Chapters 002
“I must be off now as I have a promise to keep. Thank you for confirming something for me,” I said, after ‘Summoning’ Rainbow Dash, Celestia, and Luna by creating a giant tempest that ripped up half a forest. I attempted to leave, but a felt a yellowish magic surround me, and stop me.
“You will not leave until you explain yourself,” Celestia said threateningly. “And if I don’t like your explanation, I will send you to prison for: Fraud, Scamming Ponies, Endangering Others, and Wasting Our Time.”
“No offence, but don’t nobles already waste your time?” I asked rhetorically. “But if you must know, I was home, with my son, and due to recent events, we are both now in Equestria, and I would like to teach him how to fly. That is, if he hasn’t already figured it out in the time that I was here.” Celestia hesitantly released me from her magical grip, and I flew off towards the house. Rainbow Dash was calling after me, trying to get me to wait for her, but I didn’t want to listen to the pony that broke my heart.
Have I mentioned before how the wind likes me? I think I have. In this instance, it was slowing Rainbow Dash down, while speeding me up. Please don’t ask me how stuff like this works, because I absolutely have no idea. I think it might be some form of magic though, I don’t really know.
Arriving at the rectangular prism, I found Jake impatiently trying to move his wings correctly. I chuckled as I watched his wings awkwardly flail about, Jake completely oblivious to his surroundings. “Having fun?” I asked, after a minute of watching my son play with his wings. Jake looked up, slightly embarrassed at having me see his clumsy wing movements.
“Daddy! I figured out how to move my wings!” Jake said triumphantly, wiggling his wings once more to show that he had.
“I see that, now you need to figure out how to move them to allow you to fly. Let’s start with using only one wing at a time.” Jake settled both his wings down to his side before I continued. “First, lift your left wing up.” He did so, and with a bit of ease since he wasn’t focusing on both wings at once. “Now bring it down. Okay, now the right wing, same thing… Good, you got that fairly quickly, now bring the left up, then the right, and then put the right down, then the left.” Jake was doing what he was told fairly easily, and was getting the hang of it quickly. “Again, but opposite start wing. Good, now let’s try to move them both up at the same time. A little clumsy, but much better than when I got back. Both down now, and repeat.”
I left him to go at his own pace, which quickly sped up as he got the hang of moving them simultaneously. Soon he was flapping fast enough that it started to make a buzzing noise, but he didn’t achieve lift off. “Hmm, I wonder if your wings are too small at your age to properly,” I thought out loud. Noticing that the buzzing had stopped, I looked down to see that Jake was exhausted from the efforts, and disappointed that he couldn’t fly. “Let’s go and rest for today. Here,” I said pulling out a parachute, making sure that it worked, and tossed it to Jake, “I will take you for some sweets. Oh and one more thing, the people here, are ponies, and they don’t use the same name system as us. When here, my name is White Wind, so what do you want your name to be?”
“Daddy, that’s silly.”
“It might be silly, but it’s true. Now come on, think of something you would want to be called.” I prompted.
“Umm, Red Wing! Red because of my fur color, like how you named yourself, and Wing because I have wings!” Jake proclaimed after thinking for a few minutes
“Red Wing, it’s a nice name if I say so myself. Now, time to get you some sweets.” We then hopped out of the house, and Jake was happy to find that he could control where the parachute went, by flapping his wings. We landed near town square, because there was a big crowd forming a walkway from Sugarcube Corner to the train station.
After we packed the parachute back up, we went to see what the crowd was about. Turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Cake had created a large, towering cake, and it was being transported to Canterlot for a competition. I soon noticed that the cake was not very stable so I decided to return the favor that I had borrowed then I first arrived. “Excuse me Mr. and Mrs. Cake,” I began, “I couldn’t help but noticing, but I think I can help with transporting that cake safely, without it getting damaged, even by a fall.”
Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who were watching the cake the whole time I was speaking, snapped their heads towards me when I finished. “Really! Oh that would be great! Oh but that sounds too good to be true. I’ll let you try it though. I mean, what do we have to lose? Big Mac, can you set it down for a moment.” Big Mac set the cake down, and I excused myself, asking the Cakes to be patient for a few minutes while I got some things ready.
Flying to my house, I took some of the cloud that I was going to use in the construction, and flew back down with the super condensed gaseous water. I landed next to the towering cake, and started the process. At some point in the ‘wrapping’ of the cake, a pony recognized who I was and started yelling.
“White Wind you cheat! Ten months ago, I started lessons with you, and then you disappeared! I want my money back!” as soon as he finished, half the town agreed with him, and was in an uproar about it. At this point, I was done with the cake, which was safely wrapped up in cloud, and had little chance of getting damaged if it fell.
Big Mac picked the cake back up, and started once again to the train station. Despite what I had said though, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, all ended up helping transport in an over excessive manor. But that came later.
My son raced to me, half scared of the ponies yelling accusations at me. I rested my hoof on his shoulder, and slightly taken aback that the ponies kept yelling. I flared my wings out completely perpendicular to the ground, and parallel my body, in an attempt to get the ponies to be quiet. When this didn’t work, I asked Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who hadn’t gone anywhere due to the cake not moving yet at this point, to take my son into their shop, and treat him to a desert of his choice for up to the 20 bits I handed them.
When I saw Mrs. Cake disappear into the building with my son, I decided that enough was enough. The me who had been standing there quietly, suddenly yelled, “QUIET!!!” My voice reverberated around the town, and even echoed off the distant mountains. Thank you once again, wind, for helping me. IF this volume didn’t instantly quiet the town, I don’t know what would have. The volume even cause Big Mac to drop the cake, which was fine due to the cloud wrapping. Still speaking loudly, but not yelling anymore, I continued. “I’m sorry if you are upset about my absence, but I can assure you, that I was gone due to circumstances beyond my control. For those who are willing, I will continue to give you lessons, and will even add in two free lessons and a single tricks lesson. If you still want your money back, all I can say is this; I will refund you the full amount, MINUS,” emphases on the ‘minus’, “The amount that a single lesson costs. However I will discount one lesson that was already taught, and refund that ONE,” another emphases, this time on ‘one’, “lesson as well.”
Everypony was silent, not truly expecting me comply so easily. Luckily, only a few ponies stepped forward to claim money. “Are these all the ponies that want a refund? Because when I go to get my appointment book, I will not accept other ponies.” This caused only a few more to step up, but most still stayed where they were. I shortly went home with a few pegasi at my suggestion, grabbed the appointment books, as well as my stash of money, and gave those who stepped forward, the money that I had promised them. I had been thinking of how to solve the problem of my absence since Celestia almost put me in prison, thought of this almost immediately, but didn’t know how to go about doing so. Being called out in front of everypony in Ponyville, certainly helped solve that problem. The money refunding was just something that he had come up with on the spot, and was a little unfortunate for me. But I’m a man of my word.
Will all the ponies who wanted a refund, a total of eight with 368 bits refunded (which nearly wiped out my savings), he attention turned back to the cake, which everypony just now realized that it had fallen. Mr. Cake was in a panic over it, as he couldn’t see the cake still wrapped in cloud. I went over to him and consoled him, “It’s okay, Mr. Cake…”
“It is not okay. My wife and I worked for months on that cake, and now it’s ruined!” he said a little hysteria in his voice.
“Like I was saying, the cake should be fine.” I went to the cake, and undid the box created by the clouds, revealing a cake that looked exactly the same as when it was completed. “The clouds I used to wrap it, will form to almost any shape, and when set, will absorb or hold most anything within reason.” I concluded, packing the cake back up. “Although, I think that once it gets to the train it should be fine, so I will take my cloud back as I need it for construction. That okay with you?”
“Oh yes, that is fine. I don’t know how to repay you for this.”
“You don’t need to repay me. I told you when we first met, I would repay you for giving me cupcakes when I first got here, didn’t I?”
“That seems like so long ago, I guess I had forgotten about it. But are you sure that that is proper payment? I mean, you saved our cake!”
“We are even Mr. Cake. As long as I get my cloud back before the cake leaves, we will be fine, if not, it can wait for a few days. Now if you will excuse me, or you could come as well, I have a filly to spoil for the rest of today.” I started to walk towards his shop, which cleared Mr. Cake’s confusion somewhat.
Entering the store, I noted three things. First was that Jake, or rather Red Wing, had a chocolate cake in front of him, and he was swinging his legs. Second thing was that he wasn’t eating it, but instead, was sitting next to it patiently. The third thing I noticed were the baby unicorn and pegasus being cared for by Mrs. Cake.
“It looks like congratulations on the twins are in order.”
“Thank you,” Mr. and Mrs. Cake said together before Mrs. Cake continued, “Red Wing here is an absolute angle. He absolutely insisted to hold off on that cake until you arrived.”
“Did he now? Well, I think his patience should be rewarded.” A thought occurred to me, ‘He must look up to me more than I originally thought. Wow, I feel good as a father right now. But it is his special day, so we do what he wants.’ “Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I have a small message I would like you to pass onto Pinkie Pie for me, when she returns, would that be okay?”
“Of course it would, after all, you did save the cake we made?” Mr. Cake said, receiving a questioning glance from his wife.
“I thought I said that we were even on with that? Oh well, is it okay if I write the message down, and put it in your mailbox later?” they nodded, “Great! Now I think it’s been a bit long for Red Wing to wait to eat that cake.” And with that, I went and ate cake with my son.
003
From my cloud house, and with my son, we had gone to the town square of Ponyville. There, a few things happened. I paid back a favor that I had taken from Mr. and Mrs. Cake, by protecting their cake from harm, I got yelled at by half the town (more specifically, the ponies who paid for paragliding lessons from me), I appeased said half town by making a deal where I pay them back a fair amount, or they get two free lessons. I’m lucky that not very many chose to get refunded, as I was left with only 64 bits when all was said and done. With that said, the final thing I did, was eat cake with my son.
“Hey Red, want to go meet some princesses?” I asked, as we finished our respective slices of cake.
“Wait, you mean like actual princesses? Not from fairy tales or anything?” My son, Jake, or rather Red Wing asked.
I quickly asked Mrs. Cake, for a box, as Mr. Cake had gone to check back up on the cake they made. “Yah I mean actual princesses. I need to see them, one in particular, and apologize and explain some things to her in detail. I was thinking that since it was your birthday, you might want to come.” By this point, we were already on our way back to the cloud house, with the cake in my hands, and Red Wing on my back.
“Yah I would like to meet actual princesses. I mean, how often does a kid get to see princesses?”
“Actually, I think here, at least once a year. On Earth, almost never.” I burst his bubble a bit and was ever so sorry about doing it on his birthday. “Hey, we might even get one of them to sing “Happy Birthday” to you, I doubt that many have had a princess do that for them before, even here!” I could see the joy spring back onto his face at this prospect. “Of course, you would need to be extra polite to get a favor like that.” I warned him, hinting that he should do slightly better than I would.
“Okay,” he said cheerfully, grateful that he could have this chance.
We had arrived home sometime in the middle of the conversation, and, with the cake away, prepared ourselves for the journey ahead, that would probably be cut by a camping trip, as it was already getting late. Making sure that we had some food, a bit of cake, and some camping materials with us, we set out. To be honest, I was slightly surprised to find out that the food that I had bought about nine months ago, apparently, was still good. It wasn’t even dry food, it was stuff like lettuce, and bread, and even the bread seemed fresh.
Back to topic though, we set out. I had made sure that Jake had eaten properly before we left. One, because we had skipped dinner for cake, and two, so that he would have the energy for the fly. Hooking him back up to a parachute, I set it out so that he didn’t fall as much as he would if it wasn’t.
Finally leaving the house, we soon caught a nice updraft that brought us to a height equal that of my favorite mountain. My son, while hooked up to the parachute, moved forward with his wings and kept the front of the parachute forward, as to keep from getting the drag of the parachute from behind him. I flew besides him, to make sure that he kept the chute level, and on how to move the way he was.
We were eventually forced to holdup on the journey to Canterlot, as it got to dark, and we couldn’t see our destination clearly. Luckily, we had reached the mountain that I love so much (Yes I am using sarcasm). It was thanks to the favorable tailwind that we got, that we had been able to make it this far in such a short amount of time. Another stroke of luck allowed us to land near the top of the mountain, where we found an empty cave to rest in, and although it smelled of smoke, it was slightly comforting.
Exhausted from the flight this far, we quickly unpacked our sleeping bags, and found quick comfort on the strangely smooth bedrock, and found sleep, almost just as fast.
A nightmare decided to plague my sleep, as it has been doing for the last seven months. ‘All was quiet. A forest around me, and directly in front of me, a large, strangely muscular cat, stood in front of me, on its hind legs, with cargo pants, bound paws, a smoking pipe, and an X-shaped scar on its left shoulder. I stared at it, it stared at me. It took a puff from the pipe, and exhaled a large amount of smoke before speaking, “It could have been avoided, you know.” *** I was behind brambles, I could see Elis, the one that I had loved, get attacked by the same cat I saw earlier, but I couldn’t move. I watched as it devoured her, bite by bite, before turning to me, and leaping. *** The leaping cat disappeared with a wink. I heard a voice, but looking around, I couldn’t find the source. “Awake White Wind!”’ I shot up, wide awake, and found that I had sweated profusely.
“Daddy?” I heard a slightly scared voice sound from my left, and found that it was my son, a worried look across his face. I have no idea how ponies can express anything with their faces, but they can.
“It’s nothing my little Jakey, go back to sleep.” I said trying to comfort him.
“But Daddy, you were screaming.” Jake said, still worried.
“I was just having a bad dream, it’s over now. Come, we need to be rested to see the princesses tomorrow.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Jake reluctantly complied, and I made sure that he was asleep, before I started my rest.
‘The same cat was before me. What was weird though, was that I had never seen it till before tonight. The cat did the same thing it did last time, and said the same thing, “It could have been avoided, you know.” *** I was once again behind brambles and once again, I saw the cat pounce on Elis.’ With a large amount of sheer will, I forced myself awake, not wanting to relive that moment.
It seemed that I had been able to avoid screaming, as I found Jake still asleep, calm across his face. It was just starting to get light out, and it was a slightly cold within the cave. Figuring that I had a good two or three hours before Jake woke up, I went to gather wood for a fire.
It didn’t take long to find enough wood, as there were still large amounts of wood bits around the mountain. With enough wood for a good five hours, I started a fire to my son’s back. He shifted comfortably as the heat reached him, and a smile spread across my face as I watched him. I decided to try once more to sleep, hoping that the warmth of the fire would keep away the nightmares.
For some reason, I couldn’t shake this dream. Here it was a third time to haunt me. ‘The same cat stood before me, once more, to repeat the same message, once more, “It could have been avoided, you know.” *** The same scene played through my head. This time, I couldn’t awake, but the cat once again disappeared, the same way it did the first time, but this time along with Elis. “White Wind, turn.” The voice that came in the first dream, came again. This time I recognized it though as Luna’s voice. I turned around and found her looking at me. “This is a powerful dream you have here White Wind. Even I, with my powers to dispel dreams, am finding it difficult to stop. It feels like it wants to play its full course, and will not stop until it is able to finish, or it changes paths. I just hope that you, yourself, are powerful enough to last the dream.”
I was puzzled, “Wait, you mean that you are actually within my dream?” Luna nodded a confirmation. “This isn’t just my head playing tricks on me, is it? Tell me something that I don’t know, or wouldn’t know.” I riddled her.
Luna seemed to ponder this question for a few moments before answering, “After you so rudely dismissed us, Tia and I ate spaghetti.”
“You know that I will try to confirm this, right?” I countered.
“Go ahead. You will find that I tell the truth.” She countered right back.
“How are you able to be in my dreams? And how did you find me?” I asked.
“Well first I have to be near the pony, but from there, I use my magic of the night to go into the dreams of ponies, and help them conquer their fears and nightmares.” Cane the reply. “As to how I found you, I can sense with my magic, those who are having nightmares. Now wake, White Wind, night is breaking, revealing day.”’
I awoke once more from the dream, and found that the fire had been freshly stoked, yet Jake was still sound asleep. I started making breakfast from the provisions that we had packed the day before. The sun was beginning to rise, and night fell on a different part of the world. Jake woke up shortly, comfortable from the warmth the fire created, and got up at the prospect of getting some food.
“You ready to meet some princesses?” I asked. “We still have about half a day’s travels before us, but if we leave now, we could probably get there before lunch.”
“Almost, still sleepy.” Jake was rubbing his eye and yawned.
“Well, hopefully the air will passing you will help you wake up. Or I can carry you on my back, and you can rest some more.” I offered. Jake was grateful for the opportunity to sleep some more, and took the opportunity.
With Jake on my back, I took off, and he was soon back asleep, nestled on my back, and mane. As the sun rose further, I caught a glimpse of Canterlot in the distance, sinning brightly from the morning sun. My estimate time to arrival, oddly enough, was the same time that the train that had left Ponyville yesterday.
To be honest, I was slightly shocked to find the six ponies from Ponyville arriving in Canterlot, as I had forgotten the fact that they were coming to Canterlot in the first place for the cake judging. I was slightly more shocked to find the cake transformed, but I avoided the group, not wanting to make contact with them, and instead, made my way to the castle, where I ran into the most charming fellow, who I took for a regular guard for the palace.
“Excuse me,” I asked, “Do you know where I could find Princess Celestia? I have a matter that I would like to speak to her about.”
“And who might you be to make such a request?” the pony asked suspiciously.
“Ah, where are my manors, I am called White Wind. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. …” I let my voice trail as I realized that I didn’t know this pony. I felt Jake begin to stir.
“My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Under the orders of Princess Celestia, you are hereby under arrest for Fraud, and destruction of half a forest.” At this point, Jake was fully awake, and propped his head on top of mine.
“Daddy, are you in trouble?"
004
Jake and I had arrived in Canterlot at oddly the same time that Pinkie Pie, and company arrived with the cake that Mr. Mrs. Cake created, although it had transformed dramatically. I decided that I didn’t want to meet them right now, or rather Rainbow Dash, so I stayed overhead, and went to the castle instead. Upon arriving, however, I immediately ran into a guard, who seemed suspicious of me. Upon asking where I could meet and talk with Princess Celestia, we introduced ourselves.
“I am called White Wind. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. …” I let my voice trail as to let him introduce himself, and felt that Jake was waking up.
“My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Under the orders of Princess Celestia, you are hereby under arrest for fraud, and destruction of half a forest, and harm to the animals that were within.” At this point, Jake was fully awake, and propped his head on top of mine.
“Daddy, are you in trouble?”
I lifted Jake off my head and set him down next to me. Crouching down to meet him eye to eye, I said, “No, my little Red Wing, I’m sure that this is a misunderstanding, and can be cleared up.” Standing up, and addressing Shining Armor, I asked, “Now what are the penalties for each?”
“Truthfully, the charge of fraud is ten years in prison, while the destruction of the forest, if a 2000 bit fine, and the harm to the animals are a fine for the care of them to recover.”
“And why am I being charged for fraud?” I asked once more.
“I was not told the reasons, I was just told charges.” Shining Armor clarified.
“I would think that the Captain of the Royal Guard would be informed of the reasons for the charges, otherwise, when I am arrested for them, the charges would be baseless, and there for, meaningless,” I ranted, and looked down at my son, who was in slight awe at my speech. Still looking at him, I continued my speech, so that Jake realized that I was addressing this just as much to him, as the guard before us, “However, I will go with you, as to not teach my son here to resist authority, even if they are hassling you.”
Knowing that I taught my son at least two important lessons, I followed the guard to the prison, my son in tow. Almost at the prison, I told Shining Armor something, “I would still like to talk to Princess Celestia. I also believe that Twilight and her friends are here, so they can probably help speak on my behalf.”
“Twily is here!”
“If you are talking about Twilight, then yah.” We had arrived at the prison, and a cell door was being opened with magic. Looking in, I saw a bed, on the ground, with a single blanket, and pillow, and a toilet. The door now open, I whispered a request to the guard that had brought us here. “Could you please take the whole bed setup out, and put it against the wall just outside the cell? I don’t want my son to have to be uncomfortable. Or if there is a place that you can take him where he can be comfortable and safe, while I’m here, then do that. Although it’s up to him what he wants to do.” With this request out there, I turned to Jake, “Would you like to go with Mr. Shining Armor here to a place where you can be comfortable while I get this sorted out?” I asked.
“No!!! I want to stay with Daddy!” Jake refused the offer ever so bluntly, but I think that it helped Shining Armor feel sympathy. In any case, he did as I had requested and moved the bed out of the cell and against the wall.
I moved into the cell, and Jake tried to follow me still. “I’m sorry my little angle, you can’t follow me into the cell.” Jake began to protest, but I refused him. “I don’t want you to be in a prison cell,” Crouching down once more to eye level with my son, I continued, “Please stay out here?”
Jake reluctantly gave in, and as I walked into the cell, I could hear a dragging sound. The cell door locked behind me, and turning, I found that my son was dragging the bed closer to the cell bars. Shining armor chuckled a bit before picking it up with his magic, moving it over to the cell for Jake, and leaving. I called out to him once more, “Don’t forget to get Celestia! I would like to clear these charges as soon as possible!”
Jake lay on the bed, next to the bars, and I sat against the wall, close to him. “Let’s play the animal game while we wait, I’ll go first: Hippopotamus.” I was trying to get Jake’s mind off the current situation.
“Snake.”
“Elephant.”
“Toad.”
“Dragon.”
“That is a mythical animal,” Jake complained.
“Key word: Mythical. And they do exist, here at least. Now come on, an animal that starts with an ‘N’.”
“Fine, Newt.”
“Tarantula.”
“Alligator.”
“Rat.” Jake and I both turned to the new voice. I don’t know what Shining Armor told Celestia, Twilight, and her friends to make them come so quickly, but down the hallway, about 20 feet from my cell, the seven ponies were walking towards us.
“Toucan!” Jake continued eagerly, excited to have a new player. I laughed a little at his continuance.
“It’s nice to see you Princess Celestia, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.” At the sound of my voice, Rainbow Dash flew quickly the rest of the 15 feet to the cell, causing the others, aside from Celestia, to run as well.
“Dude, what happened?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“This and that, I should be able to clear it up. Pinkie Pie, I have something that I would like to tell you, but you must keep it a secret.”
“I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Pinkie Pie said, while doing the motions as well. She then leaned in so I could whisper it to her.
“My son’s birthday was yesterday, and I would like you to plan the party for him. You can tell every other pony though. I just don’t want my son to know about the party.” When I was done whispering to Pinkie Pie, I spoke up to everypony there, “Everypony, I would like you all to meet my son, Red Wing. His birthday was yesterday.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you, my name is Red Wing.” Jake said politely, standing up.
Fluttershy actually tackled Jake down, and started nuzzling him. “Oh you are so adorable!”
“Um, Fluttershy, you realize where you are, and what that looks like, right.” I said, teasing her.
Fluttershy looked at where she was, and found that Jake had been on a bed, and that, because of her tackle, she was on top of him, and was still on the bed. She blushed intensely before stammering, “Oh, um… I-I-I’m terribly sorry, I, um… Oh dear, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.”
I chuckled softly before saying, “Red.”
Jake got the hint and accepted the apology.
Celestia chuckled, “So you did have a son. Here I thought that it was a lie that you told Shining Armor to get me to come.”
“If it was a lie, then riddle me this: Have I lied to you before, Celestia?”
“No, you haven’t,” Celestia admitted after several seconds of thinking.
“So, tell me the charges as to why I’m in here.”
“I believe you have heard them from Shining Armor already, Mr. White Wind.”
“I have, but don’t think that six of the ponies here have,” I countered.
“You have been charged with fraud, destruction of half a forest, and harm to the animals that live there. The penalty for fraud is ten years in prison, for destruction of half a forest, 2000 bits, for harm to the animals, payment for the care for them.” Celestia listed the charges, and their respective penalties.
