Chapter 1: Stranded in Happytown
Chapter 1: Stranded in Happytown
Edited by: caliban888
Sunny skies, golden thatch roofs, and plump apples. These were the first three things that went through Ancient Blaze's mind as he walked over a bridge into the quaint town of Ponyville. He shielded his eyes from the assault of color against the inside of his skull, and pulled his dark brown hood over his face a few more inches. He was a tan earth pony, but that was where all normalcy had apparently left the stallion. His mane was completely shaven, the only hair left his thin fur. Surrounding his entire body and face were black tattoos dyed into the fur, and his orange eyes swirled with an inner smoky darkness. As he walked into the town borders, many of the other ponies saw him and were apparently and understandably startled by his strange appearance. He just gazed over them, and they hurriedly went back to their errands.
"Cowards." The stallion muttered under his breath. Ancient Blaze was used to ponies alienating him for his looks, but that didn't mean he didn't resent them for it. Remembering his purpose in Ponyville, he quickly strode up to one of the nearest stall workers, an orange mare in a stetson hat peddling apples.
Ancient Blaze glared at the stall worker with contempt, wishing to be out of the town as soon as possible. "You there," he demanded, "Where can I find Zecora?"
The orange mare rose leaned back a bit in shock. "Whoa there, partner, no need to be rude. Just follow the road past that there cottage into the Everfree forest. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?" However, Ancient had already left, impatient to leave town.
The orange mare stared at the back of the hooded stallion. "Well, somepony had a rough day."
Ancient Blaze walked heavily towards the forest, countering the befuddled glances with baleful stares as his hooves clacked on the cobblestone streets. All his life, it was like this. He supposed he'd had it coming when he got the tattoos, but he had assumed he wouldn't be shunned everywhere he went. So nowadays he just cut to the chase and left any social interaction as soon as possible. And he was fine with this new lifestyle. Or so he thought.
In between grumbles and mutterings Ancient began to hear a high pitched yelling from farther down the street. After a few moments of walking he found the source of the sound, three fillies in red capes talking excitedly amongst themselves. One was an earth pony with a yellow coat and a red bow, the second was a white unicorn with a curly purple and white mane, and the last was an orange pegasus with an unkempt light magenta mane.
"Wha' we got planned fer today, girls?" The yellow earth pony asked with a thick southern slur.
"Well, chicken rescuing is out, Rarity nearly choked me to death for being out in the forest that late." The white unicorn replied in a sweet little voice.
"I was thinking we could try bungee jumping." The orange pegasus said.
The yellow one gave the pegasus a look. "Seriously Scootaloo, wah is it that everything you suggest involves us plummeting to our deaths?"
Scootaloo, as she was called, spread her small wings in a challenge. "Hey Applebloom, if you're too chicken to get bungee jumping cutie marks, then I'll just do it myself."
Applebloom turned to to the unicorn. "Sweetie Belle, please talk some sense into Scootaloo."
Sweetie Belle stammered a bit before speaking. "Why do I have too?! I don't know what to..." she trailed off a bit, noticing Ancient walking past them. One by one the other three turned to look at Ancient, staring obviously at his tattoos and shaved mane. He glared at them malovently, and they quickly looked back at each other, pretending not to notice him. Ancient walked on, ignoring the three young fillies in turn.
"Cowards," he muttered under his breath once more.
It was not until much later that Ancient noticed he was being followed. He turned abruptly down a side alley, and sure enough his tail was still there. He only caught glimpses, pink blurs in between market stalls and startled ponies, but he saw enough to know whoever it was was there. Soon, he found himself alone on a small street. He heard the sound of hoofsteps behind him, slightly off pace with his own. He heard them speed up slightly, until his follower suddenly broke into a full gallop. Ancient whirled around, a black fiery dome suddenly surrounding him. He had thrown the shield up just in time, for all at once a pink mare, pounds of confetti, and a white and pink cake splattered all over the shield.
The crazed earth pony sucked in a deep breath, "Hey there howyadoin! I can't help but notice that you're new in town and when I saw you I was scared at first 'cause of your sick tats but then I remembered what Twilight said about judging a book by its cover back when everypony was afraid of Zecora so I felt bad and zoomed over here to throw you a Welcome-To-Ponyville party! But when I got here you were all like 'Swoosh, swish, fire shield!' and I couldn't get in, which led me to think 'How can an earth pony perform magic?' and I was so lost in thought that I smashed into your shield and my cake splattered everywhere!" The mare took in a few more breaths, "So yeah, I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?"
