Chapters Chapter 2: Adventure in the Park
"Jay, wait for me! Don't go running off by yourself. You might slip and fall through a cloud!" Flash Quake trotted to keep up with Jay Sky, carefully watching his surroundings.
"I'm fine dad, calm down" Jay Sky said with a giggle.
Flash Quake sighed. He is right Flash thought I need to calm down .
"Woah! Look dad, a new swing set!!" Jay Sky ran over to the swings and happily jumped onto one, swinging low to the ground.
Flash Quake sat in the swing beside him and smiles up at the sky. He enjoyed the moment of peace, the day was nice and warm. Birds were flying around and singing sweetly, ponies were playing, and couples were laying on clouds together.
"Hey dad...?" Jay asked, sounding a bit uneasy.
"Yeah Jay? What is it?" Flash looked at him with concern and realized that Jay was staring at a strange object that was lodged in a cloud. The object looked old and duel. "What in the hay is that....?"
Jay Sky's wings sprung open, even though he could only open them half way, and his eyes widened "An adventure...." he said this in a curious voice. Like he was going to travel to the corners of the world just to find out what was behind that object.
As Jay Sky jumped toward the object Flash Quake slid off his swing and glided to Jay's side. "Do you know what it is?" He asked him.
"I've seen something like this before, it was in my adventure dream! What did Heavy Beat call it again...?" Jay held the item in his hooves and sat down, thinking about the name. "Oh, I know! It's a compass!"
"That's right Jay, and what do compasses do?" He lightly brush his wings with
Jay's.
"THEY SEEK OUT PILLING HEAPS OF BOOTY!!!!" Jay shouted with a voice impersonation of a pirate.
Flash Quake laughed a bit "That's right Jay, but how do we find the booty?"
Jay looked up at him with a wide happy grin. "We go on an adventure of course!"
"Aye Aye Cap'n," Flash said "lead the way"
Jay studied the compass for a few moments, and then began to follow the direction of the red needle. He led them out of the park and throughout Cloudsdale. They went in circles, ovals, and just about every other shape. Sometimes they even back tracked because the compass suddenly changed direction. Going left and right.
We aren't getting anywhere Flash Quake thought I wonder if Jay is bored by now...
They walked around for a few more minutes. Jay looked up from the compass and saw that they were back in the park. Confusion suddenly flashed across his face as he looked back down at the compass.
"Hey dad, I think it's broken..." Jay said with a bit of sadness in his voice.
"Broken?" Flash Quake looked over Jay's shoulder to see what the problem was. "Huh... it seems like it is broken..."
The needle in the compass was rapidly spinning in circles, it would pause sometimes for a brief moment and then continue again.
Jay's wings fluttered a bit "Maybe that means that we're right over the treasure!" He set the compass aside and then began to dig in the clouds.
"Be careful Jay, there might be loose clouds under there." Flash stood beside Jay and watched him carefully, his wings ajar just in case he needed to grab Jay and save him from a long fall.
Jay didn't fall through the clouds, instead he stubbed his hoof on a solid object. Flash Quake tried to see what was in the hole that Jay dug but he couldn't see into it. Jay was cradling his hoof against his chest and had his face half buried in the hole.
"Woah!" He shouted into the hole "I found the booty!"
Wait, there's actually hidden treasure down there? Flash thought.
Jay carefully stood on his bad hoof and used his good hoof to dig around the object, making the hole wider. once he had dug a bigger hole he ducked his head in again and tried to grab the object in his mouth.
"Do you need help Jay?" Flash asked.
Jay stepped aside and let Flash take his place. Flash Quake carefully leaned into the hole and came back out with a cylinder in his mouth. Jay stared at the cylinder with wonder.
"What is it?" Jay asked.
Flash put the cylinder down in between them and said "I think its a time capsule..."
"What's a time capsule?" Jay sniffed the cylinder and then sneezed "ugh, cloud dust." he groaned.
Flash laughed a bit and then explained to Jay what a time capsule was. As Flash Quake explained what it was Jay looked up at him and down at the capsule with awe and curiosity.
"Wanna open it?" Flash asked jay with a smile, he to was beginning to get curious.
"Yes! Lets open it!" Jay's wings fluttered happily and a wide smile danced across his face.
Flash Quake chuckled and studied the cylinder for an opening.
This thing is really odd... What are these symbols? Flash thought and then said to Jay with a bit of sadness in his voice "Sorry Jay, but I don't know how to open it..."
Jay's wings folded back up and his ears drooped a bit. He looked at the capsule and then up at Flash with curiosity still flaring in his eyes. "Who can open it?"
Flash Quake thought for a bit and Jay Sky waited for an answer. Jay's hooves began to shuffle with impatience, he really wanted to open that time capsule. Flash Quake remembered somepony who might be able to help them. He ten picked up the time capsule and gave it to Jay.
"Can you hold onto that for me?" Flash asked and spread his wings "It would be kind of hard for me to fly and hold that at the same time."
"Well sure i can hold it, but where are you going?" Jay asked as he took the time capsule into his front hooves, hugging it close to him.
"We are going to fly down to Ponyville and look for a friend of mine" Flash said and stretched his wings again.
"But i can't fly yet" Jay said with a bit of disappointment in his voice.
"That's why you're gonna get a Piggie-Back ride" Flash Quake smiled and knelt down for Jay to climb onto his back.
Jay smiled again and jumped onto his back. Flash Quake stumbled forward a bit and then stood up.
"Don't drop that capsule," Flash said to Jay over his shoulder "and don't fall off, your mother would kill me."
Jay nodded and wrapped his arms around Flash Quake's neck, the capsule was tucked under one of his arms. Flash trotted to the nearest fall off point of Cloudsdale and spread his wings wide, feeling the air flow through his feathers.
"You ready Jay?" Flash asked with a smile.
Jay braced himself "Ready!"
After that, Flash Quake jumped into the air and glided smoothly. He kept himself balanced out so Jay wouldn't fall off.
"Do you like the view?" Flash said over the rushing wind.
Jay looked around and smiled "It's amazing!" He saw some birds fly by and giggled.
Flash laughed and looked back in front of him. Jay was taking all the scenery above him, but he never once took in the scenery below him. Flash Quake began to descend and tilted at a bit of an angle.
"Hold on Jay, we're gonna speed up a bit!" He shouted back a Jay.
Almost instantly Jay's arms tightened around Flash's neck. Flash looked back at Jay and saw that his eyes were tightly closed.
"Don't worry Jay, we aren't that high up from the ground. Just a few more seconds and we'll be in Ponyville" He folded his wings slightly and sped up even more. The wind was now whistling past them and little trails of air streaked from the tips of Flash's wings.
After two minutes of diving down Flash carefully spread his wings and landed on a grassy hill. He then laid down so Jay could climb off his back.
"We're here bud" he said "you can open your eyes now."
Jay rolled off his back and laid on his back, his eyes slowly opened and he sighed with relief.
"Back on the ground... Sweet..." Jay said and then twisted onto his belly. "So who are we looking for?"
Flash sat beside him and looked at the town in front of him. "We're looking for an old friend of mine."
"Where is your friend?" Jay asked
"She's around here somewhere, last time i saw her she was here in Ponyville and i was in my old house with a pretty bad infection. She helped with with a potion and cured the infection. After that i offered to help here with gathering supplies and shortly after we became friends." Flash said and smiled "She saved my life"
Jay listened with curiosity. "What's a 'potion'?"
"My friend'll show you, come on Jay. we've got a lot of walking ahead of us" Flash Quake ruffled his hair and smiled down at him. He then stood up and began to walk down the hill toward Ponyville with Jay at his side. The capsule was tucked under Flash's wing and Jay was looking around with curiosity.
"Another adventure?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, an adventure." Flash nodded "The adventure for the friend"
Jay happily walked beside him, thinking about where this adventure would take them. As they entered Ponyville, Jay looked around with wonder.