“Okay, just one more question: Why am I being charged with fraud?”
“You are being charged with fraud because of the scamming of ponies, with the prospect of Paragliding lessons, then disappearing.”
“If that is all, then I believe that I am being falsely held here. I have six witnesses here today, that can testify against the fact that I committed fraud.”
“Wait, so you had my brother ask us to come down here for your own selfish desires?” Twilight asked to clarify.
“Yes and no. While yes, I did have him ask you six down here with Celestia, so you can provide witness against what I suspected the reason for the charge of fraud, I could have very much as well had Celestia confirm that I have not committed fraud by investigating the ponies within Ponyville. Although she has been wanting to put me here for quite a while now, so I’m not sure if she would investigate, just at my word. And no, it was less for me, as it was for my son. I don’t want the day after his birthday to be known by him as the day that his father was put in jail and taken from him for ten years.” I took a wild swing at emotions there, because from the looks I got from the six before me, I could tell that they didn’t like being used. A few people, or in this case ponies, do like to be used, but these six where not those ponies. It’s not like I don’t repay the favor for ponies I use or help me out, but they didn’t know that.
My gamble with emotions did not pay off, however, “I don’t know what he is talking about,” Twilight said. My mood turned from a calm one to a slightly disbelieving one.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you, I’m much too busy,” Rarity. My mood was turning sour at this point, but my face showed that I was remaining calm.
“Well, you see…” Rainbow Dash let her voice trail and there was a short pause before the silence was broken by Applejack.
“Well, Ah ain’t saying anything.”
“I, um, would like to say,” Fluttershy began but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie. Sounded like she was going to vouch for me as well.
“OO, OO, He was in the town square, and when people started yelling at him, he left!” Pinkie Pie technically didn’t lie, but she did leave out some key information, like me making a deal with the angry citizens, clearing their accusations.
“Um excuse me, I would like to say that…” Fluttershy tried to get their attention to make a statement, but was interrupted once again.
“Well, you six are trust worthy ponies,” Celestia said, “I don’t believe that I to investigate this matter further.”
My expression finally matched my feeling, of, what was at this point, anger. I was about to say something, but Jake beat me to it. “Daddy isn’t a bad person! You guys are being bullies!”
“JAKE!” I nearly yelled, but somehow was able to keep my voice calm, albeit slightly shaky. Calling my son Jake confused the ponies there, as he was introduced as Red Wing, but it helped Jake understand the weight of the situation currently, and to be quiet.
Author's Note
Two chapters being released today. A reward for the wait.
005
I was in jail under the charge of fraud. I had been able to get Twilight and her friends to come down with Celestia to the prison, through the pony named Shining Armor. I attempted to get the six ponies I met in Ponyville to cooperate with me, but to no avail.
I was about to say something to the ponies standing there, but Jake beat me to it. “Daddy isn’t a bad person! You guys are being bullies!”
“JAKE!” I nearly yelled, but somehow was able to keep my voice calm, albeit slightly shaky. Calling my son Jake confused the ponies there, as he was introduced as Red Wing, but it helped Jake understand the weight of the situation. “While that statement is true, I don’t want you to get in trouble or hurt for speaking things like that. There are a few things that I want you to do though. First of all, I want you to take this,” I handed him the 68 bits that I had on me, “and head back to the house. There you will search the construction area for the construction funds. There is enough there, where if you are wise on its use, should last you the ten years that it looks like I will be here for. With that money, I also want you to enroll in school.
“Secondly, after you have located the funds and put them somewhere in the house that is easily accessible for you, I want you to go down to the mayor, and ask if she could gather the residents of Ponyville for something regarding me, White Wind, and the paragliding lessons. I want you to tell them that due to me being put in prison, I will be unable to continue with the lessons for quite some time. They will most likely ask you why I’m in prison, but I want you to avoid that subject. Don’t forget to thank the ponies for taking their time listening to you, and don’t forget to thank the mayor for calling the assembly. Last thing I want you to do, is take care of yourself, and don’t hold grudges against anypony.”
My rage had almost disappeared, but my voice was still shaky. I said one last thing to my son, “I love you Jake, my son. Remember that, and don’t let anyone or anypony try to tell you otherwise.” Tears had formed in my eyes, but refused to fall. I hugged Jake through the bars, and nuzzled him for a few brief seconds. We broke the embrace, “Go,” I whispered softly to him, and he ran down the hallway.
The tears finally fell as I watched him disappear. Turning on the ponies who watched the little show, my rage came back full force, not registering that they, as well, where crying. “I hope you all are happy now! Because of all of you, that boy will grow up most of his life, being without either of his parents!” I looked away from the ponies outside the cell and started to sob softly for my son. There was a pause before anyone said anything.
“I-I’m sorry, we didn’t mean it…” I heard one of them start to say, but I don’t know who. I interrupted her before she could finish the rest of what she was going to say.
“Of course! You didn’t ‘mean’ anything!” I yelled harshly at them, turning my head in their direction. I hadn’t been crying for long, but I’m sure that my eyes were red. One of them tried talking but I interrupted them again before they could speak, but this time, my words where barely a whisper, “Leave, just, leave.” I moved my head away from them as I said my last two words.
It was quiet for a few minutes longer before I heard the shuffling of hooves. I couldn’t count how many were moving even if I tried, but I don’t think that they all had left. Yet again, at least three of them could fly, and two of them most likely would.
I closed my eyes, laid my head down next to the bars of the cell, and continued to cry, not even caring that I was on a cold, hard, rock floor. After about ten minutes, I felt something against my mane, stroking it. Opening my eyes I saw blue fur, and a rainbow mane, and knew that Rainbow Dash was lying down on the end of the bed what was just outside the cell, but she wasn’t the one petting me. Looking over, I saw that it was Fluttershy that was stroking my mane.
“What do you two want?” I asked in a defeated voice, a completely opposite tone of what I usually used. I also didn’t try to escape from the petting, letting myself get lost in the sensation. The two ponies stayed quiet, and I didn’t press for an answer. I laid my head back down, and soon fell asleep.
‘The cat was before me, staring. “It could have been avoided, you know,” the familiar call rang through my mind. *** I was back within the clearing. I watched once more as Elis was killed and eaten by the cat. The difference this time, and the others, was that I could see the cat stalking her. Luna didn’t come to save me this time either, nor was I able to break the spell the dream created. The cat finally turned to me and leapt.’
I awoke from the nightmare, covered in sweat. Fluttershy was no longer petting me, and Rainbow Dash was next to her, directly across the bars. “Are you okay? You were screaming in your sleep, and we couldn’t wake you.” Fluttershy asked.
“Yah, I’m fine.” My defeated voice was gone, and replaced with my normal voice once more. My voice changed because I remembered that Jake still needs a father he can look up to, even if that man was in jail.
“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, you were screaming really loud about this Elis, for like, 50 minutes.”
“Yah, it was just a bad dream.” I clarified.
“Good, because Fluttershy was scared for you, you know, but I knew you would be alright.” Rainbow Dash added, trying to save face with nopony.
“So, why are you two still here?” I asked, “I thought I told you all to leave?”
“Sorry, if we are being an inconvenience for you, we can just leave,” Fluttershy said, turning around and starting to go.
“No, no, I’m actually kind of glad that someponies stayed. I think that it helped kick me out of my funk.” I said quickly, causing Fluttershy to stop, and stay.
“Glad we could be of help!” Rainbow Dash jumped in.
I looked at Rainbow Dash, and saw a desperate sort of expression hidden within her eyes. I guess Fluttershy saw it too, because she made her excuses, and left. “So,” I said, “Why were you here? I understand why Fluttershy was here, and didn’t mind so much. What with her doing her best to actively try to help me. But you, I don’t. All you did was let the conversation roll on by you, like you didn’t want to pick a side.” I said it to hurt her, and I guess I got what I wanted, for I could see the expression creep across her face, but I didn’t feel any satisfaction from it.
“Well, you did try to use me.” Rainbow Dash went onto the offensive. I took note of how she used ‘Me’ instead of ‘Us’.
“Yes, I did, and it was wrong of me to do so. I’m sorry for thoughtlessly trying to use you. Can you forgive me?” I apologized.
Rainbow Dash continued her argument, not quite realizing that I had apologized, “I mean who just uses… Wait, what?”
“I said that I am sorry for using you. Can you forgive me?”
Taken aback by the sudden apology, Rainbow Dash stammered for words, “Um, okay… I wasn’t quite expecting you to just give in so quickly… but sure, I forgive you.”
“Great!” I said, changing the mood, and ultimately confusing Rainbow. “Now back to my question, why did you stay behind?”
Still slightly confused, and with her defenses down from the sudden submission earlier, Rainbow answered honestly, “Because I love you.” Rainbow Dash quickly covered her mouth with the realization of what she just said, but didn’t try to take it back, or cover it up with something nonchalant, or ‘cool’.
It was my turn to be taken aback. I wasn’t expecting an honest answer like that from Rainbow, and much less a confession. “Yah right. I thought you, and I quote, ‘couldn’t care less about me’. Part of the whole reason I left, was because you broke my heart.”
Another silence descended upon us. I swear, I have faced more awkward silences in the last 24 hours, than I have in any given week of my life. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t myself that day that Discord appeared. But I do love you, White Wind. Maybe not since the first day I saw you land in Ponyville, and maybe not fully when you created that tornado, and saved me from it, which was awesome by the way, but I do love you.”
The fact that she wasn’t trying to cover this up with anything, made me realize that she was telling the truth. A feeling quickly bubbled up from inside of me. One that I had no trouble recognizing. “I love you too, Dashy.”
We chatted a while longer with idle conversations. Eventually, Rainbow Dash had to leave to prepare for the Weather Patrol in Ponyville tomorrow. I fell asleep soon after, only to be disturbed by the recurring nightmare.
I didn’t see Dashy the next four days, as it was difficult and expensive, or tiring, to travel to Canterlot from Ponyville every day. I had somehow conversed a guard into getting me a rubber ball, which I used to sedate my boredom. The bed had also been placed back into my cell, and I graciously accepted the comfort of a mattress over the floor. I noticed that my meals where better than what I expected from prison food, but if I had figured that it was just how prisoner ponies ate, then I wouldn’t have dismissed it. I didn’t complain that much, as I had a reasonable amount of comfort, and something to occupy my time.
During the time I slept, I always had the same nightmare, it just wouldn’t leave me alone, and they always cut short at the cat leaping at me. I guess that the constant appearance of the dream, helped me stop screaming. The guards would always hear my cries, and comment on them when I was awake, and the fourth day, they had commented on how quiet I was. I had woken up that night covered in cold sweat, and same with the fifth night.
On the fifth day of my imprisonment, Celestia visited me, accompanied by a few guards. “Good evening Your Royal Miss Princess Lady Mare Pony, and what pleasure do I owe for a visit from Your Royal Highness?” I inquired.
“First of all, you can stop calling me that name. Why do you insist on calling me that anyways?” Celestia inquired right back.
“Duly noted, Your Royal Miss Princess Lady Mare Pony, I will not call you Your Royal Highness, anymore. As to why I call you that, I find that making jokes at the beginning of a meeting tends to slacken tensions later on.” I replied truthfully.
I was stared at coldly, before Celestia continued, “I stopped your son from leaving by…”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence, because I stood up on my hind two legs, rushed to the bars, and spat the words, “If you or any of your guards so much as harm a single hair on him, then I swear, even if you control the sun for millions of years to come, you will never see the light it produces ever again,” in her face, all in about 15 seconds. The pure fury that I was putting out at such a quick succession, caused the guards to draw back in fear, and Celestia to wince.
It took a while for any of them to regain composure, but Celestia, I guess, has had thousands of years to be able to adjust to situations like this. “Relax White Wind,” Celestia said, “Your son is fine, and unharmed.” I didn’t relax, and I sure as hell didn’t let up on the fury I was showing. Celestia continued, despite my actions, “I stopped him because, as much as it pains me, and as much as I love seeing you behind bars here, I ended up investigating your claim, and reinvestigating your charges. Your charge of fraud is hereby null, the re-forestation cost has been dropped to 1500 bits, which fits the damage more, and the medical fees for the hurt animals are also null, as surprisingly no animals were hurt.”
Celestia nodded to a guard down the hall that I could not see, and I soon heard the clop, clop, clop, of hooves running on a stone floor. My anger faded instantly, when I realized that it was my son who, as Celestia had said and for what it seemed, was unharmed. She then nodded to the guards who were next to her. They had finally regained composure when my anger dropped, and they unlocked the cell. I dropped to my knees, and embraced my son.
Celestia continued her speech, “As reparation for the inconvenience I have caused, you will be paid twice what you would have made these last five days working for the Weather Patrol in Ponyville, and your fine for forest repairs will be dropped again to 1250 bits.”
Her words registered, but barely. I broke my embrace with my son to look him over, and fuss with him to see if harm truly was not done, and gave him a million and one questions. “Daddy,” Jake complained, “I’m fine, they didn’t do anything to me.”
I trust Jake, and know that he would never lie to me, so I accepted his answer, even if I did pose a few more questions, just to be reassured. “Alright, let’s head home now. I want to hear all about your past five days when we get there.” We walked out of the prison, and Canterlot, ignoring Celestia as we exited.
Author's Note
RAWRG! I want to just skip to the 'A Canterlot Wedding' so badly! But the sixth chapter will be a recap of the past events through Jake's (Red Wing's) P.o.V. Seven will be Jake's five days in Canterlot. Eight, will be an introduction to school and the C.M.C. Nine, an adventure with the C.M.C. Finally at ten, I might get to go back to Mathew's (White Wing's) P.o.V. that is if one of the chapters doesn't get split. And even then, it will be another chapter or two before the wedding. RAWRG!
P.S. Don't forget to read Chapter 4, as this was a double release.
006 Innocence's Recurrence
006 Innocence's Recurrence
006
Daddy took me skydiving on my sixth birthday. I had been asking and asking for him to take me up to a high altitude, and we worked our way to around 10 kilometers. We had been doing it for almost two years now. But recently, Daddy had been acting strange. He kept screaming in his sleep, waking me up, and I would hear him mumble stuff. Stuff about mom sometimes, that usually what causes his screams. But I also hear him weird stuff about ponies, or wings, or lights or being pure white. Usually, when he mumbles about that stuff, he mentions something called Rainbow Dash.
When we had gone skydiving from the ten kilometers, Daddy had been having the nightmares long enough for when I saw lights, I wasn’t that scared. When my parachute didn’t open, I panicked a bit, but it appeared worse than it was, and based on Daddy’s reaction, I could tell that this had happened to him before. I asked him if we were going to die, but got a strange answer of going somewhere and changing, and figured that we were going to where Daddy kept mumbling about.
I think I was right, as we didn’t die, and we became ponies. To be honest, I don’t like being a pony. I feel awkward moving around, the posture that it forces, and how I probably won’t get to eat meat anymore. The only thing that almost makes up for this, is the fact that I now have wings. In fact, I almost didn’t mind being a pony, until I learned that those wings couldn’t let me fly.
“I’ll be right back my little angle,” Daddy started, “Daddy needs to go and talk to a few ponies.”
“But Daddy, it’s my birthday!” I complained.
“I know, but I will be back soon, I promise. And when I come back, I will teach you how to use those wings of yours.” I looked back to see that I did, in fact, have wings.
“Okay,” I said slightly disappointed. “Just come back quickly, okay?
“Alight Jakey, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
I spent most of the time that Daddy was gone, to figure out how to move my wings. I spent next hour that Daddy was gone, and only got as far as moving them clumsily, but was overjoyed at figuring even this out. When Daddy did get home, I showed him what I had, and he taught me how to move them properly.
Shortly after Daddy’s teaching, we had gone to a town, where everyone or rather everypony, was gathered in the town square, to watch a cake get moved. Daddy ended up getting accused of something, and the whole town got angry. I got scared by everypony’s hostility towards my dad, so I ran to him to get comforted. He ended up sending me into a house made of sweets, where I was told I could pick anything to eat. Looking around the shop, I heard my daddy yell at a deafening volume.
Not long after, I was picked out a large chocolate icing cake with a marble swirl bottom, fudge center, and a vanilla top. I decided to wait for Daddy to come and eat the cake with me, because it doesn’t feel like a birthday cake, unless my Daddy is there to celebrate with me. The lady that brought me into the store on my daddy’s request, and told me to pick anything, told me that I could start eating, and even brought over a fork, plate, and serving knife, and cut me a piece. However, I said that I would wait. Daddy didn’t take too long after I picked out the cake, to show up, but we soon enjoyed it.
We ate about a quarter of the cake, and Daddy decided to ask me a weird question, “Hey, how would you like to meet the princesses of this place? I can take you to go see them.
“Really? Can you really take me to see actual princesses?” I asked to clarify.
“Of course! I also kind of owe them a slight favor, and need to see them anyways.” Daddy explained
“Why do you of them a favor?” I asked, quite curious.
“Well, I sort of got one of them angry, and need to make things right. I also need to tell her something.” I accepted Daddy’s answer, and offer. We shortly left the gingerbread house, and brought the rest of the cake to the cloud house, which is awesome because it is nice and soft, and we can actually stand on it!
It had just passed into the afternoon, and we started packing for the trip, that would probably be broken by camping. I noticed that most of the food that Daddy was packing, like breads and greens, where fresh, like they had just been bought. “Daddy, did you just buy that stuff?” I asked.
“To be honest, no I didn’t. These have been here for almost seven months,” he replied.
“Seven months! But they look like they were made yesterday!”
“I know. I find it hard to believe that they are still fresh as well, but a magical world, and nothing can truly be explained.”
Getting that explanation as to why the food was still fresh, didn’t make too much sense to me, but I left it alone. Packed and ready, I dawned a parachute, and was about to leave, when Daddy stopped me. “Let’s eat something besides cake before we go. We will need the energy,” he said. Wanting to get going as soon as possible, I complied, and ate quickly.
Finished with eating, I tried once more to leave, but Daddy stopped me once again. “Hold on there, Jake. Let’s open up that parachute off yours first.” Daddy came over, and opened up my parachute and laid it out, explaining that I will fall less if it is already open.
Finally being able to leave, I ran out of the house, and into the sky. Daddy was right, I didn’t fall at all. In fact, I was boosted up, high into the air by a thermal updraft. I found that, not only with the wind bringing me forward, but flapping my wings allowed me to move faster. Daddy is amazing though… he kept up with me, despite how fast I was going. It soot got dark, however, and we had to take shelter.
We landed within a cave, near the top of this weirdly tall, steep mountain. I was actually able to fly the parachute into cave because the entrance was so big. The cave, however, reeked of smoke, but it was oddly relaxing. *Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle* My stomach growled, and I could feel exhaustion setting in.
Daddy must have heard my stomach growl as well, because he pulled out some bread and some flowers and stuff, and made two sandwiches, one of which, he handed to me. Despite how the original thought of eating flowers sounds disgusting, they actually aren’t that bad.
After eating, we went to bed, both of us exhausted. I soon fell asleep and had a wonderful but weird dream. ‘I was with three ponies my age, a white and purple unicorn, an orange and purple velvet pegasus, and a yellow and red pony. “So what are we going to do today to earn our cutie mark?” the yellow one said. “How about we try paragliding? My Daddy has a bunch of parachutes!” I replied. “That sounds great!” the orange one enthusiastically said. “Yah, paragliding cutie marks. We will be the first ponies to ever have a cutie mark of that!” the white one was bubbling with excitement, realizing this fact.’
My dream was interrupted by something loud. It didn’t take long for me to realize the source. Daddy was screaming in his sleep again, “ELIS! WATCH OUT!... NOOOO, ELIS! YOU DAMNED CAT! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE HER!...” This continued for a good thirty minutes before Daddy jolted awake and sat up quickly.
“Daddy?” I said, worried.
He turned towards me, slightly surprised to see me awake. “It’s nothing Jakey, go back to sleep.”
“But Daddy, you were yelling things!” I told him.
“It’s nothing, just a bad dream. Come on, we need our rest if we want to be awake when we meet the princesses.”
I was reluctant to give in, but I don’t like disobeying Daddy, so I did give in. “Okay Daddy,” I finally said. I laid myself back down and went back to sleep. This time, however, I didn’t dream, and all was black for what seemed like a few minutes.
I awoke to the smell of a warm breakfast, and a warmth that spread over my entire back. I rolled over and opened my eyes to find that my dad had made a breakfast, and that a fire had been built within the cave and is what had made my back nice and warm.
“You ready to meet some princesses?” Daddy asked. “Because we still have about half a day travel, and if we don’t leave soon, we will have to stop again for lunch.”
“Yeah,” I said, yawning and rubbing one of my eyes. “Still sleepy though.”
“Ah, then I give you two choices; one, fly the rest of the way to Canterlot, letting the movement wake you up, or two, climb on my back, and you can rest until we get to Canterlot.” Daddy offered the two choices, and I gratefully accepted the second offer.
I climbed onto Daddy’s soft back, and quickly found myself asleep again as we flew through the air. I dreamt again about the same three ponies. ‘We were within a tree house, talking about something, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying, when I asked them to speak up, they started saying weird things, “Excuse me, do you know where I can find Princess Celestia?” the white and purple one asked. “Why would I know something like that?” I asked back. “And who are you to make such a request?” the orange and purple velvet one asked. “I didn’t make a request, I was answering a question,” I clarified. “Where are my manners? My name is White Wind…”’ I realized that I was dreaming at the mention of Daddy’s pony name, and woke up.
“My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Under the orders of Princess Celestia, you are hereby under arrest for Fraud, and destruction of half a forest.” I heard a voice from in front Daddy.
I stood on Daddy’s shoulders with my hind legs, crossed my arms, placed them on Daddy’s head, and then rested head on my arms. “Daddy, are you in trouble?” I asked.
“No, my little Red Wing,” Daddy said to me after lifting me off him, placing me down, hen meeting me at eye level, “I’m sure that this is all just a misunderstanding that can be cleared easily.”
I trusted my Daddy and his words, so I turned around, about to explore, when I saw the city before me. Words failed to describe it, and it was made worse when I found that I was on one of the higher parts of the castle that was within the center.
I heard my dad’s voice directed at me, so I turned back him to hear what he was saying, “…as to not teach my son, here, to resist authority.”
I soon found myself following Daddy, who was following a unicorn, down into the castle, and to a prison, but was lost within the image of the beautiful city, and the scenery surrounding me. I found myself once again being called out by my dad, “Would you like to go with Mr. Shining Armor here to a place where you can be comfortable while I get this sorted out?”
“No!!! I want to stay with Daddy!” I refused, and the bed within Daddy’s was pulled out and placed against the wall for me. I tried following Daddy into the cell, but he stopped me, and I was forced to be outside the cell. I quickly started moving it up to the bars, to where Daddy was, and then it moved next to the bars the same way that it was pulled out of the cell. I decided to ask Daddy about this later.
The guard left and Daddy called after him, “Don’t forget to get Celestia! I would like to clear these charges as soon as possible!” Daddy then suggested we play a game and I was eager to pass the time, although it only took about five minutes for a group to arrive and go to Daddy’s cell. Daddy named them one after another, “Hello Princess Celestia, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.”
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed reading about Jake's (Red Wing's) P.o.V. as this will continue for the next few chapters.
007
So arriving as a pony with Daddy, eating cake, flying, giant caves, weird dreams (But no weirder than what has happened to me), a place called Canterlot, and a prison. The prison is where Daddy and I are currently with seen other ponies, one of them is a princess, and Daddy is the only one in a cell.
“Hello Princess Celestia, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.” A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane wished to Daddy’s cell. I can only guess that this was Rainbow Dash. Looking at the group, I could guess two others right away, Pinkie Pie, because she is pink, and Celestia, as she had a crown on her head.
