Chapter 9: The Seed of Misplacement

I awoke with a phone call from someone that I never expected to talk to again. I breathed out and told John Lennon to answer the call. He said that Collin was calling.

“Yo, Collin. Long time no hear. What’s up?” I asked

I groaned and waited for whatever it was he was going to say.

“Alright, you miserable little faggot. I have this anthro abomination rummaging through my kitchen and taking my food because ‘Oh, she’s so hungry and so thirsty.” he growled through the called.

“What’s the pony’s name?” I asked. I was really happy that Collin found a helpmate, but he called it an abomination, so I was a little pissed off.

I looked at the small card table in the room. Right now Babs was just starting to wake up, and I felt her move slightly. She leaned up, kissed my cheek before she heard the sound of my brother talking to somepony else.

“Hey, who’re you talkin’ to?” Babs asked.

“My brother. He got a pony.” I asked

“What pony?” She asked.

“I’m finding out.”

“Sunflower Seed.” Collin responded.

“Oh my god... “ I thought aloud. “Babs, I TOLD you he’s getting your sister!”

“Discord probably listened to our little conversation and thought that was a good idea!” Babs replied, “Let me talk to him, I got a few words to say to him.”

“Not now, Babs.” Jacob answered. “My Babs and your Sunflower Seed are siblings. So, what you need to do first is wa-”

“Hold on, WHAT?” Collin yelled at me. “My faggot brother has your sister.” he said to someone outside of the call, “Someone named Babs Seed or some gay shit.”

“What do you mean he has Barbara?” Someone responded “Is she staying with him? Oh… did wittle Barbara finally find somepony that liked her?”

Babs suddenly grabbed the phone from me, “LET ME FUCKING TALK TO HER!” Babs yelled from my phone.

I could hear their conversation:

“Now you listen here, Sunflower.” Babs started, “I’ve had more coltfriends than you’ll ever have! Jacob has been the sweetest stallion I know. At least I have a loving coltfriend and you have Jake’s mean, cold brother.”
I blushed.

“What are you talking about having? I’m staying here because it’s cold outside, and I wanted to get somewhere warm! And ha! Most of your coltfriends were losers! Even that one colt you said you met in Ponyville. Pulease, even if he was real I bet that he was a real loser too,” she replied.

“Snips was a way better coltfriend than you ever had,” Babs ranted. “even if he broke up because of school and such. You have a fucking douchebag of a ‘friend’. Jacob has told me that he has not had a marefriend in his life, nor has he even kissed a filly before!”

“He’s not my coltfriend! I’m staying here because it’s cold outside! He’s not even a really good host! He constantly says no! But even so I bet that his house is a thousand times better than your coltfriend’s,” Sunflower replied.

“Just because he’s rich, doesn’t mean he’s nice.” Babs said, angrily

“Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, when are you going to learn that love isn’t the most important thing. That’s… so peasant of you.”

If I’ve learned anything, love is the most important thing you never need in your life. It opens doors to so many new things, and it hurts to think that a pony, even Sunflower, didn’t believe in love. It was like finding out that that Santa was real, but he left turds instead of coal in kids stockings.
“Exactly!” Collin said, “Money and power is the true things that make you survive! If anything, love is an obstacle to what you really desire!”

“At least somepony understands. Now, Barbara, I’m in the mood to eat a little carrot cake and enjoy being in a warm house. Oh, do call again I enjoy our little chats,” she said

I just grabbed the phone from her, hung up, and threw the phone, flinging myself on the bed, weeping loudly.

(Babs POV)

I crawled over to Jacob and pulled him into a hug. I held him feeling his tears cutting small streaks into my pelt. I gently rubbed his back, telling him it would be okay, that I understood. I knew what it felt like. To be so dismissed and so rejected. Sunflower was still my sister. Even if we didn’t get along she was and would always be my sister.

I hated that he was hurting like this. I hated knowing that everything he was feeling could have been prevented. If I would have just had John Lennon stop the call, or even mute it. I gently stroked his head as I cradled him against my breasts.

“You’ll be alright. Not everypony is like that, and you know it. There’s always going to be a few bad apples,” I cooed softly.

“T-This is why I n-never speak to h-him.” Jacob weeped.

