Prologue.View OnlineA Twist of FatePrologue.Zeke Dunbar, Cole MacGrath's best bud for life, stood beside the memorial to Cole in New Marais, the savior of the third rock from the sun that they lived on. Mourning the memorial to his lifelong pal, he could only look briefly back upon the past few hours in which Cole was still living. - - - Nearly Two Days Ago... Zeke could only hope that Cole had the RFI charged up fully, the RFI being a device that Dr. Wolfe said would use Cole's power to defeat The Beast and get rid of the Plague that the monster had brought about. As Zeke paced about the rooftop of an apartment he was perched on anxiously, he could see the carnage that The Beast was causing far into the distance. "Damn... I sure hope Cole gets that RFI up 'n running." he thought aloud. Kuo had taken off after Cole's decision to help humanity, and Zeke thought only one thing... The bitch betrayed us. 'Least Cole whipped her ass. Sitting back on the worn and beaten-up couch that was placed on the roof, Zeke waited almost impatiently for a response from Cole. "C'mon Cole, shouldn't take you this long, brother." he complained, taking a swig of his second-last beer. His prayers were answered, when Cole's voice came over the walkie. "Zeke... It's fully charged." Cole's voice came over the walkie, with a tinge of relief, exhaustion and confidence in his tone. 'Thank God,' Zeke quickly thought, mentally relieved. He pressed the button that allowed him to speak, and said, "Go on man, push the button." he encouraged. After a short pause, Cole's voice came over the walkie again, "No... no, not just yet." he said, before cutting short the conversation between them. "Dammit," Zeke stood up in annoyance, seeing The Beast in the distance, he used the binoculars he had on him to scout out the situation. Cole was now assaulting The Beast mercilessly, hitting the behemoth with multiple blasts of electricity. Not even a minute passed, before The Beast fell to its knees, nearly falling over completely as it used its massive hand to support itself, followed by the other after a silent pause, causing Zeke's anxiety to rise quickly as he seen only the back of the Beast. Suddenly, a light-blue beam of energy flew into the air, going past the atmosphere of the planet, the bright light making Zeke shudder and look away, covering his eyesight. 'He sure as hell pushed 'er!' He thought, looking up to see a brilliant blue sphere of the same energy forming around the planet, only to be stopped by a monstrous explosion. Zeke saw the monsters on the ground drop, one-by-one. 'Yeah, that RFI worked alright.' He thought with relief. - - - Around Two Days Afterwards... Zeke now stood before the newly-placed memorial to Cole MacGrath, his best friend. Cole's iconic weapon- the Amp stood proudly out from the stone encasement it now laid in. They had the statue made the day after the RFI destroyed the Beast, but Zeke came to it the day after it was up. People were looking with a sad smile upon the memorial. But Zeke still had one last thing he needed to do. - - - Present Time... Tears stung Zeke's eyes, as he muttered, "I'll miss 'ya, buddy." while looking up at the statue, memories of his and Cole's friendship skyrocketing through his mind. "Least 'ya didn't die in vain, Cole..." he slid his hand off of the statue, as ambulance sirens wailed, probably carrying the injured to the hospital in the distance. Zeke coughed, before popping open his last beer as he walked from the curb. He looked back to the memorial. Taking a good chunk of the liquid from the bottle, Zeke pulled it away from his mouth, and saluted the memorial with a cheers while walking, "This one's for you, brother." Author's Note Boom. FOR THEY WHO ARE NEW TO READING/REVIEWING MY WORKS (or just want to read the new author's note): A general rule that I have for suggestions is specificity, relativity, and blatancy. I don't appreciate it at all when people just come along and tell me what to do with my story, i.e hoping for the character to kill somebody in the near future. Yes, hoping isn't telling me what to do- but it's annoying when it's multiple people who 'hope'. See the reason below. So if you've a hope for something, hell, even a suggestion. Please back it up with facts and motives based around the story and/or character's past, along with situations that could've driven the character to do the thing you have in mind. My last 'author's notes' was a bit sketchy, but old. Came off as if I never wanted criticism. But no, I'm reformatting it. It's similar but it's not as idiotic. "If you spot any grammatical problems, tell me. If you spot any punctuation problems, tell me. But what I can't tolerate is when people give a command, specifically and mostly for the character to kill, without reason. Especially when the situation does not even call for it and it wouldn't even make sense for the character to do so. It's because it doesn't contribute to anything, and quite frankly does nothing but piss me off. It happened with a couple of my other stories, which, people were practically saying 'make kill someone already ffs'. Raining blood from the sky, etc. While it was entirely out of place for the character to do so due to a lack of proper motives. BUT. Given the certain circumstances it might be plausible to have a character kill someone. Only if the circumstances are right. But, if I say ' is too important to kill off because I have plans', then I hope you can understand. "So please, if you are to say 'make kill someone', for the love of God in the heavens above PLEASE provide a proper motive. That's all I ask. No I'm not asking you to write a book, hell, point form is fine as long as I can understand it. Feel free to criticize, it's not a problem with me as long as you don't come off as insulting. Hey, you don't like it? Fine, that's alright, I mean, to each their own. But come on... don't stoop to insulting. Not that I won't read it but it's just a hassle to push it aside. And, thank you to those who've been supportive- and to those who've picked out issues. You have my respect." ZTB. P.S: This'll only be posted in this chapter! HOORAY!!!
Part 1 - Enter, Cole!View OnlineA Twist of FatePart 1 - Enter, Cole!Cole groggily stirred, groaning as a soft breeze passed over him. 'Am I... dead?' The Conduit wondered to himself. If it hadn't been for the fact that grass was coming off onto his shirt, the fact that he was cold and the fact that there was a breeze, the Conduit would've said he died. "But the RFI..." he thought aloud, before a ringing in his head made him wince. "Nnnnnnnngghhh..." he held his head with his fingers in pain, before closing his eyes and fluttering them open. The pain slowly subsided, and he yawned. Cole decided that he should be figuring out the situation he was in. "But the-... the RFI... I'm... I should be... dead?" he wondered rhetorically, not being able to make any sense of the situation as he stood, an audible cracking, popping noise came from the Conduit's back. He slouched over, and did a few stretches. "Do I still have..." his question was answered as blue shocks of electricity crackled throughout his appendages. "Good." Cole stretched his arms out, and cracked his neck. He yawned. "Man, where the hell am I..?" he asked in disbelief, taking in the cartoon-like terrain. "Yeah, I'm probably dead." the Conduit scratched his head in utter confusion. He seemed to have awoken in some sort of grassy, cartoon-y plains. Deciding that he had no other choice, Cole decided to walk until he found a town. Or God. What Cole found wasn't a town, or God, it was just this: More. Plains. And a forest. Sighing in disappointment from wasting his time, Cole facepalmed. "Well, 'guess I'm lost." he decided, taking his hand from his face. 'What should I do... keep looking, or wait until someone finds me?' Cole wondered. Suddenly, he heard a roar from the forest from his right, which made Cole leap into a defensive position, readying a bolt. The Conduit heard snapping of trees and branches, and the creature, the source of the noise, finally emerged. And it was like nothing Cole had ever seen before. Standing on all-fours at about eight feet tall, nearly twenty feet from Cole was a Manticore. An enraged, pissed-off looking Manticore. "Ho-ly shit!" Cole exclaimed, throwing himself backwards as the beast began to progress aggressively towards him. If Cole wasn't in shock, the Manticore would've been either dead or paralyzed already, but due to him thinking they were just myths, and actually seeing one, made the Conduit nearly panic. Cole finally snapped out of his stupor, and leaped into the air, landing in a roll directly in the path of the enraged Manticore. The Conduit quickly changed tactics, throwing an ice grenade. It hit the Manticore bang-on, sending it flying. Cole didn't stop here; he jumped into the air and flew over to the Manticore, just before it hit the ground, he used a blast wave to send it flying into a large tree, knocking it unconscious. Landing with another roll, Cole brushed himself off. "Well, that was easier than I expected. 'Least I made the best of it." he thought aloud, as he ran into the woods. He reached around his back hopefully, trying to grab the Amp. He succeeded, pulling out the weapon. "Whew. Good thing this is still with me." Cole quickly wiped away the cold sweat of worry, and continued running, pulling out the Amp to clear a path if anything got in the way. Luckily for Cole, nothing did. Not even a single resident to Ponyville hasn't heard about Rainbow Dash, calling herself Equestria's finest flier, or in her words; "Only the most awesomest flier in Equestria!" the cyan Pegasus mare bragged to a new colt who arrived recently in town, who was apparently interested in Rainbow Dash because they kinda ran into each-other. The young colt's eyes went agleam with starstruck-ed-ness. "That is so. Cool!" he exclaimed, hopping up with a smile on his face. "It'd be great to see you fly!" the colt said hopefully. Rainbow suddenly wore a look of remorse on her face. Since Rainbow was both an aerial acrobat, if you will, and a weather-pony, she had her duties to attend to. Today, she just had to clear the skies around the Everfree forest. 'Simple enough,' 'Dash thought to herself. She looked back to the colt, and sighed. "Sorry little buddy, I gotta go clear the skies. But I'll be sure to let you see me strut my stuff sometimes!" with that, the competitive Pegasus took to the skies, leaving her new friend behind. Rainbow veered right, the soft yet strong wind blowing through her mane. 'Adrenaline at its best,' the Pegasus mare chuckled to herself, heading for the medium-sized patch of fluffy clouds poised over a clearing lying dead before the Everfree Forest, where ponies dared not to tread, because of both the eeriness of the place and the creatures that can be found in the monstrous forest. So Rainbow Dash began to do her job, bucking clouds into smaller particles of clouds, which disappeared nearly immediately after. She continued said action for around four minutes, before she took a small breather. The Pegasus mare laid back onto one of the un-bucked clouds, and let out a sigh of relief. Chuckling to herself, she openly stated her new personal record for beating her old record at 'cloud-bucking'. Dash had made her work into a little game, where she counted the clouds she bucked. Every time she passed her old limit, she would congratulate herself. "Thirty-six clouds in four minutes! Yeah!" she threw her hooves over her head, laying back on the cloud comfortably as she sighed again, resting her head on the fluffiness of the pillow-like cloud. Rainbow's rest was interrupted when she heard something. "Huh?" she wondered, peeking her head over the cloud's edge, squinting to get a better look at where the sound was coming from. 'Must be a creature from the Everfree... wait, they don't come that close to the treeline!' Dash thought frantically, before she heard very faint grunting, as if somepony was running through the thick forest. Deciding to take a closer look, Dash sat up and stretched out her wings. She jumped from the cloud, and began to descend. When Rainbow touched the ground, she stretched again, and approached the treeline to the Everfree Forest gingerly. She kept her distance, just in case something did jump out at her. She peered into the darkness of the forest, only to see something crackling? Yes. Crackling. Quick but noticeable little zigzags of blue light seemed to be seen by the naked eye of Rainbow Dash. Suddenly the lights went out as she heard a snapping noise, presumably from a branch. She then heard a male voice yell in the distance, "Damn! I gotta..." Rainbow Dash couldn't understand the rest. The lights reappeared, but they were less constant. As whatever generated the small crackling lines of blue light drew closer to the edge of the Everfree Forest, Rainbow began to get a little paranoid. She then clearly heard a colt's voice, sounding somewhat exhausted. "Now, why couldn't I have just flown over the forest?... I don't know. Ugh." Seeing that the speaker was obviously a Pegasus, from the mentioning of flying, she spoke up. "Hello?" Rainbow asked almost nonchalantly. The voice came back, "Who's there?" it questioned. "Why don't you come out and tell me first?" she perked up as she asked this, only to hear the snapping of twigs as the speaker came out of the forest. As soon as it came into view, she dropped her facial expression and fell on her flank. "Ha, listen, anyway, I'm kinda lost and I--" the speaker stopped too. The two of them stared, dumbfounded at each-other. The speaker wasn't a pegasus, nor did it have wings or any sort of flying appendages, but it looked to be some sort of skinny, short minotaur. The assumed minotaur-predecessor spoke up, breaking the silence. "Alright, now I've seen everything." Author's Note Apologies if the earlier chapters don't seem up-to-par with the later ones; this story is relatively old.
