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gorutsuki
|
1242
| 1 |
Cutie Mark Crusaders,Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Trixie,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Return of the Everfree Kingdom
|
as a powerful pony is released from his captivity it's up to the six elements of Harmony to stop hi
|
incomplete
| 9 | 1 |
<p>No pony knows about how or why the Everfree Forest came to be, most don't even care as they avoid the place because it's dangerous, but two treasure hunters unwittingly unleash an ancient ruler from the distant past who seems to be targeting the Elements of Harmony. And Princess Celestia sends a single pony to help Twilight and her friends overcome this ordeal, but what does this Mentor and Twilight and her friends have to do with the history of the ancient Kingdom of Everfree which was destroyed long ago. (first fic guys, please leave a comment and a rating even if it's not a big amount, also Ponies will be added to the list if they appear in a chapter)</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-06T11:45:54+00:00
|
2011-10-06T11:45:54+00:00
| 886 |
Prologue: Before the spark of Friendship had hit the next generation
The day felt a bit colder than usual, the cold air instilling a chilling sensation to each and everypony it breezed past. The bright Sun hovered high as the pegasi cleared the sky, making sure to keep in bounds of what the weather report had stated earlier that day. The elegant Princess of Equestria sat on her throne, guards stationed all throughout the room, all directly across one another, each looking exactly alike. The guards tensed as they shifted their attention to a small pony striding into the throne room, but calmed when they remembered that the filly was the Princess’ pupil. The small lavender pony bowed to the Princess as she stood in front of the throne, to which the Princess replied with a smile as she signalled the small equine to stop her bowing. “Now, what brings you here Twilight Sparkle?” the regal Princess asked, her tone full of sincerity.
“My dearest Princess Celestia…” the small filly known as Twilight Sparkle said, her words full of admiration and respect. “What kinds of magic shall I be learning today? Levitation? Telekinesis? What about all of them?” Twilight asked. She was filled with enthusiasm as she eagerly awaited what her mentor will teach her today.
“Now, now, Twilight…” Princess Celestia answered. Her voice still had the compassionate tone that the Princess was famous for. “There are many different kinds of magic out there my faithful student. Some of them more dangerous than you think. I can’t just go teaching you all of them, I don’t think anypony has learned them all anyway” her words still contained the tone of kind-heartedness but had a substantial amount of worry.
“But what are those dangerous magics you keep telling me to avoid?” the young Twilight asked. Not quite satisfied by the answer she received. “If you tell me what those dangerous types of magic are, I’ll be able to keep away from them.” hoping that this time she’ll get the answers she was hoping for.
Celestia shook her head in disapproval “Twilight Sparkle, I had expected better. Surely you must know that if these weren’t dangerous, I would’ve taught and told you about them already?” her voice slowly losing some of the kindness it was filled with earlier. “These magics were banned by me for a reason Twilight. And even I should tell you, I know that you have a hunger for knowledge, which is quite respectable in a student. But I’ve seen some ponies consumed by that very same hunger. I don’t want you to end up like them.”
“I’m so sorry Princess…” Twilight said, her head almost hugging the ground “I was just a little curious….”
The Princess let out a sigh as she smiled at the small filly “Don’t trouble yourself over it Twilight, I know that you were just curious. But I thought that after all our conversations that we had on this topic, you would stop asking such foalish questions.” her voice returning to its original sympathetic state.
“I’m really sorry if I troubled you Princess” Twilight said, speaking in an apprehensive tone since she genuinely thought she had upset the Princess. “How about we drop the subject and do something else hmm?” she asked hoping to change the subject quickly.
“Alright, today I just want you to practice on your telekinetic powers and read a few books on Equestria’s history, my dear student”
“But… I already know how to do telekinesis Princess” Twilight answered back in a whiny tone, the books she could handle but she was confused as to why she needed to practice that spell again. “Can’t you teach me something like teleportation?”
“Yes, you have learned how to perform Telekinesis. But you should learn how to perfect it.”
Twilight had a confused look on her face “Perfect? But after you leant the spell that’s it, isn’t it?”
“Well, there is learning the spell, and then there is perfecting. Both of which are two completely different things, and the second always comes after the first.” Twilight heard an unfamiliar voice; she turned to see an unfamiliar pony covered in a brown hooded cloak which shaded his face, his bright red eyes shining through the shadow that his cowl cast over his face “What? It’s true” the strange stallion said, a hoof to his chin in thought. He quickly waved his hoof “Oh, hello by the way. Forgot to say that first, but I thought you may have wanted an answer to that simple question of yours.”
“Ah, it’s nice to see you after quite so long” Princess Celestia said smiling back at the mysterious stallion. “It’s so nice to see you again after all these years.”
“Nice to see that you have taken on a student of your own Princess” The stallion said clearly, some glee in his voice. Twilight stood between the two of them, looking from one to the other, wondering what was going on.
“Oh yes” the Princess added after realizing she forgot Twilight. “Twilight this is a unicorn who goes by the name of Mentor” Twilight stared into the black shadow the Mentor’s hood cast over his face “as his name implies he is a teacher and he is also a philosopher.”
“Indeed Princess” the Mentor replied with pride “I travel far and wide teaching ponies and I study the unique nature of the different hearts of ponies in our world.”
“Study their hearts?” Twilight asked trying to understand, “but how can you study their hearts when it is inside their body?”
Both the Princess and the Mentor laughed after Twilight finished asking her question “oh small little filly, you have quite a lot to learn.” The Mentor replied while he tried to stop himself from laughing “a heart keeps them alive, but I am talking about their HEART, the little thing that gives ponies and other living beings the feelings we all call emotions.”
“I think I understand Mister Mentor” Twilight replied scratching her hair in thought “so you study the different emotions that a pony has and then you teach others about those emotions?”
“Exactly! Well I also teach magic but you got the answer correct” he answered “you’ve got a smart little cookie here Princess, oh and speaking of cookies” he reached into a pocket of his cloak to pull out a box “here a little present to the little genius.”
Twilight exclaimed as she opened the box to be greeted by different kinds of cookies, chocolate chip, hazelnut and also vanilla flavoured cookies. “THANK YOU!”
The Mentor chuckled as Twilight started to eat some of the cookies “be careful there are some apple flavoured cookies in there as well, now going back to what you were saying as I arrived here, what was that about you not wanting to perfect your spells?”
Twilight looked towards the Mentor as she still had bits of cookies in her mouth, she quickly tried to swallow it as she tried to think of an answer “I already know them don’t I? Doesn’t that mean I’ve perfected it? So there’s no need to work on the spell more.” Twilight said. He put a hoof to his chin as he contemplated the question.
“Well you see… yes, you have learnt the spell, but perfecting the spell is an entirely different thing” he said in a gentle, soothing tone. “When you are perfecting the spell, you try to test its boundaries, like what it can do and what it can’t. In the example of teleportation, you test to see how far you can go, and if you can teleport instantly from place to place.” he said with a proud smile on his shadowed face. “I could show you, but I just woke up not too long ago, and I’m a bit tired” he said, covering his mouth with his hoof as he yawned. “Sorry little one, but I can’t exactly show you what my version of a perfected teleportation spell is like.”
“Awwww…” Twilight said in disappointment. All the excitement she had from thinking that the Mentor would show an example and all the cookies had vanished in an instant. “I thought you were going to show me what one of your perfected spells was like.” she said, sad at not being able to see an example of what he was trying to tell her.
“Well I suppose one little spell wouldn’t make me sick up” he said ruffling up Twilight’s purple mane with his right hoof “Fine, I’ll show you once” Twilight beamed with excitement as she quickly fixed her hair and turned her full attention to the Mentor. “Now, let’s see here… I’m going to go-“ he said, disappearing with a bright flash of light. “Here” he said, his voice coming from a different direction. As Twilight turned around to see him sitting on top of the back rest of the throne, her face filled with joy and excitement seeing him display his skills at teleportation. He looked down at Princess Celestia who was just below him then, turned into a bright flash of light as he reappeared right next to Twilight, making her jump a tad.
“Awesome!” Twilight said, clearly in awe of the Mentor’s abilities. “Is that what it’s like to perfect a spell?” the stallion turned towards her and raised a hoof in the air which made her stop dead in her tracks.
“There is a time and place for learning. And right now, I’m not teaching anything. I’m not wearing my teaching headband right now as well” he said, pointing a hoof towards his hooded head. “Without it, I’m not in a mood for teaching or mentor related things at this particular point in time.” Twilight was disappointed and confused by Mentor, he saw this and smiled. “Why are you so disappointed? You saw an example of a somewhat perfected spell AND you received some delicious cookies AND you’re being tutored by another great teacher” he paused for a little bit before looking at the Princess “But even SHE had a great teacher once upon a time.” he added, grinning.
“I didn’t invite you here to talk about old times Mentor…” Celestia said, signalling with her hoof that it was time for Twilight to depart. “There is something we need to discuss.” As Twilight left, she turned to see the two of them talking, and she overheard some words coming from their mouths, but she was only barely hear what they were saying.
“So, is your student part of the next generation?” She could hear the question coming from Mentor’s mouth. “Are you already teaching her the essentials?”
“Yes, I am trying to teach her what she needs to know. Would there be any reason for me to do otherwise?”
“Well, she seems like a nice one, but I think you have sheltered her a bit too much don’t you think? She might turn into an anti-social bookworm in the not too distant future, or even worse, A POLITICAN!” the Mentor said with a scarred tone in his voice.
“I would never let my student do that, she is much too bright for that but, I do admit that she may not have many friends at the moment. But trust me when I say that the time will come when she will have lots of wonderful friends.”
“Is this another one of those infamous hunches of yours? Like the act of your little sister being sent into hiding from the public a couple hundred years ago?” Twilight heard as she was walking away. She could hardly make out most of what they were talking about by now, but she could clearly see the Princess get flustered, trying to talk to Mentor.
“That was a necessary precaution for the future of Equestria. She even agreed to it.”
“Yes, yes, I know that this is all fo-” Celestia cut him off as he was about to finish by sticking her hoof near his mouth. “Oh, sorry, I’ll keep quiet. But really, I’m going to be waiting for a long time until it’s my time to shine.” Mentor said, smiling as he pushed the Princess’ hoof down.
“I’m sorry that I have to call you when it’s going to take a while. It must be difficult for you to have to keep doing this.” Twilight could see a frown on Celestia’s face
“My dear Princess Celestia…” he said bowing and putting on a fake regal voice “’Tis my solemn duty, to help and protect this land, no matter how long it takes and no matter what obstacles cross my path I have to ensure that the elem-” once again Mentor was cut off by a simple hoof from Celestia.
“Let us not talk about your duties where ponies could hear us.” Celestia said looking around “also you seemed somehow off when you talked to Twilight, is something wrong?”
“To be honest, she reminds me of this other pony I knew way back when, she even looks and acts like her. But I guess in my case such things aren’t outside the realm of impossibility, I mean remember how long I have been around?”
“Well yes I know you’ve been around for a long time Mentor” Celestia replied “but what I want to know is how do you think she will fare when the time comes?”
“It’s usually different each time, I hope that the others drawn to this one are able to comprehend and master their abilities like the last generation otherwi-” Twilight couldn’t hear anymore as she exited the Throne room. Walking towards where she usually practiced her magic, she wondered what they could have been talking about.
“What was that all about?” Twilight asked to herself as she pulled out a book from a stack of them nearby. “The Princess gave me these books not too long ago... And now that I finally have time to read them, I might as well” She said to herself, telepathically opening the book to its first page. “How to Make Friends” she stared blankly at the cover of the book for well over a minute before telekinetically setting the book down beside her “Although I don’t want it, Princess Celestia gave it to me. I can’t get rid of it just like that…”
She opened another book from the stack entitled ‘telekinesis and the wonders it can do for you’ and she started to read the book, she also started to eat the rest of the cookies the Mentor gave her. She stuffed one into her mouth before spitting it back out “BLEH, he wasn’t kidding when he said there were apple flavoured cookies.”
__________________________________________________________________________________
Not very far from Canterlot, near a small town by the name of Ponyville, was the Everfree Forest. A mysterious and unknown place where everypony fears entering, and those who do, never find their way back out. Which is why the place is feared, and usually ignored by most ponyfolk who live in Ponyville. No one really knows the tale of how this forest came to be, and no one knows how long ago this place became sinister. Deep inside this dark forest laid the ruins of a once well-known castle, the castle is known as the old palace where the two princess sisters used to rule from in the legends of old.
“What are we even doing here?” said a voice from inside the broken palace. An old green pegasus filly with a darker tint of green for her mane stood near a shrine where a pedestal stood, the pedestal was a wide pole and at the top spread out and held 5 spherical objects in the air. “Are you even going to answer? What in the hay are we going to find in this dump?” she kept staring over to the other side of the pedestal, where a red unicorn who barely looked like he was older than a colt with an orange mane was digging with a shovel he was levitating.
“Testy aren’t we? You read that book I showed you, it said in great detail that something was hidden here, something of great value…” he said, his eyes intent on his digging. “Do you know how rich a pony could be if they found this? We’re lucky we found that book otherwise some other lucky pony would have been rolling in bits.”
“Yeah, but is it really worth it? We don’t even know if it is something we could sell in the first place, it could just be a silly plate for eating for all we know.” the unicorn’s female companion said, waving her forehooves in the air. “Besides, this place is just too creepy. It feels… off, somehow…” she said, looking around the large room as the stallion kept digging.
“FINALLY!” the stallion yelled, as he felt the shovel hit something as he dug. He set the shovel down and peered into the hole, as his Pegasus friend trotted over next to him to see what their fruits of their labor were.
“A BOX?!!” the Pegasus had yelled at the top of her lungs “ALL OF THIS FOR A MEASLY BOX?! BY CELESTIA’S GREAT FLAMING FLANK YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING M-!”
“Calm down…that is no way for someone our age to be saying” the stallion said, sticking his hoof in her mouth… only to have to quickly withdraw when he felt her tongue come in contact “ Eugh… Well, hoof licking aside, it’s just a box. A really weird looking box, since it’s sporting all those spikes, and there’s some kind of fog that’s seeping from inside. But think about it for a second, people put valuable things in special boxes, so maybe there is something really valuable in this box, do you understand?” He said slowly so as to mock her, to which she replied with a sigh. “Good. Let’s open this shall we?” he asked, but just went on to open the box without hearing opinion.
By the millisecond he touched the box, it flung open violently, making him stumble back from the shock. And as soon as he put one hoof down, a mysterious dark energy came spiraling out of the box, filling the room. The two small treasure hunters stood still in fear and awe as the sight unraveled itself before them. Soon, all the energy converged towards a single point in front of them and it all collided in a bright flash of light, blinding the two ponies, forcing them to shield their eyes. The light then vanished, and as they deemed it alright to lower their hooves, they saw a strange looking pony standing where the flash had originated from. The bizarre pony was a lot taller than the young unicorn, he had a black coat, a horn, and his mane was brilliantly white. He was also heavily clad in bright silver armor, covering most of his figure.
The strange pony turned towards the treasure hunters, his eyes a fierce dark red. And as he opened his mouth, he said to the two of them, “Greetings little ones, I am King Everfree, I bid you welcome to my castle and fair Kingdom” he smiled as he started to slowly make his way towards them, the two young ponies paralyzed out of fear “I’m sorry, if I knew I was going to be having guests I would’ve cleaned the place up a little.”
|
gorutsuki
|
1242
| 2 |
Cutie Mark Crusaders,Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Trixie,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Return of the Everfree Kingdom
|
as a powerful pony is released from his captivity it's up to the six elements of Harmony to stop hi
|
incomplete
| 9 | 1 |
<p>No pony knows about how or why the Everfree Forest came to be, most don't even care as they avoid the place because it's dangerous, but two treasure hunters unwittingly unleash an ancient ruler from the distant past who seems to be targeting the Elements of Harmony. And Princess Celestia sends a single pony to help Twilight and her friends overcome this ordeal, but what does this Mentor and Twilight and her friends have to do with the history of the ancient Kingdom of Everfree which was destroyed long ago. (first fic guys, please leave a comment and a rating even if it's not a big amount, also Ponies will be added to the list if they appear in a chapter)</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-26T04:39:12+00:00
|
2011-10-26T04:39:12+00:00
| 748 |
Chapter One: Memories that can never go away
The icy air that had been moving around Equestria brought a chilling feeling to the small town of Ponyville. All the little ponies who reside there have either started to wear their winter attire or have locked themselves indoors and are sitting next to their fireplaces. One pony in particular has decided to ignore the cold by not doing either of these and is instead inside her treehouse reading one of her many books, entitled ‘How to Make Friends’ which is engraved in clear bold letters on the front cover “Whoever would have thought that I would’ve been reading this book. I guess I fool myself sometimes.” the lavender unicorn said with a small chuckle.
“Twi?” a voice from the upper level had asked. “What are you doing? It’s freezing! Why aren’t you wearing something to keep you warm? You could at least light a fire so that the both of us won’t freeze to death?”
“Now, now Spike. It isn’t THAT cold is it? Can’t you bear with it?” the reading pony said with a grin “And also, you’re a dragon. Can’t you just breathe some fire to keep yourself warm?”
“Come on Twi, It’s too cold to bring up any flames. Can’t you just use a spell and summon a fire?” the restless Spike said as his head hung over the ledge of the second floor.
“Spike, I haven’t even learnt a fire spell yet. Furthermore, if I tried that now I may burn the library down by accident. I’m not going to try that….” she paused for a moment turning her head to look at Spike with an awkward smile on her face. “Again.” Spike burst into laughter as he fell to the ground clutching his stomach
“Oh Celestia, I remember that. Thank goodness Rainbow Dash and some of the other pegasi were able to find some rain clouds in time, otherwise that would have ended really badly” he rolled on the floor in a laughing fit as Twilight returned to her book rolling her eyes in the process.
“One thing you need to know when making friends is that you should never betray their trust, otherwise the friendship could become stale or worse.” Twilight said out loud while reading the book she disregarded as a kid. “This sounds a lot like Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said to herself, smiling at how the author thought much like her pastel pink friend, but with quite the few mention of parties unlike what Pinkie would. “Also, if a friend happens to betray your trust is there nothing this book can offer as advice?” she read asking herself as she neared the end of the sentence, but shook her head and continued reading “The best advice this book can give is to listen to your heart on what you feel about what your friend did, and you may be able to trust them again. Over time, some cases someponys are known to never talk to their old friend ever again.”
“That’s so sad.” Twilight heard somepony say behind her. Literally jumping in shock, she turned to see her pink party standing behind her with a huge grin on her face.
“Heya Twilight!” Pinkie said waving a hoof “Watcha jumping for? Did you find some jumping beans? Did you eat them?” she asked obviously not knowing that it was her that made Twilight practically leap out of her own coat.
“Pinkie!” Twilight said her voice weak as she clutched her chest “You scared the living daylight out of me!”
“Sorry ‘bout that Twi, but I’m pretty sure that ponies don’t have living daylight inside them, or do they?” Pinkie asked as she herself started searching the bookshelves “Hey Twi you got any books on-”
“No Pinkie, there aren’t any books in this library on ponies having daylight inside them” Twilight answered in an unamused tone. “What are you even doing inside my house?” Twilight said just now realizing that that should have been her first question.
“Well…” Pinkie said with a hoof to her chin “Rainbow Dash is going to try a new trick, care to come with me? It’s going to be superly-dupperly-fantasticly-tastic!” Pinkie was leaping with each word she uttered.
“Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to watch her try one, since I’ve never seen Rainbow practice a trick.” Twilight said as she quickly went to return the book she was reading to its proper shelf.
“Oh you silly filly” Pinkie said bonking Twilight on the head “She’s not practicing, she’s going to perform her new move. And she calls it the DASHIMATOR!” Pinkie Pie did her usual prancing of joy as she yelled out the name of Rainbow’s new trick.
“I don’t even know how she comes up with most of the names for those tricks” Twilight chuckled “She should just perform her trick instead of thinking of the names for them.”
“COME ON TWILIGHT!” Pinkie called as she galloped out of the library “WE’RE GOING TO BE LAaaAATE~!”
“Coming…” Twilight answered back, grabbing a scarf to help her keep warm.
“Spike look after the place okay?”
“Urgh” was all that Spike muttered after Twilight left, “too cold, to do anything except sleep.”
________________________________________________________________
Although the town was shined upon by Celestia’s warm rays, there was still the feeling of the frosty weather that had lingered on for the past week. The two ponies Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle made their way towards the nearby park where a jumpy Rainbow Dash was stretching her forehooves. She perked up at the sight of her two friends. “Well it’s about time! Where have the two of you been? I’ve been waiting all day” her voice clearly as full of energy as she always was.
“Sorry, but Twi here was just studying really hard as usual so it was tough to get her to stop reading those books” Pinkie pointed at Twi with the her right hoof nearly poking Twilight with it. “Well, at least she’s not hitting them.”
“Pinkie, I already told you it was just a figure of speech. I didn’t mean I would literally hit my books” Pinkie responded with her usual giggle after Twilight’s explanation.
“Come on guys, FOCUS. I can’t have you distracting me while I’m practicing!” Rainbow Dash yelled, both non-pegasi ponies instantly falling silent as their winged friend leapt into the air “Okay let’s see. I pull of the Sonic Rainboom, but I have to make sure I perform it while going in loops” she mumbled to herself. Mentally simulating how everything would come together “Yeah, I just know this is going to work.”
Rainbow set herself up in her starting position waiting for the right moment, her wings ready to let her soar through the air, her mind ticking the seconds away as she braced herself.
A mental countdown clicked as she zoomed off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her like always, her two friends watching in anticipation. Waiting to see her latest and greatest move since the Sonic Rainboom.
She picked up speed as she started to see the outlines of the same cone that hindered and berated her each time she practiced for the Sonic Rainboom. She felt a little troubled but quickly tried to brush that feeling away as she knew she couldn’t let herself be filled with doubt now. Her revolutions were getting faster, and now as she grinned full of pride and joy with the knowledge that she could pull off this new move.
“Oooooooooh” Pinkie said, watching her friend fly in the sky above. “Twi, looks like she’s going to make it!” she repeated in anticipation and excitement, constantly poking the lavender unicorn next to her.
“Yeah, I hope she does pull th-” Twilight said before she stopped midsentence. Shaking her head as she stared off into the distance, her pink friend following suit as she tried to see what Twilight was so curious about.
“I don’t get it Twi. All I see is a pony minding their own business. Funny looking cloak though, looks like Zecora’s.” The two of them had completely forgotten about Dash’s new trick as they both stared at a cloaked figure with a saddlebag standing near a tree watching Rainbow Dash, a hood covering their face.
“I don’t know Pinkie, but that pony just seems…. Familiar. Somehow.” Twilight’s eyes were locked onto the figure, observing the shape and the way it stood.
“Hey, I just realized. I’ve never seen that pony before which means they’re new to town!” Pinkie announced, already making her way towards the figure before Twilight could do anything to stop her.
“PINKIE WAIT!” was all Twilight could yell out as the pink earth pony trotted up to the cloaked being.
“What in the hay was that for?” Twilight heard behind her. She turned around to be greeted by the sight of an angry Rainbow Dash brushing some dust off of herself. “If you two didn’t keep talking and if you didn’t scream, I would‘ve cleared it easy. Instead, I ended up crashing. I mean, I’ve already pulled off the Sonic Rainboom” Twilight could only nervously smile as her pastel cyan friend glared at her before letting out a long sigh. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll pull it off next time. What’s Pinkie doing by the way?”
The two of them turned to see Pinkie Pie and the cloaked pony making their way towards them. “Hey guys look! I made a new friend!” Pinkie gleamed with the same upbeat attitude she always had. Rainbow Dash floated over to the cloaked pony and practically shoved her face right in front of the face of the strange pony.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow asked in the same tone that Twilight recognised as the one she used when she accused her of being a spy. “I almost had that trick in the bag until you showed up and ruined it.”
“But I was here before you were. And besides, what’s wrong with watching? It’s not like I ruined your trick just by looking” the pony stated his voice clearly indicating he was a stallion.
“Well that is kinda true. It’s just weird that somepony else other than my friends watch me practice.”
“Only your friends are permitted to watch? Well that’s just a bit selfish for not sharing your talent with everypony” the stallion replied, catching Rainbow off guard.
“Well I do have quite the talent. Otherwise I wouldn’t be the fastest pony in all of Equestria” Rainbow Dash said back huffing up her chest out of pride. “I mean, I’m so fast I pulled off the Sonic Rainboom.” The stallion chuckled slightly as he shook his head.
“It wasn’t your speed I was complimenting about. You also have form and grace when you fly.” After hearing the last word come out of his mouth, Twilight tried to stifle laughter as best as she could while Pinkie Pie was already on the ground laughing her pink head off. And Rainbow Dash just stood there, slightly blushing but she shook the feeling away in an instant.
“Look bub, I can’t have another pony become one of my fanatical followers and just one is already more than enough!” Rainbow said clearly with somepony already in her mind when she said that. Twilight stared at Rainbow, with a small grin on her face while Pinkie was still rolling on the ground having a laughing fit.
“Rushing to sudden conclusions aren’t we?” the cloaked stallion asked. “Don’t assume that me complimenting you automatically labels me as a fan. I actually think there are a LOT of things you can improve on. Like being able to not notice distractions, fail a trick, and then proceeding to fall into some shrubbery. Besides, I was just watching because I mistook you for somepony else.” the cloaked pony said. A snarky tone in his voice.
This was the final straw. Twilight couldn’t hold it in anymore as she too started laughing along with Pinkie Pie at how the cloaked pony was making a fool out of Rainbow “Well, then who did you think I was? There’s nopony else who could ever look like me.”
“Even if I tell you, nopony remembers her or even knows who she is.” The stallion said with a hint of sadness in his voice as he spoke before resuming his usual tone. “And also, I just don’t feel like telling you.”
“Then why mention it in the first place if you weren’t going to tell us?” Rainbow asked facehoofing.
“good question” he replied “maybe because I was bored, that seems to be the most likely answer.”
“Well, this was a fun conversation but I’d rather get going. I only came to town buy some supplies anyway.” He said looking over his saddlebags “hold on let’s see, I got the apples, sarsaparilla, water, pears, some fireworks and a bouquet of Lily’s” he muttered to himself checking his bags.
“Oooooooooh are you going to throw a party?” Pinkie asked as she instantly recovered from her laughing fit. “’Cause I love PARTIES!!”
“Sorry but no, just need to get some things for me and my friends, we were kind of running low on supplies.”
“Then what’s with the flowers?” Twilight asked.
“Mind your own business” the stallion said in a stern voice.
“Ah. Okay then” Twilight said, staring at the saddlebags, slightly taken aback by the suddenness and tone of his reply.
“Well it has been fun ladies, but I have to go now, everyone would be wondering where I snuck off to.”
“Wait, but what about your ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’?” Pinkie asked which made Twilight remember how everypony was in the library on her first day in town.
“Sorry, but I have no time for parties.” He said, quickly turning around. His cloak flew along with him, exposing his cutie mark for the three mares to see. The Stallions cutie mark was just the symbol for infinity.
“That is quite a weird cutie mark” Twilight commented. The stallion said nothing back as he galloped away, and after he was out of their sight Twilight let out a small sigh. “Well, that was certainly weird.”
“OH NO!” Pinkie exclaimed with her hooves on her cheeks.
“What is it Pinkie?” Twilight and Rainbow asked in unison.
“I forgot to ask him his name to put on the cake when he got back!” Pinkie answered making both Twilight and Rainbow facehoof.
________________________________________________________________
At the edge of the Everfree forest, the cloaked pony stared back at Ponyville. “It was nice to see you again. Even if it’s only somepony who only looks and acts like you, my sweet little After Image.” He looked back towards the Everfree forest “Luckily, I can still do that voice changing spell” he said, letting out a sigh.
“It’s funny how it has been a few years since I got out of that accursed box, thanks to those treasure hunters. And even funnier were those three in my castle a little while ago. Thankfully, I had my cloaking spell that hid our presence during that whole nonsense with that Nightmare Moon” he said as his voice returning to its usual tone with the same demonic echo. A red unicorn stallion followed by a green pegasus mare appeared out from the shadows of the forest.
“Why did you leave the castle my lord?” the unicorn asked the cloaked King Everfree.
“To scope out what we will have to face in our future. But I didn’t expect them to look and act exactly like them. Well then again, I suppose I should not be surprised considering you two” Everfree spoke whilst looking back at Ponyville once again.
“Ponies that remind the Master of-” the green pegasus was about to ask before being cut off by the red unicorn.
“Please don’t say anything regarding them. The King does not wish to talk about it” he said before King Everfree walked towards them, both of them bowing as he approached.
“Diglet, Steady, there’s no need to bow” he said as the two of them stood up looking at the other’s cutie mark. Diglet’s was of a hole and a shovel half sticking out of it while Steady Skies’ cutie mark was a single cloud shaped as a resting pony. “We have been together for a few years now, and remember if it wasn’t for you two I’d still be stuck in that cursed box, that really cramped small box.”
“And if it wasn’t for you we’d still be scavenging around Equestria following wild goose chases and not having food in our bellies” both replied in unison.
“Don’t give me too much credit. If you didn’t tell me anything about current events I would have probably gone insane! Or at least be wandering around aimlessly for the next century or two blowing stuff up. I don’t really know which one I would be doing.”
“What was it like in that box?” Diglet asked. “Like were you conscious the entire time?”
“I was forced to watch past events of my life over and over again” King Everfree let out a heavy sigh as he started to continue “seeing all my family and friends, seeing them in their best moments and their worst over and over just made me want to try to end myself to make it stop.”
“Well we can see how well that whole killing yourself plan went” Steady remarked giggling.
“Right you are Steady” Everfree said joining the giggling.
“But my Lord, why are we going to attack the Elements of Harmony now? Couldn’t you have done that when we woke you up?” Steady Skies asked
“Ah, yes. You saw what happened while we were cloaked during that battle at my castle?”
“Yes, King Everfree. The battle between the student of the current ruler of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle and her friends against the fabled Nightmare Moon from the old pony tales.” Digger answered, summing up what they saw that time.
“Indeed. That Nightmare Moon or Princess Luna, whichever one tried to destroy the elements, thought she had succeeded but failed in the end. But it shall be different for me. I know that in order to succeed, patience is a must.” King Everfree proclaimed whilst striding back into the forest that was now his namesake “and it shall be different for me since they have not unlocked their full potential yet. Which means, they are weak and untrained. But then, that gives us time to prepare.”
“Why? What do you mean we have to prepare?” his two subordinates asked as they followed him into the forest.
King Everfree let out a sigh before opening his mouth again. His voice still followed by that demonic echo. “Because ever since the creation of the elements, there has always been a pony who teaches them. Makes them stronger physically, magically, mentally and emotionally. It is a rule that was made by the very alicorn that created the elements of Harmony. And that same alicorn became the very first Mentor.”
“The creator of the elements was an alicorn and became the Mentor?” Diglet repeated out loud. “But why create them if he had to teach the bearers? And wasn’t it Princess Celestia who created the Elements?”
“No, she did not create the elements and that was a decision the Mentor made so I don’t know what that pony was thinking when they decided to train those chosen by the elements.” King Everfree’s face was blank as he continued talking “Moving on, the Mentor must already know about my return. I presume he or she was waiting until the right moment to approach them. So while he or she is busy training them, we will be training and coming up with a plan of attack.” King Everfree said, resuming his way back to his castle. “Don’t worry Diglet and Steady. I’ll tell you more about my past, what your training will be. After some dinner first. I’m somewhat hungry. I shall be cooking some food for us all to eat.”
The two ponies stared at each other after their King vanished into the forest undergrowth. “So, what do you think Steady?” Diglet asked his companion.
“I don’t know. This is treason. But even if he is trying to take down our old sovereign, he didn’t hurt or kill us when we met. And he has taken very good care of us for a couple of years now.”
“That is true, and I believe that you aren’t as loud or bossy as you were several years ago. I believe that us meeting him has changed us.”
“Yeah me too, you got angry too easily. But the reason he didn’t kill us might be because we remind him of his old companions at court.”
“I’m also surprised he can cook. I didn’t know royalty cooked their own meals” Diglet said, scratching his chin with his hoof.
“Well Diglet, I thought you would be thinking about how we remind the lord of his old companions, and not about the fact that he can cook.” Steady Skies said in an unimpressed tone.
“Yeah, you do have a point there. But it was weird when he called us ‘Tunneller’ and ‘Breezy Winds’.” He shrugged as he talked.
“Are the two of you coming or not? The food is either going to get cold when you get here or somepony else might eat it. I think I may be the one to eat it. I have been rather hungry lately” King Evergreen’s voice resonated throughout the forest, reaching their ears, making them both jump and start galloping towards the old castle.
________________________________________________________________
In Canterlot, Capital City of Equestria, the regal Princess Celestia sat upon her throne, routinely tending to her royal duties. A single guard trotted up the stairs to her throne, clearly having something important to tell “Your Grace, you have a guest here to see you.”
Princess Celestia smiled at the news. But that smile quickly turned into a grim frown when she saw a familiar cloak and red eyes. “Is it time already?”
“Yes, Princess Celestia. It is time for them to finally learn what being a bearer of one of the six Elements of Harmony is truly like. But I fear an old friend has come back to our land and he will be tougher than anything the other generations have ever faced.”
“What do you mean?” Princess Celestia asked. Her head filled with worry for her student, her subjects and her kingdom.
“Remember that old ponytale I told you about the once beautiful Kingdom of Everfree, and their King who was one of the most gifted and powerful Unicorns who ever lived?”
|
gorutsuki
|
1242
| 3 |
Cutie Mark Crusaders,Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Trixie,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Return of the Everfree Kingdom
|
as a powerful pony is released from his captivity it's up to the six elements of Harmony to stop hi
|
incomplete
| 9 | 1 |
<p>No pony knows about how or why the Everfree Forest came to be, most don't even care as they avoid the place because it's dangerous, but two treasure hunters unwittingly unleash an ancient ruler from the distant past who seems to be targeting the Elements of Harmony. And Princess Celestia sends a single pony to help Twilight and her friends overcome this ordeal, but what does this Mentor and Twilight and her friends have to do with the history of the ancient Kingdom of Everfree which was destroyed long ago. (first fic guys, please leave a comment and a rating even if it's not a big amount, also Ponies will be added to the list if they appear in a chapter)</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-06T11:51:01+00:00
|
2011-10-06T11:51:01+00:00
| 773 |
Chapter 2: Enter the Earth and Sky duo
The Treehouse that the student of Princess Celestia was using for accommodation was slowly being entered by five different coloured ponies all being greeted by the student herself and her assistant Spike. The day had gone by so quickly and the world embraced the night sky but the lingering cold air still gave chills to ponies that weren’t clever enough to wear something to keep them warm.
Soon all five of Twilight’s guests were in the treehouse in a circle chatting about why they were called to their friend’s house. “Good evening everypony” Twilight said walking into the room with a letter being levitated by her horn “I’m glad you all could come here on such short notice, I’m sorry if you girls were doing something when I called you over all of a sudden.”
“It’s alright Darling” a white unicorn with a purple mane and tail said to her friend “it’s better to be here than in the cold anyway.”
“Yeah, although I do hope none of my animals cause a mess while I’m gone” a yellow pegasus also said her head hanging near the floor.
“Ah reckon those animal friends of yours will be perfectly safe Fluttershy” an orange mare with a hat on her mane said patting Fluttershy on the back with her hoof.
“Girls, sorry we have no time for this” Twilight Sparkle said out loud to her friends each of them turning their attention towards her “Spike received a letter from the Princess not too long ago”
“We received a message? From Princess Celestia herself?” the other unicorn mare beamed with delight.
“Ah think you should simmer down there Rarity” the orange mare said her accent very clear in her voice “ah don’t think Princess Celestia would send a message unless it was important.”
“You are right Applejack” Twilight had announced “this letter is important, I haven’t even opened it yet”
“What?!” came a high pitched voice “isn’t that the point of a letter? You are meant to read it” Pinkie Pie had a look of confusion on her face, which made practically every other pony in the room struggle not to sigh or face hoof.
“Pinkie, I haven’t read the letter yet because of this” Twilight levitated the letter towards them; all of them leaned in to see that on the back of it there was one sentence.
Dear Twilight Sparkle, please make sure that you and your five friends are present when you open this letter. All six of the elements of Harmony have to be present, for the content of this letter is for all of you and no one else.
“Well we can open it now right?” Rainbow Dash asked “come on I want to see what the Princess wrote in the letter” Rainbow clearly not wanting to wait any longer.
“Okay Rainbow” Twilight said sighing using her magic to levitate the letter to Spike to read, he opened the letter clearing his throat preparing to read it out loud.
“Dear Twilight Sparkle and friends, I hereby send you this letter to warn you that something terrible is going to happen soon and that Equestria needs your help.” Spike stopped looking towards the others with a worried look before continuing “this danger could very well destroy all of what we hold dear, I am sorry to suddenly bring this bad news but it is only the power of the Elements that can defeat this threat.” Spike once again looked towards his pony friends seeing their shocked and worried expressions “but do not fret. I am sending a special teacher to help you girls. This pony was the one who taught me most of the magic I know so I can vouch for his knowledge and his excellence in his field, he will be arriving shortly.”
Spike finished reading the letter for a third time looking at the six ponies in front of him letting the contents of the letter sink in.
“WHAT?” they all cried out in unison except for Fluttershy who immediately rand and hid behind Rainbow Dash whimpering in the process, while Rainbow Dash was too stunned to even sigh let alone even look around to see the expressions of her friends.
“This can’t be” Twilight said reading the letter again frantically “something dangerous is going to happen to Equestria and we are the only ones who can stop it.”
Applejack quickly reacted when the white unicorn fainted in a dramatic fashion “whoa there Rarity, don’t you go fainting on us now” she said catching her as she fell.
Rarity shook her head trying to wake herself up “oh, sorry Applejack, also could you please not touch me, I just washed my coat.”
Applejack sighed before dropping Rarity to the ground with a loud thud “if you didn’t want my dirty hooves touching you then I should just let you fall to the ground then, little miss clean and tidy.”
Rarity got back up staring Applejack with daggers in her eyes as she did “it’s not my fault that somepony doesn’t take care of their hy-”
“Oh no, not this argument again you two” Twilight said interrupting Rarity “we have more important things to do than argue now”
Applejack and Rarity seeing the wisdom in Twilight’s words both backed down without a fight “I’m sorry” they said in unison, Rarity in her lady like tone and Applejack in her accent.
“It’s alright, huh?” Twilight levitated the letter closer to her eyes as she read out loud “also ps this pony that is coming to help you guys decided not to take the pegasi chariot to Ponyville and decided to walk it, I don’t know why but the only reason he would give was that he didn’t like being in the air.”
“OH. YOU. HAVE. GOT. TO. BE. KIDDING. ME!” Rainbow Dash yelled face hoofing in the process.
Twilight just continued staring at that one line on the letter “the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance and the pony who Celestia sends to help us decided not to take the quickest route cause he doesn’t want to fly?” she ask herself trying to figure out what possible realistic reasoning this stupid pony had for not doing so.
She met all the worried, confused and angry faces of her friends as she looked up from the letter “well girls there is nothing we can do know, we should get some sleep, it is getting late and you all should get some rest after what we just heard.”
“Is Equestria really going to be in Trouble Twilight?” the yellow pegasus asked whimpering underneath a table.
“No Fluttershy, not if we have anything to say about it, but we won’t be doing any saving if we’re all tired and sleepy.”
All the ponies except Twilight exited the library, it took a while for Rainbow to leave since she was muttering how hard she was going to buck the pony who decided to take the scenic route.
________________________________________________________________
The bright shine of Celesita’s sun broke through the dark clouds hanging over the town of Ponyville, pegasi were busy moving the dark clouds while unicorns and earth ponies were busy taking off the braches from the trees in the area.
Rarity, using her unicorn magic wedged a couple branches off a tree “well you seem to be doing mighty fine there Rarity” Applejack said walking up to Rarity “at least you aren’t decorating them anymore like you were last time.”
“And I see that you’re being cautious when you rip off branches too Applejack” Rarity commented as her orange friend lassoed another branch off a tree.
“But really, just last night we heard about how something bad was coming but now we’re just acting like it never happened and we also have another doozy of a storm coming our way” Applejack commented spitting the lasso out of her mouth.
“Do you really think that pony the Princess sent will actually arrive?”
“Ah don’t know, if this pony was willing to walk all the way instead of taking a pegasi chariot here then their apple tree must not be growing enough apples”
“Who’s growing apple trees?” Applejack and Rarity jumped from surprise when they spotted a red unicorn stallion and green pegasus mare behind them smiling and waving their hoofs a couple meters away.
“Blimey you startled us there, mah heart almost leaped out of mah chest there” Applejack said taking in deep breaths to calm her down.
“Why aren’t you two inside? There’s going to be a storm soo-” Rarity was about to say but just as she was ending as if right on cue the storm started and the four ponies were being pelted by rain.
They all scrambled to find some shade from the rain and lightning “Over here” the four ponies heard Twilight’s voice from her treehouse library, the four of them rushing inside as fast as their hooves could take them.
“Not this again” Applejack commented walking inside “and so nothing like that happens again” she shoved her forehooves into Rarity’s face “see, this time I didn’t step in any mud.”
“Okay, okay darling you don’t need to mess up my face with your hooves” Rarity replied pushing down Applejack’s hooves with her own.
“Umm I’m sorry to interrupt but isn’t a tree the wor-” the green pegasus was saying before Twilight interrupted
“Worst place to be in a storm? Well I have a magical lightning rod so we are completely safe from lightning”
“Well not exactly safe from other tress” Rarity commented earning her looks from the other four ponies in the room, “but anyway who are you two?” she asked coming closer to the two new ponies as she inspected them with her keen eyes.
“Oh we’re new to town” the stallion unicorn answered “I’m Diglet and this delightful mare over here is Steady Skies” the mare known as Steady Skies waved with her hoof blushing a little bit as she did so.
“Ya know” Applejack said poking her chin with her hoof in thought “you look a lot like a skinnier unicorn version of mah brother there Diglet.”
“Oh, I do” Diglet asked as he gave himself a look over.
“Yeah, sure ya do” Applejack said smiling patting him on the back “buuut I reckon you ain’t as strong though.”
“Well it doesn’t matter how strong he is Applejack” Rarity interjected “but he does look like he could be a good model for some of designs.”
Rarity circled around Diglet looking him over before jumping back with a yelp “oh dear, what happened to your tail?”
Applejack and Twilight made their way to Rarity where they spotted that Diglet had no tail what so ever “umm sugarcube, I hate to ask the obvious but why do you have no tail?”
Diglet and Steady sighed in unison before Diglet cleared his throat “as my name implies I am good at digging and whenever I used to dig my tail kept getting caught in something or was stuck in a small crack, so I asked somepony to cut it off.”
“Well how about I help you with styling your tail?” Rarity asked “I will craft it in a way that is fashionable and doesn’t get in your way and Steady I would just LOVE to do something with your luscious green mane.”
“Umm thanks for being so kind but we only just met you ponies” Steady Skies said standing between Diglet and the others “and we haven’t even moved into our new house yet, how about you let us do that first before we go and do any favors for you ponies.”
“Oh yeah” Twilight said “my name is Twilight Sparkle, and the white unicorn over there is Rarity, she owns the local boutique” she said pointing towards her white coated friend “and there’s Applejack of the apple family, they buck and grow all the apples in the area.” Applejack scratched the back of her head when Twilight pointed towards her.
Applejack then walked over to one of the windows and looked outside, she looked around and let out an amazed whistle “hoh boy, looks like it’s raining cats and dogs out there.”
Ever other pony in the room all trotted up to a window staring at how hard the rain was coming down, lightning could be seen striking the ground off in the distance. “What in tarnation?” Applejack asked making everypony else look out her window.
In the pelting rain was a purple earth pony running around, dancing in the bad weather having a blast.
“What in Equestria is that pony doing?” Twilight asked going for the door, trying to open the door only to be buffeted the fierce winds of the storm “ahhh, I can’t get out.”
As Twilight shut the door the rest of assembled ponies looked out to see the dancing pony still prancing around without a care in the world.
“Do you think he even knows it’s raining?” Steady asked turning to the others.
“Ah don’t reckon he does, but it seems like he’s having the time of his life over there.”
The purple earth pony stopped in his tracks, stared at the direction of the tree library almost as if staring at the ponies inside. He waved a hoof in their direction before quickly galloping off away from them.
“What in Equestria was that strange pony doing?” Rarity inquired looking to the other ponies hoping they might know the answer.
Diglet and Steady looked at each other before turning to the others shrugging “we only just got here.” Steady said “we don’t know anything about what you strange ponies do for recreation.”
“I don’t think any of us would consider dancing in the rain while there is a storm a recreational activity” Twilight stated “well maybe that pony went back home.”
“Huh? Oh would you look at that” Diglet said as he looked out the window, ever other pony looked out a window to see that the rain had stopped, the black clouds still loomed overhead but at least the pelting rain was no longer there.
“Now we have a chance to quickly run home Diglet” Steady said nudging Diglet with her elbow “we still have a lot of unpacking to do.”
“Thanks for letting us stay here for a little bit” both of the new ponies said before galloping out at full speed.
“Well they seem like nice folk, don’t they?” Applejack asked shifting her hat as she trotted over to the door “well as fun as it is to spend time with you all I have to head back and see how Applebloom is doing.”
Rarity also started to trot towards the door “Sorry Twilight but I do have to make sure that Sweetie Bell is safe, I don’t want her to be alone.”
“Bye girls” Twilight shouted to her friends as the galloped towards their respective homes.
She walked back inside her treehouse to see Spike asleep in his little bed that was at the foot of her bed, she nuzzled his neck as he mumbled in his sleep “don’t worry Rarity, I will save the day.”
___________________________________________________________________________
Diglet and Steady galloped quickly to the house that was given to them. As they ran inside they shut the door behind them both of them looked up to see a purple earth pony lying on one of their couches with a big grin on his face “oh man, I LOVE dancing in the rain.”
Diglet and Steady sighed as they trotted towards their smiling purple guest “Rain Prancer, what were you thinking?” Diglet asked.
“Aww, come on Diggy you know how I get whenever it starts to rain.” Rain Prancer answered with a moppy face “I just couldn’t help myself, besides it’s not like anypony saw me enter the house of Ponyville’s latest and hottest couple.”
Both Diglet and Steady blushed, they quickly realized and turned away from each other “I’m still not so sure about this, what does our leader have in mind making us three infiltrate this place?” Prancer asked as the fake couple quickly regained their senses.
“He said that he needed time to set some things up, he’s using a lot of his powers at the moment” Steady answered “apparently he has a spell that will help us with our training, and a spell that powerful needs time to prepare for.”
“But” Diglet said out loud “he also said that this “Mentor” pony also knows this spell that is why he is trying to save up his magical power now.”
“I wonder when he” Prancer said before looking at Steady “or she, gets here”
“Who knows” Diglet and Steady said in unison shrugging.
___________________________________________________________________________
Twilight felt her stomach growl and rumble “oops, guess I forgot to eat anything” Twilight said making her way to the kitchen of her library treehouse.
She stepped inside only to find she was unable to move any muscle in her body “What the?” She asked herself trying to move, but found out she couldn’t budge even an inch.
“I see you triggered my trap spell” Twilight looked around frantically trying to find the source of the voice, the voice sounded close, but somehow sounded young.
“What do you want with me?” Twilight yelled as she tried to use her magic to dispel the trap.
“Using your magic won’t save you, that is an ancient holding spell, but I congratulate you on your determination.” The voice said getting closer.
“Who are you?” Twilight shouted fearing for her life and scared for what will happen to Spike “are you what the princess warned me about?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” The voice asked before Twilight could see a small figure trot out from behind a chair, her eyes were wide with shock as she saw her captor.
A small figure in a brown hooded cloak walked out from behind a chair, the small cloaked figured reached for the pulling it back revealing a colt with a black coloured coat, white mane and bright red eyes, Twilight also noticed he was wearing a bandana with the words ‘teach’ in bold letters.
“If you haven’t guessed it yet” the small colt said clearing his throat “I am the one who your Princess sent to teach you and your friends, oh and also I am afraid you are out of tea, sorry I may have drank it all while I was waiting.” The colt said smiling.
|
gorutsuki
|
1242
| 4 |
Cutie Mark Crusaders,Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Trixie,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Return of the Everfree Kingdom
|
as a powerful pony is released from his captivity it's up to the six elements of Harmony to stop hi
|
incomplete
| 9 | 1 |
<p>No pony knows about how or why the Everfree Forest came to be, most don't even care as they avoid the place because it's dangerous, but two treasure hunters unwittingly unleash an ancient ruler from the distant past who seems to be targeting the Elements of Harmony. And Princess Celestia sends a single pony to help Twilight and her friends overcome this ordeal, but what does this Mentor and Twilight and her friends have to do with the history of the ancient Kingdom of Everfree which was destroyed long ago. (first fic guys, please leave a comment and a rating even if it's not a big amount, also Ponies will be added to the list if they appear in a chapter)</p>
|
teen
|
2012-08-23T00:04:53+00:00
|
2012-08-23T00:04:53+00:00
| 553 |
Chapter 3: The Disoriented Memory
A storm had just passed over the settlement of Ponyville, leaving the town drenched and full of puddles, the dark clouds have been replaced with Luna’s starry night sky. All the houses in Ponyville had their lights turned off, all of the buildings except for the Ponyville Library.
Spike had awakened from his nap a little earlier than what he would’ve liked when he heard yelling which made it impossible for him to sleep peacefully, but he quickly stopped his grumbling when he walked into the kitchen to see Twilight sitting at the table with a black coated colt with a brown cloak covering his body who was drinking some teat the other end.
“Umm Twilight, what is going on?” He asked looking back and forth between the two ponies at the table “who is that?”
Twilight turned her head towards Spike slowly with a nervous smile on her face “remember that pony who the Princess sent?” she asked with a shaky voice.
“You mean that stupid foal who thought it would be a good idea to not take the pegasi chariot?” Spike crossed his arms his he stared at Twilight “what about him?”
Twilight turned her head back to face their guest “well umm he’s here.”
Spike having just woken up was not in the mood for jokes, he walked over to the colt as he rubbed his right eye “who? You mean this kid?”
“Yes she means this kid” the colt replied still sipping his tea, Spike glared back at the colt “and before you say anything little dragon, this is not a joke nor is this some crude prank.” He set his empty tea cup down onto the table “I am the one sent to help you.”
Spike just continued glaring until he stretched and yawned as he walked back to his bed “must be some type of dream” he concluded as he let his tiredness take over and fell asleep.
Now the two unicorns were once again alone at the kitchen table, Twilight still unable to determine whether she was dreaming or that the Princess was playing a prank of some kind.
“He seems like a nice assistant” The mysterious child announced “but how about we finally cut to the chase.”
Twilight gulped as she tried to assess the situation, a strange colt with magical prowess had appeared and is supposedly the one who is meant to help train us to defend Equestria. Twilight still couldn’t understand what was going on as she let out a sigh as she gave up.
“I see you’ve grown since last time I saw you” the colt stated making Twilight even more confused.
“Just who are you?” Twilight finally managed to ask “I mean you’re a colt who can clearly have enough magic power to render me paralysed as long as you wanted, and you say you were sent by Princess Celestia.” The colt stared her in the eyes as she continued “all of this doesn’t make any sense, just answer me, who are you?”
The colt shot Twilight a look that told her he was unimpressed for some reason then he let out a sigh “I admit that we only met the once and that you wouldn’t remember me, but really I thought I at least left some kind of impression, especially with those cookies I gave you.” He jumped out his chair and started making his way to Twilight’s door.
He stopped as he turned his head towards Twilight as he glared her down “all I have to say after observing you and your friends is this.” The colt opened the door of the library, the storm outside had started up again and the rain looked heavier than before and thunder could be heard in the background.
“In all my time as mentor for the Elements of Harmony not once have I come across a generation as awful and appalling as you and your friends.” Twilight watched as the colt put his hood back on as he disappeared into the storm slamming the door behind him.
___________________________________________________________________________
“HE SAID WHAT?” an angry Rainbow Dash yelled out as she stood with her friends in Twilight’s library.
Twilight had gathered her friends the next day after the storm and retold them the events of last night including the two new ponies Diglet and Steady Skies as well as her encounter with the colt who said he was the mentor of the Elements of Harmony.
“How could he say that about us?” Rainbow continued to yell “we are the embodiment of the elements aren’t we? We defeated Nightmare Moon AND Discord using the Elements! And yet some little kid tells us that we aren’t good enough!”
“Calm down Rainbow” their cowpony friend calmly said “what you’re doing is only proving his point.”
“Applejack has a point darling” Rarity insisted “if we get flustered by his statement then we only falling into his trap.”
“I don’t know” Twilight announced “I believe he was telling the truth about him being the one the Princess sent, but why would she send a kid?”
“Yes I wonder that too.”
Everyone in the room, except for Spike who was still napping turned their heads to one corner of the room where a brown cloaked colt was sitting on the floor.
“Well say something, I don’t like awkward silences” the colt Mentor said to the six stunned ponies.
“SAY SOMETHING?” Rainbow yelled “you insult us then appear out of nowhere and expect US to say something?”
“There you go, see was that so hard?” the colt replied “well at least now I know you can at least form a sentence.”
“Urgh, what am I doing yelling at some kid?” she asked herself sighing.
“You’re back?” Twilight asked as she stepped closer to the colt Mentor “why are you back?”
“Well I am back to ask you all a question” he lifted his hood back, revealing his face to the others, a big grin on his face “and depending on how you answer this question, I may or may not help you ponies.”
Twilight and her friends looked to each other, hoping somepony would come up with a reply.
“What’s this question of yours?” Applejack finally asked breaking the silence.
“Do you believe I am the one the Princess sent to help you?” he said with a straight face “that is my question.”
“What kind of question is that?” Pinkie asked “you said you’re the pony the Princess sent, but then again you did say we were not good, but then again I can’t stay mad for long.” Pinkie kept listing off different reasons then countering with another reason.
The others let Pinkie continue rambling as they thought up of their own opinions.
“I think you’re a liar and that this is some kind of sick joke.” Rainbow said aloud with a huffed chest “there’s no way I am the worst element of loyalty!”
“Wait!” Twilight said making everypony stare at her “if he said we are the worst elements, doesn’t that mean that there were others who were the Elements of Harmony.”
Twilight and her friends remained silent as their thought about their lavender friend’s conclusion.
The silence was broken by clapping that came from the colt, “bravo, you always were a smart cookie, but sadly that is irrelevant to the question, and speaking of cookies I need to buy some more later.”
“Your Rainbow friend answered the way I expected her to, I wonder if you will do the same” the colt said with some glee.
“You expected her to not believe you?” Pinkie asked “wow, you must be magical; I believe you are telling the truth.”
“Well seems like that now leaves four more ponies to answer a simple question” he turned his head towards the yellow pegasus who was hiding behind a table.
“Don’t be worried frightened one, all you have to do at the moment is answer a simple question.” He said in a soothing tone.
“I…I... don’t know” Fluttershy meekly said “you said something bad, but I can’t stay mad at a weak defenceless pony.”
“Perfect” he said “you answered perfectly, now it’s time for you three, although I’m not as weak as I look.” He said looking at Rarity, Applejack and Twilight.
“But darling, you’re just a kid” Rarity had a motherly look on her face “and you should stop playing these weird games and change into something more decent, that cloak looks absolutely tacky.”
The colt Mentor looked over his cloak then turned to Rarity with an unimpressed look “no one says my cloak is not decent, but you answered exactly the way I expected.”
He again look at his cloak “I think it’s good” he muttered.
“Well ah don’t know one bit what to make of this nonsense.” Applejack said scratching her mane “so my honest answer is that I don’t have an answer.”
“You girls are on a roll, you’re answering exactly as I had anticipated” he said grinning “now it’s time for the bookworm to answer.”
Everyone turned to Twilight who just crept away from their glances.
Twilight sighed as she stared the colt in his bright red eyes “although you’re very confusing and that you may be lying I believe you though.”
The colt just smiled as everypony turned their attention to him. “Exactly as I said, the worst generation to date.”
“Why?” they all cried in unison “we answered your question.”
“Let me finish” the colt stared daggers into their eyes, making them all back away “BUT, I’ll give you a chance to change my mind.”
___________________________________________________________________________
The next day the storm had finally passed leaving puddles and mud everywhere in Ponyville. Little fillies were everywhere, all of them playing in the mud and puddles, some parents having to drag their children away to clean them.
Twilight had her saddlebags set up on one of the tables, neatly putting in several items.
“Twi” a sleepy Spike asked as he walked down the stairs rubbing his eyes “what are you doing?”
“We’re going on a trip Spike” Twilight answered packing away books into her bags “and don’t worry I’ve already packed your stuff as well.”
Spike slowly made his way to Twilight as he let out a long yawn, he climbed onto her back “will Rarity be coming?”
Twilight let out a sigh but smiled and brushed the dragon’s head with her hoof. “Sure, we’re all going; we decided that we should go on a camping trip.”
Spike immediately woke up, all sign of drowsiness disappearing in an instant “well we shouldn’t keep them waiting shall we, onwards to fair lady Rarity!”
Twilight just shot an unamused look at Spike before galloping out her library’s door.
___________________________________________________________________________
Twilight arrived at a single tree on the outskirts of Ponyville. She looked around seeing her friends making their way to the tree, Scootaloo was rapidly following Rainbow Dash with both Sweetie Bell and Applebloom in the red wagon attached to her scooter, Rarity and Applejack was in turn rapidly galloping after their little sisters, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie both arrived from different directions, Pinkie bouncing along like usual.
“Well looks like we’re all here” Rainbow announced coming to an abrupt stop next to Twilight. “Still don’t know why we have to bring these guys.” She motioned towards the small group known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“He said to bring them along, as well as Spike, I don’t know why if all he said was to go on a camping trip.” Twilight replied.
“I’m not so sure about the girls coming along with us, what if something happens to them?” Fluttershy asked as she approached them with a worried expression.
“Yeah Twilight” Rainbow added looking back at the speeding scooter “why would he want them to come along?”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CAMPING EXPERTS!!!!” the young fillies shouted with glee as they all jumped off from their transport.
“Sweetie Bell!/Applebloom!” the fashionable unicorn and cowpony both said in unison “we told you to wait for us and to not rush off” Applejack’s accent making her voice very distinguishable from Rarity’s.
“But we wanted to get here first” Scootaloo responded defending her friends “but it seems like we won’t be able to beat Rainbow Dash.”
The two older sisters sighed as they gathered up the Crusaders and joined the rest of the group.
“Mornin’ Spike!” Applebloom said waving her right forehoof at the dragon assistant “are ya comin’ with us?”
“Yeah, yeah” Spike answered while he sat on Twilight’s back “what are you three doing here?”
“We heard about it from some weird boy who told us about it” Sweetie Bell replied “then after he told us our sisters started to pack some of the essentials and here we are.”
“We’re going to be Cutie Mark Crusader Campers!” Scootaloo shouted puffing her chest “and I know we’re going to get our cutie marks, I can just feel it.”
“You say that about every crusade you little fillies have” Rarity said getting the attention of the Crusaders “can’t you just wait until you get you figure out your special talent?”
“No!” the Crusaders shouted “we’re going to try everything until we get our cutie mark.”
“Most you be so intolerant to advice?.”
Everypony turned to see the cloaked colt once again, a saddlebag on his back. “Well don’t everypony try to talk at once now, it’s not like I’m a ghost.”
He quickly turned in a circle on the spot looking himself over “Or am I? Quickly! Tell me, am I a ghost?”
“Um no, you’re not a ghost” Twilight replied “and what are you doing here?”
“What? Who doesn’t like a good camping trip” the colt replied “besides, it would be unfair for Spike since he is the only boy here.”
“Well he does have a point, it does get a bit annoying when I have no one to talk to” Spike said, Twilight nodded in agreement.
“Okay you can come with us” Twilight looked to the others before looking back to the colt “so-” was all she could say before being cut off from the colt Mentor.
“We’re going to an inn a few hours away, a nice place full of nice ponies” the colt said taking the lead of the group “also just to make things easier for everyone here, just call me….”
He scratched his white mane in thought “ummm, hold on it’s coming to me” he started to furiously scratch his head with both of his forehooves.
The assembled ponies plus Spike looked at each other, some confused while most were just trying to make sense of the situation.
“I know!” he stated out loud “call me Cookie Monster!”
The other ponies and Spike all turned to each other then back to the colt, Rainbow facehoofed “What?” he asked, then he let out a long sigh “oh fine call me Clyde.”
“What kind of name is Clyde?” Rainbow asked “And secondly why are YOU picking where we go, all you did was tell us to go on a camping trip with these four as well.”
Twilight shook her head as she approached Rainbow and Clyde “look Rainbow, I’m sure he has his reasons however weird they may seem.”
“Are you sure you’re okay Twi?” Rainbow shifted her attention to her lavender friend “you seem different ever since the letter from the Princess.”
“I think it may be stress” Twilight said sighing “the Princess sent a letter telling us that Equestria is in danger and here we are having a colt who says he is here to help telling us that we have to go on a camping trip.”
“Don’t talk as if I am not here girl.” Clyde interjected “and you seriously don’t believe I am here to help do you?”
“I believe that this is some kind of joke” Rainbow answered “This could all be some kind of prank, a really, really bad prank.”
“COME ON!” Sweetie Bell shouted grabbing the attention of the three bickering ponies “LET’S GO!”
Clyde walked on ahead of everyone else “okay to the inn it is then.”
___________________________________________________________________________
“How much longer do we have to go?” Scootaloo complained, having been the one to drive the Crusader Mobile since the start of the trip “my wings are getting tired since we’ve been going for two hours now.”
“Hey! How about this” Clyde said not even turning to look at Scootaloo “maybe you’re special talent is complaining, since you just LOVE to do that.”
Scootaloo brought her scooter right alongside Clyde “well maybe it IS my special talent.” Scootaloo shoved her face into Clyde’s, her muzzle dangerously close to his “how about this for a complaint? I don’t like you.”
He pushed her away, again without even turning to look her in the eyes. He chuckled as Scootaloo was no longer in his personal bubble “you do know that wasn’t complaining? You were stating a fact, get it right.”
“Hmph” was all that Scootaloo said as she continued to drive the Crusader Mobile.
Sweetie Bell tapped her muzzle in thought before asking “Do you have your cutie mark?” which made the other two crusaders and the other ponies plus Spike turn their attention towards Clyde.
Clyde turned his head to see that the three Crusaders was intently staring at him, he let out a heavy sigh as he stopped and face hoofed “since when was I so important?” he asked to no pony in particular “fine, I have one and then again I don’t have one.” He turned towards Sweetie Bell “now can we move on now?”
“That doesn’t make any sense” Applebloom stated as the group continued to march on “what do you mean you have one and you don’t?”
“Complicated” he answered “don’t want to talk about it, and now this discussion shall now be forever locked and the key will be tucked away and shall only be brought out when I feel like it.”
The Crusaders looked at each other before replying in unison “what?”
“Meaning I will only discussion when I damn well feel like it okay?”
“Whoa calm down there, no need for the language” Applejack said cutting into the conversation.
“I just don’t want to talk about my cutie mark” Clyde replied, the anger in his voice becoming more evident “so let’s just drop it, probably in a ditch somewhere and then burnt, just in case.”
“You’re insane” Scootaloo said sighing
“I take that as a compliment” Clyde said chuckling “it proves that I’m different.”
“I give up” Applebloom said slumping further into the red wagon she was sitting in “I can’t make heads or tails of most of the things you say.”
“Let’s keep it that way” Clyde said with a smile.
Twilight looked to the rest of her friends, each of them shrugging their shoulders indicating that they didn’t know either.
Twilight sighed as they continued to the inn “what in Equestria are we doing?”
___________________________________________________________________________
It took the group another half hour of walking and some minor complaints from Rarity about how she was going to have the first shower once they arrive until they finally reached their destination.
“Wow, it’s huge” Sweetie Bell commented as Scootaloo pulled the Crusader Mobile to a stop in front of the inn.
“Yeah it is big” Applejack agreed “bigger than what I expected it to be at least.”
“The GAP Inn” Applebloom read the sign hanging above the door to the inn out loud “what kind of name is that?”
“It’s the name of the inn, duh” Scootaloo replied “everypony can see that.”
“Well what if the pony looking at it doesn’t have very good eyesight” Clyde said in response to Scootaloo “would they be able see that?”
Rainbow walked in between the two little ponies before an argument could break out “hey it’s getting late, we should probably just go inside.” She insisted “we all could use a good rest after that long trip.”
“Uh huh” Scootaloo happily replied “anything you say Rainbow Dash.”
Rarity took charge and entered the inn first “hello there, we need a couple of rooms for the night and a good warm bath ASAP.”
The other ponies followed her lead and entered their destination, they were greeted by a large interior filled with chairs, tables, a small reception t the left of the entrance and a large stage which was surrounded by the tables.
“Hello there” the assembled group of ponies turned to see a dark pink mare with a mane of a bright purple colour with indigo coloured streaks running through it, she also wore a pink beret, she also had a warm, greeting smile on her face.
“Welcome to the GAP Inn” she said with her big smile “we have enough rooms for all of you, it’s four ponies per room and the cost is 4 bits per room, I see there are eleven of you here so that’ll be 12 bits please, oh and dinner is 2 bits per pony so now your cost is 36 bits in total.”
The six older ponies nervously looked at each other. Twilight was the first to speak “umm did any of you girls bring any money at all?”
“I’m really sorry Twilight” Fluttershy bashfully said staring at the ground.
“Ahm sorry too sugarcube” Twilight’s orange friend said “I forgot to bring some on the fact I had to rush so I can catch Applebloom.”
“The same could be said for me too” Rarity spoke up with an ashamed look on her face “I must say I am quite ashamed of myself for having forgotten to bring any bits at all dear.”
“I wanted to be at the tree first so I flew as fast as I could after waking up” Rainbow Dash nervously smiled and chuckled.
“I brought bits of string by accident” Pinkie said as she pulled out some string from her saddlebag and started to play with.
“Oh can I have one?” Clyde asked with utter glee in his voice.
“Sure you can” Pinkie answered “here you go.”
Clyde eagerly took a long piece of string in his hooves “these can be real fun if you know what to do.” he stated as he tucked it into one of his sleeves.
“Well what are going to do? I only brought a couple bits with me but I didn’t think it would cost this much, I mean we came all this way for nothing.”
“I swear ponies these days” Clyde said shoving his way through them, “here are your bits miss” he reached into a pocket in his cloak and pulled out the required amount of bits and passed them over to the Inn Keeper.
“Thank you very much, glad to see you’re back and with friends this time.” The Inn Keeper said as she took the bits “and I told you please call me by my nickname, Insi.”
“Every other pony who visits seems to call me that” Insi handed Twilight three keys and a note “here’s the keys to your rooms and a list of what will be on the menu for dinner, also like always my friend will perform a show on that stage while everypony is enjoying their meal.”
Twilight skimmed through the menu as the others figured out who was sleeping in which room, it was quickly decided that the three fillies should sleep in separate rooms lest they cause a disturbance for the inn much to the annoyance of the three fillies in question. It was also decided that Twilight and her friends split up into groups of two so they can all watch over the small filly in their room to make sure that she doesn’t sneak out to do any crusading.
“Okay so in room five we have Rarity, Fluttershy and Sweetie Bell.” Twilight announced after the group discussion was over “next in room six we have me, Spike, Applejack and Applebloom and then that leaves room seven to Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie and Clyde.”
Twilight handed a key to Rarity and Rainbow Dash, “and remember girls no crusading” Rarity firmly said putting her hoof down “do you promise not to?”
“We promise” the Cutie Mark Crusaders replied in unison.
“Well if anypony needs me I’ll be finding a good table so I can get a good view of the magic show.”Clyde said as he started searching “and don’t worry I’ll make sure I find a big table for all of us.”
“Wait, it’s going to be a magic show?” Spike asked “I wonder if the magician is gonna pull a rabbit out of his hat” he started to follow Clyde as the two of them searched for a table with a good view.
“Oh, I hope the magician won’t hurt the rabbit” Fluttershy said as she looked to her friends for answers.
“Urgh, Fluttershy he’s not going to hurt the rabbit” Rainbow Dash face hoofed again for the second time that day “it’s all just an act.”
“Oh thank goodness” Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief as she made her way up towards the second level where the rooms were located.
“Wait for me darling” Rarity called out as she strode to Fluttershy’s side “I do have the key remember, and I do believe that I have to have the first bath, I’m all sweaty from that walk.”
“That’s okay Rarity, I’ll take a bath after you and then we can go and watch the magic show.”
Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack and Twilight were left with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “Well” Twilight started to say “we should get into our rooms and rest for a little bit until dinner.”
“Don’t worry about us Twilight” Applebloom confidentially said “we’re not tired at all.”
“That’s because I did all the work” Scootaloo said stretching her hooves “all you and Sweetie Bell did was sit in the back.”
Applebloom leant in towards Scootaloo “shush, do you want to go find our cutie marks or not?” she whispered into Scootaloo’s ears.
“I-uh mean yeah we’re not tired at all.” Scootaloo quickly said correcting herself.
“Yeah so can we please go exploring?” Sweetie Bell asked as they each tried to pull off their best sappy face.
“Oh fine.” Twilight answered with an unamused expression “but just make sure you don’t wreck anything.”
“Yeah we’ll make sure.” The three fillies replied in unison as they galloped away.
“Now I don’t want to hear any stories of you three girls doing anything wrong now you hear” Applejack called out to the Crusaders as they disappeared from sight “ah swear ah worry for those three fillies.”
“Well Applejack let’s go to our rooms now” Pinkie mused as she bounced towards the stairs “my bags are full of string and I want to put it down.”
“Wait for me.” Applejack called out as she chased after Pinkie Pie.
“Well I guess I’ll follow Pinkie since she can’t get in the room without me, I think I’ll go take a little nap” Rainbow said as she stretched her forehooves “I think I’ll need it in case Scootaloo and “Clyde” have another little fight again.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you at dinner time” Twilight said to Rainbow Dash, as she too trotted to her room
___________________________________________________________________________
The Crusaders sped off as they all decided to help Spike and Clyde find a table.
“Well, well, well look at what the Ursa Major just dragged in.” a snobby young voice came from near the Crusaders. The three ponies turned to see Diamond Tiara with her faithful lackey Silver Spoon in tow.
“Oh brother” Sweetie Bell moaned as the bullies came closer.
“Is that anyway for a blank flank to treat a pony that already has their cutie mark?” Diamond Tiara asked smugly, “I think the three of you will never get your cutie mark.”
“Like yeah” Silver Spoon added.
“Oh just leave us alone already” Applebloom insisted “we don’t to hear your stupid nonsense.”
“Nonsense?” Diamond Tiara asked back sounding offended “what about the nonsense YOU pulled at my cute cenera.”
“You three!” A voice called out “I found us a table not too far away it’s actually at the front of the stage, we can get a REAL good view of the show from there.”
“Don’t you know not to interrupt ladies when they’re having a conversation?” Diamond Tiara smugly said to Clyde “and what’s with the outfit? Is your face so ugly you had to hide it?”
“Nope” he answered flatly “I’m pretty sure you might have been looking in a mirror when you said that cause last time I checked my face was of normal standards.”
“Oh look at him” Silver Spoon commented “he’s trying to come up with an insult; you could at least try to think of like something better?”
“Oh put a sock in it” Clyde replied bluntly “I know your type, you two are the kind of ponies who will one day end up with no friends and you’ll have no pony to blame but yourself.”
“I think you’re just jealous since you’re probably wearing that cloak to hide your blank flank.” Diamond Tiara “a pony that has no cutie mark doesn’t deserve to talk to us.”
“Well okay here, how about a little bet?” Clyde proposed “this little string that you can see coming out of my sleeve, if you can pull all of it out then I will do whatever you say for an entire year, if you can’t then you have to leave us alone.”
“Hey isn’t that the string he got from Pinkie?” Sweetie Bell asked as she watched the scene unfold.
“Then it’s his fault then” Scootaloo commented.
“Maybe he has something up his sleeve.” Applebloom said as she focused on the string, both Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo stared at Applebloom “what?”
“That has to be the most stupidest bet ever” Silver Spoon insisted “of course we’ll win it’s just a piece of string, how stupid are you?”
“Then prove it” he challenged, the piece of string hanging from his sleeve.
“Just be prepared to lose once I prove how worthless you are, then you’ll be my slave for a WHOLE YEAR” Diamond Tiara stepped forward and grabbed the string with her teeth and tugged on it as hard as she could.
Clyde somehow didn’t budge, but a whole metre of string flew out of his sleeve which landed in a pile in front of Diamond, but it still lead back to Clyde, “Nope, you haven’t pulled it out yet.” All three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were shocked at first but quickly started to laugh at Diamond Tiara.
“You’re cheating!” Silver Spoon accused “you’re just hiding a bunch of string in your sleeve.”
“I SO AM NOT!” Clyde replied imitating her voice “all she has to do is to get the string out of my sleeve, how hard is that?”
“Well show us your sleeve then!” Diamond Tiara demanded as she spat out the string and graved Clyde’s sleeve.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you” Clyde warned her “I’m very fragile and can break easily.”
“What are you-“ Diamond started as she grabbed Clyde’s forehoof only to have it fall right out of his sleeve.
“Warned ya” he said with a smug tone as Diamond Tiara backed away from his fallen limb “but no, nopony listens to me, it’s almost as if I’m a mute or something.”
Both of the bullies screamed in shock as they galloped away, Clyde laughing as they rounded a corner “oh how I love teaching lessons.” Clyde’s supposedly fallen limb disappeared into a cloud of smoke which flew by the surprised Crusaders.
“How did you do that?” Applebloom asked excitedly.
“Magic”
“But what kind of magic?” Sweetie asked insistently.
“As I said before” Clyde restated stomping his hoof “magic!”
“Well I’m just glad you got rid of those two” Scootaloo said sighing in relief “sorry if I bugged you before.”
Clyde held out one of his forehooves to Scootaloo “so let’s agree not to fight anymore, until such time as when we are both really mad at each other.”
“Agreed” Scootaloo replied taking his hoof in hers and shaking in agreement “it’s not going to fall off again is it?”
“No it won’t, that was just an illusion.” Clyde explained “You know the things Magicians do?”
“Is that why you’re so excited about the show?” Applebloom enquired.
“Yes and as I was saying before I had to deal with miss silverware and miss sparkly headgear, Spike and I found a table, so make sure to go there when dinner starts.”
“Sure” the three Crusaders said in unison as they rushed off to find something to do so they can find their cutie marks.
“Have fun there, hope you get your cutie marks one day, you little Buccaneers” Clyde said to himself as he made his way back to the table.
___________________________________________________________________________
“So is the show starting soon?” Pinkie Pie asked as she jumped up and down in her chair.
“Oooooh Pinkie” Rainbow Dash moaned as she pat her stomach “I can’t see how you’re not full after a meal like that.”
“Oh don’t be such a sour puss” Clyde said as he stopped bouncing in his chair “cheer up, this magic show is gonna be so awesome!”
“And how do you know?” Rainbow asked trying to sit up in her chair.
“Because I know the pony that’s performing the magic show tonight, you’re going to love her, she pulls off the best illusion based magic shows.”
“Well she must be really talented then” Twilight said as she pushed her plate away “maybe I’ll learn a thing or too.”
Suddenly the attention of everypony in the dining hall was directed towards the stage when a fanfare started to resonate from there.
“Wait a tick” Applejack said as she sat back on her chair after her trip to the toilet “this sounds familiar, don’t ya reckon?”
“Yeah it do-” Twilight started before she was cut off by a voice which echoed throughout the entire hall.
“PREPARE TO BE ASTOUNDED AND IN AWE OF THE MAGIC OF-” the echoed voice began, some of the fillies and colts in the room were excited except from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who were with their families in the corner of the hall.
“No…..” Twilight stated as the pupils of her eyes and that of her friends shrank in size when they recognised the introduction.
“THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!”
___________________________________________________________________________
“Well looks like they left town this morning” Rain Prancer sang as he lay sprawled out on a couch “what do we do now?”
“We stick to our orders” Diglet answered setting up his digging harness “if you’re bored then why not go out and socialise”
“What about you? You’re not socialising at all!” Rain Prancer said sitting up “All you’re going to do is what you did back at the castle.”
“I like having an escape route whenever possible” Diglet said as he levitated his digging tools into place on his harness “and I could get around town quicker.”
“But Diggy why do you need to make tunnels underneath this town? Why don’t you just man up and explore Steady’s tunnel already?”
“HEY!” Diglet yelled back, his cheeks blushing a bright red “you keep out of my personal affairs.”
“But Diggy, everypony in our group knows about how you two feel about each other, I say you should just go for it.”
“I can’t” Diglet sadly said sighing “there are certain things a colt must do if he wants to court a mare.”
“No way!” Rain Prancer yelled in astonishment “You’re one of those old fashioned ponies? I never would have guessed.”
“Well now you know” Diglet turned away from Rain Prancer as he trotted away “oh and by the way, how are our other friends doing?”
Rain Prancer sat up and opened his notebook that was lying next to him “the last report from them said that the targets checked into an inn.”
“Good, we need to always keep tabs on them so we know what they’re doing.”
“Hey Diggy, what do you think of the boss’ orders?”
“Remember he told us not to refer to him as somepony who is above us, he is our friend, an equal.”
“Who sometimes tells us what to do, right” Rain Prancer said sounding unconvinced “So do you know why he stayed in the castle?
“He told us that the Everfree Kingdom was never overrun with forests and dangerous beasts when he last saw it” Diglet answered “he’s researching on what could have caused this kind of outcome, he’s also looking into more magic spells.”
“Yeah okay, I understand that part now” Prancer said scratching his mane “but why did he say we’re not allowed to harm, let alone touch the Rainbow Maned one?”
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gorutsuki
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1242
| 5 |
Cutie Mark Crusaders,Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Trixie,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Return of the Everfree Kingdom
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as a powerful pony is released from his captivity it's up to the six elements of Harmony to stop hi
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incomplete
| 9 | 1 |
<p>No pony knows about how or why the Everfree Forest came to be, most don't even care as they avoid the place because it's dangerous, but two treasure hunters unwittingly unleash an ancient ruler from the distant past who seems to be targeting the Elements of Harmony. And Princess Celestia sends a single pony to help Twilight and her friends overcome this ordeal, but what does this Mentor and Twilight and her friends have to do with the history of the ancient Kingdom of Everfree which was destroyed long ago. (first fic guys, please leave a comment and a rating even if it's not a big amount, also Ponies will be added to the list if they appear in a chapter)</p>
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teen
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2012-08-23T00:11:18+00:00
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2012-08-23T00:11:18+00:00
| 459 |
Chapter 4: The Unveiling
“All the pieces have been assembled,
I guess it’s time for the show to begin”
“BEHOLD THE SPLENDID AND AWESOME POWER THAT IS THE GREATEST UNICORN WHO EVER LIVED, ME, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE! THE ONLY UNICORN CAPABLE OF VANQUISHING AN URSA MAJOR!” the blue magician mare shouted as she appeared from within a cloud of pink smoke.
“yay” Clyde exclaimed as the colourful cloud settled and the full image of the show pony could be seen “I love her magic shows, I haven’t seen a show like hers in forever, it almost brings a tear to my eyes.”
“How could a magic show make you cry silly?” Pinkie Pie asked, casually eating popcorn.
Rainbow Dash sighed as she sat up in her seat “what’s Trixie doing here?”
Twilight looked between her friends and Trixie’s familiar stage act, “I’m not sure Rainbow, maybe she’s just performing her act, but I would think that she would have learned her lesson from last time we saw her.”
Rarity scoffed as she flicked her hair to get a better view of her friends “well I’m fine as long as she doesn’t change the colour of my hair again, it took me ages to fix that disaster” she shuddered as she remembered the ordeal she went through because of that.
Sweetie Bell laughed softly as she turned to her two friends “she was freaking out about it for several days.”
Fluttershy stayed quiet as she watched the magic show going on in front of her, Twilight noticed this and tapped Fluttershy on her shoulder “Hey Fluttershy you okay?”
Fluttershy almost screamed from the sudden physical contact but quickly covered her mouth as she turned to face her lavender friend “umm it’s just that I never saw her show completely remember? Everypony kind of interrupted her performance last time we saw her.” She said in her usual soft, timid voice “oh, but I don’t mean you guys were rude or anything.”
Twilight stared at Trixie as she continued on her show, boasting of her abilities while Twilight made sure she and her friends were making as little noise as possible so as to not attract too much attention.
___________________________________________________________________________
The show was over now, everypony in the room was either leaving the inn or were making their way to their rooms for the night, Twilight and friends were still sitting at the table talking about small things like the magic show or the quality of the food.
Twilight looked around the table as she realized somepony was missing from their table“hey where did Clyde go?”
Every other pony stared at the spot where Clyde was sitting to see an empty seat.
“Maybe the little guy just went to the toilet” Applejack reasoned “I mean he’s probably tired after how excited he was for that show.”
Twilight nodded as she stood up from her seat “okay everyone, it’s getting late we should all get a good night’s rest, I’ll look for Clyde.”
“Awww” the three little Crusaders moaned in unison as they sunk further into their individual seats.
“Come on girls, if you don’t get your beauty sleep you’ll start to get wrinkles” Rarity motherly said as she tried to usher the girls to their rooms.
Everyone all climbed out of their seats as they went to their planned sleeping rooms, Rainbow Dash easily getting Scootaloo to follow her and Pinkie to their rooms while Applebloom and Sweetie Bell were more difficult to even get moving.
Twilight disengaged from the group as she started searching for Clyde, “where did that kid go?” she asked herself as she looked around.
___________________________________________________________________________
Twilight had only begun her search only several minutes ago, being very thorough as she checked underneath the tables and everywhere else inside the inn.
Twilight stopped as she heard the sound of a pony making their way towards her, the clip clop of their hooves as they walked on the wooden floor.
“Where did yo_” Twilight started as she turned around only to be stunned by the fact that it wasn’t Clyde who was behind her.
“Hello Sparkle” Trixie said coldly as Twilight was now face to face with the unicorn who only last year ran out of Ponyville after the Ursa Minor attack.
Trixie’s eyes stared into Twilight’s as the two of them stood there, frozen in time each trying to come up with something to say.
Twilight swallowed her anxiety and took the first step “hello Trixie. That was a nice performance you did.”
Trixie’s expression brightened up as she heard the praise come from the student’s mouth “thank you, when I spotted you and your friends in the audience I thought you were going to run me out of this place.”
Twilight turned her gaze away from Trixie, ashamed that she had made such an impression on somepony.
“I’m sorry about that Trixie, I’m also sorry that your wagon was destroyed as well.” Twilight felt horrible as she recalled what happened that time.
Trixie turned her head high flicking her mane while doing so “the Great and Powerful Trixie accepts the apologies of this miss Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight smiled, she didn’t expect to be forgiven so easily, which made her worried “why? I thought you would hate me after what happened.”
Trixie chuckled as she invited Twilight to an empty table, the two unicorns sat down “Excuse me Insi, can you please get me and miss Twilight here a drink?”
The innkeeper’s head appeared from underneath the counter with a big smile on her face “coming right up Trixie, wonderful performance again like always.”
“Thanks” was all that Trixie said as she returned her attention to the lavender mare sitting across from her “now, what is the question you were going to ask the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
“I thought that you would have learned your lesson after the Ursa Minor.” Twilight bluntly said before realizing what she was saying “I mean, that was a good show Trixie.”
Trixie sighed “you must have realized that the attitude was only an act right?”
“I beg your pardon?” Twilight managed to say, the shock of the revelation paralysing her ability to come up with the right words, she sat there dumbfounded.
“Here you go” Insi said balancing a tray with three glasses on it on top her muzzle, setting it down on the table as she took the empty seat near Trixie “I hope you two don’t mind if I join? Every other pony has already gone to their rooms.”
“Not at all Insi, miss Sparkle I’m sure you met my friend Insi already.”
Twilight quickly regained her composure when the innkeeper joined their table “it’s nice to see you again, and Trixie please call me Twilight.”
“Sorry, Twilight” Trixie said as she took a sip from her drink “ahh, I love Pinecone Blast flavour.”
Insi smiled as she took a drink from her own glass “why do you think I chose it if you didn’t like it?”
“You have a point there” Trixie said with a smile on her face as she enjoyed herself “but moving back onto the topic at hoof here, would it be right to assume you didn’t know my previous behaviour was thought to be my real behaviour?”
“Yes, I’m sorry Trixie if we just assumed without knowing what you were really like.” Twilight replied feeling guilty.
Insi and Trixie both shook their heads “nah, don’t be. That was Trixie before she met me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well it was an act but I got too absorbed into it to drop it once my shows were over, the persona I made grew on me and eventually became me, so you were both right and wrong to think the me back then was the real me” Trixie answered.
“Yeah and after her wagon was destroyed by that Ursa Minor she somehow came across me as I was going for a stroll and I took her in” Insi said smiling as she nudged Trixie “but, oh boy was she a stubborn one to deal with at first.”
Trixie blushed at the comment “hey, remember I was still in stage mode at the time.”
Twilight smiled as she watched the two friends in front of her bicker, but a thought crossed her mind “but what about your boasting Trixie.”
“Oh that” Trixie said calmly “you do know that’s what stage ponies do right? They boast and exaggerate their abilities so that they can even get an audience.”
Insi finished her drink with a slurp “yeah I mean come on, would anyone want to see a show performed by the Weak and Timid Trixie? Or even the Mild and Average Trixie”
“Hey!” Trixie loudly said pushing Insi softly as they both began to laugh.
Twilight’s heart began to sink, she didn’t know that most of it was an act, she felt terrible even though it seemed that Trixie was a nice pony deep down and that she never tried to get along with her before finding out.
“I’m sorry Trixie.”
Both the magician and innkeeper stopped their friendly fight and looked at Twilight who was tearing up as droplets began to stream down her face.
“Why are you sorry? If it wasn’t for you and your friends I wouldn’t be here right now, although I didn’t like the means of how nor do I want to remember it, that time changed me and made me the pony you see before you.” Trixie said as she put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulders.
Twilight wiped her face clean as she smiled back at Trixie “thank you Trixie.”
Trixie was taken aback slightly after Twilight had finished her sentence “whatever for?”
“You’ve teached me an important lesson about friendship, it doesn’t matter if a pony and you have an argument, if in the end the two of you can make up and learn something about each other from it then your friendship has grown even stronger.”
“That’s a lesson we all need to learn” Insi said nodding her head.
The mood of the conversation was interrupted when a loud bang stole the attention of the three ponies.
A small hatch from the floor near the end of the stage popped open and a purple earth pony climbed out of it.
“Heya Trixie and Insi, thought I’d check up on ya” the mysterious pony said as he cleaned himself of dust and dirt.
“What are you doing here Rain Prancer?” Trixie asked getting up from her chair while Insi made her way back to the bar.
“He probably just wants a drink Trixie, more Sarsaparilla Prancer?” Insi called out as she prepared a drink for the new pony.
“Heck yeah, I haven’t had one of those in ages and I need my creative juices flowing.” Rain Prancer merrily said taking a seat at the table with Trixie and Twilight.
Twilight was about to greet the new pony when she remembered what she was doing before she ran into Trixie “oh, sorry everypony, I just remembered something I had to do.”
Trixie and Rain Prancer looked at her before Prancer let out a little chuckle “nah, it’s okay, you do what you gotta do meanwhile I still gotta come up with ideas” Prancer said as he took out a journal and pencil.
“Ideas for what?” Twilight asked as she pushed her chair back under the table.
“I’m a toy maker, and I’ve sorta’ve got a mental block as to what to think up of next.” Prancer mumbled loudly before taking the pencil into his mouth and started to sketch “nows sisn’t shere shomeshing slou were meants to bees doings?” the pencil in his mouth making his speech slurred as he continued to sketch.
“Yeah there is” Twilight galloped away as she restarted her search for Clyde “oh I’m never this forgetful” she mumbled to herself.
___________________________________________________________________________
Twilight had resigned from her search after another hour of searching, figuring that the Mentor calling himself Clyde would return eventually, she past by Trixie and the other two, waving as she walked up the stairs.
Twilight walked into her room, where Applejack, Applebloom and Spike were already asleep.
“Hnng, Twilight is that you?” Twilight stared as Applejack rubbed her eyes.
“Yeah it’s me Applejack, I couldn’t find him though” she sighed as she made her way to the toilet.
“Don’t worry Twilight, ah’m sure he’ll be fine” Applejack turned in her bed yawning as she fell back to sleep.
“Yeah, you may be right” Twilight agreed “but I still have an uneasy feeling.”
After brushing her teeth thoroughly she climbed into bed and let her eyes close as she drifted into sleep.
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“Twilight Sparkle” a purple earth pony said as he placed his cup back onto the table “if she is the element of magic then none of us have got worry about her.”
“Why?” Trixie asked raising an eyebrow.
“Orders remember, stick to your respective target unless ordered otherwise.”
Insi joined Rain Prancer at the table “yeah, yeah we know, would have been devastating to Trixie if something bad happened to the mare that helped her remember why she was in showbiz in the first place.”
“As long as I am not the one to do it then I am fine by it.” Trixie said with a ‘humph’ before leaving her two friends at the table.
“So what are ya working on this time?” Insi asked shifting her attention towards Rain Prancer.
Rain Prancer grabbed the journal in his mouth and showed Insi some diagrams that were on the side Insi could see.
“looking at this I’m guessing it’s for good ol’ Diggy?”
“Exactly” Rain Prancer replied with glee.
“So how’s your target coming along?” Insi asked as she gestured for Rain Prancer to join her for a walk.
“She’s alright, had to come here though since the veterans of my squad are busy playing the ‘I’ll wait for them to make the first move game’”
Insi chuckled and shook her head “those two seriously need to get over it and just embrace each other or something, save us all a major headache from hearing them talk about each other all the damn time.”
Prancer laughed “it’s funny, I just found out that Diglet is old fashioned when it comes to ‘courting’ mares” he said putting on a fake posh accent making himself burst into laughter.
Insi raised an eyebrow as she watched the purple earth pony continue laughing “is there something wrong with a stallion treating a mare correctly?”
Prancer immediately stopped laughing and cleared his throat “well I’m only laughing cause it’s Diglet, I mean come on, it’s Diglet who is like that, I would have expected him to be the one who would just pounce on her or something.”
“Well yeah, I thought the same too, hey who knows maybe Steady is the one who tends to pounce instead.”
The conversation went quiet as they both shuddered at the idea “let’s never talk about that, it is scary thinking of the idea alone.”
“You big baby, she’s not scary all the time.”
“Yeah, only if you cross her, and I apparently make her cross fifty percent of the time so every time I see here, half the time I practically piss myself.”
“Eugh, too much information.” Insi said sticking her tongue out of her mouth in disgust.
Prancer shrugged as the two of them stood up out of the chairs and trotted around the inn picking up rubbish left over from the show.
___________________________________________________________________________
Twilight turned in her bed, tossing and turning as she drifted off towards her dream land.
Twilight finds herself standing in a big empty space, she can see small blurry visions of her past rotating around her in the distance, and she looks around to see that the visions of the past are rotating around her in a dome like shape.
“Took you long enough to fall asleep.”
Twilight turned and saw Clyde standing in the distance in his own dome which was connected to hers.
“Was this where you were after the show?”
“No, I went to the little boys room, I really had to go.”
“Okay, what is going on? What are you doing here?”
“I called you here; right now your friends are talking to me as well in their own little dream lands.”
“But how can this be?” Twilight asked with doubt in her voice.
“Some spells have been forgotten by the pony kind of this era, although I suppose it’s better that way since no pony else can use them nowadays.”
Twilight stared at her surroundings, all the different memories she can plainly see through her viewpoint of it.
The time she was accepted by Celestia to be her student, when she first met her friends, the time they stopped Nightmare Moon and then Discord using the elements, all the memories small and big rotating around her dome.
“I have done this to you and your friends so I can discuss some things individually, and please don’t make it difficult, this spell is hard enough to do but splitting my psyche in 6 is going to be really taxing on my recovery and possibly my mental wellbeing” Clyde said with no emotion in his voice.
“Recovery?” Twilight asked once again confused by Clyde’s antics.
“Well let me explain it” Clyde said taking a deep breath in “I am the Mentor, you met me when you were but a small wittle filly.”
Twilight nodded, as she tried to remember the encounter.
“Anyway the Mentor is a title, one that is passed down when a Mentor finds another pony worthy enough of the title and responsibility” Clyde stopped talking, waiting for Twilight to nod in acknowledgment “the task of all Mentors is to ensure the safety of the elements and the bearers of said elements.”
“Wait” Twilight said interrupting Clyde “if making sure the elements are safe, what about the time Discord ran amuck and almost tore me apart from my friends?”
Clyde laughed softly before clearing his throat “oh yeah that, I knew you could handle that problem and besides I was busy in the land of the Zebras at the time.”
“But Equestria was in trouble and so was the Elements, you could have saved us from Discord.”
Clyde groaned in frustration “Equestria? Remember that I said my duty is to protect the Elements, I said nothing about Equestria.”
Twilight was shocked she quickly regained her composure and quickly thought of what to ask “but, but what if Equestria is destroyed?”
“Well that means the Equestrians have to find a new place to call home” Clyde replied coldly and bluntly.
“But why would you not do anything to stop it?” Twilight shouted “Innocent ponies could get hurt by.....Whatever it is that we have to go up against.”
“SHUT IT GIRL!” Clyde shouted, his magic amplifying his voice “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”
Twilight backed away from Clyde who was clearly angry, he looked ready to kill somepony, which made Twilight scared.
Clyde calmed down with a long breath out “getting back onto topic here” he said sitting down tapping his chin thought “being the Mentor is not a blessing, rather it’s a curse where your stamina or magic affects you in more ways than one.”
Twilight, forgetting about Clyde snapping was confused by what he just said “stamina or magic affecting you? What do you mean?”
Clyde sighed as he rubbed his temples with his fore hooves “well earth ponies and pegasi rely on stamina, unicorns like me and you rely on magic.”
“Okay” Twilight let her brain process it all before indicating for Clyde to continue.
“How it affects me is very simple, when your stamina, well in my case magic is low in supply, my body shrinks, reverting it back to the ‘child’ state or as I call it the ‘recharging’ state and when I am back at full strength I revert back to the ‘adult’ form.”
“Oh” Twilight mumbled as the information started to clear up some things in her mind.
“And sadly another part of being the Mentor is that our coat colour and eyes change to this colour.”
“Wait! Why would it even do that?”
“I don’t rightfully know, it’s just ancient magic from a long time ago” Clyde looked himself over before groaning “I didn’t want to look like thi-”
“I think you look good in those colours.”
An echoing voice resonated through the domes as Clyde’s expression turned into one of pure panic and shock.
“How did you even get in here?” Clyde’s voice matching his shock as Twilight looked around her in confusion and shock.
“I thought we were safe here” Twilight said as she frantically looked around for the source of the voice.
“There is no place that is safe for you scholar” the voice said as it sounded closer than before.
“Scholar?” Twilight asked herself.
“NOW IS NOT THE TIME!” Clyde yelled as he tried to summon some magic in his horn.
THUD
A hoof flies out of thin air and collides with Clyde, sending him flying towards Twilight.
Twilight stared as part of her dome tore open and a single pony materialised in front of her, he looked exactly like an older version of Clyde with armour that resembled Luna’s royal guards but with a white colour instead of the traditional dark blue, his voice boomed with several echoes that filled the entire dome.
“Scholar Shade Glimmer of the once glorious Library of the Everfree Kingdom, I King Everfree hereby declare war on you and your friends.”
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gorutsuki
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1242
| 6 |
Cutie Mark Crusaders,Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Trixie,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Return of the Everfree Kingdom
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as a powerful pony is released from his captivity it's up to the six elements of Harmony to stop hi
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incomplete
| 9 | 1 |
<p>No pony knows about how or why the Everfree Forest came to be, most don't even care as they avoid the place because it's dangerous, but two treasure hunters unwittingly unleash an ancient ruler from the distant past who seems to be targeting the Elements of Harmony. And Princess Celestia sends a single pony to help Twilight and her friends overcome this ordeal, but what does this Mentor and Twilight and her friends have to do with the history of the ancient Kingdom of Everfree which was destroyed long ago. (first fic guys, please leave a comment and a rating even if it's not a big amount, also Ponies will be added to the list if they appear in a chapter)</p>
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teen
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2012-08-23T00:16:11+00:00
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2012-08-23T00:16:11+00:00
| 463 |
Chapter 5: The Declaration
“Even should both of our bodies fade away, I will find you no matter what.”
“What did he mean war? We’re only five ponies!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she hovered above the group of assembled ponies in one of their inn rooms.
“What do yah mean five of us Rainbow?” Applejack asked putting a hoof down.
“Well I mean, look at Fluttershy, she would never be able to hold herself in a fight let alone a war” Rainbow pointed towards the yellow Pegasus who was already shying away from their stares.
“Now that is no way to speak of a friend darling” Rarity trotted into the conversation, flicking her mane in the process “however true it may be” she added looking to the side.
“I just don’t think Fluttershy would be any good in this little war thing we have got going on with that King Everfree stallion, I’d really rather not have him invade my dreams again” Rainbow stated shuddering “I just get an off feeling about him.”
“Yeah I felt the same thing” the others looked to see Twilight looking up from a book in front of her with a worried expression “I can’t quite put my hoof on it though.”
“Well his voice sounded weird, he might have a frog in his throat, OH NO! that may be why he was so mean, fluttershy we have to find him and get the frog out of his throat!” Pinkie rambled while trying to get Fluttershy off the ground.
“Pinkie!” Twilight got up and gently nudged her away from Fluttershy, every other pony sighed “I don’t think he had a frog in his throat.”
“Well you’re right that there was something off about him and that his voice was weird, sixty points” they turned to see Clyde lying on one of the beds, resting his head on his front hooves.
“Sixty points? Since when were you scoring us?” Twilight asked with a puzzled face while Rainbow snickered off to the side.
“I’m the Mentor, which is a kind of teacher I guess, anyway I have to grade my students on their performance like all teachers” he jumped off the bed and trotted towards them “anyway since we are at war with him I might as well explain some things, you might want to take a seat because this may take a long time.”
The six mares each took a seat as Clyde took centre stage, Twilight hovered a pillow for her to rest her head on while Rarity pretty much did the same except she fluffed her pillow before resting her head down on her pillow. Rainbow slowly reached out to grab a pillow with her teeth and set it down behind her as she laid down on her back with Applejack doing the same and settling down next to her cyan friend. Fluttershy squeaked and stayed quiet and still as Pinkie jumped into the air and somehow defied the laws of gravity as she placed a pillow underneath her and placed a pillow next to Fluttershy who laid her head down on it lying down on her side and finally Pinkie dropped rump first onto her pillow.
“Okay, well I’ll start with his voice. I’ve read reports about your ‘experience’ with Princess Luna during the last Nightmare Night correct?” they all nod in agreement “and I’m sure you all remember her Royal Equestrian voice?” he asked while snickering.
“Yes we remember, it scared Fluttershy here to death, when she used it up close when Twilight was trying to help Luna that night” Rarity replied.
“Oh yeah speaking of Nightmare Night, where were you that night Rarity?” Rainbow asked while she was lounging on the bed “I didn’t have a chance to prank you.”
“Well me being the only designer in Ponyville, I was more than tired after making a good majority of those costumes for all the lovely little kids and a few clients.”
“Oh well I do remember you looked tired when you made my costu-“
“ANYWAY!” Clyde cut waving his hoof in the air “King Everfree’s voice was the Royal Everfree voice, so yes before Twilight says anything it is their version of the Royal Equestrian voice.”
“I guess that makes sense” Twilight commented, contemplating the thought “but why does it sound so weird compared to Princess Luna’s?”
“Oh yeah, that is because the Everfree Kingdom wasn’t that big in its early days so the royalty developed the voice to echo and changed the tone and pitch of it to make it sound like something from Tartarus” Clyde stopped and looked at them to see if they were following “the voice was primarily used for intimidating potential invader envoys and well after a few years it stuck to them.”
“I guess that makes sense” Twilight concluded while scratching her muzzle “the creatures and denizens of Tartarus are known to have been greatly feared by the ponies of old when the gate to Tartarus was weak and unstable.”
“Now wait just a darn tooting second” Applejack called out getting everypony’s attention “how come we’ve nevah heard of this here Everfree Kingdom before?”
“Oh, yeah about that, the Everfree Kingdom was at first a bunch of ponies that left the first Equestrians during the great Winter and before they decided to cooperate. They each left their individual tribes and somehow met along the way, at first there was tension in the group but after defending themselves from a dragon they each found out that a lot of good could come out of working together.”
“Hold on a sec” Rainbow interrupted “I remember the play we did for Heart’s Warming Eve, there were no ponies mentioned that left and how could years of arguing be resolved through a single fight?”
“Well in the heat of battle, friendship and trust forms easily with those who fight with you, it may not be the most traditional method of making friends but back then it was one of the more common ways, and if you remember correctly Twilight quickly became your friend since you did save her life when you first went to find the elements..”
“And as for the leaving part, they were all presumed dead since they left without telling anypony else about their plan, in the beginning if I remember correctly it was two families of pegasi, about three families of earth ponies and there was only two unicorn families. And that one of the unicorn families became the leaders of their little band of nomads and later, well they soon became the Royal Family of the Everfree Kingdom.”
“After the nomads found a nice and fertile land in amongst a rather large forest they decided to set up camp and just stayed there, soon other travelling ponies and even a few other races came to them and joined the community, in the Everfree Kingdom it wasn’t really weird to see a Griffin or even a Changeling back then.”
“A changeling?” Rarity called out, sounding shocked “why would those monstrous little things be part of the Kingdom?”
“Well remember Rarity, this is in the past and anything is possible really” Twilight stated, which received an approving nod from Clyde.
“Yes you are correct, but let me explain further so the rest of you can understand. The Changelings back then was actually one of the most greatest and powerful spy networks there was, their ability to shape shift and adapt to their new environment quickly made them one of the most employed and richest races at the time. And their Queen was indeed one hell of a looker I might say.”
“Bleh” Rainbow spat out while listening to him talking “seriously don’t make those kinds of bad jokes.”
“Fine, well anyway a small band of them was employed frequently by the Everfree Kingdom because they were one of the best and always produced the best possible results and because of that they didn’t mind letting changelings into the kingdom because they had a good relationship.”
“Okay fine darling, we get it already” Rarity groaned while reclining on one of the beds “the Changelings back then weren’t like the ones at Twilight’s brother’s wedding.”
Clyde chuckled and grabbed a pillow to sit on “haha, yeah I heard all about that. Too bad I was away on business when that happened.”
“Don’t you care about Equestria at all?” Twilight asked with a deadly glare.
He groaned and rested his head on the pillow “I do care, but after having so many memories of Mentor’s before me. Seeing empires rise and fall, dictatorship and tyrants, the good and bad, it just feels like if Equestria falls, then that means it was just time and pony kind will of course like usual rebuild and besides, I was away on important business at the time which I will not discuss.”
Twilight was about to open her mouth to add a rebuttal but Clyde stuck his hoof in her mouth before she could say anything “shush, I’m done talking about that, and I think we all need a good night’s rest anyway” he stood up and trotted out of the room “so everypony back to their rooms. Oh and I almost forgot to answer your question Applejack, there are no records of the Everfree Kingdom because some ponies made sure to leave no trace of it in history.”
After that Clyde crept back into his bed and so did the others as most o fth sighed and rubbed their eyes out of exhaustion.
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Rainbow Dash stirred from her sleep, the sound of yelling and screaming all around her.
“No! Stay away from me!” a young colt like voice cried out.
“But we wanna see it!” two voices called out after the first voice, one sounded like a young energetic filly and the other belonged to a bubbly mare.
Rainbow moved about on her bed, using a pillow to try to drown out the noise “I told you two that it is not that important!” The young colt voice cried out again.
A loud crashing sound brought Rainbow to full alertness as she jumped out of her bed and saw Clyde levitating near the ceiling with his hood back and a clear look of terror on his face while Pinkie and Scootaloo on the ground in a pile next to a broken vase that they must have broken during their scuffle.
“What in Celestia’s name are you three doing?” Rainbow asked in a loud voice, making them all stop and look at her.
“They started chasing me after I woke up!” Clyde pointed towards the two ponies lying on the ground in a pile.
“W-we didn’t do anything, Clyde started yelling after Scootaloo she tried to peek under his cloak.”
“I-I did not! I just wanted to see if he had his cutie mark yet!” Scootaloo yelled back with an embarrassed blush on her face.
Rainbow stared at Scootaloo’s flustered face, then to Clyde who was still magically floating in the air “she has a point, we don’t know what your cutie mark is”
Clyde sighed as he floated in the air “you all do not need to see my cutie mark, at least not yet anyway.”
“So when can we see it then?” Pinkie Pie asked as she bounced in the air “oh, are you going to make it a big reveal or are you just going to show it to us, ooh I’m get excited just thinking about it.”
“Calm down Pinkie” Clyde brought himself back down to the ground “we have bigger things to worry about.”
“Like what?” Scootaloo brought herself back onto her hooves and dusted herself off.
Clyde pointed to the broken vase on the ground “like that problem to be exact.”
Scootaloo gasped in shock as she realized that the vase was actually smashed to pieces “What are we going to do?”
“Oooh we have to tell the Inn Lady about this vase, otherwise we’ll be in trouble” Pinkie said in a serious voice as she continued to bounce up and down on the spot “come on Scoots I’ll help you talk to her about it.”
“Bu-but maybe we could fix it!” Scootaloo cried out as she tied reaching for one of the pieces before her hoof and then her whole body was enveloped by a white magical aura that lifted her form the ground.
“You foal, you might accidentally cut yourself if you touched one of those” keeping himself and Scootaloo in the air he picked up the pieces of the broken vase and placed them inside the nearest bin.
Slowly he brought himself and Scootaloo down to the ground before he fell flat on his belly groaning as he hit the floor with a tiny thud.
“What’s wrong?” Pinkie stared at Clyde as he tried to get back onto his hooves “got a belly ache? Are you hungry? Oooh we haven’t had breakfast yet!”
“Uh yeah sure, you girls go down ahead of me, I need to take a little breather first” Clyde climbed back onto his bed and ducked under the covers leaving the others in the room confused.
“Isn’t it a bit weird to wear that cloak under the bed silly?” Pinkie smiled and chuckled covering her hoof as she did so.
“Yeah, you never take that thing off don you?” Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Two things” the lump in Clyde’s bed replied “one, you all will see my cutie mark if I take this cloak off and two because I love cloaks, laugh if you want but I love and kinds of cloaks and capes.”
Pinkie and Scootaloo did in fact laugh loudly while Rainbow giggled to herself “nothing wrong with that silly filly, Scootaloo here is desperately obsessed with Ra-“ Pinkie started before Scootaloo violently nudged her with her entire body which made Pinkie laugh even harder “oops! Sorry Scoots.”
After everypony had finished lauhing Pinkie forced the little filly out the door to go apologize about the vase while Rainbow stared at the bump that Clyde made on his bed as she made her way out of the room.
“Hey kid, you okay there?” Rainbow got out of her bed and crept close to Clyde’s, wondering what was wrong with him.
“I’m fine, I….just need a bit more rest, I’ve used up a lot of magic lately and it’s taking its toll on me” she remembered from that dream what Clyde said about his body and the amount of magic he has stored inside him.
“Don’t push yourself too hard okay? I’ll see you at breakfast then” she took one more worried glance towards Clyde’s direction before exiting the room and going down the stairs to breakfast.
___________________________________________________________________________
The table was abuzz with talk and chatter as the ponies and Spike were having a wonderful time with their breakfast.
“Did you girls have a good sleep?” Rarity asked as she delicately cut her toast with a knife she levitated with her magic.
“Yes Rarity” all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders replied with a groan as they stared at their own breakfast.
Rainbow and Applejack were having a friendly competition between each other to see who could finish their sandwich first, Rainbow was using her hooves to hold the sandwich and trying to shove it into her mouth while Applejack dove into the plate and ate hers from there, the other watched and laughed at the two ponies while Rarity scoffed and continued trying to eat her food in peace.
Twilight stared at the empty seat across the table from her and wondered where Clyde was, although she didn’t even need to know as she spotted his cloaked form come down from the stairs and joined them at the table.
“Did I miss anythi-“ he stopped as he saw what Rainbow and Applejack was doing before he burst into laughter “oh you girls look ridiculous right now” he couldn’t hold himself back as he joined the others as they laughed at the spectacle of what was in front of them.
After Rainbow had lost to Applejack in the eating contest she was ready to go another round but Twilight stopped her and reminded Rainbow what happened last time Applejack and her wouldn’t quit in a contest.
“Aww, fine!” Rainbow huffed as she crossed her front hooves “but next time I’ll win Applejack, I swear it.”
“Sure Rainbow, ah hear ya” Applejack laughed as she cleaned her mouth and wiped away all the crumbs on her area of the table.
Rarity giggled to herself at the sight “finally learning some table manners Applejack? But I must say that display before was awful to watch”
“Nah, ah’m just doing this so you won’t be complaining about mah manners Rarity” Applejack grinned as she continued eating her meal.
Rarity scoffed as she flicked her mane back “puhlease Applejack, I do not complain that much, only when it is necessary.”
“And when it is ‘necessary’ is nearly every other time” Rainbow whispered to Applejack making both of the mare giggle which left Rarity confused as to what they were laughing about.
Clyde ate his food rather slowly as he gulped down his milkshake and rested his head on the table “Clyde darling, we were just talking about table manners, please use some manners and sit back normally” Rarity advised in her motherly voice.
Clyde mumbled something but it was inaudible due to his face being in the table “umm can’t hear you sugarcube.”
“I said” Clyde brought his face off the table and wiped his eyes “I’m so tired today, so I won’t be doing any of my Mentor duties today and I’m just going to sleep, so you all have fun, I’ll be in my bed if anypony needs me oh and if anyone tries to sneak a peek at my cutie mark while I am asleep they will face the consequences” and with that he excused himself from the table and climbed back up the stairs.
“Tired? Just a second ago he was laughing at Rainbow Dash and Applejack” Twilight commented as she read her book while eating her breakfast.
“Best not to dwell on the subject Twilight” Spike said after eating a mouthful of hay fries “I’m sure that he’s just tired from doing whatever he possibly did last night or whatever, although I really wish this place had maybe just a few gemstones for me to munch on.”
“Spike how many times do I have to tell you that you won’t be able to find a place that is selling gemstones for you to eat” Twilight set a hoof on the table with a little smile.
“aw, fine! But I still want gemstones for breakfast.” Spike crossed his arms and leant back in his stool which prompted him to fall off it and crash on the ground below him, the others laughed at the sight but Rarity was quick to her hooves and helped the baby dragon back onto his legs.
“Are you okay darling? Are you hurt anywhere?” Spike dusted himself off and checked himself over.
“No, nothing wrong” he smiled before his eyes were filled with hearts as he stared at Rarity “thank you Rarity, you’re really kind.”
Rarity giggled and took her seat again “anytime Spike” Spike sat back onto his stool with a bright red blush on his face, Apple bloom and Sweetie Bell both angrily sighed at the sight and when back to their food.
“Something wrong girls?” Spike asked as he stared at the yellow and white crusaders.
“N-nothing, it’s none of your business Spike!” Sweetie Bell crossed her front hooves while Apple bloom just stared at her food, Spike shrugged and finished the rest of his food.
Applejack giggled and leant towards Rarity “are yah sure those two will be okay?”
Rarity returned the giggle and whispered back to Applejack “oh I am sure it’s just a little crush, those girls will be alright.”
___________________________________________________________________________
Everyone at the table had finished their meal and were all busy talking and laughing when the innkeeper Insi arrived at their table with a pleasant smile, “hello everypony, and little dragon how are you all doing today?”
“We’re doing great, and the food was wonderful, thank you so much Insi” Twilight and the others nodded as they all shared they thoughts on the food.
“Glad to receive such positive feedback, by the way, where is that Clyde colt?”
“Oh that colt? He’s upstairs sleeping still” Rainbow replied with a look of pride “everypony needs a nap every now and then, trust me I know.”
“Oh yah know alright, yah know that the perfect time for a nap is when I ask you for help at the farm” Applejack commented with a glare.
“Exact- I mean no, it’s just a coincidence, anyway he’s upstairs but why are you looking for him?”
“oh, there’s this cute little filly looking for him, said her name was Crystal Shine or something like that, thanks guys but do any of you think you can take her to see him?”
“I’ll do it” Twilight answered as she rose out of her seat “I need to take a good walk anyway.”
“Excellent, she’s at the counter waiting” and with that Insi left to go cater to the other inn guests as Twilight left the others to go find this filly.
Twilight arrived at the counter to spot a filly unicorn with a green coat and a black mane sitting nearby, the little fillies face lit up when she saw Twilight “hey! Aren’t you Twilight Sparkle?”
“Why yes I am, I’m guessing you know of me” Twilight smiled at the tiny filly before her.
“Cool! It’s really nice to meet you, do you know where Clyde is?”
“Sure, follow me Crystal Morph” Twilight turned and made for the stairs with Crystal next to her humming happily.
‘So since you are looking for him I take it you know Clyde then?” Twilight inquired as they started climbing the stairs.
“Yes! I’ve known him for a very long time, we’re best fwiends” Crystal beamed as she replied, her adorable expression making Twilight smile.
As they reached the door to the room Clyde was in Crystal opened the door slightly and walked halfway through when she stopped and looked at Twilight “I’m sorry miss Twilight, be I need some time alone with him you can go back to your friends now.”
And with that she closed the door and Twilight was left confused as to why a little filly would know of Clyde since he is the Mentor, but she shrugged it off and thought he must have helped her somewhere.
___________________________________________________________________________
Clyde returned to the table where everyone else was sitting at and watched them as they laughed and messed around, he hid a small smile on his face as he watched.
“Oh Clyde, you’re back?” Twilight asked clearly only now noticing him at the table “how was your meeting with your filly friend Crystal Morph?”
“Filly friend?” the three little crusaders asked with surprise and glee.
“Clyde and Crystal sitting in a tree” Applebloom started as she and the other crusaders were about to tease Clyde but Applejack put a hoof on her little sister’s shoulder and stopped her which made all the crusaders sigh in unison.
“It’s alright Applejack, it wouldn’t have bothered me much if they continued anyway” Clyde chuckled “besides they’re only kids.”
“What do ya mean ‘only kids’?” Applebloom blurted out “ya are a kid too!”
“Sure whatever you say” he continued to chuckle “I totally believe you.”
“I think he’s being sarcastic” Sweetie Belle whispered to Scootaloo.
“Of course he is, you didn’t need to point it out captain obvious!” Scootaloo remarked in reply to Sweetie Belle.
“Calm down, no need to get so worked up” Clyde finally stopped laughing and breathed in heavily “oh now my cheeks are hurting from all that.”
“Well uh anyway” Twilight cut in trying to change the subject “what shall we do now?”
“I say we go Crusading!” Sweetie Belle yelled out while waving her fore hooves in the air.
“No, not now Sweetie Belle” Rarity interjected “you can go do that when we get back to Ponyville.”
“Speaking of which” Pinkie started while rubbing her chin “when are we going back to Ponyville?”
“We’re going back tomorrow” Clyde stated “cause we only gave the innkeeper enough for two nights.”
“Oh okay then, how about we just enjoy ourselves today then?” Twilight asked before cracking a huge smile “oh I have this wonderful book about fun activities outdoors, we should totally try some.”
“You have a book for everything don’t you Twilight” Rainbow Dash joked while nudging Twilight with an elbow.
“Hey!” Twilight blushed as she was being nudged by Rainbow “not everything, cut it out already.”
“Well you girls go have fun, there’s something I have to do” Clyde jumped off of his chair and left them alone as they rest of them shrugged and went off to enjoy themselves.
“What do ya think he’s going to do?” Applejack inquired as they left the table and went outside.
“Why do you care? Let’s just leave him be for now, let’s just enjoy ourselves” Rainbow said as she stretched her wings “besides I bet you still can’t beat me in a game of tug of rope anyway.”
“Thems fighting words” Applejack chuckled as the two of them eagerly got things ready for their game while the others sat down and watched.
“Woohoo, you both can do it” Fluttershy cheered as the game of tug of war started.
As everypony cheered at the match between Applejack and Rainbow Dash they didn’t notice a lone figure standing behind the corner of the inn watching them from afar and as he spoke to himself his voice slightly echoed with a menacing tone “haha, how funny it is to see them having fun, soon all the pieces will fall into place and everything will start.”
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gorutsuki
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1242
| 7 |
Cutie Mark Crusaders,Main 6,Original Character,Spike,Trixie,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Return of the Everfree Kingdom
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as a powerful pony is released from his captivity it's up to the six elements of Harmony to stop hi
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incomplete
| 9 | 1 |
<p>No pony knows about how or why the Everfree Forest came to be, most don't even care as they avoid the place because it's dangerous, but two treasure hunters unwittingly unleash an ancient ruler from the distant past who seems to be targeting the Elements of Harmony. And Princess Celestia sends a single pony to help Twilight and her friends overcome this ordeal, but what does this Mentor and Twilight and her friends have to do with the history of the ancient Kingdom of Everfree which was destroyed long ago. (first fic guys, please leave a comment and a rating even if it's not a big amount, also Ponies will be added to the list if they appear in a chapter)</p>
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teen
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2012-08-23T00:25:04+00:00
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2012-08-23T00:25:04+00:00
| 483 |
Chapter 6: The Party
“It all happened so fast, we didn’t even know what had happened until
It was too late.”
A day after the very exciting game of tug of war between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, everypony found themselves back at Ponyville all of them exhausted after the long trip to get back here, except for a very bouncy pink pony.
“We should totally do that again some time guys!” Pinkie cheerfully cried out as she bounced backwards at the front of the group with a huge grin.
“Haha, well it was rather fun” Rarity said while she was still trying to keep up her sophisticated image even though she was physically exhausted “maybe we should schedule another one we have time.”
“Can I make a request?” Spike inquired as he strode alongside Twilight.
“Yes, what is it Spike?” Rarity turned her head to look at him and fluttered her eyelashes which sent the little dragon’s heart racing.
“I..um..” Spike fidgeted with his claws before Twilight smiled and sighed at the same time.
“Rarity, I’m sure that next time he wants to go to a place where they serve gemstones on the menu.”
“Ah dunno sugarcube” Applejack chimed in “aren’t gemstones only for dragons? So ah reckon that we won’t be finding any at an inn that is for ponies.”
“Aw crud” Spike’s shoulders slowly slouched over as he sighed.
“Cheer up Spike” this time Rainbow Dash joined in “I’m sure ‘lady’ Rarity could lend you some of her gems~”
Spike’s scaly cheeks turned a bright pink while Rarity took Rainbow’s words as more of an insult to her and not Spike “what do you mean ‘lady Rarity’?” Rarity asked with her brows furrowed.
“Oh lighten up Rarity Sharity!” Pinkie Pie bounced in front still with her endless suplus of energy keeping her going “she was only joking.”
“Rarity….Sharity?” Rainbow said to herself slowly as she glanced at the white unicorn before she and the rest of the girls except for Rarity, all broke into laughter with Spike still just walking along with his claws still fidgeting with each other.
Clyde, who had stayed silent for most of the trip with his hood back letting his slightly medium length mane blow in the wind behind him cracked a smile.
“There you are!”
The group of ponies stopped laughing as they turned towards the source of the voice and saw two ponies trotting towards them, one of them with a red coat and the other with a green coat, Twilight recognising the two of them and waved “hey Diglet! Steady Skies!”
Pinkie Pie leant down towards Clyde and whispered “are they new in town?”
Clyde who somehow donned his hood back on chuckled “yes, so you know what that means right?” Pinkie Pie smiled from ear to ear as she already started planning things inside her head.
Applejack stared as the two forms of the ponies came closer and the little gears in her head started spinning “oh ah remember those two now, shucks it’s only been a few days and ah almost forgot about ‘em.”
Diglet was the first to arrive with Steady arriving a close second, both of them a little out of breathe. “I win!” Diglet announced triumphantly.
“That’s only because you saw them first! I would have beaten you if we both started at the same time” Steady crossed her forehooves as she floated in the air above Diglet.
“Oh I know! The party can be held inside Sugarecube Corner!” Pinkie announced out loud, earning her looks from everypony except Clyde who was silently laughing.
“What in tarnation are ya blabbing about Pinkie?” Applejack asked with a confused expression until she stared at the red and green duo and realization dawned on her “ooooh ah get it now” the cowpony turned back to Diglet and smiled “you two are in for one surprise.”
“What do you mean?” Steady sounded confused which matched hers and Diglet’s expression “what party?”
Pinkie promptly jumped up right close to Steady’s face and excitedly yelled “YOUR WELCOME TO PONYVILLY PARTY! What else could it be silly?”
“Haha, you haven’t had a party until you had one ‘Pinkie Pie’ style” snickered Rainbow Dash as she patted Pinkie on her back.
Diglet and Steady stared at each other, both of them still confused and the red stallion opened his mouth to ask a question but Pinkie suddenly appeared between the two of them and wrapped her fore hooves around both of them “come on! You have a party to attend!”
“But…I..we” Diglet tried to say as Steady and him were firmly wrapped in the pink pony’s fore hooves and were being dragged off to Sugarcube Corner.
“No buts, you two are getting a ‘welcome to Ponyville party’ and you two are going to love it!” The others laughed as they watched the exuberant pony take her two new friends off to prepare for the party that will be on later tonight.
“So how do you know those two ponies anyway?” Rainbow asked with a grin, as she was watching the ponies trying to break out of Pinkie’s grasp.
“Oh we met those two darlings during that last rain storm, how they ever evaded Pinkie’s radar I will never know” Rarity replied, with a tiny grin as she too watched the scene.
“Oh well ah guess we’ll see them later tonight at Sugarcube Corner anyway, we can’t miss out on a Pinkie Pie party” Applejack commented as she placed the tired Applebloom onto her back and made her way back to Sweet Apple Acres “ah’ll see y’all there!”
The others nodded as Rarity and Sweetie left towards the Boutique while Scootaloo followed behind Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy quietly left for her home, leaving Twilight, Spike and Clyde alone.
“Hey Spike” Clyde said as he turned to the baby Dragon “do you want to go hang out and try to find some gemstones for you to eat?”
“Boy do I!” Spike jumped up and patted the cloaked colt on his back “you know, you ain’t so bad little guy.”
Clyde chuckled as the two of them left Twilight and went towards town “oh please, who are you calling ‘little guy’? I’m older than you by more than you can imagine tiny dragon.”
“Now who are you calling ‘tiny dragon’?” The two glared at each other before both of them started laughing as they walked off.
Twilight smiled as she made her way to the Library with a little reminder to herself that she needs to make sure to grab Spike before it was time for Pinkie’s Party.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight and Spike stepped into Sugarcube Corner and were greeted with confetti that was thrown by Pinkie Pie who waited right next to the door with a big smile “Hi guys, glad you could make it.”
“We wouldn’t miss this for the world Pinkie” Spike replied with a happy sigh while he rubbed his tummy “ah, Clyde had a secret stash of Gemstones in town and he was nice enough to share it and I am so full.”
“Aww, but we have everything!” Pinkie frowned and pointed towards the buffet which was filled with all kinds of candy, drinks and even cakes which made Spike lick his lips and stared at the food with a hunger in his eyes.
Twilight smiled but put a hoof in front of Spike as he charged for the table “uh uh Spike, eat anymore and you’ll get a stomach ache, and do I need to remind you about being greedy?”
Spike stared at the ground and kicked it with his foot “that’s right…” Spike looked up to Twilight quickly before he giggled and ran off to the table anyway and started eating away.
“um, he won’t become all big and scary and mean again will he?” Pinkie leaned towards Twilight with a worried look.
“Nah” Twilight replied as she too made for the table “he’s just a growing boy and he’s just really hungry.”
Pinkie let out a sigh of relief as two more ponies trotted through the door, both of them with a white coat “Hello Pinkie, I am terribly sorry we are late.”
Pinkie giggled and booped Rarity’s muzzle “first time for everything.”
“Well yes, but I just wish that some little sister didn’t break my mane straightener” Rarity glared at Sweetie Belle who hung her head down low and sighed.
“I didn’t mean to, I just thought it might get me my cutie mark” Sweetie stared up at her older sister and gave her a sappy, giant eyed look that made Rarity scoff.
“Oh alright” Rarity flicked her mane “I’ll just have to buy a new one then, just don’t break it this time” the two sisters happily entered followed by Pinkie Pie.
“Oh Rarity wait!”
“What is it Pinkie?” Rarity turned to face her pink friend only to have her face pelted by confetti.
“Hahaha, welcome to the party.”
Elsewhere one nervous and one somehow calm ponies were surrounded by mares left and right all of them asking a lot of questions.
“Oh, I love your mane!”
“Please tell us where you are from.”
“Do you need someone to do your garden?”
“Why is his tail missing?”
“Oh is he single?”
“Thank you, far away from here, no thanks, because he wants it like that and no!” Steady somehow managed to answer each and every single question with ease, not even shedding a single sweat.
Diglet stood behind Steady, sure he had a smaller frame than most stallions which made him the same height as any normal mare which made hiding behind Steady so much easier. But he was uneasy being around so many mares, all of their prying eyes and good looks made him extremely nervous.
After about five more minutes of questioning the mares seemed pleased and left the two ponies alone, Diglet let out a sigh of relief as he regained his composure only to look at Steady’s face to find her glaring at him.
“You really are hopeless aren’t you?”
Diglet lowered his head and nervously smiled “it-it’s not my fault that I get like that, but there were so many of them!”
Steady sighed and facehoofed but quickly smiled and patted Diglet on his head “it’s a shame about how being around a lot of mares freaks you out.”
“And this town’s mare to stallion ratio is...” he shuddered and gulped “I don’t even want to say it!”
“Come on Diglet calm down, I think some friends want to speak to you” Steady smiled as Diglet lifted his head to see Twilight and Rarity which made him smile.
“It is good to see you again darling, but why are you cowering?” The fasionista asked as she pointed to the red unicorn.
“Um” he quickly dusted himself off, even though there was no dust and coughed “you uh, promise not to laugh?”
“He’s afraid of being around too many mares!” Steady announced softly to the two unicorns in front of her.
“Steady!” Diglet stared daggers at the green Pegasus to which she replied with her own stare.
“Then how come you didn’t have a reaction when we first met you?”Twilight asked, trying to change the mood.
Diglet’s face lifted up and he smiled “well that’s because I can handle a small amount, anymore than six or so and I kind of start to shiver and get chills down my spine.”
“He actually was even worse when we first met, poor bugger couldn’t even stand the sight of me” Steady smirked and nudged Diglet with a hoof.
“Well I’m getting better, but still not by much...”
Twilight magically levitated a glasses and notepad and stared at Diglet “so tell me, when did all of it start?”
Rarity poked Twilight’s side very hard which caused her to almost lose balance “Twilight darling, don’t you think that is a bit personal to just ask of somepony?”
“No it is quite alright” Diglet smiled wryly and waved a hoof “Steady already knows the full story but suffice to say I grew up in New Maresey.”
“New Maresey!? That awful place?” Rarity shook her head in disbelief “oh I am so sorry for you darling.”
Twilight put away the glasses and notepad and sighed “so what is New Maresey anyway? Is it like a town or city even?”
“You haven’t heard of it?” Rarity seemed even more shocked that her purple friend had no idea what New Maresey was.
“New Maresey, is a place that is far out of the Princess’ reach” Diglet wore a sad smile on his face “it is town, that is close to the border of Equestria and the mare to stallion ratio is much higher than here” he shivered at his own words and Steady rested a hoof on his back.
“You don’t need to say anymore Diglet, I think they understand” the green mare turned to the unicorns and put on a sweet smile “let’s leave it at that okay? My brave little stallion here is not having a good time and this party is meant to be for us after all.”
“Haha, sorry about that” Twilight awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck with a forehoof “well it is nice that you get to be acquainted with the ponies of Ponyville, they are not bad ponies.”
“We’ll take your word for it Twilight, it is good to see you and rarity again.”
“Oh of course darling, the feeling is mutual” Rarity flicked her mane and smiled “and don’t forget about my offer for Diglet here.”
“I-I might consider it..” Diglet trailed off as he spied more mares coming their way and tried to sneak away only to have Steady pull him back.
“They’re not going to come this way, it’s just that we’re near the buffet.”
“Speaking of buffet” the four ponies turned to see Spike holding a plate that had a tower of different food and snacks “looky what I found!” He giggled and tried to find a spot to set his food down.
“Now Spike Wikey, what have I told you about having too much food?” Rarity had a concerned look as she eyed the tower on Spike’s plate.
“Oh don’t worry Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom said that they wanted some food and I offered to get some for them too” the tiny dragon grinned as he eyed his loot “I hope they get here soon, I can’t hold back for long.”
Rarity and Twilight shared a laugh as Diglet’s and Steady’s jaws hit the ground at the sheer size of pile of food “it’s almost hitting the ceiling!” Diglet shook his head and stared at Spike “you must be one strong tiny dragon.”
“Ah this is nothing, Twilight told me that something like this is natural for a baby dragon, I just need to hold back a little or I might lose it…again.”
“Spike!” Two voices loudly resonated from nearby and Sweetie Belle and Applebloom charged forward and took spots on both sides of Spike as they registered the stack of food “WOW! ~”
“Wow Spike, did ya get all this food for us ta share?”
“I…I’m not sure we can eat it all” Sweetie dropped her head and Spike just laughed softly.
“Come on Sweetie Belle, we’re all sharing and besides I can just eat the rest.”
Sweetie lifted her head and smiled sweetly at Spike “thanks Spike.”
Applebloom roughly nudged Spike in his side and drew his attention “come on Spike, ah bet ah can eat more than you!”
“Oh you’re on!”
“Hey, don’t forget about me guys!”
Twilight smiled as she watch the three kids chow down as she leant towards Rarity “those two are still competing?”
Rarity nervously chuckled as she fixed her mane “I-I’m not sure, but they both seem keen on beating the other whenever it comes to the little guy, oh I just hope he doesn’t break their adorable little hearts.”
“I’m not sure I can guarantee he won’t, he hasn’t even noticed it yet and what about Scootloo?”
“Oh you know that one, always has her eyes on Rainbow Dash.”
“Rainbow Dash?” The two unicorns stopped their gossiping and saw Steady with an almost uneasy expression “you know her? Oh no is she here?”
“Didn’t you see her when before Pinkie dragged you two away?”
“Well we didn’t have time because we were being attacked by your pink friend who then brought us here.”
“Haha, well what’s wrong with Dash?” Twilight inquired as Steady still seemed as though she wanted to leave as soon as possible.
“I’d rather not say, just keep her away from me” Steady looked left and right as she huddled closer to Diglet.
“Keep who away from you?” a familiar tomboy-ish voice asked from behind Steady causing her to jump into the air.
“Curses Rainbow Dash” Steady sighed and lowered herself in front of the rainbow maned Pegasus “I thought I didn’t have to deal with you anymore.”
“Haha, it’s nice to see you too Ready Steady” The tomboy nudged Steady which made her groan.
“Can you stop with that stupid nickname already?” That was years ago.”
“Fine” Rainbow Dash had let her eyes off of Steady and joined her friends and smiled “I almost didn’t recognize you Steady, how have you been?”
Steady had apparently slipped away as Dash was walking to her friends which prompted the cyan Pegasus to sigh.
“She was always really good at doing that.”
“So how do you know her Rainbow?” Twilight asked while Rarity kept an eye out for Steady while Diglet just stood there with them awkwardly and slightly fidgeted with his hooves.
“Well duh, she’s a Pegasus so of course she went to Flight school in Cloudsdale” Rainbow stared at the ceiling as she was hit by a wave of nostalgia “she was sometimes teased for her name, but it was all in good fun though.”
“Well judging by how she acted when she saw you it is obvious that is wasn’t fun for her Rainbow Dash” Rarity commented with a slight smug tone.
“Yeah, but I was just a kid back then you can-“
“Hi guys!” Rainbow was cut off as a pink blur came shooting past them and stopping right next to Diglet, which made him freeze on the spot.
“Oh hi Pinkie Pie, awesome party as usual” Rainbow sighed, having somehow dodged trying to explain herself.”
“Thanks Rainbow Dash” Pinkie giggled and brought her face right next to Diglet’s “enjoying your super-duper fun ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party?”
Diglet just stayed frozen on the spot until Pinkie tapped him with a hoof and he just fell onto the ground as if he had turned to stone “do you think he’ll be okay?” Rainbow asked as she tried to hold back a giggle.
“Oh, I almost totally forgot about his marephobia, um, well I need to check up on Spike and make sure he and the girls are getting along well” Twilight made her way through the crowd followed by Rarity who only grinned and giggled.
“I hope the dears did not eat all the food, I could go for some nourishment myself.”
“Well have fun Rainbow Dash, I have to go and make sure everyone is having fun but can you make sure our friend Diglet is having fun for me?” and with that Pinkie bounced away leaving the cyan Pegasus with the red unicorn who was only now regaining his senses.
“What the? Oh it’s you” Diglet returned to his hooves and dusted himself off before glaring at Rainbow Dash “what are you still doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Rainbow was offended by his attitude “I was left here to look after you!”
“Oh, thanks then I guess” Diglet continued glaring at her but dropped his stare as he looked to his left and right “urgh, I need to get out of here and quickly.”
“Why? Can’t stand being around a few girls tough guy?” Rainbow nudged him while giggling.
Diglet jumped back at her touch and lowered himself into a threatening stance and spoke with a tone of the same manner “never, never touch me again!”
“Whoa dude, calm down” Rainbow nervously tried to smile as some of the other ponies were starting to stare “everypony is staring at us.”
Diglet continued to glare but he finally dropped his stance and put on a fake smile as he signalled to the staring ponies everything was fine and as soon as they resumed what they were doing he leaned towards Rainbow and whispered into her ear “outside, now!”
And with that Diglet awkwardly tried to work his way through the crowd of mares to the exit leaving a very confused Rainbow Dash by herself who just shrugged and walked outside as well.
Rainbow was greeted by a very cross looking red coated unicorn “seriously umm…Diglet right? Anyway you need to calm down, all I did was poke you.”
“You heard Twilight Sparkle, I have a phobias of mares.”
“So? What is a phobia anyway? Is it like some kind of allergy or something?”
Diglet’s jaw hit the ground as he tried to supress a laugh “well I guess, that I can’t really be that mad if you have no idea what a phobia is, but seriously? You don’t know what a phobia is?”
“Oh so you calm down when I don’t know what phobia is.”
“Well it just means you didn’t know what you were doing is all, and that can be forgiven” Diglet stopped giggling and breathed deeply “but still just never touch me.”
“So what is a phobia anyway? Can you at least tell me that?”
“It’s a fear of something, but much more worse than that, like if you are deadly scared of spiders I think that is arachnophobia or something.”
“So if you have a phobia of mares” Diglet watched as the gears turned inside Rainbow’s face as realization dawned on her “oooooh, hehe I’m sorry dude.”
“It doesn’t matter, I’m fine now just don’t touch me, EVER~!”
“Sure Diglet” Rainbow giggled and thrust her hoof towards him prompting him to flinch “hahaha relax Diglet, I’m not going to do anything.”
Diglet glared at her before a small smile broke across his face “I could just you know, grab you with my magic and hang you upside down till all the blood rushes to your head, if you ever do that again.”
Rainbow and Diglet chuckled as the two of sat down and leaned against Sugar Cube Corner, feeling the vibrations of the music on their backs and with Diglet a fair distance away from the rainbow maned mare “oh Rainbow Dash.”
“What is it?” she turned her head and stared as he scratched the back of his neck
“Sorry I kind of got angry at you before” he nervously smiled and couldn’t meet her eyes with his.
“Eh, it’s water under the river now” Rainbow waved the matter away with a hoof and a smile trying to look cool which only made Diglet giggle.
“Don’t you mean ‘under the bridge’?”
“That’s what I said, what are you deaf?”
“Well no, but you’re lacking with your knowledge of metaphors Rainbow Dash.”
“Heh, you’re not too bad Diglet.”
“And you are quite a worthy adversary as well Rainbow Dash.”
“Look at you mister Fancy using all your fancy words, you’d get along well with Rarity.”
“That white coated unicorn friend of yours? Nah mares like her tend to pick on every little detail and that is just so-“
“Annoying? Tell me about it, I have to model for some of her outfits and they are so tight and uncomfortable!”
“Oh no…” Diglet’s expression turned into one of horror.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me she as-“
“Yes, and you know that it’s going to be difficult to…”
“To turn her down in the nicest way possible? With Rarity it is not going to be easy believe me Diglet I’ve tried.”
“M-maybe if I hide or something I could get out of it.”
“But then she’d get Pinkie Pie to chase after you, so even if you manage to escape Rarity there is nothing in Equestria that can escape Pinkie, so you’ve got no choice dude, sorry.”
“There you are!” Rainbow and Diglet turned to see Rarity at the door to Sugar Cube Corner with a wide grin “I heard about what happened and thought you two might need my help.”
Diglet quickly shock his head left to right leaving him slightly dizzy afterwards “ah, no thank you Rarity we’re fine………” he became silent making Rainbow Dash chuckle nervously as she avoided Rarity’s prying and observing eyes.
“Well okay dears, oh I have to get back to Applejack, she’s busy talking with your mare friend Steady and I’m trying to convince her to model for a couple ensemble I’ve created just for you two” Rarity quickly left leaving Rainbow with Diglet again who shook his head again and put his hooves on his eyes.
“You okay Diglet?”
“The dizziness made it seem like there were five Raritys” he shuddered and hugged himself “it was awful.”
“But did you hear a single word she said after that? I didn’t know you and Steady were going out you sly dog you” Rainbow elbowed Diglet making him freeze again and forcing Rainbow to remember that she shouldn’t do that.
But he just chuckled nervously and waved a hoof “ah, it’s nothing like that, we’re just friends so nothing going on between us” he sighed and smiled as he looked up to the confused Pegasus next to him “oh don’t worry, me not going off at you just means that my sub conscious has registered you as a friendly, if that makes sense.”
“Nope, not making any sense to me” Rainbow returned the smile and nudged him again which still resulted in no response from the stallion with the phobia.
“My phobia is special where it doesn’t react around mares I am comfortable being with” he gave her a bright smile and a hearty laugh “which means that I won’t freak out if you touch me, just don’t go overboard and decide we should try some tackle hoofball and we’ll be fine.”
“But if that means you won’t freak out everytime I touch you then that’s fine, that means we can do some real action!”
“Um, now you’re the one who needs to explain yourself” Diglet inquired as he stroked his chin in thought “um, Steady told me you were a sporty one, what? do you want to compete against me?”
“Yeah, come on let’s have a race around Ponyville!” Rainbow Dash eagerly set herself in a starting position while she was staring at Diglet who just continued to sit against Sugar Cube Corner with a giant smirk.
“Oh but I don’t know the full layout of so how about from umm….from here to Town Centre and back.”
“Oh you are on, ready, set go!” Rainbow shot off leaving behind her trademark rainbow streak wherever she went.
After a mere couple of seconds Rainbow arrived at Town Centre only to find Diglet leaning against it with a snarky expression “what took you so long? I was starting to get bored over here.”
“B-but how did you?” Rainbow quickly glanced behind her and back to Diglet only to see him no longer there “oh come on!”
She jumped up into the air and flew off back to Sugar Cube Corner only to once again find Diglet back where he was before, leaning up against Sugar Cube Corner with the same grin he had before.
“How…how did you get here before I did?” Rainbow quickly was glancing back and forth between the path from Sugar Cube Corner and Town Centre still in shock at what just happened.
Diglet giggled and pointed to his horn “I am an expert at teleportation magic there are only a small number of unicorns better than me at it, maybe you shouldn’t try to beat me in a race Rainbow Dash.”
“Hey! That’s cheating, you can’t use magic in a race!”
“Funny, I heard that a certain rainbow maned mare had in fact cheated several times when she was competing against a certain cowpony.”
“I didn’t cheat, I was using all of my abilities and all of my options!”
“And so was I, your point?”
“You crafty colt” Rainbow smiled and nudged him again “okay how about a hoof wrestle then!”
“Rainbow, I know I no longer just freak out when you touch me since you’re alright, doesn’t mean I am still not afraid of prolonged contact to a mare so no hoof wrestling for now.”
“Okay Diglet, but come on we should totally see who is better at sports, I’ll promise not to use my wings if you don’t use your magic.”
“Deal, but not tonight I have to go get Steady and take her home, I swear if she drank any of that punch she’ll be babbling random nonsense for the rest of the night.”
“Oh yeah, what is up with her? It is like she wants to avoid me or something.”
“Gee I wonder why, figure it out yourself. I need to inside now, oh and Rainbow Dash.”
“What?”
“Thanks, it was fun becoming friends with you Rainbow Dash.”
The Cyan Pegasus chuckled and turned her face away from him as she slightly blushed “yeah right back at ya, I can’t wait to prove that the better one out of us is me! No doubts about it.”
“Geez, just became friends and you already want to try to prove that you are somehow better than me athletics wise.”
“I know I am better Diglet and next time I’m going to prove it” the two new friends shared a hearty laugh as they both separated as the party inside drew to a close.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Later that night, a certain red unicorn carried a drunken Pegasus on his back “I loves you, we had the bestest best of times!”
“Yeah, yeah we sure did Steady.”
“No I means it, I love you!”
“Steady you’re drunk, just wait a sec we’re almost home.”
Steady just mumbled incoherently and Diglet just ignored her as the two of them arrived back at the house they had bought, still being the same as they had left it.
“Hey Steady, we’re here.”
“I’m not talking to you!”
“Why? What did I do?” Diglet opened the door and Steady flew off his back and hovered in front of him, stopping him from entering the house.
“You rejected me! I said I loved you and you ignored it you big fat meany head!” Diglet sighed and teleported behind her.
“Steady, you’re drunk you need to go to bed.”
“Can I sleep with you? It’s too cold for me.”
Diglet blushed slightly but sighed as he saw her drunken smile “fine, come on I’m sure you’ll fall asleep as soon as you hop into bed.”
“Yay! I won’t make a single sound, you won’t even notice me there!”
Diglet let out another sigh as he slowly climbed into bed, the fatigue of his spells and the party hitting him full blast and the fact of Steady’s drunken confession didn’t help his heart either.
“It’s not fair..” he mumbled to himself “it…it doesn’t count as a real one if she’s drunk.”
Not a minute had passed when Diglet heard his Pegasus housemate giggle and land on the bed right beside him and snuggled up close to his back.
“Night Diglet~”
“Yeah, nighty night Steady….” His heart sank for a moment as he whispered to her but low enough that she wouldn’t here “I love you.”
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 1 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-11T05:22:32+00:00
|
2011-10-11T05:22:32+00:00
| 2,157 |
A deep blue alicorn colt stepped out of the Everfree forest into a harshly sunny day. He noticed he was rather near a cottage of some kind, with a yellow pegasus mare standing outside it. He didn't even consider the odd pegasus as he walked by. His mind was occupied with the job he had to complete. Every time he had to do a job, he hated himself a little more. But it was the only thing he could ever do.
The alicorn's mane was black, with red tipped spikes. His tail was the color of space, if every star was bright red. His cutie mark was the strangest anypony could ever remember. A skull embossed shield super-imposed on a sword, surronded by small hearts. It definently wasn't helpful if you wanted to figure out what his talent was. He had decided to call himself Midnight Burn, it seemed to fit the color scheme, plus it wasn't too horrible of a name. The town in the distance held an allure, telling him this was the place his next job had to be completed. He barely noticed the animals fleeing from the area. None of them wanted anything to do with an ancient god. Especially not this one.
Fluttershy was tending the chickens as Midnight trotted by. She was captivated by the dangerous looking pony, and it took her a second to realize her chickens had all fled back into their coop. She knew this was a bad sign, and set out to find all her friends. They needed to be warned.
Rainbow Dash was practicing her tricks over an empty field outside of Ponyville when Fluttershy flew up. "There's a... problem" muttered Fluttershy, to soft to be intelligible. Rainbow didn't even realize Fluttershy had flown up next to her. Rainbow finished her routine, not even realizing as a particularly difficult groups of flips and rolls nearly had her colliding with Fluttershy. Coming to a halt, looking exhausted but pleased with herself, Rainbow looked around to see if anyone had seen the routine. Spotting Fluttershy, Rainbow zoomed up, getting fight next to Fluttershy before throwing a hoof aroud her shoulders.
"Come to watch the next Wonderbolt, huh?" Rainbow bragged, bobbing up and down in the air, painting a scene with her free hoof, "My new sequence is AWESOME! I'm sure to win the tryouts next year!"
"Yes, they were nice..." Fluttershy was barely audible, causing Rainbow to really have to strain to hear her. "But there's a problem."
"A problem? What is it? The Amazing Rainbow Dash will handle it!" At this, Rainbow fluttered a few feet higher, striking a pose reminiscint of a conquering hero.
"Well... this creepy pegasus came out of the Everfree forest, and he scared me. And all the animals, too. They ran away. I think he's dangerous..." Fluttershy cringed at the memory of Midnight, and how her chickens had reacted to him. Not to mention the way his gaze had slid right past her, as if she wasn't worth his time.
"U-huh... well, uhh, where is he now?" Rainbow was trying to hide her scepticism, and failing miserably. After all, Fluttershy was scared of well... everything.
"I don't know... I came to find you... and I didn't see where he was going, I guess." Fluttershy's voice trailed off into oblivion by the time she was done speaking. She hid baheind her mane and dropped a few feet.
"... Well, let's go look for him. And we can tell everyone else, I guess." Rainbow shook her head at Fluttershy's timidness, and took off for Ponyville.
As Midnight descended into Ponyville, he felt that custom probably required him to eat, and decided he should probably try to fit in. Seeing an apple cart in the bustling town square, he headed over. His end destination was the orchard, intuition told him so, and who knew? Maybe he'd find himself a way to get in. Bonus, he thought, this is one cute mare. "I'll take an apple pie, please. And could you tell me about any work in the area?"
"Well, sure. We can always use help wit' the buckin' down at the farm. By the way, that's four bits."
Paying out the bits from the store he made sure to keep, he thought about the job the cart's mare had offered. Since the farm was his end destination anyways, it would make his real job easier. It was bad enough without having to sneak about too much. Doing some real helpful, work may feel good, Midnight told himself. If nothing else, it may ease some of the guilt. "Well, I think I'll take that job. When do I start?"
"You can start tommorow. Name's Applejack, by the way. What's yours?" Applejack inclined her head slightly, waiting for a response. Any new pony made her curious, especially a unicorn that looked this strange.
"Midnight Burn, but just call me Midnight, please. I guess I'll see you..." Before he could finish his sentence, or his pie, he felt a major impact on his right side. All he saw before blacking out was a small blue blur. And a rainbow?
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 2 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-11T18:45:12+00:00
|
2011-10-11T18:45:12+00:00
| 1,616 |
A sunny day, a cloudless sky, and heat rising quickly. The perfect summer day in Equestria, if it wasn't for one thing. Despite the warmth, the situation room in Canterlot Castle felt ice cold. A transmission from Marence in the east, to Gryphony in the west, detailing an alliance, and plans for an invasion of Equestria, had just been decoded a few minutes ago. It was perhaps the worst news in over a thousand years.
"So, General Ironhoof, you say that this is definently credible?" Asked the Sun Godess again.
"Yes Ma'm." The general replied.
"Sister, it seems we must enact a draft if we want to have a chance of survival. We should also inform the populace why they're getting drafted." The Moon Godess said.
"I agree Luna. This is an unfortunate turn of events. But we must do all we can. Even we shall have to fight, I fear."
"Yes sister. I will go organize the draft. I shall also command the industrialists to start producing weapons. We will need them." With that, Luna left her sister alone with the general.
"You may go, General. Good job with that transmission."
"Yes Ma'm." Ironhoof said as he left the room.
The first war in almost 2,000 years, thought Celestia to herself. This will be a much worse threat than Discord ever was. Then she left to check her armor. A leader has to be prepared, after all.
Midnight opened his eyes to a white room. A steady beep- beep- beep was coming from his left side. As he looked around the room, he realized he was in a hospital. An invention of his own, and here he was, trapped in it. The irony dug at him, and he laughed. This brought Applejack into the room, followed by a cyan pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail, a small yellow pegasus he vaugely remembered seeing on his way into town, a lilac unicorn, and a pure white unicorn with a purple mane and tail. "So I've got a welcoming party, huh? That's new," he joked. This had the unexpected result of causing a pink pony to pop out of empty space, bringing confetti with her.
"Party?" Pinkie said, bouncing off walls, "Where? No one pulls another suprise party on me!"
Applejack interrupted, saying, "These two," at this she pointed at the two pegasi, "Want to say something."
Fluttershy squeaked out an apology that Midnight couldn't really make, but accepted anyways, while Rainbow just sat and huffed. "I'm not apoligizing! He scared Fluttershy!"
"Whatever, I don't really care," Midnight said as he sat up and started to get out of bed. "No harm done anyways. I'm fine."
"But the doctors said you had three broken ribs!" Twilight exclaimed. "Surely that's not 'fine'."
At this point, Midnight's horn glowed slightly, then he ripped out the needles in his foreleg, took off the moniter patches, and jumped out of bed. "Good as new!" He smiled at the unicorn. "See, I'm just fine!" A nurse burst into the room with a crash cart, just to discover her patient was moving about just fine.
"You should be in bed! And don't take off the heart moniter!" She scolded, trying to get Midnight back in bed.
"Nah, I'm good," he said, and jumped out the window, lowering himself to the entrance of the hospital with magic, no strain showing on his face. "See? A- ok!"
"But... But... that's not possible!" The nurse said, retreating from the window, "And you didn't check out anyways!"
"Umm... ok." Midnight gave an eyeroll at the unnecessary formality. The system he'd created hadn't had that kind of inherent stupidity in it. "Just a sec."
After being given a clean bill of health by an astounded doctor, and discharged, Midnight walked out of Ponyville hospital with his new boss, Applejack. She was one of those rare mares that made him wish it was ok to have a romance occasionally. But love, or even a casual crush, was one of the first costs of being immortal.
"Since yah don't seem to have a place to stay, you can sleep in the barn tonight, 'k?" Applejack instructed.
"Awesome! Been forever since I've had a real place to sleep!" This was only half true. Midnight didn't sleep, and he didn't need to eat either, but he found it was better not to let orthe ponies know that. It invariably lead to difficult questions, or charges of insanity.
"I'd like to introduce yah ta my friends. That ok?"
"Those the ones from the hospital?"
"Yep."
"Alright. Fine by me."
"We're havin' lunch at the cafe. Come on."
The pretty white unicorn took one look at Midnight and gushed, "WHAT have you done to your mane? This simply isn't acceptable! It's so... uncouth! You must come over at the first opportunity, and I will fix it for you!"
"That's Rarity," Applejack said, "And the other unicorn is Twilight Sparkle. The shy yellow pegasus is Fluttershy, and the one that tackled you is Rainbow Dash. The other earth pony, the pink one, is Pinkie Pie."
"Nice to meet you all."
"You know what this calls for? A PARTY!" Pinkie, as typical whenever a party was mentioned around her, popped into the air.
"I think that's the last thing on his mind now, darling. I mean, he did just get out of the hospital."
"But I haven't been able to throw a new pony party since Twilight moved in!"
"Maybe later sugarcube. But he's promised tah work the farm while hes here. He migh' not have time."
"Aweeee. Well, how about a work the farm party? I've never done one of those before!" The pink pony bounced up and soared away before anypony could tell her no. After Pinkie left, the group just devolved into normal discussion.
"Did yah have a good time at luch?"
"Yeah, but you're friends are a little... well, weird."
"Ah know. But you ge' used to 'em."
"Well, I'm gonna go to the barn. I feel kinda tired." Anything to get away from the crazy ponies he'd met today. The pink one actually scared him a little, she seemed unstable. Like an explosion just waiting to happen.
"U-huh... Well, yah can find you're way to the farm, righ'?"
"Yep. I'll be fine."
"I'll see yah all later then. I got a friend to deal wit'."
"Alright! Bye!"
"Yep." As Applejack trotted away, Midnight headed to the farm. A couple of days of break, he thought to himself. It's sure nice to take things easy sometimes.
Applejack took a quick glance back. An undescribable feeling had taken over her stomach for a second there. Figuring she must have just eaten too much, she continued into Ponyville.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 3 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-11T19:05:31+00:00
|
2011-10-11T19:05:31+00:00
| 1,470 |
As the sun rose over Ponyville, Midnight got up for the day, ready for work. Trotting out to the orchards, he saw Big Mac and Applejack already working. Walking up to Applejack, he looked around at all the trees. Literally acres of red apples hanging heavy on the trees shined in the early morning sun. He figured if he was the only one working, it'd take at least a few days to clear all the trees. But he wasn't alone, it wasn't any harder than his usual work, and he'd only be here for a few days at the most, anyway. Poor Apple family. They had no idea.
He noticed empty baskets sitting around some slowly filling carts. Picking a couple up with magic, he wandered over to Applejack. "What do I do, and where do I start?"
"Oh good, you're awake. You can take those trees over there." She pointed off to her left, at an untouched area. "Jus' put the baskets down and buck the tree!"
"Easy enough," Midnight stated, heading to his stand of trees. Setting the baskets down, he got to bucking. Not quite as fast as Big Mac or Applejack, he still made better time than would be expected for a pony with seemingly no experience. He worked hard, and didn't take breaks. After all, he never tired, and he didn't feel pain. With the three of them working at an amazing clip, the first few carts were full in only a few hours. Big Mac left to go empty them into the barn.
"I'm gonna head inta town, see whats takin' the mail so long. Go ahead an' take a break, ok?" Applejack shouted across the orchard.
"I'll come with. I could use a good walk anyways." At this, Midnight streched out his hind legs, and set out on the path for town.
Applejack came up behind him, keeping pace. "You know, I been wantin' to know, what's up with the cutie mark?" She knew a cutie mark was an incredibly personal thing, but this unicorns was just so... weird. She couldn't help but be curios.
"Huh? This?" He indicated his odd cutie mark. "Well, I always was good at three things. The first was fighting. I was bullied a lot as a kid, so I really got good fast. The second was protecting my friends and family. We lived in a poor neighborhood, it was pretty violent, so someone had to be the protector. And the last... well, let's just say mares were really big fans." He said this last one with a wink to Applejack, causing her to blush. That strange feeling had once again flitted through her stomach, and it was just as uncomfortable as last time.
"And where'd you live?" She barely managed to mumble out.
"Ha. Well, I was born in Babylon. Lived there till I started wandering."
"But.. didn't that city get destroyed... thousands a years ago?"
"Well, it got rebuilt. Duh." Midnight covered for his slip. He wouldn't have expected a farmer pony to know that. The librarian, certaintly, any local teachers, probably, but not a farmer. Clearly Applejack was smarter than she looked.
"If you say so. How'd you get to be so good at bucking, anyways? You were almost as good as me 'n' Big Macintosh. Ain't natural for a beginner, if ah say so myself." She was trying her best to keep her tone from sounding aggresive, managing to eventually bring it off as mildly curious.
"Wandering made me strong, I guess. Lots of stuff out there to be wary of. Toughens one up." At around this time, the pair walked into Ponyville proper. Oddly quiet, the town seemed abandoned, not a single pony out shopping. As Applejack headed off for the post ofice, Midnight headed towards Sugarcube Corner, figuring ponies might have grouped up there. A flash of white showed in his peripheral vision. As he turned his head to take a better glance, he realized why everypony seemed to have disappeared. The white was a poster, and it wasn't a good poster at all.
The poster itself was nondescript, but what it said was a whole other issue. It carried a very important notice that went like this: "Everypony of age 16 or older is to report to their local post office. This is a mandatory draft. You will be informed within the week where you are to report to for basic training." Equestria Department of Defense
Ah, Midnight thought to himself. This screws up my plans to move on. Still, drafts mean wars, and wars forced him to do his job almost daily. It occured to him that he would be at the farm longer than intended. He would have to be careful doing the job. With that, he headed for the post office.
As Applejack walked into the post office, she got assaulted by her most competitive friend.
"Applejack! You got the message 'bout the draft too, huh? This sucks! I won't have time to practice at all. So lame!" Rainbow spoke quickly, doing small arial manuvers at the same time.
"Leave her alone, Rainbow. She probably doesn't want to get beat to death by your wings while waiting to get her draft number." Twilight scolded Rainbow, dragging her down to earth with magic.
"Twilight, sugarcube, what the hay is goin' on? I ain't heard 'bout no draft!" Applejack panicked. She couldn't afford to leave the farm during bucking season. Especially not with Granny Smith and Applebloom to worry about.
"Oh, you didn't see on the way in? The department of defense has put a draft in action. Nopony knows why, though. I mean, we're not at war, and we haven't been for over a thousand years. So whatever it is must be pretty serious. Anyways, we all have to get a draft card, and then they'll send us a letter in a week to tell us where we'll be reporting for training." Twilight had adopted a somewhat stiff tone, as if she was giving her friends a lecture.
"Do you think the Wonderbolts are more likely to take a war hero?" Rainbow bounced back into the air at the thought. She hadn't even realized Twilight had let her go, and celebrated her freedom by doing a lap around the post office, resulting in being grabbed by Twilight's magic again.
"Rainbow! Have some tact for once!"
"Psshaw, whatever. Egghead."
Walking into the post office right at the end of the exchange, Midnight could tell he'd missed some good entertainment. It didn't really matter though, he was there to sign up for service, and that was it. It would be done, then he'd go back to the farm, complete what he was really here for, and wait for the draft letter.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 4 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-12T01:10:43+00:00
|
2011-10-12T01:10:43+00:00
| 1,257 |
It had been a pretty good day, all things considered, Midnight thought to himself. Even that lilac unicorn, what was her name? Twilight Sparkle? Anyways, even she hadn't been able to see through his disguise. She literally stunk of power, but his ancient spells still held. Now all he had to do was complete his job, and it'd be easy sailing until the draft letter arrived. And he'd be able to do his job in about an hour. After all, Granny Smith Apple was clearly sick. He hoped that the Apple clan wouldn't decide to check on her at a crucial moment. That'd really suck, especially when the one called Applejack was so cute.
As he trudged into the barn, he prepared to finish what he'd come here for in the first place. He'd need to break his spells, just for a little while. Plus, he'd probably need to cast a spell on anypony still awake. Just to be safe, of course. Nothing too powerful would be neccesary. Or so he hoped.
When finally the time came, and the clock was barreling towards midnight, he got up and sneaked into the house. First he checked that everypony was deep asleep. Applejack tossed and turned, but seemed to be fairly much out of contention. Big Mac was out for at least five more hours, and Applebloom was with the CMC's somewhere. Then he made his way to Granny Smith's room.
Unsuprisingly, she was still awake. Ponies seemed to have some sense of when it was their time. As Midnight let the spells fall away from himself, he was clearly revealed as what he really was: a magnificent Alicorn, seven feet tall at the shoulder, with a horn like night soaked in blood, and wings that clearly belongeed only on gods and godesses. A wind from nowhere seemed to blow his mane and tail in random directions. His mane had grown out, lost it's spikes, and become a flowing river of lava, at least in apperance. As his horn started to glow the deep black of the void, he leaned down and whispered in Granny Smith's ear, "I send you to the afterlife, child. But never alone. You will be guided by your own soul guide. The last great journey starts now." At that, he tapped her head lightly with his horn, and the last breath went out of Granny Smith's body. Her soul was visible for just a second before it dissapeared into the afterlife.
"What the hay is going on! Who are you?" Midnight heard from behind him, in the unmistakable Apple accent. Turning around slowly, he let his magic expand, and envelope the new arrival. He finished his turn to come face to face with a shocked Applejack. "But... you look like... the new unicorn..." she stammered.
"What I am about to tell you, you can never repeat. Do you understand?" Midnight responded. He fully intended to make sure she wouldn't remeber it anyways, but if his magic failed for any reason, he wanted an assurance that she wouldn't be giving out his secrets.
With a simple nod, Applejack answered his question. In a practiced and stately voice, Midnight started his speech. "Good. I am the new unicorn. My name is Midnight to you, but it has been many things, in many times, at many places. I was never really a unicorn. Everypony just sees what they want, as far as my breed goes. You wanted to see a unicorn, so you did. The first time Fluttershy saw me, she saw a pegasus. But your decision to see my as a unicorn has influenced the rest to see me that way. So they do. When I said I was born in Babylon, I wasn't kidding, and I wasn't lieing. I'm about 11,000 years old. I was released by a beautiful earth pony named Wonder. She released me accidently, of course, but it was too late. I am two things, at the same time. I am first death, the taker of lifes, and granter of rest. I am secondly life, the giver of existence, and creator of purpose. As such, the night and day are both my realms. I patrol both the land of sleep, and the realm of awarness. No pony escapes me. In fact, the only reason I'm still here is because it's easier to manage wars when participating." This speech knocked Applejack onto her haunches, stunned. It took her a long while sitting on the rough wooden floor to figure out what was going on.
"So... so... you're death?"
"Yes."
"And you're how old?"
"About 11,000 years."
"Ok... so what happens now?"
"Well, it's not your time yet, so I'm just going to wipe your memory and put you back in bed. You'll never even know what happened tonight."
"What if I don't want ta ferget?" Applejack challenged, getting defensive. Even if she was confused out of her mind, she didn't want anypony messing with her memories, especially an important one like this!
After giving an exhasperated sigh, Midnight tersely responded, "It's either this or death. And I am NOT going to send you off early. Understood?" He then proceeded to follow through, without giving her half a chance at another protest. Sending a strong blast of magic through Applejacks mind to wipe away the memory had the desired secondary effect of knocking her out.
After putting Applejack back in her bed and giving her nice dreams about handsome stallions eating apple pie, Midnight recast the illusion spells on himself, and set out for the barn. Determined to catch a good nights sleep after his recent ordeals, he lay down on some hay and got setteled in for the night. He knew tommorow would be a long day, and he knew why, too.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 5 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-12T01:17:09+00:00
|
2011-10-12T01:17:09+00:00
| 1,215 |
At the crack of dawn , Midnight rose from his fake sleep to a barely rising sun, an empty barn, and perhaps most startling of all, an empty orchard. It was then that the events of the previous night passed through his mind. The passing, being discovered, forced to do a mind swipe... really, the previous night was an all around misery fest. Today promised to be even worse, at least for the Apple clan. With that, he got up and went to work. After all, somepony had to harvest the apples, right?
As Applejack woke to the dawn sun, she felt... odd. Like something was wrong with her head. Musta got pretty drunk last night, she thought to herself. As she got up for the day, she took a glance outside to see the new unicorn already at work. "Well, darn. That one sure is a hard worker," she mumbled to herself. It was at this point she remembered how sick Granny Smith had been. Best check on her 'fore I go work, she thought to herself. With this in mind, she stumbled down the hall. When she opened the door, it was obvious something was wrong. There was no movement, and more troubling, the only breathing she could hear was her own. Terrified of what she might find, but determined to check, even in the failing hope she was wrong, Applejack walked up to Granny Smith. "Granny? You ok?" she asked with the smallest voice she'd ever used. When there was no response, she checked the old mares pulse.What she found brought to the ground, sobbing.
Big Mac, hearing the noise, sauntered in. "What is it, sis?" he was in the process of asking when he got a good look at Granny Smith. When the realazation hit him, he too fell into tears.
After checking on the two siblings to see if they had discovered Granny Smith yet, and finding that they had, Midnight decided he should go to town. Before he got off Sweet Apple Acres, he heard Applejack cry out behind him, "Find Applebloom!" He turned, looking straight at Applejack, and then gave a small nod, before setting off. Now he had a job to do, and he intended to get it done quickly.
Two hours later, he still hadn't managed to catch the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apparently they'd decided to be Cutie Mark Crusaders: Fugitives! And they were shockingly good at it. He'd seen the three of them briefly right when he entered town, but the moment he called out to Applebloom, her and the other two had dissapeared. After scouring the entire town, from Sugarcube Corner to the Treebrary, he decided he needed help. Desperately. Which was why he was happy to see the menace to life in general, Rainbow Dash. "Hey, you! Rainbow Dash! I need you're help!"
"What do you need? Want me to make a rainbow? Or how about a cloud sculpture? Wanna watch me do my trick routine?" At this point Rainbow was pratically bouncing up and down in the air.
"No, sorry." Rainbow visibly deflated, starting to head back to ground level. "Wait! I need you to help me find Applebloom! She's needed back at the farm, desperatly, but her and her friends have been running from me for two hours now!"
Rainbow perked back up. "Kid catching? Hah! I'll have those little squirts in ten seconds flat!" Without another thought, she zoomed off into the distance, leaving a rainbow behind her. He knew that if he himself hadn't found them with all his spells and power, Rainbow wouldn't find them anytime soon. Still, it was something to be thankful for, that Rainbow hadn't stopped to ask why he needed Applebloom so badly. Leaving Ponyville general to Rainbow, Midnight headed off towards the only places he hadn't checked: Fluttershy's cottage and the Everfree forest.
After another half hour trot, he arrived at Fluttershy's cabin. Knocking on the door, he hoped urgently that the kids were in there, because if they weren't... well, he didn't want to move off any kids today, that was for sure. When ?Fluttershy peeked her head around the door, she squeaked and disappeared back inside. "Wait! Fluttershy! I need help! Do you know where Applebloom and her friends are?"
"No..."
"Oh gods above. I think they're in the Everfree forest! I've already searched all of Ponyville and a good chunk of Whitetail Woods. Only Everfree's left." Midnight gave a sigh, resigned to tearing the forest apart tree by tree if it became neccesary.
At the very moment Midnight finished talking, a rainbow came crashing down to earth, closely followed by Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight. Rainbow hovered up into the air, angst written across her face. "I couldn't find them! None of us could! They're not in Ponyville, and I don't think they're in Whitetail either..."
"I've already reached the same conclusion," Midnight stated. "I believe they went into the Everfree Forest. I'm going after them, the rest of you should organize a search party. Just in case." With that, he turned and galloped into the forest.
"Fluttershy, go with him! Who knows what he might meet?" Twilight admonished, getting Fluttershy out of her cottage, and sending her off to the forest.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 6 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-08T02:10:04+00:00
|
2011-10-08T02:10:04+00:00
| 1,399 |
Fluttershy trotted into the Everfrre forest, neverousness clearly displayed on her face. The bright sun was quickly swallowed by the gloom of the canopy above. She in no way wanted to be here, but it was for the fillies. And that creepy unicorn, too, but he just happened to be there. Fluttershy fervently wished that the children were fine, maybe they'd been picked up by Zecora, but the forest needed to be checked just in case. She followed the sound of galloping hooves before they dissapeared into the difference. Knowing she was all alone, she continued, her trot just slightly faster now.
Fluttershy was confident she could handle anything that came her way, but the fillies, and the unicorn? What if they met that mean cockatrice? Or a hydra? Or... well, there were more than enough dangerous things in the forest to keep her imagination oocupied. They managed to keep her terrified, too. And that wasn't even counting the plants. Poison joke was bad enough, but what if they ran across something worse? A carniverous tree? A poisonius plant that looked like normal hay? Who knew what the Cutie Mark Crusaders might get into?
In her worrying, Fluttershy missed something important- four sets of hoof marks headed right, and deeper into the forest. She continued to head left, making her way to Zecora's home as fast as her terror allowed.
Midnight had found the young fillies tracks rather quickly after entering the forest. The tracks were already at least a hour old, and how knew where those foalish fillies could have gotten to in that time? He might be to late already, and that disturbed him. It disturbed him so much, in fact, that he took off galloping in their tracks before even realizing fluttershy was following. Hydras, cockatrices, Ursas, both minor and major, dragons, manticores... the terrors of the forest were many, and they were much to dangerous for three little fillies.
He almost missed the tracks taking a sharp right as he came upon the turn, he was already going too fast to stop, so he had to waste time making an extra wide turn. He lost the tracks in the undergrowth in the process. He decided it was time for magic- so he cast a tracker spell. What he found terrified him, it was the worst possible outcome. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had found there way into a large, and inhabited, cave.
"Come on, Sweetie Bell! Nothing's here!" Scootaloo shouted.
"I don't know, guys," Sweetie Bell choked out. "It's really dark and... well, scary in here."
"Ah, com' on, it's fine, Sweetie. Nthin' in here. Anyway' Cutie Mark Crusaders: Forest Explorers can handle it!" Applebloom shouted out to her friend.
"Yeah, stupid. Come on, I bet there's treasure!"
"Well... ok!" Sweetie brightened up considerably, a smile lighting her face. After all, it was just a cave, right?
At the back of the cave, a large purple Ursa woke up, Appleblooms shout having disturbed it's nap. It wasn't sure what had awoken it, but it hoped it made a nice snack. After all, A recently awoken Ursa Major is always hungry.
As it came upon the three fillies, it felt cheated they were far to small to make a good snack. And they wouldn't even give any fun, the oblivious foals. It needed exactly one more pony, preferably larger, and even better, ready to struggle a little. That would be better. But even an unsatisfactory meal is a meal, right?
Applebloom heard some snuffling approaching, and turning to find out what it was, got the biggest shock of her young life- coming face to face with an Ursa Major. "Uhh, guys... I think we should get out of here now!" She shouted in a panicked voice, fear contorting her features.
"Why?" asked Scootaloo, turning around, "I'm sure that we can handle anything!" The bravado faded out of her voice as she completed the turn and found the largest thing she'd ever seen. And it was definently not happy. Uh oh she thought, this is bad... if only Rainbow Dash was here! She .. might be able to save us... the panic scareing her stiff.
"AHHHHH!" Midnight heard distant screaming that sounded exactly like three little fillies. He put on an extra burst of speed, going faster than sound, but not quite sonic rainboom fast. As the birds flew away from a large swath of trees in a cacophany of terror, he knew he had to be fast, but no so fast he hurt himself. He sped off into the forest, attempting to make it to the fillies in time to save alll three of them from the Ursa Major he'd sensed. If they were smart, of which there was no evidence to Midnights mind, they'd run into the forest and hide, quickly. Ursas weren't remarked for their intelligence, but they were still very dangerous.
As he rounded a bend, he found a clearing and a cave, out of which slowly came three little fillies. A purple snout poked out of the cave, followed by a head at twice as large as Midnights entire body in colt form. Still, he could handle it. He was a god, after all. So it was he jumped in front of the three fillies, and shouted "Run to Zecora's! I'll handle this monster."