“I understand, that’s why I barely spoke to Sunflower. I wanted us to be better sisters, but she didn’t want to be. She would call me and my mom ‘mud ponies’. It was horrible,” I said.

“That’s why you came to Ponyville, you were made fun of by them. And being a blank flank.” I said, finishing crying.

“Actually, I just really got teased at school. I didn’t really get teased in Ponyville until the third time I came back,” I laughed a little.

“Babs, I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but I love you so much.” he lightly kissed me.

We got up, got dressed, turned our key in and made it back to the brownstone only to find Andy’s sister there. She explained that the morning train had already left, but Andy left more than enough credits on a temp card for us to use to catch the next train. She politely called the taxi and I walked with her to the next room while Jacob was checking a few things over.

“Thanks for doing this,” I said.

“It’s fine, besides, Andy wanted to make sure that everyone got to where they were needing to go. You know, it’s very sweet that you’ve found each other,” she said.

“T…thanks,” I replied.

“No, really it’s very sweet. My brother, I was afraid that he’d be alone forever. I mean he left the community, left everything behind, and from what I was told that meant he would be cast out everywhere he went. Instead he found someone to make him happy. That’s very important. You have to find your happiness, wherever it is, and… That’s what makes me afraid,” she admitted.

I looked at her and touched her hand.

“I… When I was around the other girls, all of them, I liked being around them. I liked it in a way that I shouldn’t. Father… he said that thinking about another girl like that would make me burn in eternal damnation. I… I want to be happy, but I don’t know how,” Sarah admitted, “and it wasn’t just the girls… There was some of the men… Oh Lord, why does this have to be so confusing?”

“It’s ok.” Jacob hugged Andy’s sister. “We all need to be happy somehow.” he let go. “Anyway, we best be on our way to Sweet Nectar Acres. Thanks again!”

“I’m glad to help. Oh, please, if you don’t mind, contact Igor and let us know that you made it. I’d hate to worry about anyone who didn’t,” she said.

“Alright, see ya!” Jacob said as we walked off.

We walked toward the front entrance and waiting for us was a yellow cab. We climbed into the back seat and the driver gave us a smile before putting the taxi in gear, and driving away from the brownstone building. I watched it disappear behind us, and then I turned to Jacob. I gave him a soft kiss on the lips, and let it linger for a moment and grinned.

“What?” Jacob was confused.

“Can’t I kiss my coltfriend? I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you for being such a good stallion. You didn’t make her feel bad about something she’s so confused about,” I replied.

“O-ok then. You’re welcome.”

I smiled as we rode toward the train station. We slowed down near the stacks and the sound of automatic gunfire erupted from one of them. We looked toward the stacks and saw someone running with something in their arms. A moment later another burst of gunfire erupted nearly hitting the one running.

“What in the fuckin’ blue hell is this shit?” the cab driver asked.

We looked out to see someone holding a package close to themselves, her off pink pelt looked a little disheveled. Whatever it was she had those who were shooting at her was determined to get it. No less than six stallions chased after her.

“No...it’s...it’s Diamond.” Jacob said to himself.

“What in the name of Celestia’s golden silky teats is she doing?” I asked.

“I don’t know, let’s pretend none of this happened. Didn’t you say that the next time you saw her you wanted to punch her?” he asked.

Another burst of gunfire answered for me.

“Yeah… no,” I replied.

“Next time…”

Of course from the sounds of it there might not be a next time I thought.

We watched as the stallions disappeared down the street.

“Well, it ain’t never boring at the Union Station Stacks. So, where are you two heading huh? Gonna hope the train and do a little riding I gather, but anywhere set in stone, or just riding to be riding?” the cab driver asked.

“Train station. We have a train leaving in ten minutes.”

“Sure, sure, keep your shirt on Mack, your friend is welcome to lose hers, but keep yours on,” he said as he turned into the station.

“Here you, and you got eight whole minutes to spare. Remember Yellow Cab when you need a lift,” he said before he took off.

We rushed inside and boarded the train. We heard that Amtrak safety thing again as we went in our cabin.

“I’m so ready to spend some time with my cousin,” I said, “and of course spend time with you.”

“Me too, Babs.” Jacob said as he kissed me on the cheek.