Part 2 - Like a snowstorm in the desert.View OnlineA Twist of FatePart 2 - Like a snowstorm in the desert.Part 2 - Like a snowstorm in the desert. Cole was rapidly becoming annoyed at how frequently this flying pony asked questions. Very few of them were actually understandable, the rest of them being some sort of incoherent babble. The one that caught Cole's attention was; "What are you?" There was a short pause, before the Conduit groaned. "I'm a human. Well... I guess." he managed to forget the fact that he was a Conduit whilst answering. The pony picked up on this. "You 'guess'? What's that supposed to mean?" the pony asked curiously. "It's a long story. But, long story short, I was a delivery boy for Empire City. One day, I got a package, instead of me delivering it to someone else, yada-yada-yada, I gained powers, used them for the greater good of humanity." the Conduit stated briefly, rubbing his forehead, which pulsed with a headache. "You have powers?!! So awesome!!!" Rainbow Dash's eyes were agleam with furious excitement and intrigue. "What kind of powers!?" "Eeeehhh... You wouldn't wanna know." Cole replied, groaning. He was too tired for this crap. "Are you kidding?! Hay yeah I would!" ... "Fine." Cole groaned again, before reaching his hand out and shooting a bolt at a tree. The kinetic energy from the long-ranged bolt hit the trunk with enough force to snap it in half. Meanwhile, the flying pony stood there, slack-jawed in awe. "That... was... so... cool!!!" the pony exclaimed, hopping into the air excitedly. Cole could only laugh for a moment, before he sighed. "How did you do that?!" "Ugh..." Cole was getting really annoyed now, and Rainbow almost instantly recognized the frustration in his sigh. "Sorry! I was just curious and stuff..." Rainbow apologized sheepishly to Cole, who was now aching with a horrible headache. 'Sorry doesn't cut it... but it'll do.' Cole decided. "Apology accepted. Just... just stop asking so many questions, will you? Hell, could you answer some of mine?" he asked the cerulean blue mare. "Shoot." "Where am I, how do I get back to New Marais, and most in-damn-portantly, what the hell are you!?" Cole didn't hold back his enthusiasm. "Er... well you're outside of the Everfree Forest, in Equestria, I don't know what a 'New Marais' is, and I'm a pegasus, thank you very much." Rainbow replied, showboating her wings. "Okay, I'm either dead, or I am dreaming." Cole paced around, obviously confused. "A pegasus. No. I'm hallucinating." the Conduit mumbled. "Um... you alright?" Rainbow asked worriedly. "Alright? I am ANYTHING but alright! I am stuck in some... i-in some sort of damn... UGH!" Cole couldn't find the words he was hoping to say, so he gritted his teeth in irritation, blue sparks of electricity jolting about his entire body. While this was happening, the cyan Pegasus stood there in disbelief, her jaw nearly dropped to the ground out of surprise, shock and awe from what she was witnessing. "Wh-what's happening?" she asked, with both curiosity and surprise. "I'm not any ordinary human, I'm a Conduit. A race of humans with powers." Cole replied, annoyance heavy in his tone. Rainbow began to backpedal at his tone, her ears flopping down. "Anyway, I gotta get going." Cole took a few steps forward. "Wait, what are you--" Rainbow was interrupted. What the Conduit did next, she definitely did not expect. Suddenly leaping into the air from a pillar of ice, Cole used a massive majority of his energy to fly far over Ponyville, having to land and jump off of a roof every now and then (luckily not being seen). Rainbow quickly took to the skies, chasing after the flying Conduit just a few seconds after he took off. Cole had the advantage distance-wise in the chase. He didn't know why this Pegasus was chasing him through the air, but he didn't really want to be here. Wherever 'here' was. The Conduit took a glance back and saw the Pegasus hot on his tail. "Dammit!" the Conduit quickly muttered loudly in anger, before using up more of his kinetic energy to fly a tad faster, before he had to land, sprint and jump again. Cole looked back to faintly hear the pegasus calling after him, but he paid her absolutely no mind. He looked forward, and immediately saw a rock face. "SHI-" SMASH! All that Cole saw before blacking out was the rapidly ascending sky. And his rapidly descending body. Rainbow bolted down after the falling Conduit, or whatever he was called, determined to save him before he smashed onto the ground. Now, they were pretty high up. "I ain't letting you die on me!" Rainbow exclaimed in determination, as the Conduit's body fell closer to the ground that was rapidly coming up to meet him. 'One shot, Rainbow... ONE. SHOT.' She motivated herself, shutting her eyes and groaning as a wind tunnel formed in a cone-like shape around her, wind screaming in her ears. Her mane and tail were flying backwards as she flew downward. The pegasus opened her eyes to reveal a visible cone of wind. And a LOT of resistance, as she began to penetrate the sound barrier. Rainbow groaned immensely, as the cone began to slow her down. 'Don't you even think about it, wind!' She almost panicked, before one final push sent her plummeting through the sound barrier. A large explosion followed by a trail of rainbow sent Rainbow Dash flying down towards the Conduit. Her eyes fluttered and filled with hope and relief, as she picked up the Conduit mid-flight, mere inches away from the ground. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief, and her hooves began to strain a tiny bit due to the human's weight. But she held up, and headed for Ponyville. Rainbow Dash began her descent, straight behind Twilight Sparkle's house. The Conduit was still in her hooves, but she noticed many ponies looking up confusedly at the straining Pegasus. Unfortunately, she couldn't take the Conduit's weight any longer, and with a groan, she dropped him in the middle of the street. Rainbow landed directly beside the Conduit's unconscious body, panting as a number of ponies began to come towards the Pegasus and the Conduit. Rainbow began to notice that the Conduit was stirring. 'This is bad!' She panicked inside her mind, before she had an idea. "It's a robot! Cool, isn't it?!" she grew a smile on her face- an innocent smile, but behind that innocent smile was a liar! "A robot? Looks a little too realistic to be a-" one of the ponies said, before the Conduit sat up. While this was happening, many of the ponies nodded in agreement. "Oh... oh my head..." the Conduit muttered. The large, red workpony known to everypony as Big Mac, spoke up. "He alright?" Cole rendered Big Mac's voice as Zeke's voice. "Yeah... I'm fine, Zeke. Just had a really messed-up dream." he said groggily. Then, he opened his eyes. "What the f-..." the Conduit almost dropped the f-bomb. He stood up, and shoved his way through the crowd of pastel equines. Then, he tried using his kinetic energy to launch him into the air, only to find that he had ran out! "Damn! 'Outta energy!" Cole hissed to himself. Sparks flew about his arms, but couldn't generate any bolts as Cole gritted his teeth in annoyance. Cole saw a street-lamp ahead, give or take ten yards. 'Ponies have street-lamps?' He asked himself, before dismissing the thought. Energy. He let out a scan just to be sure that the energy sources could actually fuel him, and lo; multiple street lamps and stores contained electrical items were found by the scan, from which he could sap some crackle-snap. "Time to feed..." Cole thought aloud, before running up to a street lamp, and taking all the juice he could from it. Behind him ponies gasped in awe, but Cole paid them no mind as he moved to the next street lamp, draining the electricity from it, followed by another, and another. Cole would've been content to just run along merrily, sapping the street lamps. But something happened. It happened within a second. All of the sudden Cole found himself on the ground. He was tied up simply but tightly by a rope, from his forearms to his back. Standing above him was an angry-looking, Stetson-hat wearing green-eyed orange-coated mare. Cole would've laughed his ass off if this wasn't a serious situation. A pony wearing a hat. Think about that. "Now what in tha' hay are 'ya, an what are 'ya doin' to the new streetlights?!" the pony demanded angrily, glaring daggers into Cole's shocked eyes. Cole punted himself into the air, extending his heels and knees. Landing on the orange mare's back, Cole planted both feet on the ground, hopping off. He had his hands free, so he jumped, aimed, and launched himself from a pillar of ice. The rope severed all the way through due to striking the sharp, metal edge of a store's sign. The Conduit flung himself over the roof and landed on it, panting with exhaustion. "Look, I don't want to hurt anybody!" Cole insisted to the crowd of equines, his hand leaning on the sign. "Then why'd ya'... how'd ya'..." the orange, Stetson-wearing mare stared at the ice pillar. By now, she thought she was dreaming. "I don't like being tied up." Cole scolded. "Well you shouldn't 'a been takin'... doin' whatever you were doin'!" the Orange mare argued, throwing an accusing hoof at him. "Ugh! I'd be nothing more than a burden to you all. I just need directions, and a way outta here. I'll find another town. Goodbye- AH!" Cole tried leaving, but was now frozen within a yellow, translucent barrier. Suddenly, many ponies gasped, some murmuring "Princess C-..." But Cole couldn't hear the rest. And THAT'S when an angry, feminine voice spoke behind him... "What is going on here!?" Author's Note Dununununun powers... powerz0rz... I... words. Things. This isn't required, what the hell am I doing!?
Part 3 - Got some desperation? Then fill the damn application! (bad rhymes for the win)View OnlineA Twist of FatePart 3 - Got some desperation? Then fill the damn application! (bad rhymes for the win)"Hnnngh! Just let me go!" Cole demanded in anger, his whole body struggling against the translucent barrier, to no avail. "No. You have caused a panic, human." the large, white, horned-and-winged pony known to every 'pony' here as 'Princess Celestia' scolded the Conduit. Cole gulped as he met Celestia's intense, challenging gaze with his own. 'Never thought I'd be afraid of... horses. But this one... Jesus Christ, something about her stare... just... just says that she means business.' The Conduit thought fearfully, the intensifying glare from Princess Celestia making him more and more worried by the second. Celestia's lips suddenly curled into a warm smile. 'What? I thought...' "AH- UMPH!" Cole was abruptly released from his encasement, sending him to the ground below the roof he was perched on. The Princess flew down gracefully beside the Conduit who laid on the ground whilst a crowd gathered around them both, while Cole was still looking up at Celestia- a pained expression plastered across his face. The Conduit staggered to his feet, and was met almost eye-to-eye by the Princess. "I... I'm sorry, miss, for causing a-" Cole attempted apologizing, but was cut short by Celestia. "It is quite alright. I certainly do not want to insult you, but I was worried you may have put some of my subject's lives in jeopardy." Celestia smiled at him warmly, then donned a look of seriousness, borderline staring Cole down. "Would you have-" Cole was shocked in revulsion at the supposed question. 'I wouldn't...' "I wouldn't lay a hand on anyone. I gave up-..." not being able to explain himself any further, Cole looked down at his hands, and clenched his fists. "Zeke..." he thought aloud in an incoherent mutter. Celestia rudely cut Cole's memories short. "Then please, explain why you were... well, I do not have the proper words for what you were doing, but I suppose I can suffice with 'doing what you were doing'?" she questioned with a concerned tone. Seeing no other choice but to explain, Cole answered. "I use electrokinetic energy, or as you and I might call it- electricity, 'cause I have powers that need it. The street lamps in the street were a power source, and I needed energy... so I did what I had to do. Feed. I didn't know it would cause a panic." The last bit was a half-lie. "Why would you need energy for your... powers?" Celestia asked curiously. By her tone, Cole thought to himself with a sigh, 'She doesn't believe me. Big surprise there.' "I heard that." 'What the fu-...' "Look, somebody! A-anybody! C-could you back me up in this a bit?! Wait... Rainbow, you here?" Cole asked frantically, hoping that that Rainbow pony could back him up in this situation. 'Liiittle bit freaked the hell out right now too!' Luckily for Cole, Rainbow Dash made her way through the crowd. "Yeah! He has powers, Princess!" she excitedly said to Celestia, smiling. "Hmm. Pray tell, what may these powers be?" Cole pointed to the ice pillar that he was projected off of, which Celestia wasn't acknowledging for some odd reason. "... Oh my. Elemental control?" "Thats... eh, one way of looking at it, I guess." Cole said. "Lemme show you right quick..." the Conduit sighed, before walking over to one of the now energy-drained street lamps. He aimed his hand carefully, lining up a shot. His arm began to irradiate with the familiar blue sparks, and his hands grew a ball of electrokinetic energy, and he fired a basic bolt directly at the street lamp which flickered to life, making the ponies 'Ooh' and 'Aah' in both amazement and understandable fear. Celestia walked to Cole's side gingerly. "Is this all you can do?" she asked with a curious yet very 'withholding' tone. Again, seeing no other choice to explain, Cole answered, "Nah. I have a range of powers. One of 'em being healing the wounded with my energy, or taking the energy produced by them as my own, but unfortunately that kinda results in the death of the perso-I mean pony. Whatever, you get what I mean. I think." "Interesting. Very interesting. May I have your name?" Celestia asked kindly. "Cole." the Conduit responded. 'Time to apologize to the locals...' he thought, looking to the crowd of ponies. "Look everyone, I uh... apologize for making a scene here, I'm not... I'm not dreaming... So all of this is real, and I'm kinda not taking it so well. Outta my element right now. Excuse me. Heh." Cole apologized half-sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" Celestia asked him. "No, no. No I don't." Cole replied to the Princess. "You're welcome to stay in the castle with me, if you please." Celestia offered. "Oh, heheh, no, no thank you, I couldn't... you're royalty. I'd only be nothing more than an annoyance." Cole attempted to shrug off the offer, but Celestia was persistent. Yeah, she doesn't give up easily. "No no, I insist that you stay with me, Cole." Celestia said to Cole, who wasn't ready to give up either. Cole sighed, "I don't want to cause any more trouble than I already have. If I stay with royalty... I'm not sure what would happen, but I doubt it'll be good." Celestia looked into Cole's eyes, narrowing her own- before looking to her subjects and placing a hoof upon Cole's shoulder as she spoke, "Well then, would anypony here like to take Cole into their hooves?" Celestia asked the crowd of ponies, who murmured several 'noes'. 'They're afraid of me... ugh, great.' Cole's disappointment was cut short by a unicorn. This unicorn looked excited as hell... She had a mint-green coat, with matching mane and tail colors, along with yellow eyes. In her mane and tail there were white streaks. Her horn matched her coat color, a minty green. The mark on her flank seemed to be a lyre, a stringed musical instrument. "Ooh! Ooh ooh! If you don't have any place to stay, I'll let you stay with me!" the mint-green pony exclaimed. "... Hm. Yeah, I guess I'd be alright with that. I need some rest, anyway." Cole stretched his arms out with a yawn, then dropped his shoulders. "Thanks for the offer, Princess, but I'm gonna stay with..." Cole's hand pointed over to the mare, and he turned to give her a hint. "Lyra. Lyra HeartStrings." the mint-green unicorn filled in the verbal blank with bubbly cheer. "Well alright then Cole. I will come and visit you from time-to-time. I love you all, my little ponies. And Cole, please, stay out of trouble." Celestia chuckled a tad at the end of her speech, before disappearing in a bright light. "Alright everypony, I suppose you all can go back to your business." Lyra said, gesturing Cole to follow her, which he did. "... So uh, Lyra." "Yeah Cole?" "I was just thinking. Why exactly did you want to take me under your wing?" Cole asked the minty-green unicorn. "Well I have this theory that there are other races other than just ponies, dragons, minotaurs and the like right? Like way, way more. One of my ideas were bipedal, much like a minotaur." Lyra smiled. "You happen to fit the description, so it's pretty exciting that I was right with my theories!" She squeed. "What the hell was that noise." "Huh? What noise?" "... Nevermind." Eventually, Lyra escorted Cole to her home. It was a cozy-looking, decent-sized building made of wood and bricks, complete with a shingled roof. "Nice place." Cole commented, stretching his arms out and yawning. "Thank you!" Lyra unlocked the door with her magic, the key encased in both the lock and the field of magic. Cole stared at her, dumbfounded. "What the he- how are you doing that?" he asked in disbelief, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, sorry Cole, it's my magic." Lyra smiled at the Conduit, before opening the door with said magic. Cole muttered something incoherently under his breath, before heading inside the door which he had to duck under. He was of course followed by Lyra, who trotted in happily. Lyra shut the door behind her softly, and stretched her hooves out with a yawn. "Heh, decent setup you have going." Cole commented, the two dull-red couches, the fireplace, the paintings and portraits, and especially the coffee table placed in-between the two couches, and the bookshelves, all accented the comfortable and cozy aura of the home. It was rather luxurious. "Thank you." Lyra blushed a tad, before sighing. "If you'd like some rest, there is a guest room upstairs. Make a left, then it's the third door down the corridor." she directed Cole. "Thanks, Lyra." Cole was obviously uneasy, but Lyra hid her concern with a warm and welcoming smile. 'I'm gonna have to get used to these ponies' names if I'm gonna be here a while...' Cole thought as he found the room. It had a carpet floor, a bed, a dresser, a standing mirror, and a bookshelf. Cole, wanting to relax, picked off a book from the shelf. "Thank God, 'least I won't be bored to death..." Cole thought aloud in relief, opening the book. The book Cole chose was about the Equestrian Monarchy, detailing the first three hundred years of Celestia's rulership, hence it being the first in a five-volume series. 'Whew. Thought it'd be in a different language and crap... good thing it's in English.' Cole thought with even more relief, obviously at ease that the books were printed in English. Cole continued to read for nearly an hour and a half, absorbing information as to how the Equestrian Monarchy came to be. That was, until he slowly drifted into a calm sleep, the book flopping onto the bed once his grip slipped from it. Author's Note Boo?