"But.." Applebloom started to protest, but was quickly cut off.
"GO! NOW!"
Hearing a loud scream, and seeing the birds fly away, Fluttershy trembled in fear. But she knew she had to help the fillies and the unicorn, and set out towards the source of the sound. If she had to, she had The Stare, and hopefully that'd be enough. She was about halfway there when a dark flash clacked out the forest, then passed by, revealing the Cutie Mark Crusaders standing there, trembling and crying, and running towards her. "Oh, Fluttershy! It was so big!"
Applebloom sobbed
"What was Applebloom?"
"The.. the bear!"
"What?" Fluttershy was shocked. How had the girls managed to get tangled up with an Ursa? And where was Midnight?
"Is that the unicorn?" Scootaloo asked "He stayed behind to help us get away!"
Fluttershy hadn't realized she'd asked out loud, but she got an answer. And not a good one, either. Deciding she couldn't help the unicorn now, she felt she should take the fillies back to Zecoras and make sure they were ok. "Come on girls, we're going to Zecora's." An unusually silent and timid group of crusaders followed close behind.
The Ursa thought to itself, a feisty one! Just what I wanted. It then procceded to lumber its way towards Midnight, the hunger and anger written all across its face. It hadn't even realized the three fillies had escaped.
Rainbow came zooming in to Zecora's moments before Fluttershy returned. As she banged on the door, she shouted, "Zecora! We're going into the forest to look for the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Can you help us?"
"If the forest you search, wait a while on your perch," came the reply.
"What?" Rainbow was in the middle of preparing a rant for Zecora when Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came up.
"Oh, Rainbow, it was horrible!" Scootaloo burst out, rushing up and nuzzling deep into Rainbow's mane.
"What? What happened? Fluttershy, where were these foals?"
"Well..." Fluttershy looked more than a little disturbed, and definently fearful. "They found an Ursa Major... Midnight found them... he stayed behind." Fluttershy was crying and looking down by the time she'd finished, unable to look at the shock she was sure would be spreading across Rainbows face.
"Where?" Rainbow demanded, then took off before getting a response. She had a stupid unicorn to rescue. Again.
Midnight stared at the approaching beast. He knew the fillies had gotten away, he could sense them running away. Letting go of the magic, he stared down the Ursa. He knew the dumb brute didn't realize who he was, and he knew Ursa's were dangerous, even to him, in some cases. But he was more than powerful enough to handle a stupid bear. He let slip his illusion and was revealed as the oldest creature in the world, and the one true immortal, unkillable force. Even then the Ursa only took a second to wait, before continuing forward to destroy his new prey. The Ursa failed to notice that it's prey was surronded by a swirling black aura, quickly growing tighter, faster, darker. Then it made a fatal mistake- it swiped for the Alicorn. The blast destroyed all the trees near by, sent the Ursa into the next life, and left a young unicorn colt unconcious on the forest floor.
Rainbow saw a massive clearing, looking like it had been bombed out from far above. She noticed a small speckle of Deep blue in the forest, and swooped down to check it out. She found she was right- it was Midnight. She picked him up and carried him back to Zecora's.
Midnight woke for just a few seconds to find Fluttershy and Applebloom nearby, clearly watching him. He reached out a hoof and took one of Appleblooms. He knew he only had a few seconds until his body slid back into unconciousness, but that was enough time to give his message. "Applebloom," Midnight forced out, "Granny Smith... died last night." He missed the renewedlook of sorrow and pain that crossed Appleblooms face as the blessed blackness took back his mind.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 7 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-12T02:04:06+00:00
|
2011-10-12T02:04:06+00:00
| 1,100 |
Granny Smith's funeral was held at the end of the week, four days later. She was buried in a simple plot on the farm, near where Bloomberg used to be planted. It was a simple ceremony, family and friends were invited. Most of the Apple clan couldn't make it, but Caramel and his family made the short trip over. Applejacks friends were all there, and Midnight had been invited, but he declined, saying that he would feel wierd when he'd barely known her. This was true, but not the only reason he didn't attend. Funerals depressed him, they made his work seem worse than it really was. But he still watched from afar.
The weather pegasi had created a cloud covered day for the event. The threat of rain was there, but not a single drop came down. The ceremony started at ten a.m., and was over in just over an hour. Big Mac helped a destroyed Applejack and sorrowful Applebloom back to the farm house. The others dispersed towards their various homes and jobs, after offering their support and condolences. It wasn't until after the Apples had made it back that the weather pegasi let the rain fall. And still Midnight stood in the distance.
It wasn't until time had reached his name sake that he started back towards the barn. With a little expenditure of magic, he gave Granny one last gift.
"Somewhere, over the orchard, bluebirds sing...
When he reached the barn, he found his draft letter. He left for Camp Ponyton, way out in Coltifornia, tommorow.
End Part One
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 8 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-08T00:24:09+00:00
|
2011-10-08T00:24:09+00:00
| 1,213 |
Midnight was suprised to find that the draft had sent him, Applejack, and Twilight to the same camp. Himself and Twilight would, of course, be going into a special course for battle magic after basic training. He didn't know what Applejack would be doing, as she had been given an extra weeks leave to make plans for what to do with Applebloom, since herself and Big Mac would both be going into service. Of course, a week wasn't neccesary, but Midnight suspected someone high up had caught wind of Granny Smith's passing, and had decided to give the family more time to grieve.
It was under these conditions that Twilight and Midnight arrived at Camp Ponyton in Stallion Diego for basic training, and the magic courses. They were split almost immediatly, of course, Midnight going into the stallion section of camp, Twilight heading off for the mares' bunkers.
A yelling Earth Pony sergeant quickly had them split into Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies. As Midnight headed off with the other Unicorns, he was approached by another new recruit. "Hey, you look lonely," the new stallion said, "I'm pretty lonely myself. Mind if I stick by you? My name's Icescape. What's yours?"
Midnight, taking a quick glance at this new pony, picked up on a few major things. Firstly, Icescape was accurately named- he was whiter than artic snow, from his mane to his tail. Secondly, his cutie mark was a stylized bird, who knows what that was supposed to mean. Lastly, he appeared to be just a little shorter than Midnight himself was in colt form. He hoped that himself and Icescape wouldn't become friends. Having friends was a little too hard when you eventually sent the to the afterlife. Realizing he'd been looking at the new colt for almost a minute, he grunted out "Midnight," and turned away.
"Oh, what a cool name! Way better than mine. It's been a while since I've had a real friend, you know. It's nice to know we'll be tight!" Icescape beamed at Midnight, bouncing up and down, doing an amazing pinkie impression, randomness and all. "OH! You wanna know where I'm from?"
"Do I have to?" Midnight was starting to become alarmed by this foalish pony. he really didn't need a "friend" right now, especially not one like this.
"Well, I was born WAY up north, in Wetherinton. In Olympony, to be exact. Anyways, it rained more than it snowed, but when it did snow, it was so beautiful..." Icescape launched on what semmed to be his lifes story. "... Anyways, I discovered how good I was at doing nature stills, and then I got my Cutie Mark! Pretty cool, huh? Not as cool as yours, of course, but still. Anyways, I started spending a lotta time doing art after that, which made me kinda an outcast, I guess. Definently didn't get me tons of friends, but I still had a few, so that was ok. And I liked art yah know?..."
Midnight had nearly managed to block Icescape out completely when he threw a hoof around Midnight's shoulders. "... And then when I went to college, I was younger than everyone else, so I was an outcast. And then I thought I'd made friends with this one other kid, he was named Flamesear, but then he took all my art and made a bonfire out of it..." At this point, Icescape slowed down, both in speech and movement. "And so I got kicked out of school. That was a couple of years ago, and I've been barely living off comissions in a crappy apartment since then. I had a girlfriend once, but I caught her making out with another colt, and she chose him..." Icescape had finally shut up entirely, his head drooping down to the ground. Midnight was feeling bad despite himself, and was about to reach out and cheer Icescape up, but never got the chance.
"Alright, fillies! Welcome to Barrack number seven!" Shouted out the seargent. "Get your beds set up, go to the mess hall, and get some grub. Enjoy yourselves, Mares, because Basic training starts tommorow!"
At this, the Unicorns marched into the Barracks, giving Midnight a chance to speak to Icescape. "Come on man, I won't treat you that way. Now make your bed, then lets go get some food, huh?"
This perked Icescape up considerably, causing him to move about in a blur, making his bed. God, Midnight thought, if him and Pinkie got together, I think the world would explode. "Done!" Midnight heard from behind, and was shocked to find that Icescape had, indeed, made his entire bed in the space of one thought. Midnight hadn't even started. This is gonna be difficult, Midnight thought with a facehoof.
After making his own bed, Midnight headed out with Icescape towards the mess hall. Icescape was suprisingly funny, telling joke after joke. And even the occasional story. It turned out the kid had near perfect recall, as Midnight found out when they got into a battle over who knew more useless trivia. The challenge culminated in Midnight asking what the exact population of Equestria was two years ago. "147,320,913." Icescape replied. "I read that in the Neigh York Times a couple of years back."
After that, Midnight conceeded defeat. No point in trying to outsmart the world almanac, he figured.
Dinner turned out to be some kind of bean mush, oatmeal blander than dirt, and a hard biscuit at least two months old. A strict no second helpings policy was already being enforced. All in all, not a great first meal for the new recruits. It left them hungry, which in turn made them anxious, grumpy, and irrational. Though somehow Icescape kept his mood up, explaining he'd survived on "Barley bits for days at a time," in the past, and it didn't matter much to Midnight, who didn't actually need to eat, most of the others fared poorly. Midnight figured it might be intentional, an attempt to get the unity of the ponys broken before they'd even begun. Or maybe an attempt to make sure they understtod they were just cogs in the machine. Either way, it was very succesful, Midnight thought to himself, as he fell asleep on his metal bunk.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 9 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-12T19:31:21+00:00
|
2011-10-12T19:31:21+00:00
| 1,184 |
The next day, the recruits were all woken at three in the morning. The temperature was shockingly low, making Midnight wonder if the weather pegasi had been told to make it as miserable as possible. Celestia hadn't even risen the sun yet, but the rain clouds hanging over the camp would have blocked it out in any case. The recruits got up and stumbled out of the barracks as quickly as they could. It was really an impressive display of grunting, mumbling, and confusion.
Instead of the seargent from yesterday, two officers were standing in front of them. One of the officers seemed to be a lieutenant, the other significantly more important. Maybe a Major, or even a Lt. Colonel? This was beside the point, though, as he seemed to be there merely to observe. The mare Lieutenant steeped forward. "Hello boys. Welcome to the Equestrian Armed Forces, Marines branch, Camp Ponyton training ground. You will be spending the next three months here. You should feel honored." Oh yeah, I should feel honored that I get to spend three months in this colorless hell, Midnight complained, but not out loud. He was smarter than to say that kind of thing out loud. "Only those who had applications that showed great promise got in here," the mare continued, oblivious to the group of stallion's obvious boredom. The boredom and the tiredness had mixed to send three off the group to sleep already, and another four were barely keeping concious, judging by the angles of their heads. "As it is, this is the hardest camp in the entirety of Equestria. By the time we're done with you, your old selves will be gone. You will have become machines of muscle and will. You lucky stallions get to be on the front lines of every battle. Drill Seargent Shine will be your trainer. Have a good three months, stallions." With that, the expresionless mare turned and trotted away. The colonel gave a small smile, more to himself than the recruits, and followed the Lieutenant away.
"Well, that was weird, huh?" Icescape spouted, seemingly the only one of the group who managed to remain alert. A giant lopsided grin grew on his muzzle. "I don't know what makes me special enough to be here. But I got to meet you, so it was worth it!"
"Couldn't have anything to do with surviving on barely any food, could it?" Midnight deadpanned, but with a slight eyeroll. He knew what got him there- under the Unicorns Only section, there'd been a question about magical power. Being a god, he did, of course, have a very large store of magical power, but he figured "Near Infinite" would be hard to believe, so he just put "High." Of course, he'd recently been feeling like something was missing, like his power wasn't quite up to scratch, but he figured it was just stress. Wars always get him down. He hated his job with such a burning-
"Listen up fillies! See that mud track over there?" A yell broke Midnights line of thought. An imposing Earth pony stallion was standing in front of him. Sleet grey, six foot tall at the shoulder, and with seargent's epaulets, Midnight figured the imposing figure had to be Drill Seargent Shine. He certaintly cut an imposing enough figure to be a drill seargent.
Seargent Shine was pointed behind him, and slightly to the left. A long track of churned mud, with quite a few walls and hurdles, barb wire strung on posts that left just enough space to crawl, and what apperead to be a mine field and a firing range completed the grueling course the seargent was indicating. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll be able to clear that course in five minutes or less. As it is today, I'm going to put you in groups of two. Whichever team finishes first gets the rest of the day off. Now, I know it's only four in the morning, but you'll learn to deal with it. They don't call this Camp Hellton for nothing!" At that, the seargent gave out a chilling laugh. As he started to pair up teams, Midnight took a moment to feel bad for the others. Being normal, and untrained, certaintly wouldn't help them any. Without the need to sleep, and having been the deciding factor in every major battle in history, gave Midnight a slight edge. Not needing a morning meal may have helped, too.
"You two!" The seargent barked, pairing Midnight up with the pony next to him. Looking to his left, he got a face full of white as Icescape jumped him.
"This is great! We're already team mates! Let's rock!" Icescape sad in his super fast, nearly intelligible speech pattern.
"Uh, yeah..." Midnight got a slight grimace on his face as he looked away. "Let's 'rock' this."
"Stop talking, fillies!" The seargent had somhow gotten right up into Midnights face in the last half second. "And run the course!"
Picking up a rifle, a pistol, and some extra ammo, Midnight and Icescape set off. The mud grabbed at hooves, but it was all just an issue of brute strength. Figuring he was stronger, Midnight let Icescape go first. He was understandably shocked when Icescape set a near gallop pace, with little effort, or so it seemed. Following quickly, Midnight managed to stay on Icescape's tail all the way to the first wall. Now, here was a combo of strength and technique, thought Midnight. If you toom it right, it'd take so little...
"Come on Midnight! I didn't take you for a slowpoke!" Icescape shouted from the top of the wall. "Get up here, we're in third!"
That jolted Midnight into action, and he pulled himself up by the power of his forelegs, and an iron grip on the rope with his mouth. He quickly joined Icescape, and the pair jumped into the mud, setting off for the next wall even faster than they had for the first. Midnight quickly let his mind relax into the physical activity. But he was feeling something he'd never felt in his life- fautigue, he thought to himself. But that's not possible, is it? he wondered as he jumped off the top of the final wall.
Deciding to ignore the feeling, Midnight set off towards the hurdles with Icescape. The hurdles were a major challenge in the mud. It was nearly impossible to get a high enough jump to clear them, so half the time he and midnight pushed and pulled each other over them. By the end of the hurdles, they were tied for first with two earth ponies. It looked like the physical part of the race would be down to the barb wire crawl. Thank Luna for the skill portion, Midnight thought. If it weren't for that, we might lose. With that reassuring thought, he dived under the barbed wire after Icescape. They were making good time, and were managing to keep pace with the two earth ponies. Icescape and the first earth pony popped out of the crawlspace at the same time, with Midnight coming less than a hair after the second earth pony. All that remained now was the mine field and the firing range. Their magic gave the two unicorns a massive advantage in these two skill- oriented areas.
"You... can *pant* go first," Icescape got out. "I'm a little tired."
"Alright," Midnight said, already concentratin on his finding magic, avoiding all the mines he saw. "Just follow me."
"Alright..." Icescape was barely keeping pace, and Midnight wasn't even moving very fast. They reached the firing range at least a minute ahead of their closest opponents, though, so they still had time. The challenge on the firing range was a two man, assault scenario set up. Multiple targets were set up, moving in and out of Midnights line of sight, and into or out of Icescapes, and so on. They had to identify and eliminate all enemy targets. "No civilian casualties allowed!" Seargent Shine screamed.
After having a quick planning session, Icescape and Midnight got to work, they magically marked targets in red, and non- targets in blue. They would then take out the target when it was in a clear line of sight. Icescape turned out to be a wicked shot, getting even more kills than Midnight. They finished after only six minutes of constant shooting.
They were the clear winners, and as they wearily stumbled off the training field, Seargent Shine recommended they "take a shower, you stink worse than a mare in heat," and sent them to the showers.
After finishing, Midnight and Icescape decided to go get some food. Midnight asked the question that was bugging him worst. "Where'd you learn to do all that, Icescape?"
"Oh, I was part of a survival camp for a few years. Why?"
With a facehoof, Midnight conveyed the utter absurdity of his entire experience so far.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 10 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-13T19:05:29+00:00
|
2011-10-13T19:05:29+00:00
| 1,085 |
Midnight emerged from a forest and into a clearing, an unnatural one that had to be burned away. A pegasus walked out of the forest a little to his left. The pegasus looked exactly like Midnight, not just in color, but the same exact cutie mark too.
"Where are we?" Midnight asked the pegasus. Before the pegasus could respond, another Midnight clone walked out of the forest opposite. This one appeared to be an earth pony, however.
"I'm glad you ask," the earth pony responded. "This is a dream, but not a normal one. I have an important message."
Midnight jerked awake. He'd had this dream every night for at least two months. At first, he thought that basic training was just getting to his mind, but he knew that wasn't right. He just knew that if he could get all the way through the dream, he'd know why he felt so bad. He was getting fautiged by extreme excersize, something that'd never happened to him previously. His magic, while still stronger than natrual, was weaker than it should be. One night, when he'd stayed awake out of sheer will, he'd tried to bring out his wings and fly, just to discover he couldn't. He'd never been unable to fly before, and it scared him. But not as much as needing to sleep. That was wrong. In fact, it was all wrong. He knew something was going on, but he could do nothing about it. With a sigh, he went back to bed.
An earth pony clone of himself stood straight across from Midnight, on the other side of a long table made of black granite. The stone was colder than space, and as the earth pony slowly made it's way to Midnight, he found he couldn't move. Looking down, he discovered he was frozen to the table. The ice was a strange red, and reflected better than the average mirror. Which was how Midnight discovered he looked like Icescape.
"Hello," the earth pony said with a small frown, "I know that you're who I was expecting, but you look like someone else. I wonder... I think the dream is telling me that tonight isn't the night. Again. However, it seems to think you could do some good in anothers dream. Good bye for now. I will speak to you at another time." At this, the earth pony extended a hoof to Midnight, and with a tap on his head, sent him on. The earth pony turned, and seemed to ask nothing in particular, "When?"
"Soon," came the reply.
Midnight crashed down onto the barrack floor. He could have sworn that he was Icescape for a second, but looking in the window glass, he could tell that he was, in fact, still himself. Creepy, he thought to himself. If this is what dreaming is like, I don't know that I want to dream anymore. With a shiver, he gave up on going back to sleep, which would be impossible after that last dream anyways, and considered his situation. Basic training was over in just a few days, and then it was on to the special magic training. He idly wondered if he'd get to see Applejack or Twilight before they all want different places. He'd seen them in passing a few times during the last few months, and had even gotten to have a short conversation with Applejack, but nothing significant. "Oh, hay," he thought out loud, "I need to stop thinking about these people like we're friends!" Deciding a good one a.m. lap around the track would get things off his mind, he stood and went to the barrack door.
Which opened into a northen rain forest. Dumbfounded, Midnight stopped in his tracks. As he tried to figure out what in hay was going on, he heard a scream in the forest. None of the other soon-to-be marines stirred at the sound, but Midnight noticed Icescape was missing. Oh, hay no, Midnight thought as he burst into the forest. He may not have any idea what was happening, but he knew he had to help Icescape.
The earth pony Midnight watched himself as a unicorn ran out into the forest without a second thought. If only he knew the consequences last time he did that, the earth pony thought. If only. The Midnight clone went back to watching himself intrude in Icescapes dream.
As Midnight crashed through the forest, he picked up on the scream, and realized they were coming from his left a bit more. As he turned to go after the sound, he burst out of the trees, just to see Icescape cowering in front of... a larger pony? The second pony looked like Icescape, except for the mane, which was a fairly normal brown. On second thought, the second pony was actually grey, not white. His cutie mark was impossible to see in the dark. "Freak!" he screamed at Icescape, "You're a freak! And your cutie mark, a bird? HAH! You're no good at art, maybe it's telling you to take a flying leap!" The pony, whos face had been getting redder as the speech went on, finally had enough. He raised a hoof and let something fly. A bottle made contact with Icescapes face and broke, causing multiple small scars. Icescape ran off into the night, crying heavily, and dissapered into the gloom. "Humph. Freak," the gray pony said as he went back inside.
Horrified at what he had jut seen, Midnight nearly went in and confronted the pony, but before he could move, the pony reappeared. This time he was carrying what appeared to be luggage. "If that kid thinks he's going away he's stupider than I thought," he murmured under his breath.
A mare stepped outside. She walked over to the stallion and appeared to be begging him not to do whatever it was he intended to do. The gray pony gave a a short answer and marched off. The ponies had been getting farther from Midnight this whole time. As he started to creep closer, so he could actually hear what they were saying, the gray stallion pulled a quick turn, raised a hoof, and brought it down on the mares face, knocking her to the floor.
A gasp sounded out from some bushes nearby, and Icescape ran out, and then away, tears streaking his face. He looked so young, not yet out of colthood, Midnight thought. Could it be a memory? Am I still in a dream?
Just then the world started to dissolve, and Midnight felt a hoof on his shoulder. "You're not supposed to be here," Icescape said in a flat voice. Not only had he lost his cheer, but all emotions what so ever had fled him. "This is a private memory. Come on, let's get you back to the barracks." And with a firm hoof, Midnight was pushed back towards the barracks. He couldn't say anything, his mind was too deep into questioning mode. I don't remember THIS being mentioned when Icescape gave me his life story, Midnight thought. How'd he get to be the pony he is with that past? Is it all a front?
In what seemed to be no time at all, he was back in his bunk in the barracks. He couldn't even remember how he got there. Before falling into a dreamless sleep, Midnight had one last thought. Is Icescape ok?
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 11 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-09T15:17:32+00:00
|
2011-10-09T15:17:32+00:00
| 1,001 |
Midnight waited for the same lieutenant from day one of training to finish giving her speech. Sure is long- winded, he thought. He wasn't really listening, but he did pick up the occasional phrase. ".. For the good of Equestria..." and "Hero's of our great nation!" particularly stuck out to him. He laughed to himself. He knew from personal experience that there were no heros in war. Only survivors and corpses. Not to say soldiers weren't brave, but most of them would perfer to be anywhere else.
"You will be getting your assignments shortly." The phrase meant the end of the speech, and the end of the most boring ceremony he'd ever sat through. Kinda made him wish for the days of the United Kolts, where you graduated, and went out into the world to fight the empire's battles. His line of thought was interrupted, like usual, by Icescape. He never had gotten a chance to ask about what he saw... he wasn't quite sure how he'd mention it, even if he did get a shot.
"Were all going out into town for drinks and a party! Wanna come?" Icescape seemed pumped at being a full blooded Marine. If the few times they'd managed to get away from base and get a beer were any indication, by the end of the night, Icescape would be unbarebly hyper. Midnight didn't know why, but alchol just made him worse than normal.
Heaving a sigh, Midnight replied, "Yeah, probably. I wanna go check on some friends first though. Alright?"
"Ok! But be quick!" Icescape zoomed off like a rocket.
After he left the base, he headed towards the apartment that Applejack and Twilight shared. Himself and Icescape had one too, though Midnight was questioning having Icescape as a roomie. It was good that they'd been let off base to go secure lodgings the last few days. If they didn't, they got to stay back on base. After Basic Abuse, as it had come to be known, that was the last thing anypony wanted.
As he walked up the stairs to the apartment, Twilight passed him on the way down. "Hey," she called behindher, "you going to the party?"
"In a minute," came the reply. Midnight turned back and knocked on the door before letting himself in. "Hey Applejack, you headed to the party?" His question came out in a hushed tone of its own accord. Something about the way the apartment was decorated lended itself to quite, calm reflection. Kinda like a library.
"Nah," came the reply, from the bed on the other side of the room. "I jus' don't feel like it."
"Awwe, come on Applejack. It'll be fun! I can introduce to Icescape properly!" Midnight slowly approached as he tried to cajole Applejack into getting out of bed. "Plus, even Twilight's going. Don't wanna seem like more of a recluse than an actual hermit, do you?"
"Ah'm not goin'. That's that."
At this point, he was right at her bedside. "Please?" He was practically begging, but for some reason, it felt worth it.
"No."
"I'm not leaving until you get out of bed!" Midnight declared, a smug smile settling on his face. He was sure that would work.
"Alrigh'." Applejack still hadn't even looked at him. Her tone of voice hadn't changed even a little bit the entire time Midnight had been bugging her.
"Alright, whats wrong, AJ?" It was the first time Midnight had even thought the nickname, but it felt right. "You can tell me."
"If Ah tell yah, will yah let me alone?"
Midnight considerd this for a while before responding. "PRobably not," he admitted, "but it might make you feel better."
"Ah'm worried 'bout Applebloom, 'k?"
"And what's really got you down?" Midnight felt he had the answer, but couldn't think of any tactful way to approach the issue.
"That is mah problem."
"Ok, what's the rest of it?" Midnight was getting ready to find the drink stash he was sure Twilight had somewhere. A strong drink couldn't do him any bad, could it?
"Tha's it."
"U-huh. You wouldn't happen to know where Twilight keeps her booze, would you?"
"Kitchen, bottom shelf a the cabinets."
"Thanks." After getting a strong drink, and prepping two more, one for each of them, Midnight walked back into the bedroom. It was then that he noticed AJ had the look of someone who had only recently finished crying. The puffy red eyes and wet pillow were a give away, but Midnight was suprised it didn't come across in her voice. TOugh as nails, he thought,setting the drinks down.
"I figured you could a drink too," Midnight stated matter of factly, taking a seat on the carpet and downing his in a single gulp. Probably a good thing he couldn't get full blown drunk, he'd be in a hospital somewhere for sure. Probably for running out in front of a carriage, or something equally stupid.
AJ downed her drink in one go.She sat up looked at Midnight and asked something that must have been weighing on her mind for a very long time. "Why'd it have to happen?"
Despite the ambiguity of the question, Midnight knew what was going on. He'd have to be careful, in case he hadn't done a good enough job erasing the memories of that night from AJ's mind. "It happens to everypony, eventually. She made it much longer than most, though. She musta been quite strong willed to have lived that long."
"Ah think Ah need another drink." Applejack almost asked it instead of saying it.
"Of course. Just a sec." Midnight returned to the kitchen and made three more drinks. He figured AJ could have two of them, and he'd drink the other.
He set two glasses down on AJ's table, and downed the other. Sending the now empty shot glass back to the kitche, he turned his attention back to AJ. "Are you still torn up about it?"
She gave a slow nod, and after downing another drink, said "It don't hurt like it used to, Ah reckon. Ah mean, it's been awhile, right?" She looked at Midnight and drowned the other drink in a single go.
Midnight realized why AJ still felt so bad. She was starting to move on, and felt like she was betraying Granny Smith's memory. He pulled her into a hug and gave her a quick nuzzle. "AJ, it's ok. She would want you to move on, I'm sure of it. It'll always hurt a little, but you can't hold on to that pain. It doesn't honor them, it's selfish. They want us to live, and the best way to honor them is to follow their wishes, isn't it?"
By the end of this little speech, Applejack was bawling into Midnights mane, and he didn't care. He just held her tighter and let her cry. It wasn't until at least forty minutes later she stopped crying and went into snifling mode. "Ah'd thank yah to tell nopony 'bout this. Please?"
"Of course not, AJ. I'd never do that." Midnight slowly let her go, and checked the clock. Eleven at night. Not too late to go to the party, but that didn't really seem enjoyable right now. He'd rather make sure AJ was ok. He looked at her out opf the corner of his eye.Ahe looked a mess, her mane was free and badly tangled, her eyes were even redder than earlier,and she had a general look of downness about her. And she's still damn cute, Midnight caught himself starting to think. He knew he couldn't allow anything like that,eho knew what'd happen, but he still wished sometimes. With a sigh, he started to get up to prepare more drinks, but had his hoof grabbed by Applejack.
"Please just... stay right here, ok?" she asked, pleading with her eyes, the light gleaming off a last few tears. Midnight felt his will give way, and he sit back down next to her. But she wasn't done, he realized, as he felt a hoof snake around his neck. Oh, please just let it be a hug, he silently prayed, right before Applejack kissed him.
It was a feeling that suprised him. Not quite like fire in his veins, but definently something hotter than blood rushed to his face as he found himself helpless top resist Aj's gentle hoof. As he pushed back into her kiss, returning the affection, he felt her tounge snake into his mouth. Once again, he couldn't resist,but the bumping of teeth almost solved thast problem. After a short second and a very uncharateristic giggle, Applejack was back to kissing him. Gods above, I like this, he thought, as he tasted apples combining with city air to make a strange, but delicious, mix of flavors on Aj's tounge.
Later, bfore he fell asleep,and for some reason, before Twilight made it home, he heard Applejack whisper in his ear. The words were a plea, and one that he was determined to fulfill, at least as long as he could.
"Please don't go away."
End Part Two
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 12 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-10T01:07:27+00:00
|
2011-10-10T01:07:27+00:00
| 1,172 |
Midnight sighed as he settled into his seat, taking a hold of AJ's hoof. Himself, AJ, and Icescape had all been assigned to the same company, which was stationed all the way across Equestria, in Manehattan. Their new Company was Marines third company. They were in the fifth platoon. This would be unremarkable, except for what this platoon did. It was nicknamed Awe, and for good reason. These were supposed to be among the best Marines in the country, and as such, they were almost always used as shock troops, being air dropped into important objectives. They didn't neccesarily want to capture the objectives, but they definently wanted to weaken them.
It was a suprise to everyone that three fresh recruits got into such an elite unit. Midnight was personally suprised that Icescape had made it instead of Twilight. He was powerful, but nowhere near as powerful as Twilight, who paled in comparison to Midnight. Instead of Awe, Twilight got placed in a battle artillery position. Oh well, Midnight thought, who knows what kind of politics goes into these decisions. He gave a quick glance at AJ, squeezed her hoof, and closed his eyes.
Though it was still early, he was only pretending to sleep. His mind had gone into overdrive, and the thoughts running around his head were getting more and more sobering. I think Iove her, but I know I can't, but I do, and does it even matter? Would Big Mac give her away, even if I asked? I wouldn't ask anyways, because I would have to leave her, and that's not right. How did I let this happen? I've got a marefriend, and a best friend, and a group of ponies that I'd give the world for. It's not right, he insisted in the confines of his mind, It's not right, and it's all gonna come crashing down, I know it. Just like what happens everytime. But I've never been in love before... so maybe it'll turn out differently this time?
Midnight knew that was a false hope, if only because everypony dies eventually, even the princesses would. He still couldn't get rid of it, though. He was tired, he hated his purpose for existing, he hated being the only truly immortal thing in the world. It dragged him down, even after millenia of doing it, and knowing how to make sure ponies felt the greatest joy they ever had when they passed. He was still, for all intents, the ultimate murderer. Midnight had no doubt that if anyone found out, they'd charge him with the worst rap sheet in history, and he also had no doubt that he wouldn't deny any of it. Probably get a life sentence for it.
The thought of a life sentence struck him as funny, and broke his current line of thought. Oh, life in prison for death! He thought to himselfit was the best thing he'd come up with in a long time. Thinking things like that, he was finally able to sleep. He was dreaming by the time the train left the station.
Pacing back and forth in a room made out of black granite, Midnight the earth pony turned to speak to his queen. "When will I be able to?" he asked it more out of habit then any an expectation of a real answer. He'd given up on those months ago.
"As soon as all three versions are in Manehattan," the reply came as Luna stepped out of the gloom at the back of the room.
Midnight was shaken awake by Icescape hours later, as attested to by the fact that they were travelling through massive grain fields which shined gold in a noon day sun. They were in Neighbraska, or Maressouri, perhaps. "Come on! I'm bored!" Icescape whined, getting Midnights attention. "I brought all these games, and I have no one to play with!"
"Why'd you do that?" Midnight asked with a small groan and a yawn as he slowly woke up. He determined that AJ was still asleep with a quick glance, then stretched out and went to find water.
"So I wouldn't be bored, duh," Icescape said. Midnight could be really silly for such a serious pony. Especially in the mornings. This gave Icescape an idea, and he shot off to the cafe cariage like a white bullet.
"Uh... ok...?" Midnight really wasn't awake enough to deal with this. Deciding he liked being unconcius better anyways, He sat down next to AJ and promptly fell asleep.
Icescape came back a few minutes later, a very large black coffee in his hand. Awe, he's asleep, thought Icescape. The thought was somehow halfhearted, like it didn't really want to exist. "I wonder what this stuff tastes like, anyways," Icescape thought out loud. He then drained the twenty ounce coffe in just a few gulps.
Midnight was shooken awake by AJ. "We're here, sugar," she said with a small smile. Midnight got up and went to get his stuff. He grabbed his bags, then did a double take. The cabin had changed colors- and now looked like a jungle. A very accurately painted jungle, complete with animals.
"What happened?" Midnight asked, still a little slack jawed by the change.
At this point, Icescape jumped out of nowhere, covered in paint. "Hi Midnight! You went to sleep so I drank the coffee I got for you and then I remembered my paints so I got them out and then-" He was stopped by a hoof getting stuck in his mouth.
"Forget I asked," he growled, getting his luggage and getting off the train before someone asked why the carriage looked like it did. As far as he was concerned, it had been done, and there was no reason to stick around.
Icescape and AJ waited for him on the platform. After checking one last time to see that he had everything, they walked out the doors of Grand Central Station, and into Manehattan proper, and the early evening shadows of monoliths.
After finding the place Twilight had said she was staying and depositing their luggage, the arguing started. Icescape and AJ wanted to go see the city, Midnight wanted anything but, having seen the city literally millions of times. He gave in, mostly because he was afraid what would happen if Icescape were left to his own devices. He left a quick note for Twilight, and they headed own into the lobby.
Which just happened to have a number of ponies Midnight recognized. Great, he thought, all of them in one place. The world's going to hay in a handbasket, and I'm going to be worried about a whole bunch of ponies. Midnight gave up the line of thought as the others noticed AJ and Midnight.
"Applejack, doll! It is so great to see you again!" Rarity declared, but didn't quite get close enough for a hug. "You must let me do you up for a night on the town! Maybe we can find you a stallion!"
"Well, th's nice ah yah and all, Rarity, but you see-" Applejack was cut off as a rainbow blur took her down, accompinied by a piece of cotton candy come to life. Or that's what it looked like to Midnight, before he could make out that it was Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
"It'sbeensolongIthinkweneedapartytocelebrateusallbeingheretogether!" Pinkie managed to get out before taking a breath. She was about to launch back into her spiel, but was cut off ny a hoof in her mouth.
"Maybe later, Pinkie," Rainbow laughed, "But let's all get caught up first, alright?" Pinkie nodded agreement and bounced back to the group.
Fluttershy was just staring at the ground. She was shaking slightly, and she seemed unable to move.
"You ok, Fluttershy?" Midnight asked, getting a squeak and a nod in answer before Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow. His question had effectively gotten the others' attention, however.
"Oh, hello darling! I still want to spruce you up! Just Imagine! When I was done, why, simply every mare would gush over you!" Rarity's smile was getting wider the whole time, as she started to think of designs and what she could do to Midnight.
"Umm, about the whole finding a mare thing..." Midnight started but was interrupted by Pinkie nearly crushing him to death with a hug.
"Hi! Do you want a party?" She asked, a giant grin on her face, her eyes growing wider, her mind wandering to party planning.
Geez, he thought, I don't remember them being this crazy last time...
"Uh, guys, can we get out of the lobby?" Twilight had a tight smile on her face, her left eye starting to twitch. She indicated the stairs with a hoof, and started forcing the group up them. Midnight went willingly, happy for an excuse to stay in tonight.
Icescape walked next to him and whispered in his ear, leaning close so it would be extra quiet, "That pink one is a little crazy, isn't she?" The irony of the situation nearly sent Midnight down the stairs, sides heaving. As it was, he had to stop and remember to breathe for a few seconds before continuing.
At this point they were waiting outside Twilight's apartment, waiting for the pony to open the door. Rainbow took the opportunity to sidle up to Midnight and hiss threateningly in his ear. "I saw how you looked at AJ. If you try anything, and I mean anything, with her, I'll personally kick your flank to the moon and back. Understood?"
Midnight, after giving a short chuckle in response, tepped up to Applejack and took her hoof. After a quick suprised look, she happily accepted. Midnight knew he shouldn't be taunting Rainbow like that, but her attitude had irked him. And he still remembered their very first encounter.
Icescape was excited. Here he was, in the biggest city in Equestria, and he'd be going out on the town with his best friend and his marefrined. He felt like a third wheel for a second, but he squashed that feeling quickly. He knew that wasn't true. Applejack and Midnight had both accepted him so whole heartedly when he met them. So had Twilight, but she was gone somewhere. But that was ok, she was still his friend. He hadn't had a real friend, ever. He'd had aquantainces he had liked, but no one ever seemed to want to be his friend. Go away, they'd say, or they'd call him wierd, or a freak, or a even a mutant, once. But he knew his friends cared more for him than that. After all, Midnight had even called him his best friend.
Aftter Midnight wrote a note for Twilight, they headed down to the lobby. Icescapecouldn't wait to see Manehattan, and the rest of Neigh York, too. He was headed happily towards the door when he noticed Appleejack and Midnight slowing and stopping. Looking around, Icescape recognized Twilight with a group of ponies. He figured they had to be why they were stopped in the middle of the lobby. Are these more friends? He wondered. His question was answered when a unicorn, a beautiful white mare with a styled mane and tail, turned and saw Applejack.
"Applejack, doll! It's so great to see you again!" Icescapestopped listening after that, waiting for the moment when they'd ask who he was. He felt sure that they would be his friends, too. The thought made him happier than he'd ever been. A whole life without friends, then to make so many in such a short amount of time! He wondered if the draft was the best thing to ever happen to him.
As the conversation moved to Midnight, Icescape was sure his chance was coming. But then Twilight had them moving up the stairs. Just like that, he felt his chance for new friends fly away. As he slowly started up the stairs, Twilight walked up next to him, giving him a smile and a warm hello. He nodded back, giving a hello as well. Even if I don't get any new friends, at least I stil have these ones, he thought to himself, unconvincingly. He was afraid, deep down, that he'd lose his only friends.
Walking up the stairs, he leaned over and whispered in Midnights ear in a conspiritorial manner, "That pink one is a little crazy, isn't she?" He saw Midnight laughing hard, but trying to contain it. Icescape had no idea why Midnight was laughing, but it still made him feel a little better. If he could make them laugh, they'd stay his friends, right?
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 13 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-09T20:18:46+00:00
|
2011-10-09T20:18:46+00:00
| 1,165 |
Midnight walked into a clearing. It was clearly unnatral. The trees had been torched by something, and there was no grass in the clearing at all. There was a pond, but it was shallow and dirty. The place seemed farmiliar to Midnight, like he'd been there before. Just then a pratical clone of himself stepped out of the burnt forest to his left. The only difference was that the new pony was a pegasus, instead of a unicorn. "Where are we?" Midnight inquired of the new pony. The pegasus just gave a shrug, easily as confused as Midnight was. A figure stepped out of the tree line opposite. It was another Midnight clone, this one an earth pony. "Welcome," he stated . It was said in the kind of way that made it clear argument was futile, and questions would not be tolerated. "We have a lot to talk about, brothers..."
Midnight woke to the morning sun streaming through the window. "Why aren't the blinds down?" he asked himself grumpily. He slipped out of the guest bed he'd slept in last night. As he went to pull down the blinds, Pinkie jumped out of thin air with confetti, screamed "Suprise!", and disappeared again. "Ok... now I know I'm crazy, without a doubt." Midnight mumbled to himself. He realized that there was no chance of him falling back asleep after his near heart attack. With a sigh, he got up and headed to the kitchen, hoping himself and Applejack could have some alone time.
But he had no such luck. AJ was in the kitchen, making pancakes, but so were Rainbow and Fluttershy, with Rarity coming in just after him. Great, no chances to be with AJ today, he thought. He had already forgotten Rainbow's threats, but he could tell he must be missing something, the way he was getting glared at. Probably nothing, his mind sluggishly concluded, before turning to the more important issues- food, water, a serious need to remember what happened in that dream last night. He felt he'd finally got his answers, and now he couldn't remember them. Oh well, I'll be annoyed by that later, he decided. Right then his stomach decided to let everyone know what his very first concern should be.
"Oh, hey, Sugar," Applejack said, turning to see who's stomach had decided to be so obstentious about it's need for food. "The food'll be done in a sec, Ah reckon."
"Has anyone ever told you your an angel?" Midnight lowred himself into a and put his head in his hoofs. "Cause you are, you know."
Applejack just gave a light chuckle and got back to cooking. Rainbow was shooting daggers at Midnight, apparently thinking if she glared hard enough, she'd actually be able to shoot daggers out of her eyes. Rarity sat herself down and humphed a little, getting comfortable. "Only one for me, Applejack darling, a lady must watch what she eats."
"Rarity, we'll all be goin' to get our new assignments today, Ah don't think they'll let yah be a lady much longer."
Rainbow snickered a little at that, but her heart was more in to trying to claymores to shoot across the room telekinetickly.
"Well, I must be a lady as long as possible then, sgould I not, Applejack?" Raarity responded, sounding very confident of her rightness.
"Ah guess," Applejack conceded, knowing that Rarity would fly off in a huff if she tried to debate the point anymore. "Well, here yah all go," she said as she placed the pancakes on the table. Taking a few herself, she sat down next to Midnight, who was already half way through his first, two more waiting on his plate. True to her word, Rarity took only one, as did Fluttershy, who was, once again, hiding behind her mane. Rainbow decided that this looked like a good opportunity to have a talk with Applejack, and inclined her head out of the room. Applejack finished her pancake and left the room, following Rainbow.
"Why?" Rainbow hissed at Applejack.
"Why what, Sugarcube?" Applejack said, confusion on her features.
"Why would you choose him? He's no good, Applejack! He'll use you, then he'll discard you and move on to someone else!"
"Ah would like it if yah didn't accuse mah coltfriend of bein' a user. Do yah understan'?" Applejack leaned forward, butting heads with Rainbow. "It's mah choice who to date, and Ah know he wouldn't do that to me. He's too good of a colt for that!"
"Applejack! Would you listen to me? I know what I'm talking about! I've seen his type over and over, he fits the bill perfectly!"
"Leave it be, Rainbow! Aint none of your buisness anyway!"
"FIne! But don't come to me when my prediction comes true!" Rainbow's voice had escalated from a hushed
but angry tone, to a full out yell. She opened a window, and rocketed out into the Manehattan sky.
Applejack shook her head, turned and went back to the kitchen.
After reassuring Fluttershy multiple times that everything was just fine, the ponies got back to what they had been doing. There was an unspoken consent that no one spoke of what they had heard. Even Icescape picked up on it when he entered the room, sitting next to Midnight and shooting him a questioning glance. Midnight just shook his head, trying to convey that he didn't know anything. He turned back to the conversation going at the table, now missing only Rainbow.
"Listen, darling," Rarity was saying to Applejack, "Tonight, let me make you over, then we can go out on the town and maybe find some good stallions? It would be so fun!"
Applejack gave a little snort. "If you'll leave me alone, fine. But you'll be the only one that's lookin' for a stallion, Rarity."
"Oh! I didn't realize you went that way, Applejack."
"What're yah talkin' 'bout? Course I don't!"
"Then you're just not interested in Stallions right now?"
"Ah've already got one, sugarcube." Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity gave out a beautifully coreographed breath.
"WhoisitcanwemeethimwheredoeshelivewhatdoeshedoWHOISITCAN-" Twilights hoof cut off Pinkie's rapid fire questions, but Pinkie was still bouncing all around the room.
Completely ignoring her pink friends excitement, Rarity went ahead and asked the same questions, albeit a little more calmly. "Yes, who is it, darling? Is it someone we know? Or is this a stallion you met out in Coltifornia?"
Before Applejack answered, Fluttershy squeaked out her only question, then hid behind her mane again. "Is he nice?"
"Everypony calm down!" Twilight commanded. "Now, AJ, do you want to answer their questions?"
"Alright, here goes. Course you've met him, I wouldn't do that to yah girls. Of course he's nice, Fluttershy, you know Ah wouldn't date a cruel stallion. He's a soldier, just like all of us, just like about everyone else, I reckon."
"Yes, but who is he, darling?" Rarity leaned forward on the table, excitement in her eyes. "I can't wait to get started on the wedding dress! And I'll make his tuxedo, too!"
"Don't yah think that's a bit in the future, sugarcube? I mean, we've only been datin' a month."
"Never too early to plan! But you're avoiding the question, dear. And if you won't tell me who he is, I bet Twilight will!" Rarity gave an expectant look at Twilight. For her part, Twilight felt incredibly pressured, and felt like she was heade for a break down unless someone did-
"Go ahead, Twi'." Applejack waved her hoof a little as she said it, granting further permission. Instead of speaking, Twilight just pointed at Midnight, who had been doing his best to dissapear from existence entirely. He really wasn't prepared for this. He sent a pleading glance at Icescape, just to discover his best friend was quietly laughing at him.
"OH! I should've guessed!" Rarity exclaimed. "It was so obvious! The way you stayed by each others sides like that! I feel so silly now!"
"It's ok, Rarity. Ah didn't expect any of ah to guess it."
Pinkie popped back up out of nowhere. "You guys haven't done it yet, have you?" She asked, perfectly innocently. Seeing everyone's expressions, she said, "What? You guys didn't sleep together last night, so I figured that-"
Twilight's hoof, just a little late, had finally stopped her questions. Twilight was red in the face, though wether from emberassment or anger was hard to tell. "Pinkie, you're just as bad as Rainbow!" she scolded. "Try to show some restraint!"
The group finally relaxed with a laugh.
A lone rainbow zoomed across the horizon, stooping at the top of the Equestria State Building. Rainbow rested on the top of the building, cooling down, arguing with herself. On one hoof, she knew she was in the wrong. Applejack could date anyone she wanted, and Rainbow knew her current coltfriend was probably not a bad pony. But on the other hoof, she wanted to protect her friends, and even though she'd realized long ago that it was impossible, it still hurt that Applejack would take a partner. Not that Rainbow had ever made any actual advances, but still. Trying to think logically wasn't Rainbows strong suit, she knew that, but who could she ask? Immeadiatly the answer popped into her head. Her favorite eggheaded friend. So a second rainbow formed in the sky, just above the other, treating Manehattinites to a sight they'd never seen before, and probably never would again.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 14 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-13T03:29:00+00:00
|
2011-10-13T03:29:00+00:00
| 1,034 |
As Rainbow landed on the balcony outside Twilights window, she second guessed herself. After all, just cause the egghead was, well, an egghead, that didn't mean she knew how to handle this situation. In fact, it probably meant she had no idea. Rainbow gave a sigh, and turned around to leave, but before she could leave again, the window behind her opened. "What are you doing out there, Rainbow? Get inside!"
Giving another sigh, Rainbow did as Twilight said. She knew she was in it now. She'd have to talk to Twilight, no chances of escape. "Well... I wanted to talk to you..." she eventually answered.
Suprise flitted across Twilight's face, but she wrestled it under control quickly. "What about, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight's voice was a little too sweet, and they both knew it. Rainbow was definently unsure about talking to Twilight now.
"You know, you seem, uh... pressured! Yeah, pressured! I'll just leave you to deal with it, ok?" Rainbow said, backing towards the window and opening it with a back hoof. A pull of magic dragged her away from the window, which promptly slammed shut, rather too forcefully.
"You wanted to talk, now talk." Twilight's voice had a tone Rainbow didn't think she'd ever heard before. It was, frankly, almost as scary as Fluttershys stare. Rainbow felt herself sitting down, trying to come up with something to say, in ten seconds flat, but nothing came to her but the truth. So, she decided to stick to it, despite wishing otherwise.
"Yeah, well, you see... I don't like AJ's new coltfriend, he creeps me out, plus he seems like an all around bad guy! And she won't listen to me, and I can tell just by looking at him that he'll use her then discardher, just like that!" Rainbow clapped her forehooves to enunciate the last sentence. She'd been growing slightly more worried with every word. The stone-wall impression Twilight's face was doing had grown better every time she'd let a word out, and she had a horrible feeling that this would turn out very, very bad for herself if she wasn't careful.
"Do go on," Twilight's voice did an amazing impression of a stone wall, one that made her face look like a pillow in comparison.
"Well... that's really all..." Rainbow uncharecteristically stuttered. She liked to pretend she was fearless, but that wasn't true. Anypony who'd been paying attention before the Young Fliers Competition would know that. But the way she felt right now, at this exact moment, made that feel like a slight, confused kind of fear, the kind you have after a very non descript nightmare. She didn't dare look into Twilights eyes, because she was sure they would cause her to fall apart the rest of the way with just a quick glance.
"Have you ever considered," Twilight began, trying to force some warmth into her voice and getting the opposite effect instead. "That maybe the best thing to do is let your friends make their own decisions?"
"N... no?" Rainbow was slowly sinking to the floor.
"Have you ever maybe considered," Twilight continued, as if Rainbow hadn't spoken, "that your friends are adult mares themselves? That we can make our own decisions?" The chill in Twilights voice had become cold enough that it may even have affected Luna. When Twilight finally finished and bothered to check, she was shocked to see Rainbow sniffling on the floor, looking like she was about to have a full out bawl. Twilight had intended to bring her down a few notches, but not like that. It seemed she'd overdone the coldness in her voice.
"No..." Rainbow choked out, barely avoiding tears. "I was just.. trying to protect AJ..." she mumbled into the carpet. She'd felt bad before, but never like this. She'd never felt the "ball of iron" in her stomach, but she knew now that itwas an accurate description. A strange mix of fear, regret, and sorrow had infected her when she felt a hoof on her back.
"Oh, Rainbow," Twilight sighed heavily. "I didn't mean for you to get down, I just wanted you to think. I mean, maybe your taking the whole 'Element of Loyalty' thing a bit too far, right?"
"Maybe.." Rainbow still didn't want to risk bringing her head out of the carpet, just in case Twilight was still angry.
"Rainbow, it's ok. We don't hate you, and I'm not angry at you, though Applejack may be." Twilight pulled Rainbow into a hug, then held her by her shoulders finishing, "But she'll forgive you. Especially if you apologize,don't you think?"
"Yeah... yeah." Rainbow got up to leave, having mostly recovered from the emotional tumult that had finally crashed down on her head a few minutes ago. "Hey, thanks, Twilight. I owe you one." With that, she walked out of Twilight's room, closing the door behind her.
Well, I'm not using that voice again, Twilight thought. Unless Spike slacks off his chores again, that is.
A few hours later, the group prepared to split up again so they could head to there respective groups. Applejack, Midnight, and Icescape would be heading to the docks, where their platoon was stationed. Rarity and Fluttershy would both be heading to the Military hospital across the river in the Princess district. Twilight would be boarding a ferry for Nework, Neigh Jersey, home of the artillery for the region. Pinkie Pie had to head out to a temporary Equestrian Army instillation in the Broncs. Rainbow would also be heading to the ports, but she was headed to the carrier fleet. With a final good-bye, they all set off for their various destinations.
This gave Midnight a chance to talk with Icescape, finally. Something had been off all day, and he wanted to know what. "Hey, bro, you ok?"
Icescape, as transparent as ever, simply asked "Do you think they liked me?"
"Well, no duh. They treated you just like the myself, and everyone but Rainbow Dash likes me," He said th last part hushed, not needing AJ to hear.
"But why didn't they talk to me then?" Icescape was trying to work out the disconnect, but it still didn't make sense. They'd liked him, but the never spoke to him?
"Well, did you talk to them? They had no idea how you'd react to anything they said, so they were probably waiting for you to make the first move."
"Oh!" It finally clicked in Icescapes mind. They knew nothing about him, so they wanted to make sure they didn''t ask any stupid questions. How... nice. Icescape definently liked nice. He got his glow back.
It took a while, but they had finally reached base. As they were about to check in, Icescape turned to Midnight, saying, "One more question."
"Yeah?" Midnight was distracted with getting his authorization papers.
Icescape pointed into the sky, were a slowly growing black mass was starting to block out the sun. "Is that natural?"
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 15 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-28T15:23:16+00:00
|
2011-10-28T15:23:16+00:00
| 1,082 |
"General, what was the meaning of this meeting? It was an emergency, you said." Luna spoke calmly, wondering if the dreaded event was finally occuring.
"Yes, Princess. Not ten minutes ago, our forward scouts saw a massive Gryphon naval fleet in bound. Estimated arrival time was placed at twenty minutes. However, a large number of Gryphons were seen preparing to launch into flight. Their ETA was twelve minutes. They will be upon the city any moment now. We have already ordered out combat ships out of the harbor. They are not a large enough force to defeat the Gryphon fleet, however, we believe we can harass them badly, and perhaps even destroy a few vital command ships."
"That's all well and good, General Ironhoof, but what of the city itself? What kind of forces do we have on the ground?" Luna asked, becoming slightly worried that her plan may not work.
"We have four ground battalions placed in or around the city. In addition, there are three Pegasi air divisions, though only two of them will be available, as the last is departing with the naval group. We also have an artillery battery in Neigh Jersey, and multiple field hospitals and armored calvary groups moving into the city."
"Good General. We do not want to lose the largest city in Equestria. You are dismissed." Luna turned in her chair, contemplating. After hearing the general leave the room, she contacted the Dream God. "Remember, not until the battle has been decided," Luna reminded for the last time. She didn't wait for a response.
"I don't see how," Midnight responded, squinting at the blocked out sun. "Clouds don't just block out the sun from nowhere." He'd barely finished speaking when a siren buzzed inside the compound. The gaurd went pale, then ushered the three inside.
"I don't care who you are, go find some weapons and armor. The worlds about to go to hay," the gaurd said, turning and running deeper into the base.
"Lets go find our unit, guys!" Icescape heade off in a random direction, but without anything to tell them he was wrong, Applejack and Midnight followed. They eventually realized Icescape had noticed something they hadn't- signs outside of buildings saying what platoon, squad, and unit occupied it. Icescape eventually found the 5th platoon building and ducked inside. Midnight and Applejack followd to find Icescape being confronted by an officer of some kind.
"... Do you think you are?" The officer demanded of Icescape.
"I'm Private 1st class Icescape Shine. My companions are Corporal 3rd class Applejack Apple, and Corporal 1st class Midnight Burn," Icescape finished introducing the three of them, then snapped into a salute. "We were instructed to join 5th platoon, 2nd squad, sir."
"I'm just gonna take your word for it." Reaching behind him, he grabbed three rifles, handing one to each of them. He then gave each some body armor, extra ammo, a small med kit, and a pistol. "There. Standard battle armament. Now, you're gonna go two doors down, it'll be on you right. Talk to Captain Thorn, he's your commanding officer. See you on the other side." With that, he gave the three a salute and sent them on thier way.
They had barely entered the door before a black earth pony, already fully combat ready, approached them. "You all must be the newbies. I'm Captain Thorn, and you will do whatever I tell you. I'd normally give you the run through, but right now, we don't have time. Welcome to war, by the way." With that, the Captain walked out. Having nothing else to do, the three followed him.
They were making their way to the exit gate, all three silent, all three varying shades of white, when they were thrown off their feet. A powerful shock wave had shaken the ground. Looking up, Midnight saw hundreds, maybe thousands, off gryphons flying into the city. Some carried some kind of bomb, and they dropped their payloads on the unprepared city, causing a destruction not seen in Equestria in thousands of years.
This was just an attempt to cause shock and weaken resolve, however. Not much irreplacable damage had occured. But it gave the gryphon army time to get into the city and land, quickly over running unfortified areas. "To me!" Captain Thorn shouted, waving out the gate, then leaping out, taking a chance to fire off a few shots.
Midnight, no longer quite aware of what was happening around him, followed the captain out the door. He felt slightly disorientated, and his left ear was sticky, but it didn't really register. He was mostly just looking at the gryphons landing all around him, the earth ponies and unicorns flowing out of bases and fortifications to attack the invaders, the pegasi rising into the air, chainguns mounted on their backs, firing into the never ending waves of gryphons.
Then he found himself face to face with his first enemy, and resorted back to basic training. "Never hesitate!" he remembered the drill seargent shouting everyday. So he didn't. Midnight shot the gryphon point blank, and never even realized what had just happened. As memories of old battles came back, he felt confident that he could handle whatever was thrown at him.
But one pony, no matter how mighty, could turn the tide on the docks. The gryphons were easily pushing the Marines and Army back, and they had to retreat, or they'd be surrounded. They fought tooth and nail, horn and hoof the entire way, leaving a great number of dead gryphons in thier wake, and a smaller but significant number of their own. The pegasi were trying to deal with the incoming hordes, but didn't have the ammo or the personnel do much more than make a dent. And so they slowly retreated, too.
After breaking free of the docks, however, things became a million times more hectic. There were now hundreds of ways to go, and groups of ponies flowed out of the area, taking down gryphons the whole way. Many got lost, ending up with the wrong group, or getting seperated from thier squads.
This happened to Applejack and Icescape. While they managed to stick together, they quickly lost Captain Thorn and Midnight in the chaos. Icescape protected the two with his magic, allowing them to break free with another small group, consisting of a unicorn, four earth ponies, one of whom carried a machine gun, and a pegasus that had been shot down. The new, unofficial squad broke for the financial district. They would be able to construct a reasonable defense there, as well as regrouping with whatever other forces made it there alive.
Luna and Celestia looked at the whirling smoke, the scattered bodies, the small sparks of guns being fired, and retreating ponies. "This is not good, Sister," Luna tried to state it in a matter of fact tone. She wasn't at all close to succeding. "It was a good idea to move the last remaining civilians out of the cities, it seems."
"I agree, sister. But let our soldiers fall back and regroup. They will be more prepared, and thus, more competent in battle. It's unfortunate we got no early warning, we may have been able to severly damage any landing forces earlier." Celestia had a grim look on her face. The battle was not going well at all. It very much appeared that Manehattan may be lost within the week, and the rest of Neigh York shortly afterwards.
"No use speculating in what could have been," Luna said. "When the armored divisions make it to the front, I think we will have a much greater chance."
"Yes, sister," Celestia replied. Luna had always been the better strategist, and even if she didn't quite grasp all of the new weaponry and machines, she knew more than enough to be a competent general. "Let's hope that's so."
Midnight had been pushed back, out of the dock, by the extreme number of gryphons, and by the rest of the retreating ponies. Quick sighting with his rifle, he took out a gryphon machine-gunner, saving a large number of retreating ponies. He soon found himself nearly alone as the ponies broke out of the docks, into the main streets. Not knowing what else to do, he bolted south, towards the abondend apartment complexes. The smoke was making it hard to breath, and the smell of blood didn't help very much. Coughing and stumbling, his eyes irritated, Midnight made his way into the resdiential area. He was glad to discover that the gryphons had mostly avoided this area while bombing. The lack of smoke was a good thing, and so was the lack of rubble, as far as he was concerned.
He was just about to stop and figure out what was wrong with his ear when a rainbow fell out of the sky in front of him. Rainbow Dash was streaked with smoke and looked exhausted, but still managed to portray self confidence. "Come on," she said, lifting a little into the air, "You're all alone out here. Most everypony else headed either to Central Park, or the financial district. We need to get you to them before the gryphons make it impossible." Rainbow had been bobbing and weaving in an agitated manner the entire speech, and now floated up high, taking a quick glance around before decending back to earth. "Here," she said, giving Midnight a small microphone, "put that in your ear, so I can tell you which way to go from up there."
"Why are you doing this?" Midnight was thankful, but confused. He had been sure Rainbow hated him.
Giving an annoyed sigh, she zoomed up, gave the sky a quick check, then came down again. "Because," she explained, her voice getting harsh with worry or annoyance, Midnight couldn't tell which, "You're a soldier, and so am I, and we need to stick together. Also," she struggled with what to say for a few seconds, before deciding that it didn't really matter, "I may not like you, but AJ obviously does. So that makes you a friend by extension. And I don't leave my friends hanging. Now, let's go!" She zoomed up into the sky, starting to fly down the road. At least she hadn't either broken down or hit him.
Midnight accepted the answer and ran down the street, trying to keep up with the rainbow blur ahead and above. "All right," crackled throught the headphone he'd hastily put into his right ear, "You're gonna turn right at this next intersection." Midnight did as told, knowing the eye in the sky had a major advantage on choosing a good route to the main body of the army. He just hoped no gryphons had spotted the two of them. He was sure he could handle himself, but if Rainbow got ambushed, she'd be alone.
"All right, take a left at this upcoming intersection," Rainbow barked into the microphone. Heh, she gave a small internal chuckle, it felt good to boss the unicorn around. Doing a quick 360 check, she spotted no incoming gryphons. Good, their still regrouping, she thought. This might give us enough time to get back to Central Park before anything can attack us. She forgot to check above herself, and didn't notice the shadow on her back.
The small make shift squad made it to the financial district, just to discover it had been decimated in the bombing. "Well," the machine gunner earth pony, who's name was Gear, said, "I bet we can use this rubble to make fortifications. With you two unicorns, I think we could build a lotta small walls to fire behind, maybe even a pillbox." This was the way Gears mind worked- he saw what things could become, not what they were. His cutie mark was a blueprint depicting a gear.
"We'll need someway to place some kinda fortifications on the roofs, then get up there, though." Bluebird, the downed Pegasus, explained, "Cause their gonna fly up there the second they see the pillbox."
"True," Gear responded, "So maybe one of the unicorns can work with me, the other with you?" He looked to the rubble, starting to drag out good pieces even as he spoke.
"Works for me," Bluebird stated, taking the other uniorn aside, and explaining what he wanted. They got to work building a way up immeadiately.
"You," Gear said, pointing at Icescape, "come help me. I need to move these," pointing at four massive blocks, " and a lot of those," indicating many smaller peices of rubble, "and I need you to build the pillbox. But remember to leave a way in 'n' out, ok?"
Icescape gave a nod, getting to work. Moving and sealing heavy objects together was a fairly hard task, and normally required multiple unicorns, but adrenaline made Icescape more powerful. He had the base of the pillbox constructed quickly, but building the actual walls would take some time. He just had to hope no gryphons made it to the financial district before he was done.
Not long into his construction project, a number of ponies walked into the area. There were a couple Army engineers among the group, and they quickly got to helping build both the pill box and the roof fortifications. In about an hour, not only had a pillbox been constructed on the ground, but multiple firing walls had too. The roofs had a large number of firing walls, along with sniper points that had been constructed in the high windows of the buildings still left standing.
"Well, Ah reckon that'll be better at holdin' them gryphons then the open docks were." Applejack was examining the fortifications the engineers had managed to throw together in record time. " Ah think-"
"All right, everyone!" An officer that neither Icescape, nor Applejack recognized, stood on a firing point, getting everyponies attention. "Here's what were gonna do! We need two machine gunners in the pillbox, and the rest of them I want on the roofs! Rifleponies, two or three to a firing wall. Any extra, go to any open sniper spots! Do we have any explosives specialists in the crowd?" Three hoofs went into the air in response. "Alright," The officer barked out, "I want you three to place traps where pertinent. Leave an open path, so any other ponies who show up can be let in, understand? Then, I want you to take a rifle, and go find someplace to fire! Those are your orders!" The officer walked back into the crowd, and dissapeared.
"Well, come on then, AJ. We'll go to a firing wall near the pillbox, then we're just gonna have to wait." Icescape walked back towards the pillbox, Applejack following closely. All we have to do is wait, she thought to herself.
Captain Thorn reached an untouched Central Park a little late. He found all but three of his Platoon there. All but the rookies, he thought, scanning the faces. Hopefully they're ok, I don't need to be losing any ponies. "All right ponies!" He barked to what was left of the platoon. "We're going to take positions in the trees! Get ready, it shouldn't be long now."
The messanger ran up to Twilight. "Lieutenant Sparkle, we have just recieved confirmation that the docks have been completely abandond by our forces." He snapped a salute and ran to the next gun commander.
I hope my friends are ok, Twilight worried inside. But her voice was completely steady when she gave her orders. "Full battery target the docks!" Artillery guns rotated, adjusting up or down at the same time. Eventually they all stopped. "Load!" Multiple unicorns levitated shells into the guns' breaches. "Fire!" The guns didn't all go off at once, but they nearly did. The sound was like the sky breaking into shards and falling to earth, the smoke darkened the sky, the ground shook like it had during the last stampeed in Ponyville. A few seconds later, bright lights flashed into and out of existence on the docks as hundreds of heavy artillery rounds crashed into them, raining hell on anything still there. "Repeat!"
Gilda had seen Rainbow during the first mass landing on the docks. She had been unable to get to her, however, during the chaos of the initial invasion. But she had Rainbow now. She should have, could have just shot her, but where was the satisfaction in that?
With a sudden screech, Gilda dropped down, hitting Rainbow square in the back. Rainbow flipped around, no doubt trying to kick her attacker off, but froze, a look of horror on her face when she realized it was Gilda. Gilda took advantage of the moment, ripping a three- taloned claw across Rainbow's chest. She smiled angrily at the sudden blood, but before she could ensure her once friends death, she felt a sharp pain in her head, and fell to earth, her heart no longer beating, missing the top of her head.
Midnight caught Rainbow as she fell. "Oh no you don't," he said through gritted teeth, pulling his burden inside the nearest building. "You don't get to go and die now!" He practically spit the words in his anger. But looking at three gashes, he wasn't sure he could anything, even if he combined his magic with the emergency packs he'd swiped. The gashes were very deep, and bleeding an awful lot. But he had to try, right?
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 16 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-11T00:48:23+00:00
|
2011-10-11T00:48:23+00:00
| 996 |
Rainbow Dash was in a black space. There was a slight light coming from directly in front. Being unable to find any other way out, she headed towards it. At one point, she tried to fly, but quickly found she was landlocked. She felt that should have frightened her, but somehow she was above emotions. She stepped out of the darkness, into the light, and found a walled city. It was not long before she noticed an earth pony standing next to her. He looked vaugely farmiliar, with a deep blue coat, a short black mane tipped with red spikes, and a cutie mark that was certaintly unique, a skull embossed shield super imposed on a sword, surronded by small hearts. The strangest thing about him, however, was how the bright sunshine seemed to flow right through him, almost as if he was a colored glass sculpture. "Walk with me," he commanded, starting off around the walls. Rainbow, seeing no reason not to, followed. "Look at the city," the earth pony instructed, "and watch carefully." Rainbow did as told, looking down at the city. A brief flash lit the center of the city, then a flame exploded. Rainbow knew she should be shocked, or horrified, or terrified, but it really didn't matter to her that much.
"See that?" The translucent earth pony said, no emotion in his voice. "That used to be my home. Many thousands of years ago. This was the first war I ever experienced. This was the first time I had a friend die. Now, come." The earth pony walked farther along the wall. Rainbow had decided she didn't want to follow, but found she had no control of herself. She still couldn't bring herself to be emotional. The other pony walked into a guard tower, and Rainbow followed. The door shut of its own accord, then opened again. The earth pony led Rainbow out, into a field of the greenest grass she'd ever seen. On either side were large groups of soldiers. As the pair continued along, the groups shifted, then one moved forward at an increasing pace. The charging ponies passed right through Rainbow, almost as if she didn't exist. "This was my second war. My second friend lost." This time, Rainbow saw an earth pony that looked exactly like her guide charging alongside a unicorn of the brightest red. She watched as an arrow lodged itself in the red unicorns neck, taking him down. The pony that looked like her guide skidded to a stop, grabbing the pony, crying and trying to drag his dead friend off the battle field. Looking back in front of her, she saw her guide waiting in a river turned red. When she stepped in, they sank.
They emerged in a dark room in an old house this time. A pegasi version of her guide was sitting next to an empty bed. "This was the first time I'd lost a pony I'd fallen in love with." Rainbow approached, ending up next to the pegasi, realizing that an extremely frail unicorn mare was in the bed. As she watched, the pegasus took the unicorns hoof, and looked her in the eye. The unicorn smiled slightly and gave a wheezing breath, before becoming limp in the pegasus' arms. "She died of Swamp fever. It's incredibly rare now, but it wasn't uncommon in those days." The earth pony walked on, leaving the cottage. Rainbow disn't want to see any more, but no matter how much she struggled internally, her body kept moving forward. She was slowly growing panicked, reealizing that something was wrong, that she should be in control, and why couldn't she feel her wings?
Her mind seethed, but her body walked her through the door and into a stone tower filled with ponies. There was no roof, and the sight in the sky was intimidating. She saw two alicorns fighting fiercly in the sky. At first she thought it might have been Celestia and Nightmare Moon, but then her guide approached, stopping next to her. "The one on the left is me, in my true form," he stated, and when Rainbow looked losely, she could see the similarity. Glancing at the other alicon, she saw nothing farmiliar. It had a body with the appearance of white gold, with a silver flowing mane and tail. The two alicorns were battling fiercly, and neither was winning. "This is a terrible day. The alicorn on the right was the god of life, I was the god of death. Our magic grew so strong during this battle, everything that was alive died, and everything that was dead came back to life. We were both in love with another alicorn, one of the few truly immortal alicorns, in fact. She was the godess of dreams. In the end, our magic twisted all three of us together, into one immortal being. On that day, death became the strongest of the three forces. So the god of death took control of the new body. But life and dreams are still in there, and their powers are both usable. They are, however, dead in all but name." The earth pony walked away, sprouting wings and flying through the middle of the battle between the alicorns. Rainbow unwillingly followed, but at least she was flying, though she still couldn't feel her wings.
"And now for why I showed you all these memories. You are caught between life and death, hanging in the balance. I have recently been seperated back into three different ponies. This means I can't force you to stay alive. In fact, the death part of myself is currently trying to save your life. But it's your decision. No matter which way you go, you'll forget all of this. Now," the earth pony turned pegasus indicated two doorways she'd missed initially, one on each side. "You can head left if you wish to live, and see your friends again, though you will be in pain. If you head right, you will die. You will see your friends again, eventually, but maybe not for a very long time. Before you decide, remember what I have shown you, and consider the implications."
Rainbow headed left with a will, determined to live. After all, her friends needed her. After she had gone, the scenes faded, revealing a room with a black granite table. "I'm glad that worked," the god of dreams thought out loud, before returning to his earthly body.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 17 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-13T06:12:45+00:00
|
2011-10-13T06:12:45+00:00
| 954 |
Midnight’s horn was a covered in the deep black of magic, and had been for minutes. He was attempting a spell that fleshed skin and muscle together, but it wasn’t designed for massive wounds like the ones Rainbow had. The magic always focused on the worst wounds first, due to its design, so he was healing a ripped lung. Rainbow’s torn capillary had already been fixed, taking a shockingly massive amount of energy. It hadn’t even started to wear on him yet, but if all the wounds required that energy, he’d be dipping into the supernatural side of his powers before he’d finished. Shaking his head, flaring his nostrils, Midnight went back to work. He needed to concentrate; just to get to the point that med-packs would become useful would take more magic than anypony but himself, and maybe the goddesses of day and night, possessed. His body and Rainbows became encased in deep black as he redoubled his efforts.
Icescape levitated another piece of rubble, passing time. He was half way through crushing it with magic when a shout came from around the corner, followed quickly by an explosion. A horrific scream, a cross between a screech and a hiss, filled the air briefly. Icescape levitated his rifle onto the placement he and Applejack were behind, grabbing the yoke in his mouth. More explosions came from around the corner, then a rush of gryphons. Icescape bit down on the yoke at the same time he heard the machine guns open fire behind him. The Battle of Manehattan had reached the financial district.
“Wait until they think they’re in the clear before jumping them,” Captain Thorn whispered into the walkie-talkie. He got nods and many a “Yes, sir,” in response. The gryphons walked and glided into Central Park, moving slowly, carefully, at first, but relaxing when nothing jumped them. A gryphon Major gave the ponies an unbelievable gift, calling for his troops to halt in the Park. Captain Thorn grabbed a rifle, supporting it with his fore hoofs, then sighting down the barrel; he focused on the gryphon Major. With a quick grin, he grabbed the gun’s yoke and opened up the firefight.
Twilight as the gryphon naval fleet made it towards the harbor, a sharp frown spreading across her muzzle. The harassment planned by General Ironhoof had only been partially successful, wounding some of the heavy cruisers, but not touching the smaller, faster ships, or the capital class Carriers and Destroyers. “Aim for the incoming ships,” she barked in a strangled voice to the gun operators. The smoke from the dock fires made this a difficult task, but they quickly complied; anticipating the order to load, unicorns loading armor-piercing rounds into the breaches of the big guns. “Fire,” Twilight’s voice had been brought under control; now it radiated complete calm. As the rumble of heavy artillery once again filled the air, Twilight picked up her binoculars with magic, waiting for the shells to hit home.
Multiple heavy armored divisions headed south, into Manehattan proper. Pinkie sat in her gun turret, hair flat, mouth already on her machine guns yoke, ready for whatever they encountered.
Farther back in the column were some Armored Personnel Carriers. The drivers had been instructed to stop at the hospital and pick up anypony trained as a field medic. That was how Rarity had come to be sitting in the back of an APC, saddle bags full of tourniquets, morphine, and other necessary medical supplies. Her stomach was doing flips, an unseemly terror hiding in her eyes.
Fluttershy had watched Rarity being picked up and taken away to the battle field. She hid her head in her mane and trudged back to the on call room, waiting to do what wasn’t possible in the field. The bright lights of the hospital seemed obscene at such a time, but the white of the walls fitted the place well.
Midnight finished stitching together Rainbows lungs and got to work on blood vessels. The tiny tubes took seconds to complete individually, allowing him to complete this task much quicker than the previous two. Taking a second, Midnight opened a med kit and found a small vial of hemoglobin; he injected it into Rainbows foreleg. Reigniting the magic, he took a swing at the last serious wound he could fix without shifting to a whole new spell. As the black aura of Midnight’s magic sank into Rainbow, her skin slowly started stitching together.
Midnight noticed as Rainbow’s breathing slowed dramatically. Good, all I have to do is fix the bones and she should live, he thought, relieved. A magic aura lit up his horn and pierced into Rainbows body, targeting broken ribs; when it receded, Midnight became aware that he hadn’t managed to fully heal her, inside or out. Blood was still leaking through small gashes in the pegasus’ chest. Worry ate away at Midnight as he debated the costs and benefits of teleporting Rainbow directly to a hospital, instead of attempting to fix her broken body with magic another time. The realization hit him that he couldn’t do anymore than he already had. He picked up rainbow gently, draping her across his back, and disappeared in a flash.
The gryphons wouldn’t stop pouring around the corner, and Icescape was running out of ammo. Getting fed up with the measly power of his gun, he chucked his extra ammo to Applejack, tapped into the magic, and used it to set a group of gryphons in the distance on fire. With a savage grin, he sent more pulses of magic into the oncoming swarms.
Applejack had stopped paying attention to Icescape as soon as gryphons had started moving towards their position. She bit down on the yoke of her gun again, sending another Gryphon spiraling to ground, a bloody hole in its chest. She was about to take down another enemy when a bright white orb flashed out from beside her, and exploded into flames, taking down her target, along with several others. “Ha!” The savage cry left her lips before she even realized she was making a sound. Applejack got the kind of look she’d had at the Iron Pony competition, getting back to work. Crack! Another gryphon went down, this one missing part of its face.
The gryphon Major fell, a red stain spreading out from the dime sized hole in his chest. Captain Thorn kept grinning, even with the yoke in his mouth. Turning, he started shooting panicking gryphons at random. A deadly light sparked in his eyes, traces of madness clear in his joy. He was killing with joy, with a zeal that wasn’t natural. As the gryphons finally recovered enough to start trying to find targets, Thorn reloaded, switched to automatic, and let the bullets rip through those unfortunate enough to be in front of him, whether they were gryphons or ponies. He cackled as he reloaded yet again. One thought had managed to form in his head - Finally, he had a chance for revenge!
The armored unit found its way to the city center, and Central Park, right as gunshots rang out for the first time. Pinkie pulled her helmet on, checked her gun, and got into firing position. It was no party, but she would do her best anyways. After all, her friends were all depending on her. And so was just about everypony else.
As the PT- 35 rolled around the corner, it was met by a scene much worse than hoped. Despite the initial slaughter the ponies had managed, the gryphons had managed to regroup and quite much of the resistance. A lone machine gunner was still hidden in the trees, as were some normal rifle men, but the gryphons were able to catch them one by one. Some they would just shoot, but occasionally, they would drag the poor pony out and rip him apart with their claws. Pinkie felt a rare rage coming over her as she swiveled her gun into position. Her first burst took out six unwary gryphons, leaving little of them behind. The rest of the force was alerted, but it was too late for those in the parks. Between the soldiers in the trees and the tank gunners, they were eliminated quickly.
On a rooftop above, a gryphon scout waves on the incoming force. Hundreds of gryphons take to the air, rifles in claw, headed to Central Park.
Midnight appeared outside the hospital, the magic glow retreating from around himself and Rainbow. He forced the sliding doors open with magic, saving perhaps a second, but time was critical. He’d forgotten how screwed up a body could get during a teleport, especially a damaged one. The gashes in Rainbows chest had opened back up some, and several of the veins and arteries he’d healed had burst again.
He marched into the hospital, blood leaking from Dash being absorbed by his coat. The nurses and doctors had stopped doing what they had been, mouths wide, with wide eyes. Grabbing a gurney with magic, Midnight deposited Rainbow face up. Taking a quick glance around, seeing all the medical staff frozen, he shook his head. “Is anyone here a surgeon?” He asked the question with force, making it sound more like a command than anything else. A red unicorn stepped up, nodding, and took the gurney from Midnight.
“All right,” the surgeon commanded, “get me some hemoglobin for the operation, and hook her up. I’m heading to OR #1, understand?” A quick nod from the nurses confirmed they’d heard him so far. One nurse took off, down the left hall, returning quickly with an IV and multiple bags of what looked to be blood. The surgeon headed back down the hall, still shouting orders. “I’m going to need stitches and some plastic tubing, I think it’d be smart to get a few unicorns who know how to keep a body in stasis in here, too, or else she’s going to bleed out before I can finish.” With that, the surgeon rounded the corner, disappearing deeper into the hospital, nurses and doctors following.
A yellow Pegasus walked up next to Midnight, becoming even more timid than usual at the sight of blood all over him. “Umm… what happened? If you don’t mind telling me…” Fluttershy barely got the words out, and hid behind her mane.
Midnight couldn’t place her for a few seconds. When he did, he immediately had an internal struggle if he should tell her or not. Figuring she’d find out eventually, he looked her in the eye, despite her best attempts to shy away. “Gilda attacked us, Fluttershy. Well, her. She couldn’t react in time to defend herself.”
“Where is… Gilda?” Fluttershy started to back away from Midnight, slowly but surely. “If you’re ok with me asking…”
“I put her down, Fluttershy.” Midnight had to struggle to come up with terms that would make sense to Fluttershy, without upsetting her anymore, if that was even possible. Judging by the horror on her face, he guessed he must have failed horribly. Fluttershy gave a strangled squeak and sprinted away to whom knew where.
Icescape let another blast of white magic go. He was unleashing some incredibly powerful spells, and it didn’t seem to be doing much to stop the gryphons from advancing. He was sweating heavily, his ears were pressed flat against his head, his sides were heaving, and he still hadn’t put a stop to the waves of enemies. He knew he had to have killed at least ten with that last blast alone, but the holes he made were filled up seconds later. The ponies at the front had already been pushed back, at least those who had managed to retreat in time. The roofs had been held, but the pillbox had gone silent almost twenty minutes ago. The earth ponies had become useless, all but a very few having run out of ammo long ago. Now the unicorns unleashed magical assaults on the gryphons, and the earth ponies stood with knives in their mouths, ready for close combat.
The Major who had organized the defense had called in for Pegasus support almost an hour ago, but they had been denied. Apparently, all the pegasi still able to fly had been called to a major battle in Central Park. The artillery wasn’t willing to fire on the area, fearing they would hit the ponies on the ground. So it was that a handful of unicorns, a couple of wounded pegasi and many earth ponies waited for the inevitable end, all while watching the sun slowly slip below the horizon.
Captain Thorn left his hiding just as the first few gryphons came over the rooftops and rushed towards the ground. Before he could react, a machine gun roared out, taking them down. Good thing I just reloaded, Thorn thought to himself, else I’d be screwed. Then hundreds of gryphons flew over and around the buildings, some opening fire in the air, some streaking for the ground.
Thorn laid himself on the blood soaked grass, steadied his gun with his fore hoofs, and opened fire on the flying terrors. He knew that without more support, the battle was hopeless, but it was his job to die for the country. Plus, he could deliver some hard vengeance on the race which had produced the creature that had killed his family.
Focused as he was on suppressing the waves of gryphons, he didn’t notice the APCs enter the park and divulge the soldiers inside. As the remaining infantry from the battle in the park was joined by hundreds of fresh troops from other areas, the gryphon assault was slowed. The addition of tanks and their machine guns gave the infantry the ability to hold their positions, at least for the time.
Pinkie sat in her turret, slowly moving her machine gun back and forth. She was fairly sure that every bullet took down another gryphon, or at least wounded them, there were so many of them. It wasn’t long before she ran out off ammo, having to take a second to reload. The second nearly cost Pinkie her life, but the gryphon aiming for her was taken out by an infantry soldier with a mad gleam in his eyes. Pinkie gave a shudder, hoping she never got like that, and got back to firing. The sun was only now starting to go down, and she’d been in the tank for half the day. She just wanted the battle to end.
Rarity made her way out of her APC, along with a few other combat medics and a large unit of infantry. She got her first case almost immediately, a soldier who had been jumped by a gryphon he’d thought dead. He’d killed the gryphon with a kick to the head, but not before getting a nasty beak slash along the left foreleg. Rarity cleaned out the wound, taped it up, and gave the unfortunate infantryman some pain pills, before heading off to the next case: a soldier who was still alive, despite having lost an ear and bleeding profusely on the red grass.
Luna looked up from the scenes of horror shown in the magic mirror. Taking a quick glance at her sister, she realized this wasn’t any easier on Tia than it was on herself. Lines creased Celestia’s normally smooth face, unnamed emotions played behind her eyes. “Should we help them, sister?” Luna asked, wondering privately if it would make a difference at this point.
“No,” Celestia answered wearily, “No, wait until night falls, then we will help wherever we can.”
“Yes, sister,” Luna replied, looking back to the mirror.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 18 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-13T22:19:24+00:00
|
2011-10-13T22:19:24+00:00
| 967 |
Midnight turned, exiting the hospital. Certain that he’d done all he could for Rainbow, he needed to decide where to go next. Rainbow had told him that the majority of the retreating troops had headed to the financial district or Central Park. He was loath to use any more magic, but he knew it was the only way he could make it to either location with anything close to good time. His horn glowed black, preparing to move him.
Icescape unleashed another blast of magic, taking down a few more gryphons, and then collapsed. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth; his eyes had rolled up into his head. Applejack gripped the knife in her mouth a little harder. With a glare at the oncoming gryphons, she prepared to do her job. It was time to fight for her country, for her friends, and for her family.
Pinkie reloaded yet again, nearing the end of the ammo stored aboard the tank. No matter how many the ponies killed, the gryphons kept coming. Soon it would become a melee battle, and the ponies couldn’t hope to win then. They might be strong, they may have knives and hooves, but the gryphons had claws and wings. Not to mention their beaks. Pinkie kept firing, hoping to make as much of a dent in the opposition as possible.
Captain Thorn had run out of ammo quite a while ago. The earth pony pulled his double-bladed knife out of his saddlebag and prepared for the storm to break through the wall of lead. He knew he would probably die when it did, but he’d go down fighting.
Rarity wrapped up a wounded pegasus’ wing, instructing him not to use it. She moved on to a unicorn whose horn had been blown off by a lucky shot from a gryphon. There wasn’t really anything she could do, so she injected him with a generous amount of morphine and sent him to the closest field hospital. She moved on again, looking for another wounded soldier.
Twilight watched the artillery rip into the ships, preventing many of them from reaching the docks. “Aim for the transports,” she commanded. She didn’t know for sure how the battle was going in Manehattan proper, but when the smoke cleared and she could get a good look, she felt it wasn’t going well at all. Hundreds, maybe thousands of gryphons were pouring into the two main areas of resistance: Central Park and the financial district. But all she could do was prevent any more reinforcements from arriving. “Load!”
The unicorn surgeon magically sealed another piece of plastic tubing into yet another torn blood vessel. “Alright, start transfusions,” he instructed, turning back to the task at hand. He had more to do yet.
Fluttershy cried in the on call room. She couldn’t lose Rainbow, she was her oldest friend. Before she could sink too far into depression, she was called; the wounded from Central Park had started showing up.
Midnight appeared in Central Park just as the sun finished setting. The smoke acted like clouds anyways, making it seem like it had been night for hours already. What he saw surprised him. Piles of dead gryphons littered the road outside of the park, and many wounded or killed ponies littered the entrance, but the rest of the park seemed untouched. Midnight went to grab his rifle and join the fight, but discovered he’d left it behind at some point. I guess I’ll have to do it with magic, he told himself. Black flashed from his horn, the magic striking down all gryphons in its path.
Midnight didn’t notice as his eyes began glowing a deep red, his cutie mark shining like the rainbow. An aura slowly formed around him as he unleashed magic on a scale not seen in thousands of years. A pegasus that looked like Midnights twin, except for the wings, descended next to him. The pegasus stood in place for a second, then took back into the air, coming down seconds later, a black air cone surrounding it. It ripped through the gryphons still coming over the rooftops, leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.
The gryphons were charging the remaining pony positions in the financial district. All the unicorns were out for the count, leaving it to the earth ponies to win in hoof-to-claw combat. Applejack reared up, slamming her fore hooves into the first gryphon to reach her, and proceeded to work with the knife in her mouth. Despite her best efforts, the enemy was breaking through. Nothing her or the other ponies did was quite enough to stop them from being forced back. The exhaustion of fighting for hours without break wasn’t helping their efforts any, either.
Applejack was in the process of being overrun when many of the gryphons were hit with throwing knives and stars, all at once. A practical clone of Midnight walked forward, the only thing missing was the horn. Midnight the earth pony had a massive double bladed knife in his mouth, reminiscent of the one Captain Thorn possessed.
The pony walked right up into the midst of the gryphon column and started working, using quick slashes and powerful stabs to dispatch gryphons left and right. He moved a sight faster than most would believe possible for a normal pony. Seeming more like he was dancing than fighting, the earth pony did quick turns, sliding left, then right, bloody blades flashing what little moonlight made it through the smoke. The gryphons that had been previously threatening to overrun the financial district had met an impassable wall in the steel of the pony’s knife.
Luna watched the scene with great interest. So, it worked, she thought. My plans to save the city worked. “Sister, we have been saved,” Luna spoke calmly, as always.
“How? What has happened?” Celestia rose, moving over to watch the scenes unfold in her sister’s magic mirror.
“Allatu fights with us, sister. Though I believe he goes by the name Midnight now.” Luna spoke cautiously, believing her sister wouldn’t take the news well.
“What?” Celestia roared, confirming Luna’s suspicions. “I will not have that monster fighting for us!”
“Sister, he will be involved anyways, and you know we have a much better chance of victory with him on our side,” Luna reasoned, attempting to calm her sister down. “Anyways, he seems to have become attached to a few of our subjects.” Luna paused, considering if it would be wise to tell Celestia the next part of what she knew. Knowing the Sun Goddess would figure it out the second she calmed down anyways, Luna pressed ahead. “Specifically, he has bonded with the holders of the elements.”
Celestia sat down, a rare but terrifying anger simmering just below the surface. Her usual calm demeanor had fallen apart, an ugly grimace contorting her features. “I want him gone the moment this war is over,” Celestia commanded her sister, momentarily forgetting who she was speaking to.
“Sister, you know I can’t do that, and neither can you,” Luna stressed the last part. Who knew what Celly might do? “He’s more powerful than either of us; he’s more powerful than both of us combined. He’s the only truly undying thing in the world, remember?” Luna was scolding at this point, doing whatever it took to destroy Celestia’s crazed ideas.
“Yes,” Celestia answered, head drooping in defeat. “I just hope his curse doesn’t effect the elements.”
“I know, sister. I know.”
The earth pony had made quick work of the gryphons still in the financial district. After tucking his knife back into the saddlebags he wore, he galloped off, headed north. Well, that was surprising, Applejack thought to herself. A look around confirmed that the other ponies left standing concurred. One had actually dropped his knife, his mouth hanging wide open.
Applejack picked up the unconscious Icescape, draped him across her back, and started walking north; following the direction the mysterious pony had gone. It wasn’t like she could have gotten much farther south, even if she’d wanted to.
Midnight was no longer in conscious control of himself. He was just aware enough to make sure he was targeting gryphons with his powerful blasts of magic. He was vaguely aware of a pegasus in a black con of air ripping through the gryphons as well. But his magic wasn’t affecting it, so it didn’t matter to him. He was even less aware when an earth pony stepped up next to him, until the pony put a hoof on him. It had the effect of cutting off his magic- fueled massacre. Looking around, he was shocked to see that three buildings had collapsed, and the number of dead enemies scattered around had at least tripled.
He was even more shocked when he looked to the pony that had been brave enough to touch him. What he saw was himself, as an earth pony. And on the other side of the earth pony was himself as a pegasus. With a jolt, he remembered last night’s dream. “Brothers, we are one and the same. We were split apart for a reason I do not know. We are all headed towards Manehattan, where Princess Luna suspects we will need to rejoin if the city is to be held. We need to rejoin anyways, because we aren’t at full power as it stands. I will see you then.” The short speech had been given by the earth pony know standing next to him.
“Hello, brothers,” Midnight spoke in hushed tones to the earth pony and the pegasus. “It is time, is it not?” The other two gave an affirmative nod, and the joining began. A black orb surrounded the three, blasting outwards and blinding everything it touched for a short while. Inside the orb, the three ponies slowly combined, their respective bodies melting into one another’s. As they rose into the air, the three came together, reviving what they really were: The alicorn named Allatu at birth, who became the God of Death, Life, and the In Between. Slowly flapping its wings, the alicorn turned towards the remaining gryphon army. Its body became encased in a black aura which spread out over the gryphons, sending many of them into the next world. The aura then touched down on all the dead bodies, pony and gryphons alike, liberating the trapped souls, and sending them into the bliss of the next world.
Its task done, the alicorn sank back to earth, taking back its unicorn form. Midnight no longer felt weary; the pain he’d felt had disappeared, along with his exhaustion. He knew he was whole again, and he knew that nopony would ever be aware that he wasn’t whole in the first place.
As the blindness wore off, Pinkie shook her head, looking for the three that had caused the event. All she found was Midnight, which confused her, but then she realized the gryphons had been defeated. Her joy at being finished, at least for now, had caused her mane to poof back up into its original shape.
In a hospital operating room to the north, a unicorn surgeon finished magically attaching the last plastic tube to the last torn vein. He took a second to breathe, and then got to work fixing a tear in the stomach. “She needs more blood! And get me a sanitary needle, please.”
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 19 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-17T04:54:43+00:00
|
2011-10-17T04:54:43+00:00
| 1,004 |
The lights in the hospital left nothing hidden; every surface shined under the white fluorescents. The waiting room left a lot to be desired, but no one noticed. They were all too anxious for news to care that their chairs were hard plastic, or that they hadn’t eaten in nearly a day. The bustling of nurses and doctors rushing back and forth could be heard through the doors, if anyone had been listening.
The silent grimaces on the group’s faces spoke to their concerns. Even Icescape, who barely new Rainbow Dash, and didn’t particularly like her, was frowning, with his eyes narrowed, ears flat against his head. The surgeon had said he’d be back in half an hour, unless something went wrong. It had been almost four hours.
The ward doors opened up right at the four hours mark, letting a doctor in surgery scrubs enter. He looked exhausted, and he still had a little blood on him. “I’m sorry it’s been so much longer than I said,” The surgeon started, sitting down with a sigh. “Another patient came in and needed immediate attention. Anyways, your friend is still asleep, but I expect her to awake within the hour. She will be out of it; we have her on a large number of pain meds. We got all the major surgery done, but there are still some smaller, less important things to take care of. When she wakes up, I’ll have a nurse come get you.” With his speech finished, the surgeon stood back up and departed back through the ward doors.
A noticeable sigh echoed from around the room. Pinkie Pie popped out of her chair, rushing away while shouting about a get well party. “She can’t be stopped, can she?” Twilight’s voice was raw, but a crooked grin slowly grew on her face.
“That pony’s a disaster waitin’ to happen,” Applejacks voice wasn’t quite as raw as Twilight’s, but it still hadn’t gone unchanged. “I think we should stop her ‘fore she gives Rainbow a heart attack.”
“Too late now, darling,” Rarity said, somehow maintaining composure, despite having cried almost as much as Fluttershy, “If we want to stop her, it will have to be at the last second.”
Midnight gave a nod to this, wondering if Rainbow would remember her near death experience. He hoped not, it would result in too many impossible questions for him. Personally, he wouldn’t have done that… or at least he thought that he wouldn’t. Though, it was himself who showed her all those visions in the first place, so who knew what he would do if he hadn’t been split like that. Questions for another time, he thought to himself, I’ve got other things to worry about right now.
Rainbow lifted her head slowly. She thought it must be daytime, but her room had no windows, so it was impossible to tell. Without any idea where she was, she tried to get out of bed. This led to the revelation that she was having trouble moving her limbs. Must still be tired, she thought, groggily, I’ll just give it a few minutes. In the middle of this thought, she realized she wasn’t in her hotel room. This room was too clean; the white walls, fresh bed sheets, and the rack full of bags holding strange liquids right next to her were all out of place.
It took her a little while longer before she reached the conclusion that she must be in a hospital of some kind. She really couldn’t figure out why she was there, last she remembered, she had been guiding Midnight through the streets of some residential district. Then Gilda had come out of nowhere, and… oh, right, she thought. Gilda attacked me. I’m surprised I don’t hurt, she continued, must be on a lot of something.
This line of thought took Rainbow a little longer than she usually wanted to spend thinking about anything. Of course, she didn’t really mind, just as she didn’t mind anything else. Even a Pinkie Pie surprise party wouldn’t affect her at this point. This was probably a good thing, because this was exactly what Pinkie had planned. As her friends walked into the room, Rainbow got a face full of confetti at the very moment a giant banner reading “Get Well Soon, Rainbow Dash!” unfurled in her room.
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted, shaking her head. “Was that really necessary?”
“Yep!” The pink blur said as it made its way to crush Rainbow Dash in a hug. Pinkie never made it, her tail having been grabbed by Applejack. As Pinkie crashed to the ground, Midnight gave a small, inaudible chuckle. He took a seat just inside the door, waiting for the girls to finish fawning over Rainbow. He was just glad she survived.
An hour later, the group had been kicked out of the hospital. They stood around in a huddle, not knowing where to go. None of them had to report for duty until tomorrow at the earliest, and their Manehattan suite had been destroyed in the fighting. Pinkie hopped off to an unknown location, and nobody followed her. They didn’t know what she was doing, and truth be told, most of them didn’t want to.
“Well,” Twilight started, “I think I’ll go to the library. I’m going to see what I can find on magical medicine.” She executed a quick turn, heading the opposite direction of Pinkie.
“I’m going to find a new place to stay. I absolutely refuse to stay in those army barracks again!” Rarity declared, a determined grimace on her face. She too walked away.
Fluttershy had stayed behind to help keep an eye on Rainbow. Rarity had tried her best to cajole Fluttershy into leaving, but to no avail. None of the others had even bothered. For such a shy pony, Fluttershy could be very determined if she really wanted to be. Midnight shook these thoughts out of his head. After all, Fluttershy would be fine, but Applejack, Icescape and himself still had nowhere to go. And the sun was starting to go down.
“Hey, we need to find a place to say,” Midnight voiced his thoughts to his companions, “Before the sun goes down, if we can.” The other two merely nodded in agreement, even if Icescape did so very vigorously. “Well then, I vote we go find an affordable place nearby. But not a motel. Ok?” With another nod from Applejack and Icescape, the trio set off.
They arrived at an acceptable hotel about half an hour later. It was a very unremarkable place, the same brown as every other building in the area. Rooms were cheap though, and it was pretty close to the hospital. Plus, it was very clean, for someplace that seemed to be such a dump from the outside. After booking a two room suite, the trio headed upstairs. They had grabbed some food while looking, so they had no need to eat. Icescape bid Applejack and Midnight a good night, then headed to bed. He’d been the first awake, and had stayed up latest the night before. Midnight thought he was running himself ragged, and couldn’t figure out why. He forgot all his questions as Applejack led him into their room.
Rainbow had fallen asleep shortly after her friends had left. As she woke again, she found a clock she vaguely remembered asking for was on her bedside table. It read 11:24 PM. This helped compound her surprise when she looked around and saw a lavender heap lying on the ground. “Uhh, Twilight?” Rainbow asked, a small tremor in her voice, “Are you awake?”
“Huh?” Twilight said, thinking she must sound like the stupidest nerd in history. “Oh, Rainbow! I didn’t think you’d wake up.”
With Twilight’s head moved, Rainbow could see she’d started to doze over what looked to be a pony anatomy book. “Well, I’ve been sleeping all day… I couldn’t do it anymore. What’s with the book? And how’d you get in here, anyways?” All these questions suddenly started hitting Rainbow at about the same time as the pain in her chest came back. “Ahhh… hay.”
“You ok?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she asked. Deciding Rainbow would just lie, Twilight left the room to find Fluttershy. She returned a few minutes later, the other mare in tow. Fluttershy refilled Rainbows IV with pain medication, before stammering out some kind of apology and rushing out the door.
“Heh, good ol’ Fluttershy.” Rainbow could already feel the meds clouding her mind. She didn’t know what this stuff was, but it was without a doubt powerful, and she liked it. She tried to focus on Twilight, who was answering her questions, but only managed to catch a few broken sentences.
“I had Fluttershy… Looking for a spell… figuring out what was torn… don’t want to… it could hurt. Rainbow? Can you hear me?” But Rainbow Dash had already fallen asleep.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 20 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-27T03:02:00+00:00
|
2011-10-27T03:02:00+00:00
| 876 |
Midnight left the hotel shortly before the sun rose. He wanted to be able to talk with Rainbow before anyone else could get to her. He needed to know what she remembered about the battle.
As he rounded on last corner, lost in his thoughts, he bumped into a white unicorn. A very familiar white unicorn, in fact. Icescape wasn’t alone, either. He was supporting a rather exhausted looking purple mare, who was also instantly recognizable. Midnight stopped, slightly shocked that either of them were awake. He’d been told by AJ that Twilight had a reputation as a late sleeper, and he’d though Icescape would be out of it all day, the way he’d been going.
“Hey,” Icescape said, taking most of Twilights weight. “What are you doing up?”
“I think I should be asking you two that,” Midnight scowled at the two of them. “I’d say neither of you should be up this early. Especially you, Ice. You need to sleep. Get some R and R.”
“Yeah, well,” Icescape gave a half chuckle, slowly shrinking under Midnights hard glare. “I woke up, and… uh… couldn’t fall asleep, so I went to check on Rainbow, and Twilight was sleeping on the floor…”
“U-huh.” Midnight’s thoughts were running a mile a minute. Did Icescape like Rainbow? That couldn’t end well. Rainbow could be mean at times, though Midnight felt it probably wasn’t intentional. But if she did that to Icescape… well, he probably wouldn’t handle it well. “Whatever. Take Twilight back to the apartment, get some rest man. I’m worried about you, you know.”
“Alright.” Icescapes head drooped a little, and then he leaned back into Twilight, leading her away. With that little ordeal over, Midnight started heading towards the hospital. He had a pony to see, after all.
Icescape felt lucky he’d gotten away without being questioned more thoroughly. He had seen the suspicion in Midnight’s eyes, and had figured that he either thought Icescape was in love with Rainbow or Twilight. He wasn’t in love with either, of course. But he may have broken down during questioning, and revealed that being around Rarity made him feel funny. He got kind of a tingling in his stomach, nervousness, and an increase in the inability to speak. Of course, he was never going to tell anypony about any of it. He felt it was irresponsible for Applejack and Midnight to be dating, given the state of the times, and that it would be even worse if he did it. But it wasn’t his place to tell others how to act, so he’d just have to try not to be a hypocrite himself.
He heaved a sigh. He’d almost missed the hotel due to his wandering thoughts. Helping Twilight up the stairs to the room he was sharing with Applejack and Midnight, he decided a nap might be just the ticket.
Midnight reached the hospital to find Rainbow deep asleep. Too bad he wouldn’t get to talk to her, but it did give him the chance to ensure she wouldn’t remember anything, without any risks to himself. A short spell later, he’d clouded the day she got shot enough that there was no way she’d ever pick out anything specific. He figured the pain would account for the memory loss. With that, he picked himself up, and left the hospital.
Rainbow was released later the same day. She had been told that she wasn’t fully recovered, of course, but the hospital needed the rooms desperately. Applejack had come to pick her up, explaining that everyone else had returned to their respective bases and command centers. Applejack had gotten leave to guide Rainbow home, or at least to the hotel.
Rainbow had been told that she couldn’t fly, and may not ever be able to again. Her wings hadn’t been touched; she was confused as to why she wouldn’t be able to. After a rather lengthy lecture from the doctor, which barely caught Rainbow’s attention at all, she found out two things. Firstly, flying could put a lot of strain on her internal organs, which had been damaged, and secondly, Pegasi were able to fly because of some kind of air sack in their stomachs. Strangely, the air sack actually held magic, but the magic made it so that the Pegasi could support themselves off the ground. Rainbow’s had been ripped; while the surgeon and Midnight had done their best to heal it, it was impossible to know how well they’d done. So, she’d been told not to even risk any flight for a long while, and especially not something like a Sonic Rainboom. Apparently, the power in one of those would tear her apart. Or so she’d been told.
That was how Rainbow found herself sluggishly trotting alongside Applejack, headed to a hotel she could have flown to faster than thought. She was useless to the Pegasi corps in her current state, so she hadn’t been recalled for service, either. Eventually, she thought, I will be able to fly again. Maybe not as fast, or as far, but more than well enough for the Wonderbolts, or the Pegasi corps.
Rainbow looked up into the clouded sky, seeing the sun just barely starting to poke out from behind the cover. Someday, I will be up there again, she told herself.
Midnight looked at the same sun. He had just gotten out of debriefing, and didn’t have any specific plans for the rest of the day. He knew Applejack would be taking Rainbow to the hotel, but since Icescape hadn’t been debriefed yet, he wouldn’t even consider checking in on the girls. It’s not like he would get permission, anyways. Captain Thorn seemed to be fairly pissed about the battle still, having chewed out himself and Icescape earlier, for not being with the rest of the platoon.
Midnight didn’t like Thorn, for more than the obvious reason. There was madness in the Captains eyes, and it wasn’t the kind that was funny. It was the kind that scared the hay out of anypony who could see it. It was the kind of madness that led to killing sprees, bombings, and general hay. That is, the violent kind. Midnight had run past plenty of ponies like Thorn before. The things he’d seen sickened him. A few of them even went so far as to be cannibalistic, which disturbed even him.
Of course, he didn’t think Thorn was that bad. In fact, he pondered to himself, it could just be too much pent up anger and aggression. That was bad, but at least it was solvable. As long as the war was happening, ponydom was probably safe, at least. These assuring thoughts fell flat, even in his own mind, and he was glad he wasn’t trying to convince somepony else.
Icescape left the debriefing tent just then, carrying a manila folder in his mouth. He spit it out onto the ground before taking a quick glance into the sky. “Nice to see the sun out. Anyways,” he looked back down at the folder, “These are mission orders for us. Applejack and Twilight are both included, too. It seems to be something about shipping over seas, to the Bridle Islands. They’ve stood against Gryphony, somehow, and we’re to go support them. We leave in a week, I think. Until then, we’re to get our affairs in order. That’s what the officer back there told me.”
“All right man,” Midnight replied, as Icescape picked the folder back up. “Let’s go find the others, they may want to know about this. We’ll just wait with Rainbow back at the apartment, they’ll show up eventually.” Icescape gave a quick nod, then flashed himself away. Midnight was impressed he had the energy to teleport still, as he’d teleported to the temporary camp, too. Giving a quick shrug, he ignited his own magic, already making a mental list of what he would need to bring with him.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 21 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-29T03:46:41+00:00
|
2011-10-29T03:46:41+00:00
| 1,030 |
Midnight watched the sun set from the deck of the cruiser. Icescape, Twilight, Applejack, and he had all departed what still stood of Manehattan three days ago. Applejack and Twilight had been put on a different ship, sensibly, if you were military brass. This left all the colts and stallions in one ship group, which was getting annoying, and fast. He couldn’t wait until they reached the Bridle Islands; not only did he miss AJ, he was feeling cooped up on this damn boat. It didn’t help that Captain Thorn was on the boat, too, though he had a different bunk room, at least.
Of course, as much as these minor issues annoyed and irritated Midnight, they didn’t really worry him that much. What he was most worried about was the threat of a naval battle. He’d heard stories of massive engagements on the passage over, and while he was sure the fleet could handle it, there was still some risk of the ship going down. They seemed safe for another day, though, he thought as he watched the sun finish dropping below the horizon. Only a little over a week left, then they’d be in the islands’ defenses. That would be reassuring, he decided, before turning and heading off to his bunk. There were always appearances of normality to keep.
Icescape grunted in pain as his head hit the metal wall of the bunk room. While he was glad to stop having freaky dreams about the wall-eyed, muffin obsessed mailmare, he rather wished whoever had awoken him had been kind enough to not slam his head into the wall. As he put together semi-coherent thoughts, his whole body hit the wall. This time he was awake enough to notice that the entire ship seemed to have tilted a little to the starboard. As he went to get out of his bunk and look for the cause of the commotion, he realized that the ponies that slept on the port side of the bunk room were crumbled on the floor. Oh, hay, Icescape told himself, this can’t be good.
Midnight noticed the ship tilting over seconds before it actually rolled to the starboard. Using his magic, he stopped himself from merely flying into the opposite wall, and then lowered himself to the ground. This is bad, he said inside his head, I didn’t expect any problems at night. Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the second blast. He managed to stop himself from sliding just in time, proceeding to rush out the bunk room door and to the deck.
Applejack had been given night duty on the anti-air guns. It was a boring job, but important if anything should actually happen. The destroyer she was on didn’t have the new automatic magic guns, so it was up to earth ponies to ensure the ship survived. As Applejack started to daydream about her favorite things, Midnight and apple cakes, a bright light flashed in the sky about two miles to the east. She craned her neck around in shock, just quick enough to catch a second explosion rock a ship. The ship appeared to be a cruiser of some kind. Fear twisted in her gut. It couldn’t be Midnight’s ship, could it?
Captain Thorn was supposed to be asleep, but he had one of those feelings. A certain flutter in his stomach, a few short breaths, a quick up swing in his pulse. He’d had these exact same feelings twice before, and both times had turned out very bad. Which was why he was on deck, staring into the ocean. He would have bet the world that one of the ships in this column was going down, and it was probably his.
Just as he picked up his gun to check it for the third time, an explosion ripped through the side of the cruiser. A bright flash went up into the sky, a ball of fire shooting towards the heavens. Thorn was tossed backwards before he could tense up. He climbed to his hooves quickly, seemingly undamaged, despite being thrown a good twenty feet into a solid metal wall. He braced himself, knowing worse was coming, as it soon did. The second explosion left the cruiser listing fairly far starboard. This had no effect on the Captain however, as he just ran to the edge, waiting for gryphons to appear out of the night, gun at the ready. He didn’t even notice the flames splattered across the main deck.
Icescape stumbled onto the deck just in time for the main guns to start firing. A pony ran by, screaming “Torpedoes! They were torpedoes!” Icescape shook his head, looking for an officer to get an assignment from. It seemed that most of the electricity had been cut off by the blasts, but the fire illuminated whatever it didn’t destroy. The long shadows were jumping around, causing the whole seen to be somewhat disconcerting, but Icescape was focusing on more important issues. He found an officer, who only told him to go help patch up the bow.
After sprinting through the bowels of the ship, Icescape came upon engineers, already getting to work lifting heavy sheets of metal into place with magic. The fires had been extinguished in this area; small battery powered lights had been strung up to provide light. The hole in the side of the ship was surprisingly large, opening up three floors like the lid of a can. Water was rushing into the bottom floor, barely being held back by the combined force of magic and auto vents. A piece of steel slid into place on the bottom of the hole, and was quickly welded into place by the earth ponies. An engineer grabbed Icescape by the tail, pulling him aside just before a piece of metal went flying through where he had been seconds ago.
“What do you think you’re doing, son?” Gear shouted at Icescape, “I saw you back in Manehattan! I know you’re smarter than that! Now get to work, we need all the help we can get!” Gear ran off towards the hole, grabbing a welding torch as he went. Icescape numbly did as he was told, levitating a large piece of steel towards the gash. As he settled it into place, a series of bright flashes lit the sky, causing a number of small black shapes to fall into the ocean.
Thorn looked up into the sky, sighting again. He’d already taken down three gryphons that had been stupid enough to get too close, but they were still coming. Just as he prepared to shoot again, bright flashes lit up the sky, and the sound of rolling guns hit him from behind. Bodies fell to earth, some smoking and twisted. As Captain Thorn readjusted his rifle, pulses of magic started shooting into the night. A wave of black caught a large group of gryphons, dragging them down, into the drink. Midnight stepped up to the edge of the ship, preparing a new blast to unleash on the unlucky foes. “Hello, Captain,” He said through gritted teeth.
“Hello, soldier,” Thorn replied, “I see you have already gotten to work. Good job,” Thorn said, shooting yet another gryphon out of the air. He quickly sighted again, taking another enemy down. Five down, he thought, and a few hundred to go.
Applejack looked out over the ocean towards the flames, seeing them slowly go out. The top decks were still burning brightly, but she was too far away to pick anything out, except the large number of shapes descending out of the clouds, and the cruisers guns booming. She looked around towards the carriers in the group in time to see the first wave of pegasi take off into the night. Hundreds of pegasi seemed to be heading into the sky, but for every pony that launched, three gryphons descended on the cruiser. And now blasts and booms were coming from outside of the column, causing flashes to burst into the sky from the carrier and its fleet. Applejack got back behind her gun, waiting for the hell to reach her. All she could do now was hope that everypony would be OK.
Twilight had been awoken by the first few explosions, the sound ripping her from her dreams. After establishing that her ship was fine, she headed up towards the deck, and the gun emplacements. She hoped they wouldn’t be necessary, but one never knew when ships artillery would be necessary. Seeing the flashes coming from multiple directions, she knew there would be combat before the sun rose. Her suspicions were confirmed as the destroyer turned to the port.
Bluebird took off, leading his flight group, chain gun strapped to his back. He headed for the cruiser just in time to see the first blast of enemy artillery hit home on the ships. But he had no time to concentrate on that danger, as the gryphons were quickly approaching. He bit down on his guns yoke, blasting many of them out of the sky. As his flight group started dog fighting, he picked a target, chasing them in a dive, pulling up just in time to avoid hitting the sea like it was cement. His prey wasn’t quite so lucky. The gryphon slammed into the ocean, and quickly sunk. He zoomed back upwards, pursuing a new target.
Twilight adjusted her artillery piece, letting off a barrage, which slammed into an enemy carriers deck. The havoc it wreaked was intense, stopping the gryphons from being able to launch another wave towards the cruiser. Though not badly damaged, the ship turned and started to head away. It’s protective detail started to follow, still launching shells towards the Equestrian transport column. This was a tactic Twilight had noticed from the enemy fleet in general. As soon as a ship, or group of ships approached, or launched an assault, the ships attacked would lay down covering fire and retreat. It was more as if they had been trying to lower the moral of the column than cause any real damage. Twilight shook these thoughts out of her head, adjusting her gun yet again.
Icescape lifted another piece of steel into place. He was foaming at the mouth, but this last piece would secure the hold against anymore incoming water, or so the engineers believed. When the sheet of metal was welded into place, Icescape collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Another unicorn, one he didn’t know, stepped forward, taking his place. Gear trotted up, dragging him out of the way. “Good job, kid,” the earth pony said, voice flat, “You were a big help there.” Gear gave him a cuff with his hoof, then headed back to do more welding.
Bluebird sent another gryphon down with a well-timed blast from the chain gun on his back. The gryphons had really thinned out, either because they had died, or because they had fled. As another Pegasus chased one of the last gryphons away from the cruiser, Bluebird came in for a landing, exhausted from the battle. He landed next to a dark blue unicorn, who was sending small concentrated blasts of magic into the sky every once in a while. After taking off his gun, Bluebird stretched out, falling asleep.
Applejack watched as the last of the gryphon ships departed, leaving the night dark, but for the fires still burning in a few places on the cruisers deck. She hadn’t even fired a shot. All she could hope now was that everyone on the cruiser was still OK. And that the ship wouldn’t sink before they could get to harbor. She slumped down in her seat, resigned to a long night on her gun.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 22 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-31T15:39:02+00:00
|
2011-10-31T15:39:02+00:00
| 908 |
The cruiser limped into port, still leaning starboard. They hadn’t made it to the Bridle Islands yet- they were still four days away. The engineers on bored were worried that the repairs they had made while travelling wouldn’t hold up, though. They argued that sheets of steel thrown on in less than a day, while effective for short amounts of time, invariably broke down rather quickly. Their arguments had been supported by the water that was starting to leak in on the bottom deck. The ships captain had seen no choice but to pull into the closest friendly port. This was how Icescape and Midnight found themselves in Iceland.
Iceland was a fairly small island nation. The main reason it was still independent was because it was too far out of the way to really be a concern to anybody. Equestria had a small naval yard here, which said it would be able to fix the ship properly in about a week. This left the soldiers being transported with empty time on their hooves and no idea what to do with it. Midnight had talked Icescape into going and seeing the mountains, all of which had ridiculous names. Icescape had said ok, on the condition he could bring a few others along. Midnight figured there was no valid reason to say no, even if more ponies was the last thing he wanted, and was forced to say yes.
Icescape had found Gear and Bluebird, both of whom were willing to go on an adventure, Gear because he wanted something to get his mind off of the ship, Bluebird because he was bored. Bluebird was already regretting volunteering for the emergency protection detail long before the cruiser pulled into port. If he wasn’t quite so impulsive, he never would have done it. But impulse had long ruled his life.
As Icescape led the other two ponies back to the agreed upon meeting place, Midnight teleported in front of them with a large pack in his mouth. He dropped it onto the ground, being careful to make sure it didn’t hit too hard. The others noticed that there as already another sitting at his feet. Gear had brought his own pack, as had Bluebird. Midnight gestured at the pack he had just dropped, saying “That one’s yours, Icescape. The other is mine. So, if this is it,” he looked at the three ponies in front of him when he said that, “Then I say we hit the road!” The others gave quick nods in the affirmative, setting off for the hills at a slow trot.
Applejack was just getting into bed. She had been given the night watch, again, and was thoroughly exhausted, even at a time she felt she should be getting up for a hard days work. She watched the sun rise over the horizon through her porthole, illuminating the ships in the column. As she started to drift, she wondered about Midnight, and Icescape, for that matter. She had heard the day after the attack that it was their ship, and she had seen it leave the column for Iceland yesterday. They were going to be at least a week late, the ship captain had read off of a telegram. Once they restarted for the Bridle Islands, they would be lone targets. Hopefully they could make the short run into Bridle territory safely, she thought, as her eyes closed.
Twilight was not having the best day. She still had tons of paperwork to fill out from the night of the attack. While paperwork didn’t normally bug her too bad, she was feeling a little sick. It was partially sea sickness- she’d been feeling bad ever since she first stepped on the boat- but she was pretty sure she’d picked up a strain of the flu that had been going around the ship. In addition, she was too worried about her friends to be able to pay attention. Applejack had been exhausted by the frequent night shifts, which she would get used to, eventually. But Icescape and Midnight had been aboard the ship that had been attacked, and Twilight had been unable to get any information as to the status of her two friends. Not to mention Rainbow, trapped back in Manehattan, unable to fly, possibly forever. And Rarity, who was coming over next, who had discovered a previously unknown claustrophobia, and Fluttershy, who was just so scared in general, and Pinkie, who… well, Twilight was already always fretting for Pinkie anyways.
Heaving a sigh, Twilight stared down the large amount of paperwork on her desk. It’s not too bad, she thought to herself, then followed that with I wish Spike were here to do it for me…
Midnight looked back at his three companions. Bluebird and Gear had explained how they met Icescape during the Battle of Manehattan. While they didn’t know each other well, they seemed to be good friends already. Midnight had rather unwillingly been filled in on Bluebirds entire back-story; it was surprisingly similar to Rainbows. He had wanted to be a Wonderbolt all his life; he was employed as the head weather manager of Skychester before getting recruited; he had discovered a passion for racing young. The most major difference was that he had gotten his cutie mark during a fierce storm one day. An engine in the weather factory had broken down, allowing a storm to get far out of control. Bluebird had sneaked in, stealing a few pieces from the metal shop on the way, and got to the engine. He hadn’t been able to fix it, but he had somehow managed to reroute control to a different computer bank. After finding the computer and getting the storm back under control, he flew out and pushed the clouds away with a small wind he had whipped up. His cutie mark was a dark cloud being pushed by silver wind.
Gear’s cutie mark story was filled with technical terms that caused Midnight to lose focus quickly. He looked back to see that Gear’s cutie mark was a half built bridge on a piece of blueprint paper. He figured this explained why the earth pony was so good at building things, and had naturally taken control of the ships repairs. Midnight chuckled to himself as he realized how suiting the pony’s name was.
Icescape was already having a great day. He had told his cutie mark story to Gear and Bluebird, listened to theirs, and made two new friends, and it was only noon! Of course, he was even happier to be able to go backpacking with his best friend, even if he had packed a lot of stuff into Icescape’s pack.
Icescape shifted his pack again. He had no idea what Midnight had packed for him, but it was definitely more than was necessary. He wondered how his best friend could carry his own pack with such ease as he watched Midnight laugh at something Bluebird had said. Realizing he was falling behind, Icescape hurried to catch up.
“Twilight?” Applejack asked, pushing open her friends door. It was getting on towards eleven o’clock, and Twilight hadn’t been at a single meal all day. Poking her head in to her friend’s room, Applejack discovered why Twilight had missed all the meals- she was asleep. Twilight had her head on a pile of half completed paperwork, muttering and occasionally giving a ragged snore.
Applejack picked her friend up, moving her to the bed. It was funny that Twilight, who was the most precise, exact, and concentrated of her friends, had somehow managed to fall asleep to paperwork. Applejack gave a low chuckle; almost missing Twilights sleep induced ramblings. “Rainbow…”
Rainbow looked out the window at the harbor. She watched as a ship pulled out, taking Rarity away. Now it was only herself and Fluttershy. She had been told that she would be moved out as soon as she could fly again. She wasn’t stupid, though; she had heard the doctors talking to her friends, and knew she may never fly again. As she watched the sun set, she wished she could be in the sky with it.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 23 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-08T05:39:12+00:00
|
2011-11-08T05:39:12+00:00
| 1,165 |
Luna huffed as she walked out of the conference room. I had forgotten how much of a pain negotiations are, she thought. A few papers were levitating around her head, all but one having her signature, as well as that of the Prime Minister of the Bridle Islands. The day had fairly much died while she had been in the stuffy conference room, but some important issues had gotten resolved. Luna looked out the large windows of Westmuzzle, watching her sister’s sun start dipping below the horizon. She turned, her horn glowing as she started raising the moon from the east. As soon as that task was done, she disappeared.
Celestia was fuming in her rooms in Canterlot castle. As soon as her sister appeared, she leapt to her hooves; eyes squinted in what almost seemed to be agony. “I don’t like it,” She spoke calmly, but gritted teeth betrayed her. “If it wasn’t for him, none of this would have happened in the first place!”
“Now, Celly,” Luna said, with the smallest sigh she could manage, “You and I both know that isn’t true. Just because you’re angry about something that happened so long ago, you can’t stop being rational.”
“I almost think,” Celestia’s voiced carried a rare imperialistic tone, “that you no longer care yourself. Or have you just completely forgotten what that monster has done?”
“Celly, I’m being a ruler. Sometimes we have to put aside our emotions. And you knew that was going to happen someday, there was no other possible outcome in the long run. Even we will have to answer to him, someday.” It felt to be the thousandth time Luna had explained this, but she was well aware it wasn’t to be the last. “He is the only force that can never be defeated.”
Celestia flared her nostrils a little longer before giving in. “I still don’t like it,” she stated.
“You don’t have to,” Luna responded, “I don’t like it either, for that matter. But it must be done. Having him on our side is an invaluable benefit.”
“Why did he have to bond with the elements, though? That’s the most dangerous thing he could have possibly done!” Celestia knew she was trying to nitpick, even if she was expressing a valid concern.
“I don’t know, sister,” Luna said, shaking her head.
Midnight helped Gear pack up his tent. They had to be back at the naval yard tomorrow, so they were headed back now. It had been almost a week of beautiful weather, snowbound peaks, and other cliché descriptions. It really had been an amazing trip. Icescape had somehow managed to not destroy anything important, and Midnight had learned an awful lot about Bluebird and Gear. But no matter how much fun he’d had roaming the hills of Iceland, Midnight could never fight off a feeling of dread. He started walking faster as he thought about the days ahead. He was almost hitting a full gallop before he realized he’d let himself get too far ahead of the others. He sat on the top of the next hill, waiting for the others to catch up.
Bluebird landed next to him with a thud, dropping his pack. Midnight was spared a quick glance before Bluebird looked back at the other two. “What’s wrong, man?” He asked, a crease adorning his forehead.
Midnight stared at a lonely cloud in the sky, replying only with “Everything.”
Rainbow was on her way to the hospital to visit Fluttershy when she was stopped by a gray pegasus mail mare. “Hey Derpy. What’s up?”
“Mail for you!” Derpy replied, handing Dash an official looking envelope, taking off for another destination immediately. Rainbow became focused on the letter when she noticed the return address- Ponygon, Castle Loop, Canterlot. She ripped open the envelope, dropping it on the sidewalk, paying attention only to the letter.
Dear Cpl. Rainbow Dash,
Due to injuries you sustained during the Battle of Manehattan, you have been awarded a Purple Wing. Additionally, your inability to fly for the foreseeable future has led to you being transferred into the Army, 7th battalion, 12th platoon. You are to report to the Manehattan docks at 12 o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 20th of October.
Signed, General Ironhoof
Rainbow stared at the letter for a few seconds before noticing that a small medal was indeed attached to the bottom of the letter. After examining it, she reread the letter. Shoot, she said to herself, I leave tomorrow! She turned and rushed back to the hotel room. Fluttershy would just have to wait for later.
Twilight’s ship pulled into the harbor of Trottingham. She had finally finished all her paperwork a few days ago, which gave her the chance to relax. No other incidents had happened along the trip, something to be thankful for. She found Applejack, and they departed the ship together. Lodging and food were being provided by the Equestrian military, which meant they wouldn’t be getting any hotels this time around.
“So,” Applejack glanced at Twilight, raising an eyebrow, “What’s with all this mumbling in your sleep?”
“Huh?” Twilight gave her friend a look suggesting Applejack should check into a mental hospital, before continuing, “I don’t talk in my sleep. And when would you have heard it, even if I did?”
“All those times yah fell asleep over paperwork, tah answer your question,” Applejack replied, causing a little heat to rise to Twilight’s face, “An’ yah do talk in your sleep. Kept hearin’ yah say Rainbow’s name.”
“I… I did?” Twilight certainly hadn’t been aware of her words. “I don’t know why.”
“U-huh.” Applejack trotted off, leaving Twilight shouting behind her.
“Wait! What are you trying to say?”
A few days later, the lone carrier pulled into the Trottingham dock. The crew had dubbed it the Hydra, in honor of it being too stupid to sink when it should have. Gear, Bluebird, Icescape, and Midnight all stepped onto the docks, one after the other. The checked the postings on a message board, discovering that they were all being separated, with the exception of Icescape and Midnight. They had all started away when Icescape, still back at the board, spoke up. “Hey guys, you might want to see this…” he trailed off.
Midnight returned, checking where Icescapes hoof was pointing. A notice had been posted by the colonel in charge of the base. It simply said that any Ponies belonging to Marine divisions 1, 2, 4, 5, or 7 were being airlifted into enemy territory later that week.
As Midnight finished reading the notice, Captain Thorn trotted up. “Wonderful, isn’t it,” He dead panned. “We get to go into that hay hole a little early.” He wandered off again, but not before narrowing his eyes threateningly at nothing in particular.
Oh well, Midnight thought, Looks like I won’t get to rest very long before I’m working again.
The night sky was even darker than usual, mostly due to the large amount of steely gray clouds covering it. Bluebird was lugging Icescape over gryphon territory, a dangerous task even when one knew where they were going. Bluebird was to stay behind with the landed troops, as were a small number of other pegasi. Their job was to make sure no gryphons could ambush the group from above. But right now, they were all lugging either ponies or gear over the danger zone. Just a few more minutes, Bluebird repeated in his head. Just a few more minutes.
Midnight looked down at the top of dark clouds. He couldn’t see the ground, but he knew that the group must be close to its final destination. Just then, every pegasi in the group started to descend. Back into the hornet’s nest,Midnight thought.
|
thecakeisalie
|
1243
| 24 |
Big Macintosh,Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Adventure,Dark,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
Raining Metal
|
A mysterious Alicorn comes from nowhere into ponyville, and the world is going to war.
|
hiatus
| 15 | 1 |
<p>The country of Marence is on the route to conquest, and after allieing with Gryphony, turns it's eyes to Equestria. At the same time, a mysterious young Alicorn shows up from nowhere, and seems to terrify all the wild life. Nopony knows why, though. The Mane 6 and all their friends are needed on the front lines. But what is the new Alicorn's agenda?</p>
|
teen
|
2012-01-06T17:01:40+00:00
|
2012-01-06T17:01:40+00:00
| 780 |
Midnight used magic to push the bushes in front of him out of the way. The foliage was convenient, if you were trying to hide. Which everypony was. Captain Thorn slide up next to Midnight, getting off a shot into the dark, before sliding away again. Midnight, knowing what was about to come his way, scrambled out of the hedge, back into flooded rice fields. He wasn’t a second too soon, as his previous cover turned into nothing more than stripped branches. He got up and trotted to the only solid cover available- an old, crumbling stone wall. Wet and shivering, he sat down, taking a quick look over his protection. Just another day in the life, he thought to himself with only a hint of sarcasm.
Twilight was boarding a ship. Again. This was supposed to be the last time, though. As she hauled her pack on board, the metal boarding plank creaked slightly. Great, she said to herself, stupid thing is weak. She and her troops were trusting this thing to get them as close as possible to safety before they had to disembark.
After depositing her gear near the launching stage on the ships fore, Twilight headed for the bridge. All the officers had received orders directly from General Ironhoof. They were to meet in the bridge of the ship they were being transported on as soon as their equipment had been stowed. Supposedly some massive secret was waiting for them. Personally, Twilight thought that it was just an official confirmation of what everypony already knew. Namely, they were launching an amphibious landing.
Walking through the door, Twilight discovered she was the last officer to have arrived. That wasn’t much of a surprise, since her squad had been second to last to load.
“Lieutenant Sparkle?” A mare with a naval commander’s vest on directed her question at the newly arrived Twilight.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Twilight responded, quickly finding a place to sit.
“Everypony is here then,” The commander stated. “I am Commander White Wash, captain and pilot of the H.M.S. Fillydelphia. As you have all most likely deduced on your own,” here the mare paused to activate a projector and shine it on a blank wall, “Equestria and its allies are launching an invasion of Gryphony lands.” The commander stepped down on a small button set into the floor, changing the projectors image into a map of the landing area. “These are where we will try to land the majority of you. Now,” another click changed the view to a photo clearly taken by a flying Pegasus. It was covered in red and gray marks in no recognizable order. “These red marks are fortifications built by the gryphons over the last several months, and these gray marks are approximately where all the large ships of our fleet will be anchored. The ships will not be able to escort you into the landing stage, so you’ll have to do your best to make it there alive. Now that I’ve covered what you all had figured out,” another click, this time bringing up a map of the lands just beyond the beach, which had black exes at regular intervals, “I’ll tell what you don’t know. These black marks are where elite special units from both the Marines and the Army have been dropped, along with small groups of pegasi. Their objective is simple- they will attempt to make it to the largest guns and fortifications before we launch the landing ships tomorrow. They are going to attempt to disable as many gryphons as they can along the way. That is all you need to know.” With that, the commander turned off the projector and called back in the ships crew.
Twilight was glad to learn that the fortifications were going to be weakened before they attempted their nearly suicidal attack, even though she was still worried about her three friends who she now knew must be inside Gryphony already. She figured that they could all handle themselves though. After all, they were the best in the entire armed services.
Midnight was pinned down. He couldn’t risk even taking a quick glance over the wall without losing his head. Even though that wouldn’t kill him, it would certainly hurt horribly. As well as forcing him to flee to an unknown area once his head grew back. All in all, it was much better to remain in cover.
This had its own problems. For one, he was effectively taken out of the battle; taking up the cover space another pony could use didn’t exactly make him happy either. He wasn’t the only pony hunkered down behind any shred of cover possible. Everypony was cowering just the way he was. They only luck they had at all right now was that the gryphons were too afraid to take to the air. Though they seemed to have recently gotten a hold of some kind of mortar. They were testing their aim at the moment, but every shot got closer to Midnight.
With the pegasi unable to fly, and everypony basically unable to shoot at the gryphons without committing suicide, they didn’t have much time left. Icescape and the other unicorn with their group had exhausted their magic long ago, and Midnight wasn’t willing enough to put his platoon at risk to launch a blast massive enough to take out the gryphons. Though, at this rate, none of them would ever make it to the objective. Except maybe Thorn.
The Captain had disappeared almost an hour ago. Most of the platoon thought he had died, but Midnight knew better. He would have felt if any lives had been snuffed out anywhere near recently. It was just one of the many skills of Death.
An incredibly close explosion rocked Midnight out of his trance. The gryphons had finally finished adjusting their mortar it seemed. Now they were just attempting to kill all the ponies, which really left Midnight no choice. He took a small step back from the wall he was behind, charging his horn, preparing to unleash a magical explosion slightly stronger than the guns on board an Equestrian destroyer could. Just as the black light around his horn started to slowly expand, he felt a little nag in his mind, and then another. He released his magic, attempting to figure out what was happening, when he first heard the pop of guns from in front of the wall. Lifting his head just slightly above the wall, Midnight felt another tug in his mind as he saw a gryphon collapse.
Realizing what was happening Midnight quickly lifted his rifle to a firing position and bit the yoke, causing a flash and a small pin of pain in the back of his mind. As more gryphons fell, the ones remaining started taking to the sky, leaving guns and ammo behind. Even more fell out of the sky as the last survivors fled into the blue cloudless day at a speed most pegasi could never hope to match. Bluebird growled next to Midnight, muttering threats towards the fleeing gryphons under his breath. After a quick check, Midnight was relieved to see that almost everypony was fine. The only casualty was a pegasus private. Midnight knew he had died quickly and painlessly; fairly comforted by the lack of agony, he started trotting towards the landing beach. The sun was already rising.
|
Starlight_Flight
|
1244
| 1 |
Cheerilee,Cutie Mark Crusaders,Diamond Tiara,Silver Spoon,Snails,Snips,Spike,Twilight Sparkle,Twist,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Principles of Magic
|
Twilight lectures on magic but adventure happens, so her lessons are illustrated along the way.
|
incomplete
| 13 | 2 |
<p>Twilight Sparkle is invited by Cheerilee to teach the children about magic, the different types of magic each pony has, and the very basics of how it all works. As Twilight is getting started, what appears to be a ghost starts haunting the schoolhouse; mayhem ensues, and each of the lessons in Twilight's lecture must be used to clean things up and send it home.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-08T17:16:08+00:00
|
2011-10-08T17:16:08+00:00
| 8,597 |
The Principles of Magic
By Starlight Flight
Chapter One: A bright and sunny morning
It was a beautiful morning, and the sun was rising gently over the eastern hills. Ponyville was coming alive with the sounds of ponies getting to work in their gardens and market stalls. Twilight's alarm clock rang out, and she sat up to reach out her hoof, pressing its top and shutting off the rattling bells, then bringing the clock over to look at the time. With a roll and a smile, the violet unicorn leapt out of bed.
"Hey, Spike! Wake up! Today's the day I'm going to teach all the fillies and colts at the schoolhouse about magic."
"That's nice," said Spike, waving a hand at her. "I'm going to stay here and sleep in."
Twilight lifted the blanket off of Spike's basket with her magic. "Now, Spike, what would a lecture on magic be without my Number One magical assistant?" When he continued to lie there trying to snooze, she lifted him as well, and set him upright on the floor. "Why don't you get a little breakfast started while I check my things?" Spike stood there rubbing his eyes until Twilight gave him a nudge with her muzzle.
"All right, all right! I'm going." And he headed downstairs to the kitchen.
Once Spike was moving, out came the checklist, followed by getting things done. "Wake Spike: Check! Brush mane:" She gave her mane and tail a handful of strokes with her brush. "Check! Notes and saddlebag: Check and check! Breakfast..." Twilight leaned over the railing and called downstairs, "Spike! How's breakfast coming?"
"Doing just fine, Twilight!" came his reply. The pony nodded to herself and trotted down the stairs, eager to finish her breakfast and head off to the schoolhouse.
Spike emerged from the kitchen with a chef's hat on his head and a big stack of pancakes balanced on a platter in his hands. He walked proudly to the table and laid out two plates and some silverware, then pulled up a stool and tossed his hat aside. The dragon grabbed a pair of flapjacks and laid some butter on them, then poured syrup all over. "I hope you're hungry, Twilight. I know I'm starving!"
"Thank you, Spike. These smell wonderful." Twilight placed two pancakes on her plate, then topped them with a two-bit-thick pat of butter and an eighth of a cup of syrup. As she was eating, there was a knock at the door. She set down her fork. "That must be Cheerilee! I'll answer the door, and you clean up, okay?"
As soon as Twilight's back was turned, Spike scarfed the other three pancakes on the platter. "Whatever you say, Twilight. Man, I'm a good cook!"
It was indeed Cheerilee at the door. "Good morning, Twilight! I came by to see if you were awake. I know you stay up late some nights." More like most nights, but perhaps she was too polite to mention it.
"Good morning, Cheerilee! I made sure to get plenty of sleep last night, and I set my alarm extra-early before I went to bed, so I should be just fine."
"That's good. I hope you're ready for your guest lecture. I know it's a big subject, but I hope you kept things as simple as possible for our schoolfoals." In her mind's eye, Cheerilee was seeing the huge stack of notes at the last speech Twilight gave.
"I did my best. I read a book on teaching before I started, and it reminded me to keep my audience in mind when I write something. I know they aren't all professors of alchemy or thaumaturgy, and this was supposed to be just about the basics."
"I'm glad to hear it. I'm going to head up to the schoolhouse now, and let the students in. We'll be ready for you in about a half-hour or so, after I've taken attendance and read the day's announcements. I'll introduce you, and then you'll have the floor. If you need help, I'll be grading some papers in the corner."
"All right, Cheerilee, I'll keep that in mind. See you then!" And with that, Cheerilee walked off and Twilight shut the door. "A half-hour, good. That means I have time to finish my break--" The purple pony's eyes got rather big as she saw the empty table where she'd been eating just a few minutes ago.
"Spike!"
A purple and red-finned head leaned out of the kitchen doorway, a few soap bubbles floating by. "What is it, Twilight? I'm cleaning up like you asked me to."
Twilight planted her hoof on her face. "Of course."
|
Starlight_Flight
|
1244
| 2 |
Cheerilee,Cutie Mark Crusaders,Diamond Tiara,Silver Spoon,Snails,Snips,Spike,Twilight Sparkle,Twist,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Principles of Magic
|
Twilight lectures on magic but adventure happens, so her lessons are illustrated along the way.
|
incomplete
| 13 | 2 |
<p>Twilight Sparkle is invited by Cheerilee to teach the children about magic, the different types of magic each pony has, and the very basics of how it all works. As Twilight is getting started, what appears to be a ghost starts haunting the schoolhouse; mayhem ensues, and each of the lessons in Twilight's lecture must be used to clean things up and send it home.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-06T22:53:06+00:00
|
2011-10-06T22:53:06+00:00
| 1,818 |
Chapter Two: The guest lecture
Twilight and Spike arrived at the red schoolhouse exactly half an hour later, knocking on the door, then opening it to see the whole room looking at them. Cheerilee saved the pair from an embarrassing silence with her quick response: "Oh, Twilight! Good, you're just on time. Everyone, Twilight Sparkle will be delivering today's lesson, on magic!"
Snails spoke up first, "Magic, woohoo!" That earned him a sour look from a couple of earth ponies.
Applebloom spoke up next. "Why do ah gotta learn about magic? I ain't got no horn!"
Twilight jumped in, saying, "I think you'll be surprised, Applebloom. Magic per se isn't restricted to just unicorns. Pegasi and even earth ponies have their own special forms of magic. Cheerilee, shall I just start into my lecture?"
Cheerilee grinned. "Certainly, Twilight! If you need me, I'll be over here in the corner, grading papers." Then to the class she added, "And if any of you ponies need me, I'll be right there!" Watching you all, you little troublemakers. She retired to her desk with a smile.
Twilight nodded, and stepped front and center. She placed a few notecards on a nearby lecturn and cleared her throat.
Twist spoke up, "My mom can make you a lozenge for that throat, Miss Twilight." The class laughed.
Twilight smiled. "Thank you, Twist, but that won't be necessary. Why don't we get started? Spike?" Spike picked up a marker and went to the flipchart, turning it to a blank page. Then he drew a horn, while Twilight lifted up her first notecard.
"All right. Magic. Magic as we know it was discovered in the misty past, before the Nightmare War, before Celestia and Luna were even born. As far back as ponies can remember, we have had magic all around us, and magic within our souls.
"Most of us think of unicorns when we think of magic. Making light with our horns, lifting things, making images and causing objects to come to life are some of the tricks and spells that unicorns like me have access to. Pretty awesome stuff, right? But there's more to it." Twilight nodded to Spike, who drew a wing and a hoof on the same page.
"Pegasus ponies have the magic of weather, wind, and flight. When you need a raincloud or a gust of wind, they can bring one to you. Some can carry enormous loads through the air. Some can fly fast enough to produce fantastic effects. And a few have special tricks, like trails of lightning."
"Like the Wonderbolts!"
"Yes, Scootaloo, like the Wonderbolts. A lot of that comes from how they train to use their special weather magic to make that power come alive."
"But what about earth ponies? All they get is tough and stringy!"
"You take that back, Diamond Tiara! Big Macintosh ain't stringy! 'Sides, yer an earth pony too!"
"Applebloom is correct, Diamond Tiara. You, and all earth ponies, will usually receive more physical strength than other ponies. Your connection with the land is also deep enough that earth ponies who don't have farming cutie marks often still have excellent green hooves. Plants grow easily in your care, and the power of the land dwells strongly in you. Earth ponies are also extremely flexible in terms of the kinds of jobs you can hold. And while Princess Celestia's royal guard is primarily big, tough pegasi, earth ponies make up the bulk of the peace officers' corps, as well as many governmental positions where an understanding of the land and the people is needed."
"This is boring! Why don't you show off a few tricks like the Great and Powerful Trixie?"
"Now, Snips, you should know by now that I don't like to show off. Spike?" Snips gave her a downcast look. Spike flipped the page, and drew a six-pointed star on the page. Twilight moved to yet another notecard.
"We all know now about the Elements of Harmony, and how friendship can win over terrible evil. But what else goes into magic? There are many natural elements of magic which must be considered if you wish to learn the secrets of its power."
"Haaay! Who pulled mah tail?!" Giggles came from all around. "Ah'm serious, somepony pulled mah tail." Applebloom turned around. "Was it you, Snips?"
Snips shook his head immediately. "Uhh, no! It wasn't me! I wanna learn about magic!"
Then Diamond Tiara squeaked. "Who was that, tickling me! I demand to know!"
Cheerilee frowned as the ponies accused shook their heads. "I didn't see anything, Diamond Tiara."
Then Diamond's eyes grew large, and she gasped as everypony saw the tiara on her head rise up and fly out the window. "That's my favorite tiara! I made it yesterday! I need it back, now!"
Cheerilee stood up and looked to Twilight. "Twilight, would you be so kind as to help her out?"
"I certainly would!" Twilight reached out with her magic and tried to pull the tiara back in, fighting a strong pull all the way. The window slammed shut, and then the flipchart slammed backward onto the floor. Twilight immediately looked at Spike, who held his hands up.
"It wasn't me! Look!" And he pointed at the blackboard eraser, which lifted up and clapped Twilight over her head, leaving her briefly stunned, her face covered in chalk dust.
Twilight stared, then sneezed. "Cheerilee, we might have a poltergeist in here."
|
Starlight_Flight
|
1244
| 3 |
Cheerilee,Cutie Mark Crusaders,Diamond Tiara,Silver Spoon,Snails,Snips,Spike,Twilight Sparkle,Twist,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Principles of Magic
|
Twilight lectures on magic but adventure happens, so her lessons are illustrated along the way.
|
incomplete
| 13 | 2 |
<p>Twilight Sparkle is invited by Cheerilee to teach the children about magic, the different types of magic each pony has, and the very basics of how it all works. As Twilight is getting started, what appears to be a ghost starts haunting the schoolhouse; mayhem ensues, and each of the lessons in Twilight's lecture must be used to clean things up and send it home.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-07T00:34:31+00:00
|
2011-10-07T00:34:31+00:00
| 1,337 |
Chapter Three: Eyes and ears
Silver Spoon screamed. "A poltergeist! That's a horrible spirit that throws things around and pulls mean tricks!"
Twilight tried to smile, saying, "Well, they don't always..."
Spike yelled "Duck!" as the blackboard eraser swung at the back of Twilight's head. She ducked, and it flew onward, hitting Silver Spoon in the nose. The filly coughed and sneezed, rubbing her muzzle.
"My looks! Ruined by that awful ghost!" She started to cry.
Cheerilee walked out from behind her desk. "Now, everypony, let's not get too upset! Why don't we go outside, and maybe Miss Sparkle can finish her lecture out there."
Twilight nodded, "That would be an excellent idea, Cheerilee! By the way, would you happen to-" The teacher gave her a blue kerchief. "Thank you." Twilight wiped the chalk dust off her face as they got all the little ponies lined up and out the door amidst a storm of chalk pieces and school papers.
Once everypony was outside, Spike showed up again, shielding himself with a book. "When I agreed to come along, I didn't think I'd have to be afraid of a paper cut!"
Finally the whole group was settled and organized, and Twilight could resume her lecture.
"Since most of you forgot your notes inside the classroom, I guess I feel better for forgetting mine, too." She gave them an embarrassed smile. "Now, one of the first lessons, the most basic principle for learning magic, is awareness. You have to feel the magic in your hooves, your horn, and your wings. Other creatures also have magic in them, and you can learn to feel that, too. Becoming aware of your inside starts with becoming aware of your outside. Does anypony remember what happened first when the poltergeist manifested?"
"Ah do! Ah do! It pulled mah tail, an' that hurt!"
"Good! Anypony else?"
Twist spoke up: "I heard somepony giggle next to me when we all laughed after that. It was right next to my ear, too!"
"Excellent! If you remember where you were sitting in relation to one another, we can find out things like how quickly it might be able to move."
Sweetie Belle broke in. "Or if there was more than one! I heard two strange voices laughing."
"Two? Are you sure?"
"I know what I heard!"
Snips looked horrified. "There's more than one? Oh, no, they're gonna take over the school!"
Snails also looked horrified. "Oh, no! No more school! Wait... Yaaay! No more school!"
"Yaaay!" everypony cheered, except for Cheerilee and Twilight Sparkle (who looked at each other).
"All right," said Cheerilee, "Now, who else can remember what happened, and if there was something they saw or heard that nopony else did?"
Hooves shot up all over, and everypony had an answer, but Twilight managed to shoot down the more outrageous ideas so they could focus on actual observations. Finally, they had a list of observations that everypony could agree on.
"All right. There were two voices laughing, and objects flying from two different directions. It seems we might have two poltergeists or other spirits playing pranks in the schoolhouse, and not one." Twilight had Spike write that down on a salvaged piece of paper.
"Now, the next principle after observation isn't always as much fun. It's information. I don't know a lot about poltergeists, but the library probably has a few books on ghosts and spirits. So the next step is research, finding out about spooks, haunts, and other scary things. Would anypony like to make a field trip to the library with me?"
Cheerilee stood up and interrupted. "Twilight, I know you're probably eager to finish your lesson, but it's almost lunch time, and most of our lunches are inside the school."
A dozen pairs of young eyes looked at her, and the whole group trembled in fear. "My lunch," cried Diamond Tiara.
"We're not far from the apple farm," suggested Applebloom. "Maybe we could get lunch there if we tol' mah sister Applejack 'bout the poultrygeist!"
"I don't want your common farmer apples, I want my lunch! It had grapes and bluebells in it!"
"Oh, quit your whining," said Scootaloo. "You can have some of my apples if you'll shut up about your lunch!"
Cheerilee smiled despite the attitude. "That's quite generous, Scootaloo, but let's go ask Applejack about lunch first, before we start sharing apples we don't have yet."
|
Starlight_Flight
|
1244
| 4 |
Cheerilee,Cutie Mark Crusaders,Diamond Tiara,Silver Spoon,Snails,Snips,Spike,Twilight Sparkle,Twist,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Principles of Magic
|
Twilight lectures on magic but adventure happens, so her lessons are illustrated along the way.
|
incomplete
| 13 | 2 |
<p>Twilight Sparkle is invited by Cheerilee to teach the children about magic, the different types of magic each pony has, and the very basics of how it all works. As Twilight is getting started, what appears to be a ghost starts haunting the schoolhouse; mayhem ensues, and each of the lessons in Twilight's lecture must be used to clean things up and send it home.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-08T17:53:12+00:00
|
2011-10-08T17:53:12+00:00
| 1,428 |
Chapter four: Lunch break
As Cheerilee gathered the group, Twilight looked at the schoolhouse and spoke up.
"Cheerilee, I think it's gotten quieter inside. I'm going to try fetching my notes. Is there anything special I should bring back out?"
"I don't have anything I need to get. Perhaps one of the children might. Everypony?"
"I want my lunch!" This was followed by a chorus of demands for lunches, and a few notebooks. Twilight listened and nodded to every request, asking Spike to make a list of names and items.
"Aw, shucks. Ah was hopin' Ah could go see mah sister."
Twilight smiled to her. "It's all right, Applebloom. If I can bring everything out here, we can have lunch here and I can finish the lesson. And then school will probably be done for the day."
One of the younger foals was getting fidgety, and raised a hoof. "Miss Cheerilee, I gotta go to the bathroom!"
"Uh... perhaps Twilight could escort you, if we ask nicely?" The teacher smiled to her guest. Please?
"Pleez Miss Twilight can you take me to the bathroom?"
"Of... course I can! Spike, could you add that to the list?"
"Okay, Twilight! Um, I'm gonna put that right at the top if that's okay with you." He ripped off the sheet and held it up for her. Twilight caught hold of it with her magic.
"Good. C'mon, kid, we're going in!"
"Yaaay!" The little pony was practically dancing at this, though she probably would have been anyway. At least she had a grin instead of a grimace now.
As they stepped inside, Twilight warned the foal to be careful, as things might start flying at any moment. Fortunately, the trip was entirely uneventful, and all the lunches and notebooks and other things were retrieved successfully, while other business was quite happily taken care of.
As they approached the other ponies, however, something grabbed one of the lunches Twilight was carrying, and tried to run off with it. She lifted all the bags higher, and the forward pull turned into a downward pull. "Hmmm. Hey, Spike? Do you see anything on this saddlebag with the tiara on it?"
Spike looked closely. "Hmmm. Nope! I don't see a-- waaait a minute, there's something different there. It's like the air's a little shimmery."
"Ooooh, shimmery!" All the ponies crowded around to see, and to try grabbing their bags and materials. "Wait, that's my saddlebag!" "I wanna see!" "I want my lunch!" "Didja get mah pencil, too?"
Cheerilee once again came to the rescue. "Now, now, children. What do you say?" And they all stopped yammering to say "Thank you, Miss Twilight!" as their belongings were properly distributed. The shimmering and pull seemed to have gone away when they'd gathered, and nopony was being bothered as they all got their lunches out and began to eat.
With all that taken care of, Twilight looked over her notes and tried to arrange them in the air. "Darn, they're out of order. Let's see... Introduction; Horns, Wings, and Hooves; Observation and Information... I think this is the next one." Then her own stomach grumbled, and she looked embarrassed. "Er, oops! Heh, heh, I guess I didn't have as good a breakfast as I thought." With two things trying to occupy her thoughts, she knew she wouldn't be able to focus, especially if one of them was hunger. "Cheerilee, would it be a good idea for me to finish this lecture tomorrow?"
Snails looked up from his lunch and gave Twilight big puppy eyes. "But I wanna learn about magic! I wanna be an awesome magician and save Ponyville and put on a big show and stuff!"
Snips chimed in with a mouthful of sandwich: "Yeah!"
"There's no school tomorrow, Twilight," said Cheerilee. "You'd have to wait a few days. It would probably be best if you finished up after lunch. After all, your adventures make you more qualified to handle this poltergeist than any of us!"
And then Diamond Tiara was heard, complaining to her clique. "Do you know my Aunt Crystalla was haunted? She must have passed her curse down to me!" Twilight shook her head at the melodrama, then perked her ears.
"That's it!" She trotted over. "Diamond Tiara, do you know anything about hauntings?"
|
Starlight_Flight
|
1244
| 5 |
Cheerilee,Cutie Mark Crusaders,Diamond Tiara,Silver Spoon,Snails,Snips,Spike,Twilight Sparkle,Twist,Adventure,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Principles of Magic
|
Twilight lectures on magic but adventure happens, so her lessons are illustrated along the way.
|
incomplete
| 13 | 2 |
<p>Twilight Sparkle is invited by Cheerilee to teach the children about magic, the different types of magic each pony has, and the very basics of how it all works. As Twilight is getting started, what appears to be a ghost starts haunting the schoolhouse; mayhem ensues, and each of the lessons in Twilight's lecture must be used to clean things up and send it home.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-14T23:33:32+00:00
|
2011-10-14T23:33:32+00:00
| 1,107 |
Diamond Tiara looked at Twilight. "Hauntings? Do I look like a ghost hunter?"
"Well, you were just talking about your Aunt Crystalla."
"Gasp! That's a family secret! How do you know about her?" Little Diamond tried to skewer Twilight with a suspecting gaze. The young mare gave her a quizzical look in return.
"You were... talking about her. Just now."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Right, girls?" Diamond tried to hide her nervousness. Then Scootaloo jabbed her side with a hoof.
"C'mon, tell us! It's not like we don't know your aunt went crazy anyway."
"Your aunt went crazy?"
"She did not! She had a ghost haunting her! It wasn't her that threw that bag of amethysts at the mayor!"
Twilight was intent, trying to ignore both her hunger and the impending squabble. "So... did she ever get rid of the ghost?"
"Yeah, did she?" taunted Scootaloo.
"Yes, she did! She went to see a mystic who gave her a ritual to perform, and she performed it that night. The next day the ghost was gone."
"Do you know what sort of ritual she used?"
"Daddy never told us. He just said that ghost would never bother us again."
"Interesting. Thank you, Diamond, you've given me a lot to think about."
The filly looked proud, until Silver Spoon stage-whispered, "Yeah, telling family secrets to strangers is gonna get us sooo far!" That earned a dirty look which was quickly hidden.
"You know, Twilight, I've been doing some research on ghosts myself," said Spike. "I just didn't want to spoil my Nightmare Night surprise. But... one thing I read is that you can use a bell, a book and a candle to banish ghosts."
"You can? Diamond Tiara, is that something your aunt might have used in her ritual?"
"I... I think so! She always had this crystal bell on a ribbon around her neck after that, and said as long as she wore it, no trouble would ever bother her agAAAAAAHH!" Diamond lifted up into the air, and spun clockwise three times, then dropped to the ground. "Oof!"
Then Spike yelled out. "Hey! Now something's got my tail!" He grabbed hold and yanked it back. A nasty little giggle echoed from nearby.
Cheerilee sighed. "All right, children. Let's go inside and gather our things, quickly. Diamond Tiara, why don't you stay with Twilight Sparkle, and we'll see what we can do for you, all right? I really don't want this to get wild again." All but a few of the ponies ran for the schoolhouse. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I hope I can make this up to you; I'm sure you don't get to discuss the subject of magic as much as you've been used to, here in Ponyville."
A few minutes later, all the ponies poured back out, followed by Cheerilee, who walked over to Twilight, Spike and Diamond. The others mostly scattered toward their homes.
"Class is dismissed, I take it?"
"Yes. I really don't want a poltergeist ruining the lessons they're supposed to learn."
"Hey, Diamond," said Applebloom.
"We wanna hunt ghosts," said Scootaloo.
"And use magic rituals to end the hauntings," said Sweetie Belle. "So now we're..."
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: GHOST HUNTERS!! YAAAY!!!"
Twilight, Cheerilee, and Spike all winced. Diamond Tiara covered her ears.
"Oh, yay," whispered the little jeweler, with an unhappy look.
|
DerpyZebra
|
1245
| 1 |
Big Macintosh,Derpy Hooves,Discord,Mayor Mare,Original Character,Silver Spoon,Alternate Universe,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
|
The Cantering Isles
|
An Elder Scrolls: Shivering Isles pony crossover, because there wasn't one already :)
|
incomplete
| 6 | 4 |
<p>Derpy Hooves, the industrious mailmare gets a special assignment from the Mayor of Ponyville to investigate a strange door on the edge of the Everfree Forest. As it turns out, the gate leads into the realm of the Lord of Chaos. Random crazyness ensues.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-06T17:20:21+00:00
|
2011-10-06T17:20:21+00:00
| 1,686 |
Author’s notes: Shivering Isles content © Bethesda Softworks Inc. , MLP © Hasbro Inc. No infringement is intended in any way. I used some of the original Shivering Isles dialouge, courtesy of http://www.imperial-library.info
The Cantering Isles
(A Crossover Tale by DerpyZebra)
Part I.
A Door in the Everfree Forest
It all began on one of the „dog days” of summer. The sun was about to set above the dainty little town of Ponyville, the warm afternoon breeze bickering through the streets. It had been a long day for the small settlement’s number one mailmare, Derpy Hooves. She had worked her fingers (or more exactly, wings) down to the bone delivering parcels and letters of various kinds, ranging from such trivial stuff as Bon Bon’s weekly correspondence with her parents to such crucial deliveries as a couple of manticore tails for Twilight Sparkle’s alchemical experiments. To think what would have happened if the Princess’ personal student hadn’t gotten them in time and perfect condition.. Derpy shrugged at the idea of being sent to the moon. Or Plutony, for that matter. But for now she was done, and could take a break at Pony Joe’s, drinking coffee as usual, to drive away tiredom.
She wiped a big drop of sweat from her forehead, and started fidgeting with her mailbag while she took a sip of the dark, sour liquid. Absentmindedly, she looked into the bag, only to find a rugged parchment deep inside. She shook her head and took a closer look. The strange letter had a number of seals on it and in the middle the inscriptions “Urgent” and “Top Secret” were stamped with crimson ink. Apparently it was addressed to the Mayor of Ponyville. Upon reading this, she jerked up from her chair with such intensity that her head almost hit the ceiling. The other ponies in the place didn’t even bother to register her odd behavior, after all, they were quite used to her slight eccentricity and thought she just had another “Derpy moment”. The dutiful mailmare threw a couple of bits on the counter with great haste, then proceeded to fly out the open window.
Once in the air, she quickly oriented herself towards the town hall. Being the largest building in town, it was impossible to miss. She dashed off with such a speed that might even put the Wonderbolts themselves to shame. Closing to the nearest available window, she frantically shouted:
“URGENT!! Open up the window, LUNADAAAAAM..”
Luckily, Mayor Mare was about to let fresh air into the room, thus the frenzied messenger fell in and bounced off the wall with a loud thud.
“..mnit”
“What is it now, Ms. Hooves?”- inquired the elder mare.
The grey pegasus took some moments to recollect herself, then added:
“Urgent message from the Equestrian Bureau of Investigation. It’s for your eyes only, madam.”
“Hmm, let me see.. interesting.” She stood dumbfounded for a second, then skipped through the content of the letter. “I guess it’s no big deal if I let you know what it’s about. The pegasi on weather duty noticed an unusual, glowing gate of the edge of the Everfree Forest. The Bureau believes it to be a portal to another dimension. Judging by the eyewitnesses’ accounts, ponies come and go through it, however those who come out act strangely indeed. Since the plot of land on which it stands formally belongs to our town, it is expected that I send somepony to investigate.” The normally stern elder pony’s expression turned into a smirk.
“Would you be up to the job?”- she asked.
Not knowing how to reply, Derpy fidgeted with her hooves nervously:
“I..um..guess so?”
“Wonderful. You get 2 days to complete this task. Go check the gate out and report back to me. If you succeed to solve this mystery, you’ll be greatly rewarded.” Besides, I can’t afford to send anypony from the Harmony bunch to sort this out, they have been suckered favored enough by the troll princess Her Majesty enough to mind their own business – she added in thought.
“Your best bet is to begin early tomorrow. Remember, you have to take a good look at the gate and consult me before you take any action.”
“Yes, ma’am!” – said Derpy, lacking conviction.
“Now you may take your leave. May the Goddesses grant you good luck on your quest. Farewell!”
“Goodbye.”
With that she flew fast as the wind outside the Mayor’s office, and went home. Her abode was a dainty little house, surprisingly orderly for one who’s rather squint-eyed. She took extra care not to wake her partner, a white pagasus stallion who was fast asleep in their bed. She sipped on some apple cider to calm her still stirred nerves, then shut out the lights and fell asleep. She woke up early in the morning. The first beams of light from Celestia’s sun barely even lit the room. Groggily, she rose up, ate a bowl of cereal and gobbled down a cup of coffee to get her started, then quickly scribbled a note explaining to her lover that she’s on special duty and probably won’t get home until dark. She packed a few apples in her saddlebag, and left for the Everfree.
Upon reaching the edge of the deep, dark forest she instantly saw the mighty gate that has stirred up chaos lately. It was fashioned out of stone, forming three weird faces, the middle one being a horse’s open mouth with menacing teeth, and a blue blur in its throat. Near the gate there were two figures, a middle-aged mare and a white stallion, wearing the armor of the Royal Equestrian Guard. When she got closer, the guard yelled at Derpy:
“Halt! Nopony gets through this gate without permission!”
“Well, I was sent here by the Mayor. To investigate.”
“In that case, I guess I can’t stop you from entering. But be warned: those who go in there either come back mad or they don’t come back at all. There’s no telling what dangers lurk behind that portal. “
In that instant, a crazy pony exited the gate, shouting and screaming incomprehensible things. He stopped near the guard, and in a painful whinny he spoke up:
“No more! Please, I can’t take another moment of this madness. End my life! Now, please!”
“If that’s what you wish.. in the name of Celestia, die!” With that he unsheathed his sword and slit the unlucky fellow’s throat. “Jeez, it hurts me every time I must do that, but we gotta do what we gotta do to protect Equestria.”
Derpy shrugged, but before she could reply, a thunderous voice roared from beyond the gate:
"Unworthy, unworthy, unworthy! Useless mortal meat. Walking bag of dung! A nice effort, though. A shame he's dead. These things happen. Bring me a champion! Rend the flesh of my foes! A mortal champion to wade through the entrails of my enemies! Really, do come in. It's lovely in the Isles right now. Perfect time for a visit."
The blue portal started swirling with maddening speed. Our heroine couldn’t help but felt drawn to it, compelled by some strange force to enter. She reluctantly trotted inside the blue beam, and arrived on the other side. She found herself in a rather strange, small and dark room. Right before her was a great stone desk with a clicking metronome and a single, large candle on it. Sitting behind the desk was a rather large-bodied, well-dressed red earth pony with a bored expression on his face.
“Please, would you sit down” – he said politely.
Derpy sat on the cold stone chair in front of her. After all, it would be rude of her to refuse the seat she was offered.
“What can I do for you? I imagine you’re here about the door?”
“The door? Oh, yeah, we can call it that way, but where I live, doors are made of wood.. is that weird portal a door at all? Did I just enter here? ” – said Derpy, her eyes crossed in perplexion.
„Yes. You have entered and now you are here. Amazing. Truly.” – offered he, stifling a yawn.
“Who are you”?
“I am Mackill, Chamberlain to the Lord Discorath”
“Wow, weird. I say, you’re a complete dead-ringer for my buddy Applejack’s big brother, except for your fancy clothes and your manners. Oh, but look at me, I’m talking horseapples. What is this place anyway?” – asked the mailmare with a derpy face
„You approach the Cantering Isles. Through the door behind me lies the realm of Discorath, Prince of Chaos, Lord of the Never-There.”
„Disco who?”
„Discorath.”
„Why did that door appear in Equestria?”
„Because my Lord wills it to be so. It poses no danger to ponykind; no compact has been violated. It is a doorway, an invitation. Perhaps you will accept it for what it is.” – he said with a stern voice.
„What do you want with me?”
„For you? I do not know. My Lord seeks a mortal pony to act as His Champion. As for His intent... to attempt to fathom it is a foalish endeavor. His will is His own; His reality follows suit. You are here because you chose to enter; you were not summoned.”
„And the ponies outside?”
„They entered this Realm, and were ill prepared. Their minds are now the property of my Lord.”
„Um, I wonder if they can be cured somehow?” – asked Derpy, rolling her eyes.
„Cured? You speak as if they are diseased. They live now in another state of being. Perhaps it is you who needs a cure.”
„Well, I could do with an eye surgery for my astigmatism” – added the grey mare, letting a slight giggle out
„Ha ha, my liver almost popped. Now get on with your questions” – Mackill said, visibly annoyed.
„Oh, sorry. What happens now?”
„You do as you will. You may leave the way you entered. Your life will be none the worse for your time spent here. Or, you may continue onward, through the door behind me. If you can pass the Gates of Madness, perhaps the Lord Discorath will find a use for you.”
„I see. And if I go through the door?”
„Who is to say? There are always choices to be made. The Realm of Madness is no different in that regard. Your choices are your own. Enter or do not, but make your decision. I've other duties to which I must attend. Speak with me again when you have made up your mind. The anticipation is almost too much to bear.”
„So I’d have to speak with this Mr. Disco Rat?”
„Precisely. Now get scarce and don’t come back until you’ve reached your decision”
„Yes sir, Mr. Mackill. See ya then.”
„Goodbye.” – said the blonde-maned mare, walking out of the portal. „Dear Celestia, the Mayor’s not gonna be overjoyed when she hears about this” – she sighed.
Derpy flied as fast as she could to the town hall to inform Mayor Mare of the turn of events. Having consulted every tidbit of the situation, the elder pony spoke up:
„Well Ms. Hooves, I don’t like this a bit, but it seems like we’re gonna have to play together with this Disco Rat guy, otherwise we won’t get rid of that door. I’m sorry to abuse your time, given your job is important, but I feel you should go in there and get to know what this is all about. The town of Ponyville will reward you duly for your services, and if you should succeed, the whole of Equestria will look upon you as a hero.”
„Whoa, that’s nice and all, but a couple of muffins would hit the spot better.”
„Here, take these 100 bits for your services. It will be more than enough for that purpose, I’m sure” – said the burgomeister[1] with a motherly smile. „Now go, take a rest. When you’re ready, let me know”
„Thank you so much, Mrs. Mare!” – chirped the pegasus, and took off towards home.
When she arrived, and entered the house, trotting to the dining room, she was greeted by the sight an all too familiar white stallion with a cumulus cutie-mark on his flank. However, this time she had the slightest feeling in her head that a bunch of foul-smelling apes were spying on her[2]. Normally she would have dismissed this as a byproduct of her derpy mental functions. But this time, she decided to play along and slowly started spinning a web of thought, recalling her memories. His name was Cloudheart[3]. They had first met in Flight School, but hadn’t really noticed each other until the graduation ceremony, where they danced together and fell in love. Cloudheart had always dreamed of becoming a Wonderbolt, but he had failed the entrance exams, so he decided to make a living by packaging and selling lettuce beer. Eventually his enterprise got quite successful. Derpy got a job at the Ponyville Post Office, and did her best to serve the community despite her minor handicaps. They bought a nice home together in Cloudsdale. Speaking of which.. ah, I got sidetracked again, damn apes! – Derpy thought.
“Hello honey, what’s the matter?” – asked Cloudheart, perplexed.
“Ah, nothing my dear, I just got carried away. Uh.. have you seen any apes around?”
“Apes? Not that I know of.. why?”
“Oh, never mind. Anyway, I just brought home some muffins from Sugarcube corner. I guess it’s time for dinner”
“YAY MUFFINS!” – shouted the white Pegasus with glee. The two started eating with loud munches.
“Om nom nom, these are so good” – remarked Derpy. “By the way, I had the weirdest job today. I’m sure you read my note about examining that gate.”
“Yeah, truth be told I was a bit worried, but I’m curious, so spare no detail” – said Cloudheart.
“Well, those ponies passing through it are out of their minds. I even talked to this fella, whatsisname, Mackill on the other side, he told me about his Lord Discorath and went on how they needed a mortal to save their realm .. insanity at its finest!”
“Disco who?”
“Yeah, that’s what I asked too. Disco Rat, Discorath, something like that.”
“So I take it that you’re going back to examine further?”
“Yup. Not that I’m overjoyed, but you know, Mayor’s orders..”
“Well, before you’d set out on your journey.. I’d like to cuddle up with you for one last time until you come back again”
Derpy nodded, and without further ado, they left for the bedroom. After 2 hours of sensous lovemaking, they fell asleep. Our heroine woke up earlier than usual, and had her fill of cereal and coffee. She hastily packed up some food and items in her traveling saddlebag. When her partner woke up, she quickly gave him a goodbye kiss and rushed to the mysterious door in the Everfree. Having entered the room, Mackill greeted her as usual:
“Well, hello there, mortal. Have you made up your mind? The tension is almost palpable.”
„I’ll do it”
„Fine. I'm sure my Lord will be most pleased, assuming you ever manage to see Him. You'll want to pass through the Gates of Madness. Oh, and mind the Gatekeeper. He dislikes strangers to the Realm. Enjoy your stay.”
With that he disappeared, and the room burst into thousands of butterflies. Derpy realized she was standing int he middle of a strange realm, surrounded by garish looking plants and glittering insects.
-TO BE CONTINUED-
[1] A fancy word for mayor, from German Bürgermeister
[2] Much like Pinkie Pie, Derpy Hooves can do actions that break the 4th barrier too. U jelly?
[3] I hope there isn’t already an OC by this name .. please don’t flame me!
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DerpyZebra
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1245
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Big Macintosh,Derpy Hooves,Discord,Mayor Mare,Original Character,Silver Spoon,Alternate Universe,Crossover,Adventure,Comedy,Random,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore,Sex
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The Cantering Isles
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An Elder Scrolls: Shivering Isles pony crossover, because there wasn't one already :)
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incomplete
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<p>Derpy Hooves, the industrious mailmare gets a special assignment from the Mayor of Ponyville to investigate a strange door on the edge of the Everfree Forest. As it turns out, the gate leads into the realm of the Lord of Chaos. Random crazyness ensues.</p>
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teen
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2011-10-11T17:25:11+00:00
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2011-10-11T17:25:11+00:00
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Author’s notes: Shivering Isles content © Bethesda Softworks Inc. , MLP © Hasbro Inc. No infringement is intended in any way. I used some of the original Shivering Isles dialouge, courtesy of http://www.imperial-library.info
The Cantering Isles
(A Crossover Tale by DerpyZebra)
Part II.
Through the Fringe of Madness, and Beyond
Derpy Hooves trotted down the meandering path before her, quietly observing the cobblestones overgrown by fluorescent moss, took some glances at the frivolously colorful, eerie flora and fauna on her way, then the overly bright, blue sky beset by purple clouds. In the distance, she saw the outlines of a small settlement, which appeared to be hazily built, as if a number of houses were haphazardly placed near each other. Not knowing better, she decided to enter the village and ask for directions. Obviously, they would know where their ruler resides. – she reasoned to herself.
Upon entering the settlement, a zebra dressed in garish red clothes approached her:
„Hi, you must be new around here. My name is Sheldon, and I’m the Mayor of this wonderful town, Passwall . This is the only place where travelers can take a rest when traveling through the Fringe, the borderlands of our Lord’s kingdom. I suggest you visit our inn, we have the finest lettuce ale in stock..”
„Wow, thanks, but what is this place? ”
„Why, it’s my town, of course. It took me long years and my hand’s labor to start building it from scratch. The place was pretty deserted when I got here. Of course, once I was here, others followed. Can't say I blame them.”
„How do I get to your Lord Discorath?”
„I don’t think there’s a way you could. You’d have to pass through the Gates of Madness.”
„And?”
„There’s a Gatekeeper guarding the gates. They say the keys are sewn up in the Gatekeeper's body. Basically, that means you're not getting in. Now hush, let’s drink a couple bottles of ale and watch the Gatekeeper rough up a party of adventurers.”
Derpy followed the zebra into the tavern, proceeded to buy a bottle of ale for herself and waited for her newfound acquaintance to finish his purchase, then they dashed up a series of stairs leading up a hill. They stood on the edge of the cobblestone platform on the hilltop. Derpy was flabbergasted by what she saw there. On the other end of the platform, near the gates, a huge horse stood ground, larger than perhaps any creature the grey mare has ever seen. It seemed to be sewn from different parts, its flanks and chest were marred by eldritch shapes and symbols etched into its hide. It had a sharp blade intsead of a hoof on its right foreleg. A herd of perhaps 3-4 ponies in shining armor rushed towards it, only to be sliced and diced in mere seconds by the monster. Their leader, who odered the charge, ran away screaming:
„He's too much! Killed all my soldiers! Get out of my way!”
„Now that’s how you scare away them varmints” – remarked Sheldon in a tipsy manner after drowning his third ale .