My dad talked to the blue pegasus briefly, and I could tell that he was a little uncomfortable with her around. He then called over Pinkie Pie, who, like my guess, was the pink pony, and told her something. Why my dad was uncomfortable, or as to why he told Pinkie something, I would not be able to guess. Soon, however, Daddy introduced me to them, “Everypony, I would like you all to meet my son, Red Wing. His birthday was yesterday.”
I took this as an opportunity to be polite, and reacted as such, “It’s nice to meet all of you, my name is Red Wing.”
The yellow and pink pegasus tackled me, and started nuzzling me. The force, despite being not that strong, knocked me over due to me being complete unprepared. “Oh, you are so adorable!” she had said.
My dad then brought something to her attention, “Um, Fluttershy? You know what this looks like, right?” Fluttershy looked at her immediate surroundings, and realized that she was currently on top of me, and I was still on the bed. She blushed deeply before climbing off, and backing up.
“Oh, um… I-I-I’m terribly sorry, I, um… Oh dear, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.” My dad said my name, and I got the hint, and apologized.
My dad then asked what he was charged with, and why he was charged, only to get the answer that I guess he was expecting. He then said that the six ponies from Ponyville here, could help clear the accusations, however, they didn’t comply, and Celestia ended up not releasing Daddy.
“You guys are just big bullies!” I yelled at them.
“Jake!” Daddy yelled at me, and with my actual name instead of my pony name, which scared me a bit. “While that statement is true, I don’t want you to get in trouble or hurt for speaking things like that,” he continued. Daddy then gave me three instructions. To go home, to tell the people of Ponyville that he was not going to be able to continue lessons, and to enroll in school. I ran off after he finished his instructions.
As I passed through the top end of the staircase that led to the prison, I bumped into a guard. I looked up and saw that the guard I had bumped into, was the same one that took Daddy to the cell, Shining Armor. “I’m sorry Mr. Shining Armor, sir,” I said apologetically. I then tried to get around him, but he blocked my route.
“It’s ok, Red Wing was it?” he asked, and I nodded confirmation, “However, I am under orders to put anyone that comes up before Celestia, into holding. I’m sorry, but this applies to even you.”
I was about to try to get past him, so I could continue Daddy’s instructions, but then remembered that he had told me about an hour ago, not to resist authority. “Okay Mr. Shining Armor.” I don’t think that he was expecting me to give in so quickly, because I could see the slight shock on his face.
“Come then,” He started to walk, and I followed him. We ended up going to a large house with a shield and two swords painted above the door. Inside, I found that it was decorated fairly lightly, one side had only a suit of armor, a fireplace, and a staircase. The other side had a book case, a night stand, a table, a couch, and two swords mounted above the bookcase. On that side of the room, I also saw a window behind the couch, but all you could see from it, was the wall of the building next to this one. “Make yourself comfortable. You must be hungry, so let me make us something to eat, then I will take you to see Princess Celestia.”
Shining Armor then went up a small flight of stairs, and I went to sit on the couch. Well, more like lay rather than sit, but the point I’m trying to get across is that I rested on the couch. I watched the stairs after Shining Armor for maybe four minutes when the front door opened once again, and I looked at it. A pink pegasus with a horn, or is it a unicorn with wings? Either way, a pink whatever walked in, and spoke, not taking notice of me. “Shining Armor!” I could definitely tell that ‘it’ was a ‘she’ from her voice, “I heard that you are here currently, so I decided to pay you a surprise visit!”
Shining Armor walked back into the room, floating two plates, and two glasses of water before him, each with a sandwich on it, but one of them already had a bite out of it. “Cadance! It’s nice to see you. How are you?”
“I’m well. It seems that my surprise visit wasn’t such a surprise.” She teased, then nuzzled Shining Armor. She quickly broke the embrace and grabbed the unbitten sandwich with magic, and took a bite out of it. I looked at the sandwich that was just bitten, and realized that I was fairly hungry.
“Um, actually, it is a surprise, I had no idea that you were coming. And actually, that sandwich wasn’t for you.”
“Don’t tell me that you made yourself two sandwiches, Shining Armor.”
“No! One of them was for me!” I loudly protested, shocking the newcomer, and having both of them turn to me.
There was an awkward silence as I stared Cadance down for stealing my sandwich, and she stared back at me, still shocked by my presence. Cadance soon recovered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there, nor was I expecting you here. I’ll make you another sandwich to replace this one, how does that sound?”
“But it won’t be the one that Shining Armor made for me!” I have been told before that my mind can sometimes briefly become like that of an adult, from my six year old one, when under certain circumstances. This was one of those times, and I was going to use it to its fullest to guilt trip Cadance. And the fact that I am six, allows me to get away with the childish behavior that I was about to use.
“I’m sorry, if you want, you can still have this one,” she offered.
“But you already took a bite out of it!” I protested.
“I’m sorry,” she said. And from what I could guess, she was feeling guiltier than before. “If you want, I can get Shining Armor to make you another one.”
“No! Because if he makes another one, then he would be making it to cover for your mistake rather than him making it just for me!” Sometimes I hate my brief clarity (calling it clarity because I’m just focusing intensely on one goal). Cadance got wise to my ploy when I mentioned the ‘covering for’ bit. I should have just said ‘then he would be making it for you’. Oh well.
Cadance broke the guilty stare, and looked at me knowingly. She then looked at Shining Armor and said in a quiet voice to him, “I didn’t know that you took up a foalsitting job. You must really need the bit to stand to deal with him." She thought that she had said it quietly enough that I couldn’t hear, but he didn’t.
“Hey! I can hear you, you know. And he’s not foalsitting me, I’m here because Princess Celestia told him to take anyone leaving the dungeons before her, into holding.” She had looked at me when I spoke, but now once again turned to Shining Armor, who just grinned defensively.
“Okay, two questions. First, why was he in the dungeons, and how could you follow that order with a…” she turned to me as she didn’t know my age.
“I’m six, my birthday was yesterday. I was in the prison because my Daddy is in jail because Princess Celestia is being a bully to him.” I said defiantly.
“I’ll make another sandwich,” Shining Armor said, slightly uncomfortable with the situation, and left.
“Oh Shining Armor, what am I going to do with you?” Cadance asked to no pony.
“Do you love him?” I asked because I had picked up on that vibe when she thought that she was alone with Shining Armor.
She looked at me, thought a bit, and then decided to answer, “Yes, yes I do.” Whether or she had thought to tell me the truth, or thought to confirm emotions, I don’t know.
“Then why don’t you marry him?” I asked innocently. Cadence had been taking a sip from one of the glasses of water that Shining Armor had brought, both of which had been previously untouched. When I asked that question, she did a most impressive spit take.
Cadance thought again when Shining Armor walked back in. Funny thing, Cadance. When thinking for extended times, she tends to do idle actions, like drinking water. “Shining Armor! Guess what!” I didn’t leave time for him to answer. “Cadance said that she wanted to marry you!” That was twice now that I have seen an impressive spit take today, and both within five minutes of each other.
“Really!” Shining Armor asked, excitedly.
I felt another of my ‘Clarity’ moments come on, and answered for Cadence before anything could be said by her, “Really! She was telling me all about how she loved you, and about what a great guy you are, and how she would love to spend the rest of her life with you.” Ah, revenge can be so fun sometimes. I mean, who takes a six year old’s sandwich? It’s just not cool man.
“Cadance, is this true?” Shining Armor asked her directly, ruining my fun.
There was a moment’s pause before she answered, “Part of it. I did tell this little foal, whose name I haven’t learned yet,”
I interrupted her, “My name is Red Wing.” I remembered to use my “Pony Name” instead of my actual name.
“Okay, I did tell Red Wing here that I love you, but the rest of that stuff, accurate as it might be, I never told him.” Cadance clarified on the situation, and I think Shining Armor missed the “Accurate as it might be” part.
“Wait, so you don’t love me?” he asked.
Cadance was about to say something when I poked her in the side, and rushed to Shining’s side and whispered in his ear, “You missed what she said. She said that even though she didn’t tell me that stuff, it was accurate, you big dummy. If you were going to propose, I think that she just dropped a colossal hint that she will say yes. So do it now, before you lose the opportunity.” I rushed back to the couch and sat silently, smiling, and saw that the pink pegasus unicorn was curious as to what I just said, and why I needed to poke her.
She didn’t have to wait long as Shining Armor knelt down, looked Cadance in the eyes, and said, “Cadance, I would love it if we could spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me?” Shining’s horn was aglow through half the speech, and on the last sentence, a small box, that had originated from somewhere on the bookcase, rushed past Cadance, and opened, revealing a ring.
“Oh Shining Armor, of course I will marry you,” she said, rushing to him and nuzzling him for a while.
I have been told, and I’m quite aware of it too, that I can be very mischievous when I’m either, not with Daddy, or not following any instructions that he gave me. This time, it got a pony to propose to another pony.
Author's Note
Sorry for the late update. School just started and I have been busy with it. I will do my best to continue posting, but it might happen only on the weekends.
008 innocence's Power of Anger
008
I was taken to Shining Armor’s house, by the pony himself. Upon arriving, he went to make some sandwiches. His girlfriend, Cadance (at least I think that it was his girlfriend, or would it be considered marefriend?), came over, stole my sandwich, and I decided that she was an enemy. As an enemy, I decided to mess with her, but ended up getting Shining Armor to propose to her. I know Daddy doesn’t condone me swearing, but damn it that was not how I was hoping it would go. Oh well.
The second sandwich that was brought for me was left and forgotten on the tame to all but me. During the nuzzling that was happening before me, I quietly went to the sandwich, took it, then sat down. Before I took a bite, I hollered at the show of affection, “Get a room you two… oh wait, I’m the one that should go. Continue.” I got up with the sandwich still in my hand/hoof and made for the front door. I don’t know how these hooves can hold anything, but they can.
“Hold on there, Red Wing,” I stopped, knowing that my trick didn’t work, “We still need to take you to Princess Celestia,” Shining Armor said.
“Drats, I should have just stayed quiet.”
“If you were trying to get away, then yes, you should have. Your trick to get my attention off of you by putting it on Cadance almost worked.”
“Actually, I thought of getting away after I had grabbed this sandwich, so like 30 seconds ago.” I corrected while holding up the article of food. I then did something I hadn’t done since sun rise, I ate.
The others realized how hunger they were, being close to two o’clock in time, and we sat down and ate the sandwiches that Shining made. “Let’s go,” I said, finishing my sandwich way before the other two.
“Hold on there,” Cadance said, “Shining Armor and I aren’t done yet. Didn’t your dad teach you to wait for when others are finished? And also, what do you say to Shining Armor?”
“My dad is the only one I usually eat with, and we finish at the same time, even if he has a larger serving. And I would thank Shining Armor if the sandwich he originally made for me didn’t get stolen. I think that you should be the one thanking him for covering for you by making another sandwich for me.” I retorted. Wow, I must really not like her as most every time I have talked to her, I say really complex stuff, simply.
“I will say thank you too him if you thank him anyways for the sandwich at least. And what about your mother? Don’t you ever eat with her?” She asked the question so innocently. Guess I can’t blame her since she didn’t know about her, but still.
When she asked this question, I sort of lost it while still somehow remaining calm and in control. It may not have looked it, but I was seething in anger and hate at both Cadance, and my mother. I turned away from her, and walked for the door. One of the two called for me to stop, but I didn’t. I was at the door, and felt something go through me that took away the anger and hate I had towards Cadance, but the hate I had for my mother still remained, causing the others to come back in higher amounts.
I opened the door, and just walked out, completely ignoring the confused words coming from Cadance. I headed towards the castle, walking calmly, deliberately, and boldly. I saw a lot of ponies stop and stare at this six year hold who was walking down the street extremely passive, but with a strange, venomous aurora about him. I heard a pony behind me talk.
“Princess Cadance! Shining Armor! Can’t you use your magic on that pony? It feels like he could lash out at any second and hurt somepony.” So she was a princess… again, I know I shouldn’t, but shit. Daddy told me specifically to be respectful and on my best behavior around the princesses.
“I’ve tried, but it didn’t seem to work. I will try again though.” I felt another thing go through me, but much stronger, and realized that it was Cadance’s magic. Once again, my anger and hate towards Cadance disappeared, and some of the magic carried over towards the feelings towards my mother. And once again, the emotions came back full force and with a vengeance. But unlike last time, I didn’t have a reason to add to the hate, so my emotions multiplied exponentially. But I also had a slight hate for myself added into the mix, because I felt like I had broken Daddy’s trust by acting rudely to a princess.
I realized it after it all happened, but air was starting to swirl incredibly fast around me, and I didn’t feel a thing, were as the ponies around me were having hats and such blow away from them, and it was getting difficult for them to stand. I continued walking, not observing any of this. I walked up to the castle, Cadance and Shining having difficulty following me, but still able to. Guards surrounded me as I approached.
“Move,” I said. None of them did, but I could see a liquid fly from some of their tails. It was then that I realized the wind was present, but I paid no mind to it, and continued walking forward. It was when they leveled their weapons at me did I truly lose it. I don’t know exactly what happened because I blacked out, but I have been told.
The guards leveled their weapons at me. I stopped my advance, and the guards advanced in slowly, yellow stains ran through most of their tails. “I said move,” I had said. The guard only continued their advance. I had pretended to lay down at this point, lulling the guards into false security to pull back their weapons. The wind was still going, but the circle around me had grown so that they, as well as Cadance and Shining, who were a good 10 feet back, were within the ‘dead zone’.
At the point of them withdrawing their weapons from near me, I leapt at the nearest one, and did a sweeping kick to his head, sending him flying 30 feet into the wall of the castle. The others realized this and went again for the weapons they had just put away. By the time that they even got to their weapons, I had uppercut the guard next to the one I had kicked, and sent this one 10 feet in the air, having him land on a guard on the other side of the circle. After this, I dashed across the circle, and side swept one to the ground, and jumped. At this point, the guards had drawn their weapons, and a few had soiled themselves more.
Within my flip, I passed the guard that I had uppercut’ed earlier, and flip kicked him into another guard. I had now broken the circle into two lines below me. Four had been taken down, and six remained, three on each side. I felt an aurora try to surround me, and it had seemed to work, until I started to fall past it. Guessed from others was that particles of stuff were caught in the magic, rather than me. Another guess that I heard was that it did catch me, but I was too willed (with anger and hate I will add) for it to properly affect me. I hit the ground, sending a rush of wind to catch two guards on the side, into the air and back, and the ones collapsed on the ground slide back.
I felt another aurora surround me, as well as the original. I can tell you that it did slow me down, but I was able to fight through it. At this point, three of the remaining two fled. I faced the one that was still there, and took a step forward. She dropped her weapon, and fled as well. She ran, however, right between Cadance and Shining Armor, both of whom had their horns lit up. I was told that they are probable the 3rd and 4th most powerful magic users, so being able to fend off their layered magic, was quite a feat. To be honest, I think that it was due to the immense rage I was in, and if only one of them was to try to hold me down when I was calm, then it would only take 1/128th of their concentration, and could still do 127 other things at the same time. I was told this by the two whom I faced at this point, and by one of the guards who fled.
I took five steps forward before finally being held down as a third, extremely powerful, and ancient magic layered over the other two. A white unicorn/pegasus landed between me and my two targets. I barely recognized the figure through the haze, but it was enough for me to regain control and perspective. I had a brief inner struggle, but ultimately calmed down by remembering Daddy and his words to be respectful, and on my best behavior in front of the princesses, and I had two of them before me. Even though I absolutely hated one of them, she was still a princess, and Daddy’s words still applied to her.
Let give you a perspective on how angry I was, right before I was restrained. Half of the capital was engulfed in a calm, dead air, while the other half was buffeted by 60+ mile per hour winds, circling the castle. Dust, debris, garbage, and clothing had need picked up, and towered the castle at a four times height. Yah, my anger apparently did that.
When I was able to gain control of my emotions, three things happened. First was that my anger turned to shame and guilt. Second thing was that the wind instantly died, and things fell. Luckily none of the stuff was heavy and was mostly small pieces of trash, hats, and a few dishes. The final thing that happened was that I blacked out again.
I woke up not to long after, I think, but was extremely tired, I forced myself to stay awake, but I couldn’t seem to open my eyes. I started to panic, but calmed down when I heard some ponies enter, and gather around me. A moment’s pause, and they began to speak, “What will we do with him?” I didn’t recognize the voice yet, but it was female.
“We can’t do nothing. Six of my best colts and mares were nearly killed by him. SIX of my BEST colts and mares. They are lucky to be alive with the amount of damage they too, and will most likely be unable to serve anymore. The other four that were there were so fear stricken, that they have resigned, and most likely will not come back. He isn’t even scratched or bruised. And he It took Celestia, Cadance, and my combined efforts to finally stop him.” This voice was male, and based off of the speech, I guested that it was Shining Armor.
“His name fits him well then, Red Wing. Although I doubt that that was intentional.” A female voice I hadn’t heard before spoke. “Red Wing... He was covered in blood. He hasn’t been dreaming during his night long slumber, so I couldn’t enter his mind. What caused him to go berserk like that though?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I had used my magic on him when he was angry. It seemed to work, but the anger just came back stronger. I tried a second time, and felt an anger not directed towards what I was expecting. I think it has something to do with his mother. Because it started when I asked him about her.” I recognized this as Cadance, but I didn’t feel any animosity towards her anymore. I doubt that it was due to her magic.
“I agree with your concerns, but I can’t do anything until I know how his father will react. If his son was capable of this, I doubt that all four of us would be able to contain his father, where he in similar circumstances.” I finally recognized this voice as belonging to Princess Celestia.
I stirred, acting like I just broke my sleep and didn’t hear any of what was just said. I sat up, and felt my head pound, but I was finally able to open my eyes. “What? Where am I? What just happened?” I asked, my stomach growling.
Author's Note
RAWRG!!! not anywhere where I want to be... oh well, i guess i will be doing just Jake's five days in Canterlot. Hope you enjoyed the day and a half that he has been in Canterlot so far.
009
I woke up, but couldn’t move, or open my eyes, but knew that I was in a bed. I heard some ponies walk into the room, surround me and start talking. “What do you ponies believe that we should do about him?” I recognized this later as Princess Celestia’s voice.
“We can’t do nothing! He took out six of my best guards like they were ragdolls, and the other four have resigned and most likely won’t come back. And he isn’t even scratched.” This was Shining Armor.
“Red Wing, huh? That name suits him, considering that he was covered in blood.” I didn’t recognize this voice at all, but it continued talking, “I had tried entering his dreams over the night to find what made him act like that, but he didn’t dream.”
“I think that it was due to me,” Cadance said. “I said something that offended him, and he stormed off. I tried using my magic to calm him, but it just got worse.”
“I agree with your concerns, but with his father, if he were to do something similar, or was in a rage like that, I don’t know if all four of us could restrain him,” Celestia said.
I shifted, grumbled, and sat up at this point, realizing that I was finally awake and recovered enough to move. “What? Where am I?” My stomach grumbled when I said this, and I was slightly confused as to why I was hungry. To my knowledge, I had just eaten, yet I was hungry enough that I felt like I could eat an entire buffet of food.
It was the one that I didn’t know that spoke up, “You are currently in one of the rooms that guests to our kingdom use when on royal business, and it sounds like you are hungry. Want to get some food?” I looked at her, and noticed that she, as well, was a unicorn/pegasus. This one, however, had midnight blue fur, and her mane and tail where like Celestia’s, where it moved, yet the air was calm.
“Sure. It’s weird though, I just ate.” I got out of bed, and had slight trouble standing, as the exhaustion and hunger truly set in. The dark pony saw this, and acted to keep me up.
“Actually, you ate that sandwich about 18 hours again. It’s nearly been a day,” Shining Armor corrected. I was in disbelief because it felt like only a few minutes ago.
My stomach growled again, causing me to forget about time. “Don’t worry,” the unnamed pony said. “I’ll take you to the kitchen, and we can ask the staff to make you something.”
Celestia moved closer to this pony and whispered in her ear. I don’t know what it is with ponies, but I could hear their conversation. “Luna, what are you planning?”
“Relax sister. I plan on watching him, and possibly keep him in line. I think he would be a good student.”
“And what makes you think you can take him as an apprentice?”
“What’s wrong with having a student? You have one.”
Celestia was about to speak again, but I interrupted her, “Do I get a say in becoming a student?” I asked.
Celestia, and who I now believe to be another princess named Luna, stared at me with disbelief, along with Cadance and Shining. “You could hear us?” Celestia asked.
“Yah,” I confirmed.
“But we were whispering at a volume that you can’t hear unless being spoken too,” Luna said.
“Really? Because I could hear it like you where whispering it really loudly. Shining, Cadance, couldn’t you hear them as well?” The two shook their heads. “Weird.” I shrugged and dropped the subject.
Celestia and Luna didn’t drop it as quickly, as they continued to whisper to themselves. “Do you think he was telling the truth? Or do you think he was reading our lips?”
“A very young age to be able to read lips already, but not impossible. And based off of our volume, I doubt that he can actually hear us.” Celestia commented.
I found that Cadance and Shining were also whispering among themselves, “Wow, to think that he could hear what they were whispering.” Cadance said.
“You don’t actually believe him do you?” Shining.
“Well it would make sense. He did hear us when we were at your house.”
I decided that I didn’t like being talked about. So, I started to the door, still hearing there conversations.
“If he was reading lips, then we should make sure that he is, either not in the room, or turned away from us if we talk about important topics.” Luna.
“Shining, he heard us at your house, he probably could hear us now.” Cadance. There was a pause from her as she looked for me to confirm, or so I think. I was almost at the door, and wasn’t looking at them. “Red Wing, where are you going?” she asked, realizing where I was. The others turned to me, realizing that I wasn’t next to Luna or the bed anymore.
“I’m hungry,” I stated simply, allowing them to believe what they will. Exiting the room, I heard only a single set of hooves follow me, and soon Luna had caught up to me.
“You realize that you are heading in the opposite direction from the kitchen,” Luna said.
“No ma’am, I did not,” I responded, remembering that Daddy told me to be on my best behavior around the Princesses. I turned around, and started walking the other direction. “I’m not trying to be rude here, but what are you, Celestia, and Cadance. I mean you are a unicorn, but you are also a pegasus.”
Luna chuckled, “We are Alicorns. It is just one of the many symbols that we are Princesses.”
We traveled to the kitchen in relative silence, only the sound of our hooves and the occasional growl of my stomach would eco throughout the hall. Upon reaching the kitchen and entering, I saw a magnificent sight to my hungry eyes: 60 cooks rushing around, each one either floating dozens of ingredients, or carrying pots full of food, flying to grab ingredients for the ones carrying pots, or cooking food. There was food, in cabinets, on shelves, and on all of the stoves and in the ovens. The entirety of the 30 foot by 50 foot floor was dedicated to either cooking, preparing food, or moving from oven to oven, stove to stove.
We were not noticed within the kitchen for a good two, three minutes, but as soon as one of the ponies did notice us, she bowed and yelped out, “Princess Luna! Forgive our previous ignorance of your presence! We did not realize that you were here! What may we get you?” Her yelp brought our, or rather her, presence to the attention of all the cooks, who also bowed.
Luna chuckled again, this time at the reactions of the cooks, “Rise,” she said passively, “It is not I who is requesting food, it is my apprentice here, Red Wing, who is.”
“Yes Princess Luna,” she said, rising, then turning to me. “What may I get you?”
I wasn’t focused on her currently, as I was facing Luna, “And who said that I would accept becoming your apprentice? I don’t think that I did.”
“Well, it’s either that, or we can put you in a prison cell for attacking our guards,” Luna countered.
“You won’t do that,” I protested.
“Oh, and what makes you think that I wouldn’t?”
