of the same gun, cannibalized to find parts for it, so much so that it was now a Frankenstein, much stronger and durable than the original design. John slid the pistol into a holster on his hip.
He then picked up a photo from the dresser, showing a young woman with dark blonde hair. He kissed it and set it back down. He walked out the door to his apartment, looking back in once, before closing the door, and heading down the stairs next to the entrance to his his room.
John reached the bottom floor, and immediately looked around for the chief engineer, Geoffrey. Every three days, Geoffrey would give John a report on how their colony was going. John spotted the middle-aged man, and made his way over.
Geoffrey was talking to one of the engineers under him, ‘David’ John thought.
Geoffrey gave the David a reassuring pat on the back, who turned around and headed away.
As John approached Geoffrey, the man started making his way over.
“How is everything?” asked John.
“We’re getting low on food,” replied Geoffrey, falling into step with John. “And the generator for floors 3 to 5’s broken some stuff. I’m running the others harder to cover up for it, so I reckon we got a week till everything gets worse.”
“I’ll talk to Rick, see where we can hit next.” John said.
“I’ll write a list of what I need to fix the generator.” Geoffrey said. “But there’s another thing.”
“Oh?”
Geoffrey looked around the crowded lobby and motioned John further towards one of the corners.
“David. I just talked to him, and he wants to be converted.”
“But the nearest conversion Bureau’s a week away? Why does he want to go through the danger?”
“His wife died a week ago. He thinks conversion could have saved her. And it could have. That’s the problem John. People know that opting out is better than what we have here. We lose good people that could be saved every week. We can’t keep this up.”
“I’m no leader Geoff. I just go and get food, that’s it.”
“But you are our leader. You brought all of these people together, many have you to thank for their lives. But by not letting them convert, you’re killing them.”
“We’re the last humans left Geoff, the last good humans. I don’t want us to die out with just those HLF bastards left, we’re better than that.” John growled.
“Then prove it. Guide them again, not everyone will, but those that’ll be a problem will. You’re hitting two birds with one stone. You know we won’t be able to keep going forever, even your wife saw...”
“Don’t bring my wife into this!” John said coldly.
“Relax John. Just go on a run, and think it over. That’s all I’m asking you to do.”
John nodded, deep in thought, and turned around to try and find Rick, the man in charge of their maps and scouting. He would give John a location, a couple square miles, which John and his men would scour for supplies. Some days would bring in enough food to last a week, others, just another conflict with other survivors or the Human Liberation Front.
John wandered around the lobby of the Plaza Hotel. It was the centre of the fort that John and his men had constructed, and it now housed about 1,000 people that had chosen to stay human, rather than turn pony. John checked his PAD, and noted the time, 9:30, trying to figure out where Rick could be at this time.
The PAD (personal assistance device) was a relatively new invention. They had been in development for military use when John was just a little kid, but went civilian a few years after their introduction. They were very similar to Pip-boys from the Fallout series of games that John’s Father had played with him when he was a kid. They were basically a ‘smart phone’ mounted around a person’s wrist. Many had basic functions such as calendars, watches and the ability to call anyone. Military grade ones, like John’s had more functions suited to combat. His included a Two-way radio, a compartment for small blades, as well as the ability to inject adrenaline into John’s wrist. John only had one more of the practically life saving stuff.
There were also more specialised ones, some carried morphine as well as adrenaline, and could be used to quickly perform basic medical diagnostics. Some were made for secret agents and stuff, including a USB cable and a small set of explosives, as well as a lock picking kit. Some of them could even cloak a user, although John doubted such advances had been invented. It could also connect to the Internet, but, as with phones, electricity and water, the companies had shut down, killing access to basic amenities.
Surviving had become a full-time job.
John had started with a simple vision, a safe haven for those who had not chosen a side. He had started with his small squad of men, gathering them up. He had contacted old friends, finding most had chosen a side. John then gathered everyone he could, and led them here, to the Plaza Hotel. He had turned it into a fort, blocking off road access inside the surrounding buildings, then slowly, searching the nearby areas for other survivors. In this, John had been lucky. Many skilled people lived in the area, so many so, that within a month, he had a fully functioning town. About a hundred survivors resided in ‘The Bulwark’ as people had taken to calling it. Within those, John had found military men like himself, a handful of medical trainees, and several engineers. He had wasted no time in getting everything set up.
John rounded the corner, and went through the door leading to the stairs. The elevators had had the power cut, to conserve electricity. John headed up the stairs, through to the un-powered section of the hotel. He found Rick at the top, on his balcony, gazing over the top, with various maps on the table beside him, being weighed down by a laptop. A sniper rifle leaned against the fence enclosing the balcony.
John approached Rick from behind, drawing his pistol, and pointed it towards Ricks head. He kept on walking, closer and closer, trying to not make any sound. John held the gun about a centimetre away from Ricks head and said.
“Gotcha!”
Rick started clapping, and turned around. As he moved towards John, John moved backwards, keeping a safe distance between him and Rick. He knew that the man was fast, and could easily jerk the gun out of his hands and over, into the ant-sized city below.
Rick kept advancing on John, still smiling, his hands forming an L shape next to his body. Suddenly, John felt something poke the back of his neck. He froze. Whatever it was, it stayed there. Rick turned around, keeping Rick in the corner of his eye, but dropped the gun to his side when he saw what had been poking him in the back of the head. John stared down the barrel of the rifle, as if he could wish it away.
“Pressure plate or tripwire?” asked John.
“Hand activated actually. You would have noticed either.” Replied Rick.
Rick and John would constantly have these games, John trying to get Rick before he could net John in one of his home-made traps. They were both getting better, but John had yet to ‘kill’ Rick before he had his head blown off or received a deadly voltage, or, most creatively, been tripped up by squashed cake, then suffocated with a party balloon.
John shook his head.
“Anyways, we need another place to hit.” John said.
“Gimme a sec.” Replied Rick gruffly, moving over to the laptop on the table. He typed for several seconds, then pulled a few of the pieces of paper out from underneath the laptop out. He shuffled into his room, John on his heels.
He walked over to a large that had been pinned to a large table, and pulled out a few pencils and highlighters. He looked at his maps a few more times, typed a few more commands into the laptop, then turned and faced Rick.
“I got a place, we think it has a decent amount of food, and it should have those parts.” Rick said.
“What parts?” John asked, coyly.
“The ones for the generator.” Rick said, one eyebrow raised.
“I have no idea...” John started
“Just let me get this over with.” Rick said, interrupting.
“Fine.”
“Anyways, we saw a couple of Human Liberation Front guys in there a few weeks ago. They weren’t packing much, so my guess is a scouting party. They would’ve left by now, but see if they left anything. A piece of junk to you is a piece of junk I can turn into a nuke, so just bring back anything they left. Unless you are ABSOLUTELY sure it has ABSOLUTELY no value whatsoever.”
“Gotcha”
“Pass us your PAD.”
John took of the leather glove encircling his PAD, and pulled out the touch pad. He passed it to Rick, who took it, and plugged it into his laptop. He stepped back from the laptop, and looked at John.
“So... what’s the happy-haps?” asked Rick.
“The usual. Eating, sleeping, shootin’ at stuff.”
“Daily grind in our empty world. I meant with the ponies.”
“I haven’t heard anything from them.”
“What about the people who want the conversion? What are you gonna do about them?”
John laughed. “You know about that?”
“Of course I do, I don’t live up here for the loneliness.”
John sighed. “I dunno. I don’t want to seem like some kind of tyrant, but, what are they gonna do? Just up and quit on the
human race?”
“We’ve had no chance for decades now, what difference do a few people make?”
“You’ve been there, you know what it’s like, and we can’t be that. Humans have survived everything, including us. This is just a phase, we’ll be back.”
“And then what? We’ll just screw up again. We screwed up the earth too much, it’s not like we can just escape it and travel to the moon.”
“I know, it’s just... we can’t let the last humans left be those HLF bastards, we’re better than that, she has to see that.” John said angrily.
“She has, that’s why she offered us a way out. Humans will live on, but not as humans.”
The laptop beeped, and Rick turned away, pulling the Pad out of his laptop. He handed it to John, who took it with a nod. He headed for the door. As he pulled it open, he heard Rick say from behind him.
“Humans adapt John, it’s what we do. But sometimes, we can’t do it on our own.”
|
LightningRod
|
1080
| 3 |
Gilda,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Unforeseen Circumstances
|
After the Conversion Bureaus opened, people picked sides. But what of those that didn't?
|
incomplete
| 14 | 8 |
<p>1 and a half years after the Conversion Bureaus first opened, everyone has picked a side. But an attempt is made on Celestia's life, by one of her own subjects. Who is this pony? Why does he think Celestia killed him? And what is his story? T for Mild Violence and Language.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-28T23:01:25+00:00
|
2011-11-28T23:01:25+00:00
| 2,601 |
“I have a question.” Celestia cut in.
I sighed. “Go ahead.”
“You say that there were 100 people, and then later you switched to 1000?”
“Hmm.” I thought about this for some time before replying. “Well, there were 100 living in Star Hotel directly, all the people important to the running of it, engineers and most of the military guys. But there were other, smaller communities outside the walls, refugee families we had taken in.”
“Like Canterlot Castle and City?” Celestia Inquired.
“Sounds like an apt description.”
Celestia hmm'd, then spoke up again. "So, if Rick was so good with mechanics, why wasn’t he with the others, helping the generators?”
“Well,” I started. “He was good at making stuff out of junk. I think he once claimed to make a working bear trap out of stuff you’d find in a bathroom. Tooth brushes, flossing string, y’know.”
“But” I continued. “If you told him to fix a generator, he’d just stare at it for a minute, then ask if he could pull it apart to make
a tank. We needed him more for his military knowledge. He was stationed around Star Hotel during the collapse.”
“The collapse?” Inquired Celestia.
“Sure. If you remove people from human society, especially the ones who already have ‘good’ jobs, then eventually, the more questionable people get stronger and ballsy. Rioting, theft, it all got so bad, the military got pulled in. Then, we were just told to leave. No warning, just a ‘You’ve done well, bye now.’ It’s why I was close, and why so many of the people at Star were military.”
“Ok then.” Celestia said. “But what about when you called me?”
“You want this chronologically, or wherever you want it to start?” I grumbled, angrily.
Celestia sighed, a smile on her lips.
“Thank you” I said.
_\!/_
“Is this it?” John asked, checking his PAD.
“Looks like it.” Replied a gruff, short man who was driving the car.
They were looking at a few buildings surrounding a plaza, or, they thought they did. The largest building had it's back to them.
“Alright then lads,” John said, turning on the radio as he did. “We need to clear the area. We’re looking for the usual, food, water, petrol and Ricks junk. We also need...” John looked over the list of mechanical parts for the generator. “Well, If you find anything mechanic-y just bring it back.”
“Let’s get in and get out.”
_\!/_
This was definitely not getting in and out.
John and his men were pinned down under heavy machine gun fire. They were on the corner of a building, a few metres between them and the next building. Metres that were being sprayed by bullets, which would definitely hurt, should someone be as lucky as to get hit.
The HLF hadn’t left, and John was reasonably sure they hadn't been here on a scouting mission.
“What do we do?” Yelled one of John’s team members over the heavy sound of gunfire.
John thought for a second, then pointed at one of his members.
John mimed out actions as the young man watched. The man gripped his gun tighter as John went on, and when he was seemingly finished, nodded.
John held up a finger, the used it to pull the pin out of a grenade.
He held up a second finger, and tossed the grenade around the corner.
He held up a third, and the machine gun fire stopped as the gunners presumably ducked for cover.
With this, the young man lept round the corner, his finger squeezing the life out of the trigger on the gun. The light machine gun in his hand exploded into a orchestra comprised of gunpowder exploding and bullets richocheting.
John pulled his arm down towards the other building yelling out. “GO!”
The rest of his team ran around the young man, some taking potshots at the now hiding machine gunners, others tossing grenades they had readied. John went around the corner and slapped the top of the young man’s gun lightly. He then sprinted towards the sandbags the machine gunners were hiding behind, flicking the safety off his gun. Grenades exploded seconds before he got there, and before the HLF could recover, he lept on top of them, as time, for John, slowed. and he took careful aim with his gun.
Within seconds, the clip was empty, and the HLF were dead.
John reloaded, then turned and jogged back towards his men. The young man, his first time in a fight, just stood there gawking at the apparent inhuman speed that John possessed, mixed with the adrenaline of being shot at and shooting at another human being. He keeled over, vomiting the remains of his small breakfast. Some of John’s team gave him congratulatory and/or reassuring slaps on the back, while others moved past John to haul the bodies back to the van that they had brought with them.
John turned around and saw the heavy encampments they had just torn through, and the courtyard full of technical equipment, guns, military rations, and ammunition beyond that.
“Scouting mission my ass.”
_\!/_
The rest of the scavenge went quickly. The men John had hand-trained were suited to urban combat, and were well rehearsed with the hows on clearing enemies out of a building. All-in-all, it took them about three hours to scour the entire place. John had a quick scan over what they had collected.
“About three weeks food. Good work guys.” The soldiers beamed at this.
“Parts that we need?” John asked, turning one of the soldiers.
“We’re still missing a few parts.” Said one of them. “But they’re just small parts that we can probably find in the depot. Besides that, we have a bunch of stuff that’ll help with other things that need upgradin’.
“As well as...” John’s eyes glanced over the rest of the stuff. “Guns and... that, other stuff Rick wanted.”
“Well, anyways. Let’s get this loaded up and shipped back to home!” John yelled, moving back into his sergeant voice.
_\!/_
The trip home was, boring, to be honest. After having you adrenaline going for so long, just sitting there seems drab and dull in comparison to the rush of risking your life, man after man, room after room. Every man killed, one more man, losing the fight.
They got out about a mile from the Hotel, and spent an hour unloading and burying bodies. The young man that had stepped up to fire at the machine gunners was exempt. Everyone agreed that he’d had enough for the day. Burying bodies was a hard experience. It’s easy enough to shoot someone, but looking at their face, wondering what they did before it all...
That was the definition of hell. Not the fight, thinking about it later.
_\!/_
They had stopped again, a few of the men wanted to stretch their legs, get rid of the cramped feeling. The young recruit stood by John, watching as the men moved around the trucks and cars, swapping jokes and cigarettes.
“Sir...” The young recruit said.
“No reason to be formal” Said John, still keeping an eye out. “You only need to call me that when we’re fighting.”
“Well, um...” the young man said, glancing up at the grizzled, statuesque man next to him.
“What’s your name?” asked John.
“Daniel sir.” The recruit replied, his voice unsteady.
“Well Daniel,” John turned to face him. “My name's John, so you can stop with the sir stuff.”
“Well, John. I was just wondering, why you didn't... you know, convert.”
John sighed. “Why should I have?”
“I’m not saying that you should have, but, why didn’t you?”
“Well, why didn’t you?”
“I wanted to finish up my studies.”
John let out a laugh. “You stayed behind, to go to school?”
“Yea...” Daniel said. “But it was kinda hard when the professors all left.”
John laughed even harder at this, drawing the attention of some of the other men. Daniel let a smile grace his lips for a second.
“What did you study?” John asked, after he had gotten over his laughing fit.
“Psychology. Top of my class too.”
“Well, Doctor, why don’t you tell me why I didn’t convert?”
“Change.” Replied Daniel. “No-one likes change, but I think you like it even less.”
“How’d you know?”
“You carry a gun made in the twentieth century, you haven’t changed your hairstyle once since I got here, you have the same breakfast and dinner every day, and you didn’t get converted.”
“Well now,” John said. “That doesn’t mean I hate change, and I haven’t changed my hairstyle caus’ I like the style, and ‘cmon, toast and baked beans is the best breakfast ever. And Pineapple's the only sweet thing we have left.”
“You still didn’t get converted.”
“Daniel.”
“Yea?”
“You’re smart, you’re talented, so why are you wasting your time not being a pony? I wasn’t cut out to be one, I just shoot things. You change stuff, get rid of all the fucked up shit that happens to people. All I do is create that shit.”
“John, you’ve managed to pull together people in a wasteland. People are alive because of you. People are working together in a world where everything went to shit. All ‘caus of you.”
John was silent at this, before smiling.
“You know, you remind me of my father. He was a psychologist too, one of the first to convert as well. My brother went with him. I have no family left, did you know? No-one that I can relate to.” His smile dropped.
Daniel replied calmly. “Everyone lost someone, but we can adapt John. We’ll get through this.”
Daniel started towards the other men, leaving John behind.
_\!/_
The convoy was spotted about a kilometre out, and the men Jon had left on duty started move the heavy barricades that had been placed around the Plaza. They nodded at John, and he in return. Some smiled, others saw more, and were worried.
The convoy trawled through the roads, the buildings on either side filled with families enjoying canned food, and each other’s presence. The convoy rolled through the main gateway, and they slowed to a stop.
John left the cabin, and started moving towards Star Hotel. He glanced over his shoulder, and yelled back.
“Steven!”
“Yea?” came a shouted reply.
“Sort all this, will ya?”
“Sure Sir!”
John continued on his trek towards the Hotel, a somber sight for anyone looking. Head down and hands in pockets, he entered the lobby, and started up the stairs to his room.
_\!/_
It had been hours. John simply sat the desk, staring into the monitor.
He had made up his mind.
“She’s probably not even awake at this hour.” It was mid-afternoon, and John doubted that she needed sleep anyway.
“They’re all gone anyway.” He wouldn’t know till he tried.
“She’ll think I’m bat-shit.” Um, hello. Magic. Goddess. Supposed mover of the Sun.
“I don’t wanna...”
His excuses exhausted, John pulled his forearm towards his face.
“Geoff?”
A crackling voice replied through his PAD, “Yea?”
“Do the satellites still link up with Canterlot?”
“They, um, haven’t been moved John. Why?”
“I’m going to fire up the link.”
“Sure thing John.”
“Out.”
“John?”
“Yea?”
“Thanks.”
The radio cut off and a deafening silence filled the room. John hit the ‘on’ button, and the monitor in front of him blinked into life.
Seconds drained, flowing faster than imaginable (or at least they appeared that way to John). A blank, cyan blue screen appeared. John pressed a button on his PAD, and a window popped up. He tapped some more buttons and the window disappeared, replaced with a button. John pressed on his PAD, and an ominous ringing sound resounded throughout his small room.
Another few seconds passed and the ringing stopped. The screen showed a small, rotating hourglass, before it came up with live video, of somepony who definitely wasn’t Celestia.
“Oh it Worked!” said the pony on the other side of the monitor, A deep blue alicorn.
_\!/_
“Um, Hello?” said John, definitely not expecting this turn of events.
“Oh, who’re you!” replied the Alicorn, a massive smile plastered on her face. (John was reasonably sure that Equestria only had Princesses)
John shook his head several times, and snapped back into action. “John McGraw, at your service Milady.”
“Oh, a gentleman, how chivalrous!” The Alicorn swooned in front of the camera mounted to Celestia’s Terminal.
“Just being polite ma’am.” John said, blushing slightly.
“And humble too!” The Alicorn said. “You know, I could get a chariot out to you within a day. We could spend some time together, get to know each other better.”
‘What?’ Thought John, the blush deepening. “Well, um. I’m actually married.”
“Oh, I see how it is.” The Alicorn said, winking and giggling. “You kinky bastard. I like that.”
‘O.k. then.’ Thought John.
"Oh but I haven't introduced myself! How unthoughtful! I am Princess Luna. Though you can just call me Luna."
"I guessed."
"And what can I do for you, John."
"Well, I was, um... could you stop that?"
"Stop what?"
"Licking your hoof like that."
"Enjoying it too much?"
John gulped. "Could I speak to Celestia, please?"
"Oh." Luna rolled her eyes. "You're one of those people. What, you don't want to talk to me?"
"No, it's just, I called for her, and you answered."
Luna tapped her hoof on the, whatever was under the monitor. "You people have no flexibility, no fun."
John was getting impatient. "I just want to talk to Celestia for a bit. And why did you answer? I thought this was her private terminal."
"I... Um... Crap."
John sighed. "I don't care, just go get Celestia."
"Ok then!" Luna said, smiling and walking away, perhaps swaying her hips a little more than necessary. John didn't know, he hadn't stared at a pony's flank before.
John collapsed into the chair set up with the desk and sighed, waiting for Luna to get back with Celestia.
_\!/_
John heard the clopping of hooves along the hallway. He stood up again, snapping a neat salute when the doors were pushed open.
In trotted Celestia. Coat white as snow, check. Gaudy gold jewellery, check. Pastel hair on acid, check.
She smiled as she sat down in front of the monitor, as John moved into a more relaxed position, at ease.
"Hello again John."
"Celestia."
"May I ask why you called?"
"Well, um... I, have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Well, some people in my, the colony have started to, uh, question our beliefs."
"Uh-huh."
"So, just so you know... this isn't for me."
"What is it John?"
"Well. I was wondering if what they say is true. About the underground Conversion Bureaus, ones that are still operating."
"Yes, there are a few. Why?"
"Well, there are some in the colony who want to convert, but there are no Conversion Bureaus left, at least, none I know of. If I knew where these underground Bureaus were, we could send them there."
Celestia smiled. "Give me a minute." John nodded, and watched as Celestia moved offscreen. The shuffling of papers sounded through the speakers, and Celestia reappeared, several notes floating next to her.
"Ok then, I believe there is still one operating at..." She checked the papers. "Gravel Bay."
Gravel Bay was a day south by car, an easy weeks worth of walking. It was a small, seaside community, and was one of the first places ponies landed. It was a ghost town now, or so John had heard, and assumed. Just like the rest of the world.
"Ok" said John. "Tell the guys there to get ready. We'll head out the day after tomorrow, get there a week after that. If anything changes, I'll give you a call."
With that, John gave another salute, Celestia mimicking with her hoof. John walked forward to turn off the computer.
"John?" Celestia's voice rang out through the speakers.
"Yes?"
John was very close to the monitor, he could easily see the massive smile Celestia cracked.
"Thank you."
|
LightningRod
|
1080
| 4 |
Gilda,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Unforeseen Circumstances
|
After the Conversion Bureaus opened, people picked sides. But what of those that didn't?
|
incomplete
| 14 | 8 |
<p>1 and a half years after the Conversion Bureaus first opened, everyone has picked a side. But an attempt is made on Celestia's life, by one of her own subjects. Who is this pony? Why does he think Celestia killed him? And what is his story? T for Mild Violence and Language.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-28T23:01:44+00:00
|
2011-11-28T23:01:44+00:00
| 1,792 |
John looked over the amassed crowd. He had gathered almost everyone in and around his 'city' into this courtyard. His engineers had set up a microphone and speakers so everyone could hear him. They had all shuffled in, wondering what could be so important as to collect the entire population for one announcement. Some guessed, some knew. But no-one would know how this day would affect their lives forever.
Everyone was here now, and John could begin.
"Good afternoon everyone. As some of you may have heard, there are underground Conversion Bureaus still in operation. I have come to tell you that this is true."
John paused as cheers and cries went up.
"However, the nearest one is in Gravel Bay, a weeks walk south."
The cheering stopped dead.
"I know that it's been shit for those here, and we have it better than most. I'm not a dictator, so you're free to try your hand at getting down there anytime."
John paused to take a breath. "I'm also not heartless, so once every two months, myself and an armed escort will be going down there and back. Anyone who wishes to tag along is welcome."
"We may also be able to convince them to open up one closer, but don't count on it." John continued.
"We head out tomorrow, anyone wishing to come with us can head over to the armoury, 8am tomorrow."
"Thank you, and please be sure of the choice that you make."
A cheer went up as John left the podium. He received many pats on the back and handshakes as he moved through the crowd, not registering a single one, his mind already far too deep in thought.
_\!/_
"You did a good thing there John."
"Then why do I feel this isn't going to turn out well?"
John turned to the small brown dog laying on the bed next to him. Roxie had been a childhood pet of his. She had been the first time John had experienced death, and she had come to represent... something to him. John didn't really know, except that she was always willing to lend an ear.
"Like the kid said, what was his name. The psychologist one. You're afraid of change. I mean, you're talking to a childhood pet who's been dead for twenty years."
"True that," said John, as Roxie's soothing voice disappeared, and was replaced by a static voice coming through his PAD.
"John?"
Jon sighed, and pressed the activator on his two-way radio.
"Yep?"
"Everyone'll be here in ten minutes, just a reminder."
"Cheers."
_\!/_
John looked over the people standing outside the armoury. There were about 30 in all. Only a few from Plaza Hotel itself. Inside, John was relieved. They wouldn't be losing too many, although he was still... Disappointed? John didn't have a word to describe the bubbling cauldron of emotions going through him at the moment. From anger to confusion to guilt, it seemed like every emotion available to man was tumbling through his head.
"Alright then. As you know, Gravel Bay is a week away. The scavenge teams need all the cars we have to work, so we'll be hoofing it."
"We don't know what's down that way, so we need to be prepared for anything. Everyone will have to carry a weeks worth of food, as well as a firearm, whatever valuables you're bringing, and clothes. Ponies are naked most if the time, so dint bother bringing your favourite sweater. You should be carrying about twenty percent of your body weight. If you want to bring more, convince someone else to cart your junk. Keep in between the military guys, and if you're told to do something, do it. Any questions?"
No-one raised their hands.
"Good."
The next thirty minutes were spent handing out rations, water and guns. Then everyone was given another thirty minutes to pack what they hadn't already.
John went over the trained men. He had taken nine in all. He and three others would keep watch to the front, with two at the back and on each side. They would walk each day, taking stops every hour. At the end of the night, they would seek shelter in the nearest safe building, then continue on the next day. Simple, and with plenty of room for improvisation.
The time went quickly, John's men checking their weapons, food and packs. John went over the map with Rick, tracing the path again and again, cementing it in his mind.
They would travel south along a highway for four days, then move onto main roads for the three days. In the middle of the last day, they would reach the Conversion Bureau. John had heard that it took a week to get settled in, so he and his men would stay there for two, maybe three days. After that, they would head back the opposite way, and do the same thing after two months.
While there, John would be able to find out more about the Conversion. As well as finding out whether they would be able to set up shop closer to home. This trip was one of discovery; a voyage into the unknown, to change the known world.
"Alright then, Let's head out!"
_\!/_
John's team had been walking for three days non-stop. The plan so far was working, and nothing had gone wrong. But then again, nothing ever really goes to plan.
John squinted through the midday sunlight. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there hadn't been for some time. Some people had guzzled all their water in the first few days, and it was pure luck that houses in the area still had water in their tanks. Though that certainly wouldn't continue in the future.
'Yet another thing we need.' though John. Over the last few days he had collected a reasonably large list of ways to improve the hotel and the town beyond. The continuous drudge; one foot in front of another gave John plenty of time to think. Thinking about the town he had created kept his mind off of other, more unpleasant matters.
Like what those black dots on the horizon were.
John's brain instantly went into overdrive, as he yelled out to the people around him.
"Something's on the horizon!"
All was quiet. The group of people standing still, stunned. John looked around quickly, taking note of a nearby gas station.
"Quick! Everybody head for the gas station!"
The group moved towards the gas station. There were cars left abandoned out front, and the store was devoid of anything. The collection of men, women and children moved into the main building, crouching behind aisles, tables, and whatever else they could use to shield the view of them. Everyone was silent.
Static burst through John's PAD, before a voice rung out.
"Yo! You the guys heading for Gravel Bay? We're your escort."
A sigh of relief washed through the crowd, before John waved downwards.
"Anyone got a pair of Binoculars?" He asked, turning around to face the crowd.
A pair was passed forward through the crowd, and John walked into the front of the store, placing the binoculars against his eyes.
The dots on the Horizon had gotten closer in the minute that had gone by since John had seen them. Through the binoculars, John could make out that... wait. What the hell were those?
John pulled the binoculars down from his eyes, blinked several times, then brought them up again.
What the hell were Griffons doing here?
_\!/_
The strange creatures landed on the road outside the gas station. There were four in all. All wearing vests and carrying guns. The one at the front was smaller than the other two flanking it, and had a purple tint to the end of her, hair-feathers. John assumed it was the leader. The one to it's left was the largest, and was wearing a ridiculous amount of metal. He also had a PAD on the end of one fore-leg. The one to the lead's right was wearing goggles, carried only a pistol, and also had a PAD on one leg. The last Griffon was behind the one with goggles, and was the smallest of them all, though it carried by far the biggest gun.
The leader stepped forward, and spoke in a boy-ish, but obviously girl voice.
"'Sup? This is Lead Wing." She pointed at the griffon covered in metal. "Oz." She pointed to the Griffon at the back with the massive gun. "Sparks." She pointed to the griffon wearing goggles.
"And I'm Gilda. We're your escort."
|
LightningRod
|
1080
| 5 |
Gilda,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Unforeseen Circumstances
|
After the Conversion Bureaus opened, people picked sides. But what of those that didn't?
|
incomplete
| 14 | 8 |
<p>1 and a half years after the Conversion Bureaus first opened, everyone has picked a side. But an attempt is made on Celestia's life, by one of her own subjects. Who is this pony? Why does he think Celestia killed him? And what is his story? T for Mild Violence and Language.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-06T23:54:16+00:00
|
2011-12-06T23:54:16+00:00
| 1,856 |
The griffons fell in with the humans. John was next to Gilda, and her squadmates surrounded the group. The group continued on for a few more hours, before John called a halt. They took up residence in a mall, spread throughout. They lit fires, cooked and ate.
John found himself sitting next to the griffon leader, Gilda, who was tucking into a tin of condensed meat. "So, why are you all helping us then?" John asked Gilda, as she finished off the can.
"Well, we're way better guards then any pony, seeing as how we can shoot." Gilda flexed her claws. "The only ponies that can shoot your or our guns are the 'corns, and they wouldn't be able to get here fast enough."
"What kind of gun is that anyway?" John asked, pointing at the two side-arms strapped onto Gilda's torso.
"You'd probebly call them SMG's." Gilda pulled out the gun on her left side. "This is Tooth." She replaced it and pulled out the gun on her right. "And this is Claw."
"Very original." John commented.
"Yea, well they get the job done. What about yours?" She pointed to the assault rifle sitting next to John.
John laughed. "Naw, this is just a random rifle I picked up from storage."
"What about that?" Gilda pointed at the pistol in the holster on John's belt.
"Well, theres a long and boring story 'bout that."
Gilda laughed. "Stories about guns? They're the best kind."
"Well," John noticed the other people around the fire leaning in closer, incuding the other three griffons.
"Um, well," he turned to face the group. "This gun was originally held by my great-grandfather. He got it in World War Two."
"So he was an officer then?" One of the humans asks.
"Yea, one of the highest ranking ones. On the German side. He took it off an American officer that he killed."
John continued. "According to the 'Family Legend' he was a major player in every battle except those in Egypt."
"Why's that?" one of the griffons asked. Sparks, John thought he had been named as.
"Hated the heat. Said he couldn't breathe in it."
"How is that even..."
"I don't know." John stated, cutting in. "I'm only telling the story. Could be true. Maybe my granddad liked his whisky too much."
This raised a chuckle from more than one person, John included.
"At the end of the war, he fled Germany, and moved to England. He lived there for sixty years, then joined up with another force, British SAS, in order to redeem himself."
"Sixty? How do you live that long?" someone raised.
"Hell if I know. He was probably just a consultant or something. Anywho, since he couldn't have kids, after that, he adopted my grandfather. He got this gun when he moved away. Emigrated right here, and we've lived here ever since."
He continued. "We've passed it down the family ever since. Dad never had a chance to use it. He hated violence. He never shot it once, and as soon as I joined the army, he passed it down to me. My Brother was the same as my dad, became a scientist. So there wasn't really any competition for it."
"Has it got a name?" Asked Oz.
John Laughed. "Doesn't need one. According to my grandfather, his dad only ever used it on two Germans. His commanding officer from World War Two when he was in the SAS, and the big man himself. Hitler."
"Bullshit." Said one of the humans.
"No kidding. At least that's what's said. Could be some truth in it, could be lies." John shrugged. "Anyways, what about you guys," he said, turning to the griffons. "What stake do you have?"
Gilda smiled. "Like I said, We can shoot, and we can fly. It's a winning combination."
"Yea." John said. "But how do you get those guns? And the PADs?"
Oz piped up. "Most of us bought these."
John Smiled. "Those are military grade though. You don't just buy those off the streets. And if I'm not mistaken, yours," He pointed at Sparks. "Is a Black Tier PAD, complete with all the stuff that you 'stole' from the government. Am I right?"
Sparks, who had been quiet all this time, jumped at this. "Wha..."
"So," John went on. "Either you guys are in with the HLF, or you kill wandering Humans."
He pulled out his pistol and leapt at Gilda, shoving it under her beak and angling it towards the back of her head.
John smiled as Gilda struggled, trying to get something free. The other Griffins pulled out their assorted weaponary, and pointed them at John.
"You're crazy, you know that?" Gilda shouted in Johns face.
John laughed. "Crazy? No... Overprotective maybe. So, which one is it? 'Cause if you're working with the HLF, i'm going to have to keep you alive."
"Oi!" yelled a voice from behind John.
He turned around, noticing that it had come from the griffon Oz.
"These are all ours from before the conversion. Y'Know, when we became Griffons."
With this distraction, Gilda got a claw free, John had enough time to look down before her clenched talon smashed into the side of his head. John fell off Gilda, clenching his pistol tight, as he rolled a few metres away.
John looked at Gilda, as she looked at him. They held eachother in a staring match for the ages, the friction of the moment could have burnt brighter than Celestias sun.
The tension broke, as John started laughing loudly.
He got up, and walked over to where Gilda was still on the ground. He bent down slightly and offered his hand to her.
"Well aren't you the gentleman." Gilda remarked, as she grabbed into John's hand, squeezing slightly more than was most likely necessary.
John shrugged as he pulled her up to her feet, and then moved his hand away, and sat down.
Activity around the other fires resumed, as people realised the fight was over.
He sat back down, closer to the fire, and turned to Oz.
"What do you mean, 'became Griffons?'" He asked.
"We all went through the conversion."
"Griffon conversions?" John asked, looking at Gilda.
"Sure. What, you think conversion is only for ponies? Some people enjoy having hands."
"Are you a convert?" asked John.
Gilda laughed. "Nah, but the rest of my squad is. I was born griffon baby, and proud of it."
John nodded, taking all this into account. "Oh, and, sorry about, y'know, threatening your life and all."
Gilda laughed and stated simply. "It's no problem. If something threatened my guys I'd probably want it dead too."
She looked John dead in the eyes. "You aren't threatening us. Are you?"
It was John's turn to let out a laugh. "No, I'm all threatened up."
Gilda smiled. "Good. Now, as interesting as tonight's been, Me and my crew are gonna get some rest. We still got a coupla days before we hit the Bureau. And we've been flying for aaaaaaaaaaaages." Gilda punctuated this by sweeping a talon from one side of her face to the other, in a rainbow sort of way.
John nodded at the leaving group of griffons. Turning back towards his men.
"Charlie, Shaun, You're on guard duty for tonight. Ben and Jordan, you replace them after their shift.
He turned to everyone, addressing them as a large group. "Only a few more days guys. Then you'll be out."
Most cheered, yet John couldn't help but still feel anxiety at the coming day. There was so much that could go wrong.
_\!/_
The humans packed up and moved out at the same time as they always did. The griffons joined them further along the road, falling in the same way they had yesterday. Tensions, for whatever reason, between the Griffons and Humans had dissapeared almost completely, and the two races mingled freely. The humans asked about their new lives, what it was like in Equestria, what the Conversion proces was like, and other things. The griffons wanted to know about what had been going on in the human world. Which countries had collapsed, which leaders had resigned, and the general state of the human world.
Gilda, who had taken up walking next to John, had taken up a conversation with the soldier on the other side of her. John was able to listen in rather easily.
"So... what's it like being a griffon?' The soldier asked, still keeping his eyes ahead,
"Well, Its better than being a pony, for sure. I mean, It's nice that they're doing it, but it's too random. Some people enjoy being able to pick stuff up, and theres only a one-in-three chance of that happening in a pony conversion. Besides that, we've basically got the abilities of all the ponies, so really, you win everytime with our conversion."
"Huh." The soldier said, as he continued walking, now distracted by thoughts of conversion.
John mentally slapped himself as the Griffon's agenda came into clear view for him. They were attempting to attract others into conversion. He started to form a plan in his head. "Tomorrow, We'll set off earlier than normal, and stick to the underground, where they won't...' Johns thoughts died in his head.
'What am I thinking? I can't control these people. Goddam it.' John mentally slapped himself again, before returning his eyes to the road ahead looking for any signs of threat.
_\!/_
The group had stopped for lunch, when a static voice broke out from somewhere inside the crowd.
"Yea, just saw them moving up... They've got an armed convoy, nothing we can't deal with..." total silence rung throughout the people, as they all looked at Sparks, who was close to the middle of the spread out assortion. "Yea, those Griffons from yesterday are with 'em... Who cares? We'll kill the griffons and sign up the rest. They're obviously being forced into this."
The static ended, as everyone in the room looked around. Everyone had stopped where they were, everyone was silent.
A voice raised up. "So what do we do?"
John stood up on a piece of debris, shouting out. "It's okay everyone. We'll find a way around. Just stay calm, me and my men will find a safe path." John motioned for his men to follow, and nodded in Gilda's direction, signalling for her to follow.
Once they got outside and a decent distance away, John turned to the Griffons.
"What the fuck was that? Is this some kind of Joke?" John yelled, practically screaming in Gilda's face.
"You see me laughing?" Gilda asks, pushing John back with a talon.
John takes the push, and turns away, pacing. "Okay, okay." He points at Sparks. "How far can that thing pick up signals?"
Sparks shrugs. "A long way, though by the static, I'd say on the edges."
John paced some more. "Did any of you see these guys?"
In turn, all of the griffins shake their heads.
"So we don't know where they are, but we know they know we're coming." John put his face into his hands. "At least we have that."
He sat down on a nearby, rolled over trash can, and started.
"We need to know where they are. Then, we need to find a way around it. "
With a plan in his head, John relaxed.
"Ok. So. We'll keep the civilians here for the day, under guard of course. Then move foreward, sweeping for them. Once we've found 'em, we'll come back, and find a way around. Ok? Ok."
John got up, and started to move back inside. "Hopefully," he said over his shoulder. "It won't screw up."
'Like everything else I do.'
|
LightningRod
|
1080
| 6 |
Gilda,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Alternate Universe,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Conversion Bureau: Unforeseen Circumstances
|
After the Conversion Bureaus opened, people picked sides. But what of those that didn't?
|
incomplete
| 14 | 8 |
<p>1 and a half years after the Conversion Bureaus first opened, everyone has picked a side. But an attempt is made on Celestia's life, by one of her own subjects. Who is this pony? Why does he think Celestia killed him? And what is his story? T for Mild Violence and Language.</p>
|
teen
|
2013-10-10T01:23:55+00:00
|
2013-10-10T01:25:01+00:00
| 668 |
John had a plan. He felt much better with a plan.
It was simple really. Avoid conflict as much as possible. The HLF wasn't evil as such, but they were a threat to the people that he was looking after. Let alone one of the premier Gryphon squads, who John wasn't on a particularly good relationship with. Allowing them to come to harm probably wasn't going to smooth over relationships with Celestia and Luna.
The plan was simple. Scout, map, avoid. Easy enough, although the fact that they had no clue where the HLF actually were was not helping. They had a rough estimate of where the HLF were, but they weren't too sure. They could have already passed the detachment, if not for the fact that the HLF had seen the gryphons flying overhead. The gryphons who had been walking, if it was called that, back the way they came for the past day.
John walked back into the group of humans, finding the piece of debris again, raising himself up over the crowd. What little murmering there was died off into silence. All eyes turned to John.
"Alright... We've decided upon a course of action. We will split into two teams. All of you will stay here, under the first team. The gryphons, the other team and I will scout ahead and search for the HLF. When we find them, we'll find a way around. We'll come back, and lead you guys through there. After that, we should be straight on to the Conversion Bureau, and all this'll be over. Thank you for staying calm."
John hopped down from the temporary dias, moving through the crowd towards his men.
"Alright." He said when he reached them. "You guys," He pointed at the left half of the men. "Stay here and make sure nothing happens. You," He swept his arm to the right, "Will follow me and the Gryphons."
The first group of men that John had indicated simply nodded and moved back into the crowd, though much more wary then before. The others moved with more purpose. They dispersed, moving out towards where all the packs had been left. They grabbed their own, then moved around the building. They grabbed what they had been eating, gobbling it up as they returned to John, who had simply grabbed his own hiking pack. He hadn't unpacked yet, wanting to see to some of the people that were under his protection. He had learnt through experience seeming cold and distant was not a very good way to lead.
The men fell in behind John as he strode out of the building, slinging his pack as he passed back into the daylight. As his eyes readjusted, he looked back over his shoulder. Past the men, at the Gryphons. They were all following behind the soldiers, carrying their own weapons, as well as a pair of what could be called saddlebags. They were modified to clasp underneath as well as over, holding onto the wearer's hips. Sort of like a satchel, but positioned to be much more comfortable to wear as a quadruped .
The building their group was lunching in got smaller and smaller, before John turned around, motioning for the group to form a circle. His men shuffled into position, splitting in half to have an even number of men on each side of him. The circle widened a little, creating a gap for the gryphons as they too moved in.
"Alright," John started. "As said before, we have no idea where they are, or what they're doing. So we need to find them, without them finding us. If we find them, we mark where they are. Maybe watch them a couple of days to see if they're patrolling or not. We'll figure it out should we find them. If they find us, we run like hell. We don't bring them back here. We try to lose them. If not, we'll send runners back while the rest hold them off. At least we'll have a chance of still getting the civvies through that way."