"Welcome to Ponyville Jay" Flash smiled and looked at the horizon. "We got a full day's adventure ahead of us."
Chapter 3: Finding A Friend From The Past
Flash Quake led Jay Sky through Ponyville, stoping every so often when Jay wanted to know about something or get a snack. Sometimes they had to stop for a bathroom break. Somehow Jay had managed to annoy nearly every pony that he stopped to talk with to ask them about Ponyville. One time Flash had to actually drag Jay Sky away from a young gentlecolt to keep the colt's eyes spinning with confusion from all the questions that Jay was asking.
After a few more minutes of walking around Jay got bored and sighed with a roll of his eyes.
"I thought this was supposed to be and adventure " Jay Sky said with a bit of irritation. "We've been walking for hours and it's just getting more and more boring..."
"Don't worry, we're almost to someone who might be able to help..." Flash brushed his wings with Jay's and smiled down at him.
"Does that mean we'll be able to go on the adventure we came for?" Jay looked up at Flash Quake with a spark of interest in his eyes.
"Yes, yes it does." Flash chuckled as Jay squealed with excitement.
"Well then, let's go visit the library" Flash smiled and rested a wing over Jay's wing, leading him through Ponyville.
-----------------------------
Jay was turning around with wide eyes, taking in all the things around him.
"Woah...... There are a lot of books here!!" Jay's wings fluttered.
"Well yeah, it's a library for a reason." Flash Quake chuckled and then looked at a staircase. "Hello? Anyone here?"
"I'll be down in a few moments! Just tidying up a bit!" A mare's voice shouted from atop the stairs.
Flash Quake and Jay Sky waited while the mare was 'tidying up a bit'. After a few seconds Jay got bored and began to look at more books, pulling some picture books off low shelves. Jay had looked at all the pictures in three books before a mare came trotting down the staircase.
"Sorry for making you wait, it was quite a mess up there." The mare chuckled a bit and stood at the bottom of the steps.
"No worries, we don't mind waiting" Flash Quake said with a smile.
"Flash is that you?!" She gasped and looked at him closely "Sweet Celestia, it is you!" The mare ran forward and tackle hugged him "I haven't seen you in ages, how have you been?"
Flash hugged her back "I've been great, you?"
"I've been good." She looked at Jay Sky and whispered in Flash's ear with a bit of sadness "Is that a lost colt?"
"No no, he's not lost. That's Jay Sky, my son." Flash said with a smile of pride.
Jay looked up a bit at the mention of his name, it was then that he finally noticed the mare and dropped the book he was reading.
"Wait what?!" The mare looked at Flash with surprise "Thats your son ?" She looked at him closely and giggled "I can see the resemblance."
Jay sat there with confusion and began to shyly back up a bit. He's not really used to meeting ponies, so he gets shy easily.
"Don't be so shy Jay, she wont bite.... I think" Flash Quake said and laughed.
The mare glared at Flash Quake "No, I will not be biting anypony." She looked at Jay with a gentle smile. "You're name was Jay Sky right?"
"T-thats me...." He studied the mare curiously, wondering who she was.
The mare walked over to Jay and sat in front of him, holding out her hoof to him "My name is Twilight Sparkle"
Jay Sky cautiously put his hoof in hers and gently shook it.
Twilight Sparkle smiled and looked at Flash Quake "So what do you need?"
"I'm looking for somepony, maybe you know where she is?" He look at Twilight with hope in his eyes.
"I might know where this 'somepony' is, what's her name?" She tilted her head a bit, her eyes and ears full of attention.
"Her name is Zecora... Do you know her?" Flash's front hooves shuffled nervously.
"Yes, I know who Zecora is" She smiled "I know where she is too, she's not far away"
"Great!" Flash Quake smiled and looked at Jay Sky "We can find out about the time capsule now!"
Jay Sky smiled back and jumped up with joy. "The adventure continues!"
Twilight watched with confusion. She decided to go get a map from upstairs and left Flash and Jay to their giggling of excitement. After a few moments they each had a small saddle back of apples, first aid, and a map in case any of them got lost. Before they headed out Twilight showed them a book of dangerous plants, telling them what to avoid and what to be cautious of.
"So where exactly are we going?" Jay asked.
"We're going into the Everfree Forest, that's where Zecora lives." She put the book onto a shelf with her magic and smiled "Ready to go?"
Jay nodded with excitement and was about to run outside before Flash Quake stopped him with a hoof.
"Stay close to me" He warned Jay "there are lots of dangerous things in that horrid place..."
Jay sighed with impatience and waited for Twilight to take the lead, as they all headed out of the library Flash Saw the same hooded mare from before but with a different colt this time.
"Poor colt, doesn't even realize he's being played" Flash muttered under his breath and followed Twilight with Jay at his side.
On the way to the Forest, Jay asked a zillion questions. He would ask about every little thing about the Everfree Forest and what something was when they passed it. Flash Quake was surprised when she didn't get annoyed after his first ten questions, she actually seemed rather happy to share her knowledge. All the way to the forest Flash couldn't help but remeber about the last time he went to the Forest, it wasn't a pleasant experience either. The closer they got, the more he worried.
When they reached the forest Flash froze with horror. There it was, the same place that nearly killed him a few years ago. Here he is, standing in front of the same path that he took that day. The day his friend challenged him to a race, and the day he disappeared...
Chapter 4: Back in the Woods
"D-D-Do we really h-have to be in here?" Flash Quake asked.
"Yes Flash Quake, we have to." Twilight Sparkle said "You do want to find Zecora don't you?"
Flash Quake sighed and regretfully walked along the dark dirt path.
Jay Sky was over taken by the new sights. It was all mysterious and amazing to him, every sound scared him and compelled him to find out what it was at the same time. Flash Quake kept an eye on Jay Sky since he knew that he had the tendency to wander. Twilight Sparkle led them through the Everfree Forest, she didn't show her fear as often but she flinched at the occasional creak of a tree or smack of a rock falling and hitting another rock.
Flash Quake had begun to have thoughts that maybe it would've been better if he just took the capsule home and left it a mystery. But even he was a bit curious as to what was inside it, so he kept walking silently.
"How much longer until we get there?" Jay asked Twilight.
"It's not that far now, we'll be there in a few minutes." She looked back at Flash Quake "Do you think you can handle that?"
He nodded and looked around wearily.
Twilight chuckled a bit and looked back in front of her to see a ditch. "Uh oh, looks like we're gonna have to take a different route..."
Flash Quake glanced a worried look at the ditch "We can't just go through it...?"
"Of course we can't! Don't you see the blue flowers down there?" Twilight backed away a bit so Flash Quake could step forward and look into the ditch.
Sure enough, there they were. Poison Joke, these flowers weren't deadly but they had some weird effects. Flash Quake sighed and looked back at Twilight Sparkle.
"So where do we go now?" He asked.
"We might have to go off the path and into the forest to get to a safer path or find a bridge of some sort. That means we're gonna be out here longer..." She looked at him with a bit of worry "Do you think you could pull through for a few more hours?"
Flash Quake shuddered "I'll try. I have to, I can't just leave Jay Sky here because of my own fears."
Twilight smiled encouragingly "Don't worry, you'll be alright as long as you stick with me and do what I tell you to do."
"Okay, that should be easy" He smiled, feeling a bit more comfortable.
She nodded and looked at Jay Sky "Sorry Jay, we're gonna have to find another way through. It's gonna take a bit longer"
Jay's eyes widened with excitement "Does that mean more adventuring!?"
Twilight giggled "I guess it does."
He squealed with glee and jumped up and down "AWESOME!!!!"
"Shhh!" Flash Quake hissed "We don't want to attract attention to us!" He looked around with a scared expression, his hooves were shaking.
"Stop being a scaredy pony Dad." Jay teased "We're out on an adventure! It's time to be brave!"
Flash Quake sighed and looked at Twilight for help. She laughed and began to walk away from the ditch.
"Let's just go find a new path" She said and flicked her tail, signalling them to follow.