„Is there any chance of getting past that..creature?” – Derpy inquired
„Dunno, better ask around the village, somebody must know how to get in. Now if you’ll forgive me, I must go attend the snail race. My money’s on Slimey, so he’d better win or else I’ll grind him in my salad” – with that, he polished in a bottle of hard apple cider.
The grey mare watched as the now drunk zebra groggily went about this business. There were a couple of other villagers, still cheering for the Gatekeeper, chucking empty bottles all over the place. Whoa, these guys are pretty loose. Are they right in the head? – she pondered.
Our heroine flew up above the village crowd, and noticed a middle-aged blue mare with a retort cutie mark approaching the guardian. She was not only unharmed, but in fact the Gatekeeper cuddled up to her!
The blonde-maned pegasus knew by instinct that she had to talk to her, so without further ado, she flew up and landed next to her, careful not to get in the Gatekeeper’s way.
The elder mare noticed her, and walked up to her:
„Well, what have we here? Another hopeful whose blessing hasn't fully taken root? No, I don't think so. You're an adventurer? How disgusting. Why don't you go back the way you came?”
„What? ... Sorry, no can do. I’m on a quest to find Lord Discorath. You seem to be close to the Gatekeeper. Can you help me pass through?”
„I’ll tell you what, you must be a proper jackass. You’re a pegasus and still you didn’t realize that you could fly over the gates and spare the time. But that’s okay. Lord Discorath likes fools. And in a place such as the Isles there is a ritual for everything. So I’ll have you know that the Gatekeeper is my child. He was spawned by my Lord’s will and conceived in my alchemical womb. I programmed his mind not to hurt mad ponies.Go ahead and give him an offering to secure his friendship.”
Derpy slowly pulled out a muffin from her saddlebag and carefully sneaked towards the guardian. She put the muffin near his feet. Much to her suprise, the eldritch horse ate it quickly and responded in a gravelly voice:
„A gift… for me.. how very nice. So.. do you want to be.. my friend?”
„Of course I do, silly, after all, friendship is magic!”
„Fine.. take these keys, they gave me nothing but.. pain”
Having said that, he cut up his left front thigh with his blade. From the bleeding wound he produced two keys, one for each gate.
„Welcome, enjoy your stay.” – he crowed.
The nearby crowd started cheering the newest addition to the Isles.
„Wow, you’ve impressed my child. This is no small feat, my little pony. Allow me to introduce myself. Reinmyna Marenim, sorceress.”
„I’m Derpy Hooves, nice to meet you. Now what?”
Before the blue pony could have replied, Mackill teleported to the spot with a bright flash.
„So, you've managed to befriend the Gatekeeper. Marvelous . Well, you'll now be able to enter the Realm proper. You'll notice there are two doors. One leads to the lands of Mania. The other to Dementia. Enter through either one. The lands are quite distinct, but both are Discorath's domain. You'll want to seek out Lord Discorath. I believe He has plans for you. Try not to disappoint Him.”
„Fine, I knew most of that already. Where do I find him?”
„You will find Him in New Diskkh, in His palace. It is best not to make Lord Discorath wait. His whims are fleeting, and should He decide you are no longer necessary, it would be to your detriment.”
„New Diskkh?”
„It is, of course, the capital of the Cantering Isles. It is divided into Bliss, Crucible, and the Palace districts.”
„And what’s the difference between Mania and Dementia?”
„The lands of Dementia reflect the darker side of its residents. It is easy to get lost among the tangle of roots growing out of the ground. The lands of Mania are bright, vibrant, and full of color. You'll find its inhabitants reflect the land itself. Take care, though. Though the citizens and creatures of Mania are colorful, they can often be quite deadly. I'm sure you can handle it, though.”
„Which side do you propose I should enter?”
„Well, I find that New Diskkh is a bit easier to approach from the Dementia side”
„Cool, then I’ll go at once”
„Fine, see you soon” – said Mackill, still not amused.
The others waved towards our heroine, wishing the best on her journey. She passed through the huge archway before the actual gate, committing to memory the incantation known as the „Blessing of Dementia” painted on the bleak stone walls. She opened the large, creaky metal gate, then trotted to the other side. She saw a landscape completely different from what she experienced in the Fringe. Dull, grey skies stretched over the land, itself dark and drab in colors. Huge roots burrowed into the ground, making the whole scene nightmarish. Derpy flew as high as she could, and noticed the lights of New Diskkh in the far distance. She flew as fast as she could, and in 10 minutes flat she arrived at the southern gate. There she decided to ask for directions from the guard, a strange animal akin to a zebra, but with grey stripes instead of white ones, and odd, cat-like eyes.
„Excuse me, which way leads to the palace?”
„It’s no big deal, young lady, just go straight for about 3 blocks, then turn to the right. It’s so huge that it’s almost impossible to miss”
„Thanks. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what sort of creature are you? No offense, but I’ve never seen someone quite like you.”
„None taken. I’m one of the Mazzeb, the most faithful servants of Lord Discorath. Unlike the selfish Owleals, we really do protect the Realm’s citizens.”
„Good to know. However, I really need to get going now. Goodbye!”
„See ya.”
Derpy cantered across the streets of Crucible, up the inconveniently built stairs to the Palace. It was a grand, impressive edifice built in a style emulating Classicist architecture. On the Dementia side, blue, on the Mania side, red flames were burning in large stone vessels. Two smaller gates served as an entrance, on the right side, a Mazzeb, on the left, a creature that Derpy identified as an Owleal stood guard. It looked roughly like a tan pony dressed in golden armor, but with owl eyes and ears. The steadfast mailmare entered from the right. She found herself in a gigantic throne room. The walls were lavishly decorated, and certain items, most likely the owner’s relics, were showcased around them. Right before Derpy was a small coffee table, carved from the finesh mahogany. She couldn’t make out the rest of the interior as she approached the throne, bowing her head deeply to the monarch as she was taught as a filly on etiquette classes.
“Greetings, my Lord, I am Derpy Hooves of Equestria, how may I be of service?” – she rotely spoke
“Ah, what a nice young mare. Cut that formal crap out, you’re boring the buck out of me. You may stand.”
Having straightened up, she realized she was standing in front of a mighty throne, built from stone upon the roots of a huge tree, its stem supporting the seat. Near the it stood the ever loyal servant Mackill. Upon the royal seat sat a large Draconequus, a creature that seemed oddly juxtaposed from at least a dozen distinct animals, such as a horse, a goat, a dragon, a deer, an eagle, and so on. Derpy was astonished at first, then her face convulsed into an angry mess.
“Discord! How dare you trick me like that” – she roared, stomping a hoof on the ground.
“Calm down, my little brat, or I’ll have to rip out your intestines and coat them in chocolate. Mmm, yes, sweet chocolate. Firstly, it’s Discorath for you. This is the what I’m called here in the Isles. Secondly, let’s get your facts straight. As you might know, I used to be the ruler of Equestria in the ages of myth. In fact, I created it. Of course, back then it was called Discordia. Do you know anything about cosmogony?”
“What..?” – asked Derpy, confusion gleaming in her crossed eyes.
“Geez, don’t they teach you ponies anything? Is a proper education too much to ask nowadays? Anyway, I’ll enlighten you myself. Do you know how the world was made?”
“Um.. no?”
“Listen closely. In the beginning there was only the Void. In the heart of the Void there existed an universal Will, my Dread Father, Sithis. He created thoughts for his own pleasure, then dissolved them faster than lightning. In this eternal, swirling wind of thougths the world slowly started to shape. I was brought to life from such a thought. My Father was pleased, and he gave me the power of creation, tasking me to become the embodiment of Chaos and set up a world, controlled by My whims, to test the limits of creation. This I did with joy, and created a planet in a galaxy formed by the slowly cristallising matter found in my Father’s newborn universe. I set out to create life, and formed the ponies, the zebras, and whatnot. They lived happily, or so I think, in my ever-changing world, savoring the tastes of madness. I cared about them deeply, until two of my favorite ponies, Celestia and Luna rebelled against me . They used six ancient Void crytals, dubbed the Elements of Harmony, to banish me from my own world, and expelled me to swim in streams of the Void for aeons. Harnessing the magic of the elements, the two transformed themselves into deities. In fact, they are false goddesses[1].”
“Don’t speak of the Two Divines like that!” –frowned Derpy.
“Divines schmivines. Hush now, my child, look into my eyes, and forget everything you were told. Let me finish this story up.”
“Okay, sorry to disturb you. If what you say is true, then I’ve been deceived all my life.”
“Indeed you were,child. But don’t worry about it. Now, on to the story. After being exiled to the Voidstreams, I established this place, as a refuge until I could return to Equestria. It was no small effort to carve out a world from the empty waves of nothingness instead of the universal matter, but I made it. I decorated this place with some new life forms, as you may see. Slowly, more and more creatures trickled in as they found the way to travel between planes of existence, to enter My realm. The way to enter is through madness. Only those with the sparks of chaos in their minds can enter unphased. “
“Why did you open a cosmic gate in Equestria?”
“Actually, it was Mackill’s idea. I need a Champion, to run my errands, and eventually save this world from the upcoming crisis. I knew someone would show up and make it here eventually.”
“What crisis?”
“You see, I’m not the only spirit created in those early times. There are others like me, solidified thoughts of the Creator. Together we are known as Spirit Lords. After creating the Isles, my forces started to multiply rapidly, bringing entire galaxies under my domain. The other Lords became jealous, and cursed me with that bitch Jyggalestia, who comes at the end of every era to destroy the Isles in the event known as the Greygallop.”
“I can’t seem to grasp that. How do we measure eras?”
“Simple enough, my dear. Each time something remarkable happens in a mortal world, they call it an end of an era. The destruction of Nightmare Moon by the your Mane Six was such a happening.”
“When did the previous era end?”
“Just after the banishment of Luna to the moon, about a thousand years ago.”
“Wait, I heard something about this back in history class. Was the.. Ponyblivion crisis also your doing?”
“Heavens, no! It was the work of Mensroom Dagobah[2] , the Lord of Destruction.”
“And why did you choose to return to Equestria at the end of this era?”
“I felt the Greygallop drawing near, and as a desperate attempt I tried to break the cycle by retaking what was once mine. I know now it was a mistake.”
„I see. Who is this Jyggalestia?”
"The Spirit Lord of Order. Or cupcakes[3] ... No. Order. And not in a good way. Bleak. Colorless. Dead. Boring, boring, boring. And not a fan of My work, I can tell you. I don't think ANY of the other Princes like her, actually. I mean, Mulecath is more popular at parties. And Mulecath is NOT popular at parties.”
„Mulecath?”
„Another Spirit Lord. He’s the chosen deity of the mules and the self-proclaimed protector of the ugly beings. Boring no-lifer, that one.”
„I guess Pinkie Pie would still throw a party in his favor” – chuckled the grey mare
„Enough chit-chat, my filly. Hold your tongue. Or I will. You’re to go to Xedilian, one of my favorite spots in the Isles. It's a little place I use to take care of unwanted visitors. And some are more unwanted than others.”
„Why Xedilian?”
„The Gatekeeper takes care of most of the unwanted, but he's overworked. Anyway... there are those that have other ways into my Realm, and they're on the move. We don't want them here. Trust me. So, you're going to get Xedilian up and running. Here's a little book to tell you how, and the Attenuator of Judgement. You'll need that, too. Of course, you can always get more details from Mackill. He's a detail-oriented type of person. A big help. And a snappy dresser. Now, get going. Before I change my mind. Or my mind changes me.”
„If you insist, Lord Discorath..”
„Oh, and one last thing before you go. Take this trinket of mine. Perhaps it will serve you well. Or look lovely on your corpse.”
With that, he gave her a shiny gold amulet, known as the Charity of Madness. It had many powerful enchantments woven into it that protected the owner from various threats found in the strange realm.
“Mackill, treat the lady here to dinner. And explain her how the stuff in Xedilian works. My head is splitting from so much talk.”
“As you wish, my Lord” – said the dutiful butler, and proceeded to set the table for Derpy. He served her a plate of fungus stalk soup, a dish known as Withering Moon, and some Alocasia fruits for dessert. The tired mailmare ate with great gusto, then trotted up to him to talk about the details of her quest. Before she could say anything, he nonchalantly observed:
“The Madgod has given you a task. Surely, someone of your copious talent should be able to handle it.”
„Yeah, could you spare me some details about this place and what to do there?”
„Yes, I could. It’s quite an amazing place really. Wonderful for relieving one's tension as you watch those troublesome adventurers suffer... no offence. I'd say your next move is to head to Xedilian and get it reactivated.”
„How do I go about that?” – asked the mare with a derpy expression on her face.
„Ah... silly me. The book has no pictures. Can't really expect you to read that, now can I? To reactivate Xedilian for my Lord's pleasure, you'll need to find three Focus Crystals and return them to their resting place. Each crystal has a matching receptacle called a Judgment Nexus. Even you can't miss them. Without the crystals in place, the Resonator of Judgment, Xedilian's power source, cannot be restored.”
„I think I understand. Find crystals, put them into their place. Piece of cake.” – giggled the pegasus
„Exactly, but be wary of the Grummites. Nasty creatures, do not underestimate them” – admonished Mackill.
„Okie dokie, I’ll be on my way now. Goodbye, Lord Discorath. See ya later, Mr. Mackill.”
„Always a pleasure. Farewell.” – said the tedious chamberlain, letting out a small yawn.
„Ta! Come visit me again, or I’ll pluck out your eyes!” – said Discorath in a humorous tone.
Derpy flew in a comfortable pace over the Isles, until she saw a large maze built of stone on the far horizon. She slowly started to lower herself until she landed near it and finally caught a glimpse of Xedilian..
-TO BE CONTINUED-
[1] I find that Celestia and Luna in MLP canon acted pretty much like the AlmSiVi deities in TESIII. They harnessed the power of magical items (in the first case, the Elements of Harmony, in the second, Kagrenac’s Tools) to make themselves „living gods” and rulers.
[2] Reference to TESIV. Personally I'm proud of this spoof name, reminds me of Bigus Dickus..
[3] Oh bless you please, Pinkamena Pie :)
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GearheartHound
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1248
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Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Spike,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
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Ponies at Arms
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A guard sergeant and her squad must race to stop a horrible plot which threatens all of equestria.
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incomplete
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<p>Guards. Police Officers. Watchmen. they are called a great many things and always stand resolute between the lives of innocents and the dark forces which seek to do them harm. They do not ask to be heroes, they do not seek out greatness but sometimes they have greatness thrust upon them. Follow the exploits of Sergeant Shrike and her squad of noble ponies as the waters of political intrigue swell up around them and they find themselves in way over their heads. Will they become the heroes that Equestria needs and more importantly, will they ever get some time off?</p>
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teen
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2011-10-06T20:39:31+00:00
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2011-10-06T20:39:31+00:00
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Ponies at Arms
By: GearheartHound
In every city and town in every world of the multiverse, there are those brave men and women who go out every day to try and keep the streets safe. Who put themselves in the line of fire so ordinary citizens don't have to. They do this not for glory or for personal gain; they do not seek out greatness. But every now and then, a terrible threat arises and those valiant few who stand between us and the dark, have greatness thrust upon them and they become... Heroes...
Sergeant Shrike fell from the sky and hit the cobblestones hard. With the breath knocked out of her she simply rolled painfully to a stop, looking over her shoulder in the direction she came. Her armour sagged on her frame from the powerful kick to her side. It never fit properly at the best of times, now it's dented and missing rivets which is coming out of my pay... she grumped and tried to struggle to her hooves. Ahead of her the oversized stallion took a few more steps before taking up a fighting stance.
“You have got to be kidding me...” She mumbled below her breath as the midnight blue stallion charged headlong towards her. She back-winged and pulled herself up at the last moment, kicking out with her back hooves to catch the stallion in the side. Shrike wasn't a frail mare; nopony who could rise to the rank of sergeant in any branch of the guard was a frail mare.
Her right hoof struck his rib and the left struck his shoulder, she felt the bones beneath her blow give and the stallion bellowed in rage before stumbling to a halt and turning to face her again. The evidence of the fight hung over every bit of his body. Hoof prints and spreading bruises were all overshadowed by his eyes which shone out with a malevolent green glow. The stallion limped a little with his broken shoulder but still pawed at the cobbles and made ready to charge anew.
“Why won't you just give up!?” Shrike yelled at the stallion, settling back to her hooves with her wings at their fullest extent from utter frustration. “You've got broken ribs... you shouldn't even be able to stand on that leg! Just give up so I can lock you up and go have a pint!” The crazed stallion still dug at the cobbled street with his hooves and made ready to charge. So wrapped up in his rage that he didn't notice the hulking shape easing up behind him.
In a swift motion, Constable Boulder, the largest pony on the force, used his full weight to pin the stallion to a wall. Shrike let out a sigh of relief and fumbled with her belt to grab her set of manacles. “What kept you, ya big lump?” She swiftly shackled the struggling pony as the glow in his eyes began to fade.
“I was just making sure Trusty was OK, Sarge...” Came the deep but soft reply. The sergeant sighed again. Boulder was a nice stallion, nearly to a fault. “He's fine... just a knock on the head.”
“Haul this guy back to the cells and get the doctor to have a look at him... I’m going to go get Star and Jammy. I know, I know.” She held up a hoof to silence the inevitable question. “It's their day off... but frankly I don't care... this is the third one of these this week and I’m getting tired of having my flanks trampled into the cobbles. I say we get some real help, write the castle if we have to.”
Sergeant Shrike turned and nudged her helmet off, letting her stone grey mane fall back into place. Without further ceremony she made her way towards the homes of her officers.
Sergeant Shrike looked around the room at her squad. The loyal servants of law and order in Equestria, the bold and the brave. She sighed and took a sip out of her coffee cup, savouring the hot bitter blend as it ran down her throat and brought a little feeling back into her limbs. Her eyes fell on each of her team in turn.
Corporal Trusty Spirit, the pale green unicorn, had been been her friend the longest. She could always count on Trusty to come through when the chips were down and to brew up a truly awful pot of the lifesaving coffee he was known for. Fittingly that particular talent which was represented in his cutie mark, a battered tin cup nearly overflowing with steaming brown liquid.
Constable Boulder. Calling him large was an understatement, but the big blue stallion had a heart as big as he was. He joined the guard to help ponies and didn't like to exercise his immense size or strength but when he did, the criminals noticed. A trio of heavy stones adorned his flank and, as was to be expected, he was solid as a rock. Unshakable, unbreakable, reliable and quiet.
Constable Jammy. The unassuming purple unicorn had a pair of cookies on his flank and a smile always on his lips. Everypony always called him Jammy, so much so that none could recall his real name. His special talent was baking cookies which honestly didn't say much. The stallion had survived countless collapses, fires, explosions, robberies. He had sustained more wounds in the line of duty than any pony in guard history. He always seemed to be able to pick himself up and carry on regardless.
Lance Constable Shooting Star, brash and headstrong, Shrike almost didn't hire the sandy colored pegasus but the mare had demanded a job, insisting that justice needed to be served and she was just the pony to dish it out. She reminded Shrike of another mare who had dared to join the town guard many years before, so she gave the pegasus a badge and wasn't disappointed.
She smiled to herself as her eyes traveled around the room and back to the cup in front of her. Misfits the whole lot of them, the bits and pieces that the palace guard had no use for, but honestly a finer bunch of ponies would be hard to find. Despite everything that failed to impress about her squad,She figured she owed somepony a debt of gratitude and counted herself a lucky mare.
“OK you lot... we had another rampaging stallion this morning.” The pale grey pegasus pulled a report across the duty desk and read it aloud. “At a quarter past ten this morning a stallion kicked down the door of the bakery on Trottingham Road. He had green eyes that appeared to be glowing was nearly frothing at the mouth. He assaulted the owner, stole several baked goods and was in the process of eating them when Corporal Trusty and Constable Boulder showed up.” She nodded to both stallions, looking up from the report, the former having a strip of bandage around his forehead. She smirked a little, “Dumb luck really, they decided to take an early lunch.”
“Yeah just my luck, Sarge...” Trusty chuckled and tapped his bandage.
Shrike gave him a sympathetic smile and continued with the report. “The stallion put up a fight, assaulting and incapacitating one officer before the chase ensued. I happened to be on patrol at the time and took the stallion into custody with the help of Constable Boulder. He's in the cells now, Dr Greenfields checked him over.” Shrike took another sip of coffee and closed the report. “That stallion was able to unleash a kick that knocked out a helmeted guard, he was still ready to fight with broken ribs and a shattered shoulder. Not to mention a few deep tissue bruises. Any one of those would put any one of us down for a while and he just kept raging.”
“Is it a potion again?” Shooting Star piped up, a grim look on her face.
“We're having his blood scanned, but yes... glowing eyes, thinking he's the biggest, strongest stallion in the world, ignoring injuries... sounds an awful lot like a potion to me, if only we knew which one we might know how to combat it... ” Shrike rubbed her forehead a little. The potions were something new in recent years. Designer drugs being cooked up by some shadowy back alley alchemists. The typical potions weren't all that harmful for the most part. Most of the time a pony on a potion high would just sit quietly and watch all the pretty colours. These new potions, on the other hoof, were terrifying. They gave ponies great strength and stamina, impossible resistance to injury and a deep need to beat the living daylights out of anything that got in their way.
Reports were coming in about similar incidents in some other cities and towns but there was no rhyme or reason to them. Average ponies from all walks of life, and all of those affected refused to comment after the potion had run its course. It was a nightmare for the guards. Anypony on the street could just turn around and kick his neighbour's head in, there was no pattern at all and nopony was talking.
“I know I promised you all a few days rest on and off but honestly... I can't rest well knowing my town could become a riot zone overnight. It takes almost all of us to bring down one of these crazed ponies. So from now on we take days off on a rota... one day off while everypony else is on shift...” There was a groan from the guards which Shrike silenced quickly. “And furthermore! Even if you're off, you hear the bell, you come running...” Shrike gave a harried smile and the guards calmed down a little. “You all are like family to me... and I want you all to start acting like it... we're all in this mess together. Now get out there and keep the peace.”
There were softly muttered comments as the guards filed out, all except Trusty who stepped up and refilled the sergeant's cup. “Like family, Sarge?” He raised an eyebrow and Shrike thumped her forehead against the table.
“You just shut up! I just pulled an all night shift and got my flank kicked around by some stallion on a magic high. I’m short staffed and stressed...” Shrike looked up to see her corporal's face turn up in a smile. “You stop that... stop that right this instant.” Shrike tried to keep the humour out of her voice as Trusty still smiled wider. “I don't care if it's a way to beat stress... the answer is and always will be no!”
“Your loss then, Shrike...” He said softly and leaned in to give his old friend a quick nuzzle which she returned. “I'll go check with the doc and see if the results are in, then you can go to the doc and get checked out... I see you favouring your back left.”
“You know I outrank you right?” Shrike spoke up with a soft smile still on her lips.
“Thought we were supposed to be looking out for each other like family, Sarge?” Trusty turned and trotted out of the office, leaving a laughing grey pegasus sitting at the desk getting into her second cup of coffee.
Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and bearer of the mantle of the sun, sat regarding the scroll hovering before her. The script was careful but carried real force. The pen had sputtered here and there and the paper was graced by what appeared to be a ring stain from a coffee cup. It was a source of amusement for her, the mannerisms her ponies had adopted over the centuries, and the letter before her was a sterling example. She read more from the paper and the various stains than from the words her pony had taken the time to inform her of.
“It seems like there are a great number of these... incidents... in Trottingham. More than anywhere else. The sergeant in command of the guard there is requesting help with the situation.” Celestia spoke softly and took another sip of her tea.
“We could send a detachment?” Her sister, Luna supplied, looking up from her book on modern Equestrian law and trying to stifle a yawn.
“I believe I have a better notion...” Celestia looked over at the clock on the wall and smiled. “It's not his nap time, perfect.”
“Your faithful student' and her friends?” Luna raised an eyebrow as Celestia retrieved her pen and parchment. “Don't you put too much faith in her abilities? I won't deny her power, but wouldn't a military solution be faster?”
“Faster, yes, but I've learned in all these long years not to exercise force unless absolutely necessary.” She began to write before looking over at Luna. “Besides, it's been awhile since I've sent Twilight on some insane quest to the far corners of common sense.”
Luna just rolled her eyes and got back to her reading as the princess sent the letter off to her student in a puff of magic. Luna smiled, “A thousand years of rule and you still haven't changed...”
Sergeant Shrike stood at the front of her guards. They looked more orderly now than they had in a long while. The 'one size fits nopony in particular' plate armour they wore was neat and there were at least a few attempts to bang out the dents and buff the rust off. Though each suit bore a crystal below the throat, the uniform spells had long ago worn out. Each had their unique coat and mane color shining through proudly.
“OK, everypony... Celestia's troubleshooter and her entourage should be arriving soon. Be on your best behaviour... that includes you, Star.” The dusty pegasus snorted a little in frustration but Shrike chose to ignore her protests. She looked around the public square and then to the horizon where the sky carriage approached.
“Permission to speak freely, Sergeant?” Came the voice of Trusty behind her, the unicorn for once standing at attention.
“Granted.” She answered without even turning her head, eyes fixed on the gleaming white coats and sparkling armour of the royal guards who pulled the transport.
“What have you heard about this... troubleshooter?” Trusty looked past his boss to the approaching shape and Shrike gave a little shrug.
“Some top of her class unicorn, she had something to do with Nightmare Moon and that mess at the Grand Galloping Gala. You know as much as I do Trusty, but Celestia assured me that she is the best.” Shrike took a breath to steady her nerves and put on her finest look of 'stone-faced official no-nonsense guards everywhere.' Without even the slightest fanfare, the carriage landed and a purple unicorn stepped out.
What took Shrike first was how young the mare was, her youthful fascination showed on her face as she smiled and trotted closer. As the purple unicorn was about to extend a friendly hoof, Shrike noticed from the corner of her eye as an orange mare in a cowpony hat left the semi covered flying vehicle. “Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is my friend Applejack and...” She paused and looked behind her for a moment before gazing up at the sky.
A blue blur was rocketing towards the town square at speed. Before Shrike could react, a savage wind whipped at her back and her fellow guard pegasus took flight to intercept. In all her years Shrike hadn't witnessed a dogfight quite so fast or quite that brief. Blows were exchanged at speed, the ringing clang of hooves hitting plate armour peeled like a bell over the street.
“Lance Constable!” Shrike snapped loudly and the fight stopped in a perfect tableau before separating begrudgingly. Shooting Star landed with a thump, panting hard from the effort of her flight, her armour looked disheveled, covered in newly acquired dents and it now hung oddly. She struggled up to attention as the other mare landed, her mane and tail were almost obnoxiously loud with every color of the rainbow. Twilight Sparkle sighed gently and indicated to the glaring blue pegasus. “And this is Rainbow Dash. We're here to help you with your rogue alchemist.”
Shrike shot a glare at her lance constable who didn't shy back, but only averted her eyes. “Glad to hear it...” She spoke slowly and turned back to the purple unicorn before her. “Constables Boulder and Jammy will get your bags to your rooms at the inn, not much to look at but it's got nice beds. If you three would like to come with me we can head back to the yard and I'll fill you in with what's been going on.”
Twilight gave a nod of approval before the remaining guards turned and headed back towards the guardhouse just off the main square. “It's a very nice town you have here, miss...?” Twilight asked with a smile before she heard a cough from the pale green unicorn beside her.
Shrike twitched a little, “It's Sergeant... Sergeant Shrike... and thank you. We try to keep the streets safe as we can. Not so easy a job these days.” She pointed with a wing over to the west.“Ever since they found coal in the hills near here, the town has been getting bigger and bigger.”
“Yeah, makes me wish I became a carpenter instead of a guard.” Trusty spoke up before nodding to the newcomers. “Name's, Trusty Spirit, Corporal Trusty if you please, and I'd be the sergeant's right hoof pony.” He nodded over his shoulder “And the sour grape in the back is Constable Shooting Star.” Star snorted but said nothing more in response.
“Pleased ta meetcha, Corporal... Sergeant... Constable.” Applejack nodded to each in turn and looked around the buildings. “It's a nice break from Ponyville, bein' in a real workin' town.”
Rainbow Dash was silent as was Shooting Star, the pair did nothing but exchange glares. Shrike decided to have a word with her constable when the newcomers had been settled in for the evening. Without further ceremony the trio of Ponyville's ponies were led into the Trottingham guardhouse, and they got down to the business of the potion problem.
Twilight sat with wide eyes at the end of the explanation. “So it turns a pony crazy? I've never heard of anything quite like this. Usually an alchemical substance doesn't do much more than heal a few wounds or make a pony feel less tired.”
“You can't be tellin' me that coffee is an alchemical substance.” Trusty took this opportunity to interject as he approached with a pot of his guardhouse special brew.
“Not now, Trusty...” Shrike sighed and accepted her cup. “And it does a little more than turn a pony crazy. I've seen ponies keep fighting with broken ribs, broken legs... one poor sod will walk with a limp the rest of his life if the cast ever comes off. There isn't much you can offer in the way of an explanation? I know Ponyville hasn't had an incident yet but this should at least be headlines in a few newspapers by now.”
“Ponyville is always behind the times.” Rainbow Dash sat near an open window, adopting an air of unconcerned disinterest while at the same time staying as far away from Shooting Star as she could.
Shrike stood and turned to look at the flag hanging on the wall of the small briefing room. The old material collecting dust. It had been a fixture in the guardhouse long before Shrike had joined. It was probably an antique by now. Shrike began speaking, almost to herself, “There is some pony or some thing out there brewing up a potion that turns mild-mannered citizens into unstoppable combat monsters. Sowing seeds of utter chaos and making my life miserable. I asked Celestia for help and she sent you three... so by Her will I am going to make use of you.” She thumped her hoof on the table and turned back to the assemble ponies, the light of inspiration in her eyes. “Applejack, you said you're a farmer?”
Applejack nodded, “A farmer through and through, Sergeant.”
“Then you're no stranger to hard work and long hours?” Applejack nodded. “Good! Head out with Boulder and Jammy starting tomorrow morning. We need a good strong pair of hooves if we get another mad pony crashing through my town. Find the Special Constable a badge, Trusty.” Applejack beamed with a little pride at the mention of a badge.
“Miss Dash, Constable Star... I don't care how much you dislike each other... you are both going to put it behind you and do your job... two pairs of eyes in the sky is a lot better than one. Tomorrow morning I'd like to see you both acting like adults.” Shrike turned and regarded both pegasai, Star nodded and Dash mumbled an agreement. “Sorry? I didn't catch that?” Shrike didn't like flexing her rank but her effort was rewarded by a more definite chorus of 'Yes, Sergeant.' “Good, Trusty make that two badges, oh and one for Miss Sparkle as well, you can meet me here come morning. Now... I've been on duty since this time last night so I’m going home... we start first thing in the morning.”
The ponies got up to leave, except Twilight who stayed at the table, “If its alright with you, Sergeant, I'd like to study the case files on these incidents.” Shrike raised an eyebrow and Twilight gave a meek smile in response. “I tend to keep late hours... and studying books and papers is really what I do best.”
“Alright, everything is on my desk here.” She pointed to the stack of papers. “Keep the lamp on out front and if anything comes up at all, ring the big bell on the second floor. We'll come running.” Shrike gave the purple unicorn an encouraging pat on the shoulder before finally trotting to the locker room to relieve her tired frame of her armour.
She didn't walk so much as stumble home, the sun already dipping low in the sky, the gas lamps along the sidewalk had already been lit. The long hours were beginning to get to her. She longed for the days when she was settling disputes between neighbors and trying to locate lost pets. She was nearly at the small townhouse she called home when she heard a familiar voice from behind her. Slowly she turned her soft green eyes to the stallion who had followed her.
“Nice night, huh Shrike?” Trusty smiled and Shrike shook her head, the stallion had even made a bit of an effort with his usually unruly blue mane.
“Not tonight, Trusty I’m really too tired for your games...” She sighed and turned back towards her waiting front door when she felt a gentle tug on her tail followed by the comforting feeling of a body pressed to her side. Despite herself her wings trembled a little.
“You had me worried earlier... you know that right?” He whispered in her ear and Shrike trembled slightly. “Facing down a crazed stallion by yourself. You could have had the stuffing knocked out of you... or worse...”
“Trusty... I’m a guard... that comes with the job...” Shrike pulled back a little before Trusty could sway her emotions further. “And stop this! Dammit Trusty I’m your superior officer!” Shrike took a step further back and looked into the eyes of her second in command.
“And you're my friend, Shrike... it's just you and me left from the old days. Ever since the old sergeant retired and moved to Celestia knows where...” Trusty wasn't phased, taking a deep breath he continued. “We're not kids anymore... you can't take a beating like Star or Jammy can... one more broken bone and you'll be behind a desk for the rest of your career. We need to start living while we still can...”
Shrike looked down and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She wanted desperately to just say yes, to accept what was offered time and time again with a smile. She felt a tear beginning to form at the edge of her eye. “NO!” She snapped, stamping her hoof for emphasis, “I am not getting neck deep in a relationship with anypony, much less one I’m working with... so... so just... keep your hooves to yourself!”
Trusty's gaze fell, he gave a slow nod. “If you say so, Sarge...” Shrike felt the familiar pang in her chest as the green unicorn turned and slowly trotted away. She watched him go until he rounded a corner and slipped from sight. She felt like crying, she always felt that way whenever Trusty made his little proposals. It seemed like it was every other week that she was turning the persistent unicorn down. Ever since they had joined the guard together, she knew that Trusty loved her. The problem was for Shrike that the job always came before her own wants and needs, so much so she didn't even like to entertain the thought of Trusty as more than a dear friend and a fellow guardpony. Her thoughts wandered for just a moment, she shook here head violently dispelling them. She couldn't get involved. If she got involved it would cloud her judgment. What if she needed to send him on a dangerous assignment? What if he didn't come home? How much damage could that do to her already high-strung nerves?
“It's for the best...” Shrike mumbled, climbing the stairs to her home. “... For the best...” She spoke softly again as she slipped into the cold lonely rooms that were her life outside her job. Without even putting a meal together, she slumped into her bed and curled up trying not to stare at the empty space beside her as she gave up the struggle to stay awake and let sleep take her.
-
-
It was a cool but sunny morning as was to be expected with the fast approach of fall. The sun had crested the horizon a few hours before but what was strikingly odd was the silence, the all consuming lack of activity. No birds sang, no ponies went about their morning routines. Everypony was indoors and for good reason.
The clatter of steel-shod hooves sent up sparks along the cobblestones as a gangly red stallion charged mercilessly after a pair of purple unicorns. His eyes glowed an unnatural shade of venomous green and his breath came in clouds of steam despite the sun's warmth.
“So you have any fancy tricks in your bag, Miss Sparkle?” Constable Jammy managed to huff out the request, despite the burning feeling in his chest signifying that he was well out of breath.
“Nothing works! He just plowed through my best barrier spells!” Twilight wailed as she tried her hardest to pick up speed. “I don't know any combat spells... I’m a scholar not a battle mage!”
“And I doubt poofing a big cookie in his way is gonna do much to stop him... so that's my magic out too.” Jammy looked back over his shoulder and grinned. “We do have a few friends on their way it looks like.”
“Oh thank Celestia!” Twilight hazarded a glance backwards. She could see the cowgirl pony swinging her lasso ready for the take-down. As the rope looped around the stallion's neck, the unicorns slowed their charge. The rope snapped taut and strained before Applejack skidded along the cobblestones and winced as the loop of rope was nearly torn from her teeth.
Constable Boulder approached the struggling stallion while Applejack held him as solidly as she could manage. “Even tha' big bull back home ain't this strong!” She shouted past a mouthful of rope, Twilight thought she heard a good curse in there too.
“You hang back and watch him, Miss Sparkle... collect your information while he's still under the effects of that potion.” Jammy spoke as calmly as he could and trotted closer as Boulder narrowly avoided taking a solid buck in the face.
The guards closed in as best they could and Applejack used her hard won strength to start to coil the rope. The next several seconds passed like an eternity as the stallion jerked back hard, staggering the farmpony. He swung himself around and lashed out with both back legs catching the big constable in the side. While Boulder was wincing and stumbling slightly, the stallion jerked his head again and nearly knocked AJ prone, right in the range of his vicious kick.
The mad stallion lashed out with both back hooves but they never connected with the orange farmpony. Instead they caved in the armoured barding along Jammy's side. By the time the purple unicorn guard had hit the cobbles the mad stallion was sandwiched between the street and the bulk of the largest pony on the force.
“Jammy!” Twilight and Applejack cried in unison and rushed to the fallen stallion's side.
Slowly his eyes flickered open and he grinned. “Two lovely mares standin' over me? Must be heaven then.” Slowly he struggled up to the careful prodding of both mares. “See that... good old armour! Never let me down yet.”
“You are one lucky stallion.” Applejack tipped her hat as Jammy wobbled to his hooves.
“That's why they call me Jammy. I've gotten in more jams and gotten more wounds in the call of duty than any other guard in history and still standin' at the end of it.” He grinned and both mares smiled in mild appreciation of his sturdy nature.
“Uhh... if it's not too much trouble... could you bring that rope over here, Applejack?” The deep voice of Boulder, interspersed with his heavy breathing from the strain of holding a crazed stallion down, shook the others from their momentary respite. Within a few moments they had the red stallion bound solidly though he still struggled and frothed at the mouth.
“I've never seen anything quite like this,” Twilight ran a dose of magical power over the struggling pony, scanning his form for anything out of the ordinary. “His body is in overdrive... it's not magical... somepony has turned this stallion's own body against him.” The more Twilight scanned him the more the stallion's thrashing began to slow until finally he let out a groan.
“Ooooh... my head...” The previously hostile stallion tried to get up only to notice the bulk of the guard atop him and the surrounding accompaniment of ponies with badges. “Ooh.... umm... I surrender?” He offered a weak grin.
“So he started talking?” Shrike rushed through the streets with Twilight leading the way back to the cells. “And he seemed honestly confused?”
Twilight gave a nod in affirmative and held the door open for the sergeant. “He's also not as large or heavy as the others who were affected. It doesn't fit the pattern.”
“Did he tell you his name? Any information at all?” Shrike felt the rush of excitement, they were making progress, making sense of the whole situation, it was a lead and Celestia only knows they needed on right now.
“He said he's a crate hauler from warehouse thirteen. He didn't want to give his name because he's afraid you're going to send him to prison.” Twilight was stumbling a little to catch up to the sergeant who was all but sprinting at this point in anticipation of finally getting somewhere with this case.
Shrike grinned and nearly ran into the guardhouse and down the stairs to the cells. “We'll see if I can't get him to be a little more helpful.” Shrike stepped into the gloomy shadows and stood before the cell which contained the quivering shape of the red stallion. He's barely old enough to hold down a job, Shrike thought with a sigh before looking over to the small duty desk where Trusty sat pouring a cup of coffee.
“He's all safe and sound, Sergeant. Just thought I'd fix him up a nice cup of something warm.” Trusty floated a steaming cup before him as he approached.
Shrike looked at the tin cup and chuckled. “I thought we agreed we wouldn't torture the prisoners anymore, Trusty.”
The green stallion laughed and set the cup back down on the table. “Quite right, sergeant. No torture in this dungeon.”
Shrike turned her eyes reluctantly away from the stallion before her and back to the cell where the young stallion looked up and Shrike sighed. “You're Clayton Sands... you live three doors down from me. You still live with your mum.”
“Oh , please don't tell my mum.” The stallion in the cell wailed, holding his head in his hooves. Shrike saw Twilight bite her lip and look sadly down at the young stallion who sniffled loudly and continued “I don't know what happened... I just got so angry and when the guards showed up I wanted to fight all of them.”
Shrike sighed and nodded to Trust who unlocked the cell and let the sergeant sit down beside the shaking stallion. “You nearly did, Clay.” She closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at the red stallion with concern. “Clay, no offense, but you're as dumb as a sack of bricks but honest as anything... biggest thing you've ever been in a cell for was celebrating a little too loud on your eighteenth birthday. How in Celestia's name could you do what you did?”
“I dunno, Sarge...” He whimpered. “I never did anything wrong... well... occasionally grabbing a bottle of cherry soda if the boss isn't in. they got boxes and boxes... they won't miss a little bottle will they?” He smiled faintly and Shrike just sighed.
“You're a good lad, Clay... still dumb as a sack of bricks but a good lad...” Shrike looked up at Twilight and the purple unicorn gave a little smile. “You collected your data, Miss Sparkle?”
“I have more than enough information based on the residual potion in his system, I even think I can purge it from a source if I have the time.” She beamed and Shrike nodded,she was always thrown by scientific ponies.
“Alright then.” She looked back to Trusty who was sipping his brew with his trademark grin. “Trusty, get Clay tidied up and let him go home to his mum, if she asks just tell her he had an accident. Then we're all heading out to the Rotten Apple for a couple rounds of cider and a bite to eat. If that's alright with you and your friends, Miss Sparkle?” Shrike turned to Twilight and the purple unicorn smiled.
“Well I don't normally drink but I don't think there will be any objections.” Shrike nodded to Twilight and the pair made their way up into the guardhouse.
“... So that's how I got the four hundredth and twenty eighth wound in the line of duty. Still can't look at a banana without cringing.” Jammy finished his story and Twilight burst out laughing. She was red in the face as was AJ. Dash, on the other hoof was not. She and Star sat as far apart as possible trying not to look like they were having a good time. The head chef tonight was cooking up a storm and was turning out some rather spectacular vittles which were snatched up eagerly by all assembled.
The scene before her made Shrike smile. She had had her doubts about the mares from Ponyville but they were doing a good job of fitting in. She looked up towards the ceiling and let the warmth of the cider in her stomach and the laughter of her friends, both old and new, work to make her a rather happy mare.
“Sergeant Shrike?” The question, in the friendly drawl of the orange farmpony, roused Shrike from her momentary reprieve, “Is it true that Constable Jammy has more wounds ta his credit than any other guard in Equestria?” All eyes turned to her and she took a sip from her mug.
“It's true... he's got a commendation from Celestia's Lord Captain Drussard somewhere...” Jammy blushed modestly and scuffed his hoof on the floor a little. “Lucky sod hasn't even taken a day off for a cold since he signed on.” Shrike commented chuckling.
“Yeah Jammy,” Boulder rumbled with a chuckle and nudged the unicorn's shoulder. “You sure you're a unicorn and not just an earth pony with a bump on your head?”
The ponies descended into another laughing fit as Shrike finished off her drink and stood slowly. “If you lads... and ladies, don't mind... I could use a fresh pint.” Since nopony protested she made her way to the bar and set her pewter mug down for the barkeep to refill with the sparkling amber elixir he was famed for. Shrike pondered for a moment whether the apple farm Applejack worked on was the same one that the barkeep got his cider apples from. Just as she was about to turn and ask, she felt the familiar weight against her other side accompanied by a soft chuckle.
“Ever remember when we were that young, Shrike.” Trusty spoke softly, depositing his empty mug beside shrike's. The sergeant sighed and leaned a little against Trusty's side.
“Full of energy, ready to go... the old sergeant could barely keep track of us... tearing across town after sneak thieves or breaking up bar fights.” Shrike reminisced and blushed bright when Trusty gave a soft nuzzle just below her ear. “Hooves to yourself, Trusty! Bloody hell, it's cute when we're alone but not with the rest of them watching!” She snapped in a hoarse whisper and turned to look at the green unicorn.
Trusty just sighed and grabbed his full mug in the gentle grasp of his telekinesis. “Sorry, boss... must have been the drink... won't happen again...”
Shrike bit her lip as he turned and trotted back to the conversation. The pang of guilt and heartache slowly slipped into her again and she sighed, grabbing the now full mug and trotting to join the rest of them, just catching the end of one of Applejack's stories.
“... and then she said 'oatmeal?! Are you crazy!?'” Guards and special constables alike burst out in laughter and Shrike let the hurt fade away again. Even the pair of sour grapes, Dash and Star, joined in the laughter, forgetting their animosity for a moment. Shrike tried hard to put on a smile while ponies wiped tears of laughter out of their eyes and enjoyed the drink as well as the good company.
-
-
Constable Shooting Star tried to avoid looking at the special constable who was matching her pace off her left wing. It had been a tense and awful morning from the moment that the puffed up loud pegasus had showed up for her second guard patrol wearing her shiny new badge around her neck. Everything about that pegasus just grated on Star's nerves.
“So did ya see Twilight this morning, Man that pony was some kinda hungover.” Rainbow Dash laughed as she flew and Star sighed, looking over the buildings as she flew. The laughter died away and once again the calm sound of air currents overtook both pegasai.
“So what's the deal with those bells you guys have on your saddlebags?” Rainbow Dash's voice again broke the delicate calm with its coltish tone.
“Enchanted bells. We each have one and there's the big one at the guardhouse. If any one of them is rung, they all ring. If you hear the bell ringing then you drop everything and go.” Star supplied, trying to scan over the streets below for anything out of the ordinary.
“That's cool, call of duty stuff and all that.” Rainbow Dash floated leisurely through the air and Star sighed, trying to concentrate. “So, get into many high speed chases... or death defying stunts?” Dash piped up again and Star tried to ignore her.
“Giving me the silent treatment... I get it... you're just intimidated by being in my awesome presence.” Dash grinned and Star stopped mid-flight.
“You... you irritating... OK look... I’m a guard,” Star began, jabbing Dash in the chest. “I had to fight my folks and my friends who wanted me to become a weather pony like my mum just to get considered for recruitment. I demanded the job from the sergeant and she gave me the chance... and I haven't disappointed her. I've fought on rooftops in the rain. Moonlit chases through back alleys after armed thieves. And just the other week we managed to bring in one of those rogues, one of the Shadowbolts, who I happened to chase down all on my lonesome. I don't know why Celestia sent you here to help... just what can you do, Rainbow Dash?”
Dash back-winged like she had been struck, setting her jaw in determination. “You're talking to Rainbow Dash. I’m one of the living holders of the Elements of Harmony! We beat Nightmare Moon without breaking a sweat. I’m the only pony alive to break the sound barrier. And I saved the lives of three Wonderbolts, not to mention my friend and carried them to safety. Oh yeah, and won the Best Young Flyer competition in the process. You need something done and I do it! That's what I can do!”
Shooting Star grinned and held out a hoof. “Not too shabby... sorry for thinking you were some frilly pony but you gotta admit... your mane is kinda flashy.”
Dash laughed and bumped hooves. “Can't help the way you're made. They broke the mold when this filly was born.” She jerked her hoof in the direction of her chest and grinned wider, earning a chuckle from the constable.
Shooting Star was about to ask how she could have managed to break the sound barrier without being ripped to shreds when a familiar and very sobering noise caught her attention. The bell on her side was ringing.
“This way!” Applejack dashed ahead, and the two armoured guards followed close, hooves pounding on the cobblestones as the cloaked figure ducked from one alleyway to another, evading them with strange and worrying ease.
“AJ! Hang on a tic...” Applejack skidded to a halt and looked back as Jammy and Boulder slowed down to join her. “It's a blind alleyway... no way out... let one of us go first. If it's a unicorn with a crossbow, we stand a better chance at not getting speared.”
Applejack gave a nod and Boulder trotted around the corner slowly, followed by the lithe purple unicorn. Applejack slipped in third. It was a dark alleyway, shielded over the top by the houses on both sides, despite the time of day it was dark within. There was the sound of movement far ahead and the pair of guards gulped.
It was Jammy who trotted forward and cleared his throat. “Hello... Hello cloaked stranger.” He began. “Come out now... we're guards...”
Applejack slipped down beside the guard and gave a little nod which he returned. “By order of tha Princess, come out of there this instant!” The cowgirl pony bellowed loudly and there was an answering ”EEP” from in the shadows.
“A-Applejack? What are you doing here?” The shadows parted slightly and a cloaked figure blinked its soft blue eyes at the two guards and the familiar farmpony. A curl of striking pink mane poking out from under the hood. A box of cupcakes rested at her hooves.
“What am I doing here? What the hay are you doing here?” Applejack turned to the guards and sighed. “False alarm... it's a friend of mine. But that still doesn't excuse why she's sittin' in a dark alley in a cloak and hood.”
Pinkie fidgeted and looked down at her hooves for a moment before she let out a sigh and went back to grinning. “Aww ya caught me! I snuck away from Ponyville for the Big Baking Expo tomorrow and well... I just had to get some of these world famous cupcakes early. They're so good you can't possibly eat just one... but they're so luxurious and expensive... I just couldn't be seen anywhere eating them so I tried to find someplace private and ya caught me.”
“Is this normal behaviour for your friend?” Jammy looked between the pink pony and the town's newest special constable.
Applejack sighed and nodded. “Yup...”
When Dash and Shooting Star arrived, Pinkie was thoroughly interrogated. Shrike rolled her eyes through every fast paced and sugar dipped moment of it, staring down at the careful notes that Twilight had made about the similarities between the crimes and crime scenes. The three new special constables had proven themselves enthusiastic and capable if only a little inexperienced. The streets had been quiet since yesterday which more than helped after the struggle with their past few days.
“I’ve been so wrapped up in this whole potion mess that I forgot the Baking Expo was tomorrow... well that's just wonderful...” Shrike thumped her forehead on the table nearly upsetting her hundredth cup of coffee.
“Potion? What potion?” Pinkie Pie blinked innocently at the assembled ponies and Twilight cleared her throat to explain.
“It's an elixir which imparts great strength and stamina to a pony by inhibiting their pain receptors as well as causing the body to produce vast quantities of adrenaline and other...” She trailed off as Pinkie blinked in confusion at the purple unicorn. Twilight sighed. “It makes a pony very crazy and very angry and want to break things.”
“Oooooh that sounds super not fun!” Pinkie looked very shocked “Imagine if somepony got some of that nasty potion into the food or the drinks tomorrow? You'd have a whole town full of crazy, angry ponies who wanna break stuff.” The response was bubbly and high pitched but slowly every eye in the room turned towards Pinkie Pie who blinked. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Could it be that easy, Sarge?” Trusty looked back to Shrike who was beginning to grow pale.
“It would be complete bloody chaos... we'd have dead ponies on our hooves if it got that out of control... riots... bloodshed...” Shrike shook her head fast and slammed both hooves on the table. “Alright... worst case scenario time, chums.”
The ranks, including Pinkie Pie and three special constables stood at attention. Shrike's heart beat faster in her chest as she settled down in thought. “You lot split into teams... two ponies per, that's going to have to include you Miss Pie, nopony goes out alone, and I’m sorry ladies but I want one guard with each of you civilians. Get to the warehouses and to the main bakers for the event, dig your noses everywhere you can and see if anything has been tampered with.”
“What are you going to be up to, Sarge?” Trusty couldn't hide the note of concern in his voice as the conversation grew serious.
“I am going to get to the Mayor's office and then the Post. If I work fast I can have a message off to the royal guard in Canterlot before the mail pegasus leaves with the daily delivery. Now hurry the lot of you! Kick over rocks! Stir up trouble and remember, we don't have a clue who could be behind this.”
The guards and recent recruits raced out of the guardhouse leaving the sergeant sitting at her desk alone. She stared into her cup of coffee and shook her head slowly, choking back her regrets before she got down to the serious business at hoof.
The trot to the mayor's office was a sobering one. Shrike tried hard to keep a calm head as visions of the streets and houses in flames danced like perverse pageantry before her eyes. Shrike was a mare who loved the town she had grown up in. she knew every street and every back alleyway. Despite the recent expansion making it a town of hundreds now, it was still home to her. The thought of her world churning into chaos and bloodshed pained her on a very personal level.
She stopped for a moment and looked out over the festival square. There were workers neatly chalking lines on the cobblestones to mark the locations of vendors and other stalls which would be set up soon for the festivities. The centerpiece of the square stood proudly atop a marble pedestal. A life-sized statue of Princess Celestia which had been commissioned for the town's centennial celebration before Shrike was born. Seeing the image of the princess standing proudly, silent guardian and centerpiece of Equestrian life sent a little spark of hope to Shrike's otherwise battered and cynical heart.
Wasting no more time she climbed the stairs and knocked politely on the door to the mayor's third floor office. “It's open... please do come in, Sergeant.” The mayor spoke in his usual calm tone.
The sergeant opened the door and stepped inside, removing her helmet and hanging it on a hook on her saddlebag. “Sir.” She stood at attention. The mayor stood before the large picture window overlooking the square as he often did.
“I couldn't help but see you in the square. Everything proceeding nicely for the festival tomorrow I trust?” He turned and flashed a smile which was cheerful and ever so slightly unsettling. There was always something unsettling about the stallion.
“Actually... that is why I’m here, Sir.” Shrike began, though the mayor's smile didn't waiver in the slightest. “We have a... hunch that some of the refreshments for the festival have been tampered with.”
Now the smile fled the mayor's face. “You can't be serious, Sergeant... however could you have come to this information?” He stepped away from the window and sat before his desk, shuffling papers.
“It's still mostly a hunch...” Shrike set her brain in motion, filling in little blanks as best she could. “We brought in a young stallion who was under the influence of a potion but he didn't fit the bill of the rest of the ones we had brought in under the influence of the potion. He was... well to be honest... laughably thin and none too bright. He babbled on and on about not knowing what he was doing whereas the other potion users we apprehended were stone faced and silent about it. He said he worked at storage warehouse thirteen which holds some of the goods for the festival, at least so I’m told. One of our special constables from Ponyville just sort of suggested that if the food or drinks were tampered with then the situation would be out of control.”
“That is quite the theory, Sergeant. I do appreciate being kept in the loop about this horrible situation but if you will excuse me,” He was rising from his desk once more and trotting towards Shrike, motioning for her to leave the room. “I do have many, many concerns on my plate at the moment. There is a town to govern and a festival to organize.”
“That's just it, Sir.” Shrike stopped and looked into the eyes of the mayor, the eyes that still made her uneasy. “We need to stop the festival until we can be sure that it's safe... the public could be in danger.” The sergeant stood her ground and a small twitch caught at the edge of the mayor's cheerful smile.
“Now, now, Sergeant Shrike, there is no reason to panic. You said yourself that this is only a hunch, a theory. If we were to close down the festival for every single hunch or theory or bad feeling, then it would never go forward. It is tomorrow or never I am afraid Our weather service has a series of overcast days and rain planned for all next week, I can practically see the storm clouds on the horizon. The public is simply dying for the festival to go ahead and we must keep the needs of the common ponies above our own.” Shrike found herself being shoved from the office. “Now if you please, Sergeant. I am a very busy stallion and I simply must get my paperwork done.”
Shrike blinked as the door was closed in her face. She was so shocked she only stood blinking dumbly for a moment before she turned and slammed her hoof against the wall in frustration, leaving a small dent in the plaster. Again she had been brushed off, again a door had been closed in her face. “Not bloody fair...” She mumbled as she stormed down the stairs. The bitter cynicism taking hold in her heart again “Bet he would have listened if I was a stallion... or a bloody captain...” Shrike ignored the workponies in the square and made her way back to the guardhouse, desperately wishing she had a cup of Trusty's coffee to drown her anger. Shrike, to full of loathing and pent up anger to care where she was going, walked right past the post office without a second glance
“...So I turn the burner down when it turns golden brown? Well that explains the fires then.” Jammy chuckled while Pinkie Pie bounced beside him as they walked towards the warehouse district.
“Once all this crazy stuff is done, you're gonna have to bake me a batch of your double chocolatey chip caramel cookies, they sound super duper awesome.” The pink party pony said as she paused before the door to storage warehouse number thirteen. Jammy levitated the key into place and unlocked the double doors. Pinkie nudged it open with her rump which earned a nervous chuckle from the gangly unicorn.
“It would be a pleasure, Miss Pie. Alright then, last warehouse for the day.” Jammy's horn sparkled to life, casting a gentle glow around the crates of sarsaparilla and other bottled sodas which were neatly stacked along the walls. “Hmm... looks like all we've got here are the drinks for tomorrow...” The flickering light of his horn cast long shadows through the stacks of crates before illuminating the figure who stood in the long hooded red cloak.
“Meddling little guards, a pity, I had hoped to escape today without spilling any blood... personally.” Slowly the figure turned and flashed a predatory smile that gleamed white in the shadows of his hood, Pinkie Pie shuddered. Jammy took a step between his pink charge and the cloaked stallion.
“Nopony is getting hurt today... except maybe you if you resist arrest.” The purple unicorn kept his eyes plastered to those of the cloaked pony, speaking softly. “Pinkie Pie, grab the bell on my belt and ring it.” The pink pony gave a nod and drew closer, looking over at Jammy for the hanging bell. Jammy felt a gentle tug and for a moment he turned his eyes down to his pink friend.
In that instant it was over. Pinkie Pie's eyes widened and she flopped back onto her haunches, looking up at the cloaked figure. The pink pony reached up and touched her cheek, in the pale light which crept in through the high windows she saw the stark contrast between her pearly pink coat and the ruby red drips of blood which had splattered there. Her blue eyes drifted up again and took in the scene. The solid spike of steel which had been strapped neatly to the assailant's fore-hoof had embedded itself past Jammy's armour. The purple unicorn still had a look of shock on his face which slowly faded as the light fled from his eyes and he slumped to the warehouse floor.
“A pity..” The cloaked stranger said simply as he wiped the blood from his blade and set it back in position, hidden away.
“You..... killed him.” Pinkie sputtered out softly, her eyes overflowing in tears as she stared, eyes fixed, at her newest friend who lay in a slowly spreading pool of his own blood.
“Of course I did, my dear. I told you I would. It wasn't unnecessarily painful if that is any small consolation.” The stallion adjusted the hang of his hood and sat down, well away from the pool of blood. “You look like a bright young lady... do you want to know why I am doing this? The potions and the monsters?”
Pinkie had never felt terror like this before, never before had she seen life snuffed out in an instant before her. Her mane and tail had deflated and now hung limp over her, her usually colourful tones had become muted. Her senses drank in the sharp metallic tones of blood. She trembled and gulped before nodding.
“I am doing this for you... well for all ponies really... to free you all from the shackles of the monarchy... I must first prove that they are powerless to stop this loss of life.” The stallion paused and shook his head sadly as Pinkie began to tremble and cry. “Oh my dear... my apologies... this is far above your head isn't it... very well... but I can not have you following me.”
As he slowly stood the fear flowed back through Pinkie's form, her eyes grew wide and she shook her head quickly. Her voice barely came out as a squeak as the stallion reached below his cloak and slipped some gleaming metal onto his fore-hoof. “No, no my dear... no sense in denying it... it is time to sleep, little pony...” He wound a hoof back and smiled warmly down at the pink pony. Pinkie slammed her eyes shut tight awaiting the end of everything she had known, instead she felt the impact against her temple and then everything went black, she slumped to the floor in a heap. The cloaked assassin let the brass horseshoe drop from his hoof to clatter to the floor beside the dead guard and the unconscious filly before he put on his finest smile and slipped away into the shadows of dusk.
Shrike sat at the table with the other guards and the new special constables. Nopony spoke , the only sound was that of mugs being lifted and their contents being swallowed. There was the faint smell of cider in the air, Shrike would never normally allow for drinking in the guardhouse, but today was different, today was a dark day. For a moment her eyes lifted and she watched while the pink pony was carefully led away by Rainbow Dash, she had begun crying again and the Rainbow-haired mare had insisted she seek some rest.
“Still can't believe it... I mean... guards leave because they retire... but... never like this...” Trusty looked down into the swirling contents of his cup and gave a shudder. “Not since Comet and that was an accident... night patrol in the rain... lightning ran right through him...”
“It t'ain't right...” The orange earth pony spoke up. “Ponies don't kill ponies! It's tha biggest law in all Equestria... passed down by the lips a Celestia herself.” Applejack tipped back the rest of her cup and looked around at the assembled ponies.
“When I find that pony... I swear... I’m gonna-” Shooting Star began, wringing her hooves together before Shrike stamped a hoof on the table solidly to cut her off. Star's mug jumped from the impact, turned once on it's end and clattered to the table spilling it's contents where it fell.
“You'll what? Kill him too? Two wrongs don't make a right, Star.” Shrike leaned back a little and looked up at the ceiling before letting out a sigh. “We are out of our depth. Brass horseshoes are one thing, we get thugs with them from time to time but hoof blades are barred by royal decree. This is the work of a trained and well funded psychopath. We're just four guards and four young mares... we aren't trained to deal with this... and the mayor wouldn't even stop the festival. We're a bloody joke to these ponies.” Shrike cleared her throat when she realized that everypony was staring at her. “Look... being a guard only works because we... we sort of magic a little policepony in everypony's heads... that says 'If you do bad things, you're in trouble.' as long as we can keep up that illusion we are invincible. The second some crazy idiot realizes that a guard, taken unawares, dies the same as any other pony... the spell is broken and we're nothing but a social club with fancy steel clothes.”
“You can't be giving up...” Twilight Sparkle spoke up for the first time since they had found Pinkie Pie unconscious and Jammy far worse.
“Miss Sparkle...” Shrike sighed, “We aren't soldiers... we're guards... we keep the peace not fight monsters. It's taken all we have to hold them back one at a time. I can't imagine the chaos it would cause if there was a whole town full of rampaging monsters. I can't ask anypony to stand on those streets tomorrow, it's a death sentence.”
“We gotta fight, Sarge...” The soft voice of the large stallion to her left cut through her frustrated haze, she turned her eyes up to Boulder. “Jammy was my friend... my only friend... I say we fight like he would have wanted us to.”
Shrike looked around the table at the assembled ponies, each nodding in steely resolve before her eyes fell on Trusty who only grinned. “Let's do this one for Jammy, eh Sarge?” The green unicorn reached a hoof out and gently laid it atop her own. All Shrike could do was grin.
“You're all mad... brave as anything, but bloody mad.. Alright... we call this a night here and now... I want everypony to get a good night's rest and be up and awake before dawn. We meet here and get kitted out properly.” There was a round of nods and Shrike downed the last of her drink. “Alright then... you're all on leave until morning... use the time while you can... might not get another chance.”
The guards and ponies left to go about their business. Despite how awful her night had begun, she felt proud. She was leading again, she had a cause to fight for and she felt the fire in her blood like she had all those years ago when she first joined. She could almost picture the old sergeant passing over her shiny new badge. How it filled her with pride to hold the little copper shield in her hoof and look over the inscription 'To Protect and Serve'. It was the biggest turning point in her life, when she went from being Shrike the part time weatherpony to Shrike the guard.
She slipped out of the guardhouse and was about to head back home when Trusty stepped out from behind a waiting wagon and gave Shrike a sad smile. “Sergeant... before you say anything, I know you told me to keep my hooves to myself... more than once...”He began and Shrike bit her lip gently. “But you don't expect us all to make it out... you're expecting it to be our last stand...”
“Trusty... we have to be realistic... this is more than we can handle on our own. We need to be ready for the fact that we might not be coming home tomorrow night... this could be the end of it...” Shrike spoke softly as Trusty took another careful step closer and put up a hoof to silence her.
“Look... if it is the end... if we're not going to make it... then... I need you to know how I feel...” Shrike's heart began to beat faster as Trusty stepped close before her and rested a hoof softly on her cheek. “It's not just flirting, Shrike... it never was... I loved you from the moment I saw you in the recruiting line... and if I’m gonna die tomorrow I want you to know that I still love you... all these years later... in spite of all the times you've shot me down.”
Shrike couldn't hold it back any longer. She had always known how he felt but to hear the words, to watch as he laid his heart bare to her was too much. She cried, silently but unashamedly, letting her emotions run free for the first time in a long time. “I'm sorry...” She whispered.
Trusty gave a nod and took a step back, looking over his shoulder. “I suppose I should let you be... I've said my piece...” He stopped when he felt a soft tug on his tail followed by the gentle pressure of a warm body pressing against his side.
“I'd like your company tonight...” Shrike whispered, not believing the words had come from her own mouth. “If it's going to be my last night alive... I think I should let this handsome stallion know that I feel for him what he feels for me... all these years later... I just hope he forgives me.”
Both mare and stallion turned, looking into each others eyes for only a moment more before they pressed close for a kiss, a kiss that had been a long time coming.
The silvery light of predawn shone off the early morning dew making the town glisten like it was fashioned from crystal. In the town square stood four guards and four young mares. The fillies from Ponyville having accepted a few pieces of armour that had fit more or less, though everypony looked unprepared for the consequences of the day.
The workponies were already setting up for the Baking Expo amid the sound of carefully poised orders of the stallion in charge. Shrike turned to look at her ragtag squad and grinned. “Alright... all of you ponies stick with me. I need to give the mayor one more chance to close down the festival before we do it for him.”
Shrike turned back and took a breath to steady herself before trotting towards where the mayor stood issuing orders about what stalls or vendors would be set up where. He looked neat and tidy as always, prim and proper. Shrike cleared her throat and put on her no nonsense face once more. “Mr Mayor?”
The stallion looked over and rolled his eyes. “Oh not this again... Sergeant Shrike... we can not stop the festivities because of this circumstantial evidence so if you would please get out of the way.” He turned back towards the workponies.
Pinkie Pie froze, scratching her chin, she whisperedto Twilight. “That sounds familiar... I don't know where I heard that voice before.” Twilight tried to nudge Pinkie Pie and get her to be quiet while Shrike said her piece.
“Mr. Mayor!” Shrike said with force, the mayor turned with exaggerated slowness to face her once again, “We have strong reason to believe that the refreshments have been tainted by the potion which has been affecting select ponies in town these past few weeks. It is in the best interest of safety that we halt the proceedings until we can be sure it is safe.” Shrike puffed up her chest as much as she was able, the mayor rolled his eyes again.
“Sergeant... I appreciate your interest in public safety.. Goodness knows we are grateful to you and your squad for rounding up these isolated cases of madness, but I am afraid I must ask you to step down. I am relieving you of duty for the remainder of the festival.” Shrike's jaw fell and the assembled ponies stifled a gasp of shock. “This festival is for the benefit of all ponies, Sergeant.” The mayor smiled warmly.
Pinkie Pie froze up again and nudged Twilight more urgently. “I know I've heard that voice before, Twilight this is important!” The purple unicorn looked at Pinkie Pie and then back to the mayor with a bit of annoyance.
“I... I can't let you do that, Sir... I have a duty to perform...” Shrike stuttered, one hoof reaching up to touch where her badge hung.
“So we are at an impasse...” The mayor sighed gently “As a duly appointed representative of the city I am hereby terminating your service with us. Your badge please Miss Shrike?” The mayor put out her hoof expectantly. Shrike reluctantly unclasped her badge and looked down at the tarnished brass and the inscription which had filled her with pride and duty. Squeezing her eyes shut tight she passed it over to the Mayor. “Thank you Miss Shrike, really such a pity .” The mayor trotted away shaking his head and making a tsking sound, leaving a bewildered Shrike staring at her hooves.
The guards turned to their leader and Pinkie Pie gasped loudly, grabbing the nearest pony, who just happened to be Twilight, and whispering harshly in her ear. “It's him... I’m positive... I know his voice... it was him!”
Shrike rounded on Pinkie Pie and looked deep into her eyes. She looked for any hint of falsehood but found none, all doubt was washed clean as Pinkie opened her mouth and spoke nine soft words. “It was him, the pony who killed my friend.”
Rage began to boil up in the ex-sergeant, she looked back towards the mayor as he trotted away and then up to the sky. The weather team had left a partly cloudy day to help ease the warmth of the sun for the festival goers. With a grin a plan began to form. “You lot... I’m not in charge anymore... but I’ll be damned if I’m letting this bastard get away with whatever he's planning.” She turned her gaze to the rest of her friends and each gave a nod in turn. “Alright then... Dash and Star... get up there and smash as many clouds together as you can, pull them in from wherever you can and make sure they're full of rain. I want this festival spirit drowned before it starts. If any weatherpony tries to stop you then flash them your badge and tell them to get indoors or better yet, tell them to lend a hoof.”
The two pegasus ponies saluted and took to the air at speed, Shrike's grin turned to the rest of her team. “Now... we've got plenty of help here... six ponies against one middle aged stallion, even if he's trained and armed the odds are on our side. We're going to find the mayor and put a stop to this.” There was a chorus of agreement and Shrike reared up before turning and charging in the direction of the mayor's office.
The office door caved inward under the force of Applejack's hooves, soon the ponies stood in the spacious room staring at the stallion as he pulled the last buckle in place and examined the heavy iron blades which sat ready to spring at any moment. “Ah... Miss Shrike... I had hoped you would all join me... that's why I let that little pink pony live, I thought it only a matter of time before she recognized me.” Pinkie Pie snarled in anger as Twilight placed herself between her and the mayor as he continued. “As servants of the general populace you should appreciate what I am trying to accomplish.”
“Wiping out a whole town? What good could that possibly serve?” If Shrike hadn't been fighting mad before, she certainly was now. The guards spread out gradually as she pawed at the floor and let her wings spread to their fullest extent.
Shrike stopped her advance when the mayor laughed, deep and resonating. He paused to wipe a tear away from his eye before turning his icy grin on the grey pegasus. “Oh my dear... one town? No, no, no, most certainly not. This is just a test... the true target is Canterlot itself. Dear Celestia's city will be in flames. Her guards helpless to stop the carnage and all eyes will turn to her.” His grin turned much darker. “ 'Why could you do nothing?' 'Why don't you stop this?' 'Why would you let this happen?' They will all plead in the streets and finally they will all see what I have seen from the beginning, that the monarchy has outlived its usefulness. That Celestia is nothing more than a greedy fat creature, gorging herself on our praise and adoration.”
It took a quick grab from Applejack to stop Twilight from rushing in to beat the mayor senseless with her own hooves. He only chuckled. “When she has been stripped of her crown by her beloved public... Then shall responsible government step in to ensure a fairly run Equestria.”
“No government run by you could be 'fair, we will put a stop to this, right here... right now.” Shrike narrowed her eyes and took another step closer. “This is your last chance... end this now. There are six of us and only one of you.”
All humour fled from the mayor's face, he set his jaw with a grim kind of glee, for the briefest moment, his eyes blazed green. “Then perhaps you should have drafted more recruits...” Faster than anypony had any business moving, he lunged. Shrike barely had enough time to shift her body to the side. Her eyes flashed back to his position but he was moving again. He struck Twilight and Pinkie Pie like swatting flies and the pair of mares sailed through the air and struck a bookcase solidly. They were soon joined by a green unicorn as Trusty was flung like a discarded rag doll to land amidst them in a heap. Shrike could hear the cries of the purple mare as she tried to stand on what must certainly have been a broken leg.
Boulder reared onto his hind legs and brought both fore-hooves down using every ounce of his strength but the unnaturally fast pony was already in motion, already dodging and delivering a staggering kick to the blue stallion's midsection. Applejack had slightly more luck as her back hooves lashed out with, what must have been, years of practiced skill. There was a crunch as hoof met flesh. The mayor staggered back as Applejack sagged and landed solidly on her stomach. The grim visage of pain gripped her features as she dragged herself further from touch. For a brief moment there was a glimmer of armor below the mayor's clothing. Any guard could tell you how painful it is to buck steel.
Spurned on by the damage to his friends, Boulder swung again and this time his hooves did connect with force, the psychopath was sent back several steps. His grin had not wavered though, Shrike could see his breath was slightly laboured. The ex-sergeant crouched and sprang hard, driving her fore-hooves with every ounce of strength she had. She connected with his shoulder and could feel the damage being done though admittedly to herself as well.
The next sound sent a chill down her spine, she back-winged as hard as she could manage. The metallic click of a blade slotting into place filled the air before he swung. She could feel as the tip gouged a slim line in her armour but she was in the clear in time. The mayor received another punishing blow from the blue stallion but this time Boulder wasn't prepared to dodge. The arc of the blade carried it downward and bit deeply into his shoulder.
He bellowed in pain and staggered backwards, landing firmly against the wall. The mayor stood panting, still grinning and carefully wiping the blood from his blade. Shrike grit her teeth and dropped back onto her hooves. “There is no way anypony could be that fast or that strong... you dosed yourself didn't you?”
“But of course...” He grinned and took a step closer to the pegasus. “What would be the point of having a potion to empower ponies... without perfecting it for my own uses. No madness or foaming rage, simply the power to topple goddesses.” He lunged forward again. It was a split second maneuver and Shrike didn't have the option to dodge. She reared onto her hind legs and struck out with a hoof. Her blow was perfectly on target gouging viciously into his eye.
Her smugness at injuring her opponent was short-lived as she let out a gasp and shuddered. A quick glance down told her that a heavy blade was puncturing her armour and had imbedded itself in her side.
Both opponents stumbled away for a brief moment, Shrike gasping for breath as the pain seared through her. It was worse than she had experienced in all her long years. She forced herself to breathe, trusting the adrenaline in her system to carry her through till the end. She felt so very out of breath.
The monstrous pony before her shook the stars out of his eyes and looked at the former guardsmare with a half grin. His left eye already beginning to swell closed. “That would be a collapsed lung... rather hard to breathe isn't it... but sadly, not fatal....” He advanced and Shrike noticed his slight limp, their punishing blows were having an effect. Or maybe his potion was fading... She shifted away, trying to weigh her options. “I am afraid this is the end... you have given me nothing but trouble and I will not shed a tear for your passing.”
“I won't let you... hurt any more ponies.” Shrike breathed, spotting her chance and grinning just a little. “This is my town... and my friends. You made the biggest mistake of your life when you brought this hell to my doorstep... but I only have one thing to ask.”
He smiled sweetly and settled onto his haunches for a moment. “And what would that be my dear?” Shrike grinned wider.
“Can you fly?” Before he could react she dug in her hooves and plowed into the stunned pony at speed, using everything her wings could give her to propel her and the mayor towards the large window overlooking the square. He had no purchase in the open air, all he could do was struggle as the glass shattered and the pair plummeted from the third story.
Shrike felt a titanic tug at the last moment and she stopped nearly dead in midair as the other pony sailed onwards. She watched with a grin as he landed, stomach up, onto the bronze statue of Princess Celestia standing proudly on the marble pedestal in the center of town. He had only a moment to muse about his position as he looked down to the metal monarch's life-sized horn which now jutted in its entirety from his chest. He chuckled a moment more and slipped out of existence.
Shrike felt the burning in her side and the world beginning to grow dark. She was sure she had lost a lot of blood and the persistent pelting of the rain wasn't doing much to staunch the flow running down over her flank. She looked down to the cobblestones and mused about why she wasn't falling but the gentle floating of unicorn magic was easing her back towards the window before she could ponder it for long. She turned her tired eyes and saw a green unicorn, helmet missing, with his scruffy blue mane swaying in the breeze. It was the last thing she saw before her various body parts lined up and cashed their cheques. Not caring about her dignity at the moment, she passed out cold.
“Sweetheart... hey... Shrike you need to wake up now.” The voice softly tugged the mare from her slumber and she blinked her eyes up at the stallion who leaned over her. His eyes sparkled happily and he leaned close to rest a warm kiss against her lips. “Hey... you were starting to worry us... again.”
Shrike blinked at the kiss and slowly took in her surroundings. She was home, resting in the warmth of her own bed with the gentle glow of the afternoon sunshine resting on her cheek. The only pony around was Trusty. “How long...” She managed to croak softly before struggling upright. In an instant she wished she had just stayed on her back. A lance of pain shot through her side and she snapped her eyes shut tight.
“Whoa whoa, easy now. You've only been out a few hours. You got a nice patch job from the doc but it's still going to be sore for a few weeks.” Trusty gave a little grin and slowly helped her into a more comfortable position. She couldn't help but notice the tears in his eyes.
Carefully she reached a hoof up to brush one away and he responded by clutching her hoof softly to kiss along it and mutter softly. “Damn glad you're awake... and damn glad this whole thing is over... heh... you did it...”
“Feels like I did...” Shrike groaned and shook her head before batting at the green unicorn. “And enough of that mush you great big softie...” Try as she might she couldn't hide the smirk on her lips. Slowly she snuggled back into the warmth of the bed and of the stallion at her side. “Mmm... so why do I need to get out of bed again?”
“Oh!” Trusty suddenly looked a little panicked. “ Princess Celestia is waiting in the festival square, she wants to give you a medal or something.”
Shrike blinked for a moment then leaned up and began to nibble softly on Trusty's ear. “Tell her I’m busy...” The green unicorn turned several shades more red and coughed gently.
“It's... it's not... I can't... not get you...” His resolve slipped slowly before he pulled his head away with a grin. “I gave you an order ma'am.”
“An order...?” Shrike replied flatly and Trusty grinned even wider.
“The mayor fired you... which means I’m the chief of police until we can find a replacement...” the stallion held a hoof to his chest smugly indicating her old badge clasped to it, “They found it on the mayor when they were, uh... extracting him.” Shrike sighed before wiggling away as much as the pain in her side would allow. Swallowing her pride and accepting the gentle help from her lover to get back onto her hooves.
Carefully the pair made their way to the door and once it was open Shrike had to blink at the bursts of colour which shone from every home and every archway. The whole town, or very nearly that, stood in the streets outside her home and each cheered as the grey guardsmare took tentative steps down the stairs from her front door. The crowd parted and every mare and stallion bowed their head in appreciation as Shrike strode slowly towards the square.
Ponies who she had barely seen or had barely known clapped their hooves and said their congratulations and thanks. She was awestruck. With a few more stumbling steps she reached the town square and was quickly overwhelmed in a crowd of her friends. Every remaining guard as well as the four mares from Ponyville nearly suffocated the grey pegasus in a group hug.
“My little ponies, give the poor sergeant some room to breathe.” A nearly angelic voice cut through the clamour and slowly the group separated to look upon the Princess of ponykind in the flesh. Shrike tried to remember a time she had seen Princess Celestia in the flesh and found she couldn't. Doing the respectful thing, she bowed with a visible wince.
“Princess...” Shrike tried not to sound like she was in too much pain but failed miserably, Celestia stepped closer and carefully helped her stand once more.
“My brave little guard... there is no need to bow. Especially if it makes you suffer.” Celestia smiled and Shrike couldn't help but feel her spirits being lifted. The princess looked at the assembled heroes of the day and then back to Shrike. “So my faithful student tells me you are a true hero. A mare willing and able to win the day despite overwhelming odds... is this true?”
All Shrike could do was blush and cough nervously. “Just doing my job, Your Majesty...” She mumbled and Celestia chuckled.
“From what I recall of the code of guardponies, I did write it after all, is that you are meant to keep the peace and assist ponies in need... not leap out of windows and defeat monsters.” She looked back at the ponies from Ponyville and smiled.
New-found friends Dash and Star stood proudly side by side. Applejack stood between the impressive shape of Boulder and the grinning bundle of energy that was Pinkie Pie. Both learning hard lessons about the nature of life and the value of sacrifice. Twilight Sparkle who was using a little magical help to stand on her newly mended leg, had learned first hoof the deepest meaning of friendship. Celestia turned her eyes back to those of the mare before her.
“You have done a great thing here today, saving the lives of many ponies.” Celestia began speaking gently but paused when Shrike lowered her eyes.
“Not all ponies...” The former sergeant sighed. “We lost a good stallion... a brave stallion... and nothing can bring him back. We're not looking for glory or to have our names in the record book. We just want to do our job and be thanked for doing it...” Shrike couldn't help but see a little movement in Celestia's personal guard as the large pegasai looked back and forth between themselves.
Celestia looked to the sky as if deep in thought. “Then recognition you shall have...” Celestia raised her voice and the crowd fell silent in an instant while the living goddess spoke. “Ponies of Equestria, on this day I usher in a new holiday. A holiday to honour those brave mares and stallions who work tirelessly to keep your streets safe. For if they admit it or not, they are all heroes in their own right and on this day and every year hence, they will be honoured on this Day of Heroes!”
A cheer rose from the crowd and Shrike smiled just a little, looking back at her green stallion who could only shrug and maintain his usual grin. “And furthermore... I confer on you the rank of Captain, with all privileges and rites there afforded. And... if my memory serves me that would make you-” Celestia began but was cut off by a soft whisper from Shrike who looked wide eyed up at the princess.
“F-first... female captain in centuries...” The grin couldn't be wiped from her lips as Celestia nodded.
The princess leaned close and whispered in her ear. “You deserve it.” Shrike did her best not to squeal like a schoolfilly as Princess Celestia waved her horn in the air and a shiny new badge with 'Captain' inscribed upon it swirled into existence. Celestia stood back up to her regal height and looked at the assembled townsponies and guards.
“Let the celebrations begin!” her words were nearly drowned out by another cheer which rose enthusiastically from the crowd.
Shrike sat back as the food and newly purified drinks flowed and ponies of all ages danced in the streets. Some of Celestia's personal guards strode without their helmets on, laughing amongst themselves or enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.
Twilight and the other fillies from Ponyville sat around the princess, sharing stories about their brief time as guards. Shrike smirked, she had let them all keep the badges under the promise that if she needed them again, they would all come running.
Her attention was drawn away as a battered tin cup was set on the table beside her. She looked up to Trusty who snapped off a textbook salute. “Captain.” he couldn't stop himself from grinning.
“At ease...” She smirked in return and sipped her coffee. “Hmm... your coffee is still awful, Sergeant.”
“I love you too, Sweetheart.” He replied with a grin as always.
The End
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GearheartHound
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1248
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Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Spike,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
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Ponies at Arms
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A guard sergeant and her squad must race to stop a horrible plot which threatens all of equestria.
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incomplete
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<p>Guards. Police Officers. Watchmen. they are called a great many things and always stand resolute between the lives of innocents and the dark forces which seek to do them harm. They do not ask to be heroes, they do not seek out greatness but sometimes they have greatness thrust upon them. Follow the exploits of Sergeant Shrike and her squad of noble ponies as the waters of political intrigue swell up around them and they find themselves in way over their heads. Will they become the heroes that Equestria needs and more importantly, will they ever get some time off?</p>
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teen
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2012-01-07T06:41:40+00:00
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2012-01-07T06:41:40+00:00
| 1,238 |
Ponies At Arms
Part Two
By: GearheartHound
In every world, in every multiverse, there are men and women who uphold the laws of their government and their rulers. We call them police or guards or watchmen. They work tirelessly to stamp out corruption, to end violence, to be the shining beacons of order in a chaotic world, and most importantly to make it home safe at the end of the day.
In a little universe, nestled carefully out of harm's way, sits a world called Equestria. In the country of the same name, where the noble alicorns Luna and Celestia rule over their hooved subjects, night had fallen long ago. The pegasus ponies of the weather service had scheduled a downpour which tended to keep most ponies indoors.
The streets of Canterlot, the capitol, were no different. Though the lights of the late night establishments still burned in the windows, most were barred for the evening and the cobbled streets were empty. Empty save for a single stallion, wrapped in a heavy cloak who slipped from one doorway to another. At first glance one might think that he was trying to avoid the drenching rain, he would be be pleased to know this as that was precisely what he hoped any onlooker would assume.
His weaving path took him down a back alleyway to a heavy wooden door which was bolted from within. He knocked hard upon it in a careful pattern, one knock, pause, four knocks, pause, two knocks, he waited, it opened a crack.
“Yes? Can I help you, friend?” The reply from within sounded neither helpful nor very friendly. The cloaked stallion looked back and forth a moment more.
“As a matter of fact you can... I come from the palace seeking guidance but I find neither Princess much versed on the subject... so I come to speak to her that knows.” The stallion drew back his hood and grinned. The doorman grunted and pulled the wooden portal open all the way.
“You're late...” He rumbled, stepping aside and letting the other stallion pass.
“Not exactly my fault! Have you seen the weather... I had to trot my sorry arse all the way here from the Sun Palace.” He grumbled, pulling off his soaking cloak, he cast it aside before he trotted down a long flight of stairs. The dim light of sputtering candles seemed to glow off the walls as he descended down below the underbelly of Canterlot. Down he descended, the walls chilling his already cold body He could hear water far off, no doubt the run-off of the sewers of which he was certainly under by now. Here was a place where the sun never shone and that was just as well.
Once the stairs opened out into a wide chamber that was dimly lit by a few wall sconces, he couldn't tell the size of the chamber as the sconces only allowed twenty feet or so of lit area, from then on there was only the inky darkness. It wasn't the simple absence of sunlight, there was something sinister, something very nearly alive about it. A voice echoed off the dark stone from somewhere in the gloom beyond. “That is quite far enough...” The cold and calculating feminine tones put the stallion's mane on end and his hooves stopped dead in their tracks whether he wished it or not. “You are late...”
“Yes ma'am... the... weather...” He mumbled softly but was abruptly cut off by the female voice.
“Silence! You will speak when and only when I ask it of you.” The voice spoke again and the stallion thought he saw movement from the deepest shadows. “So our agent in Trottingham has failed... utterly?”
“Yes Ma'am... several local guards and Celestia's prized student intervened before the plan could be carried out.” The stallion cleared his throat, “The... mayor was killed in the process, Ma'am”
“He was a fool and died as one. He was warned about the dangers of testing the potions too early and chose to ignore my wisdom. He drew undue attention to himself and paid the price for his arrogance.” The voice spat out cold as ever and the stallion suddenly wished that he was somewhere else, somewhere where the sun shone. “I have a far better plan in motion but it requires your obedience.”
“Y-yes Ma'am...” He mumbled , feeling his knees grow weak. He recalled the last time his obedience had been required. It took him a full week to clean all the blood from his hooves. Not a night went by where he was not haunted by the screams of that filly he barely knew as her life bled away.
“You have access to the hall of records and petitions. You will draft a notice of prisoner transfer and deliver it personally to the desk of the Master of Keys in Canterlot prison.” there seemed to be an edge of glee creeping into the dark voice. “You are to ensure that Lady Fiona is released and that she escapes custody.”
The stallion paled, “N-not... not her, Ma'am. Certainly... She's a monster!”
“The Night Butcher is ideal for the task at hoof... she will make herself useful to our cause. Now go... and give her this.” An envelope floated out of the shadows born aloft on a cold purple glow.
Wordlessly the stallion plucked the letter out of the air, stuffing it hastily into his battered saddlebags and bowed before scrambling back up the cold, dark stairs at speed.
Lord Captain Drussard walked slowly through the cells below the castle of Canterlot flanked by three guards He admired the ancient stonework. Centuries of stone cutting to build the city above had almost hollowed the mountain and provided a honeycomb of dark spaces where the dregs of society could be locked away in safety. Murderers, deviants, thieves and those deemed too dangerous and unstable to exist in the carefully ordered society in the world above.
The trip was standard procedure. The Master of Keys had not checked out for the evening so the cells would be searched in case he had slipped and fallen or simply gotten lost in the subterranean labyrinth. Normally Captain Drussard would have passed the task off to a subordinate but today was a slow day so far. They had checked several passages and cell blocks before stopping at the well locked and heavily barred door which marked a place where nothing was ever intended to leave from. As 'maximum' as maximum security got in the Canterlot cells.
He sighed once more and turned to the soldier who marched on his right. “Sergeant... ready the keys... I would like to finish this task and get out of here quickly.” The unicorn nodded an affirmative and removed the ring of keys from the belt on his armour, placing the key in the lock. The well oiled and well built tumblers clicked into place and two other unicorns applied their magic to swing the oaken portal open.
Within the chamber, the dark was pierced by points of magical blue light dangling from the ceiling, casting the whole room in an ethereal glow. The room was hexagonal in shape and had six great pillars, carved in black lodestone to deaden the flow of magics in and out of the space, holding the vaulted ceiling in place. In the centre of the chamber stood a low pillar and atop it a large cage. Instantly the captain's eyes narrowed, the door was open and the cage stood empty. “On your guard!” He shouted and the three unicorn Guards of the Citadel formed up on him instantly flanking him on all sides so no ponies back was to the darkness. Four pairs of eyes studied the room in detail before one on his right gasped in shock and raised a hoof.
Drussard bolted in the direction the Citadel guard had pointed but quickly slowed to a trot. Behind one of the six large pillars a shape lay in a pool of blood. it took a great stretch of the imagination to recognize the shape as that of a pony. The body had been mutilated to the point of bare recognition. The world faded slowly from notice as the old pegasus knelt down and pushed his helmet off his head, running a hoof though his greying blue mane. “It would be Master Lock... look.” He pointed to the corpse. “You can make out part of his mark here...”
“He's been... gutted...” He could hear one of the guards behind him mumble as one of the others turned and vomited over his own hooves.
Captain Drussard reached up and closed the unicorn's lifeless eyes, the head, for the most part, was still intact. He didn't weep or shudder, he didn't pass out or be ill. Captain Drussard was the oldest serving member of Celestia's military staff and in his long years he had seen things that no pony in the newest generation of guards could withstand. “It was the gryphon... only a gryphon's claws can do this kind of damage...” Drussard stood and turned to look at the rest of his current squad. “You Lads need to take a break, get some fresh air, head up and get someponies in here to take Master Lock to the morgue and clean this mess up then take the rest of the day, I'll get some others to cover your shifts, but first inform the Princess that Lady Fiona has escaped... this is her bloody calling card.”
“It true she's a cannibal, Captain?” the sergeant turned to Drussard, his face grim as he gave his slightly green looking subordinate a reassuring pat on the back.
Drussard chuckled darkly and retrieved his helmet, pulling it back on. “If she were a pony she would be... the gryphon's gone mad. She's turned murder and blood-lust into an art.” The sobering words of the captain sank in, the guards separating and dashing off to their duties while Drussard trotted towards the cage. He saw the lock and his frown deepened. It wasn't forced or shattered with either spells or alchemy. The lock was opened with a key. Somepony... some bloody foalish pony... some complete suicidal idiot had let her out...
Twilight Sparkle smiled happily and read over her newest mail. It was evening and she had been putting it off until she had some time to herself, she was pleased to find another letter from her parents. She had, of course, written about her adventure in Trottingham just a month ago and they had responded with words of praise and good wishes about her broken leg, which she would be in full command of in a few more days. All her friends, both those that were there that day and her friends who had been at home, were pleased to see she was quickly on the mend.
She set the letter down, it had also contained a polite request to come home for dinner one night when she was in Canterlot for any reason, and she mused about just taking some time off to visit home. Maybe she could bring her friends so her parents could meet the ponies, who were the dominant feature in her letters, personally. Imagining the pleasant moments she drifted in thought before the sound of her nighttime owl assistant cut through the calm of the tree. He was flying around in every direction he could fly, dropping feathers in his near terrified state.
“Owlowiscious what's the matter?” Twilight was suddenly full of concern, trotting awkwardly into the middle of her dimly lit bedroom to try and catch the owl. “Did you hurt yourself? Do you need me to open a window for you?” She scrambled for a reason for the outburst before there came a steely cold voice from the now open doorway to her balcony.
“You would do well to heed the warning of your owl friend, little pony.” The voice was mature and cultured which reminded her of the socialites in Canterlot which she had been, unfortunately, introduced to at the Grand Galloping Gala.
Twilight turned her magic on out of reflex and the purple glow bathed the doorway. She gasped and shook a little as she looked upon the second ever gryphon she had seen. This one looked far more menacing than Gilda had ever been. Her feathers were a deep blue/black like those of a raven and her back half was covered in black fur like a panther. Talons and beak shone like polished ebony and only her eyes broke the dark pattern, like two shining ruby pools which looked over the room with a calculated gaze. She recoiled from the light and shielded her eyes a little as her wings spread in indignation.
“W-who are you?” Twilight managed to raise her voice to ask as she took a stumbling step backwards, wincing as her leg protested.
“You, my dear, may call me Lady Fiona if it pleases you, though I assure you it will not be for long...” The gryphon stepped into the room and looked at Twilight through half lidded eyes. “Tonight is the night you die, Twilight... assassinated is the correct term I believe.”
Twilight reached a hoof up to her throat as the fear gripped her, looking at a creature which seemed to be some sort of monster. “A-assassinated... m-me?” She squeaked, “Why me?”
“Oh I don't pretend to know all the details...” She waved her talon in a very nonchalant manner, smiling softly. “Some political idiot plans to bring your Princess down. I am to kill you and make it clear that Celestia could do nothing to prevent it... you are her most faithful student after all. And personally I am going to enjoy it because unicorn is so very succulent.” Her tongue unknowingly drew across her beak at the thought of the word succulent making her that much more menacing to the already terrified Twilight.
Twilight paled and stumbled back until she landed on her haunches, the gryphon approaching slowly. “You're going to eat me?!”
“You will not be the first I have consumed, nor will you be the last. I have been imprisoned twice for just that offence. Celestia has nothing but distaste for me but she dare not send me home nor exile me from her borders.” The gryphon let out a sigh as a tear rolled down Twilight's cheek. “Now I believe talk is at an end...” She lowered her forelegs and dug her claws into the wooden floor, her beak opening partway to let out a low throaty growl as she prepared to pounce.
“Hey, ugly bird!” A voice puffed up with determination and heroism called from the upper loft and both unicorn and murderess looked up. There stood a young purple dragon who's chest was puffed up and both scaly hands rested on his hips. “Nobody eats my big sister!” He drew in a full breath, the gryphon's pupils shrank to pinpricks before a gout of bright green flame shot forth. She turned in time as the smell of burning hair and feathers filled Twilight's bedroom. The pale light of the candles were eclipsed by the sudden eruption of flickering fire. The black gryphoness flailed and desperately tried to snuff out the embers of what remained of the feathers upon the right side of her face.
As Spike's breath ended in a small coughing fit, the gryphon rounded, more angry than before. Her breath coming in ragged pants. Her eyes looked like they were lit by her own inner fire, the momentary lapse from the flames and the piercing shriek of the burning gryphon had shaken the purple unicorn from her terror induced paralysis. Her magic swirled forth with pure anger at its heart. The gryphon backed towards the window slowly but Twilight was much faster than that. She lashed out and tipped a book case solidly onto the monster who squawked in pain.
Twilight grinned smugly and limped closer to the prone beast, “Not all that tough are you?” She prodded one of her hind legs for just a moment before the tufted tail reached out like a striking snake and wrapped tightly around Twilight's neck, instead of the choking suffocation she was expecting she felt herself being jerked forwards. Her forehead met the wooden bookshelf and she saw stars. What she didn't see however was the black shape, still smoking slightly, slip out the balcony door and into the night.
Princess Celestia paced back and forth along the ground floor of the library. Never, in living memory, had she been so furious. Her wings stood proudly from her back and everypony gave her a wide berth. Twilight was sitting upon a pillow with Spike held tight in her lap. The two had not released one another since the incident had happened.
“What pony would dare do this?” Celestia asked to nopony in particular, turning her eyes around the room.
“I believe it is connected to the recent problem in Trottingham, your majesty.” Captain Drussard stood tall without his usual helmet, the look of tired remorse in his steely blue eyes made Twilight's heart beat faster. The purple unicorn remembered the times she had met with Celestia and the captain had been present. He always seemed like a stoic old stallion but the pained look on his face was beginning to show his age.
“S-she did say that somepony wanted me dead to... to show that you couldn't do anything to prevent it, Princess. It was the same intent the mayor had for Trottingham.. to attack you indirectly by hurting ponies and causing chaos.” Twilight spoke up for the first time in nearly half an hour and Celestia stopped her furious pacing to kneel at her student's side.
“Oh Twilight... this is beyond terrible... beyond monstrous.” The Princess gave Twilight a nuzzle on the cheek and then looked down at the little purple dragon in her lap. “And you Spike... if you hadn't reacted in time then it could have been so much worse... thank you, my little hero...” She leaned down and gave the stunned Spike a gentle kiss on the forehead which made him blush sheepishly.
“It was Owlowiscious who woke me up, Princess.” Spike looked towards where the owl perched nearby, in an uncharacteristic moment of humility.
“Then you are both my little heroes.” Celestia held one of her wings out where Owlowiscious landed with an appreciative hoot.
“Your Majesty,” one of the guards who stood outside the door slipped in and bowed respectfully. “there are several mares present who wish to see, miss Sparkle.”
Celestia stood back up and nodded to her guard. Returning her feathered hero to his perch near Twilight. “That would be the Elements of Harmony Please let them in, Corporal.” Celestia watched as the mares who had become Twilight Sparkle's best friends were led into the library. They instantly swarmed the purple unicorn with their concerns and their tearful hugs. Celestia took this moment to join her Lord Captain on the other side of the room where he had taken a moment to rest himself.
“We need to relocate miss Sparkle somewhere we can ensure she is safe.” Captain Drussard rose stepping to Celestia's side and looked over the Elements of Harmony, keeping his voice low so he didn't disturb their moment together. “Perhaps her friends as well... and family members... the ponies behind this do have the resources to bribe their way into my jail to release that terrible creature, Celestia knows what else they can bribe their way into.” Drussard blushed at using Celestia's name in vain, she only smiled.
“It's alright Captain, I believe you are right.” Celestia turned her eyes and looked upon the assembled guards. The glimmering white coats, and bright blue manes, maintained by the ward spells in their armour each pegasus standing like a copy of her faithful Lord Captain. For a moment her thoughts drifted back to some other guards. Their armour dented and worn but their spirits empowered with drive and determination. “Captain... send word to Twilight's parents that they are to come to the Sun Palace for an extended stay. And do try not to alarm them, we don't need ponies panicking in the street.” The Captain nodded and Celestia grinned. “Also... please send word to the guardhouse in Trottingham that a Captain Shrike and her squad are to come immediately to Canterlot. Assign one of your detachments to look after the town in their absence.”
Captain Drussard raised an eyebrow and looked to Celestia “Are you certain that is wise, your Majesty? The Trottingham guards are valiant and skilled, as they have proven with this potion business, but certainly one of my senior detachments would make a better choice.”
“Trust me, old friend. Twilight needs ponies who are her comrades... she has laughed and fought alongside them. I trust in their spirit to ensure her safety.” Celestia smiled and her captain bowed before heading towards his troops to make the arrangements.
Celestia turned back to the other ponies and carefully sat down amongst them to lend her support. “What are we gonna do, Princess?” Came the earthy voice of Applejack, her eyes tearful.
“We are going to do our best...” Celestia replied with a smile, putting on her most confident face. She needed to look confident for the ponies who looked up to her. Deep down however, Celestia was growing frightened.
Captain Shrike groaned, her side was aching again as she pulled herself to her hooves. No matter how much salve the doctors smeared on her or how many times she got a massage from her Trusty stallion, the wound always ached. “OK... not bad... not bad... you can move with armour on, I’ll give you that, and you've got a good set of legs on you.” She nodded to the latest recruit as he finished his tryout. “We've got some more to go through in the next few days but we'll come get ya if we decide you're guard material.” Shrike watched while the stallion stripped off his ill fitting armour and trotted out of the yard behind the guardhouse, nodding to Sergeant Trusty as he passed.
“So Brick Hoof there makes sixteen, Captain.” He floated a cup of coffee to his captain and marefriend who accepted it with a grateful sigh. The hot bitter blend slid welcomely down her throat. She nodded in thanks and passed the cup back to the green unicorn who cradled it with his magic.
“There just aren't any that can measure up...” She mumbled before turning back towards the guardhouse and trotting in the back door, pulling off her helmet and letting it clatter to the floor beside the armoury room. “Jammy left some pretty specific shoes to fill.”
“You're telling me... I haven't had a good biscuit since he's been gone... or a kitchen fire for that matter...” Trusty nudged Shrike in the side and the pegasus let out a short chuckle.
“Alright, alright... I’ll go through the paperwork soon as I can... we're still bloody short and getting spread thin as is... we need more suits of armour out there.” Shrike sunk down to the bench and began to struggle out of her shoes and greeves.
“Oh speaking of suits of armour... you might want to stay kitted up, Captain... there's a royal here for you. Told him to take a seat at the duty desk until you were done.” Trusty used a little magic to re-buckle Shrike's shoes. The mare sighed.
“Can't I get a break... just once, Trusty... just once I’d like to end my day by the clock... or pay myself a little overtime.” She lamented as Trusty helped her to her hooves again, holding her coffee mug before her so she could take another long sip.
“Overtime pay? What might that be? Never heard of it myself, Captain.” Trusty smirked and Shrike gave him a playful cuff before trotting into the duty officer's room. She blinked at the black coated unicorn who sat neatly at the desk. He was in the process of organizing the piles of various papers into some better sense of order. His armour and the wards which empowered it marked him as a Citadel Guard. One of Celestia's Sun Palace Guards.
“Ah Captain.” He stood and bowed before removing his helmet. The wards on his mane and tail slipped away to reveal that his usual tones were more reddish. He held out a hoof which Shrike shook carefully. “I am Captain Cinder of the Citadel Guard.”
“Long way from Canterlot, aren't you, Captain?” Shrike took a seat and the new guard did likewise.
“Indeed...” He answered in the usual tones of an upper crust Canterlot accent which set Shrike's nerves on edge a little. “I come bearing grave news and an order from the Princess herself.”
“Well don't stand on ceremony!” Shrike piped up and grinned, accepting the cup back from Trusty to take another long sip.
“An attempt has been made on the life of Twilight Sparkle.” Captain Cinder managed to back up in time before he received a face-full of hot coffee. The now neatly stacked papers on the desk weren't so lucky. Shrike stared open mouthed as the black unicorn pulled a handkerchief from his armour and wiped a little of the splattered drink from his coat. “Somepony in a position of power has orchestrated the escape of Lady Fiona, the Night Butcher. It was only through last minute intervention that Twilight's life was saved. The Princess is quite distraught and has arranged for Twilight, her friends and her family to be taken to Canterlot Castle to be placed under guard there.”The Night Butcher, Sweet Celestia's mane!” Shrike managed to clear her thoughts enough to swear. “The bloody Night Butcher... is she alright? Twilight I mean, not the bloody gryphon...” Shrike thought back to the harmless bookish unicorn who had stood by her side when the need arose and who had written a report so comprehensive that she could have bound it and had it published. Harmless,egghead Twilight Sparkle.
“Twilight Sparkle was unharmed thanks to the quick intervention of her dragon assistant... the Princess, however, believes that she should be under the guard of ponies that she knows and trusts. So I have come to relieve you and your detachment so you may undertake the task of protecting Celestia's prized student.” The black unicorn stood and snapped off a salute.
Shrike stood slowly and blinked a few moments before turning towards her sergeant who only shrugged, still looking shocked at the news. “I stand relieved...” She mumbled the phrase from the big book of guard procedures and ordinances. “So when can we expect our ride to Canterlot?”
The unicorn captain blinked and looked a little shocked. “Right away... the carriage is waiting in the square as we speak.”
Shrike slumped a little and sighed, “I’m never getting my time off, am I? ” she asked to nopony in particular.
Twilight Sparkle opened the door to her old tower and smiled softly, stepping out of the way and letting her friends walk in past her. “Well, this is home... or was home while I was away at school. Make yourselves comfortable.” Twilight watched as her friends trotted into the old tower and deposited their saddlebags in the main room.
“Oh my, it's simply covered in dust!” Rarity, always the one to point out such things, seemed to produce a feather duster from some dark recess of her saddlebags and began to clear the year's worth of dust away.
“Well nopony's been in here for a whole year, Rarity.” Applejack sighed and pulled her heavy packful of apples towards Twilight's little kitchen. “Why don't you loosen up a might and stop obsessing over every tiny little detail... for a change.” The farmpony set the saddlebags down with a thump on the counter and set to restocking the kitchen.
“Well somepony has to! My allergies will be positively atrocious if all this dust is allowed to remain!” The white unicorn went about her business as Rainbow Dash flapped her way to the largest window she could manage and pulled it open.
“Nice view, Twilight.” The sky blue pegasus scanned her eyes over the cityscape laid out before her. She could just picture the up drafts and eddies that the tall towers and ancient fortifications would cause this high up a mountain face. “I’m so gonna have to practice my moves while I’m here! It's not like I get a chance for an urban flight every day.”
“And I can't wait to check out all the candy stores and sweet shops and bakeries and soda shops and restaurants in Canterlot Not to mention going back to see Pony Joe. I betcha I can get him to tell me his secret to making such perfect donuts!” Pinkie beamed as she bounced in a circle around the room.
“Oh... but this isn't a vacation girls...” The soft voice of Fluttershy made everypony pause. She had barely spoken through the entire trip to Canterlot, just looked scared and pained. “We're here to make sure that Twilight is OK... and to stay safe in case any scary ponies try and hurt her or us again.”
The eyes of everypony fell and there was a muttered round of apologies. Twilight blushed and took a few steps into her tower before she looked at all her friends. “I want to thank all of you girls... for coming with me. I... I’m so glad all of you are my friends and I just don't know what I would do without you all here with me.” Twilight tried in vain to hide the tear that rolled down her cheek. The Elements of Harmonyclustered around Twilight joining in a sympathetic group hug, with even Spike relenting and accepting the warmth.
“Hey, no tears or hugs for me? I feel so left out.” A slightly gruff voice spoke from the doorway and all eyes turned. Everypony except for Rarity and Fluttershy trotted over with broad smiles.
“Trusty! Celestia said that my guard would be ponies I could trust, it's so nice to see you again!” Twilight gave the green unicorn a hug before he trotted out of the doorway after receiving a none too soft nudge from his captain. The other Trottingham guards made their way into the increasingly crowded little tower, each being greeted by the Special Constables.
“Are these the ponies you have told us about Twilight?” Rarity stepped forward and put on her finest smile. “Any friends of Twilight's are certainly friends of mine. I am Rarity, a pleasure to meet you all.”
The introductions were warmly received and even Fluttershy came out of her shell with the help of the friendly attitudes of the uniformed ponies. Dash and Star talked about how their respective jobs had been going for the last month. Pinkie Pie and Applejack went to work in the kitchen making use of the apples that AJ had brought with her while Trusty brewed up an industrial size batch of one of his better blends of coffee.
Pinkie Pie would have called it a party but she was too busy having fun to remember to unpack the banners and balloons from her saddlebags. Nopony noticed as the weather began to turn or that night was advancing on schedule.
In the dark and twisting streets of lower Canterlot, hooves were clattering on wet stone as a stallion ran. He ran for his life, heart pounding in his chest and legs begging him to let go, to stop and rest. Every time he slowed there came the laughter. Cold and mirthless laughter which made him wish to be anywhere... anywhere the sun shone and his life was better.
He ran harder still and looked back over his shoulder. The dark shape in the sky above was pacing him easily. The stallion never noticed the cracked cobblestone until it was far too late. His leg dipped down hard and his hoof twisted with a snap.
He tumbled to the ground and cried out in pain. Eyes overflowing he tried to crawl in the direction he was running. The light rain and the slick stones making him all the more miserable and cold.
“You have done well, pony...” The sickly sweet voice spoke to him again as the heavy shape landed with a thump in the alley behind him. “I had supposed the golden horseshoe on your flank had something or other to do with running... very good indeed.”
“N-no! Stay back!” The stallion gasped, rolling onto his back and trying to crawl backwards away from the advancing black creature. Her eyes burned red as she sauntered closer. He got another good look at the gryphon he had released. There was something distinctly different. He wouldn't have called her beautiful before, gryphons weren't high on his list of attractive partners but now her feathers looked out of shape and there seemed to be seared patches of skin showing through, her right eye must have been injured and was swollen partially shut. It gave her a much more menacing appearance. A burned, scarred, mad creature.
“Oh we are quite beyond that, my dear stallion...” She leaned close to him and grinned. The stallion felt as if his heart turned to ice, her dark talon snatched out and gripped his broken ankle solidly. He screamed like a filly and descended into a whimpering fit. “Who are you really... I know it was you who released me and under the orders of this mysterious female. Who employs you?”
“S-stop! I'll tell you everything!” The stallion pleaded, tears streaming down his already damp face as the pain overcame him, Fiona leaned close, easing up on his ankle only slightly, looking at him with her good eye.
“Oh... oh I know you will... I have many questions and I have ways of asking them that will not heal for weeks...” Her sweet smile returned which only made the icy fear grip him harder.
“I’m a clerk... I work in the hall of records and petitions... I... draft and forge the documents that she asks me to.”He whimpered between panting and trembling.
“Who is she?” The gryphon demanded tightening her grip on the damaged appendage with a snarling breath.
“Oh, Celestia! I don't know!” He screamed and shook until the vice-like grip lessened. “S-Some Canterlot noble. I’ve never seen her but she has to be a unicorn, she uses magic sometimes... she never reveals herself. She sends messages through intermediaries or wears a cloak. She's always in the shadows. She picked me and took me for... for an initiation...” The stallion trembled as the gryphon regarded him with a slight smirk. “I h-had to kill... a pony... some young thing... maybe a student... I don't know! It was awful, but I did it, I proved my worth to her.”
“Good, good. Blood on your hooves, innocent blood... we share a common bond you and I. Now... what I wish to know... is why your mysterious benefactor failed to tell me that Twilight Sparkle had a little dragon for a companion?” The gryphon gave another squeeze to the stallion's ankle and he winced hard again.
“S-she what? I... I had no idea! I was ordered to release you, she never told me her plan!R-release you and give you that letter, it was sealed, I never even read it!” He pleaded with tears rolling down his cheeks before the black gryphon sneered and gripped her talon tight as she was able, grinding the broken bones together.
Once the screaming had stopped, she leaned close and whispered sweetly into the stallion's ear. “Her letter, lovely penmanship not withstanding, left much to be desired about her plans. A pity you know nothing... because now I must go pay your employer a visit... but not before I tear that unicorn's heart out and cast her child dragon from the highest spire of Canterlot, because, my dear stallion I was beautiful once and that blasted little creature has taken MY FACE!” the more she spoke the more fury crept into her words until she was nearly frothing mad. Taking her free talon she smoothed down her burned feathers as best she could and put her smile back on, taking a slow breath. “Well it appears that is all the questions I have.”
“Can I go?” He brazenly asked, though unable to keep the trembling hope out of his voice.
“Go? Oh no, you see all this anger and distress have made me rather... hungry...”
The stallion's eyes went wide and he shook. Managing a scream that pierced the dark night before being cut off abruptly.
Captain Drussard stood back while a pair of guards left the alleyway, a wagon with a white sheet over it being pulled behind them. The older captain again left his helmet aside and let his eyes follow the shrouded wagon as it trundled away. It was not proving to be a good morning in the slightest.
“Who found him?” He asked quietly, reaching a hoof up to rub his tired eyes.
“An old mare who lives a block over, she told us she thought she heard screaming in the night but took it for her bad hearing but then this morning she found him while taking out the trash.” His corporal stood at his side, trying not to look at the pool of blood over the cobblestones. The night's rain had watered everything down. “There was enough to identify him... Twisted Quill. A scribe working in the-” Drussard cleared his throat and cut the corporal off.
“The hall of records and petitions...” Drussard sighed and looked at his subordinate who blinked a little. “It's obvious... he forged an order to have Fiona transferred or some such nonsense so he could get her released. Now she's turned on her employer and murdered him as well... and we know what she plans to do next...” He raised a hoof and pointed wordlessly to the wall of the alley and the message which had been smeared there in blood though carefully sheltered from the rain.
Tell Twilight Her Dragon Is Dead Meat
“Short and to the point... not good coming from that one. She never uses two words when six will do the same thing. It means she's angry... very angry.” Drussard sighed and turned away from the scene, “Get some workponies with strong stomachs to get it cleared away, I am heading to the University grounds. Then to the Palace to speak with Celestia personally on this matter... nopony is to go over my head, do you understand Corporal?”
The guard gave a nod and coughed softly to hide his nervousness. “Yes, sir... of course.” Drussard looked at the corporal a moment more before taking wing and making his way towards the tower which held the most endangered ponies in all of Equestria
Shrike took a sip from her coffee mug again, the brew was getting cold but Trusty had headed out with Pinkie Pie to a local donut shop that apparently had the finest donuts in the city. She was never one for excessive sweets personally but she wasn't about to deny the bouncing ball of pink sunshine her sugar fix.
Shrike closed her eyes sadly and sighed. Pinkie Pie would have been the perfect match for her late constable, had fate not conspired to fell him in the line of duty. She could imagine the fun those two could have gotten up to, the parties, the drinks and the food. It made her shiver to think that the warmth of that future had been denied to them both as friends or even as something more.
“Have you ever been to Canterlot before?” The soft question shook Shrike from her reprieve and she looked up at Twilight who was in the middle of reading the report from the last encounter.
“Once when I was a foal... my mum thought it would be nice if I could see the Summer Sun Celebration one year... I was too young to get much out of it of course.” Shrike chuckled and finished off the last of her coffee, nodding in Twilight's direction. “You're a Canterlot filly though?”
“All my family has lived here... generations of us.” Twilight smiled and carefully closed the report, setting it back in its place on the table. “Can I ask you a question, Captain?”
Shrike gave a nod, “Certainly... and you don't have to call me Captain unless one of those royal guards is in.”
Twilight gave a little nervous smile. “O-OK. I just wanted to ask... what made you want to become a guard. I've thought about it a lot, mostly when I’m looking at the badge you gave me, and I just can't wrap my head around what would possess a pony to decide that their calling in life would be to throw themselves in harm's way.”
Shrike leaned back a little and looked up at the high ceiling, currently being occupied by a pair of pegasai who looked to be desperately trying to stave off boredom coupled with the deep inner need for a young pegasus to fly rather than sit still, they had a ball they were currently tossing although much flipping and cavorting was also going on as well. “I grew up in Trottingham. My mum was a pegasus and my dad was a ground-pounder. It was about mid fall, just starting to really cool off. I was on my way home from school, just a little filly at the time, perhaps in first year. I was amusing myself watching the leaves drifting to the ground here and there in the downtown when I heard this scream from between a couple buildings. I rounded the corner and I saw a bunch of big bullies picking on this young colt. Didn't know any of them, didn't care that they were all twice my age and mean looking or that there was three of them and only one of me, I couldn't just let that stand, so I jumped in with hooves flailing to defend him.”
As Shrike spoke Twilight sat with rapt attention, almost like she could picture every moment of the past as it drifted through her mind. “And you beat them?” She asked with a smile.
“What? Oh Celestia, no. They beat the living daylights out of me. Would have been worse too but this big stallion in a guard uniform reached down and plucked me out of the fight. That was Sergeant Stirling...” Shrike gave a sigh and noticed that all the ponies in the room were now listening intently. “Sergeant Stirling was the biggest pegasus I had ever seen up until that point, his armour gleamed and his mane actually flowed in the breeze. He told me the young colt got away and that the bullies were being dealt with. Then he asked me why, just asked why I would jump in like that. I was sort of out of it and I think I mumbled something about it being the right thing to do. He just said he thought it was too and pointed to my flank.” Shrike stood and turned, moving her barding off her flank to show off her cutie mark. A blue and green shield with a single grey feather laid over top of it. “That was the day I knew that it was what I was born for, to be a guard, to safeguard the lives of ponies.”
“And when she was old enough she joined up, wouldn't have got the job either were it not for old Sterling.” Trusty stepped away from the doorway and set down a box of sweet smelling donuts on the table. “Remembered her from way back as soon as he saw her cutie mark the job was hers. And I can tell you that's true because I was in line behind her at the time.”
“That is super awesome!” Rainbow Dash drifted down from the ceiling and landed to grab a donut before they all got snatched up.
“Well it's what landed me the job that I’ve kept all these years and why I’m the first female Captain in nearly two hundred years.” Shrike looked over at the green unicorn who only grinned and went to make a fresh pot of his usual brew. “It also landed me with that lump over there,” She pointed at Trusty and chuckled, “So there has been some bad with the good.”
The others laughed and settled back down to their conversations before there came a loud knock at the door. Shrike held up a hoof for silence and gave a nod to Boulder who extracted himself from his resting spot and trotted over to the door. Star swooped down and nodded to the big stallion who pulled the door open so either pony would have a clear line of sight to the doorway.
“At ease...” Came the rumbling reply and the guards backed away. Lord Captain Drussard stepped through the doorway, nodding to his two other guards to remain at the door. His eyes scanned the room and finally fell on Shrike. Shrike could feel her knees grow a little weak as the bigger pegasus stood closer. “Captain Shrike... a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh.”
“Sir.” Shrike snapped off a salute and stood stiffly, the ponies from Ponyville watching and keeping their distance.
“Aren't you going to introduce me? I believe that I know young Twilight Sparkle there but the rest of your ever growing company are a mystery to me.” Drussard managed a little smile and Shrike let some of her tension slip away.
“Of course,” She cleared her throat and pointed to each pony in the room in turn. “Sergeant Trusty Spirit, my second in command recently promoted, Constable Boulder, Constable Shooting Star, also recently promoted, Twilight Sparkle you know, Spike her young assistant, Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie a strange but truly fantastic baker, Rainbow Dash who just might be the fastest flier in all of Equestria, Miss Rarity who owns Carousel Boutique in Ponyville and...” Shrike trailed off and blinked. “We're one short.”
“Ah... I see who you mean...” He pointed to a small puff of pink tail which was just visible from behind a bookcase. “Aren't you going to come out... I’d know that tail anywhere, dear.” He spoke with an uncharacteristic smile which made the guards and Twilight blink in minor confusion.
Slowly Fluttershy stepped from behind her hiding place, still blushing deep red along her cheeks and looking more nervous than many other times. “S-sorry...”
“Sorry what? Come on girl, it's been years since we talked...” He chuckled and pulled off his helmet to look less intimidating. His rich blue mane falling down a little though the grey in it showing his advanced age.
“Sorry... Uncle Drussard...” Fluttershy scrambled closer with a smile and shared a hug with the captain. “You still look scary in your armour.”
“And you're still shy as anything. So sorry I couldn't say hello when I was in Ponyville” He chuckled and released the butter yellow pegasus who looked over the dropped jaws and stunned silence that her friends had bathed themselves in.
“Your uncle... is Lord Captain Drussard?!” Rainbow Dash managed to stammer a little bit and stare at Fluttershy. Fluttershy for her part simply blushed and tried to hide behind her own mane.
“Um well... I don't really like to brag at all...” Fluttershy mumbled and scuffed her hooves on the floor, “and I haven't talked to him in years...”
Rainbow Dash looked between the cowering Fluttershy and the towering form of Drussard and blinked. “How could you two even be related?” The blue pegasus stammered before a hoof on her shoulder restrained her.
“Just let it go Rainbow.” Applejack sighed before tipping her hat to the big pegasus. “Any family of Fluttershy is a friend of ours.”
“Thank-you... and as much as it has been a pleasant surprise to see my niece. I have come with some grave news.” The room seemed to grow cold as everypony went from the shock of finding out Fluttershy is in some way more famous than she already is to the mounting dread surrounding the events of the past days.
Drussard looked towards Twilight and let out a little sigh. “Lady Fiona, the gryphon you bested, has killed again. The stallion who released her from prison. For whatever reason she went after him but at the scene of his demise... she left a message for you.”
“For... me?” Twilight gulped, unsure if she wanted to know the nature of the message.
“She wants your young dragon friend dead...” As soon as the words left Drussard's lips, all eyes turned to Spike. His pupils shrank down to the size of pinpricks and he began to tremble before leaning back and passing out in an instant.
“O-oh no...” Fluttershy squeaked and put both hooves over her mouth.
“Not little Spikey!” Pinkie Pie quickly bounced over to Twilight's side as the purple unicorn picked up her prone companion and hugged him tight to her chest.
“All the more reason we must find the Butcher before she has the chance to catch you alone.” Drussard looked at the guards and at the Ponyville mares. “Now... I know Lady Fiona.. she is smart and ruthless. She will wait until the perfect moment to strike and by then it will be too late. She was unprepared last time and you caught a lucky break. Next time will not be so lucky for certain.”
“Hmm...” Shrike began to grin as a thought formed. “Lord Captain, I believe I have an idea.” All eyes turned to Shrike and her grin widened. With the urging from the assembled ponies, Shrike laid out her plan. There were arguments and disputes, details to be worked out and pots of coffee to be drunk and many crumpled pieces of paper but at the end there were grins of approval and even a grim nod from the Lord Captain. It was just mad enough to work.
Captain Drussard reached back and unclasped his helmet from its place on his side before lowering it onto his head. “Excellent... we will wait for nightfall to execute the plan but the civilians will go... I will not see their lives put at risk for this.”
“No can do, buddy...” Came the reply from Rainbow Dash and the captain looked up in mild shock.
“That is not a request, miss Dash... that is an order from the Lord Captain of Celestia's Guards.” Drussard's voice had just a slight edge of anger creeping into it.
Dash leaned back and snatched something from her saddlebags and holding it like a shield before the Captain. “See this... it says ''Special Constable' I’m not a civilian. And I do not abandon my friends... or my duty.”
Drussard's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to the now trembling Rainbow Dash, he towered over the blue pegasus and she felt all the smaller as he reached out and snatched the badge from her lips before turning it right-side up and placing it back in her care. “You were holding it upside down... looked rather silly actually. If you need a job and don't mind taking orders... come see me. The pay isn't that bad really.”
Lady Fiona clung to the battlements, her claws were getting tired but from her perch she had a perfect view of the tower with that accursed unicorn and her dragon in it. The dark of night did well to hide her black shape amongst the shadows. A grin spread across her face as she saw the lanterns being lit here and there and a coach pulling up to Twilight's tower.
Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the shapes moving in the small courtyard. It looked like several ponies were being loaded into the coach while more royal guards surrounded it. It was too far to get a clear look at the proceedings but she grinned wider. “A trap... marvellous... I follow the coach to its new destination and find only a few hundred crossbows pointed at me.” She spoke softly to herself and even chuckled.
“Just what kind of fool do these ponies take me for?” She disengaged from the tower and floated as silent as a cloud towards the tower which still had several small lamps on. With practised ease she pushed the window until the latches snapped. Poor trusting ponies never understood the concept of locking one's windows and doors.
She crouched low and looked about the room, it was a bedroom obviously, neat and tidy though only faintly smelling like ponies. She grinned and moved silently towards the door to the main rooms of the tower. Like a cat on the prowl she tucked her wings in tight as she was able and moved with the utmost stealth down a short set of stairs. She could smell a lot more ponies. Many had come and gone in here though there was an overriding scent, something confoundingly sticky and sweet.
She looked down in thought, stopping just past the doorway. Something was making the hairs on her back stand on end, the feeling like she had been trapped.
As if in answer to her thoughts, the door she had come through slammed closed and latched solidly behind her. A bright flash of light illuminated the lamps high over the shelves and shelves of books, bathing the room in the bright glow of mock daylight. Her eyes stung and she tried hard to cover them as the sound of moving hooves reached her sensitive ears.
With a growl of frustration she focused and looked upon the shapes of ponies standing, armour glimmering in the light. They blocked every doorway she could see. Her eyes snapped up to the high windows and saw that both were covered by a pegasus in flight. What she didn't notice was the smell. Instead of the natural scent of ponies there was just the sticky overwhelming scent of some confection. “Cotton... candy? You doused yourselves with concentrated essence of cotton candy?” She spoke slowly, the corner of her mouth curling up in a grin.
“It pays to know a baker who never leaves home unprepared.” Captain Shrike piped up as the guards held their ground.
Twilight looked back in the direction of the tower as the coach rolled onwards. “I hope it works...” She felt a hoof on her side and turned her eyes to Rarity who gave her most comforting smile.
“Twilight, darling, I am more than certain that our friends can handle themselves. It is just one gryphon against five armoured guards as well as Rainbow Dash and Applejack. If there is one thing our two friends are, it is sturdy.” The white unicorn looked back towards the tower. “And should the ruse prove incapable of fooling that horrible creature, then we are proceeding to the palace under truly impressive guard. We will have untold hundreds of guards as well as both princesses to watch over us. We will be just fine, won't we girls?” Rarity looked encouragingly towards Fluttershy who was silent and staring at the pink pony beside her.
Pinkie Pie was looking intently at both her forehooves which were trembling. “It's starting...” She whispered softly, so unlike her usual speech that all eyes were soon upon her. “Twilight... we gotta get nurses and doctors and everything ready...”
Twilight gulped when Pinkie's eyes looked up at her, more white than the usual perky blue, her pupils having shrunk down from shock. “There's gonna be blood everywhere...” Pinkie Pie whispered and Fluttershy promptly fainted.
“Surrender now, Lady Fiona... there is nowhere left for you to run to.” Drussard took a step forward and pawed at the library floor. “Let's not make this as bad as last time... it took a few months for your ribs to heal, if you care to remember.”
The black gryphon began to pant, her eyes squeezed shut tight. “No... no No NO! I will not return to your custody Captain! Where I am chained where I shall never see the sky, with the constant temptation of flesh dangled just out of my reach every time I see one of your pathetic pony guards. I will die before I allow myself to be captured!”
The dark winged creature wasted no more time, her back legs propelled her forward into the nearest pony who happened to be the Lord Captain. Like a giant cat springing on an unsuspecting mouse, she hit full force and the pony was borne to the ground under the larger bulk of the mad gryphon. Other guards rushed close only to be rewarded with a blast of air from her wings which knocked books from nearby shelves and staggered the guards considerably.
The lord captain struck out with an armoured foreleg which was dodged expertly before a wickedly sharp beak lashed out and cut a chunk of flesh from his hide with an accompanying fountain of blood. He didn't cry out as most would have, only grunted and struck lower with his uninjured leg, this blow caught the gryphon in the throat and she let out a pained squawk, her eyes narrowing in anger.
She pulled back and raised both glimmering black talons, ready to rend any exposed flesh she could grapple onto. She never got the opportunity before a massive armoured shape bowled into her and she was sent crashing into a pillar. Constable Boulder tried to hold her down as well as he could but the struggling, snapping gryphon was far too much for the kindhearted officer to manage. With one final surge she righted herself and grasped his helmeted head firmly before driving his unarmoured face into the solid stone of the pillar.
The big blue stallion let out a single moaned breath before slumping down unconscious. Drussard clenched his teeth as the gryphon took up a fighting stance, the other guards circling slowly. “Keep back from her! She's stronger than any of you!” He stopped to look at his leg, the artery was neatly severed and bled like a faucet. He winced and squeezed above the wound with his free hoof trying to staunch the bleeding.
Applejack lowered her head and grinned before breaking into a charge headlong into the very angry bird. The gryphon bellowed a challenge, her eyes murderously red in anticipation as she braced herself. She had seen it before, the charge of ponies into battle. So very direct. So prepared was she for the assault that when Applejack skidded to a halt she simply paused and blinked. Applejack looked up and grinned at the statue falling until the large stone horse's head landed square on the black gryphon's back followed by the grey pegasus captain.
Shrike landed and immediately struck out with all four hooves, something she had been taught in basic training was to use gravity to make up for the lack of mass in most pegasai. The stone statue she had carried up there was just the icing on the cake. The gryphon below wailed in pain as her wings were hit hard and Shrike lashed out again. Her hooves met the black body once more though this time it seemed to drop out from under her, the creature rolling to the side and catching the captain with a blow from her sharp talons.
Shrike winced and recalled the image which had been scored into her memory of the ex-mayor's blade slicing a line in her armour except this time there were three knives and where the blow landed there was little armour to protect. The grey mare cried out as claws caught in her neck and she was borne to the floor. The marble rushed up to meet her and the next she remembered was looking at the world filled with stars, letting the weight of consciousness slip away in a pool of blood.
The gryphon limped a little, spreading her bruised wings and looking at the guards who remained. There were the young pegasus mares who stopped her from taking flight, the orange mare who had caught her in that feinted charge, the Lord Captain who was bleeding out and the green unicorn who was cinching a makeshift tourniquet in place in a vain attempt to save the older stallion.
Lady Fiona turned and looked at the orange pony, still keeping both pegasai in her field of vision. She felt the frothing red rage creeping into her thoughts and she did her best to bank it. The taste of pony blood on her tongue and the scent of it heavy in the air weren't helping her at all. She needed a clear head and right now she was winning. “Would you accept this dance?” She smiled at the orange mare and stepped closer. “My you have some fine muscles on you... yes quite toned... a tough feed no doubt but wonderfully flavoursome.” She grinned darkly and watched as the mare paled just a little, taking up as best a fighting stance as she could manage.
Fiona licked along her beak and lowered her head like a pony would to charge. Applejack grit her teeth and leapt to the ready, charging forward with all her might as the gryphon did the same. What Applejack didn't count on was that lion paws were more stable on stone than pony hooves. The black shape stepped to the side and raked a single clawed talon down her side.
The searing pain shot through Applejack's body but she bit her lip hard to stop from wailing like a filly. She waited until her opponent was just past her before she lashed out. She struck with hooves that could take every apple from a hundred year old tree in a single hit. Hooves that were her time honoured tools of her trade and attached to legs that were like ironwood trees. With every ounce of force that Applejack had left she aimed her kick and struck home.
Fiona's eyes shot open wide and she screamed as the most pain she had experienced to date rocked her body. She felt her left hip shatter as well as the leg below. She tumbled to a stop and squeezed her eyes shut tight, the intense suffering washing over her and making her head spin. She struggled onto three legs and looked back at the last which hung limp and unmoving. Even her tail lay on the floor like a limp piece of yarn.
Rainbow watched with a grin before seeing Applejack stumble and fall onto her side. The Rainbow maned pegasus took one look towards the windows she was guarding before flying down to land at Applejack's side. Shooting Star held her place, watching with a gulp as she began to realize that she could be next in the long line of injured ponies.
“Holy horse apples!” Applejack winced and kept her head away from her injury as Dash carefully checked her over. “D-Dash... tell me how bad it is... don't sugar coat it none.” The farmer turned a tear filled pair of green eyes up at her companion and the blue pegasus turned to examine the wound.
Three long gouges ran through Applejack's hide and were only now beginning to bleed, each was deeper than the worst cut she had ever seen and she could tell by the twitching from the farmpony's legs that they were intensely painful.
“Deep but you'll pull through... gonna need a ton of stitches though.” Applejack let her head slump and let out a sigh as Dash laid a hoof against her cheek. “Nice move apples but next time... remember to duck before you buck.” Applejack managed a chuckle.
“Dash! Star!” Trusty called loud as he could, flinging his telekinetic force full at the window to hold it as the wounded gryphon stretched out her bruised wings and began to take flight. “Stop that crazy thing before she gets away!”
In an instant Dash was airborne again and at Star's side. Both pegasai sharing a nod before the black monster hovered closer. Her eyes were filled with boundless hatred and her claws flexed. She was fully in the grips of adrenaline and anger. Looking into her eyes, both Dash and the young guard at her side couldn't help but shudder.
“No way out... land and... and we'll get your leg looked at...” Star piped up, trying desperately to recall the course she had been 'asked' to take about sensitivity and dealing with angry ponies. “It's gotta hurt something fierce.
“Do you think...” Fiona’s voice came out in short raspy breaths, her eyes flashing with all the more rage. “Do you think for a moment... that I would land... and submit myself to you ponies... I will tear you all apart for the trouble you have all caused me today! I will slaughter you like I have done to the blue one and that grey pegasus and be done with you pathetic excuses for creatures!”
“Not while I’ve got the door blocked, lady!” Trusty snapped from his position on the floor, grinning. The gryphon looked down for just a second before her eyes narrowed upon Dash.
The blue pegasus gulped and tried to look ready but nothing could have prepared her for that kind of savagery. The angry black shape was upon her in an instant, her back to the window and the other pegasus trying to pull the pair apart in midair. Finally with a titanic effort, Dash was released. Though she was released as a projectile aimed at the green unicorn on the floor. She tried to flap her wings to slow her descent but found them slow to respond. The world slowed and Dash looked over her shoulder to see the trail of bloody blue feathers she was leaving in the air.
With no other option, Trusty abandoned his control of the windows and used his magic to stop the temporally flightless Dash before she hit the floor at speed. Fiona grinned and turned her blazing eyes at the only remaining airborne guard. She didn't waste another moment talking. She struck out hard but Star flinched. She turned her helm at the last moment and presented the crest. Claws skittered off the thickest part of the armour but caught on the crest itself, painfully pulling the helmet off Star's head. The pegasus lost just enough altitude that the black gryphon could flap her wings and propel herself through the window and out into the night.
Shooting Star landed and stumbled to Dash, her head still ringing. The blue pegasus was sitting on the ground, looking at her wings which would need a few tender mending spells. “You OK, Dash?” The dusty pegasus managed with a small groan.
“I’ll be OK... but you've gotta get after her!” Star found herself face to face with her Rainbow maned friend.
“How?! She's got a head start and she's a hell of a lot bigger than I am!” Shooting Star looked down at her hooves before Dash prodded her firm against her chestplate.
“She might have a head start but gryphons are slower than a pegasus. Trust me, Star I’ve flown with a gryphon before. Gryphons may be bigger but they have two big weaknesses. They can't turn as well as us or fly as fast and they get real angry real easy. If you can make her monster out then she's gonna make a mistake. On top of that she's hurt and hurt bad... I heard bones go when AJ bucked her.” Dash took a breath and looked into Star's eyes. “You're good, Star... you're fast and you can still fly good in that armour of yours. You can do this...”
Shooting Star looked at Dash and mumbled softly. “Why? We got our flanks kicked, Dash...”
“Because she's a monster... and it's personal... she's hurt our friends and that just doesn't fly with this girl.” Dash grinned as Star began to nod softly.
“Yeah... yeah I can do this... I’ll... I’ll think of some way and kick that ugly bird out of the sky!” Star looked around for her helmet, bouncing a little with energy. A hoof stopped her and turned her head slowly. Dash leaned close and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Shooting Star's eyes went wide and whether she liked it or not her wings decided that was the moment to spring into full form. She reached up and touched her cheek softly. Dash looked like she was blushing a lot as well. “Don't think too much into it OK... that was for luck... I’ve already got a pony with my name on her.” Dash mumbled and tried to look more nonchalant about it.
Star just grinned and spread her wings, grabbing her now dented helmet from the ground and rocketing up through the broken window and out into the blackness to do battle with her newest enemy.
Lady Fiona tried to fly faster but she found her body protesting at every turn, she was shaking and tears slowly fell from her eyes. Those ponies, those terrible ponies had beaten her to a pulp. They had tricked her and trapped her and taken turns pounding on her body all in an effort to drag her down below the mountain again. It brought back dark memories and darker thoughts. The entire exercise was proving less and less worth it by the moment.
“I want to go home... damn these ponies and their horrible, horrible little world...” She lamented, stumbling in flight a little with one leg dangling limp. It brought back shades of a scared little gryphon chick from so long ago. Fiona squeezed her eyes shut tighter and tried to banish the thoughts but they persisted. She could almost feel the rain soaking her coat and the oppressive heat of a summer night so very long ago. The blows of hooves on her body and the cries in her ears of fear and revulsion at the vision of evil before them. The ponies ignoring the look in innocent eyes as she was kicked and tormented. Fiona gave a single sob and shook her head to clear the tears, no time for this self-pity, let the memories die... she thought to herself and continued on into the night..
Fiona was nearing an older tower at the outskirts of the city when a voice cut through her calculated calm. “Hey, bird, you miss me?” Shooting Star kept her distance but matched the gryphon's flight.
The gryphon let out a deep shout of pure frustration before turning to hover in midair and stare at the pegasus who had pursued her. “No... no I don't care... leave now or die... simple as that. You get one chance or you become my bedtime snack while I sleep off this savage beating.” Her voice cracked with her exasperation. Fiona took slow breaths, trying to push her anger away but it was so terribly hard with the pony hovering before her and smirking.
“Well I guess I’d need my beauty rest too with a face like yours.” Star grinned wider as the gryphon's eye twitched. “You do look really ugly just so you know... I mean... missing feathers... blood... chipped claws... and that messed up leg...” Star kept a close eye as the gryphon twitched and her eyes began to narrow.
Finally, when Star started to launch into another description of how much the gryphon's feathers looked like they were falling out, Fiona let out a yell of utter rage. She pounded her wings hard and flew headlong at the pegasus. Star took Dash's words to heart and dodged, avoiding the attack with surprising ease.
“Not so quick in the air are ya?” She taunted, flying out of reach of another swipe. Star thought that perhaps one more insult would do the trick, “Amazing how a tubby, evil thing like you can even fly.” Star grinned for a moment but an eagle shriek blew forth from Fiona’s beak with force and rattled windows in the town below. Maybe that was a little too far... Star thought as the gryphon began to power towards her again.
Ponies in the town below, hearing the noise, turned their eyes to the sky to watch as an indistinct black shape and a pale pegasus in glimmering armour fought in the sky. Nopony had seen a battle quite like that in their lifetime, blows being exchanged and dodges expertly being pulled off. It was like a savage ballet in the starry sky.
It was going well for Star but she didn't quite move with her best speed and found out too late when her right rear leg was gripped tightly and she was flung at speed towards the tower. She remembered her crash training and rolled to a stop but by then the furious gryphon was on top of her. Their clash had brought them down to street level and Fiona had Star pinned against the cold, wet, cobblestones of old Canterlot. The crowd that had been watching continued to do so keeping their distance as the severity of the situation set in.
“I am through with you little ponies and these little games! I have killed dozens of mares and stallions and fillies and colts over the years but you guards are infuriating. Poor pale excuses for warriors hiding behind your plate steel and your good behaviour!” Fiona bellowed inches from Star's face and the pegasus had only a moment to think, a little grin coming to her lips.
“Well I’ve got bad news for you... Fiona wasn't it? I'm not good at that whole 'good behaviour' thing... I'm still on probation... because I fight dirty!” Shouting the last word with as much force as she could manage she lashed out with her rear hooves.
An exquisitely horrid pain ran through Fiona’s body as steel shod hooves met with soft, pink, delicate areas of her anatomy. She reared back instinctively, both talons reaching down to grip the space between her hind legs. As she leaned back she, unthinkingly, put weight on her shattered hip. The combination of pains mingling together overpowering the last of her senses and the she-gryphon fell over backwards, passed out with her face twisted into a mask of suffering.
“Uhh... can we help you, Constable?” A deep masculine voice spoke beside Star and she looked over to a trio of Canterlot's guards, probably on night patrol. A smile came to her lips and she finally let herself relax.
“A drink would be nice... oh... and manacles for the Night Butcher.” Star indicated to the prone black shape before letting her eyes close. The crowd gasped as the true gravity of the situation set in and one of the Canterlot guards began to shackle Fiona warily. Star began to laugh manically as the other Canterlot guard looked on in quizzical confusion, she laughed and laughed until all the adrenaline had left her system and then she struggled to her hooves to get that drink and check on her fallen comrades.
Princess Celestia walked through the halls of her castle wearing no expression at all. Her hooves clicking loudly on the cool marble, her glorious sun only just set upon its course through the sky. Anypony who had been at Celestia's side before would be slightly unnerved by the way she walked and the way her wings were partway up and trembling. Deep down in the bottom of her boundless, beautiful heart, the last of her patience had been expended. She was a very angry pony.
She paused her walk as the sound of a pony stumbling to catch up reached her followed by a loud yawn. “Sorry, sister... I must have dozed off again.” Princess Luna moved to Celestia's side and wiped the sleep from her eyes.
“I sent word for you an hour ago, Luna...” Celestia's anger was overshadowed for a moment when she regarded her little sister. She looked so very tired. “Have you not been sleeping well?”
“Not sleeping well is an understatement. I have sought out every remedy both magical and holistic and still I find myself waking without feeling the slightest bit rested. I have taken to napping at night when my duties are otherwise complete. I can only assume that the recent problems are to blame.” Luna yawned once more before shaking her head and trying to smile. “So what is on the agenda today?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow in concern before looking back down the hall. “The valiant guards who were watching Twilight and her friends have captured Lady Fiona once more.”
“That would be the gryphon murderess and consumer of ponies you spoke of? Monstrous...” Luna matched pace as Celestia continued. “Were there any injuries?”
“Severe on both sides... the gryphon will not likely walk again without magical intervention.” Celestia shuddered when she recalled the report which was given to her when she had been told of the night's activities. “We are on the way to see her now. She is being treated in my personal clinic.”
“Is that... wise? I mean certainly we could have her banished for her crimes... I read the reports at your behest and found you rather lenient towards her. There were several... gaps in the records surrounding her, Sister.” Luna stopped walking for just a moment before joining her big sister once more.
Celestia looked down at the marble and took a slow breath, recalling the painful memories. “Lady Fiona Ravenfeather is indeed of noble blood. A rare and elusive bloodline in the lands of the gryphons, she was being groomed to assume rulership of the tribes. I had taken great interest in her and she showed much promise. One day, however, she strayed from home and became lost. She wandered into a small village on the borders of Equestria and the ponies there, simple folk, saw her form... raven black with eyes like rubies and thought she was the Nightmare reborn. The misguided villagers tormented her and chased her through the village, finally cornering her and beating the chick to near death.”
Luna gasped and stopped walking, the thought of ponies being so savage to a child of any species filled her with worry. Celestia met her sister's gaze and continued. “She was spared death and brought to Canterlot to be presented to me. At once I realized what had happened and the villagers were justly punished for their crimes. With great care she was nursed back to health and tutored by some of the finest minds in Canterlot. When she was whole once more she was returned home to her lands and titles. There she brooded and learned the old teachings of battle from the days when you stood at my side against the clans. Years passed but when she again entered Equestria, she slaughtered every living soul in that village.”
Luna was still and nodded as Celestia's anger began to boil once more. “Her lands were forfeit to us for her atrocities and she was imprisoned here for several years. But no matter how long passed, the lust for blood was rooted in her and she began to kill once more when she was released. Hunting ponies for sport and devouring those she deemed worthy of her tastes. She stalked the night for nearly a year before Captain Drussard brought her to justice. Claiming the lives of five officers in the process. She was healed of her grievous injuries and chained away below the mountain.”
“So why heal her now? She is clearly a remorseless criminal despite her perceived motivation for her crimes. Personally I believe she should be released, crippled, back to the tribes and let them deal with her. Gryphon justice is as swift and brutal as always, is it not?” Luna regarded her elder sister and saw the cracks beginning to form in her facade. There was glee there at the thought of the end of such an evil creature.
“She has information I wish to know... somepony is playing a very dangerous game with me and I will have none of it.” Celestia's voice betrayed her building anger. It took the gentle touch of a hoof to her shoulder to slow her forward rampage and return her calm. Celestia trembled for the briefest moment and let out her breath as the heat of her wrath faded away.
“You care so much for our subjects, Celly... calm yourself before seeing her.” Luna managed a smile. “I know that it must seem like a mad request coming from my lips but please stay your temper.”
Celestia cracked a smile and gave a little nod to the other alicorn, leaning close and sharing an affectionate nuzzle, the older Princess moved up and whispered in Luna’s ear. “I forgot just how wonderful it is to have you back.”
The indigo alicorn giggled softly and blushed. The pair separating and continuing the journey to the small clinic in the castle halls. The sight which greeted both princesses was almost heart wrenching. Had the creature laying splayed upon the hospital bed been a pony instead of the Butcher of the Night, both rulers would have broken down into sobs.
“Ah, Princesses... come to check on our patient?” The elder unicorn in the white doctor's coat stepped forward and adjusted the glasses on his nose. Celestia only gave a nod in answer, finding her voice lost at the sight of the gryphon in the bed, she had her hind leg in a complicated brace as well as both wings splinted. An array of magical monitors and scanning devices of every description offered up a flow of information about how badly her body was damaged. As a matter of course, though the chances of escape were slim to nonethe gryphon's wrists and ankles were chained to the bed and the bed itself was affixed in stone to the floor.. “Ah well I’m afraid it's not good... burns to the face and damage to her right eye which are beginning to grow infected, four cracked ribs, three broken, fractured bones in both wings, minor head trauma. Internal hemorrhaging, which we have stopped, thank goodness. Though the major damage is to her left hip and the associated hind leg... the bone is shattered and many of the muscle groups are ruptured beyond any real repair. It would take magic on a scale, to be honest, rivalling your own in order to repair that sort of damage.”
“Can you wake her?” Luna spoke softly, the sheer damage of the wounds staggering her somewhat and bringing her closer to wakefulness. The doctor gave a slow nod and stepped to where Fiona’s head lay, he leaned down and gave a little glow of his horn. Slowly the gryphon's crimson eyes inched open.
“Fiona?” Celestia moved to where the doctor had stood and lowered herself down to be on level with the edge of the bed.
“Good morning, Celestia.” She mumbled in response, closing her eyes slowly and turning away. “Tell your dear ponies that they have surprised me once again.”
Celestia chuckled a little and shook her head slowly. Her amusement only lasted a moment before she sighed and let her own eyes close slowly. “Lady Fiona... you were sent to take something away from me... something I hold very precious... you killed your employer but still tried to carry out your mission... why?”
Fiona’s eyes opened wider and she began to laugh, deep heartfelt chuckles which shook her form until she had to stop from the pain. “You think that poor clerk was the one who employed me? He was a worm... under the sway of some unicorn with delusions of the fall of monarchy.” Fiona looked away for a moment more before taking a shivering breath. “She wrote me a letter... rather nice one, and no I do not still possess it.”
“What was in the letter?” Luna piped up again, standing beside her sister and looking over the black gryphon, now just as much white bandages as black coat and feathers.
“I’m not prepared to tell you that, Luna..” Fiona grinned and batted her eyelashes at the moon Princess as best as she could.
“You insufferable monster!” Luna snapped and stamped her hoof onto the floor, there was a sound not unlike thunder which rippled through the clinic, making nurses and the doctor scatter. “I am Lunar Princess of this land and I order you to co-operate with us this instant!”
It took a gentle touch from Celestia to still Luna’s anger. The dark Princess taking a few slow breaths and nodding to her big sister. Celestia opened her eyes and turned them on the black gryphon who began to tremble under the gaze of the Princess. “what do you want, little gryphon?” Celestia spoke softly and gently, as a mother would to a child who had misbehaved. Fiona felt the years stripped away and recalled the sad eyes of a lone Princess as she had apologized for all she had endured.
“I... I want...” Fiona’s eyes finally overflowed in tears and she shook against the restraints and splints holding her together. All her intelligence and dignity fled her and she began to wail. “I want to go home! I want to see my mountains and feel the wind again... the cold crisp air... I can't go back to the stuffy hole below the mountain.”
“Will you kill again if I let you go home?” Celestia's tone remained the same as the gryphon continued to cry like an infant, even the nurses and doctors watching from the doorway felt the prickle of tears in their eyes.
“No! no... I hope I never... never see a pony again... you chained me away... stole my lands and titles... beat me till I broke... never... never again... Please, Princess! Please let me go home!” Her tears slowed to wracked sobs as Celestia looked over at her sister.
The Princess of the moon managed a weak smile and nodded her support before closing her eyes and lending her strength to Celestia's. Magic flowed between them and Celestia turned the focus onto the broken form laying upon the hospital bed.
Ancient magics swirled and drew together. Spells that had not been woven since the last great wars which tarnished the land began to awaken and respond to the command of the solar monarch. Bones rebuilt themselves and flesh knitted together once more. The bandages shredded and the splints fell away until she lay still, whole in body and beautiful once more.
She gasped and looked down at her body, able to wiggle her toes and twitch her tail, feeling everything together as joy filled her face. She turned her eyes to Celestia, intent on thanking the monarch for restoring her life but the look in the white alicorn's eyes made all her joy drain away to nothing. Fiona's pupils shrank to pinpricks and the gryphon found the tears returning though this time they were pure terror distilled by her own eyes.
Luna looked away and the nurses fled, closing the door as lines of shimmering heat rolled off Celestia's slowly unfurling wings, she leaned close and spoke softly, never raising her voice beyond her calm. Each syllable she spoke was overflowing with raw power which made the gryphon feel so very small.
“I was lenient with you before... far too much. I felt bad for all you suffered and endured at the hooves of my misguided ponies. I took you under my own wing, nursed you to health under my careful guidance. I saw in you the potential to be the greatest of allies to the lands and ponies of Equestria but you have tarnished that trust and shattered that future I so looked forward to. Perhaps in hope of rekindling the potential I saw in you, I have been kind. This, however, is your final chance. Now... give me the information... tell me who is behind all this... tell me who dares threaten me and my little ponies... tell me everything you know... or I shall take back what I have given... and leave you broken in a place where, I promise you, by the light of the heavens, you will never see the mountains or feel the fresh winter's breeze for the rest of your miserable, shattered life.”
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GearheartHound
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1248
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Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Spike,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
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Ponies at Arms
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A guard sergeant and her squad must race to stop a horrible plot which threatens all of equestria.
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incomplete
| 15 | 0 |
<p>Guards. Police Officers. Watchmen. they are called a great many things and always stand resolute between the lives of innocents and the dark forces which seek to do them harm. They do not ask to be heroes, they do not seek out greatness but sometimes they have greatness thrust upon them. Follow the exploits of Sergeant Shrike and her squad of noble ponies as the waters of political intrigue swell up around them and they find themselves in way over their heads. Will they become the heroes that Equestria needs and more importantly, will they ever get some time off?</p>
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teen
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2012-01-21T23:20:10+00:00
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2012-01-21T23:20:10+00:00
| 805 |
Ponies At Arms
Part Three
By: GearheartHound
In every universe there are dark days, days when you struggle to find the bright side of anything. Even in the magical land of Equestria where citizens love, laugh and play even on the bleakest days of the calendar. Today was just such a day. It was raining for the second day in a row and the air was growing colder. A single unicorn stallion looked out the window of his accommodations at the droplets of water sliding down the other side of the glass. He cradled his coffee cup tenderly in his telekinetic grasp and sipped it without much enthusiasm. Across the small table from where he sat was an empty place and a full cup of coffee going untouched, he had poured it for his marefriend as he always did, but this morning she wouldn't be joining him... he chocked up a little at the thought.
It's not your fault Trusty. You did what you had to do. It could have been a lot worse if you weren't there. All the words of the doctors and the nurses, of Shooting Star and Twilight Sparkle. Of all the ponies who had escaped yesterday with only bruised feelings. But deep down Trusty knew that he had failed. He hadn't caught her when she fell.
He drained his cup and closed his eyes, just taking in the sound of the rainfall and trying to smother his thoughts before they rose up and dragged him down any further. He could just feel the edges of his consciousness being tugged softly by sleep when there came a knock at the door. With a sigh he rose to answer.
Standing in the hallway of the small Canterlot hotel in which he had been granted a room for his much needed rest, Fluttershy stood sheepishly with a singleCanterlot Guard Constable who looked as implacable as always. Fluttershy looked like she had been crying on and off and she clearly wasn't getting the sleep she deserved. “Ummm... Sergeant Trusty... they sent me to get you... ummm that is... if you want to.” She looked down and scuffed a hoof softly on the floor. He could see the guard trying to hold back the desire to give her a hug and tell her that everything would be alright.
“I’m not much use sitting here, Fluttershy...” Trusty smiled and left the room, closing and locking the door behind him. “Lead the way!” He managed a cheerful smile, knowing full well which way he should go. The long path to the hospital was burned into his memory from the long walk he had taken away from the most occupied ward the night before.
Nopony spoke as the trio walked down the empty streets, moving from one awning to another to avoid the worst of the rain. Finally they reached the large white building. Almost out-of-place in the beautiful architecture of Canterlot. A large cube made out of white stone, efficient and clean were the feelings it conveyed, as well as the nagging feeling of unfriendliness.
“I’ll leave you to it then if that's alright Sergeant?” The Canterlot Guard gave a little bow and Trusty nodded to him. “A pleasure to meet you Miss Fluttershy.” He bowed a little too deep, hiding his reddening cheeks before the pegasus left at speed. Fluttershy watched him go and smiled.
“He seemed... nice.” She smiled gently and Trusty could only chuckle before finishing their little journey to the ward which had been commandeered by the Trottingham Guard.
Trusty was never a fan of doctors or of hospitals. He even avoided Dr Greenfield's little two room clinic in Trottingham if he could help it. He closed his eyes and steeled himself as best he could before he pushed the door open and took a good, long look around the room. The girls from Ponyville were spread around the room, some looking after little tasks or trying to kill time. Shooting Star was in the process of retelling her aerial battle with the gryphon to an eager Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Twilight was reading, as he expected, and the white unicorn Rarity was sitting at the bedside of AJ who looked half awake with all her bandages on and some rather nice painkillers no doubt running through her.
Trusty felt the breath catch in his throat as he looked over to Constable Boulder who was separated from the others by a white curtain. A mask on his face supplied him with air. Each corner of his hospital bed supported a host of bright helium balloons in every colour, shape and size one could buy. It brought a little smile to his lips but then Trusty remembered what the nurse had said. Severe trauma to his face with many small fractures. It's a miracle he didn't die instantly. Trusty let his eyes close while his hooves carried him forward, when he reopened them he was standing beside the last bed in the room, he dared not look.
“She'll be alright, lad...” Came the deep voice behind him as Lord Captain Drussard limped slowly to Trusty's side. “Lost a lot of blood and took a blow to the head but she'll live. That doctor pony said she'd be up by day's end and fighting fit in no time.”
Trusty let his eyes open and looked down at Shrike. She looked peaceful. Were it not for her chest rising and falling slowly he would have sworn the mare was dead and gone. “I won't be, Sir...” The green unicorn managed in a hoarse whisper. “I failed her... I should have been faster... should have done something...”
“We all have our regrets... some far more than others, but we can't let them consume us. And to be honest... it was too fast to block... far too fast. I fell for the same trick myself the last time Fiona was free,” Drussard limped closer. “This time, though, she was well rested and ready to tear ponies up to get what she wanted but far out of practice. When I met her before, she was fighting fit and a lot younger, it took the lives of five officers and the efforts of dozens more before she was captured. Had to nearly kill her to do it, in retrospect perhaps we should have.”
Trusty sighed and knelt down, reaching a hoof out to take Shrike's gently. “Have you ever loved somepony? Watched out for her for years... then all of a sudden you nearly lose her twice... watch her life dwindle away.”
“As a mater of fact yes...” Drussard sighed and patted Trusty on the shoulder.
“What did you do?” Trusty looked up in surprise at the much older stallion who only chuckled.
“What do you think I did, Lad? I married the filly. Keep calm and soldier on, as my old sergeant used to say. You can't have anything without both the good and bad.” Drussard straightened up and looked towards the door for a moment. “That being said... I have been granted some leave to rest and recuperate and I intend to take it at home. I have a little some of the aforementioned 'good' to enjoy.” Both Captain and Sergeant bowed their heads and the older stallion left. Trusty turned his eyes back to Shrike who was beginning to stir.
“Horseapples...” She groaned and let her eyes flutter open. “Second time this happens and I still wake up to your face... must be something wrong with me.” She managed a little smile and Trusty leaned close to press his lips to hers in a much wanted kiss. It took a gasp and the noise of shuffling hooves to draw their attention away from the embrace.
Princess Luna walked slowly into the ward, looking at the guards and the assembled Elements of Harmony. Twilight was on her hooves in an instant and standing beside the indigo alicorn. “Princess Luna! We weren't expecting you.” Carefully Trusty helped Shrike back on her hooves, she was a little shaky standing but very insistent that she not be laying down in the presence of royalty. She, nonetheless, leaned heavily on the green unicorn which he wasn't minding in the slightest.
The Princess smiled at Twilight before leaning away and letting loose a truly impressive yawn which she completed with a shake of her head. “Oh, my apologies... we have... I mean, I’ve just not been getting much sleep. I have come to speak to all of you.” Her eyes surveyed the room as anypony who could walk clustered before the Princess. Her eyes stopped, however at the bed surrounded in a shroud. “Oh no...” She whispered, true heartache creeping into her words as she pushed past the other ponies and stood at the bedside of the recumbent Constable Boulder.
She snatched up the medical board hanging from the end of the bed and bit her lip as she read it over. The guards and Elements of Harmony crowded closer around Princess Luna as she set the board back in its place. “The damage is too delicate for healing magic...” She whispered and closed her eyes tightly. “This is horrid... this is monstrous... had I known I would not have-” She stopped herself and turned back towards the waiting ponies with a look of desperation on her face.
“These are dark days and even darker times which have fallen on Equestria, monsters have been roused and set to work on their dark tasks and ponies suffer for it. This will not stand.” She stomped a hoof on the marble for emphasis, “Captain Shrike, I have a new mandate for your stalwart troops.” Luna turned her burning emerald gaze onto the grey pegasus and Shrike did her best to stand at attention.
“I am placing you personally in charge of the investigation into these terrible events,” Luna continued, her wings unfurling as her anger and frustration began to mount. “Use any resources you see fit, all of the Royal Guard are at your disposal for the task. This is a royal mandate, this is my word and my oath as Princess of Equestria. Justice will be done and these terrible events will come to a rapid close. For the duration of Captain Drussard's respite I am granting you his rights and privileges.”
Every pair of eyes turned to Shrike who looked like she was trying desperately not to faint. “You can count on me, Princess...” She managed with a grin.
Trusty looked at her and tried his best to whisper “Are you sure Sugarlump? You were basically in the reaper's hooves not twelve hours ago”
Shrike in reply a little louder than was necessary and staring the Princess in the eyes “I said you can count on me”. Luna nodded softly in approval.
“Good. Now, I have come with information about the mastermind behind this that we have gathered from that wretched gryphon.” The Moon Princess waved her horn and drew a nearby table closer to lay out what she knew.
Captain Shrike sat still at the desk in her room, looking down at her new badge laid upon it. She half expected it to sink through the desk under the weight of all the responsibility it held. It was an ancient design incorporating both the sun and the moon, Luna had personally found it in the archives for her. Since she wasn't a Lord, or even a Lady for that matter, she couldn't take up Drussard's title so one had been resurrected for her. The inscription read, Knight Paladin.
In a few short months she had gone from a Sergeant, never dreaming she would ever be promoted, to the mare who outranked all of the guards of Equestria save for Celestia's right hoof pony, Captain Drussard. Despite the almost routine savage beatings, she was waiting patiently for the other hoof to drop. There was no way she could be this lucky. There was no way the world could heap this much good onto her and not present a bill. Shrike sat trembling with her eyes glued to the ancient silver shield. Her mind was a whirl of chaos, How in Celestia's name am I going to manage all this. I can barely keep three ponies in line much less... she looked over briefly at the latest status report from Captain Tempest of the Canterlot Guard Hall. Four hundred and fifty-six...
“It'll be alright, Sweetheart... you'll see.” She felt the soft nuzzle against her neck and instantly the worry slipped away under the relentless warmth of the breath against her coat and the gentle affection of the stallion behind her.
“I should have dug my hooves into you years ago. Shouldn't I have, Trusty?” She whispered which was met with a chuckle.
“Oh I’m nowhere near good enough for a mare of your impressive station, M'lady.” He breathed in her ear and earned himself a swift hoof to the shoulder.
“Stop calling me that.” She chuckled playfully and slowly stood, giving her wings a stretch. “Ooooh... I’m never going to get over being this sore. Why am I the constant target of kicks and claws and everything else that's been landing on me lately...” Shrike turned to look at the green unicorn who's eyes were looking downward, his usual grin was absent from his lips. “T-Trusty? What's the matter?”
“I’m not good enough, Shrike... I’m just not.” He began with a sigh, scuffing his hoof against the floorboards as he let his mane fall over his eyes, hiding them from the concerned mare. “I should have been there to catch you, more than once. If I could have yanked you back then you wouldn't have those scars on your neck or ended up half dead for a day.”
Shrike stepped close as she could and rested her lips softly on his forehead just below the horn. “You're plenty good enough.” She turned his head up gently to regard her. He saw the anxiety in her eyes, he could tell this wasn't what she wanted to her, he managed his usual grin albeit for just a moment.
“If you say so, Boss... who am I to argue?” He chuckled softly until Shrike cuffed him sharply on the shoulder.
“Quit it! You've been gloomy ever since we got back from the ward. What I would like right now is to pretend that I’m not a guard for just a bit. For one morning I just want to be Shrike waking up next to her Sweetheart Trusty... think you can manage that?” The pair sat in silence, looking into one another's eyes. There was so much that Trusty wanted to answer with, so much that he had to tell her about what was eating him up inside, but he bit his tongue, he knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, at least not at this moment.
“I think... I need a coffee...” He finally muttered and rose to his hooves, shuffling to the door of the Canterlot hotel room and leaving without a further word.
Knight Paladin Shrike was not a happy mare and it showed. Her wings stood up from her back and trembled as she walked down the ranks of the assembled guards. Her voice boomed off the rafters of the Guard Hall thanks to some magical help from Twilight Sparkle.
“My rank stands as Knight Paladin, which puts me one step below the Lord Captain in the chain of command. I will personally be heading up the investigation into the anti-monarchy group responsible for two failed assassination attempts and numerous other offences.” She eyed the pegasai and unicorns which formed the core of the royal guards. Each and every one stood at attention though she could see the beginnings of nervousness.
Shrike wasn't the biggest mare out there and it was clear that most of these big lads had trouble with the fact that she was the one in charge. “I know I’m not what you expect, but I will be referred to as Captain. Not Miss... or Ma'am... or, Celestia help you, M'lady...” She earned a few stifled chuckles from the ranks and her eyes drifted to her own guards as well as the assembled Elements of Harmony, they each looked so full of pride. Applejack, well on the road to being her old self once more, and Rainbow Dash standing in full armour with their badges proudly displayed. Pinkie Pie, in keeping with her usual lack of interest in procedure, was wearing her badge as a clip in her unruly mane.
“The Dark Lady , as she likes to call herself, is smart and well funded. She could be hiding anywhere and nopony we have yet captured has seen her face. She was quite capable of arranging for a dangerous criminal to be released from prison as well as funding experiments that turned ponies into living weapons.” Shrike began to walk up and down the ranks of armoured ponies, looking each in the eye as she passed.
“Her supporters are initiated into her inner circle by murdering an innocent captive pony. Her trusted agents are trained killers who are fond of hidden armour, brass horseshoes, and easily concealed hoof blades.” There was a chorus of muttered comments and shock in the ranks. “I have lost one guard to this Dark Lady's plans and we have one of our finest lying in a hospital ward in a sleep the doctors tell me he is unlikely to wake from. I will not loose another life to this bloody unicorn!” Shrike slammed her hoof into the marble floor. The amplification spell turned it into a thunderclap which startled Shrike for just a moment before she continued on.
“All guards are to travel in pairs or in threes if at all possible, anything suspicious is to be dealt with instantly. Arrest first, apologize later. We cannot afford to let one of her agents walk the streets. Any questions?”
There was a hoof raised in the front row and Shrike noted the badge of a Captain. She nodded to the pegasus who cleared his throat. “Captain, what are this Dark Lady's targets?”
Shrike took a breath and looked to the marble floor for guidance, it wasn't forthcoming. She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. “Us. Her targets are my fellow Trottingham Gguards and myself, the friends and families of the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses indirectly. She can't make Celestia bleed so she is attacking what she cherishes.” Shrike turned back to eye the other Captain who's face betrayed a moment of concern. “We begin immediately. Kick over rocks, stick your noses where they don't belong, make them have to fight for every ounce of secrecy they think they have. They have attacked us and we've defended ourselves so far but I’m sick and tired of getting my flank trampled into the dirt. Starting right now we take the fight to them. Guards dismissed!”
With a thunder of hooves the halls emptied save for the ponies at her back. Shrike felt the tingle of magic leaving her throat as her voice returned to a normal volume. She wouldn't dare tell her guards or her friends but speaking in front of a crowd always made her legs feel weak. “Well there... I got them moving. Sending hundreds into the jaws of death...”
“Oh I wouldn't say death, danger perhaps, but not death.” A voice filled the chamber behind Shrike and she paled, slowly turning to behold the Solar Princess standing beside Shrike's friends who all did a very good job of not bursting out laughing.
“H-how long...?” Shrike managed, her eyes wide.
“Oh, just before Captain Tempest asked his question.” The Princess supplied and her friends finally gave up trying not to laugh, nearly rolling on the floor with mirth at Shrike's discomfort.
“It was quite a rousing speech.” She turned to the laughing ponies and smiled a motherly kind of smile which drew the attention of everypony. “Now, my little ponies, I must have a word with your Knight Paladin in private. I'm certain you have plenty to organize.”
Shrike tried to contain her blush as Celestia walked slowly towards her and motioned for her to follow. They left the room with the laughing ponies behind as they began to walk through some of the many halls of the castle. The grey pegasus watched the Princess out of the corner of her eye. She had of course met the Princess before but they had spoken for but a minute at most.
“That really was an impressive speech.” Celestia spoke and Shrike coughed softly, blushing once more.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” She muttered stiffly and the Princess laughed.
“You have earned a few rights and privileges for your work, Knight Paladin. One of which is the privilege of ease in my presence. So with that in mind, be at ease.” Celestia turned her head toward Shrike and smiled gently. The grey pegasus felt her spirits lifted in an instant thanks to Celestia's magic. Being in her presence now was like being wrapped up in the warmest fluffiest blanket sitting cozy by the fireside.
“Thank you, Princess.” She smiled in return and Celestia began her slow walk again.
“Do you know much about genealogy, Shrike?” The Solar Princess continued the stroll through the castle halls.
“Not so much, It's sort of a hobby of the wealthy, isn't it?Proving their lineage and that kind of thing?” Shrike looked up at the paintings lining the walls of this hallway, she had noticed them lining many hallways but had paid them little attention. Ponies from long ago looking back at her from their ornate frames. Her eyes lingered on the face of a unicorn who looked like the quintessential wizard right down to the flowing white beard, except his cloak and hat were studded with bells for some reason.
“It's a hobby of the wealthy because it's a hobby of mine. I have been alive for a long time, my little pony and I have seen the rise and fall of many families of ponies over the long years. I keep watch over the lines of commoners and nobles. Of villains and heroes and occasionally I find history repeating itself.” The Princess stopped and pointed with a delicate hoof towards a stone bust which sat in a small alcove along the wall. “What do you see, Shrike?”
Shrike looked carefully at the stone and blinked. It was like looking at a sculpture of herself. The sour expression on her face, the short mane, and the way her jaw was set in determination. She could imagine standing before a sculptor and muttering for him to hurry up because she had anywhere else to be. “W-who is this?” She breathed softly.
“Wind Hawk, she was a guard like yourself, back in the years before stallions got it in their heads that we mares couldn't manage for ourselves.” Celestia chuckled, “A pity her statue can't be in colour, she had the loveliest eyes.”
“You've met her?” Shrike blurted out before she could stop herself. Of course the Princess had, she was well over a thousand years old. She had probably met Wind Hawk's grandmother.
Celestia just nodded and smiled warmly. “Wind Hawk was my Captain for many years before she retired. She still insisted on the title 'Lord Captain' despite her gender. She said that Lady made her sound like a... oh how did she put it? Ah, 'A stuck up noble with their face so far up their own flank they would need a map to find their way out'...” If Shrike was drinking, she would have spit her beverage all over the floor. In all her life she never expected to hear words like that coming from the Princess. “Hawk was tenacious, blunt, and loyal to Equestria above all else.”
“You said she retired?” Shrike looked back at the statue. The face there didn't seem to be a face that would deal with retirement well.
“She retired young, her forty-third birthday. At the time she was four month's pregnant and decided that she couldn't wear the armour anymore and her husband refused to let her fight unarmoured.” Celestia looked off into space, the mists of memory making her smile. “She retired to have a family-life. She was your distant ancestor... those of your line have been guards or protectors for a long time until Equestria fell into its current state of peace.”
Shrike looked back to Celestia then the statue again. “Why tell me this, Princess?”
“Because, Shrike,” The Princess began, laying a hoof on the shoulder of the grey pegasus. “You have within you the power to be just as great as Wind Hawk, you demonstrated that today and in the past. You have the instincts of a true leader and your ponies will follow you to whatever end. So lead by example, stand at the forefront and you will never fight alone.”
A grin began to spread over Shrike's lips, looking at the stone face of the past then to the Princess who smiled. She was about to speak up when the Princess cleared her throat. “Just remember, my noble Knight, that Hawk knew when to hang up her helmet and settle down. I've seen the job consume so many before. Even my old friend Drussard is childless.”
“S-so what should I do, Princess?” A trickle of her fear was coming back, her nervousness and apprehension about the future. Her thoughts drifted to her Trusty stallion and for a moment she wondered if her ancestor had fallen in love with her second in command as well.
“Be a guard, hold the law before you like a shield, let justice be the lamplight that dispels the dark. Just don't forget that beneath the armour, you are a pony and all I want from my little ponies, in the end, is to see them happy.” The Princess looked back the way they had come and smiled. “Come, lets get you back to your guards. I believe you have some work to do.”
The days fell away and slowly the cells below the palace filled with those who had forsaken the rule of the Princesses and embraced the calling of the Dark Lady. Day after day Shrike and her guards would rout the evil from the dark places and drag them into the light of day. But still, deep below the damp, city streets, in the blackness of the under-crofts, a figure seethed.
“T-t-the fourth cell has been taken into custody, Mistress... t-t-there were no escapes. Our numbers dwindle by the day.” A clerk pushed his glasses up his snout carefully and tried to hide his abject fear with a nervous cough.
“Do you think me blind? Or deaf? I have eyes and ears in every corner of this wretched country.” Her voice cut through the dark like fine silk wrapped around steel. “Have you prepared what I asked for?”
The clerk gulped and nodded, “The colt has been taken... we are holding him at a secret location, the note has been left where it should be easy for the father to find.”
“Excellent... ensure the foal is not harmed... excessively. In addition, you will pay a visit to Willow Hall and rouse the head of the household there. He is one of my assassins and he will eliminate one, perhaps two of the Elements or the Trottingham Guards, whoever seems weakest or least protected. It should provide ample distraction while we prepare the weapon. Speaking of which...” The voice took on an almost gleeful tone that made the clerk want to be sick. “Has our alchemist finished her little task?”
“Y-yes mistress... it is prepared to your liking and... and ready...” The clerk thought back to the test he had witnessed. The sight of anything red still made him tremble.
“You are dismissed... be gone with you.” The voice commanded and the clerk scampered for the stairs, tripping over his own hooves. As his hooffalls trailed away, the Dark Lady turned her eyes to the mirror which stood proudly against the wall shrouded in shadows. “Soon... soon it will all be complete... just some loose ends to tie up and I will be free to walk in the daylight once more.” She began to laugh, not a laugh full of mirth or joy. It was the sound of near madness and imposable cruelty.
Pinkie Pie couldn't remember a time she had felt happier. Her kitchen was buzzing with activity, mixers were mixing and ovens were baking and everything was going smoothly. There wasn't a thing out-of-place or running low. She had everything she could ever need in her little kitchen and today she had a piece of the puzzle that had been missing.
“Ha! Got it done and not one fire. How's that for cooking, Miss Pie?” The warm voice of her newest friend reached her ears and she felt her cheeks turn red as the purple unicorn stallion floated a cookie, fresh from the cooling rack and still warm, to her lips so she could take her customary 'All-at-once' bite.
The flavour was perfect but unplaceable, she knew it was special because he made it. She savoured each and every chew before swallowing and grinning wide. “We make an awesome team, Jammy! There's nothing we can't cook.” Her energy returned full force and she danced around the kitchen, followed close by the stallion who laughed. She would run a little further away and he would chase to catch up, little by little getting closer until Pinkie stopped and he caught her in a hug. Pinkie could feel her heart soar and her cheeks flush. She knew full well what the feeling meant and the thought made her giddy with nervousness. She shouldn't be flirting with stallions this much or, more appropriately, at all.