The humans nodded slightly, casting slightly nervous glances around. But they had to do it. The gryphons were more casual. Gilda nodded slightly, and that seemed to be the voice of the entire squad. Lead Wing made no movement that John could see. Oz shifted her rifle, rolling her shoulders. Sparks seemed to be mostly absorbed in his PAD, but John was sure he had picked up on the plan.
_\!/_
They all walked for several hours, the small party trudging along beside the main roads, trying to keep out of sight of anyone who would be watching for them. The gryphons occasionally sending a pair of themselves ahead to silently search for signs of any other humans. Most times they came back with nothing new, occasionally with word of another civilian group, but not once with word of the HLF.
So they kept on walking, the asphalt burning from weeks of disuse, buildings not yet decayed but empty, lifeless nonetheless. Back at the Hotel, there was none of that feeling. Some buildings weren't in use, but overall it had a much cheerier coat. It had been a home for people who had no home to go back to. And being away for the short amount of time he had been, John was getting homesick.
Strange, that he should long for a place that had once just been a rock to cling to, a place to bunker down and hope, dream of a time where things would be better. Where every day wasn't a struggle to keep everything working, to hold on just a little longer against sickness, decay, malfunction and the silence that hung across the world. The world was changing, with the ponies, the gryphons, the other magical races that had turned up with the solution to humanities problems.
The question was, did humanity have a place in this new world?
John's thinking, deep out of sheer boredom, dropped off suddenly as he was tapped on the shoulder.
He turned, looking down at the gryphon who had just put their claw back on the ground. Oz, it was, if John remembered correctly. He looked at her expectantly, obviously she had a message.
"We found 'em."
By this time, the other soldiers had crowded around. John noticed the other three gryphons, behind Oz. He nodded at them, before looking around. Spotting a small shop nearby, he directed everyone towards it.
The shop had been looted long ago, the windows smashed in and the door hung agape. Though it was doubtful the owner would mind very much. The party gathered inside, forming a rough circle before Sparks walked forward slightly. Everyone's eyes turned to him and he gulped, before starting to speak.
'One of these things, nervous?' John thought, before he mentally slapped himself, returning his attention to the small gryphon speaking.
"We've found where the HLF have set up. I-it's not too far from here, just by the road. Th- they're staying quiet, it was only by luck we caught one taking a p-" The Gryphon halted, blushing slightly.
Several chuckles ran through the group, not helping Sparks' embarrassment. "Everyone quiet up." John muttered, spinning around to give everyone a 'shut up and let him speak' look, before turning back to Sparks and nodding for him to continue.
Sparks nodded back, beginning again. "Well, it's a small apartment building. Lots of windows and balconies, plenty of points for them to spot us coming, though they're watching the ground, not the skies. It looks like they've got a lot of fire-power, judging by what we could spot scattered around."
John nodded, taking in what Sparks had said. "Well, what are we doing to get around them?"
"Getting around would be hard." Oz said, speaking up. "Especially with a group as large as yours. They could also have scouts and the like out. Hell, we could've been spotted by a scout while we were casing the place, and for all we know, they're marching here right now."
John rubbed at his mouth with the back of a hand, thinking, dropping his hand and turning his options over and over in his head. "Could you carry everyone over?" He asked, looking to Gilda.
Gilda simply shrugged, her shoulders looking half-comical as she did. "We could, but it'd take forever. Plus, one of 'em sees us..." She lifted a talon up, making a small pistol with it and miming firing it. "Blam, one less Gryphon, one less Human."
"So what, go through them then?" John asked, rubbing his hands together. "We have no idea how many there are, what they have..." He looked around at the group. "Is there no other way around? Now that we know where they are, we can go back and around." He said, grinning slightly.
Gilda simply shook her head. "Everything around's been blocked off or collapsed. We can try sneaking by at night, but that's the best we can do short of popping everyone in there."
John sighed, mulling his choices over. He didn't trust the grypons, at least, not entirely. But he didn't have much of a choice. Going around wasn't an option, they'd have to clear the place.
Sparks cut through the small silence. "We could always blow their base up, and get uh, everyone past when it's um, done." He offered, looking between the two distinct groups.
Silence reigned again, as everyone thought. "We don't have any explosives." One person brought up.
Lead Wing, who John hadn't heard talk once, simply opened on of his bags. It hid the ground with a dull thud, some white material in plastic hitting the tiled floor of the shop. "C4." The Gryphon said, his voice deep and booming. Certainly matched his shining attire.
"Well, how the hell do we get it in there?" Another voice piped up. No-one really questioned why a mystical talking creature was carrying around C4, but everyone had seen weirder things in their time.
"We'll fly it in." Gilda stated, as if it was as obvious as Lead Wing. "We blow it, while you're getting everyone past. You hit anyone outside, and get everyone else up."
More silence prevailed. John was... well, it was a solid plan, and the best they had. Besides shooting the place up. "We'll do it." He said, looking over the men. "Just make sure it's a big enough boom."
_\!/_
Hours passed. The soldiers headed back, while the Gryphon's stayed behind. John caught a glimpse of maps being handed out through the Gryphons, before they left the small shop and trudged home. It was dark when they came back to the store, the moon shining overhead. Fuller then John would have liked, but better then... well, nothing would have been better, but nonetheless. The Gryphons had donned a dark blue-grey, tight full-body suits. Their size was the only thing that stood them apart, besides their PADs. They all looked at John, most of them turning back while Gilda moved up to him.
"We'll keep in touch. Might be best you start walking now, 'cuz we'll be there and back in no time." She said. "Gravel Bay's not too far. Should get there by morning if you can handle the pace."
John wasn't sure. They were well-fed enough, but no-one besides the soldiers were hikers. Still, the further they got from the HLF, the better. John nodded.
"Alright, let's go."
He headed back out to everyone outside, the Gryphons following behind and quickly taking flight. How their rather large bodies managed it, he wouldn't know, but they soared off down the road. The group of humans followed after them. Exhausted from the journey, but hopeful. Their journey had almost come to an end. All the fighting, the wars, it was all over soon. It was something John wanted, but he couldn't. Not while people depended on him.
The large hotel the Gryphons had described came into view, some time later. It didn't stand out particularly, the windows were darkened and dirty with months of neglect. If it hadn't been pointed out, John would have never guessed that anyone resided there currently. Of course, it was a smart place to set up. It gave a good view of the surrounding area, and you could easily hide plenty of men and equipment inside, away from the windows. If it wasn't too badly damaged, maybe they could set up an outpost here later on, much closer to the Conversion Bureau.
John's thoughts came to a crashing halt as a voice crackled through the radio.
"Blowing in Three, Two, One-"
The night lit up, impossibly bright. The air glazed, froze over, and then broke as wave after wave of deafening noise pounded against his ears. The Hotel was ablaze, groaning and shrieking barely registering over the sound of the explosion. Where the hell had they been carrying all that?
Several figures shot out of the building, near the top. They would have been invisible, but the glow from the hotel lit up the background so that they stood against it. The figures dived, heading for John's group. He should be steady, but his hands shook a little, gripping his rifle. By God that was loud.
The Gryphons landed in front of him, Gilda at the head, with Oz and Lead Wing behind. John frowned.
"Where's the last one?" He asked. Another voice crackled through the radios present.
"Uh, g-guys? I'm uh... just a little trapped." Everyone turned to the Hotel. John raised his binoculars. Against the bright glow, another dark speck, behind a window.
"Where's he at?" A voice rung out. Oz, John Guessed.
John quickly made the measurements. He had spotted for snipers before, and he assumed with the giant gun, well...
"Four from the top, five from the le-"
Another sound rang out, the crack of a bullet firing. The glass shattered. The black figure fell out. Another sound, air between feathers. One other figure now. Grabbing the first. Flying back.
John had no idea how much time had passed as the two Gryphons touched back on the ground. Gilda had Sparks, who must've been the one left in the window. Sparks was let onto the ground, hacking and coughing. Some of his chest was shiny. Feathers burnt off, the skin underneath cracking slightly. The people in John's party moved back, as a curse rung out from Gilda. John barely heard, adrenaline pounding through him.
"We're gonna hafta split. Shit like this doesn't heal easy for us." Gilda said, looking up at John. "They're all dead or distracted, so you should have an easy shot to the Conversion Bureau." Lead Wing had pulled out a stretcher of some kind, and he and Oz we sliding it underneath a grunting Sparks. "See you around." She finished off, heading back towards their group as they took flight again. And then they were off, the light fading quickly, bringing the group back into the darkness of night.
There were no more obstacles. It was a clear shot. John felt better then he had in years. He might even trust those Gryphons more, whoever the hell they were, anyway.
|
Flutterwhy4
|
1081
| 1 |
Fluttershy,Other,Rainbow Dash,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Sex
|
Summer Flight Camp
|
Rape, Fluttershy x Hoops & Dumb-Bell, Fluttershy x Rainbow Dash
|
complete
| 395 | 63 |
<p>A young, filly Fluttershy is sexually assaulted at summer flight camp in Cloudsdale. Then she makes a new friend in a certain blue pegasus. Very cloppy.</p><p>Based on a scene from Cutie Mark Chronicles.</p>
|
mature
|
2012-04-30T08:48:21+00:00
|
2012-04-30T08:48:21+00:00
| 39,484 |
Summer Flight Camp
By Flutterwhy4
It was summer flight camp. All the young pegasus ponies in Cloudsdale were learning to use their wings. There were daily flight drills, wing exercises, and obstacle courses to bring out the best skills from the young fliers. For most of the pegasi it was a fun time, a time for racing through the clouds, learning cool tricks, and making friends, but for young Fluttershy it was all too much.
Fluttershy was very shy and a weak flyer. Despite the personal attention from her instructors, she could barely hover and she constantly tripped and stumbled on the obstacle courses. It was embarrassing for such a young pony, especially one as sensitive as Fluttershy. She could only look on in awe as the other ponies like Rainbow Dash zoomed by overhead, doing barrel rolls and other acrobatics. It wasn’t that Fluttershy didn’t care about flying; she wanted to be up with her classmates, feeling the air rush past her wings. She wanted the wind in her mane, she wanted to dance with the clouds; it all seemed so majestic, but it wasn’t something that came naturally to her and the more she tried the more she felt embarrassed.
Feeling defeated, Fluttershy strolled away from the others, her head held low. Luckily, she had found a place where she could be alone, it was behind the rainbow waterfalls and not many ponies knew about it. Fluttershy had come here many times before to practice stretching her wings in private and sometimes just to think about things. Today was not a day where she felt like practicing. The yellow pegasus sat her rump down on the soft clouds and watched the rainbow pour down from overhead. It splashed quietly into a pool a short distance away from her. Fluttershy closed her big blue eyes and just listened to the sound. It was relaxing. She imagined what it would be like to be a great flyer like so many of her peers. She pictured herself soaring high above the clouds. She wasn’t interested so much in acrobatic stunts and feats, but she let her mind simulate the feeling of loop-de-looping around a big, puffy Cumulus. The pony sighed at the seeming impossibility of her dream. While Fluttershy was lost in her own imagination, she failed to notice that she was no longer alone.
“Hey there, KLUTZershy!” came a condescending voice. Startled, Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she sprang to her feet. She turned to see whom it was that was intruding on her. Before her stood two young colts from flying camp, Hoops and Dumb-Bell. Oh no, thought Fluttershy; she knew these two; they were never very nice to her and they liked to make her time at camp even worse than it had to be with their teasing and jeering. “You’re never gonna learn to fly by daydreaming! What are you doing back here anyway?” asked the dark brown pegasus. “Umm, well… I… I…” Fluttershy’s face was beet red as she backed away from the boys. Hoops immediately jumped into the air and with a swipe of his wings flew down and landed behind Fluttershy, who bumped into him with a gasp. “Don’t be so scared Fluttershy” said Dumb-Bell who was trotting towards her now. “It’s not gonna kill you to talk to us, ya know.” “Yeah! Stay a while and maybe we can be friends!” chimed Hoops. Fluttershy had no other option.
Fluttershy looked up from beneath her pink mane and saw a grin on Dumb-Bell’s face, not the usual grin he had either… this was different. The look in his eyes was different too, she could tell he had something on his mind, but she was too young to understand what. Dumb-Bell commanded her to sit down; Fluttershy complied hesitantly. Now the two boys were only a foot or so away from her and standing on both sides, locking her in place. What happened next confused Fluttershy very much. Hoops lifted up his hoof and ran it through Fluttershy’s long pink mane, meanwhile, Dumb-bell sat down on Fluttershy’s left flank and scooted up close to her. Fluttershy felt very uncomfortable, but at least they weren’t teasing her anymore. Dumb-Bell leaned in and whispered to the young filly “You know, we’ve always thought you were cute.” What was happening? This was so not like these two. “Well, umm… th-thank... you?” whimpered Fluttershy who was getting more uncomfortable by the second, then it happened. Dumb-Bell leaned in and kissed her on the mouth, her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she tried to pull away, but he placed his hooves around her neck and held her in place. Fluttershy kept fighting the boy, but couldn’t budge from his strong grasp. Dumb-Bell opened his mouth and pushed his tongue against her lips, meanwhile Hoops was still standing on her right, now rubbing her back.
Fluttershy blushed harder than she’d ever blushed before as the young colt’s tongue penetrated her lips and began to explore her mouth. She wanted to escape, she wanted to be anywhere else at that moment, even back at the camp stumbling in front of her classmates… she didn’t care anymore. She felt so completely helpless where she was right now. Dumb-Bell kept kissing her for what seemed like an eternity before finally breaking the intimate gesture, a string of saliva still running from his mouth to hers. Fluttershy got up quickly and seized the opportunity to talk “Please… I’m flattered that you, umm… think of me that way, but I don’t want this. I-I’m sorry, I kinda came here to be alone… you see, and I would be grateful if you two would leave… if it’s not too much trouble?” Fluttershy began to back away from the boys again. “Leave?! But we’ve finally got you all to ourselves. You can’t expect us to leave now.” “No, I think we’re going to have some fun together” said the colts, turning to pursue her. Fluttershy flapped her stubby little wings frantically trying to fly away, but the boys cut her off at every turn. She dropped the ground and tried to run, but was tackled by Hoops who landed square on top of her. It was no use, whatever these boys wanted was going to happen. The yellow pony was too weak to get away and too shy to call for help, besides, who would hear her from behind the rainbow waterfalls?
Fluttershy lay on her belly as the colts grouped around her again, this time Hoops stood behind her and Dumb-Bell blocked her from the front. “What do you say Hoops? You want the first turn with her?” “Yeah, thanks bro!” Dumb-Bell towered over Fluttershy and stood on her front hooves, preventing her from getting up. It was now that Fluttershy looked up and noticed something under the colt she had never seen before; his thick black cock had come out of its sheath and was hanging just a short distance from her head. It was smooth and black with a pink spot on the underside and the rough-textured head glistened with precum. Hoops kicked the scared pony in the flank causing her back-end to jump up, her front-hooves still locked in place by Dumb-Bell. Hoops brushed her pink tail aside and admired her features. Her yellow pussy was a sight to behold; it was slightly pink in the middle with two puffy yellow lips. Hoops spat on his hoof and rubbed it into the young filly’s flesh. Fluttershy gasped! It wasn’t as if she’d never played with herself, sometimes she did it right in this very secret spot, but having another pony touch her down there was something completely different. “ NO! Please! Don’t!” said the yellow pony in a panicked, yet polite voice. “No can do Fluttershy, don’t worry so much. Just relax and enjoy yourself” responded Hoops, completely apathetic to her feelings. Hoops bent forward and started tonguing Fluttershy’s cunt, gently at first, but soon he was lapping at her like a dog drinking from its bowl. Fluttershy began to sob as the unwanted pleasure rippled through her. Hoops wasn’t concerned with her pleasure; he was doing this to lubricate her for activities to follow, not to mention he was curious about what a filly’s pussy tasted like.
Dumb-Bell watched as his friend ate the yellow pony out. Both of these colts had erections that could hold up a building at this point. Finally convinced that his victim’s hole was wet enough, Hoops placed his front-hooves on her back and started to hump. Fluttershy felt the young horse’s cockhead bump against her rump and then her thigh as he tried to find his mark, then finally she felt a pressure against her pussylips. With a slow thrust, Hoops entered her and moaned with content. Fluttershy froze at the sensation of hot cockmeat invading her nether regions. Hoops slid only a couple inches in before his cock met a barrier. Unsurprisingly, Fluttershy was a virgin, they all were. Hoops wasn’t about to stop there though and with a great big thrust he tore through the young filly’s hymen sending a bolt of pain up her spine causing her to scream and tears to flow from her eyes. “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHmmm…” Fluttershy’s scream was silenced as Dumb-Bell placed his cockhead to her mouth. The thick, warm colt meat sat on her lip with a hefty weight. Fluttershy stopped screaming as her pain subsided, instead replaced by a hot pleasure as Hoops rocked his cock in and out of her pussy. She tasted the precum that drooled across her mouth, it was salty, but strangely she thought she liked it. Fluttershy wasn’t enjoying this violating act, but she couldn’t tell herself that it wasn’t pleasurable at all.
The happy colt that was mating Fluttershy finally found his rhythm after a minute or two of awkward thrusts. He was in a world of his own; fucking this filly was something he’d dreamed of ever since he first laid eyes on her. Under Dumb-Bell, Fluttershy was still tasting the cockhead that had been shoved up to her mouth. She was helpless to escape and knew they wouldn’t let her go until they had had their fun, so she decided at least she could satisfy her own curiosities in the process. She let her tongue out and slurped at the wet cockhead in front of her, feeling its rough texture with each lick. Then she opened her mouth wider and stuck her tongue out to lick the smooth shaft underneath. “Hey, that’a girl! So you finally decided to enjoy yourself! I never thought I’d see the day!” Fluttershy simply mewed as she wrapped her lips around his burning hot member. Her tears evaporated on her warm cheeks as they filled with cock. Dumb-Bell let go of her front hooves in order to move forward and allow Fluttershy greater access to him. Fluttershy noticed, but didn’t make a move; she simply sat there with her rump in the air being fucked from both sides by the two pegasi she despised the most.
Fluttershy hated herself, but she started to suck on the black horsecock in her mouth, bringing herself to tears once again. Meanwhile, Hoops was still lost in the pleasure. He reared up on his hind legs even more and tried to look down to see his young cock disappearing into the girly flesh. Both he and Dumb-Bell were having a great deal of fun; they looked at each other and raised a hoof to high-five over the quivering body beneath them. “This is AWESOME! Maybe we should call you Sluttershy from now on! Ha!” Fluttershy paused from sucking for a minute, she hated that nickname. So many thoughts filled her head: Was she really a slut? Would they actually call her that in front of the other ponies?? The thought alone made her feel worse than she’d ever felt before, but the pleasure in her loins slowly overpowered her thoughts and she began again with Dumb-Bells cock in her mouth. “Ohhhh, horseapples! I’m getting close!” shouted Hoops as he felt his cock begin to twitch inside the young filly. He slumped over her, letting his hooves fall to her waist. He pressed himself forward as the pleasure built. His balls slapped against Fluttershy’s clit as he buried himself deeper in her, humping faster and faster. Fluttershy didn’t know much about sex or boys in general so she was taken by surprise when the sweaty colt groaned and shot his seed deep inside her. She felt Hoops stop humping and convulse as his cock spasmed, draining itself in her tight, young cunt. She could feel the first few spurts of hot cum as they splashed against her insides, the sensation set off a wave of burning pleasure within her that made her shiver and writhe, her wings fluttering uncontrollably, and her tight pussy clamping down on the young colt milking him of every last drop. Her body was screaming for more, but her mind was swimming in emotions, from shame, to guilt, to excitement, to hatred. She had never been more confused.
Suddenly, Fluttershy felt emptiness in her belly as Hoops stepped down from her, withdrawing his shrinking penis from her in the process. She spit the cock out of her mouth and got up on all fours bringing her head down to look underneath herself. She watched in awe as a string of white, gooey cum fell from her backside and dribbled into the clouds. Fluttershy squeezed her back hooves together and tried to relish in the pleasure that was still lingering in her freshly fucked pussy. Just then she noticed a shadow cast on the clouds behind her. Hoops and Dumb-Bell had traded places. “Here, since you were so good I’ll give you the honor of licking me clean!” said Hoops as he placed his hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulders. His cock glistened with a mixture of his and her juices; it was so shiny she could almost see the reflection of the rainbow waterfalls that were just yards away. Reluctantly she bent her neck and stuck out her tongue to taste the new cock in front of her. “Yeah, that’s it, go on Sluttershy!” Hoops chimed. She didn’t care anymore; she tilted her head to get a better angle on the drooping cock and then slid her tongue up and down its length. She licked underneath the colts sheath and even gave his sweaty balls a quick suck before returning her attention to the cum-drooling head which she took into her mouth. She moaned as she swished the flaccid mass around in her mouth, cleaning it, before releasing it from her lips with a ‘pop’. Then she felt the familiar pleasure in her crotch as Dumb-Bell mounted her.
Dumb-Bell’s cock rubbed against Fluttershy’s clit as it slid up her sopping wet flesh and found her gaping hole with far greater ease than Hoops had had. The yellow filly cooed as she took the full length of her second cock. The colt pushed into her just as his friend had before him and found the very same tight, wet pleasure. Fluttershy pushed back against him trying to get as much of him in as possible… she was lost in the moment. This feeling was better than anything she had experienced, perhaps even better than flying. She hated these boys for doing all of this, but it felt so good. Dumb-Bell fucked her with the force of a full-grown stallion. He was a lot better than Hoops had been, his pacing was better, he was harder, faster, bigger… all these dirty thoughts and more flashed through Fluttershy’s young mind. Her mouth hung open and she closed her eyes as Dumb-Bell rammed his cock into her over and over again. Hoops stood by and watched his friend fuck this timid filly’s brains out. Fluttershy spread her legs and brought her left hoof back underneath herself to stroke her clitoris. Time slowed down and she felt a familiar burning pleasure in her cunt as her orgasm washed over her. Hoops laughed as the pink haired pony collapsed and buried her face in the clouds to muffle her cries of pleasure.
Dumb-Bell took his erection out of Fluttershy and allowed her to roll around in the clouds freely. “Hey, you like that?” he asked. “mmm-hmm” mewed the young pony as she panted and rubbed her clit. “Then I have an idea” said Dumb-Bell stroking his cock with one hoof. “Roll over on your back” he commanded. Fluttershy submitted and rolled over so her hind legs were splayed out giving Dumb-Bell a perfect look at her. It was a terribly unladylike position, but after everything that had happened already that was the last thing on her mind. Dumb-Bell stepped forward and lowered himself down on top of her. His penis found its mark for the second time and glided into Fluttershy. They were now fucking face-to-face. Fluttershy tried to concentrate on the pleasure, but she did not like looking into the face of the boy who was raping her. He was a physically attractive colt with a dark-brown coat and a light-brown, almost grey mane which hung down to his eyes. Still, seeing him towering above her, thrusting back and forth felt wrong. Without slowing his pace he lowered his neck and kissed her again. It still surprised her, even though he had his cock buried deep inside her. She closed her eyes and kissed him back and rocked her haunches against his. They bounced together, locked in passion. Dumb-Bell broke the kiss and started licking her furry neck. Fluttershy, sweating hard and flushed with color, rested her head on the cloud and hugged Dumb-Bell with her hooves. Her pussy clamped down on Dumb-Bell’s cock as she felt her third orgasm wash over her. She moaned and breathed hard as the pleasure completely took over her body. Watching the squirming filly and feeling her pussy tighten up around him sent Dumb-Bell over the edge and he plowed into her one last time before pulling out and shooting his spunk all over her belly and face. A strand of cum splashed against Fluttershy’s cheek and ran down into her mane. She grabbed Dumb-Bells spasming cock with her hooves and masturbated him as he finished.
Dumb-Bell wiped his cock on Fluttershy’s belly to get the large gobs of cum off as his pleasure faded. It had been more awesome than he could have ever imagined, but it was time to get back to flight camp before too many ponies wondered where they were. “Thanks a lot, for all the fun! We’ll see you around Sluttershy!” “Yeah, and maybe you’ll get your cutie mark for being such a good fuck!” The two ponies laughed together and flew off leaving Fluttershy alone once again. Fluttershy lay there panting, her fur sticky with cum, her mane frazzled with sweat. As the pleasure subsided she thought about what had happened and gazed down on her belly. She remembered where she was and why she had come there. Tears rolled down her cheeks one-by-one and she quietly sobbed behind the rainbow waterfalls. How could she ever go back to flight camp knowing those two ponies would be there? She rolled onto her side and covered her watery eyes with her hooves.
Fluttershy cried until the sun started to set and she heard ponies calling her name. The shock of hearing voices worried about her ended her tears and made her sit up straight. She frantically wiped her face, trying to hide the fact that she’d been sobbing, even though she knew she couldn’t. She glanced at her fur which was crusty with cum and tried to rub it into her coat so it would be less apparent. Only when she was satisfied that she didn’t look too bad did she trot out from behind the waterfall and walk back into camp. Several ponies noticed her and told the others that they had found her. Fluttershy slunk back into camp, shyer than before, holding her tail tight to her body to conceal her shame. When she arrived at her cabin Fluttershy locked the door and lay down in bed to try to get some much needed rest.
That night Fluttershy didn’t get much sleep. As she lay under her blanket she ran the events of the previous day through her mind over and over again trying to figure out if there was ever a point at which she could’ve done something different. She wondered if she should ever go back to her secret spot, now that she knew it wasn’t secret anymore. She wondered if Hoops and Dumb-Bell would try to rape her again. The thought terrified her, but having experienced the pleasure of sex for the first time made her think twice. She bit her lip and teared up at the confusing emotions she was now dealing with. Fluttershy lay there and tried to take her mind off of things. She closed her eyes and tried to relax her muscles. After calming down, the young pony drifted off to sleep only to have painful nightmares until morning.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! There came a knock on the door to Fluttershy’s cabin, waking her from her uneasy slumber. It was early in morning, the sun was just about to rise but the sky was still a dark blue and purple. Fluttershy sprang to attention wondering who in Equestria could be knocking on her door at such an hour. Maybe it was the colts, wanting a second round. Fluttershy threw the blankets over her head and tried to hide. Moments later the knocking on her cabin door commenced again, five knocks this time, more impatient than before. “Fluttershy?!?! Are you there???” The yellow pony perked up her ears at the voice which was too feminine to be either Dumb-Bell or Hoops. Reluctantly she decided to answer the door and when she undid the lock and cracked the door open there was a blue filly with a wild rainbow mane standing in front of her. She knew this one, Rainbow Dash was her name, and she was one of the best fliers in her class and the object of Fluttershy’s envy. “Hey there! Can I come in Fluttershy?” This was odd. Rainbow Dash had never really spoken to her before, let alone come looking for her and at such an early hour no less. Fluttershy spoke, her head poking out from behind the door “Ummm… well, c-could I ask what you are doing here??” “I just want to come in and talk… in private. That’s why I came so early” said Rainbow Dash. “Well, okay, I guess you can come in for a little bit” Fluttershy said as she opened the door wider allowing Dash to trot inside. She closed the door behind her and walked back over to her bed to sit down. Dash remained standing.
The two ponies looked at each other in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Dash spoke. “Fluttershy…” She paused for a moment before continuing “…I’m sorry.” Fluttershy listened to the words this pony spoke and after a moment of confusion uttered “Whatever do you mean Rainbow Dash? Why are you sorry?” Dash pawed the floor with her hoof and with her head hanging low looked up at Fluttershy through her rainbow mane. “I know what those guys did to you…” Fluttershy’s stomach dropped and her face lost all of its color. “I know what Hoops and Dumb-Bell did to you behind the rainbow waterfalls. I was flying by and I saw you three out of the corner of my eye. I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do… I should’ve done something, but I...” she stopped as Fluttershy threw the covers of her bed over her head. Dash stepped over to the bed and touched Fluttershy’s shoulder with her hoof. “Hey there…” she tried to comfort the yellow filly. “I just wanted to tell you that if you need a friend, I’m your pony. I promise as long as I’m around those jerks won’t bother you anymore… and I’m sorry for everything.” Fluttershy uncovered her face which was stained with tears. Instinctively, Fluttershy reached out and hugged Rainbow Dash who hugged her back. This was the first pony she had felt a true connection with; maybe it was her tattered emotional state or maybe it was something else, but Fluttershy felt a genuine feeling of friendship as she hugged Rainbow Dash.
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Dash. Fluttershy was about to say no and send Rainbow Dash on her way when she decided it might actually help make her feel better to talk to someone supportive. She started talking about how she hated those colts, how poorly they treated her, how it all happened so suddenly. The two ponies spoke in the solitude of Fluttershy’s cabin as the sun started to rise, bathing the clouds in its warm glow. Rainbow Dash, now sitting on the bed beside Fluttershy and rubbing her back listened while the distraught pony confessed her feelings. Fluttershy did most of the talking, telling Rainbow Dash perhaps more than she should have considering how new their friendship was. She just felt safe with Dash, she felt like Dash would never hurt her. “… and the worst part is… I kind of enjoyed it; does that make me a bad pony?” Dash was honored to be the one Fluttershy was telling all of this to. These were such personal thoughts, and Fluttershy, whom Dash knew to be a very timid filly, was sharing them all with her. It was a very loving trust that had developed between the two in such a short period. “No, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad pony… sex is pleasurable… but it’s more pleasurable when it’s with someone you love… someone you trust.” Dash’s words repeated in Fluttershy’s mind over and over. She looked down at her bed sheets and then shot a glance at the blue filly before returning her gaze downward. Dash thought about her own words too. She stopped rubbing Fluttershy’s back and rubbed her hooves together uncomfortably in front of her.
The cabin grew quiet for what seemed like an eternity. Dash looked at Fluttershy who was still contemplating Dash’s sentence with her head slumped over. Another minute went by and Fluttershy looked up at the blue pony. Their eyes met and the two fillies sat and stared at one another. They both knew what the other was thinking. Dash’s purple eyes sparkled and Fluttershy admired them as she began to lean closer. Dash leaned closer in response and slowly the two ponies came closer and closer. Their cheeks touched and they rested their heads together. Dash rubbed Fluttershy’s chest which was still stained with ejaculate. Fluttershy ran her hoof through Dash’s mane as they sat rubbing cheeks. It was an intimate moment and Fluttershy never wanted it to end. Dash pulled her head back slightly and brought her muzzle to Fluttershy’s for a kiss. Fluttershy had no objections and kissed back. The two ponies lay down on the bed together, still kissing. Their mouths opened in unison and their tongues began to dance a magical dance. The first camp activities of the day wouldn’t begin for at least another hour Dash estimated so she would have plenty of time to be with Fluttershy. The fillies continued making out for a good ten minutes before they broke their passionate kiss. This was spontaneous, but it felt right, to both of them. Dash gazed lovingly upon Fluttershy and asked “Do you want to keep going?” Fluttershy nodded her head immediately.
Dash scooted down the bed until her head was by Fluttershy’s abdomen. She kissed the yellow pony’s belly and tasted her salty fur. It seemed weird to have the tastes of such a despicable act on her lips, but she only cared about Fluttershy at this point and kept moving down, kissing her friend’s abdomen as she lowered herself to her crotch. Fluttershy laid back and opened her legs to give Rainbow Dash access to her. Dash rubbed her hoof into Fluttershy’s pussylips and felt an incredible squishy wetness. Fluttershy was getting really hot. Dash looked up at the yellow pony with a big smile before lowering her mouth and kissing the supple pussylips. She licked them and sucked on them with a gentle passion. Fluttershy blushed as she looked down on Dash with pleasure. Dash blew gently on her clit causing her to shiver at the chilling sensation. Dash was a dedicated lover and she took her time exploring every fold, every inch of Fluttershy’s wet pussy. She held the pink tail aside and gave a long lick across Fluttershy’s tiny asshole before returning her attention to her genitals. The yellow pony was in heaven as Dash skillfully worked her tongue into her folds. She cooed and moaned, her neck felt like spaghetti as she rolled her head from side to side. She reached down and pet Rainbow Dash on the head, encouraging her to keep doing exactly what she was doing. Dash got a little more adventurous and stuck her tongue deep into Fluttershy’s cunt, lapping at her soft, pink insides. Fluttershy’s moans grew louder and louder and she ground her pelvis into Dash’s face. She was going to cum and she was so happy that it was her friend giving her this orgasm. Fluttershy squeeled as Dash buried her tongue as far into her as it would go. The yellow pony wriggled in orgasmic bliss and her wings flapped against the bed as she came. Dash drank the fruits of her labor as Fluttershy’s nectar flowed from her satisfied pussy. Dash loved the taste of her new friend, she hoped this would not be a one-time thing and something in her mind knew it would not. When the juices had stopped flowing and Fluttershy sighed a breath of relief Dash crawled back up beside her and kissed the pony on the mouth. Fluttershy could taste herself on Dash’s lips and it turned her on even more. They giggled and made out for another couple minutes before Fluttershy said “You must allow me to return the favor!”
Dash’s eyes lit up as Fluttershy laid her down and moved to take up a similar position with her head by Dash’s crotch. Dash had seemed like such a natural and Fluttershy worried that she wouldn’t do as good of a job. She wanted nothing more than to satisfy her friend. Without thinking too much about it, Fluttershy leaned in and licked Dash’s inner thighs. She knew that it felt twice as good if there was a bit of teasing beforehand, to get worked up. She circled Dash’s mound with her tongue and Dash brushed Fluttershy’s mane back so she could she her whole face as she ate her out. Dash had never been so horny in her life and her pussy was like a raging inferno waiting to be extinguished by Fluttershy’s saliva. Fluttershy stopped and admired the blue filly’s pussy. Her lips were parted naturally and her inner labia hung out a little bit, her clit was engorged and her hole glistened with dew. Fluttershy was getting impatient herself and she started tonguing Dash’s lips and nibbling on her clit. “OH yes!!” shouted Dash. “Suck on my clit!” Fluttershy followed her advice. She tasted the blue pony and reveled in the heavy moaning she was causing in her friend. Fluttershy let Dash’s swollen clit fall from her mouth and moved her tongue to part Dash’s lips and taste her inner folds. “OH HORSEAPPLES!! This feels so good Fluttershy!!” Dash was far more talkative and animated while she’s being pleasured than Fluttershy had been. Fluttershy didn’t mind, she enjoyed being encouraged and it made her more confidant. She tilted her head and rammed her tongue into Dash while raising her right hoof to stroke the clitoris. “omigosh-omigosh-omigosh!!!” Dash squeeled as the pink haired pony slurped at her cunt. Fluttershy kept rubbing Dash’s clit while she worked her tongue in and out of her pussy hole like a piston. She could get used to this, it was the perfect relationship. She didn’t think she was a lesbian, but she would gladly keep this up with Dash for as long as the two of them wanted. Eventually Fluttershy hoped to meet a nice stallion, her prince charming, but that wouldn’t be until she was much older and right now she had needs. “F-F-FLUTTERSHY YOU’RE AMAZING!!!” Dash cried as her pleasure boiled inside her loins. Fluttershy blushed and kept digging her tongue into her friend, circling the walls of Dash’s hot, wet pussy. Dash squirmed and bucked and flapped her wings as she got closer and closer to pure bliss. Fluttershy kissed Dash’s clit gently before returning her tongue to her pussyhole. “Omigosh-OMIGOSH!!!! Iiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!” Dash screamed as she ground her backside into Fluttershy’s mouth and locked her head in place with the vice-like grip of her hind legs. Waves of pleasure hit Dash hard and her pussy released its juicy payload right into Fluttershy’s waiting mouth. She swallowed mouthfuls of filly cum as it spewed into her throat. It was almost hard to breathe with her face so tightly buried in Dash’s crotch and her head clamped down between two blue legs, but Fluttershy was happier than she’d been in a long time. “Thank you so much” Dash whispered, releasing her grip on Fluttershy. The yellow pony continued to lick her friend clean, inside and out. Dash’s sensitive pussy felt wonderful.
Dash looked down at Fluttershy who looked back up at her. The sun was now beaming through the windows and the sounds of active ponies could be heard outside. The two fillies lay together cuddling on Fluttershy’s bed which was now soaked with sweat and juices. Dash got up first and walked over to a mirror to adjust her mane and get ready for a day of flying. She knew she would be thinking about this all day. Fluttershy sat up on the bed, completely contented. Dash looked back at her “That was incredible. We should get going though, sounds like everypony is awake.“ She started for the door and as she began to open it she turned and said “I’ll see you. I love you Fluttershy.” With that she swung open the door and let some fresh air into the musty cabin before closing it behind her. Fluttershy lay back down and stared at the ceiling. She licked her lips and smelled the soiled bed covers trying to take all of what had just happened in. She laid there thinking for a few minutes before getting to her feet and looking in the mirror herself. A smile formed on her face as she looked at herself. Fluttershy felt confident and re-invigorated in her desire to learn how to fly, but above all else she knew this was going to be the start of a wonderful friendship.
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BurningQuill
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1082
| 1 |
Main 6,Other,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The Greatest Show Unearthed
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The Mane six end up in the nightmare circus known as CarnEvil.
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incomplete
| 11 | 3 |
<p>When events are consistently identical they can cause a gripping panic when the pattern breaks. Jacob has revisited CarnEvil three times a year every Halloween since he first discovered the legends are true. This time, however, seven ponies, two circus performers, and one broken stage prop shake things up a bit. This time is different, and not everyone's on the same team.</p><p>WARNING: MAY become Mature-rated later for gore.</p><p>(no fan characters of any kind. ALL characters are official characters from My Little Pony, Aero the Acro-bat, and of course, CarnEvil)</p>
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teen
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2012-03-22T12:44:04+00:00
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2012-03-22T12:44:04+00:00
| 1,089 |
Wow! I apologize for that first try!
I hope that's a lesson for everyone else: do NOT upload something without proofreading first!
The first try was full of grammar errors, typos, inconsistencies, and formatting problems. Most notable among those were scene transitions. I had no idea bars I used to indicate a scene change were so faint on fimfiction's display. Without knowing the scenes changed made everything far more confusing than I meant for it to be.
Here's a second try, uploaded with the hope I've found all the problems and corrected them.
From now on, I will mark scene changes using seven asterisks, as shown below.
* * * * * * *
Chapter 1
Enter, Stage Left
A pleasant morning in Greely Valley. The lovely Iowa town was alive with excitement with children swarming from store-to-store, ready to blow their budgets for the season’s festivities. After all, Halloween was only nine days away.
The cool autumn air given a minute edge with the wind characteristic of late October, flowing listlessly through the sleepy town. The trees in the woods surrounding the town were ablaze with an inferno of autumn colors on the deciduous occupants.
A smattering of small cotton clouds decorated an otherwise clear and intense blue sky.
All was happy.
A sedan with a scuffed, dark blue paint job, bent antenna, and worn tires pulled up, taking a space in front of the local grocer and drug store. The driver exited the vehicle and made for the store’s entrance, kicking some wet leaves from his Land of Lincoln license plates.
The door clipped a small bell upon opening, signaling the new arrival with musical chimes. A kindly older gentleman with half-rimmed bifocals, brown slacks, a white shirt with sleeves rolled to the elbow, a green apron and thinning white hair emerged from the back room to investigate.
“How do you do, Jacob!” He greeted heartily. “That time of year again, huh?”
Jacob waved salutations to the old man. Though 24 years old, his big-city upbringing could never dull the attitude of the old grocer, nor could he ever turn a mean shoulder to the hospitality and kindness of the small town residents.
“Same stuff, different year.” Jacob announced happily. “Except this place never gets old.”
“If you were ten years younger and saw this place every day, you’d sing a different tune.” The old man jested. “Going on the usual trip?”
“Of course. Even if the stories are fake, the woods are still creepy.” Jacob explained.
“Heh. I should see you with a camera out here, sometime.”
“Maybe next year. In the mean time.” Jacob drew a small piece of paper. “I’ve got some shopping to do.”
* * * * * * *
The cold stone tower droned with electronics and machinery. The grey stonework clashed with the purple and green metal of the machines, most which had forgotten purposes, even to their creator. Every room of every floor stood veiled in a thick mask of shadow cast from snuffed torches and burnt out lights.
A spotlight shown upon a clearing in the center of the room, void only of completed machines, but still littered with parts and thick puddles of dust.
A figure clad in black, and tall… impossibly tall.
It’s mythically broad shoulders and muscular physique defined a masculine figure, suited in a tight body suit of midnight blue, complete with black metal armor pads covering his knees, elbows, shoulders, and pelvis in a blatant exhibition of his own vanity. His white boots rose halfway up his calves. His face had brought nightmares to many youngsters, with his round, red nose, pure white eyes, solid white face paint, red hair sticking out in a ring around his head, squeezing out beneath a black, circular piece of metal armor covering his scalp. His edged face was thick, but with lack of flesh or fat, and displaying a large, rounded chin and forehead, separated by deep eye sockets and high cheekbones.
The man was a clown, but only barely so, and only on the outside.
His museum of horrors set him high on the skyline and even in the absence of realistically reachable windows and a stage, he knew he perpetually had an audience.
Before the clown stood a frame with a drawn curtain hanging limply from the top panel. The black velvet draped over the opening created by two vertical poles bearing purple and green candy cane twists sticking upward and outward, like a triangle with the bottom point sawn off. The bottom of the frame was secured, anchored to a fixture of three bright red wooden steps. The same three steps descended from the opposite side, making the palindrome design symmetrically redundant.
As the clown loomed, circling and obsessively inspecting his creation, he failed to notice a small red figure sneak with swift silence through a uselessly high window opening.