The three ponies traveled through the forest, looking for a new path. Flash had to keep Jay from straying too far from them multiple times. Jay complained about this but kept following Twilight Sparkle without back talking. Twilight told Jay about the many plants in here that were good, she even showed him some as they came into view. Jay Sky loved to see all the plants that Twilight found. He asked a lot of questions and soon began to stop wandering away from their small group. Flash Quake sighed with a bit of relief at this and walked a bit more relaxed.
It was about mid-day and the sun was high up in the sky, but in the Everfree Forest nearly everything was dark besides a few patches of sunlight that just made the place look even creepier. After a while Jay began to get bored and started to wander a litte bit but not far. Flash Quake began to trust him more as they kept walking and eventually he trusted Jay enough to where he wasn't watching him twenty-four seven.
Jay Sky noticed this and started to count how long Flash looked away and how long he watched him.
Okay, so he watches me for about thirty seconds... Then he looks away for about five minutes... Jay Sky thought. He smiled a bit and waited before he went off to wander again.
After Flash Quake looked at him again and then looked away, Jay Sky slipped into the nearest bush and wandered around for a bit. He loved to see all the weird looking bugs scatter when he came near him. Jay nearly forgot to come back before he heard Flash Quake call his name out. Jay Sky slipped out of the bush behind him.
"I'm still here" He said.
"Good, if you're gonna wander please don't wander too far" Flash Quake gave him a worried look and continued to walk.
Once Jay Sky got his chance again he slipped into another bush and wandered deeper into the forest. This time he came out of the other side of the bush and stood in a small open field. Curiosity suddenly took over him and he wandered out into the open a bit. No wind blew over the field, and the air was stale. Jay Sky wandered to the center of the field and looked around.
"Wow.... This place looks pretty cool...." He smiled and took a step forward, suddenly he was stumbling and he fell onto his side.
Jay grumbled and sat up, rubbing his side. He wondered what he tripped on and moved the grass away with his hoof. There in front of him in the grass sat a strangely shaped stone, half buried. He moved some more grass away and blew dust off the stone. It truly was odd, it had really weird symbols on it.
Why does that look so familiar....? Jay Sky thought about it for a moment, once he found out where he had seen it before he nearly gasped so deep that his lungs almost exploded. It has the same symbols as the time capsule!
Jay studied the stone for a bit longer and noticed that it was hoof shaped. A sudden spark of interest filled his eyes as he compared his hoof to the stone. He then had the thought of what would happen if I put my hoof in there? and held his hoof above the stone, trembling a bit with excitement.
Then, in one swift moment, he put his hoof into the stone and closed his eyes. After a few seconds he peeked open one of his eyes and looked around.
"What the?" He said as disappointment filled his mind and he opened both eyes. "What're you broken or something?"
He tried to pull his hoof away and found out that it was stuck. He kept pulling back until he finally turned his hoof to the left and felt the stone turn with it. His curiosity slowly returned as he kept turning the stone. From deep within the ground below him he heard a click and felt the ground shake. Suddenly, the grass below him disappeared and he was falling into a dark, deep pit. Before he could scream for help the ground above him closed, like it was a mouth and he was being swallowed by the Earth. He hit the floor with a loud thud and went unconscious.
Chapter 5: Lost And Found
It was dark and cold. There was no life stirring around any surface, no sounds echoing off the walls. Just total darkness and silence.
"Ugh.... W.... Where am I?" Jay Sky sat up with a groan and rubbed his head.
He then opened his eyes and nearly froze in horror. He was surrounded in darkness and couldn't even see his hoof in front of his eyes. Jay wanted to scream for help but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth, he was too scared. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths and braced himself to stand up. It took him multiple tries, mainly because one of his hind legs were sore and stung when he put pressure on it.
Jay Sky wanted nothing more than to get out of there and be back with his Dad and Twilight Sparkle. He wished he had never wandered off. Then Jay shook his head and growled at himself.
"I can't just sit around and mope.... I... I have to get out of this darkness...." Jay Sky took a step forward and shivered as the cold Earth beneath him sent a chill up his leg and throughout his body.
He began to walk forward, putting one hoof after another. Each chill got easier and easier to take in. That or is hoof was going numb, he couldn't tell. As he walked through the dark, he heard the echo of his hoofsteps bouncing off walls and returning to him. He thought that he heard voices drifting around his ears, but later realized that he was just talking to himself saying "Darkness...... Everywhere.... Help....."
Jay Sky thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him because up ahead he saw the faint glow of light. Without thinking he ran towards the light, whining with delight as it got brighter. Suddenly, he fell into a pool of darkness and began to sink. The shock of the surprise and the freezing cold made him stop moving for a few seconds. Jay snapped out of it and began to push upward, kicking frantically at the darkness.
He surfaced to the sound of splashing and his lung drawing in as much air as they could. The faint light was right above him, they looked like little stars. All around him the cold darkness seemed to flow smoothly around the edges and choppy around where he was. Jay Sky then realized that he had fallen into water, which was really odd because he had found no trace of water earlier.
"Where'd this water come from?" Jay asked even though he knew that there was nopony there to answer him.
He found a ledge of somewhat dry land to rest on, taking small sips of the water every so often. Eventually his eyes had adjusted to the light and he was able to see some of the curves and tunnels of the cave he was currently in. The walls were strangely smooth and well rounded, as if a river used to run through here.
A river! That must mean there's a way out of here! Jay Sky thought and hope filled his eyes.
Jay looked around for the smoothest and widest tunnel. He easily found the tunnel of were the river used to run through, some water was even still flowing through it. As Jay wadded through the tunnel, he noticed that it was slightly slanted upward. Which didn't make any sense to him at all. He assumed that this was part of the Everfree forest's weird nature and what not.
The water began to pick up which caused Jay Sky to slip every so often, the pain in his leg coming back with each fall. He heard the sound of rushing wind and looked ahead of him. And there it was, the feint light of the sun. It was so close yet so far, all he had to do was keep moving forward. As Jay climbed up through the tunnel, it began to get harder and harder to walk. Each step he took with his bad leg sent horrible waves of pain into his brain. His brain was trying to tell him to stop, but his will to get out of the cave kept him moving. The closer he got to the light, the brighter it got.
Wind was now whistling in his ears, he could feel it lashing into the tunnel. Jay Sky cried out with joy as the scent of fresh air flowed into his nose, sending a warming thrill through his body. He nearly forgot his pain as he began to run towards the sun light and wind, letting its aura lure him in. The tunnel walls lit up as the light danced across its surface.
He burst out of the tunnel and was created by the warmth of the sun rays, he had never been so happy to be outside. The warmth of the sun was mixed with the coolness of the wind. It seemed to balance itself out, putting a calming effect of the world and the surroundings around him. Jay Sky looked around, taking in all the sights and smells. Every thing was so different and alien compared to the cave. But that was a good thing to Jay, he would choose the outdoors over any cave in a heartbeat.
"I finally made it out.... I wonder where dad is" Jay Sky looked around, thinking of what direction to take. There were some open paths here and there, it was hard to choose which to take.
"What are you doing here alone, shouldn't you be safe back at home?" A mysterious mare's voice said.
Jay Sky spun around to see a hooded figure looking down at him. The figure stood there like a statue, the only movement was the drapes of her robe blowing in the wind.
"I... uh..." Jay said with a trembling voice.
The mare looked down at Jay for a moment longer before turning around and walking away, flicking her tail for him to follow. Hesitantly, Jay Sky began to follow the hooded pony. After a few moments darkness began to fall, making the forest look ominous and deadly.
"Where are you taking me?" Jay asked.
The mare stopped and looked down at him, her face was now pitch black. Hidden in the darkness of her hood and the shadows of the setting sun. She looked around them at their surroundings, and then continued to walk in a bit of a faster pace than she was in earlier. Jay Sky had to struggle to keep up, his bad leg was still hurting and it seemed to be amplified with each step he took. They seemed to be walking forever, darkness had completely fallen around them. Jay walked close to the mare, being afraid of the monsters in the dark and afraid of loosing sight of her.