“Because, and I quote, ‘all four of you wouldn’t be able to…’”
Luna cut me off, realizing where this was heading, “Okay, we will talk about this later, right now we have some food to get you.” She looked at the cooks in the kitchen, most of whom had stopped what they were doing to watch us. The cooks scattered and resumed their cooking, all except the one who originally stopped. I realized that I was hungry, my stomach growled again fairly loudly.
Turning to the pony who was waiting patiently to know something she get me, “May I please have a sandwich, and some soup?” I asked politely.
“Of course,” the cook said.
“Thank you,” I somehow managed to thank her before she rushed off to fill my order. It took less than five minutes for her to fly back with the requested items in her two front hooves. I thanked her again, but had trouble taking the items. I ended up taking the plate with the sandwich in my mouth, and the soup in one of my hooves.
Trying to move caused the sandwich to almost fall off of the plate, and the soup to spill, so Luna grabbed them in her magical grip, and floated them to a table in a room not too far off, but was still separate from everything.
As I ate, Celestia walked into the room, along with Cadance and Shining Armor. By the time they walked in, I was already finished with the sandwich, and half the soup was gone, yet it was only three minutes since I started eating. Luna spoke to the three quietly, and due to my position, I could not see them. “He heard us speaking about his rampage. He must have been awake during that time.”
“And why didn’t you sense that he was awake?” Celestia asked.
“Because he didn’t dream,” Luna defended herself.
“And how do you know this?” Shining asked.
“Because I called her out on it when she tried to pass me off as her apprentice.” I had just finished my soup, and was still facing the other direction.
“So you can hear us,” Cadance pointed out, “I knew it.”
“So when will you free my Daddy?”
“When we are done re-investigating his charges, then we might be able to let him go.” Celestia.
“Wait, his father is in prison? Why?” Cadance.
“His father is charged with fraud. I have imprisoned him on this charge as he disappeared for seven months, after ‘Selling’ paragliding lessons. However, I am forced to re-investigate because he has claimed that he solved that problem by refunding or adding lessons for free,” Celestia stated. “I have also made sure that his needs are met, and he is also receiving better meals. If I truly have falsely imprisoned him, then I want him to be in a good mood.”
“Back to Red Wing, we need to figure out what to do with him,” Luna said, “I still want to make him my apprentice.”
“Do I still get no say in it?” I asked, interrupting their conversation and putting me back in it.
“You do, but think about it. If you don’t become my apprentice, you won’t have a place to stay, or anything to eat,” Luna countered.
“I can always go home,” I countered right back.
“Luna what are you…” Celestia started, but Luna stopped her.
“Good luck, your house is in Ponyville. That is about 1000 miles from here. A train costs around 200 gold pieces, and I doubt you even have 100. And walking brings you close to the Everfree forest, and without the protection of a train, you might get attacked by a wild creature on your 14 day hike with no food. And at your age, I doubt that you are able to fly.”
“Daddy would get mad if he learned of this.”
“And who says that he will? We are very good at covering up events.”
I thought about this for a while before answering, “I doubt that you would let a six year old actually wander aimlessly without food.”
“Try me.”
I thought once more, and wondered if she was bluffing. I looked at Celestia, Cadance, and Shining, who all looked doubtful and worried, “What about them,” I pointed the three out, “They don’t look supportive of this idea.”
“My words and decisions are final, and going against them, even if the one going against it is also a princess, it is considered treason, and they will be put away.”
I thought for the final time on this subject. Celestia looked like she was going to say something, but Luna always stopped her. Finally, I gave in, “Fine, I guess that I will become your apprentice.”
Author's Note
Please note, Luna is exaggerating and bluffing immensely, because she realizes Red Wing's situation.
010
I was in a room within Canterlot castle. I had just finished eating a sandwich and a bowl of soup. The four “Big Shots”, I guess I will call them, stood in the room with me. I was in a chair at a table, and the others where behind me, at the door, and in a way that made me turn around to be able to look at them.
Luna was pressuring me into becoming her apprentice, “If you don’t become my apprentice, you won’t have a place to stay, or anything to eat.”
“I can always go home,” I countered.
“Luna what are you…” Celestia started, but Luna stopped her.
“Good luck, your house is in Ponyville. That is about 1000 miles from here. A train costs around 200 gold pieces, and I doubt you even have 100. And walking brings you close to the Everfree forest, and without the protection of a train, you might get attacked by a wild creature on your 14 day hike with no food. And at your age, I doubt that you are able to fly.”
I thought for a while. ‘It was true that I was unable to actually fly, but I do have the parachu… Crap, I don’t know where it is currently. She probably won’t tell me where it is, just to support her claim. Also, I don’t really know what direction to go once I reach that really big mountain. Ugh, I guess I have no choice.’ “Fine, I guess I will be your apprentice,” I said begrudgingly.
Celestia, Cadance, and Shining showed disapproving of the methods of Luna, and were shocked that it worked. “Great! First thing first, you will need to know the lay out of this castle,” Luna declared.
She made to leave, and I followed. Celestia pulled Luna aside, “I hope you know what you are doing.”
“Relax sister, I know full well what I am doing.” Luna’s volume of voice was much higher than Celestia’s, due to the fact that she knew that I could hear them.
“Alright, but we will talk about this later.” Celestia got the hint, and spoke up as well.
Luna continued past the others with me following her. I walked out of the room to find that Luna had waited the five seconds it took me to leave the room. “Alright,” she began, “First off, we will start with where you will be staying, and the surrounding area, as well as how to get to the kitchen and dining room.”
“Is the room where I will be staying, the same one where I woke up?” I asked, already remembering where it was. Let me explain a little. When I am introduced to a building, I am able to remember a basic layout of where I have been. I remember landmarks such as hallways or doors, and build myself a map within my head. It also helps if I have to go through it a few times.
“Yes actually, it’s this way.” Luna started heading off to the right of the room we came from. The kitchen was directly across from us, and if I were to go down this hall, to the fourth intersecting hallway, I would then turn right, continue down for the second hallway, and then turn left. My room should be the seventh one on the left. I went over the directions that I created, from a mirror of what I walked, again in my mind.
I raced off ahead of Luna. She was slightly startled by my sudden rush, and instinctively, she rushed to meet me. Only problem, she was on the right side of me, and I think she had forgotten that she was trying to take me to my room. As the hallway approached, Luna made no sign of turning, so when it came, I had no choice but so slide under her legs because I didn’t want to break this pace.
Luna yelped as she realized that I just slid under her, and she finally remembered where we were going. “You little bugger,” she said playfully, “You made me forget what I was doing, running so suddenly like that.”
“Your fault, not mine!” The second hallway came up, and I made the left.
“Wow, you have a good memory. Now what room is yours?”
“Thanks, and that’s easy. It’s this one!” I jumped at the handle, grabbled it, and used it to spin, swinging the door open as I spun. I released my grip and proceeded to bounce off the entry walls, and into the main part of the room. I love how this place works. I landed and looked at Luna, who was standing in the doorway, shocked. “See? What did I tell you?”
“Umm, Red Wing,” Luna said.
“What?” As I responded, I felt a shadow fall over me. I looked up and saw a large griffon, standing over me.
“And what pleasure do I owe this intrusion into my room, and disruption of my nap?” it said, voice gravely and full of venom.
“I’m sorry, I must have gotten the wrong room.” I was barely able to squeak this out.
“I’m sorry? I’m SORRY!?! DO YOU KNOW THAT THE FATE OF TWO CONTRIES REST IN MY CLAWS? AT A SINGLE LETTER, I COULD HAVE THE GRIFFON KINGDOM AND PONY KINGDOM GO TO WAR!” The griffon roared at me.
“Meep” I felt frozen by roar, and the look that I was receiving. I would usually retort, but the aura that this guy was giving off, was one of a killer. Someone who killed and ate their prey. I know that griffons do kill and eat their prey, and that I also eat meat, but I don’t kill my food. I simply cannot express, or express enough, how terrifying it is to feel like prey, about to be killed and eaten.
“HOW DO YOU PLAN ON REPAYING ME FOR THIS!?” He continued, obviously enjoying the power he currently held over me.
“He doesn’t,” Luna said. “The boy already apologized to you for a simple mistake he made. I also wouldn’t dare harm him if I were you.”
“Princess Luna, how quaint. I can send our two nations too war if I so pleased, so you really think that you are in a position to threaten me?” I used this distraction to quietly sneak back over to Luna. I don’t know what it is, but despite being the only red thing in the room, I was able to do it successfully.
“I’m not threatening you, I’m simply warning you. Just from seeing the interactions that this boy has with his father, I can tell that if you were to harm him, not only you, but your country as well would be obliterated.”
“And what makes you think that that could happen?”
“You know how three days ago, a tornado over eight kilometers high appeared, then disappeared, destroying half a forest. And how upon dispersal, it threw: large trees and stones the same size of those trees over both our nations and probably others? Yah, his father did that, and he wasn’t even angry.”
“Then why don’t you lock that man up?” The griffon changed his attitude towards me extremely quickly, and was even showing fear.
“He is locked up,” the griffon relaxed. That is, until Luna continued, “However, for a different reason that might not hold up. He most likely will be out within the next three days or so, and we can’t lock up a person who hasn’t harmed anyone.”
“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t send someone like that to destroy us.”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t send him to destroy you. Why? Because I have no control over him what so ever. He technically is not a citizen, nor is he a personal soldier, therefore, unless he brings harm to someone financially, or physically, within our boarders, we can’t do anything. And with this, we are done here. I wish you a good stay here.” She closed the door before turning to me. “You were so close.”
Luna walked down, two doors, towards the kitchen, before stopping and opening the door, on the same side of the hall. “This is where you are staying. You have a good memory though, and I congratulate you on it.” I stayed silent, still shaken by the encounter. Luna obviously saw this and went to comfort me, “It is okay. Everypony makes small mistakes every once in a while. And those who give you trouble over them are just bullies. Come, let’s give you the grand tour. I’ll show you where my room, as well as Celestia’s room are, and where the library is.”
I was guided by her, one of her wings draped over me for comfort. I was finally able to get over the incident by the time that we reached our first destination, Luna’s room, but I didn’t want to leave her embrace. I enjoyed the comfort that it brought, and it reminded me of how, whenever I got hurt, or was yelled at by someone, he would comfort me, and stay with me until I felt better.
Two things left an impression on my about Luna’s room. One was how it was at the top of an incredibly tall tower, and the other was that it was a swirl mixed design of: vibrant, blue (the same color as Luna’s fur), and pink.
“Wow,” I said, lost within the swirly sea of blue and pink. I rushed into the room and away from Luna, and felt cloud beneath my hooves. I could guess that there was a floor under the cloud because the bed was sunken into the cloud. I ran around, lost in the magnificence and size of the room.
I spotted a balcony, and made for it. Going outside, I felt like I passed through something, and looking back, I saw that the outside was around four maybe five times smaller than what the room was. That was weird, but I guess I could ask Luna about it later.
I saw Luna walking to the balcony and she stood beside me. “I enchanted the room with a dimensional magic to make the space inside larger. It was actually incredibly difficult to preform, takes a lot of magic energy but is self-sustaining, and I can only use it once.”
“Why? How small is it without the magic?”
“Well, let’s go to Celestia’s room and you will see how small this room should be. She didn’t bother using this spell, so her room is its original size.”
We walked down the spiral staircase of the tower, and to another tower just as tall. I groaned and complained “Too many stairs.”
I felt something lift me up, and it placed me on Luna’s back. I felt the rhythmic movement of the Luna’s shoulders as she walked up the stairs, the softness of her fur rivaled that of the clouds this world produces, the warmth generated by Luna (which was greater than my own), and she smelled like something that I cannot place a name too. I felt myself start to drift off due to these factors, and soon, I was asleep.
I was vaguely aware of being placed onto a bed and that Luna was beside the bed. I started to dream something, but it was quickly replaced. ‘Luna appeared beside me, and a new world was replaced the one that was just starting to form. “Hello Red Wing,” the image said. “Luna? Where am I?” “You are currently dreaming. This world around you is based off of my memory. It will take a while, and when you wake up, you will be hungry as we will spend the better part of two days in here, as I will be showing you the layout of this castle. With your memory, you should be able to remember most of it. Let us begin.” The world swirled around me, and I found myself at the lower part of a stair case. The surroundings told me that it led to Celestia’s room. I was about to complain when the world once again swirled, but this time slower, and in a certain direction, up the stairs. “Why didn’t we do this I the first place?” I asked. Luna answered truthfully, “To be honest, I thought of this when you fell asleep on my back.” We reached the top, and I was shown Celestia’s room. We went through the entire castle, room by room, for what I needed to know. I never felt hungry during the dream.’
I woke up, and saw that Luna was beside me, just beginning to wake. My stomach grumbled and I now felt the hunger that should have woken me up way before. “Come, let us go get something to eat,” Luna said, her stomach growling as well.
We walked to the Dinning Room to get some food, and I learned that I was just starting my fifth day in Canterlot. I was glad that we had woken up just in time for a meal, as I got to sit with the “Big Shots”. I noted that Celestia was somehow able to convince two of the guards I had apparently beaten, to stay guards. I could see them behind her, as I ate. “Your Father, Red Wing, is being discharged from prison after breakfast today. After investigating, we found that he, indeed, did nullify our original fraud charge.”
I nearly rushed to the prison then and there, to see Daddy, but was held back by Luna. “We would like to see how he reacts to some news we need to give him before you can see him. I would like to ask you to wait.” I quietly obeyed, but was still extremely excited.
When we were all finished with our meals, Celestia and the two guards that I noted, went ahead of me, to the prison. Luna and I followed close behind. I was forced to wait outside the prison to see Daddy, but was with Luna, who chatted with me, and quizzed me on the layout of the castle.
Not to shortly after, I was finally allowed to go down. I ran to him, and he checked me over, and asked a bunch of questions about my health. “I’m fine Daddy.” Daddy cell, which still hadn’t been open, opened, and he and I left.
011
Jake and I left the prison, with Jake on my back. I noted that he didn’t have his parachute with him, so I would have to get it somehow. “Hey Jake, do you know where your parachute is?” I asked as we walked up the stairs that went outside.
Jake looked embarrassed, “No,” he admitted, slightly ashamed.
“That’s okay, just means that we will have to ask around for it. Besides, I’m sure that there are a limited number of places that it could be.”
“It is indeed, and I am well. Do you perchance know where my little Red Wing here might have left his parachute?”
“Actually, I don’t. He didn’t have it when I met him. Shining Armor might know where it is.”
“Ah, the Captain of the Royal Guard. Thank you, Luna, it is okay to call you by just your name and not use your title, right?” She nodded, and we went to find the Captain.
“Daddy, I think I know where I left it. I think I left it in Shining’s house,” Jake said after we parted from Luna.
“Let’s head there then. I’m sure that we can get directions from someone.”
“Actually, I think I know how to get there.”
“Are you sure?” As I said this, I spotted Shining Armor, walking with a few guards, and decided to put it up as a test. “We could get one of the guards here to take us to his house. I’m sure that they all know where their highest commanding officer lives.”
Jake was determined to prove that he knew how to get to the house in question, and voiced that determination, “No! I want to take you there!” Recap, and note to self: My son is awesome, and if he can actually remember the way, then I have to get him something.
“Alright then, lead the way.” Jake hopped off my back, and walked down the street. From his height, he wouldn’t be able to see Shining with all the maids and butlers running around; the place is quite hectic when no one of importance is around. If my memory was correct, he was heading at least to the outside of the castle.
I followed Jake (who was watching the hallways, and placing where we were in his head), while keeping an eye on Shining. I lost sight of Shining as we left the castle, but I knew that he was also outside. Jake led me through the streets immediately surrounding the castle until we arrived at a building with two guards out front. “It’s this one!” Jake said excitedly.
I went to knock on the door when the two guards stopped me, “What business do you have here?” one said.
I considered my options: tell the truth, lie my ass off and freak them out, or simply ignore them and try to get past. My mischievous side kicked in and I chose the one that would be the funniest to me, choice B. Before I spoke with the guards, however, I whispered to my son, “I’m about to do something that I don’t want you to repeat. When in the middle of it, I will nod to you, and I want you to go knock on the door. Again, DO NOT REPEAT what I am about to do. I don’t want you to get in trouble. You will get punished if I hear that you have copied any of this.”
I then turned to face the guards, “Well, I have been feeling homicidal as of late, and felt like this was a good place to start my murderous rampage. I mean, taking out this pony would cause a huge uproar,” I created a slowly widening grin as I spoke to the both of them.
I then leaned in to one of the guards and whispered in her ear about the brutal methods I would use to dissect and dismember, and then what would happen to each bit I dismembered. Sometimes my mischievous side is just a jerk with a disturbing train of thought. I even think that I went a little overboard with my description, but it was kind of worth it when I saw her reaction.
At this point, my grin was a hysterical, madman’s grin that only this guard would see, and as I pulled back, I saw that she had a look of pure terror. I will need to apologize later, as she will most likely be needing therapy in the near future. She collapsed, holding her head, too afraid to even look at me. ‘Too late to back out of this now.” I turned on the other one, and nodded to my son. The grin I had was gone before I even started my turn, however.
The reaction I got from this guard was one of slight confusion and fear. The fear I deduced was due to the reaction of the other pony. “So, what are you going to do?” I asked the other guard.
“Get reinforcements,” he said in a shaky voice before racing off.
The door opened, and I turned to see a pony that wasn’t Shining Armor, but instead was a pinkish color, with wings and a horn. “Hello?” she said, not spotting the lack of useable guards yet.
“Hi. It seems that my son here has left his parachute here…” This pony looked down at Jake and seemed to recognize him. Before I could finish my sentence however, the guard who was still there interrupted me, gaining a slight amount of composure.
“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! Don’t listen to him, he is crazy. He said that he would murder you.”
Cadenza looked at the pony and saw the fear in her eyes. “If your son is Red Wing, then you must be White Wind. I’m not one to judge quickly, but I also trust the guards, especially when they look as terrified as this. Did you really say you would kill me? And speaking of guards, were is the other one?” The princess said all this with a distrusting tone, and her magic securing me in place.
I ignored the questions being asked at me, “If you distrust me, then don’t let me in. But I ask one of two things: let my son look for and possibly retrieve the parachute that he thinks he left here, or if you refuse, then I will assume you have it, and charge you the 250 bits that they cost.”
Cadance thought for about five seconds before answering, “Fine, I will let Red Wing here search for the item.” Her magic didn’t disappear until after the door closed, however.
“Thank you,” I replied, watching Jake go in to search for the parachute. I then turned to the guard who was still shaking in fear from the gruesome description of pain and gore. Even if she had regained some composure, it only took me turning to her to make her collapse again. I bent down to her so that I was eye level, yet she refused to look at me.
“Look at me, I have something I want to say to you,” she refused and shook her head, despite me saying this in a calming tone. “Come on, I’m not going to hurt you.” She continued to defy me. “Will you please look at me?” I changed my approach slightly, realizing that I was demanding her, instead of asking.
My change worked though, and hesitantly, she looked up at me, fear evident on her face, and she was presented with a caring face. “Look, I’m sorry if I frightened you, and even if that was my intention, I didn’t mean for it to go this far. I from what I understand, you don’t hear or see anything even close to what I described to you, around here, so I can understand your reaction. I took my joke completely too far, and if you need to see a psychologist over this, then I will pay, 100%, for the first five lessons that you go.”
“Joke? That was a joke? How can you call that a joke?” she said accusingly.
“Sorry, from where I grew up, jokes like that where common and few people would bat an eye at something like that. Again, I’m sorry if I caused you any mental trauma. That was not my intent.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you?”
“Believe me or not, your choice. But I will tell you that I would make use of my offer on the psychologist if you need it. Just send the first five bills to Ponyville’s library, addressed to White Wind. Where I live is difficult for anypony to get to, and I have a friend there where I could pick the bill up from. As long as I know where to send the bits to, they will get there.”
“You would trust me with something like that?”
“Of course. Everypony in Ponyville is trustworthy, and everypony I met at the Grand Galloping Gala, while stuck up, never did anything to make me distrust them. Plus you are part of the royal guard, and they probably need to pass some form of clearance in order to protect the rulers of Equestria. So yes, I trust you.”
We finished up our conversation just as Jake and Cadance appeared, Jake with the backpack on. “Ah, there it is. I must thank you, Princess Cadance, for letting my son retrieve his parachute,” I said, bowing. “It seems, however, that I must stay to clear something up,” I looked down at the direction the other guard had gone, and saw that he was returning with reinforcements, one of which was Shining Armor. “Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. It looks like I won’t have to stay for too long.”
Shining Armor, who was leading and had apparently ran here at an incredibly fast pace, was already taking a fighting stance. “White Wing, you dare cause trouble and think that you can kill my fiancé?”
“To be honest, I thought that you would be here instead of her. Wait, fiancé… Congratulations. Anyways, no, I didn’t come here to kill anypony.”
“My guard has told me otherwise, and I have no reason to distrust them,” Shining retorted.
“Nor did you defend yourself when I asked you if you said that you would kill me,” Cadance added.
“First of all, I didn’t actually come here to kill anypony. Plus I brought my son. I would never show him something as brutal as the murder of a pony. Second of all, it was a joke that I took way too far. Third of all, I didn’t defend myself because yes, I did say that I would kill the pony that was here. And back to the second point, it was a joke that I took way too far. And my fourth point would be that I only came here because my son left his parachute here, and with it retrieved, I have no reason to stay.”
“I have no reason to trust you on this, especially when you admitted that you said that you would kill. I am going to take you in, by force if necessary,” Shining Armor threatened.
“Like you would be able to. I heard Princess Celestia say that you, Princess Cadance, Princess Luna, and she, would not be able to stop Daddy,” Jake spoke up. It surprised me because my son never lied, or at least not with me around, so I knew he was telling the truth. It also surprised me because Shining lost some of his composure as it fell into doubt. He quickly regained control, however.
“Interesting to know, however, answer me this: since I got Red Wing’s parachute back, which is what we came here for, then why did I stay here to wait for your group to arrive? I could have just as easily fled.”
Cadance decided to add her two cents (or bits in this case) to the point I just made, “He did say that he must stay to clear this up.”
“What about Swift Sword? She collapsed after you whispered something to her!” the other pony that was originally here asked.
“I-I’m fine. He apologized for the incident, and has even said, under no pressure too, I might add, to pay for the first few psychologist lessons. And I think I will be taking him up on that offer,” the mare known as Swift Sword answered.
“I don’t like leaving stuff unresolved. Even more so when it harms others. And if I was going to kill, I wouldn’t have said that I would stay out here when Red Wing went inside.”
Shining Armor went over the reasons and facts that he was presented with, and relaxed after pondering over them, “I guess when we first met you didn’t resist me when I put you under arrest. I will let you off this once, but if you dare even say that you will kill somepony again, joke or not, I will arrest you.”
“Dually noted,” I responded.
012
“Fine, I guess that I will let you off this time because you didn’t hurt anypony, and have agreed to pay for psychological damages, But if you EVER ‘joke’ about killing a pony again, I will lock you up for conspiracy of murder,” Shining Armor said after a long debate.
“Fair enough,” I confirmed that I understood what was being said, and that I wouldn’t repeat anything like this joke again. I couldn’t help think on how fragile the minds of some of the ponies were, and how I would have to be careful.
I turned to Cadance, and bowed so slightly, that it would be difficult to recognize, “Thank you for letting my son retrieve his parachute.”
Jake followed in thanks, except for the bow because he didn’t recognize it, “Thank you Cadance! I hope that you and Shining will be happy.”
“You both are welcome, and thank you Red Wing. You know, this reminded me of something. White Wing, would you like to come to our wedding?” Cadance said.
“Cadance, why did you invite them? I still don’t trust White Wing here,” Shining interjected.
“Well, since it was Red Wing that finally got you to propose to me, I figured that they should be able to come.”