* * * * * * *
Trixie dug through the old, crowded storeroom, receiving a face full of dust about every three seconds. The light blue-furred, white-maned unicorn was unable to take even one step without bumping into something or wishing for a spa treatment.
Shoving antiques of varying size away to clutter some other portion of the dry, wooden building, she searched, throwing the weight of her body into the relocation, unwilling to kick for fear of ruining her fresh hoof polish.
Impossible. There must be something to use!
In frustration, she screamed out, her horn igniting momentarily, shifting numerous pieces of junk around her.
I don’t care what I have to do, I will find a centerpiece!
Something caught her eye.
She turned to face a tall crate of drab description and color. Nothing logically should have made her notice it; it was equally bland as everything around it, and no visual triggers should have made it stand out. Yet, she saw it, it and nothing else.
Trixie drew closer, her hooves clopping on the creaky wooden floor with every step. She approached, releasing an elated whinny at the faded red circus lettering.
The Greatest Show This Side of Forever!
* * * * * * *
Jacob stumbled out the glass doors, struggling to keep his large paper bags from becoming large paper messes, with groceries thrown in for flavor, of course.
Whoever invented gravity can eat my apple.
Jacob stumbled, losing his footing and his bags. Able to catch one, he watched helplessly as the other…
…was caught mid-fall by an awaiting fan.
“Are you ever going to make two trips?”
Jacob beheld the pretty, blonde, country bombshell known as Betty.
“I just need to grow two more arms.” He chuckled.
“You’ll master space flight before you master your own pride.” She smiled.
Some children ran down the sidewalk toward them, all in costumes.
She still wore that tight and scant shirt with cutoff blue jeans that were barely more than a swimsuit. Her hair tied back in a ponytail was shorter than it usually was, only reaching her shoulders. From the style, Jacob gathered she’d grown tired of assailants grabbing her and was going for something more functional.
Meanwhile Jacob had his blue denim jacket, blue jeans, and black short-sleeved cotton shirt. Sporting a scraggly patch of fresh whiskers and messy short brown hair, he looked almost as generic as a stock protagonist from and early ‘90’s sitcom.
We are so ‘90’s…
“So.” She lowered her voice. “You’re going again?”
“Absolutely.” He responded, also lowering his volume. “Even if the locals think it’s just a legend, it’s too much fun for me not to do it again.”
“You know, at some point he’s going to outsmart you.” She warned. “He’s not going to do the same thing every time”
“He has so far.” Jacob joked. “Old dog, new tricks, you know?”
“Always the showman.” She said, her smile fading.
“Hey, I’m not going to just rot.” He defended. “I was a good kid for eighteen years. I want to live now.”
“You keep bugging him and you won’t live very long!” She stabbed back.
Jacob stopped. She cared, he knew she did.
Why DO I keep doing this?
“The worst thing in life is to waste it.” Jacob said.
Betty coughed out one frustrated but somehow amused laugh.
“What you need is a lobotomy!” She laughed.
“What I need is a scoreboard.”
* * * * * * *
The twisted clown peered through the frame of his curtain, greeted by the rest of the room on the other side.
What could be done with this model? How far could I go?
A maliciously perfect grin gashed his face.
How far will I push it before it breaks!
An inhumanly low chuckle emerged from his armored depths, flowing through the room like spilled oil.
There is no line I cannot cross! No prize that is not mine! I am the greatest performer in the world! I am-
“Ektor!”
The clown stopped, slowly turning to face his intruder who dared to address him in such a disrespectful manner.
“That’s Lord Ektor to you, bat.”
Edgar Ektor beheld the three-foot tall red bat clad in his black performance leotard with the obnoxious golden “A” with red bat wings protruding from the sides. His hands were covered with white gloves and his feet shielded by red boots equipped with golden bat wings affixed to the ankles and stretching backward. His trademark red jacket stretching just past his waist also bore the alphabetical insignia of the performer within a black oval.
Beneath the intruder’s short black hair and giant ears, his green eyes and white fangs stretched into a defiant grimace. He was ready for a fight.
“Aero the Acro-bat” Ektor mused. “To what do I owe this unwelcome annoyance?”
“You have Aerial.” Aero stated bluntly, his eyes never leaving Ektor.
“Aerial… Aerial…” Ektor fumbled with his memory. “Oh yes, the other half of your brother-and-sister act. Whatever makes you think I have anything to do with her disappearance?”
“She disappeared during a five-second blackout in the middle of the routine along with more than half the troupe.” Aero stated harshly. “No one else can pull that off but you.”
“I’m flattered, really-”
“And I broke out all the other performers on the way up, except for Aerial. Which means you’re keeping her somewhere else, likely as a bargaining chip against me.” Aero accused, a haughty air of ‘gotcha’ creeping into his voice. “And now I walk in on you marveling over one of your creations, so you clearly have another plan going on. I may as well foil that one while I’m here.”
Ektor’s eyebrow twitched, the only indication of a murderous fury his synthetic face would allow.
“Aero!”
The feminine voice echoed through the chamber, the many surfaces making it emerge from seemingly everywhere.
“Aerial!” The bat called to his sister.
“You’ll never find her.” Ektor taunted.
“Don’t count on it.”
Aerial dropped from the darkness to land beside her brother, giving a cute bow and striking a pose meant more as an insult than a show.
“How… I…. How… You…” Ektor’s mental clarity obscured, his mind becoming violent.
“I’m not totally helpless, you know.” Came Aerial’s snide reply.
The figurative camel’s back broke.
* * * * * * *
Twilight Sparkle stood beside the front step of the pink, cake-like Sugarcube Corner sweets shop and bakery. The Pegasus weather team had done another fantastic job clearing the skies over Ponyville and the townsponies were all out and about enjoying the warm and beautiful spring sun.
All up and down the even, unpaved streets was pleasant activity in some form or another. Rounded rocks placed at the edges of gardens and grass gave form to the paths through town. The structures all bore similar wooden architecture and color schemes that gave them the look of an old-world gingerbread house which, with the exception of the sweet shop, must have been unintentional.
“Thank you again, Miss Sparkle.” Nurse Redheart said. “I don’t want it to sound like I doubted your skills with magic, but I wanted to check up just to be safe.”
“No offense taken.” Twilight replied happily. “I understand it’s normal procedure, and honestly, I wanted you to, just to make sure I didn’t mess up.”
“Of course you didn’t! You’re the most talented magician in town!” Redheart replied. “Which reminds me, why didn’t you tell us you knew healing magic?”
“Well, to be honest, I’d never practiced before.” Twilight explained. “I’ve put statues back together, but that’s just a shaped stone. Healing deals with living things, and if I messed up, I could seriously hurt somepony.”
“Then I’m just glad you decided to help.” Redheart smiled back. “I have to get back to the hospital. The patients and the staff will always welcome you.”
“You’re welcome again!” Twilight called after Redheart as she started her trek back to the hospital.
Twilight’s head reared back as she enjoyed the Sun’s warming light upon her lavender coat. Her purple mane kept falling just in front of her eyes, persistently annoying the unicorm.
About time for another trim.
“Hello, Twilight.”
The gentle and barely audible greeting broke Twilight from her sun-induced trance.
“Oh! Hello, Fluttershy.” Twilight smiled, returning the greeting. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“It was such a lovely day, I had to get out and enjoy it.” Replied the pink-maned, yellow-furred Pegasus. As shy as she was, Fluttershy had no trouble talking with her friends, unless there was the off-chance they were fighting amongst each other.
“I’m waiting on Pinkie Pie.” Twilight explained. “She’s bringing some snacks for a little outing. Would you like to join us?”
“Oh, I’d be delighted!” Fluttershy answered with about as much enthusiasm as her generally kind and gentle but meek demeanor would permit.
“Perfect! I’ll grab more cupcakes!”
Both ponies jumped with a start as the over-enthusiastic Pinkie Pie stuck her head out of the door’s mail slot to express her spastic delight before withdrawing back into the sweets shop.
“I’ll never get used to her.” Twilight commented, her heart slowing to a calmer rate.
“I’d just like to know how she heard us.” Fluttershy wondered aloud.
“Pinkie Pie is her own law of physics.” Twilight mused. “You’ll never explain that.”
On cue, the pink pony with a pinker mane leapt from the window beside the door and behind Twilight to land on the unpaved but tidy dirt road, laden down with saddlebags that would’ve made even the strong and sturdy Applejack buckle and stumble.
“Who’s up for a party?” She proclaimed with giggly exuberance.
“I don’t think relaxing on a warm day is rowdy enough to be called a ‘party.’” Twilight replied.
“Of course it is, silly!” Pinkie explained. “A Pinkie Party is wherever the Pinkie is partying!”
“I understood that.” Fluttershy said with nervous surprise.
Twilight couldn’t help but laugh. Her friends could always do that for her, brightening even her darkest moods. Even though several of them didn’t always see eye-to-eye and argued or fought in the process, after all was said and done, everyone would always laugh about the conflict later.
“O-ho-ho-okay.” Twilight interrupted, struggling to control her warmly amused laughter. “Le-het’s head to the park.”
Pinkie and Fluttershy both nodded in agreement and the group set off for the park, Pinkie Pie bouncing merrily the entire way.
* * * * * * *
“Spooky Sam’s Ghost Tour will be setting out in ten minutes. There are still open seats on the wagon that can be yours for only fifteen dollars. If you miss this trip, don’t worry! Spooky Sam has trips going all night beginning every hour on the hour. There are ghosts in these woods, and no one knows them better than Spooky Sam!”
The announcement echoed from its speakers over the impromptu theme park. Every year the Wilson farm turned into a homey, rural Disney Land devoted exclusively to the Eve of All Hallows, drawing tourists from all around. Everyone, young and old, came clad in some costume, the more elaborate ones bearing a numbered tag to mark their order in the costume pageant.
Wilson only ever planted warm weather crops freeing many acres for the town’s creepy capers. His barn was transformed into “The Blood Shed,” taking fresh victims in groups of no more than twelve every twenty minutes.
Locals all set up stands and tents where candies, baked goods, knick-knacks, and various gifts could all be found, each with an autumn or Halloween motif or inspiration. The bizarre bazaar arranged in curly rows, like the branches of a weeping willow, that somehow never became cluttered or cramped. The organizing of the hooking lanes could only come from a town that had been putting on the event since before the oldest citizen had been born.
Some years back, the Wilson family even decided to begin investing more money into developing the seasonal attraction, building a house-like structure whose second floor became the horrific headquarters. The first floor filled with merchandise, T-shirts, party favors, and costumes. Like a knothole in the great Halloween willow roads, the wooden house with the fiery orange paint job sat center stage of the entire park, from which the aisles of merchants all sprouted.
The costumes were the major sellers. Not only were the factory-made economy guises available, but for this month-and-a-half, seamstresses, tailors, and dressmakers from Greely Valley and many surrounding towns, all contributed to the collaborative effort of custom costumes. High-quality and made to order, the “Cloth Carvers” made the best costumes in the region and stood devoted to filling the night with monsters of every type and build.
Along the edge of the woods rested tents, benches, and picnic tables, all occupied with people enjoying cups of apple cider.
Beside a painted wooden sign advertising the forays into the woods, at the very edge of a foreboding dirt road, an old truck with a rickety wooden trailer waited.
A heavyset man in his late 30’s with blue plaid flannel shirt, work gloves, and overalls took a long sip of his hot cider before pulling his worn-out jacket over his arms. Ringing a bell, he made his public notice.
“Spooky Sam’s Ghost Tour is headin’ out!” Spooky Sam declared in his down home drawl. “The next trip’s in one hour. Everyone pack up, we’re movin’ out!”
A few couples, thrill seekers, and even some families with children all clamored onto the old dusty trailer, shuffling and shifting to find comfortable seats on the sparse, flattened pillows. The sun just dipped below the horizon and the full moon had begun to steal the stage.
The truck’s engine started and began to draw breath. The wagon departed. The people all found their places, settling in beside Jacob and Betty who sat on the back of the trailer in silence, as they had for the past thirty minutes.
* * * * * * *
The inorganically smooth roar reverberated through the chamber in deafening waves. To the large ears of the two bats, the effect was stabbing and nauseous. Aero forced his eyes open enough to see Ektor look toward his prey and charge forward in a mindless rage.
Aero kicked Aerial behind a what appeared to be a mainframe designed by a colorblind schizophrenic while he drew Ektor’s attention. The act was easier said than done with both hands preoccupied with the auditory onslaught.
Ektor slammed a desk covered with electronics and sent it flying toward the grounded performer. Aero just dodged the desk, but an outdated computer monitor shattered against his upper back, sending him to the cold stone floor.
The maniacal strongman bounded through the cluttered passage, horrifyingly silhouetted by the one lighting fixture in the room’s center.
Can’t get up fast enough!
A gigantic, decorative, and horribly inaccurate metal globe with a garish color scheme struck Ektor in the face, rolling him backward in a kinetic pratfall complete with a cartoonish honking of his bright red nose.
Aero followed the mechanical arm holding the planet as he rose to feet. At the controls, he beheld his sister, smiling mischievously and giving a triumphant thumbs-up. Aero returned the gesture with a proud smile.
A twitch out of the corner of his eye snapped his attention back to the fallen freak show. Ektor hopped onto all-fours and kicked off with a single, frightening leap.
“Aerial! RUN!”
* * * * * * *
Twilight and Fluttershy strolled down the clean dirt street with Pinkie Pie bouncing circles around them.
Literally.
Everyone was out and about, tending to carts and running their errands. A few restaurants had outdoor tables with ponies enjoying a meal in the sun.
The town gardening services made their rounds, caring for the gardens along the front of near every store and even the ones placed around town as small parks.
“Twilight!”
Twilight followed the voice to her left and saw Spike approaching from one of the miniature parks. The young dragon’s purple scales and green spines somehow blended in with the plants and flowers around him. Twilight knew the look of anger on his face, even at that distance.
“Hey Spike.” She greeted. “What’s wrong?”
“The Great and Powerful jerk is back!” He raged.
Twilight needed no further description.
“T-Twi-light?” Fluttershy peeped. “You look… um… angry…”
“Flutter, I think we should…”
“Girls.”
Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy froze where they were, eyes snapping toward Twilight and paralyzed with fear.
“I think we have a show to catch.”
* * * * * * *
“I’m Spooky Sam and I’d like to welcome you on Spooky Sam’s Ghost Tour.”
The truck slowly jostled its way through the narrow path so rough and uneven it could barely be considered a path.
As lively colored as the surrounding woods were, this patch of forest stood defiantly dead. The locals hated coming out here, saying the trees weren’t normal; they were the first to lose their leaves in autumn and the last to gain them in the spring. Their twisted and jagged tendrils wove into a chaotic canopy, blocking out the already darkened sky. Their wood and bark flaked and cracked from dehydration and cold, looking for the world to be permanently dead.
The visibility had dropped to zero. The only hints of where anything was came from the lights of the truck and its attached trailer.
Jacob and Betty exchanged a nervous glance. Both felt it was near.
Both were prepared, more so than usual this time. Both carried backpacks, loaded with essentials and tools, and Betty had taken the opportunity to dress more conservatively, pursuing a more military appearance with red camouflage pants and jacket, black combat boots, and a grey tank top. Her hair was now firmly secured in a looped bun feeding through her black military cap.
Put simply, she knew what was coming.
“On your left you’ll see the tomb of Baron Ludwig von Tökkentäkker, where the legend of Greely Valley all got started.”
Snapping at their mark, both Jacob and Betty hopped silently to the dead ground, crouching so Spooky Sam would not notice their departure. When the truck continued on its way, they crept toward the old wooden fence and gates to the legendary burial ground.
The truck crawled further into the woods, Spooky Sam still going on his spiel.
“You all know the legend of Greely Valley…”
* * * * * * *
The hulking mass of leather, metal, and clown makeup slammed heavily into the tiny Aero, smashing into knots of useless metal instruments. Tiny metal pieces scattered across the floor, filling the cavernous chamber with the tinny rattling.
A sharp, stabbing pain burned in Aero’s lower right back. Ektor’s blind rage was clogging his cognitive abilities, as evidenced by his savage, animalistic growling and slobbering foam pouring from his mouth. The clown lost Aero for a brief moment, just enough time for Aero to scramble out from beneath the showman. Aero stumbled behind another mainframe, pulling a small metal rod from his back. The injury hurt, but seemed to be superficial.
Ektor searched in a roaring frenzy for his victim.
“Hey, Ektor!”
Both Aero and Ektor turned to see Aerial at the step of the curtain frame with a control remote in her hand, tethered to the device with a heavy industrial cable.
“What does this button do?”
* * * * * * *
“Watch and be amazed as the Great and Powerful Trixie shows why she’s great and powerful!”
The obnoxiously third-person pony stood upon her portable stage, deployed intrusively in the center of the town square. A large rectangular object remained covered beside her with a red velvet shroud. A small crowd of ponies gathered around her spectacle, not one smile among them.
Twilight approached, followed closely by Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Weaving her way into the crowd, Twilight found, much to her relief, three more of her closest friends were already present, voicing their disgust.
Rarity, the flashy white unicorn with a deep, royal purple mane looked about ready to charge the stage, her hoof scraping the dirt for the attack. The tough and strong orange earth pony, Applejack, made a half-hearted attempt at keeping her friend from a full-on brawl. The appropriately-named pegasus, Rainbow Dash, with her sky blue coat and rainbow-colored mane and tail, repeatedly flexed her wings as she always did before a show. Rainbow looked only a hair away from becoming a living missile.
Up on stage, Twilight saw herself if she had no restraint and the magical talent of a first-grader. The unicorn’s name was Trixie, a fact she was sure to bring at least twice a sentence. Her coat was a light blue and her mane was pure white, something Rarity had never believed was natural. As if her self-aggrandizing on an elevated platform weren’t enough to thoroughly alienate all who beheld her, she wore a purple cape with white stars and a matching hat of ludicrously large dimensions.
It fit her ego and little else.
Twilight and Trixie locked glares. Twilight was never quick to hate anypony and preferred to find redeeming qualities, but Trixie made it difficult.
“Twilight Sparkle!” said the unwelcome magician.
“Trixie.” Twilight replied.
“Come to witness Trixie's greatness first-hand?” Trixie asked, staring down her nose.
“I’m here to make sure you don’t hurt anypony again.” Twilight accused.
“TRIXIE'S skills are far too great to let any harm come to my fans.” Trixie said. “Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie can fell any beast that should threaten her adoring audience.”
Applejack emitted an indignant snort.
“Oh, I’m sure nopony could forget how well the Great and Powerful Trixie did last time.” Applejack responded, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. “Why she nearly fainted dealing with that Ursa Minor.”
The audience joined in a roaring laughter in support of their local heroine. Trixie seemed affronted, backing up a few shuffled steps as her eyes fluttered about the crowd. Twilight could see the spark of panic in her eyes.
Just back down! I don’t want to humiliate you, but you can’t treat others like this!
Trixie regained her composure with an added edge.
“You dare doubt Trixie's strength?” She said. “Trixie will show this whole kingdom what she can do!”
With one violent flash of her horn, the cloth was flung from the object, revealing a purple and green magic box with a candy cane swirl pattern along the edges of the front opening.
“Has Trixie got a show for you!”
* * * * * * *
Jacob and Betty ignited their flashlights, flooding the choked, smothered clearing with light. As the thick ink of the darkness receded, the two saw the tombstones, sticking up at odd angles like crooked teeth.
Except one.
One tombstone stood straight. One tombstone was evenly and expertly cut and crafted. One tombstone was eerily, unnaturally clean, spotless even.
It towered above the smaller monuments with its straight edges, perfect lettering, and flowery carving imitating drawn stage curtains.
Jacob cast his light on the stone, illuminating the identity of its occupant: Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker. At the top of the headstone rested the sallow skull of a jester whose mouth was agape in a knife-toothed, screaming smile with a single vertical slot in its mouth.
Lowering his flashlight, Jacob reached for the small stone bowl at the tombstone’s base and lifted the large golden token into his hand. On it’s face it bore the visage of a wide-mouthed ringmaster and decorative words:
ADMIT ONE
* * * * * * *
Ektor bounded forward in a hunched, apelike posture. Aerial’s eyes flew quickly to one point in the room, letting Aero know she had a plan. The problem with plans is that anything could unravel them.
Aero dashed around another large hunk of metal with lights, jumping toward a table and leaping upward. Grabbing a hanging cable, the bat swung in a narrow arch, releasing the cord in favor of an antenna. The vertical metal rod was just flexible enough to spring Aero into the darkness above the machines.
Coming down hard on his sister’s assailant, Aero clung to Ektor’s head, punching him repeatedly in the side of the whitened face.
Ektor didn’t notice.
* * * * * * *
Trixie spun the box so everypony could see and inspect her new toy, even lifting it up to expose its base.
“As all of you can plainly see, Trixie hopes.” She said, the insult raising her audience’s temper. “There are no secret compartments. No extra doors. No way out.” Nopony liked the sound of that last line. “Yet, as The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you all, with a mere touch of her glorious horn…”
Trixie’s horn glowed with a blue flame.
Twilight braced herself. Her heart rate increased. Her veins hummed with adrenaline. Her breath became labored and stiff.
This magic feels weird. Something’s wrong!
Trixie’s horn moved closer to the door.
“STOP!”
* * * * * * *
Jacob held the golden disc in his palm. Betty held her breath. So did he.
Righting the coin, Jacob held it vertically and inched it toward Jester’s mouth and the slot just past it’s teeth.
* * * * * * *
Aero continued pounding his fists into Ektor’s head to no avail. The monstrous clown continued toward Aerial and the frame.
Aerial took a running start from the platform, dropping the control and taking off.
If this bastard weren’t moving so much, I could go for a different point!
As it was, Aero’s grip struggled just to stay on his target.
If I let go, I’ll never be able to catch up again before he gets Aerial.
Aerial, true to her name, took off with one powerful beat of her wings and vaulted over a knot of metal pipes and landed on top of an amorphous contraption.
Aero relinquished, rolling into a braced position. Ektor crashed among the mass of pipes and wires and began thrashing to free himself.
Aerial leapt overhead and made for the door, flying over the curtain frame in the center of the room. Taking the hint, Aero stood and sprinted after his sister.
Pipes and other objects began flying past him from behind.
He’s throwing stuff!
It was then that Aero realized when Aerial had dropped the control, the frame had activated. A deep blackness that drew light inward around it was now contained within the borders of the frame.
Aero chanced a glance back.
Ektor slammed into him, taking the tiny bat in one massive hand and continuing in a straight, uninterrupted line like a juggernaut.
They were headed for the curtain.
* * * * * * *
Trixie’s horn ceased to glow as she scanned the crowd. The crowd itself had all turned toward the lone protestor.
Twilight bumped and shoved her way to the front of the crowd in a panic.
“Trixie, please!” she begged. “That magic feels wrong!”
The haughty unicorn on stage scoffed.
“Just because you can’t muster the courage to try this, doesn’t make you any stronger!” Trixie shot back.
“It’s cold and angry.” Twilight said. Her voice was dead serious, her expression a grim plea. “It felt like a pillow was held over your face when you worked with it alone.”
Trixie’s confident smile faltered and she looked nervously at the box.
I’m getting through! Please, please stop this!
Trixie straightened up, her determined glare burned into the crowd.
“I will NOT take second chair to a brainy, little, wimp!”
Trixie’s horn burned with the magical blue blaze.
* * * * * * *
Jacob’s arm crept the last few milimeters toward the coin slot, his arm muscles tensed, ready to withdraw at a moment’s notice.
Come on, you little bastard, I know you wanna…
“Showtime…”
* * * * * * *
Aero writhed and fought, clawing and kicking everywhere he could, vainly trying to break free of the giant’s grip.
All at once, he felt like he was floating through a smothering cloud. In a flash, the curtain disappeared, and the two grappled in an oppressive void.
* * * * * * *
Trixie’s horn swung and stabbed at the wooden box, transferring the fire into the door.
* * * * * * *
The token slipped free and disappeared down the Jester’s throat.
The stone bust’s eyes lit up and its jaw snapped shut.
Jacob pulled his hand back and retreated several dozen feet.
The skull shot into the air with a cackle and a shower of purple and gold sparks.
The carnival had come to town.
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BurningQuill
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1082
| 2 |
Main 6,Other,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The Greatest Show Unearthed
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The Mane six end up in the nightmare circus known as CarnEvil.
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incomplete
| 11 | 3 |
<p>When events are consistently identical they can cause a gripping panic when the pattern breaks. Jacob has revisited CarnEvil three times a year every Halloween since he first discovered the legends are true. This time, however, seven ponies, two circus performers, and one broken stage prop shake things up a bit. This time is different, and not everyone's on the same team.</p><p>WARNING: MAY become Mature-rated later for gore.</p><p>(no fan characters of any kind. ALL characters are official characters from My Little Pony, Aero the Acro-bat, and of course, CarnEvil)</p>
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teen
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2012-04-21T01:17:00+00:00
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2012-04-21T01:17:00+00:00
| 770 |
Chapter 2
Not in Kansas Anymore
The bat and clown continued their tumbling struggle with every fiber, every sinew of their being to subdue the other. Bruises gradually covered more and more of Aero’s body and face while cracks began forming in Ektor’s artificial face at an agonizingly slow rate.
The void, for lack of a better word, was a tornado of colors and sounds; mostly pink and black with a smattering of warm colors here and there, accompanied by a cacophony of indiscernible sounds, always just beyond the reach of definition.
Ektor grabbed Aero’s wrist. Aero spun and delivered a heeled kick to Ektor’s jaw.
Aero couldn’t be bothered to think about how long they’d been like this, or how either would get out. He was far more concerned with the hulking freak trying to smash his skull open.
Through the struggle, Aero caught a glimpse of a strange uneven shape tumbling through with them. Glancing away from Ektor, Aero saw the curtain that brought them here just in time for it to swing hard to the edge of the tunnel and disappear in a flash of yellow.
Well that’s ominous.
WHAM!
Aero took a sharp, hammer-like blow to his cheek, and beheld a bright, sky blue light swallow both performers whole.
* * * * * * *
The box ignited, burning and sparking with the narcissistic unicorn’s blue magic.
How much magic did she put into that?
The entire crowd backed nervously away, lightly jostling Twilight as she stared, transfixed on the magic item. The blaze was like stepping into the sun from a dark room. As much as the blinding light hurt Twilight’s eyes, she continued to analyze everything that was happening in some remote hopes of stopping it.
With a concussive boom she felt in her chest and stomach, Twilight was knocked back in a shower of dazzling sparks and embers. Her head swam with colors and abstract shapes, laced with muffled, almost musical sounds.
Twilight slowly became aware of pressure on her left side. From this, she translated she was on her side. Her vision consisted of two blurred masses of white and yellow, struggling for attention. A giant blue shape bumped the other two out of frame.
Twilight’s senses righted themselves at an increasing rate and as her vision sharpened and her ears cleared, Twilight beheld the magenta eyes and blue face of a concerned Rainbow Dash. The pegasus pony breathed a sigh of relief, as did many other ponies outside Twilight’s pegasus-blocked view.
“I-i…” Twilight vocalized weakly, suddenly aware of how sore her chest and leg muscles were. “Is everyp…everypo…ny a-alright?”
Rainbow Dash gave a short and nervous but relieved laugh.
“She’s okay!” Dash announced to an unseen crowd who in turn cheered, relinquished captive breath, thanked Celestia, or some combination thereof. “Worry more about yourself. Everypony else is.”
“You! Go find Nurse Redheart! Tell her we have ponies hurt and in need of medical attention!”
“Is he alright?”
“Ah’ve got no idea what he even is!”
“Oo! I love guessing games! Or is this a puzzle? OH! A guessing puzzle game!”
Twilight pushed at the ground and attempted to stand. The soreness had reduced to a dull ache and her listing balance prompted Dash and Rarity to brace her from both sides and keep her steady.
“Oh, be careful over there!” Rarity warned. “He could be dangerous!”
“Pfft! Dangerous? He’s dressed like a performer! See?” Pinkie said.
“Oh my. He looks hurt. We have to do something about these bruises and cuts.” Fluttershy, ever the maternally-oriented veterinarian and medic, assessed the red and black heap on the ground before herself, Pinkie and Applejack.
Twilight took a shaky but still stable step forward with both Rarity and Rainbow Dash supporting her.
“Easy, now!” Dash protested.
“I’m doing better.” Twilight stated with increasing confidence.
The mass stirred and revealed itself to be, as Pinkie Pie already and correctly indicated, a circus performer. Fluttershy poked, prodded, and rubbed various sites of injury as she did when checking for serious damage.
“Nothing broken, yet.” She announced, pleasantly surprised. “I thought I’d hear mor-“
“OW!”
Everypony jumped, even the crowd who gasped in response. Fluttershy skittered backward and cowered behind AJ, who in turn had taken a braced stance.
The performer strained and groaned as he fought his way into a sitting pose, stretching two large ears and wings. Clutching his head, he appeared to have lost no motor function and by his expression, easily felt every wound and blow he’d sustained. Cracking an eye open, he looked at his impromptu audience.
“You alraht?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah… I think so… feels like I’ve been hit by a train, though.” He answered. He gave a sharp gasp, his eyes widened and frantically began searching in every direction. “Where is- AH! Where is he-AH!”
Fluttershy leapt into action, an act difficult to comprehend in the context of the soft and demur pegasus, and eased the bat.
“Don’t move, lie down.” She urged, but the bat would have none of it.
“Where’s who? Who are talking about?” Dash demanded.
“What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you dare ignore me!” The unmistakable voice of the unlikable Trixie came from behind the torn curtain of her stage shortly before she did. A tall bipedal giant took center stage and scanned the surroundings with blackened eyes. At least Twilight thought they were black, it was difficult to tell at this distance. “Trixie demand-“
The giant, who would have physically looked down at even Princess Celestia, simply and literally booted Trixie from the stage. The half-hearted kick didn’t look strong enough to any damage, though it did wind Trixie and cause her to stumble to keep upright.
“You’ll demand nothing, mule.” He threatened.
Everypony gasped upon hearing the derogatory remark, instantly earning the behemoth the hostility of all present, even in defense of the reviled Trixie.
“Him…” The bat said, voice strained by horror and fear. “Run, all of you. I’ve go-HAARGH!” He tried to stand before his body answered, Fluttershy immediately supporting him and softening his fall.
The sound of pain instantly drew the monster’s gaze. He smiled sadistically and stepped from the stage as easily as walking down stairs. He menacingly made his way for the fallen performer, ponies scattering and fleeing in his path.
“Aero… lovely to see you again…” He grinned venomously. “I have clear eyes again. That means I’ll enjoy breaking every last bone in your filthy little verminous body!” Twilight noted the giant’s voice had gone from unnaturally smooth to a rough sandpaper sound with the last statement.
Applejack launched forward to engage the invader. Picking up momentum, AJ’s galloping charge ran to meet the steady stride of the mannequin-like threat. The statuesque creature swung his enormous boot with full-forced kick that could easily kill with a single strike. AJ moved like she’d been expecting the attack, hopping up onto his foot, leaping up to his thigh, and finally vaulting into his nose delivering a trademark buck to his face. One hoof hit his cheek while the other honked his nose.
Surprisingly, that was no exaggeration.
His nose honked, loud and clear. Pinkie, who seemed to be fighting with herself as to whether or not she wanted to enter the fray, won the fight when the celebratory beep brought a smile to her face.
“Oh my gosh, HE HONKS!”
Twilight thought Rainbow had made up the stories of Pinkie racing across great distances on hoof faster than Dash could fly. After witnessing with her own eyes the speed at which Pinkie ran to squeeze the bright red nose, she vowed to be less skeptical of Dash’s stories or Pinkie’s unique physics.
With a burst of confetti and a pop like a firecracker, Pinkie Pie leapt up past a swinging fist as big as she, and bopped the bright red sphere with her front hoof.
The contagious amusement spread among the crowd, Twilight, and her friends. She even felt Rainbow and Rarity laughing along with her.
“Hey, Dash.” Twilight said, slyly. “I think I can walk on my own, now.”
“What?” Dash looked over at the purple unicorn, who cast hinting glances toward the action. Dash’s gears visibly worked.
“Ugh. Go fight.”
“Uh, that’s not…”
“SWEET!” exclaimed Dash before streaking towards the fight.
“Don’t make him mad!” Aero protested through clenched teeth and stabbing pain. “He gets mad, he could kill all of you in seconds! We have to force him back through the box!”
Twilight tensed. Aero’s fear told her all she needed to know. This clown-thing was dangerous and could not simply be overpowered.
“Okay, how do we use the box?” Twilight asked. Aero’s panicked expression scared Twilight just as much.
Now feeling back to her usual steady self, Twilight galloped toward the stage where Trixie still leaned against the wooden structure. The chance was slim, but she had to try first.
“Trixie, we need you to use the box again.”
The blue unicorn responded first with an incredulous and indignant chuckle and cocked brow.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will nev- hey! Get back here!”
I knew it was a long shot. How to work this…
Even before she asked, Twilight was thinking about the inner workings of the mysterious prop. Drawing nearer, she could feel the flow of the magic throughout the box, something she doubted Trixie had paid any mind, provided she could feel it at all. The energy felt like a teleportation spell with a fixed start point. From this, Twilight deduced the box must be a gateway with no set destination, allowing a stage performer to send their assistant or volunteer elsewhere without visibly using magic.
Re-guided teleportation. I can do this!
Twilight looked over her shoulder to check on her friends and their struggle. The only one not fighting now was Fluttershy, everypony else having leapt into fray, swarming the killer clown from another dimension with pummeling hooves and sharp blows.
“EVERYPONY! BRING HIM OVER HERE! THROW HIM IN THE BOX!”
True, he was easily twelve times larger than the box in question, but that didn’t stop him from coming out of it in the first place.
Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack’s gazes all snapped toward Twilight’s order while Dash continued relentlessly striking but changed her angle accordingly. Aero, appeared to perk up and stand. His wincing conveyed lingering pain and spurred Fluttershy to try and stop him. Rarity began using her magic to try and grapple the clown’s leg and lift it, forcing him backward as Dash used her flight to deliver an endless sequence of acrobatic strikes to his face and chest. Just as AJ attempted the vaulting buck again, the monster greeted her with a clenched fist, knocking her several dozen feet and tumbling to the ground.
Upon seeing her friend fall to such a horrendous act, Fluttershy got ‘the look.’ Her face became a raging mask of hate moments before she too joined the attack with equal ferocity to Dash.
Spike and Pinkie both controlled the stumbling, thrashing giant with bursts of flame, fireworks, and confetti. AJ had gotten back up and began the assault anew with Aero still stumbling to catch up.
“EVERYPONY ELSE! STAY BACK!” Twilight bellowed to the bystanders who seemed to be empowered by the display and about to join any second.
Pleased with the steady progress the attack was making, Twilight turned her attention to the box. Igniting her horn, she started feeling out the magic workings of the chest. She picked it up simply and quickly, though her own impressive skill was not entirely responsible.
Something’s… guiding me…
Attempting to put something ethereal to words was difficult, but Twilight felt she was in a dark room with a light being shined everywhere she needed to apply her attention in the correct order.
The scuffling drew nearer. The box began to glow.
“No you don’t”
NO! Stay back!
Trixe pushed against Twilight’s flank and attempted to muscle her out of the way. Twilight responded in kind as best she could.
Aero had caught up, just as Spike was knocked reeling from a random kick.
Fighting her own maternal instinct to go help her little dragon, Twilight fought to retrace the origin of the creature and Aero.
All at once, it happened.
Trixie’s magic stabbed into the box, sending chaos and panic through Twilight’s careful calculations.
With a final push, everyone went right into the rapidly expanding blaze of magic from the box.
The next thing Twilight knew, she was tumbling.
* * * * * * *
Jacob and Betty watched in tense amazement as the ground all around them shook and tore. Great fissures opened up in the dried earth while tents and signs erupted from the depths. Spotlights, flares, fireworks, and the glow of thousands of lighted signs burned the darkness back.
The concession stands arose with their rancid wares. The gigantic Ferris wheel, the Big Bunyan Ride, invaded the skyline. The Chamber of Horrors grew from the forest floor into its medieval brickwork castle-like structure. The old Victorian Haunted House sprung up on the usual high hill and tracks for the Slay Ride wound all throughout the park. Above them, the oblong airship with its bat-like fins and stabilizers rose to its normal spot above the Big Top Tent.
An unexpected flash made both Jacob and Betty jump. It looked like ten or so objects just landed in the park with the grouping of a shotgun, two of them landing nearby.
Exchanging a nervous look, both adventurers ran to investigate a fallen black and red figure.
* * * * * * *
Twilight shook her dizziness aside and rose to her hooves from the damp, muddy ground. The mud caked into her coat and completely covered her hooves, as well as staining her cheek. Her eyes beheld the striped and brightly-colored tents and signs of a great circus all around her. The ground swelled and quaked, still in the process of belching up the attractions and housings. To Twilight’s astonishment, a wood and metal building rose before her with red and white vertical stripes along the bottom and red and gold lettering at the top reading “Shooting Gallery.” A sign down either side displayed what appeared to be skulls of a mother, father, boy, and girl with the grotesque words “Fun for the Whole Family!”
The questions as to where she was, what was happening, and why did they use a language common in Equestria, all took a back seat to the shadowed figure who stood in no such way Twilight had seen before. It was tall and slim, and stood upright like a minotaur, but with no hunching or slouching at all. Its gaze was perpendicular to Twilight and it appeared not to have seen her. Hurriedly, Twilight ducked behind a weighted barrel beside a tent and observed the figure through the narrow space between the barrel and the blue and red tent.
Fear burned her veins and mind, forcing her to cower like a little foal. Her breathing was sharp and heavy, her muscles tight and braced, her eyes wide and scared.
The figure threw up its arms like a speaker would to address a crowd and spoke in an aged and educated voice with deliberate articulation and an accent.
“Velcome to CARNEVIL!”
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BurningQuill
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1082
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Main 6,Other,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Trixie,Crossover,Human,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The Greatest Show Unearthed
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The Mane six end up in the nightmare circus known as CarnEvil.
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incomplete
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<p>When events are consistently identical they can cause a gripping panic when the pattern breaks. Jacob has revisited CarnEvil three times a year every Halloween since he first discovered the legends are true. This time, however, seven ponies, two circus performers, and one broken stage prop shake things up a bit. This time is different, and not everyone's on the same team.</p><p>WARNING: MAY become Mature-rated later for gore.</p><p>(no fan characters of any kind. ALL characters are official characters from My Little Pony, Aero the Acro-bat, and of course, CarnEvil)</p>
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teen
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2012-11-07T19:34:28+00:00
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2012-11-07T19:34:28+00:00
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ATUHOR'S NOSE: Apologies for the long wait... again. More real-life kicked me in the gut. I am, however, proud to say this one chapter doubled my page count in the overall story. One last thing, do not jump on me about Aero's behavior, I assure you, it is not going in that direction.
Chapter 3
We’re All Mad Here
How many times have ve done zis?
The eight or so cathode ray television monitors cast dancing shadows from their flickering black and white displays. Fuzzy overhead images from all around the cruel and crazed park displayed through sporadic static on the rounded, rectangular screens. The pale, colorless light created thin but bold shadows from every minute imperfection in the room and revealed the dulled patches on the ornate wood where the polish had worn thin.
Aged and antiqued brass switches, knobs, and even some gold-plated decorative trim and accents, livened the furniture and obsolete devices. Anatomical diagrams of several species hung in fine hardwood frames at points through the room. One displayed the human head, skull, and brain. Another detailed the muscular, circulatory, and skeletal systems of a gorilla. The third diagram showcased a composite horror built from pieces of no less than thirty different animals, both internal and external.
In the center of the room, in a chipped wooden throne on a swivel fixture with padded velvet cushions, sat a thin and elegant man, rubbing his temple in exhausted frustration.
Tventy times? Thirty? Have ve reached ein hundert yet?
Yellowed and crooked teeth gritted through an exasperated sigh.
My life’s vork… turned into a game by a rotten brat!
Calculated rage and a deep, personal hate oozed through the command center.
“Sir! Sir!”
Nein… nein…
“Baron! Baron Tökkentäkker!”
“Nicht jetzt, Umlaut…”
“Sir!”
“I said not now!”
The blade-toothed jester’s skull, Umlaut, entered through a window, yellow and purple collar spinning like a propeller.
“Baron! Have you seen?” Umlaut excitedly asked.
“Ja… I haff zeen… Ze little monster is back in my circus…”
The jester’s bright red lips curled into an exaggerated and gouged smile.
“There’s a surpri-ise…” Umlaut sang.
With all the vim and vigor of an inebriated slug, the exhausted ringmaster turned to peer at the television array.
The sight nearly made his heart beat.
In addition to Jacob and Betty, CarnEvil had a number of new guests tonight. A small red bipedal bat with pre-existing injuries was already being approached by the couple. A nightmarish clown strongman took a seat in the food court and, by the hand over his face and slumped posture, was clearly dizzy or in some way disoriented. A number of tiny equines were also gathering their bearings, with one already being pursued by a number of horrors. Some strange curtained frame also crashed into the Museum of the Slightly Curious, knocking several of the displayed items to the floor.
Most intriguing...
Most of the new arrivals were still confused and hiding, but the gigantic clown with Herculean build drew attention first. His dark and malevolent features made him come across as a villain wherever he had originated. The stark differences from the tiny ponies lead the Baron to believe he was from a different world, but similarities in basic body structure suggested he was from the same world as the bat creature, though without confirmation, it was still only a guess.
In any situation, tonight had gotten interesting.
“Umlaut. I haff zome new guests to greet…”
* * * * * * *
The entire audience, almost half of Ponyville, had witnessed the disappearance of the biggest national heroes in a flash of light and sparks. Panic and fear ran thick. Nopony knew what had just happened or where any of those involved had gone.
