Sadly Sings Destiny

Sadly Sings Destiny
Chapter Two: Turn the Page
By: Jace Arveduin

Emerald Dawn decided to take a walk through Broken Bit after a particularly intense study session. The stress from days of work were adding up, so she decided a break would do more good than harm. Trotting along mindlessly, she accidentally ran into the town blacksmith, which drug her back into reality.

“Sorry, Mr. Steel. I should have been watching where I was going,” she told the stallion.

The stallion in question, Steel Crescent, had a dark grey coat, a matching white mane and tail, silvery eyes, and an anvil for his cutie-mark. He was an older stallion, his prideful recklessness mellowed by age and years of patience, which was required when working metal into objects of use and beauty. Although he’d never been married, there were rumors that said he could have any mare he wanted if he tried.

“That’s quite alright, Ms. Dawn, no harm done,” he replied. “Though you do look like you haven’t eaten in some time, care to join me for lunch?”

“You’re such a gentlestallion, Steel. Of course I’ll come,” she replied with a giggle. She knew he wasn’t hitting on her, he really was just that much of a gentlestallion.

They walked over to a small diner and ordered a pair of sandwiches, which they ate in a friendly silence. Emerald had ordered green tea to wash it down with, while Steel had settled on a normal cup of iced tea. After a few minutes, Steel broke the silence.

“So, what have you been getting into this time?”

She sighed. “I tried a new spell, and ended up bringing a house, and the creature it belonged to, to our world.”

“I had heard there was something strange going on...” His face was blank, as he'd thought it was just a rumor. “I don't know much about casting spells, but couldn’t you just reverse the spell and send it back?"

“If only it was that easy. I’d have to know where I’m sending him, and I don’t know whether it’s a nearby moon, star, or another dimension.”

“That’s not good. Is he friendly, or is he going to end up causing problems?”

“I don’t know.... He doesn’t seem completely hostile, but he doesn’t seem very friendly either.”

“At least he’s not destroying stuff.”

“Yeah, I’m not even sure if he’s left his house. He doesn’t seem to like being around ponies.”

“Well, he did just get pulled from his world into ours, so he’s probably just trying to get over that.” He paused, then added, “Well Ms. Dawn, I have to go back to the shop, I've got a few orders I still need to finish today. I’ll see you around,” he said as he got up and started walking back to his smithy, putting some bits on the table before he left.

“See you later Steel.”

She sat there for a few more minutes and finished her tea before going back to her house to continue her ongoing research. Her latest book was on ancient relics, and though it was missing a few pages, it seemed to be her best lead so far.

Two hours later, she came across a passage that described a small marble that reputedly could send the possessor across space and time. "This could be exactly what I need," she mumbled to herself. The details were sketchy, though it was said to be roughly the size of a large marble and filled with flickering lights. It also mentioned it was perilous to look directly at it, for the pony doing so would disappear. The disappearance was said to sometimes be to the future, and a few tales say the past. The last known location of the artifact was, supposedly, somewhere in the Misty Mountains.

“Well that’s convenient, those are quite a distance from here, but not too far.” She pondered aloud.

**********************************************************************************************************

“I know you’re in there, let me in,” Frostfire yelled as she banged on Jesse’s front door.

“Why am I not surprised,” Jesse said as he opened his door. “Come on in, I managed to either lock or nail down anything that you’d be curious about. I can’t have you running around with something you’re likely to injure us with.”

“I can take care of myself,” she said with a huff.

“Ever held a sharp knife or a gun?”

“What’s a gun?”

“I rest my case, welcome to my humble abode.”

Frostfire walked in, and was fairly surprised by the color scheme, or lack of one. It was all either black or silver. “It’s rather bland in here, isn’t it?”

“What can I say? I’m a fan of black and silver. This is also how I bought the place.” He walked over to his chair and sat down. “Take a load off, and ask the hundreds of questions I know you want answered, and this time I’ll be able to explain some, and demonstrate others.”

She didn't even have to think for a moment. “What’s a gun?”

“That’s an easy one, I’ll show you one.” He unlocked the second room’s door, went inside and got his 1911 pistol out of it, and one of the rounds. “This is a pistol, a type of gun, and this is a bullet. You put the bullet in the pistol and the tip of the bullet comes out of the end of the pistol at very fast speeds. They are generally used for shooting inanimate targets, or for killing things.”

“Humans make things to kill each other with?”

“We’ve been making things to kill each other, and things to eat, for most of our time on our planet.”

Her face blanched. “Wait, eat things?”

Jesse pulled his lip over his teeth, showing off his canines. “The sharp, pointy ones are for meat, and the flatter ones in the back are for plants. Humans are omnivores, so we can eat just about anything.”

“That’s... just gross, so how can you stand to eat other animals?”

“Mainly because I’m guessing the animals on my world aren’t quite as sentient as the ones I’m assuming you’re used to. As it is, I quite like the way meat tastes to be honest. But don’t worry your pretty little head off, because I’m not going to kill anything here unless it tries to kill me first.”

Frostfire didn’t quite know how to respond to that. “So, what was your job on your planet?”