“I don’t like it. How do we know that White Wing won’t attack anypony?”
“Shining,” I stopped the two from arguing about it further, “I swear to you, I am not going to harm a single pony without a good reason to.”
“And what dictates a good reason to you?” Shining obviously didn’t like the exception within my promise.”
“Attack me,” I diverted.
“What?” most everypony there said.
“I said attack me.”
“Why? And stop avoiding my question.”
“Shining, or even one of your guards, attack me.” I continued to stick to my ultimatum.
One of the guards that Shining had brought charged at me. I side stepped his charge, and tried to knock him over, but he was able to avoid my attack. This time, the guard took to the sky and once again charged at me, this time drawing his weapon. Shining Armor called out to put the weapon away, but it was too late. I remained calm and ducked under his advance. As he flew over me, I jumped and wrapped myself around him, causing him to spin as I forced us down. We slid around ten feet, and Shining and the other guards tensed as they got ready to attack.
I got up off him, and he begrudgingly accepted my help when I offered to help him up. I started to explain, “Something like being attacked is a good reason, or if I need to defend something, specifically my son. Of course I won’t actually incite a fight.”
“Couldn’t you have just told us that?” Shining asked, relaxing when he realized that it was a demonstration.
“Yah,” I confirmed, smiling, “But this way is more fun for me. Oh, and Red Wing,” I turned to Jake, “Promise me you won’t physically fight somepony, unless your life is on the line, and you are unable to escape.”
“Okay Daddy,” Jake confirmed.
“And back to my trust issue with this. You say that you won’t harm anypony, but then you go and fight one of my guards. Before that, you threaten to kill my fiancé, and then say that it was a joke. I can understand, now, why Princess Celestia dislikes you,” Shining ranted off.
“Oh, so you picked up on that too. I thought that I was the only one who caught onto that. Anyways, what do I have to do to dispel this distrust? I don’t like not being trusted, because I am usually very trustworthy, as I follow through on most everything I promise. But I know that trust is very difficult to gain, and it takes time, so I’m not asking for you to trust me right away.”
“Join the Royal Guard,” Shining said almost immediately. He had obviously been looking for an opportunity to get me to join.
“I will think about it, as I still have stuff in Ponyville to do, and that will take time,” I explained.
“After you finish that stuff then, you will join.”
“Fine, but it will take about three months to finish. I have lessons to teach, and each day is filled during the correct times of day for the lesson to be effective.”
“Alright, but you will join after that three months. In fact, let’s make my wedding three days after you join,” Shining must have processed this plan quickly. I came to a conclusion that he must have reached. Me being in the Guard means that he has control over me, and having a royal wedding the day after, means that every important and powerful pony will be there to stop me if I get out of hand. Well played Shining Armor.
“I hope you realize this, but even if I join the royal guard, my top priority is my son. Nothing, not even the threat of death of one of the royal ponies, will change this fact,” I informed him, making my intentions clear.
“When you join the royal guard, White Wing, the princesses are your highest priority. If it is a choice between your son and one of the princesses, you will save the princess,” Shining was making his intentions clear as well.
I stepped up to Shining so that my face was centimeters away from his, “Then I guess I will have to live with not being trusted by you,” I barked at him before turning and starting to leave.
“White Wind,” I heard Cadance call out. I turned to her and she continued, “I know this is a bad time, but I would like to ask you something important.”
“Go ahead,” I gave her permission, slightly curious as to what it was that a princess thought was important.
“Well, you see, days ago, when you were first imprisoned, Red Wing visited our house. I asked him about his mother, and he got very angry,” She explained.
“And what does this have to do with anything?” I asked, wanting to get to the point.
“He ended up going on a rampage and took out six of the royal guards.” I looked at Jake, who looked ashamed. “I was wondering what could have made him act this way, and about his mother.”
“Red Wing,” Jake looked up at me, “Is this true?” He nodded solemnly, “And you didn’t get hurt?” He shook his head, “Then good job,” Cadance, Jake, and Shining, as well as his guards, all looked at me, not expecting this response. My voice started to shrink a decibel with almost each sentence. “I’m glad that you are unharmed, but like you just promised, no more fighting unless you are in danger, and there is no escape. As for his mother, she died when he was two, so I doubt that he has many memories of her, if any at all. She died right in front of me, and I couldn’t stop it. I still have nightmares of that day. Red’s reaction to you mentioning her, is probably based off of my night screaming.”
I looked at Shining Armor once more, and I was able to regain the volume I lacked, "Shining, I will never, I repeat: never, idly watch someone I love get hurt because of me, ever again.”
“Wait, because of you. What do you mean by that?” Cadance asked.
I looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with anypony, as I remembered that she had followed me when I stormed off. My voice dropped again, and the sentence came out as a barely audible whisper, “Exactly what I said. Come on Jake, let’s go.”
Now the party was confused as to who I called Jake, and when they realized that it was my son, they wondered why. After all, I had only called him Jake once before, in front of other ponies, and out of this group, only Shining Armor was there.
I dredged off, my head still down, and Jake in pursuit. “White Wind,” I heard one of them call out. I think Jake looked back but I just continued on, so Jake ran to catch up with me.
“Daddy,” Jake said in a questioning tone.
I realized that it wasn’t fair for me to act like this with Jake, so I changed my outwards appearance. Straitening up, I said in a more cheerful, full tone, “Let’s get home and eat the rest of that cake.”
“But weren’t we going to save it?”
“Call it my treat for you not getting hurt.” I made up that excuse. Truth be told, I wanted it to drown my sorrows a bit. “But first, let’s get something to eat before we head home, it’s starting to get to high noon.”
We ate our meal at the cheapest place we could find, and we still ended up paying 60 of the 68 bits we had. We set out almost immediately after we ate, and I persuaded Jake to be on my back for at least half of the journey home. It helped me focus off of the memories that were dragged up. Yah, I know that the dreams drag them up every night, but they never last as I don’t consciously focus on them.
Jake and I ended up having to stop once again within the cave at the mountain half way between the two towns. I wasn’t expecting the number of ponies around the mountain. There must have been an entire village worth surrounding the base, moving all the debris, and replacing all the dirt and plants that were pulled up.
Getting our camping material setup, I found that we still had food for dinner, and I didn’t have to go gather food. We ate dinner peacefully, and it wasn’t until around sunset that a group of ponies showed up, four to be exact. An earth pony, a unicorn, and two pegasi.
“Hello,” one of them said, drawing our attention to them.
“Hi,” I called back, “And what pleasure do we owe this company?”
The ‘we’ was not lost on them, and they looked around, and spotted Jake. The pony smirked, and I started listening intently to my surroundings. “Well, we were sent to see if you would mind joining us in our efforts to clean up the surrounding area.”
“Daddy,” Jake said, “I hear something like flapping from further in the cave.” The leader, or the one who was smirking, lost his smirk.
Jake had done what I was alert for, and I quickly picked him up, and placed him on my back. “All things considered, I made a promise not to Shining Armor not to hurt anypony. However, if I am unable to leave, then I will fight my way out.”
“Oh, is that right?” The pony that was talking was definitely the leader. “Then I guess this makes it a bit easier. Just give us everything you have, and we will be on our way.”
“I have a better plan. No.” As I said this, three pegasi landed behind me, and on both sides of me. One of the original pegasi landed in front of me and the other hovered above me. The unicorn and earth pony stood back. “You should have just left.”
“Still thinking of refusing us?” the earth pony shouted out.
“I’m trying to raise a good, strong son that won’t easily give in. Of course I refuse.”
“THEN GET BEATEN!” The earth pony shouted.
Author's Note
=P
014
Luna rushed to Canterlot, White Wind within her magical grip, and her mind going frantic. She knew that he was dead, but that somehow, his mind was completely alive, despite it almost fading completely. Had she been just a few seconds longer from casting her spells, he would have been gone completely, no hope of revival.
‘It was strange, there was something within his mind that forced me out,’ she thought, ‘I think that it is also what strangled out his life, but I didn’t sense anything. I wonder if it kept his mind alive enough for me to do this paralysis spell. It defiantly could have just smothered him completely before I even reached him.’ She was thinking as fast as she was flying, and she was almost at Canterlot already, despite leaving only 20 minutes ago. ‘I just hope that Jake doesn’t go on a rampage.’
Upon arriving at Canterlot, she found Shining Armor, who still had the different coat color, confront her. He looked at White Wind, then back at her, “Princess Luna, what is going on?”
“Mathew is dead. Well, his body is at least. I put him in a frozen state before his mind went, so his body won’t age, and his mind will stay. For now at least,” Luna explained, completely forgetting to use Mathew’s pony name, White Wind.
“Wait, Mathew. So you are the pony that he was talking about. Oh well, not the time. How is he dead? There are no wounds.”
“Something smothered his life down to what it is now. Anyways, how did you beat me here?”
“I teleported.”
“Oh, right.” Luna Facehoofed. “Anyways, I need you to go back, and bring Red Wing here. I need this to stay a secret between you, Celestia, and me. I also need to do damage control with Red Wing to make sure he doesn’t rampage.”
“Yes Princess Luna,” Shining Armor teleported away.
‘I’m going to need to explain this to the ponies of Ponyville, and reimburse them for what they paid him.’
I opened my eyes, only to be confronted by darkness. I tipped my head back, and thought, ‘I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately’. The words appeared before my vision, only to disappear again, with ‘having’ and ‘weird’ stay a second longer. The words ‘real of not?’ flashed before me. ‘Like is any of this for real or not?’ I continued to think, the word ‘real’ and the question marks stayed a second longer than the others this time, but the words did appear.
I closed my eyes as a falling sensation, that made me feel like I was falling through water, came on. I opened my eyes again, and I was standing on a beach. The sun shone in my eyes, and I was forced to cover them. I looked around at the beach around me, and saw clear blue water spread out before me, and a beautiful cloudscape before me. Standing about knee deep in the water a boy about 14 years of age stood.
I made towards him, feeling like I knew him from somewhere, but as soon as I did, the water started to recede, and I stopped, seeing a tsunami forming before me. The boy turned around revealing a familiar face that I couldn’t place. He reached out his hand, noting that mine was also a hand, and I rushed to it, only to get hit by the wave.
I tumbled, but stopped facing the boy, who reached out his hand again. I tried to grab it, but a current forced me back and away. I floated to the top, and burst through to find that I was in knee high water, facing a girl, one I knew quite well to be Elis, and she was shouting at me, waving. I waved back, and raced to get to her. As I reached her however, she looked up and gasped. Following her gaze, I saw I figure falling with lights around him. It wasn’t long before I realized that the one falling, was me.
As soon as I realized that it was me, I fell back, gasping as my view changed, and flailing to try somehow to regain my balance. Elis gasped again as I fell, and went into a head dive. I lost sight of Elis, and I relaxed. I broke through water, and dove, spinning slightly as I went deeper. Doing a slow forward 180, I landed on a black platform. I took a step and heard a clicking sound. I looked and the black platform eroded into a flock of doves, revealing a bright, colorful, glass platform.
All around me was dark, and but engraved on the platform was Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Around them was Pinky Pie, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Apple Jack, and Fluttershy. ‘Were am I?’ I thought to myself.
The boy appeared before me, and started walking towards me. “Who are you?” I asked.
“Dad? You don’t recognize me?” he said in a confused voice. I recognized the voice instantly.
“Jake,” I whispered, unbelieving of what I was seeing. I closed the distance, and embraced him, only to receive the same response.
“Mathew!” I heard an ever to familiar voice call out. I tensed and slowly turned around, tearing up when I saw who it was.
“Elis!” Jake released me from the hug and I ran to her, practically tackling her down in joy. Something didn’t feel right, however.
“Red Wing? What are you doing?” I turned to see Rainbow Dash. I turned back to Elis, only to find that I was hugging empty air, furry arms and hooves making a ring. Tears continued to fall. Out of despair this time.
“Rainbow Dash,” I called softly. She walked to me, and placed a hoof on my shoulder.
I was then tackled by something. Looking at what tackled me, and what was sticking to me, I found it as a white coat, rainbow mane filly, no older than six, maybe seven. “Who is this?” I asked Rainbow Dash quietly.
“That is our daughter! How could you forget your only child?” she accused.
“Daddy!” she said, snuggling against me.
“Only child… My only child is Jake.”
“Who?”
“Red Wing,” I clarified.
“I don’t know anypony named Red Wing.”
“Then what about…” I turned to where Jake was a moment ago, but saw nothing.
“Daddy?” the filly said, turning my attention to her. “What are you doing?”
I turned to Rainbow Dash, but found her missing. I turned back to the nameless filly and found her, as well, missing. I heard footsteps once again, and saw a dark figure materialize before me, although I couldn’t make out a definite form.
“Welcome, Mathew, White Wind, Demon Wheels.” This last name caught my attention. I hadn’t been called that name in 20-22 years, ever since I quit racing to settle down.
“Who are you,” I asked quickly.
“I am the one who will call you. The one who will bring about both calamity and peace.”
“Who. Are. You,” I asked more seriously, thinking that it would hurt Red Wing.
“Don’t worry, I will not harm your son. You are here to be warned, and here to train. Your warning is this: Beware the princess. The one who knows her best, will be right. Now, for your training.” This figure moved away, expecting me to follow. I didn’t.
“The princess, which princess? And who knows her best?” My questions remained unanswered.
“You have much training to do. And remember my warning, it will help you.”
“What kind of training?” I asked, knowing that I wouldn’t get a straight answer.
“Glad you asked. I will be teaching you how to control that currently passive ability of yours.”
“Passive ability?” I asked, slightly confused.
“Controlling the wind. I gave you that ability when I brought you here. I made you a pegasus because of your adrenalin loving,” It explained.
“Wait, you brought me here? But I was able to choose to go back.”
“I let you think you could choose to go back. It was only to bring your son here. I pushed you away so that you wouldn’t be conflicted when you stayed.”
“I will ask you this one more time, Who Are You?”
“To learn to control your ability, you must first be aware of it,” It said, dodging the question completely.
“Why are you avoiding my questions!” I yelled at it, angry.
“I am only telling you what is needed, White Wind, now back to awareness. I want you to jump and splay your wings.”
“Why should I do as you say? And why call be White Wind when you know my real name?” I asked.
“Simple. Because if you don’t, then you will never be able to see Red Wing again. And I didn’t say your real name because you go by White Wind, do you not?” It explained.
“What do you mean by not being able to see Jake?”
“If you are unable to complete my training, then I won’t send you back, and I will break both my, and Luna’s, spell that is preserving you, and you will truly die. Now enough of this, jump, and splay you wings, and note how there is currently no wind.”
I finally decided to comply, just to see what would happen. So I jumped, and spread my wings. “Nothing is happening,” I said as I floated down.
“Now do the same thing, but try to gain altitude.”
I sighed, and gave it a try. I jumped, spread my wings, and flapped a few times. I felt an updraft catch me as I flapped my wings, and was launched way up into the air. I was going to float down, but decided to move around. I started going forward, and felt the wind push me. Turning, the wind never once left my back.
I noticed something in my peripheral vision, and stopped to find out what it was. “Congratulations,” I heard, “you have just become aware of it. The next step is to learn how to use it when you aren’t flying,” the thing said, and I knew it was that blob.
“And how do I do that?” I asked needlessly, as it was probably going to tell me anyways.
“First of all, we need to be on the ground.” The platform rushed up to us and stopped a foot from us. I landed quickly afterwards, and It continued speaking, “The key to this, if you didn’t notice, is intention. That is what will allow you to use the ability when you aren’t flying. If you use it correctly, then even magic will have a tough time holding you down.”
“Is it because using magic is also based on intention? And can, through slight movements and placements, be off put?”
“Yes, and I believe that you have experienced this before when you first arrived. Your son has also used this technique, when he fought.” The area around me changed and I saw my son fighting the Royal Guards, and end up beating all ten he faced. He was finally restrained by Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armor. “He used the wind to form a barrier against magic, and because wind is undetectable, they didn’t realize what was happening, especially since neither of you physically show signs of being affected,” It explained as the scene unfolded.
“Interesting. Now, why tell me this stuff, but not over stuff like who or what you are?” I asked
“His intent was to be able to move freely. Had he intended to escape the magic, which he ended up doing, then it most likely would have not worked, and it happened here.” The scene finally ended when Jake I caught by Celestia. “And just so you know, the princesses are called Alicorns.”
“I think I get it. Intending to cancel magic with wind will result in failure because the wind isn’t constantly there, allowing the magic to slip through, and once it has ahold, then it can’t be countered. But if you are intending to move freely, then the wind is constantly there because it has to block not only magic, but any debris that it encounters as well. The fact that he fought, even if what looks like subconsciously, gave the wind protecting him a second purpose. It gave him enough strength, or force, to do all that he did, even throw the guards,” I reasoned out in a reasonless situation.
“That is correct. Not let’s see if you can use this theory.”
Before I knew it, things where being thrown at me. I started blocking them, but the wind only diverted the things that I saw, leaving the ones that came from behind, to strike. I realized that I needed to change my intent, so I focused not on blocking, but on getting to a certain point. At I moved to this point, the wind’s behavior changed and I started hearing the things that came from behind, hit the ground. Once I got to the point however, the things once again started hitting me.
“Concentrate. You almost had it there. Just change the intent slightly,” I heard the thing I had yet to make any identification with, say.
I started moving, not knowing where to go, but wanting to get there as fast as I could. Without realizing it, the wind once again protected me. I stopped, and realized that nothing was hitting me, and that the stuff that continued to be thrown at me, diverted, and missed.
“Congratulations. Despite the rough start, it took you a total of 63 days to get here, actually listen and follow directions, and finally learn how to use your ability.”
Author's Note
This end to the chapter feels slightly rushed to me, but it also works. I could have dragged his "Training" session out longer and fixed this, but it would have also felt like ranting if I did. Please tell me what you think. Also, I put a major reference to something in the very beginning with White Wind. First person to correctly identify it, will receive a mustache. When it is correctly identified, I will post the video of it.
015 Life's Awakening (Multi-perspective)
015
“I think I get it. Intending to cancel magic with wind will result in failure because the wind isn’t constantly there, allowing the magic to slip through, and once it has ahold, then it can’t be countered. But if you are intending to move freely, then the wind is constantly there because it has to block not only magic, but any debris that it encounters as well. The fact that he fought, even if what looks like subconsciously, gave the wind protecting him a second purpose. It gave him enough strength, or force, to do all that he did, even throw the guards,” I reasoned out in a reasonless situation.
I was being forced to train on how to use my apparent “passive ability”, being held within my own mind, by a mysterious dark blob of a figure, and when I reasoned this out, the figure praised the explanation and re-enforced the statement.
I didn’t quite like the figure as it wouldn’t announce itself, and it was keeping me from my son. The only reason I complied with it was to get back to Jake.
Going back to the recap, I worked for what seemed like an hour, realizing the ability, using it, and figuring out how to use it to protect myself, no help from the blob.
When I did finally get how to use it correctly, the blob thing said, “Congratulations. Aside from the 42 days you wandered about in your subconscious before arriving here, and the six days it took you to finally comply, it took you a total of 15 days to figure out this technique. All for a grand total of 63 days.”
“63 DAYS! IT HAS ONLY BEEN THREE-FOUR HOURS AT THE MOST!!!” I yelled at it, not wanting to believe what it was saying.
“That is just your perception of time. In reality, your mind has been weakened, and temporarily shrunk, leaving it to process and think at a rate that is undetectable to anypony who tried following it, unless they followed for over a week, continuously. You know, safety measures and all.”
“WHAT THE FUCK! YOU BASTARD!” I shouted. I lunged at it, going at impossible speeds right from the start. If my mind was slowed down, then I would speed it back up. The blob was taken aback at my sudden outburst and speed. It moved, to the left, but I followed it, intending to go faster and faster. I felt no resistance against me as I went along. I nearly caught it, multiple times even.
“Stop this foolishness!” It commanded, but I didn’t follow the command this time. I felt something break, and my consciousness started to fade, yet I continued my goal.
The more I went around on the glowing platform, the quicker that it went past me. I ended up starting to go past it in under a tenth of a second, and the thing was at least a mile long. I continued to chase the specter, but it went up, into the black abyss that surrounded the platform. I flew up, going continually faster. I felt my consciousness start to return as I flew, nothing slowing me down.
“You are stronger than I thought,” I heard the voice say from somewhere below me, “Good. You will be useful when they come.”
I ignored the voice, no longer concerned with catching it. I felt my mind restore to its former self, and then, a dull pain across my body. With the pain, a sound of something crumbling. I continued to feel a sudden, rhythmic pain, accompanied by the sound. I realized that all around me, there was no longer any darkness, and with the end of the rhythmic pain, I stopped. Looking around, I found myself once again in Canterlot, but there was a purple force field around us. I looked where I just came from, and saw a rather large hole within the top of the castle, going down dozens of stories. Something was coming out of the whole. Something I saw as similar to the blob within my mind, and I prepared myself.
As it came out, however, I saw it as Luna, and remembered that the thing had said something about itself and Luna placing the same spell.
“How long was I dead?” I asked Luna when she approached. It looked like she was having difficulty reaching me.
“About 62-64 days!” she shouted.
“Fuck! I knew it! That thing wasn’t lying.”
“Are you producing this wind?! Wait, that thing, what are you talking about?”
I realized that the wind that I was using in my mind, had transferred over to this world, releasing my intention of going faster, as I had achieved my goal, the wind died almost instantaneously, and Luna, who was flapping fairly hard against the wind, quickly closed the distance before regaining control.
“Yes, I think I was,” I replied. I was about to answer the second part, but was interrupted.
“Daddy!” I heard Jake call. Looking for him, I saw him on the balcony of the tower I first landed on when I came here. I then saw something I may forever loath and cherish, Jake flew to me, nothing helping him stay aloft (except for maybe the wind).
The nurse in charge of checking up on White Wind felt a slight breeze. Thinking it was coming from an open window, she went around, checking each one. For each one checked, however, the wind picked up. Thinking that somepony was playing a trick on her, which happened often and always turned out to be one of the princesses, she checked the room thoroughly. Finding nopony else within the room, aside from White Wind, she went to check him.
At that point, however, Princess Luna burst into the room, also attempting to reach the same pony, also struggling against the wind that forced most of the in the room to spin violently. Before either of them reached the body that had been laying in the only bed in the room, stood with all spells on it broken, jumped, and flew through the three foot thick concrete floor at speeds that could have broken the sound barrier, and continued through the other 32 floors that with relative ease.
At this point, the nurse fainted from the shock of her dormant patient, stand up, and literally break through enough footage of stone work for three defense walls. Luna on the other hand, followed.
Luna was walking down the hallway, about to meet with her sister, who was currently in her room, preparing for Day Court. Red Wing was currently with Celestia, learning about the history that Luna was absent for. As she walked, she felt something break her spells that she placed on White Wind. She knew that she had reinforced the spells multiple times, that Celestia had even placed a few, and for them all to break at once took a tremendous amount of magical power. She diverted from her path, and made for the room White Wind rest in.
She was glad to the extent that his room was in the center of the castle, just behind where the court sessions took place, because it was one of the most easily accessible rooms within the castle, being directly between her room, and Celestia’s room.
When she entered the room, her current worries were put to rest, while new ones arose. White Wind wasn’t in danger of dying, but he was producing a wind similar to what Red Wing had produced, except much more powerful. Almost as soon as she entered the room, White Wind stood, and proceeded to drill though 96 feet of stone, leaving a crumbling trail after him.
“Well that’s new,” Luna said as the nurse fainted. She had to wait for the wind to die down, and for the stone to all fall before she could even attempt to follow. When it cleared up, however, flew into the open fairly easily, but hit the torrent of wind that White Wind was still creating as soon as I exited.