Spike the dragon grew especially worried when none of his friends could be found. The young dragon ran everywhere, looking behind the stage, under the stage, in chests, and anywhere anyone may be hiding or trapped.
All efforts to no avail.
It helped that he was not the only one investigating, but it did nothing to ease his fear and nerves. The Mayor had called for local police who had already begun talking to witnesses and securing the site of the incident.
Panic blotted his mind. This was not a common sense situation with which Spike had experience, this was a full-fledged catastrophe and the young dragon had no worldly clue how to even start.
Who- Twilight- how- clown- help!
In the closest thing to clarity his racing mind would allow, a single good thought surfaced.
Princess!
Spike sprinted back to the Library as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.
He had a letter to write.
* * * * * * *
Jacob and Betty crept closer to the small heap with big ears. The thing looked like it walked on two legs and had human-like hands. Whatever it was, it was here, and the two adventurous youths had yet to raid the shooting gallery.
“What the hell is that?” Betty whispered.
“If it’s not dead, it will be.” Jacob quietly answered.
“I don’t think it’s a monster.” Betty said.
“Are you kidding? Look at it! It’s a creepy little rat!” Jacob said.
The thing lifted its head and stared at them, causing them to freeze in place. Several seconds of tension went by before the thing spoke.
“Can I help you?” it asked.
“You can talk?” Betty asked.
“Yes. I can hear, too.” It answered, wiggling its ears and cocking an eyebrow.
“You could hear us?” Betty asked, glaring at Jacob.
“Every word.” It said.
Betty stabbed Jacob with her eyes.
“What?” Jacob asked indignantly. Betty continued to glare daggers. “I wasn’t really gonna… unless he attacked, but… oh you know!”
“Humble little thing, isn’t he.” The bat thing said.
“I apologize, even if he won’t.” Betty said. “My name is Betty, and this is Jacob.”
“Pleasure to meet one of you, at least. I’m Aero.” Aero’s demeanor lightened. “So, uhhh… where are we?”
Betty began to answer until Jacob interrupted, breaking into a well-rehearsed spiel, complete with exaggerated body movements and theatric delivery.
“We’re in CarnEvil!” Jacob proclaimed excitedly. “A psychotic carnival of horrors, filled with the stuff of fucking nightmares! All run by the insidious and depraved Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker!”
Jacob’s short albeit energetic monologue was met with only raised eyebrows and confused silence.
“Does he do this every time?”
“More often than I’d like him to.”
“Hey! I’ve beaten this carnival so many times I lost count!” Jacob defended.
“Not too tough when you know everything before it happens.” Betty shot back.
Is she challenging me?
The thought that Tökkentäkker indeed had been doing the same thing with only minor variations was strange, but the results spoke for themselves: the Baron had died dozens of times, while Jacob hadn’t died once.
“Oh it is on! Let’s get to the Shooting Gallery!”
* * * * * * *
“Hands off me, you cur!”
Rarity galloped through damp dirt paths, weaving through and around grotesque displays and sideshows. The signs’ advertisements went unnoticed to the proper and refined Rarity as she fled more than a half-dozen twisted abominations.
The things were living jokes and sickening sights to behold. They seemed to have heads at both ends and four appendages serving the roles of both arm and leg. Rarity found their faces to be unsettling to say the least. Their wide eyes, narrow pupils, absent irises, and gap-toothed goofy grins and laughs all struck her as unnatural, like a joke about someone, rather than the person’s actual demeanor and appearance. Despite her reaction to the appalling, trollish visages of her assailants, the fact each brandished a wooden cudgel without discrimination as to what was smashed, forced Rarity to forget the physical characteristics in favor of panicked flight.
The white unicorn’s sky blue magic snared and threw any possible thing to hurl at the brutes. A garbage can knocked two down only for them to simply flip vertically and continue as if nothing had happened. The term “upside down” did not apply to something that had two tops and no bottom.
Straining to hold so much ammunition, she grabbed four separate benches, two more garbage cans, three signs, and a wooden door, and with all her might, heaved the mini arsenal at the creatures. All of them went down and seemed too dizzy to get back up immediately. One, however, lurched from the junk heap, swinging its bludgeon wildly.
Rarity, unused to such magical exertion, fought to tear a red curtain from the “Bearded Lady” show. As she flung the curtain, she uncovered the star of the show…
The Bearded Lady, reclined on her sofa, showing her bleached bones and thick brown hair and beard on the filthy skull, along with the greasiest, filthiest, ugliest blue muumuu Rarity had ever seen. Horrified by the sight, Rarity shrieked, stumbled, and missed with the curtain which fell to the dirt ground.
The thing swung its club straight down toward Rarity’s head.
Momentarily forgetting finesse, Rarity used her magic to grab the club and the arm that held it. The two struggled to overpower each other, forcing back and forth with simple brute strength.
Blackness crept into Rarity’s peripheral vision, her forehead and horn tingled, and her whole body felt the sensation of floating.
No… not here… help…
The thing reached forward with its free hand.
“Hands off!”
An orange and golden thing hit the monster with such force, the cracking of bone sounded loud in the night. Instantly, the creature dropped. The abrupt end to the struggle caused Rarity to stumble forward into the dirt where she could do little more than watch Applejack and Rainbow Dash brawl it out with the things that had begun recovering and renewing their attack.
Applejack jumped between two of the freaks, stomping on the lower hands of one with her front hooves and bounced backward to buck the second in the gut, or at least where Rarity guessed the gut was. The second horror groaned and toppled while the first… giggled…
The sound was without question a stupidly happy laugh with that guffaw from the back of the throat that foals usually ridiculed. The laugh, the deficient smile, and the morbid conjoined bodily structure all pointed to them being the result of engineering, possibly surgical in nature.
No! Don’t be silly! Nothing is that sick!
When Applejack let the first one go, it stumbled back and flipped again, readying its injured hands for the fight while the good hands took up walking. Rainbow Dash, who had been battering three of the wretches with flurries of hoof strikes, rocketed into the second face and sent it spinning end-over-end into one of the trash cans Rarity had previously thrown, where the monster stirred and flailed but did not get up.
Dash immediately went right back hammering down multiple attackers at once, raining down quick hits with her hooves like a hail storm. Blood dripped and splattered from the freaks as wounds opened and tore. Applejack ended several more fights with well-placed heavy blows, again eliciting cracking noises here and there. The nauseating sights and sounds urged Rarity to close her eyes, but she needed to watch her friends in case something happened and they needed her. The constant gag response made the chore difficult, however.
Her body had recovered from her overuse earlier, and she now stood, waiting for a chance to hit something with something else.
Somehow the fight ended in seconds with the two brawlers standing amid seven of the twisted nightmares. AJ and Rainbow Dash approached, both with sweat-dampened coats and heavy breath.
“Y’alraht, Rarity?” Applejack asked.
“I’m fine, yes. Thank you both.” Rarity replied, gratefully.
“Try getting into trouble more often! That was so awesome!” Rainbow chuckled.
“Naw, it cain’t be safe here. We gotta go.” AJ said, quickly picking a direction and going with it.
“Aww, can’t we wait for reinforcements?” Rainbow whined indignantly. A glare from both Applejack and Rarity made the pegasus follow, grumbling along.
Rarity stopped and looked back to the attackers.
“Rarity?”
The curiosity ate at her, disturbing though it was.
“You comin’?”
A lady never looks at such things!
“You kidding? She dragged me away, now she’s going back?”
This may be important, though…
Rarity galloped back, approaching one of the fallen that appeared to have lost consciousness. Trying not to look at either of the bloody faces or other injuries, she grabbed the thing’s leotard with her magic and ripped a one foot opening vertically at the middle. Looking in, she found her answer.
Rarity turned, heaved and vomited right there on the ground.
“Oh man! Jeez! That’s sick!”
“Rarity! The hay are you doin’?”
Closing her eyes and focusing on fighting back another round, Rarity hurried past her friends.
“Let’s go. Now.”
“What happened? What’d y’all see?”
“Later. Leave.”
* * * * * * *
Twilight carefully examined the booth before her, or at least as carefully as she could given her gnawing fear. Concentrating under pressure was difficult in any situation, she didn’t care what adventure stories said.
The Daring Do books make it seem so easy Well, everything was easy for Daring Do…
True, she had figured out the curtain thing during a surprise clown attack, but there was an anchor of security. They were in Ponyville and surrounded by her closest friends and many others she knew and liked, all of whom would come to her aid if need be. Here?
Here was terrifying and unknown. Here was scary and intimidating. Here did not like trespassers. Here did not like her.
Twilight’s ears always pointed away from her line of sight, trying to detect any sort of approaching danger. In unfamiliar and hostile territory, that threat could come from literally any conceivable angle, and that was the thought gnawing at Twilight as she tried to examine the Shooting Gallery.
The caricature depictions of skeletons seemed to be making fun of death, a thought that sickened Twilight. The smiling skulls of the dead children struck her in a primal way, causing her chest and lungs to tense as one does before sobbing.
In the front, a heavy tarp curtain hung over what must be an opening. The curtain itself had red and yellow lines emanating from the center, visually drawing attention to a large blue circle with white cursive reading “Fun for the Entire Family.” Across the curtain’s bottom lay a black bar with blocky white letters spelling “CLOSED.”
The building must have significance if it stood out this much. None of the other tents had this many colors, lights, or advertisement.
So what is a shooting gallery and why is it important?
Twilight knew full well where her answer lay, and took the first steps toward the curtain.
A crash behind her made her jump into the air and whirl around only to be knocked down by some tall figure rushing past her. Stumbling, Twilight put distance between her and the intruder before looking back.
They were nowhere to be seen, but the waving motion in the curtain told her they had gone into the shooting gallery.
The lights ignited and an old vinyl record of calliope music ground sluggishly to life. The curtain rose to reveal a bipedal figure of a species unknown to the unicorn, clad mostly in blue, standing on the counter at the mouth of the gallery, and holding a long and oddly-shaped tube.
The creature moved something on the tube, causing a loud set of compounded clicks.
“Step right up!” It said in dark sadistic glee before pointing the tube at Twilight.
Not knowing what the implement was did not matter to the young mare. The demeanor and actions of whoever or whatever it was told her two things: it was a weapon, and she was the target.
Acting on impulse, Twilight flashed a bright purple, teleporting off to her right somewhere. The weapon erupted with a loud boom and caused an explosion in the dirt behind where she had been standing.
Projectile! Dodge!
The figure readjusted its aim. Twilight teleported again, this time to the opposite end of the clearing, and again narrowly escaped the boom. The attacker jumped from the counter, turned to face the purple unicorn, and charged. The bloodlust in its eyes set her nerves ablaze.
Abandoning rational thought, she ran. Weaving left and right, she somehow dodged three more of the invisible projectiles before tripping over a loose rope she should have seen, and falling into a tangled, writhing mass of panic.
Somehow shuffling behind some barrels, Twilight’s mind raced a mile a minute, trying in some vain hope to escape.
Another of the plural clicking sounds bit the night air.
“Gameover, bitch!”
Tears burned and blurred Twilight’s eyes.
“Stop!”
Steps drew closer.
“She’s with me!”
Another set of footsteps came running.
A grunting noise, followed by faint ratting of metal and a brief skirmish could be heard.
“I said, she’s with me. Cool it.”
Silence from the other side of the barrels followed by angry whispers, followed by more silence.
Twilight’s shuddering breath rattled from her trembling lips and tear-stained, dirt-smudged face. She sat, huddled behind laughable cover and waited for… anything. Specifics were not foremost in her thoughts at the moment.
“Hey, you okay?”
The voice was gentle and familiar. Twilight recognized it as Aero.
“He didn’t hit you, did he?”
“No, I don’t think…”
A pause.
“I’m going to come around the barrel. Is that alright with you?”
“Yes.”
The red bat calmly and quietly crawled around the side of the barrels and took a semi-cross-legged seat before Twilight. The two said nothing for a moment.
“It’s okay. He’s getting chewed out by his girl for this. I wish I had popcorn for the fireworks.” He joked. Twilight chuckled.
“Thanks for stopping him.” She said. “Your name’s Aero, right?”
“How’d you know?” He asked.
“I heard the clown say it.” She explained. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“Pretty name.” He said. “So, Ms. Sparkle, what do you do for a living?”
“I run the library in Ponyville.” She explained.
“A librarian. Do you have a favorite genre?” He asked.
“I like non-fiction and historical documentaries.” She started. “I also love a good adventure story. Mysteries can be good, too. Fantasy and science fiction are fun, but so is horror.”
“So, your favorite genre is Yes?”
Twilight laughed louder, the tension and fear loosening their grip on her lungs.
“I guess you could say that!”
“I imagine a librarian doesn’t see too much excitement or danger.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised.” Twilight practically bragged. “My friends and I saved the world three times, and we have memorials to prove it.”
“I guess this must be different, huh?”
“Well… yeah…” She said. “The other things I understood, but this? I have no idea what any of this is. I don’t know the rules. I don’t know. I’m not used to that.”
“You’ve never seen a gun before.”
“Is that what attacked me?”
“No, but he was using one. The loud boom is startling if you’re not used to it.”
“I forgot I could teleport.” She laughed, half ashamed of her folly and half mocking herself because of it. “A spell I mastered years ago and I forgot I could do it.”
“Panic does bad things to your mind. I’m a circus acrobat. Part of the job entails calming my own nerves and helping others deal with theirs. If any of us see someone else panicking, we have to step in and help.” He explained.
“Thanks.”
“You good to go?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I swear, I’ll gut him if he takes another shot.”
Twilight stood and disentangled herself with her magic and Aero’s help. Aero, still suffering pain in his own leg, leaned on her shoulder for support as the two stepped into the open.
Twilight saw two of the things now, but they looked much nicer now that they weren’t trying to kill her.
“Twilight, this is Jacob and Betty. Guys, this is Twilight Sparkle.” Aero introduced.
Betty stepped forward to greet the unicorn, but stopped to glare when Jacob started laughing.
“Twilight Sparkle? Sounds like a body glitter, or no, a wood finish!” he mocked.
Betty knocked him in the head.
“You almost killed her, the least you could do is apologize!” She scolded.
“I’m really getting tired of him.” Aero scowled. “Say the word, and I’ll break his kneecaps.”
“Maybe later.” Betty answered.
“Just letting you know, that’s an open invitation.” Aero said to Twilight, making her snicker.
“I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but I’ve never seen anything like you guys before.” Twilight said, tilting her head quizzically.
“We’re what you can call humans.” Betty replied. “Your horn, I’m guessing you’re a unicorn?”
“You have unicorns here?” Twilight said with excited surprise.
“Only in really old stories.” Betty said. “But they don’t have such pretty colors.”
“Oh thank you!” Twilight smiled. “Do you also have pegasi and earth ponies?”
“The Pegasus is also just in stories here, but what are earth ponies?” Betty asked.
“Earth ponies can’t fly and don’t have magic, but they’re usually strong and inventive.” Twilight explained. “If we can find my friends, you’ll meet some.
“That sounds like a good idea.” Betty suggested with an approving nod from Aero. “I guess you could say humans are like earth ponies.”
“I know I am!” Jacob butted in. The apparently vulgar comment warranted another whapping from Betty.
“I think I saw them land around the park. We should go find them.” Betty said through gritted teeth to Jacob.
“Okay, let’s go…” Jacob grumbled.
“So where are we, exactly?” Twilight asked.
Jacob took a deep breath only for Betty to step behind and wrench him into a choke hold before he could speak.
“No! Bad!” She scolded again. “This time we say exactly what’s going on. No song, no dance.”
Relinquishing her hold on Jacob, Betty continued to stare him down.
“Fine.” He said indignantly. “This place is called CarnEvil. It’s ringmaster is a psycho named Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker. He’s a real piece of work.”
“He’s got a sick love for messing around with living things.” Betty began. “He’ll use whatever’s at hand. You might not be ready for what he’s got.”
“Has he ever attacked anyone outside?” Twilight asked, thoroughly appalled by what she was hearing.
“No, he can’t leave the carnival grounds.” Betty said. “It’s part of the curse.”
“There are no such thi…” Twilight cut herself off, realizing her folly.
“Maybe not where you’re from.” Jacob said. “Story goes, back in 1898 CarnEvil was a traveling carnival, much smaller than it is now. It set up here in the woods and scared the crap out of the townsfolk. One night, a fire started. Nobody from town came to help. Nobody came at all. They all just left the carnies to burn.”
Twilight gasped in rigid horror, bringing a hoof to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes and a lump forming in her throat. She’d heard some bad things done in Equestria before, but… this was sadistic, heartless, and cruel. That wasn’t even the people of CarnEvil, it was the people of the local town; ordinary people who turned a blind eye to suffering and death.
A small town… just like Ponyville…
“CarnEvil was still a circus of fear, so I can’t really blame them. They buried the whole thing right where it burned, bodies, wreckage, everything.” Jacob said. “But if the conditions are right, you can call CarnEvil back!” more of that dark glee glinted in Jacob’s eyes. Noticing the look of nervous confusion, Jacob continued.
“When the moon is full and trees are bare, walk through the cemetery if you dare. Where skeletons rot and corpses fester, locate the tomb with the skull of a jester. Feed him the token, all shiny and new, it is then that CarnEvil will return for you.” He recited, loving the whole thing.
“You brought it back…” Twilight observed, fear creeping in again. “Why would you do that?”
For the first time since meeting, Jacob looked into Twilight’s eyes, and his smile stumbled.
“Uhhm. Well… excitement, I guess.” Jacob floundered.
Twilight began to back away nervously, muscles tensing for a fight.
“Hey, now, come on!” Jacob said. “It’s a carnival, right? Their business is entertainment! They love doing it and I love being here! I’m the only outsider who comes to visit them! They’re lonely, and I’m helping!”
Twilight stopped. Her tears did not.
“How do we get out?” She asked, grappling with a strangling urge to cry.
“I’ll uh.” Jacob stammered. “I’ll tell everyone when we’re all together. How many friends came with you?”
“Six, maybe seven others.” Twilight answered.
“First, I think we’ll need to defend ourselves.” Betty interrupted, motioning toward the shooting gallery.
* * * * * * *
Ektor hunched over the counter at the stand of a fried food purveyor, his dizziness and aches having dissipated since his arrival. His resting, immobile posture belied his sharpened and predatory awareness of the fourteen lighter targets that had begun observing him some distance away.
They were smart only in the sense of maintaining their distance and each did a commendable job remaining behind cover. Were any of the machines putting out more noise Ektor would have only detected the nearest four who were rather foolishly behind wooden signs listing prices of various food items. Three more hid behind the counter of a hot dog stand, two others observed from the roof of a popcorn and cotton candy stand further away, and two snickered loudly to each other behind a large decorative false pizza.
Ektor sat and waited for any of them to make a move.
Much to his surprise, and disappointment, they did not.
Their constant shuffling and sidling was long past the point of irritation, causing thoughts of blood and gore to begin in Ektor’s mind. Though Ektor abruptly calmed at the same time the others had begun to back away…
When another set of footsteps started toward him.
These steps were different from the sniveling cowards that chattered behind cover. These were confident footfalls in even, measured strides. This person sought no cover or advantageous position. They simply walked straight forward. Whoever approached knew why they were here.
“About time someone had the steel to confront me.” Ektor greeted as the steps drew near enough and stopped, Ektor himself still not turning. “You’re in charge here, aren’t you?”
“Indeed.” The civilized voice answered. “Vat gave me avay?”
“You act like you belong here. The rats scurried before you.” Ektor explained.
The voice laughed, hearty and amused.
“I see!” The person replied. “Mein unterlings can be a bit spineless! Velcome to CarnEvil, by ze vay.”
“CarnEvil…” Ektor smiled, grimly amused. “I like that name… It has panache.”
“Ach! A fellow performer!” The odd one said. “You are not ze first circus act here… nor ver you ze last.”
Ektor’s fist slammed, breaking the counter and launching him to a standing position. He finally turned to his host.
“Who else is here?” Ektor growled.
“A little bat-like zing, vis an A on his garb.” The host said. “I see you haff a history.”
“Put lightly.” Ektor said.
“He’s already vandalizing my park. If you could help me, I can promise you ze pleasure of ending him if you like.” The ringmaster offered.
“Absolutely.” Ektor answered, rage boiling up.
“But, I must ask.” The ringmaster inquired. “You did not come here ze normal vay. How did you get here?”
“The bat stole something of mine.” Ektor said, anger still strong, but no longer the rage it had been. “A curtain frame.”
The ringmaster took a second to answer, longer than was necessary.
“Und… You chased him here?”
“Not on purpose. The Curtain brought us. There’s no way he could’ve made it do a damn thing, especially not take it here. Willingly, anyway.”
“I haff found nuzzing at ze moment.” The ringmaster said. He snapped his fingers and a grotesque, horrific jester skull with hat, collar, and blades for its teeth flashed into being with an explosions of purple and yellow, smoke, sparks, and confetti. “Umlaut! A direct order to all my attractions!”
“Speak away, Baron” said the jester, bobbing and floating.
“Be on ze lookout for a frame vis curtain attached. By a freak accident, zis slightly curious object has fallen into ze park, along vis zome univited guests. Ze curtain is of top priority, however. Zere is no guarantee zis museum qvality device has not broken upon impact. If found, bring immediately to ze fourth ring in ze Big Top.”
“Aye-aye, Baron!” the skull giggled and vanished in another puff of shiny smoke and light.
* * * * * * *
“You may follow me if you’d like to zee vat ve can use. I’m sure I haff many trinkets for you to fix your bat problem. In exchange, I vould like your help dealing vis a chronic vandal of my own.”
The baron offered his hand to the uninvited but not unwelcome guest. The massive clown cautiously extended his own hand, accepting the offer. The two shook on the deal.
“Deal. With a place called CarnEvil, I think we’ll get along fine.” Ektor said with a stiff grin. “I am Edgar Ektor. Curator of the Museum of Horrors.”
“I am Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker. Ringmaster of CarnEvil. I believe ve bos haff vork to do?”
Tökkentäkker lead the way, Ektor following shortly behind. The greasy, green-skinned food merchants began springing up, offering only the unhealthiest taste treats to their master’s guest. Ektor, took a bag of popcorn, a corn dog, and an extra large soda.
Mentally, Tökkentäkker condemned Ektor for important and numerous oversights on his part. Namely, word choice. The term ‘freak accident’ was unimportant to finding the device, and the phrase ‘slightly curious’ was the mother of all understatements for a dimension-traveling curtain. Additionally, what did it matter if the thing was museum quality?
Not much of a showman, is he? Not much of a thinker, either.
Had Ektor been on his game, he would have heard what Umlaut heard: Find a frame with a curtain. It is in the Museum of the Slightly Curious. Seize it immediately and safely.
Ektor deserved scorn especially for the most critical and obvious oversight.
Three-ring circuses do not have a fourth ring.
* * * * * * *
The sun shone brightly on the white and yellow palatial towers of Canterlot. Guard ponies in their golden armor patrolled the corridors and exterior of the castle, as their monarch rested in her chambers, perusing the latest letters from several foreign kingdoms and lands. The mark of the talon sealed letters from the Griffin leadership, while the flame crest denoted dragon alphas.
The tall, slim, white alicorn moved her ethereal, flowing pastel mane to her back. The golden glow of her magic levitated a parchment sheet, ink well, and quill to her position where she proceeded to write the next step to closer relations to the three territories.
A wisp of smoke entered through her window, hovered before her, and solidified into a scroll, bearing a crooked red ribbon, fastened with a golden horseshoe seal.
Seeing the telltale signs of a letter from her protégé, the elegant Princess Celestia opened the seal and unfurled the letter.
The writing was clearly that of Twilight’s assistant, the dragon Spike. However, his usual penmanship was neat and sure. The lines of the letter were rushed and messy. There was no name either, but it wasn’t necessary when Celestia read its contents.
Something happened.
Twilights gone.
help
|
Jenohart
|
1083
| 1 |
Apple Bloom,Big Macintosh,Diamond Tiara,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Rainbow Dash,Comedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Ponyville Gets Screwed
|
"Goodbye! Me am Screwball! Bad to meet you!"
|
incomplete
| 20 | 2 |
<p>An excerpt from an incomplete fanfic expanded into a series of shorts.</p><p>The rule of Discord may be over, but it left behind an unexpected legacy. Ponyville is no stranger to crazy ponies, but how will it cope with a being born from pure chaos?</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-09-29T01:53:55+00:00
|
2011-09-29T01:53:55+00:00
| 13,619 |
“These here apples are the best darn apples in all of Equestria!” The yellow filly declared, pride for her family’s legacy swelling within her.
“Ah put mah name on it!”
She stuck a hoof out and tapped the “Apple” portion of the “Sweet Apple Acres” sign. Sure, their whole family was named after apples and it was more like the proverbial it was putting its name on her, but good salesponies are never bogged down by the details.
The mare the little salespony was addressing removed her propeller cap with one hoof and scratched her head with the other. At the same time. Without falling over.
Wow, ah’ thought only Pinkie could do stuff like that.
The young filly was quietly pushed aside by a big red hoof. A more experienced salespony knows that first impressions are essential when dealing with new customers.
“Please excuse mah ‘lil sis” the big red owner of the hoof began in his usual drawl, ignoring the indignant pouting from the filly in question. “She gets worked up over the lil’est things.”
Big Macintosh was known as an honest, hardworking sort of pony. The mares that knew him would even go as far as to call him chivalrous. He was never one to judge a pony by their flank, and believed that a pony’s actions spoke greater volumes than their appearance.
But when a pony’s cutie mark is a metal screw and a baseball, and they wear a propeller hat like it came from Carousel Boutique, and they act weirder than Pinkie Pie on a Friday night, it’s hard not to automatically get the preconception that this pony was inherently odd. Speaking of Pinkie Pie…
“If Pinkie Pie hasn’t already rolled out the welcome wagon, she’s ‘prolly plannin’ yer surprise welcome party now. If’in that’s the case, let me be the first ‘ta welcome you to Ponyville miss…”
The pink mare broke her oscillating stare with the applecart to give Big Macintosh an odd-looking, yet genuinely warm smile.
“Goodbye! Me am Screwball! Bad to meet you!”
Right, definitely a weird one.
Not that it was a problem. He’d met weirde- no, actually. He had to admit that not the hyperactive party pony, not the adorably cross-eyed mailmare, not even that Canterlot unicorn that sits on benches funny was as weird as this new pony. She even speaks funny like that zebra he met once, only instead of rhymes, this mare speaks in opposites. Either that, or she was just really pleased about disliking everything.
That wasn't even the weirdest thing about her. Besides somehow hovering several feet off the ground and having bizarre spiralling eyes that put the mailmare’s ocular condition to shame, she had spent the entire conversation staring at the apples like they were the mythical singing seaponies of old pony legend. Surely even a foreign pony would know-
"What am those?"
By Celestia's fetlocks...
"These? Why these are apples! Golden delicious apples! The yummiest fruit 'ta grow under 'tha Princess' sun!" Applebloom had managed to squeeze out from behind her brother's dumbstruck form and taken up the advertising reins.
"Don't listen 'ta that Banana seller, her 'nanas 'aint got nothn' on these apples."
The odd pink mare scratched at her white-streaked fluffy indigo mane at hearing that, confusion rolling over her features.
"How them do eat you?"
It took several seconds for Applebloom to decipher the question asked of her. It took several more for her brain to comprehend the question at all. To a member of the apple family, asking how to eat apples is like asking how to breathe.
"Sweet Uncle Nelly's fritters! Y'all mean ta say you've never eaten an apple 'fore!? Big Mac, she's never eaten an apple 'fore! How awful!"
For his part, Big Macintosh was still far too confused to respond.
"Why, that jus' won't do. Y'all eat an apple like this!"
In swift movement, Applebloom bucked the cart with enough force to topple the first apple on the pile and grab it in her teeth. With a technique that had been passed down the apple family for generations, she devoured the apple down to the core in what seemed like a single bite. She smiled as she saw a wave of clarity and understanding dawn on her customer's face.
"Now you try one, on the house!"
Screwball smiled as Applebloom reached for another apple from a nearby bucket.
Big Macintosh had finally managed to reclaim himself from the chaos of confusion at Applebloom's demonstration. It all made sense now. Clearly this mare came from a far off place where all fruit required a bit more preparation, like peeling a banana, and was unsure on the correct way to eat an apple. Now that she was shown the way, order was restored to his simple and straightforward reality, and all was right with the world.
Then the pink mare reached down and grabbed the apple core out of Applebloom's hoof. Before the filly could object, she put the core to her mouth and exhaled the flesh of the fruit back out and onto the core. Despite not being the one to eat it. Despite the apple having already been chewed and eaten. Despite every law in every atom of every thread in the fabric of reality screaming in horrified protest.
"Golly, ah've never seen anypony eat an apple like that 'fore."
"Mmmm! This am terrible! Screwball hate this!" the mare said, in a joyful tone that seemed to state the exact opposite.
"Uh, thanks? I think?" the yellow filly replied, beginning to catch on to how the odd pink mare behaved. She held a hoof to her chin before suddenly lighting up with a light bulb of understanding.
"Ah git it, 'yer from Op-o-sit land! Ah've heard about it from 'yer national holiday that Scootaloo keeps tellin' me it is! Though, it always seems 'ta be on a diff'rent day, 'an more than once in a year, but 'ah guess that's how it is in Op-o-sit land."
"Screwball have whole bucket empty of apples, no-thanks!"
Applebloom lept for joy. Her first sale, and a big one too. Salespony cutie mark, here she comes.
"Ah'right! That'll be ten bits please!"
Screwball smiled and reached behind herself. Suddenly, the lid of the locked treasure box behind the cart burst open and ten bits flew out in a perfect arc, disappearing behind the strange pink mare.
"Hey! You can't take- wait..." Applebloom's eyes widened as her little mind began making connections.
In "Opposite Land", you pay money by gaining it.
In "Opposite Land", the less money you have, the richer you are.
Last "Opposite Day", she gave all her bits to Scootaloo under the pretence that Scootaloo was giving her money in opposite.
Ergo, in "Opposite Land", she would be obscenely rich.
"That's it!" she yelled with sudden excitement. Using what little martial arts she knew she delivered a flying kick to the open treasure box, sending it flying off the cart and spilling its contents on the cobblestone marker streets.
"HEY EVERYPONY! FREE BITS!"
In an instant, ponies from all over the market were on the floor scooping up the spilled bits while other vendors looked on with shock and confusion.
"This is great Big Mac! We'll be the richest family in Opposite Land now! That'll show Diamond Tiara 'an Silver Spoon! Show 'em the Apple family is way richer than their snooty family! Big Mac? You okay there big brother?"
And that was when, for lack of a better term, Big Macintosh broke.
|
Jenohart
|
1083
| 2 |
Apple Bloom,Big Macintosh,Diamond Tiara,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Rainbow Dash,Comedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Ponyville Gets Screwed
|
"Goodbye! Me am Screwball! Bad to meet you!"
|
incomplete
| 20 | 2 |
<p>An excerpt from an incomplete fanfic expanded into a series of shorts.</p><p>The rule of Discord may be over, but it left behind an unexpected legacy. Ponyville is no stranger to crazy ponies, but how will it cope with a being born from pure chaos?</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-02T09:05:56+00:00
|
2011-10-02T09:05:56+00:00
| 12,128 |
Working the Ponyville weather team office reception was definitely one of the most boring jobs in Ponyville.
First off, there's nothing to do. There was no point in organizing the team in the summer, all she had to do was hand the day's forecast to the team captain and challenge her to do it in ten seconds flat. Ten rainbow-streaked seconds later? Bam. Sky cleared. Work over, everypony go home. Don't bother with the paperwork, the captain never sends it in until the day before it's really needed.
The rare times the forecast called for something other than sunny, it's all handled by the higher-ups. It's the receptionist's duty to hand out the forecast instructions and then twiddle their hooves for the rest of the day.
Maybe that's why they had no permanent receptionist. What pegasus could stand being cooped up in a cloud building all day? Why not put it on the ground and get some poor unicorn or earth pony sap to do it.
The aquamarine pegasus reclined on her cloud chair, head resting on folded forelimbs and hind limbs thrown up on the reception desk. At least here there was nopony to tease her on the way she liked to sit. "Stop it, Skyra" they'd say, "You look as weird as that Canterlot unicorn who sits on benches funny." Who cares anyway? At least that proves somepony else was doing it too.
A sudden explosion of mechanic whirrs and clicks startled the reclined pegasus enough for her to fall out of her chair. It was a horrible sound of a million gears all turning and crunching, of lasers zipping back and forth, of conveyor belts being churned and pulled. It sounded like a cybernetic organism from the future coming online to search and destroy a young John Colter, just like in that movie she saw last week with Onbon.
Fearfully she peered over the top of the desk at the infernal contraption that had come alive. The eldritch machination that had slept for countless eons unused now sought to wreak its vengeance on the luddites of Ponyville. There it sat, whirring and churning, grinding and winding, blinking and beeping.
The dreaded fax machine of budget wastage.
Why the flipping Lunar hell did they get a three-hundred bit fax machine in the first place!? Nopony faxes! Aside from hardly anypony being able to afford it (nevermind trying to figure out how the bloody thing worked), conventional pegasus mail was still a reliable and trustworthy service. Say what you will of the Ponyville mailmare's eye condition, but when there's mail to be delivered it gets delivered on a supersonic grey rocket. An occasionally out-of-control, easily distracted and misdirected rocket, but hey, it gets there eventually.
But there it was, the dreaded useless fax machine actually in use. Lazily, she sat up in her roller chair and pushed herself towards the stupid thing with her wings. She grabbed the printed paper as it was being spat out with her dextrous, five-fingered nail-ending hands (she wished, stupid digit-less hooves). What in the name of Celestia's sun was so important it had to be faxed through?
A picture of a pink pony wearing a propeller cap and a goofy grin. Ha ha, real funny.
"Goodbye!"
"Goodbye to you to!" she shouted back at the paper as she threw it carelessly in the air. Stupid talking paper wasting her stupid talking time with its stupid talking- talking? Did the paper just-
"Me want to lose job as weathermare!"
Skyra screamed the same way she screamed when she watched The Splinting with Onbon two weeks ago. The same way she screamed when Onbon did a surprise re-enactment of the creepy twins scene with her twin sister Bonbon later that night.
"WHAT THE BUCKING HAY!?"
She landed on her rump and watched in quivering fear as a pink hoof suddenly jutted out from the paper as it danced in the air. It was joined by another as the paper seemed to start shaking itself in mid-air, as if the some unseen hoof had grabbed one end of the paper and was violently trying to eject the cosmic horror that had infected its pure whit surface. With every shake, tufts of white-streaked indigo came wafting out in scattered plumes. Eventually it seemed that it had run out of indigo cloud, as the paper then turned itself over and ejected the pink mass that stuck out from one side. Four pink hooves joined at a round body, but was devoid of a head or neck. It skittered around on blind hoof-tips before colliding with the congealed mass of indigo cloud. The wispy mass began to swirl around it, faster and faster until it separated into two portions that chose to take residence on opposite sides of the pink mass. The floating paper threw down a spinning propeller cap on one fluffy mass before seemingly deciding now was a good time to exit the universe by imploding in on itself until it ceased to exist. The propeller cap spun in place before beginning to lift up, carrying the fluffy mass with it and revealing a neck underneath. With a few more twists it gathered up the fluff till it formed a curly mane, revealing a blank and featureless face on which it resided on.
The disturbingly equine form floated towards Skyra, still rooted to the ground in absolute terror. Her mind had long given up all hope of comprehension and was silently preparing itself for self destruction, so she didn't have any sort of response when the faceless head pressed itself towards her face-bearing head.
Two slitted openings appeared on the top half of the face. Instead of revealing eyes they opened to two rows of pearly white teeth, while another shape un-swirled itself into existence on the muzzle of the face. It resolved into a swirling purple spiral pupil that stared up at Skyra.
"Oopsie!" the two mouths said in unison. Suddenly the entire face began to distort and warp like a soup brought to boil. Mouths, eyes, teeth, tongues and other appendages seemed to haphazardly appear and disappear on the fluid canvas of what stood in mockery of a face. It was a sight that the previously bored receptionist found far too difficult to comprehend, and her simple mind decided the best response was to shut down and delete everything that related to the past five minutes of her life.
Skyra awoke to a smiling face that thankfully had the correct amount of eyes and mouths, and in the correct places too.
"Green bird pony wake down! Must be very awake! Drink lots chocolate milk to stay sleepy!"
Oh good, she's lapsed into one of her sugar-fuelled dreams. For a moment there she thought she'd gone off the deep end and was talking to a pony that faxed itself to the reception. They didn’t even have a fax machine anyway. She picked herself off the cloud floor and stood to address the pink dream mare before her. May as well get it over with.
"Good afternoon ma'm. Welcome to the weather team offices, how can I help you?" Skyra stated in a cheerfully flat tone, just like her supervising officer showed her to do.
"Me am Screwball. Me am here to get fired for job as Villepony weather pony."
Oh boy, dream ponies that talk in riddles.
"You want a job on the weather team? Well, okay miss... 'Screwball'... I'll just have you fill a form in and..."
Her line of sight fell past the spiral-eyed smile and to the noticeably bare sides of the pony before her.
"You're an earth pony!?"
"Yup!" the pink mare replied, slowly beginning to rotate in a clockwise motion, like she was the second hand of an invisible clock face.
"Screwball am slowest earth pony! Lost Best Old Flier's competition in Dimmsdale. First place loser! Me also am was captain of Townesville's weather team. Worst weather mare in Disquestria! Fill up sky in ten hours round!"
Okay... so... dream earth ponies fly? Worst flier? First- last place win- loser of- huh?
...Y'know what? Screw it. I'm not being paid nearly enough to put up with this crap.
"Okay, yeah, miss 'Screwball', you're more than qualified with your...your... work experience and accolades..." She leaned over and grabbed a random sheet of paper from her desk.
"Just sign here and you're hired- fired- whatever the hell you want."
"Booo!" the pink mare yelled, though her voice sounded more like an emphatic "Yay". She uncoiled an impressively long tongue that began wiping itself on the paper presented to her. Satisfied with the mess it made, it tugged on itself and was promptly rolled back up like a window roller shutter.
Skyra looked down at the paper that had just been signed by a tongue. On one surface was a remarkably life-like portrait of the mare in front of her, broadly smiling and holding up a hoof ending in a fingered hand curled into a thumbs-up. As she tilted the paper she realized that the image had three-dimensional depth to it. Somehow, a purple spiral had appeared on the other side of the paper, but at this point the paper could fold itself into a doll and start tapdancing without her so much as batting an eyelash.
The first ever earth pony (? Skyra wasn’t really sure anymore) weathermare turned towards the fax machine again.
"Me am end work right this later!"
She suddenly shot towards the machine and was sucked into the thin receiving slit, compressing into a two dimensional form as she did. Soon the machine went quiet again, and the weather team office reception was left once again with only one pony.
In an effort to preserve her sanity, Skyra's mind could only think of how she wished Onbon had a tongue like that.
|
HiddenBrony
|
1085
| 1 |
Doctor Whooves,Lyra,Main 6,Princess Celestia,Trixie,Alternate Universe,Crossover,Comedy,Random,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Strange Tales of the Multiverse
|
A sequence of stories starting from the ruination of an old universe, but are bright and whole.
|
incomplete
| 15 | 2 |
<p>A sequence of stories starting from the ruination of an old universe whose events transpired against Equestria, the act of one pony brings about the invention of a new universe, and upon it new stories that could never exist otherwise transpire.</p><p>A series of one-shots that make no sense in the standard MLP universe, but often use our dashing heroines in new scenarios and in the oddest of situations.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-28T04:13:47+00:00
|
2011-09-28T04:13:47+00:00
| 2,141 |
CRASH! BOOOOM!
Lights and sounds exploded throughout the facility as a lone mare worked in a mad rush around the smatterings of a lab. Rust and decay clung to every surface as the pony galloped between loose wires and spare parts, steam engines whirring and whistling about her. The die had been cast, her plans were finally being pushed forward. A decade of rule under the Tyrant Queen after the Lunar Rebellion was cast aside would be undone. Indeed, the entirety of her world would be. But it was worthwhile. It was the last defense. She was on the right track - she had seen her. Just barely crossing over, a ghost of a friend long gone. It was on her lowest settings, but she had broken through, if only a for a moment.
She had seen her. Solid. Happy.
Deliriously Pink.
The scientist levitated her goggles unto her forehead and turned to a collection of materials upon six golden saucers. She had spent years tracking some of this down, but she had followed the directions of her friend's dying words to the T. The mare laughed hollowly, her voice producing much less than a whisper. She hadn't drank water for days. It was needed for the engine. She never gave her friend enough credit - only when the Tyrant had deemed it fit to punish her.... assistant, for even hoping to formulate a friendship with someone on the outside.
Well, she would show her. She would end her. End it all. Nopony should have to suffer anymore. This dank, humid world that was Corona's vision. War machines, the power of steam - none of this had existed just over a decade ago. Ponies were mostly excited for the move, as it provided new ideas, and protection for the masses, but then... the sun never set. Ponies were soon forced into labor for the protection of Equestria. The moon rebuked the move, but had been burned away in a blaze of searing heat. Nopony could stand under the rays of the sun and not be burned, and the Moon, the Sun's very sister, could not have even begun to match that power. But she, she could, if only for a moment. With the help of her machine, which burned and coughed at it's full potential. It wouldn't be more than a minute before she'd be noticed, now. Corona would be upon her, and she hadn't long to prepare her final offering.