Part 4 - A Simple Morning Can Lead to Complex DecisionsView OnlineA Twist of FatePart 4 - A Simple Morning Can Lead to Complex Decisions"Ugh... weird fucking dream..." Cole muttered to himself groggily as he woke up, in the bed in which he slept in the previous night. He sniffled and coughed, before wiping his face. Once he stopped, he opened his eyes, took his hand away from his face, and looked around. "Wait..." He studied the room a bit more, and looked down at his hand. "... You've gotta be kidding..." The conduit groaned loudly, and stood up. With a sigh, he began to walk downstairs. The entire house was silent, aside from his footsteps. "L-... Lyra?" Cole called out. 'Was that her name? Eh, whatever... I'll find out soon enough.' No response. 'Nevermind then.' Once again, Cole groaned. He was at the top of the stairs, but then he began to walk down, before he stopped. He sniffed the air, and sniffed again. Then he lifted up his left arm, and took an accidentally large whiff of the gloriously disgusting stench that radiated from his armpit. "Eugh!" He coughed, turning his head to the right. "Screw that..." He said to himself as he turned around, looking around in hopes of finding a bathroom. Eventually, Cole found the bathroom he sought, which had a generically tiled floor; a blue-and-white colored linoleum checkerboard. There was a midget of a shower at the far right corner of the room, and in the left corner, was a small counter, complete with a sink, and a couple of drawers. There wasn't a window, so Cole had to turn a light on. He shut the door behind him as he walked into the room, and approached the shower. "... How in the hell am I gonna do this..." The Conduit asked himself, staring blankly at the small shower. So, Cole decided on something. He took off his shirt, his other garments, and tossed them aside. He climbed into the shower with a sigh, having to crouch just to get into it. He stood up instinctively, and smashed his head off of the ceiling. "OW! Son of a... rrgggh..." Cole held his head with his hands, and growled in pain. After a few minutes, the pain passed, and he sighed, grumbling under his breath as he twisted the metal knob that had cold to the right, and hot to the left. He accidentally turned the knob all the way to the left while he had his eyes closed. Though, he somehow forgot that he couldn't take a bath or shower, because non-purified water conducts electricity. Many of the citizens in the vicinity of the house perked up when they heard a sudden-- "AUUUUUGH!!!" Cole had accidentally tore down the shower curtains, taking the bar down, and himself along with it. He did, however, manage to stop himself from cracking his skull open by quickly snapping out one of his arms, hitting the wall in the shower while his other hit and grabbed onto the edge of the tub. Cole exhaled quickly, as he was still getting seared by the scalding-hot water. Luckily, he was in grabbing range of the knob, so he immediately grasped it and pulled it all the way to the right, shutting off the shower. He slipped down into the tub, letting out a sigh of relief as the hellish pain began to stop. "Aah..." He relaxed as his burns slowly became numb. Soon, he opened his eyes and stood up, getting out of the shower. - - - Soon After... Cole had walked downstairs. At least, for the miniature amount of time that the conduit had taken a shower, his armpits lacked the next-to-unbearable stench that they once held. It was due to the electricity crackling around him when he got electrocuted. It literally atomized the odor particles. One thing that was bugging him was his 'ol stomach. It rumbled, as it noisily asked for a bit of sustenance. "Great," Cole sighed. "Hope 'Ly won't mind..." He looked around, seeing as Lyra was probably sleeping. Then he saw a note as he entered the kitchen. On the room's refrigerator is where it was. The note read; 'Cole, I went to get groceries, I'll be back soon. - Lyra P.S: There are a few apples left in the fridge, I think. If you like apples, that is, just help yourself.' "Heh, guess she doesn't," Cole thought aloud with a small chuckle, opening the fridge. He grabbed one of the apples, which he bit into after shutting the fridge's door. The apple wasn't the best he had- hell, when was the last he had actually had any fruit? Not an important question, since his stomach temporarily stopped grumbling. Cole sat down at the table, munching on his apple and staring out blankly, a neutral expression on his face. "Wonder if that princess could help me get back... alright, have I gone insane? Am I really considering asking a princess, no. A magical unicorn princess to help me get back to Earth?" Cole asked nobody in particular. " 'Bet Zeke misses the hell outta me... probably thinks I'm dead, poor bastard." He held his head in his hands, elbows on the table. "Ugh, what am I gonna do here?" The conduit asked himself, looking upwards. "Get a job, maybe?" He suggested to himself. "No... what am I good at?" Cole thought about becoming a mailman. Then he thought that, since it was a monarchy in this land, there would be guards. Maybe he could join the royal guard? 'No... I ain't formal enough. Don't got the right attitude.' So that was dismissed. "Maybe I could ask Lyra..." He thought aloud. "Ask me what?" Lyra questioned. Apparently Cole didn't notice her come back, as he was lost in his thoughts. He almost jumped due to being startled. "Eh, I was just gonna ask like... what jobs there are that could be done around town. Y'know, I ain't the type to be sitting on my ass." "O-oh... well... I don't know all the jobs. You should go see Mayor Mare, she'd be sure to know. Or Twilight Sparkle. She's kinda seen as a guide and all, probably since she's the Element of Magic." She knew about the Elements of Harmony- practically everypony did. Cole perked-up at the mentioning of Twilight's title. "Element of Magic?" He sounded confused. Lyra cocked her head at him. "What? You don't know about the Elements of Harmony?" "... No...?" "Ah! Well, I guess it'd be nice to know, huh?" Lyra chuckled. Cole just nodded, and she sat down beside him. "There are six Elements of Harmony; Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness and Magic. Pinkie Pie, the town's go-to party mare, is the Element of Laughter. Rarity, who is a great tailor, is the Element of Generosity. Applejack, who works on the Apple Family Farm, is the Element of Honesty... Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loya-" Cole looked at her, cutting her off suddenly. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on. I barely even know any of these people aside from Rainbow Dash. Why are you tellin' me about these other Elements of Harmony?" He meant to say people, since he wasn't used to 'ponies' as a plural. When one thought about it, the ponies were very human-like. The only true difference being their behavior (they were far friendlier than some of the people he knew) and physical appearance. "Well, I thought they'd be useful to you. Especially Twilight- she could help you really get to know the ponies. I mean, you are a whole different race..." Lyra reasoned. "Good point... good point. But uh, I just think I'll talk to the Mayor." Cole said. "Where's the town hall?" "It's pretty easy to spot out. Just look out the window." The unicorn directed Cole to said window, and opened the blinds. "Town hall is way down the street, it's the biggest building in Ponyville." "Right, right. Anyway, I guess I'll be going..." The conduit began to walk off, opening the door to the house and stepping out into the sunlight. Cole had a couple problems that he needed to overcome first. Getting his citizenship as a resident in this land would be a huge help. Nobody wants to send a resume that says 'alien from another world'. And there was the fact that he really was an alien from another world, in technicality. With powers. He shut the door behind him, before he walked onto the street. "Better put my tie on..." Author's Note Just a quick note, I have updated and refurbished the older chapters, so go reread them if you can. Sorry for the semi-short chapter, though! I really just wanted to get this one out, as I haven't been focusing on this story all that much. Love all'a y'all.
Part 5 - Stop me if you heard this one- So a Conduit walks into a Library...View OnlineA Twist of FatePart 5 - Stop me if you heard this one- So a Conduit walks into a Library...Much like he expected, Cole received stares. He was more used to the Militia in New Marais attacking him on sight, the ice freaks. Hell, even those monster things. Being titled the ‘Demon of Empire City’, his acts of heroism contrasted it greatly. To be honest, it was kind of boring, being here. Almost like how it was- back before he had his super powers. But he’d just have to make the best of it, he guessed. While lost in his thoughts, he bumped into somebody. “Oh, sorry.” Cole said dryly. “Freak...” The stallion he bumped into said. Cole shot him a glance, but rolled his eyes and continued walking. That horse was an asshole. “As he came through the window, it was the sound of a crescendo. He came to her apartment and left bloodstains on the carpet. She ran under the table...” Cole hummed to himself. He missed music, and all he could manage was the song ‘Smooth Criminal’ that got stuck in his head. Oddly enough, since he was technically a smooth criminal. Cole never really thought he’d be stuck in a world full of talking horses. But even so, he never expected himself to adapt this quickly. He adapted quickly because he was used to situations like this. ‘Situations like this’, as in being the odd one. ‘I’ve been in weirder situations,’ he told himself. What was even stranger was that he was going to try to get his citizenship. But then, something came into this mind while he walked. That alicorn- Princess Celestia. As she held him the day before, he remembered her calling him a ‘human’. Could that have meant that humans actually were here before, but only she remembered them? It really made him think. His thoughts were snapped in two when he heard a high-pitched, tomboyish voice say, “Excuse me? S-... sir?” Cole looked about for the source of the voice. Then he looked down. There were three little horses. Well, fillies. Was that the right word? Just a few feet away from him. One looked like a banana. The other looked like a chicken. The final one looked like a marshmallow. “What?” He sounded slightly agitated. “I... We heard some rumors going around town about some alien with electric powers. T-that’s you, right?” The chicken-lookalike asked. “Well, I... guess you can say alien, but uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s me.” Cole replied, looking a little bit confused. Before any of them could open their little mouths to speak again, the mare that tied Cole up yesterday approached quickly. “Applebloom! Get away from him.” She ordered. “But Appleja-” “No ‘but’s, Applebloom. You too, girls, run along.” “Aww...” The three of them sulked, before they complied and went along. They seemed like they wanted to ask a few more questions, what was the harm in that? Cole blinked twice, looking as they walked away. It had been his first time dealing with pony children, so he wasn’t sure what to expect from them. The banana looked at the large orange cowpony with sad eyes. The chicken looked a bit peeved, and the s’more had her head down as she shuffled along with her friends. Why was she so quick to judge? Cole raised his left eyebrow and crossed his arms. “What, did you think I’d hurt them or something?” He asked. “As far as Ah’m concerned,” Applejack looked both ways before putting a hoof on his midsection. “Yes. Don’t y’all ever go near my sister again, y’hear?” She asked in a quiet but stern tone. In her defense, she didn’t know about the human that deeply yet. Little did the conduit know that Applejack was a bit of a racist (Anyone remember Zecora?). The conduit didn’t expect to get into this kind of argument, but what he said next needed to be said. “Lighting falls at my damn whim. Ice obeys my will. I can fall from the sky and come out without a scratch. And all living things can feed my power.” Cole narrowed his eyes, lowering his arms to his sides. “And I’m holding back. If I wanted to hurt someone- trust me, I would’ve.” “Look, Ah didn’t mean ta-” Applejack slowly pulled back, lowering her head slightly. “Wait... That came out wrong.” Cole said, releasing a sigh. “Let me put it this way...” His left arm raised up. Blue sparks and bolts cracked in the air. “I can do this, and you are giving me a reason to get angry? Let me tell you, you got balls lady. But seriously, don’t piss me off more than I already am. Even I don’t insult people unless they piss me off.” “Sorry already, alright?! Ah just don’t want-” Cole drove his head down, lifting his hand between their faces. His voice lost the normal gruff sentiment, and turned clear and in a very deep and low tone. His face contorted from his casual ‘calm’ (and/or annoyed), to one of disgust. “Go ahead. Say it. Say that I would hurt a child. I dare you.” The mare let out a small sigh, but she was obviously on-edge. His tone clearly stated that he didn’t like what she was implying. “Look, don’t get all angry or nothin’. Ah was jus’ lookin’ out for my sister. Y’know, Ah bet you’d do the same for your own kin.” She reasoned. Cole picked himself to stand up, narrowing his eyes at her. Wrong move on her part. If only she knew. The conduit shut both eyes and squeezed his hand into a fist, trying to fight back the urge to jump away. “Would you let your love die, to save the life of seven others you didn’t even know?” “Ah... Uh...” “I hope you never have to make that choice.” Cole turned his back to her, lowering his arm to dissipate his power. “Don’t you dare talk to me about kin.” “Ah... Ah’m sorry.” Applejack attempted to apologize, her face now making her look as if she was hurt, or feeling sorry for the conduit. “Look, I don’t need your pity.” He looked over his shoulder. “Right now, I’m busy. If I ever hear you open your mouth before thinking again, I will personally make you go through that choice.” He then left her, standing in the street. She was wide-eyed, experiencing mixed emotions. Cole continued to walk towards the town hall. The argument between the two of them really made his mood bitter. First the asshole, then the mare. What was it with ponies that made them talk without thinking? Soon, he bumped into another pony. It was another mare, with a pale yellow coat and a light pink mane and tail. She also had huge eyes, with a trio of butterflies on the sides of her haunches. A whimper was heard as she fell down, three grocery bags falling to the ground as well. ‘Ugh, what now...’ Cole also fell down, landing on his rear. He opened his eyes to look at the mare. “Oh, I-I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-... oh... my...” She trailed off as Cole got to his feet. “No no, it’s alright...” He picked up the vegetables that fell out of the bags, and put them back in. What he didn’t notice was that the mare was staring at him, paralyzed in what looked to be either nervousness or fear. Once he was finished, he patted her softly and quickly on the head, and continued on. Her hair was really smooth and silky from what he felt. “Th-thank you...” He barely heard the quiet voice, but he picked up on it. “ ‘Welcome.” Cole said simply as he continued to walk, putting his hands in his pockets. Was he just going to keep bumping into everypony today? Like, seriously. That’s three pins knocked down, only seven more to go until Cole gets a spare! With his mind clear, the conduit took in his surroundings. The entire town seemed a little bit medieval in its overall appearance, from what Cole could draw from his memories. It was almost rustic. Even the street lamps blended in with the overall style of the architecture. Cole didn’t think much of it, but he was impressed that beings without hands could produce things like houses. Eh, it was probably the unicorns who did the building, because they can float stuff and all. Soon, he reached the Town Hall without even realizing it. Also without bumping into any more ponies along the way, thank heavens. Confidently, he walked in through the front doors. It was peculiar that there weren’t any guards near the doors, as it was the building which housed the Mayor. “I’m here to see the Mayor.” Cole approached the front desk with his rather blatant request, behind which the receptionist mare sat. All the receptionist did for a few moments was stare at Cole. “... Hello?” The conduit leaned on the desk as he tried to get the attention of the receptionist. He looked a bit dull, as if he just wanted to get through with the day. “O-oh, a thousand p-pardons. You just... startled me, is all.” She smiled innocently. “But, the mayor prefers it if you schedule an appoi-” Cole interrupted her. “I don’t have the time to schedule an appointment.” In all honesty, he did, but he just didn’t have the patience. The receptionist sighed. “Well then, you can go see her. Just be... be sure to knock, please. Just through the door to the right.” She said. “But before you go, what is your name?” “Cole. Cole Macgrath.” He spoke his name. “How would one spell that?” The receptionist asked. The conduit let out a tiny sigh, and spelled it out for her. His face showed his impatience, as he had to repeat it three times, and some letters four times. She went on to ask him some more questions. After they were finished, she had filled out an entire form. “You can see the mayor now.” But shouldn’t the mayor at least know that he was coming in? ‘Finally,’ Cole thought to himself as he walked through the door to the right, as the mare directed. Before so, however, he knocked. Mayor Mare opened the door. Her coat was of a light cream, eyes of a gradient between a pale blue and a dim purple. Both her tail and mane were a pure white, along with the formal collar she had around her neck. Where a tie would be, was a fluffy, teal necktie. “Ah, Mr. Macgrath, come in.” She smiled. “What the... but how...” Cole didn’t notice it before, but there was a tiny flash of light after the form ‘he’ had to fill out was filled. “The receptionist sent me the form with all your information. Please, you need not stand around any longer, come, sit.” She welcomed him into her office. The mare studied him for a moment, trying to get a better understanding of the newest resident of her town. So far, he took a moment to look around the room. There was a chair set across from the desk, in which the conduit sat in. The mayor sat in her desk’s chair, and asked, “So, what brings you here today?” “I...” Before Cole could continue, he was cut off. “I beg your pardon, but would you care for a cup of tea? I am having some.” Mayor Mare asked politely. At least she had her manners. “Sure, sure I’ll have some.” He nodded, before she walked over to a small table where a small teapot that doubled as an electric kettle sat. From a small cupboard underneath the table, she retrieved two teacups (seriously, how could they grab stuff with hooves?!). Afterwards, she filled them with the tea. She offered it to Cole, and he took it. Taking hers back to her seat, she said, “As you were saying?” “I’m here to see if I can get my...” He took a sip of the beverage. “... Equestrian citizenship.” Just what Cole needed, caffeine. Thank God it wasn’t decaf. Hell, for straight tea, it didn’t taste too bad either. “Ah. That can be arranged, although you’ll have to take the citizenship test.” She said solemnly, setting her tea down on the desk. “Would you rather take the test orally or on quill and paper?” She asked. ‘Quill? Damn. Ah well, it’s the closest I’ll get.’ Cole quickly decided. “Quill and paper.” As requested, Mayor Mare got him a quill, and the citizenship test. ‘Ho. Ly. Shit. It’s my pre-dropout test all over again...’ She presented him a thick book. Which was covered in dust. He quickly took the book, and blew off the dust. “I actually haven’t handled citizenship in a while, as the test likely... says, due to the dust.” Mayor Mare said. “No kidding,” Cole snickered, and got down to work. - - - One and a Half Hours Later... “Finished.” The conduit announced. ‘Man my hand could go for a nice massage... I think I saw a spa earlier.’ He thought to himself, cracking his knuckles, hearing a few consecutive ‘pop’s. “And not a moment too soon,” Mayor Mare jokingly said, taking the test into her hooves. She read it over at a remarkable speed- faster than anything which Cole had seen in his entire life. “You have... quite a few things incorrect,” She almost winced as she said this. “Applicants need at least a fifty percent score out of one hundred to pass.” “What did I get?” “Twenty two percent.” “Goddammit...” Cole stood up, one hand on his hip and the other rubbing his face, which expressed both his annoyance and disappointment. He was standing next to a window, looking out into the distance. “Incidentally, you only get one more retry...” “Retry?” “You fail again, and you are escorted out of the kingdom.” ‘Fuck, fuck FUCK! This is bad.’ “Can I at least go and find someplace to study? I mean, I’m not even from this damn world.” This was so unfair to Cole. “May I ask, did you even bother to study anything before taking this test? Most applicants wait at least a few months on a residential visa to study.” “...” Cole just didn’t say anything, for a few seconds at least. “No, no I didn’t.” He shook his head, still looking out the window. He was paying attention, but he just wasn’t interested in the conversation, although he was worried. “Normally, I would say no to this. But seeing as how you came ill-prepared, and how you are not from this world, I will give you a month to study as much as you can.” Now that sounded like a bargain. “Of course, if you feel ready, you can obviously come back in at any time. But the deadline is the end of the month, as this month just began. Whether you are ready or not by then is entirely your fault, so keep that in mind, Macgrath.” “Yeah. Thanks, Mayor. I... need to go for a walk.” Cole said, walking to the door. Just as he turned the handle, the Mayor said, “Remember to study before you come back, Macgrath.” “Can I ask something though?” Cole asked, lifting his head up. “Yes?” “Why only one chance?” He kept his face looking ahead of himself, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer. “Mr. Macgrath- You are requesting citizenship. Do you know what that entails? It’s an oath, a promise, that you will abide by our laws and pledge yourself to our ruler. This is a kingdom, we serve royalty. Most beings can come and go as they please- but citizens are willing to bend on one knee and become more than just citizens.” Mayor Mare turned her head to look at the citizen’s test. “Do you realize how heavy a decision that is? I do not know how politics work in your old home, but I think you have taken things for granted- no offense. You did come in here to take a test without studying. Does that sound like the committed someone that wanted to become a citizen? Without another word, the conduit left. To go for a walk as he said? No. He had choices to make. - - - Twelve Minutes Later, Lyra’s Home... Lyra was merely sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper and drinking some tea when Cole came back in. “Lyra!” He called out. The whole thing being sudden made Lyra almost drop her tea. She yelped. “C-Cole! Don’t do that! You could’ve given me a heart attack!” Lyra scolded. “Look, I’m sorry about that, but I have other things on my mind.” Cole stood in the doorway. “Is there a library anywhere close?” He asked hopefully. “... Yes, Twilight Sparkle is the librarian there. Why?” The unicorn asked him. “If I don’t sharpen-up on Equestria, I can kiss my sorry ass goodbye by the end of the month.” Cole replied, already feeling Lyra’s tension adding to his own. “What?! Why?” Lyra exclaimed, her eyes widening. “Because I took the citizenship test and failed. Now I only have one more chance. Where’s the damn library?” Cole asked with an impatient edge to his tone. Lyra didn’t know what to think of his attitude, but she tolerated it with a sigh. Her one chance with a human was going to get taken away by some stupid test. “The library is called ‘Golden Oaks.’ It’s a huge tree, you can’t miss it.” “Alright, thanks. I gotta get going.” Cole charged out of the door. To get a better look of the town, he continued running, and propelled himself off of a pillar of ice, quickly using his ‘static thrusters’ as he called them, to glide down to a roof. Only to propel himself by an ice pillar again, this time going very high. Soon, he spotted the Golden Oaks library, and landed on a roof, to propel himself off again and close the distance in just a few seconds. He landed in the streets, and ran the rest of the way. An odd thought did occur to him though. Why was it so important to be a citizen? Maybe it was because he thought ahead, to have a ‘backup plan’ if he couldn’t get back to Earth. Maybe he was tired of being a “negative” spot in society’s eyes. Could it be that he hated the idea to travel? Was his own conduit power telling him to stay here? He didn’t care what it was, not at the moment. He was focused on getting some books. Assuming that it was a public library, Cole simply walked into the building. - - - Meanwhile... “Wait... Does he know he has to be a citizen to check out books?” Lyra asked out loud. - - - Back at the Golden Oaks... “I’ll be up in a minute!” Called a female voice from down below. ‘Shit,’ Cole thought. He thought he could slip in undetected and get the books. Damn that mare must have had some good hearing. He looked around, specifically under the ‘e’ section. Luckily for him, this place was a jackpot of information. Hence the fact that it was a library. Soon walked up this ‘Twilight Sparkle’. She didn’t do her name justice (thankfully), but she was an easy-on-the eye mare. Her dim color scheme and all. The thing that caught Cole’s attention was her gasp. Then, it was the, “Ohmygosh! It’s you!” “Yeah, it’s me, the alien with powers. Whoopdy-doo, get over it.” Cole sighed in annoyance. Thinking quickly, his hand moved out to run over the spine of books and start reading. Please let him find the books he wants right away... The reply that the conduit gave Twilight threw her off. “Uh... So! What uh, what brings you here?” She asked politely. “Getting books to study.” Cole replied. “Ooh. What are you studying for?” “The citizenship test.” “... You... you do know that you need to be a citizen to rent books, right?” Twilight asked. “Look, I don’t care. I don’t want my ass booted out of the country because of a piece of paper, alright?” The conduit snapped angrily, continuing to look for the books. “I’m sorry, I truly am, but I can’t let you take them.” She said, putting back a book that Cole was just about to take out. The demon of Empire City closed his eyes, and looked down, letting out a sigh. “Look, I’m going to take these books whether you like it or not, and whether your laws say I can or can’t.” “Are you threatening to steal them from me?” Twilight looked at him, watching his every move as her face expressed either disappointment or slight irritation. “Yep.” Now that wasn’t an answer she was expecting. “Y-... you can’t just come in here and expect me to let you steal books!” “How about we trade, then?” “Huh?” Twilight was just getting confused, now. “I bet that you’re wondering about me.” He turned his head to her, opening his eyes. “So how about we make a deal. You get to ask me all the questions you want, with every single one of them answered,” Oh Cole almost pissed himself laughing when he saw the sheer look of ‘I’m going to die from hysteria’ excitement on Twilight’s face, but he held back easily. “-in exchange for the books I need.” Twilight’s facial features contorted. She was obviously arguing with herself, whether to fulfill her own desires, or stay loyal to the Princess’s words and laws. She so wished she was Rainbow Dash right now. At least, the part of her mind that wasn’t having a nerdgasm did. “Deal.” She held out a hoof for a shake, grinning widely. Cole took it, and shook it firmly. “Good choice, I didn’t want to have to hurt you to get these things.” And so, the both of them sat down on the couch. Twilight got out her notepad and quill. And Cole would soon regret his decision. - - - Seven. Frigging. Hours. Later. Soon, Cole’s ears were on the brink of hemorrhaging. But he tolerated every last question the unicorn threw at him. He swore, if what Twilight was doing (getting information) wasn’t the closest thing (or next best thing) to masturbation as she could get, he didn’t know what the hell was. “Thank you so much, Cole. You have no idea how much this information means to me!” She giggled. ‘Oh I can get an idea...’ Cole sighed. “Alright, can I get my books now?” He asked. Twilight merely nodded. “I’m looking forward to the power demonstration tomorrow, by the way.” ‘Can’t believe I agreed to that.’ The conduit thought to himself, before he said, “Yeah.” He got up and began picking out the books he needed. “So... you never did tell me how you got your powers, Cole.” Twilight smirked. Almost letting out a groan, Cole instead sighed. “No. That was not part of the deal. You asked about me, not my powers.” “Actually, it is! You said any questions you have, not just about you.” She reasoned. ‘Dammit all,’ Cole groaned. “Fine. I gained them in an explosion back in Empire City on Earth. I was somebody you’d never notice back then, delivering packages to people you’d likely never even know. One day I was sent to deliver a package to somebody in the Historic District, and apparently the package was for me. It was a Ray Sphere- a device capable of awakening powers in people with the dormant conduit gene. Conduits are pretty much... humans who were born with superhuman abilities, but didn’t know it. A lot of the city was destroyed, but there I was, at the center of it all. In a coma.” He explained. “Is that good enough for you?” Twilight nodded in approval of the information. “Mhm!” “Anyway. I got the books that I need, thanks for this... it means a lot to me, ‘Twi.” He held the books in both hands. But before he walked to the door, he took off his backpack and stuffed the books into them. Next, he walked to the door. “You’re welcome. Thank you for the answers to the questions, by the way.” She walked to the door also, as the conduit walked outside, into the night. The moon hung with grace in the night sky, stars decorating the beauty which was Luna’s domain. Cole propelled himself off of an ice pillar, and used his static thrusters to land on a roof. He waved at Twilight, who waved back. Twilight was in awe at this, but she had more to expect for tomorrow. Much more. “Twilight!” “Lyra?” Twilight asked, lifting her eyebrows. “I got the bits to clear my late fees! Now I can use my record to check out books for Mr. Cole!” Lyra said with a smile. Cole stopped, his entire body tensing up angrily as he managed to hear this. “Fff... FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-” Author's Note From little chapters, to- HOLY SHIT SUDDENLY 4,000 WORDS?!!?!?!!?!!?!! ... dat bonus doe.