She wiggled away so he could give chase once again which he did with a grin. Pinkie turned to get his attention and tripped, with a crash she upended a bowl of whipped cream which sailed through the air and splattered against his chest. Both ponies laughed at the mess and at each other before his hoof scooped up a glob of cream and he threw it with skill at Pinkie Pie.
As soon as it splattered her cheek, everything changed. It was dark and this wasn't her kitchen anymore and furthermore it didn't feel at all like whipped cream. It smelled coppery and ran hot down her cheek. With a shaking hoof she reached up and gathered a bit of the offending substance. The harsh red of blood contrasted sharply with her pink hoof.
Pinkie gasped and looked up quickly. Standing before her was her friend. His body looked so very pale with his eyes looking out into space, the deep gash in his armour still drooling blood slowly as he wavered in place. “J-jammy.... no... no... you were fine... you were OK and now you're not?”
“Just that quick...” His lips opened and he spoke. “Sorry we didn't get a chance to bake Miss Pie... would have loved that.” Slowly his eyes focused and he looked down at the pink pony who struggled to stand.
“But you never get hurt... you always make it out alive.” Pinkie stuttered as the stallion reached down and helped her to her hooves.
“Guess my luck finally ran dry.” He smiled a little and Pinkie began to cry.
“Why did you have to die? Why did my little Pinkie world have to get broken like that?” She grabbed his shoulders and tried to shake him but he was as immovable as a rock. Her tears coming unashamedly now as his hoof rested on her back. “We never... got the chance... it's... it's not fair...”
He lifted her chin gently and looked into her eyes, the smile still on his lips before he leaned close and gave her the lightest, gentlest kiss on the cheek. In a rush it was over and Pinkie Pie was awake in the bedroom of the hotel suite they had been put in, looking at the far wall and shaking. Her mane and tail were straight as could be. She reached up and felt her cheek, it was cold with tears but soon her eyes overflowed once more and the pink pony wailed.
Pinkie buried her face in her hooves and shook with sobs, not noticing the door open or the figure walk in. Shrike stepped to the bedside and laid a hoof softly on Pinkie's side. The pink pony jumped a little but calmed when she saw it wasn't some strange pony. “Are you alright, Pinkie?” Shrike whispered and took a seat beside the bed as Pinkie shook her head, her straight mane swaying slowly.
“N-no... no I’m not... I keep dreaming about... about Jammy and it hurts so much.” Pinkie rubbed her chest and sniffled, her shoulders shaking as she fought to control her tears. “I haven't seen a pony die before...”
“Neither have I, until recently,” Shrike sighed and reached over to turn the bedside lamp on, dispelling the darkness around the room. “Jammy was a good friend and a good stallion... he died in the line of duty.” Shrike took a breath and smiled just a little. “There are only a few ponies in modern times that have died in the line of duty, their armour is on display here at the palace.”
Pinkie's tears slowed to sniffles as she listened, Shrike gently held her hoof. “He died to save you, and all of us. Without him I doubt we'd be here right now. He stopped Trottingham and even Canterlot from being destroyed and because of his actions he's... well he's a hero. And there are going to be fillies and colts for hundreds of years who grow up hearing stories about him.”
Pinkie finally smiled, just a little smile, but it was still a smile. Shrike patted her foreleg gently and stood. “That's the ultimate responsibility of our badges, Pinkie Pie. We're on that line between defending the values of our homeland and being prepared to sacrifice everything for them.”
“Would you? Sacrifice yourself I mean...” Pinkie asked softly, looking at her Special Constable badge on the nightstand.
“Yes I would... so would Trusty and Star... Rainbow and Applejack... even Boulder would. We're guards... even your friends are taking the responsibility to heart. But I promise I’m going to make sure that it never comes to that again... are you going to be OK?” She asked, looking back towards the hotel room door.
Pinkie nodded and smiled with a blush. “Sorry for making a big Pinkie mess of myself...”
“Don't worry about it, Pinkie Pie... anything for a friend, right?” Shrike smiled and Pinkie snuggled back into her bed, turning the bedside light off. Once the sound of hooves had died away in the hall she reached out and picked up the badge from where it was resting. She cradled it in her hooves and looked at the shiny brass. She ran the tip of her hoof over the words 'Special Constable' and the alicorn etched into the badge centre. “I suppose being remembered forever is good but what about my other friends... what can I do to help them?”
“Don't worry Pinkie Pie, you can be a hero too... you can save the lives of all your friends... I know you can.” For just a moment it looked as if the badge answered the pink pony before she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning was cold but the sun was still shining happily down on Canterlot. Pinkie Pie was hopping down the street in a very specific direction. She shouldn't have slipped out alone but she wanted to surprise her friends with some donuts from Pony Joe's. She drooled a little thinking about biting into a fresh eclair or maybe a jelly donut... ooh ooh maybe one with sprinkles. She giggled to herself as she pushed the door open with her nose and bounced in.
“Pinkie Pie, my new best customer.” The unicorn behind the counter exclaimed with a smile as he waved his horn and tied up another fresh box for the customer at the counter. “Come for a couple more boxes for our ponies in uniform?” He chuckled. “Words been getting out about my place thanks to your friends.”
Pinkie laughed and bounced up to the display case, looking at the selection of fresh donuts of every description. “Hehe yeah, who knew guards loved donuts so much!?!” She beamed before she pressed her nose to the case. She watched with a patient eye as the very best were selected and boxed up in an assortment she had tailored to fit the likes of all the ponies she was spending so much time with.
Once she had her prize she counted out the bits on the counter and thanked the beige unicorn with a kiss on the cheek before bouncing away back the way she came. The weight of the pastries in their boxes sat comfortable perched on her back and she thought back to the various selections.
Rainbow Dash was always more of a muffin mare, she liked her carbs but when pressed she always picked the chocolate glazed. Applejack went for the apple fritter, obviously. Twilight Sparkle generally picked a nice sour cream glazed. Rarity and Fluttershy preferred a cruller. Sergeant Trusty preferred dark chocolate, mocha if Joe was doing them that day. Shooting Star was a fan of lemon cream filled anything. Shrike liked hers plain dunked in coffee. Which left the donut which sat alone at the end of the morning. Though not technically a donut, the cinnamon roll was Boulder's favourite. Without meaning to she then thought about the donut that was no longer purchased, the one that would have been sugar-dusted and jam-filled. It was as if she had shoved a pin into the balloon that was her heart.
Pinkie stopped and looked down at her hooves, sniffling gently. “It's not fair...” She was beginning to lament her woes when she paused, her left hindleg was wobbling while her right foreleg began to pinch along all her joints. She cocked her head to the side and blinked. “Somepony's gonna try and hug me? Where did that come from?” no sooner did the words leave her lips than strong forehooves grabbed her shoulders and yanked her hard down the nearest alleyway, the box of donuts cast aside in the commotion. In the shadows, away from prying eyes, she found her back pressed to a wall and a foreleg against her neck.
“Don't scream,” A gruff voice spoke from behind a cloth tied to hide his face. “It'll all be over soon.” Pinkie's eyes went wide and she began to tremble before a noise filled the narrow space between her and the masked criminal. A mechanical click followed by the sound of metal sliding against metal. Once heard and never forgotten, the unmistakable sound of a hoof blade sliding into place.
Something snapped and a grin spread over Pinkie's lips, her coat seemed to darken ever so slightly. The stallion paused as he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned his head fast and blinked as he stared into the blue eyes of the pony he was holding to the wall, suddenly standing behind him. “Hi!” she beamed before winding back and delivering a punishing hoof to his cheek which sent him staggering.
The assassin looked back at the wall and to the bag of flour which was resting on the ground where the pink pony had been. Something was very wrong here. The assassin looked back to the alleyway and the pink pony standing on her hindlegs a short distance away. “You know what I love? Parties!” she took a step towards the stallion who was making sure his hoof blade was locked in place. “You know what I love about parties? The dancing! I'm a really good dancer.” The assassin looked down at his weapon and then back to the alley. The pink pony was gone. His heart beat harder in his ears and he gulped.
Pinkie stood beside the stallion and swung her hips against his, and just like at Gummy's party the other pony went flying, though this time she was actually trying to cause harm and the masked pony struck the wall so hard it knocked bricks loose.
He struggled to his hooves and took up a fighting stance, blade at the ready as the pink pony advanced slow. “Wow, you must be wearing that hidden armour my friends were talking about. That's no fun.” She pouted cutely before twitching, her eyes looking more furious than they had been in a long, long time. “How am I supposed to hurt you when you have armour on?”
He jabbed his bladed hoof forward quick as she got into range and she dodged like he wasn't even trying. She grasped his foreleg and pulled with a strength that nearly made him wet himself like a little colt. She swung him like a baseball bat and his steel shod hooves kicked up sparks upon the wall as he tried to slow his momentum before his body impacted a stack of old crates. She still had hold of his foreleg however and refused to let go until she heard a sickening crack.
The assassin cried when she finally let him go. He hadn't cried in years but today his eyes overflowed, he looked at his limp foreleg and reached up to tug his mask down. “W-what are you?”
The pink pony pulled herself up to her full height, her mane had lost most of its curl and hung over her shoulders “ I am Pinkamena Dianne Pie, my childhood was spent lifting boulders. I don't like being Pinkamena, I prefer being Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie is nice and happy, Pinkamena wants to break your other legs too. You should have thought twice before messing with my friends! Because now I gotta go and beat the sprinkles out of your friends! But first...” Pinkamena trailed off and leaned down, her eyes murderous before all at once she twitched and a smile appeared on her lips, her coat was several shades lighter and her mane had more curl.
“Ooh I gotta get my donuts,” The stallion blinked, it was like two different ponies sharing the same space. He watched her bounce away and retrieve the boxes which was against the wall of the nearest building miraculously undamaged. When she slipped back close she was still smiling.
He tried to back away but her voice changed again. “Oh no... you're not going to run. Dead or alive, you're coming with me.” The stallion whimpered and the pink pony giggled happily before grabbing his cloak collar in her teeth and dragging him along, limping on this three good hooves, like he weighed nothing at all.
Shrike blinked and looked at the pony who was trying to stay as far away from Pinkie Pie as possible. “How did his leg break that badly?” She asked flatly and the pink pony beside her shrugged with a giggle.
“I dunno...” She smiled and bounced on her hooves a little. Shrike looked at the pink pony and raised an eyebrow. The assassin, who happened to be a minor noble and fencing champion, had been dragged in, quite literally, babbling about somepony named Pinkamena who was going to kill him. Pinkie Pie had just giggled and said he was silly.
Shrike nodded to the Sergeant who was hitched to the white carriage with its barred windows. His companion gave a flick of magic and the doors bolted closed to take the criminal away. Shrike turned again to Pinkie and smiled, reaching up to pat her on the shoulder. “Well done, Constable.”
Pinkie stood at attention and snapped off a salute before descending into giggles again and bouncing off to find her friends. Shrike just shook her head slowly and turned to Trusty who had been woken up by the early morning commotion as well.
“Marvellous isn't it? Assassins now... what's next, poison?” She sighed and the green stallion took a step closer and laid his head against her cheek.
“Shrike... this is getting out of hoof... really out of hoof. I bet that assassin was sent out to kill one of the Elements, one of the weaker ones. What if there's another coming for Rarity or Fluttershy... Neither of those ponies can fight worth a darn... How long is it going to be until one comes for us. We got lucky this time because, for whatever reason, that pink pony is harder than a coffin nail and can fight like a bloody soldier.” Trusty sighed and Shrike pulled back, raising an eyebrow.
“You think Pinkie Pie beat him senseless?” Shrike chuckled a little but Trusty sighed.
“You saw it as well as I did, Sweetheart,” He looked back in the direction the carriage had left in. “He was terrified of her and the leg wasn't just broken... he had armour and braces on and the straps were snapped before his leg went. Now that scares me... don't get me wrong. I love all the girls like sisters but I won't be getting on Pinkie's bad side anytime soon.”
Shrike rubbed her eyes and flopped back onto her haunches. “Bloody hell... well there goes my sanity for the morning.” She looked up at the green stallion and pouted. He coughed and looked away.
“Sorry Love... guess we don't get to sleep in after all.” He took a careful seat beside her and leaned against her a little. “How about we pick up and go to the ward, I bet that's where Pinkie's gonna have breakfast set up.”
“I suppose...” Shrike took a moment and looked up at the cloudless blue sky. It reminder her of the skies at home and for a moment she thought she could see a dusty orange pegasus with a little grey filly trying to keep up. Shrike put the thoughts of her mother on hold and cleared her throat. “Trusty... I need to ask you something.”
“Whatcha need, Captain?” he asked and Shrike chuckled.
“No... not Captain right now, I’m off duty... I just,” she thought of every way she could broach the subject. Hey Trusty, wanna have a few foals while the plumbing still works? Or how about, Hey Trusty, want me to give up on the job that's been my destiny since time in memorium so we can both get flank deep in diapers? She sighed and shook her head slowly. “No... it's nothing. Nevermind.”
“Hey...” He turned her face to his and looked into her eyes with concern. “What's eating you? It's gotta be something or you wouldn't have brought it up.” Carfeully he ran his hoof through her mane and Shrike let out a soft sigh, leaning into the attention. “You can tell me... can't be worse than some of the things that have been running through my head this morning.” He chuckled and Shrike rolled her eyes.
“Trusty... you're so very good at ruining moods.” She grumped before the stallion pulled her closer and planted a kiss against her ear, whispering gently.
“Tell me...” Shrike shivered softly and blushed despite herself, she was sure that her wings were popped up fully by now.
“Have you ever thought about... starting a family?” She asked tentatively and the green stallion paused his attention before laughing.
“Ha, it sounded for a second there like you said you wanted to start a family.” He chuckled nervously and Shrike cuffed him in the shoulder again.
“I’m serious! I just... maybe we should while we still have time...” She offered gently and her stallion stopped dead, blinking a little and staring at Shrike. “T-Trusty?” He didn't answer, only blinked. She could feel the sting of tears creeping into her eyes. “Trusty!” The green unicorn kept still and Shrike felt her anger mounting. “Oh fine! Fine... buck this and buck you!” She struggled to her hooves and walked away, flicking her tail to snap it neatly on Trusty's nose. “I’m going to work. Talk to me when you're in uniform, Sergeant!”
The flick did a good job of getting his attention and he scrambled to his hooves, stuttering and blushing bright red. “Shrike! Shrike wait!” She walked faster, ignoring him, “Shrike! Yes! Yes I do want to!” He yelled at the top of his lungs and the pegasus stopped dead in the street, not turning around.
Trusty caught up and stepped around to face her, her eyes were downcast and she wasn't moving a muscle. “Shrike... of course I want to, it just caught me by surprise. It's honestly the last thing I expected to hear from you.” He managed a chuckle and Shrike looked away, blushing.
“I’m still a mare behind the badge, moron...” She sighed and scuffed a hoof on the path in front of her. “I’ve just been thinking about something the Princess told me. That I should be a guard but not forget that I’m still a pony underneath... and most mares my age have a foal or two and a husband or hell... even a wife these days. I just have the job and you...”
“I’m not good enough?” Trusty asked with a smile and Shrike hit his shoulder again.
“That's not what I mean and you know it. I don't want the job to eat me alive...” Slowly she felt the tug of magic and blushed as Trusty held her close as he could, pressing his lips tight to hers heedless of who could be watching. When he slowly separated, he was wearing his usual lopsided grin.
“You've got me, I’ll make sure nothing bad happens... and when this is all over we're going to buy a nice house back home and we'll work on all the other things. One step at a time” He laughed and Shrike did the same. Suddenly the future didn't seem all that bleak to her anymore.
Shrike coughed and tried to shake the stars out of her eyes, the mare on the floor beside her was rolling back onto her hooves. Shrike was growing less and less happy and getting a pair of hooves in her stomach wasn't improving her mood any, as if the chase through the winding towers after the royal blue pegasus wasn't enough. A scowl took the grey mare's lips and she lashed out with a forehoof. The blow struck just where she wanted, immediately below the other mare's left wing. The nerve bundle there made the royal blue pegasus' whole back spasm and she crumpled to the floor in tears.
“I know... I know...” Shrike stepped closer to the criminal and yanked her forelegs together to fasten the iron manacles. “The wings are always a cheap shot but you gotta admit... you double kicked me in the gut, now we're even.” The grey pegasus took a length of cord from her saddlebag and wound it around the base of both the other flier's wings, tying them together.
“You won't win... you can't win.” The royal blue mare spoke through clenched teeth and Shrike rolled her eyes.
“I’ve heard that a hundred times this week.” Shrike deadpanned and trotted to the window of the old, abandoned tower, scanning the skies and grinning. “looks like my help's here, wonder what kept them.”
“I’m not scared of you or your guards, you can imprison a hundred of us but you will never find the Dark Lady.” The pegasus shouted her frustration but kept in her place on the floor as Shrike took a step back from the window and a pair of armoured guards landed. Shooting Star hobbled a little and Shrike sighed.
“You went after your shoe didn't you, Star?” Shrike grinned and her younger Constable blushed, looking away.
“I like my shoes... she wrenched it loose and it fell into a waterfall.” Star coughed and took a few steps closer.
“Regardless, lets get little Miss-” Shrike was cut off as Rainbow Dash gasped and pulled her helmet off quickly.
“Cloudchaser?” She exclaimed and the eyes of the prone pegasus went wide. She scrambled back from the Rainbow maned pegasus like she was the most fearsome creature in the world. “Cloudchaser, what the hay is going on?!” Dash's anger was rising faster than her wings. The anger and indignation in her voice making the other guards shy back slightly.
“A friend of yours?” Star took a step closer to the cowering Cloudchaser
“She was... once I suppose.” Rainbow Dash scowled and kept her eyes glued to the fearful pegasus. “She used to live in Ponyville, worked on the weather team with me. I was the one who sent a recommendation to Canterlot so she could get her job.”
“Rainbow Dash! You don't understand. When the Lady talks about the future it's so bright, so wonderful-” Cloudchaser was beginning to cry before Dash cut her off sharply with a stomp of her armoured forehoof.
“I don't want to hear it! You know who I am? I'm Rainbow Dash, Best Young Flier in Equestria, Weather Controller for Ponyville, Special Constable by the orders of the Princess and an Element of bucking Harmony. You know what Element I am?” The rage of the sky blue pegasus was growing by the moment. “The Element of bucking Loyalty, that's what. You're a traitor and probably a murderer... you're less than garbage... you're less than manure as far as I’m concerned, Cloud. I'll make sure your sister knows just what you've been up to...”
Shooting Star reached her bare hoof out and touched Dash on the side, the sky blue mare twitched and blushed, looking away as Star spoke soft. “That's enough, Dash...”
Cloudchaser was crying in silence, staring with wide eyed at the middle distance, her whole body trembling. Mercifully the door to the tower room crumbled under the blow from Applejack's hooves and she stepped into the dusty space followed by Trusty. The restrained blue mare cried more under the disapproving eyes of the honest farmpony while she was hefted onto her back and taken from the tower. Dash looked out the window for a moment, listening while Star spoke in a hushed voice. All at once Dash was a rainbow streak vanishing into the distance followed close by Shooting Star.
Shrike blushed a little and smirked, shaking her head while Trusty stepped close. “Had my suspicions about our little Star.” Trusty chuckled.
“Seem to recall Dash saying she already had a mare to herself. Don't suppose you know who that might be?” The green stallion smirked and Shrike shook her head with a grin.
“You know how bad I am at guessing games like that. So how did the roundup... go...” She trailed off as her green stallion pushed her over onto her back and his face hovered above her stomach. “Trusty! Time and place!” She squeaked and tried to wiggle away before stopping when the green stallion pressed a hoof against her stomach and she tensed, drawing a breath sharply through clenched teeth.
“Holy Celestia this is gonna be a bad bruise... what the hay did she do to you?” Trusty stroked her stomach slow and Shrike continued to blush, being in a compromising position wasn't high on her list of wants and desires at the moment.
“Two hooves to the gut when I thought I had her pinned.” Shrike mumbled as her blush spread, beginning to enjoy the gentle petting as Trusty frowned.
“I can't say I’m happy that you're running after mares a decade younger than you.” He whispered softly and Shrike sighed.
“Trusty... it's part of the job... we've talked about this before. We don't lead safe lives. I'm going to get hurt on the job, so are you.” She met his eyes and the green unicorn looked like he was trying to stop a flow of tears. “Now stop petting my stomach and let me up so I can get checked out and get back to work.”
Trusty managed a grin, “What's the alternative?”
Shrike reached up and pulled him into a kiss softly before releasing him. “There's no alternative while I’m on the clock, you awful thing.” She cuffed his shoulder gently and rolled to her hooves. As her armour settled she winced and stumbled into Trusty. “Ooooh... that wasn't nice.”
“That settles it... I’m walking you right to the hospital.” His magic spread over her and she felt herself being pulled slowly as Trusty walked to the stairs and started his descent.
“I outrank you, Sergeant. I outrank your superiors... why are you suddenly a nursemaid, watching over me like a hawk?” Shrike followed with stumbling steps.
“Somepony has to, you don't do it yourself and I’m tired of seeing you in pain. And I don't give a damn about rank at this point... you and I are alone and unless you use the phrase 'I’m giving you an order' I will keep acting like a pony who loves you.” There was a hint of steeled resolve in the usually laid back unicorn's voice which was making Shrike smile a little.
“Sergeant, I’m ordering you to continue to be sweet when we have a moment alone.” Trusty stopped and shook his head with a sigh, smiling his lopsided smile and continuing on his way. He had no idea how he was going to tell her that the past week had been the hardest in living memory. That whenever she took a hit in a fight, he felt that pain in his heart. All he could do was put his cheerful smile back on and hope that Shrike would see what she was doing to him. While there was still time.
A pair of guards stood like a matched set of white statues, flanking the doorway to the medical wing which had become the reluctant home of the Trottingham Guards when they weren't flank deep in criminals, battling for their lives.
“How's your boy doing anyways, Storm?” The guard on the left piped up and his companion started a little.
“O-oh... he's fine... you know how foals are.” Storm began to sweat, smiling nervously as the sound of rolling wheels began to echo down the hallway.
“Nope, wouldn't know a thing about that.” The other pegasus snorted with a chuckle. They kept their eyes carefully forward as the sound of a cart came closer and closer. “They aren't expecting a delivery are they, it's just the big guy in there and he's not exactly in a position to sign for anything.” The slightly taller pegasus turned and took a few steps away from his post to look down the long hall.
Slowly a pony approached, an older dull blue mare with a greying mane and a woeful expression on her lips. Behind was a two wheeled wagon, the kind a pony would use to carry goods to market. The wagon was wrapped tightly by an oilcloth cover and her hooves bore no steel shoes. Her eyes met those of the taller guard and then looked past him to his companion, Storm.
The nervous father gulped and nodded as his fellow guard began to speak. “What business do you have here today, Ma'am?” The old mare looked down and sighed, giving a final defeated nod before the heavy hooves of a Royal Guardpony struck the side of the tall Pegasus' helmet and he crumpled to the marble in a daze.
“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry, mate... she has my foal... my little boy... I don't have a choice.” Storm tore his helmet off and the natural tones of his golden mane and eyes returned.
“W-why...” The other guard rasped, his eyes having trouble focusing on anything for long as the blue mare knelt beside him and jabbed a heavy looking syringe into his neck.
“What are you doing? We're just supposed to knock him out!” The guard, turned accomplice to murder raised his hooves to push the old mare away but the look in her eyes silenced him.
“Ve all have our orders, stallion. Zis iz mine.” She pushed the plunger on the syringe and the other guard gave a shuddering moan before he slipped out of the world of the living.
“Holy buck!” The accomplice stallion threw his hooves over his mouth and were it not for the ward changing his coat colour he would have gone a deathly pale.
“Help me get him into ze cart.” The old mare stood tugged the cover from her cart as the silently panicking stallion obeyed. With a thump the dead pony was heaved into the cart nearly upsetting a large barrel which had been the sole occupant of the card for the journey so far. “Careful! Be careful you, thick-skulled simpleton!” The old mare rushed over and steadied the barrel with a sigh.
“What is that? It looks like an apple barrel.” The other guard, his nervousness leaving him in near shock managed to whisper as the old mare hefted the barrel carefully.
“Zis iz a taste of ze future.” The old mare chuckled, a hint of madness creeping into her rosy eyes, and carried the barrel into the room.
A trio of guards walked through the cool marble halls of Canterlot hospital, metal shoes falling on the marble in an even pace save for one. Shooting Star was blushing under the glances of her Captain and Sergeant. “So... still haven't found that shoe?” Trusty was doing a good job of hiding his smirk and Star seethed.
“No... it fell over a waterfall. I have the armourers trying to build me one the same as the other.” Star spoke in a total deadpan voice and both her superiors snorted in amusement.
“How about Dash? Is she doing alright?” Shrike prodded the subject delicately and Star blushed slightly more.
“She's fine... angry but fine. She hates the idea of anypony she knows being disloyal. I guess Cloudchaser was a pony she saw a lot of potential in.” Star looked down at her hooves as she walked.
“And how about you and Dash?” Trusty spoke soft on the other side of her and the sandy pegasus stopped dead, looking up at the grinning faces of both her superiors.
“I... there's... there's nothing going on.” The older guards continued to grin and finally Star sighed. “She's cute but taken... besides I kind of have my eye on somepony at home.”
Shrike chuckled and patted Star on the shoulder. “Fine by me, Constable. Just don't wait as long as Trusty and I did.”
“They grow up so fast don't they, Captain?” Trusty chuckled and avoided a swat from the younger pegasus as she went on ahead. The sound of trotting hooves came around the corner followed by a white coated nurse pony.
“Captain Shrike, just the mare I was looking for. Princess Celestia has requested that your Constable be moved to a more secure location, the girls have accompanied him but I believe there are some possessions in the room that might need to be picked up.” The nurse smiled happily and Shrike gave a nod, the three guards walking past her and into the hospital room.
Trusty stopped by the door and began collecting a box with a few of his usual tin coffee mugs. “Seems a little odd to me, getting Boulder moved all of a sudden.”
“She mentioned it to me by a letter not too long ago actually, it's taken a little for the room to be set up. It's at the palace proper though.” Shrike stood and surveyed the room with a smile as Shooting Star approached the centre table and the large wooden barrel on it.
“AJ didn't leave some apples here did she? You don't mind if I have something while I’m on the clock do you, Captain?” Shooting Star looked back at Shrike who smiled and shook her head.
Star reached out with her unarmoured hoof and tipped the top of the barrel open. The wooden lid clattered to the table and a thin curl of smoke began to drift its way to the ceiling. “Oh this can't be good...” Star spoke gently and the other two guards turned their eyes to her.
All at once the world was full of light and noise, fire and pain. Shrike could feel the crunch of her armour striking the wall and all sound drained away. The all consuming ringing filling the ears of the grey pegasus as she tried in vain to struggle onto her hooves. After several wobbling attempts she gave up and flopped belly down on the floor. Everything seemed distant, faint and detached. She watched a few drips fall onto a smouldering scrap of paper before she realized that it was her own blood. She drew a shaking hoof over her muzzle and quickly looked up at the once clean hospital ward. The room was full of smoke and little fires crackled and spit happily, fueled by the splinters which the contents of the room had been reduced to. She swayed as somepony shook her shoulders and turned her over.
It was her Trusty, and for a moment she smiled before she realized his lips were moving. He was trying to talk but it sounded like his head was at the bottom of a well. He shook her hard again and the world came rushing back with sickening, cold reality. “Where's Star?!” Trusty tried to overcome the momentary deafness with sheer volume. “Shrike, I can't find Star! She was closest to the damn thing.”
Shrike rolled and struggled until she was standing, everything hurt at once. Her whole world was alive with pain. She grit her teeth and took a few steps towards the centre of the room. “Star!” her attempt at a yell ended in a coughing fit.
“What the buck was that?” Trusty wrenched his helmet off and sent it clattering to the floor, his right eye was beginning to swell closed with the flow of blood running slowly over it.
“Stinks like fireworks...” Shrike rubbed her throat for a moment and stumbled past the stunned unicorn.
“Thank Celestia the girls weren't in here... or Boulder. Where the bloody hell is Star?” Trusty shook his head to clear some of the stars before his horn lit up and began sifting through the broken pieces of beds and various other furniture. Shrike cast her eyes around the room and took in the utter devastation. The furniture was destroyed, part of one wall was beginning to cave in and the wall with the window had given up the fight to remain structurally sound and was simply a void out into the gardens below.
“Small miracles...” Shrike gave a groan and stepped close to the gaping void where the wall with the window was minutes ago. She pulled her helmet free and let it drop, looking down at the courtyard below the hospital window. “Trusty!” Her voice returned in full and she made a stumbling hop from the ledge, gliding down on her bruised and singed wings before tumbling to a painful stop on the grass. She struggled onto her hooves and limped to the side of a pony who lay in the grass and rubble, smoking from everywhere and shaking uncontrollably.
“Star...” Shrike reached out carefully and pulled the younger pegasus' helmet off slow as she could. Star looked up at her with eyes that could only be described as haunting. Tears soaked her blackened cheeks and blood pooled on her coat where pieces of table and barrel had impaled themselves in her skin. Shrike tried hard not to look at the marred limb which had been missing its shoe as she choked gently and brushed Shooting Star's cheeks slow and careful. Never before had she seen so terrible an injury and instantly it brought vivid images of the coal miners who walked on three hooves and a peg, victims of cave ins or pockets of explosive gas. “Oh Celestia, Star...”
Shooting Star began to cry in earnest, the momentary shock beginning to drain away. It tore deep at Shrike's heart to see her brave friend sobbing for her mother. The grey pegasus pulled Star's forehead against her neck gently as she could. “I want my momma.” Star managed before her whole body tensed. She let out a scream as a breeze barely caressed what body wasn't covered in warped or blackened armour
“Stay with us, Star...” Shrike shut her eyes tight and threw back her head, summoning up every ounce of authority she could muster in her voice. “Healer! We need a healer here NOW!” She could hear the hooves approaching at speed, the clatter of armour as more guards landed to render aid. She kept her eyes closed and spread her wings wide, sheltering her Constable as best she could while she whispered breathlessly in her ear. “Just hang on, filly... be brave... please.”
Shrike was glad her eyes were closed, she didn't want the other guards to see her cry.
Celestia wiped her eyes again and turned away from the pair of hospital beds. The comatose stallion who clung to life and the young pegasus who would lose a forehoof before the day was out, her brave ponies who would suffer by the will of the mysterious 'Dark Lady'.
“S-sulphur, charcoal and saltpetre...” Twilight Sparkle spoke soft and subdued, “A huge and dangerous amount of firework powder with a spell trigger to set it off. Oh Princess... is she,” Twilight gulped, “D-dying?”
“No... no, Twilight. She will live though I think her days of being a guard are over. She may even fly again... one day...” Celestia stepped past Twilight and into the hallway outside her chambers. Her own bedroom converted to a ward to house the targeted ponies.
“Princess, what should we do now? It seems the closer we get the worse this unicorn tries to hurt us.” Twilight had to trot briskly to keep up with Celestia's strides, the Princess trembling slightly.
“There is nothing we can do...” The Solar Princess walked faster and Twilight broke into a canter. “Too many have suffered at the hooves of this unicorn and I will have no more.”
“You... can't be giving up.” Twilight tried to step in front of the Princess and Celestia snapped her head down to stare at her student. The purple unicorn froze instantly at the anger welling up in the eyes of her mentor.
“Twilight Sparkle! I am a danger to the lives of my subjects!” Celestia was trembling, the fury in her eyes being tempered with true fear. “I can do nothing to stop these attacks, they can slip past my finest guards and find new ways of causing suffering and death. I feel the lives of each of my precious ponies and when one candle is snuffed out before its time, I bleed within. I will abdicate my throne if it means preserving the lives of you and the rest of my subjects.”
“No...” Twilight whispered gently, standing as firm as she was able. “Nopony will stand for that.” Celestia's eyes narrowed and Twilight summoned up every ounce of her courage. She desperately wished her knees didn't feel so weak.
“You dare stand against me?!” the Princess' voice raised further still. Paintings rattled against the walls and the hanging flowers began to wilt as the waves of heat rolled relentlessly from Celestia's shoulders. The might of the sun focused down on the purple unicorn who felt so very small.
Twilight began to shake, tears rolling over her cheeks as her mind whirled through everything that could happen at this point. From banishment to her mentor simply waving her horn and reducing her to ash. She felt the weight of the brass badge which hung from her neck and more importantly, the weight of the duty which hung in her heart. “Yes... I will stop you from making a mistake even if it means I never see my friends again or even see another sunrise. Equestria wouldn't be Equestria without its Princesses. I have faith in you... and in my friends.”
Celestia's eyes softened and she scooped Twilight up in a hug, trembling as she whispered in the purple unicorn's ear. “Where did you learn such courage? You have surpassed all my expectations for you, Twilight. You've grown into a potent spellcaster and a truly courageous knight. I wish I could summon up your ancestors and let them see the heights their line would reach.”
Twilight did her best to contain her blush, which wasn't very well contained at all, she trembled softly just as her teacher did. It took a gentle cough to draw their attentions to the alicorn who stood with a slight smirk on her lips. “I do hope I am not interrupting you two. But I believe I have found something that should interest you both.” Celestia coughed nervously and released her student who was sheepishly trying to look anywhere so long as it avoided the gaze of both princesses. Luna's smirk faded and she turned, beckoning the other mares to follow her. “We have located our mysterious alchemist... and you are not going to like this.”
Twilight stood patiently in the hallway outside the chambers of a pony she had known well. The old mare from a little village on the other side of the Canterlot mountains had been the most memorable of her many teachers at Canterlot University. She remembered her voice and that distinctive accent well as she fretted over a potion which wasn't coming along right or occasionally muttering foul language under her breath when Twilight ended up with her mane singed. What she remembered most about the blue earth pony mare was the look in her rose coloured eyes when Twilight passed her alchemy exam at the very top of her class.
The purple unicorn looked up briefly from her in-depth study of the lines in the marble floor as the white stretcher was wheeled out with the unmoving shape beneath it. Miss Briar Wormwood, respected teacher and learned researcher. Of all the ponies Twilight knew, she thought she was the least likely to be anypart of these dark times.
“First rule of assassination... kill the assassins.” The soft voice of Princess Luna spoke to Twilight's right. “Stabbed twice in the back at her desk. No apparent witnesses either though she kept a very thorough, and thankfully well-hidden, diary. In which she has confessed to several crimes committed at the order of our mysterious foe... all to ensure her family would stay housed and fed. She also had the good grace to proclaim the innocence of Constable Storm, who turned himself in earlier today.”
“It could be anypony couldn't it, Princess?” Twilight's voice betrayed the heartache which had been mounting ever since the ordeal began. “This dark pony finds a weakness and uses it to force you to betray your friends, your family, your country... anypony could be working for her.”
“We can't begin to jump at shadows, Twilight. I still have faith in our stalwart guards and your steadfast friends. They will win the day.” The night Princess looked over her shoulder at her sister who stepped from the old alchemist's rooms with her head held low. The darkest days of Equestria were growing closer and Luna hoped that Celestia had the strength to persevere herself, not to mention her dwindling champions.
The Elements of Harmony, minus the Element of Magic, sat still around the small table in Princess Celestia's sitting room. The cups of tea they had been provided had long since gone cold and the plate of donuts sat with only one missing. Pinkie Pie stared down at that missing donut which sat lonely on her napkin with barely a nibble taken.
“H-has anypony heard anything about Star?” The soft voice of Fluttershy barely broke the silence and was followed by a stamp of the hoof from Rainbow Dash which nearly upset her cup of tea. Fluttershy retreated behind her mane and let out a squeak which was verging on a sob.
“S-sorry...”The rainbow-maned pegasus slumped back more and returned her eyes to the wood grain in the tabletop. “S-Star... won't be flying anymore... she,” Rainbow shook softly and dug her hooves into her eyes in an effort to force the tears to stop. “I can't... I can't talk about this anymore, guys.”
“I’m sick and tired a seein' ponies I like gettin' dropped flank first inta tha grave.” Applejack tipped her hat slowly off her head and looked upon the badge which she had clipped to the hatband of her faithful cowpony headgear.
“We truly never belonged in this mess from the very start.” Rarity dabbed her eyes with a delicate napkin and looked forlornly at her friends. Rarity's words were met with soft nods of resignation. The Element of Laughter was still and silent, she didn't much feel like laughing anymore.
“I'm going home....” The pink pony slowly rose, her usually puffy mane now deflated somewhat, and turned her eyes to meet the gazes of her remaining friends, they hadn't heard her speak for nearly an hour and waited with bated breath as she un-clipped her badge and placed it with care beside the donut. “This isn't an adventure anymore... this isn't fun or happy. I can't protect ponies from these kinda bad things. They turned fireworks into a thing to hurt ponies. Fireworks! What's next? Cake? Candy? Balloons?”
“Pinkie dear, I know you're upset but we can't just leave.” Rarity stood slowly as well but paled when Pinkie rounded on her and jabbed an accusing hoof in her direction.
“You said yourself that we don't belong here! You can't fight! Fluttershy won't fight! And everypony else is getting hurt or killed!” Pinkie's eyes betrayed a well of emotions Rarity turned her gaze to the floor.
Applejack was next to rise and her badge was next to be left on the tabletop. “Pinkie's right y’all. Ah'm a farmer through and through. My pappy and his pappy before him all the way back. I ain't a guardpony. It was fun fer a bit. Chasin' after bad ponies and fightin' fer law and order in Equestria but I got apples ta buck...” Without a further word, she shuffled towards the door and left the room, head hung low.
With the greatest care, Rarity followed, she never raised her eyes from the floor or made an effort to say her farewells. Fluttershy softly mumbled an apology and too left the room, her gentle sobs reaching the remaining two ponies. “So... just me then...” Rainbow Dash smirked a mirthless kind of smirk and turned her rose eyes up to meet the gaze of the pink pony.
Pinkie's eyes softened and she trembled slightly. “Dashie... please come with me. This is really too dangerous.” Rainbow snorted dismissively and leaned back to gaze up at the painted ceiling of the Princess' sitting room. Pictures from long ago gazed back at her, flights of pegasai locked in duels with the gryphons. The first of the weather workers summoning up storms to drive the dark and evil in the world back from where it came from. Her rose eyes lingered on the expertly painted portrait of Commander Hurricane and Rainbow's heart caught in her throat.
“I made a promise. No, more than that. I gave my word that I would fight to protect Equestria and I don't back down from that kinda thing, Pinks. I'm a pegasus, descendant of the first defenders of Equestria... I don't run.” Dash closed her eyes and sighed softly before she felt the gentlest of pressure resting on her lips. A contact she returned with care before the kiss was broken and the soft voice of the pink pony whispered in her ear.
“I need you to protect me...” Pinkie stifled a sniffle and sunk down, resting her head on Dash's shoulder where she could receive a gentle petting through her mane. Rainbow always told those who asked that she had a pony in her life already and only her closest friends knew who what pony was. Rainbow Dash bit her lip for just a moment before she hooked the badge off its chain around her neck and gazed at the polished brass.
The moment she had been given the shiny little shield seemed so very long ago but it had changed something. The Wonderbolts had always been her dream, from the very moment she was old enough to fly, but being given the badge and the weight of responsibility it held was something new, something bigger. She saw Shooting Star and Captain Shrike and realized that she could do that. The flight school drop-out could become a hero, could save ponies and punish those who stepped outside the law. She hadn't thought about the Wonderbolts in weeks.
“Dashie please.” Pinkie pleaded and shook Dash gently from her introspection. “Dashie you promised you would take care of me. I need you, Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and trembled as she was torn between one kind of loyalty and another. Between her feelings for the pink mare and the weight of heroism and loyalty to the crown.
“Dashie...” Pinkie whispered and tried to dry her tears on Rainbow's shoulder to no avail. “I don't want you to die. I love you...”
The room fell into silence for a long moment before the calm was broken by the sound of the last Special Constable badge clattering onto the tabletop.
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GearheartHound
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1248
| 4 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Spike,Adventure,Dark,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
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Ponies at Arms
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A guard sergeant and her squad must race to stop a horrible plot which threatens all of equestria.
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incomplete
| 15 | 0 |
<p>Guards. Police Officers. Watchmen. they are called a great many things and always stand resolute between the lives of innocents and the dark forces which seek to do them harm. They do not ask to be heroes, they do not seek out greatness but sometimes they have greatness thrust upon them. Follow the exploits of Sergeant Shrike and her squad of noble ponies as the waters of political intrigue swell up around them and they find themselves in way over their heads. Will they become the heroes that Equestria needs and more importantly, will they ever get some time off?</p>
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teen
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2012-01-23T16:48:54+00:00
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2012-01-23T16:48:54+00:00
| 792 |
The rain pattered endlessly on the cobblestones of the oldest of Equestria's cities. The Weather Patrol worked tirelessly for days to wrangle the dark clouds but the mood in Canterlot could not be lifted and the clouds would always return. Most tried to go about their business while the weather continued to drown spirits but one unicorn sat and gazed out the windows of the palace at the ever swirling clouds unable to overcome the dark mood that walked hoof in hoof with the depressing weather
“It'll be alright, Sweetheart. You've all been through a lot. They probably just needed a break from all of this, it doesn't mean they aren't your friends anymore.” Twilight turned her eyes away from the window to look upon the concerned face of her father. The older stallion reached a hoof over to comfort his daughter. The small, intimate dinner table was set for six and the Sparkle family sat and waited for the two remaining guests to show up.
Spike squirmed restlessly on his cushion and looked over at the older unicorn mare. “D-do you want me to go find the Princesses, Miss Sparkle?”
Star Sparkle rolled her eyes and smirked at the young dragon. “For the last time Spike, you can call me Mom. But no, Dear... I’m sure there is a good reason for the little holdup.” She smiled reassuringly at her adoptive son but her smile fell slowly when she looked at the expression which graced the face of her daughter.
Twilight just looked at the empty places and then returned her gaze to the window and the never ending rain.
The calm of the rain-filled night erupted in a burst of force. The crackling lines of magic coursed like crawling ivy over the stone wall centred on the body of the stallion being pinned there. The pegasus stallion squirmed and struggled a moment more before his eyes went wide and he shook the brass boot off his forehoof.
“I... I surrender!” He choked out as the lines of green magic curled around his neck and squeezed. His heart beat faster and faster as the unicorn stallion walked slowly towards him. Armour shining dull under the rain-soaked street lamps and his breath leaving a brief cloud before him.
“Sorry... Didn't hear you, Mate.” The Guard Sergeant squeezed more and the pinned pegasus' eyes began to water. The life of the pinned pegasus began to flash before his eyes though it was interrupted suddenly by a voice which simply dripped with authority.
“Enough, Trusty!” Sergeant Shrike limped slowly out of the alleyway, her right wing hanging limply at her side. The grip on the thug's throat lessened though he still hung still against the wall. The green stallion stood stock still.
“I said stand down, Sergeant!” Shrike bellowed and slowly the grip faded more and more. Shrike limped slowly towards where the assailant was pinned and quickly clipped the manacles to his forehooves, the green force finally letting him drop, half conscious, to the ground. Job done, Shrike turned her gaze on her second in command. She pulled him around a corner out of earshot of their captive.
“What in Celestia's name was that about?” She yanked her helmet from her head and tossed it to the cobblestones. “I get one punch to the wings and you suddenly decide that you're going to throw a pony through a dumpster and try to strangle the bugger. What the buck is wrong with you?”
Trusty's face was empty of emotion, not even his usual sly smirk. “He hurt you...” Was his only response.
Trusty lowered his eyes and turned away from his marefriend and Captain. She, however trotted to face him again and yanked his head up to meet her gaze. “Trusty I’m not made of glass... I’m not some prissy stay-at-home mare who can't take a bloody punch. And you're not a killer! How could you even think that it would make things better?”
Trusty let his eyes close and gave a sigh. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he pulled away from the grey pegasus before him. “I’m taking sick leave, boss...” Shrike fell silent as he trotted around the nearest corner and disappeared.
The rain fell as far as Ponyville the next morning, and though this storm was a scheduled one, it did little to detract from the fact that the skies were grey and the ponies of Ponyville were keeping indoors. The beautifully decorated Carousel Boutique was still and silent with the outdoor lights off, there would be no customers today for the beautiful and talented Rarity to ply her trade thanks to the 'closed for a special project' placard placed in the front window.
Anypony who knew the white unicorn would be surprised to see her now. Her immaculate desk was covered with an oilcloth sheet, stained with grease. Her usual array of fine needles and threads was replaced with rough and ready screwdrivers and a smoking soldering iron. Careful sketches of dresses were pushed aside in favour of detailed diagrams. Lastly the mare herself sat still, her mane tied back in a non-to-flattering knot and her horn aglow.
The words of her pink friend were sinking deeper than she had expected. She was useless to the guards, useless to her friends, save for a deft horn at needlework when they needed stitches. Their comforting words fell on deaf ears. In desperation she threw herself into the new task. This would be a masterpiece, not of fashion but of her worth. She would give back something precious to those who had lost so much.
She lifted the soldering iron once more and touched it to a delicate coil of wire within the device on her desk. It sparked and the whole assembly twitched a little. “Just a teensy bit more.” She inched the iron closer and set another wire into place. When the device shook on the table the iron slipped.
The white unicorn winced and jerked her hoof back as the hot metal scored a line across the softest part of her hoof. The room filled with the uncomfortable smell of burnt hair and sizzling flesh. Tears streaked down her dirty cheeks and she thumped backwards off her stool, her injured hoof clutched in the crook of her foreleg.
Rarity trembled as she withdrew her hoof and examined the damage. The burn was already beginning to ooze blood slightly and she let out a trembling breath. “One little burn... compared to them, this is nothing. If I work through the night then I shall be in Canterlot by tomorrow afternoon.” She quickly bandaged her hoof and grit her teeth returning to the machine. The white unicorn fought through the tears and throbbing pain in her hoof pouring her heart and soul into her work.
The rain poured down on the orchards outside Ponyville and on the form of one of Equestria's hardest working farmponies. The thick oiled raincoat she wore did little to take away the chill and the old material leaked. With every buck she shivered a little more, the soaking apples falling to the sodden earth and bobbing in puddles when they didn't hit her carelessly placed baskets. Her motions carried none of their passion, none of her love of the job. Today she was an apple bucking machine, fuelled by the need to not be alone with her thoughts.
Lift hooves and set in position, she went over the instructions her father had told her in her head, drilling them into every action she took. Front down, use yer forelegs and push back. Her hooves struck the trunk and another rain of apples fell to or near their respective baskets. She lined up with the next tree when a whistle caught her attention and she looked over to the farmhouse. She saw the shape of her older brother standing on the covered porch.
With a sigh she left her work and trudged from the orchards to the steps. “This important, Mac? I'm a might busy right now.” She scowled up at the unshakable red stallion. He shifted a little and nodded to a steaming mug on the railing.
“Made ya a toddy, ya looked cold.” His deep voice rumbled and Applejack cracked a bit of a smile. She climbed the steps and took off her prized hat, hanging it on a worn hook beside the door to drip in peace while her muddy hooves thankfully scooped up the steaming drink.
Mac looked out to the orchard and the pair stood in silence for a moment longer. “Tell me why ya done it, AJ?” His question caught the orange pony off-guard. She and her brother always had an unspoken rule. She never asked him about his decisions and the same courtesy was afforded to her.
“Tha south orchard needed-” she began but Mac cut her off.
“Tha south orchard is doin' just fine. I asked Carrot ta mind the garden fer a basket a what she wants once a week and Caramel is finally pullin' his own weight. I meant why didja leave tha badge...” He turned his eyes to hers and Applejack looked away. “You ain't been no good at lyin', AJ... 'specially ta yerself.”
“Ponies are dead Mac... lotsa ponies... this ain't a game no-more.” She took another sip of her drink and sighed.
“T'weren't a game from tha start, AJ...” He rumbled slow and took a seat beside where Applejack stood. “Pappy was darn proud a ya.”
Applejack nearly dropped her cup, turning to look at her brother who remained as calm as always. He cleared his throat to forestall her inevitable question, “Applebloom wrote ta him and ma 'bout how yer a big fancy guard now.”
“Pappy ain't ever been proud a me, Mac...” Applejack took a seat beside her brother and looked down into her drink with a sigh.
“That's a load a manure and ya know it.” He chuckled and put a hoof around her shoulders. “Applejack, Pappy wrote back near right away. He was happy as a pig in mud. Thought ya might whip them airhead pegasus guards inta shape.” Even Applejack chuckled a little but it was short-lived.
“Mac... Ah can't do it... ah can't go out every single day and see ponies ah like, mah friends, end up gettin' cut ta ribbons. Ya didn't see p-poor Shootin' Star,” Applejack trailed off with a shudder, squeezing her eyes shut tight.
“Applejack,” Mac sighed and ran his other hoof through his mane. “Remember when we were foals, we used ta grab sticks and pretend we were knights. Remember tha words?”
Applejack blushed, imagining herself as a reckless little filly but her lips soon turned up in a smile. “In brotherhood we stand together, in sisterhood may we find grace...” Her voice was soft and she felt as Mac nodded.
“I was thinkin' more on tha lines a loyal to our roots remain us.” Big Mac let a smirk grace his lips for a moment and Applejack lowered her head slowly. “Ah know that loyalty is kinda Miss Dash's thing but it's somethin' that all ponies should have in 'em. Ya never let family down and those friends a yours are practically sisters to ya.”
“It's... real complicated, Mac...” Applejack rose and downed the last of her mug before pushing the front door open.
Mac sat still and sighed as he heard Granny's always repeated words. “Jackie, wipe yer dern hooves. Ya may've been born in tha barn but yer not livin' in one.” The red stallion couldn't help but smile a little at the grumble from his sister.
In the lofty heights of Pinkie Pie's vaulted ceiling, a pony laid on a wooden rafter in silence. Her job with the rain finished for the day, Rainbow Dash eagerly sought comfort indoors. Her mind worked in the background and her tail flicked in annoyance. Boredom was something that the blue pegasus could not cope with and sleep was elusive.
Casting her eyes down to the room below she took in the furniture. The short table where she had interrupted Pinkie Pie's crazy party. The carpet on which Pinkie had apologized for sitting on Dash's head with a hug that had turned into an eager kiss. The dresser where Pinkie kept a picture of Dash so she could, 'See the most important pony in my life each and every day'. And the bed where...
Rainbow blushed and closed her eyes tightly. She cared deeply for Pinkie Pie and the pink party pony was more than enamoured with Rainbow Dash in return. Still, ever since her return to Ponyville she had felt terrible in so many ways. Her thoughts led to more discomfort. Pinkie had twisted her hoof to get her to come back, she had fought dirty and Rainbow couldn't help but feel used.
She imagined Shrike getting the news of their departure or Shooting Star awakening to word that her friend had fled like a coward. And Rainbow Dash was no coward. She thumped her head against the rafter beam, upsetting a pair of dust bunnies which drifted harmlessly to the floor to be stepped on by the little green alligator who had been watching her intently. “How am I supposed to keep my promise to Pinkie when I feel like this?” She asked the green gator and sighed as no response was forthcoming.
Far below, in the kitchens of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was lost in her own little world as she whipped up a batch of frosting. She was running on automatic, her eyes unfocused and staring into space as her hooves moved like a blur over the mixing bowl. She stopped and nodded her head once before the bell on the stove dinged and she removed the next batch of cupcakes. With them cooling she moved on to icing the previous batch.
She didn't hear the sound of hooves in the kitchen or her name being called but she jumped and spun with a shriek, the icing flying waywardly from her dropped bowl, when Mister Cake touched a hoof to her shoulder. Pinkie blinked and blushed up at her employer as a blob of white icing slid off his nose to land on the floor with a splat.
“If you wanted me to taste the icing, Pinkie Pie, you just had to ask.” He cracked a smile and Pinkie couldn't help but giggle. “Actually... Pinkamina...” He spoke in a much more subdued tone and Pinkie's eyes went wide. The Cakes only called her Pinkamena when she did something terrible. “Cup and I think that... maybe you should take the rest of the day off... or the weekend if you need it.”
Pinkie's eyes began to water and her shoulders shook. “Y-you're not... f-firing me are you? I promise I’ll do better! I won't take any more sample cupcakes. I'll work even harder!” Her panic rose until the older stallion placed his hooves on her shoulders.
“Pinkie. Pinkie it's alright.” His smile worked to calm the pink pony some and finally he let her go to point a hoof towards the rack of confections she had made. “It's just that... we can see you're upset.” Pinkie blinked but soon her eyes followed where he was pointing and she gasped.
Row upon row of cupcakes stood like little snowy mountains. No chocolate ones, no sprinkles, no new experiments in baking like her ill-fated banana and chili pepper muffins. She had baked a day's worth of vanilla cupcakes.
Pinkie Pie slumped to the floor and just stared as Mister Cake took a seat beside her. “My wife and I have been keeping track of the newspapers, we heard what happened. I don't blame you in the least for coming home. In your place I’m sure I would have too... but I can see that your brain is still back in Canterlot”
Pinkie nodded slowly and let out a little sigh. “It was just so awful... it made me want to do bad things. Bad scary things... to other ponies... ” She trailed off and closed her eyes.
“Anger makes ponies think scary things sometimes, but it's okay to be angry, especially after what you went through. You know, Pinkie, you're a lot more than an employee to Cup and me... you're more like a daughter. Take all the time you need to think and make your decision. Whatever you pick, no matter the choice, we'll be behind you.” Mister Cake put a foreleg around Pinkie's shoulders in a little hug and the pink pony let a smile slip onto her lips. She sat on the floor of the kitchen a long while after Mister Cake had gotten up to return to the front of the shop. Her eyes traced the lines in the floor and looked over every utensil and tool which hung neatly in their proper places.
“Seen you lookin' happier, Miss Pie.” a familiar voice spoke soft and Pinkie nodded. A presence settling itself onto the floor beside her. “You got the girl, you got your old life back... why no smiles?”
Pinkie closed her eyes and rubbed her forehooves together nervously, “I’m just scared... I wasn't me and I did something bad... then when I heard about the... the firework thing... I just couldn't stay anymore. What if the Princess hadn't moved us?”
“Then you and I would be having a lot easier conversation, Miss Pie...” The voice of Jammy the unicorn spoke softly with a bit of a chuckle and Pinkie let a giggle slip herself. “As it is I’m just a bit of a daydream from that overactive imagination of yours.”
“I miss you...” She whispered, “I never lost a friend before... I don't want that to happen again.”
“If you went back, and saw this through to the end... could you live with the scars and the chance that another one of your friends wouldn’t be coming home?” The calm voice drifted through Pinkie's thoughts and she opened her mouth to answer but he spoke again, “Or could you live with yourself if you stayed here and hid under your bed?”
Pinkie Pie blushed and nodded slowly. “You're right... if I’m not there then how can I protect my new friends.”
“Who are you talking to, Dearie?” Missus Cake poked her head around the door and looked into the kitchen, concern written all over her face.
“Just my Pinkie self, Missus Cake...” Pinkie took a breath and turned with a smile, “Sorry about all the vanilla cupcakes, but I think I have some things I need to do.” Missus Cake nodded with a renewed smile, seeing the pink pony bounce past and head for the stairs.
In Pinkie's apartment, Rainbow Dash paced back and forth, a toothless alligator hanging from the end of her multi-hued tail. “How... how can I tell Pinkie...” She muttered to herself before flopping onto her haunches and thumping her forehooves against her head in frustration. “Come on brain, think think!”
Rainbow's mental battle was interrupted as the door to the room opened and the pink pony herself trotted in. Rainbow turned and squeezed her eyes shut tight for a second, willing herself to be strong as Pinkie Pie took a breath. In unison the two ponies exclaimed
“Pinkie, I need to go back to Canterlot”
“Dashie, I need to go back to Canterlot”
The ponies stopped and stared at one another. Blinking and unsure of how to continue. “What do you mean 'you need to go back' ?” The friends and lovers spoke in perfect stereo again. They stopped, blinking as they took several steps closer to each other.
Pinkie opened her mouth to speak but Rainbow's hoof gently rested on her lips and the pink pony blushed. “OK... we'll both go.” Without another word, Rainbow and Pinkie held each other close as the rain pattered on the windows and the world outside began to slip towards nightfall.
Fluttershy felt the chilly rain soaking her coat and weighing down her wings but she walked on still. The path before her twinkled in the light from her lantern as she ran the events over in her mind. Her trip to Ponyville to see her friends had ended in sadness. Rarity's boutique was closed tight and locked. The lights of Pinkie Pie's apartment were off and Rainbow Dash wasn't at home.
The yellow pony blushed as she realized where her pegasus friend most likely was. It filled her with a different kind of sadness as her hooves splashed in the broad mud puddles. She wasn't a stranger to feelings of romance but in her experience, her shyness was the all-consuming barrier between her romantic heart and a lasting relationship.
Fluttershy shook her soaking mane and sighed. She had a lot more to be sad about then not finding the right stallion at the moment. What she wanted more than a lot of things was to talk to her friends. They had all been avoiding each other since they had come back to Ponyville and the elephant in the room was so obvious it was wearing a sign.
They had abandoned their friends and run when the threat of instant mortality had reared its head. They were all terrified at the thought of a mare who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, which included putting mares and stallions to death in horrible ways. Fluttershy had sat at the bedside of Constable Boulder and, more recently, Shooting Star. She saw how her friend's hearts had been twisted up in pain at the sight of ponies suffering and treading inches from the grave. All the while she had thought, What could I possibly do?
When Pinkie snapped at all of them, Fluttershy had scurried away. Pinkie had been right, she couldn't and wouldn't fight. The very idea of raising her hoof in anger appalled her, but deep in her heart she knew that where she should really be right now wasn't walking down a mud-soaked path at night in the rain. Where she should be was at the side of her friends, lending them as much support as she could. Can I be brave enough to ask them? The thought surfaced in her mind and she closed her eyes.
“M-Miss Shy?” A deep voice pulled her from her thoughts and she squeaked in surprise as she looked up at the towering form of her friend's older brother. “What are ya doin' out this late, and in tha rain?”
Fluttershy blushed and set her lantern down so she could speak, which is to say she mumbled quietly up at the big stallion. “O-oh Macintosh... I... I was just going to see Applejack and ummm... talk to her... if she doesn't mind that is.”
Most ponies would lean closer and ask her to repeat what she said but Big Mac wasn't most ponies. “'Fraid AJ's in bed, Miss Shy... sorry. Ah just saw yer lantern down the lane and thought I’d see who it was at this hour.”
“O-oh...” Fluttershy began and leaned down to pick up her lamp, speaking around the handle. “T-that's OK.. I’ll just... come back tomorrow.” She turned and started to nervously trot back the way she'd come when she felt a tug and her eyes went wide. Her flushed cheeks deepened another shade of red and she turned her head slowly.
Big Mac held her tail in his teeth as delicately as he could, his eyes looking to hers while his own cheeks showed a blush even through his deep red coat. “N-now it just wouldn't be proper a me ta turn ya away.” He released her tail and Fluttershy turned slowly, her knees knocking nervously. “Let me warm ya up,” His eyes went wide and he coughed, “Ah... ah mean, let me get ya somethin' warm ta drink a-and a towel.” He looked away and Fluttershy gave the slightest giggle. That was the fastest and loudest she had ever heard the big stallion speak.
“T-that would be... nice.” She smiled and big Mac let out a relieved breath.
Inside the cozy farmhouse, Fluttershy sat on a woven rug before the kitchen hearth with a large towel over her shoulders and a steaming cup of hot apple cider between her hooves. Big Macintosh sat not far away in a rocking chair, watching the fire crackle and pop with an old guitar resting at his hooves which he plucked idly. There wasn't a tune or any real song but the pair still shared a moment in silence that said more than any conversation they could have had.
The comforting moment was broken by a creak from the floorboards upstairs and the sound of unsteady hooves trudging down the stairs towards them. Fluttershy began to grow nervous once more as a sleepy looking pony stumbled into the kitchen. “Mac, con'sarnit... it's late what the hay are you doin' up?” Applejack yawned and stopped when she spotted Fluttershy, wrapped up in her brother's towel, sitting before the fire.
“She was out in tha rain, tryin' ta come see ya.” Mac supplied the answer to the unasked question when his little sister raised an eyebrow. Big Mac looked to the yellow pegasus, still seated comfortably. The pair shared a little smile before the red stallion slung his guitar and trotted out of the kitchen to let the two friends talk in private.
Applejack watched him go and turned a sly smile back to Fluttershy who flushed red once more and looked away. “Mah big brother is a might sweet on ya, Shy.” Fluttershy squeaked and looked away as if to say, 'I have no idea what you're talking about'.
With a sigh, Applejack flopped down beside the yellow pegasus and looked into the flickering flames. “What didja come ta see me for, Shy?”
Fluttershy looked down into the cup of hot cider as if it would lend her the strength to ask the question she most needed to. She watched as the firelight played over the top of the mug and made the contents shimmer slightly. Her mind drifted back to the happy moments she had just experienced and how it made her feel. With a breath she closed her eyes and spoke all-at-once. “Applejack... we all need to go back to Canterlot.”
Applejack sat silent, just looking at her usually meek friend. The words she spoke were not a question or a pleasant request. They held weight with them and a conviction she had not seen from the yellow pegasus save for on very rare occasions. “W-why” came AJ's response, her voice almost cracking under the emotional strain of the evening already.
“Because it's the right thing to do... and if we're very lucky, Twilight will forgive us and we can bring all this stupid fighting to an end.” Fluttershy blushed bright as she realized her tone and her shoulders hunched. “I mean... if that's OK with you... that is...”
“But we could all be killed, Fluttershy This ain't fun... this ain't how ponies should be livin'.” Applejack scuffed her hoof on the floor, sending a stray pebble to the hearth's edge.
“So why don't we do everything we can to make all this stop?” Fluttershy set down her cup and turned herself so she was facing the farmpony. Applejack met her gaze and sighed. This wasn't The Stare, this was the yellow pony's quiet plea. Applejack couldn't think of more to say, she just gave a nod in agreement and turned her eyes to the fire.
The rain died away as the warmth of the fire burned down and soon Applejack was alone in the kitchen. She heard the heavy hooffalls of her brother approach from behind and she turned her eyes up at him. “Ya walk Fluttershy home?” Her question was met with a nod as he plunked himself down on the hearth rug by the dying fire
“Just got one thing ta tell ya, little sis...” He spoke slow as always though there was an edge of something else creeping into his voice. Applejack waited patiently for him to continue and he gave a little sigh. “Bring that girl back home... whatever ya do, AJ. Make sure Fluttershy comes home.” Applejack just grinned wide and burst out laughing.
Celestia stood still upon her balcony as the sun crept over the horizon and cast its muted glow over the lands of Equestria. She sighed and looked across the top of the small tower to the balcony opposite her own where her sister should be standing to lower her moon to make way for the day. The place was empty as it had been when the younger alicorn was imprisoned upon the moon.
“Oh blast.... I’m late again...” The Lunar Princess stumbled the last few steps up the stairs and looked out at the red clouds on the horizon signalling the birth of a new day. “I’m so sorry, Tia... I’ve just been-” Celestia raised a hoof to silence her sister, still not looking in her direction.
“Tired... I know...” The white alicorn lowered her hoof and slowly sank down onto her haunches, letting her eyes close. “Luna... am I a fair and just ruler?”
Princess Luna stepped slowly to her sister's side and settled in to watch the sunrise. “All I have read has spoken volumes to your kindness and generosity over the millennium I was... gone. What brings these thoughts on, sister?”
“These dark times,” Celestia looked up towards the heavens and smiled just a little. “I have taken a great interest in our subjects, seen them grow and prosper under my protection. And since your return the world has become whole again... but... what could possess one of my ponies to wish so much destruction on their fellow ponies? Have I wronged some innocent somehow? Have I caused harm unknowingly to prompt some poor soul to vengeance? Where have I gone wrong?”
Luna’s eyes softened and she rushed as close as she was able, pressing her cheek against her sister's neck. “Oh, Sister. This is none of your doing, these are simply dark times. Remember long ago when the land was under the grip of Discord? Or when the gryphon clans swept over the Northern peaks. We have weathered those disasters and so have our subjects. Even the Nightmare was no match for the tenacity of your ponies. Why I am certain that Twilight Sparkle will-” Luna’s words of praise and support were cut off sharply by Celestia shoving the younger princess away.
“Luna, please stop...” The Solar Sovereign turned her eyes downward and took a step closer to the edge of her balcony, staring down at the tower where her former student had been residing until Fiona, another in the long line of her disappointments, had damaged it. “My faithful student. You know well why she holds that position. Why she, above all ponies through the long millennia, has outshone all others.” Celestia carefully floated the crown from her brow and let the glimmering object hang in the air before her. She turned it slightly so the light of the morning sun caressed the radiant purple stone set into its centre.
Celestia returned the crown, reluctantly, to its place behind her horn and turned her tearful eyes back to her sister. “The long gambit i have played to ensure that my beloved sister would return to me. That the darkness be cast from her heart once and for all. I played my game well and our greatest foe too fell to her power and skill.” Luna gave a slow nod as a smile grew on her lips.
“What you didn't count on was her heart... did you, Tia?” Luna took a step to her sister's side and brushed a wing against Celestia's, the white alicorn's cheeks colouring slightly with a blush. “You tried to craft a weapon and instead you found a friend. Though i do see now, looking back on what i have seen and read of your student, that you chose her instead of the other young unicorns because she reminded you so much of a certain indigo filly who gazed up at the limitless heavens and gave names to every star she set there.”
Celestia met Luna’s gaze and in the privacy of her tower-top high above the streets of Canterlot, she cried unashamedly with an ever-growing smile. “Little Lulu... with her books and her careful approach to her craft. Measuring the distance of each point of starlight and ensuring no two shone exactly the same.”
“As opposed to impatient Tia who had no time to shepherd a glorious sky and instead cast an enormous ball of fire into the heavens and called her job done.” Luna smirked and Celestia's blush intensified tenfold. “I am surprised that you of all ponies would have the patience to play such a long game to achieve your goal.”
Celestia's smile fell for a moment and she hung her head when she replied. “I have had a thousand years to learn the value of patience, dear sister.” Luna raised a hoof and lifted Celestia's gaze back to her own.
“Twilight will see this through, Tia. With or without the aid of her friends, though the Elements of Harmony can never truly be severed. You waited a millennium to return me to the light, and you did say that Twilight has surpassed all the expectations you had for her.” Celestia gave a sheepish smile that she was glad nopony save her sister could see.
“You heard that?” the regal white alicorn's voice was a soft whisper to which Luna nodded slowly.
“I am a Princess of the Night, moving unseen and silent is as rudimentary as breathing for one such as myself. All I ask, is that you carry your faith in your student- no... your friend Twilight just a little longer.” Luna smiled as warmly as she was able even with the fatigue gnawing at the corners of her sanity and Celestia returned the gesture in full. The sisters of sun and moon stepped close as they were able and let the troubles of the mortal world fade away for the briefest moment. They shared a hug and silent tears as Celestia knew that come rain or shine, no matter what she had done in the name of love for her sister, that the Jewel of Equestria would prevail in her task. She only hoped that Twilight would be able to forgive her all she had done and all she would yet have to endure.
The light of the sun didn't last and the clouds again returned to Canterlot to envelop the city in their dull grey embrace. Nopony ventured out-of-doors save for those who couldn't come up with a viable excuse. There were no shouts of the shopkeepers or sounds of the street carts rattling over the cobblestones. The only sound, in fact, which pierced the insufferably dour atmosphere was the marching of the Royal Guards.
Every branch of the services marched in careful patrols, no ponies trudging alone and no squad too far away from another to call for help. The golden armour of Celestia's elite blanketed the cityscape with searching eyes. However, at the main gate there stood a trio of guards looking more than a little tired and bored.
“How much longer?” The tallest pegasus mumbled out of the corner of his mouth earning a glance from both his companions.
“Why are you asking us again?” The middle guard, a pegasus mare spoke as well as she could while trying to give the impression that she wasn't moving her lips. There was an image of the guard to be maintained after all.
“Because Coal's got a watch and I can't see the Celestia-damned-sun.” The tallest guard mumbled and the final pony, a unicorn guard of the citadel broke his statuesque pose and fished a timepiece out of his uniform.
“Don't mind him, Moonbeam. He's just sore because you whipped his flank at poker last night.” Coal the unicorn flicked the case of his watch open and glanced at the time. “And for your information, Silver, it's two in the afternoon.”
The male pegasus groaned though stood still as a statue. “We usually change up the rotation twice by now... what's that new Captain thinking?”
“Cut her some slack, she was at the explosion at the hospital... nearly lost one of her own.” Moonbeam chimed in and the mood turned greyer than the clouds overhead. The guards of Canterlot were taking a beating. For every one of the traitors that was brought in, there was one of their own who was being nursed back to health in the hospital ward. The guards were used to dealing with rowdies and drunkards, petty thieves and the occasional domestic dispute. Now they were fighting armed thugs and trained assassins who thought nothing of crippling a pony in order to achieve their goals or to evade capture.
“Look alive, chums... carriage on the road.” Silver narrowed his eyes and stood more stiffly at attention and his two companions did the same.
“How in Celestia's name can you see that far?” Coal could barely spot the speck of the white carriage as it was making its way towards Canterlot.
“It's a pegasus thing... speaking of...” He trailed off as a bright shape descended from the clouds and landed before the three gate guards. The pegasus threw off an oiled rain hood and shook out her mane before removing the goggles from her bright rose eyes.
“Special Constable Rainbow Dash, arriving in advance of the rest of the Elements of Harmony. We would like to see Captain Shrike and Twilight Sparkle as soon as possible.”
“Is there anything you would like us to tell them, Ma'am?” Moonbeam raised an eyebrow and the rainbow-maned mare before her just grinned.
“Tell them,” Rainbow took a breath and let her eyes close for just a moment in thought, “that their friends are back and more than ready to see this through til the end.”
Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie stood still before the desk which still bore the gold plaque with the name 'Lord Captain Drussard' upon its solid oak front. Across from them a pair of green eyes glared, unhappy green eyes with heavy bags beneath them. The eyes of Knight Paladin Shrike. She leaned back in her seat and nudged the trio of badges on the desk. The clinking of brass on brass still the only sound in the office.
Just as the tension was growing so thick, Pinkie Pie could have cut slices of it and served it for dessert, Shrike let out a little sigh and rubbed her forehead gently. “So... just back? You did some soul searching or whatnot and now you're just back?”
“That's about it...” Rainbow Dash piped up softly and coughed into her hoof. “We need to see this thorough.”
“And what if I tell you I’ve got no place for deserters?” Shrike kept her eyes closed and leaned back more in her chair. “I’ve had fifteen guards quit on me in the last week. After Constable Storm's son got foalnapped, nopony wants to be in the spotlight. Even my own Sergeant is off on 'sick leave' whatever the buck that means.”
“Then yer admittin' yer short-staffed... ya need more hooves and we're more than willin' ta help.” Applejack placed her forehooves on the edge of the desk and looked down at the older mare. “We ain't askin' fer a second chance or fer forgiveness or none a that. We have our reasons and yer just gonna hafta trust that we got the jitters outa us these last couple days.”
Shrike opened her eyes and looked up at the cowpony then glanced down her side to where the score marks from Fiona’s claws had done their dirty work. The lines in her coat barely noticeable but still the scars lurked below. She rested a hoof on her throat and felt over the scar there from the gryphon's anger. “Consider yourself reinstated...” She said simply and both Rainbow and Applejack let out the breath they didn't know they were holding.
Pinkie Pie however jumped an almost imposable height in the air and seemed to produce a bag of confetti from nowhere in particular. “Yippee! You know what this calls for? A P-” Pinkie Pie was cut off sharply.
“Pinkie Pie! If the next word that comes out of your mouth is 'party' I will fire you and lock you in the dungeons for disturbing the peace.” Shrike couldn't keep the grin off her lips as the pink pony slowly landed back on the floor, flying in the face of the natural laws of physics and looked sheepishly at the Captain.
“It calls for a... a... jovial celebration possibly involving sweets and tasteful music...” Pinkie Pie spoke softly and the room descended into laughter before Shrike shoved their badges into their hooves and shooed the mares out of the office so she could dig back into the weighty problem of her paperwork.
The guards parted reluctantly and the now off-white unicorn known as Rarity trotted into the bedroom of the most powerful pony in all of Equestria. The Solar Princess wasn't there at the moment though, instead there rested a pair of hospital beds and a nurse who kept watch over the magical sensors monitoring the life of Constable Boulder. Rarity took a long breath and trotted into the room, the bundle tied to her back shaking a little both from her gait and from her nervousness.
Rarity had stood vigil over the bedside of Shooting Star after the blast which nearly claimed her life as she had stood vigil over the large blue stallion. She barely knew either guardpony, she hadn't been in Trottingham, she hadn't connected with any of them on any real level but she was determined to show them all that she could be of use. That Rarity the unicorn could have her moment in the spotlight.
Her cheeks were tinged with a blush as well as the grime and grease of her endeavour as she approached Shooting Star and gave a polite cough to draw the attention of the half awake pegasus. Star's eyes opened and she gave the slightest smile, her coat still patchy from her burns and bandaged in many places. “R-Rarity... didn't expect to see you here...” Star spoke soft, all the brashness gone from her voice. The life and vitality that filled the young pegasus had been drained away.
Rarity did her best to smile and knelt beside the bed, carefully levitating the bundled object and resting it on the bed. “I had to come back for you... and for all my friends.” Rarity took a breath and let her eyes close. “I was met with an uncomfortable truth... that outside my expertise with fashion and gemstones... I’m useless.”
Star wanted to tell her that she wasn't useless, that she helped in a lot of ways but Rarity continued before she could get the chance. “I am not as shallow as one thinks... I am not as one dimensional. Few ponies know what I am capable of. My father fixed machines for a living... though it was not his special talent he showed me that I did not have to limit myself to just one thing to lead a fulfilling life. I grew up around his workshop... tinkering with my sewing machine when it refused to work and eventually that tinkering became improving. Within a few years I was building new machines from scratch to meet my needs and specifications.”
Rarity took a moment and grinned, tapping the wrapped parcel. “I have spoken to several scientists and doctors about what I have built and they all agree that the work behind it is sound.” Rarity drew her hoof sheepishly through her mane and then smiled. “Would you care to lift the canvass?”
Star blinked some and reached her hoof over to catch the edge of the wrapping and slowly opened the neat parcel. All at once her eyes went wide and she stared at Rarity unblinking. “Is this... what I think it is?” Rarity only nodded and watched as Star's grin spread wider and wider.
“If it's not any trouble can I get a drink of water?” A voice spoke up from beside the grinning pair and without a thought, Rarity lifted a glass with her magic and filled it with cold water from a nearby pitcher. “Thanks, Miss Rarity... wow... looks like you took a beating Star.”
Shooting Star and Rarity both blinked and turned their eyes over to Constable Boulder who was half sitting up in bed and finishing off a glass of water. He blinked a little and raised an eyebrow, “Why are ya looking at me like that?” Both mares began to laugh which of course alerted the nurse who had fallen asleep on the job. Boulder just blinked more and cracked a smile.
“OK, fillies... somepony fill me in... I’m feelin' a tad out of the loop here.” The blue stallion scratched his head which only caused Star and Rarity to laugh more, tears running down their cheeks as the dark mood over them all began to lift bit by bit.
Shrike paced when she was nervous. It was a habit she wasn't proud of but at least the ponies she worked with knew what it meant by now and gave her the space she needed. The long table in the centre of the room lay strewn with reports and documents about the arrests that had been made and every little cryptic detail that the traitors had let slip. Also on the table were several trays of multicoloured cupcakes and various other tarts and things which, despite Shrike's vehement protests, were still supplied by Pinkie Pie.
As tense as she was and as dour her mood, it was good to have the girls back. They all seemed to be able to liven somepony's day just by stepping into the room. Shrike finally sighed. “Where is Rarity? I would like to get this going but we're one mare short.”
“She said she was lending Star a hoof with something, Captain.” The deep voice of Constable Boulder drifted into the room and Shrike cracked a smile. It was good to have the big lug back, even if most of this political nonsense was over his head.
Shrike slumped back in her seat and looked down into her coffee cup again as if she could simply wish it to fill with the lifesaving brown liquid her body needed to survive. Her eyes glanced to Trusty and he quickly looked the other way. The Captain closed her eyes and smothered her rising ire with several deep breaths. If she had to ask her Sergeant for anything, including a pot of coffee, there was going to be a fight and Shrike just didn't have the energy for that kind of nonsense today.
Before any more grumbling could be made, the door to the meeting room opened and a pearly white unicorn stood in the doorway, blocking the view of the room beyond. “I am terribly sorry I’m late Captain. There were some complications, and i did take a moment for a desperately needed bath, but the project has been otherwise successful.” She beamed though she still had the faint aura of fatigue about her actions. With care she stepped back to the side of the door and took a seat.
All eyes turned as the sound of hooves came don the hallway. There were quiet gasps from those nearest the door and Shrike raised an eyebrow before her Constable rounded the door and smiled a little. Her sandy coat was dishevelled and her rusty red mane was considerably shorter than it had been. Then the Captain's eyes fell to the forehoof which the doctors were unable to save. Where there should have been nothing supporting her, something steel looked bolted directly to her body.
Constable Shooting Star took a seat on the floor and raised the artificial hoof to her forehead in a smart salute. Her wings were still bandaged but it was undoubtedly the pegasus she had seen snatched away from the jaws of death. “Constable Shooting Star, reporting for duty, Captain.” No sooner had the words left her mouth then she was hit by the blue blur of Rainbow Dash and swept into a hug like the pair had been separated for years.
“S-Star...” Shrike spoke softly and took a stumbling step to her hooves. “Sweet Celestia, Rarity. How could this be done?” The Captain looked to the white unicorn and the fashion pony's smile broadened slightly.
She cleared her throat to forestall any further comments as her friends all stared with slack jaws at her. “Just because I choose to follow what my talent dictates does not mean I am bound to it. All the machines for my sewing and various other things are hoof-made. Why dears, have none of you asked what I keep in my basement?” Rarity chuckled and if it were possible for the jaws in the room to drop any further, they would have.
Rarity stood slowly and looked to each of her friends. “You all have skills outside your special talent. Pinkie Pie, you are perhaps the greatest baker alive in Equestria even though your talent is about making other ponies smile.” The pink pony blushed a little at the compliment. “Fluttershy, you can calm and befriend any animals you come across but you also have a beautiful singing voice. Applejack, apples or no apples, I doubt there is a faster hoof racer in all of Equestria. Rainbow Dash, i realize you will not find this complimenting in the least but the renovations i have seen you busy yourself with on your home put any architecture i have seen in Cloudsdale to shame. And you dear Twilight, your talent is wielding magic but you have, in the short time i have known you, become one of my most steadfast friends and I think anyone in this room would say the same, you truly have a gift for understanding everypony.”
Rarity stopped to take a breath and wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. “What I’m trying to say, girls... and gentlecolts of course... is that just because we are outside our element does not mean we cannot shine.”
One by one everypony smiled and nodded, the darkness in the room fled. Shrike looked once more to her Constable and then even back to Trusty who couldn't hide his grin if he tried. The Captain closed her eyes slowly and took a deep breath before stepping before Rarity. “Rarity... you're right. You couldn't be more right. You've given us back something we thought was gone for good. You have not only my respect but my gratitude. It's time we stopped second-guessing ourselves and got down to work.” Shrike grinned as Dash and Star separated from their tearful hug and everypony began to take their seats. Twilight and her five Elements of Harmony were, perhaps closer than ever after their own tearful reconciliation. Boulder was back in the waking world, none the worse for wear and even Star, who Shrike had almost written off as lost for good, was back in armour and ready to go. “The gang's all here...” She whispered under her breath with a smile.
“Captain if I may make a suggestion,” Twilight raised a hoof and Shrike nodded to the purple unicorn to continue. “We know that the Dark Lady has many contacts and those she uses magical force to control. She seems to be one step ahead of our movements a lot of the time, or baits us into uncovering a hideout only to capture her subordinates. Would it be a good bet that she has someone in the palace that is working for her?”
Shrike nodded slowly and looked down to the papers before her. “It's a safe bet she has an informant... which is why this meeting isn't on the official lists and from this point on I want everything we say to stay between us. This isn't a request... it's an order.” The ponies in the room nodded slowly in comprehension as Trusty stood and closed the large door before locking it with a swirl of his magic. “OK... any suggestions?”
“It looks like whoever this unicorn is, she likes to use high society ponies for most of her dirty work. Lots of money can buy a lot of fencing lessons I guess.” Rainbow Dash took a glance around the room, the seriousness in her voice was a little heavy but it made Shrike glad that she was taking this job to heart. She wished she had a dozen more like the Rainbow-maned pegasus. “So whoever this pony is it won't be one of the gardeners or the cooks or anything like that.”
“Clerks...” Pinkie Pie tapped her chin in thought. “Smarty ponies are usually the ones she makes do important stuff. Like letting that nasty gryphon out or setting up the big fireworks' explosion. The other ponies are just ones she needs for a teensy bit. Like that poor guard who had his colt foalnapped or that pony who came after me.”
Twilight shuffled the papers before her and looked at her notes. “So what we need to find is a pony in a position to overhear important information who is well off and intelligent.” Twilight's eyes narrowed and she sighed. “That in essence describes most of the staff of the palace.”
“Well we can't go interview everypony one at a time.” Shrike put a hoof to her forehead again and sighed.
“Why can't we?” The stern Southern voice of Applejack cut through the brief silence and all eyes fell on her. “We know this pony'll be a might nervous and flighty if we're askin' all sorts a questions 'bout this Dark Lady. So why don't we do up a sort a review. Get all tha clerks and such in one room an take em ta see us one at a time. Ask em a couple questions and send em on their way.”
“That still doesn't mean we'll find this spy.” Rainbow Dash cut in with frustration in her voice.
“Ah reckon ah can tell if anypony's lyin' ta me. Even before I had tha element a honesty, ah could always tell if somepony was tryin' ta cheat me on a deal. Comes with workin' tha markets as long as ah have. Ya get em in a room and ah'll tell ya if their lyin' or not.” Applejack nodded her head with certainty.
“Oh... ummm if I can just add something... if that's OK I mean.” Fluttershy spoke up softly and Shrike tried not to giggle at the poor girl's expense but she was adorable when she was nervous, which was all the time it seemed. “My animals can't tell me a lot of things so I need to be very good at reading their body language. The way they walk and the way they stand can tell me a lot about what they're thinking. I should be able to help Applejack tell if anypony isn't being truthful.”
OK... Shrike thought to herself with a renewed grin. We have a plan, not a great plan but a plan... if we can find somepony who knows what might be going on with that Dark Lady then we can press them for all the information they can give us. “Alright, tomorrow morning we round up the day-clerks, all of them and take them to the main ballroom, under guard. We keep them comfy for as long as we can while Fluttershy and Applejack run through the list of names. If we don't find the clerk then we do the same thing with the night-staff.”
“If it's alright with you Captain I think I might have something that can help but I need to do more research just to be sure.” Twilight's smile was a little on the manic side but Shrike had been warned in confidence about what happens when Twilight doesn't finish an assignment.
Shrike nodded and took a breath to steady her nerves once more. She was about to open her mouth before there came a tapping from Rarity's hoof on the table. “Captain, if I may... I believe there is something immediate that must be addressed. One does not get as far as I have in an industry based upon images without learning the value of understanding the feelings between others.” Her eyes glanced over to Sergeant Trusty who was a rather more pale shade of green at the moment, his eyes wide and both ears drooped.
“Rarity... you wouldn't... not here...” Trusty’s voice was a whisper, the usual bravado and easy-going demeanour was gone. His hooves trembled as he clutched both to the pouch that had been affixed to the front of his armour.
“Yes I’m afraid, dear Sergeant... I believe the term is 'Now or never'” Rarity's smile didn't waiver in the slightest, in fact she moved a little further away, making room between herself and Shrike for the green stallion.
Trusty gave a nod and trembled still as he stepped closer and closer to where Shrike was seated. The grey pegasus began to blush at his nervousness and tried to shy back but Rarity gave a gentle shake of the head. Trusty swallowed down his fear for a moment and fidgeted with the pouch now on his waist. “Shrike...” He began softly, “I know things have been... bumpy lately. And I know I’m being an ass about a lot of things but... but things need to be set right between us.”
He knelt down on one hind knee and Shrike's eyes went wide. No... no not here, not now, and not in front of everypony... oh Celestia! The stupid pony is really doing it! Shrike's eyes went wide and her mind whirled with a thousand thoughts at once as he took her hoof and, without the aid of his magic, carefully slipped a simple silver band in place, the single emerald glittering in the sunlight which drifted through the window at the end of the room.
“When we get out of this stupid mess... we're getting married... I’m not even gonna ask, it's just happening whether you like it or not, Love...” The grin returned to Trusty’s lips and he gave a slight wink. All her resentment drained away as her heart filled with warmth and her stomach filled with butterflies. He leaned closer but before he could touch his lips to hers, Shrike grabbed him and kissed him with all the force she could muster.
Cheers and applause filled the meeting room but neither Shrike nor Trusty seemed to care anymore, their minds fully occupied on the not so distant future which seemed to be getting brighter and brighter.
The streets of lower Canterlot were too far off the beaten track for any tourist brochure. The back alleys where the lower classes worked and lived to keep a roof over the heads of the wealthy weren't a place most ponies wanted to see which is a perfect place to not be seen. Walking with care, draped in a heavy woollen cloak, a pony made his way through the maze of tight alleyways and barred gates towards his destination.
Level Ledger, Head Clerk in the employ of the crown, pushed the glasses further up his nose and sighed as he approached the door on the side of a building. He tapped the wood gently. Four knocks, pause, four knocks, pause, and another four knocks... After a Final long pause, he pulled the cloak tighter around his shoulders to keep out the chill night air. I don't have the wrong building, do I? He thought to himself before the door opened a crack and he slipped into the old building.
“You're expected, Mister Ledger.” The deep voice of one of her guards caught his attention and he tried to stifle the shriek of surprise as the black armoured unicorn stepped from the shadows and held out a hoof to take his cloak.
“Always knows when I’m coming, doesn't she?” He tried to smile but the guard's face remained cold as he took the clerk's cloak and unceremoniously dumped it on a nearby piece of dust-covered furniture strewn around the former home. With a snort of derision, the guard motioned for him to head down the flight of stairs leading to the basement. His hooves clicked loudly on the stone as he descended the spiralling staircase further and further into the shadows. Ledger tried to ignore the muttered words of disgust and hate that the guard let slip as he passed. This was always the part he hated, how the lady and those she employed would twist the knife of shame further into his back.
He approached the broken basement wall and ducked past the crumbling stone to enter yet another staircase which led further. Here there were sputtering torches and candles which dripped long strands of wax down the walls. It was the only light of any kind he could hope to see as long as he remained here. With a sigh he stepped down the final stair and looked off into the vaulted ceiling of some long forgotten chamber. Maybe it was a storeroom or a vault for some wealthy merchant a few hundred years ago. Now, however, it was where she held her loathsome council.
The shadows at the far end of the room shifted slightly and Ledger could just make out the shape of a cloaked pony sitting before a small writing table. “Ah right on time as always,” The voice drifted through the air like silk and Ledger shuddered from the tone. It was seductive and maddening at the same I instant. “What do you have to report?'
“Not good news, Mistress...” He licked his lips, throat suddenly dry as the figure moved again.
“It is never good news these days... speak now, you are trying my patience.” She snapped at him and Ledger stumbled back to land on his haunches.
“The Elements of Harmony have returned as well as both guards that were injured. The champions stand at full strength again.” Ledger shrieked and slammed his eyes closed as the shape in the darkness let out a shout of frustration and an inkwell sailed past his head to shatter on the wall behind him, drops of inky blackness running down the ancient stone as the air grew far colder.
“Those insufferable ponies! Why can they not simply die... why can they not leave my work in peace.” A burst of chilling purple energy lashed out and soon the whole writing desk joined the inkwell in pieces upon the floor. “Ledger! We are advancing the timetable... send word to the three and have them prepare their contributions and I shall carry out the final piece of the plan personally. There is nothing to stop us this time. Oh... and Ledger...” The voice whispered, soft and sweet once more and he let his eyes creek open the slightest bit. “You do remember that should you fail... the evidence against you will be in the hooves of the guards before you can get out of Canterlot.”
Ledger went pale and shuddered, eyes wide as he looked at the cold stone. The voice continued. “The fact that you were drunk at the time... is of no concern... the fact remains that you have done what you have done and there is a special place in Canterlot prison for ponies such as yourself.” A tightly bound hoof touched below his chin and lifted his gaze, the eyes, sickly and evil green stared back at him as the voice floated once more from the recesses of the cloak.
“I hope you are very aware of what your fellow inmates will do to you should you end up in Canterlot prison... what they do to all ponies like yourself.” Ledger tried not to retch as the Dark Lady slipped away into the shadows again.
“With most ponies I just fond something they love to hold against them, for you I just needed one photograph... but of course that is what you hold dear isn't it? Your passions and your secrets...” Her laugh cut through the gloom, bouncing off the walls and seeming to come from all sides. The tan coated clerk curled up further upon himself. “Now go... do as I command.”
“Y-yes Mistress...” Ledger mumbled and slunk back up the steps faster than most would have considered healthy. The Dark Lady just laughed once more, cruelty always brought out her sense of humour.
Luna stumbled, half awake down the stairway which led from the top of the tower towards the ultimate destination of her bedroom. The moon was lowered and Celestia's sun was climbing once more through the daytime sky. Her sister had slipped away to her duties which left the Princess of the Moon to tread the marble corridors alone.
She stopped and let out a wide yawn, stopping to rub the tears from the corner of her eyes. “Blasted fatigue... I curse thee.” She mumbled as she approached her living quarters.
“Princess Luna,” The familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle called out to her and she stopped with a smile. “Good morning to you Princess.” Twilight gave a little bow and Luna nodded her head softly.
“It is more evening than morning for me, Twilight Sparkle. What can I do for you before my wakefulness meets its inevitable match and I allow myself to rest?” Luna chuckled and Twilight gave a little giggle as well. Luna quite appreciated having Twilight around. She was one of the few ponies who was both intelligent and friendly enough to understand most of her rather verbose jokes.
“Well I was actually wondering if you knew where Princess Celestia is. She was going to meet me for tea this morning but she seemed a little distracted.” Luna nodded politely but on the inside she said a silent curse to Celestia. Her sister and her morose attitude weren't making anything easier on her prized student. “I thought that if she couldn't come to tea then tea could come to her!” Twilight levitated the thermos of tea and Luna gave a bright chuckle.
“Quite right, Twilight. I'm sure Tia will be glad to have some company.” Luna smiled and Twilight blushed ever so slightly at the cute nickname for her teacher. “How did your research last night go by the way? I'm sorry I couldn't stay and be of more assistance.”
“Oh that's alright,” Twilight waved her hoof with a smile, dismissing the issue. “I think I may have found something but I need to ask for Princess Celestia's help to get it. I think it might help both practically and on a more intangible level.” Luna raised an eyebrow and Twilight lifted a heavy bound book from her saddlebags which Luna immediately recognized as the itemized list of the contents of the royal vaults. With the utmost care, Twilight let the book open to her marked page and she hovered it before the Princess.
Luna’s eyes went wide before a grin spread over her lips. “Twilight... I believe even my sister does not comprehend how brilliant you are. Just the image of this... just its presence will rally our guards to new heights.” Twilight couldn't help but blush as the book was closed and she looked away with a smile.
“Oh I’m not that brilliant, Princess... I’m just trying to do my best.” The purple unicorn looked sheepishly down at the marble patterns and Luna smiled slightly, leaning down and giving her the softest kiss below her horn.
“And you succeed... you are worthy of your position and your praise. Celestia knew what she was doing when she took you under her wing and I for one am grateful. You are far more like a second sister to us both than a simple student. Never forget that Twilight.” Luna smiled, it wasn't possible for the purple unicorn to be blushing any more than she was. Luna turned her head away and failed miserably to conceal another yawn behind her hoof. “Ooh I am sorry, Twilight, but I must retire for the day, all these emotional troubles are causing quite a lack of sleep. At this time of day i believe you will find my sister in her personal office.”
Twilight gave a little bow and said a soft thank-you for Luna’s time before she stepped aside to let the indigo alicorn continue to her much needed rest.
Twilight walked the corridors slowly, still thinking about what Luna had said. That she was like another sister, that she was more family to the Princesses than just a subject or even a friend. It filled her with a brand new spark of joy and it made each of her steps lighter as she approached the quiet office that was Celestia's place of rest from the troubles brought to her in the actual throne room.
As was the custom for the Princess, the door was unguarded and open just slightly. She liked the feeling of normalcy that came with simply sitting in her study. Twilight took a breath and peeked into the room. Her teacher sat still with her eyes glued to the embers of a fire in the fireplace, the room was dark. The curtains which were rarely drawn had been closed tightly against the soft sunlight which had begun to creep through the clouds and the Solar Princess kept still, her radiant mane and tail didn't even move on their own.
Twilight carefully slipped int the room and lifted the thermos of tea out of her saddlebag as well as the simple tin cup she had borrowed from Sergeant Trusty. She was about to clear her throat hen Celestia spoke softly. “Can I help you with something?”
Twilight was startled for a moment and blushes as she whispered. “You missed having tea so I thought I would bring you some.” In an instant Celestia had turned, a smile on her lips and a hoof placed over her chest.
“Oh Twilight... I thought for a moment you were Ledger bringing me another document to read over.” The white alicorn looked to the desk where an unread stack of papers was being held in place by the weight of her discarded crown. “and yes... some tea would be lovely.”
Twilight smiled as she filled the cup with the already blended mix. Just the right amount of sugar and a twist of lemon, just as her teacher always took it. Celestia bowed her head and accepted the cup before letting the fragrance and the soothing warmth ease her tension. Celestia let her eyes open and watched as her student ran her eyes over the contents of the simple office, her gaze resting for a long while on the windows.
“Princess...” Twilight began. Celestia took another sip of tea, expecting the question she was about to be asked. “what's bothering you, if you don't mind me asking?”
Celestia took great care not to cough up her mouthful of tea, that was not the question she had been expecting. She regarded her student and the expression on her face. It wasn't the same as she had displayed on so many other occasions. It was warmer, more caring. “What makes you think something is bothering me?” The Princess spoke with as much calm as she could muster.
Twilight looked away and sighed. “You never close the windows in your office except if it's very cold outside. You missed dinner with my parents and tea on more than one occasion... and you never apologized for missing them. You always apologize when something comes up. So I can deduce that you just... didn't want to... which is very unlike you.”
Celestia kept still, carefully setting the cup down and meeting Twilight's gaze as the purple unicorn turned towards her once more. Those lavender eyes were pleading with her, begging her to open up. Celestia cracked the faintest smile and gave a slow nod. “Yes, Twilight... I have been out of sorts... I haven't been depressed in roughly a thousand years.”
Twilight stepped closer and laid a hoof gently on Celestia's. It was a level of familiarity that she wouldn't tolerate from any other aside from Luna, or perhaps Captain Drussard if he ever let protocol slip long enough to relax. “The last time I felt this way was after Nightmare Moon's banishment. I sat powerless while my only sister was taken from me. I tried to purge the Nightmare from her but I could not and in the end I was forced to send both her and the darkness within her to the moon. Now I sit here and wonder if my kingdom... my precious subjects are being taken from me. So many have been hurt or killed in recent days and I have almost lost you as well. The game grows ever more dangerous as it draws to a close. But a cornered beast will fight back with more tenacity.”
Twilight sat and listened while Celestia spoke, her teacher's eyes closed deep in thought. “She has turned my subjects against me, even my own guards and old friends. I half expect this unicorn to try to turn one of your friends against us... Nightmare Moon was an easy threat, powerful yes, but simple to defeat. Even Discord was just a single foe. This Dark Lady uses the lives of innocents and her own followers as a shield. She skulks in the shadows and twists any pony she chooses to her will.”
“But we're stronger...” Twilight whispered and Celestia turned her eyes to her prized student. “In the end the Dark Lady is just that... one pony... just one pony. Not an immortal alicorn or a spirit of chaos and destruction. She is just a unicorn and once we have her cornered she can be brought to justice just like anypony else.” Twilight smiled and Celestia let out a little chuckle.
“And how do you propose we bring her to justice, my faithful student?” The Solar Princess couldn't help but smile and lay a wing softly over Twilight's back. Twilight grinned in response and lifted a book from her saddlebags. “The contents of the royal vaults? Whatever could you need from there, Twilight?” Celestia gave the purple unicorn a puzzled expression which quickly faded to a grin when she read the entry that Twilight had turned to.
“Do you think we might be able to borrow this? Just for a little?” Twilight smiled mischievously and Celestia laughed.
“Certainly... certainly, Twilight... I believe my old friend would be more than pleased to see it used once more.” Celestia looked down at Twilight and leaned close to nuzzle her cheek. “You never cease to amaze me, Twilight Sparkle.”
The royal ballroom was stifling and the worried murmurs and whispers of the other clerks was doing nothing to help the mood of one Level Ledger. His eyes darted to the guards on each door and to the group of mares who seemed to be chatting to a few clerks and asking if anypony needed refreshment. This was too close for comfort. It had the air about it of intense interrogations as clerks were led one by one into the door to the small antechamber. It didn't bode well. He was sweating nervously but much to his delight, several others were as well.
“Can I get ya anything?” The appearance of the pink pony and her outburst almost made him scream but Ledger took a couple of breaths to steady himself before he smiled as pleasantly as he could manage. “Just a glass of water would be nice.” The girl giggled brightly and nodded before bouncing away. He watched her go and a smile crossed his lips. I wonder what she would look like as a filly. That sweet smile and her nice plump rump... NO! Those kind of thoughts are what got you into this mess... now keep calm.
Ledger took slower more steady breaths and looked back and forth through the room as casually as he could. They were almost through all the notaries, it would be his turn soon. “Here's your water!” The pink mare again appeared and again Ledger had to fight down the urge to have a heart attack, accepting the drink in the grip of his magic and tried not to watch the bouncy girl make her way back through the room.
“Mister Level Ledger!” A large blue stallion by the door spoke his name in a booming voice and reluctantly, Ledger set down his half empty glass and slipped through the crowd into the other room.
Fluttershy sat on the other side of a low table with Applejack beside her. There were two other guards in the room, a black coated unicorn of the Citadel and a female pegasus in the gold white and blue of Celestia's Canterlot Guards. The yellow pegasus let out a little squeak as she adjusted the paper in front of her and tried not to stare too much at the new stallion who had been ushered in.
Applejack looked him over as he took a seat before the two mares and adjusted his glasses. “What can I do to help you ladies today?' He did his best to smile and look interested as the orange cowgirl pony coughed and sat up straighter.
“We're just gonna ask ya a couple questions and then ya can get on yer way.” Applejack smiled and tipped her hat back to look less threatening. “Now... ya hear about this 'Dark Lady'?”
Ledger nodded, “Who hasn't... it's all anypony talks about in the palace these days.”
Applejack gave a glance to Fluttershy and the yellow pegasus nodded softly. “So... um...” Fluttershy began. “Have you... you know... ever met this pony? The Dark Lady?”
Ledger's heart began to beat harder and he smiled a bit to try and look as if the question hadn't upset him. “Me? Of course not. That's a silly thing to ask a pony.” Applejack and Fluttershy again shared a glance.
“Just one more...” The cowpony spoke soft though her eyes seemed to harden and her gaze grew harder for Ledger to look away from. “Ya guilty a anythin' that ya ain't been rightly punished for?”
Ledger began to sweat and he managed a shake of the head. Applejack and Fluttershy looked to each other once more before AJ nodded her head to the unicorn guard who levitated a pair of manacles out of his saddlebag. All at once Ledger leapt up and snatched the iron shackles out of the air, he gave them a swing and they struck the side of the unicorn's head solidly and he slumped to the marble floor out cold.
“Coal!” The pegasus shouted and tried to dash in the way but she was quickly snapped up by the clerk who was running on adrenaline and utter fear at the moment. The pegasus began to struggle and squirm but Ledger's horn glowed brightly and soon her armour clattered to the floor as she was reduced to the age of a filly, no older than Applejack's little sister.
Applejack and Fluttershy stood quickly but Ledger held a hoof against Constable Moonbeam's neck. “Stay there! Both of you!” He snapped loudly and backed up against the wall away from the door. “She's just a filly now... I can snap her neck.”
“J-Jackass!” The pegasus filly in his grasp squirmed and tried to kick her way free as the childish tears of fear came to her eyes. “Let me go!”
“Now don't go doin' nothin' stupid, Mister... yer surrounded by guards. There is no way yer gettin' out a this easy. But... if ya put Constable Moonbeam down... and make her right again... then ah might not hafta beat the manure outa ya.” Applejack didn't step closer but took a few steps sideways of Fluttershy.
The grip on the filly's neck tightened. “I’m not kidding around! Let me leave or I do something we will all regret!”
“Oh dear Celestia it's you! We've been trying to track down this unicorn for over a year.” Moonbeam, who had been staring up at the face of her captor struggled harder and began to cry. “You sick sick pony! Fluttershy, Applejack please get me away from him!” Moonbeam whimpered and struggled until her young body was sore.
“Don't worry none, Moonbeam...” Applejack's eyes narrowed and she pawed at the marble. “Now Mister, Ledger... lets all be reasonable here...”
“Guys! That's how he knows this disgusting spell... he takes innocent mares and uses this on them. He's a foal-fiddler! Oh Celestia please!” Moonbeam wailed.
“Shut up you stupid filly! I was gonna let you go but i think I'd rather enjoy your squirming somewhere more private!” Ledger snapped and the grip on her throat tightened, her sobbing reduced to pained whimpers. The room had become deathly still, Applejack’s eyes narrowed more and she snorted in anger.
“OK... forget reasonable... put Moonbeam down right NOW and I might not break all yer limbs...” She spoke in a harsh whisper.
“A-Applejack...” Fluttershy's voice was thin and restrained and when Applejack looked at her her eyes widened.
“Oh horseapples! Moon! Close yer eyes and don't look whatever ya do!” Applejack turned away and all the puzzled Ledger was able to do was mutter a soft “Huh” before Fluttershy's head rose and her eyes snapped open.
The stare was something Fluttershy couldn't control. She had used it on misbehaving animals, on a naughty cockatrice and even managed to stare down a full-grown dragon. This time however it wasn't something desperate or stern. This was Fluttershy's anger. Her rage pouring out in the gaze she gave the tan stallion. His eyes widened more and more and his hooves slipped, releasing the filly-sized Constable Moonbeam to the floor where her hooves carried her blindly below the table.
“N-no.... keep... away...” Ledger choked out softly as he fell to his haunches and began to shake. Fluttershy advanced on him slowly, her hooves the only sound in the room as everypony who could was desperately trying to block out the sheer presence of will that the yellow pegasus was showing. It was like gazing into an inferno, the heart of the sun, the depths of an untamed ocean, the eye of a hurricane.
His face grew blue as he realized that he couldn't breathe, his eyes burned when he realized that he couldn't blink. The pain searing through his mind was intense and finally with a gasp he had at least some control of himself back, enough to draw a trembling breath. Ledger could taste the hot coppery drip of blood running down his snout but it was far from over.
“What did you do?” Fluttershy asked simply and Ledger tried his hardest not to cry as her voice weighed on his mind. Not even his own mother could illicit a confession from him but he found his lips moving.
“Bad things... naughty things... horrible things... such a bad pony.” He croaked.
“Tell me... tell me what you know.” Fluttershy's voice was like taking an axe to his willpower, her eyes blazed with an inner light that made him feel faint.
“Dark Lady... has... has help... nobles... paid off... has a plan... to destroy Canterlot using the... f-firework... p-p-powder.” Applejack did her best to listen to what he had to say and to jot it down blindly on a pad of paper.
“Who... who are the nobles...” The voice of the yellow pegasus slammed into his very soul again with a crushing force and he shook, coughing as blood drooled from his lips as well.
“Ebony Keys... owner of... half the nightclubs in... Manehattan...” Ledger began, looking more like a puppet being held up by a string. “Sir Wind Sword... Captain of the Cloudsdale Guard... and... and Midnight Whisper... Professor of telekinesis of Canterlot university."
“Now... turn my friend Moonbeam back into an adult and don't let me EVER hear about you doing anything evil to a foal ever again... or I WILL find you myself...” Fluttershy blinked and finally the tan unicorn dropped to the floor with a thud and a whimper, the darkness in the room lifting slowly. “O-oh my... did... did I hurt somepony?” Fluttershy whispered, her voice once again normal.
“S'OK Fluttershy... he deserved it...” The farmpony shook the thoughts from her head and glanced at her notes, still readable. On the floor the broken unicorn raised his head and waved his horn, the table bounced a little as Moonbeam regained her size in the confined space.
“OK... I can add that to my list of things I never hope to do again.” Constable Moonbeam smiled meekly, still shaking in fear. She looked at her companion who was sitting up with a groan though only dazed.
“Tell me about it...” Applejack chuckled and looked at the guardsmare. “Tell ya what, Constable... take Corporal Coal to tha Doc's ta get that bump checked up on an then take tha rest a tha day off.... I think ya earned it.” Applejack snatched the iron manacles off the floor and turned to Ledger who opened his bloodshot eyes just long enough to watch as the orange farmpony clamped his hooves together and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Ah got a baby sister back home ya dadgum, mother-buckin' freak... that bein' said... this one's fer her.”
Applejack jerked the manacles a little too hard as she stood up, and the last thing that Level Ledger saw was applejack's forehead approaching his at speed before the world of conscious thought fled.
Deep in the dark, far below the streets of Canterlot, a scream pierced the darkness. Under the light of a sputtering torch, a pony gasped as the last of his life's blood slipped away. The mare beside him, still bound by her forehooves watched the light fade from her companion's eyes. "You... you didn't have to kill him." She stated, her voice cracking as hot tears ran down her cheeks.
"Neither did I require him to be alive... though now he serves a far more important purpose... he is a warning." The voice in the dark spoke soft and the azure unicorn tried to choke back a cry of anguish.
"What do you want from me? Couldn't you see I was happy... I made something of my life! I'm not a Celestia-damned charlattan anymore." She shook against her restraints and shouted her frustration, all the while watching the spreading pool of blood as it almost blended into the crimson of his mane.
"Oh you will always be what you always were, my dear... now... we have business to discuss." The eerie glow of magic swirled around the unicorn sword as it was pulled slowly from the corpse on the floor and with another flick of magic, wiped of blood. "You are going to attempt to destroy a certain pony... one I believe you know of... Twilight Sparkle..."
"What do I have against her? If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have turned my life around." The mare shook again and pulled at the ropes. "I demand you release me!"
"Ah, there is the voice again... sweet music... the arrogance... the self serving egotism..." The unicorn in the dark whispered and the blade swung idly through the air "You are going to kill that pony because you are her equal... if perhaps not in brute force then in skill."
"What if I refuse to help you? You have done nothing to make me sympathetic towards you in the least." The mare raised an eyebrow but shuddered at the sadistic chuckle which came from the depths of the dark room.
"If you refuse... then you join the prone fellow there... in death." The sick chuckle returned and chilled the darkness further, "But should you help me.. should you do as I ask, and exactly as I ask... then I promise that your name will be shouted in the streets, your fame will know no bounds... you will be Great and Powerful once more..."
Trixie looked at the stone floor and to the dead eyes of the stallion before her. Her tears of anguish spent and her heart was in tatters. With a steadying breath she settled her thoughts on the last kiss they had shared, their last meal, the last time she heard him laugh or proclaim she was the very best pony. She took a slow breath and whispered, as soft as she was able though she hoped to Celestia that he could hear her wherever he was now, "I'm sorry my Love..."
Trixie's horn flared to life and every strand of the ropes binding her curled away and they fell in a heap of fibres on the floor. With a trembling hoof she closed the dead stallion's eyes and laid the gentlest of kisses upon his dun coloured cheek. When she rose to her hooves, the familiar purple cape flowed back into place over her shoulders and with a flick of her magic, the matched hat perched atop her head. Her eyes burned with a fire from within and for a moment the darkness was dispelled by the explosion of magic around her.. "The Great and Powerful Trixie... will do as you ask."
|
Fallen Knight
|
1249
| 1 |
Adventure,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Crossover
|
The Neigh-Team
|
A-Team Pony Style baby, wonder why nobody did it before...
|
hiatus
| 17 | 1 |
<p>In 972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. They promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Ponyville underground. Today, still wanted by the royal guard, they survive as mares of fortune. If you have a problem, if no-pony else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire … The Neigh-Team.<br /><br /><a href="http://community.wizards.com/pony/go/thread/view/121433/28033381/In_1972,_a_crack_pony_unit_was_exiled_to_the_moon_by_a_military_court">Cover created/idea given by Qmark</a><br /><br />NOTE:I'm now working on this with another author, we are currently working from scratch and it will most likely be OC's rather then MLP characters given traits of the A-Team characters.</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2011-10-06T21:25:22+00:00
| 2,120 |
Colonel Bellatrix "Honeyball" Treats -Unicorn Pony
-The leader of the Neigh-Team, she is a brilliant tactician and a master of disguise.
Honeyball is is distinguished by her black socks and her catch phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." Always "on the jazz" (a phrase coined by B.A., meaning that Honeyball thrives on adventure and life-threatening situations), she seems to genuinely enjoy every situation they get into.
She is also often puts on her socks when she senses the action is about to pick up (such as a hoof fight breaking out). She works as an entertainer,playing the role of "The Great and Powerful Trixie".
Quote: "Honeyball's plans never work right. They just work."
First Lieutenant Octavia "Facemare" Clef - Earth Pony
-Suave, smooth-talking, and hugely successful with stallions and mares alike, she serves as the team's con mare and scrounger, able to get her hands on just about anything they need. Effectively second in command behind Honeyball (although Derpy outranks her), she is the one who arranges for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information using numerous scams and hustles.
Trivia: Face is the most gentle member of the Neigh-Team, generally attempting to avoid conflict. Her interests tend towards more cultural facets, such as concert halls, art purchasing, and playing the cello.
Master Sergeant Zecora "B.A" Ura - Zebra
-Her parents hail from the land zebra homeland of Zebrica.Zecora was raised in Equestria, keeping true to her heritage she is a master in alchemy and has a accent.
She is a skilled fighter and is easily roused to anger, earning her the nickname "Bad Attitude". Despite her reputed attitude, she is a nice pony at heart. She has a special fondness for children and never drinks alcohol, preferring milk instead.She suffers an intense fear of flying, especially when the chariot in question is flown by Derpy. This difficulty is often overcome by other members of the team using magic or herbs to render her unconscious.
Quote:"Zecora Ura. Known as B. A. for 'bad attitude.' The mare is a alchemical genius. She also has one of the worst conduct records in the army. She likes to slug officers."
Captain Derpy "Howling Mad" Hooves - Pegasus Pony
The best chariot pilot of the Pony-Griffin War, Derpy is either mentally unstable or exceptionally good at pretending to be so.
Although she was their pilot on the Gryphus Royal treasury raid, she was not officially part of the Neigh-Team and so not tried by the military.Though interned at a psychiatric hospital, she routinely escapes to accompany the Neigh-Team on their missions.
Quote: "What can I say? One day I had a gonzo headache and before it went away I could read and speak Griffish. And it was a bad afternoon, too, lemme tell you."
Authors note:Well here's presenting the Mane 4 *sly wink*
Map used for my inspiration(credit goes to hlissner for making it):
Map of the world
"Gryphus Treasury raid" - Being the capital ,its where the royal treasury is located
|
Fallen Knight
|
1249
| 2 |
Adventure,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Crossover
|
The Neigh-Team
|
A-Team Pony Style baby, wonder why nobody did it before...
|
hiatus
| 17 | 1 |
<p>In 972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. They promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Ponyville underground. Today, still wanted by the royal guard, they survive as mares of fortune. If you have a problem, if no-pony else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire … The Neigh-Team.<br /><br /><a href="http://community.wizards.com/pony/go/thread/view/121433/28033381/In_1972,_a_crack_pony_unit_was_exiled_to_the_moon_by_a_military_court">Cover created/idea given by Qmark</a><br /><br />NOTE:I'm now working on this with another author, we are currently working from scratch and it will most likely be OC's rather then MLP characters given traits of the A-Team characters.</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2011-11-06T18:42:14+00:00
| 1,668 |
0:00-3:00 minute mark - The innocent civilians and evil antagonists of the series are introduced, and helpfully provide the audience with a summary of their situation to date by telling each other things that they should all already know. The villains will at this point rough up the innocents, and usually damage their boat/store/crops/etc. just to prove how truly, one-dimensionally fiendish they are.
3:00-9:00 minute mark - Honeyball dons a laughable disguise. Everyone pretends to be fooled by this gambit and act 'surprised' when she reveals her true identity, mainly to avoid hurting her feelings. Honeyball then tells the prospective clients that they have "just hired the Neigh-Team!".
10:00-12:00 minute mark (optional) - In order to get the team together and travel to the actual mission location, one of two things will now happen. In one scenario, Face will need to put on a doctor's coat and help Derpy escape from her internment in the mental hospital. Despite showing up in the same thinly veiled disguise every week, and notwithstanding the fact that Derpy has escaped from the hospital roughly 76,000 times, Face will have no problem walking out with Derpy in tow.
In the other scenario, Honeyball will have to drug B.A. in order to get her aboard a chariot. This is accomplished by slipping her a barbiturate of some kind,or just using magic. Despite being near an airport/landing strip, and despite being fully aware that her C.O. will try and drug her,not to speak of her knowledge of herbs and medicine, B.A will drink a handy glass of milk or eat a hay sandwich offered to her by Honeyball.
16:00-25:00 minute mark - The Neigh-Team shows up at the doorstep, house, or place of business of the antagonists. The lead villain and his henchmen are taken completely by surprise, and their personal property is riddled with bullets*. Honeyball warns off the lead villain, then dispenses a few inoffensive sounding personal insults and some tautly-stretched metaphors. Despite having easily overpowered and outwitted their opponents, the they will invariably leave them free to continue their evil plans at this point, for absolutely no reason, other than there being word counts left to fill.
26:00-35:00 minute mark - Being evil, the villains shockingly ignore Honeyball's warnings. They take The Neigh-Team by surprise, because just like real Green Helmets**, they don't plan for every eventuality.
45:00-48:00 minute mark - Regardless of where they have been imprisoned, there will be a mass of well maintained scrap metal, a myriad of tools and a disused chariot. At this point, The team go to work transforming these ingredients into a fully armored command vehicle with a mounted weapon of some kind. Despite the fact that the end result would clearly take several days of dedicated work to complete, They complete the entire project in fifty-words.
49:00-55:00 minute mark - Using the newly constructed vehicle, The team break out of their makeshift prison at exactly the same time the villains finally show up to kill them. A fight ensues in which the antagonist's weapons prove to be no match for the non-lethal, yet oddly dissuasive weapon Hannibal's men have produced. At some point during this sequence, a protaganist's vehicle will flip over.
Soon a flimsy excuse is made for all guns to be discarded and The Neigh-Team and their adversaries engage in hooffights. The team quickly overpower them due to the fact that the villains simply run at B.A., allowing her to hurl them overhead and the fact that Face and Derpy can climb on top of large objects to dive onto their enemies.Hannibal proves to be a remarkably adept hoof-to-hoof fighter, taking the down the lead villain herself.
56:00-59:00 minute mark - More exposition follows, with Honeyball explaining to another character exactly what happened following the big showdown, even though they would already be fully aware. The villains are usually said to be locked up awaiting trial.
(optional) - Having gone to great time and expense to thwart the villains,they have earned their reward. However, being something of an altruistic prick, Honeyball refuses even the paltry sum negotiated by Face earlier in the show.
AUTHORS NOTES:
* Dont really know if i will use firearms,it is a alternate universe and regardless of them lacking fingers i can just use the excuse "ITS MAGIC" ,but we will see,lethal weapons of any kind will like expected prove ineffective regardless what side uses them.
** Green Berets reference
Curse you idea floating in my head,and thank you to all the people leaving a comment.This extra chapter is dedicated to you for encouraging me to do this.
I wont be strictly keeping to this "script", and you can ignore the minute marks, i did them just because i imagine thats how the show would be.
I somehow lack the inspiration for naming this chapters of my story,will gladly take suggestions.
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Pegashush
|
1250
| 1 |
Adventure,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Crossover,Dark,Tragedy
|
Fallout: Asini
|
Only one holds Occulta's secrets, one who will bring damning catastrophe to the world...
|
cancelled
| 10 | 0 |
<p>Every story begins and ends. Nations rise and fall, lives begin and end, but the march of time tromps along, never stopping for even an instant. Through it all, the fall of spellfire, the war that tore apart the world, and the battles that wage in the world to this day, New Occulta stands as an ever-vigilant guard of the ideals of yesteryear. This city hold secrets, however, secrets that could rock the very foundation of civilization to its knees. Only one holds the key to it all, though, one who will most certainly bring damning catastrophe to the wastes…</p>
|
mature
| null |
2012-01-17T21:39:50+00:00
| 266 |
Every story has a beginning and an end.
An alpha and omega.
Nations rise and fall, life begins and ends, and war... well, war never changes.
Even so, time tromps onward, never halting and never stopping its advance. Even with the end of civilization as the world knew it, time marched on, leaving the war in its wake. Likewise, the inhabitants of the world did not end or stop progressing either. Those that survived did so, in great gigantic underground bunkers, known as Stables. As time went on, the Stable doors slowly opened, one by one, and their inhabitants went forth to discover the horror that the world they once knew had become. For the residents of the Stables in and around the contested border city of Nam Occulta, they discovered not those horrors, but a society much like the one they had left. Occulta had miraculously survived the spellfire assault. How, no one knew, but one thing was for certain. They were the only survivors of the radioactive assault. Radiation still seeped into the city and its lands, but it wasn't at dangerous levels. The city then slowly rebuilt itself, over 100 years, and became a heavily fortified land. The myth of Occulta spread all around, via merchants and rumors, and many came to the city, eager to claim themselves a life in heaven. The city remained locked, however, and only those born there were allowed to stay.
Until the Assembly arrived, of course.
The Assembly, formed up north in Equestria, had attempted to revitalize the ancient Ministries and to bring order and peace back to the world. The Occulta residents, impressed, allowed them access to the city, and so it became the center of the Assembly's Domain. With a dedicated army to defend it, Nam Occulta was christened Neo Occulta, in honor of the Assembly, and flourished. Zebras and ponies alike were equally represented and at peace within the Assembly, the spite of the ancient war now completely gone. Not all is peaceful in the city and the territory that comes with it, however. To the South, zebra "Nationalists" frequently attack the city, with the hope of rekindling the fires of the ancient conflict that damned the world. To the East, the wilds of the harsh Immensum Loginquitas Desert blockade the city, with eldritch abominations rising from its sands to claim the lives of many. To the West, the Ecus Bay stretches forth, opening the city to the wide sea that separates Asini and Equestria. To the North, the Equestrian lands, with many attempting to travel south from the Big 52 to reach the safety of Occulta, only to be preyed upon by raiders and slavers. Inside the city, political tensions are rising from these threats, crime and death becoming prevalent on the streets as the town's resources dwindle.
In he midst of it all, however, is where our story begins, as a unicorn buck is left for dead in the far reaches of the fabled city's territories. Battered and beaten, his mind shut off from the world, his life has already ended, traded for a new one in its place.
A beginning and an end.
An alpha and omega.
/Please Enter User Credentials/
Username: qmlumina
Pass: pathfinder
/Welcome back!/
/Please enter a command./
>Authorize User straferun
/User "straferun" has been authorized to access this network!/
/straferun has logged in!/
>Authorize User claymore
/User "claymore" has been authorized to access this network!/
/claymore has logged in!/
>Authorize User v8-742
/User "v8-742" has been authorized to access this network!/
/v8-742 has logged in!/
>Connect Apollo
/This network needs a password to access!/
Pass: artemis
/Password accepted!/
>Files
/Files available to a user of your rank are as follows./
Comet1.zip, Comet2.zip, Comet3.zip, Comet4.zip, Comet5.zip,...
>Download Files
/Download commencing./
/Current Download: Comet1.zip/
/Estimated Time Remaining: 4.5 hours./
"Alright guys, now all we have to do is wait..."
"Waiting sucks."
"Patience shows competence."
"Are you implying that I'm not smart?"
"I said nothing of the sort. I only stated a fact."
"Oh shut up, you two."
"Query: If they are 'friends' then why do they display hostility so often?"
"Oh go power down, Due."
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Pegashush
|
1250
| 2 |
Adventure,Alternate Universe,Comedy,Crossover,Dark,Tragedy
|
Fallout: Asini
|
Only one holds Occulta's secrets, one who will bring damning catastrophe to the world...
|
cancelled
| 10 | 0 |
<p>Every story begins and ends. Nations rise and fall, lives begin and end, but the march of time tromps along, never stopping for even an instant. Through it all, the fall of spellfire, the war that tore apart the world, and the battles that wage in the world to this day, New Occulta stands as an ever-vigilant guard of the ideals of yesteryear. This city hold secrets, however, secrets that could rock the very foundation of civilization to its knees. Only one holds the key to it all, though, one who will most certainly bring damning catastrophe to the wastes…</p>
|
mature
| null |
2012-07-05T16:28:19+00:00
| 169 |
/File Comet1.zip has completed its download./
/Scanning for additional files./
/Additional files detected./
/Compiling.../
/Remaining Time: 15.4 minutes./
/Resume Transmission?/
[Y] / N
/Transmission will resume as normal./
/NOTE: Compiled files will be added as footnotes./
/Begin Transmission/
"Try to flank him! We need to get to that control panel!" I shouted at my companions, who followed through with my command diligently. Looking back now, it's kinda funny that I, of all ponies, would be the one who led our little escapade. A bullet whizzed past my face as I opened fire from my assault rifle, rounds dinging off the metal walkway above. I ducked behind a slot machine as he returned fire, the bit mongers sparking from the pierced screens. I sprayed at him from behind cover, trying to buy myself some time to think. Although the great open area of the Casino floor had lots of cover, it was useless to me as long as he had the high ground. I needed my companions to flank him, but with my luck he'd find a way to stop them.
"Oh buck me!" I cursed, as a grenade landed at my side. I sprinted back further from the center of the room. I turned towards him, backpedaling to fire bursts of my rifle. I needed to push forward, not move back. If I could only get a little more closer I could- My thoughts were interrupted as an explosion sent me flying forward on to my face, the rifle being wrenched from my telekinetic grip. I stumbled to my hooves as the world around me shifted, the floor tilting backwards. With a sense of despair, I felt gravity pull on me as I fell from The Comet, my body spiraling to give me a face first view of New Occulta.
Ah, New Occulta. City of lights, city of glamour, city of death. Especially mine at the moment.
The glorious center of the Occulta Dominion, a place where you could not only find an empty wallet in your pocket, and a bullet in your skull, but also the inveritable safety from the horrors of the Wasteland. A real slice of heaven, right? Yeah. Real slice of heaven.
It looks so beautiful when you're falling from a giant missile.
If only I realized that that moment would be my last time ever seeing the city like this, I would’ve taken a better look. Sigh.
Now, many of you may have a few questions, "Who is he fighting," "Why is he trying to get to a 'control panel,'" "What's the 'Comet,'" but most prominently, "What in the hay is going on here?"
Well, all in due time, my readers, all in due time. Now normally, this would be the part where I introduce myself, explain who I am, what my purpose is, yadda yadda yadda. Right? Well, y'see, my story is a bit different from that. Where it starts I... well, you'll figure it out for yourself soon. So, let's go back to the beginning of my tale. A tale of a stallion, a city, and a war.
Our story starts on the outskirts of the New Occulta territory. Now, while New Occulta is legendary for being the "safest" city in the wastes, the outskirts aren't too fun to be in. Lot of death, lot of stealing, lot of disease. Republicans don't seem to care too much about those in the 'skirts, to be honest. They're all fine being nice and safe.
Nice and safe within those city walls.
Nice and safe.
Nice and safe inside, while I wake up in a dingy little Wasteland shack.
Now, I like to think of myself as a smart pony. Just a pride thing, really. But, you begin to question your own sanity when you wake up in some shack that's cobbled together with duct tape and wonderglue, laying on a table that's in similar shape, and a unicorn covered in blood is standing over you with a knife, cackling with evil glee. Then, when the unicorn jams a knife into your stomach and the pain goes searing through your entire being, you realize that you're not insane, and you're not dreaming. You realize you're awake, and that this is all real.
Especially the fact that there's a rusty knife jammed into your abdomen.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I screamed, my legs kicking my attacker instinctively, pain jolting with the movement. I battered his face with a flurry of blows from my hooves. Now, mind you, that I wasn't trying to hurt with these strikes. These were more the ‘Oh god oh god I'm being attacked’ type of strikes.
He only chuckled at my feeble display. "So you're not dead yet? Don't worry your little head about it, I'll make sure you get to savor the pain..." As he laughed maniacally, I flailed uselessly at him more as he ripped the knife from my guts.
My scream of pain was drowned out by the sound of guns being fired. He turned away from me, knife still in his telekinetic grasp, to see what was going on. I took this to my advantage, rolling off the table and away from him. Scrambling to my hooves, I sprinted across the room to a stairwell.
By this point, my attacker had turned around and was now coming after me with the knife.
"Come back! I only wanted a snack!" He cackled, his hoofsteps loud behind me.
"Fuck you!" I screamed as I galloped up the stairs, the metal creaking under my weight.
I rounded the railing and ducked into a bedroom. Least, I thought it was a bedroom. I mean, yeah, there was a bed in it, but I wasn't sure that anyone slept there with it currently being occupied by a bloody corpse. Anyways, I dove under the bed as I heard him reaching the top of the stairs. His frantic running slowed until there was only an occasional hoofstep on the metal floor.
"So, decided to play a game of hide and seek? That's good, it gets so boring around here when we just murder them..." He joked, his laugh dropping to a sick chuckle. "I'll find you eventually, you know... every second you hide is another you add to the time I torture you..."
I gulped as his hooves appeared in the doorway, and watched as he walked into the room. One by one he tore apart the cabinets, trying to find me, laughing maniacally all the same. The gunshots outside grew closer and closer. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally left the room, freeing the butterflies in my stomach.
I needed to get out of there. Even if he didn't find me in this search, he'd find me eventually. If I wanted to keep my life, I'd need to get the fuck out of there. So I got the fuck out of there.
Crawling out from my hiding place under the bed, I glanced around the second floor, spotting my attacker in a different room, still on his search for me. I made my way quietly around the railing and started down the stairs. He'd continued his search without a clue that I was heading down there, just a little bit more and I'd be downstairs, heading out the front doo-
Creeeeaakk.
Oh buck me.
I froze as the stairwell creaked under my weight again. The destruction upstairs stopped. Slowly, his hoofsteps began heading towards the stairwell. Closer and closer. He was going to come down here and gut me with that knife of his. I'd die a slow painful death, having to watch as he cut pieces off of me and baked them into cupcakes or something! I saw the knife in my mind's eye, slowly cutting into my body as he stood close to me, close enough to hit...
"There you are!" I heard from behind me, shaking me from my stupor. Legs, don't fail me now! I galloped towards the front door and slammed it open with my head, sprinting out into the bright light of the sun. And when I say bright, I mean bright. As in really bright. As in so bright you won't even be able to see where you're going and most likely will trip on a rock.
As the ground and my hooves broke their embrace, I somersaulted down onto the ground, rolling and rolling as my vision went wild, dirt and sky blending into a mishmash of color. The world slowed it's revolutions until it came to a full stop, my face scanning the sky. The great, blue sky. A few clouds floated up there, and the sun glowed from a great distance behind them, illuminating the sky with color.
It was beautiful, and if I could, I'd have stayed there forever, watching the sky.
The sight was then broken by a gun barrel appearing in my vision, soon followed by a pony with a cowboy hat on.
"Dun't move. Ya do, and I'll blow yuh head off."
________________________________________________________________________________
I shuffled a little as we walked along, my new barding feeling very uncomfortable. It was an itchy one piece jumpsuit, colored Blue and Yellow with a large 54 stylized on my flank. How anyone could wear these for more than five minutes I'd never know. We made a brisk pace, but I could tell I was slowing our little caravan down, the numerous cuts and bruises covering my body making it hard to do anything at the moment. The caravan consisted of me and about 3 settlers from a small village called "Riveridge," found next to and at the bottom of its namesake. They had been hassled by some cannibalistic ponies, "raiders," they called them, who took refuge in an encampment at the top of the ridge. The gunshots I had heard earlier while inside the shack had been from their attack on the encampment. As soon as they took care of the raiders, they hauled me up to my feet and asked me a few questions, then handed me some barding they had on them so I wouldn't be indecent. Some of them were eyeing me though, like I was going to start trying to carve them up with a rusty chef’s knife.
You know, like that raider did to me.
As I was putting the barding on, though, I noticed a sort of gauntlet on my arm, almost like a computer. A PipBuck, model 3000, standard issue for residents of Stable-Tec Stables. I wasn't sure how I knew that off the top of my head, but I was called off by the others before I could dwell on it much. It was weighing down on my mind greatly, my curiosity begging me to start messing with it.
As we walked along, the 3 settlers made idle chatter with me and each other, although I didn't pay attention much, I was more interested in the sights of the valley, the cool blue sky, the reddish sand, it looked so beautiful. I wondered if there was someplace in the world that couldn't see the sky. Maybe they were blocked out by a group of metallic flying villains who despised us ground dwellers. I chuckled to myself as I formed a small story in my head where one of the villains came to the surface and felt pity for us, and then began working alongside a unicorn.
"Hey newbie!" I was shaken out of my thoughts by a cheery voice, and I looked around to see a Zebra in a straw hat and a farmer's outfit looking back at me. "You listenin'?"
"Well, I am now..." I chuckled nervously, a sheepish grin creeping onto my face. The zebra laughed in response.
"I kinda figured that you were payin' too much attention to the clouds in your skull than the conversation. So, could you answer the question?"
"What question?"
"Your name. What is it?"
"Oh, that's easy, my name's..." Oh hey brain. What's that? You're taking an off day? Well, have fun then, leave me here to look like an idiot. No, no, I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I'll be able to remember something without the function of my own cerebral cortex. Asshat. "...shit..." I cursed under my breath, "I, uh, can't remember..." The sheepish grin was now joined with heated cheeks. The zebra began laughing once again.
"Okay then, 'Shit,' I'm Modo. Pleased to meet you."
"Oh ha ha, you're very funny."
"Well what else am I supposed to call you, you can't remember your own name, remember?”
The grizzled stone grey Earth Pony in front chuckled, the cowboy hat atop his head jostling from the deep throated bass. “Of course he don’t remember ‘is own name. ‘Lil fucker is probably hiding something, like I said he was earlier.”
My ears flattened against my head, and I opened my mouth to say... I dunno, something, before Modo, the zebra from before, cut me off. “Listen, Boulder, I know you’re the Sheriff, but you can’t just shoot everyone that sets foot near the town!” Modo looked calm, but his voice was betraying the fact that he was pissed. “Like that guy we saw a few days ago, the one you shot in the ass for wearing the wrong outfit.”
“He was a Nobelist, you fuckwit.” The towering giant said, staring down the much smaller Modo. “He was gonna blow our town sky fuckin’ high. You’re just too kind to realize that.”
“He was limping and calling for help.” Modo retorted, his brow furrowing. “Are you really that thick?”
Boulder shook his head and turned away. “Whatever. When the whole town is burned to the fucking ground, don’t come cryin’ to me that he tricked you. But, at least give the fucker a name so I know what to put on the wanted posters.”
Modo glared at the sheriff, his gaze one that would’ve made cockatrices blush, before turning to me, his gaze softening. “Sorry about that, the Sheriff,” he began, hissing the last word with disgust. “Doesn’t take kindly to what he deems as ‘outsiders.’”
“I could gather...” I said, looking down with a chuckle.
“Now what to call you, what to call you...” Modo continued, somehow continuing to walk while scratching his chin with a hoof.
"Yuh could always call 'im Comet, considerin' 'is ass got one on it." The voice came from beside me, from a grizzled brown Earth Pony wearing a cowboy hat. I recognized him as the one who had held me at Shotgun-point while I watched the clouds earlier.
Modo chuckled at the suggestion, and replied, “Well, Sidewinder, that would work if those unintelligible squiggles made sense.”
Unintelligible squiggles? My cutie mark? Blasphemy. ...But... It wouldn’t hurt to check, would it? So yes, I craned my neck to stare at my own ass. My oh so sexy ass. Yeah, not going the ego stroking route, makes me sound like an ass. So anyways, my cutie mark. It wasn’t exactly squiggles, nor was it a definite shape. It was a stylized crescent with 3 spikes jutting out from it, presumably marking motion. I guess it could be interpreted as a Comet... maybe...?
Modo apparently caught my gaze and my befuddled expression and began laughing his ass off.
“See?” He asked, gasping for breath between his laughs, “He doesn’t even know!”
“Well I’m sorry that I’ve got amnesia and can’t remember anything!” I replied, blush creeping onto my face.
“Well Comet it is then. I’ll be sure to ready several Wanted posters for just him.” Boulder rumbled from the front of our little pack.
I furrowed my brow and gave a small glare in the sheriff’s direction, and irritably replied, "You know what? Fine, whatever. Not like it’s gonna become my actual name or anything.”
We continued forward, myself still boiling in indignation of the dumb as rocks Boulder. Eventually we crested over a hill, and I looked forward past Modo and Boulder, seeing some buildings up ahead. "This is Riveridge?" I asked, looking around as we neared the small settlement. As if to answer me, a small message appeared in my vision, created by my PipBuck. [You have discovered "Riveridge."] Auto updating map. That's helpful.
"Eeyup, it's our own little slice of the post apocalyptic world." Modo said, following my gaze. "C'mon, I'll take you to Doc to get patched up."
He split from the group, heading off towards a small house in the distance, and I followed suit. The house was on a small hill overlooking the town from the ridge side, and it looked like a normal house, nothing like the metal shack I woke up in earlier. The town must of been here before the war, I concluded, looking at the other buildings in town, which had a similar look. It looked like a quaint little town, it would've been nice to live here before things went to hell...
Knock, knock, knock.
The door opened to reveal a skin-colored unicorn stallion who was desperately in need of a toupee and a new face. He was shorter and thinner than me and Modo, and had a simple vest and leggings barding that was stained with old blood splotches. Overall, he looked pretty average, aside from the fact that his face looked like it was halfway rotted off his head.
"Oh, it's you, Modo." He said, in a gravelly deep voice. "What do you need this time? Get yourself poisoned again?"
"Nah, we saved someone during the raider raid." Modo chuckled slightly at his lame wording. "He's pretty banged up, so I was hoping you could heal him." Modo then pushed me towards him, and my pupils shrunk at my closer view of his flesh.
"Oh really? What's your name, kid?"
"C-C-Comet... I t-think... uh..." I stammered, my entire being filled with fear at meeting what may have been a zombie.
"What's your problem? Never seen a ghoul before?" He asked, tilting his head slightly. When I shook my head, he facehoofed. "Short story, we ghouls weren't in a Stable when the bombs fell. We got heavily irradiated and became like this. Any questions?"
"N-no, sir."
"Good. Now follow me." He stepped inside the building and gestured for me to follow him which I did, after a glance back at Modo.
Doc led me into a room that had been repurposed into an operating room and clinic. He went about examining my cuts and bruises, the gash in my gut from the knife wound I had forgot about in my adrenaline rush, and some previous injuries I'd taken to the head before my experience in the shack. He removed some bandages from my head that I never realized were there, and spent a fair bit of time looking at my skull. After a few minutes of examination and note-taking, he left the room and returned with a small bottle that he uncorked with his magic and set on a table near me. He walked over to a chair he had in the room and sat down, levitating over a clipboard and pencil. He leafed through the papers on the clipboard as he told me my condition.
"Well, you're suffering from numerous cuts and bruises and a particularly nasty wound to the gut, but you knew all that already, didn't you?" He began, leafing through his clipboard of notes. "Your body is physically healthy, but you've suffered some head trauma recently. I'm not sure if you noticed, but your head was wrapped in bandages, one of them was impaled by your horn as well, which brings me to your next injury, one that has already healed, but will be affecting you still."
"And that is...?"
"Your horn was broken off, how, I don't know, but it was snapped clean off, then was regrown using a potion." My eyes went wide, and I felt the horn on my head with my hoof. Hey, wait, I have a horn? Why did no one tell me about this before? As my thoughts flooded my thinking, Doc continued, "The head trauma may be related to that event, but I'm not entirely sure. Due to your horn being snapped off, your magic power has completely drained. You can still use spells, but it'll be unfamiliar to you and you won't be able to use any spells you previously knew, in fact your magic is about as powerful as a foal's at the moment."
"Well that's great. How am I supposed to use stuff without it?"
He pointed his hoof at the bottle he had brought in with him. "Unlike foals, however, you already have the knowledge and the experience to use your magic. All you need is a little 'pick-me-up' to get you going. I've mixed it into the healing potion I brought in with me. By the way, you'll want to drink up."
I leaned over to the bottle and grabbed it in my teeth, drinking down the slimy concoction.
Doc cleared his throat, then continued on, "Now, this head trauma affects more than your magic, it also affected your memory, that much I could tell from you simply not knowing what a ghoul was. Only Stable Dwellers haven't seen ghouls, and you were found in a shack over 2 miles away from the nearest Stable. I don't know how long the amnesia will last, it could last forever, it could last only a few hours."
He set down his clipboard and pencil as I finished the drink, my body feeling all tingly as the potion began sewing my flesh together again with its magic. "You're one lucky son of a bitch, kid. No memory, a PipBuck on your leg, and you’re within the borders of the Republic. There's many ponies I've seen who'd give to be in your position."
"Lucky?" I scoffed, not believing the old buck. "I can't remember my own name, let alone how I ended up in that shack! How is that lucky?"
"You have nothing to tie you down. No regrets, no worries. There's many a mare and many a stallion that would love to have all their pain and worries gone. To have a 'rebirth' so to speak. I've got my regrets. I lost my family when the bombs fell, and I alone live on. You could've been a murderer, a rapist, you might've crippled your best friend for life due to your mistakes. You have nothing that will hold you back. Your mind has been released from its sins." He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "You've been given a second chance, kid. Don't waste it."
I laid there on the examination table for a bit, the tingly feeling reverberating through my body. Doc's words sunk into my skull as I thought them over. I had a second chance. I had nothing to tie me down. Nothing was stopping me from doing whatever I wanted except for me and me alone.
There was nothing holding me back from doing anything.
I nodded slowly. "I won't, Doc. I won't."
"And another thing," He said, looking me straight in the eyes, "My name's Marrow, not 'Doc.'
________________________________________________________________________________
After a few more tests, including a psychology test, a test of my physical condition, and some practice with basic telekinesis, I was released from Marrow's clinic. The tests had gone off well, the Doc noting specifically the extreme focus I seemed to possess, mirroring my idle absentmindedness, and the smaller build I had to most stallions, contributing to my overall agility. He also explained to me how to use my PipBuck, and downloaded the results of the tests onto it, so I could browse it at my leisure. Outside the clinic I found Modo sitting in the shade of a nearby house with a set of saddlebags in front of him. He brightened up when he saw me step out of the clinic, and trotted over to me, the bags in his teeth.
"Hey, Comet!" He greeted me cheerfully, dropping the bags on the ground in front of him. "I figured since you're gonna be staying here for a while, I got you some stuff to help you get settled in."
"I don't know, Modo, I've been here for no more than 3 hours. There's really no reason for me to stay here yet." I replied, watching him dig through the bags for stuff.
"Well, I got you stuff anyways." He pulled a pistol out of the bags and tossed it over to me, then began throwing the rest of the content in front of me as well, listing them as they flew out. "9mm Pistol, 9mm ammo, 5.56mm rounds, some fresh fruit, a combat knife, fedora, and last but not least..." He reached into the bag and pulled out some barding, setting it on the ground instead of just tossing it. "Some mercenary armor. Thought you might want the protection for when we're off exploring."
"Exploring?" I rose an eyebrow at that.
"You need to get accepted by the townsfolk before they'll let you live here. I go spelunking every so often to find some loot to bring back and sell in Register's store." He explained, gesturing up the ridge. "There's all kinds of caves up there that creatures have hid in too, so I also get paid for clearing them out. If you help me out, I'll pay you, and the townspeople will be more willing to let you stay here."
I thought about it for a minute. On one hoof, I'd be getting some cash and somewhere I could stay and store my stuff. On the other hoof, I'd be putting myself in harms way where I may get hurt and/or die. Dying and getting hurt weren't really on the top of my list of things I wanted to accomplish. Although, if there were raiders like the ones that had me captured in other places in the world, I might need to get some experience with handling weapons.
I sighed and, reluctantly, agreed.
The joy that appeared on his face cannot be described by words.
He told me to meet him at the saloon when I was ready to go, and then trotted off. I packed the items, excluding the barding, back into the saddlebags individually, then levitated them onto my back. As I did so, a small notice similar to the map notice appeared in my vision, listing everything I had picked up and categorizing them. Auto inventory sorter. Helpful little arm terminal that I have here, no?
I rounded the back of Doc's clinic, getting into a position where I couldn't be seen from town and changed into the mercenary gear. It was surprisingly light with all the protection it offered, and was much more comfortable and preferable to the 'Stable 54 Barding' my PipBuck had called what I had previously been wearing. I slipped the Stable Barding into my saddlebags and pulled out the pistol. It wasn't in the best condition, I noted as I examined it, but it would get me through a fight okay, so long as I had enough 9mm rounds to last me the entire fight and, thanks to Modo, I wasn't too worried about that. He had bought several clips of the stuff just for me.
I stuck the pistol in the side holster provided, as well as stashing the combat knife in one the foreleg opposite of the PipBuck. The rest of the gear I left inside the saddlebags, which was a bit of a struggle to pick up, I might add. Whatever Doc had given me to heal my magic was working wonders, but it apparently didn't restore my strength fully. Oh well. I could at least aim and fire the pistol with it, so I had that, at least. I trotted into town slowly, surveying the town some more as I went off looking for Modo. The town itself wasn't too impressive, asides from some of the restored buildings, a store and a saloon, respectively. As I looked around though, I swear I caught a glimpse at a robot, but when I checked again nothing was there. Great job brain. First you leave me without memory, then you make me start seeing things.
With Modo nowhere to be found, I decided that a drink would be nice, and I entered the saloon. It was a quaint little saloon, showing the wear of being "lived in" but nice nonetheless. I trotted up to the bar and sat down, the barmare smiled at me, polishing a glass with her magic.
"Haven't seen you in town before. You that new guy we done picked up from the raiders?" She stated, her magic still polishing the glass as she looked me up and down.
"Yeah, I guess. Woke up in some shack with a unicorn standing over me with a knife." I replied, bluntly. I chuckled slightly. "I thought I had lost my mind or something, but the severe pain from the rusty knife in my abdomen kinda proved that theory to be false."
"I also heard that you were bookin' it outta that shack fast as your little legs could carry you."
"Well yeah, of course I was. When you're defenseless and hiding under a bed while a psychotic maniac hunts you down with a rusty knife you kinda want to get out of there. Especially so once you sneak halfway down the stairs to have them squeak and alert the psycho to your position."
She laughed. "Yeah, that'll do it, I guess. So what's your name, stranger?"
"If only I knew. My brain has been leaving me hanging today. Modo's been calling me Comet, though, so I guess that'll do for now."
"Well Comet, I'm Moonshine. Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise."
"Now that formalities have been taken care of, can I get you anything?"
"Yeah, a beer would be nice." She pulled out a bottle with her magic and plopped it on the counter, my magic taking hold of it.
"First one's on the house. Welcome to Riveridge, by the way."
I thanked her and began to drink the beverage, making small talk while I did so. She told me about the town and New Occulta, eager to answer any questions I asked. She even told me about the Assembly and some group of Zebras from the southern side of the city that she heard about. According to her, the zebras were supporters of the "old style," of when zebras and ponies were murdering each other with gigantic weapons of doom. The Assembly, on the other hand, was for unity and peace, both ponies and zebras lived together in peace. Hell, the president of the whole group was a zebra, the vice being a unicorn. Seems pretty nice, right? Welp, those in the Occulta Assembly don't even bother handling anything outside of the big tickets. Small towns like Riveridge are left twisting in the wind instead of getting the help they need.
"They don't like to come too far north these days. Say we've got the radiation that seeps out of Equestria embedded inside us. It's almost enough to make you believe that they didn't come from up North themselves." She said, getting a mite bit irritated from the thought of the Assembly.
"Maybe they didn't, maybe they came from some other place like this, all nice and blue and green and all that bull."
"That's bull crap, and you know-" She stopped her self for a second, then continued, "My apologies, I forgot about your condition for a minute. Y'see, we saw them come marching in from further north. All in armor and everything. Took out anything that got in their way. Raiders? Crushed. Animals? Cooked. Robots? Shocked. Then they get to the city and become high and mighty prissy little pussies."
"Seems about right." Modo said from behind me, chuckling.
"Oh, hey Modo." I said, glancing at him before returning to the conversation.
...
Wait, when the hell did he get here?
"Wait, when the hell did you get here?" I said, turning and gaping at the wall.
...
What the fuck. He was just there 3 fucking seconds ago. Where the fuck could he have gone.
"You alright there, Comet?" Modo asked from my left side. I looked over to see him sitting at the bar, draped in a cloak, and sipping a beer. When he set the mug back down his face wore a mischievous little grin. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"How did you do that?" I asked, glancing at where he had been and where he was now, to which he responded by pulling the hood of the cloak over his face, his entire body becoming completely invisible. He pulled it off and grinned at me.
"Stealth Cloak. Inherited it from my father." He explained. For a second I thought his smile wavered, but I shrugged it off. Being a bit intoxicated doesn't help you with examining details, after all.
"So, time to go?" I asked, downing the rest of my drink, letting the beer warm my belly a little.
"Eeyup." He replied, sticking a small sprig of wheat into his mouth to chew on.
________________________________________________________________________________
SCREEEEEE
"Gah! What the hay?!" I yelled, the pig-sized beast jumping onto me, trying to turn me into a nice snack. Thank god my PipBuck was chewproof. I brought my pistol down onto his head several times to knock him off, before kicking him away and blasting my whole clip into his face. I stopped to catch my breath for a moment when I spied Modo sniping some of the things with a rifle. Yeah, he gets the fun job of being sniper while I'm the bait.
"Hey Modo!" I yelled, earning a glance in my direction. "Maybe next time I can snipe and you can be the bait!"
"Maybe next time!" He said, chuckling as one of the babies bit into my flank.
"Celestia damn it!" I yelled in response, bringing my combat knife out of its sheath and into its head. "What the hay are these things anyways?!"
"Giant Mole Rats!" Modo replied after a gunshot. "Mutated from prolonged exposure to the spellfire radiation!"
"Y'know, I'm really starting to hate this place!"
"You get used to it!"
Modo and I had headed right out from the saloon, following the river up along the ridge. It was pretty quiet, considering he decided to scout ahead with his stealth cloak. I stayed behind, finishing off any injured creatures I saw with my knife. Most of them were already dead by the time I reached them. When I reached the cave's entrance, Modo reappeared and we entered together. From the outside, it was a pretty small entrance. From the inside, it was fucking huge. There was several sections of the cave where all of Riveridge could've fit, buildings and all. But instead of finding buildings when I entered I just found bazillions of Rat things all wanting to devour my tasty giblets. Bah, now I’m exaggerating.
I heard another screech from my left and I ducked just in time to keep a furry missile from taking my head off. I turned and fired wildly at the beast, strafing away from it. The clip was soon spent, only a few of the bullets having hit the beast, so I lunged at it with my knife. I headbutted it as I tackled it, sideswiping the knife into the beast's skull. I ejected the clip from the pistol as Modo reduced the thought processes of another of our foes into applesauce. Delicious, bloody applesauce. Loading a new clip, I took aim at a beast in front of me, when I was knocked onto my stomach from behind. I yelled in pain as the Rat on my back ripped a chunk from my ear. I fired wildly behind me, but he kept on chewin'. I ran out of bullets quickly, and resorted to swinging the gun in a wide arc, which did end up working, to my surprise. I loaded another clip quickly, using my hooves to keep the beast from chewing on me. I took aim and fired, the beast darting out of the way. It lunged at me, and I dropped the gun, as it was useless to me against these quick moving beasts, but the knife however...
A satisfying spray of blood coated my face as my knife made love with the Rat's brain.
The knife was doing just fine. I tucked my pistol away into my saddlebags and focused on the knife. One pounced, aiming for my flank, and I sidestepped in response, giving a nice gash along its side. It slid and turned for another charge, and I shoved the knife into its face with a telekinetic throw. A lifeless corpse landed in front of me, and I removed the knife from the skull with my teeth.
Now this was a weapon meant for close quarters. Too bad using it put me in danger. I'd need to play smart when using this thing. One slip up and I'd be dead.
A gunshot rang out from above, and a squeal from behind informed me that Modo had just saved my life. I looked up to thank him when I spied him shimmering back into sight. He looked a bit mortified at my current appearance. Seeing the unicorn who fled for his life from a shack of murderers only a few hours before now covered head-to-toe in blood? Little creepy. I chuckled.
"I think I got a little carried away."
"Nah, I'm just amazed at how graceful you were with that blade. Jamming it into the skull of a beast who's chewing on you, it's blood coating your crazed expression of fury?"
"Funny."
"I try," He said, laughing, "We should really get moving, though. We've got more areas to clear out."
"Yay." I cheered at the prospect of more things kicking my ass.
We had continued on through the cave. I relied less on the pistol and more on the knife as we continued through. The more I fought with the knife the more I got used to the concept of close-quarters combat. Sidestepping, parrying, using throws and grabs when needed. It came almost naturally, the techniques coming to mind as I thought of my next move. Every fight seemed like a game of chess, each move having a different effect on the game. Advance with the pawn, set up your strike with the bishop, and go in for the kill with the queen. Rush forward, sidestep and parry with the knife, and finish them off with a lunge. Easy peasy. My biggest problem was that I couldn't watch my six all the time. Modo had to keep me covered with his sniper. Eventually none of the living Rats remained, and we headed onward down a narrow path.
Near the end we saw a light reflecting off the walls, and we discovered the remnants of an old explorer and his little outpost. It was blocked off by a chain gate that was locked from the outside with a key. Modo took care of the lock and we entered, looking for weapons and anything useful. As I examined the room I wondered what had become of the explorer that had been here, his skeletal grin taunting me with the hidden knowledge of his fate. Why was he locked here, and what for? To escape the Rats? Survive the spells and radiation? A... betrayal?
We grabbed the ammo we found inside and some of the few, albiet rotten medical supplies, from which Marrow could extract some ingredients. In a footlocker under the bed I had found a strange looking weapon, as well as some... batteries? I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but I was able to work it... somehow, loading it and aiming. I didn't fire though, and tucked the "Energy Pistol" into my saddlebags. Once more I was informed by a little blip in my eyeballs.
When we had left the cave finally it was getting dark, so we went back to town.
________________________________________________________________________________
It was pretty uneventful after that. All we really DID after the Cave was walk to Modo's house. We had a small meal of some Steak, the "Brahmin" type, whatever the hell that was, and then just went to sleep. I found it a bit odd that we were eating meat. From what I could recall from my horribly fucked up mind, I thought that we were herbivores. Vegetarians. No eat-y meat-y. You get the picture. I didn’t really trust my mind to provide me with valuable information at this point in time, so I downed the meat anyways. Within minutes Modo was snoring. I, on the contrary, couldn't seem to get comfortable at all. Sleep was being a cruel mistress to me that night. I sat around, practiced aiming and loading, cleaned my weapons, polished the knife, and toyed around with my PipBuck. I couldn't find anything noted in the device that would give me any clue to what had happened before I found myself in the shack, the only note I found being a single word, which, ironically, was my "name."
Name. "Comet" really wasn't my name, per say, but it was the only thing I had so far. It's a lot better than "Shit," though. For the first time, I rolled my barding back and took a good look at the little symbol there. It was a lot simpler than I thought it would be, a simple orange cresent-like circle with several overdramatic spikes coming from it. Probably to emphasize the vapour trail that follows a comet as it soars through the sky. Again, another fact that just came to me. I tried to remember my past for a bit, but came up fruitless. I didn't think too much about it, vaguely recalling Marrow saying something about it possibly taking a while for my memories to come back.
The longer I sat there without sleep, the more jittery and restless I became. I decided to stretch my legs and go for a walk outside, drinking in the cool night air and looking at the stars. I opened the door as quietly as I could, so as to not disturb Modo, and walked out. The town was quiet this late at night. Nopony was outside or awake, making the night become incredibly peaceful. It... put me at ease, strangely. It was odd, the feeling of just being out here in the darkness, looking at the twinkling stars above.
The sky was, admittedly, a bit hard to see from the current vantage point I had. I decided to head up the ridge to get a better view, of the town and of the sky. From that point I was able to see the whole town, and the sky, in it's brilliance. The only thing that broke the beauty was a bright light from the south, coming out from behind a mountain. It didn't block out too much of the sky though, and I was still able to observe it in peace.
That is, until he showed up.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He stated from behind me.
I turned to see a pony-ish shape covered in duster and armor. A helmet and goggles covered his head, and the duster covered most everything else. He was a little hard to see in the darkness, but he seemed friendly enough. He trotted over and sat down next to me.
"Yeah, it really is. It's... calming." I replied, gazing at the stars with amazement. How anypony could live without seeing the sky I didn't know...
"Indeed. You're Comet, correct?" He asked, a bit of a accent rolling off his tongue.
"I guess. Don't know my own name, don't know my past, don't know nothin'." Sighing, I laid down, my eyes still focused on the tiny balls of gas that flew about the cosmos.
"Well, do you want to find out?"
It took a minute for what he said to sink in. He knew my past and could tell me. What luck!
"Hell yeah!" I replied, turning to him eagerly, to which he chuckled.
"Sorry to disappoint, but, uh..."
Son of a bitch.
"I don't really know your past." I laid back down in defeat, brooding over my- "But I do know how you lost your memories, and who did it." Turning back now!
"Wait, someone made me lose my memories? Why would someone do that?"
"I don't know, but this-" He stopped to roll a small blue orb towards me. "Should explain it. Now I don't know the bugger's name, but it looked like he meant to do it, and that he planned to do it." He continued with a sigh, as I mentally pointed out the complete nonsensical nature of his previous statement. "I'm doing this because I believe that you'll do the right thing with this information. What you choose to do is entirely up to you. I won't force you to do anything."
I looked at the orb in curiosity. How would an glass orb help me? Honestly, what would it do? Transport my mind into the memories of another? Gift me with unimaginable knowledge of amazing creations? Explode? Twice? Tentatively I wrapped the orb in my magic and brought it over to me. I levitated it in front of my face and looked at it in curiosity. It looked like a little glass orb. The hell is it supposed to- A force on my head pushed me forward, making my horn connect with the orb, interrupting my entire train of thought as it sent me into the white light of unconsciousness.
Although, usually it's black when you lose consciousness.
When the whiteness cleared I was standing in some sort of maintenance hallway, pipes lining the roof and small generators lining nooks in the walls. Aside from slight confusion, I felt perfectly fine. Then I started walking. Except I wasn't walking. Yes, that's confusing as fuck, but that's what happened. It was weird... like I was on autopilot or something. I trotted down the hallway, a shotgun levitated next to me. A Ghoul, similar looking to Marrow peaked his head in to the hallway, opening his mouth to call out, but I was faster, blowing it's head off with the shotgun. What the hell! They may look like they're going to eat you, but that doesn't mean they ar- I yelped in pain, twisting to see a Ghoul clawing into my flank, hissing like an unearthly abomination. One barrel of shotgun and a blast of buckshot later, the Ghoul's head was missing.
I headed up some stairs, still on auto pilot, and reached what appeared to be a control room. I gazed out over the rows of buttons and wide arrange of cameras showing useless footage of empty hallways or Ghouls pacing around mindlessly. For a second I saw someone in the monitor, somepony, to be specific, who was not a Ghoul. I turned away before I could get a good look, though. Stupid autopilot. Stupid orb. Stupid me for even accepting his help. When I figure out how to control my body again I'm going to- Oh, lookie here, gunshot followed by searing pain in the side of my skull, and blood flying everywhere. I turned to see my attacker, only for somepony to shoot me in the chest with a scoped revolver.
The shot staggered me, wrenching the shotgun from my telekinetic grip and making me stumble and fall. I looked up to a revolver barrel staring me in the face, a crimson unicorn buck in leather armor holding it to my head.
Drunkenly, I attempted to speak. "You... bastard..." Great work, autopilot me, that's sure to get us somewhere!
"You deserved this." The buck said, before bringing up his hoof to smash it into my head.
As I experienced the most blinding pain anypony could ever be subjected to, everything went to white once more, and when the whiteness cleared, I was laying on the ridge back in town, the orb laying on the dirt in front of me, the sun just peaking over the horizon. The pain from that experience was over, completely gone from my system. It was odd, a very surreal experience. I woke my sleepy limbs, picked up the orb in my mouth, and trotted/stumbled over to Modo's house once more. When I opened the door, he was reading a book in the corner of the room. He looked up when I shut the door.
"Oh, there you are, Comet." He greeted me cheerfully. "Take a early morning walk, I take it?"
I spat the orb out and replied, "You could say that. I... found this up on the ridge. Could you tell me what it is?"
He took one glance at the orb and then turned back to his book. "That's just a memory orb. They're supposed to allow ponies to see the recorded memories of others from their point of view, but they only naturally work with unicorns."
"Huh." Was all I could reply as my brain seemingly was flooded with the necessary information concerning "Memory Orbs." Thanks for working earlier when I was about to use it, brain. I sighed and walked into the bathroom, having a serious need to pee. What? You're reading this story to find out what happened to me, right? Fine, fine. I'll spare you the details. The important thing was is that while I was expelling urine from my bladder, I felt a pain in the side of my head. A phantom pain from the orb, maybe? I trotted over to the mirror to get a look at where the pain was coming from.
Sure enough, a scabbed up gash was there on the side of my head. My eyes went wide, and I furiously took off the torso part of my barding to reveal a small bullet wound slightly to the right of where my heart is. I went pale. I scrambled into the living room.
Modo looked up and seemed a mix of concerned, horrified, and amused. Smug bastard. "Comet, what's wrong? Why aren't you wearing your barding?"
I gestured frantically to my head and torso in what may have been the most awkward dance routine a pony could do. "Is there a gash on the side of my head?"
"Yeah."
"Is there a bullet wound in my chest?"
"Yeah, I can see it right there." His face contorted into a look of confusion. "Why, is it important that those are there?"
I didn't answer him. My legs wobbled and my face contorted as danced the line of consciousness and unconsciousness.
You might ask, why I was so panicked at a few wounds, some of which I had taken yesterday. Well, if you were paying attention earlier, I mentioned that in the memory orb, my auto-piloted self took a grazing bullet to the head, and a bullet to the torso. Now, with my new knowledge of memory orbs, and the fact that the one I used made me feel completely normal...
Prize goes to whoever figured out that the orb had my memory inside.
/End Transmission/
/Data Compile is complete./
/Display compiled data?/
[Y] / N
/Displaying Compiled Data.../
Level Up - You have reached Level 2.
Your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. results have been formulated and are as follows;
Strength - 4
Perception - 8
Endurance - 5
Charisma - 3
Intelligence - 10 (Locked, unaffected by ailments and status effects)
Agility - 8 (+1 Small Frame)
Luck - 3
Traits Added;
Small Frame - Due to your thinner frame than most stallions, you have +1 to your Agility but your limbs are easier to cripple.
Trigger Discipline - You’re 20% cooler when under pressure! When using Guns or Energy Weapons, you fire 20% slower and need 20% more AP per SATS Attack, but generally fire 20% more accurately.
Perk Added;
Friend of Luna - You’re a true friend of the moon goddess. Your eyes adapt quickly to low-light conditions indoors and when darkness falls over paradise.
/End of Compiled Data/
/Additional files have been detected on the server./
/Begin download of Comet2.zip?/
[Y] / N
/Download commensing./
/Remaining download time: 3 hours./
/Downloading.../
Hey, everypony, it’s me, Pegashush here!
Finally, finally Asini has been released. I apologise deeply for the wait some of you have had to actually read it. It was honestly a very bad time for me to post the intro as I am a gamer, and it was the beginning of November.
As in, the month where all the games release. I kinda got carried away. Eheh...
But, anyways, it’s here now for all to enjoy!
So I invite you to sit back, relax, and join me for the ride!
Also, thanks go out to my pre-readers and editors!
Thanks to Mimezinga (Pink Eyes), Adder1 (The Last Sentinel), and Dina (Best Laid Plans) from the Fallout: Equestria Side Stories Complication for their help in getting this story!
Want more of Fallout: Asini? Track and/or favorite the story on FiM Fiction! Want to influence future chapters? Comment! Want to listen to me ramble? No? Do it anyway by tracking me on FiM Fiction and following any of the links in my profile!
Want more Fallout: Equestria? Then head on over to the complication doc! It’s the place where everypony knows your name!
That’s it for now, I hope to see you all again soon!
Fallout: Equestria Side Stories Complication:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KaoFWVlFlMjYR2KmTWxwCYnvTZQcjEULO9YHSaqqk9U/edit?hl=en_US
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TimeBomb0
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1251
| 1 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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In Sickness and Health: Another Story in All of Us
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*SEQUEL* Your wish of wanting to be with Fluttershy more comes true in an unpleasant way.
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complete
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<p>(This fic is rated [Cheeky] by the rating scale of the Sensual Fiction General)</p><p>*Sequel to A Story in All of Us*</p><p>You and Fluttershy have taken things steady since your first romantic encounter, but you've found yourself wanting more of the pegasus. You get your wish, but not in a way you expect....</p>
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teen
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2011-12-14T04:19:27+00:00
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2011-12-14T04:19:27+00:00
| 8,406 |
Note: This story is a sequel to my previous work "A Story in All of Us", and while I don't reveal the major twist here, I do recommend reading that fic first if you haven't done so already.
"...That was some party, wasn't it?"
After a few minutes of walking, you finally decide to break the silence to your friend and traveling companion Fluttershy. True to your word, the two of you had just come from another one of Pinkie's Pie signature parties, this one celebrating...well, you don't even remember the occasion, but you also couldn't care less after all the fun you had.
"Oh yes," Fluttershy speaks up, her happiness still obvious in her whispery voice, "Pinkie Pie always throws the most wonderful parties...even if they get a little rowdy sometimes."
"Yeah, I suppose." You say back, chuckling a little bit as you recall a particularly crazy event involving string cheese, a bundt cake pan, and Twilight Sparkle's abacus for some reason. You take the opportunity to turn and look at her. Fluttershy carries a soft smile on her face complete with slightly-lidded contented eyes, and her flowing pink mane looks as soft and straight as ever. In other words, it is Fluttershy as you love her most: Happy and at peace with the world.
You still can't quite believe neither the circumstances that led you from being a distant friend and admirer of Fluttershy to her lover, nor can you come to terms with how long it's been since then. Had it really been a couple months since you visited her to give her her misplaced mail? Was it really that short while ago that you stumbled onto her secret hobby and discovered that you shared more with her than you ever believed you could? And was that moment where she confessed her feelings for you before you could do the same real, or did you dream that up, along with the rather intimate scene that followed shortly afterwards?
Whether that day and the few months afterwards were real or one of the biggest cases of delusion in Equestrian medical history, all you know for sure is from that moment on, your life has been pure bliss. You had both agreed to slow things down a little after your first romantic encounter (Why rush through a good thing?). While it meant that you couldn't get to know her physically, you soon found out that Fluttershy had more than enough stories and personality to make up for it. Now that she had opened up to you, you learned plenty of crazy stories involving her and her friends.
Strangely enough, she was reluctant to share any details about her secret profession, not even explaining what drove her to the hobby in the first place. You couldn't deny that you were curious, but you figured that she would explain when she was ready to, so you decided not to press the matter for the time being.
"Well, here we are."
Jerking yourself back to the here and now, you find that you are now once again back at Fluttershy's cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville. The party had lasted well into the late hours, so you agreed to walk her home, both as a way to make sure she stayed safe and as an excuse to spend more time with her. You are a little disappointed that the walk ended so quickly, but you reassure yourself that there will be more opportunities to be with her.
"Um, thank you for coming to the party with me," Fluttershy continues, the two of you now reaching her doorstep, "I had a really fun time. It's always nice to get together and have fun with all my friends." You feel a need to say "d'aww" out loud at her words, but you choose to respond in a little more dignified manner instead.
"No problem, Fluttershy. I'm glad to hear you had fun, and I had a good time-ugh!" Your response is cut short when you feel your stomach throb in displeasure, forcing you to tense your face and body up a little bit. It had felt a bit heavy on the walk home, but you hadn't paid attention to it until now.
Noticing your wincing, Fluttershy changes her expression from one of quiet happiness to genuine concern. "Oh my," she starts, "Are you okay?"
"...Yeah, I'm fine," you manage to speak up once the pain in your abdomen subsided enough, "I just had too much to eat at the party." It was the truth; between Pinkie Pie's crazy cake concoctions and the delightful recipes cooked up by that new chef at the Ponyville cafe, to say you went a little overboard with the food would be an understatement. "I'll be okay, Fluttershy. It's just a little indigestion, is all." You try to give her a comforting smile in order to further reassure her of your well-being.
Fluttershy says nothing in response, her expression unwavering. It seems that she isn't fully convinced by your words. Her gaze is starting to make you more uncomfortable than your stomach did. You never liked it when others needlessly worried for you, whether it was a complete stranger or your mother. There was just something about knowing that you were causing unnecessary grief for others that put an uncomfortable feeling in your gut, one that you always tried in varying degrees to get rid of.
"I'll be fine, I promise," you repeat to her, "It's nothing a little sleep won't take care of." You raise your hoof up to her shoulder and double your efforts at making a relaxing smile. Her expression softens a little at your words, but she doesn't take her eyes off you.
"...um, okay," she finally speaks up, "If you say so." Her voice carries a twinge of uneasiness to it, betraying the words she just spoke. Part of you wanted to do whatever you could to put her worried mind at rest, but you had a feeling that it would be better not to further press the issue. You had made your point twice, after all.
"Speaking of sleep," you start up in an attempt to change the subject, "I think it's about time we both retired for the night. I mean, it's pretty late, and that party wore me out." Again, you spoke the truth. The idea of climbing into your warm, cozy bed and letting sleep overtake you was sounding very pleasant to you, a notion that your heavy eyelids agreed to. Not only that, but you were a pretty hard-working pony, and thus had other engagements to take care of in the morning, and it wouldn't do you any good to tackle those while half-asleep. Perhaps staying at the party for so long wasn't such a good idea, after all....
In one last attempt to calm down Fluttershy, you move your head forward and lightly touch your lips to her cheek. Not too long ago you would have never dared to make a move so bold, but by now it had become a common exchange between the two of you when going your separate ways. Moving your head back, you notice that Fluttershy's expression softened a little more and her cheeks took on a tint of red that never failed at making your heart melt. "You take care of yourself, okay, Fluttershy?" you say to her while looking right into her kindness-filled eyes.
"Okay...um, you too." Fluttershy responds. She mirrors your gesture of affection and plants a light kiss on the side of your face, leaving a warm feeling on your cheek that you could probably write entire books about describing every last detail. You feel blood moving to your head and surmise that you now have the same red tint on your cheeks as she did. You want more, but your memory reminds you of the tasks set before you once the sun rises, so you reluctantly turn and begin the long walk back to your home. "Good night, Fluttershy."
"Good night."
The minutes drag by slowly as you continue back to your house, your only source of illumination coming from the stars and Luna's moon. As part of your mutual agreement to keep your relationship steady, you both retired to your separate homes at the end of every night. According to The Scarlet Mare's Ultimate Guide to Romance, a book Fluttershy borrowed from her friend Twilight out of "curiosity", it was a good idea for new couples to spend some time separated from each other so that each party could have time to process their thoughts and feelings. You weren't about to argue with something written down in a book, much less one emblazoned with award stickers and whatnot, but there were plenty of times where you were intentionally separated from her only to spend that time wanting to be with her again.
Tonight is no different. Although you had made up your mind to sleep in your own bed out of courtesy for her, you can't help but long to be with her still. Your brain is tantalizing you with the thought of being in the pegasus' bed with her, bodies locked together, her eyes shut in peaceful slumber, chest rising and falling with each light breath, the warmth and softness emanating from her more comforting than any blanket could hope to emulate...why must your imagination torture you so?
Urgh!
Your lovely mental image dissipates almost immediately when you feel another throb from your stomach. Why did I eat so much again, you wonder as you wince from the intense pressure on your gut. If you didn't know any better, you could swear that this throb felt worse than the last one.
...that is, if you could focus on remembering what the last throb felt like, or anything else with this headache that seems to have snuck up on you. Not only are the painful pulsations impairing your concentration, but they also seem to be giving your sense of balance some trouble. You had only felt this way before once, when you were a young colt still in school and had to stay home a couple days because-
....oh no....
Your eyes widen as you finally force two and two together. You can't really be...can you? No, you have so much to worry about tomorrow, there's no way this can be happening now. Your mind still in heavy denial, you force yourself to continue walking home, the prospect of a good night's sleep sounding better and better with each step. Unfortunately, you also feel your strength fading rapidly with every new step. You walk up to a lone lamppost, the first one you had reached since leaving Fluttershy's house, and lean against it to rest a little bit. You still had a ways to go to reach your house, and now that your body was feeling so weak and clumsy, you wonder if you even have the ability to make it home.
You don't have to wonder for very long. Another sharp throb pierces your stomach, worse than before. You try to stop yourself, but it's no use. In one swift motion, your head jerks itself downwards and your entire body spasms as the contents of your stomach force their way up and out your mouth. After what feels like a long and painful eternity, you find yourself gasping for breath and almost completely out of energy. Your brain no longer working properly, you try to force yourself to walk again. You manage to stumble a couple steps away from the lamppost, but your headache has intensified in the short period. The road swirls and spins before you, and your field of vision grows small as dark spots form around the corners of your eyes.
By the time you realize what is about to happen, it's too late. You feel your balance completely give out, and everything falls into black.
