Guitar Strings and Dragon Wings

Metal In Equestria: Chapter 15

"AHH! TOO HOT!" Packie yelled. Searing hot water drenched his back.

Fluttershy's tub was a bit basic, essentially a giant bucket. She waited for the liquid to cool down some before dousing his back again. Luke warm water cascaded down his shoulders and wings. "So much better." he commented.

"Don't worry Patrick. These things happen all the time." she calmly said.

"Oh really?" he asked.

"Well…" she giggled, "no actually. This doesn't happen quite that often, but that's just alright with me. I really lo-…" she realized what she almost said. "I mean, I really like to help you out."

"Thanks Shy, you're the nicest pony or person for that matter, that I've ever met."

"Do you really mean that?" she blushed.

"Well sure. Ain't nothin' but bitches where I come from."

"What does that mean?" she inquired.

"Oh um, nothing at all." He quickly changed the subject. "Man, this bath is working wonders. I can barely feel the pain in my wings anymore." He stretched out his arms and swung them backwards until his back cracked.

POP*

"Oh yeah. So much better." He sighed with relief.

"We should really get you bandaged up after your bath." she lightly suggested.

Packie grabbed the bowl she was using to pour water. He scooped some up and showered it over his blond hair. Dirt that had rooted itself earlier in the day fell out and his hair went through a noticeable transformation. His golden locks fell to the side of his face, drenched by water. He had to move it out of his eyes so he could look around.

"Does it bother you that I'm naked?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Oh!" She turned her head in embarrassment, her face flushed with red. "Well, I don't know why. I just wasn't thinking about it, but maybe… now that you mention it."

"Yeah sorry! I'm actually not naked! I got underwear on!" he belly laughed and stood up revealing his soaked boxer-briefs.

"Wow, you really got me." She quietly laughed to herself. Something changed about her when she was with Patrick. She could genuinely laugh around him.

"NOT NAKED!" he yelled. "Bet you wish I was though." he whispered in her ear.

"Ha don't kid yourself! You big meanie!" she splashed water in his face.

He splashed water onto her in retaliation. They laughed in each other's company without worry.

In his moment of triumph Packie lost his footing and fell back into the tub, splashing water onto all of Fluttershy's furniture. His left wing made an audible noise.

CRACK*

"AHHHH!" he yelled in pain.

"Oh no! I'm so, so sorry Patrick. Please be okay…" She helped him up out of the water. He staggered to his feet and stepped out of the tub. Water fell all around him.

He took a second to catch his breath. "Grr… it's really not that bad now. I just… need some time to relax." he assured her.

"Are you sure? We need to bandage that now." she protested.

"Fine fine, let's get it over with." he unwillingly relented.

She helped him over to a small, green, crescent- shaped sofa. It was situated in the corner of the room by a window so he could look out at the stars of the night. It was about nine in the evening.

"Sit right here, and I'll be right back." She was off in a flash.

Her angelic voice soothed his pain and he turned his attention outside. The stars speckled the sky and he took note of the large moon. It seemed to swallow up the sky, and yet kept it bright at the same time.

"This seems too perfect…" he quietly muttered.

Meanwhile…

BOOM*

Wallace had been sitting in a corner of Twilight's library for over an hour, trying to concentrate his raw energy into a sphere. This yellow shifting mass of electrical energy consumed every bit of his focus. Wallace was getting visibly tired from making this intangible object. As a result, the ball in his hands became very unstable, shifting, turning, and changing in size constantly. Lightning danced across his palms and a yellowish haze twirled around his fingers. However, every time he would get close to materializing a solid shape it always resulted in the sphere disintegrating.

BOOM*

The shock waves shook Twilight's tree house and she could no longer ignore him "practicing."

"Hey, Wallace?" She tapped his back with her hoof.

"What's up Highlight? We got dragons yet?" He built up another telekinetic charge in his palms without looking at her.

"Um no…not exactly. Hey, do you think you could possibly do that outside?" she politely asked.

Wallace looked over his shoulder at Twilight and then back at his hands. There were books thrown off of shelves all around him. He had made a real mess in her home.

"Yeah yeah Highlight. Sorry about that. Is there any place around here I could do this without messing up anyone's stuff?" he asked in return.

Twilight was quite surprised at his dramatic improvement in behavior. "Oh sure… I mean yes of course! There's a field behind the tree house that I think has plenty of space for you! And can I be the first to say that you are making tremendous progress!"

"Thanks Highlight. Maybe you could help me out later?"

"Yeah I'll definitely help you! I just need to send the princess another letter and I'll be right out there. So give me about 10 minutes and I'll show you everything you'll ever need to know!"

"Alright, see you out there in a little bit." Wallace put on his black shoes and made his way outside. Standing by the door of the tree house was Jiggs, who was smoking.

"Where are you goin' in such a rush?" he asked.

"Just gonna fuck around with some magic. That's all. Highlight's gonna help me become SUPER badass."

"Hold that thought," said Jiggs, "Whatever happened to Packie?"

"He ran off, didn't he?"

"We never figured that out, and then we heard that gunshot noise when I was moving the van."

"Do you think that was him?" Wallace inquired.

"Well there's no way to tell, but maybe we should ask around town."

"Alright, but after I practice a little bit." Wallace said stubbornly.