Eventually they broke away from the forest and came into a small opening. In the opening there was a strange house. It looked like a large tree stump that had been hollowed out. There were a bunch of vines covering it and weird decorations hanging over the door and windows. The mare casually walked to the house, looking back at Jay and indicating him to follow.
Jay Sky was afraid of the odd looking house, but he was even more afraid of the dark. He happily followed her into the house, glad to be out of the dark and into a safe room. Then it hit him, a huge aroma of scents filled his nostrils. There were scents ranging from tangy to stingy, sweet to rot. It was both lovely and gross at the same time. It took him a moment to regain his senses. When he did, the hooded mare from before was sitting across from him, studying his bad lag as if she already knew that he was hurt.
"Thank you for finding me...." Jay watched her with uncertainty, unaware of what he should do or say.
In the shadows of her hood she smiled "You are welcome little one, feel free to stay until dawn"
Her voice kind of scared Jay, it had some kind of accent in it. Jay thought about it but just couldn't seem to figure out what her accent was. The mare stood up and walked over to what looked like a coat hook and threw her robe on it. She was an odd looking pony, black and white stripes covered her body. Her cutie mark looked really weird. Jay was used to seeing colors and pictures he could make out. But hers was just black and spiraled with dots circling around it.
"Who are you?" Jay asked with curiosity.
"I will let you know, I am a friend. Not foe" She said and indicated Jay to what looked like a small bed.
He felt more relaxed now and accepted the chance to rest. As he laid down, the pony came to him with bandages and got a close look at his injury. She put a weird green juice on the bandage and then wrapped it tightly around his ankle. Jay winced with pain when she tightened it but the juice seemed to make the pain go away.
"Thank you" He said and laid his head down, accepting the invitation of sleep and comfort.
Just before he fell asleep, he heard the feint calling of his name. He couldn't tell if it was his dad or not, but he didn't seem to care as he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep. The voice and noises of the forest died down as Jay fell asleep, peace finally coming to him.
Chapter 6: Peace in Nightmares
Buzz...... Buzz...... Buuuuzzzzz ....... BANG
Jay Sky jolted awake. Missiles were booming everywhere, sending building parts flying and screams of terror. It was all so much to take in. Right as Jay came to his senses, a bomb hurtled itself straight over his head and exploded a few feet behind him. He was flung into the air like a ragdoll, all feeling left his body.
Feeling came back to his body, but at the wrong moment. Because just as it came back he slammed into the ground nose first. He could feel the impact travel through his body, all the way to the tip of his tail. Every bone in his body rattled but oddly nothing broke. But everything ached, Jay just wanted to lay there and drift away. Yet something was holding him back, for some reason he couldn't let go. Or more like he wouldn't. Something deep inside him willed him to get up, to survive.
He finally managed to get up. When he looked around he saw a large group of ponies marching through the ruin, searching for anything of value. As Jay watched them, they drew nearer. To the left a few feet away one of the ponies had found a young filly, she looked to be around Jay's age. He was going to call out to them, but then the most terrible thing happened.
The pony who found the filly drew a knife from a saddle bad and gripped her mane with his hoof, and with one swift slice, he brought the knife down upon her neck. Jay Sky watched in horror as the life left the filly's eyes. As the last drop left her throat, Jay was pulled back by his mane. He would have screamed but a hoof covered his mouth and he was dragged into a dark cave.
Jay sky was dropped to the ground and began to scream. His kidnapper moved what looked like a chunk of wall in front of the cave entrance and blocked it off. Pitch black surrounded both of them and Jay stopped screaming and started to hyperventilate.
"Geeze, you need to calm down" the kidnapper said.
Jay couldn't tell if the pony who took him was male or female but right now he didn't really care. All he wanted to do right now was get back to his mom and dad. He nearly came to tears but then he heard a weird snapping sound and a glowing stick appeared in a cut up muzzle. The glow began to get brighter and revealed the face of the pony. One of multiple questions in his head that had brewed were answered. The pony was a mare.
Her facial features were dark and gloomy. She was a deep blue earth pony with a pure white mane. Her tail was short and light green. A scar ran from the right of her forhead and stopped just bellow her left eye. She looked like she was a bit younger than Flash Quake. Strapped to her side on a leather belt was a short dagger, the blade was slightly stained with blood. Almost every feature about this mare was scary, except her eyes. Her eyes where both the color of the sunset. Intense, but gentle.
"Who are you?" Jay asked the mare.
"I am Asha," She said "Who are you?"
"My name is Jay Sky..." It. Took his eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness around them "What is this place?"
Asha snorted "A filly of your age doesn't know where you are? I thought that rebel group you were in would've taught you something before they were bombed."
"Rebel group? Whats a rebel group?" He asked with curiosity and confusion.
"It a group of re-" She began to say "Wait, you're a spy aren't you?!"
Right after she said that she lunged at Jay, knocking him over and pinned him to his back. He screamed out with surprise and terror and the pony drew a knife from a belt she had strapped to her waist and pointed it down at him. She had a flare in her eyes, and they seemed to change color too.
"No no no!! I swear Im not a spy!" Jay struggled desperately, trying to get away from the blade.
"I'm going to trust you for now, but if you betray me..." She twisted the knife a bit and then put it away.
Jay understood what she meant. As she backed away from him, he slowly began to haul himself up to a sitting position. Her eyes seemed to go back to their gentlness and original color. She watched him with a bit of uncertainty before turning around and peeking outside.
A gust of hot wind blew in, but Asha didn't seemed to be disturbed by it. She stepped away from the door and sighed. Jay wanted to know what was going on, but before he could ask the sight of her blade shut him up. She trotted to one side of the cave and laid down, neatly tucking her hooves under her chest. It was an odd way to sleep but she seemed comfortable.
Jay sat there far a bit longer, and then took a shaky breath in. "What did that pony do to the filly?"
"He killed her. Why do you ask?" Asha looked over at Jay and a bit of shock filled her eyes. "You've never seen a pony get killed before?"
His eyes were full of pure horror. Asha realized that Jay never had witnessed that, she felt a little bad for him.
"So it is your first time... First time is always the worst.." Her voice was a bit shaky. "Just try and get some rest." She laid her head down and closed her eyes.
He.... He killed her? Jay thought Who would do such a thing?
He sat there, replaying the scene in his head. Tearing up and whinning everytime the knife flashed down. It was such a quick motion, and the filly's eyes. Her eyes were full of life, and then, they were dead. Open and watching the world around her, but looking into nothing.
Asha opened one of her eyes and looked at Jay, she couldn't help feeling bad for him again. The first time she saw a pony die, the image kept haunting her. Day and night, it took her months to recover from it.
"Hey, kid... Wake up..." As the words came out of her mouth, she and the world around Jay began to fade.
Everything became dark. Nothing was real anymore, it was just there. And it wasn't there. Jay was floating in the nothing, nearly becoming one with it before light shone. He drifted towards the light and opened his eyes to see Flash Quake sitting beside him, his head drooped and tears falling from his eyes.
"D..... Dad?" Jay asked, before closing his eyes again, and falling into a peaceful sleep.
"Come on Jay... Wake up..." Flash Quake gently spoke in Jay's ear, nuzzling him softly.
Jay shifted a bit in his sleep and mumbled softly. His leg was swelling a bit under the bandages that Zecora had put on for him. But other than that he was perfectly fine, no other cuts or bruises.
"Calm down Flash," Twilight Sparkle said, she was sitting at a small coffee table "he's just sleeping. I already checked him for a coma so you have nothing to worry about. "
"Are you sure he is okay?" Flash asked with worry.
"I'm sure that he is okay. His leg will heal over time." Twilight said and smiled sweetly "Calm down and come have some tea, it helps soothe the nerves."