****************
Rotten
It is the perfect word to describe what you feel right now. Your stomach feels a good twenty pounds heavier, making you wary to even think about moving too quickly, lest you wish to know what your meal looks like partially-digested. Your skull feels like it could burst open at any moment, and with a burning hotness to match. Worst of all, your entire body aches all over, with each energy-less joint crying out in a dull pain. There is no avoiding it; for the first time since you were still in school, you are sick, and it is as miserable as you remember. As you lay in bed moaning in discomfort, you can only imagine how long you have to endure this torture until your body can fight off whatever has invaded your system-
Wait a minute. As your memory returns, you recall that you were only halfway home when the illness reared its ugly head and you blacked out. You are sure you didn't make it home last night, and yet you find yourself in a rather comfortable bed. Not only that, but you finally acknowledge the existence of something cool resting on your forehead, most likely put there to counter out the fever. Someone other than you had to put this cool thing on your head, but who? Just where in Equestria are you?
With more effort than you expect, you slowly force your eyelids apart. The sun is shining through a closed window on your side, giving you a clear view of everything. Despite your mind being weak with illness, you recognize the wall patterns and furniture all too well. Even if another house shared the same properties, there is one object within your vision that confirms beyond the shadow of a doubt where you are. Perched on a nightstand next to the bed is a pretty glass ball with a couple scuff marks and a beautifully-crafted butterfly suspended inside. The ball instantly conjures an image of the house's resident in your mind, and you can't help but mouth the name out loud:
"Fluttershy..."
"mmm-huh?"
You dare not move your head to see, but the voice that responded to yours was directly behind you and surprisingly close. Judging from the half-sleepy way she spoke, you have a feeling that your caretaker had not left your side ever since you somehow ended up in her bed.
"Oh, thank goodness you're awake!" Fluttershy exclaims when her senses finally come together. You have never been more thankful her voice rarely rose above a whisper than you are now. "I was so afraid you weren't going to get better all night!"
Her words make a pang of guilt worse than any stomach cramp shoot through you. As you had guessed, she had stayed up all night watching over you and fretting. You have no idea of what to say to undo her worry, but that doesn't stop you from trying.
"Fluttershy, I-"
"I shouldn't have let you walk home last night! I thought I saw your face grow pale and I should have said something, but you told me you were okay, and I didn't want to force you to stay..."
"Fluttershy-"
"I'm an awful friend. I almost let one of my very best friends get seriously hurt when I could have helped you. I...I d-don't deserve to have you for...for a friend-"
"FLUTTERSHY!"
Immediately after your outburst, Fluttershy stops her wallowing and you let out a moan as your head and stomach cry in disapproval. It had hurt for you to even speak up, but you couldn't take it anymore once her voice started to break up. You want to reach out and hug her with all your might, but the only thing you have the strength to do is keep talking, stopping every so often to rest your head and vocal cords.
"...Please, Fluttershy...don't...blame yourself. It's...not your fault...I'm the one...who should apologize... for making you worry...so much..."
"...No, please don't," She speaks up before you can continue. "I know you would do the same thing for me if I was the one who got sick." Truthfully, you had a feeling you would strive to do even more than the same thing if you found out Fluttershy was ever this sick. This isn't just an illness, it is pure misery, something you hope she never has to feel for as long as she lives.
As she finishes, you hear the sound of hooves touching the floor and moving around you. Eventually, she walks up to your side of the bed, entering your field of vision and tilting her head down to your eye-level. You notice her lovely pink mane is unkempt and her green eyes, eternally filled with kindness, have a dark line underneath them.
"I promise," she begins, her voice even quieter than normal out of awareness of your pounding skull, "I will help you get better as much as I can." She stares into your eyes, undoubtedly foggy and unfocused, while speaking to you, and you force yourself to return the gaze. "...you know...if that's okay with you."
You find the energy to give her a small smile. "Of course...but, can you do...me a favor first?"
"Of course. What do you want me to do?" She responds with a caring and quizzical look.
"Get some sleep...you look exhausted, and I...think I'll do the same."
At first, Fluttershy looks like she is going to protest, but instead she simply smiles at you before heading to the windows and drawing the curtains, blocking out the sunlight and darkening the room. She returns to your side and pulls the blankets snugly over your body, and then, in a move you wouldn't have advised if you knew it was coming, lightly kisses you on the cheek before walking out of your vision. You hear her hooves quietly step away from the bed and down the stairs to her living room, and your eyelids soon shut of their own accord, granting you sleep almost instantly.
****************
The days pass by slowly, and true to her word, Fluttershy - occasionally assisted by her bunny friend Angel - attended to you as best as she possibly could. She was almost by your side all the time whenever you were conscious, and never stopped asking you if there was anything else you needed. She replaced the wet rag on your head almost hourly, eventually switching it out with an ice pack when she finally left the house long enough to venture into Ponyville. She didn't even hesitate to assist you when your stomach suddenly decided to void its contents again, quickly fetching her best bucket and encouraging you to take as much time as you needed. Her caring didn't stop at just making your illness less painful, either. When you awoke from one of your naps, she told you that she had explained your unfortunate condition to your friends and colleagues, and soon you were receiving all sorts of get-well-soon cards and notices of rescheduled appointments.
Her sheer kindness alone could have been enough to heal you, but thanks to her tender care, you were now well on your way to getting over this illness. The debilitating migraine you once endured had weakened into a mild headache, and your fever was almost entirely gone. Your stomach had also stopped giving you unpleasant surprises and could even tolerate the mouth-watering vegetable soup Fluttershy cooked up and personally fed you on one occasion. You had also recovered more than enough energy to make it to the bathroom and back, although you still remained in bed most of the time at Fluttershy's insistence. Unfortunately, your limbs still ached a good amount, perhaps more so now that your attention wasn't so divided between your head and gut. Nonetheless, you are certain that you will finally have this dreadful disease licked in a day or two.
...and yet, you don't feel as happy as you should. Of course, you felt downright terrible when your sickness was at its worst and are glad to be finally getting rid of it. On the other hand, this disease was almost a blessing in disguise; it had given you the perfect excuse to spend more time with the pony of your dreams. You felt bad that she exhausted herself taking care of you, but it showed you yet another side to the pegasus, one filled with unyielding kindness and caring for others. It is a side that melts your heart, but it also one you may not see for a while once you fully recover and leave her home. You feel your heart beginning to ache at this realization...
"Um, may I come up there?"
...but her voice snaps you out of your sad cloud of thoughts for the moment. You do your best to regain your composure before calling out to her:
"Of course, come right up!"
You hear her climbing the stairs and slowly see her rise from the staircase. Now that your nausea was almost a thing of the past, you could sit up on her bed and take in the sight of the entire room. Your focus, however, is currently set on the yellow mare now approaching your bed, carrying not only a shy smile on her face, happy to see you smoothly progressing back to full health, but also a bright pink envelope on her back. "I, um, have another letter for you." She says when she finally reaches the bed. Craning her head back, she grabs the envelope with her mouth and turns back to you. You pull the envelope out from her mouth and open it up. You pull out a bright pink letter smelling of bubblegum and cake and begin to read aloud:
To All Who It May Concern
We are so, so, so, so, so sorry! We wanted to cook up some new dishes for everypony to enjoy at our super-fun party, but we were so focused on making them taste super-duper terrific that we didn't notice some of the ingredients were waaaay past their expiration date! Both of us even got a little pukey-wukey ourselves! We know we can't do a whole lot about making you feel better, but we want you all to know how sorry we are for making your last few days super not-fun, so we put some gift certificates for free food at the Sugarcube Corner and...*The cafe's name is smudged out*...in the envelope! Hope we'll see you again (without a court order)!
Signed
Pinkie Pie and...*The chef's name is also illegible*
"Wow, imagine that," you say out loud upon finishing the letter, "I must have gotten it the worst out of everyone." You chuckle softly as you turn your gaze back to Fluttershy, her smile making you not even want to consider being angry at the party-planners. You find yourself staring eye-to-eye with her for a few seconds in quiet bliss, but your brain soon cooks up a question you had no choice but to ask: "Wait a minute...why didn't you get sick?"
For a second, she doesn't move or say anything, apparently lost in the same trance you were just a second ago. Finally becoming self-aware, she lets out a quick gasp and averts her gaze. "Oh! I, um, I didn't eat anything at the party...I was really hungry after taking care of animals all day, so I had a big dinner right before..." As she speaks, you notice a faint blush growing on her cheeks, making her look all the more adorable. "...um, may I see those gift certificates...if that's okay with you?" She speaks up again, possibly an attempt to change the subject, you muse.
"Of course," you reply as you put the letter down. You reach out to the edge of the bed where you had put the envelope, but when your hoof keeps finding nothing, you turn your head to find that the envelope isn't there anymore. Glancing over the edge, you find that the envelope has slipped onto the floor between the bed and the nightstand. Before Fluttershy can offer to grab it for you, you reach your forehoof between the cr-
“ack!”
You grit your teeth and stop halfway when the aching in your limb sharply intensifies from the sudden stretch and odd angle. Out of reflex, you pull your foreleg up and begin rubbing it to dull the pain.
Watching you the entire time, Fluttershy lets out another audible gasp. "Oh my!" she starts up again, the concern clear in her voice, "Are you okay?"
"...yeah, I'm fine," you manage to say once the pain in your limb had subsided enough. You look up from your arm and see Fluttershy giving you a look of concern and skepticism, one that caused you to remember the last time you said you were fine when the two of you soon found out that you were anything but. Somehow, you had the feeling that Fluttershy was going to be much harder to convince this time around.
"...actually, there is one thing," you speak up, your words preceded by a sigh of defeat. "I have been feeling much better thanks to you, but my body is still pretty sore. I...uh, don't suppose you know of any way to help that?"
"hmm..." Fluttershy looks off to the side, her head lost in thought, before her eyes widen in a quiet Eureka! moment. "Oh!" she exclaims, turning back towards you, "I think I may have just the thing! I need just a teensy moment to go get it." With that, she flashes a quick smile at you before running off towards the bathroom. You hear drawers opening and bottles and other objects clanking together for a few seconds before you see her step out and trot towards your bed, her blush from before returning.
What gets your attention this time, however, is the bottle lying on her back. It's not a bottle made for holding medicine but rather shampoo or lotion, the logical part of your brain assuming the latter. "This is something I, um, picked up while visiting my friend Rarity at the spa," she explains with her voice growing more bashful, "The ponies there told me it helps soothe muscles after a long day, and...well, I think it feels...really nice."
"Sounds good to me," you respond. Even if it wasn't proper medication, you couldn't wait to have something, anything, to help relieve your aches. You reach towards her back to grab the lotion, but she suddenly backs up, the bottle shifting somewhat but staying on top of her.
"Wait!" She calls out in a burst of confidence, "You can't put this on you by yourself! You'll just hurt yourself again!" The tone she used was the same one when she invited you into her house that fateful day, but you still don't understand what's going on. At least, not until her next line:
"...I...um, that is, er, you should l-let me p-put it on you..."
For a second, you are unable to process what she just said, but you feel your face grow hot when your mind finally pieces things together. You wonder if she is joking at first, but then you realize two things: 1.) Fluttershy isn't the kind of pony to make jokes, especially if it means hurting another living thing in the process, and 2.) Her confidence dwindled with each word, her face slowly turning away from yours while her blush from before grew stronger. There was no doubting her sincerity.
" ...y-you know...if that's okay with you..."
Her shyness seems to be contagious, as you are genuinely bashful at her suggestion. You want to say "That's okay, I can do it myself", but you also want to feel that soothing lotion on your sore spots as soon as possible, and your time with Fluttershy has shown that she can be pretty adamant when she wants to be. Slowly and nervously, you raise your forehoof into the air towards her in a way as to avoid exerting any of the aching joints.
"...go ahead," is all you can manage to say to her.
Mimicking the same level of trepidation as you, Fluttershy cautiously grabs the bottle of lotion off her back and pulls the lid open. Raising both her forelegs into the air, she bites down the bottle, squeezing out a little of the light-blue liquid onto the base of her hoof. Lathering up the lotion with her hooves, she sets the bottle down and reaches out towards your extended limb.
ooooooohh...
Right from the start, the sensation you feel on your leg can best be summed up as "wunderbar". The lotion is gently cool, with a texture that is both creamy and pleasantly prickly. As Fluttershy moves from spot to spot, the cool cream grows into a relaxing warmth, soothing away sore parts you didn't even realize you had. You make a note to pay a visit to this spa one day, but you have a feeling that the masseuse for your session can't possibly make you feel as good as Fluttershy does. Her hooves are so delicate and soft, working your leg with such tender care that you can't help but sigh and moan in content as ache after ache melt away under her caring touch. It's as if she knows exactly where your leg hurts the most and how to best make the pain go away.
Once she had worked that lovely lotion onto every part of your leg, Fluttershy gently sets it back down on the bed. Out of reflex, you lift your other forelimb up towards her, seeing that she is already pouring more of the light-blue aloe onto her hooves. Properly lathered once again, she takes your leg into her hooves and restarts her oh-so-heavenly massage. You close your eyes out of pleasure and find that your sense of touch is now amplified, making you feel the ebbing pain and waxing pleasure even greater than before. You also notice the lotion's aroma, a pleasant blueberry scent, one that relaxes you further with each new sniff.
It's not until you feel something warm and damp press into the base of your hoof that you break out of your pleasurable trance. You open your eyes to find Fluttershy capping off her healing massage by giving your hoof a light kiss. The kiss doesn't last long, as she immediately withdraws her head and hides it behind her thick pink mane upon spotting your gaze. "...I'm sorry," she speaks with her head still turned away from you, "I guess I got a little carried away..."
You chuckle a little at the coyness you had grown to love, but she speaks up again before you can tell her not to worry. "Um, I should get your...other legs, too..." With that, she grabs the edge of the blanket that had kept you warm and toasty for the last few days and gingerly pulls it away, revealing your entire body. Before you can turn over out of modesty, Fluttershy lifts your rear leg into the air and begins working at it, once again putting you into a far-off state of bliss. You shut your eyes in pleasure like before, your last unattended leg giving a light kick as every last sore spot on your limb finally fades into a distant memory....
*gasp!*
You open your eyes for a moment, only to slowly close them again when you feel those pillow-soft hooves of hers trail off your leg and onto your flank. Truth be told, that part of you didn't really have any aching spots on it. You have no plans of telling this to Fluttershy, however, as to have her stop would be doing a great disservice to your body. You open one of your eyes to sneak a peek at your masseuse, and feel your cheeks grow warm at the sight. She carries another one of her trademark peaceful smiles, happy to be helping a friend in need, punctuated by a bright pink blush that could instantly make anypony's stress disappear on sight.
What really gets your attention is the scene slightly past her face; her wings were partially unfurled, spreading further outwards as she goes to work on the area that houses your cutie mark. You had read somewhere that this phenomenon occasionally happens to pegasi as a means of showing their partners that they were....
....oh dear....
You don't say anything to her on the off-chance that she would flee in embarrassment if you pointed anything out. Instead, you let her finish her massage on both of your rear legs while you laid there lost in both pleasure and thought. You had now come up with the best way to show Fluttershy your thanks for taking such good care of you in your time of need.
"...are there a-any more spots on you that hurt?" she says with an almost eager tone as she gently lays your last limb back onto the bed.
You shake your head at her question. "No, I feel fantastic thanks to you," you start, trying to choose your words carefully, "...but there is one more thing you can do for me." You motion her to come closer to you and she complies, setting the lotion down on the nightstand. You reach out and grab her leg to keep her from going anywhere as you give her your most important request:
"Please allow me to repay you for all of your kindness."
"....um, no, that's okay, I was just looking after a fri-ah!" Fluttershy's attempt at denying her reward is cut short when you start rubbing your hooves up and down the upper part of her leg. As you massage her just like you did on that fateful day, her gasps slowly turn from ones of shock to ones of pleasure. You have a feeling this is something the pegasus wants very deeply but didn't want to ask out of her disposition to always put her friend's needs before her own. You always admired that selflessness, but for the moment fulfilling her needs is all you want.
You finish your massage the same way as before, with a gentle lift of her limb and a light kiss on the base of her hoof. You set her leg back down and to your surprise see Fluttershy not only not backing away out of embarrassment but also raising her other forelimb up for you. You comply with her silent request, taking the leg into your hooves and working it with the same tender care as before. You know in the back of your mind that you can't hope to make your massaging feel as good to her as hers did to you, but a quick glance at her softly shut eyes and the upward curve on her mouth as she sighs in happiness shows that you must be doing something right.
Releasing her other leg with a kiss, you grab the massage lotion off the nightstand and pour some of the aloe onto your hooves. Her eyes are still closed in the same serene trance she put you into not too long ago; she doesn't realize your next move until it's too late. Repositioning yourself on the bed, you reach out and place your lathered hooves on the tip of her wing.
Ah!
At your touch, the mare's eyes snap open as she lets out a sharp gasp, and you cannot tell if it is out of pain or pleasure. You expect her to jerk away and run out of the room leaving you to feel immeasurably guilty for hurting one of nature's greatest creations, but instead she firmly stays in place and closes her eyes again. Maybe I just surprised her, you think to yourself. There is only one way to find out for sure.
As carefully as you can, you move your hooves around the firm part of her wing as if it would break at the slightest touch. Fluttershy lets out another gasp as you begin, but this one isn't as sudden, and even contains hints of relief to it. You keep rubbing the firm portion, slowly moving down while getting every part covered in the soothing aloe. The closer you get to the base of the wing, the heavier and quicker Fluttershy's sighs get until they turn into outright panting. You steal a quick glance at her face and find her eyes shut tight and a couple small droplets of sweat forming on her forehead. You knew what you were doing to her - something that you only considered ever doing in your wildest dreams not too long ago - but you wanted to return the favor for how much she exhausted herself for your sake, and this is best way you knew how to do so given the current circumstances.
Finishing up your work on her wing, you let go for a moment, only to reach out and start on her other wing. Her gasping grows stronger as you spread the lotion over the firm part, getting closer and closer to her back, putting as much tenderness as you can into each stroke-
"STOP!"
Fluttershy's command stops you cold, jerking your hooves back to your sides. You had gone too far, you just know it. You crossed a boundary too soon, and now you've hurt her. As she turned to face you, her own face flushed, panting heavily, a fierce look in her eyes, you braced yourself for the inevitable breakup...
Wait, why is she kissing you?
Before you could process anything, Fluttershy firmly plants her lips on yours, forcing her tongue inside your mouth. She explores every nook and cranny of your mouth with gusto, as if she was starved and your mouth held a grand meal inside. You're both scared and excited by her aggressiveness. Did you really cause this kind and gentle pegasus to turn into this? Who was this mare, and how did she take over Fluttershy's body? More importantly, why does this kiss feel so wonderful?
The kiss is over before you can answer any of these questions. Fluttershy breaks away as quickly as she moved in, still breathing heavily and blushing wildly. "....I...I..." she says, desperately trying to regain her control of the Equestrian language between pants. "I...can't...I shouldn't....you're still unwell, and...and...."
You don't let her say anything else. In an instant, you move in and begin another fierce kiss, this time catching her off-guard. Her shock doesn't last long, as she soon reaches her tongue out to yours, beginning another battle for dominance. You no longer care that you were still recovering from an illness or that you had no choice but to have your marefriend take care of you like you were a child for the last few days. All you can even think about now is how good it feels to be doing what you are doing now.
Without warning, Fluttershy steps up her aggression, placing her hooves on your chest and forcing you onto your back. By now, your mind has gone completely blank, your body operating solely on instinct, its only goal to please both yourself and the mare on top of you....
****************
And you thought the massage felt amazing.
Some time later (you weren't really keeping track), you find yourself lying on the bed in a happy exhaustion. Fluttershy is curled up next to you, breathing softly, her wings back at her side, finally back in her own bed after spending the last few nights on her couch downstairs. You glance down at her face and find her staring back with that heart-meltingly soft smile adorning her face again.
"I hope you had fun," you say to her, knowing full well the answer you were going to get.
"Oh yes, very much so," she replies, her voice much wearier than it was not too long ago. She tilts her head downwards and begins speaking again in a quieter voice. "Um...I'm really happy that...you're here for me...."
You don't quite follow, but you try to keep her spirits up. "And I'm really happy that you were there for me these past few days, too. Who knows what would've happened to me if you hadn't found me that night...wait."
You stopped your pillow-talking as the one question you had forgotten to ask her after first finding yourself in her bed finally returned to your memory:
"...Fluttershy, how did you find me that night? I was a good distance from your house when I collapsed."
"Oh, um, I...well, uh....I..." she stammers at first. She is still looking away from you, and the blush that had finally faded from her face is now coming back. "I...tried to follow you...you...looked a l-little pale and...I was going to, um, ask you if...if..."
"Yes?" you say to her as her voice trails off, trying to coax her answer along.
"Um, if you...w-wanted to...stay at my place for the night...eep!"
As she finished her confession, she shut her eyes and turned her head further away from yours. You gently reach a hoof out and touch her chin, bringing her face back up to yours. Slowly, she opens her eyes while still keeping that adorable look of embarrassment on her face. You don't need any help forming a reassuring smile as you give her your confession in return:
"Fluttershy, I thought you would never ask."
In one last attempt to comfort her, you move your head forward and lightly touch your lips to her cheek. As you withdraw your face, you see her soft smile once again forming, showing that she is at peace with the world, and that you no longer need to worry. Closing her eyes again, she leans forward and returns the favor, leaving another warm mark on your face that speaks more than all the books in the Ponyville library. Moving down from your head, Fluttershy starts nuzzling lightly into your neck, her face still softer and warmer than any pillow or blanket could hope to emulate.
You close your eyes in pleasure and fall into a happy sleep, the two of you wrapped tightly in each other's loving and caring embrace. A new chapter in your story had now begun.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Author’s Note: I certainly hope you don’t have a thing for getting sick, because that’s just weird...well, maybe not as weird as a thing for Fluttershy, which you undoubtedly have by now.
With thanks to Eights9 for proofreading.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or its characters, and I make no money from this story. All Rights Reserved by Hasbro.
|
B0bthebum
|
1261
| 1 |
Fluttershy,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Fallen Eagles
|
Major Thomas Williams of NASA was wondering if he would ever get any further than Earth's orbit.
|
incomplete
| 20 | 1 |
<p>Major Thomas Williams of NASA was wondering if he would ever get any further than Earth's orbit. Turns out he got quite a bit further than he expected.</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-14T10:10:02+00:00
|
2011-11-14T10:10:02+00:00
| 3,191 |
Fallen Eagles
Time – August 5, 2087, 1300 Hours
Location – 283 miles above the Earth.
Mission – First manned test of anti-matter propelled spacecraft.
“Eagle 3, this is ground control, launch will commence in 30 minutes.”
“Roger that, Ground control, launch in 30.” Major Thomas Williams craned his neck to the side in the cramped capsule in order to catch a glimpse of the blue and green orb that he was currently circling. Returning his eyes to the display in front of him, he allowed himself a moment to contemplate his mission. True, this was a momentous occasion, but was it not like the rest of the space missions in the last half-century, mere national morale boosters? Even if this test succeeded in proving anti-matter propulsion was quicker and more efficient than conventional rockets, the facts remained the same. No politician wanted to put more money into a program that already worked, because that wouldn’t guarantee them more votes. As a matter of fact, NASA was facing budget cuts already. Major Williams’ reflections were interrupted by the crackle over his headset.
“Eagle 3, it is time for the final checklist, do you copy?”
“Copy ground control, ready when you are.” As he went through the same checklist he had performed a hundred times over in simulations, Major Williams found his mind beginning to wander again. His eyes strayed to the yellow handle clearly marked in black - ‘ABORT.’ He mused over the lever for a moment, one of the tell-tale signs that his craft was in fact a hand-me-down from an earlier project. It still worked, but flinging himself into space in a re-entry vehicle that was about as big as a four-door car didn’t seem terribly appealing. The Major pondered for a moment if having a failsafe made him feel more secure because it was there, or less, since one was needed. Hopefully the test would go as planned, and after the test engine was spent, he could sail down to earth on Eagle’s lifting body design and land safely at Kennedy Space Center, as astronauts had been doing for decades.
“Eagle 3 this is ground control; we are beginning the one-minute countdown. Godspeed, Major.”
“Roger that, beginning final countdown, test engine on standby.” Looking up at the stars above him, Williams wondered if mankind would ever reach out farther than Earth’s own orbit, or simply meander along, satisfied with their accomplishment more than a hundred years ago, in 1969. His attention was brought back to the present by the increased humming from his craft, accompanied by the voice on his head set counting down;
“5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0… We have ignition. Eagle 3 is away.”
The antimatter rocket that propelled the Eagle 3 was an engineering marvel. The onboard fusion reactor provided the power to the proton and anti-proton magnetic containment fields, as well as the flow regulators that fed the annihilation reaction and the magnetic nozzle that shaped the exhaust. The annihilation reaction produced gamma radiation, as well as subatomic particles called mesons, and while gamma radiation has no charge, enough of the mesons produced thrust when directed aft of the ship via the magnetic nozzle. For reference to the power stored within antimatter, a one-way trip to Mars relying on chemical rockets takes around a year. With 10 grams of antimatter, the trip only takes a month. The computer that regulated the matter/anti-matter flow was constantly in contact with two ground control computers that were checking every calculation and sub-process to avoid a potentially fatal error, such as a complete failure of the containment for both the anti-matter and the fusion reactor, which would create a spectacular explosion on the level of unknown megatons. The working theory was that such energy, when applied to existing matter, could transform it completely into energy, thus causing an explosion exponentially larger than would have normally occurred. However, this was all theory. Mankind would have to wait for the answers to those elusive questions, and many barriers lay between observation and true understanding.
Location - 19 Million miles away from the Eagle 3
The Sun. Long has that majestic ball of fire hung in our skies, providing warmth, comfort, and life. At a glance, it seems to enjoy the happiness it brings, breaking the cloud cover after a long, dreary winter, or warming the lands too long gripped by cold. However, the Sun has no such benign disposition. For every break in the cold, it also brings relentless heat. It brings floods and droughts alike. It brings searing heat. It brings famine. It brings death. That immense inferno cares not for the lives it both gives and takes; it burns rock and flesh alike. On this day, it continued in an eon-old cycle that brought it to its highest peak in a millennium. And it brought it with all the fury that ancient power is renowned for across the globe. The surface of Sol erupted in an almighty solar flare, reaching far across the heavens to touch the surface of Mercury, turning its’ already blasted surface into gas in an instant. The solar wind howled across the vast expanse of space, speeding with the fury of the storms towards Earth, and the unsuspecting capsule now approaching the northern pole of that planet.
Location – Equestria, on a hill just outside of Ponyville.
Twilight Sparkle gazed upwards at the stars that reside in the night sky like jewels of fire. She stared intensely at the dark spaces in between two stars directly above her. There! Another streak crossed the sky to the south. Twilight made another check mark on her ever-present paper and resumed her meteor watching. It was a pity nopony else wanted to tag along, but this was the third day in a row that these showers were to appear, and Twilight knew that her friends were not as interested in astronomy as her. Spike had wanted to come along, but she had been firm – a growing dragon needs his sleep. Besides, she found herself enjoying this quiet time for contemplation. She sighed contentedly and smiled, making another mark as the sky was once again rent in twain by a streak of fire. She glanced down at her paper for a quick tally. She chided herself mildly as she came up to the final count of 248. She had told herself when she set out that she would go home at 100. After all, she had a busy day lined up tomorrow. After a visit to Zecora, she had a meeting with the Mayor to help with preparations for Celestia’s visit, followed by helping Applejack and Fluttershy work out a solution for keeping the animals out of the crops. She stood up, stretched her cramped legs, and started packing her things, when suddenly, she saw something that caused her to stop and stare in awe.
Location – Low Earth orbit, approximately eight minutes after the eruption of the Sun.
Major Williams had just crossed over the night side of the planet and was continuing his acceleration when he lost radio contact with ground control.
“Ground Control, this is Eagle 3, do you read me?” The only reply was static crackling in his ears. He thought quickly to himself that there must be some sort of unforeseen side effect caused by the anti-matter engine. Then he saw his connections to the backup computers, his navigation beacon and satellite relay were all dead. Now the sweat was starting to form as he desperately tried to come up with a feasible explanation for all of this. Could it be a terrorist attack? No, the odds of a coordinated attack against ALL the space centers were ridiculous. What about the EMP blast from a nuclear weapon detonated above the mainland US?
“Eagle 3 to ground control, come in!” No, he would be able to see that from here. He was in an experimental vehicle, spinning around the Earth at a fantastic speed. He had just lost all communication with the ground, and he had no idea what to do next. His eyes darted to the ejection handle. He gripped it with his left hand and began to count to 60. If he had not regained SOME sort of contact with Earth by then, he was going to abort the mission, and to hell with the bureaucrats. At 30 he noticed the Earth was dark. Major cites lay completely black. At 45 he saw the light of the sunrise far ahead, far brighter than it should have been. He had just reached 55 when he came into full view of the sun. In the seconds before the Eagle 3 began her death throes, he sent out his last transmission to a deaf world;
“Ground control, I am aborting mission! Repeat, I am abor-!”
Location – Event Horizon of a Space-Time anomaly.
The fabric of space-time can be likened to a vast elastic surface. The more massive an object is, the more it ‘sinks’ in the fabric. Also, like actual fabric, it can be broken, as in the case of black holes, which sink so far into the fabric that it warps reality itself. Many theories on faster-than-light travel also revolve around this warping reality, hence the term ‘Warp Drive’. In the case of the destruction of the Eagle 3, reality was indeed warped. So far warped, in fact, that it opened a hole in reality for a brief instant, and it was into this hole that Major Williams found himself propelled as time itself was bent around him, allowing him a brief glimpse of his apparently frozen craft in the midst of exploding. The event horizon of the space-time anomaly warped not space as a black hole does, where matter is pulled at variant rates depending on proximity to the center, but instead created a similar phenomenon with time. From Major Williams’ perspective, he ejected, and all time but his own froze as he plummeted into blackness. From normal time’s perspective, Major Williams appeared to simply vanish into the explosion that ever so briefly rivaled the raging sun.
Location – The Aforementioned Hill outside Ponyville.
Twilight Sparkle stared in amazement as a new meteor, far brighter than any she had ever seen, arced across the heavens. Its tail reached across the entire sky as it swept overhead, illuminating the ground with a harsh red light. Several seconds after it had passed directly overhead, and before she had time to even begin documenting this momentous event, an almighty ‘C-R-R-R-R-AAACK!’ ripped through the still night air. Twilight half-recognized the sound from Rainbow Dash’s sonic rainboom, but this was a harsh, ear-splitting noise that definitely did not leave a rainbow. Looking out over the path that the object had carved through the sky, she half expected to hear it smash into the ground with a deafening explosion. After several minutes passed, and after she had finished detailing the occurrence in full, she trotted off in the direction of Ponyville, which was just settling back down after its unexpected awakening. Twilight guessed that Rarity would not be too pleased with the sudden interruption of her so-called beauty sleep. She had read all about meteors before setting out, and also how sometimes they broke apart very low in the atmosphere, but that nopony had ever been close enough to observe one properly before. She gave a hop of joy in mid-stride. SHE was that pony! She might even take a trip to Canterlot to discuss it with top ponies in the field. It was with such happy thoughts that Twilight Sparkle reached her front door and went inside.
Location – An Unnamed Lake in the Everfree Forest.
Major Williams decided to count himself lucky. Yes, he had no idea where he was. Yes, his computer systems were fried. Yes, his jumpsuit was riding up on him. However, he was alive, and that was something. Either from skill or just plain luck he had been able to guide his careening escape capsule through the blistering atmosphere and smack dab into the middle of a rather massive lake. Musing over his approach, he decided that it was probably luck, but that he would claim skill on the official report. Sitting back in his seat, he glared out at his surroundings. Not much was visible past the inflated floats that ringed his craft, but what he couldn’t see irked him just as much as what he did see. What he did not see was a retrieval crew. No ships, no VTOL’s, no Navy divers, nothing. Heaving a sigh, he unfastened his harness and decompressed the cabin. As the canopy slowly rose, he decided he might as well dig out the emergency supplies and try to make landfall. Maybe that would keep his mind busy enough to stop him from wondering just what the hell had happened up there. Stepping out onto the top of the capsule in his bulky suit, he scanned the shore in the pre-dawn light. By the look of the trees, he was probably in the Florida Everglades or the Amazon. Fervently hoping that it was the former, he dragged the case marked ‘EMERGENCY USE ONLY’ out from its place behind his seat. Right, like he was going to decide to break out a protein bar in the middle of a test flight. Clipping it to his belt, he decided to let the wind do the work of beaching the craft and sat down to await landfall.
Location – Fluttershy’s Cottage.
Fluttershy had an abnormally busy morning that day. After that sudden noise last night, there were many animals that needed her attention. As she went from place to place, reassuring here, helping rebuild there, and retrieving the occasional lost little one, she lost track of time until the Ponyville bell tower struck a quarter till noon. With a squeak of dismay, she remembered she was supposed to meet Applejack and Twilight at the Café des Chevaux at noon! She was about to fly off as fast as she could when she noticed a monkey outside of her window.
‘Well hello there little monkey, I-’ She began before it leapt away and swung off through the trees.
‘Oh my…’ sighed Fluttershy to herself, as she watched it swing away. Suddenly, it took a sharp turn and disappeared into the Everfree Forest. So that’s where he came from… She puzzled briefly over why he had left in the first place, but she was almost late, so she pushed it to the back of her mind. With that, the pale yellow pegasus winged gracefully through the trees on her way to lunch with her friends.
Location – Lakeshore in the Everfree Forest.
“Well Tom, last stop.” Major Williams had been stuck on a sandbar 50 feet from shore for about 15 minutes now, and it was now quite apparent that it was going to remain that way. Muttering darkly to himself, he slid down the side of the blackened capsule and into the waist-deep, murky water. He promptly fell over. Sitting up again, he was glad that he had decided to keep his helmet on. This lake was nasty. He took a step forward, expecting to push off and start swimming. Instead he sank to the bottom, weighted down by the case of supplies hooked to his waist. Now that he was completely submerged, he was REALLY glad he had left his helmet on. This case weighed a ton, and he couldn’t reach the capsule to pull himself back up above the water. Heaving a sigh of resignation, he began trudging forward. There was more than one way to get out of this damn lake.
Location – Fluttershy’s Cottage.
Fluttershy’s day had not let up since that morning. After lunch, she had returned home to find what seemed to be the entire animal population of the Everfree Forest spilling out into Ponyville. After several hours of rounding up, she still didn’t seem to be getting any closer to solving the problem. More animals just kept coming.
“Oh, what could have caused all this?” she wondered out loud. Maybe she should go and get help… but in the time it would take to do that, the problem would just get worse! And Rainbow was always telling her to be more assertive… and she had quite enough of futile herding. It was time for action! What could be causing all these animals to leave the forest? Clearly, something IN the forest must be to blame. She was determined to find it and… and… well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. For starters, she had to find whatever it was. Maybe it was somehow connected to that noise last night. Twilight had said that it never hit the ground, so what could it be? It was a nervous, but determined Fluttershy that set out for the heart of the Everfree to discover what lay beyond that was causing her beloved animals so much distress. After a time of wandering around, she noticed that the forest was unnaturally quiet. Not a single bird sang or squawked to break the thick silence that lay all around. The silence was just unnatural. The sudden snap of a twig under her own hooves caused her to squeak in fright and bolt forward for several lengths, before realizing what it was. Fluttershy, now seriously doubting the wisdom of doing this alone, was about to head back when something caught her eye through the trees. It was a lake of some sort, and there was some… thing in the water that she couldn’t make out. Moving forward cautiously, she squeezed under a bush and peeked out at what appeared to be several large balloons attached to what looked like a smooth, blackened rock with a door of some sort in the top. The door was ajar, and she was wondering whether she should go back to town and get her friends, or try to get a better look at the object, when the lake surface in front of her erupted and a tall, bulky white creature with a shiny dome for a head emerged with water pouring off the weeds that clung to it, and began striding on two legs up the rocky embankment.
|
B0bthebum
|
1261
| 2 |
Fluttershy,Twilight Sparkle,Crossover,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Fallen Eagles
|
Major Thomas Williams of NASA was wondering if he would ever get any further than Earth's orbit.
|
incomplete
| 20 | 1 |
<p>Major Thomas Williams of NASA was wondering if he would ever get any further than Earth's orbit. Turns out he got quite a bit further than he expected.</p>
|
teen
|
2012-11-30T02:30:33+00:00
|
2012-11-30T02:30:33+00:00
| 846 |
Location – Lakeshore in the Everfree Forest
Trudging up the embankment, Major Williams unfastened the case of supplies and placed it on top of a flattish rock, and proceeded to remove his Zero-Atmosphere Suit. Standing in the sun for a moment in his flight suit, he stretched his muscles and reveled in his freedom of movement. Closing his eyes momentarily as he stretched his back, he lost his footing on the uneven rocks and fell. He extended his left arm to break his fall and stopped short, his arm caught fast between two large rocks. A sickening crack reached his ears an instant before his mind was filled with screaming pain.
Fluttershy never saw the Major remove his suit or fall, because as soon as she saw him emerge from the lake she promptly cowered down into the underbrush and covered her eyes with her hooves. She remained that way, trembling and doing her best to stay silent, until a sharp crack followed by an unbridled and decidedly masculine bellow of pain caused her to jump and sit up. The sight that greeted her was a creature trapped and in pain, and without thinking she moved to assist it. Quickly assessing the situation, she grasped the creature’s trapped appendage and twisted it free of the rock, and was promptly answered with a quick series of short, hard exclamations that stopped short as the creature’s head turned and brought her into its field of view. Now it was just staring at her with its mouth hanging open and a blank look on its features, which were rapidly draining of color. She wasn’t sure what this meant, but at least it didn’t seem angry. The way it held its foreleg and the sharp crack she had heard probably meant that it was broken, but she had never seen one of these before, and wasn’t sure how to treat it. Deciding that the best course of action was to set up a splint and ask Twilight if she could identify it, she took the creature by its uninjured foreleg, helped it up, and began guiding the strange creature back towards town, gently reassuring while they went.
As he walked, Major Williams tried repeatedly to make sense of what was going on, and each time he came up with nothing. When this small horse had freed his arm, he ceased to be the independent and proud survivor, and began to question his own sanity. It had crossed his mind that the crack he had heard was in fact his skull, that might explain some of this, but his arm hurt too much for it to be a hallucination. Attempting to forget the absurdity of it all, he decided to take stock of the situation from an objective viewpoint. Number one; this flying pony could talk. Nothing he could understand, but her voice was soothing and definitely feminine. Number two; she was taking him somewhere. Just where the hell that was, he had no idea. With a sinking feeling he realized he was definitely not in the Everglades, or the Amazon. In fact, he would be pretty damn surprised if this even turned out to be Earth.
As Fluttershy made her way towards home she looked over the strange being that seemed to have fallen out of the sky into her day. It seemed to be wearing some strange glossy clothing, and had a patch of brown hair on its head. The rest of him that was visible seemed to be hairless and smooth. Overall he had many characteristics of monkeys that she had seen but with several marked differences, namely he had no tail, walked upright on his hind legs, and smelled better. Apart from his initial scream and subsequent outburst, he hadn’t made a sound, but then again he was probably suffering from shock due to his injury. Exiting the confines of the Everfree, she led him up to her cottage and sat him down outside.
“Now, you wait right here and I’ll be right back, okay?” The only response she got was another blank stare before he began gazing at his surroundings with the same expression. However, he didn’t seem inclined to go anywhere and that was good enough for her.
Sitting outside what appeared to be a house inside a tree, Major Williams wondered just how to classify the creature that had just gone inside. It was small, equine, presumably female, yellow, with a pale pink mane, and was flying. He found it difficult to come up with a single word for it, and decided to settle on pegasus. It was a winged horse and that was a fair enough description. He was interrupted from further musings by her return, and he noticed that she now carried a length of cloth and several short sticks in her teeth. She placed them on the stump next to him and reached for his injured arm with her hooves. He reluctantly and gingerly allowed her to arrange his arm on the stump, where she promptly and neatly arranged a makeshift splint, holding down the fabric with her hooves and tying the knot with her teeth, which the Major found interesting, albeit strange.
Having put the creature’s broken limb in a splint to prevent further damage and to reduce swelling, Fluttershy offered him a bowl of water, which he gratefully drank. Having given him a chance to rest, she decided it was time to move again. Once again taking him by the foreleg she flew alongside him, guiding him across her stream towards Ponyville and her friends.
|
Discorded Q
|
1262
| 1 |
Romance,Sad
|
Head First
|
The story of DarkStorm, the latest 'first son' of the line of the Storms.
|
hiatus
| -1 | -1 |
<p>Dark storm is a multiple story add-on to Season 1 Episode 5 with side stories. The story about how DarkStorm went ahead and asked Rainbow Dash, the "Coolest and Fastest flyer in AAAALLLLLL of Equestria", out, and gets harshly rejected.<br /><br />He then bumps into someone important.<br /><br />PS> i will work on finishing this after i complete Jabbing Point. No not Jabbing Point, Harmony, Nature and Anarchy</p>
|
everyone
| null |
2012-02-08T04:36:49+00:00
| 747 |
Disclaimer: I made another one of these with Pinkie Pie random statements, but the stupid unstable programs that the mac has erased all that ☹ but anyhow…
I do not own ponies, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship is magic is owned by Studio B Productions, Hasbro, The Hub, Lauren Faust and anyone else who I forgot to mention, I am super duper ooper sorry for any inconveniences caused.
Now… ON WITH THE STORY!!!
Thrills, DarkStorm lived for them, the dark blue Pegasus pony perched on the edge of a dark storm cloud that resembled the color of his mane and tail, though at the end of his tail the hair lightened out to a light blue, the color of lightning and it was only fitting that his cutie mark was a picture of a storm cloud with purple lightning surrounding it. He looked through the tunnel through the storm clouds before him. Pegasi never usually fly through storms because of the fact that the rain would hinder their flight, the water damping their feathers and weighting their fur, mane and tail. However DarkStorm defied this rule and preferred to train in the stormy weather. He was more than used to dark stormy conditions, however all the experience in the word could not prepare him for what happened that night.
He flapped his wings as he hovered above the hole before him, then he dived, head first down the tunnel wings folded by his side, front hooves out in front of his body, hind legs out behind him and his head out forward between his front legs. His eyes were reduced to slits as he built speed, the water drops falling in the clouds started to match his speed, he looked to his left to find millions of little ‘hims’ looking back at him as reflections of the water drops. He then dipped his head forward again and gained even more speed, seeing the end in sight DarkStorm spread out his wings and made them clip the side of the wall, he burst out of the hole and his wings left a trail of lightning from the storm clouds. Seeing the ground magnifying in front of him he tilted his head up and leveled out, the rain heavily pelting his head, as his wings sliced through the torrents of water, like a pair of sharpened dragon scales cutting through melted butter.
Small aqua bullets were smashing into him failing to falter him in anyway, as his usually wild mane was plastered onto his neck. He took in all the bliss the storm had to offer, but what can you expect? His name was ‘Storm’ for a reason; he made the most violent storms if he was angry, especially since he grieved over her. He sighed inwardly, and then he flew upwards slicing through the monochromatic cotton candy floating aimlessly in the sky. He made it through the storm clouds and burst through the top, silence. He had lost track of time as he collapsed to the sea of clouds on his back, and he noticed that it was midnight, Luna’s majestic moon hung lazily above him. Pelting him with an intense feeling of sorrow from the experience he had only a few hours before.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Earlier
DarkStorm glided through the air as Celestia’s sun rose behind him. He navigated his way to a house made of clouds and rainbows, to meet a certain cyan Pegasus with multi-colored streaks of pure awesomeness for a mane and tail. He landed on what appeared to be a front porch. What if she is not awake? He asked himself. NO!! Today is the day, FOCUS YOU HAVE A MISSION TO DO! A mean fed-up conscience said to him. He hesitantly knocked the door, and heard a “Hang on a sec!” So he did, every second felt like an eternity to him, he looked towards Celestia’s sun but instantly regretted it as his eyes burned in painful protest; He used one of his forelegs to rub them. “Well your he- oh!” She said as she opened the door catching him cowering at the sun. DarkStorm saw her, stopped, made his composure return and flashed an embarrassed smile. “Oh your not Gil-… Hello.” She said as if recovering from a mistake.
“Hello, umm…” He shyly said.
“Yeeeees?” She said impatiently.
He looked at her eyes, she was obviously in a rush, so he thought that maybe now wasn’t a good time, he closed his eyes but then the mean drill sergeant voice came back, Don’t back down soldier, YOU HAVE A MISSION TO DO! FINNISH IT! He sighed then built up enough courage to say, “My name is DarkStorm and I have seen you fly around town and well…” He nervously used a foreleg to rub the back of his head.
She new where this was headed and wanted to play along, “I know, I’m pretty good ay?”
'The best', he thought, “Well, I was wandering if you’d maybe like to umm, meet up later?”
She leaned against the door frame nonchalantly, “Mr. DarkStorm, are you asking me out?” She asked with a sideways grin not hiding the fact that she was toying with him.
“Please, call me Storm, and yes I, guess I am… So… Do you want to?” He asked with false confidence.
“Hehe, sure!” She laughed lightly, and smiled. Knowing that if you get a girl to laugh at you, you’re definitely on her good side.
“Great! So I’ll fly-by at 8?” He said.
“Sure, just, don’t be late, I don’t enjoy waiting. I just hope that my friend from camp shows up in time… HA! Speak of the nightmare! ” She said looking past him.
He turned around expecting another Pegasus but found a giant, glorious hawk thing standing there eyeing him, he felt a chill go up his spine, nothing new to him. “She’s a-“ He started to exclaim.
“Griffin, yes. Storm, this is my long time griffin friend Gilda.” Rainbow introduced. He knew what griffins were, because it was a griffin that took his father and his younger brother away from him, his mother and baby sister.
"Momma? Where's Pop and Light?" He remembered him saying.
"I'm sorry, he's- they're- gone." His mother choked holding him closely, "Those bloody griffins~"
Those bloody griffins.
“I gathered… Miss Gilda, does the name ‘StormCloud or Lightning’ mean anything to you?” He asked the griffin wanting information. He locked the griffin in a death stare, the signature ‘StormStare’ passed to him from his father. The StormStare was an ability passed onto every first born in the line of the Storms. The Storms would use this ability as a threatening act and to prepare for an intense fight. He felt the static building around him, the electricity in his eyes started to show as sparks swam in his pupils.
“Nope, can’t say I’ve ever heard of them, gees chillax dude.” ‘Gilda’ simply said looking away shunning his question.
'She must know right? Griffins must have connections right?' He thought to himself, not taking that as an excuse. He felt the rage in his back as he flared his wings out to his sides, and lowered his head in ready for an attack, small bursts electricity arcing from his spine to his feathers, he would of attacked her if he didn’t here someone shout, “RISE AND SHINE RAINBOWDASH IT”S A BRAND NEW DAY AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PRANKING TO~” This distraction proved useful as the griffin turned away from him walking to the edge of the cloud, he didn’t hear much else because he had his wings flare up with a look of pure anger on his face.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Rainbow said trying to calm him down bouncing him back to reality.
“Griffins are not to be trusted.” He said menacingly, his voice lowered and fierce; “I’ll see you here at 8.” With that he shot off from the place he was standing leaving a trail of electricity in his wake. Feeling the StormStare wearing off the after-effects started to kick in, Fatigue- Building electricity around oneself without the need for speed is physically and mentally draining. Followed by Pain- the pain starts at the most prominent source of the lightning, the back and spine, working it’s way to the head. Then ending with regret- what if Rainbow took acceptation to what he was doing? She wouldn’t have forgiven him. What if Rainbow got hurt if he attacked? He wouldn’t forgive himself if he did.
Feeling terribly tired and hurt he glided to the nearest cloud and rested on it.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hours Later
Celestia’s sun was hanging high in the sky to mark noon. DarkStorm woke up no longer feeling the after-effects of the stare present. He decided to make a place to meet up out of cloud, so he got to work. After he finished he flew backwards and admired his work. It wasn’t much but it looked okay, it was just a flat field of cloud with an archway of finely carved ‘solid’ cloud. The archway took him most the day, Celestia’s sun was an hour gone and was replaced with Luna’s moon, Storm was absolutely amazed by the pure beauty of the moon, never before has storm seen the moon this big, and wonderful. He thanked the princess of the night and went to go get Rainbow Dash. He flew towards the cloud home and landed on the porch again.
He knocked on the door, and waited… And waited, he checked the moon’s position, and it looked just past 8, 8:30 even, he knocked again and called her name, then waited and waited some more. Hours passed, no answer came, He. Was. Furious. DarkStorm was always getting rejected, always.
Memories of the illusion of love that he was trapped in exploded into his mind.
“Just wait here! I’ll be right back~” An evil, seductive voice rang in his mind.
“I’m back! With the one I love!” The evil voice laughed a horrible twisted sadistic laugh.
“I thought you loved me!” DarkStorm’s voice yelled in his mind.
“YOU THOUGHT WRONG DARKSTUMP!” She yelled back at him with a shrill laughter from both her and that blasted stallion.
“nnnnn-NNNNNO!” He yelled aloud, “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AGAIN!”
He channeled his rage towards his hoof. As his rage sparked in his hoof, he flared his wings and flapped to hover but he decided against destroying her home so he just wrote on the door: “Turns out, I don’t like waiting either. Just, forget about it. –Storm.” Heart heavy with sorrow and anger he left the cloud fortress and made it to the clouds he made. He landed in the center of the field, and looked around, gutted by what happened, hurt by his stupidity and blinded by rage, he flew up.
“RRAAAGGGGGGHHH!!” He bellowed then plummeted down, hitting the center of the field. He released all his rage all at once creating a shockwave that made all the clouds that was affected by it turn dark grey and start storming. He looked toward the archway as cracks ran up it, crumbling the solid cloud. The clouds below him turned hard and started to crack, he stepped off and the clouds crumbled away. He calmed down and saw the hole.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Moments of memory passed as he looked upon the moon, “At least I still have you.” He said calmly, and then he swore he saw it shake as he heard an intense wail coming from below ripping through the storm. He immediately dived down into the clouds to check what it was, he broke through the clouds and heard the cries, and he flew towards where he thought it was coming from. It was dark and stormy, both his elements, but that didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t see, he flew towards the noise, the cries got too loud, and sounded close.
Then he crashed.
He didn’t realize what happened, he just crashed into something and felt something pierce his skin below his right eye. He thought he was being attacked but that thought immediately was drowned out by a cry from his assailant. They crashed into each other and was forced into a mid air hug. He could feel the assailant go limp, the assailant was knocked out, he would of broke off and flew away if the moon didn’t show him who this pony was, the moonlight broke through the clouds and lit up his assailant, he almost gasped when the moon revealed the princess of the moon herself.
She was knocked out and wouldn’t survive the fall from that height he thought, he grabbed her again, turned her above him and fell back first, he held her with all four of his legs and wings, he braced himself for a terrible impact.
THUD!!
He landed on the ground with an immense thud, a pained and forced grunt of pain escaped his mouth as the air in his lungs was almost knocked clean out, but he felt her shiver from the cold of the rain. He used the rest of the energy he had to push her off his stomach and onto the ground; he then tried to get up. He struggled on his endeavor, gasping for air as he tried to get up and he was already feeling numb from his legs. He tried with immense pain and effort to get on top of the princess, he laid on her back using his wings as best he could to wrap the princess giving her what ever warmth he had, then he was out of energy, his vision went black as he went limp.
He tasted blood.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
He woke up… He could hear humming, beautiful, kind and soft humming. Just listening to this made him feel ok, and this comfortable bed he was on. Then realized where he was, no, where he wasn’t. He didn’t remember sleeping inside. He didn’t remember where he slept at all. He tried to remember.
Waiting. Writing. Raging. Destroying. Flying. Then what? He tried again, but to it didn’t work. Then he felt a damp sponge press on his head, he opened his eyes quickly and gasped.
The timid yellow Pegasus shot back with a quiet shriek, “Oh. U-umm, you’re awake!” She said timidly. DarkStorm grunted response, he tried to get up but moving hurt. “P-please, don’t get up, not yet at least.” She tried to calm him.
“Ggnnah… Head my hurt… I am where…” He tried to say, but couldn’t think right and could not speak properly ”Happened what?” Making long sentences was hard, so he settled for one-worded sentences, “Location?” He asked.
“Oh, you’re in my cottage…” The yellow Pegasus said as she walked over to him.
“Reason?” He said bluntly.
“I-I’m not entirely sure, umm, the princess just barged in here with you and asked for my help.”
“Princess? PRINCESS!” He then remembered what happened. Destroying. Flying. Crashing. Hurting. Realizing. Holding. Falling. Landing. Bleeding. He shot up but instantly regretted it as intense pain erupted from his back and wings, he grunted in agony.
“P-please stay still…” The caring Pegasus said, easing him back down with a hoof on his back, making sure his wings were not going to hurt when he laid back down.
Storm got a look of her face, and saw a lovely teal blue eye looking back at him the other eye was covered with a flowing pink mane, and a caring smile adding to her cuteness. “Name?” He simply asked.
“O-oh no, umm, she didn’t tell me your name.” She looked worried now, and DarkStorm was already missing her adorable face.
“No, name of yours?” He dumbly said.
“Oh!” She laughed quietly with her mouth closed, and blushed, “My name is FlutterShy.” She smiled, obviously liking her patient.
‘Ahh she’s back’ He thought as she smiled, but then he remembered something. “Princess ok?”
“Yeah, she is fine, she’s just down stairs.”
“Present her?”
She left the room and DarkStorm heard her walk down the stairs and speak.
He felt a slight sting underneath his right eye, he moved his hoof up to reach it with great effort, and then he put his hoof to his face and felt a bandage. He sighed and put his hoof back down.
“Yes? You wanted to see me?” Luna walked to the bedroom. He moved his head towards the voice, and saw the advancing princess, as well as the tear stains disgracing her face.
“Ok you are?” He asked, but Luna didn’t quite know what he meant, she stared at the injured Pegasus before her, with a tear forming in her misty eye. “Please, cry not.” He tried to put on his best smile, “Closer, please.” He then said. She moved towards him and stood next to his bed, the tear seeping out of her eye. DarkStorm never had seen such beauty as this, her figure could only compare to one thing, it was so obvious what she looked like, she was a living symbol of the beauty of the night sky.
“Beauty you are.” He tried to compliment her.
She couldn’t hold herself any more, she pitied the injured Pegasus too much, she started crying, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do this, I’m just, so s-sorry.” She fell to the floor in a crying fit. Storm shifted his position to face the weeping princess. “Your fault not. My chose do this. Forgive you I.” He said dumbly. The princess looked up at the pony, now looking at her. She was a mess, her mane looked out of place and new tears flowed over the dried ones. She stood up.
“You forgive me?” She asked weakly.
“Yes, I forgive you.” He said, his daze wearing off, “Ahh, Speech better slightly, I smart feel now, aww man.” He joked, and laughed weakly. The princess could only hold a small smile, as she got closer to him.
“I did this to you, I’m sorry.” She whispered.
“No, I did this to me. I acted to save you.”
“But I- My horn stabbed you below the eye.” She protested.
“All forgiven is, I crashed into you crashing into me, equal blame.”
“But I- I suppose that makes sense.” She sighed.
He brought his hoof up to his head and rubbed it with the wrist part of his leg, “Starting to clear, I feel better now.”
She smiled as more tears streamed her face; he saw this and said, “Lean in please.” She did what was told, fearing the worst she closed her eyes, only to open them shortly thereafter when she felt his hoof on her cheek, rubbing away her tears. “Thank you.” He said.
She took slight exception to this and wept quietly, “For what? For hospitalizing you? For making you unable to speak? For stabbing y-?”
“Giving me a beautiful night sky every night and for letting me meet you.” He interrupted, “Do you know what you look like?” He kept his hoof on her face as he said that.
“What?” She felt her tears well back up inside her expecting an insult.
Getting the expected response from her, he decided to dive head first on the question, answering with, “The night itself, boundless beauty.”
She lost her composure again as she used a hoof to hold his, tears once again flowed out, not tears of sadness, but tears of joy, only to be half soaked up by the Pegasus’ hoof.
“My name is DarkStorm, and I will live in the day, but I live for the night.”
|
CircusHorse
|
1263
| 1 |
Applejack,Soarin,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Sex
|
Applejack's night out
|
Applejack is feeling lonely and goes to a black club to find a stallion.
|
incomplete
| 75 | 12 |
mature
|
2011-10-07T09:17:35+00:00
|
2011-10-07T09:17:35+00:00
| 5,624 |
It was a normal Saturday night at the Staggering Stallion. The filthy black club was renowned in Ponyville for its gloom and dark atmosphere. The club endorsed smoking inside, sold cheap smuggled beer and criminals often hung out there. Fights, arguments and threats were common. But even so, it was Applejacks favourite club. She didn’t like the criminals that ran around there though. Being the honest hard-working pony, she frowns on criminal behaviour. But they weren’t hardcore criminals, just low-life smugglers, tax evaders and common gangsters. They weren’t extreme bad guys who stepped down on others. They were actually a lot friendlier than your average high-class Canterlot Unicorn. They never committed any ‘serious crimes’ that would hurt somepony severely. And they were tolerable in that sense.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack would often hang out here, as if it were their secret place. Both of them couldn’t imagine any other of their friends like it here. The ponies that meddled around here weren’t really friendly and most of them were plain jerks. The floor was covered with sticky dried alcohol, the tables weren’t clean and the stingy smell of puke in the bathrooms would even make Rarity faint. But it was a place where Applejack felt welcome, in a way that she somehow belonged here rather than some fancy high-class prissy bar. She was, top to bottom a dirty pony. Rainbow Dash liked it here because she preferred harsh language and the rough ponies.
However this night Applejack was there alone. She had a desire for a stallion that could ‘rock’ her world, or in other words make her orgasm. She just wanted a simple lay nothing else, no dates, no foreplay just simple sex. And this place was perfect for it. After all, mares didn’t come here alone too hang out. They came to fool around. The reason why Applejack was longing for a stallion was simply because she was feeling lonely. Working all day at the farm was nothing exciting. She had grown wary of the lonely nights, only sharing the bed with her dog Winona. At times she would play with herself. Thinking of the various stallions she had seen on the market when she was selling apples, sometimes she would think of Big Macs friends that would come around the farm and even mares. Her brother would often bring home different mares. Being the ‘big stud’ he often managed to persuade mares for his pleasures. It made Applejack envious. Not because she had interest in Big Mac, but because he got action almost every week while and Applejack got nothing.
Applejack heard two stallions that were sitting behind her whispering to each other. She heard that they were talking about her rump and she couldn’t help to smile a little for it. Applejack wasn’t comparable to Rarity in sheer beauty and she didn’t have a slim curvy body like Rainbow Dash. But the one thing she was most proud of was her behind. Applejack would often strut around in Ponyville glancing at the stallions turning their heads to see her back. It made her feel good, and even boosted her self-esteem. In the club some courageous stallion would come up to her and try to flirt and other stallion used alcohol to build up that courage. And they only fixed their eyes downwards on her. Although Applejack wasn’t known for here pickiness, she still had standards. Sleazy stallions like the ones behind her, was not what she was looking for.
Applejack heard the stallion snickering with his friend as he walked towards her. Applejack was hanging her head looking down at her drink trying to ignore the stallion that crept closer towards her.
It was a repulsive chubby unicorn. “Hey babe” he said, putting his hoof on Applejacks hind legs slightly stroking it. “you seem a little lonely. Want to join me at our table?” he wiggled his eyebrows, making the most pathetic attempt to flirt with Applejack.
“Yea, ah don’t think so, vermin.” Applejack slapped his hoof away from her hind legs glowering at him.
The unicorn snorted and wiped his nose backing away from her. “Fine… Be a fucking bitch then.” He walked to his friend and chuckled.
Applejack shook her head at his sad attempt. She took a sip at her drink and let out a disappointing sigh. She began thinking that coming here alone was perhaps a bad idea. She didn’t even know how to approach other stallions. So she had to use the old ‘sit at bar and be bait’ technique to have stallions come to her instead. But most of them were either ugly or sleazy like the unicorn.
When she and Rainbow Dash were here, better looking stallions would often to them. But it was all because of Rainbow Dash. She was better at talking to stallions in a more seductive way. And she was popular in Ponyville, not only for being that ‘awesome pegasi pony’ that does cool tricks everyday but also because she was the best young flier in Equestria. So when stallions would come over too her and Rainbow Dash, it often so happened that Applejack was stuck with the ‘leftover’ guys. So Applejack needed to prove to herself that she didn’t need Rainbow Dash as a wingmare to get laid.
A voice spoke next to her. “You look gloom, guys giving you a hard time eh?”
Applejack looked up from her drink in curiosity on who was talking to her. It was a light-blue coated pegasus. He had a light-dark mane that waved backwards. He was muscular. And he had a much different looking body structure than the unicorn that came before him. The stallion looked very fit and even sort of sexy.
“Eeyup… And it looks like another one has joined the fray.” Applejack couldn’t help to be a little sour against him.
The pegasus just laughed. “Harsh…” he paused for a moment. “You know, I’ve been watching you all night. Well, since you got here at least. And you’ve been turning down colt after stallion and even that funny looking lesbian mare.”
“So you figured y’all try yer luck on me then?”
“Both yes and no. You see… You look like somepony.” The pegasus took a seat next to Applejack trying to engage her in the conversation.
“Ah look like somepony?”
“I’m not sure. But I’m almost positive.” The pegasus stared at Applejack for a moment. “You wouldn’t happen to be selling apple pastries at the Grand Galloping Gala last year?”
Applejack got a lot more intrigued as she turned her whole head to face the pegasus. “Why sure Ah did. Or rather Ah tried, but didn’t get any sales so I just closed up.” Applejack gave a long sigh at her total failure.
“You didn’t get a single sale, huh? Are you sure about that?” The pegasus grinned at Applejack.
Applejack clinched her eyebrows together at his question and began pondering. “No… Ah think there was one pony who bought an apple pie. T’was mah first sale in the first minute, but the rest of the gala was a complete disaster.” Applejack looked down as she reminisced about that night.
“Guess you don’t recognize your first and only customer then.” The pegasus scratched his chin, looking as ignorant as possible.
Applejacks eyes snapped wide open as she begun remembering flashes of the pony who bought her apple pie. She remembered it was a Wonderbolt, with the same wavy mane as he had and the same voice. Although it was more than a year ago she didn’t completely forget her first customer at the gala. The customer that got her hopes… “You wouldn’t happen to be that Wonderbolt that bought mah pie are ye?”
“The very same! I didn’t think you would actually remember.” The pegasus drew his seat closer to Applejack. “You weren’t there this year though. I even kind of missed your apple pies. I looked all over for your stand.”
Applejack felt flattered. “Sorry, I don’t think I’ll ever attend again. Galas ain’t mah thing and all…”
“That’s too bad. I can’t stand those high pricey low-fat buffet dishes.”
Applejack smiled warmly at the pegasus. She began to get interested in him. “What’s your name?”
“Soarin´. Yours?”
“Applejack, you can call me AJ for short if ya want.”
“Nice meeting you AJ.” They shook hoofs. “So, tell me about yourself.”
***
Applejack and Soarin´ was on his bed lying on their sides kissing. Applejack had followed Soarin´ to his hotel in Ponyville. She felt a strong temptation for him whenever they kissed. Her head was in full heat in the hot moment between them. As they kept kissing, she felt his penis poking Applejack as it started to grow in size. Applejack heart swayed at the thought of it, this was finally happening for her. She broke the kiss and slid down with her body placing her head below his chin. He was taller than her so she had to adjust herself in his manner. Applejack lifted her leg up and spread her breast to allow his shaft to burrow in between them. Her snout was deep within Soarin´s coat. He smelt like rain. While kissing his throat and chest she slowly moved her hips while pressing her breast together with her hoofs against his penis. Soarin´ kissed and nuzzled in Applejacks mane as she did her kinky thing. She felt his penis growing out of her breast as the tried to move her hips with longer distance.
Applejack had enough and wanted to see the real thing. She dived down into the sheet to see it. Soarin´ turned his body and got on his back while Applejack followed his motion positioning herself between his legs. She threw the sheets behind her so she could see his penis in brighter context. The slight illumination from the moon made her gleeful of it. She wanted to smell it, taste it and feel it. She rested his warm penis on her cheek. She felt it still growing bigger and harder, inch by inch expanding. She rubbed her smooth cheek against it as her mouth started to get watery in anticipation. She started from his balls, slowly sucking and licking them gently, since they were fragile things.
Applejack worked her way to the base and withdrew her tongue to soak it in her saliva. A grand long lick from top to bottom she wetted his dry shaft with her wet tongue. Making it sparkle from the moonlight. Soarin´ intensified his breathing as Applejack licked him with great enticement. She licked all over to make his penis completely wet. She raised her head to get above his tip. She slightly rubbed her nose against the tip smelling its aroma. Applejack closed her eyes and slowly inserted his whole shaft in her mouth. She moved her head up and down tilting sometimes to the left and right to slightly bend it. Soarin´ caressed Applejacks mane, removing her hair to see her face. She felt warm as he stroked her and moved her mane gently.
Applejack was enjoying making Soarin´ feel good. She massaged his under-shaft with her tongue rubbing it up and down, while counter pressing it with her hoof sucking hard. After several minutes, without warning he ejaculated. Applejack had little time to seal her lips preventing his semen to escape. She quickly swallowed the amount she had in her mouth with pleasure and greedily licked the remnants that seeped down to his testicles. She cleaned them carefully trying to get everything. Applejack noticed his shaft growing more flaccid afterwards.
“Please don’t tell me y’all ready done…” She said with a worrying tone.
“Don’t worry, give it sometime.” He responded with a calm assertive voice trying to soothe Applejack.
Applejack shook his penis around as it started to shrink, beginning to feel worried that he might not have been that enduring stallion she thought he was. But she trusted him to give it some time.
Soarin´ rose up and lifted Applejacks head. “You are way too giving AJ.” Soarin´ reached Applejacks forehead and licking it gently.
Applejack felt awkward at the slobbering lick and couldn’t help to blush.
Soarin´ led Applejack up in a sitting position with his hooves and slowly pushing her down on her back. He leaned over Applejacks thighs spreading her legs wrapping his forelegs around them. Immediately she understood what was going on. It was Applejacks turn to lay down in delight.
Soarin´ began by inhaling Applejacks scent. It was a strong scent that made him ticklish in his nose. But it turned him on immensely and he was already growing stiff again. He reached his lips to meet Applejacks vaginal lips. With his lips slightly touching them, he felt that they were pulsating almost as if they had a heart of their own. The fluid caused a light damp around her fur, made them look soaked. Soarin´ started to blow cool air on them making Applejack quiver at the surprising chilling feeling. He teased her, giving out small fabrics of a lick on different spots. Her taste was sweet and watery. Applejack had to bite her lips not to comment on the teasing, even though she didn’t like it. It made her grow impatient and sensitive. His oral presentation was uncontrollable for her and it almost made her mind go into a different state as the thrilling shivers made her tremble with every lick.
Applejack moved her hips closer to Soarin´s mouth. She wanted him to start licking for real and stop teasing. Soarin´ understood right away, that he had been teasing for way too much and opened his mouth wide as if he was ready to take a big bite out of her. He rested his upper-jaw above Applejacks vagina and elastically waving his tongue inside her. Applejack started to twist and turn her head, moaning from every motion his tongue made. The sensation was unbearable and she felt her whole body itching from the excitement. Soarin´ lifted Applejacks rump up while eating her, making her back bend towards her. He reached deep inside her painting her walls with his tongue. Her stomach fluttered with every move he made making her moan even louder. Soarin´ put Applejacks rump down again and proceeded delighting himself in her bodily fluids.
Applejack rested her forelegs on her head starting to fantasize about him. She thought about him mounting her like they were savage animals from the Everfree forest. It was only them two on an open grass plain doing it without pause and break. It was natural and wild. The continuous fantasy made her reach to the point of climax as everything gathered down her and exploded all through out her body. Applejack had to rise up from the sensual orgasm and she pressed Soarin´s head harder against her vagina. Soarin´ kept going, knowing she was at the peak of her orgasm and he could feel her vagina slightly twitching.
After the orgasm Applejack laid down again panting and seemed almost out of breath. Soarin´ rested is chin above Applejacks vagina with a grin.
“That seemed like a big one.” He said mildly to her stroking her stomach.
Still panting she tried to find the right words to speak. “Ah’m a tad sensitive when it comes to these things…”
Soarin´ crawled over Applejack lying on top of her face to face. She could feel his penis erect again as he pressed it against her body.
“You want to do it like this or other?” He whispered with a roguish smile.
“From behind.” She replied lightly.
Without hesitation Soarin´ stepped off Applejack so she could position herself. She wanted to do it just like she fantasized about; behind, hard, and savagely. Applejack turned around and got on all fours. She whipped up her tail hair causing it to lay down her back. With her head down and rump up she crossed her hind-legs squeezing a drip of juice from her vagina making it seep down her legs. Soarin´ licked his lips greedily upon the sight. Applejack threw a quick glance at his erected penis before he would stick it in. She noticed that it was bigger than before, as if it had reached its full potential. Applejack positioned herself comfortably and gave a slight nod to Soarin´ implying that she was ready.
Soarin´ got on top of her, flapping his wings to get himself into a good position to push it in. The tip went in easily as he breached her, since the amount of wetness and fluids were enough lubricant. She was tight though, so he had to push his shaft in harder. Applejack made quiet meek groaning noises with every breath she took. Her eyes began watering up from the stinging pain. But the sensation of his shaft pushing deeper overthrew the pain making her feel that warm sensual feeling she had been longing for all this time. He went slowly at first to see how far he could go. He had to pull it back a little to give another slow push. The deeper he went, the louder Applejack started to moan. He was only half way in too, so there was still much to get in.
Occasionally Soarin´ would flap his wings giving a cool breeze to Applejack as he tried to adjust himself further inside her. He found his stop point and began picking up speed into his thrusts while holding his hoofs around her body. Applejack pressed her head in the sheet trying to not make as much noise as possible. She separated her crossed legs to make more room for him and spread them wide while supporting all his weight. With her teeth barring against each other, she focused her mind to pinpoint that certain spot. Soarin´ began finding his rhythm and started thrusting deeper, harder and most importantly for Applejack, it was faster. Her eyes rolled backwards as her vagina felt like an open fire. It melted, she melted and everything around her melted. She bit the mattress trying to endure the orgasm that was slowly building up. It came closer and closer as her breathing started to speed up matching Soarin´s humps. She loved it, every single second of it. With her mouth gaping open she couldn’t help to give a light soft scream as her orgasm took over her entire body. Soarin´ was still thrusting living up to Applejacks expectations. All those lonely nights, all worries and all troubles seemed to fade away in that minute.
The orgasm lasted for so long it made her lose balance of her left leg, causing both of them to tip. Soarin´ pulled back the other leg causing Applejack to lay flat down on her stomach with him still pumping. He went closer to her lying tight on top of her with his whole body. She could feel his lungs expanding against her back as he started to breathe faster. With their heads rubbing against each other Applejack went in trance with Soarin´. Even though minutes had already passed after Applejack got her orgasm, he kept going like a machine. The aftermath of the climax was amazing for her. It felt soothing to have him keep thrusting inside her. She started to feel closer to him as he shrouded Applejack in a cocoon of his wings.
Soarin´ was at his peak as he pumped as fast as he possibly could. “Inside?” He asked panting heavily.
“Yes… please…” Applejack cried meekly.
Although the thought of having a stallion cum inside her was usually a disgusting thought, she felt as it was needed with Soarin´. Almost as if it was a must too have him come inside her. Soarin´ started to push harder with all his strength as he reached his point. The thrusts were harder as they pressed Applejack down the mattress, making her sink into the bed within every pump. The final thrusts he made were heavy as he pushed his penis as deep as possible into her. Her whole body grew warm. He was dominant, manly and she felt controlled by the various emotions swelling in her. The final thrust paused and she felt his substance filling her up. She sighed in relief as it was an excellent closure.
Soarin´ slided off Applejacks back and rolled next to her. Breathing heavily he looked at Applejack smiling. She looked backed with a warm smile. Applejack started to feel something for him. But her smile lessened upon realising what it was. And it frightened her. She turned her head and body away from him, trying to ignore those feelings that sprung up. Soarin´ moved himself closer to her, wrapping his forelegs around her, spooning with her. Applejacks heart jumped fearing what was going on. She didn’t look for this, she didn’t have time and she certainly didn’t want to accept those feelings she felt. Her eyes grew absent as her thoughts flew around her while Soarin´ only snuggled with her, breathing through her mane.
After a half hour Applejack pushed away Soarin´s forelegs and got out of his bed standing in front of him.
“Maybe Ah should take a shower, clean up and git outta here…” she said looking wanly at him scratching her neck.
Soarin´s eyebrows furrowed. “Why don’t you spend the night here?” He asked pleadingly.
“Ah’m just a farm-pony… You’re a Wonderbolt. Ain’t this one of yer usual one-night stands?”
“It doesn’t have to be…” He shrugged drawing circles in the bed with his hoof.
Her reality froze for a second. Applejack swallowed nervously. The way he said it made her want to stay with him but she couldn’t speak a single word, she just stood there looking down at the floor.
After several minutes Soarin´ sighed. “You don’t have to. I understand.”
Even though every fabric in Applejacks body wanted to prevent her from walking out, she feared intimacy. Her heart bled as she turned away from him. She didn’t want to take a shower first anymore, it was late at night so she could walk straight home. She closed the door without speaking a word. She walked slowly home with small single tears in each of her eyes running down her cheeks.
|
|
Chatoyance
|
1264
| 1 |
Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Romance,Science Fiction,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Letters From Home
|
A Newfoal Earth-Pony Stallion writes from Equestria about how Equestrians live and work.
|
complete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>A Newfoal Earth-Pony stallion writes from Equestria to tell his still-human best friend about his education there, and how Equestrians live and work.</p><p><span style="color:#BE4343;font-size:1.5em">♥</span> <a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/the-conversion-bureau-one-year.html" rel="nofollow">As Featured On Equestria Daily!</a></p>
|
everyone
|
2012-07-09T04:33:01+00:00
|
2015-01-17T02:29:46+00:00
| 6,381 |
Lost In The Herd: Three
Letters From
Home
By Chatoyance
Chapter One: Hi StePn!
Hi StePn!
Sory fr th3 Writin. Im vsinG my MoutH its harD. I am in Fetlock. Small twn. All nice to me. I lik HAY!!! Go school. Writ more soon.
Noah
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Hello Stephen!
I can write much better now. Still a bit hard. It gets easier fast though. I write with my mouth. I ended up an Earth Pony. I go to pony school for the newfoals. There are many here. Fetlock is a nice town and they try to make us feel welcome. I hope you feel better soon. I am glad you were not more hurt. The HLF is scary. I will try to say more next letter.
Noah
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Hello, Stephen!
Wow, I did not know things were getting so bad out there. I worry about you. Please stay away from the megamall, OK? I sure wish the Human Liberation Front would stop doing things like that. I am glad to know the cast is coming off. I am glad your arm is going to be fine.
Every day I go to pony school. We learn about Equestria, but most of our time we learn how to do basic tasks. At first it was hard, but it gets easy at an amazing rate. Look at how much better I can write already! With my mouth! I have gotten pretty good doing things with my front hooves, too. Here is something odd – I can balance things without trying. All ponies can. We all have perfect balance, or something close. I can spin my bowl on my hoof. I could never do that before – remember basketball? I can even balance my pencil on my nose. Really! Next letter I will tell you much more.
Noah
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Heya, Stephen!
Writing has finally become easy. I am amazed at how easy. I can even sketch now. It's really kind of incredible. As far as I can tell, Equestrians are naturally agile. These bodies come pre-loaded with hard-wired innate “dexterity” for lack of a better word. In only three weeks, I have gone from barely being able to walk and hold something in my mouth to writing, sketching, galloping all over the place - I can even do a proper canter now! - and yesterday, I baked cupcakes. Yes, cupcakes, dude. Baked goods are a big deal here. I did everything by myself, under the supervision of Glimmerdawn, our instructor.
You were curious about how we can do anything, lacking hands. It's actually surprisingly simple. Cups and jugs and such all have handles, and my neck is really flexible. Don't laugh, but I can look at my own rear end. Seriously. Pony necks are like cranes. I can look almost directly behind me, or down close to my own flank. I can nibble my own flank if it itches. I couldn't move like that when I was human.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. No, I can't bend my neck that direction. Not that I would, either, Stephen.
OK yeah, I tried. For scientific reasons. I mean, come on. No, down and under isn't really possible. Ponies aren't like dogs. Enough said.
I feel really, really strong. Strong as a horse -yes, I went there. Lifting a full pitcher of milk with my teeth is nothing. I just turn my head sideways, take the handle in my teeth, and it's like nothing. When I pour, I don't spill. It's that weird dexterity again, I think, because I wasn't that good with stuff like that back when. Also, my teeth are like iron. It's like I have a power-loader for a jaw.
The tough bit was taking the cupcakes out of the oven. I was afraid of getting my lips burned. But they have these thick mouthpads that you use, and it works just like an oven mitt. Even so, it was kind of scary. I mean, face, oven. But I did it, and I didn't get burned.
By the way, cupcakes are really good. I mean, you should just go get some right now. I never realized. Wow they rock. Or, maybe it's because my sense of taste is really different now. Sweet things rule my world now, which is weird, because I never liked sweets much, before.
Apparently, next week we're working with wood. I'll tell you about that next letter. I am glad that you and Addy are back together. Congrats, my man. I wish you two only the best.
Noah.
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Hi, Stephen -
This week was woodshop, basically. We did all kinds of things with wood. As an Earth Pony, my future career choices do not include weather control or casting spells. What we get to do is all the stuff that actually makes the world work. It's a Man's Life in the Earth Pony Corps.
Want to know how handless ponies make a door? First you get a log. Seriously, we started with a log. It was really huge. I don't know how they got it here, I suppose I'll find out that stuff another time. Anyway, huge log, bunch of ponies, so how?
They have these saws, big long ones, with special rigs in the handles at each end of the blade. A pony gets harnessed up to each end, while two or three lift and hold the blade to the end of the log. The blade has a removable cover on the non-serrated side, built for gripping with the teeth. I was on gripping squad. The cover slides smoothly over the back of the blade. We all get in close and hold up the saw, setting the position, while the two harness ponies pull the blade back and forth. Once the blade is well in, we grippers pull the cover off the flat side, and that is that.
Now you would be amazed at how smoothly this goes. It's like magic. Once the two saw-ponies were strapped in, I just found myself trotting in to the saw cover with the others. I didn't even think about it, We just all worked as one. I've never experienced anything like it, not even during my days back at the factory. And it felt good to work together. Nopony complains, or shirks, or causes trouble. Not when it counts.
I mean, we have a few clowns in the class. There's this one colt that just whines all the time, I don't know what kind of parenting he had back when he was human, but it was not very good. But he was there, doing the job, as if he lived to serve. Afterwards, he was a pain in the flank again.
I'm not entirely sure what it all means. It's as if there is some new command, or something in our brains. It overrides all the crap that normally causes fail to happen. When there is a job to do, that a lot of ponies are all doing, suddenly it's like there is nothing more wonderful than helping out. Afterward, everypony is just back to being themselves. It's a little creepy, when I think about it.
Of course, it also means working doesn't suck. I actually had a lot of fun, and throughout the whole week, I had no reason to get mad at anypony. Nobody screwed up, at least not deliberately. There was never a time I felt somepony was being an ass or causing trouble when it counted. I never had a week like that in two-leg land.
When it didn't count, though... I may have to kick one little colt's snotty tail one day. I'll write you from pony prison. If they even have prisons here. I don't know yet.
Once we had cut planks from the log – everything is really low tech here, sometimes I feel like I am living in a perpetual Renaissance festival – We had to muscle them over to sawhorses to cut them down further. That takes six ponies all working together with tooth and hoof, but it isn't as hard as it sounds. We're built really strong, and so mostly it's a matter of everypony working together to push and prod things into just the right position. Once we get going it is like we all have some kind of collective hive mind – things just get done, no fussing.
I saw some ponies with axes. Seriously. In their teeth, chopping wood. If this were earth, their brains would probably be mushed from the constant impact of blade on wood rattling their skulls. But this isn't earth. And these aren't ponies. Not really.
See, before I even went for Conversion, I spent some time looking up horses and stuff. Equestrians only look kind of like ponies. But we're not earthly horses at all. There are a lot of differences. Yes, we can talk and reason. But, did you know that horses can't breath through their mouth? Only through their nostrils. Equestrians can use both nose and throat for breathing, just like humans. We have vocal cords. It's part of the reason we can talk at all.
And food – yes, we eat a lot of hay and alfalfa and such, but we also eat tons of candy, pies, cakes, bread, flowers, vegetables, milk and even eggs. Eggs go into the baked goods. So, I guess Equestrian ponies are just a tiny bit carnivorous. We can't eat meat, it just won't digest, it won't even go down, but we can cope with small amounts of egg. And we eat so many calories, it would kill a normal horse. Probably a human too, come to think of it. Just kill them dead. We don't seem to have issues with insulin at all. Diabetes does not exist here.
Oh, and we can throw up. Terrestrial horses can't, betcha didn't know that!
Also, lots of other things we eat are poison to earth horses. Like peppers, onions and daffodils. I had a daisy and daffodil sandwich for lunch today. On earth, daffodils are poisonous to horses and humans alike. But I was assured that within the borders of Equestria, nothing is poisonous. Nothing.
Outside the border, say, out in the Everfree forest, there is no end of danger. It's one big nightmare out there, apparently. But here, within the actual land of Equestria, if you see something growing, you can pretty much eat it. Maybe you'll throw up, but you cannot die from it. I don't know why. Magic, probably.
I'll finish with a little statement about magic. Unicorns suck. I don't like their attitude. They don't know what real work is, and they prance around like that horn makes them more special than everypony. I don't have that feeling around the pegasai, they're cool. But I get annoyed at the unicorns. They're all loners, or so it seems, and because they can magic things, they don't seem to have that work-together spirit I described earlier. I wouldn't trust one in any sawmill I ran, that's all I'm saying.
Noah
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Heya, Stephen!
Re your statement about where 'all those calories' go, I can answer that. Straight into my rippling muscles, that's where. But I know what you really mean. I'll give you the scoop on Equestrian poop.
Yeah, we make a lot of it. Can't help it the way we eat. The system for dealing with it all is pretty clever though.
We have outhouses. But they aren't like the kind humans used to make, back in the ancient days. Let me see if I can describe it well enough for you.
Imagine a kind of small barn, tiny, maybe room for one or two ponies. There is a stall, and in the back a big wide rectangular opening on the floor. That is where you do your business. You kind of back up into the stall – there is a board on the floor that lets you know how far, if you don't want to look. You just let rip.
What you do goes down the hole in the floor and right into a cart underneath. A dung cart. Pony poop isn't like human poop. It's pretty dry, comparatively, and has a lot of fiber holding it together (hay is our primary staple, after all). The system back there seems to be pretty efficient and tidy – wiping isn't an issue. It just isn't. Well, as long as you hold your tail up. I learned that one my first day, and well, you don't want to make that mistake. Oh flank, you do Not. Want. To.
Yeah, laugh it up ape-boy. I've never had the kind of digestive problems I had as a human. I feel like a 20 year old again. I can eat whatever I want, and I never get reflux, or cramps, or anything. Remember those vegans from university? I don't have that problem either. Much. I guess being built for vegetarianism makes all the difference.
The dung carts fill up, and when one part is too full, there is a kind of wooden rail you can push against in the outhouse that ratchets the cart below forward a few inches. This allows the carts to fill evenly. It's considered good manners to occasionally check how close the level is to the floor. You get used to it.
When the carts are full, they are pulled away and new, empty carts put in. The dung carts are taken to the compost center. Every town has one, some towns share a single, big one. I don't know what they do there, but the end result is fertilizer, and all I can say is that we grow some of the best stuff around. Apparently our poop isn't as toxic and hazardous as human waste. Maybe it's different bacteria, maybe it's what we eat or how we digest. I don't know such things. But, I do know that it isn't the same big deal human waste is.
Wow, I bet you loved hearing all about that, huh? Well, you DID ask me to tell you how we do things here. That's how we do it. We just don't need flush toilets and treatment plants in Equestria.
On a different topic, I wanted to ask you about Addy's touch of cancer. Everybody gets it of course, it isn't like you can avoid cesium, water is life. I hope the nanopurge isn't too uncomfortable this time. That's one thing I am glad to be done with, I have to say. Cancer isn't even known here. Along with almost any other kind of sickness. We get something like a cold, sometimes, but it isn't too bad. There are diseases beyond our borders, but that is something I intend to avoid.
Oh, about your question – I don't know where Equestria is. The night sky is almost the same, which is very weird. I recognize certain constellations, I am sure of it – I don't know many, but I know Orion and the Big Dipper, and I am sure they are up there. There is some kind of a connection with earth, but it isn't clear what it is or how it could be. They really believe that the princesses raise their sun and moon, and as we've seen on the media, their day and night do not correspond with the world outside the barrier. So, I don't know.
Maybe Equestria is a pocket universe, or subspace, or some alternate reflection of earth. This isn't something I can understand, so, sorry. I know you are all up in that stuff, but I'm just a simple working pony.
Next time I'll tell you about how complicated stuff gets made here. And how I got one over on a certain annoying unicorn.
Noah
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Chatoyance
|
1264
| 2 |
Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Romance,Science Fiction,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Letters From Home
|
A Newfoal Earth-Pony Stallion writes from Equestria about how Equestrians live and work.
|
complete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>A Newfoal Earth-Pony stallion writes from Equestria to tell his still-human best friend about his education there, and how Equestrians live and work.</p><p><span style="color:#BE4343;font-size:1.5em">♥</span> <a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/the-conversion-bureau-one-year.html" rel="nofollow">As Featured On Equestria Daily!</a></p>
|
everyone
|
2012-07-09T04:34:19+00:00
|
2015-01-17T02:30:13+00:00
| 6,038 |
Lost In The Herd: Three
Letters From
Home
By Chatoyance
Chapter Two: Three Layer Cake
Heya, Stephen!
I've been learning a lot about Equestria this week. From outside, where you are, Equestria seems like heaven. It's green and lush, and filled with singing and food and fun. But there is a darker side to pony life. Well, not exactly dark, not like out there with the terrorists and the corporate wars and the cesium in the tapwater and all that, but still, it surprised me a little.
First off, this is not an egalitarian, everyone is equal society. Equestrian life is highly stratified, and there is definitely some tensions going on. We feel it most clearly here in Earth Pony society. It isn't just the unicorns, the pegasai are even worse.
Equestrian society is set up like a three-layer cake, with two cherries on top. The bottom layer, which does all the real work, growing food, building roads and buildings, basically hauling the dung (literally!), that's us, the Earth Ponies. We are the tax base for the whole society, and taxes are fairly high.
The next layer up is the unicorns. Those horns let them do the fiddily bits, the detail work, and they are kind of the middle class. They make the clocks, sew the clothing, write all the important books, become doctors or students of magic or anything that requires brains and fine control. They live pretty well as a rule, and not out on the farm.
The elite are the pegasai. Pegasai have one function in Equestria, they manufacture and distribute weather. Seriously. Equestria is some kind of controlled environment, every thing we would call the 'natural world' has to be done by us, by the ponies. We Earth-types don't just plant seeds, apparently our actions literally make things grow. They wouldn't without our tending. There would be no weather without the Pegasai. In their cloud cities - they can walk on clouds and sculpt clouds into permanent structures - they have factories, I am told, for making everything from snowflakes to rainclouds.
Just think for a moment what power they represent. No pony can stand up to them, no insurrection would be possible against their rule. They can construct and deploy tornadoes at will. Lightning storms. Freeze the countryside forever, if they so wished. It is no surprise that more than fifty percent of the taxes collected in Equestria go to supporting their lavish, literally pie-in-the-sky lifestyles. They can't grow food on cloud, it seems. Everything has to be brought up to their floating cities from below. Think of them as the super-wealthy, the corporate gods of Equestria.
The two cherries on the top of the cake are our princesses, Celestia and Luna. They have both wings and horns, the only ponies of their type. They aren't like anypony else. I'm not even sure they are actually made of flesh. I got a glimpse of Celestia, from a distance, when I first arrived, and her mane doesn't look like hair - it looks like a curtain of light and energy. I think the princesses are energy beings, like from the old sci-fi shows, devoid of a true physical body. I don't think they are real creatures, in the way ponies and humans are. I think they only look more or less like ponies because it suits their purpose.
Their rule is absolute, and, from the inside, I am sure the story they have told the world about why Equestria is expanding isn't the whole story. There is no overpopulation here. Why they are allowing us newfoals in is anypony's guess. I think the conversion bureaus really are a deliberate invasion.
But here's the deal: I'm really OK with that. Go Equestria! Let's face it, we've made a royal crapsack of the earth, and maybe Mankind just doesn't make the cut. I think maybe the princesses are doing a salvage operation. I think they are salvaging a dying planet, before it entirely goes down.
Of course, maybe now that I am a pony, I can't help but think this way. I wonder about that one, sometimes. I've tried to see if me, now, would agree on such things with the me that you once knew. I think I would agree with myself, but maybe you can tell me if that is true.
I guess I don't dislike the unicorns as much as I thought, now. Let me tell you about one I met.
It was after pony school, we had finally finished our door. We fixed these really nice, brass handles on it, it turned out pretty sweet. I'm proud of that door. From log to door, dang. I've never felt proud of a door before.
Anyway, we were heading into town. Town is Greater Fetlock. I live in just plain Fetlock, which is basically a tiny farming community. Greater Fetlock is a few kilometers down the road, and it is a bustling mid-sized city. They don't just have a general store, they have shops and restaurants and a park. I was pretty excited to be seeing it, after all those weeks down on the farm.
That punk colt I told you about, the newfoal kid who annoys me was with us, as was about half of the class. The punk calls himself 'Rocket Racer', and every time I hear that name I want to buck him in the flanks. I don't see anything wrong with taking an Equestrian-styled name, heck, I'm trying to figure out one for myself (any suggestions?) Human names just kind of stick out here, and get a funny look. I want to fit in, only reasonable, really. But if I do finally settle on a new name, it isn't going to be some crazy-ass thing like 'Rocket Racer'. I mean, they don't even HAVE rockets here. Get a clue, dumbcolt.
So the kid is going on about some dung I don't know what, and suddenly gallops off, I guess he saw something 'cool' or whatever. Glimmershine, our instructor, told us to stick together on our first trip to the city, and by Luna, that is what I figured we should do. So, off we go to find the little snot.
Greater Fetlock still looks like a Renaissance Faire, but it is a fancy one, unlike Just Fetlock. There are stalls of really great looking stuff, shops for just about anything a pony could need, or for that matter, just covet. But where we ended up was a telescope store.
I never figured the kid for the science type, but apparently he likes him some serious telescope. Or maybe it was the vague 'steampunk' thing going on with all of the brass and polished wood. But there we all are, in and around this funny looking shop, filled with telescopes and at least one microscope.
Now these things were really primitive. Lenses and tubes. But they were beautiful, just works of art. They looked like the kind of thing rich humans would have to show off how little price meant to them. I can't imagine any of them were very powerful, at least by earthly standards. But they were pretty, I'll give 'em that.
So the kid, Rocket (ugh!), is craning his neck to look through this big telescope, it has to be the most expensive one there, of course, and he doesn't keep track of his hindquarters. He knocks over this sweet-looking brass job, and it bangs into another and so on, and we're looking at a full-on disaster here.
I've already told you about how we ponies seem to get gifted with some kind of super-dexterity. Next thing I know I am diving across the floor, all four hooves out, somehow catching telescopes. It's not like I can grab anything, of course, but balancing things on my hooves has become trivial. Pretty soon I have a telescope on each hoof, and I'm lying on my back, still sliding on the floor, and of course I hit the kid's hind legs and he just sits on my face. Yeah, real funny.
At this point I hear a mixture of upset and laughter coming from somewhere past Rocket Racer's big fat ass, and I don't dare move because I can just picture all the telescopes hitting the floor and smashing to bits. It was not one of my best moments.
Turns out that the voice belonged to the owner of the shop, a cute little mare named Perspicacity. She's probably about as old as me, and a thousand times better to look at. She really appreciated my efforts to save her creations from destruction.
After 'Retard Rock-head' was off of me, and made to apologize (I swear, someday, -buck-, right in the flank, both hooves) I had a chance to properly say hello.
And that's when I finally noticed Perspicacity was a unicorn.
She used that horn of hers to lift and float all the telescopes back to upright, and I have to say I had mixed feelings. I haven't felt kindly towards unicorns since I arrived in Equestria, feeling that they are loners, have it too easy, and don't know the meaning of work. But the back of her shop was filled with benches of the most complicated parts and pieces, and she had a set-up for dealing with casting metal. I wouldn't dare work with molten metal, not with teeth and hooves. Baking those cupcakes was hot enough for my muzzle, thank you.
Now she didn't make a good impression on me with her first words about 'we country bumpkins' crashing through her store like 'wild-eyed manticores' (what the heck is a manticore? Could you look that up for me? No hypernet here), but like I said, she was a looker.
I suppose you'll be all curious about how it is that a former human could find a pony attractive. Listen, I'm a pony now, so let's just leave it at that. The taste of food has changed for me, and I guess other tastes have changed as well. I think about human women I knew, and nothing. Less than nothing, they are like strange animals, beasts, to me. I guess whatever controls that stuff gets changed when we change. Just try to imagine Perspicacity as a really pretty woman, if it helps.
I pointed out that this country bumpkin, meaning myself, had just saved a heck of a lot of telescopes, sacrificing my dignity in the process, so that maybe she was judging some ponies a little harshly.
To her credit, she apologized with grace.
Long story short, I've got a date lined up with her tomorrow. I guess unicorns aren't so bad after all.
I'll tell you how it went, next letter. For now, I've got a certain little pony to have a talk with about running off.
I don't know whether to finally kick him, or thank him.
Noah.
|
Chatoyance
|
1264
| 3 |
Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Romance,Science Fiction,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Letters From Home
|
A Newfoal Earth-Pony Stallion writes from Equestria about how Equestrians live and work.
|
complete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>A Newfoal Earth-Pony stallion writes from Equestria to tell his still-human best friend about his education there, and how Equestrians live and work.</p><p><span style="color:#BE4343;font-size:1.5em">♥</span> <a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/the-conversion-bureau-one-year.html" rel="nofollow">As Featured On Equestria Daily!</a></p>
|
everyone
|
2012-07-09T04:35:36+00:00
|
2023-01-06T06:52:49+00:00
| 5,223 |
Lost In The Herd: Three
Letters From
Home
By Chatoyance
Chapter Three: Hay While The Sun Shines
Heya, old pal Stephen!
I can't believe you actually went to a Human Liberation Front meeting. That seems very scary to me, to tell you the truth. I guess I can understand, from what you wrote, how they could feel the way they do. I've already come to the conclusion that the emergence of Equestria was probably deliberate. But I no longer feel it is a true invasion. Like I said, I see it more as a salvage operation.
Yes, I agree with you that the works of humanity are being erased by this thing. But really, is that such a big deal compared with what Equestria offers us all? Let me see if I can sway you with something I got to experience the other day.
I was out trotting around - I figured that I would try to see a little more of the village I have been stationed in. Fetlock isn't very large, but I've seen very little of it, just the school for Newfoals, the impromptu barracks they set up for us in a couple of barns, and of course my excursion to Greater Fetlock. I wanted to see how the locals live, what the land was like.
There are a lot of fields, as you can imagine, grains, mostly. A few rather comfy homes and quite a lot of barns. It's pretty much like something out of an old two-D from before the nanoage. Probably earth looked like this, once.
I was looking at a swarm of butterflies - they still live out in the open here, and wow, I have to tell you that butterflies are pretty amazing. They are really beautiful. They are everywhere here. Sometimes it's like trotting through clouds of colors.
I remember reading once about how, back in the 1700's, sailing ships would encounter masses of butterflies as they approached shore, vast clouds of the creatures that extended for tens of kilometers. I could never imagine that could actually be true, it certainly wasn't even by the early nineteenth century, and of course it would be impossible now, but since I have come to Equestria, I can believe those accounts. There once was beauty to the earth, Stephen. I am confident of that now.
But, butterflies aren't the cloud I want to tell you about.
Remember how I said that physics was different here? I got a close up look at just how different, thanks to a new friend, a pegasus pony, Skysinger. Sky likes to sing, hence his name, and while I was gawking at the butterflies, I heard him up above me. He has a pretty good voice, actually.
Sky was placing clouds.
Yeah, you heard that right. Weather has to be manufactured, here - Nature doesn't run itself in Equestria, like back on earth. We have to make it run. The Pegasai, as I mentioned in my last letter, are in charge of weather, and if our crops are to grow, we need rain. The cool thing is, the rain can be ordered as needed, like ordering something off of Hyperbay or Googlezon.
So there I was, and Sky was up above me placing clouds. The first thing I noticed is that the heavens above seem a lot closer than on earth. I don't think Equestria is as much a planet as it is a place, whatever that means. You'd probably know more about that stuff than me. But the clouds were pretty close, and so was Skysinger, and well, I basically introduced myself.
Long story short, I don't think I dislike pegasai anymore. Sky's a good pony. What was really cool, though was that he brought a cloud down for me.
Now, on earth, clouds just look like a thing, a defined thing, because they are so far away, and so huge. You drive into one, or fly into one, and that illusion is dispelled really quickly - a cloud is no different than fog on the ground, and there is no edge or boundary to it. It just gradually gets thicker the closer you get, until you are in fog, right? Not so with Equestrian clouds.
These are clouds like I imagined when I was just a child. They are really thick and opaque, and they have a very clear boundary. They look like objects, pony-scale objects. The cloud Sky brought me was just a baby, maybe the size of a motorcycle. It just hung there, in front of me, just above the path. I trotted all around it. I touched it with a hoof, and there was no resistance, my hoof just went in. It came back sopping wet, though. It's like the clouds in Equestria are super dense, but still made out of water vapor. I even stuck my head in. I came out dripping, but it was awesome. Sky thought I looked pretty silly after that, but I laughed too - my mane did get good and soaked.
Now here's the wild part; all this time, Sky was standing on the cloud. Like it was a rock or something. The cloud was solid for Sky. It is the darndest thing to see. Pegasai can just clop all over clouds, like they were solid things, and they can push them and move them with their hooves, too. I don't know how this can be, except, you guessed it, magic.
And that is something I think you should consider when you are weighing what the HLF has to say, Stephen. We are talking real, honest to Celestia magic here. This is a magical realm. Magic makes this place welcoming to life, not hostile to it.
When I think about all the things humans have done, it's all been about surviving a hostile universe. Weather can kill you, plants can kill you, animals can kill you, hunger, heat, cold, disease, exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun - everything can hurt or kill you on earth. So humans had to make cleverer and cleverer ways to avoid the natural world altogether, so they could live longer, with less misery.
Now humans live shut up in giant cities, in huge hives of steel and plascreet, and the price of that artificial environment has been the destruction of all the other life on the earth. The place is stripmined and poisoned and so messed up that if you haven't had cancer three times by the age of thirty, doctors get concerned. I'm not saying humans are evil, all they've ever done is just try to not suffer. The real fault is the universe itself - it's a hard place to live in.
But Equestria's universe, if that is what it is, is a nice place to live. It's like it was created, deliberately, unlike the earth and the universe you live in. This isn't a land of random forces and evolution - Equestria is like the old fairy stories about gods making the world. This is a kind place, where life is meant to be here, not an accident of chemistry in an uncaring cosmos.
Humans have been very clever, but only because they have had to be, just to deal with the horror. All human fantasies are about a world where things aren't so harsh. That place exists, Stephen, right behind that Barrier you see on the newsfeeds. The only price is a little change of species, from ape to pony.
All I can say is, I don't regret my conversion one bit, not for a moment. I played with butterflies in sunlight that cannot burn my hide. I stuck my head in a magic cloud. Nothing in the works of Man can top that. I'd trade all the works of humankind for more of that in an instant. Just think about it. Yes, Shakespeare is probably too dark for Ponykind. But what are a few stage plays to the wonder of real, actual magic, every day, with no sickness (of any concern, anyway) and no poverty?
Well, almost no poverty. I saw my first homeless pony this week. Sort of homeless. Let me explain.
See, you can't starve in Equestria - we eat grass, and the stuff grows everywhere. I mean everywhere, tasty flowers too. It's like living inside a perpetual banquet, all the time. So, you are probably asking, why do we bother to grow crops? Why grow hay, and alfalfa, and celery and carrots and suchlike? Hey, there's eating, and then there's dining. It's one thing to not go hungry, and another entirely to sup on the tenderest shoots and the most savory hothouse flowers. Not to mention pies, cakes, stews and soups. You can survive on grass, but it takes home cookin' (or a good restaurant) to make feed-time happy time.
There was this pony - I didn't catch her name. She was blue in every sense of the word, skulking about at the edge of the trees, not far from our newfoal barracks. According to one of the locals, she had been haunting the area for a while. Nopony knew where she had come from, because she didn't seem to want to talk about it, but it was clear she was just wandering, homeless.
She was dressed funny, too, like some shabby wizard or some stage magician. She had a big hat, and a cape, which were looking pretty ragged. I tried to say hello, but she just galloped off. She looked pretty sad.
So, maybe there is poverty, or some kind of rejection or shunning that can happen here in Equestria - I don't know the story here - but unlike back on earth, I can be sure of one thing: whoever she was, I know she is not going to die starving and sick, lost down some alley, covered in soot, cesium, and nanodust. The locals plainly said that if she was willing to talk, they'd help her out. And they would. There is more than enough to go around, all the time. So, it isn't like earth, where, if you are poor, or out of work, you cease being a pony anymore.
If she comes back, I intend to chase her down and see if I can get her to open up. Maybe all she needs is somepony willing to try a little harder.
OK, I'll stop trying to proselytize you with the Glory Of Celestia, and tell you about my date. You remember the unicorn, Perspicacity, the telescope maker from my last letter, right?
Well, I took her to the best restaurant I could afford. We Newfoals are provided a small allowance during our education, until we are able to find the work that best suits us. I haven't had much to spend mine on, so I've been saving it up. Money here is called 'bits', and it is all tiny coins made out of gold. I think it is gold, anyway.
We keep our bits in little bags which can be hung off of our manes. Mane hair is pretty thick and sturdy, and the bags have a little comb-hook thing that snags in there real solidly. Getting bits in and out of the bag takes some practice, but that bonus dexterity stuff really helps with that.
Most things only cost a bit or two. I don't know what gold is worth here, relative to the earth Credit, but it does seem that gold and precious jewels are pretty common. Those telescopes that Perspicacity makes? Many were covered in gemstones, and all had decorative elements made of what must be gold and silver. Economics here is kind of confusing.
For example, I can buy a crate of apples for three to five bits. A whole crate, and they are some darn good apples. But a full night out on the town, like I had with Perspicacity, only ran me about fifteen bits. Maybe eight bits for dinner, another four for the show we saw, and the rest just kind of went. I think we had ice cream later. I don't remember all the details after the show, she was kind of taking up all my attention by then.
You mentioned Shakespeare, and threevee shows and all the art humans make, well, ponies have artists too. The show I took Perspicacity to was pretty good. It was a musical, and I don't usually like musicals, but hey, I thought, fillies do, so, you know the idea. I actually found myself having a pretty good time. Imagine that!
The story was about this stallion that was given a quest outside of the boundaries of Equestria, to bring back a rare plant that could save a little filly that had ventured into the Everfree Forest. She'd been attacked by some monsterous thing I've never heard the likes of before - apparently outside of Equestria it is monster city or something. Me, I'm staying out of monster forests, thank you. But in this knightly stallion goes, with a blade on his helmet and armor on his back. It was pretty cool looking, I have to say.
So he fights all these strange monsters right out of the Lord Of The Rings or Narnia or whatever, and I have to say they did the effects pretty well. They used puppetry and lighting effects, and it wasn't bad. Long story short, he gets the plant, saves the filly, and hooks up with her mom. I'm not saying it was the best thing ever written, but it had really catchy music -I'm still humming the stallion's theme- and some great choreography. If there were any small towns left on earth, I think they would have been proud to have done a show half as good.
Perspicacity seemed to appreciate it. Quite a lot, actually.
So... I guess I'm dating a unicorn, is what I am saying. Who knew? First I didn't like unicorns, now I seriously like one of them. Then I didn't like pegasai, but now it seems I have a friend who is one. This place does stuff to a pony, stuff that seems to melt away being angry.
Heck, even the colt, Rocket, isn't so annoying anymore. Seems he was such a mess because his parents abandoned him so they could live in an exclusive, elite-class condo. Didn't allow kids, so they just up and left. He came home to an empty apartment with only a note and a creditstick with enough to get by for a few weeks. How can humans do that to each other?
Poor colt. I guess I've kind of ended up feeling sorry for him. It'll probably be a bad idea, he's already starting to get clingy. Oh well, I always was a sucker for a sad story. At least I don't want to hoof him across the barn anymore.
Listen, I'm sorry about Addy. You can do better than her. Finding her with that guy, well, it would have made me mad too. I don't blame you one bit. She just wasn't the relationship type, I guess. That's all I'll say, other than you deserve better, my friend. I'm sorry I can't be there for you. Hey, you could always come here. I know a nice unicorn that has a sister. Just saying.
Noah.
|
Chatoyance
|
1264
| 4 |
Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Romance,Science Fiction,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Letters From Home
|
A Newfoal Earth-Pony Stallion writes from Equestria about how Equestrians live and work.
|
complete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>A Newfoal Earth-Pony stallion writes from Equestria to tell his still-human best friend about his education there, and how Equestrians live and work.</p><p><span style="color:#BE4343;font-size:1.5em">♥</span> <a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/the-conversion-bureau-one-year.html" rel="nofollow">As Featured On Equestria Daily!</a></p>
|
everyone
|
2012-07-09T04:36:47+00:00
|
2015-01-17T02:30:35+00:00
| 6,093 |
Lost In The Herd: Three
Letters From
Home
By Chatoyance
Chapter Four: Your Little Pony
Dear Stephen:
Listen, I am so, so sorry for the last letter. I didn't mean to lay it on so thick, and I didn't even know I was doing it. I worry about you, out there, and I just miss my old best friend, that's all.
If you feel the Human Liberation Front has something important to say, then I fully support you going to their meetings. We've been friends for years, and I trust your wisdom and compassion. I won't try to sway you one way or the other any more. I'll stick to writing about my own life. I am really sorry I made you so angry.
Months ago, before my Conversion, you and I were wondering about where the heck something like Equestria came from. I have some theories about that, based on what I have seen so far.
During the past two weeks - I'm sorry I did not write sooner, but I was kind of unsure how to respond to you - I've spent some time really looking at the world I am in. I started thinking about the fact that they have dandelions here, pretty much just like earth does. Dandelions are one flower I know, because they somehow have survived the ecodisaster, even in the Hazardous Exclusion Zones, even in the nanodumps and the Sludgelands. 'The last flower', some call them, and for most of humans, dandelions are the only flower they ever see anymore. Certainly they were the only real, alive flower I ever saw, back when. Remember how I used to stop whenever I would find one, and make you wait? Sorry for that. I guess I just found them amazing.
Now I find them delicious, but that is another story.
The issue here is that they are the same in Equestria. A little bigger, a little brighter, for all I know a little tastier, but as far as I can tell, they are the same flower. I would have no way to tell with things like trees, or grass, or other things like that - who ever sees those anymore out there? But dandelions, those I know.
We've already discussed how the constellations in the sky, as far as I know them, seem the same, more or less. Mostly. I've seen them change a few times now. Maybe they are some kind of projection, or maybe our sovereign Luna really does somehow control the night of this realm. I don't know such things. But mostly, except for when they change, they are the constellations I remember.
I am starting to think the connection between Equestria and earth is somehow fundamental. There are too many things here that are too similar to things from earth's past. I think that at some point, long ago, Equestria and earth were in contact somehow, and that the emergence of Equestria is not a singular event. Or maybe the connection was more subtle.
I've described my impression of Celestia - that she seemed like something both more, and other than a pony. Like she was some kind of sci-fi energy being just pretending to be a pony. I think I wasn't on exactly the right track. I think she and Luna are fairies.
Now don't get all huffy. Think about it with me here - throughout history, there have been endless stories of Alfheim, Fairylands, Faery Queens, and roving fairy bands. 'Thomas the Rhymer' comes to mind. The Eurussian Zone had a long history of such stories. So did lost Japan, before it became uninhabitable. The Panasians, even the Northamerican Alliance has stories like that.
What if there was some truth to them? What if there has always been a subworld to the earth, a related but thinly connected realm where beings of thought and will and - magic - existed. Maybe that is where all the stories of fairylands and fairy queens came from. Maybe such a realm, ruled by immortals, has taken many forms. Maybe a land of intelligent ponies is the latest experiment, or fashion. Or maybe this is just one such realm among many. Or, as I am beginning to think, this is the last fairy realm left.
Maybe the others died out, or separated too far from Earth to ever make contact again. Maybe Celestia and Luna are the last of their kind, the last immortal fairies of history, and this is their private cosmos, their magical land. And maybe the reason they have returned to salvage the earth, as I see the point of the emergence of Equestria, is because they feel they owe humanity something. Or if not humanity, the world, Nature, the rest of the living things of earth.
Now it's just a theory, and I don't have a lot to back it up, but something did make me think of it. I'll tell you about it, maybe you can tell me what you think. You were always better with the cosmic stuff than I was.
I was helping Perspicacity sort out her basement. Before you give me the usual, it isn't like that. I'm not being a sucker for a pretty flank here. Things are getting serious for me with Perspicacity. I really care about her, and I think she may just feel the same about me. I hope, anyway.
She lives in her telescope shop, upstairs. But downstairs, underground, she has quite the basement. The place is filled with stuff, things I never expected I would see in Equestria. An old-fashioned record player, the kind they had back in the - I don't know for sure, but, maybe the 1920's or so? It had a crank on it. I couldn't believe it. It looked for all the world like something from the human world. And maybe it was.
We were trying to find a box filled with gemstones. Like I said, the economy is kind of unfathomable to me, at least right now, and apparently precious jewels are fairly common. Still, they aren't on every corner, and she needed more to finish a telescope she was building for somepony in Hoofington. She reckoned that she had a spare box of gems somewhere down there, so we spent the day going through her basement.
In a corner, I found a set of shelves. They looked like they had been carved out of a single, huge slab of wood. They grow some incredibly big trees here, or so I have been told. On the shelves were boxes and knick-knacks and not a few books. One fell off the shelf when I was poking the boxes with a hoof, looking for gems.
The book was in English. Maybe. Sort of. Old English, I think. Really, really old. The only time I have ever seen writing like that was in holos from museums back from my college days. The book looked hand-made and hand-bound, and I mean to use those words rather than hoof-made or hoof-bound. It looked like a human world book, and it wasn't written in the Equestrian Script I am desperately trying to learn.
I asked Perspicacity about the book, and she hadn't a clue. It had just been in her family, she figured, for generations. Likely before Luna's banishment to the moon - don't ask, I'm not sure I understand any Equestrian history yet. I don't know what to take as real or fiction or what. For them, it's all real history, like the Great Economic Collapse, or the first Nanoplague. The basic thing I got from her is that the book was over seven hundred years old. Maybe more.
It looked pretty good for being that ancient. Things don't seem to fall apart here the way they do on earth. I think entropy is different in Equestria, somehow. So the book was in pretty good shape.
I tried to look at what it was about, but I just can't read that Old English script stuff, if that even is was it was at all. I mean, I'm no expert, and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was just some ancient Equestrian script from a by-gone age. But it looked familiar to me, it really did.
I asked Perspicacity what she thought was the reason that Equestria was letting all of us Newfoals in. She told me that Celestia had announced, some time ago, that Earth had been detected again, and that the creatures there needed the help of the Equestrians to survive. I thought about that a lot. Not detected, but detected again. That kind of supports my theory, don't you think?
What if there has always been hidden worlds affecting human culture and mythology - gods, demons, stories of monsters, and legends of strange and beautiful fairylands - and there is some ancient bond between us? Maybe this is all just so much foolishness. I don't know anything, I'm just a simple, working pony. But I thought I would tell you, because I thought you might find it curious. I mean, there are a lot of things here that look way too close to something derived from the human world. It makes me think.
Maybe it is just that Form Follows Function. A book or a pitcher is the same anywhere in the universe - or other universes - because the job they do defines what they have to look like. A table is a table because table-ness is a matter of practical need. That could explain everything right there. A barn is a barn is a barn, because that is what works.
Well, enough of all that heady, mane-shaking stuff.
Let me tell you about my son, Rocket.
Naw, he's not my son, not exactly, but I just about feel like I somehow ended up adopting him. He really needs a father-figure, he never really had one I guess, and he's latched onto me like a Vanderwaals clamp onto plastcrete. He's changed a lot over the last month, I have to say, and he is no longer the whiny little colt he used to be. Pretty much now, if I say jump, he's in the air before the word leaves my mouth. He really wants to matter to someone, and that someone seems to be me.
It's not so bad. In fact, I guess I kind of like a little hero-worship, which is what this kind of feels like. I don't know what I did to deserve him thinking so much of me, all I did was have a talk with him after the telescope incident, and listen to him a bit. Maybe that was enough, I don't know. But he isn't a bad colt.
Right now, in pony school, we are pretty much near the end of class. We still do drills on Equestrian script and basic words and phrases and such, and we aren't done entirely with the basics of tool use, and, like I said, I don't know what to make of Equestrian history. It's clear though that things are winding down, because we've been having visits from job counselors, trying to help us find our place in society.
I want to find something I can do in Greater Fetlock. I want to be close to Perspicacity, that much I know for sure. She's been hinting that she could use a strong stallion around the shop, but I don't know how I feel about that. I'd rather have a job of my own. I don't exactly feel comfortable with that situation, considering my feelings about her. So, I've been a little concerned about what to do.
That darned colt ended up causing a mess again, but the mess found me what looks like a job. Maybe Rocket is some kind of Luck Pony or something. I'm expecting a four-leaf clover to appear on his flank at any moment, the way things go with him. His disasters are better than most of my plans. Dang.
Rocket and I were trotting around Fetlock - Greater Fetlock, not the small one - and once again he sees something 'cool' and gets all excited and dashes off without a thought. This time it was a fire truck, or rather cart, the first one I've seen here. It makes sense that Equestria would have fire departments, I mean the buildings are wood and thatch and all Renaissance fair like I've said, so fire is going to be an issue.
The fire cart was red, which was really odd, since I am used to seeing emergency vehicles as only bright yellow fluorescent things. But red works, and the cart had some kind of mechanical pump and a big steel and brass tank. It looked like steel and brass, anyway.
The cart was made so that ponies could pull it, and we soon met the fire chief, or the equivalent of a fire chief, for Greater Fetlock, and he seemed pretty proud of his station and his team.
Of course, the reason we got to meet the chief was because Rocket managed to set off the hose, blasting most of the street and several passers-by, not to mention the inside of a bakery and... well let's just say that there was a mess.
Long story short, some of his team were retiring, and before I could say neigh, Rocket had already volunteered us both to be Fireponies.
So, if the tryouts go alright, it looks like me and the colt might just have ourselves a new career, and a pretty heroic one at that. I'm certainly going to do my best. Rocket and I have resolved to put in a little practice before the tryout. We figure that there will probably be a lot of pulling the cart really fast, pumping water, and holding hoses, not to mention knowing the streets. So we have set up a little practice area near the Newfoal barracks where we try pulling ropes around and hauling heavy things in a cart we borrowed. I bought us a map of Greater Fetlock, and we try to memorize new routes every time we go visit Perspicacity, which is a lot.
Glimmershine - our pony school instructor, remember? - is pulling for us. Apparently we were the first in the class to show initiative to find our own way to fit in, and so she's sort of holding us up as an example of how ponies, working together, can do anything.
What has this dang colt gotten me into?
I suppose it's some sort of luck and all, but, well, no pressure, right? I don't know what I'll do if we fail the tryouts. I'm trying not to think about that. As best I can.
On another topic, I've been thinking more about taking an Equestrian name. 'Noah' just doesn't fit in here, and it makes me sound like a foreigner, and I don't exactly like that. It's not that anyone treats me badly for being a Newfoal, it's just that there is this distance that comes from being a stranger... from a strange world. I don't feel like anypony distrusts me exactly, for having once been human, but... I think I would just feel more comfortable letting my past species kind of settle into being a complete non-issue.
I am thinking that if I make the tryouts, and become a proper Firepony, I will go with the name 'Wildfire'. According to a lot of old movies, that is a great name for a pony, the best. It would really seem to fit the job, too, plus it is kind of classy.
Now, if I don't make the tryouts, then I'm not so sure. It's kind of a toss-up between 'Old Glue' and 'Horsemeat' at this point. no pressure, no pressure. That colt. What am I going to do with him?
Oh! I have managed to find out the answer to your request. I think it is really incredibly open-minded of you, after all of my annoying preaching about how you should join me in Equestria (as at the beginning of this letter, sorry, again), that you would want to hear the other side of the issue. I can't think of a better pony to hear about the non-HLF viewpoint than our own ambassador Twilight Sparkle either. I can see why you want to hear it directly from her. And I am more than happy to help.
It wasn't easy, but I managed to find out her schedule, so you can see her in person. My new pegasus friend Skysinger knows a pegasus that knows one of the Royal Guard. I vouched for you, and explained things, and in the end he helped me out.
Apparently she is taking a tour of most of the Northamerican Conversion Bureaus, with one other of the original six ambassadors. According to my source, they are going to start with Los Pegasus - what used to be called Los Angeles - and then go on to Albuquerque, Memphis, Bloomington, Hamtramck, Lancing, and finally, New New York. Since you live in Michigan already, maybe Hamtramck or Lancing might be the best places to catch up with her.
I really feel that if you hear it directly from the horse's mouth, (I'm still me, as you can see), you will find that the Human Liberation Front may not necessarily have the best view of what is happening to the earth, or what is best for it, or for the human race. I am very excited to hear what comes of this.
Also, I wanted to congratulate you on finding a new ladyfriend. Hannah sounds like a wonderful woman, really nice and very smart. Wow, my old flyboy pal Stephen dating an actress! That is pretty awesome, my man. You should take her up for a tour of the city in your copter, if you can get clearance. That is pretty awesome, my man. I just hope Hannah turns out to be the one, you know what I mean. Maybe you could take her to see Twilight too. While nowadays seeing talking ponies is nothing special, how often do you get to meet a famous pony? I envy you that. Nobody famous goes through Fetlock. Not even Greater Fetlock.
I look forward to your next letter. I really appreciate you keeping up correspondence with me, Stephen, especially since we have to do this on actual paper and all. Well, you have a printer, but still. It's isn't as easy as just using the hypernet. I just wanted to let you know how much I do appreciate it.
Until next time, your little (fire)pony (I hope!)
Noah / Wildfire
|
Chatoyance
|
1264
| 5 |
Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Twilight Sparkle,Alternate Universe,Romance,Science Fiction,Slice of Life,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
Letters From Home
|
A Newfoal Earth-Pony Stallion writes from Equestria about how Equestrians live and work.
|
complete
| -1 | -1 |
<p>A Newfoal Earth-Pony stallion writes from Equestria to tell his still-human best friend about his education there, and how Equestrians live and work.</p><p><span style="color:#BE4343;font-size:1.5em">♥</span> <a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/the-conversion-bureau-one-year.html" rel="nofollow">As Featured On Equestria Daily!</a></p>
|
everyone
|
2012-07-10T02:12:10+00:00
|
2024-06-30T20:37:04+00:00
| 6,602 |
Lost In The Herd: Three
Letters From
Home
By Chatoyance
Chapter Five: Always In My Heart
Stephen:
There is probably little reason to write this letter, or so they tell me, but I just can't seem to accept things. Perspicacity suggested that I try writing to you, that it might help me work things out. She's a lot smarter than I am pretty much about everything, so here I am, wondering what I am supposed to say to you.
None of this seems real to me. There has to be a mistake somehow. It's all so hard to accept. I guess I'm writing this, and sending it to your sister in Grand Rapids, in the hope that you may somehow see it. I want to believe that you could somehow see this. That you can still see it. I don't know what else to do.
I am told that you... are dead. I am told that you died flying an attack copter into the Great Barrier at full speed. That you conspired with your ladyfriend Hannah to - I can't wrap my mind around it - assassinate two of our Equestrian ambassadors. And the worst part is that it is my fault, my fault that it was possible at all.
You know you were my best friend, back in the human world. We knew each other from grade school. We went to the same high school, and then college. We shared an apartment for I don't know how many years. I was there when you married, and divorced, Ashley. Remember the divorce party we all had? That was such a strange year.
I thought I knew you, I thought I understood you down into my bones. I thought of you as the brother I never had.
I just can't accept that... any of this could be true.
Maybe it isn't, I keep hoping. Maybe, someday, you will show up, here in Greater Fetlock, clopping down the cobblestones, some fine stallion I'd be proud to show off to my wife. You and Rocket and Perspicacity. I could enter the Running Of The Leaves together, and my son would finally get to meet my very best friend. You could be his uncle. Oh, Celestia. Celestia.
In case it isn't all true, I'll tell you about the past six months. Maybe it will help me make sense of it all, to put it down on paper.
I passed my tryout for being a Firepony. Both me and Rocket got in. We had set up a little practice area near the Newfoal barracks. We borrowed a hay cart and practiced pulling it, we pretended ropes were fire hoses and memorized the city. Rocket and I really bonded trying to get those jobs. I guess that's part of the reason Perspicacity and I adopted him. We're a family now, all living together above the telescope shop.
Beloved Celestia and Luna, but I love that filly. She has stood by me through all of this, and there is no way I deserve it, but she did. Rocket really is a 'luck pony', I guess, at least for me. He didn't get a clover-leaf like I thought, but he did get his mark. So have I. We both have matching flames and waterdrops. His mark has the drops on the left, and mine has them on the right. I guess being Fireponies was our true destiny in life. It definitely feels like it to me. Those matching Butt Marks really make us look like father and son, too.
I hadn't heard from you for four, almost five, months, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I was so busy learning how to be the best Firepony I could, and helping Rocket to be one too. Being a Firepony can be demanding, and dangerous work. But it is so very rewarding. I feel like a hero, sometimes, when I know I've rescued somepony, or at least saved their home or business. Most of the time, though, we all just wait around the hall. That part is really hard.
You would think being able to sit around and play games or talk would be an easy life, but it really isn't. Always we wait for the bell, always we are half on edge waiting for the call. Half of me dreads the call, because of what it means, and what we'll all have to face, and half of me is frustrated that the call hasn't come yet because waiting is so hard. Being a Firepony is a strange occupation.
But I am so fortunate - I have a career I am grateful for, I can help support my family, and I have a son I feel genuinely grateful to have. Rocket has turned out to be a young colt I am really proud of. It's hard to imagine I ever thought he was a punk. All he needed was a little love and someone to show him how to be a stallion in the world. He was cited for bravery, I'd like to brag. He managed to save a little foal that was inside a burning barn, just before it collapsed. I almost had a fit at the time, I can't help but worry for him, but it was what needed to be done, and he did it, without once thinking of himself.
About a month after Rocket and I got hired, I proposed to Perspicacity. I had a solid job, a good future, and dammit, I knew I loved her even then. I guess I probably knew pretty much from that first time I met her, catching all those telescopes. I was afraid, of course, when I proposed, because we hadn't known each other for all that long. But sometimes, when magic happens, you just have to go for it, and I did. Luna only knows what she sees in me, but whatever it is, I am grateful for it.
Anyway, as I mentioned, it had been five months without any response from you, and I had just started to wonder if you were ever going to write back when there was quite a commotion in the street. Remember how I wrote that nobody famous ever visits Fetlock? Well, that's no longer true, and I can't say I ended up very happy as a result.
When I peeked out of the firehouse, the first thing I saw were these four amazing, armored pegasai. White as snow and covered in plate, with really fierce looking helmets. This was something to see, but there was more. They were pulling an amazing carriage, the Royal Carriage of Equestria, and you can guess who was riding in it. I felt a strange feeling of fear and devotion. Celestia. Princess of all Equestria, Goddess of the Sun. Here in Greater Fetlock.
When she started heading towards the Firehouse, my legs just buckled. I was down on the ground, bowing without even thinking of it. You don't need that training they give you at the pony school. You just can't help it. She has this presence, this majesty, that you can feel. It just fills the air. It fills the mind, it gets into the bones. It isn't like meeting some earth president or CEO. She is the real thing. Power incarnate.
I can say that she is definitely not of the world. Close up - her mane is not hair. I don't know what it is, energy, a curtain of light, pure magic flowing out - whatever it is, it is a badge of otherworldly something. It flows in currents beyond any wind, and to look into it is like looking into the colors of infinity. Celestia is absolutely a supernatural being.
I no longer doubt that she truly causes the sun to rise in the sky.
As glorious as this was, it did not go well. I was arrested - well, not exactly arrested, not like on earth, but taken into custody by a pair of those armorplated pegasai. I was never beaten, microwaved, plasma-whipped, pain-sticked, tortured or crippled. It wasn't like dealing with police on your side of the barrier. Everything was remarkably civil and polite. But I felt like I was in trouble, and honestly, I just plain wanted to cry. I wanted to cry like a foal.
My next few hours were some of the hardest in my life. I spent a long time just waiting in the city hall. They had appropriated the mayor's office, and that is where I sat. I don't know if they posted a guard, I was too afraid to move. I had no idea why I was there. I figured that maybe it was just because I was a Newfoal, a former human, and maybe I had somehow broken some law by marrying Perspicacity. I was so afraid for her. What had I gotten her into, thinking I was good enough for somepony like her? I felt so ashamed and sad.
Finally Celestia, herself, entered the room. Tea was brought for her. She sipped her tea and regarded me. That was probably the longest few minutes of my existence. I couldn't bear to look her in the eye. I just kept staring at my hooves. I wanted to beg her on behalf of Perspicacity and Rocket, whatever was wrong with me, they were innocent.
In the end, it turned out to be about that schedule I sent you, the one Skysinger had gotten for me, the one that told which Bureaus Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were visiting. I was informed that an attempt on their lives had been made, that Hannah had opened fire in the Lancing Bureau, that innocent humans and ponies had been hurt, even killed. I couldn't take it in. It was like a horror story just to hear such things.
But the worst was hearing that supposedly you had been working with Hannah all along, that I had been used to gather information, that you had betrayed our friendship, my... trust.
Celestia asked me questions, explained things, I can't remember everything that was said, or how I answered - the whole experience has blurred in my memory. I know I broke down and wept at least once. She was never unkind, I remember that, but I think she was somehow looking right down into my very soul during that talk. She was very gentle with me, but I was under no doubt, even for a second, that if I had been truly to blame, if I had actually plotted against her, I would not have survived that day. I don't know what she could or would do to an enemy, but I have no doubt it would be final. Celestia is both lovely and terrifying. She is sublime, fear and wonder and awe.
That said, I would never want to do anything to even upset her. Not because she is powerful, but because I genuinely don't wish to. If anything, I want to serve her to the best of my ability. I'm not sure that I can explain to you why, but the best I can offer is that she is worth devotion. You can feel it, right down to the marrow. I've never felt anything like that, even as a human child, not for any flag, or corporation, or earth leader. It's like not wanting to disappoint your own mother, only more so.
The one lasting memory I have of meeting Princess Celestia was a look of pity on her face. It didn't shame me, but it did make me feel very sad. She didn't pity my naivety, or that I had trusted without caution, or that I had failed to even imagine that the information I got for you could ever be used wrongly. I think, to this day, that she felt sorry for me, because she knew my heart had been broken.
I am so angry at you. How could you do such a thing?
Maybe this all isn't true. I want to believe it isn't true. But Celestia is a goddess. A living goddess. How can she be in error? She can raise the very sun into the sky. I want to believe that even a goddess can be wrong.
I want to believe that one day, I will see you, all ponified and fine, trotting up to meet me. My old friend, still my best friend.
I don't know if I can ever completely accept this. Probably to the end of my days, some part of me will be waiting for you to show up on our doorstep, even after Zero Point, even after there are no more humans. A part of me imagines you are already here, in Equestria, starting out in one of the many other Newfoal schools.
My life went back to more-or-less normal after The Royal Visit. Someponies kind of treated me a little funny for a while - I mean it isn't everyday that Celestia Herself comes to a town like Fetlock just to talk with some pony. Especially about something like... what happened. Apparently a copter managed to smash through the Barrier and there was all kinds of fuss. I hadn't heard anything about it until that meeting with Celestia. Greater Fetlock isn't exactly an important hub of civilization.
I hear that Skysinger was called on the carpet too. I haven't seen Skysinger since then. That hurts me a lot. My first pegasus friend, and I don't know if he will ever want to talk to me again. He has no reason to trust me anymore, and every reason not to, I understand that. I just wish I could talk to him, explain that I didn't know not to trust.
But I am just an earth pony. I can't fly. I wouldn't know how to find him, even if I could be sure it was the right thing to do at all.
Perspicacity has been wonderful through all of this. She has put up with my grief over all of this, and she never doubted me once. I wonder if, as a unicorn, she can see into ponies souls too, or if it is just that she just loves and trusts me that much.
Rocket and I work hard at being Fireponies, and on weekends we run together all the way to Just Fetlock and back, and sometimes Perspicacity joins us, and we are our own herd, running, running like the wind.
I always keep an eye on the sky, in case somehow I might glimpse Skysinger again. I guess I just can't help being the hopeful sort.
And I keep you, my old friend, always in my heart, and every corner I pass, as we run, I look to see if maybe, just maybe, it could be you galloping up to meet us. I guess I know it is unlikely, maybe even impossible.
Equestria is a magical land. Maybe there is enough magic even for the occasional miracle, If I just hope enough.
Rest easy, my old, dear friend.
I forgive you.
- Wildfire
The End
The Lost In The Herd Series:
One: The Big Respawn,
Two: Euphrosyne Unchained,
Three: Letters From Home,
Four: Teacup, Down On The Farm
The Conversion Bureau Novels:
27 Ounces: A story of eight and one half ponies
The Taste Of Grass
The Conversion Bureau: Code Majeste
The Conversion Bureau: The 800 Year Promise
The Conversion Bureau: Going Pony
The Reasonably Adamant Down With Celestia Newfoal Society!
Recombinant 63: A Conversion Bureau Story
HUMAN in Equestria: A Conversion Bureau Story
The PER: Michelson and Morely
Little Blue Cat
Cross The Amazon
Adrift Off Fiddler's Green: The Final Conversion Bureau Story
The Short Stories:
Her Last Possession
The Conversion Bureau: PER Equitum
The Conversion Bureau: Brand New Universe
Tales Of Los Pegasus
The Poly Little Pony
The very first and original
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Optimalverse Works:
Friendship Is Optimal: Caelum Est Conterrens
Leftovers: A Friendship Is Optimal Story
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My Life In Fimbria
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I.D. - That Indestructible Something
The More Conventional Fanfics:
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|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 1 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-08T21:27:23+00:00
|
2017-04-25T22:22:52+00:00
| 1,472 |
ONE YEAR AFTER THE DEATH OF RAINBOW DASH
Pinkie lay down a small knife and sighed. Nothing had been going well recently. Many of her friends where dead, dead on the wishes of those who only Pinkie met.
Nopony else saw those strange ponies, to her annoyance. She sometimes wondered if other people just didn't like them and ignored them, as she thought her friends did the night before she started the numbers. These strange ponies were the only ones who knew of her "Method" of making cupcakes, and strangely supported her.
But the numbers were insatisable now. Many people from Ponyville were dead after all this time or moved away from the losses of their family. It was difficult, framing the most recent ponies as having moved away or gone on business. The job was getting harder and harder...
And now the numbers seemed to be trying to spite her. One of the last of her closest friends had been chosen by the numbers, just after another! Rarity had made excellent meat, just as good as Rainbow Dash's. Pinkie sighed again at this thought. Delicious, all of them, but it was sad that she would never see any of them again. But now, there was a job to do and her friend would not do it herself.
She went on her way to the room she kept the ponies in. She didn't need to sneak anymore, now that Mrs Cake had been stuffed and mounted on the wall. Mr Cake had left the deeds for the bakery to her when he left to live in Fillydelphia. He said he couldn't stand to live where Mrs Cake had apparently "Eloped" and left with a stranger.
She locked the door to the room behind her and walked into a short corridor and stopped when saw one of the strange ponies in front of her.
"Pinkie." said the pony in a cultured, strangely accented voice Pinkie had never heard from another pony. The pony had pure white skin and was dressed in some fine blue dress that looked like one of those that Rarity made. Had made. Pinkie mentally shook herself and tried to ready some words.
"Madame." she said politely. She knew this pony quite well, and knew that she disliked being adressed as anything else.
"Your old... friend is waiting inside." said the "Madame" with a small grin. "She will be absolutely deleesious, darling."
"Mmm." was Pinkie's reply. She had a lot on her mind. "She is still my friend." she said suddenly, drawing a strange look from the Madame.
Madame looked worried. "Are you eentirely yourself, my dear?"
"Perfectly." Pinkie said, wearing a small smile that looked like a grimace.
"If you are sure..."
"I am, Madame."
"Well, then you should enjoy zis. Come!" She said imperiously, trotting towards the other end of the corridor. "It is time we attended to zis."
Pinkie followed after the commanding mare into the room.
"Zis is your show here, darling." said Madame. "I wouldn't dream of interfering." she said as she moved to the side slightly.
Pinkie looked at the pony strapped to the rack.
"We had better start now, my dear." said the Madame insistently. "You have done zis before, there shall be no trouble, I promise you."
"I know." said Pinkie.
The eyes of the strapped pony suddenly grew wide with hope. She knew that voice. As Pinkie came closer, she tried to speak through a gag around her mouth. Nothing legible came out. She saw Pinkie take a knife from a small tray on a nearby table, and then suddenly felt a huge pang of fear. She saw that Pinkie looked uncommonly sad, nothing like the bouncing, happy-go-lucky mare she knew.
Pinkie walked up to the trapped mare and pulled off the gag.
"Is zat really wise,my dear?" said Madame. "The screaming does get repetitive after a while." After a small, annoyed look from Pinkie, she said hurriedly "But if you like the screaming, go ahead, my dear." seemingly trying to please.
Pinkie turned away, back to the trapped mare with tears starting to form in her eyes. Why was this happening? She had never felt this way even when her other friends were in just the same position as the trapped mare.
The trapped mare coughed, trying to force out words in the face of all the fear she was feeling.
"P-pinkie..." she muttered, looking at the pink mare. "W-what..."
The pink mare seemed to be crying. Which seemed impossible. Pinkie never cried. She felt something was horribly wrong, even more so than when she awoke in this empty room with the strange, metal things on racks and trays around her.
"Shush." said Pinkie "This is important."
"W-what is? Are you hurt? Is that why you're crying? Do you know why I'm-"
"BE QUIET!" Pinkie thundered at her suddenly, shocking the trapped mare. "Don't disobey me again." she said warningly.
Pinkie, holding the knife she had taken, looked utterly terrifing and the trapped mare was silent.
"This happens to everyone, eventually." said Pinkie "Why would you be different?"
"B-but what?"
Pinkie said nothing in reply, but leaned over the trapped mare and held the knife close to her head.
The trapped mare came to her own assumptions. Pinkie was going to hurt her, and might kill her. She didn't know why. She was terrified and didn't know why a friend would do this.
"Pinkie..." she said and got a quick glare and Pinkie leaned in closer,looking totally demented now.
"Please don't do this..."
She saw a sudden moisture in her captors eyes, the sudden dropping of the insane grimace and the terror in her face.
Then there was a flash of pain, and then nothing.
"Why did you do zat?" said Madame in anger "She could have lasted a long time! The meat would have been exzellent after all that time!"
Pinkie sat holding the mare's head. The knife had slashed through her throat and killed her nearly instantly, something the pink mare often tried to avoid doing.
Pinkie let the mare's head fall back on the rack into the pooling blood. She didn't know why. This was routine, wasn't it? Then why did she feel so horrible?
Pinkie threw the knife away carelessly and took the corpse's legs with the Madame glaring at her.She dragged it to a small freezer she kept in the room and laid the body inside with more care than she had done before with any corpse.
She looked at Fluttershy's still terrified face a final time and shut the freezer door.
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 2 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-09T13:20:10+00:00
|
2011-10-09T13:20:10+00:00
| 901 |
FOUR DAYS AFTER THE DEATH OF FLUTTERSHY
"Huh." said Twilight Sparkle, using her magic to push the door of Fluttershy's house shut. "She must be out looking for animals or something. Any ideas Spike?" she addressed this question to the adolescent dragon on her back.
"Maybe she was caught by a manticore or something!" he overenthused, jumping off Twilight and onto the grass outside the house.
"Spike don't be-"
"I'll save her!"
"And how will you find her?" she said loudly, speaking over the dragon.
"I'll fly up and spot her, then swoop down and rescue her! I'll be the hero of Ponyville!" he cried, then started taking a run.
"No, Spike wait-" she said too late.Spike had taken a running jump from the hill, and flexing a pair of tiny, stunted wings attempted to fly and merely ended up buring himself halfway into a rabbit warren when he crashed.Twilight levitated him out and inspected the burrow.
"Spike, Fluttershy will be furio- no. She'll be... annoyed." she said, remembering what Fluttershy was like. "Anyway, she won't like it. We can look for her later. After YOU" she said, grinning at the mud covered Spike "Get a bath."
"Aww,no!" moaned Spike.
"Well, you have no choice so you don't need to worry." Twilight said, levitating Spike along with her, being loath to have to coat herself in all the mud Spike would bring if she carried him.
"Well" said Twilight "She isn't in town, and she isn't where most of the animals are. Spike, help me out here!"
The dragon yawned and said "Can't we look for her in the morning?"
"We can't keep putting this off! Anyway, weren't you the one who wanted to rescue her?"
Spike suddenly turned his head away and said "Y-yeah."
"Um... Spike? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" he said with uncommon force.
"Fine, Fine..." the lavender unicorn said exasperatedly, completely missing his tone of voice in her annoyance. "Maybe Pinkie's seen her, she always seems to know where everyone is..."
Pinkie Pie was leaning on the counter of Sugar Cube corner with her eyes closed, thinking. She was hoping someone would buy what was left of the cupcakes from Rarity she still had, but not today. The story on that one was pretty good. Pinkie had told everyone that Rarity had gone off to "Follow her Dreams" and find the one she loved. She had noticed Spike sulking in the background, and remembered that the little dragon said he had a crush on Rarity. Hah. In her state right now, she was hoping nopony would come in while she was waiting for closing time. She was enjoying the solitude.
Ting
Pinkie Pie's eyes opened in annoyance and looked at the intruder. She saw Twilight and Spike and tried to force herself to relax. They would certainly notice something. Pinkie was feeling depressed and her hair had gone straight, as it always did when she was depressed.
"Hiya, Twi." she said, trying to sound cheery and hitching a grin on her face.
"Heya, Pinkie." Twilight said. She looked very preoccupied and gave Pinkie a worried look. "Have you seen Fluttershy anywhere?" Twilight said as she started going through the Bakery, searching and not giving Pinkie a second look. Pinkie felt a sudden wave of coldness. She had to battle to keep her grin and cheery voice up now, and she felt strangely near tears again.
"No, I haven't seen her all day, which is strange, because she normally buys something from here whenever she comes into town because she-" Pinkie said rapidly, hoping to fool Twilight with the inane chatter she expected.
"Pinkie, this is serious, I haven't seen her in days!" Twilight snapped.Then she sighed. "Look, do you have any idea where she is?"
Pinkie froze up suddenly as she heard a gravelly voice behind her say "How about Everfree? That chump would love to go hug all those monsters..." a hacking cough came from behind her, originating from a large pastry cupboard. Rocky, she could tell. She hoped he would be quiet so Twilight wouldn't hear him as she turned to Twilight and said what came to mind in her panic.
"Maybe she's in the Everfree forest! I means, maybe she felt sorry for the monsters and stuff..." she quickly said as she backed up against the cupboard to muffle the coughs Rocky was making.
Twilight's eyes widened. "You think so? Oh no... she could have. She actually could have done that. She can't charm every monster..."
Spike leaned over from Twilight's back and said "We have to go. She could be in trouble." The young dragon sounded uncommonly serious and looked very worried as he said this.
"Pinkie, can you come with us? We could use the help." Twilight said.
"Uh... yeah sure!" Pinkie said. Celestia's hooves, this could be a problem. She just hoped they wouldn't find anything. She hoped they would find some unfortunate pony's bones and assume it was Fluttershy. Oh, how she hoped...
Twilight wondered as she went through a pasture near Fluttershy's house on the way to the Everfree Forest. Pinkie had been acting very strange (For pinkie anyway), once Twilight had time to take a good look at her. It looked like she had finally managed to straighten her unruly hair, something Rarity often despaired of how she couldn't, before Rarity went off looking for love, and Pinkie had been pressed against a large cupboard and making hacking coughs in the back of her throat for some reason. Twilight wondered about this as she walked to Everfree.
EVERFREE
Pinkie disliked the Everfree Forest. A gloomy place, it always tended to make her tend towards sadness.
And now she had to enter the place searching for a corpse hidden in the place she just left.
This wasn't going to be good, and she hoped nothing would be discovered that could incriminate her. After all, few ponies understood her situation. Even Pinkie didn't fully understand it totally. But she knew that no good would come of it if she it was discovered how exactly she was making such delicious foodstuffs.
She was understandably in a very foul mood, and trying to hide it.
A flit of white and blue and a small grin.
Pinkie was worried. The Madame had followed her into the forest. She knew the ghostly ponies well, but... they could didn't seem to be able to be trusted. Rocky, talking so loudly earlier could have ruined everything. The Madame just seemed... wrong much too often, but had always supported her in what she did. The others were generally the same as Rocky sometimes, and they were never too nice talking about her friends. "Friend" she thought bitterly, as she remembered that only Twilight was left. Only The Madame had never been rude about her friends, but she treated them like dolls or puppets. Toys. Things to be used.
And so Pinkie worried.
Twilight worried too, but for the obvious reason she thought Fluttershy was missing. She didn't mind the forest. She had traversed it with her friends before, and went through fairly often when visiting Zecora.
"Pinkie?" she said.
"Yeah?"
"Which way are we going? Any ideas?"
Pinkie stood still for a moment, staring at a tree. The tree had a strange white stain of some sort on it.
"Maybe" Pinkie said quietly. This was strange in itself, as Twilight had only ever heard Pinkie talk in loud tones that attracted attention.
"Where then?"
"Fluttershy has never seen the Ursa Major before. Maybe she doesn't know there was a Major. You know her." Pinkie was acting... very, very strange. She seemed mocking and was much quieter than the Pinkie she normally knew. "She probably thought that it needed some care. A little... love." drawing out the final word strangely and gibing Twilight a strangely hungry look.
Twilight stared at her worriedly. The pink mare was being unquestionably strange, but no one had ever pointed out her oddities before and Pinkie was actually very scary when she looked at Twilight like that.
"You... could be right. Let's get on. I know where the cave is, and I've seen the Ursa Major before. Fluttershy... oh no. I hope you are wrong, Pinkie."
Pinkie was glaring at the figure that walked beside her.
"Well, my dear" whispered the white pony "We simply can't have someone so... inquzitive running around after you, can we?"
"She isn't up in the numbers now, why should we kill her?" Pinkie muttered quietly, so that Twilight would not overhear. The white pony was apparently even being ignored in this crucial moment for Twilight. Pinkie hoped their conversation would not be overheard, so both were whispering.
"Well, didn't you smash zat filly who came sniffing around into mulch? Zen tipped her out into the yellow flying one's fertilizers?"
"Fluttershy has... had a name"
"Humph. You are too attached to zese little ponies. They can be enjoyable in life, but zey are always best in death. In food."
"But Twilight won't be in food. That Ursa will eat her itself."
"But you never eat the ones zat aren't on the numbers you need to kill. Just let events unfold, and she will be gone. Bam!" Madame said cheerily. "No more trouble from ze lavender mare. And we can keep on doing what we do."
Pinkie knew better than to tell Madame to be quiet. That merely infuriated her.
"Well zen, you say nothing, so I think I have won. Ze Lavander mare shall die... my way"
Twilight looked into the cave with growing apprehension. She felt like just going in there would be the worst thing she could possibly do right now. Or ever. Or at least for the rest of her life, which wouldn't be hard to do after taking that decision.
"Pinkie, it'd be insane to just walk in there." she said.
"Well then don't." Pinkie replied, seemingly uncaring.
"But you suggested this! How can you suggest something then say to not do it? What if Fluttershy is in there?"
"Then go in." the pink mare said in dead tones. "Save Fluttershy. Be heroes."
"Pinkie, are you alright? You do know this is Fluttershy we are talking about? Your friend?" Spike said over Twilight's shoulder. Pinkie only turned her head away and looked out into the trees. Twilight sighed.
"This is the only plan we've got, so we had better just make the best of it. Maybe we can sneak in." she said. Twilight didn't bother telling Pinkie to be quiet. She was already being uncommonly quiet. "Spike, just run if it hears us."
"But I want to help!"
"And what will you do? That's a major in there, and Spike, you wouldn't even do anything against a Minor. Let's just go."
Twilight was sneaking behind a collection of stalagmites that had grown around the edges of the cave. She made a mental note to research how these where made later. Wait, what? She was trying to rescue her friend, trapped in a cave with a monster that, if it fell over, would likely crush most of Ponyville and then get up and smash the rest. She looked at the monster. She hadn't seen it this close up before, and she didn't entirely even now. She could see right through it. It was holding the Ursa Minor she recognised as being likely the one that had attacked Ponyville. After all, ponies would notice more than one monstrous, giant bear apparently made of stars.
She couldn't see any evidence of Fluttershy anywhere. But she had to hope.
Madame was waiting outside the cave, along with Pinkie. She disregarded Pinkie's anxious skulking and paced around proudly. The little pink mare had never realised that other ponies just never saw the Madame and her friends at all, or ever sensed them at all in any way.
She looked into the cave and saw Twilight, with her tiny dragon, skulking around the sides of the cave. She felt a pang of annoyance. This would be a waste if the lavender mare was never killed anyway. She had to do something.
"Pinkie."
"Keep your voice down!" Pinkie whispered.
"Why should I?"
"Because T- because the thing might find us, and then we will end up dead instead!" Madame heard the hesitation in her voice. She tried to remember to keep a closer eye on Pinkie from now on. She appeared to be in a very funny mood.
"Hah!" she said loudly. Pinkie's mouth twitched, as she tried to repress the urge to say what the Madame said. "We can run. Zat huge thing will not run fast through all those trees, and will not miss such tiny things as us. But ze Lavender mare iz in it's home, and the beast wll not like zat. We are safe." The Madame gave Pinkie a piercing look. She had just had an idea.
The Madame suddenly screamed at the top of her voice, which was uncommonly high and loud. Pinkie was not sneaking any more, but had clamped her hooves over her mouth. Eventually she screamed too. The Madame permitted herself a small grin. Pinkie never realised what power the Madame held over her sometimes.
There was a roar from the cave, and the sound of running hooves.
Twilight heard Pinkie scream outside. She wondered what had happened. But she couldn't spare much to this thought as the huge monster she had looked at earlier loomed over her. She stared at it for a while, then came to her senses and took to her hooves. She heard the thing roar, incredibly loud, behind her and kept running. She couldn't do what she had done to the hyrda in this cave. The Ursa would just turn around and she would be trapped. The stalagmites were being smashed by the enraged monster as it chased her.
Twilight hoped that Spike, who had jumped off her back at the roar, would be safe. There was no time to check.
Twilight ran out of the forest and into the trees.
The ponies had found themselves in a clearing near a small stream. Twilight was panicking. The Ursa had lost them in the trees, just as the Madame had said, but Spike was no where to be found.
"Where is Spike?!" Twilight said, panicking "We can't have left him in there! Could we?"
Pinkie only shrugged. The Madame was hiding in a nearby bush, so not to worry Pinkie. She didn't see why the lavender mare was so bothered. It was only a dragon, and a throughly irritating one at that. The Madame only thought it a loss that the lavender mare had not been crushed.
"We... what do we do now?"
Yet again, Pinkie only shrugged.
"Pinkie, please help me!"
Pinkie turned her head away without answering.
"Fine!" Twilight was shouting at her now, looking terrified "I'll go look for him!" Twilight ran out of the clearing and on the way back to the cave as she said this.
The Madame came out of the bush she had been hiding in and approached Pinkie.
"What is ze matter, Pinkie? We got rid of the dragon, now we have less to worry about."
Pinkie said nothing, just as she had towards Twilight.
"Pinkie. Answer me."
Nothing.
"Pinkie, I do not appreciate being ignored. Answer me!"
There. Pinkie flinched at this.
"Hah. Keep your thoughts zen." The Madame said as she trotted the way Twilight went. "I will see if the beast will finish her this time."
Spike was gripping to a stalactite on the ceiling of the cave. He had been for an hour. He was thankful he had grown such tough claws in the past year. He wasn't sure why he was doing this. He knew he wanted to save Fluttershy, but he was just an undergrown dragon. He looked at the monster that had just curled up at the back of the cave. He hadn't seen Fluttershy anywhere.
He saw the flash of lavender out of the corner of his eye. Twilight had come back? He didn't know if this was good or bad. He worried about Twilight and Fluttershy.
The stalactite he was gripping suddenly shook, and he could see his view of everything moving. Surely enough, Twilight was levitating him out. He felt a flash of anger. Didn't Twilight think he could help Fluttershy?
He let go of the floating rock a soon as he thought it was safe. He landed harder than he thought, taking a few bruises even through his tough scales.
Twilight was mouthing words at him: Come here. Be quiet.
Spike shook his head and dropped to all fours, trying to sneak deeper in. Twilight stayed at the entrance, and having quickly lost sight of him knew she couldn't drag him back with magic. He was determined not to be brought back without Fluttershy. He didn't think of the future.
He had sneaked quietly to the now sleeping Ursa. It was a true terror. The teeth of the thing were enormous.
Spike was thinking like a dragon, not an Ursa, and started looking around it to see if it would keep Fluttershy in a non-existent stash.
And then there was the sight of a huge red and yellow eye, a blast of pain and the feeling of movement.
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 3 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-08T21:31:40+00:00
|
2011-10-08T21:31:40+00:00
| 776 |
SIX HOURS AFTER THE EVENTS OF "INTO EVERFREE"
Spike stirred in his sleep.
Celestia watched him worriedly. Her old best student had risked death searching for one of her friends. While that was the morally right thing to do, there were still problems. Spike, for example. He had been heavily injured and wouldn't be up and about for quite a while. It was a miracle that Twilight had managed to levitate him out of the worst of the Ursa's claws.
"Princess Celestia, do you think he's going to be alright?" Twilight said as she rushed into the room. She had just arrived from the cave, where Luna and some Pegasi were subduing the beast to search for Fluttershy. The Ursa had been tied up with ropes carried by the Pegasi after Luna had put it into a trance. Fluttershy was not found yet, and the pegasi were checking through the rest of the forest.
"Yes, Twilight. He is through the worst of it."
"Oh my... I really messed everything up. I should have asked for your help from the start, but I was so worried and-"
"Hush. That doesn't matter now. You should learn from this Twilight. I will always be able to help you, as a friend, even if you are no longer my student."
"O-of course, Princess."
"I will send word when we find Fluttershy. It is strange that she has not been seen for so long. I will send someone to care for Spike. But now, I should head back to the palace. It is nearly time to raise the sun again."
Celestia's horn grew bright, and then a moment later there was a flash. Celestia was gone.
Twilight walked up to the bed.
"Spike, you never do think things through... but neithier do I. We both messed up." she said, looking like she was about to cry, then yawned. "I-I've been up all night, I really need to sleep..." A flash of sun shot through the window. "Oh." she said "Of course. I'll go meet your helper, then go to bed. I really hope everything works out..."
The Madame was feeling furious again. The lavender mare had survived, and her annoying dragon only got some scratches. She was certain that Pinkie could have finished them easily in the forest. Yet she hadn't. Something was wrong.
"Pinkie!" she shouted down the stairs of the tower like structure atop Sugarcube Corner "Come here!"
"No!"
The Madame was actually shocked by this. Pinkie would never disobey her. Never before anyway. But she was in a strange mood.
"We must draw ze numbers! Now! You know what happens when zey aren't drawn..."
There was a crash from downstairs and a small gasp. It sounded like Pinkie had broken something. A moment later, Pinkie appeared at the top of the stairs. Her hoof was bleeding.
"Now what have you done, Pinkie? We will need to bandage zat up later. But come now, we must draw ze numbers."
No. The numbers had to be going for spite now. Please no...
"Well zat is zat. No more trouble." the Madame said to PInkie. "Now we can get back from zat blunder in the forest. When ze Lavender one is gone, we can get on az before."
Pinkie stared at the number for a while, and with no expression said "Do you ever wonder about what we do sometimes?"
This was a dangerous sort of thought. Now the Madame thought she knew why Pinkie was being so strange. "Non!" she replied "We do what we do. We have to. We have ze numbers."
"Of course..." Pinkie said "But why do we have the numbers again? My friends were just planning a party then, and you showed up. Of course, I'm very grateful" she said hastily as she saw the Madame's face go furious for a moment "But should I kill ponies for that?"
"Non! You kill zem for the food now. And ze numbers. You can't disobey ze numbers, we both know."
Pinkie looked at the number and the book of ponies again after the Madame had gone, smirking in satisfaction that Twilight would finally die this time, then sighed. The Madame was right. Pinkie didn't know if the Madame actually liked the work or not. It was just work to her, and if it was enjoyable then it was all the better. Pinkie had enjoyed the work when she started it about... was it a year? A year ago, Dash had died. But there were ponies before her too, the unmissed. Before the numbers had started she would just pick up some poor pony from Canterlot. Then she opened the numbers, opened the book and Dash was chosen. Applejack had come next, a few months after Dash. Then Rarity, who had been a few days before Fluttershy. Now Twilight had been chosen. She looked at the pictures in the book and reminded herself absently that she would need to update it, with the new ponies that were arriving in Ponyville. The numbers were strange now. After Rarity, she had tried to ignore the numbers and slipped the number back in, saying she thought they had enough meat. She, the Madame, and all the ghostly ponies had taken ill in their dreams. She heard them scream when they slept. Monsters made of shadow and twisted wood tore at her and ripped her to pieces in her dreams after the illness had started, and she somehow was whole again each time and ready to be torn again. Dash was there, and simply told Pinkie that she was disappointed in her. Pinkie didn't know why she cried in that dream at the time. It was when she was at ease with the killings, when she thought Dash would be truely gone. Applejack had appeared the next night, and told the monsters that they could have Pinkie for all she cared. Rarity had appeared the next night and when Pinkie tried to crawl away from the monsters had been brutally kicked in the chest by Rarity, back into them. Rarity said nothing. After her old friends visited her each time, the pain she suffered from the monsters held few fears as she just sat, horrified and crying in her dream. She didn't know what the others dreamed of. She felt it best not to ask. After Pinkie finally killed for the number she had brought out, the dreams stopped. She never wanted to do that again. She didn't think she could ever stand it again.
Her tears dripped onto the floor and mixed with the blood from her bleeding hoof.
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 4 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-12T17:59:34+00:00
|
2011-10-12T17:59:34+00:00
| 725 |
NIGHT. TIME UNKNOWN.
Twilight woke with a small start and a fair bit of annoyance. Her sleep had been interrupted again. The door closing behind the Nurse had made a loud slam. Twilight groaned then rolled out of bed, landing on her hooves. She went at a trot downstairs and wondered how well Spike was doing. She looked out a window. seeing the night and the rain, when she had reached the main room and wondered how long she had slept. There was a small note from Nurse Redheart on the table. Twilight noticed that the Nurse had used Twilight's new "Typewriter" that had been invented recently to write the note. Only unicorns could write proficiently without that Typewriter, but now Earth ponies and Pegasi were writing too, which had made the library in Ponyville grow substantially. The note read:
To Twilight Sparkle
Spike's condition has improved drastically, and there should be nothing that shall not heal naturally over some time. Please send word if there are any complications.
- Nurse Redheart
Hmm, Twilight thought. There was double the work Nurse Redheart had to do these days, after Nurse Tenderheart had retired. No wonder she had had to leave Spike with her a while. Twilight might as well get a snack while she was here, she thought as she began to busy herself with making something to eat.
Pinkie was trotting slowly to the library, carrying some cupcakes. She wondered how she was going to do this, and how she would make it seem like Twilight had just left or something. She was friendly with Celestia, after all and it wouldn't be helpful to have her poking around... Celestia had no number. Pinkie could see quite easily that she would never be able to get near Celestia, and her magic could always overpower Pinkie at any time. She wasn't sure if Celestia even could die. But why was she thinking about Celestia? It was Twilight she needed to concentrate on, and work out some sort of plan...
Twilight had just finished eating and was sitting with a book at Spike's side.
... the dragon has three kinds of flame, that which can send items through the place of magic to where they wish them to go, one that is simple, unmagical fire made by a combustion of gas in which the dragon uses a small biological item akin to flint to spark the gas and send out a flaming gas, and the final kind which...
There was a knocking at the door. Twilight wondered if Nurse Redheart had come back for something and she shut the book, trying to keep her page number in her mind. When she had gone downstairs and opened the door, she saw an uncomfortable looking Pinkie Pie carrying two satchels by her side, soaking wet.
"Pinkie." she said in a flat voice. She hadn't forgotten Pinkie's attitude about Spike yesterday.
"Um... hiya, Twilight." Pinkie said. She looked very tired, worried and sad. Twilight was feeling slightly sorry about her, but tried to quash that small feeling. Even though Pinkie was one of the last friends she had now, with many of her old friends gone and Twilight being a general hermit to most of Ponyville, she didn't want to be too nice to her. "Do... do you think I can come in please? Only it's a bit wet out here..."
"No, really? Fine, come in but try and not drip on any of the books."
Pinkie walked in slowly, her straight mane dripping on the floor.
"Is... is everything going alright with Spike, Twilight?"
"Yeah. He'll be fine soon enough."
Pinkie went to a small table near a lectern and took one of the Satchels off. She took out a tray of cupcakes and laid them on the table.
"For you and Spike." she explained. Twilight felt a bit better towards her now. It seemed that Pinkie did actually care about Spike. She still wasn't sure what caused her behaviour in the Everfree Forest though. Maybe Pinkie was suffering from losing her friends too. Pinkie eventually became as much as a hermit as Twilight a while after Applejack had left for New Appleloosa and had her train overturn. Most ponies were actually shocked and amazed at this, and chalked it up to her feeling horrified over Applejack's death. There were no more parties.
"Thanks Pinkie. Er... sorry about shouting at you in Everfree. Are you alright?"
"Yes, Twilight. Now why don't you eat one of those cupcakes?"
"I'll save them for later if you don't mind Pinkie. Spike should enjoy them when he wakes up."
Pinkie was giving Twilight a glare. "I would really, really prefer it if you ate one right now, Twi..."
Twilight wasn't quite ready to trust Pinkie again, and she was being rather creepy again and reminiscent of what she was like inside the Everfree Forest. "No thanks, I said."
"Hmm."
"I'll go take them up to Spike. He can have them straight away then."
Twilight picked up the cupcakes and went to take them up to Spike.
Pinkie was seething downstairs. Twilight didn't trust her, she could tell. She could see the ghost ponies pressing against the windows of the library, and she could see some of the shadow creatures hanging over them. She just hoped... nonononono!
Something snapped inside Pinkie's mind.
"Alright Pinkie, is there anything else you came-" Twilight said as she came out of Spike's room. Then stopped. Pinkie was staring out the window, looking utterly shocked and terrified. Twilight went over to the window and looked outside. "Uhh, Pinkie? What're you looking-" then she screamed and spun around. Pinkie was standing behind her. There was a long cut in Twilight's flank, cutting right through her cutie mark, and Pinkie was holding a knife in her mouth and staring at Twilight. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was moaning through the knife in her mouth. The other satchel she had been carrying was on the floor and Twilight thought she saw metal gleaming inside. Then Pinkie charged at Twilight, flicking her head to the side, trying to gash her with the knife. Twilight quickly ran back up the stairs, her mind in a state of shock and sudden turmoil and trying not to feel the pain from the cut. What was happening? What was Pinkie doing!? What was she going to do!?
Pinkie stared at the stairs a moment before walking slowly up them. She had to kill Twilight NOW, before anything worse came from the darkness and tore at her. She knew this wasn't a dream, and that she had to feed the numbers...
Twilight had found herself in Spike's room. The little dragon was muttering in his sleep and smoke was curling out of his nostrils. Twilight didn't know what to do. Then the door was pushed open and the demented Pinkie walked in slowly.
"P-Pinkie, what are you doing!?"
Pinkie adjusted the knife in her mouth and said "What I've always done Twi. But you never realised."
"What?"
Pinkie said nothing but got closer. Twilight started to panic, and levitated some of the books to make them fly off the shelves. Pinkie moved quickly out of the way the falling book pile and ran at Twilight. She rammed headfirst into Twilight, knocking her over.
"Pinkie, stop!" Twilight shouted
The noise had woken up Spike, who was staring wide-eyed at the general carnage around him. Smoke had begun to gather in clouds around the ceiling, as he started to panic as well.
"Stop messing around Twilight, I mustn't annoy the numbers again." Pinkie said, baffling Twilight. "Just stay still and this will be over."
"What will? What!?"
Pinkie aimed a stab at Twilight's shoulder, and Twilight moved quickly to dodge it. It hit her in the shoulder and she screamed again in pain.
There was a sudden, huge blast and a scream. Twilight was deafened by the noise.
Pinkie was gone, and the library was smouldering. Twilight moved painfully over to Spike, who was immersed in smoke. She saw the book she had been reading earlier.
...and the final kind, which only dragons approaching or at maturity may use. A blast of super heated air, powerfully heated by the natural magic in a dragon, that causes an explosion with only little fire...
"Good... job... Spike." Twilight said light headedly as she sank into unconsiousness.
Pinkie lay on the ground, just outside the library. Her body was burning with pain. She suspected she had broken some bones. She didn't know what had happened, but everything had turned white and painful suddenly and she was on the ground outside. She dreamily saw a white and blue shape leaning over her, and heard "Non, zis can't happen, not now..."
Then she too fell unconsious, just after she saw the shape above her collapse to it's knees and sigh.
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 5 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-10T19:46:50+00:00
|
2011-10-10T19:46:50+00:00
| 667 |
AN HOUR AFTER THE EVENTS OF "NOT AS PINKIE PLANNED"
Celestia looked over the guards around Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was still unconsious, but had been tied up and was wearing manacles attached to one of the guards. Pinkie had been coated in blood but had no injuries beyond the burning. Celestia sighed and wondered what had happened. She had only got gabbled explainations from Spike so far, who was obviously in a panic. Twilight Sparkle was being attended to by Nurse Redheart, who had seen the explosion, rushed over and gotten Spike to send a note to Celestia. But the medical supplies, needles and small knives in a satchel inside the library were worrying in a few ways. Who was selling them for one thing, and what they were being used for. Part of the library was filled with half-burned books in a huge fallen pile and there was a line of blood all up the stairs and pooling near the burned books next to a bloody knife. The two ponies were not awake and the pink mare was being treated as the main suspect, judging from the blood everywhere and all over her. But now she would just wait for the ponies to rise, then get her explainations. Luna could have a go at raising the Sun for once anyway.
Pinkie was standing on darkness, surrounded by gnarled trees twisting improbably out of the darkness and leaking glowing, dark pink sap out of huge cracks in their bark that vanished when it touched the darkness. The ghost ponies were all around her, groaning in pain and asleep. Then she saw one who was still awake. It was the Madame. She was however fallen on her knees and was groaning. Pinkie nudged her then looked into eyes as empty as the darkness below her. The Madame groaned again and stared at the darkness. The trees seemed to be leaning in closer. Some of the sap dripped on one of the ghost ponies, a small dust coloured stallion who screamed and writhed with an expression of horror when it dripped on him. Pinkie quickly rushed over, grabbed his mane and tried to drag him away. His mane turned to dust in her grip and he stared at her, still wearing a horrified rictus. He seemed to... melt away, falling to pieces then slipping through and into the darkness. Pinkie sobbed for him. He had shown up at the party she had held for the ghosts once, but hadn't attended any of the others. He had taken a lot of offense when Pinkie had defended her old friends a few times. But still, Pinkie cried as the pink sap started to cover her and she clutched at where he had been, feeling incredible grief as it washed over her and vanished into the darkness.
Twilight had woken up a few hours after Celestia had settled down to wait. She had bandages around her flank and a large one on her shoulder and was in a fair piece of pain. She was trying to explain to Celestia what had happened. Celestia listened attentively then said "This is... strange Twilight. I don't know why Pinkie would have done such a thing, and I don't think you would get Spike to burn half your library then stab yourself to frame her." Celestia saw Twilight try to ready an annoyed reply. "I said I didn't think that. Don't start getting annoyed. But we will search Sugarcube corner for evidence too. That satchel downstairs seems very important."
Celestia looked at her pained ex-student and decided to show her some trust.
"Would you like to come help inspect it with us? This is rather important, after all..."
Twilight had been staggering around Sugarcube Corner for half an hour, feeling rather useless. She kept tripping over the trailing bandages and had to keep attaching them back with her magic every time she accidentally unravelled one with a clumsy movement. A few guards were searching through Pinkie's possessions and Celestia was walking with Twilight. A rather flustered guard came down the stairs of Sugarcube Corner.
"Princess Celestia! You should come see this..."
It was a book. There were pictures of many different ponies in it, and a number tacked to the bottom of each picture. Some of the pictures had spalshes of red around and on them. Twilight peered over Celestia's shoulder looking at a page she had stared at a long while. Twilight felt a small jump in her thoughts. It was her old friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and herself. There was a picture of Pinkie with the number "1" tacked under it. It was outlined in pink. The others had splashes of that red on them. All except Twilight's. She felt a swirling in her stomach and wondered what in Equastria was happening. Whatever it was, she didn't like it.
Celestia gently levitated the book into the bags of one of the guards and told him to take it to Canterlot with all speed. "Something is wrong, whatever it is." she said, sounding worried. Celestia, worried? She hadn't heard this much worry ever in her voice. "I haven't seen a few of your friends in the flesh for a while, and with what could have been an attack on you..." Twilight noticed the "Could". "Let's keep searching."
Twilight had found something. There was a barely discernible shadow on the wall. They were in the basement of Sugarcube Corner. Celestia had lit her horn on fire, something which had surprised Twilight. Twilight trotted over to the place the shadow was at and pushed at it. Nothing happened. But the shadow was much closer now, and she could see there was something there. "Princess, can you help me please? There's something here. I think it's a door."
Celestia came closer, then turned away and bucked the door violently, scaring Twilight substantially. The Princess was seemed to be stronger than she looked, as there was a sudden crack and the wall had broken in half, exposing bare wood. Celestia smashed it all out the way, then levitated the pile of scrap into a corner. Twilight had never seen her do anything even approaching violence before, but she looked into the space that was inside when Celestia nodded at it. There was a long corridor. Twilight saw Celestia head up the stairs, presumably to get the guards. Twilight felt a surge of irrational anger. Didn't Celestia trust her at all? Did she have to rely on her guards to keep Twilight under control all the time? On this angry thought, she stepping into the corridor, hoping she could find something to totally prove her innocence.
She emerged into a dark room. She could hardly see anything except some barely visible shapes in the darkness. She lit her horn with a small pop that echoed in the hopefully empty room. The light didn't extend far from her as she walked forwards. She saw the words "L e is P t y" on one of the walls and stopped to stare. It looked like it was made of blood. Someone had tried to rub it off, and only succeeded in getting part off. There were marks on the wall where whatever the missing letters were had been. Twilight couldn't tell what it had used to say. She continued on in a state of anxiety. The blood writing worried her, but her mind felt curiously dead. There was something here for her, and she had to see it.
She saw some shadow that was pony shaped ahead of her and stopped suddenly. She didn't extinguish the light. The pony would have seen it already and she didn't want to be in the dark here. "H-Hello?" she said. "Hello? Hello!" she said loudly when there was no answer. After staring and the motionless pony for a few minutes, she walked slowly forwards. It did nothing. Then she noticed it was hanging a few inches above the ground. She tried to increase the light slightly and then looked into a face she had not seen for months. Applejack. Applejack. Applejack, who had died in a train overturning? Applejack here? Nononononono... She saw that Applejack had rips in her flesh, with thread holding her together. No, no, no... she spun around, intending to rush out, and crashed right into another shadow. She tripped over her banages and knocked whatever it was over. She looked straight into the face of Rainbow Dash, grinning. She stared at it for what felt like days as she leant over it, then she felt the stirring in her stomach escalate and vomited violently next to the thing. Then she felt a shaking hoof touch her shoulder and she screamed. What was happening, what was happening... she saw white in front of her and wondered what fresh horror it was. She felt a quick pain to her mouth and heard "Twilight, stop! Don't panic, don't panic!" the voice was itself filled with horror. Twilight stared at what had said it for a while then looked at the grinning face on the floor behind it. Then the colour seemed to wash out of everything slowly as the voice continued gabbling at her in something she didn't understand. She didn't even hear herself hit the floor.
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 6 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-12T20:30:38+00:00
|
2011-10-12T20:30:38+00:00
| 702 |
Celestia watch her ex-student sink to the floor. She couldn't blame her. Celestia felt like she might as well, but she had luckily (Or maybe not) seen many things in her long life that prepared her for things like this. Although none so horrific as this...
She wrapped her wings around hem both and vanished in a quick flash that brought the grinning faces into sharp focus, faces that would stay in her memories eternally...
UNKNOWN
Pinkie had woken up, but saw nothing. She could only tell she was awake by the pain that suddenly started making her body ache as it hadn't in the dream, and by the murmuring voices she heard. She couldn't move, and there was something stopping her mouth up. She felt metal behind her back and something tying her to it. She just waited, having no other choice.