"Fine, but we need to find him soon. That fucker always needs our help." Jiggs stomped out his cigarette. "Did she say anything about dragons?" he asked.

"She doesn't know anything yet, but if you ask me we should all be prepared for any kind of crazy shit. Maybe you should be working out. "

"Smartest thing you've said all day. Cough*" Jiggs admitted.

They bumped fists and Wallace started walking out towards the field Twilight had mentioned.

He quietly sat down in the grass and held his hands together, his palms facing skyward. Alright, no more dicking around, he thought to himself. Just focus your damn mind.

Particles of yellow and green light started to trickle out of his fingertips. His telekinetic energy flowed towards the center of his hands as if it was funneling into an invisible bowl he was holding in each hand. The yellow lights reminded him of the sun while the greens reminded him of a lush rainforest. The colors and lights had a strobe-like effect as they casted spinning shadows on the landscape around him. The scene was similar to flashing lights on a fire engine or police car. Greens and yellows complimented each other perfectly and the fields of grass were illuminated for miles around. Minutes had passed by and every second he struggled to contain his energy.

His great plight was ignored by his lack of focus. "Wow this is just like a light show at a concert." Wallace commented to himself. He couldn't take his eyes off of the orb of energy he had created.

A small sun was contained neatly in his hands.

"HEY WALLYYYYYY!" yelled Pinkie Pie.

BOOM*

His sphere of energy disintegrated yet again. He was shielded from the blast by his own residual power-field. The small space of grass encircling him was completely flattened.

He became visibly agitated.

"DAMN IT!" he screamed.

Pinkie had simply seen the flashing lights from the other side of town and came to investigate. She never meant to break his concentration.

"Shit…" he mumbled. Wallace threw his right fist onto the ground and created a small crater. He had somehow managed to push his telekinetic energy directly through the soil.

THUMP*

"SHIT!" he yelled louder.

Pinkie Pie was left unsettled and emotionally stirred. She began to slowly approach Wallace so as not to startle him a second time. Rather than shouting again, she opted for a quiet whisper.

"Hey Wally… I just meant to…"

"To what?" he snapped at her.

"Oh, um…nothing. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. That's all. I hope we can still be friends." Pinkie Pie was standing but three feet behind him and hung her head in disappointment. She wasn't used to his aggressive side.

Grief overtook him as he gauged the harshness in his words. He needed to apologize to her. She was one of his few friends. "No…I'm sorry." he said. Wallace looked over his shoulder as she made her way over to where he sat.

His steely green eyes met her soft blues.

He came to a sudden realization and his eyes flickered in terror. Memories from long ago flooded his mind. It was something about her hair, her eyes, or maybe her facial expression. For some inexplicable reason… it horrified him.

Wallace turned away his face and grabbed his forehead, as if he was afflicted with a sudden headache. Something started to stir, the face of a long lost friend and this power. This power that could keep him from losing any other friends ever again, but then he saw her face. This power started eating at his mind.

"Ah! You look just like her!" He shut his eyes and sealed himself inside his head.

"Like who, Wally? Like who?" she placed a hoof on his back. Pinkie Pie was genuinely worried and couldn't bear to see him upset.

The ground started to shift and turn from his sudden outburst of energy. The power kept pouring out excess from his fingertips and shoving the image of the girl further and deeper into his thoughts. Why can't I get her out of my head?! GO AWAY! He thought furiously. The power kept pushing and shoving, deeper and deeper. It was simply too much to handle.

"Please calm down Wally!" she yelled, "Please tell me what's wrong!" Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around his neck to keep from flying away.

The light breeze of the night became a blazing hurricane. Grass was uprooted around them into a cyclone of raw power.

Twilight's tree house began to shift on its foundation of roots. Clouds from miles away started to spin high above them, preparing for a storm.

"Grunt*... you're just like her… huff*…" He clenched his teeth because of the pain in his skull, because of her memory and the power. It was poking and prodding and would not release its grip. The power was using his mind, or was he still in control and losing sight of it? Even he didn't know anymore.

Pinkie Pie somehow managed to plant her feet. She grabbed his face and brought it close to hers. She forced him to look at her. "Snap out of it Wally! SNAP OUT OF IT!" she screamed. Her voice was being blocked out by the storm around them.

The sudden maelstrom lasted for what seemed like a few terrifying minutes, before it all began to collapse.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered quietly. Just let it go. He thought. It's not your fault. She wouldn't want you to go crazy like this.

The storm started to subside as the cyclone around Pinkie Pie and Wallace slowed its pace.

Twilight's tree house settled down and the earth gradually stopped churning beneath them. Finally the loose piles of grass fell back to the ground and the clouds high above started to dissipate, revealing once again the beautiful night sky.

The gust of wind flailing around them gradually came to a sudden halt, as their eyes met for the second time.

He shook his head as if there was a bug in his hair and released his hands' grip on his forehead. Everything became quiet again as Wallace settled into Pinkie's hooves.

"I'm sorry Cupcake… I was bein' a stupid fucker again." he weakly smiled. His energy had obviously been spent trying to conjure the purely accidental storm and he was beginning to drift off.

Pinkie laid his head down into the grass. "I hope you're okay Wally." she said.

He was comforted by her presence as unconsciousness slowly began to take him away.

"I'm sorry, Maria… it almost got me there." he muttered.

A few yellowish sparks flickered behind his eyelids as he fell asleep due to exhaustion.