Flash Quake sighed and nuzzled Jay one more time before walking over to Twilight and sitting across from her "What kind is it?"
"I don't know, Zecora said that she brought it from her home land. It smells good though." She leaned over to a tea kettle and breathed in deeply from her nose.
Flash sniffed the air and nodded in agreement, already beginning to relax. Twilight used her magic to levitate two glasses over to them and also used her magic to pour the tea.
"So where is Zecora?" Flash asked.
"She went into town to go get more bandages and some herbs." Twilight said and took a sip of her tea.
Flash carefully picked his up with both hooves and gently blew on the tea "I'll have to pay her back for helping us..." He looked at Jay with concern and sipped his tea.
Twilight nodded and took another sip "Don't worry too much about paying her back, she's a nice pony."
"I thought she was a Zebra?" He said.
"She is" Twilight blew on her tea gently.
A confused look danced on Flash Quake's face. He shook his head and took another drink before putting his tea down. "How long do you think he'll be asleep?"
"It could a few more hours, maybe even a few days. But don't worry about that too much, Jay is going to be ok." She smiled encouragingly and looked at Jay.
"I hope you're right..." Flash Quake walked over to Jay and gently brushed his hair put of his face.
"He's a strong filly, I'm surprised the only injury he got was a twisted hoof. And I'm even more surprised that he was able to walk on it and find his way back to you." Twilight walked beside Flash and put a hoof on his shoulder "He'll pull through."
Flash Quake smiled at her thankfully and yawned a bit.
"How about you go to sleep and I watch him." She said and looked at him with concern.
"But what if he wakes up and I'm not here to comfort him?" Flash Quake whined a bit.
"You're son just traveled in complete darkness through a cave with a twisted hoof. I don't think he wants to wake up and be smothered by his Father" She giggled a bit and nudged Flash to a small bed "Just rest, you're going to need it for the trip back."
"Okay... I guess I could catch a few Z's..." Flash laid on the bed and curled up, quickly falling asleep.
Twilight smiled and levitated a blanket over Flash and sat beside Jay, gently stroking his hair "How were you able to get through that cave... And how'd you even get in there?"
Jay Sky twisted a bit in his sleep and seemed to lean in to her touch, humming quietly in his sleep. Twilight smiled and listened to his humming.
"I know that song, my mom used to sing it to me." She looked down at Jay and smiled, then began to hum along with him.
Jay hummed a bit louder and began to move around a lot in his sleep, as if he were dancing. Twilight giggled and laid down beside him, continuing to hum and pulled Jay in close to her. Jay seemed fine but he was trembling softly as if he was having a nightmare. Twilight gently held his hoof in hers and rested her other one over his shoulders.
"Don't worry little Jay, you're safe. Your Dad is here, I am here, and Luna watches over you while you sleep." She softly nuzzled his cheek and laid her head down before closing her eyes and falling asleep beside the filly.
~~~~~~
A few hours later Flash Quake woke up to see Twilight and Jay sound asleep. He smiled softly and sat up, stretching and pushing the blanket away from him.
"Good morning Flash Quake, I was wondering which of you would be the first to wake." Zecora said. She was sitting at the small table where Flash and Twilight had had tea.
"Oh, hey Zecora. I didn't realize you came back." Flash walked over to her and sat down.
She smiled and began to pour some tea, this tea was a different brew than yesterday.
"Thank you for all the help, I'll be happy to pay for whatever you gave Jay." He said.
"Do not worry about the cost, I'm just happy he wasn't lost" Zecora sipped her tea quietly.
"Thank you again... I owe you, seriously. If you need help, just contact me and I'll be more than happy to help you." Flash Quake smiled at her.
"To travel now would be best, but make sure when he's home that he gets some rest." Zecora looked at Flash.
"Will do, I'm sure Heavy Beat is worried." He carefully moved Twilight's hooves and lifted Jay onto his back "Can you thank her for me? I wouldn't really be here without her, I would've gotten lost."
Zecora nodded and opened the front door for him. They said their goodbyes and Flash flew off, heading back to Cloudsdale.
Chapter 8: Home Sweet Home
Flash Quake landed in Cloudsdale near his house, Jay Sky was asleep on his back. Flash walked quietly along a sidewalk and smiled up at the sky. When he finally reached his house he heard some yelling from inside. He carefully opened the front door and walked in. He could see Heavy Beat's tail sticking out of a door frame, and he could clearly hear her yelling. Flash slipped into Jay's room and put him in his bed, careful to not tap his injured leg.
"Sleep tight my little pony" He said and kissed Jay's forehead before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.
Heavy Beat and the pony kept arguing before Heavy kicked the pony out of the house, literally. Flash Quake was happy that is wasn't him fighting with Heavy, he was honestly a little bit afraid of her when she got mad. And he rarely ever made her mad so when she did rage he would always shut up and listen. He thought that it was easier that way.
"Good riddance, damn scam artist..." Heavy Beat grumbled to herself.
"Uh... Hey sweetie." Flash Quake softly waved at her "What was that all about?"
"Flash, you're home!!" Heavy looked surprised, and a bit unsettled. "I didn't even here you come in."
"Yeah, I tried to be quiet. Jay needed to get some rest." He said and looked back at Jay's room.
"What's wrong with him? Is he hurt?!" Heavy started to run to Jay's room before Flash stopped her.
"He's okay, he just twisted his ankle. He'll be up and walking before you know it."
Heavy Beat looked worried, but she nodded slightly and backed up. Flash Quake gave her a little peck on the lips and smiled softly.
"Don't worry, Jay will be okay. He's a strong filly." He said.
"I know he is..." She said before looking at his room again.
"So, did you get the contract?" Flash asked with a bit of curiosity.
Heavy Beat's eyes lit up almost instantly and her mood brightened "We got the contract!"
"Congrats!" Flash Quake smiled.
"And," She continued "We were offered a tour to start us off. Naturally, we accepted it."
"Is that why you were gone for so long?" He asked.
"What? No, the tour doesn't start yet, we have to get everything set up first." Heavy Beat smiled.
"Then where were you this whole time?" Flash looked a bit suspicious.
"We were partying, of course!" She seemed to rush her words a bit.
"I guess that makes sense..." Flash nodded a bit. "Oh, and I saw some ponies with the same tail color as you, I guess you're more popular than you thought." He chuckled a bit "You've gotta be pretty popular to have fans who want to look like you"
"Yeah, I guess I am pretty popular" Heavy Beat smiled and gave Flash another kiss.
"So where did you go to party?" Flash asked.
"Oh, we went to so many places!" She said. "Rainbow Falls, Canterlot, Saddle Arabia!"
"Wait, why did you go to Saddle Arabia?" He asked with confusion.
"They have better alcohol there," She giggled a bit" way better."
"They do?" He asked. "Did you bring any back?"
"Sadly no, it's too good too good to not drink it all" She smiled sheepishly.
"Well, at least you're not drinking at home." He sighed a bit "Though it would help to actually bring some home."
"I'll try and remember that next time" She playfully headbutt him and walked out to the kitchen.
Flash Quake went to go check on Jay Sky one more time before heading to the living room. Heavy Beat had left something on the coffee table in there, and boy was it fancy looking.
"Woah..." He said. "Is... Is that an album of your band?!"
Heavy Beat walked to him with a huge smile on her face "It sure is! We were going to start making more music tomorrow for a new album. Ponies just can't get enough of us!"
Flash seemed to be a bit sad about that "Oh.... Tomorrow...?"
"Is that a problem...?" She asked.
"Yeah, kind of. I was wondering if you could watch Jay Sky tomorrow since I have a race to fly in..." He looked at her with pleading eyes.
"Oooooh yeah! I totally forgot about that with all the excitment thats been going around." She said "Yeah I can totally watch him."
"Thanks sweetie" He smiled and looked at the album. "So, how much did you make off this?"
"So far we've made five hundered bits for each band member" She smiles proudly.
"Five..... Five hundered?!" He nearly fell to the floor with shock.