Struggling to get to him, White Wind yelled a question at her, “How long was I dead!”
Luna was taken aback, not expecting him to be aware that he had been dead, “Somewhere between 62-64 days!”
“Damn it all. That thing wasn’t lying!”
“Will you stop this wind?” Luna continued to shout, “Wait, ‘thing’, what thing?”
The wind stopped, and Luna saw that White Wind was about to answer when he was interrupted. “Daddy!” Red Wing shouted. He was at the balcony of Celestia’s room and when he was spotted by his father, he jumped off the balcony and flew. Luna could see the mental pain that missing his son’s first flight and watching Red Wing’s practiced flight caused White Wind.
Celestia knew that Luna was coming to get Red Wing from her. The two princesses had arranged it so that she would have Red Wing in the morning up until she had to go to day court, and Luna would take over for the rest of the day. They worked this out for two reasons. First one was to keep Red Wing occupied and busy so that he didn’t have much time to think about his father. The second was so Celestia could teach Red Wing about the stuff her sister couldn’t, like the history of the past 1000 years.
It was nearly time for Luna to arrive, so Celestia could go to day court, when she felt the spells she put on White Wing, which she did to her sister’s persuasion, snap. There was no warning about it, no testing of the spells strength or of the other spells placed, just a pure, clean break, like it had destroyed all the spells at once with ease. Whatever the thing was that broke the spells, Celestia could feel that it was a formidable being. She made sure that Red Wing was occupied, and stayed with him.
Almost five minutes later, the castle shook, and a loud, deep, grumbling sound was heard and felt from where they were. Shortly after the shaking started, a fierce wind arose. Celestia couldn’t stop Red Wing from entering the balcony by the time she realized where he was going. As the filly went left the room, the wind died down, and Celestia heard him shout ‘Daddy!’, before flying to meet with him.
Shining was organizing the mass amount of extra guards. It was part of his job to make sure that the civilians were safe, and the threat against the princesses forced him to post guards at every door, and on most every roof. Everything was declared clear, and he renewed the force-field, causing his head to ache painfully.
It was about time for Celestia to be heading to day court, and Twilight and her friends where arriving at any time now, but he couldn’t go see his sister, as he needed to go check on the princesses. Currently, he was on one of the high walkways by the front gate, and he needed to travel down to the main hall and meet Princess Luna at the stairs of Celestia’s tower. Making for the stairs that lead down to ground level, Shining felt the ground violently shake, followed by a high torrent of air. The source of the torrent was easy to find, as it came from the center of the castle.
White Wind. At least Shining, realizing that White Wind was now awake, could get him to join the RG right away. He could use two excuses: one that the princesses reimbursed those who bought lessons from him, the other to pay for damages. When the wind died, Shining saw Red Wing fly to his father.
Rainbow Dash had just arrived with her friends at Canterlot. They were forced through a spell that left a tingling sensation throughout her body. Upon entering the city, they were confronted by a high winds, exclusive only within the field. The wind die quickly however, and she thought nothing of it. The only things currently on her mind was the Sonic Rainboom for the wedding, and even that was put into shadow to one thing: seeing White Wind, who she thought was currently still in his death-like state.
Author's Note
Hurray for multi-perspective!!!!
016 Life's battle (White Wind vs. Celestia)
016
I burst through the center point of the Canterlot Castle, wind rushing all around me, yet I felt nothing. I asked Luna how long I was dead, and got a reply of about 63 days. Also being made aware of the wind by Luna, I was able to consciously stop it. I then heard Jake call my name, and I saw something that will forever live in infamy for me: I saw my son fly to me with semi-practiced ease.
Meeting him half way, I embraced him in a hug. “Daddy! I missed you so much. They wouldn’t let me see you in prison at all!”
“Interesting. I don’t remember bei…” I was cut off half way through my sentence by one Your Royal Miss Princess Lady Mare Pony.
“White Wind! I am sure that you don’t want to go straight back to prison after breaking out so thoroughly. I can tolerate a few things, but others I cannot.” I looked up to see a white unicorn/pegasus, or as what I now know, an Alicorn, if that blob thing was correct.
“Ah, if it isn’t Princess Celestia, or as I know her, Y.R.M.P.L.M.P. How are you doing? And if I feel like I can tell my son about my…” Once again, I was cut off.
“Imprisonment. Of course! You have every right to tell him about that. However, other information should be limited due to it being sensitive. I’m sure that you understand,” Celestia said.
I stayed silent, staring intently at Celestia. She stared right back with the same intensity, if not more. It soon became a war of glares, with me matching and exceeding her stare, and her returning the favor with even more intensity.
“Daddy?” I head Jake say.
I broke my glare, and returned my focus onto Jake. “I’m sorry Jake,” I whispered to him, “It wasn’t fair of me to be gone for so long.” I turned my attention back to Celestia, “Well, that escalated quickly,” I said to her.
“Yes, yes it did,” Luna jumped in, “Now, I don’t know about any of you, but I know Celestia has places to be right now, and I have plans as well.” Celestia and Luna made to leave, and Jake started to follow after Luna. Why? I did not know. But I intended to find out.
“Red Wing, hold on. Why are you following Luna?” I asked him.
“Because…” Luna started to reply before I stopped her.
“Red Wing. I want my son, Red Wing, to answer.” At this point, Celestia had stopped to hear our conversation.
“Because I’m her apprentice,” Jake said truthfully.
“And how did this come about?”
“I asked him and he said that he would,” Luna said quickly.
“Princess Luna. I do believe that I am asking my son these questions, not you. No disrespect, but I would rather hear this from him than you, or anypony else for that matter. I also doubt that you want to get me angrier than I already am, by lying to me about my own son,” I concluded, my voice completely calm, which I think scared the princesses slightly.
“She forced me into it, saying that I wouldn’t have anything if I didn’t. When I said I could just go home, she told me about all the difficulties that I would face, and how the train costs 200 bits!”
“You aren’t lying right? I just have to be sure so I can base my actions accordingly.”
“I don’t lie Daddy,” Jake said defensively.
“That’s a good boy. Now I want you to go into the castle, so I can have a private talk with the princesses,” I said loud enough for Celestia and Luna to hear.
“Okay Daddy,” Jake said before immediately spotting the hole I made and went for that.
Upon Jake entering the castle and leaving sight, I spoke, my voice level, my face deadpan, “So you forced him into being your apprentice, without even asking me about it. Hell! I would have said ‘Go ahead! Having the princesses of a country be my son’s teachers would be great!’” my voice raised ever so slightly in pitch, “But no! You psychologically forced him to!” my voice dropped back into its original octave, “You know, lying to me, I can understand, and I won’t even get even the slightest bit angry over it. But lying to my son... is something that I cannot, and will not, forgive.”
At this point, both Luna and Celestia were at attention, on guard for anything that might happen. “We didn’t have a…” Celestia started.
“Celestia, and Luna, I suggest you pick your next words very, very carefully. This once, I don’t think that I can tolerate anyone lying to me,” I said, my voice as level as when I started talking.
There was a pause before Luna spoke up, “We didn’t think you would agree with it.”
“And that makes it okay?”
“No, but we thought that he would go on a rampage,” Celestia said.
“Celestia, I thought I said not to lie to me right now. I know for a fact that you held him here because if he had gone to Ponyville, it would have raised many questions that you wanted to stay down.”
Celestia and Luna both stayed silent for a few seconds before either of them spoke, and unfortunately for them, they both spoke at the same time, “We didn’t have a choice,” Celestia said.
“We should have talked to you,” Luna admitted.
I think my eye twitched. The first time that my face broke composure during this conversation. I took a deep breath, “Luna, thank you for admitting that. Celestia,” I thought about moving extraordinarily quickly, and I was aware of the wind start to flow around me, “Celestia,” I flew to her in under a tenth of a second and whispered into her ear, “I thought I said not to lie to me right now.”
Shining was running through the castle. Why didn’t he teleport? Well, because most every pony runs (or flies) when they can. Plus Shining needed the time to think of what to say to force White Wind into joining his guard right away. So, he ran up the stairs that would take him to the roof of the castle.
‘I have to somehow convince how to join, while keeping his propriety of the princess’s lives at equal or greater priority than his son. I could tell him that I will place a few guards to watch over Red Wing. I would be even more hard-pressed than he was now, to try to scavenge up a few extra guards to protect him, but White Wind could take their place. After all, he did successfully evade his guards back at the mountain, and he also proved that he can fight effectively right before he left Canterlot. I think as long as I can get White Wind to believe that his son in safe, then I can get him to join.’
Shining was finishing his thoughts when he reached the roof. What he saw, he didn’t mind to much as he saw no threat emanating from anyone. He saw White Wind, who looked completely calm, talking to Luna and Celestia. The only thing that threw him, was that Red Wing was nowhere in sight.
Intent to find him, Shining started to look around. His search lead him to the hole that White Wind had created, and was surprised at the diameter. It was a good ten feet across, in a near perfect circle.
Incredible sudden wind pressure forced Shining to go into alarm. Looking up, he didn’t see White Wind where he was earlier, but luckily he was at an angle where he was semi easily spotted. Right next to Celestia.
Shining never took his eyes off of White Wind when he cast a spell. This spell changed the color of the purple protective dome to black, alerting every guard within the bubble to immediately get to the castle, that the Princesses where in danger.
He watched as he was joined almost instantly by the other unicorns, who teleported, followed by the pegasi, and then the earth ponies. Thankfully more than half the guard was pegusi, so they were able to thoroughly able to surround White Wind from every side and angle.
Rainbow Dash and her friends where just reaching the castle. Twilight was in a rather horrid mood, Rainbow Dash was slightly depressed, but didn’t show it, and everypony else was cheery, and excited to partake in the wedding. They reached the castle, and Twilight started to shout, but was cut off by a sudden wind. Almost immediately after, the area darkened slightly as the orb that was around them grew dark.
Rainbow Dash was confused as to why the area changed color, but she knew this wind. It had the slightly unnatural feel that was created whenever White Wind did one of his stunts. “White Wind,” she whispered softly, joy emanating from the two simple words.
Her joy was soon replaced with curiosity, and the urge to fight, when every guard that they had passed on the way to the castle, as well as a couple hundred more, all flew, or rushed, or simply appeared, to the roof. The cloud of guards was so thick, that it became difficult to see anything but another guard if you looked up into the mass, which had formed a ball shape around a specific area. Rainbow Dash caught a few glimpses of movement, however, before the ball completely formed.
The sky turned black, yet light was still being filtered though. Right after I had whispered into Celestia’s ear, I uppercut her in the throat. She flinched away before the punch connected, so I hit her in a slightly less dangerous stop, the jaw.
I didn’t give up on my attack however, and quickly spun around in a circle, aiming to kick her in the side with a hind leg. Celestia was able to recover from the sudden assault, and materialized a shield that blocked the kick, and due to force, was held there until she pushed my back, and she grabbed a lance from a guard with her magic, and thrust it at me, forcing me to back.
Now armed with a lance and a shield, Celestia charged at me, magic shield forward, lance to the side. She sliced at me from the side with the lance, and I rolled over the blow. I was followed by the lance, however, and I used change in directions to ‘jump’ off of the weapon.
I evaded the shield, and barrel rolled around her, hooking one of her wings with my foreleg as I went past. I dragged her down before knocking her to the side with a powerful kick that sent her just to the outside of the sphere that still needed the top half. I followed Celestia in the path that I had just kicked her, and ended up waiting for her to reach the edge. Unfortunately, she regained control over her flight, and curved around the inside of the mass of guards.
I felt a few things deflect off the wind barrier. Looking behind me, I saw that four guards had thrust their lances at me. Unfortunately for them, two of them lost their lances, the other two had theirs broken. Celestia and I came to a standstill, and I made my way to the center of the sphere, where luckily, the hole I had created earlier was directly below.
With the area growing dark, I would soon be at a disadvantage. As the last few ponies closed up the sphere, plunging us into total darkness aside from Celestia’s aura, I threw the lances that I had, making sure that no air circulated around them. When the area truly became dark, I stopped the wind, leaving a dead space within the darkness, and I stopped my flying, dropping through the hole that I was over.
I don’t know if any of you can guess how quickly this battle actually took place, so here is a guide. By the time Celestia had grabbed a lance, the ball consisted only of unicorns. When I grabbed her, half the ball was formed. When I dropped, the entire ball was formed, and earth ponies were just arriving. The whole process took only one and a half minutes.
I found Jake quickly, despite the darkness. I went to him, picked him up, and whispered to him, “It’s okay Jakey, let’s go now.”
Jake didn’t argue, and barely made any sound as I placed him on my back, and flew down the rest of the holes to ground level. Only at this point were lights still on. I made my why out of the castle, and spotted Rainbow Dash and her friends.
“Hey there Rainbow!” I shouted to her, causing her head to snap towards me. She flew towards me at speeds that I don’t think even I have reached before. This flight ended in a tackle, throwing an unprepared Jake, up into the air. Rainbow Dash landed on top of me, her forelegs wrapped tightly around me, and I was on my back face up. I extended my arms past Rainbow Dash.
“Oh White Wind, I thought that you were dead! But I felt the wind earlier, and I knew that you where okay,” she said.
I caught Jake and said, “It’s okay, Daddy’s got you.”
Rainbow Dash, apparently thinking this was directed towards her, responded, “Actually, I think it is I who has got you.”
I ignored this comment like a sensible person would, and placed Jake down onto his feet, “Go along now, and say hi to everypony. Rainbow Dash, how are you?”
Rainbow Dash looked around and saw that I had just placed Jake down. She started getting defensive over her misunderstanding, “You’re a jerk, you know that? You let me think that you were talking to me. You know how embarrassing that is?”
“No I don’t. But you are the one who tackled me down, and is currently on top of me. No offence, but I think that the position you are currently in is more embarrassing than that misunderstanding. If a newspaper were to get a picture of this, we would be front page as ‘Couple has sex in front of Canterlot Castle’.”
“Daddy, what is sex?” I heard Jake ask.
“Sex is what to adults who are in love do, and it sometimes results in pregnancy, which results in a child,” I answered. The six ponies who were gathered looked at me with slight disbelieve and desgust. “What? He has a right to know. And if I’m not truthful with my son, how can I expect him to be truthful to me? I also didn’t go into detail. I could have told him…”
“Okay, just stop. I don’t want to hear it,” Rainbow said. It’s odd, she hasn’t gotten off me yet.
“WHITE WIND!” Hurray for Royal Canterlot Voice!
I looked up and saw Celestia flying down angrily. “Hi!” I shouted back, waving to her, a cheerful expression on my face.
“ARE YOU HAVING SEX IN FRONT OF MY CASTLE!?” she shouted. The RCV is very loud.
The ponies around me cringed from the volume, even Jake. I, however, just continued to smile and wave. “No, I think that this would be considered rape. I swear, I came out here, said hi, and found myself being tackled into a hug, with this pony on top of me,” I laughed at my own joke.
I am glad that everypony else was still recovering from the RCV, but thanks to Rainbow Dash still not having gotten off of me, she heard me, and punched me in the shoulder, “Hey, it’s your fault for STILL not having gotten off of me,” I then faced Celestia, and saw that her guards had already surrounded me once more. Rainbow Dash finally got off me, and I stood up. “All things considered, Celestia, I am not accusing Rainbow Dash of rape, as it was a joke, and an easy one to make.”
“I DON’T CARE ABOUT THAT! YOU WILL PAY FOR PICKING A FIGHT WITH ME!” she roared.
I turned from her and saw that both Jake and Rainbow Dash were within the ring made by the guards. “Rainbow Dash, will you take Jake out of here? I don’t want him, or you for that matter either, to get hurt,” I asked her. I watched as she got Jake to follow her out of the guards, who, thankfully, let them pass.
“We will defiantly talk about this later!” she shouted over her shoulder.
I watched them as they left. I caught movement in my peripheral vision, and acted upon the movement. I reared up, and high kicked the pony that tried to attack me from behind. I sent the poor earth pony flying, and, despite what the guards might think of me, I raced to her, and caught her, “Swift Sword, we meet again. It isn’t the wisest decision to try to rush at me from behind in a high tension setting like this,” I set her down and spoke to Celestia, “Celestia, do you really want to fight me? I mean, how is your jaw, your wing, and your ribs? They must hurt right now, even if you used magic to heal yourself.”
I felt a powerful magic descend upon me, then two other magics of high scale settle upon me. I felt hundreds of low powered magic fall on me. “Overkill much?” I said under my breath.
Author's Note
Sorry for the day late update (yay rhymes). As compensation, enjoy an extra 1000 words.
017
I felt a powerful magic descend upon me, then two other magics of high scale settle upon me. I felt hundreds of low powered magic join the other four. “Overkill much?” I muttered under my breath.
Celestia walked up to me and, in her normal, calm voice, said, “You know, White Wind. The last ones that attacked me ended up on the moon. Before that, in ice, and before that, in stone. No pony has dared attack me since. You know why?”
“Because you rule over a country, control the sun, and will lie to somepony who has directly told you not to lie to him, and who warned you that there were consequences, AND already knew the entire story that you were lying about? Your sister, of whom had returned to this country, what, a year ago after you banished her to the moon, had more sense than you, and I’m guessing she has had less social skills than you, for being gone for so long,” I tiraded, “Overall, Celestia, you were in the wrong there, and totally deserved the beating that you received.”
“He is right, sister,” Luna said, stepping up. Her horn was the only one within the mass of guards that was not aglow. “And although I don't condone his actions, I don't condone yours either. You are the one who faulted first here.” I felt about half of the weak magic falter, and disappear.
Shining stepped up and joined the conversation, “What about that promise you made me? The one where you wouldn’t harm anypony.”
“Didn’t you hear Shining?” I asked, “I’ve been in prison for the last 70 days or so. I never made you a promise while in prison. I also still need to be invited to this wedding of yours. I hear that it was my son who finally got you to propose to Princess Cadance after all. Don’t you think I should be invited?”
I was catching Celestia, Cadance, Shining, and Luna all in their lies. Luna already had apologized, so I guess I was and wasn’t catching her at this point, as well. The four caught on to what I was doing almost immediately and Shining, knowing where I was heading, and has heard about the dangers of my psychological warfare, backed off, and ordered his guards to do the same. To my pleasure, all but one of the magic auras holding me broke.
“Celestia, think. Your sister never held me in her magic, your Captain of the Royal Guard even has freed me. The only pony left, is you. I would suggest that you…”
“Shut up. You assault me, and fight me. Did you honestly think that there would be no repercussions?” Celestia waited for me to answer, and when she got none, she continued, “I should banish you, or sentence you to death.”
I remained calm, and silent, never once changing my slightly smug expression. I think this just ticked her off because she closed the distance between us, and hit my jaw with surprising force. My head snapped to the side, despite the magic holding me. The magic forced me to look back at Celestia, which was unnecessary, as I would have still looked at her with the smug expression still on my face, anyways.
She hit me again, and my brain rattled. Still, I had the smug expression on my face, and she forced me to look at her, just to see it. She kept beating me, over and over, only to be shown the same expression. I would not back down.
After about 12 hits, my face surely was bloody, and I could feel the blood pouring out of cuts and bruises on my face, and within my mouth. “You done yet?” I asked.
She hit me again, and Shining stepped in, “CELESTIA! That is enough. Any more won’t get you anywhere.”
She stopped, and looked at me, growing anger only hinted to, in her visible eye, as she saw that my expression had changed to that of a large smile, mocking her. I was thrown in Shining’s direction and released from the magic grip. I couldn’t adjust due to the fact that I was only half conscious, so I rolled, then skid painfully to a stop at Shining’s forelegs.
“He is your problem now Shining. He is either to be put to death, or to become a guard,” Celestia said, before walking away.
I attempted to get up, but my balance was off, so I ended up stumbling and fell. I decided that I would get up, not giving Celestia what little victory she could have achieved, despite her already winning over my balance. A guard tried to help me up and support me, but I pushed them away. I stood, and felt that I was going to fall, so I spread my wings, and the wind kept me balanced.
I stood still, getting my feet (Or hooves) under me. I retracted my wings, and stood still for a few more minutes, gaining my balance back. When I looked around, able to keep myself upright, I noticed that my son, and the other six ponies, where gone, along with most every guard.
I looked at Shining and said, “May we head to the hospital wing? It looks like I will be joining the Royal Guards sooner than I anticipated.” My jaw hurt as I spoke, and I think I had a fractured jaw. I realized, looking past Shining, that the bubble around Canterlot had turned purple again.
He had an expression that I couldn’t recognize, and without speaking, turned around, and walked away. I follower, thinking that we were heading to the hospital wing. We, however, arrived at the barracks after only seven minutes, and only then did he speak, “We will get you fitted for armor, then you will be shown where you will stay. I have been told, and I’m sure that the nurses here know as well, that unless you have broken bones, you will not be treated. We will get you to the hospital for a checkup after you are fitted and shown your bed. I will place a few guards to guard Red Wing, and you will fill in their current places.”
Shining left and a Pony with a cutie mark of a smiths hammer came and took my measurements. It is strange, I never would have thought that the suits of armor were custom made. Anyways, when the smith was done getting the correct measurements for the armor, Swift Sword came in and told me that she would be showing me my bed.
“It’s weird. We keep ending up meeting each other,” Swift Sword remained silent, “Have you gone to a psychologist yet?” she still remained silent, “You know, if I don’t know, then I can’t pay, or reimburse the cost,” I pointed out. She still refused to talk. Talking still made my jaw hurt so I wanted to keep it down to a minimum and I think that my jaw actually was fractured. Her refusal to talk disobeyed that. “I guess if you followed my instructions like I asked, then Twilight has the bills. I will ask her for them. I will have to retrieve my house sometime soon.” At this point I was just talking to myself.
Finally we had arrived at the location that my bed was. It was to the right of castle, entering from the front. Within the maze of barracks, we ended up going to row 12 of 30 and column three of ten. I was surprised by the amount of barracks that was hidden within the mountain. It literally was dug within the mountainside, and had enough room to house several thousands of soldiers. From what I could tell, there was only around 600-800 actual soldiers within the city.
“Your bed is the one on the top of the third bunk down to the right,” Swift Sword said. She immediately left, and Shining Armor entered.
“Good, you made it. Now let’s get you that checkup,” Shining said.
“Alright, by the way, where is Red Wing, I want to see him,” I replied, “I will also need to speak with Twilight, and head to Ponyville for a day. I need to retrieve my house.”
“And why would I do you this favor?” Shining asked, “I have no reason to let you do any of that.”
“Well I do have promises I have to keep. Like paying a certain pony’s psychiatrist. I can’t do that unless I have records of cost, address, and so on and so forth. If I didn’t pay, then I could be charged or sued. I’m also guessing that Swift Sword is mad at me because she ended up having to pay for the psychiatrist, and thinks that I am a horrible pony for not keeping the promise I made.” I laughed a bit to myself, “I just keep adding onto my debt. I need other sources of income, other than this Shining, and currently, I am broke because I don’t have access to my money. I would think that to avoid another complaint, the princesses paid the citizens of Ponyville the amount that they paid me for paragliding lessons, so I will need to reimburse them for that as well.”
“And how would you know that they paid for those expenses? That was kept secret, and you even just woke up with very little contact with anypony.”
“One words, Shining: logic. I reasoned out that conclusion. It’s part of how I figure out most everything. This place, however, is illogical to me. Therefore I still haven’t figured most of it out. I should go to school to learn, or read some books. My son probably knows more about this world than I do. In fact, I know he does, as he has had the Princesses as his mentors,” I had gone off onto a track that brought me to this realization, “See Shining, logic. I get to conclusions based off of stuff I know. I should learn some history about this place though.”
“I understand logic, White Wind, and you will probably benefit from learning some history.”