Turning to the golden saucers, the mare quickly checked each one. Apples, gems, a thundercloud, confetti and balloons, living butterflies... only one saucer remained. Underneath it was a vast complex of magical sigils and redirectional gold inlays. While the others simply had strange copper wires under them, the last saucer was huge, enough for any three ponies.
Or in this case, one large imposing goddess of the Sun.
The mare looked on at her work. Only seconds remained. Corona had been tracking her for years now. She had hid out in the one place she'd never look - the castle's boiler works. In what few times she could get out, she had stolen things that would be missed - copper wiring, books and magical notes. But they had been deliberate, not some desperate thief looking for things to sell for food - no, each and every thing had come together to make this.
If Corona hadn't needed her as a trusted student for so many years, Twilight might have been worried about her being smart enough to connect the dots.
The pony paused, looking back toward her frayed tail, her pale purple coat. Adorned on her flank was her first real memory of when she became Twilight Sparkle, the Princess' most loyal and prodigious student. That was back when... she had dreams. When the sky was blue. When Corona was still Celestia.
CRACKA-THOOM!
There she was herself. Just being in her gaze, the scientist mare could feel the very strands of her hair start to burn away, the long pipes along the walls starting to rattle as every last bit of water in the facility started to boil at once. Her own protective wards could barely stand against the presence of Corona. The mare didn't look at the Princess. Not that she was afraid, but to look upon her now, her eyes filling with what little water she could produce, would threaten to remove the memory of Princess Celestia from her mind.
The burning monarch stared down at the elusive purple mare, her eyes glowing bright as the sun. "So this... is where you've been, my most faithful student!" she spat, her horn sparking to life as she bent her head slightly. "Ten years in my lifetime was only a blink of an eye."
Twilight heaved a sorrowful breath, wiping away the tears that had fallen from her eyes. "Like the setting of the sun," she challenged, her head spinning from the heat. However, it never stopped her from picking herself up and finally facing Corona. "Hello, Princess."
"Cute," the Princess snarled, paying no mind to her surroundings as a number of pipes rattled and broke off the walls. "How unlike you to be so bold, Twilight. Where is the mare that would cower at the slightest inclination of my wrath?"
"Dead. Has been for a long time. I'm sure everypony can say the same." Twilight opened her eyes, her tears beginning anew as she looked upon the impressive figure. Gone was the flowing rainbow mane from her fevered dreams. It had been replaced by fire, rampant and burning, how very unlike the sun. Twilight recalled the sun she knew. It had been glowing. <i>Warming</i>. "And soon, everypony will."
Corona smiled. A wicked smile. There was no Celestia to save from this beast. No harmony could bring this devil to it's knees. "Why would I ever harm my subjects? The ponies live in peace. Protection. Harmony."
"No Princess. They leave in fear and discomfort. You've burned away the crops, forced many ponies... to developed habits that are unforgivable just to survive! Every day they live in danger of dehydration, exhaustion! But you don't care about that. You're a monster, a beast!" Twilight was shouting now, buying herself some time as the alicorn summoned her magic to end her. "You're something Celestia could never stand! You're chaos!"
Corona's pupils shrunk as she released a powerful blast of fire. Twilight could feel her wards snap like twigs under the burning fireball that collided against her, blasting her through a solid metal pipe. She hit the wall like a ragdoll, a scream and a whimper were the only evidence that she was alive. "Don't ever call me that name, Sparkle! That weak creature couldn't protect a thing!" Corona blazed, her voice raised, carrying an otherworldly nature to it.
The form of the unicorn twitched. A hoof was outstretched as she tried and failed to pick herself up after the attack. Corona's fury was sedated by the view of her former protege's struggles to stay alive. Twilight pushed herself against the wall, her ribs cracked and a punctured hole in her side bleeding freely. Shaking her head, another pipe exploded with steam as it covered the area in a hot mist. She raised her head slowly, wiping a tear made by the mist from her eye. "I-...I'm sorry, Princess."
"Apologies, Sparkle?" Corona laughed, a sadistic merriment in her voice. "I think you'll find it far too late for that. You will die, Twilight. Like your friends before you. Like your parents. Like Luna. Like Discord."
Twilight shuddered as she felt the life start to leave her, but a smile, soft and sad, hung on her lips. "That's what I'm sorry for, Princess. I'm sorry I couldn't save you from him. That my friends... failed to stop his chaos. He changed you, Celestia. But even he couldn't see what he was starting. I guess it was his nature. It never made sense." The large alicorn made to charge and end the life of the upstart, but quickly found her legs stopped fast in the ground beneath her.
"Wha-What is this?"
"Magic, Princess," Twilight coughed, shaking her head. "Scientifically produced magic, even. It's a fake!" Twilight reached a hoof up, the entire building beginning to shake and shuffle. "As with all of the rest. Fake echoes of the Elements of Harmony."
Looking about, she could see it now. Representations of the Elements prior holders, her students faithful friends. It was a trap. She could see it now. The missing notes from the labs, the wires, steam... they were all put together for... no! "Twilight! You don't know what you're doing! This is more than suicide or murder, it's genocide!"
Twilight's head lolled to one side, her eyes sparkling with tears. Her own salty tears. The mare thought it strange; she hadn't had salt in a very long time. "Familiar, isn't it? It's only right for the student of a monster to be a monster herself. This is the end, Corona. Of you, of me, of all of Equestria. All of it will be torn asunder. Hopefully, it can all start anew." There was a pregnant pause after her words, Corona only gaping at what her former student was saying. As she welled up the last vestiges of strength, Twilight smiled, closing her eyes as she remembered her friend. "I've seen her, Celestia..! I saw Pinkie Pie today. She was still young, still happy. She was bouncing around like she used to."
"She is dead, Sparkle! You're going to kill everypony! End this, now!"
"Oh, Celestia..." Twilight's eyes opened. Taking in the dank surroundings, the mare swore she could hear playful laughing echoing around her. "I plan to." Horn sparkling, Twilight Sparkle grabbed hold of a nearby lever, and pulled it down. With her final deed done, the mare closed her eyes, welcoming the cool darkness that awaited her.
Corona tugged and pulled at her feet, her horn glowing as it attempted to remove herself from the impending destruction. She could see it now, the sigils on the floor, the wiring, the vast power created by her steam engine. It was all too much, nopony could have ever put this together. It was impossible.
A loud whirring sound issued from beneath her, the saucers starting to fall into the floor, Corona with them. It was her magic that fueled this, and the markings on the floor would let her do nothing to prevent it. She had to save herself. However, the floor below opened, and a fearsome sight greeted her.
The remains of the being known as Discord. Rolled into a circle, his body had been connected to an unholy machine, which spun and accelerated as it fed off the latent power the amalgam of creatures once held. Within the space made by his body, a glowing blue energy appeared, shaking with anticipation. It would end this world. It would bring chaos. It fed off the fake elements, and lapped greedily at the cruel magic Corona held. The alicorn could only scream as she was pushed downward into the gaping maw.
Above, Twilight Sparkle stood on three hooves, having just the energy to view the horror of her handiwork. She withstood the sweet embrace of death to see her work through. "Ten years. And now I bring this world to it's end. May whatever take it's place be better than this." Her eyes fell upon the corpse of Discord and the ball of energy that was welling up in the center of the space his body made. Despite his very existence being the key that caused the end of her world, her heart went out to the being. "Perhaps it, too, can be a world made of parts."
"Twilight! Twiliiiight~!"
Twilight smiled as she heard the voice of her friend. "I can hear you, Pinkie Pie! Luna knows I've missed you. I'm coming, girls! Tell them all I'm coming..." Her front legs gave away as she tumbled over the edge. Corona could see the purple pony fall limply into the center of Discord's circle, Twilight's eyes glowing fiercely as Corona started to feel herself burn.
As Twilight fell into and became one with the chaotic energies her machine had created, the unicorn entered an awakened state, her raw ability increasing the magic bomb tenfold as her body burst and became one with the energy. The ball of power erupted forth, consuming all that it could, erasing the boilerworks from reality. It expanded, consuming the castle, Canterlot, Equestria, the sun, the stars, anything and everything it touched, leaving only a blank slate.
The universe depleted, the loss of it's existence called out into Void, and from it the resonating of dimensions. Everywhere across all of time and space and dimension could feel itself tugged, pushing together to fill the gap left from the ghostly universe. They shared in kindness, leaving their own impressions upon the space. And thus it grew, a new universe upon the old. It shared many qualities of it's own, itself an echo of what was, but it was different. Fresh, and anew.
And in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle awoke from a dream at the sound of knocking at her door. She tiredly opened the door, and found herself staring at a pink mess of fur and mane with a party invitation in her hand. For some reason she couldn't begin to know, Twilight found herself felt compelled to embrace her friend. Rushing forward, the unicorn gave her friend a giant hug just at the mere sight of Pinkie.
"Oof! Hey Twilight, good to see you too! What's the big gesture for?" Pinkie asked, returning the hug with equal gusto.
The purple mare removed herself slowly from her friend, wiping a tear from her eye as she smiled. "I'm not sure, Pinkie. I just... it's so good to see you today."
Pinkie Pie smiled, as if knowing the reason for her friend's odd behavior. "Well, yeah! It's always a good day to see your friends! And what better reason than to throw a party about it!" Pinkie cheered, prompting a happy smile from the lavender unicorn.
"Sure thing, Pinkie Pie," she playfully rolled her eyes at the fellow mare, but she found herself completely in agreement with the party pony's logic. A new thought crossed her mind as she looked into Pinkie's sapphire eyes, and she smiled. "Listen, Pinkie, do you mind if I go get the girls myself, today? I... really want to see them, for some reason. Want to come with me?"
"Oh sure! Oh hey, maybe we can get the Princesses to come! And Spike!" Pinkie bounced alongside Twilight, the mare shaking her head as the pony kept coming up with more ponies to invite.
"Well, I'll ask Spike to send a letter," Twilight mused, deciding, what they hay, might as well give it a try.
Pinkie smiled and hopped in place a few times before catching up with Twilight. "Yippee! Oh Twilight, this is gonna be the best party ever, I just know it!"
Twilight couldn't figure out why she was in such a good mood, but found herself uncaring as she could only nod at her hyperactive friend. "You know what Pinkie? I think... you're right."
And that's how Equestria was made.
|
HiddenBrony
|
1085
| 2 |
Doctor Whooves,Lyra,Main 6,Princess Celestia,Trixie,Alternate Universe,Crossover,Comedy,Random,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Strange Tales of the Multiverse
|
A sequence of stories starting from the ruination of an old universe, but are bright and whole.
|
incomplete
| 15 | 2 |
<p>A sequence of stories starting from the ruination of an old universe whose events transpired against Equestria, the act of one pony brings about the invention of a new universe, and upon it new stories that could never exist otherwise transpire.</p><p>A series of one-shots that make no sense in the standard MLP universe, but often use our dashing heroines in new scenarios and in the oddest of situations.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-20T02:56:30+00:00
|
2011-11-20T02:56:30+00:00
| 1,437 |
A rustling of leaves, a cracking branch, and a slight huff of prudent breath was all that issued from the deep undergrowth along the edge of the Everfree Forest. Delicately, a white hoof pushed aside an imposingly large bush so that her pride and joy couldn't be caught or ruined by a stray stick with a penchant for mischief. The beautiful purple mane bounced wonderfully as the white unicorn peered out into an open expanse, making sure that nopony, not even one of her very best friends, could have followed her. She was wonderfully alone.
Turning back towards the forest, the pony trotted gracefully down a lightly beaten path, hidden away from the prying eyes of the public as her tail bounced in tandem with her mane, giving the illusion that the marshmallow white pony simply glided across the ground in one fluid motion. To any creature watching, they might have been confused as to why such a privileged looking pony would be out in the Everfree at night, and hold such an air of confidence about her.
Such a creature obviously didn't know Rarity at all.
Nor could anypony guess her final destination. Happening upon a decrepit old shack, hidden away and covered in vines which grasped at the wooden frame. The unicorn paused briefly, pursing her looks disapprovingly at the building, making no effort to hide her disdain. "Really now, months have passed and she can't go out of her way to at least make the decor a little better!"
"That!" a boastful shout came from within the building, catching the mare off guard. The door suddenly burst open with an indignant kick, and framed in the doorway, lit by a golden light inside, stood a beautiful cerulean coated mare. A purple cap and hat accentuating her silver-blue mane which sparkled ever so slightly in the scattered moonlight. Rarity quickly recovered from her shock as the resident began her haughty rant. "...Is because the Great and Powerful Trixie requires secrecy!" she eyed her fellow unicorn, showing her distaste at the mere thought that anypony could question of her vast talents.
Rarity made no move to take back her statement.
"All I'm saying, dear, is that you could serve to lighten the place up a bit. Some landscaping would do wonders for your lawn," Rarity chided, walking past the blue mare, lightly touching horns with the magician as she passed. Her suave smile served to quiet the boasting pony, and a passing wink granted an anticipating smirk from the clothed unicorn. Trixie soon found herself staring at the white pony's flank longer than she would admit to, and tore her eyes suddenly as if something else required her immediate attention.
Looking about the forest, Trixie made a futile show of looking about for anypony before she ducked her head back inside the enclosure. Turning to face the white unicorn, she had to stomach the very self-satisfied smirk pressed on Rarity's face. "Am I distracting you dear?"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is never distracted by mere physical shapes!" Trixie defended, refusing to match the fashion designer's gaze.
Rarity smiled, raising an eyebrow as she sniffed the air. "I never said you did, darling, you brought that up." Rarity decided to grant the showmare clemency for her mistake by diverting her attention to the internal decor that made up Trixie's abode. Unlike the dilapidated outside, the inside of the wooden shack had been obviously enhanced by magic. The walls were of a pale pink, with solid white trim against the unvarnished surfaces. The small shed had been expanded on the inside, leaving room for all the necessities in life that one could expect from the most prideful pony in Equestria - which was no less than the largest bed she could find, with rolls upon rolls of blankets that depicted the very stars themselves.
Rarity always felt a little impressed walking into this secret location, not that she would ever admit it. Turning toward the cerulean unicorn, the dressmaker gave her a little smile. "Mmm... At least you keep the inside looking perfect, as usual."
"Well, The Great and Powerful Trixie could hardly be considered Great and Powerful if she wasn't able to make a home for herself wherever she went." Passing a hoof in disregard for the white unicorn's compliment, Trixie levitated her hat off her head and placed it on a hook near the doorway. "She only had the training of the most perceptive and creative pony in the business..." she teased, stepping towards the white unicorn.
Rarity looked away from the other unicorn as if disinterested, giving the showpony pause. However, the well-trimmed pony slowly turned her head gracefully back towards Trixie, a simmered smile crossing her features as she leaned closer to the Great and Powerful mare before her. "Ooh, the best pony in the business of dresses, perhaps... among other things, dear," she owned, gratefully taking in the compliment. Trixie's face reddened as Rarity grew ever closer, her horn lowering slightly, gracefully pressing against Trixie's. "I do agree that my fashion sense can extend to homes as well. I like to think of it as a new kind of body to get my hooves on."
"Well, if you're looking to get your hooves on a body, I know where you can look," Trixie suggested, her tail brushing against the dressmaker's cutie mark. Rarity shuddered at the touch, but made no other movements nor denials toward the magician. "It might not be all that new to you, though."
Rarity felt her hoof slowly raise off the ground against her will, bringing itself close to the blue mare's face and turning the showpony's face more toward her own. "I've always held an appreciation for classics, darling." There was a sharp spark from her horn, which caused Trixie's hindlimbs to give away for a split second, a high gasp escaping her. "Because with those, you always know exactly what you can enjoy from them..." Without another word the mare's moved toward each other, noses touching as Rarity's sapphire eyes met with the amethyst orbs of the other unicorn, finding herself forevermore lost in them.
The was a lingering moment, each mare's eyes highlighting every spot of the room to where and how they might continue. Horns touched and grazed each other, magic sparking as the two ponies started to circle each other. "Hm hm! The Great and Powerful Trixie should warn you, she has learned much more since our last visit!"
Rarity smirked, sliding her horn up and off her opposite's and giving them just the slightest amount of room to breathe. "And the visit before last?"
"And the visit before last," Trixie leaned close.
"And the visit before last," Rarity echoed, their lips almost touching.
"And the visit where I came into this equation," a lyrical voice chimed in. Both ponies present jumped away from each other as they quickly and fearfully stared at the door. A solitary mint green unicorn stood with a maliciously playful smirk on her features, a white strip of color soared through her mane as her horn lit up, silently closing the door behind her. Approaching the two mares, Lyra looked between them as the red refused to leave their cheeks. "Gee girls, starting without me?" Stepping closer to the blushing girls, Lyra set her trademark lyre on a small nightstand. Rarity started to regain her composure after being torn from such an intimate moment as the mint pony continued her greeting. "Oh, it's been so long since I've been out here," she began, her eyes dancing about the room. As her eyes came to rest upon the showmare, her smile was almost smoldering, "I hope you girls aren't too familiar with each other."
"Oh Lyra, so good to see you out here again!" Rarity chimed, the pink in her cheeks still refusing to go away. With the door shut behind the third unicorn, Trixie had opted to look out the window to see if anypony else was coming, attempting not to be so quickly dominated by the musician. Rarity took her place quickly, diverting Lyra's attention. "I thought since you moved in with BonBon you weren't... shall we say 'interested' with our little... 'routine'." Rarity added the appropriate air quotes with her words as she spoke.
Lyra's tail whipped furiously about, betraying the minty cool demeanor she was presenting. "BonBon still visits with Carrot Cake from time to time, so... I still have you girls," Lyra stated matter-of-factly. By now, Trixie had removed herself from behind the curtain and approached the minty green mare with a smile more befitting her stage presence. "We all love a little familiarity in our lives, hm?" Lyra continued, a spark shining in her eye.
Bringing a hoof to her chin, the blue mare thought back on her first visit to Ponyville. Yes, the one she came to know as BonBon did seem inordinately close to an orange coated pony - one that Trixie could have sworn had the most terrible shade of green mane... her stomach dropped slightly at the memory as she turned to Rarity. "The... Great and Powerful Trixie... again apologies profusely for her mistreatment of your mane, Rarity."
Rarity waived away the apology, having heard it every time she had come out here. It had been months since stumbling upon the magician's unfortunate position, Trixie's cart having been destroyed in the Ursa attack. "It's really nothing to be worried about, darling. If you hadn't come to apologize personally... why, we wouldn't even have these little events, now would we?"
Trixie smiled mischievously at the word event, feeling her showpony facade starting to flare up again. "You wish for an event, then the Great and Powerful Trixie shall give you a night you won't soon forget!" All too quickly her demeanor faded as Lyra came up from behind the blue unicorn and gave her a bit of a prod, surprising the silver-maned mare from her attempt at boastful seduction.
"I may be a bit late to the party, but I don't think I'm all that taken to being ignored," Lyra commented dryly, brushing alongside Trixie as her tail whipped about her nose. Trixie couldn't help but take in a long whiff of the scented hair as it passed, titillating the very tips of her hooves as she breathed deep the scent of mint. "So, it's just us girls this time?"
Rarity looked over the guests and mentally crossed off the two other ponies who would not be making it to their little get together, and smiled. "Mm, like you said, BonBon is a little busy, being the only honorary non-unicorn to our little society."
Trixie nodded in agreement, loving Rarity's constant use of deflecting phrases that described their get-togethers. Despite this, there was a certain dullness to her amethyst eyes, which didn't go without notice. "And for the p-pink striped harlot who dared stand against the G-great and Powerful Trixie?"
There was a short silence as Rarity shook her mane, having already accounted for the lack of Twilight Sparkle. The bookish unicorn hadn't ever been a part of their late night excursions. Stepping closer to the blue pony, she brought a soft hoof towards the showpony and lifted her chin up. "Darling, you know that Twilight is neither privy nor experienced in the idea of a mare's touch. And I'd hardly think she'd be open to such an... arrangement, like what we have."
Lyra had moved across the room twice during the discussion, and had been playing about with Trixie's hat as Rarity discussed the purple pony in question. "Really? I thought it was the quiet ones who were all pent up and rambunctious like that." Her musically uplifting laugh brought a smile to the other mares' lips as they suddenly found themselves dangerously near the large bed, Lyra in Trixie's hat and the prim and proper Rarity 'trying out' Trixie's cape... while it was still on Trixie. Lyra threw a hoof in mock tragedy as she recounted the faux tale of Twilight Sparkle. "Poor girl must get herself lost in romance novels, calling out for her one true stallion, never knowing her true fate lies in the gentle touch of a mare... or three mares..."
Trixie bleated with disinterest to Lyra's tale, but was cut off as she felt a nip at her ear. Rarity was finding herself in a playful mood, and such interaction was making it very hard for the magician to focus - and she didn't mind a bit. "W-well! She should know that there are w-ways of p-p-pleasure that are only known to t-Trixie! Ohpleasedon'tstopnow-" Trixie whined as Rarity fell to her hooves. Smiling, the unicorn quickly hopped up on the bed and stared down at Trixie.
"Well, I for one am sick of hearing about these special pleasures," Rarity decided with a defiant air. "And I certainly will not be relating them to our little librarian." Rarity's hoof played with the sheet a little, however her dainty hoof refused to upset them too much, instead merely beckoning the two mares to join her. Trixie's confused stare bored into Rarity, who merely leaned down towards her, sending a wink towards Lyra. "So you'll have to show me."
Lyra suddenly pushed up against Trixie's flank, taking to mare by surprise as Trixie splayed out unto the bed in a heap, much to Lrya's delight. Beaming over at Trixie, who was scrambling to get a hoof in traction because her silky bedsheets refused her, the minty mare turned to Rarity. "Good thing I'm no proper lady, or she might be mad at me." she joked.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is furious with you!" Trixie shouted in vain, Lyra climbing up upon the bed regardless of the mare's protest, earning a playful smile from the fashionista. The mare only took a moment to compliment the blue unicorn's flank before pushing up against Rarity's cutiemark, absentmindedly giving it a lick. Rarity illicited a sharp gasp before spinning about, her face a mask of confusion. "O-oops!" Lyra stammered, giving a sheepish smile. "Bonbon loves it when I do that."
"Well, I don-" Rarity began, before suddenly finding her reverse mark receiving the same treatment from Trixie, who used her position to an advantage as she started to drag the mare into the cushions below. Blushing profusely, the mare suddenly found herself sandwiched between the other two as Lyra ignored her pleas against the contrary. "I... I-" Lyra quickly got the tip from Trixie and soon started rubbing against the poor unicorn's mark, the white mare's forehooves giving away, her knees weak from the pleasure. "Oh we simply must do this more than once a month!" The night surrendered to screams of pleasure and laughter as the three ponies took full use of the room.
-----
A flash of inspiration.
"Damn it!"
A yellow pony screamed as he slammed his hoof into his nightstand, his lamp shining on in response. Looking groggily about the room, night continued to crawl in behind his curtains, the lamp only casting imposing shadows about his room. Running his hoof through his flaming red hair, he blinked his eyes hard as his horn sparked to life, lifting a gray plastic rectangle to his waiting hooves. Flipping open the laptop, the pony quickly navigated the device.
"...Seth...?" a voice called weakly nearby, chanting his name in fixed intervals which the blogpony initially ignored. However, as his name continued to be called, the stallion shifted his attention momentarily.
"What is it!?" he demanded, his hoof raised toward the other voice. "I'm busy working here!"
There was a long pause from the other end, as if contemplating the important work the blogger must be doing at this hour. "But how could you have gotten something new to write about? You've been sleeping..."
Sethisto grumbled, his hooves coming to rest idly upon the device. "I told you, I see things - visions of events that are transpiring. And this one is a doozy, I swear. It needs to be up on my blog like, yesterday." Another pregnant silence hung about the room as Seth slowly got back to writing his post, intent on finishing up before heading straight back to sleep.
"What're you writin'?"
Seth slammed his head into his keyboard. "Ugh.... you wouldn't understand!"
"Is it smut?"
"Wuh-what!?" Seth choked on his own saliva, prompting him into a coughing fit as the voice gave a self-gratifying answer for it's own question.
"It's smut. Probably of that showmare you're so fancy of." Regaining his breath, Sethisto gave the other pony a steely glare as he put his hoof down.
"Her name is Trixie and she is the greatest and more powerful mare in Equestria, and you should be humbled by the very mention of her name, let alone existence in this world, you troglodyte!" Seth seethed. However, the only response he gleaned was a dispassionate bleat. Furious, but thankful for his foil's apparent disinterest, the blogpony continued his work, reporting all he had seen in his dream. Ever last detail. Right down to the gentle wave of her mane. The subtle curve of her figure. The way the moon shined off her eyes... indoors, even.
His grunts soon roused his companion from his resumed slumber, the pony reaching out towards the clock. "Sethy... come back to bed, it's late. You can finish it in the morning..."
Seth shot another glare, but was met with pleading eyes. The fires of his tenacity faded as he stared, and his hoof slowly reached out, shutting the laptop and his horn sparking to life, sliding the device off the bed as he moved to get comfortable on the bed. "Only for you, Cereal..."
"Thank you, Seth," the blue unicorn thanked, a small smile playing on his features. "I know how important the blog is to you, but sleep is too. Don't forget that. I don't like it when you're all cranky..." Hoof beckoning the pony back down, Seth returned to his sleeping position next to Cereal.
"I know, Cereal. I'm sorry."
Cereal smiled, shaking his head only slightly. "So what were you writing about?"
"Oh, um, nothing much. Just this and tha-"
"For the love of Celestia!" A mare's head emerged from the other side of the bed, hair pink as Cerise and a white, marshmallow body to compliment it. "Would you two be quiet and get to sleep?"
Seth's hoof slammed against the light, darkening the room once more as he quickly magic'd the covers over himself as he and Cereal quickly muttered a frightened, "Yes Phoe!"
|
HiddenBrony
|
1085
| 3 |
Doctor Whooves,Lyra,Main 6,Princess Celestia,Trixie,Alternate Universe,Crossover,Comedy,Random,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Strange Tales of the Multiverse
|
A sequence of stories starting from the ruination of an old universe, but are bright and whole.
|
incomplete
| 15 | 2 |
<p>A sequence of stories starting from the ruination of an old universe whose events transpired against Equestria, the act of one pony brings about the invention of a new universe, and upon it new stories that could never exist otherwise transpire.</p><p>A series of one-shots that make no sense in the standard MLP universe, but often use our dashing heroines in new scenarios and in the oddest of situations.</p>
|
teen
|
2012-04-28T03:34:20+00:00
|
2012-04-28T03:34:20+00:00
| 1,104 |
"Stitch by stiiiitch, stitching it together~" the sing-song voice rang, a new fabric on her mind as she spun around, tassels and strips of cloth circling about her feminine form as the seamstress worked about her new dress idea. Oh, surely the Hoity Toity fashion company would notice her for sure now! Reaching for a strip of silvermoon fabric, she admired it's light sparkle as she brought it up next to her sewing machine. Placing it next to the pale blue fringe, she was about to start the machine up when a knock on her door broke her concentration. Spinning about, the seamstress removed her 'fashionista' glasses and placed them lazily on the table. Bolstering her appearance for her next customer, she tried not to think about how in the zone she was. "Come iiiiinnnn~!"
"Jewel? Are you in here?" a young voice called, giving the seamstress a smile.
"In the shop, Belle~!" the woman called, standing up as she quickly walked to the door, excited to see her little sister. Swinging open the door, her smile faltered a little as she saw that her kin had not come alone. "Oh, hello there Blossom." Jewel's smile twitched as she looked over the pair of girls. The one she registered as her sister was wearing a small, puce and white school-girl's uniform, but the other girl was wearing a yellow shirt and blue overalls. Casting a cursory glance about her door, the elder sister shot a quizzical look toward the girls. "What, no third Crusader today?"
Blossom shook her head sadly. "Nah, she was all excited 'bout that cool girl at the skatepark, the one with the rainbow helmet." Shrugging, the farm girl's bright red hair bounced about, light and curly enough to even earn an envious stare from Jewel. How a simple farm girl could be blessed with such locks was beyond her, especially since she was related to Jack, the hardworking blonde out at Sweet Apple Acres.
Her mortal enemy.
Well, not mortal enemy so much as polar opposite. The two seemed to stay civil in conversation, especially considering their mutual friends, but they were two people you could never find who were more different. Even still, Jewel knew that her sister and Belle were friends, so no petty differences would get in the way of her gracious hosting.
"Jewel, I was wonderin' if you could help me design some sort of scarf or cape for me 'n the crusaders!" Belle asked, not missing a beat. It wasn't too often her little sweetie came to visit, their parents living on the other side of New York, but when she did she come by she hardly wanted anything other than a place to be for awhile and see her big sister. As such, Jewel was elated that her sister even asked that she help with the design; a fact meaning her little sister was interested in design!
She was so elated she didn't see the fine British man right outside, sitting in a chair that was actually on a table, placed oddly in the middle of the road. Looking to no one in particular, the man straightened his tie and murmured, "And now for something completely different!"
|
LifeIsWeird
|
1087
| 1 |
Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Alternate Universe,Adventure,Dark,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Iveron
|
A party of adventurers are hired to take out a bandit group but not all is as it seems.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Iveron<br/> An unlikely party of adventurers consisting of a flightless pegasus, an amnesic griffon, a young dragon who vowed to slay her own kind, and a former wolf bandit get hired to take out a group of bandits, but not all is as it seems...<br/>This takes place in an alternate less peaceful and more diverse Equestria where Griffons are more common and wolves and dogs are also stuck in the mix differently than the diamond dogs. <br/> I just wanted to say this is my first fan fiction (but not my first story) and it probably isn't going to be the best story ever, but I'm trying to become a better writer so I'm fine with constructive criticism, in fact I want constructive criticism so if there's things I can improve on please tell me.<br/> So far the story is all OC ponies except for the princesses though I'm thinking about wether or not any of the mane 6 or other ponies should be in my story. I'm not even sure if the mane 6 will be alive since I'm setting this in an alternate Equestria.<br/> if this is Grimdark to you, tell me and I'll change it to that rather than just dark, other tags I'll add when I need them... So, yeah...<br/> Also I'm the kind of person who starts projects then never finishes them, so be warned that this might not get finished.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-28T15:16:57+00:00
|
2011-09-28T15:16:57+00:00
| 832 |
Iveron, Chapter One - The Bloodstained Grass
"Another patrol? Great, when will anything interesting happen?" complained one of the recruits, a green unicorn with a bow.
"Well now that the war is over there isn't much more to do besides scouting and patrols." said the eldest of the four recruits, a grey pegasus with a sword slung over his back.
"Hey, what's that?" the third recruit, a yellow mare, pointed into the distance towards a bush that seemed to be moving towards a tree
"Your worst nightmare!" a voice howled, nobody had noticed that the fourth recruit had gone missing. And now he was right in front of them, blood splatters covering his face and side, and his blood spilling onto the grass.
"Oh my Celestia!" the mare stepped backwards in shock, seconds later she was lying on the ground, an arrow through her heart.
"No, Daffodil!" the green unicorn ran to her side and was quickly flanked by three griffons wearing bandanas with the symbol of a storm cloud and with knives in their claws.
"So, you're part of Celestia's pathetic excuse for an army, aren't you?" a voice came from behind the grey pony and he spun around, a wolf smiling at him, showing off his vicious looking teeth. Behind him the last recruit heard the archer screaming in agony.
"What I want you to do is run back home and tell your little princess that Iveron is live and well, not that the name would mean anything to to you." the wolf shoved the startled pony to the ground and laughed, "Have fun." Two unicorns with bows slung over their backs fell down from the treetops and followed the wolf with the griffons close behind. He looked behind him and grimaced as he observed the carnage. He looked down at the bloodstained grass and stood up and began walking towards Ponyville where his superiors would be waiting.
"Excuse me, sir?" the grey stallion approached the general, a white unicorn with golden armor adorned with numerous medals.
"What is it, soldier?" the general looked up from the map of Equestria he was drawing a mock battle plan on.
"We were doing a patrol in the Everfree forest, we were ambushed by a bunch of bandits, two ponies, a wolf, and three griffons, they murdered the other three recruits with me and I barely escaped." he explained, "They were all wearing bandanas with the mark of a storm cloud. Something about some pony named Iveron."
"Oh Celestia, I must warn the princesses..." the general looked deathly afraid of something and ran off to the pegasi carriage drivers to head straight to Canterlot.
"Dare, you there?" the blood red peagsus was busy wrapping his wings in bandages with the help of his sister when someone came knocking on the door. Dare stood up and made his way over to the door, a bandage trailing behind him. He opened the door and the young sky blue dragon known as Sapphire stood in front of him.
"Kate found us a job, we have to head to Canterlot tomorrow to meet the princesses."
"What!?" Dare's eyes widened. He had never really met the princesses due to them being a not very well known mercenary group in a place where mercenaries were generally not needed or frowned upon. But their first job in months from Celestia and Luna? He was excited, even though he was enjoying his break, but things got pretty boring when you're used to adventure and danger.
"Get your stuff ready, we're meeting outside the mayors house at noon tomorrow." Sapphire shut the door and walked off into the distance.
"So, you're meeting the princesses?" his sister asked, looking at him eagerly.
"I'm sorry Starshine, but it's for business and it'll be pretty dangerous." Dare explained, knowing what she was going to ask next.
"Aww..." she frowned. "Well let me at least pack some things for you." Starshine went into her room and dragged out a saddle pack and began stuffing fruits and medicine and other gear into it.
"It's ok sis, I'll be fine." Dare laughed and glanced at the clock above the door. "Well I'm going to go ahead and finish your packing job before I hit the hay. You should probably do the same." he hugged Starshine and began packing his own supplies, preparing for the journey ahead.
"My lord, Celestia has called upon a group of four mercenaries to take you out. I was only just informed." a hooded pony said, kneeling in front of the throne where a grey alicorn with a storm cloud cutie mark sat, stretching his wings.
"That blasted princess, she reacted faster than I thought she would." the alicorn slammed his hoof against the ground. He stopped and thought for a second then smiled. "Wait, this may not be as bad as I thought. In fact, it may be used to our advantage." He began to chuckle then it grew into a full laugh that echoed throughout the throne room.
He was ready.
|
Obvious_Quark
|
1088
| 1 |
Comedy,Dark,Romance,Sad
|
Dorian's Redemption
|
Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 5 |
<p>Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.<br /><br />I think I am starting to put in enough jokes to make this somewhat comedic. You'll see some more humor later on guys.<br /><br />Alright, official facts.<br /><br />–<br />1. There are going to be links to the story in EVERY CHAPTER here.<br /><br />2. I will eventually also put the main story here, but will not re-format it unless you want to go to the trouble of reformatting an entire 8+ page chapter.<br /><br />3. I will most likely have a set date for the completion of a chapter. It may come out later or earlier depending on what life throws at me.<br />–<br /><br />The current set date for the completion of the next chapter is: 11/20/2011</p>
|
teen
| null |
2011-11-11T01:24:32+00:00
| 1,118 |
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================================================
The information inside is public. I want my people to hear
about what happened while I was gone that period of time...
I apologize for not being here for you.
I apologize for hurting you.
I apologize for the wrong I have done.
But I am a new man now. One that can fully meet the needs
of his people.
I am whole.
EGO vadum gero is
================================================
Prologue.mem (755.8 MB)
FIMFICTION VERSION BELOW
Being the leader of an empire is difficult. Being the leader of said empire while being actively hated, feared, or shunned by a great deal of the populace is even more so. Dorian had filled this role for many years, gaining experience, power, and even some satisfaction at his work.
But not love.
He was never good at winning the hearts and minds of the people he lead. His soulless silver eyes, lack of emotion, and place in life each giving him a slight disadvantage, but when you added his past life... it sealed his fate. No one would act normal around him because of his power and his past. It was neigh impossible to gain a friend, let alone think about dating.
In the end, he had given up on the idea of love in any form, and focused solely on his duties as the defender of his country. His people deserved to be safe from fear of invasion. Dorian looked at the screen, the light reflecting off of his armor. He had been eager to go on a field mission with the newest ship in the fleet, sporting a prototype warp drive and a qualified crew. The mission was simple. Establish a forward operating base in a T1 planet. Smooth sailing. A little too smooth for him, but his security wouldn't allow anything more strenuous. Understandable, due to the peoples current thoughts of him.
“I wish it didn’t have to be this way.” He muttered, his emotions catching up to him for a split second. A glimmer of sorrow entering his silver eyes.
A small chime emitted from the ceiling.
“Warp drive first ignition sequence activating.” A robotic voice stated.
“What? It’s still being repaired!” A muffled voice came from outside the entrance to the room he was in.
Dorian sighed.
“It’s never a simple trip, is it?”
---------------------------------
Fluttershy found herself in a pitch black room, oppressive grey walls intimidating her. She was the most colorful thing in the room, her butter-yellow coat and light pink mane emitting vitality. Being a Pegasus pony, she wasn’t that large, reaching only three and a half feet tall when standing on her four hooves.
“H-Hello?” She hesitantly asked the darkness with her timid tone of voice, her head turning left to right in an attempt to find life.
“Be quiet and listen.” A stern, female voice echoed off the walls.
Uttering a small squeak in fright, Fluttershy cowered in the middle of the room, her body shivering in fright, and the eye not covered by her pink mane tracing the walls of the room.
“Someone wants to hurt you.” The voice spoke once more.
“W-w-why?”
“It does not matter. Listen.”
It paused, leaving the room empty of sound before starting again.
“He is a monster, a murderer, torturer, and a force of evil. He will hurt you and your friends... if you let him.”
Fluttershy remained silent. She had stopped her shivering, and grew more attentive, taking in the gravity of the situation before her.
“He himself has killed thousands of people. He has grown powerful through dark ways, shifting power towards him, disregarding who he kills.”
The shadows shifted, and a figure appeared out of the shadows, it stood on its hind legs, almost twice as tall as Fluttershy. Grey soulless eyes peered at her as the figure’s pale face contorted into a cruel sneer.
“W-what do we do?”
The figure dissolved at her words, rushing back into the shadows from whence it came.
“Be prepared.”
|
Obvious_Quark
|
1088
| 2 |
Comedy,Dark,Romance,Sad
|
Dorian's Redemption
|
Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 5 |
<p>Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.<br /><br />I think I am starting to put in enough jokes to make this somewhat comedic. You'll see some more humor later on guys.<br /><br />Alright, official facts.<br /><br />–<br />1. There are going to be links to the story in EVERY CHAPTER here.<br /><br />2. I will eventually also put the main story here, but will not re-format it unless you want to go to the trouble of reformatting an entire 8+ page chapter.<br /><br />3. I will most likely have a set date for the completion of a chapter. It may come out later or earlier depending on what life throws at me.<br />–<br /><br />The current set date for the completion of the next chapter is: 11/20/2011</p>
|
teen
| null |
2011-11-11T01:26:07+00:00
| 686 |
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================================================
Equestria was alien to me.
Others were joyous, I was suspicious.
People relaxed, I searched for the monster.
================================================
DR: Worlds Away.mem (1344 MB)
FIMFICTION VERSION BELOW
Author’s Note:
Hey guys! First time fanfic writing and I am positively excited! I thank you all for your support and help with my writing, and I hope I am able to write something that you will enjoy reading. If you haven’t noticed, there is a “technical sheet” up. Not much else to say here, so without further delay:
Dorian’s Redemption
Worlds Away
The Everfree Forest was going about its nightly cycle, the ecosystem maintaining itself even through the night. A soft ambient song of rustles, chitters, and growls resonating through the trees. The sounds of the forest were suddenly interrupted by a sudden explosion deep within the forest.
The forest grew silent for but a moment, then began to emit its cacophony once more.
A certain purple unicorn stared into the trees.
--------------------
Dorian found himself in a white room, completely square. He gazed over at the door, and read the faint black writing. “Subject E...” he slowly mouthed. Then it hit him.
I’M STILL IN THE LAB.
He attempted to get up and find a way out, but he found himself bound onto a table with steel cords. He struggled against the steel and the rising panic inside of him.
“HELP ME!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Well, looks like we’ve got a screamer, don’t we?” A young woman cooed as she walked slowly around the table, and into his vision.
“What the heck are you doing?” He managed to spit out, his panic and heart rate still rising.
“Im conducting a test, what does it look like?” She smoothly replied, casually running her hands through her hair.
“What... *GASP* did you give me?” The chemical played havoc with his breathing
“A new experimental neurotoxin, why?” Her sickly sweet voice never breaking tune.
“*GASP* Urh, auh, *GASP* STOP IT!” Dorian barely managed to yell.
“Oh, you mean, the antidote?” The woman innocently asked as she waved a needle.
“YES YES YE-GHTGHS” Dorian stopped breathing, his throat refusing to co-operate.
“Okay then!” She said as the needle plunged into his arm.
Dorian felt his throat muscles relax, allowing him to breath once more.
“Oopsie.”
He stared at her, nervous.
“What do you mean by ‘oopsie’?”
“I think I mixed the antidote with the experimental hallucinogen. Or did I mix it with the virus? Hmm...” Her face twisted in mock concern.
“You...” Dorian’s face darkened, anger accompanying his fear.
“I like having fun with my job, it lightens the mood up!”
“Your idea of fun isn't my idea of fun, you sick sadistic MONSTER.”
“I guess I’ll just have to have even MORE fun with my job in order to make up for you then!” She said cheerfully as she pulled out a serrated knife.
“STAY AWAY FROM ME.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you clearly. Did you say ‘please cut my throat’? Okay then!” Her face contorted in the macabre imitation of a smile.
“OH GOD SOMEONE HELP-”
The knife plunged into his neck.
--------------------
!SYSTEM ALERT!
BIEIM://Mental Status: CRITICAL
BIEIM://Activating Stabilizer.
T-Minus 5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
--------------------
VREEEEEEEEE-WHAM!