"Yeah, and that's just the beginning!" She laughed and walked into their bedroom. "Come on speed-racer, let's get some sleep."
"I could go for a good night's rest, the past few hours have been pretty stressful" He yawned a bit and followed her, sleep beginning to find its way to his eyes as he plopped onto their bed.
"Maybe I can help you relieve that stress" She said as she laid down next to him, gently placing a hoof on his chest.
"Sorry dear, but I'm way too tired to do anything like that." He began to close his eyes and got under the covers "And plus, Jay Sky is pretty much right across from us, it would be better to not wake him" He chuckled a bit.
Heavy Beat blushed a bit and crawled under the covers with him "Whatever..." She said.
"Oh come on," Flash put a hoof on her cheek and kissed her "you know I'm just teasing you."
She smiled and kissed him back "I know"
"Good, now lets get some rest" He rested his head on a pillow, it felt as soft as a cloud to him.
Heavy Beat snuggled close to him and rested her head on his chest "Goodnight baby."
"Goodnight..." Flash's voice seemed to trail off as he went into a deep sleep, snoring lightly and hugging Heavy Beat.
Heavy Beat sighed softly with relief and closed her eyes, listening to the steady sound of his heart.
If he knew... She thought and bit her lower lip a bit. It's okay Beat, he won't find out...
And with that, she let sleep find it's way into her mind and drifted off to a deep sleep. The night sky was twinkling in their window. And the Moon cast a pale color on the two ponies, making it seem as if they were an old picture. As both ponies slept quietly, a dark shadow seemed to creep around the house. It was heading towards Jay Sky's room. Jay was sound asleep and trembled a bit as the cold presence of the shadow crept over him.
"This is the pony....? " The shadow's voice was deep and dull, like a silent drone of a single note. "How was he able to free me? " it shook a bit and took the form of a dark, almost pitch black, unicorn. "No matter... He has freed me and I shall be forever in his debt... That is, after I get revenge upon the pony who trapped me for all those years... "
The hoof that Jay used to twist the odd stone in the ground glowed softly with a dark purple gloom as ancient runes etched themselves into his skin and fur. It wrapped all around his hoof and then disappeared from sight, but it did not vanish from existence.
"You may be just the pony that I was meant to serve... " After saying that, the shadow mare slowly disappeared. Leaving no trace of her ever being there. As if it were all an illusion.
Jay turned around a bit in his sleep and mumbled softly, holding his hoof close to his chest and continued to sleep.
All was peaceful and quiet, except for the soft song of the birds in the air. And the murmur of ponies waking up and going to work. Okay, maybe it wasn't that peaceful and quiet.
"Ugh... What time is it?" Heavy Beat said with a groan.
She sat up in her bed and the blankets that had been covering her with warmth slid down and laid before her.
"Sweet Celestia it's freezing in here!" She said as she pulled the blankets back onto her.
"Good morning mom!" Jay Sky shouted.
Heavy Beat jumped up with surprise and she would've flown out the window, but the warm blankets were wrapped around her and she didn't want to give up her source of heat so easily. Instead she fell out of the bed in a heaping pile of pony and blankets. When she looked up Jay was standing over her with a wide goofy grin.
"You're finally awake!" He giggled and nuzzled her nose playfully before jumping off, careful to not land on his bad hoof.
"Yeah Yeah, I'm awake..." She couldn't help giving him a small smile as she got out of the blankets and stood up "Why is it so cold in here?"
"It's not cold mom," Jay giggled "it was just warm under your blankets."
Heavy Beat chuckled a bit and ruffled his hair before walking out of her room, Jay followed her happily.
"So what's for breakfast?" he asked.
"For breakfast? Hm...." She smiled softly "We can go try out that new doughnut store down the street."
Jay's eyes widened "Really?!" He smiled happily and fluttered his wings a bit.
"Yes really, or would you rather eat wheaty flakes?" She joked.
"Yuk! That stuff is nasty, I don't see how dad can eat it." He scrunched up his nose.
"Well he eats it, and somehow he can hold it down. Come on, lets go." She opened the door for Jay and smiled as he galloped out of the house. "Just be careful, you don't want to hurt your hoof more than it already is."
Jay slowed down as Heavy Beat closed the door and locked it. She led him down the street toward the sweet smell of freshly baked doughnuts. As they walked into the store they were greeted by a warm smile and a nice welcome form the mare behind the counter. She looked to be about sixteen, maybe seventeen. Her pelt was tan, her mane and tail were green. A few freckles peppered her face. But her eyes were a bit odd. The left eye was purple, and the right eye was green. Heavy Beat smiled back at her and brought Jay up to the counter to get their doughnuts. They found a booth to sit at next to a window and happily ate, enjoying the sweet taste of the doughnuts.
"Wow!" Jay said "These are amazing!"
"I know, even Flash Quake would like these!" Heavy giggled.
"Probably not," He said "dad always eats that weird protein and fiber stuff."
Heavy Beat nodded in agreement. Flash always ate and drank those weird things. He always said that it was healthy for him and his racing body. Whatever that meant. After Jay and her finished their doughnuts they headed back home, where they just chilled out for a while. They played games and had fun watching movies. The two ponies baked cookies too, bye the time they were done Jay's hair was speckled with drops of cookie dough and chocolate chips. After Jay had gotten a bath he and Heavy Beat laid on the couch to watch another movie.
"Hey Mom?" Jay asked.
"What is it Jay?" She said.
"What are Dad's races like?" He looked up at her with interest and curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"Well, he and five other ponies line up on a straight line. That's what they call the start line. After they're all lined up a pony with a flag, most of the time a mare, holds it up in the air and then waves it down to tell them to go." Heavy Beat sighed happily "That's how you're father and I met, I was working as the flag mare to get some money for my instrument."
"Wow...." Jay said "That's a lot of stuff in one little race."
"It may be a little race but your father brings in a lot of bits from it" She said smiling "Nopony has beaten him to a race in a long time."
"Really? Dad is that fast?" He smiled happily.
"Yes he is, now are we gonna finish this movie or not?" She giggled and hugged Jay close to her as they both finished the movie.
After they finished the movie they went out to lunch at a place called Harmony's Hayburger. It was a pretty nice burger joint, not too busy and the food there was excellent.
"Enjoying your hayburger?" Heavy Beat laughed a bit, Jay's face was smeared with ketchup and there was even some hay in his hair.
"It's delicious mom!" He giggled happily as he took another bite "Almost as good as that doughnut shop."
Heavy Beat agreed with him, it was pretty good and she enjoyed every bite of her burger. It was beginning to get dark out so Heavy asked for a to go box and bought a few more hayburgers for later. As they were walking home the stars began to come out. And in the shadows a mare was watching them, it was the same shadow mare from before. but there was something different about her, something was around her neck. It was a Unicorn's horn, some blood still trickled out of its base. Slowly oozing down to the tip and falling off, lightly hitting the ground and leaving a new red stain on the grass.
Soon young master..... Soon... She followed them in the shadows, silently moving.
Jay and Heavy went back home and sat down to watch yet another movie, the shadow mare followed them in almost completely invisible to the naked eye. She went into Jay's room where she had met him before and waited in the shadows, looking down at the horn around her neck with triumph. After the movie Heavy put Jay in his bed and kissed his forehead before retreating to her own bed, she was asleep in under a minute.
Jay began to sing a little late night song to himself "Little filly in the meadow, playing with the birds. Little filly in the meadow, no worries in the world." He hummed softly.
"Hello, Master...." The mare stood in the shadows, watching him.
Jay sat up in fear and looked around with wide eyes "W.... Who's there?"
"You released me from that cursed cave, and I shall repay you with my services." She walked out of the shadows and and stood at the foot of his bed, she easily stood over him and had to look down just to make eye contact with him.
Jay looked up at her with fear and curiosity "Who are you...?"
"My name...." She lowers her head to his and looks into his eyes at eye level "My name is Nyx, young master." She slightly bowed her head.