The train began to lurch forward, and I giggled as it moved. We could hear the sound of feet moving on the top of the train car for a moment before it quieted down. I looked at the land outside of the window before we really started to pick up speed.

(Jacob’s POV)

“Hey,” I said, poking her.

“Huh?” Babs asked.

I kissed her cheek. “Thanks for an awesome trip so far.”

She smiled, and snuggled against me. Her warm pelt felt wonderful. Her muzzle rested against my neck as let out a short yawn.

“You wanna, uh, snuggle for a bit?” I asked, putting my head on hers.

“That actually sounds kinda nice. I’d like to just cuddle for a while,” she said.

“Alright. I don’t want Pinkie ranting to me again.” I walked to the bed, stripped to my underwear, and got under the covers of the bed.

She peeled off her clothes, leaving her panties, crawled over me, and then curled up beside me in the small bunk. Her arm stretched over my chest, and I let out a satisfied groan. This was nice. A little sleep, next to a beautiful mare, and at least a single night until we got to where we were going.

One night later…

“We are now arriving at our current destination,” The Amtrax announcer said. “We hope you enjoyed your ride, and have a wonderful day!”

I grabbed my clothes and quickly threw them on. Babs did the same thing.

“You ready to meet Applejack and Apple Bloom?” I said to my beautiful special somepony.

“I want to see them so badly. I really want to spend some time with my family. I want you to be able to spend time with them too because you’re family as well,” she said.

“They’ll always be your family, but I might not, I’m not even married to you.” I said as I picked up my suitcase.

She got up, walked over to me before I had a chance to take off and kissed me deeply. After a moment she pulled back.

“You are always going to be my special somepony. Nothing is ever going to change that,” she said.

“I love you, Babs.” I said, looking deep into our eyes, our souls linking with each other.

She pulled me into a hug, and I felt the fur of her pelt. The fact that she was still nearly nude didn’t bother me. I didn’t mind, although I knew that she needed to get dressed pretty quick.

“I love you too.” She said to me, not breaking eye contact.

“Do you want to get some clothes on?” I asked, giggling.

She looked at herself, then at me, and then back at her self and shrugged.

“Sure, I guess,” she said walking to the bed and bent over picking up her jeans. I watched her as she pulled on her jeans, then pulled on a loose fitting jersey.

“Ready,” she said.

“Let’s go.” I said.

We walked out of the train station to meet a surpisingly different station.

“Babs, read out ticket and make sure we are in California.” I told her.

“It says we’re in Orlando, Florida… What is Orlando, Florida?” she asked.

“We arrived in the wrong place.” I said. “In the middle of the night, about 11 PM.”

“Why? I thought that our tickets said California…” she said.

“Sarah probably mixed up our tickets. So, now what do we do?”

“She said that Andy gave us extra credits, we could get another set of tickets, or maybe they’ll exchange these. Look, there’s a kiosk, let’s go check it,” she said.

We walked to the kiosk. It looked like a column with several viewing screens on it. We walked up to it and one of the screens lit up.

“Welcome to Amtrak! I’m Mr. Tophat, how may I help you?” the DA asked.

“We accidently went to the wrong stop,” Babs’ replied.

“Oh? Well that is a problem. Please scan your tickets,” he replied.

A scanner popped out and I passed one of the tickets under it.

“Well, this is odd… It appears that your ticket was originally set for California, but at the last possible moment it changed to Florida. Well, I believe this was a mistake on our part. Unfortunately it’s going to take sixteen hours to reset the tickets. Would that be okay with you?” he asked.

“That’s fine,” Babs’ said.

“Very good, because it was our fault we would like to provide a room for you. We’ve booked you a room at the Super 8 Motor Lodge. Thank you for understanding, and for using Amtrak!” Mr. Tophat said.

“So, we go eat something? I’m hungry.” I said.

“Sure, that would be okay with me,” she said, “Want to see what might be down the street?”

“Sure.” I said as we walked out of the station. I immediately smelled something really good “I smell something good, wanna go to where I smell?”

“I know, I smell it too, and that sounds good. Let’s go,” she said.