Ancient Blaze slowly absorbed the mental onslaught while simultaneously keeping the shield up. It wasn't an easy task, and he soon let it down while quickly stepping away as pony, cake, and confetti fell where he was just standing. "My name is Ancient Blaze, and I am simply here on business." Ancient turned away and trotted towards the forest once more.
Pinkie wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. "Hey there mister! I am Pinkamena Diane Pie, and it is my sworn duty to give everypony new in this town a party, and you sir are no exception!" Pinkie declared in a authoritative voice, raising a hoof in a salute.
Ancient glared vehemently down at Pinkie, cold fury swirling through his veins. "In case you didn't notice, I said that I'm here on business. No party. If it makes you feel better, I am not new to town, I am simply on my way to visit... an old friend of mine. So for all that is sacred and divine leave me be!" Ancient stormed off into the forest, but Pinkie followed him.
Ancient sighed deeply, "Is there anything I can do to make you leave me alone?" he asked, knowing the answer.
"Of course not silly! Why would I want to do that?" she replied, confirming Ancient's fears.
"Well, what is it?" Ancient asked. Pinkie tilted her head in a question. "Well, you have to have followed me for a reason."
Pinkie's eyes lit up like Hearth's Warming Eve lights. "Oh right! I came here to ask you a question!"
Ancient waited expectantly, but he heard no follow up. "And that question was..."
Pinkie suddenly squeezed her eyes tight in concentration, "Oh, oh, I forgot, it's on the very tip of my tongue, oh, the question was, the question was..." she said, "oh, right! How can you perform any magic? I mean, you don't have a horn or anything like that, but you summoned up that fire dome. How? How? HOW?" she said, slowly raising her voice with each iteration of 'how'.
Emmet steeled himself for a long explanation. "Alright, I'll tell you, but listen, I won't say it twice." he said. Pinkie immediately went into a stern pose, upright and at attention. "I am a practitioner of the Olde Magics, one of very few still in the world. Olde magic was created before the Magical Segregation event five thousand years ago. Are you familiar with the Magical Segregation?"
Pinkie put her hoof to her chin in thought. "It was when magic was separated between the pony species, giving rise to the unique powers of the three types of ponies, earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi."
Ancient rose an eyebrow, "I didn't expect you to know that, too be perfectly honest."
Pinkie shrugged with a smile still plastered onto her muzzle. "When your best of best friends with the town librarian, you pick up a few things."
Ancient continued. "In any case, because Olde magic was created before the Magical Segregation, it does not require one to be a unicorn to practice. And before you ask," Ancient said as he saw Pinkie's mouth open in a question, "the reason more people don't practice it is because it replaces the magic they gained because of the Magical Segregation. Because I practice the Olde Magic, I am not as strong as a normal earth pony, won't live as long, and cannot grow food. If a pegasus practiced Olde magic they could no longer fly or manipulate the weather, and if a unicorn practiced Olde magic they would lose their innate intelligence and replace New magic with Olde magic."
Ancient, despite his calm demeanor, was getting quite annoyed with the pony. Nopony had ever been so social with him before, and he frankly didn't trust her. There had to be some ulterior motive, right? Silently, without Pinkie noticing, Ancient threw up an ethereal sight spell. He felt the familiar shift of his vision as it switched gears to the spiritual and conceptual world. The sky was a deep purple, and everywhere he looked he saw tunnels of magical energy snaking through the air and ground, along with the wandering thoughts of Pinkie Pie. He examined each one, most were just random lists or ramblings as her hyperactive mind jumped from one thought to another. To Ancient's great surprise however, all of her more cohesive thoughts were directed on one subject.
Him. She well and truly just wanted to make him happy in this new town, to make him smile and be accepted. She had realized his strange appearance would cause the others to alienate him, and so had went through the pains of making him feel welcome.
There is secret wisdom in this strange mare. Ancient thought to himself. He watched in bemusement as this thought floated through his shaved head. It is too bad her efforts are for naught. With a final look at the pure innocence radiating from Pinkie, he deactivated the spell, his vision suddenly plummeting back into the mundane universe.
Ancient looked into Pinkie's eyes. "Stop it."
Pinkie tilted her head in confusion, her smile unfaltering. "Stop what, silly?"