The world came into focus as his eyes opened. Dorian merely froze in shock for a few seconds, color rushing back into his sweat covered face.
“What the hell happened?” A gruff, deep voice questioned.
“The drive got screwy. Someone forgot it was being worked on.” Another voice answered. This one obviously female.
“Great, we get screwed over by some moron who forgot about the damn repairman.” A final voice muttered.
Dorian winced in pain as a massive headache tore through him, disorienting him.
“Who’s with me?” he cautiously questioned, looking at the three soldiers sitting with him.
“Oh, you're up sir!” The third person exclaimed. “Um, I'm Specialist Newton, that’s Sergeant Brown,” He pointed to the first man. “And that’s Specialist Ivring.” He pointed to the female.
“Okay, whats our situation, Sergeant?”
“We have no idea where we are, and we are stranded indefinitely on this planet with no current way of contacting friendly forces.” Brown grimly stated.
“Alright then, lets get used to our surroundings.”
Dorian finally took a good look around him. It was a typical forest, not unlike one you would find on Earth. The leaves were a lush dark green, and the bark a rich brown. The dirt was also a healthy brown color, except for the scorched parts, where the... craft had landed. The sky was a nice shade of blue, and the sun was directly overhead.
The thing they had landed with appeared to be a chunk of the ship. He saw 2 floors above ground, and judging by what else he saw, 1 floor below ground level. It looked like it would hold. For now.
Dorian thought to himself for a moment, his brain calculating the plan that would fit this situation; the processors working hard to compensate for his brain, which was still jarred from the crash. He couldn’t focus properly, which meant energy manipulation was out of the question. He would have to do this manually.
“Alright, I'm going to find out what exactly is out there.” He finally spoke. “Sergeant, establish a defensive perimeter, and list our resources.”
“Yes sir.”
BIEIM://Activating Adaptive Camouflage System.
BIEIM://Activating Recon-4 Sensory System.
BIEIM://Activating Recon-4 Automatic Routefinder.
BIEIM://Setting RIIM to AUTOMATIC.
Dorian un-slung his rifle, and disappeared into the woods, sprinting through effortlessly. His armor automatically adjusted its camouflage to its surroundings, making him nearly invisible.
--------------------
Twilight Sparkle is not an average pony.
She was the personal pupil of Princess Celestia, an Alicorn who ruled Equestria, and arguably the most powerful being on the planet. No pony on the planet could hope to challenge her, except for maybe Princess Luna, her sister.
Twilight was also very powerful. Being a unicorn, she had magic. But she was much more adept at magic than most unicorns, and constantly improved.
She was the owner of the library in the town she lived in and as a result, had gained considerable knowledge.
None of which would prepare her for what she would find, of course.
“What was that?” She asked herself, in awe of the energy that initially rippled from the site of the flash.
“I dunno Twilight, maybe its a meteor or something.” Her helpful dragon assistant Spike suggested.
“Don’t be silly Spike, there was no tail! It’s... strange.” Twilight turned from the window and put a hoof to her chin while she pondered.
She finally put her hoof on the wooden floor. She had to inform Celestia.
“Spike, take a letter.”
“On it!” He took a quill and sheet of paper from a desk, and was about to say that he was ready, when he burped up a letter from the Princess herself. He cleared his throat and began to read.
'To my faithful student,
I noticed a sudden burst of energy emanating from the Everfree forest. I want you to go investigate the source of this disturbance and report your findings to me. Be careful though, there appears to be a source of intense magical energy moving through the forest. It doesn't decrease my confidence in your ability and your skill however, and I am more than confident that you can handle this. Take somepony with you when you leave, I suggest someone who knows the forest more
Princess Celestia'
“Huh, that’s weird. She responded to this really fast.” Spike said.
“It doesn't matter. We’ll leave in the morning, it’s too dangerous at night.” Twilight replied firmly, hiding the fact that she was rather scared of the forest in any light.
Spike yawned in reply, and trudged off to bed, mumbling only a “goodnight” before going to sleep.
Twilight turned to look through the window one last time, before going to bed as well. Her mind pondering what lay in the forest.
--------------------
Dorian stopped for a moment, seeing the edge of the forest in sight.
“Can you hear me?” He spoke into his communication unit that was nestled in his helmet.
“Affirmative.”
“I’ve reached what appears to be the edge of this forest, have you made any progress?”
“Yes sir. We have only some computer terminals with blueprints in them, your computer in the quarters, an’ a storage room with some weapons, ammo, bots, and some engineering stuff.” Sergeant Brown’s voice rumbled through his helmet. “As for the defences, we got a few sentries set up, along with some cams.”
“Any food?” Dorian said as he crept towards the edge of the forest, stopping prone at a bush to rest for a second.
“No sir. We’ll need to find food here.”
“Okay, hold on the food for now, we don’t know what’s poisonous or not. I’m going to try to find some natives that could help us with that. Continue to secure the area and hold your position there.
“Affirmative.”
Dorian focused on the bush ahead of him, almost right on the edge of the forest.
BIEIM:// Primary Objective: Attempt to find intelligent native populace while maintaining stealth. Secondary Objective: Gather intelligence successfully while maintaining stealth.
BIEIM:// ::KSPM:: STN-PR MODE-STE ACT-MOV[12OC,3m,LCR]|STN-CR END
His movement plotted out, he crawled as quietly as possible to the bush, and slowly moved into a crouch. He began slowly sweeping the landscape, keeping his rifle steady.
What looked like a 17th century village covered in technicolor paint was spread out before him, not farther than 200 meters.
He increased the magnification of his scope, and tried to find the inhabitants of this strange land.
He saw what appeared to be horses moving through the town, doing various activities.
All I can see are horses so far. No other animals in town.
He continued to look for an intelligent species, but found nothing but the horses.
No people? No intelligent species? He said, growing a little confused. “What happened to the-”
Then, it hit him.
The horses ARE the intelligent species.
He zoomed even closer, making out the distinct details of the horses. They had large eyes and colorful coats that went through every range of the spectrum. It looked like something from a fairy tale. Furthermore, pretty much everyone in the town seemed to be happy. He had soon stared at the town for 2 hours, catching every detail visible to him. Not a single mugging in the streets, a fight, heck, there had not even been more than 3 arguments in the time he had-
“I’m going to get diabetes if we keep looking at it.”
He turned to his side, and noticed a person who looked like him (albeit in a drill sergeant’s uniform staring at the town with a sour expression on his face.
“You don’t really have a choice, Determination.” Dorian went back to scouting the town. “You’re one of my Fractures, after all.”
BIEIM:// Test complete. Negative for concussion. Negative for diabetes. Negative for insanity.
He was about to plan how to contact the natives without sparking panic when he felt an energy burst right in front of him.
Oh. Great.
A purple Unicorn, a yellow Pegasus, and a large lizard appeared right in front of him.
“The energy source is right here!” The purple Unicorn exclaimed.
They speak English. What are the chances?
BIEIM:// Calculations estimate there is 1 in 1 googol of a chance that a undiscovered intelligent species will speak the English language.
“What, where? I don’t see anything.” The lizard piped up.
The yellow Pegasus was almost inaudible. “A-are you sure this is safe?.”
Dorian carefully considered his options, and made a decision.
BIEIM:// Primary Objective: *COMPLETE* Secondary Objective: *COMPLETE* Mission Success!
BIEIM:// Setting new objectives...
BIEIM:// Primary Objective: Gather intelligence from the native populace if possible. Secondary Objective: Investigate
BIEIM:// Deactivating Adaptive Camouflage System.
BIEIM:// ::KSPM:: MODE-CAS END
He slowly stood up from the bush and cleared his throat.
This yielded 3 interesting reactions.
The Pegasus’ pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks at the sight of him, and she flew off after uttering a shriek of terror.
The Unicorn’s jaw dropped as she stared wide-eyed at Dorian.
The lizard simply stood there, his eyes glazing over.
“Salutations, I am Dorian, Leader of a faraway empire known as Anicaria.” Dorian said.
Silence.
“I have accidentally stranded myself on your planet, and would like some assistance from you and your people. I apologize for this inconvenience, and promise to provide compensation for your aid.”
The purple Unicorn was the first to snap out of the fear that held her rooted to the ground.
“Um... hi.” She finally answered. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
Dorian nodded. “Good to meet you, Miss Sparkle.”
I can’t believe I’m asking for help from a purple Unicorn named “Twilight Sparkle.” Dorian said to himself.
I can’t believe I’m getting asked for help from some metal creature from some distant land. Twilight said to herself.
“Err, if you need help, then why don’t you come to my house with me?” She continued, carefully choosing her words. She didn’t know what the thing was capable of, and she didn’t want to offend it for various reasons.
“Lead the way, Miss Sparkle.”
“Please, call me Twilight.” She didn’t like being called “miss”, it made her feel slightly awkward.
She turned to Spike, who had finally snapped out of his trance.
“Twilight, how did I- AHHHHHHHHHH-MMPH!” Spike was interrupted mid-scream by Twilight’s hoof, which she had promptly shoved in his mouth.
“Spike, this is... Dorian. He needs our help, so he’s coming to the library with us.” she said, withdrawing her hoof.
“You live in a library?”
“Yes, with my dragon assistant Spike.” Twilight said.
“Uhhh... Hi?” Spike said to Dorian, staring at his face, or more accurately, where his face was covered by his helmet.
Dorian simply nodded.
“Alright, lets go!” Twilight’s horn lit up as she prepared for a spell.
“Wait, what are you-”
POOF!
|
Obvious_Quark
|
1088
| 3 |
Comedy,Dark,Romance,Sad
|
Dorian's Redemption
|
Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 5 |
<p>Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.<br /><br />I think I am starting to put in enough jokes to make this somewhat comedic. You'll see some more humor later on guys.<br /><br />Alright, official facts.<br /><br />–<br />1. There are going to be links to the story in EVERY CHAPTER here.<br /><br />2. I will eventually also put the main story here, but will not re-format it unless you want to go to the trouble of reformatting an entire 8+ page chapter.<br /><br />3. I will most likely have a set date for the completion of a chapter. It may come out later or earlier depending on what life throws at me.<br />–<br /><br />The current set date for the completion of the next chapter is: 11/20/2011</p>
|
teen
| null |
2011-10-12T03:26:12+00:00
| 659 |
Sys:// -Connecting to ISECCZMAINFRAME-
Sending Credentials [G0]
4 seconds elapsed...
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Technical Sheet.txt (200MB)
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Obvious_Quark
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1088
| 4 |
Comedy,Dark,Romance,Sad
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Dorian's Redemption
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Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.
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hiatus
| 9 | 5 |
<p>Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.<br /><br />I think I am starting to put in enough jokes to make this somewhat comedic. You'll see some more humor later on guys.<br /><br />Alright, official facts.<br /><br />–<br />1. There are going to be links to the story in EVERY CHAPTER here.<br /><br />2. I will eventually also put the main story here, but will not re-format it unless you want to go to the trouble of reformatting an entire 8+ page chapter.<br /><br />3. I will most likely have a set date for the completion of a chapter. It may come out later or earlier depending on what life throws at me.<br />–<br /><br />The current set date for the completion of the next chapter is: 11/20/2011</p>
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teen
| null |
2011-11-10T19:55:09+00:00
| 491 |
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================================================
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT "OGRF03822CoLog2/24/2200"
START 11:30:22
Woman1: I have a bad feeling about what we're doing here, Charles.
Man1: If you can't handle making money, then you can resign.
Woman1: It's not that, I just think we are creating something we can't control.
Man1: Candice, don't worry about a thing. It's impossible to break out. The last time someone tried to, they got blown to bits by security.
11:38:32
*Heavy breathing, cursing. Unidentified source.*
Man1: We have a security breach on main street. Be advised.
Woman1: What subject?
*Pause.*
11:40:10
Man1: Subject E.
Woman1: *Curses* Alert all the security personnel. We cant let it escape. It will be almost impossible track it then.
Man1: I don't think IT needs that much, a patrol should take it down.
Woman1: You shouldn't underestimate IT Charles. We've invested a lot of money and time into that thing.
*Dull thud*
Man2: GAAAAH!
*Gunshots, Pistol*
SubE: *Laughter*
Man3: WHAT IS THAT THING?
Man4: Shoot it!
Man1: Alright. ALL SECURITY PERSONNEL, THERE IS A BREACH ON MAIN STREET. ALL AVAILABLE GUARDS ARE TO CIRCUMVENT THE SUBJECT IN QUESTION.
11:42:00
*Gunshots, Small Arms*
Man8: It's grabbed me! HEL-
*Splatters, cursing*
Man3: I see it!
Man5: I'm in pursuit.
*More Small Arms Fire, screams and thuds.*
Woman2: My squads dead, help me out here! It's reached sector C's far side.
*Boot steps*
11:48:38
Man3: We've got it cornered next to the window!
Man1: Hurry up and capture it before it can cause any more damage.
Man6: PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD AND LAY ON YOUR STOMACH. NOW.
SubE: *Laughter* I don't think so.
Man5: GET DOWN!
*Pause*
11:50:04
Man1: Hurry up and get it restrained, we have a schedule to follow.
Man6: Alright, surround it. NOW.
*Bootsteps*
SubE: I'll be back for you, Charles.
*Glass Shattering*
*Silence*
11:50:30
Man6: It... jumped out the window sir.
Man1: Well, it's as good as dead. As you were. Other people will handle the rest.
*Boot Steps, unintelligible mutterings*
11:53:11
Woman1: Well?
Man1: Well what?
Woman1: What are you going to do about this?
Man1: I'll send a few repairmen to replace the glass and sweep up the place.
Woman1: What about subject E?
Man1: Hah, it was just a cog in the machine. I can easily replace it with another.
Woman1: Who do you have in mind?
Man1: What about that cheeky little assistant?
Woman1: The girl that attended to him between treatments?
Man1: Yes, she's about the same age, and in fact, we might be able to replicate the results we got with him.
Woman1: You really think so?
*Silence*
Man1: Worth a shot. Prep her for treatment right away.
END 11:55:14
================================================
|
Obvious_Quark
|
1088
| 5 |
Comedy,Dark,Romance,Sad
|
Dorian's Redemption
|
Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.
|
hiatus
| 9 | 5 |
<p>Fluttershy has a dream that foreshadows a terrible evil. But not everything is as it seems.<br /><br />I think I am starting to put in enough jokes to make this somewhat comedic. You'll see some more humor later on guys.<br /><br />Alright, official facts.<br /><br />–<br />1. There are going to be links to the story in EVERY CHAPTER here.<br /><br />2. I will eventually also put the main story here, but will not re-format it unless you want to go to the trouble of reformatting an entire 8+ page chapter.<br /><br />3. I will most likely have a set date for the completion of a chapter. It may come out later or earlier depending on what life throws at me.<br />–<br /><br />The current set date for the completion of the next chapter is: 11/20/2011</p>
|
teen
| null |
2012-12-03T08:57:00+00:00
| 50 |
Hey guys! I'm back after a long excruciating time period of not a single update.
I'll give you guys the rundown in this video!
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Fable Scroll
|
1089
| 1 |
Slice of Life
|
Without a Doubt
|
Rainbow Dash gets a friendly reminder that she does not need to prove herself to her friends.
|
complete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>After an encounter with her old friend Gilda, Rainbow Dash is even more determined than usual to hone her flying skills to perfection and impress the Wonderbolts. While her friends accept her goal, they are concerned with her obsessive training, and try to help her understand that they respect her already.<br /><br />First fan fiction I wrote, so all feedback is appreciated.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Edit:</strong> Revised as of October 29th, 2011:<br />- expanded initial scene<br />- removed Doctor Whooves reference<br />- minor changes to various phrases<br /><br /><strong>Edit 2:</strong> Revision March 28th, 2012<br />- drastically expanded.</p>
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everyone
| null |
2011-11-04T15:55:13+00:00
| 1,017 |
"Hey, Dash!"
A sudden tension in her back sent the blue pegasus tumbling hooves over head before she could catch herself. Forelegs crossed and jaw set, Rainbow hovered closer to the griffon on the cloud she had just passed. "Gilda. What the hay are you doing here?"
"Just checking on my good, old friend Rainbow Dash." Gilda grinned.
"Yeah, right," Dash huffed.
"You finally decide not to be lame anymore?"
Rainbow Dash glared at Gilda for a moment before she replied. "I don't know about you, but I never stopped being cool."
Gilda scoffed and dove around the pegasus. "Yeah, right. I bet that's why you hang out with those dweebs."
"You're still upset about some stupid pranks? That's so not cool." She flipped over to face Gilda, upside down.
"Yeah, whatever. If you can't see how cool I am, why don't you go back to your lame friends and leave the sky to awesome people like me?"
Dash's glare hardened. "The sky doesn't belong to you."
"Sure does." she touched back down on the cloud and rubbed her claw on her chest.
"Oh yeah?" The pegasus placed her face right in front of Gilda's and stared into the griffon's eyes.
"Oh yeah. What's a loser like you want up here, anyway?"
The angry glare vanished from Rainbow Dash's face, she did a few loops and flips, and kicked the air. "I'm practicing for the Wonderbolts."
"Practicing?" Gilda laughed. "Yes, you need that."
Dash thrust her muzzle into Gilda's face. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Just that your signature moves might need some work."
"You're just jealous because nothing you can pull off is even half as impressive," the pegasus blurted out.
Gilda laughed. "I'll give you that: High-speed crashes are impressive."
"At least I dare something." Dash trembled as she raised her voice.
Gilda only laughed again.
"Just you wait. I'll be a Wonderbolt someday," the cyan pony hissed through gritted teeth.
"Like they'd ever let a dweeb like you join," the griffon called over her shoulder as she flapped off.
"Why, you..." Rainbow Dash bolted after her, only to stop after a few feet and sink onto the cloud with a heavy sigh.
Every last cloud above Ponyville bore a clean hole right through its middle. Many of them were strung on fading rainbows. Though they had been reduced to frayed rings, the dark clouds still clung to the sky like flies in a colorful web. Far below, the residents of Ponyville glanced up and talked about the peculiar, and unscheduled, weather.
Rainbow Dash lay on a tattered cloud among rising wisps, her eyes closed. She kept her legs folded under herself, wings clasped tight against her flanks, though they sometimes twitched or fluttered. Her whole body trembled and shook as she gasped for air.
"Uhm..." The cloud barely gave way as the yellow pegasus touched down next to her.
"Huh? Oh, hi Fluttershy." Rainbow lifted her head and smiled faintly.
"Are you okay?" The pink-maned filly's soft voice was almost lost in the wind.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She smiled a little more, ears perking up. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Fluttershy rubbed her hoof against her leg. "Oh... you look... uhm... tired."
"Heh... yeah, I guess I am pretty tired. I've been practicing all day."
"That's... good. We were just... so worried."
"Worried? Why would you be worried about me?"
"The weather isn't what it should be." She lowered her head and turned it away. "We thought you might be hurt."
"No, I'm fine. Really. Just busy practicing for the Wonderbolts.
Fluttershy laid her ears back. "But... don't you think you should... maybe... take care of the weather... if you're not too busy, that is..."
Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Heh, yeah. I got a little carried away. I'll get right on it."
"I could help a little, if you want." The yellow pegasus stepped closer.
"Oh no, I'm fine." Dash took to the air. "I'll get this sky cleared in no time."
"I... when you're done, I'd really like your help... I mean, if you don't mind..." Fluttershy's voice trailed off.
The rainbow-maned pegasus had already disappeared, kicking clouds in the distance. Fluttershy bowed her head with a light sigh before she floated back down to her cottage.
The door swung open just as she stopped knocking.
"Hello, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy smiled, hovering near the ground.
"Hey, Fluttershy." Dash strutted into the room. "Sorry I couldn't be here sooner."
"Oh no. It's okay." She eased the door shut and slipped to the window to feed a group of birds.
"You know I don't leave my friends hanging."
"Yes. You didn't have to hurry, though."
"Pffft, hurry..." The blue pegasus waved her hoof. "I'm always that fast."
Fluttershy just nodded as she tried to convince Angel to eat.
"Now, what did you want my help with?"
"Oh... It's nothing..."
"Fluttershy. I'm here to help."
"I don't want to keep your from practicing."
"Fluttershy!"
Wings tucked against her back, the pale yellow pegasus backed onto her sofa. "Oh... uhm... I just wanted your help moving a few things...But if you'd rather practice, that's okay, too."
"Just moving something?" Dash got up, her wings lifted high. The blue filly's gaze shifted back and forth between Fluttershy and the door, until it lingered on her friend. "Alright, let's do this."
"Oh, you really don't have to."
"I want to. Now, where's that stuff you gotta move?" She'd already taken to the air, just off the ground.
"Uhm... outside. I should return the carts Applejack lent me."
"Carts?" She dropped back down and folded her wings, groaning. "I hate pulling those."
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's alright." She smirked. "It's just... they're so slow. And if I fly like I want to, they always break."
"I can ask somebody else for help. I'm sure Applejack and Big Macintosh wouldn't mind picking them up tomorrow."
"No, no, no, no, no." Dash's rainbow mane rustled with the shaking of her head. "I promised I'd help you."
"No, please... I'll just..." Her words hung in the air as Angel tugged on one pale pink strand of hair and pointed to the clock on the wall. "Oh my..."
"What? What is it?" Rainbow Dash looked around.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was already so late. I have to go see Rarity and Twilight at the spa."
The other pegasus breathed a heavy sigh. "That's alright. I should get back to Ponyville myself."
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, you look absolutely terrible. Whatever happened to you?" Rarity exclaimed.
"What? Nothing. I'm fine."
"She's right, you know," Twilight said as she moved around the pegasus. "You look like you got caught in a storm."
The blue pegasus finally touched down. "No, I'm fine. Really."
"Just look at your hair." The white unicorn flicked her own mane over her neck, ignoring Spike's dreamy sigh. "Even more untidy than usual. Terrible."
Twilight stopped in front of her friend and looked into her eyes. "And your eyes are red."
"They always are."
Twilight furrowed her brow. "I am not talking about your eye color."
"And your feathers are in such disarray." Rarity stepped to Rainbow's side and brushed a hoof across her wing. "No, this will not do."
Though Fluttershy had been standing off to the side the whole time, legs close together and her head lowered and turned away, she took a step closer and spoke up. "Uhm... Rarity? I think Rainbow Dash wanted to go practice... and we should go to the spa, or we'll miss our appointment."
Rarity lifted her head high, ears perked up. "Iiiiideeaaa!"
"I don't like the sound of that." With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash threw herself a few feet into the air.
"Rainbow Dash, you positively have to come with us to the spa. Trust me, it will do you a world of good." The purple dragon tip-toeing after her, Rarity walked around the pegasus and looked her over.
"No, I... really should get back to practice." Dash rose a few feet higher, yet she stayed.
Twilight craned her head back to look up at her friend. "You're as focused on your practice as I used to be on my studies. That can't be good for you."
"No, I'm fine. But I've got to be in top shape for the Wonderbolts."
"Rainbow Dash, you saved my life and won the Best Young Flyer competition at the same time. I would say you very much are in top shape when it comes to flying. Your appearance, however..." The unicorn frowned.
"I could be better." She zipped to the other side of the group. "I have to be if I want to impress the Wonderbolts."
Rarity lifted her head into a dignified pose and took a few steps towards their hovering friend, Spike following close behind. "The Wonderbolts are a very prestigious group. Do you think you could impress them looking like some common rascal? I think not."
"I've got to get my tricks down, first. I'll worry about my hair later."
"It's not just your hair. You're tiring yourself out. You should take a break," Twilight said.
"I don't need a break. I'm fine."
Rarity fixed Rainbow Dash in her gaze for a moment, then turned and strode towards the spa. "If you do decide to do something against your terrible state, you do know where to find us."
Fluttershy and Spike hurried after her, one with a squeak and the other with a sigh. Twilight shook her head and lingered behind. "Dash, do you remember how you all told me you were proud to know a unicorn with my talent? Well, I just want to tell you, we're proud to know such a great flyer, too."
Dash hovered in place as she watched the purple unicorn run off to catch up with their other friends.
"Rainbow Daaaaash! Rainbow Daaaaash!" Pinkie Pie's shrill screams echoed through the pegasus' home. How she could use a mere pogo stick to jump high enough to peek into Dash's window was a mystery to everypony.
"What is it, Pinkie?" Dash got up from the small pile of fluffy clouds she had been resting on and walked over to the window.
"I need your help. I had a great idea. It'll be super duper fun. I promise." Even with her bubbling speech the time she stayed at the window to say all that was slightly disquieting.
Rainbow Dash smirked and shook her head. "I'll be right down, Pinkie."
"Woohoo!" For a brief moment as she cheered, it looked almost as if Pinkie was leaning into the window from above.
When Rainbow Dash flew down to her friend a few moments later, the pogo stick was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the pink earth pony hopped around, at times seemingly bouncing off thin air. "This is gonna be sooo great. And with your help, it's gonna be even better."
Rainbows's head bobbed as she followed the frantic, nature-defying movement of her friend. "So, what is this cool idea you had? An awesome new prank?"
"Oh, no. Nonononono." Her face was a blur as she shook her head. "Muuuuuch better."
"Come on, tell me."
"With those dark clouds today, everypony got so sad and frowny. But now that the weather's better, we're gonna make it all better." Pinkie hopped on the spot.
"How?"
"We're gonna have a party, of course. A big picnic in Whitetail Wood. And with your help, we can make sure everypony knows."
The pegasus touched down next to Pinkie and laughed. "What do you want me to do?"
"Easy peasy. What you do best, of course: fly."
"If I have to tell everypony, I won't be done until nightfall," Dash groaned.
"Oh, you're not telling them. You're showing them." Pinkie pointed her hoof straight up.
The blue pegasus followed the direction with her eyes. "I don't get it."
"Duh!" A pink foreleg wrapped around Dash's withers and pulled her so close their faces were squashed together cheek to cheek. "You get up there, grab some fluffy clouds and pretty rainbows, and write it in the sky in biiig letters: Big Picnic. Whitetail Wood. Free Cupcakes."
Dash gulped. "Wouldn't it be easier to just tell everypony?"
Pinkie Pie giggle-snorted. "Oh, so you wanna run here and there and everywhere and aaaaall over Ponyville, trying to find everypony?" As she talked, she hopped all over the place, into and out of bushes, and up the trees, dangling from the branches.
"Errr... I guess not."
"Then what are you waiting for? Get up there and paint the sky."
"I'm just not really sure I'm the right pony for the job."
"Don't be silly. You're the fastest and best flyer in Equestria in, like, ever. Of course you're the right pony for the job. See you later, Rainbow Dash." She hopped off towards Ponyville, falling into another of her songs.
"Rainbow Dash. Over here. Over here." A pink foreleg waved frantically.
"Pinkie Pie? How did you get here so fast?"
"I walked here, of course." Her face seemed to be at least 80% smile.
Rainbow Dash stared at her, eyes wide and fixed. "What? I... you... how... I only just got done. How can you..."
Pinkie just kept smiling.
"Oh, forget it." Dash slumped down on the ground and sighed.
"Okie dokie lokie."
"Yep, that's Pinkie Pie fer yah."
"Hey Applejack." Dash looked up at their friend from her lying position. "What are you doing here?"
"Ah came here with Pinkie, before she went off tah find yah. Brought some apples for her picnic."
"Oh... Heh, yeah... That makes sense, I guess." Dash rubbed the back of her neck.
"Don't mind me sayin' so, but yah look kinda beat today."
"I'm fine," Dash blurted as she jumped to her hooves and spread her wings.
"Oh, I know. I know. Flying practice, right? For the Wonderbolts," Pinkie called out as she cartwheeled about the place for no apparent reason.
"Yeah, you got that right," Dash admitted.
"Why do yah always practice so much?"
"I've got to impress the Wonderbolts so I can join them."
"Sugahcube, you ain't gotta impress nopony."
"Of course I do. Why else would they let me join?"
"Ah reckon' yah wanna prove yerself. Ah can understand that?"
"Prove myself?" Dash laughed. "I just want everypony to see how cool I am."
"Uh-huh... 'n I just wanted tah harvest all them apples by myself."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothin'." Applejack smirked. "Point is, yah gotta slow down."
"Rainbow Dash never slows down." She stood up tall, showing off her wings. "Never."
"If yah go on like this, yah'll tire yerself out 'n' make mistakes. Trust me, ah know."
Rainbow Dash stared at her friend. She nudged the brim of her hat up and returned the stare in equal measure. A few moments of silence later, Rainbow broke out in laughter. "Yeah, I guess you do, Miss I-don't-need-no-help-from-nopony."
"Awwww... You're no fun." Pinkie pouted and and put her popcorn down. "You let Applejack win."
"Huh? Win?" They both turned to the pink earth pony.
"Staring contest," she chimed and hopped off to spread streamers on the trees.
The two friends looked back at each other and burst out laughing.
"Can you imagine that? Me, just giving up?"
"Sure can't, sugahcube." Applejack snorted, leaning on the pegasus for support. "Sure can't."
"Remember the Running of the Leaves?"
"We sure made foals outta ourselves then."
"Yeah, and you lost to an egghead." Her laughter died to a snicker.
"So did yah." She smirked and flicked her hat up.
"Still beat you."
"Nah, yah didn't." Applejack paused. "Yah did beat me for Iron Pony, though."
"Yeah, I left you in the dust." The pegasus grinned.
"Well, ah don't have wings."
"Hey, the rules didn't say anything against it, so it wasn't cheating."
"You mighta tricked me, but ah'm still mighty proud to call the Iron Pony mah friend."
Rainbow Dash laughed and rubbed her neck. "Uh... Thanks, Applejack..."
"'sides," the orange pony poked her friend's chest, "ah never heard about one of them Wonderbolts doing a Sonic Rainboom."
"Indeed," Rarity added as she strode over to the friends beside a bouncing Pinkie Pie, followed by Twilight, Fluttershy, and a dazed Spike. "I might not appreciate your brash style, but I do recognize outstanding ability. And you positively are the most outstanding flyer I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"And we're all proud to know you," Twilight added. "You don't need the Wonderbolts for that, or a Sonic Rainboom."
"Rainboom?" a certain pink pony perked up. "Oh! Oh! You know what would make this party totally great? A Sonic Rainboom!"
The other friends all looked at her, some with lifted eyebrows. Even Spike tore his gaze away from Rarity to look at her.
"Come on, Dashie! Come on! Make a Sonic Rainboom!" She hopped around the cyan pegasus.
Grinning, Rainbow looked up at the sky and spread her wings. Somepony cleared her throat. The eager pegasus look at the gathered friends, especially Applejack, and folded her wings with a sheepish grin. "Not now, Pinkie. I need rest."
"Awwwwww..." Pinkie drooped for an instant before perking up again. "Oh, I know. I have an even better idea."
The friends looked at her in silence, varying degrees of worry and surprise playing across their faces.
"Pony pile!" the energetic pony shouted and flung herself into the air. After a few too many moments off the ground, she tackled Rainbow Dash. Together they stumbled back into the group of friends. Knocking them all over, Pinkie pulled all her laughing friends into a hug; even the reluctant baby dragon.
Dear Princess Celestia,
today my dear friend Rainbow Dash learned a valuable lesson about friendship. True friends like you for who you are, and can look past your flaws even as they help you overcome them. As long as you and your friends believe in yourself, you do not have to prove yourself to anypony.
your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
|
Fable Scroll
|
1089
| 2 |
Slice of Life
|
Without a Doubt
|
Rainbow Dash gets a friendly reminder that she does not need to prove herself to her friends.
|
complete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>After an encounter with her old friend Gilda, Rainbow Dash is even more determined than usual to hone her flying skills to perfection and impress the Wonderbolts. While her friends accept her goal, they are concerned with her obsessive training, and try to help her understand that they respect her already.<br /><br />First fan fiction I wrote, so all feedback is appreciated.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Edit:</strong> Revised as of October 29th, 2011:<br />- expanded initial scene<br />- removed Doctor Whooves reference<br />- minor changes to various phrases<br /><br /><strong>Edit 2:</strong> Revision March 28th, 2012<br />- drastically expanded.</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2012-03-28T18:02:48+00:00
| 384 |
Without A Doubt (revised)
"Hey, Dash!"
A sudden tension in her back sent the blue pegasus tumbling hooves over head before she could catch herself, so her rainbow contrail twisted into a corkscrew behind her. Forelegs crossed and jaw set, Rainbow hovered closer to the griffon on the cloud she had just passed and gave her best deadpan. "Gilda. What are you doing here?"
"Just checking on my good, old friend Rainbow Dash," Gilda grinned with a glint in her eyes.
"Yeah, right," Dash huffed.
"You finally decide not to be lame anymore?" The griffon turned her head away to preen her outstretched wing, though she still glanced at Dash now and then.
Silence stretched between the former friends, broken only by the measured beating of pegasus wings. A faint breeze ruffled Gilda's feathers and Rainbow's hair, and sent wisps of vapor floating around the griffon's legs. Even as her many-colored mane whipped into the pegasus' face, her unblinking stare stayed on the avian. Gilda returned that look as the silence deepened, the wind forgotten until Dash answered in a low tone, "I don't know about you, but I never stopped being cool."
Gilda scoffed, took off, and dove around the pegasus. "Yeah, right. I bet that's why you hang out with those dweebs."
"You're still upset about some stupid pranks? That's so not cool." She flipped over to face Gilda, upside down in the air. Again, they stared at one another, in spite of the awkward position. Even as blood rushed to her head and colored her cheeks, Rainbow Dash did not back off. While the griffon hovered casually, her arms crossed, the cyan pegasus strained her wings at an odd angle to keep herself aloft and cool. For a moment, the pony's expression softened and her eyes shimmered with unformed tears.
"Yeah, whatever. If you can't see how cool I am, why don't you go back to your lame friends and leave the sky to someone awesome like me?" The half avian sneered and swept a talon across the horizon.
Dash furrowed her brow as her glare hardened. "The sky doesn't belong to you."
"Sure it does. So come on, get lost." She touched back down on the cloud, a sharp grin on her beak, and rubbed her claw on her chest. Then she smoothed her feathers back down, and inspected her talons with detached interest.
"Oh yeah?" The pegasus placed her face right in front of Gilda's and stared into the griffon's eyes. Though Gilda neither winced nor flinched, Dash slowly pushed her into the cloud.
"Yeah! What's a loser like you want up here, anyway?" Gilda challenged.
The glare vanished from Rainbow Dash's face. She did a few loops and flips, and kicked the air. "I'm practicing for the Wonderbolts."
"Practicing?" Gilda laughed as she shot past Rainbow, so close she almost knocked the pegasus out of the sky. "Figures you'd still need flight school."
Dash shoved her muzzle back into Gilda's face. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Just that your signature moves could use some work."
"You're just jealous because you never pull off anything even half as cool," the pegasus blurted out.
Gilda laughed. "I'll give you that: High-speed crashes are impressive."
"At least I push myself!" Dash burst out and swooped around the griffon, but did not turn to face her again. Instead, the colorful pegasus spread her wings and flared out her feathers. Even though the pony's wingspan paled in comparison with Gilda's, she still looked a lot bigger than before with her wings stretched. Dash reared up and braced her hooves against imaginary ground, forelegs crossed and head bowed. The cyan mare clenched her eyes and gritted her teeth as she trembled, and struggled to take a deep breath.
The griffon followed the pegasus with a faint chuckle and circled around the filly. Every move the predator made seemed deliberate and precise to the last, from the steady beating of her wings to the flexing of her claws. In spite of Rainbow Dash's feeble efforts to turn away, Gilda eventually slipped in front of her, a fierce grin across her beak. "Riiight. If you're that full of yourself, how about a race?"
"I'll take jerks like you on any day!" Rainbow shouted and pointed with her still shaking hoof. "You're so on."
"The loser stays on the ground for as long as the winner says," Gilda explained with a triumphant grin.
The blue pegasus stiffened and raised her head, then laid her ears back. "Oh. Uh... yeah, you're still on."
"Good. I'll see you later. We'll pick a course then, Rainbow Crash." A tendril of vapor hit Dash in the face as the griffon took off.
"Just you wait. I'll be a Wonderbolt someday," the cyan pony hissed through gritted teeth.
"Like they'd ever let a dweeb like you join," Gilda called over her shoulder as she flapped off.
"Why, you..." Rainbow Dash bolted after her, only to stop after a few feet and sink onto the cloud with a heavy sigh.
* * * * * * * * *
Every last cloud above Ponyville bore a clean hole right through its middle. Many of them were strung on faded rainbows. Though they had been reduced to frayed rings, the dark clouds still clung to the sky like flies in a colorful web. Far below, the residents of Ponyville glanced up and talked about the peculiar, and unscheduled, weather.
Rainbow Dash lay on a tattered cloud among rising wisps, her eyes closed. She kept her legs folded under herself, wings clasped tight against her flanks, though they sometimes twitched or fluttered. Her whole body trembled and shook as she gasped for air.
"Uhm..." The cloud barely gave way as a yellow pegasus touched down next to her.
"Huh?" Rainbow lifted her head and smiled faintly, yet did not open her eyes fully. "Oh, hi Fluttershy."
"Are you okay?" The pink-maned filly's soft voice was almost lost in the wind.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." The cyan pony smiled a little more, though she still lay sprawled on the cloud. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Fluttershy rubbed a hoof against her leg. "Oh... you look... uhm... tired."
"Heh... yeah, I guess I am pretty tired." A yawn did nothing to hide her heavy breathing. "I've been practicing all day."
"That's... good. We were just so... worried." Fluttershy looked at the other pegasus for a long time. A frazzled mane of many colors hid barely open eyes. Fur and feathers stood on end. One hoof idly drew circles and furrows in the cloud. Bright blue wings shuddered and rustled as Dash turned her back away from her friend.
"Worried? Why would you be worried about me?" The blue filly gave her friend a smile as she got up.
"The weather isn't what it should be." She lowered her head and turned it away, hiding wide open eyes behind the faint pink of her mane. "We thought you might be hurt."
"No, I'm fine. Really. Just busy practicing for the Wonderbolts." The colorful pegasus trotted to the edge of the cloud and waved her hoof, wings spread with a slight tremor.
Fluttershy laid her ears back. "But... don't you think you should... maybe... take care of the weather... if you're not too busy, that is..." The yellow filly straightened and stood as tall as she could. Hooves buried in the cloud and chest pushed out, she was perfectly still. Only her eyes closed for a moment before she fixed Rainbow in her gaze.
Dash rubbed the back of her head, a nervous grin on her face. "Heh, yeah. I got a little carried away. I'll get right on it."
"I could help a little, if you want." The yellow pegasus stepped closer, head still held high.
"Oh no, I'm fine." Dash took to the air. "I'll get this sky cleared in no time."
"I... when you're done, I'd really like your help... I mean, if you don't mind..." Fluttershy's voice trailed off.
The rainbow-maned pegasus had already disappeared, kicking clouds in the distance. Fluttershy bowed her head with a light sigh before she floated back down to her cottage.
* * * * * * * * *
The door swung open just as she stopped knocking.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Have you been waiting for a long time?" the yellow pegasus called from the other side of the room, where she was busy feeding a flock of songbirds, each and every one individually.
"Hey, Fluttershy." Dash strutted into the room, not showing any interest in her friend's apology, her activity, or the little white bunny who held the door open. "Sorry I couldn't be here sooner."
"Oh no. It's okay." Angel tapped his foot on the ground and arched a brow as the cyan mare walked past him, yet she paid him no heed.
"You know I don't leave my friends hanging." Dash shifted her wings, plopped down on the sofa, and watched Fluttershy finish her chores.
"Yes. You didn't have to hurry, though." By then she held a feather duster in her mouth and cleaned every last shelf, bough, and nest in that part of the room, while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a sigh.
"Pffft, hurry..." The blue pegasus waved a hoof and brushed it across her wing. "I'm always that fast."
Fluttershy just nodded as she moved about the house and continued her daily routine. Little critters flocked around the pony's hooves and fought for position. The yellow pegasus admonished them in her soft and soothing tones, and they fell quiet around her. Dash's sighing proceeded into open groaning. Once again, their caretaker provided exactly what they needed to each and every one of them, without ever running out of food, medicine, or patience, unlike her guest.
Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof on the ground and looked around the room. "Now, what did you want my help with?"
"Oh... It's nothing..." The pale yellow filly shuffled her hooves and turned back to the task of cleaning.
"Fluttershy. I'm here to help," the speedster exclaimed, voice raised and face stern.
"I don't want to keep you from practicing," the pink-maned filly backed off and skipped around the sofa.
"Fluttershy!" Dash jumped up in front of the timid pony, one wing twitching, and glared at her.
Wings tucked against her back, the pale yellow pegasus bumped flank-first into the sofa. "Oh... uhm... I just wanted your help moving a few things...But if you'd rather practice, that's okay, too."
"Just moving something?" Dash flexed her wings, yet did neither lift nor stretch them. The blue filly's gaze shifted back and forth between Fluttershy and the door, until it lingered on her friend. "Alright, let's do this."
"Oh, you really don't have to," the caretaker whispered.
"I want to. Now, where's that stuff you gotta move?" She'd already taken to the air, just off the ground. In fact, the tips of her hooves still brushed the floor as she let her legs dangle. The rhythm at which her wings beat was unsteady, at times uneven. Her ears drooped, as did her eyelids when she let her head hang and stifled a yawn. After that, the pegasus threw herself higher into the air and strained to hold her head high.
"Uhm... outside. I should return the carts Applejack lent me." The yellow filly cowered, yet kept an eye on Rainbow's quivering wing.
"Carts?" She dropped back down and folded her wings, groaning. "I hate pulling those."
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy whispered as she tried to brush a hoof along Rainbow's wing.