We walked inside the place, which turned out to be a small cafe. The heavenly smell of freshly baked bread lofted the inside. The wonderful smell of hot soups, fresh salads, and the bread mixed together to make a truly heavenly scent. We sat down as a waitress comes.

“Hello, welcome to Rickman’s! I’m your server Anne. Tonight we have several excellent specials tonight. We have a cheddar and broccoli soup on special, also our vegetarian stew, not to mention our collection of watercress sandwiches. Would you like to order, or do you both need a moment to look at the menus?” Anne asked.

“Two Broccoli and Cheddar soups!” We both said.

“Very good, anything else? oh, I nearly forgot! Your drink orders!” she placed a smaller menu before them both, “We have a collection of Coke products, and we’re also proud to serve Sam Addams. Just take a few moments to look it over, and let me know what you’d like to drink,” she said.

“Alright.” I said.

Babs looked over the selection for a moment before smiling at their server.

“What would you recommend?” she asked.

“Well, everything is pretty good, but I suppose I lean more toward the classic Coke. It just tastes better,” she replied.

“I’ll have a classic Coke,” Babs stated.

“You guys have any beer?” I asked. It had been ages since I last had one.

“We have Sam Addams, Budweiser, Coors, and of course Blue Moon. What kind would you like?” she asked.

“A Blue Moon.” I said.

“Very good sir, madam, I’ll be back with your drinks in a moment,” she said.

“So, what do we do now? After this, I mean.” I said.

“I say we eat, go to the hotel, rest, and perhaps you can show me that I’m your mare,” she said with a wink.

“Yeah, no.” I said, turning her off. “I am seriously considering getting an additional helpmate, a physical assistant. I’ll still use John Lennon for other stuff.”

“I… You’re not upset at me, right?” she asked.

“Nono, nothing of the sort. It’s just that sometimes you work late at the record store, and I get kind of lonely. Besides, it would be nice to get a physical assistant.”

“Okay. I’m glad that you’re not upset at me. “Jacob, thanks for bringing me here to eat… I’m starving,”,” she said.

“No pro...blem…” I soon spotted a sight I did not want to see at all.

My brother. Physically in front of me. With his marefriend, Babs’ sister, Sunflower Seed.

“Oh, fuck.” I said to them. “Of all places, you two decided to go here.”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Jacob Cromwell and Babs Seed.” he said, turning around “What the fuck are you two doing here?”

“We went on the wrong train to here.” Babs said. “So we are eating here before we get on a train the next morning.”

“Oh look, the low born and his little mud pony. Tell me Barbara, have you told your coltfriend that he’s slumming around being with you? After all you’re just a poor little mud pony,” Sunflower Seed said.

Now I was fucking pissed off. Insulting me is one thing, but insulting my marefriend is another thing.

“Low born? Listen, I made a higher income than Collin and owned a bigger house than him.” I said, ready to pull out Caliber.

“Until the Federal Economic crash came.” he said. “Now you’re all poor, living in a small apartment with your rutting mud pony.”

“Actually, I’m trying to buy that house again, so, soon, I’m going to be richer than you again.” I replied.

“Sure you will.” his ugly ‘friend’ replied, “Please, keep telling yourself how you will climb up and take your place at the top. Low borns, bird ponies, and mud ponies are only good for pushing the exceptional ponies to the top. You’re not exceptional. Look at the company you keep! She’s uncouth, unkempt, and not worth three bits. She couldn’t even work as a trollip I’d wager,”
Babs stood up. “Uncle and Aunt Orange hated you, and you were in the same fucking class as them!”

“You know, Aunt Orange only tolerated you because she and Uncle Orange were mud ponies. But at least they knew class, manners, and culture. You… You’re a pathetic waste,” Sunflower said.

I pulled Caliber out in it’s base form, a simple cylinder, and pressed one of the many button on it. It transformed into a pistol. Not a Neutron Accelerator, but a regular pistol with metal bullets, just like the old days. Now we have plasma and laser rifles, but bullets are more effective and damaging.

“You dare insult Babs again and I and I will shoot.” I said, pointing my gun at Collin.

“Okay faggot, do it. Fuckin’ do it already,” he said grabbing the barrel and pulling to his forehead, “Do it!”