"Stop trying to welcome me. It's useless."
Pinkie's smile finally began to fade for a brief moment. "But, I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, remember? It is my sworn duty to welcome every new pony, and you sir-"
"-will be the exception." Ancient finished for her. "I do not want to socialize, I do not want to make new friends, and I certainly don't want to be in this town for much longer. So leave me be." With that, Ancient almost galloped into the forest, not wanting to look at Pinkie's pained face for another moment. He knew himself, and he knew he could never be a good friend. He didn't want her to think he could. Ancient left her there in the middle of the road, which had faded from stone to dirt long ago.
Pinkie Pie sat down, her mane suddenly losing it's poof. "Was it something I said?"
In a little hut in the middle of the Everfree forest, a zebra named Zecora balanced on a bamboo pole, meditating. All around her were various ornamental masks, ranging from hostile and grotesque to cheerful and calming. Various herbs and reagents surrounded her, dominating her shelves and counters. All was quiet, although Zecora knew it would not be for long. The spirits of the Everfree spoke to her, telling her of her old friend's approach. She sighed deeply, nearly losing her balance on the long pole. She supposed she would enjoy the peace while it lasted.
Ancient walked up the last few steps to the door of Zecora's hut, hesitating at the doorstep. He tried to sum up how to break the news, but he knew of no way to say it calmly. He knocked on the door to the hut, taking a deep sigh.
Why must I be the one to tell her this? We haven't met for three years! She probably won't even recognize me at first. Why not one of her old friends from the village? I know what I'll do. I'll just walk away. Say I missed the stop. No one will be the wiser. Ancient thought to himself. He was about to walk away when the door opened, revealing Zecora. Ancient looked at his old friend and comrade. She had grown since Ancient last saw her, her bewitching eyes now much narrower. She had gold rings stacked on her neck and left forehoof, and large gold earings dangled from her ears.
"Hello there, old comrade. What brings you here, and why so sad?" she said, speaking in staccato rhyme.
"Hello Zecora." He looked around, hoping to delay the subject. "I see you still have a mohawk."
Zecora looked at the large mohawk sprouting from her head. "Ah yes, my proud headdress. But I think there's something that must be addressed." Zecora looked at Ancient sternly, making Ancient cower slightly. Zecora was the only pony he felt comfortable around, but she was also the only one who could get him to do something.
"You would not come here with no reason. Now come inside, tis the fall season." Zecora demanded as she ushered Ancient inside. The smells of potions and spices hit his nostrils like a buck to the snout. It was not an unpleasant smell however, and it reminded him of when he and Zecora were younger, first learning the nuances of Olde Magic from their mentor, Asb.
"Patience, Ancient Blaze," the Saddle Arabian pony had told him, as he failed to make a cure for poison joke for the third time. "If you wish to master potion brewing, you must be patient. Look at Zecora." Asb gestured to Zecora, who was calmly waiting, occasionally waving her hoof to send the smell of the brew into her nose.
"She waits, and does not try to rush things. If you cannot learn to perfect your work instead of speeding through it, you won't be able to... what is that smell?" While Asb had been talking, Ancient had lit his stand on fire. In the same moment, Ancient received his cutie mark, a clock burning in black fire.
Asb sighed. "Infernal magic. Of course. Of all the aspects of Olde magic to master, he gets the most dangerous and hard to control."
Ancient chuckled to himself, remembering Asb frantically trying to put out his infernal fire. It had been quite hilarious. His attention was snapped back to the present when Zecora sat across from him, looking deep into him with her enchanting eyes.
"Whatever it is, friend, just tell it to me. I don't care if it's painful, for I am ready."
Ancient sank into the rug they sat upon, steeling himself. "It's about Asb. He's...he's dead." Ancient looked to the floor, hoping Zecora hadn't seen the tears flowing freely from his eyes. Across the rug, Zecora did the same. Asb had been like a father to them, taking them in when they didn't have a home to call their own, their parents enslaved by Diamond Dogs long ago. He had taught them Olde magic, which in time had become the centerpiece of their lives. They were devoted to the Olde arts, and to know that the one responsible for their unique gifts had died was heartbreaking for both of them.
Ancient spoke softly, still staring at the floor. "You know what this means, right?" Zecora nodded.
Ancient didn't want to say it. But he had to. If he didn't say it, it would tear at him for the rest of his life. "You and I... are the last Olde magicians left in the world."