“I was a librarian actually. I worked for a small town and ruled my library with an iron fist. Which involved banning idiots and hosting tournaments for this card game called ‘Magic: The Gathering.’ On Thursdays and Saturdays I kept the doors open an extra two hours for people who wanted to come over and play some games. Occasionally I’d even take my old 64 up and play Super Smash Brothers.”

“Can you show me some of these games?”

“Easily, though I do have to ask how squeamish you are when it comes to blood and guts.”

“Blood and guts?”

“Most of my games are a little on the violent side, so it would be pleasant if you told me whether or not you can handle it, so I don’t have to clean up your breakfast from my floor.”

“Of course I can handle a little violence, are you saying I’m a wimp?”

“We’ll see”

He started off showing her some of his older games, like Super Smash Brothers and Donkey Kong 64, and worked his way up. She seemed to like Twisted Metal 4 and Spyro. He just increased the violence slowly, until he reach Fallout: New Vegas. He went around showing her the game and finally came across an enemy. With a small smile while she was distracted, he turned the volume up.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

“What the hay,” Frostfire yelled as she jumped back. Her eyes went wide, and she started breathing harder.

Jesse had been watching her and started laughing when she jumped. “You should have seen the look on your face. I would have recorded it with the webcam if I had been able to activate it without tipping you off.”

“You’re a jerk,” she huffed as she went back to watch the screen, which was centered on the thing he had just shot.

“Okay, now watch closely and see how long you can hold your lunch.” He then proceeded to shoot the corpse a few times, until the game’s ‘Bloody Mess’ perk activated. Frostfire had been watching impassively when the corpse exploded into hundreds of chunks and a mist of blood. It turned out her stomach wasn’t as strong as she thought, and she ended up hurling a few seconds after seeing it. Jesse expected it though, and put his trashcan over her muzzle.

“Didn’t you say something about being able to handle a little violence?” She just groaned and puked some more.

A few hours later Frostfire was feeling better, though there was a scent in the air that didn't quite seem right. Jesse was cooking something, though she didn’t ask what after remembering what he said about humans eating other animals. He walked back with some red, lumpy stuff and a couple of bread slices in one hand, and a plate of what looked like golden sticks in the other.

“Here’s some food,” he told her as he set some french fries down in front of her.

“And what exactly are these, they look familiar....”

“Fried taters, though most humans call them ‘french fries’ for some reason.”

“And they are made of....”

“Plants.”

“So what are you eating?”

“They’re called ‘sloppy joes’ where I come from. Before you ask, they are made from things you do not wish to know about, some vegetables, and spices.”

She accepted the answer, she really didn’t want to know exactly what he was eating when she thought about it. They ate in silence, during which Frostfire seemed jittery. If Jesse was nervous or uncomfortable, you couldn’t tell it. He finished his food and got up.

"So, what's with the tattoos on your ass? I saw Emerald had a magnifying glass, but I saw most of the other ponies had a tattoo on their ass," Jesse asked Frostfire.

"Tattoos? Ass?"

"What's with the pictures on your butt?"

"Oh, it's my cutie-mark, don't you have one?"

"Nope, the closest thing we have are tattoos, which involves injecting ink under your skin with a needle that pokes you really fast."

"That sounds painful..."

"It can be, so give me an explanation of these "cutie-marks" please?"

"Well, when a pony finds their special talent, it shows up."

"Well that sounds right out of a fairy tale, so why do you have a pillar of fire coming out of a snowflake?"

"It's because I'm good at doing weird things with the weather, like making lightning when it snows."

"That sounds like fun," he replied. “Well, I’m about to take a shower, so feel free to leave when you want. Oh, and please don’t get too nosy, because you might not like what you find.”

He went into the bathroom and the sound of running water can be heard. Frostfire waited an indecisive minute before sneaking over and opening the door quietly. She peeked in, but her view was obscured by the curtain. She looked over at the mirror to see if she could get a better angle, just to meet his eyes.

“Wondering if we were compatible, eh?”

“I... I was just leaving,” she said as she hurried off, blushing. Jesse chuckled as he finished his shower, then went back to playing Fallout.

**********************************************************************************************************

Several minutes later Frostfire made it back to her house. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see, but what she saw definitely not wasn't it. Somewhat shook up, she hopped into her bath, then recoiled from the coldness of the water. Turning the hot water on, she tried to settle down and relax. After soaking for some time, she got out and hopped into her bed. Much to her chagrin, she tossed and turned forever before the sweet, blissful of sleep overcame her.

**********************************************************************************************************

Emerald Dawn had gone to bed early that night, trying to make up for all of the sleep she had lost while searching for an answer. After awaking, she started thinking about what would be required to make the journey.

‘First I’m going to need that map of the Misty Mountains,’ she thought to herself as she went into her personal library. It wasn’t a big room, but it had a fair number of books across all genres, and a few maps she had bought when a travelling salesmare had come by town a few years back. She rummaged through the drawers until she found the map she was looking for. Taking the map and spreading it across her kitchen table, she studied it intently, looking for all of the possible places that such an artifact might reside.