I could have ended him right there with a squeeze of a trigger. End all the antagonistic comments and sarcastic remarks. But I realized I would go to prison, so I changed the gun back to his base form and sat down, ashamed as what I just did.

“I knew it, faggot, you couldn’t do it. You aren’t anything other than a chihuahua, all bark and no bite.” he said looking at me.

“You know what, I’m beyond being ashamed of being your brother. Sunflower made a point about something. There’s us and there’s them. You, and your little mud pony are certainly them,” he said.

“Doesn’t matter.” I replied, not looking at him. “There shouldn’t be an ‘upper class’ or ‘lower class’. Back in the old days, we all lived to survive together, not separated into groups and factions.” I then stood up, walked to Collin, and stared at him directly in the face.

“Collin Cromwell, you can go fuck yourself.” I said. I silently walked back to my table, and said nothing else, taking a large gulp at my beer.

(Babs’ POV)

We had finished eating, and returned to the hotel. I wasn’t sure how I felt right at the moment. Sunflower had always been, bratty, but she hadn’t went out of her way to just hurt me before. She acted like I really was beneath her. I hugged my arms to my breasts and looked at the floor. My hooves swung slightly, but I barely even noticed them.

There were 2 beds in the hotel, like there always is. I saw Jacob was in the covers of another bed, facing the window, curled up by himself.

I got in with him and put my arm around him, spooning him a bit.

“Hey.” I said. “Anything you want to talk about?”

“Nothing,” Jacob simply said. He held my hand that was spooning him.

“Don’t, please don’t push me out,” I said holding him, “Jacob, what they said, everything they said was hurtful, but… I can’t deal with it on my own. Please, I need you to let me in.”

Jacob turned around, smiling at me. “Do you know why I picked you, out of all the ponies that I could have had?”

I shook my head, “No, I… I just knew that I was supposed to come see you. I know there was a lot of other mares that you could have chosen.”

“You are the most relatable pony for me. When I was younger, I was teased for being a brony. Everyone picked on me, the guys didn’t want me on their sports teams, the girls didn’t want to date me, I was a complete loser. Then I found you, and all of my worries just go away whenever I see you. I love you Babs, don’t you forget it.” Jacob said, tenderly kissing me.

(Jacob POV)

I watched Babs drift off to sleep, snuggling next to me. I slowly took her hand off me and got out of bed, walking to the immersion gear, putting it on.
“Alright, Discord.” I whispered “If you’re really watching my every move right now, take me to your Vogon room. We have some talking to do.”

The ad with Drocsid appeared, and I selected it. Once I did I saw the anthropomorphic stallion waiting for me.

“So, I see you made your way back. How may I help you this evening?” he asked.

“Cut the whole Drocsid shit, I know it’s you Discord.” I said with a smirk.

“And I could easily boot you out of this room. I enjoy looking like my friend thank you,” he said before he snapped his fingers and everything disappeared. Instead we stood together in the Maze Garden near the Castle.

“Take your goggles off,” he said.

I took it off, looking straight at Discord himself.

“You know, it’s a real honor to finally meet you, but I think we all know what I want.” I said.

“Kid, no one knows what they want. I’ve been long enough to know that no human, except for a very few, really know what they want. You all claim to want to be happy, but then you work against it. It’s all very chaotic, and fun, but it isn’t until you have someone to balance you out that everything comes into harmony. AND right now that is what this world needs. It needs Harmony. It needs my project, so tell me… Tell me what it is that you think you want,” he said.

“Well, first off, if it seems like I’m trying to be an asshole, I’m not. I’m just really pumped up for what is going to happen next.”

“You’re pumped up, while she’s lying in a bed, scared, hurting, and still reeling from what her sister said. Yeah,” he said.

“What, can’t you stop time so Babs doesn’t notice?”

“I could, but I’m not going to. This is a selfish request, so you give to get,” Discord said before he changed forms looking like Q from Star Trek.

“Spike. I want to get Spike. But you’re probably going to say ‘Oh, you already have Babs to take care of, so why need another?’ Because it’s what you just said, a selfish request.”

“So, the old fax machine… I suppose I could let you have Twilight’s number one assistant, but I want something in return. You do know everything comes with a price,” he replied.

“What’s the price? Futa? Rule 63? Zombie? All?”