Part 6 - Out and about. And absolutely nothing was accomplished.View OnlineA Twist of FatePart 6 - Out and about. And absolutely nothing was accomplished.“Dammit, Lyra!” Cole groaned as he slammed Lyra’s front door behind him. He had waited for her to come back home, just so he could chew her out. No, not that way. “I-I’m sorry! I just didn’t get my employee insurance check until tonight!” She attempted to defend herself. “So you make me go through Lord knows how many hours of absolute hell just to tell me that you could’ve gotten the books for me all along!?” Cole stormed upstairs, and went into his guest room, slamming the door shut loudly behind him. “Christ sake...” The conduit let out a sigh, his once angry face deteriorating into a more calm one- his brow relaxing, eyes no longer narrowing. “You could’ve asked before too...” Lyra’s minty green ears fell against the sides of her head. He sat down on his bed, and took a long, deep breath. The darkness of the room around him comforted him, as the blinds were shut, letting in only a tiny amount of moonlight. Cole turned around to open the blinds, the moonlight pouring onto his shirt and body. In the distance was a city, built into the side of the tallest mountain in Equestria- Mt. Canterlot. Judging by pictures in the monarchy book he read on his first night at Lyra’s home, that city was Canterlot- home to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Or, as Cole would have called them, White Power Ranger and Sailor Moon. He got a small smirk on his face, and opened-up the window. He had some questions to ask. Almost a bone to pick, if you would. His knees were bent as his feet were on the side of the house, hands gripping the ledge of the window. He then sprung himself forward, and meanwhile launched himself from a pillar of ice, gaining massive momentum as he glided through the air with his static thrusters. He covered a considerable amount of ground in the short time, having to land on the grass outside of Ponyville to launch himself again. Once he got to the mountain, he put his hands on his hips after landing and looking up at the behemoth of rock. “Nothing a tether can’t handle...” Cole chuckled as he bent his knees a little. He cranked his arm back, a ball of electric energy forming in his hand, and shot it forward, a large stream of lightning connecting to the rock far up the mountain. He was yanked towards it, and he used the momentum to increase his speed and run up the side of the mountain. It was like an express escalator. As soon as he reached the end of his tether, he quickly launched himself from a pillar of ice, and used his thrusters to get as high as he could, before latching onto the mountain far above. Again, he was pulled to it. He repeated the whole process two more times, before he finally managed to reach the city. Of course, though, he had to latch onto the ledge. Otherwise, he’d fall off and down. Not like he couldn’t save himself, though. Once he got into the city, he had to make his way through somebody’s lawn. Thankfully, not very many of the ponies were awake at the time, so it was pretty much smooth sailing from here to the castle. But wait. Where the hell was the castle? Cole groaned, and looked around. When he could find nothing, he let out a sigh. He decided to just look around by getting to the highest ground in the city he could. Hell, this place was almost like New Marais with how many tall structures it had. Bored of using his powers to do most of the work for him, Cole used his parkour skills to quickly scale a building. He crouched-down on the ledge of it once he was at the top. ‘Need to get to higher ground... the other buildings ’re blocking my view,’ Cole told himself, before he quickly vaulted off of the building, just barely catching onto the ledge of the next one’s roof. He pulled himself up quickly, and ran forward. He jumped with some power, and caught onto a windowsill. Strongly, Cole launched himself upward, and grabbed onto another ledge. He eventually made it to the top. “Ah...” He smiled, eyeing the castle in the distance. “Uh. What are you doing mister?” Asked a rather high-pitched male voice. Not answering, Cole looked back. It was a pegasus colt, in a bathrobe. The conduit looked back to the castle, and crouched down. Making the colt gasp, he launched off of an ice pillar, and glided far over Canterlot’s skies. ‘Uh... Why do ponies even bother to wear robes? And who even wears robes? I didn’t wear robes at his age...’ Using his lightning tether in midair, Cole managed to get onto the castle without attracting too much attention. He climbed up to the balcony above his head, and pulled himself up. If he had looked behind himself, he would see at least fifteen pegasus guards hovering in midair, looking directly at him. “So, what brings you here?” A motherlike voice asked. Cole looked up to see Princess Celestia looking down at him. “Um... just... taking a walk in the park.” The conduit said sarcastically as he pulled himself up. “No, but honestly, I came to see you.” Really? First room he walked into and it was hers? Lesson learned. Scan the area before entering. Getting here though, used up a lot of power. “Me? Oh, how sweet of you.” Celestia chuckled a little bit, and asked, “But why?” “I got a few questions to ask you, in private.” Cole walked into her room, followed by the Power Ranger herself, after she dismissed the flying guards and shut the door behind her. “I heard you call me a human before I even said what I was earlier.” He went straight to the point. “How do you know about humans, huh?” The conduit demanded, leaning on the wall. The Princess sighed. “It is quite a long story.” She warned. “Oh trust me, I have all night.” Cole crossed his arms as he eyed the Princess. “So you go right ahead and start talking.” “Was that a threat?” Celestia raised her right eyebrow. Cole began to get rather impatient. “Do you know what a threat is?” He asked, releasing a sigh. How many threats has he heard since getting powers? “A threat is when a giant monster wants to use you to kill off millions of lives so only a few will live.” Cole let his eyes close a bit as he turned his head to look away from her. “No, a threat is when people realize how strong you are and want you dead. Oh no. I’m not threatening you... But I am making a promise. It’s not you that will feel threatened by me. It’s your people.” “Very well, then.” Celestia said. She didn’t seem bothered by his words. This made him worry. “Many years ago, I was tampering with my knowledge of magic. Specifically, I was manipulating it to scour through the reaches of space, to see if I could find any habitable worlds aside from our own. Soon, I managed to find only one, which was many, many trillions of light years away from our own world. And I believe it was yours. Using my magic further, I managed to see through the eyes of one of your kind. He was nothing but a simple citizen, but I managed to learn a lot about your kind. And as I went on-” “Hold on, where was he? I mean, where did he live?” Cole interrupted her with a hand gesture. “I believe the city he lived in was called ‘Empire City’. Unfortunately though, during one observation, he was killed in a massive blast in the Historic District.” She said. “I managed to capture the source of the explosion before everything went black for the citizen. It was a man, who looked... remarkably like you, to be entirely honest. He held a form of sphere in his hands.” Celestia replied. Cole’s expression grew rather bitter, before he replied, “That man was me. That sphere, the ‘Ray Sphere’, is what activated the conduit gene inside of me. It’s how I got my powers.” “Did you know that the sphere would explode?” Celestia asked him, raising an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me?! The first thing you ask is ‘would it blow’? Not even a ‘how did it feel to be spied on like a pervert’?... But no. I was told over a phone call that I’d be given five hundred dollars to open the package, so I did. I went into a coma for a little while after then. I survived, though.” The conduit spoke. Oh, she was on thin ice. She went from Power Ranger to White She-Devil. “I see. But I apologize, Cole. Now, aside from these matters, I have taken notice of what you did in Ponyville. You attempted to take the citizenship test, and failed. It was run by me, sent by Mayor Mare of course. Now, I need to ask. Why did you choose to take it?” She asked. ‘And I wonder how she knew my name...’ Cole almost rolled his eyes, and replied, “So I could get a job. Thought I could be a courier, it’s what I was back home.” Celestia nodded. “I assume you have come to talk to me about this subject?” “Yeah. For one, I ain’t bowing to you.” Cole replied quickly. “I ain’t gonna be somebody’s lapdog, no way. So let’s set that straight right there, got that? You know how citizens were like in my home. Carefree, not bowing to anything but the things they had to pay for each month to keep their homes.” The Princess let out a sigh, taking a little while to think it over. “I suppose that will be fine by me. But do you truly want to be a courier again? Your powers have made you a living storm of ice and thunder, Cole.” “What do you mean...” Cole squinted at the Princess. “I was considering asking you to be a part of the Royal Guard, but that would obviously contrast our agreement. Or the weather team, since you can control electricity.” Celestia said. “The Royal Guard? No, I don’t have a place in that... maybe the... wait, weather team?” Cole cocked his head at the alicorn. “Yes, the weather team. You do know that weather in Equestria, well, save for the Everfree Forest, is controlled entirely by the pegasi, correct?” She asked him. The conduit shook his head. “No, no I didn’t know that. Only question I have is, how much does it pay?” He smirked. “For the first three months of any job, your employer has the right to reduce your pay by at most, half, based on your performance.” Celestia said. “But if you perform well, you can really ‘roll in the dough’ as your people would say.” Oh that sly little- she even winked at him! “So out of the three jobs, guard, courier and weather-person, which pays the most?” Cole asked, relaxing a little bit. “Being a Royal Guard pays the most out of the three- their gross monthly income without any deductions is around four thousand bits.” She smiled at the disappointment on Cole’s face. “Couriers can get an average gross monthly income, again, no deductions, of one thousand five-hundred bits a month. Meanwhile, a member of the weather team can average out at nearly two thousand five-hundred bits a month. Keep in mind, the deductions can bring your overall amount down by almost forty percent.” Celestia explained. “But also keep in mind things like insurance and job rate. Couriers don’t get paid if there’s no deliveries, while weather team has the best insurance.” “Why? That don’t make sense...” “Weather team members tend to have more accidents and health risks than guards and couriers. It is a time of peace as of now.” Celestia replied. “Thanks for that. But, about the Royal Guard thing. Would it be possible to be more of a... ‘calling card’ rather than something you have with you all the time?” Cole asked. He pretty much subtly asked her if he could be a mercenary. “Why do you think the Royal Guard is called as such, Mr. Macgrath?” Celestia teased. “Right, right... But my best bet would probably be having two jobs. I’m faster on my feet and in the air than I am on a bike.” “But can you walk on clouds like the pegasi can?” “Probably not.” Cole replied. Celestia sighed. “Not that it will make your job harder, but if you can fly at all, it does help. You can always ask Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil, to cast a spell of cloudwalking on you.” She suggested. Electric-Man nodded. “You uh... probably saw me gliding through the air in the city, which, yeah. I can kind of fly. Not for long though.” “Yes, I am quite interested in your powers. Say, is what you said to me all you can do?” The Princess asked. The conduit shook his head. “No, not even close. I... had a power transfer with a friend of mine. Gave me control over ice, well, you... already knew that but still.” Cole sighed. “Let’s see... bolts, grenades, blasts, missiles...” He stuck out his fingers for each power category he listed, then laid his arm down against his side. “All of them are fueled by electricity, but some of them are ice-based... kinda weird if you ask me why.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I can time travel, use magnetic waves, and cause thunderstorms.” He forgot about just one. “And uh, I can also pull myself towards things with this tether power I have.” “Time travel? Really?” Celestia seemed to become more curious towards him, raising a brow and smiling. “Yeah, but it’s more... me in the future. At least, he- I mean, I can do it, easier than I can.” Cole remembered Kessler, how it was technically his own fault for making himself open the package. But it was for the better good- the Beast was dead now. That was his--both Cole and Kessler’s--goal. “Interesting...” Princess Celestia said. “So, does this all clear everything up for you?” “Yeah, yeah. It does.” Cole replied, starting for the balcony. “Ah ah ah, Cole. Remember that you still need to take the citizenship test. So I recommend you get your nose in the books.” Celestia chuckled. “There is the other way as well...” “Other way?” He looked back to the Princess. “I remember in your home country- I believe it’s called a green card? People marry for citizenship?” Cole scoffed and shook his head. “Nice try, but no.” He then jumped off of the balcony and gliding through the night once more. ‘Oh hell no...’ Marry any pony? Pft, in Lyra’s dreams! Literally. - - - The Next Morning, Ponyville... “Cole! Cole?! Where are... whoa. What are you doing on the roof!?” Lyra’s voice woke the conduit up, who was sleeping on the roof of her house. “Masturbating!” He replied, a bit cranky. Oh the look on Lyra’s face just made him laugh on the inside. “I was sleeping, thank you very much...” Cole retorted, trying to close his eyes again. Since the roof was made out of hay, and he felt a little bit lazy, he just slept on the roof last night. “I was gonna say...” Lyra mumbled off, trotting back into the house as Cole shut his eyes again. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get to sleep. He had tossed and turned and frolicked on the roof, but no position could help. Since he didn’t know the time, he also didn’t know that he got a full twelve hour sleep. Damn straight, he woke up in the afternoon. “Ugh...” He groaned, and slid off of the roof. He landed with bent knees, and walked into the house. He found Lyra sitting in the kitchen, enjoying a cup of coffee while reading the paper. Cole was just about to grab the coffee pot, when he did a double-take at the front page. “Wait a second...” ‘Oh, great...’ “The Electric Monster of Ponyville? Wow, how familiar does that sound...” He thought aloud. “Friendly electric monster,” Lyra corrected. “At least, that’s what the paper reads. Apparently you seem ‘harmless and helpful’. Is that you helping Fluttershy with her groceries?” She smirked, pointing to a picture on the front page. The biggest one, of course. If it weren’t for the fact that he just got up, and the fact that the coffee was distracting him, Cole would’ve been a little bit agitated. “Yeah, that’s me.” The smallest thing he had to look forward to? The ponies at least seeing that he wasn’t hostile, maybe. Thank God Nix wasn’t here, that’d be changed up a bit. “So helping a pony with groceries is... newsworthy?” “Well when you’re a creature that hasn’t even been seen before in Equestria... yeah, it... it is.” Lyra awkwardly replied. “...” He took a second to think about it. Hell, if a pony made it to Earth, and that pony brushed its teeth, it would make news. “I guess that... makes sense.” Thank God for the coffee, seriously. Cole’s books were upstairs in his guest room. “I’m uh... gonna go study for the citizenship test.” Now that was a sentence Cole would never come to expect fly out of his mouth. Either way, Lyra nodded and he went upstairs. Even if it was a lie. Which it was. - - - Two Hours Later... The door to the room in which Cole was dozing off creaked open. A sigh came from Lyra’s mouth as she saw her prized possession just oversleeping instead of studying to get his citizenship. “Cole, wake up.” Lyra said, with little success. All she made Cole do was roll over. “Ugh...” She facehoofed, before she let out a sigh, walking out of the room. She came back with an airhorn. And oh, she blew it alright. “GAH!” The Prime conduit yelped, sitting up immediately as he glared at Lyra. “What the hell, Lyra?!” “Sorry, but you said you were going to study, not sleep.” “Yeah well you’re not my damn mother, alright?” Cole snapped at her, rubbing his head. “And if I didn’t know it was you, I could have really hurt someone right there.” He scolded. “Still! You were being lazy and oversleeping! Come on, Cole, you gotta study. This month will fly by if you don’t, and you’ll end up being escorted out of Equestria.” Lyra argued. “Yeah? Well I’m not gonna study right now... I’m hungry and drained.” Cole replied, sitting-up on the bed. “Literally, I need some juice...” “There’s some in the fridge if you like orange juice,” Lyra informed him. Cole held back a frown. “No, electricity. Not actual... ugh, y’know what, nevermind. I’m just gonna go find some myself.” He got up and walked past the mare. Heading into the kitchen once he got downstairs, he opened up the fridge. “... Eh, I guess a little OJ can’t hurt.” The conduit decided, looking through the cupboards for a glass. He found one and poured himself a glass. Cole downed it almost as fast as he poured it, and placed the empty glass next to the sink. Maybe once he got a job, he could buy better food. Afterwards, he walked outside. Down the street he walked, into the marketplace. ‘There’s gotta be somewhere I can get some protein at... whoa, an old-fashioned pretzel maker stand?’ He thought, eyeing the stand as its owner served another happy customer who was with a friend. “Oh my gosh this is so good!” She said to her friend, who chuckled as they went along. ‘Dammit, wish I had some money...’ Cole thought to himself, moving along. “I would whore myself for a pretzel with mustard.” He thought aloud, under his breath. Cole continued to walk along the street. Suddenly, a familiar rainbow-maned and tailed pegasus flew low beside him. “Heya Cole! What’s going on?” She smiled at him. “Not much, just takin’ a walk. Seeing the town, you know, the usual stuff I used to do.” The conduit replied. “What’s goin’ on with you?” “Ahhh, not much. Just got back from my shift on the weather team. Had to clear out some clouds from the sky near the Everfree again.” Rainbow Dash replied. Cole saw Rainbow as more of an acquaintance than a friend, but she was alright. “Cool, cool. I was thinking about becoming a part of the weather team, well, uh, I talked with Celestia ‘bout that. She suggested being a part of the Royal Guard, pft.” “Well, y’know, she kinda has a point if she asked- er, suggested you of all things to be in the Royal Guard. I mean, you have these awesome powers! Who wouldn’t want you as a bodyguard?!” Dash smirked at the conduit. Cole rolled his eyes. “It’s still just... not me. I don’t see myself doing it. Just me, being in that... gold armor, no. Kissing-up to the Princess too, I just... no, I don’t like being treated like a lapdog.” He almost frowned. “So... you’re gonna get a job-” “After I become a citizen.” “Wait, what? Oh, right, yeah, sorry. You uh... that doesn’t really make any sense. You become a citizen, then you say you’re not even loyal to the Princesses? What’s up with that?” Rainbow asked, almost as if she were interrogating him. And almost as if she was frowning upon him for doing so. “People back in my world were carefree, as far as the community was concerned.” Cole replied. “It’s what I’m used to. And I don’t feel like changing.” He almost snapped back at her. Rainbow let out a sigh. “Well... alright, whatever you think is best, I won’t mess with you or nothi-” “Dash! For Celestia’s sake, you forgot about your next shift! Break is over!” A voice yelled from above, causing both Cole and Dash to look up. It seemed to be a rather burly pegasus stallion with a brown coat and a grey beard. “Oh, great...” Dash groaned. “Well, I gotta fly Cole, see ‘ya ‘round!” She then zipped up to the skies to continue with her work. ‘Heh, if breaks are that short, I might reconsider joining the weather team...’ Cole thought to himself, then continued walking. Soon, he managed to come across a building that looked like a gingerbread house. ‘Huh. Ain’t this a festive building.’ The conduit chuckled, looking at the sign. ‘Sugarcube Corner?’ As curiosity commonly killed the cat, Cole must have been a lion. He walked into the shop, the smells of the many baked goods smashing into him like a Ravager charging into him, causing Cole to absentmindedly lick his lips. He could easily just snatch one of the cupcakes on top of the counter- nopony was there to see it happen. He reached his hand out to grab the cupcake at the top of the pile. Why was he being slow about this? Indiana Jones would be proud. “Hi there!” A hyperenergetic feminine voice greeted. All Cole could see now was pink, and two blue eyes. Along with an unrealistically huge grin. “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!” And then, he tripped, but pummeled the pony who scared the ever-living shit out of him. With a graviton blast. - - - Ten Seconds Later... Cole was now on his ass, watching the pink mare float and frolic about the store’s ceiling, as the effects of the blast hadn’t worn off. Yet. “WOOHOO! That was fun! Do it again! I’m FLYING!!! This is so incredibly gravi-defia-tastic!” ‘How in the fucking HELL did she not break her spine by smashing into the wall!?!?’ Cole’s thoughts raced a thousand miles a minute. “Don’t ever do that again!” He held his chest, panting heavily. As if it were timed, the effects wore off, and the mare fell back to her feet. “I’m sorry for scaring you! But how did you make me go all floaty? It was so cool! I was all like ‘Hi’ and you were all like ‘Jesus fucking Christ’, what is that by the way? And what does ‘fucking’ mean? But then you were like ‘BLAM’ then I was like-” Cole stopped her barrage of hyperenergetic, Flash-and-Deadpool-doing-crack-together narration cold by snapping his hand in a clamp over her mouth. “Shut. Up.” They met eyes. “Once I take my hand off of your mouth, are you going to be talking at twenty damn miles a second?” She shook her head to the sides. Cole sighed, and let go. “So what is a ‘Jesus Christ’?” “Not an it but a who... he was a human. Like me.” Even though Cole knew he was damn far from a perfect saint, and slightly far from being a normal human, he meant it biologically. Even though he didn’t believe in the stuff. “Ooooooh, a human? So that’s what you are! I always wanted to meet you! The Electric Human of Ponyville! Bzzzt!” She was like Superman, she could move so fast. Zoom! Zoom! Zoom, ZOOM! ‘Well, this has gotta be Deadpool’s pony incarnate...’ Cole thought to himself. “Hold on a second... I just came here because I was... uh... hungry.” He admitted. “Who is Deadpool? Hungry?” The pink mare gasped. “Ooh! What are you hungry for?! I can get you a cup...” She looked back to the tray. ‘Wait a second, did she just... no, no I’m hearing things.’ Cole thought. The tray was stuck onto the wall, due to all the cupcake frosting. “... cake.” She sighed, almost sadly. Suddenly, she sprang back up happily. “Ooh! Maybe I can get you something else?” “Problem is, I don’t have any... er... what are they called, uh, cash, yeah. Bits, whatever. I have no bits.” Cole replied. “That’s fine, silly! It’s your first time here, unless I was out of town! But I wasn’t out of town, so it must have been an evil mastermind!” The Pinkius Equinis Deadpoolius said. “Would you stop, please?” The conduit was seconds away from getting a severe aneurism in his brain. She was more annoying than Lyra, and that was saying something. All he could do was form a scowl, since it seemed like his powers were wasted on her. That bitch! “Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkius Pieus replied. “Oh, by the way I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie held out a hoof with a wide, happy grin on her face. He looked down at the hoof, then at his food. Back to the hoof, and then to his food. Hopefully she could get the hint. Too bad for Cole, since ponies ate directly with their mouths. Especially Pinkie Pie, but he didn’t know that. With a groan, he took the hoof and shook it lightly. “Cole Macgrath...” He replied dryly. “So, what are you in the mood for Cole? Donuts, cookies, a slice of cake, maybe even a muffin?” She giggled. “I uh... guess I’ll have a muffin, but anything’ll do.” Cole sat down at a table, rubbing his temples due to the throbbing headache that he was experiencing. It was nice though. He couldn’t remember when the last time he could just walk into a cafe and get food like a normal human was. He felt thirsty for a recharge. “Hey, uh, ‘Pink?” Called the conduit as Pinkie Pie walked off. “Yes, Mr. Coley-woley?” “Don’t call me that. But, do you have anything that uh... requires a lot of electricity in here? Like a generator?” Cole asked her. “Mhm! Ohhh, because you are an electric-human Coley! At least, that’s what the newspaper said! But the generator is downstairs in the basement, and it’s running all the appliances upstairs!” Pinkie Pie replied with a small giggle. Wait a tick, did she hear him say ‘don’t call me that’? Ignoring the fact that she called him ‘Coley’, Cole spoke. “Don’t worry, it’ll only be down for a second or two...” He got up to go look for the basement. Once he found it, he walked down the wooden stairs. The conduit lifted his hand, the familiar sparks of electricity flowing about his forearm, lighting up the room as he walked through it. He found the generator very quickly, and smiled almost deviously. “Oh this is gonna be good...” He chuckled, and of course, began to drain the hell out of the thing. Upstairs, the power cut out after about two seconds of Cole draining the generator. Electricity flowing about his body, Electric Man quickly restarted the generator with a few simple bolts. The electricity remaining in the air was absorbed into Cole’s system, replacing the extremely tiny amount of power he lost from shooting the bolts. The conduit walked upstairs, only to have Pinkie Pie greet him. “So, what did you do?” She asked him curiously. “Also, here’s your muffins! I didn’t know what kind you liked so I gave you two of our most popular kinds! Blueberry and strawberry is the darker one, because it was made with chocolate dough! Then the lighter one is our chocolate chip and banana muffin!” Pinkie gestured to the tray on her back, which carried the two muffins. Eagerly, Cole snatched the tray, and sat down at the table. He unwrapped the chocolate chip and banana muffin. The only thing that made it slightly off was Pinkie Pie watching him anxiously, as if she wanted to know his reaction. All he wanted was to get somethin’ to eat, lay off him, Deadpool’s pony incarnate! But of course, Cole took a large bite of the muffin. “Mm...” He nodded in approval. Even though the muffin was rather cold, the chocolate chips were soft and velvety- really melted in his mouth. The bananas were more of a flavor enhancer, as there were no chunks in the muffin, meaning it was well-incorporated into the batter. The dough was very light and fluffy, which let the ingredients’ flavors take over and saturate the soft dough. “That’s pretty damn good,” Cole couldn’t help but chuckle a little as he took another bite. “I gotta say.” “You really think so?” Pinkie Pie asked him, smiling almost ear-to-ear. “Mhm.” Macgrath said while he nodded, taking another bite. “Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me!” Pinkie Pie giggled happily. Even though she was a bit annoying, Cole couldn’t help but find the admiration towards her due to the fact that she was a kickass baker as he finished the first muffin, sating his hunger. “Ey uh, do you maybe... mind if I take the other muffin for the road?” Pinkie gasped. “Roads like muffins? I never knew that!” “No no, I meant, could I take the other muffin with me so I can have it later?” Man, one thing Cole would have to get used to is the fact that these ponies didn’t have a lot of the idiomatic expressions that the people on Earth did. “Ohhh, silly me! Of course you can! It’s my pleasure Cole!” The party-pony of Ponyville smiled at the Electric Man, who took the other muffin and stood up. “Have a good day, ‘Pinks.” He said as he threw the first wrapper into the trash, holding onto the second muffin. Cole walked out of Sugarcube Corner, and let out a sigh. The thought did come back, though, ‘What is she... no, what are ponies made out of, if their spines don’t break when they hit a wall with enough force to crush a skull...!?’ This place was really starting to freak him out. Even if it was a cartoon world, Cole still assumed that the laws of physics applied. Well, everypony knows Pinkie Pie. But some ponies didn’t know Pinkie Pie. BONUS!!!: “Oh! By the way, I know this lonely mare that could use a date...” “Oh hell no, ‘Pie.” “Not me silly! Applejack!” “The racist? You want me to date the racist pony.” “Oh! I’m sure she gets permission from her partners...” “I said ‘the racist’ not ‘the rapist’.” “You mean that pony that makes you sit on a couch and you have to talk about yourself?” “That’s a therapist...” “In any case, Applejack isn’t a mean pony that goes around forcing ponies to do it against their will.” “God dammit Pinkie Pie...” Author's Note Dammit all, Pinkie, you silly... pony...!
Part 7 - Conduits are MagicView OnlineA Twist of FatePart 7 - Conduits are MagicAnother week had gone by. Not much was accomplished, but it wasn’t like taking over Equestria was on the agenda. But it was as if Cole really didn’t care if he studied, but he did look at the books every now and then. All the conduit really needed was a fifty percent score. An added bonus was that some of the stuff was pretty damn easy to remember. Like the legal drinking age, the legal age to have intercourse, things like that. And some of the laws or rules were really no-brainers, like don’t harm others. Some of the stuff though, like harems- he did not want to get involved in. Oh hell no. Those were skipped and crossed-out. It also helped that he had taken the test before, so he knew what to look out for. But the days were getting monotonous. There was very little to do, and he couldn’t get a proper job until he got a visa or citizenship (it turned out that he could get part time jobs, but they paid absolute shit). So ultimately, his days were spent surveying the town and areas around it, studying, and avoiding the ponies in his life as much as he could. Some of them seemed to stick to him like glue. Lyra’s partner, Bonbon and him got into a bit of a catfight too, so things were shaken a little. Honestly though, ever since that power exhibition that Twilight Sparkle set-up just around a week ago, things took a very unexpected turn. - - - Ponyville Pavillion, inside City Hall, six days ago... “Why are we doing this here?” Cole asked, both eyes a bit to look around. The place looked spacious at least, and kinda pretty. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, you know.” In the back of his mind, he knew how redundant saying that was. But he almost never used his powers indoors- unless you count sewers. He could heal anybody if they got injured, after all. “Because a lot of the ponies are curious about your powers, Cole. The word about you has spread all over Equestria.” Twilight Sparkle smiled at him. “Also, this is the largest space around here that’s indoors. It should help contain the display of your powers, so you won’t affect the weather outside. Don’t worry though, once you’re ready I’ll set a forcefield up around the viewing area. Anypony outside of it shouldn’t get hurt, unless you’re that powerful. Are you sure you have enough... um, energy, electricity... for this?” She asked. Knowing that he ‘borrowed some energy’ from Canterlot’s power station, Cole spoke. “Yeah, oh yeah, I do.” He nodded. Looking around for a second, he spotted the ponies that filled the pavillion’s perimeter. Was he to take the center? “So, do you uh... announce me, or should I?” Cole asked as he stepped up to the center. Made him wished he had gotten his clothes washed. “You can announce yourself, Cole.” Twilight said with a smile, walking out of the viewing area. Ponies from Canterlot, Appleoosa, Baltimare, Fillydelphia and many other places were coming through the doors to see the conduit’s display of power too. Twilight’s horn glowed purple, before she placed the forcefield around the area. It was a perfect dome. With a sigh, Cole said, “Alright...” He tried to get the crowd’s attention, and he was failing. The ponies kept talking, some pointing and making faces at his expense. “ALRIGHT!” He yelled, silencing the crowd with both arms snapped out to send an alpha blast around himself. The ponies quickly snapped into attention, looking at the alpha blast which made the magic shield shake. He cleared his throat to help himself speak clearly. “Now... you’re all about to see what I’m capable of. But,” he stopped there, swallowing his saliva to clear his throat. ”Don’t make me get serious with-” Even the Princesses themselves had come to see this, their eyes wide at his first ‘display’ (it was more of a necessary attention-grabbing thing). “My true power. Now, I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t for Twilight’s shield thing.” He spoke as targets of metal were set up by guards, who came in by teleporting. Cole wasn’t surprised; Kessler could teleport, after all. “Forcefield.” Twilight corrected from behind the barrier. “Whatever,” Cole rolled his eyes. “Now listen! Name’s Cole Macgrath. I am serious when I say that these powers are not something your uh...” He tried to find the plural. “... Pegasuses?... No, pegasi, can do. Twilight... I’m ready.” He said with slight boredom. On the inside though, this was the highlight of his day, since he was bored out of his mind. “Alright.” Twilight replied, before she lit her horn up a bit more, which in turn increased the resistance of the forcefield. “Good luck!” She called to him. “‘Don’t need it...” Cole muttered under his breath, before he extended his arm. “These powers are bolts.” He raised his voice to announce to the crowd, who watched intently. Especially the Princesses. Macgrath had to push back the thought that he felt like a clown in a circus. The conduit squinted at the targets, before he sent two alpha bolts at the targets. They lit-up with blue electricity, making the crowd gasp. “Seriously, this impresses you all?” Cole sighed, shooting off a pincer bolt. The trio of bolts connected to one target, making the target get singed. Black adorned the metal where the lighting struck, giving off a small trail of smoke. Then, Cole began to walk to the edge of the shield. He aimed, and fired two artillery bolts. Since they were longer-ranged, he had to demonstrate their full capability. The targets were holding up surprisingly well. Perhaps they were enchanted? Then, he fired off a true lightning bolt- what he liked to call the ‘magnum bolt’. The crowd let out another gasp at the light show, along with the loud explosion of thunder as it lit up the room. The target he shot was pretty much on the edge of being wrecked now. In the crowd, a particular fashionista mare looked over to one of her friends, Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, is it even possible to control lighting like that?” Rarity whispered over to her friend curiously, obviously being in awe at the display. “No way! This isn’t like lightning at all. Cole has the power to shoot off...” Rainbow stopped, squinting to look at her friends as she thought for a moment. “Much more uh, concentrated bolts. And he has more powerful versions? Geez...” Cole cracked his knuckles, and prepared for one of his favorite types of bolts. The bolt stream. He raised his right arm and extended his palm. Out of his hand came a literal stream of strong, electrical bolts. In