Whatever was over her eyes was letting light through suddenly, then stopped again. Pinkie wondered what it had been. She could feel movement, then a sudden stop. The thing over her eyes was lifted and she blinked in the light. She couldn't see for a moment, then focused on something in front of her that was green. As it came into focus, she saw a oily looking fake plant. She stared and wondered what in Equestria was happening. An armoured member of the Royal guard walked in front of her and avoided looking at her face as it walked to a door and knocked, then entered. There was a brief, unheard discussion behind the door. Then a grey unicorn stallion trotted out along with the guard. The stallion said "Do you know why you are here, Miss Pinkamena?" Pinkie stared at him, mute. "Oh yes, remove the gag please, Phalanx." The guard came forwards and hit her in the mouth rather hard with his front hoof, knocking out whatever it was as it clattered to the side. "Phalanx! Please do not be rough. She is a patient here. We must be kind to her." Phalanx stared at Pinkie, then spat at her and walked to the side. The grey stallion sighed. Pinkie wondered what he meant by "Patient". Whatever it was he meant didn't sound good at all. "Please take her to her room, Phalanx. Leave her restrained."
"What..." Pinkie rasped, then coughed. "What's happening? Where is this place? Who are you?"
"Your doctor, Pinkie. Doctor Bright. Nice to meet you. You are being restrained for, um, impairing the rights of others" taking out a note from the coat he was wearing "Namely those about being allowed to not be horribly tortured, torn to bits then have taxidermy practised on them." He was strangely light-hearted, and Pinkie would never have expected such an attitude from any living being. She had expected the guard, Phalanx's response however. She wasn't sure if this was something planned by this Doctor Bright, if this behaviour was just an act. If it was, it's a very good one she thought.
"What do you want with me?" she asked.
"To cure you from whatever's wrong with you, my dear." Pinkie stared at him, shocked. He reminded Pinkie of the Madame when he said "My dear". She wondered where the ghosts were. Doctor Bright moved nervously as she stared at him anxiously. Where were the ghosts? She couldn't see them anywhere. "Anyway, I heard about what had happened. I've seen this before. There's a lot of this stuff in the Zebra lands, of course. Bit sad this was Celestia's first time seeing stuff on this scale of it. I used to work with the Zebras you know, dear." he was chatting aimlessly as they went through weaving corridors, with whatever she was tied to being pushed by Phalanx. "Nice people, but doing magic without horns tends to mess up your mind. All those weird fumes from those strange mushrooms, what some of it does to your head and of course having no horn to channel the magic through scrambles your brains quite a bit sometimes. Some of the least affected are allowed to leave for Equestria or somewhere else. I've only seen one Zebra here however, an old patient of mine. Couldn't stop her rhyming all the time, but at least she got over the worst. Used to do sort of the same stuff as you and got caught trying it on some filly who went into the Everfree Forest. There's more of this stuff around then most people think."
Zecora. And Pinkie never knew. Doctor Bright seemed sincere, and maybe those stories had some truth in them...
They had stopped. There was a heavily reinforced door she was facing, the same as many along the corridor.
"Phalanx, be so good as to push her in and untie her. Miss Pinkamena, please don't try anything silly." he said as he nudged open the door. Pinkie was pushed in and untied, then ungraciously thrown onto the ground by Phalanx. She spun around a gave him a hit in the face, then turned around again to deliver and kick to his legs, then screamed as she felt what was like liquid pain run up her spine. Her legs fell from under her as she fell to the floor and screamed again.
"Miss Pinkamena, I warned you. This was so predictable, you know. That's why I always carry this." He turned over her immobile body and showed her some needles on string. It was attached to his horn. All of them were glowing. "A nice little invention we cooked up. Perfect for keeping our inmates under control. Magical, which is why we like to have unicorn doctors on the violent ones. Well, I'll see you later, Miss Pinkamena." He and Phalanx left the twitching Pinkie on the ground and shut the door behind them with a resolute clang.
Pinkie fumed, and vowed to slit that doctor's neck from ear to ear. Then she looked at this thought and began to cry at what she had become since that awful day.
Twilight was at a funeral. A mass funeral, for everyone who could be recognised and many who were thought to be dead. There were pictures of many ponies, and coffins and urns for the pieces of those who could and couldn't be recognised. Twilight looked at her friend's coffins. She had had to see each grinning corpse in turn, then Fluttershy's terrified, frozen grimace. She had thrown up, again, earlier as had a number of other ponies. The grins ripped through their cheeks and made enormous, grimaces that were the sort of thing you normally saw in nightmares. She wondered for a moment why Pinkie would have done such a thing, then turned her mind back to the biggest fact in hand. Her friends were dead. It was a crushing truth. She stared, not even crying anymore at the coffins. She could still see the demonic grins, even through the thick wood. They grinned at her in her grief.
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 7 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-27T21:25:56+00:00
|
2011-10-27T21:25:56+00:00
| 722 |
A FEW DAYS AFTER THE EVENTS OF "MADNESS AND REMORSE"
"Oh, yeah. That crazy pink mare leaped up, proud as you dare, caught me one across the face." the guard bragged to a small cyan coloured nurse as she stared in admiration at the rather overdone bandages on his face. He did have a broken nose, but the nurse didn't know much about bones, being a mental nurse and not a medical one. Phalanx was actually slightly pleased with the pink mare for his injury, and glad he had added the extra touches. "That daft doctor made me let her go unrestrained, of course she attacked me straight away. Good thing, the doc didn't underestimate me though, 'couse I managed to get her down on the floor and got her to stop fighting. Of course, it's a rather difficult job being in the guards, and we do get so lonely..." he eyed up the now blushing mare.
"Chatting up girls again, Phalanx?" a voice came from around the corner, then Doctor Bright stepped around it. "You really do exaggerate so sometimes. We have Miss Pinkamena on our list today. She seems rather depressed, and I'm sure she likes you."
"Really." Phalanx said in a flat voice. He didn't want Bright messing up his chances with the cyan mare.
"Heh" Bright chuckled at him. "Don't listen too much to him, dear, he can be a brag sometimes."
The cyan mare looked a bit suspicious now, and said "Is it true what he said? I'm sure you were listening in..."
Bright chuckled, then said after a look at Phalanx said "I'm sure Miss Pinkamena could tell you. Would you like to be her personal nurse for a while?"
The cyan nurse shrank back in terror. "No, no sir! No thank you!"
"Well, I'm glad that myself and Phalanx can deal with her, right Phalanx?"
"Yeah, sure..."
After they had left the nurse behind and went on their way, Phalanx said "You are a real bastard sometimes, Bright."
"Of course. Good luck with however else believes your wild stories, by the way."
Pinkie lay on the tough mattress and stared at the ceiling. She disliked this inactivity. It seemed like she had been left to stew in her own juices while Celestia-knows-what went on outside. She certainly did know, Pinkie thought. Her imprisonment was Celestia's orders.
The door opened and Pinkie's head whipped around. This wasn't the same time the annoyed guard Phalanx usually came to feed her. It was still early in the morning. She thought anyway... she usually was a good judge of time, but there were no windows in her little cell and she hadn't seen daylight in such a long time.
It was Phalanx. No food it seemed, and there was that damned doctor. She could still remember that searing. She said nothing, but rolled off the mattress and stared at him. Then she saw another pony with them. Dark brown, with a grey mane... Rocky. They can't have kept ignoring him to let him in here. Sometimes she wondered if they were actually invisible, but sometimes ponies seemed to hear what they said, so maybe they were more than just ghosts...
"Chumps." he muttered as he slipped in and walked behind the doctor. Pinkie's mouth twitched.
"Please don't start anything Miss Pinkamena. You remember last time, I am sure." he said, levitating the needle thing over his head. "We just have to ask you some questions."
"What makes you think she will answer them?" Rocky said.
"Talking about yourself in third person, Miss Pinkamena?" What? She hadn't said anything. "We've had that before too before. Very obsessive personality, she was. Hated one of your old friends like fire."
Trixie. Is there anyone he hadn't treated? Wait... Twilight? Where was Twilight? What had happened to her? She felt rather worried, but couldn't place about what. Was she dead or not? What would Twilight do to her if they met again...
"A simple one to start with... right. Why did you do it?" After a pause, he helpfully said "Y'know, the torturing and cooking people into food, and so on..." After no answer again, he walked up to Pinkie and said "We are authorised to use force and methods normally not allowed on those in other parts of the hospital here, Miss Pinkamena. Everyone here is a special case, and Celestia gives the permission personally. Do we have to do that, or will you answer us, Miss Pinkamena?"
"Don't call me that. My name is Pinkie Pie."
"Hmm. An alias it seems, your true name being Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie. It also spoke of your family, including Bellam-"
"Shut up."
"The proceedure, Pinkie, is that the pony with the horrific torture implements gives the orders. As I'm sure you know. Now answer the question please."
Silence.
Doctor Bright sighed, and stabbed the needles into her side and sent some volts of pain through her. This wasn't as extreme as the last time, but she still screamed in pain and knocked the needles out her skin.
"Answer."
"Damn you!" As Bright raised the needles again, she shouted "Fine! Fine..." Bright lowered the needles with a smile.
"Going to cooperate now then? Answer."
"I... I have to obey the numbers."
"The numbers?"
"Yes."
"Care to elaborate?"
Pinkie glared, then said "They are the numbers who choose who has to die."
"Ah, of course. That strange book. Funny I wasn't in it then, but I don't get out of here much."
"And where is this?"
"Somewhere you don't know, dear." he said infuratingly. "Now, why do you do what these numbers say?"
"I have to."
"And why?"
She couldn't reveal her dreams to someone like Bright. She couldn't reveal them to anyone she knew, as she was hated by everyone and had none she could care for. She thought about this sadly, then Bright raised the needles again and she snapped back to the present. She didn't want that pain again.
"I just have to. Stop! Stop! That's all I can say, don't do that again..."
"Hah. If that seems to be all you can say right now, maybe you will think better later. Phalanx, thanks for coming along. Feed her and leave."
Now Phalanx was worried. He hadn't been with the doctor long, and had only seen him use the needles when a patient fought and to use them as a threat. It was rather terrifing how an insane butcherer of ponies had cowed before them. He hoped he never felt whatever they did. What really worried him was how much Bright seemed to enjoy it. Wasn't he a doctor though? He was meant to help the ponies inside, not torture them...
TWO MONTHS LATER
Twilight took a deep breath and readied her spell. The coordinates for the teleport from Celestia weren't mapped, and it was by carefully searching for a certain trail of magic that she would need to do this. Her horn flashed and she was standing in a clean, white room next to a gray stallion.
"Nice to meet you at last, Twilight Sparkle. I am Doctor Bright, and am the one treating Miss Pinkamena, or Pinkie as she has asked me to call her. This way please."
Twilight followed, worrying about this confrontation. She had wanted to scream her rage at Pinkie after the funeral, after she had finished with the worst of her grief and gave way for anger. But she had needed to wait for the pink mare to be allowed to see visitors. Some of her anger had made way in turn for worry and fear. She wasn't looking forward to this.
They had arrived at a tough, reinforced door. No windows anywhere, Twilight noticed, except the ones in the doors. Where was this place? It could be underground, but the diamond dogs would have broken through any underground buildings around most of Equastria. They got everywhere aside from the greatest of the mountains. Doctor Bright pushed open the door and beckoned Twilight inside. She trotted in. There was some sort of magical shield through half of the room. Twilight looked through and stared at Pinkie. She looked terrible. She was as bony as a stick, and was shaking. She turned her head from a pail she was staring at for some reason, glared at Bright, and didn't even notice Twilight. Her eyes were wide, and moving in strange positions.
"What is it now? More" Pinkie spat on the ground before she said "Questions to ask, doctor?"
"No, Pinkie, but you have a visitor."
"I have enough. My friends are here with me already. Why do I need more? No one ever comes in here, no one ever..."
Doctor Bright glanced at Twilight and said "One of your older friends, I believe. Twilight Sparkle."
Pinkie suddenly twisted her head, staring at Bright. She said "Impossible. Why would she see me? After all I did... oh Celestia..." suddenly the pink mare was crying, great sobs with tears dripping on the floor. Her head snapped up. Her eyes were focused again. "Twilight... why did you come here?"
Twilight was intimidated by Pinkie's behaviour. She was shocked to see her in such a state, and she wondered what being isolated had done to her. "I... I had to visit you Pinkie. Even after what you did." she said.
"Why? You can't forgive me what I did. I know that. The numbers made me, but I made the numbers..." she sobbed again.
"I can't forgive you Pinkie. It was horrible what you did. But why?"
"ASK HIM!" she bellowed, and pointed at Bright. "He used those needles on me! Asked me so many, many, many questions..."
Twilight turned to Bright. "Er... what did she say? And what are these needles?"
"An invention that is used to safely control those here. And to your first question, she said she served some numbers of some sort. We got nothing else."
"Why is she so thin? And terrified?" speaking loudly over the sobbing Pinkie.
"We have to force her to eat, as she refuses to eat now. And who can truely fathom the mind of an insane pony?"
"You are meant to." she said flatly. She couldn't help feeling sorry for her old friend, even though she hated what she had done. "And these needles, what exactly are they?"
"Just some needles attached to a wire. Only usable by unicorns right now."
"Wire... from the Pegasi? And what does the wire do?"
"Transmits the magic."
"Hmm."
"Want a demonstration?" he said, grinning strangely.
"You haven't told me how it works."
"You'll see." He said as he approached the shield. It opened and closed behind him with a small pop. He took something small out of the coat he wore and wrapped it around his horn, which started glowing. Pinkie shrieked in terror and ran into the corner of the room. Doctor Bright approached her and the needles flew out on long pieces of wire and stabbed her in the shoulder. Then they began to glow and Pinkie screamed and writhed, then stopped moving. She was still breathing, but what had happened was horrifying. How did torturing her help her? She seemed to be wasting away.
"Doctor! Stop this!" Twilight shouted at him. Celestia couldn't condone this... she was a good ruler, and kindly. Even someone like Pinkie, who had been said to have been insane and not herself, didn't deserve this. Doctor Bright stopped, then said "Pinkie, don't attack me or will use the needles again. Miss Twilight, if you would please exit. We should talk a moment."
Twilight followed behind him as he shut the door on Pinkie. Twilight said "What was that all about, Doctor? Shocking your patients into insensibility isn't going to help you or them."
The doctor looked rather uncomfortable while she said this and shifted from hoof to hoof. He said "Twilight, in here please. For privacy." he pointed to a door next to the one they had just left through. Twilight didn't know why, but followed him anyway.
Bright turned to her and said "There are many things about Miss Pinkamena that are strange, and I do not blame her for it. Quite the contrary."
Twilight was annoyed. She didn't see what this had to do with the torture she had just seen being inflicted on Pinkie. She stayed silent as Bright kept talking.
"Miss Pinkamena is a strange individual who needs specific things. She is haunted by the fact that she hasn't killed you, and I am shocking her in a basic behavioural conditioning. She will believe you are a bad thing, along with needles. This should stop her trying to kill you again."
"She said you had used them before. Why?"
"I am not the only doctor here."
"She said it was you, quite specifically. And I have only seen you here. What is this about?"
He was obviously panicking slightly now, but suddenly fell calm and stared straight at her.
"I will go get her ledger. This should clear things up slightly." he said with no emotion "Please wait here."
"I'm going to go talk to Pinkie. Is that shield still up?"
"Twilight Sparkle, that is not possible right now. Please stay here."
"I'm going to see her anyway. I can make a shield then, if I need to."
Bright had reached the door, and then stopped just outside and said "Sorry about this."
He shut the door, and Twilight heard a clanking. She trotted up to the door and hit it. It didn't move. A small metal flap opened at the bottom and Bright's voice came through.
"Twilight Sparkle, you still haven't learned, even after your friend's betrayal of you. And I thought you were intelligent..."
Pinkie stared at the corpse in her room. Sap was dripping on it from the spindly roots breaking through the ceiling and on the loam of the walls. Little of it was left but bones. She had had to eat it, being starved by Bright. It wasn't hard, but she had thought the ghost ponies might slide right through her. It hadn't. It had filled her up, but had felt strange. She thought she had seen Twilight, but that might have been the number lurking in the corner with Twilight's picture. It was invisible, but she could see it while she couldn't. It wasn't doing anything and it hadn't while the other Twilight had been there. She had said things. What? She tried to remember...
The door clanged open and Bright trotted in, fury on his face.
"Miss Pinkamena, you just caused a lot of trouble. It shall be very hard to get your friend to look like she is missing. Celestia has taken a deep interest in you, Miss Pinkamena."
Pinkie... or was she Pinkamena? She didn't know too well. It seemed like a memory. She said nothing.
"Hah. Is it time for the needles already?" At the word "Needles" the loam became more solid and the roots seemed to lean away from Bright. The bones flickered. She stared at him, still unable to say anything as she thought.
"Miss Pinkamena, you are a throughly stupid mare. Your friend you cared about so much is in the cells now. And she won't be having nice little Phalanx stopping me from using the needles all I like on her, and I notice he izn't here now..."
He moved quickly a the needles stabbed into her leg. She didn't feel anything, but pink curled out of her leg and floated into the air and wrapped around the Madame, grimacing at herself. The leg collapsed.
"Well, I am a doctor and I can take care of you well enough, but I have other things to do too. Goodbye, Miz Pinkamena."
Pinkie watched the Madame leave and wondered where Doctor Bright had gone. The pieces of Pink rolled around the air as the number in the corner floated out and devoured them.
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 8 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-18T16:08:32+00:00
|
2011-10-18T16:08:32+00:00
| 732 |
A VERY STRESSFUL HOUR AFTER "ALL THE PONIES IN THIS TOWN ARE CRAZY!"
Twilight paced up and down the little room she was in, fuming. Was this doctor trying to fillynap her or something? Or did Celestia think she had gone as mad as Pinkie? She had tried to teleport out. Nothing had happened. The room was proofed against it. She could preform magic inside, but the door and walls were all magic-proof. Twilight had heard screaming from next door, and had tried to kick the door down and only injuried herself.
A while later, the door opened. A cyan mare trotted in, trembling. She was levitating a small tray on her back with food. More than Pinkie had eaten, she'd bet. Twilight looked at the mare. There was no horn. There must be someone else behind her levitating it instead.
"M-miss Sparkle, Doctor Bright sent me to care for you..."
"Care for me? Why do I need any "Care"? Your doctor locked me in this room and hasn't told me anything. What is this about?"
"H-he says that you were violent, Miss. That we had to lock you up."
"I certainly was not! I have never been violent, and I hope I never will be!"
"We just look after you, Miss."
Twilight was coming closer, intending to go through the door as soon as possible. She peered through the door and saw nopony. Hmm.
"Really." she said, meaning nothing but to keep the mare talking while she sneaked out. That mare couldn't drag her back in after all.
"Miss Sparkle, can you get away from the door please?"
Well. That was that. Twilight dived quickly through the open door and shut it on the mare. She scrabbled at the lock on the door and the door flew open with violent force and threw her off the lock. Twilight looked at the mare. Her eyes were glowing bright yellow, and she wasn't looking too happy. Some needles on a string flew out her pocket and crashed to the ground. Her eyes went back to a more ordinary shade and she stared, blinking at Twilight. Who immediately ran down the corridor. The nurse's eyes turned yellow again as Twilight looked over her shoulder and she felt herself stop and be dragged back slowly. The nurse's head was glowing. What was this? This was obviously magic, but she was no unicorn... but she couldn't worry about that. Twilight looked at the needles the nurse was levitating and aiming at her as soon as she was in range. Twilight narrowed her eyes and used her magic, much stronger than the mare's, to push them into the mare. She didn't notice. Twilight shot a quick blast of magic through it and the mare fell over with a shriek as her eyes changed colour again. Twilight wrapped the wire around her. The mare couldn't move with how tightly she was holding onto it with her magic.
"What in Celestia's name was that about?" Twilight said to the nurse, who was looking terrified again.
"What? What are... what are you..." the nurse seemed to run down in midsentence, then her eyes flared again and Twilight could feel another magic struggling at the tough bonds. Twilight was glad of her training under Celestia more than ever now. The eyes gave out again just as before.
"Stop that! It won't work." Twilight said, breathing heavily. "How are you doing that? You aren't a unicorn..." she said, her natural curiosity overtaking her excitement. The mare said nothing, but grinned inanely. Twilight repeated the question and got nothing. Oh, well. Twilight pushed her into the room they had just left and locked the latch, sealing her in. That was incredibly strange. But now... Pinkie. Even she couldn't be left in here.
Twilight trotted up to the door next to her. She checked inside by nudging the door open. Nothing. The other side of her cell had a locked door, locked with a latch and a key. It was probably the one with Pinkie inside. This was worrying. Bright would likely have it somewhere. This place was no where to be skulking around, but she couldn't get help. Not if Celestia had ordered this... if she had. But a place of this level couldn't support itself without having the Princess on it's side. Twilight walked through the mostly deserted corridors till she heard speaking. She ran into the closest door quickly and hoped no one was inside. There wasn't. Twilight stayed near the door, listening.
"That little nurse liked me." the voice sounded pained.
"Only because you're a braggart, Phalanx."
"Shut up. Don't pretend you haven't tried the same thing, Aquilinus."
"My stories are actually believable. You know what they about the mare you say you roughed up? Seems she likely killed a hundred ponies or so, so who would believe you would just wander in and beat her up?"
"Shut it."
"Why? It's true. You were always a runt, Phal-" the voice of Aquilinus cut off. There was a sudden whispering which Twilight listened closely to.
"Aquilinus... never talk... I have it now..." Aquilinus screamed, and Phalanx rose his voice to be heard "Now who is a runt? Aquilinus, get back to your duties and never speak of this again. Or you know what will happen."
Twilight waited until the sounds of Phalanx leaving were gone, then peeked outside the door.
There was a white pegasus guard lying on the ground outside, shaking. A guard. This was certainly maintained by Celestia, but with the horrific things were happening now... she walked up to Aquilinus. The guard had a number of scars that looked animal made along his side and was wearing heavy gilded armor.
The guard on the floor got up shakily and stared at her, then said "Twilight Sparkle? Doctor Bright told us you had turned violent, what happened? Why are you here?"
Twilight assumed that Bright had told everyone that story by now, and said "He lied. What happened to you just then?"
"Nothing!"
"I was listening, and your screaming wasn't hard to miss..."
Aquilinus sighed, and said "I don't know. Phalanx is just some guy I know, bit of a bastard but I don't know what happened or why he did that. He had some of those strange needle things that run on magic, I don't know how he worked them."
"A nurse earlier used some of those. She wasn't a unicorn eithier... "
Aquilinus came closer to her and said quietly "I don't like it here. It seems the doctors do more harm than good and I've seen a few people from the older garrisons in the cells themselves. I think this garrison is gonna be next. Starting with Phalanx, he's nuts. Celestia's bleeding-" he stopped and looked at Twilight, who filled in the rest of the curse herself. She wasn't a total innocent after all, and she had heard some younger ponies talking like that when they thought she wasn't listening. "Saving your presence, Miss." Oh dear. "Saving your presence"... what did she have to do with Celestia's bleeding whatevers? Twilight brought her mind back to the facts at hoof.
"Aquilinus- yes, I heard it earlier- can you come help me? I'm trying to get out of here, but one of my friends has been trapped in here too and I need to get her out."
"Who is it?"
"Pinkie Pie." she said, bracing herself for a lot of abuse and worry.
"Her? Phalanx was bragging about beating her up, and if that was true I'll eat my armor. She could help. But... what are you and her going to do when you escape? Me too, I guess." he added. The expected abuse didn't come.
"I don't know. But do you want to go through that all again? I know Pinkie won't, with all she has had. I heard her screaming."
Aquilinus looked rather pained. "You're right. That was horrible... but you, miss, are Celestia's prize student. Model citizen who nopony would suspect. And you seem hardly as much of a loony-" he stopped again. Twilight wondered if he knew any cursewords that weren't related to the princesses. "I mean, you aren't as crazy as the people in the cells. So why would you need to go with this Pinkie? Surely you can-"
"No. Celestia owns this place, you think I won't just get thrown back inside? And I'm not letting Pinkie go on her own. And you are just in the same position as me."
Aquilinus pawed at the ground, obviously worried. "Well, we have an agreement, so I had better give you the keys."
"Wait, you have the keys to the cells?"
"Sure. I'm not just any old guard, you know. Me, Phalanx and Bright all have keys to that area. Bright keeps giving them to the nurses, the lazy git. My copy of them are in that silly office they gave me. I asked for a station in the barracks, but apparently I had to deal with paperwork on the crazies as well. Follow me but try and keep quiet. Jump in a room if you hear anything."
Aquilinus trotted forwards, along the corridors.
Doctor Bright was walking on his way to Twilight Sparkle's cell. He was worrying about how he would get this done. Twilight was too close to Celestia, maybe she could be released with suitable threats... or maybe just gutting her and dumping the body somewhere might work to keep him safe.
Aquilinus came around the corner and stopped, then said loudly "Nice to see you again, Doctor Bright."
This was strange for the usually quiet voiced guard. Bright remembered that Phalanx had told him what he had done to him earlier, and had praised him. Very few guards managed to realise how to release the magic inside of them. Bright really disliked the disciplinary officer at the barracks. He would have had much more guards with magic if it wasn't for the disciplinary officer. Bright put it up to Aquilinus being rather shocked after his sudden surprise and pain. He heard a door close along the corridor.
"Aquilinus. Had a little shock have you?"
"N-no sir. Perfectly fine."
"Phalanx mentioned otherwise."
Aquilinus was grimacing. "No sir. No problem whatsoever. Just a small argument."
"Heh. You obey him pretty readily. Like his new powers?"
"Sir."
"Was that a yes or a no?"
"Yessir."
"I will choose to understand that as a yes. Would you like the same power, Aquilinus?"
"No thank you, sir."
"You are increbibly formal, even for a guard. Loosen up a little, eh? But anyway, I think you will likely change your mind soon. I think Phalanx will enjoy your company in his magic..." Bright chuckled and moved on, leaving Aquilinus looking mortified. Aquilinus was too conditioned, when it came for Bright to release his magic he didn't expect much. Phalanx would enjoy it though.
Aquilinus muttered a few insults about Bright and went to the doors nearby, looking for Twilight. He opened a door and heard an "Ouch." when he hit someone with it. Twilight was there anyway.
"Come on, we need those keys."
After they had got on their way again, Twilight asked "What was he talking about? New powers?"
"He's magic. He says he can make Earth ponies and Pegasi magic now."
"Is that true?"
"Nope." he said sarcastically "I was just singing a song back there in that corridor earlier with my buddy Phalanx."
"You know, you're the first guard I've ever talked more than a few words to. Are you all like this?"
"Some of us."
"No wonder Celestia makes you have to shut up all the time."
"Oh well done. Classy. How about I tell you about some of the stuff we have going around in the barracks about her and her favourate student..."
Twilight gave him a quick look and blushed.
"Attention please. The violent patient known as Twilight Sparkle has escaped. May the guards Phalanx and Aquilinus please head to the violent cells." a loudspeaker annouced.
"Well, good thing we were heading there anyway. What are we going do about Phalanx?"
Aquilinus shrugged. He had been in the minor little wars that Phalanx hadn't been in, that Celestia tried to avoid mentioning to her little ponies in Equestria. Buffalo out of their range, zebra pirates and smugglers, dragons, ursas and hydras gone on a rampage... He knew what was going to be needed.
"Kill him."
Twilight was shocked. "But... what? That's just too much!"
"It's him or us. I'm not going to risk myself to a life of hell just to save that nut's sorry arse. We're criminals anyway now, and you can plead insanity if you get caught, after all."
"I'm not crazy!"
"Never said you were, but lots of ponies think you are and that's what's important."
Aquilinus looked at Twilight and relaxed slightly. She was understandably against murder. Aquilinus knew about Pinkie, and what Twilight would feel like.
"Look, if we don't get Phalanx out of the way you, me and your Pinkie are gonna end up in the cells, being tortured by Bright and Phalanx."
Twilight said nothing. Aquilinus shrugged and moved on.
Phalanx was walking outside Twilight's empty cell, thinking of what had happened a moment ago. What an incredible power! How it had felt! The magic coursing through him, it was incredible... he was so thankful to Bright after he had showed him how to use magic.
Aquilinus was walking up the corridor. Phalanx sneered.
"Come to beg, Aquilinus? Should I use the needles some more?"
Aquilinus turned his head away and said "Bright says we need to take that pink mare out."
This was serious. Phalanx would only listen to Bright now, to learn more about magic...
"Take her then. Don't bother me."
Aquilinus unlocked the door and walked in, then stopped and stared at the shield of energy that was still through half the room.
"Er, Phalanx, do you think you could bring down this thing?"
"Why would I do that? You got sent didn't you? Just have go at magic, you will love it."
Silence. Then Aquilinus said "You know I can't."
"Still think it should just be unicorns then?"
"I do. Listen, Phalanx, everypony who has done magic has ended up in the cells. They're going nuts. What in Equestia happened to you, anyway? You are so different now..."
Phalanx couldn't give up magic. It flowed through him in a blast of Euthoria whenever he used it, and he loved the power over those who used to be above him.
"Aquilinus, you don't know what is like. Beautiful..."
"You're nuts, Phalanx. I've given up on you."
Phalanx took out the needles, getting ready to shock Aquilinus into obedience and was quickly met by Aquilinus's head ramming into his chest. He fell over and got a kick from Aquilinus. He was furious. Aquilinus was blatantly attacking him, he who had actually had the guts to use magic, and this old guard was attacking him? Phalanx aimed the needles at Aquilinus and shocked him hard enough to put him gasping on the ground, then felt himself leaving the floor. He could sense a strain of magic from behind him. He tried to turn around and manage to wriggle over till he could see a lavender mare levitating him. Phalanx struggled against the magic with his own, to no avail. He levitated one of those strange oily plants and hit the mare with it, who flinched and dropped the spell holding him. Phalanx quickly put the wires clsoe to her her throat, and she froze. Phalanx trotted closer to her, leaving the shaking Aquilinus behind.
"Bright will be happy I caught you. Am I such a braggart now, Aquilinus?"
Aquilinus breathed gasped and said nothing. He was trying to get to his feet and failing.
"Now, I think Bright will teach me a lot for you. Or maybe he can cut your horn off... silly thing. Just stops you getting the best of your magic. Stupid little Aquilinus never wanted magic. But you unicorns will do anything to protect it. Maybe we could stick your horn on Aquilinus, then he might-"
He stopped, and stared at the knife sticking out of his chest. Aquilinus was lying under him, and had driven his knife into Phalanx's chest. Phalanx couldn't think, couldn't feel anything now but pain and a growing numbness. He stared at it until he saw nothing.
Pinkie had been watching, amazed. Rocky had been stabbed, and had turned into a large pegasus. Both were dead. The roots on the ceiling pulled back and the number shrunk away from the body. The loam of the tunnel around her became more straight and solid and eventually seemed to be a wall. Pinkie watched, attentively now, as the guard on the ground eventually picked himself up off the ground and gave the body of the other one a kick. Twilight... Twilight was here. The shield quickly vanished as Twilight's horn flared it's light.
"Pinkie, come with us. We have to get out." Twilight said.
"You got taken too, then?" Pinkie asked.
"Yes. But Pinkie, we can't keep talking, we have to leave now."
Pinkie pointed at the other guard and said "He's a guard. Are you going to bring him along too?"
"I have a name." the guard said "I'm called Aquilinus. Nice to meet you, Miss Pinkie-"
"Pinkamena." she said automatically. That was something Bright had always tried to say to her.
"Hmm. Well, nice to meet you. But we must leave, and it can be explained later."
"Why bring me? You should hate me, Twilight." Pinkie said with bitterness.
"Pinkie, I have no idea why I'm doing this. But you are coming with me. Don't argue."
"Twilight, I'm disgusting. I'm a monster. I can see that now, and I can't stop it..."
"Please don't Pinkie. We can do this later... please!"
Both were crying now.
"Twilight is right.." Aquilinus spoke up. "We need to leave, and you two can hash out your problems later. But now, let's go."
|
Squid Squidy
|
1267
| 9 |
Fluttershy,Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Princess Celestia,Twilight Sparkle,Adventure,Dark,Sad,Tragedy,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,Gore
|
After the Rainbow
|
Unofficial sequel to the infamous Cupcakes. Explaining Pinkie's madness, and adding some sadness.
|
complete
| 13 | 3 |
<p>I'm trying to make another extended ending for the infamous cupcakes, but with less gore and more madness and sadness. I'm trying to explain WHY Pinkie is nuts, and also make everyone sad. This isn't all about torture, especially later on.</p><p>Alright, this isn't too different from many things and it isn't too long right now but I just want to see if I can even write well. This is my first try at writing. Please humor me.</p><p>A password for unpublished chapters is being added so some of of my peers in another website can do a review of the later chapters first. If it gets very bad reviews I'll likely quit this. If it's good I'll try to make it more worthwhile.</p><p>Cover art by =PashaPup on deviant art.<br/>Original story by Sergeant Sprinkles. <br/>Please say if you weren't mentioned, etc.</p>
|
mature
|
2011-10-21T13:26:48+00:00
|
2011-10-21T13:26:48+00:00
| 790 |
A FEW MOMENTS AFTER THE EVENTS OF "ESCAPING"
Aquilinus tugged his knife out of the body of Phalanx. Poor bastard. Never knew when to quit. Aquilinus thought about him. He was the first pony he had killed, although he had killed animals and fought with Zebra. The Zebra weren't like ponies, and Aquilinus had never known them. He knew Phalanx had needed to die, but... did Phalanx have any family? Would he be mourned? Should he, Aquilinus have not killed him for their sakes? He wondered if he even should feel remorse for this death.
Twilight and Pinkie were following him nervously. Aquilinus looked over his shoulder and saw Twilight blinking back tears and Pinkie crying unashamedly onto the floor. Twilight was looking horrified. They should have had a plan, he thought annoyedly, and they had left it up to some old guard they barely knew.
"Any idea what next?" he said.
"Escape." Twilight said.
"Well done. Full marks. How?"
Twilight shrugged and Aquilinus felt a sudden, uncharacteristic flare of anger. He had just had to kill somepony, even if he was an insane bastard, and she didn't even care.
"You didn't have a plan to start with, did you?"
"I didn't expect to be thrown in a cell by your nut of a doctor, eithier."
"My doctor? Bright is an insane git with the morals of a manticore on a killing spree. What makes you think he's mine?"
Twilight shrugged again, and Aquilinus was suddenly holding her down by the throat and shouting in her face.
"LISTEN! I just had to kill him back there. You think I enjoyed that? You think I wanted to kill him? I didn't, and I did it all for someponies I barely know and don't give a damn about it!"
Twilight clawed at his hoof and he let go and moved away. Twilight gasped and said "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."
"What didn't you mean? Him to die?"
"I didn't want anyone to die, I never want anyone to die!"
"He's dead now."
"I know. And I wish he wasn't."
Aquilinus tried to force himself to calm down. There was no point fighting now.
"Fine. Fine... look, what now? We're all screwed if we get caught."
"There're lands outside of Equestria. The Zebra lands, for example."
Aquilinus gave a hollow laugh. "The Zebras? You think they would welcome a guard, a nutcase and a librarian?"
"They might welcome a guard coated in another guard's blood and Celestia's favourate student, though."
"And her?"
"I... I don't know. I don't know if anyone can welcome her."
"Why would they accept us anyway?"
"Possibly hostage value."
"For you, certainly. I get a cut throat and a complimentary last meal."
"Look, do you have anything better?"
Aquilinus said nothing.
"Exactly. It's the best hope we have. How do we get out?"
"The building is proofed against teleporting. Bright supports the spell. We need to get him to release it."
"How?"
"It seems I'll need to kill for you again."
"Is that the only way?" Twilight said with a pianed look on her face.
"He isn't going to give it over cheaply I think. You could try bribing him or something, but if I can sneak up on him I'll-"
"Please don't tell me."
"Feeling delicate?"
"I didn't enjoy seeing Phalanx die eithier. Please just don't..."
"Let's just get on our way. I know where to find him."
Pinkie was following blindly. Everything had seemed to be coming back, and stronger than before. The roots from the ceiling had run down the walls, but shed away from Pinkie when she came near them. Everything was much darker again. Pinkie could think more clearly now, which she was profoundly unhappy about. Twilight was risking herself for Pinkie, and she didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve anything. There was no point in getting Twilight and the old guard in trouble, and Bright would probably do something horrible to them all if they were caught. Pinkie didn't care about herself, but she cared about Twilight and she didn't want any more blood on her hooves. But Twilight insisted, and they were all going to die.
"Twilight, why are you bringing me?" she said.
"We've been through this Pinkie. We all need to get out and I'm not leaving you. You can help us."
"Shut. Up." the old guard said through clenched teeth.
Twilight glanced at him then said "Later, Pinkie."
Pinkie stared at them and followed along again, wallowing in guilt.
Twilight watched Aquilinus approach the sealed door. It was the same as the ones in the area Pinkie and Twilight had been imprisoned in, and out of place in this hall with ordinary wooden doors along. There was a small terminal to he side of it, which Aquilinus leaned forward to and whispered something into it. There was a small click and Aquilinus pushed open the door. There was a small room, totally empty.
"Inside." Aquilinus snapped.
"What is going in there meant to do?"
Aquilinus looked at her perplexed expression and sighed. "Elevator. It doesn't mater now, just go inside."
Twilight hurried in and Pinkie followed her. Aquilinus trotted in and stared at the ceiling.
"All the way down, please." he said.
"...damnit, all the way down, boys." the ceiling replied. Twilight gave a start and stared upwards as Aquilinus made frantic signals at her. There was a feeling of movement and a fading groan above.
"It's a moving floor." Aquilinus said after the groanings went out of earshot. "Some guards pull it and stop us plummeting to our deaths. Undignified, but it's apparently "needed". That's all you need to know now."
After a few minutes the feeling of movement stopped and the wall behind Twilight opened, showing a very large, empty room through a tough door that was ajar. The room was dark, and Twilgiht could only see spiky silhouettes. She suddered as the memory of the last silhouette she had seen.
"This is wrong." Aquilinus said. "Bright would normally be in here, and even more so in an emergency."
"What is this place?" Twilight asked.
"He teaches the inmates and the guards magic here. He's here nearly all the time when he isn't out with the inmates or greeting people, and neithier of those happen much."
"Are we going to wait for him to jump out from behind the door and shout "Boo!" or go in?" Twilight said annoyedly.
"Quit sniping at me, we've had our argument."
"Well crap, that's my dramatic entrance ruined." a voice came from the room as some light switched on. It was Bright. The room was filled with many things that Twilight had seen in small fillies and colts schools, unicorn schools. Desks with numerous books piled on them were all around. There were two dragon eggs in a small case on a large desk. Bright was standing near the door.
There was silence. Then: "Bright, you are a real bastard." Aquilinus said tiredly.
"Let me make this simple, I'm not pandering to you." Bright said "You are going to go back in your cells, and Aquilinus will go with you. Or you will die. Any questions?"
"Don't be stupid Bright. You can lift the spell for teleporting, or you will die. Doing what you say would be suicide."
"I thought you would say that. Which is why-" there was a thud. "-you will end up dead. Eventually."
Aquilinus wobbled, then fell over. A large pile of books fell onto the floor next to him.
"Ladies, this was too predictable. A hero's action, asking me to surrender my patients."
Twilight tried to find her tongue. "We didn't want to." she said after a pause and looking up above her for any books. "We would have killed you if we could."
"Good answer. But that failed, ladies. Back into your cells would be best. I might even let Aquilinus off if you do." he added.
"You know I won't say yes."
"Oh, you might have. If you fail, I will make sure Aquilinus will die. Slowly, and in front of you. I imagine your lethargic friend behind you will enjoy that, but you certainly won't. I could have you lodged with her, and we can see who dies first. Or maybe I'll just kill you now."
"What's the point of this? Why were we imprisoned?"
"I couldn't have too many questions. Your friend would have been in this school here, like everyone else has."
So it was a school. "Why? What is it for?"
"You know the answer. Don't think I haven't heard you talking. The spell on this place lets me hear everything someone says here, among other things. Magic."
"They aren't unicorns. What's the point?"
"It works, is the point. I'm not a unicorn, Miss Sparkle. An old fashioned earth pony."
His horn began to glow and dropped off and landed with a clatter on the floor. There was a small light that floated above his head and then vanished.
"It works very well indeed. I don't understand why your Celestia banned most zebra magics. You just need willpower to overcome the problems with your mind, and all problems that emerge can be dealt with by others."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I decided I could use you. I decide everything here, and it happens like that. You are close to Celestia, and excellent in magic. I want a good teacher here, and I want Celestia. The nurse had very certain instructions about what to do, and some magic in her muscles helped that with a blast of pain when needed. Aquilinus was a problem, though. I didn't expect that. He hides his feelings very well from other ponies. If you return to your cells, there will be no trouble for any of you."
"You're lying."
"I take it you refuse my offer?"
"Yes. You'll kill me and Pinkie anyway, no matter-"
There was a fizzing behind her and she quickly turned around. It was coming from Pinkie. She had stepped on a long wire that was fizzing next to Twilight's hoof.
"Not so lethargic any more, it seems. This shall be dealt with easily, anyway."
There was a loud snap as the wire hit the floor and another flew at Pinkie, which Twilight stopped with her own magic. The wire slowed but didn't totally stop.
"This... this is why I need you, Miss Sparkle." Bright gasped. He was sweating from the effort of fighting Twilight's magic, and his eyes were turning slightly yellow. "You are better at magic than me. Wouldn't you like to be a teacher? Free of Celestia, and fully in charge?"
Twilight said nothing, but she watched the wires that were dragging on the floor behind the doctor from the pockets in his overcoat. There were more of them than she had seen with the other ponies, about six counting the ones they had already imprisoned. Bright noticed what she was looking at.
"You are a clever one... why am I still trying to tempt you?" The yellow in his eyes flared up slightly more and he said "I should not. I can imprison you and do things to you that will make you wish you accepted my offer from the start. I can cut off your horn and force you to use my magic. I would have prefered it otherwise, but sadly I can't."
"You're mad." Twilight gasped at him. They were both straining at each other's magic. Bright was incredibly strong and the wire seemed to be sneaking towards Pinkie faster.
"Mad? No, Miss Sparkle, I'm not mad. Celestia is mad, mad with her power. Keeping all the magic to herself and her precious unicorns... no. I'm not mad."
"You torture ponies to do this. You're going to kill us!"
"Only the pink one. I've said what I'll do to you."
"And that is mad!"
Bright's eyes flared bright yellow and were totally opaque now. "I should just kill you, kill you all. Teach you all a lesson. I teach lessons, don't I? Yes, I do. I'm the teacher here." Twilight stared at him. He had actually dropped the spell pushing the wire towards Pinkie. The yellow in his eyes started to fade again, slowly. Twilight wasn't waiting to talk. She flung the wire at him and it was caught by his magic quickly, the mental fight starting again.
"Turning my own weapon on me? Miss Sparkle, you are not strong enough for this. Parlour tricks, parlour tricks is all you were taught! That damned witch, Celestia did this! She will die and I will see you all dead, and she will die with you and everyone will see you dead..." he seemed to stutter to a halt in his nonsensical ramblings. His eyes were flaring, his face was barely visible and some sort of ichor was dripping on the floor from him. The other wires shot forwards and they all began another slow grind to Pinkie. Pinkie was holding tight to the wire aimed at Twilight. She had a strange expression on her face. She looked totally engaged with whatever she was seeing, and stared at the wires grinding towards her. Twilight groaned and tried to push them back again. The field of magic from her horn was covering her vision slightly, even more than when she had levitated an Ursa Minor. And she couldn't top these wires.
"...murderer..." was all she managed to mutter at him.
"You think!? Hypocrite, you are protecting a murderer herself from me! Let me go and I can rid this world of another blight! I can't stand you ponies, always protecting those you call your "Friends". She can die. You can die. I can die. We should all die, to save the world. But I need to make you die, because you won't. Magic will be everyone's, then they will die. That is how it will be!"
The field of yellow was covering Bright totally, and the ichor was starting to flood the room. Pinkie did nothing as it touched her, but the wire she held began to glow and then it dropped slack under Pinkie's hoof. The ichor was near Twilight and she could feel the raw power coming from it. It started to wash around Twilight's hooves as she dreamily watched Bright lengthen and become taller. A pair of wings burst from his back and the walls seemed more elegant and shining than she remembered. Bright turned to her and smiled. He didn't look like Bright. He looked like Celestia, and the only difference was the burningly yellow eyes.
"Now you see it? This is what this place shall be, with my magic. You don't need to worry, Twilight. You can be my student, after losing that cumbersome horn..."
"Yes..." Twilight heard herself say, not even thinking now. She... Celestia... who was that? There was Bright, there had always been Bright. Everything started to change more. The glossy white walls were changing to gold and Bright had let the wires drop and was staring at her.
"I know everything shall be right, soon enough. Celestia took my place, I will have it back. Celestia will die like the other horned witches. You aren't like them, Twilight. We will take your horn, and you'll be one of us. A teacher, and I will teach you."
There was something intrusive behind Bright. It was orange and she couldn't make it out properly. Bright strode towards her, his eyes staring into hers as she started to feel intense pain in her forehead. She did nothing.
Bright gagged suddenly and the pain stopped. He backed away from Twilight, his front hooves clutching his throat and he crashed onto his chest. The orange blob was behind his head. The glossy walls began to tarnish and flicker. The ichor was turning orange, then started fading in colour till it was a dull, dark pink.
Twilight looked at Bright as her mind started to thud back. He looked normal again, aside from the fact that his eyes were bulging out too much and his tongue was hanging out his mouth. He was obviously dead. Twilight stared dully at it till she heard the quiet sobbing. Pinkie was holding tightly to the wire, and holding it around Bright's neck. She was quietly crying into her shoulder, looking away from Bright. Twilight didn't think, but she moved over to Aquilinus and checked if he was alive. He was breathing, only unconscious. Twilight levitated him quietly in the silent room over to Bright's body. The ichor was evaporating around Pinkie, and the rest of it was following quickly. She held onto Pinkie's hoof until she let go of the wire, and then stood as Pinkie cried into her shoulder, saying nothing. Twilight forced herself to think. They had had a plan of sorts... the zebras. Twilight held onto Pinkie and Aquilinus as she started the spell to free them from these hells in Equestria.
Pinkie stared at the corpse of the Madame. There were no marks on it, and the corpse was smiling. As she watched, the corpse seemed to change and became the body of Bright, in a deathly pose. Some ichor clinging to her slid off as she saw this. Was all that had happened real? Had the Madame died, or Bright? Or both? She didn't know.
A hoof touched her in the shoulder and she spun around. It was Twilight, holding up the unconscious Aquilinus. Pinkie looked around and saw tall grasses, with the odd patch of trees scattered around. Pinkie had never seen anything like this in Equestria. Twilight collapsed under Aquilinus and Pinkie grabbed her and held her up as Aquilinus slid onto the ground.
Pinkie didn't know what would happen after this, but whatever it was, she would do it with her friend.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 1 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2012-03-26T15:32:20+00:00
|
2013-01-27T07:34:36+00:00
| 8,657 |
The sun was rising over Sweet Apple Acres, as Applejack stirred from a peaceful sleep. She climbed out of bed and walked to the window. She lightly nudged the shutters open and watched as the beautiful golden streaks washed across the orange morning sky. It was the clearest morning she had seen in quite some time.
“G’mornin’ Sweet Apple Acres,” she whispered, smiling as all the colors of the morning shined gloriously before her.
The big red apples glistened from the morning dew, making the trees sparkle like orange holiday lights. It was times like this Applejack could not think of anywhere she would rather be.
Of course none of this would have been possible had it not been for Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus pony sat on a cloud high above Applejack’s window. She let out a sigh and grinned at her hard work. She knew Applejack loved these kind of mornings, and had done everything she could to make it look its best. Unfortunately this had also taken up the part of her sleep time, and she was exhausted. Still, she could imagine Applejack’s bright green eyes shimmering against the sunlight, with a big smile on her face.
All for my best friend, she thought happily to herself.
She decided to drop down and surprise Applejack. What Rainbow Dash hadn’t expected is how much the early morning work had taken its toll on her body. Extremely tired and barely able to stay aloft, Rainbow Dash’s wings tensed up, and she plummeted right past Applejack’s window and to the ground below.
“Now what in tarna—Rainbow Dash! Ya sure are here early,” Applejack called down, peering over the side of the windowsill.
“Ouch,” Dash said, rubbing her head.
Rainbow Dash stood up and got her bearings then flew up slowly to Applejack’s window. Applejack stepped back and let the Pegasus pony inside.
“Well now, Ah’d a never expected ya to be out this early, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack told her with an amused smile on her face.
“Beautiful morning, isn’t it,” Dash tried to say while remaining cool, but gave a large yawn right after.
“Why a’course it is, ‘specially when somepony stays out all night trying to make it for ya,” Applejack trotted over to Rainbow Dash and gave her a hug. “But ya don’t do this just fer anypony, or fer me very often either. So what’s this about Rainbow Dash?”
Dash blushed a little and nodded to the calendar. Applejack walked over and took a look at the date.
“It’s the day we first met AJ. I’d never forget it.”
“Ah’d never forget that. That there day was terrible.”
The two ponies had a good laugh. Applejack turned back to look as Celestia’s sun rose higher and higher into the sky. She got ready to thank Rainbow Dash, and turned around to find Dash curled up on her floor fast asleep. Applejack smiled and pulled the sheet from her bed and draped it over Rainbow Dash.
“T’aint as comfy as them clouds ya like so much, but I hope it’ll do ya for now,” Applejack whispered, then headed out of her room.
“Sleep tight, sugarcube,” she said and headed down for breakfast.
After a few hours, Rainbow Dash woke up. The floor of the farmhouse had not been soft, but Dash had had few sleeps that had been better. She stretched her wings and fluttered to the window, looking towards the sun to get a good idea of the time. It was nearly midday, so Rainbow Dash was sure Applejack was selling apples down at Ponyville Square. She wanted to thank her for letting her crash unexpectedly in her room for the past few hours.
Rainbow Dash flipped her rainbow mane over her back, and soared out of Applejack’s window and headed towards town. As she soared along, she could see AJ’s brother, Big Macintosh, bucking apples below. Granny Smith sat by the barn, rattling on about something or another, oblivious to if anyone else was really listening at all. Fluttershy had come by to help Applejack, and Dash could see her fluttering around the trees, speaking with her animal friends about why there were better places to nest and eat than in the orchard. She also caught sight of the Cutie Mark Crusaders scurrying off into the trees towards their club house. Rainbow Dash had to admit, for all the beauty she had seen in Cloudsdale, Sweet Apple Acres could be a breath-taking sight in its own right. But in all its beauty, right now it was missing one thing: Applejack.
___________________________________________________________________________
Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure how long it’d been since she’d realized her feelings for Applejack, but once she had, they’d been there to stay. She never tried to even hint about them to Applejack, afraid of what her best friend would even say to her, but whenever they would spend time together, Dash couldn’t be happier.
She glided low as she came into town, and landed in front of Sugarcube Corner. Before she had even folded her wings, Pinkie Pie burst through the window of the shop.
“Oh Rainbow Dash it’s been so long since I’ve seen you which was just yesterday but that feels so long and I thought maybe you might just fly off someday and never come back and we’d all be so sad but here you are right here right!” Pinkie rambled on and on.
“It’s nice to see you too, Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash chuckled and then asked, “You seen Applejack around?”
“Oh of course I see her around all the time and we need to bake better cupcakes because last time wasn’t so great but I know this time will be but I think she was going to try and sell today by Rarity’s shop!”
Dash thanked her and headed out. Pinkie seemed extra Pinkie today, and Dash wasn’t sure she could handle all that Pinkie right now, especially with so much on her mind. After a short walk she found Applejack’s cart, piled high with its usual sweets. Three fillies had just finished buying some apple crumb cake when Rainbow Dash came up.
“Mornin’ sleepy head!” Applejack grinned, “Hopin’ the floor wasn’ too uncomfortable fer ya.”
“No, of course not, never slept better!” she stretched out and bared her teeth.
This may have sounded like a lie to Applejack, but Dash couldn’t have been more serious.
“But, heya…thanks,” Dash managed to tell her, trying not to blush over the fact she kept thinking about her feelings.
“Ah, a’int nothin’ I wouldn’t do fer anypony,” Applejack told her.
Dash’s heart sank a little at this. She knew she was Applejack’s best friend, but was she really just anypony too?
“Off ta do more trainin’ fer the Wonderbolts today?”
“Naw, work today. Tomorrow is the scheduled shower, and I’ve got to help make more clouds,” Dash said, trying her best to cover her slight depression.
Another group of hungry ponies wandered up to Applejack’s cart, so Rainbow Dash thought it best she bid her friend farewell and get to work. She didn’t get far into the air when she heard somepony yelling at about a problem. Rainbow Dash pushed through a group of clouds to see an older Pegasus colt barking orders at a very bewildered Derpy Hooves.
“I told you exactly what we had to do up here today, Derpy! You can’t party in Ponyville and hang out in Cloudsdale all day. You’re on the weather team today, and you gotta contribute like the rest of us. And this is UNACCEPTABLE!” the colt continued to raise his voice as Derpy sat staring almost blankly, unfazed by the insults being thrown at her.
Dash could see that the unacceptable contribution was in fact a large, black thunderhead cloud. It sent sparks of lightning coursing through the air around it. The colt looked up and spotted Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow Dash!” he seemed to cheer up almost instantly, “Thank Celestia that you’re here. I need a favor. Show Mrs. Hooves here just how a real weather pony makes it rain.”
With a few quick motions Dash had whipped up a fluffy grey cloud, full of water ready to be released for the shower. Derpy clapped.
“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” the colt nodded, then nudged Derpy to come with him. “I’m taking her back to Cloudsdale. Can you get rid of that thunderhead for me?”
“No prob,” Rainbow Dash said confidently, and readied herself for a kick that would demolish the thunderhead.
It was at the point she realized she actually hadn’t gone far from where Applejack was, and she could see her cart on the ground below. What she did not like that she was seeing was a large brown colt chatting with Applejack. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been talking, but it looked like he was taking an awfully long time to buy some apples. Dash watched intently as the conversation continued, culminating in the colt getting very close to Applejack, and saying something that made her giggle and blush profusely. With that, the colt nodded and winked, and trotted away. Rainbow Dash had seen enough.
“Argh, he better watch who he’s talking to!” Dash exclaimed out loud, and gave a swift backwards kick.
Unfortunately her kick was misplaced, and instead of bursting the thunderhead, she sent it soaring away from her.
“Oh man,” she face-hoofed. She vowed she would go find it soon, after she talked to someone.
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“So you’re…jealous?” Twilight Sparkle questioned her friend.
“Jealous, me? She’s a mare like me, Twilight. How could I be jealous?” Rainbow Dash retorted defensively.
“Well, you don’t have to be so defensive. I only meant that maybe you’re afraid somepony else is going to come in and take away the time you and Applejack spend together.”
“Oh, uh, ahem, yeah,” Dash couldn’t help but blush a little, but she never stopped trying to act cool about everything.
“I certainly cherish each and every moment I have with each of you. It’s really amazing being able to make such good friends after it being just me and Spike for so long,” Twilight continued on.
Before the conversation could go on any longer, Rarity burst through the door.
“Excuse me girls, I don’t mean to barge in or anything, but SOMETHING BAD IS HAPPENING AT SWEET APPLE ACRES!”
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When the group arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, all they found was complete chaos. Entire sections of the orchard were on fire, the orange flames seeming to touch the clouds above. Fluttershy was escaping through the blaze with a herd of frightened animals. They all scurried away as fast as they could. Granny Smith and Big Macintosh had already made it outside the farm and were watching in horror as everything the apple family had worked at for generations burned before their eyes. Applejack raced up a moment later. She stopped quickly, and her mouth hung agape at what she was seeing.
“Where’s Applebloom and Winona?” she quickly asked.
“Applebloom was with her friends in the woods,” Big Macintosh told her.
“I couldn’t find Winona when I was herding the little animals out of the fire,” Fluttershy told her.
“Well ah’m going in there then!” Applejack said before racing towards the inferno.
Without a second thought, Rainbow Dash flew above her, and started whipping up rain clouds to try and put out the fire. Suddenly, a blinding flash lit the sky for a moment, and the air around her grew hot. She knew instantly what it was. The thunderhead she had sent flying had ended up over Sweet Apple Acres, and the lightning it was producing had set the trees ablaze. Quickly, Rainbow Dash dispatched the cloud, and began to whip up more rain clouds to combat the blaze.
Applejack meanwhile had headed into the farmhouse, which had been set by the last lightning flash. She searched around until she found Winona, shivering under the kitchen table. She snatched Winona up by the collar in her mouth and dashed for the door. A rather large piece of roof caved in, blocking the exit. Applejack turned hoof and ran towards the kitchen and the back door. She could feel the heat through the ceiling, and thought about everything belonging to her family that was being charred above. Winona’s whimpers however prodded her to continue to escape the inferno. She ran out into a small rainstorm, which Rainbow Dash had managed to create to form a safe path leading out of the blaze. Even this was not enough to stop the monstrous blaze tearing through the orchard. Applejack followed the rain path back to where her friends and family were waiting. Suddenly, a sickening creak split the air. Applejack didn’t have to turn around to know what that was. The farmhouse supports began to give way, and it came crashing down into a burning heap in the middle of the orchard.
Rainbow Dash was sure it was a lost cause, but she frantically continued to whip up more and more rain clouds. Very soon she was joined by many other Pegasus ponies that had seen the fire from Ponyville or Cloudsdale. Together, they reduced the blaze to cinders within a matter of minutes. However, the damage had already been done. When it was over, most of the buildings on Sweet Apple Acres were completely destroyed, and half of the apple crop was charred beyond use. Rainbow Dash landed, and stared at the solemn expression on Applejack’s face. Dash was afraid now, more so than she had ever admitted to being in her entire life. This had been her fault, and she could have prevented it. Once again she’d let something come between her and what she should have been doing.
This has never happened before, she thought to herself, I’m in charge of the weather around here. This can’t be right. I only left it for a bit…I was going to… Rainbow Dash kept going over it in her head as to why she had been so careless.
For a moment, everyone just sat in silence, unsure of what to do next. Fluttershy leaned towards Big Macintosh as tears most thought he could never shed slowly began trickling down his face. Pinkie Pie arrived to the scene, and stayed respectfully quiet, despite her usually loud and upbeat demeanor. Coming out of hiding, the Cutie Mark Crusaders crowded around Granny Smith, and while Granny Smith had a tendency to be in her own little world, everyone could see how hard it all was on her heart. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie embraced Applejack in a silent hug.
Rainbow fluttered high above them, a feeling of disgust bubbling up in her stomach. She didn’t want to face Applejack now, she couldn’t. She kept telling herself it was an accident, but each time her mind would remind her If your jealousy hadn’t gotten the best of you Rainbow Dash, maybe you’d of thought twice and finished your job first.
A few tears dripped from Rainbow’s eyes, and fell towards the ground. They rained down upon Applejack’s mane, making her glance upwards. The blue Pegasus was no longer anywhere to be found in the sky.
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That night, a group meeting had been called at Twilight’s Library to discuss some ideas and let the Apple family decide what they were going to do.
“I’ve been working on my reversal spell,” Twilight said with enthusiasm, “Maybe I can reverse the damage done and fix this whole mess.”
Before Applejack could give her approval, Big Macintosh stepped in.
“That’s a might sweet of ya, Twilight. But we’re Earth ponies, always have been, and our families’ never been using no magic to do the work for us. We’ll get back on our hooves the normal way.”
Both Twilight and Applejack sank down in their chairs at the news. Applejack had barely said a word since she’d returned with Winona. There was so much going on in her head, she couldn’t even begin to talk about it yet.
Rainbow Dash hadn’t been present at this meeting. She circled Ponyville over and over, lost in her thoughts. Applejack kept flashing through her mind, the blank expression that had become fixed upon her face as the fire was reduced to embers, and the damage to the orchard became apparent. Finally, she flew down and walked slowly up to Twilight’s tree house. She could hear the voices of her friends talking seriously, going over this detail and that detail. But there was one voice she did not hear through the chatter, the only one she would have wanted to. Dash lifted herself up high enough to see everyone, but tried to stay out of sight. Sure enough, Applejack sat amidst the group, her face sullen, saying nothing.
“AJ, I’m so sorry,” Rainbow Dash said silently.
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Days passed, and life went on in Ponyville for almost everyone, as life usually does. Twilight Sparkle was, however, the only pony to see Applejack. She lived quietly inside, moving from one day to the next, but never improving her mood. Everything had come as such a shock to her, she wasn’t sure if she could handle it. Every time one of her friends attempted to come see her, they would be swiftly turned away. For days, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie tried to elicit a more positive response from the orange mare, and each day they were very simply told that she wanted to be left alone. Eventually they decided only time would fix her problems, but never allowed themselves to give up on her.
Each day, Rainbow Dash came and checked in on her through the window. Applejack never noticed her, or at least never acknowledged if she did.
‘Why won’t she come out’, Dash asked herself.
‘You destroyed her life’, the voice in her head replied.
‘No, no, no! Accidents happen every day!’ She tried to reason with herself.
‘You were careless and stupid. You being in charge of anything was the accident,’ the voice in her head told her, he mind portraying it as an exceptionally venomous retort.
After a long inner battle with herself, Rainbow Dash managed to reach a single conclusion: she would tell Applejack the truth about the fire. It might hurt, and even though it was an accident, it might destroy their friendship, but any reaction was better than seeing Applejack the way she was now.
Maybe you should talk to Twilight, she thought to herself.
She decided she didn’t need the lecture from Twilight when she was most certainly going to get something from Applejack.
Arriving at the library, she could see that Twilight had gone out to fetch some ingredients to aid her in a spell. Dash cautiously nudged open the door, and walked into the darkened library. Applejack was nowhere to be found. She noticed a candle was lit in the room normally occupied by Spike. Moving slowly, Rainbow Dash crept towards the door. Sure enough when she got a look through the crack, Applejack was sitting in her same sorry position on Spike’s bed, staring at the floor.
“Uh, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash spoke quietly, hoping Applejack would notice her.
Applejack gave a slight nod towards her, and turned away. It made Rainbow Dash wonder why it had affected Applejack so badly, when Big Macintosh hadn’t nearly as much as anypony else. Dash came around the bed, until she was face to face with Applejack.
“Listen, Applejack,” she started, but was cut short as Applejack threw herself at Rainbow Dash.
Dash was now on her back on the floor while Applejack sobbed on top of her.
“What’d we do ta deserve this!” Applejack sobbed.
All Rainbow Dash could think to do was wrap her front legs around her friend and let her cry. In the back of Dash’s mind, all she could think about was how much she’d wanted to be able to embrace Applejack, but this was far from how she wanted it to happen. She stroked the length of Applejack’s mane, and tried to get her to calm down. After a few moments, Applejack pulled away, balancing uneasily on her hooves.
“Ah’m sorry Rainbow Dash,” she sniffed and wiped some tears from her eyes, “Ah’ve just been holdin’ it in so hard, and Ah I know you understand me the best.”
Dash couldn’t help but smile a little, “What’re friends for, AJ?”
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, Dash’s thoughts told her, she’s supposed to be yelling at you, not crying to you. But she is talking….
At that moment, Rainbow Dash was able to calm her mind, and stand up and face Applejack.
“Ya think ya’ll could stay with me, just fer a little while?” Applejack asked her.
“No problem,” Dash told her, and curled up into the bed with Applejack.
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They laid awake for hours, Applejack sobbing occasionally, and Rainbow Dash would try her best to calm her down again. Applejack had never felt happier to have her best friend alongside her. She’d never needed someone so badly.
“Applejack, how is it Big Macintosh has stayed so calm through all of this?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, Granny Smith may not be there all the time, and Applebloom seemed happy enough to be staying with her friend, but none of them seemed to be so affected.”
“Ya gotta understand ma big brother,” Applejack told her, “He’ll do anything ta make sure the family’s ok. He’s a strong one, he has ta be.”
Applejack looked down again, tears returning to her eyes.
“Why can’t Ah be so strong. Why can’t Ah just pretend its all going to go away.”
Dash sat up, and put on the most stern face she could.
“You can’t do that because you can’t lie to yourself, or anyone else. You’re the element of honesty, and if that comes with seeing the reality of things, than that’s perfectly fine. It’s who you are Applejack, and I lo---,” she topped.
“Ya what?” Applejack had seen her expression change as she tried to make up something else to say. Now it was Applejack’s turn to give the stern look. “I also know when yer lying, Rainbow Dash, now come on, come out with it.”
Rather than finishing her statement, Dash leaned in and kissed Applejack on the lips. Applejack’s surprise didn’t last long, and she embraced her friend in the kiss. After a moment, Rainbow Dash pulled back.
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh,” she sputtered, “I’m sorry Applejack, it just happened, I-“ she was cut off as Applejack put a hoof to her face.
“Don’t go apologizin’ sugercube,” she said and smiled, and gave Dash another kiss.
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Moments before this, Twilight Sparkle had returned home from Zecora’s place. She wanted to check on Applejack before she began her studies. She quietly nudged open Applejack’s door, and saw the two ponies locked in a passionate kiss. Twilight gave a small smirk, and backed out before she was seen.
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Days went by where all of Rainbow Dash’s time was spent with Applejack. No matter how hard Rainbow pushed however, Applejack did not want to leave the solitude of the library. Finally, two weeks to the day that the fire had happened, Twilight decided it was time to step in.
Rainbow Dash knocked on the door early that morning, and was confronted with a stern looking Twilight.
“Eh, hey Twilight. Something on your mind?” Rainbow asked, seeing her expression.
“Rainbow, look, I’ve been so glad to be able to help out Applejack in her time of need, and I still want to help her. But…she needs to get out and face her problems. She’s been in that room for a while now, and I know I’ve seen Macintosh over at the orchard, at least trying to clean things up a little. She needs to go out.”
“ Twi, I’ve tried. I ask her every day, and every day she says she just can’t bear to see what’s left out there. If she won’t do it for me, I don’t think she’ll do it for anypony.”
“Well, we’ve got to try. I know you’ve been helping her a lot Rainbow Dash, but its not healthy for her to mope indoors all day. And our friends miss her too,” Twilight tried to stay optimistic.
“Yeah, and I’d like my room back sometime this century,” Spike butted in.
The two ponies shot Spike menacing looks for his attempt at humor.
“Sheesh, I just wouldn’t mind not having to sleep near Twilight for much longer. You know she performs magic in her sleep sometimes,” he said and walked off, making an obvious gesture to his tail, which was covered in pink polka dots.
Twilight gave an apologetic smile, and then reminded herself of the task at hand.
“Rainbow, if not for the farm, convince her that her family needs her. Granny Smith seems fine, but such stress at her age is worrisome, and Big Mac can’t do all that work himself. Not to mention Applejack’s support would benefit Applebloom much more than anyone elses, plus she’s starting to drive Rarity mad.”
Rainbow Dash thought of Rarity, fabric strewn across her dress shop, confetti raining down over her as Applebloom and her friends explored every nook and cranny for anything interesting. Rainbow snickered at the thought.
“I’ll see what I can do Twilight, but I can’t make any promises. And besides, I’m trying to be pretty gentle with her. She finally understands how I feel and I don’t want—“ Dash stopped, realizing she may be speaking of things that Applejack didn’t want her friends to know about.
Twilight held out her hoof out and placed it on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, and gave a small smile, “It’s fine Rainbow, I know.”
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After leaving Twilight to her studies, Rainbow Dash went on ahead into the room where Applejack was staying. At the sight of her friend, Applejack brightened immensely. Rainbow trotted towards her, and they embraced in a long, passionate kiss.
“Ya’ll was a little late today,” Applejack teased, “Weren’t out humorin’ some other mare, were ya?”
“Of course not,” Dash said pridefully, “But ah, Applejack, I think we need to talk.”
Applejack’s face fell when she heard it. She could already guess what Rainbow Dash was going to ask her.
“Come outside, AJ. Everypony misses you a lot, you’re Ponyville’s hero after all. You gotta come out and face everything.”
“Ah ain’t doin’ nothin’ of the sort, Rainbow Dash,” she said sternly, “Ah’m just not ready fer that. It’s too soon,” she tried to tell her.
“Then don’t face it yet, but come outside. Let me take you somewhere, somewhere where we can be alone AJ, really alone. We won’t have to worry about Twilight peeking in or anyone else dropping by. And when you are ready, then we’ll come back and face this together,” Rainbow Dash’s ruby eyes were bright and honest as she spoke, giving Applejack a comforting feeling.
“We—well uh, uh, uh, alright then. Jus’ give me a couple’o minutes ta compose m’self,” Applejack stammered.
“I’m gonna go talk to Twilight until you are ready,” Dash said as she headed for the door, “Take your time. I’m not in a rush…for once.”
Before Dash could exit, Applejack called back out to her. “Rainbow,” she said, visibly shaking.
“Huh, what’s wrong?” Rainbow came back over to where she was standing.
Before anything else was said, Applejack pulled Rainbow Dash into a warm embrace, and gave her the best kiss Rainbow Dash had ever experienced.
“Ah…ah love you Dash,” Applejack whispered into her ear, and then nuzzled her neck.
Dash was suddenly swirling with emotions. Her guilt over everything flooded back for a mere moment, but was quickly replaced with something much more. It was the words she’d always dreamed to hear from Applejack, and while truly a lot of what she had imagined had come true in these past two weeks, it defined everything for her. Happiness overtook her, and she squeezed Applejack tightly with her hooves.
Rainbow Dash pulled her head back so that she was staring directly into Applejack’s eyes.
“I love you too.”
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Standing on the outskirts of town, Applejack looked down from a hill across all of Ponyville. Except for her brief time in Manehatten, this was where her life had been. If she’d looked just a little further to her right, she could have glimpsed Celestia’s sun gleaming off the few apple trees left at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash had headed up to her cloud home to get a few things for their trip. She had been gone a while, which made Applejack think she was packing for a long stay away from Ponyville. Deep inside, she knew she did not want to leave everything behind, especially her family. She thought of Granny Smith, who could likely leave Equestria at any time; of Big Macintosh, who she was sure couldn’t run everything by himself forever; and she thought of Applebloom, who’d been almost as much a daughter to her as she had been a little sister.
Maybe ah don’t need this, she thought to herself, and forced her gaze towards what remained of the orchard.
She couldn’t see much of the damage, but it was enough to make the tears creep back into her eyes. She dropped down onto the hard Earth and just laid there for several moments as her emotions once again caught up to her.
“Ah don’t care what Rainbow Dash says,” she sobbed, “If’n there’s one person ah wish I could lie ta, It’d be me.”
Applejack raised her head and looked into the beautiful blue sky over Ponyville. She wiped the tears away from her face with her hoof, and let herself get lost in thought. She could feel the breeze blowing across the back of her mane, and thought about all the days like this she’d experienced growing up there. She looked down and watched the breeze part the green grass, cutting a path all the way into Ponyville. She couldn’t imagine that she’d find anything better anywhere else. And that was when the realization hit her: she didn’t need to be anywhere else.
Applejack stood up, feeling stronger than ever. She’d cried enough over the past weeks, and she was sure she couldn’t possibly cry anymore. She’d never liked the idea of running from anything, and she couldn’t imagine what the Apple Family would have thought of her for doing it, let alone her friends. When Twilight Sparkle came into her life, things around her had only gotten better. She realized she’d miss going to Pinkie Pie’s signature parties, or aiding in the winter wrap-up. She couldn’t imagine never again saving timid Fluttershy from a cricket that was a little too aggressive, and she even realized she’d miss occasionally modeling for Rarity. To top it all off, Ponyville introduced her to her best friend, and the Pony she now loved most in the world.
For the first time in weeks without Rainbow Dash around, Applejack smiled to the world, ready to face whatever challenges laid ahead. She could hear the sound of somepony getting closer to her now, and she couldn’t wait to give the good news. Soon, an exhausted Rainbow Dash landed next to her, with saddle bags filled to the brim of Dash’s important belongings.
“So….heavy,” Dash wheezed.
Applejack laughed and smiled big, surprising Rainbow Dash.
“Forget it sugarcube, we’re staying in Ponyville!” she exclaimed.
Dash managed a huge grin, glad that Applejack had changed her mind. Her mood quickly returned to despair when she realized she had to return everything she was carrying. Dash started to fly back up to take everything back, when Applejack yanked her back down out of the sky. With Dash once again under Applejack, like that first night that now seemed so long ago to Rainbow Dash, they locked lips more passionately than they had ever done so before. Rainbow could sense the change in Applejack, her more dominating presence taking hold versus the frightened filly she had come off as before. Truly now, the dreams Rainbow Dash had had for several years now were finally coming true.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 2 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-27T20:11:38+00:00
|
2011-12-27T20:11:38+00:00
| 5,467 |
Fire. The flames rose and swirled like angry red tornadoes, sucking up everything within their paths. She couldn’t see through them, and the black smoke the created rose so high flying above them would be difficult. Screams cut through the air, managing to reach her ears despite the crackling all around her. She knew who it was.
As fast as lightning she zoomed through the flames, the cushion of air around her keeping them at bay, causing only minor singes to her wings. Her vision was a blur of reds and oranges and grey, until suddenly she found an area of peace amidst it all. Despite the sky being shrouded in smoke, she could still clearly see the greens and reds and browns, the colors of living things, completely untouched. All around her was what she could only describe as hell. The walls of flames seemed to ignore this particular area. In the center of this area stood a very familiar farmhouse. An orange earth pony hung out the window, fear in her eyes as she looked around for means to escape this place. Then she looked straight at the Pegasus pony that had emerged from the flames, and let out another scream.
The flames behind the Pegasus pony had twisted into a grotesque copy of herself. It cackled wildly above her, and then threw itself into the untouched landscape. She flew as fast as she could to snatch up the orange pony, but she felt her wings suddenly fail her. She dropped to the ground as the horrible flame pony crashed into the farmhouse, obliterating it and anyone inside. The Pegasus pony tried to cry out, but nothing would come to her throat.
The flames around the farmhouse twisted and turned again, transforming themselves into an image of the orange pony that the Pegasus had failed to save. Tears of blue flames poured from its eyes as it slowly started to deteriorate, as if the flesh of the pony’s face were rotting away. The flames fell, then rose again, and exploded, engulfing everything in the burning mass.
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Rainbow Dash awoke extremely unsettled by the dream she’d just had. Panicked, she quickly reached over and pulled back the covers. Applejack’s orange form lay curled up beside her, sleeping soundly. With a sigh of relief, Rainbow Dash gently covered her back up, and climbed out of bed. It was early, somewhere before five in the morning. She paced around the room for a few minutes, worried by what she’d just experienced. She kept telling herself it was just a dream.
Her mind, however, continued to try to tell her a different story.
You know what it meant, a voice in her head said to her. You’re guilty, guilty of destroying Applejack’s life. Guilty of all the hardship that will surely come from losing her family business.
“It’s not my fault,” Rainbow Dash reasoned with herself out loud, “I told you already I had no idea that would happen. And Applejack has never been happier than she has lately.”
Then tell her the truth, the voice urged, tell her you were careless, and stupid, and that you burnt down her farm!
“I didn’t burn it down! It…was…an accident!” she said louder, almost yelling, then realized that Applejack might hear her.
Dash suddenly realized just how she sounded arguing with herself, and tried to shake the voice out of her head. Soon it had stopped, and she was extremely thankful it had. Things were getting better all around, and Rainbow Dash didn’t need anypony thinking she might be crazy. She yawned, realizing just how little she’d slept during the night, and calmly climbed back into bed with Applejack. She grabbed the sheet in her mouth and stretched the covers back up to her chin. She couldn’t get the dream off her mind though. She kept asking herself if she was guilty, and what would it have been like if things had been worse than what they were. Worse, she was beginning to become fearful of what would happen if Applejack ever found out about the cause of the fire.
Dash snuggled close to Applejack, who gave a warm sigh in her sleep, and grinned. Dash tried to clear her mind. All she wanted to think about was Applejack.
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Out at what was left of the orchard, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had taken refuge under one of the last large apple trees still standing. Celestia’s sun was beating down hard today, and Ponyville wasn’t due for any rain until the end of the week.
“Phew we,” Applejack sighed, flipping her braid behind her head and shaking her hat to the ground, “Ah’d think even Princess Celestia would know when ta turn the heat down.”
Rainbow didn’t seem to notice. She sat gazing into the blue sky, her mind seemingly elsewhere.
“Uh, hello, Earth pony to Pegasus pony?” Applejack waved a hoof in front of Dash’s face.
Rainbow snapped out of her daze, and looked at Applejack.
“Sorry AJ, just got things on my mind,” Rainbow Dash told her, not realizing Applejack would probably ask what it was.
“Well, what could possibly be distractin’ ya from such a beautiful day like this?”
“Oh…uh, our friends, that’s all. I mean, do you think they should know about us?” Rainbow half lied. She’d actually been thinking about that question at one point or another.
“Do ya think they’d have some problem with it?” Applejack questioned her, doubting their friends would be so shallow.
“Well, I mean…no, no I don’t think they would. It bothers me though, you know how some of the…less open-minded ponies talk about Lyra and Bon Bon. Let’s not forget all the talk over just where Berry Punch’s daughter came from.”
“Does it really matter that much to ya, Rainbow Dash?” she rolled over on her back, not caring that her mane was getting a good coating of dirt across it.
Rainbow Dash thought this over for a second. On the one hoof, she wouldn’t want her friends to think anything less of the two. However, the only person that really needed to matter was Applejack, and Rainbow Dash already had her.
“No, it doesn’t matter,” Dash answered finally, “I’ve got what matters right here.”
Dash rolled over on her back and joined Applejack in an upside down stare at the midday sky. Rainbow had to give Applejack a lot of credit. Even after that day not so long ago when Applejack had decided to stay in Ponyville, she hadn’t wanted to even hardly look at what had been Sweet Apple Acres. And then, one day she got up early and headed out to find Big Macintosh, and help him in the long process of clearing the land. From that point on, when her time permitted, Dash had helped too, and now it once again had some semblance to the orchard that had existed before the fire. With only a few trees, the fields looked rather bare with only the sprouts of grass shooting up, but Rainbow hoped she and Applejack would be able to see the land returned to its former glory. Together.
Their vision was suddenly filled with a very large amount of pink. Both confused, they rolled back over and saw Pinkie Pie hanging upside down from the apple tree.
“Pinkie Pie! What’n tarnation are ya doin’ up there?” Applejack snapped a bit, concerned over what the pink earth pony had heard.
“Well, I was gathering some sticks for Gummy to play fetch with, and the best sticks are always still in the trees so I climbed up here, but then I realized Gummy doesn’t even play fetch! So then I saw you two here and decided to surprise you!” Pinkie carried on for a minute.
“Say Pinkie, did uh, did you hear anything?” Rainbow Dash asked her.
“Why sure, there’s a whole nest of birds up there going cheep cheep cheep! And there’s all sorts of sounds coming from Ponyville and-“
“Pinkie!” Rainbow interrupted her, “I meant, anything we said.”
“Well, gosh, I guess I just wasn’t paying attention to you. Was it something good?” Pinkie’s curiosity was obviously peaked.
“Ya’ll mind me askin’ a favor?” Applejack said suddenly
“Why sure Applejack, anything.”
“Ah was thinkin’, it’s been a while since ya’lls had one of yer famous Pinkie Pie parties, and it’d really cheer me up to go one,” she told Pinkie as the pink pony listened intently. “But uh, me’an Rainbow Dash kinda want to talk to everypony about somethin’ too.”
“Oh, surprise telling party! Okie dokie lokie, be there at 7 tonight!” Pinkie said and bounded off into Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what to say. She certainly hadn’t expected things to move so fast. More thoughts were already running through her mind, from having the best party ever to an angry mob of ponies chasing the two with torches of burning hay and signs made with giant red letters, exclaiming the word “fillyfoolers.” She could feel herself begin to sweat from nervousness. Applejack caught onto her fear rather quickly.
“Now don’t ya’ll be tellin’ me that the Rainbow Dash, best young flier in Equestria, is getting scared over a little party with her friends,” Applejack teased her.
After a few deep breaths, Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air and tackled Applejack. The two rolled around for a moment and came to rest back at the trunk of the apple tree. The two burst out into a fit of laughter that lasted for several seconds. Without thinking or caring who might be watching, Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around Applejack’s neck and pulled her in close for kiss. For several minutes the two continued, enjoying every moment under the warm rays of Celestia’s sun,
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hours went by, and so here they were now, standing at the door to Sugarcube Corner where Pinkie Pie was setting up another one of her signature parties. Lightly, Rainbow Dash knocked on the door. They waited.
“Still got cold hooves?” Applejack grinned a little at her, “T’ain’t nopony gonna hear that feeble knockin’.”
Rainbow Dash blushed and gave a look of mild bewilderment. Applejack knocked louder. Suddenly the door swung open and Pinkie Pie greeted them, grinning ear to ear. She had a huge new party hat covering her mane, and it appeared as if she’d dyed her tail green. It was actually Gummy, who’d latched on tight to Pinkie’s flank, tail and all.
“Gosh,” Applejack gasped a bit, “Gummy sure is getting’ big.”
“You wouldn’t believe it! His teeth started growing in and I’ve just had to pull ‘em back out. Oh, but you’re here, and now the party can really get started!” Pinkie bounced away.
The two followed slowly behind the pink pony, and headed towards the food on the table. Twilight was already there, her quill and a piece of parchment raised up into the air.
“Girls, really glad to see you. I don’t know what you could possibly have to tell us, but I’m sure it could be something really awesome to tell Princess Celestia about,” Twilight told them and winked.
“Heh, yeah,” Rainbow Dash tried to keep her cool.
When they were out of sight of everyone for a minute, Rainbow Dash nuzzled up to Applejack.
“Ohmygosh, AJ, I can’t do this here. What if they don’t like it? What if they think it’s unnatural? Is Twilight ok with that? Rarity? What if it ruins Pinkie Pie’s party!?” Rainbow Dash poured out all her worries.
“Whoa, sugarcube,” Applejack said, and pecked her on the cheek, “ You told me not long ago that I was the most honest pony you knew. Well ya’lls the bravest ah know, and ah couldn’t love you more for it. Plus, it’s a party fer us, so I doubt it’d ruin anything.”
They took a few minutes just to comfort each other, gathering their courage for the night ahead. Everyone was going to be there soon, including the rest of the Apple family. Big Macintosh had never been one to talk about relationships, so his presence worried Applejack just a bit. Dash let her fears go, and stood up strong. Applejack was right; they could do this, as long as they did this together. They headed back to rejoin the party.
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“Well, this is an interesting development, darlings,” Rarity said, moments after hearing the news from the couple.
“I think its super duper special awesome!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing up and down as usual.
“I, um, had an idea,” Twilight said, trying to hide the fact that she already knew.
“Um, excuse me Twilight, but I think you are a very bad liar,” Fluttershy surprised everyone by saying, then said, “Oh, and Angel and I are very happy for you two.”
Twilight turned a shade of red only rivaled by Rainbow Dash’s mane. Her jaw nearly touched the floor. The other ponies in the room just laughed.
“It’s just like one of those amazing love stories I found in Twilight’s library!” Pinkie Pie shouted, “Despite great tragedy, love rises from the ashes! And where fire claimed the Apple family’s orchard, the fire of Rainbow Dash’s love burned brighter!”
“Heh, well ah just hope I don’t get burned,” Applejack gave a hesitant laugh, obviously disturbed by the mention of the fire.
Twilight gave Pinkie a nudge, and then took her aside for a moment to explain why her comments may not have been in the best taste.
Rainbow Dash fell back on an old favorite, and said “Pinkie Pie, you’re so random.”
Suddenly, an odd feeling hit Rainbow Dash. The dream from that morning began to flash through her head, reminding her yet again of her own mistakes. She tried to brush it off, and keep her composure, but her mind kept showing her the horrible images of Applejack being overcome by the torrent of fire. Rainbow could hear the voice in the back of her mind, slowly creeping back in amongst the noise of the party. She didn’t want to hear it, and began to try and clutter her mind with other things.
She walked away from her friends for a moment, trying not to make anything appear wrong. She could feel a single tear as it slid down her cheek. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, and tried sucking it all back in. Now wasn’t a good time for any of this. Luckily, Applejack had been distracted by something, and hadn’t had time to see if anything was wrong. The tear had slipped down to her lower jaw, and hung limply from her face. When it finally fell, Rainbow was certain no one had seen anything.
Pinkie Pie popped up next to Dash without warning, a look of concern on her face.
“Hey Dashie, are you crying?” she asked the cyan Pegasus, “Is something wrong with the party? Oh, I know something is wrong with the party!”
The pink pony turned away as if she was going to try to fix something she was not sure of, when Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie’s mane in her mouth, and pulled her back.
“No, Pinkie, everything’s great!” Rainbow Dash had to nearly lie through her teeth. “I’m just a little overwhelmed, that’s all. Things couldn’t have gone better, and it couldn’t have been any cooler.”
A big smile crossed Pinkie’s face. “Oh Good! I was worried there was something wrong with my party! I mean it was so good it made you cry!”
With that, Pinkie hopped off to mingle with the other ponies. Dash let out a sigh of relief that she hadn’t lost her cool, and that Pinkie was oblivious to the truth. She did have to give Pinkie credit though; the sudden interruption by her had completely wiped the dreams from Dash’s mind. Trying to keep her head clear, Dash went back to where the festivities were still going on.
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Meanwhile, Applejack was preoccupied with her own issues. She had been a little put off by Pinkie Pie’s comments, and while she was sure that the pink earth pony had said it all with the best intentions, she had gotten to thinking about everything her family had lost. Now Applejack had retreated to a corner herself so that no one saw her sudden onset of depression. For a moment she completely forgot about Rainbow Dash, instead focusing her mind on all the good times she’d had at the orchard in the past. She had even met Rainbow Dash there, although at the time she’d thought she was a free-loading apple thief.
A long shadow fell across Applejack, making her wake from her daydreams. She looked up to see her big brother standing tall over her. She stood up on all four hooves, and looked up into his face.
“Yer lookin’ like you could use somepony ta talk too,” Big Macintosh said, not breaking from his usual demeanor.
“Maybe ah am,” Applejack said with long sigh, “It ain’t nothin’ really, just thinkin’ about the farm and everything.”
“Eeyup, I have every day since,” Big Macintosh told her, “But we all have ta move on. And I think ya’ll have been doin’ the best o’ all of us.”
Big Macintosh scanned his gaze around the room, stopping on a happy Applebloom and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, no doubt devising another scheme to get their cutie marks. He saw Granny Smith rocking in a chair Pinki Pie had sat out especially for her. He saw all of Applejack’s friends, and some other ponies from town laughing and dancing and having a good time. His gaze returned to Applejack.
“All these other ponies are here fer you and yer friend,” he said, “And that’s some good support. Cheer up little sister.”
Applejack knew Big Macintosh was right. She smiled and through her front legs around his neck and gave him a big hug. She held him close for a moment, and then released him to go back to the others. She didn’t notice the tears rolling down his face as she did, he himself finally losing to his own internal struggles. It didn’t take long for the big red pony to return to normal though, and he too went back to enjoy a little more of the party.
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Hours later, the party had died down to just a few of the ponies remaining. Rainbow Dash had stayed behind to help Pinkie clean up, while Fluttershy had left with Big Macintosh to help Granny Smith back to her room at Fluttershy’s cottage. Rarity and Twilight had both left early, each having something to do early on the following day.
“Another successful Pinkie Pie party,” Rainbow patted the pink earth pony on the back.
“Couldn’t ta went any better, sugarcube,” Applejack told her.
“Oh thanks guys, but it was all for you! I’m just happy to help!” she exclaimed, and gleefully bounced around.
They said their goodbyes and headed out into the cool night air.
“I’m always worn out after one of Pinkie’s parties,” Rainbow Dash told Applejack.
“Yeah, but, ya know, ah don’t think ah’m ready ta hit the hay yet,” Applejack told her, seemingly los tin thought.
“Is…is something wrong AJ?” Dash asked.
“ No, but, just, a beautiful night like tonight reminds me of sittin’ in the orchard, watching moon rise under the stars.”
Rainbow hadn’t really been paying attention to her surroundings, but suddenly her eyes were drawn to Luna’s huge moon in the sky, surrounded by millions of twinkling lights. With everypony in town asleep, the moon and stars were the only thing illuminating the path back to Twilight’s library.
“You know, we could get a better view,” Rainbow suggested.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They slipped quietly inside the library, hoping Twilight might still be awake. They slipped into her room, and found the purple unicorn passed out on a pile of books.
“Twilight…”Dash whispered in her ear.
“Maybe we shouldn’t wake her,” Applejack tried to whisper to Rainbow.
“Hey TWILIGHT!” Rainbow suddenly screamed.
Twilight jumped awake and fell off her chair. Her head thudded hard against the ground.
“Ouch, sorry Twilight,” Rainbow Dash tried to cover her mistake, “We, uh, just came in and saw you sleeping there, and thought maybe you needed to get some sleep in a real bed.”
Groggy, Twilight stood up and shook off the pain in her head.
Rainbow smiled a toothy smile, than boldly asked, “But, uh, we were wondering if you could do us a favor?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“It really is beautiful up here,” Applejack told her, snuggling next to Rainbow Dash.
The two were now perched on top of a cloud overlooking all of Ponyville. The moon and stars were closer than Applejack had ever been able to see them before. A tinge of envy hit her, that all this time she’d never been able to see a night like this with such magnificence as she could now, and yet Rainbow Dash could anytime and yet never took the time to notice.
“Ya know, Applejack, I was thinking, since the magic’s good for a day or two, you want to crash at my place tonight?” Rainbow asked her.
“Why Rainbow Dash, ah thought ya’d never ask,” Applejack smiled and gave a playful tug at Rainbow’s mane.
They sat in silence for a bit longer, before Rainbow Dash knelt down and motioned for Applejack to climb onto her back. Wings stretched out, Rainbow Dash dropped down and soared over Ponyville, before swooping up, and landing in the front yard of her cloud home. She walked up to the door, and opened it for the orange earth pony. Applejack smiled and tipped her hat to the Pegasus. They both laughed, and headed inside. Although it was quite late, the night had only begun for the two.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 3 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-27T23:26:33+00:00
|
2011-12-27T23:26:33+00:00
| 5,069 |
The light of the setting sun shone through the window-like arches of Rainbow Dash’s cloud home. The orange light caused the white fluffy clouds brighten into beautiful orange plumes. It was a sight Applejack couldn’t imagine, or wouldn’t have been able to had she been awake. Their time together had lasted well into the day, and now both had slept soundly through the afternoon hours.
Rainbow Dash was the first to stir, slowly opening her eyes and adjusting to the waning light. All around her was the orange light of Celestia’s setting sun. It almost reminded her of…
“Fire!” she screeched and jump from her cloud bed in a panic.
Her eyes wide, her heart pounding, she look all around, ready to escape. Then she turned to applejack in bed, who she half expected to have some horrible deformity like her dreams had shown her recently. Pulling back the clouds revealed her friend, her lover, sleeping very peacefully despite Dash’s outburst. Dash calmed down, and realized just what was going on around her. For the moment she plopped down on the floor and waited for her heart rate to drop.
“Whew,” she sighed, “It must be getting late already. Did we really stay up that long?”
Dash thought back on the past night and smirked. No matter what her friends knew about the two, she was sure neither of them would ever tell them about that night, nor the ones Dash thought were sure to follow. But she knew she hated how she had been feeling. Something was causing her to dream these awful things, and she had suddenly begun to develop very irrational fears. The voice in her head once again began to make itself known.
Are you really that stupid to think you don’t know where this is all coming from? It asked her.
Dash managed to stop herself from answering it out loud. Besides the fact she was becoming very afraid of scaring Applejack, she realized just how crazy it was to be to keep answering herself. She tried to ignore it.
Do you think she’ll still love you when she knows the truth?
She continued to feign ignorance, pacing back and forth across the darkening clouds of her home. It seemed night was already fast approaching.
“You’ve said this before,” Dash snapped through her teeth. “Do you really think you’re so cool, trying to make me feel so bad, so guilty?”
I don’t feel anything at all. After all, I’m just a voice…I’m just …you.
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to hear this now, or ever. She glanced back and Applejack who was still sleeping soundly. Without any thought to what she was doing or where she was going, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings and rose into the air. With a quick burst she bolted through the clouds and into the cool air of the early night. And when she was far enough away from her home and from the listening ears of Ponyville, she screamed. Every fiber of her body cried out into the night, every bit of pent up hate for herself, every bit of sadness poured out into this outburst.
She brought herself down from the sky and landed on the cool grass near the edge of the Everfree Forest. She dropped onto her stomach and covered her face with her hooves. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she sobbed hard into the ground.
“What is wrong with me?!” she sobbed, “I feel like I’m going crazy!”
She pounded the ground with one of her hooves, trying to get some hold on herself. She did not want to have to keep feeling this way. However, she was now way too afraid of losing the mare she loved to admit her wrong doings.
“It wasn’t even really my fault,” she sobbed, “Why are you…why am I punishing myself so hard?”
Suddenly she heard hoof-steps from somewhere behind her. Dash quickly sat up, trying to quickly clear her face. She could feel her cheeks were hot as the tears made dark spots on her cyan fur, however it was not easily noticeable in the moonlight. She turned towards the sound.
“If anyone is out there, come out now! I’m not in the mood to play right now!” she tried to sound brave, but her voice noticeably cracked over a few words; she’d made herself very hoarse.
More hoof-steps and a momentary rustle of the bushes put Rainbow Dash even more on edge. She was in no mood to have to fight anything or anypony. Suddenly Twilight Sparkle emerged from the forest.
“Oh Twilight, it’s just you,” Dash said with the briefest sigh of relief.
“Well nice to see you too,” Twilight gave with some fake snark in her voice.
“Oh no, I just was hoping it wasn’t something horrible coming out of there. Do you always go to Zecora’s so late?”
“I try not to since I got turned to stone by that Cockatrice that time, but Zecora sent me a message that she urgently needed a book from my library. Seems a relative from her home is very sick and she didn’t have the recipe she needed.”
Dash couldn’t hide looking a little depressed, but tried her best to keep up her appearance for Twilight.
“I was on my way back,” Twilight began to tell her, “And I heard horrible noises. I thought somepony screamed. I hurried back as fast as I could. Was that you, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight began to look concerned.
“Geeze Twilight, you know me. I was just out enjoying the moon rising. A little night air on my wings always feels nice.” She was able to cover for herself.
“And you didn’t hear anything?” Twilight asked, perplexed.
“Nope, not a thing. Maybe you should get your ears checked Twilight. With all that reading, I thought sure your eyesight would go first,” Dash gave fake teasing laugh at her remark.
Twilight ignored the comment and said, “Where’s Applejack? I haven’t seen you two apart in weeks.”
“Still sleeping at my place,” Rainbow blushed a little, her mind drifting back to hours previous.
Twilight’s eyes drifted upwards for a moment as she began to imagine things for herself. She too blushed and quickly got her head back into reality.
“Heh, I hope your time was..enjoyable,” Twilight tried to say without sounding embarrassed.
Rainbow was glad Twilight was trying to learn a little about relationships from them it seemed. Twilight may have been learning about friendship, but she was still completely naïve to anything dealing with love.
“Well, make sure you wake her up soon. That spell I casted won’t last forever,” Twilight reminded.
Suddenly a new image crept into Dash’s head. She imagined Applejack, still sleeping in the comfy cloud bed, slowly sinking through the layers, through the floor, and then plummeting to the ground below. Dash didn’t want to imagine what would happen when she hit the bottom.
“Well, uh, it was nice talking with ya Twilight. I’d better be getting back,” Dash said quickly.
Before Twilight could even manage a goodbye, Rainbow Dash had taken to the skies and disappeared into the night.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She wasn’t sure why, but Rainbow Dash had suddenly become very fearful of heading back inside the house. Twilight’s comment on her magic had not sat well with her, and now she was afraid if she went inside Applejack wouldn’t be there. After a few minutes she decided the thoughts of her best friend falling to her doom somewhere in Ponyville weren’t helping her already fractured mental state, and went inside. She called out for Applejack, but got no answer. Dash moved quickly to the bedroom, peeking her head through the doorway. The room was empty.
“Ohmygosh, no!” she cried out.
She tore through the clouds that made up her floor, and began searching frantically for signs of a body, or an impact. The moonlight of Luna’s moon made the search easier, but Dash still turned up nothing. She circled the surrounding area several times. Finally, she decided to head back up to her home. She hadn’t given it a thorough check after all.
Sure enough when Dash came back, Applejack was sitting on a chair in the bedroom, a tuft of her mane clutched in her mouth as she tried to fix her braids. Dash tackled her quickly to the floor.
“Woah sugarcube!” Applejack was quick to say, “What’s all this?”
“Oh thank Celestia, your alive!” Dash was quick to cry out, tears swelling in her eyes.
“Well o’course ah am,” Applejack gave a bewildered smile. “I didn’t think anything we did was that bad.”
Dash couldn’t help but laugh at Applejack’s statement. She pulled Applejack close and gave her a quick kiss. Afterwards, she let Applejack go and proceeded to explain why she’d reacted as such.
“I just wanted to go for a quick fly around Ponyville, “she said, skirting around her real reasons for leaving, “and ran into Twilight. We talked for a few minutes, until she reminded me of the spell, and so I came back. You’d gotten out of bed, so my mind went a little nuts.”
“Well, Ah can’t be mad ay ya fer caring,” Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder, “But don’t be overreactin’ so much. Ah can still take care o’ myself.”
Applejack snuggled up to Dash, trying to comfort her. Dash felt more peaceful than she had since she’d
awoken. She nudged Applejack, and before the orange earth pony knew it, she was back on Rainbow’s back and soaring down towards Ponyville. They swooped over Sugarcube Corner, and passed Rarity’s Boutique. They landed in front of Twilight’s library.
“Ya know, after all that, Ah’ve been asleep way too long ta be tired,” she told Dash. “What say we give Princess Luna’s beautiful night a little more respect.”
Dash couldn’t pass up a second with Applejack, so there they sat, amdist the waning lights of the Ponyville ponies, under one of the biggest moons they’d been able to see. Soon Twilight noticed the couple and came outside.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said shyly, “But a message came for you today Applejack.”
Applejack opened the scroll, which the writer had obviously had some help writing. Suddenly, Applejack gasped…
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 4 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-27T23:41:45+00:00
|
2011-12-27T23:41:45+00:00
| 4,432 |
“Eeyup,” was all Big Macintosh could manage to get in between the protests of his little sister.
The night before Applejack had just received the letter from Twilight, and she’d waited until morning to confront Big Macintosh about its contents. With her sleep cycle thrown off by the time she’d recently spent with Rainbow Dash, Applejack had had plenty of time to think about what she wanted to say to him. Not much of it had actually made it out of her mouth though, as she mostly kept repeating the same concerns she had over and over, never giving Big Macintosh room to explain.
“Did ya think about anypony else’s feelings?” Applejack nearly screamed at him.
She’d been fairly confident when she started, but after a solid half-hour of attacking Big Macintosh, she could feel everything starting to slip. Her mind kept going between the time she’d been spent with Rainbow Dash and what she’d read the night before on the piece of parchment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Applejack,
It may be hard for me to say this, and I know it’ll be even harder for you to accept, but very soon I’m moving the Apple Family out of Ponyville. The mess from the fire is cleaned up, but it’ll just take too long to get a crop going again. I’ve got plans on how to make things better though. Granny Smith is getting on up in her years, and I’ve decided that she needs more than this in her last years alive. That’s why I’ve arranged for the Oranges to take her in at their home in Manehatten. They’ve already said they’d do the best they can to give her the good life before….well, I trust them well enough.
I know you’ve been preoccupied lately, and I want you to be happy, so I regret not having discussed it with you. However, I’ve decided I’m taking Applebloom with me, and we’ll be heading out to Appleoosa. Braeburn has a perfect plot of land that was part of his father’s farm he’s willing to share with us. It has everything we used to have, and we’ll still have friends to help us out over there. I know Applebloom isn’t fond of leaving her friends, but she seems to think it may be for the best too.
I know this won’t be easy, but I want you with me. The Apple family just isn’t the same without you, and after everything that’s happened to us, it would hurt a lot to see you leave us. Think it over, would you?
With Love,
Big Macintosh
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Applejack had first read the note, she knew that Big Macintosh had had some help. Twilight seemed just as shocked when she read the note, so Applejack figured she hadn’t had anything to do with it. Whoever had written it had captured Big Mac’s sincerity, but had likely added a word here or there and didn’t even try to write it in the way Big Macintosh usually spoke. Not that any of that was important. She’d snuggled with Dash for a few moments, kissed her goodnight, and went inside. Twilight had remained a few minutes longer to ask Dash a question, but came in not long afterwards..
Applejack could tell that having Rainbow Dash leave had caused her some hurt, but she needed the time to herself, and she had to unfortunately assume that with Dash around, she’d have a more biased opinion of the matter, rather than thinking over a well thought out decision.Regardless, Applejack had met Big Macintosh in Fluttershy’s garden, and tore into him immediately.
“Do ya think Granny Smith really wants to leave?” she asked him sternly, “Do ya think Applebloom really wants to go farm in Appleoosa?”
Finally Big Macintosh cut in, “Can ya really blame me? Ah haven’t seen ya in days Applejack! Ah’m sure I could guess where ya’ve been, but the point is, it ain’t helpin’ none of us.”
Applejack couldn’t believe she had heard what sounded like such an insensitive thing from her big brother.
“Tell me Applejack, how many bits have ya’ll got now?” he asked
“Um, ah’ve got about forty bits,” she told him confidently.
“And ah’ve got about two hundred bits,” he told her, “But ah had more. We still gotta eat, and I a’int gonna let us take anymore from Ms. Fluttershy than we are already are havin’ ta. Not ta mention the things Applebloom keeps getting’ into at Rarity’s.”
“The ponies ‘round Ponyville know us, Macintosh! Ya’ll know they never overcharge us!”
“But it ain’t gonna last sweetie,” he said sternly, “And ya need to take off whatever’s been blindin’ your eyes and take a look into the real world for a second.”
“The real world? Ah live in the real world, Macintosh! I haven’t found anything more real than what ah’ve got right now! Ah know what’s real!”
“All ah’m hearing is yer silly filly romance getting’ into yer head. No matter how much ya love somepony, foolin’ with them everyday all day ain’t makin’ us any richer.” Macintosh didn’t really mean to sound so harsh, but the words still managed to cut deep.
`Applejack couldn’t reply. She could not believe the things she wa shearing out of her brother’s mouth. And she realized that she really couldn’t say anything else.
“Ah got things ta take care of here still, we’re leavin’ in two weeks. If ya’ll gonna come, let me know. I’m sorry it’s got ta be like this, but it’s what’s best fer the Apple family.”
Big Macintosh turned away from Applejack, not giving her any indication that it had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to say in his life. He knew what she was doing now, but he didn’t want to see her tears dripping down her into her orange fur. He didn’t want to see that hurt expression again. He’d seen it in the past, when she was still a filly, and seeing it never got any easier. Big AMcintosh nudged open the Fluttershy’s door, and gave it a small kick to close it, leaving Applejack standing in the garden, alone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rainbow Dash was alone, somewhere dark. She couldn’t see anything around her. Suddenly, 6 lights shone down around her. Inside each circle of light was a different colored Pegasus pony; red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple. They each had different expressions on their faces: the red one looked angry; the blue, sad; the green pony looked scared. The yellow one looked happy, while the orange one looked confident, and finally the purple one looked simply calm. Even for a pony that admitted she didn’t understand a lot of things like Rainbow Dash, she easily understood that each pony was a color of her mane, and each one represented a certain personality trait.
“I’ve seen this thing in the comic books Twilight keeps in her library a hundred times,” Dash said confidently. “It’s not going to scare me!”
As she spoke the words, the orange pony mouthed her words exactly. It managed to unsettle Dash, but only briefly.
“Do you like them?” a voice came from the dark, a very familiar voice.
“Wha-who are you?” Dash tried to remain calm, her eyes darting past the other ponies, searching the blackness for a sign of somepony else.
This time, the green Pegasus began the sentence, but was finished again by the orange pony.
“Aren’t the wonderful? And the best part is, I can always tell through them just how you’re really feeling. You’re so easy to read though Rainbow Dash,” the voice continued, “I don’t think I really need them.”
“Come out, show me if you really have the guts!” Rainbow Dash yelled into the darkness, the red pony mouthing her words this time.
Without warning, Rainbow Dash was suddenly face to face with herself, only it wasn’t exactly herself. The pony was black, completely, with brown eyes. Her mane was only two colors: the center being a charcoal grey, with a red stripe running down each side.
“So nice to see you like this, Rainbow Dash,” the black pony said, her voice not decidedly feminine, but not the voice of a colt either.
“”Y-y-y-You…you can’t be real,” Rainbow stammered, trying to collect her thoughts. The green pony mouthed the words.
“Ah, but you believe I am. That is why you listen to me. That is why you argue with me,” the black pony replied. “I hate that feeling of being watched, don’t you?”
The black pony swished her mane, and the colored ponies faded away. The lights flickered out, leaving a single beam that illuminated Dash and what she began to think of as her inner demon.
“Much better,” the demon said, “Now…it's time we had a talk. Do you think I like hurting you Rainbow Dash? Do you think I like seeing those salty tears stain that beautiful coat of your night after night? Do you think I like watching you tear yourself apart over the problems you caused?”
Dash was confused. She was sure she hadn’t had many times that everything had gotten to her. She remembered the recent night when she had left Applejack in her house. She remembered the horrible dreams she’d had…but had there been more? Was she blocking out other things, only remembering what she absolutely had to? Rainbow Dash suddenly realized her mind could possibly be her worst enemy.
“I don’t care what you think,” Dash tried to keep her cool. “Why should I? I’ve told you, or I’ve told myself, a hundred times all I need are my friends. Especially Applejack! No matter what, they will understand me!”
“Suit yourself, you stupid little filly,” the demon told her, “But I’ll always be there, waiting. And when it all comes crashing down on you, I’ll have no reason to stay, but I'll laugh the whole way out. And you’ll be left, knowing I was right all along.”
And with that, the black Pegasus disappeared into the darkness, shattering the beam of light, and casting Rainbow Dash into an eternal darkness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rainbow Dash bolted up from her bed. Once again it had been a dream, a horrible dream she that had once again felt so real. She half expected to hear the voice of her inner demon to creep into her mind to hurt her more, but after a few moments she felt relieved that she heard nothing. She climbed out of her cloud bed and stretched her wings. Despite how unsettled she felt, she could feel that something was missing. She knew it was Applejack.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the time Dash had flown down to Ponyville, the argument between Applejack and Big Macintosh had already taken place. High in the sky, she scanned the surroundings, trying to think of where she might have gone. It wasn’t long before she saw the orange pony trotting slowly home, with a look of extreme sadness on her face. Rainbow hovered for a few moments, suddenly wondering if Applejack even wanted to see anypony right now. She watched her all the way back to the library, then Dash descended slowly. When she was on the ground, she walked nervously up to the door. She got ready to knock, but since Twilight allowed anypony into the library, Dash decided to just come on in. Twilight noticed her as she slipped in.
“Rainbow Dash! You look well rested now,” she said cheerfully, “Did you have a good night?”
“Yeah, sure,” she told her quickly, “Did Applejack come back yet?”
“I think she slipped in a minute ago, but I was face first into a great book on just how many uses carrots have,” she told Dash, levitating a yellow book with a big carrot on the cover towards her.
“That’s uh, great Twilight,” she tried to sound interested, “But I think I really need to go talk to Applejack.”
Twilight nodded, and Dash headed to the back. She nudged open Applejack’s door, and found a scene that seemed very similar to her. She pushed the door closed with her hoof, and cautiously walked around the side of the bed. Applejack briefly looked up at her.
“Oh, hey sugarcube,” she smiled weakly.
Not a good sign, Dash thought to herself.
Dash climbed up onto the bed and dropped down beside Applejack. Rainbow opened her right wing and wrapped it around Applejack, pulling her close. Applejack could feel the heat of Rainbow Dash’s body against her coat. It made her feel…calmer.
“Tell me what happened,” Dash looked concerned as she spoke.
“Ah will,” she told her, her eyes shut tightly as tears began to leak down her cheeks. “Just hold me, fer a while, will ya Rainbow?”
Rainbow smiled and wrapped her fore-hoof around Applejack’s neck.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding to Rainbow’s almost déjà vu-like feeling of how things were playing out around her, the two sat in silence for over an hour. Every so often Applejack would cry just a little and try to pull herself back together. Finally, she decided she felt like talking.
“Why is it, when ah’m feelin’ my happiest, soemthin’ always has to try and come in between me an that?” Applejack asked Dash through a few stray tears.
Dash felt them drip onto the back of her mane, but she didn’t mind. She sat and thought about the question for a moment.
“I don’t think anything is trying to hurt you AJ. Its just the world. No matter how great it can be, it can always be bad. I’ve had my fair share of problems in life. Don’t get me started on flight school.”
Applejack chuckled a little, “Alright sugarcube, enough tears from me. I know this ain’t helpin’ you none.”
With that, Applejack wiped away the last of her tears and began her story, starting with what the letter had said. She told everything, from her night alone, to the argument with Big Macintosh. Rainbow Dash held on to every word, taking in every emotion and trying to as supportive as she could. When it was all finished, Rainbow could only stare in disbelief.
“Big Macintosh really said all those things?” Rainbow asked her.
“Yeah…and ya know, Ah don’t exactly blame ‘em. It hurts somethin’ awful, but between me bein’ depressed and bein’ in love, ah haven’t done much to help out the family.” She sighed and looked down at the floor.
“Are…are you saying you don’t want to be in love,” Dash suddenly had a horrible feeling inside herself.
“O’course not,” she quickly looked back up to Dash, “All Ah’m saying is that maybe ah should’ve realized that the family was probably in just as bad a state as me, and while you were there fer me, I wasn’t there for anypony else.”
Dash tried to give a small smile, but thinking that Applejack might have been wishing they’d spent less time together still made her heart hurt incredibly bad.
“Oh,” Dash said sounding somewhat distant, “that makes sense.”
Applejack put her hooves to Dash’s face, and looked into her wide eyes.
“Nothing can ever make me want you less,” she put her face closer.
Dash’s heart fluttered, suddenly feeling much better, and yet, something inside of her suddenly made her feel even worse. She had an idea of what that something was, but she tried to ignore it. Without anymore words, Dash put her lips to Applejack’s, and embraced her in the most passionate kiss she had ever given anyone.
After a few moments, Rainbow pulled away and just stared into Applejack’s glowing face. She couldn’t imagine a more beautiful pony, and nor anypony else she’d rather spend the rest of her life with. Then suddenly, Rainbow Dash got an idea.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 5 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-24T06:57:33+00:00
|
2011-10-24T06:57:33+00:00
| 4,375 |
The sun rose like it had every morning over Sweet Apple Acres. However, Celestia’s sun just didn’t have the same effect as it had when the beautiful orchard still remained. Five ponies were had been awaiting the sun to come up, and were now sitting below one of the remaining apple trees. It was quite obvious they’d sacrificed a few more hours of sleep for something.
“Oh, I’m going to get rings under my eyes if I don’t get my proper amount of sleep,” Rarity whined, but no one seemed to mind. “And then I’ll look just dreadful!”
Fluttershy had made a special visit to a sick family of swans that lived in a pond in Ponyville. She’d spent nearly all night mixing up her special medicinal blends for them, and now she couldn’t help but pass in the dirt. The others were surprised by how loudly she was snoring. Twilight had cast an energy spell on herself, and she seemed to be feeling fine, but she knew that once it wore off she’d crash faster than a one-winged Pegasus trying to make a sonic rainboom. Pinkie Pie was her usually bubbly self even at this time of the morning.
Applejack sat just a little ways away from the rest of them. She hadn’t managed any sleep at all. She knew she shouldn’t be worried, but she was still letting things get to her. Two days ago, Rainbow Dash had concocted some sort of plan, and seemed very sure that whatever it was would work. The next day she stayed most of the day with Applejack, but shortly after the moon had begun to creep into the sky, Dash had told her she’d be leaving for the night, but for her and the other four ponies to meet her at Sweet Apple Acres at sunrise. And so here they all were, and yet, no Rainbow Dash.
“Are you sure Dash said to meet us here?” Twilight asked, not trying to sound like she was complaining.
“Yeah, she did. Ah wonder where that pony ran off ta,” Applejack tried to hide the concerned tone in her voice.
“I just hope it’s a super duper surprise Dashie has planned!” Pinkie gleefully said, grinning ear to ear.
“Pinkie, darling, how ever are you so chipper this early in the morning?” Rarity asked.
“Well gosh, I don’t really know. I’d probably be worried if I wasn’t,” Pinkie answered.
And so another twenty minutes passed, and Dash still did not show up. The others who were awake noticed the growing look sadness on Applejack’s face.
“I’m sure everything is fine,” Twilight trotted over to her, “Dash is the Element of Loyalty after all. She’ll come through with whatever she’s doing.”
Applejack tried to smile, but said nothing. She stared up into the sky as the golden streaks began to cascade across the sky. It reminded of when this was home. She wished she could be seeing the beautiful morning from the windows of her old home. Applejack however shook away the saddening thoughts, and tried to appreciate the sunrise all the same…and that is when she noticed the one tiny cloud in the sky. She could see the tip of a cyan wing hanging off the side of it.
“Well Ah’ll be…”Applejack said through clenched her teeth.
Applejack walked back over to the apple tree, and bucked a single apple from its branches. She lightly picked it up with her mouth and trotted back to where the little cloud was. She tossed the apple over her head and bucked it into the sky. The apple sailed through the little cloud, and collided with Rainbow Dash’s head. She let out a cry and tumbled off the cloud and down to the ground. She landed with a large thud.
“Ow Applejack, what was that…oh…its morning,” she quickly realized.
“Ya’ll had me worried all night, thinking you might be gettin’ inta trouble, and here ya are, sleeping in while we all came to see what the big idea ya had was,” Applejack scolded her.
“I was out all night, doing just that AJ,” she put her head down and tried to look sincere, “But it got really late and I finally had what I needed, so I decided to wait here. And I fell asleep.”
Applejack narrowed her eyes and Rainbow Dash backed hesitantly away.
“…Alright sugarcube, I believe ya,” Applejack told her, pulling her close into warm embrace, and giving her an almost sloppy kiss, which made Rarity a little uneasy.
When it was over, Rainbow turned to the other ponies and said, “Sorry girls, I uh, didn’t mean to make you wait. But I had this great idea, and I knew it just had to happen.”
Dash reached into the saddlebags she was wearing, and began pulling out various papers and such. Soon she had them spread all over the ground.
“Everyone, for the first great, awesome idea by Rainbow Dash, I give you Sweet Apple Acres 2!” Dash announced, rolling out the parchment showing various drawings of different things. Some of it was very crudely drawn, but Pegasus and Earth ponies were not well known for their abilities to draw or write.
“2?” twilight said skeptically.
“It’s a work in progress,” Rainbow said, a big smile on her face.
Applejack however, hadn’t reacted yet. She looked over all the papers, gathering her thoughts.
“Look,” Dash said to her, seeing her mixed emotions, “None of us want you to leave, especially me most of all. And, that’s why I asked everypony here. It will take some time, but I was us to build this. I want this to be our home AJ.”
Applejack gave her a smile, and Dash could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“Oh Rainbow, this reall is amazin’!” Applejack told her, and nuzzled against her rainbow mane.
“I had it all planned out,” Dash began to tell them, “Twilight, you’re book smart, so I figured you could make up the real blueprints to build the house and the barn.”
“I’d be honored to help,” Twilight told them happily.
“Rarity,” Dash turned to the white Unicorn, “I tried to draw some ideas, but I’d really like you to be in charge of painting and decorating.”
Rarity began looking over the designs for a moment, then looked to Dash and said, “These are good…but they could stand to be about 20% cooler.”
Dash was taken aback by Rarity’s humor for a moment, but she laughed all the same and continued on.
“Fluttershy,” she said to the sleeping Pegasus, “Well, I’ll repeat this later. But we’ll need wood, and we’ll probably have to get some from the forest. You’ll be in charge of making sure we don’t hurt any animals. And Pinkie Pie, you’ll be in charge of minor farming duties. We want to get this orchard growing again, so someone has to plant the seeds!”
Pinkie put her hoof up in salute, and gave another large grin.
“And last, AJ and I will gather the wood. Applejack is the strongest pony I know, and I can rainboom an area of trees to get them down in no time.”
No one seemed to have any problems with Dash’s idea. However, seeing as Dash hadn’t gotten any of the supplies ready, they decided to begin at a slightly later time the next day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That night, Twilight made a special dinner for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, using her best romantic magic to set the mood for the two. When everything was perfect, Twilight quickly ducked out of the library, and went to spend some time with Rarity. The dinner itself was only known of by Rainbow Dash, another surprise she had planned for Applejack. Dash lead her lover into the main area, which was now dimly lit by two flickering white candles. The candles were setting upon Twilight’s table, which was covered food. Various apple-themed treats sat on one side, while hay sandwiches, fruit and vegetable salad, and corn on the cob sat on the other side.
Applejack’s mouth began to water as all the smells assaulted her senses. Her stomach rumbled as she tried to control her cravings. Applejack wasn’t the most formal pony, even in times of romance. Dash pulled her chair out and allowed Applejack to sit down, and then Dash took her seat across the table from her.
“Ya really didn’t have ta set all this up Rainbow,” Applejack said, eyeing the Apple Fritters. “You know Ah love our simple dinners together.”
“Yeah, but this is nice too, right?” Dash said, suddenly afraid she’d made a mistake and had Twilight make the dinner too fancy.
“O’course it is, sugarcube,” Applejack said thoughtfully.
As dinner went on the two talked over various subjects. Dash suddenly began to feel very tired, the hours of sleep she had failed to get the night before had begun to catch up. While she tried her best to listen to Applejack, she found herself staring intently into the candles on the table. The orange flames danced and flickered in her gaze. For a moment, she swore she could see them make the images she’d seen in her dreams.
Suddenly, one of the candles sparked. The tiny flame produced bounced off the table and landed on an open book in the corner. The pages slowly began to singe, and soon the book was engulfed. The flames began to quickly spread to the other tomes of the library.
“Applejack!” Dash cried out as the orange pony seemed to be completely oblivious to the danger around them.
Dash tried to move from her spot and grab Applejack, but she suddenly felt frozen in place. Her eyes darted every which way, as the flames crackled and popped, and continued to engulf every page of every book in Twilight’s library. Applejack continued to talk, seemingly unaware of the danger that was rapidly approaching them.
“Applejack, please, look around you!” Rainbow Dash cried out, flapping her wings and trying to make her hooves move from their spot.
Gravity seemed as if it had turned against Rainbow Dash however, and she stayed fixed in place. The flames were now right behind Applejack, twisting and turning until they formed the face of a large demonic entity. It laughed and laughed at Dash’s misfortune as it got ever closer to Applejack. Dash could smell the scent of hair burning as it first caught Applejack’s mane. With a sudden rush, the flames pushed forward and burned Applejack from Equestria, forever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Rainbow!” a voice cried out as the cyan Pegasus shot up.
She could feel something wet on her face that was quickly becoming caked into her fur.
“Uhhhh,” she strained to figure out what was going on.
She quickly looked around, her eyes adjusting to the low light that was illuminating the room. She was still in Twilight’s library, and still having the nice dinner she’d planned, but with a very unhappy-looking earth pony across from her.
“Rainbow Dash, did ya not get back ta sleep when we came back this mornin’?” Applejack asked her. “If ya needed the sleep hun, ya’ll didn’t have to have this dinner for me.”
After a few seconds, Dash realized that she’d been having another one of the horrible dreams that had plagued her sleep lately. However, this time she’d been so tired she had passed out in the middle of dinner. The wetness she was feeling had come from the sauce on her food, which she’d passed out into.
“Sorry AJ,” she lowered her head as she spoke.
“It's alright sugarcube, but maybe we should go ahead and clean up and hit the hay…after you get a bath though,” Applejack smiled to her.
“Yeah,” Dash said, trying to sound better.
Dash was still bothered by the dream. They were becoming more and more frequent, and her waking mind made it all the more apparent that something was wrong.
“You know what’s wrong with you,” the voice of herself in her head suddenly sprang in and said. “Why don’t you just admit it Rainbow Dash, the truth about Applejack’s home. Things’ll get better. You can trust me on that…you can trust yourself, can’t you?”
Dash didn’t know the answer to that question, but she decided to try and block it out. It was bad enough she was hearing voices to begin with, but if Applejack had any idea, Dash couldn’t imagine what she might say or think. She did her best to shake it away, and got up to help Applejack clean up the dishes from their meal.
“I’m sorry this didn’t go like I wanted,” Dash tried to apologize.
“Ya tried, and that’s all that matter,” Applejack said with a smile, “Besides, these fancy smancy things aren’t what the Rainbow Dash Ah know is known for. And that’s fine by me.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a long night’s sleep, at the first sign of Celestia’s sun, Dash woke up feeling much better. She looked over at Applejack, still sleeping soundly on the bed. Dash climbed out with a grand feeling of excitement filling her whole body. Today would begin the rest of her life with Applejack. Everything she had ever dreamed of might finally be realized. A life together with the pony she loved….
And suddenly it hit her, for the first time in several weeks. She was happy her dreams were being realized, but at the cost of everything Applejack had. Thoughts began to fill Rainbow’s head as she dropped down on her flank near the door. She didn’t hear the voice, cutting her deep with its words, trying to toy with her emotions. She didn’t need to hear it either, as what it had said came to light as a sickening truth for Rainbow Dash: the voice was her own, a manifestation of her guilt. Her guilt was something she’d been ignoring for a very long time now.
However, Dash knew she couldn’t talk to Applejack. Not now especially, with everything going so perfectly.
“Stupid mare,” she said to herself, “Way to be really bucking selfish.”
And yet, seeing her best friend, the mare she loved still sleeping in her bed, made her feel suddenly better and a million times worse all at the same time. Dash decided that for now, she would try to find other ways to deal with her guilt…she was not sure if anything would help her though. She tried to shake off the feelings and headed out into the library. Twilight Sparkle was already up and arranging some new books on the shelves.
“Morning Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said happily, “Ready to get your plan into action? I’ve got some designs all drawn up for you to-“ she was cut off.
“Twilight…” Rainbow hesitated, gathering her thoughts. She hadn’t expected that she’d want to talk with anypony, but suddenly she felt like she needed to. “Can we talk…”
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 6 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-10-29T02:54:49+00:00
|
2011-10-29T02:54:49+00:00
| 4,764 |
That morning, things had already started off better than the previous one, with everypony arriving on time, well rested, and, especially in Rarity’s case, ready to work. Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood before the other ponies as they got ready for each of their tasks.
“Alright,” Twilight said, laying her schematics out to show a much more refined set of designs than what Rainbow had drawn up earlier. “Fluttershy has already gone off to begin rounding up the animals. Rarity, I assume you’ll be planning the décor around my designs?”
“Why of course,” Rarity said and pulled a rolle dup blanket from the saddle bag she was carrying it.
Rarity laid out the blanket and dropped down onto the ground next to the plans, and began studying them intently.
“It’s a good thing you know how to keep everyone organized,” Rainbow said with grin.
“Yeah, I think things will go quite smoothly,” Twilight replied, and looked back at her documents. “Pinkie Pie, did you get the seeds for the trees?”
“You bet!” Pinkie cried with glee, “and I convinced Caramel to give me a hand with the plowing. We’ll be done and ready to plant in no time!”
The brown earth pony trotted up slowly from behind one of the apple trees that were still standing and sat next to Pinkie Pie. Pinkie wrapped her hooves around his neck and pulled him close, a squeel of glee escaping her. Caramel could only blush.
Before Twilight could continue, the sound of hooves clopping up the path to the farm could be heard. The group waited in silence to see who it was; a big cloud of dust shrouded whomever was coming closer. Before long the cloud stopped just a few feet from them.
“What’s this now?” Rarity asked as the dust began to settle.
Standing before them was the tall red form of Big Macintosh. At his hooves were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who looked to be at the ready for whatever was asked of them.
“Big Macintosh?” Applejack said surprised. “What’re ya’ll doin’ here?”
“Well, Ah couldn’t help but think about all that was said between us the other day. And maybe Ah am a little bit wrong,” he lowered his head and looked away. The regret in his eyes was apparent.
“So what’re ya tryin’ to say?” Applejack asked.
Instead of outright answering her, Big Macintosh looked at Rainbow Dash and said, “Ah was a bit skeptical about ya’ll, Eeyup. Ah admit I’m not always the most open-minded pony. But seein’ this dedication to each other, well, Ah’m impressed. And maybe Ah’m not the one workin’ hard enough.”
Scootaloo broke in, “What Big Mac won’t wrap up here is that we’re all gonna help so you can stay in Ponyville! Besides, it’s another opportunity to for us to get our cutie marks!” And so we don’t have to break up the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
“But how’d you guys know about my idea?” Rainbow Dash asked, a smile extending wide across her face.
Fluttershy poked her head from the trees, and softly said, “Well…I might have had something to do with it.”
Fluttershy blushed and quickly went back to rounding up the animals.
Mac continued on to Rainbow for another moment, “Miss Dash, Ah’ve got a lotta faith in ya’ll, so don’t let me down. And a’specially don’t let mah sister down.”
Rainbow Dash tried to put a cool look on her face, and nodded at Big Macintosh.
Big Mac turned to Twilight, “So, what’re ya needed us to do Miss Twilight?”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twilight Sparkle was not very good at keeping secrets. Twilight was working extra hard to keep up with everypony else as they all went diligently about their work. Twilight knew if she didn’t then her mind would again return to everything from that morning. Once Applejack had woken up, Rainbow and her had headed out, leaving Twilight to think on everything. Knowing what her friends secrets sometimes did to her mind, she casted a spell on herself to help her focus on the day ahead. But even with this aura of determination, she still couldn’t help but dwell on her conversation with Rainbow Dash.
“Lay those trunks over here!” Twilight ordered a lot more sternly than she meant.
Big Macintosh pulled two large trees tied up with rope from their work area and dropped them next to Twilight. He galloped back ready for the next ones. Applejack was lassoing three trees at a time, and together, her and Rainbow Dash were pulling them out of the ground. Seeing Dash stay in one place when in a state of sonic speed was quite a sight for Twilight. However, her amazement for Dash's abilities could only go so far at the moment.
She really couldn’t imagine how calm Dash seemed. Twilight knew in her own position she could never keep up such a calm and friendly demeanor around anyone she may have harmed. Dash seemed to be able to do it with no problem. Twilight now knew the torment going on inside Rainbow’s mind though, and couldn’t imagine what it must really be doing to her mental state. Before long, Twilight realized her focus spell had not been strong enough, and began to drift into her thoughts.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said unusually softly as she came out of Applejack’s room, “Can we talk?”
“Of course Rainbow Dash! I’m always ready to help a friend in need, and maybe it’ll help with a new letter to the Princess.”
“No!” Dash snapped. “Sorry about that Twilight, but…no one can know about this.”
At that point Twilight was sure she should stop Rainbow Dash there. She knew whenever words like those came up, whatever was coming would eat away at her until she had to tell somepony else. But she also saw her friend standing in front of her, obviously with something weighing very heavily upon her mind.
“Alright Rainbow Dash, it’ll be our secret. Now, what do you need to talk about?”
From that point it took a long while before Twilight could get another word in. Dash started with that morning at Sweet Apple Acres, and how perfect everything had been. She told her about her long time feelings for Applejack, and how she couldn’t stand to see the colts that hit on her at the Apple stand. At these comments Twilight seemed to be very understanding, and couldn’t begin to understand why these would upset the cyan Pegasus. The story soon turned to the recent events that had changed Applejack’s life. She heard of the stern weather team pony and his ditzy worker, and the accident she’d created. She listened with a look of seriousness on her face when Dash told her about the reaction she had had to the colt Applejack was talking to.
Although she let Dash continue talking, Twilight was, by that point, sure she knew where the story was going. She remembered talking with Dash that morning, and Rarity’s sudden entrance. At that point Dash’s story had ended, but the rest of the events continued to play out in her mind. Twilight remembered the flames leaping across the trees as the ponies stood by and watched in horror. She remembered watching Dash create the trail of rain for Applejack to rescue Winona. And Twilight couldn’t forget the expression on Applejack’s face as she came back to her friends, her fur soaked as from the rain that poured between two sides of flames.
Dash set there for a moment as Twilight continued to gather her thoughts.
“Uh…Twilight,” she said, sure her friend was preparing to blow up on her.
Twilight sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before speaking, “Rainbow…I am not sure where to begin. I mean, this is much bigger than I could imagine. If you hadn’t come to me I never would have known. You just seem to be good old Rainbow Dash so easily to everyone.”
“Twilight…” Dash said, tearing forming in her eyes, “You have no idea how hard it is. I can’t even stand myself lately! Something keeps…” Dash stopped for a moment, realizing she didn’t want Twilight to think she was crazy, “I keep telling myself I need to say something. It’s on my mind all the time. But will she hate me Twilight? I can’t lose her, not now!”
Dash began to sob, the tears splashing silently onto the library floor. Twilight came closer to Dash and pulled her close with her hoof.
“I won’t say anything Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, patting her back as she continued to cry. “You have to work this out though, somehow. You’re going to make yourself crazy if you don’t. I can tell you’re doing everything else to fix your mistakes. Sweet Apple Acres…er, 2 is proof enough of that.”
Dash pulled away and tried to wipe the tears on her cheeks away with her forehoof. She started to give a smile when they heard the Applejack’s door begin to creak open. Applejack emerged with a yawn, and rubbed her eyes with a hoof. The first thing she saw was Rainbow Dash, tears still in her puffy reddened eyes.
“What-what’s all this?” Applejack asked. “What’s a’matter Rainbow?”
“No-nothing,” Rainbow said quickly, “Just I got to talking with Twilight about Sweet Apple Acres, and everything, and about how happy you had been, and, well, it just made me so happy, thinking about you being so happy.”
Applejack came up and put a hoof around Rainbow, pulling her close and giving her a kiss on her cheek.
“it’s alright sugarcube,” she said sweetly, “Lets get this thing going. We can all be happy when everythin’ is finished.”
Applejack pulled Rainbow Dash back to the room to get some things together for the day ahead, leaving Twilight alone with a terrible feeling growing deep inside her.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyone had began to leave for the day as the sun began to set over the site of Sweet Apple acres. Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat for a while watching the ponies begin to leave. Dash lifted herself into the air the orange earth pony.
“You ready to go back, AJ? I’m beat.”
“Go on ahead,” Applejack said grinning, “Ah think ah’m gonna stay here a little longer.”
“You sure?” Rainbow asked her.
“Ya go on and hit the hay. Ah’ll be there soon,”
Dash nodded and streaked off across the sky heading for the library. Applejack continued to watch the sunset. She thought about the good times she’d once had amongst the trees. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Big Macintosh trot up and sit beside her.
“Even like this, Ah can still find some beauty in this place,” Big Mac said.
Applejack snapped out of her daze, and looked up at him. “Ah know. Ah’m really happy you decided ta stay with us. It wouldn’ ta been the same without ya.”
“Ah wasn’t thinkin’ too clearly,” he said, “And Ah want ta see all this finished as soon as possible. Not fer me, fer Granny Smith. She’s not doin’ well Applejack. She don’t lead on about it, but she’s not well. Ah want her to see this place lookin’ good again, just like when Pappy Smith built it fer her…and when Ma and Pa owned it.”
“Ya know Big Mac, Rainbow would never know about it, but I cry almost every night. Not cause’a her, but even when she manages to make me the happiest pony in the world, I still end up thinkin’ about everything we lost in the fire. We lost every piece we had of Ma and Pa.”
“Ah didn’t,” Big Mac gave a small smirk, “Ah got you an Applebloom, and that’s all I could ask fer.”
Applejack leaned against her big brother as the sun began to creep below the horizon. The first stars were starting to twinkle in the twilight sky.
“Yer the best Big Macintosh,” Applejack gave him a nudge which caused the pony to topple over.
Big Macintosh and Applejack both started laughing. They laughed harder together than they had since they were little ponies.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rainbow Dash arrived exhausted to the library. The lights had all been turned on, so she knew Twilight was already home. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to face Twilight now, after everything she’d said this morning. Unfortunately, Dash was too tired to stand outside all night, and didn’t want to abandon Applejack for a night in her cloud home. Dash decided to just walk on in, and pushed the door without a second thought. The first thing she saw was the purple flank of Twilight Sparkle.
Rainbow blushed. She didn't want Twilight thinking she had thing for her too.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, you’re back,” Twilight turned around and said, trying to not say anything upsetting.
“Hey Twilight…” Dash trailed off.
“Is…did you…want to talk?” Twilight asked her.
“You know…it actually felt pretty good to cry for a minute,” Dash admitted, “but that’s not what us cool people do!”
Dash realized that after all the crying she’d seen Applejack do, that statement made her sound like a jerk.
“Sometimes it help Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said to her, “If everything is still on your mind, maybe you should do it more often.”
“Yeah…” Dash said, and started trotting to the room.
Dash shut the door behind, leaving Twilight alone again. Some time went before she saw the cyan Pegasus. Dash flung the door open and ran over to where Twilight was now stacking books. Tears clung to both sides of her face.
“Oh Celestia, I can’t help it!” Dash sobbed, “I am so worried about what I should do. I can’t hide it like this forever!”
With that, Twilight sat down on the floor next to Rainbow Dash, and once again let her cry into her mane.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applejack arrived at the library as the moon was rising into the sky. She had to admit in the short time she’d been able to see them, when Luna raised the moon there was just something a bit more special than when Celestia had been doing all the work. Applejack felt great, and couldn’t wait to snuggle into bed next to Rainbow Dash.
She wasn’t sure what Twilight would be doing, so she nudged the door open lightly to not cause much noise. She saw Twilight through the cracked door, sitting near her table, alone…except that she wasn’t alone. Applejack saw the rainbow mane hanging off Twilight’s shoulder, Dash’s face buried into Twilight’s own mane. Applejack couldn’t tell what was going on, or why Dash was so close to Twilight. She waited a moment, watching Twilight put her own head down and give a small nuzzle to Rainbow Dash. Applejack dropped her head low, and slowly backed away into the night.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 7 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-07T05:36:27+00:00
|
2011-11-07T05:36:27+00:00
| 4,409 |
When Rainbow Dash awoke the next morning, Applejack was nowhere to be found. After her time with Twilight she had come back into AJ’s room, and crashed onto the fluffy mattress. It had felt to her that her emotional outpouring had been as exhausting as the physical work she had done all day, so if Applejack had come in Rainbow likely wouldn’t have noticed. Rainbow Dash noticed that she was sprawled nearly the same way she had been when she’d fallen asleep, so she guessed Applejack hadn’t.
“Where would she be?” Rainbow asked herself.
She pulled herself out of bed, her body aching from the strain she had put on it the day before. Manual labor wasn’t exactly Rainbow Dash’s thing. She tried to shake off the pain, as she knew they had another day ahead.
“Maybe Applejack is already out getting ready,” Dash said to herself again, and headed into the library area.
Twilight was nowhere to be seen, so Dash guessed she’d left as well, maybe with Applejack . Walking by a mirror on the wall, Dash noticed her mane in complete disarray. She slicked it down quickly and tried to make herself look a little nicer. Her personal appearance had never been at the forefront of Dash’s priorities, but she decided that it wouldn’t hurt to look a little nicer from time to time. She doubted Applejack cared though, and didn’t spend more than a moment on herself.
She headed outside, stepping into the cool morning air as the sun began to reach over the horizon. She stretched her wings, popping the bones and straightening the feather. With a single flap she levitated herself into the air. She hoped Applejack was out at the orchard waiting on her. With the exception of the night she’d gotten Big Macintosh’s letter, they hadn’t had a night apart in quite a while.
Now above the library, Dash could see her other friends headed for the orchard as well. Rarity could be seen with saddlebags bulging with designs for the décor. Sweetie Belle walked a little bit behind her, trying to get her Crusader cape tied on just right. Fluttershy was distributing bird seed for all the early morning birds on her way there. Big Macintosh and Applebloom weren’t far behind. Suddenly, a voice called up to her.
“Hey Rainbow Dash!” It was Scootaloo who had called her. “Are you headed out now?”
Dash could barely see the little Pegasus from the height she was at, so she swooped down and landed next to her.
“Yeah, I guess I am. You haven’t see Applejack have you?” Dash asked.
“Uh, nope not yet. But I can’t wait to see more of your awesome moves today! Maybe you can do a sonic rain-“ but Scootaloo was cut off as Dash soared back into the air and flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres.
“Hey, wait up Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cried out, and took off on her scooter after the cyan Pegasus.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash arrived just after most of her friends had. Fluttershy had already headed into the rows of trees, trying her best to get the animals woken and moved before the hard work began. Twilight had come early to start organizing the second phase of the building process. Pinkie and Caramel still ha d a lot of plowing and planting to do, and Rarity had a lot of designs to go over to decide what would work most perfectly for the new farmhouse.
Twilight called Dash over for a moment. “Ok Rainbow Dash, things are going to work pretty much like yesterday. I’ve put the fillies on seed duty, to start planting while Pinkie and Caramel finish up the plowing. If I can pull her away from her drawings for a moment, Rarity and I will will begin dividing up the wood we already have with our magic. Everything else should work just like yesterday.”
Before she had finished, Twilight could already see something was wrong in Dash’s eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight tried to be quiet as she asked. “Did something happen?”
“No..I’m not sure,” Dash told her, “I’m pretty sure AJ never came back last night. I haven’t seen her all morning.”
Twilight broke a smile, and said, “Oh, don’t be silly. Applejack is here. She was already up and in the library when I woke up. We came here together, and talked a little.” Twilight saw Dash become nervous, and quickly added, “Oh, but we didn’t talk about that stuff.”
Twilight didn’t add how hard it had been not to. Just looking at Applejack reminded her of everything Rainbow had told her, and she knew something deep inside her just wanted to burst through and spill everything. Pinkie Pie’s warning of FOREVERRRRRR rang in her head over and over, and she managed to keep herself contained.
“Well, uh, where is she?” Dash asked, a slight wave of excitement hitting her.
“Over there,” Twilight pointed her hoof to the small grove of apple trees.
Applejack was sitting with her hooves folded under her body, with her head up but her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful under the bright morning sky. The dew dripping from the trees bathed her in an aura of cool morning light. Dash glided over to her slowly.
“Hey AJ, everything ok?”
“Okay? Why…yeah…Ah guess,” Applejack tried her best to say.
Consarnit, Applejack thought to herself. Stupid element of honesty.
“You guess?” Dash looked a tad puzzled, “That’s not exactly a no either AJ.”
“It don’t matter what it is RD,” Applejack snapped at her “Ah’ll be ok no matter what.”
Dash backed off. She wasn’t sure what was wrong, but she decided to let Applejack cool down and she’d get the story out of her later. Dash could tell Applejack had tried her best to lie, but Rainbow Dash also knew Applejack was terrible at it.
“But why did she have to try to lie to me?” she asked herself quietly so no one else would here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day passed just as the previous one had. Big Macintosh helped with all of the heavy lifting, while Applejack and Rainbow Dash brought the trees down. Applejack seemed to be using a great deal more power, which Dash could only assume was her relieving whatever kind of anger she was experiencing. Rainbow Dash continually found herself distracted by her thoughts on this, and was reprimanded several times by AJ and Big Mac alike.
Twilight and Rarity had managed to separate the tree trunks into several equal planks of wood that would begin the frame of the farm house and barn. Pinkie Pie and Caramel had managed to finish plowing the rest of the fields. In turn, this had allowed the fillies to plant all their seeds, playing games along the way like who could plant them the fastest. With so much work done, all of the ponies were now able to focus on building the structures, ensuring that everything would be able to be finished much faster.
All the ponies said their goodbyes, and headed off to get some well deserved nourishment and relaxation. Applejack tried to leave herself, but Rainbow noticed before she could slip away.
“Applejack…what’s the matter?” Rainbow decided to ask her again, hoping for a better answer.
“Ah just need some time to think,” Applejack told her. “Ah got a lot on ma mind, and nopony but me’s gonna be able to fix it.”
“I can help!” Dash exclaimed, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice.
“Naw sugarcube,” Applejack told her, “Just let me work it out. Ah’ll be in tonight, Ah promise.”
With that Applejack left Rainbow Dash fluttering a few feet above ground; alone. Dash could feel a black void opening inside her heart, sucking the happiness from her soul. Something screeched inside her head, like a griffon’s nails across a chalkboard.
Maybe she knows, the voice in Dash’s head returned, louder than ever.
“That can’t be it,” Dash said to herself, “She’s way to calm.”
She’s also not being very honest, it replied back, That’s not in her character.
Dash tried to ignore it once again, hoping it would clear out by the time she got back to the library.
However, the whole trip back the voice derided her, and tried to make her feel worthless. It said more horrible things and laughed at her sadness. Dash couldn’t stand to hear anymore or it. Arriving at the library, she took a sharp nosedive and crashed headfirst into the ground. The hit made her woozy, but it did its job, and the voice instantly stopped talking.
She shook the dust from her coat, and quickly went inside. She was again very tired, but a part of her hated that she never seemed to want to go out anymore, even when she had the opportunity, instead opting to come back and hang out at Twilight’s library. She’d always been a bit of a party pony, but she had to admit, even with Pinkie’s great parties, Ponyville never threw ones like she’d been to when she was friends with Gilda.
Twilight had already made her way home, and welcomed Dash inside. Twi closed the door behind Rainbow Dash, and walked with her to the table.
“Anything you need to get off your mind today, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked her.
“I…I think I’m ok,” Dash told her, but was reminded that things weren’t exactly ok. “Well, on second thought Twilight, I’m just not sure what’s up with Applejack. She’s been mad at me all day, and I can’t figure out why.”
Twilight moved closer to Rainbow, and leaned onto the table to think for a moment.
“Hmmm,” Twilight was in deep thought for a moment, “Maybe Applejack figured it out? And maybe her anger isn’t as bad as you thought? I mean she still sounds angry, but not like I would have imagined she would.”
“If it was, I don’t think she’d lie,” Dash told Twilight. “I just have a feeling it’s something else.”
Twilight continued to move a little closer to Rainbow Dash. Dash noticed, but didn’t say anything.
“Well, let’s talk about it then,” Twilight said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Applejack had been wandering the streets of Ponyville, her mind swirling with thoughts about the night before. She’d seen Dash and Twilight together, she was sure of that. However, she really hadn’t seen anything completely wrong. Dash had looked somewhat sad, and in keeping with how Dash had acted the morning before, it could have been likely Twilight was just trying to calm her down. Regardless, seeing anypony else, even one of her best friends, laying a hoof on Dash like that got Applejack’s blood boiling.
Rainbow Dash had been her ray of hope against everything that had happened, and she wanted to believe she would always see the cyan Pegasus as that. Applejack just couldn’t seem to get her head clear though. She was sure Twilight would never try to make a move on Rainbow Dash. At least, she thought she was sure. Applejack had also heard the comments around Ponyville that Dash wasn’t the type to stay committed very long. When she’d heard it, Applejack brushed off the thoughts and tried her best to ignore them, although she did let it slip into the back of her mind. Applejack hadn’t even known Rainbow to be in any committed relationships at all, let alone any on the short term. She decided maybe she needed someone to talk to herself.
Applejack did not dare go to Fluttershy. If Big Macintosh got wind of any trouble, she imagined anything that had been accomplished between the two over the past few days would quickly crumble. Pinkie Pie was never very good with advice in her opinion, so she decided that maybe Rarity could help. Applejack couldn’t help but find it funny, remembering times not so long ago when her and Rarity could hardly stand to be in the same room together.
After a short while, applejack found herself on the doorstep of the Carousel Boutique. She knocked lightly and waited. In a few moments, the white Unicorn opened the door to see who was outside. She had mask of green mud laid across her face, and her usual pink bathrobe was pulled tight around her body.
“Oh Applejack, this is an unexpected surprise,” Rairty said.
“Heya Rarity, are uh, the girls asleep yet?” Applejack began to think maybe she didn’t need to do this after all.
“Of course they are,” Rarity gave a stern look, “I run a tight ship around here.”
“Heh, well, good ta know Applebloom isn’t getting’ in ta too much trouble. But, uh, Rarity, do you mind if we talk for a few?”
“Why of course not darling, come in,” Rarity opened the door wide and let Applejack come in.
Applejack made sure she wiped her hooves off before going in further. She could see Rarity had been working hard in her spare time, creating many new fashions. Many of them seemed to be inspired by the beauty of the country.
“You like them?” Rarity had noticed her looking and asked, “While making up my designs for the farm, I just ran with some of the ideas. They’ll be a hit come Applebuck Season!”
“Yeah, they’re really great,” Applejack let out a sigh, “But Ah’m not here ta talk fashion Rarity. Ah’ve, uh, got some problems.”
“Rainbow Dash?” Rarity said quickly.
“Is it really that obvious?” Applejack was quick to ask.
The two walked over to a small table in the center of the dress shop. They each took a seat on one side.
“Its always easy to spot when there’s trouble between lovers my dear,” Rarity said, “And I doubt I’m the only one that noticed the tension between you two today. We’ve seen you two kiss, and you barely even touched the air two feet between each other.”
“Well”, and so Applejack told the story.
It didn’t take long to tell, and when it was done, Rarity simply smiled, got up, and trotted off into the kitchen. She came back levitating two cups of tea with her. She sat one down in front of Applejack and took her seat again, sipping on the tea as she did.
“Honestly,” Rarity said, “I think you are overreacting dear.”
“Wha-, me? Why in tarnation are ya sayin’ that?” Applejack asked.
“Well, to be quite honest, you are here, talking to me right now, aren’t you?”
Applejack nodded.
“Then tell me what’s to say Rainbow Dash didn’t have something she needed to talk about? I’ve had plenty of things I haven’t had the chance to say to somepony I was with at the time, and Fluttershy was always willing to listen. And that doesn’t mean she is lying to you either.”
Applejack thought it over for a while. It made sense, although she hated the idea that Dash could be hiding something from her.
“If it is something important Applejack, Rainbow Dash will tell you. Just give it some time, and stop worrying. If things still seem off, confront Rainbow about them. Either way, I’m still going to be here if you need to talk some more.”
Applejack managed a smile and said, “Thanks Rarity.”
“Now, lets talk about something else,” Rarity said, “You at least need to finish your tea. And besides, can you imagine Twilight Sparkle having a thing for anypony?”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite the fact that her eyes were open, Rainbow Dash was not sure how long the kiss had lasted. It had come as such a shock to her, her whole body had tensed up, leaving her stiff and unable to pull away. The purple unicorn had forced her tongue into the edges of Rainbow’s mouth, trying her best to mimic the passionate kisses she’d seen Rainbow share with Applejack. At that moment, despite having nothing to do with what was happening, Rainbow could feel the hatred for herself burning brighter than ever. She wondered if it was because deep down, she didn’t entirely hate the situation that was taking place.
Gathering her strength, Rainbow pulled away. She quickly wiped the wetness away from her mouth. Twilight sat before her, a look of sadness and confusion upon her face.
“What the hay was that Twilight?” Dash snapped out.
“I…I uh… nothing, it was nothing,” Twilight turned her head away, trying to hide a few tears that had formed in her eyes.
“Nothing? You call that nothing?!” Dash continued to raise her voice. “What if Applejack had come back and seen that? Or anypony else for that matter?”
“You…you didn’t feel anything…” Twilight seemed to trail off.
“Feel…what? You know what my feeling are Twilight. I thought us talking was going to help me get through my problems, help me make a better relationship between me and Applejack. But big surprise with my bucking luck, it’s only gotten harder!”
“I…but I…oooohhhh!” Twilight raced off, tears streaming down her face, up to her oom and slammed the door with a burst of purple magic.
Dash was left sitting on the floor of library, unsure of everything now more than ever. Not only was she unsure of how to go about the discussion she had to have with Applejack, but she was worried by the feeling she had just felt. Somewhere deep inside, it was as if Twilight’s magic had reached in and touched something inside the Pegasus, and it had felt….good. Dash couldn’t believe herself.
Hmmmm, interesting thoughts we’re having, eh Rainbow Dash, the voice inside her head suddenly broke in. Really testing this whole “Element of Loyalty” thing, aren’t we.
Dash had no intention of listening, and tried her best to pretend she was hearing nothing. Several minutes with her alone in the library. Soon however, she heard light hoofsteps on the doorstep, and Applejack came in quietly through the door. Dash got up quickly, acting as if nothing had happened.
“What’re you doing up?” Applejack asked her, “Ah thought you’d be worn out by now.”
“Twilight has some great comics here,” Dash lied, “Some I’ve never read before. I was just putting them up when you came in. I couldn’t sleep is all.”
The fake grin Dash managed seemed to work, and Applejack trotted over to her and tugged on her rainbow mane.
“Come on sugarcube, lets curl up for the night and talk some before we fall asleep,” Applejack said sweetly,” And uh, Ah love you Dash.”
“I love you too, AJ,” Dash said back, and simultaneously felt like somepony had bucked her in the gut.
“Ya know, if you’ve ever got anything ya need to talk about, no matter what, I won’t be mad,” Applejack said, trying to hint around to see if Rarity might be right.
“Of course I will,” Rainbow said, the knot in her stomach twisting ever worse. “I uh, might need too soon…but…not now.”
Somewhere inside Applejack, a spark of happiness sprung to life. She was sure Rarity had been right, and that it was only a matter of time till she found out everything.
Applejack just smiled. “Come on sugarcube, lets hit the hay.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the first time in quite awhile, Dash had had dreams, and not a single one had anything to do with the guilt on her conscience. For Dash however, these new dreams were much worse. Every place she went in these dreams, she went with Twilight. Everything she did in these dreams, she did with Twilight. She dreamt about Twilight’s body, about her mane about her…kiss.
Not long after falling asleep, Dash sprang awake, these new dreams fresh in her mind. She could still feel the knot in her stomach, reminding her of how horrible it was she was thinking of this now. Dash decided she needed some sort of closure on the subject. Twilight had left Dash’s mind in such a state when she ran off, Dash knew she had to talk with her about it.
Dash climbed out of bed as quietly as possible, and rose into the air to try and make the least amount of noise possible. She nudged the door open, and closed it back just as gently. She headed up stairs, floating above each step like a ghost in the old mare’s tales Dash heard about when she was a filly. She landed softly outside Twilight’s door. She pushed the door open, and found Twi still awake, sitting on her bed with her face buried in a book. It was obvious she wasn’t reading it. Spike snored loudly in a basket on the other side of the room.
“Twilight…” Dash said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little over an hour after Dash had gotten up, Applejack stirred from her sleep. Groggily she adjusted her eyes to the dark, and realized the warm cyan body she had become so used to sleeping against was nowhere to be found.
“Rainbow Dash?” Applejack called out into the darkness.
No reply came back. Applejack climbed out of bed cautiously, and ignoring her hat on the bedside table, left the room to find Rainbow Dash.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 8 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-07T15:14:47+00:00
|
2011-11-07T15:14:47+00:00
| 4,672 |
“Twilight…” Rainbow Dash said, walking closer to the purple Unicorn.
Twilight looked up from her book. The tears in her eyes were evident. She didn’t say anything to Rainbow Dash, and slowly looked away. It reminded Dash a bit of that first night when her and Applejack had kissed for the first time. As she came in, Dash came to the realization she really didn’t have anything planned to say to Twilight.
“Twilight, I uh, just want to talk to you,” Dash tried not to sound anything but nice.
“Maybe…maybe it’s best we don’t Rainbow Dash,” Twilight sniffed, and tried not to let more of the tears fall from her eyes.
“But Twilight, if we don’t, I can already tell it’s gonna drive me crazy. And since I can’t even confess things to Applejack, I don’t want any more stress on my mind.”
For a moment it surprised Twilight, hearing such strong words from the Pegasus. Back when Twi had first met Rainbow Dash, Twilight could tell she was strong-willed, but could also tell she did not have a way with words.
“Look Rainbow Dash, I…I know it was wrong what I did…I understand if you want to end our friendship,” Twilight put her head down on the bed and turned away.
“No, it isn’t that Twilight…I mean, yeah I’m not entirely happy about what happened but I can’t stop thinking about it. I thought about it in bed with AJ, I dreamt about it. There was just…something…”
Twilight looked up, and Dash could see she was trying to force back something of a smile.
“You…you did?” Twilight asked her, halfway still in tears, and halfway suddenly very happy.
“That’s what we need to talk about…” Dash hesitated for a moment, seeing the happiness in
Twilight’s eyes and knowing full well she was about to crush it. “I love Applejack, Twilight, I can’t be fooling around on her. I’ve heard the rumors around Ponyville about me before,” Dash looked very serious at this point.
Twilight drooped at those words. She knew she should have expected it, but they still cut deep. She hated herself a little inside, being so jealous of one of her best friends, knowing what all this could do to not just her and rainbow Dash’s friendship, but her and Applejack’s as well.
“What’s to talk about Rainbow Dash!?” Twilight snapped suddenly, “I messed up! But can you really imagine what it’s like seeing you two here, every day, so happy together. No matter what’s going on in your head Rainbow Dash, I bet it all gets better with Applejack! I miss the days before the fire, Rainbow Dash, I long for those. I could talk to you more often, I could watch you streak your Rainbow across the sky, and hope that one day, I could hold that beautiful cyan Pegasus close and tell her how I feel!”
Twilight broke down into harder tears. She threw herself to the floor, and continued to talk through her sobbing.
“I didn’t want things… t-to be like this Rainbow! D-do you t-t-t-think I like the idea o—of hurting Applejack”?
Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to say. Twilight’s outburst had come on so suddenly, she hadn’t had time to take all those words in.
“Twilight…you egghead,” Dash actually managed with a smile, “Why couldn’t you tell me this?”
“Would it have mattered?” Twilight asked her. “Before the fire, t—the way you t-t-talked about Applejack, I-I knew what you w-w-were thinking about.”
Dash thought on those words for a moment. She admitted, she’d wanted to be with Applejack a very long time. But just as other mare’s sometimes took their chances when certain colts asked them out, she couldn’t say for sure if she would have given Twilight the time or not. Dash admitted that she hated the situation, but it was getting harder and harder for her to find a way to resolve it.
“How long…have you felt this way about me?” Dash asked her.
“Since we first used the Elements of Harmony. When we were together, that first night after Nightmare Moon was defeated, all of us together, I just felt so much more for you. I wasn’t sure at first, so in the following days I tried to spend a lot of time with everyone. I had sleepovers with Rarity and AJ, had talks with Fluttershy, and went to every one of Pinkie Pie’s parties. The one thing I realized though was that I loved having such good friends, but none of them made me feel that way. I knew I wasn’t wrong after that.”
Dash thought back to all the time she had pinned over Applejack, a longing that existed before Twilight had come to Ponyville. Still, it had been a couple of years now since that time, and Dash knew all too well how horrible such secret passion for another could be.
“What is it you want me to do, Twilight?” Dash asked, full well knowing what her answer would likely be.
Twilight didn’t respond. She stared deeply into the violet orbs that were Rainbow Dash’s eyes. All that she could think of were Dash’s words: “I can’t stop thinking about it.” Before anything else could be said, Twilight threw herself on top of Rainbow Dash, forcing her lips across Rainbow’s. Rainbow didn’t resist, and gave back just as passionately. Dash could feel that spark, growing brighter and brighter. For a moment she pushed Applejack from her mind and laid back, trying to enjoy of moment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now awake, Applejack tried her best to slip silently out the door. She couldn’t imagine anypony would be happy of being woken up at this hour of the night. The door only made a slight creak, and quickly Applejack was in the darkened library. With the candles blown out, Applejack found it nearly impossible to find her way around.
“On all the nights fer Luna to slack on tha light,” Applejack whispered to herself.
As if on command, the clouds that had been covering the moon slowly floated out of its way, shooting beams of moonlight directly through the library windows. The room glowed in the blue moonlight, and gave Applejack time to adjust her vision. After a few moments she was sure Rainbow Dash wasn’t here.
“Would she’ve gone outside?” Applejack asked herself.
Applejack decided to continue looking around. There was no sign that Dash had stayed long. Applejack sighed. She walked to each one and glanced out the windows, but Ponyville was too dark to be able to tell if anypony was out there. She thought about going back to bed and waiting for her cyan Pegasus to come back herself. She couldn’t imagine she’d be gone long, and Applejack was sure Dash had a good reason for it. She wasn’t even sure where she would start looking. She thought maybe Dash had things to check on in her cloud house, especially since she didn’t often stay there anymore. Still, with no way to check things out, AJ decided it would be useless to go out and check.
With that, Applejack decided to turn back and go back to bed. And then she heard a thump. It wasn’t very loud, but the brief, frantic rustling that came after made Applejack suddenly very suspicious. Surely Rainbow Dash wasn’t up talking to Twilight at this hour. And if she was, she knew Twilight would be very careful to not cause any disturbances for fear of incurring the anger of anypony that might be awakened at this hour. Spike was also asleep by now, though he’d generally need to be smashed against a brick wall, or something to that equivalent, to be awakened again.
Regardless, after being so sure just hours before, she could feel her heart sinking in her chest, being eaten away at by the fear that maybe Rainbow Dash was trying to hide some very large secret from her. Applejack knew if she didn’t at least investigate, then she didn’t feel she could even begin to continue to trust Rainbow. Slowly and as quietly as possible, Applejack started up the stairs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twenty minutes before Applejack laid the first hoof on the staircase, Dash was now sitting up, her face flushed and hot. Twilight sat behind her, and stared out the window into the moonlight.
“I’m not sure how to feel now,” Dash said low, her mind racing.
What a winner we have here, that voice in her mind spoke up, the “fastest flyer in Equestria” is also the fastest cheater as well.
Dash ignored it. She hated it, but the past minutes, when she’d had her lips pressed against Twilight’s, they’d been nothing short of amazing. Was this some added bonus of unicorn magic, the power to make something like this so incredible? Had her first kiss with Applejack felt this incredible? Dash suddenly felt like she couldn’t remember. She could still see it in her mind, but all feeling had been replaced by the strange euphoric feeling that had come with touching Twilight’s lips. For a good ten minutes, Dash sat there, lost in thought.
“Rainbow, I’m sorry”, Twilight had walked over to the Pegasus, “I mean, I’m not sorry for how I feel, but I’ve made you do horrible things to Applejack. You can…hate me if you want.”
Without even thinking, Dash turned around and threw herself back onto Twilight, kissing her furiously. They landed with a thud against the floor. In a surprising turn, Twilight took control and rolled the two so that Dash was below her. Even with her eyes closed, Dash could visualize every inch of Twilight. She caressed Twilight with her hooves, feeling the softness of her mane as they slid down her back.
In her mind, she a thought occurred to her that she both loved and despised: If Applejack never finds out, I’m fine with this.
Too lost in their embrace, neither pony could hear the sound of the bedroom door creaking open, nor see the shape of the orange earth pony about to step inside.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Maybe Ah should go back,” Applejack said, moving up one step.
She was up five of the fifteen steps that led up to Twilight’s bedroom, and with each step she asked herself the same question. But with so much doubt clouding her mind and swallowing her heart, she knew she had to find out. So with each successive step, she continued to ask herself over and over, until she stood on the landing at the top of the stairs. She could hear the rustling again, a little more clearly now. Was that moaning she could also hear?
Applejack tried to put the idea out of her mind. Rarity had said herself she couldn’t imagine Twilight Sparkle as having interest in just about anypony.
“But Rainbow Dash isn’t anypony,” AJ said, “She’s my pony.”
She put a hoof to the door, hoping she wasn’t going to be walking in on something she’d regret seeing. As the door slid open, she could see Twilight’s tail and flank, but the candle burning in the corner made it harder to see just what she was doing. The door began to creak as Applejack pushed it slightly more. She poked her head inside, and simultaneously felt her heart explode.
She couldn’t stand to see anymore of what was happening. Applejack loudly bucked the door completely open with one hoof, slamming it against the wall. Twilight leapt off of Rainbow Dash and fell hard on her flank. Dash looked up quickly, a look of regret quickly filling her eyes. Despite the noise, Spike continued to sleep.
“Applejack, wait!” Dash tried to cry out as the earth pony turned and began to storm down the stairs.
Dash glanced at Twilight, seeing the unicorn with tears in her eyes and the similar look for regret on her face. Dash stood up and glanced away quickly, running down the stairs to catch Applejack.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 9 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-11T03:25:23+00:00
|
2011-11-11T03:25:23+00:00
| 4,521 |
As Rainbow Dash chased Applejack out into the darkness, the voice in her head began to run rampant, insulting her, reminding her of how horrible she was, and telling her that the truth had to come out. It told her how it was sure it would crush Applejack’s already broken heart, and laughed at the pain it was sure to cause both ponies. Despite this, Dash continued on, reserving herself to the idea that if she was crazy, it wouldn’t bother her in the least as long as she could try to sort things out with Applejack. She had no idea what she would say to her, but Dash hoped that AJ still believed that there was love for her in Dash’s heart. She also hated to admit, but the voice pounding at the walls of her mind was right, and it was time everything came out.
Dash took to the air, knowing that Applejack had the ability to outrun her on foot. The darkness of late-night Ponyville also failed to help matters. No sooner had Dash gotten a good vantage point than she had lost sight of the orange pony. She tried to follow each path with her eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, but nopony seemed present on any one of them. Dash next swooped low, scanning the trees and bushes that Applejack could have chosen to hide in. After several tries, she could still find no sign of the mare she was still so sure she loved. She decided there was nothing she could do in the darkness under Luna’s moon.
Dash fluttered back to the library, head hung low as she walked through the door. Twilight stared down at her from the door, tears still streaming down her face. Dash didn’t even glance once at her. The cyan Pegasus kept her slow stride all the way to the bed. The voice in her head had subsided, but left her with one of the worst headaches of her life. She climbed into the lonely bed, and laid on her side for a while, staring blankly at the wall. Dash closed her eyes and turned over for a moment, briefly hoping that maybe it had all been a dream, that maybe she hadn’t messed everything so badly and been so stupid as to indulge her fantasies like a young school filly. She had hoped that when she opened them, Applejack would be there, sleeping soundly, unaware that the Pegasus she loved was ready to break down over a horrible nightmare. Sadly, Dash found the spot empty, just as it had been minutes before. The brown hat Applejack always wore still sat by itself on the bedroom table. Dash reached for and pulled it close to her chest, and sobbed long into the night.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning came to Ponyville as usual, and most everypony went about their business as usual. Nopony seemed to pay any attention to Rainbow Dash, who’d been up since Celestia’s sun first rose over the horizon. She darted back and forth across the clouds, searching for any sign of Applejack. She searched high and low, but continued to come up with nothing. Soon, she realized, her friends would be gathering for another day of work at Sweet Apple Acres, and she decided that would be the most likely place to check.
When she arrived, Pinkie Pie and Caramel were carrying water pails in their mouths and watering their seeded areas. Rarity was stretched out her couch, which was sat upon a large blanket scattered with designs. Fluttershy and Big Macintosh were talking near the forest, evidently waiting on the others. Dash saw no sign of Twilight Sparkle, although she wasn’t surprised. Dash decided to ask Pinkie first.
“Uh, hey Pinkie Pie,” Dash glided down and landed near her, trying not to act differently from her usual demeanor, “Have uh, you seen Applejack anywhere around today?”
“Mmmph ammmumph, ahumhumm, mmmmumphph,” Pinkie tried to ramble out, the watering can still clutched in her mouth.
“So…no?” Dash said, confused.
Pinkie Pie nodded, then dropped the can from her mouth and said, “Gosh Rainbow Dash, something didn’t happen did it? Cause that’d be super awful, then it’d be really hard to invite everypony to my parties because everypony doesn’t like each other anymore.”
“N-no, Pinkie, its nothing,” Dash told her and forced the hardest smile of her life.
By that point, rarity was trotting over to see what the topic of conversation was.
“Good morning, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said properly, “I’ve got several designs ready for the approval of you and…where is Applejack?”
“Well, that’s what I was asking Pinkie Pie about. I haven’t seen her this morning.”
“You haven’t? But I saw her last night. She seemed fine.” Rarity waited a moment, then suddenly, “What did you do to her, Rainbow Dash!?”
“Whoa,” Dash said surprised, “N-nothing. I just haven’t seen her this morning.”
“Well, I’d hope you didn’t! After everything that’s happened to that pony, I’d hope you had enough sense to not break her heart too,” and with that Rarity went back to her couch, plopping down with an angry scowl.
Dash figured Rarity must have talked with Applejack about something during the time that she had been gone the day before, given how she’d just acted. It made Dash wonder what had been said, considering it likely meant AJ had been thinking about Dash hurting her before the events that had transpired.
No sooner had Rarity left than Big Macintosh and Fluttershy wandered over to see what the fuss was about.
“Oh no,” dash said to herself, fearing the wrath of Big Macintosh.
“Mornin’ Rainbow Dash,” Big Mac said politely, “Ready to start? Uh, where’s mah sister at this mornin’?”
“I’m uh, not sure,” Dash admitted honestly, “She wasn’t home when I woke up. You, uh, haven’t seen her, have you?”
“Nope,” he said, and looked down at Fluttershy.
“I haven’t seen her either Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said sweetly, “Oh I hope nothing bad has happened to her.”
“Naw, Applejack’s too strong for that,” another smile crossed her lips that made them feel like they were going to shatter.
“Well, if Applejack isn’t here, maybe we should call it a day off, and pick things up tomorrow,” Caramel spoke up, his water pail at his hooves. “I wouldn’t mind a rest day after these past couple.” He glanced nervously at Pinkie Pie, who grinned ear to ear back at him.
“That’s just fine,” Dash said quickly, “Everypony’s been working so hard to help us. You guys are at least 20…no 40% cooler than I thought you were before!” with every sentence she said, trying to keep her composure, something inside Dash slowly chipped away.
With that, Dash took to the air again and left faster than any of the other ponies. Big Macintosh and Fluttershy began to walk back towards her house.
“Do you think something seemed strange with Rainbow Dash today?” Fluttershy asked the big red pony.
“She seemed like somethin’ was botherin’ her. And mah sister bein’ gone doesn’t help anythin’ either. Ah’ll find out,” he told her.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
None of the other ponies knew that Applejack was much closer than they thought she might be. Hiding in the apple cellar that had she had built not so long ago, the one which Twilight Sparkle had fallen into the day she’d learned about Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense. As an in-ground establishment, the cellar had survived and went relatively unnoticed by everypony else. Applejack had sealed herself away inside, allowing herself to cry, free from the watching eyes of any other ponies. She didn’t want to admit to anypony what Rainbow Dash did.
Part of her wished she’d just gone back to bed. Another part wished she’d never even gotten out of bed at all. Still, she knew the hurt wouldn’t have been any different had she learned about it much later. Applejack wondered after all the friendship lessons she’d help write, after everything they had been through, how Twilight or Rainbow Dash could do something like that, full well knowing the hurt it would cause.
She’d overheard the brief discussion between Fluttershy and Big Macintosh as they headed back. At the moment, she’d really wanted to spill everything out to her big brother, but she didn’t want to get Fluttershy involved in anyone’s problems. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She picked an apple up in her mouth, and climbed the stairs. She pushed open the cellar door and took aim at the red pony walking away from her. She lobbed the apple and watched as it soared toward Big Macintosh, and crashed into his flank. He jumped with surprise, causing Fluttershy to drop out of the air in fear. Big Mac quickly looked back, causing Applejack to slam the door closed, hoping Big Mac would see and get the hint. Applejack waited.
Outside, Big Macintosh helped pull Fluttershy off the ground.
“Ah’m sorry,” he said, “But uh, go on home. Ah’ll be back soon. Ah gotta check something is all,” he told her.
“Um, ok. Take your time,” she blushed a bit, and headed back alone.
When he was sure she was gone, Big Macintosh headed back to where the cellar door was. He was surprised he hadn’t taken a look to see if it had survived, but the same thought also made him feel very stupid, as there was obviously no large open hole anywhere around after the remains from the fire had been cleared away. Big Mac knocked, and waited for a few moments. Soon, an orange hoof pushed the door open, and let him come inside. He trotted down the stairs and waited for Applejack to close the door. When she came down behind him, Big Macintosh couldn’t believe how terrible she looked.
“What happened?” he asked her, “Ya look awful hun.”
“Ah’m…ah’m not sure I want ta talk about it yet,” she choked out.
“Well, regardless of what’s goin’ on, ya know Ah’m always here for ya,” he came close to her and put a hoof on her shoulder.
Applejack would have smiled if she could have, but Big Mac did manage to make her feel a little better.
Big Mac looked away, and simply said, “Rainbow Dash?”
“Applejack looked up at him, and replied, “Yeah.”
The two sat in silence for a while, Applejack occasionally turning away to keep him from seeing her cry more. As if she were a little filly again, Applejack wanted her brother to only see her as a strong pony, who didn’t let a little thing like…was love a little thing? Nopony seemed to think it was, and it sure didn’t feel little. She wasn’t sure what Big Macintosh thought of love.
“If things are a’changin’ AJ, than ya’ll know we might have to leave after all,” Big Mac spoke after a bit.
“Will things be changin’?”
“Well…” Applejack began, and started to tell everything to her brother.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash was sure Applejack was far out of Ponyville by the time the afternoon sun had begun to set. She’d looked everywhere in her attempt to find Applejack, but had come up with nothing. Nopony had seen her since they’d left the farm the day before. Now, sitting alone on the bed in her cloud house, she wondered the things she would say to Applejack if she did happen to come across her.
“Sorry AJ for everything, and oh, by the way, I may have had something to do with the orchard burning down in the first place.”
Dash sighed. In the words of Applejack herself when faced with what seemed like an unsolvable problem, she was completely bucked. Worse, she was sure things could never be the same with Twilight again. Even worse than that, Rainbow Dash wasn’t entirely sure she regretted what had happened with Twilight. Regardless, she knew Applejack was her top priority. She had to make things right, once and for all.
Resting her head on her cloud pillow, she managed to pass into a deep sleep. No nightmares came to her, no horrible visions. Later, Dash would guess it was because the worst of things was actually happening in her waking world, so her dreams might actually be her only means of escape.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applejack opted to stay where she was for a while, despite Big Macintosh offering to give up his bed at Fluttershy’s so she could have a good night’s sleep. He’d said something about being ok to stay the night in Fluttershy’s room, but Applejack had mostly ignored it, and so the large red pony had left her alone once again in the cellar. Seeing the moonlight seeping through the cracks, Applejack decided to head outside for a bit. It was unlikely anypony would find her at this point. She trolled out into the moonlight, and headed for one of the remaining apple trees. She kenw which one she was going to.