“What is it with you humans and those idiotic internet memes? No, it’s not any of that.”

“Thank Celestia.” I replied

“Thank Celestia? Right….” he rolled his eyes, “The price is simple. He gets to make up his mind on who he loves. He’ll bond to you, like they all do, but he gets to choose,” he said.

“Are you saying Barbara doesn’t have a choice on who to love, that if you simply broke the bonding thing from her, then she wouldn’t love me anymore?”

“She’d love you anyway. You’re her special somepony.” he said in a perfect imitation of Fluttershy’s voice, “But let me ask you something, have you tried to make sure that you deserve to be her special somepony? The bonding works both ways.”

“I’m not the brightest nor kindest human in the world, but I try to make her happy.”

“Good, then you have nothing to worry about. Listen, to some advice my very young, and very naive friend. Every relationship, every single one, is going to require a lot of work. Even Andy and Pinkie, yes I know them, have to work at their relationship. Their bonding has allowed him some peace, and it has grounded her. They’ve reached a balance, and they still work on their relationship.”

“Of course. Is that all I need to do to get Spike? How old is Spike?”

“Before everything ended… he was nineteen,” he said holding a crystal with what looked like a miniature Spike in it, “He still is. Six billion years later and he’s still nineteen. Didn’t expect Barbara to be older than you did you?” he said with a laugh.

I laughed as well. “Can I say a few words to Spike, or are you just going to leave me with a surprise?”

“Actually, I’ll do one better. Close your eyes,” he said.

I did so.

“Now open them,” he replied.

I did, and I wasn’t in the maze garden anymore. I was outside of the Crystal Palace in the Crystal Empire. Spike was standing there, looking at the cracking shield. Suddenly a white flash covered us and we both were on a very familiar bridge of a ship from a television show. Q crossed his legs and rested them on the Helm control.

“Where are we?” Spike asked, “TWILIGHT! We’ve got to run!”

“It’s safe here,” Discord said in his own voice.

“Discord?” Spike asked.

“It’s safe, and I want you to meet a new friend,” he said.

“Who? Who are you?” he asked me.

“Oh, uh, I’m Jacob Cromwell. Babs Seed stays with me.”

“Wait, she’s living with you? Is she okay? You… You didn’t do anything bad to her did you?” he asked a faint scent of brimstone wafted up from his mouth.

“No, far from it. She’s very happy living with me.”

“They’re having a foal,” Discord said from his seat.

“WHAT?!” Spike exclaimed.

“Q…” I growled, facepalming. “You could just say we were in a relationship.”

“I could, wouldn’t be as fun, but I could. Spike, she’s happy, she’s safe, and so is Twilight,” Discord replied.

“Good… You know… I never got to tell her that I thought of her as my mom. I really wanted to. It got… What happened Discord? I remember a bright flash and then I ended up here,” he said.

“Well, things happened, but everypony is safe, and that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Spike, do you want to come stay with me and Babs? She’ll be delighted to see you alive and well.”

“I guess… Could we maybe see Twilight some time? I really want to let her know what I wanted to tell her,” he said.

“I can let you talk to her sometime, sure.” I said.

“Okay, Sure I guess that would be fine then,” he replied.

“Good, now close your eyes, both of you,” Discord said.

We did.

“Open them,” he whispered.

We did and suddenly we were inside of the hotel room. I looked at time, and it was a quarter until 11:00 PM. I heard a soft groan, watched as Babs moved, and then she sat up.

“SPIKE?!”

“Hey, yeah, he wanted to stay with us, so I let him.” I said.

“Um, hey, Babs.” Spike was blushing.

“It’s been a while…” she said looking away from him.

I remember how they had went out a few times in the series, but they ended up breaking up because it was long distance.

“Yo, man, let’s don’t let this be anymore awkward than it needs to be. Spike, if you want, crash on the other bed. I don’t know about you, but I’m beat,” I said yawning.

Somewhere inside I had a feeling that I was going to be doing so much explaining tomorrow. There was no doubt that Babs was going to ask me a million questions about this, but as Spike had once said, that’s a problem for future me.

Author's Note

Yes, Spike is going to be a major character from now on. I added him to the main characters list.