turn, the target he hit pretty much exploded after two seconds of being hammered relentlessly by around twenty thousand volts every few milliseconds. The conduit smirked as he saw the main part of the target was still intact. “Alright. Time for the good ‘ol ‘nades...” Cole chuckled to himself. “But before that, let me show you all another one of my powers. Well, a few of them. These powers are uh... what’s the word, well, some of them are ice powers. Like this one,” He then demonstrated the most convenient of the bunch- the ice launch. He was propelled off the ground by a pillar of ice. He held his arms out, and his static thrusters activated. He managed to glide in a full circle around the viewing area before he had to roll and land. The crowd was obviously in awe at this. Afterwards, Cole lifted up his arms, and picked up the part of the target that fell off with his kinetic pulse. After that, he put it down. “Ey, Twilight?” “Yes, Cole?” Twilight called from the other side. “Can you uh... well, unicorns use that ‘magic’ stuff right?” “Yes, of course they do!” “Well can they fire anything from their horns?” “What do you... mean? But, yes, they can. Magical blasts to be precise.” “I want you to fire a magic blast at me.” After Cole said this, the crowd gasped. “It’s another demonstration of a power...” So Twilight got the courage, and she looked to Celestia. After the Princess nodded, she temporarily deactivated the forcefield and walked towards Cole. “Are you sure about this...?” She asked nervously. “Yeah, yeah, go for it.” Cole beat his chest twice, and left himself wide open. “Well, if you insist...” Twilight’s horn lit up, and she did as he told her to. The crowd watched in awe as the magical blast was literally absorbed by a shield of frost, held together by electricity. “This only uses one hand. I can use my other hand for other things.” Cole explained, demonstrating this by holding up his hand. The familiar blue sparks jolted around his hand. “A shield? Interesting...” Celestia commented, squinting at the conduit. “Alright, go back and put up the field again so I can get on with this, please?” Cole asked. Twilight nodded, and she walked back out to the viewing area. When she did this, she put-up the forcefield once more. “Okay, grenade time.” Cole vaulted his arm back, and suddenly threw a ball of explosive kinetic energy--an alpha grenade--towards a different target. The grenade exploded, causing the target to get viciously electrocuted. He vaulted his arm back again, and threw another grenade. It looked the exact same, but when it hit the target, it stuck onto it. A sticky grenade. It exploded, and the target did too, due to the fact that he just hit it with an alpha. Now, it was time for the only cryokinetic grenade in Cole’s arsenal. He whipped his arm back, and threw a ball of explosive ice, bound by kinetic energy. It hit the target, blew up and froze it like liquid nitrogen. The crowd’s jaws dropped at this. Even more so when Cole rushed up to the target, and swung the Amp that was on his back. The weapon crackled with blue electricity as it cracked down on the metal, crushing it into a thousand pieces. And then, he threw his final grenade. It exploded above the target, and rained down in a bunch of smaller, sticky grenades. It blew up on two targets, but didn’t destroy them. “Rocketman...” Cole spoke under his breath, before he said to the crowd, “These are missile powers.” The crowd looked a bit confused, but when he fired off the alpha rocket, it snapped their confusion in half. With a loud explosion. “Now things are getting interesting...” Rainbow Dash said, smirking eagerly. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was cowering behind the athletic pegasus, fearing for her life. It seemed that she didn’t really notice, or care about for that matter, the forcefield which shielded the crowd from injury. As Cole whipped his arm back, he aimed at the ceiling. He fired a spiraling, out-of-control rocket. The crowd paid attention to this, but he fired a basic alpha bolt, and it redirected the rocket, which slammed down on the target of metal. And then, he fired off another missile. Which split into three smaller ones, and stuck onto the same target. It then exploded, both the missile and the metal circle. Immediately after, Cole shot off a speeding ice bullet, which was large. It smashed into two targets, freezing them instantly. Cole sighed. “Now, time for blasts... ‘ey Pie, ‘bet you’re familiar with this one,” he then proceeded to send a blast out. It picked up and tossed three targets, making them float around. The crowd went ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at the sight of the graviton blast’s effects. The targets then fell back down. “Hehehe! I do remember that, Cole!” Pinkie Pie giggled happily. She was really enjoying the show. “What do you mean, what happened?” Twilight asked her, almost concerned, but overall she was interested. “I scared Cole and then he hit me with a super-cool gravity-defying blast just like that one! And I was flying and everything!” Pinkie replied. Twilight facehoofed, as Cole performed the most basic of blasts- the alpha. It sent the targets across the floor, hitting the forcefield. Then, Cole fired a highly-unstable ball of electrical energy. It swirled around, and latched onto a target. It then exploded, as it was a detonation blast. Finally, Cole performed the last of his blasts. It was a cryokinetic blast- a shatter blast. He sent out a wave of sharp icicles, and then blasted them towards the target. The icicles pierced through the metal like butter, and got stuck in it. Now, Cole had some ionic charges with him. But he didn’t use them, because he needed those charges- he didn’t want to waste them. “Alright, that’s that...” Cole said, lowering his hand. He was drained, and he looked wiped out too. He bent himself over. Using so much power at once almost made him feel sick. Twilight put down the forcefield, and the ponies started talking amongst each other again. Cole could hear a lot of mixed emotions being thrown about, everything rebounding to him. “They know I can hear them, right? I got enhanced...” Cole stopped a moment. “What is it Cole?” Twilight cocked her head at the conduit. “Uh...” He turned to look at a particular night-sky blue alicorn. ‘Guess I can listen to some music,’ The night princess thought in her mind. Her head began to bob back and forth. ‘Oh I love a rainy night!’ “Nevermind. Anyway, I... I need to drain something...” Cole’s vision began to get rather blurry, but he started for the door. Pushing his way through the crowd as he saw in doubles, he heard voices calling his name, but ignored them. Suddenly, Twilight got in his way. “Cole! I just got an idea!” “Yeah yeah good for you...” Cole said groggily. “No, good for you! Since you need electricity to use your powers, why not drain a storm?” She smiled at him, but when she saw the look of confusion on his face, Twilight sighed. “The pegasi scheduled a storm this afternoon. A huge one, to compensate for the lack of weather before! It might even be a hurricane.” “Storm?” Cole perked-up. He remembered when he had to get the Blast Core from the Vermaak- known as the Ice Gang. A major storm was going on- Cole had unlimited electricity from it. He was a walking powerhouse, even more so than he already was. He was quite literally unstoppable. “Yes! So, what do you say?” Cole smirked. - - - Three Hours Later... The winds picked up gently. But the coming clouds of cumulonimbus to the East made the gesture that things wouldn’t be so gentle soon. Cole, on the other hand, wasn’t worried at all. “Are you sure you want to be out here? I mean, we’re going to be boarding up the doors to our homes... and windows,” Twilight advised, sitting next to the man. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine... ‘things get too hot I’ll just go into the Everfree.” Cole replied with a small sigh, eagerly looking out to the cloud-covered skies which were approaching. “The Everfree Forest?! You do know what’s in there, right?” Twilight exclaimed in a partial demand. Cole rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I do.” He remembered the manticore he dealt with when he first got here. Come to think of it, it wasn’t that long ago. A few weeks wasn’t really that much. “Uh... I kinda had a run-in with a manticore when I first got here. I had it under control though.” “I see... Well if this is what you want, I need to get going.” She said, before her horn lit-up. “Be safe, Cole.” Twilight then disappeared in a flash of purple light. The Prime Conduit closed his eyes, and merely waited. Minutes passed, and all that happened was Cole laying down on the grass. Finally, he began to feel something. The wind started to pick up, sending a small shiver down his spine from the windchill. Opening his eyes and looking back, Electric-Man saw Ponyville. It was boarded up, and nobody was to be found in the town. It was creepy, how silent it was. But then, a flash of light and a crack of thunder snapped Cole out of it. Immediately, he began to get drenched, as a literal wall of rain poured down onto him. Quicker than the human eye was able to see it, Cole jumped up, and started to run in the opposite direction in which the storm was coming. Why was he doing this? Because rain isn’t pure water. And as he knew he couldn’t get wet, unless he had a death wish or was a masochist, so he booked it away from the storm. It was right on his tail, the Everfree was the other way. He was running like crazy, like Pinkie Pie was chasing him after he broke a Pinkie Promise. Whatever that was, because he heard it being tossed around through the weeks. Apparently though, luck was on his side. For like a second. Up ahead, there was a farm, with a barn. It looked not to be occupied at the moment, so Cole huffed and puffed his way over to the fence, and bounded over it. Landing with a roll into a grove of apple trees, they would pose as temporary cover, if the storm got the better of him. So he continued to run through the orchard, not stopping for anything or anybody. He eventually got to the barn, but forgot what he was supposed to do; drain the storm. “Dammit... well better do it later...” He sighed, and lifted the large two-by-four which was holding the doors back from opening. But his troubles didn’t stop there. There was a padlock on the door. With a loud groan, Cole reached for the Amp on his back, but then the rain hit him. Luckily enough, most of it didn’t hit him due to how close he was to the structure. He swung the Amp, and it broke the chain holding the padlock. ‘Hope whoever lives here doesn’t charge me for vandalism...’ He thought idly to himself, before he opened the barn doors. And just as he did, he heard a voice. “Macgrath!” The voice was familiar- strong Southern accent. Feminine too. ‘Fuck, not her...’ Cole thought to himself, hanging his head for a second, before he turned in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, there Applejack was, poking her head out of what appeared to be an outdoor cellar. “What’re ‘ya doin’ there!? Are y’all crazy!? Git over here Cole!” Applejack ordered. Seeing as the cellar had a better chance of standing against the storm than the barn did, Cole listened to her, and booked it for the cellar. “Get down, get down!” He yelled, and Applejack complied as he dove into the cellar. He didn’t get hurt too bad, neither by the rain or by jumping down a flight of stone stairs. He’d likely be sore for a little while, though. The cellar doors were shut, and Cole got to his feet. He looked around, and it was a cider cellar, complete with the residents of the farm, including a familiar trio of fillies. There was an older mare, with a white mane and tail along with a light green coat. Sitting across from her was a large, red stallion with a blonde-ish mane and tail. “Well who’s that ‘ya brought in there, Applejack?” The elderly mare asked, getting to her hooves and walking over to Cole. “Uh... Granny Smith, this’s Cole Macgrath.” Applejack introduced the man to the mare, tapping him on the back. “He was awful close to bein’ stuck out in that storm.” “Thanks, I guess...” The conduit felt rather awkward, given what happened earlier between him Granny Smith’s granddaughter. But he eventually sat down. Was her family as racist as the cowgirl- cowpony? Everything was quiet, save for the beating of the rain on the cellar doors, and the talking of the fillies in the corner. Somehow, they didn’t take notice of the conduit yet. He was about to drift off, sitting up against a cider barrel. “Say mistah Cole...” “Hm?” Cole picked up his head. Was the old one speaking to him? “Word has gone ‘round that yer’ gettin’ a job, ‘sthat right?” Granny Smith asked him curiously. “Yes?” He replied. Was this small talk? Oh, she better not be offering him a job in this racist farm. Granny Smith moved closer to him and lowered her voice. “And yer single?” “Uh...” Cole raised both eyebrows. Wait, wait, no. Please, God, no! “Whatcha think bout Applejack? Ain’t she a gem?” “G-Granny, not now please.” Applejack managed to overhear the conversation, and sit between the two of them. Wait. Was she blushing? “Well alright then...” She then went to go talk to Big Mac, the brother of Applejack. “Sorry ‘bout her...” AJ whispered embarrassedly. Had she forgotten that they had bad blood between one another? “No... no it’s alright.” Cole chuckled a little bit. “Hey Applebloom? What if your sister did marry Cole? You’d get a human superhero as an uncle!” Sweetie Belle said. “That would be AWESOME!” Scootaloo exclaimed in reply. “Cole and mah ‘sis?” Applebloom turned to look at her sister. “Well, they do look cute together...” ‘Damn, damn you to hell, Crusaders.’ “Nopony’s marryin’ anypony now...” Big Mac said to them with a teasing grin. “AJ has to propose first...” “Awww...” They all groaned in unison. ‘I thought you were cool, Big Mac. I swear to God, when I get back home I am going to take all the Big Macs I can eat and... Wait, this sounds like a plot to some fucked-up gay porno...’ “Sorry ‘bout this...” AJ mumbled under her breath. “Huh?” “Them talkin’ about me marryin’ y-” Thunder and lightning struck outside, startling them all. Even Cole, but that was because he was suddenly embraced by a very shivering Applejack. Things went silent again for a little bit, between the conduit and Applejack at least. “Look at ‘em! Already huggin’ in front’a the family...” Big Mac teased, making the rest of them chuckle, save for Cole and the mare in ‘question’. “Shameless, that’s what they is!” Granny added with a smile. The crusaders were hugging each other out of fear, from the thunder of course. “Look, I’m really not feeling all that good right now. I need to go drain the storm...” Cole managed to shove Applejack off of himself, gently of course. “Drain the storm? ‘The hay are ‘ya talkin’ about?” Applejack asked. “If you leave the doors open, you’ll see the light show.” Macgrath replied, opening the doors to the cellar and stepping outside. Immediately, he began to feel the pain from the water hitting his skin and electrifying him, but quickly he walked out. Cole started to drain the storm from the heavens above, a huge bolt of lightning hitting the conduit. One billion volts of pure electrical energy, all flowing into him. He did it once, twice, thrice, and a few more times. Now, he was ‘fully’ charged. Technically Cole had a limitless pool so long as he had a source, but storms took the cake for making him the true Electric-Man. AJ started to look at the human just as he was walking to the cellar doors. Was he crazy? He was just running away from the storm! She stopped herself at the entrance of the cellar. The wind and rain made her hat and mane shake against her frame, forcing her to hang onto her hat. Her large eyes caught the image of one of the only beings in Equestria that could literally heresy against lighting, and say ‘Buck off, mother nature!’. Her mouth fell open a bit. “By Celestia’s mane...” Though in the skies above, a black-robed pegasus was watching the light show from a cloud. A camera was in the anonymous pony’s hooves. The pony seemed to be focusing on the farm specifically. Click. Click. Click. BONUS!!! Back during the power display, Cole decided to show off one of his powers. “Now behold as I reveal my hard giant-” “Gasp!” The audience released as Cole had each of his hands lowered to his crotch area. “-Ice pillar.” Cole brought his arms up, creating the ice structure. “Oh thank Celestia, I thought he meant penis,” Twilight said. “Darn. I thought he was gonna say penis!” Lyra added. The Stupid Bonus. Seriously, prepare for either hilarity or stupidity... “My first power...” Cole took a second to think. It would be better to use something that was not elemental or scary. Something that could help him win the crowd over. A lot of them were mares, after all. He didn’t think they would like his aggressive, manly powers. “I can bring the dead to life. With the spark of my power, I can also heal what was once dead!” “You can?!” Twilight opened her mouth in shock, hearing him saying that he could bring the dead back. “But how?” “Behold, something dead!” Cole moved his hands to pull down his pants. “Sweet Celestia Mr. Macgrath! What are you doing?!” Twilight immediately moved her hooves to cover her eyes, blushing. But she still peeked at his organ. His schlong hung there in a limp. A lot of gasps were heard as mares begun to look away. A lot of the stallions started to laugh though, pointing at his member. “Laugh while you can!” Cole grinned. He shut both eyes, channeling his electrical powers into his member. Unlike the rest of his skin, his cock turned blue and began to ‘come back to life’. Blue lightning sparks started to emit from his member as it grew longer and thicker. “Imagine the real thing with the power of a motorized dildo...” Cole smirked, waving his eyebrows suggestively. “A hundred bits to buy Cole!” Applejack shouted out. “He’s mine! Back off!” Lyra shouted as she jumped in front of Cole. “Dammit Lyra...” Cole quickly frowned as mares started to converge on him. Author's Note The gumbo which is the plot has been thickened with a rue, I guess? Shit, I gave it away.