She called the tree Zev. It wasn’t a name she had decided upon, it’s name actually had come from Applebloom. After reading Applebloom a bedtime story called Requiem for a Pony, Applebloom had decided to carve the main character’s name, Zev, into the tree, and so the name had just stuck. Applejack crashed under the tree, and let herself bathe in the moonlight. The night air felt good as the wind blew gently through her mane. IT made her feel calm, and allowed her to think more easily. She’d given up crying, finding out that a pony can only cry so many tears in a day.
She looked up at the stars, wondering where she should go from here. It hurt to admit it, but she couldn’t stop loving rainbow Dash, no matter how hurt she was. But right now, she had no idea what she could say if the cyan Pegasus was to show up in front of her. She began to wonder just what Rainbow might be doing at the moment. The images of her and Twilight flashed back into her mind.
Applejack realized that she couldn’t hate Twilight either, as much as she tried. Sometimes she hated just how much she was aware of her honesty. With a sigh, Applejack laid down, hoping to get some rest under the full moon. It would be a short sleep, however.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash awoke a few hours later. By this point, Luna’s moon was high in the night sky, casting Ponyville in its soft glow. Despite the usual darkness, Dash decided to give one more sweep of Ponyville. She decided maybe luck might be on her side this time, and grabbed Applejack’s hat, that she was surprised to see had stayed afloat on her clouds. She threw the hat onto her head and swooped down towards the town below.
Dash flew through the streets, flying over the few ponies who were still attending to certain duties before retiring to their homes for the night. She stopped by Sugarcube Corner as they were closing, with Pinkie having as little information as she had had before. She flew over to the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity was attending to her last two customers of the night. The two were a stallion couple who liked their privacy, and didn’t like to give out their real names. They’d told Dash to call them Squid and Drowning, and she made small talk with the two until Rarity returned with their finished outfits. She still seemed to have some strange anger towards Rainbow Dash, but she tried to hide it as she finished attending to her customers.
“There you are gentlecolts,” Rarity said, handing them each custom suits, “It certainly was a challenge. I don’t make many clothes for stallions.”
Squid thanks her first, and turned towards the door, revealing his knife-shaped cutie mark. Drowning followed suit, his spider cutie mark swaying with his flank as he followed Squid out. After a moment the two were alone.
“Rarity, have you heard anything since earlier?” Dash asked her.
“No, Rainbow Dash, I have not. But I have a good idea of why she might be mad at you. What were you hiding Rainbow Dash?”
“I was…uh, well Twilight came to me and….I’m not sure if I want to talk about it right now,” Dash decided to tell her.
“I think I’ve gotten quite enough,” Rarity said, and motioned for her to leave the shop.
Dash didn’t put up an argument, and left the shop quickly. Now she was outside in the cool breeze of the night, once again without any leads to where she might find her lover. She hoped Applejack still considered herself as such. In the glow of the moonlight, Dash could see the tops of the trees remaining in Sweet Apple Acres. She decided to take one more look around the property, in hopes that she might even find as sign that she had been there.
Soon Dash was hovering high above the mostly barren area that had been the orchard. In the back, the small grove of trees with their remaining apples sparkled brightly under the moon. It had been awhile since Dash had relaxed in one of the trees from the orchard, so she decided to fly over to where they were and think for a moment.
And then, while getting closer to the grove, she noticed something that seemed out of place. A small orange blob lay under the tree, not moving. Dash was sure she knew what it was. Quickly, she flapped her wings hard and flew down to the ground. She skidded to a hard stop in the dirt. There, before her eyes, was the sleeping form of Applejack. Dash could tell from the dark circles under her eyelids, that she’d likely not slept much until recently.
“A-A-Applejack,” Rainbow Dash tried to say, but felt the word ticking in her throat.
The sound was enough to make Applejack stir from her sleep. Eyes focusing, Applejack looked up to see the cyan form of Rainbow Dash, her mane beautifully illuminated in the moonlight.
“Wha-What the hay are you doin’ here Rainbow Dash?” Applejack stood up and said angrily.
“I came to talk to you,” Dash said, “I have a lot that I need to say, and I’m not the best at saying it.”
For a moment, Applejack just stared with an angry look at Dash, then said “Talk.”
“I messed up AJ, really bad,” she said, trying to gather everything she could, “But it’s not the first time. I feel so horrible for this, but I’ve been hiding some things. Important things.”
Applejack raised one of her eyebrows, “What kind of things, Rainbow Dash? Have there been other ponies too? Have Ah just been some pony you liked a little more, one that was just too good ta let go?”
“No AJ, there were no others. What you saw…well, it was what you saw, but it had just happened. When you came in last night, from being gone, Twilight had kissed me. Just out of nowhere, she did, and I ekpt thinking about it. I had to talk to her, and one thing led to another and…”
Applejack cut her off, “An that was good enough to go and do that to me?!”
“No! Applejack, you have no idea how guilty I feel about this, and everything!” Dash knew it was now or never.
She really had nothing planned, and she knew blurting it out at random wouldn’t go over well either, ,so she waited for Applejack to respond.
“Just what other thin’s are ya trying to apologize for, Rainbow Dash?”
It was now or never. The voice in Dash’s head came back for its final performance. It laughed maniacally, telling her that the end of everything was close at hand. Dash no longer had any reason to care for the things the voice said.
“I burned down Sweet Apple Acres.”
The words stunned Applejack. She stood silent for a moment, letting the words soak into her mind.
“C-come again?” Applejack said, stunned.
“It was my fault Sweet Apple Acres burned down.”
Without letting Applejack speak another word, Dash told her the story. She spoke of Derpy Hooves and the weather team pony who had tried to put her on cloud duty. She told of the jealously she’d had when Applejack had been speaking to the stallion. Everything that Dash had held in for so long came pouring out. The whole time, tears flowed from Dash’s eyes. Soon she finished the story and began to sob more apologies. The voice that had plagued Rainbow Dash’s mind for so long vanished, the product of her guilty conscience finally vanquished.
Applejack continued to stand in silence. Dash approached her, trying to get in close to the orange earth pony. Without warning, Applejack raised a hoof and slammed Dash across the face. Before Dash could react, Applejack once again took off into the night. Too stunned to give chase, Dash laid in the dirt, rubbing her cheek as the tears continued to stream down her face and crash into the earth below her.
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 10 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-18T04:42:56+00:00
|
2011-11-18T04:42:56+00:00
| 6,039 |
Rainbow Dash was truly alone. Rubbing her face that was slowly returning to its normal color, she sat under the tree Applejack had just been under. She was sure now that nothing would change how Applejack was feeling. She wondered if maybe it hadn’t been the right time, and giving in to the voice that had plagued her mind had really been the best option. The voice was no longer talking to her either, which only served to make her loneliness worse. Normally a thought such as that would have worried anypony, but Dash was sure she had nowhere else she could go.
At the moment, Dash was sure she didn’t want to talk to Twilight Sparkle. She didn’t blame Twilight for everything, how could she? Regardless, she knew now was not the time to go back, especially if something did change inside her distraught lover and she decided to come back to find Dash. Rarity was sure to hate her now, if she didn’t already. Big Macintosh was staying with Fluttershy, and Dash didn’t want to even chance going around him. She’d never seen Big Mac when he was mad, but she could only guess it wouldn’t be good. Dash considered finding Pinkie Pie, but brinigng her problems to Pinkie would likely only serve to depress the pink earth pony.
Looking at the moon, high in the sky, Dash thought about how many times in the past few weeks she’d seen Luna’s moon like this. She thought about one of the last dreams she’d had, when she’d flown away from her cloud home and screamed into the night. She kept thinking about if she’d just kept flying. If she’d let herself decide she was crazy, that the voices in her mind and the pictures in her dreams were not normal, and just flown away before she hurt Applejack anymore. Sadly, her sanity had caused more harm than she could have imagined.
Dash didn’t want to cry anymore. She’d always been a strong pony, and was sure she’d shed more tears since the fire than she’d been able to cry in her entire life. She stood up strongly, and vowed that she’d give it one more shot to fix things with Applejack when the sun rose in the morning. Dash flapped her wings open, and soared into the night towards her home.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash wouldn’t find out until morning, but as the night went on, a certain four ponies in Ponyville would receive letters from one of their best friends. Each letter varied in content, and all were short on details for why they were sent. Even so, by the time they were all read, it was too late to do anything. All most of them could do was ask one question: Why?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning came to Ponyville as it had every day before it. Despite her ability to stay strong in the face of losing everything, Rainbow Dash hadn’t slept all night. Her worries had begun to catch up to her. As soon as she saw that the sun had come up, she headed out in to Ponyville. With no idea where Applejack could have gone, Dash decided she’d have to start with the place she most dreaded: Fluttershy’s. It was an odd thing to be so scared of going to see Fluttershy, the pony least likely to hurt anything. Dash was certain though that Big Macintosh may not be so forgiving.
Soaring over the town, heading for the cottage that Fluttershy shared with as many animals as she could manage, Dash hoped she could find some trace of where Applejack had gone. It didn’t take long before she was standing at the end of the path leading up to the door. She fluttered up to the porch, and stood for a few moments, deciding if it was in her best interest to even try. She decided that she had to find out something, and rapt on the door with one hoof loudly. Fluttershy answered, but seeing who was standing on her doorstep, she quickly moved away and Big Macintosh stepped out.
“Mornin’ Miss Rainbow Dash,” Big Macintosh said in a rather friendly tone.
“I figure you already know, but I’m looking for Applejack,” Dash didn’t waste any time in asking.
“Well now,” he started, his expression becoming a bit more grim, “Ah can’t say Ah know where she’s gone ta. But Ah know she ain’t in Ponyville anymore.”
Big Mac turned and walked inside for a moment, then came back with a letter clutched in his teeth. He lowered his head so the letter was eye level with Dash. Slowly, she read the black inked words carefully to herself. The letter read:
To All My Friends in Ponyville,
Although some of us may not be on the best terms right now, I just wanted everypony to know how much I’ve enjoyed being your friend. Its with a pretty heavy heart I’m announcing my leaving of Ponyville. Too much has happened, and theres too much on my mind right now to even continue a normal life here, so for now I’m going to go. I may come back soon, but I wouldn’t worry about me if I don’t. I’m not going to say where I’m going, because even I’m not sure, but its for my own sanity. I’ll miss everypony.
-Applejack
Dash was a tad surprised to see it hadn’t been written the way Applejack usually talked, but she assumed Spike or whoever helped her write the letter didn’t take the time to copy her inflection.
“But you know where she’s going, don’t you Big Macintosh?” Dash asked sadly.
“If Ah do, it ain’t mah place to tell you,” he told her sternly.
“I can tell you know everything,” Dash put her ears down and looked sadly at Fluttershy’s porch, “I know you probably would like to beat me into a blue puddle on the ground.”
“Despite my feelin’s on what has happened with mah sister, I ain’t no mare beater. Nopony deserves somethin’ like that. But maybe all this’ll make ya think more about your actions, Miss Dash.”
With that, Big Macintosh retired into the house, and closed the door, leaving Dash to feel more alone than ever.
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Asleep that night in her cloud bed, despite the voice having purged itself from her head, Rainbow Dash had one final dream regarding the fire. She could see everything that had happened on that day that seemed so long ago, when Applejack had nearly lost everything. Only this time, something seemed different.
Applejack came trotting out, soaking wet from Dash’s rain clouds, looking absolutely miserable. Behind her, the fire still raged. The Pegasus ponies hadn’t arrived to put the blaze out yet. Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash.
“Why couldn’t ya tell me, sugarcube?” she said sadly.
“AJ, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for…” she was cut off quickly.
“ Why did ya have ta wait till everythin’ was so far gone?”
Dash didn’t have an answer. The part of herself that she had considered crazy had all along been right in condemning her for her actions, truly striving to make her admit her guilt and try to make things right.
“I told you, I’m sorry,” Dash told her, staring into the green eyes of the earth pony as the fire crept closer and closer.
“Maybe, in there, might have hurt less,” Applejack turned her head toward the ground.
Without any warning, Rainbow Dash watched in horror as Applejack quickly galloped away back towards the blaze. Despite Dash’s protests, she would not come back. Headlong she ran into the flames, which charred her coat instantly. Soon she was gone completely, engulfed in the orange inferno. The brown hat she always wore burst back out of the flames, burning quickly as it soared over Dash’s head and turned to ash.
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Dash awoke, feeling guiltier than ever. She couldn’t imagine that she might have hurt Applejack so bad she might want to die instead. Her letter hadn’t implied such a thing, but Dash’s mind was running with the notion regardless. Dash sat up on her cloud bed, and looked across the room to the table she had made to sit in the room. Applejack’s brown hat still sat on the dresser. Dash looked away from it and slumped back onto the clouds, trying to clear her ehad for even a moment, and get some more sleep.
Soon she was out again. She wouldn’t realize it until later, but had she stayed awake even a few minutes longer, she might not have lost the last piece of everything she had lost. The enchantments that had held Applejack’s hat for so long in the clouds finally gave out, and slowly the hat sank through the clouds. Once through the bottom, the hat soared away, caught by the wind that blew through the cold Equestrian night.
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Much like the seasons, many things remained the same in Ponyville, and yet many things began to change as well. As he’d told Applejack on the last day she’d remained in Ponyville, Big Macintosh and Applebloom eventually packed up their things and left for a plot of land in Appleoosa, after making a stop of course to drop Granny Smith off with the Orange family in Manehatten. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged tearful goodbyes with their friend, vowing to visit often so they could continue to crusade for their cutie marks. A tearful Fluttershy was also left behind as they departed, wishing they’d turn back and come back to her house, hoping that she wouldn’t be left behind. With so many animals to care for, Fluttershy couldn’t move herself, and was too left behind in Ponyville.
Everyday for weeks, Rainbow Dash made trips further and further, looking for any trace of where Applejack had gone. On days she was feeling particularly in good spirits, she would perform her trademark sonic rainboom, hoping that Applejack would see it and investiagate to see what was going on. Sadly, nothing ever came of her trips, and she would usually return to Ponyville feeling empty and alone. Eventually she began to visit Twilight again, and with time the two had become something of a couple. However, things never felt quite right to Dash, and she continued to search when she could. Whatever spark she had felt when kissing Twilight on those nights before had vanished. Dash hated to admit that that spark may well have been from the excitement that she could have been caught kissing another mare while still being in her relationship.
It wasn’t that Dash didn’t like Twilight either, she was still one of Rainbow Dash’s best friends, but Dash could never truly bring herself to say she loved the purple unicorn. Within a few months, coupled with intense arguing that arose between the two, Rainbow Dash ended the relationship, and decided to sever her own ties with Ponyville. It ended nearly a year to the day Applejack had left town.
She flew to her cloud house and gathered what belongings she had. Dash placed them on a small cloud she could easily pull behind her, and flew away from Ponyville. She’d not see the town again for the next two years.
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Rainbow Dash could hear the roar of the crowd from outside the waiting area, as she prepared herself for what she considered to be the biggest moment of her life. The problem was, no matter how ready she was, she just couldn’t seem to stay focused. When the letter came the day before, things that she had finally been able to put out of her mind after three years came flooding back, and now here she was, ready to perform in front of the Wonderbolts for a chance to join them, and all she could think about was Ponyville. Just outside of where she was, Dash could see Soarin’ and Spitfire standing ready to judge the contestants.
She kept thinking back to the night before. She’d just returned to her new cloud home that floated alongside the city of Cloudsdale, when a spark of green flame lit up her home, and the message had appeared. Instantly Dash knew where it had come from, so she carefully pulled the red ribbon off and let the paper unroll itself on her table. She began to read it with great interest, noting that it was surprising to see that it had been written exactly the way a certain pony spoke.
Dear Ms. Dash,
Despite the differences that we’ve all had, Ah’m askin’ if you would be so kind as ta join us in Ponyville. I assume ya still live there, but if not, don’t be makin’ the journey on my account. Tragically, our beloved Granny Smith passed away recently in Manehatten, and we’re holdin’ services in Ponyville tomorrow afternoon, with a get together at Sugarcube Corner afterwards. Despite what she seemed, she thought a lot of ya, and knew how happy ya’ll made Applejack. So please, if ya would join us in this tiem of mournin’.
-Big Macintosh
Dash couldn’t believe it. For her, this couldn’t have come at a worse time. Dash sat down on the clouds and thought hard on what to do. Memories had begun to flow back. She remembered the good times with her friends in Ponyville, the adventures they’d had. She remembered how they’d hung out all around town, and laughed and just had fun. And then Dash remembered Applejack. Although things had gone bad three years ago, it wasn’t until recently Rainbow Dash had even been able to stop thinking of her. The prospect of maybe seeing her again lodged itself in Rainbow’s mind, bringing with it waves of confusion.
Now in the present, lost in thought, Dash missed the first time her name was announced to perform. She might have missed her turn completely, had one of the pegasi from the stadium staff soon come to find her, and prodded her to go out. Dash stepped out into the light of the stadium, thousands of ponies cheering and waving around her. She could distinctly hear several cheering her name.
Despite everything, her mind wasn’t here. It had already made its way back to Ponyville, long before her physical form would. With a sigh, Rainbow Dash decided to make the hardest decision of her life. With a flap of her wings, Dash flew up to cloud where the Wonderbolts were sitting.
“What’s up Rainbow Dash?” Spitfire asked her.
“I’m sorry,” Dash said with a great deal of reluctance, “But as happy as I am for the chance, I’ll have to try again some other time.”
Obviously confused, Spitfire tried to ask Rainbow Dash just what exactly what was going on, but was left with a wisp of white cloud as Rainbow Dash rocketed from her spot and shot away towards Ponyville.
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Soaring over her old home town, Rainbow Dash took in the sights of the changes that had come there since she’d gone two years ago. Although the tracks wound through the town, a new train station had been built on the outskirts, allowing easier travel for those looking to go to Appleoosa or any of the other neighboring cities of Equestria. The one thing that surprised Dash was the site of Sweet Apple acres. Despite the new buildings never being built, a completely new crop of apple trees had sprung up, nearly returning the orchard to its former glory. Dash could only assume that Pinkie Pie and caramel’s work had been the one successful part of the failed plan she’d had back then.
When Dash arrived at the building where the funeral was being held, she decided to wait the service out, for fear of causing any sort of incident. She watched through the windows as one pony after another said words in honor of Granny Smith’s memory. Soon, Big Macintosh spoke, and once his words were said, Applejack stood to speak. Next to her, all of their old friends, including Twilight Sparkle sat, solemn expressions across their faces. Fluttershy was visibly more upset than the others, but that didn’t surprise Dash.
Before Applejack went up, Twilight levitated a small bag from her back. Dash couldn’t quite make out what it was, but waited to hear what Applejack had to say.
“Granny Smith was one of the most wonderful ponies in all of mah life,” Applejack started.
Dash sat and watched the mare she’d once loved speak on and on about her grandmother, hanging on to every word she spoke. Dash could feel the sadness welling up inside her, though she couldn’t be sure if it was seeing the orange earth pony again, or the truly sad fact that Granny Smith had passed on.
When Applejack was finished, she went over to the coffin where Granny Smith lay, and planted a final kiss on her forehead.
Dash couldn’t hear her, but gently, Applejack whispered, “Ah hope ya was proud of me. Ah wish ya could’a met my little Apple…” Applejack couldn’t finish as she began to break down into tears.
Big Macintosh and Applebloom came to her sides, and helped her away. Slowly she walked away and took her seat once again by Twilight Sparkle until the rest of the service had concluded.
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There she was, amidst all their friends and family. Applejack stood, staring silently out the window of Sugarcube Corner. Off in the distance, the apple trees that Dash had passed on her way into town could be seen reaching into the afternoon sky. All Dash could think of was how good she still looked, the briefest signs of age only adding to her beauty. It was only as Dash got closer that she noticed more had happened to Applejack than aging. Rainbow Dash could finally get a clear view of the bag that twilight had taken during the funeral, and it was something Dash hadn’t expected. Nestled in a special carrier on Applejack’s back was a very small cyan earth filly who couldn’t have even been more than a few months old. She slept soundly on her mother’s back, unaware of the grief-stricken ponies around her.
The sight of this made Dash even more hesitant to approach her. Thoughts about if Applejack was with anypony else began running through Dash’s mind, giving her the idea that maybe she should just leave before anyone recognized her. She didn’t want to scare Applejack off or cause a fight, especially in the midst of so much grief. Suddenly, a voice from behind surprised Rainbow Dash surprised her.
“Hey Rainbow Dash,” Twilight Sparkle approached her cautiously, with Rarity not far behind.
“Uh, hey Twilight. I didn’t expect to see you. Or expect you to be talking to me,” Dash said honestly.
“I know things weren’t exactly great the last time we saw each other, but I want to start again. I miss my friends more than anything in the world Rainbow Dash. When we all began to split up, I hated myself. I went back to Canterlot with Spike, and confessed everything to the Princess. I was sure she was going to banish me from her court, but all she did was smile and tell me that ‘If I was truly sorry, then all friendships could be mended in time.’ So I came back to Ponyville, and started trying to fix everything. I wasn’t sure you’d be here, but I’ve been thinking of a thousand different things to say to you.”
Dash smiled. She hadn’t expected this, but she assumed that it was a similar reason that she had had the opportunity to be so close to Applejack during the funeral. Before Dash could say anything, Rarity came next to Twilight to join the conversation.
“Rainbow Dash, you look like you’ve been doing well,” Rarity said formally.
“Not bad,” Dash grinned much like she used to, “Been busy as ever with my Wonderbolts training.”
“Same old Rainbow Dash,” Rarity beamed, “But Rainbow, I must speak my own apologies. I too was not the best friend I could be before you left Ponyville.”
“We never talked between…well you know, and the time Twilight and I broke up.”
“Yes, I remembered darling. I had my reasons. To be honest, I was very upset with what you did to Applejack. That much I’m sure you could tell,” Dash nodded as she continued, “ But there was more to it than that. I admit, I was a little jealous.”
Dash stood confused for a moment until Rarity get close to Twilight, and nuzzled Twilight’s neck. Twi accepted and closed her eyes as she lifted her head to let Rarity in closer. Dash smirked a bit, a bit surprised by the couple.
“Twilight of course still has a lot of learning to do before she is as acceptably proper as myself,” Rarity pulled away and said.
Twilight squinted back at the white unicorn, prompting Rarity to smile embarrassedly. Dash turned away to stare back at Applejack, who still remained silent by the window.
“She’s not with anyone you know,” Rarity spoke up, instantly aware of what Dash was thinking.
“We were all a little surprised to see Applejack back like that,” Twilight admitted, “But wait till you see her! She’s the most adorable little filly.”
Twilight realized how awkward things would likely still be between the two, and slunk back after catching her mistake.
“Its fine Twi,” Dash told her, “I just want to go talk to her so badly.”
“Then go do it!” Rarity gave her a little push, “It’s not hard to tell there’s still something there, Rainbow Dash. You just have to make the first move.”
Dash felt a little better after hearing her words, and with a little more confidence, Dash left the two unicorns behind, and headed towards Applejack.
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The walk to the spot where Applejack stood seemed like an eternity to Rainbow Dash. Everything around her seemed to be moving so slowly. She could see some ponies laughing, others crying. Pinkie Pie and Caramel were chatting with Fluttershy in one corner of the room. Dash hadn’t gotten the chance to see either of them yet, but she feared that if she didn’t make her move now, she wouldn’t ever get the chance. Soon she was standing right behind her, as Applejack continued to stare out the window.
“Uh…hey, AJ,” Dash squeaked out.
Applejack jumped at the sound of Dash’s voice, clearly not expecting to hear it. The little filly yawned, and rolled over in her bag, but remained asleep.
“R-Rainbow Dash! Ah…Ah didn’t expect to see….who told ya what happened?” she stammered.
“Big Macintosh,” Dash said confidently, watching Applejack’s eyes gaze around until she centered on her brother and stared daggers into him.
“ Ah don’t know if…” Applejack trailed off, clearly at a loss for words.
“Look, I know now’s not exactly a good time, but I want to talk AJ. I don’t want to cause any trouble though,” Dash told her.
Applejack sighed. Her mind was racing, being face to face with her old lover again. In the emotional state she was in, she really didn’t need the surprise at the moment.
“Alright, meet me outside in five minutes,” Applejack told her.
Dash nodded and started for the door.
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When she was sure Rainbow had left, Applejack went and found Big Macintosh. He’d joined the conversation with Pinkie and Fluttershy, clearly trying to resolve whatever issues his leaving had caused between him and the yellow Pegasus. Applejack pulled him aside for a moment.
“Ya’ll told Rainbow Dash?” Applejack said, tears in her eyes resulting from a mixture of the shock of seeing Dash, and the pain she was already feeling from losing Granny Smith.
“Now Applejack, ya’ll know Granny Smith would have wanted her here too. She loved all the ponies of Ponyville.”
For a moment Applejack looked hurt and confused, but all she could do was accept the fact that her brother was right.
“Yeah, I guess,” Applejack said quietly.
Big Mac smiled, and raised his hoof to pat Applejack’s shoulder. He gave her a brief hug, then reached over and stroked the mane of the sleeping filly.
“No matter what, she’d a been proud of ya,” Big Macintosh said.
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Outside, Applejack walked up to Rainbow Dash, trying to keep herself from getting too close to the Pegasus. She wanted comfort, but at the moment she wasn’t so sure she wanted it from Rainbow Dash.
“So…” Applejack said, lifting her hoof to wipe the tears away.
“So…” Dash trailed off too, “How’ve things been?”
“Good…well, not really,” she glanced back to check on the little filly, who still remained asleep.
“AJ, I’ve waited a long time to tell you this, but I’m sorry,” Dash started quickly. “There were so many times I wanted to tell you, and just couldn’t. I was going nuts. Then Twilight kissed me and…”
Much like the last time Dash had seen her, Applejack swung her hoof and smacked Dash in the face, sending Rainbow Dash spiraling into the dirt.
“Ouch, what was that?” Dash asked her.
“More Ah should’a given ya two years ago,” Applejack replied scornfully.
Dash took a few moments to recover, continuing to remain on the ground.
“I never said I wanted your forgiveness,” Dash began again, not even completely off of the ground yet.
“Ah never said Ah wouldn’t forgive ya,” Applejack cut in, “But did ya think it would be that easy? After everythin’ we was already going through, and you dropped that on me?”
Dash felt like everything had picked back up, right from where it had been two years earlier. To her, it felt almost right.
More tears began to form in Applejack’s eyes, “Why couldn’t ya tell me, sugarcube? Even Ah don’t think ya could’a expected something like that to happen. Ya were driving yourself crazy over an accident. Don’t think Ah realized that right away either, Ah’ve had a long time to think.”
Dash wasn’t sure what to make of her words. It sounded like Applejack was forgiving her, calling it all an accident. But the rift between them didn’t seem any less big.
“And Ah’ve been through a lot.”
Dash looked to Applejack’s back, where the little cyan filly continued to sleep.
“This is Apple Blitz,” Applejack told Dash, smiling as the little filly finally began to stir.
“But how AJ?” Dash asked.
“Ah was pretty torn up about ya, so when Ah passed through Trottingham, I ran into a stallion. He was a Pegasus, the exact same color as you. His mane was only red, but I couldn’t help but see you in him everytime I looked at him. So Ah got close to him, and just sort of pretended it was you. This stallion was a far cry from ya Rainbow Dash. I guess I’m just not that into the opposite sex,” she said with a small smile.
“He left me anyhow, before Ah knew she was comin’.”
“So…all this time, you still thought about me?” Dash couldn’t help but grin a little, although part of that came from her ego.
“A-A-Ah wanted to work things out, but I heard ya left Ponyville after a while. Fluttershy said you an Twi still kept a thing goin’ for a bit too.”
Dash looked away at that. She figured it would come back to haunt her eventually.
“It wasn’t much AJ, I kept trying to find you the whole time,” Dash tried to tell her.
“We were apart,” Applejack replied, “Ah can’t hold ya for what ya’ll did after I was gone.”
“Ah loved ya Rainbow Dash…Ah…Ah still love ya,” Applejack could barely hold in her tears.
Everything of the day had finally begun to take its toll, and Applejack dropped to the ground, taking care to not shift her foal too much. She sobbed into the dirt as Dash had seen her do before. Rainbow Dash approached her, wanting to hold her in her time of need. Dash sat down on the ground and wrapped her front legs around Applejack’s neck, pulling her gaze up to stare into Rainbow Dash’s eyes.
“Applejack…I’m so sorry, for everything,” Dash started, “But…I want to try and start again. I’ve thought about you for so long. And now you’re here, and I’m here, and I can’t stand to lose you again.”
With those words, Applejack thrust herself forward and kissed Rainbow Dash in what Dash would alter call the most amazing kiss she’d ever experienced. The two locked their lips together for several minutes. Happiness overflowed through Dash, and Applejack could feel the tears that were pouring down Rainbow’s face streaming from Dash’s cheeks and down her own muzzle.
Finally they pulled apart, and everything seemed alright.
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After a few moments in which both mare’s processed what had just happened, Applejack and Rainbow Dash both lifted themselves off the ground. She looked back at her filly, who was now wide awake, and looked somewhat confused at what had just happened in front of her. Applejack knew she was too young to really know anything yet, but the look on Apple Blitz’s face made her chuckle. The filly lifted her head up and yawned, flinging her tiny blonde mane over her shoulder. Rainbow Dash could see tiny red streaks that ran through it. The filly opened her eyes to reveal two big green orbs that made Dash’s heart melt.
Applejack, with a little bit of fidgeting, unstrapped the pack from her back, and let Apple Blitz out onto the earth for a few minutes. She tried to stand on wobbly legs, but soon fell down with all four legs spread in different directions. The dust she kicked up made her sneeze. She shook the her tiny head and rolled over on her back, and began to play with her tail, much like Rarity’s cat did as a kitten.
Both mare’s couldn’t help but smile at the little filly.
“So one more try?” Dash said, sounding happier than she had in a long time.
“No more tries, sugarcube,” Applejack told her, “It’s going to work this time.”
Behind them, the four other friends of the two stared out the windows of Sugarcube Corner, watching as the two mares kissed again, painting a beautiful picture as the sun set behind them.
“Ah love you, Dash,” Applejack said sweetly.
“Ah love you too,” Dash replied.
Together, they watched the sun set as Apple Blitz rolled around in the dirt. In the distance, Sweet Apple acres looked nearly as beautiful as it once had. Applejack hoped that the future would be full of happy memories, like the ones she’d shared with everyone not so long ago, in her Old Apple Acres Home.
(Author’s Note: Well, I hope everyone enjoyed it. I’ve got a lot of errors to go back and fix, and there are still alternate endings and a new fic I’m starting soon after this, so this will still have a few updates. Thanks so much to my prereader Zev, who started about halfway through and it really shows how much better he is at proofreading this than I am. Again, thanks to all my readers, and I hope you continue to read whatever I come out with next.)
|
Sith_Dreamer
|
1268
| 11 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
My Old Apple Acre Home
|
When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
|
complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
|
teen
|
2011-11-28T15:53:39+00:00
|
2011-11-28T15:53:39+00:00
| 4,751 |
It was another night in Ponyville, and much like every other night, the residents were retiring into their houses for some well deserved rest. For Applejack, even though a week had passed since the funeral, it still felt very strange to have Rainbow Dash back in her life again. It was still a good feeling though, no longer having to think about how empty she had felt inside for so long. Another strange feeling to her was that they were once again staying in Twilight’s library; somewhere three years ago she would have sworn she would never set foot in again, and just over a week ago wouldn’t have ever imagined to be sharing the room with Rainbow Dash again.
With another round of apologies, Twilight had welcomed Rainbow Dash back in almost immediately. Dash had been unsure of staying in the library again. Aside from the bad memories from the night Applejack had left Ponyville, Dash also had the extra emotional baggage left over from the year she spent with Twilight. Despite accepting all the apologies, and even finding herself very happy for her friend now that she was with Rarity, she couldn’t help but to look back on that time with some disdain. However, Dash knew Twilight was still her friend, and since things were improving, she wanted to try and leave the past where it was.
And now it was eight in the evening, and Rainbow Dash was just coming in from grabbing a few items from the market in Ponyville Square. She nudged the door into the room slowly open, and looked in on the most beautiful mare she’d ever known. Her eyes locked with Applejack’s green glinting eyes as she walked in. A rustling next to her made Dash glance down, as the cutest filly she’d ever laid eyes rolled over next to her mother and laid flat on the bed, staring up with her own pair of big green orbs.
“No luck getting her to bed?” Dash asked, realizing how obvious the answer to the question was.
“This lil’ one ain’t sleepin’ fer nothin’,” Applejack said and smiled as the cyan filly rolled over onto her back and swung her legs back and forth as if trying to run on the air.
“Maybe Twilight’s got a book we can read ta her,” Applejack said.
Rainbow shrugged, deciding it couldn’t hurt. Applejack climbed down from the bed, then reached out her hoof and scooped the little filly off the bed, placing her gently on her back. The cyan filly began to playfully tug on her mother’s mane as she trotted into the library, Rainbow following closely behind her. Twilight was still up, studying some sort of text given to her by Princess Celestia.
“Applejack! I thought you had gone to bed already,” Twilight perked up at the sight.
The purple unicorn walked over to the mother and daughter, and put her face close to Apple Blitz’s. Blitz stared back with her wide eyes, seeming to analyze every little bit of Twilight that she could. Twilight lit up with the biggest grin. Even Dash couldn’t help but grin at how adorable the filly could be.
“She’s just too cute, Applejack!” Twilight exclaimed, “I can’t get over it.”
“Yeah, Ah know,” Applejack blushed a little, “Say, Twi, Ah was lookin’ for a certain book to read to the little one here tonight.”
“Oh? What was it called?” Twilight asked, especially curious as she couldn’t remember Applejack having ever checked out a book from her, now or from the days before she left Ponyville.
“Ah think it was called “A Pony’s Requiem” or somethin’ like that,” Applejack told her, “Ah used to read it ta Applebloom when she was just a foal too.”
“Of course I have that one,” Twilight bounded over to a shelf of books, and began scanning the spines for the right one.
Applejack continued to wait as Twilight went from shelf to shelf, trying to remember exactly where she had last seen it. Meanwhile, Apple Blitz got herself tangled in the braids of Applejack’s hair. AJ laughed, and sat down to begin pulling the filly out from the golden strands. Apple Blitz began to whimper as she tried her best to free herself. Dash lifted herself into the air, and pulled Apple Blitz up by her red-streaked mane, freeing her from the remaining tangles, and sitting her gently on the floor.
“Success!” Twilight exclaimed, making Applejack jump a little bit in surprise.
Twilight levitated the book from its hole on one of the high shelves, and sat it down on the table. Dash clamped the book gently between her teeth, and fluttered back towards the bedroom.
“Many thanks Twilight,” Applejack said happily.
Twilight shut her eyes and grinned from ear to ear. She walked over to them again, and stroked Apple Blitz’s tiny mane, admiring the bright red streaks that ran through the mane that otherwise matched her mother’s, pulled back into a small ponytail and all. Giving Applejack a hand, Twilight levitated the little filly, who looked a bit surprised to be almost flying, back onto her mother’s back for the trip back to the room. With another happy look, Twilight watched as they retired back into their room for the rest of the night.
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Moments later with the covers pulled down and pillows neatly arranged so the little filly wouldn’t roll off of the bed during the night, Applejack laid down next to her daughter while Rainbow Dash laid at the foot of the bed, ready to read her a bedtime story.
“Your Aunt Applebloom loved this story when she was a filly,” Applejack said softly to Apple Blitz, who was sitting on one of the fluffy white pillows next to her mother and staring at the cover of the book.
“Are you sure you want me to read this, AJ?” Dash asked
“Ah’course Sugarcube,” Applejack said sweetly, “If ya’ll wants to be part of our lives, ya gotta learn ta do things like this.”
Applejack knew Blitz was too young to even begin to understand the book, and would likely fall asleep at the sound of anypony talking after a while, but she liked the idea of reading again since there had come a time when Applebloom didn’t think it was cool to be getting read bedtime stories anymore.
“Alright,” Dash began, “This is the story of Zev…”
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Sometimes things happen without warning, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sometimes even the most unwilling pony can be thrown into a situation they never dreamed they’d be a part of. For one pony, such a situation came upon him nearly a thousand years ago, on the eve of Nightmare Moon’s rise.
The city of Canterlot appeared even larger than the teal-maned pony had expected. He’d been surprised when he’d received a letter from the royal pony sisters, asking him to perform his music at this year’s Summer Sun Celebration. He really hadn’t expected to have such an honor bestowed upon him, but as it turned out, while visiting Maresfield on one of her annual trips, Princess Celestia had seen him play his guitar at a small eatery that one of her students had invited her to, and while he hadn’t had interacted with Celestia personally, he must have made a good impression on the sun princess.
With his guitar slung over his back, the charcoal colored pony strolled his way into the city. Several brightly colored fillies ran by him, flowing streamers with bright yellow suns drawn on them clutched firmly in between their teeth. The pony smiled as he continued on, headed for the large castle at the heart of the city.
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His name was Zev, and despite the length of time it’d taken him a long time to obtain his quarter rest cutie mark, he’d known nearly all his life what he’d wanted to do. He knew that this could be the defining moment in his life, the point where everything turned around, and he finally received much wider recognition. He’d been practicing for weeks since he’d been invited, and he was sure that he couldn’t be more ready.
Now he was standing at the gates of the Canterlot Castle, ready for his night to begin. Zev trotted up through the main gate, past several guards clad in golden armor that glinted brightly in Celestia’s warm sunlight. Many other ponies were crowding in as well, ready for the all night party that would end at dawn, when all of Canterlot could witness Luna bringing down her moon, and Celestia bringing the sun up for the new day. Zev could hear them talking all around him, each pony talking about something they wished to take part in over the course of the celebration. Zev only wanted to find the pony in charge of the entertainment.
After a few moments, Zev chanced asking one of the guards if they had any idea where he was supposed to go. The guard was nice enough show him to a smaller entrance, usually only used by the guards and servants to the princesses, and soon Zev was inside the castle, waiting on a silver-maned unicorn levitating a clipboard in front of his face to give him his info.
“Hmmm, Zev,” the pony said, turning over page after page, squinting his eyes at each row of words written on the papers. “Ah yes, here you are. You’ll be playing on the main stage at five a.m., last act of the night before it is time for Princess Luna to lower the moon. “
Zev thanked him for the information, and decided to head back outside for a bit. He wanted to find a nice place to relax for a while he waited for night to fall. He glanced around for a moment, then noticed the castle gardens, which drew in many a wild animal, but not many ponies seemed to be interested in seeing. Zev made his way towards them quickly, avoiding much contact with anypony else.
Once inside, he searched around for a nice place to rest. It didn’t take long before he found a large tree, crawling with all varieties of small, furry animals. It felt right to him, so he plopped down into the soft grass, and gently swung the guitar case from his back, and placed it beside him.
As an earth pony, he’d become quite proficient with his hooves on making sure his guitar was finely tuned, and so there he sat, making sure his guitar would sound perfect, and relaxing in the cool summer breeze. Before long, he passed out under the warm summer sun.
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When Zev awoke, Luna’s moon was high in the sky. He wasn’t entirely sure what time it was, so he packed up his belongings and got ready to head to the party that was already in full swing. Before leaving, Zev turned back to the tree he’d been resting under. He craned his neck to reach his saddlebag, and pulled a small knife out with his teeth. Gently, he carved his own name into the bark.
“For when I’m gone, some ponies will still be able to remember my name,” he said to himself with a smile before putting the knife back and heading toward the party.
When he arrived back at the front doors leading inside the palace, he noticed a large clock that told him the time was one-thirty; he still had a few hours before his set. After walking inside, he saw several large rooms, each decorated with banners and streamers of warm colors where ponies of all colors and sizes were participating in a variety of activities. He knew he was to play on the main stage, which was set up in the main ballroom; a circular room surrounded by columns that separated various hallways which lead to many of the castle’s other chambers. It didn’t take him long to find it.
He walked around, looking at all the regal ponies and more common ponies alike, some talking of a variety of topics, others dancing to the music being played by the group of ponies that were currently on stage. However, as Zev went fromroom to room, he quickly noticed that something seemed to be missing from the festivities: the Royal Pony Sisters. He was surprised that neither one was seen mingling with their subjects.
He found a guard that was stationed near one of the castle stairwells, and got in close to the Pegasus pony.
“Hey, uhm, Mr. Guard, any chance you know where the Princesses might be tonight?” he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
“That is private information!” the guard snapped, making Zev stumble back in surprise.
Zev didn’t bother pressing this particular guard further. For a moment he considered why he would even care, but he realized that after receiving such an honor as to perform during the celebration, he’d be a little disappointed if neither of Equestria’s rulers were able to see his performance. Before Zev could continue to think on the matter, his stomach began to rumble, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since arriving in Canterlot earlier that day. He decided that maybe he’d see what the finest Canterlot chef’s had prepared for the occasion. First though, Zev decided to head backstage and drop off his instrument and bags.
It didn’t take long for him to find a spot for his things, and soon he was munching down rose soufflé, mini-bluegrass sandwiches, and dandelion ice cream. He sat all alone at one of the few empty tables in the dining hall of the castle, enjoying each passing moment as his stomach became fuller and fuller. When he was finally finished, he clasped a napkin between his hooves, and wiped away the bits and pieces that had fallen onto his charcoal colored coat. He sat for a long while, lost in many thoughts. He found it hard to believe he wasn’t the least bit scared of performing just before Celestia’s big appearance, and yet the fact neither Royal Sister had shown up all night made him feel strangely uneasy. Still he wondered if he was just being paranoid, as he hadn’t heard the issue spoken of amongst the crowds of other ponies.
He continued to think for a long while, letting his mind run free with the best and worst scenarios he could think of. He’d finally managed to get his food from the royal buffet at around two, and by the time he finally snapped back to reality, it was just turning four. Realizing the time, he tossed his trash into a bin near the entrance to the dining hall, and headed back for his things. When he got there, he quickly began tuning up his instrument and started to strum out a few chords, making sure he had everything perfect. His guitar was very different from the one’s most ponies played. Too many musical ponies were unicorns who had the advantage of magic to aid them, but Zev had modified his own so that the strings were spaced well enough to accommodate his hooves, while not sacrificing a bit of the quality any other version of the instrument would have.
Putting the princesses out of his mind, he began to worry that his music wouldn’t be as well liked as any of the other artists that had gone on before him. Maybe everypony was tired of the entertainment by now, ready to see Celestia finally raise the sun. What if he had a technical problem halfway through his set, or what if something happened to him? All these thoughts swam through his mind, making him more and more paranoid before his performance. He already knew hundreds, maybe thousands, of ponies came from all over Equestria to take part in the festivities when they were held in Canterlot, so he couldn’t help but think he would have a lot to live up to.
Zev took a deep breath and held it for a few moments. He exhaled and tried to calm himself, trying to put his mind at ease. He knew that regardless if any of his fears were true, if he went out on stage in such a state he’d likely put on the worst show of his life regardless. He closed his eyes, and propping the guitar between his forelegs, he began to play one a song that always seemed to get the best response from his crowds. He called it “Do I Deserve a Requiem When I’m Gone?”, and despite the somber nature, his crowds always seemed to love it.
After running through it entirely, Zev opened his eyes, refreshed and relaxed. His confidence returning, he began to strum out another one of his tunes.
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Not long after, the group that had been onstage came walking through the back, each pony smiling and chatting about the cheers and applause they’d received from the audience. A pegasus dressed in formal attire followed them, finding Zev at the ready to head up to the stage.
“Last show of evening,” the formal pony said, “Zeke, Zurg…what’s your name again?”
“Zev,” he replied cooly.
“Well Zev, I’m going to go announce you, and then you come up and be ready to start. Princess Celestia should be beginning the ceremony at six, so you need to be done before then. No exception!”
Zev nodded, and watched as he trotted back through the stage entrance. Zev waited anxiously until he heard the announcer calling him to come out. Claps and a few cheers preceded his entrance, giving him hope that this wouldn’t go too badly after all. He pulled up a chair to the front of the stage, and sat on his flank, with his feet dangling to the ground as he held his guitar between his forelegs. It was a most unusual way for anypony to sit, but it felt natural to Zev. He decided not to address the crowd, and slowly took one more deep breath. He exhaled, and began to play.
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Dash looked up from the book, glancing over at Apple Blitz, who had long been asleep. She smiled at how cute the little filly looked curled up on her own little pillow, and was amazed by how loud she could snore at such a young age. She then glanced over to Applejack and got ready to close the book, but Applejack reached out a hoof and stopped her.
“Keep on readin’ hun,” Applejack whispered, trying to keep from waking her daughter.
“But she’s already asleep,” Dash replied. “Plus, this is probably the longest time I’ve ever spent reading anything that wasn’t a comic book.”
Applejack chuckled, trying to restrain herself from making too much noise.
“Ah know, but I just like to listen to ya.”
Dash blushed, her face becoming as red as the streak in her mane. Quickly she tried to act cool about it, and dug her head back into the book. From there she continued reading.
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When five-forty-five rolled around, Zev was finishing his final song, the one he’d played to calm his nerves not long before. When he was finished, he looked up at the crowd, who took no time in erupting into cheers. His audience had grown significantly from the time he started, as many other ponies had begun to filter in from the other rooms, knowing Celestia was set to address everyone from the main stage before it was time to raise the sun. Zev stood, and took a small bow, before exiting off stage. Other ponies that had performed that night were also back stage, and congratulated him for putting on such a wonderful performance. He nodded, not one to let himself get carried away too much by the praise.
He quickly found the rest of his things again, and carefully put his guitar away, then slung his bags back over his back. He wasn’t sure he wanted to stay and watch the sunrise. After all, despite getting to watch Princess Celestia use her magic, it would still be the same sunrise everypony in Equestria would see every day. With his belongings now loaded up, Zev decided to head for the main hallway leading to castle doors that would get him on his way out of Canterlot. As he started to leave, he noticed another clock that had been set-up for the artists waiting to go onstage, that told him it was now six in the morning. Seeing the time, he decided that he may as well stick around to see the princesses.
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By six-fifteen, many of the ponies in the ballroom were getting anxious. Luna’s moon was still high in the sky, and there was no sign of Princess Celestia yet. Suddenly, a massive blast rocked the castle, sending several of the guests into a frenzy. Before anyone could leave ; however, the castle doors swung open with great force, startling many of the ponies nearby. Zev could not see this, but he could hear the cries from the main hallway. Soon everypony had turned to watch as a tall, dark figure marched its way down the hallway towards the ballroom. They moved back in fear, creating a path straight to the main stage for whomever was coming to walk down.
Reaching the light of the ballroom, everpony’s gaze fell upon a tall black alicorn wearing blue armor, who had the strangest teal-colored eyes. She glanced around at all the different looks she was getting from the guests. She arrived at the main stage and flew up onto it, the regal Pegasus who’d been announcing the musical acts scrambling away before she landed.
“Do none of you recognize me, now that I have become the true mare I was meant to be?” she asked, and nopony offered a response. “Surely you don’t recognize your dear Princess Luna? However, that is no longer my name!”
Gasps escaped from the crowds at hearing this had been the smaller alicorn that had stood beside her sister for so long.
“You may now all call me Nightmare Moon! And I am here to bring an end to the wretched sunlight that poisons the minds of ponies everywhere! When can any of you say you truly looked up and appreciated the beauty of my moon in the night sky? You will all appreciate it now. And where is my sister you ask? She has fled from Canterlot, too afraid of the power I have gained to stand against me! Surely nopony else would dare to try and stop me?”
Soon the ballroom was in a panic as ponies began to flee in every direction, Nightmare Moon laughing loudly over the cries of the ponies. Zev found himself caught up in the chaos, unsure of which way to go. He began to move back towards the main hallway to try and make his way out through the front. Meanwhile, a squad of Pegasus guards flew over his head, ready to stand against Nightmare Moon. Whipping her starry mane back and forth created a great wind, which sent the pegasi flying backwards and crashing through several of the palace windows. Nightmare Moon continued to laugh in triumph.
Soon, Nightmare Moon began to glance around through the mobs of ponies trying to squeeze down the hallways towards the exits. She wanted to find a pony to toy with, to show them the extent of her powers so that they would spread the word about just what Nightmare Moon was capable of, and what she would do if they didn’t start appreciating her beautiful eternal night. Amidst them all, she saw a teal mane against a charcoal coat, and decided to levitate that pony to her.
Zev felt the magic begin to wrap around his body as he was pulled out of the throngs of gueats that were slowly cramming their bodies into the already jammed hallway. He struggled with all his might to free himself, but whatever magic was being used was far too strong for an earth pony like him to break through. Soon he was face to face with Nightmare Moon.
“Ah, a musician. An admirable profession, especially for the less talented Earth ponies. Tell me your name,” Nightmare Moon commanded.
“Zev,” he said weakly, trying to not show any fear as he stared into the slits that were Nightmare Moon’s pupils.
In reality, Zev had never been more terrified. Being held so close to the alicorn, he was sure she was going to murder him very soon. Nightmare Moon released the magic she was using, dropping Zev to the ground on his hooves, and looked down upon his unchanging expression.
“You don’t seem to fear me pony,” Nightmare Moon observed out loud, “Are you not afraid of what I could do to you?”
“No,” Zev stated, again trying to seal his fear away.
He was sure if he showed any sign of weakness against the alicorn she would surely destroy him without hesitation.
“Hmmm, play me a song musician,” Nightmare Moon commanded of him.
In a flash, Zev had tossed his guitar case from his back, and was pulling the instrument out in no time. Since he’d just played it less than an hour before, he didn’t bother trying to tune it. He didn’t figure the alicorn would give him long anyway. Just as he began to play, a starry blue cloud of magic formed around his guitar, pulling it from his hooves and began to wave it wildly in the air. Nightmare Moon cackled as she whipped it back and forth, finally sending it down with a sickening crack against the hard castle floor. The instrument shattered into a hundred pieces in front of Zev’s icy-blue eyes. In his mind, he was sure the loud crack he’d heard was his own heart, watching the one thing he loved most shatter before him.
Nightmare Moon continued to laugh as Zev stood motionless before her. He couldn’t speak, he could only stare at his life on the floor. A hatred he’d never felt before began to bubble inside him, flowing through his chest and surging across the rest of his body. He turned towards the alicorn, a new fire burning inside his soul. With all his might, Zev charged at Nightmare Moon, lowering his head and bracing for impact. He struck her hard in her ribs, sending her toppling off stage as she let out a cry of surprise. Zev stood tall on the edge of the stage, panting from the energy he’d manage to unleash upon her. It didn’t take long for Nightmare Moon to regain her balance, looking no worse for wear.
“You foalish colt, how dare you even think to touch the royal form of Nightmare Moon?!” lightning struck around her as she spoke, nearly missing Zev by inches.
Before he could try and attack again or make an escape, Nightmare Moon transformed herself into a black cloud of smoke, which quickly whirled around Zev, lifting him from the stage and bringing him high above the castle floor. The smoke began to speed its rotation around him, faster and faster, until it flung him with excessive force against on the castle walls. Before he could plummet to the floor below, it caught him in mid-air, performing the same tactic and slinging him across the room, through a statue of the Royal Pony Sisters, and into the opposite wall. As he collided with it, Zev could taste the pool of blood that had begun to pool in his mouth. Then down he fell, but was again picked up by Nightmare Moon and thrown again, this time sending him crashing through one of the remaining windows. As he tumbled through the air he could see the castle getting further and further away, soon seeing a large amount of green coming closer and closer.
He landed hard in the castle gardens, not far from where he had napped hours before. Many of the curious animals that lived there began to poke their heads out to look or scamper toward Zev to find out why a pony had fallen there. Suddenly the black smoke whooshed into the field, sending many of the animals back into hiding. Zev tried his best to look up as the black form of Nightmare Moon once again towered over him.
“You were very brave to attack me musician,” she said honestly, “But it is a mistake that could not go unpunished. Surely you wouldn’t dare to pursue this little vendetta any further would you?”
Zev lay against the ground, his flank and hind legs sticking upwards toward the sky, his head and front legs limp. He said nothing to the black alicorn. He didn’t want to speak to her. His mind was already flooded with memories, from the first time he’d laid hooves on his guitar, to when he’d finally been able to make the modifications he wanted, to his first live performance. He’d never felt such love for anypony or anything else as he had his guitar, and the mare standing over him had taken it all away. Truly, he was sure he no longer cared what she did to him, any threat she made against his life was nearly hollow, as he had already lost what was most precious to him. Slowly, he lifted one of his front legs and tried to stand.
Pain shot through his side as he tried to steady his weight. He was sure he had some bones broken somewhere, but the pain was of little concern to him. He gritted his teeth and stomped his hoof with his good leg, ready to challenge Nightmare Moon again as he rose. Finally, standing as tall as he could, Zev tried to gallop head on at the alicorn once again. His legs however did not cooperate, and he found himself crashing head first into her legs. The hit did not phase Nightmare Moon yet again.
“Tsk tsk, little pony. I guess I can’t make you learn. Oh well,” and with that her horn glowed, and Zev was soon sent spiraling through trees and shrubs, slamming into birds nests and beehives, and breaking through several branches until he finally slammed hard into a very large tree.
His back began to throb from the hit as he once again fell to the ground. His vision blurry, he tried to get a glimpse of where he was. He found himself able to make out a single word carved into the tree he’d collided with: Zev. He’d been thrown into the tree he had napped under not long ago. He realized he might be sleeping even longer under it very soon. He tried to move, but not one part of his body would cooperate. His gaze began to get worse, everything going dark and coming back to him in rapid succession. A pounding in his head stopped him from hearing the sound of hoofsteps as the black mare approached him from the woods. His vision leaving, and then again returning he saw her standing over him, a look of anger on her face. His vision blacked again, just in time for him not to see the hoof of Nightmare Moon slamming quickly down towards his head.
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Dash shut the book.
“Gosh, Ah can’t believe Applebloom loved that book so much,” Applejack said, “It ain’t very happy, that’s fer sure.”
Dash nodded. In her mind, she imagined Zev, a cool pony like herself, only he was what she might have been if she hadn’t been able to help harness the Elements of Harmony. It was quite a sad story.
Applejack had kept Dash reading to her for over an hour since Apple Blitz had dozed off. There was more to the story, Princess Celestia returning to the castle with the Elements of Harmony that had been taken from their old castle in the Everfree Forest, the site where the sisters had fought Discord long before. And then the story followed the traditional “Mare in the Moon” story from there. Regardless, Dash had picked a good point to stop, as both mares were beginning to find themselves very tired.
Dash pulled a blanket and a pillow down to the floor, letting Applejack share the bed with Apple Blitz, and got ready to lie down. Before she could however, she felt a hoof poke her in the chin, and pull her back up to eye level with Applejack. The orange mare leaned in and kissed Dash passionately. It was one of many they’d shared over the past week, but it always felt amazing. They held it long, neither wanting to break away, both wishing such a moment could last forever. Finally Applejack pulled back, her face glowing with happiness. Dash leaned back in and kissed her on her freckled cheek, before sliding back down into the floor. Applejack curled up next to her tiny filly, and kissed her on the head. Before long, Applejack was snoring right alongside her daughter, and Dash was sleeping peacefully nearby.
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It may have been coincidence, something that in a world of magic such as Equestria does not happen often, that Princess Luna was taking a walk through the Royal Gardens outside her palace. She’d come to spot she hadn’t visit in over a thousand years. A large tree grew from the spot, now the biggest tree in the gardens. On it was inscribed a single word. A name; Zev.
Luna stared at the spot for a long time, lost in her thoughts. Before long, Celestia came to join her.
“We hate what we did to him, sister,” Luna said sadly as Celestia wrapped a loving wing around her.
“Things were different then. Something made you different. It’s not your fault Luna,” Celestia said in a comforting voice.
Using her magic, Celestia picked a rose from a nearby bush, and laid it under the tree as a small memorial. With her magic, Luna carved the shape of a guitar, one nearly identical to the one the pony was known for playing, into the bark below his name. Luna managed a smile as Celestia pulled her away, leading them back towards the palace, and leaving behind the testament that a pony named Zev had tried to stand against Nightmare Moon, and that despite everything he lost, he did get one thing he always wanted: to be remembered forever.
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Sith_Dreamer
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1268
| 12 |
Applejack,Rainbow Dash,Twilight Sparkle,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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My Old Apple Acre Home
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When Sweet Apple Acres burns, it will take more than just friendship to heal an certain orange pony.
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complete
| 117 | 14 |
<p>When a tragic fire destroys everything an orange earth pony holds dear, she finds that not even friendship may be enough to comfort her. When a certain cyan pegasus shows her much more, will she be able to piece her life back together? And is her best friend hiding something else from her, something that could tear everything they have apart?</p>
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teen
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2013-01-19T14:41:31+00:00
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2013-01-19T14:41:30+00:00
| 1,696 |
(Author’s Note: So, although I got some generally good reception out of the original version of this story, I feel like there was a lot of things I could have done better. Grammar mistakes and such aside, I know some readers weren’t happy with the ending, some had trouble getting through it due to typos and such, and I’m sure there were some that didn’t enjoy the story. But for everyone who did, I present a retelling, and its not a fixed copy/paste job, I’m rewriting this from the ground up, and may take the story in a different directions, depending on how I feel when I get to certain plot points. I want opinions based on this first chapter if anyone thinks I should keep going, or leave things as they are. Enjoy!.)
My Old Apple Acre Home Redux
It was a peaceful morning as the sun rose over the apple orchard of Sweet Apple Acres. The line of sunlight crept across the ground, tracing the shapes of each and every tree as the dawn swept forward, beginning the new day. The light quickly snaked its way up the side of the farmhouse, and soon yellow rays of Celestia’s morning sun were showering the still sleeping face of Applejack through the cracks in her shutters. Slowly her eyes fluttered, and with a yawn the orange earth pony pulled herself out of bed. Still a bit groggy, she trotted over to the window and nudged the shutters open with a hoof.
The bright sun made her wince only for a second, and soon her eyes adjusted to the sight of the apple trees, still dripping with the morning dew. It was as beautiful as the lights ponies often strung up during the Hearth’s Warming Celebration.
“G’mornin’ Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack smiled and sighed.
What Applejack didn’t know was this perfect morning, had been meticulously set up by Rainbow Dash. She knew these mornings were the best for Applejack, so she’d decided to pick days and get out early for her friend. Dash wasn’t much of a morning pony; however, and despite the fact she’d wanted to stay awake and see Applejack’s bright green eyes shimmering in the morning light, Rainbow had landed on the single cloud currently overhead and fallen fast asleep. She tossed and turned as dreams ran about through her head, and before long, without ever realizing it, she plummeted from her cloud bed towards the farmhouse below. She landed with a crash headfirst on the hardwood roof.
“What in tar-Rainbow Dash! Looks like yer hard head dented mah roof!” Applejack said, at first surprised but soon smirking as the light blue pony collected herself.
“Ouch!” Dash whimpered as she rubbed her head through her mane. “Uh, hey AJ. Mind if I come in?”
“Why sure Rainbow. Besides, ain’t often Ah see ya out this early.”
“Well, it was just such a beautiful morning, and I thought-“ Dash was cut off by an orange hoof to her mouth.
“That you’d make it even more beautiful by getting’ up before mornin’.
Dash blushed and took a step back, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Ah, come on now sugar cube, what’s the occasion?”
Dash trotted over to the wall, and with a hoof pointed to the day.
“It’s the day we met, remember AJ?”
“O’ course Ah do. It was terrible!” Applejack couldn’t hold back giggling, and soon Dash was too.
After a few minutes, and a lot of laughs, Applejack embraced Dash in a hug. Dash could feel her face getting warm as she began to blush.
“Thank ya Rainbow Dash. It, it means a lot ta me,” AJ said sweetly before releasing Dash from her embrace.
Applejack walked back to the window, glancing out at the ripe red apples. Below, Big Macintosh had already gotten out and begun to buck the first trees. The official start of Applebuck Season was still a couple weeks away, but with some tips gathered from all over Equestria courtesy of Twilight Sparkle, many of the trees were already ready to be picked. With another sigh, AJ turned to her dresser near her bed, and picked her brown Stetson from it’s resting place. With a toss she had it over her blonde mane, and was ready to start work for the morning.
“Well Rainbow, Ah’ve gotta-“ Applejack stopped and a thin smile crossed her lips.
Rainbow Dash was now curled on the floor near the wall, exhaustion having finally gotten the best of her again. AJ nudged Dash awake again, and slowly walked the barely conscious pony to her bed.
“It may not be as comfy as a cloud, but Ah think ya’ll can get some rest here,” she said before tucking the blue Pegasus in.
Dash was gone to the world again in a matter of seconds. Gently, Applejack trotted out of the room, and with a hoof pulled the door shut. She headed downstairs, past Granny Smith’s antique clock that read 7:00 a.m., and out into the bright morning air.
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It was the clock striking ten that finally woke the rainbow-maned Pegasus from her slumber.
“Five… more… minutes…”she muttered, her eyes still heavy as she tried to roll over and go back to sleep.
She inhaled deeply, catching the scent of apples on the pillow. Applejack’s scent. Suddenly, Dash didn’t want to sleep anymore, she wanted to think about Applejack, to go out and append the day doing whatever Applejack wanted to.
“If only I didn’t have that stupid weather team meeting today…” she moaned.
Dash’s eyes shot open at the realization. The weather team was supposed to meet that morning at ten, and she hadn’t bothered to count the number of chimes that woke her.
“Buck!” Dash cried, rolling out of bed and onto the hard floor.
She didn’t bother straightening her mane or brushing down her feathers, and rushed through the bedroom door, down the stairs, and out the front. In no time she was soaring over the apple trees towards Ponyville. Below, Big Mac was bucking apples into several baskets around him. Fluttershy peeked her head from around one of the trees nearby, directing her animal friends to pick up the apples that didn’t make the baskets. Granny Smith sat by the barn, talking to no one in particular. Dash could also see Applebloom and her friends talking around a stump outside their clubhouse. She was sure the fillies were probably drawing up more plans to try to get their cutie marks. She didn’t see Applejack however, but since it wasn’t uncommon for the earth mare to take a load of apples into town, her whereabouts didn’t stay too long on her mind.
As she headed into town, Dash had time to think about things in her life. She liked being the type of pony who made decisions on the fly, it was part of being the coolest pony in town. Things had changed when she’d first realized her feelings for Applejack. It wasn’t an instant realization for her, but eventually it had become clear. She’d started getting fluttery feelings in her stomach around AJ, and at night her she dreamed of the romance they might share. It had made her want to impress Applejack, to make her as happy as she could.
Dash hadn’t hinted at her desires to her friend however, and despite all the things dash had been trying to do lately, she was pretty sure Applejack hadn’t caught on. In all honesty, Dash was afraid. Applejack was still a simple country pony in a small town like Ponyville, and Dash knew too well that some ponies had no trouble voicing their displeasure with what they called fillyfoolers. Dash hated the word. Applejack hadn’t ever shown disdain towards anypony that didn’t deserve it, but Rainbow still couldn’t bear to hurt their friendship. So she cherished every moment she could be close to Applejack.
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Dash landed swiftly moments later in front of Sugarcube Corner, and started for the town square where the weather team was supposed to be waiting for her. Within two steps, Dash had nearly every one of her senses assaulted by Pinkie Pie, who burst from one of the windows on the bakery.
“Rainbow Dash! Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood morning! It feels like so long since I last saw you Dashie, which was actually just yesterday but that was like, ten hours ago, and ten hours seems like a long time, but it really isn’t if you go to sleep which I did and then I woke up and then it was like ten hours later and now I’m seeing you again!” Pinkie rattled on and on.
“Uh, nice to see you again too Pinkie Pie, but I’m running a little late for something.”
“Ooooooooooook Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie said, then continued to stand in front of her friend.
“Pinkie?”
“Yes, Rainbow Dash?”
“I, I kinda gotta go that way.”
“Yep, you sure do!” Pinkie exclaimed, and stood still.
“Well I’m gonna go now Pinkie Pie. Take it easy, ok?” Dash said, now a little uneasy.
“I sure will Dashie! Oh, and if you’re looking for Applejack, she’s selling apples by market!” Pinkie yelled and dashed back towards Sugarcube Corner.
“I didn’t ask, Pinkie!” Dash yelled after her.
“I know you didn’t!” Pinkie yelled back with a huge grin, before disappearing into the shop.
“I’ll never understand that pony,” Dash muttered, while feeling quite bemused by Pinkie.
When she finally got to the town square, it was nearly 10:45. There she found three Pegasi, not even half of her normal weather team.
“Where is everyone?” she asked the purple Pegasus Cloudchaser.
“Guess they all had better things to do when you didn’t show on time. You’re lucky my beauty appointments aren’t till this afternoon. Where’ve you been anyway? Way your mane looks, I’d say crashing into things as usual.”
“Hehe, Rainbow Crash!”shouted the giant white buff Pegasus next to Cloudchaser.
Dash snorted and held herself back from doing anything too rash. She turned to the third pony.
“Derpy… you know what, everybody go on home. We’re not planning rain until next week, so I’ll plan for another meeting later. Sorry for wasting your time.”
“Yeeeeeaaaahhhh!” the buff Pegasus shouted before taking to the sky.
Cloudchaser said nothing, instead flipping her pale mane over her side and trotting off.
“Yes sir ma’am team leader Rainbow Dash!” Derpy said enthusiastically, before whipping a mail carrier’s hat from the bag she carried with her, and beginning her other job.
Once she was alone, Rainbow sighed, and with a few flaps of her wings took to the air again. The only thing on her mind was Applejack, and she decided she should head to the market and see what Applejack was up to.
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In the market area, Dash found Applejack with her usual apple cart, which was loaded down with all sorts of treats the Apple Family had been able to whip up with the advent of the early harvest. She hovered above, watching intently when a crash drew her attention. She turned from gazing at the mare she so desperately wanted, trying to find the source of the noise. She waited until she heard another crash, and tried to hone in on what was causing it. Not far from the market she could see three colts, all Pegasi and a few years older than Applebloom and her friends, hopping up and down on something. Another crash told Dash exactly what it was. She gave a few good flaps and then dove fast toward the young ponies. She sped faster and faster down, then pulled up, opening her wings and skidding to a stop inches from the ground. Dust kicked up and the air gust nearly blew the colts back.
“Eh, what’s this all about?” one of the colts stomped his hooves in the dirt, trying to act tough.
“Well I’d say it’s about three ponies playing with a thunderhead that shouldn’t be,” Dash smirked as she spoke.
“Yeah, so? We’re, uh, learning so we can be on the weather team some day,” a brown Pegasus lied.
“And so we can do this!” said a green one, who jumped on the black cloud, which sent a blast of lightning skimming past Rainbow Dash, and slamming a hole through the wall of some unsuspecting pony’s home.
Dash had managed to keep her cool, despite being nearly blasted. She blew a bit of her mane out of her eyes, and puffed her chest out so she looked more like a pony of authority.
“Well, I give you guys an A for effort, but as captain of the weather team, you wouldn’t last a second on the job. Besides, even for a storm cloud your construction is terrible. See those sparks it keeps giving off? It’s extremely unstable. I’m sure your mothers would all be very proud you can work with clouds, but I’d bet they’d also appreciate if you didn’t get your faces blown off.”
“Hmph, whatever. This wasn’t that much fun anyway! Come on guys, lets go buck around in Cloudsdale,” the third Pegasus, a blue one, said; the sound of disdain in his voice was evident.
Dash was left alone with the black cloud , which sparked and sizzled, and even sent tiny bolts of lightning which singed the grass around her hooves. Carefully, Dash moved the cloud up into the air. She wanted it away from anypony else in case it breaking it down didn’t go as she hoped. Again she was now over the market square, and could see Applejack still at the stand. What caught Dash’s attention however, was the big stallion that had stopped at the stand. Dash knew his name was Meadowsong, and plenty of the mares in town had swooned over him at one time or another.
Even from where she was, she could tell he wasn’t looking over the apples. She couldn’t hear anything being said, but the more the stallion talked, the more Applejack would blush and rub a hoof over her other leg. Eventually, Meadowsong moved close to AJ, whispering something into her ear. Applejack seemed to giggle, her face maintaining the bright red, and before Meadowsong pulled way, he planted a light kiss on one of AJ’s cheeks. Dash couldn’t help but be furious.
“Are you kidding me,” Dash spoke through gritted teeth. “He can have any mare he wants in Ponyville, and that’s the one he decides to try and get his hooves on. Arragh!”
With her frustrated cry, she bucked recklessly in the air. Her back hooves connected with the thunderhead, which gave a crash that startled several ponies below, including Applejack. The buck sent the thunderhead spiraling away from Ponyville, sparking and crackling. Dash watched it soar, at first ready to chase it, but seeing as it was leaving the town, she decided it didn’t matter. Her mind was filled with the burning to desire to swoop down and give Meadowsong a good kick in the flank, but she decided that Applejack wasn’t anything more than a friend to her right now, so any misplaced aggression would only serve to make her look terrible. Still, she needed to blow off some steam, so she raced off towards the library. If anyone could help, she was sure it was Twilight.
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“So you’re…jealous, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked after eharing Dash’s story.
“Huh, me? Of Applejack? She’s a mare Twilight, why would I be jealous?”
“Well actually I was talking about being jealous of Meadowsong being attracted to Applejack and not you, but it sure sounds like you’re jealous of somebody,” Twilight lowered the glasses she was wearing and closed the books she had lying all over her table. “Are you afraid if AJ gets together with somepony, that she won’t have time for you guys to spend time together?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, sort of, but it's complicated. Well, no it isn’t but, I’m not very good at talking about this kind of stuff Twilight.”
“Well you know, I’m always here Rainbow, and I wouldn’t mind trying to talk through stuff with you. We don’t ever spend much time together by ourselves, you know. I’d… like that,” Twilight told her, a slight blush crossing her face that Dash failed to notice.
Dash nodded, not giving her full attention to Twilight. The purple unicorn had helped, and Dash was never one to open up to many ponies about her feelings. Still, without the whole story Twi could only do so much, and Dash’s heart was already sure of what she needed to do: talk to Applejack, and put everything out in the open. Dash looked up at the still slightly red-faced, but now silent unicorn.
“Well, thanks Twilight. I think I’ve got some things to take care of. But maybe we can hang out later, or something.” Dash closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her head with one of her forelegs.
Twilight only nodded, and watched as the rainbow-maned Pegasus got up from her spot at Twi’s table. Before she could, the library door burst open, and Rarity and Fluttershy quickly made their way inside. Both looked rather panicked.
“Girls, is something wrong?” Twi asked.
“Rainbow Dash, thank Celestia you’re here! Weather team, water, help, now!” Rarity screamed at Rainbow Dash.
“Huh, what?” dash was taken aback.
“RainbowDashThere’sAFireAtSweetAppleAcresAndWeNeedHelpNowWillYouHelpPlease!” Fluttershy rattled out fearfully, tears streaming from her eyes.
“Did you say fire? At Sweet Apple Acres?! I‘m on it!” Dash sped out the door without another word.
Dash soared back over Ponyville, stopping for only one moment when she saw Derpy. She quickly glided down to the wall-eyed mare.
“Derpy, I need your help, please listen. Sweet Apple Acres, something is going on, I think it is one fire. I need you to round up as many members of the weather team as you can and bring rain clouds. Please Derpy, as fast as you can!”
“Yes ma’am!” Derpy saluted and gave one of the most serious looks Dash had ever seen from the grey mare.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Rainbow took to the air again, pushing herself to near-Rainboom speeds, hoping Applejack hadn’t returned to the farm yet.
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When she arrived, the farm was in total chaos. Hundreds of apple trees were ignited in bright torrents of flame. One of the trees had crashed into the barn, setting it ablaze. The flames were creeping closer and closer to the farmhouse. On the outskirts of the farm, Dash could see Granny Smith and Big Macintosh huddled close, unable to do anything now that the fire had spread so out of control. Several of the farm animals, the pigs, the cows, and the chickens were gathered near them, though it looked like many of the animals hadn’t made it out. A small group of woodland creatures were gathered as well, with Angel-Bunny in the center. Dash assumed Fluttershy had gotten him to round up as many of the animals that lived in the orchard as he could.
A moment later, her other friends, Applejack included were headed as fast as they could up the path to the farm. Dash let out a small sigh of relief. Then she heard the sound that chilled her to the bone. Boom! It was all too familiar, and quickly Dash was speeding through the rising smoke. Her fears were proven too when she reached just above the farmhouse, and there floating listlessly, spewing forth bolts of lightning and crackling with thunder was the thunderhead from earlier.
“This…this is my fault….” Dash realized, her eyes wide.
She shot forward quickly, hooves outstretched to take down the cloud. With amazing force, Dash reared above the cloud, and smashed down with her front hooves. The cloud broke apart with a blast, send Dash crashing to the ground near the farmhouse. She looked up weakly, surrounded by the bright orange heat. The smoke began to fill her lungs, and she coughed and sputtered . Her head began to spin and slowly she passed into unconsciousness. Her last thought was how sorry she was, that she’d just ruined Applejack’s life, and was now about to lose hers.
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The rest of the ponies arrived soon after Dash, and stood around the outskirts of the farm. Applejack stood in near hysterics, while the ever solemn Big Macintosh let a number of silent tears run down his cheeks. Fluttershy snuck up next to the red stallion and wrapped a leg around one of his. Granny Smith hobbled over to Applejack.
“It’ll be ok dearie, the Apple family has gotten through tough times before,” she spoke, trying to comfort her granddaughter.
“And don’t worry about Applebloom, she and her friends were playing at my shop before any of this happened,” Rarity told her.
Applejack shook all over, unable to speak or move. Her life was burning away before her eyes. A loud boom shook nearly all the ponies, but AJ remained frozen to her spot. That is, until she heard a familiar sound. Barking, coming from somewhere within the blaze.
“Winona!” Applejack suddenly cried out, “Did anyone get Winona?”
Mac and Granny Smith both glanced at one another, and shook their heads.
“S-s-s-she’s still i-in there!” Applejack sputtered through her tears. “Ah’ve gotta go get her!”
Before the other ponies could stop her, Applejack rushed forward into the fire. Before anypony could stop her, she disappeared into the roaring flames.
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Doing her best to ignore the scorching heat, Applejack galloped up the winding path to the farmhouse.
“Winona! Here girl!” she shouted as she approached.
A familiar blue form caught her eye as she got closer. She gasped when she saw Rainbow Dash, unconscious in front of the house. Winona had come outside, and was lapping at Dash’s face. She whimpered as Applejack approached her friend.
“Dash, wake up! Ya’ll can’t be sleepin’ now! Rainbow Dash, please wake up!” she held back tears and shouted at the downed Pegasus.
Knowing what she had to do, Applejack straightened her hat and lifted Dash onto her back. She whistled for Winona, and picked the small dog up by the scruff of her neck with her teeth. Applejack looked around at the trees charring, beginning to crumble all along the path back. A loud creaking behind her only served to get her moving faster. The farmhouse behind her had caught fire, and once much of the house had started to burn, supports failed, load bearing beams had burned, and the house was now seconds away from crashing into the earth.
AJ looked around hopelessly. In the flames, she thought she could see faces, laughing at her, mocking her. They were like demons, they were like the villains she and her friends had defeated in the past, finally getting some sort of revenge against her. They wanted to see her suffer, wanted to see her burn.
She stamped a hoof in the dry dirt, and readied herself to run. Feeling the extra weight on her back, she wasn’t so sure she could. On her own she was fast, and had no trouble racing through the flames. Winona wasn’t a problem, but she was beginning to fear that at least one of them would end up hurt, or worse, by having to carry Dash. She wasn’t about to leave her friend.
“Ah’m sorry Dash…Ah ain’t sure Ah can get us outta here,” AJ said softly.
And then the raindrops hit her. At first only a few speckled her singed orange coat, but quickly it escalated into a torrent of rain, which quickly calmed the fire in her path. Thankful for the miracle, Applejack hurried as fast as she could to get them away. Briefly looking up, she saw several Pegasi from the Ponyville’s weather team streaking across the sky, rain clouds in hoof, building a wall of clouds to douse the fire. Most surprising of all, Derpy seemed to be leading the charge.
Behind her, the sound of splintering wood grew to a roar, as the farmhouse collapsed to the ground. Applejack didn’t look as she joined her friends. She knew all too well that the farmhouse had suddenly become very much like her life, falling down around her.
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TimeBomb0
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1270
| 1 |
Original Character,Pinkie Pie,Romance,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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Friendly Games
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You don't get out much, so the life of the party decides to come to you instead....
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complete
| 124 | 3 |
<p>(This fic is rated [Snuggly] by the rating scale of the Ponychan Sensual Fiction General)</p><p>Being a reclusive colt with strange hobbies doesn't exactly lead to having many friends, if any at all. That is, until the literal life of the party pays you a visit out of the blue (or is it pink?)....</p>
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everyone
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2011-10-13T03:45:00+00:00
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2011-10-13T03:45:00+00:00
| 6,685 |
"So...you have come to challenge me at last.”
You say nothing back to the intimidating stallion with the pitch-black coat and fiery red mane, instead opting to give him a fierce glare. He slowly rises from his blood-red throne, and makes a dramatic trot forward, grinning as if he was playing a masterful game of chess and was only a few moves away from winning everything.
While he makes his arrogant march towards you, you turn your attention to the other pony in the room. Trapped within a large ruby floating a few meters above the Black Stallion is the princess you have been fighting to rescue for so long. After all the monsters slain, dungeons explored, and sacred items gathered, the only thing that now stands between you and saving the land along with winning the hoof of its fair and lovely ruler is the dark lord who dreams to conquer the world.
"You are nothing more than a common foal," the Black Stallion declares as he finally stops his trot, "What chance could you ever hope to have with her? This realm needs a ruler with real power and drive, not some simple-minded earth colt!" Again, you refuse to dignify his words with a response, instead opting to pull out your weapon, the Blade of Proficiency, and take up a defensive stance. You had made a vow to never let this monster win as long as you drew breath, and now that the final battle is drawing near, your determination remains as strong as ever.
"Hmph" he scoffs at your gesture of resolve, "So be it, boy. If you really wish to die, then allow me to free you from your silly hopes and dreams!" As he finishes, a dark cloud flows out of his mouth, spreading in a cylinder out to the side. The darkness then dissipates, leaving in its place a long thick blade that glows with a pale unholy light.
Without warning, the black-coated and black-hearted colt charges forward, bellowing a bloodthirsty roar through grit teeth as he clenches down on the handle of his blade. You hesitate for a moment, but then begin to rush toward your opponent as well. You lock your gaze right into his piercing red eyes and bite down harder on your sword's handle as you quickly close the distance to him. With perfectly synchronized timing, the two of you leap into the air, and time slows to a crawl. As your bodies fly ever closer, you tense up and await the right moment to strike, for the slightest mistake could spell the end for not only you but the princess and the entire world.
SLASH!
The two of you hit the ground at the same time. Neither of you move a muscle for what feels like ages, not even to breathe. The suspense grows with each second passed, building closer and closer to the point where you feel you will lose your mind.
Clang!
The deadly silence finally breaks as you hear the Black Stallion's blade fall to the ground, the handle now adorned with a red stain. "Im...im-p-possible..." the evil colt coughs out, his airway filling with his own blood. You nervously turn yourself around and see him struggling to even stand up, your sword now deeply embedded into his chest. Gasping for breath, he stumbles forward a few steps and then stops, closing his eyes as the last remnants of life quickly fade from his body while he still stands.
You let out a deep sigh of relief. The Black Stallion is no more; you, a mere earth pony from the farm, have just saved the world and its majestic monarch from a terrible evil. All that is left for you to do now is claim your reward. You return your attention to the ruby hanging above the throne and find it slowly descending towards the ground, the magical barrier gradually fading away. You can now make out the silhouette of the princess, her tall figure adorned with two widespread wings and a long horn protruding from her head.
"My dear princess," you call out to her as she becomes more visible, "You need not worry anymore. The Black Stallion has fallen, and the kingdom is safe once again."
"Indeed," she responds in a wise and heavenly voice, "You have done a great service to my kingdom and me, and for that, my people and I can never thank you enough." You smile at her words of gratitude. What else could you do when the noblest of all ponies was offering a mere commoner like you her most sincere thanks?
"However, my hero, there is one last thing we must do before your journey can come to an end."
Her words leave you deeply confused and worried. You had saved the world, what else could there be? Surely there wasn't another great evil threatening the kingdom? "....Of course, princess," you slowly respond, doing your best to hide your confusion and worry, "What do we do now?"
"Simple. Now we need to PARTYYYYYYYYY!"
At her shout, the ruby shatters into hundreds of fragments, revealing the mare kept inside...but, something's not right. This mare is much shorter than the silhouette, has no horn or wings, and is completely pink with bright blue eyes that house a mind of infinite cheer. You know this mare all too well, but she can't be the princess...can she?
You are unable to ponder this for very long, for your attention is soon distracted by all the events unfolding around you. Streamers, confetti, and balloons seemingly fly out of nowhere. A large white banner reading "CONGRATULATIONS! ♥" now hangs above the throne. Loud music with a solid beat blares into your ears, and several ponies who just appeared out of thin air are dancing along to it. You even spot the Black Stallion himself merrily grabbing some punch out of a bowl, your sword still protruding from him.
"...Uh, I, er, but, um-" You stammer as your brain tries to make sense of what is happening. You return your gaze to the happy mare in front of you and notice that both you and her are now wearing polka-dotted party caps.
"Hee hee, you look sooo adorable right now!" the pink filly says while wearing a big grin on her face, "Come here, my big hero!" Without warning, she leaps forward and pulls you into a hug so tight you can barely breathe. You're flabbergasted at her move and all the things happening around you, but her next move is what truly floors you. Shutting her eyes, the pink party pony firmly plants her lips on yours, letting out a comical moan complete with that clichéd cartoon sound effect you had equated with pulling a plunger off the kitchen tile.
"GAH!"
You snap your eyes open, only to find another drastic change in venue. The party, its planner, and the Black Stallion's tower have all vanished. Instead, you find yourself staring at the ceiling of your bedroom, the light of Celestia's sun beginning to peak in through the windows.
You rub your eyes and sigh in both relief and displeasure as your common sense returns to you. It had all been a dream, just like the previous night you woke up out of panic. And the night before that. And the night before that. As your heart rate begins to slow down from its frantic pace, you glance at the alarm clock next to your bed. It's only a few minutes until the alarm goes off, letting you know it's time to get up and get ready for work. Grudgingly, you pull off your blankets, which were twisted and barely covered you anyway, and push yourself off the bed for another predictable afternoon.
For some inexplicable reason, that cheery pink mare has been showing up in your dreams for the past week, with each appearance more ridiculous and suggestive than the last. You knew her name to be Pinkie Pie; how could you not? She was the first resident you bumped into when you first moved into Ponyville, gasping and running off at your meek greeting as if you were afflicted with a deadly and contagious illness. You believed at first that she was just incredibly shy, but that was soon corrected when you first arrived at your new home, a small flat in the outskirts of town. You opened the door and turned on the light for the first time only to find most of the populace crammed inside yelling "SURPRISE!" It turned out a welcome party was a rite of passage of sorts in Ponyville, along with Pinkie Pie gabbing your ear off as she explained every. last. thing. about how things work in Ponyville.
She certainly left a strong impression on you at the party, but once she finally left you to your own devices, you quietly moved into a corner away from everyone else until the party came to its end. For as long as you knew, you had always been a reclusive colt. You barely spoke to anypony when you were at school, and kept to yourself as much as you could. It wasn't that you hated other ponies or were too shy to talk. Rather, you were just always preoccupied with your own hobbies, some of which were considered "dorky" by the rest of the schoolfoals. Not only that, but being socially adept was never your forte. You had lived a mundane life growing up and hardly participated in anything, so you didn't exactly have many interesting stories to share, and your hobbies were too obscure for you to discuss without getting weird looks from most ponies. In a way, you are the perfect opposite of Pinkie. Where she is full of boundless energy and exists almost solely to make other ponies smile, you are much more self-focused, preferring to while away your leisurely hours in complete privacy.
So why does this mare keep invading your thoughts and dreams? You haven't even seen her since your welcome party, and you certainly wouldn't have any common interests to discuss if the two of you actually sat down together. Furthermore, why do your thoughts with her keep involving...suggestive things? It's not as if you like her that much...
.....do you?
**********************
Half a day passes, and you find yourself back in the sanctity of your home. Work came and went without any noteworthy events. Not that you expected it to; you had the glamorous job of washing dishes at the local cafe, after all. It wasn't exactly a go-to job for meeting and dealing with new ponies, but then again, that was never one of your interests. Instead, your work schedule consisted of showing up, letting the boss and head chef know you're there, moving to your station and staying there until it's time to go home. Today was no exception, as you barely spoke a word to anyone aside from "hello" and "goodbye", and were all too quick to head back home.
In any case, you had gotten nowhere in your quest to find an answer to your Pinkie Pie problem. You initially blamed your lack of progress on the rather frantic pace of the day, with the cafe receiving new customers almost nonstop and the pile of dirty dishes never shrinking no matter how hard and quickly you washed them. Despite the change in pace and venue, however, you were still fruitless in your search for an answer. Right now, you were mulling over whether or not this mare had the power of mind control and was slowly turning you into her puppet as part of some hare-brained plan for world domination.
Forget this, you finally tell yourself as your frustration reaches its peak. It was one thing for this to interfere with your thoughts all day, but now it was distracting you from your readings as well. With a deep sigh, you force your attention back to your newly-purchased graphic novel, the latest volume of Scolt Ponygrim Vs. Equestria. Your mind fills with anticipation as you read the dialogue and gaze upon the stylish art. Will this finally be the issue where Scolt gives that smug scum Griffon Graves the plot-kicking he deserves? Will he get back together with Swords Mane, or will he finally win over Pinkamona Petals, with her gorgeous bubblegum-colored mane and strange outlook on life-
BANGBANGBANGBANG!!
You could swear a gigantic exclamation mark materialized over your head for a moment as you leapt out of your chair in surprise. You aren't used to visitors coming to your place, and yet someone, or something, was knocking on your door, and quite loudly at that. Setting your comic to the side, you quickly and nervously move toward the door as another round of frantic knocks starts up. You take a bit longer than you normally do undoing all the locks on your door, the implied urgency of the knocks making you hasty and clumsy. With the last lock finally unlatched, you open the door to see just who could be coming to visit you and what matter could possibly be so important-
"HICANIUSEYOURBATHROOMPLEASE!?"
You're almost certain that your eyes are playing tricks on you, for standing outside your door is Pinkie Pie, the bubbly mare that's been haunting your dreams. You try to process what is happening, but your brain seems to have temporarily crashed from the strange - some would say contrived - circumstances. All you can do is stammer incoherently for a few seconds while your mind attempts to restart itself.
"Pretty please? I wouldn't ask you any other time, but I really really really really gotta go!" Pinkie's pleading finally jerks you out of your temporary brain freeze. You take a glance at her and see that she's not kidding. Not only did she strain her words, but she has her hindlegs twisted together and is bouncing in place rather frantically on her hooves. Her face completes the look of desperation as she bites down on her lip and gives you the most soulful pleading eyes you've ever seen. You never considered yourself the chivalrous type, but there is no way you're about to turn down someone practically begging you to help them, least of all someone with that face and that problem.
"Uh, sure, it's just dow-WHOAWHOAWHOAWHOAWHOA-!"
In the blink of an eye, Pinkie zooms past you with almost enough speed to generate a sonic rainboom, causing you to spin around in place like a pony merry-go-round. After a few seconds of twirling around your living room like a top, you place your hoof on the side of your head in an attempt to stop the rest of the room from swirling about. It isn't until your sense of balance restores itself that you notice some certain noises coming from the other side of your flat that you'd prefer not to hear. You plug your ears with your hooves and stay planted on the floor for the next few minutes, trying to shut out the rest of the world and think of anything else.
....
....
Somehow, you have a feeling you are being watched.
Uncovering your ears, you turn your head to the side, only to immediately jump back and almost run out the door at the sight of Pinkie's smiling face mere centimeters from yours. You felt that exclamation mark appear above your head again as you jumped.
"Tee hee, you looked so silly!" Pinkie giggles with a big grin on her face, "Oh, I almost forgot!" Without warning, she throws her forelegs around your neck and pulls you in a hug tight enough to close up your windpipe. "Thank you so very very much for letting me use your bathroom! I'd been holding that in for waaay too long! I thought I was about to lose it right when I started knocking, which wouldn't have been very nice at all! Talk about leaving a nasty surprise on your doorstep!"
"No...problem...." You wheeze out as you feel your head growing lighter and your vision dimming. You can only hope that Pinkie realizes what she's doing to you before you end up in the obituaries of Equestria Daily, filed under "ponyslaughter".
"Whoops, silly me!" She calls out as she releases you from the hug of death. Oh, how you have missed the air. You take several deep breaths and feel the consciousness that was beginning to slip from you return. You glance upwards at Pinkie and see her nervously rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, a slight discoloration breaking through her pink-coated face.
"Well, Pinkie....I guess it was...nice seeing you again," You say to her between deep breaths. You couldn't wait for her to leave and put this weird series of events behind you.
"Hmm, why?" Pinkie asks, giving you a face that's somehow both upbeat and quizzical at the same time, "Did I come at a bad time? Were you planning on going somewhere? Were you turning in early? Were you planning on some housekeeping? Or were you going to do some housekeeping and then go somewhere to turn in early?"
"Um, well, no, it's just...." you respond as Pinkie finally lets up on her guessing game. Did she not realize you were saying your goodbyes to her for the night? Unless she wasn't leaving, but then that just raises a new question....
"....Wait, did you come here for something else?"
"Of course, silly!" She replies, "I came here to visit you!"
For the second time tonight, your mind goes blank from her statement. Pinkie Pie, the energetic fun-loving party mare of Ponyville, was intentionally visiting you, a quiet shut-in who hadn't even spoken to her since the welcome party? You had to be dreaming again. That, or she was playing a prank on you. You had heard through the grapevine that she loves a good prank.
"Visit...me?" You try to piece together her statement out loud, "But why?"
"To check up on you, of course!" says Pinkie. You're left dumbfounded at her reason and are about to enquire more, but she's ahead of you and starts explaining on her own:
"I haven't seen you around town since I gave you that welcome party, and that was a few weeks ago, so I wondered if you had moved out, so I asked my friend Twilight and she told me that chef she likes so much hired you to work for him, but then I also learned that you barely talk to any of your co-workers and stay home all day, and I know all the workers there are nice ponies, which means that either you're a meany pants, which I know you're not because hello, we talked all that time at the party and you were really nice to me, or you still don't have any friends, which means you still must be real lonely, and that's so super-sad, so I decided to come straight here after my shift at Sugarcube Corner ended and pay you a visit....and that's why I had to go to the bathroom so bad! Wait, what were we talking about again?"
You don't reply at first, instead choosing to just stare at Pinkie with your jaw partly open and your eyes unmoving, the perfect look of disbelief and confusion. Is Pinkie really visiting you because she thought you were lonely? Is this just a regular thing she does for anypony, or are you a special case? Could you have possibly had some bad salad for lunch and are just hallucinating the whole thing?
"Um...thank you?" You finally speak up once your brain could process enough of her lightning-fast explanation.
"No problem!" She replies, "So why do you stay home all day? That seems like a pretty boring way to spend free time."
You sigh at her question and point your head towards the ground. You didn't want to tell the truth about your reclusive nature to the literal life of the party that is Pinkie Pie, but she had come all this way for you, and you owed her at least that.
"Well," you begin while keeping your gaze affixed to the floorboards, "I stay home all the time because I don't have any reason to go outside. I've never had that many friends growing up, and nopony has really been interested in the same things as I am. I...just don't see the point of going out and opening up to others when I don't have anything to offer that anypony wants."
You finally find the courage to look at Pinkie again, fully expecting her to be disappointed at the real you. Instead, you're once again baffled at the sight of her carrying the same light grin from before you started.
"Is that all?" She says, her cheery voice completely unfazed by your excuse, "That's a pretty silly reason to not even try and make friends!"
"But...but I-" You try to respond to her admonition, but you had made the mistake of not even having a response ready for her before you started talking.
"Being a good friend isn't all about liking the same things as they do!" Pinkie thankfully cuts you off before you can put your hoof in your mouth. "I mean, that's good for when you're starting out, but even ponies with nothing in common can be the bestest friends! My friends Applejack and Rarity are living proof of that!" You don't know who either of these ponies are, but you let Pinkie continue with her impromptu lesson:
"You can be a good friend in a lot of ways. Sometimes friendship is about being a good listener and knowing that you have someone to talk to, or being there for them when they need someone the most, or sometimes it can even be just being nice and having fun with one another. You don't have to not talk or hang out with somepony just because you have different interests. I'd never have even half the friends I do if that was true!"
You can't argue with her wisdom - she's friends with practically everyone in town - but deep down, you knew it would take much more than a quick pep-talk to turn you from a quiet shut-in into a socialite.
"I guess you're right there," you begin, "Although I'd still feel a little better if I had more interesting things to say about myself. I'm...kind of a bore."
"Oh no you're not!" Pinkie cuts you off before you can elaborate, "Everypony, and I mean everypony, has an interesting side to them! You'd be surprised at how many cool things you can dig up about yourself if you just know where...to...look..."
As her words trail off, Pinkie's eyes grow wide and her smile gets even bigger than before. You grow nervous as her face gets brighter. Just what in the world is this pony thinking now?
"Oh! Oh! I just had the most super-terrific idea ever!" She exclaims, making you grow even more worried. "We should look around your house and dig up something interesting about you! You can look for stuff in here and I'll check the other side of your house! Ready set GO!"
Before you can let out so much as a sound, Pinkie races off to the back of your flat, leaving you to stand in the living room by yourself in deep confusion. Why is she so dead-set on proving that you are more interesting to others than you think you are? The foals at school certainly didn't think that. The ponies you had tried to talk to after that certainly didn't think that. You certainly didn't think that, just as much as you didn't think that Pinkie could find anything noteworthy about you in your bedroom. Nothing noteworthy except for-
*GAAAAAAAAAASP*
...oh no.
"PINKIE, WAIT!" You yell out in vain as you hurry down the hall into your bedroom, praying that by some miracle Pinkie has not spotted it yet. You rush inside, only to stop in the doorway and look in horror at the sight. Right in front of you is Pinkie Pie, with her flank turned towards you, her face pointed at the sight directly across from your bed, the one thing you didn't want her to see the most: your most personal stash.
"Pinkie, um, I, er, well, you see, it's not-" You try to stammer out, once again speaking before you had thought up a solid excuse. Then again, you're not sure if you could explain this away even if you had all the time in the world.
Your stammering comes to an immediate stop when you hear Pinkie address your name in a voice far colder and flatter than you thought possible for the normally happy mare to speak in. "Are those what I think they are?" She continues, her head still turned away from you. Even though she isn't looking at you, you can still feel her gaze pierce through your stash, analyzing every last detail. You can only imagine how quickly that stare would shatter you into pieces if it turned towards you.
"Um, well I, you see.....yes," You finally confess, lowering your head to the ground and folding your ears back in shame. "Those are....my...my...." It was hard for you to even get the words out of your throat.
"My....video games."
When you were a young colt, you loved nothing more than to come home after a long day of school, sit your rump down in front of that magical glass box, and play games to your heart's content. Ever since your mom got your first system as a birthday gift, the world of electronic gaming has seized your imagination. You have almost seen and done it all through this wonderful medium: You've battled countless mythical creatures (like those weird "hyoo-man" things), rescued dozens of princesses, explored vast and beautiful worlds, and even managed successful businesses and empires. Video games could do what most books couldn't; they made you the hero, letting you live out almost all your fantasies in the comfort of your own home.
It is your greatest passion, but you would never tell a soul about it if you could. As you grew up in school, books soon took over as the cool thing, and all the other foals quickly jumped on the bandwagon, occasionally ridiculing you about your "geeky" hobby. Even worse, a nasty stereotype eventually spread amongst the general populace that video games led to violent and antisocial behavior. You knew this to be hogwash (At least the "violent behavior" part), but you still considered it too risky to divulge this particular hobby to anyone else. At best, they would view you as a dork and a misfit. At worst, they would probably freak out and think you were going to pull a knife on them.
And now Pinkie knew about your secret hobby. You are absolutely certain that she would now think of you as some kind of freak or weirdo and never speak to you again at the very least. You feel your heart sink to a new low as the gravity of losing the favor of someone as full of life as Pinkie sinks in.
"I...I guess you'll want to be going now..." you force out as a knot in your throat presents itself. "I, er, understand if you don't want to see me anymore..."
"...........What are you talking about?" Pinkie speaks up, still in her uncharacteristically cold voice. By now, you have lost count of all the times this mare has surprised you tonight, but her next surprise is her biggest one yet.
"I LOVE games!"
She suddenly turns around to face you, giving you a face so ecstatic and enthusiastic that it's almost frightening. Her starry gaze is one that will haunt you for the rest of your days.
"...Wait..." you cautiously reply. You had almost forgotten her outburst thanks to that nightmarish look on her face. "You like video games too?"
"Yup!" she cheerfully replies, changing her expression into something less excited and bizarre. "Well, truthfully I haven't really played that many video games, but I love all kinds of games and the few video games I have played were super-duper fun, but they're pretty expensive and I haven't really gotten the chance to...play...with...my...friends...."
Just like the last time her words trailed off, Pinkie's grin grows even bigger. What on earth could this earth pony be thinking of now?
"Oh! Oh! Oh! I just had an even besterest idea!" Pinkie exclaims, "We should play some games together! I'm sure we can have all kinds of fun doing that!"
At first you feel confused at the strange turn of events. Pinkie Pie, of all mares, not only liked video games, but was offering to play some with you? You really had to be out of your head by now. Despite the ridiculous circumstances, you begin to feel a little of her trademark excitement seeping into you from her idea. This might be the first time you have ever seriously partaken in your favorite hobby with another enthusiast.
That is, until you remember a key detail that makes this request impossible.
"Pinkie, that's...a wonderful idea," you start, "but I, er, only have one controller." You had never shared your hobby with anyone else, so you never bothered with buying an extra controller to any of your systems. You can now only look in disappointment at yourself for not having the precognition to foresee this moment.
"No problem!" she responds, completely unfazed at your admission. "You can play and I can just watch! Sometimes I like to watch other ponies play games instead! That can be pretty fun too!" With that, she leaps onto your bed and, after bouncing around a few times ("Wheeee, this bed is soooo comfy!"), finally comes to rest at the edge of the mattress facing the magical box. With a soft grin, she pats the side of the mattress with her hoof to invite you next to her. "Don't worry, I won't bite! I'll even let you pick the first game!"
"...Alright then, if you insist," you say to her, not giving your brain the chance to misconstrue her words. You move towards your gaming system - the Super Neighntendo - and turn both it and the magic box on. You decide on playing Shadow of the Ursa Major, the game that was already inside the system. Turning back to Pinkie, you nervously sit down next to her while still keeping some breathing room between the two of you. Your act of respect and personal shyness proves to be all for naught, however, as Pinkie closes the distance almost instantly, placing the two of you side-to-side. Her coat gives off a comforting warmth, and you can even make out the distinct smell of cotton candy with just a hint of the hoof-soap you keep in your bathroom. You soon feel your face grow warmer than she is, and pray that she doesn't notice the redness that is surely forming on your cheeks. Thankfully, the roar of the magic box soon distracts the both of you as the game comes onscreen. You place the controller in both of your forehooves and start playing to your audience.
***********************
Before you knew it, several hours had flown by and Luna's moon now shone brightly in the night sky. You had played a little bit through several of your games of choice - Super Mareo Sisters, Marble Gear Plasma: Pie Eater, Colt of War, Filly Fantasy XVI, EquestriaBound, among others - and Pinkie watched enthusiastically through all of them. You often found yourself laughing right with her when the game decided to be comical, and she didn't hesitate to tell you as many possible strategies as she could on how to dispatch of a particularly nasty boss.
You felt a little disappointed when you realized how late it was. You couldn't quite put your hoof on it, but for some reason playing all these games with Pinkie at your side felt....right. Maybe it was her unbridled excitement despite the fact that she didn't have a controller of her own to join in on the fun. Maybe it was the fact that someone not only accepted your favorite hobby but was participating in it right next to you. Maybe it was because her coat felt really warm and possibly gave off a substance that causes mild euphoria. Whatever the case, you were quietly wishing that this night would never end so you could enjoy your hobby with this lovely mare for as long as you liked.
"Hey, try using the boomerang over there!"
"Huh?" You snap out of your daydream as Pinkie offers her suggestion. You were now playing through The Legend of Celestia: Twilight Apprentice, a game supposedly based on the Elements of Harmony event that Pinkie herself was a part of, not to mention one of your most favorite games ever. Working the controller, you maneuver the onscreen representation of Twilight Sparkle into tossing a boomerang at a particular wall. You expect nothing to happen, but to your surprise, the boomerang goes through the wall and strikes a hidden switch, making a treasure chest materialize in the corner of the room.
"Wow, I never knew that was there," you think out loud. You must have played this game at least five times over without finding that. "Good call, Pinkie."
"Hee hee, thanks," Pinkie giggles at your compliment, "Although I don't really remember Twilight having to use a boomerang in a dungeon. Come to think of it, I don't really remember crawling through a dungeon, or travelling across a desert, or having to fight a horde of diamond dogs, or having to collect the elements individually, or...or...."
You hear Pinkie let out a long yawn and feel the pressure on the bed shift a little as she stretches her hooves. Your head is still turned towards the magic box, but without warning, you feel a weight of some kind pushing down on your shoulder and a soft, prickly feeling on your neck and shoulder.
"Wow, I'm really tired. We must've been playing for hours!" She speaks up, her voice closer than it was before. Your suspicions are confirmed; the party pony is now resting her head on your shoulder.
You game in silence for a few minutes, letting your mind absorb the new sensations. Her mane feels light and fluffy on your neck, letting off the sweet smell of bubblegum, and her coat lightly tickles the rest of your side, much like the down feathers on a goose.
"...This is really fun, isn't it?" She finally breaks the silence, her voice lacking a little bit of its usual hyperactivity.
"Yeah, it is" you reply, "I'm really glad you decided to visit me. Nopony's ever done so much for me before, and you didn't even owe me any favors."
"Well, that's one important part of friendship," she says, "You do a lot of things for your friends not because you owe them something but because you like to do them."
You pause the game for a second as her words sink into you. "....so, does that mean you and I are..."
"Yep," she cuts you off, "We're friends now, and tomorrow I’m going to show you how to be a good friend to others so you never have to be lonely again."
You feel a warmth grow in your heart and cheeks at her words. For the first time since school, you finally have somepony you can call your friend, somepony that likes you for who you are, or at least doesn't mind your odd hobbies.
"....Thank you, Pinkie." Is all you can say to her through the soft smile forming on your face.
"Hee hee, no problem."
Silence falls between the two of you once again as you return to playing the game in happiness, her head still resting comfortably on your shoulder. The minutes pass like seconds, and soon you begin to feel your eyelids grow heavy. You didn't want to bring a good thing to an end, but you have work tomorrow, and you're sure Pinkie has similar engagements.
"Hey, Pinkie," you call out, "I think I'm ready to turn in for the night."
Pinkie doesn't respond to your words.
"...Pinkie?"
Again, nothing.
You can't turn your head to see her, but you can hear her breathing in a slow and steady rhythm. You surmise that the party pony has beaten you to the punch and fallen asleep on your shoulder. Pausing the game and putting the controller to the side, you tenderly work your hooves around her body. As gently as you can, you lift her off your shoulder and lay her down on your bed, your initial guess confirmed when you see her eyes closed in a peaceful slumber. Your grab your blankets that were still laying on the ground from when you threw them off this morning and ever-so-carefully pull them over the slumbering pony. Your bed is too small for you to climb in with her, so you turn and walk out of your room, making sure to turn off the magic box and game system as you leave.
As you climb onto your couch in the front room and lay your weary head to rest, you remember Pinkie telling you that you and her were now friends, along with the wonderful feeling you felt at that moment.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt you to have some friends after all.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Hi there, Pinkie here! Don't worry, your secret's safe with me! I promise not to tell anyone you have a thing for me now....and video games too, but you probably had that long before you read this! So how did I do in this story? I've never acted before, and I was a little nervous whenever a scene was about to start, but the author kept telling me to be myself, so that's what I did! You know, reading through this, I think it's a little weird that Equestria would have these "Video game" thingies, but it has "game" in the name, so they're fine by me! As long as you remember to not play them so much and go outside every once in a while! Otherwise, you'd be a lot like my friend Twilight when she first came to Ponyville, and-
Um, Pinkie, what are you doing at my computer?
Whoops, gotta go! Have fun, and one last thing: You all just lost the game! Bye!
Pinkie, wait up!...great, already gone. What'd she do this ti......son of a-
DISCLAIMER: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or its characters, nor do I make any money off this story. All Rights Reserved by Hasbro.
With thanks to N3uroSFG and Eights for proofreading.
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Dr Atom Discharge
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1272
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Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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A Distant Star
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A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
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complete
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<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
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teen
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2012-05-13T18:48:15+00:00
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2012-05-13T18:48:15+00:00
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A Distant Star
Chapter One: A Faint Glow
It was a warm, clear summer night in Ponyville, the full moon sharp and bright in the sea of stars. Everypony in the town was asleep, save for one; Twilight Sparkle. She stood on her balcony, her eye to her telescope, observing Luna’s beautiful night sky. It had been too cloudy at night for Twilight to stargaze in recent weeks, and she was determined to make the most of the clear skies.
As she scanned the skies she was able to pick out and name each and every star she could see. Astronomy had always been her favourite hobby, save reading, though the two often overlapped. Eventually, after she had scanned as much she could, an out of focus, over magnified image of the leaves from the branches by her balcony were all that filled her view. She sighed 'Nothing new tonight I guess, it’s a shame I didn't catch the shooting star scheduled to pass by.’ She thought, feeling a little disheartened. She was just about to walk away, when she got the urge to peer back down the telescope, but when she did, she was met by the same image: Out of focus leaves.
Suddenly a slight gust blew up out of nowhere, moving the leaves just a little, and just enough for Twilight to be able to see through, and she couldn't believe her eyes. Just through the small gap, she was sure she could make out a small, almost unnoticeable speck of light… what appeared to be a star, but in an area of the sky that, to the best of her knowledge, should be clear. She blinked a bit and looked back, but the leaves had covered the view once more. She rolled her eyes. ‘How silly of me, I should have thought of that earlier.’ She thought as she looked down the telescope again, her horn glowing as she moved the leaves out of the way.
And there it was, the faint glow of a very distant star, but the light from it was so little, that she could determine nothing from it. She stepped back ‘I’m sure that nothing is supposed to be there…’ she thought, her mind now hard at work trying to figure it out. She walked back into the mane part of the library, her horn glowing as she lifts several books down from the shelves and started scanning over them frantically. She was determined to find out what that star was, despite how late it was. Her desire for sleep was now replaced by an insatiable hunger to investigate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Next Morning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike stirred and gently woke up. It was early in the morning, like it always was when he woke, he always woke up early to get chores and errands done. He got up out of bed, still half asleep and headed out the door to the stairs. He slowly came down the stairs and then stopped in his tracks, suddenly waking up, his eyes going wide.
"Oh no! She’s done it again." He cried in dismay as he looked at the state of the library
Every shelf of the library was emptied onto the floor in a large pile, with a sleeping purple unicorn perched on top. She was laying at an odd angle, with a book covering her face, snoring lightly. Spike sighed lightly and started to climb the mountain of literature. When he finally reached the summit, he gently nudged Twilight to wake her up.
"Come on Twilight, you have to wake up so I can clean this mess." He said gently,
Twilight groggily opened her eyes and was so surprised by the text directly in front of her eyes that she rolled backwards; down the mound of books landing with a hefty thud at the bottom. Spike quickly jumped down to help her, and with his assistance she managed to get onto her hooves, her eyes still spinning from her rude awakening.
She looked at Spike, still a little discombobulated from her fall.
“S-Spike, what’s going on, why am I-“ Her words cut off as she noticed the pile of books. The memories of her frantically emptying the shelves last night in a bid to find any kind of reference to that faint star sprang into her mind. She gasped suddenly ‘THE STAR!’ She shouted in her mind, as the thirst for answers came flooding back into her mind.
She knew that her resource of knowledge from these books was exhausted after last night. ‘What I need is more information about the star… but there is no way that my telescope will be able to see anything useful, the star is just too faint.. What I need is an observatory… I guess I’ll have to write to Princess Celestia and ask if I can go back to Canterlot for a bit to use the telescope in the observatory,’she thought to herself.
She turned to Spike who had already begun to tidy the books away, a point that Twilight, as usual, had over looked. “Spike! Take a note.” She ordered as she lifted a quill and scroll over to him and began to dictate.
“Dear Princess Celestia, Last night I was stargazing, as I usually do on such a clear night, and happened to notice a star that I hadn’t seen or heard about before, after intensive research I have not been able to find a reference to it. Would it be ok if I were able to come and stay in Canterlot so that I can use the observatory to find out more about it? Your faithful Student; Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twwwwiiiillliiiggghhhttt Spppaaarrrkkkle” Spike said as he finished writing. He then took a deep breath before engulfing the scroll in a burst of green fire, sending it on its way to the Princess. Spike went back to tidying the books as Twilight paced in a small circle, eager to hear a response, as her hunger for information grew and grew. A small rumble emanated from Spike’s belly just before he burped up a spurt of magical green fire which quickly formed into a new scroll. Twilight quickly opened it and read it’s contents:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
My Most Faithful Student.
You are always welcome in Canterlot, though I am afraid that the observatory is closed for the foreseeable future due to repairs to it after Luna tried to ‘See how it worked’ So I am afraid that you shall not be able to use it for a while. Although, if memory serves, there is an old observatory just outside of Ponyville, perhaps you could ask one of your new friends about it, one is bound to know about it.
Your Teacher,
Princess Celestia
Twilight simply stood there, stupefied,
"There was an Observatory in Ponyville and no pony told me!… Why would my friends keep something like that from me!?" She cried despairingly, upset no pony had mentioned the observatory to her, and was confused as to why they hadn't. Spike just sighed and got back to work, every time Twilight went looking for answers, Equestria almost got destroyed, he could see this ending badly.
She rushed out of the door to find somepony she could ask about the observatory, but it was still early and the town seemed to be asleep. She sighed, her original determination fading away, and she turned back towards the library, when suddenly there was a gust of air and a familiar cyan pony with a ruffled rainbow mane landed in front of her with her usual confident grin on her face.
“Hey Twilight! You’re up early today, come to watch me clear the clouds?” She asked brightly before spotting how down Twilight was looking. “Hey… what’s wrong Twi’?” She said in an empathetic tone.
“Oh, Hey there ‘Dash. Well I’m was just feeling a little down. Do you know why no pony ever told me about the observatory before?” She asked in a sad tone, with a hint of accusation towards , as she realized that Rainbow Dash must have also been keeping it from her.
‘Dash rubbed the back of her neck and looked away “Oh… you heard about the observatory then..?” She asked trying to stall so she could think what to say, or how to get out of there.
“Yes.” Twilight said flatly in an irritated tone, glaring daggers at Rainbow Dash. Dash grimaced when she heard that, and started to sweat a little.
“Er… Well… you see… the thing is…” Se said desperately looking around in one last attempt to find an escape route, sighing when nothing presented itself to her. “Oh ok then, the truth is, we knew if we told you about it you’d want to go and take a look at it bu-“
“OF COURSE I WOULD!” Twilight shouted at her, her bad night’s sleep and frustration getting the better of her
Rainbow Dash jumped back startled, and Twilight sighed a little,
“I’m sorry ‘Dash, bad night’s sleep.” She explained with a regretful look, “What were you saying?” She asked calmly.
“Yeah… uh… well like I was saying, we didn’t want you to go up there… we didn’t want to put you in any danger.” She said in a worried, but caring, tone.
“Why would it be dangerous? Is the building unsafe?” Twilight asked, a little confused.
‘Dash looked away a little, “No, but that’s kinda’ the problem, you see, there is this weird pony living up in the observatory, some kind of weird science unicorn, but no pony ever sees him, except when he comes into the town every now and then to get things, but never really talks to anypony. Everypony says he is dangerous. There are a lot of stories about flashing lights and strange noises coming from the observatory. Even I try to avoid going near it and I’m the coolest pony around, but the place just gives me a bad feeling.” Dash explained, trying to convince ‘I hope she doesn’t go to explore, everypony here knows to stay away, but she’s an egghead and is probably thinking too much about all that science stuff to worry about what else is there…’ Dash thought to herself.
Twilight thought for a minute, and Rainbow Dash fidgeted nervously, hoping her friend would not decide to go. Twilight then chuckles and smiled a little.
“You should know better to listen to stories like that Rainbow Dash, I’m sure that this pony isn’t that strange, I bet he is just a little shy or something. Anyway, where is it?” She asked, slight amusement in her voice, ‘Dash’s heart sank in her chest.
“But… but… I…” She stammered trying to think of something that she could say to make her change her mind.
“Don’t worry Dash, we defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord and that huge bunch of Changlings. I’m sure I’ll be ok dealing with some ” She said trying reassure Rainbow Dash.
“I-I Guess… but be careful, please…” ‘Dash said, a rare amount of concern evident in her voice.
“Don’t worry, I will… but where is it?” Twilight asked, not really taking on-board how worried Rainbow Dash really was.
‘Dash simply pointed in the direction of the Everfree Forest, “It’s just on the edge of the forest.” She said, still a little worried. Twilight smiled and nodded.
“Thanks Dash, I guess I’ll go and have a look tonight.” She said as she trotted off back to the library.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That Night ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight slowly wandered down the old path out of town, so disused that it could barely be called a path. Once again, it was a clear and calm night. ‘Another perfect night’ She thought, looking up at the sky, then looking down as she went over a hill, and the large observatory loomed in front of her. Rainbow Dash hadn’t been quite right on where it was; it was in fact just inside the forest, not on the edge. Which explained why Twilight had never seen it before.
The large imposing structure looked old and could definitely do with some repair work, at least so far as she could tell from the outside. As she approached it the structure towered over her, it was much larger than she had first realized. When the path reached the building it followed it around to a large metal door, with small sign loosely nailed onto it, which read "Dr. A Discharge." For the first time Twilight started to feel nervous. ‘What if all those stories had been right? What if this pony was crazy? What if I am really was putting myself in danger?’ She thought, too late as she had already raised her hoof and knocked automatically while she had been thinking.
There was nothing for a second and Twilight sighed in relief, ‘There must be no pony home’ She thought. She was about to turn around until she heard the soft pattering of hoofsteps echoing in the distance, slowly getting louder, and coming from inside. Her insides froze. She was terrified. The hoofsteps stopped just on the other side of the door. She a loud grinding noise, and the door swung inwards showing a dark corridor, the only light being at the end, which seemed far in the distance. Twilight didn’t even notice these things, what had her attention was the tall, thin unicorn that stood before her. He was easily taller than her, was a menacing dark crimson, almost the color of blood, wearing a jet black mane, save for the strip of white through the middle, dazzling in comparison to the rest of his mane. His tail looked almost like a black razor blade, with a blue segment dyed into it.
The glow Faded from his long, and unusually sharp looking horn. He had used magic to open the door, and he leaned down so they’re faces almost met. He studied her intently through the dark blue glasses balanced on his face. Neither moved as he continued to study her. She was rooted to the spot in fear. After a few minutes, but what felt like hours to Twilight, his mouth twitched slightly, and then spread into a large, almost menacing grin. Twilight’s stomach flipped as her fear become pure terror…
End of Chapter One
Dramatic reading by myself
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Dr Atom Discharge
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1272
| 2 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2012-03-21T01:12:43+00:00
|
2012-03-21T01:12:43+00:00
| 2,716 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Two: Supernova
Last Chapter:The glow Faded from his long, and unusually sharp looking horn. He had used magic to open the door, and he leaned down so they’re faces almost met. He studied her intently through the dark blue glasses balanced on his face. Neither moved as he continued to study her. She was rooted to the spot in fear. After a few minutes, but what felt like hours to Twilight, his mouth twitched slightly, and then spread into a large, almost menacing grin. Twilight’s stomach flipped as her fear become pure terror…
After a little while he backed off and looked at Twilight. "Hello, what can I do for you, young mare?" he asked with a slight accent that Twilight couldn't place. She looked the unicorn over again, noticing things she hadn't before: On his flank was an odd symbol she couldn't quite make out; his eyes were just visible above the sunglasses and appeared to be darting back and forth but always returning to rest on her with a piercing gaze, as if he were able to see right into her. Despite his thin structure there was obviously strength in his legs and ba- "Young Mare?" he asked again, breaking her train of thought. She realized she had been doing nothing but staring at him for almost 5 minutes.
"I-I.. well.. I.." She stammered, not sure what to say, still uncertain about him. She was about to try again when he spoke up.
"My guess would be that you are here to ask to use the telescope to view something you have spotted because you don't have the equipment to find out more yourself." He said nonchalantly, despite the fact he had practically read her thoughts back to her.
"H-How did you know?" She asked quietly, now quite afraid. He raised an eyebrow and then pointed to the edge of the notebook sticking out of her saddle bags, showing a very clear title: 'Stars and Planets: A guide to the nights sky.'
"And since I knew you were an amateur astronomer, there are few other reasons why you would want to come to an observatory. Plus it must be important for you to ignore all the tales that the folks in Ponyville tell about me, so I am guessing that it is something that could have some significance." He said, leaving Twilight awestruck that he could deduce so much from such little detail.
"Wow... thats incredible, how could you tell so much?" He chuckled a little.
"Practice." He said simply before offering a hoof and smiling a little. "I am Dr Atom Discharge, what is your name young lady?" He asked politely. Twilight gave him a little smile, still nervous.
"I-I'm Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." She said and shook his hoof tentatively, to which he shook back firmly.
"A pleasure to meet you Miss Sparkle." He said before turning around and starting to head back inside, leaving Twilight slightly confused. After a few steps he turned his head and raised his eyebrow again. "Are you coming then Twilight?" He asked, his tone oddly informal in comparison to a few seconds ago. She slowly followed him inside, her earlier fear starting to build back up as she followed him down the long, dark corridor. The only light was that of the moon that was shining in from outside, which suddenly disappeared as the door slammed behind her, making her jump and leaving her nerves a little frayed.
She followed what she assumed was the corridor, her only guide being the irregular sound of Dr Atom's hooves as he walked. After a few seconds her eyes started to adapt to the light, and she could just make out an outline of light getting closer and closer, not sure what it could be. She kept walking towards it until she walked right into Dr Atom, who's dark coat made him almost invisible in this light. She staggered back a little.
"Watch yourself young Mare." He said in an almost sarcastic manner, before opening a door in front of them, spilling soft light into the corridor. He walked in, and Twilight followed, her eyes taking a second to adjust to the new light.
There was a sudden bang to Twilight's right, followed by column of fire shooting a meter into the air. She jumped just as high in shock, then stood there as her nerves were completely shot. Dr Atom looked around at her, seeing her shaking,
"Oh.. are you cold?" He asked looking a little perplexed. Twilight glared at him for a second before realizing he was serious.
"Er... No... I'm ok..." She said a little confused. 'He didn't even notice that... yet he could tell all that about me before... this pony seems like he's the complete opposite of... himself...' she thought as he walked across the room toward the telescope itself.
She looked about the room slowly. It was covered in clutter, in fact every corner of the huge room was covered in something. Be it a desk, a strange piece of machinery (Like the one beside her that seemed to emit a large plume of fire every few minutes), or even... a bed? 'He sleeps in here!? How can he with all this machinery going?' she wondered to herself. She followed him across the room slowly admiring all the specialist equipment he had, at least the stuff she actually recognized. In fact, some of the things here she couldn't even figure out a use for.
Dr Atom was waiting for her by the telescope.
"Well, here you go. She's old, so be gentle." He said moving out of the way so she could get in. She sat in the chair and looked at the control panel as Dr Atom trotted away and started to work on some machinery. She stared at the different buttons, joysticks and dials.
"Er... Doctor, I have no idea how to work this.." Twilight said quietly. He didn't seem to hear her. She waited a second, and then tried to get his attention again. "Doctor?" Again, no response. "DOCTOR!" Dr Atom jumped a little and looked over.
"Oh, sorry, what is it Twilight?" She gave an irritated look, and then looked at the control panel.
"Well, I don't know how to use this, I've only ever- GAH!" She cried out as she turned around and he was right behind her. She hadn't even heard him move.
"Oh, of course... why would you? Sorry, Here, this.." He proceeded to describe what each of the controls did in detail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Just Over An Hour Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight placed her hooves on the controls and started to direct the telescope towards the area of the sky she had seen the night before, but something was strange. Instead of the telescope moving, it looked like the sky was rotating above her. It took her a second to realize, that it was in fact the entire room that was rotating with the telescope. She was amazed at how smooth it moved. 'He must work hard to keep it working like this.' She thought looking over at him, unphased by the movement, despite all of the equipment wobbling slightly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~After About Half An Hour~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight finally managed to locate the star again. She hadn't thought to write down the exact position, so it had took longer than expected. Dr Atom had come over to check on her a few times, and had even brought her a cup of tea at one point. She was sipping on the tea when she spotted it, recognizing it immediately. The image of the star was burned into her mind from the night before. She quickly put the cup down and started to focus in on it, looking at the display in front of her. There was something different about it though. It didn't look like other stars, there was something off about it. As she zoomed closer she could see the star fluctuating and wavering.
She was perplexed by this, so she turned to Dr Atom, who was now head first into one of the larger machines, his back legs sticking up into the air,
"Er.. Doctor?" She asked, not sure what she was interrupting. His head popped up.
"Did you find it?" He asked with enthusiasm as he jumped down from it and trotted over.
"Yeah, this is it, but there is something weird about it..." Twilight said uncertainly. Dr Atom stared at the screen, and after a minute his eyes widened
"Oh my... Well that explains why it was that you could only see it recently. Twilight, that star is going Supernova!" He said excitedly, his horn glowed and a notepad and pen shot in front of him. The pen scribbled away enthusiastically as the Doctor looked between the notes and the screen.
"Atom? What is a Supernova... I'm sure I've heard of it before..." Twilight interrupted him a little, trying to remember what it meant.
"OH! Well, in short, sometimes when a star is about to die, it will explode outwards instead of becoming a dwarf star. Basically, it explodes with a huge amount of energy, which is why it is only now bright enough to see!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Throughout the night ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Atom continued to explain the Supernova enthusiastically. Twilight was fascinated by how much he knew about it, and soon the the conversation moved on to other topics. Neither noticed as it got later and later, and while Atom was explaining about black holes, she heard birds chirping outside. It took her a moment to register what it was, but then her eyes spotted the first signs of sunrise.
Her eyes widened as she realized it was morning, "Oh Celestia! I Completely lost track of time!" She cried out, stopping him mid-sentence. He sighed lightly as she jumped up and ran for the door.
"WAIT! You can't leave yet!" He shouted to her, just as she reached the door.
"What do you mean? I have to get back to Spike!" She said worriedly as she went to open the door. But the door handle wouldn't turn. Atom grinned
"I told you that you couldn't leave yet." Twilight's original fear rose up, and Dr Atom stared at her with his piercing gaze. She was trapped!
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 3 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-05T19:28:24+00:00
|
2011-12-05T19:28:24+00:00
| 2,131 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Three: Doctor Doctor
Last Chapter:Her eyes widened as she realized it was morning, "Oh Celestia! I Completely lost track of time!" She cried out, stopping him mid-sentence. He sighed lightly as she jumped up and ran for the door.
"WAIT! You can't leave yet!" He shouted to her, just as she reached the door.
"What do you mean? I have to get back to Spike!" She said worriedly as she went to open the door. But the door handle wouldn't turn. Atom grinned
"I told you that you couldn't leave yet." Twilight's original fear rose up, and Dr Atom stared at her with his piercing gaze. She was trapped!
Dr Atom slowly approached Twilight across the room. She watched terrified, her body frozen. She was backed into a corner with nowhere to go. Suddenly the machine by the door fired off another column of fire, surprising her into action. She jumped for the door, trying everything to unlock it. Every spell that could help, and even shear force, but she froze still when she noticed that Dr Atom's shadow had been looming over her for some time. She slowly turned around shaking, he was looking down at her, the light glinting off his glasses, giving him a sinister air. He slowly leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"Are you done yet?" He asked in a cold flat tone. His horn began to glow and she scrunched her eyes shut, expecting something horrific to happen to her. Perhaps some kind of dark, torturous magic, or perhaps something even worse...
Twilight heard a mechanical sound to her left and opened her eyes to see a lever surrounded by the dark aura of Dr Atom's magic. Suddenly the floor shuddered and began to move. Dr Atom chuckled in Twilights ear, and she looked back at him confused.
"Hahaha, the door needs to be lined up with the exit after you rotated the room." He said with a little laugh, and then frowned. "Twilight, you are shaking like a leaf, I think you need to get home and rest. I'll walk you home. Even on the edge, the Everfree forest is not a safe place." He said almost protectively of her.
Twilight rolled her eyes a little thinking Atom had just missed the point again, but then realized how tired she really was. With a proper amount of sleep she should have noticed the door was still out of place, and she wouldn't have jumped to conclusions. Just thinking about it made her yawn loudly, and she half expected Atom to respond in the same way, but he didn't. In fact, there was no sign at all to suggest he was even tired a little. She suddenly realized she had been lost in thought for at least a few minutes, and that Atom had been waiting patiently for her to finish her train of thought and respond. She mustered up the best smile she could manage. "Y-yeah, I would like that. I should probably head home now, Spike is probably worried sick." She said this as she headed towards the door with Atom following.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~About Half An Hour Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They walked out of the edge of the forest and into the outskirts of Ponyville. They walked slowly given that Twilight was so tired she could barely stay on her hooves. They had talked a little on the way, but now Twilight was simply too exhausted too keep up any kind of conversation. It was now starting to get properly light, and there were even a few Ponies about running their early morning errands, most still looking a little groggy. Though Twilight barely noticed, her mind was now a blur of exhaustion, only able to keep going due to the rhythmic movements of her legs and the familiar route she was now on. Dr Atom didn't seem to tired at all, and walked by her silently, but carefully, keeping an eye on her and making sure she didn't topple when she lurched too far to one side. That and making sure didn't walk into anything. Finally they made it to her front door. Her horn glowed weakly and the door swung inwards. Twilight was about to walk in when she suddenly felt a gush of air and looked up.
Her tiredness disappeared with surprise as large rainbow blur collided with her and tackled her to the ground.
"OHMYGOSHTWILIGHTAREYOUOK?!" A certain cyan pony shouted down at the unicorn pinned underneath her. Twilight just stared, a little irritated.
"Dash. I'm fine... but could you please get off me?" She asked. Dash laughed nervously and got up, then finally spotted Dr Atom Discharge standing looking at the two. Rainbow Dash nearly jumped out of her coat and stood between Twilight and Dr Atom defensively.
"STAY BACK! I WONT LET YO~" She was cut short by Twilight placing a hoof on her shoulder.
"Dash, it's ok, he's not a bad pony."
Rainbow Dash stood there looking a bit dumbfounded. She blinked a few times.
"Wait what's going on here? If he's a good pony, then why do you seem like you are about to collapse? Are you sure he didn't do anything to you Twilight?" She asked looking Twilights eyes.
"Yes Dash, he didn't do anything. I am just tired because I was up all night." She said, and then noticed a startled look across Dash's face.
"Wait... you were up all night? You mean you two were Fu-"
"NO! Not like that! We just talked!" Twilight interrupted quickly, making sure that the thought was banished before it was fully formed.
Still Twilight couldn't help the blush rise to her cheeks, which, added to the fact Atom was now blushing and fidgeting, made sure the idea was firmly locked in Dash's mind. She just rolled her eyes.
"Sssuuuuurrrrreeee, you just talked, right." She said sarcastically, making both of the ponies in front of her blush more. Twilight couldn't deal with it in her current state and just glared at Dash.
"Oh Shush, stop it, I need to go and sleep!" She said impatiently as she pushed past Dash and into the house, calling "Goodnight Atom, I'll probably be back tonight." as she slammed the door. Atom just nodded and turned to leave seeing that same cyan pony blocking his path.
"We need to talk mister!" She demanded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~About Half An Hour Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Atom was almost home. Rainbow Dash had insisted on coming along, but had said nothing yet. She eventually spoke.
"So you didn't actually-" Atom turned quickly to look at her and cut her off in a cold tone.
"No, we did not, we just talked about stars that's all that happened." He said in an irritated voice. As he reached his door and started to open it, then Dash piped up again.
"You know, I don't trust you, even if you have tricked Twilight, I wont be-" She was cut off by Dr Atom Who turned around quickly his eyes aflame with fury.
"WHY DO YOU PONIES HAVE TO KEEP THINKING OF ME AS EVIL!! I AM NOT A BAD PONY! I'M JUST DIFFERENT, BUT NONE OF YOU SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT!" He screamed at her before turning away and walking in, muttering as he did "Twilight is the first pony to understand me..." just before the door slammed and locked, leaving Dash there, startled.
Twilight had barely made it up the stairs to her room. She stumbled over to her bed and fell head first onto it, sprawling across it and falling asleep almost straight away...
She was in her room, and looked out of the window to see it was night. The stars were beautiful, brighter than she had ever seen them before. She ran to her telescope and looked through it, and saw something she had never seen. She called out "SPIKE! Come look at this!" She looked around, and she was in the observatory, by the large telescope, the room was in darkness, except for the light of the stars which only seemed to shine on her. The machinery was nothing but dark blobs in the darkness, ominous lumps of deeper shadow. Suddenly one moved out of the corner of her eye, moving slowly among the others, slowly weaving it's way towards her. Whatever it was, it scared her, filled her with a fear like never before. She tried to back up, but couldn't move, she was rooted to the spot, trapped. It got closer and closer, until all of a sudden, it was at the edge of the shadow. She still couldn't clearly make it out, it was a solid wall of shadow. She was terrified, but then it stepped into the light and became sharp and clear. It was Atom. Suddenly, all of her fear was gone. He slowly moved forwards towards her and she moved closer to him. They met in the middle, close, looking into each other eyes. She felt her heart flutter, and then he said in a soft gentle voice.
"Twilight... I love you." He leaned in and kissed her softly...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authors notes
Ok this is again a little short, and I'm sorry, but I just felt it was a good place to leave it, I hope to make the next one longer, and hopefully add a little more excitement
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 4 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-05T19:31:39+00:00
|
2011-12-05T19:31:39+00:00
| 2,145 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Four: Knock Knock
Last Time Twilight had barely made it up the stairs to her room. She stumbled over to her bed and fell head first onto it, sprawling across it and falling asleep almost straight away...
She was in her room, and looked out of the window to see it was night. The stars were beautiful, brighter than she had ever seen them before. She ran to her telescope and looked through it, and saw something she had never seen. She called out "SPIKE! Come look at this!" She looked around, and she was in the observatory, by the large telescope, the room was in darkness, except for the light of the stars which only seemed to shine on her. The machinery was nothing but dark blobs in the darkness, ominous lumps of deeper shadow. Suddenly one moved out of the corner of her eye, moving slowly among the others, slowly weaving it's way towards her. Whatever it was, it scared her, filled her with a fear like never before. She tried to back up, but couldn't move, she was rooted to the spot, trapped. It got closer and closer, until all of a sudden, it was at the edge of the shadow. She still couldn't clearly make it out, it was a solid wall of shadow. She was terrified, but then it stepped into the light and became sharp and clear. It was Atom. Suddenly, all of her fear was gone. He slowly moved forwards towards her and she moved closer to him. They met in the middle, close, looking into each other eyes. She felt her heart flutter, and then he said in a soft gentle voice.
"Twilight... I love you." He leaned in and kissed her softly...
Twilight gently awoke, her lips still pouted, kissing against the fleeting remnants of her dream. As the feeling slowly dissolved she opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling where she had expected her new friend to have been. It took her a minute to figure out what had just happened, and then she blushed deeply, realizing what she had been dreaming about: Do I really feel that way about Atom... I have read about this kind of thing, but that was just fiction... It was just a dream... right? Right! I had a long night, and needed sleep! That's it! Still... why was it so dark to begin with... oh stop it Twilight, you are just scaring yourself! She thought, finally managing to fight down her run away thoughts. She always had a habit of over thinking things, and she agreed that this was exactly what was happening.
She slowly got up, her legs very stiff. She must have been sleeping for a long time, but when she looked out the window she was confused. It looked almost the same time she had gone to sleep... wait... no... it was earlier. Then she gasped in shock as she realized she must have slept for the full day! Which meant she hadn't gone back to see Atom again like she had promised... Spike walked in to find Twilight, finally awake, running around her room in panic... again... "Oh no! I slept through when I was meant to meet him! He was probably up all night waiting for me! NOW HE'LL HATE ME!" She screamed, panicking.
Spike just rolled his eyes and then hopped on her back
"Oh don't worry Twilight, I'm sure he'll understand, friends always do. You should know that after all the studying you have been doing." Spike said calmly, trying to soothe her. That determined look in her eyes that Spike had seen a hundred times, and that rarely ended well, flashed up now.
"You're right Spike! I'll go and apologize right away!" She announced as she galloped towards the door.
"BUT TWILIGHT!..." Spike said, then sighed as she bolted out the door ".. you haven't even brushed your mane yet..." He said in an exasperated tone
It was true, she hadn't brushed her hair, in fact the puffiness of her hair rivall\ed that of Pinkie Pie's glorious mane. Her sustained gallop was not helping the situation either, as sped through the forest the branches tugged and pulled at her hair leaving twigs and leaves scattered throughout it. She arrived at the observatory door and knocked, the door opened almost instantly.
"I WAS ONLY THERE FOR-! Oh, Twilight... sorry, I was expecting somepony else, come- er... what happened to your mane?" Atom attempted to explain, seeming a little unnerved. Twilight raised an eyebrow curiously, but then took on board the last part of what he had said and quickly looked up to see her mane was a mess of branches and hair, twisted together into a large puffed out cloud.
She squealed and tried frantically to hide it, an attempt that obviously wasn't going to succeed. Atom simply chuckled lightly.
"The bathroom is the second door on your right, you can sort it out in there. I'll be in the observatory room." He said with a small smile, moving to the side as Twilight dashed inside. Once in the bathroom she managed to pull all of the branches out of her mane with magic, the glow of her horn shining through the knots of her mane. Finally, she managed to find a comb in the cupboard and brush the knots out, much to her discomfort.
She finally walked out into the main room to see Dr Atom still working on the same machine as last timewhen, as always, the machine to her right boomed and sent another column of fire into the air, causing her to jump a little and then giggle slightly. She trotted towards Atom, who was waist deep into a machine. He was obviously trying to fix it, when there was a loud crash and he shot out, past Twilight, into the far wall, with a trail of smoke behind him. He stood up as if nothing had happened and smiled.
"So I see you fixed your hair then" he said, commenting on her hair while his was still alight, though it soon soldered down, leaving his mane a little blacked but overall not too damaged.
Twilight just stood there once again surprised by this odd unicorn.
"Er... yes, yes I fixed it." She said quickly regaining her composure and giving a smile.
"Ah, thats good, so what did you come for then Twilight? It's too light to use the telescope properly." He said looking up at the larger telescope that dominated the room and extended up through the roof. She blushed a little
"Well... actually.... I came to apologize for not turning up last night like I promised... I kinda just woke up..." She said, her blush growing. Atom looked back at her with a warm smile.
"Ah, don't worry about it, I was only half expecting you. I thought you would be a little tired to spend another night here." He said... completely lying; He had been up waiting for her to come all night, and had started to worry towards the end...
Twilight was glad that she hadn't upset him, though something was a little off about his response. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but she quickly disregarded it as her having just woken up so she just smiled warmly back. Atom opened his mouth to say something when there was a knock at the door which echoed through the room and a flash of terror crossed his face for a moment. "I-I'd better get that, er, you stay here, I'll be right back." he said nervously and quickly galloped towards the door leaving Twilight reasonably confused. Atom walked back in a moment later leading a rather uncomfortable looking, obviously unhappy being in such an untidy environment.
"Ah! Twilight my dear! Spike said I could find you here." Rarity said walking up to Twilight slowly, obviously trying to stay as far away from any of the machinery as possible.
"Oh, of course! You needed me to model today didn't you?" Twilight said with a little smile, trying to hide her nervousness. Rarity's eyes lit up "Yes! I thought maybe you'd forgotten. It's such a shame that Fluttershy was busy... she never did say what she was doing... oh well, it can't be helped. Anyway, there's no time to waste, we must be on our way!" She announced as her horn glowed lifting Twilight off her hooves. She galloped towards the door with Twilight hovering just behind her.
"BUT RARRRRIIIITTTTYYYYY!" Twilight cried out as she shot out the out the door. Atom simply chuckled and called out the door "Goodbye Twilight, I'll see you tonight." He said, watching down the corridor until the door at the far end closed. His smile quickly dropped and he sighed, and sat down. Wondering, and dreading, if he would be getting any more less than desirable 'Visitors' today...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay okay, I know that was awful, but I am going to do better on this next one, I'm really sorry
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 5 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-06T21:53:19+00:00
|
2011-12-06T21:53:19+00:00
| 2,078 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Five: A Wrong Turn
Last Time: "Ah! Twilight my dear! Spike said I could find you here." Rarity said walking up to Twilight slowly, obviously trying to stay as far away from any of the machinery as possible.
"Oh, of course! You needed me to model today didn't you?" Twilight said with a little smile, trying to hide her nervousness. Rarity's eyes lit up "Yes! I thought maybe you'd forgotten. It's such a shame that Fluttershy was busy... she never did say what she was doing... oh well, it can't be helped. Anyway, there's no time to waste, we must be on our way!" She announced as her horn glowed lifting Twilight off her hooves. She galloped towards the door with Twilight hovering just behind her.
"BUT RARRRRIIIITTTTYYYYY!" Twilight cried out as she shot out the out the door. Atom simply chuckled and called out the door "Goodbye Twilight, I'll see you tonight." He said, watching down the corridor until the door at the far end closed. His smile quickly dropped and he sighed, and sat down. Wondering, and dreading, if he would be getting any more less than desirable 'Visitors' today...
Twilight dragged her hooves back to her house. After her recent ‘irregular’ sleeping pattern, The fashion show (Which had somehow gone completely smooth), and her mad gallop into the forest in the morning, she was out of energy. She was almost at her door when Pinkie bounced in out of nowhere.
“HI TWILIGHT!” Pinkie Pie sang, energetic as always. Twilight wondered where all of her energy came from, and why it was so contagious. She perked up a bit and grinned
“Hi there Pinkie, what brings you to the library?” Pinkie sucked in a gasp of air before very (very) quickly responding: “Well I haven’t seen you in a while and I was just baking some cupcakes and thought ‘I wonder how Twilight is and then I realized I hadn’t seen you in soooooo long, so I came over to see how you were! Sooooo…. How are you?” She asked in her musical voice.
Twilight giggled a bit at Pinkies usual hyperactivity.
“Well I am pretty good. Tired though, I just did a fashion show for Rarity. It doesn’t help that I spent the whole night at my new friend's house.” she said, blushing, but jumped a bit as Pinkie gasped loudly.
“YOU HAVE A NEW FRIEND!? Do I know them? Do I? Do I? Do I? Are they new!? Oh no! If they are new they won’t have met anypony yet! I need to throw them a party!!!!!” She chimed in excitement, bounding around in every direction. She had been talking so quickly that Twilight hadn’t been able to get a single word in, and still wasn’t able to as Pinkie resumed her high speed rambling about the party.
Finally after 5 minutes Twilight finally saw an opening and took it.
“PINKIE! He isn’t new! He’s been here longer than I have!” she shouted to make sure she cut off whatever Pinkie Pie was about to go into. Pinkie Pie looked around at her quickly.
“It’s a HE!? Oooooh! So you finally got yourself a coltfriend! What's he like!? What’s his name!?” Twilight blushed deeply at the use of the word 'coltfriend.'
“Piiinkie! He isn’t my Coltfriend! We only just met! And his name is Dr Atom Discharge. He’s the unicorn living up in th- Pinkie?”
Pinkie Pie had frozen at the name. It was the most still Twilight had ever seen her.
“Er… Pinkie?” Twilight asked, rather confused. Pinkie suddenly flopped to the floor, looking very depressed.
“He… he never came to the party I threw for him…” she said in a sad, flat tone, as if on the verge of tears. Twilight knew she had to do something the cheer the party pony up.
“Oh, Pinkie, I’m sorry, he is nervous around new ponies. I’m sure if you threw a party I could get him to come, I’ll tell him to come in a day or two, or ma-“
“A DAY OR TWO!? We’ll have it TONIGHT! Give me three hours!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing into the air with glee, startling Twilight. She sheepishly tried to push the date.
“But.. what if he is busy… or he doesn’t want to go out tonight … or-“ Pinkie cut her of once again.
“Oh silly, he’ll listen to you, you are his friend.” She said happily, and just as Twilight is about to speak again Pinkie chirped up… again… “Ok, well I have to get a party ready, bye Twilight!” She dashed off, leaving Twilight to stand there with her mouth still half open.
Twilight sighed and set off towards Atom’s observatory. She had been hoping to spend the night at the observatory with Atom… but then she reasoned that this could be a good chance to spend some time with him out of the observatory, with others. She wanted to know as much about him as she could. He was so mysterious, nopony knew much about him. He was a puzzle she had to solve, something she had to study, and the more she seemed to hear about him, the more she wanted to find out… and Pinkie's statement hadn’t done anything to reduce the number of questions she had. 'Why hadn’t he gone to the party? Everypony goes to Pinkie Pie's parties…'
She shook herself out of the thoughts as she realized she had been wandering for quite a while. She looked around, puzzled for a second before recognizing the trees of the Everfree Forest. ‘I must be close…’ she thought, before viewing her surroundings… she didn’t know this path… in fact, she had no idea where she was… ‘Oh no… I must have taken a wrong turn…’ She looked around frantically before stopping herself and taking a deep breath.
“Alright Twilight, calm down. Think this out logically. We’ll just turn around and follow the path back…” She said to herself, trying not to lose her nerve. She turned around and started to walk back along the path, but then came to a junction and paused.
She stood staring at the junction for about 5 minutes, looking between the paths. She had absolutely no memory of which one she came from, and was slowly imagining more grave and horrifying consequences of picking the wrong path. Her mind wandered much further than it should have. Just as the most terrifying of these imaginings ended she was a loud and unnatural noise emanating from one of the paths. This subsequently kicked her overly inflated sense of fear into overdrive. Her muscles tensed as she jumped into the air and galloped in the opposite direction… further into the forest…
After several minutes of racing through the forest, her muscles burned and she was completely out of breath. She slumped to the ground. Completely exhausted, and barely able to move, she just laid there and panted. She would have passed out if not for the sheer force of terror that kept her eyes wide open. After what felt like an eternity to Twilight, she regained feeling in her limbs and slowly got up, aching all over, and looked around in an attempt to get her bearings. She could tell it was still early afternoon from the sun, but she wasn’t sure how far into the forest she was. She decided to try to head back towards Ponyville by following the sun. But soon the trees became too dense to see it's light and she started to get worried again.
It got darker and darker as she kept walking until she could barely see. She stopped and looked back towards the lighter area of the forest. Suddenly a shadow darted across her view. She backed away a bit, turned, and kept going. Quickly. It didn’t get any darker, but the dot of light showing where she had come from slowly faded into nothing, making it impossible to tell if she was heading in the right direction. The fact the darkness meant she couldn’t even distinguish each tree from another didn’t help the case; they simply blended into a solid wall of mass.
As she went deeper the air started to get unusually moist and stuffy. This puzzled her a little, so she moved to wall of trees for guidance. Her hoof was met with the unmistakeable clack of her hoof hitting damp rock. She started with surprise, causing her hoof to slip form the wall, making her stumble. She tried to right her balance, but ended up stumbling the other way, her legs getting in the way of each other. Her hoof met air where the ground should have been and she slipped, tumbling head over hoof off the unseen cliff.
She fell for what felt like minutes until she collided with something that felt solid but quickly gave way. She slowly started to sink. Her mouth quickly filled with water, causing her to come quickly to the conclusion she was in a body of water. She quickly clamped her mouth shut to save what air she had left. She opened her eyes trying frantically to find which way was up, and she happened to see a flicker of light above her. She quickly started to swim upwards as fast as she could with her limited aquatic skills. Seconds ticked by as she frantically reached for the surface, as her vision started to darken and flicker as she began slipping out of consciousness.
She felt the sting of cold air as she surfaced. She gasped for air, but for a moment only water filled her lungs. After a coughing fit that made colors and shapes swim across her eyes, she gasped again, finding the sudden intake of air a shock as it stung her lungs. Her eyes swam again. After a short she was able to breathe more easily so she looked around, seeing the cave light dimply with a kind of glowing stone. As she turned her head she spotted a small sandy shore within the cave and started to swim toward it. A task that would normally be relatively simple burned at her lungs and made her muscles cry out in protest.
She dragged her self ashore, panting heavily and collapsed with her legs still dangling in the water, gasping for air. She laid there for several more seconds until her breathing return to normal. She sat up and looked about the cave, seeing a small passageway behind her, just big enough for her to fit through comfortably. She moved along to look across the rest of the cave and spotted the cliff she had fallen from... in the large alcove a shadowy silhouette stood, staring at her, about 8 hooves tall. It had a lean build, with what looked like arms hanging down by its arms. While she was still studying it she saw it silently lurch forwards and dive into the dark depths of water below just where she herself had landed only minutes before. She immediately spun around and galloped into the passage way behind her.
She galloped through dark tunnels, the rhythmic sound of her hooves against the floor playing in stark contrast to the chaotic scuttling sounds of the creatures advance. She was racing through the passageways and tunnels but the creature continued to gain ground. Her muscles screamed out at her, her lungs burned, and she was slowing down. Before long it would catch her…before long it would all be over… all because of a wrong turn…
She rounded a corner and went straight into a solid wall, it was a dead end. She tried to retreat back into the main tunnel, but the creature was already in the entrance. The sinister being was shrouded in shadows. It moved slowly toward her as she cowered away against the wall. Each step it took made an eerie clacking noise, each one counting down the seconds she had to live. She sobbed quietly in fear. This was it. She was too exhausted to do any magic. She was defenseless, this was it… the end… she wished she could see her friends one last time… Pinkie Pie… Rarity… Applejack… Flutttershy… Rainbow Dash… Atom… ‘If only Atom were here, he’d know what to do… he’d find a way out’ she thought sadly,
“Oh Atom, I wish you were here…” Were her last quiet words before the creature raised its razor sharp hooked claw for the single killing blow…
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Ok, Finally done! I think this is much better, I tied to balance pace with description
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Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 6 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
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teen
|
2011-12-06T21:57:38+00:00
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2011-12-06T21:57:38+00:00
| 1,990 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Six: The Party
Last Time: She rounded a corner and went straight into a solid wall, it was a dead end. She tried to retreat back into the main tunnel, but the creature was already in the entrance. The sinister being was shrouded in shadows. It moved slowly toward her as she cowered away against the wall. Each step it took made an eerie clacking noise, each one counting down the seconds she had to live. She sobbed quietly in fear. This was it. She was too exhausted to do any magic. She was defenseless, this was it… the end… she wished she could see her friends one last time… Pinkie Pie… Rarity… Applejack… Flutttershy… Rainbow Dash… Atom… ‘If only Atom were here, he’d know what to do… he’d find a way out’ she thought sadly,
“Oh Atom, I wish you were here…” Were her last quiet words before the creature raised its razor sharp hooked claw for the single killing blow…
The claw glinted as it raced towards her. Her life flashed before her eyes and the world slowed to a near standstill. The hooked claw that signaled the end of her life filled her view, the last thing she would ever see… dying alone in a dark cave torn apart by an unnatural creature… When the claw was but an inch away, there was an intense flash of light and what sounded like a clap of thunder, leaving her momentarily blind and deaf. When her vision returned she could see the dim glow of flickering light from the creature now sprawling on the floor in a silent struggle between it and the flames now engulfing it.
Her hearing slowly returned, filling her ears with the sound of the creature's dying screams. She investigated the creature more closely; it was a tall mantis-like creature with flailing tentacles on its back. A familiar voice filled her ears.
“Your wish is my command M’lady.” Atom stood at the junction leading towards the dead end. Twilight stared at him blankly, her mind unable to comprehend the recent string of events.
“W-What..?” Atom shuffled awkwardly.
“Er… you know… because you said ‘Oh Atom I wish you were here…” He tried to explain but Twilight shook her head.
“N-no no… I mean what are you doing here… why aren’t I dead… I… but… the…” She said faintly as her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed on the cold stone floor.
She groggily woke up and looked around. She was in an unfamiliar bed in a room she had never seen before. It was messy with bare walls of concrete and a door in one corner. She got out from under the covers. The last thing she could remember was that terrible claw racing toward her. She shook her head, trying to regain a memory of how she had gotten there, and exactly where that was. She went through the door and was met with a familiar setting; Atom’s Observatory. She saw him over by a piece of machinery taking notes. He looked over in her direction and their eyes met. His relief was evident in his expression.
He galloped across the room, even jumping over one of the larger machines in his way, skidding to a stop in front of her.
“Twilight! Are you okay? I was so worried!” He said, his nerves thoroughly wracked. Right then the memories flooded back to her of how he had appeared at the last minute and saved her. She jumped forwards wrapping her forelegs around him in a hug. He gently placed his forelegs around her and returned the favor.
“Oh Atom, I was so scared! I thought I was going to die! How did you know I was in trouble?” She asked pulling back and looking at him with curiosity and gratitude.
He smiled and chuckled a little.
“Well I saw you walk right past the observatory and head into the forest, so I decided to follow and make sure nothing happened. You seemed a little…out of it…” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Oh… I see… wait… then why didn’t you help me when the creature first came after me?”
“Mainly because I couldn’t keep up. You are a very fast runner. If I’d been going as fast as you I wouldn’t have had the energy to use magic, and we both would have died…” Twilight blushed a little, clearly embarrassed.
“Y-yeah… I should have thought of that myself.” She blushed more and looked away, looking out the window to see the sun setting.
She then remembered Pinkie's party for Atom.
“Oh my gosh! What time is it!?” Atom, a little startled by her sudden outburst, answered her query.
“Er… it’s about 7, why?” She gasped and grabbed him by the hoof and started running towards the exit, dragging him behind.
“If we don’t hurry we’ll be late!” She cried out, running outside and towards Ponyville dragging an outright flabbergasted Atom by his foreleg.
“Late for what!?” He cried out, completely discombobulated by the sudden haste.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~At The Party~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“HI THERE! It’s so nice to finally meet you Atom! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for YOU! I was soooo sad when you didn’t come to your first party, but you’re here now and now I’m really happy so that makes everything okay! I was worried when you didn’t show up last time, I mean who doesn’t turn up to their own party!? I mean I guess some ponies…” She rambled on at great speed, thus causing Atom’s already uncomfortable mood to spiral into complete nervousness. He looked to Twilight for help, but she simply smiled and shrugged. “… and that’s why you should never feed alligators raisins.” Pinkie Pie Finished. Atom blinked for a second, then he took her hoof and shook it gently.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too Miss Pinkie.” He said with a smile.
Pinkie bounced off into the party. Atom sighed in relief and went over to see Twilight, and she smiled as he approached.
“Hey Atom, I want you to meet a good friend of mine. Fluttershy, this is the stallion I was telling you about.” Fluttershy, obviously a little nervous around so many ponies looked up at Atom. She saw looming over her and spoke in a tiny voice.
“H-hello… I’m Fluttershy… it’s nice to meet you…” Atom smiled and gently took her hoof and shook,
“I am Atom, it is a pleasure to meet you.” He said softly, allowing Fluttershy to feel more relaxed. She gave a little smile, but an unusually loud bass note caused her to squeak in surprise and curl up into a ball.
Twilight chuckled a little next to Atom, and he looked up.
“Oh don’t worry, she’s always like that, that’s just Fluttershy’s way” She whispered in his ear with a small smile, apparently having recovered from earlier events. Normally he would have thought that strange, but Pinkie Pie seemed to radiate energy, giving everypony a burst of life. Even he was starting to get into the party, and he was most certainly not the party type.
Atom Smiled and chuckled lightly, starting to relax a little, when an Orange Earth Pony with a blonde mane and three apples as her cutie mark trotted up to Twilight and gave her a hug. She looked over at Atom and smiled warmly.
“Awwww, you must be Twilight’s Coltfriend. Dash told me all ‘bout it. Y’all make such a cute couple!” She said happily, flashing a big grin. Both Atom and Twilight froze and blushed brightly and started rambling almost in synch.
“We’re not Dating! I wouldn’t… I mean I would but… I… Er… well we just met, and er…. “Atom stuttered, blushing so hard it turned his coat a lighter shade of red. Twilight’s face was heated with the fires of a thousand embarrassing suns.
Applejack looked confused for a moment then frowned.
“That Rainbow Dash!” she shouted. At that instant a loud rolling laughter sounded across the room. Dash was hovering in the air, leaning back, clutching her belly with laughter. Atom scowled and a red aura appeared around one of Dash’s wings, holding it in place. This made her loose balance and fall into the punch bowl below with a large splash, making every pony in the room laugh even harder, including the now dripping Rainbow Dash. Atom smiled victoriously, a smile that soon faded at Applejack’s next comment:
“Ha ha ha, but still, you two would make a cute couple.” Both Atom and Twilight just stood there blushing awkwardly.
After a few minutes of blushing with the awkwardness almost reaching unbearable levels, Pinkie Pie bounced up to the two.
“Aww come on, stop standing around like silly fillies! It’s a party! Come on! It’s time to dance!!” She said in her usual over energetic manner. Before either could protest she literally dragged them both onto the dance floor and then bounded up to the DJ booth where DJ Pon-3 was handling the tunes. Atom looked over at the DJ and frowned.
“How the hay did Pinkie Pie get Vinyl Scratch to DJ for the party!? You need to book her weeks in advance!” Twilight just giggled.
“It’s Pinkie Pie, you learn to just accept these things. Now… let’s dance” Twilight said with a little blush which was returned by Atom.
They both slumped down on the seats by the side of the dance floor, laughing to with each other. Atom had made a complete foal out of himself when his front hooves hoof slipped out from under him. He landed flat on his face with his flank sticking in the air, so they had decided retire from dancing.
“Ha ha ha, I always did have four left hooves” he joked and Twilight chuckled along. They both sat there catching their breath for a minute before Atom spoke up “Hey, should we go get some food, there seems to be plenty food up for grabs.”
At the snack table they both admired the huge array of sweets and pastries that were laid out. They hadn’t been able to get a clear view before, but now they were in front of it they could see how much there was, each treat looking more appealing than the last. They both filled their plates and returned to their seats and started to chat on happily. Twilight did most of the talking, and that was mostly just describing her friends, what they did, and what their personalities were like.
They talked for hours, just chatting on as the party slowly died down. Twilight was getting more and more tired after her stressful day, but tried to hide it from Atom. She didn’t want to leave just yet, but eventually she couldn’t help but let a large yawn escape. Atom smiled.
“Alrighty Miss Sparkle, I think it’s time I walked you home.” He said with a little chuckle. Twilight tried to protest, but was cut off by another yawn, which pretty much made any point she was about to make useless. She then resigned to head home with Atom.
They walked through Ponyville, a light breeze stirring the warm summer air. It was once again a clear, beautiful night. The stars shone in all their radiant beauty, framing Luna’s magnificent full moon as it hung in the sky. Both of the unicorns were looking up at the sky in admiration as they walked. They both looked down at each other at the same time and shared a smile. As the library came into view, hey both slowed down, neither wanting the beautiful walk to end. Despite their best efforts, they still arrived sooner than they would have liked.
Twilight turned to Atom once they reached the Library, and smiled.
“I’m glad you could come tonight, I really enjoyed myself.” She said happily.
“I had a good time too…” Atom said with a warm smile. He quickly kissed her on the cheek. “Goodnight Twilight.” He said softly, she blushed brightly, and smiled. She didn't trust her mouth to work right when she was so tired. She turned away and opened the door, but just as she was about to walk in Atom spoke quietle]y. “Twilight…” She turned back.
“Yea-” Her words were cut off as his lips met hers as they slowly, softly kissed under the stars….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight woke with a small smile on her lips as she remembered her kiss from the night before. They had parted ways after without another word. They had no need to speak, the smiles on their faces had been enough. Twilight climbed out of bed and was walking down the stairs into the library when there was a loud, slow knock on the door. “Who could that be…” she asked herself, going to the door and opening it. Looming over her were two of Celestia’s Royal Guards with a stern look. “Miss Sparkle, we need to ask you some questions about the movements of one Dr Atom Discharge…” Twilight’s heart stopped in her chest as she heard those words
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Okie Dokie Lokie, now please cut me a little slack, while I have been putting my best into this I have been pretty ill that last few days, so... if there is anything wrong tell me :P
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 7 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-18T19:57:32+00:00
|
2011-12-18T19:57:32+00:00
| 2,286 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Seven: Secrets and Lies
Last Time: Twilight woke with a small smile on her lips as she remembered her kiss from the night before. They had parted ways after without another word. They had no need to speak, the smiles on their faces had been enough. Twilight climbed out of bed and was walking down the stairs into the library when there was a loud, slow knock on the door. “Who could that be…” she asked herself, going to the door and opening it. Looming over her were two of Celestia’s Royal Guards with a stern look. “Miss Sparkle, we need to ask you some questions about the movements of one Dr Atom Discharge…” Twilight’s heart stopped in her chest as she heard those words...
Twilight sat silently In the carriage on the way to Canterlot, one of the royal guards either side of her. Her mind was still whirring over what had just happened: When the Guards had arrived she had refused to answer any questions until they told her what was going on. At that point they had insisted she came with them to Canterlot for a meeting with Princess Celestia. That had been about half an hour ago. Since then the sinking feeling in Twilight’s gut had done nothing but grown bigger. She could tell that whatever this was, it was big.
Twilight was marched through the unusually quiet palace and into the long throne room. The Palace had a strange atmosphere to it; a frightening mood. It was almost empty save for the guards, the number of which seemed to be double that of normal. The throne room itself was lined with guards. Their cold, serious eyes were unblinking. Twilight slowly marched up the main throne room with a guard either side of her. She felt as though every set of eyes in the room was on her, making her feel more and more apprehensive.
As she started to climb the stairs towards the two thrones she studied the princesses. Celestia looked like she hadn’t had a wink of sleep all night. Her eyes moved around the room nervously as if sure something would jump for her any minute. Her tail and mane twitched sporadically as her eyes darted to Twilight, looking into her with a piercing gaze instead of the warm caring look she usually found in the eyes of the mentor she knew and loved. This was not the same pony.
On the other hand Luna was sitting in her throne, her appearance equally haggard. She seemed less paranoid, and instead of her eyes suspiciously moving about the room, hers were fixed on her elder sister in a worried look of deep concern. When Twilight approached Luna looked at her with a pleading gaze, one that filled Twilight with worry and concern of her own. Something was definitely wrong here.
Celestia’s gaze softened a little as Twilight grew closer, obviously burying whatever emotions that had been plaguing her behind the wall of her Regal demure.
“My Faithful Student..” She said in her usual soft and kind voice, but the slight waver betrayed to Twilight that the Princess was in all but a kind mood. “… I am so glad to see you again… how are you feeling?” Celestia said in the same tone. At first Twilight had recognized it as the usual voice of her mentor and friend, but as the conversation slowly continued, and the air of tension grew, Twilight could tell something was amiss. The usual warm manner of the Princess was replaced with a colder more serious one.
As the conversation continued to go nowhere fast, the Princess continuing to spout simple small talk. Twiligh'ts apprehensive mood did nothing but grow worse, as did her frustration. Finally she had enough.
“Princess! Can we please get to the point? Why am I here? And why will nopony tell me what is happening?” The Princess jumped a little, betraying her discomfort before regaining her composure.
“You are very right Twilight, we should get down to business. I won’t waste your time with pointless storytelling, I’ll just cut to the chase. This Scientist you have met, Atom, he is dangerous, very dangerous… “ She paused to let the information sink in. “I thought, I hoped, he had left and moved to a far-away place, but every now and then I would receive news of a sighting. Though none of those were particularly reliable, this is the first solid lead we have had in years…” She said, sinking into thought. Twilight was startled and confused. She spoke up after about a minute
“B-but Princess… why are you trying to catch him anyway…?” She was still trying to piece the information together.
Celestia’s demure became sombre at the question.
“He is wanted for… high treason… Twilight… he tried to kill me.” She said in a pained voice, again pausing momentarily “He was banished from Equestria… upon penalty of death if he returned. He disappeared for several years… but in the past few years he seems to have come back… overall there have been twenty sightings of him in the last three years… twenty one including last night’s sighting of him… with you…” She said, once again pausing as Twilight took a step back a little. Twilight did not like this Celestia… she was colder, and Twilight didn’t know what she was willing to do any more.
Celestia gave a deadpan look.
“Twilight, I’m not going to have you hung in chains, you didn’t know who he was. But I need your help. He is a danger Twilight, and he can’t be allowed to roam free in Equestria. I need you to help us catch him off guard, or he will get away. He trusts you, doesn’t he?” Twilight simply nodded in response, her mood sombre and her emotions confused. “I thought as much. The plan is, you will take a contingent of the royal guard to his-“ Celestia was cut off by Twilight.
“No.” She said “No, I will not march a small army to his front door… just let me go with two of the guards, I’ll convince him to come quietly… there’s no need for bloodshed.” Twilight was almost desperate. Celestia thought for a moment before nodding decisively.
“Very well, but you had best be right, or we will have lost this opportunity.” She said seriously.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An Hour Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The carriage shuddered slightly as it glided through the air, disrupting Twilight’s thoughts momentarily, before they returned to contemplating what she was going to do. On the one hoof, she could do as Celestia asked, he must be dangerous to have the Princess so worked up… On the other hoof, Atom trusted her. She couldn’t just betray that, and then there were her feelings for him; though they had only just started to develop, she didn’t want it to end there. She sighed, deeply uncertain of what course of action to take. The pros and cons of each situation ran in endless circles in her mind, making her more and more frustrated, until finally she had to stop and take a deep breath. Alright, this is getting me nowhere, I need to stop and think this one through. Celestia obviously isn’t telling me everything, so I should hear Atom’s side of the story before deciding anything. She nodded, happy with her plan, though not with the situation.
When they finally touched down on the edge of the forest, Twilight took a deep breath before dismounting the carriage. She walked down the old road into the forest, going deliberately slowly to delay the inevitable. Eventually she reached the Observatory and knocked on the door. As always, it opened inwards with a glowing read aura. She walked into the empty corridor. When the two guards tried to follow they collided with an invisible barrier, which rippled red, a ripple that, to the guards, could be seen spreading over the whole structure. The door glowed and slammed shut, sealing. Twilight hear muffled shouts from outside. She sighed and continued down the corridor cautiously. She walked into the main room to see Atom standing in the middle of it looking at her with a blank face, his emotions unreadable.
Atom walked closer.
“Twilight, why are there two of the elite royal guard outside of my home?” He asked in a flat tone. Twilight normally would have been intimidated by this, but today she wasn't putting up with any of it.
“Why the hell did you not tell me you were wanted for HIGH TREASON!?” The last two words she screamed at him, startling him slightly.
“How do you know that? And how much do you know?” He asked in a serious and commanding voice. This time Twilight did feel intimidated, worried as to how he would react. She stammered a little, now nervous. He was obviously angry, which scared her. She slowly began to explain what had happened at Canterlot.
By the end Atom was facing away from her, his face unreadable.
“Why did you agree Twilight? You could have said no… “ His voice showed the hurt he was feeling. She replied in a desperate, almost pleading manner.
“Atom… how was I supposed to say no to my Mentor? She has been like a mother-“ She stopped as Atom swiveled around with wide eyes
“WHAT!? You are Celestia’s student!? And you never thought to mention this before!?” Twilight raked her memory, and realized it simply hadn’t come up.
“Well it never came up! Anyway! Who are you to talk!? You never thought to mention you were banished from Equestria, upon pain of death for high treason for trying to KILL THE PRINCESS!?” She screamed at him. His head dropped at her words.
“I didn’t try to kill her… it was-“ His sombre words were cut off by a large Explosion emanating from the door at the end of the corridor, which caused the whole structure to shake, streams of dust floating down from the gaps in the brickwork in the ceiling.
Atoms mood grew grave, and he looked at Twilight seriously.
“Twilight… you have to make a choice… you can side with the Princess in which you can stay here and you’ll never have to hear from me again, and you won’t be dragged further into the situation.” The structure shook again with a second larger bang, strain started to show on Atom’s face as he struggled to maintain the shield. “Or… you can come run away with me… we’ll be on the run from the Royal guard… but you can hear the full story that was and… well… we’ll have each other…” he said, his eyes and voice softening, as he looked at her with caring in his eyes. Twilight looked back into his eyes with the same look. Her mind was at war. On the one hoof, she could get out of this terrible situation and not have to look back… but she would have lost Atom, and she would never know the truth. On the other hoof, she could live a life on the move with danger lurking close behind, but she would know the truth. And she would be with Atom, whom she had come to care about more and more over the past few days…
There was a Third bang, and a few bricks flew loose, Atom gasped as he let the spell go, unable to maintain it. He looked at her with pleading eyes.
“Twilight, you have to choose. Now. But know that, no matter which you choose, I will understand.” He said somberly. Twilight was being torn in two, she simply couldn’t decide. There was a deafening explosion and the wall exploded inwards, bricks being deflected by the barrier Twilight had instinctively formed around herself. The room was filled with smoke, and Twilight could see very little any further than Atom. Then a tall shadow formed in the smog, soon forming into Celestia. She stepped out of the shadows, followed a moment later by a line of guards who circled around Twilight and Atom, surrounding them.
“Move away from him Twilight.” Celestia Demanded in a cold, hard tone.
“You have to choose now.” Atom said quietly to her, in an urgent tone. Twilight looked at Celestia, seeing the cold, angry eyes instead of the eyes of the mentor she had once known. She then looked at Atom, his eyes filled with caring and concern for her. At that instant she knew which path to follow.
“Twilight, step away from him THIS INSTANT!” Celestia bellowed, her horn starting to glow. Twilight looked back at her with sadness in her eyes, and then stepped backwards, towards Atom. Celestia screamed in fury and launched a ball of pure energy at the two Unicorns. In the instant before the projectile struck there was a blinding flash of light. Both of Atom and Twilight were gone, and the projectile flew through the space they had occupied only moments ago, exploding on impact with the ground with a small fiery explosion. Celestia screamed out, and then turned to her Captain
“Find them! They can’t have gotten far! Use as many Guards as you need, just FIND THEM!” \ While The Captain quickly started organizing the troops, Celestia turned back to the spot where they had stood and growled to herself. “I will find you Atom…”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author’s note:
Ok, don’t get the wrong idea here, I am not trying to make Celestia look evil, just showing that she is not perfect, and that even the princess can let emotions get the better of them (In a similar way to Luna/Nightmare Moon)
Additional notes: I just want to thank everyone who has kept going and reading, you have kept me writing, thank you all, I love you guys!
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 8 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2011-12-24T12:04:06+00:00
|
2011-12-24T12:04:06+00:00
| 1,727 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Eight: So Many Years Ago
Last Time: “Twilight, step away from him THIS INSTANT!” Celestia bellowed, her horn starting to glow. Twilight looked back at her with sadness in her eyes, and then stepped backwards, towards Atom. Celestia screamed in fury and launched a ball of pure energy at the two Unicorns. In the instant before the projectile struck there was a blinding flash of light. Both of Atom and Twilight were gone, and the projectile flew through the space they had occupied only moments ago, exploding on impact with the ground with a small fiery explosion. Celestia screamed out, and then turned to her Captain
“Find them! They can’t have gotten far! Use as many Guards as you need, just FIND THEM!” While The Captain quickly started organizing the troops, Celestia turned back to the spot where they had stood and growled to herself. “I will find you Atom…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Several Hours Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was another clear night, though colder than the night before. Summer was drawing to a close. The glistening stars looked down over the tress of the Everfree Forest, particularly so over the small pool of flickering light located in one of the many clearings. Twilight gazed back at the stars close to a source of the light, a small fire giving off no smoke. It was magically maintained by Atom as he set up the tents. Twilight took notice of how easily Atom was able to maintain several spells at once. Usually a unicorn would have to concentrate completely on the spell they were doing, but Atom seemed to not even be paying attention to the magic. Her thoughts slowly drifted back to what had happened earlier that day. She had so many questions, but they had been moving for hours and hadn’t had a chance to talk.
Finally Atom sat down, sighing slightly.
“Twilight… I’m so sorry you had to be dragged into this, but-“ He was cut off by Twilight’s unusually sharp response.
“Cut the crap Atom, I came with you because I trust you, but that will only go so far.” She looked over at him with sadness in her eyes “I betrayed my mentor for you. I need to know more, I need to know what happened between you two… and more if possible.”
Atom sighed. This was the moment he had been dreading. He sombrely started the story, gazing into the night sky with a stony expression and deep, sad eyes that reflected the glistening the stars as he began to tell the tale that had started so many years ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So Many Years Ago ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young colt, with a deep crimson coat and a short horn poking out of an unkempt mess of a mane bounced up the steps of the royal palace in an energetic dance. This was going to be the best day of Atom’s life. Today he was going to get into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; he could just feel it. His Father galloped up the stairs after the energetic colt trying to catch up to him.
Atom’s father, a large and muscled earth pony who had a deep blue coat and a picture of a wrench pasted on his flank, caught him just before he was about to barrel through the main doors to the palace.
“Whoa there son! Settle down, we can’t have you bouncing about like that in the entry examination, can we?” Atom looked back at his father and gave a big grin.
“Okay daddy, I’ll try to keep calm. It’s just so exciting.” The large stallion gently wrapped his forelegs around his boy in a loving hug.
“Oh son, I am so proud of you, your mother would be so happy with how well you’ve done were she still here…” The blue earth pony said gently, slowly stroking the young colt’s hair with a gentle hoof. The young Atom looked up at his father
“She is here Daddy; we keep her in our hearts.” The innocent colt wore a warm smile. The blue stallion looked down at his son with joy and pride. He couldn’t be more proud to have raised this wonderful boy.
