"Good morning, Spike!" Twilight pulled off the baby dragon's covers, and trotted over to say goodnight to Owlicious.
"Good nothing," Spike said grumpily, feeling for the missing blanket. Unable to find it, he stumbled out of bed and over to Twilight.
"Oh, come on. It's an absolutely beautiful day."
"My dreams were more beautiful."
"Dreaming about Rarity again?"
Suddenly he was wide awake. "What?! N-no! I was dreaming about, um... Ice cream mountains! Yeah, that's it, ice cream mountains! With syrup landslides, and cherry horns- I mean peaks! And-"
Twilight's happy laughter cut him off. "Come on, Spike. Everyone will be up and about on a day like today." She trotted to the door, with a blushing Spike following her. "You know, sometimes I think it's unhealthy how much you dream and think about her."
"I told you, I wasn't!"
"Ah, yes." Twilight looked back at him, smiling, and Spike turned an ever darker red. "But, just in case you were, you really should try to find some other interests, other than eating gems." She turned back to greet her precious town. She was greeted first by silence, and completely abandoned streets. "Where is everypony? It's just like when Zecora was still feared."
"Maybe this time, it's zombie ponies!?"
"There's still no such thing."
Spike crossed his arms, now riding on Twilight's back. "I'm still not convinced. Where is everypony then?"
"Let's head to Sugarcube corner- Pinkie will know what's going on." Spike was nervously glancing all over as Twilight trotted through the abandoned streets toward the town square. Occasionally, a pony could be seen looking through a window, but they always withdrew quickly, without speaking. They were nearly to the destination, when Twilight stopped, staring at the town square.
In the center of town lay a grey-blue unicorn. He was looking about uncertainly, obviously confused. Twilight and Spike had naturally pulled back from the stranger, but now Twilight relaxed. "Oh, brother... I really thought everypony would have been past this fear of new ponies by now. Why would any pony be afraid of him, though? He looks normal enough."
"How about that!" Spike said, sounding scared. The pony had turned, inadvertantly showing his flank. The cutie mark there was two different knives, crossed over a river. Twilight quickly shrank back into the shadows with Spike, ghasping.
"Who on earth has weapons as a cutie mark!? That's downright dangerous! I mean, I've seen a few palace guards with marks like that, and they're never friendly! Spike, we neeed to do something! Maybe we should contact the princess. No, maybe we should just act like everyone else and avoid him and he'll leave. No-"
Voices were headed towards the town square, fast. Glancing up, Twilight spotted the source- Derpy was flying eraticly through town, trying to escape Hoops, Dumb-bell, and Score. Looking back at the strange unicorn, she saw he was frowning up at them, watching.
Too tired to run anymore, Derpy landed on a cloud, burying her head in it. The other three gathered up around her gleefully. "what's the problem, Derpy? Can't focus well enough to argue?" Hoops taunted.
"Leave me alone!" Even through the cloud, Twilight could hear that Derpy was crying. She started out angrily, but the unicorn's quiet voice stopped her. He wasn't loud, but his voice carried a strange, dead weight.
"What are you doing?" The three stallions, to dense to notice him, kept jeering. A darker frown crossed the unicorn's face, and three stones levitated off the ground. A slight gesture, and they bounced off the pegasi's heads. Now he had their attention.
"What was that for!?" Dumb-bell demanded angrily.
"I asked what you were doing."
Hoops flew down at the unicorn slightly. "We're having fun, moron. Run along, before somepony pours another rain cloud on you, Drippy!" The three laughed, hoof-bumping. Twilight was fuming. True, the unicorn looked damp, as if he was drying off from a recent soaking, but those pegasi were a pain in everyone's tails.
"Taunting an innocent pony to the point of tears is fun?"
"Why not? She's just a little derpy moron."
"Have you ever cried, or are you too good for that?"
"What the hay, dude? Crying is for babies!"
"Really? Did you know that terror, or an excess of hopelessness can cause tears?" Was it getting darker? Twilight glanced up to see clouds gathering above the pegasi in a scarily dense formation. How... "You've really never felt even a bit of the feelings you foist upon others?"
"Dude, you make it sound like it matters."
"And what's with the over-stuffy language?"
"Yeah! And what are you gonna do? You don't fly, you can't even get us!"
The stranger let out a low growl and the dull glow from his horn lept out in a brilliant grey-blue. Laughing, the pegasi turned to run, laughing, and ran headlong into the clouds. Twilight gasped out loud- the dense, over head clouds had bent down at a right angle to the ground, forming a corner. Startled, the bullies turned to go the other way, only for another wall to form. In a matter of seconds, they were completely boxed in everywhere but down. As Twilight stared, transfixed, the cloud box fell to the ground, carrying the trapped pegasi with it. Now, with the ground as a base, there was no way out.
Ignoring Spike's desperate, terrified squeaking, Twilight trotted out. "What did you do!?"
The unicorn blinked at her. "I placed them in solitary confinement. They will safely feel the misery and hopelessness they have forced upon others. Light cannot penetrate those clouds, nor sound, and it is only high enough for them to crawl. I'll let them out tomorrow." He held up a hoof to forestall her questions. "I wish to talk with you, there is much I must find out. But at this time, please return to the side of your familiar and stay out of hearing." Twilight started to speak again, but he had already turned away. She nodded, turned, and trotted back to Spike.
"Come on, Spike, let's move away for a bit.
Once the purple unicorn was gone, I gently lowered the grey pony's cloud to the ground. The fluffy layer was muffling her sobs, but they were still apparent. With a quiet sigh, I reached out one hoof and gently stroked her mane. "Don't cry. The vagabonds are confined." Instead of cmoing out like I'd hoped, she shrank further inot the could, avoiding me. I sighed again, and merely kept stroking her blonde mane. After a few minutes, she slowly lifted her head out of the cloud and looked at me. Well, one eye did- the other seemed more interested in a nearby building. It was unique, and somehow completely adorable.
"Who are you?" she said quietly. "What happened to the bullies?"
"Don't worry, they shouldn't bother you again." I held out a hoof to help her up, then wiped away an errant tear.
"Why did you help me? You don't know me."
"I remember being taunted by others. I couldn't stand by and let a mare suffer like that. Especially one as beautiful as yourself."
An adorable blush flushed her face. "No, I-I'm nothing special."
"Well, say what you want, but you're wrong."
She giggled slightly, and I couldn't help joining in. "Thanks, I feel a lot better now. By the way, what's your name?"
"I... S-... Lantra. Lantra Riverside."
"Lantra... Lan!" She suddenly was hugging me really tightly. "Thank you, Lan! I haven't been this happy in months!" She turned and started flying joyously off.
"Wait!" I called after her. "What's your name?"
"Derpy, Mr. Lan!"
Derpy... Somehow, out of her mouth, a suitable and even cute name. After watching her soar off, I trotted off in the same direction the purple unicorn had gone. I needed to figure out what was going on in this new era, but it was good to be back.