“Yes, I probably will, and it seems that you may understand logic, but you don’t know how to apply it, anyways, looks like we are here,” I said as we approached a door with large, red cross painted on it. Have I ever said that I hate talking? Yeah, I hate it even more when everything I say makes my jaw hurt.
Walking into the room, I saw painted a shade of red that matched the red on the door, and oddly enough, would have matched Jake’s fur color. The nurse turned to us and gasped at the sight of me. She rushed to me, obviously intending to patch up the cuts on my side and face.
“We are here for x-rays and bone repair only, Nurse Redcross.”
“But he…” she started to say before I, myself, cut her off.
“It is fine Ms. Redcross. They don’t cause me too much pain. A majority of my pain is coming from my jaw, especially when I speak. It may just be bruising, but it might also be a fracture.”
“W-well okay, I guess. Come over here,” she said, leading me to a bed. I laid down on it, and she cast a spell. It is kind of amazing seeing a single spell cast, and the entirety of my skeletal structure appear on a screen.
Like my thought, there was a fracture along my jaw. Well, actually it was more like a spider web of cracks throughout the entirety of the jaw bone. Not a single bone, elsewhere in my body, was broken. The nurse, and even Shining gasped at the sight of my jaw on the screen.
“And you have been talking with your jaw this fractured?” Redcross asked.
“He has,” Shining replied for me, “What I’m amazed at is how he was able to stand the pain. Most of my men would have been unable to bear the pain that something like that causes.”
The nurse cast another spell on me. Not sure what it did, exactly, but it took away most of the pain. I tried speaking, but I couldn’t even move my jaw. Well, I will be going without talking for a while.
Author's Note
Sorry for the late release. Been pre-occupied.
018
An image of my bone structure was transferred to a screen. Looking over the whole thing, I heard Shining and Redcross gasp as they saw the only bone injury that I had sustained from Celestia’s beating: a spider web of fractures along my jaw bone. One more hit from Celestia, and it probably would have shattered into the tens or even the hundreds of pieces that the fractures outlined. I silently thanked Shining for stopping her when he did. The nurse cast a spell on me, numbing my jaw, as well as keeping it from moving.
“Don’t worry,” she said after casting the spell, “The spell is only temporary and will wear off in about a day. It does three things: numb the pain, keep you from moving the affected bone around, and speeds up the natural regeneration process.”
“Have any milk?” I asked, only to get a disgusted look from the nurse, “Or any dairy products. The calcium should also help my bones repair.” I don’t know if you have ever tried speaking without moving your jaw, but it makes the sound come out slightly muffled, so I had to repeat what I said a few times.
When she finally understood what I was saying (took about three tries), her look changed to that of a confused one. “Calcium?” she asked.
“Calcium,” I confirmed, not wanting to explain stuff right now, “Anyways, I need to talk to a few people, and retrieve some stuff. Shining, let’s go; Nurse Redcross, thank you.” I would have thought that the ponies would know about vitamins and minerals, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
I left with Shining right behind me, only to end up beside me. “You have no idea where you are going, do you?” Shining asked.
“Nope, not at all. Now, where can I find Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Red Wing? I need to talk to a few of them,” I admitted.
“Pinkie Pie is in the ceremonial room, Applejack is in the kitchen, Rarity is in one of the towers, Fluttershy is in the courtyard, Rainbow Dash I’m not sure where she is, Twilie is probably checking in on everypony. Red Wing is probably with Princess Luna.”
A nerve twitched under my eye upon hearing the last part, “Let’s see Red Wing first, may I know where they are?”
“They are probably within the library,” Shining replied.
“I think I know where that is. It’s by the stone garden, isn’t it?” With a confirmation, from Shining in the form of a nod, I decided to have a little fun.
Silently, and with not so much as the hint of a breeze, I thought about getting from here to the library without detection. This intent seemed to work as I sprinted down the hallway, covering about 17 feet a stride, and leaving Shining hard-pressed to catch up to me. I would have to remember this intent later.
Muscles sore, and skin feeling like it was about to spontaneously combust, I exited the building and took to the air. It took all of five seconds before I was nearly tackled by somepony, or rather, multiple ponies. Dodging them all, I saw that the guards had taken notice of my speed, and probably assumed that I was trying to escape. Well, I didn’t want what I was about to do to be wide spread information, so I lead them on a chase. Up, down, though, around, over, and under. Anything and everything to lead them places that exhausted them. They constantly through spears at me which I caught and discarded at safe locations. The chase worked, in sorts. I ended up leading them all around the castle, never once leaving the area, but whenever one fell away, another took their place.
“WHITE WIND, YOU DARE TRY TO ESCAPE?!” Ah, the Royal Canterlot Voice, never gets old. The guards all froze, while I turned to Celestia, stopped, and waved. Lazily flying up to her (and with a spear in my hoof that I had forgotten about), as I couldn’t project my voice, I saw her tense up, and felt her magic take hold of me.
“No,” I said, only to not be heard clearly and asked again, “No. I was not trying to escape.” This time I was able to say it a bit louder, but it was still muffled.
“Speak properly White Wind,” Celestia warned.
“I can’t,” I said. This situation was not in my favor currently as I couldn’t communicate properly.
Celestia came closer and said, right in my face, “Speak clearly.”
Despite her threatening tone, I was slightly relieved that my original parameters for this conversation. Responding, I felt like a broken record, and in part of that, I was, “I can’t. My jaw is magically frozen in place to let it heal.” I spoke with as much clarity as I could and luckily was understood.
“So why were you trying to escape? And don’t tell me that you weren’t.”
“But if I tell you that I was trying to escape, I would be lying.”
“Then what were you doing.”
I felt the magic holding me release partially release me, and I looked behind me to see at least 50 exhausted guards. I turned back to Celestia, “I would say that I was leading an exercise, and I would be telling the truth, lying. It turned into an exercise, but my original goal was not escape, but to see my son. I would have gone there, but these guards decided to try to tackle me, so I took them on a little exercise. Seems like most of them can’t handle a 300 kilometer fly going at 96 kilometers/hour,” said, smiling happily
Something tackled me from above with insane force, and held onto me without letting go. The spear went flying, and hopefully didn’t end up hitting anypony. It took my full wing-flare, and a heavy updraft, for me to regain balance and stay aloft. I looked to see who it was that tackled me, and caused me to lose a good 400 meters of altitude.
“Hello Dashie,” I said, my annoyance thinning slightly. I have been getting better at annunciating my words, despite the frozen jaw.
“Hello White. Dude, there is no good spin of your name,” said the aforementioned pony.
“Sorry, about that.”
“Why? It’s not like you chose your name,” she said.
I felt compelled to correct her on that, but then looked past her. I found that Celestia was nowhere to be seen, nor any of the guards who had chased me. I figured that she left, either knowing that she would stick with me, or having a deal with her to keep me here. I decided to trust Celestia, or Rainbow to be more accurate, and chose the first one. I made a suggestion, “Want to help me scare the shit out of somepony?”
“Who?” Rainbow asked, extremely curious, and still refusing to get off my back.
“A pony that is in the library,” I eluded her question, and got her even more curious.
“Who?”
“Promise you won’t ruin it if I tell you.”
I could swear that a little bar appeared her head labeled ‘Curiosity’ and a line within it went from half way to max, to about three times larger than the original bar. No? I exaggerated again? LIES! I CALL LIES! Still no? Fine, it was an exaggeration, but you didn’t hear that from me.
“WHO?!”
“What are you, an owl?” I asked pointlessly. After getting a frustrated look, I continued, “I will take that as a ‘No White Wind, I will not ruin the scare,” and tell you. It is the pony that is probably with my son right now.”
“You mean Princess Luna!” Rainbow cried, or at least tried to. You see, I quickly covered her mouth so she couldn’t get to yelling who the pony was.
When she settled down, I spoke, “Hey Dashie.”
“Hey what?”
I had decided to do something about the fact that Rainbow was laying on my back, all curled up and comfortable, while I was trying to stay in one place and gain some altitude, however ineffective. As soon as she responded, I grabbed her head and pulled it closer to mine. I moved my lips to her left ear and whispered, “If you are going to lay on me, I suggest it not in the air.” When I finished, I used her head as leverage to get her entire body off of mine.
This rather startled her, as she wasn’t expecting this, especially not after the innuendo I snuck in. It took her a few seconds of spinning through the air to realize what had just happened. When the initial shock faultier, she regained her balance and stopped her momentum. “What was that for?” she yelled at me.
“I will tell you if you can catch me,” I teased before racing off in the direction of the library.
“Oh, it’s on,” I could barely hear her as I was a good distance away.
I made sure to stay at a speed where she could catch up, and sure enough, she did.
She reached out to touch my back to show she had caught me. I pulled my wings into my body, however, and stalled, evading her reach, and dropped about ten feet before continuing on. I could hear her complaint from directly above me. Expecting a dive from her current position, I barrel-rolled to the right. As expected, she had dived right past me, missing be mere inches. “You will have to be less predictable my dear Rainbow,” I called out.
Responding to my call, she dove to the ground, going into a Sonic Rainboom, and pulled up right before hitting the ground. She weaved, with precise control, between the ponies crowding the street below before pulling up and ahead of me. “Oh, so this is how you want to play, huh?” I called out once more. She continued to pull ahead, showing no sign of slowing or turning, and I went into my own ‘Sonic Rainboom’.
The trail that I left, instead of a rainbow, was that of visible wind. I was trailing a line incredibly violent wind that didn’t leave its bounds. I was catching up to Rainbow, and drew near her. Our destination nearing, I was directly above her this time. She swooped up, nearly running into me at sonic speeds.
‘Not bad,’ I thought to myself as I stopped dead to avoid the pony. I dropped down to the parapet walkway, limiting Rainbow’s attack options, and continued to run towards the library. I was covered from below, and partly on my right. Due to the cover, attack was limited to only the front and from behind, that is, if Rainbow didn’t want the possibility to run into the stone.
I was close to my goal, and all that was left was to go across the open area to the tower. I paused, and looked around. I saw no Rainbow Dash in sight, nor did I see a rainbow trail, so I made my run. I got about 87 feet from the walkway when I was poked from behind. I will not lie as I did yelp.
“Got you,” Rainbow said, giggling slightly from my reaction, “Now tell me why you threw me.”
“Simple, because it was getting difficult to stay aloft,” I answered.
“You didn’t have to throw me.”
“But it was more fun that way. Besides, you learned a good tactic and show trick. Anyways, we are here, you ready to help me scare a certain pony?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think we should scare…” A warning glare from me caused her to shift her sentence from saying the pony’s name, “I don’t think we should scare this pony.”
“Rainbow, are you scared?” I asked in mock astonishment.
“I’m not scared of anything. I just don’t think that this is smart,” she defended.
“I knew it, you are scared. If you don’t want to help me, then you don’t have to help. I will say this, however, this pony is doing something that involves me, and without my consent. They will get my consent, but they still should ask. That is my true goal here. The scare is just a little fun mixed in.”
Rainbow thought a bit before speaking, “Fine, I’m in.”
Author's Note
Sorry about the wait. Looks like I will be having new update days as Monday and Friday.
019
I was about to head into the Canterlot Castle’s library, but was pressuring Rainbow Dash into helping me. Finally I had gotten her to actually agree to help.
I started to explain to her what my plan was, and how she could help, “First of all, I plan on getting Red Wing away from Luna. To do this, I would like you to talk to Luna about why you were taken away from the castle entrance, and what it had to do with me. It is crucial that you push for an answer. This will hopefully have Luna send Red Wing away, as to avoid him getting angry. I’ve heard what he did once when he was angry, and it wasn’t very good. Although I know he won’t do it again, I am hoping she won’t.
“Once Red Wing is away, I will sneak in and begin my scare. Hopefully, if I am right, I will be able to do what I have planned, and move a lot of stuff without being traced, or an aura being present, and no, I will not be using magic, but wind. Now let’s begin, shall we?” I finished my explanation without giving to much away, but enough that I wasn’t questioned further.
We walked into the library together, and soon came upon a room where distinctive voices could be heard. Unfortunately for my plan, Shining Armor was there.
“…will probably be heading here. I don’t know where he is now, and most of my guards only know that he is with Rainbow Dash. Princess I implore you, be careful as he might…” Shining was cut off by Luna.
“Shining Armor, I do not need to be lectured on this subject. Especially not with Red Wing here.”
“My apologies, but I must make sure that no harm will…” Shining paused when Rainbow Dash entered the room they were in. Shining began to speak again, “Hello Miss Rainbow Dash. What can I do for you?”
“I was asked by White to retrieve Red Wing. I’m also kind of curious and would like to ask you two about earlier today,” Rainbow said, walking past them and drawing their attention away from the door.
“And where is White Wind now?” Shinning asked.
“He just asked me to get Red Wing and bring him to the castle, saying that he would be getting his house, and be back before the day ended. Now tell me what happened earlier today? Why did you remove us from the castle entrance earlier?”
I thanked Rainbow’s improvisation, but also disliked it. It meant that I would have to get my house later and travel about 1000 miles in under six hours. “I don’t think this is the place to talk about that,” Shining proclaimed, trying to save some reputation.
“Oh come on, White is my Special-Somepony, I have a right to know this.”
Luna sighed, “Red Wing, will you please wait outside for us?”
“Okay,” Red Wing called out from somewhere in the library. I saw him from my hiding place as he trotted out the room. Now was the time to act.
I focused my intent on getting some books and creating a powerful air circulation, undetectable from the front, before the two in question, then forced books into it. It is actually fairly simple to control wind when you know how to; it is all just about the right intent. Mystified by the aura-less, strait movement of books, Luna took a step forward, and I released my vortex, causing all the books to fall in place. The sudden change startled the two ponies who didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t give them time to rest as I created the same thing behind them, creating noise as to draw their attention. Luna started grabbing the books with her magic as the books started moving, trying to figure out what was going on. I dropped the books being carried by wind and moved to another spot off to the side. I started to create multiple vortexes.
A voice sounded behind me causing me to jump and lose my concentration and the books to fall, “White Wind, what are you doing?”
The other two in the room turned to towards me and my unknown assailant. “White Wind, why are you here; I thought you were getting your house,” Luna pointed out.
“Well I am getting my house. Through the same way that I moved those books, with wind. As to why I’m here, it is to lecture Luna on actually asking, instead of apologizing but still doing whatever it is you did that caused you to apologize.”
“I thought that you said that it would be great if we taught your son.”
“I said it would be great if you taught my son AFTER we talked it over. He is still my six year old son, and I still have my rights as a father to have a say in his life.” I finally look behind me as to who it was that gave me away, and what do I find but the same pegasus who I keep running into, “And Swift Sword, I’m starting to dislike you.”
“Dually noted,” she responded.
“Now Luna, I would love it if you continued to teach my son about this world, but I will need it to be cut short so that I can spend time with him, and teach him about where he is from as well, even if I am working at this job,” Luna understood what I was saying, and Shining, for the most part, did as well. “Now if you will excuse me, I have some things to take care of; primarily talking to a certain sister of a pony within this room.”
Shining doesn’t trust me, which is understandable and extremely evident in his next five words, “Swift Sword, continue your assignment.”
“Rainbow, will you help me find Twilight Sparkle? I have a matter to discuss with her. Thank you Luna for this compromise, and Shining for the job, and Swift Sword for, well, actually I have no reason, but thank you anyways. Red, come here, we are off on an adventure!”
Jake rushed me and tackled me quite skillfully within the air. I am not ashamed to admit that he did cause me to stager from the force he put out. He snuggled into the dip between my shoulder blades, and I left, Rainbow Dash quickly taking the lead.
It only took about seven minutes to find the pony in question due to shouting that could be heard from the library. We found her just as she pounded a table, causing several drinks, owned by her friends, to spill, “Maybe there shouldn’t even be a wedding!”
These words caught me. These were words that I had heard somewhere before, but I refused to let the memory surface. I was quick to reach the pony who had said those words, and ask for an explanation, which I got, “Everypony I know is completely ignoring me. Princess Cadance is not who I knew her as, and nopony will listen.”
I almost went off onto a thinking stage, but quickly decided against it, putting my own previous resolve ahead, “Interesting. Anyways, I have two things to ask you: first is if you received some bills addressed to me, and second is if you will teach me how to read.”
“Okay, random questions, but yes, and yes. However, I expect you to teach me about yourself,” came the response from Twilight.
“Fair enough. How does tomorrow after the wedding practice sound?”
“I keep telling everyone, this wedding shouldn’t even be happening!”
“I know, but there is not much you can do about it. Anyways, I need to be going now. Rainbow Dash, I expect to see you tomorrow as well.”
I took off, leaving the group in question, to question about what I was doing. Of course, Swift Sword continued to follow me. I ended up at my bunking area, where I spent the rest of the day playing games, and catching up with Jake. Through the games, I was able to teach him about Earth.
It didn’t take long for the mock-wedding to roll around the next day. I was one of the guards who was to supervise the main hall where the couple would walk down, and so I stood there, no armor as of yet. Jake was with Luna, learning, so I felt comfortable knowing he was in good hooves. It took all of five minutes for something to end up disrupting the scene, and it ended up being Twilight, screaming her head off about Cadance being Evil.
The entirety of the hall emptied except for Twilight and me. I walked to Twilight, needing confirmation before I hesitantly followed the advice of the pony who trapped me for 60 some odd days. “Twilight, how well do you know Cadance?”
“Extremely well. Her current behavior is unlike any that I knew her as.”
“Twilight, I need you to be sure about this… is she evil… is she a fake?”
There was almost no hesitation before Twilight answered, and I went off because of it, yes, she is.”
I sprinted down the hall, 100 feet a stride, until I reached Cadance, and tackled her, holding her down with one hoof over her wings. She cried out, and my ‘favorite’ two ponies showed up.
“White Wind, what are you doing to my fiancé?” shouted Shining Armor.
“Let her go White Wind,” Celestia threatened.
“You know, if you listen, it could end up saving you. I mean, who knows this pony, and by that, who had spent the most time with her in the past?” I started a little tirade.
“My little sister, Twily.”
“Exactly, now who do you think would be the most likely to spot a change within that past behavior?”
“Get him off me, he is hurting me,” Cadance demanded, wanting to change the subject quickly.
I felt Celestia pick me up with her magic and toss me down the hallway. Shining walked to me, picked me up in his magic, and brought me down to the dungeon. “You know, I once made you a promise that was something like this, ‘I would not bring harm to anypony without a good reason.’ You should listen to your sister, and…”
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear it after you assaulted my soon to be wife.”
“Whatever. But if any harm comes to my son, don’t blame me for what will happen. After all, I tried warning you.”
“And what basis does that warning have? All you have for evidence is my sister’s word, and she is trying to ruin the happiest day of my life!”
“Or she is trying to save it. And it isn’t just her, it is something else that I’m not wanting to trust, but might have to.”
“Good bye White Wind.” With that, Shining walked off, and I relaxed, nothing to do but wait for tomorrow when the real wedding happened.
Author's Note
I know, this as become rushed and downgraded in quality due to the rushed-ness, but you know what, so be it. To be honest, I am done with this story, and just want it completed. One more chapter will be coming out to end it, and it will probably be today or tomorrow. Have fun.
020
The day of the wedding rolled around, and I could hear bells ringing through the cambers of the dungeon. It didn’t take long before I heard screaming, and an echo reverberated throughout the castle, “Shining Armor’s love has made me even more powerful then Celestia!”
I sighed. They had been warned about this, yet they didn’t listen. Nothing I could do but wait and be let out. Or so I thought. You see it puzzles me how careless ponies can be when a crises arises.
“Daddy! Daddy! Bad pony things are attacking the city. Do something!” The sound of hooves clicked down the hallway to the cell I was in, displaying Jake before the outside of my cell. I had asked Shining to make sure that he was protected, and yet here he was, without any guards. I couldn’t bring him into the cell to protect him as I didn’t have the keys.
“Sorry, Jake, but I tried warning them about this, but they ignored it. If I wasn’t here, then I would...”
Jake turned his head towards where he had come, and the sound of buzzing could be heard. I watched as he turned to run, but was pounced on the head by a creature that looked like a pony, but with severe differences. An audible snap was heard, and Jake collapsed, limp and unmoving, a thin trail of blood starting to trickle out of his mouth.
Time seemed to freeze at this point. I could feel the rage boil up in me and explode. I almost lost consciousness, but managed to suppress the feeling. Time came back into play, and the first thing that happens is the entirety of the bars holding me within the cell shatter, millions of pieces of metal shrapnel formed instantaneously due to pressure. The second thing that happens is the metal scatter, all hitting the thing that was still standing on my son’s head. To say that it was shredded to pieces would be a complete understatement. Its entirety was no more than small chunks of black flesh and green blood, hanging on metal that still swirled around the hallway.
I went to Jake, and picked him up, his body still warm, yet everything was utterly limp. I tried in vain to find a pulse within his still small body. His head was swinging back and forth slightly, creating the faint grinding noise of two bones. Tears that rolled down my cheeks became stranded within my fur. How I hated this world at this moment; how I just wanted to destroy it; how I longed that this was just a dream that I could wake up from and have the assurance that my son was alive and well, sleeping within his bed. But alas, the best I could do was mourn.
I placed him on my back and I felt his cooling blood start to soak into my pelt. I marched up and out of my confinement, the swirl of wind created blades right behind me. I noticed that the air was completely dead throughout the castle area, and none of the decorative cloth moved. What I saw before me, made my controlled rage grow to unfathomable depths: an entire army of those bug things, terrorizing those trying to fight. The shrapnel launched in a single file above me, slicing all that it crossed in two. I felt a mass of something approaching me on my left and without even looking, the wire of blades took to it. I marched onward, leaving the flying bits to attack. I noted six familiar ponies being dragged into the building by a mob. I knew where they were heading.
At this point, the bleeding had stopped, and my back was soaked in the coldness of air-exposed blood, and was starting to cake over. Jake’s body was starting to become more stiff and cold as well.
The bugs stopped before a large doorway, and I sent forth a shockwave of compressed air. The wave rushed down the hall, having enough force to tear bits of concrete out of the walls. The bugs didn’t have enough time to react before it hit, working them deep into the door. The wooden door was dyed green as it opened, spraying a heavy rain on the room within.
The six lay unconscious on the floor due to the pressure that failed to push them along. I walked past, and into the blood soaked masses that was still within the room. I stared at the thing before me that was shocked by my entrance. The horrid screams like that of a bunny, burning alive, could be heard from the remaining bugs that were outside, fleeing now from the metal that chased them, and would continue to chase them.
“And who are you?” the obvious queen of this swarm demanded.
“Your demise you, fucking bitch.” I know, cliché. But my point was driven across, literally. Before it even had a chance to respond, every spear within the room that was abandoned by the guards, pierced it, leaving it to gasp, and look at its quickly bloodying self. It gave a single shudder before becoming limp, suspended only by the dozens of shafts that ran it through.
A cocoon suspended in the air was ripped apart, and Celestia fell to the ground, crumpled from the sudden fall. I went to her, forcing her up only to knock her down again with a single blow to the face. She got up on her own this time and prepared for a fight, only to stop as she noticed the tears that was finally breaking free of my face. Drip by drip, the salty water formed small, clear islands within the sea of green.
Turning to Shining Armor, who had had a splendid view of my red back, I lunged at him, covering the distance in under a second, I punched him against the wall. I began to shout, rage mixed with deep sorrow evident within my voice, “How could you! I thought I could trust you! But because of you… Because of you…” My rage melted as the true realization of what was on my back hit me, my dead son. I heard a gasp from a roughed up Cadance as she spotted what had turned my back red. My voice shriveled to almost nothing as I whispered the words I feared saying, “Because of you, my son is dead.”
The cries of the bugs outside faded, the metal no longer chasing them. Instead, only a few, lonely drones of buzzing could be heard, as even that, faded away. The air once again started to circulate, and a new noise became dominant, sobs. Investigation quickly brought the already focused attention, onto the one who had that focus. I was on the floor, soaking green onto my chest. Nothing else made a noise and the mournful, broken man wept.