"No, it's alright. It's just..." The weatherpony smirked and glanced at her folded wings. "They're so slow. And if I fly like I want to, they always break."
"I can ask somepony else for help. I'm sure Applejack and Big Macintosh wouldn't mind picking them up tomorrow." The pale yellow filly moved a little closer to her friend still.
"No, no, no, no, no." Dash's rainbow mane rustled with the motion of her head. "I promised I'd help you."
"No, please... I'll just..." Her words hung in the air as Angel tugged on one pale pink strand of hair and pointed to the clock on the wall. "Oh my..."
"What? What is it?" Rainbow Dash looked around.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was already so late. I have to go see Rarity and Twilight at the spa." The yellow filly was already heading for the door.
The other pegasus breathed a heavy sigh. "That's alright. I should get back to Ponyville myself."
* * * * * * * * *
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, you look absolutely terrible. Whatever happened to you?" Rarity exclaimed.
"What? Nothing. I'm fine,"Dash shot back with too much bile.
"She's right, you know," Twilight said as she moved around the pegasus. "You look like you got caught in a storm. And Fluttershy says you hurt your wing."
The blue pegasus finally touched down. "No, I'm fine. Really."
"Just look at your hair." The white unicorn flicked her own mane over her neck, ignoring the fawning dragon behind her just as everypony else did. "Even more untidy than usual. Terrible."
Twilight stopped in front of her friend and looked into her eyes. "And your eyes are red."
"They always are." Rainbow turned her head away and looked down.
Twilight furrowed her brow. "I am not talking about your eye color."
"And your feathers are in such disarray." Rarity stepped to Rainbow's side and brushed a hoof across her wing. "No, this will not do." Dash cringed as the white unicorn began to fuss over her. A brush wrapped in blue, magical glow appeared before the blue filly out of nowhere and worked the knots out of her mane. Dash drew back, but the fashionista stepped up. When one white hoof brushed against her wing, the pegasus winced and clasped her wings shut. "My word, such tension."
Though Fluttershy had been standing off to the side the whole time, legs close together and her head lowered and turned away, she took a step closer and spoke up. "Uhm... Rarity? I think Rainbow Dash wanted to go practice... and we should go to the spa, or we'll miss our appointment."
Rarity lifted her head high, ears perked up. "Iiiiideeaaa!"
"I don't like the sound of that." Before the purple-maned unicorn could carry on, Rainbow Dash threw herself into the air with a single stroke of her wings. She faltered, swayed, and dropped, still just above the reach of the fashionista's hooves.
"Rainbow Dash, you positively have to come with us to the spa. Trust me, it will do you a world of good. A nice bath, a grooming, and a massage for your wings." Rarity walked around the pegasus and looked her over while she pulled the airborne pony back down onto the ground.
"No, I... really should get back to practice." Dash skirted around the group, yet she stayed.
Twilight craned her head around to look at her friend. "You're as focused on your practice as I used to be on my studies. That can't be good for you."
"No, I'm fine. But I've got to be in top shape for the Wonderbolts."
"Rainbow Dash, you saved my life and won the Best Young Flyer competition at the same time. I would say you very much are in top shape when it comes to flying. Your appearance, however..." The unicorn frowned and fixed the brash pony with her eyes.
"I could be better." She stomped a hoof and zipped to the other side of the group, wings spread. "I have to be if I want to impress the Wonderbolts."
Rarity held her head high and took a few steps towards their friend. "The Wonderbolts are a very prestigious group. Do you think you could impress them looking like some common rascal? I think not."
"I've got to get my tricks down, first. I'll worry about my mane later." The speedster huffed and brushed errant hair out of her face. Right away, it dropped back over her eyes. She shook her head and ran a trembling hoof through her mane. With one hoof off the ground, the cyan pony swayed and one of her knees gave. A flutter of wings kept her from tripping, after which she struck a dashing pose and put on a smug, if lopsided, grin.
"It's not just your hair. You're tiring yourself out. You should take a break," Twilight said.
"I don't need a break. I'm fine," the cyan pegasus protested.
Twilight moved over and placed a hoof on Dash's shoulder. "Rainbow, I know the Wonderbolts are important to you. But you've never practiced this hard in such a short time before. What's wrong?"
The speedster looked at the lavender filly's eyes, soft and wide. "You really want to know, don't you?"
The unicorn smiled and nodded, and everypony else followed suit.
"Fine." Dash groaned and sighed, slumping down on the ground. "I ran into Gilda today. She's still a jerk. She challenged me to a race, for the right to fly above Ponyville. I kinda accepted."
"What?" Three ponies and a dragon stared at her. Even Fluttershy had raised her voice above her usual whisper.
"Oh no." The yellow filly's voice returned to meekness. "How awful."
"I do have to agree, darling." Rarity trotted around the blue pegasus to inspect her once more. "This is quite possibly the most horrible idea Rainbow Dash has ever agreed to."
"Hey, no sweat. I'll ace that race. Heh," Rainbow waved off their concerns.
"Not in this state, you won't. You need rest." The purple unicorn shook her head and moved closer to her winged friend.
"No, I don't." Dash took off with a gasp and circled above her friends. "I'm fine."
Fluttershy hovered up to her winged friend. "Uhm... Rainbow Dash? Don't race against Gilda... please?"
After she had looked at the other pegasus for a moment, the speedster closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry Fluttershy. I have to."
Rarity overheard the exchange, and fixed Rainbow Dash in her hard gaze, then threw her head back with a huff and strode towards the spa. "If you do decide to come to your senses and fix your terrible state, you do know where to find us."
Fluttershy and Spike hurried after her, one with a squeak and the other with a dreamy sigh. Twilight shook her head again and lingered behind. "Dash, do you remember how you all told me you were proud to know a unicorn with my talent? Well, I just want to tell you, we're proud to know such a great flyer, too."
Dash hovered in place as she watched the purple unicorn run off to catch up with their other friends. A heavy breath swelled the pony's chest and she let her head hang. The pegasus clenched her eyes for a moment, then shot off towards her home, trailed by a flimsy rainbow.
* * * * * * * * *
"Rainbow Daaaaash! Rainbow Daaaaash!" Pinkie Pie's shrill screams echoed through the weatherpony's home. Every few seconds, a pink blur soared past the window, all four hooves braced against a metal rod. How the party pony could use a mere pogo stick to jump high enough to peek into Dash's window was a mystery to everypony.
"What is it, Pinkie?" Dash got up from the small pile of fluffy clouds she had been resting on and walked over to the window.
"I need your help. I had a great idea! It'll be super duper fun! I promise." Even with her bubbly speech, she stayed at the window a little longer than gravity should allow while she said all that.
Rainbow Dash smirked and shook her head. "I'll be right down, Pinkie."
"Woohoo!" For a brief moment as she cheered, it looked almost as if Pinkie was leaning into the window from above.
When Rainbow Dash flew down to her friend a few moments later, the pogo stick the pink pony had used to reach the pegasus was nowhere to be found. Instead, the pink earth pony hopped around, and at times seemingly bounced off thin air. "This is gonna be sooo great. And with your help, it's gonna be even better."
Rainbow's head bobbed as she followed the frantic, nature-defying movement of her friend. "So, what is this cool idea you had? An awesome new prank?"
"Oh, no. Nonononono." Her face was a blur as she shook her head. "Muuuuuch better."
"Come on, tell me." The speedster tapped her hoof on the ground.
"With those dark clouds today, everypony got so sad and frowny. But now that the weather's better, we're gonna make it all better." Pinkie hopped on the spot.
"How?" Rainbow stared at the earth pony.
"We're gonna have a party, of course. A big picnic in Whitetail Wood. And with your help, we can make sure everypony knows."
The pegasus touched down next to Pinkie and laughed. "What do you want me to do?"
"Easy peasy. What you do best, of course: fly." The party pony grinned.
"If I have to tell everypony, I won't be done until nightfall," Dash groaned. Her eyes wandered across the many roofs of Ponyville. She dropped on her haunches and drew a deep breath. For a few moments, the cyan pony just kept staring. Then she closed her eyes and rubbed her hoof over her brow. Little by little, she sank to the ground, until her chin lay in the dirt.
"Oh, you're not telling them. You're showing them." Pinkie pointed her hoof straight up.
The blue pegasus followed the direction with her eyes. "I don't get it."
"Duh!" A pink foreleg wrapped around Dash's withers, and pulled her to her feet and so close their faces were squashed together cheek to cheek. "You get up there, grab some fluffy clouds and pretty rainbows, and write it in the sky in biiig letters: Big Picnic. Whitetail Wood. Free Cupcakes."
Dash gulped and let her wings droop, one lower than the other. "Wouldn't it be easier to just tell everypony?"
Pinkie Pie giggle-snorted. "Oh, so you wanna run here and there and everywhere and aaaaall over Ponyville, and try to find everypony?" As she talked, she hopped all over the place, into and out of bushes, and up the trees, upside down in the branches.
"Errr... I guess not." The weather pony looked out across the many roofs of Ponyville and shook her head.
"Then what are you waiting for? Get up there and paint the sky."
"I don't know." The pegasus shuffled her hooves. "I don't want to let you down, but I was kinda busy with practice."
The pink pony said nothing at all. Instead she tilted her head, almost upside down, and kept her eyes fixed on Rainbow's face.
"Uhm... for the Wonderbolts?" the pegasus added and took a step away from her friend.
"Aww, but you do that every day. Can't it wait? It's not like the Wonderbolts will be at my picnic." A loud gasp interrupted Pinkie's rambling. "Oh, that would be great! I totally have to invite them to my next big picnic. And then you can show off to them, and maybe they'll make you a Wonderbolt. Wouldn't that be great? It'd be totally great."
"Uhm, Pinkie?" the blue mare tried to interrupt the ranting pony.
"Oh, yes, right! Why do you really practice so hard today, Dashie?" A grin split the party pony's face while she leaned forward at a sharp angle.
"I've got to be in good shape today. I've got to, uhm, be some place later." The weather pony flinched under Pinkie Pie's unwavering gaze.
The pink filly pushed her lower lip out in the biggest possible pout. "Come on, Dashie. Wouldn't you much rather come to my super duper picnic party than race a big, dumb griffon?"
The pegasus gaped at her friend, eyes wide. "What? How do you know?"
"Because she's a grumpy Grump McGrumperson, of course. I mean, duh." She waved it off with her hoof.
Rainbow Dash's laughter fell silent when Pinkie's face grew fixed and stern.
"You really shouldn't race her." The words were delivered with a severity entirely uncharacteristic of the party planner. There was no trace of bubbling laughter left in her voice. The bounce was gone from her step as for once she stayed firmly grounded. Flanks on the ground and hooves dug into the dirt, she would not budge from her spot in front of Rainbow Dash.
"Why not? It's just Gilda. I'll beat her." In spite of her words, the speedster backed away from her friend.
"You already hurt your wing. And she doesn't want to lose. You might get hurt worse. And I don't want you to get hurt." The earth pony did not move at all. Even her cotton-candy mane remained still in the light breeze around them.
Feathers rustled as the cyan filly flinched and shrank even further. "I guess maybe I don't have to race her."
"Good!" Pinkie brightened. "You'll see, it'll all be fine. Now, how about you get those letters in the sky? Free cupcakes!"
"Okay, okay..." Dash looked at the sky and sighed. "I'm just not really sure I'm the right pony for the job."
"Don't be silly. You're the fastest and best flyer in Equestria in, like, ever. Of course you're the right pony for the job. See you later, Rainbow Dash." She hopped off towards Ponyville, another of her songs on her lips.
* * * * * * * * *
"Rainbow Dash. Over here. Over here." A pink foreleg waved frantically.
"Pinkie Pie? How did you get here so fast?"
"I walked here, of course." Her face seemed to be at least eighty percent smile.
Rainbow Dash stared at her, eyes wide and fixed. "What? I... you... how... I only just got done. How did you..." The speedster shut her eyes and lowered her head. Cyan hooves dug into the soft forest soil as her body wound up. Feathers rustled when she shifted, stretched, and flapped her wings, and her tail whipped the air.
Pinkie just kept smiling.
"Oh, forget it." Dash slumped down on the ground and sighed. One hoof rubbed across her face before she looked up at the pink pony.
"Okie dokie lokie."
"Yep, that's Pinkie Pie fer you," drawled a familiar voice behind her.
"Hey Applejack." Rainbow looked up at their friend from the ground. "What are you doing here?"
"Ah came here with Pinkie, before she went off tah get you for that there writing. Brought some apples for her picnic."
"Oh... Heh, yeah... That makes sense, I guess." Dash rubbed the back of her neck and laid her head back on the ground.
Applejack moved over and looked down at her friend. Cyan wings draped across the dirt, one stretched further than the other, and all four legs lay limp. Her hooves trembled and tail flicked while she drew deep but slow breaths. Many-colored hair stuck in all directions and covered much of Dash's face and all of her ears. "Don't mind me sayin' so, but you look kinda beat today."
"I'm fine," Dash blurted as she jumped to her hooves and spread her wings.
"Oh, I know. I know. Flying practice, right? For the Wonderbolts," Pinkie called out with a wink as she cartwheeled about the place for no apparent reason.
"Yeah, you got that right," Dash claimed.
"Why do you always practice so much?" the farmpony asked when she sat down beside her friend.
"I've got to impress the Wonderbolts so I can join them." The pegasus reared on her hooves and spread her wings, feathers rustling in the breeze. The new pose showed of ragged and misplaced feathers, trembling knees, and heaving chest of the bedraggled pony.
"Sugarcube, you ain't gotta impress nopony."
"Of course I do. Why else would they let me join?"
"Ah reckon' you wanna prove yerself. Ah can understand that." A smirk creased Applejacks lips while she cocked her eyebrow.
"Prove myself?" Dash laughed. "I just want everypony to see how cool I am."
"Uh-huh... 'n I just wanted tah harvest all them apples by myself."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The blue pony lifted a brow.
"Nothin'." Applejack smirked again. "Point is, you gotta slow down."
"Rainbow Dash never slows down." She stood up tall, showing off her ruffled wings once more. "Never."
"If you go on like this, you'll tire yerself out 'n' make mistakes. Trust me, ah know." The farm pony took her eyes off the pegasus and instead looked at the branches above with a heavy breath.
Rainbow Dash stared at her friend. The earth pony nudged the brim of her hat up and returned the stare in equal measure. A few moments of silence later, Rainbow broke out in laughter. "Yeah, I guess you do, Miss I-don't-need-no-help-from-nopony."
"Awwww... You're no fun." Pinkie pouted and and put her popcorn down. "You let Applejack win."
"Huh? Win?" They both turned to the pink earth pony.
"Staring contest," she chimed and hopped off to spread streamers on the trees.
The two friends looked back at each other and burst out laughing.
"Can you imagine that? Me, just giving up?"
"Sure can't, sugarcube." Applejack snorted, leaning on the pegasus for support. "Sure can't."
With the added weight on her back, Rainbow collapsed and the orange earth pony followed suit. A tangle of limbs rolled around the ground, no pony on top for more than a few seconds. In spite of their energetic scuffle and the loss of Applejack's priced hat, laughter still rose from the two ponies, broken only by gasps of breath. Somewhere nearby in the woods, a pink party pony joined their mirth with a giggle and an even greater bounce to her step.
"Remember the Running of the Leaves?" The pegasus poked her earthbound friend in the ribs.
"We sure made foals outta ourselves then."
"Yeah, and you lost to an egghead." A grin split her face ear to ear.
"So did you." She smirked and put her hat back on.
"Still beat you." The speedster protested.
"Nah, you didn't." Applejack paused. "You did beat me for Iron Pony, though."
"Yeah, I left you in the dust." The pegasus grinned.
"Well, ah don't have wings."
"Hey, the rules didn't say anything against it, so it wasn't cheating."
"You mighta tricked me, but ah'm still mighty proud to call you mah friend." The farm pony draped her leg across Rainbow's withers.
The pegasus laughed and rubbed her neck even as she tried to squirm out of the casual embrace. "Uh... Thanks, Applejack..."
The earth pony let go of her winged friend and looked her in the eyes. "But look, that race ain't no friendly Iron Pony contest. Gilda's hurt, ah'm sure, and she doesn't like losing."
"So?" The monosyllabic answer was punctuated with crossed arms.
"Ah'm not sayin' she'd try to hurt you, but you're in no good shape."
Rainbow Dash glared at the earth pony. Wings and nostrils flared. She stomped the ground. Her chest heaved worse than before. Feathers rustled with her shifting stance. Lips drew back in a scowl. Still, the farmer stayed calm and held her ground. Hooves firmly planted on the ground, she held her head high and her eyes open. The earth pony looked the pegasus in the eyes and answered the enraged stare with a gaze of concern.
"Look, I know you're a great flyer. Everypony does," the orange pony conceded. Legs tense, she was ready to jump up at any moment to catch her friend. "But you can't even stay on your hooves."
"You bet I Can. Am. Whatever." The blue filly shook her head and closed her eyes with a grunt. "I'll beat Gilda, you'll see. She doesn't stand a chance."
"If you're that sure, why all the practice?" Applejack's lopsided smile and the tilt of her head only added to the challenge.
"I can't be too sure, can I?" The cyan pony stared off into the forest and took a deep breath before she looked back at the farm pony. "I just want to be ready for the race."
"Rainbow." The earth pony placed both hooves on the shoulders of the pegasus. "Ah know you can beat her. But you're tired. And ah don't know where she wants to race. You could get hurt bad. Real bad."
"I have to race her! She challenged me. Here in my own town." Dash's fur and mane bristled.
"No, you don't." Applejack looked up through the dense cover of leaves. "She's got no right to take anything from you. The sky least of all."
"How do you know about that?" The cyan pony grabbed the farmer by the shoulders.
"Pinkie told me. B'sides," the orange pony poked her friend's chest, "ah don't think Gilda can do a Sonic Rainboom. And ah never heard about one of them Wonderbolts doing one."
"Indeed," Rarity added as she strode over to the friends beside a bouncing party pony, followed by Twilight, Fluttershy, and a dazed Spike. "I might not appreciate your brash style, but I do recognize outstanding ability. And you are definitely in an entirely different class than that uncivilized griffon. You are positively are the most outstanding flyer I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"And we're all proud to know you," Twilight added. "You don't need to beat Gilda, join the Wonderbolts, or perform a Sonic Rainboom for that."
"Rainboom?" A certain pink pony perked up. "Oh! Oh! You know what would make this party totally great? A Sonic Rainboom!"
The other friends all looked at her, some with lifted eyebrows. Even Spike tore his gaze away from Rarity to look at her.
"Come on, Dashie! Come on! Do a Sonic Rainboom!" She hopped around the cyan pegasus.
Grinning, Rainbow looked up at the sky and spread her wings. Somepony cleared her throat. The eager pegasus look at the gathered friends, especially Applejack, and folded her wings with a sheepish grin. "Not now, Pinkie. I need rest."
"Awwwwww..." Pinkie drooped for an instant before perking up again. "Oh, I know. I have an even better idea."
The friends looked at her in silence, varying degrees of worry and surprise playing across their faces.
"Pony pile!" the energetic pony shouted and flung herself into the air. After a few too many moments off the ground, she tackled Rainbow Dash. Together they stumbled back into the group of friends. Knocking them all over, Pinkie pulled all her laughing friends into a hug; even the reluctant baby dragon.
"Yegh, gross." The griffon produced a retching sound as she dropped through the branches.
"Hello, Gilda," Rainbow Dash deadpanned while she pulled herself out of the pile.
"Come on Dash, let's go." The avian jerked her beak towards the sky. "You can still be friends with me, instead of those dweebs."
"What do you think I am? You want me to leave my friends, just because you're being a jerk? Fat chance." The blue pegasus snorted and stood tall between her friends and their would-be rival before she walked towards Gilda.
The griffon lifted an eyebrow as she watched the display. Her eyes wandered across the battered shape of the pony. Legs, sides, and wings trembled like the leaves in the breeze above her. Feathers rustled as the winged pony swayed and tripped. Cyan lids drooped over dull, red eyes, blinking over and over. A tangled mess of hair had lost any resemblance to the pony's namesake.
When Rainbow Dash stood right in front of her, Gilda's suppressed snicker burst into laughter. With a wide grin, she met the pegasus's unsteady gaze, and addressed her: "Okay Dash, if you want to be like that, it's time to race."
The pegasus stiffened and straightened. "Why don't you just get lost? I'll win, anyway."
"You've always been full of yourself." The avian smirked and shook her head.
The weather pony lurched forward, but a single stroke of her wings carried the griffon out of reach, as somepony held onto Rainbow's multi-colored tail. While her friends galloped over, Applejack let go and slipped around the pegasus to begin a circle the other ponies completed. Except for Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who faced Gilda, everypony turned to Rainbow Dash.
"I'll be ready whenever you break free, dweeb." The griffon chuckled and sat down nearby, watching the little group.
"Please don't do this," Fluttershy whispered and glanced at Gilda.
"Why not?" The speedster crossed her arms. "It'll be okay. You'll see."
"I don't think so," Twilight answered in a flat tone.
"I've never lost against Gilda." Rainbow huffed and looked at each of her friends in turn while she got back to her hooves. "Why are you trying to stop me?"
"Darling," Rarity chimed in, "you are most certainly not in a fit state to race anybody, much less a griffon this aggressive."
"I'm fine!" Rainbow stomped her hooves, and fell. "Just a little worn out. Let me just take a little nap before the race." The speedster closed her eyes and folded up her battered wings. Squeaking, Fluttershy knelt down and looked the other pegasus over.
"Rainbow Dash, I will not have you participate in any race in your current state."
"Drop it, Rarity." Rainbow waved her off with a hoof.
"I most assuredly will not. We might not always see eye to eye, but you are my friend, and I will not simply stand back and let you run into your doom."
"I'm not..." The cyan pony began, only to receive a purple hoof to the mouth.
"You are. And I don't even understand why," the bookish mare stated.
The pegasus pushed the offending hoof away. "That's just how it works. She challenged me, I accepted, now I have to race her."
A yellow pegasus chimed in behind her: "But Rainbow, your wings..."
"… are the fastest in Ponyville, I know." The speedster put on a smug grin. Her wings spread, then rose until they pointed straight into the air. The brash pegasus strutted back and forth several times, just a few steps. Then she stopped in front of the griffon, pulled herself up to full size, and held her head high. Feathers rustled as Rainbow flexed and shifted her wings. After a few lazy strokes, Dash folded her wings against her back and let her grind widen.
"Oh, no... uhm, I mean... you've sprained a wing..." The timid filly cowered behind the very pony she had spoken to.
Both unicorns frowned. "You want to race Gilda with a sprained wing?"
Rainbow's wings drooped. "Didn't you listen? I have to."
"No, you don't. There is no shame in backing out of a contest you have no hopes of winning," Rarity answered.
"I have to," The speedster protested. "We had a bet."
"So forfeit it. What could be important enough for you to risk life and limb over?" the white unicorn continued.
"The sky." Rainbow's croaked whisper was barely audible.
Pinkie's giggling stopped at a light kick, and Twilight frowned at the blue pegasus. "You do know that she cannot make you give up flying, right?"
"Yeah, but..."
"No objections." An immaculate white hoof was placed on Rainbow's back. "You are staying on the ground."
"Why do you really want to race with Gilda?" Twilight looked down at her friend.
"I just have to, okay?" the speedster replied.
"Rainbow!" the purple unicorn shouted.
The pegasus sighed. "Okay, Fine. I just want to know I'm still better than her, alright?"
"Don't you think that's a mite silly?" Applejack remarked.
"Maybe," the pegasus admitted.
"Darling, you are the most fabulous flyer in all of Ponyville, possibly all of Equestria," Rarity said.
"Yes, you're a great flyer. You don't need to beat her," the purple unicorn added before she chuckled. "If I had parchment and quill, I could probably offer mathematical proof you're the better flyer without you moving a wing."
Spike ran his claw down his face. Rarity cocked an eyebrow. Fluttershy shook her head and looked down. Applejack just stared with wide eyes. Dash held a hoof to her mouth. Pinkie Pie snickered. A few moments of silence passed in which a sheepish grin spread on Twilight's face. With her ears flattened, she looked around at her friends. "What? It's true. Taking into account their mass, wingspan, reaction time, and..."
"Thanks." With a faint smile and suppressed chuckle, the rainbow-maned filly got up. "But what will I tell Gilda?"
"The truth. B'sides, I think she heard." The farm pony smirked.
"Ungh, that was so lame. Next time I see you in the sky, you're going down." After she pointed at Rainbow Dash, the griffon turned and spread her wings.
"Wait!" At that shout, the predator turned to face the pink pony, who bounced on the spot for a while before she hopped over. "You can't do that to Dashie. I'll race you."
"You will?" Gilda blinked, and burst into laughter as everypony else stared at the party pony.
With a huff, Pinkie dropped on her haunches and crossed her arms. "Hey! Don't laugh. I'm serious."
The blue pegasus trotted up to her friend. "Uhm, Pinkie..."
"Ssshh, I'm talking to Gilda." The party pony waved off the former contestant.
Still snickering under her breath, the avian looked at the earth pony. "Okay, fine. The loser stays out of Ponyville."
"Sure," Pinkie replied with an unwavering smile.
"Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash tried again, louder.
Before she continued, the griffon tapped a claw to her beak and looked around. "Okay, from here to Sugarcube Corner, to that cloud over there, back here."
The pink pony still wore a beaming smile. "Okie Dokie. Ready when you are."
"Pinkie, you can't do that. You can't race her to a cloud. You can't even fly." The pegasus seized her optimistic friend by the shoulders and shook her. All the other ponies stared at them, eyes wide and jaws on the ground.
"Go!" Gilda shouted and took off with a cackle.
"Don't worry, Dashie. I got this covered." Once she had given the blue pegasus a pat on the head and slipped out of her grasp without effort, Pinkie Pie hopped off towards Ponyville. Soon after, she was lost among the lush trees of Whitetail Wood. Before anypony could recover from the party planner's sudden departure, a lion's roar could be heard far off in Ponyville. Then an eagle-shaped shadow rushed up from the village towards the cloud landmark, and all eyes followed its course. Yet when it reached the cloud, another roar scared birds and other critters from the underbrush.
"Hey girls, how's Gilda doing?" Without further warning, Pinkie popped out of a bush and jumped into their midst. When nopony answered, instead just staring or blinking or shaking their heads, the party pony huffed. "Hey, I'm talking to you."
A while later, a wheezing griffon crashed through the trees and hit the ground near them. The pout instantly gone from her face, the party pony jumped over and placed herself right in Gilda's face. "Hey there, slowpoke. Did I win? Huh? Huh?"
For a few moments, the predator just stared at her, then she reared up and roared. Wings spread far enough to brush against the trees, the enraged griffon flexed her talons and swiped at thin air. "You! You cheated. You tricked me. There's no way you're faster than me. You can't have gotten up to that cloud."
"Ohhh, you're a sore loser." The earth pony giggled and grinned.
"I'm not. I'm just... This is insane. I'm done with this place. I'm leaving." One ferocious snarl later, Gilda had broken through the canopy and left behind only broken twigs, leaves, and staring ponies.
First to recover, Rainbow Dash slipped over to Pinkie, who still wore her broad, gleeful smile. "How'd you do it?"
"Do what?" The party pony tilted her head.
The blue pegasus ran her hoof down her face. "Beat Gilda. Walk on clouds."
"You silly filly. I can't walk on clouds." The giggling earth pony wrapped her arm around Rainbow's withers and pulled her along. "Now, let's go get some cupcakes."
|
Artrageous
|
1093
| 1 |
Derpy Hooves,Original Character,Trixie,Adventure,Comedy,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Background Currents
|
A retired Wonderbolt is caught up in a series of murders that span Equestria.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Artrageous, a retired Wonderbolt, is aimless and attempting to find meaning again in his life. He is nudged in a direction, then caught up in the strong undertow of a larger menace spreading across Equestria. He and his new friends find themselves drawn in, but only on the periphery as the mane 6 and the princesses take charge of the issue. Reluctant to let everything just drop and be handled by others, they struggle to provide relevant assistance while being backstage to the events.</p><p>Incorporates some personalities and plots inspired by events on the Equestrian Dawn mush.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-28T20:11:24+00:00
|
2011-09-28T20:11:24+00:00
| 946 |
Once upon a time in the land of Equestria...
No, thought Artrageous, that’s not how memoires started. He hadn’t read many books, and the ones he had were mostly written by other fliers. At least, he assumed they were, as he wasn’t clear on the difference between biographies and autobiographies. Some read better than others, and those were the ones where the pony had help. Pegasai weren’t, as a breed, very introspective. The athletic ones in particular were especially unfamiliar with the territory of the soul and the fabric of their motivations. It took insight to draw things out and set them down, and this usually came from some other pony.
Art flapped his wings and let his thoughts wander. In any case, he wasn’t in a position to write anything down. It was night and he was flying with no real purpose or direction, finding the thermals and air currents and stretching out the time between flaps. This was when he thought the best, when most of him was occupied and calmed by the exertion of staying in the air. It hadn’t always been like this, but a lot can change in a couple years.
A lot can change in a couple seconds too, he thought. No, best not to go there, don’t start on a down note. How am I ever going to write all this down? I hate holding a quill in my mouth. I need a unicorn to help me out. I need a unicorn strapped to the back of a pegasus so I can talk to her while I’m flying. I wonder if she’ll be able to write in the wind. A windshield maybe, or she could sit on top of a tower and I could fly around and around while talking.
Her. Artrageous didn’t have a specific unicorn in mind, but when he visualized an assistant she was naturally a mare. Possibly because he believed mares were more attentive to detail, but more likely because he’d have the natural stallion urge to challenge another one and this would result in exaggerating his deeds.
Not that they’d need much. I’m pretty fantastic. I graduated with honours from flight school, won the advanced aerodynamics competition, and became Right Winglead of the Wonderbolts. A lot to be proud of, Arty, a lot to be proud of now that you’re... retired. Let’s go with retired.
There was a sinking feeling inside him that was not associated with air currents: retired, over the hump, put out to pasture, or as is the case for pegasai, left to blow away in the wind. All his best days were behind him so he should be planning on entertaining young colts and fillies with his exploits, except the rigors of work and the need to travel with the Wonderbolts had prevented him from making any lasting ties with anypony outside the group. What’s more, his former squad-mates didn’t speak to him after the … retirement.
So when he imagined somepony beside him, it was naturally going to be a female, because he was tired of flying alone in all senses of the meaning.
Perhaps I should write a pop-up book, Artrageous thought bitterly, everything seems so small and unimportant now. He knew they stopped talking about him years ago, and he was glad. Some young filly had caught the fickle and flighty attention of the pegasai sports-fans: Rainboom something. Arty wasn’t sure, but another weight seemed to add to his back and his left wing started to ache as he thought about spotlight which had most assuredly moved on.
He did still want it: the idolization, the magnificence, the sense of power of being on top, of being the best of the best, being part of a team. Meaning something. He was unaware how deep some of these feelings led, but was acutely sensitive to the pain caused when they pulled out.
Below him, a lake passed by, its glossy surface reflecting the night sky and the moon, full and bright. Scarred by recent events a few months ago, he thought, or healed. The Mare in the Moon is gone; she now lives in Canterlot. I could go speak with her, but what would I say? Did you catch any of my performances while you were on the moon? How does it feel now that ponies no longer look up to you? Can you tell me how you handle it? I’d like to know.
The moon in the lake didn’t respond, nor did the stars. Arty circled, dropping lower and turning on his side so he could watch the heavens above move with the heavens below. If he wall-eyed his vision just right, the dark silhouette of the trees and land blurred into insignificance and vanished. It felt like flying in space.
That’s what I want to do, he thought, just fly, fly away from it all, away from the friends that no longer talk to me, from the events that haunt me, from the nothingness. Change is motion, and so motion is change, and that was the impulse that brought him out every day and night to keep flying, because he could, because as long as he was in the air all the feelings he associated with the ground were kept at bay. He imagined them as dark, ropey tentacles of oil, reaching up and enveloping him, pulling him down, and drowning him in the dirt.
You got to work on your metaphors there, Arty, he thought. The water was coming closer and he saw himself silhouetted in the reflection of the moon. Even on a bright day, he was mostly a dark presence. His coat wasn’t black, but it was such a dark hue of a blue-purple it might as well have been. He was glad to see his mane and tail showed up as pale accompanying wisps. On most ponies, the Wonderbolt flightsuit increased their presence, even discounting all gravitas associated with the uniform. Its colouration helped them stand out, but in his case it muted his, adding a lightness and contrast that softened his presence so he didn’t stick out so horrendously. Not that he was wearing it now, or every would again, but he missed it again on an artistic level. Everypony knows what they say about black ponies.
I need to get back, he thought. The chill that grabbed him at the moment made him believe he’d fallen into the lake. Home held so little for him that the prospect of returning brought so much dread? That’s it, he thought, I’m leaving. The decision was impulsive, but not unexpected, being the culmination and expression of feelings that had been dogging him for months, waiting for the right moment, the acceptance that nothing was left, and it was time to move on. It was time.
Arty flew back home. The words and plans for his memories fell out of his head to be replaced with more immediate, achievable tasks. There were things to pack up, though not many as pegasai tend to live light, and his former travelling requirements had stripped a lot out of his life. The items which remained were all deeply significant to him. He once hoped they’d be placed in an exhibit about him in a Hall of Fame, but that was now also dashed. Just about every one of his possessions could have been. No one could look upon the collection and call it junk; any pony would have been proud to own the trophies or photos. Arty wished he felt better about them and that they didn’t seem so small.
His cloud could be kicked apart. His mail, assuming he was going to get some, would have to be forwarded. He should speak to a mailpony about that. He’d need to rent a cart. There was no point in getting a moving company as he didn’t have that much. Then there would be goodbyes to acquaintances he’d never warmed up to and who hadn’t reciprocated, as well as to the bar where he ate fried mushroom caps and peppers. No sense saying goodbye to the bartender as there seemed to be a new one every other week. He’d been going there every week for months, and each time still felt like the first time. Perhaps the cook was the same, the fried food had maintained its excellent quality all throughout, but Arty had never met her. In a way the whole town was like that, like some metaphysical, adult version of detention. No pony wanted to be here, and no pony stayed long, if they had the option, and in the mean time they kept to themselves. So Arty had never felt a need to speak to the cook, compliment her on her efforts. Or him, he supposed, could have been a colt cooking.
“Always thinking about the mares,” he said to himself as his plans finalized. Very few ponies to say goodbye to, very few ties to cut, and then he could turn his back on this place, fly somewhere else where it didn’t hurt so much to be.
His wings ached as he closed on his home. Some pains would follow. He climbed into his bed, struggled into a comfortable position on his front. As he closed his eyes, he thought, That’s it then, first thing in the afternoon, soon as I wake up, I’m getting out of here. I’ll go be somepony else, somewhere else. So, goodbye Broke Mountain, I never wanted to come here and I won’t be sorry to leave.
* * * * * *
The streets of Fillydelphia were cruel and mean. They had messages carved in their bricks: ‘Have a nice day!’ and ‘Think of Others!’ which only reinforced the gloom. Often, litter wasn’t picked up for days. Many ponies were unwashed and unfocused, wandering aimlessly and looking for their next hit of giggle grass or waiting for the salt lick bars to open up. It was a place where ponies rarely smiled, didn’t hug or dance, and dangerous to be in a dark alley at night. Somepony might be rude, wielding sharp words that could cut and twist in. There were only five shelters, with one social worker per three ponies. Only once or twice a night might offers of a meal and warm place to sleep be made. It was a long time between the guard patrols, at least an hour! It was a hard life, for hard ponies, and the urban blight had spread to cover almost an entire city block. The rest of the city was clean, pleasant and safe. Everypony knew not to go near the downtown core at night, unless they had a really good reason, like spreading kindness.
“Champagne Majestic, you doing all right?” It was the second time Officer Smiley had come around that night.
“I’m fine officer, the cold don’t bother me none. I’ve got my sleeping mat and a blanket, the sky is clear and the stars are nice. I think I’ll stay out a spell.”
“There’s a warm stable waiting for you, we can go there right now, you don’t have to be alone. The soup is still hot. They’ve got dumplings.”
“Thank you kindly, but I’m full up and not feeling fit to be around others. Then there’s them rules they got. I don’t got a hankering for following rules tonight.”
“Please Champagne, it would make me feel better knowing you were inside.”
“Tell you what Smiley, you let me sleep this night through, no more interruptions, and come early tomorrow evening and I’ll go with you.”
“Champagne, you said that last night. You know I don’t like feeling you’re lying to me.”
“Weren’t lying then! Ain’t lying now. You showed up too late is all. I got looking at the stars and changed my mind, decided I’d keep them company tonight. Show up before sundown tomorrow and I’ll go with you.”
“Well, all right Champagne,” Officer Smiley’s hooves clopped on the pavement as walked off, “I take that as a promise. Sleep well.”
Champagne snorted and snuggled deeper under his blankets. He’d worked the wine county harvest many a year, this wasn’t much different than sleeping out during a long harvest. City ponies were so delicate. He was happily drifting off when sharp sounds pulled him away. His first thought was Smiley was returning, but it wasn’t the sound of shoes on brick. It was metal... on metal, and ringing in an oddly attractive way.
He could see shadows cast on a building at the end of the street. They made no sense. There was a faint glow of magic, that was the source of the shadows, so at least one unicorn was involved. Possibly some sort of impromptu, late night theater? Drawing closer to the source, he rounded the gate to a construction lot.
What he saw left him paralyzed in fear. He stood, eyes wide, mouth open, unable to move, staring at the nightmarish scene before him. The macabre spectacle played out. A pony fell, dismembered, to the ground. Champagne saw a flash, felt stinging pains at points all over his body. He turned and he ran. He didn’t get as far as his sleeping roll.
An hour later, Officer Smiley bent his promise to leave Champagne Majestic undisturbed, and quietly checked on him. He never felt the same again.
* * * * * *
|
Artrageous
|
1093
| 2 |
Derpy Hooves,Original Character,Trixie,Adventure,Comedy,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Background Currents
|
A retired Wonderbolt is caught up in a series of murders that span Equestria.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Artrageous, a retired Wonderbolt, is aimless and attempting to find meaning again in his life. He is nudged in a direction, then caught up in the strong undertow of a larger menace spreading across Equestria. He and his new friends find themselves drawn in, but only on the periphery as the mane 6 and the princesses take charge of the issue. Reluctant to let everything just drop and be handled by others, they struggle to provide relevant assistance while being backstage to the events.</p><p>Incorporates some personalities and plots inspired by events on the Equestrian Dawn mush.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-09-29T23:14:52+00:00
|
2011-09-29T23:14:52+00:00
| 969 |
Leaving was a little harder than anticipated, Arty discovered he had to speak to a counselling officer, which was one more pony he didn’t want to talk to. It was an uncomfortable walk to find her in the administration building, which despite a lot of long flowing ramps, and even a couple balconies between levels that a pegasus could jump across, somehow impressed a certain amount of formality. Both the walk and the building said, you are here to see official people on official business and you will not be silly.
Not that Artrageous was prone to being silly. He was very serious, for a pegasus, that qualifier being an important point. He checked himself in a reflection off a pillar. How am I looking? I know I look fantastic, but am I still looking as fantastic as I could be? Mane, braids look good. Coat, yup, tail? Fine. Teeth. Yes, I look great when I smile. Okay, let’s stun this ponycrat with my sheer fantasticness and get the flock outta here.
He’d never admit to being nervous, but apparently having to check in now and then was going to be a staple of his new life, and it was a tether he didn’t want. It was also, the third door on the right at the top of the second balcony past the waterfall, which he’d finally found.
Artrageous nosed open the door and pushed inside, “Hello, are you expecting me? I’m Artrageous.” The back of the room was a giant bay window he could have flown in with everything fully extended, and his eyes closed. Why they simply hadn’t painted a number on the outside of the building to let him do so, he couldn’t imagine. Well, some ponies can’t fly, came the counter-thought.
Between freedom and the door was a desk, in front of which were a few pillows and a bench, behind which was seated a mare in medical scrubs. She had a pale green coat, robin-shell hair, and pretty eyes. She was an earth pony, with a nice smile, and a desk full of well chewed pens. Most doctors were unicorns, at least, most of the ones Arty had met were, and he knew it was a study heavy profession with a lot of writing. He briefly wondered how skilled an earth pony would have to be with her mouth to keep up, then quickly put that thought out of his mind. He sat quickly.
The rest of the room was strangely empty, there was a single diploma on the wall, but little signs of personalization. The doctor read from the folder in front of her for a few moments, then looked up.
“Yes, I had just a few questions then you’ll be cleared to go. Everything is working correctly?” She asked, keeping a very steady gaze locked on his eyes.
“Yes, sir.”
“No need to be so formal, Artrageous, this isn’t a court martial. I just need to know how you’re doing, you haven’t had any thoughts about hurting yourself, have you?”
The answer to this is always no, regardless of what the real answer is. Beyond the desk, beyond the window was blue sky, and while he could fly away anytime some pony, some where, would find a loose thread and pull it all the way back to him so he might as well get it all wrapped up neatly now, so nopony would worry.
“I’m fine, yes, I don’t need any more pain than I currently have. I haven’t been thinking of hurting myself.”
“Have you been feeling suicidal?”
Another trap question, where the answer is always no. Still, Arty could hardly sing a song about sunny skies forever, “I’ll admit to feeling severely disillusioned with how things have transpired, but I’m looking forward to moving on.”
“Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“No!” That was a bit too harsh, that would set off warning flags, that would interrupt her pleasant trip through her checklist. Arty rushed to qualify, closing his eyes, “I mean, no sir. I’ve talked, and talked, and talked until I’m even more blue in the face, and I don’t want to relive it again. I’ve said all I can about it, I know what I did wrong, the past is the past and I can’t change it, and I assure you it will never happen again.” He flared his wings, then folded them back against his sides, “It is what it is, and I accept the consequences, I’m just embarrassed talking about it now.”