Part 8- Decisions!? Oh so NOW you want me to make choices!?View OnlineA Twist of FatePart 8- Decisions!? Oh so NOW you want me to make choices!?A week had passed since the power demonstration, and Cole wasn’t too pleased to find out that the test was tomorrow. It was quite aggravating, seeing as how most of the things slipped his mind over the month he had to prepare. Even though he was acting rather pessimistic about the next day, he forced himself to stay optimistic. ‘Least the weather’s nice,’ Cole thought, trying to find a damn silver lining in this place. Nothing had truly changed- although, Ponyville and its inhabitants were beginning to get used to Cole. Which pleased him, but he knew fear when he saw it. While the people went about their daily lives, Cole could feel the deep paranoia irradiating from the citizens. That alone drove him to worry, but it was the least of his concerns at the time. While yes, it did bother him, it wasn’t what was important. What was important, was getting some of the knowledge he lost back to him. Now, Cole didn’t mean by studying his poor ass off. No. He was just gonna look at the essentials. But how could he know what the essentials were if he didn’t even remember the test that he was given initially? He needed help- big time. That’s why a trip heading to the Golden Oaks was in order, to find out what he wanted to know, rather, needed to know. He could’ve stormed the Mayor’s office and grabbed a copy for himself, but he’d likely be held accounted for- behind bars, which he’d break. And, he didn’t quite want the potential trouble, so he just stuck with his plan. The nerd unicorn just had to have genius ideas or something. She was an egghead, after all. Cole snickered, ‘Heh, egghead...’ Cole knocked on the door once, with a double-tap. “Twilight!” Twice. “Twilight...” Then thrice. “Twilight.” He waited for the unicorn to come out. Unfortunately though, she didn’t. “Dammit,” Cole sighed. Placing his hands into his pockets, he turned around to face the town a bit. “Where did-” Whack! And then he got a door to the head. Cole yelped, reflexively getting into a combat pose, as unstable as a drunkard with vertigo as he turned around. “Whoa whoa WHOA! Don’t shoot, Cole! Friendly!” Said a nearly-fried Rainbow Dash. Immediately, Cole swore under his breath. Almost killed a pony there. When he could see, the conduit noticed the Daring-Do book in her left hoof. “Damn… Didn’t you hear me knocking!?” Cole scolded angrily, holding the back of his head as he looked to the pegasus. “No, uh... I was… doing things. Awesome things, not something that an egghead like Twilight would do, y’know, like… read…” She then hid the book behind her back. Too bad the red cover stood out against her cyan coat like a sore thumb. “Look, I don’t care if you read or not. Is Twilight home?” Cole demanded. “Yeah, yeah, she’s home. Downstairs. Nice talking to ‘ya Cole, but, I gotta fly!” Rainbow took off with a streak of diligence. “Nice BOOK behind your ass, egghead!” Cole yelled behind her, with a chuckle. Slammed a door on him will she? Damned pegasus, should know better than that. Just to mess with her, he should find Rarity and make her spread the word. Either way, Cole had pent up aggression to release as he strode through the door. “Hey T-... wait… heheh.” The conduit decided to have a little fun as a devious smile cracked across his face. He cleared his throat as quietly as he could, and yelled out, “Miss Sparkle! The Equestrian Library Association is here to claim your books AND JOB! You are a terrible librarian!” with a vicious, cold tone. Didn’t sound like Cole, so he was hoping that it’d pay off. “You don’t read to kids, you stocked the shelves with nothing but magic books, and the library attendance is terrible!” “WHAT!?!?!” Twilight screamed. Bad idea, Cole thought, since he heard multiple crashes as the unicorn came thundering up the stairs. “TERRIBLE!?!” She got to the top of the stairs, only to find Cole laughing his ass off. His face was red, and he was hunched over, holding his sides. It took him a while to calm down. “No, seriously Twilight. All I ever see you do is read. Spike is a better librarian than you, I see him more on the floor than you.” Cole managed to stand straight and sigh in satisfaction. “I see almost no books on humans. Shame on you.” he said jokingly. “Finally! Recognition!” Spike yelled out triumphantly from the kitchen. Twilight’s blood was on the brink of boiling, so she didn’t quite comprehend just what the blipping hell was going on. She was focused a lot more on the joke that Cole decided to play on her, and eventually she came to the realization that it was just that. Deciding to get him back, she said, “Well, at least I didn’t miss anything on my schedule, Mister Studious.” “I knocked, you never answered the door...” “What? Spike!” “I’m making cake! I can’t multitask very good, so I just asked Rainbow to get the door! She was leaving anyways!” The tiny dragon peeked his head around the corner of the kitchen wall, wearing a tiny little pink apron and a chef’s hat. ‘Damn, that’s almost adorable,” Cole thought. “Yeah, what’s your excuse for not answering the door to your own home and place of employment, huh?” he asked, crossing his arms. He was smiling, struggling not to laugh even harder than before. “Nevermind! I was just reading about how to become a better librari-” And that was when Cole nearly experienced the feeling of vomiting up your insides from laughter. “Cole?” Twilight asked, lifting her eyebrows. “You-” Cole almost heaved from the laughter, leaning over a bit. Knowing what was coming, he immediately rushed outside, and came back a couple minutes later, coughing. “Alright, I’m done,” Cole’s voice was slightly haggard and crackly, the kind of voice one would have after throwing up. “Okay… okay… alright.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry. It’s just a joke. Citizenship test’s tomorrow, I need a hand.” “... What? Are you implying that you didn’t study at all?!” Twilight scolded as Spike waddled back into the kitchen. “No, I implied you're a bad libraria-” he stopped himself before he started laughing again, hunching over. Twilight glared at him. “I studied, I just forgot a lot of the stuff.” “How? It’s been only a few days!” Twilight said in shock. Even fillies and colts had better memory than him. “Look, humans are different than you ponies. All work and no play makes Cole go crazy!” he snapped. “Anyway. I need something to jog my memory, and I’d have to call myself an idiot if I hit the books. Got any ideas, Einstein?” he teased. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, not Einstein… whoever that is. But, yes! I think I have something in mind…” “I’m not dating a pony.” “I don’t mean that, Cole… Let me do my work, I’ll get a copy of the test. We can focus on the important parts.” Two Hours Later... As fate would have it, the genius lived up to her title, and also did what she said she’d do. Returning to the library about an hour and a half later with a book, which was familiar to Cole. It was the Citizenship Test. They spent another half hour going over it, before they started to get down to the questions. There was a series of multiple choice questions, like an eighth grade mathematics evaluation test. Twilight was asking him orally, so he could remember them. “Now, what is the legal age of alcohol consumption? Is it A- eighteen. B- when you gain your cutie mark. Or C- twenty one.” “Uh... wait. There’s alcohol here?” “That’s not important, Cole, answer the question.” Cole shook his head with a sigh, and decided on an answer. “Um… C?” “Correct- twenty one. Eighteen is the established age of adulthood, and when you gain your cutie mark just signifies your talent in life.” She went onto the next question. “Now… which of the rules here is true? A- Law forbids eating in a place that is on fire. B- You can be arrested for vagrancy, but only on Sundays. C- It is illegal to give dogs whiskey.” “What the... A, right? Pinkie Pie?” “Pinkie Pie. She roasted marshmallows one day, and… kinda went crazy.” “There was a law made just for Pinkie...” Cole raised a hand to cover both eyes. “There’s more than one for Pinkie, isn’t there?” “Yes, but not in the Citizenship Test.” Twilight replied. “Now, your answer?” “You joking? A. You gave it away.” “... Right…” And so, the questions continued with the mock test, and they included many things, like; “The legal age for sexual consent is...?” “How must you bow to royalty?” “Who has the right of way while driving a carriage?” “Can you sell homemade wares or products without a license or permit?” “Stallions are gelded when they...” Fuck that law to hell, but he best remember it, ‘lest he wants his balls cut off. An Hour Later... After the mock test was finished, all of the important stuff that was worth fifty percent (that Cole didn’t remember) was given back to him. Twilight even filled it out as they went with the correct answers, so if Cole really wanted to, he could just score a hundred percent on the test. He just had to remember what Pinkie would do, and he’d be golden. Just don’t do what she does. Quickly after, Cole walked back to Lyra’s place for a little nap. But to his dismay, the door was locked. “Piss,” the conduit cussed, rattling the handle. He wasn’t about to go sleep on the roof, it was getting nippy out here. “Lyr-... ooh, what’s this?” A sock on the doorknob? Did she have someone over? That bitch! Did she smoke his weed? Oh she better not have! And so, Cole decided to cut the visit short, by scaling the wall to his room’s window. He always left it unlocked. But this time, Lyra had locked it. “Dammit… Well, guess it wouldn’t hurt,” The prime conduit then performed a simple alpha blast, to shatter the window. He came crashing through the glass, and time seemed to slow down for a mere second. Through the door, in the hallway, he could see a pony glance his way. He couldn’t see a face, but he knew it was a stallion just by the way he stood. He rolled to his feet. “HEY!” He then charged out towards the stallion, who ran down the hallway which was to the right. It was a dead end. “Nowhere to run now, asshole!” The stallion raised his head and made his horn glow, not even a second before Cole reached him. Using a flash spell, the stallion blinded our hero. Cole shot off a pincer bolt, which shattered the glass- he obviously missed his target. Time seemed to slow yet again, as he was no longer blinded. Cole saw the stallion salute him, before teleporting to God-knows-where. “Damn…” Cole shook his head, rubbing his eyes from the residual pain. He looked around the home, but nothing was missing in the immediate vicinity. “Lyra!” He called out, looking for the unicorn. Cole was starting to get a bit worried- what the bloody hell happened? Where did that guy even come from?! Better yet, where the hell was Lyra? Was she alright? “Cole...” Said a blood-curdling voice, coming from behind him. It had cold and anger spread all over its feminine tone. And when Cole looked to see who it was, he just frowned. “Ah… shit…” There, behind him, stood an extremely pissed-off Lyra. Who had just gotten home from the market. “Tell me… why you broke… two windows.” She tried to keep calm, but was progressively getting closer and closer to him, obviously on thin ice. “A guy breaks into your house, likely stealing some of your shit, and you care about windows?!” Damn. Lyra in pissed mode. Kinda hot. “I didn’t see any guy.” Her face scrunched-up a bit, her rear raised up as she lowered her head to get her horn ready. “Well I did!” Cole replied, raising his voice. “And I am NOT paying for the damages! As soon as you get your citizenship, every bit you earn belongs to ME, until I can afford to fix this place! Got that!?” “I’ll let you touch my hands.” “Nuh-uh. No... wait. Hands? Really?” Lyra lost her anger a second. She bit her lower lip, eyes moving to stare at his hands. “Charged with power?” She then shook her head, snapping herself out of it. “I’m not playing your games, Cole! Do you understand me!?!” Lyra asked- rather, demanded. “Y’know what?!” Cole decided that it was about time to stand up for himself. He’d dealt with quite the bit of shit over the month, and now it was just all about to come down. He missed Zeke. Studying over a test left him stressed. Ponies looked at him like a freak, just like humans. He just defended their home. Work was not fun, and it felt like he was trapped. “Fine! But I’m moving out!” Then, he jumped out of the window, leaving Lyra alone in the house. Later, in the Everfree Forest... Cole decided to take a walk and get much needed air. No longer did he want to tolerate the bullshit- it was almost three times as much as there was back on Earth. It was like middle school drama, all over again. Weren’t these ponies adults? I mean, come on! Where was the love? The conduit kicked a rock out of his path. He didn’t quite know where he was going, his form radiating anger and intolerance. His fists were clenched, Amp at his back, crackling with tiny zig-zags of electricity. He needed a place to find his zen- to cool the hell down. After what felt like hours of walking, Cole believed he found such a place. It was some kind of ruins, of what looked to be an overgrown castle. “Whoa…the hell is this place…” he asked nobody in particular as he walked into the ruins. “... Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters? Huh.” Cole read a time-worn sign, next to the mossy arch that allowed his entry. The conduit found himself walking through the roofless complex. There were stained glass murals instead of windows, that depicted two alicorns defeating some freak of nature. Wait… were they Princess Whitebutt and Bluebutt? “Weird… feels like I just walked back in time.” Cole thought aloud, before trekking further into the castle. He came to a place which looked very strange, as if it was fought in recently. No small-scale fight, either, this must’ve been something big. There were shattered stones on the floor, about eh, a few months fresh? They were spherical, from what Cole could tell. One of them was almost wholly intact, it seemed to have an etching of a star on it. The conduit picked it up, studying it. “The hell is this thing…?” he asked himself, before throwing it away. It cracked against the floor. “Eh… just a stone…” Cole pressed on, going to the end of the room. There was an indent in the floor, about the size of Celestia from end to end. The stone was eroded, whether by time or force, Cole couldn’t tell. He looked up, and saw that there was no roof, and no foliage covering the place around the indent. So it was more than likely by some force. The room, by Cole’s perspective, seemed very sacred. As if it had a meaning. Well, now that he thought about it, all rooms had some purpose. But this one felt different, as if it carried some form of burden. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but then, for some reason he looked back to the stone he threw away. The one with the six-point star. He picked it up once more, and brushed it off. There was a form of structure above his head, connected to a piece of unbroken roof that must’ve survived time and its ever-tightening grip. The structure seemed strong, relieved- as if it were Atlas, only, without the world on his back. The stone seemed lifeless, as Cole looked down to it in his hands. Had this stone once bore a relic? He couldn’t figure it out. But it wasn’t important- he came here to cool down, not to investigate the past. Cole finally laid down, looking at the evening sky. He put his hands behind his head, and just waited until everything seeped out of his system. It took what felt like a few hours, but his hotheaded attitude finally calmed down. Suddenly, something brushed up against his side. Cole’s eyes jumped open and he sat up. Looking beside him, he saw the stone. It must’ve rolled over to him. The damn thing had to be attracted to him or some crap. He picked it up, and held it in his hands. He stared at the star in the center of the sphere of stone, concentrating on it. Without warning, he saw shadowy apparitions appear before him, and also entering the room. There were six in total, and they were all silent. The room looked different, too- as if everything had been tidied up. Cole stood up, and watched the five figures stand back as the sixth began to monologue. He didn’t know what it was saying- it was all mute, and colorless. And then, he saw six stones in the holder above his head fall down, and float around the six mare-like figures, who were now in the air, in a formation. The sixth one’s eyes opened up, and a blinding light came out of them. Only now had Cole noticed the larger alicorn who was covering her eyes with her hoof. Just as he observed the situation, a large rainbow shot out from the six apparitions, curving up slowly and slamming down onto the alicorn. It made no sound, and Cole only saw it. It was strange. Then, the apparitions disappeared. Cole’s hands started to hurt, so he looked at them. Smoke rose from the stone, which was now on the floor- and smoke rose from his hands. He wasn’t sure why his hands were hurting, so he made a fist and stretched them out. “These are burn marks…” he thought aloud. This was weird, really weird. He clenched his hands once again, and inspected them further. He looked down to the stone- that must’ve been what caused him the pain. But how? Cole assumed one thing. He could have channeled some of his energy through it unknowingly, and through the time that he saw the apparitions, the heat from the electricity must’ve burned his hands. But that wasn’t really sound, as pure stone didn’t conduct electricity of any form. Some form of magic was at work here. But there was one question that Cole left hanging in his head. ‘What the hell happened here…?’ Bonus Number One! “Ok Cole! It’s time for a girl’s ni-” “Fuck you, I’m a dude.” “Oh, sorry! Guys! Let me get the girls-” “Fuck that. It’s ‘guys’ for a reason. Wait...” “What is it Cole?” “I don’t know any guys... Shit. Dunno if there are even single guys...” “Mr. Cake?” “Mr. Twins? Any reason to escape, but his kids need him more than I do.” “Uh, Davenport?” “You don’t know many guys, do you Twi...” “Uh, no...” “And you’re studying friendship? Sexist.” Author's Note Just wrote this to remind you guys that I'm still frickin' alive! But, hope you enjoyed it.