"Nice to meet you Nyx, my name is Jay Sky." He smiled softly and carefully stood up, looking at her body "Wow, you're a tall pony!"
"That I am..." She sighed softly "I am the last of my race..."
"My dad races," He giggled "he's been unbeaten for a long time."
"Not that kind of race, young master." She said calmly.
"You can just call me Jay if you'd like. That's what everypony else calls me most of the time." He yawned softly and his eyes began to get sleepy.
"Are you tired, young Jay?" She asked.
"I am kind of tired, good night Nyx." He laid down again and yawned again.
Nyx sat quietly, watching him with naturally narrowed eyes. She began to wander around his room, learning what every toy was and what the surroundings were.
"Nyx, aren't you tired?" Jay rolled in his bed to look at her.
"I do not get tired, young Jay" She said, looking at him "You clearly need sleep."
"Please try to get some sleep Nyx, everypony needs sleep. That's what my parents taught me." He yawned again and fell asleep, mumbling softly.
Nyx laid beside Jay's bed, her back was taller than his bed frame by a good foot. She rested her head on his bed beside him "As you wish, young Jay" She said before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
Birds were singing loudly and their songs were full of life and joy. They spiraled through the sky and next to Jay's window. The birds would've sang for the whole house all day, well.... They would've if Nyx hadn't been starring at them with deep dark lifeless eyes, hunger flashing in them when the birds flew in front of the window. This caused the birds to all flee, even the ones who weren't next to his window had flown away after being alarmed by the others.
"nmmm....' Jay Sky moved around slightly in his bed, slowly waking up. "Oh hey... Good morning Nyx.." He yawned and rubbed one of his eyes sleepily.
Good morning? She thought, a bit hurt. Obviously preferring the dark but she responded to him softly "Good morning young Jay.."
That brought a smile to Jay's face and he giggled.
Nyx couldn't help hiding a small smile, she remembered when she was a young pony. Oh it feels like it was just yesterday... She thought as images of her in her childhood came flowing back, laughing a bit when she saw other ponies running in fear and some bowing to her in surrender. "Those were the days...."
"What days?" Jay asked as he climbed out of his bed.
"Oh, nothing young Jay... Just my childhood." She smiled at him and he smiled back.
"What was it like?" Jay asked.
"It.... It was very eventful..." She giggled softly and sighed with happiness.
"I like events, can you tell me what they were about?" He sat down in front of her, looking up at her with large curious eyes.
"I believe that is for different time" Nyx said gently. arcing her neck to be at eye level with him. "Now it is time for you to eat breakfast, go young Jay" She smiled.
"I'm hungry!" He laughed "Come on Nyx, I'll introduce you to my parents and we can all have fun at the park!"
"I do not think that that is a good idea young Jay," She said defensively "I doubt your parents will be happy to see a shadow Pegasus with you. Especially one of my race and height." She smiled, but it wasn't a warm happy smile. It was a dark evil smile.
"Why not? You seem really nice and friendly, I'm sure they'd love you!" He smiled and jumped up happily.
"L.... Love...?" She growled slightly and disappeared into the shadows "Sorry young Jay, but I will not be joining you for breakfast..."
"Oh... Okay..." Jay smiled "I'll bring you some Haywaffles!" He ran away giggling, greeted by his family as they all sat down to eat.
Nyx was left alone in Jay's room, and like anypony else, she curiously wandered around it. There were quite a few toys and crayons scattered on the floor. She found the occasional stash of Hay Bars and little chocolate sweets. The child's room amused her and made her a bit sick, this place was so happy and bright. Nothing at all like her room when she was a young pony. By the time Jay came back Nyx had completely scanned his room, he found her back in the shadow where he had left her.
"I brought the Haywaffles!" Jay giggled and balanced a plate on his head.
"Are they for me?" Nyx asked softly.
"Yes Nyx, these are for you." He smiled and tilted his head to let the plate slide down in front of her.
"Wait.... Young Jay, are these really for me?" Her eyes widened with surprise and shock.
"Yes, now eat up so we can go play!" He sat down and waited patiently as Nyx hungrily devoured the food.
Once she finished, she bowed to Jay "Thank you, Young Jay. You are very generous."
"No need to bow, you're an odd pony." He laughed a bit and smiled "Are you ready to play?"
"Play? What do you want to play?" She asked as she sat up and looked down at him.
"We can play board games! Or outside games!" Jay began to jump around happily.
"What is a 'board game'?" Nyx tilted her head a bit.
"I'll show you!" Jay ran to his closet and dove in the mountain of clothes and toys, and maybe there was some food in there too. Or at least it used to be food.
He came back to her with an odd looking rectangle balanced on his head, it had some weird name that was faded with age and from being worn down. Nyx curiously sniffed the thing, that was clearly a bad idea because right as she breathed in she sneezed. Millions of little dust particles flew up from the surface of the box and hung in the air like a little cloud.
"Oh... My bad, sorry Young Jay" Nyx looked embarrassed for looking like a fool.
"It's okay" Jay laughed and put the game on the ground, throwing the lid off and taking out small game pieces.
"What are those?" She laid down and lowered her head to the game.
"These are your characters, you use them to play" He smiled up at her and then pulled out a board from the box.
"Your characters......?" She looked confused and eyed each character, grunting at some of them. She absolutely despised the male characters, she showed her dominance over them by pushing them aside.
Jay giggled as he watched her. A few moments later he began to set up the board game, it looked like some kind of money and clue game. After Nyx was done glaring at the male characters she watched Jay closely as he set it up, learning how to do it and what goes where.
"Okay Nyx, this is a really really fun game! What you do is you own a little business to start off with and you have to work your way up. These little cards can help you or destroy you!" Naturally he made it sound dramatic. "But if you get a good one you get stuff like pay raises when you pass one of the two pay days. Every time you pass a pay day you get paid in bits! and if you land on it your income is like, kajiliazed! Well... Mom says it's quadrupled but I like to say kajiliazed" He giggled. "So you choose a character and you push down this little die popper and release it to roll them, once you see your number you move that many spots on the map. BUT BEWARE! There are spots on the map that can take your bits, there are some that can give you more too." Jay handed her twenty bit tokens "Here's your starting money, now let's get started!"
They both played the game, Nyx had been able to get her business to a Sky-Scrapper in under ten moves. Jay had barely moved away from his Mom's basement and he was now celebrating his new office.
After a while Flash Quake came into the room, in an instant Nyx shifted her form into a black shadow chain necklace that hung around Jay's neck. Flash smiled at him playing and picked him up, placing him on his back and explaining to Jay that they were going with Heavy Beat to go walk around and play. As they left the house to go meet up with Heavy Nyx's little form flashed as it formed a small black heart on it that had her eyes on it, she seemed to be watching everything, learning about the new world around her.
Chapter 1: Meet the Misfits
Family of Misfits
By: Jay Sky OC
Characters: Jay Sky , Flash Quake , Heavy Beat (all of those three are OC’s that I have made) Other characters included, like some characters from the show and some made up or already made background ponies.
(opening setting is in Ponyville)
It was a nice warm summer day. The birds were out and the skies were clear. Everypony went about their business, buying what they needed from the market place and talking with one another. It all seemed quite nice and peaceful until a full grown Pegasus stallion came crashing down to the ground. All the ponies coughed as dust and dirt flew up everywhere. After the dust cleared the stallion stood up.
He had a green body color and his mane and tail were black, except for a yellow streak that ran through the blackness. It was shaped like a lightning bolt. His eyes were gray, like clouds right before a lightning storm. Around his neck he wore a string necklace with a leather pouch tied to it. He was a nicely built stallion too, slim and fit. After everypony saw who he was they all groaned and continued to shop. Some of them complained about their fruits being layered with dust.
A few mares scowled at him, some others giggled and made jokes. The stallion didn’t seem to be offended by this at all as he walked up to a stand and spoke with the merchant who was running it. The merchant was a blue coated earth pony stallion with a sea green mane that was long and shaggy. His tail was a darker green color and it was cut short, and styled a bit spiky.