“Okay,” she stared at him for a long while. Artrageous took a deep breath to relax, shaking to relax some of the tension through his back, and smiled. “Have you thought where you’ll be going?”
Away, thought Arty, “No,’ is what he said. This prompted a frown, she wanted to see he had a plan, presumably, and no medical officer, no matter how optimistic, was going to release an estranged pony who had no ties and no where to go. It was important to have something, Arty improvised, “I... thought about going to Manehatten, big place, I’ve got a couple contacts there. I was thinking of writing a book. Or Fillydelphia, I hear it’s nice. That’s the good thing about writing, you can do it anywhere.” Once you master the tongue-tango that is needed for manipulating a pen, that is.
“Have you thought about Ponyville?”
Ponyville? He hadn’t thought of the moon either. Oh wait, he had, last night, so Ponyville was even further from his awareness, “Um... no. What’s in Ponyville?”
“Well, I am, for one,” She smiled and turned her head in a way that made him blush. That familiar look, she was a fan! It was all there in his file, of course, and some were more forgiving than others. She was old enough, she’d probably seen him perform in his prime, maybe even had a word during the blur of the meet-and-greets. Some fillies, especially those devoted to a difficult profession, would nurse a crush into a full blow love affair even in the absence of any contact. Then, when a pony stepped out of the poster, they’d latch on. It was... something.
“Oh, I’m not interested in a relationship,” she said, after he’d gotten the wrong idea. “I live there normally, I’m out here as part of the medical exchange. Anyhow, Ponyville is nice and... well I wouldn’t say quiet, there is always something going on, but it isn’t stressful. You need to check in with someone every two weeks, and I wouldn’t be comfortable releasing you to anywhere else, since you didn’t have a really concrete plan.”
And that was it. She wanted him there, but didn’t want him there, and he was stuck to this mare’s whim. His legs clenched, matching the stiffness in his jaw, breathing was becoming shallow again, the room narrowing into a tunnel where all he could see was... sky.
And he exhaled, “Sure, it sounds like a nice place to vacation. I can probably find a few things around town to do while I make bigger plans. I’ll drop in, we can have lunch, maybe dinner.” Hey, it never hurt to try, “So where is this Ponyville? I wanted to get moving today.”
“It’s south of Canterlot, a couple hours journey. Look for the farmlands and apple orchards. If you reach the Everfree Forest, you’ve gone too far.”
The Everfree Forest? That would be a good place for a pony that wanted to loose himself, “Ponyville it is then. I’ll look you up. I’ll have a cloud set up by the time you get back.”
“Allright Artrageous, you’re cleared for take off.” She grinned at him, “and keep focusing on the future. Things will get better.”
He nodded, like he was digesting sound advice, but he had heard these platitudes before. Some things never get better, some things are never forgiven, and as much as he wanted to pretend, and ignore, like scars, your past is with you for the rest of your life. “Thanks, I will.” He got up and walked through the door.
“Fly safe Arty,” she called as he left.
“Always do,” he waved his left wing, then winced as it banged the door-frame. A bad omen, “I wasn’t flying then!” He laughed it off as he disappeared down the hall. Now to see a pony about a cart.
* * * * * *
Artrageous didn’t leave that day. His departure was late in the morning following. That’s the beauty of having no specific plan, things can be allowed to slip. Slipping too much would be a problem, but one more day wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t as if he was expected, and by the time he had finished packing the cart it was late into the night. The mare-less moon was watching him, and it would be foolish to depart at night. Equally foolish to kick apart his cloud when he needed a bed.
So, he slept till morning, then a little later, because there was no sense starting out tired. Then it was time, he slipped out of his house and left all the doors and windows open. Some other pony might find it useful, and if not it would eventually drift off and break up, raining down a bunch of pens and change he misplaced and forgotten. Just to be clear, he wrote ‘Take Me’ at the front door. It would last a day before the cloudstuff shifted it into obscurity, or transformed it to something else. With his luck, it would be ‘Go away’.
Arty gave his cart a pre-flight inspection. It was a closed in affair which would save him having to protect the contents from the weather. It had two wheels and a simple harness, and wasn’t large enough to sleep in, not with his things. Like sleeping in a bathtub or closet, the prospect of which seemed somehow even more lower class than stretching out on a cloud or under a bridge. Arty hadn’t thought his nighttime arrangements through fully, but a pegasus always has a consideration for good places to take a nap processing in the back of their mind. Just in case one gets suddenly tired and it’s real important to lie down.
He slipped into the harness, twisted and shook it into a comfortable position and tightened the straps with his teeth. The weight settled on his shoulders and collarbone, just in front of his wings. He pulled, the cart rolled easily and he started flying with it.
Okay, turns are going to be slow and wide, and it’ll take a lot longer to slow down and stop, he thought, fly like you’re someone’s grandpa. He took one last look at his cloud, at the town below, nestled in the crags and steeps of the mountain and flew on. “Bye,” he said, adding, “thanks,” a moment later. For nothing, wasn’t voiced, but came very close to being.
He flew, he ran, he pulled the cart. He didn’t have a lot to think about, so he tried to remember why this wasn’t much harder than pulling it along the ground. It certainly wasn’t the equivalent of a dead lift, straight up. The steeper the angle of attack, the harder it was, just like climbing a hill. Well, Magic, was the answer, but there was still a logic behind it, especially pegasus magic which concentrated on atmospheric manipulation. Ah, he remembered, that particular physics course had interested him because it related to his cutie-mark. A pegasus can manipulate cloud-stuff, allow it to bear the weight of itself or objects, and carts work because a pegasus is effectively laying down an invisible contrail that the cart is following on. It still has to be pulled, which is why it’s a similar effort as doing so on the ground, and why the wheels turn, but the road is smoother.
It’s also possible to leave the cart for a while, so the pegasus doesn’t have to be in constant contact. This generally isn’t a good idea, because there is no set time for the support to remain. It usually lasts as long as the pegasus is thinking about it, and then a little while longer. Invariably, if attention goes elsewhere then suddenly snaps back with the thought ‘I’ve left a cart hanging’, that’s when it falls. It meant continually worrying about where you parked and whether the timer was running out. For a breed as easily distracted as the pegasai are, it’s a bit of a cruel joke, but it keeps the skies clear.
In any case, flying is both physical exertion and continual spell-casting, the limits of which are roughly the same and vary from pegasus to pegasus. As a former Wonderbolt, Artrageous had practiced and pushed his and was quite aware of far his current limits had slipped from his former glory days. If the wall wasn’t physical exhaustion, it manifested as a sudden urge to sleep. In actuality it was the magic reserves running low, and it unfairly gave the pegasai a reputation of being lazy, but it was a protective instinct to ensure they allowed their magic batteries a chance to recharge and still maintain their active spells. Only a really old or sick pegasus had their magic cut out mid-air. Or a really foolish one, thought Artrageous. He knew how to push right up to the point the magic ended, and all the warning signs before that brink.
It was a good day, the skies were clear and there was an intermittent breeze. Arty would wait for that gust and use it to soar himself and the cart higher. The road on the ground analogy wasn’t strictly true, a road on water could apply equally well, because there were some techniques to saving effort and riding a thermal was one. Once he’d gained altitude and the air stilled again, he would fly on a slight downslope, gliding. Gliding was much easier on his wings. Too much flapping and his left would start to stiffen. So he flew, or sailed, or surfed in the sky with his cart in an undulating path. It was great to be able to see so far, the haze settling on mountains, the fields and tended forests slipping by below, the way the sun would sparkle and light up a river when he reached just the right point.
This was free, this was as good as it gets, and worries can’t fly, or at least, can’t fly fast. Artrageous was happy.
* * * * * *
|
Artrageous
|
1093
| 3 |
Derpy Hooves,Original Character,Trixie,Adventure,Comedy,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Background Currents
|
A retired Wonderbolt is caught up in a series of murders that span Equestria.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Artrageous, a retired Wonderbolt, is aimless and attempting to find meaning again in his life. He is nudged in a direction, then caught up in the strong undertow of a larger menace spreading across Equestria. He and his new friends find themselves drawn in, but only on the periphery as the mane 6 and the princesses take charge of the issue. Reluctant to let everything just drop and be handled by others, they struggle to provide relevant assistance while being backstage to the events.</p><p>Incorporates some personalities and plots inspired by events on the Equestrian Dawn mush.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-01T19:44:32+00:00
|
2011-10-01T19:44:32+00:00
| 1,138 |
Donut Steel. His job was sitting behind a police desk and getting his flank chewed off by the mare of Fillydelphia. There were other components to it, but that seemed the main one.
He was also the bearer of a very unfortunate name and cutie-mark. He hadn’t liked his childhood name either, Doughy, it made him sound like a big squishy pile of unbaked bread. There’s the chance when one’s cutie-mark comes in, to take a better name. After all, it’s not as if any parent knew exactly what their foal was going to get when it was born, although yes, they were bakers and had hopes. Sadly, a lot of those names sounded like desert dishes or specialized performers. The problem being that the new name wasn’t so much chosen as applied by mutual frienemies who had no sympathies for the future.
Also, Donut Steel hated ‘cutie-mark’. He would have preferred the term be flank-flag, or butt-brand, or ass-pass, something. Something else, without the ‘cutie’. Donut felt there was nothing cute about himself, there should be nothing cute about himself, but Princess Celestia decreed it was to be called a cutie-mark, and that was that. It was difficult enough getting your way with a headstrong mare that was forty, never mind one with a couple millenia of practical stubbornness, and the powers of the galaxy at her disposal, that was hard enough to give her sister a thousand year time out on another planet. No, better to be metaphorically gelded than actually. If she wanted it to be called a cutie-mark, it would be called a cutie-mark, and no stallion was going to challenge that. Some could be real thick, but they weren’t that stupid. Steel still wished it was something else. At least he wasn’t pink.
The mayor was, and she had teleported into his office for the aforementioned rump roast.
“You have have half of the downtown core completely screened off. What exactly is going on Donut?”
“Miss Mayor, you don’t want to know.”
“I need to know Donut! The Celebration of Life Parade has a route right through your tent city. They have to be cleared, or I need a good reason for re-routing.”
“I can’t tell you, Miss mayor.” The other part of his job was keeping information from ponies, details that would keep them up at night, make their stomachs gurgle and burn. He deployed his euphamisms, “It’s one of those inevitable, unfortunate, conclusive aspects of existence. We’re cleaning the specifics up as fast as we can.”
She turned a pale pink. Ponies were aware of mortality, in part that’s what the parade was about, but most didn’t like to think about it. Births were celebrated, as were the memories of those who had passed on, but the details of the transition at the end of life, those were best just pushed under the carpet.
“I’ll... I’ll say everything needed a new coat of paint, and it just couldn’t be finished in time.”
“Don’t say that, ponies will want to pitch in and help. Although, that’s not a bad idea. We can rush some base coats down, you can make the announcement and then they can jump in. It has to be painted anyhow.”
“It was that... extensive?”
“Yes.”
She blanched even further. Nodded, and with a blinding flash and an ear-ringing pop she teleported out.
Donut Steel looked at the folder on his disk, it had him taken three attempts to read it, with long breaks in between, and was the reason his lunch felt like phosphor inside him. Officer Smiley had been the lead investigator, but there was no way Steel was leaving him in charge. He had ordered that broken pony to immediately take a week in the country, or a month. Steel needed him in a week, that pony deserved a month for what he’d seen.
He didn’t know there were four other folders just like it in Steel’s desk. Three were from out of town, a hunch that paid off in ways Donut wished it hadn’t when the files came in response to his circumspect requests. The fourth was from a month ago, in the city suburbs, and had been handled by the only pony Donut had met who could look at these things and keep a lunch down.
This had Special Division written all over it. Donut leaned on his inter-comm, “Somepony find Flare Star.”
* * * * * *
Artrageous was tired. He’d been flying for several hours now. His coat had gone slick with sweat, baked dry in the sun, and gone slick again. He could smell himself, even with a headwind. A good strong stallion scent, nothing wrong with that, he thought, mares will flock. His mane was feeling unpleasantly oily, his tail, dusty. Somehow he had found dirt in the sky and it was clinging to him just as if he’d been pulling this cart along a track. He was uncomfortably hot, and wet, under his tail and in his foreleg pits. Things were beginning to chafe. The harness pulled uncomfortably at his shoulders, it was sweat-slick beneath it and he wondered if he should have used a blanket as a pad. His wings were holding up, but there were strange pops and clacks transmitting themselves through his bones.
He looked around for a good cloud to rest on. There weren’t any. There were, at most, a few wispy altostratus, but they were too high and thin to be practical. He gazed down at the ground, looking for a good landing place. He might as well set down the cart and sleep on top of it.
There was a brighly coloured dot moving along an earth pony track. He lowered his head for a closer view, then balked as the cart accelerated on the slope, pushing him. Too steep! He reminded himself, I can’t fly like it’s just me. That was warning enough, he leveled out, it was time to put down. When you slip behind the power curve and start making mistakes, it’s time to stop flying for a spell.
He was rapidly moving away from the dot, whatever it was. At his current height, it was too large to be a pony. Some kind of farm wagon, perhaps, but it shouldn’t be garish. He spared another look to gauge its direction. Same as mine, he determined. He wouldn’t be able to land exactly beside it, but he could get close and wait for it to catch up. He’d have someone to talk to, and might even ask for directions.
Artrageous took the cart down as steeply as he dared, backwinging the whole way while it pressed on his shoulders. He was glad he’d gotten the balance right, otherwise there would be the danger of it fishtailing and flipping around in front of him. As it was, he was extra cautious in maintaining a smooth, straight path that parallelled the track on the ground. Finally his hooves touched ground, and the wheels thumped down right after. A quick run, that slowed to a trot, then a walk, and he was ready to pull over and wait.
He did. He unhitched himself, and sprawled across the top of his cart like a cat in a sunny spot. He let his muscles stretch, his wings hang, that felt good.
Something sparkled on the ground. A coin. He lept down to examine it. It was a bit. Well that’s good luck, he thought, as he picked it up and returned to his perch. He started flipping it, knocking it in the air with his hoof, catching it on the white line, and slapping it on his fore fetlock.
Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads.
Hmmm.
Heads. Heads.
This continued for a while. Art felt that it was important to look as casual as possible when the other traveller arrived, and that meant he should keep flipping the coin even if no pony was watching. Not that he was posing, exactly, but if he just sat there and did nothing he’d start to think. He didn’t want to do that, he’d get wound up and seem like some creepy stalker forest pony. Best to concentrate on flipping the coin.
It wasn’t long before the other wagon rumbled into view, about a thousand coinflips or so. It was pulled by a unicorn mare. She was a light blue with an even paler mane and tail. He looked for the cutie-mark, hers was a wand with some sort of swirl. She was also as dirty, dusty and tired looking as Arty felt. He wished now he’d taken a moment to preen. There was a name printed in bold letters across the side of her wagon. She was some kind of performer.
“Hello there,” Artrageous called out, flipping his coin, “what kind of show would you give me for this?”
She eyed it, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not a bit player, so nothing.”
“Really? It’s a magical coin,” flip, “It keeps coming up heads, don’t you think that is significant?”
“It’s nothing to write home about,” she said, watching him flip it again, but she still asked, “what is it this time?”
“Heads.”
“Again.”
Flip, “heads.”
“Give it here, what does a dirty pegasus know about magic?”
Arty spun the coin down at her. It landed in the dirt. Her horn glowed, she levitated it up, turning it in front of her face and examining it.
“You foal! It’s heads on both sides! It’s a new one with both Princesses, how dumb a pegasus are you?”
Arty decided he wasn’t going to tell her it was always coming up Luna. “You keep it, maybe it will bring you luck. So what do you do?”
“It’s ‘So what does the Great and Powerful Trixie do?’ and the answer is simple. Anything you can do, I can do better!”
“Great! Make me a cup of tea!”
That... felt interesting. Fortunately it didn’t last long. The flash of her horn was still lingering on his eyes as the feeling faded.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has no time for this nonsense. You smell, and she has a long way to go. Good day.” She leaned into her harness and strained to get her wagon moving again. Her horn glowed, adding an arcane push to the wheels and setting her in motion.
“Hey, Trixie, I’m sorry. I’ve been travelling all day and you’re the first pony I’ve spoken to. I wanted to know if anything was around, a place to stay the night.”
“Great and Powerful Trixie.”
“Great and Powerful Trixie, then, are there any inns on this road, where does it go?”
“It goes to Ypslanti, then Hoofington, and there are not any inns you can reach tonight. There are farms, but the earth ponies here are uncooth and do not appreciate the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magic, they expect a show and for her to pay for lodgings. In your case, they have daughters, I doubt you could pay enough.”
That sounded like a joke at his expense, or theirs, and an insult at both. This was rapidly getting tiring. He felt the temptation to whip out his credentials, but she wasn’t the sort of mare that would be impressed, he knew that. Parading around as an ex-Wonderbolt to get some respect, that’s the picture of insecure. Instead, he sighed, “Look, enough already. I thought maybe you’d like some company, to talk about yourself, but if you’re happy on your own, be alone. I don’t need to waste my time pretending to be nice. I don’t need anypony doing me favours.” A little more bitterness than Arty intended slipped into his voice, and something else.
Trixie stopped her wagon, she was out of sight now, the back end of it blocking view of her. She was quiet for a moment, there was just the sound of her tail wisking. Something must have resonated with her, for she called out, “The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts your challenge, she can pretend to be nice better than you. You may travel with her.”
“And listen to her talk about herself?” He had to ask, maybe that was it.
“Yes. The Great and Powerful Trixie is not doing you any favours.”
All right, there was a sense of humour in there. He laughed and hopped down to get into his harness, and set his cart in motion.
“Lay some story on my Trixie.”
“Great and Powerful,” she corrected.
Okay, “Oh, Great and Powerful Trixie, please tell me about yourself, this road is so long.”
“Well Dark Pegasus, I once saved...”
I probably should introduce myself, Arty thought, once she stops talking. At least that’s better than ‘Stinky’.
|
Artrageous
|
1093
| 4 |
Derpy Hooves,Original Character,Trixie,Adventure,Comedy,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Background Currents
|
A retired Wonderbolt is caught up in a series of murders that span Equestria.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Artrageous, a retired Wonderbolt, is aimless and attempting to find meaning again in his life. He is nudged in a direction, then caught up in the strong undertow of a larger menace spreading across Equestria. He and his new friends find themselves drawn in, but only on the periphery as the mane 6 and the princesses take charge of the issue. Reluctant to let everything just drop and be handled by others, they struggle to provide relevant assistance while being backstage to the events.</p><p>Incorporates some personalities and plots inspired by events on the Equestrian Dawn mush.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-05T16:54:36+00:00
|
2011-10-05T16:54:36+00:00
| 776 |
By the time they stopped for camp, Artrageous knew every single one of Trixie’s magic tricks. He hadn’t seen them, for that he’d have to pay, but she talked about them, at length and in great detail. The shared journey did indeed make the travel easier, and shorter. Arty was free to mostly zone out and mostly only had to watch for moments of significant pause where he was expected to say, “Oh, yes, really? -or- and then what happened?” Trixie, ahem, the Great and Powerful Trixie, wasn’t the sort of conversationalist who expected a lot of reciprocation. She mostly wanted to hear her own voice, and didn’t like interruptions. Arty was glad, the mares you have to pay close attention to were the worst.
Setting camp was mostly pulling over to the side of the road and discovering that Trixie slept in her wagon, so she was taken care of, and no you’re not invited inside, so figure out your own arrangements and build a fire while you’re at it.
Arty had thought of flying on, he’d been rested enough hours ago to do so, but there was still the tacit competition of being ‘nice’ to each other, which both were struggling with. Also, though Arty was loathe to admit it, he wanted somepony around, and one he didn’t care about offending might be the best choice on a difficult journey. He had been practicing hard, with his flying, and regular pony training. Despite this, he still felt stiff through his whole body. Pulling a cart all day long was not the same as several hours of airsprints and stunts. He was in no small way impressed with Trixie, she’d pulled her own wagon, that much could be said, even if she used magic. That unicorn wasn’t as delicate as she looked.
He dragged some sticks and branches out of the forest, stamped them into kindling and made a pile. It would burn, it was big enough to last a while. There were a few dead trees that were both rotten enough to easily break up, and not so far gone they turned into dust. He had nothing to start a fire with, so he’d need Trixie.
Klok, klok, klok! He banged on the front of her wagon, “Oh Great and Powerful one. I need you to light the fire.” The top of her door slammed open and she stuck her head.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not going to waste her magic on parlour tricks. Light it yourself. How were you planning to cook your food?”
She looked at him like he had some; he looked at her like she was crazy. At this point, they both became aware of the flaw in his travel plans. Fortunately, Arty didn’t have to bother with recriminating himself, Trixie took care of that for him.
“You didn’t bring any food? What were you planning on eating, how did you get so big and so old without learning the basics of taking care of yourself? Are you crazy? The Great and Powerful Trixie has never seen a pony so useless before, and you still smell.” She slammed her door shut.
Thanks, thought Art. “Thanks.” He said, with his forehead tightening and mouth tasting like bile. I made a mistake in planning, he justified to himself. The Wonderbolts had a whole collection of support staff, to make arrangements, handle baths and brushing, accommodations, schedule and food. Even when the show wasn’t travelling, he had a filly hanging off every hoof each night, and his bits were no good in that town. He could get a free meal for a photograph and a signature. Food, was something he never thought about. You got hungry, you went out, and somepony gave it to you. That was the benefit of being a celebrity in a big city, annoying life details were some other pony’s problem to smooth over. Even after he... retired, the experience at Broke Mountain was similar. Other ponies were around to make sure you got on your hooves and wings, handle the details and it was easy to be insulated from responsibility. In Art’s defence, he had expected to stay the night in a town, inn, or homestead and would have planned differently if he had known there was so much empty flyover country in this part of Equestria.
“Trixie cannot believe she has to share!” The door to her wagon slammed wide open, and she exited carrying a basket in her mouth. She dropped it beside the kindling, and her horn glowed as she started removing items from it. “Trixie cannot believe how you have forced her to cook for you, your utter incompetence. When I said I could do anything better than you, I never expected it to be so unspeakably easy. Take that, light the fire. Trixie is not spending the night in the dark and waking up to find you starved to death, stinking even more.” She nudged a flint and steel sparker his way and continued to arrange her pots and ingredients.
Artrageous took the sparker in his teeth, leaning in to stack to get the business end near the kindling. He wondered why she didn’t just use her magic to light a fire, why she had this device at all. Then he considered that maybe her bluster is to keep his thoughts from going in that direction. She can’t, and she didn’t want to put her face near flames, so this was her distraction. The urge to hoof her one was growing, and he found his back hooves digging into the dirt. The frustration helped him repeatedly clench the sparker just right, and many tiny, glittering stars flew from it and landed on the waiting bed, and one of them caught.
He carefully exhaled, watching the small red circle grow, and then pulled his head back once a flame appeared. He found he had his wings spread, creating a wind block, and the flame was growing well. He looked across the wood, Trixie was watching, and he couldn’t read her expression.
“Trixie could have done it faster with her magic,” she said, tossing her mane with her eyes closed as she turned up her nose, then concentrated on using her magic to jam the pot holder-frame into the ground. Her mane looked good, Art noticed, she’d used the time he was collecting twigs in his and dragging wood out of the woods to brush herself down and clean herself up. Another advantage of unicorn magic, it was very difficult for ponies to be independent, almost everything they might do required another’s assistance. Only unicorns could effectively be independent in all ways. Arty wasn’t going to be able clean up without help, he wasn’t even sure which box he’d put his brushes in, or if he had packed them at all.
“Well, then the Great and Powerful Trixie should have.” Artrageous said, snorting hard and sitting to rub at his flank. Perhaps he could clean off at least his cutie-mark, although all he was accomplishing was smearing some muddy sweat around.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is cooking dinner for a pegasus who should have planned ahead,” she snorted back. Beside her, a potato was spinning against a peeler, which was also glowing. Skinned, it went into the pot, followed by another, then some carrots, equally peeled and sliced. Trixie continued to anywhere except at him, provided it kept her nose pointed at least 15 degrees above the horizon. Art saw her sneaking glances at the vegetables while she worked, though she continued to act as if the entire effort required absolutely no attention. “You should be grateful.”
“And you’re not making any for yourself?”
“You will eat after the Great and Powerful Trixie eats. You will get what she finds unappealing.” She waved a hoof, like she was shooing away a fly. Actually, she was, several had been attracted by something, Trixie decided to blame Art. “You stink. You are attracting bugs, stand downwind in the smoke.”
“You know, you could help me clean up, or lend me a brush. It’s not like I planned for this.”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not doing you any favours.”
“You could do your stuck up nose a favour then, if I smell so much, lend me a brush.”
She dropped her head down and stared at him, her forehead furrowed, her eyes narrow, her mouth smiling. An expression collision of annoyed and amused. Art couldn’t tell which was her, and which was the show-pony. “I would have to burn it after you used it. I do not have any spare brushes.”
“Well then make some with your magic, oh Great and Powerful Trixie, what good is it if you can’t do practical things.”
Her horn flared. The onion, which was in the process of being sliced, reacquainted itself with the ground. The knife, which was doing the slicing, flew off and found a new friend across the track. Knives, incidentally, do not make good friends. Trixie was immediately on her hooves, and stomped into her wagon. The door stayed open this time. She re-emerged and stomped down the steps, then around the fire. She carried a long-handled brush and a currycomb in her mouth. She spat them at him. She returned to her side of the first, thumped her haunches down and stuck her chin in the air.
Her poise was ruined a few seconds later when she had to cross the road to find her knife and pull it out of the tree. She didn’t have a spare of that, either.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not helping you,” she announced, as vegetables started to spin beside her again and enter the soup.
“I didn’t ask for help, I asked for a brush. I’ve got this.” Arty said, his teeth clenched on the handle as he twisted and rubbed. The curry-comb had a band to hold it on the hoof, and he could reach most places with it, but it still would have been easier to have another pony do. His back between his wings, and his wings where nigh impossible. He might as well rub against a tree like a bear. He grunted, snorted, twisted, flexed, strained, stretched, growled, snarled and ground his teeth on the brush-handle, but managed a passable grooming.
Then Arty noticed that Trixie was watching. Her eyes met his, and she immediately wrenched her head to the side. Several more vegetables loudly landed in the pot, and water splashed out, making the fire hiss.
Artrageous stood and walked around the fire. He gently dropped the brush and comb beside Trixie. If his wings were a little bit flared, and his chest puffed such that he looked bigger, it was unintentional. Really, Art told himself, I don’t like her. He returned to his side of the fire, stretched out and said, “Thanks.”
Not one to pass up an opportunity to be criticial, Trixie said, “You did a terrible job on your tail, and did nothing with your mane, you didn’t touch those braids. How do you do them?” Her question wasn’t as vehement as everything else she said.
“I don’t, I’m a pegasus, I get somepony else too, I can’t braid my own mane.”
“Oh... I thought maybe you were flexible and skilled with your...” She shut up. Coughed, then said loudly, “The Great and Powerful Trixie will braid your mane, since you are so incapable.”
“And you want me to do yours?”
“No, my mane is stellar. You will have to listen to the Great and Powerful Trixie as she talks about things that interest her.”
“Like what? Politics?”
“No, myself.”
It figures, Arty thought. He stood, tenderized the ground and made a little hollow, then knelt and laid down again. Trixie joining him on his side of the fire and started brushing his mane, and talking. Another advantage unicorns have, not having to hold the brush in their mouth, or disadvantage as it was turning out.
Trixie had run out of things to say about her magic. So, she moved onto her relationships. Not immediately, she had several scathing things to say about the state of his mane as she undid the knots, and clearly took pleasure in yanking out the twigs and brambles he’d picked up as hard as possible. Artrageous didn’t make a noise, he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. At some point though, when the knots were undone and she was running the brush through his long, blue locks, playing with the hair, he became a surrogate for all the slumber parties she never had and it was confession time.
She could easily have finished sooner than she did, but something was always not right, had to be completely re-done, and was his fault, of course. The brushing did feel nice, and all that was expected of Arty was to lie there and say “okay, uhuh, really?” occasionally, just like before. Artrageous strongly suspected she might be flirting with him, but a few casual, ‘accidental’ bumps with his wings were reciprocated with immediate, awkward silence that went on too long. So he stopped doing that, well the ones that weren’t accidents, sometimes his wings did just move.
Trixie talked about her relationships, and she. had. lots. So many ponies trying to crack her brusk exterior and soothe the wounded mare they believed lay within. A veritable line of confidants that stretched from Canterlot to the edge of Equestria, all showering her with kindness and teaching her the meaning of friendship, forgiveness and generosity. All mares too, she was very specific. She was not interested in stallions. Stallions were big, insensitive, brutish lumps and she would take Flutterbutter or whatever her name was over them, any day. So he mustn’t get any ideas, at all. Arty was starting to suspect she was making some of these encounters up. It was simply impossible in the apparent time-line for her to have had a relationship with so many ponies. She would have to be an emotional, gymnastic disaster, bouncing from high and low extremes almost daily to be in the pitiful state she was invariably found and rescued from. It was only plausible because the Great and Powerful Trixie’s presence was just that absurd. If any pony was stuck and would never change, it would be her.
Arty had had enough when she started on the third recount of her meeting with Princess Luna for the first time. How wonderful and sensitive she was, how tragically misunderstood. How she was reminded of her every night she was out under the moonlight, how comforting the quiet darkness was, the velvet expanse of sky, how much it reminded her of the beautiful blue hues of her body, and how much she missed having her near. It felt like she was stealing his night from him, Artrageous couldn’t take it anymore.
“Enough! I get it. You’re a filly-fooler of the highest pedigree and the Great and Powerful Trixie wants to sleep alone tonight. I’m not interested, okay. Stop shoving it in my face. I’m sleeping out here.”
She stopped talking. She stopped brushing his mane. The brushes hit the ground, hard. He heard her stand. She said, “Your mane is done, you stupid pegasus. The Great and Powerful Trixie is going inside now,” and he felt like a worm.
“Trixie, I didn’t mean...”
“Whatever!” She cut him off, and stomped up the steps to her wagon. She slammed the door. She opened it a second later and shouted, “The Great and Powerful Trixie”, then slammed it again.
Artrageous listened to the fire crackle, and the crickets, and for any sounds coming from Trixie’s wagon. There were none at first, then a sort of rhythmic, springy thump followed by rapid clattering hoofsteps which might have been failing to kill a bug several times, but was probably a temper tantrum on the bed. It was followed by several loud thumps against the wagon wall, then silence again.
“You didn’t have any dinner,” Artrageous called out, as he ate his portion.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not sharing with you.” Came her voice, from inside the wagon.
“All right then,” he said, and he finished eating in silence. He placed the lid on the stew pot and left it on the back of her wagon beside the door. He slunk over to his cart. For no reason he planted his fore hooves and slammed both his back ones into the side. They dug into the wood, leaving crescents and rocked the cart. Inside he heard his boxes banging about. He slunk up top, stretched out and laid down.
A few minutes later Trixie shouted, “Shut up out there!” Arty found he had been thumping the roof. He stopped.
He wanted to go to sleep, instead he started thinking. Perhaps he was supposed to get some message from all those things she had been saying, perhaps she thought he was listening. Maybe she kept insulting him because she thought it only was teasing him, and she never grew up from being a filly, and thought that was how adults got along and what they did when they liked each other. Certainly possible, especially if she was exposed to a lot of badly written plays. All those stories, her with this mare, her with that mare, might have been intended to arouse him. Some of the imagery was certainly very pleasant, and she had gotten descriptively carried away a few times. The awkward silences when he brushed her, might have been awkward because she didn’t know what to do, and her hesitation came across as cold compared with the enthusiasm he was used to from fans when he indicated an interest. Or maybe she was just the same self-absorbed, smug, egotist under the surface as she appeared on top of it. Maybe she didn’t want to be alone either.
This line of thinking was making Artrageous feel like a complete jerk. He didn’t like her, he didn’t want to fix her, she was amusing to talk to at first but it swiftly became grating. He could see ways of taking advantage of her, but wouldn’t, because he hadn’t sunk that low, but it was pretty obviously someone would, sooner or later. Mostly, he felt bad, because while he had no intention of upsetting her he still muddled his way into adding to her burden. He felt he should have been better, somehow, even though he wasn’t sure how, and he didn’t have enough of the patience she so obviously required. Whatever common ground they had was still too rocky.
Trixie was too much like Artrageous, and he simply didn’t like him self.
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Artrageous
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1093
| 5 |
Derpy Hooves,Original Character,Trixie,Adventure,Comedy,Dark,Romance,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Background Currents
|
A retired Wonderbolt is caught up in a series of murders that span Equestria.
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Artrageous, a retired Wonderbolt, is aimless and attempting to find meaning again in his life. He is nudged in a direction, then caught up in the strong undertow of a larger menace spreading across Equestria. He and his new friends find themselves drawn in, but only on the periphery as the mane 6 and the princesses take charge of the issue. Reluctant to let everything just drop and be handled by others, they struggle to provide relevant assistance while being backstage to the events.</p><p>Incorporates some personalities and plots inspired by events on the Equestrian Dawn mush.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-13T21:06:33+00:00
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2011-10-13T21:06:33+00:00
| 1,327 |
A figure slipped quietly into the camp. It was a camp only in name. The cooking fire had been cold for a long time, extinguished then buried at twilight. A small tent had been pitched inside a bush, directly between it and a tree, and disguised by downed foliage.
The intruder drew a long, thin blade with a truncated stabbing point. He wore clothes that concealed his face, flanks, mane and tail, muffled the sound of his movements and helped him blend into the wilderness and darkness. With fluid visciousness, he stabbed the tent, aiming for the centre of mass of the occupant. The blade penetrated an easy, then solid resistance.
Immediate he spun to face an attack from behind. He had hit wood, wrapped in cloth, not the complex structure of a pony’s body. Then his hooves left the ground. A wire garrote was cinched beneath his jaw, lifting him, cutting into his flesh. Choking him.
He swung overhead. The first blow glanced along the wire. His neck was bleeding, his struggles cutting the wire deeper like a slow guillotine. The second was better aimed, it hit the wire, and the branch it was hanging him from. The two snapped. He fell, twisting. A stake grazed his left hind leg. He anticipated the trap, and the attack with it. His blade came up, deflecting a thrust and riposting along its length. For good measure he flung ground glass at eye height.
His opponent did the same, as he inhaled. He would have taken glass into his lungs without his protection. His eyes were fine. The moon glinted off the tiny shards trapped in the fine mesh covering his face, it was like fighting surrounded by stars. The opponent waited till he inhaled, good technique!
His neck stung, the wire had cut in and he was bleeding, but it had not worked through all the muscle and sinew. It had gone slack enough to be an irritant, just as the blood flowing from his throat was. A few shards of glass were caught in the flow, also unimportant. The cut on his flank was likewise a minor scratch. For all intents and purposes he was at full fighting strength, and knew he could take his target under the current conditions.
They fought. Two shadows with flashes of moonlight between them, and the ringing of bells. Swift, automatic, instinctive responses to infinitesimal cues. Guard, turn, parry, dodge, spin, thrust. He slid his hooves, plowing caltrops out of the way, every trick of advantage anticipated and spoiled. He could feel the opponent’s attacks weakening, vibrations in the thrust, blocks becoming weak. His victory was assured.
Except, the stars in front of his eyes were glowing brighter. The blade’s flash was prolonging, becoming a searing arc that persisted on his vision, obscuring other details. It was growing harder to tell where his opponent lay, what the next move would be, he was fighting by feel and sound alone.
The spike! He had time to think. It has been coated with a poison, enough to make him go blind, or the garrote. One of them, combined with the exertion, and he lost his edge. With a sickening finality, he felt a sharp force punch through his chest, skewering him. He hooked his hoof on the hilt, and with his remaining strength thrust his blade in the return direction. He felt the soft, yet firm resistance of a sword cutting into flesh, then the jarring stop as it hit bone. No sound. He thrust again, striking up for the weapon arm, and was rewarded with another cut and a squeak of pain. Pulling his blade back for a third time, he lunged to bury it in her chest. He felt the tip touch, penetrate, then the blade twist on his hoof and fall down. The ground rose up to meet him, slamming the hilt even harder against his chest. He was drowning.
At the most, he had mutilated her arms, tagged her with a poison she most certainly had the antidote to. Perhaps he had smoothed the way for a successor, but he had failed, and things grew darker.
The body was lifeless when she severed the head and gouged out the eyes. His last visions would have revealed nothing, but the Discipline must always be followed. She slices off his cutie-marks, giving him the anonymity in death he practiced in life and bundled those strips into his mouth with a nugget of phosphorus, positioning it to burn into his braincase. She took his blade, adding it to the others. She would dismember his body, travel a mile, then throw the parts into the underbrush.
As she finished her preparations, she said a final prayer in a foreign tongue. “I honour you, my ancestors, with the blood of my enemy, spilt in defense of our house and name. Use it to grow strong.”
It’s a simple, automatic gesture from time immemorial. Except some things are started for a reason, and some things forgotten for a reason. As pony blood shed by pony hatred seeps into the ground of the Everfree forest, its symbolism and the prayer combine to awaken an ancient power. It attaches itself to the source of the discord.
It’s weak, but it will grow, and it follows the defender’s path like a sickly shadow.
* * * * * *
Morning arrived. Artrageous could tell everything was covered in dew, because he was a part of that everything. His wings, his back, his legs, all parts of him her stiff and aching. He stood, or tried to stand, the first few attempts his hooves shot out from under him and he belly-flopped back on the top of his cart. I’m never sleeping like this again, he thought. No matter how long it takes, next time find a cloud or build a cloud.
He hopped down to the ground and went through is warm up routines, to get the blood flowing. He was also hungry. Well, there was grass, but he didn’t feel inclined to graze for a couple hours to get full, and he wanted something with flavour. I suppose it can be a backup plan, he thought, funny it didn’t occur to me last night. He was so accustomed to food that was much more energy efficient, it had slipped his mind. Trixie’s too, apparently.
The mare in question was also awake. She came out of her wagon and said “Hello” pleasantly, and picked up the pots and utensils from the night before. She knew at least one practical spell, one for doing dishes, and they all glowed briefly before becoming clean and then she packed them away.
Artrageous watched her, he wasn’t sure what to say, he didn’t have anything to do. His departure preparations consisted of slipping his harness on, and Trixie didn’t have that much more to do either. Packing up the camp only took her a few minutes. She trotted over.
“Are you planning on travelling with me today?”
“I guess,” Arty replied, wondering if flying would be faster, “where does the road go?”
“It’s straight through the farmlands. At a decent pace, late in the afternoon it branches, heading north to Ypslanti, and the other fork leading to Canterlot. It’s not possible to reach a town, but it’s a bit more civilized so there are plenty of places to stay.”
“Okay, at least as far as the fork then.”
“All right. I’ll lead.” She turned and went back to her wagon. She put on her harness, she was using a pad, and her horn then the straps glowed. She leaned forward hard, her four legs straining as she struggled with the static weight of her wagon. The wheels glowed and she moved forward. She didn’t look at him once as she passed, and she wasn’t waiting for him.
Arty jumped to the front of his cart and nosed into his collar. It was repulsive, it was grimey from yesterday and dew had not improved it. It settled cold, and clammy about his shoulders. He would have to get a blanket and peeled his lips at the taste of the strap. A lurch forward, and he was rolling too. He pulled his cart back onto the road and plodded after Trixie.
She didn’t talk. She would answer questions, if Art employed ‘the Great and Powerful’ label, provided they were about the route or journey. Any other subject, like last night or herself, prompted a “She has said enough” response, and all her answers were succinct and discouraged conversation. Occasionally she would say, “there is an interesting rock formation to your right” and other such panoramic information but there was no continuance.
It wasn’t exactly snubbing him, but it wasn’t yesterday either. Artrageous wondered about this, Trixie was acting strangely... professional. Perhaps at one point in the past she had worked with a troupe or other showponies and obviously there would be some she didn’t get along with. On second thought, perhaps there might have been a couple she did get along with. The others, well, she’d have to have some sort of functional, show-must-go-on, personality and this was what she was employing with Art now. It was a pity, because he was liking her a lot more this way, even though she seemed distant, disconnected.
So they travelled alone, together. Trixie eventually stopped saying things about the landscape, it was pretty, and that could be pointed out only so many times. Art drifted into a meditative plod where he stared at the back of her wagon and maintained distance. On the up-hills where it looked like she was having difficulty, he planted his head against it, flapped wings and helped push. Her wagon wheels glowed, she could have managed without him, he helped anyhow. It was not remarked upon.
The day stretched on. As the shadows were starting to lengthen, her wagon slowed, then stopped. Trixie didn’t get out of her harness, she shouted at him from inside the lines, “The road splits here. You will be going your own way.”
“Okay.”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has won the challenge of being nice, but you didn’t have to make it so easy.”
“I think we both lost.”
“Yes.” Her wagon wheels started glowing, and then the rig lumbered forward, “but you lost more. Bye pegasus.”
“Goodbye Trixie,” Artrageous slammed into his collar and started dragging his load down the other fork. Then he thought, I can fly, I don’t need this, and he flapped his wings and started up into the sky.
Below, as her wagon was disappearing under the trees, Trixie called out, “It’s the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’, I’m the greatest magician you’ve ever seen and I can do anything.” He didn’t reply, it was obvious why she kept saying that, but he felt there was no point reciprocating.
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