That’s right, broken. I had lost the most precious thing in my life, and in the same way I had lost the first: behind something as I watched them die before me, unable to do anything about it. It is a pitiful, despair ridden feeling that crushed me.
Several sets of splashing-hoof steps echoed through the chamber, becoming the dominant sound. They stopped and gasps could be heard from those who entered, as they stopped to stare at the spear-ridden thing, and the soft sobs were once again heard. Reluctantly, the attention of those who entered, was draw the pegasus who was surrounded by a grieving mob. They neared, only to learn who it was.
I continued to cry. I didn’t want to be in here, I didn’t want my son dead, I didn’t want to live. I drew once of the spears from the queen bug’s body using wind. It climbed high above the sight of anyone within the room, and made its way directly over my own head. I gave it force as it dropped, making it fall faster. Somepony noticed it and called out, “Stop!”
That voice was familiar. That voice resonated within my head, despite the many who had tried to speak earlier. The spear stopped, inches from ending my life, and the ponies surrounding me fell back. The one who called out came up to me, and lifted my head, knocking the weapon away, “White Wind, why the hell did you try to kill yourself.”
I looked deep into the cyan pony’s eyes before I answered, “Because I have nothing to live for, Jake is dead.” The attention of Rainbow Dash flickered quickly from me, to Jake’s body, and back to me.
“You have me, don’t you? Now stop being a baby and get up!”
Her words were harsh, but they were accurate. However, most of the ponies turned against her, “Rainbow Dash, let him grieve,” Cadance chimed softly.
“No, she is right,” I stated as I got up, wiped the tears off my face only to get green all over it, and forced a smile. “I’m going home to rest. I feel so tired. Tomorrow I want to see Cadance and Shining wed. Only then, will I bury my son and plant a rose bush over his grave, just like I did for his mother. I expect to see this wedding tomorrow, got it?” I looked at Shining and Cadance, who both nodded, “Good, now if you will excuse me, I have a nice cloud bed that I need to use.”
I somberly flew through the window, and to the approaching rectangular prism of a cloud. I went in, not caring that Rainbow Dash had followed me in. Going to the bedroom that I had built, I took Jake off my back, and tucked him into my bed. Kissing his forehead, and whispering goodbye, I walked past the cyan pony standing in the doorway, and to the couch displayed in the open area. Shudders ran through me as I tried to sleep, only to be stopped as a warm body-mass cuddled against me and wrapped me in a wing.
The next day I awoke to find a sandwich in front of me. I gratefully ate the sandwich, and despite my heavy feeling body, I got up and bathed. I stood under the water, forcing myself to think of things other than my son, and failing quite miserably. I got out, now clean of all the blood that had crusted over on me, and left, not looking at the room were Jake lay.
The wedding was a happy one, and despite the blood bath the day before, the capital was free of blood. Celestia must have one hell of a cleanup crew if she could clear it all in under a night. I was celebrated as a hero, but most of the facts hidden from the public. Afterwards, I went home, cleaned my son’s stiff body, and went to sleep, once again comforted by Rainbow Dash.
I buried my son the next day within the courtyard of Celestia’s castle, with her permission of course. Only a small handful of ponies showed up: Luna, Celestia, Shining, Cadance, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and a few more I didn’t know. Birds chirped a mournful tune thanks to Fluttershy, and I could be heard suppressing sobs. True to my word, however, I had acquired and planted a rosebush over him.
I know live my life over Ponyville, depressed. The only thing that has kept me from killing myself, is Rainbow Dash. It took me a year to even get back on my feet and occupy my time. In about two years I had finished building my house to the masterwork. It no longer was a cube, but an unrecognizable shape that flowed seamlessly together. I have paid off all the debts I owed as well, thanks to Celestia’s gift/condolence for saving the capital, and the subsequent reason for why I did it. By the third year, I had put myself back together enough, with Rainbow’s help of course, to start working again and earn some bit of my own. Sometime within the fourth year, Rainbow Dash gave birth to a white coated, rainbow mane daughter, whom we named Flashing Streak, on account of a birthmark hidden under her fur. I stopped counting the years after that, and we lived happily. It is Flashing Streak’s sixth birthday, and ironically, the day of Jake’s death.
Author's Note
Sad final chapter, but also arguably the most well written one that came out in this story. This story is now completed and over with.
I also did say that I would give you a synopsis of Jake's 64 days without his dad so here it is:
001
I was back home. The one in Earth. I checked the date to see what day it was, and had to check multiple sources, all of which said the same thing. March 3rd, the same day that I left, and had gone parachuting, only to find myself in a place called Equestria. I remembered Rainbow Dash, how I loved her, and how I thought that she loved me, only to be told quite harshly, the opposite of what I thought. I shoved the memories of that land to the back of my mind. Locking them down, and forgetting what they meant. I had a son to think about, and couldn’t let something that could have very well been my imagination, rule my life. I knew that even if I wanted to, I couldn’t go back. Or so I thought.
It was my son’s sixth birthday and I had taken him to go sky diving. But it wasn’t just sky diving. We were jumping from a height of ten kilometers. We both had on duel oxygen tanks, and a parachute that fit over the tanks and still held us. I was teaching him some of the tricks you can do by shifting your weight, and slightly moving your hands and feet, and was directing him through a mic. Finally, we hit 4200 meters, and I allowed us to take the masks off. The only hitch came when we hit 2100 meters.
“Daddy!” Jake shouted, “I see lights in front of me! Is that good?”
I started to panic when he said that, and realized that I could too. “Jake, I want you to open your chute now.”
“But why?” he asked.
“Jake, please don’t argue, and do what Daddy says, okay?” I told him.
I watched as he pulled the first cord, and the chute didn’t open. “It didn’t open!” I could hear the panic in his voice. “And the lights are getting bigger!”
“Okay, now try the emergency cord.” I said, trying to stay calm, as I knew what was happening. He did so, but the chute didn’t open, and I could see the panic on his face grow. “Come here Jakie!” I grabbed him, and hooked him into my parachute with me. I tried to deploy my chute, but the same thing happened as what did with Jakes chute.
“Daddy, are we going to die?” my son asked.
“No my love, we are not. We are just going to travel someplace far away, and become slightly different from what we are now.” I technically wasn’t lying, as we most likely where going back to the place that I tried so hard to forget over the past seven months.
I gripped my son in a hug, and he did the same. I brought us into a nose dive, and I realized that I could see the lights in front of my son, and how they were literally millimeters from his face, and he could probably see the same for me. He started to cry and all I could do to comfort him was hold him tighter.
We raced to the ground, and I didn’t bother counting the distance. I could feel the transition though from Earth to Equestria. But I could also feel the weight of the parachutes and oxygen tanks disappear, and how I no longer felt the cloth of the jumpsuits, but the familiar fur, both mine, and my son’s. I opened my wings, and stopped our descent. Jake opened his eyes to see white fur in front of his face, and he then looked at my face, only to find it swapped with that of a pony’s.
He started to scream in terror, but I was able to sooth him. “Hush, hush, Jake my darling. We are safe now. I told you we would be going somewhere far away, and that we would change, didn’t I?” I smiled when I said this, as to give the feeling of warmth.
This got a chuckle out of him, “Yes Dad, you sure did. You know everything, don’t you Daddy?”
“I hope not, that would just be awful.” I said, making him laugh, and forget about the current situation. Oh the wonders of being six.
I brought him to the house that I had been working on since I was last here, and no surprise, it was unchanged, and the wind even helped it meet us. “Daddy, where are we?” Jake asked, and I knew I couldn’t refuse this request.
“Son, we are in a place called Equestria. I visited this place once before on March 3rd, the year you were five. Or about seven months ago if you don’t like that explanation. However, I stayed here for what seemed like eight weeks, was actually fourteen, but also no more than a second back home. To be honest, I don’t know why we are here, or what, truly, has brought us here.” I explained to him. “Now be a good boy, and get some rest. I need to go out for a bit to check a few things.”
“Please don’t go Daddy, it’s my birthday, and I want to spend it with you!” I was nearly heart broken by this declaration, but I was able to get over it with a promise.
“I won’t be long, I promise. And you also don’t have to go to bed. When I return, I promise that I will teach you how to use those wings of yours. All I ask, is that you stay in here.” Jake nearly killed me with cuteness when he turned his neck to see that he had wings. The pure joy that spread across his face, as well as the energy he displayed, I felt could rival the adorableness of a yellow and pink pegasus that I knew. But it could also have helped that it was also my son.
Taking a look at him though, I found that he had the same colors that I had, but reversed. His hair was much tamer than mine, as well as his tail, which was also a lot shorter. His fur, mane, and tail main colors where red the same red as was hinted in my mane and tail. Half his mane had white in it, as well as the base of his tail, that spread slightly down the sides of his tail.
“You promise Daddy, you promise?” Jake asked eagerly, forgetting about becoming a pony in the prospect of having wings. Almost like I was, when I first came here.
“I promise my little angle. Just don’t exhaust yourself trying to fly while I’m gone, otherwise we won’t get to spend as much time together,” I warned.
“Okay Daddy,” and with that I left Jake to his wonderments of having wings. The place I was going to, and the thing I was about to do, would signal to all who knew what I could do, that I was back. I needed answers, and only a few could answer.
I made my way to the top of the eight kilometer high mountain. When I reached the top, I decided to mimic the last time I did this almost exactly, so I climbed to 15 kilometers from ground level. The only thing I changed, was the number of loops. Instead of ten loops, I decided to up the number, and doubled it. I quickly heard two large booms, which faded quickly to me. The slightest tilt of my wings brought me quickly into a very fast spin, and a larger tilt, brought me to a speed that almost broke the sound barrier a third time. I risked looking behind me, and saw a very thin tempest forming directly behind me, and an even thicker one forming around that. I smiled at the thought of having created this beast of a thing, and continued my decent.
I reached the mountain in record time, and proceeded to spin around it, all the while having my own spin. I reached the base, almost as quickly as I had reached the top, but I didn’t let it deter me. As I reached the tops of the trees, I quickly pulled away from the mountain, and leveled out as well.
The force I created with the tornado was much stronger than last time. Within a few seconds, the entirety of about half a kilometer of forest, was ripped out of its roots, and brought into the spinning vortex, that refused to move an inch from its current standing’s… or spinning’s… or… You know what, let’s just say that the base didn’t move from where I set it. Back to topic, within a few minutes, the entirety of a few kilometers worth of forest was also drawn into the vortex, while I, no more than 250 meters away, still felt no tub from the wind. All the while, I kept my eyes looking in three directions: Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and Canterlot, waiting for two or three ponies to get the hint of where I was.
Luckily, I spotted three ponies coming towards the mountain. A blue one with rainbow mane from Ponyville, and a white one and black one from Canterlot. I decided that the tornado had served its purpose, so I went back into it, and flew the opposite direction that the wind was going, avoiding the debris, and stopping the tornado. I also used it as an opportunity to save all the animals, who got pulled into the inner vortex while the larger objects where in the outer one, and placed them on the mountain side. When I drove out of the twister, the wind died, and everything was thrown into the far distances of nowhere.
“What took you three so long?” I asked when all three ponies where within earshot.
“What took us so long? You disappear for seven months and ask us what took us so long! Where the hell where you for those seven months!” Rainbow Dash was almost shouting with rage.
“Actually, we would like to know that as well.” Celestia added.
“I think I asked my question first, but if you must know, Your Royal Miss Princess Lady Mare Pony, Luna can probably give you a very good educated guess, seeing as she is the only one who knows what I truly am.” The two ponies looked at Luna slightly disbelievingly, and she was slightly embarrassed.
“I thought that you didn’t want anypony to know, considering you hid it.” Luna said, innocently.
“And you would be right, Luna, but also wrong. It’s not so much that I was hiding it, more like I didn’t remember, and I rather you wouldn’t share this information. I will tell you all this, though, I am not of this place, but a place called Earth, and I am, or rather was, human. I will not share my past however, as it can get quite brutal.” Luna nodded sadly and the subject was dropped. “Well, I have learned what I came here to learn, now if you will excuse me, I must be off. I promised someone close to me something, and I intend to keep that promise.” I started to leave when Celestia called out in her RCV, which I have only heard twice before from her, and only when I had messed with her enough to tick her the hell off.
“HALT!!!” I have to say, the sudden use of the voice, caught me off guard, and made me drop slightly. “YOU CREATED A GIANT TEMPEST, ENDANGERED HUNDREDS OF ANIMALS, AND RIPPED UP HALF A FOREST, FOR WHAT!?! TO GET US OVER HERE TO WAIST OUR TIME? YOU EVEN HAVE THE NERVE TO LEAVE WITHOUT GIVING AN EXPLINATION OTHER THAN A PROMISE, WHICH, FOR ALL WE KNOW, DOESN’T EVEN EXIST! YOU WILL EXPLAIN YOURSELF NOW!”
I got tired of listening to this and decided to try an old trick. “Celestia… Sit.” I said completely calm, collected, and with a hint of authority. God how I love it when things work out how I hope they do. I swear that she actually sat, on the air, and stopped flapping, causing her to fall. She was quick to recover, though, and was slightly more ticked off, now that I had made her look a fool. I on the other hand, couldn’t stop laughing, and when Rainbow Dash and Luna got over their wonderments of what-just-happened, they began to laugh too. “Anyways, I really must be off now, I have stayed longer than I should have.”
Again I started to leave, but was caught in a familiar, yellow, magic grip. “You will, at the very least, explain where you where, and why it is so urgent that you leave,” Celestia said, in a barely level voice. “Otherwise I will throw you in jail for Fraud, and Scamming ponies.”
“First of all, I’m back, and fully plan on continuing the lessons from where they left off, and second; I went home, spent some wonderful time with my son, and we have both, found ourselves here in Equestria. Now if you will excuse me, I have a son whose birthday it is, and, due to recent events, I get to teach him how to fly, if he hasn’t already figured it out because of me getting held up by you, Celestia.” Celestia released her magical grip at the sudden seriousness that I showed.
Free of all obstacles now, I went to my cloud house, and taught my son the basics of using his new found wings.
013
Well, fuck. I had just left Canterlot, and already I was about to have to fight. Shining would be pissed if he learned that I fought right after I promised him I wouldn’t. He would probably lock me up if and when he finds out. I wouldn’t put it past any of the ponies in high power, as they mostly hate me or distrust me.
I was currently in the in the center of five pegasi that were surrounding me and above me. “Still thinking of refusing us?” the earth pony that was the leader shouted out.
“Of course I refuse. I have a son to raise and a promise to keep,” I countered, getting ready for the assault.
“THEN GET BEATEN!” The earth pony shouted.
“Jake! Hold On!” I shouted as the ponies that were on the ground flew straight at me, and the one above dived. Jake wrapped his forelegs around my neck.
I noticed, in the split second I had, that the unicorn that was next to the earth pony wasn’t using magic. Peculiar.
Anyways, group closed in, which took only around two seconds. When they closed in, I took my precautions and used them. It would take much more than five non-magic using ponies to hold me into a single spot like what they were trying to do.
I jumped at one of the pegasi that were flying at me, using my wings to spiral around them. I noticed something was off as I went past, but didn’t quite figure it out. The group collided with each other, being unable to divert from their path. They quickly recovered, however, but I was already at our stuff, my current goal: to get everything packed, while avoiding the attacks.
The group charged me again, spreading out to attack me from three sides and above. Glancing behind me, I quickly measured the distance at 20 feet, almost 7 meters, from a wall of the cave. Looking back at my attackers, they were once again, two seconds away from me, and Jake was still holding on tightly. I turned around, and ran at the wall. The pegasi where smart enough to not go as fast towards me. I got to the wall, but kept running. In truth, I ran up the wall, using my wings to help keep me aloft.
Once again, I was pursued. When I was about seven feet from the top of the cave (and about 424 feet from the bottom), I stopped and waited for my pursuers. They too their time getting to me, thinking that with my back and top covered, they need only to reach me. And so I waited. I kept an eye on them and my stuff. The earth pony and unicorn watched me, curiosity displayed in their posture.
One minute is what it took for the pegasi to lazily reach me. They jeered at me, saying stuff like how I cornered myself, how they would beat me up, and how I wouldn’t get away. Yah, sure, like they actually could keep me pinned.
I dived when they reached me, and once again, they followed me, like a game of cat and mouse. Once again, I saw something peculiar about the coats of the pegasi that I passed. Of course, I was the faster one in dives, and from a 42 story drop, I arrived a good time ahead of them. What made them call out, especially the unicorn’s voice caught my attention, was that I didn’t stop, slow down, or show signs of changing my course as I neared the ground.
About five feet from impact, I was about to do a spinning land, when I was caught in the unicorn’s light red aura, and forced to a stop. I smiled as I realized what was going on, “Shining, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. I suspect that this was an exercise to test my devotion, strength, and skill?”
“How did you know?” Shining asked.
“Well, from what I gathered, you must be using coat dye or paint to appear a different color, that, and also I recognized your voice and magical aura. These must be some of your guards. Also, why did you catch me?”
“Why? You almost killed yourself!” Shining said. He totally jumped to conclusions there.
“LIES! ALL LIES!” I shouted, the sound reverberating through the cave, causing a deafening sound, and Shining dropped us, and I was barely able to recover before hitting the ground. “Ow,” I mumbled. When the sound of the shout died out, I continued, “Shining, I think I remember telling you that I would protect my son. If I killed myself, how could I do that?”
Shining looked like he was going to answer, with his mouth open, but no sound came out, so he closed it. He tried a few times before actually saying something, “But you weren’t changing course. You would have smashed into the ground if I didn’t catch you.”
Once again, I shouted, “LIES!!!” I got a laugh out of the expressions displayed on the faces of the ponies before me, as the five pegasi had landed behind the Captain of the Royal Guards.
“Daddy, my ears hurt,” Jake complained.
“I’m sorry my little angle. No more yelling in here for me,” I whispered to him.
“I have a single question. Three times now, I have heard you call your son ‘Jake’. I thought his name was Red Wing,” Shining said.
“Well, both are right. Jake is actual name. However, you will address him as Red Wing, or by a nickname that he approves of.”
“So what is with the aliases, then? I’m assuming that White Wind isn’t your actual name either, right?”
“Oo, a perceptive one. You are correct, White Wind isn’t my actual name. I have an alias because when I first came here seven months ago, from where I come from, about 11 here I think, I lost my memory, and that is what I remember calling myself. I had Jake here take an alias as to fit in better,” I replied to Shining’s questions.
“So what is your actual name? And why would there be a time difference of four months between the two places? We both live on the same planet, with the same calendars used throughout the world.”
“Do you ever stop asking questions? I find that my actual name is unimportant. And I don’t want to try to explain the time difference as I don’t know myself.”
“I find that your real name is important, so answer my question. Or do you not want me to trust you?”
“Again, my real name is unimportant. Even if you did research, I doubt that you will find it in anything in any country. If you must know, however, there is a single pony that can tell you. After all, she basically knows my entire life’s story. But you have to find this pony.”
“And why won’t you tell me this information yourself?”
“Shining, is it fair if I did all your work for you?” He was about to say something when I cut him off, “No, it isn’t. You are a capable pony with resources. I have no doubt that you are able to figure out who has this information.” I yawned loudly, inciting one from Jake as well, “Now if you excuse us, Shining, Red Wing and I are going to go to sleep. After all, the sun has gone down and the moon has come up. You are welcome to stay here for the night, if you want, but we don’t have extra sleeping stuff.”
“Um, thanks, I guess,” Shining said.
“Cool.” I tucked Jake into his sleeping bag, and then went to where the seven guards were settling down. “I’m going to go get some firewood, and build a fire next to Red Wing. You are welcome join us at the fire if you would like,” I offered before I left, not bothering to get a reply.
I spent about an hour gathering wood, and going up and down the mountain continuously, with a fire built and lit on the first trip back. I found that the ponies I had offered with fire didn’t move after my first trip back, but on my second, when the fire was already lit, they were gathered around. I made two more trips to get firewood, and those two times, a couple of the pegusi came with me to help.
When all was said and done, and enough wood for a fire all night, and half the next day, I finally went to bed, thinking that the guards would tend the fire occasionally if I slept through the fire dying. I quickly fell asleep.
‘This dream, how can I stop it? I thought as I stood before the same six foot tall cat, smoking a pipe, wearing pants, and had a large X-shaped scar on his back. The same environment of bramble clearing within the forest was behind it. The only thing that was different at first was what he said, “Will you be able to stop it?” The fake world swirled around, causing me to become slightly dizzy. It finally stopped and before me, stood Elis. No cat came to pounce on her, no bloody mess, no being to frozen in despair to do anything. “Elis,” shouted as I ran to her and quickly hugged her. She felt cold to the touch, and unresponsive. “Elis, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I was unable to stop saying those two words, tears where flowing down my cheeks. “I shouldn’t have run off like that, I shouldn’t have been upset, it should have been…” The world once again spun, and I lost Elis within the spinning “ELIS!” I shouted within my mind, yet she was gone. The world settled, however, and revealed the same area. Elis was before me as well. I started to her, but once again, as has happened countless times before, I froze as the cat jumped, killed, and devoured my beloved. The cat turned once more, to face me, and leapt. This time, however, I did not awake. I watched in horror as I felt myself becoming weak, I struggled against the cat, and fought against it, but to no avail. Each blow became weaker and weaker, and I could feel myself slowly lose consciousness, which is a strange feeling within a dream. My own consciousness being so dim, I felt something enter my mind, but didn’t know what it was. All then became dark.’
Shining awoke within the cave, the guards had been taking turns keeping the fire alive, so the area of the cave he was in was warm. It was already slightly before sunrise and Red Wing was still fast asleep. He stretched, then got up. He didn’t mean to stay the night, but ended up accepting White Wind’s offer. He also enjoyed the fire that was built within the cave.
Walking to the entrance of the cave, he noticed Luna was directly outside the cave, a concentrated, worried look upon her face, her horn aglow. Shining was about to say something to her when she violently released her magic, got up, then rushed inside. Worried, Shining followed the princess, and found that she was next to White Wind, checking him. She cast a spell upon him, cast another, and then levitated him.
“Princess Luna! What is going on?” Shining asked.
She just flew past him, ignoring the question
Luna had sensed that something was off soon after she raised the moon. The night always made her feel at peace, but something was wrong, and it was her duty to figure out what it was. She left the castle, and cast a spell to guide herself to the pony in trouble. She noticed that the pull of the spell was coming from the direction of Ponyville. She made haste to get there, but the distance was long, and she didn’t risk teleporting, as she could jump past the pony that she was receiving the feeling from. It took more than half the night to finally track the source down, as she flew past the actual source multiple times, because the signal was getting weaker, and finally, she realizing where the spell was truly pulling her. The mountain where White Wing had, not once, but twice, created a vortex around the same one that Twilight and her friends cleared a dragon out of.
By the time she reached the cave, the signal extremely faint, and she cast a spell to enter the pony’s mind, who luckily was dreaming. Only then did she find out who the pony was: Mathew, the human who ended up in Equestria and was self-named White Wind, here. But as she entered, something blocked her mind out, and she had to fight against it, to enter his mind. Whatever it was, was extremely powerful. It was too late by the time she got through, and she was forced out of the mind.
She snapped awake, releasing her spells, and rushed into the cave to where White Wind was. She felt for a pulse; she found none, and he was as cold as the stone he was on. Casting a detection spell, she found trace hints that his mind was completely intact, but showed no sign of awakening. She cast one more spell, this one to preserve the body and put the mind in a state of paralysis. Taking the body within her magic, she rushed out of the cave to go back Canterlot, vaguely aware of Shining Armor asking what was going on.
Author's Note
How's that for a twist?