Atom fidgeted in the waiting room. He wasn't nervous, he was excited. He was surrounded by several young colts and fillies, all shuffling in their seats. They were all dressed in similar smart suits and such, with critical parents mumbling angrily for them to keep still. All were completely over prepared and had probably been groomed all their lives for this opportunity. Atom on the other side was looking as scruffy as, if not scruffier, than ever, and it was obvious that some of the other parents didn’t approve. But everyone’s attention shifted as the first candidate was called in.
After a few moments there was a loud crash, and a scream and a large plume of smoke billowed out from under the door. A few seconds later a singed, and traumatized looking young colt marched out, nothing left of his pricy suit. Most of the other candidates started to panic, it was evident in their eyes. Obviously they had been expecting some kind of interview. Obviously they were wrong. The panic even showed on some of the parents faces. Atom’s dad leaned down and whispered in his ear.
“You know, if you want to back out now I’ll understand. Just the fact you got the opportunity is amaz-“ He was cut off by Atom’s hoof in his mouth.
“Dad, I’m not nervous, I know I can out do all of these snooty kids, don’t worry.” He said with a grin at his father after removing his hoof.
Atom’s dad looked down with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh really? Not nervous at all?” Atom grinned up at his dad.
“Well…. Maybe a little.” His grin grew and they chuckled together, getting more than one odd look from the overly serious parents. Which just made then pair laugh more. After a few more turns, each ending in a similar way to the first it was Atom’s turn. He jumped up out of his seat and bounced excitedly into the room, ready for anything that could be thrown against him.
As he bounced in he looked up to see the Princess herself talking to the moderators.
“My Princess, are you sure the [mumble] isn’t too much?” Asked the moderator to what appeared to be a rather disgruntled Princess Celestia.
“No, I am sick of stuck up children who practice and practice for this, but who have no natural talent.” The moderator let out a little sigh.
“Of course Ma’am.” He raised his voice a bit “Alright, the next candidate is Atom Discharge.” The moderator said as Celestia started to walk away. She looked back momentarily, and spotted Atom. She knew at once this colt was different. For once somepony not dressed up in unpractical and unnecessary suits and fancy clothing. She turned around and sat down next to the moderators, startling them slightly.
“I think… I will stay for this one… “ She said quietly, and turned her attention to Atom. The Head Moderator cleared his throat.
"Alright, we will commence the examination now. Are you ready?” Atom, with a determined look on his face, nodded sharply. The Princess was personally observing him. This was his chance to show what he could do. No matter what the Examination held, he would make sure he showed his best.
The Head Moderator nodded back, and then his horn glowed. A huge set of double doors started to form in the far wall. When they had fully formed there was a loud rumble and the doors bulged outwards slightly and began to glow. The moderators started to whisper among each other.
“He’s too young, we should call it off” One of the moderators whispered just loud enough for the Princess to hear.
“No… I think he is ready for this… go ahead with it, I want to see what he can do…” Celestia never took her eyes off Atom. The head Moderator hesitated, and then nodded, his horn glowing again. The door slowly opened, but were soon blasted to the sides by a torrent of fire. Out of the dark chamber behind the doors stepped a Dragon. A fully mature, thirty foot, deadly dragon.
Atom stifled a gasp. He had to act fast, so he ran head first at the dragon on pure instinct, and not a moment too soon as a missive torrent of liquid fire smashed against the spot he had just been stood on, scorching the ground. Atom looked back as he ran, seeing his father separated by a magic barrier. He looked like he had just been sent into shock. Atom looked forwards just in time to see the huge tail collide with him. When his sense had returned to him he realized he was clinging to the tail being swung high in the air. he let go and landed hard on the head of the dragon. Shaking himself off he saw the dragon crouch, and then it jumped up, and Atom dived into the crook of the dragon’s neck as the dragon smashed its own head off the ceiling in an attempt to crush him.
The dragon stumbled, dazed. Atom saw his chance and took it. His horn glowed bright red and a huge wave of energy collided with the dragons right leg, making it topple to the side. Atom leapt off as the dragon’s head as it collided with the floor, knocking it out momentarily. His horn blazed brighter as he used the dragon's tail to hog tie it's legs together. The strain showed as he slid the dragon into the room. He started to relax as he closed the doors, but then a roar bellowed out, blasting Atom into the far wall as the Dragon started to pry the doors apart
Atoms eyes narrowed and he charged forwards, his horn glowing more and more. He raced forwards, and his eyes glowed just before the impact. When he collided with the dragon there was a blinding flash of light and a huge boom that shattered several windows. When the light had faded the Moderators could see Atom laid on the floor panting heavily. The last thing Atom saw before blacking out was his father galloping up to him.
“I told you he was too young!” said one of the Moderators
“Perhaps you are right, but I didn’t expect him to actually seal the door shut.” Said the Princess. Atom heard the voices and started to come around. Realizing where he was he quickly sprung up out of his father’s forelegs, but had to stop and wait for the room to stop spinning before he continued. When he felt balanced enough he looked around to see everypony had come down from the stands, even the Princess. Everypony was looking at him, and he felt a little intimidated. For a few awkward moments nopony spoke. The Princess stepped forwards and offered Atom a hoof. “Welcome to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.”
Over the next few years Atom studied in the School, becoming top in his class, and even graduating early to start researching into magic directly under the princess herself. But a few months into his research he made a discovery about the very nature of magic itself, a discovery that started a cascade of events to follow.
A teenage Atom, covered in soot from head to toe, galloped down the corridor towards the throne room. Smoke was still streaming from his unkempt hair. He barrelled into the throne room and slid across the floor. He continued past the throne and through the door to the right of it, bounding up the spiralled stairs to the Princess' room. He slid to a stop as the guards lowered their wings to block the way.
“Who goes there?” One demanded. Atom slid his goggles up with his hoof.
“Come on guys, it’s me, this is important.” One of the guards chuckled
We didn’t recognize you behind all the soot. Alright, we’ll let you in. Princess! Atom is here to see you!” The guard called through the door.
The door opened inwards and Atom galloped into the room. It was a usual scene for him; the beautiful glass ceiling showing the sky in all its beauty, the marble walls inscribed with gold, the beautiful oak furniture that had been warn smooth with use. The Princess was at her desk with a small stack of papers in front of her.
“Princess, I did it! I finally discovered how magic functions! You have to see this!” Atom literally dragged the Princess back to the lab and showed her a black board covered in equations. “It’s all about resonance! Everypony has natural magic in them, and when the soul is vibrating at the same frequency as the natural magic we get an effect! For example when Cutie marks come about! But unicorns can make our souls resonate in different ways! We each have a specific resonance related to our special talent! Like when you raise the sun!”
Atom was getting more and more excited, bouncing about Celestia. But the Princess stopped him with a hoof and gently looked into his eyes.
“Atom… have you tried this…?” Atom could see the seriousness in her eyes and instantly calmed down.
“Y-yes… I… I tried to… it was a little unstable and… well..” He gestured to his soot covered body.
“Atom, you have to Promise me you will never try this again… okay? It is dangerous and I don’t want you getting hurt.” She had a soft and caring look in her eyes.
“O-okay princess… I won’t try again.” He felt a little down. He had been working for weeks, months on this…
The princess soon left, and Atom went to shower off but as the soot washed away he saw it… his cutie mark. He must have gained it after the explosion… That was it… this was what he was meant to do… and not even the Princess would stop him.
Over the next few months he started to work on how to increase power and control. He discovered more about the nature of this effect, and that there were in fact levels of resonance, each requiring several times more energy than the last. He struggled to find a way to break past the first level of resonance, until one day he found a way and set into motion a plan to show the Princess how useful this really could be.
One of the royal guards rocketed through the palace. He raced to the throne room, charging through the main door and past the line of people who were being entered for the school's entry examination and up to the Princess herself.
“M’lady! You have to come; somepony has broken into the test chamber!" Celestia looked seriously at the guard, nodded and followed him quickly to the secret elevator that lead down to the secret magical test room below the palace. As they were going down in the lift the Princess was hoping that it wouldn’t be who she feared… even though, in her heart, she knew.
The magical testing room had been built many, many years ago, before Luna had become Nightmare moon. It had been used as a room for the Princesses to test new spells and such… very few people knew about it…
Celestia stepped out of the elevator and it instantly closed behind her, trapping the Princess in and the Guard out. She walked forward towards the test area, and looked through the glass panel to see Atom there. He had bags under his eyes and he seemed very fidgety. She placed her hand on the intercom button.
“Atom, what are you doing here? Please… if this is about the resonance stop… please… it isn’t safe and I don’t want-” She was cut off by Atom.
“Cut it princess, you didn’t see the potential in this, but I’m going to show you now! You will see the power we can harness!” As he finished talking a warning light and siren started to signal the beginnings of the test. “If I feed the energy back on itself I can increase the output exponentially. Celestia’s eyes widened. “ATOM! STOP! If you do this you could kill us both! It’s too much power!” The Princess shouted, trying to reason with him, but he had already started.
His horn started to glow, getting brighter and brighter, more and more power building up. He felt himself hit the first level of resonance, and started to feed the energy back into himself until eventually he managed to hit the second resonance. A beam of pure energy shot out of his horn, destroying anything in its path, picking matter apart atom by atom. But something went wrong. A powerful wave of energy caused him to lose control. The beam started to waver and expand. He felt the energy of the universe flowing through him and had no way to control it. He tried to regain control but it burned at him, it burnt him up from the inside. Finally another wave of energy rocketed through his body and up his horn, he felt a line of fire race up his horn. There was a massive crash as energy exploded outwards in a searing light and intense sound. Everything went black.
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 9 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2012-01-04T17:56:41+00:00
|
2012-01-04T17:56:41+00:00
| 2,322 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Nine: An Unexpected Guest
Last Time: His horn started to glow, getting brighter and brighter, more and more power building up. He felt himself hit the first level of resonance, and started to feed the energy back into himself until eventually he managed to hit the second resonance. A beam of pure energy shot out of his horn, destroying anything in its path, picking matter apart atom by atom. But something went wrong. A powerful wave of energy caused him to lose control. The beam started to waver and expand. He felt the energy of the universe flowing through him and had no way to control it. He tried to regain control but it burned at him, it burnt him up from the inside. Finally another wave of energy rocketed through his body and up his horn, he felt a line of fire race up his horn. There was a massive crash as energy exploded outwards in a searing light and intense sound. Everything went black.
Atom slowly woke up, his whole body burning with pain. He opened his eyes, the light searing at first, but he forced himself to keep his eyes open until they adjusted. He saw the ceiling of his room in the palace, he tried to remember how he had gotten there. The memories flooded back into his head, and his eyes filled with tears. He had let his desire for answers get the better of him, and it had evolved into a primal lust for power that had put not just himself in danger, but Canterlot itself.; there must have been some serious structural damage done under the city. But worst of all… he had put Celestia in danger… his mentor, the mare who had shown nothing but support and kindness towards him… the closest thing he still had to a mother.
It would have been easier to give in to the sadness and simply cry, but Atom had to see what was happening, to make sure that the princess was okay. He staggered towards the door. His horn glowed to open it, but instead of the door glowing a line of pain shot up his horn. A pain so intense it obliterated what energy he had left, causing him to fall to the floor and writhe in pain until he passed back into the darkness of unconsciousness. His last sensation was a warmth running down his forehead.
Atom woke to two guards looming over him.
“Atom Discharge, stand up. We are here to take you before the Princess.” The guard ordered him. Atom staggered too his hooves, his legs cramping as he did. The two guards then positioned themselves in front and behind him, and started marching towards the royal throne room. Atom’s heart sunk as the doors opened to the throne room; the princess had a hard serious look on her face. Atom looked out of one of the windows and saw the candidates for the school. It couldn't have been more than a few hours since the explosion.
He turned his head towards the Princess as he approached. She bore a serious demure, more serious than he had ever seen her.
“Atom, I am so disappointed… I have let things slide in the past… But this is too big… this cannot go without punishment. Not only have you specifically ignored royal orders, you have caused major structural damage to Canterlot. We are very lucky that the city is still stable after the huge amount of solid rock you disintegrated. But worse still… You have assaulted myself… I am lucky my magic was able to hold against that blast. Atom, that means you are going to be charged with treason… “
Atom took this news silently, knowing he had messed up… he was scared.
“Atom; I cannot ignore charges like those, not even for you, not without undermining the entire legal system.” Hundreds of thoughts were passing through his head as he heard this. What would happen to him? He had heard rumors about things like this… and about the sculpture garden… He couldn’t let that happen, he had to get out, but h-
There was a loud noise similar to that of thunder. Everypony in the room recoiled… everypony but Atom. He knew this was his last chance to get out. He spun around and bolted out the main door into the courtyard, and saw a huge shockwave bearing every color of the rainbow spreading across the sky. He stopped in the court yard and gazed at it for a moment before looking back to see the guards start to take chase. There was another crash, this one much closer. Atom's head swiveled up to see a purple and green dragon burst up through the roof, causing the guards to stall again. Atom barreled through the main gates and out of the palace.
Celestia watched him go and sighed. She stood up and headed towards the examination room as the guards ran about trying to find out what had happened. As she walked thoughts raced through her head. She had to make sure Atom was caught… she couldn’t let the covenant know about this… if they did… who knew what would happen. As she was walking down the corridor she saw the captain of the guard who was running around just as panicked as the rest, trying to get into the examination room.
“Leave it Captain Blade, I’ll handle this. I need you to lock down the city and capture Atom. Make sure he doesn’t get away!” She said authoritatively, and marched into the room.
Atom raced through the city towards the main gate. He had to get out before the city was locked down. He saw the main gate and pushed harder. Word must have reached the guards there; the gates were slowly swinging closed. He galloped faster and faster, trying to slip through just before they slid closed. He didn’t; he collided with the gates as they fell into place, rolling back several feet. He shook his head and looked back up at the gates, and then blinked a little in disbelief. In the gates there was a smaller one pony door. He went over and tested it, and it swung limply on its hinges. He went through almost laughing and kept galloping onwards.
One of the guards who had ran down watched, also in disbelief. He blinked a few times and then face-hoofed, but was almost knocked down as the Captain of the guard barreled past at full speed. The armored earth pony charged towards the escaping unicorn. Atom looked back to see The Captain and sped up, trying, in vain, to outrun him. Atom turned around to confront the captain as he realized he could not out run him.
“Atom! Come back with me now! If not she’ll send the rest of the Guards, and we both know they will not go easy on you!”
Atom looked at him with desperation in his eyes.
“Please Blade… we’ve known each other for years… we are friends. I need your help… please… for a friend.” Atom pleaded with the captain. Blade looked down. It was true, over the years they had been good friends. Atom was one of the few ponies in the castle Blade could really talk to without having to look up to or having to give orders to. He sighed heavily and looked back up at Atom.
“Alright, get out of here, I’ll make up an excuse. Go on! GET!” He shouted authoritatively. Atom nodded and galloped off.
Over the next few months he hid out in different towns around Equestria, and eventually learned from a trusted friend that he had been officially banished. And so it became too dangerous to stay. At first he tried hiding out in more inconspicuous places such as caves and forests but it was simply too difficult to keep himself hidden. And so he decided to move, and eventually found himself in Griffon country where he worked as a scientist at a university where he managed to gain his title as Dr.
Eventually, Atom was betrayed by someone he had trusted, someone who had heard about the bounty that had been put on his head, someone who preferred money over loyalty. And so Atom was forced to move on once again, deciding to return to Equestria. Hoping the Princess would be looking further afield, he had decided to enter via a most unregulated route; the Everfree forest. After a while he happened across the old abandoned observatory, which he managed to make functional, and the quaint town of Ponyville. It was perfect. He could quietly live on the border to Equestria without raising suspicions, so long as he kept out of the way of the village as much as possible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Present~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Atom finished and continued gazing at the fire. They both sat in silence for a few contemplative minutes before Atom spoke up.
“What I did was wrong… and I am sorry for dragging you into it… if you wish to go and tell the guards where I am… I will understand…” He said in a slow sad tone. He continued to stare at the fire until he felt Twilight’s hoof on his shoulder. He turned to look at her and their lips met.
Although surprised at first, Atom sank into the kiss. They held on for a few minutes before Twilight pulled away and looked into his eyes. He looked back, captivated by the kindness that radiated from her beautiful purple eyes.
“Atom, I chose to come with you because I care about you, and I will stand with you until it is over." Atom smiled warmly.
“Thank you… I don’t think I could keep running without you… I L-“ Both froze as they heard the noise the un mistakable beating of wings, both felt their hearts sink with worry.
“Quickly cover the fire Twilight.” He ordered quietly. As Twilight did as she was told Atom used his magic to pack away the rest of the camp. They heard the noise again and saw a silhouette glide across the stars, coming down to land near the camp. It was followed by the noise of galloping hooves heading towards them. They looked at each other and nodded. They turned and galloped away at full speed, hoping to out run the pursuer.
As they powered through the forest it became increasingly obvious that the pursuer was not only failing to fall behind, but was actually catching up. Atom looked to Twilight and gestured to the left and they both quickly changed direction, hoping to lose whoever was following them. This was to no avail as they heard the pursuer skid and change direction.
By this point both Atom and Twilight were starting to slow but one tailing them was still going strong, with well trained endurance. There was no way they could outrun, outlast, or outthink this pony. Atom and Twilight knew they were left with little chance to escape.
Suddenly Twilight fell, her hoof having hit a protruding root and caused her to trip, skidding across the ground to stop in a jumbled heap on the forest floor. Atom stopped, skidding several feet and sending up a shower of dirt. He galloped back to her and helped her out her position.
“Twilight, are you okay!?” He said with quiet urgency.”
Twilight grimaced as she moved her hoof.
“I think it’s sprained…” She said desperately. The galloping was getting closer. Both Atom and Twilight knew it was over. They would be captured and put on trial, and then who knows what would happen. Atom looked to Twilight with love in his eyes and then leaned in to kiss her gently. Twilight lovingly kissed back.
They waited there for the pursuer to find them as the galloping slowly got louder. The pursuer slowed to a trot, approaching the clearing where Atom and Twilight laid together. A silhouette slowly formed along the treeline, and then the figure was illuminated as it stepped out into the light of Luna’s moon.
“Atom… I knew I could find you here.”
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 10 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2012-01-22T20:40:19+00:00
|
2012-01-22T20:40:19+00:00
| 2,870 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Ten: Hatchlings
Last time: They waited there for the pursuer to find them as the galloping slowly got louder. The pursuer slowed to a trot, approaching the clearing where Atom and Twilight laid together. A silhouette slowly formed along the treeline, and then the figure was illuminated as it stepped out into the light of Luna’s moon.
“Atom… I knew I could find you here.”
Before them stood, clad in a tight, blue flight suit was a Wonderbolt; Soarin. Twilight gasped and tried to back away but her hoof tinged and she grimaced. She knew that the Wonderbolts were the most elite of Equestria’s air force, under the direct command of Celestia herself. She started to shiver a little with fear; there was no way of getting away now, but stopped when Atom sighed in relief.
“Twilight, this is Soarin, he’s a good friend of mine… kind of an inside contact.” Atom explained with a warm smile. He gently helped Twilight to her hooves, before shaking hooves with Soarin. “Soarin, it’s been too long old friend. Now, what’s the latest?”
Soarin opened his mouth to speak, but a shout from across the forest got his attention.
“Sir! I’ve found a camp! It’s still hot, can’t be more than half an hour old!” Both Atom and Soarin looked at each other and started to move. Atom quickly placed Twilight onto his back and dashed off with Soarin, running alongside each him.
“Atom, we both know there is only one place to hide around here!” Atom Glared at Soarin.
“No, I don’t care how far we have to run, but that place is just too dangerous, I won’t chance it with Twilight.” Atom continued to glare at Soarin.
“Atom, that nest was cleared out years ago… I’m pretty sure. It’s that or get caught!” He looked seriously at Atom. “You were never one for endurance Atom… with a mare on your back there's no way you'll last all night.” His voice held a regretful tone. Atom kept running silently for a few minutes then let out a long sigh.
“I guess it’s our only hope..” Atom said as they both changed direction and headed towards a rocky formation. As they approached the formation a small opening became apparent in the moonlight, and both of the stallions slipped inside and slowed, moving through the twisted corridors of natural stone.
Soon, after the path had slopped down for a bit they came into a large open cavern. It was huge and dark. The three moved deeper in and set up a small fire, creating a minuscule pool of light, the edges of the cavern still very much shrouded in darkness. Twilight laid back as Atom tended to her hoof and Soarin kept the fire going, while cooking some food after their run. When Atom was done he gently pecked Twilight on the lips and helped her up.
“Wow… it’s… so dark… where did you bring us?” Twilight asked the two. Soarin and Atom glanced at each other.
“Well.. it’s an old cave system, supposedly abandoned for many years. But ponies are still hesitant about it. It’s not really the time to talk about that though… it is much too late, and we have travelled much too far today. We should rest. I’ll take the first wat-” Atom was cut off by Soarin.
“Oh no you don’t! I’ll take first watch, you’ve had a much too exciting day. And I know what your sleeping habits, and thus I know you haven't slept for days anyway!” Atom rolled his eyes.
“Fine Mummy, I’ll go to bed.” Atom said in a dry tone.
Soarin gave a little grin.
“Good boy, don’t forget to brush your teeth.” He gave his best housemare voice, prompting a deadpan look from Atom. Twilight giggled.
“Don’t be like that Atom, at least you have somepony to snuggle up with.” Twilight winked at Atom before sticking her tongue out at Soarin, who gave the same deadpan look he had recently received. His response was a mumbled; “Touché.”
Atom grinned and laid down next to Twilight, kissing her gently before draping his foreleg over her and pulling her close. They fell asleep almost instantly, drifting into a very calm slumber. Soarin watched the camp all night, not having the heart to wake them. As the hours rifted by, the only sign that day was coming was that the entrance to the cavern glowed ever so slightly. The cavern itself stayed dark, seeming to absorb any light that entered into it, even the small circle of light from the fire was no more than a meter wide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In The Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, when it seemed to be as light as it was going to get inside the cavern, Soarin woke the two slumbering ponies.
“Come on Guys, we had best get moving.” Soarin nudged the two gently. They both woke up and stretched. Atom got up and helped Twilight to her hooves. They looked around.
“So… Does this place ever get light? We can’t even see where things are.” Atom said gazing into the darkness.
“Well I can fix that!” Twilight said energetically, her horn glowing before releasing a wave of light that spread across the cavern.
No one blinked for a second, as they all got a glimpse of the enormous cavern, and at what was in it. Although the light only lasted a few seconds before fading, they all saw it. The walls and roof of the cavern were covered in odd shapes... something was definitely wrong.
“Oh… shit….” Atom said. “I thought you said they’d cleared it!” Atom looked angrily at Soarin.
“A-apparently not.” Was all Soarin could muster.
Twilight was looking shocked and confused.
“Er..W-what are the-” She stopped talking as the Cavern started to light back up, a low, eerie glow emanating from the odd shapes… the eggs.
“Twilight…. They are wild Dragons… Wild Dragon eggs to be exact… one major difference between domesticated dragons, such as Spike, And wild dragons is-” A loud splintering sound echoed throughout the cavern, emanating from one of the eggs. “- Is… they will hatch when exposed to any kind of magic… We have to move… NOW!” He shouted causing the all three ponies to start sprinting further into the cave.
In retrospect running deeper into the cave may have been a bad idea, but at this point they were running mostly on instinct, as the sounds of cracking and shattering increased into a chaotic symphony. All three ran at full speed through the caverns, and then…. Silence… nothing but the sounds of their hooves. They all stopped and listened closely, and only their breaths could be heard. A single screech echoed throughout the caves, followed a moment later by the sounds of thousands of tiny claws skittering across rock, the sounds building together into a terrifying orchestra that filled the hearts of the three ponies with the cold stabbing knife of fear. They quickly got moving again, the sounds of galloping mixing into the wall of noise following behind them, steadily getting louder.
Atom’s horn glowed and a ball of fire formed at the tip of his horn, which he launched back into the tunnel by whipping his head around. The bright projectile illuminated the tunnel behind them, showing that, from about 5 metres behind them and back; every inch of the walls of the tunnel was covered in a writhing mass of scales. All three gasped and sped up, but they were starting to tire, Soarin most of all due to his lack of sleep.
The Fireball hit the mass and exploded, knocking several off the walls. Atom launched a second at the ceiling, causing part of it to collapse, knocking several more down, but then there was a shudder, and a large crack ran along the roof of the tunnel. It stretched ahead of them, and the cave started to fall apart, rocks dropping out of the ceiling forcing the three to move quickly to avoid them.
Then, suddenly, Soarin fell, rolling head over hooves and coming to a stop. Atom ground to a halt and started to run back for Soarin. A slab of rock fell into his path, blocking it completely. Atom kept going and rammed into the rock, and then pulled back and rammed again, trying to move it, or break through.
“NO! NO! NO! I’LL GET TO YOU!” Atom screamed, even though there was no way Soarin could have heard. He continued ramming until he slid to the ground in despair.
Twilight galloped over and got him onto his hooves.
“Atom! We have to get to safety!” Atom looked up at her, his eyes desperate, but when their gazed locked his eyes filled with fire and determination.
“You're right. Soarin is strong, he’ll find a way out. We have to move before the Hatchlings find another way around.” The two started to gallop further down the tunnel, which had become a twisted maze of stone.
Eventually they came out into another cavern, smaller than the first, but lighter. There was a crevice in the ceiling letting in streams of sunlight from the surface. They wandered further in, carefully though. While the sounds of the Hatchlings had long since faded, they still didn't know what they might find. Though with the light it was easy to see they were alone, the large cavern widened and then thinned again, leading into a tunnel just as high, but thinner than the main cavern. Just after the entrance into the tunnel it seemed to bend.
They headed towards the tunnel, it being the only other exit to this cavern. But when they were half way across the chamber a thundering rumble sounded, and formed into a growl. A loud. throaty, though still obviously female, voice rang out across the cave from the tunnel ahead of them:
“You trot into my nest, awaken and hurt my children, destroy my tunnels and stride into my home… How dare you… insolent little morsels…”
The ground shook and from the tunnel snaked a massive dragon, larger than either had ever seen. Both took a step back automatically, and turned to try to retreat to see the entryway swarming with Hatchlings that seemed to be leaking from the very walls. They crawled out of crevices and slowly started to move in towards them. Atom took a defensive stance, prepared to protect Twilight until the end.
“Oh… how precious, you think you can fight us off? No… you intruders shall become my children’s first meal.” The Nest Mother dragon said in a menacing tone, and the Hatchlings started to charge forwards, quickly covering the distance. Atom braced himself and then let out a shockwave knocking the first wave of the horde back, and casting spell after spell to keep them at bay.
Over the sounds of the spells there was a sudden sound of rushing air as a blue blur blasted through the crevice in the roof and landed next to them. Soarin stood regally.
“Alright guys, time to get out of here.” He said with a determined grin. But Atom replied with a chilling reality.
“Since we walked in here they have been scaling the walls to reach that crevice… there is no way you can get us both up there before they cut us off… in short, you’re only getting one us out of here…” He was no more pleased to say that than anypony else was to hear it. He continued launching spells at the oncoming wall of razor sharp claws and ravenous maws.
Atom focused for a moment and a force field formed around them and he sighed.
“Soarin, take Twilight to the Princess; I should never have put her in danger like this. Twilight, tell the Princess that I made you come, she’ll believe you.” He said solemnly, and then with a little smile he kissed Twilight gently. “I love you Twilight… I have since the moment I met you.” Twilight was lightly crying.
“I… I lo-“ Atom stopped her by placing a hoof on her mouth gently and smiling.
“I know.” He said softly, and then turned to Soarin. “You’ll have to launch the moment I let the force field go. Make sure she is safe.”
“NO! I won’t leave you Atom! I can’t! I..” Twilight kept protesting but Soarin managed to wrestle her onto his back. He looked back at Atom and spoke semi seriously.
“You’d better make it out of this you jammy bastard. I’m ready.” Atom nodded.
“Three… two… one… NOW!” The force field collapsed and the hatchlings pounced at the three, but before they were even close Soarin was halfway to the cavern roof.
The Nest Mother tried to swipe at Soarin but he was able to swerve out of the way. Twilight looked back to see the Hatchlings get closer and closer to Atom, but just before it seemed they would over run him Soarin and Twilight burst out into the full glare of the sunlight. They raced off at full speed away from the cavern over the rolling chaotic forest towards Canterlot. Twilight could barely see through the tears flooding her eyes and falling into the forest below…
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 11 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2012-02-13T17:30:04+00:00
|
2012-02-13T17:30:04+00:00
| 1,515 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Eleven: The Wait
Last Time: The Nest Mother tried to swipe at Soarin but he was able to swerve out of the way. Twilight looked back to see the Hatchlings get closer and closer to Atom, but just before it seemed they would over run him Soarin and Twilight burst out into the full glare of the sunlight. They raced off at full speed away from the cavern over the rolling chaotic forest towards Canterlot. Twilight could barely see through the tears flooding her eyes and falling into the forest below…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight sat in her Library on her bed, it was early in the morning. It was still dark, though the first hints of the orange sunrise were starting to creep across the horizon. Twilight hadn’t slept at all that night; she couldn't get thoughts of Atom or of what had happened out of her head. What her friends had said when she had gotten back… how badly she had wanted to protest as they called Atom all kinds of things… but she couldn’t. She had to keep up the lie that she had been forced to tell… she felt as though she was betraying Atom by letting them say such things… and the last she had seen of Atom… it was all tearing her up… she was a mes
She sighed and pulled herself off the bed. If she was up she may as well do something. She got up and started to make some coffee, trying to take her mind off things, but failing completely. No matter what her thoughts kept returning to Atom. She thought back to the last thing he said to her.
“I love you Twilight… I have since the moment I met you.” She broke down in quiet tears as she remembered his words. She wanted to hear him say them again. She would give anything if he could just walk through that door unharmed and lovingly embrace her, but as she kept looking at the door, her vision slowly blurring from the tears, it remained despairingly motionless.
When the crying had finally subsided she got back to her hooves and finished the cup of coffee. She sipped it, though not really tasting it. She went through to the main room of the library, pulling out a random book, and starting to read, though she didn’t pay much attention to it, often having to reread lines because she simply hadn’t taken in the information. She felt numb, she felt cold, but worst of all… she felt alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Few Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight was slowly walking around the town, still hoping to lose the sadness and dread that filled her. She wasn’t heading anywhere in particular, just wandering aimlessly. She sighed heavily, she couldn’t fight the feeling, she couldn’t take her mind off it. She changed direction and slowly started to walk towards the Observatory. If she couldn’t fight it, she may as we embrace it… maybe this feeling would go away sooner if she did.
Twilight kept going, feeling the dread building inside her. She had known she would have to go to the Observatory sooner or later, but she had been trying to put it off, knowing that what she would find there would not be easy to take. Unfortunately she knew she had to do it.
When she finally arrived she could barely hold back tears. What was left of the Observatory was little more than a burnt out husk of its former self. Little more than a steel cage of the main structure filled with rubble. The enormous telescope, once such an immense, almost intimidating structure now lay in two halves over the rubble.
Seeing the Telescope… the very reason she had met Atom… it brought back memories of that first night. Tears brimmed at the edge of her eyes, but with an immense force of will she managed to push back the emotions, and continue into the ruins. She followed along what had once been a corridor.
When she reached the end she froze in the doorway. Before her she saw her five friends sifting through the rubble. They hadn’t noticed her yet.
“.. If I get my hands on that bastard I’ll-“ Rainbow Dash said in an increasingly aggressive tone before being cut off by Rarity.
“Please Rainbow Dash, there is no need to be so uncivil. We-“ She stopped as she spotted Twilight.
After that last comment Twilight’s anger started to raise. She knew it wasn’t fair to her friends, but her emotions were so raw she couldn’t help it. Fluttershy, her usual timid and nervous self, approached slowly.
“Oh Twilight, you really should be resting, you’ve been through a lot.” She said nervously in a worried tone. Rarity, always her direct and confident self, had a follow up.
“She’s right dear, you go home and rest. Don’t worry, we’ll catch that brute.” She put a gentle hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
Twilight angrily swatted the hoof away, startling Rarity.
“HE’S NOT EVIL!” Twilight bellowed before turning around and galloping away. Tears streamed from her eyes as she galloped all the way back to her library, through the door, past a rather confused Spike and into her room. She slammed the door before falling onto her bed and breaking down into uncontrollable tears. To many emotions were ripping their way through her for her to maintain her composure. She cried and cried, ignoring everything outside of her shell of misery until, eventually, she cried herself to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Few Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight woke with a start to a light knock at her bedroom door. She slowly got up, her body stiff and tired. She walked to the door and opened it to see Spike shuffling nervously.
“T-Twilight… I-I hope you aren’t mad with me… I-I was worried… you haven’t seemed yourself… so I… I sent The Princess a letter… please don’t be mad at me…”
Twilight frowned. She knew he was only looking out for her... but she still didn't want the Princess knowing about this.
“What did she say?” Spike shrank back.
“Sh-she.. wants you to go to Canterlot… she’s worried… we all are… “ Spike said his voice slowly shrinking. At first Twilight was angry, but then realized if she were with the Princess, she’d find out more information about Atom quicker.
She smiled down at spike and nuzzled him.
“Thank you Spike, I think that may be a good idea… I think that I need to get out of here for a little while anyway. Did she say when she would send the carriage?” Twilight feigned happiness. Spike shuffled again.
“A-actually, they’re here now… that’s why I woke you up.” Twilight rolled her eyes and went to pack.
In a few minutes Twilight was packed. She quickly hugged Spike and got onto the carriage, the guard pegasi evidently impatient. As it took off she allowed the fake smile to drop off her face as she watched what she had come to consider her home shrink away. Again she pushed back tears as her emotions started showing through again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight woke up, feeling a little more stable after a good night’s sleep. She slipped out of the large bed and stretched, looking around the ornate and almost regal room she had been given in Canterlot palace. She then noticed breakfast had been left on a table just inside the door, with a small note next to it. Twilight walked over and read the note as she started to eat.
My Faithful Student
I hope that you have slept well, I am sorry I was not there to greet you yesterday. As you can imagine my schedule is rather busy right now. If you are feeling up to it, I would very much enjoy your company in the main throne room today. If not, I have organized things so that you can have access Canterlot Library again, although, please do not disrupt the new Librarian. I hope to see you in my throne room, but if you are not feeling up to it I shall come and see you this evening.
Your loving Mentor,
Princess Celestia of Equestria
Twilight read back over the letter. it seemed to be a mess of caring feelings and masked anxiety. Twilight had known her Mentor for long enough to be able to judge her emotion, but this letter seemed muddled. It was obvious the Princess had conflicting emotions. Twilight sighed and finished her breakfast, trying to decide whether to go to the library or to the throne room. In the end she decided on the throne room. At least that way she could catch up on what was happening.
After Twilight was finished her breakfast she trotted down the long stairs that lead to her room and through the corridors of the palace. There were more guards patrolling the palace, and they all seemed completely focused. Where they were usually rather sociable with visitors, now they seemed… almost… scared.
When Twilight reached the throne room she came in via one of the smaller doors to the side of the room and slowly approached the two thrones. A second had recently been added for the return of Princess Luna, though at this moment it was empty. As she approached Celestia, the Princess turned from the pony she had been talking to and gave Twilight a smile. Though warm in appearance it was obvious to Twilight it was fake, since she returned one exactly the same.
Celestia gestured with her hoof at her guest, a brilliant white earth pony dressed in what appeared to be guards armor, though it had a more ornate design to it. He had a hard but kind face with a small scar down one eye. His cutie mark was visible on his flank-a pair of crossed swords.
“Twilight, this is Captain Blade. He is the head of the Equestrian Royal Guard, and a veteran of the Equestrian Military.” Celestia said in an official tone. Blade simply turned to Twilight and offered her a hoof.
“You can just call me Blade ma’am.” He bore a much more casual tone, shaking hooves with Twilight.
“I’m Twilight, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Blade nodded “Likewise.”
Blade turned back to Celestia.
“We tracked him to a cave, it seems to have been infested with Wild Dragons. He seems to have escaped, but judging from the blood, he won’t have gotten far.” At that, Twilight’s heart sank. Though she tried to hide it, her thoughts raced. She snapped out of it as she felt the gaze of the Princess and Captain on her.
“Miss Twilight… are you feeling okay?” Blade asked, concern evident in his voice and eyes.
“I… I am feeling a little light headed actually… perhaps I should have taken a day off…” Twilight said slowly, trying to make herself seem disorientated. She could process what she had heard once she was alone. “I think maybe I’ll get some food and just stay in my room for today… get some rest.” She said again trying to seem slightly ill.
Celestia nodded.
“Okay my student, I’ll let you rest in peace then. I hope you are feeling better tomorrow, I’d like your company here if possible.” There was that fake smile again. Twilight simply nodded.
“Okay Princess, I’ll make sure to get plenty of rest."
Twilight then headed to the kitchen, getting some lunch. She made her way to her room where she slowly started to eat, thinking over what she had heard. After a few minutes of thought she heard a knock at her door, making her jump a little.
“Er.. C-come in.” she said a little worried as to who it was.
Captain Blade slowly walked into the room.
“How are you feeling M’lady?” He asked kindly with a smile, to which Twilight answered, more reassured.
“Oh, hello Blade, I wasn’t expecting you to come up here. I am feeling a little better.” She gave a little smile, to which Blade nodded.
“Ah… good…” He said slowly. He looked out of the door, then closed it and locked it from the inside. He turned around and started to walk towards Twilight, his expression hard, and all signs of kindness gone.
“Listen to me young mare. You may fool the Princess with your story, but you don’t fool me! I know that you went with Atom of your own free will, I knew the moment you heard what I said, I saw it in your eyes!” Blade almost shouted. Twilight backed up against the back of the bed, Blade climbed up onto the bed and stood oppressively above her. “Tell me EVERYTHING you know about Atom and his movements. NOW!”
Twilight was terrified, and barely managed to sputter out a reply.
“I-I don’t know what you a-are talking about… I d-don’t remember anything ab-bout it…” Blade swung his head down so their faces were no more than an inch apart.
“Do NOT lie to me, tell me what you know NOW!” Blade was forceful, making sure she knew he wasn't playing any games.
Twilight gained a little courage and stared back into Blade’s eyes, almost challenging him with her gaze.
“I said I don’t remember!” she shouted back, just as forcefully. For a few moments, though if felt like an eternity to Twilight, their gazes were locked. Blade snorted and pulled away.
“So be it, but I will have my eyes on you little miss.” It seemed that venom was in his voice.
Blade slowly walked back to the door and opened it, turning to look back over his shoulder.
“Get better soon. Ma’am.” He said in his kind voice, his expression returning to normal. He walked out an closed the door. Twilight let out the breath she realized she must have been holding in. She ran to the door and locked it, and then climbed back into bed and huddled up, shaking slightly.
Over the next few days Twilight spent most of her time in the throne room, latching onto any information on Atom she could get. Slowly but surely the last of her hope was whittled away was she heard tales of bloody trails and unsteady tracks they were following. Every time that Blade entered the throne room he never took his eyes off Twilight when no one could see. Until eventually, three days later…
Twilight was wandering around throne room studying the stained glass windows. It was a slow day with very little information being delivered. But then Twilight was startled as the massive double door swung inwards and Blade marched in triumphantly. “Princess Celestia! We have found him! Though… I’m afraid the Timber wolves did as well… “ He spoke solemnly, and gestured to two guards outside, who slowly marched in.
Between the guards, stretched across the bloodied stretcher, was the twisted and broken body of Dr Atom Discharge. Twilight’s vision narrowed in on the still lifeless body, as she felt not only her heart, but her whole world shatter into a thousand pieces. No amount of will power could have held back her emotions. A single silent tear rolled down her cheek and fell; The small perfectly smooth droplet fell through the air for a few seconds. It burst as it impacted against the hard, cold stone floor…
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 12 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2012-03-22T12:35:54+00:00
|
2012-03-22T12:35:54+00:00
| 2,419 |
A Distant Star
Chapter Twelve: The End
Last time: Between the guards, stretched across the bloodied stretcher, was the twisted and broken body of Dr Atom Discharge. Twilight’s vision narrowed in on the still lifeless body, as she felt not only her heart, but her whole world shatter into a thousand pieces. No amount of will power could have held back her emotions. A single silent tear rolled down her cheek and fell; The small perfectly smooth droplet fell through the air for a few seconds. It burst as it impacted against the hard, cold stone floor…
The two guards slowly approached the Princess as Blade slipped away to stand by the still shell shocked Twilight. He leaned towards her and whispered in her ear.
“Young lady, you need to have more faith in him.”
Twilight turned her head to look at him, tears spraying out to the side.
“W-what do you mean? I-“ Twilight was cut off as the Princess spoke.
“Let me see him closer.” She walked down the steps towards the two guards. Princess Celestia leaned down and inspected the twisted body, but after a few seconds her eyes widened and she jumped back several feet. “NO! YOU FOALS!”
In that moment there was a blinding flash of light that made everypony, even the Princess turn away and shield their eyes. When they looked back Atom stood triumphant. The two guards were unconscious on the floor, and the stretcher in pieces.
“It looks like your guards need to get better at detecting illusions.” Atom said in a confident tone with a smirk on his face. The Princess was awestruck as was Twilight, though Celestia was the first to move. She stood up straight and confident, and then stared at Blade.
“You should have seen this… how-“ The Princess stopped talking as Blade strode over and stood by Atom with a smug grin on his face,
“Did you really expect me to betray my oldest friend?” Blade's tone seemed to mock the Princess as he went to barricade all of the doors to the throne room. Atom took a step towards the Princess. Twilight was still completely frozen to the spot, unable to even comprehend what was happening.
Atom began to talk, calm and collected.
“Princess, this has to end… I mean you no harm, I never have. It was a simple mistake, and it was years ago, I am older and wiser now. We have to stop this silly squabble before ponies start getting hurt. I just want to be able to come home. I haven’t seen my father since I was fifteen. I know things will never go back to the way they were, but please. Can’t we make amends..?” Atom almost pleaded to Celestia, who’s expression began to soften.
“Atom, you were my top student before Twilight. You were like a son to me. You were my friend. I’ve missed you so much these past few years.” The Princess said softly and kindly. But then, without warning, her expression hardened into one of grim determination. “But what you did, is unforgivable. You endangered the whole city and have endangered many more lives with this silly chase you have lead me on. Not to mention what you know… you are much too dangerous to have simply wandering around with your freedom. I am sorry Atom… but I cannot let you leave here.” Malice was evident in her voice as she spoke.
Twilight could do nothing but watch as the doors exploded inwards followed quickly by streams of guards. The guards quickly restrained the startled captain of the guard, but were having more trouble with Atom. He blasted them back with waves of magic that radiated from his horn, sending the guards flying into the air. As this commotion continued Celestia walked slowly down the steps. Atom turned to see the Princess at the last second, her horn glowing as a wall of magical energy hit him, sending him flying through the air and into the wall. He was instantly knocked unconscious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Few Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight was in her room, every emotion possible charging through her body: There was joy; He was alive. Sadness; he had been captured. Regret; if only she’d acted, she may have been able to help. She just didn’t know what to do. Everything around her had just been turned on its head and back again, everything she’d known shattered and pieced back together. Nothing seemed to make sense any more.
She sat up and looked out of her window. It was night now. She could easily sneak down to the prison. She got up, and looked out of the door, checking the corridor for any guards. There weren’t any so she slipped out. It was dark in the palace, and the only ponies who would be awake would be Luna and her guards. And that was who she would have to avoid. She kept close to the walls, but still trying to seem casual, in case she was seen.
In the end it only took about half an hour to get to the prison, and she didn’t bump into anypony other than the prison guard, who she knew, and who let her though without any trouble. She walked through the almost empty prison, filled only by the odd sleeping convict in one of the cells. Then she reached the high security area. Oddly there wasn’t a guard posted at the door, which made Twilight suspicious, but she had to keep going.
She had only been here once with the princess, but had caught enough of a look at the code the princess had used to get in. Twilight replicated it and the door let out a small clunk and then swung outwards. She crept in and shut the door behind her, the latch clicking. She hadn’t liked how the door sealed behind her the first time she had been here, nor did she like it this time, but she was on a mission. Thus she was easily able to ignore it. She sneaked through the corridors, with cells made of reinforced glass. This area was more busy, since most of the convicts here were on life sentences. The lights were on here, brilliant white; At first it hurt Twilight’s eyes but she soon adjusted.
What struck Twilight as she walked the corridors was how unlike most of Canterlot’s usual architecture this was. Obviously this area was modern and as up to date as it got, and for good reason. This area of the prison wasn’t even known to most members of the public, it was were the worst members of society were kept. She knew this was exactly where Celestia would be keeping Atom.
The prison was almost unnavigable, the glass cells making the lay out of the prison disorientating. Obviously meant to confuse anyone who did not know it’s true layout. Thankfully Twilight was an intelligent mare, and she managed to work her way through it, and memorize the way back out. Eventually she found Atom’s Cell, right next to Blade’s. They were busy trying to communicate through the glass by breathing on it and writing on it.
Twilight took note of the hoof marks on Blade’s cell, where he had obviously tried to buck his way out. This brought a pang of homesickness in her gut as it reminded her of exactly what Apple Jack would have done. She also took note of the strange engraved ‘Bracelet’ around Atom’s horn which, she presumed, was to prevent him from using magic.
She banged on the glass to Atom’s cell causing him to swivel around and look at her, relief spreading through his face as he did. Blade also looked over and smiled politely. Twilight moved over to the little radio set next to the triple key lock for the door. She pressed the little button to activate it.
“Atom, I am so sorry… I should have done something, I could have stopped them from capturing you and-“ Twilight was cut off as Atom raised a hoof.
“Twilight, it’s okay. I am glad you didn’t, now we have a way to get out if we do this right.” Atom's tone was serious, love was clear in his words. He was obviously over the moon to see her, for more reasons than one.
“Twilight, listen. There is something wrong here. Celestia shouldn’t have reacted like that/ I know her, and something is definitely wrong. I need you to find out first why that is. Try the law section of the library, I have an inkling that’s where you’ll find what you need. But this kind of thing won’t be in the normal section… you’ll have to sneak into the restricted area. Okay?” Atom explained, and waited for Twilight to nod in approval before continuing. “Alright, after that I need you to find the keys, or another means of getting us out of here before, well, before whatever the Princess decides to do, happens. Can you do that Twilight?”
Twilight smiled, happy at the thought of getting him out. At least then they could finally run away from all of this and be together. As she thought that a pang of homesickness struck her again, but she ignored it and answered Atom.
“Alright, I’ll do it… don’t worry, I’ll get you both out.” Her determination was evident. Atom nodded and gave a warm smile. He gently placed his hoof against the glass and looked at lovingly at Twilight.
“I love you Twilight Sparkle.” He said gently. Twilight blushed lightly and placed her hoof against the glass.
“And I love you Atom… I won’t let you down.”
Twilight swiveled around and galloped out of the prison, remembering the way from making her way in. She now had a goal and a target, and she was going to reach it. She thought for a moment about the librarian. She would either have to sneak past him or knock him out. Either way, he was a problem, but one easily with. Once out of the prison, after passing out of the usual guard’s line of sight, she moved quickly. She took one of the side doors out of the palace into the gardens to avoid attracting attention.
As she passed through the rows of perfectly arranged flowers she slowed her pace a little. She had to calm down. She was rushed and confused. She needed to slow and take her time… her head was a mess. She took a moment to take in what had happened, and what had to happen. Firstly, Atom was alive, but had been captured when his attempt to reason with the princess failed. Now he and the old captain of the guard were locked in the maximum security area of the prison. She managed to get that ordered and analyzed in her head, so she moved on to what she would have to do. First, she had to go and discover why Celestia was acting like this. They wouldn’t have the chance to do so again after the escape.
Second was the escape itself. She would have to find a way to get them out of the prison. There were three options: The first option being to wait until a trial was held, and break out of the court room. But that would be difficult, and would require a larger wait, not to mention would be mostly riding on luck. Better to keep that in reserve if the other attempts failed. The other two were more likely to succeed. One, to find where the keys were, possibly from Celestia, and then break them out that way. Trouble would come in getting the keys to the prison before someone realized they were gone. The other was to somehow trick the attending guard into letting them out. Again, that was difficult and left room for mistakes and luck. She couldn’t decide on either, but at least she had options.
Now that her head was now, to some extent, in order she continued on, at a bit of a slower pace. The last thing she wanted was to attract unwanted attention. She managed to sneak across the gardens without being seen, and once she was into the city she didn’t have to worry about being seen. It was about midnight now, and the streets were mostly empty, apart from the odd couple who had planned to retire early from a night out. After about half an hour of walking she reached the tower library she remembered; it had been her home for years.
Twilight took the side entrance to make it less likely she’d run into the new librarian. Once inside she sneaked through the library until she reached an old stair case. She slinked down the old spiral stairs slowly and quietly. The staircase seemed to go on forever. She had no idea how far down she now was, and the darkness was getting denser and denser, making her feel claustrophobic. She had never been down here, and had only been told that this was where the classified documents were kept and to never let anyone get into here. “When ‘I’ was Librarian I made sure the side doors were locked.” Twilight thought to herself with a mental snort of derision.
Eventually the walls around Twilight began to become visible as an apparent new light source was ahead. Twilight came to the end of the stairs to a short corridor with an old fire torch, which seemed to be sustained by magic. Very old magic. On the other side of the corridor was an iron bound wooden door with a hefty lock on it. Twilight scanned the lock for magic and found it guarded by a powerful locking spell, but this spell was also old and starting to fray around the edges, and so Twilight was easily able to pick it.
When Twilight was done the lock clicked and swung open. She lifted it from the latch and opened to door. It swung outwards, followed by a hollow moan as a huge gust of warm, stuffy air flooded out from the old catacomb. The torch flickered and danced, casting a cascade of writhing shadows against the walls. Then, as Twilight took her first step through the ancient room, row upon row of torches burst into flame in and oddly white fire. The new light source revealed the long, tall chamber covered in book cases for as far as Twilight could see.
Twilight would normally be over the moon at such a vast store of knowledge. Even now while on such an important mission she found it hard to focus. Her eyes often drifting to look at the covers before snapping back to look at the category names until finally she found the massive section on law. She quickly began to search through the sections. This problem would fall under either Treason or Magical Law, and since Magical law was what she found first she decided to search there first.
Even after narrowing down the category she was still there for several hours, searching through each book quickly. She was about to give up on this section. She sighed as she pushed the last book back into its slot in the bookcase, but then heard the unmistakeable (To Twilight at least) sound of a crumpling page as the book slid home. Twilight frowned and pulled the book back out, along with whatever had been crushed.
But as Twilight brought it closer it became evident that this wasn’t a page from any book here; it was much too old. In fact, it seemed that the page should have fallen to dust, not simply crumpled. Twilight took it over to the nearest desk, slowly and carefully spreading it to stop it from getting damaged, and then began to read over what appeared to be a letter, but the words bore text far darker than anything she had ever sent to the Princess.
As Decreed by the Shrouded Conclave:
Any who discover or unravel the true nature of magic are to be imprisoned or sentenced to death so that they may not spread the secret to those who may misuse it or spread it further. This secret cannot be allowed to become general knowledge or all those who know of it and who have worked to spread it will be charged with high treason.
Conclave Member Celestia
Twilight’s eye widened as she read the letter. What was the Shrouded Conclave? Why had she not heard of it, and why did it mention Celestia as a member? And most of all, what did this mean for Atom? These thoughts flooded her mind until she felt a breath on her neck. And then the unmistakeable voice of Princess Celestia of Equestria sounded, in a low, menacing, whispered voice. “You were always such and inquisitive young filly… always had that nasty habit of finding out things you shouldn’t have…”
End Part One: A Distant Star
Part Two: Shadows Of The Past
|
Dr Atom Discharge
|
1272
| 13 |
Main 6,Original Character,Princess Celestia,Princess Luna,Soarin,Spike,Adventure,Comedy,Romance,Sad,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
A Distant Star
|
A Romance Between my OC: Dr Atom Discharge and Twilight
|
complete
| 44 | 3 |
<p>One clear beautiful night Twilight is stargazing, nothing uncommon there, but as she is about to pack away for the night, she spots a faint star that she has never seen before, and that none of her books mention, but on her quest to find out more about this star, she makes an unusual friend, and maybe even more than just a friend.</p><p>Little does she know that her new friend will lead her on a completely unexpected adventure as she learns more about him and about his past. As each question is answered new questions arise as Twilight is taken through twists and turns physically, mentally and emotionally, until eventually a massive secret that threatens to upturn everything she knows.</p><p>I now have an Editor, so no more terrible grammar mistakes, all credit for the Editing goes to primalcorn1</p><p>All credit goes to FeralTwilight for the picture</p>
|
teen
|
2012-05-23T09:03:23+00:00
|
2012-05-23T09:03:23+00:00
| 957 |
Well, since I seem to have lost followers from this story to the next I thought I would add this so that anypony who did not already know, finds out about the story. Shadows of the past is now out, and has six chapters up (only the first three are edited so far) at this point you silly fillies
Shadows Of The Past
I am also planning a 10000 view bonus chapter, though I am not sure when I'll get around to it
|
Cosmonaut
|
1276
| 1 |
Main 6,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Human,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Greatest Game
|
Twilight and her friends attempt to brave the unleashed wild madness that is Jumanji
|
complete
| 73 | 8 |
<p>On a lazy summer day Pinkie Pie decides to round up her friends for a tea party inside Twilights' library. While the languid atmosphere is soothing for the other ponies its Pinkie Pie who's feeling bored at this gathering. Things get far more interesting when a happy accident dislodges a mysterious board game with cryptic instructions. Seeing an opportunity for fun Pinkie Pie starts up a round with her friends...and sets off a chain of events that forces them to brave the wild untamed madness that is Jumanji.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-07T22:03:31+00:00
|
2011-10-07T22:03:31+00:00
| 3,965 |
It was quite a normal day for Twilight Sparkle and her friends. The sun was warm; the Pegasus ponies had missed a raincloud from yesterday, causing a rise in humidity. Nevertheless the birds were chirping and the sound of buzzing bees filled the air. She, Spike and the rest of the gang were settling in to enjoy a tea party together on this lazy afternoon; earlier that day Pinkie found out that everyone slept in. Pinkie, ever Ponyville’s dedicated party pony, declared a party to take place. Twilight eventually talked her into having a tea party and when they were all settled in, Pinkie revealed a startling truth about herself.
“I’ve never actually had a tea-party before this today! So....what do we do?” asked Pinkie.
The other ponies gasped in shock. “Um, Pinkie?” responded Fluttershy in barely a whisper, “You’ve never, ever had a tea party not even ever?”
Pinkie shrugged “Um...nope. I’ve had almost every OTHER kind of party though. I’ve had birthday, dinner, caroling, surprise, welcome, going away, pool, house, block, COSTUME ooh those are so much fun, slumber, dance, graduation, pre parties AND after parties! But this is my first time ever tea party!” her friends stared at her blankly as she gasped for breath, Rainbow Dash giggled a little bit. “It’s really no surprise that you’ve never thrown one before Pinkie, because it’s literally the lamest party you could throw.”
Rarity glared at Dash, and cleared her throat “As they say, a party is a party, and I for one do not think a tea party to be different from anything else. But, I must say that I quite enjoy the occasional tea party and, I admit, a tea party does imply less...madness than others you’ve thrown. But the spirit is there all the same.”
“That’s right!” chirped Twilight, summoning a copy of Perfect Partying Practices from behind her, flipping it open. “A good tea party is a social gathering where friends get together and enjoy each other’s company over brewed tea and light snacks.” Twilight shut her book and smiled. “So-- are we having fun everypony?” Everyone nodded enthusiastically, except Dash , who was busily chewing an apple slice “Applshak, theesh are th’ betht app’e shlices ive effer ‘ad” she gulped, washing it down with tea “What did you put on them?” AJ smiled proudly. “Ah Jes’ toasted ‘em a bit and sprinkled cinnamon, weren’t nuthin’ to it.”
Pinkie sighed and stirred her tea absently. “Is there anything else we can do though, girls?” she said straightening herself “As much of a party pony I am, I’m really not feeling the fun here.”
Dash leaned over and whispered in Twilights ear “Told you even Pinkie wouldn’t like it.” Twilight rolled her eyes and pushed Dash away “Well, it’s not like we can add to the party, just because it’s not in the book doesn’t mean we can’t do something fun. Spike! Can you get me the book for me?
Spike groaned. He had been quietly snacking on Applejacks delicious apple slices, trying to avoid being noticed “But Twiliiiight, I put it all the way back up on the shelf already...” Twilight magically yanked an apple slice he was holding out of his claw.
“You can have some more food after you get the book for me Spike.” she said matter-of-factly. “Oh ok then,” Spike made a show of dragging himself over to the ladder to pick up the book.
Fluttershy smiled shyly sipping more tea, Rarity adjusted her make-up in a little mirror. Twilight munched on an apple slice. Pinkie sighed; this was definitely not her kind of party. She’s heard of tea parties before, but had never got the chance to try it; something that she was glad of now. Pinkie was getting drowsy from the heat and glanced at Twilight
“Hey, I’m gonna use the little pony’s room, be right back!” and she bounced away from the table. She didn’t even need to use the bathroom, she just wanted to move around a bit, get some water, open a window and feel the breeze.
A loud crash suddenly reverbated throughout the room, covering everypony in a huge cloud of dust. Fluttershy screamed, dropping her tea and scurrying under the table shivering. Dash instinctively jumped into the air hovering above the room. Twilight coughed, looking around for Spike- she saw him poke his head out from under a pile of books. “What happened? What did you do?”
Spike shook his head and shrugged. “I lost my balance on the ladder and fell backwards into the treetrunk. Sorry about the books, Twilight.” Twilight flung open a window, and Dash blew out the dust from the room.
“Well, at least you’re not hurt Spike. I guess we won’t be finding that book anytime soon though,” Twilight sighed, hanging her head. Applejack trotted over, eyes wide.
“Wouldja look at that...” she whispered, awed. The ponys stood up, walking towards the mysterious object now lay before them in the hazy sunlight: a black earthy chest, wrapped in heavy chains and sealed with a rusted padlock.
Twilight looked at the trunk and then about the room. “Where could have it come from?” she wondered aloud. Rarity looked upwards “It must have come from upthere!” Near the split between the first and second floors of the library was a square indentation, of where the trunk was resting before Spike slammed into the tree.
Dash frowned “So...what IS this exactly?” Applejack stared at the trunk, exclaiming “It’s a treasure chest!” Raritys’ eyes sparkled. “I’ll bet it’s filled with beautiful jewels, and clothes, and gold, and who knows what else?!” she turned to her friend and asked pleadingly “Twilight Sparkle, you simply MUST open this chest and let us see what’s inside!” Twilight stared at the box. There was something odd about it, certainly. It must have been buried in the ground a long time ago, and the tree grew around it, bringing it above-ground as it grew “Well, alright, a lock this old should be a piece of cake.”
Purple light glowed around her horn and the old lock shuddered, and falling apart in three pieces, the chains around the box sliding away noisily. Twilight hesitated as she was about to open the box--something was wrong. The songbirds had stopped chirping, the breeze had stopped, and even the insectine buzzing that permeated the air was gone. It was like the world was holding its breath, waiting.
“Well, is anypony going to open it?” squeaked Fluttershy.
“I will!” announced Dash loudly. She pranced up to the box, lifting it open with a grunt. “It’s heavier than it looks.” The box sat open, but the hinges weakened with age and rust, couldn’t support the lid and it snapped off. The ponies gathered around the box and peered inside.
“It’s It’s-“began Rarity.
“Empty,” finished Applejack. “Somepony went to a lot’a trouble to pull sucha clever prank.” The ponies all moaned in disappointment, shuffing away. Spike, now able to get a look inside, leaned over the edge of the box and promptly fell in. “Hey, it’s not empty you guys, look what I found!”
Spike stood up inside the crate and pushed a blanketed bundle wrapped in twine onto the floor. The ponies hurried over to the bundle and Rarity tore off the twine desperately. “I knew there had to be something in there!” she shouted eagerly, flipping her mane over her shoulder. The last fold came open, and the item in the chest revealed itself. Fluttershy inhaled deeply and blew the layers of dust covering the top.
It was an ornate, rectangular box adorned with pictures of jungle animals- some, Twilight had read about in books, some, she hadn’t. Emblazoned on the cover of the box was a beautiful sunset, a river snaking through mountains and forests unfolding beneath. “It’s so beautiful, look at that detail!” gushed Rarity, ”Whoever carved and painted that must have been quite the artisan.”
Twilight looked at the ancient box; it was heavy and unusually cold to the hoof when she touched it. The most peculiar thing about it was in the top left corner, there was a picture of a hat- it matched perfectly the one she discovered when she first moved into the Ponyville library, next to some binoculars and other knick-knacks she found in a closet. The creature wearing the hat, though, was like no pony she’d ever seen before, the snout was all wrong and the eyes too small. She shuddered nervously and looked around again.
Applejack was the first to comprehend the situation, “Girls, I haven’t th’ faintest clue what this is, but my biggest question is-- sh’ we open the dang thing, ‘r not?” Rarity chuckled nervously, “Well we can’t just stand around all day not knowing….go ahead and open it Twilight.”
“HEY GUYS!” shouted Pinkie as she bounced down the stairs. Everypony jumped in surprise. ”That’s a super-duper idea for a party! We can all play a board game together!”
“How can you tell it’s a board game?”asked Dash. Pinkie made a sour face, but it vanished as soon as it appeared. “Look Dash, I’ve played enough board games to know one when I seen one, and this looks like a doozy, I’ve never even heard of it before!”
Rarity flopped onto the ground, “Oh bother, I had my hopes set so high for treasure...” Pinkie Pie laughed “The real treasure here is that now we can all have a super duper fun time playing this game together! So everypony gather round, Pinkie Pie is back in the partying spirit. Let’s play some Jumanjii!”
|
Cosmonaut
|
1276
| 2 |
Main 6,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Human,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Greatest Game
|
Twilight and her friends attempt to brave the unleashed wild madness that is Jumanji
|
complete
| 73 | 8 |
<p>On a lazy summer day Pinkie Pie decides to round up her friends for a tea party inside Twilights' library. While the languid atmosphere is soothing for the other ponies its Pinkie Pie who's feeling bored at this gathering. Things get far more interesting when a happy accident dislodges a mysterious board game with cryptic instructions. Seeing an opportunity for fun Pinkie Pie starts up a round with her friends...and sets off a chain of events that forces them to brave the wild untamed madness that is Jumanji.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-09T03:09:16+00:00
|
2011-10-09T03:09:16+00:00
| 3,667 |
“LET’S START! LET’S START!” bounced Pinkie excitedly. Maybe this tea party was going to be fun after all. It was only five minutes ago when she came downstairs and discovered that her friends had found a fun new board game to play, and Pinkie Pie loved board games.
“Hold on just a moment Pinkie, can’t play something we know nothing about,” Twilight said while carefully opening the box. She glanced around the simplistic ivory board. “Hmm, I don’t see a manual here.”
Rarity spotted some muted letters as she began rubbing away at the lighter part of the case “It’s right here under this, ugh, nasty grime,” wiping gingerly she revealed the text concerning the rules. Twilight scooted over and read aloud:
A game for those who seek to find
A way to leave your world behind
You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, first player to reach the end wins
Twilight scanned the board, “Tokens...does anypony see any-?”
“They’re in this little box with the dice Twilight,” said Fluttershy nosing open a little compartment, “Um, I’m afraid that there’s only four tokens in the box though.”
“No problem! We’ll just make teams!” Squabbling immediately broke out around the table concerning partners.
“Girls we are not arguing over this. The pony sitting to your right will be your partner to make it less complicated,” said Twilight with finality. Rarity looked at the pony to her right and sighed, “No offense Applejack, I just wanted to be Pinkie Pies partner, she’s amazing at these games you know,”
“Or maybe yer just plum terrible, ya did lose to her in tac-tac-toe like 100 times in a row,” said Applejack chuckling at Raritys frown “Don’t ya worry, I’m great at this stuff and this here shouldn’t be too complicated from tha looks of it.”
“I didn’t even get a partner you guys, but don’t you worry your little old heads about me!” said Pinkie Pie nonchalantly.
Twilight glanced around the table “Me and Dash, AJ and Rarity, Spike and Fluttershy…oh shoot, I’m sorry Pinkie, I goofed up,”
“It’s OK, I work better myself,” replied Pinkie, actually excited being the lone wolf; she would get to roll every time now.
“Complicated!? Applejack more like too easy,” retorted Dash looking at the Eagle token, “this is just rolling dice, no strategy to it if you ask me,” Everyone sent her a flat look and Applejack snorted. “Ya’fraid of losin’ Dash?”
Fluttershy sighed at the silly banter, she was okay at board games but didn’t want this one turning out like Ponopoly always did. She turned to Spike, “Alright then, grab the tokens out of here and put them on the board please.”
“Can do!” he said placing the tokens down. The four tokens flew from his hand and set themselves upright at their starting points.
“Cool! How’d you do that Spike?” asked Dash with wide eyes.
“It wasn’t me, the game did it. Maybe it’s a magic board game”
The group ooo-ed at the idea and Twilight shook her head. “It’s probably just magnets or something, and before you ponies start arguing again I say that Pinkie should roll first since she’s playing without a partner.”
Everypony agreed and Pinkie grabbed the dice, shaking them wildly in her hooves and tossing them onto the game board.
“WHOO! A three! My lucky number!”
Pinkie reached over to push her token but it had already started sliding across the ivory path. Another round of oo-ing rose from the table while Twilight shook her head.
“My turn! My turn! I roll first Twi! You know alphabetical order and stuff,” said Dash impatiently. Before Twilight could respond Applejack sat up and pointed to the center of the board. “Wouldja look at THAT!”
The smooth dull rock sitting in the middle was glowing slightly; words were appearing inside the sphere, like text shimmering through a glass of water.
At night they fly, you'd better run
These winged things are not much fun
“It’s not nighttime and what does it mean about running?” Twilight looked out the window cautiously “I think it’s a clue or hint or something,”
“Um, does anypony else hear birds flapping?” questioned a wide eyed Fluttershy.
“LOOK AT THE STAIRS!” Spike yelped.
A huge flock of the ugliest bats ever flew downstairs and started flying frantically around the room squeaking and banging into the walls, bookshelves and themselves.
Applejack held her ground at the swarm and started barking out orders. “FLUTTERSHY, RAINBOW DASH OPEN THE WINDOWS!” Applejack ran over to the door, ducking her head and losing her hat in the process. Fluttershy frantically struggled with the latches. Dash had a more efficient idea kicking out window after window.
“Aaaagh, they’re in my MAAANE!” shrieked Rarity running for cover. Applejack gave a mighty kick to the door and forced it open; the bats started clearing out.
“DASH, FLUTTERSHY CORRAL ‘EM OUTTA HERE!” she shouted pulling her trusty lasso out over the din of beating wings, “I’ll wrassle some up too!” she said snagging a group of startled bats and hurling them out the front door. In a few minutes all the bats had left the building and it was quiet once more.
“Jeeeez Twilight! Ya gotta get yer attic checked once in a while! Havin’ a swarm of bats hangin ‘round ain’t healthy,” Applejack said wrapping up her rope. “Tarnation those things were big too. Why didn’t you use your magic to shoo ‘em away Twi?”
Twilight shook her head again and sighed “I’m trying to rationalize how they could have possibly gotten in here and how I could have missed them hanging around upstairs.” Twilight had a spell that detects living things around her that she occasionally used when searching for pests (and Spike if he tried shucking his chores). Faint purple light glowed as she checked the library again.
“Six ponies, one baby dragon and the tree, I’m not getting anything else.” Another, completely impossible, idea for where the bats came from sprung to mind but she kept it to herself.
“Five ponies darling, we’ve lost Pinkie Pie somewhere,” said Rarity absentmindedly as she magically brushed her mane with a comb.
“Right here Rarity!” Pinkie Pies head popped up out of the black chest like a silly jack-in-the-box “Sorry about ducking out there, but when I see bats a-coming I’m first a-running,” she jumped out and retook her place at the table. It was uncommon knowledge that Pinkie had a scary run-in with bats as a filly and couldn’t stand being around them.
“Alright since the bats are gone and we’re going around the table it’s MY turn now,” Dash said excitedly reaching for the dice. Twilight magically snatched them away from her hooves “Rainbow we’re a team remember, it’s OUR turn?”
“Ugh, fiiiiiine you can roll this turn, sorry,” Dash pouted and ruffled her wings. Twilight magically jumbled the dice together and dropped them on the board.
“Ooh a seven! We’ve taken the lead Rainbow Dash! High hoof!” Twilight threw her hoof in the air, which was returned a little more forcefully by Dash. The token slid quietly to the seventh spot and more text appeared in the green dome.
There is only fear in your mind
can you block it in a bind?
“Fear in your mind…” repeated Twilight rubbing her hoof. “These clues or hints or whatever aren’t making much sense...it’s your roll now Fluttershy.” Twilight looked up to see that all her friends except Pinkie had left the table and backed into a corner of the room, fearful looks on their faces. “Uh girls, what are you doing over there?”
Twilight felt something in her gut, and slowly turned around to see the biggest snake she had ever seen dropping from the ceiling before her. It’s mottled hide bouncing light around as it dropped to the floor rearing its huge brown head, bearing its fangs as it hissed and coiled at Twilight.
“I-is t-that a-a-a s-s-snaaa-” she stammered as it began turning towards her, wracked with sudden fear Twilight blacked out on the floor.
“Oh nonononono, you can’t fall asleep now Twilight!” tutted Pinkie worriedly, “the games not even CLOSE to over.” She grabbed her friends tail and pulled her over to the sink, narrowly avoiding the giant snakes strike.
Applejack shook herself out of her frightened stupor. “O-ok, c’mon Applejack, it’s jus’ like dealin’ with the hydra,” she pulled out her lasso again. “Yer goin down ugly!”
“I have an idea! I have an idea! Fluttershy follow me!” Spike hurriedly ran into the kitchen behind the snake with the meek Pegasus trailing close behind.
The snake struck again, this time for Applejack. She saw it coming and turning around delivered a powerful kick to the snakes face.
SSSSSSSSSSRRRRAAAAH!
It recoiled sharply with a painful cry, spitting out a bloody tooth. Blinded by pain it thrashed its massive tail around and knocked a bucket of water out of Pinkies mouth.
“HEY WATCH IT!” she said in a peevish voice, picking the bucket up to refill it.
“Pinkie what are you DOING?! We’ve got waaaay bigger problems right now!” said a frustrated Dash, darting around the snakes snapping maw.
Spike returned from the kitchen doorway holding two large pot lids, “Alright Fluttershy pick me up and drop me on the snakes head got me?!”
“Ok I got you Spike,” said Fluttershy nervously “Lift up your arms so I can carry you,”
As Fluttershy lifted him into the air Applejack managed to snag her lasso on the snakes mouth wrapping it shut. It flicked its tongue out and struggled with the rope, twisting its head to break free when Spike landed on its head and slammed the two lids over the snakes eyes.
“Great tinkin’ Shpike! Shlip the rope ovfer th’ lidsh ‘nd git down from thar!” said Applejack struggling to speak with the rope clenched in her mouth, “Dash, kick dat thang outta here!”
While Rainbow Dash was struggling to kick the blinded serpent out the room, Pinkie was having trouble pulling the now filled bucket out the sink; with an extra heave she dumped it over the edge and onto her purple friend.
“AAAH! Pinkie what the- why’d you do that!?” said the now sopping wet unicorn.
“Duh! You fell asleep when the snakey came in the house Twilight you’ve gotta be awake.” Pinkie said turning her friend around to face the giant snake.
“Oh right,” her ears folded, she was light headed again seeing that giant serpent thrashing in the middle of the room and her legs felt like jelly. “What should I do? You know I’m petrified of snakes!”
“You should USE your magic Twilight Sparkle!” demanded Rarity running up to her, mane a disheveled mess once again, “Do something and rid us of this awful creature right now!”
As if listening for her name only the great beast stopped its struggling and turned towards the quieter part of the room, tongue flicking curiously in her direction.
“Rarity what in Equestria can you expect me to do about THAT thing?”
“I expect something quick and efficient from you to make that snake leave this building; you’ve always had a better grasp on magic than I!”
It had started slinking blindly towards the 3 ponies, again tasting the air. Applejack was unable to get a footing and got dragged alongside it. “TWILIGHT! IT’S AFTER YOU! DO SOMETHIN!”
Pinkie gasped and jumped up. “OOH OOH I KNOW! Twilight, can you make another you for the snake to chase? If it chases your other self you’ll be fine and it’ll leave us alone!”
“Like a copy? A doppelganger? Of me? I’ve never tried anything like that before,” The snake was dragging itself closer, ignoring the kicks Dash was delivering to its face.
“Okay, here goes nothing,” Twilight closed her eyes and magical light coated her body completely. It dulled and then a fuzzy sparkling outline of herself stepped forward and materialized, hazily standing before her.
“Okokokokok, Twilight go hide and make your copysparkle run out the door. Rainbow Dash get ready to kick off those metal lids,” Twilight ducked around the corner, her doppelganger soundlessly trotting behind her. “I’m ready Pinkie!”
“NOW!” shouted Pinkie and Dash swiftly double kicked the lids off the snakes giant face. The snake hissed at having its sight suddenly restored and looking around spotted Twilights doppelganger running at full gallop out the door. It quickly fell low to the floor and started pursing the figure and Rarity magically slammed the door shut as the last bit of its tail disappeared outside.
“That. Was. So. COOL!” Spike jumped up and shouted. “This is the coolest game ever!”
Pinkie jumped and gave him a high hoof “I know Spike did you see how everyone handled that snake it and when you covered its eyes and didn’t know what to do was the best and Applejack you kicked that thing right in its face it was sooo super duper awesome!”
“Well I’m through playing this,” Applejack said tersely rolling up her lasso, “everyone’s thinkin’ it I’m just sayin’ it, this games cursed!”
“Again with this curse nonsense,” Twilight facehoofed, ”We’ve been through this AJ, there’s a valid explanation for anything and a cursed board game is a stretch don’t you think?”
“Then where’d them bats come from?”
“My attic? They could have been roosting there for all I know.”
“The big ‘ol snake too? A 35ft thang that jus’ so happened to show up right after ya rolled them dice?”
“Maybe it showed up because of the bats?”
“C’mon Twi use that noggin of yers and apply some logic to what jus’ happened. The game even told us it was gonna happen!”
“I don’t apply logic to curses AJ,” said Twilight flatly. Although she saw where her friend was coming from her tendency to jump at supernatural scapegoats always irked the unicorn. “Besides, that clue was completely inspecific.”
Spike didn’t care much for the arguing going on; he looked at Fluttershy who was quivering at the table, drinking out of the only teacup that hadn’t somehow spilled in the ruckus. “Hey it’s our turn now, do you wanna roll?” he asked nicely.
Fluttershy shook her head no and took another quiet sip as she looked over at the arguing ponies. Dash had joined in the argument and Pinkie was helping Rarity with some tidying around.
“I’m rolling now,” The arguing drowned out anything Spike had to say, he looked over at Fluttershy who just shrugged her shoulders, “Here goes!” he said shaking the die.
“-and that’s why you don’t jump to needless conclusions Rainbow Dash, superstitions are easy excuses to problems with often sensible explana-”
“Help! HELP! Someone help!”
Spike had sunken into the floor and was disappearing rapidly, his head and arms the only thing visible. Fluttershy was grabbing hold of his hands, her wings furiously beating at the air. “HELP! Somepony grab his arm!”
The other ponies galloped across the room only to stop short, the floor around the baby dragon had become a goopy mess and the ponies couldn’t get near him. The table was slowly sinking too but Pinkie and AJ leapt across the muck easily. Dash flew over to Fluttershy and began pulling Spikes other arm.
“Fight it Spike, you can do it, pullllll!” Dash struggled with the baby dragons little hands; he kept slipping on their hooves, mouth disappearing under the gooey floor.
“Tie this rope to ‘im girls!” Applejack said tossing her lasso, she was getting a lot of use out of it today, “Tie his hand real good, okay, good job Flutters, now Pinkie, help me PULL!”
Spike budged a little, his nose reappearing above the floor. His green eyes were filled with fear and darting rapidly around the room.
The table began tilting like a capsizing ship causing the game board start to sliding down.
“Uh-oh!” Pinkie dropped the rope and jumped for it knocking Applejack off balance. Spike sunk deeper back into the mushy floor, they gave one final heave but it wasn’t enough. Spike vanished beneath the floor.
Pinkie fell off the table and onto the floor which was suddenly back to its harder consistency causing the board to open up, revealing the games fading message.
Beware the ground where you stand
the floor is quicker than sinking sand
“No. No. Spike. Where did you go? Spike? This isn’t funny Spike, come out!” Twilight galloped over to the door to the library basement and magically threw it open, nearly ripping it off its hinges.
“SPIKE ARE YOU DOWN HERE? Spiiiiiiiiike!” An empty basement greeted her silently, she looked up at the ceiling to see it was completely solid. She frantically galloped to the bottom of the room and cast her life detection spell. Six ponies and one tree was all that showed up. No baby dragon. Nowhere in the tree. Nowhere in sight. Spike was gone.
“….Spike”
|
Cosmonaut
|
1276
| 3 |
Main 6,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Human,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Greatest Game
|
Twilight and her friends attempt to brave the unleashed wild madness that is Jumanji
|
complete
| 73 | 8 |
<p>On a lazy summer day Pinkie Pie decides to round up her friends for a tea party inside Twilights' library. While the languid atmosphere is soothing for the other ponies its Pinkie Pie who's feeling bored at this gathering. Things get far more interesting when a happy accident dislodges a mysterious board game with cryptic instructions. Seeing an opportunity for fun Pinkie Pie starts up a round with her friends...and sets off a chain of events that forces them to brave the wild untamed madness that is Jumanji.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-13T23:40:21+00:00
|
2011-10-13T23:40:21+00:00
| 3,770 |
Sobbing quietly rose from the room. Not just five minutes ago Fluttershy had her hooves wrapped around her young dragon friend sinking into the floor and now Spike was gone. The last thing she heard was her muffled name being cried out before he vanished.
The other ponies stood dumbly, seeing Spike getting sucked into the floorboards had shocked them all. Applejack was the first to break the silence after Twilight disappeared downstairs.
“Pinkie Pie? What in sam hill is wrong with you!? We coulda pulled him through if ya didn’t drop the rope.”
Pinkie blinked rapidly, “Because well, ya see, if the game fell into the gooey-ooey we could never finish it and find out who wins and also it was gonna be my turn again and I didn’t want to miss it really.”
“So you just LET Spike sink into the floor because you cared more about the game than your friend,” seethed Rainbow Dash getting right in Pinkies face.
“Uh-uh-uh, we were ALL helping him Rainbow Dash and I didn’t let him fall in there, he was getting pulled in by the muddy stuff and-”
“-and I think you need to get your priorities checked Pinkie Pie,” interjected Rarity, lowering her voice, “Spike has disappeared, and if any of you ponies could stop your bickering you’d realize our poor friend is crying her eyes out downstairs. Now we can’t always explain the things Pinkie Pie does but I believ-HELLOOO Twilight Sparkle, err, just how long have you been standing there?”
They turned to see their friend at the doorway, fur under her eyes damp with tears. “Long enough Rarity,” she said wiping her face.
“AJ I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you. If I weren’t so, so analytical I could have seen that you were right this time and I was wrong and then this happened and now I can’t find...” she hiccuped and rubbed her eye again.
“Aw Sug come ‘ere,” Applejack grabbed her friend and gave her a strong hug. Fluttershy and the rest of her friends gathered around her and joined in, “we’re gonna fix this mess and get Spike back and erythin’ will be FINE.”
Twilight gave a small smile, “Thanks girls, I don’t know what I’d do without your support. Spikes been here with me since, since I met him in his little egg, he’s been my first frie-”
Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump
The ponies glanced toward the floor where the horrible game box sat, rhythmic drum beats coming from inside.
“First we gotta get rid of this darned game Twilight, magic me an axe,” Applejack trotted over to the box “so’s I can break it once and fer all!”
Twilight closed her eyes and focused, with a poof and a small flash of light a large iron mallet apparated and fell to the floor with a clunk.
“Close enough,” said Applejack gripping the handle in her hooves “Here goes nothin’!”
Applejack brought the mallet down as hard as she could and slammed it dead center onto the box. It hit with a resounding THUD and a flash of green light filled the room throwing Applejack backwards into her friends.
“Oof! Did ah gettit?” she said clumsily, eyes rolling in their sockets “Oh no way,”
They got up and looked over at the game case sitting intact right where Applejack slammed it, pieces of the broken mallet head littering the area around the box with scorch marks decorating the floor.
“Well if that didn’t work what will?” thought Dash aloud.
“I don’t know...let me think for a minute…there’s got to be something to connect this board with,” Twilight sat and rubbed her head going over facts she knew so far about the game, trying to organize them in her mind.
Pinkie Pie trotted over to the board and opened it back up, halting the soft drumbeats that permeated the air. “K, while we’re waiting I’m gonna roll my turn reeeeeaaaal quick!” she said hastily rolling the dice in her hooves.
Applejack was not gonna have this. “Firstly Pinks, it’s mine and Raritys turn, second, we’re all tryin’ to catch our breath here, and thirdly ah don’t feel like rollin’ right now and I’m pretty sure nopony else does either, so wait yer danged turn!”
Pinkies face fell for an instant, “Fine we’ll put the game on hold for a little bit,” Fluttershy gingerly took the dice from Pinkie and held it in her teeth.
“olll hold on t’ theesh,” she said and sat down giving her a look. Pinkie sighed, knowing was getting a lot of flak for seeming so indifferent to everything and winning felt like such a silly thing to think about, but it’s all she wanted to do after this tea party had started getting to be so much fun.
Peering into the box and counting up the spaces she saw she had twenty-four more to go. Her eyes rested on the boring blank inner flap of the box and she felt a little niggle of an idea about it.
“Rarity come over here a sec and bring your little wipey-rag with ya.”
“What is it darling? I’m a little preoccupied with fixing up these windows you know.”
“Just come over here pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-”
Rarity dropped what she was doing in a huff and trotted over “Yes Pinkie Pie what is it that needs my attention sooo badly?”
She pointed down to the box “I have a funny feeling about this flippy-flap, can you rub it with your little towel?”
Raritys little embroidered handkerchief flew into the sink, soaking itself, and began scrubbing the inner box flap clean. “Oh my,” she whispered after a few steady strokes. “I missed something…everypony come look at this! Pinkie found more instructions to the game!”
ADVENTURERS BEWARE!
Do not begin unless you intend to finish,
the exciting consequences will remain,
until a player finishes and calls out the name of the game
“More like a warning,” snorted Rainbow Dash, shifting her wings, “I wish we’d found this sooner.”
“I’m scared again,” peeped Fluttershy.
“But you’re ALWAYS scared Flutters,” snapped Dash.
Pinkie looked less glum, “Now we have to play if we want the bats and snake to go away.”
Rarity sighed and turned to Applejack “All this rhyming nonsense is really starting to fray my nerves.”
Twilight, who’d been quietly lost in thought suddenly perked up “What did you just say?”
“…fray my nerves?”
“Nononono before that!” said Twilight breathlessly jumping over to her startled friend “You said rhyming nonsense,”
“Well yes dear I-”
“Rhyming nonsense…rhyming…”
“Eheh, um, Twilight what are you getting at?”
Rarity received a surprising hug from her purple friend “That’s it! I know where to go now! Rhyming messages, exotic wildlife, strange magical properties, cursed board game…I think we could find answers at Zecoras place!”
“Of course! Why didn’t we think of that sooner!” said Dash excitedly. Zecora, the zebra living on her own in the forest could very well have answers about this game considering her background.
“Um, isn’t the forest where you sent that giant snake?” asked Fluttershy thoughtfully.
Twilight stopped short for a moment as doubt and fear began creeping into her thoughts, but her mission to save Spike forced her head clear. “Yes, we’ll handle him in due time, I’ll be right back to get some things,” she said trotting upstairs with newfound courage. No snake no matter how big would stand between her goal to recover Spike.
The other ponies stood around waiting for their friend, Fluttershy was shaking at the idea of going into the Everfree forest even if it was with her friends.
Dash noticed and commenting said “Don’t you sweat it Flutters, I’ll be here to take care of any scary baddies that’ll get in our way!”
“OOH! Do you think Zecoras played this before? Oh I just bet shes a WHIZ at this game,” jumped in Pinkie excitedly.
“Ah really wish you’d take this situation a lil’ more serious Pinkie,” responded Applejack curtly.
Pinkie giggled “Whys that? There’s nothing serious about it!”
“Now ya listen here Pinks I dunno why yer actin so-
“OK everypony ready?” Twilight had hopped downstairs with her saddlebags on her back, binoculars slung around her neck and wearing her expedition helmet. “I’ve got almost everything I could possibly think of and no books this time. I don’t think we’ll need them now.”
“Twilight Sparkle not bringing a reference guide? This is quite the change of pace for you,” playfully jabbed Rarity.
“It’s completely necessary that I DON’T have my nose stuck in a book going through the woods. Besides, I don’t have any relevant reading material to take anyway so I’m really counting on Zecora helping us.”
Dash stopped flitting around and landed next to her friends “We should bring the game with us right?”
They all glanced at the face open case sitting innocently in the evening sunlight. Twilight shut her eyes and took a breath “I’ll carry it in my pack, Fluttershy you can toss the dice in the box and I’ll put it away.”
“Phew,” went the quiet little Pegasus, she felt awfully nervous holding the dice in her mouth and dropped them into the board. She was closing the flaps when she jumped away with a yelp
“I-It moved, the piece moved!”
Applejack gasped, “But it was mine and Raritys turn!”
“Jeeeeeez, are ANY of you ponys paying attention?” said Pinkie Pie rolling her eyes “Don’t you remember that Spike rolled a four? He got doubles and got another turn but he’s not here to roll again but he was on Fluttershys team so she HAD to roll for him and that means it’s still Fluttershys turn so now the games moving again.”
Twilight did not like the implications of that. The board game knew who was on who’s teams? Something new to consider, but she wasn’t waiting around for another monster to delay her this time.
“We’ll read the clue and we’re out of this house ASAP,” Twilight said opening the front door “What’s it say Pinkie?”
Pinkie turned the case towards her and read aloud:
The forest holds brush and pine
now the path holds vicious vine
“Alright! We’re off!” Twilight said magically shoving the box into her pack “Come on don’t dawdle, we’re not sticking around here,” and with that began running out the door, her friends following in full gallop. Dash was flying at full speed above Twilight with Fluttershy following close behind.
“Don’t be so worried Fluttershy ‘cuz Dash has got your back!” she said doing a loop-de-loop confidently. Her friends bravado forced a meek smile on Fluttershys face, but she was still clearly shaken by the foreboding message.
“Here’s the forest entrance. Daaaaaash, Fluttershyyyyy come down here and walk with us! We need to stick together!” called out Twilight waving her hoof.
The woods ahead of them were treacherous since nearly all the wildlife could harm a pony in some way. Although Fluttershy knew every creature in there it wasn’t much help when it was trying to eat you for lunch.
Twilight looked through her binoculars “Alright…I’ll lead the way to Zecoras so follow me in a single file line right in the middle of the path to make sure we’re furthest away from the treeline as possible. Just in case.”
They began their trek in higher spirits but started drifting into silence the deeper they delved into the forest. Rarity was noticing some new flora sprouting in the woods “Look at these adorable purple flowers blooming in the trees! They have the same azure quality as my mane, how pretty!” she gushed drifting off the path.
Applejack grabbed Raritys tail and pulled her in line “Eyes on the trail missy, I ain’t never seen them flowers before so look an’ don’t touch,”
“Well you do not have to be so rough Applejack. My hair and mane have been through a lot today,” pouted Rarity, magically curling her tail.
Applejack groaned “After all that’s happened ya think ya’d be a bit less worried on yerself ya know?”
Fluttershy shuddered, being in tune with animals and not seeing or hearing any about left her worried. She could swear she felt that something was following her, creeping in the bushes alongside her. Fluttershy attempted to concentrate on Pinkies tail wildly bouncing in front of her to keep her mind clear. She heard another rustle in the bushes next to her and turned to look when- SMACK
“Oof, um, why’d we stop? Did something…happen?” Fluttershy asked after smacking into Pinkies backside.
“It’s a big twisted hedge in the way,” scowled Dash as if it were the most obvious thing ever “I can fly right over this stupid bush,”
“But,” interjected Twilight impatiently “you aren’t going to because you don’t know what’s on the other side, we’re going to cut our way through.”
Twilight lifted the slash slung around her neck and pulled a short squared sword out of the sheath.
“Woa, where’d ya get that big ‘ol machete Twi?” asked Applejack eyeing the blade.
“Found it with the hat and binoculars in my library. Apparently it’s an excellent tool for cutting through thick foliage and this is my first time I get to use it,” replied Twilight levitating the knife, diligently making sure to aim for appropriately thin vines in the tangled wall by pulling them out with her magic.
She was just finishing up when the bushes came to life.
“AAGH!” screamed Rarity as a vine tripped her and started dragging her away. Each pony was grabbed by a separate vine except for Dash who was luckily in the air and dodged it.
Twilight was slicing away at the vine curling around her waist with the blade and was working on helping her friends. “They’re everywhere!” she cried slicing two more that had tried coiling around her legs.
“I’ve gotcha Applejack!” Dash said ripping apart the offending vine around her friends foreleg with her teeth “Help the other three!”
“Don’t worry about me Dashie I’m fine,” Pinkie said expertly jumping and dodging the vines. A pair of them had knotted each other in their frenetic attempts to grab the prancing pony.
SHHHHINK another vine was slashed apart by the heavy knife under Twilights control. “Hold still Rarity I’ve got you,” Twilight sent the blade spinning at the vine that held her friend. It cut through cleanly and the vine disappeared squealing into the woods.
“HEY my knife!” A vine had grabbed the tool and was snaking back into the woods with it.
“Rarity help me pull it back!” she said turning to her panicked friend. They focused their magic on the blade and pulled, in an odd tug-of-war of might and magic.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both pulling Fluttershy together, two vines had wrapped around her back legs and she was frantically beating her wings to pull away. “Help Help Help!” she pleaded as the vines tightened their grip on her.
“Don’t worry Fluttershy, me and Aj’s got you, we’ve got you, don’t worry- TWILIGHT HELP US CUT FLUTTERSHY LOOSE!” Dash yelled over to her friends.
A vine burst directly out of the ground on front of Fluttershy and smacked Applejack away, both Dash and Fluttershy were dragged to the tree line.
“I’ve got you Fluttershy, I’ve got you,” Dash grabbed her free hoof and also started pumping her wings “just don’t let go don’t let go don’t let go.”
Fluttershys eyes were shaking as she gripped her friend tight. “Dash, I-AAAAAAAHHH!”
Another vine popped up from the earth and lashed Dash in the snout, she turned to snatch at her friends hooves but it was too late. Fluttershy disappeared screaming into the Everfree forest, her yellow form fading away into the darkness.
“WE HAVE TO GO AFTER HER!” shouted Dash making a break for the woods.
“NO we can’t!” yelled Twilight as she wrestled the blade free and began cutting away at the big hedge “We can’t lose you too Dash we need to get out of here! It’s getting worse!”
Applejack pulled her friend away from the treeline and through the hedge wall, it was still trying to close in on them.
“But what about-”
“Dash we NEED to leave before we’re all taken away! I don’t want to know what happens if we lose this game!” pleaded Twilight “Zecoras place is just up ahead and WE HAVE TO MOVE!”
With her legs shaking Dash turned and plunged through the closing vine wall and followed her friends to the wooden house just up ahead. Dash held her head high but her spirits dragged behind. Her thoughts were a muddled mess but one rang through clear as a bell.
That zebra better have a way to get her friends back
|
Cosmonaut
|
1276
| 4 |
Main 6,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Human,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
|
The Greatest Game
|
Twilight and her friends attempt to brave the unleashed wild madness that is Jumanji
|
complete
| 73 | 8 |
<p>On a lazy summer day Pinkie Pie decides to round up her friends for a tea party inside Twilights' library. While the languid atmosphere is soothing for the other ponies its Pinkie Pie who's feeling bored at this gathering. Things get far more interesting when a happy accident dislodges a mysterious board game with cryptic instructions. Seeing an opportunity for fun Pinkie Pie starts up a round with her friends...and sets off a chain of events that forces them to brave the wild untamed madness that is Jumanji.</p>
|
everyone
|
2011-10-17T00:06:15+00:00
|
2011-10-17T00:06:15+00:00
| 3,432 |
WHACK-WHACK-WHACK
“There we go, good as new, even if it I am not yet through,” chuckled Zecora as she drove the last nail through her front door. While it certainly was a strong door she had recently discovered that its hinges were not. The local mailpony had brought it to her attention when she barreled through it one day delivering her a letter. It was only a monthly postmark from her mother living in Zebrica but her tendency to mark each one as urgent distressed her. She knew her mom wasn’t that old yet.
“Tomorrow I will get new hinges for my door, on a visit to the hardware store,” she mused putting away her hammer. Zecora sat herself by the fireplace sipping the tea she had been brewing, wrapping herself in a blanket. The wind outside was blowing the tree branches around in a peaceful rhythm. The warm savannahs of her childhood bubbled back to her as she drank from her cup. Flowing fields of green grass, tall stoic trees, the scent of distant storms on the balmy horizon…
BANGBANGBANG
She jolted back to her house coughing on her tea. “Who is there knocking outside? Such brash behavior I despise!”
BANGBANGBANGBANG
“You are not welcome in my home, until you tell me from where you roam,” she said rushing for her door locks and tripping in the blanket, rolling to the middle of the room in a bundle.
BANGBANGBANGBANG-SMASH
The door having suffered previous distresses finally gave up its fight and the hinges snapped off completely. The culprits behind this heinous crime against her entryway fell forwards in a jumbled heap onto the floor in front of her. The dust they kicked up obscured most of them, but one of their faces landed right in front of hers on the carpet.
“Hehehe, helloooo Zecora!” said a frazzled looking purple unicorn.
“Twilight Sparkle, explain your actions! Your forced entry to my home is a known infraction,” demanded Zecora wiggling out of her blanket.
“Well you see, my friends and I were having some fun earlier with a tea party and we were playing a board game. This board game…we’re having some trouble finishing it and would like you to offer your opinion on it.”
Zecora frowned stepping over to her front door trying to nudge the heavy thing back into place. She stumbled a little when Twilight magically levitated and set it back in the entrance, fixing the hinges as well.
“So if it isn’t too much trouble could you please help us?” pleaded Twilight nervously.
After tapping the hinges to her front door and making a show of tugging it closed Zecora took a moment to glance at the small group of ponies sitting before her. They did look visibly distressed.
“So tell me Twilight of this game, what could I offer on a topic so tame?” she asked cautiously.
Applejack opened up one of Twilights saddlebags, pulling out a rectangular board game. Zecora gasped.
“Why have you never told me you owned this before? This is not something you buy in a store!”
“So you DO recognize this thing? Oh thank goodness I was scared I couldn’t get any input on it. Alright then I have some quest-“ Twilight stopped short. Zecora had jumped away to a far corner of her room excitedly digging through a pile of books and other things. She was practically skipping when she returned to Twilight holding an all too familiar brown case in her mouth.
“Tell me where you got that Zecora,” asked Twilight, obviously puzzled.
“They all come from the same place, the land that breeds the rest of my race,” she replied with a proud smile “Such a thing is quite rare you see. It’s quite a thrill to own a piece like Jumanji,”
The small group of ponies watched apprehensively as Zecora nosed open her copy of the game. Rarity rested her head on Pinkies bouncy hair so she could get a better look at it. There were dice and small lettering on the board, it looked not nearly as old and was more rigid and evenly aligned, paths not even crossing. There was no luminescent jewel in the middle either, just Jumanji etched into the center of the board. A short stack of cards sat next to it with some different colored blocks as tokens.
“If you do not know this tradition of mine, which surely I don’t doubt, is an ancient game of history, one that ends with a shout,” remarked Zecora as she tenderly rubbed a spot on the case.
“Look here Zecora, while you may see this as just a silly game we have come to discover that it is much much more,” chimed Rarity as Dash pulled away from the group. She watched as the blue Pegasus sat herself in the far corner of the room. “This game of yours is just a trite copy of the real thing,”
Zecora burst into throaty laughter “Ponies please, you make my sides hurt! This game is as active as dirt,”
“Is that right?” snorted Applejack pulling open the flaps of their own Jumanji “Look through here yerself and then ya can tell us it’s all a buncha hooey,”
Zecora studied the game her orange acquaintance had revealed before her. She studied it eagerly, marveling at the detail. It was possibly the best iteration of Jumanji she had ever seen. The board carried the fine scent of Sequoia and with the careful detail of the spaces and tokens her mother would weep at the craftsmanship and dedication. The only things missing were the stacks of clues that came with every game.
“This is may be the finest copy I’ve seen to date. Such a masterpiece is nearly impossible to replicate,” said Zecora in awe.
“I’m afraid that this is probably, no, definitely not a copy Zecora,” whispered Twilight, glancing over to Dash “We started playing and every turn caused some sort of unnatural event to come to life!”
“Like big –ol bats as bigger than birds!” said Applejack.
“Super huge gigantica long hissy snakes!” chirped Pinkie Pie.
“Absolutely dreadful pony eating foliage,” added Rarity.
“…and some sort of sinking goop as well,” finished Twilight softly.
Zecora looked down at the board game again. It was certainly a pristine copy even though it was dirty. She looked back up to Twilight and her friends; they almost looked sincere.
“Don’t make a fool of me, this game is myth! There is nothing about it I could help you with,” she replied indifferently.
There was a bang over in the corner as Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves against the windowsill.
“Applejack can you…go and talk to Dash for a minute?” requested Twilight politely “I’m going to explain some things to Zecora,”
Applejack nodded and cantered over to Dash. Very calmly, she sat herself down next to her friend.
“Hey there sug’ how ya holding up?” she asked delicately.
“Bad. Just bad Applejack,” muttered Dash looking away.
“I know, things been bad for everypony lately, but we can beat this ya hear? I reckon It’s not tha end o’ the world,”
“It kinda is, Fluttershy’s gone and Zecora JUST said she can’t help us. I’ve known Fluttershy for like, ever and stupid Twilight just let her get taken away,” grumbled Dash, leering at Twilight from across the room.
Applejack nudged her in the side “That ain’t very nice. Spike’s gone too ya remember?”
Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and swore under her breath. Applejack pretended not to hear and patted Dash on the back.
“I know you and Fluttershy go a long ways back, and losing her is hard on all of us ya hear? We all tried to protect each other when them nasty vines started attackin’ it jus’ weren’t enough I’m afraid…I can tell Raritys really hurtin’ too, even though she’s tryin’ her best not to show it.”
Applejack rubbed her friends back. She knew Dash wasn’t one to cry or anything but she was definitely upset from what happened.
“Ya’ll know we’ll get ‘em back when we win right? Says so right on the box clear as day!” she offered.
“If,” corrected Dash morosely “If we win, you heard Twilight. This is a game that we could lose and if we seriously don’t win...then it’s over. Done. We don’t get them back Applejack. It’s only been four turns and we’ve lost two of us already.”
There was a loud crash from the far side of the room. Everyone looked over to see Pinkie Pie had bounced into a shelf of antique masks and knocked them to the floor. She poked her head out of the pile and grinned, wearing a big oversized laughing mask on her face.
“Just look at her AJ. She hasn’t been taking this game seriously since turn one,” she griped motioning to Pinkie, who was now doing a horrible job at cleaning up the mess she made.
“Pinks is always like this RD, an’ right now, she’s gotta better attitude ‘bout it than you do,” Applejack replied sternly “You an’ me Dash, we gotta be strong for our friends. So chin up.”
Dash looked up at wearing a more determined face “Yeah, you’re right. I’m strong. I can do this. I’ll beat this stupid game and get our friends back in record time.”
“GIRLS! We’re going back to the library, let’s get there before nightfall!” piped up Twilight. She tilted her head slightly back; her expedition helmet kept slipping over her eyes.
“I’ve told you all I know, if these wild claims are true. I can only offer my best wishes; and hope the best for you,” said Zecora fearfully. She picked up the small stack of cards within her box and offered them to Twilight. “Take these with you for the rest of your plight; they will surely help ease your friends’ frights.”
“Thank you Zecora, you’ve actually been a great help now that I know more about the games history. With these clues giving us a heads up I think we’ll be better off too. Before I go I have just one more question,” Twilight pulled Jumanji back out of her saddlebags and set it down “Could you tell me what that is? Right there in the upper left corner?”
Zecora took a long hard look at the carved figure scowling on the case. “A figure of those that walked on just two, they roamed these lands long before me and you. Creatures lost to time, hairless and tan, remembered only by name :man.”
Twilight gulped, shoving the case back into her pack “So I assume if…he comes out of the game then I can expect him to be just as dangerous as any other thing so far.”
“In all copys of Jumanji this card is left out. It is simply unfair without a doubt,” Zecora looked directly at Twilight, voice filled with dread “It’s always a gamble to have a card dealt, but it’s game over for those who roll the Hunter Van Pelt,”
***
“Pinkie Pie could you please stop bouncing for one moment? Looking at you is making me tiiiiired,” begged Rarity as Pinkie continued to hop around them in a circle. They were huddled together outside waiting for Twilight to finish talking to Zecora. The sun had just slipped behind the mountains painting the sky a vivid orange and red, prompting Rarity to summon some light before the evening set in.
“Oh Rarity you don’t have to brighten the night because we can do it ourselves. A trick I learned is that all you have to do is shut your eyes-super tight and count to five or maybe three but I always count to seven just in case and when they’re shut you open them up and then you can see in the dark!”
Applejack rolled her eyes “Yeah Pinkie that’s some real keen advice and all but I’d like a lil’ light anyways. We’re not stumblin’ around the kitchen for midnight snacks out here.”
Pinkie Pie was just launching into a new tirade on the perfect late-night treats when Twilight stepped outside to join them.
“Thank goodness you’re finally here,” breathed Rarity in relief as the light faded from her horn “I swear when this awful situation is concluded I’ll be taking a weeks vacation from work.”
Everypony murmured in agreement, even Applejack giving a fierce nod to the head vowing to spend more time with her friends than in the fields.
“Alright Twilight, what DID we learn from Zecora then?” asked Dash impatiently “Don’t tell me we walked all the way out here for nothing.”
“According to her this game has thousands of years of history to it. The ancient trickster spirits of the her homeland created Jumanji as an eternal reminder to the world of the untamed wilds that existed before civilization,” repeated Twilight carefully trying to correctly piece together Zecoras rhyming speech, “It eventually exited her homeland but not before it passed out of knowledge, like what we saw with her copy tonight. Unfortunately for us there’s little she can do to actually help…aside from giving us the list of clues she had.”
Twilight passed around each of the small cards to her friends and lit her horn so they could read them. After a few tense seconds Rarity abruptly broke the silence.
“What in good heavens is a ‘river horse’? How does a pony exactly ‘skirt around one’ as well…Pinkie what did the one you get talk about?”
“Mine says something about ‘smiling guests from the Nile!’ I don’t know where that is but it sounds super neat to have something happy happen! What’s yours say Dash?”
“It’s just about being bitten and getting itchy,” complained Dash “It doesn’t mean anything to me, what about you AJ?”
“Shoot this one ‘ere sounds like it’s talking ‘bout a stampede. Stayin’ put is always a ‘blunder’ no matter what kinda stampede. I could handle this ‘un no sweat,” she said proudly thinking back to her town award “What’s yours say Twi?”
Twilight sighed and dropped the card to the floor, everypony gathered around to look at the clue Twilight received:
YOU WIN!
“Now that there’s a card I’d hold on to,” chuckled Applejack with the rest of the group “What do we do next Twi?”
“Keep playing until we win at all costs of course!” said Dash confidently tugging the game out of her pack “Who’s turn is in anyways?”
“Our turn Rainbow Dash,” answered Rarity sidling over to Applejack “You can roll first if you want Applejack. Like you said I’m ‘plum terrible’ at these board games.”
Applejack looked around cautiously; they had stopped in the middle of the trail on the walk home. The twisted hedge was a few hundred yards ahead and the woods around them still rustled with the sounds of marauding plant life.
“Jus’ like before girls, we’ll roll a turn, pack up the game and run like a bat outta-“
“Run? That’s your plan? Running isn’t a plan Applejack running is what you do when a plan FAILS,” criticized Dash “AJ you’re not even trying to think here.”
“Yer not tryin’ to think of somethin’ yerself missy so if I were you-”
Twilight jumped between the two ponies “Will you two give it a rest!? Applejacks idea is pretty sound considering that I can’t safely teleport all five of us back to my library. Sweet Apple Acres is pretty close to here, we should run there and hold out in her barn,”
“Sounds good to me!” said Pinkie happily, bouncing in the air “Maybe we can stop over to Sugarcube Corner and pick up some snacks for tonight. I made miniature cupcakes that you can eat just like popcorn but I had trouble making the wrappers and then I thought ‘HEY! maybe I don’t need wrappers if they’re so super tiny’ because sometimes I even eat THOSE without realizing it and then you don’t even want to hear about when I go to the-”
“NO! PINKIE!” interrupted Rarity as Applejack started shaking the dice “Nopony, especially I, would want to hear about THAT. So let’s get ready to dart out of here while we prepare for the worst.”
With a clack the two dice fell to the game board causing the token to slide forward seven spaces. The luminescent jewel glowed to life as the new message revealed itself:
They march and eat, march and eat
An entire army beneath your feet
Immediately before they could react the brush around them exploded as all matter of woodland creatures burst from the treeline and scattered past them.
“Eww gross gross gross!” shrieked Rarity, an opossum brushing past her legs “What is going on here?”
“Beats me Rarity,” said Twilight as small family of squirrels scooted past her “It said something about an army right? Like an army of what?”
“Twi, shine your horn a lil’ brighter for us will ya?” asked Applejack squinting into the woods. She heard an odd rustling and didn’t like it one bit. It chilled her.
Pouring out of the woods were thousands, millions of black bugs of some kind. Tiny jaws gnashing at the air as they spilled en masse on to the pathway. A squirrel jumping out of a tree fell short and landed in their way, instantly covered in the swarm of black insects and in two seconds was picked clean to the bone.
“EVERYPONY OFF THA GROUND NOW!” shouted Applejack looping her lasso around a large overhanging branch. She was hoisting herself up when Rarity jumped and grabbed her round the waist.
“A…little…too…tightly…there…Rarity,” squeaked Applejack as the petrified unicorn desperately clutched her belly.
“Nopony wants to fall into that Applejack and that is my completely valid justification so suck it up and don’t you dare let me go!” she replied tightening her grip. Rarity watched Rainbow Dash lifting Twilight up in the air by her tail, causing her expedition hat to fall off “If you’re holding Twilight…and I’m over here where is…”
“PINKIE!” they yelled looking around frantically. The ants below them continued their march tearing apart everything in their path. There was no pink pony anywhere in sight.
“Up here silly heads!” said Pinkie Pie stretching her neck past the branch. Applejack was so shocked she nearly let go the rope in her mouth.
“PINKIE PIE! Don’t ya scare us like that again! Ah was worried sick about ya right there,” scolded Applejack. She would have asked how she got up there so quick in the first place but she knew better to ask Pinkie questions that were impossible to answer.
They remained there wordlessly as the black mass of pests dwindled into smaller and smaller streams until by Raritys declaration she could see no more chittering insects rustling out the woods.
“Woweee! Did you see all those buggies on the ground there musta been like a whole million billion zillion ka-JILLION of those things crawling on the ground right there!” said Pinkie hopping down next to Applejack. She watched as the orange pony removed her hat momentarily, gasping for air as she stuffed her lasso back inside.
“Nine-hundred thousand,” said Rarity automatically, the other ponies looked at her in bewilderment “…I think.”
Dash opened her mouth to speak, unceremoniously dropping Twilight to the floor “So what do we do about all those bugs? They’re gonna steamroll the whole town if we don’t stop ‘em!”
“Lucky they weren’t heading to Ponyville,” said Rarity now brushing her mane “Unless they change course but that’s thinking pessimistic and I’m hoping for the best from this point on,”
Twilight put her helmet back on, struggling with it as her horn got caught on the lip “Where were they headed then Rarity?”
“Considering where we are, the speed they were going, how many of them there were and the direction they’re headed,” she paled, stopping mid-brush “they should be entering Sweet Apple Acres in twenty minutes,”
“TWEN-TWENTY! Jus’ twenty minutes!?” yelled Applejack in alarm. She reared back and took off towards her farm “Imma comin’ for ya’ll don’t ya worry!”
“Applejack come back! We need to stick together!” called out Twilight.
“You’re gonna hurt yourself AJ wait up!” yelled Dash speeding after her.
“Dearie what about us!? You can’t leave us here!” shouted Rarity.
“ELEVEN!” screamed Pinkie Pie doing a double back flip.
Rarity halted in her tracks. Twilight slammed a hoof against her saddlebags feeling the emptiness inside.
“Pinkie Piiiiiiiiie, tell me you didn’t just do what I think you did,” said Twilight in a poor attempt at hiding the anger in her voice.
“I’m rolling again because it’s my turn and guess which pony just took the lead too late it’s PINKIE PIE oh yeeeaaah!” she said victoriously pumping her hooves in the air.
Rarity grabbed her friend close “We are not even close to being ready yet and after all those atrocious murderous bugs you just roll the dice again anyway?!”
Pinkie stared at her vacantly and nodded “You betcha, the sooner I win the better for everyone else!”
Twilight took a deep breath and counted to ten. Zecora and the game did promise a return to normality upon completion. Running through it at breakneck speed? Was that actually a good tactic or a bad one? She had no time to dwell on it further as the newest clue bubbled forth within the jade globe:
They cackle and laugh, but aren’t your friend
Keep your wits or meet a bitter end
“OOOH OOOOH I know exactly what this clue is!” shrieked Pinkie Pie excitedly.
Twilight did a double-take “Really Pinkie? What’s coming out the game?!”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s-,” she paused, striking an overtly dramatic pose “INSULT COMICS!”
The two unicorns threw a hoof to their foreheads while Pinkie rolled on the ground in stitches at her great joke.
“Twilight we are not making good time here. Do you think you can cast your fancy teleportation spell and help us cover some ground?” requested Rarity politely.
“That one’s pretty tricky Rarity. I haven’t done it in a while and three ponies at the same time to the same place is going to be difficult,” responded Twilight pawing at the ground.
“Not impossible?”
“Are you willing to risk your hair and mane?”
“My hair!?” she looked like she had just been slapped in the face “Yes I suppose if we win then it won’t really matter what happens to my wonderful visage in the interim. Let’s go for it!”
Twilight shut her eyes and recited the spell in her head. After a few seconds she opened them back up.
“Pinkie could you please stop laughing for a minute? I am trying to do something here.”
“I’m not laughing anymore,” said Pinkie cheerfully “I thought it was Rarity laughing for a minute there!”
“I can assure you both I did not utter a single chuckle,” she said flatly.
All three ponies remained quiet as they swiveled their heads around. Faint cackling could be heard all around them. Rarity summoned light from her horn and cast it about the darkness. Three pairs of glowing yellow eyes lit up in the brush around them.
“Twiliiiight, get us out of heeeere,” peeped Rarity, edging closer to her friend. The creatures around them sauntered into the clearing cackling and chuckling. Their fur was a mottled spotty mix of black and grey making them difficult to see against the darkness. Rarity noted their powerful necks leading to their huge toothy maws. These creatures existed to rip and tear and perhaps nothing else.
“Are we going somewhere girls?” asked Pinkie Pie blankly as Rarity dragged her towards them.
“Yes Pinkie we’re getting out of here now I’m pretty sure we need to be as close to each other as possible,” said Rarity as Twilight focused on the spell. The animals were drawing nearer, almost lazily as they gnashed their teeth and snickered maniacally. Obviously unaware of just what kind of unicorn they were dealing with Rarity allowed a slight smile.
“Bye-bye!” she said as the largest turned to pounce at her and suddenly vanished in a flash of light as she felt herself sucked away into nothingness. Pinkie was whooping noisily next to her as the spell transported them to their destination. She tried calling to Pinkie, but her voice was distant in the odd howling wormhole that her lavender friend had cast for them. Almost immediately the unusual ride was over and they blinked back into the real world.
“Hahahaaaaaaaa! Rarity you look like you’ve just been to a barbecue. Or maybe you WERE the barbecue!” snorted Pinkie Pie giving Raritys mane a playful tug.
“I am so so so SOOOOOO sorry about that Rarity,” said Twilight sincerely as the speechless unicorn tenderly ran a hoof through her now charred curls and coat. Twilights own hair had come out blackened as well. Pinkie Pie had in some impossible fashion exited the spell completely unscathed.
Rarity stood there shaking a bit. She was trying her best not to scream as the smell of her own burnt hair filled her nostrils. With restraint in her voice she very calmly spoke. “It is o-kay Twilight. I am currently…not being eaten and everything is fine,”
Twilight wiped the sweat off her brow in relief, it was time to get her bearings “Alright, sorry again…where are we?
***
“Applejack slow down you’re hard to keep up with!” yelled Dash as she tried keeping pace with her friend. Applejack was running at breakneck speed. Faster even than during the Running of the Leaves.
“No time to talk hun,” belted Applejack not even looking at the blue mare “My kin don’t know what’s comin’ an’ I gotta be there for ‘em. I ain’t having them die on me magicky game rules or not!”
Sweet Apple Acres was just up ahead now. Applejack had made exceptionally good time seeing she didn’t wait around for her three friends. She assumed they were following her in a slower gallop. Having good faith that Twilight wouldn’t stick around the forest was enough reasoning for her.
“Dash! Git in the barn and let the cattle and pigs loose! Tell ‘em to head for Whitetail Woods on the other side of town,” commanded Applejack as she bolted through her front door.
“GRANNY SMITH! BIG MACINTOSH! APPLEBLOOM! All ya’ll wake up and git yer behinds movin’ ‘cause we gotta go!” she hollered running upstairs hitting each bedroom door as she did. She was banging on her brothers door wondering why the other two hadn’t woken up yet when…
“OW!”
Applejack gasped “Sorry big bro,” she apologized as Big Macintosh rubbed his nose “Jus’ that it’s reeeaaal important ya move yer tuckus out this door now and rouse the other two while we go!”
“AJ they ain’t home,” said Macintosh with a yawn “Her teacher Cherrilee took Bloomy and her class upstate fer that camping trip ‘member? Heck sis you even talked to her ‘bout Granny bein’ group mentor.”
Applejack threw a hoof to her head. Of course they were on the school trip. How could she have forgotten?
“Do ya hear that? Someones makin’ off with our livestock!” he said in disbelief as he shoved past her to peer out the window. He threw on his harness and dashed downstairs.
“Macintosh I let them cattle out,” said Applejack “Now quit yer yappin’ and follow me outside,”
“Sis you’d better explain yerself. That’s part of our livelihood yer sendin’ out in the dead o’ night,” demanded Big Macintosh as he followed her outside.
“Ya wanna hear the short story or the long one?”
“Will I be gettin’ back to bed anytime soon?”
“Nope,”
“Spin me the longer yarn,”
“Me and my friends got ourselves mixed up in some accursed board game tha’s out to kill us if we don’ keep our heads clear an’ the only way to play is to win so’s we keep playin’ and all sorts of horrible monsters been comin’ out and right now there’s a heapin’ herd of bugs comin’ to the farm an’ they’re set to tear us to pieces so here I am to make sure that don’t happen ya got all that?,”
Big Macintosh frowned, squinting at her little sister “AJ tell me ya hadn’t been at the watering hole downin’ Honey Oaks again,”
“Dagnabbit Macintosh,” she cried “I am not drunk. Ya know I’m the most honest pony ‘round these parts.”
“APPLEJAAAACK!”
The two Apple family members turned their head to the shouting and saw her friends running over to greet them. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness ya’ll are okay,” she said, her smile dropped a little as she got a better look at the two unicorns “Mostly okay…what in tarnation happened to you two? Ya’ll catch fire or somethin’ Rarity?”
“Only a little,” she replied brazenly, glancing at Twilight “Where is Rainbow Dash?”
“Above you,” said Dash coasting to a stop on the ground next to them “The bugs are here,”
They flinched at the bad news. Big Macintosh didn’t look that fazed though.
“Alright I’ll go an’ get the bug juice,” he said casually making for the barn.
“All the pesticide in the world couldn’t stop these insects Big Macintosh, we just need move out their way,” said Twilight moving in front of the red stallion “We should be leaving right Dash?”
Rainbow Dash rushed back upwards and scanned the area “Aaaactually, it looks like they aren’t coming over here at all. We’ll be safe Applejack,”
“Ya mean they’re leavin’ us be?” she said hopefully “That’s a relief,”
The blue Pegasus glided back to the ground “Not exactly,”
None of the ponies had to strain their ears to hear the sound of crunching and munching coming from within the orchards.
“Oh sweet mother of mercy they’re gonna eat all our crop!” said Applejack in panic “Shoot…well, at least they ain’t munchin’ on us-”
“INSULT COMICS!” yelled Pinkie Pie pointing to the woods.
Dash looked at her quizzically but before she could say anything Rarity had yanked her out of the sky.
“INTO THE BARN EVERYPONY LET’S GO!” yelled Twilight as she hectically shoved Applejack and her brother into the red building. She magically shut the door and locked it as something slammed itself against the wooden entryway.
“Whas’ goin’ on? What did Pinkie Pie see?” Applejack asked, her voice filled with agitation. Twilight was climbing the ladder up to the barn rafters.
“Pinkie took her turn and some predators came out. Zecora described them for me back in her home,” responded Twilight “They’re called ‘hyena’ and they are very dangerous animals.”
The barn door creaked as the hyena outside continued their onslaught. Tools and other assorted farm equipment fell to the dirt as the wall heaved from the abuse. It was not going to hold much longer. Rarity scurried up the ladder as fast as she could.
Applejack was just climbing up when the barn door splintered and the pack of hyena burst through.
“I’ll hold ‘em off AJ get to safety,” Macintosh said gruffly, digging his hooves into the ground.
“Macintosh git up here NOW!” ordered Applejack as she scrambled up to the rafters.
The larger hyena leapt at him and Big Mac deftly stepped aside. He kicked it fiercely with his powerful hind legs sending the hyena careening into the wall. The other assaulted Macs sides slashing at him with black talons. With a grunt he ducked underneath it and tossed it into through the cattle pen. The gate cracked in two as the dazed hyena rolled back out snarling and yipping as it limped away. The third hyena had been pacing impatiently back and forth during the attack and leapt for Macs throat. It clamped its jaws around his harness, unable to get at his neck. He shook it off. Out the corner of his eyes he spotted the other lunging and caught it in mid-air with a fierce headbutt.
“We gotta help ‘im! They’re gonna tear him to pieces!” cried Applejack. Big Macintoshs coat obscured his cuts but the reddening floor revealed his wounds.
Dash cringed at the pain in Applejacks voice. Seeing her friends’ brother fighting for their lives was maddening. She had to intervene somehow. Anything to give the red stallion an advantage. Or maybe there was another way. Carefully sliding the case out of Twilights pack she opened it up and did some quick counting.
“Applejack no!” cried Twilight as the orange pony jumped down knocking aside a hyena. It was thrown against the far wall, apparently stunned, but it began rolling to its feet. With startling accuracy Applejack had it hogtied. Big Mac had grabbed the other by the tail with his mouth and swung it against the already bound beast writhing on the floor. They rolled backwards into a shelf of buckets that noisily clanged on their heads.
“YEEEEOW!” roared Macintosh wheeling backwards. The third hyena had leapt onto Macintosh and was digging its jaws into the back of his upper neck.
Applejack leapt up and knocked the hyena off as it ripped a tuft of her brothers orange mane away in its jaws. It rolled, landing upright on its paws spitting and gagging on the hair. Applejack took a stand in front of her big brother. His breathing was becoming more and more labored. She glared at the snarling hyena as she prepared to fight for her life.
They were interrupted. The most peculiar thing raced through the wide open barn door. It was a wispy shimmering purple outline of a pony, hooves floating just above the ground. Applejack, her brother, the rest of the ponies and even the hyena watched in confusion as the ghostly figure exited past them. Twilight was the first to recall what this meant.
“You should get up here AJ!” she rushed, Applejack did a quick 180 and leapt for the ladder while Twilight levitated her brother out of the hyenas reach There was a smash as the barn door exploded into timbers as the massive green serpent from earlier slithered through after Twilights ghostly double. It’s frantic coiling swallowed up the three hyena still on the ground and they yipped helplessly as the serpent dragged them out the other end of the barn.
“Macintosh! How bad are ya hurt!? Tell us where they got at ya!” demanded Applejack studying his hide. She ignored the snapping of wood and timber as Twilight magically closed up the barns gaping holes. Rarity leaned over and cast some healing magic on the shallower cuts and scrapes from the fight.
“Your brother is going to need to see a doctor sooner rather than later,” lamented Rarity as blue sparks danced around Macintoshs stomach. There were bite marks and gashes above his collar as well as deeper cuts on his backside. Some of them sealed up and the sparks vanished into his skin. “This is the best I can do for you Macintosh, you don’t have any punctured veins or arteries so I think you will be…ok.”
He nodded thanks and rested his head on the floorboards. Pinkie Pie was consoling him in her own way telling her corny jokes and spinning short silly stories. Rarity would have scolded her a little but he wore a contented smile at Pinkies ramblings. They were still collecting their thoughts when an aggravated cry ran out.
“Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!”
Twilight and Applejack tore away from Macintosh and jumped to Rainbow Dash who was sitting with her hooves against her cheeks, game board splayed out before her. Twilight frantically studied Dashs face in worry while Applejack looked at the gameboard:
A sordid action takes center stage
So a cheater will learn to act their age
“Dash did you go an’ try to cheat when we weren’t lookin?” asked Applejack apprehensively.
“NO! I didn’t cheat. I was just trying to drop the dice so they would both fall on six,” she replied guiltily looking away.
“Uh-uh, well Dash that would be cheatin’,” retorted Applejack bluntly, “an’ now you’re getting punished for it too! Criminy this game doesn’t let a pony catch a break.”
“Whaddy thinks gonna happen to me?” she asked looking around their faces. She hung her head.
“Ya shouldn’t have tried to cheat. We dunno know what could happen right now. This game is plain mean and every turn is unpredictable. Think before you roll like that again before somethin’ else horrible happens,” lectured Applejack motioning to Macintosh, who was chuckling softly at Pinkies jokes.
Twilight and Applejack glanced warily around the room before staring back at Rainbow Dash. After being unable to discern any significant changes to her blue friend Applejack trotted back to her brother muttering under her breath in disappointment.
“I’m sorry Twi. I just want this game over and done with. It sucks and I hate playing it and I want my friends back and I-”
“I understand Dash, but you shouldn’t have tried to cheat,” she said putting a hoof over her friends shoulder “This isn’t over yet and we’ve got some more turns to go,”
“Who’s turn is in anyway?” Dash asked, rubbing her foreleg.
Twilight glanced to the board. Spike and Fluttershys token had fallen over, but remained stuck to the last space. It must be Raritys turn. She called the white unicorn over and after a brief exchange of whether or not Applejack should roll again she threw the dice into the board and hastily jumped away. Twilight and Dash peered into the green orb and….
“Nothing,” growled Dash after half a minute “Is it broken or something?”
“I don’t think its possible,” said Twilight worriedly “Raritys roll should have worked,”
Dash picked up the dice and threw them into the board. The orb yielded no indication of a rolled turn. Twilight picked them up and started shaking them. Maybe since they were partners she could still roll…
“Well that was laaAAame,” Dashs eyes widened in surprise. Her voice didn’t usually crack that bad. She cleared her throat.
“You okay Dash? Do you feel sick?” asked Twilight curiously.
“I’m good. Really Twilight. I feeEEel fine,”
“Oh my goodness gracious! Rainbow Dash you’re shrinking!” shrieked Rarity.
Immediately switching to a standing position she gasped and confirmed that Rarity was right. Ten minutes ago she was eye to eye with Twilight and now she was staring at her jawline. Dash stepped backwards in disbelief.
“Omigosh the games maAAking me shrink,” she winced, her voice cracking again “I’m super short now!”
“From the sound of it I’d say you’re not only shrinking…” noted Rarity at the speech change “You sound a bit higher pitched too dearie. Perhaps what’s happening to you is...aging in reverse?”
Twilight turned away and giggled a bit. It WAS a befitting punishment and while she felt bad for laughing she couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t laughed all day. Regaining her composure she turned back to the game board and tossed the dice inside rolling a five. The next clue simmered forth:
A hunter from the wild past
seeks his vengeance at long last
The color drained from Twilights face. She jumped back in panic and urgently looked for an exit. “We have to get out of here! Anywhere! Now! Hurry! He’s coming!”
“What’s goin’ on? What is it? Who’s comin’ Twi?”
“Van Pelt”
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Cosmonaut
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1276
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Main 6,Spike,Zecora,Crossover,Human,Adventure,My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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The Greatest Game
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Twilight and her friends attempt to brave the unleashed wild madness that is Jumanji
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complete
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<p>On a lazy summer day Pinkie Pie decides to round up her friends for a tea party inside Twilights' library. While the languid atmosphere is soothing for the other ponies its Pinkie Pie who's feeling bored at this gathering. Things get far more interesting when a happy accident dislodges a mysterious board game with cryptic instructions. Seeing an opportunity for fun Pinkie Pie starts up a round with her friends...and sets off a chain of events that forces them to brave the wild untamed madness that is Jumanji.</p>
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everyone
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2011-10-18T22:08:37+00:00
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2011-10-18T22:08:37+00:00
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There was a deafening CRACK as something rang past their ears and into a hanging lantern, shattering it into a million pieces. The barn door slammed open as the menacing figure depicted on the case entered the building. Clad in some sort of khaki clothing, black boots and black lined cape. Standing upright and holding some sort of tube in his hands. Twilight was shoving open a cracked window frame attempting to clamber outside.
“GET BACK HERE YOU BLITHERING MULE AND RETURN MY EFFECTS AT ONCE!” roared Van Pelt slamming the lever down.
The hunter pointed the hollow tube towards Twilight and she hugged the floorboards of the rafters. Another shot whizzed past her head tearing through the wall behind her. Stumbling out the window she rolled off the roof into a hay bale with Dash, Applejack and Pinkie right behind her.
“What the haaAAy was that Twi?” asked Dash rolling to her hooves.
There was no time to answer. There was another volley of bangs from inside the barn. The hinges on the barn door blew away as the hunter kicked it open. He crouched and took aim.
Twilight leapt to another hay bale as another projectile dug into the ground near her hooves “I don’t really know! Zecora told me he was the most dangerous thing in Jumanji!”
“I believe I’ll second that notion,” yelped Rarity, a shot digging into the dirt near her.
Pinkie cartwheeled over to them “Oh wow so this guy is going to be the toughest challenge yet huh? Too bad for him he’s going down BIG-TIME!” she exclaimed frantically digging through Twilights saddlebags. She nimbly pulled the machete out of the bag, raising it over her head.
Another shot tore through the hay bale, ricocheting off the blade, then a wagon hubcap before embedding itself into a barrel of lantern oil. A steady stream of liquid gushed out the hole.
“Criminy!” yelled Applejack “I definitely don’t wanna end up at the short end of that stick.” She leapt out from behind the hay bale to join her friends. Her hat flew off as a slug tore through it, dangerously close to her head. “Dash git over here!”
“Alright comin’!” Dash leapt over but tripped over her now gangly legs. Applejack made a move to grab her.
“Don’t move or I’ll blow your blinking brains out!” barked Van Pelt. He slowly walked towards Dash with the weapon pointed at her, boots squishing in the oily dirt. Dash froze. Partly because of her own shrinking height the fear instilled upon by the menacing figure was twice as terrifying. They all watched in slow motion as he rested the tube on Dashs face. She shut her eyes and-
*CLICK*
“BLAST IT!”
Dash opened them back up. The hunter tossed away a square cartridge and was fumbling with his pockets. She kicked at the tube and turned tail. Rarity took the opportunity to loosen some sparks onto the ground. The stream of oil promptly ignited and raced to the canister.
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
“Let’s get outta this plaaAAace!” Dash yelled as they all turned tail to escape the explosion. They galloped fast as they could back to town. Twilight swiveled her head back to the hunter who was crouching in the distance.
“He’s not chasing us! Girls I think we’re in the cle-”
*CRACK*
The strap holding her binoculars severed off, falling to the ground. Twilight gasped turning left down the trail. The hunter was out of sight.
***
The wind around the barn was thick with the smoke of gunpowder, mixing with the burning oil from the explosion. Sticks snapped beneath Van Pelts boots as he walked over to the binoculars, calmly patting away the fire on his shoulder. He grabbed them, gingerly wiping the lens and stuffing it into his satchel. The cowboy hat he had shot off had rope in it. He took that too. Lying next to the leather strap on the ground were a few strands of purple hair. Van Pelt picked it up, rotating the tresses in his fingers before sniffing it and turning his attention southward. He began to march into Ponyville.
***
They made it to the library in record time. Twilight slammed the door shut before collapsing against it in a heavy pant. That last shot could have taken her head clean off and threw her in a running panic. So much for pacing herself.
“D’ya think he’ll be followin’ us?” asked Applejack walking over to Twilight. She was sweating herself from the run and the battle with the hyena. “Ya’ll know we left Macintosh back there. I can’t believe we jus’ up and split like that. We should go back for ‘im.”
Rarity tenderly placed a hoof over her friends shoulder “I’m afraid not. For your sake and ours it’s best that we left him there. That hunter is not after your brother Applejack. He wants us,” she glanced over to Twilight who was still huffing by the front door “Or one of us specifically.”
The game board noisily clunked to the floor. A bullet had ripped through Twilights left saddlebag, weakening the fabric to the point of disintegration.
“OoOh! OOH! Look whooooos turn it is!” bounced Pinkie Pie excitedly nudging the shocked unicorn over to the game board. Rarity gulped, looking around as if planning an escape.
“You….need to roll your…turn, Rarity,” panted Twilight standing back up. She trotted over to Rainbow Dash and sat next to her. “How…are you holding up there?” she asked the blue Pegasus. The only response she got was a cocked eyebrow before Dash walked silently over to the sink. Rainbow Dash was looking much ganglier now. Just barely a teenager by her guessing.
With a defeated sigh Rarity levitated the two dice “I suppose there’s no point in delay…brace yourselves girls.” Rarity tossed the dotted cubes into the gameboard. Green smoke swirled in the orb:
They skitter, pinch, sting and crawl
Keep wary eyes to the floors and walls
“Not more bugs!” exclaimed Rarity, her eyes darting around the room. There were immediate noises scratching all around them just as promised. Dash flitted over to Jumanji and shoved it into the other still useable saddlebag.
“Alright you guys, it’s time to get movin’-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Pinkie Pie screamed jumping in the air. She suddenly tackled Dash.
“Oh my gosh THIS is what you sounded like when you were a filly Rainbow Dash you sound soooooooooo super cute I could just eat you all up like a big tasty rainbow-y cookie,” Pinkie gripped the startled Pegasus tightly “Of course a cookie at this time of night would be one tough toughie to get my hooves on…”
“Lemme go Pinks!” squeaked Rainbow Dash trying to wiggle out of the hug “I know I’m shrink-ing also you…are…crushing….meeee...”
Pinkie Pie released Dash “I’m sorry Dashie, it’s just I never had a little sister of my own like Rarity or Applejack just sisters of my own age but they were never any fun they were always super gloomy,” apologized Pinkie as Dash gulped for air. She turned her attention to the other ponies in the room. “I guess it’s time to leave then you silly filly so stop playing fish out of water and let’s go!”
They went to rush out the building when the floor in front of the doorway blasted apart. A jet-black pincer appeared from the hole, followed by another as a gigantic scorpion crawled out. The stinger curled at the end of its tail was dripping with deadly venom.
“AH! GET IT AWAAAY FROM ME!” screeched Rarity backpedaling from the monster. The scorpion struck. The stinger slammed into the floorboards next to her. Rarity dodged it leaping away to the far corner of the room.
“Twi! That thing ain’t budgin’ from the door,” Applejack said as she reached for her missing hat. “I got no rope on me neither, what are we gonna do?”
A slightly smaller scorpion busted out from the floorboards behind them, hissing menacingly. Another pair of scorpions were erratically climbing down the staircase, stumbling over their many legs. Twilight cast her life-detection spell.
“They’re everywhere!” she cried stumbling backwards. More and more of the scorpions were pouring into view by the second; light from the lamps bouncing off their glistening black carapaces. Pinkie Pie was bounding around the room laughing as the scorpions struck and missed the prancing pink pony.
“C’mon everypony! They’re not so scary!” she shouted over the sounds of snapping pincers clawing at her. The largest one by the door struck its stinger at her. This time it got caught in the floor. It struggled to pull it out.
“Nows our chance! LETS MOVE!” cried Dash zooming past the horde of snapping pincers dodging them left and right.
Applejack raced through the room being careful to avoid the scorpions. Twilight followed with the machete spinning around her slicing off any limb that dared come near her. Pinkie hopped over the scorpions bouncing off their shiny black heads.
“Rarity!” called Applejack with one hoof still in the room “Git over here NOW!”
The unicorn was shivering in the back. She was surrounded with no way out. The gigantic scorpion tugged its stinger loose, it started crawling towards her.
“I can’t! I feel sick! HELP! SOMEPONY HELP!”
Applejack swallowed hard “Imma comin’ Rarity! Make WAY!” She charged, ducking her head and barreling through the mass of insects. “Rarity git up we gotta go!”
She shook the trembling unicorn until Rarity came back to her senses. “How are we getting out of here?” asked Rarity. She jumped onto Applejacks back when she motioned to do so. The mass of scorpions was so great now that they completely blocked the doorway. Applejack tensed up.
“Heya Rarity. I know yer probably freaking out a little here, but I need ya to do somethin’ for me,”
“Whats that?”
“When I say ‘now’ I want you to magic up your brightest light spell ya can think of.”
“How is that going to help our predicament here and now?”
“Jus’ do as I say and we’ll be safe ya hear? I promise.”
Applejack started her gallop towards the door. The clacking and chattering intensified as she approached the wall of scorpions. Stingers rose up high in anticipation.
“NOW!”
A brilliant flash of light erupted from Raritys horn. The scorpions screeched in pain from the harsh radiance and shielded there beady black eyes from it. A few stabbed at the two ponies but missed. Most were thrashing about noisily shrieking in pain at the brightness. Applejack bowled through the scorpions one by one, emerging outside in a heap on the ground.
“You made it that was so cool!” squealed Rainbow Dash helping the earth pony to her feet. “The way you just threw those things around when Rarity blinded them was just awesome!”
Rarity chuckled, then turned to her savior “Applejack I want to thank you and apologize for back in there. I just get so petrified of bugs that I tend to lose my head a bit.”
“Weren’t nothin’ Rarity,” replied Applejack casually. “I always got yer back when it counts.”
“Much appreciated I…oh dear me, look at that would you Twilight?” said Rarity pointing a hoof towards the edge of town.
“What is it? Is it the hyena?” Twilight reached for her missing pair of binoculars before squinting into the inky distance. The moon above cast enough light for her to see a tangled mess of vines worming out of the forest and into town.
“Oh this isn’t good,” she said nervously “If all this stuff ends up in town then it’ll be destroyed and if it’s destroyed then Celestia will find out and if Celestia finds out-”
The door behind her lurched ominously as the scorpions inside pressed against it. Twilight jumped up in shock “We got to get out of here now! Where’s a safe place out of town we can hide?
“…ya’ll think we could head over to Fluttershys cottage?” suggested Applejack softly, looking to the east.
“OR!” piped up Pinkie Pie wearing a completely eager look on her face “We could totally stop by SugarCube Corner to grab a bite to eat so we have some energy for the rest of the night!”
They all looked at each other up and down. The past few hours certainly had been trying for all involved and their collective energy had waned the longer the nighttime dragged on. Twilight only considered the notion for half a minute before nodding her head in agreement.
“Alright, since there are no objections to visiting the bakery I propose we get ourselves galloping,” Twilight cast a glance over to some of the houses being invaded by the vines. A few ponies were already waking up and reacting to the invading plant life. The wooden door to the library heaved dangerously as the scorpions pushed against it.
“Alright, let’s head to SugarCube Corner!” affirmed Twilight as she sped away, her friends following close behind as the library doors splintered apart behind her.
***
The scorpions poured out of the library, stumbling around in pain from the brilliant flash of light that blinded them earlier. A particularly small one was crushed beneath a heavy black boot as the hunter arrived. The scorpions scattered from the area as he bent down to inspect the ground. He sneered at the sight of the three sets of matching hoof prints, eyes following the very obvious trail leading away to a large pink building across the town. Van Pelt adjusted the sights on his rifle and marched in that direction.
***
“They’re only the tiniest bit stale but I’m sure you girls will LOVE them,” gushed Pinkie Pie piling an assortment of muffins and cupcakes onto a large silver platter. There was a squelching noise as she squeezed a fresh helping of strawberry icing all over the treats. Pinkie took a big happy bite out of one “Itsh delishioush!”
Rarity leaned forward and gave the platter a cautious sniff “I hate being a bother but is this all you have in stock Pinkie?”
“That’s all I got on hoof Rarity. I’m so super sorry I couldn’t whip you girls some late night snacks but see,” Pinkie motioned to the steel oven doors “Mr. and Mrs. Cake lock the handles at night now I think from me making too many late night snacks for Gummy so if I could I totally would but I just can’t bake anything until mornings now.”
Dash leaned up on the counter waving a hoof around to get at a muffin. She was very tiny now having shrunk to around Appleblooms height. Possibly even smaller. A hoof connected with the treat spiraling it close to the edge where it toppled over into her mouth.
“Hey this isn’t so bad at all!” she said brightly, taking small bites from the muffin. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at Dashs bravery in taking the bite as the rest all began to dig into the plate. Pinkie may not have an iron gut like Spike but her taste buds could find a way to love everything. After some quiet munching the platter emptied into crumbs and scrunched up wrappers.
“Well that was a mite tasty there Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said licking some pink icing off her lips “Thanks a lot!”
“Oh no problem girls! I think it would have been even better if we came earlier because then the food I baked wouldn’t have been so crunchy munchy,” replied Pinkie happily “I just knew you were all starting to drag your hooves but now that we’ve all got some spring in our step we should keep on rolling right?”
They all nodded and Pinkie bounced up and down in excitement. “My turn my turn my tuuuuuurn,” she sang pulling out the board game and flipping it open. Pinkie grabbed the dice in her hooves, violently shaking them before tossing the dice onto the game board with a clack.
Big as apples these balls of ice
Through thick umbrella they will slice
“Apples an’ ice?” murmured Applejack in amusement “Ain’t that silly. Sounds like weather but no weather ‘round these parts I’ve heard,” she turned her head towards the little blue Pegasus “Dash?”
Rainbow Dashs frizzy hair was standing on edge “That’s really really bad news. It’s banned weather that Cloudsdale doesn’t produce anymore.”
“Why’s it banned?” asked Twilight with a frown. She’d finally read through her copy of A Complete history of Cloudsdale after her visit to the cloud factory but banned weather was something not covered in those chapters
There was a smashing noise as a large hailstone broke through the roof and rolled to the center of the room spinning slightly. Twilight put a hoof to it, feeling how cold and smooth it was before looking nervously up at the gaping hole it left in the ceiling.
“That’s why,” said Dash darting underneath the heavy wooden table “EVERYPONY DUCK AND COVEEER!”
Applejack dove underneath as well as a sudden volley of hail pounded through the roof and into the store. Pots pans and all sorts of equipment banged and shattered as the gigantic blocks of ice slammed into the store. Twilight threw up a magical barrier to protect her, Pinkie and Rarity from the deadly barrage but was struggling under the assault. Every glancing strike caused her to wince and shudder as the shimmering purple dome blinked with hailstone that bounced off.
The icy bombardment lasted for a good four minutes after the first stone fell and just as Twilight felt her protective barrier wavering from the punishment before the freezing rocks finally dribbled into smaller chunks, then stopping completely.
“Goodness that was absolutely frightening,” remarked Rarity surveying the damage. The entire store was a wreck; there was a least a dozen or so holes in the ceiling and floorboards with every window perfectly shattered. The hailstones made heavy clunking noises as Rarity shuffled through over to Twilight, who was clutching her forehead.
“You could have asked me to help you with that barrier spell, it wouldn’t have been a bother,” she said to Twilight who carefully removed her hoof from her face “Strain yourself too much like that could cause you to black out. I’ve seen it happen before.”
Twilight wobbled a bit, “Teaching you that trick in that small of a time frame would have been too difficult. I appreciate it though,” she smiled “I feel better already. It’s a good thing we did come here to eat after all; I wouldn’t have had the energy to cast it otherwise.”
Pinkie Pie beamed from across the room “See?! I told you girls it was a super idea to come here! So who’s turn next? Who’s turn next!?”
“It’s our turn Pinkie,” said Twilight quietly, looking over at Dash who threw her little hooves up in the air “I guess I’ll roll again.”
With some trepidation she picked up the dice and biting her lip, tossed them onto the board.
Feline spots in the jungle blend
Her sharpened claws tear and rend
“Whoa nelly, that definitely don’t sound good,” groaned Applejack, backing away from the board game.
“None of these clues ever sounded good AJ,” peeped Dash. The now very little filly cowered underneath the orange pony. Her lack of confidence was now directly channeled through her lack of height.
Low growling made itself heard from the back of the room. Twilight swiveled her head in time to lock her purple eyes with a gleaming pair of light green, attached to a powerful animal crouched on the countertop.
“Twi! Move!” commanded Applejack. The unicorn remained frozen and Applejack shoved her away as the leopard pounced. It was just soon enough; the jungle cat swiveled and righted itself, baring white fangs in the dimly lit bakery.
Thinking on her hooves Twilight magically threw open the door, bolting outside. In a single moment of clarity she had the foresight to slam it behind her, nailing the pursuing leopard in the face before it clambered out the window hissing and snarling after her.
“Let’s go after ‘em girls,” shouted Applejack throwing open the door “Come hell or high water we’re in this together!”
Pinkie Pie bounced out the door after Applejack, followed by Rarity and finally, with some apprehension Rainbow Dash trotted outside to follow…
“Gotcha girlie!”
Dash squeaked and was very roughly pulled into the air by her tail, fighting with her wings until she rotated to face her attacker.
“What do you want you weirdo!?” she demanded swinging uselessly at Van Pelt.
His face contorted in amusement “That blasted little horse I’m after doesn’t do a fine job of holding still. I shan’t be gallivanting after her all bloody night, so I’ve got you…to make her come to me.”
“You’re some kinda cowampfmpfff,” the last few words were muffled out as Van Pelt stuffed a rag down the ponys throat, and with a wicked grin turned his gaze south of town.
***
Breathing came in short tired bursts from the purple unicorn. Despite her languid literary lifestyle she found the energy to really move herself when her life depended on it. The leopard following her was more at home in trees so this narrow stretch of forest she was galloping down was really saving her neck right not. Occasional glances coupled with the sounds of slashing claws at her tail was her dangerous reminder to keep on galloping, so she did continue as the trees around her grew more twisted and the leaves consistently brighter shade of yellow. Twilight was heading straight for Froggy Bottom Bog.
“We’re right behind you darling!”
“We’ve got yer back!”
The confident voices of her friends did little to actually comfort her. She was the one being chased by a bloodthirsty leopard, not them. The murky waters of the bog loomed ahead of her and before she knew it she had to stop at the waters edge or else risk getting stuck in the quagmire.
Twilight turned and face the leopard, which had a smug air about it’s jowls. It obviously sensed that it had cornered its prey.
“Jus’ stay still girl! I reckon us four together can take down this overgrown kitty cat no sweat,” boasted Applejack nearing the bogs edge.
“Three,” corrected Rarity, her horn aglow “I don’t see Rainbow Dash with us.”
Ignoring the banter behind it the leopard shrank to the ground, long tail whipping back and forth. Rarity knew what was happening. Opalescence did this right before attacking the occasional mouse unfortunate enough to pay her boutique a visit. The leopard was going to pounce.
“Twilight! It’s going to jump at you! Do something!” she shouted.
The leopard sprang at Twilight. It’s cold yellow eyes bearing down on her, baring it’s teeth mid-leap. Closing her eyes Twilight recited the one spell she knew she could count on working. There was a flash of light, the smell of burning ozone filled the air around her as she magically blinked out of her spot and teleported to the spot directly behind her.
“You did it! Great job Twilight! You really gave that lil’ pussycat a run for its money!” hooted Pinkie Pie bouncing in place. Twilights eyes were still rolling in her head. That spell always seemed to throw off balance.
“Whah? Where’s it?” she muttered, shaking her head clear.
Applejack laughed heartily, pointing a hoof to the bog “There’s yer mean ol’ pussycat Twi!”
The leopard was snarling, struggling in the sticky hold the muddy waters had ensnared. Eventually it abandoned its feeble attempts of escape and simply growled at Twilight.
“There’s much time to celebrate later. I’d say we caught a fortunate break if it weren’t for our missing Rainbow Dash,” spoke Rarity calmly, turning around to face the path behind. “Regarding that, I believe we should get ourselves going back to look for her correct?”
Pinkie Pie dropped Jumanjii onto the ground “Let’s roll before we head out then girls! That way whatever shows up will just be left behind when we head back to town!”
Applejack flinched; it would be her turn again. The leopard hissed at her from its rooted spot in the bog. She took a deep breath “What the hay. Gimme those dice Pinkie.”
The familiar clacking of dice on ivory rang through their ears. Applejacks token slid forward the five spaces and the next message flowed forth.
Wriggling up from the river flood
Come thousands of leeches to suck your blood
“Let’s amscray!” cried Applejack being all too familiar with the common leech. Pinkie Pie closed the board game up and hastily shoved it into the pack. The sounds of sloshing water behind them coinciding with the wretched howling of the panther spurred them forth. Applejack was glad they could dodge that bullet. Sounds of gunfire going off in town on the path ahead of them immediately doused her spirits. Now she had an idea just where Rainbow Dash may have ended up.
***
“Lemme outta this cage you loser!” demanded Dash kicking against the wooden bars keeping her prisoner. They would have easily splintered into pieces against her hoof had she been her proper age.
“Just you wait! When I’m through with this game I’m gonna whip up the biggest tornado ever and send that thing flying far far away from here and nopony will ever have to deal with it again! You’re gonna be history!”
Van Pelt ignored the taunts as he was busily tending a small fire he’d set after shooting a volley of bullets into the air. Orange light flickered around them casting long shadows on the leaves and bushes surrounding them. Dash ceased her struggles for just a moment.
“Just what the heck are you anyway?”
Van Pelt leered at Dash “A hunter you little blue twit. Right now, you are playing bait.”
“No stupid,” snorted the little Pegasus “Like, what are you? Haven’t ya noticed that there’s nothing around here that looks like you? That should, I dunno, make ya a teensy bit-”
“Irrelevant,” interrupted the hunter “The march of time doesn’t concern Jumanji. The game focuses on the one who rolls the dice, be it man or beast. The Laws of Jumanji are set in stone, and its residents are bound by them eternal.”
This time Dash didn’t respond, trying to collect her thoughts at her captors’ new revelations. Quite abruptly he stood upright, stamped out the small fire and pointed his rifle into the darkness.
“I know you’re there. Show yourself!” barked Van Pelt, aiming at the spot where the lilac bush had swayed against the wind.
“Just lemme go and I promise I won’t kick your butt too bad,” resumed Dash rocking against her prison “So’s ya know, I’ve got a move that can really put the pain on ya and you’ve got another-”
One of the bars on her cage splintered leaving a smoking stub of a bar very near to Dashs ear. Van Pelt had turned around to shoot her, or near enough. Dash backed into the small corner of the cage.
“Don’t be so bloody chatty…or I’ll shoot your mouth out,” said the hunter acidly. He could smell the scent of the small purple pony on the gently breeze, and losing any advantage of shooting her was not on his agenda.
He slammed the lever in a quick motion chambering another round, aiming his rifle back into the darkness “Come on out you mangy little mule…”
“Over heeeeere!”
Van Pelt turned in time to dodge the spinning blade of his machete. The sharp edge grazed the side of his face, finger slipping on the trigger and going off again at an angle.
“Blasted donkey!” he roared ignoring the blood dripping on his blackened shoulders. The machete swerved in mid-air heading back for Van Pelt. He ducked, and immediately swore loudly realizing that he was not the intended target this time. The blade sliced through the rope of Applejacks lasso holding up Dashs cage, dropping to the ground and freeing her.
“C’MON DASH LESSGO!” screamed Applejack from behind the thick trunk of a nearby oak. Dash scrambled to her hooves, her wings buzzing on her back as she half-flew over to her friend’s voice. The clacking of another loaded round filled her ears. Dash spotted Rarity behind another tree, her horn glowing brightly in full control of the blade.
P’TANG
A bullet struck the machete dead-on sending it flying away from the hunter, and breaking Raritys concentration on the blade as well.
“That’s our cue I suppose,” she said as Dash scooted past her, jumping atop Applejacks back. “Let’s get moving!”
Bullets whizzed frantically past their ears, digging into their trunks as the ponies sped away fast as possible from the enraged hunter. Speeding away from the small clearing as fast as possible was top priority. Applejack turned and smiled at Dash clinging to her neck, panting into her blonde mane. She wouldn’t be losing her to this horrible game. Not this time.
***
“I’m sorry about not helping out back there,” apologized Twilight during the run through town “I really should have stuck around and helped. I’m such a cowardly little…”
“Hey!” piped up Dash still gripping ahold of Applejack “You got nothin’ to mope about Twilight. That guy would’ve blown you’re head off had he gotten the chance. He almost got mine eveNNYOUCH!” Dashs lower half bounced upwards as they leapt across a drainage ditch, causing her to bite her tongue.
Ponyville was in complete chaos now. Wood thrown about from blasted rooftops crunched under their feet as they ran past. The weather team was doing their best keeping the semi-active storm under control. The numerous vines, scorpions and hyenas were throwing the town upside down. Every second they delayed was another opportunity for Van Pelt, or other escaped wildlife to burst forth and attack them.
“Well here we are,” said Twilight glumly approaching the last possible safe haven around town with caution. The rest of the ponies had equally gloomy faces. It almost looked too safe if that was possible. With bated breath they stepped inside Fluttershys cottage.
“Honestly girls we shouldn’t fret. This will all be over an done with soon enough,” assured Rarity looking around the room “Hardships like these make us better in the long run. Stronger. More appreciative of what we have,” she was reaching for her singed hair again but immediately stopped herself “Now let’s have a go at it!”
Pinkie Pie jumped up “That’s what I’ve been TRYYING to tell you all the whole time! Ya got to keep in your head that this is just a silly game and we’re gonna beat it. Don’t ya see girls? It’s all fun and games!”
“Except the parts where we were running for our lives,” said Twilight emphatically stamping her hoof “That wasn’t so much fun.”
“But it’s a gaaaaame Twilight! Don’t you see? Sure it’s dangerous. Sure it took some of our friends away. It’s a really really super high-risk game too. If we can beat this, we can beat anything! Now let’s do THIS!”
Twilight took the game board out of her pack. They had come this far. Facing nearly a dozen dangerous challenges over the course of a single evening. Glancing at the fallen totem her eyes traveled upwards to the inscribed letters. She only hoped the game still played by its own rules. Twilight wanted her friends back.
“It’s your turn right Pinks?” asked Dash looking up at her. Pinkie nodded and gave her a super big smile.
“I’m soooo close to winning too! Just look! I’m only 6 spaces away!” exclaimed Pinkie excitedly pointing to the Rhinoceros totem.
Applejack wasn’t as elated “That’s fantastic Pinks, now roll yet turn and let’s wrap this up once and fer all.”
They all held their breath as Pinkie Pie took the dice, shaking them up in her hooves. She tossed them into the board.
A bolt from the blue draws much ire
As the temperature climbs higher and higher
“SNAKE EYES!? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” shouted Pinkie in surprise “I’m sooo super close too! Hold on girls, I got this,”
BZZZZZZZZZZZZCRAAAAAAAAAAAACK
A thunderous roaring filled the ears and a for a split second the cottage was filled with a bright yellow light cast by a streak of lightning. Timber and glass exploded around them. Her ears still ringing, Twilight got up to survey the damage.
“Can anyone hear me!?” she yelled loudly, looking around. A large fire had erupted from the lightning strike in several places inside the cottage. Some floorboards from Fluttershys bedroom upstairs began falling apart, crashing into the ground floor. “Helloooo?”
“Over here….” croaked a voice from underneath an over-turned table. Twilight limped over to the sounds of coughing. She nudged the table aside.
“PINKIE! OH NO!” cried Twilight, her face twisting into shock. The pink pony had been grazed by the wicked bolt of lightning, a scorch mark tattooed black on her usually pink coat, spider webbing along her belly and flank down to a charred stump of a tail. Her eyes were shut, mouth contorted into a grimace.
“Twilight,” continued Pinkie, her eyes still shut tight “Give me the game.”
“Nonononono shhhhh!” hushed Twilight wiping the sweat from her friends’ brow. “You can’t move! You’re too hurt. Let me help you!” Drawing some magic from her horn she summoned a wet cloth and placed it over her forehead.
“Don’t shush me Twilight,” her friend wheezed in response, wiggling the cloth off her face “I’m close now, it’s almost finished ya know. I’m the super grand master of board games. This one’s a toughie, but I can handle it,” she coughed again, the fire was spreading around them “Give me the game.”
Biting her lip in concern she listened to Pinkies demand and trotted over to Jumanji. The board itself was wreathed in fire. Somehow the game did not actually catch fire despite the hot embers licking at the wooden board. Twilight tried to focus some simple levitation but couldn’t. Her mind was clouded with the image of Pinkie behind her, scarred by the lightning and the rising amount of smoke in the baking furnace of Fluttershys cottage. Instead she kicked the board over to her friend.
She was halfway there, sliding the red-hot gameboard when:
“DON’T MOVE!”
Twilight eeped, jumping around to face the voice. Van Pelt stood in the doorway with his rifle pointed right at her. His hair and face was alighted by the orange fire, yellowed teeth glinting as he spoke.
“End of the line for you girlie,” he sneered, his own voice coming out dry as sandpaper “You’ve had a nice long run, and now you’ve cornered yourself for me. Damned lot of good it did for you now,” The lever on his rifle slammed back down “Any last words?”
Twilight gulped, turning to look where she had kicked the game case over to where Pinkie lay. It was no longer in her hooves now. “I uh-uhh....”
Van Pelt chuckled, a cold chilling sound to hear as the cottage melted around them “Is that all?”
“….Jumanji,”
Twilight glanced backwards at the sound. She could barely make out the sight of her friend through the heat haze.
“Wha?” Van Pelt winced looking past Twilight.
“Jumanji,” repeated the voice slightly louder. Zecoras words echoed back to her from earlier in the evening. There was a distant sore of…chiming noise in the air. It was Twilights turn to laugh now.
“She said Jumanji,” repeated Twilight with a relieved giggle “We did it. We beat you.”
He pulled the trigger on the rifle, a bullet with its intended destination right between her eyes. It stopped right in front of her still spiraling. Now it was wisping backwards like a painting being smeared by it’s brush. A powerful wind was blowing around the cottage.
The western wall broke open in an extra loud crash. All manner of monsters unleashed by the game came flowing in by means of the powerful gale. The three hyena, myriads of black chittering scorpions, the writhing leeches, marauding ants, gigantic green serpent, hailstones, snaking green vines, flock of bats, snarling leopard. All the tangible creatures the game called forth were whirling about inside the twister. Van Pelt was too swirling about in the vacuum leading back into the green jewel. With a wayward swipe he grabbed the tip of the helmet Twilight had been wearing the majority of the evening, pulling it off her head as the last trace of everything that had been released from the game vanished. A brilliant green light burst forth so Twilight shut her eyes and…
***
…opened them back up. There was simultaneous gasping around the table. They were all back in the library. The delicate china cups of tea bubbled around them. Small stacks of untouched sandwiches with cinnamon sliced apples sat in piles scattered the table. The familiar late afternoon sunlight streamed inside the library. The silence broke when Applejack jumped at Fluttershy from across the table.
“OH sweet Celestia I thought I’d never see yer smilin’ little face ever again Fluttershy!” she shouted happily giving Fluttershy a super-tight bear hug. She grabbed Spike as well, and the rest of them all joined in the hug laughing at how now everything WAS finally over. The fear they had each felt subsiding once they were all together in that tight knit embrace. Everything did turn out all right.
“WHOOOO!” screamed Pinkie Pie jumping on the table doing a messy dance. “ALLLLL RIIIIIIGHT THAT WAS THE BEST TEA PARTY EVER!”
“WHO’S UP FOR ROUND 2!?”
*
*
*
Far up north near a dry riverbed in the mighty misty Appalachians……
“Ah saw it fall over ‘ere! Ah swear it fell right over yonder outta the skah!”
“Well I think you’re seeing things. PLUS I don’t hear those knocking noises either so you’re hearing things too. HAHA! You’re practically your Granny now and you’re only seven!” chided a shrill, but slightly raspy voice.
“I’m not really sure we should be out here you guys…we’d be safer back at the camp telling campfire stories or something,”
“C’mon! Ah see it stickin’ out the ground right down there by the river! Aw what’s tha worse that can happen anyways ya stick in the mud?”
|
Harpica
|
1277
| 1 |
Dark
|
Regarding Terror
|
incomplete
| -1 | -1 |
<p></p>
|
everyone
| null |
2011-11-07T17:59:38+00:00
| 382 |
For Aoife
(Authors note : I would NOT recommend playing that song while reading, it's far too upbeat.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another day, another deadline; such is the life of a fashionista.
Rarity had been up all night slaving over a dress for none other than her majesty, Princess Luna, for the next Grand Galloping Gala.
She looked at the dress she had produced, and was contented for the time being.
She tried to stumble over into her bedroom, but only made it a few steps from her sewing machine before falling onto the ground.
She fell asleep.
Rarity was awoken by the clip-clop of hooves all around her, she blinked a couple of times to clear her vision and see what she thought would have been the Cutie Mark Crusaders running amuck in her boutique, but was only confused when the tell-tale sound of trotting hooves came to a stop.
She looked around, studying her surroundings; the first thing she noticed was that it was dark.
Far too dark.
It had to be only one, maybe two PM?, Yet the inside of the boutique was very dim, as if the only source of light was was a candle in the centre of the room, which there wasn't.
She could feel warmth on her back, almost as if a distant sun was behind her, shining in a warm welcoming light, a beautiful celestial glow.
The warmth had to be coming from the kitchen.
She turned to make her way there, when there was a bright white flash of brilliant magical light, which blinded the white unicorn temporarily.
When she regained her vision, what she saw made her scream.
The entire boutique was bathed in a crimson red, the place was a wreck with clothes strewn about, scorched fabric thrown around the room, black stains of unknown origin were splattered across the walls, and the smell of blood in the air was thick.
Her attention was drawn downward as she felt a thick warm liquid flow past her hooves.
She knew exactly what it was.
She vomited, bits of mushy bread and undigested bits of daffodil covered a small portion of the floor.The mere thought of her own vomit made the usually formal and classy mare attempt to vomit again, only to find herself dry heaving with a horrible pain in her stomach.
Her attention was drawn once again to the kitchen, the thick red liquid flowing freely from the room.
She couldn't see directly into the room, she had been standing in almost the same spot for the whole ordeal. She was only able to make out the door frame, and maybe a bit of her stove, although the darkness of the room made it hard to tell.
What was clear though, was that there was blood flowing from the room, and she was now aware of the extremely dull, barely noticeable crimson glow coming from the kitchen.
It seemed to pulse to an extremely dim intensity to a more noticeable sheen with each breath she took.
She took her first steps; falling to the ground with a sickening crack of her right hindleg, she started convulsing and went into spasms, shaking uncontrollably as the flow of blood rapidly sped up.
Her mind was screaming, the pain was unbearable, every muscle in her body was tensing and seizing up.
A huge black hoof suddenly came down in front of her face.
"Game over."
Another hoof came down right onto the side of her head, crushing her skull and killing her instantly.
That's when she woke up.
She woke up screaming, vomit quickly rising from her stomach to silence her and make a mess of the boutique..
It had all felt so real, every bit of pain she felt she couldn't take, but was forced to live through it. The strong smell of blood still seamed fresh in her nostrils. She could even taste it it her mouth, blood.
It was warm and sickly, and made her light headed.
Rarity had been having this dream for the past couple of weeks, she didn't know what it meant, but if one thing was sure it was that she needed help.
Something she wouldn't care to admit.
|
|
Mephisto-Fiesta
|
1281
| 1 |
Adventure,Sad
|
By Land, Sea, And Air
|
The Cutie Mark Crusaders are separated by war, and everything changes.
|
incomplete
| 12 | 0 |
<p>When Canterlot Castle is destroyed by a terrorist attack, a war breaks out between the three pony species. With the Cutie Mark Crusaders separated, they are forced to take part in the battles they never wished to happen. A two part story, with a timeskip at a certain point.<br /><br /><br />Cover by Johnjoseco on deviantart.</p>
|
teen
| null |
2012-01-13T23:06:00+00:00
| 800 |
Discord was a mere thought now. His body may be gone, but he shall live forever. Idiots, they were, the new Elements. Disharmony is just as needed as order. There was too much organization in this world now. He needed to.. spice things up. And so the creature, merely a dream, got to work.
|
Mephisto-Fiesta
|
1281
| 2 |
Adventure,Sad
|
By Land, Sea, And Air
|
The Cutie Mark Crusaders are separated by war, and everything changes.
|
incomplete
| 12 | 0 |
<p>When Canterlot Castle is destroyed by a terrorist attack, a war breaks out between the three pony species. With the Cutie Mark Crusaders separated, they are forced to take part in the battles they never wished to happen. A two part story, with a timeskip at a certain point.<br /><br /><br />Cover by Johnjoseco on deviantart.</p>
|
teen
| null |
2012-01-13T23:06:09+00:00
| 972 |
"Next time, lets try ice skating!"
"No way, ice skating is super girly!"
"Wayl, what about ice hockey?"
"Are you sure that's safe?"
"I like that idea!"
"Minorty rules, Sweetie Belle!"
"That's majority, dodo!"
"Stop calling everypony birds!"
The crusaders were buzzing along the busy streets of Ponyville, arguing playfully as Scootaloo drove their wagon to the hill. Drifting down into the Everfree District, Fluttershy cowered out of the road, bunny rabbits in tow. They almost reached Sweet Apple Acres, when the scooter screeched to a stop. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom leaned to the front where Scootaloo was driving. "Wuts wrong, Scoot?" Scootaloo hopped off her steed and examined it quickly. "Aw man! We got a flat!" Sweetie Belle frowned. "Awwwww." Applebloom hopped off. "Wayl, why don't we head go by the lake?" Scootaloo groaned. "Boooorinnnnggggg. But, I guess there's nothing else we can do." The three walked down to the Ponyville Lake, and lay down, looking at the afternoon sky reflect in the water.
"Hey Scootaloo, when can we have a sleepover again?"
"Sorry Sweetie, my folks are in Zebrica this month. Rainbow Dash is babysitting me!"
"Wow, that's mighty exciting, Scoots!"
"Oh, guys, Rarity said soon, she's gonna take me to a fashion show in Manehatten!"
"Blech, sounds fru fru."
"Mah sister says Manehatten is really pretty, and it has buildings so big you cant see the top!"
While Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle discussed their plans, Applebloom got to thinking, 'What happens if the Cutie Mark Crusaders...seperate?'. What will she do then? "Hay girls, promise we'll say friends, even after we git our cutie marks?" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at their friend, then at each other, and nodded confidently. "Yeah Applebloom, we promise." Sweetie Belle smiled, until she felt something wet on her hoof. "Ewww, what is that?" She neighed at Scootaloo. Scootaloo scoffed "It's a blood oath, you spit on your hoof and shake." Applebloom giggled and spat in her own hoof, and put her hoof on the crusaders. "Cutie Mark Crusaders! Forever!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootaloo woke up by the sound of fear. A familiar scream found its way to her ears, and caused the filly to panic. "Rainbow Dash!" This was Rainbow Dash! She wasn't afraid of anything! She jumped out of her soft, cloud bed, and hovered above the ground, finding RD at the windowsill. "Whats up, Rainbow Dash!?" She said, panicing. The multi-colored mare turned around, her eyes red with tears. "S-scootaloo! We have to go, quickly!" Scootaloo's eyes widened. "What? Why? What's happening?" She neighed. Rainbow didn't speak, she grabbed Scootaloo with her head, and bucked her onto her back. She jumped out the window, and bulleted down to the mainland below.
"Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!" Scootaloo called, as her friends ran towards her. Accompanying them were Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle. "Dashie!" Pinkie called, as the six friends ran to each other. Scootaloo gulped, realizing Pinkies straight hair. She had seen that once before, when she found out her Granny Pie died. Obviously, whatever happened, it was bad. "Guys, what happened?" Sweetie Belle was sobbing sadly, as Applebloom was hiding tears. She tilted her head up, signalling Scootaloo to look up. She slowly, and fearfully, lifted her head up. She didn't move, she didn't cry, she didn't breath. In the distance, fire and ashes flew, as Canterlot castle was burning to the ground. She choked, unable to muster up a sound of any kind.
"Captain Dash! Ditzy Doo just came back from the Everfree Forest!" Rainbow growled. "Why in pony hell was she out there?! She could've been killed!" Ditzy Doo, a grey coated, yellow maned featherbrain of a pony, flew down, as RD looked at her in shame. In her mouth was a scroll. "A brown pony from Canterlot was yelling, and I wanted to see if he was hurt..." Rainbow put her nose to hers. "Don't you dare do that again." Meanwhile, Twilight magiced the letter to her face.
"To Whom It May Concern,
The royal guard would like to provide all towns some information on the attack on Canterlot. We have determined the attack was done overnight with pre-set Dragonbombs. Dragonbombs are Earth Pony made bombs, but were supposedly hidden in clouds and roofs. But, a possible lighting spell may have occurred.
As of now, the wherabouts of the Princess's are unknown. Only one thing is known..."
Twilight gasped, refusing to read more. "W-wut did it say?"
Breathing in, with tears welling.
"Equestria is now at war."
|
Mephisto-Fiesta
|
1281
| 3 |
Adventure,Sad
|
By Land, Sea, And Air
|
The Cutie Mark Crusaders are separated by war, and everything changes.
|
incomplete
| 12 | 0 |
<p>When Canterlot Castle is destroyed by a terrorist attack, a war breaks out between the three pony species. With the Cutie Mark Crusaders separated, they are forced to take part in the battles they never wished to happen. A two part story, with a timeskip at a certain point.<br /><br /><br />Cover by Johnjoseco on deviantart.</p>
|
teen
| null |
2012-01-14T22:24:28+00:00
| 890 |
"I'm sorry dear, I just cannot let you out right now. With all the tension going on it is much too dangerous!" Rarity neighed to her sister. Sweetie Belle groaned. "But Rarity-" Rarity cut her off. "No means no, Sweetie Belle." The foal frowned. "But..I wanna see my friends..." Rarity sighed. "Sweetie Belle, it's too dangerous to go outside, but, I know its unbearable to sit here and wait, so you can go to Twilight's to borrow some parchment. I'm much too busy trying to contact Mother and Father to go out myself, so go quickly!" Sweetie Belle smiled lightly. "Thanks, sis."
Sweetie Belle walked up the street, entering the market district. She forced herself to look down, trying not to look at the broken remains of Canterlot. She trudged down to Twilight's house quickly. She knocked, expecting Twilight, but instead her dragon assistant Spike answered the door. "Oh, hey Sweetie Belle, what's up?" Sweetie Belle frowned. "N-nothing, just nervous about everything." Spike sighed, glancing upstairs. "Me too, Twi is beside herself worrying about the Princess. I've never seen her so depressed." Spike continued to glance nervously to the upstairs bedroom. "I hope her letters got to her." Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. She never really thought about that element of the attack. Who will rule Equestria? Maybe the royal adviser? She hoped the messenger would return with another news scroll. Oh yeah! The scrolls! "Spike, Rarity needs some more parchment, and wanted to borrow some from Twilight. Can I have a few rolls?" Spike nodded and walked inside quickly, bringing out three rolls of parchment. "You and Rarity stay safe, okay?" Sweetie Belle nodded. "Mmhmm."
---------
Applebloom looked around the farm sadly. Granny Smith always told her that her Mum and Pa passed away protecting us from a war with the buffalo, back when the Apple Alamo was just starting to build the biggest family orchard. War was a scary word, so short but so filled with sadness and hate and anger. She didn't understand much of the details about why this was happening, all she knew was the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies were not trusting each other until this was sorted out. But Applebloom was no fool. Her sister told her "Sugarcube,no matter wut, yer friends are still yer friends, and don't let anypony tell you otherwise." But for the past two days, she wasn't allowed outside the farm. So, she glumly roamed around, reaching the spot of the farm called Bunnyhop Bushel, after the family of rabbits who would steal the apples. She followed the path, slowly and patiently, until she reached her destination.
Applebloom walked into the clubhouse, half expecting her friends to be there. Of course they weren't. So she sat down, and read some old ideas for cutie mark crusading. Today they were supposed to go lion taming. "Aw shewt, that woulda been fun.." She was too busy thinking to notice the sound of hoofsteps. "Yeah, it woulda been." Applebloom looked over her shoulder. "Scootaloo!" She neighed, galloping over for a hug. "Rainbow Dash let ya see me?" She asked. Scoot shook her head. "I had to sneak out, I can't stay long." Applebloom frowned. "Ah- ahm scared! What's goin on? Everyone is saying that a war is happenin! But, then I won't be able to see you anymore!" Scootaloo bit her lip. "Yeah.... I know." Sweetie Belle then walked in, expecting nopony to be in there. "Applebloom! Scootaloo! Thank gosh you're here!" They all nuzzled each other, but quickly dispersed. "What's going to happen to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Sweetie asked, almost crying. Scootaloo put her hoof over her shoulder. " I dunno, Sweetie Belle, I really really want to keep hanging out... you guys and Rainbow Dash.. are all I got." Applebloom got up. "We made a promise, right? Even if we're apart, we'll always be the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we'll always be friends!" Sweetie Belle sobbed, and Applebloom held back tears. Scootaloo just looked forlorn, trying her best not to show any sadness.
"Never forgit, everypony, even if we can never see each other again, we'll still be friends. Forever.."
|
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