“What can I do for ya?” asked the merchant. He had sort of a sailor’s accent.
“Hmmm….” the stallion thought for a bit “Did you get the Seaweed?”
The merchant nodded and put a wooden box on the stand table. “I don’t know why you would want Seaweed. It’s a rather odd request...”
The stallion smiled sheepishly and shrugged “My wife likes to wrap it around apples and bake it, she has an odd taste in food” he chuckled a bit and opened the pouch on his necklace with his muzzle. “How many bits?”
The merchant thought for a bit and rubbed his left front hoof under his chin. “I’d say probably five bits… after all I did have to go find this stuff personally…”
“Five seems a reasonable price” He tossed five bits onto the table and picked up the box carefully with his front hooves. “Thanks for the Seaweed” he smiled at the merchant and flew up toward the sky, holding the box close to him.
≉≉≉≉≉≉≉≉≉≉≉
The stallion hovered over to a kitchen counter and gently put the box on it. He lived in a house in Cloudsdale, it had three bedrooms and one bathroom, a kitchen (obviously), and a small living room with a couch. He folded his wings and walked over to sit on the couch.
“Honey I’m home” he said a bit loud.
“Shhhhhh!!” came a voice from a hallway.
The stallion sat there quietly, wondering why he was supposed to be quiet. A few moments later a mare quietly tip-toed out of the hallway and came over to sit beside him.
“I just put Jay to sleep for the night” she said quietly “He was getting kinda grouchy”
The stallion nodded and looked at her, checking her out a bit.
She was an orange Pegasus that had light blue hair with dark blue streaks running though it (both mane and tail). Her eyes were green and she wore gauze around her hooves and ankles (just part of her style).
“So what happened while I was gone to get Jay grouchy?” the stallion asked.
“It was nothing major, Flash Quake. He was just mad because I wouldn’t let him eat two cookies.” She giggled and leaned up against Flash Quake, resting her head on his neck.
“Yup, sounds like Jay to me” He began to gently stroke her mane and closed his eyes, happily listening to his surroundings.
The mare smiled and softly said “I’ve got a show to do tonight Flash, do you think you could watch Jay for a bit?”
“Of course I can Heavy Beat, what kind of father would I be if I couldn’t watch my son?” He laughed slightly and then spread one of his wings so he could pull her closer. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”
“Well then I won’t worry.” She smiled and leaned up a bit to kiss his cheek. “Thanks Flash, I know I can count on you.”
“No problem sweetie. How long will you be out?”
“Just a few hours, I should be back before midnight”
“Should?”
“If I’m not back by midnight then somepony liked my band’s work and offered us a contract. We’d have to read it and then sign it of course. And then naturally we would celebrate.”
Flash Quake nodded and understood what she meant “Gotcha, well, good luck then!” he smiled and lightly kissed her lips.
She kissed him back and then smiled “Thanks, my band and I need some more luck”
________________
Flash Quake lay awake in his bed, staring out a window. It was 12:30, he could tell by the clock that hung right next to his door. He wondered if Heavy Beat had gotten the contract or not. Flash had a sudden urge to go eat food so he rolled off his bed and quietly wandered over to the kitchen. Before Heavy Beat left to go to her show she made a batch of Seaweed and apples. Flash wasn't really sure if he should eat one or not, last time he ate Seaweed his mouth was dry for a few hours.
"Well... it is only one..." He thought about this for a moment and then decided he might as well try it out again.
Surprisignly, the Seaweed Apple wasn't as dry as last time. He noticed that it wasn't as baked as the first few batches that Heavy Beat made. Maybe she was in a rush He thought to himself After all she did have a show to get to .
He was about to return to bed when he heard some faint voices coming from outside. Naturally, he wandered over to the nearest window to see who was there. He opened the window and stuck his head out. A female and male voice were coming from a nearby bench where two ponies were sitting. One was a mare and one was a colt, they seemed to be having a heated discussion about a party. They were both totally wasted, Flash thought that was kinda funny and he ducked back in through the window and closed it. Before he drew the curtain over it he caught a glimpse of the ponies beginning a make-out sesh. He smirked a bit and then walked away from the window.
"I wonder how long Heavy Beat is gonna be out partying" he sighed "I might have to make Jay some Wheat Waffles tomorrow, that'll be a mess"
He sat down on the couch with a chuckle and kept himself occupied with a good game of solitaire.
The next morning Flash woke up on the floor with a few cards laying on top of him. He sat up with a groan and stretched.
"I must've passed out..." He said as he stood up, his neck a bit sore.
"GOOOOOOD MOOOOORNIIING!!!!!" A loud voice boomed from behind him.
Flash nearly fell back to the floor from the loud voice and the sudden surprise. He jumped in a 180° circle and looked down at a filly.
"Jay! Geeze little dude you scared me!" Flash chuckled a bit.
Jay laughed and fluttered the tips of his wings. His coat was green like his fathers, all of his legs were half yellow and his wings were red with some black mixed in. His mane and tail were similar to his Father's, black and had somewhat of a lightning bold color in the blackness, except the color of his mane which was blue from the start of his ears to hanging over his forehead. The rest of his mane that hung over his neck was pink. And his tail was orange. Both his mane and tail had a black outline.
"Sorry dad, but it was just too easy and too much of a good opportunity to just pass up." Jay said and looked up at Flash expectantly "What's for breakfast?"
"Ah, right, breakfast" Flash smiled sheepishly "I'll have it done in a flash"
He trotted into the kitchen and got some pans and some pancake mix. He turned the nozzle of a stove head on and watched carefully as the little blue fire rose to half an inch. Then he began to pour some of the mix into a pan, making a few decent sized pancakes. On a separate pan he put some hay on for pancake toppings. Once he had finished cooking the meal he placed two plates onto a table and set some glasses of orange juice.
"Jay, time for breakfast!" Flash Quake said and pulled out a smallish chair and then pulled out a slightly taller chair and sat in it. The little filly came running to the table and nearly tipped the smaller chair when he jumped into it. As Jay and Flash ate their food Jay talked to Flash about a dream he had last night where he was adventuring across deserts and mountains.
"Sounds interesting Jay, was I in there too?" Flash finished off his pancake and looked at Jay Sky.
"Yeah you were in there dad" Jay giggled.
"What's so funny?" Flash playfully tapped his nose with his hoof.
"Oh nothing really.... except that you were tiny! Like, as big as my hoof!" Jay held up his hoof to show Flash Quake and laughed.
"Tiny huh?" Flash chuckled "Was Heavy Beat in it too?" He ruffled Jay's fur and took both of their now empty plates to the sink.
"Yeah she was in there too. Heavy Beat was the leader of the adventure!" Jay giggled and jumped down from the chair and landed on the floor with a loud thud.
"Ah I see how it is" Flash laughed a bit and then smiled at Jay Sky "While your mom is out, do you want to go check out that new park?"
Jay's eyes suddenly lit up and he jumped up with joy "YES YES YES YES YES!!"
"Well alright then. To the park we go!" Flash Quake began packing some snacks in a wicker basket as Jay Sky ran to his room to go get some toys to bring along with him to the park. Before Jay and Flash left, Flash wrote a note for Heavy Beat just in case she got back before he did. Jay couldn't wait to get to the park, he was practically using nearby benches as jungle gyms. Flash had to apologize to anypony that Jay trampled over. As Flash led Jay out of the neighborhood, two ponies walked past them. Flash Quake recognized them as the two from last night and as they passed him he caught a glimpse of the mare's tale. And it looked a lot like Heavy Beat's.
He was a bit troubled by this but was easily distracted by Jay tugging his wings impatiently. Flash Quake chuckled a bit and then began to follow Jay Sky as he led the way. Soon the thought of the mare's similarity to Heavy Beat had completely escaped from Flash's mind. After a while he and Jay had finally made it to the park.
